This Week in Review. . .

This past week was kind of a bust up until yesterday.  My foot started hurting on Monday--I have gout, which is an OLD MAN'S disease, for god's sake--90% of cases are in men--why do I have to be so special?  Anyway, it flares up every now and then, and I'm still trying to figure out what is causing it to happen.  I don't really eat the things that they say cause it, but I know I don't drink enough water because it's hard for me to always be leaving my classroom to pee.  Anyway, it just got worse and worse, and on Friday, I mostly stayed off it.  Also, on Friday, my two work study girls, who are two of my favorite people in the world, got really upset with me, and I would NEVER do anything on purpose to hurt their feelings, so that was super-unpleasant.  We had a tear-fest in my classroom on Friday.

My identity has been stolen AGAIN.  This time someone used my debit card numbers (not the actual card) to charge $700, which caused a bunch of my own charges to overdraw my account.  It will get sorted out, but it takes time, and meanwhile I have no cash, and no access to cash.  Sucks.

Yesterday (Saturday), my class planned a field trip to Leu Gardens, which was wonderful, and we will definitely plan another one next year. It was so gorgeous there, and reasonably priced.

This is a picture of the vegetable garden.  I immediately threated to squat (by that, I mean move into) in the garden house, and just live with that garden in my front yard.  Then I thought, wait a minute, I HAVE a front yard--couldn't I just do that in my front yard, and save all the packing?  It was all I could do to refrain from picking the cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash.  The only thing that stopped me was the little sign that said that they donate all the vegetables to local food banks, so I couldn't feel good about picking things.  The herb garden was pretty spectacular too.  And. . . look at that beautiful composter next to the porch.  Need I say more?

***TANGENT ALERT***   Okay, so I'm at Leu Gardens and I'm really considering this vegetable garden, and we all know I have hippie tendencies as I'm "maturing", so I'm really thinking about having a garden like this.  Can I do it?  It's a lot of work, and I'm intrinsically lazy, but this is really PULLING me.  And most of the work is up front.  Some of you know that my dream is a to live on a hobby farm, and this would be an interesting start.  Living a sustainable life (within reason) really appeals to me.  Of course, if I did do this, I would need to get a really bitching rocking chair (or two) so I can sit outside and look at my work.  ****Thank you for attending this tangent--it's now over.***

My gorgeous work study girls came on Saturday too, and Mrs. Jones so we took this picture together.  I am so going to miss Rachel, who is on the right, she is graduating.  Of course, I'll miss Trina too, but she will at least still be with us in the fall.  I can't believe how emotional I am over this.  It's kind of stupid.

Naturally, my foot took a beating walking all over Leu Gardens, so I'm in a lot of pain again today, but it was totally worth it.  Kaleigh and I will be visiting Leu Gardens again.  Maybe even volunteering there would be good.

I'm sitting at my computer listening to my dumb dog snore on the couch.  She misses Kaleigh so much when she spends the night with a friend.  My coffee this morning is really good, which is weird for me because my coffee usually sucks.  I'm using the word sucks a lot lately. 

This is a picture of Kaleigh on a bench at the gardens.  She looks so cute!  I am so proud of my kids.  Not sure if I've said that lately.  They are all such amazing people, and not just because they are mine.  I include my beautiful daughter-in-law in the group too.  I wish I could spend more time in the same room with them. 

Last night I had a little anxiety, probably over my bank account, but I was thinking about a lot of things. I did get a good night's sleep, and I have a very relaxing day planned, so I'm feeling better this morning.



Monday Night. . . late. On Writing.

It's late (as if that wasn't clear from my post title), and I can't sleep.  What's wrong with me?  My mind is stewing, brewing, and percolating an idea.  This is my real curse.  Once I start to think about something, and I mean REALLY think about something. . . plan it, embrace it, internalize it. . . then I can't let it go.  My mind works with it until it becomes something--sometimes what I envisioned, sometimes something really different, but something--and I dream it, and taste it, and roll it around in my mind until it does. 

I've been thinking about an article I want to write for an early childhood education magazine about connecting outdoor learning and play to the curriculum, and yesterday I went out to lunch by myself and the outline sprung from my head almost exactly the way I want it.  And tonight I sat down and wrote the darn proposal.  Again, it sprung from my head, almost complete.  I've never known anyone else who does this kind of thing--should I be troubled by it?  To be honest, it does trouble me, mostly when the idea is stewing, because it seems like I am procrastinating and I'm NOT a procrastinator, and I don't want to be seen as one, but the stewing time is necessary.  I guess I don't mind the work springing from my mind full-grown though.  Tomorrow I will share it with my coworker, and see if there's anything she wants to add or edit.  Rereading it might not be a bad idea, but I know my mind, and when this happens, I'm always happy with the result.

I love an idea burst.  Sometimes I have those, and they are pretty amazing.  It's like a switch in my mind turns on for a period of time (usually weeks) and I have all these amazing ideas, and I can barely keep up with them.  I keep a notebook in my purse, so I can write them all down, and actually be able to find them later when I need them.  When I was quilting (as a business) they used to last a long time, but I don't get them as much anymore, or maybe I just don't notice them as much, because I'm so busy. 

Well, I better go to bed, 4:50  a.m. comes really early.

Books, etc.

It's Sunday, which has become my unofficial blogging day, I guess.  This weekend has been absolutely nuts, so tonight I am going to take it easy, make a nice dinner for my daughter, niece, and nephew, maybe read a little bit, and just relax.  Dinner is actually already made (lasagne, salad from our garden, homemade salad dressing, garlic bread), and ready to throw in the oven, so no work there.  Lesson plans done for this week, laundry done and outfits laid out ready to go for the week. 

I am working on an article for an early childhood magazine about the importance of outdoor play, connecting curriculum with outdoor play, and how our school does this now.  I'm not usually a procrastinator, but I do need to stew about stuff for awhile before it gels in my head, so I've been thinking for awhile about it.  Wrote a kick-ass outline today at lunch.  Inspiration struck over tableside guac at Amigos--what can I say?

This week is the Week of the Young Child, so we have a lot of special activities going on at school.  We also had our Spring Carnival on Friday, and I won two prizes--admission for four to Congo River Mini-Golf, and a $25 gift certificate for Outback Steakhouse.  Yea Me!  I haven't won ANYTHING in 8 years, so I was due.  And as we all know, I am cursed with a competitiveness that defies reason, so I always feel a need to win.  Something. 

I bought two books today at the bookstore--A Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, and The Dirty Life by Kristin Kimball.  I think I will love them both.  Book reviews to come. 

I read a book a while back that was really interesting to me, and I keep meaning to share it, but it hasn't seemed like the right time, but since we are discussing books, here you go.  The book is  The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  For a year, she did all the things that are rumored to make you happy, i.e. make more money, take time to smell the roses, and anything else she heard about.  She then analyzed if these things actually do make a person happier.  Interesting concept.  The book itself is very interesting, and the methods she used to keep track of what she was doing and how it made her feel are fascinating. 

About me. . .

I was thinking about blogging (I know, I do a lot of THINKING and not a lot of DOING), and I decided I would just blog about myself and my own interests today.  So here we go. 

I collect miniature crackle glass pitchers.  Love those little babies, I even have a purple one which is pretty rare.  They are reasonable to buy and are really pretty on a windowsill or on the quilt rack that used to hang over my couch.  I've been collecting those for about 15 years.  I don't really buy them anymore, unless I see something really unusual, but I do love them. 

I also collect milkglass, especially hobnail.  It's the most common of all the milkglass, and I just can't resist it when I see it at a yardsale.  I don't even know how many hobnail milkglass lamps I have in this house, even though they ALL have to be rewired because they get too hot.  I just adore them.  I found two at a yardsale not too long ago, that the woman at the house told me that she got when she turned 16 (50 years ago) and she redecorated her bedroom.  Her mom bought them with greenstamps.  (I LOVED GREENSTAMPS!)  I knew that they were meant to be mine.  True story.

I never intended to collect these, but I also have a collection of paperweights.  They are really pretty, and sometimes I rearrange them.  It started when I was in Hawaii, and I went somewhere touristy, and wanted to buy my ex-husband a gift, and couldn't find anything manly, so I got him a small paperweight with tropical fish in it (we used to have a salt water tank in Hawaii), and then I saw them everywhere, and people got them for me for gifts too.  ( And yes, I was petty enough to take the original one with me when I left the DB).

I also have a little collection of rocks.  All colors and shapes, but I am especially fond of heart-shaped stones.  Mostly crystals. 

I think henna (on hands) is beautiful.  I would like to learn to do it one day. 

I don't know what my favorite food is.  There have been a lot of different favorites, but I do love chocolate. 

I have some quirks.  I know this about myself.  For one thing, and I've discussed this before, I have a THING about my bed.  Love clean sheets.  If I didn't think it was crazy, I would wash my sheets every day.  I'm not exaggerating, EVERY DAY.  I love nightgowns.  Cotton nightgowns, not the t-shirt kind of cotton.  I love shoes, especially red shoes.  This only occured to me recently (thank you Mary Beth), but I'm glad I know it now.  I also like purses a lot.  Particularly satchel type purses.  Small is best.  I hate to sleep with socks on. 

Sunday Thoughts. . .

I made a commitment this week that I absolutely would blog this weekend, so here I am.  A lot has been going on--hence my absence.  The sale of my quilting machine is finally going through; the crate is in my driveway, I'm just waiting for cash in hand, then the truck will come and pick it up.  I will miss my old friend--I used to call her Hildy for some reason.  I did decide to use the machine to quilt Bridgette's quilt, and it looks awesome.  It's all finished, and ready to send out.  Anyway, this means that I will  have a whole room to do whatever I want to with.  Kaleigh and I have been throwing some ideas around, but maybe we'll just live with it empty until we can make up our minds.  The two of us aren't terribly decisive on a lot of subjects. 

I've been super-duper busy at work for the last couple of weeks--with assessments, and conferences coming up, parent meetings, and all the other stuff going on.  I need to do some research today for an article that Shonda and I are working on.  Also my laundry is not going to do itself.  The house is a mess, which I need to take care of, and the garden needs watering.  Such is my life.

Let's see, what earth shattering ideas and thoughts can I write about today. . . I got nothin'.  Maybe I'll just ramble awhile, and see what comes up.  I had lunch with my friend Marybeth and her son Taylor yesterday--one of my FAVORITE things to do!  We had mexican, the guacamole was fabulous, as always.  The girls at the table talked a lot--Taylor mostly looked around in confusion--I think we kind of baffle him.  I also went to the bookstore and browsed around a little--I may do that again today, who knows.  I got a book with the idea that after I read it, I will pass it on to my mom to read during her treatments, but she's already read it--the stinker.  I went to see her last night, and she really didn't want me to see her (or anyone to) but I insisted, and she looks pretty bruised up on her face, but not bad at all.  She is in pain, but we watched a movie and she laughed at it a lot, so. . . not sure where I'm going with that sentence.  I guess I'm relieved, I'm pretty squeamish and it wasn't bad at all.  (not that I intend to make this about me)   

I'm thinking about taking a little road trip this summer with Kaleigh up to see Brett and fam, as well as Hillarie and the baby--I think Kaleigh and I could use some time to bond a little better.  She's very stressed with everything going on in her life, and I think it would be good to have a little time away with her.  She's seventeen now, there won't be many more of these chances where she wants to spend time with me.  I am always struggling with preparing Kaleigh for the world versus letting her stay her optimistic, immature self.  I like her the way she is, but she is in NO WAY ready for real life.  Sigh. 

I've made up my mind--today I am just going to take it easy and relax.  Not exactly relax, as I will be working around the house, but I'm not going anywhere and I'm just going to do laundry, straighten up my bedroom, vacuum and maybe quilt a little bit.  Make a nice chicken dinner.  With gravy.  Sounds like a great day.  Maybe a nap.  Sounding better all the time. 

Vacation and Disappointment.

I've been on vacation this week, which has been lovely, but I'm not sure I'm a good vacationer.  I love the idea of vacation, but I never seem to enjoy it as much as other people seem to, and I just end up anxious to get back to my regular routine.  That being said (which is a horrible phrase really, and one of my pet peeves), this week has definitely been relaxing.  Mostly I did nothing, a lot of reading, some puttering around my house (my favorite), swimming, sleeping, watching movies, and I visited my sister at her resort near Disney and lounged in the lazy river pool all day.  I'm sun-kissed and happy.  So I guess it was a good vaca. 

I've been thinking a lot about disappointment this week as well.  Kaleigh did something (which I won't go into, but let's just say it's nothing I haven't done in my misspent youth), and I was feeling so disappointed in her and in her idea of appropriate choices that I responded harshly to the situation.  Then my mom called and told me that she has cancer again--this time in her throat.  We knew she was having a biopsy and that she had colon cancer a year ago, and this is not good news.  Suddenly, disappointment meant something different.  What was I so angry with Kaleigh about?  Making mistakes?  Not understanding the consequences of certain actions?  Choosing to take a risk while she is at home and able to get support if necessary?  Isn't that what being seventeen is about?  What is wrong with me?  So I called off her grounding, asked her what she learned, and changed my own attitude.  Growing up is hard (for me).  Sigh.

I'm working on blocks for my new granddaughter's baby quilt--it's gorgeous if I do say so myself.  Brightly colored bow-ties laid out in a love ring pattern.  Picture below.  I'm kind of thinking hand quilting, but I may change my mind.  It just makes me happy to work on the blocks.  I'm taking my time, without pressure of time quilting is such a pleasure to me.  It's been a long time since I worked without the pressure of time, or without money all tied up in it, and I'm really enjoying it.  A few blocks every couple of days and I smile the whole time. 

I have to run some errands today, and I'm dropping K. off at a friend's to spend the night, so I'm free tonight too, I think I will finish quilting the class quilt and get the binding on tonight.  I will surely be glad to get that finished. 

Enough for today, maybe I will write a little about my garden tomorrow. 

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, I've been sick and also, I've never seen any sense in writing just to put words down.  I like to have something to say (NOT necessarily something important). 

Over the last couple of weeks, some things have been going on that are not really earth shattering, but are life-shifting at the least.  Will get to those in a minute.  I'm feeling a little better today after a nasty bout with the flu, it really knocked me off my feet.  I'm still really weak but I feel worlds better. 

My mom called last week when I was sick and asked me if I wanted to go see Rod Stewart and Stevie Nicks in August for my birthday--I actually thought I was delirious until last night when she called and said she got the tickets.  I do love me some Rod Stewart, and Stevie Nicks. . . well, do I even need to say it?  She has the right mix of hippie and cool.  My mom kind of rocks.  And when I was seventeen, my life plan was to quit school, go on the road and marry Rod Stewart--I still think it could happen.  Maybe this summer is my opportunity.

The sale of my quilting machine almost fell through, but it looks like it's going to happen after all.  This has almost been too much of an up and down emotional roller coaster for me.  Anyway, things are looking good. 

The other thing is more of an attitude shift (not sure that's the right word), but I've thought since my divorce--no, really it was earlier than that--that I would not get married again.  I really have felt that it's not for me, and it was just not something I would ever do again.  This is even to the point of not being open to the possibility at all.  I just felt like I could never trust another person that way again after what happened.  Well, I find myself being a little more open to the idea again.  This is pretty much out of the blue as I am not seeing anybody at this time or anything like that, but the idea isn't making me nauseated.  That's definite improvement. 

I forgot to write about the results of my dryer-less month.  I went the entire billing month of January without using my dryer for any laundry--I hung everything up, which was a little inconvenient, but not nearly as much as you would think.  So at the end of the month, I compared the bill with last January's bill and the year before that, and I saved over $70.  Some of that may be due to the mild winter, the heat wasn't on much at all this year, but I really feel that at least $60 of that was due to not using the dryer.  So, I have gone back to a modified dryer usage, with the idea that if I decide I need to cut back, that is do-able.  I only dry towels, sheets and things I need quickly.  (I know, not exactly an earth-friendly attitude, but I'm human!)

So, it looks like this weekend I will be preparing my machine for it's trip across country.  And cashing my huge check.