Talented

Okay! I am the first to admit that I am super clumsy. I mean it takes talent to trip over a flat surfaces and clearly I am swimming in talent, because not only can I trip over flat surfaces but I can also slip out of chairs and accidentally poke myself in the eye...with my own finger. (Seriously, I have done it before!) 

So if all of that takes talent then today I should have been receiving the Oscar award for Best Stunt Actress....except it wasn't a stunt. I wish I had had a stunt woman to replace me this morning and then she would be in pain and not me. 

What had happened was...
It was a cold, dark, and rainy morning. It had been raining for what seemed like years, yet in all actuality was only a couple of days. We were running late...of course, we were running late. What else would we be doing on a Monday morning?

Anyway, as we headed up the perilous steps intothe building. Perilous because there are many of them that are not really all that steep at all but do have varying heights which could confused some of the less coordinated individuals, such as myself, who might venture up them. Point is....they were perilous!

My oldest munchkin asked me a question and I turned to answer her. This was mistake #2. Turning head while walking never results in something good. I have known myself for 34 years now and I should know never to take my eyes off of steps when I am walking. What was mistake #1, you might ask. Walking up the stairs on a cold, dark, and rainy morning.

No sooner had I whipped my head around when I missed a step. Actually, I didn't miss it. I step on it. Well, I step on the edge and my foot slipped and I fell forward. Now this would not have been nearly as bad, had I been able to brace myself. Alas, both of my hands were full. One with a steaming hot, zebra print cup of coffee. Therefore, there was nothing to break my fall as I slammed down onto the extremely hard concrete.

Needless to say, it #&@*ing hurt!!! And I could not help the few profanities that then slipped out of my mouth. I was just thinking how thankful I was that my children were the only ones around when I looked up to see a father coming out of the building. Luckily, I think he was too distracted by the laughing coming from the group of children coming up the stairs behind me to hear.

Once I got inside I ran into my principal, who, when she saw my soaking wet clothes and my limping, informed me that I needed to fill out an accident report. So I followed her to her office where she began to write up the report. When I told her I tripped up the stairs, she started laughing. Seriously?!?!? That made it sooooooo much better!

By the end of the day, the story had made it through half of the school. I could always tell who had heard it by looking at the smile on their face as they passed me in the hallway. Hey, what can I say? I told you I was talented! Talented....with a few scrapes and bruises added in!

Embracing My Talents

I have been teaching for over 12 years. And during those 12 years I have tried everything to get out of it. There has got to be something better to do. Something that can make more money, get more respect, and have more days off! Alas, I have yet to find that "something".

What I have found is that I am quite good at teaching. I don't mean to sound cocky, but I seemed to have a knack for not only teaching but getting kids to learn. I guess it is because I do whatever I can to entertain them because when they are entertained they are engaged and when they are engaged they are enlivened and when they are enlivened they are encourage to perform to their utmost potential.

So I am finished trying to find other things to do. I will no longer try to get out of teaching to write or blog or teach Zumba or paint or opening my own store or ...whatever else I thought could get me more money, more respect, and more days off.

I am Embracing My Talents. I am going to start blogging about teaching and would love you to follow Tricks of the Trade to follow this part of my crazy, insane, but most of the time satisfying life. And if this blogging leads to something more...well...(hopefully) we will cross that bridge when we get there!

My Newest Hobby

My husband tells me all the time to try to get us out of debt. He swears with all of my hobbies and "talents" there must be something that can make us millionaires and get us out of teaching permanently. One can only dream!

Anyways...I have dabbled in writing, painting, crafts, DIY projects, couponing, more writing, party planning, song writing, blogging...you get the point. The problem is my ADHD kicks in and I lose interest in whatever project I am involved in.

So what is my latest hobby... CAKES.

I got the urge one day to bake a cake. It was my niece's birthday and I wanted to make the cake. I had never made more than a pound cake and the one time I tried to ice something it was an absolute disaster. But I wanted to try fondant.

I had no clue how to do it, but that is what Google and YouTube is for...RIGHT?!?!

I created a sleep over cake complete with a bed and four sleeping babes. I used pound cake, butter cream, and marshmallow fondant. I used Swiss Cake rolls for the little bodies and rolled fondant for their heads. I painted a piece of cardboard to make a headboard.

A week later it was my parents' birthday. No, I didn't make a grammatical error. They do, in fact, have the same birthday. So I offered to make the cake. This time was definitely better. I did much more research about fondant and the result, whereas not perfect, was too cute and oh so good. 

Next up was the Super Bowl. I stuck with the pound cake but got a little better with the fondant. 

Luckily my 7 year old daughter knew roman numerals!!






My latest creation was for a friend of mine's daughter's 3rd birthday. I used pound cake again except for this time it was homemade. I used Rice Krispie treats to make the Minnie Mouse head. It is definitely not perfect, but with my ADHD impatient self...it might be as close as I can get.