30 days of lists

It's report card season right now. There is always talk around this time about the difference between a 3 (meets expectation), 2 (developing), and 4 (above abd beyond). I love the idea of finding the areas where there may be growth but one is still developing the skill or ability. This inspired my list for today.

Areas Where I'm Still Developing

1. Sleeping in, like truly staying in bed late

2. Putting my clothes back on the hangers

3. Bringing my lunch bag in from the car (why is this hard?!?!)

4. Finishing books before they are due at the library

5. Dealing with car problems. I do better now but it always unravels me

6. Unloading the dishwasher. I can load it eight times a day if you want but once they're clean...

7. Staying awake past 9 - the time change had made this harder!

8. Eating just a handful of pretzels 

9. Remembering to drink water in the cooler month - I'm all about the tea

10. Rhythm - my musical Achilles' tendon 

one little word wednesday

Perspective is so important. I love this picture because you can't see beyond the rocks, but you know there is something out there by looking at Seth's face. Sometimes we get over run by the obstacles and we need others to guide us through these tough days.

This week, I feel like I'm the one on top of the rocks saying "You can do it, you're almost there and you're going to love what you find!" I am not the one struggling (yet), but some around me are.

So I paired this photo with one of my favorite storybook quotes. Each time I read "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse" I get to this line and I pause at the simplicity and importance of the message. Mr. Slinger has perspective on the issue that Lily can't quite grasp. She needs his support and guidance to get beyond the difficulties.

This week I choose to be #cheerfulnomatterwhat for my colleagues, students, and family, "for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (and me!)" 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

What will you choose?

currently - August 2014

tending to my plants that are somehow still thriving
planning lessons
eating olives and berries (not together)
racing to finish this sweater before school starts
opening this book with the goal of making time to read during the school year
snapping photos of the little people in my life
savoring the last days of summer freedom and sunshine
enjoying my clean and quiet house
sipping coffee
choosing to be joyful always and to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5.16-18)

menu planning

As part of my reality check that the school year is just around the corner, I've been looking for go-to recipes. Meal planning helps me immensely, especially during extra busy seasons. I'm always searching for new inspiration. Here are a few recipes that look good as well as a free download!

• Kung-Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps from Iowa Girl Eats
• Veggie Burgers with Quinoa
• Tomato Coconut Soup
• And because what would Fall be without pumpkins, a yummy treat!

To help me stay motivated, I made a new template that I'm sharing (click on the image below). I made my menu for Monday through Friday with space to note breakfast, lunch and dinner. The columns hold 2"x1.5" post-it notes, which I use to write down the meal/recipe name. This makes it easy to reuse favorite meals from week to week or to switch them around should the plan need to change. I printed mine on a piece of card stock and then put it in a plastic page protector. This way I can reuse the same template until I need new inspiration :)

Don't worry, we eat meals on the weekend too, it's just more about leftovers and is much less structured.

Feel free to download or share your favorite meal planning ideas!

one little word wednesday

As August approaches I am working staying positive. It's hard to thinking about saying goodbye to slow mornings, fresh food and lots and lots of friends and family time.

So instead of saying "goodbye" to these things, I'm trying hard to choose a different attitude. So I choose gratitude. I am grateful for:

The next season brings back work, meetings, students, families, lessons, grading and much more. I hope to spend August looking at ways to incorporate my summer activities into daily life. I realize that knitting all day while reading my nook is not really an option come September, yet I know there is a way to make time for knitting and reading. Waking up early is usually my go to when I want to add things to my schedule but I rethinking the evenings a bit and wondering how to better utilize my time.

What activities do you make time for during your busy seasons so that you can stay sane?

stitching as service

This year our first graders are making blankets for the Fire Department. The goal of the blanket is to comfort a child who is in a situation where the Firefighters have intervened. The blankets are cozy polar fleece squares.  The students cut fringe along two edges to add a bit of fun. Though the gift is fluffy and soft to the touch, we want the child who receives it to be comforted inside and out. Enter the best part of the gift, a special message sewn on the back. We want our students to understand that they may never know who receives the blanket and yet they can still provide words of encouragement and comfort. We are called to serve those we know as well as those we don't know.

Today I am prepping the cotton rectangles on which these messages will be written. I have not been sewing much lately and am trying to soak up each and every minute. There is something therapeutic about cutting over thirty 9"x6" rectangles all of simple white cotton. As I make each cut and iron each one flat I am praying that the messages our students write will bring hope and peace to those in our community.

last bit of summer

to celebrate the end of summer-freedom and the beginning of dressing professionally the school year, i dove headfirst into a sewing project.

inspired by this post, i picked up a fuzzy, medium-weight plaid and began creating.

step 1 - admit that in order for this to work best i MUST MATCH THE PLAID
i am usually in too much of a hurry to wear the garment to spend time on a step like this but i am SUPER glad I took the extra time. I cut the two pieces out to ensure that the lines would be parallel to the waistband and seam to be sure that they lined up on the side seams.

step 2 - figure out how to add pockets
pockets are fun, functional and a necessary part of a teacher's wardrobe. whether it's keys, markers, paperclips or special (extra small) gift from students, pockets are NOT optional. so i winged it. when deciding on placement i became extra glad for step 1 because i was able to easily able to align the pockets without any trouble. yay for doing things right!

step 3 - sew!!
okay, this isn't a tutorial. Anneliese did that for us in the above link. the only change is that i cut pockets using a basic pocket shape and stitched it to the side of each panel before sewing up the side seams. this is a great tutorial and even shows you how to add them to an existing garment! yay for pocket love!

step 4 - cut loose threads
remember step 1, where i mentioned it pays to do things properly? apparently i was still following that rule and i'm glad i did. now i don't have to worry about random threads hanging loose, catching on things or tempting small children to pull (which makes me think of this song).

step 5 - promptly put skirt ON and show your husband
okay, you might not have to do this step, but i always like to dig through my closet and show off how my new garment goes with things i own. so despite the 80* weather, i put on black leggings, tall boots and rotated through a few sweaters and tops to show off my new fall/winter skirt with pockets. did i mention the pockets? be sure to highlight these a lot. it helps to put something in there before appearing in front of your audience and then dramatically pulling the item out. surprise ending!

step 6 - realize you forgot to take pictures of the steps and attempt to get some "finished product" shots
as i said above, the tutorial has been written, this is basically me making my dramatic entrance back into the world of blogging and showing off the new skirt, which i will be unable to wear for another month or so. that's the downside to sewing a warm, fuzzy wintery skirt in the summer. oh well :)

Slice of Life 2012 - 7

Attention First Grader: You Have a Substitute Teacher.
About a year ago, during a stint as First Grade Substitute, a precocious little boy came up to me during writing and confidently stated that he had "NOTHING" to write about. "Nothing?" I questioned. "You have absolutely no thoughts or ideas or observations? That sounds kind of sad?" and he replied promptly, "The thing is I do not WANT to write." So, the proper sub that I am, I told him it was writing time for 15 more minutes and it was his job to return to his desk and begin writing. "But what will I write about? I do NOT want to write!" he pleaded. Whether my response is sassy or brilliant, I'll leave up to you, but nonetheless I suggested that he write about and explain how much he did NOT want to write. He went back to his desk and promptly filled a few pages with sentence upon sentence explaining why he did NOT want to write and how he had NOTHING to write about. I chuckled and continued counting down the minutes until the end of the day.

Latter that week his classroom teacher told me about how he proudly came up to her the following day and told her all about the teacher who said he could write about "not wanting to write" and how he thought it was so silly and wanted to show her the work. At first I didn't know whether it was a compliment or a cause for concern (regarding my patience with children), but sitting here now, with my head pounding, too many hours of work behind me and many more projects still left on my list, I understand where he is coming from. Because tonight, I did NOT want to write. I just wanted to curl up in bed, maybe read, probably just close my eyes and listen to nothing. But now that I have written, I feel better... calmer... more prepared for sleep and much more excited about the adventures ahead.