Day 11: Something Fun

 

Because Paris is always a good idea.

 

~Kathryn~

Day 10: Something I Made

I’m a teacher, which means I’m lucky enough to create things everyday.  Alongside some of the most creative people in the world. 

Do you know how drastically our creativity drops after the age of 7?  Here’re the facts:

“A survey was done to discover the creativity level of individuals at various ages. After all the testing, the statistics indicated that 2 percent of the men and women who were in their forties were highly creative. As they looked at young people, the results emerged that 2 percent of the thirty-five-year-olds were highly creative; 2 percent of the thirty-year-olds were highly creative. This went on down to each age group until they reached the seven-year-old children. Ten percent of them were highly creative. However, further study showed that 90 percent of the five-year-olds were highly creative. Between the ages of five and seven, 80 percent of us who are highly creative develop an image, a picture, an attitude that we are not creative, and we begin to deny that particular part of our God-given equipment.”

Skip Ross in his book Say Yes to Your Potential.  Disclaimer:  I haven’t read the book…my brother gave me the info from one of his textbooks.
Article link:  Here.

As a teacher, I believe that creativity should be nurtured, and remain a part of our everyday lives…even after we leave colorful elementary school classrooms.

So, in one corner of my room, I made a tree.

It really helped brighten up the room, and added a little flair in the process. 

Realistic…not entirely.  I’m not the best artist in the world. 

But I’m not going to let that stop me :)

~Kathryn~

PS – Seriously, can you believe that I posted 2 days in a row?!?

Day 9…Just Roll With It

In reality, this is like…day 43.  Hence the title.

A faceless self portrait was apparently more difficult than I imagined….but here it is! 

Taken on an October beach day – swimming discouraged.

Also, I’ve got days 10, 11, and 12 all set! 

What?!  A consistently posted week?  You jest.

Hopefully, I’m back on track(ish).

I Did It!

I’m pretty sure that I successfully took a faceless self portrait today! 

Also, something you should probably know…

I have trouble moving on to something else without finishing the previous task.

I was the student who would skip the question she didn’t know on a test….but not before frantically starring and circling the number.  I mean, what if I forgot which one I skipped!!

No, seriously.

Oh.

And you might be wondering why I didn’t just post the pic right now. 

My camera is downstairs.  I’m upstairs.

Road block…

So, I’m struggling a bit with the whole faceless self portrait. 

Bear with me. 

It’s coming…just slowly.

Days 7 & 8: Something New & Technology

Double post!

First up, something new.  There are lots of new things in my life…new job, new house, new stage of life.

“It was the end of a decade, but the start of an age.”

If you know what that’s from, we’re probably already friends…or we should be.

Anyway, I decided to photograph something that’s new on a smaller scale.

TaDa!

It’s my brand new glasses case!

I got it at Marshalls for $5.  Retail:  $22.  The shopper in me hyperventilated a little. 

Apparently, it’s a Vera Bradley.  I didn’t really notice this…

I was too busy thinking about the adorable owls – and the guilt-free price.

Oh look…there’s already dog fur on it.

 

NEXT!

Technology.

Technology at its finest, people.

My mom says that I’ve been wearing a watch since I was seven.  I feel completely unprepared for my day without one on my wrist.

I say one, because I own several.

Faceless self-portrait tomorrow –get excited!

Day 6: Childhood Memory

Growing up, we always had music in the house.

I still associate certain songs with different times of the year, places, and people.

At the first sign of spring, Mom did the official spring cleaning.  All winter decorations were put away, spring made its way into the house, and Amy Grant came on our CD player.  Well, tape player, originally…we remember those, right?

Especially on Sundays.  I would wake up to the sounds of Michael W. Smith, or Pam Thum…and Mom getting the rest of us up and ready for church. 

It’s a warm and comfortable memory.  Like putting on a sweatshirt at the beach when the air turns chilly. 

This past Sunday was Mandisa’s latest :)

A double post is on its way tomorrow!  The weekend got away from me…

Day 5: Someone i love

 

How could you not?

 

Day 4: Favorite Color

Pink

Recently, I’m all about the pink. 

In all shades, shapes, textures, what have you.

No real psychology behind this choice.  At least….I don’t think so.

And no, I’m not the girl with PINK written across my gym shorts.

Just the color, people.

Day 3: Clouds

We had an abundance of these today. 

Actually, it was just clouds.

Lucky for you, I took pics anyway ;)

Gloucester, MA.  You almost can’t see where the sea meets the sky.  That’s beauty in its own right.

 

In Gloucester(pronounced gloss – ter), Massachusetts, there is the infamous fisherman of the sea statue.  A memorial of a different kind was recently placed there, as well. 

This is the Fishermen’s Wives Memorial. 

Dedicated, essentially, to the families left behind…sometimes for longer than a fishing trip.

The stance of the woman, with a baby in one arm and an eager child in the other.  She’s a real person.  You can see her eyes squint with concern and apprehension, hear the child’s voice, feel the baby squirm.  Her concern, and her strength, are tangible. 

Going out to sea, being the one who leaves – that’s difficult.  But being the one left behind is a reality unlike any other.  It permeates every part of the day…like a cloudy sky that just won’t leave.

 

On another note, I took some other pictures that I’ll share with you…it was “cloudy” when I took these. 

So they count, too. 

Happy Wednesday!

Day 2: What I Wore Today…

The high today was 65. 

And rainy.

This definitely had an impact on my outfit.

I was wearing shoes…just not for the pic.  Oh, look!  Boxes.

Classy mirror pic.

I spend about 90% of my life feeling cold.  So, like most 80 year olds…I have some sort of sweater or sweatshirt with me at all times. 

 

The holiday weekend has me all messed up – tomorrow is already Wednesday!

Happy four day week :) 

I’M BACK!!

News flash:  Life gets crazy.

But then, I’m pretty sure you all know that. 

In an attempt to keep up some sort of rhythm – read:  still blog through the busyness – I’m going to be joining the lovely Jenni from Story of My Life in the 30-day Photo Challenge. 

We’ve got this, guys.

She’s the real deal blogger.  If you haven’t met her already…do so as quickly as possible.  Seriously.

Now, Day 1 is a self portrait. 

I cheated a little here.  This self-portrait is from a couple of weeks ago, but it accurately captures me and my life right now.  And I promise I still look the same.

You’ll notice the messy closet in the background…also the messy hair…and lack of make-up/effort.  I can be a pretty messy person.  Not with relationships or work…but with houseworky type things.  Yes.

Also, please note the headband. 

We call that my serious headband. 

I only wear it when I have some serious physical activity to do.  Here, I’m packing.  Hence the stooped position.  I’m attempting to pack my mess.

I’m going to repost the graphic that Jenni used for the photo challenge…just so you all can see what is coming up!

Until tomorrow!

Crafty!

I have finally finished my crafty project!

I found the idea for it here…ya know, in the wonderful world of Pinterest.

I managed to semi-document my process…

First, what you’ll need:

1 box of 64 crayons

2 embroidery hoops (12 inch & 8 inch)  they MUST be these sizes for spacing reasons.

Glue gun

Ribbon

The Process:

First, lay the smaller embroidery hoop inside the larger one.  Make sure they are evenly spaced.  (Make sure you have something under the hoops, so the hot glue doesn’t wreck your table.  I just used three pieces of cardstock.)

Lay the crayons out so they are evenly spaced around the hoops…like minute hands on a clock.

The Type A person inside of me had to make sure all of the crayons were turned the same way – Crayola side up!

After the crayons are arranged leave them there.  Gently pick one crayon up at a time and hot glue it to the embroidery hoops.

This is my artsy picture of a glue gun.  Note the paper plate underneath…I’m classy like that.

Continue gluing the crayons down until you’ve made it all around the circle.

Once the crayons are set, tie your ribbon into a pretty bow and hot glue it to the top two crayons.

Thanks mom!  I can’t tie a pretty bow to save my life….just look at my sneakers.

And finally – TADA!!!

This wreath is going on my classroom door starting next week!  School is going to be here before I know it!

Happy crafting!

Almost Ready…

I am currently working on what, I hope, will be an adorable project.

I’m almost done, but not quite ready.

I will leave you with a picture clue:

Get excited, people :)

Extra! Extra!

I wasn’t quite sure how to fit these pics into the post yesterday. 

So you guys get to see the extras today!

If you made it this far, thanks for your attention! 

Until next time…

The second BIG day…

This past week, my brother and I went to NYC to celebrate his 18th birthday. 

It was awesome! 

We took the train in, EARLY.  There are no pictures from this part of the day.  It’s best that way.

After getting in to New York, we took a cab ride down to the World Trade Center memorial.  I had been there in 2003, but they’ve done so much more since then.  It was both sobering and inspiring to see how we have moved forward since that day in 2001.

We then took another cab ride up to the Empire state building.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to go to the top – the wait was over an hour. 

So we grabbed a hotdog, because we had somewhere we needed to be…

When I was here last, I was able to see The Phantom of the Opera and Lion King.  This was Ethan’s first play, and we were blown away by the production.  It was phenomenal!  I had chills people.  Chills.

After that, we went to Rockefeller center.  One of my brother’s favorite TV shows is 30 Rock, so this was his favorite stop by far. 

Our final stop was Times Square, which is really a place unlike any other.  The energy is buzzing around you, and the constant ebb and flow of the crowd makes for a very unique experience. 

Side note:  We grabbed dinner at this place:

It was delicious.  The people were friendly, we got a chance to sit down, AND it was affordable. 

After our meal and a quick stop at a cliché souvenir shop, we headed back to the station for our ride home.

It was a good day :)  

I have a few random pics that are coming tomorrow!

Today is a BIG day!

Today, my little brother turned 18.

Back in the day when he was a happy/silly five year old, and I was his happy/sassy older sister…some things never change.

Also, back in the day, I used to be taller and stronger than him…some things really change.

Ethan’s not big on sentimental stuff…so I won’t go there :) 

But, muttley, I love you more than you’ll ever know.

Happy Birthday!!