The Purge.

The Purge. It is like a dormant virus that awakens every few months. It strikes me at odd times during the year, causing me to look at my belongings and figure out what needs to find new homes.

The problem is, I am a saver. I do not like items to be "thrown away" (because there is no 'away') when they can be reused, recycled or repaired. I am also the person many others come to when they have a useful item that they believe I can find a home for or use in some fashion. My friends also save their 'trash' for me to send to Terracycle for upcycling.

Thus, I always seem to have a number of items that are on their way somewhere else or waiting for me to use in the creation of a more useful item. Some are big, some are small, some are many, some are few. Some actually end up in the house or my studio, others remain in the garage, sometimes never leaving the back of my truck.

Whenever the Purge shows up, I enter a frenzied state where items get posted on Freecycle, Cheapcycle or Craigslist at a rapid rate. I also tend to send emails to friends and family if I think they may have a use for an item I no longer can use. I then resort to the waiting stage of the Purge as I religiously check my emails for that elusive request for my items.

With a little spare time on my hands this weekend, I have given in to the Purge's urge. I have collectible Barbies, books, household items, craft items and more that I have posted ads for on Freecycle and Craigslist. Now am wondering when I can get them to their new homes!


I am thrilled with the organized state of my garage right now. I have put all of my "Purge" touched items in boxes that are neatly labeled. The boxes neatly line the walls of the garage, along with several other items that are being stored for the winter season.


I have been receiving emails from friends and freecyclers most of last night and this morning. Several items have found new homes. Wilda showed up to pick up a set of decorative Christmas blocks and a roasting pan and left with a jigsaw puzzle, a rug, and a bag of fabric! Thanks Wilda!!

Camera Woes

The other day in class, I was attempting to take photos of my students' 4-H projects and I was receiving an error message on my camera...a memory stick error. We shall see what the ultimate solution to this issue will be!

So, today, I am making sure I have my photos removed from the camera (I sometimes forget some and leave them there!)

I found these two interesting items:




This is a potato (Obviously). I liked his face!


















This is a leaf (obviously) who only had eyes for Vince!

Ancient Egypt and our Donors Choose Projects

Sounds like a weird combination of topics, I know. I am using the Ancient Egypt project as an opportunity for students to use all of the materials from both projects.

We have the standing desk assembled and the students used it for the first time today. Our stools are ready to go and I just need to adjust the table for their use. The two boys who used the standing desk today really liked it!

The students begin their Ancient Egypt project this week and will be doing research and working on a written paper as well as a visual model or PowerPoint. Students who work on their projects in class using computers will be able to save their work to the new flash drives to protect them and bring them to be reviewed and printed. I realized that flash drives are a hard item for students to be excited about, so incorporating them into our research project will enable the students to see their worth.

Our class is so fortunate!

Once again, Sonic completed my project! Although they were not the only ones who contributed to the funding here. There were individual donors (like Sherry and Deborah and others) as well as everyone who participated in the Bing promotion earlier this summer.
The funding of this project truly shows that it takes many people to successfully educate the youth of our country.

So, now onto the next phase of our project. Before we actually put them into full use, we have to thank our donors. Once all of the materials arrive, we write thank you notes and take photographs of the students using the materials from the projects.

Permissions slips have been sent home and I have quite a number of them back already. These are required before I can take pictures of any student and publish them on DonorsChoose. The students are all required to write a thank-you note, which fits with our education standards which require them to know how to write a friendly letter. Each student is required to write a thank you note, as they are graded! Some think that if they do not return the permission slip, they do not have to write the notes! Wrong.

I have already received the materials for the "Save Me!" project: These arrived on Friday. The kids were a little underwhelmed by them, but once they understand what these items will do, they will be more excited.





Our Standing Desk has been purchased, I am anxiously awaiting its arrival. I have already warned Vince that he may be needed for assembly!

Limeades for Learning Update

A HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for "Save Me!" during the first week of Sonic's Limeades for Learning promotion.

I received notice on Friday that "Save Me!" has been funded by Sonic!

Well, actually, I was on the Limeades site, checking to see how many votes the project had. I did a search and only one project showed up in the search results. I was confused and then had that little thrill that told me that "maybe" the project had been funded.


Sure enough, when I checked my school email in-box, there was the notice!
http://www.limeadesforlearning.com/projects/view/396383

I did the happy dance
And then proceeded to let everyone on Facebook know that we had been successful!

I know that without everyone's help and votes, this project would still be pending. I am glad that I have wonderful friends and family, and that my friends and family have wonderful friends and family! I know that it takes more than one person to educate a child. Together we all make a difference for our children's future, which is our future.

So, this is a very heartfelt Thank You to each and every one of you who voted last week and who are still voting this week. My other project "Sit,Stand or Lounge?" http://limeadesforlearning.com/projects/view/395955
is at 137 votes and counting. Thank you for voting for my projects.
I hope that once my projects are funded, you will continue to vote for someone's project. If Limeades For Learning reaches 1 million votes before the end of September, they will make another $100,000 available for public school teachers. So, while I will have benefited already, there are thousands of other teachers who will benefit as well.

Thank you.

Limeades for Learning

Yes, folks, Sonic is once again running their Limeades for Learning promotion!

All you need to do is go to the Limeades for Learning site, and vote for your favorite project. I (of course) trust that you will vote for mine!

When you get to the site, do a keyword search for "Chester Co, Tn" and my two projects will pop up.
or go here: Save me!
or here: Sit, Stand or Lounge
You can vote once a day for each email address you have.

Sonic works in conjunction with DonorsChoose.org to help public school teachers obtain supplies and equipment for their classrooms. I have had a lot of luck in getting my projects funded through a variety of programs run by DonorsChoose and their partners. I am endlessly amazed that the generosity of individuals as well as larger corporate sponsors.

Earlier this summer, Bing ran a special Teacher's Appreciation program. During that program, you could make a comment about how a teacher inspired your or affected your life. Bing then sent you a gift card to use at DonorsChoose! FREE! My project Sit, Stand or Lounge was partially funded through that promotion.

Now with Sonic's Limeades for Learning, I am working on receiving enough votes to get both Sit, Stand or Lounge AND Save Me! funded.

SO, I am asking for everyone's help! Go to Limeades for Learning, vote for my project.
Vote every day! If you have more than one email address, vote with each one!

As of right now, Tuesday, the top project has 243 votes. Sit, Stand or Lounge has 15.

Together, we can make this happen.

Thanks

Where does the time go?

Every once in a while, time runs away on me. I do not know where it goes, but I know that I am not getting everything done that needs getting done!

Since the start of the school year, I have been desperately trying to catch up with myself. I have made lists, I have canceled my netflix subscription, I have stopped getting on facebook as much.
Nothing worked.

I spent the past week working harder than ever to get caught up and organized.

I think I am just about there.

This weekend I managed to redo the borders on my Pieces of the Past quilt that were originally too wavy for my long arm quilter, Chris, to quilt nicely.

I finished the 12 large tote bags that were originally intended as gifts for the staff at the assisted living residence mom was at. I do not know what I will do with them now, but they needed to be finished.


I matched threads to felt to create the felt food that I plan to use as part of my Mustang's display at car shows. I also made a donut and a hamburger patty before I ran out of stuffing material.










I did some piecing on the quilt that I purchased the pattern and fabric for at my quiltaway weekend in June.

I also cleaned off the large cutting table in my studio by accomplishing all of the above.

I finally photographed and posted a number of finished items for my Etsy Store.

I needed to review and revise the social studies notes for my class. I finished chapters 1 through 5 today. I also finished my grading and lesson plans.

Last weekend, Vince asked me what gift I had gotten him for our 13th wedding anniversary. We do not normally exchange gifts, but I told him that on Sunday we were going to Lowes after church to purchase new floor tile for the main bathroom. We did,along with the grout, caulking and paint to finish the job. Last weekend, we tore up the old tiles, removed grout and caulking and cleaned. Vince started the floor last weekend and only has a small portion to finish. Yesterday, I finished repairing small holes in the walls and painted the walls in the bathroom. Tonight, I need to clean out the linen closet and remove the small piece of carpeting from the floor so Vince can finish the floor at the end of this week when he finishes his work shift.

Once again, I have a garage full of stuff for the inevitable yard sale. It seems that I gather up items no one else wants, sometimes items I do not want, and since I do not want to consign them to the landfill, they are hanging out in my garage until I find them new homes.
While I continually post items on Craigslist and Freecycle, I still have more stuff to get through. Vince and I are exploring the possibility of setting up a table at a flea market south of here in Crump. We plan to explore it next weekend.

So, that is were we are...some items finished, some moved along, some just a bit more organized.