Monday, December 31, 2012

NYE nails!

I have become pretty obsessed with painting my nails- especially since Pinterest helped me discover the 3-Way Glaze by Essie...

it's basically a do-it-yourself gel manicure!  you can use your own nail polish- any kind you'd like...AND...for an $8 bottle...I've done at least 50+ manicures and still have some left!  well worth the investment people!


so for New Years Eve...I decided to go sparkly...but understated sparkly...


 I used two bottom coats of the 3-way glaze...3 coats of the "It's totally Fort Worth it" by OPI and one coat on my ring fingers of "Seduce Me" by Pure Ice- a christmas gift from Mom :)  followed by one more top coat of the glaze!  



then I did my other top secret tricks for drying your nails- spray with some cooking spray and run under ice cold water.  you can see my pinky nail did not survive as well as the others...so next time I will break out the nail polish dryer my brother got me for Christmas!


there ya go!  nails perfect for New Years eve!!



13 resolutions for 2013

 it's funny, I feel like you're always told that 13 is an unlucky number, but so many people seem to have it as a lucky number...

here's hoping those people are right and 2013 is a great year for all of us :)



2012 started out seeming so great, but it really was a tough year for me personally...rough times at a really difficult job, losing people we loved, and falling on and off the workout wagon several times.


but it is about to be a new year, and a fresh start...and this year I am pretty darn excited about it.  even though I have an aversion to odd numbers typically...but that's just a little quirk of mine...


I thought I'd make a list of resolutions to start the year off, and why not 13?


so here goes nothing!  let's see how many of them I can keep!



1.  meal plan and eat HEALTHY!  with of course one/two cheat meals a week... I'd love to try and cook a lot more- less (would love if it could be none) processed foods...lots of good fruits and veggies...and try more new recipes- like I did over the summer this past year!

2.  make going to the gym a priority.  at least 5 times a week.  it is totally do-able...I just need to pack my gym clothes and go on the way home.  no more excuses.  I've been working out for about a week now without falling out of the routine and I already remember why I love going...I feel so much better!  which directly relates to my next resolution...

3.  make it back to my goal pant size!  note I did not mention losing a certain number of pounds or what size it is...just the pants I wore back when I felt healthy and good about how I looked.  I am not in my twenties any more so I need to be okay with the scale, as long as I feel and look how I want to.  ahh personal growth :)

4.  draw for fun EVERY day.  (this might be tough, so on days I miss, draw twice as much another day to make up for it.)  it has always been a dream of mine to be an illustrator in some capacity...writing and illustrating my own book would be a dream come true...but it can never happen if I don't work on my skills.

5.  keep in touch more.  I have so many wonderful people I call friends :)  but it is so hard to actually call them all!  so in some way, be it email, text, actual mail, or a phone call, I want to keep better track of the people I love :)  it wont be easy, but I think it will make me happy...so that wins ;)

6.  SAVE money.  I finally have a good great job, and I can start thinking about being financially savvy...so I need to intentionally take that "oh look extra money" at the end of a month and put it aside.  I have goals and ambitions...and I need to be able to back it up with some cash ;)  haha!

7.  initiate production on my new pendant line.  It has been far too long of a wait.  but this year, will be the year that I get my drawings-turned pendants produced.  it will hopefully take my shop to the next level...and make my business more profitable...which will help with #6 :)

8.  give my Etsy shop the attention it deserves.  I have no excuses- well I guess full time job, and graduate school are kind of excuses- as to why I neglect my shop from time to time.  when I put work into it, I see sales.  simple as that.  so making it part of my weekly routine will hopefully make those sales pick up as well!  and apply to more shows this year!

9.  keep up with my blog.  I have been doing a pretty good job since school started- it has been a good outlet for me to talk about the work I am doing, and sharing my students art with the world :P  well maybe not the whole world...but to my lovely readers :)  I have also made some new friends via the blogging world, and it's fun!  so here's hoping I can also find time for this.  geez.  I wish adding more time to the day could be a realistic resolution...

10.  organize my computer.  I have about forty bagillion files on my computer.  this is why it runs so slow.  but.  I have my own art, photos, and just random files on top of all my files for school- student art, spreadsheets about everything...but I am also pretty sure that I have the same files saved in a few places.  so getting my Mac running at a nice pace is a big goal for this year!

11.  get/keep myself organized.  planners, schedules, labels, bins...I want to have just the clothes I need, know where all my papers/files/documents are without digging...to be able to use the office as a studio space...to plan out meals and workouts ahead of time...to have my lesson plans ready go to more then a week in advance. 

12.  practice random acts of kindness/volunteer.  I think that it would be awesome if once a month I could do something to help brighten someone's day.  whether it be a person I know, or a complete stranger.  I think shooting for 12 in one year is a good plan :)  and in college I used to volunteer at an animal shelter...I know I know...where will I find the time?  but if I really sat down and thought about all the hours I wasted just watching tv or something...I bet I could carve out a little time to help...

13.  organize a clothing drive.  I am so inspired by people who do good things for others!  and working in a community where many people dont have the simple life's necessities are hard.  I know that the dear Erin of Living in Yellow has done it in the past, so hopefully I can get some tips from her and organize something for Baltimore City


okay, there you have it!  a pretty lofty list...but I have to say...if I can do these things, it will be a pretty freakin' awesome year.


add your own list of resolutions and link up here!




HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!


Saturday, December 29, 2012

photo Saturday

SNOW!!

for the 4th time in one week!  I love me some snow :)

I went to the gym this morning- to kick start my "get-healthy in 2013" resolution (that I started at home last week) and it was flurrying lightly.  when I got into my car after yoga, this is what it looked like :)



happy last Saturday of 2012 everyone!!



Friday, December 28, 2012

friday funny

I know I've done this...



I bet you have too.


even though they wake us up whenever they see fit...something doesn't add up here...


:)


Wednesday, December 26, 2012

'twas the day after Christmas...

and I am EXHAUSTED.


between all the excitement of yesterday, and my furry friends deciding that 4am was an acceptable time to wake me up this morning...just exhausted.


so today wasn't as exciting a day as yesterday...but it SNOWED again!  it doesn't stay long- both today and Monday it ended up switching over to rain by the end of the night...but it sure was pretty to look at :)


we ate Christmas leftovers...



and the cats got comfy while I tried to clean out my room.


and now it's off to bed again...this vacation is going WAY too fast.  can we pause it please?


Tuesday, December 25, 2012

oh, hello there December 25th

and just like that.  it's over again.  another 365 days to wait for Christmasy goodness.

okay, I know that sounds like I am disappointed...but I am not.  it's just always a little bitter sweet to be the night of Christmas, knowing it's all over for another year...


but we had a great day, 15 people, 2 dogs and 2 cats...it certainly was a full house!



I definitely ate WAY too much, but we also laughed a lot- laughing is cardio, right?



I always pride myself on my present giving...and I think everyone was really excited by the gifts I made or bought them...

like a signed Adventure Time comic for Brother


and candy cane pretzel necklaces for the cousins



and...I got a few pretty awesome things :)



but of course, the best of the day is the family time :)  and our funny face pictures...this has been a tradition for a few years now


and of course, no Christmas night would be complete without a viewing of the Muppet Family Christmas.  watch out for the icy patch!


Merry Christmas to all!  and to all...go to bed ;)



Monday, December 24, 2012

it's Christmas Eve!!

I might be 30, but I still feel like an excited little kid when it comes to Christmas.

and Christmas eve is almost better then Christmas day...I know...that might sound weird...but it's all the excitement that leads up to the day...the traditions we have, and it doesn't seem to fly by quite as fast.


so here are a few photos from the day...


we tried a new recipe...Dr Pepper cookies...


I got all dressed up for my annual visit to church




and we came out to see SNOW!!



made my Christmas Eve lasagna


watched It's a Wonderful Life



and the cats got adventurous



hope you all had a magical Christmas Eve!!!

get some sleep...tomorrow's a big day!




Sunday, December 23, 2012

let the celebrating commence!

I am always glad to be able to make it home for the holidays :)  and to get to see as many people as possible...today we went to see my cousin's new house, and it's spectacular view.


wait.


spectacular doesn't even begin to describe it.  but I don't know a word awesome enough to fit it so, spectacular it is.


don't believe me?

check it out.



 unfortunately, I  spent way too much time visiting and chatting and carrying on, to take any pictures of the people who were there.

but here is their basement...looks like a little pub.  crazy awesome.





one celebration down.  one to go :)


Merry Christmas Eve, Eve!


Saturday, December 22, 2012

oh Christmas tree...woah, Christmas tree!!

so I've been home for about 24 hours, and we are in full on Christmas merriment.

we've had a nice family dinner, baked cookies, I made homemade gum drops- instructions will be coming for that!- decorated the tree, watched a few holiday movies...

oh, and got attacked by a rogue tree...yup, it decided it wanted to make a break for it, and topple right over onto me while we were re-packing the ornaments that we weren't using.


so much excitement in the air :)


gotta love the holidays!


Friday, December 21, 2012

its the end of the world as we know it...

yeah right.


I wasn't actually worried :)





happy friday everyone!  I am on vacation!!!!



Thursday, December 20, 2012

Snowflakes for Sandy Hook, Peace on Earth & ArtSonia!

that is a long title!  but I haven't posted anything in a few days...and I am OFFICIALLY on vacation until January 2nd :)


today wasn't the smoothest day, and for some reason, the migraine of all migraines decided today was a great day to visit me...but, I don't have to go into work until January!  wooooooohoooo!



it was kind of a rough week, coming back to school after the events of last week, thinking what I would do in that situation, listening to the students talk about what they thought happened...it's amazing how many kids thought that everyone at the entire school was killed...more then one child told me that they were sad that only one person survived.  I tried to correct them, without getting into too much detail...how do you really talk to kids about something like that?



so my principal asked if I'd design a banner for the whole school to sign, and a parent who was traveling to Connecticut was going to deliver it.





we are also starting to create a stockpile of snowflakes to send to the school






this week my students talked about why they wished for Peace on Earth...since it's commonly talked about at Christmas- well and at Miss America pageants...haha- here are a few of their responses:








and last but not least in Art room news...I FINALLY...yes finally, have our ArtSonia site up and running...I wish I had got my act together sooner...and it is definitely time consuming to photograph, crop, rename and upload...but I was really impressed how many permission slips I got back so quickly, and how many parents went online and granted access themselves!

so go check out our site...it will only show the students whose parents have given access to publish...so it's small for now...but hopefully it will be a great gallery soon!!




Monday, December 17, 2012

Monday inspiration

I can't believe in one week it will be Christmas Eve!  this time of year that I love so very much, flies by in such a blur, that I feel like we don't even get to enjoy it anymore!


I was definitely that kid that counted down, not only days, but hours till my favorite day of the year...



so for the next week, I'm going to try and do as much festive, holiday related things as possible...to really soak all the joy out of this holiday that I can :)


so in that spirit...I found this cute little quote...that is perfect for this occassion!



Happy Monday all!

Sunday, December 16, 2012

December Art Room happenings!

it's hard to post this work today without thinking about those poor families, whose children will never bring home any more art work from school...to think, how safe is my school...or is any school for that matter?


but I won't get into it further than that...unless you want to just see blubbery mess on this screen...



so instead, I'll give you some of the art my kids at school have been making...we are getting into a great rhythm, and I'm so impressed with the amount of work we've done this year compared to last year...




5th grade worked on perspective and points of view- they drew a "winter character" of their choice from three different view points



4th grade worked on these cute 'melted' snowmen...with a writing incorporation



3rd grade made winter landscapes in cool colors with geometric shapes



Kindergarten-2nd grade made these adorable 'peek-a-boo' polar bears...so cute I couldn't help myself!



PK-1st grade made colorful snowmen



2nd grade made winter scenes in snowglobes




and heres another penguin :)  this one is from a 1st grader :)



whew!  and that was all since Thanksgiving!

we have been really busy...and in the next week, we'll finish up some small stuff before we get back into the swing of things in 2013 :)


Saturday, December 15, 2012

Christmas craft shenaningans

most of my holiday shopping this year was done online, through small businesses on Etsy, or at craft shows...but I had a few more things to check off my list, so I ventured out today with my partner in crime, Maureen


we learned a few things today...first of all...don't ever attempt to go to the mall this close to Christmas and expect to find a parking spot...we wasted 40 minutes looking for parking before throwing in the towel...



we learned standing in line in Old Navy for about the same length of time is just as dangerous...I think almost all the items she picked up were while we were waiting in the mile long line to the register...



and finally we tried, and perfected a fun holiday craft...making trays out of peppermints!  the first few came out a little *over cooked*...and we realized that using a cookie sheet that was level was also pretty important...and that making a bowl from the mints did not work as well.


 




oh, also, throwing all the mints on ground (still wrapped thankfully) is not the best way to go :p




but we did get a few that came out good...




we followed the instructions found on this blog- 350 degrees for 7ish minutes...on parchment paper :)