Ladybuglizzy

Soapbox: Girl World Edition

2012-01-21T05:36:00.001-05:00

Something interesting has been happening lately in FB Land. Normally my interactions on FB include stating how cute various people's children are, "liking" engagement ring shots and shuddering at TMI. Normally nothing too argumentative or controversial- until now.

In the last couple of weeks, I've had not one, not two but three discussions on FB that wound up becoming explosive. And get this- things that I said totally ticked off other people. And they said things that made me angry in return. Me, the girl who never spoke in high school and who tries oh oh so hard not to cause waves. I typically find myself being the peacemaker, bridging gaps between others- even in my own family.

I narrowed down the commonality between these three occurances:

People of the male persuasion commenting on Girl World topics that they know nothing about.

Case #1:

A girl that I know made a post about modesty. Since I like to discuss this topic, I commented. She liked my comment. But uh oh, something I said upset one of her guy friends. He didn't like that I felt that us women were taught to be gatekeepers. It's a common complaint in church Girl World. Do I feel that guys are capable of controlling themselves? Yes. Is everyone responsible for their own actions? Yes. But a lot of church literature would have you believe otherwise in modesty/dating situations. When I come across items of that nature in YW manuals, I make it very clear that we're all responsible for our own actions.

Well this guy went from 0 to 60 very quickly. Instead of allowing me to have my opinion and then stating his (you know, how discussions usually work), I was Wrong. Wrong Wrong Wrong. Nothing I said calmed him down (now keep in mind that I really said nothing controversial or argumentative in this whole discussion, he just chose to take offense at everything), he just got madder and madder. By the end I was being yelled at about how guys in YM are drilled in every lesson to respect women.

Think about that last sentence for a second. I laughed too.

While I believe that modesty applies to both men and women, in this instance it was us girls discussing our world and how it's taught. Something that this guy was never going to understand- but he jumped right in despite that. Instead of yelling at me about what YM are taught, it would have been better to try and explain to us what the YM program is like. I honestly would have liked to hear about things from his perspective. But please allow us to have ours.

Case #2:

Same friend posts video about the excessive use of Photoshop in magazines and advertisements. I made comments about it- it's getting a little scary how plastic and alien the women in our advertisements are becoming. And then I'm pretty sure the same guy -hold your shock and awe- makes comments where he makes leaps and bounds with statistics (and even he said that the logic was probably faulty). He goes on to have opinions about tanning and makeup. I chose not to say anything further for fear of setting this guy off again. But as I observed this discussion, it comes out that he didn't know what makeup is really used for. He thought it was to make skin darker- he had to be educated that, no, most makeup is about evening out the skin color that you already have and that its often difficult to find that foundation that matches perfectly.

Yes, Photoshop is used in advertising for men and whatnot, but the majority of it's use is in women's magazines and advertising directed at women. The whole issue was about Photoshop causing unrealistic standards of beauty and women going insane trying to achieve them. I didn't care that a guy commented here, but for the love of Pete if you are going to rant and rave about makeup then can you please know what it's really used for???

Is it too much to ask that you actually know something about what you are talking about in a discussion???

Case #3:

This guy I know is engaged. He posts a photo of a lovely wedding dress as an idea for his fiance. Out of the ordinary, but hey. Then a problem arises- the dress has short sleeves and whatever will she do to get the long sleeves needed to marry in the temple? Myself and another girl lay out all the options- and really this isn't a huge problem to overcome. But no, our answers weren't good enough. Cause you know, as girls, we know nothing about girl sleeves. Or wedding dresses. Or temple ceremonies. They go on and on trying to solve a problem that wasn't real in the first place and that was just solved for them.

And oh yeah, it's up to this girl to solve this problem for herself. Not them.
I kid you not, some other guy devised that long sleeves attached with Velcro would work. Velcro! On a wedding dress! And one guy found long sleeved temple jackets that were so lovely- I'm sure all the grandmas wear them these days. No! And then Velcro Boy was still devising sleeves- and the image he posted was of a long sleeved Lycra athletic shirt! Cause that's going to look good with satin and lace.

Somewhere in there I said "It's so much fun discussing wedding dresses with you guys" which is what I meant. I wasn't being snarky. It's just that I don't find myself often having discussions about bridalwear with those possessing Y chromosomes. I guess I should have rephrased it so that you couldn't possibly mistake it for sarcasm, but oh well. Well Velcro Boy took offense at that (and probably also that I very politely poo-pooed his Velcro idea) and I found myself backpeddling and explaining that I didn't mean anything by it. I hated that I had to be the one to backpeddle, but I did it to, you know, be the peacemaker.

But what incensed me is what came next- "Thanks, that's more respectful." And then continued to devise sleeves attached with Rube Goldberg machines.

Well now I'm the one who wants an apology! Um, excuse me? You're the ones having a conversation about wedding dresses and I'm the one who has to be respectful? What!??

I really didn't like feeling like a sub-servant girl in that conversation. It was probably a good thing that that's the point when the discussion was taken down for good. I really started to feel like yelling.

So here we have guys having a conversation about topics that they know nothing about- women's fashion, the construction of sleeves and oh yeah wedding dresses. And us girls were made to feel like we didn't belong in this conversation. Um, what?

Hey dudes. I have something to offer to this conversation. Here's why you should um, believe me, and stop devising sleeves that won't work:

1) I've been designing clothes since my teens. I almost went to a fashion design college.

2) I've been to a ton of weddings and receptions. Seen all the options and have seen what works- and what doesn't!

3) I've worn formal dresses. With sleeves. I wear lots of sleeves.

4) I do a lot of sewing. I know what's going to work and what's not. I know how to attach pieces of cloth to one another.

5) AND OH YEAH I'M A GIRL!

Look, I'm all for discussions on FB but can we let people have their opinions, not get offended so easily and talk about things we actually know about? The equivalent would be me bombing in on discussions about sports and rap music and men's swimwear- things I know nothing about. I try really hard to offer opinions on matters that I *actually* know about- and it takes a lot for me to get mad. Is it too much to ask that in others?

And it's not just me having issues with guys butting in on conversations that they don't belong in- my girlfriend had a status about going to a baby shower and the comments that followed morphed into the Jerry Springer show. Everything was great until some guy made a comment. And then all heck broke out. Namecalling ensued between commenters. My friend's honor was "defended" (it didn't need to be). This guy had no idea about the intricacies of female relationships (why do women go to baby showers when they don't want to?) or the rituals of baby showers, but felt the need to comment anyhow. I don't think he'll be making that mistake anytime soon.

I'm about ready to make a "No Boys Allowed" sign for my fort. I'm tired of arguing and backpeddling.

If you think I'm irritated now, you should be thankful that I took a few days to cool off before writing this post- just think what that one would have been like!

Guys, we love you, but can you just leave Girl World to us girls? Or if you do come on in, please don't meddle. Thanks. I appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Liz

I guess I should like the fact that I have opinions and stir up trouble- I've come a long way, baby.

Trying not to manbash here but vent and create awareness....I'll bash on women next time to make things more fair ;)

I Love: More Christmas Love

2012-01-05T01:59:00.004-05:00

I Love...

...Mom using a level to make sure the strings for cards were level. In our crooked house.

I Love...

...some brave critter who ran across both slushy ponds...and didn't fall in.

We hope!

I Love...

...taking Christmas pics of my dad.

I Love...

...walking with the fam on Christmas day and leaving munchies for the critters.

A GREEN Christmas! Can you believe it?

I Love...

...caroling with the YW and whoever else wanted to come.
And the fact that I bought the perfect number of hats.

I Love...

...the annual family mall shopping trip.

I Love...

...CINNAMON ROLLS!!

OM NOM NOM NOM

I Love...

...friends who come home for Christmas!

I Love...

...the green plastic necklace I found in a junk store for $2...two days before Christmas!

Total score.

So many fun things about Christmas!

Hope you had a good one!

I Love: Christmas Edition

2012-01-01T03:41:00.002-05:00

I Love...

...picking out a tree as a family from the local nursery.

No, we didn't get that one!

I Love...

...when the tree lights finally work (it took two days!)

I Love...

...finding ornaments that are constructed similarly to displays that I did at BB&B:

(the tree was made of washcloths and the snowman from rolled up towels)

I Love...

...being surprised that my Mommy put my "Baby's First Ornament" on the tree.

Yes I am that old.

I Love...

...buying new Cracker Barrel ornaments (the red ball) that coordinate with previous Cracker Barrel ornaments:

And I love my ruffle-butt birds.

I Love...

...getting lovely cards from our friends. I love our wall of love.

I Love...

...making paper snowflakes both large and small.

I Love...

...seeing that Santa has visited!

I Love...

...getting nifty 'teacher' presents. Now I just need a desk!

I Love...

...displaying our Nativity Sets (this isn't all of them!)

I love Christmas.

I don't love our yellow walls.
But I love Christmas.

I hope you had a loving Christmas.

There's more I love...stay tuned!

The Girliest Christmas Ever

2011-12-23T01:12:00.002-05:00

Well, this Christmas season, along with being busy with school kids, YW and YSA, I helped my friend decorate her first apartment for Christmas. You may remember this scene as our awesome Halloween party, you are correct! Since she already had hot pink items in her living room, red and green would have clashed. She loved my suggestion of a pink Christmas, so we ran with that. We both love hot pink and butterflies, so we had our theme.

It was super fun for me to help out with this. I gathered up all the pink and silver things I owned, and we added some new things too. Shopping for pink Christmas things was fun- it's becoming popular, so it wasn't terribly hard to find things in the shades we wanted.

Lots of pics...so you get the full effect!

Overall view of the living room:

The girliest tree ever!

My silver trees clean up well- note the pink shoe ornaments!

Tree close ups:

We kept the mantel around- turned it from a spooky thing into a pink wonderland!

I loved how the mantelscape turned out!

I made this wreath- pretty simple but effective!

I also made the pink tree on the right out of foam and crepe paper- fun!

(See my crafty blog for the how-to!)

Hung this ornament in a doorway, so lovely!

Well, the "customer" was a happy girl!

You can't help but be happy in a room of pink!

Who says Christmas has to be red and green? It's fun to be different!

I would have SO much fun as an interior decorator! Or a set decorator for movies.

Now I just need my own place.

Merry Pink Christmas to you!

It's Rad to be a Grad

2011-12-18T02:33:00.001-05:00

I graduated from college this weekend!

Can you believe it?

Part of me can't.

It seems like I just started school...

...and at the same time like I have been doing school forever!

Who knew the end would actually come one day?

I had a great day. My ceremony was nice and I go to see my friends. I graduated Cum Laude, hence my red sash. I liked it better than the white or gold higher Latin honor sashes! Later that evening, my family and I went out to Red Lobster and I got a great meal. Cheesy biscuits were my motivation to make it through the week!

Dad and me before the ceremony:

Waiting for the ceremony with my friend:

The podium:

My fellow Art Ed peeps:

My family:

After the ceremony:

Merry Graduation Christmas!

Today represented so much more than 4 years of sitting through classes.

No one sees the

Late nights

Early mornings

Commuting every day

Surviving blizzards

Living in the studio classrooms

Teaching clearances

Finding and buying art supplies

Presentations

Schlepping odd things around

Bratty 8th graders

Critiques

8 am meetings on campus

Many hoops to jump through...

and the list goes on...

It feels good to have accomplished this.

I'm really thankful that I've gotten to go back to school and learn so much. I've really enjoyed it and I feel like I am closer to who I want to be.

I've met some great people while at school, people who inspire me. I've enjoyed the students that I've worked with.

I'm thankful for the good weather we've been having. Outside was pretty today with just a dusting of snow.

I'm thankful for my friends and family who have loved and supported me through all this.

I'm thankful to be able to breathe.

Everyone asks what my plans are now that I'm done with school....my plans are to enjoy Christmas!

I Love

2011-12-11T02:05:00.000-05:00

I Love...

Bug bubble wands...for a buck!

I Love...

...old school Wagoneers...and 7UP!

I Love...

...making wreaths with the YSA (and making bows for everyone too!)

I Love...

...my crazy silly YW. They light up my life.

I Love...

...making chocolate cupcakes....and totally cute liners that don't fade when baking!

I Love...

...crazy pink flamingo lawn decor (my dad SO needs this!)

I Love...

...the awesome snowflakes at the elementary.

I Love...

...vintage sewing tables with a ruler built in the table! Sew cute.

I Love...

...my vintage Strawberry Shortcake advent calendar! Long live the 80's!

I Love...

...abstract apple paintings from my 8th graders.

I Love...

...hot pink curls! I need a wig like this for me!

I Love...

...extraordinarily cute furniture at Goodwill...but I don't love not being able to give it a good home!

I Love...

...wearing my vintage Christmas apron to make cookies with my friends!

Lots of things to love, especially this time of year.

And I really LOVE that I can still see the ground...it's unreal!

And oh, yes, I love you. ;)

What are you loving these days?

Grateful

2011-11-28T03:24:00.000-05:00

I hope you all had a really nice Thanksgiving. I had a nice day with my family, and I've been having a nice break. It pays to live in PA- you get the first day of hunting season off from school! The weather has been nice and warm too- well, warm for November!

I made a chocolate pumpkin ice box cake for a potluck- yum!

It's layers of pumpkin mixture and chocolate graham crackers, with cocoa dusted on top.

Finally got my Halloween stuff back from the party- told you I had a lot of stuff!

Up until now, Dad has been the one to do the icky hard part of the turkey- picking it up, washing it, etc while I helped with spices or whatnot. This year it was my turn to do the turkey and it was so gross to touch- and heavy!

Here we are laughing so hard we're crying:

Ta dah!!

My grandparents sent us a Charlie Brown tree, we put it up on Thanksgiving. Closest we've become to those "Decorate the Day After Thanksgiving" families!

Dinner turned out great! YUM!

Turkey, potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, stuffing done with homemade sourdough croutons, fruit salad, etc.

The fam:

Laura made her traditional turkey- cute!

That night I went shopping with my friend- the Erie mall was open at midnight so we went and had a blast! Got to bed at 7 am!
I didn't buy much, some jewelry and a hat. And stripey socks. And a new shirt...and a cute wafflemaker! I was a good personal shopper for my friend, we found everything on her list, including a galoshes, boots, skinny jeans and a $30 BluRay player!

Loved this coat:

And this outfit:

Raelena rocking that hat!

Well break can't be all fun- on Saturday I got to help fill in dirt where my parents had uncovered the septic tank. And I moved some firewood- Dad used his chainsaw on a fallen tree on the property. He got the pickup truck stuck in the mud in the field- thankfully the neighbors heard and came and helped push it out!

Last Thanksgiving, Mom was laid up on the couch with the infection in her leg. I'm so glad she's ok now. I'm thankful that overall I'm feeling better these days. I'm thankful for good neighbors and friends. I'm thankful for my family and the love and support they give me. I'm thankful for the gospel and our little branch. I'm thankful to be in a good placement for student teaching and for my students. I'm thankful for naps on my couch. I'm thankful to get an extra day off for break- thank you hunters!

And I'm thankful that the snow hasn't stuck around!

Still

2011-11-27T02:16:00.003-05:00

I've accumulated some amusing stories recently regarding my single status...here you go. I figured I'd lump them all in one post rather than having several rants in a row. I share these in hopes of educating the general public.

Story One:
My former branch president's son visited church with his wife and small children recently. They were cleaning the carpet with some spot remover when the baby started crawling for it. I grabbed the baby before he could crawl into the chemicals. It's nice knowing that I do have some motherly instincts in there somewhere! I held the baby on my lap and my former branch president says "Liz, that looks very natural to have a baby on your lap."

Ok, um, thanks? I chose to take it as a compliment. It's nice knowing that I look like I could pull off being a mother. And then I wished that he would leave it at that.

But of course he didn't stop there.

I didn't get my wish.

"You really should have some babies of your own," he finished- in front of everyone.

Really?? You know, I think I've heard that before. Let me get a pencil and write this down.

Supposed... to... have.... babies. Who'da thunk it?

I think next time this happens, my retort will be "But I'd be in big trouble if I had a baby right now."

Can you say cart before horse?

And to say this to me as though I don't want babies?

Or that I am in a place in life where I could be having babies and am choosing not to?
How about I find a man first??
Hello??

Story #2:
I was at a stake meeting for YW- we have one every stake conference. I've attended 6 or 7 over the years, having been in YW since 2008. Our stake YW pres was talking about how we're to be an example to the girls and then was asking things like "Do you have faith? Are you a good example of a righteous wife and mother?"

Once again, didn't find it offensive. Trust me, heard worse. The leaders should be striving to be a good example to the girls in this area of life. Not to mention that I wish I could be an example of a happy marriage and family. Our YW pres understands the plight of being single, having lost her husband and having to take care of the family all by herself for years. And she now recently re-married, I'm super happy for her. She certainly was not saying anything offensive. My other YSA friend recently got put in her ward's YW so I'm happy that I'm not the only single person in YW in our stake. Someone to commiserate with, ha ha.

But then there was this one lady I'd never met before who somehow felt that my friend and I had been slighted and that she needed to come to our rescue. She didn't. I can fight my own battles, thank you. And this wasn't even a battle. I know she meant well, but it got bungled.

"But they're still examples of a righteous woman," she said.

It was that still that got my goat. Was anyone saying we weren't?

No.

Is having a wedding ring a requirement for being a righteous woman? I hardly think so. Nor does it determine one's righteousness. Of course we are still examples of righteous women. Why was this in question?

And then she went on,"And they can be good examples to the girls, because not all the girls will get married."

Well thanks for making me feel good about myself.

Is that really all I'm good for? To be the Poster Child of Singleness? I think not. I can't teach them anything else in the gospel, really?? And her comment sounded like my friend and I were never getting married.

Isn't it funny when people's comments are more offensive than what they tried to clarify?

People, please watch it when you "mean well."

Story #3:

About two weeks ago some of our YSA leaders thought it would be a wonderful idea to sign us single people up to be in charge of their ward's Valentine's Day dance. Without asking us in advance. And this activity was already assigned and they switched it so we could do it! Keep in mind that this ward is full of young marrieds. Clearly this was not thought out...you think we want to be in charge of an evening for marrieds?!? And have our noses rubbed in it?? Add the fact that no one is dating any one else in our YSA group- it's not like we could bring a date to it to remedy the situation. My YSA group protested, only to be met with "But you can use our daughter's lights from her reception, it'll be fun." Um, that makes it better???

Only my YSA group would get asked to do this!

Eventually I think they got the hint and we're not booked anymore. I probably would have helped, if only to have a good story out of it. They can borrow my chocolate fountain if they want.

Leaders and fellow members, please put yourself in our shoes. That's all I ask.

Oh, and to all those who treat me like a human being, thank you.

I think that's all my happenings for now. Stay tuned!

Halloween Party

2011-11-24T03:09:00.001-05:00

On actual Halloween, My friend and I threw a party at her place. About 99% of the decor came from my stash! It took several carloads to get it all there and back, but it was fun to decorate and the party was small but fun.

She has this blank wall in her living room that really needed something, so we brought our wooden mantel that has been sitting on our back porch. Drape with creepy cloth, add my candelabras and some crows, and you've got a fabulously spooky mantel!

Food table with lanterns:

Pumpkin bowling!

The gang (minus my sis who is taking the pic!):

Fairy princess, witch, whatever, vampire and Peggy Carter

Headstones!

I liked my paper fans behind the couch:

We danced around to music and played a version of truth or dare where you write a dare and a question- "What would you do if...." related to a horror movie scenario. Pretty fun. My dare was that I had to be in the closet by myself for a whole minute. We also played a game where you had to find all the pieces to the plastic skeleton that were hidden around the apartment!

These suckers were LONG!

But super fun!

I need to wear stripey tights more often- it makes me happy!

With hair down....va va voom!

Lots of work, but a fun night!

Can't wait to have my own place to decorate!

TuckaSNOW

2011-11-21T02:34:00.001-05:00

As keeping with tradition, I went down to the Harrisburg area (the opposite corner of the state!) for their annual Halloween YSA conference, held at the Tuckahoe boy scout camp. This trip, I had my sis and two of my friends with me in our little Jeep. There really isn't anything going on around here for Halloween, and they do such a nice job with the conference, so the choice was easy.

What was not easy was trying to get ready for this conference the same week as starting at my second placement! I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. And I got to drive the 5 hours it takes to get there...so fun!

We finally made it there and met everyone else at the bonfire. Sadly we got there too late for the haunted house...and we heard it was the best one they'd done! Arrgh! The bonfire was fun but once again, I'm not going to take blinding pictures at one. Use your imagination of what a bunch of YSA around a bonfire looks like.

Late at night + Liz being really tired + bonfire = funny things out of Liz's mouth!

The next morning it started snowing...and didn't stop. At all. We went from this:

to THIS in a very short amount of time!

I stayed in the fort cabin, not the castle, but it was pretty:

Things became very scary. The snow was heavy, and very wet and the leaves were still clinging to the trees. The snow stuck like glue all over everything- when I went out it was only a second until I was covered in snow. The trees couldn't take all the weight of the snow and large branches started snapping and falling. As the storm went on, whole trees fell. It was cold and windy too.

They had to cancel the outdoor activities and revamp the class schedule. I felt bad for those in charge! They were able to set up large games for people to play in the main cabin.

I went to my cabin to work on my costume and it was a dangerous walk with things falling all over. While at my cabin, the power went out. And stayed out. I wanted to get back to the main cabin but was not looking forward to going out in the storm. The Holy Ghost said to me "If you're going to go Liz, you must leave now."

In the hour since I went to the cabin, a tree fell across the trail. Branches were everywhere.

There were a couple of girls leaving the conference and carrying their stuff in the storm. I joined with them and we made our way through the 6 inches of snow as fast as we could. When we heard trees snapping, we ran like crazy. It was so dangerous. I made sure I had everything with me so that I wouldn't have to go back in the storm.

On our excursion back, we encountered several girls who chose to be out in the cold and wind and danger! They were standing in the road, taking it all in. I couldn't believe it. We said "It's dangerous, you shouldn't be out here." And they said "Oh, we're fine." It became a parable in my mind- we can't let ourselves be in places of danger spiritually. We have to run, like Joseph of Egypt.

We were basically trapped there at camp- as soon as the fallen trees were cleared, more fell. I debated leaving, but I knew we'd be safer there. And we were.

We played games and had the dance equipment run by a generator. Putting on my getup in the dark was a bit tricky, but I was glad it turned out alright! The dance was really fun, my friend is a really good dj. And I got asked to dance by not one, not two, but six different guys! Cha ching! I got a lot of votes in the costume contest, but didn't win. Darn you Bellatrix!

Mario and Medusa:

Having a Greco-Roman moment at the dance:

Lots of great costumes!

Lots of Harry Potter costumes!

Loved the TMNT costumes! The girls were a flock of birds:

The Medusa costume had been in the works for years. I started sewing a white dress and put it aside about 6 years ago. I've been collecting jewelry and snakes for the last few years. Even found gold snakeskin sandals on clearance a couple years ago. I had finished the white dress this summer, it became a fake wedding dress for a display at Girls Camp! I dyed it green, took in the waist, added trim and part of a snake necklace on the bodice. I found this scrap of green that became the front flap. I bought sheer black material and made a drape. Getting the snakes in my hair was the tricky part- I glued clips to them (Thank you E-6000 epoxy! You could bond an anvil to the side of a building!) and then layered them in my hair. I didn't have light to do eyelashes/contacts but still did green eyeshadow and just ran around with no glasses on (they were tucked in my bra, lol!).

I got a lot of compliments on my costume, it felt good. I like Medusa because I can understand having crazy hair, ha ha.

The power stayed out for the last 24 hours of the conference- and it was still out when it was all over on Sunday afternoon. We still had church though, which was good. I wish I could have showered, but we were all safe and warm. I felt that we were really protected this weekend.

On Sunday the sun was out, the snow had stopped and it was lovely.

Our snowy fort:

Upon leaving, it became very clear why the power had gone out- there were several trees that had fallen that were resting on the wires. I wanted to take a photo and document it, but we got out of there quick instead!
Once you got out of camp, you'd never know that such craziness had taken place.

The Holy Ghost had said to me "Liz, you're gonna want a flashlight for this conference. Trust me." And I hadn't really thought of it but decided to bring one- good thing! Parts of the cabins, like the bathrooms, were very dark and I wound up sharing my light. Hello parable of the 10 virgins!

We found Electric Avenue on the way home!

Totally gonna rock on down there...and then I'll take it higher.

This conference makes #19 that I've attended in the last 4 years if I've tabulated correctly. They're fun and I love meeting new people and getting spiritual nourishment, but it's getting a little old. I'm not really supposed to be at these, ya know? I should be doing other things in life.

If the Spirit tells you to go now or bring a flashlight, do it.

Overall a crazy but good weekend!

Placement 1: Weaving

2011-11-20T01:43:00.001-05:00

I didn't have the opportunity to take weaving while at Edinboro, so it was nice to be a part of the weaving class. I learned a lot in this class and it was neat to try new things. I started off by learning how to weave straps on an inkle loom. It looks complicated, but it really isn't. You push the bottom strings up or down as you you weave your warp back and forth. You can achieve all kinds of designs by how you string it and what colors are "up" and which are "down".

Student work:

My work:

I want an inkle loom for myself! I hope to turn these into camera straps.

There were several table looms where students could make purses, pillows, table runners, etc:

She sewed in a sweet lining:

Student pillow:

Students did work on large floor looms, our classroom was huge- room for 7 large looms!

Student afghans:

They look complicated, but they're really not.

My teacher's work:

I got to make a rug! It was super fun.

I totally lucked out that the warp that the girls chose were great colors!

This rug loom was so beautiful- I'd never seen one like it. It came from the early 1900's and I loved the decorative pieces on it.

By the end I was halfway decent at troubleshooting student's problems and putting the warp on the loom. Warping can get rather tedious!

I was glad to get the experience, wish I could have made more!

Placement 1: Drawing & Painting

2011-11-13T01:38:00.001-05:00

I did more in the Drawing & Painting class- in the other classes the students designed their own projects. I mostly taught lessons that came from my teacher, but a few came from me.

I taught them about silhouettes and had them do silhouette drawings so that they focused on seeing the shapes of the objects and not be overwhelmed by the details of the object. I think they liked the activity- it was less tedious.

We had a nice day so we went out on the courtyard and drew leaves.

My teacher brought in gladiolas for the students to paint. Some turned out really nice.

Student work:

I got to do one too- fun! I haven't done watercolor in a long time.

We spent the last couple weeks learning how to do perspective and the students figured out how to draw a perspective covered bridge from a calendar photo, or they could bring in a photo of their house. Many turned out nice, but it's always crazy trying to get them to understand perspective!

The houses turned out really nice:

One of my favorite lessons that I came up with was my presentation on animation. As part of it I showed several videos- one about the process, and then two Silly Symphonies that we discussed. The students loved it. I had them make flip books, they turned out great.

Here's mine:

The water droplet turned out well:

She did a sweet job with her butterfly:

This student did a really nice job with fire that got larger and smaller. Color too!

And I got a kick out of the worm going across the page:

It was a great class, I'm glad to have been a part of it. It was really great to see their progression.

Placement 1: Glass

2011-11-06T00:40:00.000-04:00

I spent 7 weeks at a local high school and spent a little time with the middle school kids as well (the school houses both). It was super busy but really great and I'm thankful for the experience. I got to learn how to do stained glass, help out with a drawing & painting class and I also got to learn a lot about weaving, which was great.

First I'll show what went on in glass class:

I learned how to score and break glass- it's pretty fun to break glass on purpose! And challenging when you have a curved piece! I started by making this swallow. After you cut the pieces (using a glass scorer and special pliers), you usually have to grind the edges with a special grinder to make them fit.

You apply copper tape as evenly as you can:

And then solder it all together using lead/silver wire and a soldering iron. Pretty fun!

Student work:

In the past the students had done several glass mosaics:

Including the big sign for the art center downtown!

They were working on windows for the school when I left, I'll have to go back and see how they turned out!

I saw how to do this in a magazine and thought I should try these pendants while I still had access to a soldering iron- it's just scrapbook paper inside!

The paper is sandwiched between two pieces of glass, copper foiled and then soldered.

I used thin glass from a frame but I think next time I want even thinner glass. And I want to experiment with photos or personal artwork instead of the paper. But not bad for a guinea pig project.

The students designed their own projects in this class so instead of presenting projects, I showed them PowerPoints about different glass artists and techniques. Pretty neat!

I want a soldering iron now! I also was able to take some glass home with me and I want to do my own glass mosaics as well. It's always so fun to learn new things!

Student Teaching Update!

2011-10-13T17:45:00.002-04:00

Boy, so much stuff going on these days, and I haven't even shared what I wanted to share from this summer! I am student teaching now, and it's really great and as you can guess, keeping me real busy. It's great being in a classroom and seeing how the daily grind is. I'm learning lots, including new art skills, like stained glass and weaving. I can't believe how fast time goes- I am almost done with my 7 weeks here at this high school and will be soon off to another local junior high. I will be sad to leave the students!

The students are bummed that I am leaving (I'm terrible because I secretly love that!) and I was told by them that I am the nicest student teacher that they've had and also the most helpful. I'll stick that feather in my cap.

I've grown a lot in the last few weeks, I feel really confidant in my abilities and I really can't wait to get my own room and have more control over what goes on.

I don't have time to post a lot of photos, but this will tide you over.

Art book I made for a team teaching project with 7th graders:

Here's the cover:

I had to make a demo, and so I went about making a book that I actually liked- what a thought!

Lots of fun stuff coming!

Forget Not

2011-09-27T17:21:00.002-04:00

I always love the RS Broadcasts, and last Saturday was no exception. The women's talks were lovely and I enjoyed what Sister Allred had to say about charity. I need to find that quote. I was also quite uplifted by Elder Uchtdorf's talk and the symbolism of the Forget Me Not flower. I found myself rushing home to find the images I had taken of the sweet blue flowers by our stream.

And what do you know? Our Forget Me Nots have five petals too.

Forget Not to be patient with yourself.

Forget Not the difference between a good sacrifice and an unnecessary one.

Forget Not to be happy now.

Forget Not the "why" of the gospel.

Forget Not that the Lord loves you.

We all need those reminders, and I did as well. I already loved these sweet little flowers, I associate them with my orange cat who has since passed. Now when I look at them I will have a new reminder that I am of worth and that the Lord loves me. He loves you too.

We are not insignificant, but play a role in Heavenly Father's garden.

We should remember Him, because He doesn't forget about us.

I never was able to figure out what to submit to the Church's International Art Contest, so I submitted this just in time for the deadline. I would have liked to have done an oil painting of the resurrected Christ, but that was not in the works for this contest. I will have to do that on my own sometime.

The gospel is full of symbols, and it's exciting to have a new one.

Hanky

2011-09-21T17:31:00.000-04:00

On Sept 1st , we wound up having our dog, Hank, put to sleep. I waited a bit to honor his memory so that I wouldn’t be a blubbering mess while writing about him. Hank was probably 13 years old, a huge mastiff/lab mix. We owned him for ten years.

We knew Hank before we owned him, he belonged to friends of ours. We liked him then and thought he was a sweet and funny dog. When our friends moved and needed a new home for Hank, we volunteered and got a new member of the family. We already had Mariah, and it was the two of them for several years before Laura’s dog Lars came along. He belonged to the family, but somehow he became “mine”.

Hank had a presence that I just can’t explain. He had quite the personality. I bet you that he wanted to talk to us. He was this huge goofball dog. He was always making us laugh. He liked to play and let me tease him, even as an older dog. He was a good sport. He was our protector- he always slept in front of the door, which none of our other dogs really ever did. He could look scary to protect us if he wanted to, but he was a wiggly puppy in an old dog’s body. We don’t know what he looked like as a puppy, but I bet he was real cute. I called him Flopdoodle cause if he was on his stomach and I was petting him, he’d flop over on his side, really hard and make this loud smack on the floor. It was so funny. If anytime he was standing next to you, he’d lean on you- all hundred pounds of him!

Hank was tall- you didn’t have to bend over to pet this dog. He could set his head on the kitchen table- look out, dinner! One time Mom made banana bread and had it sitting on the edge of the counter to cool- it was taller than the table, right? She left for a second and came back to Hank licking his chops! Um, thanks Mom, you made that for me, right? Anytime you said the word “bone”, he perked up and got excited. He was smart. He loved food.

I was the one to walk Hank the majority of the time. He would jump and dance around, so happy when we were walking. He liked to roll in the grass, too. But he was so good on a leash, especially considering he could’ve dragged me around if he’d wanted to. And we didn’t teach him that, he came that way. If he was in his pen and you came to the gate, he would jump straight up like 3 feet in the air! I don’t know how he didn’t figure out that he could probably jump over the gate!

Over the last few months, his health had gone downhill. He got real skinny and we started feeding him a rich midday meal in an attempt to put some meat on his bones. This was a dog that hoovered his food but now was losing interest in eating. His back end wore out too. He often couldn’t stand up fully but crouched. We started giving him doggie pain medication. We put a rug down for him cause he couldn’t get up on the slick floor. But then he’d go outside and jump and dance around like always- he was so silly. We didn’t want to admit it, but our Hanky was wearing out.

Hank was able to walk the Sunday morning before he passed, but when we got home from church he couldn’t get up or walk. He was this crumpled heap. For the next few days, when we needed to get him outside, it would take at least two people to heft his backend around, slung on a towel, while he moved his front legs. It broke my heart to see him sprawled on the front lawn, his back legs paralyzed- this was a dog that would escape and run and run and run if given the slightest chance- and here he was, untethered and unable to go anywhere. We had to feed him with a wooden spoon because he couldn’t eat very well while lying down.

We knew if this kept up (one time his back end went out but it came back) that we’d have to take him to the vet’s- and that the outcome would probably not be good. We had prayed for him but his back end would not come back. I came home from student teaching and we got Hank ready. Mom directed him while Laura and I hefted his back end around so that he could go to the bathroom before the car ride. It felt like being a pall bearer. It’s really awkward doing things when you know it’s probably going to be their last.

Hank went out with his boots on- we had hefted him over to the rear of the Jeep and were debating how to get this big dog inside the back (which is high off the ground) and Hank surprised us by somehow taking this flying leap and getting his front half in the car. I don’t know how he did this considering his back feet were paralyzed and not even touching the ground. Laura and I hefted the rest of him in and off we went. I sat in the back seat so I could pet him during the trip.

The vet came out to the car so that we wouldn’t have to heft Hank all the way in the vet’s office. She agreed that it was his time to go- there was nothing that could be done for his back legs and he couldn’t even feel it if you pinched his feet. Somehow he could still wag his tail, I guess that’s a different nerve. When the vet went back inside for her things, I found myself alone with Hank. I tried to make the most of the precious time we had left and I told him how much I loved him and how special he was to our family. Then they put him to sleep, I felt bad that it took several pokes to find a vein. I stayed in the back seat and patted him as he went. It’s really strange watching something die. I wore my big sunglasses in an attempt to hide my tears.

We took him back home and spent some time digging a really big hole next to Laura’s cat’s grave. Their graves are in a nice little spot in the woods by the pond. We wrapped him in a big off-white blanket and lowered him in. I went and cut four sunflowers, to represent our family of four and also to represent the sunshine he brought into our lives. I placed the sunflowers in the grave with him. Laura has the foresight to remove his collar, I was glad for us to have the memento. We said a prayer at his graveside.

Even in death, Hank was funny as always. When he died, his ear was straight up in the air like so often it was in real life when he was sleeping on his side. And it wouldn’t go back down either. When we got back home I looked out at our back sidewalk- and was surprised that Hank had left a big poop there when we had him out the last time. None of us realized he’d done that! We laughed at Hank’s Last Present.

Hank, thank you for being part of our family and giving us so much love and laughs. Thank you for putting up with us when we fell short. Thank you for being patient and kind. Thank you for being our protector. You were a noble creature. Thank you for being our gentle giant.

I feel guilty that we had to put him to sleep, but I also realize that there really wasn’t an alternative. He was probably in pain and deserved some relief. I picture him in Doggie Heaven just running and running for all he’s worth, with no fences to hold him back. I picture him being able to jump so high in the air again. That brings me some comfort.

Someday I’ll see him again.

In the meantime, it’s weird not to have him around. It’s weird not to walk him at night. It’s weird not to have him in front of the island and see him when you walk in the door- that was where he always was. When a hundred pound dog is gone from a 900 sq foot house, it’s pretty noticeable. He left a big imprint on us.

I walked him the night before his legs stopped working. Something told me to enjoy that time.

Waiting didn’t work, I’m still blubbering while writing this.

Bye for now Hank, we love you.

Hank was a regal creature:

My aunt sent me a matching coat:

Hank always crossed his paws ;)

Hank always smiled ;)

Hank, you were so funny.

Like hoovering your food:

And spinning around to lay down...and resting just your bum on the pillow:

Needing my slipper to rest your tail:

Hank, you were a good sport ;)

Hmm...why did we always trip over you?

Hank, you were a good friend.

Love you, Hank

Shuffle Off to Buffalo

2011-08-31T18:20:00.002-04:00

Mid June I met up with some of my friends and we shuffled off to Buffalo for a YSA dance. We decided to have some fun and ate at Cheesecake Factory in Buffalo beforehand. We purposely dawdled at the mall so that we’d miss the contra dancing part of the night. Contra dancing is like what you see in Jane Austen movies. We caught the end of them dancing and it was neat to see but I didn’t feel like participating. It was a fun night to dance and hang out. Our friend Jason moved up to Buffalo so it was nice to see him and he debuted his signature jig dance (done to “I Would Walk 500 Miles”) to the Buffalo peeps.

Raelena at Cheesecake Factory:

Fun, funky store decor at Forever 21 (Ten years ago I wanted to have my own funky store like this! I am ahead of my time!):

Laura, Raelena, Kaitlyn, me, and our Canadian friend Jason!

And two weeks after the 18 year old danced with me in Kirtland, yet another cute 18 year old asked me to dance! I made a point just to talk about college, maybe he thought I was like 24? Two 18 year olds in two weeks? I’m going to get a cougar reputation!

Buffalo is 2.5 hours from my house- that’s how far I have to go to get to dances and have fun! Arrgh!

Kirtland Conference

2011-08-31T18:09:00.002-04:00

I spent Memorial Day Weekend at the Kirtland conference in Ohio, also known as Zion’s Camp. I wound up with three other girls in my car there- Kaitlyn, Briana, and my sister Laura. It was a pretty full car with all our stuff! We stayed at a hotel this year- it was nice to know your roommates and amenities as opposed to staying at a stranger’s house- but it’s a pricey alternative.

Friday was spent at the church building- there was food and games going on. You could play raffle games and win tickets towards prizes- and these were good prizes like iPods and gift cards. Is this where my pricey ticket went? I helped my friend Anne (who is now married but a saint to help out. I don’t know if you could get me back at a conference if I got married!) run her game- getting three balloons to stay up in the air for 30 seconds won you a ticket. It was my only chance to see her over the weekend so we got caught up in between people playing.

We also had a speaker that night that was great. He spoke about the hardships in his life and how he was thankful for them because they lead him to the church. He was really inspirational and the spirit was strong there.

Saturday was spent getting breakfast and listening to Brad Wilcox, who is a great speaker. I’d never heard of him before but now I’m a fan. He’s funny and spiritual. He spent time talking about our birthright and he explained the whole process using volunteers from the audience to stand in as Israel and all his family. We had classes, I enjoyed mine. I went to one on careers and I feel pretty good about myself and my skills. I also went to one on dating, it was funny and had the usual info.

We also did service, this year I did something different and wound up sorting clothes for a charity. For the most part it was fine, but some bags were a bit scary (and really, who donates lingerie?) or moldy. And sometimes it was really hard to tell if something was a small woman’s or a bigger girl’s size. We got a lot done in a relatively short amount of time and the guy in charge was really thankful. He said he likes working with us Mormons because we get to work and don’t argue with each other like other churches! It was a very nice compliment from him- he said he’d work with us anytime.

Bell bottoms!

Bags of sorted clothes:

We tried to find the old school ice cream parlor but I couldn’t this time. I couldn’t remember where it was.

Dinner was good and afterwards was the dance. It was pretty fun and pretty funny because a cute 18 year old guy asked me to dance! I’m such a cougar! Even funnier he was saying he had graduated the day before and on Sunday he made a point of telling us that his tie was the one he wore to prom. Too funny!

Sunday was Sacrament meeting in the Kirtland temple, which is always nice. Brad Wilcox spoke again, mostly about Joseph Smith and it was great. It was also nice to hear the testimonies from other YSA. It amazes me how many young people are joining the church, it’s great.

It was a beautiful sunny day. We made it back to the college and got a really great catered meal. That's half the reason I go! We were then turned loose to see the sites in Kirtland. We spent some time at the quarry, I haven’t been there for awhile. We also saw a neat photographic exhibit in the visitor’s center of photographs taken of church sites in the early 1900’s. I enjoyed the photographs, they were great. We also walked around the sites there. In the evening Brad Wilcox spoke again and it was great. There was also a speaker who for whatever reason, mentioned our fhe leader by name even though it was his wife that knew him forever ago, not him! Totally random.

We made it back home that night after I dropped people off at the Erie building. Overall it was a nice weekend and I was glad I could go. It was my last YSA conference (hosted by another stake, that is) before I turned into a pumpkin, aka turned 31.

Update

2011-08-23T19:37:00.000-04:00

I really am alive, really! I hope to update and share what all I've been up to this summer. I've been busy with a lot, as well as spending June on my couch due to bronchitis. I was robbed of a whole month! Arrgh!

Stay tuned for YSA conferences, Girls Camp, crafty things, antiquing and more of my farmgirl life!

A Walk With Mom

2011-07-18T18:05:00.000-04:00

Not long after I got out of school for the summer, Mom and I wound up exploring the back part of the property. With 70 acres, there’s parts I haven’t seen. We knew of a path but hadn’t walked it and decided to find it.

It was cool and overcast out and threatening to rain, which is my favorite kind of weather. What can I say? I’m a Washingtonian.

But first we walked up the driveway and saw the neighbor’s lilac bush. It was lovely and had a heavenly scent. We also admired the other neighbor’s pond and ducks.

Mom discovered a bird’s nest in the grass, it was neat to see. We’ve never seen that before here.

And then we made it over the stone bridge and through the hidden field- you would never know that a field lies behind the trees.

We then continued down along the treeline.

We reached the stream and made it over a ‘bridge’ made of a big sheet of metal. It’s pretty fun to fjord a stream like that.

Then there’s a smaller stream too further on as well.

The path connects to our big field…and then you walk through and back up to the house via the driveway.

It’s a nice flat walk and a nice length. Long enough for a nice walk but not too long to wear you out. It’s very peaceful.

And a nice way to spend time with Mom.

We saw deer tracks in the mud.

The other thing that I like about it is that you can’t rush the process. You can’t zip along this path. You have to pay attention to your surroundings. You have to take it all in and really experience it. You have to watch your footing most of the way. There’s holes in the rock bridge. The hidden field likes to trip you with weeds. There’s rocks and muddy spots in the grass path. There are trees down in a spot that you have to step over. The waist high grass in the big field slows you down too and its resistance is a good workout.

The next time we walked it, there were speckled eggs in the ground nest.

I was told that the older lady who used to live here would walk that path every day- sunshine or snow. Dedication! And she gets around well.

I’ve walked it now a few times by myself, it’s a nice way to get some exercise and relax at the same time. I enjoy being out in nature. I love all the green and the fresh smells. I really love our property here.

I really love this path, it’s a bit magical.

If you come visit me, I’ll take you for a walk.

Jr Field: Part Deux

2011-07-12T16:39:00.000-04:00

So on to the rest of the semester...

Our next assignment was to do some printmaking. The question was, how to make it safe? We didn’t want to use sharp carving tools, especially with Jr High #2! My partner C found an assignment online where they used styrofoam (like the flat part of a meat tray from the grocery store) and carved into it with a pencil or orange stick. Perfect! This was one of my favorite assignments- the students understood it and really loved it. Some mess but not too bad.

After they carved their “block” (our group theme was Spring), they then used a brayer to ink up their styrofoam and stamp their paper. The students did very well and created some great stuff. It was a good assignment because it satisfied the students who love to draw and the students who like to be busy.

Next came my baby during the semester- the quilts. I taught the students about quilts and their construction. We also talked about art quilts and fiber arts in general and how art can be collaborative. Art can foster a sense of community. We had students draw their favorite Erie landmark on a white square of fabric using Crayola fabric markers. We had photos for reference if they got stuck. I assembled the squares into a wallhanging for each school. This assignment fulfilled our “service learning” aspect because we donated the wallhangings to the schools. Junior High #1 is getting a new building soon and we thought they could use some art for it.

I did a lot for this project, but that was okay. I got the markers and fabric and cut the squares in advance. I taught and explained it all. I ironed the squares to set the marker. I assembled the wallhangings. Phew! We unveiled each wallhanging at a parent night and everyone, including the ladies from CHAMPS, loved them. The students were excited to see their work and were amazed at the final result. I think we won big points from everyone because hey, this isn’t something that everyone does. I doubt many of my fellow Art Ed students sew. I think the best part was proving our teacher wrong- he showed up and totally poo poo-ed the assignment right before I was going to teach it because he didn’t think that the students would relate to the Erie landmarks. Yes, these are students who probably haven’t seen many of these landmarks, but I figured they could still have some pride for them. I haven’t been to the Space Needle or Pike Place market more than twice in my life, but I still have Seattle pride, right? And it turned out I was right. They did the assignment just fine, though Jr High #2 needed some coaching, but what else is new? When my teacher saw the final result at Parent Night, I got a fist bump from him, he was so pleased. Take that!

In reality I was inspired by church for this assignment- we did something like this in Primary years ago where each kid drew on a square and assembled it into a quilt for humanitarian aid. Currently in YW we’re working on a quilt for aid as well.

We then moved on to sculpture in the form of “Mimbre” bowls. We taught about coil building in clay and had the students make their own coil- built bowl using air dry clay. I’d never used the stuff before and I’m not really a fan- it’s so fragile. Most of the projects broke or had chips. We spent one week making the bowls and the next week painting them. My partners and I had to make extra bowls in case there were students who were absent during bowl-making but showed up the next week. And good thing- I think we used up most of our extra bowls. We let them make whatever they wanted with their leftover clay. This was one assignment that showed the differences in ability- most slopped on paint and in contrast there were a few who did amazing work.

The dragon was amazing! I was really amazed it didn’t break, especially with everyone and their dog wanting to touch it at Parent Night!

We then had an experience with each school group at the Erie Art Museum, which went about as expected. Junior High #1 was calm and behaved well, as expected. Pretty easy day being a chaperone. Junior High #2 was WILD as expected! I don’t think the museum knew what they were getting into! They were divided into two groups, but they were still too large in my opinion. I wound up chaperoning the group that had the younger kids in it- and all the rambunctious troublemakers! My Mom Nag Voice was worn out, I was such a broken record…”Don’t touch that.” “Get back in the group.” “Be quiet and listen to the lady from the museum.” “I SAID don’t touch that!” And on and on.

The lady from the museum who lead our tour did what I thought was a great thing- she had this bin of random little objects and each student got one to hold while looking at the Spring Show. The idea was that they could touch the object since they couldn’t touch the art itself. They were to find a work of art in the Spring Show that they felt related to their object in some way. I even got to participate, I had a little metal car with Bollywood images on it. Other students had a ceramic apple or a carved spoon, things like that. I need to go back and look at the Spring Show in more depth- I didn’t get to see much due to the kids!

The lesson that the people at the museum taught was about “magic” art, or art that fools your eye. We looked at various pieces that did that and discussed them. The students enjoyed it, and I thought it was a great lesson.

Each group had an artmaking session as well. We made thaumatropes, which is where you spin two images (one on each side) and they become one image. Everyone enjoyed making their own “magic” art and it was a simple but effective project. You traced and cut out two circles of cardstock, and drew your two things that would line up and become one. Then you taped/glued them on either side of a wooden skewer and as you spin it in your hands, the images become one. It was a lot of fun, though some students took awhile to catch on to the concept.

Here you can kindof see the effect- this student did a dark cloud on one side and a yellow lightning bolt on the other.

We did a few other assignments too, like comic strips and some other fun assignments this semester.

The end of the semester was spent preparing for Parent Nights, we had one at each school to show the artwork that the students had done. It was a bit crazy trying to get things set up but overall things went well. With Junior High #2, we were part of their multi-cultural night, which was fun but we were a little out of place. It was neat to see some of the students do dances from their homelands. We were asked to do a PowerPoint that showed images and artwork from countries where the students came from. It was surprising that people from all over had come to Erie- there are students from Nepal, Bhutan, Iraq, Ukraine, Russia, Somalia, Puerto Rico, Congo, Burundi and Tanzania. I think it is pretty neat to have a diverse school like that.

I thought this picture of Nepal was amazing:

I suppose I have a bias towards Nepal, we worked with some little Nepalese children who were I think the sweetest children I’ve ever met. They just exuded love and they were so happy to see us! It felt great.

Here are our art displays at the two schools:

Overall, it was a challenging, but rewarding semester. I probably had the most experience with teaching children out of our group (thank you Primary and YW!) but I learned a lot here. It was good to see that I can do this, I can teach art to kids and succeed. It was good to have the two schools as a comparison. Junior High #2 sure kept us on our toes! It was great to see the students “get it” and create great stuff. I was amazed by a few of the students who very good at art. We had a lot of great students, and some definite characters. I think we had the best assignment being at the jr highs- we saw reports about what the other groups had done and it looked like many of the high schools were really difficult. I was blessed to have two great partners, we worked very well together and each brought good stuff to the group. The teachers who helped us out were great, too.

I miss my jr high kids! Even the rambunctious ones. ;) I’m excited for student teaching in the Fall!

Jr Field

2011-06-06T17:53:00.000-04:00

So what did I do for the majority of this semester? Jr Field! Let’s just say it was a good thing I didn’t have any studio classes this semester- I don’t know how my classmates who did survived! Basically this was my studio class this semester!

Basically, this was a class that was preparatory for student teaching. I was assigned to work with 2 partners and we taught lessons at two jr highs (inner city schools located in Erie) each week as part of an after school program named CHAMPS. Other groups were assigned to one high school, they visited their schools twice a week. Overall it was a busy, crazy semester, but it went well and I was thankful for the experience.

Junior High #1 was a class composed of mostly girls and one boy who has Downs Syndrome. We didn’t really have to adapt much of our assignments for him, he could do most stuff. Everyone was pretty much the same age and overall they were the easier, more responsible group. It was pretty much the same group each week. You could trust them with more. Overall they were more dependable. You get the picture.

Junior High #2 was the opposite, and provided a great challenge. It was much harder to teach and motivate this group. The numbers of students fluctuated wildly, there was a much wider age range (some were elementary students), more boys, bratty girls, some students were siblings and had petty fights, more students had behavioral issues. There were just a lot of factors that interacted and created CHAOS. They were great kids, but overall it was much harder to gain their attention and keep them on task. Let’s just say they were really good at making messes!

And don’t forget that we were trying to teach kids that had already been in school all day. Challenge accepted!

We were given a surprising amount of freedom when it came to planning our lessons and curriculum. We had to write lesson plans for each assignment but we were pretty free to do what we wanted. Our teacher pushed having a “service learning” aspect in our curriculum, that was really the main requirement. Since we were only at each school once a week and you never knew if students would show up the following week, we mostly did projects that could be completed in one class period. We only did one project that lasted two weeks. We had 11 weeks of teaching classes, so we selected different mediums-drawing, painting, clay, etc- and devised projects that would give them experience with a variety of mediums. We wanted to give them a range. Plus, it was the best way to try and please everyone- not everyone likes drawing. We also tried to design projects that would build their confidence and where they could be successful regardless of ability.

The first week we had two class periods, 1) spent with our crazy teacher and 2) spent with the ladies from CHAMPS. We then got our partners assigned and had only a couple days to plan what we were doing with the students! It was crazy. We were totally thrown into things.

During our first class, our unique teacher had us chew gum and make a sculpture of the gum using a toothpick! And yes, we went around the room and talked about what we’d made and how we felt about the process. It was a bit of a gross assignment, but it broke the ice!
What we basically found ourselves doing was using Junior High #1 as guinea pigs and then adapting it for Junior High #2 since we knew things would be messier and more chaotic for that group.

The first week with students was totally a get to know you week- we played a decent get to know you game (I don’t play lame ones!)and had students fill out a survey about what they liked and read it out loud as part of the game. Us teachers filled one out too, so they could hear what we were like. The session was spent also seeing what these students could do- they’re neither kids nor teens so it’s hard to know where they fall as far as abilities go. We tried a paper cutting positive/negative activity that didn’t go so hot- our scissors from the college supply closet were totally crappy and probably wouldn’t cut butter, let alone paper. We also found that it was also a hard concept for them to grasp and that we needed to break things down into smaller, simpler steps.

For week one of our official unit we started our “real” lessons by drawing- we tried to teach the students how to draw faces and learn a little about proportion. We had the students try to draw their faces and do one side more realistic and one side more creatively or abstract. They did a good job but it was probably a bit too advanced for them. It was good to see them work through frustrations. What I didn’t really expect was so many self depreciating comments from students. They were more self conscious then we thought. Some girls fixed their hair for 20 minutes before drawing themselves, despite repeated nagging from us!

It was about in here that I went from having one partner to two- K had added the class late after our partner assignments were given out. Since we were the only group with two and not three, we were glad to get another person to help with the work! It was a bit of a challenge to get her caught up to speed with what we were doing, but she turned out to be a great asset. It was just one more thing to add to the chaos.

Week two was spent doing a “Picasso Dog” assignment. After giving the students a brief background about Picasso and Cubist art, we had them follow directions blindly and create their own cubist-style dog. You have them draw an eye anywhere and then turn the paper, then draw another eye, turn, then a snout, turn, then a tail and paw and connect it somehow and color it in. It was meant to get them experimenting and not worrying so much about being “perfect” in their art. There’s no way to be perfect in this assignment! The students used markers and did a pretty good job. It was pretty funny to see their reactions to Cubism.

Week three was spent having the students explore with watercolors. Our supply closet had some wonderful watercolor sets with lots of colors. We had the students explore with color and technique and then they could go back and draw a picture over it. We also had them create two little paintings that were woven together and matted. The students did well with it and liked painting. Once again, the assignment was focused on experimenting and not being “perfect”.

The next week was spent learning a bit about Pollock and how his drip style of painting was different. We were able to show them a clip from the movie Pollock where he explains why he painted like that and it also showed how Pollock intentionally flipped and splattered his paint onto the canvas on the floor, almost like a dance. The schools wouldn’t let us use You Tube, so we couldn’t show a video of the real thing and had to improvise. We then were really brave (or stupid) and had the students make splatter paintings of their own. The kids did well and everyone really liked the assignment, but Junior High #2 went wild and caused a big mess. They got paint all over themselves and the walls and floor! We even had a splatter box to try and keep it all contained, really we tried to make it less messy. It was a nice try. The other problem was that some kids did the paint WAY too thick. Both classes we had to leave the paintings behind to dry, even though we had brought hairdryers. That was a nice try. The kids did some good work, I loved the expression in each.

This is a long post, so I’ll stop here. Stay tuned for Part 2!

The saga continues…

Update

2011-05-13T15:54:00.000-04:00

Hi there in computer land! I am alive and well, I finished my finals and have started summer break. It's so nice staying up late, sleeping in and enjoying the sunshine. I've also been working on catching up on some crafty projects and ideas of mine, so we'll see how much I can get done on my 'someday' list!

Not much going on, which I'm not complaining about. Pretty much just gearing up for camp (I'm so thankful not to have to worry about Pioneer trek this summer!), the usual summer stuff. Hoping I get to make some fun local trips!

Can't wait for the local fairs!

Easter Season

2011-04-25T16:51:00.000-04:00

It's been an enjoyable Easter season. I loved having Easter so late in the year- it was a long season for Cadbury eggs!

I did other fun things too.

Like dyeing eggs with my fhe group:

Raelena, Kristin, me, Andrew, Kaitlyn, Tad and Eric

I didn't get into a dye fight like some people but we had a great time!

I got put in charge of obtaining the decorating goods- we used crayons and I had found NEON dye! I taught them how to dye eggs with onion skins, they found it interesting.

Wherever I go I am the art teacher! Ha ha.

We dyed eggs as a family, always a fun tradition.

This year I discovered that if you use crayon on a warm, just boiled egg (as opposed to trying to color ones that have been in the fridge) that the crayon goes on very smoothly and solid.

I was pleased!

This one got dyed yellow:

I did a random floral design and dyed it bright aqua!

Can you tell that I love Nightmare Before Christmas?

Couldn't resist.

My family loves dyeing eggs, it's a great artistic medium.

Years ago I did pasanky (Ukrainian) eggs, I need to take that up again.

Church on Sunday as very nice. We had 39 people (including a few kids) in attendance, which was great for our little branch! It was so nice seeing friends and everyone looked great in their festive Easter pastels. I even had two YW in attendance, it was great! The spirit was really strong at church today, which was great. Outside it was a gloomy, overcast day, but in our hearts it was sunshine.

The PA tradition seems to be us kids hiding eggs and making Mom and Dad search for them!

One good use for a cluttered house- it's easy to hide eggs...in plain sight!

Mom and Laura were bored and I came home to Easter bunnies everywhere last week!

My dad, the big kid:

After hunting eggs, we had our usual Points and Butts egg game tournament and ate eggs and some homemade corned beef hash, yum! I then settled down for an Easter nap, it was great. I got two naps this weekend, can you believe it? Dinner was yummy ham and cheesy potatoes, always a fave. Anyhow, it was a really nice weekend and nice to spend time with my family. It was a nice opportunity to remember our Savior and what He did for us.

He is not here, for He is risen.

Sunday Will Come

2011-04-21T15:56:00.001-04:00

I thought I was already thankful for the blessings of Heavenly Father and His plan for us. I thought I was already thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us.

I was wrong.

Nothing has been happening to me personally, but in a very short span of time there has been a lot of heartache in the lives of those around me.

My friend's father died.
My friend will have a stillborn baby.
My friend's 7 year old son died very suddenly.

On top of all this, there are many who are very sick or needing surgery, including my jr field partner.

Don't even get me started on all the natural disasters that have happened lately. It's heartbreaking.

It's become rather overwhelming, especially when I can't be there to help.

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Gavin's funeral, he was 7 years old. Tomorrow would have been his 8th birthday. I didn't know him very well but I went to his funeral because I am friends with his mother and wanted to support the family in this hard time. His family says that it was just his time to go- he suddenly got sick and had cardiac arrest and then was brain dead and had to be taken off of life support. All totally out of the blue.

His funeral was the best and most touching that I've attended. Our stake president spoke very sweetly about the plan of salvation and eternal families. His father (a bishop) gave the eulogy and Gavin was just an amazing kid. He accomplished so much in his short time. He loved learning and going to school. He was an old soul in a young body. He had an amazing testimony. He was so looking forward to being baptized. Instead, he was buried in his baptismal clothes. So many touching and humorous stories.

The Primary children, including his two older brothers, sang "My Life Is A Gift". So sweet and touching. Another tender moment was watching Gavin's little cousin pat the coffin on the way up to the stand to sing.

Gavin was taken to the grave site in an antique firetruck, driven by a friend in the stake. He once got to ride that firetruck in a parade. I thought it was a sweet way to go. They also printed his testimony and put it in Books of Mormon to give out at the funeral to those who are not as familiar with our faith. It was nice to see that a lot were taken. A lot of people from his school came to the funeral, which was very sweet.

Gavin's tragedy gives several people the gift of life through organ donation. It's really a miracle that he could donate because he had cardiac arrest but when they tested his heart it showed no signs of damage. It went to a little girl who was going to die within a week if she did not receive a heart.

They say the only real tragedy is not death, but sin- it's hard for us to understand why Gavin was taken so young but we can rejoice that he was and is clean and perfect, and being a little child, he is without sin. He has been taken home to God.

Gavin did serve a mission- he touched many lives while on this earth and even in death he helped strengthen testimonies and share the gospel. I know that my testimony has been strengthened by attending his sweet funeral. I would not have been surprised if there were angels there in attendance. Gavin, thank you for being a force for good on this earth.

"Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come."

-Joseph B. Wirthlin

I know that Jesus suffered for our sins so that we can through Him turn our hearts and repent of our sins and return to live with Heavenly Father. I know that Jesus willingly gave up His life and was resurrected so that we too can have the glorious gift of resurrection. His sacrifice makes it possible for us to live together forever as families and I am so thankful for the gift of our Savior and the peace that He brings. Someday Gavin and his family will be reunited in the eternities. Someday I will be reunited with the loved ones that I have lost. I am so thankful for temples and eternal families.

I am so very excited for Easter this year- while I do love chocolate, I am very excited to remember and celebrate what Jesus did for us. We celebrate Christmas because there was an Easter. Gavin's birthday falls on Good Friday this year, and I don't think that is a coincidence.

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter.

WV Conf: Take Me Home, Country Roads

2011-04-13T15:35:00.003-04:00

I spent last weekend down in West Virginia for yet another YSA conference. It is starting to get hard to keep them all straight! This year WV opted to hold their conference at Jackson's Mill, a camp with some history. It's part of the WVU campus.

Truth in Advertising!

After months and months of sounding like a broken record promoting this conference to the other YSAs in our group, it was finally time to go. I had a full car going down- my friend Kaitlyn sat up front with me and we had two guys from our fhe group in the backseat. If I wasn't driving, none of them would have had a way to WV! The trip down took about 5 hours, it took longer because of the rain and traffic and pitstops needed.

But we got there just in time for....stupid Get to Know You Games! Why, they're my favorite! {Sarcasm Sign}

I was forced to play, they had several teams rotate through activities. I am proud to admit that I did well during Musical Chairs- I lost out when four tried to become three. Out of a group of 14! We all have hidden talents. Oh, and I faked needing to do something with my phone so I could escape church-themed charades. How would you portray "Fishers of Men"? I don't know either and didn't want to try.

Once again, Get to Know You Games don't really let you get to know people. Although they let you see who's cool under pressure.

Some poor girl dumped a ton of water on herself and all over the stage and floor during apple bobbing:

Running around with a kite attached to your hat- how sexy!

Is it now clear why I hate GTKYG? At least they weren't SFGTKYG.

No, I didn't participate in either activity. Though gosh, they looked fun. {Sarcasm Sign}

The real fun that night was the bon fire. Our speaker told the story of his first date with his wife- a bad date story that puts most bad date stories to rest! What an amazing woman to see past all that. It was fun to hang out with my friends and joke around. No photos of the bonfire- kindof hard to take pics in the dark.

Saturday was an early breakfast (7:30 am!) and then classes. First was a class where you covered a small military size Book of Mormon with fabric and doodads using irons and Wonder Under. It even has a magnetic closure. Pretty sweet.

Yup, mine's the aqua one!

Then it was finger-poking fun at woodcarving!
Here's what ours was supposed to look like:

Mine is *not* that far along. At all.

After lunch was Geocaching. I'd never done it before so it was fun to learn how to input coordinates and find stuff. My guy partner (not pictured) was less than desirable but I survived.

Then we got to watch an educational lecture from a raptor bird sanctuary/rescue place. They rehabilitate hurt birds of prey and use the ones that can't go back into the wild in their demos. It was an interesting show, it was neat to see the birds.

We saw a screech owl, "Owlice"

A broadwing hawk named "Neo"

...and a tame red tail hawk named Annie that was probably stolen from the wild and tamed (illegal!).

This bird can really poop. Let me tell ya.

Later came free time and we walked down to the General Store. Saw a Civil War camp reenactment and people in period dress.

Reenactment with guns:

Fed the big koi fish in the pond:

After dinner, there was a speaker, the Mission President of the WV mission. He spoke about the theme and how there is really only one road to God and it's up to us if we're near or far. (Are you thinking about Grover at this point? I was!) It was a good talk and uplifting.

And since we were in WV, you gotta square dance. It's the law. I got roped into square dancing which was fine but I was so mad that I got tricked into having to be partners with a girl. And we were the only same sex couple in the entire room of 6 groups. They needed one more couple to complete a group and had run out of willing boys. At any rate, it was mortifying. And fed several complexes of mine. Probably other people didn't care that it was us girls, but I was mad that I was tricked/forced into it, mad that no guy wanted to be my partner in the first place and just mad. I have not been that mad in some time. Definitely the low point of the conference. Our group kept messing up too on account of our partnership- the guys kept trying to dance with me and would forget that I was "the boy". Or I'd forget that I was not supposed to do the girl part. I was so glad to be done with that! Other people looked like they were having fun, it was fun to watch my friends dance. Some groups did very well.

Then came the real dance, I was glad to groove my anger away. It actually was a pretty good dance and I did get asked to dance once. I did run away from some undesirable men, though. It was too dark to take a pic during the dance but I wanted to show off my new shirt so here you go:

We slept very well that night.

Breakfast again at 7:30 am and then Sacrament meeting. There were some really wonderful testimonies borne.

Sunday best:

Kaitlyn, Mitch and myself

The campgrounds were lovely. Spring has come to WV and it was great to have warm temps (could have done without the humidity), green grass and blooms in the trees. The cabins were really sweet looking and nice inside. Because it is Jackson's Mill, there are millstones everywhere.

Even in stone foundations:

The mess hall was a really cute building:

Our cabin, Marion:

Entryway of our cabin, note the two millstones above the fireplace:

West Virginia rocks!

Some lows during the conference, but overall a fun weekend!

It was nice to get away and take a break.

Even though this conference served as a big reminder that I am not "young" anymore!

Sigh...

Random

2011-04-05T14:50:00.000-04:00

Hmm...what have I been up to these days?

I am glad to report that I have been fine since my kidney stone.

Been keeping busy with school.

And really busy with church stuff.

Last weekend was great, I loved Conference. So uplifting.

The weekend before that was so FULL of church stuff that I was hardly home!

Singles dinner, RS luncheon, YW broadcast, Branch Council mtg, Church and YSA testmony meeting all in two and a half days!

Yikes!

No single guys came to the Single Adult dinner...just six gals including me and also a bunch of married leaders.

Anybody wondering why I'm still single?

Hmmm...in other news...

Dad cleaned out his coat pockets:

We keep getting dustings of snow:

The Jr High kids are doing great with the projects we do with them:

And Laura got another puppy to raise to be a guide dog a couple days ago:

Randy is very flexible! Let's hope he'll be a good puppy. Grant had the nickname "Tasmanian Devil" for a reason.

We don't have babies at the Chaney house. We have puppies!

I did get to be a mom for 30 min this weekend during conference- held a 6 mo old baby so his mommy could use the potty and get their stuff together. He spit up on me too, I got the whole mommy experience! And it was funny how many compliments I got when I was holding the baby in one arm and using the rug sweeper in the other! I can multitask. Sometimes.

His mommy said "Will you take the baby for me?" and I said "I will take any baby I can get!"

And yay I got my student teaching packet turned in! Gotta love paperwork. And paying for clearances. And taking Praxis exams. And gotta love it when your advisor forgot to sign a paper and you have to track him down or pay a $100 late fee!

My semester is over with in about a month!

I hope I have a fun summer!

That is, if Spring ever comes!

Break

2011-03-23T15:50:00.000-04:00

I realized that I never did post about what I did on Spring Break. Is it really Spring Break when it comes way before Spring? It would have been more appropriately titled Winter Break.

I did manage to have some fun before I came down with a yucky cold. There are a few Washingtonians in my YSA group, and they had friends from WA come to visit. Laura and I joined with them and we formed The Washingtonians and had some fun in Erie. It's always fun to make instant friends in the gospel. Isn't it amazing when it's like you've always known each other?

We showed the visitors Presque Isle, and by the time we made it out there, the sun was setting and it was really lovely. I think I prefer the scenery there in the winter, it's so serene. I hadn't taken sunset pictures there before, I was glad I had my good camera with me. Lake Erie was very much frozen, and it was neat to see.

Yes, that is frozen Lake Erie behind me:

And it's nice to have Laura be my personal photographer.

I didn't do much else over break, tried (ha!) to clean my room. Got a few projects done or started. Spent time on the couch. Wanted to go to an art museum but didn't cause I felt crummy.

So there you have it.

Sick and tired...of being sick and tired

2011-03-22T15:20:00.001-04:00

More adventures for Ladybuglizzy...on Thursday night I started having incredible abdominal pain on my left side. Tried to go to sleep (and I was tired too) and I couldn't. That's a lot of pain if I can't sleep through it. After talking to my mom, I figured it was a kidney stone, but you never know. There's so much going on in your abdomen! What if it was an intestinal blockage, my appendix (some people have it on the wrong side) or another ovarian cyst?

My good mommy took me to the ER at one in the morning and we didn't get home til 5:30 am. That's love. And keep in mind the local hospital is not that great. Before we left, my dad said a prayer that my pain would be lowered and that I would get good care in the hospital and I'm glad to say that's what happened. Everyone who dealt with me was super nice and helpful, which is not always the case at this hospital. Prayer works.

By the time we got to the hospital, I had pretty much stopped hurting but it was still good to know why I had hurt so bad. It was pretty funny talking to the nurse since my pain scale is not the same as other people's pain scales. I have dealt with a lot of painful stuff throughout my life. Once you live through ear surgery while you're awake, you can handle anything. Someone else's 8 would be like my 5...

They took blood and urine, we waited for those tests. Yep, blood in urine, so off to catscan for my abdomen. Waited for those results. Yep, kidney stone. Waited for the rest of my IV bag to empty and then they let me go. While waiting for my IV to finish, I got some painkillers. I don't remember what they gave me, but it was good stuff. Helped me to sleep, but when I needed to get up and be functional, I was able to do so. I've taken painkillers in the past where I couldn't function, I slurred my words. Blech.

My parents and I were supposed to go on the temple trip on Saturday and didn't. My parents didn't want to be that far away from me for that long in case something happened. I felt bad that none of us went to the temple because of me- and my dad was actually going to go and I don't think he's been to the temple since I got my endowments out in 2002.

Well Mom called our branch president to cancel and news spreads fast in the Corry branch (thank goodness I didn't have something really really embarrassing!)- I got a phone call from my former branch president checking up on me. It was kind of him to call, but also a bit awkward since we don't usually chat on the phone. He had a bad ordeal with a stone awhile ago, I think he hurt for days. Somewhere in the short phone call he said "They say kidney stones hurt worse then having a baby" and I said "Well, I wouldn't know about that, huh?" and he was like "Oh yeah...well you should get working on that in the future." Only he would give me a zinger in the middle of a sympathy call, lol.

I spent the weekend sleeping and resting and taking it easy. Had a smaller recurrence of pain on Sunday. Didn't go to school Monday either. But part of that was the nail in the tire we discovered Sunday night. Overall I'm doing ok, it just stinks having to be functional and upright. I miss my couch today.

This is after having the flu and then a nasty cold. I'm getting pretty tired of being sick and tired. This needs to change! Between being sick and having a few snow days, I am missing too much school! I miss having a functional body.

Spring is coming, hooray! I need a change.

Kidney stones may not break my bones...but they sure hurt like heck.

Why Wait?

2011-03-14T15:02:00.001-04:00

One of my sweet friends saw the embroidered dishtowels I had posted on FB recently and said something to the effect of "I'd love something special like that when I get married."

And that comment broke my little heart- why do us single gals put off the joys in life simply because we don't have a special someone?

So I asked her what her desired future kitchen colors were and made her a matching suite of embroidered dishtowels, towels, and a hotpad:

Sometimes the rules of life make me laugh- I'm not allowed to have matching, nice or cute things because I'm single and haven't had a bridal or baby shower? Where did I sign up for that?

Sometimes I swear I'm going to start throwing showers for my single galpals and myself...um, we like nice things too! Do we not matter?

It's all too easy to put off happiness and say "Well I'll have a cute kitchen when I'm married" or "Well I'll be happy when I'm married" or "I'll be happy when I have kids." But what in the meantime? You should allow yourself to be happy now. You are a worthwhile person now. Don't waste your time here on earth just because you're single and/or childless. Life's too short for that. It's easy to focus too much on the future and forget about today.

I don't discriminate- I made a different set of kitchen stuff for my friend who got married. Her desired kitchen colors were red, green, black and tan. She is in her early 30's and just married a great guy in the temple- gotta reward that.

So married or single, have a cute kitchen and seize the day.

Elder Scott

2011-03-02T17:13:00.001-05:00

February 18th and 19th was a super duper busy weekend.

For starters, there was Snow Conference for the youth:

It's a yurt!

I was all set to have one of my girls attend, and then when I went to pick her up she bailed- she was sick. I sat in her driveway- what to do? Should I still go even if I didn't have any youth going? I was pretty tempted not to go- the prospect of sleeping in (and not in a room of chatty teenage girls) was looking really good. Really good.

But I decided to go anyhow. I'd said I was going and didn't really have a way to contact them. Plus I enjoy myself at these things. And my friends would be there. It was pretty mild weather, our snow was melting.

Snow Conference turned out great. It's always nice to be places where you can feel the spirit. The kids had a dance Friday night (one boy asked my 19 yr old YSA friend to dance and was mortified to find out she was a chaperone! What a cougar, lol.). My friend Kaitlyn and I found ourselves talking to another leader I'd never met before. She was my age, married a younger man a couple years ago. She said to us "Oh, does this take you back?" and I was like, "Um, we're YSA- we've never left! We go to dances every other month or so and they aren't much different then this!". It was funny. Yeah most people my age don't go to YSA dances. Ha ha.

After not getting much sleep (chatty girls and 8am breakfast) we had classes on Saturday. We rotated through 6 classes in three spots- the girls cabin, and two yurts. I've seen yurts at home shows before, they're fun. Good classes- anytime you get to watch a clip of the Cosby show for a church lesson, it's great.

Overnight we got snow- and the temp had totally dropped. Good thing I brought my big coat and ice cleats!

I left after lunch and jetted about 3 hours in the snow and wind up to Palmyra because....

...Elder Scott was speaking in person to the YSA!

I found myself changing into dress clothes at the Palmyra McD's. I am getting talented at that.

It was, of course, a great meeting.

Elder Jay Jensen of the Seventy was also there in attendance. The YSA choir was actually really good. And I found it interesting that Elder Scott got up and stood to the side up on the stand so that he could properly watch the choir instead of just staying in his chair like everyone else up there. What a sweet man.

Elder Jensen spoke first and it was a really nice talk. He talked about how we are duel beings with a spirit and body. When God gives us revelation, he sends it to our spirits to direct our bodies. When Satan tries to tempt us, he sends those messages to our bodies in an attempt to enslave our spirits. He said that we surely had lessons before we came to earth- and the most important topics in that "class manual" were 1)The Atonement and 2) the family. He encouraged us to be a covenant Israel.

Then Elder Scott spoke. Would you believe that he has a sense of humor? He was sweet and funny that evening. He said we all needed a sense of humor in life. Would you believe that he wound up in a police station twice while dating his future wife? How funny is that? One time he passed a police car on the wrong side, another time they had car problems and a cop picked them up. And then he said "And she still married me." He was so sweet about his wife, he misses her.

Yes, you can imagine a lot of the evening was about dating and marriage. All good stuff. He talked about hard times- he and his wife lost a little boy due to a heart defect.

He said some words that I needed to hear- I've been worrying lately about what I'm going to do after I graduate- and of course I want it all laid out for me easy peasy. Well, he gave a reminder that that's not how it works, we go one step at a time. We can have a happy life, we have to put our faith in the Lord. I swear he was talking only to me when he said all that.

He also had a question and answer session. Some good questions were asked, some I kindof had to roll my eyes at. It was interesting to hear his responses. One girl asked about the disparity in the number of worthy men vs the number of worthy women in the church- what are us girls to do? It was interesting for a General Authority to come out and say that a lot of the women's opportunities for marriage depends on the choices that the men make- that they need to be making good choices. I don't know if I've heard men get called on the carpet like that before.

I really wanted to ask a question, but didn't have the opportunity. I wanted to ask for advice for those of us who are soon leaving the YSA program due to age. I also wanted to ask what the church is doing for those of us in this age demographic- I can't help but feel shunned or put out to pasture at times.

When he ended the meeting, he invoked several blessings upon the congregation, it was very special to be a part of that and hear such sweet words come out of his mouth. He invoked a blessing that we would have protection from being manipulated by Satan. He invoked a blessing that we would be able to identify the boundaries in which happiness can be obtained.

And he invoked a special blessing on us sisters in the audience- that we can feel the Savior's love in our lives and have peace and guidance in our lives.

Don't rationalize happiness away.

I drove home in a windstorm and didn't get home til 2 am! And somehow I made it to church the next morning. I was Zombie Liz, but I was there.

I was so glad for a nap.

PA Life

2011-02-11T14:41:00.003-05:00

I find myself doing a lot of stuff I never had to back home.

Like lug firewood around. A lot.

We only have a woodstove to heat with now.

It's been a bad winter, we've used most of the wood on our back porch.

Which means...

....taking an entire Saturday to move more wood.

Step 1: Dig a 35 foot trench through 3 feet of hard crusty snow so that you can reach the woodpile:

Step 2: Photograph the snow bridge that defies gravity:

And don't forget to document the "pouf" on top of the log:

Step 3: Dig a trench through the deep snow on either side of the pile so that you can reach the woodpile.

Step 4: Clear the foot and a half of crusty snow off of the pile.

Step 5: Redig your trench.

Step 6: Try to undo frozen knots in rope that holds down the cover on woodpile.

Step 7: Have you and Mom lift off a huge heavy piece of galvanized roofing material to reach the wood. Slice your ring and glove and almost slice your hand with the sharp edge.

Step 8: Have Dad jack up the truck and switch regular tires for ones with chains on them:

Step 9: Lug several loads of firewood via wheelbarrow while waiting for Dad to finish with the truck:

Step 10: Photograph the bare ground where the truck had been. Treasure the memory- you haven't seen the ground since Thanksgiving.

Step 11: Shovel out the three feet of hard crusty snow that lies in the bed of the truck:

Step 12: Climb up in the bed of the truck and shovel most of it out.

Step 13: Relay many many logs into said back of truck. Pray truck doesn't get stuck in driveway. Move truck by house.

Step 14: Relay said many many logs from driveway onto back porch.

Step 15: Have Mom model her fabulous hairdo.

Step 16: Kick her off her 'bench' and fill it up with many many pieces of wood.

Step 17: Hurt so bad the next day that you can't function.

Step 18: Document your pain so that you have plenty of stories to tell the next generation: "When I was your age..."

Oh and did I mention that it rained and snowed on us all day and was freezing cold?

Coming Soon to a store near you...

2011-02-09T14:48:00.000-05:00

I often joke that I want to write a handbook for Old Marrieds on how to deal with us YSA (cause we're a different species, don't ya know).

In my frustrations in dealing with people, I decided to turn my pain around...into something funny.

So here we go- the books I long to write:

And then I decided that us singles needed books too:

We need to educate the young people so that these prejudices don't continue:

{I started laughing so hard I was crying when I thought of that last one in my car.}

Keep an eye out- if things keep going as they are then one day these will be at your local church bookstore ;)

Four Hours of Motherhood

2011-02-08T14:39:00.001-05:00

No makeup- this is reality!

No, I didn’t have a baby, but I babysat a 15 month old little boy the other Sunday. Remember me talking about The Latebloomers and their adopted baby? That’s who we babysat for the first time- at our house. Well, the Latebloomers moved into our branch this summer and Bro Latebloomer just became our branch president which I’m hoping means less inquiries about my love life. The Corry branch now has a baby in it, which is pretty unusual. And entertaining- it’s nice to have something to watch during Sacrament meeting!

Laura was off babysitting her Primary kids, so Mom and I tag teamed for Lil’ Droopsnoot. He screamed for a couple minutes after his parents dropped him off at our house, but that’s to be expected. And there’s just something about Mom that makes every baby within 10 yards of her cry- it’s been our family joke for the last 20 years. I joked with Dad that 15 months is the best of both worlds- he’s mobile AND not potty-trained! Oh, joy.

I picked him up from Mom and wiped his nose and he settled down. I spent most of the four hours that he was at our house on the couch with him on my lap, he was happy there and we weren’t about to disturb that. We watched Toy Story movies and some old Muppet Shows- he was mesmerized by the Muppets singing and dancing! I know you shouldn’t have the tv babysit your kids, but it made our experience a lot easier!

I fed him Cheerios and soon learned that if I had too many in my hand that they went all over the couch. He ate applesauce while on my knee at the table and Mom was daring and fed him sweet potatoes while he was on the couch with me. Miracle of miracles, we didn’t get sweet potato everywhere!

There for awhile we played with him in his pop up tent, he had these colored plastic balls that he liked to throw out of his tent and have us throw them in his tent. He got a big kick when I would put a plastic ball under his shirt or up his pant leg and then work to get them out. I opened up my pant leg to him to see what he would do and he stuck a plastic ball up there, what a funny kid. I had fun- I am such a big kid myself. His mother said she'd never thought to stick the plastic balls up his pant leg, I guess I am creative. LOL

And then four hours had come and gone and his parents picked him up and things went back to normal. I was a bit apprehensive about us watching him but things worked out really well. The little tyke laughed and cooed most of the time.

So why write about this? Well it’s not every day that I deal with little babies. If I’m around kids then they’re usually over the age of 5. Like I said, there’s no little ones in our branch (until now), just the older Primary children. I have to go to Stake Conference to see little ones! I don’t really have friends out here that have kids- I’m mainly friends with YSA or my college peers or my adult YSA advisors (who have kids but they’re grown ups!). My friends with kids are out West.

But even before moving out here, I wasn’t around babies very much. My only sibling is only 4 years younger then me, so by the time I was old enough to babysit, she wasn’t much behind. We lived out in the boonies, so I didn’t babysit much anyhow- few people wanted to drive all the way out to pick me up, drive to their house, and take me back home. I only have two cousins that are younger than me and they live in CA. Most of my experience with babies comes from serving in Nursery for the 3 months before I left on my mission and also the Rodarte twins that got passed around in RS before we moved. And we moved over three years ago!
There’s nothing like having a tyke come over to make one realize how unbabyproof our house is- clearly we have no babies around here! There’s the wood stove (which had a fire in it), electrical cords and outlets, the three big dogs, and countless sharp objects and things not suitable for babies. Like the space heater with the pointy metal corners that was right by where he was playing in his tent. I was right there with him to make sure he didn’t hit it.

My mother took a the photo above- I think she wanted to document that I do have some motherly instincts. My poor mother- I know she wants grandchildren.

It felt good to know that I can take care of a youngin’. And that babies can like me. It’s nice to know that I have some motherly instincts in me and it was nice to see them come out. I wanted to keep him! It feels natural when I pick him up and hold him. Maybe someday the stork will bring me one or two.

Remembering Grandpa

2011-02-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

My Grandpa Roy died in December of 1990, so this December made twenty years since he's been gone. Where has time gone? I was 10 when he died, and he lived in CA so I saw him about once a year. Sometimes more. Unfortunately I didn't get to know him as much as I would have liked.

This photo of my dad and Grandpa was taken about the time I was born. He used to smoke a pipe.

I still remember witnessing the terrible phone call that my mother received from my Grandma right after he died. Grandpa hadn't been feeling right ("indigestion") and they took him to the hospital where he had a heart attack and could not be revived. He was 68.

I remember my mother crying and I remember walking over and hugging her. I didn't know what to do and didn't think to hug her, but some force compelled me to get up and move over to her. We now know what that was, huh? We went to California for the funeral and stayed for Christmas. I remember seeing Grandpa laid out before his funeral. I remember riding in a limo to the grave site. I remember the chocolate mousse that someone brought over. I don't remember much else, though in hindsight I sure hope I behaved properly considering the circumstances.

My grandpa was not a member of the church, though he did grow up in Utah. Maybe if his ancestors had stayed faithful he would have been a member. Nonetheless, he was a very good man, kind and honest. He had a sense of humor. He loved his family. He loved my grandma. When other men did activities outside of work, my grandpa spent his spare time at home. My mother remembers weekend trips with her family. My grandpa was always supportive of the things my mother and her sisters did- dance recitals, church activities. He once told my mother that "he didn't have to worry about them choosing between right and wrong, they always chose between right and right" for their activities.

When the time came that my mother wanted to serve a mission, it was him that was more supportive then my grandma who is a member. My grandma didn't want my mother to go to Colombia (South America was not a good place to go during the 70s) but my grandpa understood that this was the right thing to do. He even gave her a corsage at the airport when she left for her mission.

My grandparent's home was a magnet for all the kids in the neighborhood- it was a place where they could come play and be safe. When the neighborhood had a block party, the other adults would be drinking and lighting fireworks while my grandparents organized games for the kids. There was even a girl in the neighborhood who would come over and play board games with my grandparents because her parents never did things like that- and she'd come play even when my aunt, her friend, was in the other room doing homework!

When my parents married in the temple, none of their parents could attend. My grandpa understood and was supportive. When my mother was looking for a husband, she wanted someone with the good qualities that her father had. The only time my grandpa ever raised his voice was in defense of my mother- some drunk creep in the neighborhood grabbed her and spun her around when she was out at the car thinking she was his wife. My mother waited and said no to several boys who proposed marriage until she met my father- who had the qualities she was looking for.

The August before Grandpa died, my mom's side of the family went to Disneyland. It was mine and my sister's first time at Disneyland. It was a really fun trip with my family, my two aunts and Grandma and Grandpa. I'm so glad that we could get together and take that trip. We didn't know what laid ahead.

I remember Laura and I running and crawling into bed with my grandma and grandpa and my grandpa doing his "grizzly bear" impersonation. It was not a very big bed! He also had hair that always stood straight up- all he could ever do with his hair was a flatop. Mom remembers when he didn't get a haircut and his hair still stood up straight even though it was a couple inches long. I remember running my hand over his hair, it tickled. When we see people with hair like that, we lovingly refer to it as "Grandpa hair".

I remember Grandpa visiting us in WA and helping my dad dig in the yard to find a pipe- which wasn't anywhere where it was supposed to be! They dug a bug trench that had to have been at least a hundred feet. Grandpa was a good worker, and he didn't mind doing things for his family.

I did a report on my grandpa right before he died- in 5th grade you were to interview a member of your family. He was the oldest of my grandparents, so I interviewed him. My grandpa doesn't exist in videotape or tape recordings, my recollection of his voice is a bit fuzzy. The interview is a treasure. My grandpa didn't own much and much of what he did own (like clothes) is no longer around. I do have one of his plaid flannel shirts.

Grandpa served in WWII, though not in active duty. He was like Radar on M.A.S.H. An extra hole in his eye didn't hurt him any, but kept him from fighting. I can't help but wonder if that was Heavenly Father sparing his life.

He met my grandma while at college, they were both waiting for a bus in Utah. Their story is funny- each claimed it was the other one who made the first move and asked what time it was at that bus stop.
This is nowhere near thorough enough to commemorate my grandpa's life. But I tried.

Thank you Grandpa, for being a good man and loving your family.

Thank you Grandpa for serving your country.

Thank you Grandpa for supporting my mother to serve a mission.

Thank you for asking Grandma the time (if that was you).

Because you were the man you were, my mother served a mission and found a good husband, which directly affected me for the better. Because you were the man you were, my mother knew that family was important.

Thank you.

We still miss you.

Grandpa and me

The Semester of Me

2011-02-01T14:33:00.000-05:00

So I've started the Spring semester. Working on Week 3 as a matter of fact. I am taking Jr Field, Geography of Asia (it's interesting), Economic Geography (BOO!) and a Special Ed class that is good. I had been signed up to take Intermediate Metals but dropped out for a geography class (that is for a stupid requirement). At first I was bummed (and it's weird not being in a studio class), but then I learned that we'd be doing mostly hammering techniques-and the main reason I wanted in this class was to get back into casting! When I saw the workload that Jr Field requires, I was really glad not to have a studio class.

Junior Field entails me going to two Jr Highs in Erie during the week to teach art as part of an after school program. I have two other students who teach with me. It's nice to share the workload but communicating is a challenge. I find myself having to be the one who worries if everyone did their jobs. Last week was a total guinea pig week as we got to know the students and what they can do. The students in last semester's class had five weeks to prepare before they got to actually teach...meanwhile we got one week and we didn't even find out our partners until the end of that week so we basically had the weekend to prepare before teaching kids. Yikes!

Jr Field is going well so far but it's a big challenge. I'm so thankful for all my past teaching experience!

It's actually kinda nice to not have a studio class this semester- they take up so much time! I never would have thought I'd be glad not to have one. I had been looking for a studio class to take while I can- this is the last semester of regular classes before I do student teaching!

I actually have some time to breathe. Sometimes I get to bed when I'm supposed to. And it's nice to not have to be forced in making stuff I don't want to make!

A complaint of mine about studio classes is that you learn skills...but you don't necessarily get to make stuff that you'd want to make. Or know what your style is. I have no idea what my painting style would be if I didn't have an assignment. I want to find that out.

So I decided that this semester I did have a studio class- my own studio, that is.

This will be the semester where I make what I want to make.

And maybe finish some UFOs.

Good grief I have enough of those!

This semester is becoming very busy with YSA and YW activities on top of school, phew! Lots of schedules to keep track of! Thank heavens for my planner in my purse.

So stay tuned for things from Studio Liz!

Break

2011-01-31T15:42:00.001-05:00

So what did I do during the rest of break? Most of it came after Christmas (Edinboro now has a "winter" semester in between semesters, so they've now pushed most of break to be after Christmas).

I had YW on Wednesday nights.

I stayed up late and slept in.

I tried to clean my room (nice try). It's back to being disastrous. Back to the drawing board.

I did succeed in purging/organizing the clothes in my closet.

And I think this new closet system just might work (miracle of miracles!).

I was a hermit and stayed home a lot (I wasn't too bummed about that).

I took naps. Heaven.

I watched movies. And The Office.

I had a recurrence of my nasty itchy rash from woodshop from my contaminated coats- once I got them cleaned/washed I was much better after a couple of GoldBond Medicated weeks.

I did some crafty things too, I'll show those another time.

I did get to have a few social outings. I went to Cleveland with my sister right after Christmas to an Institute New Year's activity (even though New Year's was days later). We tried out the GPS for the first time (it's amazing!) and I had fun seeing my friends.

Me and Anne:

{Sidenote: Anne just got married this month to a really nice guy the temple and she's my age! Way to go Anne! It gives me hope.}

Things were fun until I sat next to a girl and she asked if I was a chaperon. Thanks, thanks a lot!

Um no honey, but now I'm going to make sure that no one asks you to dance!

Adding insult to injury was the fact that all the "adults" there were senior couple missionaries!

Laura and I stayed in a hotel so I didn't have to drive and get us home way late. We went out to Ihop the next morning, it's been years since I went to one. It was good to have some bonding time with my sister.

It was fun to see people who were home for Christmas, like the two couples I helped do the pre-reception for, aka The Four. I was counting the days til I go to see my girls Rene and Ame!

It was really nice to see Dennis & Ame and Rene & Mike. When it was time to leave I was sad and they were all "You get lonely out here, don't you?" and the answer to that is Yes. Most of my friends out here live far away and I only see them at conferences. Or they leave and go to school out West.

Ame, me and Rene:

{Sidenote: Why do I have a sword in my head?}

My last hurrah before starting school again was to attend the YSA conference in Pittsburgh. Normally my stake does the conference in January but we've now been reassigned to do a conference this July in Palmyra in conjunction with Pageant. I think it will turn out ok, but it's a tough assignment to plan something that's not even in our stake! And it involves camping in tents! Lots of logistics to figure out.

I was a bit apprehensive about my choice to go since there weren't many people Friday evening and once again it was the dreaded GTKYG. Those are against my religion! But thankfully things got better and it turned out to be way fun.

The theme was about cultivating our talents. Saturday was breakfast and classes. I attended one on the gifts of the Spirit, it was good. Also attended one on budgeting/finance that didn't tell me anything new, but was a good reminder. Sigh!

And then I had a rare Bad Girl Moment and I ditched the conference with some friends. We went out to lunch at Cheesecake Factory (yum!) and I also found myself at Goodwill helping my friend Mitch find a tie (he'd forgotten one.) We didn't feel like going back right away and drove around Pitt. We went to the zoo...just not inside since it was closed. After driving around a bunch more (thank heavens for GPS to get us back!) and exploring this big tower called the Cathedral of Learning, we got back in time to watch a talent show. Fun to watch, though I'm not sure if naughty dancing was really appropriate.

We had dinner and a couple of speakers about talents and then a pretty good dance, and by far the best one that Pittsburgh has ever had at a conference. They're cursed, I swear!

Sunday was breakfast and Sacrament meeting and saying goodbyes in the parking lot. It was a great weekend.

Bad Girls at the Cheesecake Factory:

The Cathedral of Learning:

Inside it looked like Harry Potter!

Scary elevator ride- the view from the top:

Dinner looked like a wedding reception- was that a subliminal message?

With Ivan and Jason, my York Boyz:

Very fun conference. Pleasantly surprised, cause at first it looked like it was gonna stink!

In other news, I went sledding on Martin Luther King Day, it was awesome. I also happened to read the "I Have A Dream" speech in it's entirety for the first time that weekend, it's an amazing and inspiring work. Read it if you haven't for a while.

And then the ax fell and I started school. More on that later.

Stay tuned!

Christmas

2011-01-25T15:01:00.001-05:00

Well, pardon my French, but we kinda half assed Christmas this year. We had a nice day and all, but we didn’t do everything we usually do. It just seemed like everything was out to thwart us:

-I didn’t get out of school til Dec 17th and had been really busy the two weeks before that with school (not even any time to window shop!).

-Dad got shots in his knees two days before Christmas.

-Mom is still recuperating with her leg.

-Laura was away housesitting the week before Christmas (leaving me to do most stuff around the house).

-The branch Christmas dinner got postponed a week, (and Mom planned a fancier party then Corry usually has) which meant that we were worrying about it for two weeks, not just one.

We just didn’t have the energy or time for some stuff. We usually get a regular sized tree, but this year we got a fairly small tree. We didn’t have the energy to wrestle with the living room furniture to make room for a bigger tree. I kinda missed having a bigger tree but I will admit it was so much easier to get in and out of the car and house and set up!

We cleaned house and decorated, but not to the extent of past years. There were some favorites that didn’t get put out. And I’ll fully admit that we cleaned/decorated pretty much only in the areas that would show in pictures.

I found myself shopping for some presents on the 23rd. Usually I do shopping earlier but was so swamped with final projects. The tree didn’t make it in the house until a few days before Christmas. And since Dad is in charge of the lights and he didn’t do them til the 24th, the tree didn’t get decorated til then! And not a ton of ornaments, either. I was wrapping presents at midnight.

We also like to go to the mall as a family and do some shopping and out to dinner at Cracker Barrel, but that didn’t happen either. And what we did do for Christmas exhausted me cause it was pretty much just me digging out the Christmas stuff and decorating.

I like to be very crafty at Christmas and that didn't happen either. I did manage a smidge of time to make ornaments for my YW by swirling paint in the value colors inside a clear glass ornament. Then I wrote their name and the year with a white paint pen. I felt like the Winter Warlock from Santa Claus is Coming to Town when he only has a bit of magic left in his fingers. I also felt old- wasn't it just a few years ago that my YW leaders were giving me homemade ornaments?

But that being said, we did the important things. We watched our favorite Christmas movies together leading up to Christmas. On Christmas Eve, I picked up Laura from the place she was housesitting (she had cable tv and the internet, the brat! She didn’t want to come home!) and we had dinner together and put up stockings and read the Bible verses about Christ’s birth. We put out cookies for “Santa” too. And then Laura went back to the other house.

Christmas morning came late- someone had to go get Laura. Instead of coming to the tree from the bedroom, Laura and I walked to the tree from the front door after I'd fetched her. We did walk in the house accompanied by our family's music tradition (a Nat King Cole mix tape done by Grandma years ago). I joked that our relatives that live on the West coast were going to be done opening presents before we even started! We had fun opening presents and had our traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then came stockings and we had fun playing with our new stuff.

That afternoon we all bundled up and walked with our three dogs way down the driveway and put out old apples and bread for the deer and critters. Since we moved out here, we like to do that at night on Christmas Eve, but this year we did it during the day. We like to be charitable to the animals around here- they are God’s creations and the winters here are hard for them. It wasn’t long before the deer and critters found their present.

Christmas dinner was lasagna- nothing will top the Christmas lasagna I had as a missionary (it had perchuto in it!) but we came close with three different kinds- classic, spinach and a version with salami in it. I like the spinach one best. We also opened crackers, which is another tradition. You know, those paper tubes (that pop!) and you get a paper crown and a toy and a joke. And we got a homemade cheesecake for dessert! Lots of sugar that day!

In the end, Christmas is supposed to be about spending time with your family and celebrating the birth of our Savior, and we accomplished that. That’s the important part- the rest is just fun.

On to the pictures:

Hanging my stocking:

Christmas morning, had to get Laura- I wore my Gaga pants!

Keeping warm by the fire:

Wrapped Dad a tractors calendar in green duct tape with a red duct tape bow!

Me and Dad

I gave Dad a train that goes on a track in your tree! Big hit.

Mom and Dad

Laura love jellybeans

The house with old sleds on the porch:

And at night (with the light-up geese I gave Mom!) :

The YW ornaments I did:

Feeding the deer on Christmas Day:

What was my favorite present? Marleen (my former missionary companion) calling me up on Christmas Eve to get my address. It's been years since I've heard her voice (though we do keep in touch electronically) so it was incredibly nice to chat and catch up. It's the simple things that are the best. Thanks dear!

What was your favorite thing this Christmas season?

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Pre-Christmas Fun

2011-01-25T14:34:00.000-05:00

I know it’s late showing these pictures, but I managed to squeak in some fun in December even though I was super busy with ending this semester.

Mom and Pop weren’t up for it, but Laura and I went and had fun in Corry (our neighboring town) on their Christmas celebration night early in December. In past years, the branch dinner is on the same night so we’ve never gotten to participate until this year. The park is lit up all month, but only on this night do they set up the luminaries, which were lovely.

The little downtown area is open late, and I had fun wandering antique stores and the local quilt shop. And Laura and I got to ride in a wagon pulled by big draft horses! It was cold but fun. It was snowing big fat flakes for most of the night. The local radio station was playing Christmas music outside, everything was very merry. Laura and I often butt heads, so it was good to have some bonding time.

Later in the month, our YSA group had an outing to Kirtland to see the lights and nativities at the church’s visitor’s center. We had 5 YSA and two of our advisor couples attend and we had a fun time. I had heard last year that the visitors center did this, but wasn’t able to go. I’m glad I got to go this year; it was a lot of fun to see the lights and all the amazing nativities. Two of the people that attended hadn't been to Kirtland before, so it was neat to be with them on the tour (gotta love sister missionaries!). One sister missionary was all interested in the camera strap cover that I'd made.

Large nativity statues outside (like the ones at the temples):

In the little schoolhouse was a display of a whole bunch of nativities from all around the world, those were neat to see as well:

Can you believe that a teenager carved this from wood? It was amazing.

I liked this copper tree with nativity stamps hanging off of it, I may need to make my own version someday:

This display of the Savior's life was neat:

There were hundreds of amazing ones, framed nativity Christmas cards, and upstairs there was a tall fake flocked tree with all white nativity ornaments on it, vey lovely. I may have to steal that idea.

Mom, being RS president, was in charge of the Christmas dinner. She opted for real tableclothes, plates, glasses and silverware, which meant some additional cleanup but looked nice. She made the greenery centerpieces using her silver bowl collection and stuck in some pinecones and glass ball ornaments that I owned. It was the first time the Corry branch had used real stuff for a dinner since we've been around and we got a lot of good feedback on it. I think it helped people feel special.

I designed my Christmas card in Photoshop and used my oranment painting from last year. Told you to act surprised! I got a good deal. Once again, not much is new with me on paper so I just wanted something to wish people Merry Christmas on.

I like how the back turned out:

December was busy as always, but fun!

Hope you had a good one too.

O Christmas Table

2010-12-23T17:54:00.000-05:00

Well, after our carved alien fruit, we spent the rest of the semester designing and creating a table. We were limited in size (our teacher didn't want us going much beyond 3 feet in any direction) so I wound up making an end table. I would have loved to have made a retro kitchen table, a coffee table that could display things, or carve a carousel table, but I wound up making this one. Having wood and metals in the same semester was a challenge- both are time consuming and so I opted to do a table I could finish more easily without living in the wood classroom.

Even so, I got rushed at the end. I would always see wood students racing to finish their projects at the end of the semester and would say "that won't be me". Ha! It was me! I missed a couple days of school due to snow and that threw me off. It was also a major pain to fight to use the equipment, everyone seemed to need the table saw. Everything takes twice as long as you think it will.

In all, I liked the process, just wish I could have enjoyed it a bit better without being so rushed. I also didn't like the nasty rash I got from dealing with wood- I was so itchy I wanted to claw my arms off! I don't know if I was allergic to poplar or to sawdust or possibly walnut- I read recently that people can have allergic reactions to it. I didn't use walnut, but other people did and I was exposed to everyone's dust.

You had to have at least one mortise and tenon joint (which are a pain to cut) and mine had eight to attach the rails to the legs, so it fit the bill. I cut the rail shapes on a bandsaw and then had to file and sand those curves- also a pain! Sanding thru like 4 grits of sandpaper was a pain too- my hands went numb from the electric sander!

I had decided from the beginning to paint my table, so I opted to make it out of inexpensive poplar rather then maple or cherry or something. It doesn't look too bad here after I sanded the heck out of it, but it has a yellow or green cast to it and there's streaks of reddish purple in it too. Other woods are prettier!

Here you can see a purple streak:

I routed the table top and shaped the legs, too:

Thought I'd show what other people did in my class, you had a good deal of freedom:

My friend Angie did this, a lot of joinery on each end. There's at least 32 mortise and tenon joints in this!

This was a well made table but it's not for clutsy people like me- I'd smack into the pointy tabletop!

There was also the option of making a bench- it's pretty much like making a table but your table legs stick up to form the armrests.

One girl painted this top:

One guy did these three table that share a leg- you draw at the tallest one (the top lifts up) and can set your supplies next to you on the smaller table. It takes up a good chunk of space, though.

Someone from the other class did an armadillo table:

One girl did this cat desk (cat heads on the bottom, fat tail at the top):

One girl did this table complete with "legs"...does it need to go to the bathroom?

A girl from the other class did this mustache table. I liked it but wasn't crazy about the irregular tabletop.

My table isn't complete, you just had to have one coat of something on it for crit so all it has on it now is black milk paint. It needs another coat or two and then a coat of satin finish sealer. But that's not happening til after Christmas!

You know what I really want to make? Shaped cutting boards! I know how to glue up boards and clamp them and shape them with a bandsaw and a router...now I need all that equipment in my dream art studio!

Gobble Gobble

2010-12-01T15:36:00.001-05:00

We had a pretty low key celebration this year, what with Mom being off her game and all. Usually I like to pull out the brown tablecloth/lace overlay combo for the table and we also like to make flower arrangements in mini pumpkins. Laura usually makes a "turkey" out of an orange with cheese and baby corn toothpicked in for tail feathers. None of those things happened this year and we survived. There wasn't much point in decorating the table when Mom eats sprawled on the couch looking like Cleopatra due to her leg and the rest of us ate near her in the living room.

With two gimpy parents (Dad has some pretty bad knees), I found myself doing a lot of the cooking and cleanup, and by the end of the day I was pretty wiped out. Running around all day on our hard floors sure didn't help my hips and knees. I made a pumpkin pie (thank heaven for pre-made crusts!) and did mashed potatoes, a cheeseball, green beans, the veggie platter and yams. Dad did a really good turkey and stuffing. He made some sort of concoction with homemade croutons, fresh spinach leaves, mushrooms, sausage, cream of mushroom soup and who knows what else. It turned out really good.

My parents are cute sometimes:

The meal, so yummy. And we always use the BIG plates that my parents got when they got married- the orange and gold flowers in the center are perfect for the holiday!

The stuff in the bowl is fruit salad in Cool Whip. So healthy. ;)

I like to wear purple on Thanksgiving, it's my own funny little custom. I remember wearing it one year when I was like 12 and liking it and it became my thing. I even wore my purple blazer to Thanksgiving when I was a missionary.

Mom (aka Cleopatra) and me:

and Dad and Laura:

We had a nice day together and it's great to have some time to remember your blessings. Another funny Thanksgiving tradition we have is to watch a tape of an X-Files marathon- Thanksgiving 1997 was spent in a motel room in Newport, WA when we moved there and were awaiting our house and that's what the tv was playing all day. Thankfully our friend invited us over for some good food- we had a little oven but couldn't do much there. I was also really really sick that Thanksgiving. Someone taped it for us then cause they knew we liked X-Files so we get to watch it every year since. So somehow X-Files = Thanksgiving for me.

It was a nice 5 days off from school, though I didn't get much rest. We are not Black Friday shoppers, but I had to go out the next day to take Hanky yet again to the vet for a checkup. He is doing well, thank goodness, but there are still more check ups!

Mom is getting a lot better, it's great. She is still in pain/purple but it's gotten a lot better this week and she's up more on her leg.

November has some milestones for me- 22 years ago on Nov 19 I was baptized. I had to wait four months past my birthday for my dad to get home from his business trip! He used to be gone for months at a time. Also, Thanksgiving marked 7 (oy!) years home from my mission. I can't belive it's been that long- time flies! Anyhow, both events make me think about past choices and how I'm so blessed to have the gospel. Baptism really is the gate to so many wonderful things.

We also got our first real snow over the weekend, though it was pitiful for PA. 3 inches and it melted the next day. There's more where that came from though! Our view looks like this again today:

Hope you had a good holiday. I think I am finally starting to wake up from my turkey coma!

Thankful

2010-11-23T20:31:00.000-05:00

There's lots to be thankful for this season.

Like my family (Mom is slowly getting better).

And my great friends.

And the ability to stay in touch with them.

And funny pets.

And things I learn at school.

And for talents and creating.

And for my callings.

And for the gospel in my life.

And for our warm home.

And for no snow yet (soon to change!).

You can get inspiration anywhere- these were the table decor at the youth activity last weekend. Our stake YW has some talent!

Thought I'd share these pretty easy but great looking centerpieces!

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Art Auction

2010-11-19T16:46:00.001-05:00

Recently I participated in the annual student art auction on campus. The problem with studio classes is that you are usually making things that either you want to keep or no one will want to buy (like the odd practice still lifes that we did for most of the semester in painting class or the 20 body parts for sculpture) and that I don't have much extra time to make things to sell. When this year's auction rolled around, I actually had stuff to submit- extra prints from print class last semester. I picked a few out to auction and sold four of them. The Student Art League takes a 25% cut of the bids, but even after their cut, I had made $18.75! Not bad, I was pleased. I found out later that my woodshop teacher had bought one of them!

I don't think I ever got around to posting the rest of what I did in print class, I'll have to show that sometime. I would love to do more in that area, but the classes fill up crazy fast- way faster then the other studios.

I was pleased with a lot of the artwork up for bid- in past years there has been a lot of crap because they will let anyone submit anything. Last year I was outbid and didn't win anything, so it was a pleasant surprise to win three of the four things that I wanted.

So here's what I won:

This is a little (about 8x10") photo/painting collage on board by Mel Keiser. She has done some really great paintings in shows on campus so I was excited to own one of hers. I fell for the hair/flowers area. I don't like a lot of collages because it's often hard to mix materials and make it work but I think it works here. I paid $14 for it.

This intaglio print is called "A Lot of Frames to Fill" and it's by Makenzie Cherban. This is done with a metal plate and she scratched all those lines into a coating on a metal plate that was then put in acid to eat away the lines. Printing is time consuming as well- you fill the lines in with ink and then wipe wipe wipe the surface of the plate- when it goes through a press, the enormous pressure pushes the paper into the lines and you get a print.

It's pretty large and I liked all the ornate frames- it made me think of the one I spraypainted black. Worth $9 to me.

I had seen this unframed in a different show and liked it- so I was glad to see it in the auction. Entitled "Barflies", it's by Courtney Bryan and I thought she made a fun screenprint. I liked the positive/negative space and bright colors. I liked the fly silhouettes. Registration (things lining up) is always an issue for printmakers. Sometimes mis-registration works and sometimes it doesn't but I like the way the black outline is off. I paid $31 for this, which was a bit expensive but if I were to frame it myself I'd be spending a chunk on that so it actually is a good deal.

This is the one I wished I'd won:

I really enjoyed this painting- I really liked the tones/colors used in it and the technique is good. It's larger- about 2.5' square. A big reason why I liked it so much was that I did a series of similar b&w handprinted photographs way back in 2001 that were very well received (and won me prizes and money and clients). I would have loved to have had this up with them on my wall. Sometime I will have to scan and show those. I would love to have that series become a book.

A lot of people want to collect art but don't know how to go about it. Clearly I'm not collecting art as an investment, but for enjoyment. I think that often people worry too much about collecting names or spending lots of money. I don't believe that collecting art has to be expensive, quite the opposite. I've found great stuff for pennies. I feel that a lot of the expensive art out there isn't worth it. A lot of art is expensive because of time and materials but just because it is a Warhol doesn't mean that it is the best thing ever- artists generally have periods of artmaking that are better than others and this could be part of the lesser stuff. And there might be some no-name thing that is the best thing ever.

A lot of people say "I don't know art but I know what I like". Exactly. Collect what you like. It's ok to do so! Then it will be worth something to you.

The art world is a two way street- creator and collectors. I think it's important to support the art world- I like it when people look at or buy my stuff so I make an effort to see what other people are doing. If I fall in love with something, then I'll make an effort to own it. Art makes our world interesting.

For crying out loud, support your artists- who wants to have a boring cookie cutter living room anyhow? If I can duplicate your living room down to the manufactured BB&B art on your walls, then there's a problem.

Be unique.

And can you tell that I will need a LOT of wallspace in my future abode?

Lace Box

2010-11-17T17:15:00.000-05:00

The third project in Metals class was to make a box. So I thought "Oh, a camera box would be fun- I'll have lots of time to make something more complicated" and designed this:

I was really tempted to make it in paper and call it good! The front part would come out like a drawer and house some little photo artifacts of bygone days- BD, or Before Digital. There would be a little hook and eye to keep the drawer shut. And maybe a back piece that opened to show an old photo.

So I started on that, rollerprinting copper with a canvas texture. But I didn't get far- I'd forget my toolbox or forget stuff in the car. One day I sent half an hour searching for the metal I'd prepared, only to find it hiding in my backpack- I thought I was going crazy!

And then I hit other snags- like Mom in the hospital. And me being sick. And Hanky needing surgery. And then it became a matter of getting something done to turn in.

Crit was terrible- no one had anything finished. Including me. That doesn't happen. I was disappointed and embarrassed. But I got an extension to turn it in after the weekend and busted my butt to finish it in time.

It's a little harder to make square boxes then round boxes so I redesigned and made this:

I was inspired by the pin/earring/necklace pewter boxes that I had as a child. Those were a bit hokey though. I rollerprinted lace into the copper. I soldered and made a lid and base that actually fit together pretty well (you can't see the ring on the underside of the lid) which is a bit tricky with metal. The flowers are not permanently attached, you can take them off and wear them as pins. I rollered the copper to be thin, cut out my shapes, filed the edges and then hammered the edges to make them even thinner. Then I used a dappling block (a metal cube with different sizes of bowl shapes cut out of it) to hammer my flat shapes into a cupped flower shape.

There are holes drilled in the walls of the base so that one can string it and wear it as a pendant if desired. I didn't have time to add anything inside, but maybe I'll put a flower in there in the future. I applied patina and sanded it away just enough to really show the lace pattern. I sanded the edges and bottom to make them a brighter color for contrast.

Overall, I like my box and I'd like to do my camera still. I'm pleased that I figured out on my own how to solder the flowers and that it worked! I strung the flowers onto the wire and hung them upside down from steel cross-locking tweezers and applied solder to where the wire met the bottom flower. It flowed and worked! Then I had to twist the wire to work harden it, the heat from the torch anneals it to make it soft and you can't have a floppy pin back or it will bend and break. Then I filed the ends to be pointy enough to go through a shirt (but not too pointy!). They're held in the lid with little chunks of eraser for now.

I have a good amount of lace-textured copper left over- I should make a bracelet or something with it. I think it's pretty funny to make such girly stuff with non-girly materials and tools- metal and files and hammers and whatnot.

It's fun making stuff with big girl toys- like torches!

Pete and Repeat

2010-11-17T16:21:00.003-05:00

I got hammered yet again both before and after the last YSA conference. The same individuals, yet again.

The woman who wants me to be with the single 35 year old in my branch is my visiting teacher- who came to see us while Laura and I were scurrying around trying to get ready to go to Harrisburg. I got dressed and came out and proceeded to get nagged by her about my hair, that I should wear it down- to look younger and to attract this guy. Nagged at me again to date this guy.

In my own house.

During Visiting Teaching.

In front of my mother and sister.

Can you say embarrassing? I didn't know what to say. My mother then asked, "Liz, are you interested in [Single Guy]?" to which I quietly replied, No. I think she was trying to get this woman off my back. She doesn't normally ask me things like that. And then the conversation moved on, thank goodness. It was all rather awkward.

My own mother knows better then to nag me about my hair, even if it is prettier down. And my own mother does not nag me about boys, even though I know she would love to be a grandma. Still not understanding why this woman from church thinks she has the right to tell me what to do in matters of the heart.

A week later I found myself at church. Did I really feel like being there? No, Mom was coming out of the hospital and I was pretty tired and had a million things to do to prepare. But I came and was glad because listening to other's testimonies was what I needed. After church I walked over to turn in my tithing and my branch president took my envelope and asked if I'd had a good time while at the YSA conference. Yes, I replied. I was clearly distracted and not remembering what would come next- and come it did:

"Did you meet anyone that you can't live without?"

Maybe some other Sunday I wouldn't have cared so much. But I was emotionally and physically drained and all I wanted to do was to pay my tithing, not be heckled. I just felt like curling into a ball on the ground. I don't even think I answered No, I think I just said "I should have known that was coming" and turned and walked briskly out of the chapel.

What would he have done if I'd said Yes? Does he really think I'm going to come back and say "Oh yes, I met a boy a week ago and he's smart and charming and handsome and we're going to get married." I've heard of some fast engagements, but that's pretty fast. It was an odd way to put it too- shouldn't it also be a factor that the guy can't live without me either?

I guess I just don't understand why I'm getting the same questions over and over from these same people when clearly my answer hasn't changed in over three years. Does this woman think I'm all of a sudden going to change my mind? Does my branch president think I'm going to get engaged and not say anything?

Why ask me when you already know the answer?

Heck, when my time comes, I'll come to church wearing one of those stupid "Future Mrs.{Insert stupid new last name here}" T-shirts that I see in the back of bride magazines. I'll wear a big pin saying "I'm engaged" on my lapel. I'll wear a sandwich board and ring my bell. I'll wave my left hand all over in your face. I won't be subtle. It won't be a secret. I'll even hire a line of guys in medieval garb to come and play trumpets and announce it "Hear Ye, Hear Ye" style.

But here's the thing- I'm happy. Really. I love what I'm doing these days in school and YSA and YW. I'm where I'm supposed to be, doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do now. Nagging only serves to diminish my self-esteem, my sense of fulfillment and the happiness I feel. I'm trying, but I can't totally control this whole marriage thing, so why rub my nose in it?

I guess I need to say something to them because this pattern is getting really exhausting. Can't help but notice that it is generally people who are less satisfied with their marriages who are the ones who hound me. Them, and people who don't know proper social etiquette. Misery loves company?

Why is my singleness an open topic? Do I hound the married people? "Why don't you have more children? Do you like your Mother in Law? When are you buying a house? When will you get a raise?" No, because I generally follow proper social etiquette!

I know, I know- I should write the grievances that people cause me in the sand and the good things they do for me in stone- I try not to be offended or irritated but that's hard sometimes. So I vent.

In the meantime, I'll start writing a handbook for them on dealing with the other species at church- The Singles.

And designing a line of shirts (and perhaps some armor too?) for us single peeps.

Pretty tempted to wear this for real:

Then I could just point to it when someone makes a dumb remark.

Oh, and I got around to designing a badge-style pin for those who like better standards in their Get To Know You Games:

Enough venting for now.

Ciao.

Update: Craziness

2010-11-12T15:32:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been a couple of crazy weeks since Laura and I got back from the YSA conference in Harrisburg. We came home that Sunday evening to find that Mom's leg was all swollen and bright red from the knee down. It had started happening the day before when she was coming home from the hospital. Mom's had some recent issues with the non-fatal kind of blood clots in her legs and so we didn't know if it was a blood clot or what was going on. Dad and I wanted her to go to the hospital, but would she go? No! Here she was, swollen, purple, and in a lot of pain- and she wouldn't go! She wanted to wait and see her blood clot Dr on Monday. What a brat.

So she went to her Dr that Monday and got immediately shuttled off to the hospital. Told you so! It was some kind of infection, they never did figure out what but they wonder if it was a strep infection. She spent a few days in the local hospital and then got shuttled off to the hospital in Erie where they have an area more specialized for infections. After a week in the hospital, Mom got sent home- with an IV port in her arm and bags of massive antibiotics that my dad gives her. Her leg is slowly getting better- the redness had spread all the way up her leg and is now mainly concentrated on her shin and calf. She has a sore on the back of her calf that is black- we call her The Black Spot (Muppet Treasure Island is one of our fave movies!).

It was a crazy week while Mom was away- she's generally much healthier then the rest of us and I don't think had been hospitalized since she gave birth to Laura. It was really odd to see her so sick and weird not to have her home. We teased her that she wanted attention like Grandma had this summer! Dad was able to get off of work and be there with her. Laura helped hold down the fort at home and I was busy with school. Oh, and did I mention I had a nasty sore throat/cold while all this was happening? I wasn't too functional myself.

I worried a lot about Mom because we have family friends where the wife got some kind of nasty infection in a hospital- and wound up having to have limbs amputated.

It was pretty crazy getting ready for Mom to come home- we keep a decent house but nothing makes you see the imaginary bugs like knowing your mother is coming home with an infection and an IV port! It was crazy trying to disinfect the entire house- not an easy task when you have a little house filled with three big dogs, ceiling fans that drop dust, a wood stove (our only source of heat) that kicks up dust and the fact that Laura and I were sick. I scrub scrub scrubbed the house the weekend before she came home.

Mom's gorgeous gam in the hospital:

...and taken this week:

Mom came home on Monday while I was away at school. That day was insane because the dog was scheduled for surgery to remove a cyst from his eye. Normally that would have been Mom and Laura dealing with that, but Mom was down for the count so that meant that I had to reorganize my schedule and deal with the dog. Laura drives, but not very far and not in complicated areas. We took Hank to the vet in Titusville at 8 am, came home and finished getting things ready for Mom. I went to school and then from school went to go pick up Hank- by myself. Did I mention that Hank is an 80 lb mastiff mix? Somehow I got this 11 yr old half asleep huge dog in the car- he'd only fit up front with the big cone around his head! And somehow I got home with a big conehead dog in my lap! Getting him out was a real challenge! And then Laura and I zipped off to Erie for fhe...of course the one day that my life was so crazy was the one fhe that a bunch of my friends that I haven't seen for awhile would be at...so we made the trip. I was tempted to stay home. Thankfully we had a really fun time, I needed that.

Hanky, you're such a goober!

Trying to hoover his food:

It's been a crazy week. I had to turn in an Earth Art proposal in Art History, teach a group of middleschoolers with a partner at the Erie Art Museum, and have a metals crit, no less. I was really thankful to get a good group of kids- they were so much fun to talk with! They asked me all about school and what we do. I wish my partner had been better- I pretty much wound up doing everything, it was almost like she wasn't even there. At least I knew this going in, so I tried to prepare myself beforehand. She didn't know how to connect or communicate with the kids, either. She also really wanted to do this lesson plan that I had qualms about- and sure enough the kids didn't like what she wanted to do (discussing really freaky paintings of Chris Marrs) and so I steered them to the lesson plan I had wanted to do (learning about color symbolism and looking at how works of art can influence how we feel). Sure enough, they liked that better. The day kindof became a blend of our two ideas. They were great kids, I would have loved to work with them more. Thank heavens for my experience in teaching Primary and YW- the church's way of teaching you how to teach is so much better than how they teach you in college.

At the end, we had the kids each draw a section of a monster, then put them together on the wall. I thought they did a great job. The girls who did the hands kinda copied one another but overall it was pretty unique.

There's been a bunch of little miracles in my life recently, I'm very thankful. I needed to go buy wood for my table in woodshop- and then Mom got sick and everything went to pot. My friend Angie in class wound up accidentally buying the wrong stuff for her project- which just happened to be exactly what I needed. I bought it off of her- it really was as if she had picked out wood for me!

I had also really prayed that my teaching experience in the museum would go well, and overall it was a really great morning. I left the museum feeling really invigorated. It was so foggy that morning that I was worried I'd be late, but somehow I made it on time.

Metals crit was not so great this week, the assignment was for us to learn how to design and solder boxes and most everyone (including me) showed up with unfinished work. It was pretty depressing. Some people didn't show up at all! At least I had a decent excuse, right? I felt bad because I am normally prepared for critiques, but I just had too much going on. Thankfully I have an extension to get it done. Anyhow, we wound up talking about how things were going to be, not how they turned out since there were only like two finished projects. Some people didn't pace themselves, others bit off too much.

It's pretty true, trials make you stronger. That's how we learn and grow in this life. I feel stronger and have a deeper love for the gospel and for my family. It was pretty sweet watching my dad put everything aside to take care of Mom. Usually it's her taking care of him.

Today is Mom's birthday, we'll have a low-key celebration at home, since she can't really go anywhere. She's getting better, slowly. I just hope that this doesn't become a pattern for her!

Gaga Ooh La La

2010-11-05T17:54:00.001-04:00

Halloween weekend I went down to the Tuckahoe YSA conference down by Harrisburg for some fun. I went to this conference last year and had fun and this year they extended it to Sunday which made it a bit easier for us driving so far (five hours!). The whole event took place at a Boy Scout camp.

I got to be a princess and stay in a castle:

Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries!

Couldn't resist.

Friday was games and food and there was a fun bonfire, too. I really need to watch the things that come out of my mouth when it's late and I'm tired, lol!

Kristen, Miranda, me and Laura having girl talk

On Saturday, we had a really great speaker, Brother Toma. He even sang for us, too. He talked about missionary work and it was great. Very spiritual. So many inspiring stories- you really never can guess who will join the church! You also can't be discouraged when something doesn't happen right away. If you recall Elder Nelson's talk in conference, it was Brother Toma's dad that he said would join the church and then offered to seal Brother Toma's mother and father. Ten years later, the dad joined the church and Elder Nelson did seal them.

So, we need to Speak, Ask, Live the gospel and Testify. After Brother Toma there was a panel of bishops/stake presidents that answered submitted questions. It was good, though I kindof wished there had been a woman's perspective offered. I also wanted to answer when someone had submitted the question "I'm 30, why do I feel old?" Hey! We're not old! Quit comparing yourself to others! Don't listen to those who think you're nothing if you didn't get married by age 22!

Later on there were activities- I didn't care about the obstacle course or ziplining (a bunch of people got hurt ziplining so it was a good thing I didn't go cause I'm such a klutz!) so I stayed at the main cabin and carved a wicked awesome pumpkin:

I like how it glows:

So what was I for the Halloween dance?

Lady Gaga!

I know her music is way naughty, but I get a big kick out of her crazy costumes and thought it would be fun to design and make my own. You know someone is having fun making all those crazy things for her to wear! I decided if I was going to do this, then it had to be this year cause who knows how much longer she'll be popular! I actually wish I'd done this costume even crazier!

It took 5 rolls of duct tape (it comes in any color- sweet!), 3 T-shirts as the base of the overpiece, a wig and spray-painted shoes! I also found red polka dotted eyelashes! When I found these pants for $3 at Goodwill, it was a sign to do this costume! I collect fake eyelashes- I love wearing them, the crazier the better and this was a good opportunity to wear some! The trick was to do a modest costume- a challenge since she often wears leotards!

It was funny because most people understood what I was but some people thought that I was Fire or they'd never heard of Lady Gaga before...I was like, What rock are you living under?? I don't have tv or internet and I know full well who she is!

My pal Ivan and I both showed up in red duct tape (he's a tetris piece and had two buddies in other shapes/colors)...good minds think alike! Pretty redneck to make a costume out of duct tape, huh?

My galpals from my stake

These pics don't show it well, but I have these flamelike appendages coming off of my front. The outfit weighed a ton and was hot to wear but I had fun. The top and skirt were separate pieces so I could move and actually sit down. I had wanted to attach red hula hoops to me but the ability to sit down won out.

Me and my friend Jared

Oh, and I had "You and Me could write a Bad Romance" written on my back...I was at a YSA conference, after all! I don't think anybody saw it because the T-shirt crinkled up in the back. It was my own secret joke to myself- there's very little dating potential at these things!

There were lots of really great costumes at the dance, almost everyone dressed up. There were a group of girl M&Ms, Jack and Rose from Titanic, The Morton Salt girl, a peacock with a real peacock feather tail, the Red Queen, a Mountie (who is really Canadian!) and a bunch of other fun ones. I have a bunch of ideas swimming in my head for next year, I don't know which one will win!

Sunday was church there at the camp with a testimony meeting, it was nice. In all, I had a lot of fun being a big goofball this weekend and seeing people that I don't get to see all the time. A good mix of spiritual uplift and fun- which I needed.

Mental note: Next year make a figure flattering costume! Red duct tape does not help so much!

Girly Spider Webs

2010-10-28T15:03:00.000-04:00

I can't claim to have come up with this idea, I saw the idea here on Betz White's craft blog and decided to try it myself. Out here it's pretty easy to find inexpensive (PA has plentiful antique malls and junk stores, I love it) handmade doily items, so I found some that were cute but that I wouldn't be pained to cut up.

So you take your doilies...

...and find some wooden embroidery hoops. Paint the outer hoop black and leave the inner one natural.

Add some ribbon and spiders and voila!

You get some pretty easy and fast girly Halloween decorations!

I used an 8" hoop on the square doily, and got a 6" and two 3" hoops from the rectangular one.

I wanted to make my own beaded spiders, but that didn't happen this year.

I think they're cute enough to have up all year- sans spiders!

I like decorating my hutch!

You like my little cast iron stove?

Have a Happy Halloween!