Organizing

 I'm a sucker for a good organization project. I like things to be in their place, and I like their places to make sense. My home library is organized by genre and then author within the genre. My classroom library is organized into sections: picture books, nonfiction, science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, realistic fiction, and mysteries. Series are put together. I need it to be organized for my own peace of mind.

I've recently started a massive pantry reorganization at home. I haven't been a huge fan of my pantry. Don't get me wrong, I love the space. I just haven't felt like I'm utilizing it to its full potential. I'm posting a couple before pictures:

I don't love it. It just feels messy and unorganized place to me. I really need it to be calming and a place that feels natural.

I've always poked fun at the "pinterest pantries" that I see going around. It's always felt like that's a rich person type of thing to do. 

Well, now I'm doing it. I've ordered a bunch of containers, an over-the-door shelving unit, canned food organizers, and have mapped out a plan for the pantry. I've gone through my appliances and decided which ones I think I need to keep. Those are going up on the top shelf so that I can actually see them and maybe even use them. Containers will be labeled and put in logical places within the pantry. I may even get a bathroom shelf that goes over the toilet to have some extra storage space. I'm still debating that one. I'll see how it goes after I get it put together with what I've got.

After pictures will be coming soon!

Book Signings

This week has been a good one for signed books! On Wednesday, I drove down to Idaho Falls to attend a signing with Sarah M. Eden. She's one of my absolute favorite authors, so I always take the chance to go to her signings when she's in the area. I feel like an idiot though, because I found two more books at home in which she was a contributing author, and I didn't realize it. Now I will have to remember to take them to the next signing. I did get five additional books signed though, so that's always awesome!

Today, I went to a signing here in Rexburg with Sian Ann Bessey and Traci Hunter Abramson. I only had one book to be signed today, but it's one they collaborated on, so both signed. Everything else I have from these two authors is already signed, or is a kindle book. I also picked up some more book swag - magnets to complete my Georgian Gentlemen collection. Georgian Gentlemen is a series by Sian Ann Bessey that I really love.

In a couple of weeks, I'll head back down to Idaho Falls for another signing. This time, it's Sian Ann Bessey and Rachel Kelley Stones. Just one book for this one - Love Unseen by Rachel Kelley Stones. I read an advanced copy of it, and I loved it! 

Also, I wasn't supposed to go into school today to work in my classroom, but I DID ANYWAY. I'm irritated with myself. I'm trying to set boundaries and I'm the one who breaks them! Ugh!!!

Am I back?

 It's been over a year since I last updated here. I came pretty close to just deleting everything and giving up entirely. I'm glad I didn't, because I feel like I'm ready to start back up. Like me, it'll be eclectic and quirky. Book reviews, recipes that I like, musings, school...basically whatever I feel like.

To start, I've started my eleventh year of teaching. It's my ninth year in 4th grade. My group this year is made up of really nice kids. Chatty, but nice. They're adjusting to being back in school, and I'm adjusting to being with people all day long. We've come up with some systems to curtail the chatting when it's inappropriate, and I think we'll be successful. So far, I've noticed that they WANT to learn. That's half the battle right there. We're going to have a great year!

Working my way backwards, at the end of July, I went to Disneyland with my brother Lynn and his family, and my youngest sister Shelley. We were supposed to go as an entire family last Christmas, but our flight got canceled because of thick fog. We rescheduled for July, but things didn't work out then either. We ended up having to split. We still had a fantastic time though, and I was so happy to get to spend time with my siblings, niece, and nephews. It was so much fun! The rest of the family is going at the beginning of November, and GUESS WHO IS GOING WITH THEM. Yep, me. I'm going again! I can't wait! I love Disneyland.

Going further back, on the last day of school in May, I took off right from school and headed to the airport. I was supposed to be flying to Denver, then Frankfurt, and then PARIS!! After 24 years, I was finally headed back to my beloved France. Things didn't work out with that flight, and it got canceled because of bad weather in Denver. UGH!!! When I finally got to Denver several hours late, I'd missed my connection to Frankfurt, meaning I wasn't going to get to Paris as scheduled. I spent the night in Denver, then flew to Washington DC, then on to Paris. I got there a day late, but I got there! I immediately acclimated back into French life. It was just as I remembered it, just as beloved. I was so happy to be there!

I got to do some of the things that I'd done as a missionary, plus some things I didn't get to do. I loved revisiting the Louvre, Notre Dame (under construction because of the fire, but they have bleachers set up outside where you can sit and watch), Sainte Chappelle, the Conciergerie, Sacre Coeur, Place du Tertre, and walking along the banks of the Seine to visit the bouquinistes. I had my favorite crepe (sucre citron) at my favorite creperie (I don't know what it's called, but I can tell you where it is), a delicious quiche near the Eiffel Tower, and pastries. Oh, the pastries! No one does pastry like the French.

I got to do some new things! As a missionary, I didn't get to go up the Eiffel Tower. We just walked around the area. This time, I went up! The very top was closed due to mechanical issues, but we went up to the middle stage. It was incredible! The views are spectacular. I was surprised that it was so windy, because it hadn't been on the ground. It makes sense though, because it's still very high up, even though it's not clear to the top. Air currents would be different up there. I loved walking around and looking at Paris from so many different angles. I loved seeing landmarks that I know so well.

I was brave and visited the catacombs! The catacombs are tunnels deep under Paris that go for miles. They're lined with the bones of thousands. Maybe hundreds of thousands. Centuries ago, the graveyards were overflowing and there was nowhere to bury the newly deceased. The answer was to exhume all the bodies and rebury them in the catacombs. The tunnels already existed, so it was just a matter of transporting the bones and organize them. There are bones that are hundreds of years old. It's creepy and eerie, but also fascinating. They line the walls and are even fashioned into designs. There are message placards all along the way, telling where and when the bones came from. I learned that back in the 1800s, they used to hold concerts down there! They'd bring an entire orchestra down and play creepy music. That's hardcore!

I finally got to go to the Musee D'Orsay. It's the museum I was on my way to when I blew my knee on my mission. That derailed everything. I was so happy to be there! I started at the top with the Impressionists. So. Many. Masterpieces. It was glorious! I saw paintings that I've admired my entire life, paintings I'd never seen before, and the best part, my favorite painting in the entire world: Coquelicots by Claude Monet. I stood in front of it for probably 15 minutes just weeping with joy. Honestly, it was transcendent for me. I also got to see Olympia by Edouard Manet. There was a huge long line to get into the exhibit, but I got to bypass the line because of my cane (If I'm going to be walking or standing for long periods of time, I have to use a cane due to fibromyalgia). I wasn't going to turn that opportunity down!

There's more to the trip than Paris, and I'll get to that in another post. This was truly the best summer of my life. I can't believe it all actually happened. It seems like more of a dream than anything. Now I'd like to go back and just soak it all in.

As I go along, I'll try to be more consistent with posting.