Tuesday, February 23, 2010

no.303 moving smarts

my overhire was approved yesterday and today she came in to start shadowing me until some time next week
when
my smarties become her smarties...

hitting me like a ton of bricks first thing this morning
quiet little tears surprising my teacher buddy, who hugged me and told me i was doing the right thing for
me,
my family, and
my super smarties.

she's great, the new me, and i really like the her i've known for a day-
i am sure that this is going to be a good transition for my littles,
i am sure this is going to be a good transition for me
i just wish my heart and my head would catch up to each other.
that
would be helpful

umarmen und lieben
essie

Saturday, February 20, 2010

no. 302

read cleaving

i have to say, i agree with this review.
team leader had said from the get go that he thought the julie in the movie was kookoo for cocoa puffs,
i just thought i didn't like amy adams in the role...
after reading this book, i get what it was that i didn't like.
i can't really explain it, but i get it now, and
(while admittedly i don't listen to him that often...)
team leader was right.

kookoo for cocoa puffs.
umarmen und lieben
essie
(ps, still love cooking, no worries there!)

Monday, February 15, 2010

no. 301 peace

is sometimes really hard to come by...
it's been a crazy couple of weeks here at casa h
straddling 2 jobs
husband traveling, traveling, traveling
teacher conferences
end of quarter grading
report cards
indoor recess...day after day
straddling 2 jobs
busy.

and when you're like me...
(christmas tree is still up in february)
(christmas stockings still to finish on your reading chair)
(laundry is crawling up a wall)
(camera is out of juice b/c you lost the usb cord to charge it and won't find it until you take your tree down)
you disappear into the stack of books you greedily checked out
i can't reccommend mackenzie phillips book...it is dark, twisty, not well written. i felt sorry for her-sorry and sad. what a mess.
farrah's story was another sad book, but sad for such a different reason-and alana stewart is a fairly good writer-surprisingly.
provenance was excellent! all about art forgery
still working on neverland and the dark side of JM Barrie (author of Peter Pan)

segwaying into: really needing this long weekend.
really!

team leader and i went off on saturday to france
soufflenheim, france
for a runaway lunch
and a gift recon mission in celebration of gaia and grandpadad's 44th anniversary!

FOURTY-FOUR years

we needed to find something really super-
crossing the border into france
ready to shop
where we found the gift
the front shop window
where team leader found the perfect steak
sideways, i'm sorry, but the ceiling and walls were CARVED...so so beautiful!
valentines
and finally some goodies that team leader bought for me


you didn't think i'd show you YOUR gifts
g and g
nooo, you will have to wait for the mail
with all our love!
umarmen und lieben
essie

Monday, February 08, 2010

the 300

is a two fold post only for the good of my heart and begins

with birthday hugs and love floating up to the cloud where i know you are
watching over me
watching over rahn
protecting us
protecting our families and loved ones
every day

in the same way
we protect who you were
in our heads
in our hearts
in our stories
of the student who became family
of the family who let us become family

in my life you are
with me every day.

happy birthday my sweet silly funny naughty absolutely fantastic little dulce
happy birthday love floating up to you with extra frosting, extra dip, extra love on top!


and to my best dear darling friend
phone calls on sunday are meant to be only for good news...in the other side of my heart, i believe that whatever is going on will be resolved.
you will be restored
all will be well.
i believe
i believe
i believe
and love you.
lots.

umarmen und lieben
essie

Sunday, February 07, 2010

no. 299 this post

spoke to my heart almost 2 years ago
and still speaks to me today...

had
to
share.
umarmen und lieben
essie

no. 298 yes indeed

not complaining, just full...

my week was nuts last week.
with sick kinder, a traveling hubby, and a broken tooth
i was
ready for the weekend
in the largest of ways come friday night.
wow
was i ready.

friday was conference day, and after 8 conferences in a row, i sat down to eat my homemade tuscan bean soup
(emphasis on the BEAN)
first slurp in and
"whaaat was THAT?!!"
i raced into the bathroom to see my frankenstein tooth
(circa 1992-whole 'nuther post)
trying it's hardest to pop out of my mouth.

holy hot mess
and suddenly i'm in tears thinking about having to go to the dentist
b/c i have a totally irrational fear of the dentist
totally
i can own up to that
the drill makes me go into shock at the sound
whirrrrrrrrrr
and i'm done.

i called my boss (still in tears) who gave me her dentist and said
"get going!! it's friday!!"
i left and came back to our clininc on post
the same clinic where i have YET to be seen after 2 years b/c i'm not active duty deployable ( a whole 'nuther post)
where still in tears i set about to get in on an emergency basis.
THANKFULLY there weren't any natural or unnatural disasters looming and the nice appointment man told me to breathe and fill out the pre-exam paperwork.
which i did.
mentioning said frankenstein tooth in the process...literally.

b/c apparently i am not a horrible person and G-d does want me not to be a basket case 5 percent of the time I was sent back to see Dr. Dentist who started our exam with
"Seriously, i HAVE to see this frankenstein tooh...OPEN UP!"
and made getting a temporary filling
NOT
the end of my life (even though i think i promised him banana pound cake in return for my safety...not too sure)

back peddaling a tad...
i had hung up on team leader twice during my ride to the clinic and sensing my irrational stresslevel at it's max he arrived just as i was coming out for xrays with my early valentine:

ya know the tiffany keys...well...lets just say he went above and beyond!

i'm 100 percent sure my two heart mugs from my polish potter Andy took my gift to him down a notch
but
what the hay it was a gift from the heart, right?!
anyhoo...long story short, i have to go back for an oral surgery evaluation next week and am terrified to eat on one side of my mouth!
BLEECH
maybe now i'll lose a few pounds from the holidays
(taking the lemonade from lemons route here)

friday night was "flea market finds" where i had a riotous time with bb and others
and won a set of soufflenheim pottery (bundt pans)
yay
yay
yay!

it was late late late when i got home
which made waking up at the butt crack of dawn to go antiquing
h.a.r.s.h.
but
wake up i did
and 9 hours later came home with sugar mold candles and holder, and a wash board.
and stories
heavens the stories
SO not g-rated, sorry folks, but funny as the day is long.
my shopping pal-ies
HOW much i love you, i cannot describe, and queen d when you mooooove to savga
bb and i will miiiisssss you
lots.

taking us all the way around to today
we're off to find a new sofa...
hard to do on a sunday in germany b/c every german store is closed.
we'll be looking on base
not a super selection but it's only
looooooooking
not buying-
yet.

and the final BIG piece
the introduction of "bon appetit"
my foodie blog with boylie mr ben!!!
he LOVES the julie/julia movie (i know!!!) and wants to be momma's souschef so we've picked a few recipes from mastering the art...
(including Beouf B!! aunt dot get ready to cook)
and ina
and rachel
and a few other favs
for us to try...together
wish us luck!

umarmen und lieben
essie

ps
*e* i found my usb cord when i took down the tree...pictures are coming!!!
loves you!!!

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

no.297 what about yours?

two days of phone calls to the school attendance office.
two days of "i'm calling to report my son's absence due to illness..."
two days where i've struck up conversations with said attendance officer b/c i have the phone voice of a teenager
AND
i'm convinced they think i'm NOT someone's momma when i make the call.

i do

if you think i'm kidding,
think back to messages i've left on your cell or home phone.
i have
the
worst
message
voice
on the planet.
seriously-it stinks!
explaining why i could never be a voice over actor
or
really really good at making voices when i read stories aloud.

my brother D. now HE has a voice that leaves a message
D. can concoct a character faster than you can snap your fingers
mr. ben inheirited that trait from his uncle D.
pres and doodle, they are clearly their mothers children
and team leader...forget it.
he has two voices
ranger and rangerous
(heh...that cracks me up...rangerous)

so today i've made batch of calls part II and am at home with the boylies
with fingers crossed
that we are cruising into the path of wellness
rather than crashing on the street of sick.

umarmen und lieben
essie
(ps, just in case you wondered, not paranoid, just recalling the days of past when a certain ms. kadow would call in MY own absences.
until...
someone in the office realized that the caller did NOT have my mother's scottish accent and clearly could not be her on the line.
um yeah, kind of forgot about that detail...)