4--count 'em FOUR--more days!

That's right, folks. We can taste, smell, feel, hear, even SEE summer comin' around the bend. Four exams to proctor each and then we're home free for a 2.5 months. Man, there are some days when we are so tired and feel like we do nothing but work, but times like these make us once again realize that WE HAVE THE BEST JOBS IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD. I love love love teaching!

Perhaps because this week has given us more down time than we're used to, a number of cool experiences and insights revealed themselves to us over the past few days:

1. First of all, Clay's soccer season ended. While their loss in the semifinals of the State tournament wasn't a totally "cool" experience, their team banquet on Monday night was. One of my favorite parts of coaching is always the team banquet. It is a time for reflection, for gratitude, for perspective, and for celebration. This one was typical, but I think most typical banquets are pretty extraordinary. You get to hear about awesome kids doing special things, going above and beyond, and achieving marks and accolades about which they dreamed when they were younger. We watched a slideshow of the seniors, all of whom had baby pictures of themselves with soccer balls. The adorable pics and the cheesy music achieved their desired effect, at least for me--I couldn't help but be proud of how far these kids had come and how much of their lives have been dedicated to becoming better at this sport. I was inspired.

2. I also sat in a bookstore yesterday and read an entire book: A Homemade Life. Mary, it's the one I talked to you about and sent you a link for...its the story of a young woman who wrote a blog about her family's recipes and food in general. I loved it. Check out her blog: Orangette. Of course, she has now decided to take a break from her blog for a bit, but that's okay--read some of her back blog entries and check out her book. Once again, its inspiring. She made me want to bake a cake and write a million blog entires all while I was sitting at a table at Barnes and Noble.

3. I practiced yoga 6 out of 7 days this week, including three classes at 6 a.m. I am hooked. Who would have thunk it? I love sweating and hi-impact and feeling like I have really burned calories and pushed myself to the limit. But wow. I can't get enough of yoga. It is exactly the type of exercise my body and my mind needs. I did a Hot Yoga class in which the room temperature was 106 degrees; my clothes were soaked by the time class was over. I mean, disgusting. and I was so, so happy. I also did a yoga class outside on banks of the Tennessee River yesterday. As I turned one way, I saw a bride and her wedding party posing for pictures; when I turned the other way, I saw a grandmother and her two adorable grandchildren running around in our downtown park's giant fountain. Again, so, so happy.

4. Buy Fresh. Buy local. I feel so priviledged to live in a vibrant community that is uberly dedicated to becoming a fully sustainable community. We are surrounded by farms that provide us with fresh fruits and veggies all the time. At GPS, one of my co-workers has his own farm and delivers fresh herbs and lettuce to my classroom every Thursday; one of our chefs in the school kitchen cooks only healthy, organic foods. My favorite grocery is all about local products and fresh ingredients. You can eat so well in this town. Clay and I are dedicated to trying to each as fresh and as local as possible this summer. We'll let you know what we learn. Tonight we cherished red lettuce salads with local strawberries, snow peas, mandarin oranges, tomatoes, and walnuts on top. Heaven. And there's enough left over for tomorrow :-).

5. Clay and I went out to dinner last night to celebrate the end of our teaching and coaching. We also had a really good talk about our life together--where we are, where we want to be, what dreams we have yet to pursue and realize. I came home thoughtful and grateful. We may have no idea what the future holds for us in a number of areas, but we are excited about figuring it out together.

6. Finished our wedding album. What's that you say? We were married almost two years ago? All I can say is that this is going to be one rockin' album. Blurb is a brilliant website.

7. The sermon in church this morning totally hit home and beautifully confirmed what Clay and I discussed last night. Don't you love it when you think something and then something out of the blue confirms that thought?

8. I think I am going to make my own planner. I keep looking for the "perfect" planner and have yet to find it, and so, inspired by Beth Williamson, I am going to try to make my own. Wish me luck.

I'll let you know how the wedding album, planner, buy local-eat local plan...and our lives turn out. Thanks for staying tuned.