lesson learned

funny thing.

it turns out that if you leave steamed broccoli in your classroom refrigerator for OVER a week ...

it will smell like something died in your room when you come back.

no joke.

i looked for a dead rat in the cupboards & was about 2 seconds away from calling our custodian when i found the decomposing vegetables in the refrigerator.

there are not enough outlets in this room for my glade room fresheners to drown out this smell.

i feel bad for the kids.

they keep saying, "your broccoli smells terrible!"

ya think!?!

gross.

Diederichs Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my side of the family this year.

We made a weekend out of it and stayed up in Port Ludlow with my parents for the weekend.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Thanksgiving Day.

Dad carving the ham ...

{We also had a turkey - but being a former vegetarian,

it felt gross to post pictures of it.

Don't ask me why I don't feel the same way about the ham.

I have no idea and can not explain my thinking on this.}

How pretty are these?

Our hostess' mother made homemade banana-nut bread

and wrapped them beautifully for everyone to take home.

I love thoughtful, creative touches like this.

The table was so pretty.

My Grandpa Diederichs.

Love him.

Trying to soak in everything about my grandparents that are still alive.

It was so heartbreaking losing my other Grandpa last year.

And I wish I would have just sat and listened to what he had to say more often before he passed.

I listen more, talk less now.

Nothing says Diederichs Family Get-together like chardonnay chillin' in the snow.

This is hands-down my favorite picture of the day ...

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving too!

Long Overdue Post

I have been HORRIBLE about blogging this week.

It seems that the hectic schedule of the holidays has already caught up with us.

Everything is so much fun, but I feel like I'm hardly ever home - long days at work - fun activities in the evenings - family get-togethers on the weekends - then right to bed.

I feel like I'm hardly ever home during the daylight hours anymore.

Oh right. That's because I'm NOT!

cRaZy fun chaos - but my blogging time suffers.

I'm going to get a bit caught up on Thanksgiving weekend.

We stayed at The Inn At Port Ludlow.

We LOVE this hotel, have stayed there many times, and always enjoy our time there.

Here are some beautiful pictures of the Inn's grounds ...





On Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) we visited Fort Flagler and Fort Worden.

Both were so beautiful but apparently I'm only posting people-pictures. :)

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Taters

I can't get enough of this girl ...

My god daughter is BEYOND adorable.

T-Day 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you were able to celebrate with loved ones.

Yippee!

No school again tomorrow!

So glad we're all able to stay home, where we're safe.

Looks like our 4-day weekend turned into a 6-day weekend!

Snow Day

What a beautiful day.

Check out these pics that Jay took on a frigid 20 degree walk today ...

Gorgeous.

Hope everyone is safely home.

Snowy Night

It snowed all day.

It's been snowing all night.

School is cancelled tomorrow.

Fun!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I've been working long hours, writing report cards and meeting with parents for conferences.

On Friday, I came home and crashed.

And by crashed, I mean I fell asleep at 7:00 pm and didn't wake up until 9:00 am the next day.

NICE!

On Sunday, I spent 9 hours making homemade chicken broth, and in the evening, I made chicken & wild rice soup.

Look how many containers it made:


Also, I hope some of you are noticing the BOX of Corbet Canyon wine behind the creamers!

Yep.

That's how I roll.

I'm happy to be back at work today.

It's snowing and Seattle is covered in a blanket of peaceful white.

Tomorrow I'm sure it will be brown, gunky sludge, so I'm soaking it all in today!

Water/Coffee Goal

I'm a self-professed terrible water drinker.

However, I make up for it in the area of Coffee Drinking.

I'm quite skilled actually.

Some may be jealous.

When I was doing Weight Watchers* I actually had to make a Water-Drinking Goal. Or perhaps it would better be titled as a Stop-Drinking-Coffee Goal.

I made it a point every day to be done drinking my coffee by the time my students went out for morning recess.

So basically I would chug down as must coffee as possible (which is actually difficult to do since you know, teaching involves talking, and talking is VERY difficult to do with a mouth filled with liquid glory).

The much-anticipated 10:30 recess bell would ring, and that was my signal to switch to water for the rest of the day.

I know, sad.

So, you can imagine my splendor of happiness when I quit WW (yah, I'm a quitter - but I accepted that about myself a long time ago when I dropped out of my Master's program) and the Stop-Drinking-Coffee Goal was null & void.

I DID however put limitations on my coffee intake by modifying the Stop-Drinking-Coffee Goal. I pushed back the 10:30 limit to 11:15.

Hooray!

11:15 is the time my students to go lunch.

So basically, I'd drink coffee all morning, and then will myself to ONLY bring my water bottle with me to the cafeteria.

There are days I falter and bring my coffee, but for the most part, I stay true to my goal.

All this being said, here is reason #1 that I love 1/2-days of school.

I may shock you by saying that reason #1 is NOT the conferences.

I'll give you a minute to absorb that one.

The #1 reason is (insert drum-roll) ...

I push the Stop-Drinking-Coffee Goal back to 12:20 on 1/2-days!

12:20 is the time the students get excused to go home ...

And the moment I switch to water.

Happy Drinking my friends!

What goals do you give yourself?

*Note: I'm still a member, but apparently I'm 'taking a break' from a lifestyle of healthy eating

One Year Ago ...

Grandpa died one year ago today.

I miss him.

I love imaging home holding my two babies in heaven.

I love you Grandpa.

I think of you every day.

I'm so thankful for your impact on my life.

Tonight, I light a candle for you.

And will let it run it's course,
and burn out when it's ready.

Baptism Weekend

I haven't had time to look through and edit pictures.

Here are some quick {unedited} shots from this weekend.

My beautiful God-Daughter Tatum ...

Tatum and her mama Tricia, The Mr.'s sister ...

I just love this picture ...

I love her so much ...

Back to report cards.

Conferences start tomorrow.

I'll resurface next week.

:)

Speechless

Oh. My. Stars.

If you don't want to watch the entire video
- watch the first minute, then skip ahead to 3:10 -

I'm speechless.

I so look forward to the day I'm reunited with my two angels.

Updates

Just a few quick updates while my head spins with report card writing, student testing, taking care of the mr.

• The heat is officially ON in the house and I couldn't be happier. Wearing a beanie and down coat in your house is only fun for so long.
• We are Godparents!
• This last weekend was a BLAST! Jay's parents had NO IDEA about their surprise 60th birthday party, the baptism was perfect, and seeing Jay's family warmed my heart hot enough for me to be warm until I see them again for Christmas.
• I am BEYOND blessed in the IN-LAW department. Seriously. Blessed.
• Doing everything yourself SUCKS: pack, load truck, drive 5 hours, unpack. Repeat.
• The mr has an appointment with an orthopedic specialist on Monday - we're praying there isn't too much damage in his ankle.
• Cooper is back home! The ex-mr had him for a couple weeks while we were busy and out of town. His hip seems "okay" but he's still slow to get up. Poor guy.
• I'm listening to The Help on CD again - seriously, this book is amazing. If you haven't read it - DO!
  

That's about all for now.

We took a ton of pictures from this weekend that I'll get uploaded soon.

Until then, back to report cards.

Happy Tuesday!

Transformations

I'm loving this today ...

"I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it."
— Maya Angelou

*Our house is 62 degrees this morning. The thrill of this game is coming to a screeching halt.

Random Thoughts While Watching TV

• Jay's first trip outside of the house was a success tonight!
  
• I was credited $39.90 for the sweater I returned to The Gap, then spent $25.39 at Blue C Sushi for dinner. Go figure. Money comes in. Money goes out.
• Our house is freezing. F.R.E.E.Z.I.N.G. For some reason*, I had a goal of not turning our heat on until November. Now that it's November, I'm playing the "let's still see how long we can go without heat" game. It's a ridiculous game I play every year ... it's my lame and pathetic attempt to save money. The direct effect of this game is me wearing a beanie and my coat** while watching TV tonight. Hmmm ... relaxing!
  
• Girlfriend #4 in THIS post, heard her baby's heartbeat today! God is GOOD!
• TMI ALERT: I started my period on Monday and cried about it. This is a tough time. I'm learning to except it - I'm attempting to simultaneously honor my sadness & grief while staying present & grateful for where I am in my life. Because really - everyone says the grass is greener on the other side, but honestly ... my grass is pretty damn green. Regardless, it's tricky. Really, really tricky.
  
• Watching the CMA's. Why does Taylor Swift sound so bad live?!? Honestly. Sheesh.
  

*The reason is actually very clear. I'm cheap. Really, really cheap.
** Photographic Proof:

Exibit A: Picture

Just in case you were wondering ...

This is what "I'M NOT HAVING FUN ANYMORE" looks like.

Poor Jay.

He hates being cooped up all day at home.

Last night was his first night out of the bedroom since Sunday,
which is why I documented it with a picture.
(above)

Laying on the couch to watch TV.

A brave, bold move.

We're taking a BIG adventure out tonight.

Dragging him to The Gap with me to return a sweater.

He's thrilled to go outside.

It sucks when that's the most exciting part of your week.

---

feeling jealous of others tonight and sorry for myself.

i hate it when i feel this way.

blech!

Doormats - For The Lady of the House

I saw these mats in the Bed Bath & Beyond mailer last week.

They CRACK me up.

Interchangeable door mats!And here's my slogan for them ...

"Interchangeable door mats,
for the lady who may get divorced!"

You know - if your last name changes, no problem!

Just get a new insert!

Perfect!

Weekend Wrap-Up: The Flu & Harborview

We had quite an interesting weekend in the Stookey house.

I stayed home from work all day on Friday with a sinus infection and fever.

Don't get me started on how inconvenient this is so close to parent/teacher conferences.

We did NOTHING on Saturday, since my body decided to add "flu" to my list of ailments.

On Sunday morning, Jay woke up early to go tailgating before the Seahawk's game.

At about 8:15 am, I got a text saying, "Hey babe. I hurt my ankle playing football. Can you meet me at Harborview?"

Yah.

Good times.

So I got dressed and called our GREAT friends Ty & Jordan to help me out.

Don't judge me.

We may have stopped at Starbucks on the way to the hospital.

Ugh, I said don't judge me.

I'm much nicer with caffeine in my body.

When we got to the hospital, they had just returned Jay from getting x-rays.

Here he is - very happy with percocet coursing through his body because his wife showed up.


Yah, no break! Only dislocated & it popped itself back in!

Ty & Jay on the way to our car.

Jay is still drugged happy.


Pain is starting to kick in - getting a chair massage while waiting for his Rx.


Now my patient is in bed, with pain meds and football.

I can't believe I'm about to say this ...

But I'm looking forward to this weekend being over.

Some Stats & Heart Stirring

I've been wanting to blog about this for a while - but haven't.

I want people to be aware.

I want people to understand this heartbreak.

I want people to realize how often miscarriage happens.

And I'm going to use my own life to demonstrate.

***********

I started the month of October with 7 pregnant girlfriends.

I started November with only 4 pregnant girlfriends.

Girlfriend's #1, 2, and 3 have miscarried.

And #4 is dangerously close to miscarriage - she is 10 weeks along and doctor's are having a hard time finding her baby's heartbeat as I write this.

Girlfriends # 5, 6, and 7 are lucky.

This is how I feel.

You are LUCKY if you have a baby.

If you stay pregnant.

Miscarriage is so prevalent!

Why don't we talk about this more often?

I want to scream from the mountaintops, "YOU DO NOT HAVE TO SUFFER SILENTLY!"

When I first miscarried, I had no idea who I could turn to (besides family).

So many parents feel isolated & lonely ... and the heartache is like non-other.

I was fortunate to have a wonderful counselor I turned to - but many do not.

Support groups are prevalent and easy to find on the Internet.

I don't have a smart or profound conclusion to this post - I just want you to know

• My heart breaks for so many of my friends
• We are not alone
• I feel a stirring inside me about doing something about this
• I'm not sure what that stirring is - but it excites me - and I'm not going to ignore it

Love you guys.

xoxo

$1.98 and Infections

Super sale on decent marinara sauce: $0.99

Whole wheat pasta on sale: $0.99

Buying dinner at Bartell's for $1.98 while getting your prescription filled: PRICELESS! (well, priceless + $1.98)

I'll be at home tomorrow trying to sleep off this sinus infection.

In related news ... I have a fever for the first time in my entire life.

In 34 years, I've NEVER had a fever.

Fever's SUCK!

Renewed Hope

Remember this picture from September?

So beautiful.

Here are the same trees.

November 2nd, 2010.

Autumn is the perfect season to notice all of God's blessings.

Soak in your surroundings.

Be happy.

Feeling grateful for where I am in my life.

Not obsessing about the future.

Living fully in the present.

I've been doing a lot of work on this lately.

I have a wonderful husband.

A supportive family.

Renewed hope in our future.

Grateful for today.

We Are Not Alone

I'm not really one for H0llywood gossip (and those of you who know me - know this is at total lie).

But I've had a pit in my stomach all day about THIS story.

This just hits WAY to close to home.

I am sorry for Lilly Allen & her family, who recently had a second miscarriage - this time at 6 months.

I can't think of anything that is more cruel.

I also really appreciate stars who are open and honest about their fertility struggles. I've been watching Giuliana and Bill this season - and every show resonates with me. I deeply respect their bravery & am really grateful for their transparency.

Though it is heartbreaking to read & hear about, I think it's so important that women talk about it - if it's the right choice for you.

I can't tell you how much comfort and support I've had from other women who have experienced miscarriages.

Thank you, to all the wonderful women in my life who have shared their journeys & struggles with me - I will forever be grateful for your support and presence during such a difficult time.

I will always be willing & supportive when others come to me with their stories - sharing my struggles has already helped many of my girlfriend.

Until people start talking about it - you'd NEVER realize how many of us struggle with our fertility and pregnancies.

We are not alone.

On average, 2,000 mommy's and daddy's lose babies to miscarriage and/or infant death EVERY DAY.

If you would like, click HERE to check out I AM THE FACE. An amazingly supportive and eye-opening website, where mommy's and daddy's can share their stories of their children in heaven.

God bless.

Weekend

Hope you all had a wonderful Halloween weekend.

We had an action-packed couple of days.

Can't wait to post some pictures.

This grainy picture will have you do for now.

Jay & I passed out candy in full clown-mode.