Ramblings of a Thirty-Something

When I sat down at my computer just a few minutes ago {okay, it's been longer than a few minutes}, I had no idea what I was going to write about. Like, my mind went totally blank. Should I write a blog post about period dramas and romances? A post about wine? Drink wine while writing a post about period dramas and romances? Clearly, my mind is going in a very strange direction. Then I glanced around my room and noticed my knitting basket. For those of you who just laughed, yes, I have a knitting basket. In fact, I have two, plus a bag. One holds all of my yarn {or as much as will fit, hence the need for a bag}. The other holds my current knitting project so I can easily carry it wherever I want to go knit. I can keep my notebook {yes, I have a knitting notebook...stop laughing}, my needles, my scissors, my embroidery needle, the skein wrappers, and the current work in progress. Knitting Basket #1 {and bag} Right now, that smaller basket holds a wrap sweater I am knitting for

I am a creature of habit. Anybody else? Most of us are, for better or for worse. We fall into routines and stick to them without even thinking about it. And that can be good, for sure...unless the routines aren't healthy routines, of course. The longer I teach, the more I see patterns with kids. You can see which kids have consistent bedtimes, which kids have a routine of doing their homework at a certain time, which kids have learned how to function around sports schedules and the hectic-ness of life. And you can tell which kids don't  have those routines...and which kids desperately need those routines! I can't even begin to explain how important consistent bedtimes and waking times and meal times are for kids of all ages. I am most certainly included in this. Perhaps more so than my students sometimes! I need routine, especially at certain points in the day, which is what the meat of this post is going to be. Is this post going to be boring? Quite possibly. Is this

February. Chapter 2 of 12. I didn't think it was going to come. After all, January was approximately 1,873,252 days long. We didn't see the sun for days...quite literally days here in Illinois. And with Punxsutawney Phil not  seeing his shadow, spring should be arriving in less than six weeks. I'm not holding my breath or anything right now. But let's dive into this month's list before I lose my nerve and start rambling about something else. I'm not sure what it would be, but it probably wouldn't be any fun to read. Or it might, I don't actually know. And I don't know if this list is actually long, but it sounded good in the title, so there's that for you. My Current Book(s) I am still reading The Fiery Cross , as I was in January. I am officially on page 813 of 1443 {as of writing this post}, so over halfway! I also have this month's book club book at the ready, though I did just lend it out to someone. But at some point this month,