Texas- Almost Wordless Wednesday

     Friday of the trip we made a plan of what to do on which day. I had come up with a bunch of ideas and I said, when I came up with them, that we could do any, all, or none of the things. Though I did also say I was going to do some of the things even if no one (other than Travis) came with me. But we pretty much all did everything together. It was really great. Friday, Peter had gone to stay with one of his sister's (who is currently living in Texas) so he was not with us on Saturday morning. That was the day we chose to go to the Natural Bridge Caverns. I was very excited about seeing the caverns and didn't want to miss them. Six of us decided to go to the caverns and I am very glad that we went. I have only previously been to Howe's Cavern, in New York. I would say that Natural Bridge Caverns are even larger. They were super cool and I took TONS of photos. I have also decided that another fun way to plan trips is by what places have caverns. I have 2 trips I am currently working on where I can see 4-6 caverns on each trip! But one thing at a time, enjoy a small sampling of the photos I took in the Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio. 

 

Texas Trip Day 1

     Last week was April vacation. I decided months ago that the kids and I were going to go to Texas. One Sunday morning, Elecktra and I were having coffee and she was telling me about her last trip to Texas. She offhandedly mentioned that there was an escape room on the USS Lexington, though you had to prebook before you got there. As soon as I heard that I could do an escape room on a ship, I decided that was a good reason to go to Texas. And since I have never been to Texas, that was as good a reason as any to go. So as soon as I got out of work on the 17th, I picked up my 2 kids, and an extra kid, and headed to the airport. 

     The first day of the trip was traveling, trying to get the car I reserved, finding out they didn't have what I reserved, and getting a nice (free) upgrade. Because I was polite and I said that it really wasn't my fault they didn't have what I reserved (and paid for) I should not have to pay for the next step up that had as many seats as I needed. The rental car guys agreed with me. We ended up with a very large, very comfortable SUV. Which I somehow took no photos of or in. 

     Friday was our first actual day in Texas and we had a lot of ideas of what to do, but no actual plan. So we went to La Cantera, which is a nice, fancy, outdoor mall. We walked around for a while, went to a couple of stores, and then headed to lunch before heading back to the hotel to make some plans. 

     Travis and I take a lot of selfies

      Elecktra and I don't get nearly as many. She and I are just not together as much as Travis and I. 

    These were 3 more of my extra kids. Jazz lives in Georgia, though Aiden and Victoria live in San Antonio. None of them (or Peter, who didn't end up in the photo) had been to hot pot other than Elecktra, Travis, and I. It was a good start to the trip. Jazz and Aiden are Elecktra's 2 best friends. Victoria is Aiden's girlfriend. 

     After lunch, we went back to the hotel and made a plan of what to do on what day. Peter stayed behind because his sister was coming to pick him up for a visit. The rest of us ended up heading out to another mall and going to Round 1. Not something that we couldn't do in Massachusetts, but sometimes it's fun just to do things with different friends. And I always get a kick out of watching Travis drive. 

    He is slightly better at motorcycles than cars, but this guy would be a danger on any real road. 

    He's pretty good at basketball though. 

     Elecktra and Aiden had to wait awhile to play Big Buck Hunter, but they eventually got to play. Elecktra got a high score!

     Travis wanted me to play the claw machine and I ended up getting him the cat and the Mario. He was pretty pleased with them both. Each have now taken a turn going to Sunshine Village with him. That a privilege usually reserved for giant action figures. 

     Our first day in Texas was pretty good, and going to Round 1 was fun. Travis always loved that place but we haven't been since before covid. So it was good to go back. And a nice way to start the vacation with my 6 kids. 

The Puzzle Project part 2

       I have been trying to write a blog post for about a month. It has been a struggle, to say the least. So I figured a quick one, with maybe a preview of things to come, might inspire me to do more. I can only try I guess. 

     This bamboo plant followed me home from the grocery store within the last couple of months. I have quite a collection of plants these days. I even bought a fancy multi-tiered stand so I could add even more plants to my collection. My issue is where to put any new plants that come home with me. I have a lot of heat vents in the floor, and they are in some really strange places at times. Which makes placing anything, plant or otherwise, in a good spot at times. 

     Several years ago, also in April, I did a blog post entitled "The Puzzle Project" It was basically how, while I was teaching, I got some games and a puzzle so the kids had something to do if they finished their work early. It was a plan to keep them off their cellphones. It went well, and the post is worth a read. I still loves puzzles and I occasionally pull one out. I found out this year that one of my kids in particular is quite good at puzzles, and several of the kids enjoy puzzles, even if they find them challenging. So what could I do except start buying puzzles for my kids again. I now have a variety of puzzles that have fewer pieces, since I needed some slightly less challenging puzzles for the kids. But they do them over and over and have been having a really great time. I love that the puzzle project has been revived!

    Last week my (actual) kids and I were in Texas and I bought 2 new puzzles. Not for my class, but for me. One of them was this double sided Jane Eyre puzzle, which I bought at Barnes and Noble during coffee date. Because coffee date with Travis happens even if we are in another state. 

     I am pretty sure I shared a picture of this painting when I started it, but not after it was finished. I am very pleased with how it came out and my plan was to frame it and hang it. But it has been so long since I brought it home I am not currently sure where it is. It may need to wait until Summer break for me to find it. 

     I have been incredibly busy lately and have done quite a lot of things. At the end of March, Crystal brought me to the Van Gogh experience, which was amazing. That might become a post. We went to Texas last week (my 2 actual kids and 4 of my extra kids) and we did so many things. That may be a whole series of blog posts. But first, I need to find time for my regular life. 35 days left of the school year. 

It’s my birthday!

    I know it's been a while since I posted. I keep on meaning to, but I am exhausted and busy. But school is out in another 48 (school) days. April vacation is in about 3 weeks and I can do hard things!

    Martha, who is work family, got me this glass as part of my birthday gift. She gets me. I started my birthday on Thursday and I plan for it to still be my birthday until Monday, when I will be staying home from work. Today is my actual birthday though. 

     Yesterday, my dance community threw me and another dance friend a birthday party. I don't remember the last time I had a birthday party. Or cake that I didn't make or buy for myself. It was incredibly fun! I danced so much my feet felt like they were going to fall off. I also got to enjoy a birthday dance. If you are not familiar with these it's when the birthday person (or persons) gets in the middle of a circle. Everyone else dances around them and people cut in to dance with the birthday person over and over until the song is over. 

      I am sure most people don't know I have been teaching dance, since I haven't posted in quite a while. But I started teaching basic salsa and basic bachata about a month ago. Our dance community is growing and it was really necessary to split the lessons. Bachata is my true love and I often tell people that. One of my students got me this bottle for my birthday. I absolutely love it!

     Travis has been coming to dance and has been joining in quite a lot more often. He will dance with me and often other people as well. He's starting to get the basic step down really well and he gets a big kick out of turns. I'm so glad he is enjoying dance and that the community has been so welcoming to him. Friday we have our coffee date and then go out dancing. It's the best day of the week!

   I bought myself Nikki Button's Haseya resin and she arrived recently. When I saw her she sort of reminded me of the Sencillo resin I used to have. They are not alike really, she just reminded me of him and I miss that resin. Now I need to find someone to paint her. I haven't bought a traditional scale resin in many years but this one needed to come live with me. Hopefully I can find a painter, I know a lot of people don't have open books, which I completely understand. 

    I got this flower from a dance friend on Valentine's Day. He had the really cool idea to give a flower to everyone he danced with that night. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago, and clearly the flower is starting to die, but it is also looking like it might bloom again. I have never seen a cut flower do this and I am interested to see if it actually keeps growing. 

     I had a very low key birthday. I was out really late last night so I was very tired today. Travis and I did go have dinner with a friend and I got to practice some dancing. Both for following and leading, which is fun. I need to know both to teach. I definitely had a good birthday. And tomorrow is my birthday, and Monday is too. Because I said so. And I am like a 5 year old when it comes to my birthday. 

Random Things

      The other day (that's relative. Sometime in the past week, maybe) I got my DAH Stone Bunny. I don't remember ordering Bunny in gloss, but she looks really good that way. So all of a sudden, I own 3 Stone horses. The mule is also a DAH and the Remington I got at the Stone store at Equilocity. I am really pleased with my small collection of Stone horses. I may buy more in the future but currently I should probably just not buy anything at all. I have been trying to get my car to pass inspection and it does, other than the e-brake broke during the inspection. Today I brought it in to be fixed and they said that I need a piece welded into the floor of the car because it's rotted (I believe that. The drains for my sunroof were clogged for a bit and the car kept flooding). So not only do I need to have a piece welded onto the car, they don't do that work at that particular shop. So I stopped by another place on the way home. They do do that kind of work but I will need to drop the car off and wait for them to have a chance to look at it, give me a quote, etc. I looked at all the sidewalks between the shop and my house and saw miles of ice. But luckily, a friend of mine can get me in the morning and bring me home. I just really hope the shop gets my car in fast and that it is a quick and inexpensive fix. I could use a financial break. Lately stuff just keeps popping up. I just want to catch my breath. 

     I was supposed to have a cooking party on Sunday, but everyone had to cancel. And the weather was absolute garbage anyway. So I made arroz con gandules for Travis and I, and sent a picture to the friends that were supposed to be part of the cooking party. This recipe made SO MUCH. And so many leftovers. I need to make this again with pernil. That sounds like an awesome idea. 

     I had a customer send me a doll recently to fix. It was actually one of the type S men dolls, but they have the same hip design as the Yvonne-type dolls. I have never had a hip pop out on the man dolls, but they do come out on the Yvonne-type dolls. And way more often than anyone should have to deal with. I can fix them, even on a dressed doll, because I know what the joint looks like, and I have done it before. But I thought this might help someone. If you have an Yvonne (or Type S guy) have a leg pop off, make sure the fabric is out of the way, so not pinching or anything, and then put the hole in the hip over the ball joint in the pelvis, push until it snaps into place (push hard, it should go on) and then move it in a bunch of different directions to make sure it is actually on. Depending on the leg this might be a short term fix, but it's not difficult once you get the feel of how to do it, and you can do it over and over. I have a couple of my dolls I had to pop the leg back on before almost every performance class they went in. These are factory flaws that are not really able to be fixed permanently. Some of these dolls also seem to develop the issue over time. 

     I have been struggling with burnout, lack of motivation (and time), as well as seasonal issues. It took me two weeks to finish a saddle seat doll. That is not a typical time frame for me at all. But I did finally get her done. Instead of immediately leaving the studio I decided to work on another project. I am going to make a casual doll, hopefully this week, and I wanted to make a coat to go with her. I made one coat for Little Elecktra years ago when she was traveling around the world, but I finally managed to make another that works. Hopefully in the next few days I will have a finished doll to go with this. 

     That's about all I have at the moment. It is day 17 of NaMoPaiMo, I don't have my horse prepped and I don't own the paint I want to use. I have a feeling it's just not going to happen for me this year. But maybe I can actually get the horse prepped at some point soon. Or for next year. We'll see what happens. 
 

January Got Away From Me

       I tried to start this post on Sunday night. But Sunday got away from me. I tried to start it Monday and Tuesday as well. But those days got away from me too. And so did the month of January, which is why the January offerings for the miniatures club didn't ship until Monday afternoon. I am incredibly sorry for the delay. Everyone will be getting a surprise in their packages. 

     Part of the month getting away from me was this doll I have been working on. This is my friend, Roshay, who has been a guest instructor at some of my dance lessons. We were having a conversation a month or so ago and I said I make dolls. Besides being a dance instructor, Roshay is an artist. He is a recording artist as well as making short videos which are incredibly creative (they involve a magic notebook that brings to life anything drawn in it. The very silly storyline is basically that he ends up living with a living stick figure). He was actually trying to find a doll that kind of looks like him about a year ago, but had no luck. So I said I had a business proposition for him. I offered to make a doll that looks kind of like him in exchange for more dance lessons. He was into the idea so I made a Tiny Roshay. Now there will be another famous doll I made out in the world. That amuses me. 

      I have missed being part of an art class at school. In between helping the kids with their art I usually work on a piece of my own. This project is birch trees. These were supposed to be rough drafts to plan out a water color painting that is the actual final project. I think that drawing birch trees might just be my new favorite thing. I actually worked on my sketch for a couple of days. This was just day one. 

     The kids have been choosing to do puzzles in the afternoons a couple of times this week. They also decided that we should do puzzles with them. So the other day I worked on this fun dog puzzle. I might bring some of my puzzles in that I got when I was doing the puzzle project back when I was teaching (I would find a link but I am feeling too lazy for that at the moment). 

     This was the second day of progress on my birch tree sketch. I'm enjoying it. Today I finished the last tree and I started working on the first steps of the painting. I really enjoy the art therapy time of the day. 

      Tomorrow we have a snow day because we are expecting several inches of snow and ice. I turned off my 5:30 alarm and I plan to sleep until I wake up. As long as it's after 5:30. I am hoping to get a chunk of doll work finished and maybe read more than I usually get to. Maybe I'll have some more things to share soon. 

1/20

     Sometimes thinking of what to write about keeps me from writing at all. Sometimes trying to think of a title for the post almost keeps me from writing a post. Today is January 20, 2025. It is my mother's birthday. I called her and wished her a happy birthday in 3 languages. Then we had a very lengthy conversation about languages, learning, teaching, dance, and all sorts of other things. I told Mom my struggles and frustrations with learning Spanish. I have been working on it for more than a year and I feel I should be a lot further along. But almost every time I try to actually speak with someone in Spanish I can't remember what I need to know to communicate, I don't know half the words they are using, or I can't think of proper sentence structure. All of that makes speaking very terrifying. Which is why I should do it more. At this point, I can read a lot in Spanish and understand most of what I am reading. As long as it's fairly basic Spanish. Sometimes I can catch a lot of what is being said, if it's not too fast or doesn't have too many words that I don't know. I know I am a lot better than I was, but it is still frustrating. I have been working very hard on learning Spanish and it seems like I haven't actually made a ton of progress. 

     Dancing however is another story. I don't dance as often as I work on Spanish, I have been dancing for only about 8 months, but I know a lot more about dance than I do Spanish. I can dance with someone, and it works for both of us. I can't even hold a basic conversation in Spanish. My next goal is to learn to lead salsa, at the very least. I have led bachata a few times, but I still want to learn more advanced things as a follower. I am not as interested in dancing salsa, and am more than happy to stay at the beginner level. But if I can learn to lead beginner salsa I can help teach it. Which will give us more dancers overall. And I want everyone to dance!

    The above photo is related to nothing. It is just a cool picture of a tree on my street. We have these insane streetlights that are almost as bright as the sun and when it is foggy, this tree looks super cool in front of the terrible street light. We had a lot of fog on Saturday night. Then it snowed Sunday night. The first snow of any significance this winter. I am hoping a lot of it will melt before I actually have to clean off my car so I can go to work tomorrow. 

    As long time blog readers know, I love makeup. It is an art that I have enjoyed for years. I don't use much makeup these days because I really don't have time, and because as I get older it is hard to find products that don't end up making me look even older. Last year I discovered IL Makiage and have enjoyed that a lot. This year I took their color match quiz again, got different results than last year, and am now testing out lighter colors and a cream (which is actually a gel) that is supposed to do amazing things to hydrate your skin. And hydrated skin will not look as wrinkly. My issue these days with foundation and concealer is it often falls into my creases, which will accentuate them and make me look older. So I am testing out a couple of products and figured out if I was going to bother with makeup I might as well take a picture so I could update my Facebook photo. For anyone that is curious, this is actually a full face of makeup, just not at all dramatic. Though I can do that too. 

     New Year's Eve I woke up with a fever and ended up skipping the dance party I was looking forward to. I spent several days on my couch because I had a fever for 3 days and then, when I was thinking I could go back to work, my fever came back. So I went to urgent care and found out I had the flu. And then Travis got sick. So I stayed home for another week so both of us could get better and so we could keep our germs to ourselves. I am very grateful for Instacart so we didn't have to go into stores while we were sick. 

     With the holiday break from school and all the days I took off to get better, and get Travis better, I was off of work for 23 days. Going back was hard. But I managed it. A week ago I tried getting back to dance and did a bit and then left, but this past Friday I was finally back to normal. Being sick is hard. And a lot of people are getting the flu. One of the kids in my class was out and another may be getting sick. We found out, when I brought Travis to urgent care, that a lot of people are getting the flu now. At least for Travis and I it wasn't horrible. I had a low fever for several days, a cough, a headache because of the cough, and weakness and body aches for a few days. The cough is still lingering a bit, but at some point it will turn back into just my regular allergy cough so I won't really know when I am 100% better. 

     I have managed to get a small amount of doll work done lately. I have the above doll finished and available for sale, another hunt seat doll I don't have photos of, I finished a couple of dolls for orders (my books are still closed but I have been saying yes to a lot of orders lately), and I am currently working on a special project for a friend of mine. 

    Being sick forced me to stop doing so much and I did a lot of resting, reading, and taking it easy. I haven't slowed down in years so it has been nice. Today, when I was on the phone with my mom, I spent a lot of time doing cleaning projects that have been somewhat neglected for a bit. It felt good to clean, even though I really do not enjoy cleaning. I do enjoy a clean house so sometimes the cleaning has to get done (my house is actually always clean. Just sometimes it's really clean). I am feeling mostly back to normal now, I enjoyed the down-time, Travis and I have had more movie nights, on top of our Friday coffee dates, and I feel fairly balanced lately. January is going by more quickly than it usually does, which means it is closer to Spring. Now if I could just think of things to talk about more often, that would be awesome.