I got a phone call from my daughter this morning that just made my day! Aiden, my sweet little grandson, recognized my face in a photograph, pointed, and said "Mimi", not just once, but three times! There's nothing quite like the reassurance of knowing that he hasn't forgotten who I am, even though almost 500 miles separate us and our visits are always way too short.
I am definitely going to look into getting cameras for our computers so that we can use Skype!
Monday, September 5, 2011
My how time flies!
It's hard to believe that my last post was almost a month ago! With the rush of getting ready to start a new school year it seems like I just haven't had much "me time". Labor Day weekend is coming to a close, but I have to say it's been a productive three days.
It hasn't been all work and no play even though it is the beginning of a new school year for me. The pool at the Y has been closed for maintenance, so no water aerobics for the past two weeks, but I have managed to stay quite busy.
For the past three weekends, I've been reorganizing my art supplies in the hope of making my little mini-studio a workable one. Now the closet shelves and storage bins are organized, a few new supplies have been added, and I'm ready to get started. Actually, "started" isn't quite accurate. What I'm really ready to do is get "finished" with all those half-completed projects that have been quietly waiting in the dark under the bed.
Would love some tips from other busy women on how to balance family, career, and a hobby!
It hasn't been all work and no play even though it is the beginning of a new school year for me. The pool at the Y has been closed for maintenance, so no water aerobics for the past two weeks, but I have managed to stay quite busy.
For the past three weekends, I've been reorganizing my art supplies in the hope of making my little mini-studio a workable one. Now the closet shelves and storage bins are organized, a few new supplies have been added, and I'm ready to get started. Actually, "started" isn't quite accurate. What I'm really ready to do is get "finished" with all those half-completed projects that have been quietly waiting in the dark under the bed.
Would love some tips from other busy women on how to balance family, career, and a hobby!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Mid-week update on my "to do" list...
1. Weeding the garden...check! Also deadheaded flowers, moved a perennial that needed it, cut back the overgrown day lilies. Yay!
2. Clean house...nope! The weather has been gorgeous, so there's no way I'm spending one unnecessary moment inside.
3. Complete art projects...off to a good start. Finished stenciling two scarves, worked on painting a third, and dyed two more to get them ready to detail.
4. Supply storage...not so much! I think I need to go get some more shelves or storage bins.
5. Made it to water aerobics twice so far this week. Another Yay!
2. Clean house...nope! The weather has been gorgeous, so there's no way I'm spending one unnecessary moment inside.
3. Complete art projects...off to a good start. Finished stenciling two scarves, worked on painting a third, and dyed two more to get them ready to detail.
4. Supply storage...not so much! I think I need to go get some more shelves or storage bins.
5. Made it to water aerobics twice so far this week. Another Yay!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Time to get something done!
I just work up to the realization that one week from tomorrow is my first department meeting for the new school year. Yikes! Time to work on the "final frenzy" to-do list:
1. Weed the flower beds. Fortunately, it rained last night, so if the sun comes out and the mosquitoes stay away, this afternoon might be good for that.
2. Clean the house. Yeah, I know, an exercise in futility since it will be a mess all over again, but it does feel good those first few days (hours?) after the work is finished.
3. Complete the various unfinished art projects that have been crying for my attention while I wandered all over the place this summer. Actually, if I can complete just enough to see the top of my work table, that will be enough!
4. Find a better way to store my art supplies. Just bought more fabric paints on sale yesterday, but failed to consider where on earth I would put them!
5. Get myself to water aerobics at the Y at least three times this week. I've totally neglected myself on this one! Haven't seen the pool in over two weeks.
Reality check! Can I do all this in one week? Will I do all this in one week? Probably not, but it's good to have goals!
1. Weed the flower beds. Fortunately, it rained last night, so if the sun comes out and the mosquitoes stay away, this afternoon might be good for that.
2. Clean the house. Yeah, I know, an exercise in futility since it will be a mess all over again, but it does feel good those first few days (hours?) after the work is finished.
3. Complete the various unfinished art projects that have been crying for my attention while I wandered all over the place this summer. Actually, if I can complete just enough to see the top of my work table, that will be enough!
5. Get myself to water aerobics at the Y at least three times this week. I've totally neglected myself on this one! Haven't seen the pool in over two weeks.
Reality check! Can I do all this in one week? Will I do all this in one week? Probably not, but it's good to have goals!
Monday, August 8, 2011
As my summer comes to a close...
Summer is always my favorite time of year...no school, no students, no lesson plans...just lots of time to do whatever I want to do. Which usually means trying to pack in as many things as I can. But now it's the second week of August, which means my final week of freedom to do as I please.
All in all, it was an excellent summer. Spent much of June visiting with my mom both here in Ohio at my home and at her home in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. Then on to Center Hill Lake and Edgar Evins State Park in Tennessee for our family reunion week. Great fun, especially since our children now have children of their own and it was quite the gathering of the babies and toddlers:)
Mom with all 8 of her children
Mid-July brought my girlfriend week on Marco Island, followed by a week of...dare I say it...teacher workshops with Muse Machine, one of the true gems of Dayton's arts scene. Despite my reluctance to give up the joys of summer, I'm excited about the great opportunities my co-advisor and I will have to share with our middle school students this year.
The first week of August my husband, Bruce, and I spent in Rochester, NY. Our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson moved into their first "real" house. No more cramped apartment quarters at last! Dear hubby and I came home flat out exhausted! A 90-year old house may have lovely woodwork, hardwood floors, and leaded glass windows, but the unkempt garden and yard required lots of hard work! Tara and Matt still have plenty of work to do to get the house exactly the way they want it to be, but I'm proud to say that the rock garden in front is going to be fabulous. And Aiden is happily claiming his "turf" in the new neighborhood!
All in all, it was an excellent summer. Spent much of June visiting with my mom both here in Ohio at my home and at her home in the beautiful mountains of western North Carolina. Then on to Center Hill Lake and Edgar Evins State Park in Tennessee for our family reunion week. Great fun, especially since our children now have children of their own and it was quite the gathering of the babies and toddlers:)
Mid-July brought my girlfriend week on Marco Island, followed by a week of...dare I say it...teacher workshops with Muse Machine, one of the true gems of Dayton's arts scene. Despite my reluctance to give up the joys of summer, I'm excited about the great opportunities my co-advisor and I will have to share with our middle school students this year.
The first week of August my husband, Bruce, and I spent in Rochester, NY. Our daughter, son-in-law, and grandson moved into their first "real" house. No more cramped apartment quarters at last! Dear hubby and I came home flat out exhausted! A 90-year old house may have lovely woodwork, hardwood floors, and leaded glass windows, but the unkempt garden and yard required lots of hard work! Tara and Matt still have plenty of work to do to get the house exactly the way they want it to be, but I'm proud to say that the rock garden in front is going to be fabulous. And Aiden is happily claiming his "turf" in the new neighborhood!
Monday, July 25, 2011
So now I figured out pictures...
...at least a little bit. Still need to learn how to adjust the size of the photo, but that will come, I'm sure.
This photo is a summery (pun intended!) of my long-time friendship and summer visits with two dear friends, Alice and Susan. We met as teachers at Incarnation School, in Centerville, Ohio, where I still teach. A little over 15 years ago, Alice and her husband moved back to Bucks County, PA, where they have a lovely country home. She invited several of us to come for a visit and Susan and I took her up on it. Little did we know how this would blossom into an amazing friendship far beyond what we had in Ohio!
Susan and her husband eventually moved to Boston, MA, Alice is still in PA, and I am still here in "warm and cheerful" (it's on all the signs around our little city) Centerville, Ohio. I found these wine goblets at the Cincinnati airport while waiting for a flight to Florida for one of our girlfriend get-aways to celebrate our 10th summer together. Now these colorful goblets are a part of every evening we spend together, no matter where we happen to be that year. This year, it was Marco Island in celebration of 15 years of sharing life's highs and lows, joys and sorrows, and just plain having fun together!
This photo is a summery (pun intended!) of my long-time friendship and summer visits with two dear friends, Alice and Susan. We met as teachers at Incarnation School, in Centerville, Ohio, where I still teach. A little over 15 years ago, Alice and her husband moved back to Bucks County, PA, where they have a lovely country home. She invited several of us to come for a visit and Susan and I took her up on it. Little did we know how this would blossom into an amazing friendship far beyond what we had in Ohio!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Clueless in Ohio....
Since I've never considered myself to be very computer savy, this is going to be another one of my "fly by the seat of my pants" adventures. It began with Facebook as a way to keep in touch with family in between visits and reunions and has ended up with random wanderings onto the blogs and websites of women like me who are trying to figure out how to balance faith, family, friendships, and careers with a love for something that always gets put on the "back burner" of life. In my case, it's my love for creating art.
I'm an art teacher, so one would think I'd carve out the time to keep myself fresh by creating art, but that just doesn't seem to happen very often. My hope is that by adding new friends from the blogging community I'll find the inspiration to make my own art happen more often and a forum for the three things that shape my life...faith, family, and friendships.
I'm an art teacher, so one would think I'd carve out the time to keep myself fresh by creating art, but that just doesn't seem to happen very often. My hope is that by adding new friends from the blogging community I'll find the inspiration to make my own art happen more often and a forum for the three things that shape my life...faith, family, and friendships.
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