Handywoman Julie

I wanted to hang some shelves in Colby's room, but I wanted some square and rectangle shelves. I couldn't find any pretty much anywhere, so I decided to make them. They're not perfect, but I think they look pretty darn nice and they add a nice touch to what will eventually be Colby's room.

Random Flowers

So, there were these random plants growing in the front flower beds, but I didn't know what they were. I only knew that they didn't look like the rest of the weeds in the yard. So I left them to grow to see what came up. Well, it turns out they're sunflowers! When we got home from the beach one was looking pretty as you please!

Greetings From the Beach!

Greetings from Dunkin' Donuts in Nags Head, NC! We've been having a fantastic week. We've been hanging out on the beach, playing in the water, hiding out in the house when it's hot, reading books, playing with Colby, and eating excellent seafood. The water has been surprisingly clear and a perfect temperature and not rough at all. As a matter of fact the waves haven't even been good for boogy boarding so that means they're perfect for Colby. Colby has been having a lot of fun hanging out with Gwen and Jordan and playing on the beach. I wish that boy would sleep in more, but Brandon and I have been trading off getting up with him. Unfortunately I've been really stuffy so I haven't been sleeping well so even when Brandon does get up with Colby, I can't enjoy it much. But I'm glad to be away from the same old same old in Radford. I'm enjoying vacation time!

Big Boy Bed!

Well Brandon and I got industrious the other night. On Tuesday we moved the old dresser to Colby's current room and we decided to take apart the crib. We put up one of the twin beds in Colby's current room and since Tuesday he's been sleeping on a big boy bed. When his new room is ready, hopefully we can move him over with not a lot of problems since he'll already be used to sleeping on a real bed. We're leaving for the beach tomorrow so hopefully when we get back we can get his new room together and get him moved as we start the odyssey that is potty training.

I'm still really excited about the beach, but sort of bummed that a couple of my friends won't be there. Gwen and Jordan will probably be sick of us by the end of the week :-) I hope that next year my other two friends can come!

Room Clean? Check! Grades Done? Check!

So my room is clean, my grades are done, I have nothing left to do except look forward to going to the beach. I'm curious to see how Colby does at the beach this year. Will he sit on the beach towel and play with his trucks or will he want to be up and going nonstop. I personally would prefer him to play with his trucks when he's not splashing in the water. Chasing toddlers down the beach is not my idea of fun. Adios school!

School's Out For Summer!

Hey everyone! I know it's been some time since I last posted. I started an on-line class and since I spend so much time on the computer for the class I'm less likely to be on it for personal use (as you can tell!) Plus I've been reading an interesting series of books. Imagine the year is 1998 and all electronics, cars and guns stop working. These books suppose what the world would be like if that happened. They're interesting. The first is Dies the Fire, then The Protectors War and last Meeting at Corvallis. Plus after teaching my students The Road, I'm more interested in reading Post-Apocolypse books.

My students' last day at school was last Thursday. I always feel a mixture of relief and sadness at the end of a school year. Since August I've been working my tail off to teach them something and I'm glad thats over, but I also don't know what I'm going to do with myself over the summer. And I think I'm going to miss my fellow teachers. I think the daycare Colby goes to will be glad to get a break from him for almost two months. He bit some poor kid on the face the other day! I hope this summer he'll break his habit of biting and learn some more words.

Over the last several weeks we've been working on cleaning up the spare bedroom for Colby to use. I'm hoping that after the beach he'll transition to that room so that his baby room can be used for future Gill babies. I've finished most of the shelves I was making, they just need to be painted and hung and then the background painted green. I'm excited to see the finished product! Hopefully it'll look like I'm a home dcorating genious!

Summer is in Sight

I swore today after my last class that between now and the end of the year I was going to kill a student or at least severely maim one. I don't understand what gets into their heads when they see summer looming just ahead. Lately they've been thinking that rules don't matter, that grades don't matter and that treating others with respect doesn't matter. It's very irritating to me especially because I've been giving them easy crap to do just to boost their grades and they've been not doing it and instead it's hurting them because they're taking zeros!

In other news, Colby's room is completely painted. Now I just have to clean all of Brandon and I's crap out of there and do some serious cleaning and decorating and we'll be good to move him over - though I thought I'd wait until after the beach trip because he'll be sleeping in the pack and play at the beach. I'm so excited about the beach! I can't wait!