Teacher gifts for Valentine’s Day

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Valentine’s Day is coming up and the stores are filled with hearts, chocolates and flowers. I spoke to a woman yesterday who had a great idea! She was buying 10 of these cute little heart mugs from Williams Sonoma. Her plan was to put flowers inside the mugs and give them to her child’s teachers on Valentine’s Day!

This was a clever idea! I once spoke to a teacher who said it was nice when parents thought of her, but she had a closet full of soaps, scented candles and note cards. Enough already.

How about “apples,” I said. Do you get a lot of those too? I said that for grins. I guess I was shocked to hear a teacher’s thoughts on the “type” of gifts she was receiving. Didn’t sound very good, but I bet I would get tired of the same gifts for every holiday from multiple parents too.

Still, it is important to think about our teachers. They work hard to educate our children. This woman had the right idea, let’s get creative with our gifts. I’m sure that this little heart mug with a flower will be remembered. Certainly not put in the closet… at least, not until the flower is dead!

Need some LADYBUGS, buy Geraniums.

IMG_3514I enjoy gardening. When Spring comes I have favorite flowers. I love impatiens and geraniums. Imaptiens remind me of Carmel, CA, beautiful bedding plant, but they do need watering every day. Geraniums though, they are a hardy flower that bloom constantly with little care.

IMG_3510Recently, I went to the gardening store and was looking for geraniums in this pinkish/redish color. I looked down and this particular geranium was FULL of ladybugs. Of course, I smiled and was transported to my childhood when the “first” ladybug I ever saw had landed on my arm. This little bug was so pretty, sweet and dainty and when it walked up my arm it felt like a little tickle when it moved. My second thought was, “WOW – I must be in for some REALLY GOOD LUCK, there are a lot of ladybugs here!” My third and final thought was, how are there so many ladybugs on “THIS” particular geranium?

So, I read the little instruction sticker and it said that this particular geranium attracts ladybugs to it, which is good for your garden, because ladybugs eat different insects. DID YOU KNOW THAT? I didn’t.

When I got home I Googled “ladybugs” and found that in Europe ladybugs are called “ladybirds.” Not sure that I can see how a ladybug resembles a bird except for the wings it has. At the same time, it made me think that this sweet beautiful little creature does not look like a “bug” either. My research found that ladybugs “are known” for bringing “good luck!”

So, with this post, I share my ladybugs with you.

Let’s see what luck comes our way!