Love, Life and Everything

      So, I've started setting my intentions for the new year on the winter solstice, since traditionally, in so many cultures across the world, the winter solstice was the new year. I'm no longer calling them New Year's resolutions, but rather intentions because we've totally misconstrued the word resolution and made it into the absolute thing that must happen. The word actually comes from the Latin word "resolvere" which means to loosen or release. So, if my resolution is to let go of the negativity of the past year, then, essentially, I would be using the word correctly. But, intentions are a little different. They are a way to set things into motion. They are an energetic manifestation of your thoughts. The law of physics tells us that an object in motion must stay in motion unless an outside force stops it. This is the same with energy, and eventually, energy gains momentum. This is why the power of thoughts is so strong and why we are told to w

    October is also dyslexia awareness month, and this is also something I can talk a LOT about.  Not only am I a certified dyslexia teacher, I'm also mildly dyslexic.  Though I didn't find this out until I was already out of college and had my first classroom job as an educational assistant.  It's estimated that dyslexia makes up 10-20% of the entire world population.  It's not a sudden occurrence, it's always been here, and it's not a disability per say, it's only considered that because we are living in a text heavy world.  We never knew about it before because reading and writing is a newer invention in our human existence.  The brain that causes dyslexia variance has always been there, but initially, reading and writing was only reserved for the elite, and not the general public, so we had no way of knowing it was there until suddenly, a whole bunch of kids couldn't learn to read.  It's a normal and very real variance of the brain.  So, I'm

  October is ADHD/ADD awareness month.  This month, I will be discussing my own experience with it, both personally and as a teacher seeing it in other children and coworkers. I've always been a disorganized space cadet, known for daydreaming in class, and getting punished for a messy desk and messy handwriting.  I was always off in my own world and had trouble turning in assignments on time in elementary school.  I was never hyperactive.  In fact, I was considered sleepy and lazy, far from the kid who usually gets an ADHD/ADD diagnosis.  But, my thoughts ran wild constantly.  As I got older, I learned to adapt, but I was always procrastinating and screeching in at the last second for any appointment, assignment, etc. And, I'm still incredibly disorganized.  It's not because I want to be disorganized.  I actually hate being disorganized, but I can't stay organized.  It just "happens." I know it really doesn't just happen, but it feels that way because I ta

  If you're not already aware, I recently published my first book.  But, more than that, I had my first book signing at the local library.  I was incredibly nervous, but it went quite well.  I never thought I would ever get to this point of actually having the book published.  But here I am, with a promise that I'll have the 2nd one published by next June. Can I do it?  Yes, I actually think I can this time.  I've made a commitment, my book was well received, and even though I'm busy with my job, raising my son, and getting a property ready to live on, I'm on a roll and have strong momentum going right now.  If you haven't checked it out yet, here's the link to my book.  https://www.amazon.com/Enchanted-Ones-Greater-Good-ebook/dp/B0B4KVNH4S

So, remember when I said the siding on the front wasn't quite even and that it wouldn't be noticeable when the trim went up?  Tada!  No evidence of crooked or uneven siding.  For me, when the trim went up, I couldn't stop smiling.  It was finally starting to look like something other than some wood cobbled together with our blood, sweat, and tears. Everything looks even After putting up the trim, we had to caulk all the edges places where we misnailed, places where parts of wood splintered off, etc., so there were no gaps and everything looked seamless before we could paint.  But, it was well worth the effort. And it turned out beautiful.  I can't stress how much I love this tiny little building and the pride I have from knowing we built this ourselves.  Stay tuned for finishing the interior and getting the electric and internet installed. 

The roof... let me just start by saying this was by far the hardest part of the whole build, and we had to call in reinforcements because at this point, Brandon wasn't feeling very well, and couldn't be up on a ladder.  And while I had experience hammering shingles on roofs (thank you grandpa for making your grandchildren climb up on the garage roof and hammer in shingles until we couldn't anymore), metal roofs are a whole different ballgame.  For some reason, Brandon decided to put the ceiling in before we were ready to put the roof on.  This wouldn't have been an issue, except that it rained, and it rained a lot before we had anything on the roof.  So, some of those really nice pieces of the ceiling got ruined from the rain.  Fortunately, we were able to get more, and replace them AFTER we got the roof on.  When we were ready to start putting the roof on, we packed foam block insulation into the attic area.  Oh, we also had reflective paper on the ceiling.  I should n

After we got the trusses up, we started putting up the siding.  We wrapped the side of the shed we were working on with house wrap first to create a vapor barrier, then we put up the paneling.  The winds of northern New Mexico don't make this easy, that's why we chose to only put wrap up on one side at a time so that the winds didn't rip a hole through it.  Putting up the siding was a lot of fun, it was hard, but the way those pieces fit together with the tongue and groove system was so satisfying. Chris found every opportunity to rest in the shade. Being a teenager is hardwork. I love this shed The windows have to go in before the siding goes on, so after we put the house wrap on, we had to cut out a hole for the window and carefully insert it. This ended up being tricky because we had to get the window just right, and then get the cut out on the siding just right. We did end up using more than one panel due to an error on our part.  Fortunately, we had extras.  We also ha