Drunk off Moroccan Whiskey and its a Tuesday night!

Hola! Annyunghasayo! Arigato?

Today was an all together perfect day. It was one of those days that you must write down to remember for one of those not so perfect days.

First, I got back to adding some deliberate movement to my routine and was able to walk today on the treadmill. So maybe it was only for twenty minutes and maybe it was not the scenic walk I am used to, but it felt good to pant a little, sadly on a speed 4.0, but hey with an incline!! Righteous. Regardless, I also was able to take time today to relax and enjoy tea in the morning in solitude, which can be just as rewarding as it is when enjoyed with a friend--as long as I make sure I am really present throughout the experience. Anyway, I also ate my fruits and veggies, thawed out some old homemade chicken pot-pie mix and cooked up some brown rice in the rice cooker so I could have a dinner to bring to class tonight. Idiotically I burned myself on the rice cooker, but I created a little essential oil mixture to apply to the burn so we'll see how well that worked. (I'll be doing research on that tomorrow for my final presentation in my Alternative Approaches to Healthcare class). Then I did a little modge podging on the memory game cards I created for my lesson plan for today. Afterwards I took a shower and packed up my school bag for both the class I had to teach and the class I take at St. Kates.

I just have to say today was the most successful day I have had in teaching, and I am so grateful it came today because I have been a little frustrated lately with my ability to take charge and be in control in the classroom. Those little rascals sure notice when you are lacking control. And I tend to have a sore spot for being a little too nice to people when maybe it is not the best thing to do. But after having a discussion with two close friends of mine who are involved in education/teaching right now over the weekend, I was able to come up with a little plan to get the kids to respect me without the whole, "Why don't you treat me with respect" conversation I typically find myself leaning on. (Thanks Emily and Irene!) So I am rewarding the kids this Thursday (weather willing) with the treat of apples! Surprisingly the kids wanted apples. We have some food allergies and the kids were excited about apples, so cheers to that!

Aside from class just being great and feeling like I am making connections in the classroom, I had my final Ecology and Health course tonight, which will definitely lead to another post (if not here, in my Go Green Machine blog). I just adore my professor and he put me in a happy mood. (Despite the usual apocalyptic reminders).

I was in a good mood also because I finaly connected with my little, and we made plans for this Saturday morning. I am going over there at 8:30 to cook her pancakes, and I look forward to it, mainly to see her and spend time with her, but also to watch her eat something other than pizza, tacos, or ice cream! Also I hope to share some cooking knowledge with her mother, and I never mind running into her little brother who is soooo adorable!

To finish the night off, on my way home I decided to stop back at Irene and Rachid's place (because I left my briefcase there yesterday)and was welcomed warmly by Mohammed, Rachid and Irene as well as an array of plates filled with my favorite thing--food! Haha. There was fish, an eggplant dish, a salad, a bowl of homemade fries and sweet bread! What a bienvenido I didn't deserve :) I love dinner so much and must know it is a good day when I am blessed with a second dinner. I also was fortunate to share some laughs and some closeness to Irene and the man soon to be her husband. It is always fun to be at home in another person's home. I cannot get enough of the feeling of dropping in on someone's night and being part of their life and conversation. We discussed many interesting things from language, to France, to ETA and the vascos, to the Mormons in Utah, (and not to mention to a lot of cool home remedies I learned of--Rachid's special soup he makes to fight colds, and Mohammed's father's secret to beating sickness--I think I am going to start a recipe book of all of my friend's little home remedies, it's gonna be sweet), but the point is (and the reason why I visit at this later hour) is we ended up drinking Moroccan tea, which I have been lucky enough to have before on another occassion with the very same group of people maybe a year and a half ago. Things began to get a little kooky this evening (we may all have been like that before the tea, but let's just say it was from the tea), and anyway, they explained that some people call Moroccan tea, "Moroccan whiskey," because of the crazy effect all the sugar in the tea has on people it acts like alcohol, except stimulates.

Despite my sweet buzz, I decided with the snow and my parched plants at home waiting for their own drink, I needed to come home to rest and wind down from a long but wonderful day.