stolen!

can't really explain who i stole this idea from. i guess my friend lyndsay, via her cousin rachel. [apparently this has become a public confession that i'm a blog stalker.]
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Reading: nothing. i've attempted 3 books in the last two weeks. i can't concentrate on anything/none of them caught my interest.

Listening: to the furnace warming our frigid house.

Watching: some olympics. some bad movies [from paris with love]. a couple good movies [good will hunting!]

Cooking: it's been quite a lull since those sweet potato quesadillas, but tonight i'm making pizza. did you know you can buy ready-made dough at trader joe's for a dollar? awesome!

Wishing: that my upcoming elementary job search will be quick and painless. [hey, i didnt say it was realistic wishing...]

Thinking: what the HAY am i gonna do with my 5th snow day of the month today?!

Craving: chicken and rice. just my luck that ML made it for dinner last night so i can eat the leftovers today. YUM

Excited About: the weekend starting tonight, seeing my parents at Easter, going to DC for sakura!!

Laughing At: myself for getting up and out of bed at 7am on a snow day!

Annoyed With: someone who always asks me before making even the simplest decision. i'm being vague on purpose.

Feeling Bad: That I have yet another snow day and meliss is working her butt off

Grading: one of my students gave me an essay to check three weeks ago. i haven't touched it.

Loving: this conversation from yesterday-- me [wanna go for a walk?] J [... sure] me [well, i guess the better question is, will you go for a walk with me even if you don't want to?] J [yes]

Reminiscing About: the good old days of winter in himi. i never got a single snow day there!

best valentine ever!

when j. and i talked about valentines day a month ago we decided not to do anything wild/crazy/extravagant. i'm really glad about that b/c i spent many years being single on valentines day & i realize it's greatly overrated.

all that said, i have the best valentine ever. he is seriously awesome!! let me prove it by listing the things he gave me for valentines day:
1. lunch at a new restaurant on our snow day the week before [i LOVE going out to eat at new places!]
2. breakfast at the hotel restaurant on sunday
3. he played with my little cousins
4. he asked my cousins lots of questions & showed interest in their lives
5. he let me talk & talk about my memories of yorktown as a child.
6. lunch on the drive home on monday
7. the chance to cry over my grandmom's death
8. attention & kindness to my granddad
9. coming to the funeral of someone he never even met!

it turned out to be an extravagant v-day after all. i can't dream of anything else i would have wanted. my boyfriend is the best.valentine.ever.

bittersweet weekend: day 2

on sunday we ate breakfast at the hotel and i took j. to explore the house/neighborhood a little more. we wandered around the backyard & swung on the swingset. then we walked down the streets and i told him stories about visiting there as a kid. we semi-joked about living in VA.

after lunch all together, we headed to the church for grandmom's service. it was a sweet time to remember her and to love on each other. the reception afterwards lasted a long time, but i treasured the chance to hang out with my family and greet old friends of my grandmom.

we relaxed at the hotel after dinner & the four oldest cousins went to the next-door pub to reminisce and catch up. all in all it was a bittersweet valentines day.

bittersweet weekend: day 1

we left philly at the crack of dawn [ok, 7am] on saturday to drive to yorktown. i missed a turn, we got stuck in DC traffic for 45 minutes, and we arrived around 2:40 pm. but the drive was totally worth it once we arrived and were surrounded by my awesome family~

granddad's house was in the middle of being cleared out so the second i walked in the door i had to answer questions like: "do you want this??" "which one would you like better?" "can you go choose a christmas ornament from that big box?" "want to play outside and throw ice balls at each other?!" j. brought his football and took the little guys out to toss it around. we chose treasures from the house. i caught up with the girls a little bit. g-dad showed us his new apartment. j. got a million tools from g-dad's workshop.


that night we had a HUGE fam dinner at the hotel restaurant. i got to sit next to granddad and it was an incredibly special time. i loved watching j. interact with my family. it was fabulous to spend time being wild/crazy with my cousins. we all watched the olympics & chatted.

less than 24 hours...

... till i'm with this fella:
and these kids:
and these guys, too: i love all these people and i'm SO glad i'll be with them tomorrow! i'm making myself promise to take a lot of pics so i can remember every detail of the weekend.

tidbits from my life

my non-profit already declared tomorrow= snow day. totally rad.

i found a fun v-day card online tonight. i may or may not steal (um, i mean borrow) the idea & hand-make my own. i won't call it "basic needs", b/c let's be honest, that's a bit obsessive. but i may change the title to "things i think about" or "things i love" or something slightly funny but still thoughtful: look! bloggers from all over take photos of their outfits and post them on flickr!! good thing i don't take photos of my outfits. they're mostly lame.

i can hardly wait to get to yorktown on saturday. i miss my granddad/aunts/uncles/cousins soooooooo much~

a few weeks ago i got a physical [as the last step towards getting PA certification!]. it cost 85 bucks including a TB test. last night i got a check from AFLAC (i have cheap-o accident insurance from them] for 60 bucks. basically in appreciation for getting a physical. score.

i'm in the mood to bake something. hmm.... maybe if i had these... when mom/dad drove through town on sunday night they brought a fabulous dvd. it's made from super old videos when my mom was a little tot. love it!

two weeks ago i got some awesome deals at the children's place. normally i don't shop there but my student told me that they had lots of $2.99 racks. and i was planning to attend a baby shower the following weekend. i got these cutie threads: [i also got some clothes for my new friend eliza. i haven't met her but i LOVE her parents. hi, andrea & jesse!]

mexicans compete for the world kissing record!

so cute/hilarious. apparently this was LAST valentines day, but it doesn't matter. i still like it.

"snowmageddon"

philadelphia never really gets snow, but in less than 24 hours we've gotten about 15 inches!!! it's SO beautiful. granted, my drive home last night was slightly treacherous, but i still think it looks awesome.

sam & i shoveled some this morning so the driveway is pretty clear. i might convince someone to take a walk with me tonight. but for now, my photos are all from inside:

my head & heart are full

i'm a blogging fiend lately. my only explanation is that melissa's gone so i don't have anyone to talk to at all hours :) there are lots of random things going through my head right now...

number one: it's bizarre how melissa's life and my life coordinate so closely sometimes. she got the call that her grandpa died on monday night. i got the call that my grandmom died on wednesday night. this same kind of thing happened while i was in japan... not related to death, but once she emailed me about something big in her life. i responded and less than a week later i was falling apart and emailed her about basically the same thing. WEIRD! i miss meliss a lot & i will be really glad when she's home.

number two: i'll be in yorktown, VA. for valentines day. awesome~ j. brought up v-day a couple weeks ago and said "because i know you, i'm guessing it doesn't have to be a big deal". [i was SO happy to hear him say that!!] this valentines day is gonna be a sad one, filled with grieving and remembering my grandmom. however, i'm so glad i get to spend it with j. [AND my extended family!] in a setting that i absolutely adore.

number three: yesterday i had my students write about their grandmothers. it was such a sweet tribute and turned out to be really therapeutic on my first full day of grieving. they all remembered special details about their abuelas and listened attentively when i shared about mine.

bad news

last week J. gave me a cutie little plant[!!!]. it's a primrose, like this: i tried my hardest to give it plenty of love & affection. i showed it off to everyone in my house. i took a picture of it on my phone and made it the background. i was careful not to over-water it [b/c that tends to be my problem with plants...]

but i think it might be dead. yesterday i noticed some of the leaves had turned yellow and one of the flowers was crinkling!!!

i quickly watered it and put it near my window. the problem is that my room gets very little direct light. i'm seriously hoping it resurrects today. i just noticed that it's finally sunny outside!

if it dies i might be heart-broken.

what does "natsukashii" really mean?

i just peeled a clementine and kept the peel in one giant piece! i used to be amazed when my japanese students did that at lunch time. [who knew it wasn't such a tricky task?!]

a few minutes later i stumbled upon a Tokyo travel video. this one is all about sakura/cherry blossoms. there are tons of gorgeous photos & it makes me miss japan so very much.

on a related note-- i do writing journals with my students. they each have a little notebook and they can write to me as often as they want. each time i respond to their writing and ask questions to prompt the next entry. some write twice a week and some have never written at all; i left it up to them to decide how much they want to improve their writing... anyway, one of my students does a great job asking ME questions. lately we've been talking about my experience in japan. she asked what i miss about living there. basically the answer depends on the day. today i miss the following:
cherry blossoms & hanami!
my lovely friends
adventures with new friends who take us to stay with their grandparents on a tiny island~!
the view from my beach
little baby students!!
festivals!

[p.s. natsukashii is an "expression that conveys a complicated and favorite Japanese emotion, the bittersweet nostalgia for something lovely and loved, now past". read more here. and here.]

growing up

lately i've started to feel more and more like an adult. sure, it probably has to do with the fact that i'm in love... but there are practical reasons, too.

yesterday i met with a financial adviser for the first time ever. he explained all sorts of things [IRA vs. Roth IRA; fixed annuity; etc] and gave me advice about how to begin preparing for the future. it seems incredibly CRAZY to start investing at age 25 but after seeing the numbers i realize it's incredibly SMART to start investing at age 25.

tonight we'll have GED orientation at my site. i've been assigned the role of body guard/bouncer. i have to stand outside the classroom and tell people i'm sorry but there's just no more space. eek* class officially starts next tuesday.

melissa's grandpa died last night and my own family is dealing with the possibly-very-soon death of my grandmom. this must be part of becoming an adult...

last week my friend lauren said "kell, you're growing up!" i laughed but then realized it's totally true. bizarre. [this photo epitomizes my inner-child self so i thought it fit this post!]