The Cutting Edge

I spent a good part of my day today with a pair of scissors in my hand. Unfortunetly they weren't the best pair of scissors so my hand is a bit sore.

I started out the morning coloring Rhyming Picture Cards. There were 72 pictures but it only took about an hour. The guy at Lakeshore complimented how professional they looked. (This picture is sideways cuz I didn't want to go through the hastle of turning them around - you get the gist even though it is sideways)

I had alot of lamination to do today. I go to Lakeshore Learning to do it. We have a laminator at work but they are pretty picky about it. The library assistant does it all so you have to fill out a form and don't know when you will get it back. Plus if it is a big project you have to get approval. I'd much rather go to Lakeshore where it is only 29 cents a foot. I laminated 13 feet and paid about a little over 4 dollars. Not Bad, and well worth it. Their lamination machine works SO MUCH better.

I made Letter Bears, Dog Bones, Rhyming Picture cards, and File Folder games.

I used the Ellison Press to cut out the bears. Usually I can laminate the construction paper BEFORE I use the press, but I had to add the letters to the bears before they were laminated so when it came time to cut them out after laminated it took a little longer. LOTS OF CURVES!

I will use these Letter Bears while we are out on our bathroom break. It keeps us busy while we wait for the kids in the bathroom and then we aren't wasting 10 doing nothing.

Kindergarteners love the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see. These bears use the same concept. Take for example the bear with the letter A on it. The kids would say,

Aa Bear, Aa Bear, who do you see, I see Bb Bear looking at me. Bb Bear, Bb bear, who do you see. And on and on through out the alphabet. (I got this idea from Dr. Jean)

The dog bones are a game we play. The students will pick a dog bone out of the dog dish and say the letter. If the get it correct they get to keep the bone, if it is wrong they have to put it back. If they get the bone that says WOOF! on it they have to put ALL their letters back in the dish. (Also came from Dr. Jean)

Both of these activities are great for letter recognition. We will also play Alphabet Soup. I just bought a pot and a ladle today for this. I have ping pong balls with letters on them. These will be in the pot along with a few orange ping pong balls. The game is played the same was and the Dog Bone Game.

LOTS OF FUN!!!!

My Nail Experience

I have been contemplating getting "fake" nails for a while. Several times I have treated myself to a french manicure. (Clear with white tips) But they start to chip by the third day so a 12 dollar maincure only lasts three days. I knew I didn't like acrylic. They look TOO fake and really mess up your actual nail. Some of the girls at my work have done a gel overlay. It lasts as long as acrylic and you have to get them filled every two to three weeks, but they don't chip like regular nail polish. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to go FAKE and then I noticed one of the girls at work and was impressed with her nails. I asked her where she got them done and then made my appointment. I am very happy with my nails. I went to Vita Bella on 59th Ave. and Union Hills. It was a very nice, small, quaint, hair and nail salon.

What to blog?

I knew I wanted to blog today but I wasn't really sure what I wanted to post. I thought about writing about my trip to the nail salon (I got gel overlays) I LOVE IT! But it really isn't blog worthy.

Then I got on my blog and read the comments on my last posts -

I just have to give a shout out to Lindsay! I LOVE that you write a comment on all my posts. I like you feed back and I enjoy knowing that you are reading my blog. I really need to be more like you and comment on the blogs I read.

As I tell my little kids when I like what they are doing - "Two thumbs up!"

Tension

I don't respond well to tension. Who does? But for me it really is worse. Most of you know that I once suffered from anxiety. Through my program I have overcome that anxiety but somethings still set it off. One major event is a room full of tension. (Which is whats happening right now in my house) There are bad moods and upset people and it really sets off my anxiety. Right now I can fell every beat of my heart, my stomach feels like there is a burning brick in it and my throat feels like it is closing. Because of my program I will be able to keep it from becoming a panic attack and as soon as the tension subsides so will me symptoms. It is just really hard for me at times like this. When most of the events going on are beyond my control. I can't do anything about the tension filling this house right now. The only thing I can control is how I will let me body react to it. I guess it will be a long night of slow methodical breathing and constant positive thinking.

Here I go...

Midnight Sun

I know I usually don't write two posts in one day but I've got a lot to say!

The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer is very popular. It rivals Harry Potter and the polls say more people want to see Twilight the movie than the Harry Potter movie (myself included).
I like to keep up with what is going on in the world of Stephenie Meyer so I check her website every few days to read her blog and see what is going on.

Some of you may be aware that Stephenie is rewriting Twilight from Edwards point of View. It is called Midnight Sun. You can read the first chapter of the book on her website. I have read it and it is incredible. I had no idea what was going through Edwards mind when he first met Bella. I do have to say you should read it before the movie comes out. It puts a whole new spin on EVERYTHING.

ANYWAY - I have really been looking forward to reading Midnight Sun. I knew that Stephenie has been working on it. Today I got on her website and I could not believe what I was reading. Someone leaked the first part of Midnight Sun on the internet. It devistated Stephenie. She explains everthing on her site and I can't argue with her logic. Even though it is devestaing. Stephenie has decided NOT to finish writing Midnight Sun. She even used the word "indefinitely" She did however put what she had written on her site. I have added the link for you. So if you have read the Twilight series I really think you should read Edwards version.

I hope that, like myself, you can understand why Stephenie decided not to write Midnight Sun. I am just glad that I have been able to read what I could.

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html

Footprints in the Sand

I am sure most of you have heard the poem, "Footprints in the Sand" It is a beautiful poem about the Lord carrying us through our toughest times. I like the poem, it beautiful.







Last week I downloaded Leona Lewis' album and found this song, titled, "Footprints in the Sand"

What an amazing song. Follow this link to see the offical video. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gT0t-zhF5o

Two thumbs up to Leona Lewis for her amazing vocals and Simon Cowell - one of the writers of this incredible song