Maternity Leave

Baby girl was born on April 13th at 11:57pm.  She weighed 10 pounds and 5 ounces!!!  It was a traumatic birth and we ended up having to have an emergency C-section and a very long and difficult recovery, which is why I haven't posted on here yet!  I didn't plan on writing out her "birth story" here, but if anyone is interested, I'll consider it.  I don't plan on turning this into a "baby blog" or anything like that.  But it is my personal blog, so some family-related posts are bound to happen every once in awhile! 

Baby girl is a very easy baby.  She's pretty mellow and relaxed, doesn't really cry very much... we're pretty lucky! She's 5 weeks now and is almost outgrowing 3 month clothes!  I had to end my maternity leave at 5 weeks to go back to work.  That has been very difficult.  But on the bright side, I only have a few weeks until summer break!  My in-laws are coming to visit and we hope to take them to see some sights here in the Bay Area, so I'll have a few interesting things to post about soon!

I'll leave you for now with a pic of my hubby and baby.  :)

This is not a pregnancy blog...

Well, folks, we're about 2 weeks away from my due date.  But I'm really hoping that baby girl will be born early.  I am soooo sick of being pregnant!

BUT this is not a pregnancy blog.  Or a mommy blog.  It's just my personal blog.  It used to be a travel blog, but now it has morphed into just me updating about my life and sharing random things I find interesting.  I have no plans to use it as a baby or mommy blog.  But I do want to share a few things for my own personal memories, so I hope you'll indulge me for at least one more pregnancy post!

I thought I would write down some common questions I've gotten this pregnancy, some random things I want to make sure I remember for the future, and any other things I want to post on here before going MIA for awhile!

Ok, let's dive in!~

Frequently Asked Questions

When are you due?
April 13

Do you have a name picked out?
We kind of do. But we haven't told anyone.  We reserve the right to change our minds at any time.  In fact, just last night we were talking about another name option that we both like.  So even though we "picked" one awhile ago, we might end up changing our minds once we meet the baby...

What's your birth plan?
The plan is to have the baby.  Somehow, she will come out of me. 

Have you had any weird cravings?
Fruit in general, but especially citrus.

Have you had any weird food aversions?
In the first trimester I had a really hard time eating meat, especially chicken.  I basically survived on bean burritos and mac 'n' cheese!

Any morning sickness?
No "morning" sickness.  I never threw up (except when I got the flu).  But I did have constant nausea all day long for about 4 months.  I also felt really dizzy and almost fainted a few times.  I also had extreme fatigue.  And some migraines.  Overall I just felt really icky and tired all the time.

Any other weird symptoms?
Bloody noses.  One time I was in class with my 9th grade choir, sitting at the piano teaching them something, and my nose just started dripping blood.  It freaked them out!!!

Pelvic pain.  This was the worst.  I've had extreme ligament and pelvic pain since about week 16.  And it has only gotten worse.  It's so bad now that it's painful to just stand or walk.

Being hot all the time. But I don't think this is unique to me.  I think it's definitely a common pregnancy symptom.  Sweating a lot.  General heat radiating from my body.  It's so sexy...

Things I Want To Remember

Pregnancy is not fun.
I don't know who these people are who love being pregnant.  Why???  In my experience it has been extremely painful and exhausting and frustrating.  I'm lucky that I didn't have too many emotional rollercoasters, but the physical toll it has taken has been extremely frustrating.  Maybe my experience is not "normal."  Maybe "normal" pregnancies don't come with as much pain.  But everyone has said that you forget the pain and you forget everything bad about being pregnant once you have the baby.  I don't want to forget.  I don't want to do this again!  Is that selfish?  I think I might like to have more kids, but I'd really love to adopt.  To be honest, I've wanted to adopt anyway, and even told my husband I'd be ok with adopting only (before I got pregnant, obviously).  So I need to remember that this has been a rough experience and I don't really want to go through it again.

My husband should win some sort of award.
He has been amazing.  For the first half of the pregnancy, he worked from home.  And that made it very easy for him to take care of things that I couldn't.  For the first trimester, I would basically go to work, come home and get in bed and sleep until dinner time, wake up and eat dinner, then go back to sleep.  He had to pick up a lot of slack with taking care of our dog, keeping the house tidy, doing laundry, making all our food, etc.  And he never once complained!  Even after the first trimester, when I started having more energy, and he started working outside the home, he would still bring me oatmeal in bed every morning, clean the house, cook dinner, etc.  Very thankful for him!

Pregnancy brain is so real.
I don't know if it comes from lack of sleep, hormonal changes, or sheer exhaustion, but pregnancy brain is so real.  I've always been quick-witted and smart.  Not anymore!  I feel like I can not form one coherent sentence, words elude me, and anything that requires thinking.... doesn't happen.  It's very frustrating!  My students think it's funny.  But it's really annoying to have a complete mind-blank (COMPLETE MIND BLANK) in the middle of a sentence with a classroom full of teenagers!

Something Random

The closer my due date comes, the stronger my urge to travel!  Maybe it's because I know I'll be tied down for awhile (although we still plan on traveling as much as possible with our baby), but I can't stop thinking about all the places I want to travel to!  I want to go to Hawaii!  I want to take Peter to Italy!  I want to go back to Brazil!  Heck, I'd be happy with just going somewhere local.  I just want to get out and do things and see the world!  But I can't.  Because I'm stuck in my bed with extreme pelvic pain, just waiting for this baby to pop out...

Will it all be worth it once the baby arrives?  I'll let you know!

Oh, Baby! Update

As you know, we've had an eventful fall.  To be honest, I've been in survival mode. Working full time while pregnant is not easy! I have a few posts planned on pregnancy updates, mostly just because there are some things I don't want to forget (especially if I ever find myself saying, "I want to be pregnant again." Spoiler alert - I don't! It's miserable...)... But in the meantime, we are happy to announce that...

We were honestly shocked. We seriously thought it was a boy! I'm carrying very low, I've had headaches and other aches and pains... We also had a boy name picked out... and little boy clothes are so much cuter than little girl clothes. So we were very surprised to find out it's a girl! But we are happy nonetheless. I'm excited to share with her all the fun things I did as a little girl with my mom - tea parties, Betsy-Tacy, Anne of Green Gables, lots of crafts, etc. And my husband is excited to have a little daddy's girl to adore! 

Now comes the hard part - picking a name!  At least we have a few more months to figure that out!

XO,
Julie

Eventful

I can't believe it has been two months since I last posted about our move!  Soooo much has happened... As soon as we got back from Ukraine in July, we packed up our entire house, sold a bunch of our stuff, and moved back to California. As soon as we got to our apartment we knew we couldn't stay in it - it smelled like cigarettes! We realized that if we wouldn't stay one night in a hotel room that smelled that bad, why would we *live* in a place that smelled so gross? Luckily our apartment complex let us move to a different apartment in the same complex. So we had to pack up all our stuff *again* and move into a new apartment.

Meanwhile, my aunt, who I was very close to, passed away. It was such a sad time for my family. She actually lived very near to where I had moving to, and we had planned to meet up before school started so she could hear all about my new job.  She was also a very big supporter of our Ukraine trip, and I was looking forward to telling her all about it. She loves music and loves supporting mission trips, so I knew she would love to hear all about our trip. I still can't believe she is gone and I miss her so much.

But if the stress of moving across the country, having a close family member pass away, and then having to move again wasn't enough... I started a new job. Don't get me wrong, I was super excited about my new job. It's exactly what I was hoping and praying for! I'm teaching at an all-girls school, and I'm teaching only music! I love it!

BUT... of course, starting a new job is stressful - learning the ropes, learning a new system, meeting a ton of new people... And then on the second day of new-teacher orientation... I found out that I'm pregnant!

So... baby is due in April! Wow, that was unexpected! We actually were preparing ourselves for the fact that we might not ever be able to get pregnant.  We had been "trying" (not super duper trying, but not preventing) for four years. We actually went to our respective doctors last spring to find out if we had fertility issues. My doctor told me that, with my endometriosis and thyroid problems, it would be difficult to get pregnant. I would need surgery, and even then, it wouldn't be easy. We had decided to wait to do surgery, etc, until after we moved out to California. But I guess we got lucky, because baby is already at 13 weeks!

Let me tell you - starting a new job is hard. Starting a new job while in your first trimester is extremely hard. I haven't been taking well to pregnancy - been feeling very ill and exhausted. I just hope this baby is cute!!! ;)

So now you're all caught up! And now you understand why I haven't blogged in awhile!  Everyone keeps telling me, and I hope they're right, that I will start to feel better soon and have more energy soon.  I can't wait until the day when I can come home from work and not collapse in bed until the next day. But maybe this is just my life now. I'm destined for a life of exhaustion, aka motherhood...

I hope to blog some more and continue to share about our adventures in California. We plan to see the redwoods soon, and we I also want to take Peter to the Monterey Bay Aquarium (he hasn't been yet). I'll update here as often as I can!

Thanks for reading!
XO,
Julie

We Moved!

Let me just tell you, these last 6-7 months have been a roller coaster. So many big, life-decisions have been made. So much stress and worry and anticipation. But we made it through, and now we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  So many things have happened since I last blogged that I'm getting a little overwhelmed with how to share it all. I think I will start with the biggest life-change - we moved!

After three years in Alabama, we decided it was time to move back to California (my home-state). Our jobs had transitioned to positions that we weren't excited about. We both had epiphanies about where we see our careers heading, so we decided to take some risks and hope they work out. And so far, they have! I was offered a full-time music-teacher position at a private, all girls high school. And I'm really looking forward to it! I enjoyed learning about theater and finding my way as a drama teacher these past three years, but I'm looking forward to being back in my element and expertise.  Peter decided to branch out and do web-design as a freelancer, and he already has clients! So far, so good. I also have big plans for my music blog, so look for updates regarding that!

So now we're back in California.  We had a long, long, long cross-country drive to get here. Our poor dog was confused and a little stressed, but overall he did great.  Alabama has a much lower cost of living, so we had to downsize from a 3-bedroom house in Alabama to a small, 2-bedroom apartment in California.  We had to move sight-unseen, which posed a huge problem when we got here. The apartment we had reserved smelled like a cheap motel - cigarette smoke-infested the walls, cupboards, carpet, everything. We requested to transfer to a different apartment, and luckily they allowed it! But that just delayed us from settling in, and now we're still sorting and unpacking... and work starts on Monday! But now we're here and that's what matters most!

We plan to explore California (there is so much that Peter hasn't seen yet! We need to go to the Redwoods, Yosemite, Big Bear, Lake Tahoe, the Northern Coast, Napa, and so much more!).  I plan on continuing to post on here, whether or not people actually read it. I've been back and forth about whether or not to even keep my blog, but in the end Peter convinced me to keep it. We are going to treat it more as a scrapbook of our lives, so we can look back at our memories.  I have a lot more to share from this summer - we spent two weeks in Ukraine! I have so many stories to share from that trip (for example, did you know that Ukrainians are obsessed with dill? They put it on/in EVERYTHING...)!

Thanks for reading!

P.S. If you need a web or graphic designer, contact Peter! He is an expert on design, layout, and user experience. (He designed and built this entire site from scratch: www.houstonacademy.com). If you or anyone you know is in need of a web or graphic designer (front-end developer), contact Peter Arthur at peterdarthur (at) gmail (dot) com!

Health Update

The other day I put out a prayer request on Facebook because I was going to the doctor and I was desperate for them to find an answer.  Many people were concerned and I wanted to update everyone but felt like this was too much to put on Facebook.  So here it is.

I've been going to the doctors for several years suspecting either a thyroid disorder or an autoimmune disorder and they keep telling me I'm "fine."  But lately my symptoms have gotten worse and worse.  I wake up after 8 - 9 hours of sleep still feeling exhausted.  I work a normal day and feel relatively ok during the day.  Sometimes I feel tired in the afternoons, but I'm able to work 8 - 9 hours a day.  But as soon as I get home I "crash."  I can't do anything.  My head will ache, my body will ache, and I can barely get up the energy to eat dinner and take my dog on a short walk.  All I can do is lie in bed.  (This is not every day.  But it is the majority of days.)

The doctors always an excuse.  "You're just stressed," or "You're just paranoid..."

I don't think this is normal.  I'm not stressed or depressed.  All my blood work is "normal," yet something is not right.  I can just tell.  I think people can tell when their body is not quite right.  I was put on a 30-day hear monitor after my most recent appointment (I've been having tachycardia and palpitations, but again my stress test and ecco all came back as "normal..."), and I've been referred to a rheumatologist due to possible irregular ANA results.  I always thought I had low thyroid, but now I'm suspecting it might be high.  My TSH levels were on the low side and my T3 levels were on the high side (of "normal...")... and those are indicative of hyperthyroid. I also have EVERY SINGLE SYMPTOM of hyperthyroid (except for weight loss... I'd be in the 10% of people who actually gain weight with hyperthyroid...).

I'm thinking I might have to travel several hours to find an endocrinologist that will see me without a referral, since my general practitioner seems to think my thyroid is "normal" and won't refer me.  

Anyway long story short is that I'm finally at my wits end about this.  I'm emotionally exhausted and anyone who knows me knows that I don't cry easily and I very rarely let myself cry.  I can tell you the exact last time I cried, and it was in May of 2015...  So the fact that I'm sitting in bed about to cry my eyes out is a big deal... The fact that I'm posting it on Facebook is a big deal...

(I have to say that my husband has been amazing throughout this.  He has been so helpful and empathetic.  I am very grateful.)

So that's the update.  Thanks for reading and thanks for caring.  And if you're the praying type, I'd really appreciate if you'd remember me in your prayers.

2016 Goal RECAP

Last year I gave myself some resolutions, or "goals," as I called them.  Let's see how I did.

1. Get my health in order.
I tried.  I really tried.  I saw many doctors, had many appointments, had much blood drawn, peed in cups, all that fun stuff.  But nothing was resolved.  And now I have a few more issues that are creeping up.  Argh.

2.  Create a capsule wardrobe.
Didn't happen.  I wanted to wait until my weight fluctuations were manageable, which I thought would happen once I got my health issues figured out.  But as you know from #1, that hasn't been resolved yet...

3.  Do more yoga.
I did this!  I also did Pilates quite regularly for awhile.  Then my schedule got so busy that I had to drop it.  But I still kept doing yoga.  I want to do even more this year!

4.  More local tourism.
I think I did this.  Well, I don't know if it's "local" but we did a road trip and got to see several different states... does that count? (Summer Vacation Part 1 and Part 2)

5.  Pay off some debt.
Accomplished.  Still have a bit more to pay off, but I was happy to check off a few items from our list!

6.  Make time for things that make me happy.
Done.  I spent the summer finding beauty in different art forms, and it was very therapeutic!  I spent some time in my art journal, and I allowed myself to rest.  I bought a piano!  It has been so wonderful to be able to play whenever I want!

What else did I get up to in 2016?

I had another career breakdown.  Ugh.  Not fun.

I wrote down some "life hacks" that I love.

I found beauty all around me.

I wrote down my favorite literary quotes, which turned out to be quite a popular post on my little blog!

I discovered a new way to remove makeup.

I got very philosophical after my New York trip.

I offered some free stock photos.

I made a video of making tea.

I finally got to visit Whole Foods again.  Man, I miss that store!

I also got to stock up at Trader Joe's.  Miss that store even more!

I redesigned and relaunched my other blog.

I discovered my new favorite product.

I shared an easy curly-hair updo.

I learned a little bit more about myself, from my husband!

And, finally, I reassessed my version of "culture shock" of living in The Deep South.

All in all, 2016 had some major ups and downs, many of which I did not share on here.  I'm grateful for a new year and a fresh start.  2017 Goals coming at ya tomorrow!

Thanks for reading!
Julie

Whole Foods Haul Update || My new favorite product!

Note: This post contains affiliate links.

Do you remember my Whole Foods Haul from this summer?  We don't have a Whole Foods near us (closest one is 3 hours away) so I tried to stock up when I was passing through on our road trip.  I now have an update to share with you.  I've loved everything I bought, but my favorite BY FAR was the Alaffia African Black Soap.  

This soap is awesome.  It truly is multi-purpose.  It's gentle on the skin and doesn't dry you out.  Peter uses it to wash his hair.  I use it as a body wash and shaving gel.  I love that it smells like peppermint but isn't a strong scent.  I also love that it is all-natural.  Luckily for us, I anticipated that we would love it, so I bought a large refill bottle!  We are going to need to refill it soon.  I know this is something we will repurchase and stock up on whenever we go to Whole Foods.  I'm sure you can find it other places as well.  I found the Tangerine scent on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/2bMZzJj (affiliate link)

The other products are awesome and work how they're supposed to, but they're not as life-changing as the African Black Soap is.  The sunscreens are great because they're bad-chemical-free, the diffuser works fine and looks great, but I'm sure any other diffuser would work just fine.  The glass pipette bottles house Peter's beard oil, and the small plastic blue container did once hold coconut oil for ease of portability, but alas! my dog got ahold of it, somehow opened it up, ate all the coconut oil from inside, and chewed up the container... 

I plan to do a separate post on the Pacifica BB cream with a demonstration of how it looks before and after.  It's great as a primer and also to wear alone on "no makeup makeup" days.

So that's my update!  I highly suggest you try the soap.  It's awesome!

Follow

Updates

Time has flown by this summer!  I did not think my blog would get so neglected... Last summer I was able to post so much, but this summer I didn't post very much.  For a couple of reasons: 1. Lack of inspiration, 2. General busy-ness.  I have kept myself very busy this summer, with teaching private lessons, going to Pilates sessions, doctor appointments, and vacations.  All in all it's been a pretty successful summer, as far as summers go... except for this blog.  And now I'm at a crossroads and don't know what to do...

I'm going back to work in a few weeks, and I'm sure my blog will be neglected once again.  I'm also running out of ideas for posts and feeling generally "blah" about the whole thing.  When we lived in Rio, there were hundreds of things to post about.  We were constantly out exploring the city and doing new things.  So I felt like there was something of interest to share on here.  Now we are just stuck in a routine - work, eat, sleep, repeat.  There is nothing interesting to explore around where live, and even if there were, it's way too hot at the moment.  I'm not doing many DIYs at the moment, and even if I were, who would care? There are so many blogs of full-time DIYers, and just a quick glance at Pinterest will show you that anything I could attempt would be irrelevant.

Sorry for the negative-Nancy post, but that's just what I'm feeling at the moment.  It's hard to be creative on command!  I DO think I'll keep my blog active though, because you never know what the future holds.  I'm hoping that in the future I won't have to work full time, and then I'll be able to designate more time for the blog.

In the meantime, here are some life updates:

WORK

We are staying in Alabama for at least one more year.  We both signed contracts and are working for the school.  I'll have a modified schedule, so hopefully I won't be as busy and stressed-out as I was last year!  (If you remember, I wanted to quit my job almost immediately after school started, and then again at least once a week throughout the year...)  It feels very strange to start our third year in one place.  My wanderlust is definitely kicking in, and I'm hoping our summer vacations can tide me over for the time being.

I'm already stressing out over my schedule and how I'm going to fit everything in.  I have to fit my private students in somehow, I want to continue doing Pilates two times a week (or three!), I want to join the community orchestra, and I also want time at home with my husband and dog.  I really hate being gone from the house for 12+ hours a day, so I'm really trying hard not to over-schedule my afternoons/evenings.

VACATION

I'm editing a couple of vlogs of our vacation, so hopefully I'll be able to post those here soon.  I also have a couple of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's "haul" posts to share.  We don't have a Whole Foods or a Trader Joe's near us (the closest is 3 hours away), so when we get the chance to go to one, we stock up!

HEALTH

I recently had a thermography scan done, and it found that I might have some thyroid disfunction... which I've been suspecting for so many years.  But getting the doctors to do anything about it is like pulling teeth.  I've also been experiencing some major bloating and stomach issues.  So I've decided to take matters in to my own hands and try to turn my health around.  I'm going on a strict diet - closely following the blood-type diet... cut out all dairy, gluten, sugar, and certain other things (nightshade vegetables, potatoes, etc.).  I'm also switching over to as many natural products as possible (would you like me to do posts about natural products I love?), and I'm adding some supplements that are beneficial for thyroid function.

Ok so that's about it for the updates.  To sum up, blog is "blah," work hasn't started yet and I'm already stressing out, Whole Foods Haul coming soon, and strict diet plans are happening.  

Let me know if you want to see some of my natural product favorites and I'll work on some posts before school starts back up.

Life Lately

I haven't posted on my blog for awhile due to the mere fact that I haven't had time.  In the month of January I had one day off.  I worked every single day, often times 10 hours a day.  To say that I'm exhausted is an understatement.  But there is no rest to be had!  February is extremely busy as this is our show month (we are doing Grease!), and March will be hectic since I have three school trips planned.  End of April we have our big fundraising event - the Fine Arts Gala, and I'm taking my choir to New York!  I guess I can rest when I'm dead (or at least, when summer break finally comes)!

Lately I've been doing a lot of deep-thinking about my life and my goals and my career.  I think being so busy and exhausted all the time is really taking a toll on me, mentally and emotionally.  I start daydreaming and fantasizing about quitting my job, being a full-time blogger or something else that works from home, having time to eat healthy and exercise...  I remembered when I was younger I wanted to be a writer... I gave up that idea because being a writer means spending a lot of time alone, and I think I would get bored, or I'm worried I wouldn't have enough original ideas to write about.  Full-time blogging is a big thing right now.  People are making great money by working from home.  But honestly I don't think I'm creative enough to come up with fresh content that will generate income via my blog.  And I don't think I would be disciplined enough to work from home anyway.  I would just faff around watching youtube videos and chilling in my robe.  But doesn't that just sound heavenly?!  Sitting around in a robe all day!

I also fantasize about changing careers completely and opening up a cute little stationery store or tea shop.  I've written about that before.  I think I definitely want to get a blog redesign and focus more on writing and less on "doing things" for my blog (DIYs, etc).

Anyway, long story short, I'm having a bit of a life-crisis.  Honestly it is all stemming from the fact that I'm overworked and exhausted right now.  My goal has always been to teach at a college or University, and I just need to keep that goal in mind while I'm doing the brunt-work right now.  I just have to get through these next couple of years (and first, these next couple of months)!!!

So how have you been?  How's the weather where you live?  It has been a very bi-polar winter here... sometimes it's freezing and we have to scrape frost off our cars and other times it's in the 70s... can't make up its mind!  We are in the midst of rearranging our house.  Peter wants to get a tv, so we have to rearrange our entire living room setup because the tv hookups are on the other side of the room, where our couch is... We also want to get a different table for our dining room, and maybe get a cute little chair and end-table combo for the awkward space in-between our dining room and living room (open floor plan).  We also want to redo our office and get some real desks.  I've been scouring Pinterest for organization ideas.

So that's basically all the updates I have for now.  Talk to you soon!

XO,

Julie

2015 in Review

2015 wasn't the best year for my blog.  But I did have a few interesting things happen, in my opinion!

Here's a look back.

Observations after 6 months of living in Alabama.

Wisdom from my mother that I need to be reminded of.

I finally posted pictures from Sugar Loaf!

I shared my experiences with medicine side-effects.

We finally visited the beach!  It's only 70 miles away but takes 2 hours to get there.

We visited a local historical park.  And we took an "adventurous" hike.

"I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere."

"The internet is starting to show me all the things about myself that I didn't know I was supposed to hate."

Art Journal Challenge Week 1 Update.

Art Journal Challenge Week 2 Update.

I found some pretty things to photograph around our neighborhood.

I revisited some pictures from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Art Journal Challenge Week 3 Update.

Art Journal Challenge Week 4 Update.

Art Journal Challenge Week 5 Update.

I made my first vlog!

I made some DIY Essential Oil Rollerballs.

I made some DIY Glass Lanterns (Dollar Store Craft).

I wrote about our love story.

Another Art Journal Challenge Update.

Finally *almost* finished my Brazil photo album.

People are different here...

The travel essential you've never heard of.

I finally made a photo album of our wedding.

Art Journal Update. (lost count at this point)

The pros and cons of growing up in a small town in the middle of nowhere.

More Art Journal.

Some things I can blame on Rio.

Some of my favorite Art Journal pages.

I tried my first Umba box.

I answered some "would you rather" questions about travel.

We carved some pumpkins!

I got my first "Try the World" box.

I posted my first "picture an hour" of a weekend trip to Michigan.

I shared some tips for moving across the country.

I let you know 10 random facts about me.

Whew!  That's a lot more than I expected!  Basically what happens is when I'm working full time I don't blog as much, but over the summer break I cram a lot in!  I hope you had fun revisiting my year-on-the-blog!  Thanks for continuing to read my little corner of the internet.  Here's to many more fun posts in 2016!  My 2016 goals are coming soon.  Hope you have a great New Year!

XO,

Julie

Catch up

As suspected, once school started my blog got neglected.  I'm sorry, it's just that teaching is exhausting and also I'm suuuuper busy this year, way more than I was last year.  Although it hasn't been a total fail... these are the posts I've managed to put up in the past 7 weeks:

School started and I immediately began dreaming of an alternate career.

A couple of weeks went by and I, again, wanted to quit teaching forever.

I managed to get one post up for Travel Tuesday.

And, in the midst of a career crisis meltdown, I found 50 things that make me happy.

And as I settled into a routine at school I realized that I still need to make time for my art journal.

Ok so that's a recap of what's been happening on my blog.  Now let's review what's been happening on my Instagram...

We took a quick trip up to Nashville to visit some friends over Labor Day Weekend:

I like to doodle in my lesson planner, I went to a conference, and our doggie is still adorable:

I experimented with different styles in my art journal:

Peter redesigned my school's shield and it's been so fun to see it pop up everywhere on campus:

My dog continues to be the cutest thing in the world:

Alright so now you're all caught up with my life so far.  Now let's talk about what will be happening in the near future:

- take students to All-State Show Choir Auditions (all day event in Birmingham)

- help run tech for the lower school musical (tech rehearsals, dress rehearsals, performances take up about 2 weeks every day after school)

- choir performance for pep rally

- my drama class' production of The Princess and the Pea

- choir/solo/theater festival/competition (I have about 25 students participating)

- weekend trip up to Michigan for Peter's best friend's wedding

- All-State auditions (all day event in Montgomery)

- begin rehearsals for upper school musical (which I'm directing) after school

- choir performance with community orchestra

- christmas/holiday concerts (lower school, upper school, and sing-along)

- final exams

Oh yeah, and somewhere in there we have to do some massive fundraising for the choir's upcoming trip to New York.  By the way, all of this is in addition to teaching full time and also teaching private students in the afternoons and weekends.

So as you can see, I'm going to be very busy for the next couple of months.  And hopefully I won't go crazy.  The bright side is that I mostly enjoy what I do.  It could be worse - I could be having to grade math papers every day (yuck!).  At least I get to teach the classes that students enjoy being in.  I gotta say, I do love my students.  They are extremely creative and enthusiastic.

Ok I'm just going to take it one day at a time and try not to get too stressed out.  I hope you'll forgive me I neglect my blog throughout this season.  I will try to post but can't guarantee anything.

What do you have going on these days?

P.S. My dad and I will soon be starting an Etsy shop.  My dad makes beautiful ceramic items (nativity scenes, ornaments, vases, etc.).  I can't wait to share it with you!

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Art Journal || Week 5 || Update - Flower Garland

I can't believe I've already finished 5 weeks of summer vacation!  Where does the time go?!?!?!

This past week I didn't really work in my art journal very much because I was too busy with diy projects.  The one project that I was able to finish was inspired by this post.  I made a small paper garland to hang on my gallery wall.

I used the templates provided by the original post, but I made it uniquely my own by watercoloring each flower (instead of using card stock or construction paper).  The only flowers that are not watercolored are the yellow ones and the leaves.  I probably spent way too much time on this project and paid way too close attention to details that no one will ever notice now that it's on my wall, but I had fun doing it and I'm glad I finished without giving up!  I think I might need to add a couple more leaves and sprigs in there, but so far I'm liking it.

Don't judge my wall, it's not finished yet!!!

This week I am planning on finishing this diy and hanging it above my bed.

Hope you had a great weekend!  What are your 4th of July plans?  I'm going down to Florida to visit family and enjoy some beach time!

P.S. The lettered art work is from this Etsy shop.

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Art Journal Challenge

Week 1 Update

Week 2 Update

Week 3 Update

Week 4 Update

Linking up with Anderson + Grant and Craftberrybush

Art Journal || Week 4 || Update

As with most challenges I give myself, I'm beginning to run out of steam.  I haven't worked in my art journal every day this week, but I did manage to fill up a few pages.

The plan for the art journal was to treat it more like an actual journal - decorate the pages and then write in them.  But that hasn't seemed to happen.  I find myself using it more for sketching, planning ideas, and painting pictures.

Sometimes I feel like doing art is a privilege and a reward and that I'm wasting time by sitting at my desk and painting, especially when I need to clean the house, plan for next year, practice music, or do something "productive."  On the other hand I know that creativity is important, and having an outlet and hobby is also important.  It's hard to find a balance sometimes.

Inspiration for the flowers, above, came from my evening walks around our neighborhood.

The Challenge

Week 1 Update

Week 2 Update

Week 3 Update

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