"All children, except one, grow up."

Joel got me this beautiful leather-bound copy of Peter Pan for Christmas, and I love it.  The copy, but also the story.  I learned the "true" story when I was younger and my dad read it to us at bedtime.  I loved it then, and I love it now.  If you've never read it, you should check it out.  J.M. Barrie's writing style is fantastical in a way that seems like it should be real.  It reminds me of other fairytale recorders / writers, like Hans Christian Andersen or Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.  

---

John's [Neverland], for instance, had a lagoon with flamingoes flying over it..., while Michael, who was very small, had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it.

washi tape

If any of you are into crafting, I'll let you know that pickyourplum.com is currently having an awesome deal on washi tape, making it $1.50/roll.  Hurry, though! They're a "daily deal" website, and each deal is only available while supplies last.  I may or may not have just bought one of each color available. :)

(Washi tape is like colored / patterned masking tape.)

not with an iron

Why, yes, we did go curling last night! 

And it was sooooooooo fun.

We paid $20 (total, for a 2-hour class and equipment for both us) and boogied on over to this rink where we learned how to curl, practiced, and then played a game.  It was so fun!  We're definitely going back.  

They give you that white handle for balancing when you go into the lunge.

You drag your leg/toes behind you, pigeon-toedly. Hey! I'm good at that!

Joel, gearing up for the launch.

He did a really good job!

Concentrate...

SWEEP!  Hurry hard!

And, for your viewing pleasure... 

(Watch the first minute if you don't have time for the full 22:22.)

The Naming Ceremony

(reference to The Giver, by the way)

Well, we've all known this day would come - the day when I finally change my blog's title from my online name at school (since this blog was started as an assignment) to something cooler.  I've been thinking about this for weeks, people, and I'm coming up blank!

Requirements:
- have something to do with me and/or my family
- not be lame

Possible nickname to throw into the mix:
- She

Possible "catchphrases" to throw into the mix:
- "I'm sure I don't know."
- "I hate to break it to you, but ____(compliments myself)_____."
- "Whaaaaaaat."

Thoughts based on friends' blogs' titles:
- J and my names don't start with the same letter, so there goes a "squared" title.
- This is not a crafty blog, so it can't contain "made" or "sew(s)," etc.
- Also not a teaching blog, so although that's what I do, I don't want the title to reflect that.

Favorite quotes:


Other:
- something based on the URL? No - requirement 2 (to be referenced from now on as R2).
- My favorite color is orange.
- This blog has no specific topic - optimism, spiritual stuff, teaching, babies, husband, the Beatles, movie reviews, recipes... It's mostly about what I do and whatever I'm thinking about.
- I do not live in a big city.
- I love fairytales.
- "Family name: Established ___."  R2.  Some people can do it; not me.
- I speak Spanish.

Moral of the story:
The title of this blog will probably change all the time now, until I finally find something that works. Wish me luck!

Crazy Hair Day

What can I say, I'm a pretty cool teacher.

Whaaaaaaaaaat!

I had the craziest hair of any teacher I saw, and half the kids.

Everyone was jealous.

(thanking Kathleen for the inspiration :)

taking in your jeans: from size 15 to size "fits me"!

I've figured out the secret to getting skinny jeans that don't have to be painted on! Just get them in a size way bigger than you are, and take in the waist!  I got this lovely pair of jeans, my first foray into the world of skinny jeans, at DI a couple weeks ago for a Halloween costume.  They started as a size that is not quite my own, and I'd been wanting to try taking in jeans, so try I did!  I figured, if I messed up, they were only $5 + they were for Halloween.  Also, for those of you curious to try, this is about 1000% easier than it looks, and it only took me about an hour and a half.  I was also skeptical when I first saw a tutorial like this on freshly-picked.com, but it really is very quick and easy.

1. Take a couple of pictures of how the jeans looked originally.  That way, you'll be (more) sure to remember where to add topstitching, etc., back in when you're finished. 

2. Measure how much the waist needs to be taken in.  I decided to take these pants in about 4", so I did 2" from each side.  See that seam straight down the middle in the photo above?  That's the main one we'll be working with.

3. Remove any belt loops that will be in the way.

4. Unpick the waistband from the pants.  (And unpick more than you think you'll need.  I took in 2" per side, but I unpicked closer to 6".) 

5. You want the waistband to be able to lay completely flat, so unpick any topstitching that will be in the way.  (If I hadn't unpicked that bit of topstitching, the waistband would've had a big bump in the middle when I turned it inside out in step 6.)

6. Turn the waistband inside out and fold over where you want to take in the waistband.  You'll be creating a seam here to cut out the extra material, so make sure it lays very flat to avoid creating any weird bubbles or wrongly-sewn folded parts.

7. Take in your 2" (or however much YOUR pants need to be taken in).  If you're like me, this will involve many pins for such a short distance and sewing very slowly. :)  Remember, if you're taking in 2", for example, you only need 1" on each side of the fold you made in step 6.  

8. Tada! Now cut off the extra material.  Leave about 1/2" seam allowance.  Iron that seam allowance open.

9. The top of the actual pants is now bigger than your waistband, so we need to take in a little of the leg so the pants and band will fit together.  Unpick the side seam down to just below the hip pocket. 

10. "Take the front jean piece and pin that in onto the back jean piece."  (quote from freshly-picked)

(See the edge of the black down below? That's the edge of the front jean piece. See the blue edge with scraggly threads behind it?  That's the edge of the back jean piece. So we won't be cutting anything off the front, just the back.)

11. Sew a new seam right on top of your old stitch holes (from the front side - remember, we're not cutting any fabric off the front).

Don't judge me. I never pretended to be able to sew a straight line.

13.  Cut off the excess fabric and finish the newly-cut edges.

14. Reattach the waistband to the pants, and tada!  You've got yourself a new pair of pants that fit!

My Halloween costume featuring the now smaller jeans!
This picture doesn't quite do them justice, especially because of my ridiculous shoes, but I don't really feel like taking a picture right now, and that's the only other one I have.  Also, enjoy that squinty "Are you taking the picture?" face. :)

ahhhhh, milk

Mmmmmmm.

There's nothing like being without it for a couple hours to make you say,

"I am soooo thankful for milk."