Utter Failures

I love Christmas. Since I was a kid I love everything about it. However, because my younger (middle) sister Sarah has asthma, we couldn't get a real tree growing up. Of course I got over it, but I did miss out on the scent of pine in the house. When I got my own place, I knew every year I would have a real tree in my home. For 3 years I did. And then... the fail. This year, it seems like Thanksgiving was later... and then BOOM it's Christmas right away. Time got away from me. I've been really busy, and Jeremy has been working long hours trying to finish the lighting for a home so the owners can be in it for Christmas.All that to say, we made the difficult decision to skip the Christmas tree this year. Fail. I didn't do away with all decorating though. We have a little Christmas cheer. If you know me well, you know I absolutely adore Peanuts comics and have collected memorabilia since I was little. Hence, our Christmas tree this year is a Cha

by: Alicia Anderson My husband wanted a sonic screwdriver that he could use as a functional pen-light.  He uses pen-lights to check people’s pupils on the ambulance, so it had to have certain features: Useful: Bright, white pen-light lightbulb Long-term: Replaceable bulb/batteries Safe: Not going to poke anyone’s eyes out The fourth requirement for this light was that it also had to be within my budget. I am buying him some reasonably expensive stuff this year, so “free and or cheap” was also ideal. Before we get started, you need to know what sonic screwdrivers are supposed to look like. They are devices that are frequently used by the Doctor on the BBC television series, Doctor Who. Like the actors who play the Doctor and the control room of the TARDIS, the screwdriver goes through changes and iterations over time.  Here's one:  Particularly the most recent, 11th Doctor’s (played by Matt Smith) There is no such thing as a usable pen-l

This is less a post about failing, although I certainly had those moments. It's just something I'm sharing. I hope it helps someone in some way. It started back in May of 2011. Around the time of this picture on the lake. I randomly started having trouble breathing and realized I was coughing a lot. Of course, working at WebMD, I began a long process of self-diagnosing. (Something I try to never do now.) My symptoms seemed to point to asthma, although I imagined a dozen worse scenarios. The doctor thought it could be severe allergies so he gave me some medications to try. It didn't help.  I went back and he gave me an asthma test. It did not indicate asthma but did show some improvement in breathing with a breathing treatment, so he put me on inhaled steroids and a rescue inhaler. That did seem to help a bit... but when I say a bit, I really mean that. It was minimal improvement. I spent the whole summer barely able to breathe and unable to be outside for more than

By: Sarah Munne I'm a newlywed and a first year teacher. I don't have a lot of classroom decor, but I try to be creative instead of spending a lot of money for bulletin board supplies. I'm not complaining! I just want to set the scene for what you are about to see.  Back in October, I was spending my free hour browsing Pinterest for a DIY Christmas tree for my classroom. I wasn't about to tell my husband that I needed to buy TWO Christmas trees this year. I really couldn't find what I wanted, so I combined a few ideas and came up with this concept drawn on a post-it note.  I was so excited! All I needed was some spray paint and some fishing wire! Way to go, Sarah. You are so frugal and creative. Your husband and students and fellow teachers will be in awe! Welp, I spent hours measuring and cutting cardboard, spray painting them in compatible green colors, and generally feeling very proud of myself. Today, Josh and I went to hang this Christma