WaNt a TaStY tReAt iN hOnOr Of YoUr HaRd LaBoR (afterall, it's labor day, remember?)

try 1 of the 3 following places for an eXtra TASTY TREAT:

1. maria's taco Xpress. you hear the saying, "keep austin weird" but if you haven't been to maria's you may not know how "weird" austin REALLY is still. deep in the heart of south austin, you can eat authentic mexican food in a very free-spirit setting.
http://www.tacoxpress.com/

this place is a MUST if you live in austin and haven't been here yet. there is no other experience like maria's. it's a place where mexican food meets hippy meets indie meets gospel music.
maria's has live music on fridays and sundays. i thoroughly recommend going on SUNDAYS FROM 12-2. this is when they have their "gospel brunch/hippie church." no joke. that really is what it is called. you CANNOT miss it--REAL, i mean, REAL hippies doing their hippy dance to live gospel music while you are in the background eating your yummy tacos.
here are the REAL hippies doing their hippy dance. i didn't know REAL hippies still existed. when i think hippy, i think 70's. however, they are still around. they're just older now.
2. hey cupcake! if you are craving something sweet, head down to SoCo (s. congress) and stop at the cupcake stand. mmm-good cupcakes with fun names such as the "michael jackson" (chocolate bottom, cream cheese top). it'll make you giggle while settling your sweet tooth at the same time.

http://www.heycupcake.com/index.htm
3. flip happy crepes. i have never actually been to flip happy crepes but have always wanted to and might be trying it out today. they serve breakfast and lunch crepes. they're only open wednesdays through saturdays though, so be careful when you go. i can't resist a french delight.

http://www.fliphappycrepes.blogspot.com/

what to do to relieve stress

1. first, go home to see white flowers from your fabulous husband.
2. second, take a much-needed nap. make sure to not forget the eye mask!
3. third, get a relaxing pedicure to sooth your sore toes.
4. lastly, arrive home to a delicious dinner (again, from the husband).

a new class

the first 3 days of school have come and past, so it's time for pictures of my new class! here they are at: http://classroom.leanderisd.org/webs/laura.unnasch/home.htm. check them out! =)

an inspirational story

wow. adam just shared this story about a somalian girl who went to the olympics. she was 1 of 2 representing her country. back in somalia, she barely had a safe place to practice running. in a war torn country, she was used to seeing fighting all around her. her country's priority certainly isn't about training olympians, as it barely getting by. even though she came in last place with a huge gap between her and the runner before her, she held her head high. she goes back to her country, but returns a different person as the world was opened up to her.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/track_field/news?slug=cr-somalirunners082408&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

BACK to SCHOOL

The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery. ~Mark Van Doren

yesterday, i met my students at kindergarten camp. kinder camp is when the new kinder students and their parents come up to the school for the first time to meet their new teachers and are with their new teachers for about 3 hours. this helps make them more comfortable the 1st day of school. it is so exciting to meet your new students for the next year, but it's also hard because you realize you aren't seeing the familiar students of your class last year. i loved my class last year. (side note: if you want to see how presh they were, go to http://classroom.leanderisd.org/webs/laura.unnasch/). however, i remember feeling this same sense of nostalgia about the class the year before. i loved that class too. once i got to know my class the 1st week of school, i loved them just as much as the class before. so, therefore, i can't wait to get to know my new class. find out their unique, neat personalities, their quirks, their interests. after that, i know i will be crazy about this year's class as i was the one before.

it's a Pottery Party

friday is my cousin, amy's, birthday. to celebrate, she is having a Pottery Party. how fun does that sound? can't wait. happy birthday AMY BETH!

http://www.cafemonet.org/

sunday morning service

adam and i have been wanting to find a new church to go to. one where we weren't just another number walking into the service. one that we feel where we can be active participants. one that is similar to the type of churches that we both grew up in (adam--catholic, myself--lutheran). somewhere not far from where we live. a church that has a ministry for our age group.

i feel like we found that church today. we went to covenant united methodist church. as soon as we walked through the door, we were greeted by several people. ever since i moved to austin, i have looked around for a home church. never have i felt so welcome. we are definitely going back next sunday and we are going to go to the young professionals sunday school class. i am so excited to meet the other people our age.

covenant is a fairly small church in the middle of a neighborhood. just what i was looking for. i think it is so important for people to feel a sense of community and to feel that they are an important part of a community. going to a big church in a big city, i didn't feel that. going to a small church in a big city, i feel like it will be easier to feel the sense of community as most people know each other. a small community provides a sense of comfort.

maybe you are different. you love your big church. you feel connected and are active in it. a lot of people love the unique things that a large church can offer. i think the reason my preference is for a smaller church is because i grew up in a town, not a city so the large church just seems too large for me.

http://www.covenantaustin.org/index.php

we are so fortunate

GRATITUDE

Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.

~Buddha~

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

~John F. Kennedy~

i found some pictures of a mission trip i went on last year to the Dominican Republic and it is amazing the difference in life and lifestyle between the U.S. and the developing world. on the trip, i realized just how FORTUNATE we are. we have jobs to go to, schools to go to, medicine available, basic necessities such as clean water and food to eat...all LUXURIES in the developing world

this little boy doesn't need toys to have fun
this girl cannot walk, heartbreaking
in developing countries, they very often use river water for everything. here, some dominicans are using the very dirty river water to clean their dishesin one of the haitan refugee villages we worked in
the children in this village are getting a healthy meal to eat

an awesome verse

I came across this encouraging verse that is so comforting.

The light of your life will shine brighter than the sun at noontime. Even in times of darkness, you will shine as bright as the morning sun. And you will be secure, because you have hope. You will work and rest in safety. And when you lie down at night, nothing will make you afraid. Your light will shine so brightly, many will look upon your light for help.

Job 11:17-19

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

My cousin, Amy Beth, and I are about to go see The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Part of the movie takes place in Greece, which is where Anna and I were around this time last summer. My, how things can change in just 1 year! It was one of my favorite trips and will forever be one of my favorite countries.

AdAm'S gRaDuAtIoN

"Victory belongs to the most persevering."

Napoleon Bonaparte

on friday, adam graduated with his Master's of Business Administration. adam has been working hard for the past 4 years at getting his master's while working full-time. i am very proud of him!

one with NATURE

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you."

Frank Lloyd Wright

adam and i just got back from our surprise getaway weekend adam planned. our journey first began in san marcos where we had been for adam's graduation. i had no idea where we were going. first, we went through wimberly, then blanco, marble falls and lastly, burnet. adam is amazing at keeping a surprise a surprise. throughout the 2 hour drive, i could not figure out where we could be going.

we continued past burnet. we got on a small road and drove 15 miles. at the end of the road, we arrived to our destination. canyon of the eagles. a nature preserve and lodge. right up adam's alley. no TV. no internet. away from civilization as we know it. just what we needed. a weekend away, away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in austin.

the place we stayed is on a nature preserve. we saw all sorts of live creatures including 2 armadillos outside our cottage.

view from the lodge. overlooks lake buchanan.
we swam friday, saturday and sunday.
we saw a reptile show on saturday. oh, how i love reptiles. actually, it was really neat to learn about animals found in the hill country.

we went on a river cruise saturday night.
on sunday morning, we went on a 5k hike.

http://www.canyonoftheeagles.com/

Life's a Beach Part Two

summer beach trip. padre & port a.

http://www.gulfstreamcondos.com/

http://thecrazycajun.com/