Ojo de Dios

This week I took a day or two to do a traditional Spanish craft with the elementary students.
Ojo de Dios, is Spanish for "Eye of God." They are made from yarn and sticks by native peoples of Mexico and South America. It was fun to take a day off from our curriculum and do a fun craft. It also was a quick teaching moment by singing "Cabeza, hombros, rodillas, y pies".
The student's really enjoyed themselves and were patient with me as I went around making knot after knot. I also made one as an example and then ended up making two more as well. The student's actually like me now! (lol... I think they liked me ok anyways.)
Here's the picture of the ones I made with thread instead of yarn. They took a lot longer then making them with yarn, but they look a lot better. Here's a yarn example on Etsy of a traditional Ojo de Dios. They are fairly easy to make in 15 mins. or more depending on how thick your yarn/thread is and how long you sticks are. I thought about keeping one of mine, but I think they may end up in the mail traveling back to Ohio.

If you have some free time this weekend take time to create a craft.

Home is where the Heart is

I was so excited and blessed to travel home for Ashley's wedding. I left on Wednesday Oct. 20th after school was out at 1:00. We had an early release and I was excited to get away as quickly as I could so I wouldn't have to drive unfamiliar roads in the dark. I went through Malta and then South into Billings. I had to make a few stops because my curiosity got the best of me. I ended up spending about 45 mins. in the C.M. Russel National Wildlife Refuge south of Zortman. I drove the hilly gravel roads on an auto tour route. It was absolutely beautiful but the sun made it difficult to take any pictures. Around the same area I saw signs for Elk crossing. I looked but I didn't see any. ;-( Also saw a glimpse of the Big Snowy mountains that I enjoyed driving around in when I was in the Lewistown area back in March.

 

 

I ended up driving the last hour or so to Billings in the dark and was thankful to get behind a truck so I felt ok with having to go slower.Arrived in Billings and went to Bed with an early start in the morning. I arrived at the airport around 5:00 am and had a great flight into Denver. I had over a 3 hour layover in Denver. I ended up finding a quiet place and watching a movie on my ipod. I even nodded off for a few minutes and was able to put my feet up.

I finally arrived into Dayton in the afternoon (Ohio time.) I spent some time with my family, Ben, and the Rife's on Thursday then headed into Chillicothe for the wedding on Friday. Before I left I took a few minutes to enjoy the beautiful colors around our house. The red leaves was the best because Montana doesn't have any maple trees. It was quite a bit greener than here in Montana as well. So many trees make me happy!

 

We arrived in Chillicothe on Friday afternoon. I went to the rehearsal and then the rehearsal dinner at a swanky place called The Brick. It was so great to see everyone. I got to spend some quality with Nat and Tyler, and I had some really good food. Although I had to pick some meat out of the salad it was really. Even better was my slice of pecan pie with a large dollop of whipped cream!

The wedding was on Saturday. I went to the church around 10 to get my hair done. I felt so bad for the lady who was working on the bridesmaids hair. When I walked in she took one look at my long locks and her eyes got so big. It turned out that my hair was one of the easier ones to do.

Ashley was absolutely gorgeous and the wedding was really beautiful. It had a fall/harvest theme so there was beautiful colors all around. (All the colors I miss up here in the Hi-Line.) They had this cute little video during the wedding called The Missing Piece.  It reminded me that in Christ I am already complete, I don't need a husband to complete me. After the wedding we took some pictures at the church and then went to a park take some pictures. Then the reception began. There was some dancing, toasting, laughing, and eating!!! I was SO hungry by then. I sat with my parents after the main meal, and was able to spend some time with them too.

 We left around 7:30 and drove up to Mindi's house. My parents hung out for awhile before saying their goodbyes. I had some trouble falling a sleep and was upset when my alarm went off at 4:30 Ohio time (2:30 Montana time.) Mindi took me to the airport in Dayton, and I made the journey back to Billings and then home to Lustre. I also stopped in Miles City on the way home to do some grocery shopping at Wal-Mart! I rolled into Lustre around 6:30 and was in bed by 8:00.
Overall it was an amazing weekend. I'm so glad that Ashley had me in her wedding because I had the opportunity to go home.
Last night I had parent teacher conferences. It's hard to come back from a trip and get right back in the thick of it, but I didn't really have a choice. I'm looking forward to Christmastime even more now!


Toodles.

Excitement

I have been very busy lately! The music fundraiser has begun and it's a lot of work getting the student's to do what they are supposed to do. ;-) I'm hoping that they do not procrastinate and turn in their orders on the last day but it seems like this is a very likely event. We are selling citrus fruit (oranges, mandarins, and grapefruits) and apples (Granny Smith, and Red Delicious.) For many out here in the north the fruit they purchase lasts most of the winter so a lot of people rely on it. It's a little pressure for a new teacher, but I'm managing at least at the moment.

I am so excited to get to leave this week and get a little touch of home. I'm in a wedding in Chillicothe Ohio on Saturday. It's my best college friend Ashley and I'm really excited. I also get to see my immediate family and Ben! Unfortunately I don't have enough time to really visit others or go to my church but I'm still excited to have this chance. I will leave through Billings on Thurs, and return to Billings on Sunday. It's a good 6 hour drive to Billings, so I've been working my tale off to get everything planned for this week and next so I don't have to worry about it while I'm gone.

With being so busy I've really grown to love  my little free time each day. It normally means reading a little and watching an hour program on TV. I've been watching a new show on the History Channel called IRT Deadliest Roads. The Ice Road truckers are in India driving in the Himalayas. It is absolutely crazy and entertaining. I've also been obsessed with the Discovery channels newest nature series. It's called Life. I had it on today and ended up watching the whole hour. I had to turn the TV off after seeing it was on next as well. And it's so beautiful to watch in HD! You can watch the preview here.

The Life of a Nomad

I know I'm going to get some strange looks and tilted heads on this post but bear with me. I've always been a homey individual. I love my family and I love to feel comfortable in my surroundings. Moving to a new place far away from the comforts of home and those that I love most has really challenged my thinking.  I'm not really homesick I'm just people-sick. I miss my friends and family dearly. I've picked up and moved yet my heart hasn't always necessarily followed me to Lustre. So I'm this stage in my life where I feel as though I don't really have a "home" at least in the sense that "home is where the heart is." This feeling has led me to a new sense of adventure and desire to be care free. I'm even a little less concerned about money then normal.
Instead of having the desire to be couped up in my apartment and relax, I want to leave my apartment and go experience new places and landscapes. This weekend I traveled North into Canada. I went to the city of Regina (giggle ;-) in Saskatchewan. It was a very remote and enjoyable drive and as I pulled into Regina I couldn't believe the number of people. I made the mistake of starting off at a mall, and was annoyed by the crowds. In the afternoon I ended up in the Cathedral district. Beautiful old homes and quirky boutiques, art galleries, pottery shops, and book stores. I enjoyed the pace and the sights. I also ended up in Victoria Park talking to a native from Poplar who was sharing her life story with me and never asked for money or assistance even though she was homeless. 
My hotel was nice as was the local bar where I had some wonderful pizza. I also enjoyed the large bathtub and was able to soak with some goodies I got from wonderful friends for my birthday! 
On Sunday I went shopping at Canada's Superstore to find bulk bins full of spices and aisles of ethnic cuisine. It was so much fun to walk through and look at everything. On my way back I had to stop in the middle of nowhere to make sure the ice wasn't melting too bad in the cooler. I stopped at a picnic area to find a guy sleeping by his bike. You could tell that this man either didn't have a home, or was far away from his home. 
Lately this lifestyle of living with what you can fit on your back, on a pull behind your bike, or fit into your car has interested me. It probably didn't help that when I was looking for a place for Ben to take showers in Lima I stumbled across a blog about surviving homelessness. If you have an hour or more to kill the blog is very interesting ( http://guide2homelessness.blogspot.com). I in no means would ever to be in that situation and feel sorry for those that find themselves homeless, but it made me wonder if I could live a nomadic life. I love the challenge of traveling as cheaply as I can, and still having wonderful experiences. So would anyone like to take a summer with me, my car (if it survives Montana's winter!), my tent, a pillow and blanket, and 500 dollars in my pocket and see how far we can go, how long can we travel? 
Why not experience life to the fullest. What can I fear when I know that God is in control. 
Have your own adventure this fall. Don't be afraid to try new things, and experience roughing it. Sleep in your car (or in your van :-), or take a nap in the afternoon outside or under the stars at night, and take advantage of free samples at grocery stores. Why not?!


Here are some pics from my recent travels.

 

 

sorry this one's not centered well.

 

fall foliage! (tear)

 

I love people who aren't afraid to express who they are!

A few items from my international grocery shopping trip.

Have a great night!