awww!

Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?! This little penguin is for a friend for Christmas. I got the pattern from Lion Brand. They have some great stuff!

marley & me

I've just finished reading Marley & Me, a great memior of author John Grogan's life with his crazy dog Marley. I had my doubts in the beginning, but this book is about so much more than a Labrador with no manners. It's a poignant perspective on his foray into marriage and parenthood. I really loved this book and can't wait to see the movie!

my handiwork

I've been working on lots of gifts for Christmas... I can't show you most of them just in case the recipients follow my blog (ha ha, I'm just deluding myself). I really can't show you because I haven't taken pictures of most of them. :)

Here we go!

I made Donatello for a special person who had a giant THING for TMNT when he was just a little guy.

The snowmen are for my three fellow Kinder teachers at school... I love that I used the same pattern and procedures for each one, but they have individual looks and personalities. Fun!!

preparing for christmas!

I have been one busy little elf... I'm trying to fulfill a commitment to give all of my giftees at least one handmade item this year. Stay tuned for pictures!

play along!

Copy, paste and play along!

1. Where is your cell phone? In my purse
2. Your significant other? A brilliant computer dude
3. Your hair? in a messy bun
4. Your daughter? not yet an apple in my eye!
5. Your son? ditto #4
6. Your favorite thing? being creative
7. Your dream last night? freaky, even though I don't remember the details
8. Your favorite drink? sweet tea
9. Your goal? To be more organized, more prepared, and always right
10. The room you’re in? living room
11. Your church? don't have one right now
12. Your fear? dentists
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Happy, healthy and content
14. Where were you last night? At home with my hub
15. What you’re not? Patient
16. Muffins? honey oat from Mimi's
17. One of your wish list items? unlimited funds!
18. Where you grew up? all over Florida
19. The last thing you did? home visits to my kindergartner's families
20. What are you wearing? jeans, fleece vest, boots
21. Your TV? is on; hub's playing NCAA football on PS2
22. Your pets? one goldfish, his name is Superfish
23. Your computer? my lifeline
24. Your life? hectic
25. Your mood? currently contemplative
26. Missing someone? my mom
27. Your car? ford escape
28. Something you’re not wearing? I'm wearing all appropriate attire, from head to toe
29. Favorite store? Anyplace that inspires my creativity
30. Your summer? favorite time to be lazy!
31. Like(love) someone? my husband
32. Your favorite color? blue
33. Last time you laughed? earlier today
34. Last time you cried? I don't remember
35. Who will repost this? does anyone even read my blog?

uck

I've been sick the last few days... yesterday and today have been the worst. Sore throat, congestion, runny nose, cough, sneeze... I've got it all. On a high note, the Gators are kicking Vandy's butt. Go Gators!

grease is the word!

Don't we look fabulous?

happy halloween!

I think this is the busiest Halloween I've ever had! It started Friday morning when I went to a Tiny Tot Halloween something in a neighboring town with my friend J, her baby R, baby daddy B, and associated friends. R was dressed up as a lazy daisy and did a fabulous job acting the part. I swear she should be in movies.

Friday night Hub and I went to a Halloween party held by one of his co-workers... it was fairly uneventful. Tonight we're going to another party! This time, it's held by one of my co-workers, and I have a feeling that people won't be feeling any pain at this one.

get ready for my awesomeness!

I did something so cool today that even I can hardly believe it...
I FINISHED MY POODLE SKIRT!!

I started with this:


I did a little measuring and cutting...


some more measuring, some more cutting, some sewing, used elastic for the waist band, sewed on a poodle and hot glued the sequined leash, and VIOLA!




I was so impressed with what I finished with. I know it is so simple, but sewing is not my forte by any means. I am a crocheter, and sewing is hard for me! I still can't believe it.

I originally wanted a crinoline, but I think it's fine without it. I'm also on the hunt for saddle shoes. I got some cute socks with poodles on them from a local Halloween store. Now all I need to do is turn Hub into a Greaser. :)

busy weekend

We had a busy weekend! Saturday we went to a birthday party for one of Hub's co-workers, and Sunday he went golfing and I went to J's house to carve pumpkins. It was Baby R's first pumpkin experience, and what an experience it was! I just love this little girl!

R with her very first pumpkin! She touched the pumpkin guts and tasted it... the look on her face was hilarious!

Me and R and her 'sister' Gracie.

R, myself, and her daddy, B.

Mommy J's silly pumpkin.

Daddy B's scary pumpkin (but I think it looks just like the Chesire Cat from Alice in Wonderland!)

My pirate pumpkin (need to practice my mad carving skillz).

-------------------------------------------------

I also began working on my poodle skirt for Halloween. I discovered that I didn't have enough fabric, so I need to go back to the craft store for more felt, but I thought I'd give you a 'before' picture anyway.

a windfall!

So did I tell you my friend J fell down some stairs and broke her ankle a few weeks ago? OUCH! She's had surgery, screws, the whole works. Needless to say, she's been on crutches for a while. The bummer part about it (duh, the whole ordeal's been way more than a bummer!) is that she has 9 month old daughter that now she's having a hard time taking care of. Her Hub's been great, though...

Anyway, every Friday I've been helping her out by watching her daughter, R. R is the sweetest, most precious baby ever... I love taking care of her and getting my baby fix (tick tock, tick tock). So today to thank me J got me a gift card to JoAnn! That is my favorite store to buy stuff I don't need! So I will go and find fun yarn and lots of other good stuff! I love exclamation points! Let the fun begin!

tea party

I went to an afternoon tea at a local historic tea house with a couple of friends on Saturday... we had tiny sandwiches, scones, petit fours, and of course, tea. It was very nice, and I think it would be fun to do at home. We were served with these neat cup and saucer sets that had a spot for the cup on the side and a large place for you to set food.

I've since learned that this is called a "Tea and Toast" set. I've done a lot of research online about these cute sets and decided I wanted to find my own. All of the new ones online are terribly expensive, so I figured I'd hit one of the local antique stores in the area.

I went this afternoon and wandered around a flea market for an hour or so. I saw so many different kinds of cups and saucers, but not any Tea and Toast sets until I turned a corner and spied these! They're from Czechoslovakia and were made probably sometime in the 1930s. It's a set of six cups and saucers... all are in pretty good condition.

I got a pretty good deal, too... the whole set for under $30. I'm still hunting for a creamer, sugar bowl, and teapot, but I'm on my way to hosting a tea party!

field trip and other stuff

Last Thursday our team took 64 kindergartners on a field trip to a local farm. Here's what we did:

10-11:45: Went on hay ride and picked lots and lots and lots and LOTS of vegetables. Seriously, lots.

11:45-12:30: Ate lunch. Keep in mind, I didn't eat, the kids did. I made sure all groups were accounted for and that took forever. Child #1 barfs.

12:30-12:45ish: Hunted for lost child.

12:45-1:00: Found lost child. Dust storm and rain hit. We couldn't see beyond a 10 foot radius. NUTS!

1:00: Run for our lives (jk.. we really just ran for the bus). Leave for school.

1:15: (All at the same time) The back door's emergency buzzer on the bus went off. Bus driver pulls over on the highway to check it out. All of our parent chaperones freak out and pull over too. Child #2 barfs.

1:45: Return to school... Hallelujah!

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The Red Sox just won the ALDS and are on their way to winning the AL pennant. GO SOX!

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I've decided to make a poodle skirt for Halloween. Wish me luck! Pics and more info to come later.

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Today is my stepdad's birthday. We went to Famous Dave's for dinner and I'm STUFFED! Happy birthday, L!

scary

Today as I was getting ready to leave school I learned that one of our students was missing. He's a first grader, and was supposed to be picked up in a car this afternoon. The police were called and teachers were walking all around our campus looking for him... two teachers went in a car to search a bus route to see if the little guy got on a bus. My teaching partner and I went around a large circle around the area nearest our school in my car to see if he was walking around.

We went back to school to see if we could do anything else and found out he got on a bus after school. No word on why the bus driver let him on or why he even got on in the first place. His mom was there, crying, as were several of his family members. Mom was so relieved to hear that her son was okay. I can't even begin to know what she was feeling but I do know there was a lot of fear and confusion, and then, relief. I'm glad he was found safe and sound.

On a happier note, I'm making good progress on my messenger bag and will hopefully be able to post a decent picture in the near future. :)

bad, bad blogger!

I am a bad, bad, blogger. I have not posted in almost a month! To be fair, I have spent most of my time at school. It's been nuts... I forgot all of the beginning-of-the-year stresses that come out of the woodwork. Actually, there is always stress, no matter what time of year it is. Such is life.

Right now I should be cleaning for guests that will be arriving in a few hours. Instead, I wanted to post about my latest project. I am crocheting a messenger bag that will be felted. It's taking FOREVER, but I knew it would.

This is what I have so far:

Sorry it's sideways. I'm having photo issues today. I'll try to fix it later!

my classroom

I finally finished my room a few days ago and have already had two days of school. Click on the link to see more photos!

http://s276.photobucket.com/albums/kk23/seaschell/Classroom%2008-09/?albumview=slideshow

getting into the groove

I've spent several days now in my classroom, setting up for the new school year. I haven't accomplished much as far as moving things around and putting things on walls. I've spent most of my time in front of the computer, designing new literacy work stations and creating lessons. I'm very excited that new cubbies will be installed in my room (hopefully) this week! I'll post pics of my finished room in a few days.

Summer has been surreal. I still can't believe I didn't go to work every day for over two months, and now I'm getting ready to go back. Strange, but so nice. I should have ditched preschool for elementary a LONG time ago. :)

wedding fun!

What a crazy weekend! We flew to Boston late on Thursday night, arriving at 6 AM Friday morning. Hubby's dad picked us up and we went back to the house and had breakfast and a nice nap. Went for mani's and pedi's with MIL (Hub had a couple of beers at the pub next door). After that did a little shopping and stayed in that night. Saturday was BUSY!! We went to Boston for Hub's cousin's wedding and reception, stayed in the hotel Sat night, then went to see Nana Sunday morning. Flew back late Monday night and got home at 2 AM on Tuesday morning. SO TIRED!!

J and I had a meeting with a couple of local business owners this morning to see if our bibs are retail-worthy... got very good news that they are, and J went on a fabric frenzy at Jo-Ann's today. :)

I went back to school today and got my keys (hooray!). We also interviewed for a new Kinder teacher (they went well, so we shall see). Tomorrow I have another meeting and I'll spend the rest of the week setting up my room. Fun fun!

packing...

is not one of my favorite activities. I'm always paranoid: "Am I packing the right clothing? Will I need this? Or this? Or this?" Plus with the new baggage charges, I can only take one bag or Hubby might pop a vein. Luckily, this is only a one bag trip, but inevitably I have to smash everything down to make it fit and I ALWAYS come back with more than I go with, even if I don't buy anything or get any gifts. That math puzzles my brain.

a crafty extravaganza!

I have been crocheting up a storm! This hat and booties set (plus a couple of bibs that J made) are going to a friend who just had her second child, a little girl.

I made this business card holder for J, for her brand new business cards! She loved it and has already stuffed it full.

And finally, I made this... it started out for someone else, but I may keep him for myself! He's supposed to be an amigurumi lion, but the colors aren't right for lions. That's okay, I love him anyway!

booties

I finished these booties this morning. They are for a friend's brother who is having his third child and first girl. They are done in Bernat pink and green camo yarn. I modified the pattern from Simple Crochet for Cherished Babies.

home sweet home

We went to Maryland for a friend's wedding last weekend. Hubby was Best Man, and he did a great job! We went into DC for a bit and I took some fun pictures. It was my first time in our nation's Capital. I didn't get to see nearly as much as I'd like, but hopefully we can go back in the next couple of years.

A friend and I have begun making handcrafted baby bibs and other accessories. We've posted them on Ebay... go take a look! Our name for right now is rhoanscloset. It's been fun... she does the sewing and I do the embellishing with crochet. This is the newest bib we've created and posted for sale:

My brain has turned to mush since school ended. I'm scattered and disorganized. But, oh boy do I love summer vacation! I just hope my brain will firm back up before school starts...

feeling stressed? try this!

I LOVE THIS SITE!!!! If you need to let off some steam, this is the site for you! :)

voila!

Antarctica

I have always been a very literal thinker. I am very much a "think INside the box" person. I can't help it. I try, I really do! Oh well... since emboidery isn't my forte, I decided to use crochet in my expression of Antarctica for A Collaboration. In doing so, I adapted a square from 200 Crochet Blocks by Jan Eaton (it's a neat book; check it out!).

So, hopefully these pictures are pretty self-explanatory, but just in case, the little popcorn stitch bumps are icebergs and the blue trim is the water. I TOLD you I was a literal thinker!

I actually really like how it turned out. This was my first usage of the popcorn stitch, and it was easy and fun, and I love the effect.

why?

Why is it that I see the Summer 08 issue of Interweave Crochet EVERYWHERE on the net but I can't get it til June 24th? I'm seeing lots of fun patterns that I can't look at in detail because I CAN'T BUY IT YET!! Argh.

J and I started making bibs today. Actually, she started. She's the sewer and I'm the embellisher. Which reminds me, I need to do some of that tonight...

I also abandoned my Tunisian attempt at A Collaboration. It was driving me nuts because Tunisian crochet curls really badly and I hate blocking. So, I found another idea! No peekies this time. :)

in the beginning...

... there was yarn, an afghan hook, and Tunisian crochet. This is my contribution to a collaboration. What will come next?

musings on a collaboration

I am loving what I see happening with futuregirl and ruby-crowned kinglette in their "A Collaboration". I'm so excited, I want to join in too! I'm not going to embroider on a linen square, though... I have wondrous ideas! The word I'm going to begin with is 'Antarctica'. I know they started with 'entangled', but I've already seen what they've done and I'm biased. I want to come up with my own idea. Stay tuned!

long time gone

It's been way too long since my last post. Since then, I've finished the school year, cleaned out my classroom, been to four days of training, babysat, cleaned (a little bit of) my house, driven to Denver once, refilled my gas tank innumerable times, and not once been to the gym, even though I should have been at least six times by now.

On the upside, my friend has come up with a genius idea to make bibs and sell them... we'll make scads of money and never have to work again! :)

woo hoo!

one more day of school! one more day of school! one more day of school!

scary

Our school was on tornado lockdown in shelter mode for almost an hour yesterday. Let me just say that my kids did SO WELL during this time. They had to sit on their knees facing the wall for such a long time. I finally took pity on them and let them sit criss cross applesauce (many of them were sitting this way anyway). They did get to read books but could not talk or make noise. Torture for kindergartners! Our principal did come by and say that the Kinders and first graders were the quietest kids in the school, though... yay us!

It is so scary to think of how close those tornadoes were to us and especially to Hubby... he was about two miles away from the biggest one. But did he seek shelter? Did the office tell everyone to get under their desks? NO!! They just kept working and carrying on as if nothing was wrong. Morons.

In other news, THREE MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT!!

let the world rejoice!

Or at least let me rejoice! FOUR MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL!

dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb

I was so dumb today... There were two boys playing on my street and when I pulled near them I was so concerned with not hitting them that I drove right past my house! I felt really stupid when I had to make a U-turn and go back to my driveway. OY.

On a brighter note, THERE ARE ONLY 6 MORE DAYS OF SCHOOL LEFT! YAHOOOO! I am so excited about summer.

new necklace

I posted this over at C-ville to get some feedback from fellow crocheters. I made this for my mom for Mother's Day... hubby hates it but I didn't think it was too bad for my rookie go at crocheting with wire.

yay!

Horsie is finally finished! I have to admit that I was doubtful about how she'd look when she was done, but I was SO excited to see how cute she turned out! I gave her to my friend for her baby shower today. I hope you like it! (I know she did!)

tidbits

Do you lose as much hair as I do? I swear, I should probably be bald. Every day, all day, I'm picking hair off of myself. Plus with the dry air out here it's all static-y and it sticks to me after I pull it off. Drives me nuts.

Six and a half weeks of school left! Super excited and a little sad and anxious to get everything done. Lots of emotions going on at the same time. I might try to take a guitar class this summer so that next year I can play and sing in class. Fun!

Still working on Horsie. Three of her four legs are done and her ears are done but need to be attached. She may end up a unicorn if I can get the horn right. I'm planning on giving her to a friend for her baby shower this weekend. Ohhhhh... I need to buy something to wear for that... SHOPPING!!

Still working on my springy purse too. Will post photos soon.

Happy Wednesday!

spring break

Hurray for Spring Break! If only it wasn't Friday already. I've had a busy week... I spent Monday and Tuesday painting our master bedroom. It was a very dark, icky green, and I painted it a cream color that's almost white. It makes the room look bigger and brighter, which I'm not sure that I like because it is already a huge room. I guess it will take some getting used to.

Wednesday was uneventful, and yesterday I spent most of the day antiquing for nightstands, finally ending up at a huge furniture chain (definitely NOT antiques). I came thisclose to buying some, and didn't in the end. I did have a 40 minute conversation on my cell to a long-lost friend in the middle of the furniture store, though!

Today I am being lazy... SO SO lazy. I love it. It's quarter after four and I haven't done anything but read and watch tv. Thank goodness there's only six weeks left of school after this!

I am working on my springy purse, the green one sketched down below. Here's to successful completion!

roller coaster

Up and down and loop de loops... that's what this week has been for me. Good news early in the week, bad news late in the week. I don't even like roller coasters! I've cried today like I haven't cried in a very, very long time. I'm sad.

horse update

One horse leg down, three to go. She also has a cute little saddle. Again, I'd show you her body, but this is a family oriented blog. I'm not sure how she'll look anyway... she might be all legs. This is one pattern that I've followed to the letter and it REALLY doesn't look like the picture. We'll see...

Horsie's Leg

Horsie's Saddle

oh dear

Sooo... I'm working on a new crochet project; it's supposed to be a cute horse. Right now it has no legs, tail, or mane. Unfortunately, it looks like a certain body part that only males have. EEK!! Hopefully when it's done, it will actually look like a horse. I'd post a picture, but this is a clean blog. :)

owwwwwww

Gloom, despair, and agony on me... I went skiing for the first time today. The ski instructor tried to kill me... he actually expected me to be able to turn and stuff! I did well in the lessons before lunch, but after lunch we went to the baby lifts (really, a tow rope), and I wiped out at least three times and I am in SO MUCH PAIN right now. I thought the bunny slope would be more bunny and less slopey. owwwwwww

p.s. ten points if you can spot the quote!

rejoice!

Huzzah! Huzzah! It was Friday and the world rejoiced!

I subbed for the first time today. It went okay, but I love having a consistent classroom on a daily basis. Plus, I subbed for an itinerant teacher, which means I went to more than one school, and boy THAT is weird! What if you forget something from one school to another? Gimme my room, messy though it is, any day.

I tend to be a bit strict when I first meet students so they know they can't walk all over me... I like having time to get to know my students so they know I can be caring too.

Anyhow... HUZZAH! HUZZAH! IT WAS FRIDAY AND THE WORLD REJOICED!! :)

windy

There is some CA-RAZY wind going on out here in the west, y'all. Seriously. I never knew wind until we moved out here.

I was so crabby yesterday after school, I really felt like I snarled at the kids most of the afternoon, but today I'm feeling more mellow and generous. I am loving kindergarten... even though I'm counting the days till Spring Break. Our SB isn't till APRIL, can you believe that? Normal districts have theirs in March sometime, but our schedule is crazy this year.

Waiting for the King to arrive home at his castle. His Highness will be hungry, but darn if I'm cooking tonight. We're sposed to have chicken pot pie, but that's a whole hour of cooking (Weeeelllll... not really a solid hour. More like a 1/2 hour of prep and slide it into the oven for another 1/2, but I still don't wanna do it. So there. :P). WENDY'S IT IS!!

(YAY! The King just called and agreed to my plan. Let the kingdom rejoice!)

new project

I love love LOVE these three colors together. If I ever figure out my purse pattern I'm planning on making a springy purse with them.

Which picture do you like better? Left, or right?

I think I like the one on the right... I plan to embroider the flower on the purse a la futuregirl.

frustrations

I hate starting a new crochet project and getting stuck or having it not turn out for me. The first picture is supposed to be a starghan but it's not turning out right; I don't know if I messed up the pattern or if the yarn is not right.

The second one is my design of a small purse that's seamless... I purposely made a small one so when I frogged it, it wouldn't be a big deal. It's lopsided. I'm sure I didn't count right... but that's why I made a small one anyhow.



Neither project is turning out how I want it to and I'm FRUSTRATED.

new bag

So I ended up using a different ribbon to complete this purse, and I am so glad I did! I love the copper colors in the yarn and in the ribbon. They go so well together. This purse is totally impractical; it's really tiny inside. But I love it anyway!

blogs

I've been hunting around the web, looking for other people's blogs and figuring out what makes them so interesting. I've come up with a list of what I like about other blogs:

• they are updated often
• they include photos (of people, places, things, it doesn't really matter)
• they are random (not always about the same thing)
• they are funny or thought-provoking

If you get the chance, http://weeklyscheiss.blogspot.com/ is a great blog to read. Mamacita is hilarious! (Plus, she doesn't sugarcoat things.)

When I'm in my crafty/crochet mood, I like to read http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/. Futuregirl is amazing! I'm dying to embroider on my crochet now.

waiting

I'm waiting for my hubby to come home from work so we can have dinner. Poor guy has worked late a lot this week. He works too hard... wait... do I hear the garage door? Yippeee!

is it friday yet?

One of my kids came up to me today and asked, "Is tomorrow Friday?" and I replied, "No, but I wish it was!". Another kiddo walking behind me chimed in, "Me too!". Smarty pants.

I am zonked... not quite sick but not quite well. It's driving me bananas but most interestingly, I'm not the only adult at school with these symptoms. Weird. And if I get shocked one more time I'm going to SCREAM... that's really my only complaint (besides dry winter skin) about living out here.

I am addicted to several things... yarn, chocolate, HGTV, Food Network, reading, and baking.

I am adverse to working out, cleaning, cooking when I don't want to, and being sick.

Just some tidbits about me.

conferences

Parent/Teacher conferences are tonight at school. I love the ones where I get to tell the parents great things about their child. I have great anxiety over the ones where the kids aren't doing so well.

Today we had our Valentine's Day Party... practically the entire time was spent handing out valentines between classmates. Next year I need to do it differently.

sundays, etc.

Sundays are an anomaly for me. Sometimes I love them, sometimes I hate them. I haven't decided which to feel today. We're going to a friend's house later to visit and play cards. They just had a baby and she's absolutely beautiful. Did I mention I love babies? My mother thinks my maternal instinct is in overdrive. She's right.

I'm getting my groove on very slowly at school. It's a challenge to teach kindergartners how to read. Kindergarten is no longer all fun and play and naptime. Now kids are expected to know WAY more before first grade and sometimes it's beyond their developmental capabilities. Frustrating. But I keep on keepin' on... I'm getting to the last part of my first official year of teaching elementary school and I'm so glad I made the change from preschool!

I just finished crocheting a cute little purse for myself just in time for V-Day. Some projects are laborious and I can't wait to finish them. With this one, I was almost a little sad to finish it.

I'm still debating whether or not to add the ribbon that is supposed to go through the tall stitches toward the top. The ribbon I had originally chosen won't work with it so I might try to find another one. The pattern is from Interweave Crochet Magazine (Winter 2007)

babies

I'm babysitting for a friend this morning and right now he's sleeping in my arms because there's no place to lay him down in my classroom. I love babies.

caucus

So I went to my first caucus tonight. Before now, I had voted in primaries but never a caucus. Heck, I didn't even know what a caucus was before a few days ago. And now I know it is a HUGELY inefficient way to cast your vote for a nominee. A ton of people in a big room, everyone talking so you can't hear anyone at all, and the most obnoxious people are the ones who talk the most. OY.

fridays

I absolutely love Fridays. I have the day off... and if I choose to go into work, I can. If I don't want to, I don't have to. LOVE IT!

I have a yarn addiction. I love buying yarn. It makes me so happy! I have a brand new skein sitting in my purse right now waiting to be crocheted into a cute purse and it's calling my name.

Inanely typing the first thing that comes to my head...

Have a great weekend!

my first post!

I contemplated for a long time about whether or not to blog. After all, do I really want my private musings (I love that word) online for all the world to see? But I do love reading other people's blogs, even those I don't know. So here goes. Read it; don't read it, the choice is yours. If you like it, let me know. If you don't like it, go away.