Totally Awkward.

Today, over here, its totally awkward Tuesday. Because today is a sad day (my parents moved away), i am choosing to think of something else, something awkward, something from way back in freshman year of high school.

I was taking a child psychology class as a freshman, with a bunch of seniors. That in itself made me awkward, but don't worry it gets worse. One of our assignments was reading a children's book to the class. I suppose this was to perfect reading aloud to young minds (which clearly I have since mastered!). I cleverly selected a Sesame Street book.

So, as I read along about Oscar, Big Bird and probably Snuffleupagus, I did a darn good job. I'm sure I was bright red, as I was inredibly shy and slightly mortified to be sitting in front of a class of high school seniors, but I trudged through and did a fantastic job, until the very last line of the story.

If you've ever seen Sesame Street, you might be able to take a gander at what that last line was. It read: Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street? All I had to do was read those final ten words, but what did I do? I SANG those last 10 words. SANG THEM. In front of a large class of high school seniors. Did they laugh to ease the tension? Did they smile because I was simply a cute little freshman? NO, they just stared in bemused confusion at me, the awkward wonder. I was mortified.

I still don't know why I did that. It was completely out of character for me to sing. I do know it was not out of character for me to be awkward.

tomorrow.

tomorrow my parents leave to make a the long drive from boston to texas, their new home. i am very sad. i have never lived more than 20 minutes away from them in my 24 years of life. i know it will be ok and i know they have a great opportunity ahead of them, but man. this stinks.

and while i haven't been a constant flow of tears (just wait for it. it will come.) it seems my body is very in tune with whats going on. my throat is really sore, my head feels like its going to explode from pressure, my back has a tight spot that keeps sending pain shooting up my shoulder/neck, it seems like no matter how much i nap i am still tired and then, i find myself laying awake at night which has literally never happened to me before. i am a lover of sleep. so, i take these all as signs of the stress and emotion i am feeling. my tearducts must be on a delayed setting, but the rest of my body is in full force mourning mode.

aaaand, we're back. i think.

sorry for my absence, dear readers. i've been in recovery. i've spent the last several days feeling crummy- puffy, sore, and just all around strange in the mouth region. these feelings i have not enjoyed. however, there are some feelings in life that are pure bliss. i thought i'd share a couple of my favorites.

1- jumping in a hot shower after spending the day in the hot sun helping pack your parents moving truck (ugh). you can feel the sweaty glisten wash off and the cold chill be replaced with a comforting warmth. absolutely love it.

2- after spending the day in a cold, wet bathing suit putting on warm cotton (preferably frumpy hanes) underwear. haven't had this yet this summer, but oh so lovely.

3- really being able to bite into yummy food (ie. pizza) after mushing and swallowing your way through meals for nearly a week. YUMMM.

4- cuddling with the one you love and perfectly fitting into every nook and cranny, feeling certain you were made for each other.

what are your favorite feelings?

Yikes!

Tomorrow is the big day. I get my wisdom teeth taken out. I have put this off for a long time. I am not looking forward to it. BUT, i'm not as scared out of my mind as I was expecting. So, here's to hoping I don't look like ths little dude come Tuesday & Wednesday.

Any suggestions welcome. Horror stories will get you on my bad side. You don't want to be on my bad side. I have a nasty glare.

Fun, fun, fun

So, I'm totally hijacking this from TeeTee's blog. But, its so fun I just had to. You should really try it out. I love polaroids. I mean, who doesnt?! So, take a look at a couple I made and then, go check it out. (you have to download it, but its free!)

Wish I was a hairdresser (sort of)

i really just wish i was good as styling my hair all fancy-like. i think loose, curly updos are beautiful. buuut, i don't have curly hair, my hair resists holding a curl and minus all that i dont know how to put it up in a bun-like mess and make it look pretty. crud. guess i'll have hair down and straight at the wedding this weekend.

Summer vacation.

This is my 100th post! Very exciting stuff.

So, i haven't quite gloated enough about how incredible summer vacation is. So, this is a post about how wonderful it is.

During summer vacation, I get to be productive. I get to organize my food shelves. This might not seem the stuff of an incredible summer, but trust me. Doing this at 11am after sleeping in and making a yummy breakfast instead of at 5pm after day with 9 five years is much, MUCH better.During summer vacation, I try new things like baking cakes from scratch and decorating them. For a first time try, the cake turned out fairly well, just a titch dense. I'm not sure I'm the world's best cake decorator, but at least its fun!!
During summer vacation, I go shopping with my mom (which again, is much more enjoyable in a rested state). I get slammin' new shoes to wear to a wedding. Sweeeeet.
During summer vacation, I get to hang out with my brother and have fun adventures. Adventure #1 with mojojojo: trying out Sweet, a new cupcake place in Harvard Sq.

From left: Boston cream, red velvet, pina colada and strawberry lemonade. YUM.

Be Still, My Soul

One of my very favorite spiritual songs is Be Still, My Soul. If I'm overwhelmed, emotional or generally stressed, thinking about the words to the song or listening to it on my ipod calms me down and really does help me soul be still.

I'm dedicating this post to my favorite bride-to-be whose wedding is this Saturday. This week will be a busy, emotional and potentially overwhelming week for her. Hoping this song comforts her the way it does me.

this time last year.

this week last year chris and i were soaking up the sun, stuffing our faces with chips & guacamole and drinking until our hearts content in beautiful puerto vallarta, mexico. that was a heavenly vacation. i have never done so little and enjoyed every minute so thoroughly as that week. i wish we were there now.

so much fun with him!!

the american celtics night :)


ahhhhh.
sunset as seen from dinner. seriously!?

maybe announcing publicly will help.

so, i want to run the tufts 10k in october. chris's mom has done it and will be doing it this year, so i think i'm going to join her. i really like running. i'm just not good at it, or at doing it consistently. i also tend to get a little chubbier in the summers since i don't have to work and have all day to stuff my face with junk. soooo, my goal is to train for the 10k over the summer and be in good shape for the october race day. i'm hoping that tell all you people will help keep me motivated. we'll see. i'm excited though. i've never done anything more than a 5k.after my 5k last june :)

Awesome Day.

Today Chris and I had an excellent adventure. We biked around the Charles River. We started at the start of Storrow Drive (parked in the Publick Theatre) and made our way down to the Museum of Science, Hatchshell and back again. It was a good workout and gave us a glorious glimpse at our beautiful city. There were a few too many people outside enjoying the wonderful weather along with us which made the trail a bit crowded, but all in all it was amazing. I hope this wasn't a one time deal!

While the pictures below are not mine, they may give you an idea of what we saw (though clearly we had no oppurtunity for an aerial view of the city on our bikes. rats.)

Img. Cred: top 1 2 3 4

School is really out.

Today is my second day of true summer. I finished with the kids last Friday, but I had to go in a wrap up my room this week. I finished Wednesday and am now FREEEE for the summer. Such a good feeling. Teaching really takes it out of you during the school year, but having a summer to relax and rejuvenate makes it really worth it. So, I won't have cutsie love triangle stories, but I will do my best to keep you entertained until September when you (and I!) will get to meet a whole new gang.

But, I will leave you will one final memory of this class. I received the sweetest end of the year gift. It is a perfect combination of kindergarten, but lovely and practical all at the same time. I'm still deciding where I want to hang it up in my house.

Whale Watch **Photos added

For Mother's Day, we planned a day in Gloucester with my mom- going to brunch and going on a whale watch. We did it yesterday, and I have to say it was one of the most fun days of my life. We had a great time just spending time with my parents, but the whale watch was incredible. If you have the chance to do one, you have to. It is well worth it.

We saw quite a few whales and fairly close up. Seeing these enormous creatures was amazing. I also really enjoyed the adventure of looking for whales. It was so much fun to strain your eyes out over the quiet ocean waters, just hoping to see a blowspout or a fin pop out of the water. The pictures can tell it much better than me, so enjoy.
We first saw Minke whales. They were far off in the distance and resembled dolphins.

For a while, there were three humpback whales hanging out near out boat.

We got to see a couple really good tail flukes, which is how researchers keep track of which whale is which (they all have names!).

On the way in we had an unusual chance to see a basking shark! Basking sharks are the second biggest shark. It just floated around with its mouth wide open while it filtered in food. SO COOL!If you look closely, you'll see a light green area in the water- that's the sharks GINORMOUS mouth opening up for food.

The Graduate

Friday was Chris's graduation day. I am so proud of him. Chris worked full-time all through college, got married in the middle and has finally made it to the end. HALLELUJAH!

First thing in the morning. Still dry!
Leaving the main ceremony. Such a trooper in the rain.
Walking across the stage!
So proud of him :)

Stress- update

I thought I would update you on my stress levels. I would day in general they are still high, mostly because of emotion. Overall, I have made great progress with the things on my list!

color code (because i can't figure out how to "strikethrough"
red- done
blue- almost
black- not quite yet

-send home kids' work
-make t-shirts for kids-Doing this tonight!
-buy gift books for kids- Only two more to buy!
-make slideshow of class/burn onto DVDs
-gifts for room parents
-chris's graduation on friday (hallelujah!!!!)/missing a day of school-stressful
-get everything together for chris's graduation party
-plan for craziness of last week of school
-report cards due tuesday
-clean and organize classroom
-deal with the emotion of saying goodbye to the sweetest class ever. love them.

So, i'm doing better this week. I only have 2.5 days left with the kids. This is very bittersweet.

Things that make a teacher smile.

1. Progress
I didn't save much from the beginning of the year, but MAN, do those few things speak volumes. Kindergarten is a special year and the progress children make is remarkable. Really, no explanation is necessary.

Writing Sample
September
Writing Sample
May

(in case you were confused, that first one is supposed to say James)

2. Love
I've said it before, the little darlings' love means a lot. I know they will love each of their teachers, but its just good to know you make a difference to them.

this is a page from this little girl's memory book. her favorite thing in kindergarten is me :)