I Like Big Spoons and I Cannot Lie

As I mentionedin my last post, we had the pleasure of Fin's company for four days last weekend. Thankfully we also had the pleasure of my parent's company as well.  I'm not sure Randy and Meg would have been fed otherwise. Seriously.

This little guy is THE BUSIEST boy I know.

He has a very consistent schedule starting at 6:00 AM every morning. His only nap comes at 9:30 and lasts only until 11:15 AM.  Bedtime is at 7:00 PM. Every single minute in between is spent either eating, moving or playing.  

He is a very, very good little boy with the best of temperaments but man oh man is he ever busy. There's not a knob he didn't pull, a lever he didn't push, a latch he didn't wiggle, a bookshelf he didn't empty, a drawer he didn't open, a table he didn't clear, a dog crate he didn't relocate, or a remote he didn't try.  Lather, Rinse, Repeat.  If he knew something was off-limits he would first look at me (awaiting my "No, No, No"), proceed to do it and then come and give me a hug.  Such a cute little stinker.

His favorite "toy" of the weekend, by far, was a slotted plastic spoon which I gave him while I was cooking breakfast.   It began like this...

He used it for breakfast...

He helped the dogs eat...

He carried it everywhere he went...

(He loved Miss Catherine's peaches, much to Meg's chagrin.)

He even took it on our trips to the Starbucks drive thru.

You might notice that he does not appear very happy in this last photo.  There's a reason for that. When it comes to big spoons, he's not a very good sharer.

Needless to say, we let him take the spoon home with him on Monday afternoon.  :-)

A Glimpse into JulieWorld, Literally

Where have I been?  So glad you asked because I'm dying to tell you.  *wink*

I've been knee deep in a major purge of my craft room, aka JulieWorld.  It has consumed nearly every waking hour over the course of the last four days but it's now complete and I couldn't be happier.

This may not look like four full days of purging but anyone who crafts will understand that any reorganization is far more involved than just the actual act of tossing.  And of course, purging JulieWorld not only involved the actual room but also two supply closets in my house.  It's that whole "Give Julie a Cookie Thing."  (Ironically the kindergarten teacher I subbed for recently left me Give a Mouse a Cookie to read to her class.  I got quite a kick out of that.)

Anyway....here's are what were eventually my "to go" piles.

Ummm....I did keep the dog.  :-)

It doesn't look like much in these photos but trust me, every one of those boxes were stuffed full of all sorts of crafty things, many of them at least a decade old. I donated a garage sized bin of my old Sizzix/Ellison dies to the elementary school along with that box of wooden stamps in the first photo. Everything else was given to one of my cleaning ladies.  She loves to craft and is always thrilled when I do a purge.  :-)



To give you an idea of how much paper I parted with here is a look at my empty storage folders.  I am gifting most of these to my dear friend Catherine for use in her room.

I've always been really good about organizing my things so for many, my room now will probably not seem much different but it is.  You just have to trust me on that.

So now for the big reveal!

Here is my main wall of storage.  I had this unit custom designed and installed in 2007 and I still love it today.  (And no, it isn't curved.  These are panoramic photos taken on my Iphone.)  Many of the bins and boxes you see are empty.  I actually have shelves and cubbies with no product!  The desk on the lower right is Randy's.

And here is the opposite wall with my desk and the closet.  I like to keep my inks and tools close at hand.  I have another ink storage unit coming next week which will sit in between the two I already have.  My utility "peg" board unit will be raised and I will probably be parting with the mirrored cork board.  Again the photo is curved.  JulieWorld is level.  (Duh...that's how the term JulieWorld came about..."everything is perfect in JulieWorld.")

I am feeling so liberated!  My craftiness will have to wait until next week, however.  We are keeping Fin this weekend while his parents take a long overdue vacation.   I can't wait!!!

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Other "news"....no pythons for the snake hunters last weekend.  Not even a glimpse.  There's always next year.  :-)

Goodbye to Basketball

The high school basketball team had their last home game Friday evening.  I think Meg is rather glad that the season (and cheer practices) have come to an end but I rather enjoyed attending the games.

I took a couple of quick little videos to share.  Meg is the tall blond in the back left.  She's fairly well hidden in this first video since she is the back spot for the left group.

You can see her a little better in this one.  

She's a bit undecided as to whether or not she will try out for next year's football cheer squad.  Of course, I'm secretly hoping that she does.

Snippets

Today's entry is total randomness.


Take for example this snake spearing contraption that Randy fabricated on Sunday. This coming weekend is open season on pythons in the Florida Everglades.  He and his buddy didn't have any luck two years ago but that was then...this is now.

For my northern family and friends. this is what we woke up to on Sunday morning.  It was indeed just a slight bit brisk.

It isn't often that I get all dressed up for a cocktail party.  It's even rarer that I ask to have my photo taken.

Being somewhat self-conscious I played like my kids and made some silly faces.

I have got to do something with that extra chin.  Anybody have any experience with cool sculpting?






If you ever wondered just what online PE looks like here's a sneak peek...

She has to submit videos of her doing different exercises.  She scored a 97 for her first semester. We haven't received Jasmine's grade yet.



Finally I'll sign off with this cute video snippet of Fin.  It really gives you a great sneak inside his fun little personality.

Thanks for visiting!

A Very Nice Surprise

I was in the midst of editing a few photos for today's post when something in this morning's email caught my eye.  The subject line read "New Substitute Teaching Rates in Martin County."


We are pleased to announce our new substitute teaching rates for Martin County Schools as of January 1, 2016.   Associates degree or 60 Semester hours hourly rate $11.50 or daily rate, $86.25; Bachelor’s degree hourly rate $13.00 or daily rate $97.50; Master’s degree hourly rate $14.00 or daily rate $105.00; Doctorate degree hourly rate $15.00or daily rate $112.50.


Given their former rates of $9.76 per hour (for Associates, Bachelors and Masters degrees) and $10.25 for certified teachers, this not only represents a significant increase, it also recognizes those of us with higher degrees.  Truth be told, I'm flabberghasted.  (I was totally expecting to read that I was getting a fifty cents an hour increase.  Seriously.)

As you all know, I do not sub for the money.  In fact, with what our county paid, I continued to refer to subbing as "volunteering."  I enjoy the kids (well, about 90% of them...just being real) and because I only accept jobs from Meg's former elementary school I considerate it "paying it forward" to the teachers and staff that taught and cared for her so well during those crucial years.  The district has finally wised up to the fact that there aren't many souls like myself who would even consider doing such a thing.

Case in point, last Friday I substituted in a kindergarten class of eighteen 5-6 year olds (tell me that wasn't work!) for which, under the former rate, I would have made just over $68 before taxes. Trust me when I say that, depending on the class, there are some days when I'd wished I'd given someone else $70 to take my spot. LOL!!!

Anyway....all of this to say "I GOT A RAISE!"

Will it make a difference in my life?

No.

(To put it in perspective...the pay scale just went from my 1986 hourly rate of $9.76 to my 1990 hourly rate of $14.00.)  

BUT, it will make a huge difference in the lives of other overworked and underpaid substitutes. It will also attract a new pool of qualified (key word here) substitutes which in turn helps the teachers.   Baby steps, for sure, but it's progress and it's great that the district has finally stepped up.


Footnote:  Randy says he's quitting his job(s) and expects me to work EVERY day.  :-)   Sure thing, hon.







 

Like Father, Like Son

One of Jay's nicknames was (and still is) Garbage Gut. The kid would eat anything and everything, rarely ever leaving so much as a morsel on his plate. (or mine, for that matter.  LOL!)

When he was four we visited an Italian restaurant.  He asked the waitress how many shrimp came with the meal.  When she answered "six" he, without pause, said "I'll have the spaghetti."  No more kid's menus for him.

Later, in grade school, he asked to take his lunch because "the hot lunches aren't big enough."  He started packing his own lunches and let me tell you, he could have bought four cafeteria lunches for the price of what went into those home lunches.  LOL!!

I have a feeling little Fin is going to follow in his daddy's footsteps.  In fact, I've already started referring to him as "Son of Garbage Gut."  This little guy does an awesome job of eating despite the fact that at 13 months, he is only just now cutting his first teeth.  It's amazing to see how much he can fit in that little belly of his.

Case in point.  I snapped this photo last week while visiting.  During this meal he ate an entire tilapia fillet, several raspberries, not quite a whole Clementine orange, about a third of a banana and a nice sized scoop of macaroni & cheese. Every so often he would share with Marley (their border collie) but more often than not, he was just teasing her.

This photo sent to me earlier this month cracks me up.  Believe it or not, this is from the kid's menu. The bowl contains fish nuggets, baked rather than fried. He didn't finish this all off by himself but I imagine he made quite a dent.

He also loves to shop for food.  

As a kid, Jay would watch The Frugal Gourment on PBS and present me with a shopping list for something he wanted us to make.  To this day, he still enjoys cooking and I often get recipes by email or food photos by text.  I think it's a safe bet that Fin will have his own Pinterest account before long.

My Latest Projects

One of my newer projects involves documenting our monthly book club(s) selections .  To keep it simple, I'm using We R Memory 4x4 albums and two stamp sets from Kelly Purkey.

My BCB album (the group down south) includes three pages for each month...the book cover, my review/comments and our monthly group photo (which I am not including here.)  Here are a few examples from that album...

My local book club selections are housed in a separate but very similar album. The only real difference is that it includes a group photo at the beginning and only two pages per month.  I also use a different KP stamp set for my review.   

I'm geeky, I know, but these little guys make me very happy.  I'm even happier now that they are both up to date.  

My next post will likely contain photos of Fin.  I'm headed to Orlando this afternoon so his parents can have a night out with visiting friends.  Grandma (me) needs to get up and out early tomorrow though because, get this, she has an evaluation with an orthodontist.  You see, Grandma (me) is a clencher and her favorite dentist has finally convinced her to get her bite corrected so Grandma (me) doesn't end up with false teeth.  Yeah, sometimes it's not so fun being (me.)