Tales of a Good Picture

Ok, so today I am 26 weeks along. 26 weeks = 6 months... 182 days done, 98 days to go...

So, I thought, take a picture, right?  Oh boy... I went with mirror pictures and after going through the effort of getting tall enough to be seen in the mirror - this is what I ended up with!

Problem #1

A belly picture with a face - yikes!

Problem #2

Dirty mirror...

Problem #3

A fairly good picture, but no face... not my fault. It's also a strange angle.

THEN I GOT A SPLINTER!!!

 The splinter is still  in my right pinky... of course it had to be in my right hand so that 

my incompetent left hand couldn't get it out. And where the heck did I get a splinter from???

So, hopefully when Eric gets home he can take one that looks decent. 

How I Pass the Time

I've had several people ask me how I manage to pass the time and stay sane while being home for long periods of time by myself. I am home alone even more now that Eric has found a job. (BYU Broadcasting Director of Technical Operations. He finds the systems that aren't enhancing the work environment as well as they could - like the intranet - and comes up with a new way to do it. He also implements the software needed on other projects - like Altiris software for managing inventory.)

I watch TV - probably more than I should, I do my hair almost daily and paint my nails 2-3 times a week (though I am out of nail polish remover - sad!). I love long showers and am eagerly awaiting the day that I have a bathroom counter and a tub!

I also surf craft blogs... Each time I find something simple, I bunker down and do it. A few posts ago, I posted a picture of the Easter Egg Wreath that I made for the front door, and now I want to show you the other things I have done.  :D

 This first one was probably the easiest of all the ones I have done. Eric and I keep at least one towel on the oven door at all times. Because our kitchen is fairly small they get bumped a ton and fall off - or they fall off when we open the door. Solution??? I sewed a small piece of ribbon in the middle of each towel and then attached them to shower curtain ringlet - holder - thingies... (the things that keep the shower curtain attached to the rod)

 This one was super fun. I found on a craft blog how a lady took gloves and turned them into bunnies! It was SO simple that I had to try it. When I realized that I own 7 pairs of gloves (wow...) I decided to make one for each of my nieces and one for my nephew since Eric and I are traveling home for Easter! All you do is turn the gloves inside out and cut off the pinky, thumb, and middle finger (I felt like a mob boss cutting off fingers...). Then you sew them shut. Turn the glove right side out again and sew on buttons for eyes and make a little mouth with pink thread. Stuff the bunny and sew it closed at the bottom. Using the thumb you cut off, make a tail. Easy! For fun, I decided to hand sew these instead of using a machine. :D

 This last one was probably the most complicated but still super simple! I have this shirt that I bought at Walmart for $5 a few years ago. I have a long torso and so to wear this shirt I have to layer up with camis... Well, because it was such a cheap shirt the seams on the side aren't even and there are a few other blemishes so I decided to turn it into a shrug! All I had to do was cut down the center of the shirt, zig-zag stitch the edges (I didn't feel like taking the time to do a roll hem) and then make a 1" seam along the cut line. Thread a ribbon through and voila! A very simple shrug. Honestly, the part that took the longest was waiting for the iron to heat up so I could iron the area where I would sew the seam and thread the ribbon... 15 minutes total. :D

It looks better on a person than it does in the picture above, I promise...

I also made this card - I didn't know who I was thanking or why when I made it today, but now I do!!!

Tee Hee Hee

Ok, so for Eric's marketing class, they are "marketing" a new line of drum sets called Barbarian Beats. They made an infomercial and it is pretty hilarious. I am kind of bummed that you can't see the clip-on earring and the "nose ring" that Eric has on, but he still looks awesome.

Enjoy!

Things I Look Forward to Most

Ok, though I am obviously very nervous about having this child, I am more excited! Part of me is excited to be a mom while the other part of me is excited to not be pregnant anymore...

Here are the things that I look forward to most:

1. "Compliments" being about my hair, shoes or clothes again! Right now they are centered around the belly... things like being compared to Pooh Bear or "you look like you're gaining weight in your face" (yikes!) or "holy crap, you're huge" (said by one of my students) or perhaps the worst "you don't even look pregnant" (what, was I this fat before???) sheesh...
2. Getting rid of my new red, dry, itchy, blotchy complexion and getting my fair one back.
3. Having my hair grow at a reasonable rate. Though I like the hair on top of my head growing an inch a month, I would like my eyebrows, leg hair, etc. to grow slowly again...
4. Having a reason to not be able to sleep. Right now, I am plagued with insomnia that consists of me being too tired to get up and do something but unable to sleep. I recognize that I'll be up nursing, etc. once the baby is born, but at least I'll be doing something productive.
5. Dancing again. I don't get to dance much now because I tire too quickly.
6. Taking the low ground back as my territory. Obviously, before the pregnancy, the high shelves were Eric's territory and he was required to get things down where as the low ground was my territory and I was required to pick things up or crawl in small spaces to plug in the computer... Now, Eric controls both seeing as bending over is becoming increasingly difficult.
7.  Fewer pains - nausea and headaches still alternate throughout the day. Though I am doing much better now, those still haunt me. As well as the all but favorite, back pains. And you can't forget the heart burn that causes a constant lump in my throat - I can't ever eat something I don't like cause I'll continue to taste it all day! Plus the constant congestion (with how often I "practice" blowing my nose I bet I could beat anyone in a contest to see how far one could shoot a mint from their nose)... and my inability to take deep breaths... and the hormones (oh, the hormones!)
8. Having a normal sized, non-squished bladder... I often tell Eric how jealous I am that it takes him so long to pee! 
9. Being able to rough house again. If I get roped into rough housing (which is usually my fault - I provoke it) I end up throwing up because of being picked up and chucked around (which I enjoy and I enjoy attempting to do the same to others, but the end result is not nearly as fun...)
10. Holding my baby - I definitely look forward to holding my baby.

Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to be a mom and am more than willing to go through my fair part in bringing my child into the world... and I recognize that compared to some I have had a very easy pregnancy. But, I'm not a saint - and I do look forward to having me back...

Music of the Night

Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation

Darkness stirs, and wakes imagination

Eric and I have both been suffering from insomnia - him more than me so at 9:30 we both took Tylenol PM. The difference? Eric conked out long ago and here I am still awake. Do I know why? Most certainly.

I blame my students. Each night that I lay down to sleep their choreography starts flying through my head - I start thinking of what to teach them next and how to help them best improve. Usually that will fade and I will be able to sleep, but not tonight. Tonight I am struggling with them for a different reason.

On Friday, they have a dress rehearsal and next Tuesday is their performance. Normally, it is my Level 1 class that has me ripping my hair out. They struggle to focus and learn the steps, and though class was tough as usual, it was nothing compared to my Level 2 class! I feel like the boy's brains have checked out for the semester, even though they have yet to finish their choreography for their performance. The girls continually come to me assuming their partner doesn't know the step when in reality (somehow) they do know the step and the girl just needs to trust her partner... but I would assume my partner doesn't know the step either with the way the boys are behaving... Every time I turn my back to answer a question or pause the music, they start attacking each other or talking. 

I feel class would be easier to manage if it took place in a structured desk filled environment. But because the class is held in a gym where the students are constantly in motion, it is so hard to control the class. Today I tried being funny, I tried incentive, I tried everything short of yelling and yet I could not command the respect I needed to help them learn the remainder of their choreography! Sometimes I feel that I need to be a grouchy teacher to get them to do what I want - which is not the kind of teacher I want to be.

I also struggle because I have one student in my class who blows up at will and leaves his partner on the floor. I have yet to figure out how to deal with him and the year is almost over! Luckily he isn't as violent as he was at the beginning of the year, but now I just need to find a way to get him to want to put in the time to practice. He enjoys competing and performing but he does not like participating in class...

So tonight started with my imagination flying regarding their choreography and has turned into me brainstorming ways to connect better with my students. I love them and it truly hurts me when they take something I say and completely disregard it. 

I especially hurt for the boy that just leaves the floor. I hurt for his mother who is my PTO mom and comes to class every week. I hurt for his partner who is left standing, and I hurt for him because I know he likes dancing, he just struggles with his anger. 

More than ever I do not want to be the cranky teacher that demands respect rather than commanding it. I used to command this respect but last week and this week I feel that I am slipping - that I am losing them. I sincerely hope that it is because the semester is ending and not because of something I did in particular. I love teaching, but for the first time, I am starting to feel burnt out. Hopefully Friday will go better. And hopefully now that I have spewed my thoughts out, I will be able to sleep. *fingers crossed*

Red Hot Cello Peppers

Last fall Eric decided he wanted to try teaching drums again, so we made posters and put them up at the local high school and jr. high school. Though we didn't get any hits for teaching drums, we were contacted about a Cello concert.

A woman named Janice Baker had a dream when she was younger about filling the stage with Cellos and having a Cello concert. Her finale piece for this concert was The Final Countdown which of course cannot be performed without drums! Janice saw our posters and contacted Eric wondering if he would be willing to help her with her dream.

Last night, her dream took flight as the Cellos took the stage!










With the help of Clark's Tuxedos, the Red Hot Cello Peppers lit up the stage for the finale. (yes, Eric's group came up with that name themselves)

 

Recording was not allowed as it was professionally recorded... when we get the DVD, I'll pull the footage from the concert and put it up here so you can all listen to how fantastic they were!

Me Crafty? Hahahaha

Ok, sometimes when I'm not careful, I start to fancy myself as a "crafty" person... You know, someone who makes good cards or posters or whatever. But then I see someone else's stuff and realize that I'm really not - though I would like to be. 

Every year at Christmas, I have a blast making cards. Yeah, they aren't great but I have fun and generally they are well accepted.


Well, my most recent downfall is coming in contact with several crafty or home decor blogs... I see all these cute things and luckily I usually just think "hey, I could make that..." and then nothing happens. Well, I saw a project the other day and decided I really wanted to make it - it looked so easy! I definitely made a mess, but I did it. Most of the materials came from the dollar store, so this Easter Egg Wreath cost me about $4. It didn't turn out quite like the one on the blog... I did a few things my own way (of course) but I kinda like the way it turned out. Don't worry, it won't go to my head - but here's my Easter Egg Wreath! Once it stops snowing and being super windy, I'll get to put it up on the door.