Friday, April 29, 2011

Feel Good Friday Hooting and Hollering


Feel Good Friday comes around about once a week, in these parts. While thegirl is off creating a new blog, I'm the boss around here.  She will be back, maybe  23 days?  I don't know, it says 23 days on her blog, but I have no idea what she has up her sleeve.

If you don't know how to play along, you go and write a post on your own blog about what made you happy or what made you feel good this past week. It can be seemingly simple, like you passed a test that was really hard or it can be earthshattering, like you got engaged.  Whatever made you happy.  Take the Feel Good Friday button with you and put it on your site.  Then come back here and link up on the bottom so we can go share your joy.  Go ahead, don't be shy.... just do it!

So, here's my round up:

*I woke up Tuesday with what I was sure must be the biggest swollen glands ever.  I couldn't turn my neck.  But, when I got out of bed, they were fine and I didn't have a fever.  I just felt like crapola all day. And Wednesday too.  With really no explanation.  Not really body achy, just my neck.  Like whiplash might feel.  And then I woke up Thursday and it was gone.  So that made me really happy.

I started to think about how yucky I was feeling and how I had no interest in doing anything and every project made me feel overwhelmed.  And I thought about how many people live in chronic pain and illness and still carry on.  And it made me really happy to know that it was a passing thing.  Because I have far too many things to do to be sidelined by pain or illness!


*I Mod Podged these maps onto stools in my classroom, and my students have started to notice.  A few call them their "special" stools and like to grab one if they get there first.  One day, I asked where something was located and a girl got off her stool and tried to find it.  Today, a boy was sitting on one of the towns we were talking about, which led to a very funny conversation because I didn't understand what he meant and finally, he got off the stool and showed me.   I can't believe that before he sat down, he looked at the map long enough to pick up this small town!  Some kids haven't noticed the stools so they  have no idea what's going on.  Ahhhh so typical in a middle school classroom.  I could be standing there, on fire and a few would never notice.

I said it before- I swear I'm going to stick maps on every surface I can get my hands on, if it means they will actually look at them!

And so far, they haven't ripped or fallen apart.

*It made me really happy to realize I don't live in London today.  And that I am not and never will be royalty.   What insanity.  If you'd like to weigh in on my thoughts, click here and see what I have to say about "news" like that.  K-ster told me he heard people screaming on TV, like they were at a Michael Jackson concert, he said.  I reminded him that no one has class anymore and I am not surprised.

They should ask the Queen what the crowd was like when she got married.  Much more demure, full of golf claps, I am sure.

*Forgive me for giving a shout out to myself, but I was "Person of the Week" on the radio and got to talk about our scholarships through ABWA.  I debated putting this link because a) you might learn my real name (GASP!) and b) you might figure out where I live and c) once you hear my super hypnotic voice, you might want to hire me to do radio spots all the time, and I just don't have time to add one more thing to my plate!

But, I also think that the 5 readers of my blog probably are safe, so I think it's ok.  And I also know how LAAAAAAZY most people are, so the chances of you bothering to check me out?  Pretty slim.  So, here's the link now please don't stalk me.   If you stalk me, I will stalk you and it won't be pretty.

But if you live in the area, feel free to apply for the scholarship!

*It's green mayhem, in my greenhouse at this moment.  Just about everything is popping up though those peppers are taking their sweet time.  I now have a container crisis.  I know, what a crisis to have!  Things need to be separated and moved to bigger containers.  Some things, like my peas, need to get out and in the ground and I just haven't felt like it (see above).  Maybe tonight...  Last week, things were scantly (no, not scantily, they weren't doing a peep show) above the soil and now....Have a look!
 The reason I bought this greenhouse is because of the drop down sides.  It's going to be sunny today, after 4 days of grossness, so I expect it to be about 150 degrees if I don't open the sides a little!  K-ster thinks I'm crazy because it wasn't hot yet when I opened them, but I have French to teach, so I can't hang around at home waiting to open my greenhouse at an optimum time.
 Peas MUST get in the ground NOW. 
 Stubborn tomatoes and peppers!  The tomatoes are just about all up.  These are my "invention" tomatoes.  The type that I might have accidentally cross bred 2 years ago.  Last summer, every one of them came up, but every tomato split as it was ripening.  They tasted fine but looked sad.  This is from one of those, one that hadn't split.  My theory is that I found an example of good genes and these will all be a new, excellent invention.  I am no Darwin.

Just look at the 2nd set of leaves on that broccoli!  Last year, slugs ate all of my broccoli and I was pissed.  As the summer went on, they magically resurrected themselves and I got a few good pieces of broccoli in the fall.  AND THEN.....  rabbits climbed over a dip in my chicken wire and ATE THEM DOWN TO NUBS.  I was a little furious that those poor things hung on all summer and came back with a vengeance and then were desecrated right there in the middle of their comeback.  

It's Sparkling vs the animals this summer--- watch out!!  We will NOT have a repeat of fall '10.

*I am very glad to learn that the General has been exempt from being sat on by a turkey!  We have a female turkey here at school, that I think has been spurned by her lover.  It appears she has taken to sitting on people's roofs in the parking lot.  UH OH.  She spent one whole day sulking in an alcove of our building.  Now she has moved to the parking lot.  Turkeys just make me laugh, they are so silly looking!

Alas, that's my limit of feel good for the week.  Now, follow the directions and get over to your own blog and tell us what made you feel good!  I know you might have had a week full of swear words but I know you can find a few good things to make you feel better!!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Let Me Catch Up On A Few Important New Items

First, I don't care if Donald Trump wants to run for president.  If he wins, will he do more damage than the presidents who have run the country in my lifetime?  Probably not.  I don't know why people are so worked up over it.  Let him run.  See what happens.  If he wins, let's see what he does.  He's pretty money savvy, maybe he'll fix the economy.

Everyone needs to stop getting their knickers into such a twist.

Second, I haven't been avidly following Kate and William's wedding, but I was caught up in the hysteria tonight when Wheel of Fortune wasn't available as I ate supper.  Instead, I had to watch Access Edition or Inside Hollywood or whatever the rumor mill was called.

And the question of the night?  WHY ON EARTH are Kate and William each allowed to drive their own cars just 2 days before their wedding??  WHERE.IS.SECURITY for these two???  Apparently it was ok for them to drive their own cars last week, but 2 days before the wedding?  That's just asking for a hijacking or worse.

My favorite thing I've heard that Kate has demanded?  4 tons of foliage brought into Westminster Abbey to make the place festive.  YOU.GO.GIRL.  I went to Westminster Abbey once and I do believe it could use some trees in there.  For God's sake.  Maybe I was like 10, and that's why I didn't like it, but if someone had put a 20 foot tree in there, I sure would have liked it!  I think what they've done looks cool!

And her sister?  I guess she's ruffling royal feathers by demanding that she be allowed to put disco balls into various rooms for the pre wedding fun and games.  Gooooooood grief.  Her name is Pippa and she sounds like a real PIP!

I have no intention of watching this royal affair, not on purpose anyway, and I don't care that almost 2000 people were invited.  I don't care that 600,000 people are expected to stand on street corners to watch.  Fine!  Let them!  They are human.  Why make such a BIG DEAL about gawkers and who does or doesn't get to go? 

Isn't it all a little petty, making a big deal about something we weren't invited to?  It's called envy/jealousy and it's not pretty on anyone.  I'm not royal.  I get that.  I don't wish I had married a prince or king.  I think it's great that Miss Kate has found her prince.  But I bet they still pick their noses and fart like people do.

Third, did you know that you can get leprosy from armadillos?  According to what I just read, and it was not in the Enquirer, the same bacteria that causes leprosy on humans is also on those creepy creatures.  The advice was not to touch, eat or be near them.  And never buy things made out of their shells, which they say is popular in Texas.  I think they were just looking for a way to slam Texas.

At least I don't have to worry about armadillos here.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Did Your Senior Pictures Look Like These?





When I went to college in the south, I learned that different parts of the country have different traditions when it comes to senior pictures.  And prom dresses.  But this post isn't about prom dresses because I would have to scan those pictures and I'm lazy.

What I learned about senior pictures is that in some places, everyone had the same "drape" over them and all of the girls wore pearls.  That was a classy look and some of those weren't even private schools.  It sure would have eliminated some of the atrocities we had in our yearbook.

Here, where I live, it's really common to take your picture at the beach.  Senior pictures, wedding pictures, family pictures- I dislike these family pictures the most.  Everyone wears the exact same clothes, usually white shirts and khaki. They all sit and/or stand in front of a dune.  Often you don't even see water.   Ewwww.  Or, a new trend, everyone except ONE PERSON wears the same thing and then that other person wears something totally different.

In reality, beach pictures aren't all that flattering for the majority of skin tones.  ***When I say pictures at the beach, I do mean in nice clothes, not bikinis.  Those would be SOME kind of senior pictures, wouldn't they????***

I remember lots of people in  my senior class having the typical, preppy beach picture.  They wore white, which just washed them out.  Or they laid down on the sand, which was weird in a sweater.  Or, in some cases, the boys wore light aqua (I am not kidding) sweaters.  I chose not to do the beach thing.  Not consciously, probably more financially.  And  today, I'm glad for that.

My senior pictures were done by a weird man in a studio.  I was alone.  I don't know what we were thinking.  On my way there, I had a little fender bender, so I was a little shaken.  We did 2 types of shots.  One outside, one inside.  "outside" was just outside his door, in the "woods" which was really next to one tree.  The other was inside his studio with a bizarre background.  No, not lasers in the background as was quite popular back then.  THANK GOD.  Kind of like an impressionist type background.  I wore a dress that sort of blended in with it.  It was all kind of like kismet.  My hair did this amazing thing (I call it straight) which is shocking because it was summer and humid.  He said nice things, like I should be a model (which I now know meant "can I take naked pictures of you?") and all in all, I liked the indoor scene and that's what I chose.  I'm still glad about that decision.  Even if you aren't.  P.S.  I took a picture of this picture, thus the flash glare and color issue with my dress.

But the reason I am writing this post?  Besides taking a trip down memory lane?  Is because last weekend, k-ster and I went out for a walk in the woods, as I explained here.  You'd think we had done something big for the big deal I made of it.

For some reason, we came upon this rock and I told k-ster to sit on it while I took his picture.  And now all I can think is that it looks like a senior picture.  Except, a professional photographer probably would have told him to take the bush out of his crotch.  I'm so unprofessional.


He, on the other hand, took this picture of me because we were pretty fascinated with this tree.  And I was fascinated that the opening was big enough for me to stand in without banging my head.  There were some other weird pictures where it looked like I was floating in between them and were otherwise just very unflattering.

This would NOT have been a good senior picture.  But someone in my yearbook would have taken a picture just like this and thought it was the best thing ever. 

So, the point of my story is that I need you to go post your senior picture on your site and tell us about it so we can go see it.  We need to see what was "cool" in your day.  Go do it!! It'll be fun, I promise!!
 Finding the Funny

Friday, April 22, 2011

Feel Good Friday- Good Friday Line Up




We're here again, live, with Feel Good Friday. This being Good Friday, I wonder if it's a sacrilege to do a Feel Good Friday on this holy of days. I've thought about it, and I think it's ok since I'm highlighting the good stuff.

 thegirl is still working on her site and she left me in charge.  Go check her out, she has a message for you but then come back here and play along.

Not sure how to play? Just go to your own blog, post a Feel Good Friday post and then come back and link to me! Tell us what made you happy this week. It can be one thing, 5 things or whatever. Grab the button and link back and you're off and running with your own feel good moments! And we like to read what made everyone else happy.  We are sooooo nosy!

*It's vacation week.  YAAAAHOOOOOOO.  It has been a BEVY of work around here this week from k-ster's laundry wagon conversion to  my amigurumi creations and so many more things I will have to post later.  I love getting things done and this week, I've managed to do a lot of that.  Here's one of my creations:

It's a little sundress for k-ster's cousin's daughter.  I'm going to put the lady bug buttons on the back for the straps.  I might make one more if I have time.  It was pretty easy, although the pattern gave me fits.  If I make another one right away, before I forget, it will go much faster.



*Things are a-growing in the greenhouse.  Slowly but surely.  Talk really reaching, here.  I know you can barely see the growth, but I love growing things, so I am thrilled.   It's taking forever for the peppers and tomatoes to get started but I saw a little something today.  The peas, corn, chard, gourds are all going to town.  Yippee!  I might have ruined the beans so I had to start over with those.
 
*After my lesson on Saturday, a lesson that seemed shorter than usual, I went out in the woods with Tucker.  On our way back, we ran into r-ster on Jackson  and she said we could go for a ride, so we went with them.  For like an hour.  It was great!!  We went a different way, so I know how to avoid the nasty dogs that scare Tucker, so when I have time for a longer ride, I have new options.  Not that the woods ever get boring, even if we go the same way every time.  It's nice to have more options.

*K-ster and I went for a walk in the woods the other day.  His foot used to be the reason he would say he didn't want to walk and when it was really nice weather, like the other day, he wouldn't go with me.  I called him and asked if he wanted to walk or ride bikes and he chose walk.  It was fun in the woods but weird not to be on a horse!  And we found a nifty tree.  And  a rock.

That's it folks!  Hope your week was great too.  Now go write a Feel Good Friday post and link back so we can see what you've been up to!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Wooo Wooo Wooo

This post is a little longer than usual, but fun to read, I believe, so give me a few minutes!

So, here I am on vacation for the week.  I am not one to actually go away for my vacations. Instead, I GET THINGS DONE that I can never find time to get done during the week. This results in days where I sometimes never leave "the compound", which is fine by me.  I'm usually too busy to notice.

There I was, strolling through the kitchen, on my way to craft project #459 when a man in my parents' yard sort of caught my attention through the picture window (isn't it weird how things like this can catch your attention when you're not even looking out the window?)

 "hmmm" I said to myself   "that looks like a cop.  I wonder what's going on." 

WAIT.  A COP???  My parents are away.  WHY IS A COP PEERING THROUGH THEIR SLIDER????  WHAT. THE. EFFFFF?????

I went tearing out my door and hustled over.  He didn't seem too alarmed and, for a cop, wasn't too aware that I was hurrying over there.  Like, if I were a cop, and I was called to a house to go peering through windows, I would be ALL ON ALERT and would look at the person sneaking over, I would put my hand on my gun and I would face them and ask what is going on.  Nope.  He just kept peering.

"Hi, I'm their daughter, can I help you?" (is that appropriate to even say to an officer of the law?)

"Ugh, hi, we have a report that there's an alarm going off"

"Here?  Are you sure?  It's not armed."

"Yes, it sounds like here"

"Umm. I don't hear it."  (I really didn't)

We walked to the front of the house.

"Oh, ok, yeah, that must be this house"  I type in the keypad to get into the house thinking how amazed I am that a stranger can walk up and say "I'm their daughter" and he believes me.  Good thing I don't stumble on the code as he stands and watches me.  I enter and he comes right behind me.  Is that right?  Should a cop just walk in, uninvited?  Should I have let him go in first?  Should he have insisted that he go in first, creeping around corners, yelling CLEAR?  But, maybe because I said it wasn't armed, we both knew it wasn't going off because of a burglar.

So, in we march and indeed, there is a noise of an alarm, though not the full fledged BLARING of an alarm, so it was tolerable.  Remember, this is the house we built when I was in high school, so this alarm has been there for half of my life, yet I can barely remember the code.  I type in what I think is the code while Mr. Officer wanders around the first floor.  It's not shutting off.

So I call my father, further proof that I am indeed the owner's daughter.  I always feel that I need make everyone super aware that I am not a stranger and that I do indeed know what I am doing.  Must be an insecurity I have.

What every homeowner wants to hear when he answers the phone on vacation:

"Umm hi, I'm in the house with a police officer because the alarm is going off and we can't make it stop..." ( I like to cut right to the chase)

"Oh.  Did you try the code?"

"Yes, the one I think it is, but it's not working."  Mr. Officer With No Name Bar stands and watches Act 1.

"Did you try ****?"

"yes, about 5 times and it's not working"

"Your mother says look in the cabinet.."

"Yes it says what you and I have both said and it's not working" (check to see that Mr. O.W.N.N.B. is still watching)

I start rummaging through the drawer where my mother keeps all manuals.  Funny, I have a special place where I keep every manual, but it's a binder.  I wonder if I do this because of her.  (Mr. OWNNB is still watching as I think all of this)  But, I one up my mother because I always put the exact date it was purchased and worked on.  Great solver of fights, that is.  But I can't find the damned alarm manual!!  I can feel Mr. OWNNB amused by this.

"Your mother says to look in the drawer.."

"I already am..."

"She says to look in the drawer under the silverware drawer where the things, you know the books, the things are..."

"Yes, I'm doing that and I can't see anything about it"  (Mr OWNNB still watching.  I should charge a fee for this entertainment)

"Well, I don't know what to tell you.  Call the alarm company."

"Do you know which one?"

"Umm, well, maybe x company?  If not, call b-ster at y company and he can maybe help you out"

"Is that really who installed it?" ( my father is great for coming up with places or people we should call to find things out, when he really has no idea if they will know.  In his mind, it gives us something to do and then we can report back to him.  Like I needed something to do...)

"I can't remember.  But they can probably help"

"All right, I have to go."  (Mr. OWNNB is still standing there but I feel like I can't say "he's still standing right here" as my father tries to ask me who it is)

"So, my father says to call an alarm company and try to see if they can help (and I really want to ask WHY ARE YOU STILL STANDING HERE??)  It's not hardwired so you can't call..."

"Officer some-group-of-numbers, yeah, what's the alarm company?"

"We don't know , the alarm company didn't call it in, it was a neighbor"

yeah, like I said, not hardwired

"Well, that's ok, I'll just call until I get help.  Thank you.  Do you have any idea how long it was going off?"

"No, I just got the call to come."

"Ok, thank you.  What's your name?"

gives me first name (REALLY?) and then says first and last.  Never asks for mine.  Wait, where the little notebook where they write everything down?  Is this a real cop? 

I escort him to the door and now another cop has come by for "backup?" but sees us at the door and leaves.

There are those who say that we live in an unsafe town.  Not like projects unsafe, but not utopia either.  There are those who think cops are up to no good.  I happen to think that's not true on either account and the fact that this cop stood and waited while I did schtick on the phone makes me happy.  Like maybe he wanted to help.  Or wanted my ass, who would know?  Should I have offered coffee?  Gum?  I really know nothing about what to do in real situations.

So, on to Act 2.

I didn't realize I had had a little adreline rush but I realized it then.  I called the first alarm company my father suggested and it happened to be the right one.  However, the alarm panel is from 1989, so it's not as up to date as one you might have with such options as "away" and "enter" and things like that.  I am familiar with these more moden types as we have one at the car wash and the Cultural Center.

It took a while, but I finally discerned the brand (right there on the top of the panel) and she gave me the same stinking code I'd been using!!  Still didn't work.

Then came the real work.  Mr. OWNNB, oh wait, I did learn his name, Officer b-ster should have stuck around for this part.  She told me I would have to bring something to "get into" the panel down cellar (how did she know we had a cellar?  interesting...) and when I said "you mean like a screwdriver?" she said "yes, anything to pry it open".  So I grabbed the biggest screwdriver I could find.  I had no idea what I was prying open.

It occurred to me as I was opening the cellar door that Officer b-ster never went upstairs or down.  Hmm. I know I said like 4 times that the alarm wasn't armed so it couldn't have been set off by a perpetrator.   But.... What if there were bodies?  What if some lunatic had come into the house, dragged in some dead bodies and then lit candles?  Or smoked a cigarette?  And then there was a little fire and that's what set it off? And the lunatic escaped before we got there and I opened the door to blood and gore?  As I've said, Hollywood has nothing on my imagination.  I should be writing these things down!

Down cellar I went, their cellar looking all modern and nothing like my creepy dirt cellar, and there on the wall was the panel that I was to pry open.  Yea, the one with a key sticking out of it.  No prying involved.

Here's where the learning comes in, my friends, so write this down.  It's near the electrical box, in a box of its own, and there's a battery in there.  If the woman said "it's like a car battery" one more time,  I was going to bring my large screwdriver to her office and pry her a new one.  I guess she means that like a car battery, it has two terminals that things go into, one being black and one red.  I had to undo those and then, wait, that's not all, I also had to unplug it from the electricity.  Except I couldn't for the life of me figure out where it was plugged in.  So we deduced that it must go right into the electric panel.  But there was no label for alarm. 

Finally, I found the plug in an actual outlet.  But because it's a big plug, it was screwed right into the outlet.  Which meant I had to use my big ass screwdriver in the tiny screw head and not let it slip into the outlet above and zap myself.  No easy feat.

Silence at last.  And since the battery said July 2002, we decided it was time to get a new one.  I drove to the wrong place at first.  Of course.  And eventually  found the right one.  And went through too many doors (an alarm place, what should I expect) and finally was able to buy a new one.  And what did the lady say? 

"It's just like a car battery.  Black here, red here."

Really?

Act 3

Now, I had to reconnet it all with the new battery.  Pretty simple.  But the panel isn't fashing right.  But that's ok, at least it's not blaring the alarm. 

My mother will be home this afternoon and she can make an appointment for a guy to come and straighten all of this out.

I called my father to report. 

"It's all set but the lights are all flashing, even after I reset it."

"That's fine, have your mother (see, farming out work again) call them and get them to come out."

"I just want to make sure the smoke detectors will still work, that she isn't here overnight with no smoke detectors."

My father is a retired firefighter and this was his response:

"Oh Christ, those fire alarms haven't gone off in 25 years, they won't go off tonight!"

*crickets*

"Ok dad, I was in this house the last time they went off and it wasn't 25 years ago."  It was a smoldering push broom in the cellar, but that's another story.

"I'm sure it will be fine."

Moral of the story? 

1.  Go and check your alarm panel and all of its hookups so when your mate is away, and things go haywire(because they always do when the mate is away) you will know where everything is and not look like an ass when you have a police officer standing there.

2.  Ask the police officer's name within seconds of asking if you may help him.  It's just a good idea, I think.  We've all seen those movies with the fake cops.

3.  When people say you probably shouldn't live next to your parents for the rest of your life, make a face and just scoff.  Living next to them has saved us both a lot of aggravation over the years.  Imagine if I lived even just 10 minutes away?  I wouldn't have seen the police, might not have even known, they might have had the alarm company just come clip wires and cost my parents money, I wouldn't have had this marvelous conversation with my father and the alarm company lady (twice) and I might have actually accomplished what I set out to do this morning (make a cute dress for k-ster's cousin's daughter). 

It's really worth it, on every front.  I swear.  Especially when you realize you might have left the iron on.  Or the door wide open.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

All KINDS of Creativity Going On Here

What do you get when you take 2 of these:

Get out some wrenches and the mini welder and rearrange things just a tad:



I know!! And this is what I plan to do with it!

K-ster was talking to his boss who works at the golf course and he mentioned that they just got a whole new shipment of golf bag carriers.  He said if he had any interest in taking some, he could.  I told k-ster how I've always wanted a cart to drag the clothes across the lawn when I go to hang them, but it has to have good, all terrain wheels.

He got all excited and brought home 5 of them and before I knew it, he had dismantled 2 and came up with this.  I LOVE it!!  And he totally recycled the entire thing.  He had to add about 10 inches of bar in the center and a couple of new bolts, but otherwise, all is recycled.  I'm so entertained by this thing.  I wanted to drag everything around the yard now.

I told him to make another one and put a large box on top so I can really carry just about anything around.  Something about it just makes me laugh.  Maybe it was when he sent it down the driveway without the handle or a basket.  It's like something from Gremlins or ET.

I'm thinking of painting mine pink, but he doesn't know that yet.

Anyone want to give us an order for one?

Linking here:
http://www.glitterglueandpaint.com/throwback-thursday-8/

Monday, April 18, 2011

Mail's Here

Dear Life Is Good People,

Great shirt.  My mother says "hold your horses" all the time.  And this is pink.  And appropriate now that I ride.  So I really liked it and just had to get it!

Laughing,
Sparkling

Dear Home Depot,

You are REALLY in big trouble with me.  I keep hearing this ad on the radio about how you are giving away free Roundup with the purchase of something or other.  Do you know what Roundup is?  Do you know how damaging this stuff is on so many levels?  Do you know what people actually do with it?  I am so appalled.  I think I might write a real letter to you.

Roundup is poison.  It's an herbicide, cide meaning death.  It kills EVERYTHING in its path.  What on earth makes you think it won't kill people and animals too?  I can't believe you are enabling people to do so much harm by giving it away!!  People who are so lazy, they can't bend to pick up weeds.  People who are so ignorant, they think green lawns cannot have a single weed and be nice.  People who don't even know that there is corn that is grown because it is resistant to Roundup's poison, because they spray Roundup right on the crops we eat!  Because farmers are too lazy to pull weeds or find better alternatives.

And you've joined that bandwagon. 

Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame.  This is seriously making me thinking I might have to never set foot in your store again.  Not that I was impressed, to begin with.

Fuming,
Sparkling


Dear Toilet Paper,

I do, indeed, love it when your roll is on the holder.  I never thought if it mattered if the roll was on the holder or just laying around.  But I've learned that on the holder is marvelous.  It's like a luxury.  Maybe because at school, the holders don't roll, so we have to take it off and unroll the paper.  And at home, I'm usually too lazy to bother putting it on.  But when you're there, it's a marvelous thing.  It's the little things, I'm telling you.

Keep On Rolling,
Sparkling

Sunday, April 17, 2011

I'm Going Straight To Hell, There Is No Doubt, But I Can't Help It

I've debated writing this post for days.  An email from my sister a-ster clinched it for me.  I cannot keep this to myself.  I really can't.

It all started with this blog I found by accident.  Please understand, I am not trying to make fun of this, but the bubbling hysteria I feel every time I think about it tells me I cannot keep this under wraps.  I know, if someone did this about my blog and I found out, I would be pissed, but I just can't help it. I had a link but then I took it away because I am  not trying to ruin this girl or make her cry.  Instead, I stole her picture.

The devil is making me do it.

I tell you now, there is a irony here.  I'll remind you at the end.

So, I was minding my business, probably Stumbling blogs, when I came upon a blog about making your own stuff.  I make my own stuff, my sister makes her own stuff, we're a crafty family.  In many ways.

So, I checked back another day, and this is what I saw.

It was called a Pillow Case Sundress.  I can't even type I'm laughing so hard.  It's all about upcycling.  But really, when someone says "pillow case sundress" this is truly what comes to mind.  And in 1968, this would have been mucho stylish.  But today?  O-M-G.  

But, it didn't end there.  I thought I was pretty horrified and really can't believe someone made and then wore this.  I can't even believe someone still owns pillow cases with rainbows on them from circa 1975.  But to take the time to make this???

Then she had to go and make a tutorial about how to make it!!  And people are thanking her!!  I KNOW!!  I'm still shaking my head.

I was compelled to share this with my sister a-ster who could also be as horrified as I was and shake her head at the horror.  And this was her response:

oh my god that's hideous.  It looks like my burning bush costume from kindergarten.  The one where i just scribbled red yellow and orange marker all over a pillowcase and wore it with tights.

Yes, she said Burning Bush Costume in kindergarten.  We went to a Christian school, remember?  

And then I remembered that costume!!  And I knew why I was horrified!  Because my 5 year old sister had made a similar thing, on her own! 

I think the reason this makes me laugh so much is the phrase "burning bush costume".  We were always doing these plays and things about the Bible, it being a Christian school, and it's only now, when one of us says something like this, that I realized how different our elementary years were from our friends who went to public school.  My BIL s-ster loves to point out how absurd we sound when we say things like "remember when I wore that burning bush costume?"

How normal we think it was to wear the burning bush, or put on a bathrobe and call ourselves characters from the Bible (Joseph, Joseph's father, the wise men, you get the idea) to put on plays.

And the irony is that a) I went to a Christian school, so I should know it's not nice to say mean things about people (but in this case, really, I just can't refrain) and b) the devil would make me write a post to make you laugh and that I would include the burning bush in this post.  

So, Pillow Case Dress Girl, I am sorry. I am sure you have a lot of creativity and you make fabulous things.  But really, if you wear this in public, you had better be prepared.  Clinton and Stacey would REALLY have every right to pounce on you and rip that off of you right on the spot.

Linking up with Saturday Laughs and Finding the Funny.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Feel Good Friday- Grab A Cup of Tea and Enjoy!


Is it really time for Feel Good Friday again, ALREADY? thegirl is still working on her site and I'm hosting in her absence. She's still around, if you go look, because she has updated her site since she first went on break.  Go check her out, she has a message for you!

Not sure how to play? Just go to your own blog, post a Feel Good Friday post and then come back and link to me! Tell us what made you happy this week. It can be one thing, 5 things or whatever. Grab the button and link back and you're off and running with your own feel good moments! And we like to read what made everyone else happy.  We are sooooo nosy!

Here are a few things that made my week:

* we had our annual ABWA open house and I set up shop. I don't usually make any sales at expos like this, but lo and behold, I couldn't catch my breath!! People were in a buying mood and buy, they did! And I got a show out of it!  Just when things look bleak, they have a way of picking up!

*two awesome lessons this week. On Monday, Tucker outdid himself and did so many great things that I asked!  K-ster stopped by to take some video, but it didn't come out great, so I am not putting it up.  Today was another good lesson, though not as mind blowing as Monday.  

*I got all of my seeds planted, for now, on Sunday, and already, I'm seeing some things popping up!  I had planted beans and peas mid week last week, and I thought they'd all be up by now, but they are on their way.  On Sunday, I planted all sorts of things and I'm already seeing the tomatoes and broccoli sprouting!  With sun today and more on the way tomorrow, things are likely to go crazy.  We had 3 days of gray skies, so things weren't too hot in the greenhouse.  It was 97 in there this afternoon.  I hope they don't all cook to their deaths!

*on Wednesday, pure magic happened in one of my 8th grade classes.  It was a French speaking frenzy.  I even had a couple of girls kind of winging it and I just about wet my pants, I was so excited. They set the bar and the other two classes didn't quite reach it, but there was a whole lot of francais being spoken in 8th grade this week.  We can't talk about my tirade in 7th grade one day this week, since this is Feel Good Friday, not Rant and Rave Friday.

*it's spring.  Really.  Really.   It IS!   Everything turned green, all at once!  The sun is out and it's really pretty out there!  It's cold this morning, but it looks nice and things are looking less dead.  This is always an exciting time of the year!!

So, it's a pretty short post this week.  Now go write on your own blog and link up to mine!!  Even if you had a purely rotten week, I know you can find something good to write about!!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

I WANT the Cricut. I NEED the Cricut. Tell Me How You Feel About the Cricut

 picture from here

Do you even know what I'm talking about? It's this marvelous device that will cut paper into fabulous shapes, at the touch of a button. 

It will make everyone's lives so much better.  Especially mine.

Because now  I will be able to make cute cards.  Because I give out so many cards, you see.

And tags for things.  Things I have never thought needed tags.

And great things for my classroom.  Things that my students won't even notice.  And will like to ruin.

And my scrapbook from Europe from 1993 will be finished.  Because that's all that's holding me back.  My lack of cutting skills.

Ahhh the possibilities will be endless.  I will make millions of things and sell them on my etsy.  It won't matter that I won't have a job next year.  Because I'll have the Cricut.  And that will be all I will need.

I didn't know I wanted it so badly.  I've seen it advertised.  K-ster and I have watched the infomercial. 

And then on Black Friday, Joann Fabrics had them for SIXTY dollars, online only, beginning at midnight.  Suddenly, I needed the Cricut.  It was going to be exactly what k-ster needed to keep himself busy but off his foot while recovering.  He would make things and sell them on his OWN etsy.  We wouldn't tell people he was a man, living a woman's fantasy by playing with the Cricut all day.  His skills would become legendary.

I decided I would have to buy it for him as a surprise for Christmas.  Because one time, he said it was neat.  So, I stayed awake at my sister's house on Thanksgiving night, waiting for midnight.  And you know what happened right?  The website was mysteriously "down" beginning at 12;01am and I waited until 12:30 am and decided it was so not worth it.

I stopped thinking about it until Joann started putting them on sale for $99.  THis is the lower end model, so I assume they want to get rid of them for the higher end models.  And now that I have my Joann teacher savings card, and it doesn't say I can't use it on Cricut (like their coupons do) I truly think I can use it to save even more.

I can't stop thinking about it and this madness HAS GOT to stop!

Please wake me from this dream with your tales of the Cricut.  Which model do you have?  Is it worth it?  Pros?  Cons?  Did you almost have to go to a 12 step session to stop your addiction?  Tell me, help me!!  SAVE ME.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

I'm Such a Domestic Diva, I Can't Stand Myself

K-ster and I have the worst problems finding jeans.  They just never fit.  So when we find jeans that fit, we like to buy several pair.  Especially for him, since he wears jeans every day and he really beats the snot out of them.  The last time he bought jeans, he bought about 4 pair so he'd have them.  And since they are all the same age,  you guessed it, they are all wearing out at the same time.

Every few days, he comes home from work with a "blow out" that cannot be repaired.  He must leap tall buildings in a single bound, and sometimes get caught on them, because he comes home with them ripped like 12 inches down the legs. 

Yesterday's blowout was a tragedy because  he's down to ONE PAIR OF JEANS.  And it's only Tuesday.  This does not look good.  But they were the pair that I had hidden away for times just like this, so they are pretty decent.

Last night, he gave me a pair of jeans to use so I could reorder some new ones.  They were sitting on the kitchen table and when I got up this morning, I was annoyed that the ripped jeans were still on the table because they were filthy.  So I threw them away.  And threw my tea bag on top of them.

Little did I know k-ster was combing the house, looking for his LAST PAIR OF JEANS.  He came out to make his lunch, didn't tell me he was missing his jeans and turned around to see his LAST PAIR OF JEANS sitting in the trash, with my tea bag on top!  He was furious and I couldn't stop laughing.  Now his ONE PAIR OF JEANS was sitting in the trash, wet with tea!

I put them in the drier and now he thinks they shrunk!  In the 10 minutes it took to dry them from the tea/trash episode, he thinks I shrunk is LAST PAIR OF JEANS.

It's just a barrel of laughs at our house these days.  Thank GOD more jeans are on their way!!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Made By Me Monday


I've been hopping on lou's Made By You Monday thing for a few weeks and I've never really mentioned it until now.  This week, she wants us to come show pictures of things we made that would be good teacher appreciation gifts.  Well, this is just perfect timing.  This weekend, I brought home this stool.  I have 3 of these in my classroom and they are the perfect height for my tables and to work at my computers.  Kids literally fight over these stools.  See below.  They have no cushion, but somehow, this cardboard stuff is pretty decent to sit on.  But they are so plain and blah.  I have a vast plethora of maps in my possession.  Maps of Paris, maps of France, of Quebec, St. Maarten, etc.  Basically when kids go somewhere where French is spoken, they bring me back things for extra credit.  Things like maps.

Lately, I have been looking at a bookcase that I have and love.  It has been thrown away on me twice because it looks like crap.  So I thought that if I covered it with maps and made it look like someone wanted it, maybe they won't throw it away.  I've heard of Mod Podge and know people who devote entire sites to it.  In fact, mary loves to talk about using Mod Podge in some of her crafts, so I got some advice from her.

I thought I'd start with a stool and if it works out, maybe I will graduate to the bookcase.  So, I bought some of the paper to non paper surface Mod Podge and got to work.  My plan was not to be all that precise with the cut outs.  I wanted to just cut up a map and paste it on to cover the stool, but it was OK with me if it was random.


I like it.  It's nice and glossy too.  On my next one, I will do the edge and then the top.  This time, I did the edge after, and it has left a little ridge.  I went over this about 6 times, letting it dry each time, so I hope it has a good, thick cover.  Middle school butts are pretty wiggly and I wonder how long this will last.

Gives them one more thing to fight over.  I literally had 2 girls verbally killing each other one day over one of these stools.  They called each other all kinds of names, pulled hair, etc and then one pushed the other off.  Now this will be even more enticing.

So, how does this all fit into teacher gifts?  I really would appreciate a gift like this as a teacher.  It is something I will certainly use in my room and it's covered with something that is exactly what I teach.  It trumps all of those cutesy gifts that I have no use for, the weird gifts that I am slightly afraid of or the food that I promptly throw in the trash when someone gives it to me.

So get your Mod Podge and get to work for the next gift you give a teacher!
**I was not paid for mentioning Mod Podge and I have no affiliation with them.***

NOTE:  After I posted this today, I had a girl sit on the stool in class.  When I asked the class where they thought the Riviera might be, she actually slid off the stool and started looking on the map.  WOW.  That's it, I'm sticking maps on everything I've got now!!

Linking here:
http://www.glitterglueandpaint.com/throwback-thursday-11/
http://www.skiptomylou.org/2010/01/18/made-by-you-monday-2/

Friday, April 8, 2011

Feel Good Friday


Here we are again!  Friday is here, feel good moments are here, and it's time to link up and share~!    thegirl is still working on her site and I'm hosting in her absence.  She's still around, if you go  look, because she has updated her site since she first went on break.

Not sure how to play?  Just go to your own blog, post a Feel Good Friday post and then come back and link to me!  Tell us what made you happy this week.  It can be one thing, 2 things, 5 things or whatever.  Grab the button and link back and you're off and running with your own feel good moments!  And we like to read what made everyone else happy.

Here are a few things that made my week:

*I was spontaneously evaluated on Tuesday and though a variety of things were not in my usual repertoire, it was fine.  I used to never worry about observations.  Then we got this new principal and though my first evaluation with her was fine, she ripped a lot of people a new one, so it has put everyone on edge.  I only get evaluated every other year, so this year was my turn again.  It was like a comedy of errors, but she didn't even notice.

*Monday was a fantabulous lesson with Tucker.  Thursday?  We shouldn't go there, this being Feel Good Friday and all!

*Not only is the greenhouse finished, I actually planted some things.  I'm hesitant to try a a few veggies that are weather sensitive because it does get cold in there at night.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.  It's so nice to walk out there and see a greenhouse just waiting for me!!

*Town Meeting was Monday, and the override request passed at Town Meeting.  This means it can go on to the ballot for the May election.  Then we'll know if the school district can get its $400,000 that it needs.  Holding breath....

*My blog turned 200 during my last post and I found a nifty way to highlight that.  It's nice to see people reading my posts and commenting.  Sometimes, you people really crack me up!

That's it.  It's a short one this week.

Now, go write your own and come back and link up!  Make my weekend (ok and everyone else's too) happy by telling me your feel good moments!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

ABCs of Sparkling

When my blog turned 100, I gave you 100 Things that Make Me Sparkle. A lot of you have told me that you read it and have a much better picture of who I am and who I am not.

Now that my blog is 200, I have been wondering what marvelous thing I should do to celebrate. Thanks to PBJdreamer, I now bring you:

THE ABCs OF MISS SPARKLING.

A.   Age:  36 right now.  We'll see what I think of 37.

B.  Bed size: Queen, Sleep By Number.  Truly the best thing I've slept on.  Yes, it's expensive.  And yes, you're sleeping on what is basically an air mattress.  But, having the ability to make each side what the person sleeping on it really wants- priceless.  Being able to move around and not jiggle the bed- amazing.  It's weird, I have the most stark taste when it comes to the bed.  I only want duvet covers, so I can wash them regularly.  No bedspreads or quilts for me. 



C.  Chore you dislike: filling and emptying the dishwasher.  Seriously, I would rather wash the dishes by hand.  Or possibly lick them clean.

D. Dogs: love them.  When I was a little kid, we had Peeps.  She was a Golden Retriever who lived at the car wash, outside, in a dog house.  She once got hit by the mailman and broke her leg, so she had to spend some time in the house.  She really didn't like being cooped up.

Then we got Jake.  We went to the SPCA and came home with him.  He was a mix, probably Beagle and Huskie, they said.  What my mother was thinking, bringing home a Beagle's bark with a Huskie's craziness, I'll never know.  He was so cute.  And had an ear that flopped.  And no discipline.  We didn't keep him long.  He was too much for us to handle.

And those, my friends, are all of my dogs.  I want a Weimeraner.  Really badly.  I love them.  But when it's cold and miserable out, I remember how glad I am that I don't have to walk a dog and bring in filthy paws.  And when it's really hot, I remember how glad I am that I don't have to smell a hot dog.  (I hate the smell of edible hot dogs, too)

EEssential start to your day:  light, preferably sunlight!  And orange juice.  But not Tropicana anymore.  Because a lot of their juice isn't from the US.  Ahhh the dilemmas I face every day.

F. Favorite color: red, followed very closely by pink.  But I wear a lot of green and brown.

G. Gold or silver: gold, although working with lia sophia has let me see the light!

H. Height: 5'2"

I. Instruments you play(ed): piano and voice.  This is what the piano is mostly used for these days.  I have a serious problem with putting things down.  I cannot leave any space open.  I must constantly cover all empty space with stuff, thereby making it difficult to do anything because I have to move said stuff in order to get to whatever it is I am trying to do.  We just moved this piano during the great room redo a few weeks ago.  I like the piano, I like having it, I like knowing I can play it.  But it sure gets in the way.  I thought when I put it out in the middle of things I would play it all the time, but no.  It was just in the way.  And made people fantasize that when non one is around, I give these beautiful concerts.  Ok, I think I am the only one who fantasizes these things.

I didn't put up a picture of my voice, because...  Who wants to see my vocal chords?

J. Job title: judge, juror, parent, policeman, seamstress, custodian, interpreter, mover---MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER.

K. Kittens.  LOVE THEM.  WISH THEY WOULD REMAIN KITTENS.

L. Live: I don't know if this says live or live.  Yes, I am a live human.  I live near the water. In the town and the house where I grew up.  Scenes like this are a common, everyday site for us around here.  When I say water, I mean ocean.  Not lake or pond or whatever some of you people call water, when you say you have a house on the water.  I don't have a house on the water, but I can get to the Atlantic in 1.2 minutes.


M. Mom’s name: Mom.  We were never allowed to call her Ma.  And Mother just didn't cut it.  And we aren't from the south, so Mama wasn't in our vocabulary.

N. Nicknames:  For reasons I will never understand, when I was really little, this guy called me Lydia.  That has no resemblance whatsoever to my real name or to Sparkling.  I have no clue.  Today, I kind of like the name Lydia.  And even when I became an adult, I once heard him call me that.

I have an A at the end of my name but sometimes people leave it off and I get really mad because then it's not my name.  To me, it's like the difference between Mary and Marie. When I was younger, I would silently seethe, but today, I find myself correcting someone immediately, and without even meaning to.

A few rare times, people have called me by just the first 2 letters of my name.  I used to think that was ugly because that's a boy's name.  But today, I don't really care.

Sparkling came from my original intention when I created this blog, which was to talk about jewelry and I think Sparkly had been taken. Oh, sorry, did you really think that was my name?  Actually, I know a girl named Spangle.  That really is her name. She is a very rude individual and does not live up to what I think someone with the name Spangle should be like.  No one except my aunt s-ster has ever really called me Sparkling because it's not something I say out loud.  She noticed it on my blog and thought it was funny.

O. Overseas travel:   Because I went to France my sophomore year of college, and then returned for a month in Belgium a few years ago, I have traveled around Europe:  France, England, Monaco, Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland.  It is nowhere near as glamorous as it sounds.  I was 19 and with 2 girls I didn't know very well and they had planned this great tour for our breaks, while I just thought some great plan would come to me.  Which it did by way of these two girls who let me tag along.  We stayed in hostels and cheapo deapo hotels, one of which I swear was just a house, not even a hotel.  Today, this trip would make me really annoyed but it was fine then.  And I have vivid memories, which is good, because my camera broke during part of the first break and I have no pictures for a period of that semester in Europe.

P. People you admire:  people who have their act together.  People who quietly "do it all" but don't make the rest of us miserable with their griping about how they have no time or they are so exhausted. 

Q. Quote from a movie:  I can never remember things from movies, so this is lost on me.  The things that I usually do remember are insignificant to the rest of the world, anyway.  Now, if you ask me about a song, I could go on and on about favorite lines from songs.

R. Righty or lefty: right all the way.  I am very incompetent with my left hand.  Except when playing the piano.  Which I always think is really weird.  I have little control over it in other things, but I can make it hit the right keys on a piano.

Have you ever tried to do something, like unlock a door with your non dominant hand?  Only to find that the dominant hand is trying very hard to help out?  Try it.  You'll find your dominant hand headed for the key, trying to help out.  It's very funny.

S. Siblings: two sisters, younger

T. Time you wake up: 6:30 during the week.  What a boring question.

U. Underwear: really?  Need I post MORE of this foolishness?  Unlike many women, I actually like to wear underwear.  I don't like thongs.  I like underwear that fits and this is very difficult to come by.

V. Vegetables you don’t like: asparagus.  Because.... it tastes too green.  I know this is a ridiculous statement.  I like most other vegetables.  But asparagus is one that I just hate.  You just can't dress it up or cover it in sauce for me.  The only way I will eat it is when I toss it into a tomato salad that I make and there's a vinaigrette that disguises the asparagus.  K-ster likes it, which is crazy because there aren't many vegetables that he DOES like. 

W. What makes you run late:  ?  I don't know what late is because I'm rarely late.

X. X-rays you’ve had: my hips, my teeth, I think my lungs when I was really little.  Again, no dramatic experiences to report here.

Y. Yummy food you make: desserts of any kind.  Occasionally a supper that knocks your socks off.  I love the tomato salad I mentioned above.  K-ster is pretty easy to please, so not much gets thrown away.  I've learned to make a lot of my favorites without the recipe or I've added things and I'm really happy with that.  It's nice to know I can "whip" some meals together and make them taste good without a pat recipe.  Guess that means I've made a lot of meals!  I don't do frozen dinners and rarely eat things that are packaged.  We don't eat out a lot.  So, there isn't much choice but to cook.

Z. Zoo animal favorites: the big cats.  When we were at the National Zoo, they said that there were 2 litters of lion cubs that would make their debut----after we left.  My sister has since seen them and said they are so cute.  I've seen them online and I could just sit and watch them all day long.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Does Your Classroom Layout Affect Your Teaching or Does Your Teaching Affect Your Classroom layout?

Or does it even matter?

For 13 of the 15 years I have taught, I have had tables in my room instead of desks.  I much prefer the tables because I often do paired or group work and having desks just makes that difficult.  It takes more time to get with a partner when you're at desks, believe me.

Some would be shocked to learn that I like the mayhem that having tables creates.  I am very orderly and like things to be just so.  One would expect that would mean that I would have old fashioned desks, in old fashioned rows, with my teacher desk right in front.  Kind of like this one.
Today, I had to switch rooms with the Spanish teacher and it made me think about my classroom set up.  He is even more orderly than I am.  His desks are in rows, sideways from what you see, with his desk right in the middle and the chalkboard behind where I stood to take this picture.  This is very old fashioned.  He sometimes even sits at his desk to teach.

I have never set my classroom up this way.  Even when I had desks, they were usually grouped in 5s.  I guess it's how I was trained.  Here, you see my room.  A little less orderly.  I guess you could call where I was standing the front of the room.  But behind me, I have a smartboard, so a lot of the class takes place with them looking at that.  However, you see a chalkboard and white board.  Some of my class time takes place facing those.  And a lot takes place with me flitting around all over the place, so you never know where I'm going to pop up.  There isn't always a "front" of my room.  My desk is over to the right in this picture.  I don't like it there, but it's the only place it would fit.  I would never teach from my desk in this room because that would me I have my back to them while I teach.  The only time I am there is during a quiz.

Sitting at the Spanish teacher's desk, while my students took their quiz, I thought a lot about my classroom set up vs his.  I like the simplicity that his room has. I liked that his desk was clear and that the computer was right in front of me and it was comfortable to use it.

I went back and looked at my own room and thought about the mild chaos that was all over the room.  But kids like my room. Adults often come in and rave about the way my room feels.  I have an elementary background, so sometimes, I feel like it looks like Romper Room in there, with all of the colors and visuals.  Not in this picture, but other walls have more stuff on them.  Looking at my room through the lens of this camera, I realized how chaotic it can look to the newcomer.  But my students quickly learn where everything is.

In the long run, I think I will keep my disordered room.  I can't put the computer on my desk anyway, because the hookups won't reach, so I'll never be comfortable at my computer.  I can't sit still, so I could never have my desk in front of the class because I couldn't sit at it all day and teach.  Plus, there is a silent stigma that I associate with teachers who sit during their entire lesson.  I can't really put that into words, it's just not how I would be proud to teach.

Which do you prefer?  The classroom that has lots of visuals and may, at some times, appear to be overstimulating, but also makes you realize that everywhere you look, there's something to see?  Or the classroom where there is empty space so you can just stare off and zone out?  I think we know which one I choose!

PS stay tuned.  My 200 post anniversary is my next post and I've got a good one.  Another way to learn a little more about me!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Letterbox

Dear Greenhouse,

HAHAHAHAHAHHA I WIN!!!  We are done with your assembly shenanigans.  You look pretty snazzy and you'll be home to some greenery VERY soon.  Now for some finishing touches like gravel and landscaping around it.

Wait, does that say 89 degrees??  When it was 50 degrees outside???  Oh yes it does.  You just wait and see!!

Sparkling and almost growing,
Sparkling

Dear Ladies Who Book Lia Sophia Shows With Me,

If you invite them, they will come.  If you don't invite them, I will come and stare and glare at you while you and your 2 friends sit and look at the catalogs, wondering why no one else came.   Because you didn't invite them, REMEMBER????   And don't tell me that "next time" you will invite people, now that you  know how it works.  You know how it works!  You went to a show and booked from her. She had friends there, REMEMBER?  That's why YOU were there!

If I'm going to haul my cookies all the way to your house and drag in all my jewelry, I do actually expect that you will have invited your friends over.

Fuming,
Sparkling

Monday, April 4, 2011

Are You Smarter Than A Language Teacher?

No, but I am dumber than a box of rocks when it comes to this information!! Oh the shame.  I should send back my degrees and all my certifications.  It is hard to believe they allow me to challenge the minds of such impressionable teens.

Take this test and find out, then tell us how you did!  Like, I mean, tell us your score so we know how smart/dumb we really are!  Cuz I think of you bloggers as fairly smart people....

Friday, April 1, 2011

Feel Good Friday- March Wrap-UP


Here we are again!  Friday is here, feel good moments are here, and it's time to link up and share~!    thegirl is still working on her site and I'm hosting in her absence.  She's still around, if you go  look, because she has updated her site since she first went on break.  Now there's a countdown.   To what?  Who knows, but I think we can guess that it's the countdown to her return.

Not sure how to play?  Just go to your own blog, post a Feel Good Friday post and then come back and link to me!  Tell us what made you happy this week.  It can be one thing, 2 things, 5 things or whatever.  Grab the button and link back and you're off and running with your own feel good moments!  And we like to read what made everyone else happy.

1.  I found this in my closet this morning.  It was actually laying on top of my hangers and causing a traffic jam.  At first, I was annoyed, but then I was overjoyed.  How can a pillow make a girl so happy?  Because now I can make another one of these;
When we got the new couch, I saved two of the pillows from the old couch and made covers that match the curtains.  But when I went to make a second cover, I didn't have enough material.  I forgot that I had saved the 2nd one and had k-ster shove it up to the top of my closet so I could do something with it later.  Just last weekend, my sister a-ster was here and saw the couch for the first time and I was lamenting the fact that  I must have thrown out the 2nd one because I couldn't find it anywhere.

I guess today was "someday" and now I can go find material and make one more cover.  This will be good because now both corner pieces can have a pillow.  At first, k-ster thought it was clutter and not necessary, but we've both learned what a necessity it is!  2 will be great!  And I have a coupon to use at Joann Fabrics, so maybe they will still have it or something that works with it.

2.  It is quite possible that you read about my latest quilting endeavor.  I'm so thrilled with the way this came out and colors really brighten my mood every time I look at it.  If it doesn't sell, there might be a redecoration in the near future.

3.  I can't believe it, but I might have skipped posting the latest greenhouse pictures.  A few weeks ago, we got this far with the greenhouse and then had a bit of another dilemma because another piece was missing.  We counted (after that awful day when we were short 3 posts) and have every piece that the carton contents stated.  But the number of wiggle wire pieces was apparently wrong, so when we called because we didn't have enough, they were like "yeah you should have 22 pieces" and I said "WTF??? the packing slip says 14 pieces and that's what we have!!!"  So that put things on hold, AGAIN.  Then there was weather, work and this past weekend, a very windy Saturday.  On Sunday, we did another major piece of installation, but it's nothing to record on camera.  It's the bars that the rope will turn around to make the sides go up and down.  Hopefully this weekend will be the final weekend to work on the installation.  Then the growing can begin!!


The adirondack chairs in front of this really make me laugh.  I bought them a long time ago and k-ster hasn't really ever liked them.  When we did the new patio, they weren't necessary, so they've just been hanging around.  K-ster found a new home for them.  And with the spring sun trying so hard to warm things, even when it's cold, the sun comes down on them right there and all is well.  And, we get to look over the campground which I find hysterical for some reason.

4.  Today there was this Celebrate Women event at a local store.  They have it every year and a portion of sales that night goes toward a non profit that helps women.  Everything there is vendor oriented, so they are giving out all kinds of crap and food.  THis year, things were a little skimpier than usual and I wasn't so impressed.  But I did get 2 massages, so I really liked that!   In past years, by the time I've gone to the massage chairs, the sign up sheet has been full.  This year, I bypassed everything else and signed up first.  Smart move! 




photo from google images

5.  This is the last week with my current 6th graders. Starting on Monday, I will have the 65 kids who CHOSE to take French for the next 2.5 years.  While this does not mean all the world will be paved with sunshine and lollypops, it does mean that I don't have to look at some of their sniveling faces in my classroom again.  And that's a damned good things.  I'll have a lot of kids who are DYING to continue in French and have really tuned into it for some reason.  We have these years, once in a blue moon, when kids just really click with the language they chose.  This looks like one of those years.  Now I can get down to the nitty gritty with kids who I know I'll have for a while.

So that's it.  Not much earthshattering news, but it's fun to reminisce.  Now go write about your week on your blog and then link back to this so we can all see what you have to say.  Cuz we are nosy and cuz thegirl gave me permission to say so!!