day to day

i am loving every last little thing about summer.
i am loving chilling myself to my bones in the air conditioned apartment and then warming myself in the sun back outside.
i am loving the heat.
i am loving the sun and the grass and the water and the breezes.
i am loving being home with todd all day and filling my day with optional activities.
even sharpening knives, cleaning out the refrigerator, mopping the floor, laundry, or grocery shopping seem like more fun when they are done with choice. now or later? today or tomorrow?
i am loving full pitchers of homemade iced tea.
i am loving creating simple meals with fresh foods.
guacamole. watermelon. veggie burgers. salad with food from the garden (some of it).


i am loving reading by the waterside, intermittently watching the boats go by.
i am loving the dogs and watching our puppy become one.
i am loving time with friends.
i am loving crafts and creating gifts, with thought and intention.
i am loving planning my trip to MA and thoughts of family and friends and fun and laughs to be had.
i am loving my time in the garden, dirt on my legs, spraying the hose overhead to cool off.
i am loving iced coffee and trips to the store just to buy incense.
i am loving clearance items at the craft store. dreaming up projects.
i am loving myself more with the calm and peace that i have found.

i am loving life.

things i love this week

here's my list:

• the excitement of so many new babies coming into our world so soon.
• R and D buying a house less than 30 minutes away. Yeah!
  

• Talks and cuddles with Todd until late night sleep takes us over.
• Still learned new things about one another.

• Fresh cantaloupe and cottage cheese. What a magical combination.
• Eggplant balls with pasta.
• Lunches with Todd in the middle of his work day.
  

• Planning fun girl time crafting and going to the beach.
• Planning my fun visit to Mass, and all the people I hope to see and introduce.
  

• Books on hold at the library.
• Dreams for the future.
  

• Organizing a classroom full of chaos, to make it my room.
• Summer. Summer. Summer.
  

delicious things

in the spirit of nina,
working in the spirit of leonie
i am bringing you my delicious bit of life.

the spirit of adventure (see the frog?)


the spirit of summer (4 more days of school and beach towels ready to go)


water play (we may need some pool rules soon)


a lovely new indian head board splashing color in our bedroom


puppy paw prints, full of life and growth


incense burning as i clean the apartment, cleansing, refreshing, rejuvenating

so many delicious bits.

sunday lists

as i look back on another week behind me and ahead to the week to come,
i am thankful.
for the little things:
(i love to make lists):

• piles of fabric
  
• practical crafting
  
• peacefully sleeping gnomes in the flower beds
• purple and white irises blooming over his head
• hot, sweet coffee in the mornings
• nalgene jars full of homemade iced coffee for the rest of the day
  
• mike's hard lemonade being sulfite free
• a refrigerator busting open, full of groceries and freshness from the farmer's market

• bumping into friends on the street
• red, ripe, local strawberries, sliced up and piled high, ready for breakfast
• used furniture
• open plots of dirt, waiting to be filled with seeds and life
• working along side my husband
• a heart so full it could burst
• mom's visit (coming up this week)
• a clean apartment, through and through
• a to do list checking checked off, bit by bit
  
• puppy teeth
• peach cobbler bread
• jalapenos
• only 13 more days of school before summer
• sick days
• phone calls with family
• clean, folded laundry
• fresh sheets on the bed
• easton's new hippie crate cover
  
• sleeping in

i feel so, so lucky.

successful recovery

our computer has been replaced and while we are rebuilding our programs, we were able to save all of our files- including our pictures... so more to come.

for now, i leave you with my master smoothies and all the many things that i am grateful for this week-end:

• new computers and the credit to buy them
• restoration
• the end of my 5 day fast and a newness of spirit and health
• photos, new and old
• food, healthy, delicious, fresh food
• the local farmer's market with lots of lovers for easton
• never having faced true hunger
• friends, friends, friends: a visit from todd's friend B and a long, nice chat with my friend M that felt like we had never missed a beat
• facials and true relaxation
• new fabric
• dogs digging
• rainy afternoons
• endless cups of tea
• real maple syrup
• garlic
• sharp pencils
• inspiration
• inner peace
  

things i love thursday: the real 29

yesterday was the most amazing birthday yet.
from a sleepy good morning from my sweetest husband...
to the "handful" child in my class being the first to rush in and give me a big hug, remembering my birthday...
to the cards and well wishes of my girls at work...
to the amazing fun gifts from todd (including an american idol karaoke game for playstation that is bound to bring fun our way)...
to the sunglasses and the nail files and the hand held blender...
to a great, great dinner out of homemade pasta and pesto...
to decaf coffee...
to carrot cake baked by my love...
to well wishes from my family and cards and packages a day late...
to e-cards...
to just hearing willy and maggie on the other end of the phone...
to watching the ai results show...
to 70 degree weather...
to daffodils growing all around.

things i love thursday: the 29 edition

happy thoughts

i am happy and blessed and thankful for *days of professional development to recuperate and inspire *dogs with fresh baths * husbands who bathe them *morning routines that provide a stable way to get out of bed each day, coffee, computer, shower, towel dry, car ride, npr *children everywhere, children with ocd that erase and rewrite their letters three times before they get it right, children who tantrum for noisy hours on the floor (stress hours) *parents who pick them up each day *husbands who go out to buy milk while you are in the shower *productive coughing *dustbusters *tivo *coffee and breakfast sandwiches *a day in march of 60 degrees (more than one) *a box of brownies waiting to be made *friends you can call to hang out with on a week-end *sunny skies *week-ends *sleeping in

its the little things...

i am feeling positive, happy, tired, and glad.
its friday again.

things i love this friday:

• sick little ones getting well. i am so glad nina's little joey is okay.
• having a snowday mid-week with only an inch of snow on the ground. it made for two mini-two-day weeks. what joy. its such a bonus day, no stress, no worries. snowdays are my favorite. i need that on a t-shirt.
• happiness in my classroom when i can look around and see everyone on task and smile to myself. we give ourselves a kiss on our brains, a pat on the back, a high five, and we move on. these are the moments to hold onto... they can be too few and too far between.
• watching my kids light up with fascination when i show them pictures of my family. yes, i a have a mom and dad and husband and sister and dog.
• yummy salad with winter fruits and homemade lemon poppyseed dressing.
  
• seeing a field of no less than 50 deer munching about on my way home. 50. in one field. a beautiful sight.
• seeing a hawk swoop down in front of my car, a little too close, to scoop up some roadkill in its talons.
• seeing a blazing red cardinal zip in front of my car. nature. if only i could see all this out of my car once in a while.
• watching 'the office' curled up next to my lovely husband on the couch.
• getting set for a week-end of sewing and crafting and reading and baking.
• deep fatigue and knowing i don't have to wake up in the morning.

i love week-ends. i love to sleep.

grateful to the core

this week there are many things, big and small, to smile about, to cherish, to give thanks for.

1. the sunrise. that i am lucky enough to wake up each morning and watch the sun rise as i drive to work.
2. patience. i have taken the extra breaths that i needed this week. i have not yelled. i have calmly, repeatedly asked "can you please show me how we..." and over and over recited "oh, i just love the way that you..." these phrases come out in my sleep.

3. re-connections. the internet is an amazing tool and how fun it has been to find and reconnect with old friends from high school. i have wondered what they were up to in this big, wide world. we even found todd's freshman prom date. MMmmmMMMmmm...

4. fridays, professional development, long lunches, three day week-ends.

5. never having struggled when i learned to read. we heard from a man today who learned to read at age 47. he moved us to tears. he read a poem to us. we gave him a standing ovation. it was a powerful moment to witness as a teacher.

6. cats. we have two new barn cats living downstairs. they are skittish and i have just begun to coax them from their crates, but meet Minnie (i call her minnie mae) and Callie (i call her callie co).

7. todd's trains. todd bought himself a train set this week. read more here. its fun to watch and dream up plans for little villages and lots of tracks.

8. bravery. i am proud of myself this week. i went outside my comfort zone and invited two new couples over for dinner this week-end. out of my shell, i faced that fear of rejection that rears its ugly head now and again.

9. commitment. so far, so good. lots of sharon mann, lots of gilad, lots of exercise, lots of repetitions, lots of burning.

10. my biggest fan. mollie chose to sit with me for the entirety of my work-out today. watching, licking my sweat, moving just a bit when she got in my way. she is my biggest fan.

grateful friday

I am grateful for many things this week. I feel uplifted and rested and thankful to have so much in my life.

• I am grateful for these beautiful toes and babies, for their love and all that they have taught me.
  
• I am grateful that it is Friday.
• I am grateful for the rest I was able to accumulate over my break that enabled me to return to school feeling rejuvenated and calm... even if its effects didn't last for the whole week.
• I am grateful for parents who realize that consequences are not only appropriate, but necessary. (A boy who frequently gives my trouble conveniently "forgot" to bring home the note that I write to his parents today. His mom came in after school and got the note and told me that he was going to miss his "pajama party" tonight. Ah, sweet justice.)
• I am grateful for all of the fish that arrived to fill our class science projects' aquariums, all arrived alive... well, almost... in the mail after a two day delay in shipping.
• I am grateful for my patience, and for deep breaths.
• I am grateful for a super kind and loving husband. He surprised me this week with a beautiful and thoughtful gift for our half-anniversary, since we weren't able to properly celebrate our real one during our move this summer.
  
• I am grateful for my health, big and small.
• I am grateful for the energy to work out to Gilad and feel my muscles burn.
  
• I am grateful for the week-end ahead.
• I am grateful for the motivation to craft and create.
• I am grateful for my warm, cuddly afghan as I settle into a good book.
• I am grateful for almonds and walnuts and clementines, some of my all-time favorite healthy snacks.
• I am grateful that coffee has no calories now that I have learned to drink it black.
• I am grateful to NPR for keeping me company to and from work each day faithfully.
  
• I am grateful friends and family surrounding us with love and well-wishes always, but especially through the holidays.
• I am grateful for this end. The end.
  

TILT/F

Things I love today...

I love the ability for a scent to take me to another place and time. I love transporting back to club med through the smell of my face lotion, and the surge of emotions i felt then. finding todd, new love, energy, sunlight.
I love transporting on the crisp fall air back to my grandmother's house and the wet smell of her yard and trees and creek. I feel little all over again and it makes me want to run down a dewy hill or go inside for warmth under a blanket, with a whole new set of smells.

This is where I am today... in another place and time.

tilt

things i love, ah, the things i love...

i love the look of the fall tree leaves at dusk.
i love the time change and waking up during daylight hours (well, almost).
i love that my class is getting in line, or atleast tolerable, on the day to day.
i love that my classroom is getting organized and i am catching up with myself.
i love that a boy in my class was sent home. not that his behavior got him there, but that i had the administrative support to deal with the issue.
i love candy corn and the halloween remnants of it.
i love that kevin is coming to visit this week-end.
i love that we can all go to a local contra dance on saturday night (i hope!).
i love that todd is making burrios for dinner as i type away (thanks, lover).
i love that some blogging friends have links to my blog.
i love that i am enthralled in a good book that i can't wait to get back into every night.
i love that i just finished a good book on tape during my commute.
i love that today is thursday so tomorrow is friday so that the week-end is just around the corner.
i love the satisfaction of making it through another week.

TILT

Oh, the things that I love...
I love, love long week-ends with nothing going on except a few errands and some crafting. Ah, how nice to relax and catch up with myself. My long week-end treat was chinese food picked up on the way home with a big bucket of sweet tea... Then, to top it off, the Tivo-ed Finale of Project Runway. Sheer gluttany.

TILT

Okay, so this Thursday may not be things that I love but they are the little things that are keeping me going:

1. Top of my list is that today is the first day this school year that I would call a "good" day. No yelling, no loss of control, no desire to have an adult temper tantrum... Twice, I looked around and every child in my class was on task and I could take a breath of my own. Sign. There may still be a light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel.

2. New-teacher training seminar tonight that may have been a bit lame, but it was also reaffirming. We are all in this together... we are all in the same boat... we all feel like we may just go under.

3. Todd comes home tomorrow night after three days away driving around in NY and VT, moving furniture. I am already looking forward to watching Project Runway together (I saved it for him) and the cuddles.

4. Soft rain on my face, the sound of rain on my windows, falling asleep to the sound of rain overhead.

5. Dinner with a new friend that I met down here who is also a teacher (Kindergarten), also from NY, and also very nice.

6. Mollie sleeping on my side of the bed while papa is away.

7. Hearing Willy (my almost 3 nephew) sing a song that I taught him over the phone "I watched the gum roll dow-ow-ow-own"... just too cute. Made me cry.

8. Making others cry. Todd and I sent off a package to the expectant parents (his brother, Brad and Sister in law, Tracy) and expectant big brother, Aiden. We filled it with a quilt, tie dyes, and a card... which made Tracy cry, so she wrapped it back up for Brad to open, who also cried, who called Todd who then cried... and Todd told me, so then we both cried. I love my in-laws and nephews and neices and these new babies to be. I love being a auntie.

TILT

This week I am lovin' on t-shirts... crisp little white t-shirts and even tinier little onesies... a whole stack of them, just waiting for some dye this week-end. We have big plans for these little shirts...

TILT

What I love this Thursday


As much as a I grieve the end of summer, there is something very exciting and energizing about the beginning of the school year. It is a time to prepare, to decorate, to learn, to prepare some more... a time of anticipation. I love the little (albeit time consuming) activities, writing names on cubbies and tables, hanging bulletin boards and materials, making materials to organize and simplify the day. This week has been full of it. Each day was new training, in new curriculums and getting to learn the school. I have met lots of new people and now I get to look forward to meeting my new kids... My new class of 14. There will be lots of trial and error in the year to come, but lots of successes and lots of joy.
I love my job.

TILT

Things that I love, love, love

First off, I love summer. I love everything about the hot days and the sweat and the days off and the time to laze about in the sun. I am currently experiencing the end of summer blues, beacuse while it is still far from fall (particularly now that I am living a bit further south) I do return to work next week. Today I went in and pushed around furniture and unpacked boxes and already the classroom has begun to feel like my own... but still saying good-bye to summer and these lazy watermelon days is distressing.


I am also loving watermelon and fruit and carrot juice, squeezed freshy-fresh here at home and served up in my new cutesy juice cups. Polka dots don't get much cuter and a beverage doesn't get much healthier.


On another note, I am digging my new hair cut. All ready for back to school like in the good ole days. Jenna took good care of me today and I am feeling light-hearted and light-headed with the loss. I am loving the feel and the freedom, knowing that I will not have to blow dry my hair ever.

TILT

Things I Love Thursday


Mom is here visiting this week and I love visitors.
I love grocery shopping and making up the guest room.
I love having coffee together in the mornings.
I love having these fresh cut flowers and yummy smoothies to make our apartmant feel like home, and to make home feel like summer.

TILT

Things I Love Thursday: A summer food edition

Who can resist a fresh, ripe cantaloupe filled with cottage cheese?


Or homemade salsa with fresh everything from the farmers market?


Or yummy basil growing just outside their door?

I am in love with summer fresh goodness. This is my favorite eating time of the year. A time when fruit is so sweet you don't need other junkiness. I love it all.