Crazy Corrie's Chronicles

     I know what you're thinking: 5 months of silence, now we can't get her to shut up! Okay, I promise this will be the last post for a while! I just have so many crazy stories to tell!! :)       Part 1 , of this miracle series, you'll remember, entailed a great deal of logistical impossibilities which were all wondrously accomplished by the hand of my Gracious Heavenly Father. Well, this story is perhaps even more unbelievable! First of all ...well, let me start at the beginning!      At the end of a wonderful tour in DC with many adventures of its own, I flew to Philadelphia to spend the weekend with dear old friends and make a few more along the way. I enjoyed myself immensely! (Alas, this post isn't about the weekend, or I'd tell you more.) But Monday rolled around and  it was back to the grind. I had to fly out in the AM, but I had a few errands on the way: I had to print off my itinerary at the school where my friend's mum works...

     I know it's not Thursday, but I'm going to "throw back" nonetheless. I'm not certain why I never recorded this story back in November: perhaps because I retold it orally so often that I'd convinced myself that I'd chronicled it as well. Whatever the case, this is one of my favorite little moments from last season's escapades. "a pleasant stroll along the Tidal Basin"      I was walking along the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, with my favorite group from Michigan. It was a pleasant stroll in the cool of an autumn evening, and as we meandered towards the memorial of my favorite historical figure, I couldn't help but gush a bit when asked by my "duckling" girls (the gaggle who followed me everywhere) about what was so special about Thomas Jefferson. Young TJ? They giggled and chided and in typical 8th grade fashion, asked if I'd marry him if he were alive. I paused to consider the man - who though incredibly fasc...

     WoW!! Can it really be May already? Oh. Wait. Tomorrow's JUNE?! Inconceivable! [insert cliche about time flying]. Well then. Since my last post was in November (I never claimed I was good at this!), this post will consequently be lengthy. HEY! Bear with me! These tales will be worth your time!      Okay it's time for Stories with Corrie [cue music] - yes, I do this on tour! Once upon a time...  there was a girl who was tasked with the impossible. Earlier in the week, due to weather, traffic, and poor judgement, several very important tourist sites had unfortunately been missed! The Supreme Court Building, the Library of Congress, and the FDR Memorial had eluded us; I was thus required to squeeze all of them into our already FULL schedule the last day of our trip - no big deal. NOT! Those things typically take an entire morning and evening to see with a group in a coach bus! To better facilitate this impossible plan, we agreed to leave the hotel ...

I cannot fathom that it has been above a month since my pilgrimage to California! Crazier still, it's been over a year since I left the quiet town of Rice Lake, Wisconsin, for the excitement of Chicago, Illinois. This time last year, I'd completed my ACTS training trip and was immersed in my TEFL class - winning $25 for my awesome Lord of the Rings Halloween costume. What a year it has been! It's curious to look back at one's self and hardly recognize the person there! I do believe, if ever there were a year that changed me the most, this would perhaps take the prize (or at least tie with my freshman year of college)! Anyways, we'll save all that sentimental, retrospecting schmuck for the New Year... This past month has been busy - not the kind of busy which demands running about helter-skelter like a mad person with little regard for life or person, but rather the busy which engulfs a person so quietly that one hardly notices the minutes slipping by. The days ha...

  Let me begin by saying that this past week has been a dream come true! Last October during my ACTS training in Washington D.C., I met a crazy awesome girl named Holly from southern California - she and another fellow ACTS guide were my first favorable impressions of the residents from "the land of fruits & nuts." Ever since then I've had a yearning to visit the distant and unfamiliar western land of California! Additionally, throughout the tour season, I had several schools from various parts of Cali, and my impression of the state grew ever more favorable with each group of 8th graders (and teachers, parents, etc). And with each query about my having ever been to the west coast, my response became ever more resolute "never been there, but plan on going this summer!" Well, if you've been keeping up with my posts, you'll know that my summer has been BUSY, and before I knew it, I'd booked my whole summer with adventure - leaving no room for my m...

I have found it! My lost love for arts & crafts has been recovered!After over a year as Art Director at the Boys & Girls Club of Barron County - "teaching" K-4th EVERYDAY - I was burnt out! There was a time when I thought I never wanted to see another glue stick or Crayola marker again! However, I've returned to my true self. After a sabbatical year of almost no art whatsoever (aside from the doodles on my sermon notes), I've rediscovered the joy of creating! And, boy, have I been busy! Last month the fair came to town, and with a little persuasion from my mother, I entered a few items: Fair Entries 2013 Hobbit Hole Etch-A-Sketch British Authors & their respective birthplaces - ink & watercolor Crossword-mosaic table - Mod Podge & spray paint Beauty and the Beast - Sharpie  "Peace" decoupage I made for Hannah last Christmas - tissue paper, acrylic paint, & buttons "Joyful Noise" decoupage I made...