It's a sweet life!

I thoroughly enjoyed this month's book club pick The Baker's Daughter. I loved the historical aspect(Europe in the 1930's-40's fascinates me). However, it was the current time period's narrator, Reba, who really got me thinking. She had everything she wanted (and needed), but didn't realize it until it was too late...or was it?? No spoilers here! Read this book!

This post is inspired by Sarah McCoy's The Baker's Daughter. In a small Texan town, Reba discovers Elsie's German Bakery and falls in love with more than the pastries. She's drawn to Elsie's life in Germany during the last year of WWII. Join From Left to Write on August 29 as we discuss The Baker's Daughter. As a member, I received a copy of the book for review purposes. Most people know I am a teacher-a pretty good one (if I may so say myself) and it's a job that, growing up, many people told me I should have. I have always had an easy connection with kids. However, I had other plans-big plans. I was going to go to law school and become an attorney. I even majored in Law & Society in college, and absolutely loved my classes: writing legal briefs, legal research for my 25 page Constitutional Amendment paper was lots of fun-seriously! But as graduation loomed closer and closer, and friends started signing up for the LSAT and applying to law schools, I realized my heart wasn't in it. I didn't want to continue to law school-too intense for me. I don't have the most competitive streak in me. I didn't want to put my whole life into a career. I was still hoping that maybe someday I could be a stay at home mom. I spent the summer after graduation trying to get job after job in volunteer management (what?!) in San Francisco. Hello low paying job in very expensive city! Thank goodness for unanswered prayers. I was disappointed after the fruitless searches and interviews that led nowhere, so I decided to substitute teach to make ends meet while rethinking my career goals. On my first day, 8th grade language arts, I just knew that I had been kidding myself. Teaching was my calling! 17 years later, I haven't looked back. I know I chose the right path. While staying at home wasn't ultimately in our plans (though I did get to teach part time several years), I still love my job and enjoy some pretty awesome perks! I go to work everyday with my boys, enjoy summers off, and have been lucky to have both boys in my classroom (Cooper last year and Spencer this year). I wouldn't trade it now! Sometimes, as Reba discovers in our club pick, you just have to open your eyes and realize what you have right in front of you. Life is perfect-but it's pretty amazing!

oops

Hello! I DID have big plans to blog this summer...honestly...but look, it's been two months! Whaaa??? Where did time go? This summer flew by! I had all these plans to decorate my house, cook amazing meals, schedule fun things for my kids, and read! Well, I guess I needed a summer off! Did not do as much as I planned...but I did: go to the coast several times, go to the San Diego Zoo, work out, clean the house, see a concert at the Greek theatre, have a garage sale, plan a Hawaiian theme birthday party for boys, visit the first mission in California, clean out a classroom and set up a NEW classroom (Moving to 4th grade!!!), read a lot, play a lot, swim, take my kids swimming at the club many times, take the kids to VBS, swim lessons, cooking classes and sports camp, cook some good meals, eat lots of Mexican food, play with Lily, took my kids to a children's show in San Francisco, celebrate my 12th anniversary with Joe...that is a lot! Tomorrow I go back to work...already! It should be a good year! I will have Spencer in my classroom! He's super excited! I have had fun setting things up and planning for our year-thanks to Pinterest. Man, you can find anything on that site! My 4th grade board has about 400 pins! Ha! I will leave you with some scenes from our summer...and a promise to be back soon!