lately

<-- i'm trying to practice this.

i love the look of my almond milk swirling into a cup of hot herbal tea at the end of a day. i love the way my husband's voice sounds on the phone - so velvety and warm. i love the feel of our velvet couch and how it's a little springy if you sit right on top. i love when i drive past downtown san jose on my commute and i just get that ticklish feeling of being a part of a large community of humans. i love the glow of the bistro lights we hung outside our front door, when it welcomes me getting home after dark. i love it when a student greets me with some kind of excitement as i cross campus. i love the feeling of a workday being completed.

the boy has been out of town pretty much every weekday since we got back from our east coast roadtrip. i can't believe how much i miss him when he is away. i determine to be productive and get lots done, but end up watching lots o' episodes of gilmore girls. i sleep right in the middle of the bed, so it doesn't feel as empty, and i fill up my evenings with activities with friends (have very much enjoyed those dinners and downton abbey nights and visits).

it has been a busy and exciting time at work. our students are taking an assessment this week that will help us measure their growth throughout this school year, and i am very excited to see the results! i've headed up school tours from important visitors in the past couple of weeks and have felt some significant, glowing pride for the important work that the team i am a part of is doing to serve the families in this community. i'm so glad i've had a part in it.

i've been enjoying listening to tremendously interesting segments on npr, keeping (for the most part) my journal-writing resolution and realizing the perspective that comes from it, penning thank you cards to generous gift-givers, and cleaning out my dresser drawers to compile a big sack of donations.

the boy and i have been making some major travel plans, which has my whole body all aflutter with excitement. the next few months are going to be full of adventures and new places!

this morning, i had to scrape ice of my windshield...what the heck? but chilly mornings have yielded to glorious sunny days and i'm trying to relish this california winter because i think the next november-february i experience won't be quite so balmy.

i'm really grateful for the ordinary days of my life that are full of good things and blessings.

{artwork and quote by william morris}

Comments

  1. Travel plans... how exciting! Can't wait to find out where you are headed!

    By the way: From a quick google image search it looks like the pattern/ image is also from William Morris ;)

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    1. please share the link! i google the quote, look at images and am only redirected back to pinterest. thanks!

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  2. Thank you so much for this post! I always love the stories and pictures of your adventures, but for some reason I really appreciated this post more than I normally would. Thank you for writing and sharing and for inspiring me to do the same.

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  3. Hummph my iPad not playing fair apologies if this comes up twice.
    It is a William Morris print or at least somebody drawing in the arts and crafts style. I live very close to the Red House which he designed and you can see this style littered throughout. Karen x

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  4. Can Mormons drink hot drinks?

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    1. hi anon! our health code (which we call the word of wisdom) warns against the consumption of hot drinks, which has been identified by modern prophets as exclusively coffee and tea (tea that comes from the tea leaf, not tea that is just a sac of healthy herbs :) ). i just added the word "herbal" to my post, which i should have initially - thanks for the heads up :)

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    2. Interesting. That's good because most herbal teas, hot or otherwise are really good for you. Couple more questions if you don't mind. How about iced coffee drinks? And iced non-herbal tea. Also, what are the potential health risks that are associated with hot drinks. Just curious. :) Thanks!

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    3. happy to answer questions! iced coffee or iced non-herbal tea would be included in not consuming coffee or tea from the tea leaf. (so it's not really about the temperature of the drinks :) ) i don't know all the science behind harmful health effects of coffee and tea, but i trust god (certainly the ultimate scientist/doctor) in his recommendations. i believe that he asked us to refrain from certain things - i really do, for myself - and so i refrain (i would guess this is similar to how devout individuals of other faiths feel towards their health/eating codes, which don't always make perfect sense to a nutritionist or whatever).

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    4. Thanks, Charity.

      I would assume that since you abstain from coffee and tea that means you also would not take them intraveneously. But the Bible says at Acts 15:20 to abstain from blood - and people have no problem taking blood intraveneously. Strange!
      Thanks again for explaining.

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    5. Back in biblical times a person losing blood would be injured. Today a person can donate and receive blood with neither be the worse for it. Fell free to bleed to death and not get the transfusion if that is what you think God wants. Jesus said to heal on the sabbath. Even though it's clear no work should be done on the sabbath. We clearly as seen in scripture that people go overboard thinking we are doing as commanded. Why would be different after time of Christ?

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    6. Yeah. English is obviously not your first language. Abstain. Do not use. Do not eat. Do not take into you bodies.

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    7. Blood from what? The verse also talked about strangled animals and pollution from idol worship. You realize nothing in the old or New Testament originally was written in English right? The whole verse is how to accept Gentiles into the fold and not just those from the Jewish faith. The order is repeated a little more plainly in acts 15:29. Not only did pagans sacrifice meat which was forbidden to eat, not only did others strangle animals instead of killing them with no fear in their eyes according to Jewish law it seems some also used blood in their ceremonies. Strangulation is not allowed. It is simply an admonition not to imitate them. Giving a person blood who is in need of it is a mitvah. If it's about Judaic law it seems the Jewish thought of the matter would hold a bit of authority.

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  5. how exciting! enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

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  6. What I enjoy about your blog...is realizing that we humans share so many of the same emotions day to day. Our struggles and joys..our frustrations and heartache. In the moment... it feels to isolating...to be human and deal day to day. Thanks for sharing your journey. Makes us all realize we all have our paths of struggles and triumphs.

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  7. gilmore girls is my go to show right now! it never gets old. one of my all time favorites has the festival of living pictures where kirk is cast as jesus :)

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  8. Are you relocating? How can you both get so much time away from work in a 12 month period?

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  9. We have had a perfectly delightful week enjoying some new adventures of daily living.

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  10. You should watch, The Magic of Ordinary Days. It's a sweet and lovely movie!

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