Sweet Gift February 16, 2009

A good friend of mine from school surprised me with this exquisite “Persian Rug” mouse pad that she brought back from a recent visit to her home country of Iran.

This is so like this very thoughtful person.  “Laleh” and I immediately bonded about 8 years ago when we both started teaching in the same school system.  We come from very different backgrounds, but we immediately “clicked.”  I have never witnessed someone warmer and more caring with her students and the adults around her.  I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to be live so far away from immediate family members, but she embraces those around her as family.

Thank you, Laleh, for being the wonderful colleague and friend that you are!

I’ve been “tagged!” July 25, 2008

The Farmer’s Daughter  tagged me. Here goes . . .

Here are the rules:

Answer all the questions. Tag 8 people to do the same.
Now that you asked…

 1. What were you doing 10 years ago?  I had just changed my life course and became a full-time college student, to become a certified educator, after raising our three children.  One of the best moves I’ve ever made!

2. What are five things on your to-do list today?  Well, it’s the end of the day, so this is what I’ve accomplished:

1. Went wine-berry picking with my daughter.
2. Worked on School Budget Project for my Educational Leadership Class.
3. Weeded the gardens around the pool (jumping in every so often!)
4. Updated my blog and posted on some of my favorites; responded to e-mail.
5. Cooked (some); cleaned (not much); and started researching and writing a paper for my Educational Law class.  (It’s summer, so my schedule is a bit different from the school year!)

It’s 11 pm and I still have to:

1. Fine-tune the Budget Project, now that my son has shared some of the finer points of Excel with me.
2. Complete the School Law paper–ugh!
3. Do the dishes, laundry, clean the kitchen, wash my hair, and tuck in my hubby!
4. Pay bills
5. Make my list for tomorrow! (It’s gonna be a LONG night!)

3. Snacks you enjoy?  Popcorn, cheese, crackers, anything that goes crunch . . . oh, and a combination of pretzels and chocolate!

4. Places you’ve lived?  On my parent’s dairy farm in a lovely New England town for the first 19 years of life; then on to my husband’s 10th-generation family farm for the next 31 years, in a neighboring town.  Although I’ve traveled a bit, we’ve got deep roots, and I guess I was destined to be a farmer!

5. What are 5 things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1.  DO the great room/family room addition we’ve been talking about for years–and actually pay someone else to do the painting!

2.  Pay off Abbie’s mortgage and give equal gifts to Jonathan and Nathaniel.

3.  Buy Al a new tractor or piece of “dream” equipment    Take Al on a fantasy trip, wherever he’d like to go!

4.  Become a philanthropist, kind of “Oprah-esque.”

5.  Pretty much live the way we do now, continue working as we do, but with less $$$ worries!

6. Who are eight people you would to know more about?

I tag…Dotty, Patty, Mary Ellen, Shannon, serendipitygirl21, lisa brawner, Elizabeth M., and Mary Jenkins.  If you don’t have your own blog, feel free to place your answers here in a comment!