"You can always find a distraction if you're looking for one."
-Tom Kite
My second year of teaching starts next week. I just can't believe that my first summer is already over. Although everyone says your second year is better than your first, I'm still nervous that I'm not going to learn from my mistakes and will revert back to my unproductive and sometimes unhealthy habits.
I've created a list of quick crafts (shouldn't take more than an evening, and at most a weekend!) that I can revert back to when I'm in need of a distraction from school. I've set it as my desktop background on my computer, but am also keeping the original so that I can add ideas and even cross them off as I accomplish things outside of school.
"Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language."
- Henry James
When we were planning my trip, my mom asked if there was anything that I wanted to do while I was home. My two requests were an Icee and a sno cone. It's just not summer without them! And they don't taste nearly as good in Atlanta.
In between our projects and chatting, we managed to get an Icee and even a gourmet cupcake, but the sno cone just wasn't meant to be. Although we checked several roadside stores, we found them all closed, for one reason or another.
"To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere without moving anything but your heart." -Phyllis Theroux
I'm super excited to see that one of my friends, Julia Farill (the owner/designer of Red Bird Ink and the wife of my former co-worker) has a new line of stationary that she designed for Crane & Co. She's the one who helped me with design and supplies for my own wedding invitations. It looks like in a few years, I'll be able to say, "I knew her when..."
“You never saw a very busy person who was unhappy.” -Dorothy Dix
In a few days I'm headed out on a weekend trip with my in-laws. 22 hours total in the car with my 6-year-old nephew seems exhausting already, so in addition to the travel games, books, and activities I've collected over the last couple of days, I decided to make a travel journal for Chase to record his memories from his first big road-trip.
Of course, I'm known to go above and beyond, and I'm sure I put forth way more effort than necessary for the job. Let's just hope it holds his interest for a couple of minutes. For my pride and more importantly, for our sanity!
I've also created a printable pdf to share with you. You'll find it at the end. I've removed the more personal touches from the original design and made it customizable for any trip (up to 12 days long!).
You could choose the print-and-run method: print your pages on black and white, add some envelopes to save souvenirs, and then bind with rings. Or there's also the scrapbook-like route: add paper, stickers, ribbon, etc. to make it one of a kind.
What's included in the book:
- Cover page
- Overall trip plans, including where we are going, a map of the USA, who's going with us, and what we packed
- Section title page for each day of the trip (Days 1-12 are included)
- Journal page for each day of the trip
- Envelopes to collect souvenirs each day and a corresponding label for the envelope
- Post-trip/Looking Back section, including favorite memories, additional journal pages, additional drawing pages, and pages to attach a photo
Here are the materials I used for Chase's trip journal:
- I started off with the "so cool" scrapbook journal kit from possibilities by kolette. This really just served as an inspiration point for me, although I did end up using the acetate covers, the book plate, and a couple of the woven tabs. However, each of these can be easily reproduced or adapted for your own journal.
- Two different scrapbook paper patterns to trim pages: the blue map paper is "Road Trip" from the "Destination Vacation" collection by Reminisce and the green iconic paper is "Road Trip" by Karen Foster Design.
- To embellish the pages, I used "Are We There Yet?" rub-ons from Reminisce's Phraseology line and self-adhesive diecut stickers from Reminisce's Genuine Boy collection.
- Green satin ribbon to create the additional tabs for each section.
- White cardstock for each page. I cut the pages to 5" by 6.625" before running through the printer. Yes, I know it's not the easiest size to create, but that's the direction my inspiration kit took me.
- White envelopes to collect the souvenirs from each day. My original thought was to use paper CD sleeves, like these, but in the end I just decided on greeting card envelopes (with the flap covered in coordinating paper).
Now on to the download...
Travel Journal
**UPDATED!! The downloadable file is now available through Google Drive.
"Have you ever noticed there is never any third act to a nightmare? They bring you to a climax of terror and then leave you there." -Max Beerbohm
So you may remember the last time... It seems I have quite a history. Here's what happened last night:
Last night was an ordinary night. We were in bed by 10:30, probably asleep by 11. Around 5 am, I was dreaming about returning home from a shopping trip with my mom, when I "woke up," and saw something out of the corner of my eye. There was an animal on the pillow near Rob's head. My first quick thought was "why did the neighbors let their puppy into our house and onto our bed?" But then, I remembered that none of our neighbors have a puppy. In one motion, I screamed and jumped out of bed, pulling the covers with me.
I stood on the other side of the room as Rob bravely started removing the pillows, hoping to find something. He was looking for something the size of a spider, and I told him, "no, it was bigger than that." At this point, however, it was all starting to get a little fuzzy in my head, so I just kept it to myself that the shape I saw looked like a small puppy, or a meerkat, or an animal standing on it's hind legs.
Rob even went to get the flashlights to look under the bed, but alas, no trace of our "visitor." Despite the vividness, it just didn't add up... it must have been a dream, I told him, before we climbed back in bed. He tried to be good-natured about it, but I'm sure he was probably irritated that he had to wake up for work an hour later.
As I lay awake, heart still pounding, adrenaline still rushing, I came to the conclusion that my "animal" was my arm, wrapped around the pillow and bent up towards the air. Ooooo.... scary!!
"'And so the lion fell in love with the lamb...,' Edward murmured." -Stephenie Meyer
So I'd been able to avoid the hype for five years. But our Washington trip took us through Forks, WA which has gone Twilight-crazy, since the saga is set in this small, rainy town on the Olympic Peninsula. Every storefront has a sign that says something to the effect of, "Bella buys her toothpaste here." There are even Twilight-themed hotel rooms (yet, still not decent restaurants!). It was hard not to catch the bug; even Rob was snapping photos of the "famous" landmarks.
And, guess what happened to fall into my shopping cart at the grocery store yesterday...
"It's hard not to fall in love with Seattle on a beautiful summer's day."
-Robert Spector
A week and a half ago, Rob and I set out on our most distant adventure yet. Unlike our last big trip (to Arizona), this summer we decided to beat the heat. We left 95 degree highs in Georgia and escaped to the cool mountain air of the Pacific Northwest. We spent 8 days exploring three distinct areas of Washington State: Mt. Rainier, Olympic National Park, and the city of Seattle. For more pics, check Flickr.
- Which of the three destinations was your favorite? J: Mt. Rainier / R: Mt. Rainier
- What was you favorite hike of the trip? J: Hurricane Hill / R: Carter Falls
- Which hike disappointed you the most? J: Hoh River trail, aka "10.2 miles to nowhere" / R: Sculpture Park walk
- What was your favorite waterfall? J: Sol Duc Falls / R: Comet Falls
- What was your most defining hike experience? J: descending the snowy side of Comet Falls trail / R: descending the snowy side of Comet Falls trail
- What was your favorite of the new hiking gear? J: couldn't have made it without the REI trekking poles / R: REI Sahara shirt and Eddie Bauer fleece vest
- What was your favorite meal of the trip? J: Steak Kokopelli from Kokopelli Grill / R: Brisket sandwich from Rhodie's Smokin' BBQ, eaten under the Space Needle
- Which was your favorite area of Olympic Park to visit? J: Second Beach / R: Lake Crescent
- What was your favorite Seattle attraction? J: Pike's Place Market / R: Woodland Zoo
- Which hotel provided the best experience? J: Paradise Inn / R: Paradise Inn
- What was your favorite animal we saw on the trip? J: meerkats and sea otters / R: getting almost trampled by the deer at Hurricane Ridge
- Which place did you most dread, but turned out pretty cool? J: Weyerheuser campus and Bonsai Garden / R: Museum of History and Industry
- What memory of your spouse do you not want to forget from this trip? J: when Rob took the wrong exit off of the interstate on our first day, his excuse was "Sorry, I was just mesmerized by Mt. Rainier." / R: waiting for our late-night flight at Sea-Tac, Jana saw a Qdoba Mexican Grill in the food court and eagerly said, "I want a burrito." Rob asked, "Are you hungry yet?" And she replied, "No, not really." We did eventually eat burritos for dinner though.
- Which was the most refreshing Coke you drank on the trip? J: at Jack-in-the-Box in Tacoma on the drive from Rainier to Olympic, after almost 2 days without caffeine / R: at McDonald's for breakfast the first morning in Port Angeles
- How many miles do you think we walked this week? J: 65 miles... well, it felt that far / R: 30 miles
- Where did your feet hurt the most? J: between mile 3.3 and 5.2 of the Hoh River trail /R: "my feet didn't hurt, but my ankles and knees did on the Comet Falls descent"
- What was your favorite souvenir that we brought home? J: photos of course, but also the postage stamp Christmas ornament from Seattle / R: besides the 2,969 photos... probably the chocolate bear "poop" we bought for Chase
- What is your favorite memory of the locals? J: the "who gives a flip?" aura about the clerk at the Downtown Hotel, who took 30 minutes to be located and then arrived wearing no shoes / R: the cyclists everywhere... Seattle has its own bike lane
- What is your least favorite moment with the rental car? J: losing a Red Hot, when it rolled through the gap between the back of the seat and the seat itself / R: "every time I started it"
- Which situation were you most grateful to have your spouse along? J: "the night before each day, he made all of the little detail plans that cause my head to spin, without him, we would never have picked which hikes to take" / R: "she had everything planned out... we always knew where we were going"
To white (but kinda worn) down comforter:
To crisp nautical stripes:
Inspired by DwellStudio's Draper Ash Stripe Duvet Set. But not thrilled with the price of that designer set. My mom and I attempted to recreate the look to better match our bedroom color scheme. Still need to recover the throw pillows. Maybe with this pattern or this.
My second year of teaching starts next week. I just can't believe that my first summer is already over. Although everyone says your second year is better than your first, I'm still nervous that I'm not going to learn from my mistakes and will revert back to my unproductive and sometimes unhealthy habits.
Any math teachers that want to share in some goodies for their classroom....?? Anyone....?? 
As the new school year creeps terrifying close, I spent today working on some new posters for my classroom walls. Solving word problems is one of the skills that my students fear the most. When they see words in math class, their minds shut down. 
So, to combat that stumbling block, I've created these great posters to hang on the wall. I'll print them out as 16x20 poster prints from Sam's Photo Center, and then probably laminate them before they go up on the walls. I'll probably create a graphic organizer handout that looks similar when we reach this specific concept.
Feel free to right-click, save, print, and use in your own classroom.
Well... we're back from our trip to Ohio for Rob's aunt's memorial service. And, not a moment too soon. Although I love them, time spent with my in-laws makes me even more grateful for my own family.
Lots of fussing and whining from this six-year-old...
And, some good quality family time...
Of course, I'm known to go above and beyond, and I'm sure I put forth way more effort than necessary for the job. Let's just hope it holds his interest for a couple of minutes. For my pride and more importantly, for our sanity!
I've also created a printable pdf to share with you. You'll find it at the end. I've removed the more personal touches from the original design and made it customizable for any trip (up to 12 days long!).
You could choose the print-and-run method: print your pages on black and white, add some envelopes to save souvenirs, and then bind with rings. Or there's also the scrapbook-like route: add paper, stickers, ribbon, etc. to make it one of a kind.
What's included in the book:
Here are the materials I used for Chase's trip journal:
