my pink life, mi vida rosada

The word of the week is: open. I'm joining up at the gypsy mama , where you can find a collection of posts on the same word. Open. Open to grace, and to others. Open. And closed. I was talking with my good friend, Roommate, last night, and I think that she finally found me to be as open as she needed me to be. Open, accepting, full of friendship, like I used to be with her. About two months ago Roommate told me that she had started dating a girl, was being really quiet about it, not telling many people because it is the first time she has dated a girl, and also because of all the people who judge, and that she was unsure whether she wanted to open herself up to that kind of judgment. She said that she would answer any questions I had, and was very open with me. I was closed -- I made some sort of vaguely accepting comment, and proceeded to steer the conversation away from her news. Over the past couple of months, I have become more open, more accepting of this change in my ...

We spent the day painting the bedroom. And sitting on the couch. And eating chex mix, minus the onion powder, plus a lot of worcestershire sauce. And poor sweet hubby bought three different blu-ray players, returning the first two for two different reasons....the first may not have worked correctly, while I may have complained that the second one was too complicated for me to figure out how to watch tv. Even though I tried to take back my tantrum, it was too late. Sweet hubby had already made up his mind to return it and find something less advanced. I'm pretty sure he actually told the people at the store when he returned it that there was nothing wrong with it, that it was simply too advanced for his wife. The bedroom is now peach. I love it. There will be pictures soon-ish -- once the room is straightened back out and curtains re-hung and things like that. We are going to have to wait on a trip to Chile. We both REALLY want to go, but neither of us finds the idea of al...

It's time to get creative for sweet hubby's Christmas gift. Officially, we told each other we are not exchanging gifts this year. But I have a record to keep up -- there is always some sort of surprise for sweet hubby under the tree at my Mama's house. Last year, I painted him a picture, and we hung it in our dining room until a friend gave us a much bigger, better picture for my birthday. The year before, I think I snuck a new camera under the tree. And the year before that, I think, was the year I snuck the kitty into our lives....(And he thought he was getting a fishing pole, from the wrapping job I did!). I can't remember everything, but there has always been something under the tree for him, when he is expecting either nothing (because we've agreed to do nothing for each other since in general there are so many gifts going on), or a specific item we've already talked about...And since I'm pretty sure there won't be plane tickets to Chile materi...

Must be funny....In the Rich Man's world. (Just thinking of Abba). No, really, I was just thinking how nice it would be to have any kind of surplus right now, to get some plane tickets for sweet hubby to see his family this summer. A few months ago I posted that I was going to be trying to get my finances back in order , so I thought perhaps a little update was over due. I stink at getting my finances in order. Some of the things I listed last time ARE helping, but some areas have not improved all that much. For example, having a lower house payment is definitely helping. We haven't gotten any better about cooking at home, and especially not about cooking meals that use same ingredients to use them up before they go bad. Does anyone want to volunteer to be my personal chef? I can't pay you, but I can tell everyone I know how amazing you are? Knock on wood, but my car hasn't had major trouble for almost a month. (Last major trouble: brake lights quit working, meanin...

despierta muy temprano, siendo que es mi primer día de vacaciones. mirando un árbol bonito, adornado con cosas que me hacen recordar tiempos y personas bonitos. pensando en todas las cosas que necesito hacer antes que se acaben las vacaciones. preparandome para escribir un millón de tarjetas de gracias a mis estudiantes. escribiendo un proyecto nuevo en donorschoose , porque me gustaría mucho criar huevos de gallina y tener pollitos en mi sala en la primavera. sorprendida que la Navidad se celebra en solamente una semana más. ¿Dónde voló el tiempo? esperando un poco más antes de comer más de las confecciones adictivas que son panecillos de canela . calentita, con la gatita encima de mis piernas. feliz que hay tiempo ahora para arreglar mi pieza, pintar, coser, y hacer proyectos de la casa en general. ansiosa que no he comprado un regalo de Navidad para mi hermana, ni para esposito lindo. triste que pasajes a Chile cuestan TANTO que no los podemos comprar, y que ya son 2 años que mi es...

Joining in for five minutes on the word "connected" at thegypsymama.com . I am connected to people I don't know. I am connected to people I do know. I am connected, and yet, sometimes, many times, I feel so disconnected, too. I was thinking about this the other day...yesterday...when I saw an acquaintance at a meeting after school. I met her through sweet hubby. He used to work with her (she changed jobs), and we occasionally saw each other at their work functions, or went to get tacos from the taco traila together. The last time I saw her was in May, or June....And now here it is, December, and a totally unrelated event, that makes us re-connect.... Connections begin in funny ways, end in funny ways, and re-occur in unexpected ways, too. It is the connecting and the reconnecting that are happiest for me. The disconnecting? That is not so fun. I have been struggling lately with a feeling of disconnect from a particular gorup of teachers at my school. I get along ...

I just received a notification that the first donation has been made to my new project .... It feels like Christmas!

Just a quick line to let you know that this handsome man? He just found out he passed all of his classes this semester! I am extremely proud of him for his hard work.

feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of christmas shopping on my nonexistent budget and limited free time. snuggling with the kitty and drinking a glass of wine. full of yummy chicken putt-putt (pot pie, for those native english speakers who were never confused by the all too similar sounds of pot-pie and putt-putt in southern dialect to a native spanish speaker learning english). tired after making yummy chicken putt-putt. ready to have a sub in my classroom tomorrow while i work on translating skill-rating scales with the fourth and fifth grade immersion teachers. not ready to have a sub in my classroom on tuesday and thursday next week. ready for friday of next week -- movie and party day! not so excited about monday and wednesday and trying to be productive and finish this plant adaptation unit, for the love of all things good, before the break.... so excited to be close to a big break, so that i can enjoy my job and be more focused again.... happy that the "december list...

But this looks like it will be a kid-favorite activity for the year.... Hopefully I'll remember to take pictures of our "chia" heads once they start to grow hair! (And hopefully that will be before Christmas break....otherwise, they'll take them home before they grow.

If you make a donation to my project at donorschoose.org , it can be doubled through a matching grant! All you have to do is use the code SPARK. Please help my students!

Thanksgiving was fun! We gathered (as usual) at my Aunt's house in the country. The little cousins ran around and played and had lots of fun. They always get together on the Wednesday before for a bit of fun in the country -- they roast hot dogs and make s'mores and try to sleep in tents. This year, the big girls succeeded. One of them even slept late-ish -- until 9:30 -- in the tent! The boys and the little girls ended up sleeping inside, after starting out in tents, too. After a lot of running around, the kids all ate first, close to noon. Once they had cleared out, the rest of the family was gathered up for dinner. We had a "kids" table in the kitchen, where the 20-40's adults sat, an "adults" table in the dining room, where the 60-95's sat, and a mixed table in the living room, with some from each age group. My Aunt had found place cards from a long time ago and mixed us all up -- somehow we usually end up sitting with our own little fam...

I am grateful for so many things, starting with my family and coming full circle at my family again. What would i do without them? My family lives close by, and they help take care of us financially, spiritually, and in every way in between. We eat Sunday dinner together after church. My mama goes to yoga class with me. My sister comes over to bake. My brother tells us jokes and asks for haircuts. My dad talks to me about money and makes me do crossword puzzles with him. My mama takes me shopping. My grandma just likes to show us off. The things that i get to do with my family make me so grateful for them. Really, really grateful. Sweet hubby is inviting me to dance. I'm pretty darn grateful for him, too.

Also known as "Self Saucing Puddings," where "pudding" means cake. My sister and I did a test run a few days ago, and decided that this recipe would work for our contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. I mean, with only five ingredients, how could we go wrong? A little bit of self rising flour, brown sugar, butter, eggs, and ginger later, we had some very tasty little cakes in cute little tea cups. Forget using ramekins -- tea cups have handles! For the actual day, though, we needed to make more cakes that tea cups (I only have 12 fiesta tea cups -- I think 12 is actually a lot, most days!). We decided to use some small latte bowls, too. And when we had just a little bit more batter from our third recipe, we decided to use a large tea cup, too. (That large tea cup? It will be staying at home for Thanksgiving. No one needs that much of any one dessert one Thanksgiving day.) They smell good and look pretty too! I'm so excited to share them with the family!

that my sister canceled our running date. I'm still not over the cold from 2 weeks ago. Gross.

for a few days off of school!

for sweet hubby, and the millions of things he does each day to make my life nicer.

that my new year-round notebook finally arrived!

to be aware of people beyond the numbers. please read this and this . And cry, like I did. Then pray.

for friends to share dinner with. and a mom to shop at target with. and the free speech to use bad grammar. with.

thankful. for lots of things. tired out after a long day of kids and plants and multiplication and perimeter and guidance lessons at school. recovering from a now 8-day old cold. sad and frustrated for a good friend, whose husband just found out he doesn't get to start the job he thought he would be starting in December. praying for my friend and her husband to see and understand God's bigger plan for them. hungry for some supper, happy that sweet hubby is in charge of fixing it. listening to the rain begin as the season goes back to being coldish. skipping yoga. yoga + snot = not pleasant. excited to hear sweet hubby sing in his school chorus concert tomorrow night. excited also that my parents will be there, even though they both told sweet hubby they had other plans. relieved to have gotten my donors choose thank you packet completed on time, since the deadline is tomorrow and I thought it was Friday. ready for interim reports to go home the monday after thanksgiving. Wh...

my voice is returning!

for good friends and their precious babies! We had a great weekend playing with my good friend from college's two year old and two month old. Such precious little beings!

for a day out of my classroom.

for administrators at my school who believe in me and trust me to do my job.

for the minute clinic near my school, and a practically nonexistent wait time today.

for my circle, circle 9. for fellowship with other women who believe in Jesus and are in my age group.

that sweet hubby went to the store and is now cooking corn chowder!

to be a part of the joy as two young people join their lives in marriage. Best wishes to Bess and Tsilavo!

Joining up at the gypsy mama . Yesterday was five minute friday. Five minutes on the word Remember. Remember when we first met? Remember how I was sort of unhappy to be where I was, and it was obvious to everyone who met me? Remember how you were wearing a yellow pullover? And had a mustache and goatee? Remember how I used to sit outside under that tree, on that bench, wearing my polka-dotted skirt, drawing in my journal? Remember how you tried to teach me to play guitar? Remember those long bus rides to la toma? Remember how you tricked me into thinking we were almost to Iquique so I wouldn't get off the bus after 25 hours? Remember how I greeted you at the airport? Remember how much we fought on the phone before you came? Remember how hard it was to meet everyone at church? Remember how you used to ride the bike to school? Remember how much you hated September? Remember how much I loved you then? Remember how much I love you still? Do you remember? I remember how you...

for a snuggly kitty.

¡Qué divertido! Y salieron super fáciles hacer. Durante la semana antes, junté cajas vacías de pañuelos. Las otras maestras en mi escuela me ayudaron con esto -- mágicamente aparecieron en mi caja en la oficina. Yo mandé un mensaje a los padres de mis estudiantes, y mandaron bolsas y bolsas y bolsas de dulces a la escuela (usamos algunos de los dulces para celebrar Halloween). Estudié unas piñatas que mi mamita linda me había regalado. Tenían un parte plástico para colgarse. Compré las cosas plásticas que normalmente se usan para juntar alambres y cables y cosas así. Con tijeras, hice agujeros en un lado de la caja, formé un círculo con el plástico, y las cajas estaban listas. En la mañana, juntamos dos grupos de estudiantes. Les expliqué que necesitaban poner los dulces adentro, cerrar la caja con cinta, adornarla con papel, y dejar la parte plástica afuera. 20 minutos era perfecto para ésta actividad. Trabajaron en grupos de 6 a 8 niños. Después de 20 minutos, cambiamos gru...

for compliments on clothes I made myself, that the compliment giver doesn't know I've made myself.

for Susan, who is always ready to answer a million questions, calm me down, and help keep crazy piñata-makers under control.

for Gary, who gave me an excellent haircut today.

snuggled with the kitty in sweet hubby's chair, listening to the motor run. thinking about what to wear to church this morning, since it actually feels like fall outside. happy we won the game last night, but mostly because sweet hubby and my mama are happy. dreaming up decorating schemes for my bedroom, which I'll probably paint over Christmas break. wishing I had a ton of money to buy pretty curtains like these but thinking I'll end up sewing some (easier and cheaper) curtains instead. marveling at the peachy-pink insides of the shells we found in grandma's boathouse last weekend, so incredibly shiny and smooth, strong yet delicate. not really looking forward to re-organizing the pantry this afternoon. hoping sweet hubby will keep his word anf clean out his side of the closet today. looking forward to Sunday dinner. preparing myself mentally to see grandma's "E.T." hand (she was taking Plavix and banged her hand....). thankful that sweet hubby helped ...

No.... but when we stopped by Grandma's house on the way home from the beach with my dad last weekend, we found a few treasures hidden in cabinets, closets, and drawers we thought we had cleaned out. We found an old boy scout log book. We found financial papers from 2001. We found nice kitchen toys (I finally have a good ladle! Thanks grandma!). We found 26 crystal wine glasses. Guess I'll need to do some rearranging pretty soon. You know, like the next time we get snow days, or something. But seriously? 26 more crystal glasses? Is this an alternate universe?

source Um, I hate money. A lot. I hate that it is so necessary for everything in life. I hate that it is so hard to come by. I hate that it is so easy to let go of. I hate that it is somehow allowed to control so much of my life, my attitude, and my decisions. I have been having a hard couple months with money. (Read: there is too little coming in and too much going out and not a whole lot of control being exercised in the few areas where it could/should be...) Wait....let's back up....It's been a rough summer-into-fall with money. In the past four months: 1. Sweet hubby's car had some major repairs done 2. My car had some major repairs done 3. We replaced a hot water heater 4. We had our house broken into, and had to replace a computer (the tv is just gone, folks, just gone, and we're using an older, smaller one in its place) 5. We apparently ate a whole lot of food and drove a whole lot of miles, judging from the combination of lots of grocery charges, restaurant c...

Please pray for the family of Terry DeVoe, who unexpectedly left this world for heaven on Wednesday. His family is hurting.

In April, a kid I knew from church committed suicide. He was 21, in college, brilliant, well liked, and apparently extremely lonely, sad, disturbed, and so much more. He was never taught to seek help. He was never taught to share the really hard stuff with others. He was not old enough to have lived through really tough things to see that there usually is a light at the other end of the tunnel. He was not old enough to have experienced the suicide of a loved one. He was not thinking clearly enough to consider how hard every thing would be for his mama afterward. He was not thinking clearly enough to consider how hard every thing would be for his daddy afterward. He was not thinking clearly enough to consider the old folks at the nursing home he used to play music for, or the guys in prison he used to mentor, or the friends who counted on him for company. He was not at a point in his life where he felt close enough to Jesus or anyone here on earth to feel the need to stay here. Sui...

disfrutando un día de flojera, con la gatita sentada encima de mis piernas por la quinta vez hoy. feliz que mi esposito lindo es bueno para arreglar cosas, como mi maquina de coser que no quiso funcionar....solamente necesitaba una parte muy pequeña, que compré por $2.13, sin tener que pagar a alguien abrirme la maquina. esperando a mi esposito lindo que necesita volver de su último clase, un grupo que está aprendiendo a tocar saxofón. contenta que mi esposito lindo me informó de su 80 en la primera prueba (examen) de teoría, y también que ya está recibiendo tutoría de su profe para sacar una nota mejor en la proxima prueba. cansada con el día gris y tanto flojera, pero feliz que no tuve que ir a la escuela hoy. A veces uno necesita un día personal para sentarse en su casa y no sentirse obligada a hacer nada, especialmente no lavar las sábanas, ni la ropa, ni hacer la comida, ni lavar la loza, ni desempacar la maleta. sonriendo con el olor de salsa de manzanas que viene de mi cocina,...

So much fun! Sweet hubby and I are in the mountains for a weekend getaway and spent the afternoon picking apples, drinking cider slushies, and eating cider doughnuts. And my personal favorite came from the bakery where we had lunch before the apple picking extravaganza.....

And long weeks are not nearly so fun as long weekends. It was hard to adjust back to school, getting up super early after a tiny bit of jet lag and a the action packed traveling that was the family trip to Colorado. And I had a migraine, too, and one of my best friends broke up with her boyfriend, and I barely saw sweet hubby all week. I also stepped out of my comfort zone a little bit at school to try some group work activities that could have gone a little better. But I stuck with it and the third day of group work, the kids actually worked a little bit better with their groups, paid a little bit more attention to what they were doing, and seemed to settle in a little more to the expectation that they would problem solve within their groups, rather than interrupting whatever group I was working with at the time. This year at school (all six weeks of it so far) has been both rewarding and frustrating, but overall feels mostly frustrating. I woke up this morning with a long list o...

And, oh, wasn't it nice! We got to see my cousin tie the knot. He looked handsome, and she looked beautiful, and they were so excited they were bouncing as they said their vows. On Saturday, we got to see the Garden of the Gods. (After the family sunscreen session, of course!) First trip to Colorado: success!

Joining in with the gypsy mama for five minute friday, on growing. I am growing rounder, but for no reason. I am growing slower, but also for no reason. I am growing impatient and grouchy and annoyed with others, and usually for no other reason than what I want is not happening. I am growing impatient with God, thinking that what I want now is better than his timing. I am growing, slowly, in recognition of how wrong my thoughts are, my plans, my timing. I am growing older, too. I am waiting. I growing to understand the decisions that other people sometimes make, the same ones that I have told myself time and time again that I would never make, and wondering whether my convictions are changing, and whether they should. I am growing to wonder whether my convictions of old were ideas planted by God for me to do his work in the future, or whether they were silly ideals planted to make me doubt and doubt and doubt. I am hopeful, and growing more and more hopeful still, that God is...

listening to the deluge outside, glad not to be driving in it anymore. being warmed up by a purring kitty on my lap. curious about what sweet hubby meant when he said on the phone " recien vi una persona atropellada por un auto" and i said, "ok, te amo, chau". exhausted by my kids at school, who are so smart that they think they don't need to listen to directions, and then ask a bajillion questions about what they are supposed to do. dressed for yoga, the first exercise I'll do in a week. So much for running three times a week. I did better on vacation. avoiding packing for my cousins wedding on Friday, since it seems like way too much work after writing sub plans for two days and plans for Monday when I get back, and cleaning up the classroom, and trying to remember all the details of our daily routine for someone who doesn't do it every day. hopeful that this month might be the month, but really doubtful at the same time. I'd love to have prayer...

For all of you who didn't happen to already know, today is a special day. September 18th -- the day that a group of Chileans first got together to form a "junta" to propose independence. In all of Chile, families and friends are together, spit roasting baby goats or lambs, eating empanadas, drinking chicha, dancing the cueca, and having a fantastic time celebrating the anniversary of the first movements towards independence, which would later be declared on February 12th. On a personal note, today is one of the days that my sweet hubby feels most homesick -- I think of it as similar to being away from home on Thanksgiving. Please pray for me to be patient, kind, loving, and understanding to him today, even more than most days. ¡Viva Chile!

Sweet hubby woke up early and went to school with me, to move things around and make copies and laminate stuff and cut it up and all of that. I wouldn't have gotten the same things done if he hadn't gone with me. I probably would have gotten my sub plans for next week done, though, which I'm sure my sub would have been happy with. Oh well. I spent a lot of the afternoon with my mama. We made spaghetti sauce. Then I googled instructions for making chia heads. I think we're going to do this in my classroom. I think it will be fun. I really like how the roots show through the bottom, too. Learning about plant adaptations is a 3rd grade standard. It's totally legit. All I have to do is find a cheap source of knee-highs. Then I went home while the sauce was simmering. Don't worry, my mama was still there to stir. I climbed into bed and shoved the kitty under the sheets. She didn't complain. She curled up beside me and took a nap while I read a book...

tomando desayuno mirando los cambios en el cielo mientras el mundo se despierta y el sol sube detrás del agua triste que hoy es domingo, y hay que volver a la casa feliz que puedo estar todavia en la playa con pocas ganas de terminar la frasada que es un regalo para una de mis mejores amigas esperando con dedos cruzados que la maquina de coser todavia funciona hoy tratando de no hacer mucho ruido mientras esposito lindo sigue durmiendo pensando que debo haber traido papeles de la escuela, pero no los traje. contenta que jugamos "chicken pot pie", normalmente conocido como "putt putt" anoche, en una brisa rica, sin marcar puntos un poco avergonzada por mi honestidad ayer, pero creo que honestidad es la mejor póliza. pegandome sola por no haber traido la cámara no muy feliz que la mayoría del día hoy está dedicado a limpiar la casa y prepararla para el invierno emocianada que hasta el momento, todavia estoy cumpliendo mi resolución del año nuevo -- he venido a la pla...

In real life.... linking up at the gypsy mama. In real life, I'd rather sit on the couch all day. But not everyday. Some days, I'd rather have free time and motivation and a project in front of me. But I'd rather not have a project that makes me jealous. In real life, the hardest projects for me to finish are the baby presents for my best friends, all entering the next stage of life without me. http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif In real life, it is pretty dang hard to get upset for others about the poor timing of getting pregnant when they get that sweet reward at the end of it, then try to suggest that it's my turn next. What do they think? That they get to play God? That I don't pray every day to be ok with the timing of whatever blessing is bestowed upon me, whether I can get pregnant or not? Do they really think that I don't want a family? That always answering "We have a cat" is really so funny that I think I need to keep doing it? In...

watching some more Glee. For real. getting tight already after a run and yoga tonight. super excited about going to the beach this weekend, even though we have to do some winterizing of the house and lots of cleaning. glad this has been a short week with a student half day, even though my kids aren't behavior problems this week. feeling overwhelmed with all of the new requirements and deadlines at school for implementing RISC stuff this year, on top of putting all resources into Spanish and being encouraged to abandon the few that are already in Spanish. proud of my kids for their "que hacer cuando no sabes que hacer" list, and hopeful that it won't take too long for them to get in the habit of using it. listening to the washing machine, since sweet hubby is doing the laundry! staring at my kitty and willing her to sit on me, but doubtful that she will this time of night. going to bed late. again.

I have a new pink thing. It is an old pink thing, but new to me. It came off the side of the road last night, in the rain. Sweet hubby wasn't very happy about it. But I have biiiiiiiig plans for it. Can you tell what my new-old pink thing is? (um, yes, I'm aware that it is upside down. We picked it up in the rain. Not leaving it right side up to let the mosquitos breed....) It's a sink! My parents' neighbors are doing some remodeling, and this gem was lying on the side of the road, waiting for the trash collectors to come by.... I had seen it more than once. But when my mama mentioned that trash pick up was today....I knew I couldn't just gaze at it lovingly anymore. Sometime soon-ish sweet hubby and I will have a building project, and we'll figure out how to install it as an outdoor sink next to our storage shed, maybe with a nice counter-top height shelf and some cabinets underneath, for me to use to pretend that I know more about planting things. I can...

On a Saturday night. The theme this week is rest, and i'm linking up at thegypsymama . Rest. What is that, really? Does anyone get any? Work hard, play hard, work hard, play hard. I feel like I haven't really rested in too long. But now, it is labor day weekend. A day off to rest from my labors. I brought my computer with me to the beach, as if i'm going to try to do some work. I might try, but if today was any indication, no work will be done. Rest. The boat isn't working quite right, so no skiing. Rest. My heels aren't working right, so maybe I should take some time off from running for a while. Probably not. I'm a glutton for punishment. Rest. Take some time to sit on your hiney, soak up the sun, read a novel for fun, go visit the winery, and eat some cake. Rest. Rest rest rest. Then go go go some more, do and go and do and go and rest. The rest is still waiting for you, the rest is still left to come.

I made some great decisions today. I also made some not-so-great decisions today. I decided to move the desks around in my classroom. Good decision. I got frustrated with my kids for talking instead of listening to directions. Not-so-great. I decided to go home "early" from school. Good decision. I decided not to worry about what I'm teaching in math tomorrow, and so have very few plans. Not-so-clever. I decided to skip car-rider duty since I had no planning time today, recess duty, and zero breaks from my students. Fantastic. I used that time to check facebook. Dumb. I decided to go to Bible study tonight. Excellent. I decided to go for a run today, but have zero motivation. Not-so-great. I decided to go to the beach the weekend after labor day with sweet hubby, just the two of us. Super-super-excited. I decided we won't be acting as leaders for the university church we are leaders at on their retreat that same weekend. Feeling ...

Este fin de semana ya no ha sido lo que yo esperaba, pero a la vez, ha sido más de lo que esperaba. Yo pensé que dos buenas amigas iban a venir a visitar, que ibamos a celebrar el futuro casamiento de una, quedarnos despiertas hasta tarde, ver películas, reírnos, y todo. Pero poco a poco, los planes de este fin de semana se fueron cambiando. Recibí un correo el miercoles en la mañana diciendo que la tienda de la familia de una de las niñas se había destruido por fuego, y que necesitaba estar con su familia ahora. Claro que si, son una familia bien apegada y en el momento de perder todo, es importante estar juntos. Con la llegada de Irene, la otra amiga no puede volar, asi que no vendrá tampoco. Mis planes cambiaron. En vez de estar en el auto 4 horas ayer, buscando a la amiga del aeropuerto, cancelé la cena con Roommate y salí con esposito lindo. Fuimos a un restauran nuevo, operado por algunos de sus amigos (esposito lindo hizo algunas instalaciones técnicas para ...

older.... I am older. I can tell it in the needed recovery time from running or yoga. I can tell it when I get up at the first alarm chime in the morning, at 5:30, and wehn I'm ready for bed at 9:30 at night. I can tell it when I think that kids and teenagers and college students are crazy for the choices they make. But sometimes I can't tell it. I can't tell when I am supposed to cross the line and stop taking crazy vacations with too few plans. I can't tell when I'm supposed to have the rhythm of always getting the dishwasher unloaded the same day it was run will fall into place. I can't tell when things like the paperwork for refinancing a mortgage won't totally blow me away with their level of complexity and my own level of not understanding. Someday, I keep thinking, I will know that I am older. And I will act like it. But so far, I can't seem to forget how young I still feel, how inexperienced, how naive, how stubbo...

still without consistent hot water at home. Sweet hubby has been making arrangements to have our water heater replaced, and it might be tomorrow. exhausted -- I forgot how much energy teaching takes each day. not quite back into a good routine -- I'm still going to bed too late, getting up too early. annoyed with chatty chatty kids -- but happy they are not the behavioral problems I had to handle last year. happy that my grad student friends are finally all back from their summer adventures (me too!). watching a Glee marathon -- how did I miss this before? debating going to Bible study tonight. I'll probably go for a little while, but not the whole time. excited that the house is clean. wishing the refrigerator would fill itself with healthy, easy to pack lunch foods. I think I'll have to go to the store later. Or tomorrow. sooooooo glad to have sweet hubby home.