Lately

February has come and gone, and I neglected to post anything here on the blog.

One of the things I like about February is that it has two long weekends thanks to the observances of Lincoln and Washington's birthdays. Every time I have a three-day weekend, I think that is the perfect schedule for me. Three days gives me enough time to get my household chores and related errands done, and still have time for rest, relaxation, and time with family or friends. Two days just isn't enough time.

I took Michaela to see a movie on that first long weekend. We saw Kung Fu Panda III. Neither of us had seen the other two Kung Fu Panda movies, so we didn't know the backstory at all. Nevertheless, we both liked it a lot. Michaela has only seen three movies in the theater, and she is still a little nervous about them. I'm not sure why as I've never exposed her to anything very scary, but she always anticipates that she will be scared. She hasn't gotten used to the fact that every movie (well, almost every movie) has a "bad guy". When the bad guy shows up, she gets nervous. I remember feeling that way when I was a kid, too.

Michaela took another session of hula during January and February. She really seems to enjoy that form of dance. I'll be signing her up for another session this spring, but she'll move up to the older kids' class. The little ones were super cute, but they were all over the place because their attention spans are so short. I think Michaela is ready for a slightly more focused group.

I spent a lot of my non-teaching time on my little eBay business. Sales were really slow in January, and I was slightly discouraged. But things picked up in February, and March is off to a great start. I will have my first debt paid off before summer, and I am more confident that I will be able to make Michaela's tuition payments. I intend to post my sales numbers and favorite sales in a coming post. In sharing, I hope to inspire others to consider something like what I'm doing to tackle debt, or have greater financial freedom.

(Some of my recent finds to flip on eBay!)

The weather in February was pretty amazing. El Nino has been slow in showing up here in Southern California. So we were treated to summer-like weather most of the month. I haven't run my furnace in weeks and weeks, and I've been sleeping with the window open a little bit and even the ceiling fan on some nights. It's crazy!

Professionally, I am having one of my best school years. Sixth grade is a great age to teach, and I love the way my new school is run. Every day it is a pleasure to be there. As part of my teachers association's executive board, I have been a part of a new collaborative effort for the district and the associations to work together in decision making. It's very refreshing and satisfying to be included in the process of rebuilding our beleaguered district.

So that's February in a nutshell. Here's hoping March brings El Nino rains and lots of eBay cha-chings!