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! :)