Typing explosion!

I've been gone for a while.  If I'm quite honest about it, a big part of that is that I didn't feel like writing.  Sometimes the mood doesn't strike me.  I'm too busy or tired for it...or just too busy watching Downton Abbey.  (Have you seen this show?  It's my new favorite! )

So this post is though explosion.  Prepare yourself!

Life has been full, but nothing short of good.  Even getting sick turned out to be good which doesn't happen often.

I was extremely ill in February for 2 weeks.  Extremely.  I missed a week of work because of it.  The "illness" went undiagnosed as some sort of mystery virus, but I literally couldn't do anything (I was soooo fatigued and had overall malaise...but no runny nose, sore throat, nausea or anything.  But there was no two buts about it...I was dog sick.)  I went to two different doctors, had my blood drawn, and nothing came back as abnormal besides my white blood cell count.  After a full 9 days of misery, I regained about 1/2 myself and went back to work.  I was still so sick, though, that I literally had a blanket and pillow in my classroom so I could rest my body between classes.  On my yoga mat.  On the floor.  And I had a chair at the front of the room that I could lean on when I was feeling dizzy.  The kids were surprisingly understanding and sweet. :)    

It was a blessing in disguise, though, because I regained a new sense of appreciation for my health and overall well-being.  And how much I need a purpose.  I have a hard time giving up control of my life, especially with things that are out of my control (like being sick)...I'm sure you NEVER have that problem...so it was good to listen to my body and let it be so.

And now I'm back.

Boom.

Miss me much? ;)  

Our church kicked off Love Week, the week of Valentine's--a mission to serve our city--with a bang.  I was well enough to work in a soup kitchen were we live.  Serving betters you every time you do it.  I truly believe that.  :)  I also discovered late last week that I made it to the top 20 in my county for teacher of the year candidates.  I was beyond stunned and completely and utterly honored.  My interview was honest, from heart and surprisingly relaxed.  It has changed nothing about who I am, or how I teach, but has reaffirmed this calling in my life.

Speaking of life...and making it...everyone I know is pregnant.  EVERYONE.  (But I'm not.  And yes, about everyone and his brother's cousin told me that my mysterious sickness is cause to take a pregnancy test.  Which is did (several times, just to be sure).  Haha.)  Anyway, a friend of mine in my community group found out that she is pregnant this week.  And not only pregnant...but 5 months pregnant, and she had no idea until she went to the doctor complaining of difficulty breathing.  Can you imagine????  We are all stunned and so happy for this blessing in her life.  She even brought us cupcakes to our small group to have us bite into to find out the gender.And in case you're wondering, she's having a boy. :)  She's about the only person I know to get to find out the gender of her baby the same day she found out she was pregnant. 

I know many of you read this blog for my house projects (and occasionally tolerate my life updates, tehe)...so this one is for you!      

House projects have taken a back-seat recently, although you wouldn't know it by reading this post, I just haven't updated it a while...so it looks like I've done a lot when I really haven't ;)

One thing I did do was finally finish the gallery wall in the hallway on the stairs.

It's looked like this since we moved it...blank and blah...

So I took some frames that I had in my closet that were mismatched and I decided to spraypaint them.  I used Rustoleum with bulit-in primer.  It was a sinch and just a few bucks.

 I also transformed this white canvas with wooden letters from Michaels.  I used a left-over paint tester from painting our living room (called Lime Light by Behr). 

I also used some extra toilet paper rolls laying around (only I would stash those like a weird-o), and I hot-glued these flowers designs inside.  Then I taped off the frame with painters tape and spray-pained the inside white.

  Here it is on the wall, spray-painted white.  Sorry I don't have a better picture.

And here is what the final product looks like with a cost breakdown:
Black spray-paint: $7
White spray-paint: $4
Printing photographs: $10
Misc. scrapbook supplies: $2
Frames and wall plates: lying around!

Total cost: $22

That's all for now.  If you read all the way through my cyber explosion, virtual high-five to you!

love like that

Even 

After 

All this time

The Sun never says 

To the Earth

"You owe me"

Look

What happens

With a love like that

It lights the

Whole

Sky.

Thank you, Charlie, for being my sun.

Toilet Paper Roll Crafts

I've been saving up toilet paper rolls for a few weeks now.  In a little bag.  In our bedroom.  Like a hoarder.  

After I had about 20, I went to Michaels, and using a coupon, bought some black paint and some super cheap flowers (It was just a couple of bucks for everything).

I cut up the rolls in and painted them black (while watching the Bachelor, hehe).  Then I laid out a design on the carpt. 

  The cut rolls really reminded me of leaves, which are pretty common in lots of metal art these days, which is why I chose the pattern I did.

And here is the final product when I added in the flowers:

I hung them using sticky tack.  They've stayed up great so far.  The paint really hardened the rolls, too.  They feel more durable to be  Here is a crappily lit pic...sorry I can't get a better one.  It's even worse during the day because it's back-lit!

Suddenly it's cool to be a....BAND NERD!

When we bought our home, my mom sent down pretty much every piece of crap item I owned because she was no longer obligated to store it.  From my memory boxes, to scrapbooks, to Barbies, to stuffed toys...to my band music.  I threw away/donated many things she sent, but for some reason, I still decided to keep ALL my band music since I was 12.  Everything.

Gathering the band up before a parade...


It's true, though.  I was a huge band nerd.  Senior pics with my flute?  Check.  Drum major?  Check.  A shoebox full of solo and ensemble medals?  Check.  Going to band camp every summer?  Double check.  (Yes, the same band camp American Pie was based off of.  I'm just that cool.) I did a lot with music, even through college, so it seems natural that I couldn't throw any of my music away.  It always seemed so... wrong.


Middle School Music!

It's fun to paw through, remember what I played and when I played it.  Some of it I don't even recognize.  My notes are all over it.  Where to breathe, what to remember.  Where my solos were :)  I still kept my Interlochen music, flute solos, sentimental pieces, and piano music, but it was this weekend that I finally decided that my Middle School Band music wasn't a necessity to hold on to anymore.  The "Blue Ribbon March" (among others) was about to make it's debut again in the awkward hallway by our bathroom...

That's a sign it's craft time.  :)

I took an old cardboard boxed and used a plate to trace a circle...

Then I taught myself how to make little rosettes.  You can find how how I did it here.

Then I started taking music, rolling it, and hot gluing it to the round piece of cardboard until I came up with this...

And then I hung it in the hallway.

And it was good.  And free :)  Thanks, Pinterest!

The Love Mitten!

So I realized that I forgot to share this craft with you!  I'd like to state that this is not my idea.  I'm not that creative.  Haha.   (I stole it from Our First Nest via Pinterest...right down to the colors! :) )  What's sad is that I actually don't have a place for it in our house, yet. I've found that while I the colors, it doesn't really go with much around our house. Hehe.  Such is life.  I'll find a spot eventually.  Right now it is hanging in our closet. ;)

I picked up a canvas from Michales on clearance (which prompted me to do the project) and used acrylic paint and brushes.  I paid less than $7 for the whole thing.

First I marked off the board using painters tape...

 Then I painted in the lines.  I printed Michigan from a google image and flipped the "Mitten" over and colored over it with a pencil.  I pushed pretty hard so some of the ink would come off on the canvas.  Don't know if you can see it to the right.

Then I painted everything in and put a <3 near Detroit...where we met!

Now if I can only find a spot for it....I'm sure I will eventually! ;) 

Awwwwwww, cool stuff!

When I was in a sorority back in college (I was a Delta Gamma), we used to do all of these crazy chants and songs for recruitment.  And since we sang them SO MANY TIMES, it's one of those things that will stick with you forever. 

There was one that went "Awwwwwww DG!  Awwwwww DG!"  (The awww is a crescendo of sorts to give you an idea).  When I get really excited, I still do it, but instead of "DG", I insert the thing I am excited about at the end.  This might make me lame.  Oh well, no one says you have to follow this blog. ;)

Awwwww, Goodwill!

I snagged this purse for $2.99.  I totally heart it.  I saw a similar one at Target a while back.
 

Most of Goodwill is total junk, but when you find a gem, it's a sweet score.  I love pawing through junk to find awesomeness.  I think it's thrifty and resourceful...so don't think I go in there to buy the toilet seats and bras.  Now that's just nasty.

I also picked up this bathroom basket for our master for 99 cents (I've been using it as hand towel storage):

As for the other items, I found the q-tip mason jar at the Dollar Tree and the little canisters from Michales in the dollar section.  The are mostly for things like floss, nail clippers, Vasaline, etc. that are too small to fit anywhere else well.

I don't know if you can tell in the picture, but I secured them using that wall tacky (that you use to hang posters).  It's been working really well so far :)  I actually like the way this weird towel-rack/shelf/whatever it is works now!   

Awwwww, ebay!

My school is hosting an International Festival in March.  I am in charge of the "Spain" booth.  I knew I wanted to dress up, and I found this amazing, used Flamenco Dancer outfit on ebay for $20.  It is performer quality (I think it was used in shows), so I got it because it knew it would be made well.   It also fits me perfectly!

It's all lace detail.  Pretty, no?

I think it will be cool for the kids to see it up close.  I can dance a (very) little Flamenco, from a few classes I took in Bilbao of all places.  I have a video that better shows it that I will play at the booth ;)

Flamenco dancing is beautiful, and I'm excited to share it but also dispel the myth that all Spanish people are flamenco dancers and love bullfighting.  In fact, Flamenco is mostly an Andalusian dance (Southern Spain) and only a very small piece of the culture... I'm still gathering up my other artifacts out of storage!

Awwwwww, birthday!

This weekend we also hosted a surprise birthday party for my friend Erika.  She turned 30.  It was an afternoon shin-dig at our home.


The birthday girl and I!

 We have been planning this for a few months with her husband.  She was suspicious something was up, but was totally surprised to see all of us at our house!

Ahhh!  A party!  (Our cover story was she was coming over for us to give her a present before going out to lunch)

She was especially happy to see her mom and dad, who flew in from Massachusetts as a huge surprise!  Check out this AMAZING cake her mom made (including hand-making each flower).

There were 23 guests in our home, but somehow we managed to fit everyone in our house and it was comfortable.

I also made this for her:
 

It says "Write a blessing, note, or favorite memory with Erika and leave it in the jar for her birthday!"

It was a happy day.  :)

Tata for now!

Things I wanna make

Here are the list of things I've found on Pinterest that are inspiring me at the moment....which do you think I should attempt first?

1)  A family tree (to hang on our large stairwell).  She painted old toilet paper rolls to do it.  Genius and totally cheap!

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2)  I also LOVE this.  Similar concept...although you'll have to poop a little more to make it.  That was inappropriate.  You'll need more toilet paper rolls.  Pretty, right?

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3) I think this framed art is really cute.

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4) Easy-Omelet With Zucchini, Goat Cheese, And Mint.  Um, seriously?  Nom.

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5)  I WILL stencil a wall in this house....don't know where, yet.  But I will.

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5)  I would SO wear this...probably a less chunky version, but I so would.  And I could totally sit there and watch waste-your-time shows like the Bachelor and do it.  Totally.

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6)  More noms.  I never though this quiona burger would make me wish I was vegetarian. 

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What has you drooling today?