Summer Slipping Away

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, 

the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, 

and the lawn mower is broken.  

~James Dent

It seems that my spring and summer have flown by.  From looking for a house, the end of school, buying a house, moving (only a few days after school let out), dog/house/cat sitting, and being "Nurse Nancy" I feel like I have missed my leisurely summer break.  I have to admit that I have enjoyed every moment no matter what is was and will continue to enjoy what moments are left.

I am having a great time decorating my new house (when I am actually there) which has been lovingly named "The Cottage".  From paint colors, to curtains to getting it all to fit I have to admit that I have had fun, and am still in the working stages.  I was told by my Aunt Bonnie that I can't do it all at once, to make a list and mark of the house projects as I have the money.  There has never been a statement that is more true, I think my list grows everyday but I will get done and I am sure that I will add other projects to the list.  The best part of the whole thing is the feeling that you get when you come home and know that it is all yours and you are the queen of the castle.

"Enjoy the journey" - this is a saying I am told almost daily from a very good friend who keeps me moving in a forward direction even when she has to shove me from the back.  I am enjoying this journey/summer, thanks to everyone who has been along for the ride with me!

Call it a day, a snow day that is . . .

Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow,

Filling the sky and earth below,

Over the housetops, over the street,

Over the heads of the people you meet.

Dancing, flirting, skimming along.

-J.W. Watson

And we have another SNOW DAY! Yesterday we went to school on a delay and had several buses that didn't quite make it one time (2 hours late) and had us all wondering why were exactly were at school anyway. Last night the sweet sound of the phone marked that time of night that I love, delay phone calls. We started on a delay and this morning the call came again to beckon that we didn't have school at all. So what did I do?????? No, it isn't shopping, although we have had days that are too cold to go to school, but not cold enough to shop. Today I clean my beautiful little house, did a final pass on the driveway and headed north to Michigan. I have come to visit and see Spencer in a basketball game, I love coming here! Connor got into the car this afternoon and didn't know that I was in town yet, and to see his face when he looked up and saw me was "priceless" and one of the plethora of reasons that I love my family.

I have found my way back to my blog . . .

"Wonder is the beginning of wisdom."

-Greek Proverb

I have been gone way too long, and am now back and ready to blog. This whole month has been a blur, school, grading, friends, snow, snow and more snow. I have been working on changing my life in a way that will create peace and happiness.

• I have taken to reding a new genre of books - British. I sometime think I am becoming a Brit myself. I am in love with British authors!
  


• Cooking for myself and friends. Megan and I have started to cook on Sundays and share the recipes that we have made. We are both cooking healthy and loving it.



• Gardening (indoor style). I now have two beautiful amaryllis plants who love their home in my kitchen.



• Walkng, walking, walking, I have started to walk each day (inside at the moment due to weather).



• Relaxation baths a few times a week to destress.

I am currently on my way to being snowe in. Tonight, the forcasters are predicting that we will get about 10-12 inches of the white stuff. It sounds like we might have one of the most glorious things created, a SNOW DAY! Snow days are a gift, a gift from the Snow God and is meant to be a day that is filled with sleep, crafts and reading.

New Year, New Me!

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

Bill Vaughan

As we end the year, we look back at the events that have changed our lives and forward to those that are on the horizon.  I have heard many people make New Year's resolutions that never quite get done.  This year I vow to make goals instead of a resolution, goals are attainable while resolutions are said to be broken.

A Thanksgiving Like No Other . . .

"Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives."
A Sachs

This Thanksgiving was like no other, my grandmother passed away early in the morning. Leaving this Earth to be in a better place where she is not longer in pain and suffering. I feel like life should stop, but it doesn't things go on and we must move along with it, taking our grief and pain with us so that we can heal.

My grandmother (a.k.a. mom-mom) was an extraordinary woman who lived a long and prosperous life. She lived to see things that I am sure she never thought she would see. I will remember her as a woman who was: strong willed, resourceful, caring, disciplined, and as someone said this past weekend "quietly loving". My mom-mom was never one to lavish on compliments or expressions of love, but I know that she loved me. I think she was proud of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. We are a family of "doers" we have all contributed to our communities in some way, whether singing, teaching, or in business.

As I look back, I see that I really only started to understand her over the past several years and came to terms with the who she was and how she expressed herself. I hope that some of her qualities have rubbed off on me, and I will be a person who will be so greatly missed in her community and family.

Thank you for giving me such a great example to follow of what an independent woman is and what I can achieve.

Road Trip!!!

"The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

As many of you know, I am not exactly spontaneous. This weekend I stepped out of the box and went on a road trip with the girls. Last weekend Jackie, Melissa and I tried to find a craft show to go to and couldn't find on in the immediate area, such disappointment! We found out that the Chris Cringle craft show was last weekend at the University of Illinois, so we packed a bag and were on the road.

We started early afternoon on Friday after having completed 12 hours of conferences on top of full days. Needless to say we all needed to have a weekend to relax and spend time not doing school "stuff". Bags packed and dog in the back we were off. By the time we got to Melissa's house we were in need of a snack - Cheddars cheesy fries, margaritas and chocolate sounded like the ticket. Before you think that we were on an eating frenzy, we shared everything except the margaritas between four people.

The craft show was 3 stories of any kind of craft that you could possibly need, I was on the look out for a new Christmas wreath for my front door. I left with no wreath but a sweatshirt and two hand quilted items for my new house. Definitely worth the trip. Culvers chocolate shakes and a light snack was on the books for the post craft show time. We headed to Gordmans for some light shopping then off the church. "The best buffet ever" - the Pesi was out next adventure. I must say that it was a spread like I have never seen before, sushi, a Mongolian BBQ where you could pick your own veggies and meat, and then the traditional Chinese buffet food. It was busy with college students and "normal" folk as well. By this time we got home we were cold (even a little wind whipped), tired and ready to relax. Movie time! Baby Mama was the movie, which turned out not to be as hilarious as it was advertised to be. Bed called and we all turned in, 4 girl humans and 4 girl dogs.

IHOP was on the books for Sunday morning, "old school style". We all had our fill of pancakes and omelets and headed back to pack up and head home. On the road, we continued our conversations from the ride out, we talked our way out and back. One thing was on the list for our final day, "The Big Wick" a candle store we saw on I70 on the way out. We stopped, took pictures and perused the beautiful gift shop. The store was decorated for Christmas, I think we all were in the mood to get home and start decorating our own houses. I know I was ready and couldn't wait to get home to unload my packages and light my new candles.

It was a great trip, and we are planning more so stay tuned to see where we will end up next time!

Can you say exhaustion????

"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success."
Henry Ford

After weeks of planning, research and hours on the computer election day is finally over. If you haven't heard me talk about it in the past few weeks, I was in charge of putting on the "mock" election at the school for all 450 students. It all started when Sue and I started talking about what we could do better than what we did for the last election. This year we had it "easy" as we both had student teacher and were able to spend time during the school day to plan and implement our plan.

We had as real an election as any school could have:

• each classroom was assigned a state, each grade had the same number of electoral votes so that no one grade held more power than the others
• each teacher covered the election process and candidates ahead of time
• I created a Power Point on each of the eight candidates on the Ohio ballot and where they stand on several issues ,Tad printed out these slides to help me create a beautiful bulletin board
• Sue went and got the old voting booths from the Board of Elections so that our students were able to have an authentic experience
• I found "I Voted" stickers online after the Board of Elections was unable to provide us with enough stickers for all our students
• The National Honor Society students from the high school came over all throughout the day to be our "poll workers" and were just GREAT!
• We had a mid-day news cast to tell students updated information that was compiled by the student news team. The team spent the entire morning at the polls surveying voters, conducting interviews and compiling data
• Sign in books, and ballots were as close to authentic as possible; one adult made the statement that the sign-in books look just like those at the actual polling locations

Let's just say that we are all tired and glad that the election is over. Even though the exhaustion is setting in, I am glad that we put in all the work that it took to make this a lifelong learning experience for our students. I know that the students might not all the details of what happened, but hope that they remember the experience and that they were able to vote and make a difference.

Tricks or Treats?

"We teach people how to remember, we never teach them how to grow."
Oscar Wilde

Being in town creates a certain dilemma, to candy or not?

I decided this year I would forgo giving out candy for trick-or-treat and have a great night out with my friends instead. We started at Mi Jalapeno for some great Mexican food and of course margaritas! Raspberry rocks! We then proceeded to have our own version of fun: movies, munchies, drinks and hot tub.

What a wonderful way to spend the day when you either get trick or treats, I definitely got treats!

I'm Back

"A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes."
Hugh Downs

I am back and ready to write. This past weekend I witnessed one of the best things in life, a wedding between two people who are a true fit for each other. Beth and Aaron are two extraordinary people who I am happy to have in my life. If you don't know already, Beth is a former cheerleader who I coached from 7th grade through high school. We have remained good friends and I have seend her grow into a dynamic woman. Aaron was in my 7th grade class also and has become a good friend and someone who is a great help when an extra set of hands is in need.

Here are some other images of the night, as you know I love to take pictures of myself and others with my own hand. You will also notice that I am pale and pale can be next to these beauties.

Food For Thought

"He does not believe who does not live according to his belief."
Thomas Fuller