sometimes we need little reminders...

and I am so incredibly grateful for this one this week. Listen, and savour the goodness of President Uchtdorf. Even if you are not a member of my faith, I hope you listen and that this message resinates with your heart the way it did for me. Have a wonderful week!

the waiting place...

Lately I have had various conversations with friends and family about the stage of life I am in. I love this city that I moved to, and teaching school is going well. I have wonderful roommates, live in a nice neighborhood and I have even lost ten pounds in the past month. All. Good. Things. This post is in no way meant to be a complaint about my life, because I have a great life.

However, if I am looking deep into my own pursuit and where this Holly life is leading, I feel like it is best described as "the waiting place" which is perfectly illustrated in a favorite Dr. Suess Book called, "Oh the Places You'll Go".  Truth be told, I have been a lot of places. I have lived all over the United States and have experienced the world. I am grateful for that. Very grateful. But still, I am waiting. Waiting for what I don't even know. I think that is the confusing part. Waiting to go some where? Waiting for a new opportunity? New people in my life? What? And why am I waiting? Again, I have a good life. I don't love the fact that I am waiting for anything at all. I guess the best I can do is just enjoy the waiting, enjoy the people I am waiting with, the city I am waiting in. Thoughts?

thoughts on a rainy tuesday eve...

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
Mark Twain

Alright, so most of you know that I am passionate about many things. But right now, in the thick of my second week of teaching my thoughts and inspiration for this post are turned towards education. I just moved into the most lovely home where three other lovely roommates reside. Tonight I arrived home from a busy day at school and went to the fridge (naturally) to forage for food. One by one the roommates came together in our kitchen, snacking on Cranberry Seltzer and Waldorf salad and began a discussion. You would think that our chat would have been about the long weekend, the boys in our lives, etc. But I am impressed and pleasantly surprised that our mingle turned into a passionate discussion about education, politics, religion, inspiration and ambition. My roommate Rebecca shared some goodness with me that I will share with you. We were reflecting on our great teachers and their ability to inspire curiosity in the classroom. Curiosity in itself, is a sign of intellect.  Of course as a teacher I have that desire. This teacher of the PS22 choir seen in the video below definitely has created a room full of believers. Most importantly, the students believe in themselves. That is the most beautiful gift a teacher can give to a student. Watch the expression on the faces of the children. They are so into the music. In an interview, one of the students said, "I was scared to raise my hand in class before. I didn't want to share what I knew...but then I thought, if I can sing a solo in choir, I can raise my hand and speak in class". What an exquisite lesson of confidence learned. Readers, I would love to know your thoughts and memories of your great teachers. How did they challenge you to accomplish great things? What did they do to lift your confidence? What teachers inspired you and why?

And also to my readers I want to say to those of you (hopefully most of you) who have tasted the fruit of having a dream,  enormous or small,  to you I say...Don't Stop Believin'!

sew...

I am making attempts to pick up new hobbies and skills. Fall seems to be that time when I get overly ambitious (the other time is January 1st), and make lots of new goals and I get hankerings to try new things. I have resisted sewing in the past, but this summer I finally decided to stop fighting with my inner fear that there are too many rules in sewing for Holly. I broke out the sewing machine, spent $80 at  fabric store (when did this hobby become so expensive?) and here is the result. I completed a couple of pillow cases first and I am still working on pajama pants. I shamefully will admit that I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I You Tubed "how to thread a bobbin" but atleast there is something wearable in the end. Now I have to figure out how to teach it to my students. Yikes.