The World of Walz

Getting bigger!

2011-09-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

This girl is getting bigger :)

We have decided on a name! YAY!

LILIA HARPER WALZ

If you love it, let me know. If you hate it, keep it to yourself :)

Happy Labor Day.

Things I Am Looking Forward To:

2011-06-24T07:51:00.000-07:00

This summer I have constantly been daydreaming of things I am looking forward to. I have decided it's time to share this list with you. SO here we go...

THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:

1. Teaching Dorsey New Tricks

2. Redecorating My Craft Room

3. Taking More Creative Photos

4. Mom Retiring From Target After TWO DECADES to Help a Sister Out

5. Starting Off 2012 With A Bang!

BABY WALZ E.D.D. 1/14/2012

Scrapbooking MVP's

2011-03-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

I just reorganized my scrapbook room and reorganized some of my albums and thought I would share some of my favorite pages. I will say most of these are REALLY old pages, but some of my favorites. ENJOY!

This is an all digital page I did with my bamboo tablet.

From Disney 2008 Trip

More Disney

Even More Disney...

Mushy Page

My 1st Thanksgiving

This one's a little depressing, but it's one of my faves.

Another all digital page.

Short Hair Girl

2011-03-17T14:20:00.001-07:00

Today I went from long hair blah to cute short hair girl :) I've never been a long hair person. Here's a terrible before to a pretty cute after.
DSC_0150 a photo by kwalz831 on Flickr.

Sewing For Baby.....Not Mine!!!

2011-03-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

I am super excited Julia finally found out the sex of her baby! Now I have an excuse to make cute things. I am not gonna lie. It's a lot harder to make cute things for boys, but this it is a forgivable offense. So here is my first project for Baby Rehder (whom I have already nick-named Tomb Rehder or Tater Rehder.)

I found the pattern for this adorable Owl Softie Teether on The Rubber Punkin blog! It was so easy and super cute. I've read several places that baby's like to chew/suck on the grosgrain ribbon. So Julia, here is the first of several creations. (If you think it is ugly I can put a squeaker in it and make it a toy for Dorsey...I've already seen him eyeing it.)

Thanks Mom and Dad!

2011-02-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

This blog post is in dedication to my mom and dad, a.k.a Marcie and DJ Tony T.

Yesterday I had an experience at work that really made me grateful for my mom and dad. Not because they fed me, clothed me, took me on semi-fun vacations (I only say "semi" because a few of those week long car trips have caused me to HATE road trips), and made sure I got good grades in school, and made me go to church, the list could go on and on. But I am grateful to them for teaching me to be a decent human being. They taught me to be respectful to adults.

Neither of my parents are from the south, but we have been here in Memphis since I was but a wee babe. My mom NEVER made me reply with a "yes ma'am" in our house, but I distinctly remember before every slumber party I ever went to my mother firmly telling me, "you better say 'yes ma'am' and 'yes sir' to so and so's parents!" And I always did!

Now I am by no means claiming that I was never a mouthy, smart alec teenager. I willingly admit that I got ISS for three days for mouthing off to my Anatomy teacher my senior year of high school. But I also, on my own accord, genuinely apologized to my teacher when I went back to class because I knew I was out of line.

On days like yesterday, I think I am being punished for those times I was a jerk in high school. I witnessed a student who is supposedly a stand-up student, top of the class, leader in our school treat me (an adult) and her fellow classmates with complete disrespect. After class I called her up and tried to talk with her about the importance of respecting people and her response to me was appalling. She treated me as if I was dirt under her shoe, as if I didn't have the right to judge her behavior.

I left that class thinking, "If I EVER acted like that towards an adult, my parents would have beat the mess out of me."

So thanks Mom and Dad. I am glad my parents cared about me enough to teach me how to behave.

Mirror Mirror On The Wall

2011-01-22T18:51:00.000-08:00

Here is a pic of my latest silhouette project. I've had this mirror on the wall for a while, so I thought I'd spruce it up a lot.

Can't believe Joe and I have been married since 2006....and it's 2011!!! Time flies when you're having fun.

In other news: My dear, sweet, beautiful, trendy, stylish, hilarious friend JULIA MOORE REHDER is going to get FAT soon because she is PREGNANT! I was so so so excited when I read her blog post announcing it. Congrats to Julia and Sloan! I have already started scouring my craft blogs to find cute baby gifts to make for you :)

OH! And the Tigers won in OT tonight against UAB. GO TIGERS GO!

Good night to all!

Quick Birthday Card

2011-01-21T10:35:00.001-08:00

Here's a quick little card I whipped up with my silhouette for my friend Charity's birthday. It was super easy! Just cut out the lace birthday cardstock shape and colored in some of the background! Loving my Christmas present. Thanks mom and dad! (Sorry for the crappy photo. Just took it with my phone really quick.)

New Job!

2011-01-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

I hope I am not writing to soon, but JOE FOUND A JOB! He is on his 3rd day of work at Twisted South Magazine. He will be doing ad sales and a little bit of everything else. He comes home happy and is really enjoying it so far. Right now he is being paid hourly for a 60 day probationary period. If things are working out at the end of that, they will talk salary.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that things stay positive. Hopefully I can cross that goal off of my list :)

I Resolve...

2011-01-03T15:07:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Do you still remember who I am? I have not updated in about 6 months (burying head in shame) Joe and I had a pretty exciting New Year. We went to bed at 8:00 pm!

2010 has been quite a year for us. So here is a recap of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Just a few highlights.

My students won Best High School Musical in the city of Memphis. Sometimes they drive me so crazy I can't stand to listen to them anymore, but I just watched this video and it reminded me how truly talented my kids are. I'm a pretty lucky teacher!
I finished my licensure program at Union University (Thank goodness. Not sure I could've taken a lot more!) I will be tenured with Shelby County Schools next year.
Joe and I Built an addition to our deck all by ourselves.
I totaled my car on 385. No more Saturn Vue. :(
I got a new-to-me car! Hello GMC Envoy!
I finally got to do another show! I played Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun at Theatre Memphis.
Our house got broken into. They stole a whole lot of stuff.
I went to the Betty Buckley concert and met SETH RUDETSKY...Oh...and Betty Buckley.
Joe graduated from The University of Memphis with a BA in Journalism with a concentration in Advertising. (If anyone wants to hire him LET US KNOW!

10. I got a brand new silhouette SD for Christmas! WOOO HOOOO!

Pretty exciting stuff. I know. BUT moving on to bigger and better things...This year I have decided to set some goals for myself. Thought I'd share them with the blogosphere.

My 2011 Resolutions

(in no particular order)

1. Make a full size quilt

2. Make a minimum of 12 scrapbook pages (in theory one per month)

3. Pay off my credit card debt

4. ~~Have a husband with a full-time job that he enjoys~~

~~and also somewhat pertains to his newly acquired degree~~

~~(hopefully I won't have to find a new husband to meet this goal~~)
Goal Met!

5. Prepare my singing time lessons ahead of time

(once again burying head in shame)

Here's to hoping I meet at least some of my goals.

Bittersweet Birthday

2010-08-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

This morning is my 24th Birthday. Started off great. Wearing a new outfit my mom bought me. Maria came to my room first thing this morning to give me my present. A picture frame with a picture of me with all of my students that came to see my show on Saturday night. I have been feeling extremely blessed lately. I have a great husband who is so good to me, and a job where my students care about me and I care so much about them. Unfortunately, as I was sitting at my desk first period, literally reading an article in the commercial appeal about the "live in" issue Shelby County Schools is facing currently, in walks one of my brightest new students with his arms full of text books. From the look on his face, I knew something was wrong. He told me, " They don't believe that I live with my grandmother so they are kicking me out of school and sending me back to Southwind." My heart sank. They can't do that! This boy in the first three and a half weeks has shown more potential to succeed than any student I have taught in 2 years. He is so smart. SO polite. So creative. So kind. He even sold his coupon books! He thanks me at the end of each lesson for teaching.

He continued to tell me the whole reason he wanted to come to Germantown was to do theatre. He had already been volunteering to work in our box office during his study hall. He has been waiting for play auditions to roll around. I am so angry and sad about this. I understand that our school is crowded. I understand that there are a lot of students that should not be enrolled here. But this is a good kid. And to lose him this morning. Really broke my heart.

Happy Birthday.

2010-06-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

Lee and Patrick

My favorite Art teacher and film and video teacher.

Allison

Some times it is wierd to think that Allison was my teacher (her first year was my senior year). She scared me alot when I was in school. Now I am the opposite of scared of her! She had helped me immensely over the past two years, not sure I will ever be able to handle my self as gracefully as she, but I aspire.

Courtney and Patrick

Courtney=the sweetest, most humble person I know.

EFB and Patrick

I certainly could not try to explain EFB in just a few sentences on a blog post. I am very grateful for this man. He taught me a lot when I was a student and has taught me even more as a teacher.

AND PATRICK

We have had some long days together! My friend, my lunch bud, my co-director the A in A&W.

I love my coworkers! My job sucks a lot some times but I am lucky to work with these people who are extremely dedicated and just darn funny! These pics are from the fine arts banquet(AKA a greuling 3 1/2 hour long evening where we give awards to all the fine arts students under the sun). By the time it is over we are all miserable, but it is nice to recognize all of the hard work our students do all year long. AND as if 3 1/2 hours wasn't enough time together, we went out for drinks afterwards!

Here's to another great year at GHS!

Coupon Crazy

2010-05-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

A week or so ago Lindsay Blain invited me to go to Natasha Scott's coupon class. Unfortunately, I had to go to the primary activity and couldn't make it. Lindsay, however, brought over a giant notebook and masses of coupons and taught me everything she learned. I have had so much fun the past week finding deals with Lindsay. It feels like I'm on a treasure hunt! haha So here is a pic of my first week of booty! Almost everything I got is pictured here except for 4 packs of plastic solo plates and cups and 2 of the OFF clip ons. I got $91.70 worth of stuff for $48.50!!! I am now obsessed and driving Joe nuts with coupons! More updates to come...Hopefully now that I'm on summer vacation I can update more at Renee's request:)

Hallowed Halls of High School

2010-03-05T07:36:00.000-08:00

While walking outside my classroom I hear all sorts of interesting conversations.

Today's hallway quote: "HE ALREADY LIKES YOU MORE, AND NOW YOU'RE DRAWING HIM PICTURES?!"

They lead a hard life...

Did you ever....

2010-03-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

Today one of my dear students randomly asked, "Mrs. Walz, did you ever go to the fair and pay three dollars to see the world's biggest rodent?"

My response, "Nope. I paid $2.50"

Oh Boy....

2010-02-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

My acting classes are working on group project presentations on American playwrights. Someone mentioned that Tennessee Williams thought he had breast cancer at one point in his life.

Unnamed student walked up to my desk and asked very quietly "Do you think female dogs can get breast cancer?"

And I was just saying I didn't have anything good to post on my blog. He later followed up with, "Or better yet, what about birds?!"

Pretty sure thats not covered in my curriculum...

New Idea!

2010-02-12T06:37:00.001-08:00

So I know I haven't been good about updating...sorry Renee :) I had an idea of short little things to post on my blog! THINGS MY STUDENTS SAY! Genius right?!

Today's question comes from a very sweet student who can be very talkative at times. We just finished watching THE PIANO LESSON by August Wilson because it is Black History Month. We watch the Hallmark movie version. The kids really enjoy it.

SO we finished the movie and said student was completing her assignment: Analyze this play using Aristotle's 6 Elements of Drama (Action, Theme, Character, Language, Music, and Spectacle) She worked all period long and then asked me what she was supposed to write for Theme. I told her to just write a few sentences telling me what the theme of the play is.

Her response :" WHAT'S A THEME?!"

Don't you think by the time you are a sophomore in high school you should have learned what THEME is?! ho hum.

Stay tuned. It's only 2nd period. I'm sure I'll have more to come!

We Got A House

2009-07-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am officially a terrible blogger but I thought I'd give it one more try. So we have been looking at houses for around a month since Obama is giving out money. We have had a few disappointments since we started. I now understand why everyone says house hunting is so stressful! We made another offer on a house yesterday and after a long day of waiting and several counter offers, our offer was ACCEPTED! Joe and I were so excited. Now my obsession with HGTV has become more serious! I finally have a house that Joe will let me PAINT! It is all so exciting and overwhelming.

So, now what you have all been waiting for.....DETAILS! It is a 3 bedroom 2 bath home, one story, it has a dining room (which I never thought I would be so excited about but I really am now!) a garage, the master bath has 2 sinks :) AND 2---count em----2 walk-in closets! We each get one! It is not the fanciest or biggest house by any means but it is a perfect first house for us. Really the only sad news is that it is not in Germantown ward :( We love the ward, but couldn't pass this house up just because of the ward. BUT on the other hand we will back in 2nd ward with my parents and the ward I grew up in :) Yay for Bishop DAD!

Here are some pictures, not the best.....just what was posted on the house listing, but a lot of you have been asking so here it is......OUR FIRST HOUSE!

Here is the front of the house! I think it is SO cute!

The living room...wood paneling...will be painted or taken down ASAP haha (any suggestions?)

The Kitchen. You can see the dining room a little bit in the 2nd pic and the "breakfast area" in the 1st pic.

The backyard. We LOVE this little deck! It has a bench that runs the whole length of it.

SO I hope you are as excited as we are!

The Biggest Loser is Drinking Parsley Smoothies

2009-06-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I am going to use the free time I have this summer to exercise more! So far so good. I have been doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred for 3 days now. Also, I was reading a magazine at my moms and found a recipe for a smoothie that sounded...interesting. I tried it this morning and it wasn't half bad. I actually drank the whole thing! SO now I'm going to share it with you!

Green Smoothie (and it literally is green....like kermit)

1 cup parsley (leaves and stems)
1/4 cup pineapple
2 tsp honey
1/4 cup fat free yogurt (I just used whatever flavor I had in the fridge)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup of water
a few ice cubes

I read online that these parsley smoothies help with gastrointestinal disorders, healthy digestion, and flatulence! This could be the answer to all of my problems! haha

Back to Scrapping...

2009-05-31T22:03:00.001-07:00

Now that schools out I finally have time to scrapbook again! I have had these pictures sitting on my desk for months and I just now got to them. This is a page I did from when we went to the Farmer's Market to pick out our pumpkin! I was so excited that Joe and I both looked cute in these pictures (that rarely happens :)) The colors are a bit off and the whole thing is crooked because my scanner isn't the greatest. Hope you enjoy!

Welcome to me brand new blog!

2009-05-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

So. I finally bit the bullet and started a blog. I was so inspired by all of my friends and family and figured, if they can do it, surely so can I! I have no idea how everyone makes their pages so stinking cute, so beware! I will be asking for blog help! My hopes for this thing are to keep everyone posted on what Joe and I are up to and maybe show off some of my scrapbooking stuff too :) So here it is. My first blog post. A day that will go down in history.