Sunday Salon - Baby, It's Cold Outside.....

(I went to a wedding reception the other night and this sign was next to the hot cocoa bar - Love it.)

Okay, I KNOW I am a wimp, but it's 1:30 pm and it's only 42 degrees outside...and it's sunny!

YIKES.

I don't live in the north. 

I live in southern Arizona! 

(I can handle the heat, I swear... 112? That's a cool breeze!)

It was 21 degrees at our house overnight. 

So...I came home from a very cold morning at church and I am in my jammies, my sweatshirt, my socks and slippers and I'm lunching on hot cocoa and chili.

Ahhh...

Is this how you guys stay warm up there???

Okay, whining over... back to our regularly scheduled Sunday Salon....

Listening: To the football game. I can't lose. I like both teams. It's good company as I complete report cards and sit here at the table in the rays of sunshine. 

Eating: Warm stuff!! Anything warm. Seriously though, I have loved a week of salads and veggies. It feels good to have balance. 

Loving: 1.That my kitchen island stayed clear all week. 
              2. That my daughter bought me a Kindle for my classroom - my students will love it. 
              3. Book Group Wednesdays. It was awesome! We laughed and yakked the night away. There were new friends and time just flew by. That's how Book Groups should always be.

Reading: Michael Vey; The Prisoner of Cell 25 for my neighborhood Book Group in 10 days, The False Prince (still) by Jennifer A. Nielsen, and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume with my class. They are loving it. I have made several trips to the library lately and I have MANY more books on the nightstand. Just in case of a reading-emergency.

Feeling: Like I should feel more anxious about things than I am. Wow, that Yoga class is REALLY helping. I just feel okay about it all. I have decided to chunk things up in smaller bites and try not to pre-worry about all the demands ahead. Just one day at a time. Deep Yoga-cleansing breaths.....

Watching: Football!!! Rich also wants to go to the movies this week. I am hoping to see Lincoln, Life of Pi or The Impossible (thank you, Jenners.) They all sound popcorn-worthy!

Wanting: 1.To finally be done with these report cards that I have put off for far too long. 
                2. A trip to the hairdresser.
                3. A class-room cleaning fairy.

Thinking: How kind bloggers are. Thanks for your good wishes for my husband in his job-search. I'm touched when we all reach out and recognize the power of positive comments, phone calls, thoughts, friendship and encouragement. What a great community we can be to help each other. Thanks!!

This Week: Parent-Teacher Conferences, dinner with J&K (which means a Tinsley visit!!!) another bog observation, and a little ol birthday---for me. I wonder if cheesecake is calorie free?

Happy Sunday friends!!!!

Currently...T'was the night before School re-starts

It's been GREAT! 

I LOVE Winter Break.

I feel rested, relaxed, refreshed, fat and fluffy.

Listening:  To football! I adore football and basketball season. My U of A Wildcats won yesterday in college basketball and today is football WildCard Weekend....I am in sports heaven. Having the games on in the background was a great accompaniment while I cleaned and sorted yesterday and now today it's fun to blog, email and plan while my football boys duke it out on the field. I am definitely the sports geek in the family and I LOVE the big TV for my games. Bring it on baby.

Eating:  Too much!! I need to go back to work to get my healthy eating habits back. I think I made it a personal commitment to not deny myself anything this Winter Break. Man was that a delicious but bad idea! What did I get for Christmas?!?!
 #@*&%$^# pounds!!! I am relieved to be back in command. So...here's to my good health! (Walk away from the Cheetos, lady....)

Loving:  A new Yoga class. My new books. My organized work shelf. Tidy files. A clean slate - in more ways than one.

Reading:  The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen and Our Hearts Were Young and Gay by Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough for Book Group this week. I was reading another book last night but after some pretty wild nightmares 2 times in the night I have decided to set that one aside for a bit. To be bluntly honest my heart can't handle tragedy and children...

Feeling: Quiet and content. I went to a therapeutic yoga class this last week and just got a different perspective on looking at things. It was awesome. I also just have a sense of still and acceptance that feels nice today. I will most likely feel different when 4:45 am comes tomorrow morning but for a change it feels cool to be ready for a new semester. Maybe having some ideas of changes I want to make in me makes a difference too. Nice.

Watching: Castle,Person of Interest,Jack Reacher,Les Miserables. Wow, oh wow! Jack Reacher was a fun and wild ride. Rich loved it and has been reading book after book since the movie. I laughed when we attended the movie over break as it was a 10:1 ratio of men to women. what a crack up.You had to be between 20-60 years old too. It was so fun to see the author of the series in a cameo role in the movie. I think I was one of the only people who noticed who he was but it sure made me smile. On a very different tone, I was in Les Mis heaven from start to finish at the movies on Friday afternoon. I promised myself I would not sing (too loud!) and I kept that promise. It's a good thing I didn't promise myself that I would not cry. I did. Buckets! Les Miserables has been my favorite of books for several years now. My favorite musical for even longer (okay, Wicked is climbing that ladder too..) but seeing the raw emotion and the stunning effects I truly came away with such a sense of redemption. A sense of awareness of how we can overcome the natural man and become better people. Rich and I have talked about it for days. Was it perfect? There were a few weak roles but it will certainly be MY vote for movie of the decade. (Too weird to read a vehement bashing of it by a good friend on Facebook this weekend. I wondered if she had really been to the same movie. Hmmm) Wow, that was a soapbox.

Wanting: A job for my husband. I haven't written about this hard thing in our lives but I decided to just lay it out there and put it in print. He is so amazingly positive and sees this as an adventure and has just begun to appear to show a little ...dare I say, doubt?!? Being unemployed after a certain age is not nearly as much 'fun'! Being the only 'employed' member of the family feels weird. I am grateful for my job and the security that I have. I am just wanting one for Rich too. That's all.

Thinking: How cool it was to hear from 4 of my 5 kiddos yesterday. I had a great talk with 3 of my boys and Jennie and I had a texting marathon of sorts. Love it. My kiddos are pretty darn incredible. I also feel so blessed to have gotten to watch little Tinsley over the break. Cuddling, cradling and rocking a baby has the best benefits. You get to think and relax too. It was amazing. 

This Week: Report cards, Book Group (Yeah!)Dinner with the in-laws, dinner with J&K, date night, seeing my work friends again,writing my resolutions down (in cement?!) planning a church lesson for next week and writing more thank you notes! The week sounds great. 

Wow, there is nothing like a great Winter Break to have me feel so relaxed and ready. Can we do this again???