a half-way reunion

of course the weekend i head to upstate NY is the first weekend of VERY cold weather they get this fall.

we stayed at a darling little B&B that was a million miles from nowhere (no cell service unless you drove 15 minutes away, back toward the highway!!). we didn't spend much time there, other than to sleep, shower, eat breakfast, and watch old Felicity episodes while snuggled into our beds. it was seriously cold!

lauren was a great running partner at the 5K. we ate at hairy tony's. twice. we tried on some sale items at the GAP, but didn't buy anything. we had amazing mexican food at Viva! in ithaca, ny. PLUS, apple fest was happening, so we hung out and explored there, too.

not sure why i didn't take many photos, but here's the only proof that lauren and i spent a weekend together.

on books

a few weeks ago, joel reluctantly confessed something that bothers him: when i hold a paperback book and fold back the front cover as i read. doh!

apparently he doesn't care if it's "my" book or one from the library, but if it's a book he chose and wants to keep, he wants the front cover to be taken care of.

wouldn't you know it... this week i started reading a book he just finished for grad school. not even 50 pages in, i noticed i'd done exactly what he hates! and look what happened:

also related to books, i just found out about this. i definitely want to host a party! oh my goodness-- what a wonderful idea!

a new necklace

i can't remember the last time i bought myself a necklace. i'm much more of an earrings girl... and despite my frequent etsy meanderings, i don't really purchase things. especially not for me.

BUT after seeing that a necklace i'd been eyeing was sold, and after purchasing a "good cheer deal" on oh hello friend, i got myself a new pretty thing to wear around my neck. it came on monday night and i've worn it constantly ever since (except to sleep & shower!)


here are some pics:

and here's the link to the shop where i got it: pangea handmade.

on living within your means

i stumbled across this encouraging article this afternoon & it inspired me to process a few thoughts about finances...

being careful with money is tricky. joel actually told me this summer that he imagines money to be the thing in our future that will cause us the most disagreements. at this point, we're in great financial shape, so disagreements rarely surface. we both have jobs but we're basically living on one salary. we're taking grad classes. both our cars are paid for. we have incredibly generous families. we both feel called to give regularly to our church and to causes that are important to us. yet paying bills and writing checks don't really bring me much stress.

on the other hand, we're regularly thinking/talking about the future. about kids. about having only one of us working. about further education. about changing homes and/or location.

and sometimes that scares me. to consider major lifestyle changes, based around money. though, i guess that's the wrong way to look at it.... none of our future decisions or plans will be made completely because of money.

anyway, the article above was a great reminder that others are making smart financial decisions and living within (or below!) their means. what an encouragement :)

next weekend

 this time one week from now, i'll be hanging out with this girl:

we're meeting about halfway between our 2 homes to stay in a darling little B&B. oh, and run a 5K. she's going to kick my butt. and we're gonna have an amazing time together. eating. laughing. talking. and running, too, i guess.

funny things & a few photos

 rode my bike to the bank & around town on wednesday. then took a photo while still wearing my dorky helmet. awesome.

 a FEW zinnias finally surprised me & made an entrance

 happy birthday to ME.... only about 1.5 months early, haha. I wore them today for the first time.

 after back-to-school night.

oh, hello, friday! let me welcome you by putting on gym shorts the second i walk in the door.

hilarious things, via my job teaching 4th graders:
"oh, that's a watch? cool watch" (i ignored these comments because he was supposed to be writing an answer to a test that he's still not finished after one hour and 30 minutes..... grrrr....)

"mrs. alberts, i like your boots".... then... "i like your boots, too. i like your style"

"i don't believe in pets" (overheard as my co-workers chatted in the hallway outside my classroom)

sad things, via my job:
two girls cried today, like seriously cried. okay, they balled. my garbage can was filled to the brim with used tissues (can't wait for flu season, jeez!). one girl had a headache because she forgot her glasses at home. though i can't help wondering if that's because her classmates told her the glasses were too big for her face yesterday. darn.

incompleted goals & wishes

this is disgusting. look at this list:
- by Friday, that i'd know all my students' names without hesitation (YES! i basically knew them by tuesday afternoon, but i'm absolutely a rock star with their names now)
- to actually make myself run the 5K on saturday morning. i'm such a baby. No. i watched. and sat on a rock wall, causing it to crash and scrape my ankle.
- to take at least 4 photos by next Monday (i was going to type "interesting photos" but that'd be pushing it) not one photo has been taken since i came home from NYC last month.
- that i'd find a perfect side table for our basement couch either on craigslist or at the thrift store nope. didn't happen. ugh.

i'm hesitant to try this again after my epic failure of last week. but here goes:

i wish: 
- to communicate clearly and effectively with my kids' parents at back-to-school-night on thursday
- that i'd take at least 2 photos by next monday (let's try being less ambitious...)
- for the internet at school to work again! we've been without it for a week now.
- to encourage joel every day

p.s. unrelated photos, to try & make up for the fact that i don't take them anymore...