Beautiful SC

Someone tell me why the beautiful South Carolina beaches has to be so far away from me.

I keep seeing everyone's facebook statuses from the east coast talking about going to the beach or walking by water. for a coastal chic, it's driving me nuts not to be near the ocean or beautiful bodies of water. I'm still wearing jackets to go from the house to the car, and i'm just waiting for the day when i can pull out my handy dandy flipflops and go for a stroll around Storm Lake. (people around here claim its beautiful-we'll see...a lake surrounded by fields just doesn't compare to a whole ocean with sandy beaches and palm trees!) Hopefully we'll get to feel a similar warmth here in Iowa before I go completely out of my mind:)

favorite drink

enjoying my new favorite drink. Almond milk.

another alternative to soy milk, another favorite. try it!

it's been a few days

I don't feel as sharp as I usually do. It's been five days since I've hit the gym to go running, because I've had these awful allergies and congestion. Ryan and I have gotten into the habit of packing our stuff and taking it to work with us so that immediately after work, we can go running and work out. It's been my one way of really enjoying being active, with the winter weather and such, and it has been my favorite way of relieving the stress of the day, but I have not made it over there, simply because of my congestion and headaches.

I'm encouraged though! Because in the times of running and eating healthy, I've lost 8 pounds:) which makes me happy, because I really worked at it! (but still managed to enjoy the goodness and yumminess of life.) .

i love my first graders:)

aren't they cute?:)

glad to be home.

THIS is how I feel today.

it was one of those days.

I'm just glad I'm home and it's all over.

Glad my husband's hugs make me feel better.

I gotta learn not to take my work annoyances home with me. I'm still learning how to deal with kids with attitudes. bad attitudes. and sassiness.

maybe i should learn how to be sassy back. haha, just kidding.

it's just nice to be home with a plate of veggies, soy milk, and the peace of my cozy home with my husband.

going organic

Ryan and I decided we are going to try organic foods for the time we are in Storm Lake. I never thought I would consider all natural and organic food, but some recent happenings made us consider the option of organic food.

We're both working on being healthier, working out, and eating well, and organic and all natural food is our next step to healthiness. Not to mention all the things we're hearing about Storm Lake (our town) being a HOTSPOT for all sorts of cancer, because of the chemicals used on the farms surrounding us and that has gotten into the water, animals, and vegetables and fruits growing in Iowa. For some reason, Storm Lake is one of the ten top places of cancer victims, and i guess there have been studies about it becoming common in this area. So while we're in Storm Lake, IA we'll be eating organic meats and veggies and fruit. and drinking purified water:) healthier eating here we come:)

smiley faces and a hug

one of my first graders came up to me with this card that he made.

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earlier in the day I had sent him inside during recess because of the way he had acted towards one of the elderly teachers outside. I told him to go back to his classroom to think about what he had said and done.

he put up a fight, claiming he hadn't done anything, but after ten minutes of protesting and arguing, almost to the point of tears, he went inside.

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after an hour, i was teaching Kindergarten reading, when he found me and handed me this card:

turns out on his way inside, instead of his classroom, he found his way to the principal's office-and told her "that he was rotten to Ms. BB (Brandenberger) and had kicked her." (he hadn't kicked me, although he told the principal he had.) So strangely enough, he wrote me this note and folded it into a card.

He came up to me, with his face looking sad and worried, and said, "Ms. BB, I made this for you." I asked him to read it to me-and all the while my heart was just smiling-and he ended the note with, "i'm sorry ms. BB." His eyes were big as he looked at me and i looked into his big brown eyes and told him I was proud of him for apologizing.

He gave me a huge hug and held on to me and then went back to his classroom.

this seven year old's card and huge bear hug made my day:).