A Compliment

I covered another teacher's class last night. Normally I teach only on Monday night, Black Belt Prep, Adult Beginner and Adult Intermediate. Mondays are Techniques days and Wednesday are Forms days. I don't teach on Wednesdays. My teacher told me that at the beginning of the next five week cycle, I would be teaching Long Form Three from scratch, to the new students in the Black Belt Prep class. Now, this is a big deal. Normally he teaches them the form. The assistant teachers (like myself) might review it, but not teach it from scratch.

The fact that he wants me to teach it from scratch means he is showing incredible confidence in me. I have to live up to that. I cannot show any doubt or hesitation teaching this Form. I am going to OWN this Form. I am going to write it out and also use my nephew and son as human test subjects for teaching. I have three weeks to do this. I will OWN this Form. You can bet on that!

Happy Birthday Ninja One!

Happy Birthday Ninja One. Hope it's the BEST day EVER!

Trim Is Done!

All three sides are done. I will have to wait to put up the decorative trim. It's $2.85/linear foot and I need about 40 feet. I also have to put up the "J" channel for the soffet covering. That's why I don't need to paint the underside of the eaves. Woo Hoo to that!

But we're having a heat wave here (it was 99 degrees yesterday as I finished this) so I am not rushing anything. I just wanted this DONE so the birds couldn't get in anymore. Now they can't.
:)

Vacation

This nest week is one of the two weeks of the year that the karate studio is closed. My son is going to overnight camp on Sunday until next Friday and I found out yesterday that I have Monday off.

So what am I going to do with all my spare time? Fix the trim on the house and paint it. It looks terrible and it has been bothering me for a while. As you can see in the photo below, there used to be a bird's nest in the trim. I yanked off the trim to the left of the ladder and started pulling the trim off to the right of the ladder. The birds aren't really happy with me, but they really do need to find another place to live. There are plenty of trees nearby for them.

I replaced one piece of trim and painted it. It is a nice silver gray color. I have to put a piece of decorative molding up, install the "J" channel for the vinyl siding of the soffet (so I don't continually have to paint that and then this side will be done.

I don't know if you can see the color. It's hard when the sun is shining so bright but I think it will look nice. I am going to try and get as much trim fixed and painted as I can.

I also bought a darker shade of gray for the cement foundation and the stairs. I plan on using my spare time to get a lot of stuff done. Of course we are supposed to be going into a heat wave, so we'll see how much I actually accomplish.

Passed!

My Ninjas passed their test. One more for Ninja Two and two more for Ninja One. If all goes as planned, I will be celebrating their getting their black belts on August 4th. Woo Hoo!

Me and My Ninjas

Ninja One, me and Ninja Two after their test Saturday. They were hot and sweaty and I got great big hugs from the both of them. It's going to be a long week waiting for the results.

Testing Saturday

Ninja One and Ninja Two are taking their second test today. Ninja Two passed her first test, but Ninja One had to reschedule hers due to circumstances that if mom has to repeat will make steam come out of her ears. Honestly, if mom ever meets the guy responsible for Ninja One missing the first test it won't be pretty and you'll all see it on TV. Mom will be the one in leg and handcuffs, surrounded by ten policemen with automatic weapons and freaked out expressions.

Mom has faith in both her Ninjas. And since Ninja One always gives me treats, I want her to pass as well.