Out of the mouths...and hearts...of highschool students

When I left my room for lunch today, I saw this writing on my white board. I have to share it, because the fact that it is there made my day and explains exactly why I teach high school and love it. My students say I work them hard- that's because I refuse to give them much homework. Many of them take AP classes and push themselves with academics, ROTC, sports and music- and I know if I push them during the 100 minutes I have them, they will learn a lot. Plus I use Adobe Creative Suite 3, which most of them don't have access to after leaving my room. I am constantly amazed that I have managed to teach 42 students at a time (times 6!!!) as much as I have in only 5 months! And here is why.....

Home Month at Creative Every Day....what I did today!

Today, DH and I decided to wake up at our regular weekday time (5:45 am) and go down to the beach to watch the sun rise. We hatched the idea last night, when it was breezy and clear. I always want to go to the beach- after all, we live across the street. But he is not into it during "winter" when it's ONLY 70 degrees outside. LOL. So it was pretty impressive that he agreed to join me on the adventure to sunrise.
So, we awakened to a cloudy morning, got dressed in layers, grabbed a blanket and travel mugs of hot tea, and walked across A1A. We sat on the back steps of the pool area, which gave us a great view. Of course, there was a big thick gray bank of clouds on the horizon. I got some great pics which I will get around to uploading later. We had rushed to get over there and so we were a little flushed from the exertion- but after we cooled down it got really cold! So we only stayed out until 7. Then we went up to the Flea Market because we both need sunglasses- and that's how things became creative!
We live in a cold, white, mirrored condo. The back wall is all glass, looking out onto our balcony. Above it is a 2 foot expanse of blank wall, which is where the cantilever for the balcony above is located. It provides an interesting decorating dilemma. I have wanted to put a starfish garland there since moving in, but the only place I have seen the type I want is at the Coral Castle in Miami, which is too far to drive just for that. I've played with the idea of buying the individual shells and such, but always stop because it's going to require a lot of work to create what is in my head. I always talk myself out of starting, because I've been so busy lately with teaching. In stepped Serendipity today. Turns out, in the rear of the Fleamarket there is a little shop called Seaside Cottage- full of kitschy shell themed things mixed with really beautiful things. They had lots of garlands and shells. I bought one! I spent the afternoon unstringing it and restringing the kinds of shells and seaglass I want to hang up above the windows. I only got 1/2 of one side done and I still need to hand-knot the whole strand, but I'm really excited about how it's coming out. I will post pics as it comes together.