Sunday Gratitudes

Happy Sunday! Here are some of the things that I have felt grateful for this week:

• Flowers! I just love this time of year when everything begins to bloom and splashes of color appear everywhere!

• Making the time to cook more thoughtful meals. Lately I seem to have been just slapping dinner together with whatever is easy. But this past week I have planned and enjoyed cooking (and eating) a few meals that were just a bit less mundane. I really enjoy cooking, when I allow myself the time to stop and enjoy it!

• The sweet notes that Finn writes to me all of the time. He is such a kind soul.

• The way that the kids' dad and I are communicating and being flexible with scheduling. It makes this whole mess a lot more reasonable to deal with.

• My spring term classes filling in a day. When I decided to teach 2 classes next term, instead of just one class like I have been teaching for the past 5 years, there was a little bit of worry that both classes may not fill. But, I had a waitlist for both classes, on day 1 of registration. So both of my classes are a go! That means I will be much busier next term, but will also have a little bit of extra money for some fun adventures this summer.

• My full life. It may not be perfect, or anywhere close to what I imagined, but I have what I need. Amazing friends, amazing kids, a job, lots of pets, and plenty of hobbies and adventures to keep me busy. My life is far from dull, and I feel lucky.

What have you felt grateful for this week?

Joining in with the other Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots

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California Love

I just got back from an amazing weekend trip to California. I saw lots of friends, ate great food, and enjoyed some sun! The highlight of the weekend was a trip to Point Reyes, in Marin County. It was amazing. We saw hundred of elk, a coyote, a bob cat, a weasel, and very many birds. It was spectacular!

 

 

How was your weekend?

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Yarn Along

Hello! Happy Wednesday! Joining with Ginny at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along.

I am super excited because I have a fun weekend adventure planned. Hopefully, I will have lots of pictures to share next week!

Still working on Phoebe's in-threes sweater. I am in the easy, mindless part, so it is a perfect knit for watching movies and catching up on Downton Abbey! I know that Phoebe will love this sweater. She is just in love with the color red these days-- she can't get enough. Personally, this particular shade of red reminds me of Christmas, but to each their own!

War and Peace had to go back to the library. AGAIN. So the past couple of days I have been reading through The Secret Lives of Trees. It is also due back at the library very soon, but I am really enjoying it. It's not a book that you can really plow through though-- it has lots of information packed in, so it is a bit slow going (but good!). Once I get back to an easy mindless read, my brain will thank me!

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

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Sunday Gratitudes

Happy Sunday! For me, this week was a week of emotional ups and downs, feeling overwhelmed, and lots of indecision. However, my gratitude practice helped me to find things to be grateful for, even when times were tough. And that is something to be grateful for! This past week I have felt grateful for:

• Snowboarding! On Tuesday evening, I had a chance to go up to the mountain for the first time in 2 years. And it was Ladies Night, so it only cost me $20!

• Powerful Films. A friend and I went to see 100 Yen Love, a Japanese film that was shown as part of the Portland International Film Festival. A couple of days later, it still has me thinking.

• Making plans! I just planned a mini-road trip for part of spring break. Having adventures to look forward to makes me super happy.

• A really amazing field trip this week. I took my students to Reed College to see their nuclear reactor. It was a first for me, and the trip was very interesting (even though I have many hesitations about creating electricity from nuclear reactions).

• Friends. I had a great night out on Friday and had a chance to spend time with a whole group of my friends, including a couple that I hadn't seen for awhile.

What have you felt grateful for this week?

Joining in with the other Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots

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Yarn Along

Hello!  Joining with Ginny at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along.

I have been making some progress on Phoebe's in-threes sweater. I am hoping to have it finished in time for her birthday, which is not until March 1st, so I think I am right on track. Red is her very favorite color right now, so I know that she will be excited for this one.

I am (still) reading War and Peace, and actually just started to really enjoy it. I think I am immersed in the story and have mostly figured out who all of the characters are. And it's good! It actually seems much ahead of it's time with the humor. Maybe the translation has something to do with that, I'm not entirely sure. I still have many more weeks (or maybe months ) or reading it left to go, but I know now that I will make it through.

I have also been trying to get through The Secret Lives of Trees before it is due back at the library. It's non-fiction about trees and how they are classified. Stuff that sounds kind of boring, even to me, but the writing is so fabulous that it is super interesting. Well, at least to a scientist!

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

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Happy Chinese New Year!

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My Weekend

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was fantastic, but too short! Friday night the kids and I made pizzas and watched the new Goosebumps movie. They have been asking to watch it for months, and they finally had their chance...... the verdict was two thumbs up.
Saturday morning Puppy Cow, my very old dog, woke me at 4:45 and I couldn't fall back asleep. Finn woke up at 5:30 and Phoebe shortly after that. So our day started quite early. It's amazing what you can accomplish in one morning when you get up at 4:45! We spent the day mostly at home reading, playing games, and making valentines. Mid-afternoon, the kids went to their dad's house and I went on a run. I met a couple of friends for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant, and then we headed to the African Film Festival, which is held at the campus where I teach. We saw a film entitled Fievres, and it was powerful. It made me feel lucky for everything I have in this little life of mine.
Sunday I went on a hike to Shellburg Falls, outside of Salem. It wasn't the most exciting of hikes, but it was an amazingly sunny day, and the falls and the forest were absolutely gorgeous in the light. If it were an overcast or rainy day, I would have been fairly unimpressed, but the sun made the drive entirely worth it.
Sunday night the kids and I didn't watch the Superbowl, which is just fine by me.

How was your weekend?

Joining in with the lovely Karen from Pumpkin Sunrise

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