Last Day at Work

Today was my last day of work! Even though much of my time was spent driving the kids to and from school, PATH and home, and making them dinner, I wasn't just a cook or a van driver. Since I have a degree, I was able to lead some group sessions with the kids, and hold individual counseling sessions with them (which was handy, because that's about three hours of driving time each day put to good use). The kids seemed to really like me and were quite comfortable talking with me. It gave me better experience than I could have asked for or imagined, and shortly after starting to work there I knew I had to work with and help kids in my future. That kind of work isn't for everyone; it is really rough hearing their stories and struggles daily, but it is so incredibly rewarding, getting to see that they laugh and smile most days too, and when they tell me that they feel much better after talking with me. I'm not sure if I gave them more than they actually gave me, but I like that about the job. What could be better?

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Packing and Planning (and lots of it)

planning to drive through Mississibbi, of course. 

Hi all! This week has been really busy. As was last week, and really ever since we found out Kyle would be getting back mid-December, but things are really picking up now since we know exact dates. 

Here's what's going on:

My last day at the ARC was on Monday; my last day at PATH is Thursday.

The movers are coming Friday afternoon (instead of Saturday as planned).

I'm moving the cats to my parent's house while I drive down and find a place and we get situated. We'll drive them down after Kyle and I come up for his leave in January. 

I am driving down to Texas Saturday and Sunday.

Starting to look at houses Monday.

Hopefully finding a place quickly and be able to move in; it should take the movers about a week to get down.

Kyle returns (We have an exact date, but I can't share it here)!

I've been packing and packing and packing (how in the world and why do we have so much stuff?!). And making appointments to look at houses. And still working. And trying not to miss the kittens too much already. And meeting with a florist and getting new tires on the car and finishing up applying to grad school and Christmas wrapping and shopping. The kittens love all the boxes everywhere. My family has been awesome helping out. 

I am a bit sleep deprived and overwhelmed, but I won't have much going on down in Texas for a week before Kyle arrives, so I guess I'll have some time for relaxation. Keep your fingers crossed that I find us a place to live so we can be in for Christmas! 

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Wednesday Wedding: Guest Blogger- Kendall

They say every little girl dreams about her wedding day. Call me weird, but I didn't start dreaming about my wedding day until I learned about the crafting community and saw how creative and personalized weddings could become. Since my eyes were opened to that fantastic world of hot glue, sewing machines, and paint, I've wanted nothing more than to craft as much for my wedding as possible. (Minus the whole making-your-own-wedding-dress thing... I'm not THAT good.)

Now that I am engaged to be married in May, I've throw myself headfirst into craft blogs, tutorials, and pouring over websites filled with creative and unique ideas.

First and foremost I wanted my wedding to reflect my and Adam's personality and tastes, and I wanted (and needed) to do it on a tight just-gratuated-from-college budget. I also wanted the decorations to be something that wouldn't just be used that day, but something we could bring into our first home together and use as decor and as a reminder of that special day.

I graduated college with a degree in Graphic Design, so it was already pretty much a given that I would be designing my own invitations and save-the-dates. They honestly were the easy part. In fact, I think the save-the-dates were done before the proposal even happened...

Despite my typical knack for crafts and ingenuity, getting started from scratch on a crafted wedding was more difficult than I thought it would be. I spent the first month seeing so many awesome ideas that I wanted to do them all and had a hard time focusing my efforts on any one project. Once I got my craft ADD period out of the way and settled on a theme and a color palette, I buckled down on my first big project. For this I made the decision not to use any flowers in the wedding or reception.  In part because I thought I could save some money this way, but also because my mom has always had her wedding bouquet sitting on her dresser (fake flowers, of course) and I loved the idea that it was always out and visible. I don't typically like the look of fake flowers so I looked for all sorts of alternatives, but in the end I decided I still wanted it to resemble flowers, so I settled on buying 2 large spools of ribbon from B. B. Crafts and using this tutorial to make ribbon roses. This would be easy enough, right??? I'm good with a needle and thread, how hard could it be? Many painstaking hours, a misdiagnosed pinched nerve in my neck, and a few color changes later, I finally had enough ribbon roses to make up my bouquet and some bridesmaid bouquets.

Tadaaa! 

Let's review the process, shall we?

I used: 2 colors of ribbon, matching thread, needles, ruler, floral wire, floral tape, scissors, pinking shears, a lighter, wire cutters, elastic, tulle, and a whole lot of patience. Eventually I used watered down paint and dip-dyed half the roses to give them varying shades of purple and red as well, but that's entirely optional.

And here is what I got!

I love how it turned out, but more than that, I love the fact that it's something I made with my own two hands and that I can have sitting out for many years to come. It was definitely a labor, but it was a labor of love, and I had a lot of fun creating it.

166 Days til the wedding... Yeah, I still have time for more crafting.

....................................

Thank you, Kendall! I don't typically like how fake flowers look either, but yours are so pretty! I am impressed and I'm excited to see what else you're crafting for your wedding!

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Happy Birthday, Finland

Finland was declared an independent state from Russia on December 6, 1917. Happy 94th! Hyvää syntymäpäivää!

Finlandia


O, Finland, behold, your day is dawning,
The threat of night has been banished away,
And the lark of morning in the brightness sings,
As though the very firmament would sing.
The powers of the night are vanquished by the morning light,
Your day is dawning, O land of birth.

O, rise, Finland, raise up high
Your head, wreathed with great memories.
O, rise, Finland, you showed to the world
That you drove away the slavery,
And that you did not bend under oppression,
Your day is dawning, O land of birth.

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Christmas at Work

We did a little decorating...

- From the desk of Mrs. M

Christmas in Finland

There was even a tree on the ferry across the river!

Pictures from: Christmas with my second host family, Christmas village at old town in Turku, Peace declaration ceremony on December 24th, Santa Claus Village up in the Arctic Circle, lights in Tampere, in front of the Turku church, gingerbread houses with my host dad and sister. 

- From the desk of Mrs. M