I didn't know my heart could hold this much joy, love and light.
Showing posts with label Happy thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Happy thoughts. Show all posts
Monday, December 19, 2011
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Making a Liszt
After a 30-hour work week I'm setting my jaw firmly against depression this weekend, however tempting it is to let the exhaustion weaken my resolve. I will smile, and I will mean it.
On the agenda:
1. Download albums by Beirut and Fleet Foxes.
2. Go to Aeon and buy something completely indulgent, along with groceries that surround a menu that will use up the things in my pantry.
3. Harvest my jungle of basil, oregano and rosemary.
4. Go to the beach. Yes, me. Little white me. At the beach. With sun. And water. And sand in my crack. Maybe the indulgence at Aeon will be a bikini . . . that fits . . .
5. Read Rockabye. Because let's face it - it's a weekend read, and I've got a stack of other books I'm itching to crack open. Wow, two items on my list have crack in them now. And one of them has itch.
6. Finish the curriculum for next semester. Yes, more work. But easy work.
7. Pedicure, pedicure, pedicure . . .
8. Liszt, Debussy and Joplin, you are soooooo mine.
9. Finish Hannah's lastest video and photo montage, get a few pages done in her scrapbook.
10. Something else that's good.
Readyyyyyyy break!
On the agenda:
1. Download albums by Beirut and Fleet Foxes.
2. Go to Aeon and buy something completely indulgent, along with groceries that surround a menu that will use up the things in my pantry.
3. Harvest my jungle of basil, oregano and rosemary.
4. Go to the beach. Yes, me. Little white me. At the beach. With sun. And water. And sand in my crack. Maybe the indulgence at Aeon will be a bikini . . . that fits . . .
5. Read Rockabye. Because let's face it - it's a weekend read, and I've got a stack of other books I'm itching to crack open. Wow, two items on my list have crack in them now. And one of them has itch.
6. Finish the curriculum for next semester. Yes, more work. But easy work.
7. Pedicure, pedicure, pedicure . . .
8. Liszt, Debussy and Joplin, you are soooooo mine.
9. Finish Hannah's lastest video and photo montage, get a few pages done in her scrapbook.
10. Something else that's good.
Readyyyyyyy break!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Good things
No, it isn't all darkness. There are things to be happy for. Hannah is talking up a storm. Her latest is "Uh ohhhhhh" as she drops her blueberries one by one on the floor. We're also working on "I love you," which right now sounds something like "Ah ya deee!" She has mastered the art of puckered little kisses when asked . . . only thing is, if one person gets a kiss, so does everyone else in the room . . . sometimes two or three, if she really likes you. She's also taken to lifting up people's shirts and tickling them, screaming with delight if she gets even the slightest reaction.
Courtney showed me this beautiful thing a couple weeks ago, and I've been meaning to post it here. By the time I can afford to go to London these pianos will probably be small ecosystems of mushrooms, moss and centipedes. Even better . . .
Looking for a creative outlet for your writing? Try writing a story about one of these significant objects. I especially enjoyed the story about this duck tray.
Sesame Street is celebrating its 40th anniversary on the air. This interactive graphic on the National Post has made me recall all of those endearing obscure or retired characters from my childhood. Remember the Yip Yips?!
Where the Wild Things Are trailer, you completely outshined the Harry Potter film you preceded. It was totally worth the 12 bucks just to see you on the big screen. (Yes, it's that expensive in Japan.)
This trailer of Wes Andersen's Fantastic Mr. Fox has me smiling pretty big, too. Seriously, what's not to love about an animated film with voice talents from the casts of Life Aquatic, The Royal Tenenbaums and Darjeeling Limited?
These 10 best book websites could keep me occupied through an entire Hannah naptime. And have. On several occasions.
As for work, I've been teaching summer phonics courses in Ota three times a week: a beginning class from 10:00-11:30 and an advanced class from 12:30-2:00. The beginners are learning all of the short vowel sounds while the advanced kids are getting into the long vowels. It's been a frustration and delight working with these kids - three of them are attending BOTH classes, neither of which they really need. With phonics classes, Homestay club and their regular "Let's Go" classes, Willis, Lane and Briah are now getting almost 20 hours of English a week! It isn't easy for the other kids to keep up in the shadow of these English-learning giants, but today I had amazing experience with Buzz, who used to be in "Hans' Hellions" American School. Samantha, I think this is the class William used to teach. We were learning the long "o" sound with all of it's quirky spellings: hole boat, toe, row, gold. We worked through some pages in their workbooks before picking up their readers for the day: "My Old Gold Boat." At the end of the class I usually have all of the kids read the book individually, and Buzz usually backs out. Today was a different story. The other kids sang our song of cheerful encouragement (a song perfect for phonics classes, by the way) as Buzz walked slowly to the front:
Buzz, Buzz, bo-Buzz
Banana-fana fo-fuzz!
Me, my mo-muzz
Buzz!
He sat down and proceded to read the entire book to the class, stumbling along as all beginning readers must, but never giving up, and trying at least once to sound out a difficult word before asking for my help. I shed tears of fierce pride as this little boy faced his fear. Children are such a gift . . . such a miracle.
Courtney showed me this beautiful thing a couple weeks ago, and I've been meaning to post it here. By the time I can afford to go to London these pianos will probably be small ecosystems of mushrooms, moss and centipedes. Even better . . .
Looking for a creative outlet for your writing? Try writing a story about one of these significant objects. I especially enjoyed the story about this duck tray.
Sesame Street is celebrating its 40th anniversary on the air. This interactive graphic on the National Post has made me recall all of those endearing obscure or retired characters from my childhood. Remember the Yip Yips?!
Where the Wild Things Are trailer, you completely outshined the Harry Potter film you preceded. It was totally worth the 12 bucks just to see you on the big screen. (Yes, it's that expensive in Japan.)
This trailer of Wes Andersen's Fantastic Mr. Fox has me smiling pretty big, too. Seriously, what's not to love about an animated film with voice talents from the casts of Life Aquatic, The Royal Tenenbaums and Darjeeling Limited?
These 10 best book websites could keep me occupied through an entire Hannah naptime. And have. On several occasions.
As for work, I've been teaching summer phonics courses in Ota three times a week: a beginning class from 10:00-11:30 and an advanced class from 12:30-2:00. The beginners are learning all of the short vowel sounds while the advanced kids are getting into the long vowels. It's been a frustration and delight working with these kids - three of them are attending BOTH classes, neither of which they really need. With phonics classes, Homestay club and their regular "Let's Go" classes, Willis, Lane and Briah are now getting almost 20 hours of English a week! It isn't easy for the other kids to keep up in the shadow of these English-learning giants, but today I had amazing experience with Buzz, who used to be in "Hans' Hellions" American School. Samantha, I think this is the class William used to teach. We were learning the long "o" sound with all of it's quirky spellings: hole boat, toe, row, gold. We worked through some pages in their workbooks before picking up their readers for the day: "My Old Gold Boat." At the end of the class I usually have all of the kids read the book individually, and Buzz usually backs out. Today was a different story. The other kids sang our song of cheerful encouragement (a song perfect for phonics classes, by the way) as Buzz walked slowly to the front:
Buzz, Buzz, bo-Buzz
Banana-fana fo-fuzz!
Me, my mo-muzz
Buzz!
He sat down and proceded to read the entire book to the class, stumbling along as all beginning readers must, but never giving up, and trying at least once to sound out a difficult word before asking for my help. I shed tears of fierce pride as this little boy faced his fear. Children are such a gift . . . such a miracle.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Diva Day
1. A tall glass of water . . . with ice . . . and lime!
2. A bowl of melon salad . . . with homegrown mint!
3. A cup of coffee . . . with milk!
4. A manicure . . . in "Keys to my Kharma" red!
5. A cool bath . . . by myself!
6. Shaved legs . . . and aromatherapy calf massage!
7. A nap . . . a nap!
8. A vocal warm up . . . with honey lemon tea!
9. A 5- minute updo . . . with Joanna Newsom!
10. Makeup. Dress . . . done.
(For those who might be in the Takamatsu area tonight and are interested in a romantic evening with coffee and sweets, the "Night Cafe" will be under the crystal dome in the Marugamemachi shopping arcade, near the Mitsukoshi department store. I'm singing my program twice: 6:00-6:30 and 7:00-7:30. Hope to see you there!)
2. A bowl of melon salad . . . with homegrown mint!
3. A cup of coffee . . . with milk!
4. A manicure . . . in "Keys to my Kharma" red!
5. A cool bath . . . by myself!
6. Shaved legs . . . and aromatherapy calf massage!
7. A nap . . . a nap!
8. A vocal warm up . . . with honey lemon tea!
9. A 5- minute updo . . . with Joanna Newsom!
10. Makeup. Dress . . . done.
(For those who might be in the Takamatsu area tonight and are interested in a romantic evening with coffee and sweets, the "Night Cafe" will be under the crystal dome in the Marugamemachi shopping arcade, near the Mitsukoshi department store. I'm singing my program twice: 6:00-6:30 and 7:00-7:30. Hope to see you there!)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Mood boosters
For those times when I just need to feel like a woman again...
1. Take a hot bath with bubbles.
2. Exfoliate.
3. Use aromatherapy lotion or oil.
4. Brush your teeth.
5. Paint your toenails.
6. Clean your mirror and say "Hello, gorgeous!"
7. Drink a glass of water
8. Write something down that you've already completed, just so you can cross it off.
9. Tear up all those crumpled receipts in your wallet.
10. Eat an apple.
11. Make your bed.
12. Pluck your eyebrows.
13. Clean out your junk drawer. Throw away all dried up pens.
14. Read a chapter of a good book.
15. Make birthday cards for all the birthdays this month.
16. Turn off cell phone and computer. Enjoy 30 minutes of solitude and quiet.
17. Plan the week's meals.
18. Hand write a letter to a friend who lives far away.
19. Update framed pictures.
20. Go on a walk. Alone, if you can.
21. Turn up the music and dance.
22. Throw away or compost all the expired food in your refrigerator.
23. Make yourself a healthy, satisfying lunch.
24. Make a slide show of the past year of photos.
25. Take a nap.
Take a deep breath. It'll be ok.
1. Take a hot bath with bubbles.
2. Exfoliate.
3. Use aromatherapy lotion or oil.
4. Brush your teeth.
5. Paint your toenails.
6. Clean your mirror and say "Hello, gorgeous!"
7. Drink a glass of water
8. Write something down that you've already completed, just so you can cross it off.
9. Tear up all those crumpled receipts in your wallet.
10. Eat an apple.
11. Make your bed.
12. Pluck your eyebrows.
13. Clean out your junk drawer. Throw away all dried up pens.
14. Read a chapter of a good book.
15. Make birthday cards for all the birthdays this month.
16. Turn off cell phone and computer. Enjoy 30 minutes of solitude and quiet.
17. Plan the week's meals.
18. Hand write a letter to a friend who lives far away.
19. Update framed pictures.
20. Go on a walk. Alone, if you can.
21. Turn up the music and dance.
22. Throw away or compost all the expired food in your refrigerator.
23. Make yourself a healthy, satisfying lunch.
24. Make a slide show of the past year of photos.
25. Take a nap.
Take a deep breath. It'll be ok.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
The Simple Things
I've been keeping this list on my facebook, but I wanted to share it with my family here. These are a few things that make me happy.
Lemongrass exfoliating foot scrub
Hannah’s 6:00 AM smile after a good night’s sleep
Funny YouTube videos
Locally grown fruits and vegetables
Emoticons
Funny T-shirts
Chunky jewelry
New Recipes
Wild Rice
Shopping all day with my mom
The smell of a new book
Going on a surprise date with Hans
Cooking yummy, healthy meals
Harvest Season
Paid Vacation
Pizza Marino’s dessert bar
Curry and naan
Yogurt raisins and yogurt pretzels
The Princess Bride
Playing hostess to friends
Rainy Season
Peppermint and rosemary healing foot lotion
Incense
Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto
Cold somen noodles in Shodoshima
Onsens
New clothes
Seeing Hannah figure out the world
Nap time
Visiting friends and family
Natural hot springs
Mint chocolate chip ice cream
The smell of Hannah’s head
Changing Hannah’s diaper (what makes her happy, makes me happy)
Scrapbooks
Grilled pineapple
New office supplies
Fresh mountain air
Sales
Cherry blossom season
Taking baths with Hannah
Doing nice things for people who don’t expect it from me
Music
Singing
Chatting
New curtains
Re-reading my favorite books
Popcorn
Hearing my sister's voice
Being tickled by Hans
Watching Hans tickle Hannah
Riding my bike to the grocery store
Knowing that I'm loved.
Lemongrass exfoliating foot scrub
Hannah’s 6:00 AM smile after a good night’s sleep
Funny YouTube videos
Locally grown fruits and vegetables
Emoticons
Funny T-shirts
Chunky jewelry
New Recipes
Wild Rice
Shopping all day with my mom
The smell of a new book
Going on a surprise date with Hans
Cooking yummy, healthy meals
Harvest Season
Paid Vacation
Pizza Marino’s dessert bar
Curry and naan
Yogurt raisins and yogurt pretzels
The Princess Bride
Playing hostess to friends
Rainy Season
Peppermint and rosemary healing foot lotion
Incense
Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto
Cold somen noodles in Shodoshima
Onsens
New clothes
Seeing Hannah figure out the world
Nap time
Visiting friends and family
Natural hot springs
Mint chocolate chip ice cream
The smell of Hannah’s head
Changing Hannah’s diaper (what makes her happy, makes me happy)
Scrapbooks
Grilled pineapple
New office supplies
Fresh mountain air
Sales
Cherry blossom season
Taking baths with Hannah
Doing nice things for people who don’t expect it from me
Music
Singing
Chatting
New curtains
Re-reading my favorite books
Popcorn
Hearing my sister's voice
Being tickled by Hans
Watching Hans tickle Hannah
Riding my bike to the grocery store
Knowing that I'm loved.
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