Ms. Principal

So, I officially finished my Masters program in Educational Administration and Supervision! Congratulations, me! I'm sticking with teaching 6th grade for this year... too risky to give up seniority and job security in this economy. BUT next year, it's all about an assistant principal job somewhere. I can't wait for the leadership, the learning, and the pay raise. :)

Planning for Friday

I've been a creative little bugger this week. Tags and mini-books and layouts, oh my! I'm loving it.

We saw Wicked at Gammage on Tuesday night. Absolutely fabulous!! I am a HUGE fan of The Wizard of Oz, and I cannot believe the seamless link between the original tale and Gregory Maguire's story. The music, the humor, and the reimagined and lovable Elphaba... just fantastic. I was so pleasantly surprised, because I tried to read Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister and just couldn't get through it.

I received feedback tonight on the second part of my capstone project. All exemplary marks, thank you very much.

So tomorrow..... the new washing machine should be delivered. I am going to crank out my first draft of part 3 of the capstone. And Shanni is coming to me! Should make for a fantastic Friday, and the end of a pretty good week. :)

Accomplishment

A, my name is Andrea, and I feel accomplished.

Today I:
-met with classmates to revise our capstone projects
-shopped briefly at Lane
-went to Walmart and handled grocery shopping for both myself & my parents
-replaced the battery in my car
-didn't freak out too badly about having to replace the battery in my car
-mopped my floor
-caught up with my brother on the phone
-redid a layout with my fave photo of Z and M
-made the revisions to my capstone paper
-emptied the dishwasher - one of my least favorite chores

Here's a detail of that LO, by the way...














I'm going to bed feeling good, and looking forward to seeing Wicked with Shanni tomorrow!

Hating Sunday nights

Saying goodbye at the end of a beautiful weekend together is awful. Saying goodbye any time is pretty terrible. I just can't wait for no more goodbyes...

Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love. ~George Eliot

Happy Saturday

So I am finally sitting down and *forcing* myself to finish part two of this capstone paper. Homework during the summer really sucks, but this is the final push. Once this paper is done, so is my Masters. Hallelujah!

I started the day with a visit to Mom and Dad's with a round of Starbucks for everyone. They are in good spirits, energetically bickering as usual. Finally filled out the ADA paperwork for both of them so they can use the Valley Metro ADA Service to get to appointments neither Matt nor I can assist with. I also remembered to bring the jewelry cleaner (Mom's been busting my chops for weeks!), so we got her favorite pieces all polished up and shiny new. Still breaks my heart to see her wear that replacement wedding set....*sigh*

Daddy was quite excited to tell me he got our tickets to the Antiques Roadshow for August 1. I have to admit I am really looking forward to it. I love old stuff and my dad - should make for a perfect afternoon.

Alright. Back to work...*horf*

How freakin' cute are these two? They are away visiting family for a few weeks, and I am missing them terribly. I've loved this photo since the day it was taken... I finally printed it so I can work with it. Gimme a break... I'm only 9 months behind. :P

Butterfly wings

I should be writing my capstone, but I chose to spend my morning doing this instead. I've had this Basic Grey paper forever and I finally felt like using it after Minerva and I intently watched some butterflies fluttering in our backyard.

Summer is rapidly coming to a close, and it has been a rough one to say the least. I'm just trying to squeeze in a little last minute joy :)

Just the beginning...

Alright. After thousands of hours viewing other people's blogs, marveling at both their artistic abilities and technical savvy, Shanni and I decided it was time to start our own blog.... to carve out our own little corner of cyberspace and showcase our talents. We've talked a bit about how we want to use this blog... for journaling, for sharing photos and stories with friends and family, or as a way to exhibit our artsy creations. Our answer: all of the above.

Shannon is a true artist, a gifted visionary with an uncanny ability to capture concepts on paper with pencil, pastels, paint... you name it. By trade she's an industrial designer, specializing in high-end residential and commercial lighting. By passion she is a creator, a sketch artist, a painter, a sculptor, a paper crafter, an interior designer. There is nothing involving light, color, line, and space she cannot do.

I, on the other hand, simply dabble in paper arts. A little scrapbooking, some stamping and cardmaking, a bit of altered art. Paper makes my heart sing, and ribbon sets my pulse racing. But I am an elementary school teacher by day (soon to be an administrator, thank you very much). Teaching is my first passion and a craft I work to continuously hone. My art has to come second, though I love it just as much.

So here we are. Stay tuned as we get the hang of this blogging thing. I must say, however, this is waaayyy easier than I thought it would be. Had I known it was so simple, I would have jumped on board long ago. Technical savvy my butt.