Wednesday, September 28, 2011

T is for Time

What does one do, when it is a slow week for subbing, and has way too much time on her hands? Let me fill you in...seeing as how this week has been beyond slow in the subbing department. Amazing how the last couple of weeks were filled with work, and this week has given me nothing. I must say, though, that I've made very good use of my time.

First, I learned how to make this headband/ear warmer thing:

It really was easy, which says alot for me because I know how to knit regular scarves, and that's it. I got the "pattern" from http://elisajoy.com/mclaughlindesigns/patterns/. Which I found on my new love Pinterest.

Also found on Pinterest was a tutorial on how to get the wavy hair look. I still need practice, but it didn't turn out too bad!

I know this hair style doesn't exactly go with a WSU v. UW Apple Cup 2006 t-shirt, but I guess people will just have to deal with it.

But seriously, where are all the sub jobs? I'm officially official now, with my real teaching certificate (no more "permit") and I'm waiting on 2 districts to hire certified subs, which won't even be for another month. So, that leaves me with para subbing, and teacher subbing in the 2 smallest districts imaginable. Come on people, let me teach!!

At least I know how to have cute hair now.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

P is for Pinterest

WHY HAVE I NOT USED PINTEREST BEFORE NOW? Obviously it's been around for quite a while now, and I've been seeing people "pinning" things on Facebook for I-don't-even-know-how-long. I spent some time with my sister, Stephanie, yesterday, and she informed me that you have to "request an invite" and then you can be on it. So, finally yesterday I did just that.

Now I'm Obsessed. With an capital "O." It makes me want to be crafty. It makes me want to be trendy. It makes me want to decorate the house that we have yet to buy (or even find, for that matter). I know, we're months away from being able to buy a house, but it doesn't hurt to get ideas, right? I've also discovered some fantastic blogs that I plan to frequent.

I'm overwhelmed with it's fantastic-ness. If you aren't on Pinterest already, do it. It's well worth the hours you'll spend perusing the infinite pictures...

Saturday, September 17, 2011

c is for camping

I started this post a while ago, and forgot to finish it! So here it is now....

This past Labor Day weekend, Josh, Lily and I went camping at Nehalem Bay. I absolutely LOVE this area. It's about 30 minutes south of Canon Beach, and 5 minutes (at the most) south of Manzanita. What's great about Nehalem Bay is that it's a stones throw from the beach. Literally, we walked from our campsite to the other side of our loop, over a dune and BOOM...beautiful beach. Our church reserves the entire "F" loop on Labor Day weekend, and we have "Family Camp." Basically, tons of people from church bring their families camping, the kids run around and ride bikes together, we have potlucks, campfire, "church" on Sunday morning, and relax/chat/have fun with each other. It really is an awesome weekend.

Josh took Friday off, so we were able to leave around 2 from Vancouver and make it to the beach/camping around 4. I've been to Family Camp the last 2 years, and we've arrived in the dark because we waited for Josh to get off work and left pretty late. But, seeing as how it's miserable trying to set up a tent in the dark, we opted for the daylight set up this year. I have to say that also the last 2 years, the weather has been, well, let's just say less than ideal. Year 1: severe wind, pouring rain, freezing, leaky tents, stuff blowing over. Year 2: Rainy, cold and windy, but not as bad. I'll talk about Year 3's weather soon. Hint: Significantly better.

On Friday night, our good friends Jonny and Dana (and their puppy Sam) stayed with us on our site. We had so much fun, especially since their puppy might just be the cutest I've ever seen. (You can actually vote for him here: http://www.cutestpetcontest.com/vote.php?EID=100406656.) On Saturday we all went to the beach, and do you know how hot it was? 88 degrees! Ok, seriously, when has it been 88 degrees on the Oregon Coast on Labor Day weekend? In the 26 years of my life, I don't believe I've ever experienced that. It was ridiculously beautiful. We even played in the frigid waters of the Pacific, and it.felt.good. Sunday was nice as well, but fog started rolling in during the late afternoon. Still, I didn't have to bundle up and sit under a tent all day. Although, if we did, our tent was big enough to hold half the campground. Three common phrases were used regarding our tent by almost every passer-by: 1) "Wow, that's a huge tent." 2) "That tent is gigantic" and 3) "That's the biggest tent I've ever seen." Stay tuned for a post about finding and buying said tent. And Monday, when we left, it was also really warm and sunny. Great weather for packing up!

On Sunday night, we sat with another of our good friends, Levi, and his family at his sister's campsite. They had a big fire going, and we all gathered around, enjoying our last evening. Levi brought over his guitar, and he and his dad sang folk songs together. It was so relaxing, and I really appreciated listening to them and their amazing voices. It was seriously one of my favorite moments of family camp ever.

Do you know what else I love about Family Camp? On Saturday and Sunday nights we do potlucks with a group of campsites around us. The last 2 years, I didn't really understand what to bring to potlucks, and made some poor decisions (ex: "beef stroganoff" from a package with mystery meat.) But this year, I have to give myself a pat on the back. I brought slow-cooker spaghetti and for dessert peanut butter chocolate bars one night. The other night, Josh and I cooked smoked sausage with green beans, potatoes and onions over the fire and brought some super rich double chocolately Oreo bars. I might add it was all pretty tasty. Look at me, I can cook (a little). After a year of marriage, I'm finally getting the hang of some different meals.

I can't wait til next year's Family Camp. Each year seems to get better than the last.

H is for Help

I just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I don't normally jump on the bandwagon of the books that are uber popular. Such as Harry Potter, for example. I've never seen or read those movies/books, and really have no desire to. However, I do have to admit, I got hooked on Twilight after a friend almost force fed the first movie down my throat. It got me curious, and my curiosity got me hooked. But back to The Help. My-oh-my was it eye opening. It makes me wish that I could read the book that is talked about in the book. Many people probably already know what it's about, have probably read, or maybe even have seen the movie.

But it is a definite recommend by me. If you've got the patience to read through a novel filled with a southern drawl (that only took me a few chapters to really catch on, so give it a try) then this book will leave you wishing for more just like it. Seriously, it made me grateful that I live in the times I live in. Yeah, we've got our issues with terrorism, war, economical crises, and much more (don't get me wrong, I'm not minimizing these) but at least we have our eyes open to humanity. People of different races can intermingle - we've got a Multi-Racial/African-American President for goodness sakes! I'm so glad that I didn't grow up as a "white person" naive to other humans, no matter what race, like in this book. I like to think that I would have grown up appreciating and treating all people equally, but the truth is, I really don't know. What I do know is that I'm glad to have friends of other races and cultures who can teach me new things about cultures different than my own. To my friends, thank you.