finally, peace...

the kids are finally asleep--and the house is peaceful, so peaceful, but it still feels a bit unsettled to me. kevin is away on business again. i say again, although he really isn't gone that much relatively speaking...but it is so weird when he isn't here. you'd think i'd be scrapping like crazy, since there is no one here to complain about the time i am spending on the computer, but i am feeling a little uninspired tonight...i miss him. just the mere presence of him is comforting.

i had a nearly perfect moment with my little girl the night before last. i was laying down with her, and she reached over and started stroking my cheek with the back of her little fingers. she was so gentle and sweet! i will frequently stroke the side of her face like this, and to have her do it all by herself as a sign of affection for me was almost too sweet to bear! one of those perfect moments...

another amazing thing that happened this week: the department gave me another class. now, it is not a common thing to get a class the week before spring break, but the instructor fell off of her horse and broke her hip. she is going to be okay, but she won't come back for the semester. so, i became the teacher of record today for a 4000-level class. i mean, i am actually teaching junior and senior english majors--a big change for me, considering i am used to freshman and sophomores! they have been fairly nice considering i just showed up in their class and turned their world upside down. but i won't have any cohesive plan till after spring break--i mean, i don't even have the book they are reading, and it isn't one of those "order it from amazon and it will be here in 2 days" books, so i hope to have it soon. this is such a challenge for me, and i only hope i can be the kind of teacher they deserve. the extra money will be nice, though.

and speaking of extra money, i am hoping to talk kevin into a real printer: the kind that prints 12x12 layouts! :) my birthday is coming up, so i hope i can talk him into it!

OH, i almost forgot!!! tracey gilbert monette (clever monkey graphics) at scrapbook elements, asked me to be on her CT this past week! i, of course, accepted. her designs are so unique, and her CT is pretty fun so far! here are a couple of layouts using her designs:


credits: "notebook cluster, no. 1" by tracey gilbert monette, background paper & alpha by lauren reid, stars & paper planes from scrapgirls, paint strokes by stacey jewell stahl, word art by tina chambers, and arrow doodle by ashley olson.


credits: "simple blue" papers & elements by tracey gilbert monette, cardboard overlay by linda gil billdal

i am having so much fun with her stuff!

today i was reading due south by r. scott brunner, and he has a chapter about his wife's grandmother and how everyday she writes something on her calendar--little details about life: the weather, if she went out, animals she saw, etc...the point is that even though she doesn't keep a formal journal, she is recording her life, giving it meaning. it made me think about this blog. my chance to record a bit of my life, to give it meaning. i hope one day my sweet little girl will read about how happy she made me the night before last. and i hope one day my family will appreciate knowing things about my day, their day.