The Wall: Layered Frame Collage

Let’s get crafty! (sit back, this is a long one)

My last few posts have kind of been downers. That’s because I’m starting a new chapter of my life, and I don’t handle transitions well. But this week has been better. I feel more stable. A lot of that has to do with loving family, but a lot of it also has to do with coming home to a place that feels like home, rather than a place that feels like it might have the potential to become home eventually. 

 One home project that I completed this week has me so pleased, I have been inviting just about everyone I’m close to over to see it. I’ve dubbed it The Wall. 

The downside of The Wall is that it does not photograph well because it takes up a large space in a relatively confined area (a hallway). I promise, it looks 200-times better in person. I tried taking a panoramic picture, but it just makes it look like the wall is curved. 

Anyways, it’s amazing, and I love it. It looks way better than nothing at all, that’s for sure: 

So, how was it done, you ask? 

Adjusting, Jogging, and Crafts to Come

So I know that my last post and this one are more journal-like than blog-like, but now that school is over and I’ve moved to my new home, I’m feeling a lull in my life and I have a lot of thoughts going on in my head. I wake up in the morning and I don’t have a clue what day of the week it is because I have no set schedule with which to anchor my sense of time. I don't like it at all.

It might be a good thing. 

I am a rampant workaholic, and am notoriously on edge when I don’t have a solid plan/schedule/calendar to make and follow. Every controlling bone in my body is sitting in wait for the next unsuspecting thing to come along and be dominated. 

It’s a problem. Down time is probably a good thing for me right now. 

But with any hope, work will pick up soon. I’ve successfully secured a spot on the supply list for three daycares, and I have a very-part-time position at a pharmacy in the area. 

And with all this free time on my hands, I have had good opportunities to catch up with the friends I hadn’t been able to see while I was away at school. 

I’ve also decided to take up jogging again. It’s been years since I last went jogging, so we’ll see how that goes. I’ve gone out once so far, and I was pretty successful. The cows grazing in one of the fields I jogged past looked at me like I was some sort of alien, and then decided to jog along with me as far as the field’s fence permitted. I thought that was pretty fun. 

Since it has been so long since I last went jogging, I am quite rusty. Entirely too out of shape. I knew endurance was going to be a big issue, so I decided the best route to becoming a jogger again was to use intervals. 

I started out today with walking for two minutes, then jogging for one minute. It was manageable but still challenging. I went 3 kilometers, and cycled through 6 intervals. Basic math tells me that I jogged for one kilometer. Not too bad for the first day out. 

Now to keep at it, and very slowly increase the jogging time and decrease the walking time. And eventually add some distance. 

Anyways, I have been working a lot at unpacking my new apartment. While I was in The City, I downsized to a one bedroom and put half of my belongings in storage. Now that I have a spacious two bedroom once again, I am having a lot of fun going through all the items I haven’t seen in 8 months. 

And, of course, I have been working away at decorating the walls of this new apartment. You will see my newest projects soon, I promise. I am very, very, VERY pleased with my new picture frame collage wall. And I’m working on making a mirror (like, taking regular old glass and making it reflective). Oh, and I have plans for a fancy serving tray made out of an extra frame that didn’t make it onto my collage wall. And I finally learned how to successfully cut vinyl with my Cricut (finicky medium vinyl is), so I have a new wall decal in my bedroom. 

I can’t wait to share with you! 

Stay tuned.

The end of an era

Well, it's done. My program has finished, I qualify for graduation, and once my application with the Ontario College of Teachers goes through, I will be a certified teacher. I've left The City and settled in to my new apartment in Even Smaller, Small Town Ontario. I've gained part-time employment at one daycare and one pharmacy, and I have a few more job prospects on the horizon. I'm cautiously optimistic about how things are panning out.

Now, if you’re anything like me, you easily form emotional attachments with inanimate objects, like shoes. Maybe these shoes:

I’ve walked many a mile in these shoes. I bought these shoes in 2006, my first pair of name-brand Converse shoes. I had knock-offs from discount shoe stores before, but they never preformed like these guys. These Chucks have served their time faithfully, and it is time to retire these beauties.