Back after a hiatus again.

I just can not seem to motiate myself during the summer to blog about anything.  And so much has traspired over this particular summer that I am almost uncertain about how to compose this "I'm back" blog post.  Perhaps a list with select details will be best.

1.) The garden looks phenominal though as usual some things grew better than others.  I have lots of pictures about that to post at a later date.  We had some hellish weather this summer which made my watering of the garden more of an obsession than a passing chore.  Because of that, the plants grew big but haven't really officially started producing vegtables until these past few weeks. It's bizarre.  We had pumpkins ready to pick and cook before we had ripe tomatoes.  Positively strange.

2.) My friends have some serious drama going on.  One married couple split up the same day as another married couple... each of the dumpers leaving their respective spouses for the other. So.... it's been an odd social season for us.  We can no longer just call couple #1 and couple #2 for dinner or drinks because... well.... they are now single #1 and single #2 and couple #3.  It's a big, fat mess and we are all forced to deal with it. *sigh*  Doesn't make a god case for marriage does it?

3.) I have been busy doing Farmer's Market things once again this summer.  Since we've had 40 traight days of 100+ degree weather, produce has been slim and thus we have almost all resorted to making some kind of baked goods and crafts to sell in the mean time.  I discovered that Dodge City is comprised of a number of dog lovers.  So, I began making and selling homemae dog biscuts.  People and dogs love them. I've also been making homemade english muffins and scones which are becoming a big hit as well.  I've done quite well this summer.

4.) Lee, my boyfriend, moved into my home in January of 2011. Things have been going well for us.  So well, he got a promotion at work.  He is no longer an assistant manager of customer service at the car dealership but has been transfered to a different section and made a proper manager of customer service.  In other words, when your car breaks down or has the oil changed or is making that weird noise, he's the guy you talk to to schedule an apointment with the technicians.  And he's damn good at his job too.

5.) On the jewelry front, not much has been happening in the way of sales.  However, a lot has been happening in the way of PR for my jewelry studio on Artfire as well as my designs in general.  I've had pieces featured in Bead Trends magazine in the past and have pieces that were selected to be featured in the November and December issues for 2011 as well.  This July I received an email from the editor asking if they could use me as the Designer Highlight for the February 2012 edition.  It's a full 10 page spread along with a head shot of myself and bio page.  I am SUPER excited about this opportunity and will therefore be getting pieces put together and shipped off in the next 2 weeks.  How cool is that?

That's a good update thus far.  More to come later.... including pictures.

A Day in the Life of

6:14am Lee's alarm on his phone went off. He had changed it to a rooster crowing instead of the usual musical alarm. Had a moment of WTF when I heard it. I got up out of bed, got the dog his breakfast and went about getting ready for work.


7:03am I headed out the door to my car after putting Wynton in his crate. He put up no fuss this morning so he must have still been tired. I decided to listen to Royal Crowne Review on my iPod this morning instead of my usual Sirius XM channel (Siriusly Sinatra). Ahhhhhh... that's the stuff to wake me up.

7:32am Arrive at the elementary school where I teach. I brought along a box of construction paper and various other arts and crafts bits and baubles that I need to rid my house of. I put the box in the teacher's lounge with a sign on it that says "Take if you want". We'll see how quickly things disappear.

Noticed that the box I put these things in was a Bud Light box. I quickly found a copy paper box and transferred them into that. I am hiding the Bud Light box in my classroom till I can take it home.

8:55am  Dismissed first round of 5th graders from class.  Instrument activity went VERY well this morning.  Patterns were clear and played with 85%-90% accuracy and the kids sang loudly and on pitch.  Excellent class.



9:43am  Awaiting the arrival of my second round of 1st graders.  The morning is going by quickly.  Thus far, no detentions nor outstanding disciplinary actions have been taken aside from one student relocation to a different seat.  All in all.... a good morning.

10:05am  Headed to the teacher's lounge to photocopy some listening tests for the 2nd grade.  They have completed Unit 4 and I need to check their listening for comprehension. 

10:28am  A sly smile has spread across my face as the students take their listening tests.   Several of them have asked that I play certain examples a second time. They are learning to take their time when testing and get their answers correct.  Now, if only that caution pays off.

11:06 am  Sitting in my quiet classroom for a few minutes eating a banana before heading to the cafeteria to do lunch duty.  I HATE lunch duty.  Hopefully it will pass by quickly.
Found pencil writing on the girl's bathroom stall walls.  I Love [insert 5th grade boy's name here].  Reported it to principal and both 5th grade teachers.  I suspect the 5th grade girls.

12:12pm  Ahhhhh.... sitting again in the quiet of my classroom with my lunch before me.  I have until 1pm to just chill out and eat.  This is my favorite time of day.

12:34pm  Chatting via gmail with my boyfriend's mother, Sharon.  We are all trying to figure out the plan for this evening so we can get dinner all squared away.  This is a typical afternoon activity for us since we all three enjoying cooking.

1:23pm  Taught a simple song to the first round of 3rd graders. A wonderful proverb that was set to a simple melody. "Don't worry if your job is small and your rewards are few.  Remember that the mighty oak was once a nut like you".

1:49pm  I am sitting here in my classroom waiting for the Kindergarten. I am sure today will be an uphill day for them.  They have an assessment sheet to fill out today and that is always difficult for them.
It's started already.... one of them walked in and let out the biggest, loudest yawn I have heard in a while.  Great.

2:38pm  Waiting for my last class to arrive. Thinking about whether or not I want to go to Zumba class this evening with one of my friends or if I want to skip it and work on some things at home.  Tough call.

3:02pm  I am done with classes and am very glad of that.  That last class used up my last ounce of patience and got on my last nerve. ARGH!

3:16pm  Made a follow up phone call with the people who run the new arena/events center about teaching ice skating.  I wanted to inquire for further information about he actual job itself and how much it would entail.  They said there were hoping to get back to me sometime after this week.  Sounds like it could be a good part time job and it would get me back on the ice and exercising again.

4:42pm  Sitting at home in my favorite chair.  The windows are open and a nice spring like breeze is flowing through the house.  It is 70 degrees outside. I ran some errands and took the dog out for potty time.  I'm thinking maybe a walk and some jewelry photo taking might be in my immediate future.

5:53pm  I managed to take some photos of both Wynton and my jewelry pieces while the sun and warm weather persisted.  It was just over 70 degrees today! Wow!

My toy poodle puppy, Wynton.

10:57pm  Well, I am back after several excursions.  Lee and I went to the local community theater to mix up the specialty cocktail mix for this weekends performances.  Then we had dinner at one of our usual Mexican restaurants.  Then we went and visited with his mother for a few hours and watched a couple episodes of a super cute series on HBO Family called The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.  It was a cute little show. 
We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to pick up chapstick, toilet paper and an orchid plant for his mother.  I've been meaning to get her a new one. The one we bought her for Mother's Day is not doing well.  I am trying to resuscitate but so far it seems unresponsive.
Now we are back home, in our PJs and playing with the puppy before heading to bed for the evening.

There you have it.  It is now 11:01pm.... bedtime for us here.  Goodnight!

Orchids and heartfelt words: My favorite gift

I am a music teacher in a public school district.  That's my day job.  I like my job.  But every once in a while, I find something I dislike.  Last night for example.
Yesterday was Valentine's Day.  Normally, I dislike Valentine's Day though as a child I adored it.  I liked the idea that maybe someone would show me affection on this particular day.  As I got older, that hope turned slightly sour and I became bitter aobut Valentine's Day.  This is not uncommon for many people.  Then I met my current significant other and things changed.
Valentine's Day became significant because it's the date we decided to actually date one another.  And while neither of us was ever realy wild about he holiday in general.... we are crazy about each other and the date itself has significance, not so much the holiday that happens to fall on that date. 
Anyways, last night our school held its first round of spring parent teacher conferences.  This means I was here yesterday from 7:35am till 8pm.  On my 2 year anniversary with my boyfriend, who also just recently moved in with me.  Crummy timing to say the very least.  I wasn't too happy about it at all.

I wanted to be home with my boyfriend having a nice dinner and spending quality time together for our 2 year anniversary.  Instead, I sat in a classroom for 4 hours and saw only 3 parents come in to talk to me about their child's education. Once the clock struck 8pm, I was out the door and headed home as quick as possible.
Upon arriving home, I found Lee, my boyfriend, sitting at the dinningroom table with a big grin on his face and our puppy Wynton sitting on his lap.  Both were very happy to see me and gave me lots of kisses.  There was a gorgeous orchid plant on the table as well and a peach piece of paper.  Lee knows I love orchid plants and he's been buying me orchids for special occassions for a while now.  This one is one I had pointed out to him one day and he remembered.  But what the note said was very special.
"These past 3 years have been one heck of a ride and I am better for having gotten on it.  Everyday is Valentine's Day with you."
That might sound sappy but it meant an awful lot to me.  And he knows that sometime having the words in print to keep and hold is important to me.  I can pull that note out any time when I'm having a hard day at work or feeling low about myself.  It is a lovely pick me up.