Loving lately

Things I have been loving lately:

1. My sweater with the sheep on it. Because sheep are adorable and woolly.
2. Tea. All the time. So. Much. Tea. Green tea, lemon-ginger tea, tension-tamer tea, chamomile tea, Lady Grey tea (very ladylike), Earl Grey tea (he's quite dashing)....
3. Being a teacher. It's a lifestyle choice. You work long hours and when you're not at work, you think about work, but you also get to hang out with awesome kids all day and teach them about some really cool stuff. I'm a pretty big proponent of learning.
4. Weekends away with tall, dark and handsome men (okay, specifically one man, that one I'm married to).
5. Seeing old friends who are pretty much the same now as they were 17 years ago (the same meaning awesome).
6. Sweet potato pancakes. As seen below. Tupelo Honey in Asheville: It's kind of a big deal.

7. Katy Perry's documentary. I totally just watched it, and it made me cry. I like famous pop stars who celebrate weirdness.
8. How excited kids get about the very idea of snow. (I live in North Carolina.)
9. Amy Gross' strange, fungal, fairylands. (As seen below.)

10. Thinking about my Grandma. Thinking about how she wore sensible shoes to the USO dance during WWII, and how that's what drew my Grandpa to her. Thinking about the time, 60-some years after that dance, he pointed to her as she was walking away and told me "You see that little old lady? Inside that little old lady is a beautiful, smart, young woman." Thinking about how she said she was ready to die after he died. Thinking about how much they loved each other and how much I love Robert. Thinking about how even when someone dies at the age of 96 in their sleep (What is a better way to die?), death still sucks.