Ruby Red…Sneakers?
My feet are *so* ready to return to Oz!
The rest of me is too, but for now, these spangly ruby red sneakers will just have to do their part in keeping my mood upbeat as my family and I endure this latest round of power packing, marathon driving, and bidding one state goodbye (er, “adios”) and another hello.
As for the sparkly shoes, head to Walmart~ they’re nine dollars!
Unfortunately, their heels don’t click…
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My truck is at a collision repair shop here in the Bordertown. They’ve *promised* it can be repaired, good as new, by next Thursday. I’m keeping my fingers crossed since we’re supposed to drive out two days later! Until then, I’m getting used to driving my husband’s truck (it’s the one I’ll be piloting back to Oz, pulling a small trailer) while he drives a rental car. May I just say THANK YOU GEICO? I think you’re pretty terrific, even though your spokesgecko reminds me of a SleeStak:
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~Back to kid-friendly snacking, The Pioneer Woman Cooks Marguerites (Ritz crackers, peanut butter and marshmallows!). I’m a kid, right?
~Strawberry Shortcake from Tracy Porter
~Andrea doesn’t know it but she crafted the perfect crown for ME…Fairy Tale Dress Up Day just won’t be the same this year!
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It’s time for me to start collecting all things Tasha Tudor~ she has always been my favorite featured artist in magazines such as Victoria, and one of my favorite childrens’ book authors/ illustrators. She died two days ago at the age of 92:
Ribbon Fiasco, Martha to the Rescue
I’ve spent my stay-at-home-mommy-year blogging, crafting, reading, crocheting, baking, and reading some more, discovering fun new things to try, and searching out necessary materials and supplies at craft stores, yard sales, etc. Yesterday I thought I’d sort through all of the pretty ribbons I had found or bought this year so I could show and share them for my usual Thursday post.
I underestimated the widespread appeal of the ribbon however. I also underestimated my toddler’s determination to satiate his interest in “helping Mommy” with the ribbons. And I committed the ultimate faux pas: I turned my back on the toddler while he was in my crafting area. With…the…ribbon. ALL…of…the…ribbon.
Did I get a photo of the resulting tangled-ribbon-noodle-like-mess on my floor? Uh, no~I couldn’t take a picture because I was too busy putting myself in a much-needed Time Out. Just superimpose ribbons over the toys in this bedroom shot in your mind to get a feel for the mess I enabled the boy to create:
While I was rolling my ribbon back onto their spools, a miracle occurred! I got an email from Michael’s Craft Store with a fifty-percent-off coupon in it. I took a break from the grosgrain and satin, and searched the store online when lo and behold, a link for Martha Stewart Crafts took me to a page featuring ribbon storage boxes. Michael’s and Martha~ how did they know?
Here’s the midpoint:
(Did you notice there’s no sign of the toddler? I learned my lesson, and had Sister take him out to play in the water while I rolled, sorted, and organized!)
Muuuuuuucccccchhhhhhhhhhhh better:
Earthy browns, blacks, and black/white:
Golds, cream, white, and an extra roll of patriotic red/white/blue:
Purples, greens, yellow and orange:
Blues…
Solid pinks:
Patterned pinks and reds:
And look! With the lids closed, you can still see a little peek of what’s inside. Once we’re in our new home and my craft area is established, little tails of ribbon will stick out of the slots… just so my toddler can yank on them and unspool them onto the floor…AGAIN!
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*Don’t forget, Sunday is Father’s Day!
*The Pioneer Woman Cooks Cowboy Nachos
*GoodyBlog posted about Velcro’s Birthday (and shared a photo of a much-desired-by-me Velcro WALL…here toddler-toddler-toddler, here toddler-toddler-toddler)
*And how about a blog written by a dad? Perfect for this Father’s Day weekend!
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“We Told You So” Doesn’t Come Close to Covering It…
For those of you who can’t “hear” my tone because you’ve never met me, let me assure you this is not one of my sarcastic, fired-up rants. It’s been seven exhausting, depressing, ridiculous and in some cases, surreal years thanks to NCLB (No Child Left Behind). Seven years is apparently the exact amount of time needed to pass before our nation’s policy makers, journalists, and titillating-gossip-only-news-junkies figure out that those teachers who have been complaining about and rallying against many of the horrible changes NCLB has wrought… are in fact, right. Teachers suspected what has now been confirmed: NCLB’s policies were intentionally put into place to create nationwide failure among public schools in order to make school privatization more appealing to the public.
Jim Horn at Schools Matter shares:
… it just took Time Magazine seven years to ask someone on the inside if what we have been saying for seven years is true, but later is better than never, you might say. Susan Neuman, former Asst. Sec. of ED under Rod Paige, now admits that insiders at ED saw “NCLB was a Trojan horse for the choice agenda.”
“Neuman gives no clue as to how she will make amends for staying silent during the past 7 years of educational genocide, as millions of children, parents, and educators have been brutalized by the policies she promulgated and promoted.”
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From the Time Magazine article (with bold emphasis mine):
There was always something slightly insane about No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the ambitious education law often described as the Bush Administration’s signature domestic achievement. For one thing, in the view of many educators, the law’s 2014 goal — which calls for all public school students in grades 4 through 8 to be achieving on grade level in reading and math — is something no educational system anywhere on earth has ever accomplished. Even more unrealistic: every kid (except for 3% with serious handicaps or other issues) is supposed to be achieving on grade level every year, climbing in lockstep up an ever more challenging ladder. This flies in the face of all sorts of research showing that children start off in different places academically and grow at different rates.
Add to the mix the fact that much of the promised funding failed to materialize and many early critics insisted that No Child Left Behind was nothing more than a cynical plan to destroy American faith in public education and open the way to vouchers and school choice.
Now a former official in Bush’s Education department (Neuman) is giving at least some support to that notion.
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Horn also links to TeacherKen who wraps up his blog post:
“No Child Left Behind has been very destructive to many of America’s public schools. And to have someone as connected as was Susan Neuman acknowledge that for some supposedly dedicated to the well-being of our schools and students it was instead serving as a vehicle to attempt destroy the public schools (and thus a chance at a meaningfully improved economic future for many of our young people) strictly on ideological grounds is something about which everyone should be aware.”
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Some self-reflections about my job and responsibilities as a teacher as well as my responsibilities as a parent and the educational experiences I want my own children to have are posted here, here, here, and here.
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No wonder I need a hug!
Shannon’s Gifts
It was Shannon’s birthday last week! I promised to share what we’d sent once she let us know she’d received her package…after all, I didn’t want to post photos and let the cat, or in this case, DOG out of the bag, ruining her surprise!
We picked out doggy material for her *extensive* fabric collection (and because it was so darn cute~Shannon will think of a wonderful craft for it) and found some coordinating ribbon:
Then I spelled out Angel Kisses with Scrabble Tiles, adhered them to painted tile trays, and added pretty buttons in Shannon-ey colors:
And of course, I made her a birthday card!
White cardstock, folded not quite in full thirds:
A sunny paper for the inside and outside:
A coordinating paper for the “underfold” front of the card, with extra pieces cut out to make a coordinating gift tag:
Some pretty adhesive-backed paper lace (this is some of my FAVORITE STUFF!):
Coordinating chipboard letters spelling “friend” (I made sure the “E” wasn’t glued all the way down, otherwise the card wouldn’t have opened!
Smaller ivory letters to spell “Dear” (Shannon is a dear friend, after all!) and to spell her name on the gift tag:
“Happy Birthday” for the inside of the card, on pretty paper, with foo-foo trims punched out, and corners rounded…I added lime green brads to the corners as well:
How the card looked open, from the back:
…and the front!
Talk about FUN!~
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~I’ve never been a fan of apricots, but Smitten Kitchen is tempting me to give them another try with Breakfast Apricot Crisp…
~My daughter, who puts Ranch dressing on just about everything (okay, except pancakes), will have to keep a copy of this recipe from A Pioneer Woman Cooks in her “My Parents are Kicking Me Out of the House” cookbook when she leaves for college in five years.
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Check back tomorrow when I post photos of our toddler making Daddy’s Father’s Day card… it involves PAINT!
Show and Share Thursday: Favorite Redhead
Are you in shock? After missing two Show and Share Thursdays, here I am, rarin’ to go!
Continuing on with I Saw Red...
This is a photo of me and one of my favorite redheads, Shannon! Aren’t we oh-so-glam? We’re both holiday girls, that’s for sure, but today’s an extra special day for her~ that’s right, it’s her BIRTHDAY! It’s a “milestone” birthday too (she had a two year head start on me), which makes me even more pleased to “show and share” her with you!
Shannon is funny. Shannon is smart. Shannon is the hostess with the mostest. Shannon is Dear Daughter’s godmother. And Shannon is creative and crafty. She made me something red the last time I visited Alaska:
Dah-lings, it’s a beaded red stretch bracelet! Go ahead, ooh and aah…
…just don’t try taking it off of my wrist. It’s MINE.
Guess who has her own Etsy shop? SHANNON. It’s called AngelKissesAlaska! Some additional photos of some jewelry…. Holiday items… Another bracelet (this time, snowy white)… You can contact her via her Etsy link to ask about special orders~
Won’t you help me wish this special friend a very happy birthday? (No, I have no clue who Grey Worldwide might be or might do, but this is soooooo up Shannon’s alley!)
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Here’s a peek at the card I made for Shannon (details AFTER she receives her birthday box in the mail):
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*Have you ever played Hot Potato? Try eating one with jalapenos! Recipe from Cream Puffs in Venice.
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Tonight Dear Daughter graduates from the 8th grade. I’m off to finish my first ever banner (paper, not fabric), bake some cupcakes, and teach my husband new breathing techniques to lower his blood pressure. She’s attending “8th grade Prom” tonight. In a black dress. Without either of us chaperoning.
He’s not doing so well.
RED-dy for Creativity
I see red every day in my computer/craft nook, in the form of Russian lacquer, Vera Bradley table decor, and this, my red mock-odile accordion file:
Inside are all sorts of stickers, decorative papers and other scrapbooking embellishments, sorted after G.G. sent the case to me for Christmas. Yes, I’m one of those odd birds who LIKES organizing things. A place for everything, and everything in its place.
(Could be!)
Hobby Lobby is where I’ve seen similar cases (in powder pink, and mini-accordion files, no less!) lately… now that I think of it, H.L. also sells mock-odile hat boxes too!
**If you like the place mats, they’re Vera Bradley Americana.**
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Not only was I inspired to post about my red case, but the card-making bug bit me as well! With Father’s Day right around the corner, it seems appropriate:
More tools and doo-dads (psst…I was also inspired to make a birthday card and goodies for Shannon too! Those will be in tomorrow’s post!)…
White cardstock, green speckled paper, and family photos for the front…
photo corners…
some of my favorite letter tiles…
a complimentary green checked patterned paper on the inside…
Ta da! (I folded the cardstock ALMOST in half, leaving enough overhang for a fold to which the “Father’s Day” tiles were glued.)
Dad’s card is taken care of…what to make for Dear Husband?
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*GoodyBlog has come through, yet again, with an awesome Father’s Day gift idea! Make Your Own Cool Music Video for Dad!
*If Dad loves to camp but this summer’s gas prices have put a kabosh on those plans, why not make him a S’Mores Pie? Thanks to Smitten Kitchen!
*The Pioneer Woman Cooks a rather manly sounding side dish, Crash Hot Potatoes…
*Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen delivers for the morning crew…If Dad is the coffee shop type, why not make some Orange Scones with Rhubarb and Cherries?
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Still reading, Shannon? I told you, NOT UNTIL TOMORROW!
Happy Almost Birthday, dear friend!
Red, Red, Red…I Saw Red, Day Two
Summer fun and summer sun make for apple red cheeks and a desire to make multiple passes through the playground equipment!
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It’s June 2 and I’ve got moving on the brain. Today’s to-do list includes paper shredding, family-document-binder-organizing, letter writing, and blogroll tending. Add to that the daily chores of laundry, vacuuming, with a lot of playing with the toddler thrown in for good measure, and I have a full schedule. This is Dear Daughter’s last week of school- her “transition ceremony” (apparently it’s not called “graduation” here) from junior high takes place later in the week, along with her first semi-formal school dance. Dear Husband is having some mild heart attacks over it all, while I’m looking forward to seeing her gussied up again. She used to be such a girlie girl, all dresses, hair bows and pretty tights, but time has certainly marched on, and functional fashion has replaced the frillies. Volleyball, tennis and track will do that I guess! She’ll be a high schooler. Our eldest graduates in 2009, daughter in 2012, and toddler in, what….2022? Yikes!
Getting back on track~ the packers come to start filling my house with big brown boxes on June 24. We drive back to Oz around June 27 or so. The fourth of July will be spent in our new home, though I’m not sure we’ll have our household goods by then~ seems I need to add “posting-blogs-in-the-queue-just-in-case-we-don’t-have-computer-access-for-a-bit” to my to-do list.
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*Check out the latest edition of Kids Craft Weekly and of course subscribe for a summer full of wonderful, developmentally appropriate early childhood/family activities.
*Photo Jojo has me thinking of fun ways to take group photos…after all, for military formals, family get-togethers, etc., we always pose, huddling in, trying to smile sincerely, trying NOT to blink. Time for FUN to be reintroduced to my photography!
*Before you sign your children up for every sports or camp activity known for their summer “break,” read Children Deprived of Time to Play Are Deprived of the Childhood they Need and Deserve. As usual, I’ll be spending time with my children running through the sprinkler, drawing pictures in the sand with a stick, going for walks (either early in the morning or after dinner due to the daytime heat), playing board games, and letting them play by themselves, on their own.
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Have you been Seeing Red? Do tell, and check out the links to other participants at Sadie Olive!
I, Michaele, Saw Red: Day One
On a slow yet not entirely slouchy Sunday, I took time to appreciate the red pillows on my couch and loveseat. Why? This year in the Bordertown, they’ve not only brightened the brown, but they’ve supported my arm while crocheting baby blanket after baby blanket, and provided a comfortable resting spot for my family’s heads for afternoon naps, story time, or movie night. Family together time, gifts to welcome new life, a shot of color in an otherwise mostly sand and cacti infused location… thank you, dear pillows:
I’ll be posting red photos all week, inspired by this lovely blog post…
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Another “read,” this time, BLOGS!
*Lisa helped me realize all of the work that goes into making a quilt- and made the process seem much less migraine-inducing than I’d imagined it… who knows, I might actually work up the gumption to start cutting my newly acquired fabric into strips!
*Mamacita at Scheiss Weekly had me laughing and nodding with her post addressing beauty, The Emperor is Naked.
*The Pioneer Woman Cooks the nummiest looking chicken salad…
*Doug shares the Love of Classroom Teaching by Margaret Edson.
*Check out ManBabies.com for some silly photos of dads and their kids, just in time for Father’s Day! Thanks to Goodyblog for the link!
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Happy June!
Comic
Can you tell? It’s me!
Thanks to Kevin for the link to MakeBeliefsComix.com!
Links~So SEW!
It’s been busy around here! The daily blog has been put on the back burner for a bit- have you missed me?
I’ve managed to get caught up on reading and thought I’d share some links with you:
Recipes:
Penne Rigate with Spinach and Garlic Cream Sauce from Posy Gets Cozy
Pistachio and Lemon Bites shared by Cream Puffs in Venice
The Pioneer Woman Cooks Pots de Creme
Gruyère-Stuffed Crusty Loaves from Laura Rebecca’s Kitchen
Photography:
Di at Designer’s Block shares Fairy Tale photography by Eugenio Recuenco
Terry photo-documents the importance of first impressions at Bent Objects
I may just have to learn Photoshop now! PhotoJojo has provided a link for Mac keyboard “skins” (covers) that show keyboard shortcuts to make things easier…
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Thanks to coupons at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby and Joann’s, I’ve made some affordable and oh-what-a-treat purchases this week to see me through the rest of the summer and into the beginning of the school year. I found Amy Karol’s (find her at Angry Chicken) “Bend-the-Rules Sewing” book…aprons, coasters, purses, and lap quilts, here I come!
I also picked up Therese Laskey’s “Softies” so I can make some cool characters for my toddler and my students (I love the robot and ice cream sandwich!)…
Some edge punches by Martha:
And a much-needed desk caddy (on a lazy Susan):
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I hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day weekend as much as we did!
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