Fog of a most tantalizing color...

I've not written in this bloggety-blog since October, as you can see, but during the sabbatical I've had scores of epiphanies and publishable thoughts just waiting around to be spat upon a page. For the most part they were wasted, evaporating into the air for only the birds who posses telepathic retrieval abilities to enjoy. I've really struggled, as I may have mentioned before, with viewing my thoughts as having any worth and not giving posts themselves credit for simply existing. Writing, whether it be strikingly profound prose or dribble, has value on its own. I need to remember this.

This week marks the end of state testing for my students, and it also distinguishes the beginning of my trajectory toward becoming the best and most organized teacher of all time. I figure if I start now, I can have everything so well-planned for next year that stress will be decreased by 200%. Since the beginning of the 10-11 school year I've had the most supportive and wonderful supervisor imaginable, which has made SUCH a difference in the quality of every day at work, but during the Summer I was so busy be-bopping around the country and resting to an unnecessary max that I felt frazzled when school started back up. To share with you a tad about my supervisor (rabbit trail alert!), she's a fiery Canadian woman who speaks her mind without reservation (which would get her into trouble if she weren't so professional and effective) yet also has the heart of Mother Theresa when it comes to her level of caring for the kids. She really inspires me to be the greatest I can be. I know I'm capable of being an amazing Math educator who makes students feel safe yet challenged and helps them uncover the awesomeness of learning on their own, but it's a tricky business that takes worlds of work and sacrifice. For some insane reason, however, I can't wait to dive in again when August comes back around. Like I've practically been dreaming about it. I'm ready to start working toward goddess status in the teaching realm.

What should I do this Summer, though? I thought about nannying or working at a grocery store, but once a person doesn't HAVE to work, pros and cons are weighed on an entirely different scale, and certain peeves are considered that never normally would come up on the radar. It basically turns you into a bit of a brat. Maybe temping, though? Tutoring? Any other ideas? I don't want to give more than 25 hours a week, I've decided, unless it's a job I can multitask at (ex: reading while watching a front desk or something). There are so many things to do starting in June that are extremely time-consuming and non-paying but supremely fun or/and stimulating. The list includes:

• Finishing my paintings...
• Making Christmas cards so I can actually send them out this year...
• Writing down the three books currently floating in my head (each one is for a different demographic).
• Recording some music using ideas I've had for ages but never tried (think Bjork meets a unicorn)...
• READING, by God, READING....
• Sculpting myself through enjoyable yet rigorous exercise so I eventually have the body and grace of Aphrodite yet the strength of Athena...
• Spending hours and hours with my niece and nephew; those little folks deserve some serious quality time!
• Laying out a master plan to knock out my debt fully by January 2012...It's doable.....
• Learning how to play the guitar, speak Spanish, use a sewing machine, and knit. All of those things would be goldmines if I knew how.
• Catching up on the myriad of films I've not seen  but wanted to. The list is as wide as Nebraska.

I suppose that's all for now. There's more, but the list was at risk of getting boring (maybe it already did?).

As usual, I've never ceased increasing the star-count in my eyes regarding Love and the artfulness of living, but I feel as though something has changed in me since I wrote last that makes me now more of an adult than ever, although my finger isn't quite on it at the moment. I don't know if it's because I've now been supporting myself for such a long time, or if it's because I'm starting to think of new chapters I want (marriage? aaaaaah!). Regardless, the presence of God has continued to be felt. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the day after and the day after and so on....................................................
are you?


p.s. things to pray for if you're that sort:

• Awesome and affordable places right near me to live for
• my sister
• one of my dearest friends who's trying to escape Denton
• Manuel (i.e. person I'm in love with)
• Peace for my school; due to certain unique students' needs this year, everyone is super stressed.
• A place (STILL) for me to feel good about going to church in Dallas. I've not yet gathered the courage to visit the remainder of Episcopal churches in my vicinity, and it continues to wear on me.

p.p.s. I forgot to mention something really RAD. My father is bequeathing http://www.pafoofnic.com/ to me, so pretty soon (I'll let you know when) it'll be my mother ship. It'll include a shop to sell my stuff, a quirky yet sound advice column, a fashion blog, and a photo diary. For now, it's an interesting yet dysfunctional photography site my dad used to document his travels with when he was a buyer for a book company. What a well-read and intelligent male parental unit I have, but the man chooses not to spell correctly or proofread, and he does not care about the page's appearance. Both things drive me nuts. I'll let you know when it's all MINE though.....(evil cackle)......