New to Who

Around 3-4 months ago, I began watching a new tv series on Netflix. It's actually an old show that has been revamped, but it's totally new to me. And I instantly loved it! Why in the world had I not watched Doctor Who before then? Of course I went on benge watch all the episodes available. I'm still trying to catch up on the latest season which is not on Netflix. I have to research and record all the episodes on Directv, but I'm determined to do it before next month! I'm excited because on 11/23/13, Doctor Who celebrates it's 50th anniversary and we will get to see the 10th and 11th Doctors together in the same episode, "The Day of the Doctor". And I get to once again see my favorite Doctor, David Tennant. Can't you tell how nerdy this has made me? And I can't get enough. I never would have imagined myself liking, no loving, a tv show like this. I guess I am now a Whovian. In fact, my Halloween costume is the Tardis, and I bought a Tardis phone cover. Next, I'll probably get a sonic screwdriver. Anyway, I'm just excited to tell you about my new passion. The countdown begins to Season 8.

Hug a Teacher

About one year ago, I started on a path that would take me on a journey towards a different future. I was tired of my job and wanted out so badly. So, I enrolled in graduate night classes at my local university getting a degree in teaching. I worked hard and received my alternate route teacher's license. By the end of January, I was set to teach 7-12 grade English. I had a long wait before I actually got the teaching job. All summer long I put my applications and resumes out to schools and school districts; I covered all the surrounding areas. I had several interviews, but no offers. Finally, one week before school started back, I was offered a job. I want to be as tactful as I can so I will not say the name of the school or school district. Instead, I will give it an alias. Let's see... Hell. Yes, "hell" seems to be a very appropriate name. I'll stick with that. Now, I didn't know Hell was going to be that bad when I accepted the position. I was just so excited to leave my old job and start on a new journey. I was under the illusion that I was actually going to make a difference in other people's lives. Day one approaches: piece of cake. I went in, not too nice, not to mean. I sent several kids to the office from the start to show I meant business. Day two rolls around: The later in the day it got, the worse the kids got. I get to 7th period. What the heck happened? These quiet kids from the day before had turned into rotten little demons! Day three: Reality sinks in really fast. Many of these students are disrespectful, bullying, rude, careless, little monsters. I go home and have my first meltdown. Day four: Survival mode. Discuss with principal that I need help! Promises that they will help and have someone come in to observe and give feedback that will help. Seventh period rolls around-- a living nightmare. Students leave classroom, I immediately go into breakdown #2. Day 5-- get me outta here! Listen, I know that it is not easy for ANY first year teacher, but I knew that I did not want to put up with that crap all year long. I started questioning my mental health; I had so many insecurities about being able to do this thing called teaching; I was realizing the real obstacles that I was facing; I was fighting a spiritual battle inside the classroom against the darkness and Hell seemed like it was winning. There were so many obstacles that I was facing. By the end of week two, I had already tried to quit. Of course the warden tried talking me out of it. He needed his correctional officer, I mean teacher, there because he had seen "confidence" in me during my interview. If that is true, I promise I had none left. Finally, at week 5 I decided to call it quits and for real this time; no one could talk me out of it. I had prayed and prayed about it, and I felt at peace about my decision. I stayed until the end of week 7, and, boy, was that hard! I am trying to forget a lot of my experiences in Hell, but there are some things that I will never be able to forget.

I know that my experiences are very similar to what other teacher suffer through every day. Some have more tolerance than I do; some have caved in just as I did. It takes a special person to handle these students. So, please please hug a teacher today and tell them that you appreciate the hard work that they do. It really is a thankless job sometimes. You don't realize that some newbie teachers go home and work until midnight just preparing for the next day or grade papers all weekend. You don't realize the battles that they are facing in the classroom. You don't realize that they are not only teachers but also counselors, correctional officers, moms, dads, coaches, cheerleaders, etc. to these students and are expected to work miracles at some times. They deserve better paychecks and more respect. And they NEED your prayers and support.

Hug a teacher today and tell them that they are making a difference!

Baby Fever

I have been checking the news every hour for the past two weeks. Like millions of others, I've been waiting on the delivery of the Royal baby. I woke up extra early to watch the wedding live, and I wanted so badly to stay at home this morning and be glued to my tv watching everything unfold live. But a girl's gotta make a living somehow so I convinced myself that I can survive with knowing about the official birth a few minutes after I would have if I had been at home. You may call me crazy, but its such an exciting day! One to definitely blog about.

But I won't keep going on about my baby fever. I was planning on  sharing a couple of my latest craft/decorating projects. The first is one that I wrote about past month. I think it turned out pretty well. 

This is the finished project. I wasn't sure if I'd truly like that I used two different patterns, but It is growing on me. It's definitely not boring. 

It's definitely much better that the original tan suede fabric. And, trust me ladies and gentlemen, this picture doesn't even begin to truly show how ugly the color really was. This picture actually made it better. 

First, I had to remove the bottom part with a screwdriver. By far the easiest part! 

Now I was ready to deal with the fabric. 

I began to remove the fabric, but I had no idea how hard this was. There were soooo many staples in just a couple of square inches, and each were so stinking hard to remove. My hand was hurting so I stopped and asked myself if I really needed to do this step. 

I put the new fabric over the original to see if it would show through. Lucky for me, my beautiful fabric was thick enough so that I could just put it on top without removing the original. It saved me hours of precious time! 

The next step wasn't the most thrilling either. I had an electric staple gun (I strongly recommend this). I had no hand cramps whatsoever. I will say that it was somewhat hard making the staples stay since there was now another layer of fabric. But it worked out in the end. 

After securing the middles and working outward, I approached the corners with not so much enthusiasm. This was super hard stretching and shaping and reshaping and restretching. But when I finally got happy with the appearance, I would staple and take a break until I forgot how much I hated the corners. Once you get past this part, it's pretty much downhill from there. 

As close to perfect as I could get. 

And when you do this, you always need a supervisor. 

Ta-da! After I put the bottom on with the screws and screwdriver, I assembled the legs and back with the seat. And I had me instant happiness. 

Project 2: simply painting canvases. 

The white and black design is simply wallpaper placed and stapled onto the canvas and dried overnight. 

The letters and designs are stencils. I picked a Bible verse that has meant a lot in my life in the past few years. Cheap art!

Upcoming Project

I'm so excited about my new project! I feel like I haven't done anything really crafty in a while, so this has sparked something inside of me... Something that I repress too often. I feel like i should be Julia Sugarbaker from Designing Women. Ok, maybe I'm not as classy as Julia, but I can pass for a Mary Jo Shively. Anyway... So my dining/kitchen table has finally broken. I tried to be a man and fix it, but no matter what handyman skills I possess, this thing was doomed. But that's ok with me. Out with the old and in with the new! 

After researching cheap dining room tables that are semi-nice, I found one from Target that I like. (I'm gonna go ahead and use a plug for the Target Red card here. If you don't have one and you are a frequent shopper at Target, do yourself a favor and get one! Every time you use it on your purchases, you get 5% off plus you always get free shipping online. I saved $119 just on shipping!) I'm a little worried that when I actually get it, I may not like it. I hope that's not the case. I don't want it to look like fake wood or anything like those terrible bookshelves from Walmart. (You know what I'm talking about. We all have one.) There is one thing that I'm certain about though: the chair cushions that come with this dining room set are hideous! The table and chairs are painted black. I like this because it matches my decor. However, the cushions are a tan suede that stick out like a sore thumb. Why they put black and tan together, I will never understand. However, this is where my project comes into play. I am planning on... wait for it... reupholstering the cushions! This is my first attempt (and, depending upon my success, could be my last) at reupholstering furniture. I'm so stinking excited! 

A love story: So, I went to JoAnn's hoping to find the perfect fabric for my project. They had some nice fabric there, but I didn't find "the one". Thankfully, I called my sister to talk me out of buying one that I wasn't 100% in love with. She helped me realize that I don't need to settle on one when I can wait and find another that is perfect for me. Wait a minute... Was she really talking about fabric or about relationships? Hmm... Anyway, I went home and surfed the net. Found a website (www.warehousefabricsinc.com) that showed me some really great, cute fabrics. And then I saw it. It was "the one" I had been searching for the whole time. I fell in love. And then there was another. And another. And another... I hit the jackpot! I actually ended up buying two fabrics (not bad after considering getting four). My plan is to upholster two with one fabric and two with the other. I'll place them opposite each other at the table. And if its anything like the vision in my head, I'm going to be one happy woman. 

Here is a pic of the table and fabric below. Not very good quality, but I'll post the finished project when I'm done. Can't wait to show you!