Summer flew by

Wow, it's September already. Where did my summer go? Seems like I had all these plans to get my life in order over the summer so I didn't have to return to the teaching job I so despise, yet here I am; back to teaching.

The summer started out like normal, a couple of teaching conferences that I had to attend, but slept through. These were just as annoying as they always are. A bunch of so called "teachers" (most of the time people that haven't been a teacher for many years) telling me what I should be doing in the classroom and what "benefits the students the most". What would benefit the students the most would be for the foundation teachers (those in elementary school) to teach the students how to actually think! The students I'm dealing with now have always been told what they need to learn and been told how to do it. Most do not know how to figure anything out. I don't teach that way. I give them the very base line of what needs to happen and then make them figure it out. Do I get in trouble with parents because I make their little "darlings" think? Of course I do. Oh well. It is better for them if they actually struggle a little with thinking than just be mindless robots.

But I digress.

J and his fight partners did a couple of shows in Green River Wyoming. That was a fun little road trip. We all piled into a van and drove out there. I did the driving--if I don't, I get antsy and can get car sick. So sad because I enjoy the ability to be driven around, but have to be very careful. It was a cute little outdoor park that they held the festival at, although we did get eaten by bugs. I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to (in actuality all I got was 1), but it was fun to spend the day with friends.

FolkFestival came and went. That was...difficult this year. I love the ability to do it but this year was so full of drama that I almost quit right in the middle of it. Drama from the various teams that were there and even more drama (this time directed at me) from the festival ensemble. I designed the costumes for the ensemble again this year and my design was approved in April so I could order the dresses and make sure they were sized to everyone correctly. Once they were in, of course there was going to be one or two people who would have such a hissy fit over them that I would get the brunt of it and "how dare I put people in something that shows their shoulders?!" Yep, that was the main issue.....their shoulders were showing. Dumbest reason ever. I even told them that if they wanted a jacket, I had the exact one that would go with the design in mind and they could go buy it. Long story short, some girls did a mutiny and wore what they thought was appropriate and it looks horrible! Oh well. It is done and over with and I'm hoping that I never have to work with some of those people again.

As you can see, 1950s style halter dresses. Not even low cut. Gasp! shoulders showing.

I did have a great partner this year with Matthew, and I am very grateful for that. He and Amy were fantastic to be able to hang out with.

After that week, there was Jakob's family reunion up in the mountains' here. Since I am still working on my master's degree, a film project, and back-to-school stuff, I didn't have a lot of time to actually be up there. It was nice the couple of evenings that I went.

The film project, Hanneli & Anne, is the story of Hanneli Goslar, a friend of Anne Frank. It being a true story was interesting to film. I was brought on to do the costumes for it, but I didn't really have too much control over the look of it. There were two directors...one I've worked with before and the other I hadn't. It started out well, but by the end, the 2nd director was nitpicking and reversing every decision I made so I gave up. I'm hoping it will be a great film in the end, but I am worried that if people don't like the costume direction with everything, I'll get blamed for it and it isn't my fault! I love the 1940s and most of the stuff they were using was actually from the 1940s, but apparently it didn't fit the "look" that the 2nd director wanted (but could never articulate to me). Here are some production photos from the 1940s section (I'm not going to post photos from the "modern" section since I didn't design that because my version of modern clothing isn't what the 2nd director's version of "modern" clothing apparently was.
It was fun to be able to use some of my mom's clothing and stuff she made for me when I was little. At least I'll always have the photos of that. =)

Funny to see my childhood boat mixed in with my green wool skirt.

That blouse belonged to my grandmother.

Anne Frank's birthday party plays prominently into everything in this scene.

The blue dress here and the tan ruffly one are also from the 1940s. I think that the peachy one in the back is actually a 1960s style dress, and that explains the sweater.

The blue dress and the plaid skirt are from the 1940s.

The two ladies that are standing are wearing dresses from the 1940s. The girl in the pink is wearing a dress that my mom built for me when I was little.

And yes, they pulled all the crew into a couple of shots. I'm hoping that I'm not actually going to make the final cut of the film. I hate seeing myself on film.

I'm still working on my Master's degree. I should be finished with it by next July...and I'm kind of excited to see light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not academically minded so it is very difficult for me to do all that, but I see the benefits of it all and I'm happy to see that there are possibilities coming up to change jobs and get a schedule that is more to my liking. I am hoping that the degree will allow me to teach at a college level and then be able to work on my doctorate for a university level. I like the freedom of schedule that is available at those levels. Seems like something that I could see myself doing if I plan to continue with education as my career.

I'm also hoping that I'll be better at taking pictures that involve me. I have a lot of pictures of my cats and my yard, but very little of me and J. I hate being in front of the camera, but to be able to document my adventures would be fantastic.