Monday, April 13, 2015

Grateful!

Today was a day that should have been a "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad" day, but the thing is it actually wasn't.  There were many things that should have thrown off my day, made me grumpy, and yet, I felt surprisingly cheerful. 
 
My day started when I just couldn't get out of bed.  I kept hitting my snooze alarm over and over and over again.  I didn't actually crawl out of bed until 6:50.  Somehow we managed to leave at our usual time of 7:30 or so.  Keep in mind I not only have to get myself ready, but I also have to get two kids out the door.  Luckily for me they could eat breakfast at the babysitter's this morning. 
 
When I got to work I found out that I wouldn't have my planning period because the librarian was not feeling well and there was no one to take his place.  Typically that news would have made me grumpy and frustrated.  Today, however, I didn't seem to mind.  We got some things done, and had a chance to work on a fun project-- making marble tracks out of cardboard tubes (read: toilet paper rolls).  One of my friends had been saving them for months thinking I might be able to use them.
 
During the morning block I had an issue with a student.  I can't post details due to confidentiality reasons, but just know it was frustrating!
 
Finally it was lunch time.  I was so excited to eat my delicious, homemade split-pea soup.  I popped it in the microwave, and when it was done, pulled it out and promptly spilled it all over the front of my dress and on to the floor.  It looked like a child had walked up to me and vomited!  It was so bad that I couldn't clean it with paper towels.  I finally took my dress and held it under the faucet.  Seriously, the entire front of my dress was soaked.  When I got back from cleaning the mess on my dress one of the other teachers had cleaned the mess on the floor and was cleaning out the microwave so I could enjoy the rest of my soup.
 
After lunch I noticed that I had broken a nail.  In an attempt to tear off a part of the nail I pulled too much.  In the middle of my teaching I noticed blood dripping from my finger, and I had to stop teaching to bandage myself.
 
All of these things could have left me frustrated and upset, but instead I just felt grateful.  Thanks to my babysitter, Melissa, who was flexible enough to let my kids eat their breakfast at her house I was able to get to work on time.  Thanks to my friend, Jen, I was able to have a project to work on during our regular library time.  Thanks to my coworker, Regina, I was able to enjoy lunch because she had taken care of my mess.  I am so grateful for the women in my life who take up the slack when I'm having one of those days.
 
That brings me to the second thought of the evening.  I am truly grateful for a job I love.  It really is so much more than a job to me.  I get to impact kids everyday.  I teach them new things.  I show them love.  I have a chance to speak life into them everyday.  Then I get to come home and spend my evenings with my family who is the very heart of everything I do.  I want to honor my husband above everyone else .  He is so supportive and helpful.  I just feel so blessed by him everyday.  I am truly and completely a blessed woman!

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Winter's Over and Spring Has Sprung!

The last time I blogged (over two months ago) my winter list was well on the way.  Since then I accomplished a few more things on my list.  Despite my list, winter is such a challenging time for me.  I cannot express in words how happy I am it is over, and spring is here.  One of the things I wanted to do for a long time was make an apron from an upcycled man's dress shirt.  The picture below is  an apron I created with some help from my mom.  I've had a sewing machine for years, but it has been broken, so whenever I have a sewing project I end up at Mom's house.  Lucky for me she is much more talented than I am when it comes to sewing and ends up doing the challenging parts of the project.

Speaking of sewing machines... one of the things that has been on my list for months has been to get the previously mentioned sewing machine fixed.  On Thursday I finally got around to taking it to Carey's Sewing Machine Center.  Mr. Carey is a dear man who has been fixing sewing machines out of his house for decades.  I remember going there with my mom as a little girl.  It had probably been 15 or 20 years since I'd been there and I had a hard time finding the exact house.  It was after 5:00 until I left his house, and Ysmaille called me on the way home wondering where I was.  I told him I had finally decided to fix my sewing machine.  Ysmaille was quiet.  Turns out he had actually bought me a new sewing machine for my birthday and it was supposed to be delivered that very day.  The irony!  Below is my new machine.  I cannot wait to use it!  I absolutely love that Ysmaille knows me so well.  He is so good at picking out gifts that he knows I'll like.
 
I haven't finished my spring/summer list completely, but I have a few ideas rolling around in my head.  Below is a side table that has been in our kitchen since we moved to Chambersburg.  I love the character of it, but it definitely needs a paint job.  I'm thinking of maybe painting it a fun color.  Any ideas?