Making Art... cause my artistic skills are so awesome.

We recently interviewed my friend Natalie. Awkward since she ended up not accepting the job even though she would be much happier coming to teach at our school. haha. Anyway, something she said during the interview really stuck out to me. I wrote it down so as not to forget it because my brain is crazy and forgets everything. I then promptly shredded the paper because it was part of the interview notes I had. Ugh. But strangely enough, I remembered it. Or at least a form of it and wanted to do something with the quote. At first, I thought about a coffee mug. But really, I don't drink coffee and if I have to shove another mug into that mug cabinet, there might be some shoe horns and oil needed. Plus I couldn't really find a mug that worked for me. So, I had to go for plan B. You see, I have this awesome thing that I got for mother's day called a Silhouette Cameo. I love it so much. It is amazing!

I got a plain canvas that I found on sale at JoAnne's and got straight to work! At first, I was going to just make the letters on the plain background, maybe paint it, and then peel the letters off but that just wasn't working for me. (Mostly because my craft closet is a mess and I had no idea where my paints were!) Then I thought about this really awesome stack of scrapbook paper I purchased recently. Maybe I could do something with that. I found a map looking page that matched the idea of WORLD, and got to work. But doh. the page was too small. (enter sad music here!) What in the world was I going to to?

So I picked out some really ugly paper from that same stack...

Sorry if you love it. I am not much of an ugly flower girl. So anyway, the back of said ugly flower paper was purple and cool, so I used that on the top and bottom to make a border of sorts.

After several coats of mod podge, it was on to step 2! Now I was ready to print and cut out my text in the super fancy silhouette studio program that came with the machine.

First, I made the words teeny tiny. So dumb. What was I thinking? Those went in the trash!

So after I cut out yet another sheet of vinyl, I got it all on transfer paper and transferred to my project. There was much cursing involved in this step but I will leave that part out.  Thank goodness my child was napping!   Add another coat of mod podge for good measure and I was done. I might go back and paint the edges of the canvas, but for right now, I am pretty happy with it. (Plus again, no idea where the paints are!) Ok, so it is not as straight as I would like it to be and that bugs me a little bit, but that is ok. I am not insane about that sort of thing and if you are, well, sorry. Don't look!

I love the idea of hanging up quotes from my friends. I either need smarter friends, or for my already smart friends to say smarter things. Either way, I will work on them. This will go in my office at work and remind me every day to support all kids. :)

Sorry, don't write much here.
Check out what we have been working on over at http://www.pike-thompson.blogspot.com

About two months ago in our small group, the topic of politics came up. One of the people from our small group, without hesitation, said, "Well, this is MY president". This really caught me off guard. Really? He believes in everything you stand for? You believe in everything he stands for? What at the moment, does he stand for? (that is another topic for another day) And what is it about this person as a leader that makes you call him YOUR president?

It is really no surprise to anyone who knows me or reads this blog that I am not into politics. I really am not. And I certainly can't point to any one person being MY president. Or MY congressman, or MY anything when it comes to politics. I just don't believe in what they stand for strongly enough to believe that they are really representing me.

We have been keeping an eye on the Iran election and the aftermath of the results. Those people, thousands of them, are out in the streets, risking being hurt, or even worse, shot, for freedom. For something they believe in with their whole heart. How lucky we are to be Americans. As much as I disagree with some forms of government and as much as I believe there are some crooked things going on in the US, I also know that there is justice. There is no justice currently in Iran. There is no sense of right or wrong, at least not a common one. How terrible that is!
And those people in their green masks, throwing rocks and shouting, they believe in freedom. They demand freedom, and they believe that the leader who didn't win was THEIR president.

My friend HH sent me a letter recently from a member of his church. That church member is a very well respected Sunday School teacher and leader of the church. He isn't someone I know well, but I know him. He wrote a very beautifully stated letter to his church, standing up for the rights of Gay people. He took a stand. One that may or may not create problems within the church. One that may or may not cause him to lose friends. He stood in his street and yelled for rights for his daughter and all other Gay people who have been turned away from church because church members just don't "agree with their lifestyle".
He took a stand.

This has really gotten me to thinking lately about my slacktitude. Would I, if given the opportunity, take a stand on this or other issues? Is there an issue that leads me to the point of standing in my street and yelling to the rooftops? Is there something that I believe so strongly in that I would risk my friendships with people I work with? People I go to church with? People I live with? People I call close friends?
I am not sure, but I think I need to start thinking more about it.

Iranians believe that each one of them can make a difference. R, the man who wrote the letter to his church believed he could make a difference. Isn't it about time we all believed we could make a difference? And then stood up and shouted for what we believed in?

Happy Mother's Day

More from my school friends...

Well, my little friend J has some new gems!

When asked if he sleeps with a teddy bear at night, he said, "No, but I do have a glow stick". 

Me: a glow stick?  

J: Yes.  it lights up at night and we put it in the freezer in the daytime.  It gives me luck.  

Me: Seems a little cold.

J: yep, it is, but the cold gives it good luck!

It seems that J was leaving for a doctor's appointment one day and was quite excited about it.  That was all he could talk about, all he could think about, all he could write about.  So the next day, I naturally asked about the doctor's appointment.  

I am still not sure why he was taken to the doctor in the first place.  

Me: so, you went to the doctor yesterday.

J: Yep.  It was fun.  The doctor wanted to trade me for another kid.  He liked me the best.

Me: (yeah, some days I would like to trade you too... *just my thoughts people!) Really, that is really nice.  So what did the doctor do?

(still trying to figure out why he went to said doctor) 

J: Well, he poked me in the stomach and then he smelled me.  

Me:  He smelled you? Do you mean he checked your nose to see if you could smell? (he has had quite the runny nose lately...that would make sense.) 

J: No he smelled me.  Then he checked my smelling thing.  

Me: your smelling thing, you mean your nose?  The thing that helps you smell things?

J: (with a disgusted look on his face) Uh, NO!  My smelling thing.  

Ok, have fun with that smelling thing buddy.

My new friend M was drawing a picture of his family for me as an intro activity so I could know more about him before I start working with him.  I like to know how many siblings, pets, the kid has.  It helps to do writing later on in lessons.  So he is drawing his four brothers and little baby sister who's names all also begin with M.  Then he draws his mom and his dad.  

M:  My dad lives with us.  But the other dad's don't.  

Me: Other dads?  What other dads?

M: Well, My dad who lives with us, he is only my dad.  He isn't everyone else's dad.

Me: Oh, I see.  Other dads.  How many other dads are there?

M: Well, it is like ice cream!  We each get our own!

Ah, of course, the way it should be with ice cream and dads.  You each get your own.

Sure.

Homeless the Guard Cat.

In one of the Harry Potter books, not sure which one, Harry is at the home of his Aunt and Uncle.  (Isn't that the beginning of almost every HP book?) Anyway, outside, sitting under the porch light is a tabby cat.  Just sitting there.  Watching and guarding.  Soon, once the cat believes all is well, she shape-shifts into Professor McGonagall and runs away.  

Since about October, we have had visits from this white cat that lives in the neighborhood.  We haven't picked it up, so we aren't sure if it is a she or a he.  We made the classic mistake of feeding it once and it has come back often ever since.  Sometimes it helps BT outside with watering the plants, other times it just meows at the door over and over again.  B even got a small dog house to put on the back porch for it to live in when it was so cold so the cat wouldn't freeze.  I call him Homeless.  B calls him Mooch.  He really is too fat to be truly homeless.  

He went away for a while.  I hadn't seen him for a month or so until he showed up last night when our friend George came over.  Homeless loves George.  They are buddies.

So now, ever since, Homeless/Mooch has been parked underneath our porch light just waiting and watching.  Like Professor McGonagall, checking to make sure all is well.  

I am half expecting to peek outside and see him shape-shift into a person and walk away.  

Is it too much to imagine that person to be God?  or at least Dumbledore?

A girl can dream right?

  

Yep...

  I didn't make this but I wish I had. This just about sums it up!  If one more person reaches out to touch my belly fat, I am going to hit them. 

Baby is hiding deep inside there.  Right now it is just fat.   

And I don't want to hear about how painful other people's pregnancies are.  NO THANKS.  I am stressing enough.  I would like to live blissfully stupid when it comes to pushing a human being out of me. Thankyouverymuch.

More from my friend J.

Ok, so yesterday, we were reading a book titled The Water Park about animals going on the water slide.  So in writing, I suggested we write about playing in the water...

I thought that would be simple enough...

Me: So, J do you like to play in the water?  Have you ever been to a waterslide?

J: no.  Never.

Me: Really? How about a pool.  In the summer do you ever go swimming?

J: No. I don't have a pool at my house. 

Me: Me neither but sometimes I swim at other pools.  You don't?

J: No. I don't. (shakes his head like I am the craziest person on the planet)

Me: How about in the summer, do you like to play in the sprinkler or have water balloon fights or play with water guns?

J: No, I just play Goddess of Weather.  I told you this already.

Me: Yeah, I remember.

J: Oh, and I like to play the "pee outside" game.

Me: The pee outside game?

J: Yeah, I pee on trees.  My brother pees on trees.  My sister tries to pee on trees but it doesn't work. 

Sometimes here at school I pee on trees. 

So, friends, if you see a kid out in your yard, holding a stick and peeing on your tree, just tell him to get his power of rain and get off  your lawn.  Or throw a water balloon at him.  Then at least we will have something to write about on Monday!