Well, Day 13´s celebration was all about Gabby time! We had a great day spending time downtown! We ate some yummy oaxaqueña food (I had a tlayuda) and that was a whole new experience for us! It´s nice that Enrique and I have the schedules we do because we are able to spend nearly every weekend together doing something!
Day 14 (Monday´s) celebration was all about my great teaching staff. I feel so lucky to work with each of them and we have had a great year! I hope we´re all there together next year!
Day 15´s small celebration was my success of teaching another professional development to some teachers. This school invited me nearly 2 years ago to give some courses on cooperative learning, writing ideas, SIOP, etc... and I am still privileged to be giving courses there. Each time I give a session, I feel so lucky and I learn so much from the teachers!
Day 16 was Wednesday. My day´s celebration would definitely be watching the final episode of Oprah. What an inspiring woman. Self-made and so generous. I enjoyed how her final show was all about life´s lessons. What really stuck with me was being sure that you´re in just right the place doing whatever your calling may be, doing service for others, and having a spiritual connection to a higher power and giving thanks to that power. I know those lessons stuck with me because those are things I am struggling with right now. One other thing Oprah mentioned was that before she makes any decisions, she pauses and ¨listens¨to be sure she makes the right choice. I´m going to focus on doing this, too.
Thursday´s celebration (Day 17) was all about laughter. I watched some super funny videos online and laughed for at least 30 minutes straight. Laughter is the best medicine. Life is too short not to laugh around the way!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Day 12 Celebration
Today´s celebration is definitely about how lucky we are to have the neighbors we have. It was their grandson´s birthday today (he and Gabby play together every single day and are pals). They cooked a delicious dinner consisting of stuffed chicken breasts topped with a pineapple curry and pasta. Holy cow was it good! Of course there was cake and coffee and food galore, but it was the company that was especially great. They are always so kind to us. When I need the gas tank changed and Enrique is gone, they are right there to come change it for me; each day our neighbor comes up and combs Gabby´s hair before she leaves for school (since it would be Enrique´s job otherwise); anytime we have a bbq or party, our neighbor (who is an amazing chef) whips something delicious up and is willing to help out in whatever way possible.
It´s so nice to have ¨family¨here when I don´t have any extended family here in reality. I think it´s going to be sad when we move out of our apt., but hopefully we´ve made life long friends. There is a reason our paths crossed, I am sure of that.
It´s so nice to have ¨family¨here when I don´t have any extended family here in reality. I think it´s going to be sad when we move out of our apt., but hopefully we´ve made life long friends. There is a reason our paths crossed, I am sure of that.
Friday, May 20, 2011
ooopsssss! celebrations from the last 6 days!
Starting with Sunday´s celebration....that´d have to be about family time. It was nice to hang out with my cute little family all day today! We didn´t do anything too exciting, and that was in itself exciting! I know I had a busy week, so it was great relaxing. I even took a 30 minute nap! Yes...a NAP! When you have a three year-old, napping doesn´t happen much. I´ve gotten out of the habit, but Sunday´s nap was great!
Monday is was appreciative of being appreciated! It was Teacher´s day in Mexico on Sunday and it was pretty much celebrated on Monday. My amazing students showered me with gifts throughout the week. I got many edible items, some gorgeous jewelry, and lots of hugs. There are many rewarding things about being a teacher and being so appreciated by students and parents definitely tops them. What a great feeling!
Tuesday´s celebration was when I didn´t have to wait in line for 4 hours to order my daughter´s uniforms for the upcoming school year! After a super busy day, I passed the director on my way to get in line. She told me that I definitely shouldn´t have to wait and she told me to speak with the uniform ladies and tell them that I´d be in Wednesday afternoon on my free time to take care of the order! Yippee! When I left, there were probably already 20 families in line and they had just begun doing the orders! Yeah for connections!
Wednesday´s celebration was meeting new people and re-meeting others. Wednesday the teachers at my school were given an awesome luncheon by our awesome room mothers! We had sushi, rice, tempura....wine & tequila! There were prizes galore, karaoke, dancing and best of all....good company! It was quite a celebration! It was great to talk with the moms and learn just now ¨normal¨they are even though they lead such different lives than my own. Nice to connect on some level.
Thursday´s celebration came when our internet and phone service went out for the entire morning! I was supposed to conduct an interview via skype at 9:15 and I have to say..I was not in the mood (due to the celebration the evening before....). I am usually swamped with emails by about 9:00 in the morning and now that I´m teaching again and coordinating, it´s hard to stay on top of everything. It was soooo nice to not have to deal with any emails for about 5 hours. We rescheduled the interview for Friday and everything worked out perfectly! I think the school receptionists and secretary really enjoyed the down time, too!
Today´s celebration is all about quiet time. I am currently sitting at home browsing the internet and blogging while my hubby is off with Gabby at a birthday party! It is soooo nice to have some time all to myself! Life gets so busy, it´s nice to slow down and take some time for myself once in a while. It´s on days like today that I get to have phone conversations with my friends for longer than 5 minutes (thanks Lisa) and that precious conversation time was much needed today!
Monday is was appreciative of being appreciated! It was Teacher´s day in Mexico on Sunday and it was pretty much celebrated on Monday. My amazing students showered me with gifts throughout the week. I got many edible items, some gorgeous jewelry, and lots of hugs. There are many rewarding things about being a teacher and being so appreciated by students and parents definitely tops them. What a great feeling!
Tuesday´s celebration was when I didn´t have to wait in line for 4 hours to order my daughter´s uniforms for the upcoming school year! After a super busy day, I passed the director on my way to get in line. She told me that I definitely shouldn´t have to wait and she told me to speak with the uniform ladies and tell them that I´d be in Wednesday afternoon on my free time to take care of the order! Yippee! When I left, there were probably already 20 families in line and they had just begun doing the orders! Yeah for connections!
Wednesday´s celebration was meeting new people and re-meeting others. Wednesday the teachers at my school were given an awesome luncheon by our awesome room mothers! We had sushi, rice, tempura....wine & tequila! There were prizes galore, karaoke, dancing and best of all....good company! It was quite a celebration! It was great to talk with the moms and learn just now ¨normal¨they are even though they lead such different lives than my own. Nice to connect on some level.
Thursday´s celebration came when our internet and phone service went out for the entire morning! I was supposed to conduct an interview via skype at 9:15 and I have to say..I was not in the mood (due to the celebration the evening before....). I am usually swamped with emails by about 9:00 in the morning and now that I´m teaching again and coordinating, it´s hard to stay on top of everything. It was soooo nice to not have to deal with any emails for about 5 hours. We rescheduled the interview for Friday and everything worked out perfectly! I think the school receptionists and secretary really enjoyed the down time, too!
Today´s celebration is all about quiet time. I am currently sitting at home browsing the internet and blogging while my hubby is off with Gabby at a birthday party! It is soooo nice to have some time all to myself! Life gets so busy, it´s nice to slow down and take some time for myself once in a while. It´s on days like today that I get to have phone conversations with my friends for longer than 5 minutes (thanks Lisa) and that precious conversation time was much needed today!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Day 5--Good Friends
Today´s small celebration is all about my network of friends here in Mexico City! We had our Teacher´s Day celebration (provided by our school) today and it was so fun! The lunch was delicious, ambiance was fantastic, and the company was even better! I truly enjoy spending time with my co-workers (lucky for me, they also happen to be my good friends). Surprisingly enough, I don´t think we said two words about school! We did, however, talk about EVERYTHING else! It was such a nice, relaxing afternoon!
It is easy to sometimes take the people you see everyday for granted. It is nice to see them out of the normal realm. In our cases, it´s nice to remember that we are all people besides just being teachers. We all have lives outside of school and it´s nice to catch-up! I, once again, feel very blessed today. I lucked out working at the school I work at and am very lucky to have my teaching staff! They make my job more enjoyable, enrich the lives of the students we work with, and they also enrich my personal life.
It is easy to sometimes take the people you see everyday for granted. It is nice to see them out of the normal realm. In our cases, it´s nice to remember that we are all people besides just being teachers. We all have lives outside of school and it´s nice to catch-up! I, once again, feel very blessed today. I lucked out working at the school I work at and am very lucky to have my teaching staff! They make my job more enjoyable, enrich the lives of the students we work with, and they also enrich my personal life.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Days 4 and 5
I was lying (or is it laying) in bed with Gabby last night. We were whispering to each other reasons why we loved one another (she didn´t want her Daddy to know she was awake so late). In her quite, cute, little voice she said, ¨And you know why I love you mommy?¨¨Why?¨I asked. ¨Because you follow directions and I am happy with you.¨Too cute. Do you think school is rubbing off on Gabriella??? :)
My day 3 celebration is my time with Gabriella. I might not have as much time with her as I´d like, but I sure do treasure our time together. I really love it when my mind is clear (not thinking about work, paying bills, planning our summer vacation.....) and we have little conversations. I am so lucky.
Day 4´s celebration goes back to the phone! Today I successfully ordered a pizza from Domino´s pizza. Yes, it took me 3 years, but people speak so quickly over the phone and it´s so hard for me to understand....I´m always asking them repeat this and that, it gets confusing...I get frustrated....my Spanish gets worse.....Today I did ask the guy on the phone to slow down (I told him, ¨Please slow down. I am just learning Spanish¨). Or course he didn´t. He did speak more loudly, even though I could hear him perfectly clearly. Oh well. It took less than 1 minute and I believe the pizza is currently en route. Good feeling. I mean, it´s got to look good on a resume right???? CAN ORDER A PIZZA IN TWO LANGUAGES......
:)
My day 3 celebration is my time with Gabriella. I might not have as much time with her as I´d like, but I sure do treasure our time together. I really love it when my mind is clear (not thinking about work, paying bills, planning our summer vacation.....) and we have little conversations. I am so lucky.
Day 4´s celebration goes back to the phone! Today I successfully ordered a pizza from Domino´s pizza. Yes, it took me 3 years, but people speak so quickly over the phone and it´s so hard for me to understand....I´m always asking them repeat this and that, it gets confusing...I get frustrated....my Spanish gets worse.....Today I did ask the guy on the phone to slow down (I told him, ¨Please slow down. I am just learning Spanish¨). Or course he didn´t. He did speak more loudly, even though I could hear him perfectly clearly. Oh well. It took less than 1 minute and I believe the pizza is currently en route. Good feeling. I mean, it´s got to look good on a resume right???? CAN ORDER A PIZZA IN TWO LANGUAGES......
:)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Day 2....and Day 3.....2 Celebrations!
So, of course, I totally forgot to blog about yesterday´s small celebration of appreciation. Yesterday was Mother´s Day here in Mexico. I woke up to a beautiful balloon and 2 pairs of new earrings! My celebration is definitely having such a loving family. I also got to talk with my cousin over the phone for about 2 hours----uninterrupted (mostly!). It was awesome! I guess that is 2 celebrations in one day! If you live far from a loved one, you know how valuable ¨connection time¨is whether it´s on the phone, skype, text messaging, or bbm!
Today´s celebration is coming home after an extremely long day (10 hours) and having dinner made already! My husband had a yummy dinner ready and waiting. Where we live in Mexico the garbage truck comes by once in a while, usually mid day, and you have to line up with your trash, then tip the driver/workers. Neither my husband or I are home during the day, so my husband gets the tedious job of loading up the trash and hauling it to the garbage dump site. I am very appreciative of all he does! What a blessing indeed!
After only 3 days of ¨counting my blessings¨I am finding it is a nice way to relax each evening. Nice to have something positive on the brain when unwinding from the day and getting ready to go to sleep!
Can´t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
XO XO XO
Today´s celebration is coming home after an extremely long day (10 hours) and having dinner made already! My husband had a yummy dinner ready and waiting. Where we live in Mexico the garbage truck comes by once in a while, usually mid day, and you have to line up with your trash, then tip the driver/workers. Neither my husband or I are home during the day, so my husband gets the tedious job of loading up the trash and hauling it to the garbage dump site. I am very appreciative of all he does! What a blessing indeed!
After only 3 days of ¨counting my blessings¨I am finding it is a nice way to relax each evening. Nice to have something positive on the brain when unwinding from the day and getting ready to go to sleep!
Can´t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
XO XO XO
Monday, May 9, 2011
This is what I am going to try and focus on for the next 30 days. I´d like to post one celebration each day for thirty days, so I´ll start right now.
Today, I´d like to celebrate my husband calling and scheduling my daughter´s passport appointment. It seems trivial, but living in a foreign country I am so THANKFUL to have my husband (who of course speaks fluent Spanish) to be able to take care of business over the phone. I can get by, but it takes longer, and usually results in some sort of confusion for the person whom I am calling. I will never take for granted the ability to communicate over the phone! The internet is awesome (especially with the ability to schedule appts via the internet) but the internet has it´s limitations. I don´t know if my world could eliminate the occasional need to speak to a human being to resolve an issue, schedule an appt., wish someone well, etc...
It´s a small celebration today, but I am thankful nonetheless. My life has been so hectic lately I have lost touch of all the small celebrations I could have each day....I´m going to be aware and celebrate something each day for the next month.
Cheers! What do you have to celebrate today?
Monday, May 2, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
