deliberately lazy saturday

farmers market and nothing else. last weekend of summer. last time i can have no plans for awhile.

still summer.

For a week, anyway. a week full of meetings, following a week of planning in the classroom. I've been taking long walks everyday...thinking of my unintended jaunt on the Appalachian Trail in June. The horribly rocky, up and down, beautiful yet probably not again for me Appalachian Trail.

Teenage Bedrooms

Loving this tumblr. Part of me would love to still have my bedroom haphazard and spontaneous and young and idealistic. One of my favorite rooms growing up was my best friend's bedroom, a mish mash of music posters, drawings, 90210 posters, and army men glued to the ceiling.

This.

Was so epic. I was a little too old to be an uber-fan of the Spice Girls when they were in their prime, but enjoying them was a happy guilty pleasure. Not to mention that the girl across the street I babysat was insane for them....hence my viewing of Spice World probably about 50 times. Me thinks I should put it on the Netflix queue for old times sake......

In other news, summer is waning. I've been back in St. Louis for a week and am getting the classroom ready. The weather has been mercifully cool (80s) for St. Louis in August. I got an iPhone but don't really know how to post pictures to this from it. Which is why people like me shouldn't have iPhones.

(gif)

On Target

Burgeoning art scene, Richmond, Virginia, June 2012. I love stuff like this. You couldn't pay me to put it in my house, but I think it livens up things and creates conversation. 

Phantom Knitter

There is someone in Richmond, VA who knits little goodies and places them around town. Cozy posts, I guess. Click photo for bigger. 

Under the Barrel

1862 Confederate Cannon, Drewry's Bluff, Richmond Virginia.

Click photo for bigger. 

Civil War Bump

Drewry's Bluff, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Virginia. June 2012. Click photo for bigger. 

2676 miles....again

bonkers hydrangeas this year. everywhere state I traveled to, including these in Asheville. Click photo for bigger. 

Another road trip, this one around the East Coast. I had a 6-day conference for independent school educators in Connecticut, and decided to build a trip around it, visiting friends in North Carolina, Virginia, and New York before and after. It was so great to travel and not come straight to Michigan to be at my family's home and work part-time like I always do. I'm in Michigan now and ready to do that, but I think in the future doing a bit a traveling beforehand will continue to be refreshing for me and make me appreciate it here even more...

Summer Comes!

graceland.

Typical sweltering heat in Saint Louis has ushered in Memorial Day weekend. We don't get the weekend off at my school - we actually have Field Day tomorrow. It is only a half day, but a half day of wrangling ready-for-summer kiddos in 97 degree humidity is worth 3 days, at least. Thus, I allowed myself one of the laziest Sundays I've had in awhile, complete with a mid-afternoon nap (which I rarely do) while a Real Housewives marathon droned on in the background. Wednesday is my last day of school, but the week will have lots of report card writing and other logistical things, including finalizing some plans for a two and a half week road trip I'll be taking later in June. This past week also marked my 3rd trip to Memphis, 2nd as a chaperone taking sophomores to the Civil Rights Museum, Underground Railroad Museum, Graceland, Stax Museum, and Gibson Guitar Factory. No pictures, since I've pretty much done that extensively to this point, but the Stax Museum (formerly Stax Recording, a soul and r&b recording studio) and Gibson Guitar Factory were two new highlights. Most of all because I bought a ukelele at Gibson! I've wanted one for a long time, and although I'm not an amazing musician, I'm musical enough to teach myself a thing or two with a little help from friends, Summer projects and hobbies are always fun to start....

Well.

Good thing no one reads this blog except me and about 3 friends. Check-in time. Although the new blogger layout is so weird I may never come back. Technology changes = confused me. Spring is in full swing and I am in please-can't-it-be-the-end-of-the-school-year-before-i-murder-someone mode. Three and a half weeks to go. And it is officially HOT now in St. Louis. The first really hot, humid days of the year almost hurt physically, like I've forgotten what really sweating and squinting and sweltering feel like. But my fave local farmers' market opens tomorrow...hip hip! And this quite pleasing video (found at Jo, of course) made me chuckle enough to watch it more than once. Guilty of just about all of this!

Texas already seems like a million years ago.

I am ridiculous.

So are dog bakeries that make doggie petit fours and such. But I do it anyway. Baby pup is 7 now!

"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away, all the same, knowing she has wings." –Victor Hugo

Busy April so far. Hot as hell. Had to turn on the air March 29th.

3,405.8 miles later

A tiny smattering of photos, a small fraction of what I took in Texas (including 2 rolls of Diana film that I will eventually develop....)In my car from St. Louis to San Antonio, driving it instead of flying for the first time ever. Lots of niece and nephew time. San Antonio, Fredricksburg, Port Isabel, South Padre....and then 3 straight days of driving from the tip of Texas to the tip of the little finger of Michigan. Thank goodness my spring break is two weeks and I had a second week to recover from the Texas festivities. I understand needing a vacation from one's vacation more clearly now. #firstworldproblems, but true. Road trips are generally fun on the way there, and tiring on the way back. No different with this one. Love, love my fam.

this is not cool.

I'm all for milder temperatures in the winter. But not so mild and wacky that everything blooms early and out of season. The magnolias, redbuds, dogwoods, and fruit blossoms always start blooming right at the end of March when I come back from spring break....just at the right time. It's been so unseasonanly warm that things are starting to bloom now....just as I'm leaving town for two weeks. I'm headed to San Antonio and South Padre Island to visit my sister's family. I'm excited for beachytime, road tripping, Mexican flea markets and food, and just a change of scenery. Perhaps I'll get my spring blooms there. I'm even taking a couple of rolls of film for my Diana camera - haven't used that in a couple of years.

Keep Calm.

The story of this ubiquitous phrase is really interesting. As British as it sounds, I didn't realize it was a particular propaganda poster from World War 2. And as clever as a few of the parodies of the phrase are (many are also ridiculous...I've seen 'Keep Calm and Love the Biebs'), it sort of makes them seem trivial based on the more somber tone of the original intent. found here

Today is a deceiving sunny day. It looks warm, but the wind is cutting. I've underdressed for 2 walks with the dog, which only makes me wish for spring that much more. It's essentially here; it's been an incredibly mild winter often in the 40s and 50s. Regardless, there's something about the mental shift of spring break to make me really think we've turned the corner. Exactly two weeks from today I'll be road tripping it to Texas with some of the fam to visit my sister and her family. San Antonio and South Padre for a few days - I can't wait for lots of beach, sun, souvenir shopping (I love it no matter how tacky) and good Mexican food. Too bad the two weeks are full of meetings, report cards, curriculum work, and oh yeah - teaching.

OH HECK YES.

How have I not seen this? God Bless the person who took two of my favoritest/most pop culturally relevant things and mashed them up. This is my reward for late night websurfing/facebook wall-stalking. Does anyone say websurfing anymore? Season finale tonight, and I've miraculously stayed away from spoilers. Downton Abbeyonce.

hey girl teacher

Hey Girls crack me up. And Ryan Gosling is smoking hot. But these Hey Girls for teachers (full of all the ridiculous jargon that we have to know) are the best