Word Clouds!

My goal this year is to learn more about technology and how I can use it in both my life and classroom!
Have you ever heard of a wordle?  I learned about these this weekend and I LOVE them!
You can paste any text you would like into the program and it creates a word cloud using the words.  Words that occur more often are bigger and bolder.
Here is one I created:
href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/6289872/Untitled"

This would be great for upper grades, as a fresh twist on a book study.
It would also make a unique gift for someone you love if you have a special poem or song that means something to you.
Try a wordle!

Organic pest control

Meet our four legged family! 

 Ru

Honey

                                Roxy 

                                                   Bo

With four dogs things can definitely get hairy (<3 puns)!   This year the fleas have been horrible and we have been searching for alternatives to help control them. 

My parents are very organically conscious and introduced me to using diatomaceous earth (DE) as a supplement to our flea treatment.  It is a natural element, bascially tiny fossils that have broken down and become like miniscule razor blades to insects as they walk over them or ingest them.  Use the food grade DE and you can put it not only in your yard, but directly on your pets as a booster to whatever flea treatment you are using!  I put a cup full into an old sock and used it to dust my pets.  It is advised to not get it into your eyes or inhale, so plan accordingly with proper ventilation and protection.  Also, be sure to cover your pet's eyes, nose, and mouth when applying.  I got a 10 lb. box at my feed store for $13.  I have done my backyard twice and my dogs twice and still have over half of the box left.  If the DE gets wet it becomes neutralized, so re-application may be necessary.

Wire crafting is hard!

I am still working on the gift for my fiance using the cut of wood.  Our initials are 'L' and 'J', and on a Vegas trip early in our relationship I found the coolest stamp that has a J and an L woven together.  Since then that has become our trademark :)  I draw it on every card I give him.
So, I decided to try to craft it with of bronze colored craft wire to add to the wood piece.
This is proving more difficult than I anticipated!  I am still tweaking it to get straight edges but here are a few pictures of what I have so far.

Creating with natural elements

My fiance gave me this wood cut about a year ago.  I love it but haven't been able to think of anything interesting to do with it so far.  Yesterday I came up with an idea!  I am going to make a gift for him using it.  I am going to decoupage a picture of us onto it.  So, this is my next project....check back in a few days to see the finished product! 

Spice things up!

I like to cook, but have never been crazy about using several different spices.  I am a bit picky about the flavors in my food.  I do scan the spice aisle almost every time I grocery shop though.  Awhile back we started using the McCormick grinders for salt and pepper.  They are a great deal, only about $2.00 each.  Last month I discovered the best one yet.  Its a garlic pepper grinder!  This is the best blend of seasonings, its ingredients are garlic, sea salt, black pepper, red & green bell pepper....so many seasoning mixes have MSG in them and we try to avoid it in everything we eat.  This is like a one stop shop for seasoning!  We love it, so I wanted to share it!

Becoming Inspired

This is one of my most favorite pictures ever.  It inspires me, Walt Disney inspires me.  He had vision, drive, and determination.  He used these attributes to turn his dream into a reality and create something that is still fascinating and inspiring people to this day, over 50 years later.
This is my goal in every aspect of my life.  To create and inspire for and with the people that I love and care about.  I am excited to use this blog to chronicle my thoughts and creations with others!