Today it is me and the vacuum. And millions of bunnies to eradicate.

There is no security on this earth. Only opportunity.

Douglas MacArthur

I found myself making an unexpected decision this week. A long standing teacher in my school has taken a VP position in another location, leaving a kindergarten position open for a year long contract.

My current employment situation is to teach grade 3 while covering sick leave for someone entering their second year off and awaiting knee surgery. The possibility remains that this person may return before the end of the school year. However, if past behavior is any future predictor, and if I were a betting (wo)man...

The fact is my replacor has a long history of illness and is somewhere in the ball park of 125+ lbs overweight. Good luck with that knee. The knee requires replacement due to overcompensating after Achilles tendon surgery last year. So after knee surgery will the hip require replacement due to overuse?

The other consideration to this puzzle (apart from the hours I have already spent cleaning and clearing our the reamins of the room) is that this school district has shown itself committed to maintaining consistency in the classroom. Given that she has a six month recovery after surgery, and yet has to be scheduled for this operation, there will come a point at which they would not remove me from the position.

So I slept on the decision for a night and discussed it with husband. I've decided against the sure thing and opted to do what I really want to do instead.

Do not be too timid and squeamish about your reactions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"i" just can't get past it!

Several weeks ago (okay, months!) I printed off a list of values from a blog entry over at StevePavlina.com. Of course printing was as far as I got, until tonight.

And as I skimmed said list, these jumped out and made me LOL...

imagination

impartiality

independence

industry

ingenuity

inquisitiveness

insightfulness

inspiration

integrity

intelligence

intensity

intuition

inventiveness

I guess it really is all about me! (even my eyes are rolling)

;-)

bellagio

Is it wrong to love a photo you took yourself?

No, I don't think so either!

Just dreaming

I have a weakness for houses! And tonight I came across the most delicious (I say that because these homes literally made my mouth water) manufacturing site.

I particularly love a Craftsman inspired home. Probably because of the strong lines and angles, niches and alcoves. I'd be lying if I didn't say that the roof lines excite me, all that rise over run on the outside(!) and living in the rafters on the inside. It's a house that can hold its own without having to be the biggest or the best in the neighborhood. It is as beautiful and at home in a modern day subdivision as it is on the farm or among its relatives on a 1920's street. I like that it lends to the traditional and calms my senses with porch sitting sensibilities (where I come from long hours porch sitting is an important ingredient to a good life).

Deep breath. I'm terribly inspired and just slightly depressed that this house does not belong to me!

On the rocks, please!

I just recently found a great recipe for margaritas. Well, it wasn't totally great, so I messed around with it to get something spectacular, my humble opinion of course!

First you need to create a frozen mix:

1 - 12 0z can of MinuteMaid lemonade concentrate
1 - 12 oz can of MinuteMaid limeade concentrate

Keep this mix in a freezer safe container and use as a concentrate to make pitchers of the stuff!

The Margarita:
4 oz frozen mix
16 oz water
4 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec
3 freshly sequeezed limes
Stir.

I also added some coarsely ground sea salt directly into my glass. You could also rim with sugar or salt depending on your preference.


Enjoy on the rocks.

Back to Work...

industrious

adjective
1. characterized by hard work and perseverance [syn: hardworking]
2. working hard to promote an enterprise [syn: energetic]

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

_______________

Okay, so I'm not officially back to work. But I have returned home after a month of river watching and raindrop catching and feel as though my break from reality was sufficient.

And I am ready to tackle those small naggling projects (clutter messes) that take up valuable real estate in both my home and head. Oh they are small and individually require only a few minutes here and there... but my excuse is that June was such a strangely unproductive month (and even a bit fucked up with my dad being here and not sure what was taking place between he and mom - not that it is really my concern, however him in my house does open the door to it being my business!).

So I was thinking that my biggest obstacle is (of course) my self. And perhaps I've lacked just a bit in motivation and been topped up on procrastination. So rather than wait for some supernatural catalyst to set me off, I'm just going to start by being industrious and trust that the doing will lead to motivation - as it so often does!

A great lesson reinforcer that I came away from home with this time around is that we MUST design the way in which we want to live and then consciously live it. Although I 'got this' previously, seeing the opposite on such a widespread scale was off putting! I don't believe it is an exaggeration to state that where I come from, most people carry out their lives without method or model to guide them. Seeing people that I love, living in chaos and confusion and ultimately paying a very high price for unattended living gave me a heart hurt I was not quite prepared for. (Okay, so maybe there was a catalyst after all.)

Ultimately it all follows awareness principles. Can you follow the course of current action and attention (or lack thereof) to a plausible future outcome? No one can predict the future but neither should one deny cause and affect/effect. Those who set their mind to what they want and follow with progressive action are the same ones who take the time to show up and claim it when it is being handed out.

Take care of business today. It may be a prodigious feat... or it may involve taking out the garbage and filing the bills - ultimately making way for future herculean accomplishments.