Goals for 2009 (and accomplishments!)

1.) Lose another 10 pounds- (managed 13ish this year!)
2.) Sell condo with enough of a profit to start cooking school! (at least 30K would be nice...)
3.) Start taking ballet classes again.
4.) Launch cooking school in September 2009!
5.)Learn to ride a horse- summer 2009
6.)Have fun with the last 6 months of my job, and don't get bogged down by everyday crap there.
7.)Maintain my new friendships from the last year!

Pretty good places to start, especially when writing from my bed. :) Happy New Year, everyone!

Happy New Year! (almost...)

Things I am happy about:

1.) Only 6 months left at my job!!!
2.) Getting a HUGE tax return this year!
3.) My boyfriend is the most awesome! (wait, should that be #1?)
4.) 5 more days of vacation!
5.) The snow is almost entirely melted, leading to more walking in my future!
6.) Get to see Mindy and fam tomorrow!

Tomorrow? Goals for the next year, real ones that will actually happen. :)

Yea!! My internet's back!!

Through a miscommunication with the folks at Comcast, I was sans innernets for almost a week! But, the good news? Didn't pay a dime for the last month of service. :)

Last night, went to see The Nutcracker at McCaw Hall; it was gorgeous!! A weird story, to be true, but wow! Just amazing. The sets were done by Maurice Sendak, apparently 25 years ago- but there were so many pieces to it... very cool. There was one part where I just kept looking at how the tutus were constructed, so I could make one myself! They were layers of yellow, light green, and pink tulle, with some pieces of fabric layered under the top one almost like really big ribbons. I decided that the reason I liked them so much was that they were kind of like cupcakes! The snow scene was beautiful too; I tried to paste a picture here, but it won't work.
http://www.pnb.org/

Now I'm making piles of pirate cookies (pecans, coconut, and RUM). Mmmm.... :)

John and me, circa August...

Well, these all loaded in backwards order... oh well!

The little girl is Maia, my friend Tara's daughter... John is her husband's childhood friend, and how I met him.

And he recently cut all of his hair off... it's all cute and sticky-upy- and I think he lost this hat too... So, yes... not so accurate right now! (especially with snow everywhere!)

I seem to only post on vacation...

Maybe that's the only time that I think of it??? Anyway...

Today is holiday craftacular!! I am finishing up a yoga mat bag that I started yesterday? Saturday? Not sure... the strap-part it taking FOREVER to turn inside out, so I am taking a little break. Next on the list? Christmas stockings. John doesn't have one, so I'm making him a red plaid one, hopefully with some kind of a Santa alien on it. (he insists that it should be grey, but I say ICk to that- it will be festive green!) I got a light green plaid for myself, in case I need a new one next year; we just decided at the last minute to go over to my parents' on C-mas Eve, and he'll go see his family on Christmas night, while I stay with mine. I think it's a pretty good plan, but now I don't get to see his family. :( His older twin sisters both work at a Catholic church downtown, so they're tied up the entire day there... and both of our families do dinner, so it just really wasn't going to work... but I think now it is ok.

Also made: a lavender/rice filled shoulder-area relaxation bag for my mom, scarf for John, and plan to make some Martha Stewart paper ornaments, based on a kit I got for the kids at school (which most of them opted out of, the 2 days we actually had school last week.) Onward, and upward!

Preschool Rockstar? Not forever....

Well, considering that I almost never post... I've decided it's because I like having a zine more than a blog... new things that are going on:

-My childhood friend Angela is moving to Japan today, for around 2 years. I'm sure she'll get to visit here every six months or so, but it's still kind of sad.

-John and I have now been together for 6 1/2 months! And he's sleeping next to me on the couch, periodically snoring. Very cute.

-It is snowing A LOT. Like a whole lot. At least 6 inches, on top of some old snow/ice. I'm not driving anywhere!

-This is the last year I'm going to be teaching at my school. It's been decided for a while, but putting it in writing makes it really true. My plan is to start a cooking school, in Fall 2009. It's going to focus on vegetarian food, with mostly organic and/or locally grown ingredients. (to the best of my ability.) Still trying to decide on a name, but I have a little time still.... :)

So, yes. While I will still have preschoolers as a focus for some of my cooking class; I will be done with the rest of the bullshit! No more report cards, parent conferences, 2 hour staff meetings from hell, requests to translate report card comments, auction projects, political "the dollar is the bottom line" decisions regarding students' placements, hour-long commutes, stupid bosses, and intrusive bitchass parents who think they know how I should do my job! (well, there might be a few of those left in my future, but if they aren't happy, they can leave.) So, big yea for me for finally FINALLY figuring out what I want to do, in a way that will work. And my future zine? Will either be called "Eat Your Veggies" or "Bite Me!". :)