Adventures in Gratitude: Turkey-Lent III

Today is November 1, 2012. Where has the year gone?! This year has been one of great change; and with change comes many, many things to be thankful for.

Photo Credit

Every year I blog about what I like to call Turkey-Lent.
Yes. I made it up.
Much how Christians show penance before Easter through Lent, I have decided to show my gratitude for all of the wonderful things that have surrounded me just before Thanksgiving. Each November, I show my appreciation for all of the things I have by giving up (or greatly reducing my use and/or consumption of) something I love. I believe in gratitude. I believe that we, as both individuals and as a society, should be thankful for all of the wonderful bounty that surrounds us. Food to nourish us. Shelter to protect us. Friends and family to care for us. Because of this, I always appreciate Thanksgiving. But I don't think it is enough. I don't think there should only be one day a year when we decide it is okay to tell everyone what we are thankful for. We should be doing it every day, as often as we can.

Unable to think of anything to give up that I hadn't already tried (or not concentrating that hard!) the last few years I decided to show my gratitude through various acts of appreciation. I used Facebook and twitter to show the world what I was thankful for, in hopes that other people will be inspired to share their own gratefulness. My goal was to use my status update and/or Twitter update to share at least one thing I was thankful for. My goal was to do it once a day, from November 1 - Thanksgiving.

This year I have decided to continue with my goal of public displays of appreciation, as it has indeed become a KWP tradition!

This year I decided I needed to get back to my Turkey-Lent roots, and truly give something up. I am blessed for all of the fabulous people, places and opportunities that surround me. I feel like the least I could do would be to give up something I really don't need. But I am horrible at this cold-turkey-lent stuff, so I decided to give myself some wiggle room. This year I promise to show my appreciation by cooking more and eating out less as evidenced by spending more time in the kitchen with my fabulous husband making delicious home-cooked meals in our beautiful kitchen. Also by partaking in dessert far less than I do today. Let's be real. I love me some dessert, and as blessed as I am to be able to afford such luxuries, I should not partake as often as I do. I am hoping this will not only make me healthier, but also more appreciative of the decadence of desserts.

So, I ask you my dear blog friends... what are you thankful for?

Random Thoughts of Appreciation 2012

1. Today I am thankful to to live a life of financial stability, so much so that I can regularly enjoy a fabulous evening out with my husband; eating a delicious meal with the man I love so much.  ♥ 
2. Today I am thankful for two big things. First and foremost, I am thankful for a job. I know that finding a teaching job in this economy would be challenging, if not impossible. I was very fortunate to be hired at a school that allows me to do all of the things I have ever dreamed of doing, to work with people that I enjoy, doing something that I absolutely love. ♥ Also, I am thankful to have a remarkably fabulous co-worker (who is one of the bestest co-workers I have had the pleasure of working with) who help me set up a brand new turtle-tank, after the last one sprang a leak right after lunch! 
3. Today I am thankful for calm weekends when I don't have to get up with an alarm. It makes me happy to allow my body the rest and relaxation it deserves! :)  Oh, yeah and I am thankful for Costco's chicken pot pie. Yum. 
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Adventures in Homeownership: Saying Goodbye

On May 30, my pretty little Turlock house became someone else's pretty little house.

Saying goodbye to my home was just as difficult as saying goodbye to any departing friend or family member, maybe even harder. 

That house holds so many wonderful memories, it was so very difficult to leave. But...I know that this new adventure, and our fabulous new home in San Jose, will hold many more wonderful memories.

Goodbye,  pretty little Turlock House! 

The day I got the keys! 

Planted on the day I got the keys, 4.11.07.

The grapes fell down due to high winds!

Poor grapes. 

The Wing Family rebuilt the fence! :) 

My pretty little backyard with a new fence. 

Christmas decor at night, with my happy penguin!

My first dab of color -- the yellow dining wall. 

Broken lawn mower
-- can you tell where I broke the lawn mower?

My fabulous master bedroom, complete with brand new sliding doors,
and remarkably awesome striped wall! 

Goodnight moon, Goodnight house.
Goodbye.  

Adventures in Married Life: A New Home Together

This has been a very big year for Aaron and me; a year of many exciting and wonderful changes.

The year started off with an exciting trip to New Orleans in February. On Valentine's Day... Aaron proposed! The following summer was a whirlwind of excitement, as we spent time planning our own wedding and traveling to three other weddings all over the United States. In August, we bought a beautiful new car (I absolutely love our new blue Hyundai Tucson!) Of course, we had the most gorgeous wedding imaginable in September, followed closely behind by the best vacation ever -- our honeymoon in Aruba. We were able to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday with family and friends, some we haven't seen in years, over the Thanksgiving holiday; as well as a surprise baby shower for my expectant brother and sister-in-law. Then we were lucky enough to celebrate with Grandma again on her actual birthday last week and concluded with a sweet little family Christmas. (We did light a purse on fire with some Hanukkah candles, but that is another story!)

As 2011 comes to an end and 2012 rapidly approaches, Aaron and I are excited to announce another fabulous adventure on the horizon.... relocating to San José ! Even before we were married we discussed the possibility and probability of relocating to the bay area. The South Bay has so many wonderful things to offer and relocation would cut Aaron's commute from three hours each each way to approximately fifteen minutes! We decided one day to take a look at some places in the area and absolutely fell in love with a new  Lennar development called Savona. One thing led to another, and on December 3rd -- our three month anniversary -- we signed a purchase agreement to buy a new townhome together. Our home.

This decision was very difficult to make, especially for me. The thought of leaving Turlock, my pretty little house, my band friends and my Carroll Fowler family still causes a lot of emotion. But as the saying goes, if nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. Sometimes you need a little change to shake things up a bit, and I think this new adventure will do the trick.

Signing the loan documents at the title company 12/23/11
That day also happened to be
Grandma's actual 80th Birthday!

Tomorrow, Thursday, December 29th, Aaron and I will close escrow on our new home, the new Plattner Place. Don't worry, we don't plan on making the big move quite yet. For the next few months, our plan is to have Aaron stay in San José during the week to lessen the commute, while I will remain in Turlock and finish out the school year. (It's going to be like we were dating! How cute!)

While we still have plenty of time to enjoy all of Turlock's offerings, we are going to miss a lot of places and, even moreso the people. But friends are friends, regardless of distance. So, if you ever find yourself in the South Bay, make your way to San José , and stop by the new Plattner Place for a cookie... or a drink... or just a big ol' hug.

Every house where love abides

And friendship is a guest,

Is surely home, and home sweet home

For there the heart can rest.

~Henry Van Dyke

Here are some photos for the new Plattner Place in San José . 

View from the informal Living Room

Formal Living Room, Looking into the informal living room and dining room. 

Master Bedroom

View of Communication Hill
from the patio off the Master Bedroom

Guest Bathroom, Upstairs

Master Bathroom

View from the Formal Livingroom

The Plattners standing in front of the new Plattner Place!

Adventures in Gratitude: Turkey-Lent II

Last year I blogged about what I like to call Turkey-Lent. Much how Christians show penance before Easter through Lent, I have decided to show my own penance of gratitude for all of the wonderful things that have surrounded me. Each November, I show my appreciation for all of the things I have by giving up (or greatly reduced my use and/or consumption of) something I love. I believe in gratitude. I believe that we, as both individuals and as a society, should be thankful for all of the wonderful bounty that surrounds us. Food to nourish us. Shelter to protect us. Friends and family to care for us. Because of this, I always appreciate Thanksgiving. But I don't think it is enough. I don't think there should only be one day a year when we decide it is okay to tell everyone what we are thankful for. We should be doing it every day, as often as we can.

Unable to think of anything to give-up that I hadn't already tried (or not concentrating that hard!) last year I decided to show my gratitude through random acts of appreciation. I used Facebook and twitter to show the world what I was thankful for, in hopes that other people will be inspired to share their own gratefulness. My goal was to use my status update and/or twitter update to share at least one thing I was thankful for. My goal was to do it once a day, from November 1 - Thanksgiving.

This year I have decided to continue with my goal of public displays of appreciation, nay make it a tradition!

I would like to go one step further and continually update this blog with each day's appreciation.

But doing the same thing I did last year just doesn't seem like enough. Therefore I will also add personal notes of appreciation -- a minimum of one per week. I hope to do this through written communication (old school snail-mail letters rock, but email will suffice in a pinch!) because I always like going back to read things where people wrote me a little note of appreciation. Also, in an effort to go above and beyond, I hope to perform one act of random kindness to a stranger, per week.

Random Thoughts of Appreciation 2011

1. Today I am thankful for the smell of freshly baked cookies. Having a loving husband to help me to bake them makes them smell that much better. ♥ 
2. Today I am thankful for kitties. Purring, loving, hissing, kitties. ♥ 
3. Today I am thankful for my husband. Happy Two Month-a-Versary, Aaron Plattner. ♥ 
4. Today I am thankful for my bestest friends with whom I love to share laughter and good times. ♥ 
5. Today I am thankful for Saturdays. ♥ 
6. Today I am thankful for getting to "fall back" to an extra hour of sleep AND for Sunday afternoon naps. ♥ 
7. Today I am thankful for NOT sneezing or having a headache. ♥ 
8. Today I am thankful for everything and nothing all at once. ♥
9. Today I am thankful for anticipation. I am so lucky to have many wonderful things to look forward to. (And yes, I am including the pending three day weekend!) ♥ 
10. Today I am thankful for my best girlfriends and our girl trips to TAHOE! ♥
11. Today I am thankful for everyone who has served our country. ♥
12. Today I am thankful to be surrounded by beauty. ♥ 
13. Today I am thankful for a quiet night at home with my hubby (before the storm that is Parent/Teacher Conferences!) ♥
14.  Today I am thankful people who listen, or read, to my little rants and raves -- Such as with my blog --today I have had 2,000 blog page views.  :) Love the fact that 20% of those views are from outside of the United States. ♥
15.  Today I am thankful for days that I come home from work feeling both happy and appreciated. Happy -- that I have positively affected the lives of children. Appreciated -- by the children and their parents. Finished 11 of 30 conferences today, and it was one of the happiest, most successful days of the school year! ♥
16.  Today I am thankful for making students cry. Today one of my parents cried in happiness... of course that made me cry, and then it made my student cry... but they were tears of happiness, so it was all good.  ♥
17.  Today I am thankful for the internet. And for Peet's coffee at Raley's. And for Round Table Pizza's Wombo Combo. And, of course, Diet Pepsi! ♥ 
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Aaron's Adventures: Part I

We recently got a sneak peek at some of our wedding photos from Erik Miguel. They are UH-MAZE-ING. Really. We absolutely loved clicking through the photos and reliving the day. Aaron happened to notice that if you click through a few photos pretty quickly you get a really cool animation effect. So, working his nerd magic, he learned himself some Javascript and created this masterpiece...

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Adventures in Fitness: Goals

I know, I know. It's terribly cliché ¹ to start talking about being healthier as soon as the new year hits. And to be honest, I go through this same cycle every... single... year. Each year I resolve to eat healthier, work out more, be a better person -- blah, blah, blah. Some years it has worked out for a while... others, well, not so much.

At first I had resolved that this year would be a year of no resolutions. I had resolved to not put any unneeded pressure on myself by creating resolutions I will inevitably give up because it stresses me out. That plan lasted a whole two weeks.

I caved. It basically started when Aaron and I joined the gym. He and I had been trying to work out on the at-home elliptical trainer in the office reguarly. (Admitting, he was much better at it than I; his 'regularly' was several times a week, mine was Mondays.) Then the stupid thing starting making this high-pitched squeaking noise. For some reason, this tauntingly annoying sound only reared its ugly head when my pathetic booty dragged itself aboard. That's when we joined the gym.

At the gym, they want to you to have 'goals' and 'plans.' My plan was to get my ass to the gym. But the not-so-subtle proding of the gym staff made me think... what could my goals be? I have had the lifelong goal of not being on the 'obese' (aka super-fat) end of the BMI Chart. (I would like to give mad props to myself for exiting out of the 'extremley obese' (aka super-ultra-fat) section of the chart about two years ago. Go me! But I digress...) I would be happy if I could stand proudly in the 'overweight'  (aka chubby and happy) section of the chart. But I figure that goal is always there. I needed a better one. So I stole one.

By the end of 2011, I will do one unassisted pull-up.*



* Stolen from my friend Chelsea's 30 by 30 list, featured on her blog Lovely Indeed.

¹ Cliché is in italics because it is French, and therefore needs to be in fancy pants italics. Ooh la la. You learn something new every day!

Adventures in Anticipation

Laissez le Bon temp rouler y'all! 
and let the countdown begin! 


I am going to New Orleans, Louisiana exactly one month from today. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! I'm a gonna sip some cafe au lait while eatin' a beignet at Cafe du Monde. I am going to listen the big boys blow down at Preservation Hall. I might even try to catch a glimpse of a krewe getting started on the forthcoming Mardi Gras parade. 


But I would love to hear from you --- have you ever been? What are the best things to see and do in the Big Easy? 

{photo via neworleansonline.com}

Bloggin' Birthdays!

Today is my blog birthday! I started blogging a year ago today!

Thank you to the wonderful people who have read, continue to read or will ever read this blog.

I am very grateful to all of my readers, whether you are one of my truly awesome three followers or a random reader! I extend even bigger thanks to those of you who have left comments throughout the year -- I really appreciate your thoughts and your willingness to share them. I welcome anyone and everyone to stop a share a comment or two... I love to hear what you have to say!

Thank you ♥ Thank you ♥ Thank you

{Photo from Graceful Cake Creations on Flickr}

Mmmm. Birthday cake. Let's all have some, shall we? (Yes, I think I shall!) 

A Year of Adventure ... 2010

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."
Charles Dickens

For me, 2010 was a very interesting year. I have so many things to be thankful for and so many blessings that have occurred throughout the year... but it would be remiss of me to not mention the challenges as well. I know I kind of  ignore or glaze over those things traditionally. I just prefer to try to see the happiness of it all, and not dwell on the negative! But, I think it is important to mention the challenges, because they are just as much a part of who you are and who you become.


The worst of times.... 


Due to the California budget mess, everyone in my district took a 8.5% pay cut. Brutal.  



In addition to a pay cut, I was given an "involuntary reassignment" to sixth grade. 



Summer vacation was non-existent thanks to summer school, math trainings and moving classrooms. 



Sixth grade is not as easy as I remember. I am lucky if I am organized and ready for them when they walk in the door.

My classroom, prior to its fancy paint job, November 2010.
Yes, while school was in session, we were displaced
right before Thanksgiving .

The best of times...

Do you? Do you? You're married! 

Even though I whined a lot about it, I am super excited to report that I went snowboarding for the first time. 


Browsing through the internet and various cookbooks led me to many new awesomely delicious recipes. 

My baby brother got married! And I officiated the wedding! 

(I cannot believe I did not blog about that! OMG! I might have to do a retro-adventure blog on that one!) 

Despite my aversion to new tastes and textures, I tried many new and adventurous food items, like crab, lobster, sushi, alligator and biscotti! 


Sight-seeing at its best, I got to go on several wonderful, trips including visiting both Yellowstone and Yosemite National Parks. 


Beautiful new windows were installed in my pretty, little house. We are also nearly finished with a little patio outside of my brand-new sliding glass door. 


But I think the best thing that happened this year was that I got a roommate. How could I not feel blessed when this handsome thing is waiting for me when I come home every day?

{Photo compliments of Kevin Plattner}

Happy New Year!

I thought I would start off the new year with a little something old and new, and maybe a little TMI!

In many Spanish-speaking cultures, one of the most popular New Year's Eve traditions involves wearing new matching underwear in a certain color to determine what kind of experience you will have in the forthcoming new year.

This colorful underwear tradition has been traced all the way back to Spain in the Middle Ages, when it was forbidden to wear bright colors. Even then the people of Spain believed wearing yellow would bring them good fortune, so they wore the color underneath their clothes.

As the tradition as evolved, various colors have come to signify different things. Yellow is said to bring a year of happiness, fortune and success. Red ushers in a year of passion and romance. Pink brings the wearer a year of luck in love. White may bring you a year of peace, harmony and happiness. Blue means a year of good health, and green signifies a year of better luck. 

Should you want to improve your luck even more, some cultures believe that wearing your brand-new underwear inside out as you ring in the new year will give your luck an added boost. 

I don't know about you, but I would like all of those things.... with that being said, I am pretty sure my brand-new, multi-colored polka dot bra and panties should help make 2011 the best  year ever! ♥

Adventures in Gratitude: Turkey-Lent

I believe in gratitude. I believe that we, as both individuals and as a society, should be thankful for all of the wonderful bounty that surrounds us. Food to nourish us. Shelter to protect us. Friends and family to care for us. Because of this, I always appreciate Thanksgiving. But I don't think it is enough. I don't think there should only be one day a year when we decide it is okay to tell everyone what we are thankful for. We should be doing it every day, as often as we can. 

Several years ago, I decided to do my own little thing I call Turkey-Lent. Much how Christians show penance before Easter through Lent, I have decided to show my own penance of gratitude for all of the wonderful things that have surrounded me. Each November, I show my appreciation for all of the things I have by giving up (or greatly reduced my use and/or consumption of) something I love. 

In past years, I have given up fast food to better appreciate a home-cooked meal. I have restricted my TV time, to better appreciate books, newspapers and wonderful company. I have restricted by dessert intake (I tried to give-up sweets cold-turkey but that was just cruel to all of those around me!)  to show my appreciation for the fact that I can afford such luxuries. 

Now, as Turkey-Lent time has arrived sooner than anticipated, I am left without a penance. There are so many things I am thankful for. I just don't know how I could possibly go about showing my appreciation for so many things. So, I thought I would ask for some suggestions. (Seriously, got any ideas?) 

For now, rather than give something up, I am going to be even more appreciative. I am going to use Facebook and twitter to show the world what I am thankful for, in hopes that other people will be inspired to share their own gratefulness. My goal is to use my status update and/or twitter update to share at least one think I am thankful for. I hope to do this every day, from now until Thanksgiving. 

Anyone want to join me? 

Holiday Adventures: Halloween 2010

"I totally know what you and Aaron should be for Halloween," Kristin excitedly cooed over the phone. "You two should totally be Mario and Luigi!"

Backstory: Alright, so we play a lot of video games. It started with Aaron's overwhelming need to beat MarioKart Wii. Once we beat that, we moved on to the New Super Mario Bros. (which we have still yet to complete due to the difficulty of the last few levels in the bonus Rainbow World.) We attempted to go back and finish Super Mario Galaxy, which we had rented and never finished, but we didn't want to pay the same price for a lame ol' game when we could get Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the same price. Plus we even found it on sale! I know!  This leads us to Kristin's phone call, before which Aaron and I are sitting on the couch, playing Super Mario Galaxy 2 going back into older levels trying to collect all the coins so we can advance in the bonus round.

"Kristin thinks we should be Mario and Luigi for Halloween," I reported to Aaron. (He smiled and nodded.) "But I get to be Mario, because I am the shorter, chubbier one." ♥

Aaron makes the button-holes
on the straps of our overalls. 

There were a lot of costumes available for purchase, especially online. And a lot of people did a really good job putting together DIY Halloween costumes. I have fond memories of my mom and I making many of the costumes my siblings and I have worn in the past, so I decided to make our Halloween costumes. My mom graciously allowed me to borrow her brand new sewing machine, and she even went to several fabric stores to help me find just the right fabric. I used a clown pattern, with a few DIY adjustments, to make the overalls. The first weekend I tackled Mario's overalls. The biggest problem was the width of the pants, I ended up taking them in by about two inches... twice! Aaron used his nerd problem-solving skills to figure out how to use the button-hole maker on the sewing machine. He did a wonderful job making authentic button-holes that allowed us to have functional overalls!

The next challenge was making Luigi's overalls, mostly because I was about a half a yard short of the needed material. So Aaron and I trekked back to the fabric store and bought more fabric. Having already made the first set of overalls, the Luigi overalls were a lot less stressful, and went pretty quickly. Having purchased the red and green shirts online, and the white gloves from a costume store, the only remaining challenge was to make the hats. I had no pattern, so our hats are completely DIY. I got out one of my many pageboy caps to use as a guide for the bill and the overall look. I was able to shape the front of the hat using white felt, surrounding it with the red and green fabric. I made the Mario hat first, and kind of messed up. I made the Luigi hat, which looks awesome and went back to the Mario hat, which turned out okay. All in all, I am very proud of the costumes.

We were a big hit everywhere we went! We got a lot of wonderful comments from adults and kids alike. I absolutely loved how the itty-bitty kids thought were were the real  Mario and Luigi. Halloween night was kind of awesome. Little kids would shout to us from across the street,
" Mario! I have your game!"  We would wave like celebrities. Aaron would say catch phrases from the game and kids would light up. We even had one family ask to take a picture with us! All of the hard work most definitely payed off. We had a wonderful Halloween!

Mario and Luigi say, "Let's-a-go!"

Adventures in Laziness

Let's be honest, here. Everyone has something they are lazy about, particularly when it comes to household chores. For some people, they will allow the dishes to pile up in the sink until they create an interesting expensive version of JENGA. For others, they let the lawn get so high small children could use it as their own personal corn maze. Still others let the trash sit until you can smell it from across the street. Then there is me... who kinda does all of those things, and more. BUT.... I have found a silver lining to one of my many lazinesses! 

I am awesome at getting the laundry done. I can switch that laundry from the washer to the dryer like a pro! But that is about as far as I get. My nice clean laundry has been known to sit in a ginormous pile, unfolded, for days. This last week I managed to even fold the laundry, less the stuff that I hang in the closet, which is about two-thirds of my wardrobe. (Note: The pile was preexisting, already containing the closet clothes from the previous week's laundry.) Unwilling to give up the overwhelming amount of energy to put the clothes on hangers and put them in the closet, I just kept/keep piling the closet-clothes on top of one another.

As my closet-clothes pile gets larger, my closet gets more and more empty. This allowed me to finally see everything I own! It's almost as awesome as shopping for new clothes. (Okay, yeah, no. Not really. But going through your closet is a whole lot cheaper than buying new clothes.) In the last two weeks, I was able to wear some clothes I forgot I owned. I was also able to realize that a few of those items were in the back of the closet for a reason, and thusly helped me to thin out the heard so to speak. Over the past few days. I have been able to fall back in love with many clothing pieces I forgot I had, and to eliminate some items I should have broken up with a long time ago. 

Basically, I am saying everyone should stop hanging up their clothes, and instead throw them in a pile. At least for a little while... take the day off and rediscover all of those items in the back of your closet. 

Okay, fine. This is not my closet.
I only wish it was.
This is my dream closet.
Only, in my dream, it has a little more color. 

Adventures in Happiness: Harry ♥

Harry Connick, Jr is my favorite. I love everything about him. I love the way he looks. I love the way he sounds. I love his sense of humor. I love his musicianship and talent.

love.

If Harry Connick, Jr. performs within a 100 mile radius, I try to be there.

Last night, my best friend and I treated each other to yet another Harry concert. (Happy BirthdaChrismaKwanzakkah, Kristin!) The concert was held at Wente Vineyards in Livermore. The venue was breathtakingly beautiful. The grounds were absolutely lovely. Upon finding our seats, we decided to partake in the local libation, ordering a bottle of  their 2008 Riva Ranch Chardonnay. {Mmmm...... tasty adult beverages.} Our ticket price included a buffet dinner of  grand proportions; including a variety of delectable choices (of which my favorite was of course some ultra-tasty mashed potatoes!) We had wonderful table companions, none of whom who had ever seen Harry before, so it was particularly exciting to tell them of everything they were in for! Everyone enjoyed discussing our celebratory reasons for attending the concert, while we savored a mouth-watering dessert (included in the meal!)

As if the meal itself was not a wonderfully fabulous experience, the concert was.... it was.... my happy place. The acoustics were outstanding. I could hear every instrument, beautifully orchestrated and mixed for the ultimate listening experience. And, of course, there was Harry. *happy contented sigh* Harry. He is amazing. Every single time I go to see him, the show is better than the last. He played all of my favorite songs, in new and exciting arrangements that only made the song better and more enjoyable than the original recording. ( I only wish I could have a recording f last night's version of "It Had to Be You." *swoon*) I just.... I can't.... words cannot describe. Seriously, it was that good.

Oh, Harry! I took photos of you with the camera I was not supposed to have. 

Did I mention he has a super-HOT alto sax player? Holy cow. 

I was so excited to be so close! I could not hold the camera still. Sorry! 

Yeah! That's Harry's bum! He's shakin' it! (Jill is one lucky woman!) 

Adventures in Happiness: Sunshiney Yellow Dress

Today was picture day at school. I knew I needed to take a new picture for my work ID badge, and that this picture would be featured in our 'class picture.' (Note: we use to take a real class picture where we all stood in front of the trees, but now we are doing one of those compilation-headshot-class pictures, but I digress.)

I decided to wear my beautiful yellow Calvin Klein dress. I ♥ this dress. The moment I saw it, I knew I had to have it. So bought it. I mean, hello! How can this sunshiney yellow dress not make you smile?!? So, I wore it to school today, hoping it would help me keep a smile on my face for the day and every time I got to glance down at my new ID badge.

The dress did make me smile, and I had a good day at work. But, the best part of my day had nothing to do with school. It was a random chance encounter with a stranger.... as I was walking out of the grocery store, there was a woman in a truck who graciously waved me in front of her, so I could pass through the parking lot to my car. I smiled and waved as she let me pass, and slowly drove around me on the left. As I walked, I noticed her roll down her window. She said to me....
"That is the best dress ever! It is the perfect color; the yellow color is like sunshine! It looks great on you, it's so flattering with it's cute little belt. I love it! I absolutely love it! "

I smiled and said "Thank you. It is my favorite."

Random acts of kindness. We should all act out a little more.

Adventures in Teaching: Kid Quotes

One great thing about sixth grade, you can totally mess with them and joke around with them, and they don't get "all butt-hurt." Two kids were sitting on the playground. Another teacher was harassing his student about whether the kid or his dogs were better. Here is a general transcript of the interaction:

T (Teacher): I don't know, I think my dogs might be better. I mean, they actually listen to me. If I ask them to sit, they sit. 

S1 (Student 1): Come on, we listen. Most of the time. 

T: Okay, maybe. But my dogs have tails. You don't have a tail, so my dogs are better. 

S1: Well, we kind of have tails. We have a tailbone, which started out as a tail.... but you know over time it became just the,uh, tail bone. 

S2 (Student 2): Dude, that's called revolution, you know humans came from other animals. That's, like, revolution. 

S1: Dude, I think you mean evolution. 

S2: Yeah, that's what I said, evolution.

Adventures in Happiness: Smiley, Wavy Guy

One of my favorite parts about driving to school in the morning is seeing Smiley Wavy Guy.  Through all kinds of weather, this cute little old man stands on one of two street corners in Turlock, in his cute plaid shirt. He simply stands on the corner, smiles and waves at all the traffic that passes by. 

For the first few days back to school earlier in the month, I did not see Smiley Wavy Guy. I missed him. 

But for the past two days, my mornings got increasingly better just because I got to see my friend. So, if you ever feel a bit 'bleh', drive by my friend Smiley Wavy Guy. A smile and a wave may be just what you need... 

Adventures in Home Ownership: Windows!

After receiving my 2009 tax-rebate in February, I decided I should probably sink invest my cash back into my house. I looked into both a new roof and new windows. With a new roof being a bit too pricey for right now, and the fact that the federal government is offering a tax credit for qualifying window replacements, I opted for new windows.  (Then I spent said tax rebate and worked summer school to make-up for it, but I digress!)

After many bids, I decided to go with super energy-efficient Milgard windows from Cal Comfort Windows in Modesto. The salesman was very nice (and frequently addressed how awesome Albert was in all communications.) Plus, they were cheaper for the same product. So, there you go. 

Yesterday, two wonderfully nice gentlemen arrived to install my new windows. They replaced all of the windows in the house, and got started on the slider in the kitchen... 

Today they returned for the hard work! The biggest change is that I decided to replace my boring old bedroom window into a sliding glass door. (Long term plan: hot tub time machine! Okay, fine, a plain old hot tub seems more reasonable.)

Here are some photos of the transformation, start to finish!