Supersensorial (Wha???)

Here's another DC happening that happened yesterday: The Supersensorial Exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum in DC. Yes, it's this fancy-pants museum of modern art. Usually modern art isn't my thing, but I enjoyed expanding my horizons and thinking outside the box. In this case, it was thinking outside the color. My friend, Lindsay joined me for a good time.
Just check it out.

Here I am blue; trying to look like I know what I'm doing.

Paint tube art? Sounds original to me.

2 Simple colors. 1 Expensive painting. I don't get it.


Blue hangy thingys...that's the only name I could come up with for this picture.


This painting reminds me of the colored blocks I used to play with in elementary school...you know the ones with all of the different shapes?

Artsy pants.

Well, if you need to know what you should do with all of those spare bottles, here's an idea.

Love this pic.


It was super. It was sensational. It was supersensorial. Oh snap.

On this day...

• I am grateful for beautiful, spring-like weather,
• A fabulous home teacher
• Roommates who know all of the Saturday's Warrior lyrics and sing them loud and proud
  
• My roommate, Michele, for watching Saturday's Warrior with me...Oh the memories (Jimmy, oh Jimmy...)
• Dinner with 10 amazing girls who offer wisdom, love, and support
• Pancakes with peanut butter. Why didn't I grow up putting peanut butter on pancakes? Best. discovery. ever.
• Massages by Kathy
• Talking with old friends who laugh at my corny jokes
  
• Seeing how trials often bring beautiful fruits; such as new friends and new experiences.

DC happenings!

The irony of living in a really cool city is that you often don't take advantage of the many things that you can do! (prime example: I grew up in SF Bay Area and never went to Alcatraz...shame on me!) Lately, it has been my goal to do more in DC. See below for just a few of my adventures as of late...

Field trip with my 9th graders to the Mesoamerica Exhibit at the Library of Congress. Their maturity is just seeping through the picture, I know!

Touring the National Archives with my friend, Lindsay. They have the real-life documents of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Magna Carta. So amazing! Here we are with Ben.

And the highlight by far: A segway tour through DC! I bought a living social deal for this tour a few months back and a few of my friends and I made it happen. It was a little bit chilly but we saw so many of the sites: The White House, Capitol, Lincoln, MLK, Washington Monument, FBI building, National Archives, Navy Memorial, and other various places...so cool. Although I have been to these places before it was fun to have a tour guide and to do things through the eyes of the segway. Plus, who doesn't love doing donuts in front of the Capitol???

DC is such a great place to live. It doesn't get old to me. Come and visit!

Presh.

A sweet teaching experience today:

While my student teacher taught my 9th grade classes today, I got to hold one-on-one conferences with my students regarding their grades and their research papers

After discussing my student's research paper with him, he reached down, gave me a side hug and said, "Ms. Baer, you're a great teacher."

The way he said it and the moment was just perfect. My heart melted.

One of my co-workers, who was sitting close by, said, "Baer, those are the moments you hold onto..."

And yes, I'll hold onto that one.

"I would rather to have felt the sting than to have never felt a thing"--# IngridMichaelsonagainspeakstomysoul

Happy Valentine's Day! As I was driving home today I realized that I have posted a blog entry on every single Valentine's Day and this year is no exception.

Recently, I have questioned Lord Tennyson's epic lines:

Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

Those words ring truer and deeper in my heart than they ever have before. Part of me wishes I could crumple them up and just throw them in a trash can. Another part of me empathizes with Mr. Tennyson with every ounce of my soul. Sometimes I want to escape into "I am ignorant about love" la-la-land and not ever feel the sting of the hurt that comes from loving and losing out.

However, the optimistic, faith-promoted side of me is grateful that I can indeed feel deep love for someone; that I can feel this thing called love.

That I can learn how to care, to give my all, to see them the way that the Lord sees them. It's beautiful that love like that is possible. And that it will be possible again.

So if you're still wondering if this blog post is going south or north, let me assure you that it's going north.

Here are some optimistic lessons on love that I have learned, thanks to someone:

**it's possible to be my weird, sensitive self and to be liked
**it's possible to be found utterly attractive even when I'm wearing sweats
**it's possible to be the leading lady and not just the supporting actress
**it's possible for relationships to occur naturally with no coercion or convincing
**it's possible to catch a glimpse of the Lord's love for someone because you learn to love them

I am grateful to have felt the sting. Though the stinging hurts now, the lessons are priceless.

Ok, Mr. Tennyson, you're right. I won't crumple up your words after all...

Oh and ps. Happy Valentine's Day! Love truly is grand in all of its forms! I hope we can share it regardless of our current "status."

Counting my blessings...

So I am going to start copying my sister Chrissie and start counting my blessings. Although I have no holiday to attribute it to, I can always be grateful regardless of the season, right?

For today this is what I've got:

• I am grateful for my student teacher, Jeff. Although he is a man and thinks way different than I do, he is very flexible, friendly, and willing to help. He's also a great listener.
• I saw one of my former students from last year. She wants me to write her a letter of recommendation. She also told me that she misses my class and that it was one of her most organized, fun, and educational classes from last year. I almost cried...
• I got evaluated by my assistant principal and I felt pretty good about it. I love how I'm at the point in teaching that I am comfortable in front of my students and I feel confident with changing up my lesson plan if needs be. I did just that while she observed and it was no big deal. I am past the point of survival and in the trenches of being effective. I love it when ideas just click and they work with the students too!
  
• I am grateful for my friends. I have felt extremely loved recently because of their thoughtfulness and prayers.
  
• The temple. I went with so much angst and left with so much peace. I literally felt the Lord say to me, "Be still and know that I am God."

Hope you all recognized your blessings today too. I know I need to do this daily to keep my thoughts focused on what truly is most important.

Learning to fly...again

Back in 8th grade before tapes became completely obsolete, my brother, Stephen, made me a mix of music that included everything from Boston to Pearl Jam. I used to love that tape and I listened to it all the time.
One of my favorites on there was "Learning to Fly" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. See below for the music video.



This has remained one of my favorite songs of all time and has a lot of significance for me. Every time I am about to embark on a new journey in my life, I blast this song to remind me that I can learn to fly, even if I don't have wings. It inspires me to do hard things and that I can deal with hard things that come my way. Change is constant, but I can learn to fly with it and be okay.

I just reached another one of those crossroads in my life where I am learning to fly...again. I don't know how things will turn out, or what the end result will be but I am striving to learn how to fly all over again.

Somehow I'll land and I'll be okay. In the meantime, I'm flying...