Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Technical Difficulties ...

I just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that my post from LAST week won't be uploaded for a few more days. I don't have internet at home, I'm in the process of packing/loading/moving as I type this and I haven't even had time to upload the photos off of my camera yet! What a crazy stressful week! This is such an exciting time, but I'll be glad when it's over and we're settled in Indiana! Here's a little sneak peek of one of my photos from last week to carry you over:

 Thanks for your patience! Say a little prayer that this process goes smoothly!!

Monday, June 20, 2011

365 Project: Week 23 - Summer Living!


This week was a very relaxing, carefree week - my first full week of summer vacation! Monday was my 26th birthday and I got to spend the day with my amazing sister and mom hunting for furniture and bedding deals for our new house! It was a great day traveling around the state laughing uncontrollably. (Especially about this photo of my 'mini-mother' sitting in the 'big girl chair'  HA HA!)

On Tuesday, I packed up Bella and Jasper and we headed south to Indiana for the week. It was Jasper's first trip of this length, and he did such a great job. He cuddled up in my lap before we got to the end of the driveway and stayed there for the entire 8 hour trip. He was quite the hit at the toll booths, too!

 
During my visit, we have done some bed shopping, exploring, bowling, relaxing and trying to rent out our house in Dayton so we will be ready to move into our NEW HOME in 10 days! (10 days!!!) It's going to be a super busy and super exciting time! 

We also had the opportunity to check out the farmer's market on Saturday, as well as the Taste of Tippecanoe Art Fundraiser event that was held in downtown Lafayette on Saturday evening. It was a great community gathering that included lots of food and music and fireworks! It was also great to see a community coming together to support local art!! I think I'm going to enjoy living in this town! 

I'm also getting work ready for an art exhibit/fundraiser event that I'll be participating in the last week of July! I'll have photo prints and cards to sell and will hopefully get to know some new people! I'm also in the works to get my Etsy shop back up and running - I'll have some new prints, cards and maybe a few surprise items as well!

I hope you're enjoying this summer weather so far! It's storming like crazy in Indiana this morning, but it looks like more warm weather is to come!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

LOVE! (Panda-inspired Wednesday)

I've been following the blog of Nidhi Chanani for a while now and have been intrigued by her very sweet way of capturing everyday life moments in charming illustrations. The three words that come to mind when I see her work are innocence, magic and love. Her blog follows the progress of HER version of 'Project 365' (she does a new SKETCH every day.) I am so envious of her amazing illustrating skills on paper AND on the computer and the way she seamlessly combines the two. Her work is guaranteed to make you smile and want to hug everyone you love.

Not only is Nidhi releasing her first limited edition collection book, "Everyday Love," (which looks amazing!) she recently came out with this PANDA PRINT (for those of you who don't know, I've had a love affair with pandas for as long as I can remember...) which I plan to get my hands on as soon as I can scrounge up a few extra dollars! Her creation of this print made her ultra-worthy of an 'Inspired Wednesday' post - I hope you'll check her out!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

365 Project: Week 22


Wow! Week 22 already! This project is going by fast - and I'm having so much fun keeping up with it! I really appreciate all the kind words and encouragement I've gotten from everyone that's been following my progress - your support is what keeps me going every day of every week!

This week was so bittersweet. It was the last week of school and although I'm so grateful for the break, I know that I won't be returning to my school next year and all my amazing students and fellow teachers, which was hard for me to grasp. I was absolutely blown away by the generous outpouring of love from my students and co-workers. I am so grateful for the amazing (although brief) experience I've had at South Middle School and I know I've grown and learned so much in the last year and have been blessed by so many people.

On another note, I'm SO EXCITED to finally be in Indiana with my husband FULL TIME and start moving in and settling into our new HOUSE! This sign is now up in the front yard:

I'll be 'visiting' Indiana one more time this week, then coming back to Menomonie to pack up and make the big move! Stay tuned! LOTS of excitement to come!


P.S. What happened to those 90 degree days? Now that I'm out of school and able to enjoy them, I want them BACK!

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Inspired Wednesday: Top 5 PANDORA stations!

Let me just start off by saying how much I LOVE Pandora. I listen to it on my computer at school, my computer at home, and on my phone when I'm walking with Bella or even hooked up to the speakers in my car. I listen to it everywhere. It has super powers to predict the EXACT songs I want to listen to based on the mood I'm in. Here are my top 5 favorite stations:
1. Live - listen to one of my favorites from this station here
(I've always been a huge fan of Live... and this station doesn't disappoint. Staind and Red Hot Chili Peppers also make frequent appearances!)
2. Lux Aeterna - listen to one of my favorites from this station here 
(although the songs have 'no words', my students ask me to play this station all the time when I give them work time - their love for the tunes on this station stemmed from the song I had them listen to when they created their printmaking projects. I linked the song to this post.) This station is great for helping both my students - and definitely myself - focus on projects!
3. Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) - Listen to one of my favorites from this station here
(AMAZING station for walking/working out! Awesome 90's dance party songs that make you want to MOVE! :)
4. Disney - Listen to one of my favorites from this station here
I'm a sucker for all things Disney - and these songs are no exception. Great classic movie songs from Disney animated films and musicals! (My 6th graders beg me to play this so they can play the 'Who Can Guess the Movie First' Game!) A feel-good station!
5. Rusted Root Radio - Listen to one of my favorites from this station here
This is my most 'chill' radio station. A great choice to wind-down at the end of the day... or take an afternoon drive in the country... or as background music during dinner. (Plenty of Dave Matthews and O.A.R also!)

I hope you'll take a listen - music choice can definitely make or break my day, and Pandora never disappoints!! 

Sunday, June 5, 2011

365 Project: Week 21


This week brought many exciting things - the MOST exciting being that we have an accepted offer on a house in West Lafayette (yay!!) so we've been doing lots of footwork to get that process rolling. I will be sharing many more photos and stories as we go, I'm sure :)

The semester is wrapping up quickly at school (only 4 days left!), the weather has taken a turn for the HOT these last few days (note: I am in no way complaining of this - it's great!), I had breakfast this morning with a very dear friend who lives much too far away, and Justin and I got to spend a couple of days together over the weekend! (Only a few more weeks before our 'long-distance-relationship' is over - Halleluiah!)
I hope you've had a chance to be outside enjoying the sunshine this weekend!


Did I mention there are only 4 days of school left?! 
(Although this is bitter-sweet because I won't be returning to my school next year, it's definitely time for a break. Everyone is stir crazy - including myself!)