Hello, my long-lost friends. I know it has been ages and I apologize. Since I wrote last: *I attempted my third half marathon. I was hoping for a 1:45-1:50 time range. I ended with a 2:20, but can't look poorly upon it because I started getting sick at mile 4 and continued for quite a while, up to mile 8 or 10. I later found out I had the flu. Blech. I took time off to recover from the flu, and was down and out on Mother's Day. I was secluded in my room with no visitors so they didn't get the bug. Then that turned into respiratory yuckies. I finally got over that. *My girls finished their school year and are now going to be a senior and an eighth grader. Wow. We have begun the college search for the oldest, also. Again, Wow. *I finished my first year as a middle school social studies teacher. A busy year flew by and I worked hard. I'm excited to plan ahead this summer! I have bought a lesson plan/record book so I can begin penciling in information! *I also finished my second class so I could renew my teaching license. I got another A, but I also was swamped/overwhelmed and frantic for a while. :) I'm glad it's done! I gleaned a lot of information from both classes this year, but it was stressful trying to get it all done, while finishing up a school year of teaching, as well. *My family went to Alaska on a cruise. We started in Seattle, headed out on Princess Cruise line, went to Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria, B.C, arriving back in Seattle a week later. It was beautiful! I will have to post a whole post about that soon! I promise not to wait so long, now, till my next post. :) Thank you for popping in!

Updates

My car has finally been returned since my "bang up job" on it. It was gone for 3 weeks and much money in repairs. I will appreciate my car so much more now that I had time without it. :) A few nice things helped me out: My in-laws were gone on a spring break vacation, so I borrowed one of their cars for a week. My daughter's car was available to be confiscated. ;) She didn't complain (to me ;)) and was generous in working out other ways to and from school. I know, we pay for the car and it's technically ours, but you remember that feeling-your first independence of having your car, and license, being able to get yourself places. It's frustrating when you're back to square one. Also, I had spring break from school last week, so I didn't really need to get very many places. It all worked out, and could have been much worse. (Let's see if I'm still saying that after our car insurance goes up. ;))

I took another break from the Potato Peel book, although it had been going along nicely. Laura Child's latest Tea Mystery book came out, and I love those books. Love them. I devoured it, as usual. :) My daughters have both read Heaven is For Real (I think I have mentioned that before) and suggested I read it. I hadn't been in the mood for it, but they asked again this week. I finished the Tea book and read the Heaven book-in one day. Loved it. I needed tissues. If you haven't read it, you should. :) I've been thinking about it every day since. :) My girls just grinned and said they knew I'd like it. :)

I've also started a new book: A Heart Like His by Beth Moore. A good way to get me back to Bible study with a purpose instead of "Bible Roulette" :) Two chapters in and I like it. :)

Storms are blowing in here. I already got my run in for the day. I was supposed to do 11 Saturday but ended up going 12! :) I was so happy. My 9 mile run a few weeks ago was great, but 10 two weeks ago was awful. Whenever you hit a bump like that so close to race day (about 3 weeks!) you get anxious. So, I ran with the plan of getting over the double digit hump and felt great! I felt great yesterday (my rest day), but oh, did those muscles protest on my run today! :) The sun was shining and the weather was warm, but you cold tell by the breeze moving in that it will be a stormy afternoon! {Maybe a nap will be in store on my last day of spring break? ;)}

Can't believe I have 35 school days left (my girls have even less!) Only 35. Eek! :) But so ready, I have enjoyed this spring break way too much. Thinking about putting my garden in (although we had frost last week, too, so I resisted!) I have it planned, now just to get past frost season, and put it in! :)

Obviously I have fallen out of my daily blog habit-the car incident threw me for sure. I'm still not sure how it happened... anyway, I have been trying to Bible read, still, and send out a note here or there, albeit not daily.

Well, that's all for today. Any plans the change in weather has you thinking about, like my sunny summer garden? :)
Have a great week!

March 21, 2012

Still not a lot of news about my car. There was a preliminary assessment done today and it looks painful for my bank account. Humph. I'm not even sure how long it will take to be repaired. A while, by the sounds of it. We'll see when they begin to take it apart. It's frustrating, because that is what insurance is for, but it's also going up as it helps.

The weather has been unseasonably warm. I am resisting the urge to go out and plant things. March came in like a beautiful, sweet lamb, so it is most surely going out like a roaring, raving lion! Whether we'll get more frost, I'm not sure. The skunks don't seem to think so, and neither do the bluebirds.

The Potato Peel Society book is starting a bit slow, which is what I thought the last time I tried it, stopping on page nine, but this time I think I see a glimmer of potential. I will keep you posted.

I have heard owls in the woods behind my house for the first time since I have lived here (almost 12 years). I went out with a camera a few days ago, but I'm sure they heard me crashing around among the leaves, trying to avoid the large puddles. They didn't hoot anymore and I couldn't find them for pictures. I'm sure the neighbors wondered what on earth I was doing!

I have continued to write notes to people via facebook messages, but yesterday's was sad. My brother's beloved dog had died yesterday morning, so my note was to them, thinking of them and their sadness.

I hope you have been well, Reader!

March 18, 2012 part 3

After this, my amount of posts will be back on track! :) They won't have all been on their correct days, but I could get to 31 posts in March. :)

We didn't have our traditional St. Patrick's Day corned beef and cabbage yesterday. I meant to pick it up on my way home Friday, but with all the car crashing excitement I didn't get to it. We just had leftovers, which was cheaper anyway, although not very Irish. :)

Yesterday, I saw this post by Lisa Leonard about being lucky and wanted to post something similar.

I am blessed and lucky:
*To have a wonderful husband and two truly terrific teen daughters
*To have a home I love, and a garden I can get my hands into-and a sunny day to get my hands dirty in the garden! {I spent some time yesterday pulling out old plants, trimming things and turning up the garden!}
*To have many trees in my backyard-a lot of folks in our development have a puny tree or two, but we back up to houses with big yards that have been here a while and have big trees.
*I am blessed to have been in a parking lot when I had my car accident-not on the highway, no one was injured, no one else's car was crushed-just mine, and I am lucky to have such a caring, helpful staff who were there for me on Friday.
*I feel lucky to be able to run and relieve my worries-yesterday was supposed to be a shorter distance, since 9 was the week before. I ran 5 and it was a beautiful day to do so.
*I am thankful to have friends who, even though I don't see them often enough, are still part of my life, and know I think of them often.
*I am thankful we have food, and can afford good meals.
*I am thankful and blessed to have my faith, my God who grants grace.
*I am truly blessed to have my job-I love teaching the same students each day, and for all the new things they teach me, too!
*I am very thankful for you, Reader-for all the consistent readers of this blog, and the new ones, too! :)

What are you thankful, blessed or lucky for? :)

March 18 2012 part 2

I did get some "fun" reading in this weekend. I mentioned last that I was reading Loving Frank. I had heard it was an interesting book. As I read, I learned it was about a woman who has an affair with Frank Lloyd Wright. They both are married with children. At first the writing seemed like it would carry the book. But, after about a quarter of the book I was disturbed at the whole situation-how could this end? How could it end well? So, I did something I NEVER do-I skipped to almost the end. I wanted to glimpse who she ended up with-was it worth wading through this story to find she made it back to her kind husband? And what I found in the end was worse! *Spoiler alert* She and her children are attacked by a crazy man and she dies!! It was enough for me to do something I also rarely do: stop reading the book and be done with it.

I am moving on to a book I once started, but didn't get into, so I set it aside. I am going to read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Hopefully it's a lovely book?! :)