Why I'm Happy this Friday ~ My Favorites of the Week

This sunny Friday afternoon, I’m checking in to say hello and take just a few minutes to remember some of the good things that happened this past week.

Just another sunny Friday afternoon in Arizona.

It’s been a good and productive week. We’ve managed to juggle transportation issues to get three people to three different locations every day with only two cars. We’ve made progress is getting Josh ready for his mission. I’ve stayed mostly on top of all the grading and assignments in my classroom this week, the house is in a reasonable state of cleanliness and order, everyone has clean clothes in their closet, the refrigerator and pantry are stocked and we’ve managed to have a hot meal every night this week.

The huge soccer field in the park where we walk ~ filled with water about three feet deep after Monday's rainstorm.

Another view of the soccer field/swimming pool after the record breaking rain storm.

It’s been cooler here in Phoenix this week. We had a major rainstorm on Monday here in the Phoenix area and along with it came major flooding. Maybe you saw or heard about it on the news. It was the most rain the Valley of the Sun has ever gotten in one day. Ever. History making. The rain cooled things down quite a bit and even though the air was more humid for a couple of days, temperatures below 100 this time of year are nice.

A full-moon on the left and the Gilbert Temple on the right ~ a view from one of our evening walks in the park.

Even with the rain, I’ve been able to walk every night this week ~ some nights with my husband and some nights with my son. I’ve walked 9.4 miles so far this week (Sunday ~ Thursday). I also started using my new walking shoes which helped my feet feel better. I wear out walking shoes about every three months.

The books I finished this week.

I finished reading three books this week. It’s pretty amazing what a person can do when she limits time online.

Flags commemorating each victim of the 9/11 attacks were placed on the east lawn of the high school where I teach.

The students were respectful and left the flags untouched throughout the day.

September 11, 2001 was a horrendous day, or course, but I felt like the remembrances this year were fitting and respectful. At school, our principal said a few words and then the entire school said the Pledge of Allegiance, then had a moment of silence to remember those who died. There were 2,996 mini-American flags placed on the east lawn of the school grounds and they remained undisturbed by the students. I showed a brief, but powerful video clip from You Tube in all of my classes and was pleased with the ensuing discussion. Although the teens I teach were too young in 2001 to remember much of what happened, they seemed to realize the importance of the day in the modern history of this nation and the world. They were more interested, engaged and respectful when speaking about the events of 9/11 than any group of teens I have taught in the past few years.

This weekend we will probably be occupied with more shopping and outfitting for Josh's mission. We are slowly but surely getting everything he is going to need. There will also be laundry and ironing to be done. Some general yard and pool cleaning and maintenance is on the list and Charly is planning to do some more painting. I am hoping to spend a few minutes catching up with my favorite blogs! Sunday will be our peaceful respite from the busyness of the rest of the week.