student art from November

man, it takes FOREVER to get the photos taken and organized from my students work...I feel like I've gotten myself pretty organized in other aspects of my teaching...and last year I hardly took any photos until I realized how important it was to document the work that my students were making...so for now, I just have lots of files on my computer, waiting to be sorted into folders, and uploaded to my ArtSonia site (one of these days)...


but here is some of the awesome things my kiddos did before Thanksgiving break...

Pre-K made hand turkeys :)

Kindergarten made a mixed media turkey with the feathers as handprints


1st Grade made "Save a Turkey" posters- 4th grade did too...I like seeing the difference in the grades :)

2nd and 3rd Grades made Turkeys with patterned feathers

and 5th grade had trouble finishing their work...so I'll get those up when I can :)





 since not all classes met last week, I had some "extra" quick projects...Pre-K and K made fall trees- ask any one of those kids what the fall colors are...and they can tell you :)

and then the older kids made these owl pictures- they LOVED them!  keeping that kind of activity in my back pocket for days when classes come late or schedules get messy with testing...it's nice to know I have some things the kids really like to do...

just like the Day of the Dead skulls- another big winner with the kids...here are a few of my favorites from that activity

I also had a day when a bunch of classes were late in arriving and being picked up because of meetings happening in the building...so I threw this idea together after searching on Pinterest while I waited for the students to arrive...they made positive word "explosions"...thought these turned out really cool!

now we are into winter art...so stay tuned for that...maybe it will be up by January ;)

Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown!

well...not Charlie Brown exactly, but Monday the 26th would have been Charles Schulz's 90th birthday if he was still alive...and since one of my favorite movies- not just holiday, but movies in general...A Charlie Brown Christmas was on...for the first of many watchings between now and December 25th, I thought I'd write a little bit about him :)

All info and photos were found in this article on the Huffington Post online :)



Did you know...

Schulz was drafted into the Army during WWI?

The original name for the Peanuts gang was Lil' Folks?  I like Peanuts a LOT better

although...Schulz did not ever like the name!

Some of the characters, like Linus and Shermy were named after friends of Schulz...and the "little red haired girl" was real!  She was someone he dated, but she turned down his proposal...silly girl!

Network execs wanted the cartoon to have a laugh track...that would have just ruined it!  so glad that never happened!

In his lifetime, Schulz created 17,897 Peanuts comic strips...impressive!

so there ya go!  a few days belated birthday to one of my favorite people!

make a difference...Isaac strong

a lot of the time I hear stories of people who are suffering with illnesses, and I always feel so helpless, I wish I could do something.

then there are amazing people, like Erin who can rally the troops, and find a way to get donations to help out Isaac's family, the little boy, who at only 6 years old, is a cancer survivor, and unfortunately, battling it again.

even though we can't actually change what is happening, or stop the pain that that terrible monster cancer causes to the people who have it, or their families, every little bit will help, to get Christmas gifts for Isaac and his two brothers, gas money to and from the hospital, and having meals delivered to the family when they are home.

check out Erin's post to see all the people who are involved, because you can just make a donation, or you can purchase things from people's shops, mine included, who are donating a portion of sales to the family.

Monday Inspiration...and a sad Packers Fan

this is not a new video...but after last night's game, I thought it would be fun to share :)




nice win for the G-Mennnnnnnnnn!!

 

friends don't let friends go to UVA

 image source

whew.  that was a close one.  we just squeaked out a victory yesterday.  and as a Tech fan, it really is one of our most important games of the year...especially in a year when we haven't had much else to cheer for.


love my Hokies :)

photo saturday

this one's a two-fer!

 of course the obligatory "hanging the christmas lights" photo

and this is what is left of the tree and the sidewalk outside my aunt and uncles house after the hurricane...eek!

friday funny

always.  unicorns rock.

ready. set. SHOP!

how is it possible that it is the Christmas season already!?


don't get me wrong.  I <3 HEART <3 Christmas an unhealthy amount.  but I just did not see it coming this year.



I do feel prepared in one way however, in my Etsy shop.


and from now until Monday at midnight...you can get 20% off your total purchase, as well as FREE shipping!

so what are you waiting for?  get over there and get some sparkle for the holidays!!

thankful.

it has been a rough 12 months...losing people I loved, working jobs that tested my patience and faith in humanity, not to mention taking courses to get certified all the while...


but in the midst of it all, I have tried to stay positive and today most of all, think of the things that I have or have experienced that I can be thankful for...


my family...my crazy, silly, supportive family

my cousins :)  and our penguin sippy cups...because we are adults

my guy :)  especially since he's been away for work more than he's been home this year

my furry babies...they make me smile every day

even Eddie

my friends.  there are too many people who's pictures should follow this statement...but I'll just put it out there to anyone who has been there for me...I appreciate every cup of coffee, glass of wine, laugh-so-hard-I-cried hangout...I have so many different people in my life who are special for their own reasons...work friends, gym friends, friends I've had my whole life...friends I just met...blog friends...thank you all for being you :)

my job...getting to work with kids every day to bring a little creativity to their school days...listening to the funny things they say, and seeing the joy in their eyes when they finally "get" it...

my customers...I love when my email shows a sale pop up....because I get to share my sparkle with the world :)

I'm sure there are more...but I'm going to go finish this apple pie :)

this is what happens when I'm Home Alone...

so it's been over two weeks that I've been home, unsupervised.


which leads me to our next topic of discussion...moving furniture around.  always a good idea to do by yourself...especially when there is about one way that the furniture fits in your teeny tiny house.

it might not look very different, but I feel like it makes the room look a lot bigger..and it was done just in time for a lovely girls night with Nicole :)

wine, cheese and crackers, veggies and dip and chocolate and fruit.  perfect dinner if you ask me :)

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...