Checking in...

Spring is here... which means- Spring Break! Jonathan and I are so looking forward to traveling tomorrow to Florida to see some of our best pals. In trying to prepare for the trip, I have been busy trudging through grad school work, which is why there is a lack of posts on the blog. Try as I might, I was not successful in getting a ton of work done so I will be doing some work at the beach, nonetheless, at least it is a beautiful location to be thinking about global education and reading non-fiction. :)
We are so excited to see the crew, but also excited for Easter weekend when mom,dad, Heather, and Patrick are coming to Durham. Wishing all the family (Jenny and Matt) could be here..but it will be a blast with everyone visiting. There are busy times ahead, but I am looking forward to every minute. My students have Spring fever as well so we are all just ready for a break. 


I will check in next week about some random happenings, but I wanted to leave you with an article that was shared with me at work. I have been thinking about this a lot lately, as well as discussing it with Jonathan, and I thought the author of this article speaks about a deep point regarding equity. Because of where I work, and also of graduate school, this is often something that is on my mind. 


http://www.huffingtonpoast.com/glennon-melton/trayvon-martin_b_1382710.html


On a lighter note: love this quote from a Woody Guthrie song:

The Hoping Machine- Woody Guthrie

“Whatever you do and wherever you go,

don’t lose your grip on life.

And that means don’t let any earthly calamity knock your dreamer and your hoping machine out of order.”

Picture taken in Colorado! 

Hello Spring!

Spring is here! Though things have been busy as always (as you can tell from my weekly slack between posts), there has been some beautiful weather. Jonathan and I are looking forward to our Spring Break from work in 2 weeks, but I'm trying not to look to far ahead. Last week was busy, but containing a lot of fun things along the way. Here is a few highlights:

Playing with my camera...

The great thing about teaching in NC is watching UNC play basketball on Friday afternoons during MM :)

 A drink on the patio, watching UNC play, and a friday afternoon with a friend!

Jonathan and I went to a hockey game last Thursday night. I liked it MUCH better than watching on TV. It was really fun and the Canes won! 

Saturday was a fun filled day. Nancy took Erin and I to lunch and to get pedicures for our birthdays (perfect timing for Spring weather). Then we had everyone over for dinner Saturday night. I got to spend some time with Aiden... which I love! He is so cute and was in a great mood. 

Hanging out with Grandpa

Hi mom!

"I love my grandma...especially her hair and glasses!

He wasn't sure what to make of me or my camera.

Aiden LOVES dogs.
He wanted  Chomsky to pay attention to him,
but Chomsky just wanted to play as usual.

It was a great week. We are so lucky to have such great family and friends. I am cranking down to get work done before break over the next two weeks (though it's distracting with pretty weather). I hope everyone is having a wonderful week!

Catching Up

Where did the weekend go?

It's was a busy week last week, and I can't believe it is already Monday again (since my last post). The weekends go by so fast, especially with the ACC tournament on, as well as me taking a test on a SATURDAY. On top of that...daylight savings time = a sleepy Monday morning. The bright side is that it is light outside longer after work...so I got to enjoy a walk/run through Duke forest without worrying about it getting dark and spooky! I have signed up for a 5K in Chapel Hill for the Walk/Run for Education as motivation. Jonathan is going to do it with me too!

A couple of highlights from the week/weekend...

I got to play with my Zoom lens around the yard. It is a bit of a challenge to catch birds and focus before they fly away. I enjoyed it though!

 

 Later in the week, a package came for me. Jonathan, being the caring husband that he is, ordered me a new water bottle (BPA free for healthier drinking) and a phone. The phone is not just any ordinary phone, but a big bright green phone that plugs into my cell phone so that I am not putting my cell phone next to my head while I talk for long periods of time. Jonathan read in a magazine (The Week maybe?) that cell phones can causes brain tumors. I have heard this too, but haven't done anything about it. Well- there is a solution! Check it out :)

It cancels out the radiation
caused by certain cell phones.

The top is bamboo!

New Hairdo!

Time for a Change...

I can't believe I went this short! But I decided that it was time for a change. Check it out! Now I actually have to blow-dry my hair everyday... The horror!

I apologize that the lighting is weird...my computer camera was not the best when the sun was setting. 

My New Camera!

My New Camera!!

After a lot of deliberation, I finally purchased my new camera. Thanks to everyones birthday contributions, I was able to buy a Canon. I am very excited (and somewhat intimidated) by all the things I need to learn, but I already played around a bit. Below are some of the pictures I have taken so far. The pets were good sports to be my models!

Hugo looking guilty about something...probably getting ready to jump on the table.

Nothing great about this one but I love Sophie's tail being right in the picture.

Sophie is hard to get to stay still. But she finally let me take one.

 Chomsky was standing there nicely...what you can't see is the tennis ball below his feet. He is hoping I would stop taking pictures and play! I began to experiment with blurring the background on this one.

 Trying to get a good shot of the pond. I used the "action" feature on this one.

 I didn't have my zoom lens out yet...but I liked how this one turned out. Weeds can be pretty right? :)

 Flowers are already blooming...crazy weather!

 Otis is not thrilled with the camera in his face. He thinks he is the boss.

 This was for Jonathan and his obsession with birds.

Thanks to everyone for helping me get my new camera. I love it! I will post more as I learn how to actually use it!

Saturday Morning

A Rainy Weekend...


One of my favorite things about the weekend is not having to get up and rush out the door. This morning it was raining and dark, so it was a perfect day to be lazy! Our cat Otis had other thoughts and was kind enough to begin scratching at the door. Since I was awake, I got to wallow in bed and finish a book while listening to the rain. Jonathan was the best husband in the world because he brought me oatmeal and coffee in bed. It was a perfect Saturday morning!

Welcome

Welcome to my blog!

Life is our house is very busy! With teaching and school for me, and teaching and coaching for Jonathan, it seems that we never take the time to slow down. Several of my friends have blogs that I check often, and it occurred to me, that I should begin one of my own. My hope is that I will begin to concentrate on the simple daily pleasures that happen, and build perspective for what to value in our day to day lives. I also hope our family and friends can glimpse into what is going on with us. All of us are so busy, so this "online journal" will hopefully encourage me to appreciate the wonderful things in life and decompress from the stressful things.