The most beautiful wedding ever.

things that have broken in the last couple weeks

1. my visor in my car. now it is sort of working with the help of some velcro.
2. my old lime iMac - well it's been broken for a long time, but today some 'genius' at the apple store apparently fixed it...until i came home and it won't turn on again.
3. our garbage disposal
4. my favorite sunglasses
5. our screen door - it ripped out of the wall last night when i opened it.

hopefully, i won't have to add anything to this list!

viva la vida

It's been a long time since I let a whole month slip by without posting. One reason that it's happened now is because that last post was really significant...our life could change drastically and for the better soon...but we are waiting for now.

Another reason is that this has been probably one of the busiest times of my life! In the past month I drove something like 3,000 miles [yuck], visited my family at home and my husband's family, went to 2 concerts, helped a friend move, attended a wedding [as you can see above], FINISHED TEACHING, and in the last 11 days, I have been extremely busy every day and night except ONE.

Hopefully some of my activites the last 2 days will pay off [such as driving 700 miles in 24 hours].

I promise to stop being so vague soon! Once some things have been figured out.

I have 2 days of 'down time' - during which I have a huge to do list to complete - then it's back to Pittsburgh Thurs-Sat for my sister-in-law's wedding...then I fly out of Pittsburgh at 6:30 am on Sunday to visit my sister in Charlotte for 4 days!

I think it's a sign of me getting older when I actually [secretly] look forward to June 26, when I will be home again and can actually relax for a few days. Or maybe even a whole week!

Looks like you are. I couldn't be happier.

Aw.

Today a six-year-old boy said to me 'Hey! You look cute!'

Sometimes I guess I don't hate my job so much.

[However, when I work with 12 - 18 year old boys in the future, comments like that won't be so adorable.]

higlights from my 4 day weekend

1. spent time with family*
2. got my awesome bridesmaid's dress - a whole size smaller than what fit when i ordered it - and when i put it on it fit!
3. met a Caldecott-honor winning illustrator*
4. cried from happiness
5. bonded with some potential future family*
6. networked like you wouldn't believe [more to come about that later!]
7. received/won 7 free books*
8. purchased 19 hardcover books for under $70*
9. was told i am 'adorable' and 'have beautiful coloring in my skin, eyes, and hair' by a random nice person
10. successfully pulled off an amazing surprise*
11. learned so many innovative and exciting ideas that i can use in my future secondary library
12. introduced my sister to the wonderful world of martinis
13. spent time in nature [or at least pseudo-nature]*
14. memorized a few new songs [i'm a little obsessed, plus they were my soundtrack for the 300 miles i drove]
15. had an honesty session with a dear sister and friend ;)
16. wore super cute shoes*
17. made it home just in time for the game-winning goal by Hossa, which means the Pens are one step closer to the Cup!

* = photo to come!


P.S. Aforementioned songs include 'I Will Possess Your Heart' by Death Cab**, 'I Feel It All [Britt Daniel Remix]' by Feist, 'Walnut Tree' by Keane, and 'The World Turned Upside Down' by Coldplay***

**seeing them live June 12!
***would pay a ridiculous amount of $ to be able to see them live!

Longwood Gardens on a hot spring day.

comparison.

Townhouse for sale:

3 bedrooms
1.5 bathrooms
central air
integral garage
breakfast bar
all appliances included, even washer, dryer, and dishwasher!
16 x 10 family room [plus living room and separate dining room]
partially finished basement [den]
no townhouse/association fees
good school district

In Philly, this home would cost $300,000+.

In Pittsburgh, it costs...$79,900!

This is a dream.
I can only keep trying and praying to get a job there for the fall.

inspiration

Amazing. Just amazing.

sometimes i want to hide in a bag, too

sneaky Napoleon
Originally uploaded by t23e.

when i take the day off tomorrow and hide in my house, that is pretty close.

new me?

So I have lost 17.5 pounds in 2008.
And racked up over 60 miles on the treadmill.

Today I weighed in and lost 3 pounds [since last Friday].
It was exciting.

Right now I really want to eat. And watch tv.
But I am going to force myself to work out

because I want to keep feeling this good.

Only 97 more days!!!

a most successful day.

Not only did I break my 'record' for longest time/distance/most calories burned on the treadmill today

I ALSO

got so much homework done

AND NOW

I only have little things to do before class next weekend

WHICH MEANS

I can enjoy s'mores [ok, one s'more] on Wednesday night with friends

AND

I can hang out with my dear friend Mel on Thursday night!!!

I am pretty darn excited. Like you couldn't already tell.

my laugh of the day

i'm so productive.
i went to barnes and noble and enjoyed a comfy chair and coffee while i worked for over 3 hours.
and even though i have a LOT of work left to do before class next weekend,
i am not stressed!
amazing!
i'm actually really excited about the work ahead of me.
to quote my friend Crystal, who knew??

this is it.

i know i have these flaws:

- i take everything personally

- even when it's 'business'

- i worry WAY too much

- i make myself sick from worry

- i leave work and can't let go of the stress

- the stress of it carries through into my evenings and makes me unhappy

so here is what i think [know] that i need to do.

i need to let go.

it's that simple.

so i am going to write down all of my stresses, worries, etc.

and post them on here

and let go.

which i know won't be easy

but i really need to do it.

[AND the stupidest thing is that i won't even be at my job next year. i will be at a new and hopefully much improved one!]

so here's all the work shit that i hate and need to let go of:

1. the book fair. i could write so much, but what's the point. it's [mostly] in the past.

2. next year - they are potentially adding 190 minutes of teaching to my already packed schedule

yet they have taken away 38% of my budget for next year

and will probably take away my assistant for at least 30 minutes who is now only here for 3 3/4 hours anyways.

3. this meeting i have next week - so i've been working here for 4 years now and ordering books and supplies and been running the library successfully for that long. but all of a sudden i [not any other librarian] has to have a big meeting with an administrator so i can show her all of my purchases and explain exactly why i need to order each item before i order them...and why? who the hell knows.

4. i need to STOP TALKING to people about all this crap and just think about the present day, and my personal life, and the promising future....i keep blabbing about these things to people at work, and they don't really care anyways, and then i get upset and sick again.

seriously, i detest my job. i'm sure you can see why. [plus the other things i posted below!]

i just need to let it go

and relax

and pray for the right job for september.

3-10-08

i am dying cause i am so stressed

everyone keeps saying to not worry about it

but i think it's a big deal

and i am still not totally sure what is going on today

but i am being interviewed

and observed when i teach

and my principal doesn't even care

when i came in today i asked him what was happening

and he said he didn't know

and don't worry about it

2-29-08

i am WAY too sensitive for my own good

'i don't want to do the same thing twice everyday'

ha

how about the same thing TEN TIMES a week?

and why am i so stupid

that i try to talk about it

when i should keep my mouth shut

because i know that no one understands.

no one.

and no one cares

because they have stuff to do, too.

i can't do this anymore.

i don't enjoy it.

so how many days left?

i'm not sure.

less than 90

that doesn't sound too bad.

i really

hope and pray

that i can find something else

that makes me happy.

1-10-08

i feel attacked

pressured

and like i am being forced into something i don't want to do

i don't think people know this about me

but i HATE being told what to do

especially on such a large scale

why does everyone care about money so much?

i find it ridiculous

and disgusting

that my $43,000 salary can't buy me a home

or help me raise a family

and that i 'need to' or 'should' be trying to make as much money as i can

and my husband makes that much too

so really, then everyone is saying

our $80,000+ income

isn't enough?

we need to make six figures in order to survive?

to buy a house?

to AFFORD to have children?

i don't want to AFFORD to have kids

i just want to have them

and stay home with them

in our HOUSE

i don't want to waste

time

money

effort

on a degree that I DON'T EVEN WANT.

F you and your degree requirements

all of you

8-30-06

why does this happen every year. i feel like an idiot. is it my fault? why do you treat me like crap? i can't figure out if i am screwing up or if you are. what the hell. i don't understand why everything must be so complicated.

it's not personal, it's business.

that only means it's not personal to YOU. it is personal to me.