mountains

Today we took a drive to Boulder.  We love Boulder and would move there in a heartbeat.  I used to visit the city at least twice a month when my sister lived there during college. I would drive past wheat field after wheat field until I could finally see the flatirons straight ahead.  

Martin and I walked around Pearl Street, had lunch, and I was told, respectfully, that I was beautiful by a quirky old hippie. 

The mountains still make me a little nervous.  I'm trying so hard to appreciate their beauty and serenity without having a panic attack. Little outings like this are good for me...because I'm told by my husband that this summer we are going camping.  I don't mind being outside amongst the trees and wildlife, I am a native Coloradoan after all ;) And my family did go camping when we were younger. It's the thought of getting lost that can't escape my mind.  I told Martin that I would go as long as we could take baby steps. He replied with, "You mean we have to start by camping in your parents backyard?!"

haha

There are so many things that I am learning along the way while being married to the love of my life.  Martin is adventurous and spontaneous while I'm very much content being at home.  But a marriage is about compromise and loving and appreciating the things your spouse loves and appreciates.  So this summer we will go camping. Martin will keep me safe and I will trust him. 
 Who knows, maybe it won't be so bad? 

we found spring and it is magical

Spring Break How I Love Thee

Spring break is here!

{The school building will be happy about the quiet time} 

Tomorrow. Ahhh tomorrow. 

I can sleep in.

I can wake up with the sun. 

I can enjoy the spring time weather on my time. 

Martin finished his final exam today for culinary school. Now we have some time off together, just the two of us.  No stresses, no worries, just us.  Whenever we're home together it's the same old routine...cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping.  I want to do something different this weekend.  Maybe we'll go looking for signs of Spring. 

Oh Spring Break, I am so glad to see you.

Responsibility

{Haha I look a little overexcited...which is mostly a permanent facial expression when you teach kindergarten}  

I've been wanting to write a post for a while now about what has been happening in the world of teaching lately...pink slips and bad reputations.  But every time I start, I get so overwhelmed and upset. I feel helpless. 

So I have this to say instead,

I want to shout from the roof tops that our job as teachers is to open the minds of our students, to inspire them, to show them that they hold the world in their hands.  Our job is not to sit behind our desk overseeing the learning, but to be involved with our students, learn alongside with them.  We need to believe in our children. We cannot give up on them, but we need to show them who they are capable of becoming.  We need to give our students an education that will open doors of possibility.  

Teachers cannot do this alone.  Parents and communities need to bind together, work together without blame. We need to accept only an education that is of the highest quality.  That is our responsibility.

And that is my responsibility, it is my job...my livelihood. I cannot fail my students or I have failed. 

{okay I'll get off my soap box now}

Fino

We spent Saturday afternoon at Jerusalem Restaurant studying for Martin's final exam.  Martin enjoyed a taste of his childhood while I enjoyed the baklava.  I think the last time I studied for a test was four years ago...it's hard to get back into that mind set.  But Martin will do amazing and then in a few short weeks he'll be enjoying his studies in Europe, learning first hand from the finest chefs in Italy and France. If my Italian grandma were still alive I can just picture the two of them cooking up a feast in the kitchen together. 

I can't wait for him to come back and tell me everything he saw, smelled, and tasted. Martin has a world traveler gene in him...I'll probably get a phone call from Italy saying I need to pack up our apartment and paddle across the ocean to join him :) 

I can't believe his program is almost finished.  When we look back on our lives 8 months ago things looked a little bleak. It's amazing how this opportunity presented itself to Martin.  He is one lucky guy to be fulfilling his dream everyday, this is exactly what he's supposed to be doing.  You can see it in his face, hear it in his voice.  

Martin, Sono fiero di te e ti amo

(I hope you've been practicing your Italiano :) 

Spring is Here!

My mantel is ready for Spring.

Today I'm working on my Spring cleaning...my car is cleaned out, the laundry is clean and put away, the bathroom cleaned, carpets vacuumed. 

The windows are open today letting in the cool March breeze...blowing little Margo's ear hair wildly.  But she loves it. 

There's something about Spring that makes me feel happy, like we all get a new start, another chance. And the feeling that summer is not too far behind...

Saturday Morning

Don't you just love mornings? I wish I could bottle morning sun and carry it with me the whole day, it's perfect. 

Today I spent the morning with my older sister...just the two of us wandering around the big garden store looking for seeds that will fill her garden this summer. 

I love walking around nurseries.  Everything is so green and all of their flowers are always blooming to perfection. The weather has been beautiful here in Colorado. Warm, sunny, breezy. It smells like Spring...fresh and alive.  

{A perfect Saturday}

I Wore Pink Instead

I don't own a single article of clothing that is green...well except some big fuzzy green socks, but I would have looked like a complete moron wearing them with my ballet flats.  So I decided to deck myself out in pink instead.  "Pink is my signature color..."

I tied a piece of green ribbon to my sweater when I got to school, which my cat just apparently ate off the kitchen counter...

Do you ever feel like you ruin a perfectly good outfit by having a perfectly horrible day? I did today. I wish I had worn this outfit on a bright sunny day, without my eye swollen, without having to wear my glasses, without losing my patients. 

  I feel like I've been in a funk this week, which I think in other words is called girly whirly hormones. I feel like I spoiled our afternoon when I overreacted to a situation today with my students and I feel bad about it. I wish I could say I was the perfect teacher all the time. I am usually so calm and can brush off behaviors and see past back talking and annoying habits (do you really have to kick the table leg over and over and over and over??), but today I just couldn't do it. I literally gave myself a time out and then a few minutes later sat my students down to apologize. 


Who was it who said, "Tomorrow is another day" ? Oh yeah, Miss Scarlett O'Hara, she sure had her share of bad days.
I'm glad I can try again tomorrow.
Maybe I just need a good cry, a hot shower, and an early bed time. 

Or maybe just a really big glass of wine...

On Being a Twin: Part 3

In two weeks I will be lounging in Florida with palm trees and sand between my toes, feeling too hot and trying to control the frizz that is my hair.  I will be able to talk to my sister without giving the phone company a weeks worth of wages.  Skype continues to be my best friend... 

My sister and I talk in ways we only understand.  Martin or Bobby will walk in on our conversation confused, shaking their heads. We can say a single word and it elicits the same memory, feeling, smell, or sound.  You'll hear one of us say something like, "That song reminds me of the lilac bush at our old house" or "That smells like that one time we took that animation class" or "That color reminds me of an 80's Sesame Street episode and being in a public library."  And the other will say, "Yeeeah! It does!"  

Our family has learned to kindly accept these phrases as normal parts of a conversation. We have come to find that normal people actually don't talk like this and it's not really socially acceptable to be in a meeting and say, "That pencil eraser smells like that one time in fourth grade..." and expect the person next to you to understand exactly what you mean.

I love having someone who is just as quirky as me. 

And I can't wait for the moment I get off that airplane in Florida and say something like, "This airport smells like that ice cream parlor we visited in Michigan..."  and she will say, "It Does!!"

Apple

Last night I asked Martin if he would cut me up an apple...

:)
having a husband in culinary school is pretty amazing 

Thinking

Oh no.

It's started again.

I'm thinking.

Where do I want this life of mine to take me?

What do I want to accomplish?

Where do i want to be?

I blame it on Martin.

His life is changing right now and maybe I want something in my life to be changing too.

He is finally doing what he's always dreamed of...cooking, venturing off to Europe, more cooking. 

When he gets back from his European adventure, it will be time for him to find a job. Times are tough out there, there's no doubt about that.  But if we stay where it is safe, will we miss out on life, on where we are supposed to be?? Is this our chance to do something crazy? Adventurous? Break away from the ordinary and just go for it? 

I've been a homebody my entire life, my family can vouch for that. 

I feel comfortable at home.  But there has been an undeniable stirring inside of me that where we go next might just become my "home"

I blame it on my twin sister.

She is far away in Florida.

Most days I want to be there, with her.

I don't care if I have to live on a park bench as long as I can see her everyday. Do I want to take a risk and move to be near her? What if the Florida humidity makes my hair even more frizzy?

I blame it on feeling like anywhere is better than here right now.

Why do I feel this way? I'm so fortunate and blessed and lucky. But I don't want to pretend anymore. Even if it takes five more years, I want to work towards going where Martin and I can make a home for ourselves.  Where we both can walk outside and say, "Ahhh, it's beautiful here and this is where we are supposed to be." 

Chirp Chirp

This morning as I was inevitably running late, I stopped to kiss my little children goodbye and heard a chorus of chirping.  

What a magical sound...little birds singing in the morning sunshine. 

Morning is my favorite time of day. It's calm and serene.

I love to get to school before anyone else...enjoy the peace and quiet that is short lived in a school. 

It was a beautiful day. 

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, too bad I was inside all day.  Why can't I have recess duty when it's nice outside?

{Even 'G' Giraffe loved having the sun in her face today}

My students were sure chirpy today.  They were arguing and fighting and grabbing.  Let's just say it was a sadie face kind of day. I had finally had enough and called them to the carpet.  

"Boys and girls, did you know it takes more effort to be upset then to be happy?  I want everyone to turn to their next door neighbor and give them your biggest smile you possibly can muster!"

{smiles and giggling}

"See?  Doesn't that feel much better? Tell your neighbor they have a BEAUTIFUL smile!"

It was cute.  It lasted about 10 minutes :)

But at least it was 10 minutes of happiness and bliss...

The sun was still shining when I left school today, I know that will all change soon when we jump forward the clocks.  But for today, I lifted my face to the sun and felt warm for the first time in months.