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It's been a busy month. School has been exhausting-- field trips to go on, track meets to watch, closing ceremonies to plan, and crazy kids to harness. Then I come home and blog, design, print, score, fold, package. I'm not really sure how many Mother's Day cards I've made up to this point. Not to mention everything else in between.

Yesterday I got a phone call from Andrew around 5 in the evening. "Are you here yet?!" Whaaaaaaat? Oh crap. I forgot. I was supposed to meet him at his office (which just so happens to be in the Inner Harbor) so that we could watch some crazy guy tight rope walk over the harbor. It was one of those moments where I realized I needed to snap out of it. Yes, he was supposed to have reminded me so that I wouldn't forget, but I should have remembered to begin with.

I feel like I've become so consumed with work on all levels that I've literally forgotten to take a step outside and see what's happening. The work I've been putting in has been paying off, but it's causing me to miss out on a lot of other things in life. I struggle constantly with finding balance between work and my personal life. Yet again, I missed something kind of cool (ok, Andrew said it ended up being pretty lame, but that's not the point). The end result was watching a video on his phone of the guy tight rope walking-- back to the virtual world again.

There are so many things to keep up with in an online business-- blogging, twitter, facebook, responding to client emails. Soon I get sucked into a deep, dark hole called my MacBook and try to emerge for dinner and some relaxation right before bed.

The whole thing reminded me of the song Good Excuse by John Butler Trio. (Yes, there is ALWAYS a song for EVERYTHING in my world.)




It's a good reminder that I need to step away from my work every now and again. That it's ok to take a night off to relax. That I need to keep my weekends for myself. That I need to unplug every now and again.

How many of you struggle with finding balance between your work life and personal life? What sorts of things do you do to make sure you have down time and enjoy life?

Part of being a teacher means that you get to go on really awesome field trips. And our school just so happens to know how to plan a good field trip. A week ago, we spent the day in DC with all of our middle school kids. I've been to DC more times than I can count, but despite the fact that DC is only a short 45 minute drive away, most of my kids have not been to DC. They had no idea that all of the Smithsonian museums were free, that the National Mall was not a shopping mall, and that snipers like to hang out on the roof of the White House (yes, that was bit of fun and trivia for them that they were most excited about). We were dropped off along the National Mall and headed to White House first. On our way walking to the White House, the Presidential helicopter flew in, Barack Obama on board returning from Afghanistan, and landed on the White House lawn. Unfortunately, my group was not quick enough to make it there in time to President Obama get off the helicopter, but many of the other groups of students were-- truly an amazing experience for them that they will not forget.

After a stop at the White House, we headed to the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial. I wanted to take my students here because we had read several short stories in class that dealt with the Vietnam War. We actually ended up spending the most time here as my students searched for people that shared their last name and got etchings of the name as a keepsake. They were amazed with the number of names on the wall and how huge the monument was.


Next, we headed to the Lincoln Monument, counting each step as we made our way up to Abe.


Then, down to the Korean War Memorial.

Next, the World War II Memorial.
A quick rest at the Washington Monument.

And finally a stop at the Natural History Museum to end the day. 

It was a lot of walking (I certainly didn't mind) and the kids got tired quickly, but I kept pushing them to continue on so they could soak in as much as possible. Wouldn't it be awesome if every day in the classroom was like this? ;)

Have you been to our nation's capitol? What is or was your favorite thing to visit in Washington, DC?

I first heard The Black Keys in 2006 while working at a coffeehouse in Syracuse. A girl that I worked with had a burned copy of their debut album The Big Come Up. The album was raw garage rock-- a totally different direction than most of the music trends happening at the time. Everything I was listening to seemed overproduced and to hear something so raw, taking it back to the nitty gritty of rock and roll, was refreshing.

In the next six years, The Black Keys began to emerge slowly from their cult following, underground fan base, to what they are doing now-- playing large venues and touring internationally. However, through the entire experience, the duo seem relatively humbled and unsure how to deal with it all. And I think I'm pretty much ok with that. There are just too many musicians that let fame get to them. Either way, my current favorite off of their latest album El Camino is one that just simply wont' get out of my head.




Are you a fan of The Black Keys? What have you been listening to lately?

I know Mother's Day hasn't even come and gone yet, but I wanted to be ready. So this weekend, I finally got all of those Father's Day card ideas out of my head and onto paper. I brought back an old one and revamped the photos (now that I finally have the perfect set up for light I've been trying to retake photos) and I created three new ones.

Here's the old--


And the new--


I'm definitely going to have to say that the guitar one is my fave. My dad builds guitars so maybe that has something to do with it. And I'm also pretty sure that I could give the flat tire one to my dad. He changed my flat tires on several occasions, so the whole stereotype about dads coming to the rescue must be true after all.

You can click through the photos to get to the cards, and if you haven't gotten your Mother's Day card yet you better hurry! Which of these Father's Day cards do you like best?

Hello wonderful readers! Just thought I'd let you all know that you should head over to Ma Nouvelle Mode today. I've got a fun printable for you all (and a coupon code to my shop) that you may want to check out.


Like this card? It can be yours for free if you have a printer and some card stock. Enjoy! And happy Friday! ;)