It's Moving Day! Run! Run for your lives!

We are MOVING!

Our lease is up at the apartments where we live, so we are OUT OF HERE!  Thankfully, my sister, my brother-in-law and my boyfriend came and helped me pack and move.  I don't know what I would have done without them all.   I still have a TON of stuff to load out, and then the REAL work starts (cleaning.  Eighck), but I am out of here Friday regardless.  Can't wait to be done packing! lol  I hate packing and moving. (WHO DOESN"T?! Right?)

Hi

Life.
Is.
Crazy.

And I love it. :)

I Love My Job

For the record, I love my job. :)

Book Pages Wreath Tutorial

I have a fun little tutorial to show you guys.  You see, I have SO much homework, cleaning, lesson planning, etc. to do that I decided to instead make a wreath. :)

This project ROCKED  because it was FREE!  I already had ALL of the materials here!  And not "had" it, like I spent a fortune and I now have it, but like it was stuff that all should have been thrown away, anyway!  (Except the thumbtack and the hot glue sticks.)

There is a fantastic place on campus.  In the mysterious Languages and Literature building, with its strange construction and winding hallways, there is one rather obscure hallway, and on a nondescript wall in that hallway is a table with random books, video tapes and cassette tapes.  All free.  Sometimes the table is bare.  Other times it is piled high with books and other things.  The other day, as I was wondering down this hallway I noticed it had a few books on it, so, I grabbed them up.  

Today, as I procrastinated everything I needed to accomplish, I decided it was time to do something with these books.  I decided on a wreath.

What you need: 

A book to tear and cut apart

Scissors
Hot glue gun

Hot glue (I think I used 2 to 2 1/2 of the small sticks)

Some fabric (how much depends on how big you want your bow)

So, here's how it's done:

I began by selecting a random book for this project.

I then took the Styrofoam from the box my new bread maker came in, and I cut it down to size with a rather dull kitchen knife.  I would recommend using something a little sharper and easier to use, but we all work with what we have :)

(And, in case you are wondering, that is "NEWSIES" on in the background.Shamelessly, "Enchanted" was on while I cut the paper.  A little sing-along music helps with crafting, I have found.)

Next, I ripped pages from the book.

Then, cut the pages in to strips.  The first few I cut, I felt were too wide.  They didn't look very good, so be sure and cut rather narrow strips.

After that, I curled the paper.  You know how you curl curling-ribbon with scissors?  Well, you do the same thing EXCEPT you do not open the scissors and instead use the dull back of the scissors.

 Then, you begin gluing!

I learned a good lesson!  Start with gluing the INSIDE edge of the wreath, as in, IN the opening.  Next, do the outer SIDES, and do the FRONT LAST.  This way, you don't smash the curls while doing the other parts.  Silly me, I was so excited to make it I just started sticking them on the front.  Oops! :)

(In the background on the computer?  I am uploading pictures and that is a picture of me kissing Nacho Libre.  Check out my facebook page to see it :) )

Something else I learned as I went along was, when you are gluing the curls close to the edges, fold the paper around the corner.  This not only hides the styrofoam, it also ensures all openings are filled in so you don't have empty spaces.

Once all the curls were on, I looked for my ribbon to put around it, but I couldn't find it! :(  But that is okay, because I rummaged through my scraps of fabric and found this from last spring.  I LOVE it!  I cut one thick strip and wrapped it LOOSELY around the top of  the wreath.  I opted not to glue the fabric to the wreath because I might want to change the fabric later (in fact, I already have the fabric picked out! lol  Also courtesy of my scrap box).  So, I glued the ends of the fabric together instead to make a loose loop around the wreath.

Then, I cut a triangle of the same fabric.  NOTE: I COULD have just made a bow at the top of the ribbon with the same piece of ribbon, but since I was using scraps, I didn't have one long piece long enough to make the loop and tie it.

 I folded the top down and both sides on to the back and secured it with a dab of glue.  I then pinched the middle and wrapped a small strip of fabric around the middle and glued it down to the back of the bow.

I stuck a thumbtack on the inside of the loop through the back side of the loop and hung it on the wall!

So, what do you think?  Is this a project you would be interested in trying out?

The Test

So, my test has been over for HOURS now...isn't time to get crafting?!  Can't wait to have my sewing machine again (it has been on vacation in Idaho.  SIGH).  I will have to show you all the FUN I am having with it when it comes home again.

Oh, you want to know about the exam?  Well, it was about half an hour after the conclusion of the test before my hands stopped shaking.  I think I did okay, but I know there were a few phrases and words I missed, so I will just have to see in the end what grade I get on it.

Tomorrow, I will be working on my senior project.  It is a big project, but I did my best to be able to at least be doing it on something that interests me, so at least it won't be too horrible.  I knew I could NOT do a project this size on something I found boring or uninteresting.

As for now, I am going to BED.  I am BEAT.

I miss Taiger. :(  Isn't it time for him to come home yet?!  SHEESH!

The Ugly (Or, Me During Midterms)

Midterms week.  I have my big test in Chinese tomorrow.  When I have a midterm or final in a Chinese class, my life revolves around that test.  I study day and night, and when I am not studying, I am worried because I am not studying.  I don't clean, cook, play...I barely shower (and that's not an exaggeration).  This is the dirty, ugly side of me.  "Come one, come all!  See the horrifying Ms.- B- During- Midterms- Week!"  I should charge.  It is THAT bad.  I didn't do the dishes in about five days.  By the time I stopped studying long enough to wash the dishes last night, there was mold.  MOLD, people.

Mr. T is in Idaho.  It is the safest place for him at this time (lol).  Anyway, like every midterm/final exam time, I am horrified at what I have become, wallowing under a pile of papers, books, pencils, dictionaries, notes, half written projects and reports, electronic devices, wearing sweats (probably with cheetos shaped finger prints on the legs), my brain so full of Chinese I can't think straight, and looking like a Walker from The Walking Dead, because I haven't slept more than five hours all week.

Be glad you are not here, friends.  And all who wish to enter here, be ye warned.

Update :)

It has been a LONG time since I have written, and I kind of began to wonder if the blogging side of my life was on hold for a season, or maybe even (GASP!) ending (gulp).  But alas, I find myself sneaking back here now and then, just to look.  For what, I don't now.  I just type in the address.  Scroll down the page a bit, and then leave.  I'm odd, I know. The definition of insanity is something about someone repeatedly doing something again and again with the same result but expecting something different, and I was worried that might include expecting something different even if you are not sure what that something different is, in which case, I am on a quick trip to crazy town.  SO, I am doing something about it and writing, and then I will surprise myself the next time I click to my blog. :)

Life is so busy, with so much going on!  We have cut away at Taiger's hair, little by little, until there is almost nothing left.  He is thrilled with it!  I am mourning the loss of his beautiful curls.  But he ended up with those long locks in the first place because I felt his hair styles should be HIS choice, not mine, and if that is so then cutting it is his choice, so as soon as he says the word, I pull out the scissors.  It is hard to see all that beautiful hair (showing the result of all those years of TORTURE working to get it curly, soft, healthy, long, etc.) flushed down the toilet (literally), but that is his choice.  So, what is a mommy to do?

I have been working and I love my job!  I am teaching at the Maria Montessori Academy.  I work as a special education assistant in a Lower Elementary classroom (about ages 6-8) in the mornings, and then I teach writing to a small group of students in the afternoons (about ages 13-15).  I also teach about 15 mins of yoga in the morning to the Lower Elementary class where I am the assistant.  I love the teacher in whose classroom I am working, and I absolutely adore all of my students!  Teaching yoga is so satisfying, and I love hearing those tiny kids use words like "Namaste" and "Shavasina" :)  Warms my heart.  My writing group is fantastic!  I have REALLY connected with one of my students, and I received the warmest, most sincere hug from him yesterday.  That class pushes my creativity and teaching experience as I come up with new lesson plans, games, visuals, methods to teach, etc.  That is just the kind of thing I LOVE.  I really enjoy teaching that group.  Working with the special needs kids in the classroom is just as rewarding as you can imagine.  I love it, and have felt a great sense of accomplishment when I am able to connect with a child, help them through a difficult moment, teach them tools for coping, help them accomplish a goal, or do just about ANYTHING else to help them.  I love the students, and I absolutely love working with them.

On the topic of Maria Montessori Academy, Taiger was accepted there for this Fall!!!!!!!!!!!!  I was so excited when I found out he had been accepted!  I just wanted to scream and jump up and down!  It is wonderful as I know he will just THRIVE in that learning environment!  Along from that benefit, I am also so excited to have him with me during the week!!!!!!!!  He will go to school and come home WITH ME!  And although he will not be in the classroom where I teach (most likely), I will still be right there in the same building so if there is a problem I can help him, and we can probably have lunch together (although I bet he won't want that every day, as he will surely be busy with friends).  I imagine we will move to the city where the school is, so no more commuting an hour each way for work!  And did I mention we will BE TOGETHER?!  Yippee!  I absolutely LOVE the Montessori method of teaching and I am SO EXCITED to give Taiger the experience to learn in the Montessori way.  I love it!

This post has turned MUCH longer than I EVER expected.  (Boy, I am surprising myself already!)  I hope all of you, my friends and blog readers, are having a wonderful week and that wherever you are it is SUNNY outside! :)
 

Good bye 2012, Welcome here 2013!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012 was fantastic, and I look forward to 2013 being just as great. :)  I can't help but wonder what fun things will happen in 2013, what I might learn, what I might experience, what Taiger will learn, how Taiger will change, who I will meet, where I will go, what I will accomplish.  I wonder what will happen for Sixteen Small Stones in 2013? The BEST part is knowing that, through it all, I will have by best friend, Taiger, at my side. :)

I hope you all have a GREAT year in 2013.

Hi!

Are you there?  Hello?

Oh hi!  There you are!  I thought I had lost you. :)

It would take a long, long (long) time to catch you up on every nitty gritty detail of life at the Grand Adventure Household (as much as I am sure you would loooooove to hear that...lol).  So, we are going to try and experiment.  I am going to just jump in with life as it is and pretend you know what is going on.  You are going to be lost for a while, flounder around and eventually catch on to the crazy that is run of the mill around here.

What do ya think?  Wanna give it a try?

So, to start, we are in Idaho.  Want to sing, "I'll be home for Christmas"?  No?  No, you don't?  Yeah, me either. ;)

OH!  And the BIG news?  I cut Taiger's hair!  YES!  Last night!  He suddenly (VERY suddenly!) decided he wanted it cut.  So, after a moment of panic that my boy's precious curls were about to go to the slaughter, I sucked it up and cut!  I was hyperventilating, and crying, most of the time, but I hid it from Taiger. ;)  He LOVES it! ...and wants it shorter. :S  Am I brave enough to pull out the buzzer?

Anyone Out There??!!

Hellooooooooo out there!!!! ... ?  Anyone here??

Probably not.

So, I STILL don't have a computer.  I know!  It is like I have been catapulted back in to the stone age...or at least the '80s.  WHAT?!  So I am on campus now and I have almost 9 mins online, so I am using it to post here.  ("What is this 'internet' of which you speak?!"  That is how I feel right now.)

Taiger and I have had some REALLY "Grand Adventures" lately, and I cannot wait to show you all the pictures and tell you stories of everything!  But for now, I will just say things have been crazy and fun and Taiger is getting used to life in Utah.

We are living in an apartment complex at an outdoor mall.  Sounds strange, right?  It is exciting and different and quite an adventure!  Life is different when you live downtown.  Just like the song says, "Everything's waiting for you." Everything is downtown!  It is so close...yet far away, because it takes a long time to get anywhere. :)  But I do love it!  It's all just so different! Even grocery shopping is different!  The grocery store is so big and you park in a parking garage instead of a parking lot.  I take public transportation instead of driving. I thought living in China was strange, but living downtown is just as full of little quirks.  Evem taking a walk is such a different experience!  Instead, of grass under foot there is concrete and a sidewalk.  Instead of the air full of the smells of dirt and freshly mowed lawns or wheat being harvested, there are smells of cafes and restaurants, perfumes wafting from clothing stores. Instead of seeing familiar neighbors driving slowly by or waving from their yards, or just as often seeing NO ONE on the street, here there are always always always people!  People I don't know with faces I want to stare in to and understand.  People everywhere! Instead of having an open, spacious view to the mountains I look around and see buildings, interesting and towering and close and cold and beautiful. But there is one thing I absolutely love above all else about taking a walk in the city versus the country: NO BUGS! I love it!  No gnats! :D  Anyway, I cannot say one is better than the other.  I certainly love living downtown in a city, but country living is charming.  They are so different, it is like comparing apples and oranges.  Both are fruit but you can't say one is better than the other at all!

So, we have been experiencing the adventure of living not only in a big city, but living right smack downtown, right in the middle of it all!

Living downtown has given me the chance at another adventure: volunteering at a homeless shelter.  There are homeless people "living" all around us downtown.  Our street behind our house is full of homeless people.  I could not simply sit in my fancy apartment, looking out my window at the suffering!  So, I called the nearest shelter and headed over to serve dinner.  I have gone twice and look forward to that experience more in the future.

Very near our home is a Children's Museum!  Mr. J surprised us with YEAR PASSES to the Children's Museum!!!!!!!!  We LOVE it!  It is a great and fun way to spend an afternoon, or just a few hours.  Since we don't have to pay each time we don't mind going in for a short while and then leaving.  There isn't the pressure of having to "get your money's worth" or to see EVERYTHING because this will be the only time we ever go.  It is so fun and nice and I am forever thankful to Mr. J for that kind and wonderful gift.

Now that we are in Utah, we are very near to my sister (although not near enough!).  We have had so much fun being with her, and she has had Mr. T over for "slumber parties" and he has had the best adventures with her!  (Think SUMO NIGHT.  Enough said...and can't wait to share pictures of that party!)

Mr. J also got season passes for us to a wonderful little place called Cornbelly's.  It is like a children's Halloween heaven!  It has a corn maze and pumpkins and bounce houses, it has pig races (seriously!), haunted houses (kid friendly...although too scarey for Taiger), games, music, a HUGE slide, and all sorts of imaginative play areas.  There are fire pits and the last time we went we made s'mores around the fire.  It is absolutely a fall heaven! 

My University had Fall Break last week, and Little T and I went with Mr. J to visit his family out of state.  Can't wait to show pictures of THAT adventure!

PHEW!  This has taken longer than 9 mins to write, so I better get going.  I am sure it has taken more than the free time you have had to read!  I will write again when I can.  Thank you for being faithful readers.

Utah

Did you think maybe Utah doesn't have internet?

Or did you maybe think we had moved to Saturn and were unable to get internet out there?

I am happy to say neither of those situations is what happened.

Unfortunately, my computer is broken, and that is why  I have not blogged.

So sorry.

I am at a campus.  Not the U.  Using their computer.  Long story.

I am in Utah.  Taiger is in Idaho.  I have no house.  Yet.  But soon.

Write more when I can.  Gotta run!  I love you all and will post pictures as soon as my computer is working again.

SURPRISE!...

...We're moving to UTAH!

Are you surprised?

So are we!

Water, Water Everywhere...

So, Taiger is going to the most FUN Vacation Bible School this summer!!!!!  (More on that later.)  At this VBS, they are raising money to provide clean water to people who otherwise wouldn't have any.  SUCH a great cause!  So, to help us all appreciate how much water we actually use in a day, they handed out a little "worksheet" with statistics from the Franklin Institute website.  I uploaded a picture of the worksheet here so you can figure out how much water YOU use in a day.  The idea is to consider donating one cent (or more!) for each gallon of water you use each day.

                          If you click on the picture, it should open big enough to read!!

So, you fill in the number of times in a day you do each thing, and multiply that by the gallons of water per activity(ex. I brush my teeth twice a day, so I multiply the 2 gallons per brushing by 2 brushings, so I use four gallons a day on brushing my teeth.  Brush teeth x 2 = 4.)  Then, you add your total at the end to see how many gallons you use per day.

I will admit, the results for me were pretty depressing.  I hope yours are better so your day isn't kinda ruined...like mine was.

Good luck.

Namaste

Namaste.

I have something wrong with my neck.  Every few months, something insanely painful happens to my neck.  I have yet to find out what exactly happens that causes so much pain.  But I have a few guesses.  Anyway, two days ago this mysterious pain returned and as of today has not left.

As you all know, I am on a quest to find inner peace.  Yoga has been on my mind as a path to find that.  Well, this nasty neck issue got me thinking how much yoga could help me in other ways besides finding my inner peace, including helping my neck.  So, I searched around online for more information.  Google has failed to present to me a yoga class in Idaho Falls that looks professional enough for my tastes.  So, I am taking matters in to my own (palms pressed together) "hands".

 

I found THIS wonderful site, that looks good for a beginner like me.  It has different poses listed, complete with pictures and information about the pose.  You can also look up poses that help a specific ailment, as in "neck pain", and it brings up a list of poses that would help with relieving neck pain.

Other than taking a class (which doesn't seem to be an option in my life right now), I don't know how to go about studying the full art and practice of yoga.  So I have not done it.  But I have decided, it is better to do something than nothing!  Trying to teach myself a few poses probably (I HOPE!) won't do me any harm.  So, I am going for it.

In the meantime, if any of you dear friends and blog readers have any insight or information, please (PLEASE!) pass along your wisdom.

Namaste.

(I absolutely love that greeting, and I kind of just want to use it all the time.  I know this isn't what it literally means, but I have heard it expressed as, "The good in me greets the good in you."  Why would you not want to greet someone that way?  It is just beautiful!)

Send Me

My heart has been burdened for the past couple of week.  I have been weighed down with an aching that I must fight every day to overcome.  It is just an evil plot of Satan to keep me from reaching my full potential.  But even in the mist of the numbing hurt, I remember my God who has saved me time and time again, and I will not forget the divine calling in my life.

I am so thankful for the friends who are like waves of goodness, carrying me when I am sinking, lifting me and returning me to safe shores.

This is on my heart.  In the moments of clarity, I remember what I am meant to do, what I am here to do, and what I long to do, in God.

Isaiah 6:8  Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.


Send me.

Fort Hall Native American Reservation

Here are pictures from our trip to Fort Hall Native American Reservation.

When we arrived, we pulled in to the museum, only to find out it was CLOSED!  Taiger said, "So we drove clear out here for NOTHING!"  Well, he doesn't know his Mom very well if he thinks that!  It just means we have to go off the beaten path and turn this leisurely trip in to an adventure!

Across the lot was a stand where people were selling something.  I walked over to ask them if the museum was closed for the day or only for a while (maybe for lunch??  It was a really small museum, so probably only one worker).  They said they thought it was closed for the day.  So, I thought, "Let the adventure begin!"  I asked them what they were selling and they answered Navajo Fry Bread.  Sounded like just the thing we needed to get this adventure started.  At two dollars it sounded a bit expensive, but I decided it was worth the experience.  I asked them if they were Native American, and they were!  So, I asked where they were from and what tribe, etc.  They themselves were Navajo.  I walked back to the car to get Taiger and we pulled out our nifty little picture dictionary we had brought along and looked up Navajo and quickly read about them.  Then, we went to pick up our bread that had been cooking.  I couldn't stop my "Homeschool Mom Mode" from kicking in, and had to use this as a learning experience.  I asked if the fry bread was a traditional food and asked where the Navajo are from.  Back in the car, Taiger devoured the fry bread, which was actually much like a large scone.  It was DELICIOUS!

I had asked the Navajo family if there were any interesting places around to visit and they directed me to the trading post.  Following the wife's directions, we headed out...and became completely lost!  Now it really WAS an adventure!  (Because everyone knows the BEST adventures include getting lost.)  So, of course we stopped in our wandering to take pictures.

We headed back in to town and decided to drive around and see what other wonders we could find before back tracking and going to the trading post.

We drove out a ways and found some old buildings.

Taiger spotted some beautiful birds.

After wandering around a bit, we retraced our steps and found our way to the trading post.  It was so interesting!  Many very old items for sale (which I thought was sad) that we got to look at and talk about.  Being still in Homeschool Mom Mode, I quizzed the poor kid working there for about an hour, asking him about all kinds of things.  He was SO kind to take the time to explain EVERYTHING to us!  What things mean, how things were made, etc.  It was quite the educational experience and I was so thankful to him for taking the time to talk with us.

In homeschool, we had read about quill work, and I had tried to find out more about it.  When I saw pictures online of quill work, I couldn't quite figure it out and tell what it was, what part was the quill, etc.  So, I asked the guy if they had any quill work and he was so kind to take out some items and show us.  It was so amazing and I was so impressed with the beauty of quill work!!

These are some tiny moccasins.  The edge is done in bead work, but the zig zags on the top are quill work!  Isn't it amazing and beautiful?!  I love it!  By the way, the zig zags represent thunder/lightening.

These two items are also made with quill work.  They are just beautiful, don't you think?

Taiger bought a pin for his pin collection.  The sales kid told us it was a thunderbird and he told us all about Thunderbird.

On our way home, we stopped and got a buffalo burger.  We have learned in homeschool the importance of buffalo to the Native Americans in this area, and I really wanted Taiger to try buffalo.  We shared a burger and he LOVED it!

On the drive home, the sky was so blue.

We had such a fun day, and learned so much!  A very successful homeschool fieldtrip, to be sure.

Summer Fun

The adventures and good times just keep on comin'!  And I don't even have time to catch up!  It has been such a fun, good summer.

Going to California was AMAZING, and we will be FOREVER in debt to M and V and baby E for giving us the gift of that trip.  It will be one we treasure in our hearts forever.  A memory is a gift you never lose, so giving someone the chance to make memories with their child is something they can never really pay you back or properly thank you for.

The day after we came home from California I had the amazing privileged of singing the National Anthem at the opening ceremonies for the Relay for Life.  What an experience!  I am so thankful to Shannon for giving me that opportunity.  I dedicated the song to the people I know who have died of Cancer, and to those of my friends who are still fighting.  Being a part of Relay for Life was so incredible and I got teary-eyed on several occasions as I saw people in their purple "Survivor" t-shirts.  Their logo this year was "I Am Hope".  Those survivors ARE hope!  Hope to those still fighting, and hope to all of us who have lost a loved on to Cancer.

This summer in home school, Taiger has done a Native American unit!  I can't wait to show you pictures of his hand-made totem pole and leather wrist band!  He has written reports on different tribes and learned SO much!  Well, today we are going on a field trip to the Native American Reservation near our home.  I am so excited!  We all know how much I LOOOOVE taking pictures, so you can rest assured there will be some posted here for your viewing pleasure. :)  You're welcome.

Okay, we better hit that dusty trail if we are going to make it to Fort Hall.

What fun things do you have planned for this weekend?

Open Up Those Golden Gates!

SURPRISE!

Taiger and I are going somewhere!

It's NOT Oregon.  (I'm over it....kinda)

Can you guess where we are going?

YOU GUESSED IT!

A HUGE THANK YOU to my friends M and V for this. :) :)

Well...it is 1:35 am, I have to be up in three hours to get to the airport, and my shoes are still in the wash.  Not even in the drier!  Still in the WASHER!  I'm not kidding!  I better get going.  Talk to you all after this amazing week (unless, of course, it is so wonderful I can't help but write from California!).