Hooray for Duct Tape!!! Summer school...June 21st, 2011

So, if you haven't seen the Duct Tape selection in the hardware isles recently you'd be AMAZED!!!  The days of gray and silver are no longer...you can now get it in bright colors and prints too!

 Everything from tie dye, to polka dots, to skulls and Hello Kitty you will be overwhelmed with the choices!  Kacey (my aide during summer) and I decided it would be a fun project for our summer school class to create some usable art with the fun new colors of Duct Tape!  She and I had both bought a few rolls out of pocket but then Kacey was over at her mother's house and was watching some You Tube tutorials on creating
Duct Tape wallets and her mother loved the idea!  The next day Kacey's mom (who works at Wal-Mart) decided to buy 30 plus rolls of various

colors and prints and donated them to my class!!!  This was nearly $100 dollars worth of Duct Tape even with her employee discount!!!  It was unexpected but VERY appreciated!  So each student got to create a wallet for themselves and because father's day was quickly approaching they got to make one for their dads that we then wrapped up as gifts too!  Some of the quick working kiddos even made flower toppers for pens too!  I then took the opportunity to create an English project by teaching the students to write thank you notes to Kacey's mother to thank her for the Duct Tape donation.  To make the notes pretty (more like stationary) we used special a Japanese floating dye I'd bought.  After the students wrote, revised, typed, and printed their letters they got to pick their colors.  Kacey and I manned the dye (because it was expensive and permanent)...each drop of color chosen was floated in water and then lightly swirled by the student with a Popsicle stick and then we dipped the paper and envelope into the dye and wallah--Beautiful!!!   

Uh Oh...that's not supposed to happen!!!

It's Monday, June 20th, 2011 and I'd just gotten home after teaching summer school and running errands.  When I tried to unlock my back door to go inside the entire lock mechanism came out WITH my key!!!  Now, I'm no expert but I am pretty sure that THIS is not supposed to happen!!!  When I mentioned this to other people everyone quickly jumped to the conclusion that someone had tampered with the lock trying to break into my house.  I wasn't so convinced because the lock had been giving me trouble for weeks now.  Every time (before this) I

 had to jiggle the key around to get it to turn and the last couple days I actually had to steady the knob with my other hand to remove the key.  It seemed to be getting looser and looser until today, when it simply gave up and fell out I guess?!?  I gotta get it fixed one of these days though because I've already locked myself out a few times by twisting the bottom lock as I leave the house (out of habit) but from the outside there's no way to untwist the lock so I then have to go around to the front door to get in!  Problem is, installing a new lock means a new key or a locksmith to come out and key it the same as the rest of the house and all of that is just a pain--hence I have not yet fixed it!  

Babysitting Carter...Bath time...June 19th, 2011

 Carter at bath time on a babysitting evening...I realized quite quickly that I couldn't add the bubbles till the end when he was done playing and ready to wash because he kept swimming and gargling with the water!

 I didn't have any bath toys but I DID have gigantic Lego's that float--problem solved!!!  Makes you wonder
at what age baths become a chore or necessity we have to do instead of a

playtime event to look forward to!  Carter laughed,  giggled, and played until the water got to cold to stay in!  Gotta love the crazy bath hair and cheese face--he is SUCH a ham!!!  :-)

My Match.com Profile

MoesMatch79...Your attitude towards life defines not only who you are, but the quality of life you are after!!!

32 year old woman
Bakersfield, California, United States

seeking men 28-38
within 100 miles of Bakersfield, California, United States

Relationship: Never Married

Have kids: No

Want kids: Definitely

Ethnicity: White / Caucasian

Body type: About average

Height: 5'6" (168cms)

Faith: Spiritual but not religious

Smoke: No Way

Drink: Social Drinker 

 About Me & Who I'm Looking For

I'll be the first to admit, I'm not perfect and I'm not looking for perfection! In general I'd say I'm independent, caring, down to earth, affectionate, intelligent, hard working, and energetic.

I'm looking for someone who’s done playing games and considers themselves balanced. I like guys who can be witty, playful, and affectionate but who can also get serious and deal with adult conversations and realities when appropriate. I like the idea of someone who can be equally happy staying in or going out (but I'm over the party scene). I hope to find someone who has a good sense of humor, a strong (but open) mind, a kind personality, solid values, a love for family (dogs included) and an overall respect for people.

I think relationships work best when communication is open and where honesty and trust are a given. I enjoy spending time with my partner but respect the time they need for themselves and expect them to respect mine as well. I'm definitely not looking for someone to MAKE me happy or fill some hypothetical hole in my life...but I'd like to meet a great guy that would compliment my life...and hopefully I'd compliment his as well!

Whew! That’s enough for now, if you'd like to know more...just ask! :)

Interests:  Camping, Cooking, Dining out, Gardening/Landscaping, Hobbies and crafts, Movies/Videos, Music and concerts, Wine tasting 
Sports and exercise: Aerobics, Billiards / Pool, Bowling, Inline skating, Running, Skiing, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis / Racquet sports, Walking / Hiking, Weights / Machines, Other types of exercise, Hockey, Volleyball 
Exercise habits: Exercise 3-4 times per week 
Pets:  I have Dogs (2 sweet female yellow Labs with plenty of personality...ages 3 and 6)
Political views: Middle of the Road 
Sign: Aquarius 
College: California State University, Fresno, Fresno, CA
Favorite Things: Mmm...for music, I'm pretty well rounded--My favorite band would still probably be Matchbox 20 (even though they no longer exist as a group)...I like most alternative, 80's, rock (classic/current/hard)  country (I can hear the grimaces already!) :-)
Last Read:  The last two good book I read were: The Art of Racing in the Rain...By: Garth Stein  Water for Elephants--a historical novel By: Sara Gruen

Appearance:	Me	My Date
Height:	5'6"	5'9"  to 6'6"
Body type:	About average	About average, Athletic/toned, Stocky
Eyes:	Blue	No answer
Hair:	Blonde	No answer

Lifestyle:
Smoke:	No Way	No Way
Drink:	Social Drinker	Social Drinker, Moderately
Occupation:	Education/Teacher	No answer

Relationship:	Never Married	Never Married/Widow/Divorced

Have kids:	No	No answer

Want kids:     Definitely                         Definitely, Someday
Ethnicity:     White/Caucasian                White/Caucasian
Faith:  Spiritual but not religious     Spiritual but not religious/Christian/Other  Languages:   English, Other     English Education: Graduate degree     No answer

Me, Ginger, & Baylie...June 18th, 2011

Just because we were outside and smart phones have cameras!  Ginger was good about "smiling" this time because we'd been playing and she was still panting!  Baylie on the other hand wouldn't hardly sit still long

enough to get a picture because when she's playing fetch it's serious!!!  :-)

A guilty pleasure after a LONG day!

Today in summer school we had a tie dying event (check out the previous post for pictures and in-depth details) and by the time I had everything put away, cleaned up, and planned for the following day I don't thing I left until after 3!  I know what you're thinking...3pm isn't even a full work day, and although you are correct, it is a day that goes non-stop starting at 7:30am with no breaks and no lunches!!!  Needless to say I was DONE and I stopped on the way home to grab a much needed/deserved celebratory beverage and ran across this new heavenly flavor!!!  Mikes Hard Lemonade in Black Cherry?!?!  Soooo good (in moderation of-course) I had to share!  Cheers!  :-)

Summer School Tie Dye Event...June 15th, 2011

I'm always in search of fun cross-curricular hands-on activities to do during summer school because four straight hours of English and Math paper and pencil assignments would bore me to death as fast as it would the students!!!  So this summer we took art to a permanent level!!!  Kim Smith promised that if we did a tie dying day that she'd come to help out and of-course participate!  Luckily I'm blessed to have an aide of my choosing to help out during summer school, but I definitely wouldn't turn away an extra set of hands on a day I'm dabbling in permanent dye and

teenagers!  Kacey McNew has been my summer aide for years now and we work rather well together!  She is fabulous at helping the students without giving answers or doing projects for them--a necessity in truly learning if you ask me!!!  During the year Kacey works as an interpreter but in the summer she assists me in the classroom and helps to keep me sane during our non-stop 4-hour block schedule in a classroom FULL of students (at least double the size of any class I have during the year)!   So once we set a date I then discussed it with the custodians because we needed to borrow a hose and bib

connection to rinse out the dye (and any other messes that could arise).  They are awesome and had everything set up for us before school even started that day, which is a bright and early 7:30 am!!!  Over the course of the first week of summer school we had the students bring in 1-2 items that they wished to dye and

if they did not already have a white t-shirt or socks their parents would allow them to alter I told them to bring me $3.00 and I'd buy them a shirt and socks (thank goodness or multi-packs at Wal-Mart!) .  All the students had been awaiting this day in utter anticipation and I'd threatened them

with plenty of homework if they goofed off too much around the dye because I didn't want parent calls yelling at me for sending their students home multi-colored!  Luckily when the time came everyone was rather well behaved and no casualties occurred , although we did create quite a spectacle with our clothing line of colorful items strung from one side of the building to the other!!!  At the end of the day (give or take noon) Kacey and I had the job of bringing in all the clothes.  We strung up new lines across my classroom so they could finish drying overnight without being stolen.  The next day we had a life skills lesson in ironing (that's how you set the dye before washing) and then washing and drying in the machines located in the room next to mine (normally utilized by the Severely Developmentally Delayed (SDD) class during the year).  So from art to life skills it was an enjoyable couple of days!!!    :-)

Even Carter got a shirt!!!  :-)

Tim McGraw Concert...June 9th, 2011

Summer school began on June 6th and only 4 days into that hectic-ness Mom and I drove up to Fresno's Savemart Center for a concert featuring Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, and The Band Perry.  I was VERY tired on Friday (Mom had taken that day off)!  The concert was really good and I just kept telling myself that I only had to survive about 5 hours on Friday then I could head home for an afternoon nap!  Interestingly enough, we both found The Band Perry and Luke Bryan to be far more entertaining than Tim McGraw even though he was the featured artist!!!  Luke Bryan not only

owned the stage but won over the crowd within the length of the very first song he sang whereas Tim didn't seem to put much effort into playing to the people!  

HHS Graduation...June 2nd, 2011...Year 7 Done!!!

Thursday June 2nd, 2011.  YEAR #7 DONE! I/we made it!!!  Oh how the years fly by, I started this job in 2004 and 7 years later here we are at yet another graduation...sending a few more seniors out into the world to begin to fending for themselves--fingers crossed they survive!  It is not exactly mandatory that teachers attend the graduation ceremonies but it is HIGHLY encouraged!  Thus far I haven't missed one and this year we had a few students that I was going to truly miss and that always makes the graduation a bit more special.  Kim Smith and I decided to go shopping the day before for a new outfit with the

full intention of going out after the ceremony...which we did but it didn't last too long.  Everyone was drinking and I'd come in the same car as Kim so I didn't really have a way leave at my leisure and I just never really feel comfortable drinking in a mixed crowd and tonight was the epitome of mixed with coworkers and administrators--simply not my scene!  I was kind of hoping that Kim, me Linda and some of "our" crowd would find something to do together and not stay at Goose Loonies with the whole Highland Staff.  Ultimately an hour or two into the so called after party, I bummed a

ride home from Rob Long (friend, drama teacher, and co-worker).  After that I only had Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to rest and recuperate before Summer School started on Monday the 6th of June!!!   

Sending home some prized artwork...June 1st 2011

Each year as my seniors are about to graduate I always give them the option to take home some of the prize pieces of artwork that they've created throughout the year that I'd kept on display in the classroom.  I did however take photos of them before I had to part with them because they should be remembered.  I've also uploaded photos of the artwork along with other fun school related events on my recently created faux "teacher" Facebook page where I have befriended any student that requests me.  I haven't been on Facebook all that long but I've always struggled with the idea of accepting students who request me onto my personal Facebook page (especially those under 18) because of the potential implications and overall conflict of interest it poses.  Instead, I decided to create a separate page for students only, where all of my information links to school--address, phone number, email, etc. all relate directly to those of Highland High School rather than my true personal info.  I even used the artwork created by one of my graduating seniors of a bouquet of flowers as my profile picture for my teacher page!    

**The Pitbull and Tinkerbell Line drawings were created on special black scratch off paper with

colored construction paper taped behind for pop! 

** The  three drawings are from the food challenge!  Students were allowed to choose what food item they wanted to draw and the only "rules" were that they couldn't trace and it must show both the outside of the package and the food item that is inside.  These were a few of the best! 

**The shoe assignment...the students either brought in a shoe or took off the one they were wearing and had to draw it twice, once with charcoal and once with colored pencil...this was one of the most accurate!  

**The gothic piece is from the assignment where the students had to modernize and recreate a rendition of a classic work of art--this one is modeled after the painting "American Gothic" by Grant Wood.  The student had to use the house, the man, and the woman so that the art was recognizable but everything else could change!

**The last four examples are from the cool and warm geometric project...the students chose a picture and placed it amid the triangle patterns.  They then chose either the inside image or background space to be colored in cool colors (blue, green, or purple) or warm colors (red, yellow, or orange).  

I Bought a NEW 55" Flat Screen TV on a whim!?!?

So I've been living in a real house for nearly 4 years now and although I've wanted to upgrade from my 32" college-sized TV to an adult-sized flat screen, it just hasn't been in the cards or finances until now!  Well, that's not 100% true...I had every intent to buy one back in 2009 but that just happened to be the year that Baylie tore her ACL and I found myself paying for an emergency surgery, meds and numerous checkups!  After taking some time (years to be exact) to pay off said expenses, I did some light research on big flat screen TVs and was beginning to think about making this big purchase.  To be honest, I had just gotten some unexpected news about my dad getting engaged and was in need of some SERIOUS retail therapy...next thing I knew I was standing in the TV row at Best  Buy in a somewhat overwhelmed catatonic state.  I couldn't seem to get anyone to help me and/or answer my questions so I decided to get out of the one store in Bakersfield that smells like a mixture of armpits and dirty feet and go some place where employees work on commission!

 I drove across town and arrived at Urners where I was approached almost immediately by a not too pushy salesman.  In chatting I found out that he was the father of 2 daughters (one of which was a teacher) and a son...I instantly saw my angle!  I asked him what he'd recommend to his own daughter who wanted size, quality, and performance without spending a million dollars.  The battle was between a 55" Sony and Mitsubishi flat screen TV...at first they were toe-to-toe, both were smart TVs with similar resolution and price but THEN he gave me the sound demonstration!!! 

The Sony had two built in speakers that output decent sound and had an optional sound bar you could pay extra for.  The Mitsubishi TV on the other hand boasted 12 built in speakers that delivered 5.1 Dolby surround sound--I was SOLD instantly!!!  Sure someday I might splurge for a home theater speaker system, but no time soon that's for sure so this was the best option for me right now!

 So...I bought it, paid cash (well debit, but it's essentially the same thing), and turned down the extra $75.00 delivery and installation fee so that I could take it home with me right then!  I got it out of the car myself and used a skateboard to "carry" it around to the front door...then pushed it into the living room.  I had a momentary heart attack when I realized the box was bigger than the entertainment center cut-out cubby hole!  Luckily the TV was well packed in Styrofoam and ended up fitting PERFECTLY into its new spot with about an inch margin on each side...seriously couldn't have done better if I'd measured (which I didn't)!!!  I got it all set up and working by myself and temporarily perched on my coffee table...next order of business...finding a TV console that also fits into the dumb wall cut-out!!!          

Dad and Lena got engaged...May 27th, 2011

So...it was Sunday, May 29th, 2011 at 7:04pm...and my phone alerts me to a text message...from Dad?!?  So strange because it was the 1st and only text message he had ever sent me thus far in the history of cell phones!  I think my world stopped for a moment as I read the message: "Hi kids...just wanted to share my happy news, that Lena & I got Engaged Friday night watching a sunset @ the cabin...would like to get together soon.  Love you, Dad."  The amount of thoughts and emotions that rushed over me at that moment was enough to cause the nauseous onset of vertigo!  At this point though none of that mattered, because I guess as of May 27th, 2011 congratulations were in order--Dad was officially engaged to be remarried.