socal

hello from San Diego!  These are the moments when I wish I owned a netbook or an Ipad or something.

hmm... perhaps when more companies launch tablets and drive the price down? hmmm...

the resort is beautiful (paradise point resort), but i wish the weather was warmer.

new threads

This move has been so exhausting and I'm soooo OVER IT. Good thing though, I'm now just a lazy reach away from my craft corner so there should be no excuses for new DYB♥ creations.  I shouldn't have, but I did. Look at some new materials!

colorful felt for my bunting for treasure island flea

cotton lace trim

embroidery floss! I'm excited to try/use these

so girly - so sweet

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yum mondays

I really should NOT be blogging right now. With a few more loose ends to clear, clean and tie up at the beachhouse and a junk service scheduled for pickup...
eh whatever!
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how about a new segment? sure.

I've always had the biggest most ridiculous sweet tooth on earth. I have been known and seen eating ice cream and cake for breakfast and even taken "just one more bite" after I've brushed my teeth.  So here is a new segment "yum.mondays" where I will showcase a sweet treat or two.

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As many of you know- gourmet cupcakes have been the rage lately.  And being in San Francisco- there is no shortage of these delicious little sugar shops. This week's sweet treat is from That Takes the Cake.

 3 gentleman prefer red (red velvet)

1 cherry blossom (green tea with lychee frosting)

1 school days (classic yellow with PB&J filling)

1 what competition (chocolate with caramel filling)

my favorite

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I really enjoy cupcakes from TTTC. Nestled at the end of Union street, its a cute and quaint little shop. I was first introduced to these cuppycakes at my previous preschool for a kids birthday party.  The mom ordered a whole bunch of mini-cupcakes (about 2 bites) and I fell in love with how moist and flavorful the red velvet were.  Okay I admit that it took me only 1 bite but that was because they're so delicious!  I've been a fan of TTTC since.  They only thing I don't "like" is the menu, they don't offer a deal for a 1/2 dozen.  So it's up to your discretion whether you want to sample a few or take a plunge and buy a dozen. I restrained myself this time.
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That Takes the Cake
2271 Union Street, San Francisco
Tel: 415.567.8050
Hours: Tues - Sat: 11-7, Sun: 12-6

one fish, two fish, red fish...

there's other fish in the sea... in this case however, same fish, larger tank.. so it feels like the sea?

anyway- you get me.

So room 6 was the lucky winner from my mom's never ending obsession with de-cluttering the basement.  I got a 18 gallon tank years ago when I had the inkling to own angel fishes- but it never happened so the tank sat in the garage and collected dust for about 7 years.  An oopsies happened one afternoon, and all the fishes in room 6 landed in the class library! (they were all rescued and okay) and lived in a glass bowl for a good while. What a perfect coincidence right?! I dug through the storage room and thankfully the tank was intact albeit really dusty. Take a looksy:

can you say UPGRADE?!

"do you think the fish will like their new home?"

"yes! now they have a bigger yard to play in ms. annie!"

I carefully scooped out one fish at a time and allowed the children to observe

in you go!

as each fish was released the kids said "welcome home!"

and of course for ECERS- everything must be labled

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I'm so happy the tank worked out.  I was afraid that it wouldn't because its such a tall and narrow tank so it wouldn't have been safe in the science center on top of the shelves- so I placed it on the counter by the windows instead.  I even went to the local fish store in hopes of getting new tropical fish to add more color and vibrancy to the tank but the worker was just trying too hard to make me buy an elaborate set up (he insisted that I MUST have air/heat/filtration for the tank or the only fish I could have was ONE GOLDFISH). I left bummed that perhaps the tank would not work (because it was no where near an outlet and I did not want to run an extension cord across the room/counter). So I took the risk and gave the fishes a happy mansion to frolic in anyway. I felt confident enough that it would be fine since the tank was at room temp most of the day and there was enough plants living in the water to supply oxygen). They seem pretty happy and adjusted to me! As for filtration, I might go and get one of those vacuum sucker fishes to handle that problem..

cwazy

Miss a few days of blogging and catching up on my blog-roll dashboard and I feel completely out of the loop! Goodness- I didn't think it would come to this.

=P

DYB♥'s craft corner has alas turned into craft chaos central. David and I crammed our necessities and threw clothes on top of any available surface. A few more car loads, dust will have a chance to settle and I can resume to some normalcy. With a preschool fundraiser (donation from DYB) and the Treasure Island Flea (first craft booth!) coming up real soon, I need to get moving out of the way and focus my energy on creativity and build on inventory.  

By the way- the mustashes sold the other day! I'm pretty excited and I hope the buyer will enjoy them.

DYB♥ will also get a new look soon.  Cindy from DESIGN3RD has been busy creating new business cards and banners for the website and buttons for my blog. She's amazing and I highly recommend her for your blog/site needs. Stay tuned for a sneak peek!

somewhere over the rain...bow

With everything that has been going on, the ugly drizzly San Francisco weather hasn't been able to cheer my mood. But in the midst of it all, I was reminded that eventually, inevitably, everything will be okay.

I was headed back to the "beach-house" to change for work (my body is at my temp home but my clothes are all at the place near the beach)... and I came upon a beautiful rainbow over the shore. I pulled over a few times and tried to snap the picturesque scene from the window- finally I just parked and stepped out.

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There is so much static noise around me right now- I need to remind myself to just tackle one thing at a time. How do you deal with stress and interruption?

ocean beach

I try to jog every morning before work. Living a few blocks away from the beach is definitely a plus and I'm sure going to miss if after I move.  I always regret not taking my camera with me because there's always something unusual or beautiful that catches me eye. Out of necessity (my ipod died), I brought my phone out one day and snapped these while jamming on Pandora (BEST thing ever! btw):

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Ocean Beach is so vast, powerful and mysterious. Unlike a "typical" beach though, the water is really cold and frigid and the beach isn't the prettiest.. so if you're imagining a bunch of California girls tanning it up- dream on. We DO have a lot of surfers that dare to conquer the waves though... but unfortunately, because of the water temperature- they are completely suited up. With San Francisco's infamous weather, we only see hoards of beach-goers when the mercury rises. These blogs are GREAT:  The Richmond District Blog & The Ocean Beach Bulletin. There you can get daily updates, photos and stories about Ocean Beach and the residents that live near it.

Case in point:

photo/story of Playland

Heron at Stow Lake

King Philips Shipwreck (can be seen from Noriega during low tide)

Great Highway at night

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i love Ocean Beach

simmer down

On the verge of another move (three times in 2 years!) I've been really stressed and short-tempered. please excuse me if you happen to be at the wrong place and the wrong time!  Poor david's been on the receiving end too and I feel pretty bad. Apologies will ensue I promise.

pinky swear.

So why the stress? Well, I just loathe moving. And I always feel like I have to plan and sort everything out. With the 3rd move- its also difficult to really build a "home" and settle in when I never know if I will stay put long enough for that feeling to develop.  Worse yet, this move is only temporary until David and I move AGAIN to a more permanent spot.  yeah. 4 moves in 2 years!

counting back from 10-1 ...

So I sat on the couch for a moment to let it all sink in and I flipped to the Discovery Channel (with collaboration of BBC). Whoa. Their new series Human Planet is amazing! I really had to mentally shut down and shut up my own lingering anxiety and stress down when I watched the daily struggles & accomplishments of people around the world just to survive:

 

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Isn't it so unbelievably beautiful and amazing? A good friend of mine calls many of our issues and stresses "first world problems" and I agree. 

drdp's and parent teacher conferences

It's time for spring assessments and parent-teacher conferences!  This is my second time doing them and it's been a lot less stressful as imagined.

The DRDP consists of 43 measures and you must provide evidence for each measure either with photos, samples of work or with comments such as dictation (what the child says). As you can imagine, it can be VERY tedious and exhausting.  Because I'm sharing the class however, I don't have the full load of 24 reports.  yay!

I'm trying to crank them out asap and finish all the conferences before I leave on vacation.

I really enjoy meeting and talking to the parents of my students. It's a nice way to ease their anxiety and let them know that their child is "on track" and/is improving.  I like to start off with their thoughts and how they feel about the class and the program and then talk about the accomplishments of their child.  As with teaching, you don't want to emphasize on the negative- rather, you give positive praise and encouragement and discuss what needs to be improved.

here is what the DRDP looks like:

and here is the form I use for a meeting

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If you actually click on the photos and read the print- it's really interesting and fascinating to look at the developmental measures a child is being assessed on. A lot of people have opposing views about preschool and prek.  Some people think it's just fun and games and babysitting whereas others stress on learning the ABCs and 123s.  A well rounded preschool program should embrace the child as a whole and nurture their development and prepare them to become lifelong learners.

playdate at pastrypixels

So my long time bff laura who manages pastrypixels invited my mommy and i to play in her kitchen.
please check out her blog!

... the truth is- my mom's been bugging me to bug laura to teach her how to make&bake cupcakes. A weekend finally worked out and laura taught my mom how to make banana raisin bread and dark chocolate coffee cupcakes with marshmallow whip! She's probably wondering why I'm making up names for her goodies. haha.

 mom was a pretty good student!

banana raisin with whiskey glaze

dark chocolate & coffee with marshmallow whip

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Yes. I'm pretty fortunate to have a best friend as a sweet chef (as opposed to savory chef)- because of her, I am now addicted to macarons as well. And believe you me, I never turn down any samples or rejects!

stash bash

in my previous post- I went ahead and made some stashes-on-a-stick.

aren't they absolutely ridiculously hilarious?

It was on a whim that I decided to make them since everyone and everything has a stache on it now.





I stuck them in a colorful pail and they immediately added some charm and whimsy to my craft/corner. I think I will create more and use them as a display for my booth at the first annual Treasure Island Flea.

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new earring/jewelry displays

I've always loved making earring holders- those of you who went to college with me probably have my "vintage/antique" ones hanging on your wall somewhere. haha.

I tested out a newer, more modern and polished earring display for the DFES fundraiser- and it was a success! Many people thought it was adorable and I recently got a sale from my  shop.

Here are some new additions to 

 

I think they're so fun and cute! Its a great way to add some POP of color to your vanity and treat your jewelry like art. If it's displayed, there's a higher chance that you will wear them as well. Typically people just tuck them away into drawers and boxes and you forget about all your little treasures for your wardrobe.

Hocus Pocus POOF!*

As mentioned, I had a magician come to room 6 today! This all came to be because I wanted a magician to come into the class to talk about his/her "magic hat" for our Hat Project.

Perry The Magician was absolutely wonderful and his show captivated the young children from start to finish! Some of the other teachers and I were worried because the kids had little to no knowledge/experience as to what "magic" was.  But we are sure that they know now!

He talked about the "magician's top hat" for a brief moment and then performed a show for about 20 minutes. Many of parents were so happy watching their kids enjoy such a fantastical treat.   It really melted my heart to see how happy they were as well.

Here he is with the opener, making the kids laugh hysterically as he made the green scarf disappear first with "failed" tricks and then the real disappearing act!

To be honest- I am still flabbergasted at that stuff...

  His Magician's Top Hat

His act was so entertaining! The kids were active participants through out the show and Perry knew how to scale his words and performance so that they can understand and appreciate the wonder of magic.

This was his finale where he had an audience member come up and rip tissue up into pieces... and then TAH DAH! Yards of colored paper streamed out from his mouth!

Needless to say, everyone was speechless and amazed.

We will actually see Magician Perry again in a month- the director was so pleased that she invited him back for our carnival and graduation!  Perry is also an expert balloon twister- I can't wait to see his work... I'm already thinking of what I want!




New vocabulary: magic, magician, trick, hocus pocus, disappear

"disappear" was hard to explain but I think they got it. Case in point: A teacher walks out of the room...
child- LOOK! Ms.Blahblah DISAPPEARED!
me- what do you mean?
child- She's gone now! She went away.

lol! kids say the darnedest things!

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I  love these pictures! They are all having such a good time!

bubble bash

I've been pretty curious about these bubble paint colors from discount school supply for a good while now... and a great thing about teaching is you can always improvise and create your own! So that is what I did for the past two days.  I wanted to extend the bubble party from the yard during recess into the classroom.

I simply made bubble solution and then added liquid watercolor into the mix and then plopped a bubble wand into each color.

The kids went to town and I sat back and tried really hard not to worry over the mess they were making (from a teachers POV, I don't really mind the mess but I know parents cringe at their kids clothes at the end of each day).

They made it look so fun, I ended up getting messy myself.

 

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