The last inchie of 2016!

    It is hard to believe I need to get another year's page ready to store my inchies already.  I just did that or so it seems.  This week's final word was letter.  I have to say this is one of my favorite challenges and I simply cannot miss it.  I may be late some weeks, but I won't miss it.  It is so much fun looking back on the past years and seeing the ideas I used.  I started this journey back in 2013 so I am gathering quite a few pages.  If you want a simple easy to complete challenge, one with lots of freedom to choose how you do it - check out Every Inchie Monday (see sidebar for link).  Warning though - you too could become addicted and as far as I know there is NO cure.  Here is my letter inchie and the sheet for 2016!

 
     Now time for another plea.  Last post I mentioned a coloring contest.  It ends the last day of this month and I desperately want to win that $100 gift card.  There are so many of their products I want this will hardly make a dent.  But I need help.  Votes and LOTS of votes.  You can vote once per day from now til the end of the month.  It takes about 2 or 3 minutes and is not hard.  I even promised a giveaway if I win.  Seriously, I want it that bad.  Here is the link for last post so you can see which one is mine - http://penstrokesbycathy.blogspot.com/2016/12/coloring-contest-please-vote.html.  It will have the link to vote from on that post.  Thank you for considering this!
     I hope your Christmas was as peaceful and pleasant as mine.  It has seriously been one of the best in a few years.  Last Christmas, my brother was fighting a rather nasty infection and that just didn't make for a smooth vacation.  This year we have both been healthy, weather was great (maybe too warm), and I was blessed with several nice presents.  I got a huge set of Color It pencils, a coloring book, some watercolors, and a large print journaling Bible (which I have been wanting for nearly a year).  So one can safely say with those gifts, I have done a "bit" of crafting and creating this break.  I also will be 62 in a few short days and am working on the decision to retire.  I would love to get my craft business going and have time to do that.  In all fairness, though, I do have some fears about "life after the constant focus of the classroom".  We will see.  Have a wonderful week and hugs to all of you!

Coloring contest - Please vote!

    Okay this is a shameless plea for votes.  I entered a coloring contest and would like to win - desperately!  The prize is a $100 gift card and I could make short work of that!  Here is the link to the site where you can vote once a day - www.colorit.com/fan.  I think you have to go down to the load more on the page to get mine to show up.  I got this coloring book as an early Christmas present and am having a blast with it.  I always used to enjoy coloring as a child so it is so nice to see it surface as an "adult" toy!
     I have done these three so far.  The first one is the one I entered in the contest so you will know what to look for!

The contest entry!

      Thank you so much for your help!  Mmmm?  Maybe if I win, I could actually do a give away on the blog here??!  That would be fun and something I have never done.  It's a thought!

Inchie - Ugly

What could I possibly do for this word?  This one was a puzzle.  There are a lot of things I consider "ugly", but actually are not.  So I chose words instead of an actual picture - in my opinion, really ugly words.  Words that are too common among people at times - and here lately more than ever.  Our division has caused some really ugly feelings to surface.  That makes me sad.  I pray for more peace and some beautiful words instead.

     I have to get some cards and things designed over at my cricut space.  Some of the staff have birthdays when we return, plus a couple of kid cards for birthdays.  Then I had one of my sweetheart kiddos tell me that I need to use "that cutting machine thing" and get some bookmarks made!  It cracked me up even though he was right - and so I shall!
     Have a wonderful week - filled with things of beauty if you can.  And if we don't cross paths beforehand, have a wonderful Christmas!  Hugs to you all!

A Grinning Inchie!

    This inchie is really a selfie I took of me on Friday afternoon as I got out for Christmas break!!  Yahoo for time off!

     Have a wonderful week!

Inchie - 42

     One more week of school and I will be out for Christmas!!  Yahoo!!!  (Insert wild uncontrollable shouts of joy).  This last week was wild.  The natives were more than restless.  They are all so excited.  And of course their teacher is just a teeny tiny excited . . .
     Our inchie word was "42".  Of course I thought of the baseball great Jackie Robinson.  So that inspired my inchie.

     Better close off now - I have about 5 more Christmas cards to make.  My cricut has been busy as of late.  Have a wonderful week and stay warm!  (It has gotten cold here).

Inchie - Question

     It has been an eventful week.  Some good, some . . . less than. 
     We started off the week with rain.  Much needed.  Our area is in a severe drought.  So any amount of rain is a blessing.  The winds were a bit high, which I don't really like.  But either way we had rain.  I woke up Tuesday morning about 20 minutes early to a crash like nothing I had ever heard before.  I set up to see my bedroom window have a black shadow across it.  I jumped up and Lakota started barking.  Ray and I went to the back door and there was a GIGANTIC tree covering my backyard.  It missed my house by about a foot!  No damage done here except of course for the tree.  And perhaps the momentary heart failure we all had.   We were very blessed.

     Then Wednesday morning, Ray was taking me to school and we had a flat tire in the pouring rain.  Delightful.  One of the few mornings I didn't have things laid out for the day and was counting on an early arrival!  I called the school and they sent me another ride while Ray waited on roadside assistance!  But again a blessing - the tire could be patched for considerably less than a new tire.
     I am glad to say Thursday was relatively uneventful.  Friday we took third grade to the Tivoli theater to hear the Chattanooga Boys Choir.  We were in the "nose bleed" section and climbing those stairs nearly killed me.  I couldn't breathe and got very sick.  So I sat a little lower and away from my class.  The other 2 teachers were right there.  I am sorry to say my class was horrible.  There were about 7 youngsters that really were disrespectful and not well behaved.  Needless to say, Monday morning is going to be more than unpleasant for each of them.  They already had to deal with the principal upon returning, but not with me.  My kids are usually pretty good, but have some real listening issues.  With me, they don't dare act out.  But out of sight, out of mind.
     Ahh, yes, the reason for this post!  I did do an inchie this week.  The word was question.  I suppose I had a few of my own this week.

     Have a wonderfully blessed week and take care.