Today it may not look much like Spring,
(with snow falling outside)
but...

In a few days we will be doing this.....

and this......

Spring Break is finally here!


"A vacation is having nothing to do
and all day to do it in."
-Robert Orben

YEAH!

♥
JoAnn

Itchy feet......

As you all know,

I have a bad case of itchy feet.
(Translated: Spring fever, restlessness, travel-bug-itis)

And
since we just celebrated St. Patrick's Day.....

I took a little trip down memory lane tonight.
(Translated: I pulled out some very old travel slides and relived some memories.)

Since I only spent a few days in this beautiful country, I would love to return and
discover all the charm of the Irish landscape and its people all over again.

I don't think I have ever seen so many different shades of green as I saw there.

The beauty of lakes and hillsides......

The rugged coastline.....

Sigh!

"O Ireland isn't it grand you look-
Like a bride in her rich adornin?
And with all the pent up love of my heart
I bid you the top of the morning!"
-John Locke

♥
JoAnn

If you want to see some great mosaics, check out Mary's
Little Red House.

Wanted.....

Today I made myself a "wish list".

I know, I do that quite frequently, but this time I made one for real.
(I have a lot of blessings and I'm not complaining about that,
but these are a few things that I would really like.)

#1. We have been working on some cleaning and organizing projects at our house.
Our basement has undergone some impressive de-junking.
We still have some other projects to finish, but it feels good to get started!
(Now, if we could just get going on the garage.....)

#2. I keep saying that I'm ready to get started on some healthy living goals, but it seems like life gets in the way. Did you know that teachers usually end up with about 15 to 20 minutes actual lunch time? Sometimes even less. Unfortunately, that means eating so fast you don't really remember the experience and so you when you get home you feel the need to eat constantly.
Besides, my husband is thin!

#3. A vacation is on the horizon. In 5 more days we have our Spring Break!
I don't have exotic plans or anything, but we are taking a short trip to be with family.
It should be relaxing and fun.

Well, now that I have that off my chest I think I'll go start on one of my projects.
Have a great weekend!
XOXOXO
JoAnn

P.S. I just finished up two nights of parent teacher conferences. Maybe that explains my somewhat unbalanced mental condition!

Going home.....

"There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again."
-Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

My husband has lived in a lot of cities, in many different states.
He has fond memories of all of them.

One house that he brings up a lot is this one.
It was an old army barrack in Vancouver, Washington, but it had all those
elements that make a fun house for kids:
a big stair way with a perfect railing to slide down
a wrap around porch that made a great rainy day play area
fire place pillars that could be wrapped to look like candy canes at Christmas
plenty of trees to climb
a rose trellis that made easy climbing up to the second story
an old attic
an old coal furnace in the basement that made a perfect shop

(His family lived in the duplex on the right.)

In 2004 we were able to revisit this house.
It has been restored and is now on a historical registry for Old Fort Vancouver.
(Ulysses S. Grant once slept there!)

It is now used as an office building.

It's kind of sad to think that children no longer play within its walls.

BUT
It is a good thing that it is lovingly cared for and preserved for the future.

♥
JoAnn

Mountains, showers, and chickenpox...

Utah has some beautiful mountains!

Yesterday, I went to Provo with my husband's parents and two of his sisters to attend a baby shower for a cousin's daughter. My sister-in-law has this view from her front door.

Pretty spectacular, isn't it!

She can walk out on her front porch (or look through a window) and almost touch this beautiful mountain, lovingly referred to as Y Mountain!
(Click to read more about it.)

For four years I got a daily dose of its beauty, too, as I went to college at BYU.
We drove a little further to a pretty farm area called Lake Shore to attend a baby shower for a cousin's daughter.

It was great seeing all these fun cousins again!

The rest of the weekend I hung out with some special little girls who just happened to have
a mild (but still contagious) case of
chickenpox.

(It's good to know that chickenpox feet can still taste delicious!)

Their mommy had a bit of cabin fever and needed a break-so we all enjoyed hanging out in our pajamas and taking it easy.

It was an unusual weekend-
but a good one!
♥
JoAnn

There's nothing like a little drama to start off a weekend......

A MELODRAMA, that is!
What better way to relax and release some pent up stress and work fatigue than by actively booing for a nasty villain, worrying and fretting over a helpless damsel in distress, and cheering for the unlikely hero- who always saves the day (just in the nick of time, of course)!

Tonight we did just that.
(And laughed a lot, too.)

We have season tickets to this theater:

Tonight we got to enjoy the show "Pirates of the Car-rib-eee-an". It was pretty funny and had some of our favorite players in it.
We have a standing date with three other couples and always look forward to the evening.
(Our friends Tom and Shirley were here tonight from Montana
and it was fun catching up with them again, too.)

Did you know that melodramas started out as music dramas?
Music plays an important role in increasing the audience members emotions. The familiar sneaky villain music always lets you know when to boo (for those who are not too observant)
and the hero's music always makes you cheer.
Somehow it seems to unite the audience.
A melodrama always has a battle with good and evil, but with a guaranteed happy ending.
Justice always wins!
(Who doesn't like happy endings?)

At our last show my husband was pulled from the audience (if you know him, you can imagine how he really was coerced) and became part of the cast.
He's the slightly-older -high-school-dude (the one with the chicken Mohawk on his head).
He did a great job!

The evening always concludes with an olio.
Sometimes that is my favorite part.

Does anyone remember the old Saturday morning cartoons with
Snidely Whiplash and Dudley Do-Right?
They were my favorites!

Have a great weekend.
♥
JoAnn

Happy St. Parick's Day...

(picture by Google.com)

I'm heading off to work today in my green sweater.
(Yes, my students will be watching for that touch of green!)

Maybe when I come home tonight I'll cook a green dinner.
(If I cook at all.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

What are you doing to celebrate?

♥
JoAnn

Key lime pie sounds delicious!