a potted aloe vera plant (alive, but on its way out)

an eyelash curler

a 3×5 glossy photo collage of 16 faces of the same baby

a dust buster

an empty terra cotta plant

possible answers:

a) things found in my friend sarah’s daughter’s bed last week

b) items on my shopping list

c) presents i got on my last birthday party, indicating that i should no longer have birthday parties involving people giving me presents

d) items that have appeared, like magic, on our front door step over the last month

e) suggested gifts for dads for father’s day 2011

i’ll give you a minute to ponder this.

if you answered A, you’d be close, but not quite; although, the story of the things in aria’s bed is a pretty amusing one that i should tell you later, hopefully accompanying illustrations from

if you answered C, i’d seriously just stop having birthdays.  and friends.  full stop.  but no.

if you answered E, i’d wonder what crazy-ass gift guides you’ve been reading.  you should stop reading everything the internet machine tells you to.  just because it’s a link on your screen does not mean you have to click it.  i know the police says “click it or ticket”, but they’re not talking about this.

it’s D.

D.

which means all of these items have appeared at our front door or on the shelf right next to it.  this location is important to note, because it means that in no stretch of the imagination has someone inadvertently placed or dropped the item there.  these items were purposefully (to what purpose, who knows) put there.

it’s like a magician’s mystery box, opening up my front door is.

it reminds me of when i was living with a roommate several years ago, and i opened the front door to a huge stuffed dog that was nearly as tall as i am and (thankfully) much bigger around.  i introduced myself, of course, and then invited it in.  it just stood there, like an idiot, until my roommate noticed the card for her dangling from his neck and proceeded to hoist it over her shoulder (she was rather short, so the dog was actually taller than her) and carry it in to her room.

that was the strangest thing i had ever seen on my doorstep.

until now.

how bizarre, right?

*extra points to you if, in your head or aloud, you started singing OMC’s annoyingly catchy hit of the mid-90′s “how bizarre“.

[editor's note: since press time, the following items have also appeared: a paper airplane and some keys.]

I am thinking…about what the conference teacher was talking about last night.  he is the high-energy (high being a gross understatement) excitable teacher who has an immense amount to say about the importance about balanced and trusting relationships coming from a balanced and trusting teacher.  very interesting, and i’m trying to digest it all and not feel overwhelmed at how much i have to learn.  when did it change for me that learning an immense amount became an overwhelming and scary place instead of an exciting one?

I am thankful for…my lovely, lovely husband working in the next room.  since he is officially now a full-time freelance graphic designer and painter, he works from home or his studio instead of having to go into work anywhere.  because of this, and his immense desire to serve me, he packs my lunch each morning and (get this) walks me to school every. single. day.  there isn’t enough gratitude in the world to be thankful for this person.  i’m thankful for my mother who calls me several times a week.  i’m thankful for one of the best haircuts i’ve nearly ever had given to me this week by my friend meg.  seriously, it rules.  i’m thankful for a really excellent department at school, including one other freshmen teacher who offered to plan with me for our classes so it cuts the workload down a ton, a really encouraging and supportive department chair who tells me things like they hired me because i’m a good teacher and that everything else just sorts itself out, and for another colleague/friend who takes me to lunch and lets me talk.  and also recommends really good conferences to me

From the learning rooms… oh, the answer to this could fill volumes.  i think i’m learning most about how to really be me and to be okay with the struggle of learning.  it’s like an olympic event — i want the headlines, i want the final events, i want the podiums and i want the final statistics…but i don’t like the daily struggle, exercise, practice and uncertainty about how all the work i’m doing will end up.  i’m learning most of how to not just cope/deal with this (because that is a dying life, for sure) but how to embrace it and (gasp!) actually be excited/energized by this prospect.  it’s really my only option, otherwise i become a teacher-drop-out-statistic and a pretty miserable person.

From the kitchen…come muffins that my husband baked this week!  we’ve still not quite figured out our system of store-going and cooking, so we’ve eaten out a bit more than we had intended.  all things considered, i think that’s a sacrifice i’m willing to deal with.  however, baking things makes me happy, and i was given homework to do things that i have fun doing this weekend amidst my conference, so baking chocolate chip cookies will definitely make it to the list today.

I am wearing… my favorite gap skinny jeans, my shirt from the over the rhine show that says “comparison is the thief of joy” (oh, this shirt speaks to me), a long sleeve thin charcoal cardigan from forever 21 that i wish i ordered about 20 of, and black furry slippers.  i’m cold today!

I am creating…lesson plans to teach freshmen about narrative writing/story telling.  good times, yes?

I am going…to ride my bike to the library to drop off books/pick up a book that i hope i have time to read, work some more, and then off to another evening of my conference.

I am reading…stephen king’s book about his writing process, anne lamott’s book on writing called “bird by bird”, the most recent issue of vanity fair.  i have so many books i want/need to read, and so not enough time to read it.

I am hoping…for clarity.  for more opportunities to play games with my husband.  for more time with my family.  that we find good carafes and trays at the antique store that will work for us.  for the pieces to start coming together.  to stop being so sick in the mornings.

I am hearing…the sounds of Noah and the Whale come out of my speakers, followed by the National album.  so good, these bands.

Around the house…I see laundry that needs to be done and papers to be filed.  i can’t seem to work without things being organized first, so that’s always task # 1.  i can also see my wedding terrarium that is doing rather well and looking mighty gorgeous after i trimmed it this weekend.

One of my favorite things…is substitute teachers

A few plans for the rest of the week: conference all weekend, my cousin’s wedding on sunday, lots of teaching teaching teaching this week, and discovery of at least 1-2 things i have fun doing.  someone asked me what i do for fun yesterday…and i seriously drew a blank.  it’s not that i don’t have these things, but the fact that i couldn’t answer a simple question like that tells me something.  the husband and i talked about it last night, and we came to the conclusion that we have lots of pleasant times, but overall we think we’re not having enough fun.  we tend towards the stable, productive and pleasant because it seems sometimes that fun is the enemy to that state…but i think we’re mistaken   we’re going to find out.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing…our wedding photos finally all came together with editing, and i find them very lovely to look at, so here’s one that i particularly like.

(thanks to saralo and the simple women’s daybook for inspiration)

so, the wondrous meg squeezed me in to her schedule and chopped my locks into a lovely new do.

which i wanted to share with you.

[i did not intend for that to rhyme].

exhibit a:

but the boy is very curious, and wanted to see what i was up to in my office.

[this is also a picture of my office, you see.
i'm all about the multi-tasking picture].

i got suspicious.

but he just wanted to kiss me.

which is always welcome.

except that then he tickled me.

and took a picture of it.

of course.

.

sneaky, that one.

Tagged: daily, life, picture pages, the boy ]]> http://thesaradarling.com/2010/07/15/scenes-from-a-thursday-afternoon/feed/ 1 sara, darling new hair. boy sneaky. boy kiss. boy tickle. http://thesaradarling.com/2010/05/04/statistics/ http://thesaradarling.com/2010/05/04/statistics/#comments Tue, 04 May 2010 21:14:34 +0000 sara http://thesaradarling.com/2010/05/04/statistics/ ]]>

2: the amount of days I have left of teaching at Unnamed High School.

17: the number of days until I am a college graduate.

102: the number of invitations we stuffed and mailed today.

0: the number of invitations i personally stuffed and mailed (the dear french boyfriend was tasked with this chore while i “supervised” …er, graded papers.)

10: the number of research papers i have left to grade today.

32: days until i become mrs. derose.

1,789: the number of double-takes i perform when i see the words “mrs. derose”. weird!

10: the number of pages we got read from chapter one of “The Things They Carried” today. this.book.is.awesome. seriously.

12: the number of pieces of chalk we now own due to constructing a large 500-days-of-summer-like chalkboard wall in our new living room.

8: number of my friends i miss terribly. yes you. and you. and you too.

2: gallons of iced tea i drink per day when the weather turns warm like it was today.

20: number of minutes my brother and i talked last night over instant message. he made me laugh by referring to my sister-in-law’s girls only ‘slumber’ party tonight as “the dirty party”.

1: mini red stapler i carry with me everywhere i go.

358: number of staples that have escaped their box and clung, lamentably, all over the bottom of my school bag.

5: number of orange or red sharpie pens in my bag.

0: number of black or blue sharpie pens (ones suitable for writing, say, anything that makes me look like an adult) in my bag.

5: papers left for me to write in my last literature class.

5: sections of the second beastly porfolio (due friday) i have left to write.

1,730: things left to do for the wedding.

so…


0: the number of minutes i should be spending online, puttering about and writing statistic lists.

* [insert sarcasm]

his show will be up all month, with a reception on january first for the monthly artwalk they have.  so, because we wanted to see some of his family for Christmas and because he had this show, we are spending the week here in craig and new years eve/day in steamboat springs.

small town america.  good times.

this morning i am typing this from a small coffee shop called serendipity, where i’ve just consumed about a half-gallon mug of tea (i seriously have not seen cups of tea this big EVER) and a freshly made cinnamon bun the size of my face.  my sugar-coma should come  later this morning.

kiddie pool of tea = many trips to the bathroom

my brother tucker and his wife julie with their littles were spending Christmas up in Breckenridge with her family, and so we stopped and had a mini-beer at the dillon dam brewery with my brother, his father-in-law and brother-in-law on our way up.  it worked out perfectly, as they happened to be at the restaurant at the exact time we were stopping through, and it’s right off the highway.  i love it when things work out perfectly like that, or when you plan out your events so you have the perfect amount of time to do things.  it’s an “exact change” kind of perfection that makes me very happy in my life that is otherwise definitely not like that.

so here we sit and type, and to give you an idea of what it’s like to be in small town america, we have been here one day, and the boy has already gotten one comment on his “funny boots”.  according to my small town translation book, funny = stylish and cool in the normal world.  as we were sitting here, both with our mac laptops out (which, admittedly, is super yuppie, but we both had to get some work done this week and have no internet at his dad’s house where we are staying), this kid walks by and says “whoaaaaa, cool computers!”.  that made me laugh.

i have to go now, as the french boyfriend has nearly burned his esophagus with scalding coffee and now i have to type his pretentious artist’s statement for the gallery, while we attempt to make it not pretentious.

shoutouts (as my kids in high school like to do):

- it’s a babypalooza out there right now!  my friends sara and irene just had lovely lovely children over this christmas holiday and on christmas as well, so welcome and kisses to babies dawson and tessa; you have great moms and i can’t wait to meet you.  i also have no less than three other friends who are welcoming their first babies in the new year.  what fun!

- happy anniversary to my mom & dad today!

- to all my old friends i got to see over the last week; good old friends are one of the most valuable treasures in my life, and it’s like a christmas present to see them again.  i must get to ironing out my master plan to get all of us to live in one place.

- to my french boyfriend, who makes the holidays very happy and warm for me, and who also looks awfully cute in winter cardigans, boots and scarves.

here’s to ending a very exciting and crazy year, and looking forward to a new decade.

as summer redecorates for fall, and then cleans house for winter, i find myself in a two-week window where i am fully unaware as to what season i am in.  i forget that yes, YES, ABSOLUTELY YES i need a coat each and every time i leave the house.  i forget to add 15 minutes to every drive time to allot for warming up of cars and, eventually, scraping of windows and cursing of temperature.

resistance is futile, however.

as my good friend sara said to me last night, cold weather is no problem if you have really warm clothes.  true story.

so you have to give in.  give in to the cold weather, the biting wind, the icy roads.  come prepared with salt and scrapers in the car, mittens, coat and hat (NEVER forget the hat!), and go searching now for cute winter shoes.  (side note:  how come all the cutest shoes are summer/fall shoes?  i can’t seem to find cute winter non-heel shoes that aren’t clunky boots.  help is always welcome.  thanks — eds.)

this week i transition with the weather, moving from time at Unnamed High School to Unnamed Middle School.  i am, at best, nonplussed at this change, as i’ve grown fairly attached and used to high school.   as difficult as some of my students are, as challenging as it is to be in someone else’s classroom, as much as there are days that i go home wondering if i will ever, EVER be good at this, i know that this is precisely where i’m supposed to be; where i want to be.

i am in the center.

so, then, it’s hard for me to move literally, and figuratively, 1/2 mile away from center.

what i find with this, as it is with winter, that it takes me a little bit of time to figure out what season i’m in.  but, if i just go with it, accept it with both arms and just shiver through the assault of low temperatures and new surroundings, i acclimate.  and then, amidst the changes of weather, i experience the beauty of the new season.

the philosopher albert camus said that in the depths of winter is when you learn you have, inside yourself, an invincible summer.

cuddle up, it’s going to be good.

- was the last day of school for the semester.

- my dad made me iced tea.

- my mom made me pasta salad.

- i saw a rabbit in the yard.

- is my wonderful boy’s birthday.

- my wonderful boy sold another two paintings, making three since he put them up on friday afternoon.

- i spent the evening with the lovely boy, the little buddy and addie.

- addison decided to dip her apple slices in ranch dressing at dinner.

- the two kids giggled the entire way to dinner.

- addie and i yelled “uh-oh, oh-no, oh my, and oh BOY!” repeatedly while she giggled on the way home.

- the boy bought me dinner and a milkshake.

- we sang flight of the conchords songs to my brother.

- we sat on the porch swing at night listening to the thunder.

- the little buddy fell asleep in my arms while i rocked on the swing.

was a very good day.

i am working morning, noon, and night, just to get these papers written, finals passed, books read, and kicking myself repeatedly for saying yes to doing anything non-school-related this week inadvertently.

apologies.

i offer you, instead of any details from my life this week i could remotely bore you with (and they all would, truthfully), a pun that i overheard this week:

“It was once said that a black man would be president “when pigs fly”
… indeed 100 days later into Obama’s presidency… Swine flu.”

you’re welcome.

comic sans is not appropriate for business correspondence.

(via lovepuppy)

can i also add that Papyrus, while also being not appropriate for business correspondence, does not make anything in print look “interesting”, “earthy”, or “vaguely egyptian”. it’s just ugly. and stop putting it on your resume!

for us.

for fonzie from happy days being cool.

for avery, addison mae, and addison rae, the cutest babies.

-team and alf, and the other great old tv shows you can watch online for free.

the grade i got on my difficult midterm today.

today is an a day.