274/366 Autumn leaves

I love the colors of fall.  There aren't a lot of fall leaves with the wow factor where I live -- so the ones that do have color really stand out.

I'm ready for autumn temperatures.

273/366 Guarding the path to the backyard

Mili may be little but her bark is ferocious!  Well... as ferocious as an 8 pound dog can muster.

272/366 Real fake

My earrings, that is.  I love the lacy golden pattern.

Happy Friday, y'all!

271/366 "I still have my feet on the ground. I just wear better shoes." ~ Oprah Winfrey

These are the shoes I wore when I was a toddler on top of some books my mother used to read to my sister and me.  I probably didn't love shoes then but I sure do now!

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Best story of the day:

Hat boy (standing in my doorway holding a camouflage hat): "My teacher told me to ask you if it was ok if I wore this hat in the building."

Me: "Is there a reason you need to wear the hat?"

Hat boy: "Well, my sometimes my hair tingles because I'm having to think so much and wearing the hat helps.  My mom taught me that because she learned it in nursing school."

Me: "I'll tell you what.  You get your mom to get a doctor's excuse and I'll let you wear the hat inside."

Perhaps I should talk with the teacher about making him think so much.

270/366 Treats for the birds

Instead of throwing the soft apples out, we hung them in the maple tree for the birds.  I hope they like apples.

269/366 Cracked up

Summer in the south can be brutal enough to crackle the signs.  The texture it creates is awesome!

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I try to spend time in some classrooms each and every day.  Some days, I get a great lesson along with the students.  For instance, in one class, the discussion had become quite lively about laws.  In response to a student comment, the teacher had explained that you'd still get charged with armed robbery if you tried to rob a bank with a toy gun.  The discussion continued for just a minute when the teacher tried to end the conversation to get back to the original lesson.

Teacher: "So, can someone wrap up something you've learned in this discussion?"

Random busy student: "Yep!  Always use a real gun when robbing a bank!"

Ah!  Those kids just crack me up....

268/366 Feed me

Dropping off the mail...  I used to love doing this when I was a kid.  Maybe I need to channel that youthful enthusiasm.

267/366 Flour, Sugar, Coffee, Tea

I crave that time when life was simpler... when four canisters was all that was needed for the basic necessities of life.

Truthfully, we keep other things in those canisters -- dark chocolate, Tootsie Rolls (pseudo chocolate for the man), and random trinkets and keys.

266/366 Personal space

Went to a wedding this evening.  It reminds me of all the reasons I love my husband.  We danced and talked and laughed.

And then we came home and put on pajamas.

265/366 Superstar

A quick shot with the macro before heading out for the rehearsal dinner we were helping to host last night.

Periwinkles have always been sort of a 'blah' flower to me but through the eyes of the macro, I noticed the star in the middle.  If ever there was a wallflower type of flower, it would have to be a periwinkle -- a little superstar quietly hiding in the background.

264/366 Meditations

A wicked storm blew through town this afternoon flooding the streets and blowing trees over. The roads were blocked and the power was out. The wind seemed to match my state of my mind.

A close family friend died earlier this week and the visitation was this evening.  It was hard to see his wife looking so tired and pained.

Death sends such a painful message of what is truly important.  Once again, I will remember to slow down.  To listen more.  To love more.  To just be.

263/366 Routines

First thing I do when I get up in the morning is brush my teeth and put in my contacts.  The last thing I do before going to bed is brush my teeth and take out my contacts.

Funny how such simple routines are the things that sandwich the rest of the day.

262/366 Joy

It is always a happy day when we get to meet up with Ray (and his mom and dad) at our favorite Indian restaurant.

We are such regulars that the owners and their kids give us hugs.  That just makes my day!

261/366 Dreams

Dreams of sleeping through the night...

This sculpture is called "Dreaming of Copper Hair on My Back."  I love the glass face. 

Not my best effort but I'm really lacking on time today. 

260/366 Cool Stuff

Sometimes my husband hands me something that he wrote for me to help him decipher.  Other times, he takes a deep breath and writes neatly.  Obviously, when he made this label, he took the time to write legibly.

It was fun hanging out with him in the garage today while he made some art.   Seriously, his drawer of 'Cool Stuff' really does have some cool stuff in there.

259/366 Harvest

We eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables at our house.   I love living where there are farmers who sell locally -- not to mention gardening friends who are so very generous.

258/366 "Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children." ~ Walt Disney

It was a day filled with corrections and discipline slips -- just the way it is when you get to a certain point in the year.  Children are not perfect and they are going to make mistakes.

Adults do, too.

My job is to make the best of these opportunities to help teach children how to make better choices.  One such opportunity involved a little guy... a little guy who has serious speech issues and struggles to be understood.  He struggles with keeping his hands from hitting others, too.

After a lengthy discussion where we both grappled with the words -- his to communicate, mine to understand -- we came to an understanding.  Hands are not for hurting.

As we walked back to class, the little guy stopped in the middle of the hallway and put his book on the floor.  I watched him and wondered what he was doing.  He stood up and put his hands together with his fingers curled.  Tears filled my eyes when I realized that he was making a heart.  For me.

Speaking of hearts, that boy has mine...

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257/366 "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)

The ever so slightly cooler temperatures have been noticed and greatly appreciated.

The sun shone all day but the skies became cloudy on my way home from school.  As I was cooking dinner, the sun peeked through the gray clouds and I ran outside with my camera to capture that little bit of sunshine.  Ten minutes later it began raining.

256/366 Happiness is...

A toasted marshmallow.  And they are the best Jelly Belly flavor, too.

Working with kids can be frustrating when they won't own up to their behavior so it is a breath of fresh air when you get painfully honest kids.

Painfully honest kid: "I need to talk to you about the kid who cussed at me on the bus."

Me: "Oh my gosh!  What happened?"

Painfully honest kid: "Well, you see, it was really loud on the bus and I gently tapped this kid on the shoulder and politely asked him to be quiet and he got mad and started saying cuss words to me."

Me: "Just for asking him to be quiet?"

Painfully honest kid: "Well... well.. When he wouldn't be quiet, I told him to shut up and then I called him the 'F' word but not the 'F-U' word... just the 'F' word."

Me: "What happened next?"

Painfully honest kid: "He got really mad and called me the 'A' word and then we both started saying bad words.  You know... the 'S' one and the 'D' one.  But I never said the 'G-D' one.  I would never say the 'G-D' word.  But that other kid did and I wanted you to know about it."

I guess you could say he has a few morals intact.  And I guess I'll be watching another bus video in the morning.

255/366 Foxy

Is it really already Tuesday?  Wait a minute... I meant to ask if it was really only Tuesday.  This week has been busy!  

Sometimes I feel like I've been chasing my tail all day long.  Kind of like that fox in the picture.  But I'm not nearly so cute.  Or fuzzy...

Best kid story of the day:

As the buses were unloading first thing this morning a PK student came right up to me.  I've gotten to know him well because he spent the first two weeks of school crying on our shoulders.

Adorable PK kid: "I weally (really) miss my mommy."

Me: "I know, sweetheart, but you'll get to see her soon."

Adorable PK kid: "But when?  When can I see her?"

Me: "Remember?  Right after snack time you'll get back on the bus to go home to your mommy."

Adorable PK kid (poking his lip out): "I wish it were snack time already."

He is so cute.  And I'll bet his mommy is missing him, too. 

254/366 My colorful world

My husband collects these awesome kaleidoscopes.  And I collect things related to photography.  It was a happy accident that the Canon logo reflected in the viewfinder.

253/366 In with the old

Busy weekends seem to be the name of the game.  But I like it that way!

252/366 Need a hug?

Earlier today, I bought some new running shoes.  Or rather I should say that I tried to buy some running shoes.  After the purchase, I was feeling some buyer's remorse walking back to the car -- but I just tried to ignore it.  When I got home and opened the box, the beautiful shoes just didn't seem quite right.  That would be because there were two right shoes.  

I guess I should be thankful that I didn't get two left shoes.  Regardless, I listened to the message the shoe gods were sending me and the shoes went back to the store.  When I got home,  I found the shoes I really wanted (just like the ones I already have) on sale for half off.  

Score! 

As for the picture, I've seen hugging finger people before but I can't remember where.  Not an original idea -- but I don't know who to give credit to.

251/366 "Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination." ~ Mark Twain

School did get a little insane today.  First thing this morning, we "lost" a student.  It turns out that she had been brought to school and told to run inside and get her breakfast before going back to her parent's car and leaving for a doctor's appointment.  Apparently, our cafeteria needs a drive through service.

And my adrenaline is working just fine, thank you very much.

Now I'm ready for bed.

250/366 "She thinks that happiness is the mat that sits on her doorway..." ~ Matchbox Twenty

Looking up into the trees has a way of grounding me... connecting me to what is important.  I can remember lying in the grass staring up at the clouds and the trees and daydreaming.  I still do the same thing but now it is with more reflection than daydreaming. 

Best kid story of the day:

Me talking to a young student in my office: "So, I'm trying to understand why you kept making puppy dog noises and singing songs when the teacher was teaching."

Puppy girl: "Well, I have a medical condition that makes me sing whenever I get real happy.  But I have no excuse for pretending to be a puppy."

Is it wrong for me to want her medical condition?

249/366 Time Lapsed

Recently, my husband bought a 1967 Polaroid 250 Land camera for me.  I got the corrosion cleaned out of the battery chamber and ordered a replacement battery.  Also, film was found and ordered (even though it was expired).  The rest of the camera was cleaned up as we waited for the film to arrive.

The camera works!  It has been awesome learning how to use the sliders on the side to focus.

For this picture, I tried to get the neon clock on the porch in sharp focus but it kept giving off a funky neon shadow.  I kind of like it!

I miss the 1970s.... Life just seemed simpler back then.

Credit to the husband for the title of the picture!  I like it!

248/366 School days

The view from my car at the beginning of each school day.

I had several meetings with parents today.  Let's just say that it was interesting.

247/366 “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it.” ~ Alice Walker

Labor Day 2012

I got up early and ran a 5K this morning in the muggy heat.  That means that I'll feel a lot better about the stuff I'm about to eat at the party we are having at our house this afternoon.

246/366 "It's what you do that makes your soul." ~ Barbara Kingsolver

Most of the books I have about photography live in a basket that lives by my chair.  There are at least twice that many books about photography on my Amazon wish list.

I love the habit of photography.  It has given me a different way of seeing the world and helped me to keep learning.

245/366 Apple jelly and sunshine

Last night, a friend of ours gave us some homemade apple jelly.  Apple jelly was the only kind of jelly I'd eat when I was a kid -- so breakfast reminded me of childhood this morning.