December 16

Today I made cookies.  They did not turn out as I had envisioned, but the blobs that were to be cute Christmas-y shapes at least made me laugh :) 

December 15

Today, I picked out my little Christmas tree and put all the trimmings on.  I may have been a little heavy on the lights, but I'm okay with that...I'm in an abundance of lights kind of mood :)



Charlie Brown, eat your heart out ;)



December 14

Okay, today I am double dipping a bit:

I am sitting alone in a Corner Bakery booth, ear buds firmly in place, Mason Jennings drowning out the many conversations taking place around me.  In my hand, alternates a red pen and a fork, taking bites of pasta in between essay comments and grading.

I have a lovely seat by the window that frames the courtyard containing seasonally decorated trees.  It’s quite picturesque really – there is just enough of a breeze that the rustling leaves create a subtle, almost star-like twinkling effect with the white lights.

In contrast to my rather gloomy Saturday, tonight I do not feel lonely or lacking.  There is no melancholy, no invisible weight, no real longing aside from the wish that these essays will magically grade themselves.  No, tonight, after a long day of kids, meetings, grades, lectures, and tests, I am at peace.  Tonight, sitting here in my corner of the world, I am content.

December 13

Great way to start a Monday: I walked into my classroom to find a goodie santa bucket and a card from one of my Assistant Principals: unexpected.

December 12



The girl is not my original idea but hopefully getting some technique down.

Today I was productive.  This isn't always that remarkable; however, the only thing I really accomplished yesterday was converting oxygen into carbon dioxide.  Today, I went to church, got some Christmas shopping done, took a nap, painted a picture, and practiced some sketching. 

I adore this frame; I finally put it to use.

December 10

Grading "party" with the bestie turned into let's-go-see-Harry-Potter-instead "party"...we are wise women.

December 9

Today's positive moment is a toss up actually: I was able to see one of my former professors - one whom I admire so much- and listen to Greek Mythology for over an hour.  That may not sound good to many of you, but I adored it.  Bonus (way bonus): I was there with three of my favorite people :)

Also, a friend surprised me with a completely unexpected "thank you for hosting Bible study every week" gift with a cute and thoughtful card.  Thank you Jill, I feel very blessed.

December 8

After a trying day (that's not being negative, just honest), I had unexpected Mom time - woo hoo. As if her company wasn't enough, she bought me dinner and a peppermint hot chocolate for dessert.  My mom is all kinds of awesome.

December 7

Tonight RockHarbor celebrated their leaders.  Because of this generous thank you, I was treated to a lovely meal, good time with friends, and oh yeah, I got help build a gingerbread house before singing Christmas carols by candlelight.  A very good night.

December 4-6

Saturday: I got to snuggle up next to my mom after eating a home made roast dinner.

Sunday: Celebrated my friend LeAnn and her little Noah (only 7 weeks until he meets the world).

Monday: I won!  I fought the urge to sit on my couch all night by going to the gym. I was even in my pj's already and somehow managed to change into my workout clothes and get my butt moving.  I'm a little too self-congratulatory, but if I can keep it going...

December 3

My Senior classes finished up Hamlet and to review, I read them a condensed version complete with pictures, it was very "story time" - think Kindergarten.  The kids made jokes about it, so in turn, I told them they could sit on the floor in the front of the room as I read.  About 6 of them did.  One, who is just a neat kid anyway, brought his backpack with him to rest his head. 

I had  Shakespeare story time with my seniors today.  It was a good day.

Oh yeah, and it's Friday.

December 1

Some of my kids, without prompting, told me that they actually really liked Hamlet.  Imagine that.

November 30

I just wanted to take today to be grateful for this newly restored optimism.  I find that it is easier every day to be positive as a whole.  I find that simply choosing one thing to focus on for this record of positivity is sometimes the difficult task.  I still have those things that challenge me (or quite frankly weigh on me), but my outlook is far different today than it was 6 weeks ago.  I am no longer that negative person that I found I was becoming; so I guess positivity really is a choice that becomes effortless.

PS.  A student gave me a goody bag today just because (my heart = happy).

November 29

I stayed at my mom's house last night (yay Mom!) and do you know what she did?  She put together leftovers for my lunch today, complete with Dr. Pepper and Snickerdoodles.  A big side of love with lunch? Don't mind if I do.

November 28

Today's amazingness came in the form of an old friend, my dear friend Kristen to be precise.  Driving out to Beaumont was well worth it to see her and her family.  I even got a little choked up when I first saw her.  Love that girl!

November 26 -27

Although I should feel bad about being a bump on log, but I don't.  I rocked at Bejeweled!

Saturday:  A holistically positive day with my mom - lunch, shopping, and Roger's Gardens - delightful!

November 25

Thanksgiving - enough said :)

November 24

I live two minutes away from my dad, but I don't get to see him as often as I'd like, so being able to just sit and chat with him and my step-mom was great.  Then, there was very little traffic (woot).  The day rounded out by cuddling with my mom on the couch.

November 20 - 23 (So behind)

Okay, I'm not too upset that I haven't put my happy moments up the last few days because I was too busy having them in real life.  But I would still like to keep track:

Saturday: A night to celebrate two amazing people's marriage.  Not only did I get to witness the (official) birth of the Grengers, but had an absolutely fabulous time with fun friends in the process. Simply beautiful.

The Beautiful Bride and Chatty - Two walking examples of Awesome.

Sunday: A true day of rest (plus I got my brakes fixed - so, yay not dying in a fiery crash).



My turkey and me. 



Monday: Thanksgiving with (most) of my Bible study friends.  As if that wasn't reason enough to be thankful and jubilant, my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and brother by proxy joined in too.  P.S. The turkey even turned out pretty tasty  :)





A few slightly drowned park goers :)



Tuesday: A fun day at Disney's California Adventure with the Bestie and her mom.  Saw so many shows that were fun, but the best was the World of Color in the VIP section (thank you Friend Erik).  The rain only added to the experience.



November 19

Today is Friday thereby making it a blessing in and of itself; however, it is also the gateway into a full week off.  I am actually looking forward to having a bit of time to grade and wrap my head around the fact that there are three weeks left in the semester...although, I'd still like to have a little fun too :)

November 18

Today was workshop day at the district (and since I do not allow myself negative expression on this particular blog, I have nothing more to say on said workshop), and I had the pleasure of sitting with wonderful people and enjoying Wahoo's with two fantastically fun friends - thank you Jessica and Rachel for making me smile today.  A lot.

November 17

Whilst grading at Corner Bakery (where I also enjoyed a lovely Cesar salad and small carbonara pasta), I tried to convince myself that I should leave and go to the gym.  I failed to do this; however, even upon reflection, I cannot bring myself to regret this decision - I stayed, finished grading that particular stack of essays and enjoyed a slice of cinnamon creme cake (which was free thanks to the nice man behind the counter). 

A good weeknight by my standards.

November 16

A day that begins with fresh contacts AND lemon cake is bound to be good.  Bound, I say.

November 15

Did I have a good day?  Yes, I wrote.  How much?  Three sentences... Okay, so I'm no James Joyce, but I did, in fact, write three sentences today of fiction.  (Plus this was after grading a class's worth of essays).

November 14

I sat by myself in church today (which I have grown to dislike very much) but did not feel at all lonely.

November 13

So I thought buying books would be my high today, but then I saw a dear friend who has been out of the country for 2 months. Definitely my high moment.

November 12

Beautiful day and I got my junior tests graded :)

November 11

No alarm clock this morning.

November 10

My kids are starting to get Hamlet on their own...woot.

November 9

I am holding on to the Lord's promises: in Him, we have a future and a hope.

Also, I'm getting my hair done ;)

November 8

Today I am thankful for Shakespeare, specifically Hamlet, ACT III, scene ii: "To be or not to be -- that is the question..." and how many of my students are memorizing it.

November 6

Church and lunch with a lovely friend.

November 5

Today was one of those days that was so full of joy, but my one thing is that I was able to celebrate the fact that one of my incredible, amazing, beautiful from the soul out friends is, in a couple short weeks, going to marry a great guy who is over the moon in love with her.


Oh yeah, I also had my Bestie there too :)



November 4

I got to sleep in, do laundry, clean my apartment, grade...

November 3

Today, I am grateful that God made Twix.  Or at least made the guy who made Twix.

November 2

Today I have the joy of heading to Downtown Riverside to experience the Dia De Los Muertos Festival....I may have to come back to this to post a picture or two.

November 1

I finished making a test for tomorrow and already made my copies.  So ahead of the game (you know, by actually being on schedule).

October 31

I had an amazing time with friends - so many stories, so much laughter, so much fun - and in costume to boot.

The Grengers, Chatty, and Me

October 30


So...


...on a beautiful day...




...I ventured out of my little city...







...with these two lovelies...




...to the Wild Animal Park! 



 The End.











October 29th

It's Friday which means Panera time with the bestie, and if that wasn't reason enough to stay positive, today was thank you letter day.

Every year, the psychology classes have an assignment to write a thank you letter to one teacher.  I have the letters from previous years in my anti-Burger King file*, and this year I am able to add a few more.  All of them warm my heart, but one in particular set up shop.  She thanked me for helping her last year with the subject matter, then proceeded to thank me for helping her this year with her self-worth.  My life is truly blessed.

*Anti-BurgerKing file: When I was hired on, a friend of mine handed my a green hanging folder with "anti-BurgerKing" written on the tab.  I first I thought she was commenting on my physique, but then she explained.  There will be days, perhaps weeks, as a teacher where you feel that you done, you are not doing any good and you might as well be a manager at a Burger King for all the good you do here.  This is when you take out the folder, the folder that contains all the positive little things that remind you why you are a teacher. Things that remind you of the effect you have.  Things that make you want to continue to be better.

October 28

Today, I was productive: I finally created this blog, yes, this very blog you're reading.  I have been wanting to do this for a while, and I did. 

Hello, thanks for coming!

I am grateful for the fact that this exists.

This site is dedicated to my high/low game (without the nefarious low portion).  It will normally consist of a small blurb about a singular event that made my heart smile for the day.  I do, however, feel that I should begin with an overview of the weighty gratitude that I possess.



A small piece of my awesome family.



First and foremost, I am grateful for/to my Jesus, for eternity and for the present.  Please understand, I do not say this as a mere Christian platitude but as the basis for all my gratitude (and, you know, that whole salvation thingy). 

I could write for days on how blessed I am for my family, through blood, blending, and every other way they have been made a part of my life.  My parents are incredible, my brothers are inspirational, my sisters in law are beautiful (in spirit and physicality), my step-sister – well words wouldn't really suffice.  The list of cousins and aunts and uncles and how much they’ve added to my life could fill the virtual space provided me.



One of those amazing friends I was mentioning :)



My friends, oh goodness, I don’t think I could begin to do justice to how truly amazed I am at how loving, inspiring, dedicated, talented, and flat out amazing they all are.  Talk about blessings: my cup runneth over.

Then there is my job, apartment, car, etc… All those "big" things that I don’t want you, my astute reader, to think I take for granted (although, honestly, sometimes I do). 

But because I am pretty good at all these “big picture” things, I want to focus on the “I was witness to the most amazing sunrise on my way to work” type of moments that I let slip through my fingers.  After all, it is the collection of little moments that create the sum of a lifetime, or something like that…