Thursday, December 24, 2009

Merry Christmas Eve!!!

Last night, the power went out in my duplex as well as the duplex next door... but not completely.  See, I had two sockets working (one in the kitchen and the socket for the TV), and the kitchen light still worked, so, though it doesn't make a lot of sense, not all of the power went out.  The dryer, fridge, and the majority of the rest of the power left me alone in the dark scratching my head.  So, it's Christmas Eve, and I have spent the day wrapping presents and drawing in the dark.  Don't worry, I'm not complaining, just reliving the day.   It was kind of funny the amount of times I went stumbling through my bedroom due to the humongous pile of clothes that I have not yet gotten around to sorting.  MLGW had to send out a man to look at my electrical meter (he came out relatively soon after my call!), who then had to send out 2 men to check it out, who then had to send out for 3 huge electrical trucks and a group of men to come turn my lights back on.  When they finally came on around 4, I thanked them with a pack of coke to split.  Hey, it's Christmas Eve, it's nasty, grey, and rainy, and they had been working on it all day long.  I was pretty grateful for them.  So, for once I'd really like to say "Thank you MLGW, you did a wonderful job!"

To catch you up since the last post, last Saturday I volunteered at the school to help out a charity called Help-Portrait.  This organization allows families a chance to get a free 8x10 in. family portrait.  It was a really good experience and if you get a chance, check out their web-page and see what you can do to help out or to get them involved in your community.




(This was a picture that one of my sweet 4th graders, Amber, took of me.  Afterwards she was a regular photographer with my camera until she and her mom had to leave.)

Last Thursday was the last day with the kids before Christmas Break and we had a talent show.  After the talent show, I got some of my fourth graders to come down and help me clean my room up before the Holidays.  We had a good time and I have to say, it's been hitting me recently, just how hard it's going to be to leave the kids at Oakhaven if I end up moving in the next year or two.  I can't wait to experience a new city, however, the idea of leaving my students breaks my heart.  When the inevitable happens, and I do move, it will indeed be very bittersweet.
















Finally, to close up this post, this past weekend was devoted to pulling off the best possible baby shower possible for little Gus.  Lindsey's friend, Emily, was the brains and organization behind the shower, her friend, Megh, allowed us into her home to hold and to host the shower, and I helped out when needed.  The turn out was awesome and Gus went home with lots of baby schwag to welcome him when he arrives.  Emily made the cake and the sandwiches (all of which were DELICIOUS!) and Megh's home was an awesome place for a baby shower (very cute decor!).  So, all-in-all, I would say it was a success!









Little Gus Cake







Thursday, December 17, 2009

Non-English American Accent...

When mimicking a foreign culture's accent, we often butcher the language as well as the accent using some kind of made-up jibberish.  I always wondered how other countries mimicked American accents and according to my friend, David, who is originally from Venezuela, they use "Yack, yack, yack" to imitate our chatty American dialogue.  I found this to be pretty amusing.  Anyway, I happened upon this video today which reminded me of this curiosity.  An italian singer rocks out in Italian, in an American accent, and it's pretty damn good (fun video too!).  Check it out:



Fun, huh?

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Well, Hello There!

     I have been bum-rushed by my own to-do list and the holiday season as I am sure many people have.  So, I wanted to apologize for the temporary pause on my blog, I believe I'm going to have a little more time now, so the routine will re-boot very soon now (knock on wood).  I wanted to give a re-cap on a few fun tiddly-bits going on in and around my world right now... come join me in catching up!


     First off!  My nephew now has a name!!! (Drum Roll.............)  From hence forth (hence being from whenever Lindsey and Blake actually decided on the name), the little firecracker shall be known as Augustus William Hill!!!!!!!  He will be going by the name of Gus for the majority of the family, but I believe for Joey and I, he will go as Augie Bill Hill or Augie Willy Hilly (Joey prefers Augie Bill Hill).  As far as I know, my dad will be called "Pop", my mom has not decided on her name yet, Joey will be Uncle Joey, I will be Aunt Wheezer, and I really want Bowe to be Uncle Bodozer, but of course that decision will be his to decide.  We all eagerly await little Augie's arrival!


    Second, I wanted to show everyone what my students (K-4) at school have been working on.  We have been studying warm vs. cool colors, collage, and Eric Carle, and have been creating Under the Sea Collages.  They are coming out wonderfully so far.  I know I'm biased, but I think they're doing a great job.  So, here are a few of the collages, I really just chose some that were easy to grab as I have a serious overload of them as all of my grades are doing one.

This is one of my second grader's collage.  The collaged fish have not yet been added, but it's going to look awesome when they are.

I have stacks and stacks of these collages.  I am extremely ready for this week to come to an end so I can begin organizing my classroom again.

These photos are my examples of how the project should go.  You start with the background painting, using cool colors, and then collage manilla paper as the sand and different shades of green tissue as seaweed.  Using crayons to add details such as sand texture, texture in the seaweed, and other small objects like crabs, seashells, and schools of fish, etc. spice up the artwork a bit.  Then, the class creates "texture sheets" using crayons and creating patterns and then painting over these "textures" with watercolors, creating a crayon resist painting.  Finally, the students take their "textures" and cut out underwater sea objects such as jellyfish, sharks, octopi, mermaids... whatever they can come up with, and Voila! You have an awesome Under the Sea Collage! 
There are so many awesome collages that the kids have done; I haven't had a chance to really rifle through and pull out some of the more creative ones... plus, none of them are quite finished yet.  So, I'm going to make it a point to start taking more pictures of them as the students complete the project.





I'm going to post more photographs of the students work as soon as I organize and shoot more pictures of them. So, stay tuned.


And, lastly on this long post of mine, I wanted to show the design for the Save the Date cards that Joey and I are going to use. I did it with pen and ink and I'm going to play around with using some color throughout to see if I like it colored or in black and white. I would like to hear other opinions too when I actually get around to tinkering with it. Anyway, here it is...





Goodbye for now and love to all!

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Monet and Toys, Disney Princess Deconstruction, and Sound Waves of Fire...

Ok, so I'm really hoping to be able to put a meaningful post on here pretty soon.  However, I've been extremely busy and haven't quite found the time, but I'm hoping to find that time soon.  So, to tie you over, I wanted to show you a few fun and AWESOME time-wasters.  Enjoy!



And here's the Sound Waves of Fire.  I have to admit, I'm still pretty clueless as to how he made this happen, but regardless, it's pretty damn cool.


Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Pull out your sweaters...

Ahhh, December.  The heater running, mice finding little nooks in the house to seek refuge from the cold outdoors, a few extra minutes in bed to savor the warmth... these are things that I find endearing about the winter-time.  Even the mice... a part of me likes the idea of sharing my space with another living being that needs it, as long as it respects my space, and then I will respect theirs in return... and so far, thanks to Nugget, the mice have been extremely respectful.  The cold rainy days, waiting, shivering for the car to warm up as you drive to work, and feeling claustrophobic in all my layers of clothing, are the days I like to skip over when daydreaming about the winter season.  Admittedly, I am a summer girl and at times this time of year is a struggle for me, so, occasionally I need to subconsciously lift my spirits up from any seasonal depression I may be having and scout out things to psyche myself up about the cold.  As a constant pit stop in my internet meanderings, apartmenttherapy.com has succeeded in exciting me about winter-time with excellent posts focused on adjusting your home for the winter, which, often-times, adjusts your attitude as well.  So, I'd like to share some of them with you.  Enjoy!







Friday, November 27, 2009

Hooray for long Weekends!!!

This week has been completely wonderful so far.  On Tuesday night I was able to meet up with my friends Lauren and JB (Jeebs) and share good stories, good drinks, and a few new cocktail recipes as well (courtesy of JB).  On Thanksgiving, I was able to meet some new family members of Joey's family and enjoy the festivities at his place which is always a truly great time.  Although I missed spending time with my family and their traditions on Thanksgiving (getting stuffed and then napping with a football or NASCAR race on the TV), I feel right at home with Joey's family which is a great feeling.  They are wonderful people and I love them.  This weekend, my sister and my brother-in-law are coming in town, so I'll get some family time in then, and we will all find out the name of their new little baby boy on the way.  I can't wait to meet my nephew (due in February)  :)


P.S. - I found out that I had a nephew on my birthday! Best birthday present yet :)


My mom and I went and tried on some dresses today at a Vintage shop in midtown for the wedding.  Their were some extremely pretty dresses, though my bust size has become a serious issue in this search.  I do have to say though... I think I might be coming to a decision :)

I've also been asked to shoot out some ideas for Christmas, so here are some things that I've come up with:
  • Micron archival ink pens... you can find these at most art stores and they're always handy when I'm illustrating.  They come in varying widths, which is always fun to play with.
  • My "favorites list" on Etsy (it's a long list that's been building for a couple of years now, so don't feel overwhelmed): http://www.etsy.com/favorite_listings_public.php?user_id=5772828&ref=favorites
  • a new hair-dryer
  • Art books
  • A gift certificate to frame some artwork that I've been meaning to frame and hang for a while now
  •  A healthy crock-pot cookbook
  • oh, and check this out :)
and that's that!  If anybody needs any ideas for anyone else, I might have some, so just let me know if I can help.  Love you!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I hope your Thanksgiving day was as proper and civilized as this one!

The Cove Secret is Out.