It's here it's here!

Time to celebrate, for Amy Webster's weekend of wedding fun has finally arrived! We kicked it off with a walk to Trader Joe's to find some yummy food for dinner so that Paul could come over. They live in the cutest house on the prettiest street ever.....It was nice to relax before the wedding festivities commence. Aaaaand Kmums comes in tomorrow... what what...

 

Only a couple more days, guys, then you can cook together and live together and be happily ever after together! Hoooooooooray! 

Spring Break 2K11!

        I wish everyone could have a week off from life. Tasks that have been put off for months finally have a chance to be accomplished. The house is clean all week, Mike gets homemade lunches at work, and Diego is in doggy heaven with how much attention he receives... and I get to have extended quiet times on the porch contemplating life and reading through God's Word. Sorry to gloat, but it's glorious. In fact, I think spring and summer breaks are crucial for teachers to recuperate and get back to the heart of why we do what we do. I know that everyone on the face of the planet would benefit from a week off, home alone, without any vacation plans.... I guess it our breaks cancel out with our salary. 

    As for my plans today? I'm heading out for my bi-annual haircut, then more errand running (my favorite...) Let's hope I don't get too distracted while out... I only need grass plugs, a picture frame, gray ribbon, and dog food. We'll see where today's adventure leads me.

What's spring break without spring flowers? 

Packed, fun weekend! Yesterday's rundown: fantastic beach day with Diego, Intuition Brewery in Riverside and new favorite game... bar shuffleboard. It would be pretty awesome to own. Too bad they're $5000. 

      Today included church, Taco Lu, and the beach again. Lots of fun times outside enjoying the warm sun before it gets to be too much and I'm once again longing for cooler weather. Plus, it's supposed to thunderstorm all week. Laaaaaaame. I needed to be working on my tan for the yellow dress I'm wearing in Amy's wedding, or planting the dang garden. Now I'll be stuck inside reading books all day... man... that sounds like a terrible idea.... (or an english teacher's dream day!)
    ...and apparently this post is dedicated to Bobby since he's featured in two of the pictures... and check out the sunset to wrap up a great weekend!

a day in the life

After a bit of a rough morning (see yesterday's post) I had to buck up and prepare for the epic errands that needed to be done. One thing you may not know about me is that I LOVE running errands. And while I enjoy company from time to time, sometimes I prefer to go solo because then it's okay if I get sidetracked. Take today, for example. My task was to get decorations for Amy's bachelorette, cotton balls & ibuprofen at Walmart, and a little-black-dress plus spanks to squeeze everything together. I might have come home with lots of added bonuses...

I knew it was going to be a great day because I had a fantastic turnaround after waking up at 4 with an enormous headache which prompted me to get rid of the contents in my stomach and run a bath where I proceeded to fall asleep in the warm water. I woke up a couple hours later a new person and celebrated with a delicious breakfast on the porch. 

Then on my way downtown I saw this:

which made me smile, especially because it had a sign on the back that said, "Model T owners on a drive from Canada." and things about Canada make me laugh. Then "Here Comes the Sun" came on the radio, which was totally my theme song yesterday! At Ross I found a new bed for Diego (which I think he approves:)

And to connect back to the point of this post, which is that I love getting sidetracked while running errands.... this bed is NOT what I went to Ross for.  Oops.

Then while on my way to JCPennys for little-black-dress and some spanks I stumbled across this little no-name used bookstore in the middle of a ghetto empty mall:

... and came out with a box of middle school novels, all for only $5! I will definitely be returning. 

At this point I needed a snack, even though my errand-running was only supposed to take a couple hours. So I stopped at Panera for some black bean soup and iced coffee, and got distracted reading outside for about an hour. 

Last stop (I thought) was Walmart which I always swear I will never return and somehow I always end up there amongst the mullets and screaming babies. So another thing I love about running errands by myself is that I can take as much time as I want to contemplate my purchases. Sometimes I take forever to make a decision. This one was a toughie:

to buy for Annie, or not to buy for Annie? 

Not this time, but i think I'll go back for it. 

On the way home stopped at the Party Store, Marshalls, and finally, Target. 

Epic Errands day completed.

Tired, cranky, and passing up on a fun night out. 

No matter what bed I get him, right next to me is the preferred spot :) 

...and how does one celebrate the kickoff of spring break?

With good friends! 

(Hilary, Jeff, Annie, Mike, Emily, and Jimmy to be exact.)

 At a prime location!

(Mike's face got in the way of this one...)

 With much-needed laughter!

(Watch out for that.... trouser snake...behind you?)

and maybe a few of these:

Oh the good life. Do you ever wish you were a teacher, too?

!!

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, 

and I say it's all right 

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter 

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here 

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun 

and I say it's all right 

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces 

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here 

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun 

and I say it's all right 

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... 

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting 

Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear 

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun, 

and I say it's all right 

It's all right 

Beach Wednesday

Spring Break, I am ready for you. The beach is calling my name and I might just want to camp out there the entire time, except of course for when I'm celebrating the bride (AMERS!) in ATL next weekend. (EEEEEEEE!)

New weekly institution: beach day with our children on Wednesdays. Look at Oliver go! And Walter looks like a small pony...

Crud Wars

BLEH-- we seriously need to consider different foods that are just as fun but not so disgustingly foul. Cause having a jar of mayonnaise dumped on you by middle schoolers is so not cool. 

Glad they had fun...

Next year I'm thinking jello, spaghetti noodles & eggs. Gross, but will not induce dry heaving. 

Monday's Surprise!

It's rare to find a friend who loves you so much that she gladly helps you put your laundry away and challenges you to clean your room... both at school and home. It's challenged me to put things away instead of leaving them on the floor (for 2 days now! lol) and even to tackle the truck, which gets cleaned annually. 

Diego was so enthused by the clean room that he turned on his laser eyes in jubilation. 

Savannah, Pt. 2

Lovely day in the sun-- bocce & laying around in the soft grass in secret gardens.

Savannah, Pt. 1

I think I found my new love. Outdoors, loud brad conga-line band, real alligators out front.

 So. Much. Food. and it was phenomenal. 

 i will definitely be returning every time i go to Savannah. and btdubs, I love this girl... she's so fun! Can't wait to go to Singapore with her this summer <3

Go Green

I was accosted by random people on St. George street for not wearing green. They pinched me. 

My all-time favorite memory of this day is when my favorite student (coughbarfieldcough) came into homeroom hysterical because people were pinching him on the bus. I just felt so darn bad for him, but at the same time wanted to say, "well, where's your green?" 

poor thing.

Good thing for the day? Eating dinner with Shelby! She's in her first year at Flagler and was one of my youth girls from Gainesville. It's so fun to see her all growed up :) 

i feel like today is the ONLY day this place gets business... how does it stay open?!

i feel utterly defeated
as i sit hunched over
staring out over empty desks
broken pencils and scraps of paper strewn across the floor
the remnants of just another day
a construction paper crown and battle axe
lay dormant on the shelf
waiting for their moment of glory
where a giddy student will wield it over
another’s neck, preparing to slice off her head
in a “reader’s theater” moment,
pretending she has the courage of a
knight of the round table to slay the green giant
who has interrupted king arthur’s feast

and even though a rambunctious boy
who barely gets by reading anything
yelled out today in class
“who knew poetry could be so fun?!”
(which warmed my heart and
made me remember just why *WHY* i teach)
i’m  now left wondering,
(deflated after our standardized testing meeting)
will he make “adequate yearly progress”
will he understand what a literary device is
and be able to choose
which sentence from the essay illustrates
the characteristic the author appreciates most about his father
(does he even have a father?)
this boy whose nails are perpetually dirty
who wears the same clothes all the time
and who today wrote a poem about the
“anger that lives inside his body”
will
he
pass
and have i done everything that i
possibly can

readers, what can you infer from this
author’s perspective

Monday's joys:

A surprise on my desk from my favorite art teacher!

And a static-y mohawk. Usually these hairs do not make me happy. But today they were so out of control that I had to laugh. 

Down & Dirty

I'm sure this doesn't come as a surprise, but I really like getting dirty. I've never minded mowing the lawn or weeding and maybe secretly enjoy it. The only thing keeping me from doing it all the time are the other chores that I can't stand to do, like laundry and dishes. But send me out into the yard and I can work until the sun goes down. 

Take today, for example. After lamenting with my neighbors over the state of our yard, I decided that work needed to be done NOW or we'd be kicked out of the neighborhood. Being young and new home owners we have no clue how to take care of a yard, so our neighbors are always giving us advice ("Would you weed your yard already? You look like white trash!") For some reason, our grass decided to DIE this winter. We fertilized and prayed to the lawn gods for a strong return to no avail-- next step? Planting 'plugs' and re-sodding. Mike and I thought, "Piece of cake," and I was sent to Home Depot this morning with a long list. Along with the sod, Mike suggested I get supplies for the garden box I've dreamed of for a couple of years now. Yes, please!

3 hours later (because for some reason it takes me triple the amount of any normal human being to make my way through Home Depot) the truck was loaded with 20 squares and 36 plugs of grass, 10 bags of dirt, 2x4s, new gardening gloves and other random things.  We got right to work as soon as I got home; there's nothing I love more than working alongside my hubby to complete a task. Mike built the garden box and I 'plugged' the yard up. No easy task, but not too bad. 

Then came time to dig a hole and lay down the sod. We had planned on doing the whole yard today, but do you have any freakin' idea how hard it is to pull up grass and lay down sod? We didn't! It was ridiculous. All we could do was look at each other an laugh at how exhausted we were. All we managed was a 6x3 area, not the whole yard like we thought. Epic fail. Now we're left with tons of grass-- I guess I'll have to do it after work this week? Praise the Lord for extra daylight.

And now that my garden bed is finished I'll have to actually plant something in it! SOO excited!!

My day, as told in pictures

Drove into a cloud. Felt like I was a wizard. Or Aladdin. Or Harry Potter. 

Ready to race- it was COLD and we were SCARED. 

We're done and we win (in life, that is.)

Lovely day to celebrate our win (in life.)

At the Riverside Farmer's Market. Love. 

And two tired pups. I think I'll follow their lead. 

Question of the day:

Thought-provoking devo question of the day: How might God be calling you to live a different story- to be the one who has a "different spirit" from others, who follows God passionately even though it might involve risks? 

I want my life to be full of passion and risk for God.

I want others to see my life and want the happiness and joy that I have, 

solely because of Christ's love.

May I stand before God when my life is through and be able to say,

"I used everything you gave me!"

I want to love & show more compassion and kindness to my husband, family, friends, students, or strangers. 

Here's a risk that I'm partaking in this weekend: running in a 9 mile race I haven't trained for! Haha. Don't think that's the kind of 'risk' God is asking for.... 

But I love these girls and was grateful for an inpromptu hangout as we picked up our race packets and goodies! Wish Kristin and Hilary could have joined! :) 

the wilderness

Scripture for the day: Joel 2:12-14 (the message)

Come back to me and really mean it!

Come fasting and weeping, sorry for your wins!

Change your life, not just your clothes.

Come back to God, your God.

and here's why: God is kind and merciful.

He takes a deep breath, puts up with a lot,

The most patient God, extravagant in love,

always ready to cancel catastrophe.

This picture represents my time spent with God today. Yesterday I stumbled upon a secret entrance into the woods by my house made by the kiddos--I've always felt renewed in my faith when out in the 'wilderness' (even the porch counts sometimes when that's all I can manage.) I was deeply encouraged by the scripture He led me to about being deliberate to set time aside for quiet time and to simplify. All I've been doing lately is complaining about how busy I am with no extra time, which in turns causes me to turn to multiple desserts and wine/beer on a daily basis for comfort. In the car I've gotten to the point where I have to be doing something on my iphone and at home there has to be noise. So for the next 40 days these things will be stripped away.

I'm ready for this adventure, Lord. 

Lead me into Your wilderness and remind me how deep your love is. 

The Lenten season is upon us. Every year I have these high hopes of giving things up because I feel like everyone else is doing it... and this year I've completely forgotten that it starts tomorrow. But you know what? Now is the perfect time to focus on the Lord and return to my True Love. In the midst of this crazy life, I need a reminder of what's important and what I'm here on this earth to do.

My mind screams "but you need more TIME" and with the football season ending I'll have that. Annnnnd I think I'm going to go without Facebook, which will give me the added time to my day.

Gotta keep up with the blog, though.

This site (http://www.imby.net/easter/) encouraged me today and has devotions that I'll use... I challenge you to spend time with Christ in the wilderness these next 40 days as we prepare for his death and celebrate the resurrection!

COLOR!

Happy Monday! 

 I found joy in color. At least I think that's what stuck out to me when I took these three pictures after work...