the evolution of Leni

Valentine's for Orphans

With the help of my fellow teaching credential friends, we made over 150 Valentines for children at a local shelter. They turned out AMAZING. I dropped them off yesterday afternoon and it felt so good to do something so selfless.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I got up with M this morning for an early morning Starbucks date. Because M and I spent the weekend in Joshua Tree this past weekend, we're celebrating Valentine's day together next weekend here. I have the tent set up and some festive decorations set up all over the apartment.


Image credit.

It's still dark outside now, so that means that I get to go back to bed!

Have a lovely, romantic day!

Busy, Busy!

My little Snoopy thinks that the Valentine's tent was set up for her. As soon as it was set up, she was playing in it. I even catch her taking little naps inside!



This week has felt so long. I have a HUGE to-do list this weekend. M and I are going to Joshua Tree to spend some time with his god-parents. It's so peaceful there and I love their company. It's the perfect place for me to get started on my Teaching Event/PACT that is due in a few weeks.

I'll post more photos of the tent and decorations on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

A Venti Day.

I'm up WAY to late, so I'm posting this now so that I can sleep in a little more in the morning.

 

I had my second supervisor visit today where so many things went wrong. The master teacher was out, so the children were particularly rowdy. In addition, there was a last minute change to what I was supposed to teach the kids. [I am supposed to provide a typed long lesson plan to my supervisor to follow as I am teaching for each lesson she observes.] Because the lesson plan that I had written was no longer the lesson I was going to teach at that time, I was forced to throw together a lesson plan AND prepare to ACTUALLY TEACH the lesson to the 32 students in less than 15 minutes! Talk about having to be flexible!

 

This email message to my supervisor sums up the day quite nicely:

Dear Mrs. ******,

Thank you so much for being flexible with me today! It was definitely
a day filled with unexpected adventures!

While I am always hoping for a "prefect" day, especially when I'm
being observed, I was actually glad that you were able to see me react
to real, unexpected classroom challenges and struggles, like the
last-minute addition of the phonics worksheets, the scenario outside
with the parent sternly talking to another student, and having a
student unexpectedly cry during morning message! Some of those
situations I have never had to face before, so it was nice to have you
see me react in the moment!

Thank you again,

Leni

 

Tomorrow I'm in first grade from 7:30-1:30pm. [Yay for short days!] Then I have class from 2-8pm! I have a feeling that it's going to be a venti day tomorrow! [Boo for two 3 hour classes back-to-back!]

 

T-Shirt Designs

We had a t-shirt design contest for our credential program. I usually never do these things, but being a teacher has inspired me. Here were my entries:

[Front on left, back on the right.]

I think the last design is my favorite ... but the middle design is a close second!

Learning Photography From The Professionals

[I really love that man standing next to me!]

The photo above was taken at an engagement shoot that a friend, Christy, and her husband did for us. I remember feeling so awkward in front of the camera. Can you tell by looking at the picture? Probably not at all, because Christy did such a great job at making me feel comfortable. I haven't pressured her for the photos since I know she has more pressing matters in her life. She has been really good about sending me photos every once and awhile with images from the shoot. She said that the next time I see her she'll give me a CD with all the photos. I'm so excited. I can't even remember what we wore or where we went, so it will be a nice surprise!

Christy and her husband are so cute when they shooting together. She's great at making people feel comfortable and getting their personality to shine. Her husband is the genius behind the camera. Christy also takes great photos with her own camera. She and her husband offered to let me join them on their next engagement shoot to practice taking photos with my camera. Christy knows that I really love photography and that I want to learn to be a better photographer. They're going to give me tips and pointers throught the shoot. I'm BEYOND EXCITED! It will definitely help me to cross off #16 from my list!

Excited and nervous. I think I will need to read my camera manual to brush up on all the features and buttons. (In all honesty, I only know what about 1/3 of them do!)

 

It's Friday again and Fridays always feel good.

The photo above was taken during my last trip to/from Fresno.

 

When Friday comes around, I know that I'm one week closer to finishing the credential program. I'm excited to not have to babysit this weekend. I may have to tutor for a couple of hours on Sunday evening, but I don't mind that at all.

M and I are driving up to Fresno this weekend to spend some time with my family. The downside is that I will spend about 8-9 hours in a car driving there and back. That's time that could be spent doing homework or making lesson plans. [And I have a lot of homework and planning to do!]

I usually come back from weekend trips feeling exhausted. I'm wishful that this weekend will be different. I'm hoping to find time to get a lot of my work done and also find some time to rest.

Hello peaceful and productive weekend!

 

When Design Meets Life.

Last week, I walked passed an office building with huge walls of windows. Through the windows, I spotted these two lovely little quotes and immediately pulled out my camera for a couple of photos. They're great quotes that apply to both home design and life.

Quote 1:

"Plan your EXIT like you plan your ENTRANCE."

"

 

So true, isn't it?! In design, it's the last impression given just before a person leaves. In life, people are so preoccupied with "making an entrence" but do they put the same emphasis and effort on "making an exit"? Either way, it's the last thing people see. Will they leave with a positive feeling or a negative feeling? Just a thought to consider.

 

Second quote:

"Plan

1. Define space"

I have no idea what the next steps are, but number one is so important! Define the space, set the boundaries. Critical in home design, critical in life.

 

Running From Your Shadow? [Project Me]

 

It's Groundhog's Day today. It's no mystery that if the groundhog see's his shadow today, he'll retreat back in his burrow for 6 more weeks of winter. Of course the groundhog would retreat out of fear if it saw it's shadow; it's shadow knows everything. Just think about. It follows him everywhere. It experiences everything the groundhog does. It knows his darkest secrets. If you had to face your shadow you'd probably run and hide as well! Who want's to confront their past when they least expect it?

As such, it seems like the perfect day for another Project Me.

 

 

WEEK 14: Running From Confronting Your Shadow.

 

If you confronted your past, your deepest darkest secret, how would you feel? Like a weight lifted off your shoulders? Like the weight of the world was dropped on top of you? Either way, it's never good to run from your past. 

Take a moment, think about your past. What is your deepest secret? What are you running from? Seize the day. We're at the start of a beautiful New year. A beautiful New Year for a beautiful new you. Take every chance you get to be your happiest. There is no better peace in life, than to be at peace with yourself.

Start by making a list of things that are unsettling to you. Things from the past. Things from the present. Confront each fear one by one. Tackle on at a time. Overcome it. Know that you are one step closer to inner peace and total happiness. Take a moment to smile and think about all of the good things in life. Then tackle the next item on the list.

You can find help and ideas here if you are having trouble tacking a particular issue.

Please don't run. Confront and overcome whatever it is -- you'll be thankful you did in the end.

Do it because you're worth it. Never doubt that. Never second guess yourself. You are worth it!

May inner peace be with you always.

 

My Favorite Things

Everything about this little film reminds me of Amelie, which, ironically, is my favorite movie. I just love it.

If anyone knows the name of the song that is playing in the film, please let me know!

My Favourite Things from kidswithcrayons on Vimeo.