Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Riley Girl

Our precious lab is doing well in her new home. Actually, she adjusted very quickly (if you don't count when she got out of her cage for several days in a row and tried to eat her way through the door and into the house!! GRR!!!!)

We bought her a new bright pink collar last weekend. We took her to PetsMart just for a new collar and left with a huge bag of food, a 10 pound box of treats, a "special treat" to eat that evening, and I'm not sure what else! Good thing we don't take her shopping very often!! Ha Ha!!

This is the best picture I could get of her pink collar. See her foot inside the ball? That means she is taking a break. In just a moment, she'll take her foot out and toss the ball to someone to throw it.


She LOVES to play ball!!!


Love her spotted tongue!! She is really such a sweet, special dog!! We are really lucky!


Other fun news -- I have passed my 20 pound goal at Weight Watchers!! Whoo Hoo!! I have lost 21.4 pounds!! Yeah for me!! I'm not done yet. I don't have an official next goal - I am just going to continue losing until I'm finished.

We bought a Total Gym a long time ago. (Don't ask me - I'm not going to tell you how long ago!!) We have both recommited ourselves to using it to get stronger, in addition to getting smaller!


Here we go!

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Picture Windows

I've seen so many variations of picture windows on Pintrest and other blogs and I've finally decided to post my own windows. DH and I actually finished these several months ago - I just never got around to creating a blog post about them. (Then we moved, then the NAEYC visit, and then well......)

So, here they are!! What do you think?? I didn't take pictures along the way, so I'll just have to explain them as we go.

First of all, we purchased 4 windows at our local Habitat for Humanity Resale Shop. We had to do some haggling and the lady didn't want to sell me this panel for the price. She quoted the price based on a different set of windows, but I didn't like that set. The man that was helping us said we could still have that price for this set. Boy was she mad at all of us when Dave and this guy were breaking down the panels to put them in the truck!! I made us drive away really fast!!

They were already a "dirty ivory" kind of color. I then used an old mixture of some sort of paint/glaze/stain. Honestly, this can is so old and I bought it at Habitat over a year ago. I truly have no idea what it is!!

We have 2 windows - one is horizontal and the other vertical. We filled each of the 12 frames with pictures that are especially meaningful to us.

After we selected the pictures, we chose which tone to use - color, b/w, and sepia. That might drive some people crazy, but we liked it this way. All of the pictures were originally printed as 8x10, but then we cropped a few in order to have the best image.

A thin piece of cardboard, a can of spray adhesive, and 12 pictures were mounted.
 
It's really hard to see in these pictures, but we attached glass knobs at the top and bottom of each row. I found knobs at HB that looked like antique glass. (Bought at 50% off, of course!!) I think they look great with the color and texture of the wooden frames.

We then ran a loop of twine between the 2 knobs. Finally, I hot glued the mounted pictures to the twine. Because the twine is looped around the knobs and not attached directly to the frame, the pictures almost "float" above the glass.
The windows now hang proudly in our Dining Room. We LOVE them!
Posted by Picasa

Sunday, March 18, 2012

The end of Spring Break

Sunday night - the end of not only a great week-end, but the end of Spring Break. Yuck. DH has been off all week, also, so it's been extra nice. We spent the entire week together and I loved every minute of it. I can honestly say that he's my best friend and I'd rather hang out with him than anyone!

So, I don't have any pictures to post today. Trust me - we did TONS of things this week, we just didn't get anything completely finished - certainly not "finished enough" for me to post them. Even though things are still in progress, we are very happy with what we've been able to accomplish. We've tackled the garage/attic, office, and scrapbook room. We now have all 3 spaces almost done. YIPPEE!!

It wasn't all work and no play, though. We took time off early in the week to play golf. We went to the Science Spectrum to see the Da Vinci exhibit (really great!!) Then, I FINALLY got my hair cut. And I can't forget the other important thing.....lots of naps!

All in all, a great and restful week. Now, it's time to get my thoughts ready for a busy work week ahead. See ya next time.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Attic - DONE!!

Whoo Hoo!! We have floored the attic and successfully moved "treasures" up for long-range storage. Yippee!
BEFORE....

DURING......

We only floored up to the 16" board. Look at all that room we have to grow!! : )


AFTER.....

This picture is just the left side. For some reason, the picture of the right side wouldn't load. We've got all of our long-term boxes over there. This side has all of my training stuff and some family treasures that I don't want to get rid of.



I am so happy we got this project marked off The List! Sure clears up some space in the garage.

We're off to the next project. Check back later for more details. 

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Labels

What?? 2 posts in 1 day?? How can that be??
I took some time this afternoon to finish a project. Unfinished projects bug me (so why do I have so many around?!), so I am determined to finish some now that our NAEYC visit is finished (See posts below.)

So, what do you think?

$2 woven tray from Goodwill. (It's actually for a Pyrex baking dish.) and $1 black spray paint from Walmart.

Scrapbook paper I already had. I'm not sure I like the paper - I'm thinking I may just leave it black.

Vinyl letters cut with my Cricut. (Nursery Rhymes cartridge)



Now, it's all in one place and I love it!



I'm using this post to jump back into some fun bloggy parties.....starting with Met Monday! Be sure to jump back over there and check out all of the amazing things other people have done.

Between naps on the porch

Did ya miss me??

OK -- raise your hand if you missed me -- at all -- even noticed?? Anyone?? OK - I get it. This little blog is really just for me. That's alright.

The last couple of months have been consumed with work. Our Preschool has been nationally accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) since well, forever. Programs have to be re-accredited every 5 years and this is our year. This was also my first year to go through it as a Director, so I felt a little extra pressure. Sure - we are a GREAT preschool and I honestly haven't been worried about whether we would "get it" or not. It's just the preparation and the desire to do a "perfect" job.

Did I mention that there are over 400 different criteria that have to be met??

There are 5 different "Sources of Evidence." Family Surveys, Staff Surveys (both completed last April), Classroom Observations, Classroom Portfolios, and a Program Portfolio. The teachers are responsible for the classroom pieces and I am responsible for the others. Of course, I'm also heavily involved with the classroom items as well. I see a major part of my job as supporting and helping the teachers.

I didn't take a picture of the Program Portfolio, but it is huge!! I took a single, 3" notebook, that wasn't very complete or organized, and turned it into three 3" notebooks that were extremely organized.

I did a HAPPY DANCE when the assessor told me there was NO MISSING EVIDENCE!! WHOO HOO!!!! That was a huge accomplishment for me! I spent HOURS on this portfolio and it was so rewarding to know that it was "perfect".

The day our assessment happened went very well!! It honestly could not have gone any better. The assessor was all-business, but we managed to get a smile or two out of her. NAEYC has up to 90-days to render their decision, but I'm not worried. I am confident that we WILL be Accredited again!

Now that this is done, I can get back to my life again!! Yippee!! Time for fun (which includes crafting projects, new tablescapes, home projects, and other super fun stuff!!)