what's more fun than a box?

i got a new stove for mother's day. it's a beautiful new range-top/oven combination - with six burners! six burners, people. do you know how much food we can make on that? and the oven, the beautiful, large space that my cookie sheets will fit in and in which i can cook more than one thing at a time. love.

of course, though, the oven came in a huge box. and i think, considering the intense heat on the island this time of year and therefore lack of baking/cooking in general, we've had way more fun with this box than with the actual oven.

it lasted for three weeks as a house. we cut some holes, painted the walls, make-shifted a roof.

we took it down a few days ago - and are making postcards and picture frames with our little neighbor friends out of the recycled cardboard.

as parents we're trying really hard to make sure our kids understand that we need to appreciate and care for the resources we have  - we live on an island where electricity and water are unstable, where even when we have water, it's not drinkable. beyond that, there are children who don't have paper or books or pencils to write with. we don't often get a chance to do so many things with something as simple as a box.

but i'm sure the kids will long remember this box (samil's already asked if we can get another one to make a kitchen from!) and probably not (care to) remember the food we make on the new stove.

oh my sweet addiction.

a few months ago i found pinterest. oh, sweet pinterest. fount of beautiful inspiration and creativity.

i pinned and pinned and pinned some more. when we went to philly in december, i had grand plans to pick up these things that i absolutely needed to make wonderfully inspiring pieces of art and delicious home cooked meals.

and of course, i didn't.

and when i returned to santiago and was thrown for a loop with an insane, new work requirement that left me sitting in the teacher's lounge for 4 hours twice a week, i continued to pin. because what else can i do for four hours twice a week?

while i stewed in resentment over my crazy work schedule and stressed and began to lose hair (yes, it's true), i realized i needed to just relax. and take it easy. and go with the flow.

all characteristics that nobody would ever really apply to me.

i started by disconnecting my my IV drip of coffee and coca-cola and by finding more useful things to do with my four free hours. like, tutoring some of my slower students and reading the newspaper.

slowly, i felt less angry. and then, one day, i realized i needed more creativity. and while pinning pins on pinterest made me feel creative-minded, it didn't make me feel accomplished or happy while actually crafting and cooking do make me accomplished and happy.

so, with absolutely no idea where to start, i decided to start actually trying some of these ingenious ideas i've so laboriously pinned onto my pinterest site. i made a special folder just for things i've done - to keep me in check - less time on the computer, and more time actually doing something worthwhile.

on friday, a coworker came over and we tried our hand at coiled paper bowls. i think that for a first-try they turned out quite cute, thankyouverymuch. i've got a list of things to do this week with the kids that are simple and so darn cute.