new endeavors

hello!  it's been so long since i've seen you.  i have really missed you.  but, since i have a week off from work, i thought i could check in and give you an update on my life these days.  so, yes, i have a week off from work because it is thanksgiving break because i am TEACHING FIFTH GRADE NOW.  yep. that's right.  i am a 5th grade teacher at dolores elementary school, hazel and june's school, just a few blocks from my home.

here is my fabulous class.

these are our class pets, a mama degu, alice, and her two daughters, thelma and louise.

and here i am, teaching a science lesson on sublimation on halloween.

(as an aside, glenn was cousin eddie for halloween.)

so, yes.  as you may or may not know, prior to the birth of hazel and june, and prior to the birth of silver sparrow designs, i was an elementary school teacher.  last year i started to really miss being in the classroom.  so i started to sub a bit to see if i really missed teaching or i just thought i did.  turns out i really missed it.  so i applied for a job last spring and i was selected to teach this amazing 5th grade class.  it has been, as you can probably imagine, a crazy transition and a huge challenge.  i struggle with many of the aspects of working in the public education field, but i am a very good teacher and i am proud to be back in the classroom.  i love teaching and i love my class.  (interestingly enough, i have been attempting to run a classroom blog, thesmithscoopdolores.blogspot.com, but it has proven to be a bit more difficult than i had imagined.  it's still a work in progress but you can go check it out if you'd like.)

recently the school had an event and invited bees knees to play.

and we had our family photo taken.

so what else has changed since you last saw me?  we have yet another small dog now, mason.  we got joe to be june's dog, but he absolutely bonded with hazel instead of june.  so, i was recently at the local animal shelter and there was this skinny little precious guy, begging to come live with us.  so we brought him home.

and he is as happy as can be.

and 100% junebug's dog.

so silver sparrow designs is not dead.  she is merely resting her wings, taking a break from flight for a bit.  i still get out to my shop on occasion, it is just not the main focus of my life right now.

my creative endeavors are different these days.  i have remodeled the living room, which was a blast.

i made all of these pillows, along with curtains and table runners, chair covers, etc. 

i'm also on a bit of a crochet kick.  i guess my hands are more drawn to soft mediums these days.

jo, olive, and mason on the first ski of the year yesterday

and look how huge these girls are!

i hope that everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!