Are years getting shorter?

Sometimes I wonder if I missed the memo:

Dear all,

Please note that effective immediately, days will feel shorter, time will fly, and school years will seem to end quickly. This change in policy will be known as your life passing you by; however some departments may call it the creeping in of old age. 

Sincerely,
The Keeper of Time


I absolutely cannot believe that today was the last day of school. Although all of my paperwork is done...report cards done and printed, student files filled in and submitted to the office, book inventories emailed...I spent no time cleaning my classroom during the lead up to today. So, for the next few days when the weather is scheduled to be gorgeous, I will be in my classroom.  You can laugh now.

Head over to Lauren's blog to participate!

 1. The last movie I saw was Letters to Juliet.  It just came on Sho a few weeks ago and I DVRed it right away...and watched it on a school night (gasp!).  I think I liked it even more than I should have because I was high on the exhilaration of having a normal evening not filled with school work! I'm a sucker for any romantic comedy.

2. I want to not have to make a decision.  I feel like Mr. Fine and I are constantly making major decisions, negotiating our time together, and figuring something out.  I want to be able to enjoy the present.

3. Surprises are something I'm not usually good at.  Case in point: I sent Mr. Fine a card last week.  According to my calculations the card should have arrived on Wednesday.  So on Monday, I asked what he was doing on Wednesday, what time he'd be going home, and what time the mail arrived.  Pretty sure he'd figured it out by my third question.  Yep.  Surprise!

4. The best accessory is a necklace.  Long.  Short.  Doesn't matter, but homemade is my latest craze.

5. My favorite warm drink is a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks.  But a cappuccino from my Tassimo and flavored with caramel syrup will do just fine in non-pumpkin latte season, thank you!

6. My favorite cold drink is lemon crystal light.  Water is disgusting.  Throw in some cute yellow crystals and I could drink a jug!

7. Currently I'm loving Criminal Minds marathons on A&E, that Covert Affairs is back on, chocolate chips straight from the bag, my Clarks Unstructured Pumps, and my lily pad flowers.

Happy Weekend!

Back at It with Fill in the Blanks

I'm a bit worried I may have forgotten how to post.  Oops.  Life has gotten a bit busy and I've been terrible about blogging. I take a few minutes each day to read blogs but have really just been stalking.  I'm giving a shot at getting back at the swing of things with a Fill in the Blanks via Lauren.

1. If I could get away somewhere for the weekend I would go absolutely no where!  Is that allowed?  I've been away for most of the week on a class trip and am picking up Mr. Fine at the airport tomorrow morning.  A weekend of home time is much needed.  We do plan on planting the yard this weekend so I will be getting to the garden store!

2. Something I often rant about is the decisions made by our administration...that and people who drive under the speed limit.  I'm not a speeder but at least go the speed limit!

3. One item I need to have in my fridge at all time is a carton of fresh cage-free veggie fed eggs.  I typically get the urge to bake on the weekends and go nuts when my eggs have expired...which may indeed by the case when tomorrow morning rolls around.  Hmm.

4. My "life-saving" product is my iPhone.  I'm constantly checking my mail for sweet messages from Mr. Fine.  There's nothing like a quick email filled with love to keep me going through the day.

5. A friend is someone who can keep a secret!  Nothing drives me more batty than friends who gossip.

6. If I could write my own blank it would be what the latest CD someone bought was.

7. My favorite kind of art is the kind I understand! ;-)  I'm a very linear person with little creativity.  You may remember my dive into photography.  Any art that speaks to me is wonderful!

Thanks for reading...if there's still anyone still out there!  I apologize for my absence.  This year's been a bit stressful but I'm hanging in there.  Nothing a good visit from Mr. Fine this weekend can't solve!

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Fill in the Blank Friday

I've not done one of these in many weeks, but I figured I was due for some reflection.  I've been feeling pretty crap all week -- physically exhausted and over-worked.  Sadly, Mr. Fine told me last week that the 'old Mrs. Fine' (read: the one who works 70 hours a week and is grumpy all the time) has come home to roost.  Unfortunately, I agree.  I'm not happy about it.  I'm not happy about it at all.  And I just don't know how to get back to the 'new Mrs. Fine' (read: the one who works 60 hours a week and can enjoy life outside of work).  I should likely be napping.  But who wants to nap on a sunny (read: 45 degrees - warm for here right now) evening.  I should likely be doing something fun.  But who wants to leave the house when they're in their fuzzy socks, hoodie, and yoga pants?  Not, I!  Ack.  So -- I need to reflect.  Here goes:

1.   I am       sometimes sarcastic.  A bookworm at heart.  Thrilled to see the world with a clarity I've never known.  A sucker for Girl Scout Cookies.  An addict when learning something new.

2.  The bravest thing I've ever done was    LASIK!  But you all knew that...before that?  I don't usually feel very brave...except when I do the black diamond sections that intersect with my blue square sections on the ski hill. 

3.  I feel prettiest when       I shower before school vs the night before and my hair looks proper.  When I wear heels vs comfortable dress shoes and when I wear my pea coats.  Those and the perfect matching lip gloss.

4.  Something that keeps me awake at night is   absolutely nothing (much to Mr. Fine's chagrin).  I can even sleep on a hardwood floor within a few minutes - just as snug as a bug.  I did stay awake for several hours this past week (read crap week rant above) and it drove me NUTS!

5.  My favorite meal in the entire world is    salmon on the BBQ, rice pilaf, and cooked fresh veggies.  Strawberry crumble for desert.  A bottle of Trader Joe's $4 wine (doesn't take much for me).  All on the patio in the middle of summer.  Shucks.  Makes me cry just thinking about it...where is summer?

6.  The way to my heart is        through chocolate, patience with my annoying habits, and a good solid hug.

7.  I would like to       be happy with myself.  Truly happy.

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends.  I am going to work on relaxing, being happy, and getting some emotional clutter tidied up.  What are you up to?

Fill in the Blank Friday

It's Friday!  So it's that time again...link up with Lauren if you want to play too!

1.  Giving is     nerve-wracking!  Sitting there waiting to see if the recipient will get the "I'm faking my happiness" look on their face or an authentic happiness.  Giving is definitely my favorite part but it makes me nervous!

2.  Receiving is   not necessary.  I really like to downplay gifts at Christmas.  I'm in it more for the food, atmosphere, and time with others.  I am ALL FOR birthdays, though.  I love the day that is all about Mrs. Fine.

3.  The best gift I ever received was      our garage door opener.  Seriously.  Mr. Fine surprised me with one many years ago and it meant I could stay in my cozy car in the blizzard without lifting the door.  It *MADE MY DAY*!

4.  The best gift I ever gave was   the homemade jewelery I handed out last year.  Nerve wracking, of course (see #1), but the recipients loved them (I think) ;-).

5.  Something intangible that I wish I could receive is   more time with Mr. Fine.  He's away a lot and I miss him!  Maybe that's tangible...I can touch Mr. Fine...

6.  Something intangible that I wish I could give is     confidence to my students during tests.  They have major test anxiety and make silly mistakes....eek!

7.  The one gift I always wanted as a child, but never got was    I can't think of anything...I was never really into Christmas gifts.

 

Happy Weekend, all!

Fill in the Blank Friday

Thankfully it's Friday!!!!!  Aside from the sigh of relief that I'm currently exhaling, I'm participating again in Lauren's Fill in the Blank Friday:

1.   I wish  I had the energy to bake on school nights.  I l-o-v-e baking!  I find baking so relaxing...but lately I've been way too exhausted to do anything at night.

2.  Yesterday I  saw the fruits of my labor in action as the math night I organized at school had hundreds of people come.

3.  Today I will   go to a basketball game field trip with my students and have a great time watching them in an outside of school environment.

4.  Tomorrow I will   sleep (see #2 and #3).  ;-)

5.  Maybe     I will make snicker filled cookies from here if I can get up the energy and willingness to ingest that many calories in one (eh ehm...one plus) cookie.

6.  Someday    I want to be able to surf well and play the guitar properly (We've avoided buying me a guitar in case it becomes a forgotten fad in the closet...a bit like the heaps of scrapbooking supplies I have).

7.  I love   reading in bed on the weekend with no pressure to get out of the bed.

What great plans do you have for the weekend?

A week's done...so filling in the blanks

 

Tonight I spent a girls night out with a friend doing dinner and then a craft show.  I tended to stay away from the cozy Christmas booths but got some fantastic pottery mugs and some jewelery from a woman I've bought from for the past 3 years.  She recognized me (is that scary?) and knew exactly what size of neck cord I wanted for my pendants!  Given the Christmas nature of my evening, it seemed that this week's Fill in the Blanks was fitting.

1.   Holiday spirit   is the part of Christmas I love best.  I like the happy cozy feeling I get in evenings with the lights on the tree and candles burning on the kitchen table.

2.  The holidays are incomplete without   a night for trimming the tree and a night for baking...all with the Christmas carol radio station playing in the background.

3.  My favorite things to do around the holidays is   spend time with Mr. Fine and a cup of decaf, wrap presents (my high school employment as a wrapper tends to mean that ALL gifts are wrapped by yours truly), and bake!

4.  A holiday tradition my family and I have is   getting a new Christmas ornament from my Mom each year.

5.  Holiday music is    totally cheesy but totally addictive, perfect for the 2 weeks before Christmas but completely unnecessary immediately after Thanksgiving, and the seemingly fall back music for any Lifetime Movie shown during the Month of December.

6.  This year, I'll be spending the holidays    seeing with my new vision...after my Christmas present of LASIK!!  I am totally psyched about waking up on Christmas morning and actually seeing the alarm clock.

7.  Holiday wish list     time with Mr. Fine and sight.  You know, nothing major!.  ;-)

 

 

What great holiday plans do you have?

 

 

Fill in the Blank Friday

Thank you Friday!  After this week I am looking forward to a weekend of my new pumpkin spice coffee, down time, a hunt for this week's scavenger hunt photos, 2 daring kitchen challenges, and a few many hours of yard work exercise getting the summer pots away.  And despite trying to block it out, I have a ton of assessment data to forge my way through in order to plan interventions.  Eegatz...that's a lot I seem to have planned!

Thanks to Lauren for this week's Fill in the Blank Friday:

{photo by Photos Day! via We Heart It}

1.   I am  incredibly happy that it's the weekend!

2.  I wish  the temperature was still warm and I didn't have to scrape the car windows each morning .

3.  I like  chocolate, anytime with Mr. Fine, a good trashy romance novel, a solidly successful trip to an outlet mall, and mexican salads with cilantro dressing .

4.  I can   sit on the couch and eat 3 cookies in a row -- seriously, just did it.

5.  I hope    I am able to continue living life to its fullest for Mr. Fine and I -- keeping my priorities straight and leaving lots of time for me.

6.  I think  a lot right now -- all of which is in a jumble of Friday nightness.

7.  I was   totally psyched to watch The Vampire Diaries last night and think that I'm officially hooked!

What does everyone else have planned for the weekend?

Fill in the Blank Friday

Woo hoo!  Today brings us not only the end of the week, the beginning of the weekend...but also to Fill in the Blank Friday.

I will say that I was waiting anxiously last night to see what Lauren would think up for us to share.  Well, maybe the anxiety was because I was spending more time actually watching The Vampire Diaries on the television than watching my laptop and all of the work on it.  Does anyone else watch that show?  Last night was my first night...and I'm a bit worried that I may just like it?!  But nevertheless, I was excited to see what new goodies I could share with my blog readers this week.

And so...

1.   Blogging is  a way for me to act like a real person instead of a teacher obsessed laminating game making crazy all of the time.

2.  A current fashion trend I wish I was brave enough to wear is  hats -- totally hats!  I can only pull off a ball cap when I'm cutting the lawn or playing sports...anything else (including a rugged, old-look GAP ball cap) I just don't have the umph to pull off.  But oh, do I wish I could wear hats like Lux on Life Unexpected.

3.  My greatest accomplishment in life thus far is  who knows?  I'm constantly changing what I deem as a great feet.  This morning?  It was getting out of bed, as I think I've got the dreaded cold.  Soon, I fear it may be having children?

4.  If I had to choose between a mountain or a beach vacation I'd choose    mountain because I looooove skiing with Mr. Fine.  But...the race would be awfully close if there was an all you can eat buffet and a scuba diving day included in the beach vacation.

5.  A talent I wish I had is    playing the guitar...when I was young it was to be cool like my camp counselors.  Now, I want to play the guitar to be cool for myself.

6.  A talent I do have is  teaching kids and loving it .

7.  This week  is ending with a great weekend with Mr. Fine who's been away!!

Have a wonderful weekend -- I'm hoping to enjoy the weather and finish up my shots for the Sunday Scavenger Hunt. :-)  What great plans do you have?

Fill in the Blank Friday

Today after a busy week at school I'm participating in Fill in the Blank Friday over at Lauren's blog.

1.   The first thing I do in the morning to start my day is  check my email on my phone and stare at the clock tick away for 20 more minutes before forcing myself out of bed.

2.  Today I wish I was  vacationing somewhere so I could enjoy the beautiful weather that was today.

3.  If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today I'd   buy and savor pumpkin spice lattes everyday with no guilt until the $100 ran out.

4.  Tomorrow    I will be shopping for some cute plant pots for my classroom...and watching football, of course!

5.  Two things that don't go together are   orange juice and apple pie.  Both fruity yet disgusting together!

6.  Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is   a new type of fair trade coffee.

7.  The last time I tried something new was   last Saturday when I tried a pumpkin spice latte...hence #3! ;)

Have a great weekend everyone!