Girlfriend Needs a Break

WOW! It was {another} busy yet fabulous week. And actually, I wonder how I continue to find the energy to be on the go night after night. Perhaps it's my latest "Lucky Charm", Mmmmmmmm. Whatever the case, I love hopping from one fantastic venue to the next with the most delicious friends. Where have I been going? Here's a recap!



Monday, I finally was able to meet up with S and C at P.J. Whelihans. Oh, and even M made a guest appearance which was PHANtastic! We scored a great table to watch Game 5 of the World Series. Our beloved Phillies won that game. And all in all it was a very fun filled evening after a VERY long and taxing day.





Wednesday, J, <3 Dr. A, and I headed over to Swanky Bubbles. It's so ridiculously convenient to us and so perfectly our scene with tasty, bubbly cocktails! It was divine.




Thursday's dinner was at the Palm! The company was second to none! Of course, we ALL know that you can NEVER go wrong when you dine at the Palm!




Friday, G and I headed to Kitchen 233 for cocktails and appetizers. Sadly, Kitchen 233 closed its doors after the last meal was served and cocktail was sipped last night.



However, Treno a rustic Italian restaurant is opening tonight. The restaurant group decided to revamped their concept. G and I were lucky enough to sample some items from the new menu last evening. We both enjoyed what we tasted. And my favorite aspect of the restaurant, the atmosphere, will still be the same!

Which brings me to Saturday night. And your Modern Maven requires a break. Of course, I was invited out to the city for dinner. But I decided to keep it low key and relax. And honestly, I am LOVING it!

Gossip

Last week, at the recommendation of my Netflix Guru, K, I sat down to watch Doubt. I was most impressed with the monologue given regarding gossip. I wish I could say that I never gossiped. Alas, I have; but I know that my gossip was never done to intentionally hurt anyone. However, I'm sure as benign as I thought my actions to be, it did, in fact, hurt someone. I realize that gossip is hurtful and mean. And, most importantly, what you are spreading may actually be viscous lies, or you might be spreading truths only to distract from your own, pathetic inadequacies.

So please, go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp6rVrGmvMs&feature=related

to see the best monologue about gossip. And hopefully, you will cease to be the catalyst to ugliness, envy, and hate!

The Cutest Halloween

As promised, I wanted to share my Halloween festivities.

How cute was J&J's A-Team? Super-Duper Cute is what they were.
I must say that my little boy is just so luscious! And just how did I get SO lucky to get such a CUTE godson?














The kids all loved Trick-or-Treating. And the adults did too! Of course, our version of Trick-or-Treat is a style that you might want to consider for next year. Just check out what was in our cooler!

Happy Halloween

Alas, your Modern Maven does not have a Halloween Party to attend (though I will be going Trick-or Treating with J&J's three children-pictures to follow). However, if I were to be attending a Halloween bash, I think my love for uniforms might be my costume this year.

I was thinking about {updating} my catholic schools days. I'm sure the nuns would love to see me in this. And I bet a few other people would too!



Or perhaps I could honor the love of uniform by wearing this. I think I love the boots most of all!



Then again, one of my favorite Halloween treats is candy corn. Of course, the true candy corn lover knows that there is a point when you must stop consumption, or you risk ruining the sugary experience.



So, maybe I would show my love of this guilty pleasure by dressing up as {sexy} candy corn.



I guess I'll have to keep these ideas for next Halloween

Trust Me, There is No Such Thing as a Free Lunch!

Continuing on my education expose, today's post deals with how the State of New Jersey is frivolous with your tax dollars!

As New Jersey residents struggle daily to make ends meet during this financial crisis, officials at the state level seem to think that everyone deserves a free lunch; and we, the taxpayers, are stuck picking up the tab.

Unlike the application process for federal student loans and grants where parents are required to fill out lengthy forms, submit copies of their income tax returns, and are subjected to strict standards of review, at school districts across the state, free lunch is being handed out to far too many students whose parents can afford to pay.

In a suburban Camden County school district, the rise in the percentage of students claiming to be living at or below the poverty line has sharply risen in recent years, and this demographic shift has school officials baffled. The poverty rate was once well below ten percent and today it is upward of twenty percent. Students who fall into this category receive either free or reduced lunches. However, when the South Jersey school in question self-audited this segment of the general population only seven applications were extracted. Five of the seven families did not respond, and therefore, the dole was withheld. Of the two families who did respond, one did not qualify as per the standards set by the state of New Jersey. Therefore, we can conclude that only one seventh of those who apply for free or reduced lunch are truly worthy. The majority of those who are receiving state funds could be misrepresenting their financial situations because they realize that they will not have to provide their financial records as part of the application process. These individuals are using the system to better serve themselves.

School districts do realize that this practice is a burden on the system. So why have they failed to blow the whistle? That’s because the higher the percentage of at-risk / poverty students it identifies the more state funding the district will receive. And be aware that this additional funding is not being used to provide more nutritious lunches to students. Instead, it is used to supplement the school in other venues. For example, the same South Jersey high school referenced above uses these additional funds for supplemental math programs. In addition to mathematics instruction, the program also sponsors bowling trips and roller skating socials.

It is not anyone’s intention to withhold assistance to any child who truly needs our empathy and support. In fact, more needs to be done for any person living in substandard conditions as our poverty line in the United States of America is far too low! What must be addressed are the welfare mongers who know all too well how to utilize our public assistance system to benefit themselves and in turn leaving less for those in need. This state wide epidemic must be addressed and remedied immediatey. First, the citizens need to be aware of what is occurring. If we take everyone at their word, especially during this fiscal recession, the majority of us could be taken for fools!

If Teachers' Gradebooks Were Audited by the IRS

More often than not, my blog is about light, carefree topics. Most include fashion, dining out, and jaunts to wonderful places. However, I decided to take a more serious tone for this (as well as the next) blog post; both items directly relate to the state of American education. For the past decade, I have worked with children from kindergarten through college. My vantage point is not that of a parent but that of an educator as well as a student (as the majority of my life has been spent in the classroom as a student and not as an educator...in fact, I'm currently enrolled in post graduate classes). The topics that I wish to address are those which most American citizens may not be aware. The state of education has changed in recent years, and not necessarily for the better! With all the hope that was placed in No Child Left Behind, it's a sad day in America when it's failed the children for which it was intended to assist!

This blog addresses how teachers are "encouraged" by their superiors to manipulate {some} of their students' grades. Will your child be receiving a "dumbed up" grade? Perhaps. How do you know if the grade recorded on your child's report card is accurate? You do not. Sadly, we, as educators, are directed by many of our supervisors or other administrators in the upper echelons of many school districts to enhance grades of certain segments of our student body in order to 1. graduate or promote the student without him having mastered the content (in turn, not being better citizens of the community at large) 2. inflate the student's self esteem and / or 3. present a "picture" of excellence to the community so that our institution "looks" successful. Each case is a far cry from what your child may, in fact, be producing. Moreover, if a teacher's supervisor demands that you inflate one child's grade by a certain amount of points, what about a child who is not receiving any assistance? In some schools, children are having up to FIFTY points a marking period added onto their final marking period grade!

Simply stated: If the IRS were to audit a teacher's grade book, the large majority of us (along with our bosses whose directive we must followed) would be inprisioned!

What's most interesting is that today, more than ever before, more students are making A's. Parents are proudly displaying the "I Have an Honor Student At..." bumper sticker. Yet doesn't anyone (schools or parents) question why SAT scores are plummeting? An A is not what it used to be! Doesn't anyone hear the outcries of college and university professors who state that their college students are not writing and articulating their thoughts as well as students who were enrolled in college ten years ago? The simple answer is: No one cares!

Where should we look to place the blame? I suggest it be placed at the feet of administrators who are simply motivated by stellar reports of "excellence". Should the teacher who simply obeys her bosses' directive be held liable? Yes, because a human person must follow her own good conscious even if it means disobeying one in a perceived position of authority.

Finally, and possibly most importantly, what are these inflated grades saying to the students who struggle and toil daily in the pursuit of educational excellence? And if anyone thinks that students are unaware of these policies that are present in so very many American schools, then they are truly naive and are underestimating these young Americans.

Schools need to be held accountable to instruct and assess students and then to record this information accurately. When this ceases to occur, the entire institution looses all credibility with American citizens as well as the citizens of the world.

What I'm

Viewing:



I finally saw Frost Nixon. And it was riddled with excellent acting as well as informative historic details.

Touring:


Princess Diana's personal items are on display at the National Constitution Center until December 31. Dr. DZ and I took our mom there this Saturday (that was one of her birthday gifts as she's been wanting to visit the center for quite some time). It was nice to learn not only about US History and American government which the center always offers, but it was also amazing to see Diana's personal items! It was a glamorous glimpse into her lovely life!



Listening to:



I am not a Michael Buble lover, he kind of annoys me. However, THIS song, I Just Haven't Met You Yet, is my latest favorite. I even have it set as my default ring on my Blackberry for everyone {but one}.