on the 29th blog day of summer...

...a few of my favorite fall things. (i know. two days early. so sue me. i've been holding off on this forEVER.)

1. scarves. this is actually slightly amusing to me. i love to wear scarves, mix them into my outfits, dress up shirts, etc. this is one of my favorites (in the dusk color. the only one i have. i'm thinking maybe a new one this year?). thing is, every year by the time spring rolls around, i am sick. and. tired. of the things, and i swear off scarves. then autumn hints around 7 months later (so, we have  a long summer down here in the south) and i glance at those scarves and think why not and here i am in love again. scarves are a deliciously seasonal relationship for me and i love that. 
2. i actually don't have any other fall things i'd planned to talk about. mostly i wanted to tell you about scarves. maybe we'll just leave it at that? (i mean, obviously i like the cooler weather, and the rainy days, and clogs, and warm drinks, etc. but that's obvious. not whimsical like the dynamics between me and scarves.)

what are your favorite fall things? xo and see you tomorrow for the last day of summer. and for once, the blog day and the seasonal day will actually line up. last one. 

randomness.

click this link, then click "tumblebooks" in the center of the page, then click the red "story books" bubble. you will get a whole list of books...choose the H-I page and scroll down to I Have to Go! and click the book cover to listen to one of my kindergarteners' favorite stories. and guess what my internal dialogue is now whenever i need to use the restroom. (sorry, i know that's a lot of directions but a direct link doesn't work.)

in lieu of a really high-tech dslr camera (which would cost 5 times as much), wouldn't this be a fun new toy? when i was little and on a camping trip with my family, i made friends with an older lady in the bathroom and she took my picture with a (real) polaroid camera. i remember holding the brown photo in my hands and seeing myself appear. the thought of instant prints holds amazing charm.

i'm finishing my resume today. applying to two of my top job picks in this coming week. sitting in a mock interview on tuesday (at college, part of my senior seminar). will you pray for blessing on my applications and that i will continue to trust? i know God has the perfect place for me.

that's my shopping buddy up there. last weekend i needed a whole outfit to wear for interviews (see above) and she and God helped it happen in one day. and it was fun. win-win. (thanks, kt!)

i'll think of more later, but that's all for now. love you guys.

i kind of have a thing for ranunculus.

it's too bad ranunculus doesn't have a thing for the south.

1. Ranunculus, 2. Ranunculus on Green, 3. Ranunculus, 4. ranunculus, 5. i can't stop, 6. overlapping issues, 7. Untitled, 8. layers, 9. good morning friends

**disclaimer: these aren't my pics. since i have never actually seen a ranunculus in person, i have to enjoy them vicariously...hence the links above with photo credits. :) enjoy!

doodles.

a little mindless doodling is sometimes just the ticket. this is a great art medium when you want something quick. go play a bit. :)

let's recap.

1. i am alive.
2. following a quite logical progression, this means that there is life after practicum.
3. some of my college friends who are a semester or so behind me in the teaching program (and therefore have practicum coming up) may be interested in this fact. (ahem. understatement.)
4. since said friends do not read my blog, this is of absolutely no use to them.
5. let's get on to you all who do so kindly read my blog. ;)
6. i missed you.
7. seven is important. i can think of nothing worthy to say.
8. but you should know that, as someone told me yesterday, "emily is back!" then she looked at me and nodded again and smiled. "you're back."
9. i have my last two classes this afternoon/evening.
10. then only one test and one reflective paper are left to complete.
11. easy peasy. 
12. not like the hefty practicum portfolio i turned in yesterday morning.
13. i waved goodbye to the 2" thick binder after leaving it on my practicum supervisor's porch. 
14. and cried absolutely no tears.
15. do you know how to stay awake on the road at night?
16. i thought singing along to music was good.
17. but singing a capella is better.
18. especially when you are in the car by yourself.
19. i'm not sure i've ever sung quite that well before. 
20. it was fun.
21. sorry. that was random. back to the recap.
22. i can't believe i'm done! it feels anticlimactic. 
23. as in...going from dreading, to drowning, to done.
24. (no. that's just dramatic. i promise i'm not like this in person.)
25. anyway. 
26. rough transition.
27. i found myself wishing this morning that i had kept a better journal of the progression of practicum.
28. even just a recap for myself at the end of each week: this is what i did, this was the best thing, this was the worst thing, this is my goal for next week.
29. because i have very little recollection of when or how i went from observing/assisting in the classroom to full out teaching and involvement.
30. it's like it just happened. 
31. and i know that's not true.
32. but it did happen.
33. completely by God's grace.
34. i am so grateful.
35. and for student teaching, i will be sure to write those weekly notes.
36. because i want to remember.
37. this work that He is doing.
38. has done.
39. and the life that He lives, in me.
40. oh yes. i am alive. but it is not i who live.

p.s. once i get done celebrating over here by baking and sewing and crafting and...making my bed...i have a mini celebration for you all. with a present. stay tuned.

as the sky fades.

do you ever get that feeling when you just want to type...not because you have anything to say but because you like the way your fingers feel as they flow over the keys? (maybe you don't. i get the idea that i just sounded quite distinctly like a pianist there. anyway...) i have that feeling.

and i've been considering doing nablopomo again this month. (remember last year?) i posted yesterday just in case i made up my mind to do it. i haven't made up my mind...but i'm posting again.

i wonder how long i could go just "in case."

i've been sitting here in danielle's living room watching the sky fade into shades of violet and indigo...the light melt into softness. puttering at school with my feet up - a preschool activity here, a chapter read there. realizing that while there are only three weeks left of practicum (yay!), my portfolio is due in four weeks. and since i want to be relatively free in that fourth week, i'd better get on it.

"on it" should be said with a brute enthusiasm, in which case i suppose it should have an exclamation point following...but i'll just let you imagine. i don't appreciate the way exclamation points look in my writing.

my blog seems to have taken a lighter turn in the past couple of months. i toy with censuring that and waiting for deeper or more profound words or revelations to come. but the key is to stay real. that's what i keep telling myself. and if real is the lighter side of things that i need to balance this busy/heavy life i'm living right now, then so be it. hopefully the deeper lessons i am learning will process and surface after thanksgiving when i have time to breathe. when that does happen, i don't want to have to learn how to talk again. (in other words, there is a point to this rambling, if only to keep the channel of communication open.)

i just made a kinda good case for nablopomo. hmn.

do you ever get that feeling that you just unwittingly worked yourself into a corner and even though it's a good corner you wish you could sneak out of it before anybody realizes what you just said? mhmm. welcome to the party.

hello.

 happy october, all. :)

the 30-posts-of-september-spree - or 28, as it turned out - has ended. i'm actually a tad sad, so hopefully i'll keep showing my face here fairly frequently. even though what i've shared was often trivial (or, alternatively, way too much information), it was a really worthwhile exercise to share from exactly where i was each day. thanks for coming along for the ride.

i don't know what is in store for october, but the air hints of good things. i have a few things i want to explore as well - like the new "talk to me" category i created on the fly yesterday. a group conversation every now and then would be lovely (and i promise to provide a more substantial topic than yarn colorways).

that's all i have to say for now. i like a little closure. september, it was good knowing you. hello october.

::randomness::

::nine. the number of individuals with whom i had correspondence (reciprocal or nonreciprocal) today. text, email, handwritten, etc. this isn't counting face-to-face. i feel quite productive and communicative. but that's just me.

::if i could kiss blogger, i would (might). they finally developed a photo uploader that...uploads photos. the way you tell it to. no more coercing and manipulating of the blog post for me.

::three. the number of extra tabs i have open. when i come across something i especially like or need to hear on the web (a project that inspires me, a blog post, a picture i like, a recipe, etc) i leave it open in my browser until i either do something about it (reread the post, make the recipe, etc) or bookmark it. right now there are three.

::this is one of those links. those stripes are sooo calling my knitting fingers. forget that i have a love/hate relationship with actually wearing handwarmers. i want to knit them. i'd have to decide on colors first (oh, the options). and finish the sweater currently on my needles. but that's why i'm keeping the link open. motivation.

::sometimes, when i'm really unmotivated (read: in dire emergencies), i use this site to help me out. somehow i focus more intently when there's a timer going. and that break. oh, i'll work for that break.

::thankfully, i haven't actually used the above site for several months. (whew.)

::seven. the number that is last on this list. ni'night, friends.

so...i'm supposed to be doing homework...

writing six-point lesson plans, to be exact. health, wellness, and/or safety in a way developmentally appropriate to preschoolers, anyone? yeah.

so i'll call this brainstorming (not true). or killing time (somewhat true). or maybe just writing-one-blog-paragraph-between-each-lesson-plan-point (true). there we go.
.................................................................................................

you can scrap all of the above. once i got the rogue "distraction syndrome" out of my system i got right down to work. three lesson plans. (school) journal entry. research. clothes ironing. it's been 5 hours since i started this post.

so. words. :) honestly i'm a little short. i start practicum bright and early tomorrow morning and at the moment my primary two sentiments are "bring it on" and "the fact that my body is already complaining this loudly when i've only had one crazy day can't be a good thing."

so i think some stretching is in order before i leave in the morning. which means i need to set my alarm earlier. funny how that works.

i've used the word "so" a lot in this post. not surprising really. if i left myself without my preachy writer's conscience, i'd use that word even more. it's just extremely convenient. so.....

notice something else? i'm rambling. that's bad, peeps. only day 7 of september and i've already digressed into mindless chatter. but what was it i started with? "it doesn't even always have to be about the thing or the emotion itself. it's just the act of sharing, of being open, of pushing myself past my internal boundaries into the free air." yeah. so...(ahem) this is me, pushing my chattery brain out past its boundaries. see? you haven't been missing much. :)

(please don't mind the crazy self-disparaging sense of humor here. i get this way when i'm tired. if i were you, i'd probably be annoyed with me but since i'm me, i'm merely madly amused [check out the consonance]. i shall desist. for now. i promise. but i should probably have saved the boggle-eyed picture of me punchy that i can't believe i had the guts to post (yay!) for this rant. it would soo fit. oh bother. there it is again. let me leave before it pops up any more. ni'night all.)

saying hi.

crazy photo by the lovely nala (back in june). edited by me.

Do you know one of my favorite things about my blog? I like that it's no pressure. I am not given - have not written for myself - a "blog syllabus" with posts due three times a week or certain topics required for thought. Everything is open to my whims (or you could say it's open to the Spirit's leading; that's my prayer). This concept has the great effect of making blogging enjoyable, but it also does something else: it makes my blogging more genuine. There's not much filler around here just for the sake of a post. I like that.

So...to jump right in where we left off. I'm home from Canada. And I've been getting back into the college routine for a week and a half. Do not say the words "senior year" to me. It's just too crazy.

I have some nuts and bolts I want to take care of here, both for my personal archives (that's another great blog thing) and because of others' known interests. This means a short picture journey through Canada and probably an inventory of some things I've been making this summer.

By that time, September will be here. I have something up my sleeve for that if I can work it around the contingencies of practicum, which also starts then. I'll keep you posted. (ahem. No pun intended.)

p.s. I just realized I've typed this whole post with capitol letters in their appropriate places. Without thinking about it. See? School really has started.

sauntering forth.

check in online: done.

luggage paid for: affirmative.

in-flight reading material procured: check.

luggage packed: yeah...working on that. :)

excitement brewed:  you bet.

blog readers informed: well, now they are.

. . . . . . . . . .

i'm going to canada for a bit, y'all. i may be around in the meantime, and i may not. i'm not making any promises but i thought i'd let you know. i might get the writing bug tonight and leave some scheduled posts for you. who knows.

batten the hatches and hold down the fort. i know you're up to it. ;)

puppy antics.

enjoy. :)

apologies.

sometimes i feel sorry for you poor people who read my blog. do you ever come here and have to blink a few times? and then i can just imagine an eye-roll. "ooh. she got that urge again. when i finally got used to the old look."

yeah. i did. and you should know that i am just as bad with the furniture. every day is an adventure!

so help me out: i want to know if you can see the whole page of my blog in your browser window (when the window is fully maximized, of course). most specifically, is there a slider bar at the bottom of your window when you come to my blog? thank you. :)

i may post again a little later if i'm not too tired of the computer screen. i have pictures that have been burning a hole in my files for...weeks. stay tuned.

inspiring me.

just a few links today, because i can't stand not to share. :) (really. it's true. i want someone to be here scheming over these things right along with me. even if it is through virtual means.)

two things:

these wool felt beauties. because they could go anywhere and do anything. and because the child in me squeals at the thought of a whole pile of them begging to be landed in.

this idea. the whole thing is totally doable, but the part that really gets me is those abstract watercolor stroke plays. break out the paints, baby. this is inspiring.

just a snippet before the dishwashing.

i see i disappeared again. do you think that's a super-power i have, or just something that happens when i get busy? because it might be the business thing - you know, "little" brothers graduating and all: parties, presents, the whole shebang...but super-powers make for a better story. i'm just saying.

so *vwhooosh* - here i am. thinking about things like summer evenings and the distinctive appearance of crisp black musical notes on copy paper and the throbbing rhythm of ceiling fans. "in the moment" things.

come to think of it, it's kind of hard for me to disappear when i'm fully immersed in each present moment of life. so i might have to go with that boring "busy" excuse, after all.

trios.

}it's been more than a week. even more than "a week or so." in fact, i've actually been home for more than a week now. so call me a liar. but, boy, did i enjoy my break. the past week i've been savoring my ordinary life at home, staying on top of some work and letting other things slide. i needed that.

}earlier today i caught up on posting my 365. and boy, does that make me smile. i have pictures coming out of my ears and seeing just a handful edited and displayed gives quite a sense of accomplishment. in other news, i'm glad that i can start a new picture file for june tomorrow. 1175 is a lot of pictures to wade through. i think you all have some coming your way, though. how about a wordless vacation post with pictures that didn't make my 365?

}one more thing. you know i took piano lessons for nine years before graduating from high school? since then i've played for fun - easy songs and my old (more challenging) pieces. well, this past week i decided i was ready to really play again. just one piece. something i'd have to work for. so i looked around a bit (actually i printed the first piece i semi-liked), and here it is. oh boy, are my fingers happy. happy, happy. and you know what? i like practicing. a lot. it's sending happy shivers up my spine to be back at it again simply for pure enjoyment. i think the break was necessary, though. just like my blog break. life is like that. swells and lulls. rises and falls. ins and outs. all that said, i'm glad to be back.

dear blog.

thanks for always being here to listen because even when i don't have anything to say, it's nice to know you'd hear me if i did. you're good that way.

much love, e

kid's songs, buttercups, and blog make-overs.

you know the song teddy bear's picnic? (it's one of my grandmom's signature songs.) i must say that i can not help grinning now that i'm sitting here listening to it.

but back to my point. "if you come out to my blog today, you're in for a big surprise." the key word here is "big," because i did all sorts of crazy things with html code and the result is that my blog columns are wider. (see these instructions, which i used selectively.) mainly, this is important because it means bigger pictures.

it also means that emily may write a post about nothing just to express how tickled she is with it all, adding a completely unrelated photo solely to prove her point. what can i say...if you are reading this, you must love me. :)

::news flash::

there is, apparently, a lizard loose in my room.

a member of my household witnessed this lil' guy's disappearance underneath my bed and had the notion that i should find him (in order to make my room, and thus the house, lizard-less).

i have a twin bed. and i utilize every cubic inch underneath. pulling it all out...well, it's not something i do too often.

seven (large) containers and a few random baskets later, the space is empty. completely empty.

no lizard.

i guess this guy has mad skills pertaining to invisibility. because he has yet to be found - which is why there is, apparently, a lizard loose in my room.

i thought you all should know.

no, it's not a list.

are you glad for some paragraphs to appear here once again? :) i am, as much as i do love lists.

i have a few minutes before i leave for school, and just thought i'd chat. because, while i've been absent from this space, much has occurred! i became, for instance, no-longer-a-teenager.

and i started (for another instance) a project which i'd contemplated for a few months. i finally decided to stop worrying about whether i could actually do it or not (a picture a day for a year...lots of contingencies) and just start. so i did, and here i am.

my time is up, and i know there's not much here, but i just wanted to say hello again. :) i will leave you with my "verse of the day," from psalm 56: "for You have delivered my life from death, yes, and my feet from falling, that i may walk before God in the light of life and of the living."

come walk with me?