Snapshots of Wedding Weekend

I spent some time last night and today editing pictures from last weekend. Here are a few of them. :)

Ode to an Overlooked (Small) Significant Beginning

It starts with a breath.

The one deep and paired with a stretch that wakes me up in the morning.

The one that psyches me up as I sit in the car before heading someplace intimidating, where my place isn't quite set.

The one that calms me when chaos takes over my classroom.

The one that I pray will bring an enlightening moment with it when I just don't know what to do.

The one that slows me down at the end of the day as I pause to look at the beautiful Nebraskan sunset.

The one that helps me gain the extra ounce of courage to speak my mind.

The one that relaxes me and persuades me to push aside the thoughts of school until the morning.

The one that comes before putting one foot in front of the other as I take this life day by day.

The one that brings learning. And the one after that. And the one after that.

And it all begins with something as small and habitual as a breath.

~"The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plan, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life." [-Robert Louis Stevenson]~

Another Dose of Music...to Make Up for Being Too Tired for a Real Post

Firstly, kudos to my computer for being super-sneaky. It seems to know when I'm going to post a music video on my blog because that's the only time the speakers refuse to work. Seriously, they were working just fine an hour ago. Silly computer.

Anyways, this song came on Pandora the other day, and I really enjoyed both the lyrics and her voice. It's not a very upbeat song, but it's so fitting for some of "those days" when melancholy begins to seep in.

My favorite part? "I'm thinking about calling on Jesus." Sometimes prayer pops into my head as the solution, and it sounds so brilliant. Immediately after that, I'm amazed at my own stupidity to be marveling at an idea which should be a natural thing to do anyway. Good thing God isn't stupid: He knew that we'd never be perfect on our own and planned accordingly.

And now, without further adieu, I give you "Wreck of the Day" by Anna Nalick.

The Weekend: Abridged

I kinda went MIA this weekend from the blogging realm...and my absence looked like this:

Friday: Woke up early. Finished packing. Taught all day. Packed up and gassed up car. Picked up co-pilot. Hit the road at 5 pm.

Saturday: Arrived home at 3 am. Bed by 3:30. Woke up at 7, cozied up under the covers. Joined by the pup around 7:30, up by 8. Nephew time until 1. Got ready, hit the road for the wedding. Cried a lot, laughed a lot, loved it a lot. In bed by 2:30 after some pizza and hilarious conversations with the boys.

Sunday: Woke up and said goodbye to Spring Grove/Richmond. Time with Pops, a quick back scratch, then on to gas up and buy kringle. Lunch with Mom and Brandon, then time to hit the road. Left with tears and smiles on my face. Ten and a half hours later, home at last and down lots of sleep plus one pillow.

More on the weekend to come later. I'm going to bed now. Yes, it is before 10. Don't judge.

A List About Apartment Life

Okay, it's time for another list....

And thus begins "Reasons Why I Love Having My Own Apartment"...

- The biggest reason is that I am always welcome here. I call the shots and I make it my own. And I make it messy, too, but thats okay. I never have to question if I belong in this home because it is my own.

- I can listen to music every waking second around here if I want to. ANY kind of music. No judgement. Yeah, that's right, my Pandora mix shifts from hard rock to Disney to CCR in no time flat...now what? Oh yeah -- CRANK IT, of course!

- When I want to dance like crazy -- and I know I'm not really good at it -- the only one laughing at me for it is myself.

- I can come home to complete silence and solitude for 5 minutes, 30, an hour, a night...whatever feels right. And some days I just really, really need that.

- If I want to just snack all night instead of eating dinner, it's all good.

- I can leave dishes in the sink overnight if I want to...or load the dishwasher and start it as I'm going to bed without worrying about waking anyone else up.

- When I pack, I can take up however much space I want. In tonight's case, apparently I wanted to leave piles in every room of the apartment before making them all migrate to one location.

- I can sleep with the windows open whenever I want to, even on nights it drops down to the 40s. Yes, that actually happened last night. No, I was not happy getting out of bed to shut the window when I got up this morning. Yes, I did wake up very quickly. Yes, I am contemplating the effectiveness of that kind of alarm clock. No, I am not sleeping with them open again tonight. Yes, I like being able to feel my toes.

- When it comes to temperature control, I have Absolute Power. It's pretty nice. [Unless it's about 45 degrees outside and I've discovered the windows are kinda drafty but I refuse to turn on the heat regardless. Hello, heating blanket, we're going to be friends tonight.]

- I can pace and talk on the phone all I want without hearing "Stop pacing!!" I've been known to get that from just about everybody I've lived with at one point or another...until now.

- I don't get funny looks for bathing stuffed animals in the sink who have been infected with the snot of kindergarteners.

- Laundry day always consumes my living space...now in guilt-free form!

Hokay, on account of being super-sleepy and preparing for a long drive tomorrow, I'm going to call it done despite knowing there should be many more things on this list...

The Adventures of Hugging Hippo's First Year in the Classroom

I'm taking over Michelle's blog for the night. I don't think she'll mind. I think she's busy lesson planning or some such teacher-y thing anyway.

Anyways, hi! I'm Hugging Hippo. I live in a kindergarten classroom where I get to spend lots of time with 21 kids. I love getting hugs, comforting crying or upset kiddos, and occasionally giving high fives at the end of the day.

Today I learned about two new things: getting sneezed on and slimed is disgusting, and bubble baths are fantastic vacations away from the classroom.

After my bath, I had to rinse all the soap off. Hugging Hippos have sensitive skin, after all. This is much different than my typical Lysol shower!

Now I'm just lying around waiting to dry so I can go back to play with the kids tomorrow. It's nice to be out of the classroom for a night. I should try this more often. I'm thinking about checking into those Living Social deals so I can boost my social life. You know what they say: if you give a hippo some insight, he'll probably want some experience to go with it. See, Moose? There's more to life than eating muffins. Don't even get me started on you, Mouse with the cookies.

Until next time, stay happy and healthy!

~Hugging Hippo

Driving Along I-80

I tried to give equal attention to both sides of the road as I drove. My eyes were drawn away from the road in bursts to admire all of the hay bales adorning the gentle rise and fall of the hills. Somebody's product of hours of labor dotting the landscape beyond the interstate. The cows graze while traffic passes, bringing the occasional bunch of black dots into view.

I pass the same fields on the way home. Even hints of sunlight pushing through the clouds now transform them into something captivating. The gold now has a soft glint to it and initially deters my eyes from the darkening shadows. My open window invites the sweet smell of the damp hay and grass to accompany me on this drive. I shiver a little as I notice the chill and dampness beginning to collect in the air as the change in seasons is tiptoeing this way.

As my chest rises with a deep breath of contentment, my mouth rises with a soft smile. Fields are a beautiful sight to my eyes and a comfort to my mind. That's been true my whole life, it was true in Texas, and it's true to this day. It's what I missed seeing while I was in the city near Chicago at the beginning of college, and it's what I'll miss if I ever move near a big city again. Yes, I'll always be a Midwestern girl through and through.

~"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." [-John Muir]~