Happy Memorial Day!

A little early!

I'm enjoying the weekend, getting all crafty and like that!

That's an interesting story in itself. Emily is graduating from the 8th grade next week. This being a parochial school, we have a graduation ceremony and a party afterward. This is a class of 23 kids, so all of us parental units were told we needed to volunteer to be on a committee for the graduation. For Laurel's 8th grade graduation at the parochial school they used to go to until it closed, I volunteered to make the teachers' thank you cards. But they don't have this tradition at Emily's school. And now that I am working, I simply don't have as much time to do that kind of crafting.

So I volunteered for the cake committee. I thought, "How hard can it be? You find a baker, you order a cake, pay for it, and go pick it up. Easy-peasy, lemon-squeazy!"

Well, I was not put on the cake committee, instead I was told they needed me on the graduate gift committee instead. Fine, I thought, and waited to be told what to do.

And waited. And waited. The volunteering had been done just before Christmas. Surely soon someone who tell me what I was supposed to do. Then I got an email last month from one of ther other moms in the class who said, "I understand you are the chair of the gift committee and I have an idea for the gift."

Chair? No one had said that I was in charge of this thing! Ack! Surely NOW someone would let me know what it was I was supposed to do for this!

Finally, towards the end of last month, I talked to Emily's teacher about it. She said they would be getting me a budget sometime at the beginning of May and told me some ideas for things that people had done before. One of the ideas was a movie box, i.e. movie tickets or video rental gift card, with microwave popcorn packages, candy, and maybe a can of pop. This seemed doable. I have a ton of gable boxes that would work well for that. So I waited to find out what the budget was. And waited. And waited.

Finally, last week the teacher got in contact with me. She had lots of ideas about what to do, including a picture frame that we could decorate. I told her I didn't think we had time to do anything that involved and that I really thought the movie box was a great idea. I told her about the boxes I had and that I would decorate them with the class colors and they would be nifty. She said she would price the frames and get back to me. The more I thought about it, the more I thought, "Dang it! I'm the chairperson here! I want to do movie boxes!"

So I went to the scrapbook store and bought paper that said "Class of 2011" on it plus some cardstock in the class colors. It was on this visit to the scrapbook store that I reasoned myself into an electronic die cutting machine, which my husband was told later he had bought me. (Don't you love how that works?) After all, doing 23 boxes like that would be difficult without one and I could make them really cool with die cuts. It would save me a lot of work. I had resisted, you see, buying one before this time because I could not really see a need for it. But now that I was there, with the lure of a new toy staring me in the face, it seemed that NOT buying one would not be a good choice. You can see that, can't you?

And I hadn't gotten a birthday present from Dan yet, which truth to be told I usually buy myself, then tell him what he got me. Works out well, I get what I want and he gets out of having to shop for me. WINNING!

So I bought it and a cartridge with graduation images on it and thought myself pretty clever.

But I was not so clever, because when I emailed the teacher and told her what I planned to do and showed her a picture of a gable box so she could see what I would be working with, she called me and told me she had already bought the gift, bought the picture frames plus some gift cards and that I didn't have to do anything. I had been out control freaked!

I had always thought I ranked up there pretty high in the "I had better do that if it's going to get done right" category, but the teacher apparently was giving me a run for my money. Me, the person who did the entire project for the database design class I took, just handing the two guys in my group things they could read for the presentation, becuase I just KNEW that I could do it all much better than they could. After all, I had the software and I could do the presentation manual in PageMaker and I could actually make a working model of the software in FoxPro and run it for the presentation. I knew exactly what I wanted and I did it all. And we got an A.

So I can see the teacher's side of this, i.e., she is probably freaking out because this had not been taken care of yet (but whose fault was that? Not mine!) but on the other hand, being a control freak myself, I would have done a fine job and would have stayed up late many nights in a row to make sure everything was just so. Cause that's just the way I roll, yo! But apparently she does not know me very well.

After a very short period of just blank faced astonishment (Why do we have committees if the teacher is just going to do this stuff anyway?), mixed with relief (Yay, I don't have to do that!) and consirable ire (I really think the movie box would have been better!!!) which I swallowed, I asked her if she still wanted me to do the boxes. She said, "Sure!"

THen I got to thinking...and sent her the box dimensions before I did a single thing more. And sure enough, what she had bought was not going to fit inside.

But she said she would wrap the stuff herself and I wouldn't have to worry about a thing.

I tried to return the paper. They wouldn't take it back. Here I am with $20 worth of paper that can't be returned that I would have no other use for and now what?

So since part of the gift includes a gift card, I reasoned my way into making holders for the gift cards. At least this paper will have a use and I will get reimbursed for it. Next time, though, I will know what to do.

Seriously, though, I am having fun with the machine. I would never have gotten one, likely, otherwise, so I guess I should thank the teacher for pushing me (or rather Dan!) into buying it!

The gift card holders are not done yet.  Still working on a prototype, which means I have trashed some of this paper just trying to get it right. Because, you know, it has to be just right.

And it's not yet. But it will be, oh yes, it will be....

But since you've been patient, I do have a scrapbook layout to show you:

I have continued to scrapbook this family vacation in MDS and I love how this layout turned out! This is another Pagemaps sketch. I also enjoy mightily the picture of the Boy with the Wayward Finger, showing his true personality. What a goof ball!

Well, enjoy the rest of your weekend. Ta!

Comments

[Gale Smith]

I love reading your stories! You slay me!
Gale

[janet dowell]

Great story! If you bought the cricut, do not worry! Your kids school projects will be professional!

[Mitzi Luttrull]

Good to hear from you. What a story! Congrats to your daughter on her graduation.

[Barbara]

Jan, you are too funny! I get my birthday presents the same way you do! Congratulations on Emily's graduation.

[GeryB]

Jan.. I have to confess something to you. I haven't been faithful; I have skipped reading your blog for a while.. gasp! In my defense, I am a teacher & school has been INSANELY crazy so I just haven't been doing anything enjoyable lately.

Not all teachers (myself in particular) treat parents as this one has treated you. Shame on her! And payback (hers) is a #&$@%! Karma is gonna get her!

On to BETTER things.. CONGRATS on your free trip to convention & the fun times to be had! Can I come in your suitcase?

You know, it's odd how life throws garbage at you over & over.. then I (we) get a Jan Tink treatment! ¡Mil gracias! Luv ya!

[Linda]

Jan, that is quite the story! And. . . that teacher missed out BIG TIME on having your creative talent help her out.

Now, enquirin' minds wanna know --- what cutter did you get? A Cricut???? :-)

[Linda Slattery]

I have to say, Shame on that teacher!! Gee, now why don't more parents sign up to help out at their kids schools? Just think, they could have had a Jan Tink Masterpiece! Loved this post.

[lena]

you are so much nicer than me!! I would have said ok . Than I would have made your cute little movie boxes and handed them out and they would love them more than the frames she suggestion and you would have been hero!! haha

[Gail S.]

Great story! I love your writing as well as your stamping! At least you scored on the die cut machine. Have fun.