Sometimes you need to change your methods...

I have been a Sudoku fan for a long time, and always carry a small puzzle book in my purse for those unavoidable waiting in line times, and I always have a puzzle magazine in the bathroom (easy ones that get done quickly). I admit I do not like the hard ones -- no patience for the long time they take to solve, but I enjoy the medium difficulty ones a lot.

Last summer when I was in Alaska I taught my friend Evie how to do Sudoku puzzles. I showed her my way of going through the numbers one at a time like I show my students when they want to learn how to do the puzzles I have in my "Spare Time" box in the classroom.

... and recently I realized my own solving method had morfed into something different from how I taught other people how to play. I find there is a combination method to solving the puzzles that takes them a box at a time rather than just by numbers in order that works better for me -- no earth shattering news but it seemed like a metaphor for other things in my life that maybe needed to change.

Why? Well as I look around at my messy art room and messy house I see that my old ideas of how to keep things in order no longer work for me.

Time to do something else.

I have had to change how I work with my kids at school lately because a lot of the old methods we could use when the kids actually followed directions don't work anymore. Short attention spans maybe, lack of manners definitely (group work turns into gossip or yelling fests), and so I have had to change my methods.

And I am realizing with a great epiphany this morning that how I approach so many things are going to need a revamp.

Time to do something else.

Maybe it is because in 9 short weeks I will be retired, or maybe I am just tired of my old ways of not cooperating with myself (it is all me of course, I am my worst critic and worst plan derailer)...

No other answers here really, just the call out to myself to start rethinking my methods of living my life and being happy about it...

Fitbit free and lots of flowers...

Today was Day 1 Fitbit free. I decided to take a break from counting my steps because I found it was holding me hostage... I would check it all the time and be bothered when it wasn't registering right, and finally it was creating way more stress than I need right now. I already know my patterns: I walk more when I am at school in the course of a day and need to purposefully walk or move more on the weekends. Doesn't take an electronic gadget to tell me that. One less thing to keep track of in my life. I like that.

And lately I have been feeling very stressed enough from other things. I noticed that when I was on my yoga mat before class this morning. I had a hard time stilling my thoughts -- they were all over the map! I am glad at least I got myself out of the house for yoga because at the end of it I did feel less stressed, and a slight bit taller. I love how all the stretching makes me feel and for a while I think I walk taller and more aligned. Of course then I went home and got on the computer and hunch up and probably ruined it all but it was nice while it lasted!

And finally all the bulbs and flowers Andy has been planting in the garden are really exploding with color! Oddly however, we have a ton of yellow poppies coming up. Lovely but he thought he planted red ones! Too bad we don't still have the bag they came in, but anyway they are very pretty.

The freesias just smell divine! They are definitely in my top 3 of favorite spring flowers! And the poppies are going wild! Wish we had a larger area of them planted (like the whole front lawn?) I have never liked grassy areas in gardens although I know we need some for when our dog goes outside, but if I could have what I really wanted I would go for the unkempt English cottage garden look any day!

A different crocus...

Lately every day I go outside a new crocus has come up! Andy planted them this time and I am loving all the color variations. There are some white ones too but I love this variegated purple one!

In my garden this morning...

I can't wait!

Same crocus...

Photo app.

Later thoughts...

Whoa! WAAAAYYYYY to big here!

Ok I like this app, it is fun and a little different for me but... just like the phone pic, there is no way to regulate the size of the photo and that I don't like. Ok, now I know to just save the photo and post it the way I usually do from Flickr or my computer.

By the way, the app is from A Beautiful Mess.

Yesterday...

Crocus in the rain.

Posting this as a test from my phone.

Later thoughts from my computer...

1. Photo is too big.
2. There is no way to adjust the size of the photo upload from the phone (that I know of, if there is please tell me!)
3. It is a pain to type out blog stuff on my phone. Guess my fingers are too fat!