full moon and rainbows

A truly fun family vacay. 

Went out after the storm to see if I could see the full moon rising~no luck, but enjoyed this rainbow. 

This year's Christmas ornament! While the Amish quilts are gorgeous, they are super expensive and I don't think they are that comfortable to sleep under, so a coaster was a great way to capture their artistry.

A Wonderland penny to add to my Space Needle and Snoopy pennies. 

While we had a fabulous time, everyone is glad to be home and able to sprawl out in their own space.

Dutch Wundehlund~as pronounced by a 3 yo

Googly eyes are now in four states.

We spent two super fun days at Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster County. 

Many french fries were consumed and we lost track of how many Dole pineapple whips were enjoyed. We were lucky in that it didn't rain or storm on us.

Beautiful countryside. 

Happy family.

road trippin'

I'd say my student aced her speaking final on etiquette by bringing in coffee and dates. 

  

Super excited to be getting out of town~my last trip was in January~FAR too long to stay still.

Graceful bridge above the flooded Susquehanna.

After a quick bite, we headed to Dutch Wonderland to enjoy a few rides.

Brave boy on a roller coaster!

Almost full moon and a yard full of fireflies to end the day!

every time it rains

I love how serious students suddenly get~the day before an exam.

Flowers the size of my head~didn't know they existed outside the tropics!

The shiniest penny in my path today~minted in 2018. Not sure why pennies are still being made, but nice to find something bright. And yes! There was a gap in the rains and I got to use my new walking shoes today.

elective ended

A lovely afternoon~despite the storms~of finishing our food elective. We sat around and shared food memories and tasty noshes.

Scones and lemon curd to honor my English heritage. Not pictured~the Cadbury bars!

Fragile and flavorful macarons from France.

And I forgot to write down the name of these Brazilian treats~translates to 'coconut kisses'.

Also not pictured was an INSANE and shrieking game of Taboo with my beginners' class. They had so much fun~even the shy ones were yelling and acting out words.

when Life hands you lemons,

wearing plumeria earrings to remind me that things like vacations and travel still exist
and yes, my hair is completely frizzed out by rain/humidity

freeze those suckers and then throw them at whom/whatever peeves you. Oh wait~that's not the proverb? Today was a very annoying day~from having to commute in a massive storm that caused accidents/flooding/trees down which caused the major road to be closed down...it took me an hour to drive two miles.

So, I was verrrrry late to school today~thankfully, our unit is on 'games', so that's exactly what we did. (My computer/printer/project/internet connection is also wonky at school and it wasn't fixed on Friday, as promised.)

Look at these words my Intro class created!!! And they did this with zero cell phone assistance! 

Cheered my cranky self by placing more googly eyes out in the world.

And Anne-with-an-e had better be right~that tomorrow is another day~fresh, with no mistakes in it.

end of this particular road

When you can feel gravel through your shoes, it is perhaps time for a new pair?! 

These have seen many miles over the past two years. 

Somewhere in the Fairfax County Library system, a patron will hopefully have a giggle over this ninja whimsy scheme.

My nephew made corn tortillas all by himself tonight! (Well, minus the actual cooking on the stove. But I'm guessing he's almost ready to do that~with supervision.) He mixed the dough, rolled the little balls, and used the press like a pro.

Simple and delicious.

And yes, we did make ice cream in a bag. A lovely day, despite the torrents.

swimming shenanigans

Quote from a book I was reading this morning~"If only we'd stop trying to be happy, we could have a pretty good time." 

~attributed to Edith Wharton

it's in the bag

Got invited to play Trivia last night~figured after all the years of shrieking at the TV screen while Jeopardy was on, it would be a fun thing. The humidity lifted, the cicadas were singing, fireflies were zipping about, and the patio was strung with my favorite Texas lights.

And best of all?? Our table won!! I had NO idea that you could get money for knowing random factoids. As there were five of us, I got $10. Woo-hoo. I just may go back. 

It's so handy that it's summer and the heat is off, so I can store my groceries on the vents/ledge. 

One of my favorite students brought me a tin full of Moroccan treats~at first glance, I thought it was fried meat of some kind. But no! Delicious almond pastries.

Today's elective was ice cream in a bag. Since I'm a lazy busy teacher, I did not do a test run to see if it actually worked.  

To all of our delight, it does!!!!

I am so doing this for my next party.

quiet pleasures

I did not realize that my coffee mug coordinates perfectly with my new plates!

Another palate testing day.