one of those days...

I am knee-deep in my portfolio, which is due on Sunday, by 9pm...but I saw this, and it can not be more true at this point.  10 school days...14 calendar days from today it will be glorious, summer vacation, and I don't believe I've ever deserved time off from work more!

to all those teachers out there...we can do it...hang in there!!

Happy Memorial Day!

more than just an extra day off from school...today is a day to say thank you to all of those who have served our country, so we can be free to do what we do...I really hope that you all stop to realize how lucky you are to live in America :)

I am proud of both my Grandfathers who served in the military...and countless friends that I have who are so much braver than I am :)




thank you for all that you do for our country that allows us to be free!

we really are special...

just a quick rant...because it's almost the end of the year and while I have had really great experiences...I had a thought, that kind of made me a little irritated...when I was in Elementary school- maybe even Middle school...we called our classes like Art, Music, Home Ec (do they still have that any more?) and Gym- Specials...because that was how they were treated...special times to get out of your regular classroom, and learn something different, new and something that would make you a well-rounded individual...

now they call them (at least in Baltimore City) Resources...doesn't have quite the magical ring to it that Specials has...maybe that's why the kids take it so much for granted...

I know I can be a bit of an overachiever...wish I could instill that quality in a few more of my students...




sigh...at least it's Friday and a long weekend!  hooray!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

In an effort to be more social in the blogosphere...I'm joining a few "link-ups" that I've seen on a few blogs I really like reading!  So here goes my first round of...

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

so even though the game is in process as we speak, I am really loving being able to watch hockey pretty much every night!  and especially loving that my hometown team, the NJ Devils are still in it!  a fierce rivalry for all New Yorkers and New Jerseyans...it would be awesome to see the Devils in the Stanley Cup! 

I am also loving that we have 14...yes count them 14 days of school left until summer vacation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 


you can link up to What I'm Loving Wednesday too - just click here!

By Jove!

One of the members of my Etsy team, Kelly of Kelly's Keychains has an awesome Kickstarter project and she has almost reached her funding goal! 

If you want to support her and her quest to make adorable plushies like this octopus...click here and donate!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I was lucky to get to see my Mom on Saturday unexpectedly :)  We had seen each other the weekend before when they were doing their trek from SC back to NJ...but because of the surprise party, we got to stop by...it was officially to trade out the cars, but a very nice surprise also :)

here are the awesome flowers we sent from ProFlowers - 100 blooms!  and she's worth every one :)  plus many more!!


Love you Mom! 

A hot pink treasury!

I have been sorely neglecting my business, both in production as well as the Etsy side since school started in August...but I am thrilled to have some of my delightful hot pink earrings in this treasury featuring lots of my BEST friends :)

There's Still Time!

need a gift for Mother's Day?  or just for someone you really really like?  there is still time to hit Fab.com and shop my dear friend Jen's sale for her shop Yummy & Company...and do let the name fool you, the designs are simply delicious!  you can get her beautiful jewelry and prints at a discounted price, but only for a limited time!  and things are selling out...so you don't want to miss it!

what are you waiting for?  go! go!

Showers of Happiness

 it is always a little strange when someone you've known almost your whole life has a big milestone, and this weekend was no different...my little Dana, my across the street neighbor, had her bridal shower...she is getting married in less than one month!  I can not believe how fast it has gotten here, and even though I was still very under the weather, I could not contain my excitement for how happy she looks...she has a lot to look forward to over the next four weeks and I can not wait to celebrate the big day with her on May 19th! 

 

here I am with my other mom :)  and my little sis...I love my brother tons, but having a surrogate sister across the street was definitely a plus!

A Toast to Sir JoJo

If you knew me growing up, you would have said I was absolutely, 100% a dog person.  I put a puppy on my christmas list as the #1 item every year, despite the other three members of my household having pretty severe allergies to them...so when I graduated from college and met several of my friends cats, it surprised even me how much I loved the furry little guys...Eddie was the one who really won me over- which is surprising because now I am not so much his favorite person, but I digress...

this is a story about Joey, JoJo, the Jo-ster, Captain Jo, who belonged to my best friend Bonnie and her husband Andy...

one day after we had graduated Bonnie asked me if I wanted to go to a barn to help her pick out a kitten...not the usual location, but why not I thought...and in that barn, with a goat chewing on my hair, we found Joey, small enough to fit in the palm of our hands, and so ready to get out of that barn, away from the goat...he was so cute, fluffy, and as we would come to learn...active :)

now I didn't spend every day with Joey, since he was Bonnie's cat, but I saw him enough to learn a few things...it is important to stay very still, because humans are just large toys to Joey- any movement is enough to set him to stealth mode, ready to pounce on a hand, foot, whatever...but also that he was not actually cat, but just another human like us...

the biggest testament to that, he was very picky about his food, he loved to be outside when we were all there, and he had a human enemy...that's right, Brett and Joey were mortal enemies, although secretly I know they both loved messing with each other...they had one special experience when Joey was young, and slept on Brett for an entire night, and ever since then, they've been battling like brothers :)  sometimes (but not usually) unprovoked, and other times they'd have staring contests for hours...

my fondest memories are when I stayed at Bonnie's apartment, and Joey came and jumped in while I was in the shower, then proceeded to turn out the light while I was still in there (hey, he was done, right?) or when he would come up and smack Brett in the face for no reason, or the most famous one, when he was peeing in the camping chair, and no one believed me...he thought he was sneaky, but I saw :)

I know they know this, but Joey was an amazing cat, with the biggest personality I've ever seen, and probably ever will see...he made us laugh, cry and life will never be the quite the same without him...

Spring Break is here!

there is no doubt that spring break is a necessity for every teacher and every student...we are all just about ready for a little time away from each other :)  I am convinced the feeling is mutual...so this year I wanted to make sure I took time to relax, tried to get some things done around the house, and hopefully have some time to be creative...

first on the agenda was a day of wine drinking with my bestie...what started as a possible three winery tour turned into an entire day...we made friends along the way, and just got to catch up on everything, since we both teach and have no free time :P

the middle of the week was a blur of cleaning and organizing...then we hopped in the car with my brother and made the long drive to South Carolina, to spend a few days with my family and Brett's dad & stepmom...the weather was beautiful and we finally got to have a first meeting of the families...which seems crazy that it took eight years for that to happen...but geography was our biggest challenge...but we had a great time, eating, golfing, playing games...very glad we got to see everyone and that they all met and got along so well!

now it's back to school...one more day off...and the countdown to summer vacation begins!

11.11.11

I just love numbers...and dates...and today is a pretty awesome one: November 11, 2011, a.k.a. 11.11.11...

how cool??  and how cool is it that I scheduled this post at 11:11?? 

either way...November 11th means it is two months until my birthday!!  :)

A new look for the Etsy Shop!

one of the many wonderful pieces of advice I took away from attending the Summit of Awesome, were the shop critique notes from the lovely Cheyne of Etsy!  First up on my list of things to work on, was my shop banner.  while the graphic designer in me loved the original banner, it definitely took away from the items in the shop, and let's be honest, that is really what is important! 

so here is the before...

and the after! 

what do you think??

Jersey Shore in Baltimore?

he's not ashamed to admit that Jersey Shore is one of his favorite shows...so when we heard DJ Pauly D was going to be in Baltimore at Power Plant Live...we thought we'd check it out...couldn't see much besides hair and the back of his sparkly laptop, but it was an experience :)

What a summer!

so I've been missing in action, or MIA as they say, for quite some time...honestly, the last thing I truly remember is the couple of days I took at home with my family before my training for BCTR (the Baltimore City Teaching Residency) began, and now it's the end of August, and school is about to start!

for those who might not follow along regularly, I've taken the long and winding road to becoming an Art Teacher for Baltimore City Public Schools...which really is the job I've wanted to do my whole life...so it took me 29+ years to get there...excited about it nonetheless! 

since I went to school for Marketing (thanks VT!) and then for Graphic Design (ala the Art Institute) I didn't have a traditional education education (haha) so I chose to apply to an alternative route program, and enter BCTR...the interview and admission process was quite extensive, but it was nothing compared to summer institute...I think all in all, I slept about 20 hours in the five weeks the program ran, and to spare the gory details, I taught 5th grade math...which was interesting, but not really any preparation for Art...

but the best thing about it was making some great new friends, who were all in the same, non sleeping, learning how to lesson plan boat that I was in, and I can't believe how fast summer 2011 went...

then it was on to my schools to set up my classooms...that's right, there's an "s" in there...since Art is a resource and budgets are very tight in Baltimore City, I'll be working part time at two schools, so that means two classrooms, two administrations, two sets of co-workers, and twice as many students to get to know...I definitely have my work cut out for me, and I am not going to lie...I am nervous! 

but I do have a classroom in each building, which is more then some people have, so for that I am grateful...of course the excitement came one day, when during set up at one of my schools, we felt...well the earth moving...a bulletin board fell over in my room and thankfully, nothing else was loose enough to move, but we experienced an EARTHQUAKE in Maryland!  apparently it was felt as far north as New York and south as North Carolina...crazy!  first the tornado, then the earthquake...

and just when we thought school would start on time, Hurricane Irene made its way towards Maryland...my mom was not thrilled with the name :p ...even though there was very little damage in our area, the hurricane definitely wreaked havoc other places in the state and the country...so instead of school starting on Monday, it will be Wednesday...it's going to be quite a first year of teaching!

Suit Up!

 yup, you guessed it...another theme!  this time was a going away party...for our friends the Conkling's before they head north to live in Amherst by UMass...and in Barney Stinson style, we all "Suited Up" and hit the town!

we'll miss you Mikey!  come back and visit soon!

A 25th Surprise!

my aunt and uncle have been married for 25 years!  so we thought that we'd surprise them with a party in their honor, disguised as a typical July 4th BBQ at the family compound in NJ :) my cousins worked with my mom to create the rouse, and when they showed up they could not have been more surprised! 

I even reprised my role as flower girl...although the dress didn't fit quite the same!

Meg & Katie celebrating a successful surprise!

happy 25th Uncle Denis and Aunt Laura!  we love you!!

Virginia Wine Festival

one of our favorite things to do in the summer, fall, well winter and spring too, is go to wine festivals :)  here are a few highlights from this year :)

Saturday's Photo

this one's a 'two-fer'...

the last days of our afterschool program at Wolfe Street...really going to miss these kids!  I definitely will never forget my first class :)

Friday Finds - wine festival

since tomorrow we are going to the Vintage Virginia Wine Festival...

being outside all day in the sun requires a cute dress to wear...like this one by Ureshii

and how cool will you feel sipping wine in these vintage sunglasses from Vintmaillot?

finishing off the outfit is this delicate little necklace, with wine colored rhodolite garnet gems by Small & Mighty

now grab your wine glass holder and let's get tasting!