Adventures with Bettie – Trip #1: Half Moon Bay

Today I should have cleaned the house, gone through cookbooks looking for new recipes, and done some laundry.  Instead I decided that since this was my first Saturday owning the new VW Beetle Convertible, I was going to take her for a spin.

My first stop was Michael’s, because what kind of Beetle owner would I be if I didn’t fill that bud vase right away?  I new I wanted a gerbera daisy, and I was hoping for a hot pink one, but they didn’t have much of a selection.  I settled on this one, and I really like it:

It’s the must-have accessory that I needed to make the car feel like my own.

My next stop was Radio Shack, to buy an MP3 cord so I could listen to my iPod songs while driving.  I have tons of songs loaded on my iPhone, just waiting for a long car ride.

I’d decided on driving to Half Moon Bay, which is one of my favorite spots.  What better place for a convertible than the beach, right?  Half Moon Bay is a lot easier to get to (even though it’s farther) than Santa Cruz, because on a hot Saturday, everyone in my city heads over the hill to go to Santa Cruz to escape the heat.

I thought I’d take a “short cut” that my parents’ friend had told them about – taking Hwy 84 through Woodside to avoid the traffic on 92.  Well, the road was beautiful and lined with redwoods on both sides, but it was a scary, winding path that had my heart in my mouth a few times.  Come to find out, it was no short cut at all because it took twice as long and brought me right to 92 where all of the traffic begins.  Still, it was nice to drive along a beautiful road with “Swoon” from the Silversun Pickups blairing on the stereo.  It was along this road that I though of the Beetle’s name – Bettie!  Bettie the Beetle Convertible! Don’t you love it?!

The ride to Half Moon Bay was so beautiful that I just couldn’t resist snapping a few photos on the iPhone’s camera.  I know it probably breaks tons of traffic laws, but there wasn’t much traffic, and we weren’t driving too fast, so I took the risk, and I’m so glad I did.  The pictures are fantastic.  A bit blurry in some cases, but so gorgeous.

Once I got to Half Moon Bay, I headed directly to Granada Beach, which is my favorite spot.  It is the spot I used to go all the time to just get away from my life and clear my head.  I used to write in my journal while sitting on a boulder along the ocean’s edge.  So peaceful and tranquil.  It also happens to be the spot where the love of my life propsed to me many years ago.  (We split up over 12 years ago, but I still think of him and wonder “what if.”).  The spot holds so many great memories that I love going there.

Afterward, I headed into downtown Half Moon Bay to get something to eat.  There’s a little cafe that I like to go to because it’s very quaint and easy going.  The food is good and the prices aren’t too high.  I ordered a BLT, and it was delcious.  I didn’t realize how famished I was (it was 2:30pm) until I started eating.  I guess I was so taken by my beautiful surroundings that I wasn’t paying attention to my grumbling stomach.

I left shortly thereafter because I wanted to beat the traffic out.  As I was driving I just kept thinking about how lucky I am to live this life.  I have my health, my wonderful friends and family, and now I have this new, dream car.  Sure, I would’ve loved to have a cute guy sitting in my passenger seat today, but that’s not where my life is right now, and that’s OK.   I feel so blessed, and I don’t usually talk that way, but that’s really the only way I can describe it.  I’ve worked so hard for so long and struggled quite a bit to get where I am, but now I feel like I’m leading a charmed life and I’m so grateful that I’m able to enjoy it.

To see pictures of Bettie’s first trip to Half Moon Bay, click here.

BTW, as I was eating lunch I decided that I’m going to make “Adventures with Bettie” a regular feature on this blog.  I’m not sure how often I’ll post new road trips with Bettie, but I’d like to shoot for at least once a month.  There are so many fabulous places within an hour or two from my house that I really do want to take advantage of it.  Plus, getting out in the car and driving is so much fun and so calming to me.

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THIS is why I don’t do desserts

As you know, yesterday I spent the 4th of July by myself.  I didn’t deal with it very well.  I mean, it’s not the same as being by yourself on Christmas, but it is a holiday that’s meant to be shared with people.  Laughing, bbqing, drinking, and celebrating our nation’s independence. Instead, I was reminded of my own independence and got a bit depressed and down about it all.

After I took a 30 minute walk, I felt much better about my singledom and decided to spend time reading and watching the last few episodes of The Wire, which I had gotten from Netlix. (How AMAZING was that show?!  I’ve now finished the series, and wow, I loved it.  Yes, it was hardcore, but it said so much about city politics, policing, and how easily people can fall between the cracks.  If you haven’t seen it, I’d highly recommend it).

Anyway, back to the real reason for this post.

My parents, my uncle, and I are getting together today to have our 4th of July BBQ, a day late.  I’m going to wear the shirt I found on Cafepress.com.  The one that I thought I would wear on the actual 4th of July (until the plans changed).  I figure that I might as well wear it today, since I spent the money on it and I don’t want to wait a whole year to wear it:

I just love this shirt, and I think it captures the true spirit of this holiday.

As far as the food for the BBQ, we’re going all out – guacamole and chips (appetizers), turkey burger sliders, deviled eggs, pasta salad, and a green salad.  And for dessert?  Well, my mom found “the cutest recipe” in one of her online recipe websites (something along the lines of Family Circle, I’m sure).  It’s Rice Krispy Treats made to look like the American Flag.  Easy and adorable, right?  I said I’d make it, because it seemed easy, and I’m usually bringing some sort of appetizer to these events, so I wanted to change things up by bringing something for dessert.

I went grocery shopping on Friday and got the marshmallows and Rice Krispy cereal.  Then I went along the baking aisle to find some sort of icing that could be used for easy decorations.  I found “easy squeeze” frosting in red and blue ($4.85 each) and then I found an aerosol can of white frosting ($5.50).  This was going to be one expensive dessert.  But, convenience is something I don’t mind paying for.

I thought the easy squeeze packages had some sort of decorating tip on them.  They didn’t.  That was sold separately.  I should’ve gotten the aerosol can in all three colors (the aerosol can came with 4 different tips included.  I guess you do get what you pay for).  I imagined making the blue square in the upper left hand corner, then putting little white stars on it.  Then, I thought I’d make waves of red and white frosting for the rest of the flag.  Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans…

The blue frosting wouldn’t come out of the package!  Easy squeeze my ass!  I was using all of my muscle in both of my hands just to get the stuff out.  At one point I thought I was going to have to go to the store and buy the aerosol can of frosting, but then I told myself that I’d already spent way too much on this dumb dessert and tried to make it work.  I finally got the blue out.  Then I started on the red, giving as much force as I could – well, wouldn’t you know that the red came flying out?  In big red globs.  You would’ve thought someone was bleeding to death, from the looks of things around my kitchen.  Sigh.  Luckily, the aerosol can worked beautifully, and I used two different tips to decorate the stars and then the stripes.

With the creative use of a butter knife, I was able to salvage the look of the flag, but man, I am NEVER making this damn thing again in life.  There is a reason that I stick to savory cooking – I’m good at it.  Baking isn’t really my thing, and while I do make good cupcakes for my classes from time to time, anything that requires any level of real cake decorating skills just isn’t my thing.  Plus, I should’ve stayed away from any sort of recipe that would be featured in a middle America bake sale – Suzy Homemaker I’m not.

Anyway, here’s the finished product.  The camera wasn’t able to capture all of the mistakes.  Let’s just say that I hope it tastes better than it looks:

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A Perfect Summer Day!

Today was the perfect summer day!

The weather was 85 degrees – warm, but not too hot.  Earlier in the week the weather was really overcast, cloudy, and sort of cold.  Not conducive to feeling like you’re on summer vacation.

I started the morning with a WW meeting.  It had been more than a month since I’d gone, and let’s just say the absence showed up on the scale. (To read more about the meeting, check out my weight loss blog).

After WW, I straightened up the house a bit and then went to get the car washed.  The poor thing was disgusting, and I hate driving around like that, especially when the weather is nice.  I always feel so much better when the car is shiny and clean.

Then I headed to my parents’ house to pick up my dad so he could go with me to the nursery to buy some summer flowers for my house.  My dad is an expert gardener and always helps me plant new flowers.  I chose some really beautiful flowers that should do very well.  My house is shaded by two huge trees, which is nice for keeping the heat at bay, but not so great for choosing blooms – most of the flowers I love need full sun.

Window box - this is the view from my front door. Purple colius, yellow begonias, a spider plant (previously planted) and baby's breath ground cover

Front view of the window box

Close up of the window box flowers

Pots of impatiens for the front stoop

Flower pot and window box

Full front view of my house (on the right)

Once the flowers start to really take and are in full bloom (within a couple of weeks, I think), I’ll make sure to post updated pictures.  I love flowers, and I think this is definitely one of the harbingers of summer for me – planting the flowers in the front of the yard.  I love going out every other day (or so, depending on the weather) and watering the plants – there’s something very nurturing about it.  Just like cooking. It’s part of what makes a house a home.

After the flowers were planted, I made lunch for my dad and then brought him home once we had finished eating.  I love spending time with him this way.  He’s in his element outside, and he has so much expertise, so it’s really nice to be able to learn a bit from him about one of the things he loves.

When I got home, I decided that I’d take a short bike ride to the library to pick up the books I had requested.  Nothing is better than getting that email notification from the library telling you that you’re books are on hold.  Love it!  I didn’t realize that I had ordered quite so many books, though.  I had 9 hardcovers to fit into my bike basket!  Luckily it’s big enough, so everything fit – just barely.  It was great to bike the 2.6 miles roundtrip because it was just enough of a workout to get my blood pumping and make me feel alive.

Now I’m about to get ready to go out to dinner at Thea, one of my favorite Greek restaurants, with one of my old high school pals.  I’m so glad that she and I reconnected a few months ago because I really missed our friendship.  The thing is, nothing really happened – we just lost touch after high school as it’s so easy to do.  Thankfully, we found each other on Facebook (gotta love social networking sites!) and have gotten together about once a month ever since.

All in all, a wonderful summer day – I hope to have many, many more just like this one.

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So, What Are Your Summer Plans?

Lately, I’ve been hearing that question a lot.  This is the first summer where I haven’t signed up to work, and I couldn’t be happier.  I’m looking forward to actually getting one of the full benefits of teaching – an entire 2-month period of time off.

My mom in particular is worried that I’ll get bored.  She knows me too well, because when I get bored, I start to spend money.  What better way to ebb boredom than to go shopping, right?  Well, not this summer.

This summer I plan to do nothing.

And by “nothing,” I mean that the plan is no plan. Nothing too specific. Mornings spent reading the newspaper while sipping coffee. Walking. Working out. Swimming. Biking. Lots if activity & focus on weight loss. Keeping the house super clean and organized. Feeling like every day is a Saturday, even when it’s Tuesday.  Thursday morning WW meetings. Seeing friends. Buying produce and flowers from the farmers market every Friday. Overusing my Netflix queue. Music in the Park. Cooking healthy, delicious meals for myself every day. Laying in the sun reading a captivating book. Shopping, but trying not to spend too much $.  Starlight Cinema.  Buying a new car in August when my current lease is up.  (I’m thinking a VW Beetle convertible would suit me perfectly).  A tiny bit if tweaking my current curriculum. And lots and lots of writing on this blog and BellaOnTheBeach.

Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.

— Henry James

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Enjoy the Ride

AM sent this to me last week, and I just got a chance to view it today.  Overall, I love the message that it promotes.  It’s a good reminder that I have so much to be thankful for and I should treat each day as if it were a special occasion (sometimes hard to do).

The video is 3:20, and is worth the time, because it may just give you a little perspective on life that you needed to be reminded of.

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Bath Time!

This week I was able to take a couple of long, luxurious baths using my bath “chill pills” that I got from Hydra when I went with my sister earlier this month.

The best thing about taking a bath, to me, is that it is the ultimate form of relaxation.  You don’t have to worry about all of the million other things you should be doing.  Once you hit the water, all you think about is that moment, enjoying the bubbles, the scent, and the warm water.  It’s good for the soul.

I also think it’s something really good to do for yourself.  It’s a nice way to care for yourself, giving yourself a few stolen moments of peace and tranquility.

When I take baths, I always do it at night, for some reason.  I guess because the pace of the day is starting to wind down, and things move at a slower speed.  The laundry list of “to do” items have hopefully been completed, and all that’s left to do is relax and enjoy the evening.  At least, I find myself choosing evenings when this is true.

Before this week, it had been literally 6 months or more since I’d taken a bath, but I think I’m going to make this a weekly ritual, maybe on Sunday nights.  I really can’t think of a better way to get ready for the upcoming weekly craziness than to take some time out and enjoy the quiet and calm a long soak in the tub brings.

In fact, I think I’ll take a bath tonight, after the Oscars.

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A whole week off!

I have been looking forward to this February break for longer than I can tell you (Ok, probably since we returned from the long weekend of Semester Break in late January). Things have been moving very quickly in my life, and I needed some time to just stop, relax, and get to all of the things that I’ve been putting off.

I want to savor each day of this vacation, and not let it slip by without feeling like I’ve truly enjoyed it. I’m kind of thinking of it as a practice-run for my summer vacation.

I know it’s only February and it seems silly to think about the summer now, but I’m really looking forward to taking the whole summer off.  It’s been years since I did that, and the one summer I did, I had a really short vacation – I finished up at one school in mid June, moved back home (from San Francisco), and started at a new school, which began in early August.  So really, I only had about 1 month off, and I spent a lot of it moving, setting things up, etc.  This summer the plan is to spend the days riding my bike, swimming at the pool at my parents’ townhouse complex, and reading books while lying in the sun.  Oh, and a few movies, I’m sure.  No stress, no pressure, just moving my body, getting healthy, and enjoying life.

But back to this February break.  The weather has been pretty awful – tons of rain (almost 3 inches in 2 days!), gray skies, cold, howling wind – not a lot of motivation to go out and make it a great day, if you know what I mean.  Which is good, because there are a lot of things for me to do in the house that I’ve been meaning to get to but haven’t had the time.

Some of my plans for the week:

• Give the duplex a good, deep cleaning.  It’s been weeks since I’ve mopped the floors and it really shows.  Having a clean and organized apartment really helps me feel organized in my life, so this is a top priority.  In fact, I’m not going to do anything else today until I get this done.
• Take a few long, luxurious baths with the new bath items I got from Hydra a few weeks ago with my sister.  My bathtub is rather shallow, and due to the fact that I’m rather large (ahem!), I don’t always think of taking baths because I can’t sink down and feel completely submerged in the water.  But I’ve decided that I’m not going to let that stop me from enjoying baths right now.  I can still get the aromatherapy benefits, the soft skin feeling, the bubbles.  So what if I’m not completely submerged in the water?  I can still enjoy it.  Plus, there’s nothing better than just letting all the stress go while you soak in a warm tub.
• Get a pedicure. Originally I had planned on taking Neece to InSpa for her birthday gift (about a month late, but we’re busy women), but because the weather is so yucky right now, she said she’d rather wait and go when the weather was more flip-flop friendly.  I also told myself that I wasn’t going to get a pedicure until I hit my 5% with WW, and use it as a reward.  I haven’t gotten a pedicure in months, to safe money, and because it’s winter time, and I haven’t been showing off my toes anyway.  But I have an even coming up on Saturday, and I’m going to be wearing peep toe shoes, so I NEED a pedicure.
• Hit the treadmill to start on my OYO (on your own) trainings for the half marathon.  I’ve been really bad about going on my own to do my practices, but I know that if I’m going to improve my time and my stamina, I have to get these OYO workouts in.  Plus, I haven’t listened to my iPod in a really long time (I’ve been doing a lot of at-home DVD workouts), so I’m going to look at it as a chance to listen to some great music for an hour while I improve my walking.
• File taxes. Ugh.  This one is never a pleasure for me.  I did my taxes last weekend, and while I’m getting a small amount back from the federal government, I owe twice that amount to the state.  Dammit!  I really think that until I own a house (not sure when that will happen, if ever), I’m going to have to resign myself to the fact that I’m going to owe the state money each year.  I think I’m on some sort of hit list with them, ever since I owed taxes from my dot-com stock option days.  On the bright side, I don’t owe that much money, compared to previous years, so I guess that’s a blessing.
• Add some pictures to the many frames I’ve bought. I have three really nice picture frames that I’ve purchased recently that have spaces for multiple pictures that still need to be filled.  I’m not sure what’s taking me so long add the pictures to the frames, but now that I have some time, I’m going to work on them this week.  Two of the frames are really cool shadow box types that have multiple layers; for those I want to use pictures that I took in Italy in 1995.  I have to make a trip to my parents’ attic to get them out, but it will be worth braving a little dust to make these picture frames finally look finished.
• Spend some quality time with family and friends. Yesterday I got to see my sister and my nieces at my parents’ house, which was so fun.  My mom’s birthday is on Wednesday, and we all wanted to get together to give her our gift – tickets to see Wicked in SF and happy hour at a posh bar in the theatre district afterward.  My mom was thrilled with this gift, and I can’t wait.  We’re going to go March 29th.  My sister and I had seen Wicked before when it came to SF before it hit Broadway, and we loved it.  I know that the three of us are going to really have a ball that day.  I also have plans to hang out with a friend from high school whom I haven’t seen in almost 20 years.  We reconnected on Facebook (gotta love that site for those great connections), and have been meaning to get together.  She and her friends go to a local bar for karaoke on Thursday nights, and I keep telling her I’m going to join them.  Since they don’t get there until close to 10pm, I can’t go when it’s a “school night,” but since I have Friday off this week, I can definitely make it this Thursday.
• Enjoy a good book, or two, and maybe a few of the magazines I have backlogged. I’m an avid reader, but I find myself in the familiar situation of having lots of magazines on the rack that haven’t been read.  I also have a few library books that are about to be overdue that I want to finish before I return.  I want to carve out a few hours (maybe later today or tomorrow), to sit and enjoy some quiet reading time.  I’ll make sure to update my GoodReads page so you can keep up, if you’re interested.
• A bit of school work. A week before the break, I gave an assignment to my at-level juniors to write a “tall tale” in the vein of Mark Twain.  I asked them to use several comic devices in their writing.  They had a really fun time coming up with outlandish scenarios, so I’m looking forward to reading these.  The smart thing I did was make it a group assignment, so rather than having 35 stories to read, I only have about 15 or so.  I also have to write a syllubus for a “summer school after school” class I’m going to be teaching when school resumes.  It’s actually really cool curriculum that I’ve used with my juniors, so it should be an easy class to teach.  I decided to take on this extra assignment because I’m adamant about not working this summer (see above), but I want to make sure I have some extra money for a down payment on a new (to me) car.  My lease is up in August, so I’ll be car shopping.  I’m getting $2900 (before taxes) for 60 hours of work, which is a little over $48/hour – not too shabby.  Plus, because this class is geared towards seniors who have failed the first semester of English but need it to graduate, the kids should be very motivated to pass.  All in all, not much work to do, which is so different than February breaks in the past.
• Attend an old-school Italian Dinner Dance. This one should be a blast.  My mom’s aunt & uncle belong to several Italian associations in San Francisco, and often buy whole tables for different fundraising events.  This Saturday one of their organizations is throwing a dinner/dance and we’ve all been invited.  I bought a really pretty party dress (I’ll post pictures later) and can’t wait to get all dolled up for the event.  I have a feeling there won’t be too many people my age at this party, but I don’t mind filling my dance card with dances with my dad, great uncle, and cousin (among the other gentlemen who might be there).  It should be a lot of fun, and it’s something I haven’t done before, so I’m looking forward to it.
• Watch the Oscars! I love the Oscars – the gowns, the accolades for fine film making, the gossip – it’s always a fun event.  Once when I was living in SF, one of my friends threw a fabulous Oscar Party and it was so much fun.  In recent years, I’ve watched the Oscars at home by myself, which is also fine by me.  This year, I’m going to my parents’ house to watch it with them.  I’m hoping that maybe next year I’ll be able to have a little Oscar party at my house – I love getting together with friends, good food,  and strong drinks while dishing about the show.  Sounds like a plan in the making, right?

So there you have it, lots of plans for a great week off.  I’d better get started if I’m going to get it all done!!

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4th Street in Berkeley – A Sister Day

Today my sister and I are going to spend some time in Berkeley, and I can’t wait. We’re going to go to 4th Street which has a bunch of fun shops, restaurants, and lots of “people watching” opportunities.

The impetus for the whole trip (besides being able to spend some time together) is that one of LC’s favorite stores is closing. Hydra is a unique bath shop, filled with lots of fun things to make your bath time so much more relaxing, rejuvenating, and enjoyable. My personal favorite is their “chill pill” line of bath balls that make the bath water so luxurious. I recently saw that they have chill pill shower steamers, so I’m going to find out what those are all about. Since Hydra in Berkeley is closing, we thought we should make a quick trip to Berkeley to see what great sales we could cash in on.

I’m also looking forward to having a yummy sushi lunch. I don’t know why, but I’ve been craving sushi for a while now, and since LC loves sushi too, we decided that’s what we’re going to have for lunch. The fun thing about going to lunch with LC is that she is adventurous as I am when it comes to trying exotic cuisines. She’s probably even more adventurous in her tastes than I am. Since her hubby is more of a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, she always takes advantage of our meals together as a time to get her “fix” of more exotic food.

The best part of the day is going to be spending time with my sister. It’s been a little while since our last sister day, and I’m in need of some one-on-one time. It’s been a really crazy week at work, and nothing is more relaxing than spending time with LC. Our sister days are so good for my soul.

Can’t wait to see what kind of retail trouble we can get into.

__________________________________

Update:

We definitely got into some great retail trouble, but it was so much fun.  Actually for once LC spent more than I did.  She was definitely in the buying mood!

(BTW, we didn’t end up having sushi because the Japanese restaurant we found didn’t serve sushi.  We did end up at a really nice French/California bistro, which was really good).

A really cool surprise for the day was that there was a Chinese New Year celebration, complete with dancers, drums, and dragons.  They closed off a small side street and we were able to witness it all while we had lunch.

All in all, it was another wonderful sister day.  Just what I needed!

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Bella, reporting for duty

Babysitting duty, that is!

Thursday my sister roped me into babysitting tonight.  You know those conversations that start with, “So, what are you doing on Saturday night?”  My pat answer is usually, “well, I have a few things going on, why?”  Just to see what the other person might suggest.  That way, I don’t have to commit to something without knowing what I’m getting into.  But, since it was my sister, I said, “oh, not too much.”  To which she replied, “oh, good, then you wouldn’t mind babysitting for T & E while R and I go to my friend’s house for a party.”

Wait a minute!  Are you telling me that the married-with-2-kids sister is going to party and the single, devil-may-care sister is going to be home on a Saturday night babysitting?  What’s wrong with this picture?!

Not that I don’t love my nieces, because I do.  I like spending time with them.  I like to think of myself as the “fun aunt.”  They love Zia (Italian for aunt) because I like to play dolls or watch movies with them.  But usually at my parents’ house, and usually only for a short amount of time.  The thought of being completely responsible for them scares me for some strange reason.

I mean, it’s not like I didn’t babysit when I was a teenager, because I did.  But that was before I had a car, or friends who had cars, and I wanted money to buy that future car.  It was fun to get out of my house and be in charge.  When LC first asked me, I was hesitant.  I’m not sure why.  I guess part of the reason I’ve decided not to have kids is because I don’t want all that responsibility.

Then I reminded myself that it was only for 4-5 hours; not even overnight.  I could deal.  Plus, we could make it fun and say we were having a pajama party.  Which is why I’m in my comfy, cozy pjs as I write this at 6:35pm on a Saturday night.  That’s right, it’s a rockstar lifestyle, aren’t you jealous?

I have popcorn and hot cocoa, so we’re all set on the snacks front.  LC’s bringing DVDs – I heard mention of a My Little Pony movie and The Bee Movie.  And I think she’s going to pack a board game in the bags somewhere, too.  My youngest niece is only 17 months, so she’ll go to bed fairly early.  My 6 year old niece and I will have a great time, I’m sure.

Plus, I think it will be good for me to see “how the other half lives.”  You know, the half that is selfless, and puts others needs in front of their own?  Ya, them.  I’m not usually one of them, so this will be an interesting experiment.

I just hope we all make it out unscathed.  😛

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Update: It’s 10:20, and both kids are sleeping.  T (6 yrs) fell asleep after playing with magnetic paper dolls (very cool!), having some popcorn, sugar free hot chocolate, and lots of School House Rock.  My sis told me that T had been talking about coming over here all day.  She was so excited to go to Zia’s house.  🙂  That really just melts my heart, you know?  Fun times.

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Holiday Cheer Abounds

It’s been a fun few days in Bellaland.  Lots of present giving and receiving, great food, good times, and a moment or two to realize how lucky I am.  Truly, very lucky.

I have amazing family and friends who love me and are always there to offer support, encouragement, and a kick in the ass, if necessary.  My life would be nothing without them. And as cliched as that sounds, that really is the best gift of all.

I’m looking forward to going to my great uncle’s house for dinner with all of the extended family – there are going to be over 50 of us there this year, and it will be so much fun to catch up with all those relatives I haven’t seen in a couple of years.

The rest of this week and the next is spread out before me, and I can’t wait to see what I make of it.  It’s so nice to have 2 weeks off with nothing in particular planned.  This way, it gives me the chance to do some things I’ve been wanting to do, but without a strict schedule.  Freedom!

Merry Christmas to All!!

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Simple Pleasures

I’ve been thinking a lot about the simple pleasures in life.  Relishing the little things in life that make it special or fill it with joy.

I just finished teaching my classes about Transcendentalism, which is one of my favorite units of the year.  I like teaching the students about philosophy, because most of them haven’t read any before this unit.  Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were masters in reminding us how to live a simple life, unfettered by materialism.

Yesterday was a day filled with simple pleasures for me, and although none were as profound as those espoused by Emerson or Thoreau, they still made me happy.

Comfy yoga pants. Ideally, I would’ve gone to a yoga class yesterday, but I guess I did the next best thing.  Last night I lounged in my new yoga pants that my sister gave me for Christmas. They’re soft, comfortable, and oh so cozy.  I love taking off my more restrictive clothing and putting these pants on.  They’re symbolic of relaxing to me.

Uggs boots. Along the lines of soft, warm, and comfortable, these boots are perfect for the wintry weather we’ve been having lately.  Again, these were a Christmas present from my parents.  Even though I asked for some knock-off brand, they splurged and bought me the real thing, and I couldn’t be more grateful.  It’s so nice to go out in the rainy, cold weather and know that my feet are completely warm and dry.  Cuz when your feet feel good, everything feels good, right?

Fresh, clean, high thread count sheets. I’m on a roll with these warm, cozy Christmas gifts, right?  My parents also gave me a new set of 620 thread count sheets for Christmas (don’t I have a generous family?).  I washed them yesterday and made my bed with them.  All day I was looking forward to climbing into bed and sleeping in these luxurious sheets.  Nothing is better.  Well, ok, maybe having someone to share the sheets with would be nice, but hey, I’m making the best of my singledom.

{If you’re wondering why I’m talking so much about Christmas presents and it’s only the 23rd, that’s because my family celebrated our “Christmas Eve” on Sunday night.  My sister and her husband thought they would stay home on the 24th and get things ready for Santa’s visit to my nieces.  It was nice to extend the holiday this way.  Oh, and in case you’re thinking, “You shouldn’t open presents until Christmas Day.”  We don’t do it that way in my family.  Well, of course we did when we were little and Santa brought the presents, but once we got older, we always opened them on Christmas Eve.  Late at night, after we returned from Midnight Mass.  It is a wonderful tradition that we continue today, minus the Midnight Mass part, most of the time}.

Listening to Christmas music. I know quite a few people who are so inundated with Christmas tunes that they can’t stand to listen to another song, but I am not one of these people.  I love Christmas music, and I think my playlist is awesome.  I have a nice mix of old standbys and newer, lounge music.  My favorite of the moment is Michael Buble singing Grown Up Christmas List.

What are your favorite simple pleasures?

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Break Time!

The past two weeks have been really busy for me.  I’m always busy at school, but the two weeks before break were CRAZY.

It just so happened that I had a journalism deadline AND a yearbook deadline within days of each other.  I’m really strict with my students about meeting the deadlines, no matter what.  In this case, “no matter what” meant staying in my room for the past two weeks, staying at school until 6:30 last Friday (Dec. 12), and going a little nuts when we ran into some technical difficulties.  But, I’m happy to report that both the newspaper and the yearbook deadline were met.  We got rave reviews on the paper, which always makes us feel good.

Couple these deadlines with the fact that I had a set of essays and 2 sets of research papers (think essays, but longer) to grade.  I was determined that I was going to grade these papers before I left for Christmas Break – no matter what.  There’s that phrase again.  This time “no matter what” meant staying up until 2:30AM on Thursday night, waking up at 5AM to continue grading, and still not finishing.  So, I stayed on Friday evening until 5;30 to get them done.  I may have been the last car in the parking lot (teachers clear out early when we have a long break like that), but I am so proud of myself for completely finishing all of the work I wanted to.

Which means I have two weeks off and ABSOLUTELY NO GRADING OR SCHOOL WORK OF ANY KIND TO DO!  (Ok, sorry for the ALL CAPS, but unless you teach high school English, I don’t think you can imagine the feeling of elation I have right now).

So, what am I going to do with myself?

• Read books. For pleasure!  Books like Sundays at Tiffany’s, Pledged: The Secret Lives of Sororities, and A Lion Among Men.  Looking at those titles, I know they sound like quite an eclectic mix, and they are.  Recent books I’ve checked out of the library.  I’m a voracious reader even when life is hectic, but especially when I have some time on my hands.  To see more books that I’ve been reading, you can click on my Good Reads Shelf to the right.
• Catch up on the stacks of magazines that are threatening to overtake my living room. That might be overstating it a bit, since the mags are all neatly placed in a magazine rack, but when I see 4 months worth of Vogue, Vanity Fair, Self, Real Simple, Prevention, and Women’s Health in front of me, I know it’s time to do some light reading.
• Workout or “be active” everyday. Today’s activity was cleaning the house from top to bottom (electric broom and mop the kitchen and bathroom floors, empty the dishwasher, do two loads of laundry, change sheets, clean the bathroom, and vacuum the whole place).  Whew!  I know I probably didn’t burn too many calories, but I did all of that in under 3 hours, and I am sort of sore as I sit here tonight writing this.  It’s been cold and rainy here, so I’m afraid that most of my working out will have to take me to the gym, but that’s ok.  It gives me a chance to catch up on my elliptical and treadmill time.  I am going to start Couch to 5K and see how it goes.  I have a few other activities planned for the new year, but I’ll discuss that more on my weight loss blog.
• Go to the movies. I love movies, but don’t find myself going to many lately.  I think part of it is that my schedule is so busy that I have to pick and choose which movies I have time to see.  There are two movies that I think look very interesting that I’m definitely making time for this vacation: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Seven Pounds.  Seven Pounds hasn’t gotten great reviews, but it intrigues me, and I think it’ll be worth $10 to find out what it’s about.
• Spend time with family and friends. There are so many people I can’t wait to see and spend time with.  I’m sure I’ll post about all the fun ahead.
• Go through my cookbooks. I have lots of healthy cookbooks that I’ve bought or been given in recent years, yet I find myself making my tried and true recipes more often than not.  I want to go through these cookbooks and mark several new recipes to try out in the new year.  I’m hoping to make at least one new recipe a week, just to keep things interesting.

So, there you have it.  Some rough plans for how I want to spend my Christmas Break.  I look forward to this 2-week vacation every year, and yet it always seems to fly by without very much getting accomplished.  I’m hoping that this year, I’ll make it a vacation to remember.

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My own little Black Friday

I had told myself that there was no way that I was going to go out with the masses yesterday to go shopping, no matter how good the deals were at the mall.  Instead, I stayed home, all warm and snuggly, and did some online shopping.

And by “some,” I mean A LOT!  I got gifts for everyone on my list except my parents.  I don’t know why, but those two are always the most difficult people to buy for.  I think part of it is that they’re always so generous with my sister and me, and I want to make sure to give them gifts they’ll really enjoy.  Of course, they’d appreciate any gift I give them, but I want to make sure to find them that special thing.

I don’t want to mention the gifts that I got, because most of the people I bought for read this blog, but let’s just say, I think they’ll all be pleased.

I feel so good to know that almost all of it is done already.  Now all I have to do is wait for the items to arrive and wrap them.

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Ahhhh…a 4-day weekend

One of the perks of being a teacher is having long weekends and other vacations from time to time.  This weekend was one of those times.  Unlike so many of my friends and family who won’t be getting even 1  day off for Veteran’s Day, I got 2.

So what have I done with my glorious 4-day weekend so far, you ask?  Not a whole lot of anything.  Which is exactly what I needed.

It seems that for the past month, every day of every weekend has been jam-packed with parties, dinners, events, etc.  Which is all fun and great and everything, but once in a while it’s nice to just be at home doing NOTHING.

Well, not nothing, exactly.  So far this weekend I’ve:

• Completely reorganized my closet to move out my warm weather clothes and replace them with cool weather ones.  The problem with this is that I don’t have a whole heck of a lot of clothes that fit me anymore.  But this is a good thing!  It means I’m quite a bit smaller than I was last year at this time, which is exciting.  I have quite a bit of clothes that I’m thinking of swapping/giving to someone.
• Done a ton of laundry.  I had so much to do that the washer and dryer have been on for the past two days, practically without end.
• Finally finished reading American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld.  It was supposed to be my book club book that we were going to meet and talk about last Sunday, but since no one had finished it yet, we put off the meeting until this Wednesday.  The only probably is that now AM and I are the only ones who can meet. If you’re looking for a good, long book you can sink your teeth into, this is the one.  I absolutely loved it.
• Spent too much time and too much money on QVC.  I really don’t order things from QVC ever, but somehow I got on some list that sends me emails about when Bare Escentuals or Philosophy is going to be featured on air.  Saturday night happened to be when Bare Escentuals was on, and being such an admirer of their cosmetics, I had to tune in.  I ended up buying a great holiday collection of colors for a really good price.  And I ended up getting some Amazing Grace items as well.  (These weren’t featured, but I started clicking on QVC.com and, well, $70 later….).  I have to say, it’s DANGEROUS!  They make everything sound so good that you’re tempted to buy way more than you should.  Thank goodness for “easy pay” and for the fact that I’m smart enough to only buy products that I know I love.  Otherwise I could’ve gotten into even more trouble.
• Begun grading some essays.  Yes, I know, I said that with my new plan, I wouldn’t need to bring any work home.  Well, the plan has been working really well, but I have gotten a bit backed up with essays because I have an essay on The Crucible and then we also had a district-wide writing assessment in the same week, so I’ve had 6 sets of essays to grade.  I figure taking one day of this 4 day weekend to grade isn’t so bad.  Plus, it helps so that next weekend (the weekend before grades are due) I’m not so stressed.
• Almost finished Thin is the New Happy by Valerie Frankel.  I have mixed reviews so far for this book.  There are parts I love and can totally relate to, and then there are parts where I feel she has completely overshared.  And that’s saying something, coming from me.  I’ve been accused of “oversharing” myself.  Overall, though, I’m glad I’ve been reading it, and I’m equally as glad that I got it from the library rather than paying for it.
• Caught up on all my t.v. shows.  Last week was such a crazy week that I hadn’t really watched any of my normal shows.  I had episodes of Desparate Housewives, Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style to watch.  Now, many of you may be saying, “you watch too many shows,” and you’re completely right.  But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop.  🙂

The plan for the rest of today is to finish grading, finish the laundry, go to the grocery store, and get in a workout.  Tomorrow I’m meeting my sister to go shopping and have lunch, since she has tomorrow off.

It’s been so nice to feel like I’ve had enough time to get everything done.  October was such a long, busy month that it’s nice to be in November, when we get two longer breaks.  Finally a bit of breathing room.

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Finally Friday

I know I haven’t written a real post on here in a while.  Not sure exactly why that is, other than the fact that I’ve been writing a lot more on my weight loss blog, and sometimes it’s hard to come up with content for both.  Or, the other obvious reason, because there hasn’t been a whole lot worth writing about going on in my life. 

So, I thought I’d do a quick recap/update of some of the things I’ve been doing

• I’ve been sticking to my Back to School Plan of staying 2 hours everyday after school to get my work done, rather than grading at home, on the weekends, and pulling all-nighters.  So far I’ve been really successful.  We just had grades due on Monday, and normally my weekend would’ve been stressful and I would’ve spent hours and hours grading.  Instead, I only spent about an hour grading my last 10 book reports that I hadn’t finished. It’s so nice to get home around 4:30 or 5pm everyday knowing that I have left school at school.  I know I have the entire evening stretched out ahead of me, and I can do whatever I want to with the time.  Weekends too.  It’s been great!
• On that note of having more free time, I really need to get some hobbies.  The last two years I have had almost no free time, so this idea of having idle time is sort of getting to me.  I know that I could/should use the time to workout, and I want to do that.  It’s just that reading a book on the couch sounds so much more fun than working out, ya know?  I think I’m going to tell myself that once I’ve been going to the gym or doing some other form of activity (bike riding, doing exercise DVDs, going for a walk, etc.) at least 5 days a week to start, then and only then can I entertain the idea of doing some other hobby.  Because the main goal I have in my life right now is to lose weight, so I feel like most of my efforts should be focused on that, if at all possible.  Ok, this bullet point was a good little pep talk for me.  🙂
• I joined eHarmony, but so far, the results have been nothing to write home about.  Or write a blog about.  None of the guys that are my “matches” are people I would want to go out with.  Not that they have anything wrong with them, per se, but they either live too far from me, are too old for me (11 years older is too old, I think), and seem to be in a different place in life than I am.  I paid for 3 months, so I’m hoping some diamond in the rough stands out and he and I decide we want to at least go on a date.  So far, I haven’t even entertained that idea with any of my so-called matches.  Ugh. 
• Any ideas of other places I can meet a nice guy? 
• The library has become my new favorite haunt.  I’ve been going at least once a week to return books and pick up new ones.  I’m like a reading machine.  I’ve always been an avid reader, but over the past two years I didn’t have as much time to devote to reading for pleasure, because I had so many things to read for my Masters program.  It’s so nice to read anything I want again.  You can click on my Goodreads link in my sidebar to see what I’ve been reading lately.  Mostly chick-lit because sometimes you just need to get lost in the fantasy, right?
• Now that I joined Weight Watchers, and I’m  eating real food again, I’ve been able to start cooking!  I’ve come to find out how much I really love cooking.  I want to start spending more time pouring over recipe books, creating meals and showing off my culinary creativity.  So much fun!!
• I’ve been enjoying spending time with friends and family.  Every weekend since school started I have been able to spend time with my parents, my sister, my nieces, and/or my friends.  It’s been great.  I’ve spent spa days, had cocktails, hosted a book club, gone to several dinners, and had lots of quick coffee/catch-up sessions.  I love reconnecting with all of my favorite people. 

So, that’s what’s been going on with me.  Nothing overly exciting, but all good things.  I’m enjoying the quieter side of life right now.  I’m learning to live life at a bit of a slower pace and enjoy each day.

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