bitter cold

off to school today feeling much, much better... just a bit bitter. there were hopes of a snow day today (1 inch of snow in the forecast is all it takes around here) but the snow was a no show.
instead, it is just a bitter, bitter cold out there (23 degrees).
wish i could stay home with my hubbie in our comfy bed, sipping coffee, reading, relaxing, warm.

crummy

i always try to put my best and happiest face forward for my blog, but this week, i just feel crummy. i have so much to happy about and grateful for that i hate to complain, but i have just been o-f-f, off.
i have been exhausted. all day. i have a hard time getting up, a hard time staying up, and have gone to bed as early as 7:45.
i have been dizzy and lightheaded and weak. i have been nauseous. i am sure that i am fighting off the local bug because i have been this way all week and am now beginning the first signs of fever-ish heat and chills. all of my kids have had the pukes. i don't want them.
the kids have been way off and i have hard a hard time being positive and reeling them in. we spent 45 minutes on thursday talking about "kindness" and what it means to be kind, what it looks like... how to be kind. these kids were stumped when i tried to make a list with them... "walk old ladies across a street?" well, yes, but... let's talk about school.
i sprained my pinkie today. do you know how much you use your pinkie? alot.
i have a "to do" list that is not getting any shorter... i just can't bring myself to do it.
so tomorrow will be full of tea and naps and baths and books. i have my lesson plans to do but hopefully i can just try to rest and catch up with myself.
vitamins, anyone?

spc: resolution #4

relax. relax more.
let the worries drift away.
leave work earlier. leave work at work.
play. read. kayak more. motivate when it comes to the fun stuff.
let go. breathe.
take more bathes.

oh, happy day

oh, happy, happy day. joyous, joyous snowday. just a little bit of snow- less than an inch- covered by ice and slippery. we saw 8 cars off the road in under 20 miles last night so i was grateful not to have to get in a car this morning. especially after my accident last year, i am extremely paranoid and anxious about driving in inclement weather.

my cutest husband ever even loves me enough to snow write surprise messages for me in the fresh whiteness.

i adore this picture of the snow outside and the reflection of life on the inside. comfy couch, todd's new train layout, the library book i just cracked open (thanks for the recommendation, nina, i am in love already) .
the geese have taken over one of the horse paddocks. i find it very funny to see these free animals choose to be on the inside of a fence. its a wintry world out there.

not-so-noteworthy news report

its has been a quiet week here, and although there isn't much happening, i feel compelled to put a little update out there into cyber-world for those friends who are checking in on me from time to time.

It has been a quiet, quiet week here. back to work. back in the swing. i have been exhausted for some reason and can only imagine it is because i am fighting off one of the many illnesses that my children are passing around the classroom. i have had a few out sick throughout the week, lost a student, gained a student... the numbers always fluctuate and then end up right back where they started, just new faces in the mix.
we've begun some tricky concepts so i am on my toes teaching about long vowel patterns, making change with money, and contractions. it all sounds a little mundane until you imagine being 6 and hearing about these weird concepts for the first time. they all got really wound up when it snowed mid-week, too... but it was only a flurry and then we were back to rain. bummer. i am waiting for my snow day.

needless to say. i am glad it is a week-end. i napped as soon as i got home from work yesterday which kept me up until 9:00. i could hardly function, so i was grateful to lay down. this morning i got cranky, too, and laid back down for a bit. i am proud to say that i can set my own internal biological clock for say, half an hour, or an hour, and both times woke up within two minutes of my target wake-up time. i am a skilled sleeper. let's hope that if todd and i ever have a little one, they sleep like us- and sleep a lot. is there a gene for that?

the cutest thing ever was waking up this morning after a luxurious bath before bed last night. the cute part was that todd took one look at me and said, "you've got a maggie right back here" and pointed to the back of my head. now, the background here is that our little niece, maggie, always has bed head in the back from short hair combined with continual car-seat riding. it was just adorable that todd coined the perfect phrase. it made my day.

today has been spent piddling around town. we got breakfast at a neat 50's style diner hidden away in the back of a small in-town pharmacy. it was a fun find. then off to the library to bring home some much needed good reading. i was out, and there isn't much better. then off to hobby town so todd could talk trains. i browsed, and browsed, and browsed... and discovered what it must feel like for him in a fabric store. now i am here typing and he is playing with his new and enlarged layout.

tonight we are off to dinner with some friends. then tomorrow we will become horse experts. we are attending a local expo... todd is going to do some research. i am along for the ride- and well, i will probably bring one of those new library books that i just picked up.

spc: resolution #3

this resolution has many parts to it. the gist: have fun. i have discovered that i need to go far beyond my comfort zone to be social, to be active. todd and i love to be home, love to hang out together, to nap, to eat, to relax, to watch movies, to be mellow. in short, we are homebodies.
my resolution is this: have more fun. get our more. be brave. take risks. do something different. try something new each month to get out there and get active.
my first step was to invite people to our house. now on the list: bowling, church, local museums, travel to baltimore and d.c. (preferably with friends), meet someone new, find all the local thrift shops, find a book group or sewing group, take another class at the community college... any ideas?


for more resolutions and others' portraits, click here.

up past my bedtime

we had a great time last night entertaining here at our apartment. after a delay in beginning the festivities, we broke out the martinis and many, many yummy appetizers. cheddar, crackers, veggies, dip, and yummy goat cheese creations covered with craisins and roasted garlic. makes my mouth water.
a couple drinks in, we sat down for our harvest pork stew, full of squash, potatoes, apples, and carrots.
then came the games. we played a few until we were all happily tired, and happily tipsy.
it was a fun chance to be social, cook yummy foods to share, and enjoy the warmth of candles and friendship.

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.

Resolution #2: SPC: Be fit

Over and over, I resolve to be healthier. Eating, I do pretty well. Working out? Well, that is a lot more on and off... A lot more bursts and chunks and motivated spats... Now, I am resolving to string those together to find an overall routine that I can do consistently. Consistency is the key.
So far I am becoming close with Gilad for his body sculpting and Sharon Mann for her aerobics. Now, if you know my level of coordination, you know that watching me do aerobics is a laughable sight- and I do laugh. I even make Todd laugh. But I feel good. I feel good. I feel tighter. I have more energy. After one week, I feel healthy. I feel fit.

willy's new decoration

i gave willy his big boy quilt over christmas and it was really fun to give him a quilt as a gift (as he is now old enough to appreciate it). its his "spiderman blanket", although there's lots of other goodies on it, too- guitars, bugs, cows, balls, fish, children. for now, we could only cuddle up on it for story. he still prefers his crib. but he did tell dad that the quilt was just for "decoration". perhaps someday soon it will be more. :-)