Christmases past

“We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.”
-Jeremy Irons

A Christmas scrapbook: one of the projects that I've been putting off for a long time. I had been sitting on the edge of digital and paper scrapbooking, or whether to scrapbook at all. But inspired and motivated by Elise Blaha's "Get Crafty" workshop, I was able to finally tackle this project.

I love looking through the Christmas album that my mom created several years ago, and I want my children to have a similar memento of holidays past, including these past few years before children are nothing more than imagined.

Now I just need to get a pretty album to put them in... might have to wait on that one... until I get a full-time income.

Hardcore cycling

"Cycling is unique. No other sport lets you go like that - where there's only the bike left to hold you up. If you ran as hard, you'd fall over. Your legs wouldn't support you."
-Steve Johnson

The lead motorcycles roar by.
The spectators cheer as the cyclists approach.
Two or three cyclists in the break race past.Cowbells in the crowd jingle.
The bridge sprints forward, hoping to catch the leaders.
Pedals clatter as they spin.The group flies by.
Hearts flutter as the bikes swerve.Gears shift as they conquer the hill.
Wheels crack as they spin faster.A wall of air rushes through the crowd.
Amazement overwhelms Rob, as he watches his dream come true.

The symphony repeats itself every minute and fifteen seconds.

Over and over again. For 80 laps.

Until at last, at top speed, one competitor pulls forward and over the finish line.
Hurrah!

Twilight Criterium 2009: Athens, Georgia.

Making a profit

"A dream is just a dream. A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline."
-Harvey Mackay
6 hours sitting in our driveway surrounded by our junk. Although we didn't have many goods to sell at our neighborhood yard sale, we took advantage of the great weather, free marketing, and guaranteed foot traffic. And, our efforts put us $38.25 closer to our iPhones.Now we just have to try to sell the big stuff on Craigslist. Any takers for a gas grill, women's/girl's bikes, or a concrete garden table with three benches??

Just gotta jump!

“Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall."
-Ray Bradbury

I love GoogleChat (and my sister!). And, this is precisely why:

me: i totallly just jumped up and down in my classroom
me: random i know
callienclac: why is that
me: just because my feet told me to
callienclac: i understand
callienclac: feet do that soemtimes

And this side conversation happened in and amongst a chat about what jobs my sister is applying to.

Scrappin' our Scavenger Hunt

"Keep some souvenirs of your past, or how will you ever prove it wasn't all a dream?"
-Ashleigh Brilliant

Inspired by Elise Blaha's "Get Crafty" workshop. Here's my minibook to illustrate our around-town scavenger hunt from back in August 2008. It was the perfect event with which to experiment with patterned photos. I'm tickled by the results. Especially because I had to alter some of my original plans on the spot--I'm usually not very good at those snap decisions.

Looking for patterns

“Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.”
-Edward de Bono
Inspired by Elise Blaha's "Get Crafty" Workshop to collect photos of patterns. They can be used as journaling blocks or background paper for scrapbook pages.

Spring Scrimmage

"The reason women don't play football is because eleven of them would never wear the same outfit in public." -Phyllis Diller

After we dropped my mom off at the airport yesterday, I told Rob that I was ready for some testosterone. After a week and a half of crafts, shopping, gossip, and other girly things, I was ready to get in touch with my less feminine side.
I was in luck because yesterday was the spring scrimmage for the Georgia Tech football game. We met some of Rob's friends for the afternoon matchup. It was a little unusual to cheer for both teams and to see the coach out on the field, but it was lots of fun and refreshing to enjoy a no pressure game. The final score was Gold: 31 vs. White: 28. Hopefully this foreshadows a wonderful winning season for our Yellow Jackets!

A week and a half worth of projects.

"I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights."
-Adabella Radici

Been out of the house and busy for spring break the last week and a half. 10 days with my mom means lots and lots of craft projects. Check out her posts for more details.

Home Office makeover.

Easter cookies.

Vintage vinyl clock.

Loading and driving moving truck cross-country.

Baby shower present: diaper bag and quick change pouch.Painting trim on clock to match living room.
Bamboo hangers knockoffs.
Living room pillows.And more!!

Last minute preparations

"A trip is what you take when you can’t take anymore of what you’ve been taking."
-Adeline Ainsworth

I'm busy as a bee around here, getting ready to head out of town tomorrow for my spring break trip home. On my list tonight: packing my suitcase, charging my batteries, printing my plane ticket, and writing Rob a to-do list for while I'm gone. [I wouldn't normally leave such a long list--it is vacation and all, but I'm bringing my mom back with me on Monday, and who knows how messy this "bachelor pad" will get in six days!]

Thoughts for today

"No matter where you go or what you do, you live your entire life within the confines of your head."
-Terry Josephson

Things I pondered as I painted my thrift store finds on the kitchen floor this afternoon:

• How impatient I am with lengthy craft projects--I think I just get bored. So, yes... the throw pillows that decorate our bed, still have straight pins, not stitches, holding together the final seams.
• Whether people who preach tolerance should be tolerant of intolerant people.
• How much I miss Poppy--with my upcoming trip home to Louisiana, I grieve for our steak dinner tradition, not so much for the food as for the conversation, the love, and the normalcy of it.
• How angry I am about my nephew's "diagnosis".
• Wondering where I can find a friend in this here new town of ours--we looked at Target the other night, but it might be a little odd to do the whole "Wanna be my friend?" number there.
  
• How difficult it is to do the laundry when Rob works nights--just really glad that we don't have little children running around to keep quiet all day.
• How frustrating it is that over half (that's my estimate!) of the books on CD at the library are a part of a series, but it is impossible to figure out which one is the first.
• How excited I am for Elise's "Get Crafty" workshop to begin next week--I've been blog-stalking hoping that there will be an update.
• How I've been dreaming about teaching--if I don't get a job for the fall, even my subconscious will be disappointed.
• How crazy it is to have a forecast for snow flurries in Georgia in the middle of April.
• How much I'm craving Mexican food--Mama, I hope TacoMania is on our to-do list this weekend.
  

Motivating the unmotivated

"If you want to build a ship, don't recruit the men to gather the wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery
I have just finished one of the most fantastic books that I have ever read: The Motivation Breakthrough: 6 Secrets to Turning On the Tuned-Out Child, by Richard Lavoie. As a new teacher whose foremost goal is to inspire students to be lifelong learners, this was really good stuff. My library book is full of turned-down pages (I know, I know...), and I'm dreading having to return the book when it is due. I WILL be purchasing my own copy soon, so that I can refer to it as I plan lesson plans, set behavior expectations, and prepare for parent-teacher conferences.

The book is often set in the context of children with learning disabilities, but is obviously appropriate for people of all learning abilities. I actually learned a lot about myself, and also found myself referring to the book's philosophies as Rob and I brainstormed ideas to encourage his employees.

The last section of the book is entitled "What Does Madison Avenue Know... That Maple Street Elementary Doesn't" and highlights how teachers (and parents) should learn from the marketing strategies of advertisers--both have a "product" to sell, whether it be a toy or a math concept. Oooooo, with my marketing and design background, I can certainly wrap my hands around that idea. It's actually very reminiscent of my own fledgling philosophy: "every day is an event to plan and host in the classroom."