Hello Sunshine!

We are expecting record temperatures today...in the low 40's! It is so nice to see the sun; I am a totally different person when the sun is shining. Best get out and enjoy it today, the rest of the week calls for rain turning to snow, then Gandolf will hit!

Already today I have dusted, vacummed, mopped, washed dishes and wiped down the counters. After a quick shower I will be heading off to the grocery store - since we finally got a half paycheck yesterday - then back home to work-out and make some cards. No students today.

Daughter #2 made it back home safely last night after visiting with her Honey's family. I imagine we'll see them both on Sunday.

Well...time to get going...

DO!

I've been thinking a lot about my list of things I want to accomplish ASAP and yet time and distractions cause me to lose focus and determination. I'm at that place where there is so much to do, I am overwhelmed. 

Today: 

1) Hopefully finish downloading some pictures I took on my phone that have been waiting for a new home in my new computer. I didn't realize how many I had on there!! 

2) Prepare testing sheets for students

3) Email fellow teachers to request requirement information for student testing

4) I just completed my first work-out of the new year. I chose ballet conditioning to start with. WHOA! Already my legs feel like jelly, my abs are sore and I can barely lift my arms. I enjoyed doing it though, that is until I couldn't lift the various body parts anymore! Tomorrow I'll choose something else, I have enough options I shouldn't...note, I said "shouldn't" get bored. I keep forcing myself to envision my spring goal. 

I feel as though I am starting my new year a week late. Christmas came and went so quickly as did my children and I miss them dearly. I miss them being little when I could throw my arms around them at any given moment. 

I started a new student yesterday - she is 70+ years of age! I'm excited! There are certainly different challenges teaching an older person. I do pray she does not become discouraged.

The day is nearly over, and there is still so much to do...

Psalm 90:12

So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Another Week, PLEASE!

Many of you have been blogging away, I however, have been at a loss for words which has also been complicated by fatigue of all kinds. 

The message in church this morning was on not spending our time looking too long in the "rear view mirror". As drivers, if we do that, we will get in an accident. We also don't want to spend too much time looking at the gauges for the same reason. With the arrival of the new year, I have to admit I have been spending quite a lot of time looking back and looking at my gauges...ie, where I am regarding my goals, etc. As always this time of year, I feel as though I have taken 2 steps forward and 3 steps back and I need another week to get my bearings. Unfortunately, that is not an option as some of my students have already returned and the rest will be back this week. 

All that being said, I will make a quick glance in my "view mirror" to get you up to date, and then it's time to move forward. 

As I glance back to Christmas it's mostly a blur. All the children were home, so there were 6 people and 5 dogs in the Little Turquoise House and it was busting at the seams. Daughter # 1 and her Hubby spent most of their time in my kitchen baking up vegan delicacies, Son kept a spot warm on the couch watching TV, browsing the internet and de-stressing from his job. Daughter #2 read...a lot - she actually inhaled two books of pleasure type reading. I was able to see the movie The Kings Speech, I can highly recommend it and I saw my first ever 3D movie, The Hobbit. 

Christmas Eve we opened our stockings and Christmas day we opened our gifts. This year we did secret Santa and each of us were responsible for buying only one gift. It worked out very well, the gifts were nice and the focus was more on family instead of spending. That day was a culinary disaster, even though the turkey had been sitting in the refrigerator for 3 days, it still was not thawed completely and so we pulled out some chicken breasts and made up a plan B. Daughter #1 cooked dinner for herself and her Hubby since they are vegan. It all came together, but it felt unorganized and it certainly didn't look like the celebration meal I had envisioned. 

Daughter #1 and her Hubby returned to Chicago the morning of the 26th and Daughter #2 had to return to work so Son and I spent some time online researching laptop computers as I was in need. I said "was", because in a moment of weakness I put a new laptop on my charge card. Almost immediately after making the purchase, I had a horrible case of buyers remorse; all I could think about was spending the money on something that wasn't a real "need". I tried something new, I purchased a mildly used Samsung Chromebook. I'm here to tell you, it wasn't until today that I have felt comfortable enough with it to say for certain this was a good purchase. Chromebooks do not run Windows, they run Google Chrome and they come with next to nothing as far as instruction goes. At first, everything seemed so easy, but it wasn't long before I had a real panic situation going trying to figure out how to store files and use my external hard drive. Thanks to my Hubby, it's all better now and I am friends with my new laptop. 

Now that my "glance in the rear view mirror" is done, it's time to get my eyes back on the road in front of me. Like most of you, the new year brings with it thoughts of resolutions and goals. I usually fail at "resolutions", but at the same time I do have a lot of things I want to accomplish this year. As always seems to be the case, first on my list is healthy habits and losing weight. I'm planning to try something new this year...dance. I think dancers have the most awesome bodies...toned, strong and elegant. As a child I was given a choice between learning piano and learning dance. Sometimes I wish I could have done both. I tried some Zumba last year and I plan to do that again and add ballet elements and yoga to that mix. In addition, I plan to do some bike training to prepare for summer riding. 

Besides health and well being, I have a lot of projects I have on my to-do list. I have music to practice, sewing projects to complete, books to read, scrapbooks to finish, cards to make and give, research to do, and now that I have a computer again and can access my files, I can get back to taking pictures and writing all while teaching, gardening and maintaining a home. My biggest problem is organizing my projects and making the most of my time. 

As has been my bad habit in the past, I have once again taken a hiatus from blogging and then written a lengthy epistle to make up for it. I haven't checked into blogger for quite some time; I'm sorry that I missed so much, I will catch up as I can, or perhaps just join in from here. 

Happy New Year!

Philippians 3:12-14 

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Eyes on the road and looking straight ahead....