it may not be much

but i love my sink in the downstairs bathroom.

when we were searching for houses back in August i always loved the homes with the pedestal sink. And now i have one!!

My Funny Valentine

An ode to the man i love:

B - bad breath in the morning but i love the way you always seem to steal a kiss

R - random phone calls just to say that you love me and are making sure i'm okay

E - everyday i see your face i fall more in love with you - especially when your eyes smile

N - never a day goes by that we don't have at least one GREAT hug

D - doesn't ever take himself too seriously - which i love

O - over my heels crazy insane in love with you

N - not one to ever miss a joke - you make me laugh so hard i have cried and maybe peed my pants a little

My husband and i have been together for 9 years - but only in person for the last 5. this love affair of mine is very important to me. the other day my friend Suzanne was talking to me about a conversation she was having with other friends. and how relationships and marriage is very different in 2009 - she was having trouble seeing how some of these 19 year olds get married and then divorced a year or so later because it was just "too hard".

then she gave me a great complement. she said that she saw brendon and i as an example of how a young marriage can work. it made me smile a very heart happy smile. Brendon and i have gone through quiet a bit (to say the least) to get to this point. and so now everyday i cherish the gift of marriage with this funny valentine of mine.

For the day of feb 14th we did a few things around the house. i planted some bulbs that i got from my grandma's house. bren mowed the lawn. we put the wonderful costco lasagna in the oven and watched a movie on the couch. it was a lazy day around the house. but i love a good cuddle on the couch.

overall a wonderful day with a wonderful hubby!

Hey Brotha!

My brother Evan and I are four years apart. I can remember the night he was born. It rained and rained and rained some more. I was staying at my grandma's house while my parents went to the hospital. I don't remember much about life before Evan - he has brought a very alive spirit to my family.

I can remember that while we were growing up my mom had given us toys for both genders - Evan had a doll and I had toy cars. Evan took of their heads and used them as bombs : ) - while I used the cars to drive my dollies to the store. My mom didn't let us have toys that had anything to do with violence (something I very much believe in) and Evan felt that he was missing out - so he took a piece of cheddar cheese and bit pieces out to shape it into a gun. He has always been all boy. Not only this but he has been a ladies man his whole life. His first love was a girl named Amy - he came home from preschool and was so tired from the day that he fell asleep - as he drifted off he called her name Amy Amy Amy. We joke that this is in part because he was born on Valentines day.

Once Evan went to school and the children were learning about dates and birthdays - Evan said his was on Valentines and the teacher scolded him because he didn't say February 14th. That woman was a mental case anyway.

He has a tender heart that brother of mine. He has always been able to empithize with those around him. He has the ability to see someone and take their life into his mind and ponder what it would be like to be them. I admire this very much about him.

He is also a jokester. We spent our youth with smiles on our faces. Much of the time it is due to the jokes that he makes.

So as he begins his 23rd year of life I say Happy Birthday Brother of Mine! Cheers to so many more.

An Open Door

has a way of opening peoples minds. This is the door to my classroom. This is the door that opens up the books of years past. This is the door that children beg to get into. This is the change that I wish to be in the world.

We have a teacher on campus that has this awesome machine that cuts out stickers of whatever you want it too. So I spent 10$ and got this quote. I thought about which one I would pick for a very long time. I wanted it to be something that I would see everyday and be glad. I wanted it to remind me of what I am doing and why I do it. There is something special that happens in room M114 and sometimes I can't really put my finger on it. - I have wanted to teach for a very long time - 4th or 5th grade is when I really knew it would be my path in life. And so when I got hired on as a 10th and 11th grade english teacher four years ago my dream came true.

I will never forget the very first day of school. I remember thinking "oh wow they are really letting me do this on my own." I remember fixing up my classroom and making sure that all of the goodies that I wanted to be in the right place were just so. And then the kiddos made their way into the room. I have learned a lot over my short 4 years of teaching - much of this coming from the 15, 16, and 17 year olds. My greatest hope is that they gleam something from me. I know that I cover the standards (and well I might add - my state test scores are always above the average) but i want to teach them to be better people once they walk out this door.

Having the ability to work with young people keeps my mind sharp. And it keeps me laughing.

As I enjoy this lovely 4 day weekend I am thankful that early on Tuesday morning I'll be able to walk through a door that reminds me to make a change in this world. Even if it's a small one.

Where are my parachute pants when I need them!

This is a sign that is in my neighborhood. It makes me smile, for so many reasons. the idea that some child would risk the consequences of being caught defacing property for this work of art warms my hart. now don't get me wrong i do not like tagging in any way. i can list multiple reasons why this is wrong and no child should think this is okay. but i do enjoy it.

my friend Cuirstaun and i were driving around and saw this sign. both of us starting laughing so hard. in part because with the handwriting it appears to be a younger soul who put this artwork up - and neither of us could figure out how they would know the great works of MC Hammer. as that genre of music is a bit old for these young kids. maybe they are getting it from an older sibling.

i stopped the car and gave Cuirstaun my camera because we had to have this for time and all eternity. so I'd like to say thank you to that feisty little soul who took the risk to add a little sunshine to all the children who grew up in the late 80's. so that we can all take a collective breath and sing. Da na na na - na na - na na STOP - HAMMER TIME!

Weather makes children turn into the devil

I teach high school. i love this about my life. i do not like it when the weather changes from warm to cold or cold to warm - it is because the children turn into crazyness. today the progression of weather changing from warm to very cold and rainy made the almost full grown kids - i mean these are 16 and 17 year olds - into 5 year olds who scream about nonsense.

a real conversation - i wouldn't lie to you about this.
me - and so when we look at Montag we can see that he is missing something from his life
boy - it's windy outside
girl - it's gonna rain
me- kiddos let's focus - B why don't you explain what Montags conflict is
boy #2 - i heard it's gonna rain all day tomorrow
girl #2 - i heard it's was supposed to rain at no
me - focus children focus - yes i heard it's going to rain - let's get back to the book

this is the kind of day people think about when they picture a high school classroom. half of my students were looking out the window waiting for the sky to fall. the other 25% were paying attention to me and the rest were looking at the clock praying for the day to be over.

and then there was the moment that makes me say "yes i can come back to work tomorrow and deal with these pumpkins" this boy (not one from the earlier conversation) comes up to me after class and says
' hey mrs. parsons that lesson today was really cool. it totally made me think about what it would be like in that world that the characters live in'

and then there were the words that make me jump up and do a happy dance.

"thank you" he smiles and tells me to have a good weekend.

I know I will :)