How cool that I log into my google reader this weekend and one of my fav local reads has posted a project from my classroom as a plug for supporting Donors Choose?! I was so thrilled, and of course logged on right away to leave a comment, and then posted a plug on my classroom web page to let all my parents know.  Super exciting stuff!  Send love out, and it will come back to you! -e

 


For some reason, Dirty Diana has been rocking through my brain all morning; do think it was Diana Ross that Michael was singing about? 

 

I was reading over here this morning, and this quote in particular stood out, (not to mention her gorgeous photo of sweet beets.) 

However, the more I thought about it, for me, this is just not true.  My medicine is and always has been music.  When I am happy, my music is loud and upbeat- windows down and proclaiming to the neighbors or cars around me as the wind makes my big hair even bigger.  When I am sad, I want to wallow in it, burrowing into a mix of melancholy melodies, bringing myself to the tears I need as I listen to the same soulful cries again and again.  When I am angry, I have always found respite in the passion and fervor of equally angry crooner.

So when I got an iTunes gift card for Christmas from one of my students, I was thrilled to look for some new jams.  Florence and The Machine has been on repeat for quite some time, so I really need something new. Here is what is rocking my world today. 

I am super excited about Adele's new album, 21.


I also have been loving this song by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals- love it.

I'm aching for summer lately- desperate for it in a way that I probably always am by January, but it's an ache that feels especially hungry right now.  I am looking at houses for our summer vacation in Ocracoke, and listening to previous summer vacation road mixes.  Today, this song was on repeat in my classroom, which thank goodness, my kids always deal with really well.  It brought me some peace...


Sunshine Song by Jason Mraz

Well sometimes the sun shines on
Other people's houses and not mine.
Some days the clouds paint the sky all gray
And it takes away my summertime.
Somehow the sun keeps shining upon you,
While I struggle to get mine.
If there's a light in everybody,
Send out your ray of sunshine.

I want to walk the same roads as everybody else,
Through the trees and past the gates.
Getting high on heavenly breezes,
Making new friends along the way.
I won't ask much of nobody,
I'm just here to sing along.
And make my mistakes looks gracious,
And learn some lessons from my wrongs.

Oh, if this little light of mine
Combined with yours today,
How many watts could we luminate?
How many villages could we save?
And my umbrella's tired of the weather,
Wearing me down.

Well, look at me now.

You should look as good as your outlook,
Would you mind if I took some time,
to soak up your light, your beautiful light?
You've got a paradise inside.
I get hungry for love and thirsty for life,
And much too full on the pain,
When I look to the sky to help me
And sometimes it looks like rain.

You're undeniably warm, you're cerulean,
You're perfect in desire.
Won't you hang around
so the sun, it can shine on me,
And the clouds they can roll away,
And the sky can become a possibility?
If there's a light in everybody,
Send out your ray of sunshine.

I usually can't stand a snow day- I know that I'm going to have to make it up in the end.  However, this weekend wore me out emotionally and otherwise.  I spend almost eight hours in the back seat of a sedan on Sunday, only to get home about two hours past my usual bed time.  So today's snow day was much appreciated.  I've been grading papers snuggled on the couch with Olive, my love.  I'll be back to school tomorrow with pleasure, but I needed this day of rest.  I did take a quick minute to look online at art with Bostons in it.



Check out this classic photo! 

I'm currently loving The Wheatfield by Katie Daisy.  Here are just a few of my favorite pieces.I think that they are just gorgeous!

I'm going to see my sister this weekend. She's having a hard time and making some tough choices that I really hope she sticks with.  We're all really struggling with it, and I'm having a harder time this go round that I have before.  I just keep thinking, if I had the right words, maybe it would make a difference....  I know in my head and heart that this just isn't true.  Here are a few things I'm hoping she takes to heart though:

Mondo Beyondo is offering two fantastic courses this January--their master class Mondo Beyondo along with Dream Lab which they will be hosting along with Brene Brown, the author of The Gifts of Imperfection and the now viral TEDx talk about vulnerability.

In fact, they are offering $15 off for a limited time only on both of these courses. Just enter "103B38A4" in the discount code section of your sign up sheet. 

The Mondo Beyondo class is for starting the new year with a sense of power and possibility about the life you can create. "This six week course is the best medicine if you want to understand the mindset and hands-on practices that put dreams in motion. Allow us to immerse you in the perspective that the Universe is conspiring to shower you with blessings. You really can trust yourself and your intuition more than you think." Class starts on January 11. (Enter coupon code "dreambig" on your paypal shopping cart for you discount!

The Dream Lab class is if you want to get out of your own way and embrace the beauty of who you are right here, right now. "Join us for this highly engaging eight week session while we read-a-long with Brene and cultivate the willingness and ability to love ourselves and our stories with all their marvelous light and darkness. Designed to help you practice what you explore your authentic self in a supportive environment, Dream Lab is the perfect course for students looking to create more space for courage, connection and radical self-acceptance." Class starts January 10. You can buy The Gifts of Imperfection here and enter the coupon code "103B38A4" when you register for class to get your discount!


While I really wish I could afford to take part in one of these courses right now, I just can't.  However, I did really enjoy the Brene Brown Ted Talk about vulnerability and thought you might too!

This has been a bizarre winter break.  I'm ready to get back into a routine of some sort, but honestly not quite ready to go back....  I've enjoyed so much this time with Sean and Olive, lazy days lounging around, scouring antique shops and little odd stores here and there.  Long runs in the cold, hours catching up on Big Love, time spent talking with friends, reading and painting away my heartache~ it's all been quite simple and needed.  This morning I was very tempted to crawl into a cubby much like this little girl. It was all I could do to drag myself out of bed at 5:30 this morning and go running!  Once I was moving, things were all good, but it was a rough wake up call!
I've spent a great deal of time over this break thinking about the past, present and future, looking for meaning beneath meaning.  What do they hold for me?  Where have they brought me and what have I accomplished?

Sean and I celebrate our 8th anniversary tomorrow.  He is truly my soul mate, he knows me through and through and we have grown so much with each other over these years.  At the same time, I learn more about him each day, he still makes me laugh and I look so desperately forward to seeing where we will challenge each other to grow in the years to come.  I know that this year will bring all things new and yet bring me that much closer to the man I am already so familiar with.

I have reached a point of frustration at work.  I'm almost ready for  something new...  what that new challenge is, I don't know, but I see more and more that I will not be able to be a classroom teacher for 60 years like some people do.  I have always known that I would not be a career classroom teacher.  I work steadily to challenge myself, changing grade levels and teams, working on new certifications and programs.  I don't ever want to be stagnate~ but I am seeing too that while this work ethic is absolutely the best thing for my students, it may not be the best thing for my health or family.  I extend myself to the absolute fullest, taking on tasks and challenges to the point of exhaustion and frustration sometimes in my home.  I've worked very hard this year to say no to things that would add frustration and bitterness to my teaching heart.   But  I see myself going in a new direction in the next several years.  I'm trying hard to focus my vision and see what will be best for myself and my family.... I need to see exactly to what next branch I will fly. 

I am coming into this new year with open eyes, open mind and open heart. I wish the same for you. -e

My Christmas season has been a messy one...  filled with turmoil of all kinds- the family variety mostly.  I've sat down to write about it about ten times at least, but nothing would really come out.  Instead, it had me making my own messes, of the paint and glue kind.  Here's what I'm working on as my own little therapeutic outlet.  It's most definitely a work in progress- a bare-bones sort of base as I'll go back and add in the real meat- my soul in words...