Your Deep Gladness

Yesterday, I went to my friend's birthday dinner and sat next to her roommate--a middle school teacher in my district. We hadn't met before this dinner, but we instantly started swapping stories of our little angels.

 

Her stories floored me. The issues that she deals with on a daily basis made my classroom issues seem so miniscule. I instantly starting thinking, "wow, I should have no complaints". She talked about her kids, their issues, and how much she adored them and loved helping them through each day.

 

When it was my turn to share, I talked about the tears, the shoe-tying, the band-aid giving, the handwriting, the short attention span of 7-year olds, and she immediately jumped to saying she'd have no patience for that.

 

She talked about how if each person is really doing the right job, he/she will know it and love it. She loves combatting middle school sass with her own quick remarks, and I love giving out stickers when a student sits in his chair for 5 minutes.

 

It brought me back to a quote another friend shared with me last week.

 

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This has quickly become one of my favorite quotes, and I'm sure you can guess why.



Spring Break in California

 

 

After spending too much money on trip attire and getting all set, I left on Tuesday for my trip to Santa Monica!

 

 

On my first night, we ate at this amazing restaurant named Pono Burger. If you're ever in Santa Monica, you have to check it out. Here's the Menu.

 

 

The next day, my friend's Mom and I strolled through the 3rd Street Promenade. With stores like J. Crew, Madewell, Athleta, Gap, and Barnes & Noble, I was in heaven. The weather was perfect, and we shopped for hours.

 

 

 

 

That evening, we headed down to the Santa Monica Pier. The Pier has been in so many movies and is so picturesque. We ate right over the water and saw the iconic Ferris Wheel.

 

I spent the next day shopping and getting excited for Friday's plan:

 

 

DISNEYLAND!

 

We spent a whopping 16 hours at Disneyland on Friday. We were there from open to close and made the best out of our time.

 

Here's our ride count:

 

Peter Pan's Flight: 1

Pinocchio's Daring Journey: 1

Jungle Cruise: 1

The Enchanted Tiki Room: 1

Star Tours: 1

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters: 2

Indiana Jones Adventure: 2

Splash Mountain: 2

Matterhorn Bobsleds: 2

Space Mountain: 3

 

 

Missing California,

 

Ms. L

 

 

Packing for California

 

6 days ago, I left for five days in California with one of my closest friends. Considering we'd just had an ICE day the week before and temperatures were all over the place, I had no idea what to pack.

 

The forecast for my trip was 75 and sunny. Every. Single. Day.

 

How do people go to work in a place like that? I would have to stay outside all day.

 

Here are some of the cute things I scored while shopping for my trip:

 

 

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These Factory Layering Tanks are amazing! They are so soft and come in many colors. I picked up white, this soft mint, and neon violet. These tanks will be a staple for when it gets to 100 degrees over the summer.

 

 

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5" Chino shorts from J. Crew have been a staple in my closet since 8th grade. They last forever, come in endless amounts of colors, and are comfy. These shorts also make any outfit look polished--whether it's with a t-shirt or cute blouse. I picked up a pair in navy.

 

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Because who doesn't love denim shorts?

 

 

 

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I would not consider myself a "shoe person", but these caught my eye from across the store. I'm already a fan of the classic Jack Rogers and own them in multiple colors, but THESE SHOES! I could not walk away without a pair.

 

 

 

Still shopping,

 

Ms. L

 

Recipe for the perfect...

Snow Day!

 

Despite the fact that I wore shorts and flip-flops on Saturday, we experienced thunder-sleet on Sunday afternoon. Within 24 hours, the temperature in the DFW area dropped 51 degrees! The sleet came down as loudly as hail and covered the streets within hours. By 9:45 pm, I got the awaited call that school would be cancelled on Monday.

 

Home with no papers to grade or work to do, I had a wonderful day.

 

Here's what it entailed:

 

 

 

 

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I promised myself that after I turned 20, I would never wear a pair of Ugg Boots again. Well, I broke that rule, when I just couldn't get my toes to warm up. Granted, I did not leave the house in them, my 12 hours with these boots made my toes very happy.

 

 

 

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After seeing The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt on top of many bestseller lists (NPR, NY Times, Amazon) I finally cracked and bought it on my Nook. From the first couple of pages, I was hooked. I have just over 100 pages until I finish, and I am very eager to find out what happens!

 

 

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I used to be an avid coffee drinker, but I've switched to tea during the week. After reading about the benefits of antioxidants and different things, I thought tea would be the better choice for every day. (I still do coffee on the weekends, but that way, it's a special treat!) Tazo Awake tea is my addiction.

 

 

As behind on curriculum and other things as we all feel at this point, I think we all felt the benefits from the snow day in more ways than one. The rest was just what I needed to power me through this tough week filled with TELPAS calibration, Open House, and Progress reports--yikes!

 

 

 

Relaxed and ready for the week,

 

Ms. L