My apologizes for the long delay! Let's just say that summer classes are eating my brain... Kind of like an evil education zombie. I'm sure you get the point, but thankfully it will be over on July 18! There's a light at the end of the tunnel!
Speaking of lights and tunnels...why are there always train tracks in those pictures? And to continue the association, this is now reminding me of a very good movie I saw recently.
I highly recommend it. It reminded me of older movies like The Goonies, ET, and The Iron Giant. And yes, I know that is an odd assortment! Honestly, I just have to see the name JJ Abrams and I'm all set. The amazing Mr. Abrams has brought us shows like Lost, Alias, and Fringe, and when he teams up with Steven Spielberg the results are amazing! I thought the cast was great, especially Elle Fanning who will be just as good, if not better, than her sister. To me, it brought back the classic movies full of adventure and mystery, and definitely left me with a feeling of nostalgia. So much so, that I watched The Goonies two days later!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Anthropologie Inspired Ruffled Ribbon Necklace
White Ribbon & Pearl with 2 Ruffles
I got the ribbon on sale at Walmart, and I ended up going back and getting several more colors. I got the 'pearls' in the kids' section at Jo-Ann's Fabric, but I also saw them at Hobby Lobby. I think I used about half the ribbon and only a third of the beads, so my version ended up being less than $5!
I've already made another one for a gift, and I bought some black beads to try a different spin on it!
Purple Ribbon & Pearl with 1 Ruffle
Saturday, June 4, 2011
There's a Book Looking for You
It's been a busy week for me this past week! After a somewhat stressful morning thanks to financial aid trouble, I need an uplifting post. I just got back from an educational conference at the University at West Georgia and now I'm full of great ideas for the classroom. We listened to several knowledgeable and entertaining speakers that covered topics ranging from Formative Assessment and Classroom Management to 3D Graphic Organizers.
My favorite speaker gave the Keynote address, and now I'd like to introduce to you:
Carmen Agra Deedy- children's author and storyteller.
Carmen Agra Deedy at TED 2005
Speaking to a large group early in the morning can be daunting, but Carmen Deedy was more than a speaker. She was a storyteller. In the first few minutes, this seemingly reserved woman stepped off the platform into the audience and brought the room alive with personal anecdotes about developing a love of reading. We learned about a feisty young girl who was determined to despise books and antagonize everyone around her until one day she discovered the book that was "looking" for her.
Mrs. Deedy’s humorous characterizations of herself resonated with everyone when she described the joy of discovering a love of books for the first time as a young girl. What made her story especially engrossing was her use of pitch and movement to bring each character to life. The comparisons between Southern and Cuban dialect were delightfully entertaining as she switched from mischievous young Carmen to the stately, Southern librarian. With a touch of suspense, Mrs. Deedy dropped small hints that left us wondering just which book tremendously affected young Carmen and eventually inspired her book, The Library Dragon.
Mrs. Deedy's award winning stories include: The Library Dragon, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, 14 Cows for America, and several more. The illustrations are phenomenal and I highly recommend her books to any book-lover, child, or teacher!
And just in case you were wondering... the book that found Carmen?
None other than E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.
Do you remember the first book that "found" you? For me, it was CS Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
My favorite speaker gave the Keynote address, and now I'd like to introduce to you:
Carmen Agra Deedy- children's author and storyteller.
Carmen Agra Deedy at TED 2005
Speaking to a large group early in the morning can be daunting, but Carmen Deedy was more than a speaker. She was a storyteller. In the first few minutes, this seemingly reserved woman stepped off the platform into the audience and brought the room alive with personal anecdotes about developing a love of reading. We learned about a feisty young girl who was determined to despise books and antagonize everyone around her until one day she discovered the book that was "looking" for her.
Mrs. Deedy’s humorous characterizations of herself resonated with everyone when she described the joy of discovering a love of books for the first time as a young girl. What made her story especially engrossing was her use of pitch and movement to bring each character to life. The comparisons between Southern and Cuban dialect were delightfully entertaining as she switched from mischievous young Carmen to the stately, Southern librarian. With a touch of suspense, Mrs. Deedy dropped small hints that left us wondering just which book tremendously affected young Carmen and eventually inspired her book, The Library Dragon.
Mrs. Deedy's award winning stories include: The Library Dragon, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, 14 Cows for America, and several more. The illustrations are phenomenal and I highly recommend her books to any book-lover, child, or teacher!
And just in case you were wondering... the book that found Carmen?
None other than E.B. White's Charlotte's Web.
Do you remember the first book that "found" you? For me, it was CS Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Peach & Gray Bridal Shower
The pictures didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped thanks to the window in the background and the time of day when I was trying to take the pictures, but I think you'll see the overall idea! I had so much fun making everything! It was nice to have a creative outlet again! All paper products were made in Microsoft Word, and the food was made by my mom, my little sister, and myself with the exception of the most delicious pimento cheese ever- Pawley's Island Pimento Cheese which can hopefully be found here!
Favor Bags contained Hershey Kisses and Peach Herbal Tea.
The cupcakes were my favorite. I love cupcakes! And I finally learned how to ice cupcakes like a real person. Woot Woot! It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! I did make a huge mess though.
I'm sad that it's over, and I definitely want to do this again! Beware family events! I have extra free time, and I'm feeling crafty!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Great White Disaster!
Obviously, I have been watching way too many shark movies lately. I have a strange obsession with shark movies, and my favorites are Jaws & Deep Blue Sea. I will admit that I have all four Jaws movies, and I watch them at the start of every summer! But this story's not about sharks... it's about clothes which can be just as scary. Hello dressing rooms and mirrors. *shudder*
But this story has a happy ending!
Several months ago, I got a request from one of my Wesleyan little sisters asking me to be her 'hooder'. For those of you that are confused- one of Wesleyan's traditions is asking a special alum or current student to place the hood of your graduation regalia on you during the ceremony.
You see that lovely little cape thing that's blue and gold? That's the hood. Anyways, we have this nice little ceremony before diplomas are awarded, and it's a really special moment during graduation even though you're trying not to choke the graduate.
Now, I am no stranger to 'hooding'. This was my third time, and you'd think I'd have it down by now! I was happily looking forward to graduation, and I was absolutely positive I had everything down pat. I got this beautiful purple dress to wear, my legs were shaved, and the graduation present was ready and waiting. As I was showing off my new dress to mom, she makes an off hand comment.
Mom: "Aren't you supposed to wear white for graduation?"
Me: "Nah. You know Wesleyan and all it's color coordinated events. You're just supposed to look nice."
Mom: *silence*
Me: "Move Up was white. Graduation's not."
Mom: "Okay."
1 hour later, I had a feeling of dread growing in the pit of my stomach, so I turned to the source of all information... Facebook.
Over 15 comments and less than 20 minutes later the results were in. I was supposed to wear all white. Let me also take this moment to point out that I have several pictures from past graduations hanging in my room, and guess what I'm wearing?! And it's not like I normally wear all white... I've lost my mind. I blame finals.
The next 10 minutes were a frantic rush throughout every closet in the house as I pulled out every article of white clothing. My proudest moment was discovering I could actually fit in my white high school graduation dress, although it was a tight squeeze. I decided that would be a last resort. Everything was either too tacky or too casual. To make matters worse... it was already 7pm, and the stores close at 9pm.
20 minutes later I was flying into the mall parking lot with Mom in tow! Several stores and shopping bags later, I had acquired a variety a white pieces to pick and choose from. We knew something had to work together since apparently no store sells lots of all white! Plus, I was being picky! I didn't want a dress- I wanted a skirt and shirt I could reuse and wear with other things! For once in my life, I ran through racks of clothing not paying attention to price tags, and let me tell you- that was the most fun!
I ended up with a gorgeous skirt from JCPenney's, that I can use for student teaching or job interviews. (We'll see how long it stays clean!) The shirt was a dilemma. Nothing was really working with the skirt, and I was starting to get discouraged.
8:30pm.
Macy's.
I normally avoid Macy's because I can rarely find things in my price range, but Mom remembered seeing a display of white clothing. Once again, I'm weaving throughout racks of dress clothes grabbing as many white button down shirts as I can find. Trudging off to the dressing room, the first shirt is a winner. It's more than a winner. It's perfect! It's just edgy enough that it's appropriate for work or school, but it's not your normal boring white button down shirt. It looks amazing with the skirt- slimming and professional. Plus, it has a cute black belt, and we all know how I love extras!
Then I saw the price tag.
$60.
No way. I did not need a $60 white shirt.
But it was pretty. And soft. And had a cool neckline. And it had a belt!
But it was $60. And I have no job.
Mom was no help. She loved it just as much as I did.
Mom: "You can owe me the money."
Me: *groans*
Mom: You can do lots of chores for Grandmommy!
Me: I'll get it!
We stood in the checkout line admiring the shirt. It really was perfect, and I know I'll get a lot of use out of it. Deciding to just ignore the price, I set it up on the counter. The total was announced and our mouths dropped open.
$20.
It was on clearance.
Immediately I went into my happy flailing Kermit the Frog dance. I would have hugged the cashier if I could. I'm sure she's glad I couldn't. People stopped and stared, but I didn't care. I found a cute white outfit the day before I needed it in less than two hours!
It was a miracle.
And graduation was wonderful!
But this story has a happy ending!
Several months ago, I got a request from one of my Wesleyan little sisters asking me to be her 'hooder'. For those of you that are confused- one of Wesleyan's traditions is asking a special alum or current student to place the hood of your graduation regalia on you during the ceremony.
You see that lovely little cape thing that's blue and gold? That's the hood. Anyways, we have this nice little ceremony before diplomas are awarded, and it's a really special moment during graduation even though you're trying not to choke the graduate.
Now, I am no stranger to 'hooding'. This was my third time, and you'd think I'd have it down by now! I was happily looking forward to graduation, and I was absolutely positive I had everything down pat. I got this beautiful purple dress to wear, my legs were shaved, and the graduation present was ready and waiting. As I was showing off my new dress to mom, she makes an off hand comment.
Mom: "Aren't you supposed to wear white for graduation?"
Me: "Nah. You know Wesleyan and all it's color coordinated events. You're just supposed to look nice."
Mom: *silence*
Me: "Move Up was white. Graduation's not."
Mom: "Okay."
1 hour later, I had a feeling of dread growing in the pit of my stomach, so I turned to the source of all information... Facebook.
Over 15 comments and less than 20 minutes later the results were in. I was supposed to wear all white. Let me also take this moment to point out that I have several pictures from past graduations hanging in my room, and guess what I'm wearing?! And it's not like I normally wear all white... I've lost my mind. I blame finals.
The next 10 minutes were a frantic rush throughout every closet in the house as I pulled out every article of white clothing. My proudest moment was discovering I could actually fit in my white high school graduation dress, although it was a tight squeeze. I decided that would be a last resort. Everything was either too tacky or too casual. To make matters worse... it was already 7pm, and the stores close at 9pm.
20 minutes later I was flying into the mall parking lot with Mom in tow! Several stores and shopping bags later, I had acquired a variety a white pieces to pick and choose from. We knew something had to work together since apparently no store sells lots of all white! Plus, I was being picky! I didn't want a dress- I wanted a skirt and shirt I could reuse and wear with other things! For once in my life, I ran through racks of clothing not paying attention to price tags, and let me tell you- that was the most fun!
I ended up with a gorgeous skirt from JCPenney's, that I can use for student teaching or job interviews. (We'll see how long it stays clean!) The shirt was a dilemma. Nothing was really working with the skirt, and I was starting to get discouraged.
8:30pm.
Macy's.
I normally avoid Macy's because I can rarely find things in my price range, but Mom remembered seeing a display of white clothing. Once again, I'm weaving throughout racks of dress clothes grabbing as many white button down shirts as I can find. Trudging off to the dressing room, the first shirt is a winner. It's more than a winner. It's perfect! It's just edgy enough that it's appropriate for work or school, but it's not your normal boring white button down shirt. It looks amazing with the skirt- slimming and professional. Plus, it has a cute black belt, and we all know how I love extras!
Then I saw the price tag.
$60.
No way. I did not need a $60 white shirt.
But it was pretty. And soft. And had a cool neckline. And it had a belt!
But it was $60. And I have no job.
Mom was no help. She loved it just as much as I did.
Mom: "You can owe me the money."
Me: *groans*
Mom: You can do lots of chores for Grandmommy!
Me: I'll get it!
We stood in the checkout line admiring the shirt. It really was perfect, and I know I'll get a lot of use out of it. Deciding to just ignore the price, I set it up on the counter. The total was announced and our mouths dropped open.
$20.
It was on clearance.
Immediately I went into my happy flailing Kermit the Frog dance. I would have hugged the cashier if I could. I'm sure she's glad I couldn't. People stopped and stared, but I didn't care. I found a cute white outfit the day before I needed it in less than two hours!
It was a miracle.
And graduation was wonderful!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Peach & Gray Bridal Shower: Paper Products
I apologize for missing last week's update, so I'll try and post a few times this week to make up for it! I'm really excited to share some of the paper products I've created for the upcoming bridal shower! I've been really busy working on decorations and planning the menu with my mom, but now that all the invitations have been sent out, I couldn't wait to share them!
The colors we've chosen are peach and gray, and we're kind of going with a Georgia theme for the food. Since I've been spending way too much time on wedding and craft blogs, I wanted to try and design a whole invitation suite. The challenging part was not having access to Photoshop or Illustrator, so I created everything on Microsoft Word. I created the envelope liners from paper bought at Michael's.
The liners aren't perfectly straight, but I made the mistake of only buying the exact amount needed, so there was no room for error. I decided to just go with it! I also would buy a paper cutter for the next time I made invitations. I ended up having to cut out everything with an X-acto knife!
The next project I started was the favor bags, and they're quite cute so far! I've also started a few other things, but you'll have to wait until after the shower to see everything else!
The colors we've chosen are peach and gray, and we're kind of going with a Georgia theme for the food. Since I've been spending way too much time on wedding and craft blogs, I wanted to try and design a whole invitation suite. The challenging part was not having access to Photoshop or Illustrator, so I created everything on Microsoft Word. I created the envelope liners from paper bought at Michael's.
The invitation, registry card, and rsvp information
The liners aren't perfectly straight, but I made the mistake of only buying the exact amount needed, so there was no room for error. I decided to just go with it! I also would buy a paper cutter for the next time I made invitations. I ended up having to cut out everything with an X-acto knife!
The next project I started was the favor bags, and they're quite cute so far! I've also started a few other things, but you'll have to wait until after the shower to see everything else!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
I Like to Move It, Move It!
Last month, I mentioned I had purchased one of Jillian Michaels' workout DVDs for when I couldn't get myself to the gym. You can read my initial thoughts here. I'll admit that I haven't been the best about following it on my off days. I started out with grand intentions of doing it every day I couldn't get to the gym, and even on those I could, but I kind of fell off the wagon. Whoops.
But thanks to LA Fitness, it didn't come back and run me over. I'm still going to the gym 4-5 days a week, and I've made some new records. On Friday, I ran 4.5 miles on the cross trainer in 42 minutes averaging about 7 miles per hour. I was really proud of myself! Today, I decided to try the dreaded treadmill, and I ran .8 of a mile at a steady pace, before returning to the elliptical for another 2 miles. The treadmill still puts a little too much pressure on my toe and ankle, so I'll have to work that in slowly.
Anyways, back to Ms. Michaels... I completed 5 days of the 30 day shred, and I would definitely recommend it to others. There are three different levels, and there are modified exercises for each level. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I could do the 'harder' versions of most of the moves! Jillian's system is 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of ab work. You work through this for 20 minutes without a break.
When I first stuck in the DVD, I was sure I was going to power through Level 1. After all, I had been going to the gym and working out for 6 weeks! Surely I was in decent shape by now! Not so much- I was sweating and out of breath after Day 1. I wanted to collapse on the carpet and not get up. It did get easier after the next few days, but even at day 5, I was still pretty worn out!
The worst thing about the DVD is that you can't skip through a lot of the introduction. I recommend turning it on, and letting it play through the first sections until you get to the workouts. Other than that, I loved the fast paced exercises that are easy to do at home. Jillian keeps you motivated and is encouraging through the whole thing, and it definitely helped me from turning off the TV :P
All in all, I'm really glad to have this DVD as a backup in case I need a home workout. I definitely need to push myself to add it back in, since I'm not losing the weight I want! Stupid pizza.
But thanks to LA Fitness, it didn't come back and run me over. I'm still going to the gym 4-5 days a week, and I've made some new records. On Friday, I ran 4.5 miles on the cross trainer in 42 minutes averaging about 7 miles per hour. I was really proud of myself! Today, I decided to try the dreaded treadmill, and I ran .8 of a mile at a steady pace, before returning to the elliptical for another 2 miles. The treadmill still puts a little too much pressure on my toe and ankle, so I'll have to work that in slowly.
Anyways, back to Ms. Michaels... I completed 5 days of the 30 day shred, and I would definitely recommend it to others. There are three different levels, and there are modified exercises for each level. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I could do the 'harder' versions of most of the moves! Jillian's system is 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of ab work. You work through this for 20 minutes without a break.
When I first stuck in the DVD, I was sure I was going to power through Level 1. After all, I had been going to the gym and working out for 6 weeks! Surely I was in decent shape by now! Not so much- I was sweating and out of breath after Day 1. I wanted to collapse on the carpet and not get up. It did get easier after the next few days, but even at day 5, I was still pretty worn out!
The worst thing about the DVD is that you can't skip through a lot of the introduction. I recommend turning it on, and letting it play through the first sections until you get to the workouts. Other than that, I loved the fast paced exercises that are easy to do at home. Jillian keeps you motivated and is encouraging through the whole thing, and it definitely helped me from turning off the TV :P
All in all, I'm really glad to have this DVD as a backup in case I need a home workout. I definitely need to push myself to add it back in, since I'm not losing the weight I want! Stupid pizza.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)