First Day of Yoga Class

For those of you who know me, you know that I'm a big fan of lifelong learning. I used to take classes at the local community college before I moved here: Spanish, Flyfishing, Aerobics...whatever caught my fancy. The offerings at the community college where I live now are not so diverse, so I've limited myself to scrapbooking with a wonderful group at the local stamp and scrapbook store. But a few weeks ago I decided to plunge back into the community college circuit. My choice for this term: Yoga.

Those of you who know me also realize that I'm not a huge fan of exercise for the sake of exercise. Playing at the lake, or taking a hike with friends is different. But I also realized I needed to get off my duff and do something. That trip to Kentucky this summer sort of sabotaged my good eating habits. What can i say, I love fried food!

So yoga. It's something I'd never done, but was curious about. So I registered, paid my fee and tonight, I went to my first yoga class. Wow! I thought I was pretty flexible, but that was quickly proven to be a fallacy. I stretched muscles I'd forgotten I had. So for the next 10 weeks I will stretch, balance and use those long forgotten muscles twice a week for class. Let's just hope I can get out of bed tomorrow.

Paper Packrat

That's me. I have this horrible habit of keeping paper. Small scraps with scribbles of names and reminders, magazine articles I found significant, old class rosters from years and jobs past, and the list goes on. Today I decided to tackle the spare bedroom and the burgeoning piles that erupt from every available flat surface. I found some interesting things.

• An email from my college friend Jen dated December 2005.
• A list of books I wanted to read...from 2006!
• Scraps with random email addresses and websites.
• A copy of a world history test I gave last year.
• My 10th grade class roster from 2004.
• Various recipes I've clipped with the plans to cook, but I haven't.
• Several articles on how to save money. It's become an obsession of mine.
• Boarding passes for a trip I took a year ago.
• A warranty form I didn't send in.
• And lots more......

The result of this little foray? I filled a paper bag of stuff to recycle and filled another to shred (of course my shredder's dead) :( And a long email to Jen apologizing for my poor correspondence skills. I'm pretty sure I responded in January 2006, but I'm not positive. Here's hoping she forgives me.

Weekend Company & Death of Jelly Fish

My parents and aunt came to visit for the weekend. It's always an experience to have company. Since I live so far away, nobody comes just for dinner. I give up my bed for Mom & Dad. It's the least I can do, and I really don't mind sleeping on the sofa. I have a really great Dagwood sofa. My aunt had the airbed. Unfortunately, it didn't cooperate. She woke up on Saturday rolled up like a hotdog in a bun. Mission for the day: Find a new airbed.

The weather really cooperated for their visit. The coast is not really a fun place when it's stormy. Saturday we visited the Farmer's Market, looked at RV's (the parents just can't resist), and ate clam chowder. We also took a long walk on the beach and saw a really nice sunset.



Sunday was similar, but instead of eating out we had Thanksgiving style turkey dinner. I'll be eating turkey for several more days. That evening we walked on a different beach and encountered several dozen dead and dying jelly fish. I don't know what caused them to wash ashore, but I've never quite seen anything like it.

Beach Glass and Starfish

Today was beautiful, so I decided to take a long walk on my favorite beach. There's just something about the solitude (even when surrounded by people), and the sound of the waves. And this time of year, it's all about going barefooted!



I have a couple of goals when I'm walking on the beach. I'm on the look out for beach glass. There's just something I find so interesting about the shapes and finishes once sand and the waves have done their thing. Today was a good day. I found a few pieces.



Another thing I really like playing with my camera. I've had this digital camera for almost a year now, and (as my last set of vactation photos show, I'm not the greatest photographer. With digital, I get to practice and nobody can see the dozens of shots I delete because they're awful. The beach has lots of good subjects. Today it was starfish at low tide.

First Week of School

I've survived the first week of school. It's been completely chaotic. Schedules weren't done for the kids until the last week. This week has been all about changing schedules, and I'm flying by the seat of my pants, as usual.

On the up side, I think this year will be positive. Most of my students are not spending all day in Alt. Ed. That's good. Personally, I believe they should have some time with their peers and be subjected to the regular high school stuff. At the same time, the kids disagree and are making their displeasure well known. Luckily, my boss and I agree, and since she's in charge of their schedules, they're stuck with our decisions. This should help to save my own sanity as well. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy what I do, and I really can't imagine doing a boring old 9 to 5 job. But I know my limitations, and that sometimes teenagers don't always know what's best.

Last Summer Weekend

I spent Saturday in Medford doing some shopping. It was nice to bask in the sun since home was cold and foggy. Harry & David was having a big tasting so I tried some good wine and yummy nibbles. I ended up buying way more stuff than was on my list. Saturday was spent hanging out with my friend Lin. We took a long walk on the beach and topped it off with a beer and dinner. I'll miss not working with her this year. She used to make my job easier since she's so good at paperwork and I generally hate it. Today is Monday. The last official day of my summer vacation. I tried to catch up with some other friends up river, but that didn't work out. Probably a good thing. I still need to get my head together for tomorrow: THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

Good News...there's never enough!

Sometimes I feel that society focuses on the negatives. Turn on the news and it's mostly bad: The latest casualties in Iraq or Afghanistan, drug abuse, domestic violence, and the list goes on. Many days I just don't have the energy for it, and refuse to watch, listen or read about it.

Today there was good news. It may not be earth shaking on the level of Peace in the Middle East (personally, I don't believe that will ever happen), but for a family whose greatest wish was granted, it's the best possible. My friends Lisa and Taylor have been trying to evolve from coupledom to familydom for four years. Today, they brought David home, and those of us who love them are so happy. May God keep smiling on Lisa, Taylor, David, and the birthparents who chose a wonderful family for him.





To read Lisa's thoughts see her blog on my list of Family & Friends.