I guess I never realized how much of a break I needed until I had the time to just do nothing... Yes. I mean Spring Break. We were off the end of the day, Friday, March 5th through Sunday, March 14th. I spent the time doing nothing, hanging with friends, and just relaxing. I spent Friday night just really doing nothing and relaxing. Saturday I hung out with my friend Kathleen at Servatii's for, like, 3 hours. It's just awesome to sit and talk and forget the time passing. So much fun... :) I also saw "Cop Out" with my boyfriend- so hilarious! I had too much fun with that day.

My parents have decided that we are moving this year from our Cape Cop to a Condo. They have decided this is the last move they will ever make and they want to find the most perfect condo they can find. This will be the home they will retire in, raise grandkids in (*knock on wood*), and forever live in. :) So we have been spending a lot of Sundays condo shopping around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. I have found two floor plans in two neighborhoods that I like the best so far and my mom agrees with me. I hope we can find something in those two places. That worst part of home shopping is that you start picturing yourself in places and I've already started to do that. It makes it hard to not want one place so much and then be disappointed when it doesn't work. But it's really wherever my parents really feel the most comfortable. But my mom says that our house will go on the market right about Easter so we have only about two weeks to really make over our house. Oh the joy. Not. :)

Monday and Wednesday I got to work at Oakdale Elementary in my practicum placement for my special ed. course and it's going good so far. I'm getting quite a few hours done and I'm about half way there I think. So it was nice to pick up a few more hours and not have to worry about classes as well. Then I came home from working in the classroom and I worked on the house. My mom gave me a huge list of things to do in the house and most of it was painting so I got a few major painting projects out of the way. I never realized how dingy some of the doors and door frames were until I painted them a crisp white again. :D It was kinda fun donning paint clothes, turning up the radio, and painting away. Immediate gratification really helps too. :)

On Tuesday I got to have lunch with my boyfriend at a Chinese restaurant and then we went to Hobby Lobby and ended up doing an art project together. My mom is always looking for new art projects for her classroom so we were testing out a new idea I had for her class. They're paper birds that are rolled into circled and nestled into each other. I attached a picture at the bottom. It ended up working really well in the classroom too. :) I was so excited and they are so cute and easy to make! I even got to help in my mom's classroom on Thursday so that I could help make them with the kids in her class. I had so much fun watching them come to life too. :) I also got to see the midnight showing of "Green Zone" on Thursday night and I thought that it was a good movie. :)

Friday I got to go to UD to visit my friend Kathleen and we spent a lot of time together so that was a great time. :) I came home on Saturday and I was able to hang out with another friend Nicole on Saturday night. We hung out most of Sunday morning together and then she went home but I had to move my stuff back to the dorms too.

On Sunday afternoon, I got to go to the Ringley Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus!!! I went with my boyfriend and we saw tigers, elephants, dogs, zebras, horses, clowns, magicians, high flyers, tight rope walkers, and so many funny antics and schemes and shenanigans! It was awesome! I haven't been in so long that I was like a little kid when I was there! I even got cotton candy... :D Then we went to dinner with my parents and my brother at Quaker Steak and Lube in Milford. Great food there. They even gave us twizzlers after we were finished eating. I thought that was a really unique way to do things. :) But unfortunately I don't like twizzlers so I gave it to my brother. :) And then I had to return to sad reality back at school. So sad... :(

But all the time that I got off was much more needed than I thought. We also lost that one hour when our clocks sprung forward on Sunday morning. It's strange, but I seem to feel as if losing that one hour is kicking my butt. I never once had jet lag when I traveled those 8 weeks last summer but this one hour jump just has me all mixed up. I hate it. :( Hopefully this week will be fine and I'll get back on my feet but I don't know just yet. I can't believe it's only Tuesday. Ahh! I want it to be Friday already!

            I work at St. Joseph School, downtown Cincinnati, through the work study program here at the College of Mount St. Joseph.  I chose to go to St. Joe’s for this AED 210 (Art Experiences for Children) class assignment because I love our art teacher Elaine Hoblik and I wanted to see how she handled her classroom.  When I arrived at school at 7:00 this morning Mrs. Hoblik was downstairs in the cafeteria greeting and monitoring the students as they arrived off the bus or with parents.  As they waited for their teachers to come and pick them up the students chatted happily with one another and visited with friends.  A small group of kindergarten students came up to Mrs. Hoblik and I and excitedly asked their teacher if they were going to be continuing work on their abstract pieces from the previous day.  It was great to see how excited they were about their work and their excitement really piqued my interest in just what it was that they were working on.

            After morning duty the students are picked up by their teachers and Mrs. Hoblik and I could go upstairs to her classroom and talk briefly about what the classes were working on, what they had already done with the lesson and where they would be going with their final pieces.  Mrs. Hoblik told me that they were doing a unit on abstract art and on thinking outside the box.  She is doing the same assignment with grades K-3 and her daily schedule works out nicely to where she has all grade levels consecutively throughout the day on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s.  I got to see the Kindergarten, First and Second Grade classes.  The children had all gotten their paper the previous day and had drawn their lines.  The lines all had to be moving lines, in other words none of them were allowed to be straight.  Some lines would be crossing each other and some would even run off the page.  When you had your lines down then you were supposed to color in the sections made by the lines.  Whenever two lines crossed each other they were instructed to change the color of the crayon they were using so that there were never two of the same colors together.

            Most of the students were still coloring and Mrs. Hoblik doesn’t tell the students where their projects are going to encourage more creativity so that’s when I asked her what the final outcome was going to be.  She told me that she would be blending this abstract unit with a weaving unit for Easter.  These abstract coloring pages would be cut up in the shape of Easter Eggs and those eggs would then be placed in baskets that the students were going to weave out of construction paper and assemble themselves.  I thought it was a very cute assignment that nicely put together two units of art and a lot of creativity on the student’s behalves as well.

            St. Joseph just continues to influence my views on my future career in more ways than I could have ever possibly imagined.  All of my experiences at the school have taught me something about how I will handle my future classrooms.  I hope to get the opportunity to either teach some art classes or integrate art into my general classes and what I saw today with the overall way Mrs. Hoblik handled her room will help me with those future situations.  While most of what I saw was definitely positive there were some things that I would have done differently had I been running the class.  Mrs. Hoblik would go to a particular student and take their hand in hers and draw the lines on their paper, she sometimes even colored or drew right on a student’s artwork and I didn’t like that.  I don’t think I would ever draw on a student’s artwork.  Another thing that I thought I would handle differently than Mrs. Hoblik was the way she handled the kids’ questions on why they weren’t allowed to have any straight lines, I feel like she didn’t answer their questions in an appropriate manner.  Overall, however, this experience was fun and it will definitely be beneficial to me in my future career.

finally! brian, my boyfriend that i love so much, is finally 21 years old. so what did i do last night at midnight? i provided him with a classy duct tape outfit. yes. you read that correctly. i didn't make a typo. brian is wearing an outfit today made of duct tape. this includes a vest, a wallet, a belt, a sash, and tie. i would have made more including shoes and hat, but i'm no professional. it took about three hours to make these lovely pieces. it started with a trip to the store to purchase nine rolls of a variety of colors of duct tape and ruled out to be $38.50. i got back to school and brian was already anxious to hang out but what would he be doing while i'm making this the whole time.....sitting there.... with his eyes closed. i wasn't going to let him see it until midnight when it was complete. and have you ever peeled a strip of duct tape from a roll to cut it off? its not quiet. so of course i made him wait. during this long wait, my lovely neighbor, stephanie, was a dear and helped me make the wonderful vest that he's wearing today. oh yea - did i mention that he is wearing this ALL DAY! he's been informed that he needs to wear this all day during classes and later tonight when we go out to celebrate it the legal way...

here is a look of the final piece. There is a pocket on the vest that has been added since then that holds a marker. this way he can have signatures added to the lovely fashionable vest alllll dayyy long!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN!! I LOVE YOU!!

well i can't pass up this opportunity - since its for the southside where this Irish girl is proudly from.

I saw the news yesterday and got so excited because its just one other thing to consider for a post-graduate option in this horrible economy. Plus the fact, people deserve to see what the real southside of Chicago is like, not like the Jersey Shore where only one of those single cast members is actually from the state of New Jersey. Those are fake portrayals of the Jersey Shore life and I don't wany anyone getting a fake idea of real Southside life. So what happened when I heard of this fabulous news? I tried out of course! In less than 24 hours I put together a few pictures of my life as a southside girl and gave a brief bio of myself as a true Chicago SouthSide Irish Woman. here it is:::

As a real Chicago southsider, I am proud to say that I do not obsess with dressing up and tanning and working out. I live the real southside life and proudly drink as an Irish girl in her early twenties wanting to have fun with life.

My name is Siobhan Ryan. I'm currently in my last semester of college and prepared to graduate with a Bachelors in Art. I was raised on the South Side of Chicago in a truly Irish family with many Irish traditions. My siblings' names are Mavourneen, Deirdre, Conor, and Liam. I am 21 years old and enjoy the real Western Avenue as much as anyone else does but enjoy it the right way as an Irish woman.

My sister and I both worked at Village Video.

The attitudes of Jersey Shore are not like what I experienced when I visited my boyfriend, a true native. It's true that they don't pump their own gas, but they don't pump fists. They love being outside with family and friends.

As a very-near-future college graduate I have considered many options for my future, including doing a year or more of service. I have been active in Habitat for Humanity for three proud years now and would love to broaden my experience with dedicating service to others.

The only tattoos I've ever considered getting are a Celtic Cross I designed on my back or a shamrock on my ankle with my sisters.

How about getting some more background of my life? My entire family has lived the Chicago life and we can truly represent the Chicago culture, especially the southside. We consist of the Ryans, the Conways, the Maloneys, and the O'Sheas. We celebrate St. Patrick's Day the right way wearing as much green as possible and drinking as much green beer as possible, starting in the morning. We eat true Irish soda bread and Corn Beef and Cabbage. My father used to work for Beverly Bank and Mt. Carmel. Him and my brothers are each alum of Mt. Carmel. My mother worked for McAuley and each of us kids have been to St. Barnabas and Sutherland. We are true Irish Catholics. I've marched with St. Rita in the st. patty's day parade. I've watched the 4th of July fireworks from Beverly Park before celebrating my birthday the next day.

I love running in to old classmates on Western Ave, even family members who only live a block away. My sister is marrying an O'Shea who grew up only a block away from us at 103rd and Western and my cousins only live further down that same block.

I have long dark hair and blue eyes. I'm tall with size 6 feet. I'm not skinny but I'm healthy. I don't run but I love to run around with kids.

A friend of my father is the owner of a bar, Rosie O'Boyle, and had interviewed my boyfriend asking every question that is essential to the Chicago SouthSide lifestyle. Unfortunately he's Italian but he's got the right head on his shoulders.

So why should I be on this show? What makes me different than any southsider? I'm real. But I'm unique. I don't bring attention to myself by dolling myself up every night and drinking my life away. Rather, I take the initiative to have relationships with my friends and family and I'm not afraid to take on a challenge and make the next big step in my life.

I'm not perfect.(and neither is this audition material) I make mistakes. But I learn from them.

so for any of you that have not experienced Chicago life, I hope this was beneficial to you. If and when this new show reality show comes out I hope it DOES show the REAL southside life and doesn't mislead you to think we're really like the jersey shore cast. but of course you can't really experience it until you visist for yourself!

I feel like a hippie just writing that title: Flowers, Hugs, and Kisses. Doesn't it sound like something that would happen in the 70s or something? lol :P

Random acts of kindness seem to be a continuous theme recently. Such as in the Olympics. Joannie Rochette won bronze for womens singles ice skating on Thursday night after she did her long program but she did her short program on Tuesday night. But her mother passed away suddenly from a heart attack on Monday. And yet Joannie skated anyway. She considered a tribute to her mother to skate regardless and it was what her mother would want her to do. And throughout this entire ordeal, she has been receiving all kinds of support, help, and sympathy for her loss. She was, in the end, even elected by the rest of her delegation to carry the flag for Canada in the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

Another moment has been the earthquake in Haiti and the enormous amount support the world has shown them in this tragedy. Water, food, and supplies have been pouring in from everywhere along with countless volunteers trying to help this devastated country. And now Chile has been hit been by a 8.8 earthquake- one of the worst in recorded history- and tsunami I'm sure they will receive even more support. These acts of kindness are amazing and so touching.

And even the tiniest things that only matter for one person is important. For example, my roommate Maria. She is a nursing student and has to be up at 5:30 AM so she can get to the hospital by 7 AM until 3 PM. And since Sam is still sleeping, and so am I, we set a chair in the hallway for her so she can sit while she eats her breakfast. It may not be much, but if you have to be up that early and really don't want to, sitting is much more appreciated than standing. It's always the little things that count. Speaking of that as well, my boyfriend brought me carnations (the flowers) and a bag of Hershey's Hugs (white chocolate) and Kisses (regular) just randomly. He said it was because the day ended in 'y.' How cute is that? And what a way to end the weekend!? :P

Random acts of kindness and ones that are the simplest and most helpful are the ones I appreciate the most. Life is full of them if you pay close enough attention... :)

So this week has been quite an eventful one the country hasn't it? I heard on the news that 49 out of the 50 United States received some amount of snow in one way or another this week. Hawaii was the only one who didn't. I read somewhere that DC had, what, 39 inches of snow? My uncle who lives in the middle of Penn. said they got 27 inches on one day! And one cousin who goes to school in Maryland near DC said they ended up getting a snow week instead of a snow day! They had Friday the 5th off for the first wave and then just proceeded to get one day after another the next week until his school just shut down for the rest of the week! A pre-spring break break. Geez.... :)

Let's see, we had school last Friday but classes on Saturday were cancelled which, unfortunately, didn't benefit me at all but it was nice for those students who do dread Saturday classes. Then Monday we all crossed our fingers for snow and get a snow day and fortunately enough we did! Then Wednesday we weren't sure what would happen but we did get a delay until Noon so I got to miss four classes over that period and one practicum opportunity. Once we did get out onto the roads, they really weren't that bad and I was happy that we got a small break nonetheless.

Of course that meant bright and early on Thursday morning I had to get back into the swing of things and actually make an effort to try to get back to normal. Hard to do when you sat around doing nothing for almost 48 hours straight. I can only imagine how my cousin feels on his snow week. I also heard that we are supposed to get another 2-4 inches on Sunday night into Monday morning so maybe another snow day...? :) Wouldn't that just screw everything up. Most places are closed on Monday already for Presidents' Day but the Mount will be open for classes and whatnot so if we do get a snow day that'll benefit us but no one else really. lol :)

I started my practicum last Monday, before all the snow, and I had a great first experience there but then they had no school on Wednesday and they have no school for the holiday on Monday so I'm missing another two opportunities to go so I'm not sure at this rate if I'll get in my 50 hours or not. I'm sure I can find other times and dates to go but Mondays and Wednesdays just work best. But we'll see... It's just hard to have a routine down, get something introduced, then have weather interrupt everything everywhere, and then trying to get back into it. I really don't like. If the federal government can get a snow day, shouldn't the whole country get off as well? Thank you Ellen for that comment. :) Love that show! lol

But we have our Mid Semester break on this coming Friday and that'll be nice to have a scheduled break, not that we really need it considering the break we just had in the middle of the week. We'll see how it goes though. :) I really want to go visit a friend at UD either that weekend or the next when she has her mid break but I'm not sure when it'll work out, if it does at all. But I hope so. :)

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, or as Sam calls it "Singles Awareness Day." lol That's just when we need to put all the singles together and then they won't be single anymore! lol The guy I've been seeing has something planned that day for us but he won't tell me what it is so I'm in for a surprise. I'm not really into surprises so I'm not sure how I'll react. lol But to you all, Happy Valentine's Day in advance. :) Hope its a fun pink and white day! <3

having a snow day did end up turning in to me being sick so my week hasn't exactly been as productive as i'd prefer. however, today as the beginning of my weekend, i've read a lot of www.mlia.com pots and they have definitely given me some interesting ideas of how we college students can bring out the kid again whenever we're snowed in: and this is what i'm planning on doing tonight. build a dorm room fort. yes i said it. a fort. when is the last time you built a fort? that is my challenge tonight with my friends; to gather together as many blankets and pillows as possible and combine the furniture pieces to legit.  build a college dorm room fort. so this brings research. yea i'm still in college so i want to be educational on the matter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPDdws6-GMg

now the music in this video slightly brings back the style of the 90's but i'm expecting something more. i'm talking backstreet boys and nysnc and perhaps even the spice girls. don't judge! well off to my childhood adventure. i will venture back in the near future to share my fasinating tale :-D

so getting snow days in college is definitely worth experiencing. waking up on a tuesday (worst part of the week) at 7am to get ready for a full day of classes is never entertaining to me. however, waking up at 7am and discovering a text sent at 6am that the college is closed for a snow day is always entertaining!

so what did i do next? i went back to bed! only to wake up in time for some lunch with friends. it was then that we turned in to little kids again and started planning our schemes for the day [[snowmen, snow angels, igloos, sledding, snow ball fight, etc.]] unfortunately this didn't totally work out as i had hoped because my body decided it didn't like the cold and in turn give me a cough and cold. not fun! but that didn't take away from our indoor plans. the rest of the night, however, included a whole lot of disney [+dreamworks]. we watched shrek 1 and 2, played disney scene it, as well as put together my disney panorama puzzle.

successful day? i think so!