I just finished altering a big wooden letter for the first time, and I had so much fun doing it, I think this might become one of my standard gifts. I used Anna Griffin supplies for this one - I loved how the one pieces paper was both pink and black and white. It's a gift for our church secretary, who I have come to realize has had a pretty thankless job these long months that we haven't had a rector. I really appreciate her and sympathize with her, so upon the new rector's arrival I suggested a staff appreciation week. It's so important to tell workers how much you value them - a pretty crummy job can get so much better with just a small thank you. Hopefully I'll get to chair up the appreciation committee.

Just finished this page for one of this month's projects at Scraptalk. This is my first time using Crate Papers and I loved them! And with this page I am celebrating! Esme and I have had great difficulties at bedtime since I starting putting her to bed, and as of tonight I am OFF for the summer! Hopefully in the coming months Ethan can get her back into a good routine and teach me how to do what he does! I would be so happy to leave that drama behind us.

On Saturday I got a big box of my grandmother's photos. There are some amazing things in this box, including one this one, which is one of my favorites. The happy couple coming out the door are my grandparents. I am so love photos of people I love, and old photos of my ancestors are one of my favorite things ever. I am my family's historian, and I feel so lucky to have this gift.

I survived two weeks of teaching the gym and science class! Phew! I am not used to working full time and I am WORN OUT. Even though I love that class i am so glad it's over. Now onto my busy weekend! Tomorrow I'll go see my mom and Sunday Esme and I will have the day all to ourselves.

Our new rector has finally arrived! I was on the Search Committee for over 18 months and I was thrilled to go to her first service on Sunday. Then I got to have a church school meeting with her on Tuesday, and I got to go out for a night on the town with her on Wednesday. She is a very nice woman and a pleasure to be around. I am so looking forward to working with her!

Just completed this layout - my first one for my second Pink Lady term! I am loving these Creative Imaginations patterns. I need to find a store that sells this line and buy it up.

Yesterday I had to do lab reports with the second graders. They had to examine fossils and then write several sentences describing them. Most of them wrote about texture, feel, colors, smell, etc. One kid wrote as his last sentence, "it smells like dicks." I was sitting there grading and came across this and was like COME ON why is this kid doing this?!?! Augh! Kids write obscene stuff all the time to see if we're really reading it, but then they have to be in trouble, deservedly so. So I took it to the teacher and said, "Please tell me this is a misspelling or not what he really means." She was disgusted and took it down to talk to him. She said, I love the way you set up your lab report, you did such a good job, now could you please read it to me? He read it to her as written. She said nicely, what did you mean by that last sentence? He said, "Dicks. Where they sell the basketballs." There is a store near here called Dick's Sporting Goods. The teacher laughed all the way back down the hallway, and then photocopied it and passed it around to the other teachers with the story.