thanks

I hope everyone had a relaxing and refreshing holiday break. Ours was filled with holiday shopping, travel, and making some big purchases!

It was our first Thanksgiving together as a married couple and we make the trek down to New Orleans to spend time with my husbubs family. I love that city and it will always be one of my favorite places. I have spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws before they were my in-laws, but still something was different about this trip. I missed my family but it hasn't ceased to amaze me how excited I am about all these new feelings and emotions marriage has brought along. I'm excited for more holidays with both of our families and to experience all of this together. Woohoo marriage!

Moving into this week has been hard just because I was finally getting into the swing of holiday things. Finally finding the appreciation in relaxation and down time. Lots of things on the brain this week though even with the busy-ness that has consumed my life again. Hoping to find time to write it down and reflect on a few things. 

Oh and this baby has helped with the commute back to the daily grind ;)

Happy new week people! Happy start to a wonderful holiday season! 

gobble break!

Oh, Thanksgiving break. This little chunk of vacation is so well timed. After a day filled with Thanksgiving activities and ending with a surprise feast for my kiddos at school I was truly beat. I'm so ready to soak up some time with friends, family, and hoping to catch a few moments alone in the process. I want to take in every bit of the start of this holiday season and really live it. Seeing this video was a great start to the day (besides sleeping in until 7:30am and getting served breakfast in bed;), people really are good.

"Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."

-Ann Frank

(interesting tidbit- this was the quote I put with my picture my senior year of high school) 

quickies

Joining Jen and others over here for 7 little quicks.

1. Finally not feeling like a zombie anymore. I spent the better half of this week walking around half asleep and sniffly. I'm super happy to not have anything more than some residual sneezes and a scratchy voice left over. I don't think I've had a cold that bad in a while but honestly it could have been worse. Strep throat has been going around my classroom/our school for the semester and I would much rather take some sneezes over a beastly sore throat. I've also had a wonderful teammate taking care of me all week and my super husband by my side helping me with grading and supplying me with spicy pho. I have learned a little married life lesson throughout this week. When one spouse gets sick the other shall soon follow. Now beardyhubs has the zombie cold so I suppose it's my turn to play doctor and get him feeling better.  

2. On the search for the perfect planner. As I was perusing the heavenly aisles of office supplies during my weekly* Target-only-buying-sale-stuff-and-still-spending-too-much-money trip. It dawned on me that I needed to start my yearly search for the perfect planner... I love planners. I know that I could keep all of my social activities on my phone and be really tech-savvy and such. But there is just something about writing it down in a planner, staying organized, and flipping through the pages. I have been trying to find the perfect planner for years. One that is durable and has a monthly calendar as well as week days to write things down. Something not terribly expensive. Something that I will actually want to use the entire year.

I came across this beauty this week. Not sure if I'm willing to shell out the 50 bucks for a planner. I may just need to put it on the Christmas list for now...

3. THANKSGIVING. As I was writing my lesson plans this week I decided to go ahead and be an overachiever and write next week's 5 days + the 2 days before T-giving break. It got me REALLY excited. Oh beautiful break you are so close. SO CLOSE. This past month has been hard, stressful, and full of work. I'm so ready for a break. Spending time with family and friends and finding relaxation. We are heading down to NOLA for this holiday and I could not be happier!

4. Friends. As I said before, this week was tough but made better by people taking care of me. Other friend -time things were super fun Zumba class on Wednesday and dinner with a friend, who I had not talked to in a while, last night. I'm so thankful for these people that have been put in my life. Dancing with my friends on Wednesday lifted my spirits so much. I've missed dancing with them. Dinner last night was so needed and I'm looking forward to more time spent with that friend in the future. I'm seriously blessed.

5.  Musics. 

Song that I'm really liking right now. All good music taste credit goes to my hubbubs. Also, I just got spotify and my mind has been blown.

(photo credit: NY Times)

6. Election. Well my Facebook feed has been filled with comments regarding the election, as I'm sure yours has as well. I won't comment on my feeling towards the day-after statuses but I will comment on the day-of posts. It was refreshing to see so many of my family and friends really encouraging each other to get out and vote. So many saying that it didn't matter which party you wished to vote for as long as you just went out and  participated. So many people just excited and feeling patriotic, feeling blessed to be a part of our nation. I really hope that we can keep up those feelings, the ones that encourage togetherness and a sense of oneness as a country. I like those feelings and think they are going to result in better things to come for our country. 'MURICA.

7. BED DAY! Tomorrow. Is. THE. Day!!!!!!! We are getting our super wonderful amazing king sized mattress and bed frame. No more elbows accidentally hitting faces and a mattress that will hopefully not leave our backs in knots. I plan on sleeping most of the weekend.

7.5 Today was a really good day. 

Done, and done. So they weren't so quickish.

HAPPY WEEKEND!

wedding wednesday link up!

Linking up with A Happy Wife in New Orleans today about all things wedding related! I linked up to with my first post that I wrote when we returned from our honeymoon. I loved looking at all the pictures and feeling that same excitement. We've been married 3 months now and I can honestly say I love this life even more than the day we got married! I'll take that as a good sign. ;)

Post found here.

we the people

Today is a pretty big deal. So we made it an even bigger deal in our classroom! We talked about voting, what it means to vote, and why we vote for our president. I could see all of my kids getting dreamy-eyed about the day they turn 18 and get the right to vote for such an important office.

We read Duck for President and even had our own mini election. We just finished reading Jennifer Murdley's Toad during our oral reading time as a class and so I put the next book up to a vote...

Matilda won by a landslide.



Well, I'm off to go enjoy a date with a bearded man and watch the votes roll in later!

inspiration from others: on blogging

So I took a little break.

After some comments and conversations I just needed time to clear my head. This time of year school is beyond overwhelming and this space was a creative communication outlet for me. Something that helped ease the stress and give me a new hobby to enjoy. I had been feeling kind of apathetic towards the blog though. What was the point? Who reads this? Who wants to hear my thoughts? Am I really being creative? All I could think was no one. Nobody. Nothing. So I took it all offline for a few weeks. Unplugged.

I really questioned why I was blogging. What was my purpose and what makes it so appealing. Then I came across this post on Aspiring Kennedy. This is a new blog I've come across in the past few weeks and her bright and cheery attitude was just what I needed to read.

Blogging is becoming more of a common hobby. It's something that brings people in an online community. It's something that fosters creativity for many whether it be through writing, photography, crafting, or raising a family. I've wanted to break into the world of blogging for a while. It's something that has been on my mind since college and I just never really committed the time or effort to such a project. I still don't think I've found my blogging niche but I don't see any other way of finding it then continuing to write and find my own style. It's a growing process and growing isn't always the easiest, but the end result is a beautiful thing.

So here I am. Trying this blogging thing, where it will lead I have no idea but I'm ready to get creating and searching for others who are doing the same.

Happy Monday!

7 quick ones

Joining Jen and some other lovely ladies to recap the week in 7 little quickies.

1. Hallowednesday = Hallowcrazy. I feel like Halloween was so much more than just one day this year. We celebrated this weekend with friends (post later!) and continued the fun in the classroom this week with Halloween themed poems and a fun oozing pumpkin science experiment. I can definitely say that I have had my fill of trick or treating excitement, talk of costumes, and sugar buzzed kiddos and am ready to resume a more normal schedule next week. ;) Above is a sneak peek of some Halloween fun that happened at our apartment last weekend.

2. Hurricane Sandy. I'm sure we've all been thinking a lot about those on the East coast. My heart has been with my family out there all week. There are a lot of great rescue and relief efforts going on right now and I saw a great educational website take away their subscriptions for the week. It was all so that kiddos on the East coast could still get some structured education time while being cooped up at home. Snaps for Brainpop Jr. being awesome.

3. Hello, anthro. Hi anthropologie. Hi pretty new things. Hi inspiration upon inspiration in your pretty little pages. Hi...no money in my wallet. Really in love with these, this and this.

(advent calendar idea found here.)

4. Getting pinspired. And wanting to get started on a lot of holiday crafts...however, this 90 degree no-where-near-holiday-weather is killing that craft buzz. Hard.

5. Current aches and pains. I have been feeling like I am nearing the ripe old age of 80 all week between my muscles and bones aching away. BUT! I think I've figure out my shoulder/arm issues...the bag I carry to and from school is probably almost my body weight and I tend to kind of heave it on my body before heading out the door maybe pulling a muscle in the process. trendyhashtag-teacherproblems.

6. New blogs I've found & have been enjoying, maybe you will too: 
Aspiring Kennedy 
The Vintage Modern Wife
Coffee & Cardigans


7. Sorry for the hiatus...needed time to think. Anddddd (sorry too for starting two sentences in this post with 'and' yes, it is bothering me) that will lead into a post that will hopefully surface next week if the crazy subsides for now. I just needed to work some things over in the old noggin and I still am...but more on that later.


Woaaaaah left ya with a cliffhanger! Trying to spice these quickies up!

Have a blissfilled weekend.

space songs

This week in third grade we are talking about the solar system (one of my favorite units!). These are songs I use with my kiddos to introduce the solar system, order of the planets, Sun and Moon phases. These are also songs that have been stuck in my head all. week. long.

Enjoy!

7 quick takes: take 9

Long week, hopefully not so long takes. Joining Jen and the ladies ova here!

1. My aforementioned funky mood was remedied on Wednesday by a husband who replicated this recipe. Delish. 

1 lb boneless top sirloin steak
1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 fat cloves garlic
6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons medium dry Sherry
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons sugar (regular or brown)
1 ½ lbs broccoli
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Accompaniment: steamed rice (we used brown rice)

Freeze steak until solid and partially frozen, 3 to 4 hours. (I left ours in the freezer until we needed it;)

Combine ginger, garlic, soy sauce, Sherry (or sparkling wine you may have won on your honeymoon...), sesame oil, and sugar in a bowl until sugar dissolves.

Cut steak into thin (about 1/16” thick) slices. Transfer to bowl with marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 and up to 8 hours.

Cut broccoli into (2” long, about 1”  wide) spears. If you have stems, trim off outer fibrous layer. Halve lengthwise and cut into 1” pieces. Cook broccoli in a 4 to 5 quart of boiling water seasoned with 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Cook broccoli until crisp tender, 2 minutes, then drain well.

Heat oil in a wok or large heavy skillet over medium high heat until it shimmers. Stir fry beef (scraped of excess marinade; in 2 batches if using a skillet) until it’s just no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add broccoli and stir fry until just heated through, 2 minutes more. Whisk cornstarch into marinade, add to wok along with beef and continue to stir fry until liquid boils and just thickens, about 1 minute more.

2. I may have had an I'm-not-clinically-insane-but-after-this-incident-you-may-want-to-have-me-checked moment last night...I had an event at school until about 7:30pm and then went by a friend's apartment for a few minutes. When I got home I was overwhelmed with I-must-clean-or-the-world-WILL-end crazy. The kitchen is clean, now just to tackle every other room. I'm ready to not be living in mess, post-wedded, boxes, bags, mess. It's. gettin. real. clean.

3. So Grace... is super awesome and always seems to make something much more fantastic with her magical sewing abilities. Now that I have a desk maybe I should take the initiative to actually use my brain for something semi-creative. 

4. Joanna's trip to San Francisco did not help with my sudden/not so sudden itch to get away. I have been thinking about camping and other semi-close adventures that could be had lately. Especially this week when things were feeling kinda down in the dumps, all I could think about was taking a trip no matter how long or how short. I feel like sometimes a short weekend getaway can be just the thing to revive a tired and worn out soul. 

5. Sister date this weekend! Pumped.  

6. I am reeeeeeeeeeally wanting to bake these lil' yummies this weekend:

7. The State Fair of Texas opens this weekend! Ahh... the state fair. Filled with semi-deathly safe rides and all the fattening food your personal heaven is probably filled with. I am about to admit the blasphemy of all blasphemes for a Texan... I've never been. I always say I want to go, that I should go, that I NEED to go...yet never do. We get a day off of school (cue choir of angels) for the fair but going to the fair on a day when all of my students may be there does not sound like the best...for me or them. If I adventure out that sounds like a fat-drenched blog post that would need to be shared to the masses (hah or the two people that read my blog). 

Happy weekend!

(photo creds: here, here, & here)

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant."

-Robert Louis Stevenson 

I've been in somewhat of a funk this week. Just feeling rather blah, overwhelmed, and tired. Nothing bad is necessarily happening but regardless I have just been feeling kind of down. Not sure what it is. I need to keep reminding myself that even though I may not roll around in the riches of wonderful new excitement every day; that good things are happening all around me... I just need to open my eyes to see the the little things, the good little seeds being planted.

(photo cred: found here, by photographer Steve Roche) 

weekend wrap-up: midnight at the nasher, holy matrimony, & oktoberfest!

This weekend was...busy and awesome. So many wonderful things going on and people to spend time with, celebrate with, and laugh with. I am completely exhausted this morning, but it's a worthwhile and wonderful feeling.

Here are some pictures from the adventures that were had this weekend:

Friday night we took the train downtown and went to 'til Midnight at the Nasher. It was such a nice relaxing way to end the crazy that was last week. It was also nice to see so many different people in one spot. Young adults, college kids, families of all ages... it was a great time and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Telegraph Canyon was the band of the night. Good, good music - you should definitely check them out if you are in the Dallas area.

my train date

Saturday we celebrated the marriage of a former college ministry friend! What an awesome, awesome wedding. It was also our first wedding to attend at a married couple. Long mushy story short: I like being married. Sosososo good. It was such a great time and we couldn't be happier for the newly weds! I'm sure they are to accomplish many great and wonderful tasks in their lifetime together.

That afternoon we ventured out to Addison's Oktoberfest! This was my first time at this event and it was a pretty good (albeit slightly overwhelming;) time! We went with my former college roommate and a new friend/usher from the wedding! Nothing makes me happier than meeting good, solid people and making new friends. (Sorry for the high res. cell phone pics, don't be hatin')

 

Yesterday was spent catching up on grading (I say that like I'm on top of things and I'm caught up...I'm not, promises), spending time together, and practicing with the band and Mass.

This should be our last crazy weekend for a while...I'm really looking forward to a looser schedule and more flexibility in the hopes that this might mean more sleep.

Monday, monday!

seven quick takes: take 8

Another week, another set of (probably boring, but for some reason I think they are worth sharing) takes!
Joining Jen and other blog ladies (bladies?) and a few gents over here. 

1. I got some serious enjoyment reading Bridget's post about TGIF. It made me think about TV and making an event out of it rather than turning it on for noise. When I was living alone I did that a lot. I would come home from work, turn the TV on to a random channel and wait until I had something to do or go to. Looking back I feel bad wasting the time and money and not cherishing the silence more. We have yet to decide on cable yet but if we do I really want to make an event out of shows and made a big deal out of it. I remember being a kid, watching TGIF and looking forward to that time all week. I remember it being a great time for family too to just sit, unwind, and have a calm evening...not to mention I may have had a huge crush on Uncle Jesse from Full House...

2. It's that time of the year. I started feeling not so great this week... but I suppose that's just a part of the job! I remember getting colds and sickies in elementary school all the time and it's pretty much the same for teachers. However, as a kid I was always up in that water fountain and being an adult I know better than to drink out of the germtastic sess pool. 

3. Apartment progress: yup. I keep telling myself that this is the week we will get it together and really organize and find a place for everything. This wasn't the week. Maybe next week...or the next... or never. 

4. Friend's wedding this weekend! I'm so excited to join in the celebration of a dear friend's yes to holy matrimony tomorrow! It's so weird that this will be the first wedding we get to go to as a married couple! Exciting, weird, and awesome all at the same time.

 5. Nasher tonight. We will be heading downtown this evening to hang out with another couple at this lovely event! I've never been before and I'm sure it is to be a good time. Deets next week. Also check out all of the awesome things happening in Dallas this week? Fun! Free! Fabulous! Fou should be there! (I wanted to keep it alliterative.)

6. Fitness goals. Now that I am starting to find the groove that is to be had this school year I am starting to think about fitness goals that I want to achieve this school year. I lost a significant amount of weight in college (for me at least) and have kept it off since I hit my goal weight. I have been focusing on building up muscle and hitting other fitness goals. I have never been a lover of running but I feel like the more I do it the more I may be able to tolerate it somewhatmaybe. I am thinking of registering for a fun 5k this year after I get over the dying feel I get every time I start a jog. 

7. As I said before, I haven't been feeling well...but I have a really great bearded guy that lives with me that came home the other night and made this delicious soup for me! So wonderful and it has been super yum to bring to school for lunch the past few days. I'm sure you could also put it in the slow cooker and have it getting yummy all day. Try it, your welcome: 

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana

• 1 lb ground Italian sausage - we used turkey

• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers

• 1 large diced white onion

• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces

• 2 tsp garlic puree

• 10 cups water

• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes

• ¼ of a bunch of kale

1. Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
2. In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic over low-medium heat for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
3. Add chicken bouillon and water to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
4. Add the sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
5. Add the heavy cream and just cook until thoroughly heated.
6. Stir in the sausage and the kale, let all heat through and serve. 



I hope fantastic weekends are had by all! 

esty love: DressGreen

I have fallen in love with this etsy shop. Thanks to the hub-beardy-bub for finding this wonderful place!

I was gifted by a friend last year for my birthday with this amazingwonderfulheavenly scrub. I love the scent, the way it feels after I wash it off...the only thing I don't like is the price. My penny pinching pockets cannot justify the regular $70 habit this product entails. Because of this fact, I am always on the search for yummy scrubs and soaps made with ingredients that won't bother my super sensitive overly emotional irritable skin (constant source of frustration) AND fit my budget.

Cue amazing etsy shop: we first ordered over the summer and tried the Your Morning Cup of Coffee scrub and the Mint & Vanilla Snow Day scrub. I am not ashamed to admit that if it were socially acceptable to eat that mint scrub out of the container with a spoon, I would have. It. smells. delicious. and leaves me feeling similarly to the fresh: Brown Sugar Body Polish but without the guilt of spending over half of our grocery budget. The shop owner send little slices of sample soaps to you when you place an order and with our first we received a little sliver of the Clarifying Activated Charcoal Facial Soap. Gift from God I tell you. I have never found a bar soap that agrees with my skin and I have tried pretty much every magical acne, sensitive skin soap under the sun. This soap is the perfect blend of harsh/gentle. I always feel clean and wonderful afterwards.

We just received our second order yesterday and once again went with the Mint & Vanilla Snow Day scrub and the Sweet Orange & Vanilla Bean body scrub. I also got a full size of the Charcoal Facial Soap. I am super excited to make good use of all of our new goodies and try the samples we received! I think our next order will consist of getting their Golden Pumpkin scrub. Delish.

This is not a sponsored post in any way. I just really love the products from this shop and thought I would share. I love supporting small businesses especially when they sell awesome things for great prices.

Have a splendid Thursday! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!


(photo cred: all pictures are from DressGreen's etsy shop)

The Dallas Flea

What a weekend! I celebrated a friends birthday on Friday night by jumping on trampolines, I adventured to The Dallas Flea on Saturday morning, joined some friends for a fancy dinner at The Melting Pot on Saturday night, graded a tremendous amount of papers on Sunday morning, and then praised and worshipped my way through another wonderful teen Mass on Sunday night. Full. Full. Full of weekend.

However, I wanted to share a little bit about my experience on Saturday morning at The Dallas Flea. What a fantastic time! I went with some friends from work and we had a BLAST! They all have wonderful blogs as well and I may or may not have stolen pictures from them so be sure to check out their posts as well here, here, and here!

The Flea was located at Southside on Lamar and played host to so many wonderful Dallas vendors! I ended up walking out with a few things, but honestly I wish I could have walked out with EVERYTHING. I could have found something to love on at every single booth. I'm so lucky to live in a city with such talent and creativity everywhere!

Some of my favorite vendors were...

f. is for frank - a jewelry company that specializes in pewter cast jewelry. I loved every single piece they were offering on Saturday and ended up getting this beautiful 'loved' necklace. They also had others that said 'hitched' and 'survivor' not to mention their gorgeous knot rings... can someone say Christmas present? Please?

gemelli - another handmade jewelry vendor that has the motto, "Beautiful things inspired by nature." I loved every single piece she had on her table. I especially loved her little Dia de los Muertos inspired skulls on her bracelets and itty bitty peace signs. One of the ladies I ventured out with that day ended up getting one of these pretty things. Totes Jeal.

Random - This was by far my favorite find of the day. I saw a few people walking around with vintage metal letters from old store signs and once I saw someone wander by with a gigantic M I knew I had to have one. They had such an assortment and I fell in love with my big-a green M. It is soon to find a perfect little homey home in our apartment. I'm pretty sure I shocked the bearded man I live with when I walked through the door with a letter the size of the door way... oh well! Being design-y. They also had an abundance of awesome books that were cut in the shape of letters. Way cool.

the urban cottage - Cue the totes adorbs Airstream, totes adorbs shop owner, and totes adorbs furniture. I loved walking through their little trailer and looking at all of the revamped furniture. There was a vintage filing cabinet that I would have loved for a nightstand, had I had the spare $250 on me.

Dowdy Studio - our last shopping stop of the day was the Dowdy wagon outside of Southside. We picked up a few things for my friend's husby and got the chance to chit chat with the owners. This is a husband + wife team who have created their own little studio. The husband silk screens his own original designs on to their shirts and the wife designs their jewelry. Seirously, all of their stuff is so great. I had a hard time saying no to all of their awesome guitar and beard inspired designs. We may just have to stop by their studio party this Saturday!

Lunch was eaten outside of the building from one of our local Dallas food trucks, Ruthie's. Holymygoshamazing. I have never had such a delicious grilled cheese sammy in my LIFE. Pure gold. Next time I come across this gem of an eatery I plan on getting their Turkey Trot sandwich. Which is their classic grilled cheese but with turkey and BACON. Done.

It was such a wonderful time. I can't wait to go back in December and this time I plan on taking my mom and sister with me for the holiday adventure. Now here's to an even more adventurous week in teaching in the wonderful world of 3rd grade and newly wedded blissyfullness (don't throw up at that...just kidding, you can.)

Happy day!

place holder

I promise I have a wonderfully long post about my adventure to the Dallas Flea and all of the money I should not have spent there. Things have been a bit busy cray the past day or four so the post is coming, but not ready yet.

Here's a little vid for your musical enjoyment and to make me feel better about my lateness:

You're welcome.

seven quick takes: take 7

Another week! Another squeakety squakey squake of a post. Joining one of my favorite bloggers Grace (if you haven't read this woman's blog you are doing yourself a real disservice in the funnies department, read her posts and thank me later for the ab workout you will get from all the laughs) standing in for Jen and some other lovely blogger-type ladies to share seven quick takes from the week. So let's get to it.

1. This week was long. Like real long. I think full work weeks after a short week tend to be that way though. I am exhausted and in need of a few (million) naps. I love my job. I really do and honestly cannot imagine myself in any other profession at the moment. But this job does take every ounce of my energy. Even though I taught summer school for a month I feel as though I am having to reacquaint myself with the constant tired that takes over my body this time of year. 

2. I have been meaning to post pictures of my classroom. I've been meaning to post pictures of a lot of things but the whole new marriage, new school year, readtheabovetake thing has been a wee bit life consuming. Sorry for the busy, I will get pictures up here soon and sweet posts about things in my classroom and all of the posts I have been meaning to write about our honeymoon that was forever and a month ago.For now I will leave you with the gem of a picture that is my door decor for the moment/probably the year. Nothing says third grade like glittery peace signs and big-a border!

3. I want to get on a regular blogging/posting schedule. I started this blog as an outlet. Just a space to write and express and be. I always feel better after I post. I enjoy doing this thing I just want to get on a regular posting schedule. However, I don't want this to become another task to add to the list. I feel like that can lead to a quick burn out and thus leave me blogless and all sorts of sads. So I want a scheduled-not-schedule. I also want to put a little more effort into this thing. Maybe learn how to make a header or something super fancepants. You know, instead of the whole generic, "I slapped a kind of cute background on here so you would think I put a wee bit of effort but really just wanted to get this thing up and running." type thing.

4. I love weekends. I forgot how much I really, really appreciate this time. While I am feeling all sorts of overwhelmed at the moment it is nice to realize on a Friday afternoon that I will not be getting up at 5am the next morning. 

5. News on the apartment front: I am wanting to badly to have everything settled into. I feel like we do a great job of cleaning messes up at various points of the week and then somehow clothessplosions happen or my desk gets more stuff on it... things that need to be and will be taken care of in time. Trying to remind myself that time is hard to find right now and that it will get done and we will be able to have people over eventumaybe so I don't feel like we are hobbits hidden away anymore.

6. Brace yourselves. I'm about to be extremely redundant and say... I love fall. I feel as though these thoughts are all over the place right now. But in all seriousness, real joy was brought to my soul this morning when I walked to my car with a cool breeze wafting in the air rather than humid hot hitting me in the face like car exhaust. Nothing is better than fall after an toasty I-feel-like-I'm-being-cooked-in-an-oven Texas summer. Bring on the boots. 

7. Going to this little shinny shindig tomorrow morning with my dear teaching partner and a couple other ladies from work. It should be good creatively vintagey fun times in the big D. I will (hopfumaybe) write a post about this adventure in the nearish future!


Happy weekend!

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble." 

-Helen Keller

While blog browsing the other day I stumbled upon this quote. I have written before about how I know that one of my many purposes in this lifetime is to make a difference in someone's life, no matter how great or how small.

I forget about the small part though. I forget that I can create change in small ways to satisfy this life changing craving. That maybe my purpose is to relish in small things and not focus on the great. I feel like in my profession and volunteer activities I tend to get all dreamy eyed, only thinking about those who need help in big ways. When honestly, I should also be considering those who need help in small ways. Seeing this quote really struck a chord with me. I've been trying to making positive little changes. I am trying to so small things with great love and love these moments just as much as the big ones. 

Another blog that is inspiring me lately is this one. Good good stuff. 

Happy Thursday!

(photo cred: me, a sweet gift from one of mys students who asked me yesterday what my favorite candy was. Sweetest thing I have ever gotten!)