Summer endings; Fall beginnings

I am 2 months behind with posting pictures so here's just a glimpse of some of life's happenings...So many things are so good. I need to savor every single day!

Heidi got married! What a beautiful bride!

Undercover with Mike. We accomplished our mission successfully at Teresa's birthday party.

The reflecting pool just opened up again! I love this city.

Cafe Rio with some of my closest friends for my birthday

Summer isn't summer without Montgomery County Fair. Enjoyed a night with Eric.

I went to Duck Beach for the weekend and caught up with some good friends like Sarah!

Stacia came to visit me! We went to DC Cupcake and met up with her friend, Hannah in Georgetown.

Handsome friends. Nick loves his root beer. We all spied successfully.

Had a wonderful birthday party with close friends. The best part? Susie spotlight! Boy, was my love language fulfilled!

Polo Match in VA with some ward friends. A wonderful summer evening.

We loved the ward retreat a few weeks ago and enjoyed some silly moments such as this one!

 

Loved spending time with the girls (haha) at Heidi's wedding.

Pity Party

This weekend has been a weekend of Susie pity parties. I have cried a lot and felt sorry for myself on numerous occasions in the last 48 hours. "Woe is me" has been my mentality. Pity parties are absolutely ridiculous (and kind of funny when you look back on them) but I think we're always due to have one every once in a while.
 
The irony is that there's nothing really wrong. The weather has been absolutely beautiful. I have amazing friends who support me. I have a job and though it's incredibly demanding it's also amazingly enriching and fulfilling. I live in a beautiful city and last weekend I went bike riding around the monuments. What's the fuss all about anyway?

I think it's important to be grateful. I try to be everyday, but you know what? Sometimes you need a pity party. If you haven't had one for a while, go ahead and cry and vent about what's not going right.

You have my permission.

Yep, it was my birthday...

My 4th in DC, in fact!

Honestly, I am glad to have 27 behind me, a great but tumultuous year.

I feel like chanting the following:

"28 will be great! I won't hate. What will be my fate? Will I find a mate?" Somehow chanting that in my C1 circle may seem a little bit desperate.

But I feel good about this year of my life and ironically, I am more at peace about my situation than I have been in most of my YSA years. It's a grand feeling to feel like I can trust and have confidence in the Lord's plan. I am more willing to submit my will to His and know that as I stay faithful He will bless me.

Bring on 28. The future is bright.

PS. Thanks to everyone for all of the well-wishes! I felt very loved.

The grumps.

I don't mean to be a Negative Nancy or anything, but as I am getting older, I am realizing more and more what I need to be a happy and positive person.  After a few days of feeling like a grump, I have discovered what makes me get the grumps. There's a reason why I was called Oscar the Grouch growing up. My adult Oscar does come back on occasion and here's why:

1. I don't get enough sleep. I need at least 7 to function well.
2. I don't have something to eat readily available. I need to eat every 2-3 hours, at least!
3. I like to be comfortable and if I'm in an uncomfortable place, especially when I'm trying to sleep, I get unhappy. That's why camping has never really been my thing.
4. You tease me when all or one of the #'s 1-3 are occurring and I will get extra grumpy.
5. I get lost in a big city while driving, or just sometimes driving in the city, period.
6. You fail to recognize that my job zaps away a ton of my energy, enthusiasm, and time. Then you question me when I'm not feeling perky and Susie-like. Please don't.
7. I don't get enough Susie time. Yes, hard to believe but I do need quiet time to be at my best.
8. You misconstrue,  misunderstand, or do not validate my communication style and/or my feelings. And the walls come up!
9. I am unable to get basic things done which prevents me from preparing for the rest of the week.
10. You tell me to suck it up and be happy when I am feeling sad. Sometimes it's OK to be sad!

There you have it! I can be grumpy! Yes, I kind of am right now. Don't talk to me. 

This year is going to be Cuh-razy!

2 weeks of school year 2012-2013 down, many more to go.

Reasons why this year is going to be cuh-razy (aka nutso!)

• I share a room and "float" into another. Meaning, I don't have my own space completely. At least I have my own desk in one of the rooms. This makes the day that much harder as I have to keep 2 rooms organized; not just one. I am already losing my mind...and all of my materials.
• I am the 9th grade SGA advisor (student government). Homecoming is coming up and so much needs to happen to prepare; after school hours and weekends. 
• I am taking a practicum course for my Inspired Teaching Institute (see July blog post) and therefore will have several nights/month that I will be in class. Yes, I get grad credit for it
• So many social things/trips coming up this fall. Obviously, I will have to be choosy about my social events, but many opportunities to do things with people. 
• My classes are HUGE and I have 150 students; plus I don't have a TA and I am refusing another student teacher = way more work for me to grade. Blah. 
• I want to go to Grad School next fall, which means applications and possibly the GRE.

It's going to be crazy one; pray for me!!

I can be CrAfTy!

People: I admit it. I see facebook, blog posts, and pinterest and I am immediately overwhelmed with the amount of cute things people like you produce. And I'm not just talking children. I've never really considered myself a crafty person at all. I stick with the craft of teaching (haha). However, deep inside of me is a yearning to be more domestic and cute and crafty.

So, here goes the story of the picture gallery. I've wanted to do this for a while actually; arrange some pictures. Often, I want to rush through this process and get it over with. Unfortunately the outcome doesn't look too good. So, after a bad 1st round of creating a picture gallery, I complete a much more awesome 2nd round. 

Lesson learned? Good things take time. Yes, and I know it applies to ALL aspects of my life, got it.

1st step: Lay out pictures in desired order and create a stencil for each picture. This took me at least an hour. Thanks to Queen Latifah, I got through it alright.

2nd step: Use the stencils to place on the wall and tape.

 Also nail, like you're nailing the actual pictures.

3rd step...Hang pictures and tear down stencils and you have a masterpiece!

So, now I have this AWESOME picture gallery that I did all by myself. It was a proud moment, indeed. Yes, I can be crafty! Go me.

The (revolutionary) Alaskan Adventure

So for those of you who still read my blog, here is the post you have all been waiting for. It has been such a busy few weeks since Alaska that I haven't had a chance to update. This was a revolutionary trip! With none of the grandchildren with us, the Baer siblings, spouses, mom, and me, we were able to take a 1 week cruise to Alaska and Canada. It was phenomenal! Cruises take care of you and we were never without funny people aboard ship, claustrophobic bedroom space, and endless buffet options. It was a wonderful trip. Thanks mom for making this happen!!

Here are some of the highlights in no chronological order whatsoever...

THE BAERS TAKING ALASKA (and British Columbia) by storm!

Need I say more??????

The Lovely Butchard Gardens in BC!

Here fishy fishy fishy...

Beautiful horizon on ship...

Most of the sibs/spouses at the Totem Pole Park (or something like that).

"Argh?"-John. Oh and nice fish face, Juj!

About to embark on our small plane adventure to the misty fjords. Whoa, scary.

Off the ship in Kethikan!

Tram view of Juneau

Mining for gold in Skagway

Cuties

7am, lets watch the glacier from the ship. Thanks for getting me out of bed, Kath!

"Jumping" picture in front of a waterfall...

Welcome to Alaska! It's cold. Duh.

Oh hey, Ketch.

Our favorite, flourless chocolate cake. So yummy.

Watching Barry Manilow under the stars. Nothing to get too excited about.

Cribbage tournament. Mark won. Lame.

The scenery we got used to for 7 days...

Mendenhall Glacier. No comment on the poncho.

Just doing what I'm good at; flirting with lumberjacks.

One of the fancy shmancy meals on ship.

One of the many sites from the airplane ride.

Attitude by the totem pole, why not?

Our wonderful waitors! Loved Victor (on left). "What do you want sweetheart?" (picture Hungarian accent)

More Garden loveliness

Karate Kidish.

Thanks to Stephen, we burned more calories to allow us to eat more on the ship.

Skagway

And we ended on a high note: going to beloved Canada. Must go back to BC again.