Get...the Comfy Chair!

It's the end of an era.  (Again.)  Jamie and I have listed our beloved comfy couch on Craigslist -- and with it goes the last remnant of our living room from Greenbelt.  When I was looking back at the old posts I had about moving into that place (here, if you're curious) it struck me how much time has passed.

There are some things that are exactly the same: Jamie and I are still madly in love, 7 years later I'm still in education, Jamie still reads abnormally huge books and umm....some other stuff too I'm sure.  But, more things have changed...new jobs, new responsibilities, rather than a pet plant we have two ridiculous cats, and of course, we're married and all that.

So it's kind of sad to me that the couch will not be part of our living room fixtures for much longer.  *Sniffle*

Sunrise, sunset.

Speaking of which, today is my big brother's birthday!  Happy birthday, D!!!

Tanzania!

Did I mention that Jamie and I are going to Tanzania?  We are!

That's Ngorongoro Crater.  We'll be there within a month!

Jamie has always been pulling for an Africa trip and this year the stars aligned and our vacation days (i.e. my Spring Break and his Recess) fell on the same day and we found a pretty phenomenal price tag -- like once in a lifetime phenomenal.  After checking in with the Better Business Bureau and doing lots of investigative work reading reviews, we determined that the deal was legit.  (We're still crossing our fingers too.)

So now Jamie and I are preparing for our second "just-the-two-of-us" international trip ever...the only other one being our honeymoon.  Needless to say, we're excited.  Today we got our immunizations and our visas so now it's official!

Exciting...right?

Dinosaurs.

Taking a work break to share the highlight of my day.  Being out of the classroom means that I don't get direct access to the awesome things that students say or do.  However, every once in a while a kind teacher takes pity on me and shares some of the awesomeness.  Today, that kind teacher was Catherine...and it was awesome.

The best part of all is that when he was showing his drawing to his teacher he pointed at the girl in #3 and said, "That's [a little girl in his class]."  Like a pro, Catherine managed to sternly tell Jason that it was not a nice thing to say without laughing.  I was especially impressed with how he was able to capture the emotion of both the dinosaur and the girl.  Well done, Jason.

Organized.

I know I said I would stop doing this...but this is the best ever.

Seriously?  It doesn't get much better than that.

Now for something completely unrelated.  At work we are starting a series of optional lunch sessions that are more focused on broader topics -- less grade-specific and more focused on leadership (i.e. designing agendas, facilitating meetings, etc.)  This Friday, one of our first sessions in the series is on getting organized.

This is a complete shift from my regular presentations which normally have to do with something data-related or some instructional practice.  But this one kind of stumps me.  Granted, I am pretty organized when it comes to work -- but I just think it's so funny that I would be considered competent enough with organization to put together an entire professional development session on it.  Now to plan the PD.  If only I could get organized enough to start.

Also, anyone who has seen my closet understands the irony...

This Too Shall Pass.

This blog has been pitiful!  Life has been busy lately...and to be honest, I have been going through some kind of semi-dark times.  Generally-speaking, I'm so blessed in life that when I say "dark times" I am still extremely lucky, happy, and well (so no reason to worry).  I guess it has just been a regular feeling of overwhelmed-ness (not a word?  I'm making it one) and exhaustion.  

This too shall pass.

Of course, the tragic events in Japan really do put things into perspective and jolted me out of my "funk".  Despite all of the destruction from the earthquake, tsunami, and aftershocks, people have been incredibly resilient and it truly does inspire me.  My friends and family are safe and sound and have amazingly been able to stay connected to the world via the interwebs.  There is just so much to be grateful for that I take for granted all of the time.  And there is so much to do with that gratefulness...like donate!

Okay, PSA over.

One of the things that is most challenging about having a blog (aside from posting in it regularly, evidently) is deciding what to put in and what to leave out.  I know that may be difficult to believe that I actually think about what I blog about considering my last few posts included a car commercial and some kind of rodent juggling rocks, but I do think about it for the most part.

Sometimes it feels so superficial to chatter away happily when there are truly sad and important things going on -- not necessarily in my life, but in the lives of loved ones and around the world.  But then I think about why I started this blog: to have some way to revisit and remember stuff that happened to me and as a way to keep in touch with friends.  SO...I will do a better job!  I must!  

While I can't promise a post each day, I will try to get at least five in a week for the next month or so.  It is the busiest time of the school year for me -- we're gearing up for the state tests soon, planning for next year, and dealing with the exhaustion that comes with this point of the school year -- but future me would want to have record of this crazy-busy time as well. 

Please pardon this stream-of-consciousness post.  In summary, more regular (and occasionally questionably entertaining?) posts from me starting now.