My quilt is no longer "seriously almost done." I made a big boo-boo and I haven't yet been motivated enough to rip it out and redo it.* But I WILL! I started this journey way back in February, and by-golly, I'm bound and determined to finish it!
*I'm accepting any and all encouragement at this point!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
First Day of School Woes
Today was my first day of summer school. Not unlike the kids, we teachers want to make a good impression on our first day of school. It's important to look nice, and have the kids decide to themselves that, yes, they like you and yes, they can respect you.
This is where my "first day woe" comes into play. After the orientation assembly in the auditorium was over, each teacher had to escort their students back to their classroom. This annoying kid -- the kind that catches your attention with their annoyingness within the first 10 minutes -- was walking much too close behind me. He was all up in my space, and as a result, he stepped on the back of my sandal. As I'm turning around to say something witty to him (like, walk on your own shoes, please!) I realize that something is wrong. By stepping on the back of my shoe, he literally RIPPED the sole off of it! Yes ladies, my two-inch heel was lying prostrate back at the scene of the crime. The rest of the shoe, meanwhile, was still attached to my foot. There was no saving it.
So you see, the thing is, it's hard to garner that sort of instant respect I was referring to when you spend your whole first day hobbling around as if you're walking with one foot on the sidewalk and one foot on the street. Thanks kid.
You can see the normal shoe, with its two-inch heel to the right of the busted one.
This is where my "first day woe" comes into play. After the orientation assembly in the auditorium was over, each teacher had to escort their students back to their classroom. This annoying kid -- the kind that catches your attention with their annoyingness within the first 10 minutes -- was walking much too close behind me. He was all up in my space, and as a result, he stepped on the back of my sandal. As I'm turning around to say something witty to him (like, walk on your own shoes, please!) I realize that something is wrong. By stepping on the back of my shoe, he literally RIPPED the sole off of it! Yes ladies, my two-inch heel was lying prostrate back at the scene of the crime. The rest of the shoe, meanwhile, was still attached to my foot. There was no saving it.
So you see, the thing is, it's hard to garner that sort of instant respect I was referring to when you spend your whole first day hobbling around as if you're walking with one foot on the sidewalk and one foot on the street. Thanks kid.
You can see the normal shoe, with its two-inch heel to the right of the busted one.
Well, if you were ever curious about what the sole of your sandals looks like, take a gander!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Lookie lookie, I'm quilting!
Today S (of Cobble, Cobble) came over to show me the secrets of "quilting." I'm using this as a technical term now, and not as the generic term we usually think of. Quilting is the part of the process where you actually sew together the three layers of the blanket: the top, the middle batting (aka: stuffing), and the bottom. Now this part requires a fancy-schmancy presser foot as well as some serious safety-pinning skills! Lucky for me, S had both. This is a slow process since my sewing machine directions explicitly warned me not to sew any faster than a slow-medium pace. Bummer! I even tried to go a bit faster (you know me, always pushing the limits) and everything immediately gummed up. And I had to use my seam ripper (dammit). So like I said, it's a slow process. But when I'm done... I'll be so close to being done! Here are some updated photos of my quilting...
Here's two of the three layers stretched out onto my table in preparation for pinning. Too bad I don't have hardwood floors or I could've much more easily just stretched it out on the floor (hint hint!)
Here's two of the three layers stretched out onto my table in preparation for pinning. Too bad I don't have hardwood floors or I could've much more easily just stretched it out on the floor (hint hint!)
Spotlight on pinning. It's important to do a good job of "basting" the three layers together so that no wrinkles show up in the finished product.
Here's my mamba-jamba "walking foot." It reminds me of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Or a snail. Needless to say, this baby is what makes it all possible!
The quilting process is literally taking over my machine. Hang in there Mikey, you're doing good!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Green is Good
I just can't get enough of my "prayer plant" (or so I dubbed it). Each night as the sun sets, the leaves fold up and remind me of hands in prayer. When new leaves sprout, they start out rolled up in a tube shape until they're ready to be completely unveiled. So nifty!
The End is Here!
So don't ask me why (because it's just too random) but the Kellerman's end-of-summer song from Dirty Dancing just popped into my head. I guess in a way, it's a fitting tribute to the end of something, and this school year sure has been "something"!
"So lets join in just one last chorus,
Visitors, staff and guests.
What we've shared won't be forgotten,
Old friends are the best.
Join hands and hearts and voices
Voices, hearts and hands
At Kellermans the friendships last long
As the mountains stand"
"So lets join in just one last chorus,
Visitors, staff and guests.
What we've shared won't be forgotten,
Old friends are the best.
Join hands and hearts and voices
Voices, hearts and hands
At Kellermans the friendships last long
As the mountains stand"
Monday, June 21, 2010
Perfection
Do you think that men walk around trying to be perfect each day, or is this a burden that only women bear? What puts this pressure on us...
is it society?
biology?
is it society?
biology?
Thursday, June 17, 2010
A Good Day
Despite all the heartache I've dealt with this week, today was a good day:
1. News that my friend's daughter has gone into labor... grand-baby on the way!
2. Successful team meeting after school today (phew!)
3. Dinner with my siblings - I love that we still do this.
4. Dinner with my siblings - at someone else's house... I don't have to cook tonight :)
5. The mystery smell has been vanquished (it was my garbage disposal -- eew!)
6. True Blood season 3 tomorrow with L
7. My kids packed up a lot of my books today so there's that much less for me to do later.
8. Mail from my grandma and the prospect of a beach weekend (or two?) this summer.
9. A voicemail from my hubby waiting for me after school
10. FINALLY I got an appointment at the new OB/GYN. It took me three months to score this slot in September!
1. News that my friend's daughter has gone into labor... grand-baby on the way!
2. Successful team meeting after school today (phew!)
3. Dinner with my siblings - I love that we still do this.
4. Dinner with my siblings - at someone else's house... I don't have to cook tonight :)
5. The mystery smell has been vanquished (it was my garbage disposal -- eew!)
6. True Blood season 3 tomorrow with L
7. My kids packed up a lot of my books today so there's that much less for me to do later.
8. Mail from my grandma and the prospect of a beach weekend (or two?) this summer.
9. A voicemail from my hubby waiting for me after school
10. FINALLY I got an appointment at the new OB/GYN. It took me three months to score this slot in September!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Score one for wifey!
(Nevermind the fact that tonight we skipped dinner because neither one of us had the energy to make anything) Focus on yesterday's dinner! Yesterday I made one of Bruno's favorite side-dishes: black beans and rice. I always follow his mother's recipe for this, but something magical must have happened yesterday because he took one look at it and was already complimenting it! The best part came after he tasted it and exclaimed that it tasted just like "home." SUCCESS!
Monday, June 14, 2010
One day...
One day, I dream of having the luxury to hang-out with friends whenever I want. You know, they'll be free to just drop everything and come on over. And we'll sew, or gossip, or scrap, or watch True Blood. All that good stuff! No one will have to worry about being at work, because everyday will be a "mental health day." And we'll all have enough money to kick back and take it easy, no worries. Yeah, that's what I'm dreaming of...
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Sew fun!
Today S and I had our first official "Sip 'n Sew." We partook of Brazilian caipirinhas and did some fabulous sewing (if I may say so myself). While sewing a baby bib and a little girl's A-line dress, we learned two new tricks!!
First we turned to the "Bible" of sewing...
First we turned to the "Bible" of sewing...
Then we studied really hard...
We figured out how to applique...
And also how to sew ruffles... Ta-da!
Summertime, and the livin's easy
As you can tell, it's a pretty busy time in the school year. I have barely been keeping up with my blogging -- both reading and posting! This morning I took a break from all my responsibilities to just sit next to B while he was watching the World Cup on TV. That led to me posting "Go Korea!" on facebook (for my students' benefit), which led to me remembering that I even have a blog! So I ambled over to beepsNrays, and decided to give it a new look. I loved my previous header (thanks, M) and background, but I'm liking the fresh grass for a change. It's so summery! If only summer would officially get here...
Sunday, June 6, 2010
DC Improv - Aisha Tyler
B and I had a great time tonight at the DC Improv, thanks to E who gave these tickets to B as his birthday present. We went to see Aisha Tyler's show, Lit.
Greg Brown, a new-to-DC local started things off with some funny jokes, but you could tell that he needed to work on his stage presence. B actually caught him stealing a joke from the news... he said that he was typing recipes for the Washington Post and accidentally submitted a recipe calling for "freshly ground white people" (instead of pepper). Too bad that story (though admittedly about "Black" pepper) was already in the news. Oops!
This guy was followed by Aisha's opening act: Ali Mafi. He was HILARIOUS and so politically incorrect. That's probably why he was such a hit. Of course, neither B nor I can remember any of his jokes now. All I can remember is that he was harassing this tall, buff, Black guy in the front row. All that Ali Mafi wanted to do was take this guy Rico back to his hotel room with him. Yikes!
PS: Yes, the guy in the front row was really named Rico.
Finally, Aisha took the stage and kept the energy up in the room. I think the part where I really laughed the most was when she started describing how being an adult sucks because there are so many responsibilities. According to her, bills were pro-creating in her mailbox and new bills were popping up everywhere. That led into her jokes about everyone falling apart at age 30. She joked about waking up in the morning with bruises on her legs that she didn't even know where they'd come from. Oh, that and putting in her retainer and going to bed early. That is all so me (so sad). I'm old before my time... I'm not even 30 yet!
Good times :)
Greg Brown, a new-to-DC local started things off with some funny jokes, but you could tell that he needed to work on his stage presence. B actually caught him stealing a joke from the news... he said that he was typing recipes for the Washington Post and accidentally submitted a recipe calling for "freshly ground white people" (instead of pepper). Too bad that story (though admittedly about "Black" pepper) was already in the news. Oops!
This guy was followed by Aisha's opening act: Ali Mafi. He was HILARIOUS and so politically incorrect. That's probably why he was such a hit. Of course, neither B nor I can remember any of his jokes now. All I can remember is that he was harassing this tall, buff, Black guy in the front row. All that Ali Mafi wanted to do was take this guy Rico back to his hotel room with him. Yikes!
PS: Yes, the guy in the front row was really named Rico.
Finally, Aisha took the stage and kept the energy up in the room. I think the part where I really laughed the most was when she started describing how being an adult sucks because there are so many responsibilities. According to her, bills were pro-creating in her mailbox and new bills were popping up everywhere. That led into her jokes about everyone falling apart at age 30. She joked about waking up in the morning with bruises on her legs that she didn't even know where they'd come from. Oh, that and putting in her retainer and going to bed early. That is all so me (so sad). I'm old before my time... I'm not even 30 yet!
Good times :)
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