When a teacher gets sick...

It's not a good thing. For the past 2 days, I have looked like this. You know you feel bad when people come up and go "you feeling okay?" Actually no, I feel like crap. Thanks for asking. I've been going in between feeling like my head is in a vice and being a balloon (like it's just floating above my head). My throat is on fire and my eyes hurt. The worst part is I don't have a fever so I can't in my head justify calling in a sub. So I've been at school. And it's been rough.

When you're a lawyer and you're sick, you can cancel meetings. You can sit in the darkness and people will realize you're sick and leave you alone. 5 year olds don't leave you alone. And every single thing they do that is even a little annoying when you're feeling 150%, is magnified times a million when you feel like doo-doo. I'm embarrassed to say that I lost it today with my kids (well, for me I lost it. Another teacher may not have even noticed, but I did). I was short with them. I know I was not as nice as I usually am. And I know the kids did not have as much fun.

The thing is, looking back over the day, it wasn't horrible. Sure, some kids were running around in the bathroom and some were talking in the hall. But overall, they were actually pretty good. It's me that was not so good. I wasn't feeling well but I don't need to take it out on the kids. This is a personal goal of mine. There are going to be days that I don't feel well, things are not going right, etc. But that is not the kids fault. I owe it to these sweet children to put aside how I'm feeling and focus on them. Because I love my job. Even when I feel like crap.

Arrington Vineyards

Saturday evening, a bunch of friends went out to Arrington Vineyards (owned by Kix Brooks, from Brooks and Dunn) to celebrate my friend Kelly's birthday. It was awesome!

the view- pretty spectacular!

We had a great time at the wine tasting and the just enjoyed sitting outside, listening to the music and hanging out. I brought along some brie and crackers (yum!) and a friend of Kelly's brought the birthday cake. It was a very fun civilized birthday party!

the awesome birthday girl

Kelly and I did the Music City 1/2 Marathon together with Team in Training. She is amazing! A year ago she was going through her first chemo treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and now a year later she is double fisting wine celebrating her 25th birthday! I am so glad I have gotten to know her over the past year. She has become a great friend and it was a great night out to celebrate her life. Love you Kelly!!

Shakespeare in the Park

Friday night my dad joined me for Shakespeare in the Park. The weather was FABULOUS (low 70's) and we had a great picnic dinner and enjoyed the play. It was "Love's Labor Lost", which I wasn't too familiar with. The play was alright, but the best part was just being outside enjoying the atmosphere. It's a pretty cool thing that the Nashville Shakespeare Festival puts on every year. Next year's production is "Romeo and Juliette"...already looking forward to that one! This year's show runs through Sept. 12, check it out!

My Saturday Morning

I woke up this morning at 8:00am. Not too bad considering I usually wake up at 5:45, but I wish I could have slept a little later. Once I wake up, I am up. There is no going back to sleep. There is no dozing. I am either awake or asleep. So once I woke up this morning I was like "okay, now what?" I wasn't working out with my trainer until 11, so I had plenty of time for this:

Blueberry Pancakes!

I haven't had pancakes in forever, and let me tell you they were fabulous! Used the multi-grain pancake mix from Trader Joe's. Added some cinnamon (because who doesn't love cinnamon?) and fresh blueberries. It was a great morning to sit on the couch, eat my pancakes and catch up on my DVR. Gotta love Saturday mornings!!

What to do with all the sorority t-shirts?

I graduated college 3 1/2 years ago. I have since carried around approximately 30 t-shirts from my apartment, to my parent's house, to my new house. I never wear them. What should I do with them?

Then I found http://www.campusquilt.com/. It's so easy! You place the order and they send you a kit to package all your t-shirts and in 3-4 weeks you have an awesome quilt made from your old t-shirts. I don't have any before pictures, but hopefully in a few weeks you can see the finished product!

What would you make a quilt out of? They can add picture squares (too cool) and make quilts out of baby clothes. It's a pretty cool idea, check it out!

The nicest thing...

Today, someone stopped me in the hallway at school and said, "Clare, you're doing a great job this year. People are noticing and talking about it. It's not even like you're a second year teacher, more like a fifth or sixth."

Seriously?? How sweet!! It totally made my day, and made everything that I am doing worthwhile. And it totally helps because I was feeling like today was not the greatest, but apparently that's not what other people see. It totally confirmed my career and made me remember why I love what I do.

Hopefully someone has told you something similar lately. If not, take a minute to think about WHY you do what you do. It puts everything into perspective!

Rock Star Parking

When I was in college, my friend Tara informed me about "rock star parking." It is where you get THE spot in the parking lot. You know, the one that is the closest to the door? The thing about it is, you can't lurk around and wait for the spot. It has to be waiting for you, like a rock star.

Today I went (on an impulse, actually didn't buy anything but came very close) to HomeGoods, the home version of TJ Max. And there it was...my rock star parking place. You should know that on a Sunday afternoon in Brentwood, TN, a rock star parking place does not exist. Driving through the parking lot was a zoo. Apparently everyone decided today was a good day to go to HomeGoods. But as I drove up, someone was just finishing pulling out (I didn't have to wait, therefore not breaking the "can't wait for the spot" rule).

I know it's a little thing, but it's the little things that make my day :) Anyone else know what I'm talking about? Any good "rock star parking" stories out there?

notice how close I am!! I was literally steps away from the door