news flash

I had my oral exam this morning, and passed! I am officially an AMI-certified Montessori teacher, for life!

I cannot express in words the joy the end of this three-year journey brings me. But it's actually not an end ... it's a point of departure, a beginning!

five days of rest, and then it's back to the painstaking work of getting a new classroom ready by aug. 16, when the first wonderful children arrive! i won't even get into all that that entails ... so i hope i can stay focused and get a whole bunch of beautiful materials made! i know i won't have a complete set of everything from my albums this first year, but plan to by the end of next summer. so this year, i'll do what i can and set a goal of making something at least weekly. montessori classroom prep is like an ongoing scavenger hunt ... in fact i have found some great items at goodwill/antique shops while here in st. louis! sooooo much fun!! (also so much $$ ....oy)

in other news ... well, there's not much. i've drawn up a preliminary personal budget for next year that i think is going to help tremendously ... i do this every year, but have trouble sticking to it. but if you've kept up with my blog, you'll know i'm just about ready to cross the line from intention (which took me two years to somewhat define, and build up through more simple living steps) to action. if all goes well, i can save a good wad of cash in various expenditure accounts (more later, maybe) and pay off my grad student loan debt in five years instead of ten! we shall see! i think all this home and garden tv i've been watching in my spare time has been inspiring. tv is not always the devil ... heehee ... but i'm still considering selling my set, among other things.

yes, still hoping to move by september or october and start paying a couple hundred dollars a month less in rent. i'm not sure yet on the fate of two of my three cats. it's a double-edged sword.

ah, five days of rest ... i need it. and a holiday weekend, to boot! cool!

much love,

karen

just a quick post.

just wanted to call your attention to this great new blog.

back to the books.

oh yeah, i'm thinking about a one-bedroom apartment now. simple, but creatively beautiful. if the rent is right, why have a second bed for taking in renters? and i don't have guests often enough. i can improvise a sewing area. maybe the place will have a little nook area. .....

nothing i can do about it for a few more weeks. sigh..i'm impatient!

happy wednesday night to you.

weekly update

farmer's market hydrangeas

I have passed both my written exams! All that remains is a very important oral exam next Tuesday, which I am practicing/studying for now. Halfway there feels pretty good!

This post will be short. I went to the St. Louis zoo today, and just 2 hours in the 105-degree-humid heat was enough to give me a nasty headache (dehydration probably) and tucker me out quite a bit.


I only have 11 days left until graduation, and then the next couple of months will be a flurry of classroom preparation, and possibly a move to a new apartment, provided i find one that i like.

It's a busy time around here. I do try and take a long walk nearly every day, through this quiet suburban neighborhood near my apartment. i don't understand the front lawns. these huge, manicured front lawns that no one actually uses. i could never live in the suburbs. so antiseptic. i just don't understand them. reflecting, i realize this is why i want to leave the current block i'm living on back home in louisville. they got upset with my compost bin. no one line dries or has a garden. it makes me want to cry, is that weird? i get sad thinking about how much better it was when people seemed to live within their means more and do things for themselves.

i've been eating vegan since i got here, with one exception, a pizza out at a restaurant. i've already lost weight so that's nice. of course, we eat less in summer, too. i'd like to lose 15 more pounds but i'm not sure how that's going to happen unless i eat less ... and when i eat i have a huge appetite! at least most of it is healthy!


recent meals here in st. louis.
i am still thinking about establishing a daily yoga/meditative practice. i don't know why it's so hard for me to carve out this space in my day. but i always say that intention means you're halfway there. still, looking forward to getting back to the studio regularly in july and august.

i'm sorry but there's not much else to say ... well there is one thing, but i want to wait a bit on it to see if it actually develops the way i'm hoping it will ;-)

guess i'm just tired. hope you all have a good week! i'll be in the practice room for most of it.



vegan dinner, tonight after the zoo

peace.

simplifying.

as you can see, i've decided to simplify my blog a bit. i'm actually still trying to simplify my life. i feel a great call to do this...and recent circumstances in my life that i first saw as negative have actually been an invitation to action to me.

don't get me wrong, overall everything is fine. i'm still in st. louis, and just finished up my written exams. in three weeks, i'll have taken oral exams, and will hopefully be a certified montessori teacher!

but when i get home, i'm going to attempt to move to a smaller place, possibly even with a good friend of mine. i'm looking for cheaper rent, and you know when you move....you always get rid of the STUFF that follows you. i can get rid of even more STUFF. definitely. i'm looking for a more down-to-earth neighborhood. i'll either have one bedroom or two (hopefully two even if they're small, so i can set up my own craft area). i want a space to experiment with gardening.

that's all, really. it's a good opportunity for me to do this. i'm tempted also to not even bother selling some of the more higher-quality stuff i have, like pretty winter coats i never wear, or dvd's. thinking of freecycling them, giving out the good karma. i've begun thinking it's nuts to collect dvd's. mine literally sit there for months, and just collect dust. i mean, they're all my favorite movies, but i NEVER watch them. what's the point? i thought of this yesterday when i passed some movies i'd "love to have on dvd" in the store ... and immediately forgot the "need" to have them once i'd walked past. hm.

i will not compromise on my books. never. :-) and of these, you can imagine how many i have ...

i just don't want nearly so much STUFF.

i'm also, sadly, thinking of giving two of my three cats to good homes. it's nearly impossible to keep up with all the maintenance their destructive natures (including having accidents everywhere/puking hairballs). but if it doesn't make me sound too bad, i'm really looking forward to having just my original cat with me again (i'm sure she is, too!). i love them...but don't cats adapt well no matter who they're with? i'm not sure. i could use some soothing words on this one.

simplification feels like a cleansing in a pure stream.

moving is not simple, but neither is setting up a classroom from scratch, so why not get both over with at the same time?

i hope this will be a place i can stay for the next (at least) three years i'll be in louisville.

i've loved my amazing dream of an apartment but for various reasons i won't get into here, it's time to move on.

a little wistful, but my calling is strong. simplify, it says. keep only what's important. save on rent. maybe enjoy the constant company of a friend. have a space for a tiny garden and a tiny place to air dry your clothes. revel in the "not needing." remember how lucky you are. you have food and water. you have clothes to wear, and a place to sleep, a roof over your head. you are healthy. you are free.

there are millions -- MILLIONS -- of people in the world who do not have these rights.

I'd also like to set up a dedicated space for daily yoga and meditation in my new place. That call is also strong.

I might even sell my TV altogether. I wonder if I can live without rented movies in the winter.

just some thoughts as I sit here during a cleansing thunderstorm in my pretty, spartan room in st. louis that has everything i need, and no more.



enjoy your weekend with all the rich blessings that simplicity has bestowed upon you.