When I was a teenager, I had subscriptions to Vogue, Teen People, Sassy, and Seventeen. My connection to information outside of my small town was filtered through the ads, celebrities and news that trickled down through the monthly publications. I watched a little TV, and my school showed us Channel One news once a week so I felt like I was informed about the big stuff. My walls were adorned with photos torn from the magazines. Colorful collages of Leonardo Di Caprio and Jonathan Taylor Thomas smiled down at me while I took the quizzes and sniffed the perfume samples. Those quizzes were the best. They would tell you what you should be for halloween, what is your power color, and what type of dessert you would be based on your multiple choice answers. I enjoyed some of the features so much, that I would rip them out each month and organize them into a notebook so that I could collect all the stuff that was the most relevant to my life at that time. I would snip out the little pictures and assemble them into collages and inspiration boards. I liked to collect and filter the things that were significant or pretty or informative. I would edit the magazine down to the essentials and throw the rest away, or pile them on a bookshelf. Sometimes when I feel guilty about zoning out on my phone for 10-20 minutes, I think about how I used to read those dumb magazines. I laughed at the personal stories, scoured the beauty tips for life-changing makeup and hair solutions and fashion tips. Now, instead of magazines, I get all that content through Facebook, Pinterest, Flipboard, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter. The content I used to pay for, I now get for free....through photos, articles, recipes, and it is all personalized to my specific algorithm. I follow the celebrities I want updates from. I follow feeds for new recipes I can take dumb quizzes whenever I want. The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Art Teacher support groups, professional development sites, cooking sites, even google and amazon use algorithms to predict what I might like. Part of me loves that the internet is tailored to my specific content bubble. But part of me is also a little worried that I might be missing out on content and information that other people are getting. When I google something, it might respond with a completely different set of query results than what you get when you google it. That's a little scary. (Here is a Ted talk about this) When Facebook added the 'Save' feature, I found myself saving dozens of links. Most likely, these particular articles were filtered to me because they are the types of things that I generally click on. I 'dog ear' the good stuff. Recipes. Videos. Photos. This collection of links is the equivalent to saving all the magazine articles I used to read as a kid. The best things that I have saved, have also been organized on Pinterest in the corresponding board or placed into a magazine on Flipboard so that I can return to the things that are significant or pretty or informative. Some of the information is useful. Some of it is just junk food. Some of it is professional development. This post started out really light hearted...but now I'm really thinking about what kind of information I get on a regular basis and how it changes my perception on the 'big stuff'. Most likely, you don't get any 'art teacher' content on your newsfeed because it isn't relevant to you and your interests. The algorithms probably don't feed you the same things that they feed me, because you would be unlikely to click on the same things I would. So I've compiled a dozen links in the hopes that the information in the articles below might bring us together some how. Just the way the internet is supposed to. Just like those teen magazines made me feel like I was getting personalized 'news' and information. Here are a dozen of the best 'art teacher' links I've saved lately. And just for fun, I took some of those quizzes, like I used to take in Seventeen magazine...but now I just push a button and the site analyzes everything I've ever said or done and it puts all together and blamo---'I'm dry ginger' and my soul 'speaks the language of honesty'. 1. 10 Amazing drawing tricks.
2. 3 helpful ways teachers can work with a class clown. 3. 33 Fiber Art Ideas for Your Classroom 4. Geometric Tree Drawing Game 5. 30 Hilarious Jokes for Kids 6. Does your middle schooler stress you out? Here's Why. 7. The 3 reasons why you can't draw. And what to do about it. 8. How to talk to kids about their art. 9. Youtube Art Lessons for Kids 10. 7 Ways to Hit Your Stride in the Art Room 11. Using Zentangle in the Classroom. How it works. 12. Why Kids to day are out of shape, disrespectful and in charge.
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As I think about the rest of the year, it feels good to know that I've tackled some of my biggest goals in life.
Last year, I finished my Master's degree. Next up, pay off the debt and start using the extra money to set new goals. If I boil it down to the top 10 things I really want to do in the next 5-10 years, I would probably have to put these things as the main things I want to start saving for and actually planning, not just day dreaming about them: ---Ride in a hot air balloon ---Ride in a sea plane ---Visit Spain, Germany, France ---Go scuba diving (again!) ---Take a road trip to Santa Fe ---Stay in a really cool place in Palm Springs ---Go on a hike and camp in the mountains ---Visit Michigan and drive up the coast looking at Lighthouses ---Go to New England and eat lobster for every meal ---Go to New York City in spring (again, but after flowers bud) Other goals I'm thinking about include writing a book, learning more about my genealogy, and owning my own business some day. What about you? What do you really want to do? What do you dream about? Lately I've been a little obsessed with Italian flower boxes. The photo above is a from a trip to Venice that I took in college with the MSSU art department. One of my favorite memories about my trip to Italy, were scenes like the one above. Classic Italian architecture with robust flower boxes in brilliant colors. The hard vs. soft of the stone and floral facade, the vibrant petals agains the dull painted brick. So beautiful.
We've been working hard the last few years to update our backyard, and I REALLY want to install Italian-esque flower boxes below the windows on the back of our house so that when I drive up, it feels a little bit like Italy in the summer. Thankfully we have a little stone cottage, and windows that will work...but some of the windows are painted shut.....so it might be hard to keep them watered since the flower boxes will be 12-15 feet off the ground. For my birthday in April, I've asked my husband to wind-proof shelving, buy the flowers and install a gorgeous set of fragrant flower boxes that will waft through the open windows while we are having breakfast. I am in the process of researching which flowers will bloom all season, need lots of sun and are drought resistant....Until then, I am dreaming of my own little Tuscan landscape. In 2012, I received an award from the Missouri Art Educator's Association. I was deemed 'art educator of the year'. I traveled to NYC and to the state conference in Missouri to accept my award. I had to get up in front of a big room of art teachers and give a big speech. It was a really big deal.
A few weeks later, one of my husband's best friends made a comment that was completely unexpected. "Wait? What? You actually teach kindergarten art? You teach children? I thought you taught high school? You mean little kids need an entire class for art?" Well. Yes. He is from Oklahoma. Art isn't offered until 6th grade in Oklahoma, so he had never taken an art class as a kid. He was completely shocked and surprised that my job even existed. As good as I felt about my award, I realized that maybe it wasn't a big deal. Maybe what I do every day isn't that important. Over the last few years, I have thought a lot about that. Every day, I think about whether or not art is important for children. And every day, I see my students succeed....and I know that it is important. Every lesson may not be perfect. Every project may not be award winning. But what I do is good. And it is important. Today is St. Patrick's Day. I have always loved St. Patrick's day. Sometimes I would wear green to sleep the night before so that I could wake up ready to pinch anyone in my family who had forgotten to look at the calendar.
Tonight, we will probably go downtown to the first Friday even in Joplin. There are bound to be tons of people and things going on, and I'm excited to run into people I haven't seen in a while. In 2010, we went to visit my brother in Lake Havasu, Arizona. We flew into Las Vegas with some friends, and decided to make a vacation of it! We stayed a few days at Planet Hollywood on the strip. Our last night there, we had dinner in Paris, the Eiffel Tower Resturant. We were supposed to be celebrating St. Patrick's day, and we did so in the strangest way---by eating French food in Las Vegas. But then we went down to Freemont Street. It was my favorite thing in Las Vegas. Neon lights and colorful signs were everywhere---just like I pictured Las Vegas. My brother met us on Freemont, and we had a fun night watching a midget U2 cover band dressed like leprechauns. Recipe By:Judy Farris "Sponge cake cookie--in shell shaped molds."Ingredients
Directions
Enjoy with lime blossom or linden flower tea. Just like Marcel Proust in Swann's Way. Vegan French MadelinesThe Coopers’ Madeleines Who thought Madeleines could be vegan? Well, Clementine Cooper’s family figured that one out. This recipe is easy as pie and so yummy, too. Ingredients: 2 tablespoons cornstarch 6 tablespoons water 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1 cup powdered sugar 3/4 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted and cooled Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the Madeleine cookie mold pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and almond extract, and the sugar. Stir in the flour and baking powder until well combined. Add the Earth Balance and mix until smooth. Drop about 2 tablespoons of batter into each mold. (I also put some almond slivers in the cookie molds first). Bake for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. When cooled, remove from molds and place on a plate shell side up. One of my resolutions this year was to really get into reading in 2016. I always say that I love to read, but it is hard for me to name a favorite author or genre since I read so many different things. I use goodreads to track my reading and to keep a list of what I want to read. Goodreads is great because I can comment on the book, highlight favorite quotes, and share my reading adventures with my book club. Last year, my goal was to read 20 books and I actually read 25. That was surprising as I had spent the summer finishing my Master's. I also picked up a big sack of Janet Evanovich books---which helped me surpass my goal, they are great little pool-side books and quick reading. This year, my goal is 30 books. It is mid-March, and I've already read 10 books. I'm in the middle of 3 books this month, and I plan to finish them all up. I'm at about 33% of my goal right now. What does all of that have to do with madeline cookie recipes? Well, I mentioned my book club before....each month, we meet and discuss a book. I love books that make me think about life, or ask questions, so a book club is a great opportunity to talk about those thoughts and questions. My favorite part about book club is the camaraderie with the women and the fact that they appreciate similar things. If the book gets made into a movie, we try to watch the movie together. If the book is set in a certain place, we try to have a meal from there. One of the main theme's of Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past is memory. He relates his memories to every sense---sound, smell, touch, taste. In the first book of the series, a very famous passage, mentions his memory of the madeline tea cake, soaked in linden flower tea, and how the taste of it fills his heart with love and memory. So naturally, for our book club, we had to have a French tea party, with linden flower tea and madeline tea cakes. I found some French macaroons at Trader Joes, and tried two recipes of the tea cakes. One recipe is vegan, since my friend Constance is vegan, I knew she wouldn't be able to try the real cookies which have oodles of butter. The vegan cookies were freshly made that day, so they were pretty good...but I sent the extras home with Constance. The REAL recipe, is absolutely fantastic....I ate like half a dozen the day I made them, when they were fresh and warm from the oven. The rest were frozen and saved for the day of the party---half of them I dipped in chocolate on the tips, and they were still really good, even though they had been in the freezer for two weeks. It came. It came. It CAME in the mail today!!! Who doesn't love a great package in the mail? Especially a sparkley fuchsia mailing envelope addressed to you? Last month I signed up for Ipsy. Lately, I've been feeling like my daily makeup look is in need of an update. Buying an entire product just to try it out, and then not loving it seems like an expensive investment and I've been putting it off because I didn't want to invest a lot. Ipsy is great---for $10 a month, they send me a sampling of cosmetic products based on my profile. Some of the products are sample or mini-sized, but most of the products are full-sized. Each month, the package comes around the 15th....and it is in its own cute makeup bag too! This month, I got a new makeup primer--yay! I've been wanting to try something new. A new makeup brush, a pink eye makeup, an argon oil hair smoothing cream, and a lip lacquer. The lip lacquer is in a neutral tone, it doesn't really show up, and its a little stringy.....sticky....but it smells good. I'm not sure if I like it yet. Last month I got a hair serum, a nail polish, an eye liner, a lipstick, and a full container of blush. It is such a treat to get a little package in the mail with new cosmetics. Ugh. Monday. Not only is it Monday, but I have early morning bus duty, so I have to get to school especially early to set up before my 7:20 supervision begins. Not only is it Monday, it is also the first Monday after daylight savings, so I am trying to adjust to the new time. Not only is it Monday, but we lost an hour of rest over the weekend. AND I had a book club discussion last night, which kept me out later than I usually am on a Sunday evening. So for today, I am going to share a little '26 Things About Me' quiz that I took Sunday morning. 26 things about me:
A- age: 32, will be 33 in April---Friday birthday whoop! Whoop! B- biggest fear: C- current time: 9:05 a.m. D- drink you last had: latte E- everyday starts with: coffee. Must have coffee every morning. F- favorite song: Loving ‘Unsteady’ by X Ambassadors right now. G- ghost, exist?: nah. H- hometown: Granby, Missouri I- in love with?: Jeremy Mitchell J- Jealous of?: People with flexible schedules who get to travel a lot. K- killed someone?: Not that I know of. L- last time you cried: watching Grey’s Anatomy, happens every week. M- middle name: Mae N- number of siblings: 1-3, depends on how you look at it. O- one wish: Mo money, less problems. P- person you last called: my husband Q- question you're always asked: "So. How is school?” R- reason to smile: When I think that school is almost out and I have a bunch of fun trips planned in May/June. S- song last sang: Happy Birthday Song. T- time u woke up: 7:30 U- uber or lyft: Love Uber, used Lyft in seattle, it was great too…. V- vacation destination: Europe---France, Germany, Spain. U.S.—Santa Fe, Colorado, NYC W- worst habit: Not making time for people who mean the most to me. Being too busy for them. X- X-rays you've had: None that I know of….Well, maybe my back when I was in college. But I think that was an MRI…my teeth for sure. Y- your favorite food: Pizza, Chinese, seafood. I love all food. Z- zodiac sign: Aries When PTO mentioned FacePainting at the fundraiser, I was just as terrified of that as I would've been if I had been asked to play in the game. The thought of hunching over for 3 hours, brushing paint onto squirmy kids, on a Friday night sounded exhausting and overwhelming.
I just wanted to be a greeter. Or supervise the restrooms. That sounded easy. But finally, I agreed, and I was much more relaxed about it after a co-worker mentioned that she would make the poster of designs. Whew. A little of the pressure was off and I could just try to have fun with it. The fact that she was assuming more of the responsibility, made me feel much more comfortable taking a shift---I wasn't in charge of the whole thing all night. I signed up for the first hour. After 50 minutes, my shoulder was killing me. Even though I had only painted about 10-12 faces, I felt stiff and exhausted from holding so steady and perching my arm up so that I could keep it still enough to outline things. I think the years of heaving my computer over my shoulder while I had my arms loaded down with art supplies as a traveling teacher have done a number on my shoulder. When my hour was up, I was relieved. Chances are, this will be a regular thing. Next year, I hope I can do the first shift and sit with the same co-worker every year. She has more experience painting faces than me, and her confidence is encouraging. So next year, here are the things I will need at my station: --Brushes (the PTO purchased brushes were not great quality) --A big water cup for rinsing brushes --Paint palettes --Acrylic paint (all the research I read says not to use acrylic, but the Facepaint that PTO bought was really bad quality, and most of it was goopy and thick or totally dried out) We used lots of black and white paint. --Baby wipes --Hand Mirror --Apron or lap towel --Package of paper towels --Gum and drinking water
Her show was actually quite groundbreaking. Mary, a 30-year-old woman who had recently broken off a two-year long engagement and was looking to start life anew, in her own apartment, supporting herself, and being unencumbered by a relationship.
When we noticed Mary making coffee for her numerous house guests (in her fabulous apartment), we both exclaimed, "Look at that coffee maker!"
For Valentine's day, I surprised Jeremy with a Chemex coffee pot. On the weekends, we boil water in the kettle and pour up a steaming cup of coffee, Mary Tyler Moore style.
If you stumble a cross a picture or a video of me throwing my hat in the air...just know that it is an ode to Mary Tyler Moore.
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Mrs. Mitchell
This is my 'slice of life' blog. Archives
March 2020
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