pity party of 1

yup.  I'm going to complain today.


and I'm using my free period at school to do it.



so it must be really bad.


between the not feeling great, the mounds of work I have between teaching, grad school and getting my shop holiday-ready.   I just dropped my phone.


smashed the crap out of the screen.


it still works, but it makes a crunching sound every time I touch it.





so I'm a very sad face over here...just when I think I'll be fine with my bills...something like this happens...and I am back to paying for stuff with change...


a full time teaching gig next year is a MUST.



okay, enough complaining...time to call everywhere I can think of to see how much they'll be taking from me to fix my phone.


hope you are all having a better day than that...and no more sad posts, promise.

Monday Inspiration

it's gonna take a lot of determination to get through this week...and I only have one and a half days of teaching to get through...but between not feeling great, and lots of work to do before the black friday/cyber monday sales, I need a pep talk.

Happy Monday all- hope it's a nice short week for everyone :)

weekend o' sick days

whew.  this was quite a weekend...and for the exact opposite of the reasons last weekend was...

I left the house the minimum number of times I had to...slept a lot...took a lot of cold medicine...and spent most of my time laying down...the cats did seem to like it...

I also made a ridiculous amount of jewelry, so maybe the fumes from the glue got to me...or the amount of talking yelling I had to do at school this week...thinking I may have bruised my vocal cords..so being by myself all weekend with no one to talk to was actually a good thing



so Netflix and I got well acquainted...I watched the whole series of Arrested Development, which I heard is coming out with new episodes, so I am totally ready for that :)  I also forgot how funny that show was...the crazy characters names, and the fact that they really kept up the running jokes through all the seasons...I am definitely looking forward to the new episodes...


one of the funniest scenes that really got me laughing- and all by myself...that's how I gauge if something is really funny...if it makes me laugh out loud when I'm alone...was Bob Loblaw (the family lawyer) and his blog...






or how every member of the family has their own idea of what a chicken "sounds" like...




I think all the new episodes are going to be online...so until then...I'll find my next series to watch...I've got Mad Men and Breaking Bad in my queue okay, now off to bed...

only one and a half school days to get through until Thanksgiving break...let's do this!!

photo saturday...work-a-holic

what to do with friday's with no school?


WORK!

yup, I spent all day yesterday photographing new jewelry to put in the shop...of course I started too late and lost the good light...so there will be more of that happening today...


and HW for grad school...

oh, and I took a nap.



*somebody* got stuck in Ohio for work until Tuesday now...so since I had no one to cook for...well besides myself...I took a nice long nap.




but I think I bruised my vocal cords in school this week...the kids are getting louder the closer we get to the holidays...not a fan of that...so that, combined with a stomach bug that is going around...today I am not talking.



we'll see how that goes.


anyway, happy weekend all!

friday funny

for anyone who has a cat...this finally explains what they are really doing when they destroy an ENTIRE roll of toilet paper...

 image source

they are making ART!  and as an Art teacher...I can't discourage creativity...

happy FRIDAY!

a dark blue treasury

check it out!

I'll take a barrel of wine, thanks.

it's Tuesday, otherwise known as Wine detox day 1.


not forever of course, but it has been quite a few days of having a little too much fun.  and usually I spend most of my days working, doing school work, and doing work for JerseyGirlDesign.


so Thursday I took a break, and went to have dinner with my friend Kristen...we watched Virginia Tech...lose unfortunately...and had some yummy bottles (2) of wine.  which led us to the decision that we should go to a winery on Sunday...more on that in a minute...




then on Friday my co-worker Nicole stopped in on her way to DC, and we had some wine (that's one more bottle) up on the deck...since the weather was nice enough, had to get some outside time...

that same night we went to Maryland Live  at Arundel Mills, to see GoGo Gadget...which was lots of fun..and included several more glasses of wine...

Saturday I got a break...from the wine that is...but 7 hours of class was less fun because of the night before...



and Sunday was winery day...Boordy Vineyards had a wine and soup tasting day- it was beaaaaaautiful out...we sat by the fire pit, had cheese, bread and chocolate with our wine (2 more) and soup...and made some new friends, and formed an unofficial wine club...

sorry for the terrible sun placement in this photo :p  we'll just have to go back and take another one...



finally, I got to see my bestie Bonnie last night- Monday- and we had dinner in the middle of our two houses...it was still nice, so we sat outside...had the patio all to ourselves, and a few more glasses of wine...it was happy hour after all...

whew.  didn't know I had it in me still...of course I wouldn't have been quite so tired back in my earlier days...

cats + anesthesia = hilarity

it feels a little mean to laugh...but I'm sorry, this is hilarious.

video from YouTube

silly cats :)

photo Saturday - Go Go Gadget

cover bands rock.  especially this one.


so I definitely didn't mind getting not nearly enough sleep before class today to go to the new Ram's Head live last night to see Go Go Gadget...they are now on my list of bands to stalk and go see whenever they play close enough to home :)

friday funny...this one's for my brother

bring me ALL of the bacon and eggs...love me some Ron Swanson!

Happy Birthday Meggers!

feels like it was just yesterday that we were in Scranton for your 21st!






Happy 22nd :)  love you!!

for the love of dog...

you might have read in a post or two before, that growing up, I was a dog person.  Loved loved loved them.  spent hours upon hours learning every breed name, drawing their pictures, and of course, placing a puppy first on my christmas list every year.


but due to allergies...our family never had a dog of our own...but we did not lack dogs to share by any means...

there was Brandy & Chase who belonged to our neighbors...Timber, Linus, Corky, Chester, Dakota, and Dylan who are family dogs, my best friend's family had a slew of Labs and other friends of mine had dogs that I always played with...and would have gladly called my own if need be :)


so needless to say, I still have friends who have dogs that I get attached to, like Dunkin, Hayley and Kiwi, just to name a few...


but my list is sadly one short...Miss Ellie...one of my very favorite dogs of all time, decided 17 years was enough....of course the people who are most affected are her humans...and their friends who loved her...I will always miss her funny bark when you threw your hands up in the air, how she always knew immediately when food was being eaten, and just how excited she always was to see me...even if she couldn't really see me...


our studio sessions will feel a little empty...and while we will have to go on, we will always miss having our furry companion...Ellie, Elanor, Eloise...you were definitely a good dog.  xo.

animals know just the right way to wiggle into your hearts...just look at those eyes :)

I bark at pants...

so I don't have a dog...but...these are hilarious :)

all found from the website Dog Shaming....check it out if you need a laugh!  here are some of my favorites...

decisions about education

yup.  just yup.



because if the people who made decisions about education actually knew anything...there wouldn't be such a thing as a part-time Art teacher.


end of rant.


:)

glitter, glitter, everywhere!

it's late (9:30...yup, that's late for me now...)  so just a quick photo that I took today...

for some reason, I thought it would be fun to take some pictures using glitter...throwing it in the air, etc...so now that I am still covered in glitter...and probably will for a couple of days...here was my favorite one from today...this would definitely be a two person photo shoot...if only I wasn't so impatient :p

happy Tuesday everyone :)

perfect baked buffalo wings

I don't throw the word perfect around lightly...but these wings are simply perfection.


the quest to make wings started a few months back, when our go-to delivery place was taken over by people who don't know squat about running a restaurant.


so after pouting for a while, I decided that making them myself could be a healthier and more economical solution to our Sunday football dinners...



thus began the trial and error...some were undercooked...some stuck to the pan...some were too greasy...


then it was like the skies opened up...and the light shone down on me...and I heard angels singing...


put the wings on a cookie rack, on top of the tray!


it is a really simple recipe...and I have to say, I probably won't call for takeout wings ever again :)

**just a disclaimer- I really don't measure when I make these...so for those of you who need measurements, I'm sort of just estimating what I think I do :)

you'll need:
Chicken Wings
Butter
Wing Sauce
Salt
Pepper

directions:
pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees

in a mixing bowl, melt about 2 tablespoons of butter
to the butter mixture, add in the chicken wings, sprinkle with salt and pepper- as much as you prefer- and toss
add in 1-2 cups of wing sauce- just enough to coat them

I usually let this sit for 20-30 minutes, but the longer they sit, the more they'll marinate :)


bake for 45 minutes

all the extra grease drips off- it looks a little burnt in the picture...this was a time I put the heat too high...but the wings still tasted great :)  

voila!  eat and enjoy!  serve with celery and carrot sticks and Ranch- blue cheese is just gross ;)


okay- before I offend any blue cheese lovers here...when I worked in a restaurant in college I dropped a vat- yes it was like a 3-gallon jug of blue cheese all over myself...haven't been able to look at it since :p


so go my pretties...make wings and enjoy!

what would it take for you to give me $60?

that was the question posed to me today by one of my favorite students.  turns out he wanted to buy something, and it was $60.

sadly, my answer to him was, for someone to give me $60 I didn't need.



part of me was a little weirded out...I mean, I never would have asked anyone in my family, let alone my teacher for money- even $1 would have felt weird...


I guess I should feel good, that my students feel comfortable enough to ask me for something that important to them...but it also makes me feel bad that they have needs that aren't being met...obviously, the money he wanted wasn't for something that was a necessity, but still, feeling that desperate to ask...makes me wish I could do more for them.



but, today I finalized the details for starting up our Art Club...so I am excited to start that, and be able to reward the kids who are really talented with extra projects...

I also wish I had taken pictures before I left school today...some really awesome art is coming your way soon!



until then...here's a happy little picture to motivate you on this chilly Monday- oh and dark...daylight savings is throwing me for a loop!

holy productivity Batman!

so, Sunday night, we meet again.


of course, last Sunday we were bracing for the unknown of Hurricane Sandy, and while the storm has come and gone...the sky has been gray and ominous ever since...I don't think the sun has made more then a slight cameo appearance in over a week...and add to that the daylight savings hour we "gained" last night- which I promptly celebrated by sleeping for 11 hours- it is 5:30 and pitch dark outside.


we are into winter people.  I know it's not technically until the 21st (ish) of December...but it feels like it...today the temperature didn't get above 45...and the high for the next week is only 57...

but I do love winter...so I'm not terribly upset...I do feel a little jipped on Fall though...

the cats have gotten more clingy...guess we are keeping each other warm...this is pretty much where the three of us spent the weekend...

once I got back from class on Saturday afternoon, I made the decision to start taking charge of my business, and purchased some blog ads on two blogs that I just love reading...so I figured it was time to take the plunge and give JerseyGirlDesign the time and attention it deserves :)


it's so easy to just say, oh, I'll do it when I've had time to build up inventory, or stock my shop...but you know what?  without a deadline or some pressure...I will never do it.


I need deadlines.  personal ultimatiums.

so I did it.  and I saw my ad on Kym's blog yesterday...and it was awesome :)

So make sure to visit with Kym and Erin, and go by my shop to see the new goodies I have added...here are a few to tempt you :)

wishbone charm necklaces

cute teeny tiny gumdrop polymer clay earrings

pretty pink post earrings

yield is the worst street sign...

because no one knows what they really mean...



if you see a YIELD sign...it does not mean, speed up and wedge yourself into traffic...it actually means, wait until there is room for you to merge without almost killing someone.

image source

also, I always thought that yield signs were yellow...but now I'm noticing they are red...which means STOP even more!  gah!

That is all.


:)  happy saturday everyone!!  it is FREEEEEEEZING here!

Friday Funny..cat fail

cats are supposed to be agile...no?

Cat Jump Fail - watch more funny videos

gets me every time :)

happy friday!!