Lissa

Erin and I went to see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants on Monday. It was an excellent chick flick. I am really glad I did not drag Jim to see it with me as he would have hated it, but I very much enjoyed seeing it with a good girlfriend. It is very well cast and the storyline is sweet and touching. I loved seeing the footage of Greece and it inspired Erin and me to rent Under the Tuscan Sun that night. That is another film I really enjoy (that Jim hates). Under the Tuscan Sun is not at all the same on my television as it was in the theater. Those sunflowers and the scenery on the big screen are breathtaking. On my television they were only beautiful.

I should have known that the beauty that comes with Spring Break would be as fleeting as the break itself. It is currently about 42 degrees outside and it has been drizzling on and off with cloudy skies and wind. I suppose it's fitting that the crummy weather would occur simultaneously with newfound TAKS pressure. The TAKS Math test for fifth grade is coming up in a few weeks, and I have a lot more to think about for this test than the last one. I suppose in a few weeks it will all be over (the weather and the testing) and I can get on with my joyful mood!. Maybe a bubble bath and new novel can make things better for tonight... I do have ice cream in the freezer... Mmm... and Reeses' that I can chop up and put in the ice cream. Okay. All's well with the world.

Absolutely nothing can heighten my mood like a sunny, warm, perfectly beautiful spring day in Dallas. The peach tree has started blossoming in our back yard, the birds are singing non-stop, and I have one day left of my Spring Break. I headed out today to run errands with Jim in my short-sleeved tee-shirt and open-toe shoes, and was thrilled to find that my big toenail has made great gains being closed off from the world all winter (I tore it off in a freak playground accident the first week in October). To make things even better, my house is clean and neat after a week of good housekeeping.

I cannot believe it is time for Spring Break. I'm currently sitting on my sofa at 10:00 in the morning, drinking a cup of coffee, and listening to the birds sing while sunshine streams through the house. I live for these moments. When I think of Spring Break or summer vacation, I envision just this - the coffee, the birds, the sunshine, and a myriad of TLC television programs... while I make lists of things to do during my time off. Already this morning I have written my long list of things I hope to accomplish during this week, and I've done two or three things on the list already. I'll probably jet out the door within the next hour and check off three or so more items.

I had the weirdest and worst haircut experience on Sunday. No, my hair wasn't a disaster; the actual cutting process was. The girl who cut my hair cut herself... badly. She ended up going to the hospital to get stitches! She got blood in my hair that stained it for about twenty-four hours! I was really shaken and pasty white (except for the pink spot in my hair), and the wild part is, everyone in the salon knew about this (because it doesn't happen every day, or I wouldn't be going to that salon)... everyone, that is, except the receptionist. When I got to the front desk she asked, "How was everything today?" I replied that it wasn't so good, and she said, "Oh. Did she take too much off?" I told her no, that I had wanted several inches taken off, but I hadn't wanted a medical emergency for the stylist. She said, "Oh. Well, that will be $54."

I've been thinking a lot about stress today, because Jim tells me I'm stressed. I had nightmares last night and didn't sleep very well (always common on TAKS night), and my stomach has been testy, but I love to blame those things on thunderstorms and my recent illness and varying nutrition. I'm sure those factors play a part, but isn't it amazing how people always disregard stress and its ability to impact life... for good or bad? In my life, stress often manifests itself as a feeling of panic or concern that something isn't going to get done. Take, for example, my first upcoming Open House at Prairie Creek.

Well, it's that time of year again: Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills. TAKS. It's amazing how the word can mean one thing to a teacher and sound totally different to an accountant. Tax season strikes no fear in my heart. In fact, I love it because it promises cash back, home improvement opportunities, and the possibility to dream, for a month, of things we want to do with our newfound wealth (well, it's wealth to us). TAKS season, on the other hand, has a strange hold over me. This year it isn't so bad because I'm not teaching at an at-risk school anymore. However, my new school has its own stresses.

I realized yesterday in doing lots of updates to the site that I had not mentioned my job change for this coming fall! For the last four years I have taught fourth grade at RISD Academy. It is a very rewarding school at which to work, but it is also a very difficult school. Various circumstances throughout the year probed me to consider transferring to a different school after this school year ended. With a great deal of prayer, I decided to request a transfer to Prairie Creek Elementary School, another RISD school where my friend Julie has been a sixth grade teacher for a number of years.

Leigh is my most recent friend to have a baby. Her daughter Caroline was born in February. She was the 4th fourth grade teacher from RISD Academy to have a baby in about a year!

With all of the attention, I think Annie looks happier than even we do!!