Joy in the little things...

3 little things that made my day just a little bit better today:

--Helping a little girl find her mother after Mass.  Really, it was the huge smile on both faces when they were reunited.

--The new altar boy at church whose feet don't touch the ground when he sits in his chair.

-- Hot chocolate after a trip to the grocery store.

Snow day for work and class...

Today the school system I work in had a snow day.  We didn't actually get too much snow, but the predictions of a nasty wintry mix were enough for over 500 closings in the state of Massachusetts.  My crochet class was also cancelled tonight (thankfully the class will be made up at the end of the course.  So what have I done with my snow day? I went to Panera Bread for free coffee day, and otherwise I have given myself permission to relax some.   I also registered for a class to learn to make Pysanky [Ukranian Easter Eggs].   

What have you done today?

Anyone have any miracle cures for the common cold?  I have been fighting a cold for almost 2 weeks and the symptoms are lingering much stronger and far longer than they usually do (minus that time I had a cold for an entire semester).  Blech!

Welcome to November...

It has been raining all day.  The sidewalks are awash with golden and crimson leaves, and the wind makes my umbrella useless. I don't really mind though.  In fact, I like this kind of weather in November for a few reasons, but mostly I like it because it is not snowing.  I am thankful that I probably have couple more weeks before I have to worry about snow at all.  Of course being in New England, that could be a false hope, but I can live with that.  Weather like this also makes me not feel guilty for buying a coffee after work today to enjoy on the bus ride home.

Lost and found in China

Todays photo comes to you from the lovely albeit polluted country of China.  I took this photo from a courtyard inside the city-wall of Xi'an.  The gaurds at the wall are decked out in somewhat medieval looking garb.  I was struck that looking out the exit you could see the modern city of Xi'an, but out in that modern mess a man was isolated in a different time period.  I also like that he turned as I took the photo so it looked as though he was trying to go back to the era from which his clothing came--inside the safety of an ancient wall.  

Fire...

I have a bizarre attraction to the beauty of fire.  I do not tend to like to handle fire as the potential of burning myself is not one that seems worth it.  I will light a match so I can light a candle, but it took me a while to not be totally skittish about the whole procedure.  I don't mind holding a lit candle at all; despite it's ability to go from innocuous to devastatingly harmful in a matter of seconds, I find candles to be beautiful.  One of my favorite types of fire to observe is the campfire.  There is something awe-inspiring about the containment of something so completely harmful yet so wonderfully useful.  

Sore feet haiku

My feet are sore. Ouch!

I have walked too much today.

It's time to relax.

Site meter an google search amusement.

I have a site meter on my blog.  It tracks how many visitors I get, how they were referred to my page, and their general location.  Every so often i check how people are being referred to my site as the location that shows up is one in which I don't know anybody.  I have realized that the majority of my traffic outside of friends happens to be from people searching for worksheets on haikus.  I am actually the 5th hit that shows up on google if you type in haiku worksheet.  Hopefully people are at least finding it useful.  

In my face...

I really hate when people talk too closely to my face--especially if they are to close to my ears.  I hate the game telephone because it requires people being way too close to my ears for comfort.  It doesn't matter if you are whispering;come to close to my face and my stomach starts to turn.  It is almost as if my senses go on overload and I just stop processing things.  Of course try explaining why you are cringing when they just asked you a simple question or were trying to tell you something nice.  I think my sensory overload just caused me to respond in a way that offended someone.  It was totally unintentional.  I really just can't handle you being too close to me when you are talking.  Sorry.  

You may be right...

I may be crazy

I like to grocery shop.  This is considered bizarre and perhaps outlandish by many--my mother and my sister included.  I am aware that many people actually loathe grocery shopping, and they avoid it like the plague until it is absolutely necessary.  I do not fall into this category--not even close.

To me, grocery shopping is an adventure.  I enjoy the effort  of making a list.  The planning of meals in advance is something I find both satisfying and exciting.  I find great accomplishment in both determining and fulfilling my grocery list.  I also find great joy in seeing how much money I was able to save by planning ahead instead of impulse shopping.  

I really hope I am not the only one out there who finds grocery shopping enjoyable.

If we throw these books do you think they will fly?

This whole book purge is going quite well.  I am slightly annoyed that the post office is such a trek, but I am thankful for a reason to get out even though I am sick.  If I had known selling my books on amazon was so easy, I probably would have done that instead of selling my textbooks back to UD.  I am all for breaking the monopoly on college text books that campus bookstores seem to be striving for.  

Headcolds are icky, but they do have a sneaky way of making me thankful for all the times when I am healthy and not discombobulated. 

Childhood Heroes

Being the bookworm that I was (and very much still am),  my childhood heroes were not very often real people.  I settled for characters in fiction books.  I wanted to be Harriet the Spy or Matilda. Matilda was the reason that I tried to read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens as a 5th grader.  I remember proudly buying a notebook at the corner store in emulation of Harriet the Spy.    As I got older my book bound heroes changed.  In middle school I wanted to be Meg Murry. I suppose that is what being a bookworm does to a child.  I am not so sure fictional role models are a bad thing.  It is a heck of a lot better than having kids want to be like Britney Spears.

Interesting article

I was scanning through headlines and found this.  I never realized parents actually agonized over their role as tooth fairy.  It led me to question how kids even find out about the tooth fairy.  Santa and the Easter Bunny are commercially perpetuated all the time--  the tooth fairy really isn't.  Any ideas? 

Always a bridesmaid?

I am going to be a bridesmaid in my sisters wedding.  I am both pleased and excited.  Feel free to call me crazy for trying to plan a wedding and be in someone else's wedding at the same time.  Being engaged concurrently with my sister has been really nice.  We are constantly sending each other "Check this out" e-mails, and giving each other ideas.  It is a beautiful thing.  

Wedding Drabble

Ahhh! I am going to try on some wedding dresses tonight with Meghan.  I have no intention of choosing a dress yet, but I also have come to the conclusion that since I am 5 feet tall and the models in bridal magazines are closer to 6 feet tall, it is rather hard for me to figure out what I would like my gown to look like (or what would even be flattering).  This appointment is strictly to figure out likes and dislikes.  I am, however, super excited.  I am a real girly-girl sometimes, and when it comes to wedding stuff, I am super girly.