Snow Day

I'm presuming many, many people across the country are posting on their blogs today with the title "Snow Day" or something similar. I'm gonna go with the crowd and write, too, because it was a tremendous day.

One of the top 5 feelings in the world is knowing you can sleep in, that there is no alarm soon to be blaring in your face. That's how the day started. I did the right thing and stayed in my pajamas until, oh, 3 o'clock. Glorious. I love that snow days are pure extra time in your week. Saturdays and Sundays don't include work (for a lot of people), but it's a given that the weekend is your time. A snow day is time that you get suddenly, so no plans. And usually not even an opportunity to do much thanks to the outdoor conditions! So today was a sweet mix of allowed laziness and time for leisurely productivity.

I packed up my whole bedroom today. My roommate and I are moving in 2 days to our new townhome, finally! Moving would be a lot more stressful had I not had time to organize before I packed up. My roommate is not like me...she can just put things together at last minute. I always always tear apart my room, throw out junk, and pack in it an organized fashion. Just ask anyone who knew me in college; my room was always a rat's nest as I was packing up for summer!

Eventually, I did get out of the apartment later this afternoon. It was nice to see the snow beauty before it melts (probably like tomorrow). That's the fun of living in the banana belt. We were super lucky to get a snow day this year! It always snows on the mountains, skips us, and then hits the midwest. We didn't miss out this time.

I ended the day with homemade white chili and pretty pink nail polish. I painted them early; they're glitzed up for the Oscars party I'm going to on Sunday (complete with red carpet and movie-themed food). Hopefully there will be a sweet post about that. Until then, enjoy pink.

Living life.

I’ve realized lately that I’m really bad at watching TV. And talking on the phone.

I think I my attention span is shortening. It could have to do with the fact that usually I try doing these things after a full day of wrangling 5-year-olds, but I think there’s more to it. My personal theory: modern technology has shortened the length of time I can focus on one thing. I’m naturally a multi-tasker, but with my smartphone I can be texting, uploading photos to instagram, playing Words with Friends, checking the weather, and more all at once. I think my brain is used to being over-stimulated, or something. When I can’t see a person’s face while talking on the phone, I have a hard time focusing on only what they are saying. I try to do so many other things because I feel like I’m not being productive, and then I end up with a lot of “uh-huh”, “mmhmm”, and the like. The same goes with watching TV- I feel like I have to be doing something else while I’m watching it that I don’t really pay attention. I guess that’s not as horrible, though, because no one’s feelings could get hurt. Just some thoughts.

Here is a snapshot of my life, currently.

On any given day at work, you will find me with:

* some color of ink on my hands

* at least 5 pieces of gum in my pocket for my kiddo who constantly needs to chew

* at least 2 paper cuts

* enough hair bands, head bands, hair clips, and jewelry on my desk to open an accessory shop (all confiscated from fidgety kids)

* Songs like this or this stuck in my head

At home, you will find:

* a mountainous pile of clothes on my floor. Why do I even have a dresser?? I should be cleaning that instead of posting this, probably.

* me listening to Sia. Her music is like crack. There hasn’t been a day the past week that I haven’t listened to her…seriously addicted. Why has no one told me about her before?! She is weird and beyond wonderful.

* dessert. Always. Once the chocolate cake was gone, there was peach crisp, and then root beer floats and brownies, and now chocolate chip cookies. My roommate and I clearly have our priorities straight.

* a pile of poop on the sidewalk near our door. We thought it was bear poop, because it definitely didn’t look like it was from a cat or dog…and a week later it’s still there. Lovely.

* a pumpkin, ready for carving this weekend! It was strange going to a pumpkin patch other than Vala’s, but fun nonetheless. I know Vala’s doesn’t have that view in the background!

Creativity.

I am so thankful I have a  job that requires creativity. Oh boy, can I deliver. After years of wearing oversized forest-green polos and standing in front of a cash register, it’s a little unreal that I actually get paid to do the things that I love. Not that my summer jobs during college had to be dull…my cousin and I still found ways to spice things up.

I guess business must have been slow…

Coloring on the job.

Are those Lion King decorations on the cash register? Your eyes don’t lie.

That was “work” for us. All $7.25-an-hour of it.

Now everything’s amped up—a bigger salary, more responsibility (and consequently more stress), but also more fun. This summer I’ve had quite a few opportunities to exercise my right-brainedness.

The kids calculated the area of their hand by counting whole and half squares. I think it turned out well!

This week we made our own farms in a glove. Each finger section of the plastic glove has different seeds with a wet cotton ball, and then the glove is tied shut to keep the moisture in. They look pretty crazy hanging up in the window here. I wonder which seeds will sprout first???

Going along with the plant theme, the kids got to make the crayon leaf art that never gets old. I loved doing this as a kid.

In preparation for this upcoming school year, I decided to add cuteness to some of my essential classroom items. Presenting mod-podged clothespins…

And here’s a sort of refurbished lamp. Look at all the kindergarten cuteness.

All I can say is that it’s a win-win situation when I get to be creative and encourage kids to be creative, too!

Thoughts on garage sales…

Today was a garage sale-ing day.

I think my weekends this summer will be filled with lesson planning, looking for Kindergarten ideas on blogs, and going to garage sales. Using a teacher’s classroom filled with stuff as I teach summer school has made me realize how much stuff I don’t have. I need more books, more storage/bins/baskets/bookshelves, and even small things like binder clips. I want my students to have the best possible year- I don’t want to cheat them because I’m a first year teacher and haven’t accumulated all that stuff yet! So I’m working on it. It’s a process. If you have any teacher things you would like to give me, or know of anyone who has things they don’t need anymore, hit me up. I would greatly appreciate it!

So I just want to say how much fun it is to take a morning and go to garage sales. I know they usually have ads in the paper so you can plan your route beforehand, but I like to leave it up to spontaneity. I just drive around and stop at pretty much every one I see. Sometimes you can judge from the road whether or not it’s a good one, but sometimes the most treasured possessions are hidden at the most unexpected places. My favorite things to buy are children’s books! I love when people price them reasonably. I feel ripped off when I have to pay a dollar for a book…I just want to say “You know, SOME places I could get 6 books with this dollar!” It’s true. You’ve gotta be on the lookout. Sometimes, though, I almost pull up to a house only to realize that, um, it’s not a garage sale. They’ve just got a lot of junk in their yard. And their garage is open. With more junk in it. Ooops…

Despite those instances, most places are easy to find. Just follow the maze of neon pink signs with writing so small you have to pull out eyeglasses to read the address. Thankfully most have at least a big black arrow pointing in the general direction. Once you find a location, then the scouting begins. Even though mullets are out of style, and most people generally don’t wear light-washed, high-rise jeans, it’ almost inevitable to see the 1990s dust itself off and come out of hiding at a garage sale. And really, sometimes I’m tempted to buy those $3 roller blades or that Mary-Kate & Ashley VHS or those Lion King McDonald’s toys. It takes me back! I resist, though. I’m saving my pennies for classroom stuff.

It’s been a lovely day of sifting through junk to find treasures (a lamp I’m going to redecorate, quite a few books, and some paper trays)! Add to that some crisp, home-grown cucumbers from the farmer’s market, and smelling the freshly cut grass while on a run through the neighborhood. That sounds like summer to me. :)