Summer Vacation

I have about 4 weeks left before the school year starts and I'm once again subbing this year, but applied for a few part-time teaching jobs. I like subbing. After all that craziness of summer classes, that ended with Willamette Writer's Conference, I can now relax. This week has been great. I still work part-time at the clothing store.

My summer plans are simple. I'm used to having a tight, structured schedule during the school year and when I'm free—I just want to have no tight schedules, relax, do things that I want to do.

Sleeping in — One of life's pleasures. I rarely get time to sleep in. It's like being a kid again. And hanging out in my pajamas.

Reading — Sometimes, I want to do nothing but read all day. I made chicken spinach lasagna yesterday and have mint chocolate brownie icecream waiting for me while I read.

On my current reading list: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair, People' s History of the World by Chris Harman. I'm halfway through The Help, which I hope to finish today and can't wait to see the movie.

I'm also reading up articles from The English Journal, and Best Practices in Teaching.

Writing — Now that I'm free, what's my excuse? I'm setting aside time and just doing it. My mantra is: don't edit while writing. Just write. Edit later. Why do I violate this often? Again at the Willamette Writer's Conference, I was reminded by C.C. Humphrey through his workshop that the first draft is not to be shared. It's only for me. Thus, a writer has all the freedom to experiment, try new things, play with words, and have complete freedom. Drafting will take care of all the flaws. So here I go.

Shoe Shopping — How many shoes is a girl allowed to have? Some of my shoes are wearing out. I still have my leather boots that I got from Argentina, which I'm holding on to. The heel needs to be replaced. Since I started teaching, I don't wear as much heels as I used to. I remember an old high school Spanish teacher wearing high heels and I wondered how she did that. There are some shoes I've been looking at. Mostly flats or low wedges that I can wear when teaching and that'd coordinate with dress pants, skirts. Then, there's a pair of pink heels that I want to get. And I usually never go for pink heels or bold colored shoes. I own too much black heels, black flats and black everything, so that it'd easily coordinate with everything else I wear, which is fine, but can get boring. And above all—the shoes have to be on SALE and I can use my employee discount at the store I work to get clothes.

Full Skirts? I noticed that full skirts, A-line or dresses with fuller skirts are coming back. I saw The Limited had full skirts. I always liked pencil skirts. Do I dare give full skirts a try? A coworker convinced me to try them and it'd flatter me well. I got another coupon from The Limited. So, I go try one on.

Summer Weddings — Many people I know are getting married. It's exciting and weddings make me happy. Congrats to all who are getting married this summer. I hope you all enjoy your life together.

Hanging Out with Friends — People are important. We are not meant to be islands. I have more time to host parties, hang outs, go out and check out movies, concerts, and what else goes on.

Salsa Dancing — I love to dance. I'm going to do it more often.