My A to Z

The stylish Jen of Librarian for Life and Style tagged me to participate in this challenge, so here goes ....
(To my mortification, this originally went live with some missing letters! I've filled in the blanks to prove that I do know my alphabet.)
 

A. Attached or Single? Newlywed. :)

B. Best Friend? Sleep and alone time.
C. Cake or pie? I have a prodigious appetite for sweets, so I'll take both. Anything with chocolate in it is a winner, but Dutch apple pie, pumpkin pie, and a good lemon meringue pie also are scrumptious.
D. Day of Choice? Saturday. This year I started attending a weekly meditation class and it's so wonderful to spend an hour on Saturday morning meditating with a group. It's a very different experience from meditating alone.
E. Essential item? I used to be one of those folks who said she would never get an iPhone. But when my husband got the 5, he passed the 4 down to me, and I have to admit - I love it! I love the camera/Instagram access the best. 
F. Favorite color? Navy blue is one of those colors I gravitate towards (when I visited India, my husband's family savvily picked out a navy blue sari for me to wear!) But purple, yellow and green are also favorites.

G. Gummy bears or worms? Black Forest strawberry gummies are my absolute favorite, but I can't find them in stores here any more. :( I'm really more of a chocolate lover, but I do have times when I can chomp through most of a bag of gummy bears (preferably covered in li hing mui sauce).
H. Hometown? Honolulu.

I. Favorite indulgence? Just one? Here are some of my favorites: great books, time to take a walk with my camera, sleeping in, chocolate (it counts as an indulgence even if I eat it daily, right?).  
J. January or July? January. Boots/leggings weather is great!

K. Kids? Love 'em - but that's kind of a job prerequisite. ;) None of my own yet.

L. Life isn't complete without? Stopping and counting my blessings.
M. Marriage date? March 30. My husband and I had our first date on March 18.
N. Number of brothers/sisters? One twin sis (I'm the younger by 1 whole minute!)
O. Oranges or apples? Both. Although apples are easier to eat at work.
P. Phobias? Lizards/geckos.
Q. Quotes: "True victory is self-victory." (Morihei Ueshiba/Osensei, the founder of aikido).
R. Reasons to smile: A great cup of coffee, exchanging e-mail gratitudes with friends, snail mail, nature's beauty, time to read.
S. Season of choice? Well, we really only have two seasons here. (I've always wanted to experience a "real" fall!) I like that time of year when it's a little cooler but still sunny.

T. Tag 5 people: Going to skip this because I'm not blogging regularly right now ...

U. Unknown fact about me: My name was included in the acknowledgements section of a printed book! 
V. Vegetable? I like just about all of them, with some favorites being kabocha squash, okra (cooked Indian style), kale, and zucchini. I'm not fond of canned peas (squishy), but the frozen ones are fine.
W. Worst habit? Procrastination. And disorganization.
X. X-ray or ultrasound? Um, X-ray, I guess.
Y. Your favorite food? Chocolate.
Z. Zodiac sign? Sagittarius. I'm also a Snake according to the Chinese zodiac.

the power of pink

tee, Gap

petite skirt, Ann Taylor

belt in "neon azalea," J. Crew Factory

 
     It takes me longer to take unimpressive photos with my iPhone than it does to set up my camera and focus it. Forgive/ignore the cluttered background ... 
     I considered wearing a brown belt, but figured that a pink belt was needed to counteract the brain-straining effects of an all-day math standards workshop scheduled for a Monday. The skirt is a little shorter than I prefer for work, but for a non-instructional day it was just fine.  I'm glad that I fished it out of mom's donations bag! (Better photos of the skirt - paired with coral - are here).
    What do you wear to cheer yourself up during a long day at work? 

my trip in photos

   August 16 was Statehood Day, which meant no school. I seized the opportunity to take a whirlwind trip to Washington State/Utah. After zipping through Open House at work on Thursday night, I dashed for the airport to catch the red eye.  Here's a few pics from my weekend:

 A peek at Utah's mountains while riding the Trax

Buddhist? Um ... Sis and I had a little adventure while using public transportation in Utah. We had to backtrack and wait for the next shuttle at a deserted stop. A sketchy-looking guy approached us, talking about how wonderful it was that it was Sunday, and asked about our religious tendencies. Sis and I looked at each other. Then I told the guy that I was Buddhist. It was the perfect conversation-killer - he just stopped talking to us and shuffled off to his friends.  (This would be a conversation-starter in many other states, so use with caution ...)

Triumph: I passed on my old prom dress to my sis a while back - she's actually worn it a few times for formal events. It's actually a very classic/timeless dress - the V-neck and slit add interest but not impropriety. Out of curiosity, I took a little break from packing up her room and threw the dress on. It still fits! (You can't tell from the photo, but it _is_ a bit snug in the hip area). I'm not sure what Astro the dog is thinking but he was extremely curious about who I was and just what I was doing in his home.)

Home away from home: We ended up spending some time and money at Starbucks. The free Wi-fi was invaluable when we needed to figure out how to navigate to some important spots in Utah, and the drinks were comfortingly familiar. I've never been a fan of Starbucks' baked goods, but the stuff from La Boulange (including the morning bun pictured above!) was definitely tasty.

It could be worse: In our mad rush to get the last boxes of stuff to the post office, we ended up getting to the airport too late to put our checked bags on the plane. That meant a little layover in Sea-Tac. Which means an opportunity to do a little airport shopping (I picked up a bunch of chocolate bars as omiyage in Seattle, and picked up a bag of salt-water taffy as a treat for my kiddos on my way out of Utah). It also meant a chance to enjoy just how beautiful Sea-Tac can be on a sunny day.

Intervention avoided:  Packing devoured most of our time and energy, but sis was kind enough to take me to Ikea for the express purpose of buying fabric. For some reason, all of the prints were enormous - not just big, but huge enough that they were best suited to wall hangings or curtains. Nevertheless, I did  pick up 3 yards each of two pretty fabrics. I'm thinking the denim-ish one will make a nice skirt, and this whimsical print will be great for tote bags/zip pouches. I have been known to buy 5 yards of a great fabric in the past, but I'm pleased that I "cut back" and only bought 3 yards each.

Libations: In lieu of lunch, we had happy hour instead. The pink one is a cherry mojito and the other one is a grapefruit-flavored drink.


Random photos: 

 My cotton shift kept me cool in Utah.

Obligatory airport selfie - I wore my Totoro tee from Teefury for the first time!

 

Bigfoot sighting ... 

 and some savvy product placement. 

One of my favorite parts of the trip: having 4-legged company!

my life, in numbers

 Random cute photo: I got to hang out with the adorable Astro in Renton last weekend!

1: Number of brushfires we've had. I had to move my car and close the windows and doors of my (un-air-conditioned) classroom yesterday, but I still left work reeking of smoke. The one good thing is that it happened after school vs. during school hours.

2: The number of hours that passed on Thursday before I realized that the side zip on my dress was not zipped. Yikes! Thankfully, I was wearing a camisole and slip underneath, so nothing was exposed. I guess that's what happens when I wake with a start at 5:35 a.m. and realize that I overslept my alarm by 30 minutes and need to hustle.
3: The number of awesome, supportive colleagues who I have the privilege of teaching the same grade level with!
6: total number of yards of fabric that I bought from Ikea in Renton. One is a denim-like cotton with colored stripes that look handwoven, and the other is a whimsical black and white graphic. Now I just need the time to sew ...
7: The number of reading rugs, aka "magic carpets," that I bought for my classroom. They're really woven rag rugs that I picked up for $1.99 at Pricebusters. The kids enjoy using them for Read to Self time.
7-11: My latest bad habit. It's horrific that a Clif bar costs $2 there, but I've been having a hard time settling into my morning routine and sometimes need a cup of coffee, a granola bar, and something quick for lunch before I hit the road.
9: number of days it took for my classroom's electric pencil sharpener to break. *sigh* 
10: approximate number of hours spent at the Sea-Tac airport during my whirlwind trip to Renton/Utah.
18: number of families that came to Open House last week. Pretty good, considering that I have 26 students.
What's going on with you? Leave me a number in the comments. :)

2nd day

Banana Republic dress, thrifted

belt, Ross

earrings, gift from M

          I'm alive! And I'm also exhausted and slightly overwhelmed and I've probably lost a few pounds from working so hard and skipping meals. Monday was the first day of school, and, to be frank, I spent it in a state of disbelief - I kept thinking, "Am I really a teacher again?" It was strange to be doing something I haven't done for two years. But my second day was much better - I felt that I was getting into the groove and getting to know my students a little bit more.  

        All of the routines and procedures that we need to maximize our learning time are not quite in place yet, but I'm working hard and adjusting my plans each night to address things before they grow into bad habits.

         One thing I'm not loving about my new workplace is how warm it is - I started the day with my hair down, but gave up halfway through and pulled it back. But I am loving my class and my colleagues so far - it's wonderful to have fellow teachers who are interested in my ideas and in sharing resources.

           Life is good, I just need a nap ... and words cannot express how excited I am that today's Wednesday! Friday, here I come. :)