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I was running low on my little supply of thank you notes so I made a couple with the recently released Catslife thank you stamps. I thought it would be fun to have multilingual notes especially stamped in different colors...
And then just a little handmade stamp for the back.
It was fun to keep a simple record of a "Week in the Life", but I missed actually saying something on here. It felt similar to waiting until Sean walks in the door after wanting to talk to him all day.
I have to admit, though, it was a good week to have a simple blog post formula around here. In between snapping a photo with my phone I was finishing the second draft of my graduate project, writing my first ever test questions, and prepping for a teaching portfolio workshop I'm facilitating tomorrow...all of which were not so simple.
This week...
I have some cards and craftiness to show you.
I have to turn 36...that is a big darn number.
There's a couple of giveaways to share.
A new project I am super excited about.
And a big national holiday next weekend that I can't wait to celebrate with you...
Although I am the worst morning person ever, I got up at 5:45am this Sunday morning. It was to drive an hour out to Redlands to see Sean run a half marathon.
We all know I make light of the bazillion miles he runs each month. He often completes a half marathon worth of running each Saturday, but all of them take place right in our neighborhood. Getting to see him out and about in the town where we met was extra fun. Seeing him place 18th out of 440 half marathon competitors was even more fun.
I joked with him that I deserved to wear his medal for getting up so early.
Today reminded me how amazing it was to see him run his first marathon back in 2007 and it has me looking forward to whatever runs there are to come...if only they weren't so darn early in the morning.
1. Mac's overprotective mom is finally letting him sit in the front seat. (in her defense he still doesn't weigh 90 pounds) 2. The backyard is really starting to pump out roses 3. We got our tickets for the educator's night Angel's game 4. The educator takes "mis-match" day at school very seriously 5. I told a couple of fellow students in my cohort I'd light a candle for them as they took their comp exams this weekend. I decided to send them a candle and a couple other test supplies 6. The comp exam supplies getting packaged up with a card 7. My purse for the summer 8. Sean dusting the ceiling fans (with this idea) since it's getting warmer and warmer around here 9. A look at the pantry. The white paint seems to have really helped...even at night you can easily see all the way in the back.
A couple of months ago I attended the parent association meeting at Mac's school. I knew ahead of time that one of the items up for discussion was teacher appreciation week. As we got to that part of the meeting wouldn't you know my hand shot up when they asked who would like to take charge of it.
I've said before I love teachers gifts a little too much, so I just couldn't resist the idea of a whole week of them. I excitedly planned the whole week on a post-it note as I drove away from the school.
I told myself that I would work on everything in April so that I would be well prepared by May 7th. Especially because it might not be the best idea to take this on when lecturing on gender the following week and graduating a couple weeks later.
First task on the list is making little notebooks...kind of a combination of these and these.
My umbrella last week when it was wonderfully cold and rainy...today it was pretty much 90 degrees.
The package of extra crafting supplies goes to comment #10...
here's to a great week - full of sunshine & positivity!! ;) * April 16, 2012 at 06:34 AM
Lauren please e-mail me your address.
1. See this fantastic wood magnet idea from Swoon*.
2. Think about it often over the last couple of weeks.
3. Find yourself falling for the neon pink trend.
4. Still obsess over mint green and peach.
5. Stop by the craft store on the way home from student teaching.
6. Spend $4.63.
7. Come home and get out the painters tape and brushes.
8. Smear a couple coats of paint on and stick magnets on the back.
9. Marvel that this only took about 20 minutes total to complete.
10. Be extra happy that you got to do a little something crafty today.
*Turns out that Swoon's project section has a bunch of great ideas.
1. You know those days where you are grumpy and most things seem to go wrong? Being grumpy doesn't really help you deal very well with the various issues that arise and having things go wrong certainly doesn't help your grumpiness. Yeah, that was me today.
2. Thankfully, though, I have done a decent job of focusing on the positive for the last couple of hours.
3. Good thing too, because otherwise you really would not want to hear from me right now. Okay, moving on.
4. Saturday night I went to see my very first soccer game. Sean has claimed for years that a live soccer game would be life changing and get me to stop complaining about the sport. I will admit it was way more fun than watching on television...and when I saw David Beckham take his shirt off at the end of the game, maybe my life did change a little.
5. We made this Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad sandwich to tail-gate with before the game.
6. I am super grateful for digital kits...today they helped me put together a flyer for a workshop I was asked to lead in a couple of weeks...
7. I joked with a friend who was proofreading it for me that I was extremely grateful to not have to dig through the Microsoft Word catacombs to find tacky clip art.
8. I almost completely forgot to get my sister-in-law and my (almost) seven year old sister birthday gifts. Thankfully I was able to pull it together today and will be on the doorstep of the post office first thing tomorrow morning so the boxes can get halfway across the country as fast as possible.
9. My sister-in-law is kind enough to read this thing so I should apologize publically for sending her gift late...and that whole forgetting part.
10. When I recently talked to my sister and she excitedly told me she would be seven soon I told her she is almost as old as I am. She said, "Nooooooo". Yeah, not many people have a sister who is twenty-nine years older than they are.
11. I have decided that I need to share some crafting supplies around here more often...so I have package of stuff packed up to send to someone. Please leave a "Pick Me" if you would like it...
12. I promise I won't forget to send it.
Love that the 12th of this month turned out to be our day out in Palm Springs...
1. After yesterday's rain there were lots of white, puffy clouds 2. We made it 3. Had to check out the Ace Hotel 4. Perfect weather 5. I took too many windmill photos 6. The rainbow of paint at the Saguro Hotel 7. I will dream about the potato salad at Tyler's Burgers for a while 8. I usually don't really like palm trees, but had to get a shot considering where we were 9. A little thrift shopping 10. Looking for some mid-century houses (this is the Kaufmann House) 11. Stopping by the outlets on the way back 12. And the cloudy sky as we got closer to home
There has been a long standing rivalry between Mac's Dad's family and ours. USC vs. Notre Dame...actually it's USC vs. Anyone. However, now poor Sean and I need to proudly wear the cardinal and gold for the next four years because they happen to be the colors of Mac's new high school...
It took a few months to weigh numerous factors and make a decision about what high school seemed like it would be the best fit for Mac. Since he was kept in the dark for most of it he asked that when the decision was made that we have a high school reveal party...much like the gender reveal parties he had seen all over Pinterest. He wanted to cut into a cake and reveal the high school colors.
In the end, it did not turn out to be a big surprise. Mac went with us on a tour with an assistant principal where he asked about the cheerleading squad...it turned out try-outs were that day. Mac has dreamed of being a cheerleader since he was little. I worked as a high school instructional aide and we attended every home football game. He knew many of the cheers and wanted us to build him his own cheerleader box like the girls stood on during games.
I took home a packet of information about the team and called the director to explain the situation, tell her a little about Mac and see if for some reason she was looking for a little "diversity" on the team (they currently did not have any other boys). We were so lucky that she was eager to meet him and asked if he could come to try-outs later that afternoon. By the end of the day he was told they would like to have him as part of the freshman team.
His dream came true.
Sean and I went out that weekend while Mac was with his Dad and we had a cardinal and gold craft supply fest. I got to work crocheting a blanket and Sean started cutting out letters and stitching them on a shirt. A few days later we baked a cake and "surprised" Mac. He was given half a blanket and a half-finished t-shirt...
Then my mom and sister joined in on the fun as only they can (especially considering they were given less than 24 hours notice on the party). My mom brought Elmo themed items since that is the nickname of his new high school and my sister sewed up three El Mo snack bags for him. Mac's dad came over too and we had a really great time celebrating his high school reveal.
So the cardinal and gold is growing on me, but no matter what the colors are I cannot wait for the next four years.
It's Monday morning...Sean is back at work, Mac spring break is just starting so he's home with me and we're heading to my community college class soon. Later this week we're going to squeeze in a little spring break-ing with a road trip out to Palm Springs, but we also took a couple hours last Friday...
I had purchased a Groupon for a ninety minute Duffy Boat rental back in January with Spring Break in mind. We had a great time puttering around the bay in Newport...peeking into the amazing houses and guessing how much money it takes to own some of the yachts. When we came back to land we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.
So glad we've been able to stuff some spring fun into our schedule...can't wait for more.
My family had our third annual homemade waffle and omelet brunch today...which really is a collaborative effort to make the best food ever. Hope you had a wonderful Easter too...
1. bunny wall hanging, 2. 22b, 3. Spring flower garland, 4. Super Simple Felt Easter Basket, 5. bunny1, 6. Cushions, 7. Flower Posies on a spring table ideas for easter table setting from Chelsea Fuss, 8. Wild Flower Seed Packets from Chelsea Fuss
This week's favorites...
{Starred posts include recent Flickr Favorites and the blog entries I've found & saved (with a star) in my Google Reader}
This month...
{G3 is a end of the month wrap-up for our little family}
I am in charge of teaching the Marriage and Family chapter in Into to Sociology this week. On Monday I gave my first lecture ever and tomorrow I am giving my second one. It has been completely nerve-wracking, overwhelming and totally wonderful.
I'm still putting together information for tomorrow at this late hour, but I just decided that I'm throwing an impromptu "baby shower". I'm bringing in one of the banners from last month's shower to decorate the classroom and will play a "game" with everyone being asked to write their advice to a new mother about raising a happy, successful person. And I'll pick up a few bags of candy to share because you have to have party favors, right?
Have I mentioned I love teaching?
(The photo is of the quick thank you notes I made to send my appreciation for all the help I was lucky to receive hosting last month's baby shower)
Artichoke season.
Sean wearing one of the t-shirts I gave him for Christmas.
Egg in a hole grilled cheese (and being able to take screen shots of digital magazines).
Pencil eraser polka dots.
Sean's on spring break this week which means it's time for a little house project or two. This one has been on the list since we cleaned out the kitchen after Christmas...
We are thinking (or hoping) a coat of shiny white paint might help combat the black hole that is our pantry. I'll keep you updated...
