keeping pace

Hey, happy fall y'all!

My parents came down yesterday to watch Isaac's soccer game and then we had a nice lunch at Friendly's. It was a perfect crisp, cool, autumn day to watch some clueless little kids kick a soccer ball around. Isaac ended up delaying the whole game because he decided to swing on the goalpost and then his cleat got all tangled up in the net. He has turned into a little bit of a showboat too, trash talking a little bit and excessively celebrating after he scores a goal. I'm trying to nip that in the bud. Two of our games at the beginning of the season got rained out and they added them back on to the end of the season, which makes it feel like soccer will never end. Don't get me wrong-- I love soccer but I'm ready to not have a commitment every Saturday and Wednesday night and to get Isaac back on his regular weekend schedule with his dad.

We had debated trying to make it into the city the for the Freedom March yesterday but we just didn't have enough time. In the evening we went to a cornmaze with some people from church. Isaac has a great time. Tromping around miles and miles of corn is not exactly my favorite way to pass time, but the kids had a lot of fun. We got home around 9 and by 10 I was nodding off. I guess my body really is slowing down now that I'm older. I feel like I can barely hang after 11, which is so disappointing. Pretty lame. Oh well.

Maybe I am still recovering from Tuesday night when my friend Jami and I went to see the Indigo Girls. When we went to Hershey Park a few weeks ago, we listened to their live album the whole time. We talked about how we would both like to see them in concert, if they were even still touring. When I got home I got online and discovered not only were they still touring, but they would be in Philly in just two weeks. My parents bought my ticket as an early birthday present. We had a great time mixing and mingling with a crowd of mostly butchy middle aged lesbians (let's just say, there was a TON of flannel being worn that night). I think going out on a weeknight just through me all off though, and I feel like I still can't recover. #lame

Today we did church. Last week the Bishop came into our YSA Sunday School class and read a letter that said at Stake Conference in a few weeks they will be officially organizing a YSA branch in our stake. Therefore, our YSA activities and Sunday School will be discontinued. I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I am about to age out of the YSA program anyways, and even though I could technically attend for another year or so, I had planned to officially call it quits when I turn 30 in a few weeks. I'm ready for that phase of my life to be through. On the other hand, this means I won't have a calling any more teaching the Sunday School class and coordinating activities, leaving me open for a dreaded primary calling (I'm telling you, with as many kids in our ward as we have on the spectrum, I still don't understand how I've escaped being put in there for as long as I have).

Anyways, after this whole thing went down, I filled in as a RS teacher. My lesson went okay (I mean, you can't make family history that relevant or interesting) but they must have been happy with it, because then they asked me be a substitute teacher next week for a teaching for our times lesson (on this talk, which I'm actually pretty excited about).

Apparently someone has an insane level of confidence in me, because today they pulled me out and asked if I would officially accept a calling as a RS teacher. The bishopric counselor acknowledged that lessons in RS lately have been "controversial" (I may or may not have audibly snorted at that one) and encouraged me to remember that there are sisters from our ward from all walks of life: recent converts, people who have grown up in Utah, people who have not grown up in Utah, people in our ward who were very liberal politically and people who are extremely conservative and it's important to be sensitive if a lesson topic could be controversial. Of course, I agreed to that. (I guess my violent rant to our RS president following a comment that Michele Bachmann was a great political candidate for LDS people to vote for must have been passed along. Two weeks later she announced that there was to be NO political discussion in RS, which is A-OK with me). So anyways, I guess that's what I get for complaining about the lessons and discussion. Now I'm in charge of them once a month.

What else? Work... has been exhausting. Another year with two students with really challenging behaviors that monopolize all of my time and stress out the whole team. It's been the same story every year since I started, just insert a different kid. I don't know how much more I can do it, honestly. The other day I found myself fantasizing about starting a whole new career, which is pretty terrifying. It's insane to think that I am so disgruntled with public ed, when I haven't even made a dent in paying off all of the loans I took out to become qualified to do it. I'm just trying to take it a day at a time and I'm reminding myself that I am taking the steps I need to become more qualified and eventually relocate to a district with more resources but it still sucks. I've always said that if I had to work 40 hours a week (or whatever) that I at least wanted to be doing something that makes a difference. Right now I just feel like I'm spinning my wheels...

My place is finally decorated for Halloween. I found this great subway art (I print her stuff out for almost every holiday and season for supereasy decor). Usually I print it out in 8 by 10 but I happened to have a 16 by 20 inch frame in the closet that I wasn't using. I think it looks great. I had it printed out at Costco for about 6 bucks.

Anyways, I should get up off the coach and get ready for the week. Have a great one guys!

Bring it to the table, bring what I am able

Firstly, in the spirit of fairness, I should feel like I should disclose that Isaac's dad DID show up yesterday after work. And I gave them some ideas on what to do to entertain themselves and then went upstairs and did my own thing, instead of lingering around trying to facilitate interactions. So that was good.

Secondly, what the heck is going on with Blogger? The spacing and formatting keys have been messed up for weeks now. Spell checker doesn't work. What the heck?! I'm getting tired of formatting everything myself with html. Get your act together Blogger!!!!

Anyways, onto what I really want to talk about. After watching The Human Experience, I was feeling really bummed. I was so inspired to, like, go to Calcutta and work amongst the impoverished. I was feeling rather discouraged because I'm not someone, like my sister, that gets called on to drop everything and go to places like North Carolina, and just get busy serving humanity where there is a huge need. I want to do something service oriented that feels really important.

Anyways, yesterday was the culmination of the a big food drive I helped organize at church for the North Coventry Food Bank. We met to load up everything and bring it all over to the pantry. There is a couple who is called to work with the YSAs and he is a night manager for Target. He arranged for Target to donate all of their damaged stuff from the month of April to the pantry. I expected a few ripped boxes of trash bags and maybe a couple of cases of toilet paper. He showed up with a *huge* truck load of diapers, paper towels, sandwich bags, laundry detergent, baby wipes, and cleaning supplies. This was in addition to the food that we had been able to collect from the congregation. We met the lady at the food pantry and unloaded it all.

I had spoken with her on a phone a few times to make arrangements but I didn't know where the pantry was. Turns out, it is less than 3 minutes away from where I live-- just a little storage room in the basement of the township building. She was so appreciative and sweet. She said that they never get significant donations this time of year and that she was overwhelmed by the amount that we had brought her.

Times are tough for everyone, and money is always tight for me. My budget is so tight that any unexpected expense feels like an emergency. But I have so much to be grateful for. I have never had a situation where I didn't have food to eat or put on the table for Isaac. I also have a supportive family who I know I could turn to if my financial situation ever became truly dire. It was very humbling to think that there are 90 families in my immediate area who depend on the foodbank to get by. The whole experience reminded me of a quote I heard once by C.S. Lewis. I tried to find it to share it exactly, but I can't find it. Anyways, it was essentially saying that one of the tricks of the devil is to let you think that you can only be effective if you are providing relief to people across the world, and thus you ignore the needs of people right under your own nose-- pretty much my exact attitude.

Not to toot my own horn here (too much) but I guess it was just a nice little affirmation. I may not be able to volunteer in an orphanage in Ghana like my sister, but I *can* do things that are important to people who live right around me. I organized an effort that filled up the food pantry that is right in my own backyard. That food might end up on the tables of kids in Isaac's class. Hopefully in the summer when my schedule open's up a bit more I can devote some more time to helping out there or at the Cluster of Religious Communities in Pottstown. It's so easy to get trapped in that self centered mindset of "me, me, me". I really want to make a concerted effort to try to focus on others' needs.

Anyways, that's all for now. Spring break is over and back to the grind of the school year. I just need to push on a little longer until June.

Thursday night your stockings needed mending...

It feels like a while since I have had a real everyday kinda post. There isn't too much to say. Life keeps plugging along. For the most part, everything is going well, which is a relief, but doesn't make for exciting blog material. Sunday I drove all the way out to the Northeast to hear Elder Cristofferson, a member of the 12, who was doing a special young single adult fireside (which was suspiciously filled with old people, and tons of kids, but whatever). One part of his address which stuck out to me was he spoke about how President Monson has always been an apostle of compassion and how we should in our own ways become apostles of compassion. He said "Don't worry that you can't do it all for everyone, don't hold back on what you can do, do what you can and that is enough." (Except probably not in a run-on sentence like that, but that is what I had in my notes). That remark pierced me because I have been thinking about that kind of stuff so much lately. He also gave a special blessing on the saints in this area which included (among other things) a greater capacity to do good, and a blessing that we would always have food on the table whatever may come, with enough for our needs and some to share to help others. I found both of those promises to be very comforting. Isaac declared the other morning that "I just love kindergarten!". His teacher is very creative and nice and she seems like a singer! Isaac will often burst into an adorable song that he has picked up there. He seems to be doing a little better socially in kindergarten than he did in pre-K. We have conferences just before Thanksgiving break, and I am really looking forward to it. He is starting to recognize sight words and try to sound out and spell words which is so exciting. I was a pretty reserved child and reading was a huge part of my childhood. I hope Isaac loves reading as much as I do. It's almost my birthday. I will 29 years old, which is pretty crazy. As per usual, I will work a 12 plus hour day on my birthday due to parent conferences. Boooo. We are also doing a family dinner and hopefully I will get to do fun stuff with friends too. We'll see. It's my last year in my 20s, so I feel like I should really do it up, although I keep hearing 30 is the new 20. I guess we will see. We both had dentist appointments today. Isaac did very well and had no cavities. The dentist did remark that he has the largest set of baby teeth she has ever seen. The other dentist in the practice (who is actually her husband) said the same thing last time around. Isaac inherited all my super weird physical traits, like freakishly colossal cuspids. It was super cute too when dentist asked his name he said "Isaac: I-S-A-A-C". It's sad that at five he already understands that most people have no clue how to spell his name and that he better just get it out of the way and give people the correct spelling right off the bat. Anyways, my dental prognosis was not so good. The tooth that has been killing me since June was officially declared an absessed tooth worthy of a root canal by a specialist. So I'm totally looking forward to that -- NOT. Anyways, I don't have much more to say. Hope things are well for you. If you are reading this, leave a comment. What's new where you are?

Random gym stuff

• Why every time do I go to the gym and I want to watch some Bravo is it super old reruns of Top Chef? I don't want to watch Carla and Hung. Give me some Kathy Griffin or some Bethenny Getting Married. Sheesh.
• Speaking of gym pet peeves what is with women my mom's age wearing THONGS to the gym. THONGS!!!!! Don't ask me how I know; I mean, it's obvious. You're standing right in front of me in your skin tight workout pants with obvious thong lines. incidently, I'm talking black leggings with lace at the bottom. **Shudder** Now don't get me wrong, I've been known to rock a thong. There are certainly times when it is appropriate. THE GYM IS NOT ONE OF THOSE TIMES!!! It's okay to have granny panty lines when you are sweating to death on a treadmill. Or better yet, wear pants that are a tiny bit looser. Sheesh. **Stepping down off soapbox**
• In other news, I've started a running regimen. Never in my whole life (even when I was skinny and in super in-shape) have I ever been able to run for more than a few minutes and I pretty much felt like I was going to die the whole time. I got sick of it though. I'm only 28 for crying out loud. There is no reason that I shouldn't be able to run a mile, despite my someone more rounded physique. Also, I can bike 20 miles. I know it's different muscles and stuff but if I can pound out 20 miles on the bike there is no reason I shouldn't be able to run ONE.
• So I am proud to announce that for the first time IN.MY.LIFE. I have been able to run more than a mile. Today I've built up to 17 straight minutes which is *almost* a mile and a half. I know, I'm sure there are serious runners reading this who are scoffing but it's a big deal for me. So anyways, I working on it. If I can keep progressing my goal is a 5k sometime in the fall. And at this point I would now say I would I have a love/hate relationship with running, as opposed to my former hate/hate relationship. I am finding myself looking forward to my running days. So that's fun.
• I'm also still loving yoga again. Unfortuneatly I haven't been able to go as much as I would like, because one of the classes is scheduled when the gym childwatch is closed.

Here are some of my favorite poses (I love the balance ones!):

Chair Pose

Tree pose

So fun and relaxing.

validation

Sometimes I agonize so much about how I come off to others it's ridiculous. I was e-mailing back and forth with a girlfriend about some of my (thousands of) insecurities of course in the context of dating. I was lamenting that I have nothing to say that doesn't relate in some way to five year olds (having one at home and working with them all day at school). Here was a part of her reply. Sometimes it's nice for someone else to affirm what you try so hard to be and see in yourself. "It's no consolation from me, but you are very smart and you come off very smart and confident, almost intimidatingly so.... I think him seeing your interests outside of kids is a plus, but also your love for kids and ability to teach kids who most people can't even figure out how to communicate is a huge part of who you are. You went to enough school to be making double what you must be making (I'm pulling this out of the blue) if you'd chosen another field. That is a really big deal. The balance of having a strong sense of self and desire to better yourself, and also dedication to sacrifice and better the world around you in some way is a very rare and spectacular thing. You're giving and empathetic but not a doormat. Anyone who is dating you needs to get that and be completely blown away by how amazing that is. " Have a nice weekend. Take time to assure others... =)

Update

I'm assuming those of you who check this blog on any kind of basis have at least a marginal interest in my life. You might have noticed that quality/quantity of posts has been down lately.

Well.

It's summer vacation and we are in total relax mode now.

Summer school is done. I pulled Isaac out of pre-K and we are just taking a month or so to be together and do fun stuff and take each day as it comes.

My mom commented the other day that I seem so much more relaxed and happy now when we talk. Yeah, not working 40 plus hours a week and being stretched ridiculously thin will do that.

It's LOVELY.

I've just been trying to savor July which is wide open and wonderful. August gets a bit busier with my sister's wedding, family vacations and back to school.

So what have we been doing?

Excercise

I had an unfortuneate mishap with my bike rack (I backed the car over it one day in my hurry to get to work). It actually belonged to my dad and I felt quite bad about destroying it. He is the one who bought me my bike and loaned me his bike rack and has really encouraged me to keep up with it. Anyways, he ended up buying me another one, although I haven't been able to get out on the trail yet. It's too hot in the middle of the day (100+ degrees) when I tend to have a sitter. My body is craving a long ride though, so hopefully soon.

I rejoined a gym and I have been excercising almost every day. I've forgotten how amazing it feels to get sweaty and have warm muscles and endorphins running through your body. I've been doing their Zumba which is totally addicting and yoga. The other day though the Zumba teacher was sick and the replacement teacher did a body pump circuit class with cardio and weights and I really enjoyed that as well, so maybe I will try some other classes too. I even ran for a bit on the treadmill yesterday and miraculously didn't die. I'm not going to try to set some lofty weight loss goal or anything but it feels good to be moving again and hopefully the result will be better cardio endurance/toning up. I tend to eat better too when I have worked out, so I think that helps too. I know I won't be able to keep up my six days a week work out schedule once school starts up again, but hopefully I can keep up with occasional classes.

Home projects

I should get some pictures up. I've been slowly clearing out the basement (which is really unfinished back half of the first floor of my house). It's halfway framed out all ready and my brother Joe says that for 100 bucks he could frame out the rest of it. We have to do the framing before we can lay the tile floor, which is what I really want. After living here barely a year the linoleum in the entryway is totally stained (thanks to potty training a baby kitten) and ripped and I just want it gone. Sadly, I won't be able to afford the new flooring for quite a while but I wouldn't mind having everything ready to go as I slowly squirrel away money.

I also have been trying to tackle smaller projects too. I finally replaced the hideous throw pillows that came with my couch with more attractive ones. I finally replaced my teenager style bedding with something I like a lot more. I ordered some curtains for my bedroom. Hopefully I will get some curtains up in the living room/kitchen before the summer is out and this place can start looking like a finished home instead of a half inhabited fraternity house.

Joe also came this weekend and spent the better part of Saturday painting the entry way and downstairs stairway. I wish I would have taken some before pictures so you could truly appreciate what an improvement it is. Builders white is so unattractive and I think the whole entryway feels so much warmer and inviting now that it is painted a soft beige. We hadn't thought it would take so long, but it took nearly two hours just to tape everything off before we could even begin to paint. The entryway is pretty much just an open space with a series of doors: the front door, the door to the powder room, coat closet, garage, the furnace room, and the unfinished basement, so it was a ton to tape off. Then since the walls really hadn't ever been painted before they really soaked up the paint and we went through more than we had planned. Joe is extremely sought after for his handyman/painting skills, and people pay him a ton of money, so I am so lucky when he agrees to squeeze me in and work on my house for free. He even commented as he was taping endlessly, "This better at least make the blog!" So I will give him an official shout-out: THANKS JOE FOR YOUR WONDERFUL WORK ON MY HOUSE! It looks fantastic! It was fun to spend the day with you! I love you!

Here we are riding around in the back of his truck with the paint (don't worry mom, just around the neighborhood, not out on the open road or anything).

I even helped Joe this time (generally he won't let me anywhere near it). I did all the brushwork and he came behind me with the roller which sped things up I think. I learned a lot of good tips. This only leaves the upstairs hallway/stairwell and my bedroom left to paint. I'm pretty excited. In other home project news I have been doing crazy clean outs. I've been through both our closets, sorted through all Isaac's toys and movies and quite a bit of the garage and basement. I have to make some decisions about a few things still, and possibly list some things on Craig's list and put in some better systems to organize the things that I have decided to keep. I'm trying to tackle at least a drawer or a surface every day. I am not a terrible packrat or anything, but my organization skills definitely leave room for improvement. It is amazing how much stuff just accumulates quickly in the house too. It feels good to clean out and hopefully pass things on to people who can use them. I also borrowed my parents carpet cleaner and that is on this week's to do list as well. The carpets are looking quite shabby. Hopefully a few passes with the cleaning machine will restore them somewhat. Dating I'm not going to elaborate much, but I am dipping my toe tenatively back in the dating pool. Nothing serious yet but I am enjoying myself. PDH randomly called me the other day and we had a decent conversation. Afterwards I realized that I no longer think about him every day anymore, don't find myself resisting urges to text him mundane details about my everyday life, or trying to figure out what went wrong. So yes, things are fine in this department as well. But no details yet. =) Playdates/Hanging with Friends and Family

It has always been my fantasy to have a single mom friend that I could talk to about life, thatI could trade babysitting with, etc. etc. Well, my childhood best friend moved back to the area with her three girls and we have been hanging out with them almost every day. Really, I don't have any friends at all with kids period, so it's nice to have that in common with someone, and to have someone to call up when we are headed to the park. They have a pool in their apartment complex that they have invited us to quite a few times. A few times now she has watched Isaac while I've gone to work out and then when I've returned I've watched the kids while she goes shopping/runs errands/etc. alone. It's really nice to have a non-family member I can call up fairly last minute who I feel totally comfortable leaving Isaac with.

Here are some pictures of Isaac with her oldest Sandra when we took them to a fair the other day.

You wouldn't know it from this picture but Sandra actually LOVED the cotton candy

and Isaac hated it and was in the process of spitting it out.

It's fun now that he isn't totally terrified of rides like he was last summer. Anyways, there is lots more to report but I'm sort of running out of steam. Keep checking back, I promise I will be better about blogging. And leave comments!

I finally got one of those feed tracker things.

I had no idea there were so many people reading this blog.... Sheesh.

Sorry that, despite my frequent updates, I put such little effort into making it entertaining.

Apparently, you're still reading for whatever reason, so wow, I'm kind of flattered..

(Feel free to comment.)

So anyways,I feel really good today. Here's a few reasons why:

• I'm back in a routine. I crave and thrive on routine. The unexpected snow days and extra ridiculously long vacation were sort of fun, but it is nice to be back on track with the predictableness of life again. Being snowbound for more than 24 hours is just never a good thing for one's mental state. Thankfully, the snow is melting and all is back to normal.
• This post on motherhood from Leah. I didn't ask her permission first, so I hope it's okay to link up. I found her thoughts to be pretty insightful.
• I found my i-pod which has been lost for a few weeks (it was under the love seat in case you were interested). And I excercised tonight! I really need to excercise more because, man, endorphins make you just feel happy.
• Isaac and I actually had a playdate tonight which was lovely! I'm rather embarassed to admit that I can count the playdates Isaac has had in his whole lifetime on one hand, mostly due to my own anti-socialness. My very best friend growing up, the fabulous Kathleen, has recently moved back to the area with her three daughters. We met up at the big indoor playground at Pottstown McDonald's. Although Isaac was intially leery of hanging out with girls, he really hit it off with Kathleen's oldest. When we left he was like "I was thinking we should have them over to our place to play soon". I was thinking that same thing!
• Also, she and I agreed we would both love to do a babysitting swap. We haven't ironed out the details yet, but I'm pretty excited. It would be lovely to have someone I feel 100% comfortable with who lives only 15 mins away available to watch Isaac on occasion. And I would love to watch her girls so that she could recharge.
• I have recently learned of some pretty tough situations that some people in my life are just quietly and strongly dealing with. It makes me feel a little foolish for my catastrophic thinking over some pudge around my thighs, a fairly empty bank account and a little loneliness due to my geographic location. I mean, gosh, there are so many good things in my life to be grateful about and happy for. I make decent money at a job I really enjoy. I have health insurance. I have my own place. I have a reliable car. I have an awesome family.
• Also, I'm feeling pretty good about Isaac's dad right now. Over the years we've been all over the map, and I have been incredibly hard on him in some instances. But he has always supported Isaac and stood by him and has made a lot of sacrifices so that I could achieve my goals when Isaac was younger. I have to hand it to him also as far as Isaac's birthday is concerned, he totally planned a party for Isaac at Chuck E Cheese (a place I will rarely set foot in, especially on a Saturday) and came through with a bright red TWO WHEELER as a birthday present!

So things are good. I'm good.

And on that note, I will leave you with tonight's soundtrack from my life, courtesy of the fierce Mary J Blige...

good friends

I just got off the phone from a fabulous conversation with a good girlfriend that I don't see or talk to nearly as often as I should. It totally lifted my spirits! We met at our old job at Melmark, and though we have both moved on since from there we have stayed in touch and are both still in the field of special ed. I often call to bounce ideas off of her about kids in my classroom and a couple of times I have ended up being a teacher to a child she knows or has worked with. I am sad to say I was prompted to make the phone call initially to pick her brain about an eating protocol for one of my students. We ended up spending an hour catching up on all of the good stuff in each other's lives and it left me feeling really revived.

That has been the hardest part of my move. I'm just far enough away from all of my friends that we don't really see each other anymore. And it seems like every time we have a potential date/time to hang out something jeopardizes it. But I feel invigorated to prioritize good girlfriends into my life again. It's so important.

What do you do to make time for your girlfriends?

2010

2010 Resolutions

(in no particular order)

• Ride my bike to work at least once
• Organize office, craft, sewing and scrapbook supplies and start using the office as a functional craft space
• Finish painting the rest of the house
• Make a loaf of bread from scratch
• Go one week without the internet
• Take at least one mural tour in Philly
• Fly a kite
• Scrapbook 3 pages a month
• Work out twice a week
• Start composting
• Take Isaac camping
• Drink 8 glasses of water a day
• Take a class on something hobby related
• Make progress towards getting my elementary certification (right now I am highly qualified in elementary ed, but it is more desirable to be dually certified)
• Floss daily
• Read three books before I head to the beach
• Eat more homemade meals and less frozen stuff and fast food
• Grow something edible and eat it
• Write a blog post when each of these is completed

To A Child Love is Spelled TIME

I found this book amongst my mom's stuff. I don't know where it came from. But I picked it up. It's a collection of quotes and short stories about what yoru children really need from you. Some of it hit really close to home. I realized that during the week I leave for work before Isaac wakes up. I come home at 4:30, by 7:30 I put Isaac in bed and 8:00 is light's out. That does not give us very much time together and I certainly crowd out that precious time too often with unimportant things. I need to do better. Here were some my favorite quotes from the book:

"Our greatest danger in life is permit urgent things to crowd out the important" - Charles E Hummel

"Things that matter the most must never be at the mercy of things that matter the least" -- Goethe

"You will never find the time to spend with your children. You have to make time and plan for it. There is no other possible way. Time is the raw material of your relationship with your child and must be guarded at all costs. It's true what they say: a bucket with a hole in it gets just as empty as a bucket that is deliberately kicked over. Life will shout a thousand demands to take you away from time spent with your child. If you permit the urgent to rule, you will use time you can never recover or catch with your hand. What happens in the changing life of a child will never be repeated. All the gold in the world cannot buy back either the delights of the day or the big pleasures that happen without announcement or plan. You simply have to be there" - p. 22

"Enjoy your children, delight in them, and they will take pleasure in you. You'll never find a hand that feels so good as your child's. Nothing in this creation compares to cuddling and snuggling with your little one. Have you searched the fathoms of the mystery in your child's eyes? Have you listened to your child's prayers and cried out to God for such a simple faith? Do you delight in holding your precious one in the night, even till morning's light? If you miss the joy of being a parent, your child will miss the fulness of your love."

This is what I do when I am avoiding writing an IEP

Sorry the spacing got a little bit wonky

• Things I Love
• Adam Duritz and all things Counting Crows.
• Dancing
• Hot chocolate.
• Quilts
• Mexican food-- especially authentic Mexican food.
• Diet Coke. I love, love, love it.
• Spending a whole Saturday in your pajamas.
• The Cathedral of Learning at Pitt. I would always try to schedule my classes there. It is such a beautiful and unique building.

• Kindergartners. I used to not be the biggest fan of them but now I think they are hilarious. Icecream. Especially Zwahlen's ice cream.
• Boathouse row at night when it is all lit up.
• Scope
• Snow days. They are so fantastically wonderful. I feel so bad for anyone who teaches in Florida or Arizona or in some un-snow sympathetic state like Utah who never knows the joy of the 5 am phone call that school is CANCELLED!!!
• Pedicures
• The little "bloop" on my cellphone when I have a new text message to read.
• Down pillows.
• Bagels
• This statue in Philly:

• Shea butter.
• The teacher's supply store. I could spend HOURS there.
• Hot showers.
• Playing cards with my family.
• The bed after you just change the sheets.
• Magazines - any and all.
• Walking the boardwalk in Ocean City at night.
• The smell of Johnson and Johnson baby bath. I think this is my most favorite smell in the world.
• Using the British spellings of things
• Blogs of all kinds.
• Folding laundry. I know it's weird but I like it.
• Walking around the city of Philadelphia on a beautiful day/evening.
• Really crispy toast with butter.
• Fireplaces on a chilly night. Coloring with crayons.
• My old FHE group. GO FOOD!
• People watching.
• Recieving mail (if it's not bills)
• Really cold lemonade.
• Buying scrapbook supplies.
• My GPS. Especially when I don't listen to it and it gets all annoyed ("When possible make a LEGAL u-turn")
• Parenthesis
• Riding the train into the city
• Candles
• Laughing so hard you cry.
• The way Isaac always says "her" instead of "she"
• Going to the movies
• Valley Forge Park
• Sepia toned pictures
• Drag queens. Random but true.
• Massages - professional or by a kind friend.
• All of the variations on my last name I get from my students. I love hearing "Good morning Steversin"
• Someone telling you in the stressful moments "It's okay. You are doing a good job"
• Inclusion in elementary schools. It works! It's so great!
• Flip flops.

• What do you love????