Perfect Sunday

Today I got something I've been wanting for a long time... 

a Sunday at home with no where I have to go. 

I stayed in bed until almost noon. So did the cats (above photo). 

Then I wrote a paper, planned a lesson for tomorrow, 

washed the dishes, installed curtain rods, hung curtains, 

cooked dinner, and edited photos from a wedding yesterday. 

I have a lot of photos to share on the blog soon. 

My cats were being extra cute today: 

Tomorrow I start my 1.2 FTE contract, which means I will no longer have 

a planning period as I'm teaching a 6th period in addition to my 1-5. 

Basically every day will be a marathon. Wish me luck! 

At least I had one day to relax. 

What my life looks like these days...

It's 9pm and this is my "me time" on the couch. 

I just finished my discussion board post for my master's program. 

It took me two hours, and this is the mess I created while writing. 

I haven't blogged in a week, and here are my excuses: 

1. teaching is a LOT of work. I feel like only teachers understand this. 

I am NOT complaining because I love my job, I'm just saying TIME. TONS. 

2. I thought I could BS my master's program, but it turns out I 

am finding the assignments meaningful and spending more time 

than I anticipated poring over books and articles and thinking about 

my work. Plus there are papers and discussion board posts due 

multiple times a week, so that is taking a lot of time. 

3. I'm coaching badminton, and while our gym floors are getting 

sealed we are practicing at the high school in the morning at 6am every day. 

That means I get up at 4:30 and get to class right before my students do. 

4. I have extra-curricular stuff too. I'm on the assessing and reporting committee, I got elected to be a building community leader this year, I have a Thursday evening class at the UW starting later this month, and I'm joining a CFG starting tomorrow. I realize most of those things won't make any sense to anyone else, but it can be a lot to keep track of. 

5. Traffic sucks and I still like to cook myself a meal when I get home from work. 

6. Exciting things are happening like Stacy and Jason's wedding this weekend 

and backpacking trips planned for two other weekends. 

But you know what? I love it! 

The point of this post is not to complain. 

I took on all of these things and I am excited about all of them. 

The point is, don't be sad if I'm MIA for a while. 

I'll get the hang of it eventually... 

Kendall Katwalk

I have a fantastic hike to share about today for 

Wilderness Wednesday! 

This hike was brought up by a few people recently so I took it 

as a sign and headed out Saturday with Kate to 

Kendall Katwalk 

 This hike starts by Snoqualmie Pass and is part of the Pacific Crest Trail. 

We started out early and finally found the sun in the trees after about an hour. 

 Once we emerged from the woods we had gorgeous views of Mt. Rainier. 

 We could even see the Snoqualmie ski area way down below 

(see the clear area on the hill below?) 

 I loved the craggy peaks that surrounded us. 

 The Katwalk starts at about 5 miles into the trail, and was 

man-made by blasting out part of a rock face. Here we 

are dangling our feet over the edge. I'm afraid of heights 

but this didn't bother me too much. 

 Once across the Katwalk we found a nice flat rock for lunch. 

Check out that view! 

 There were wildflowers blooming like crazy. It smelled amazing. 

 Here we are getting ready to head back across the Katwalk. 

 And here's what the actual Katwalk looks like, plus a short video: 

This is one of my favorite hikes I've ever been on. 

For more information visit WTA. 

I highly recommend it! 

First Day of School

The first day of school is always incredibly exhausting. 

Some tidbits from my fourth time doing this: 

1. Having 33 kids in a science class is chaos. 

Especially when it happens to 3 of your 5 classes. 

I don't even have that many chairs/tables people... 

2. Between walking around on cement all day and 

talking more than I have in months, I am in physical pain. 

3. You know you're busy when a cheesecake 

brownie sits on your desk for 8 hours. 

After the whirlwind of classes followed by badminton practice 

I had a couple hours of errands to run. 

At least I got a lot done today... 

Bobby missed me so much that he insists 

on laying on my arm while I type :)

Scenes from the Weekend

 I spent Sunday/Monday with the fam on Whidbey. 

 We had dinners on the deck at sunset. 

And a bonfire on the beach at night. 

I had my first s'more in years. It was delicious. 

Fleet Foxes (part 2)

It's Music Monday and I'm all about 

Fleet Foxes today as I'll be seeing them 

live this Wednesday evening! 

As I started writing this post I experienced a bit of deja vu and 

realized I already wrote about them back in May. I have a terrible memory. 

So for today I'll just share my FAVORITE Fleet Foxes song. Enjoy! 

In the garden...

 I'm still holding out for a couple zucchini that may or may not make it, 

so in the meantime the garden is down to basil and tomatoes. 

 I have six tomato plants, all different: 

Today for lunch I had a delicious salad consisting only of 

tomatoes and avocado. I looooove tomatoes.