new job

I have been very sad to leave my job at SPE. SPE was a wonderful place to start my teaching career. I had such great teaching friends to turn to for support, and the kiddos were great. I went in today to drop a few things off I found at home while we were packing. The kids were very happy to see me, and I got to hang out with one of my special friends for a little bit. I told him that I was standing there waiting for him when he got to lunch. He said "Oh wow! You were waiting just for me?" He told me that he missed me so very much. We got to talk a little about how summer school was going. Him and I have an ongoing "routine" where I tell him "What's the word, hummingbird?" and he says back to me "Not a lot, Spot!" It's a hoot. I told him I got really sad when I said that to someone else after my last day at SPE. He said "Oh no! Mrs. Lillie, I am so sad for you!" I am really going to miss all my great times there.

My set up my first year of teaching

My team (except for Barb!) who I will miss quite a lot!!!

Last night, I was up late dreaming for my new job. I have been working hard to prepare for this job. It is not going to be an easy one. 97% of the kids I am teaching are living in poverty, and many of the kids don't speak English. I have been learning Spanish during my recovery from back surgery. I have a few great songbooks where I am learning great Spanish folk songs. I am already praying for these great kiddos, dreaming about how I will teach (it will be a bit different than what I am used to, in many ways I am sure), and getting very excited! I can't wait.

Here I come, Greeley!!!

tribute

This is a tribute to my amazing friend, Rochelle.

I am so thankful for this beautiful lady! She has been there to hold my hands up so much for the last few years (see back to this post). I have been so thankful for her unwavering love and strength for me in my time of trouble. She always has words of encouragement for me and shares the best words of scripture with me. She is such an amazing teacher at my (former) school, and gives so much to all the kids in her class. I could not have done these last 2 years without her. I will miss her dearly!

bored crafting...

I've been working on some projects lately. Here is my new project obsession:

If you can't tell from the picture, the sheet music for the hymn (Be Thou My Vision and It Is Well With my Soul) is peaking through with the letters. So, here is the process of making these!

Scan your hymn you want to use on a scanner. I used iPhoto to make it "antique" looking. I also cropped it to a square. I then resized the image to 8 inches x 8 inches since that was the size of the canvas.

Next, you need to print the image on tissue paper. Wrap tissue paper (like you would stuff a gift bag with) around a piece of paper and tape it in place. Run the paper through the printer.

The tissue paper needs to Mod Podge on to the canvas. I learned after my first attempt to just do the top edge first. Then put a little more Mod Podge on the canvas, and with no wrinkles in the paper, seal a little more on. Continue until the entire piece of sheet music is on the canvas. Seal the tissue paper with 2-3 layers of Mod Podge.

Now, place stickers on the canvas. I found that stickers that are plastic based worked best (the fancy little designs on the bottom one). I was not able to find plastic letters, but found that foam "thickers" (found at Hobby Lobby) worked best. They should be THICK letters. If the letters are small and thin, it's hard to see the music underneath (see below photo of my first experiment)

Here is all my stickers in place

Next, paint over and around the letters. In one of my attempts, I layered that paint on there, very very thick. A LOT of the paint seeped under the letters and stickers, and it unfortunately could not be fixed (at least by my skills)...

So, paint lightly, depending on what kind/color of paint you have will determine how many layers you will need.

Peel off stickers after it is really dry. This part can get REALLY frustrating, because sometimes stickers tear or continue to stick to the canvas! I used a tweezer to pull off the little extra pieces (and it did take me awhile.) Once all the pieces are removed (or as much as you can handle removing and call it "good") put another layer of Mod Podge on to seal it.

Close up of the music peeking from underneath.

I liked doing these! I'm not going to keep these, they are being given away to friends in Missouri. I am hoping to make a few more for my home, after we figure out our colors for rooms, etc. But I do think I am done crafting with paint and stickers for a little while. 

pinterest project

Today I finished my pinterest project I started awhile ago. I think I like how it turned out.

I took a canvas and painted it light blue. Then, I put scrap book picture stickers and lettering on the canvas. I painted about 3 layers of orange paint over the stickers. When I peeled away the stickers, I got this! I wish I had reversed the colors, so the blue was on top and the orange was underneath. Also, point of advice for anyone who attempts this: USE PLASTIC-BASED LETTERS. The letters I used were paper based, so when I peeled away, lots of the paper was left, and I had to pick at it with my fingernail. The birds and fancy design were the plastic based stickers, and they came off super easy.

This will go in my new music room!

exciting summer days

What a summer full of fun so far! Time for a picture update of all the excitement. Please enjoy the beautiful instagram-like photos of my amazing life.

This is my new best friend. He is always there for me when I drop the ball (literally). I am very thankful he spends each day sitting vigil at my bedside and is always there for me when I need help. He also helps me put on my pants every morning.

This is the TV in my bedroom. We also spend a lot of time together.

This is the ceiling above my bed. I have spent many hours counting the bumps. So far I'm at 6,782.

When I get bored of the bed, I go lie on the couch. And look at the ceiling fan. It's a fun game to blink your eyes quickly while it spins. It's like it's standing still!

This is our other TV. I watch it with Bryson. Today, we watched Supernatural. Yes. My life is super exciting enough to watch Supernatural.

This is the box my computer rests on to keep my lap from getting too warm. Hmm... funnily enough, this is the box for the ball I stretched on which caused my back to go completely out two years ago. *&#$@! ball.

I spend a lot of time on this site. I hit refresh about 26 times a day.

I also have spent a lot of time on Rosetta Stone. Yo llevo pantalones azules y una camiseta blanca.

I've been super fashionable this summer, so to show off my fashion of sweat shorts and t-shirts, I wanted to take a bathroom mirror picture. I hope Amy Miner notices my beautiful toothpaste spots on the mirror.

I know you are super jealous of my summer.

post-surgery crochet

A new hat for my new little nephew, Mr. Smith, who is expected to arrive in September!

Current other projects include a hat for my mama and another hat for my other little nephew, Griffin!