A Tale of One Knitty

2010-03-07T17:50:00.004-05:00

Okay. So we go to Easton in Columbus and sit to have a Cinnibon and who walks up to the ice cream place right next to us????

It's Arnold Schwarzenegger!!! Haha. Of course I ran over to take a picture. Gavin is walking behind him in the red sweatshirt. That's Cinnibon right behind Gavin.

So we're all excited about seeing Arnold and up walks...

Sylvester Stallone!!!

We couldn't believe it! In Columbus, Ohio! Bob said he was right in front of Arnold in the ice cream line and he should have bought him ice cream. That would have been funny.

I think the Arnold Classic bodybuilding show was in town this weekend and that's why they were there.

2010-02-28T10:10:00.001-05:00

I forgot to post these pics last weekend. Graham earned his Bear badge in Cub Scouts. This is our cake for the cake raffle. It's one of the easier ones we've made, but it turned out to be one of the best. He won the best animal lookalike award.

We got a couple more inches of snow last night. Ever since Graham went polar bear camping, he has decided he loves the snow and wants to be in it all the time. So we went out and made a snowman. Today he wants to tackle a snow fort.

2010-02-11T16:13:00.003-05:00

I've decided that since I got this job as the librarian at my school, I'd like to actually read the books in the library. I was reluctant to read young adult fiction because, well, I don't really know why. Stephen King and gruesome stuff has always been my thing. Jr. High students at my school are required to read AR books. Many of them do not read outside of school and have no idea what to get. Some DO read but don't know what would be a good next book. I was stuck on my own adult paranormal romance kick and didn't want to spend my time reading "little kid" books. However, I started reading books from my library just for the purpose of recommending them to jr. high students. To my surprise I've found many of them excellent and "unputdownable." I'd just like to recommend a couple to you.

Deadline by Chris Crutcher. This author writes a lot of sports books and I thought this would be one, too. It is, but it's also so much more. It's the story of a senior in high school who finds out he has one year to live. He decides to forgo treatment and keep his illness a secret from everyone. He spends his last year doing things he wasn't brave enough to do before he got sick. I don't want to give anymore away, but I'll just say that there were lots of tears at the end. This was a super book. I've been recommending it to boys (I usually read more "girly" books).

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. This is a disturbing book about an anorexic girl's obsession with her caloric intake and family issues. After her friend dies, her health deteriorates severely. This was a fast read and a very good book.

Finally, I'll leave off with Identical by Ellen Hopkins. This is about a pair of twins who both have major problems at home, at school, and, with their peer relationships. I couldn't believe some of what happened in this book. It's hard to imagine such "worldly" teenagers, but I guess they're out there. The end of this book had a twist that made me gasp.

My Muse scarf

2010-01-10T09:12:00.000-05:00

Books I've Read 2010

2010-01-04T07:01:00.037-05:00

* denotes CHS library book

*1) Undiscovered Country--Lin Enger (1/1/10)
*2) Wintergirls--Laurie Halse Anderson (1/3/10)
3) The Center of the Universe--Anita Liberty (1/3/10)
*4) Blood Brothers--SA Harazin (1/11/10)
5) Taken by the Night--Kathryn Smith (1/12/10)
6) My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon--PN Elrod (1/13/10)
*7) Identical--Ellen Hopkins (1/17/10)
*8) Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen--Susan Gregg Gilmore (1/23/10)
9) Let the Night Begin--Kathryn Smith (1/24/10)
*10) Generation Dead--Daniel Waters (1/27/10)
*11) Deadline--Chris Crutcher (2/3/10)
*12) Burn--Suzanne Phillips (2/11/10)
*13) Ghostgirl--Tonya Hurley (2/14/10)
*14) Hush, Hush--Becca Fitzpatrick (2/15/10)
15) Lies My Teacher Told Me--James Loewen (2/16/10)
16) Pleasure Unbound--Larissa Ione (2/17/10)
*17) Thirteen Reasons Why--Jay Asher (2/20/10)
*18) The Poison Apples--Lily Archer (2/22/10)
*19) Shooter--Walter Dean Myers (2/28/10)
*20) Along for the Ride--Sarah Dessen (3/3/10)
*21) Jumping Off Swings--Jo Knowles (3/6/10)
*22) Story of a Girl--Sara Zarr (3/9/10)
23) Vampire Academy--Richelle Mead (3/16/10)
24) A Bite to Remember--Lyndsay Sands (3/17/10)
*25) Newes from the Dead--Mary Hooper (3/19/10)
26) Passion Unleased--Larissa Ione (3/20/10)
*27) Plain and Simple: A Womans' Journey to the Amish--Sue Bender (3/21/10)
28) The Art of Racing in the Rain--Garth Stein (3/27/10)
*29) Bad Girls Don't Die--Kate Alender (4/2/10)
30) Catch a Mate--Gena Showalter (4/4/10)
31) Mrs. Perfect--Jane Porter (4/7/10)
32) Fallen--Lauren Kate (4/10/10)
33) Flirt--Laurell K. Hamilton (4/15/10)
*34) Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side--Beth Fantaskey (4/16/10)
*35) Coraline--Neil Gaiman (4/17/10) read aloud with Graham
36) Sizzle--Julie Garwood (4/23/10)
*37) Wake--Lisa McMann (4/23/10)
*38) After--Amy Efaw (4/30/10)
39) Safe from the Neighbors--Steve Yarbrough (5/4/10)
40) Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict--Laurie Viera Rigler (5/9/10)
*41) The Hunger Games--Suzanne Collins (5/16/10)
*42) Fade--Lisa McMann (5/20)10)
*43) Gone--Lisa McMann (5/22/10)
44) Her Fearful Symmetry--Audrey Niffenegger (6/1/10)
45) A Reliable Wife--Robert Goolrick (6/4/10)
46) The Midwife's Apprentice--Karen Cushman (6/5/10)
47) The Late, Lamented Molly Marx--Sally Koslow (6/9/10)
48) Wisconsin Death Trip--Michael Lesy (6/12/10)
*49) The Mark--Jen Nadol (6/14/10)
50) How to Read Literature like a Professor--Thomas C. Foster (6/16/10)
*51) The Short Life of Bree Tanner--Stephenie Meyer (6/18/10)
52) The Lighter Side of Life and Death--CK Kelly Martin (6/24/10)
53) My Name is Memory--Ann Brashares (6/27/10)
*54) Hold Still--Nina LaCour (6/29/10)
55) Medieval Lives--Terry Jones (7/1/10)
56) Soulless--Gail Carriger (7/2/10)
57) Changeless--Gail Carriger (7/4/10)
58) Mona Lisa Awakening--Sunny (7/5/10)
59) Dead Place--Rebecca Drake
*60) Looking for Alaska--John Green
*61) Rikers High--Paul Volponi
*62) Life As We Knew It--Susan Beth Pfeffer
*63) The Dead and the Gone--Susan Beth Pfeffer (7/18/10)

Modifications to the Alpaca Earflap Hat

2009-12-21T13:28:00.001-05:00

Modifications to the Alpaca Earflap Hat--Be warned--this is my first time writing instructions out.

1. I reversed the design on one earflap so that the open part of the "claws" or whatever you call the design would both be toward the face.

2. I double knitted the earflaps. Based on previous experience, I knew the earflaps would stick out like Pippi Longstocking's hair in just plain stockinette, so I decided to try double knitting them. I had never double knit before. The process itself wasn't so hard, but when I threw in the reversal of the design and the whole thing gave me fits. It took two days to knit the two earflaps.

This is a chart of the right earflap in double knitting. I can't figure out how to number the rows beside the boxes. The bottom row is Row 1 and so on like usual. I increased the black on its knit side by knitting in the front and back of the stitch. I increased the gray on its knit side by casting one on using backwards loop. The right side is the black side.

KB=Knit Black

PB=Purl Black

KG=Knit Gray

PG=Purl Gray

K2tog	K2tog	K2tog	K2tog	K2tog	K2tog
KG/PB	KG/PB	KB/PG	KB/PG	KB/PG	KG/PB
KB/PG	KG/PB	KG/PB	KB/PG	KG/PB	KB/PG
KB/PG	KB/PG	KB/PG	KG/PB	KG/PB	KG/PB
KG/PB	KG/PB	KG/PB	KG/PB	KG/PB	KG/PB
KB/PG	KB/PG	KB/PG	KB/PG	KB/PG	KB/PG
KG/PB	KG/PB	KG/PB	KB/PG	KB/PG	KB/PG
KG/PB	KB/PG	KB/PG	KG/PB	KB/PG	KG/PB
KB/PG	KB/PG	KG/PB	KG/PB	KG/PB	KB/PG

This is the left earflap. The black side is the right side here, too. I hope this is right. The "claw" is facing the other way. Reversing this and double knitting is one of the hardest knitting things I've ever done.

K2tog	K2tog	K2tog	K2tog	K2tog	K2tog
PB/KG	PG/KB	PG/KB	PG/KB	PB/KG	PB/KG
PG/KB	PB/KG	PG/KB	PB/KG	PB/KG	PG/KB
PB/KG	PB/KG	PB/KG	PG/KB	PG/KB	PG/KB
PB/KG	PB/KG	PB/KG	PB/KG	PB/KG	PB/KG
PG/KB	PG/KB	PG/KB	PG/KB	PG/KB	PG/KB
PG/KB	PG/KB	PG/KB	PB/KG	PB/KG	PB/KG
PB/KG	PG/KB	PB/KG	PG/KB	PG/KB	PB/KG
PG/KB	PB/KG	PB/KG	PB/KG	PG/KB	PG/KB

3. I changed the arrangement of the cast-on stitches. 18 stitches for the front was REALLY not enough. I ended up casting on 38 stitches for the front and 32 for the back.

4. I changed the top decreases and added an I-cord top. In black only:

Round 1: Knit even

Round 2: Knit even

Rounds 3 and every odd row thru 17: [K4 K2tog] repeat to end

Rounds 4 and every even row thru 18: Knit even

Rounds 19 and 20: [K2tog] repeat to end

5. To stop the front and back from curling, I picked up stitches, knitted in garter stitch for 2 rows, and then bound off.

IF/WHEN I knit this hat again, I will make the following changes:

1. Knit first 2 or 3 rows in 1x1 rib to stop the stockinette curl.

2. Use size 7 needles after the earflaps because the hat is a tad too tight.

Another Meme

2009-08-17T14:18:00.002-05:00

1. What time did you get up this morning?4:15 am

2. How do you like your steak? Very rare. The bloodier the better.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Bandslam

4. What is your favorite TV show? True Blood & Hell's Kitchen

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I'd have to say England.

6. What did you have for breakfast? Diet Coke

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Mexican

8. What foods do you dislike? Fish

9. Favorite Place to Eat?Lately it's been Quaker Steak and Lube

10. Favorite dressing? Honey Mustard

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Honda Pilot

12. What are your favorite clothes? Jeans and t-shirts

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Australia, to visit where I was born

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 Empty

15. Where would you want to retire? Somewhere near family

16. Favorite time of day? Early morning before anyone else is awake

17. Where were you born? Exmouth, Australia

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? I don't watch sports.

19. Bird watcher? No

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? Definitely morning

21. Do you have any pets? 1 dog Kacie

22. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share? I'm starting my new position this week.

23. What is your favorite childhood memory?My grandma baking gingerbread at Thanksgiving just for me

24. Always wear your seat belt? Most of the time

25. Been in a car accident? Yes, a guy hit me on an icy freeway.

26. Any pet peeves? When someone puts a new roll of toilet paper upside down. It's supposed to come over the top. That's why the design is on that side, people!

27. Favorite pizza toppings? Pepperoni & green olive

28. Favorite Flower? Lilies

29. Favorite ice cream?Anything coffee flavored

30. Favorite fast food restaurant? Chipotle

31. How many times did you fail your driver’s test? None

32. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Barnes and Noble

33. Do anything spontaneous lately? No.

34. Broccoli? Yes. I love broccoli.

35. What was your favorite vacation? San Francisco. I'm a big sightseer.

36. Last person you went out to dinner with? Hubby and the kids

37. What are you listening to right now? Muse's new song Uprising

38. What is your favorite color? Black or green

39. How many tattoos do you have? Two

40. Coffee Drinker? Oh yes. The darker the better!

Food Meme

2009-07-22T12:20:00.003-05:00

I saw this food meme at Chez Shoes and thought I'd do it.

Sweet or salty?

I'm definitely a salty person (no pun intended). I prefer cheese and olives and all that rather than a dessert of some kind.

Chocolate or vanilla?

Vanilla most of the time, especially in my coffee.

Hot or mild?

I never used to like very spicy food until a few years ago. Now as more time goes on, I prefer food spicier and spicier. Maybe my taste buds are dying.

What won't you eat?

I'm not afraid to try new things usually. I give most everything a chance. I have tried but won't ever eat again: limburger cheese, beets, brussel sprouts, and lima beans. I will never try anything made of insects.

Most memorable meal?

One of my best meals was when I was around 13 and my dad took me to a nice restaurant where I ordered King crab legs. They were delicious.
One of my worst meals was when I lived in France and my French "mother" made a dinner of what I THINK was oxtail. She wouldn't tell us exactly what it was. I remember picking what seemed like 100 little bones out of each bite I took. I was disgusted. I will never forget that meal ever.

Favorite object in the kitchen?

It would probably our toaster oven. It very versatile. We use it every day.

What are you scared of in the kitchen?

I'm reluctant to try new things because I don't want to have wasted the effort. I want to know beforehand that I'll like it.

I'm afraid to try new fruits and vegetables because sometimes I have no clue what to do with them.

Do you prefer to cook alone or with others?

Graham loves to help in the kitchen, so if I'm doing something pretty easy, I'll let him do it.

What country would you move to for the food?

This is a hard one. There are foods in almost every culture that I wouldn't want to live without. If I had to pick one, I'd say Greece.

If you were to come back as a fruit or vegetable, which would it be?

Probably a coconut. I'd put up a good fight before someone ate me.

What's for dinner?

I'm trying a new recipe tonight in spite of my above answer. We're having these chicken roll-up things with stuffing. Not too adventurous.

2009-07-16T07:50:00.006-05:00

The boys and I decided to go to Marietta yesterday. No particular reason. Just wanted to go somewhere and see some things. We walked around the downtown area and along the Ohio River.

We saw that the river had flooded as high as 48 feet one year, which is nearly to the top of the brown pole behind the boys. I imagine most all of Marietta would have been underwater, too.

Then we went to the Ohio River Museum and saw lots of replicas of riverboats and items like silverware and clothing from the mid to late 1800s. We toured the riverboat that's moored (not sure if that's the right word) there. This is the oldest surviving pilothouse on display at the museum.

We drove around Marietta to see some of the historic old homes. They are so pretty with columns and huge wraparound front porches.

The surprising highlight of our trip back home was the Big Muskie Bucket, which I've heard a little about but never have been too interested in seeing. I"ll just say WOW!

The Big Muskie was a crane used for mining. It was built on site due to its immense size. It no longer survives, but here are the boys are standing inside just the scooper which was attached to the crane. Just the scooper. Can you imagine how huge the crane had to be that used that scooper? I don't know if you can read this, but I took a picture of the Big Muskie facts from a board at the park. It weighed 27 million pounds and was 1 1/2 times the length of a football field. It could scoop enough dirt at one time to fill a two-story house.

Here's a link with a few pix of the Big Muskie being built. The bottom picture shows the crane holding the bucket that the boys are standing in the above picture. The bucket looks tiny compared to the crane.

Doing some catching up

2009-07-14T20:08:00.004-05:00

So I got on Dustina's blog tonight and saw that (haha) I haven't posted anything for 5 months. 5 months. I've thought about posting but thought "Nah. I'm not in the mood right now." I finally feel caught up with everything else in my life that I can take some time to post.

There are some big changes in our household. First of all, I am changing careers in a way. I'm moving from the classroom to the library. This means lots more schooling for me, but I think it will all be worth it. I'm excited and nervous for the change and am looking forward to the start of the next school year.

Second, Gavin spent his first week away from home at Boy Scout Camp. He was a little homesick but stuck it out and made it through the week.

We spent a fun week at Poppo and Nana's house. The 2 G's loved spending time with their cousin R, who is so cute singing "Lady" by the Little River Band. Why my brother teaches him weird songs like that I'll never know, but it cracks us up.

Katie and I are getting so excited for the Muse/U2 concert in October in Raleigh. We're making a whole weekend out of it.

The 2 G's have football camp to look forward to next week.

I've been knitting and reading up a storm. I've finished 7 projects since school's been out and have 3 more on the needles right now. One of my favorites was my Amanda hat.

I'm also in the 52 Books in 52 Weeks group on Ravelry and am on book 60 right now.

Whew.

99 Things

2009-01-15T12:26:00.003-05:00

Saw this on boogaj:

99 things
Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font

1. started your own blog
2. slept under the stars
3. played in a band (I'm learning guitar!)
4. visited Hawaii
5. watched a meteor shower
6. given more than you can afford to charity
7. been to Disneyland/world (just got back 2 weeks ago)
8. climbed a mountain (does it count if it's in a car?)
9. held a praying mantis (NO WAY NO HOW!)
10. sang a solo (in grade school I think)
11. bungee jumped (again NO WAY NO HOW!)
12. visited Paris
13. watched a lightning storm at sea
14. taught yourself an art from scratch
15. adopted a child
16. had food poisoning
17. walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. grown your own vegetables (home-grown tomatoes (I know they're technically fruits)
are the best in the world)
19. seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. slept on an overnight train (The sensation of moving all night was very weird. I don't
think I actually slept much.)
21. had a pillow fight
22. hitch hiked
23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. built a snow fort
25. held a lamb
26. gone skinny dipping
27. run a marathon
28. ridden a gondola in Venice
29. seen a total eclipse
30. watched a sunrise or sunset (Did this 2 weeks ago, too.)
31. hit a home run (in whiffle ball!)
32. been on a cruise
33. seen Niagara Falls in person
34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. seen an Amish community
36. taught yourself a new language
37. had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person
39. gone rock climbing
40. seen Michelangelo’s David in person
41. sung karaoke
42. seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. visited Africa
45. walked on a beach by moonlight
46. been transported in an ambulance
47. had your portrait painted
48. gone deep sea fishing
49. seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. kissed in the rain
53. played in the mud
54. gone to a drive-in theater
55. been in a movie
56. visited the Great Wall of China
57. started a business
58. taken a martial arts class
59. visited Russia
60. served at a soup kitchen
61. sold girl scout cookies (except it was Boy Scout popcorn)
62. gone whale watching
63. gotten flowers for no reason
64. donated blood
65. gone sky diving
66. visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. bounced a check
68. flown in a helicopter
69. saved a favorite childhood toy
70. visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. eaten caviar
72. pieced a quilt (helped Gran when I was young and still have the quilt)
73. stood in Times Square
74. toured the Everglades
75. been fired from a job
76. seen the changing of the guard in London
77. broken a bone
78. been on a speeding motorcycle (one of the funnest things I've ever done)
79. seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. published a book
81. visited the Vatican
82. bought a brand new car
83. walked in Jerusalem
84. had your picture in the newspaper
85. read the entire bible -- most of it
86. visited the White House
87. killed and prepared an animal for eating (another thing I did with Gran)
88. had chickenpox
89. saved someone’s life
90. sat on a jury
91. met someone famous (haha Vince Neil of Motley Crue)
92. joined a book club
93. lost a loved one
94. had a baby
95. seen the Alamo in person
96. swum in the Great Salt Lake
97. been involved in a law suit
98. owned a cell phone
99. been stung by a bee

Our Florida Vacation

2009-01-04T16:12:00.008-05:00

We just got back from a week in Florida, our first big week-long vacation as a family. We stayed in Melbourne right on the beach. This is a sunrise view from our condo's balcony. The weather was fantastic. The temp was in the high 70s all week. No rain. Blue skies. Couldn't have been better.What do I notice as soon as we arrive? I look at the mailboxes for the condo and I see...Yes, I got excited when I saw that name. Yes, I know I'm a big nerd, but I don't care!! Yes, I kept my eye out for them all week, but they were nowhere to be found. Apparently Florida is too sunny for them in the daytime. Haha.

I was able to finish Katie's Bella Mittens. Not in time for Christmas, but they did get done. They turned out pretty well.

The weather was perfect for the boys to play. The water was too cold for me, but they don't care about that.

I was lucky enough to come across this jellyfish on one of my morning walks. I've never seen one in real life. We did go to Disney three days of the week. Pix for that will be in the next post.

Books I've Read 2009

2009-01-03T19:54:00.088-05:00

So I've joined the Ravelry group 52 Groups in 52 Weeks. I'm including the date finished for my own reference. Unless otherwise noted, a book is started on the same day the previous one was finished.

* denotes a CHS library book

1) An Ice Cold Grave--Charlaine Harris (1/1/09)
2) Divine Evil--Nora Roberts (1/3/09)
3) Perfect Match--Jodi Picoult (1/9/09)
4) A Woman of Substance--Barbara Taylor Bradford (1/19/09)
5) Dead After Dark--Sherrilyn Kenyon et al (1/22/09)
6) Trail of Crumbs--Kim Sunee (1/27/09)
7) Tribute--Nora Roberts (1/30/09)
8) Carnal Innocence--Nora Roberts (2/1/09)
9) Mercy--Jodi Picoult (2/7/09)
10) Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict--Laurie Viera Rigler (2/9/09)
11) A Kiss of Shadows--Laurell K. Hamilton (2/16/09)
12) Words in a French Life--Kristin Espinasse (2/17/09-2/24/09)
13) Salem's Lot--Stephen King (2/25/09-3/7/09)
14) Midnight Bayou--Nora Roberts (3/11/09)
15) Sizzle and Burn--Jayne Ann Krentz (3/16/09)
16) Daring to Dream--Nora Roberts (3/18/09)
16 1/2? The Dead House--Linda Fairstein--read to pg. 55. Too boring for me.
17) Light in Shadow--Jayne Ann Krentz (3/20/09)
18) Dark Seduction--Brenda Joyce (3/22/09)
19) Night Echoes--Holly Lisle (3/25/09)
20) Ghoul--Brian Keene (3/27/09)
21) One Quick Bite--Lynsay Sands (3/28/09)
22) Dark Rival--Brenda Joyce (3/30/09)
23) Dangerous--Nora Roberts (4/3/09)
24) Carolina Moon--Nora Roberts (4/5/09)
25) Dark Hollow--Brian Keene (4/8/09)
26) Love the One You're With--Emily Giffin (4/9/09)
27) Love Bites--Lynsay Sands (4/10/09)
28) White Lies--Jayne Ann Krentz (4/11/09)
29) The Darkest Night--Gena Showalter (4/14/09)
30) Company of Liars--Karen Maitland (4/18/09)
31) The Vampire Who Loved Me--Teresa Medeiros (4/23/09)
32) Single White Vampire--Lynsay Sands (4/25/09)
33) The Darkest Kiss--Gena Showalter (4/28/09)
34) Hidden Talents--Jayne Ann Krentz (5/3/09)
35) Tall, Dark, and Hungry--Lynsay Sands (5/7/09)
36) Midnight Rain--Holly Lisle (5/10/09)
37) My Lobotomy--Howard Dully (5/11/09)
38) Truth or Dare--Jayne Ann Krentz (5/14/09)
39) Dark Lover--JR Ward (5/15/09)
40) Second Sight--Amanda Quick (5/17/09)
41) Dead and Gone--Charlaine Harris (5/19/09)
42) Dead of Night--JD Robb et al (5/23/09)
43) Pitch Black--Susan Crandall (5/27/09)
44) Smoke in Mirrors--Jayne Ann Krentz (5/30/09)
45) I See You--Holly Lisle (5/31/09)
46) Women of the Asylum--J Geller & M Harris (6/1/09)
47) Last Girl Dancing--Holly Lisle (6/2/09)
48) Defining Moments in Music--Various (6/4/09)
49) Malice--Lisa Jackson (6/8/09)
50) Twilight--Stephenie Meyer (6/14/09)
51) Gracefully Insane--Alex Beam (6/20/09)
52) A Kiss in Winter--Susan Crandall (6/25/09)
53) All Night Long--Jayne Ann Krentz (6/27/09)
54) Dark Prince--Christine Feehan (6/29/09)
55) Dark Desire--Christine Feehan (6/30/09)
56) Seeing Red--Susan Crandall (7/2/09)
Read the 1st 75 pages of Drood but didn't like it
57) Many Bloody Returns--Charlaine Harris et al (7/9/09)
58) Lover Eternal--JR Ward (7/12/09)
59) Dark Gold--Christine Feehan (7/13/09)
60) Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King--Lisa Rogak (7/20/09)
61) The Devil in the White City--Erik Larson (7/23/09)
62) Lover Awakened--JR Ward (7/24/09)
63) Dark Magic--Christine Feehan (7/28/09)
64) Just After Sunset--Stephen King (8/03/09)
65) Lover Revealed--JR Ward (8/5/09)
66) Lover Unbound--JR Ward (8/6/09)
67) The House--Bentley Little (8/9/09)
Started The Likeness by Tana French but didn't like it
68) Lover Enshrined--JR Ward (8/18/09)
69) Marked--PC Cast and Kristin Cast (8/27/09)
70) The Help--Kathryn Stockett (9/2/09)
71) Betrayed--PC Cast and Kristin Cast (9/12/09)
72) The Fixer Upper--Mary Kay Andrews (9/17/09)
73) Lover Avenged--JR Ward (9/24/09)
74) Boy Minus Girl--Richard Uhlig (9/30/09)
75) Falling Awake--Jayne Ann Krentz (10/6/09)
76) The Perks of Being a Wallflower--Stephen Chbosky (10/18/09)
77) High Noon--Nora Roberts (10/22/09)
*78) Bliss--Lauren Myracle (10/24/09)
79) Strange Candy--Laurell K. Hamilton (10/28/09)
80) Be Mine Tonight--Kathryn Smith (10/29/09)
81) Inexcusable--Chris Lynch (10/30/09)
82) The Doctor's Wife--Elizabeth Brundage (11/1/09)
*83) Pure--Terry Elan McVoy (11/12/09)
84) Cravings--Laurell K. Hamilton and others (11/16/09)
85) Skin Trade--Laurell K. Hamilton (11/20/09)
86) The Night of the Huntress--Kathryn Smith (11/22/09)
87) Deep Kiss of Winter--Kresley Cole/Gena Showalter (11/26/09)
88) Running Hot--Jayne Ann Krentz (11/30/09)
89) Grave Secret--Charlaine Harris (12/11/09)
*90) The Book Thief--Markus Zusak (12/19/09)
91) Love at First Bite--Sherrilyn Kenyon et al (12/22/09)
92) Beyond the Dark--Lora Leigh et al (12/26/09)
*93) The Chosen One--Carol Lynch Williams (12/27/09)
*94) Scrambled Eggs at Midnight--Brad Barkley (12/28/09)
95) Something Wicked--Catherine Mulvany (12/29/09)

95 books in one year. Whew.

I love these dumb quizzes

2008-12-14T12:44:00.000-05:00

You Are an Argyle Sweater

You are contemplative, brainy, and serious.

You don't take much lightly - life is too important for that.

You are a very determined person. You don't let anything stand in your way.

You think out your actions and act deliberately. You don't waste time, money, or resources.

What Kind of Sweater Are You?

Tis the Season

2008-12-05T19:26:00.002-05:00

I think I did this last year, but here goes again--

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper for everything.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artifical all the way! I've never had a real tree in my life.
3. When do you put up the tree? We weren't traveling over Thanksgiving this year, so the tree went up that weekend. A record for us!
4. When do you take the tree down? New Year's Day or so.
5. Do you like eggnog? I LOVE eggnog. It's so yummy.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I remember when I was about 8 and got a Shaun Cassidy t-shirt.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad. What do you get the man who has everything?
8. Easiest person to buy for? Gavin. He's knows exactly what he wants and isn't afraid to let everyone know it.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? No.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? We mail them but this is probably my least favorite thing about Christmas.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? The only think I can think of is a weird sweater with fringe around the bottom and the neck.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? It's a toss-up between two of my childhood favorites: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (cartoon, of course) and "A Charlie Brown Christmas". I love the music.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? The beginning of December
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Gingerbread!!
16. Lights on the tree? Of course!
17. Favorite Christmas song? My two favorites are "Oh Holy Night" and "What Child is This?"
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We always stay home for Christmas Day but usually travel the rest of the time.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Of course. Who doesn't know the words to "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?"
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? My mom used to let my brother and me pick out one gift on Christmas Eve to open, but now we open them all in the morning.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crowds of people in all the stores. And the traffic.
22. Favorite ornament theme or color? I don't have a theme. We each get a new ornament every year.
23. What do you want for Christmas this year? My own guitar and Wii Fit.
24. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star
25. Favorite Christmas dinner? We always have ham.

Hot off the needles

2008-12-01T12:36:00.002-05:00

I finished another hat this morning. This one is for Marcus E. I used (mostly) the A Hat fit for a Boyfriend pattern but changed it some to add the cable twists. You know I'm all about cables. I changed the decreasing also so I could fit the right number of cables.
Now I'm off to grade some papers on the last day of Thanksgiving vacation. Nothing like waiting until the last minute...

Still sort of obsessing

2008-11-30T12:06:00.003-05:00

about Twilight. I just took a break from Christmas decorating to take the Twilight Character quiz...

Here are G2 and I in the middle of decorating--

Catching up

2008-11-28T13:05:00.008-05:00

This is a picture-heavy post. I've been too busy with the other hobbies in my life to blog. I'm also a procrastinator about putting pix on the computer. It's not one of my favorite jobs.

I've been knitting up a storm (for me anyway). I decided to make some knitted gifts. I, of course, can never wait until Christmas. This is the Utopia hat that I made for Ryan R., one of my helpers at school.This is the Basic Cable Hat from Stitch n Bitch Nation. I have to add another inch or so because the pattern is too short. This hat is for Hallie T., another helper.This hat is another Basic Cable Hat, made for Lindsey D., my next-door neighbor teacher friend.This is A Hat Fit for a Boyfriend, made for Evan W., who is my "little guitar buddy."

This is the same pattern, made for Marc H., a helper.These are the Garter Heel Socks, which I gave to my sister Tia as an early Christmas present. She's been wanting me to make her socks forever. I really liked this pattern. It's similar to the Jaywalker. It's very easy to remember, too.This pair of mittens, I must say, is the best I've ever done. Usually my thumbs turn out lumpy and crappy and too big. These are perfect. I just have to remember 17 stitches at the base of the thumb. This pair will be given to Nichole M.

Thanksgiving was great. We went to my mom's. The food was delicious. The kids were good and had fun.

Over this long weekend, I'm trying to get ahead on some things--cleaning the house, doing laundry, practicing guitar, starting on my next knitting project (another hat, I think), and working on my reading goal of 52 books by the end of the year. I'm on book 50 right now, so I'm in good shape. Oh, and the papers I have to grade! Can't forget those!

RIP Michael Crichton

2008-11-05T17:04:00.001-05:00

I really enjoyed his books and am saddened at his passing.

Favorites Meme

2008-11-04T18:25:00.002-05:00

I borrowed this meme from Dr. Girlfriend:

The “Favorites” Meme
1.Political show – I don't watch political shows.
2. Picnic food – Peanut butter and jelly
3. Mixed drink – Water with Crystal Light lemonade packets
4. U.S. President – Abraham Lincoln
5. Kind of student to teach – Enthusiastic, motivated sophomores
6. Hobby you do or wish you still did – Knitting, of course.
7. Sports commentator – Bob Costas
8. Sport to watch on TV – I'll watch football for a few minutes if forced
9. Animal to have as a pet – Cat, though I settled for a dog for the kids
10. Halloween costume you have worn – clown
11. Kind of dessert – Some sort of brownie a la mode with hot fudge
12. Comic strip – I don't read comics, either
13. Style or make of footwear – Usually my Birkenstocks knock-offs
14. Ice cream flavor – Coffee or cappuccino
15. College or university president – Gordon Gee??
16. Internet news source – Fox News
17. Vacation spot – Somewhere where I can sightsee and shop
18. Wine – Not really
19. Way to waste time instead of working – Talking to Mrs. Boyd next door
20. Student excuse for late work – They usually don't even bother with an excuse.
21. Reality show – Hell's Kitchen
22. Jewelry on a man – Ugh! No way! Especially pinky rings. Ugh!
23. Pizza topping – MMM. I love pepperoni and onion if it's cooked long enough to be crispy. I love BLT pizza, too.
24. Children's movie – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Gene Wilder)
25. Celebrity you wish would retire – Madonna

SHOUT OUT to Mrs. Borton's class!!

2008-10-15T13:44:00.002-05:00

Thank you to Dalton C. for showing me how to put a line through words ~~just like this~~!

Pushing Twilight

2008-09-26T19:04:00.004-05:00

You all know my intense love for the Twilight series. I checked our school library before the first day of school and saw only one copy of Eclipse. Why have book three of a series and none of the others? Once school started I found out that few students had read any of the sereis. I'm on a Twilight campaign. Even though I swore to myself that I was NEVER EVER going to loan out my copies to students, I gave in. I found one or two students who had read some but not all of the series and we instantly bonded. They were so excited about the series but either couldn't find the next book or didn't have the money to buy it, so I loaned them what they needed, making them swear to me that they would be gentle with my beloved books. Ever so slowly, my "I'm never loaning my books out" wall began to crumble. The more I talked about the books, the more students became interested and soon enough all seven of my books, plus my two printed out copies of Midnight Sun, were loaned out. Here's what it's come to:This is my board at school. Students are in line to borrow my books. They ask me if so and so is almost done because they can't wait for the next one. Can I just say that this pleases me to no end. Not only am I creating a whole new pack? flock? herd? of newborns, I am getting them to READ!! (I also ordered the American Library Assn's Twilight Read poster, too. Having it laminated this weekend!)

Music from My Graduation Year: 1987

2008-09-21T15:16:00.004-05:00

OK. I'm dating myself, but I'm doing it anyway. I got this idea from Jess.

The rules:
A.) Go to musicoutfitters.com
B.) Enter the year you graduated from high school in the search function and get the list of 100 most popular songs of that year
C.) Bold the songs you like, italicize the ones you hate and underline your favorites. Do nothing to the ones you don’t remember (or don’t care about).

I can't figure out how to underline just one song, so I'm putting a star next to my faves.

1. Walk Like An Egyptian, Bangles
2. Alone, Heart*
3. Shake You Down, Gregory Abbott
4. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), Whitney Houston
5. Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now, Starship
6. C'est La Vie, Robbie Nevil
7. Here I Go Again, Whitesnake
8. The Way It Is, Bruce Hornsby and the Range
9. Shakedown, Bob Seger
10. Livin' On A Prayer, Bon Jovi
11. La Bamba, Los Lobos
12. Everybody Have Fun Tonight, Wang Chung
13. Don't Dream It's Over, Crowded House*
14. Always, Atlantic Starr
15. With Or Without You, U2*
16. Looking For A New Love, Jody Watley
17. Head To Toe, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
18. I Think We're Alone Now, Tiffany
19. Mony Mony, Billy Idol
20. At This Moment, Billy Vera and The Beaters
21. Lady In Red, Chris De Burgh
22. Didn't We Almost Have It All, Whitney Houston
23. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, U2*
24. I Want Your Sex, George Michael
25. Notorious, Duran Duran
26. Only In My Dreams, Debbie Gibson
27. (I've Had) The Time Of My Life, Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
28. The Next Time I Fall, Peter Cetera and Amy Grant
29. Lean On Me, Club Nouveau*
30. Open Your Heart, Madonna
31. Lost In Emotion, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
32. (I Just) Died In Your Arms, Cutting Crew
33. Heart And Soul, T'pau
34. You Keep Me Hangin' On, Kim Wilde
35. Keep Your Hands To Yourself, Georgia Satellites
36. I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me), Aretha Franklin and George Michael
37. Control, Janet Jackson*
38. Somewhere Out There, Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram
39. U Got The Look, Prince
40. Land Of Confusion, Genesis
41. Jacob's Ladder, Huey Lewis and The News
42. Who's That Girl, Madonna
43. You Got It All, Jets*
44. Touch Me (I Want Your Body), Samantha Fox
45. I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett
46. Causing A Commotion, Madonna
47. In Too Deep, Genesis
48. Let's Wait Awhile, Janet Jackson
49. Hip To Be Square, Huey Lewis and the News
50. Will You Still Love Me?, Chicago
51. Little Lies, Fleetwood Mac
52. Luka, Suzanne Vega
53. I Heard A Rumour, Bananarama
54. Don't Mean Nothing, Richard Marx
55. Songbird, Kenny G
56. Carrie, Europe
57. Don't Disturb This Groove, The System*
58. La Isla Bonita, Madonna
59. Bad, Michael Jackson
60. Sign 'O' The Times, Prince
61. Change Of Heart, Cyndi Lauper
62. Come Go With Me, Expose
63. Can't We Try, Dan Hill
64. To Be A Lover, Billy Idol
65. Mandolin Rain, Bruce Hornsby and the Range
66. Breakout, Swing Out Sister
67. Stand By Me, Ben E. King
68. Tonight, Tonight, Tonight, Genesis
69. Someday, Glass Tiger
70. When Smokey Sings, ABC
71. Casanova, Levert
72. Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine
73. Rock Steady, Whispers
74. Wanted Dead Or Alive, Bon Jovi*
75. Big Time, Peter Gabriel*
76. The Finer Things, Steve Winwood
77. Let Me Be The One, Expose
78. Is This Love, Survivor
79. Diamonds, Herb Alpert
80. Point Of No Return, Expose
81. Big Love, Fleetwood Mac
82. Midnight Blue, Lou Gramm
83. Something So Strong, Crowded House*
84. Heat Of The Night, Bryan Adams
85. Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You, Glenn Medeiros
86. Brilliant Disguise, Bruce Springsteen
87. Just To See Her, Smokey Robinson
88. Who Will You Run To, Heart
89. Respect Yourself, Bruce Willis
90. Cross My Broken Heart, Jets
91. Victory, Kool and The Gang
92. Don't Get Me Wrong, Pretenders
93. Doing It All For My Baby, Huey Lewis and The News
94. Right On Track, Breakfast Club
95. Ballerina Girl, Lionel Richie
96. Meet Me Half Way, Kenny Loggins
97. I've Been In Love Before, Cutting Crew
98. (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right To Party, Beastie Boys*
99. Funkytown, Pseudo Echo
100. Love You Down, Ready For The World

I think I like music from other years a lot better than my own grad year or the music I liked at the time was not in the top 100. I only somewhat like most of the songs I boldfaced.

Today's FO

2008-09-19T18:50:00.002-05:00

Brooklyntweed's Habitat...

A "Snow Day" Already

2008-09-16T17:26:00.003-05:00

Due to Hurricane Ike coming through, we didn't have school yesterday. Coshocton was harder than any of us are used to. Some of my students still don't have electricity today. Luckily, we didn't have any damage. We spent two hours picking branches in the yard. I consider myself very lucky. We live in the woods where a tree could fall on our house at any time. (I'm knocking on wood right now!) The boys still don't have electricity at their school and had a second day off today.

Here's how G2 spent part of his day. He loves Playdoh and loves to make me cookies, pizza, and to leave me messages...

I also made a dent in my second attempt at the Habitat hat. It's going a lot better now that I'm using a circular needle. Cabling in the round with DPN's is not enjoyable at all. I love this pattern, though. Lots of cables running everywhere.

I think I figured it out

2008-09-14T08:03:00.004-05:00

I have solved the problem of chart reading, I think. I have color coded the different cable stitches so I don't have to keep double checking myself, which is what's taking me so long. It's only the 4th week of school and I'm sick already. I started feeling bad last night--sore throat, head pounding, achy, etc. I figured if I took Tylenol and went to bed early, I might beat it. Not a chance. I feel even crappier today.

Here's a pic of G2 from the football game last weekend. He and I wore our Bobcats stuff. We were way outnumbered. We sat in a sea of scarlet and gray. Every other Bobcat fan who walked by G2 either cheered him or gave him high-5. He, of course, ate up all the attention. I thought he looked so cute in his jersey and visor.
Then he wore the jersey to school last week and lots of kids told him "You suck" because he was wearing an OU jersey. G2 came home crying. Why do kids have to be so stinkin' mean?

My Eclipse Socks Done!

2008-09-13T15:17:00.003-05:00

I finished them yesterday at lunch. I've been able to knit three or four rows after I eat lunch every day. I loooovvvee this pattern. It's by MissJulie from Ravelry. She's working on a pattern for Breaking Dawn now. That'll be an upcoming project for me!

Right now I'm working on brooklyntweed's Habitat hat. This is the most complicated cabling I've ever done. Plus I'm reading the pattern from a chart, which I've only done a handful of times. And those projects were never cabled. Whooeee! It's a toughy. I thought about writing the entire pattern out, but that seemed like too much work, too. If anyone has any chart reading tips, please share.

On the homefront, we went to the Buckeyes-Bobcats game last weekend. It was pretty fun. Our alma mater, Ohio University, was winning until the 4th quarter. It was a good game. For me to enjoy a football game, it had to be good. I'll post pix in my next post.

**Happy Birthday to Bella Swan! (Yes, I know I'm a geek for wishing a fictional character a happy birthday)

A little bit of knitting

2008-08-24T10:51:00.004-05:00

I've been working on Eclipse socks from missjulie's pattern. If you've been reading my blog, you know I LOVE the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. If you read the Twilight series, you know that the 3rd book Eclipse has a red ribbon on the cover. I made a pair for Katie for her birthday in December, but you know I wouldn't be able to hold on to them that long. I forgot to take a pic before I sent them, so I had her send me one on her phone. It was my first attempt at duplicate stitch. It didn't turn out too bad. I did learn a couple of things about how tight to pull the stitches and to actually start duplicate stitching before the bottom of the sock is closed up. That makes it a lot easier than sticking my hand all the way down the sock.I'm now making my own pair of Eclipse socks. I've turned the heel but stopped shortly after to start the duplicate stitch. Much easier! School has gotten off to a smooth start. So far so good with my classes. Lots of paperwork as usual, but the kids seem to be glad to be back. I didn't realize how much I missed last year's students. It was good to see them, too. Last year's sophomores was an awesome class! I bet this year will be good, too.

I swear..

2008-08-10T10:28:00.002-05:00

I have been thinking about this blog. I just haven't found the time to update it. This has been a busy summer. After we got back from down south, we've been off doing something. Now that I look back, it seems like we haven't really done anything to speak of.

I read the Twilight series several times, which consumed my life for most of the summer. I've also discovered the Southern Vampire Mysteries Series with Sookie Stackhouse. I just love that name. As you can see on my bookshelf, I'm trying to read Pride and Prejudice. Trying being the key word. The Twilight group on Ravelry has been my main internet focus. The girls (and one guy) helped keep me busy until the release of Breaking Dawn.

We just spent the weekend at Scout camp. We have a family campout just for our pack. That's the best campout. We all already know each other and the kids play so well together.

I've been knitting some, trying to get some presents (ssshhh, top secret) finished up before school starts. One week left of vacation and what do I have to show for it. I had intentions of refining some of my lessons over the summer, but that didn't happen. I haven't touched a single school-related thing since May 28 or whenever our last day was. And you know what? I don't feel guilty in the least.

Hope to post some pix soon!

Awesome dinner

2008-07-02T10:05:00.003-05:00

Katie and I had a great dinner at The Melting Pot. We both have wanted to try fondue forever and Dad treated us to a sisters' night out. Everything was really yummy. My favorite, though, was the dark chocolate dessert. Think about this...a chunk of brownie dipped in dark chocolate. How sinful can dessert get!?!
This is Katie enjoying the actual dinner part of our dinner--looks like chicken!

We love Edward!

2008-06-25T22:24:00.006-05:00

I got my sister Katie hooked on the Twilight books. She's in the middle of New Moon right now. We love Edward so much that we decided to get t-shirts. Cafe Press has a ton of cute shirts for Twilight. Here we are posing with ours.In case you can't read the shirts, here's a closeup:Oh how I wish that was true!!!

Tomorrow we're going on a hike. I have been working on a sock for SOS, just very slowly. Maybe I'll get a couple of shots with it on the hike tomorrow.

Knitting on hold

2008-06-21T21:25:00.002-05:00

I know Summer of Socks started yesterday, but I was trying--no, wanted to finish New Moon and Eclipse from the Twilight saga. What can I say? I love these books. I love these characters. And after looking around on the internet, I see that LOTS of other people love them, too. I can't wait for Breaking Dawn.

We got back from Myrtle this afternoon. G2's blisters popped. Yucky. Big wet spots on his shirt. The salt water from the ocean burned, though. Other than that, we had a good time. The boys start vacation bible school at my dad's church tomorrow night. It should be fun for them.

And no. No knitting whatsoever. Nada. Zilch. I feel like a bad "Summer of Socks"er.

Down South

2008-06-17T09:19:00.002-05:00

We made it down to Dad's in South Carolina on Sunday. The trip went pretty quickly. We dropped off several bags of clothes for my nephew, along with an electric Jeep. He has really grown. His second birthday was about three weeks ago and he is in the "terrible twos" now. He likes to boss his 10-year-old cousin around.

I went to the bookstore yesterday and picked up all of Stephenie Meyer's books. I'm reading "New Moon" right now and am about halfway through. I've already cried because of the beginning of the book. Those of you who've read it know what I'm talking about.

We leave for Myrtle Beach tomorrow. We've never been there, so it should be fun. The only bad thing is that G2 has a bad sunburn from yesterday. I put SPF 50 on him, but we don't handle the sun well. I barely tan at all, no matter how much time I spend outside. The kids seem to burn first and tan later. Just call me "Pasty"!!

Me: A to Z

2008-06-07T06:31:00.002-05:00

I saw this meme on Major Knitter and thought it'd be fun.

ACCENT: Midwest accent.

BREAKFAST OR NO BREAKFAST: I love breakfast. My family often has breakfast for dinner because we love it so much.

CHORE I DON'T CARE FOR: Putting clean laundry away. I don't mind washing and drying, but I hate putting it all away.

DOG OR CAT: We have one dog, but I really a cat lover. We thought a dog would be better with two roughhousing boys.

ESSENTIAL ELECTRONICS: My computer and I-Pod. I couldn't get my chores done if I didn't have my I-Pod!

FAVORITE COLOGNE: Right now I wear Eddie Bauer Pure.

GOLD OR SILVER: It doesn't really matter. I don't wear a lot of jewelry.

HANDBAG I CARRY MOST OFTEN: I just got a cute purse from Kohl's that I like a lot. Plus, it's big enough carry a small knitting project.

INSOMNIA: Not really, but I find myself sleeping less and less as the years go by. I don't really feel I'm missing out on sleep, though.

JOB TITLE: mom (of course) & HS English teacher

KIDS: 2 great boys--G1 (10) and G2 (7)

LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: I live with my husband and my two sons.

MOST ADMIRABLE TRAIT: People tell me I'm really organized and that I have very nice handwriting.

NAUGHTIEST CHILDHOOD BEHAVIOR: Probably my bossiness.

OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAY: Tonsillectomy when I was 6, having two kids, and a gall bladder removal.

PHOBIAS: bugs--I am terrified of almost every kind of insect, including butterflies and moths. Especially moths. Only in the past year or two have I been able to catch lightning bugs. However, if I think about what I'm holding too much, I panic and freak out. Dumb, huh?

QUOTE: Let me get back with you on that one...

REASON TO SMILE: Summer VACAY!!!

SIBLINGS: I have one full brother and two half-sisters.

TIME I WAKE UP: I naturally wake up between 5:00-7:00 a.m. I get up at 4:15 on school days and it's hard to get out of that habit.

UNUSUAL SKILL OR TALENT: I can say the alphabet backwards really quickly. I learned it on a record I had when I was a kid.

VEGETABLE I REFUSE TO EAT: Lima beans. UGH!

WORST HABIT: Biting my nails.

X-RAYS: Nope.

YUMMY STUFF: I love dark chocolate and just about any kind of cheese. I love cheese.

ZOO ANIMAL I LIKE MOST: Otters. They have to be just about the cutest!!

I'm tagging Dustina for this meme!!

Catching up

2008-06-06T10:57:00.004-05:00

***I'm having trouble rearranging these pictures after I upload them for some reason.

The first picture is a deer who was laying by our shed. This pic was taken from our bedroom window about 15 feet away. You can make out the deer to the left of the tree in the foreground. We see lots and I mean LOTS of deer around our house. More so in the winter when they are looking for food. This was a young buck. He had fuzzy little antlers.

I finally feel like I'm making progress in my knitting. I finished the Boogie Vest with Hilde's help last night at Knit Nite (my unofficial name for it). The pic is courtesy of G2, who has trouble holding the camera steady. He did manage to keep my face out of it, which I asked him to do. Hilde did the crochet edging for me. My crochet skills leave something to be desired.

This vest is thick and bulky. I'll have to save it for a really cold day. The only thing I really don't like about it is the neckline. There are like these points at the top of the V. I'd rather those not be there. They might not be so bad if I wear a collared shirt underneath.

Hilde was working on a Guideposts charity sweater and Dustina was working on three projects--her Bird in Hand mittens are gorgeous!!

Next week is Cub Scout day camp. I can't wait!

Waterfall rib socks done

2008-06-02T12:39:00.003-05:00

I finished them about a month ago but haven't taken a picture of the completed pair. I really like how this pattern turned out and think it worked well with the yarn. The bottom pic without the flash is really dark, but the pic with the flash had a glare. I envy those of you who take awesome pictures!

I needed that!

2008-06-02T06:49:00.005-05:00

I've been meaning to post for a while but haven't found the time or the willingness. Dustina tagged me for this meme, which is what I needed to get my rear in gear to update this blog.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

I had just had a beautiful baby boy six weeks before and was in the process of making the decision to quit my teaching job where I was commuting an hour one way to one where the commute was less than five minutes. Seems like a no-brainer, but I loved teaching French and the new job was English only. I did it anyway and I'm glad I did.

2. What were 5 things on my to-do-list today (not in any particular order)?
1. Go to school and attend a meeting on updating my certificate to a license.
2. Catch up on laundry.
3. Clean out the car.
4. Play a game of whiffle ball with the boys.
5. Work on my Boogie vest.

3. What snacks do I enjoy?
I love just about any kind of cheese. I also like semi-sweet chocolate chip cookies dunked in
milk.

4. Where are some places I've lived?
I was born in Australia (Dad was in the Navy). Other than that, the only place I've lived is
Ohio.

5. What things would I do if I were a billionaire?
I would pay off our bills, pay off our house, help my family with anything they might need,
and relax!!!

A big weight off my shoulders

2008-05-01T12:43:00.005-05:00

It's amazing how much things can change in two days. I just posted about how much I had to do this week. Whew. At this point, most of it is done. I feel a lot better. I have some small assignments to grade this weekend and then final drafts of the research paper are due Monday.

Our Rock the Arts Festival is tomorrow. This is our first year for it and we've worked hard. I'm sure it'll turn out great. I'm in charge of the Dino dig in the morning and the ring toss in the afternoon. I also have several students reading their own poetry in front of an audience. Some of them wrote about very personal subjects that really surprised me. We're selling booklets of the poetry and I found it hard to believe they'd want everyone else to read what they've written.

Jennifer posted about the Summer of Socks at Jessica's blog, and I thought it sounded like a great idea. I like to do knitalong sort of things but don't like to feel rushed in my knitting. It starts to feel like a chore. This is just my speed (slow--ha ha). And like many knitters, I have a lot of sock yarn in my stash that I can use.

Maybe I can get a head start on some Christmas presents. I have a couple of patterns I'd like to try. I can't wait!!

I'm drowning

2008-04-29T17:52:00.002-05:00

in a sea of school work, that is.

To do this week:
1. Proofread 138 research papers
2. Sort and deliver all 98 Rock the Arts t-shirts to our school plus our 3 elementaries
3. Put together the Rock the Arts poetry book (40 pages back to back) and make 50 copies
4. Meet with others in my department to choose materials for next year's new reading class
5. Make sure all grades are up to date for interims reports due tonight
6. Stay one step ahead of my students

Can I say that I'm a little stressed?? No time for blogging!!

Something I forgot

2008-04-20T05:57:00.002-05:00

in last night's post, which I just read and it sounds like I'm really complaining, is that three other teachers and I have signed on to be theater advisors. We're not having a Drama Club per se, but our district does have money set aside for theater productions. There are three schools in our county and our kids have participated in the other schools' plays because we didn't have them. None of us even knew this money was there.

I am really excited about this. We've picked a play for this fall called "Frumpled Fairy Tales." It's a kids' production that has "Rumplestilskin," "Rapunzel," and "Little Red Riding Hood." I can't wait. We're going to have a meeting before school is out this year to see how many are interested.

If any of you have done theater and have suggestions, please feel free to contact me!!

Has it been almost a month?

2008-04-19T22:03:00.002-05:00

Time goes by fast. I've been so busy at school that I haven't had time to do much blogging.

G1 is having his first sleepover tonight. His 10th birthday is next week. 10. A decade. Where have the years gone? More about that next week.

I don't expect to get much sleep tonight. So far the activities have included football, cornhole, wrestling, pizza, more wrestling, a Guitar Hero battle (complete with a bracket), American Idol singoffs, cake, and indoor flashlight tag (it's raining). These boys are definitely not quiet about anything they've done. G1 is having a blast, though, so I don't mind. I am tired. It's 11:12. About an hour past my weekend bedtime.

I got my yarn in to finish my Boogie vest. I've only worked on it a little. Too many papers to grade.

I've had a lot of trouble keeping images in my sidebar. They keep disappearing and a box with an X shows up in their place. I don't know what to do!!

What's that you say? You actually finished something?

2008-03-25T18:49:00.008-05:00

Yes, I did. I did indeed. I finished my Tweedy Vest. I think I must be the slowest knitter on the face of the earth. Some people crank out sweaters in what seems to be a month. I can barely do a vest in a year. The vest looks really good when I'm not wearing it. I had to stand very straight for this picture because the vest clings in places I really don't like. I don't know how to do shaping of any kind or if shaping would even solve that problem.

I started my waterfall rib socks over with the Cherry Tree Hill yarn. I wasn't happy with my inability to do short-row heels nor the length of the cuff. I don't like anklet-type socks. I either want footies or a 7 or 8 inch cuff. The cuff was just too short for me.

The kids and I had a good Easter break. Thursday the kids went to Granny's to color eggs with their cousins. Granny has them over every year and then the three families split the eggs.

Here's G1:

Here's G2:

Here are all the cousins together:

Friday we went to Columbus to the Ohio Historical Society Museum. The kids liked it a lot. Then we went to Build-A-Bear where G2 goes when he has some money burning a hole in his pocket. He is crazy for stuffed animals. The choice of animal this time was the Happy Chick for Easter. We had lunch at my brother and dad's favorite pizza place Massey's.

The break was short. We didn't get to see "Horton Hears a Who." Maybe next weekend.

Seven weird things about me

2008-03-17T06:04:00.004-05:00

This meme has been going around. I guess it's my turn now. Some of these things aren't exactly weird, just interesting.

1. I was born in Australia but moved to the US when I was six months old. My dad was stationed in the Navy there.
2. I am terrified of insects, especially beetles and anything that flies like moths, cicadas, grasshoppers, butterflies, etc. If I go outside at night, porch lights have to be turned off. If porch lights are on and moths have gathered, I'll find another door to go in. If I go camping, I will not stay still too long in one spot with the flashlight.
3. It really bothers me when a toothpaste tube is squeezed in the middle. I have to start from the bottom and work up the tube.
4. It also really bothers me when people put a roll of toilet paper or paper towels on so that the paper comes out the bottom instead of over the top. The pattern is on one side for a reason.
5. I can bend my arms backwards a little at the elbow. I can also twist my arms so that the elbows are turned all the way out.
6. I've been to France three times. I lived in Tours for four months while studying abroad. I love France and the French language.
7. I hate clothing that has any ruffles, eyelets, embroidery, appliques, or anything else old womany. Add to that polyester pants.
8. When I sleep, I absolutely cannot sleep on my back. I have to sleep on my side with one knee up to my chest.

We took the kids to see a local high school production of "Fiddler on the Roof." Two of my students were in it. One student was G2's teacher's son. The other was my kids' babysitter. It was very good. The lead actor had a full beard and an accent. We could tell he really practiced for the part. My kids did very well. The play was two and a half hours long. They got a little restless toward the end. However, this being their first play, they did a great job.

Early Intervention for Failing Students

2008-03-14T12:22:00.002-05:00

We're starting a committee at my school to come up with a process to prevent kids from failing. Possibilities are regular phone calls home and a student-teacher contract. One of our assistant prinicipals asked any interested teachers to participate. Only 4 out of about 45 responded.

Does anyone out there have some sort of schoolwide process in place to prevent student failures? Our administration encourages us more and more to make sure all of our students pass. Trust me, that IS my goal. However, obstacles prevent that from happening. Obstacles such as laziness, stubbornness (SP?), lack of caring, etc. I printed out lists of missing work for all of my students and gave them some time in class to work on them. None did. They told me that as long as they are passing, they don't care what their grades are. Two of them are only passing because I round a 69.5% up. What are we teachers supposed to do about students like that?

In other school news, we only have one more day of the OGT left. The reading test is Monday because school was cancelled this past Monday. I think the break over the weekend will be good for the students because today's social studies test seemed long. I heard many times how tired the kids and teachers were today. One boy I had in my room during the test actually fell asleep!

Latest reads

2008-03-13T20:33:00.003-05:00

I recently finished Blaze and Duma Key by Stephen King. I felt these two books were very much like his books from way back when. Back when I read his books voraciously. Back when I was in high school/college. I haven't been crazy about many of his books in the last ten years or so.

I have a student who loves Stephen King and read Duma Key right before I did. What he told me of the book made me think I wouldn't like it, but I did, especially the ending, even if it was (SPOILER ALERT?) sad.

The book I'm reading right now is Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee. I teach To Kill a Mockingbird and I find it fascinating that Lee has remained so private, never granting interviews, and was such good friends with Truman Capote, a very odd person. I enjoy the way the book is written. The author, Charles J. Shields, uses a conversational style that is engaging. Many times I find biographies dry, but that's not the case with this book. I recommend it, especially if you like To Kill a Mockingbird.

Catching up

2008-03-09T20:14:00.009-05:00

It seems every time I post, it's been a long time since my last post. I'll admit I haven't been doing much knitting. I stopped on my Boogie Vest because I'm out of yarn and haven't ordered more for fear the new won't match. I stopped on the Tweedy Vest because I don't want to seam it up.

One thing I haven't blogged about is our Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet. My boys earned their badges--Webelos I and Tiger Cub. We had our cake auction. Bob made the Webelos cake.

I made the campfire cake. It was fun!! We had "The Blizzard of 08" over the weekend. I don't think I'd call it a blizzard. We got out of school early Friday and ended up with 8 1/2 inches of snow on our back deck. I think Kacie should be living like in Minnesota or Alaska or somewhere more snowy than it is here. She absolutely loves the snow. She runs like this endlessly. Sometimes she does it in the house. She gets a crazy spell and will just start running back and forth. In the house, she fishtails off the back of the couch. She's funny to watch. Outside, she loves to have snowballs thrown at her so she can try to catch them.

Okay, out of the saddle again

2008-02-13T17:42:00.002-05:00

At my house, we keep passing sickness around. This time it's a cough/fever thing. G1 got it first and just like the last round of illness, I caught it from him. Thank goodness we had two snow days for us to recover some. Plus, we have Friday off for an inservice day. We teachers were able to take an online course on Value-Added Learning. If we did that, we would be allowed to skip Friday's inservice. I'm so glad I did it.

I've been working on my Boogie Vest. No pix to post. I have about 15 more rows to go on the back and then I start the front.

I temporarily gave up on the short-row heel sock. I haven't been feeling up to ripping back and trying to put stitches back on the needles.

Back in the saddle again

2008-02-03T15:28:00.000-05:00

Okay. After a week of illness in the house, I'm getting back into the swing of things at school. G1 woke up a week ago Saturday at 4 am with a stomach bug and was sick until Tuesday. While I was home with him on Tuesday, I felt a sore throat/flu/cold thing coming on and went to school Wednesday feeling like complete crap. I came home Wednesday, took three Tylenol, and took a nap. I woke up feeling a lot better. I woke up Thursday morning feeling really well. I came home Thursday and felt a little queasy. By 5:30, I had the "symptoms" of the stomach bug. I stayed home again Friday and didn't start to feel better until yesterday afternoon. Good thing, too, because I had preordered tickets to the Hannah Montana 3-D movie in Columbus for G2 and his cousin. The movie was okay. Not worth $15 a ticket. I guess it beats having to fight all those crazy ~~parents~~ fans at the real concert and paying tons of money for the trinkets that the kids have to have.

I haven't touched anything from school since Thursday. Much of that time was spent feeling like I was at death's door. So I'm spending tonight trying to get caught up enough to be prepared for tomorrow. I feel very out of touch.

I haven't even been able to take a picture of the yarn I won from Beatriz. I haven't decided which sock pattern I want to make yet, but I've wanted solid color sock yarn for a long time. I don't get to yarn shops often because they're so far away and I'd much rather touch it before I buy it. Getting Bea's yarn was a welcome addition to my stash. As soon as I finish my Cherry Tree Hill socks, I'll get busy with Bea's yarn. THANKS, BEA!!

Speaking of my Cherry Tree Hill socks, I attempted my first short-row heel. I need to post a picture of it to get advice. I must not have turned and wrapped the right way because I have holes. I think I can fix them later, but I don't want to make the same mistake on sock two. Any advice for a newb with short-row heels??

I Won!

2008-01-20T10:12:00.001-05:00

I won!! Busy Bea, who knits some of the most beautiful sweaters, had a recipe contest. She wanted a quick meal for a weeknight. I love this soup, which is actually more like a stew. It's thick with lots of good chicken and vegetables and a little bit of spice. I actually add a little more red pepper to mine because DH likes it bland. Here's the recipe.

Chicken Creole Soup serves 3-4

1 T butter
1 med onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 t garlic, chopped
1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs, cut into 1" pieces
2 T all-purpose flour
2 c chicken broth
1 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 bay leaf
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground red pepper
1/2 c uncooked long-grain rice
1 c water

Melt butter in Dutch oven over med-high heat. Cook onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, and chicken in butter until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in flour. Cook 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly until flour is light brown. Stir in remaining ingredients except the rice and water. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to med-low. Cover and cook 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook rice and water as directed on package. Stir cooked rice into soup. Remove bay leaf.

It makes great leftovers, too. I usually double the recipe for the next night.

On to FO's. This is my first FO of 2008. It's the Simple Ribbed Scarf by Jessica Kaufman. I like how it looks like stockinette, but it doesn't curl up. I think I've blogged about this yarn before. It's from the Universal Yarn Co. I love the colors, but it had a couple of things wrong with it. First of all, one ball had two knots in it about a yard apart. So in order to keep the stripes in the same order, I had to cut off about 3 yards at the beginning of the ball, which went unused. The second thing was even though I got 3 balls from the same lot, one of them had speckles of the grayish color throughout the ball. The other two balls didn't do this. I definitely won't be using this yarn again.

So here's the scarf. I do like how it turned out and it's very warm. Sorry the picture is a little blurry.

The next FO is this pair of socks. It's Austerman Step yarn, which has the jojoba oil. It felt very nice to knit with and these socks are way softer than what I normally knit. I haven't worn them yet, though. I love the different shades of green. They are more matchable to what I wear.
Yesterday we had Cub Scout bowling day. We had a pretty good turn out. Out of 45 scouts, about half came. Considering the weather, that's good. The wind chill yesterday was about 10 degrees, so I think a lot of people chose not to go out. This morning we woke up to 3 degrees with a wind chill of 5 below. A couple of weeks ago, it was 55 degrees. That's Ohio weather for you! Anyway, here's G1 with a friend.
Here's G2 with his cousin.
Here's one of the current projects. The pattern is Waterfall Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. I'm using Cherry Tree Hill yarn. This is the first time I've knit with it. I've always wanted to because I've heard so much about it from other bloggers. It's very soft, too. The color is called Wild Cherry and it's not as pink as it looks here. It's more of a deep pink/fuschia/red.
Last of all, this is the end of the semester for us. I've started entering exam grades and figuring averages, but I've only done three out of eight classes. I'll be spending my evening on the computer doing that.

Then, there are papers for next semester to grade already. I've been reading on English teacher blogs how better to keep up with grading and Dr. Kirk gives some really good organizational tips. It seems that no matter how much I try to get caught up, I never do. Using some of Dr. Kirk's tips helps me not to feel so frazzled and stressed about it all. If anyone else out there has any suggestions on keeping up with grading essays, please let me know!

Books I've Read 2008

2008-01-17T11:42:00.044-05:00

1) Blaze--Stephen King
2) Feud: Hatfields, McCoys, and Social Change in Appalachia, 1860-1900--Altina Waller
3) Trouble in Mind--Leon Litwack
4) Duma Key-Stephen King
5) Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee-Charles J. Shields
6) The Bell Jar--Sylvia Plath
7) The Jungle--Upton Sinclair
8) Into the Devil's Den--Dave Hall et al
9) Twilight--Stephenie Meyer
10) Twilight--Stephenie Meyer (yes, I read it again)
11) Plain Truth--Jodi Picoult
12) But Inside I'm Screaming--Elizabeth Flock
13) New Moon--Stephenie Meyer
14) Eclipse--Stephenie Meyer
15) The Mercy of Thin Air--Ronlyn Domingue
16) Twilight--Stephenie Meyer (3rd time)
17) New Moon--Stephenie Meyer (2nd time)
18) Eclipse--Stephenie Meyer (2nd time)
19) New Moon--Stephenie Meyer (3rd time)
20) Eclipse--Stephenie Meyer (3rd time)
21) Twilight--Stephenie Meyer
22) Change of Heart--Jodi Picoult (only read 1/2; couldn't get into it)
23) Dead Until Dark--Charlaine Harris
24) New Moon--Stephenie Meyer
25) Living Dead in Dallas--Charlaine Harris
26) Breaking Dawn--Stephenie Meyer
27) Breaking Dawn--Stephenie Meyer
28) Club Dead--Charlaine Harris
29) Dead to the World--Charlaine Harris
30) Dead as a Doornail--Charlaine Harris
31) The Shack--William Young
32) Definitely Dead--Charlaine Harris
33) All Together Dead--Charlaine Harris
34) From Dead to Worse--Charlaine Harris
35) Guilty Pleasures--Laurell Hamilton
36) The Laughing Corpse--Laurell Hamilton
37) Circus of the Damned--Laurell Hamilton
38) The Lunatic Cafe--Laurell Hamilton
39) Bloody Bones--Laurell Hamilton
40) The Killing Dance--Laurell Hamilton
41) Burnt Offerings--Laurell Hamilton
42) Obsidian Butterfly--Laurell Hamilton
43) Blue Moon--Laurell Hamilton
44) Narcissus in Chains--Laurell Hamilton
45) Cerulean Sins--Laurell Hamilton
46) Incubus Dreams--Laurell Hamilton
47) Micah--Laurell Hamilton
48) Twilight--Stephenie Meyer
49) Danse Macabre--Laurell Hamilton
50) The Harlequin--Laurell Hamilton
51) Blood Noir--Laurell Hamilton
52) Grave Sight--Charlaine Harris
53) Grave Surprise--Charlaine Harris

Last FO of 2007

2008-01-03T09:35:00.000-05:00

I finished my very cabley mittens on New Year's Eve on the way back from our weekend in Columbus.

DH treated us to a weekend at Easton over the weekend before New Year's. We stayed at the Hilton, which is a big splurge for us. We had fun. The kids got to swim a lot and I got to shop a lot. I bought a couple of new sweaters and a new peacoat. The hotel was nice because it was within walking distance to Easton. We had dinner the first night at Brio and the second night we ordered in from P.F. Chang's, which is DH's favorite. Me, not so much. I'm not crazy about anything I've ever had there.

We also went to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. It was okay.

All in all, it was a good weekend. I took the kids around Columbus and showed them where I used to live and work in high school and college. I showed them different places I remember from when I was growing up.

In the knitting department, I frogged my chevron scarf and have started a ribbed scarf using this pattern. It's turning out very nice. I am definitely more pleased with this pattern. It makes the scarf squishy and more cozy. I want to try to finish my tweedy vest before school starts. However, we still need to take down the Christmas decorations--the most depressing part of Christmas.

Oh and of course I still haven't finished my schoolwork I had planned to get done during vacation. Maybe I'll get that done, too ;)

A Caroling We Go

2007-12-19T10:08:00.000-05:00

Our Cub Scout pack went caroling at our hospital's extended care facility. I don't think the kids were prepared for what they were going to see. I know my kids weren't. I haven't been in a place like that for a long time, so I didn't even think about talking to them first. My kids were scared. They didn't expect to see older, incapacitated people. Some of them were completely unresponsive as we went through. My kids hid behind me and were to afraid to look at anyone. Then, a lady in a wheelchair discovered us and followed us around, trying to hold the kids' hands. They dealt with it well and were polite about it. We had a talk afterward about why the patients were there and how boring and lonely it would be to be in the hospital all the time. I told them that their being there was exciting for them. The kids seemed to be okay with everything after that.

We had our pack meeting after that and everyone got pinewood derby cars. Woohoo! G2 wants to make his into the cheesemobile (sshh-it's a secret!).

Hot off the needles...

2007-12-14T16:21:00.000-05:00

This second sock is the fastest I've knitted--7 days. That's really fast for me. I've realized that knitting goes much quicker if I set small goals within a project for myself.For example, if I try to get ten rows of a sock done a day, like I did this one. That's good. I end up knitting more than that sometimes, depending on how much free time I have.

This pair is going to another teacher at school. It's the least I can do for all the advice she's given me and the shoulder to lean on.

We're expecting bad weather this weekend. After our two snow days and one two-hour delay last week, I'm glad this is happening on the weekend. We're losing too much time at school. Everything will be crazy enough next week anyway with it being the week before break.

The kids and I tried our hands at baking cookies last weekend. G2 picked out cupcakes from a box and G1 and I actually tried to bake from scratch. We made Chocolate Crinkle cookies from Family Fun magazine. They look great--just like the picture. The taste, however, is not quite sweet enough for me. They need a little more sugar.

This weekend we're making brownies for the Cub Scout Pack Meeting Monday and I want to try some pumpkin muffins with a streusel topping. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Happy Birthday, Katie!

2007-12-11T20:34:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe, but my little sister is 16 years old today. It just seems like yesterday that I babysat for her while her mom and dad went out for a well-deserved dinner and she cried shortly after they left the house until they walked back in the door. At the time I thought that was one of the longest evenings of mylife. Looking back, it was hardly anything. Here she is at about 10 months old with a proud dad looking on. She has always liked to have her picture taken.

When she was little, she loved to watch Barney and sing. One of her favorite songs was "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Her version of it was "Fruit fruit fruit for the home team." We would ask her how tall she was and she'd answer "free foot free." One of her favorite movies was "Fumberia" (Thumbelina for those that don't speak Katie-ese!). She's always been a good aunt, even though she's only six years older than G1. She would lay on the floor with him and read to him. This was in 1998, when Katie was seven and G1 was 8 months old.
She's had some big life changes in the past couple of years, but I know she's strong and she can survive it all with her head held high. She's become a beautiful young woman. And I'm starting to cry. Love you lots, Kaitlyn Anna! I just wished we lived closer so I could see you more often.
I also realized I don't have this year's school picture.....

Just for Lyndsey!!

2007-12-03T20:57:00.000-05:00

Lyndsey S. says I need to update my blog more often. Here it is... a couple of Thanksgiving pix I haven't posted yet. G1 & G2 and my nephew R. My boys really enjoyed chasing a newly-walking 18-month-old around. He loves to open and close doors. We played in the sheds in Sears for about an hour. He really liked closing himself in and then finding us on the outside.

This is my brother Big R and his son Little R. It was good to see my family on Thanksgiving, especially since I won't see them again until next summer.

My dad really kicked my butt walking! He walks for about an hour and a half everyday. I thought I was in pretty good shape. I walked for an hour with him--about 4 miles and was worn out. The weather was nice the first two days we were there in South Carolina--nearly 70 degrees. After that, it was cold and windy. Just like here.

G2 received his Bobcat badge at the Cub Scout Pack Meeting in November. He learned everything pretty quickly. The picture turned out very blurry for some reason. He loves Scouts.
Here is my sister Katie for those of you in 3rd period who couldn't believe I had a 15-year-old sister.

The New Addition to our Family

2007-11-28T21:25:00.000-05:00

This is my test to upload a video. We got Little Bill, the hamster, about a month ago.

Back Home

2007-11-26T17:18:00.000-05:00

We got back from South Carolina yesterday afternoon. Traffic was not bad at all. A lot of people were travelling, but the cars moved steadily. There was no stop and go. The great thing about the trip is that I only drove 2 of the 8 hours on the way down and not at all on the way back. I got a lot of knitting done. These first two pix are of my Jaywalkers. The second sock always seems to go faster than the first for me and these socks knit up very fast. I'm going to give them to another teacher at school. Her dad passed away a couple of weeks ago and she's been feeling pretty low.

The third pic is my Jaywalker/Chevron scarf. The yarn is Deluxe Chunky LP from Universal Yarn Inc. I love the color combination, but the yarn itself irritates me. I started the scarf and after the first two stripes, the yarn just quit. Literally. It was like it was torn apart. I put the two stripes aside and started the scarf again. After three stripes, the yarn had a huge knot in it. I haven't had any problems since, but those two were enough. Anyway, the pattern is from the Jaywalker sock pattern. Instead of knitting even every other as in the sock, I purl. Easy peasy!

Still working on the Tweedy Vest...almost to the neckline!!

We had a great visit down South. Thanksgiving was good and I got to see my family. My nephew R is getting really big. He's walking now and is into everything. He loves to give high-fives and play with the light switches. He can go to Lowe's and stare at the ceiling fans with lights for an hour.

Dad gave me a huge stack of books to read. I don't know when I'll ever find the time.

It was great to see everyone, especially since I probably won't see them again until summer.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T06:36:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone has a great holiday. We're heading out this morning to my parents' house in South Carolina. It's about an eight-hour drive, so I hope to show some FOs upon my return. I only have about 15 row left on my second Jaywalker sock and I've started a Jaywalker (chevron) scarf, too. Maybe I'll finally get my tweedy vest finished!

I'm thankful to have a warm house to come home to everyday, two kids who make me laugh with their crazy dancing, a job that's pretty secure, and a husband who is always on top of things. Lots of people in town are losing their jobs shortly after Christmas because one of our main employers has decided to move out of state. Things are not good here for many people right now. One man who's losing his job has a six-year-old little girl who has been diagnosed with a tumor on her brain stem. My prayers go out to them. Please send your good thoughts along, too...

Go Bucks!

2007-11-18T06:46:00.000-05:00

We had a big Ohio State vs. Michigan party yesterday. One of our friends always gets a big screen tv to watch the game. It's a whole weekend of festivities because today we all get back together to watch the NASCAR race. Dumb me, I always forget to bring the camera. I'm still not the greatest at blogging. Even though I'm not crazy about watching sports on tv, I was very pleased to get a lot done on my 2nd Jaywalker sock. I finished the cuff, turned the heel, and started the gusset. Only 55 more rows to go until I start the toe. The 2nd sock always seems to go faster anyway. I don't know why that is.

In other news, I saw this on Dana Huff's blog and had to try it out. It's a check your blog's reading level website. I always feel like I have nothing to say on my blog. I'm not a big talker in real life and it carries over to this blog. I'm also hesitant to say much about school here just in case a parent/my principal or superintendent should happen to see it. So I was really surprised to find...

We're celebrating Christmas next weekend with my family in South Carolina. I haven't seen them since September. We'll be having Thanksgiving/Christmas. So I'm skipping the NASCAR party and I'm off for a day of shopping....

I don't mind, even though I have a ton of papers to grade. I hope to get caught up over Thanksgiving break. However, I kind of would rather not have a holiday right now. Both of my classes are in the middle of books that they almost all like--To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Outsiders." Mockingbird is one of my all-time favorites and I knew my General English kids would love "The Outsiders." One boy, who REALLY doesn't like English, came into class Friday and said, "I love this book." That made me very happy.

I'm really glad I made the switch from 11th grade British Lit last year to 10th grade American Lit this year. Although I have the OGT, our standardized graduation test, to worry about, everything else is great!

The end of getting ANYTHING done...

2007-11-05T10:58:00.000-05:00

I have finally caught the Ravelry bug. I got all my projects put on, have joined groups, made friends, and NOW have become part of the obsession called the Ravelry Games forum. I played games before I went to bed last night and I played this morning before work and I'm still playing!! AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH. I have kids who need attention. I have lots and lots of papers to grade. I have a house to clean up. Help! I already need a 12-step program for this.

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T15:29:00.000-05:00

It's finally here. My favorite holiday. I love Halloween and I love autumn. I love watching the leaves fall from the trees (not raking them up, though). I love hearing the leaves crunch under my feet. I love listening to cold rain hit the roof while I'm warm and cozy in the house. I love having cool air but warm sunshine. I love the colors of orange, brown, gold, and rust. I love playing outside and coming in to have warm apple cider. I love caramel apples. I love pumpkins. I love passing treats out to kids.

Craft Pirate had a Halloween meme on her blog and I'm borrowing it from her.

1. Do you believe in ghosts? I'd like to say yes, but I just don't.

2. Have you ever seen a ghost? No. I've experienced deja vu, but I've never experienced any paranormal activity.

3. Have you ever experienced something that is best described by the word "paranormal"? see #2

4. Do you watch any ghost or haunting themed shows? I am a sucker for anything "haunted," "scariest," "ghost," etc. My DVR is set to record every episode of Ghost Hunters. I have always been interested in ghost stories. I've watched all the Scariest Places on Earth, Celebrity Fear (or whatever that show was where the participants wore cameras pointed up to their faces). I don't even know the names of all the shows.

5. If so, do you sometimes sleep with the lights on or wake up your partner because the show scared you a whole lot and you can't sleep and don't want to be awake alone? I haven't ever been THAT scared. However, after reading some scary books or watching some scary movies, I won't go outside with the dog at night or go into the basement.

6. Have you ever been to a supposedly haunted place? If so, did you experience anything spooky? I've been to houses that have been rumored to be haunted. Famous places I've been are Athens, Ohio, where I went to college at Ohio University. See the link for more about that. My husband and I went to San Francisco for our honeymoon and I insisted we see the Winchester Mystery House. I've also been to the Mansfield Reformatory (see Summer 2007 posts). I experienced nothing. Maybe if I went at night, though, it would be different.

7. How much do you love Halloween? see the top of the post!!

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Return to Knitting Group

2007-10-30T19:44:00.000-05:00

I'm back with my knitting group finally. I haven't seen Hilde or Becky since we went to The Yarn Loft in Somerset back in July. It's been over 3 months. That seems like forever! Here they are knitting their dog sweaters. Too bad Molly couldn't make it tonight. We had a lot of catching up to do.

I was able to get quite a bit done on my Jaywalker sock. I'm ready to start the heel flap. I know, I know. I started it like a week ago. I can only dream of knitting socks like Wendy. That'll never happen!

These other two pictures are the two G's at Cub Scouts last night. We had our Halloween costume party pack meeting. There were some really cute costumes. One boy made his own Frankenstein costume. My boys are Emile from Ratatouille and a crazy Buckeye Fan. Can't wait for Beggar's Night tomorrow!!

Back in the swing

2007-10-24T19:34:00.000-05:00

I've started knitting again. I'm working on a pair of Jaywalker socks. I couldn't decide which picture looked better-with or without the flash-so I used both. I love this pattern and started a pair of socks about a year ago, but after I turned the heel and tried them on, they were way too small. I couldn't even get them over my heel. I am definitely not a swatcher. I took it apart and didn't try again. Until now. I sorta remember how many I had cast on last time and I added a few more stitches. I keep trying it on after every couple of rows. So far so good.

On Monday night we had a cookout at MVSR in place of our regular Cub Scout meeting. The kids got to roast their own hot dogs and marshmallows. We had a potluck dinner. In the first picture below, G2 is roasting his hot dog. In the second, G1 is the one in the middle playing games. The third picture is all three of us on the hayride.

A New Scout

2007-10-24T18:41:00.000-05:00

This is G2 on his first night of Cub Scouts. We've been waiting for this for a long time after watching G1 and all of his Scout activities. G2 was so excited about this. At the meeting the boys got to decorate Halloween treat bags and play a cool game of unwinding themselves from each other. G2 had lots of fun and gave it a big thumbs up! Plus, he looks really cute in his uniform.

I'm Back

2007-09-23T15:24:00.000-05:00

I've been gone a while. I've had some computer difficulties. My old computer, which was working fine, crashed. We had a big storm coming in July, so I decided to unplug the computer. Looking back, that was probably not the best idea. Well, the storm never really came. I tried to turn the computer back on and it wouldn't turn back on. After about a week, I took it to Best Buy to get it fixed. After they had it for two weeks, they let me know that they could fix it for about $400. I decided to go ahead and get a new one. I had them keep the old one to try to get the info off the hard drive. Info like my kids' pictures for the past 3 years and all my music. After another week, they told me they couldn't do it there. They could send it away to have it done where it would cost around $1500. $1500 that I didn't have, especially after just having bought a new tower. So after all that... I'm back.

I finally got my Ravelry invitation today. I never thought it would come. Last time I checked there were about 3000 people ahead of me. My heart jumped a little when I saw the email invite! I'm so excited to get started on it.

I don't have any new knitting pix to show. I'm still working on the Tweedy Vest I had started in my last post. I did knit a pair and a half of socks in the meantime, though.

I do want to post about something we did last summer. We went to the Mansfield Reformatory. And I'd like to say that it was awesome. The movie "The Shawshank Redemption" was filmed there. We took the Hollywood Tour, which showed a lot of the rooms where the movie was made. Take a look at these pix:

This is G1 and G2 in front.

In the movie, this is where Brooks and Red carved their names (this is a reproduction. the real one was stolen.)

The hole in the wall where the warden kept his safe. The safe was taken out after the movie was completed.

This is the warden's office where Andy locks himself in and plays music over the intercom system and the guards have to smash the window to unlock the door.

This tour was great. The tour guide, I think his name was Greg, was excellent and knew so many facts about the prison itself and the movie. It was very interesting and he does a terrific job.

This prison was also on an episode of Ghost Hunters on the Sci Fi channel. We got to see some of the places they went, too. I didn't the prison was spooky at all, but we were there in the daytime. I definitely wouldn't want to spend the night, which you can for about $50.

Other than that, I've spend the summer preparing for school, which obviously has already started now. I switched from 11th grade British Lit to 10th grade American Lit. I've been rereading stories and coming up with plans.

Fun trip yesterday

2007-07-15T11:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my knitting group (all 4 of us!) took a trip to The Olde Yarn Loft in Somerset. Wouldn't you know I didn't think to bring a camera. We first went to The Clay Haus, which a restaurant that was built in the early 1800s. We had a good lunch and then went on the The Olde Yarn Loft (I don't think it's online). Kim Christman, the owner, sat with us while we knit. She did a variety of things--she knit for a while (she's just starting to do lacework), she worked on a scarf on a loom, she did some spinning, AND she showed us the triangle looms her husband makes on which she weaves shawls. She is quite the jack of all trades! Needless to say we were there a while. I was able to get a couple of pattern repeats done on the Tweedy Vest. I'm almost to the armholes.

We had a great time and we all came away with great purchases.

In the 3rd picture is the yarn I plan on using to make the Tomato sweater. It's Berroco Ultra Alpaca. In the pic on the bottom in the middle is my very first skein of Cherry Tree Hill. I was so excited to see it. I got the Wild Cherry colorway. And on the right are 3 balls of Universal Yarn Deluxe Chunky Long Print in a color called Sea and Sand, which I will probably make My So-Called scarf with.

We stopped on the way home at Tom's Ice Cream Bowl. I treated myself to a one-dip banana split. It was yummy. I hardly ever eat ice cream.

We had a great time!

I also finished reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd this week. I liked it pretty well.

It's been a while

2007-07-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

I realized yesterday that it's been a while since I posted on this blog. I'd better get in gear! Some knitting has been happening. Right now I'm working on a pair of socks using this pattern. It's super easy to remember. I have this thing for cables right now. I was going to knit a cabled pullover vest for one of the men in my family, but after asking around, I found out no one would ever wear except when I was around. At least they didn't let me go ahead and knit it out of politeness, I guess. So I'm going to make myself a pink one.

We went to South Carolina to visit my family. I visited The Peace of Yarn in Matthews, NC. I picked up some Rowan Big Wool to make my vest, four skeins of Fortissima Socka, and one skein of Austermann Step with jojoba oil. I've been wanting to try Austermann Step for about a year. From what I've seen, I like how the stripes come out wide. If anyone knows of any other sock yarn that comes out in wide stripes, please let me know.

While visiting my family whom I hadn't seen since Thanksgiving, I realized how bad my dad's eyesight is getting. He was diagnosed with macular degeneration a few years ago and his sight has become bad lately. He is now completely blind in one eye and can only see 25% of what healthy eye sees in the other. He has stopped driving. I had to help him down steps and read a wall menu at a fast food restaurant for him. I can't put into words how I feel about this. Simply, it makes me cry.

The kids, Katie (my sister), and I went to Carowinds and had an awesome time. It wasn't crowded at all. The lines weren't long. The weather was great. We rode a lot of water rides and after riding the Nickelodeon Flying Super Saturator, we were completely drenched. We saw the parade with all the Nick characters, too. It was fun.

We're off to Buckeye Lake tomorrow for their fireworks show. Have a good 4th, everyone.

Cub Scout Day Camp Day 1

2007-06-11T20:17:00.000-05:00

We had a good first day. The theme is Gizmos and Gadgets and the weather was fantastic. 78 degrees with a breeze. We didn't even sweat--much. Our first activity was building a rocket. We used a film canister, put water and half of an Alka-Seltzer tablet in, put the lid on quickly, turned it over, and it shot up in the air. Pretty cool. This is a pic of the kids working on their rockets.

We also had a "Flag Respect" given by a Korean War Vet that was interesting. I learned quite a few rules about handling and hanging the flag that I hadn't heard before. I also learned that when the flag is properly folded--ending up with a triangle--that each fold symbolizes something different. He named several things. I tried to look it up but couldn't find it. Graham and I decided to take a few pictures of the flag as we were looking up at it. This is one of our better ones.

More scout camp posts tomorrow.

Balloons and Knitting

2007-06-10T17:19:00.000-05:00

Knitting has been slow lately. I did a 10x10 square for my knitting group's throw we're making from the 365 Knitting Stitches a Year Perpetual Calendar. We started with January 1, which I think without looking it up, is basket rib. I'm using acrylic yarn that I've lost the band for. It should be easy to wash.

I also finished the reversible scarf from Cables Untangled. I gave that to Graham's kindergarten teacher. Miss Cores, as an end of the year gift. We were really sad that she would no longer be his teacher. She was awesome.

An annual local event that we always look forward to is the Hot Air Balloon Festival. The balloons land pretty close to my in-laws and we sit in their backyard and watch. Sometimes the balloons fly really low. Low enough so that you can yell up the the people in them. We can hear them coming when they light the fires to heat the air. Here are some of the pix we took yesterday.

They also do a "night glow," which means they illuminate the balloons after it gets dark. They are really pretty. You can also go up close during this time and talk to the balloonists(?).

No knitting posts lately

2007-05-31T19:34:00.000-05:00

because I have been so busy grading papers and I just finished a really good book. I stopped working on the Reversible Scarf from Cables Untangled that I posted about way back on April 8. I picked that back up last weekend and am now about 1/3 of the way done. I'm such a slow knitter. My knitting group and I have started making blocks using the 365 Knitting Stitches a Year Perpetual Calendar. We're taking turns picking which pattern to knit and all knitting the same pattern at the same time. We started with Jan. 1. Now that the school year is coming to a close, I have lots of knitting projects in mind. I just wish I could knit faster...

I wore my Mary Jane Crocs today for the first time. I've had them for a while, but the weather has been so hot I've just worn sandals. The Crocs are SO comfortable. It's like walking on marshmallows. They aren't exactly the most attractive, but they're kinda cute. They feel great on the feet, though.

Bonus Question for week of May 21

2007-05-21T10:19:00.001-05:00

The answer to last week's question is ENVELOPE.

This week's question is...

Rick is asked to carry a barrel of water across the desert for his Cub Scout troop. The barrel is 2 feet high, 1.5 feet in diameter, and it weighs 100 pounds. What can he add to it to make it lighter?

Answers must be emailed to me at kim.beaumont@omeresa.net by the end of the school day Friday, May 25.

Bonus Question for the week of May 14

2007-05-15T05:51:00.000-05:00

I'm a day behind in getting this post out. That's the story of my life, though. Behind on everything.

The answer to last week's question about the bleachers was 11 rows of 29 or more unlikely 29 rows of 11.

This week's question is not so mathy. Here it is:

I start with the letter E. I end with the letter E. I usually contain one letter, but I am not the letter E. What am I?

Answers should be emailed to me by the end of school on Friday, May 18, at kim.beaumont@omeresa.net. Good luck.

Knitting Meme

2007-05-14T18:14:00.000-05:00

Lifted from Michelle.

Mark with bold the things you have knit at least once, with italics the ones you plan to do sometime, and leave the rest.

Afghan
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Knitting two socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars simultaneously
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching **not as often as I should**
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Something else from the library...

2007-05-09T05:57:00.000-05:00

The public library also has flash drives for sale for under $10. That's a steal. The most inexpensive flash drives at Wal-Mart are, I believe, about twice that.

Bonus Question for week of May 7

2007-05-07T06:13:00.000-05:00

The answer to last week's question is

26 x 1.04 = 26 + 1.04 = 27

Here's this week's question:

When the bleachers at a high school basketball game were filled to capacity, they held 319 people. Assuming that each row contained the same number of people, how many rows were there?

Email your answer to me at kim.beaumont@omeresa.net by the end of the school day Friday, May 11. Good luck.

Invaluable tool

2007-05-06T15:36:00.000-05:00

I cannot say enough about our public library. My family spends A LOT of time there and we love to read. For instance, between my kids and me, we have 22 books checked out right now. I used to buy books from Amazon because I could never find the specific book I wanted to read. Now, I just get online and reserve the book I'm looking for through the public library's website. All you need to do is go to www.coshoctonlibrary.org and search for your book in the catalog. When you find it (at another library), click on "reserve this copy." You'll have to enter your library card number and a pin number. That's it. The library will call you when the book comes in. It's an awesome service. I'm sure it's been around for a while, but I just figured it out about a year ago and thought I'd share it with you. You can also renew your books online, too. This website gives a calendar of events at the library.

Give it try. READ A BOOK!

Books I've Read 2007 (started May 6)

2007-05-06T14:38:00.000-05:00

I saw this idea of posting a list of books I've read on another blog. I thought it was a great way to keep track. I used to keep a journal to keep track of books/stories I've read. Maybe I'll make a list of that another time. Here's a list of what I can think of off the top of my head so far this year. I know I've read more than three books. I just can't think of what they are. That's exactly the reason why I need to keep a list.

1) The Day the Earth Caved In: An American Mining Tragedy-Joan Quigley
2) Nineteen Minutes-Jodi Picoult
3) The Secret Life of Bees-Sue Monk Kidd
4) Mayflower-Nathaniel Philbrick
5) My Sister's Keeper-Jodi Picoult
6) The Melungeons: The Resurrection of a Proud People: An Untold Story of Ethnic Cleansing in America-N. Brent Kennedy
7) Second Glance-Jodi Picoult
8) The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America-Bill Bryson
9) The Pact-Jodi Picoult
10) I Feel Bad about my Neck-Nora Ephron
11) Vanishing Acts-Jodi Picoult
12) Cell-Stephen King
13) Different Seasons-Stephen King (this is a reread)
14) To Kill a Mockingbird-Harper Lee (for school)
15) The Outsiders-SE Hinton (for school)
16) Paula Deen-Paula Deen with S. Suib Cohen

Bonus question for this week

2007-04-30T06:17:00.000-05:00

The solution to last week's question is 1000.

This week's question is...

There are infinitely many pair of numbers whose sum equals their product. But there is only one solution to the pair of equations below, assuming that A, B, C, D, and E each stand for a single, distinct digit

AB x C.DE = AB + C.DE

Can you find the solution? Email me your answer at kim.beaumont@omeresa.net.

Bonus Question for the week of April 23

2007-04-24T05:52:00.000-05:00

Congrats to the TWO students who answered last week's question about the earthquake. The answer to the question was the square root of 10 (or about 3.1). This week's question is a little easier, I hope. It is...

Suppose the numerical pyramid below kept on going. What would be the sum of the numbers in the 10th row?

1

3 5

7 9 11

13 15 17 19

Email your answer to this question to kim.beaumont@omeresa.net by Friday, April 27 at 2:00. Good luck!
(I can't get the pyramid to come out looking like a pyramid when I publish the post. Use your imagination.)

New Bonus Question

2007-04-16T06:04:00.000-05:00

Good job to the TWO students who answered last week's question about the chimney. The answer was 30 bricks.

Here is this week's question:

If two earthquakes are a point apart on the Richter scale, then the one with the higher reading is ten times as powerful as the other. Suppose that two earthquakes differ by half a point. How much more powerful is the one with the higher reading?

The answer to this question is due by the end of the school day Friday, April 20 and must be emailed to me. Note the new email address kim.beaumont@omeresa.net. Good luck!

Bonus question

2007-04-10T09:09:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a nice break. It sure was cold and yucky outside. These last few weeks of school will go fast. Most of you seem to be doing well on the research paper. How do you feel you're doing with it?

There was only one entry for last week's questions about the chimney; however, no one got the answer correct. Therefore, I'm leaving the question up for this week. Click here for the question. Entries MUST be emailed to me by the end of the school day Friday, April 13. When I receive your entry, I will reply to let you know I did receive it. Good luck. And to the student who sent in the incorrect answer last week, you can try again.

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T12:51:00.000-05:00

Our Easter started early. G2 was up at 3:30 wanting to check if the Easter Bunny had been here yet. I had to convince him to go back to bed. He did..somewhat. He was up again at 5:00. Needless to say that at 1:30, he's now taking a nap. This has been a lazy day for everyone. Everyone except me. I feel like I've gotten a LOT accomplished today.

I'm now blocking my first garment. My first garment!! It feels awesome to say that. Invested is just about finished. I've never really blocked anything before. I never saw the need. For this vest, I measured every piece and pinned it. I'm hoping they will all fit together okay.

I've also taken the time to finish the fringe on my Lady Eleanor. This project has taken a little over nine months and I'm glad to say--LE FIN!! I honestly am tired of looking at this thing. Anyway, I used Noro Kuryeon 170. I do like how it turned out.

And last but not least is the beginning of His/Hers Reversible Scarf from Scarf Style. I'm using doubled Knitpicks Swish in Red Pepper for this project. The pattern is very easy to remember.

Easter Eve

2007-04-07T21:06:00.000-05:00

The boys and I just finished coloring eggs at 9:40. Talk about cutting it close. It's bedtime for all of us now. First, though, I wanted to post my progress on Invested. It hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be to knit an actual piece of clothing, but I haven't tried to put the pieces together yet. I still have to finish knitting the right front and the neck, but that shouldn't take too long.

The color didn't come out right in the picture. It looks gray, but it's a light blue. I'm using the yarn Lion Brand Wool-Ease like the pattern calls for. It's been pretty quick to knit because the yarn's so bulky.

I've also still got the reversible scarf from Cables Untangled going and I started my first pair of toe-up socks after seeing the episode of Knitty Gritty. I could never figure out how to cast on. The figure eight wasn't too bad after trying it about seven times.

Good night.

Bonus Question for week of April 2

2007-04-03T06:04:00.000-05:00

Hi, all. Last week's question was a little tricky, but a few of you got it. The trick was to change the two s's (?) of passer. Anyway, here's this week's question:

I have a drawing of the side of a chimney. No bricks were cut to form the chimney; the half-bricks are the ends of bricks that extend along one of the other sides. How many bricks were needed to build the entire chimney?

The diagram of the chimney will be posted above my computer in my room.

Good luck! This question is due by the end of the school day Thursday, April 5, (no school Friday!) and MUST BE EMAILED TO ME!! co_252@omalp1.omeresa.net

It's been a while

2007-03-26T06:09:00.000-05:00

I just realized I haven't posted on my blog for a long time. I'm long overdue.

We've just started the last nine weeks of school. Boy, this year has flown by. I used to do journal questions for bonus points each week. We're going to try something different now. I'm going to give you a brainteaser each week. I think Jamie M. will love this. It's right up his alley. In order to get credit, you must email me the correct answer by the end of the week. This question will expire at the end of the school day Friday, March 30. The question is...

In this word ladder, your task is to convert the word PASSER into the word SPARSE by switching two adjacent letters at a time in five moves. Type each interim step on one of the blank lines.
PASSER
____________
____________
____________
____________
SPARSE

You may not use either PASSER or SPARSE on any of the lines. Good luck.

Email your answer to me co_252@omalp1.omeresa.net.

I just got the call

2007-02-13T20:42:00.000-05:00

School is cancelled again tomorrow (2/14). Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Yet another snow day...

2007-02-13T18:27:00.000-05:00

Well, let's face it. We're going to be making up days. I hope everyone is enjoying our days off.

I've gotten some papers graded and done some knitting (of course).

I finished my first fair isle project--a beanie for my sister.

I really enjoy doing fair isle. I love to see the pattern grow out of ordinary yarn.

I have started a new pair of mittens--Corazon from Knitty.

What's on your I-Pod?

2007-02-03T08:33:00.000-05:00

A new meme going around is to list all the songs on your I-Pod that start with "I."
Here's mine:

I'd Still Say Yes-Klymaxx
I'll Always Love You-Taylor Dayne
I'll Be Home for Christmas-Harry Connick, Jr.
I'll Fly Away-Allison Krauss & Gillian Welch
I'll Still Be Loving You-Restless Heart
I'm Gonna Get Through This-Daniel Bedingfield
I'm Head Over Heels in Love-Earl Scruggs
I've Done Everything for You-Rick Springfield
I Alone-Live
I Am Changing-Jennifer Holliday
I Can't Stand the Rain-Missy Elliot
I Can't Wait-Nu Shooz
I Can Dance-Leo Sayer
I Don't Hurt Anymore-Dinah Washington
I Don't Want Your Love-Duran Duran
I Drove All Night-Cyndi Lauper
I Feel for You-Chaka Khan
I Feel Lucky-Mary Chapin Carpenter
I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues-Elton John
I Know What Boy Like-The Waitresses
I Like to Move It-Sacha Baron Cohen (Madagascar)
I Love Your Smile-Shanice
I Melt With You-Modern English
I Only Want to be with You-Dusty Springfield
I Remember You-Skid Row
I Saw Her Standing There-The Beatles
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For-U2
I Walk the Line-Johnny Cash
I Wanna Be Sedated-The Ramones
I Want It Now-Veruca Salt (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
I Want to Hold Your Hand-The Beatles
I Want to Rock and Roll All Night-KISS
I Want You to Want Me-Cheap Trick
I Would Die 4 U-Prince
Ice Cream Man-Van Halen
If I'd Been the One-.38 Special
If It isn't Love-New Edition
If You Could Only See-Tonic
If Your Heart Isn't in It-Atlantic Starr
Imagine-John Lennon
In a Sentimental Mood-John Coltrane
In the Jailhouse Now-Suzy Bogguss & Chet Atkins
Insentsatez-Stan Getz
Inside Out-Eve 6
Into the Groove-Madonna
Into the Mystic-Van Morrison
Is There Something I Should Know-Duran Duran
Isn't It Time-The Babys
It's a Long Way to the Top-AC/DC
It's Gonna Take a Miracle-Deniece Williams
It's Like That-Run-DMC
It's No Good-Depeche Mode
It's Tricky-Run-DMC
It Ain't Me, Babe-Johnny Cash & June Carter
It Don't Mean a Thing-Duke Ellington
It Feels So Good-Sonique
It's So Easy-Guns'n'Roses

What's on yours?

Extra Credit

2007-02-02T07:17:00.000-05:00

As many of you have found out, I am officially out of pencils in the classroom cup. So, for extra credit, you can bring in 4 10-packs of pencils for 10 points. This will be due Wednesday, February 28. Write your name on each package to be sure you are credited for them. Please take advantage of this, even if your grade is usually good no matter what. Don't wait until the end of the nine weeks to worry your grade. This will be the only extra credit offered this grading period besides your restroom passes.

I've moved

2007-02-01T20:31:00.000-05:00

In order to take advantage of what the new Blogger has to offer, I had to move the blog. So, I guess I'll be periodically messing with the template. I have learned to simplify things some like my URL.