Gratitude

Things that have made me smile lately...

sunny and chilly days

bike rides

a clean garage

trips to the library

national championships

miami memories

good, true girlfriends

a job I love

jamie's humor

grandma time for my kids

wearing a scarf

jordan's dry wit

singing this song with Katie in the car...at the top of our lungs

two kids I love to be around

lily's MRI results

group power

father and son playing baseball together

katie's resilience

my students' faces on inauguration day

a rented condo

cold, cuddly nights with the windows open

conversations with katie

the feeling exercise brings

dad's healing knee

late afternoon naps

christmas parties

an incredible class

friday nights at Lucarelli's

a husband who has known me for 19 years...and still loves me

church sermons with a good message

riding our bikes to the gym for a workout...and next door for a beer

a new good book

healthy eating

tiny glimpses into the man Jordan will become

uncontrollable laughter at girl nights

andrea, the best teaching partner ever

working with my sister

kate's love for her new sport, tennis

and finally...grateful that this only lasted two days:

It's Great...to BE...

...a Florida Gator.

especially lately. :)

I love my school. I love the orange and blue colors, I love Albert, I love the chanting, I love the chomping, I love the camaraderie, I love the fight song, I love the passionate rivalries shared with other schools, I love the connection Florida fans feel for each other, and I love that when I see a stranger wearing UF garb, I can say "go gators" out loud, and he/she will say it right back. :)

I loved living in Gainesville. It's truly a town like no other, and the entire place is consumed with everything Gators. The streets are lined with old bookstores, restaurants, "mom and pop" shops that have been there forever... and the campus is packed with historic, brick laden buildings, hilly roads, tall, sweeping trees, and really smart, interesting people. And although UF is a huge school, the cozy town of Gainesville has a way of making its students feel like the center of the universe (pretty good feeling for an 18-year-old).

It was a magical place to be.

I have memories as a young and naive college student living there, away from home for the first time, juggling classes with making new friends and laundry and partying and final exams and shopping for things like groceries and textbooks.(like when I rode my bike to Eckerd's to buy toiletries, bought too much to properly balance the bags on my handlebars, so the bags busted open and shampoo/toothpaste/deodorant/feminine products/etc. ended up strewn across the sidewalk...in front of, like, a LOT of people. That sight must have SCREAMED "freshman")

I remember being really homesick the first few weeks ...and then...slowly but surely...Gainesville, and the University of Florida, became my home.

I...love...my...school.

GO GATORS.

That said...there is a pretty big football game coming up...you may have heard of it.

It's called, uh YEAH, a little thing they like to call...the National Championship.

My mighty Gators will battle the Oklahoma Sooners for the whole enchilada (I don't think I've ever used that phrase before, but, there ya go).

I am beyond excited, and it's probably the only event that would compel me to stay in Miami for three days. Just sayin'.

-Where: Dolphin Stadium
-When: January 8th
-Time: 8:00 p.m.

Where I'll be at that moment:
-Dolphin Stadium
-section 149
-row 18
(or more likely and/or hopefully, jumping and screaming in the aisle with glee)

Here's a video to get my readers (all five of you) properly pumped up for the big game:
(and now I can NOT get this song out of my head, so beware)



Chomp Chomp! :)