End Radio Silence: Now

It's been forever since I've written anything. At first I was bummed about leaving my seventh graders, but then I got a batch of eighth graders to keep for the rest of the year. I'm not gonna lie: I was a little afraid that if I blogged about my happiness, that it would be quickly taken away from me again (case in point: my seventh graders). When it became clear that my eighth graders were definitely mine, I simply became too overwhelmed to blog. There are a lot of things I could tell you about the past four months. I could tell you about the disappointments and frustrations I've endured. I could tell you about the heartwarming experiences and children I've met. I could tell you about all of the amazing things that I've done and bought. But, I won't; at least, not now I won't. As Pumba says: you've got to put your past behind ya. I'm going to move forward in all aspects of my life and if it's convenient to reference the past, then I will.
Here are some of the hobbies I plan to work on over the summer and that you'll probably be reading about:
- Ice skating: I finally got my skates sharpened and found a nearby rink with some cheap rates. I'll never be Michelle Kwan, but I'd rather skate for an hour an half than run for an hour and a half. Besides, the rink will help keep me cool.
- Face painting and special effects make up: My duty for eighth grade field day was to work the face painting booth and it reminded me of how much I loved it. I'm thinking about practicing some more and maybe (MAYBE) putting myself out there as a free lance face painter for kids parties and events.
-Sewing: I want a maxi dress, but I can't find one that I like for a price that I like. Solution: Make my own! We'll see how this turns out...
-Exercising: I haven't had a real workout in over a year. This is bad, especially if I want to maintain a healthy lifestyle and shape past 40. I need some motivation, so I think I'll be enlisting the skills of Jill.
-Robotics: Technically, this is work and not a hobby, but I'm REALLY psyched about it!
-Writing: My writing circle and I MUST meet up at least once this summer. My zombie novel is completely stalled, but I've just been inspired to write a comedy. I'm not really good with comedy, so we'll see how it goes. I'll post some snippets of it when it's a little less rare.
-Hoarding (or Anti-Hoarding): I want to analyze my lifestyle and work towards not becoming a hoarder. Hopefully, this means less stuff, which will lead to less mess, which will lead to less chaos.

That's it. It's a short list, which makes me nervous and like I want to add to it(<---hoarding tendencies leaking into my blogging!!!)...but short is good because short is manageable. Ok, summer, lets get this done!

Day 30: DONE!!! Yay!!

I am sooooo glad to be done with this! Wearing the same thirty items for the past month has really been wearing on me (no pun intended). It's been over a week since I wore my last outfit and I find myself gravitating back to these pieces even though I'm dying to wear ANYTHING else!


I think one of the biggest problems I have is that most of my items were "work" clothes so that I could get dressed quickly in the mornings. So after a month of wearing "work" clothes, all I want to wear are jeans, t-shirts, leggings, and mini-skirts. However, this poses a problem when I actually need to go to work. 


Speaking of work...I have a job again! Yayness! I'm teaching eighth grade Algebra and Science. The position is for the rest of the year (for sure). It's actually a bit of a bummer because the teacher I'm taking over for is really great. He's got a lot of the same teaching style that I do. I'm glad to have a job, but it would be great to pick his brain and collaborate on lesson planning since he's been teaching for five years.


Back to complaining.


I want to apologize for my radio silence. I've been at my new job for two weeks and they have been a crazy two weeks in deed. Week one was spent just trying to get the class going. The second week (this week) has been minimum days all week. Folks, I HATE minimum days. They are a nightmare for teaching because they throw off my whole rhythm and schedule. Not to mention that the kids are all antsy because they know that they're getting out early. Also, I'm helping to coach the eighth grade pentathlon team. Last year I coached seventh grade pentathlon. I don't know why I keep volunteering to do this. I feel like I'm completely lost and a terrible coach.  But the kids are having fun, and that's the most important part. Right? Or maybe I'm just a glutton for pain. Yep. That might be it too.

So, I don't think I'll be taking on the 30 For 30 again. The only time I might consider it is if I get 30 brand new pieces of clothing that can be remixed into several outfits. Then I might do it again so I can break in all those new clothes!


I am proud of myself for sticking it out though, even if I did hit a few bumps along the way.

Day 29: Sisterly Fun

 

The day after my new hair color and very long night of video games and hanging with the little sis. Mitsy's the dark haired one on the right, and she's totally awesome! Definitely the best sister ever! Unless you ask our brother, and then I'M the best sister ever! I kid, I kid. He's annoyed by us equally. ;) Mitsy and I should have more days like this.  Oh! And you should all congratulate her because she just got her driving permit! Yay! Can't wait until I can recruit her as a designated driver! Don't worry, Mom...it won't be anytime soon.

Day 28: Time for Change

Hubby didn't like the blond, so I decided to make it a girl day! I wanted (and Hubby wanted) to keep some of the blond highlights, so I needed a couple of extra hands to pull off this precision dye job.


I had my mom (left) and my sister (photographer) help me out with some temporary hair color and foils. 


On the under layers, we applied the temporary light brown color. I went with a temporary because I was worried about what kind of reaction my recently bleached locks would have to the dye.


On the top layers, we used a blond toning kit. I found it at Big Lots (I know; should've been a red flag...) and it's supposed to add darker blond tones to all over hair color.


The result is kind of a light brown with a few highlights. I miss my blond, but I'm also happy with this in-between color. I'll call this one: Mission Accomplished. The best was the quality time I got to spend with my mom and my sister. 


Lil Sis (Mitsy) ended up spending the night, and we had a ton of fun! We played Dance Central on the Kinect and got some hysterical video! I'd post it, but I'll get a lot more fun out of it if I wait until she has a boyfriend I can embarrass her in front of, ;)

Day 27: TARDIS necklace complete!

It's day 27 of 30 For 30. I'm itching to be done. I'm already fantasizing about all of the different outfits I'm going to wear! 


So until I can wear new outfits, I'll have to settle for new jewelery.


See? I finished it! It's not quite how I envisioned it, but what craft ever is?

It's a little bulky, but that's "in" right now, isn't it?

The image of the TARDIS is a little milky, and the hard glaze I put over it gave it a bubbly look instead of a glassy one.

On the up side, this means that if anyone actually recognizes it as the TARDIS, then they're a hard core Dr. Who fan. And that means we can be friends. :)

Here's the image and the pendant base after I cut the image out of its paper.


See the bubbliness I'm talking about?



A little bit of glue and a few hours later and...viola!!

My very own TARDIS jewelry. I think it'll go quite nicely with my time turner and Jedi pocket watch.

BRB

Hey there! Sorry I've been MIA for a VERY long time! I finally finished 30 for 30!! Yay! I'll post the pics and my reflections of my final three outfits this weekend. I feel terrible that I haven't kept up with my blog. Not that I think I have a bunch of readers that hang on my every word, but I don't want this blog to be just another abandoned idea. I want to keep it up long enough to call it an actual hobby.
     So...the reason I've been so out of it is that...I got a job! Los Alisos had a position open up that will last until the end of the year. It's an 8th grade math and science gig, and I've had a great first week. Yes, the kids are frustrating at times, but that's part of the joy and excitement of teaching. It's so relieving to know I'll have a steady paycheck for the next few months.
     This week has been crazy! Having to hit the ground running is tough when you're teaching, and it's even tougher if the kids are already at a good pace and have Spring Break in their sights. On top of that, I had a huge project due for my class at CSULB...ok, it wasn't that huge, but it felt pretty overwhelming in light of the fact that I had a brand new class, and it meant that I couldn't devote 100% to my class...which makes me sad and feel like a failure. But, I must press on or I can kiss my chances of having a job in the fall buh-bye!

TARDIS Necklace

These are the materials I plan to use for my newest addition to my Geeky jewelry collection {Which I need since I no longer have my Rebellion Insignia piece}. 

I have a broken cameo pendant/brooch {it's actually both!} from my mother, which will be my base. 

Then, I'm going to adhere this elliptical metal frame to the face (to cover up where the old cameo was attached).

I'll be using this jewelry and metal glue to do so.

I'll insert the photo of the TARDIS by printing out a scaled image of my choice (I beleive this one is fromt he opening sequence) and gluing the frame around it.

Once the glue has dried, I'll fill in the frame with a thick layer of glossy sealant to protect the image and give it a "gem like" appearance.

I know that the image looks a little cloudy now, but I think that's because the Mod Podge hasn't finished drying yet. It's a pretty thick layer. I'm a little concerned that the Mod Podge may have made the ink run a little, since it's water based. But I was too impatient to go out and buy an epoxy or Diamond Glaze (my personal favorite), so I decided to give this a shot. It probably needs at least 24 hours to fully dry. Buuuuut....I kind of like the cloudy look. It gives it a more mysterious look that if it was a super sharp image. I'll call it "TARDIS in Water Color".

COMING UP...

- Cutting out the "gem".

- Affixing the "gem" to the pendant base.