Stress!

I have my official review tomorrow. The vice principal of the school has to observe me teach for 1 class period and then go over with me everything I do right and wrong. I hate these kind of reviews SO much. I see how they are important for most people, but I constantly analyze and overanalyze everything I do anyway, so they just fuel my inner demons. Plus I get so worried that I'm going to do poorly that I don't sleep for like 3 or 4 days leading up to the event so I am always cranky and groggy and high strung and never feel like I did as well as I could have if they didn't make such a huge deal out of them.
To top it off, I have a feeling that the VP at my school has it out for me. He never really gives me positive feedback- just "constructive" criticism (please refer to the negative self talk mentioned in the first paragraph), which makes me freak out and then binge on chocolate immediately after just to tune it all out. What I really need is a cheerleader telling me what I do right, not someone telling me what I need to work on- which is all he ever does. As if my list of things I need to do better wasn't long enough already.
The Principal at our school has a reputation for being a flesh-eating harpy, but I actually prefer when she observes me. She's always very professional and gives me a long list of pro's before she gets to the criticism part. And she never makes it sound like criticism. She just asks me "have you thought about..." and we end up having really great, long conversations about pedagogy and stuff. I love her. She makes me feel important and special. Apparently I'm the only teacher in the school that thinks that, though. When I tell other teachers this, they look at me like I'm crazy.
So anyway, wish me luck. He's observing my MOST unruly period so I'm planning activity centers (yes, you can still do activity centers in 7th/8th grade- the kids LOVE it!) so that I have an excuse for them talking and wandering all over the classroom. I figure if he's going to criticize me- I mean "give me constructive feedback" I should have him do it in a class that actually has some behavior problems. Otherwise he'll start picking on things like the fact that my posters keep falling off of the walls, etc. Maybe I'm just nuts.
Sigh. I wish I didn't have to do this. It's the last thing besides the licensing exam that I'm taking April 25th that I need to get tenure, at which point my life will become measurably easier and less complicated.

Yeehaw!

I teach ESL at a school with a student body that is 54% free and reduced price lunch and about 48% Multi-cultural (that means Hispanic, Asian, and Polynesian + the 2 Russian kids who moved in during November).
For kicks and giggles my good friend/ELL Chairperson broke down the grades for this past term. Approximately 49% of the Multicultural students in the school have a 3.0 GPA or higher. How's that for closing the achievement gap?
This is especially weighty considering that in most schools around the country 3rd term (or the 1st half of second semester in areas with different grading periods) is abysmally low. Students start off the year with high marks, mostly due to the fact that the material is largely review. They start to sink around November, but then rally during December (mostly due to the large number of "holiday" themed assignments which are, let's face it, busy work). After they come back from the break, though, they've forgotten a lot of what they learned in November, which puts them at a disadvantage because they start to face some really meaty content across the curriculum and actually learn the bulk of the material that they will be graded on during the end-of-year State Examathon that occurs in April and May across the country. Bad weather, lack of exercise, and poor nutrition are also rampant during the months of January through March.
What does this mean? Grades usually tank 3rd term. Our school, however, at least among the multi-culti's had a general increase in GPA's.
Yay! Go us!

My new addiction...

When I was a kid, our sacred Saturday Night ritual was gathering everyone in our family of 9+ around a 15 inch television to watch Walker Texas Ranger and Xena Warrior Princess. I'm pretty sure that makes my neck some sort of shade of red, but that's cool with me. Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon the phenomena of Chuck Norris jokes that is taking the net and therefore world by storm. Some of my favorites include:

Chuck Norris has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoloy card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game UNO.

Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee. Except Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris CAN eat just one Lays Potato Chip.

Chuck Norris can divide by zero.

Chuck Norris doesn't believe in Germany.

Chuck Norris played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

Chuck Norris uses pepper spray to spice up his steaks.

Chuck Norris once roundhouse kicked someone so hard that his foot broke the speed of light, went back in time, and killed Amelia Earhart while she was flying over the Pacific Ocean.

Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Chuck Norris has 72... and they're all poisonous.

Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.

If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble you win. Forever.

In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Chuck Norris could use to kill you, including the room itself.

When Chuck Norris goes to donate blood, he declines the syringe, and instead requests a hand gun and a bucket.

There is no 'ctrl' button on Chuck Norris's computer. Chuck Norris is always in control.

Superman wears Chuck Norris Pajamas.

Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.

There is no such thing as global warming. Chuck Norris was cold, so he turned the sun up.

Chuck Norris did, in fact, build Rome in a day.

Chuck Norris can set ants on fire with a magnifying glass. At night.

According to Einstein's theory of relativity, Chuck Norris can actually roundhouse kick you yesterday.

Chuck Norris brushes his teeth with a mixture of iron shavings, industrial paint remover, and wood-grain alcohol.

Nothing can escape the gravity of a black hole, except for Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris eats black holes. They taste like chicken.

When Chuck Norris plays Oregon Trail, his family does not die from cholera or dysentery, but rather, roundhouse kicks to the face. He also requires no wagon, since he carries the oxen, axels, and buffalo meat on his back. He always makes it to Oregon before you.

Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

In a fight between Batman and Darth Vader, the winner would be Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris can win at solitaire with only 18 cards.

Chuck Norris doesnt wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.

When chuck Norris does division, there are no remainders.

The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry. Even the worst-laid plans of Chuck Norris come off without a hitch.

Chuck Norris can taste lies.

Chuck Norris can skeletize a cow in less than two minutes.

Chuck Norris uses 8x10 sheets of plywood as toilet paper.

If you work in an office with Chuck Norris, don't ask him for his three-hole-punch.

When Chuck Norris plays Monopoly, it affects the actual world economy.

Chuck Norris qualified with a top speed of 324 mph at the Daytona 500, without a car.

Chuck Norris uses tabasco sauce instead of visine.

Chuck Norris starts everyday with a protein shake made from Carnation Instant Breakfast, one dozen eggs, pure Colombian cocaine, and rattlesnake venom. He injects it directly into his neck with a syringe.

When Chuck Norris goes to out to eat, he orders a whole chicken, but he only eats its soul.

Chuck Norris sold his soul to the devil for his rugged good looks and unparalleled martial arts ability. Shortly after the transaction was finalized, Chuck roundhouse-kicked the devil in the face and took his soul back. The devil, who appreciates irony, couldn't stay mad and admitted he should have seen it coming. They now play poker every second Wednesday of the month.

Chuck Norris once lost the remote, but maintained control of the TV by yelling at it in between bites of his "Filet of Child" sandwich.

Chuck Norris knows the last digit of pi.

Chuck Norris can kick through all 6 degrees of separation, hitting anyone, anywhere, in the face, at any time.

Chuck Norris can roundhouse kick a 10 dollar bill into 200 nickels.

Chuck Norris let the dogs out.

Chuck Norris's body temperature is 98.6 degrees... Celsius

Chuck Norris can hold his breath for 9 years.

Chuck Norris is not only a noun, but a verb and an adjective.

Andy's Room

So I redid some stuff in Andy's room this week. It's coming along, but it just doesn't feel totally balanced yet.

Here's the before pic's.

We put a big shelf on the wall over the dresser so that we could clean all the junk sitting on the dresser off to make room for art projects and homework. I also painted a bit mural to hang over his bed since it was nothing but blank wall. I'm pretty sure it's the coolest thing I've ever painted on a drop cloth before. ;)

Here's the after pic's.

So here's my dilemma- I've got 2 walls left over that are totally bare except for the Alphabet Decals on the ceiling (I love them! I got the whole set for like $75 at a really great website- these vinyl decals would have cost me like $250 anywhere else because they're big and I have the entire alphabet in Upper and Lower case). Do I put anything on these walls? A photo board? A cool silhouette? A photo of the boy? A giant letter A? A mounted skateboard? One of those obnoxious big metal stars?

I'm stumped. Here are the 2 walls in question.

I hate theme rooms (no offense if you theme your kids rooms- there are some really cute ones out there- I'm just totally against the pre-fab corporate stuff). I'm really into having an inspiration that get's based off of (in this case, the inspiration is little kid stuff). I want the room to look natural, warm (hard to do with that omnipresent blue, huh?), cozy, and inviting. I think it's getting there, but I'm worried it's starting to look too cluttered. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble. So, what do you think?

Heads Up!

I'm starting a new blog dedicated to provident living. It's not fully functional yet, and I don't want to officially launch it until I have a lot more stuff on it, but I put up a few blog posts in case you're interested. So far I have one post on basic gardening tips that I've gleaned over the past 20 something years I've been gardening and another post specifically dedicated to starting seeds indoors. I have yet another post dedicated to some budget friendly recipes I've come across over the past few years. They still need editing and the page is still really raw, but if you want to take a preview, the url is www.homeecpage.blogspot.com . I'd appreciate any suggestions you have for topics you'd like to discuss as well as any tips on where I can get some cute backgrounds or themes for the blog.
Also, how do you guys get your cute headers? I hate the header on this blog, but nothing I try seems to change it. How do you upload your cute headers? Where do you find/create them? I'm really terrible at word art, but I'd like to give it a go to spice up the ol' Less Talk More Rock page. Thanks!

To Shop or Not to Shop...

So today's post builds on the post from yesterday about frugality.
Luis and I have an ongoing debate about our different shopping styles. Luis likes to carefully plan out everything in advance before shopping for everything, make a detailed list, and then stick to the list religiously.
I am quite the opposite. I like to go in to a store and see what's on sale and then my purchases off of that- especially when it comes to meal planning and clothing purchases.
Luis claims that I shop too impulsively and end up buying stuff I wouldn't have purchased with a list. I claim that I only buy things that I am going to use eventually (such as the INSANE deal I got on some fabric from JoAnns the other day shopping online with a free shipping coupon- over 10 yards of designer print fabrics for $30!!!) and that when you see a good deal on something that you're going to use, you should take advantage of it.
I think that I don't like to be restricted to carefully planned out shopping lists and I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I think Luis doesn't like the unplanned and erratic nature of my shopping trips because it's difficult to know in advance what I'm going to spend.
I don't think there's a right or wrong way to bargain shop and since it's not a source of any major conflict in our marriage I don't think either of us will be changing our stripes soon. I'm interested to hear your opinions on the matter, though. I have been thinking about this a lot lately and my friend Margot got me thinking further on the subject when she blogged about coupon clipping earlier this week. I'm the QUEEN of finding cheap deals on major purchases like furniture, autos, plane tickets, electronics, etc. but how do you all cut back on the day-to-day stuff? What do you do to reduce and reuse at home?
I think I'm probably going to be blogging about this for a while, because I think as younger adults in today's economy our financial future is something that concerns most of us. I would like to extend an open invitation to all of you to send me your money-saving tips and tricks.
The topic for my next post is probably going to be meal planning and shopping. Please send me your tips on how to save on the family food budget. Do you clip coupons? Do you subscribe to a grocery website (you know the kind that comparison shop and then list which stores have the best deals)? I'd appreciate any input you might have. I'm actually thinking of setting up a themed blog to address the topic of penny pinching on a broader scale.

The Book

So today's post is dedicated to my dear husband.
We have a joke in our family that Luis should be a professional self-help speaker and author. The topic of his life-changing seminar would be El Libro, the shortened title of his personal bible "El Libro de Marrete." This is not a religious text, although to him it is somewhat of a religion and requires the sort of passionate devotion that only the truly religious have. No. "Marrete" in Spanish means cheapskate. Yup. My husband is the cheapest person on the planet, a fact which he takes pride in.
Chapter one of The Book would be how to save money at home. It would include his extensive list of personal obsessions- turning off all the lights in the house except for the one that you are currently using, upgrading all your lightbulbs to 10 W energy efficient bulbs (which he calculates saves us around $100 a year or more in energy costs- I argue he spends that much on the lightbulbs- it's an ongoing debate), using outside air for climate control (meaning he insists on driving with the windows down all of the time), the 7 minute shower, overloading the washing machine to wash fewer loads, turning off the stove and oven 3.75 minutes before your food is finished cooking and using the radiant heat to finish the meal, and a host of other penny pinching tips.
Chapter two would cover shopping- only buying food in bulk and then portioning out into smaller sizes, obsessively price comparing, making work lunches for $1 or less, meal planning on a budget, only purchasing clothing if it's not on the clearance rack at a thrift store or outlet center, patching up old stuff to stretch out its lifespan, and refusing to purchase anything that costs more than $10 ever, etc.
Chapter three would be car purchasing and maintenence and would cover how to find a cheap mechanic that won't rip you off (the answer to this, btw is to work at a pawn shop and get to know all the mechanics in town on a first name basis), purchasing used cars from auctions, driving them for 2 years and the reselling them for pretty much the same price you paid for them in the first place, carpooling with random people to save on gas, the moped as a concept that American's need to learn to embrace, and ignoring minor vehicle malfunctions such as a window that only rolls down half way or a missing door panel.
Chapter four involves vacationing and includes only taking trips that are within driving distance, driving requirements in foreign countries (why spend $500 each to FLY to Guadalajara MX when it's a quick 3 day drive from home and you can pack a car with up to 5 adults and 2 children?), making the most out of your Costco gas club membership, eating off the Dollar Value menu is not as cheap as packing PB and J sandwiches and 2 liters of generic soda, etc.

Just so you don't think that he's the only tightwad in the family I have a few contributions as the reigning "Cheapest Woman Alive":
I would have chapter 5- why planting a vegetable garden is cheaper and more nutritious than purchasing produce, how many different fruits and veggies can you pack into a .17 acre lot (don't plant corn- it takes up too much space!), and the real possibilities of urban chicken farming (he won't let me, although I SWEAR we could be saving like up to $10 a month in eggs, and Provo is changing its zoning laws to allow families to have up to 5 chickens in their back yards!).
I would also probably have chapter 6- cosmetics and hair- how to stretch your mascara tube out a few weeks longer, why long hair costs lest money to keep up in the long run than short, how to give yourself salon styles with 4 simple (and cheap!) tools, etc.
I might consider a chapter on "spray paint and you- high-price interior design for the cost of a can of Krylon." This would also include a sub-section on how to find leather furniture and electronics for cheap on Craigslist.
We're taking pre-orders now.
I'm just kidding, of course, but we are really cheap, and that's sadly a source of pride for us. We save a lot of money doing ridiculous stuff like washing and reusing disposable dishes, but it sure makes us (especially Luis) happy to know that our hard-earned money is not going to waste. I was reminded of this last night when we forced ourselves to do some clothes shopping. The lady at the counter looked at us funny while ringing up all the $3 and $4 dollar purchases we were making. We explained that we like to be frugal and that it's better for the environment to buy used anyway. She looked at us even funnier after that.

The March Blahs...

So I hate March. No offense March birthdays, but your month sucks. Not only is it the only month in the school year without a National Holiday, it's also too long. January is awesome with 31 days, as are May, July, August, October, and December because of the prolific number of days-off those months provide, but March? No dice. Plus, it's an annoying transition month- still too cold to plant a garden, but the snow's all melted and everything looks dead and brown. At least all the other 31 day months have some nice scenery, but not March. Nothing interesting ever happens during the month and the time change occurs in March, usually, robbing me of a precious hour of sleep.
All of these things and more combine to make March my most hated of months.
The good news, this year, is that March is zipping by at an exceedingly quick pace. I am SO relieved that it's almost over with and that 3rd term is nearly complete (btw, 3rd term is the crappiest time of the school year because it has nothing cool happening during, and is generally dreary). To get myself through these last difficult days of 3rd term and March in general, I have been planning my trip to the UK this summer.
My little sister Emily recently moved there and will be living there for 2 years while her husband Brent completes a fellowship with his company. She sucks. And by that I mean I am insanely jealous of her, because while I am stuck in Utah she is galavanting around Europe. Not to imply that I'm not patriotic and that I don't love my state or my country or that I in some way feel that Europe is superior to the U.S.- I just REALLY REALLY REALLY love art, history, and interesting food- all of which Europe has in spades, and all of which Utah is sadly lacking. Plus, I *am*, after all, an English major so the whole birth-place of the language thing is pretty appealing to me.
So I am going to the UK for the first 2 weeks of my summer vacation and I am planning on seeing many things including but not limited to the following:
Giant's Causeway
Stonehenge
The Tower of London,
Buckingham Palace
Westminster Abby
The cliffs of Dover
Camelford (where King Arthur was supposedly slain!)
Stratford-upon-Avon
The Globe theater
any museum I can possibly squeeze in
St. Michael's mount
Glastonbury (MAJOR site in both Arthurian and Grail Legends... supposedly where St. Joseph of Arimathea brought the grail and Arthur's final resting place, alleged Isle of Avalon located here).
Edingburgh's underground city
Roslin Chapel
Loch Ness
Ruins at Bath

AND... if I have time and money (doubtful) I'd like to hop across to Ireland and see a few things, including the city of Antrim (where my family comes from), and possibly the Blarney Stone.

I'm pretty sure it's going to be the greatest experience of my life.
Wow. Just writing that list made me feel better. Take that, March!

Presenting the Prototype

So I made a bag this weekend. It is by far NOT perfect, but I am pretty happy with how it turned out, regardless. I had to scrap a few design features and pare down a few others because it seemed excessive, but it is really user-friendly, I think.

The exterior features one large pocket that could be used for a changing pad or whatever, two smaller pockets that are perfect for cell-phone and keys and stuff like that, or a bottle or two, and a side pocket that is sized to fit mom's water bottle.

Inside there is a divider running down the middle that has two bottle-sized pockets on one side. The sides of the bags have two more pockets that could work for bottles or snack containers and one REALLY large zippered pouch that I designed for mom's stuff or for things you want to keep hygenic like clean nipples or binkis, etc.

As far as the closure goes, I'm really terrible at installing zippers so I just have a tie closure. I haven't decided whether or not to adjust that on future bags.

The plastic bag liner didn't work out great because I couldn't get it to fuse to the fabric without scorching the fabric so I'm going to stick with traditional interfacing for future projects to avoid the floppy wrinkly look that I got here. I can still get the plastic bags to work great for wet bags and changing pads, and I'm still really committed to using found fabrics- I mean this little beauty is the bastard child of a set of recycled sheets and a $5 skirt! Can't top that, especially for 100% silk.

Anyway, I probably won't sell this bag because it's too sloppy and the inside was picked apart too many times while I was messing around with the dang divider (long story). I'm thinking of turning it into a laptop case because it's exactly the right size. Either that or like a bad-ass purse. Maybe a bag to carry around my Primary stuff in, since the one I have is SADLY ill-equipped.

What do you think? Any takers?

Update: I transferred my purse over to the bag. It's great! There are so many pockets that I feel like my stuff is really organized for the first time, with plenty room to grow. The plastic bag lining is really strong, yet lightweight, so at first I was worried that the bag was going to be too flimsy- but it's holding strong. I was also worried about the tie closure. It's working great for me, but I can see how a magnetic button or snap would work better on future bags. I may not have diapers to change or bottles to tote around, but as a working mom it's great to have a place for all of my stuff plus the random junk I have to carry around for hubby and the boy as well as all my school crap.
I give the bag a B+ on construction (still not happy with the wrinkly appearance, and one of the exterior pockets would work a lot better with elastic) and a solid A on design.
I can't wait to start cranking some more of these bad boys out.

Phase II Complete

So I went out thrift shopping this weekend to see what I could find as far as fabrics to make bags and stuff out of. Pickings were kind of slim, but then I ran across these beauties:

The cute fat bird fabric is Alexander Henry that my sister bought for me in L.A. The coordinating stripe fabric is a pair of Old Navy P.J. bottoms I found at D.I. for $3- tags still on!

In the second set, the pink and orange leaf pattern fabric is a sample Emily got me from her awesome sewing friend's stash before she left, too. The stripe pattern is a top sheet from a set I found at Savers- normally $5, on sale for $2. The hot pink fabric is a designer skirt (tags still on) made out of a poly duppioni that I found at Savers for $4.99. It has orange embroidered flowers all over it and a cute little border at the bottom in the same orange thread. Not bad, huh?

The cream colored fabric in the background is the muslin that I still have left over from the store. It's 60'' wide and I still have like 75 yards of it on the roll, so I figure I'll be using it on a lot of my bags just to get rid of it.
So for under $20, I have all the materials I need to make some killer stuff. I'm thinking that for the bird set, I'm going to do the bag out of the cream with some applique'd birds on the bottom. I'll line the bag with the bird fabric and use a combination of birds and stripes for the accessories (the bibs, burp cloths, change pad, wet bag, and diaper clutch). For the leaf set I think I'm going to do the actual bag out of the hot pink duppioni and line it with the stripes, and use a combination of the leafs and stripes with a duppioni border for all of the accessories. Pretty hot, huh?

Anyway, I've got Andrei this weekend so progress is slow, but hopefully I'll be able to knock one of these beauties out by Monday so you all can see what I've got in mind. I've been doing some price comparisons and I think that I can sell a set for around $75-$79. Maybe $85. What do you think? Is that too steep? I know you can buy pre-fab bags from Walmart for like $35, but they don't come with anything but a changing pad and are pretty vanilla, they're mass-produced, and are DEFINITELY not eco-friendly or one-of-a-kind. One of the things I like best about this whole endeavor is that most of my materials are found, and a lot of them I'm saving from some landfill somewhere.

Anyway, let me know if you have any suggestions. I appreciate the feedback I got on my last post. You ladies are lifesavers- for sure!

Phase I complete

So I'm moving ahead with the samples for my baby gear. Today I tried out the technique I'm going to use to fuse together the plastic bags that I'm using for lining. This is a photo of the finished product. It's pretty stiff and about the thickness of medium to heavy weight fusible liner. It's pretty much the exact weight, stiffness and thickness that I need to make awesome changing pads, wet bags, diaper totes, and bibs. SWEET!

The process sounded simple enough, but I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to pull it off with the equipment that I have left over from the store. Since that was my biggest concern as far as production goes, I'm pretty much good to go. Next step is finding some cool fabrics to use. I got a great pattern for a diaper tote online, so tomorrow after class I'm going to give it a shot. I have about a million yards of muslin left over from the dress shop which I'm planning on using for lining for the bag. I think I have some cuter stuff I can use for the exterior shell of the bag and for the decorative pockets. The pattern I have is awesomely flexible as far as pockets and stuff goes, so here's a question for you moms-

What kind of pockets did you need/want on your diaper bags? I know that they usually come with a few pouches inside to hold bottles and wipes. I've seen them with cell phone pouches before and zippered pockets. Is that kind of stuff necessary? Adjustable straps or solid straps?If you could design the perfect diaper bag, what features would it have? I never had any gear to use with Andrei because his mom wasn't really into the whole baby accessories thing and it seemed kind of pointless to buy a diaper tote to use just on the weekends, so we just went with an old backpack.

Thanks for your input!

I'm so excited!

So ever since I closed the dress store I've been itching to get my hands on a creative project again. I really miss the creative collaboration I used to have on a daily basis and as difficult as it was some times, I really miss having that store.
I have been mulling it over for a while and I think I hit on an idea that could be really successful. Not necessarily quit my day job successful, but at least lucrative hobby successful. Before I jump in, I thought I would run it past you all and see what you think.
I have discovered a way to fuse old grocery bags (you know the flimsy plastic kind we all keep a million of under our kitchen sinks) into a type of waterproof material that can easily be sewn into bags, etc. I am thinking I would like to use my etsy shop (Lace and Love- now standing empty except for a large lot of bridal fabrics that I need to unload) to sell baby gear- bibs, burp cloths, changing pads, wet bags, diaper totes, diaper wipe caddies, slings, plus toys, etc. I can use the fused plastic as lining to waterproof everything that needs to be waterproofed, and I can shred and use the leftover scraps of plastic to stuff the plush toys. I can market the store as green baby gear. My plan is to use found fabrics for the outer shells and linings to create one-of-a-kind baby stuff in an environmentally sound manner. It will not only be cheaper than making stuff out of new materials, but will be earth-friendly and sustainable. I think that since most of the patterns to make these kinds of things are basic I'll be using minimal labor, which can cut down on production costs, too.
I have a million ideas already, so I think I'm going to sew up some samples and see how they turn out. I'll post pictures once they're done.
What do you think?

Handmade Challenge Round I

So I got this from my sister's blog and anyone who knows about my crafting/handmade/etsy obsession will totally get why I think this is possibly the coolest thing ever.

The first five people...

to leave a comment on this blog will receive something made by me. However there are some limitations:

1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make. I'll do my best, but there's no accounting for my crazy taste.

2. What I create will be just for you, unless you specify that you want something for a spouse or child in your post.

3. It will be done within a year (might take a while).

4. You have no clue what it is going to be and I'm not going to give you any hints.

5. I reserve the right to do something really crazy or fun.

I'm willing to ship internationally.

Here's the catch: if you choose to do this, you must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! When you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog.

Let the challenge begin!

Update

I haven't really had much to write about recently- things have been busy at school and at church. Three weeks ago I had to prepare and teach the Primary Inservice, which we do during church because most of our teachers won't come if we do it afterwards or during the week. The week following I had to teach Sharing Time during Ward Conference with the Stake Presidency watching. That was nerve racking, but it went fine. I knew it would because, well, I am a professional, after all.
That same week we had parent teacher conferences, which also went well, and as always my omnipresent ESL Endorsement class that I have been taking on Thursdays and during the summer for the past 3 years. I only have 2 more sessions to go and then I get to officially apply for my ESL endorsement. Hopefully I'll get a boost in salary. Worst case scenario I just become one of the most highly employable professionals in public education (bilingual, English/ESL licensed... not bad, huh?).
Things at home have been going ok. Andrei's mom is supposedly going back to school to finish her nursing certification, which is, like everything else she does, somewhat questionable. The pro is that supposedly we're keeping him every Th, F, and Saturday and she's taking him Sat nights and Sunday. The con is that we're actually taking care of him most weeks Thursday through Sunday, and occasionally on Tuesdays as well. I love having him around, but she is not great at setting to or sticking to a schedule so it's very hard to plan my life because I'm never sure when I'm going to have a kid with me or not. At least it's just till May...
Last weekend my sister Emily came by for a visit. She's moving to London today and was driving to SLC where she's flying out of. We're going to visit them this summer, so I'm not that heartbroken she's leaving... mostly just excited for all the adventures she's going to be having and happy that I get to share some of them with her.
My sister Teri and my brother Nathan also stopped by for a quick visit on Saturday. They were in town for their grandmother's funeral. Not the best circumstances to meet in, but it was nice to see them and to get to show them around my house. Emily came for a little while, too, while she was passing through and we had a mini-reunion.
Anyway, nothing major is going on, which is, I suppose, why I haven't been writing much recently. As the saying goes, no news is good news, right?
Hope you all are doing well, too.

I Love Cookie!

One of Andrei's favorite things to do is cook. He's been helping me in the kitchen since before he could really talk. When you ask him what he wants to be when he grows up he usually answers "fry cook!" I think it's great, so I try to encourage it whenever he shows an interest. My mom got in on the game a couple of years ago and since then she has kind of made a tradition of sending him baking stuff for holidays. We finally got around to making his Valentine's cookies this week, and they turned out pretty cute. So here's some photos documenting my little master chef's work.