abby's monogram

...for sew many buttons {see what i did there?}  last month, we went to my adorable first cousin's once removed birthday party.  first cousin once removed sounds totally ridiculous... my cousin karen has a cutie pie daughter, abby.  her baby rolls and pigtails make my ovaries hurt.  she just turned one, and i wanted to make her something fun for her nursery.  using my own button monogram tutorial, i busted this little baby out in just about an hour. i had all supplies except the buttons already, so my grand total with coupon came to $1.48. 

don't worry though.  i made sure to include a baby friendly teddy bear with our gift, since canvas doesn't exactly scream toddler.  for now it's cute wall art for her space. 

and if she decides when she's older that she's not feeling all the pink, karen can just regift it back to me and i'll hang it on my own wall.  done and done.

say om

 

...for zen {or at least the aspiration of such}.  i tend to let anxiety and what-ifs get the best of me too often, and it's gotten to the point where falling asleep is seriously hampered by the monkey chatter in my mind.  so for the past few weeks, the husband and i have been meditating each night before bed.  we set the timer for ten minutes, situate ourselves on pillows and go.  and by go, i mean stop and pay mindful attention.  

i'll admit, most nights the monkey chatter wins.  i haven't quite found that place of peacefulness where the only thing i'm focused on is inhaling and exhaling.  in fact, i feel like julia roberts throughout the pray section of eat, pray, love when she's trying to do her hour long 4 am meditating in india.  trying being the operative word.

i'd like to build a regular meditation habit, even if it takes awhile to enter the zen zone.  it is super relaxing, though.  especially when i lie on the floor like i'm taking a nap.  i think buddha was more of a criss cross applesauce meditator.  but to each his om, er  own. 

  

v for victory

...for this little guy i found chillaxing at the garden store the other day.  at first i was confused about why a frog needed to be making a political statement.  it seemed ill fitting.

but then my husband shared that he gives the same peace sign when merging into traffic during his commute.  and i thought what a weirdo how refreshing that must be for other drivers on the freeway.

to each his own {ribbit}.

bird brains

...for birds in cahoots.  we caught these two gazing out from atop our kitchen window last weekend.  i can only imagine that their eyes were on the hummingbird feeder. 

sweet sugar syrup in a bright attractive package?  game on.

the saturday matinee

...for great theatre practically in my back yard.  oh, segerstrom center, how i love thee.  even though i don't really understand why you changed your name from the perfectly acceptable orange county performing arts center, and i also resent your overpriced parking garage that takes a half hour to exit from after each show.  we have a history, we do.  over the years, i've seen many* shows here.  most were amazing; all were technically impressive; a few were not my taste.  but there's just something about getting fancied up, packing an extra sweater for the inevitably freezing air conditioning, and discussing how great the show is with random strangers in line for the restroom at intermission.

last year, i bought season tickets for my mom and i, and it was money well spent.  i feel very grown up as a patron of the arts.... a patron who packs flip flops because we park a quarter mile away at south coast plaza to avoid said parking garage.

* in no particular order, and i could be missing a few:
lion king, rent, cats, radio city music hall rockettes, jersey boys, wicked, fly me to the moon, catch me if you can, the prince and the pauper {with my third graders}   

for dad

...for my dad, who i love and miss every. single. day.

i aspire to be that magic mix of kind, thoughtful and completely uncool one day.  {i'm a third there already, for sure.}
  

on keeping a neat space

...that never, not even one time, in the six years i have been teaching, has my desk or classroom ever looked like this.  i've been subbing {and not blogging, apparently} these last couple months of school, and this classroom was a disaster area.  seriously, it was like an episode of hoarders.  all available surfaces, covered in.....stuff. 

"hello, can you help us?  we're trapped in mrs. xxxx's room."
"okay, where exactly are you?"
"we're wedged in behind the filing cabinets and the bean bag chairs, under the piles of papers, next to the full sized piano (!) that's also covered with files."

i feared for these children.  and this teacher's family, upon her retirement when they're forced to bring in a uhaul to clean out her classroom.   

spring fling

...that spring has sprung.  i saw this tree at work a couple of weeks ago and loved the unique color and shape of the blooms.  i took a picture not knowing what they were, only that i enjoyed them.  {i was definitely busted by a student while taking the picture, who thought it was amusing i was standing all up in the tree's business trying to get a closeup.  i told the kid to go back to the playground}. 

flash forward a few days, when i saw an almost identical picture on one of my favorite blogs.  apparently, they are bottle brush.  looking at them now, that makes perfect sense.  i love it when things are named for what they actually look like.  {cough cough red onions, i'm looking at you}.   

of champions

...for vacation breakfast each morning this week, with a delicious side of blogs.  spring break, i'm just not ready to say goodbye. 

random acts and sprinklers

...for attempted gratitude.  we have a secret trashcan agent in our new neighborhood who rolls our big greens in for us each week.  although i have my suspicions {super cute old man joe from next door}, i can't confirm anything.  so last week, i wrote a note and taped it to the trashcan as a we know what you're doing and we appreciate you and if you ever want to come inside and empty our smelly kitchen trash directly that would be great sentiment.  i taped the note to the can thursday afternoon and rolled it to the curb.

as i left for work friday morning and saw the trashcan waiting there with my note, i felt encouraged.  encouraged that people still practice random acts of kindness for relative strangers.  it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

and then i watched in horror as our front lawn sprinklers came on and drenched both trashcan and note with water. 

can't win 'em all.

happy farmers

...that bribery is alive and well in our public education system.  i'm currently longterm subbing for a fifth grade class while their teacher is on medical leave.  my first day last week, i saw this large jar of candy on top of her desk.  aside from general lesson plans was a single note on classroom management:  no matter what they say, you do not have to give the students jolly ranchers for doing their homework each day.  apparently, another sub had gone through the entire jar in a two week time span a few months prior.  i imagine little sticky hands and the sound of crinkly wrappers all day every day.  shudder.

although i did pat myself on the back for not promoting sugar highs my first day, i did fall for the "we go to lunch 10 minutes early to avoid the long lines" speech.  however, this one benefits me as well as them, so i've been slower to nip that one in the bud.     

water water everywhere

...that this will no longer be happening in our bathroom each day.  while home during the day recovering from the flu these past couple of weeks {never again will i think myself too cool for a flu shot}, i began noticing water water everywhere all over our bathroom floor after morning showers.  our landlord's response was "you can't open the shower door while the water is running, because you're letting the water run out onto the tile."  #handymanfail.  i finally thought to take a picture of the leak so that the second time i called he understood what i was describing.  turns out, the shower floor needs to be ripped out and redone because of a leak underneath that's seeping through the wall. 

while i don't love losing the use of our bathroom and having workers afoot for the next week, i do feel vindicated in knowing that it wasn't just the husband and i being careless shower takers.  maybe i could work next on taking shorter showers, but that's neither here nore there.

stanley and ian

...for bucket list photo opps.  a few weeks ago, the husband got the chance to view and take photos with his beloved king's stanley cup.  he and my father in law met in la and had some quality bonding time, as apparently the line was super long and not moving quickly enough.  the way he tells it, get in a long line wait wait wait take some stalker shots of bailey the mascot wait some more get nervous that the line would close rush rush rush see the cup pose for one {and only one} photo with the cup hope the photo comes out okay rush rush rush out of the building see more people at the end of the line waiting be thankful they didn't get there any later.  if it was me, and the cup was, say, ryan gosling, my pose would have been far less restrained.  but good for ian.    

birthday hammock

...for my in laws getting us a hammock in the middle of winter.  for the husband's birthday this year, they ordered us this beauty.  our waxing poetic subtle hints about how much we enjoyed the hammocks on the beach during our honeymoon did not fall on deaf ears.  notice the bathrobe and heavy blanket he's wearing.  we're not ones to let cold temps derail our lounging plans.  no, we just set up the hammock inside the house.  frankly, i'm not sure it will make it into the backyard once summer comes.  that's just how we {easily sunburned} kids roll.   

tattle chicken

clearly, crystal and alexis are an item.

{pushed me in soccer}  no pain, no gain.

 ...for how passionate little guys are about tattling.  a few weeks ago, i introduced the "tattle box" to try and combat the 863 daily complaints about sharing, turn taking, funny looks, etc.  it took them awhile to get the hang of it, but now i get a laugh at the end of each day when i check the box.  the rule is, if you or someone else is legitimately hurt, tell an adult.  otherwise, tell the box.  if this one didn't work, my next recourse was going to be joe the tattling chicken, as seen in a friend's second grade classroom.

"teacher, s/he's bothering me."
"go tell the chicken.  joe is a great listener."

splish splash

...that blogs are not smellovision equipped just yet.  for my birthday, i picked out a new yoga mat to replace my current one that is older than many elementary school children.  said bluebell is beautiful and super thick, but unfortunately also comes with directions to "let it air out" before first use.  translation:  smells yuck.  i feel like i'm harry potter taking a bath with his egg before the big tournament.  and by tournament, i mean yoga class.

amy is thankful

from the public photos section on my harddrive, and an example of a photo i was hoping to take after completing #7 below

...that my blog doesn't get its feelings hurt too easily.  sorry for not posting lately.  it's not you bloggy, it's me.  in the spirit of the holiday for which this blog is named arriving on thursday, here are 20 random things i am thankful for.  one for each day of november.

1.  we're doing our second annual double thanksgiving foodapalooza this year.  my stretchy pants and i are all set.
2.  at thanksgiving #1, we get to meet my cousin's sweet new baby Abby.  and by meet, i mean swoon over and cover with kisses.
3.  the husband is making ice cream for both our families to garnish aforementioned foodapalooza.
4.  i'm hopeful there will be some (famous) carrots at thanksgiving #2.  mmm.
5.  i'm subbing a ton of yoga classes this week, which pay peanuts but ensure that i'm only sitting around for 23/24 hours each day of vacation.
6.  i had a woman *follow me over from another yoga class i subbed to take my regular class*  i wanted to hug her.
7.  i took a horrid photography class a couple of weeks ago.  the thankful part was that groupon refunded my money and sent a sincere sounding apology email.
8.  i'm keeping the new camera i bought for the class, although so far i've only taken one (blurry) picture. {update:  i decided to return the camera after all... but thankful for costco's great customer service}.
9.  my school district gives this entire week off for the holiday.  more naps for me.
10. the husband took the entire week off, as well.  no worries, his video games don't interrupt my naps.
11. yesterday i stayed in my pjs until 2:30pm.
12. tonight we went out to dinner before yoga.  in retrospect, maaaaybe a 4x4 from in n out wasn't my best choice.
13. last month, my book club read The Flight of Gemma Hardy, which i enjoyed.  the best part was that the cute scottish author called into our meeting and we were able to chat with her and ask our questions.  i geeked out.
14. downton abbey is back on in january.  lady mary and cousin mathew!  woot!
15. for the first time in forever, i've actually started some of my christmas shopping already.  i'm usually a christmas eve shopper, so this is huge for me.
16. this is our first married thanksgiving and married christmas.  <3
17. i have a ton of pinterest diys pinned to attempt over christmas break. 
18. google reader. 
19. i found the dust pan and brush that i thought had been lost in our move this summer.  thankful not so much for finding it, but for finding it before i resigned myself to buying another one.
20. i took our leftover halloween candy into work a few weeks ago and left it in the teacher's lounge.  gone before lunch.

hoping to post at least once more this week, but might be lost in a pumpkin pie haze.  most importantly, i'm thankful for my family and friends.  <3    

sunsets and sweaters

...for the candy corn colored sunset i happened to catch while i was making dinner the other night.  fall has arrived, slowly but surely, and i can hear my sweaters whispering to me from the closet.  said sweaters are currently keeping me cozy during a case of the sniffles, thanks to some very special public school children and their germs.  they got the sharing is caring message loud and clear.  

missing pieces

...that my anxiety over finishing a puzzle only to find that the final piece was nowhere to be found was short lived.  alas, i was sitting on it.  i can also appreciate the irony of this situation, since i in fact bought said puzzle because i'd read they can be relaxing.  #calmdownfail 

yogaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

...that i made it through teaching my first yoga class relatively unscathed.  after getting my cert in june, it took me a little bit to apply and audition, but next week i officially start teaching two classes per week.  backing up to last night though, i was covering a class for someone else.  as i told the husband, "if it goes well, great.  and if it's a disaster, at least i never have to see those people again." 

{famous last words}

 

i wish i was joking, but here are a few things that went wrong last evening:

source

*i was so into the awesome songs playing on my radio that i completely missed my freeway exit.  i didn't realize i'd missed it until i was four exits further than i wanted to go.  i then got stuck at a train crossing while my gps was trying to guide me to the gym while i looked at the clock every 2.5 seconds hoping not to be late.  {thank goodness i wasn't}

 

*i finally arrived to said gym and find that the equipment {microphone pack and cover screen} promised to me by the woman who called me to sub was, in fact, not anywhere to be seen.  no biggie, i'll just use the same setup the instructor teaching before me used.  i'll discreetly let her know it's my first class, and she'll be more than happy to walk me through.  i'm sure you can see where this is going.

 

*zumba instructor satan jennifer was none too pleased when i interrupted her conversation to politely ask about the mic.  "oh, i don't really use the mic.  i'll put the cd in for you.  good luck."  before sprinting out the door, she proceeds to announce to everyone setting up for yoga that it is, in fact, my very first class.  cue scow-ly faced me.  she obvs. doesn't know that the first rule of subbing is never admit that you're new.

 

*i decide i'm over using a mic anyway and spend the next couple of minutes with my booty to the class trying to adjust volume, lights and whatnot.  we finally get going and start our deep breathing.  yoga is supposed to be relaxing, after all.

 

*for whatever reason, the stereo is set on stopping after each individual song instead of playing all the way through.  i don't realize this until after the second time i've left my pose to hit play again.  i suppose i could try and correct it, but at this point, hitting play every few minutes is really not that big a deal.  i can only hope that the members are so blissed out that they don't notice the extended pause bt songs.

 

*i catch a glance at myself in the mirror about 20 minutes into class and realize that i am nervously sweating.  not glowing, but ugly sweating.  eeeeewwww. 

 

*miraculously, the sequence i've planned plus a few filler moves take up the whole hour and i end the class with a relaxing shivasana.  i mention that i'm teaching a few regular classes and someone asks me what time my huntington beach class is.  god bless you, lady in the blue tshirt.  you made my night.

 

*the icing on the cupcake was when the cd got stuck in the stereo and i couldn't get it to eject after class.  luckily, i was alone by this point.  i finally shut the whole thing down and restarted to get it out.  but seriously, i would have been okay with the cd as collateral damage by that point.

 

that was a long ramble, but i'm hoping the moral of this story is that old show biz saying about a bad dress rehearsal means a great opening night.  because, yikes.  a girl's blood pressure can only remain elevated for so long.  i was so keyed up when i got home that i rolled around in bed until 2:30am.  i'm a treat today.