it's okay...

i have never done one of these before...but it seemed like a good day to start...so i am linking up with Amber for "It's Okay Thursdays"




it's okay...

to take a sick day


to have lunch for breakfast and breakfast for lunch


to watch an entire tv series on netflix and be mad when its done


to be more excited for snow days as an adult


to expect my cats to answer when I ask them questions


to still be in school at 31


to love wearing sweats and slippers more than dresses and heels


 to dream about being a full time artist

"You know, it occurs to me you could solve all your problems by obtaining more money."

story of my life these days...

I love this clip from the Big Bang Theory...but they wouldn't let me embed it...so go watch it if you need a little laugh :)  and know you're not the only poor starving artist/teacher out there...

things my students say...

"Ms Brownlie, you're white, right?"


oooooohhhhh boyyyyy.


not really sure when I get a question like that, where the conversation is going to go.


that conversation turned into one of if it's okay to date someone who is black, if you are white...oh man.  these kids live in such a different world then I grew up in...and the fact that they have to ask these questions makes me feel for them...but of course, I told her that 10 was too young to date anyway...but when she was old enough, that it didn't matter if you were black, white, blue or polka dotted...hopefully that was the right answer...


I also got told by a 1st grader today that I looked like a hippopotamus...which I was offended by, until the clarified that it was because my coat was gray, like a hippopotamus.  either way, I'm running an extra mile tomorrow at the gym...


aside from the sometimes awkward conversations...we had a 2 hour delay for "snow" this morning...so most of my classes were on the small side again...and because of that I didn't want to start our new projects with so many kids out.


so what did we do you ask?


well my 2nd graders made this awesome banner for the Ravens!  because if you ask them what is happening this weekend, it's not the Super Bowl...its just the Raven's game :)

2 hour delay? I'll take it!

it might still seem a little silly to me, considering this would never have granted us a delay when I was growing up...but as a teacher, I'll take any extra sleep I can get :)

not going to lie...I slept two more hours...didn't wash my hair...in lieu of eating breakfast ;)

oh well!  another short day...haven't had a long full day of work since the 17th!


happy Monday all :)

who wants to win $100???

after the holidays...I know we could all use a little more cash...

so thanks to Kym at Travel-Babbles...you can win $100!  so get on over there and enter or click on this link to enter below  Rafflecopter giveaway

what would you get if you won??

make sure you leave a comment on Kym's page about what you'd do with the money!!

alright meow.

last night while doing at home gel manicures with my ladies...somehow we got on the topic of Meowing...and that naturally led us to talking about Super Troopers, and this scene.

if you ask me, one of the best from the movie.



how many times can you say meow?

friday funny

don't stop.

happy friday!!

winter wonderland?

let me start by saying, I love snow.


yup, stating the obvious I know.

however, the little dusting we got last night and into this morning was certainly not enough to designate as a "snow storm"...but it did earn us a 2 hour delay.

makes the northerner in me laugh.

but, like I said, I'll take it!  2 extra hours of sleep, and a yummy breakfast before a short Thursday?  works for me!



now bring on the real snow, the real winter.  the temperatures are in the teens...we need snow go to with it!

and...Happy Birthday to my Brother!!

my little brother :)  who always makes me laugh...

hope it's the happiest!

who mee?  I flooped the pig... ;)

happy birthday to my Panda :)

whew!  it was tough being the only one of my friends to be 31...well not only, but out of my oldest friends...

so happy 31st Pan!  ruv you!!

eating clean...or at least trying to.

so now that I finally kicked this flu- or whatever it was...I finally got back on the treadmill, and yesterday I ran 3 miles.  Well I ran probably 1.5 and did the incline pyramid for the other half...that is something I started doing with my trainer- 3 minutes at each incline of 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15...which sounded a lot easier then it was!


but I know that I have more work to do then just working out...I have been taking a good hard look at what we've been eating, and I know it's time to try something new.


I came across this clean eating by way of the twitter feed of What I Wore, and I thought I'd give it a try...at least the best I can...not eating anything processed sounds great and all...but it is sure to be mighty expensive.

and...I can not give up coffee...so I think that shouldn't screw up the whole plan of trying to eat healthy...


last night I made pork chops that I marinated- the only thing that might not fit with that is the soy sauce that was part of the marinade...and oven roasted broccoli and sweet potatoes...delish :)

tonight I'm going to try out this recipe- Shrimp with Avocado and Mango Salsa

so wish me luck...I am hoping to feel a lot better in the process, and also, to make my workouts count for a lot more, then if I came home and ate pizza ;)


but there will still be pizza.  because, let's be serious, coffee and pizza make me happy ;)

Movie Review- Les Miserables

saying I was excited to see this movie is a bit of an understatement.


and it worked out perfectly that my bestie and her husband were going to see it last Saturday night, and I was without plans!


so we had a yummy dinner at Gordon Biersch, where we had the most heavenly garlic fries...and they were free because Bonnie had a coupon...gotta love her ;)


then it was off to the movie...which I LOVED.  I had seen the play when I was 18, the first play I had ever seen in NYC :)  and even though that was an amazing experience, I thought this was a play that translated so well to a movie because it actually made more sense to me...it had been a long time since I saw it, so it was almost like seeing it for the first time again...but the music came right back to me


I might have listened to the Les Mis Pandora station the whole way home the next day...just maybe ;)



and the biggest highlight of the weekend had to be quality time with Dunkin...who is not quite as tiny as he used to be...and overly protective of my old chair, which used to be my chair...

Ravens Pandemonium

holy excitement!

even though it's hard for me to route for anyone else...it was pretty exciting to watch the city of Baltimore erupt into mayhem and cheers for the Ravens tonight...


it is going to be a crazy Super Bowl weekend...that is for sure!!

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Friday Funny

source

pretzels and chocolate. oh my!

I found this cute little recipe- guess where?  on Pinterest of course, and when I owed one of my classes a treat, this seemed too easy not to try.


so I bring to you, chocolate pretzel melted goodness :)

preheat your oven to about 200 degrees


on a baking sheet, on a sheet of parchment paper put as many pretzels- the square or round kind- as you can fit, or want to make

on top of the pretzels put a hershey kiss- also...unwrapping all those hershey kisses takes a while :p

bake for 4-5 minutes, the chocolate should be shiny, but not melted

then press an M&M into each....and voila!  done!!

since I am sometimes baking challenged, this could not have been easier!

mine don't look quite as nice...I don't think my oven was hot enough...as it never is...

but the students approved...there were none left :)

ganglion...what?

ugh.

2013 has been the year of medical issues already.  between being sick for most of this calendar year, this weird little bump surfaced in between my hand and my wrist around Monday of last week.


so fast forward to today, where I figured I needed to get it checked out...according to some of my twitter peeps, one week is the threshold for weird swelling/issues...so I dragged myself to Patient First, to get X-Rays, to find out what the mystery bump was.


needless to say, even though I didn't think it was something really serious, you see a bump/lump...and you (or at least I) inevitably fear the worst.


so the diagnosis?  Ganglion Cyst.  thankfully it is not anything serious, and actually pretty common.


the worst part of it is that it looks weird- more weird to me than to anyone else I am sure...but still...I said "eww" out loud a lot yesterday.



so after I Googled my condition, I started figuring out ways to hide the bump until I see an orthopedic surgeon to talk about having it removed...


I came up with a few ideas...

 bracelet

watch

or my cute arm warmers from The Littlest Bean & Sweet Pepita :)

oh and I got to keep a copy of my X-Rays...not sure what I will do with those :p

birthday wrap-up

you might know that I like my birthday.

a lot.


which typically means I like to milk it for as long as possible :)


this year was no exception.  on the actual day, Friday, we went to dinner, at one of our favorite Italian restaurants in Little Italy, La Tavola.

I had super yummy freshly made gnocchi- sooooooo amazingly good.  And some delish birthday canolis- okay, so they were just regular canoli...but it was my birthday, so whatever.



on Saturday I had class.  allllllllll day.

but my lovely friends decided they would come out to dinner and to a piano bar on Saturday night with me :)

where I had a bottle of wine, more yummy food, and this lovely salted caramel birthday cake.

so thanks everyone who came out with me! 

31.

whew.

the day has arrived.

01.11.13


a.k.a. my 31st birthday.


so far I've been pampering myself- nice visit to Starbucks, a little gift card shopping- where I bought far too many things with stripes on them- had lunch with the super silly Jen- who got me a snail card!- and video chatted with Mom & Dad :)

now I'm finishing up HW for grad school tomorrow, taking a teeny tiny bday nap, and getting ready for dinner.


Happy Birthday to me, indeed :)

Friday Funny

mine.

image source

all mine.

30 from 30

I honestly mean it when I say, no year of my life has flown by as fast as this one.

30.

THIRTY.

and tomorrow.  31.


an un-even number.  ick.



but, we cant stop time, so I guess I just need to suck it up...and make something happy out of this, end of my 30th year, beginning of year 31.  10 years since my 21st...gosh, where does the time go?


seriously, do you know?



anyway...I thought it would be fun to list 30 memories from this year...for you to enjoy, and reminisce with me :)


1.  I had my second surprise party thrown by my awesome friends Bonnie and Brandyce :)

2.  I FINALLY got the hang of skiing!

3. I finished my first year of teaching ART

4.  I enrolled in graduate school!

5. planned a surprise 30th for those lovely ladies who planned mine :)

6.  planned a surprise 60th birthday party for my dad :)  lots of surprises and big birthdays this year!

7.  celebrated my brother's new job!

8.  traveled to North Carolina 3 times

9.  spent Easter in South Carolina for the first time 

10.  said goodbye to the Silver Jetta and inherited the Blue Jetta

11.  went white water rafting for the first time...my knee has still not forgiven me...

12.  went to one of my oldest friend's weddings in May, and college roomie's wedding in October

13.  walked around on the dock in the town where Dawson's Creek was filmed

14.  became OB-sessed with Pinterest

15.  as a direct result...tried out many new recipes

16.  and a handful of DIY-projects- all of which involved glitter...

17.  cleaned out and inventoried my entire closet.

18.  enjoyed my first summer off as a real live teacher :)

19.  attended the first baby shower of a friend from growing up...man we're getting old ;)

20.  spent a few fun days at wineries with great friends

21.  made great teacher friends

22.  got a little caught up in Baltimore sports fever- don't worry NY...you're still my #1 ;)

23.  enjoyed a VT win over GT for the first game of the season

24.  I started my second year of teaching ART

25.  I advertised my jewelry business on some awesome blogs.

26.  did my first craft show in an entire calendar year- and did it feel GREAT to be back

27.  made my first 'vlog'- video blog- and cringed at my squeaky voice

28.  survived Hurricane Sandy and learned how to work a wet-dry vac

29.  had my 30th Christmas complete with all the traditions I love

30.  worked on a 365 drawing project and didn't faire so well...this year will be different!


whew.  hope you enjoyed my list :)  I love lists :)

things that make me smile :D

when my birthday is on a Friday

not getting caught at the suuuper long light on the way to school in the morning

going to sleep without an alarm set for the next day

custom jewelry orders :)

snoring cats

cheese, crackers and wine for dinner

waking up early enough to make a good breakfast at home

Peppermint Mocha season at Starbucks

feeling energized after a run

when my students "get it"

a real fire in the fireplace

SNOW!

it really is the little things in life :)

you can find me on the slopes

okay, not usually.  but I am really trying to get better.

on Friday night we went night skiing up at Liberty Mountain...not our usual place to ski...so that made me nervous...I am starting to feel comfortable...but going to a brand new mountain was a scary thought.


not to mention the temperature.  frigid is saying it nicely.

I had 6 layers on, two pairs of gloves and a hat and helmet.  and I was frozen.

FRO.  ZEN.

I made the best of it...and I didn't do too bad at all actually.  but, before long I was inside having a coffee #andmaybeadonut while the more seasoned skiiers/boarders finished up.

this is my, "no really, I'm excited to go skiing" face.


but oh how pretty the snow is :)  this is really the #1 reason why I keep going and trying.  the snow :)

20 things with Travel-Babbles

I love a good list.


Usually I like ones that I can cross stuff off of...but it's also nice to make ones that make me think of funny and interesting things about myself :p


So you can thank the lovely Kym over at Travel-Babbles for this list :)


20 things you *should* know about me...

1.  I spend almost every day with a pencil stuck in my hair.

2.  I will go to the grocery store if the only thing I need is a jar of pickles.

3.  I am horribly addicted to watching entire series of shows on Netflix. 

4.  I have an obsession with glitter. 

5.  I would have at least 5 careers that I would have enough time to do well, all at once if it was possible.

6.  I take pictures of my cats every day.  Because they are adorable.

7.  I used to be one of those "can't stand the smell" of coffee people.  Now I can't get through the day without it.

8.  I love purple, but the color that is in my closet the most is blue.

9.  Every year on my Birthday, I take all the gift cards I got for Christmas and take myself shopping.

10.  If I buy something online, I check the tracking info the minute I get it...even though I know it won't say anything yet.

11.  I wear my glasses on days I want to feel smarter.

12.  Even though I know you aren't supposed to...I pull out any gray hairs I find.

13.  I would rather eat small snacks or appetizers then normal meals.

14. I teach art and LOVE it.

15. If money wasn't an object, I'd always be attending school- I would LOVE to get a masters in Illustration :)

16.  I could survive on soup and pizza alone.

17.  I can not sleep with socks on.

18.  I would prefer to be somewhere cold and snowy most of the time.

19.  I call my parents at least 5 times a week :) 

20.  I leave my Christmas tree up until my birthday- at least- every year.

star student

oh yeah.  got my grades back from the Fall semester.

4.0 what!?  grad school star.  yup.

friday funny

I found this sign by Mann Made Designs on Etsy...and thought it was pretty funny...

I don't know if my cooking is bad enough to warrant this sign...although it would make me smile :)

words of wisdom for you on Thursday.

part of the problem that I have, is that my students like to act like they are- to use a phrase that they throw around a lot... "GROWN."  I'm assuming from the context that it means, they are acting like a grown-up, and not a child...however, I don't know many grown-ups that throw fits, and argue about colored pencils...


but I digress.



I guess the reason I call this a problem, is because I forget that they are kids sometimes...because they like to act like they are much much older.  or at least what they think older means in their definition.


so I found this on Pinterest today...and it really hit home...

I wish I could explain this to the kids in a way that made them understand...trying to figure out a way to really reach my monster class of almost 40- 4th graders.  because for some reason...they all seem to be in a REALLY bad mood when they get to my room...and I mean...first of all, how bad could it be?  being 10.  getting to go to school and art class?  I know it's not the same experience I had...but still...what happened to being nice?  do unto others? 


but now I'm going to go enjoy the last 20 minutes of quiet time I get...of the only 40 quiet minutes of my Thursday.  and when I get home.  I'm taking a big old nap.  or having a drink.  haven't decided yet.

Emerald Green in 2013

the Pantone color of the year is Emerald Green...a color I happen to love!

guess I was ahead of the curve with some of my jewelry designs!

a good color for a good year :)

Hello 2013!

A nice quiet new year was rung in last night with 6 humans and two dogs...with enough food to feed 50...enough drinks to fill a swimming pool...and party hats, glasses and streamers.


it was lots of fun...just look at these pictures:

and now I have to get ready to get back to work tomorrow...plan some lessons...if I remember how!