i have the best husband

 i love this man.
reason 1: just look at these photos from our walk tonight.

reason 2: this conversation actually happened about an hour ago....
me: welp, that was the first time i've ever dropped chicken off the grill. straight onto the ground.
joel: did you put it back on?
me: yes.
joel: good.

survey

if I want to make another photo book (of our first year of marriage!), should I use shutterfly, blurb, or pinhole press?


any opinions? anyone?

this week

this week i'm looking forward to...

more sunshine (if possible!)
showing off what i've learned as a teacher in my observation on tuesday
3 day work week (because tomorrow's columbus day and I took a personal day on Friday!)
spending time with melissa <3
mom & brother coming on thursday night
beautiful charlottesville, VA wedding
seeing these family members:

a little self-reflection on a chilly thursday night

any regular reader of this blog knows i read a TON of other blogs. tonight after dinner/clean-up i sat down at my computer. at least 45 minutes later Joel asked me what I was doing online and I realized i had just opened facebook. for the first time today. i'd spent an entire 45 minutes reading about other people's lives online.

why do i do this to myself? am i not happy living my own life? my job is wonderful. my students are freaking hilarious and precious. i live with probably the most amazing man on the planet. my home/town/church/family all rock.

and i don't really think i'm discontent. sure, i wish a few things were different. like i wish i took more creative (aka just more) photos. i wish my meals were a bit more unique each week. i wish my job didn't require so many hours of work from home. i wish i spent more time listening carefully to my husband as he shared about his day. i wish my family & favorite friends lived closer and/or had more free time to hang out with me. but truly,  i'm so grateful.

and convicted: i need to make better use of my time and energy than i do. it's okay to read others' blogs, but not to the extent that it's taking over my free time & my thoughts.

now... just because posts are better with photos, here are a few from almost one year ago.

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.