Inside of this

This little corner of the internet is a nice little place to call home... despite the fact that I average visits only bi-annually.  If this blog were my mother, it would tell me to call home more often!

I think a most permanent and pervasive shift has occurred in my life since my last entry.  I MET SOMEONE  THE ONE.  It's been a year and a half, and I still marvel at my good fortune every single day.  This whole vast expanse of universe, and she walked into my little world.

The story:
Matched on tinder, TOTALLY swiped right.  Met at the National Gallery one October Wednesday afternoon.  I was late.  She was beautiful.  I literally fell in love at first sight.

AND OK, love is pretty fantastic.  But this love?  How is it possible that people can just walk around the world being in love, this kind of love, without just exploding?  It is unparalleled and unbelievable.  Literally every single thing in my world is better and brighter now that she is in it--and things were already pretty damned great and bright before.

One time, Ingrid Michaelson told me (...well okay, me and 1,000 of my closest friends at the U Street Music Hall) that a poet once tried to write a poem about the ocean in a quaint, seaside cottage.  Try as he might, the ocean waves lapping outside of his door couldn't inspire him. Dejected, he left the beach and returned to the city.  To his surprise, the words began to flow and he was able to write about what he could no longer see. 

If you want to write, sing, create.. sometimes it helps to get the distance to do so. 

Treat Me Like a Pirate

It's getting a little cliche for me to pretend to be shocked by how long it's been since my last post.  Let's skip that one this time, shall we?

How long do I have to keep ignoring your candy crush invites before you get the message.  Ballpark?

So anyway, summer rocks.

At first I was filled with a HOLYSHITUNSTRUCTUREDTIMEIDKWHATTODO virus, but then I realized... there are some pretty great goddamned ways to fill your time.  (Apart from teaching summer school--which is what young teachers do because we don't get paid in the summers and still want to  do things like eat, drink & buy that new Anthropologie duvet we've been eyeing...)

I do feel a little like I'm floating in the ether.  I've been strangely and unpredictably busy with no real routine to follow.  Every once in a while I am absorbed in a panic that consumes me-"AM I FORGETTING SOMETHING HUGE AND IMPORTANT?!  And it usually comes to my attention that-Yes.  Yes I am.

But right now I'm channeling all my energy into my pirate birthday party.  3 years ago today I was putting the finishing touches on the following backdrop for my epic Harry Potter birthday party:

& today I'm putting the finishing touches on this:

& So, while time has passed (as time has a tendency to do), it's nice to know that I haven't grown up a little even at all. 

Here's a thought I've been having lately:  People spend entirely too much time and energy focusing on romantic relationships.  The truth of the matter is that you are surrounded by people constantly.  Focus on all of them, because putting all your eggs in one basket just makes for a really heavy basket.

Thoughts at the End of a Break

I'm sitting here at the end of my break (and my drink), comfortably absorbed in the latest episode of Downton Abbey.  Happy isn't even the right word... I'm rested. I'm content.  I'm me.

Life gets away from us, you know?  We forget who we are.  Recently, my mom shared with me a story about a job she had and disliked in college.  She couldn't find common ground with her coworkers who fostered a negative environment and it made her social soul pretty miserable.  However, she began to bring a book with her to work and every day on her lunch break, she'd read a little.  According to my mom, those moments inside that book reminded her who she was.  She'd return to her job refreshed and refocused.

This Winter Vacation has been my lunch break.

Before the break, I was running ragged.  Barely scraping along and honestly a little discouraged.  Between planning and organizing, orchestrating and reviewing, I'd come home and crash.  My laundry was piling up and my eating habits crashing down.  Working, driving, sleeping... I think I was letting my life get away from me.  And there's nothing like your mom coming upstairs, frazzled and covered in pine needles because she was trying to unscrew the Christmas tree when it fell over on top of her to remind you of who you are.  Apparently she yelled for help and only the tiny dogs came.  It's amazing what you can miss over the whirr of a hair dryer.  Over the past two weeks, I've had time to breathe, time to read, time to sing, time to remember who I am.

Conveniently, there's a fresh new year just arriving.

& like, HOW CHEESY would it be to end this shmaltzy post by listing some stupid New Year's resolutions?

So anyway, my new year's resolutions are as follows:

1. Make time for reading.

2. Be a better dog mom.

3. Make NO time for laziness.  

Happiness doesn't always make you happy, Lauren.  Remember that.

Happy 2014.

The Blessed Unrest

Honestly couldn't tell you where July, August and esspeeecially September went.  Life has continued to send curveballs and tidal waves, and while I hate being a grown-up, I'm learning.  A lot.  All the time.

My job is an even split between being a mountain I feel like I'll never be able to climb and tiny moments of success that make it all worthwhile.  I guess maybe there's a Miley Cyrus song in there somewhere, BUT OKAY the less cliche part of this realization is this:  I am being forced to be better.  A better teacher, a better person, better.  And even though I put everything into my work, there are still going to be days when that doesn't show.  Love [sometimes] hurts, even when you do it right, and that's as true in teaching as it is in romance.

I moved suddenly this summer.  It wasn't something on which I'd planned, but it's ended up being the most wonderful change.  I'm living in a little house with a deck and fenced in backyard.  I'm closer to the city and comfortable in my home for the first time since I left college.  My best friend is just upstairs and available to dissect dates and advise fashion at any given moment.  I'm home and I'm happy here.  The strangest thing is that it wasn't until I moved that I realized how unhappy I'd been at my last apartment.  It never ever felt like home, I always felt like a guest.  It was a beautiful space, but it was always quiet and never mine.  & while we're riding the cliche train, it's fitting to point out that there really is "...no place like home."

Especially when home is covered in Degas & dogs.

& to switch gears entirely: Someone at work was talking about a friend who was dating in their 60s and made the comment that she'd never want to do that because dating was hard enough in her twenties.  & ya know, I have a lot (A LOT) of thoughts on dating, but I don't know that I'd call it "hard."

In other news:  Madewell is my new favorite store.  The clothes are just MADE so WELL.  Plus there's a teacher discount...

So anyway...

So it goes without saying that I'm hooked on you.

I love teaching kindergarten because sometimes you ask for "text to self connections" after reading 'The Giving Tree' and one will say "Ya know, I have a friend that moved away and every time I see her she gets bigger and bigger just like the boy in the book!"  And it will fill you with a pure and innocent joy unrivaled in any other profession.  And then the next kid will say "Ya, well the tree is green, right?  Well remember that day we ate all that green stuff in school?  When I got home I threw it all up in my neighbors driveway..."

So there's that.

Goodness these past few months have flown by before I've really had a chance to get my pants on.  Is that a thing people say?  

Let's see, let's see... updates:  

I have become a dog owner. 

little Luna

And it is thrilling and precious and wonderful... but one of us-and I won't say which-just peed on my bed.  So, I suppose this moment could be described as a valley in a series of PEE-ks (see what I did there?)

And after my parents fell in love with Luna, they decided that they needed a dog, too:

Hello, little Dobby.

I've decided that all future Granger family pets must have Harry Potter names.  Fortunately, J.K. Rowling has provided us with a Gringotts-vault-sized wealth of perfect pet names, so...

And furthermore, my roommate caught the puppy fever and is now the proud owner of a two month old cockapoo, Pele.  However, he lacks every bit of the grace/athleticism/understanding-of-gravity afforded his soccer-playing namesake.

Living the big sister life.

It is INSANE to me that I spent my entire life in literal YEARNING for a dog, and in under a month there are exactly THREE tiny squiggly balls of puppy joy in my life.  I don't hate it, but nine-year-old me is indignant as fuck.

In professional terms, I'm moving to third grade next year.  There's another new teacher moving to the same grade level, and I have a GIANT class of 30+ students.  I'm jazzed about it (or at least telling myself that I am), but I am going to miss kindergarten like WHOA.  And I can't believe I only have three days left with my nuggets.

Dream job.

I've been feeling like I need to DO something.  I got stuck in my job for a while, so absorbed in literacy and standardized testing that I forgot to educate myself in, you know, THE WORLD.  Like, casually had to google the situation in Turkey after a conversation the other nigh.  I want to give a little back to this world that's given me so much, but I'm not sure where to start.  I'm not accepting the excuse that my student loans are crippling (though they are), because I know I don't need to fly across the world to give to those in need.  (BUT OH PLEASE I'D LOVE TO!)  In fact, I know my own community is the best place to start.  

So I've covered dogs, work & the restlessness of my privileged soul.  Romance?  Well, let me get back to you on that...

I love storms, 

and I'd love for you to come kiss me in this one.

A-Post-90s-Music-Jam-Sesh-Follow-Up-Thought:

Today my mom openly showed her support for gay marriage on Facebook.

I want so desperately to sit down with my 16 year old self and tell her to stop worrying, because everything is going to be okay.

And I'm willing to bet that there's a 30 year old version of me out there wishing to tell the 23 year old version of me the same damn thing.

I need a drink, ya'll.

Life's Twisty.

I haven't written about this because I don't know what to say.  I feel like I could write six separate papers on my thoughts, and they'd all be completely different.

It cannot be ignored that I know the best people in the world.  In the days after you left, I came home to flowers on my doorstep, got taken to dinner and drinks & had sleepovers.  I've gotten letters and presents in the mail, and been constantly surrounded by love.  Seriously, it's like I'm still in a relationship, I'm just dating like ten people at once...asexually.  I don't know what I did to deserve the kind of friends I have, but I will never stop being grateful.

The thought that brings me the most peace is this:  You were a good thing that I lost.  They are a good thing I will never have to lose... ever.

Which brings me to my next train of thought:  With so many blessings around me, how can I afford to be sad about the one thing I don't have any more?  It's infuriating to me that I can't just shake this.  How frustrating that my mind and my heart can't come to a simple peace agreement and decide: "Yes, it's sad.  We know that.  BUT LOOK AT ALL THESE OTHER HAPPY THINGS." And let me skip along the path of life, content in the knowledge that I am going to be fine.

And I am going to be fine, I know that. I know by now that healing takes time.  There are parts of me that are already there.  There's a part of me that is downright indignant at the idea that someone might not love me and just think I'm God's gift to this green earth.  As a dear friend put it:

Look: I'm a great person and an even greater girlfriend. And if you can't see that.... then you're an idiot.

This little part is full of herself (not unlike the rest of me), and sings a lot of Beyonce (not unlike the rest of me).

But the strange thing about growing up is that we get smarter about the people we choose to date.  I have nothing bad to say about you, and I hope the same is true for every relationship hereafter. 

There is a significant part of me that is still shocked.  It's clear even from this silly little blog.  The last post I wrote was about this incredible Valentine's Day surprise that my loving girlfriend planned for me.  And then suddenly that girl walked out the door.  It's not even like this came from left field... it's like it came from an Arby's parking lot three towns over from the field.  We were such a good thing.  You were right for me.  Maybe not for forever, but for now.  I know you are not the only girl who can make me happy, but I was so happy with you.  And I still can't get the sound of that door out of my mind.

There are parts of me that wonder where your mind is now.  I wish I knew more about this decision and about the logic leading up to it.  I want to rid myself of the notion that you were talked into this.  I need to be sure this is what you wanted.  I know you are smart, I know you are capable and I know you wouldn't have left unless you really thought you needed it.  I know it's probably just a "starved dog's logic about bones," but even in our last talk... your eyes didn't seem to match your words. 

 

I pray that you find peace of mind...

And there is a huge part of me that is just sad.  Just missing someone that was my best friend for a year.  There's a part of me that took several days to stop pulling my phone out of my pocket to call you  and tell you funny kid stories after school.  There's a part of me that's sad when I see groupons for fun things I'd like to do with you.  I hated 8pm on Sunday night because I watch enough Dr. Who to know that there's an alternate universe where you and I were sitting down with some drinks to listen to Andrea Gibson at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.  I'll bet it was an incredible show.  I miss my weekend trips to Baltimore, and the nights I spent dancing with you.  I miss discussing how "oaky" I wanted my eggs.  Today is the first day I've been able to listen to Ellie at all, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry at least a little.  It's spring, and I want to learn to play basketball.  I want to go to your graduation, and to vineyards with your roommates.  When I sit down to pick a favorite part of "us," my mind never stops running.  

That part sucks the most.

That part makes me wonder if I'm doing the right thing by not trying to be your friend.  Right now, that thought just makes me sad.  I can't really process the idea of you as my friend, and I know for sure that right now is too soon for something like that.  I'd almost rather you be someone I'd loved and lost than try to create a friendship from the weird leftovers of our relationship.  My friendships are not something I take lightly, as you might remember from the veritable 'ode to friendship' earlier in this post.

But the thing about having great friends is that sometimes they say things like this:

We spend so much time looking for that one relationship, that one person we can "do life" with.  But the thing is... life's not about a relationship.  It's about relationships.  We are meant to "do life" with lots of people. 

The bottom line is that I want to get through this part, I want to get out of this place.  And the only way to do that is to feel it.

Adventures in February

This weekend I came home from work to a note on my bed saying my best friend wanted me to pack up all of my 'teacher work' and meet her 'at [insert random Maryland address].

After battling Friday rush hour traffic, I drove up to what turned out to be an adorable coffee shop in Frederick, Maryland.  Katie, who had been patiently waiting for me, asked what we were doing.  At which point the following classic movie moment ensued:

"What are we doing?"
"What do you mean?  I thought you planned this!"
"Are you serious?  I thought you planned this!  I got a letter from you saying to meet me here!"

At this point, we noticed that the cashier was smirking.  Figuring she knew something we didn't, we approached her.  She asked: "Are you Katie and Lauren?" When we confirmed that we were, she removed a clue from behind the counter.  It contained $10 and told us to:

Coffee with my bff and a romantic surprise from my gf?  I'M DOWN.  We followed directions, thanks to a friendly barista:

And then found a place to leave one of our cars, and started traveling up 70 as instructed by our previous clues.  Along the drive, we get texts with trivia questions--the answers to these questions will give us our destination!  After a few wrong guesses and misguided google searches, we discovered that we were headed to the Blue Knob Ski Resort in Claysburg, PA.  

Aside from a (minor) perilous journey up a mountain during a snowstorm in my 2003 Saturn Ion which got stuck in the snow that resulted in my need to call on my "Knight in Shining Volkswagen"... at which point she ALSO got stuck--We had a FABULOUS weekend.  

The door to our cozy little cond-snow (I think that's what condos in ski towns should be called) had this little sign on it.  Obviously we said YES, entered and were presented with boxes of chocolates, warm pajamas and lots and LOTS of wine.

It was a fantastic weekend, and I didn't even fall off my snow tube...

I thought I had her beat this Valentine's Day.  I sent her flowers, planned a romantic dinner and got tickets to see Andrea Gibson in March.  Turns out she's the romantic in this relationship.  Still, I'm taking her to poetry:

"Just in case it is, let me also say that I want you

sleepy-eyed in the morning waking at my side

like a warm summer sky born from

so much softness the horizon cries every time

night fall comes to take you

let me also say that I want to make you [gluten-free] sandwiches and soup

and peanut butter cookies, though

the truth is peanut butter is really bad for you

cause they grow peanuts in old cotton fields

to get the toxins out of the soil

but hey, you like peanut butter and I like you"

Happy Valentine's Day!

The weather outside is...

...delightful, actually.

You know how life always works out according to our careful planning?

Two weeks ago, I was dodging questions about my future, vague answers and quick subject changes my saving grace.  And then...SUDDENLY SEYMOUR, I had a plan.

Outdated musical references aside, in one single week...

1. I bought a suit.
2. I took the VCLA.
3. I spent some much needed time with my friends in the 'burg.
   
4. I presented my graduate research.
5. I went to a Julia Nunes Living Room Concert in Philadelphia.
   
6. I had a job interview.
7. I house hunted.
8. I got a job.
9. I signed a lease.
10. I graduated.
    
11. I wished a very dear friend a very happy birthday with a very good wine.
12. I met the children that will be my very first students as a real teacher.
13. I took the RVE.
14. I had my wisdom toof pulled.

"Isn't it funny how you only understand a place before you leave?  And suddenly everything looks so shiny..." - How About You

Next week I celebrate Christmas with my married brother for the first time ever.  I intend to throw my whole heart and soul into our celebrations this year, I have a week to celebrate Christmas, that is my number one priority.
However, somewhere in that week, I also need to babysit, house-sit, move to the other side of the state, get a background check and become an official school employee, and celebrate NYE in NYC with the most wonderful girl in the world.  I have a feeling that, by next Christmas, life will be radically different... for one thing, I'll be a big girl with a paycheck.

Life in your twenties is just a constant transition. I am a thousand things right now, but most of all I am blessed.

Old friends, new places.

I left school on Friday with the intention of 

leaving work at work for the first time in nearly a month.

Mission accomplished.

So OKAY YES.  We're growing up.  Doing big things and moving to 

NEW AND EXCITING PLACES.

This is Ekat's apartment in Alexandria.  Pretty Shnazzy.

This is the harbor in Old Town, Alexandria (also pictured in the first picture...

redundant?  You know, I don't think so...)

It felt SO GOOD to let go, man.  I am becoming aware of how easy it is to become a workaholic.  My life consists of mostly seven-year olds.  THERE ARE NO COMPLAINTS.  However, working all the time makes play time OH-SO-SWEET.  Also... sometimes I still feel like an eight year old at a sleepover.  BUT IT'S COOL 'cause now I'm allowed to drink.

Things about which I am thinking:
-Every time I am in DC, I feel a magnetic pull.  It's an amazing city... It's ALIVE.

-Every time I'm in Nova, I get stressed and weird feelings.

-I DON'T KNOW WHERE I WANT TO LIVE.

In summation:  I still think this video is hilarious.

Crayola doesn't make a color for this.

TEACHING, you see, is like this:

Sometimes it's giant hugs and I-was-WONDERING-where-you-weres from students when you were in the workroom when they came in and they thought you weren't coming today.

Sometimes it's realizing one of those precious darlings didn't take his medicine and has consequently failed to bring anything at all with him to school.

I love what I do, and I love that I get to do it for the rest of my life.  And yet, with each passing day I am realizing the insane amount of work that goes into this job.  I am constantly hanging things up, cutting things out, shoving 23 copies of this math worksheet, calling this parent, touching base about this literacy lesson and whether Tommy's dad's deployment will have any effect on his math scores and my turkey sandwich into a 20 minute lunch break.  

I am developing eyes in the back of my head.  It's true, we do have them.

I am developing the ability to answer 9 questions at the same time, and hug 11 kids in ten seconds to make sure every kid gets hugged at least once today.  I always wondered how teachers could remember  each kid's bus number and which of them can't eat the skittles the substitute passed out because of his orthodontic appliances.  

All of a sudden it makes sense.

Love allows us to do the impossible.  I love teaching, and I love each of my nineteen students.  I find myself chasing a kid down the hallway because it has become genuinely important to me to ensure that  he saw the new student's MarioKart backpack, because I know he loves Mario.  (And, of course, he has already seen it... :P)

And on the reverse side, I have begun to take it personally when students don't connect with a lesson.  I know how capable they are.  I haven't begun to scratch the surface of their potential, but I do know that they can get this.  I do know that, if they can get their fingers out of their noses and their legs out from under their neighbors desks and their eyes from of the ceiling, I know that if I can just get their attention, they can learn.  I LOVE that feeling.  I love the curriculum-related chatter that happens in the hallway after a lesson that set their minds ablaze.  I love their insane and wonderful little minds.  I love their catch-phrases.  I love hearing "Let's DO this thing" when I've explained the rules to the number grid game and set them loose with their partners.

And if nothing else, this is for certain:

Someone will ALWAYS fart at carpet time.

Outside of school, my life is quiet.  It's so different from the constantly social, constantly exciting environment I left behind at JMU.  And I miss it.  I miss the easy access to friends, I miss the meal plans and I miss life after 10pm.

So of course I turn to my true north Katie H. for advice and guidance about continuing to grow in an environment that feels so comfortable to me--living in my hometown with my parents.

Naturally, she suggested that I turn my focus inward.  I have set goals for myself, starting with paying attention to the bad habits I've allowed myself to develop over the past five years.

1. Be Light-Hearted.  "It's easy to be heavy, hard to be light."

2. Don't assume people know you're joking.

3. Distance myself from my politics-- I can't engage in any kind of constructive conversation when something feels so absolutely personal to me.  Getting a little distance allows me to hear other people and even make my points more digestible.

4. Don't leave things on your to-do list.  Just... get things done.  

5.  Ask.

6. Let things happen.

7. Stop buying things that don't fit correctly.  Stop buying things you don't love.  Go back to basics, and accessorize with trends.

That first point, that's something my girlfriend does effortlessly.  I am studying under her tutelage, and yes that word does always make me giggle. 

Ah, skypelove.

I've been reading a lot about Long Distance Relationships (LDRs) lately, and I tell ya what-- it ain't for the faint o' heart.  But this girl, our Baltimore mornings and OBX sunsets, her freckles, her laugh and our fingernails when they're painted the same color--it's worth it.

In other news--

Hooray Hampton roads!  You attempted public transit!  I am elated.  Except... this train has like... two and a half stops.  BUT WHATEVER.  Baby steps, right?  Make this sucker connect to the oceanfront and you've improved my life ten-fold.

WHY is it so hard/complicated/time-consuming/expensive to take one of these from here to Baltimore?  I just wanna be able to read/write/doodle pictures of flowers like a 12-year-old while someone else drives me around, ya hear?

I'm happy here.  I'm growing here.  I'm ready to be planted, ready to thrive.

But for now, this:

I know it's September, but...

Responsible adulthood has an addictive zeal, one I never expected to find.

Met all my new kiddos yesterday!!  Well... 14 of them.  They are the cutest.  Fell in love 14x over.

A city simplified...

Exhausted but happy.  In the immortal words of Annie, I think I'm gonna like it here.

We've got everything we need...

...and right now, everything we need is enough.

I'm a do-er.  I always have been.  I like to make things happen.  I don't like for time to be wasted.  On the surface, this is a quality of which I am proud.  Down a little deeper, I know that it is a quality on which I need to work.  Sometimes actions speak louder than words.  Sometimes you have to let things happen.

My brother's house is quickly becoming 

one of my favorite places 

What we like to do:

On our last day of summer.

My furry niece and nephew

Tomorrow is the big day!  Tomorrow I will start twelve weeks of student teaching.  Nervous is an understatement.  I couldn't even focus long enough to pick out an outfit.  (In my head I'm thinking Navy pants, white blouse?  But maybe that's too dressy for an inservice week?  Maybe I should go khaki pants, nice tee, cardigan?  But honestly, I'd rather be over-dressed than under-dressed.  I... gotta go, guys...)

Update: My first day was fantastic.  If they needed a new teacher, I'd take a job at this school in an instant.

Rain and Dancing.

Oh man... this week wasn't my best for posting every day.

Things are busy, rearing up to start school and completing all of those "nagging tasks" that have bothered me throughout the summer... and for each task that I tackle, a thousand back-up errands take their place.

Discovered what the boardwalk had to offer earlier this week with one of my very favorite people.

Wild Rumpus, indeed.  I love this girl.  And Waterman's orange crushes.  Obviously it was a good night.

I'm a little stressed and a little terrified, but how could I not be?  I hope I am prepared.  I hope I am ready for all of the failures and successes that are headed my way--but especially the failures. They will happen.  Lessons will bomb.  Kids will misbehave.  THAT is where I am going to learn, not when things go right, but when things go WRONG.

But for now I'm going to relax and enjoy this MIA MICHAELS DEDICATED EPISODE OF SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE (OH my gosh...) & this rainy day.  No one does storms like Mia Michaels... or Virginia Beach.

I like to meditate now and zen.

If yesterday was any indication of what's to come, I am going to love the second grade.

Went to Maryland yesterday/this morning to pick up my newly repaired Satobot--only to get rear ended in my rental car on the way up.  Hahahaha I can't even... OH I AM SO ZEN.

Anyway, everything worked out just fine and I still got to spend time with some of my favorite people, and one of my favorite puppies:

Seriously... I love this dog more than I love most people.

Someone asked me today about my future.  Nothing makes me dizzier.  How about this:  If you're talking to someone in their twenties, don't ask them what they're GOING to do next year, ask them what they WANT to do RIGHT AT THAT MOMENT.  That's as far as I can go, really.  Life's too big and beautiful for pigeon holes.

...besides, if you're friends with twenty-somethings who have their lives planned, get new friends.  Spoiler alert: those are boring people.

Other notable things I learned today:

1. The Underworld is a stupid movie, but running from vampires in the cardio cinema is a hell of a workout.

2. Stuff You Should Know: Shark Diaries  Seriously.  You can have Shark Week any week.
(Also, I listened to an an incredible [and incredibly old] radiolab podcast about memory & forgetting, can't believe I almost forgot to post about it--HA.  Seriously though, listen to radiolab.  It will change your life. )

3.  I'm really glad that I'm not living in Berlin, Maryland right now.

A thought:

Meeting my mentor teacher today.  I'm nervous.  It's like a first date, except the state of Virginia is mandating that we be together for at least twelve weeks.

Take me the way I am.

All Ingrid, all the time.

Also, it's like one of those clue novels 

where you get to pick your ending. 

Some day I'm going to start off each morning 

singing this to my students.

Changed my desktop to a spice girls wallpaper.  #bestdecisionivemadeallday

MAN, it's going to be hard not waking up to the beach tomorrow.  #endofvacationproblems

Coffee and chocolate with an old friend today. #somethingschange #somethingsneverdo



Amazing phone conversation with my true north tonight: #book-cationpending #youcalibrateme

Missing my girl, missing that face. #nowords #hashtagsfallshort