A Small World

Well, I finished up my 3 weeks of Summer Institute Training at Region 7 for my teaching certification today, and what a stinkin' relief that is. I feel like my brain is on overload with online classes and summer school - everything I type or say I feel like I need to go back and fix the grammar and punctuation. Good thing i'm too tired to care right now! My dreams are even about school and my students... it's too much really!

On the second day of class we were doing a conga line activity where we had to meet our partner, tell how we learned to read, and then dance through the conga line. I thought I was being smart by picking the middle of the line so I wouldn't have to be the one to 'dance' through the line infront of complete strangers, but our teacher was tricky! She picked a random person from the center of the line and made her 'conga' her way through! When she passed me I recognized her name tag and immediately thought, 'i've read your blog before...' but really, how do you approach someone with that statement? Hello - freak!

During my lunch break I called Cari to make sure this was the right person - yes mam it is! Cari's sister-in-law, Rebecca - The Washington Walkers, is one of the blogs that I frequent and a woman that I totally admire because she seems so very strong. Well she has a sister who also blogs... and she just happened to be going through the same certification program that I am! I'm sure I totally caught her off guard and might have even creeped her out, but what a stinkin' small world... and a really cool story! You know it's sad when you start to recognize people from the blogworld!

Great job doing the Conga, Amy! Glad it was you and not me! :)

These are a few of my other friends - Karann and Kandie! Kandie will be teaching at the same school that I will be working at. Still such a small world!
And sweet sweet Sara who makes her own jewelry! She had one of those personalities that was just encouraging - you know?

I'm going to miss all the friends i've made these past 3 weeks! Who knew school could be that much fun! If only I knew how to write a lesson plan.... sigh!

Just Close Your Eyes

The Simple Woman

For Today - Monday, June 27, 2009

I am thinking... that I really love organization, but am not always good will following through. The first initial steps are the hardest, but they always helps in the long run. I tend to plan these really awesome ideas, but never succeed at pulling them off. sheesh!

Outside my window... it's been a gloomy, humid day. The sun has not shown it's face.

I am thankful for... friends who truly care about me. You know, the ones who aren't afraid to hurt your feelings, but instead will be blunt because they know it's best for you.

From the learning rooms... well i've made it to the final week of Summer Institute Training. Honestly, i've loved every minute of it! I never imagined that i'd enjoy it this much, but I really am. Mom was praying with me last night and mentioned the enthusiam and excitement when I get home and retell everything that i'm learning. Thursday night I completed my ELA course with 3 full days to spare (and relax)!!! Math began today and i've already completed 2 assignments! Yay!

From the kitchen... we had breakfast for dinner tonight! That was always a highlight of mine growing up! Everyone in my family likes eggs except for me - i've started eating them with ketchup here lately - ever done that? The table has been cleared and the dishwasher is loaded!

I am wearing... Ouachita Baptist University grey t-shirt with purple lettering, yellow cami, black work-out pants, no shoes at the moment, hair pulled back to the side with a bobby pen, a little blush. It was a rainy day, what can i say?

I am creating... stacks of craft supplies for mom's room. Really trying to help her out with the organization process.

I am going... to make/pack my lunch for tomorrow, pick out my clothes, and get everything ready to leave so that I'm not rushing out the door in the morning.

I am reading... lots of powerpoints and notes from Region 7 workshops, and online course-work. I'm also working my way through the book of John - very very slowly.

I am hoping... to know Christ.

I am hearing... the HGTV channel, the fan, and air conditioner. Not much going on around here.

Around the house... I think I just answered this.... mom is gone at the moment, Casie is upstairs doing something, dad just got home from work, and China is lounging around somewhere. I tidied my room, bathroom, and living room, vacuumed, put a load of laundry on, and am now waiting on my sheets to dry so that I can put them on my bed.

One of my favorite things... clean teeth and new friends. That sounds odd! I'm on this clean teeth kick right now and it's probably a lil' overkill. My gums were hurting the other day and I think it's because i'm brushing almost 5 times a day! haha!

Being at school from 8:30-4:00 with the same group for the past few weeks is completely ruining my shyness. I'm forced to make friends and i'm having so much stinkin' fun! We exchanged phone numbers and are now facebook friends. Relationships are so much more important than I thought.

A few plans for the rest of the week... last week of summer training, math online course for an hour each night, a possible lake trip this weekend, hopefully hanging out with Katy at some point, and church.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you ...

Enjoying a boat ride on Caddo

(in sepia)

(and color)

Visit the simple woman here!

Layout

We are now on to the next step for mom's craft room - organization!

It's always very very very (may I stress very) wise to first go through your belongings and make stacks to see what you have, so you will then know how much storage space you need. You will waste a lot of time and money if you go buy storage bens then come home and try to organize your items. It may be a time consuming task, but you'll be grateful in the end if you do it in this order. Once you know what you need and go buy your desk/dressers/bens/etc., measure everything that will go into the room and make cut outs the exact size that you can lay out on the floor. (We just cut strips of poster board to make these) This helps you see what kind of layout will be best for the room.

It's a good idea to label the different cut-outs as well so you don't forget what is what.

Or you know... you could just use the cut-outs as frames! Goofy girls!

Oh my, look how studious you are!

Welcome to the 21st century

The horrific 60's curtains, wood paneling, and tile are gone.

Now we have a fresh coat of paint, new floor, and clean-lined blinds.

Doesn't it look so much better than before?

And all these combined makes for a happy momma!

You are doing great! I love you!

I'm a Clonkey Bonkey Donkey

Mom is making progress on her room! Here is what has taken place since I last posted -

The walls, doors, and base-boards have been painted, and the crown molding has been put in. The (wood) floor is absorbing the room tempature and will be ready to put in within the next few days!

And just for fun yet totally unrelated, Luke, my friend Katy's son, learned to say Hee-haw! Listen to him! It cracks me up!

Painter's Tip

I went in to check with mom to see how things were going and I was slightly caught off guard... At first, I thought maybe she was high on fumes because

1. it's extremely hot outside so one does not need to wear socks with their sandals
2. no one is here to see your ugly feet so there isn't a need to cover them up

But then she explained...

During

Sadly (read with sarcasm), with summer school and all, i'm not able to help out with the peeling back of the floor, wiping down of the walls, clearing out of the room process that mom is pretty much doing all by herself during the day.

Is there a reason the curtains are still up?

This was the wall that had the sewing desk, dresser, and then baskets hanging above.

This wall had the table that attached to the wall and folded down when you weren't using it (or when junk wasn't piled on it). This room is right off the kitchen/dining room and that door actually leads to the garage. I have so many ideas swimming in my head of what this room could be turned into - like a mud room since it's right off the garage... you could have a nice bench or something with cute little cubby holes underneath for every member in your family to drop off items in, an individual hook for every member to hang jackets or caps on, oh the endless possibilities. But this isn't my house and it's not my choice, so I keep my dreams to myself (or share them with you).

A little tiny storage closet that really and truly could be torn down, but mom insists that she needs 2 closets in this room. The wall in the picture below originally had all those shelves and the desk underneath - they have been removed and tossed as you can see!

Mom worked all day yesterday peeling the floor... the remains are in those boxes. Here is a picture to show you what the old floor looked like - you have the kitchen/dining room tile, the old black n white floor from the craft room and now the black concrete underneath.

And because this is a big deal and needs to be documented... here is a lil' video of mom - you know, just to monitor her progress and keep her motivated!

Before

Remember that garage sale we had at the beginning of June?

Well, these beautiful curtains were not sold in it... but they were a part of what led to us having a garage sale in the first place. What did they have to do with the garage sale? Well, Mom wanted to enjoy her craft room and actually be able to use it, but there was so much junk in there that is was nearly impossible. We (she) needed to get rid of a bunch of "things" that were not being used and only taking up space so that we (she) could then use the room for what it was intended to be in the first place. Because 3 weeks ago this is what the room looked like -

How does one think or stay focused with that much clutter around them?

I'm not sure you would be able to find anything in that room. Note to self - organization is key.

The only reason I post these pictures is because there is actual progress that is being made. Otherwise it would be incredibly cruel and embaressing to post pictures of a completely over-stuffed room that has no purpose. I plan to post before, during, and after pictures of mom's cute, organized, up-to-date craft room... with, i'm sure, really awesome curtains!

Maybe it'll encourage you to tackle that room in your home that everything gets thrown into... or maybe not!

Quote

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today - Monday - June 6th, 2009

Outside my window there is a sky full of clouds that sprinkles rain every now and then. It hasn't officially 'rained' today, just a few sprinkles, but it's definitely gloomy.

I am thinking that I really do not have time to be blogging right now, yet here I sit.

I am thankful for facebook. I know that sentence sounds ridiculous and believe me, i'm always talking about how addictive, time-consuming, and pointless it can be... but i've been able to talk with family that I only get the chance to see once or twice a year. That has been super fun!

From the learning rooms - click here, here, and then here. I'm too exhausted to go in details at this moment.

I hear the pan sizzling on the oven from the kitchen which means mom must be preparing something for supper. It seems earlier than normal though. ** she's cooking bacon to go with the peas... that explains it.

I am wearing blue boys n girls club t-shirt, red cami, blue jean shorts, tennis shoes, hair down and a little blush. We have to wear tennis shoes to work everyday - I must admit it hasn't felt like summer since I can't see my toes. My poor cute sandals! haha!

I am creating a calender full of events (workshops and classes) so that I don't miss anything important. They told us at oreintation that this would be the hardest, busiest year of our lives... they so were not kidding! I still can't believe i'm on board with this. It's just so unlike me to commit to something serious.

I am going to take a little nap after I finish posting this and then wake up and organize my calender.

I am reading Heaven is Real by Don Piper, and hopefully plan to start Kathy Herman's new book in her Phantom Hollow Series. (That would require one purchasing the book to begin with) I hadn't been reading anything until I read an entry someone posted on good summer reads. It got me super interested in reading again!

I am hoping to get everything done that I can do right now for my teaching certification. There are lots of annoying little things like fingerprinting and so on. Procrastination will not be good throughout this process - I need to get a good start so that I can tackle everything on time! I need to organize my binder also.

I am hearing two songs play at once on my computer because I have so many windows open, the fan blowing above my head, and the television on the HGTV channel.

It's pretty wild Around the house right now. We've been camping for the past two weeks and then we took a quick trip to Mississippi this past weekend. Poor China doesn't know what to think. She was so happy to be home last night - she was knocked out in the recliner about 10 o' clock. There are still so many things piling up that need to be put into their proper storage rooms. We haven't quite got back into the flow of things since the garage sale. Now that VBS and the two week vacation is over for mom and dad I think things will start to get back to normal.

One of my favorite things is listening to music. My two favorite artist (should there be an s on the end of that?) right now are Mandisa and Francesca Battistelli. You should check them out!

A few plans for the rest of the week are to begin my online courses, attend a workshop on Tuesday morning, continue working at the Boys n Girls club on the other mornings, and have my first adventure at House Sitting.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you today - Casie and I before church this weekend in Mississippi.

Would you like to participate in Daybooks?

Changing Focus

We are in Mississippi visiting the Kilgore side of the family and celebrating the 4th. (Don't you like how the photo has both the Mississippi bridge and the Flag - so appropriate for that first sentence) The trip wasn't planned around Independence Day, it just ended up being the only weekend we could make it down here this summer.

As i sit here typing at the computer my family is gathered around the piano 10 feet away singing hymns. They probably don't realize how much it touches my heart... but I am soaking it in from across the room. Sometimes I worship better when i'm not the one singing. Ever have moments like that?

It takes about 6 hours to travel all the way over here to MamaBillie and PapaBill's house. I brought plenty of books to keep me occupied on our journey; one of those being, Heaven is Real by Don Piper - the author of 90 Minutes in Heaven.

While I was reading on their backporch this morning I was convicted at how much I take for granted. I had to stop reading and verbally tell the Lord thank you for so many simple things in my life.

Thank You for another day, for legs that were able to get me out of bed and help me walk each and every day, for arms and hands that make so many things possible (even things as simple as hugging others), for eyes to see everything You have created, for ears to hear my family sing, for the ability to taste food, for family even though sometimes it's extremely hard... and thank You for breaks in the everyday routine that make us stop and focus on the truly important.

What are you thankful for today?

I read an email back in November where a woman was intentionally changing her focus - instead of seeing the huge load of laundry piled on the kitchen table, she thanked God for providing clothes for her family.

May we stop today when we'd rather complain and turn our response into some kind of praise and thanks to the Father!

Happy 4th of July - family, friends, food, and fireworks!