Catch Up: International

Taken by My BiL

My hubster and I were on the hunt for our coffee at the Asian supermarket. We ran out just as a cold spell descended upon us. Boo! Here's our conversation with my FiL. 

Hubster: We can't find it. It's the one in the yellow can that has chicory. 
Me: It's okay. We'll get it later.
FiL: Oh...I know which one you're talking about. You have to find the international section. 
Me: You mean the white section?
Hubster: (laughs)

Throwback Tuesday: No Ordinary Love - Sade

Being Faithful

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In teaching, we have this mantra, "Stay faithful to the curriculum." Of course, my immediate answer is, "Yes, I want to be faithful." I suppose it's all those years being with my hubster or all those Sundays at church that triggers that instantaneous response. Well, I've been trying to be faithful to the curriculum with my temporary kiddos for several reasons. Mostly, I want their regular teacher to find it easy to pick up where we left off when she comes back. I'm also learning three new curriculums simultaneously.There's comfort in following the book. 


Well, what are my thoughts now? Hmmm...I can stray a bit. I used to stray all the time when I was a student teacher and my mentor teachers encouraged it. I love taking chances in the classroom. Today, I strayed from our standard math worksheets. What was I met with? Smiling faces! Little peeps of  "Oh! Now, I get it!" Enthusiastic shouts of "This is fun!" and "Can we do more math like this tomorrow?" 


You must be wondering what I impressed them with. Here's a list of supplies: 8.5 x 14 plain white legal paper, a pencil, and a crayon. Yes, that's it. We were showing how regrouping works. They had to draw rods of 10 and loose ones. 


Lesson learned. I don't have to be faithful all the time. It's okay to stray. Being blindly faithful made me a bit of a sloth and my kiddos into wiggly squirrels.

Ip Man

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I'm very particular when it comes to boy movies. There are very few boy movies that I can actually get through and enjoy. When my hubster gave glowing reviews about Ip Man, I was a bit skeptical. Surprisingly, he was right. Ip Man was exciting even though there wasn't any flying kung fu action. The characters were very likable even the not-so-entertaining wife. I definitely recommend it if you're into kung fu movies, especially Bruce Lee movies. Fun fact: Ip Man mentored Bruce Lee.

'Tis The Busy Season

Once I've been stuffed with all of those Thanksgiving goodies, I know there's a lot of preparation to be done. Gifts to be made. Gifts to be wrapped. Thank goodness, we shop for most of our Christmas gifts throughout the year. Here are some lovely holiday ideas that I've found courtesy of Martha. 

Mulling Sachets

 Scented Sugars

 Sake-Box Planters

Who Be The Nut?

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My hubster and I went to the farmer's market by his parents' house. It was an adorable farmer's market. There was lots of bread, fresh pasta, and even falafel. We learned a fun new fact at one of the farmer's stands. Did you know that canned pumpkin pie filling isn't really pumpkin? Often, it's made from butternut squash! How interesting.

One Order of Cuteness

How can you not be enamored by this ridiculously cute photo? You could seriously get a stylish toothache from all of this sweetness. I found it on A Cup of Jo. Here's the even cuter conversation that I had with the hubster:

Me: Look at this photo. Can we order one just like her?
Hubster: You mean you want one just like you?

Hmm...I'm still debating if it was a compliment of my own cuteness or if he is implying that I'm slightly high maintenance. 

Catch Up: Pacific Grove Natural History Museum

Living in a Bubble

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Bubbles! They're everywhere! I haven't thought much about it until I'm watching how many bubbles that the kiddos have to fill in. Their smiles, inquisitive minds, and laughs all summed up in a bubble. The district, the state, and the feds want to know what they know. Education is more than a bubble. It's the education of a person as a whole individual. As we all know, a person can't fit into a bubble. 

Word Play

Best Weekend Theme Song

*The DJ on our local radio station loves to play this in the morning on rainy work days. It always leads me to daydreaming about sleeping in and watching the rain fall from the coziness of our bed. That's exactly what I have planned for this weekend. Woot!

The One

This photo of Pismo Beach from 2003 started my love of photography. I'm pretty sure my hubster took it with our little Pentax point-and-shoot. Maybe, I took it? I honestly don't remember. I do remember going home and uploading the photo. I instantly loved it. I wanted to take more photos just like it. Seven years later, it still grabs hold of my imagination. Good thing, I'm still snapping away. 

Catch Up: Monterey Bay

One Thousand

This is my thousandth post. Craziness! Hundreds of moments. Hundreds of memories. Hundreds of things that inspire me.This post reminds me of the 100th day. At school, we celebrate the 100th day of school. I think we're all happy that we still like each other by the 100th day. 

Because I work with the wee ones, I don't have to leave behind certain aspects of childhood in the shadows of adulthood. For example, we celebrate holidays and landmark dates like the 100th day like its going out of style. Since Turkey day is around the corner, the kiddos and I are pondering what we're thankful for. Here is what I'm thankful on this thousandth post: 


My dad for cultivating and nurturing my big heart. 

Music and photography because they calm my restless mind.

My mom for teaching me what it means to work for what I want in life.

Books because they have taught me how to see the beauty that surrounds me.

My friends who help me realize that my accomplishments are worth being proud of. 

My husband whose endless patience and humor has carried me through some of the longest days. 

Totally Nautical

The photo above is from Kissssing: A Love Blog. I adore it. I love how glamorous it is but it isn't fussy. I love how it looks posed but genuine. The Kennedys were definitely from a whole other time.

p.s.
Kissssing is my new favorite blog. Nothing like a little love to warm the heart.

Smile!

Yes, I already have a Diana. Yes, I've kicked my foot in the dirt because of my lack of success with it. All these facts are true, and there's no denying them. However, I am still incredibly tempted by this Holga. C'mon. It has the most adorable smiley faces. You would get the best pictures of family of friends. How could they not smile when you're taking their photo with this adorable camera? J'adore.

Thank You

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It's Time

I know things have still been cheerful in my little nook in the blogosphere. I've even managed to maintain the cheerful disposition in real life as well. At least, I think I have. No one's said anything different. It's amazing what putting on a smile and a brave face will do. 

Honestly, things have been non-stop overwhelming since the beginning of October. My hubster's g-ma had surgery because of her thyroid cancer. After the surgery, we got the news that no family ever wants to get. Her prognosis dwindled from months to weeks to days.  As my hubster says, she must have been doing Tai Chi in her mind because she held on longer than any of us imagined. That was our weekend job. 


During the week, I juggled (and am still juggling) two classrooms at two different schools. To top it off, they're also two different grade levels. Bouncing between all the faces, curriculum and routines has been quite the feat. Think tightrope walker juggling two hippos over a crocodile filled tank. Like I previously told you, I'm an adrenaline junkie, so I welcomed the challenge until my co-teacher in 2nd grade had to take a break. Now, I've assumed her role just in time for conferences and report cards. Sweet! Nothing like just jumping in and learning. At least, I'll never forget what I learned. That's been my week jobs.


I'm telling you this not because I want you to think that I'm some fantastic juggler. Trust me. My first grade co-teacher has that act down. She's pulling two jobs like me, and she has two kiddos of her own thrown into the mix. 


I'm telling you this because at the end of the day I still love what I do. I'm able to savor the smallest moments. I wake up exhausted, but I still have a smile. That smile is genuine even though it may need to be recharged by a Chai Latte ever so often.

Doggin It

Ever since our trip to New York, I've been taking photos of random dogs. They are just so interesting. They have their personalities. With all the crap that their moms and dads can by them now, they even have their own sense of style. It gets tricky though sometimes. Like the photo above, I'm pretty sure that the shirtless guys with the dog thought I was taking a photo of them. If they only knew the truth.

Throwback Tuesday: Gone - N*Sync

Get In Order

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Ever since I learned about cool and warm colors on the color wheel, I've loved organizing things by color. It's one of my OCD tendencies that has never and probably never will subside. It all began with my crayon box. Not just the 8 or 12 crayon box. I had the 64 crayon box. I was an ambitious kid with way too much time on my hands. I still organize things by color. My closet is in even arranged just like my crayon box. When I saw the picture above, the geeky-five-year-old-trying-to-decide-if-red-orange-or-orange-red-goes-right-after-red deep inside of me smiled.

Ready, Set, Go

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Today, we made a very important discovery at Target. At the fancy upgraded Targets, the frozen food sections have motion sensor lights in the refrigerated units. They turn off when no one's there. Like magic, they flicker on as you walk by. Very green. What do my hubster and I do once he makes this discovery?

We go to the end of an empty aisle that has all of the lights off. Then, without having to say a word to each other, we take our spots. Get into our runner's lunge. Ready, set, go! Then, run down the aisle. After a stressful week/month, nothing could be funner. Hmm...maybe if we had those bouncy balls that you could sit on and we could have bounced our way down the aisle. Look's like I have plan for next time! I highly recommend this activity the next time you're in Target.

p.s.
Yes, hubster. This story made it onto my blog just as you guessed.   

A Tall Order of Adrenaline

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I'm an adrenaline junkie. No, I don't get my fix by driving fast cars or jumping out of airplanes. I get through teaching. It is one of the biggest rushes ever. I love it. I love the spontaneity of it. You never know what a kiddo will say or do. I also get a big kick out of having too much to do. Crazy, I know. When you see them happy and learning, you know it's a job well done. It's totally worth the battles with the copier in the morning, the multiple coffee stops, and the paper cuts.

Walking Buddy

Every Wednesday, I go walking with one of my favorite fifth grade teachers. We decompress about our week. We bond. We enjoy the fabulous crisp morning air. I get a nice little burn going in my legs that gets me warmed up for the day. This Wednesday, we had an adorable moment. 

Little One: Hey! Hi Mrs. Trac!
Me: Hi Little One! 
Little One: Hey! Can I walk with you guys?
Me: Hmm?
Little One: Can I walk you guys?
Me: Of course.
Little: Yay! You know what, my ankle hurts.

The little first grader proceeds to tell us about her every little ache. She's so funny. What makes this moment even more special is that this little one isn't even my class. She's from another first grade class. I subbed in her kinder class last year for two weeks. She still remembers my name! She has the hugest smile when she greets you. She's so adorable and sweet. It was nice to have a new walking buddy.  

Throwback Tuesday: Torn - Natalie Imbruglia

Dear Not-Yet-Made Soybeanitos

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Dear Not-Yet-Made Soybeanitos, 

You are nothing but an idea, a dream, and a wish. We have names that we hope that you will like. When I see the face of a little one, I wonder if you will have the same curious twinkle in your eyes. When I look at my hubster, I wonder if you will have his smile. When I look at myself in the mirror, I wonder if you will have my nose. 

Please know that I loved you even before you were nestled inside of me. I thought of how we could make a wonderful life for you--a life filled with as much family as possible. To make that happen, I've had to weave our two families together. I've worked tirelessly to be a part of your daddy's family despite the language and cultural barriers. I wouldn't have had it any other way. 


Love,
Your Mom