Merely Day By Day

Did that title say EXERCISE? Today was a gorgeous day.  Somehow the sun and warm temperatures were calling me to join them.  I decided to pull my tennis shoes out of the closet and go for a walk.  My daughter and I were glad to get out and get some fresh air.  Those of you who know me will be surprised my tennis shoes made it out of the closet, and will be even more surprised that I actually used them.

What a great day!  Today was the Dublin Literacy Conference .  Yes, it was a Saturday....but well worth the time.  It's always the perfect way to rejuvenate as the winter months drag on in Ohio.  My teaching partner, Deb, was supposed to join me.  Unfortunately, she has been sick.  Luckily Carolyn was able to go in her place.  It's always much more fun to attend with someone else.  There's so much learning that goes on you have to have someone to bounce all of it around with after it is over.  Now Deb will have to listen to us both.

Animal Parade 56/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere The students had a great time today for our animal parade. They made these masks in art and were quite excited to parade them around the school.

Here Comes the Sun 55/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere For awhile I realized every post I made (or wanted to make) was about food. I didn't think that sent a very good message. Now it seems every post is about the hope that winter will soon end. Hopefully it will.

Signs of Spring 54/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Could winter be nearing an end?

Rain Rain 53/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere You have to love Ohio. You just get all kind of weather. This is the view from our back patio. We don't usually have water in our backyard. Plenty there today.

Peeps!!! 52/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Peeps have arrived. Get your microwaves ready! Love the new trendy colors.

Sleeping Lizards 51/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Is he winking or sleeping? This lizard has it figured out. Thanks, Dad.

XBox Match 50/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere John had some friends over this evening to hook up for an XBox match. It's quite entertaining. Cords run throughout the house connecting television to television. Friends come in carrying televisions and Xbox stations. They are all talking to each other through headsets all around the house. I'm not sure who won, but I'm always happy to have everyone hanging out to play. We also got to go to Cincinnati today to see my nephew, Joe, play basketball. We picked quite a game. The game was close the entire time. We got see Joe make a sweet basket and make his foul shot. Joe's team lost in the last seconds, but they played like champions. Always fun to hang out with the Cinci family.

Yard Work 49/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere The weather was beautiful today. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to clean up the flower beds a bit. That's better.

My My 48/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Enough said.

Burning the Candle at Both Ends 47/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere It's Parent-Teacher Conference night. Probably the best picture for the day would have been the delicious food our PTO parents provided for us, but I was too busy to think of that. So I guess it's this photo....burning the candle at both ends.

Reeses Originally uploaded by Catmere Valentine's is over. Onto the next Reese's holiday.

Happy Valentine's Day 45/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Happy Valentine's Day.  My first graders came in quite excited about exchanging cards later in the day.  In the afternoon we passed out cards and had a treat.  "This is the best Valentine's party EVER!" exclaimed one of my students (which is a bit funny since they are FIRST graders).   The kids exchanged cards and were thrilled with the cards they received. Jeff spoiled us for Valentine's Day.  He had flowers sent to school (and Reeses on the counter for me this morning).  He had purchased chocolate and a little something for each of the kids.  They loved it.  It's hard to believe that 25 years ago he proposed to me over dinner on this night. For dinner I made crab legs, baked potatoes, and a vegetable.  We had strawberry short cake for dessert.  It was an enjoyable evening spent with three of my valentines (don't worry, Cort, I ate a little dessert for you).

Grocery Sites 44/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere I've always been a Pepsi fan, but I have to admit this Coke display at Kroger caught my eye. That had to take some time!

Movie Night 43/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Dinner and a movie for Valentine's Day.

It's Friday! 42/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Chipotle!

Enough Cold!!! 41/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Today's temperatures were once again in the single digits. Enough cold! We've been inside for recess since December. Everyone needs to get outside. Thank goodness for my scarf. It keeps me warm on these cold cold days.

Bleachers are my life.... 40/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Cassie's team beat London in overtime (at London!). An exciting game!

Purple Pens!!! 39/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Today was a professional development day for our first grade team. We were learning about the new Math Core Standards, and determining changes we would need to make in our instruction. At one point, I reached in my purse to get a pen and pulled out all of these. PURPLE!! Some days my purple pen is what gets me through. Unfortunately, I needed to fill out a form and needed a blue or black pen. I didn't have one on me.

It's Monday. 38/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere It's Monday. Enough said.

Packers! 37/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Well, I kind of watched the Superbowl this evening. I'm glad the Packers won. If I am to be honest, I suppose I mostly paid attention during the commercials. I loved the Dorito commercials. Hilarious! Of course, the best part of the game was following all of the tweets on Twitter.

Is it rain, snow, ice? 36/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere This rainy, icy, snowy mix fell for awhile on Saturday. I'm ready for spring.

Biscotti 35/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere My dad, crazy guy that he is, decided to take the grandkids to a hockey game. Cortney came home from Cleveland to join the mayhem. Poor dad, 5 grandkids aged 22 - 12. Dad having the kids meant a night out for the parents. Chad & Lisa came up and we went to dinner in Columbus. Yum! Lisa, my sister-in-law, treated me to some homemade biscotti for my birthday. I'm becoming quite addicted to this treat. Thanks, Lisa.

Frosty Morning 34/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere After two days off for ice, I arrived in the school parking lot ready to get back in the groove. As i was getting out of my car I noticed these frost patterns in my rearview mirror. Sometimes looking back is a beautiful view.

Another Icy Day 33/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere More ice! A lot of tree branches are down in our yard and in the neighborhood. We're lucky to still have power. We did everything we could to prepare last night for being without power. We brought up wood, located candles and flashlights, filled containers with water, but were lucky to not need to worry about any of that.

IMG_0055 Originally uploaded by Catmere February enters with the same fury we remember from January. This morning we woke up to ice covered trees, cars, and roads. Some areas are without power. It's supposed to continue to provide this rainy snowy mix into tomorrow. We're off today because of the weather. Perfect day for catching up. Thanks, Mother Nature!!

31/365 New Books Originally uploaded by Catmere My class was thrilled to see I finally went to the library and restocked our classroom baskets with new books. I also made the mistake of wandering to the picture books when I was at Barnes and Noble this weekend. I wanted to get a class copy of Knuffle Bunny Free by Mo Willems and the new Kevin Henkes book, Little White Rabbit. Of course, I couldn't resist a few other titles.

30/365 Ahhh, No Salt! Originally uploaded by Catmere Wow, no salt! It was a relief to finally be able to take my car through the car wash. I was getting kind of tired of the salt and grime. It won't last this time of year so this picture will help me remember.

29/365 Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday! Originally uploaded by Catmere There are pluses and minuses to having a birthday so close to Christmas. As a kid, I knew I could wish for things I didn't get at Christmas for my birthday. Of course, who really wants to celebrate a birthday so close to Christmas? This year I saved my money from Christmas and my birthday to buy something interesting. I weighed new blinds for living room, a baker's rack for the microwave, new towels, and maybe a wardrobe update. However, I kept coming back to this idea of a reader. I've become quite a tech geek. I'm pretty sure everyone is quite tired of my device mania. I enjoy learning how to use new technology and am finding it makes my life simpler and more enjoyable in so many ways. But a reader? First, let me be honest, I'm not the reader I need to be. I've always worked to keep reading. I must confess that I read mostly for the conversation of reading. I enjoy b...

28/365 Chipotle! Originally uploaded by Catmere Just looking at this picture makes me hungry. The best thing about Fridays is Chipotle. Each Friday my friends and I rush out of the building to have lunch at Chipotle. This is not an easy task in 45 minutes, but we have it down to a science. We know who should drive, who will get utensils, who will watch the clock. Some weeks, knowing I'll have this time to catch up with my friends helps me finish all that needs to be done. Friday just isn't Friday without friends at Chipotle.

27/365 Laughing and Learning with Katie Originally uploaded by Catmere Yes, I should have thought to take a better picture than this. This 365 thinking is tough. Do I look for the best picture? Do I remember the most important part of the day? What story am I trying to tell? Well, you know me, I want to tell the story of life. The little things that make such an impact on our lives. We often over look these little gems in our day. This evening I met with Katie at Panera. We met to finalize our Dublin Literacy presentation. We spent about 20 minutes on the final plans for that, and spent the rest of the time chatting about families, life and teaching. I gained so many new ideas and interesting things to ponder. Most of all, it gave me some much needed energy in this mid-winter slump. Thanks, Katie.

26/365 A Reason To Go Paperless Originally uploaded by Catmere It's Wednesday and I kind of feel like our copier. Things are not going so well for it these days. Luckily I'm moving toward being paperless so this doesn't stress me out too much (and besides I have Reese's).

25/365 Love these! Originally uploaded by Catmere These cards where a gift from my friend, Deb, for my birthday. I used the first one today. They're the perfect size for me (if you know my small handwriting you'd agree). I love that they allow me to send a small note to someone without too much fuss. Most of all, I love that Deb could get into my classroom and left a treat instead of a few birthday tricks. I'm getting too old for those.

24/365 Nothing Like Reese's! Originally uploaded by Catmere What a nice surprise to come into school to find a few cards and gifts. Gotta love a bag of Reese's. My friend, Carolyn, knows me well. I'm so lucky to teach with such great friends.

Mmmmm. Birthday Cake. 23/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Today we went over to Bob & Anita's for a birthday celebration. Anita made delicious stromboli. I know I ate way too much. She also made a Ho Ho cake that was a-maz-ing! It was so much fun hanging out with them for the evening. Max, Aly & Sam helped add to the fun. Thanks for a great night.

Baby, it's cold outside! 22/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Yesterday's temperatures were crazy cold! I woke up to take Cassie to volleyball practice at 8:00 a.m., and the temperature was -9 F (without wind chill) when I returned home. Brrrrrr.

21/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Yea! Our first snow day. I thought about going out in sitting in our swing, but brrrrrrrrr.

20/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere The snow began falling in big flakes during the school day. It was a long slow drive home. All evening events were cancelled so I was blessed with some extra time.

19/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere I think I'd give up eating bread before I'd make a sandwich with these.

18/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Just another ball game. The Lady Rider varsity team just pulled this one out by one point. They had me on the end of my comfy bench. Whew.

A Fun Family Visit 17/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Always a good time when my brother's family stops by for a visit.

16/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Cass and I were at Target today. When she saw these we both laughed at the memory. "We haven't had cheese balls forever," she pleaded. Of course, we bought the cheese balls and are enjoying them on movie night. Movies and memories.

Happy Birthday to Me From the BMV 15/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere I headed to the BMV this morning to pick up my registration. For those of you that know me, this is proof that I am finally growing up. Most years I have gotten my registration updated well after my birthday. Maybe I was motivated because I would have to pay a fine for being late this year? At any rate, we'll call it progress. There was no line which was a miracle. Happy birthday to me from the BMV = -$245

14/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere It's game night. I wonder how many nights out of 365 I spend on the bleachers?

Ouch! 13/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Everyone needs a few "rules" in life; a few non-negotiable items in which one stands strong. Personally, I think life should never begin before 6 a.m.. I have tried getting up earlier to write, to get laundry done, to exercise. It just never works for me. I've learned to live with the fact that I can only function if I sleep until 6 in the morning. Unfortunately, our van (a turn of the century vehicle), has decided it cannot run in temperatures below 20 degrees. Picky thing. For that reason, I'm getting up early to take my husband to work. He's an early morning guy. He wakes up and is friendly. I wake up and can't talk to others for at least an hour. For the entire week I've been getting up at 5:30. It's really quite astonishing. I suppose this morning was the hardest....and tomorrow, 5:30 again. Ouch!

New Year Cleaning 12/365 Originally uploaded by Catmere Student boxes were getting quite messy. It was most obvious in the background of Photobooth pictures students were taking of their writing. I decided it was time for a cleaning. The students did a great job, and the room looks terrific.