Recertification application is finally complete, whew!
Car repairs make my head spin.
Listening to my colleagues, giving encouragement .
Perfect read aloud engaged fifth graders.
Sipping hot tea, reading, and relaxing.
The brownie is calling…I’m answering!
After a long day, bedtime beckons.
While Mike and I have now been married for six months, we are just now planning our honeymoon. We decided to go to Tennessee during my Spring Break and today we made reservations for the most adorable cabin in Pigeon Forge. We’ve also started planning our itinerary, too.
I’m so excited about the trip. We haven’t traveled together in a long time and we’ve both been so busy, so having this quality time together will be wonderful. The cabin has a beautiful view of the mountains and I can just imagine us sitting on the deck at sunset.
So now I’ve started a countdown to our departure date and we’ve been doing some research on the area. We’re checking out all of the fun things to do and making the plans is so much fun! We’ve been sending each other links every time we find something interesting. I am a planner when it comes to traveling, so this is right up my alley! Now, just waiting until our departure date…
I’ve been cranky today because the pinched nerve in my neck has been hurting a lot. In order to combat my crankiness, I decided that I needed to think about the things that I could celebrate instead of focusing on the literal pain in my neck (and shoulder and arm).
I decided to celebrate a fresh haircut. It’s been probably a year since my last haircut, so it was long past due. It feels so nice and looks so much better!
I also want to celebrate receiving the title to my car after making the final payment. It seems like it has taken so long to get that piece of paper!
The delicious mini cheesecake from the grocery store deli deserves to be celebrated, too. It was just enough to satisfy my craving for cheesecake while not wreaking too much havoc with my blood sugar.
The Kids Baking Championship is also something to celebrate. When I couldn’t sleep last night because of my pinched nerve, I watched the DVR recording and enjoyed watching some incredibly talented young bakers compete.
The UVa men’s and women’s basketball teams also made my celebration lists. I haven’t watched the women’s team much in the past, but the new dynamic coach has prompted me to pay more attention to that team. I’ve enjoyed getting to know these young women and watching them compete. I continue to enjoy watching the men’s team. Kihei Clark is something else!
I’m glad that I chose to reflect on some celebrations instead of thinking only about my pain in the neck!
Today was one of those days when I had a variety of topics to write about, so I’m touching on them all as “mini” slices.
I was out for several days last week and we were two hours late yesterday, so today was the first day that I had one of my fifth graders. B is an avid hunter and loves to share hunting stories with me. He also knows that my husband is a hunter, so he regularly asks me about Mike’s hunting experiences and what Mike’s captured on his trail cameras. One of the first things out of his mouth was a question about Mike’s final day of hunting season before asking what Mike got for Christmas. He was excited about the Cabela’s gift cards that I mentioned!
Today would have been my parents’ forty-seventh anniversary. I know that this is a bittersweet day for my Mom as she both remembers and misses my Dad. I always give thanks that they found each other and had twenty-seven wonderful years together.
I spent several hours this afternoon and evening participating in CPR training. I appreciate the two school nurses who gave up their evenings to train us. They worked hard to make the information accessible and practical, which I appreciate. We have really awesome school nurses in our division!
I have a new interactive panel (I think that is what it’s called) in my classroom and I’ve been having a lot of fun playing around with it and getting familiar with what it can do.
My principal and I are working on a plan for a Little Free Library for our school. Mike has offered to donate his time to build our library and we’re exploring grants to fund the materials for it. I’m excited about this opportunity for our community!
As I reflected on these mini-slices, I realized that I had a lot to think about and write about today. I may have to take one of these mini-slices and develop it into a full-blown piece of writing!
I’m dealing with a pinched nerve in my neck that is causing a lot of pain, so today’s slice will be fairly short. I decided to write a post based on a favorite format.
Currently, I am…
Listening to…the sound of water as Mike rinses the supper dishes.
Drinking…icy water and crunching the ice (I know I shouldn’t do that, but I can’t resist!).
Thinking about…taking a nap.
Excited about…UVa is playing tonight, but the game isn’t until 9:00. I’m getting too old for 9:00 tip-offs! I think a Power Nap will definitely be necessary!
Wondering…where is the remote? I hope it’s within arm’s reach because I just got comfortable.
Thankful for…my new recliner and how cozy it is!
I had the most wonderful surprise on Christmas Eve! My husband built a beautiful secretary desk with a detachable bookcase for my Christmas gift. I was so shocked that this incredible piece of furniture was actually mine! You see, Mike told me that he was building this piece for a client and that it needed to be delivered by Christmas Eve morning. I watched him craft the secretary from the very beginning and immediately fell in love with it. I am always awed by how he can take pieces of wood and create such amazing pieces. I am so proud of his talent!
On Christmas Eve morning, when the secretary was to be “delivered,” Mike asked me to check the drawer because he’d left something in it. The only thing in the drawer was a card with my name on it. I was puzzled, but once I read the card, I began to cry. The words that he wrote were as beautiful as the secretary. I couldn’t believe that it was mine!
This gift meant so much because it represented labor of love. Mike spent hours building and staining the secretary. He often worked on it late into the night. Again, I thought that he was simply on a tight timeline for the client and had no idea that it was for me. I repeatedly joked that I wasn’t going to let the client have the secretary because it needed to stay with us and I don’t know how Mike kept a straight face.
I’m ready to start filling the shelves and my laptop looks and fits perfectly. I have new notebooks and pens stored in the drawer and cabinets. I can’t wait to see what I write while sitting at my new secretary desk!
One of my favorite things to do is to sit beside the Christmas tree. I especially love to turn off the lights and the television and just enjoy being bathed in the glow from the lights.
This year, we did another UVA-themed tree and I love it! Last night, I curled up in my new recliner (an early Christmas gift) with my Kindle and enjoyed being next to the tree. I felt so relaxed and appreciated the time to recharge my batteries.
Tonight, we’ll be sitting by the tree watching the UVa basketball team play Miami. It seems fitting to have our orange and blue tree there as we cheer
I’ve been out of town for the past few days. It was almost 7:00 when I pulled into the driveway this evening. It was nice to see the lights glowing on the Christmas tree in the living room and to know that soon I’d be able to relax. I grabbed my suitcase and purse and collected the trash from my visit to Chick-Fil-A on the way home. Mike’s always warned me to be careful about what I leave in my car so that bears are not tempted to check it out, so I made sure that the car was clear of all food. However, I wouldn’t blame a bear for being attracted to the smell of Chick-Fil-A food!
So now I’m in a comfy pair of pants, sitting in my new recliner, enjoying a peaceful evening after a long drive and catching up with Mike. I’m ready to relax!
Something I overheard at school today made me stop and think. One of the instructional assistants made a comment about loving fancy notebooks. I usually would chime in with a “me, too,” but today I paused. While I do still love a fancy notebook, most of my writing recently has been in plain, spiral-bound one subject wide-ruled notebooks. The one I’m currently working in is bright red and the next one on deck is my favorite color, blue. While I still have lots of fancier notebooks, I’ve been drawn to the regular notebooks that I associate with school.
I’m not sure why I’m writing so much in regular notebooks, but it’s been working. It reminds me of when I was in middle school and high school and filled up notebook after notebook with my writing. Those were the days when I didn’t question every word, phrase, and sentence. Those were the days when I didn’t try to revise as I wrote. Those were the days when I really felt like a writer. Maybe subconsciously I am trying to recapture those days. Whatever the reason, though, words are getting down on the page!
The Virginia-Michigan game tips off at 9:35 tonight. Actually, I’m watching the beginning of the game as I write this. I don’t like waiting until 9:30ish to slice, but I took a nap (and a long one at that) in order to be able to sit up to watch the game. I really don’t think that I could make it through a basketball game starting at that time of night because that’s when I’m usually trying to wind down and think about going to bed. Even with caffeine, I don’t think that I could last much past 10:00, especially on a school night.
The nap was nice, if a little long. I’m in the recliner in front of the t.v. and the team is on the floor. I have a glass of tea beside me and I’m sure that I’ll go trolling for snacks when the first commercial pops up. Now that I’m all rested, I’m going to enjoy watching my guys! Go ‘Hoos!
wahooliteracyteacher 