Arts & Crafts 101

I am so glad that I have the summer off because it is a great time for me to catch up on some crafting that I usually don't have time for during the school year, especially with class on Saturdays. My friend Rachael and I have done some stamping/scrapbooking activities together this summer. She is a Stampin' Up demonstrator, has lots of materials, and is very generous and willing to share! Besides cards, I've made some really cool projects. Today, after trying to Mod Podge Rachael's work table, I worked on covering a clipboard for school and it turned out so cute. I'm not finished, but I wanted to share it. I'm planning to add more colors of ribbon at the top, and I have some work to do on the back, but here it is.


Another project we have done this summer is make these cute things. They are made out of paperclips. They could be used as paperclips, but they look really cute sticking out of a book as a bookmark. What a fun gift!











On another note, Lucy is eating some Woofy Pop right now. It's microwave popcorn for dogs that I got at Jungle Jim's yesterday. She is enjoying Grilled Filet Mignon flavored popcorn. And out of curiosity I tried it...not bad!

Roadtrip adventure

Let me tell you a little story about my 8 hr. road trip for groceries (of all things). So, a few weeks ago some friends asked me if I would like to go with them to Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati. Knowing that summer is coming to an end soon, and the days of random road trips are coming to an end, I decided to go, and ended up taking another friend along. It was a beautiful day, and the drive was going nicely on the way to Cincinnati (Ohio, that is), when all of a sudden we're seeing signs for Kentucky. Hmmm...is that Kentucky, OH by chance?! No, it's Kentucky, the real one. So we cross a bridge while driving under a sign that says, "Welcome to Kentucky". Our guide quickly proceeds to do an illegal U-turn in the middle of the highway, and we go back the 30+ miles that we had gone out of our way. Long story short, we made it to our destination and had lots of fun. I've posted some pictures below, along with the description of what they are. I do not like to cook, or go food shopping, so I wasn't sure how much I would like driving 3+ hours for this store, but this place was amazing! It's 6 acres of food! They have over 1,600 kinds of cheeses, more than 800 international beers, 950+ hot sauces, 1000 gallon tanks of live fish, lobsters & crabs, and MORE! We visited France, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Asia...It's really a grocery amusement park! Check it out sometime.

Here's the international section.










Here is the olive bar...too bad I don't like olives!









The hot sauce area was hilarious and we spent WAY too much time there (close to peeing our pants!) It's under a real fire truck.








The bathrooms were funny. They are in a contest, and are one of the top 5 finalists in the "America's Best Restroom Contest". I only took the outside pic, but if you go inside there is a normal, large restroom. If you can't see from the picture, the outside, which is the door, is a port-o-potty.









Here is us as we were leaving our "day of fun". :) Yes, I'm squished in there somewhere!

202 Summer Cookout

Last night I had a cookout for my 4th graders. I have done this in the past and had lots of fun. I invited all of my students and had 11 show up...not bad (plus the Secrests, mom/dad, G, and Rachael). The kids were excited to see each other, I was excited to see them, and we had a great time. We played "baby toss" (a homemade game that belongs to a friend), volleyball, tag, and misc. other games. One of the great things is that I use the esplanade when we have a larger get-together. It's like a bigger open yard, only I don't have to mow it!! So we spent lots of the evening out there, and came back to the backyard to eat our dinner.

I really enjoy teaching and the fun I get to have with some great kids. I think that part of my ministry as a single is that I can spend a little extra time with my students that maybe I wouldn't be able to spend if I were married and had my own kids. So, I get to be "mom" to lots of kids and I don't have to pay for them! (And they do slip often and call me mom--but they also tell me that they slip at home and call their moms Miss Steininger sometimes) And many of my students need more positive attention, and role models, and love!

Anyway, here are two pictures we took during the evening. The first is just a group shot, and the second is the silly shot.

the beginning

Today begins my journey into the world of blog. I have been following a few blogs this summer, some of people I know and some of those I don't. I have been reading a few blogs very regularly...some are teachers, some are crafters, some are friends. It's a very addictive way to quickly get to know someone (especially if you don't know them, and even if you never will).

So...I have appropriately titled my blog "Random Babblings" as I will probably be writing about my dog, my friends, my job, my pet peeves, my hobbies, my OCDness and other "random" things that come to mind...trust me, nothing deep. So, check back periodically and see what's new and on my mind.