Little post

My friend Vickie is having a hoarder's giveaway on her blog.  Check it out!
http://reading--stitching.blogspot.com/

Weekend update

Wow, it was a long weekend!  Mariah & I had great plans for Saturday.  We were going to go to the big farmer's market in Kankakee.  It's right across from the library so of course we were then going to go to the library for awhile. Then we were going to do a little shopping and then go to the park and have a picnic.  You know what they say - want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans!

I woke Mariah up at 8am and she looked at me and said - just a few more hours, Mom!  I laughed and let her go back to sleep for awhile.  About a half hour later she wandered out into the livingroom.  She said she wanted 'squares' (which, for those who don't speak Mariah is Quaker Oatmeal Squares - she claims they help her focus and must have a bowl, dry, next to her while she's doing homework too).  I was in the kitchen and started fixing it and telling her to get dressed and ready.  She went back in the bedroom while I fixed her cereal and milk.  She came back out and said that her sheets and floor were all yucky.  I went to see what she was talking about and while she was pointing to the spot on the floor and the sheets I saw the vomit all down her back.  Yuck!  End of plans!  Rich had left at 5am for a scrap job and by the time he got home the farmer's market & library were both closed.  Oh well, there's always next week!  Mariah's better and that's all that counts.

I got some stitching done this week.  My Chubby Frankenstein Nutcracker is about half done.  I think 1 more round of threads will do it!

I also started on a ruffled hooded cape for myself.  I'm using the same yarn that I used for the fall scarf I made.  It's almost like suede and very soft.  I'm hoping to have it done by the end of October (or maybe sooner!) so I may not get to wear it this year.

Well, that was my weekend.  And how was YOURS?

I love my mailman!

The mailman was so nice to me today!  He brought me a package that I bought from a friend in DC who does auctions for a living.  She found a couple of great finds and I bought them rather than making her go to the hassle of putting them on Ebay.



The item inside the bubble wrap is a surprise for a friend!

I also got a package from a crochet I did on Ravelry.  My partner made me a beautiful carrier for my Literati.  She also included a gorgeous skein of yarn, a notepad, buttons, cross stitch kit and a package of labels to sew on my crocheted items.

I've been crocheting up a storm and have done a number of Halloween items that are for an exchange and also for sale in my Etsy shop.  I finished this tissue box cover last night & made a 2nd one for Mariah.  She loves the spiders!

Well, back to my math and stitching on an ornament!  And how was YOUR day?

Grandpa, we'll miss you!

It's been a long couple of weeks.  Grandpa passed away shortly after midnight on Sept. 1.  His funeral was Tuesday.  Mariah handled it pretty well.  We only had one real problem.  My brother, Kevin, is a minister and he performed the service  At the beginning he asked if anyone wanted to come up and share their memories of Grandpa.  Since he was 96, there were a lot of memories!  Anyway, Mariah was determined that she was going to get up and tell everyone all about her grandpa.  She had told me prior to the service that she wanted to do this and I had discussed it with Mom & Tony beforehand.  We had her tell all of us what whe wanted everyone to know and she was pretty shy about it.  We decided that it would be the same if she got up to talk during the service.  So when the time came, I told her that she was too young and I wanted her to stay with me.  She got so upset that I ended up taking her into the nursery and rocking her to calm her down.  Bad Mom moment!!!

I had my finals all last week too.  I've gotten my grade for my Teaching as a Professio class and I got 250/250 points on my final paper.  My final grade was 97% !  A!  Now I'm just waiting on my Biology grade.  This unit started on Monday.  I have Elementary Math and Diversity in the Classroom.  So far, so good!

I've had several cross stitch and crochet finishes in the last 2 weeks.  Unfortunately, I can't show any pictures because they are all for exchanges and haven't been received yet.  As soon as they are, I will post them!

And how was YOUR day?

Georgia's Birthday

As I said before, my little monster has a wonderful imagination.  Yesterday was her stuffed monkey, Georgia's, birthday.  Now, there's some debate as to which birthday it is.  When she asked me to bake a cake the other night, she told me it was Georgia's 3rd birthday.  However, when we cut the cake yesterday, she informed me that it was her 1st birthday!  So, anyway, we had a birthday party.

The birthday girl had a wonderful time!  We had a veritable feast (although I'm not sure what the food was since it was all pretend and Mariah just said it was tea party food).  Mariah brought out her birthday tea set (the teapot used to play Happy Birthday but it's worn out now) and fixed dragonberry tea since that's Georgia's favorite.  Georgia got a basket full of gifts including a Holiday Barbie and a fire truck.  Very eclectic taste, wouldn't you say?

Then we cut the cake.  I baked it, and Mariah frosted and decorated it.  I think she used half the sprinkles in the pantry!  :)   All in all, it was a very nice birthday party and the leftover cake will taste very nice at our picnic in the park today.  Provided it doesn't rain.  Then Mariah has declared that we're going to the drive-in movie theater (otherwise known as our living room) to watch Toy Story while we eat our picnic lunch.  Isnt it great to be a kid?

More fnishes and stuff

Stitching

I've been on a roll this week.  I finished both Mariah and Rich's coffee cups. 

Now it's back to crocheting!  Today I'll finish putting together my crocheted book cover.  I still need to figure out how to decorate it.  Then I'll be working on my tea cozy.  Both of these are my own designs so I'm pretty proud of them!

Mariah

My child's imagination never ceases to amaze me.  We've been going through boxes in the garage, a couple a night, and sending a lot of things to Good Will.  We've so far come across 2 boxes of stuffed animals that we had forgotten were out there.  Most of them have gone to new homes.  However, there was a baby monkey in one of them.  Mariah picked it up and declared that it was Georgia.  Georgia has a pacifier and a cloth cubical that Mariah has decided is her playpen.  If you watch her carrying her around, you'd swear it was real.  She even jiggles it while she's talking to you just like you would a real baby.  Last night, she informed me that today is Georgia's 3rd birthday and we needed to have a party.  So, guess who got to make a birthday cake this morning?  Real, of course!

I got a call from the social worker at the elementary school yesterday.  Even though Mariah is home schooling, she is still entitled to the services that she would have gotten if she were going to public school.  So, on the 30th, I will meet with the social worker to set up the times for her OT and social therapy.  That'll be a good thing!

We've been using dominoes for several different lessons - math and science both.  Mariah has discovered the dominoes projects.  You know, where they line up a massive amount of dominoes and push one over?  Well, she's been building her own, but we only have 1 set so they're small.  Today, we'll be working on how to make a square pattern fall over without stopping.

Well, off to Mariah's reading lesson!

And how was YOUR day?

Major happy dance!!!

It's finished!!!  I finished the model that I've been working on for the last several months. 

Now I can send it back to Carla so she take pictures.  She's already published the chart and is offering it for $10.


Doctor notes


Mariah had her 7 month follow up on her hearing today.  The problem is definitely congenital and called otosclerosis.  One of the bones in her middle ear (and they can't tell which one at this point) does not move.  She has lost 20% hearing of the low frequencies in her left ear and 50% of all frequencies in her right ear.  There is a surgery that can be done to correct it, but one of the outcomes is a very real possibility that instead of correcting the problem she will be totally deaf.  Not a good option at this point in time.  We go back in January for another test and to fit her for a hearing aid in her right ear.  If the left ear stays the same, that's that.  If there is a change for the worse, they will fit her for the left ear also. 


Fitness stuff


I worked out with the personal trainer again this morning.  He made me do arm weights and dumbbells and then 30 minutes on the treadmill.  My arms are going to fall off!!  On a brighter note, I lost 2 lbs. last week.  Only 64 more to go by New Year's!!  He set me up with a really good workout routine and now I'm on my own until October.


Well, off to work on Mariah's coffee cup!


And how was YOUR day?

School, work and other stuff!

Well, that didn't go so well.  I spent Monday thru Wednesday training for my new assignment.  Monday I created a worksheet for the plant manager in Excel (which he loved), Tuesday I input data into another Excel spreadsheet (which took about 15 minutes) and then spent the rest of the day training in a different system to learn how to release and schedule orders for the floor to process.  I got to do it myself for about a half hour and did pretty well.  Wednesday, I input more data into the 2nd spreadsheet and then went into the other system and started going through the steps to release orders.  I was making an instruction sheet for myself because I didn't know how long it would be before I actually got to do it myself after my training.  When I got to the point where I had questions, the trainer walked in and we started training again.  He took me on a tour of the factory and showed me where all the different sizes and types of steel tubing are kept, where the saws are, which ones cut which tubing, etc.  Then we went back to the office and he let me release and schedule all the normal orders and he doublechecked them.  He made a few minor changes, but, all in all, said I did pretty well!  Before I left, he asked how I thought I was doing.  I told him that I didn't feel comfortable doing it on my own yet, but that a day of doing it with him checking would probably do it.  He said ok, see you tomorrow and I left!  Thursday, while I was getting ready for work, Office Team called.  The company had called to say that they did not want me to come back.  I didn't have enough experience in Excel for what they wanted.  Huh???  So, now I'm back to waiting for a new assignment!

My personal trainer is working hard.  He had me work on Tuesday with just the leg weight machines (40 reps each on 4 different machines), then a couple of core exercises, and then 30 minutes on the treadmill.  Wednesday when I went in, I told him that I was pressing charges for attempted murder!!  I get to work with him again on Monday on the arm weight machines.  Then I'll have 5 weeks on my own before I work with him again. 

Mariah has officially started schooling at home.  We enrolled her in Oak Meadow Elementary School in Vermont, but she's doing it online.  After speaking with the special ed director and going over all her test results from last year, we felt that the best way would be to have her repeat 2nd grade.  There were too many core things (like multiplication and division) that she just was completely lost on.  So, we have 1 year to get her through 2nd grade.  We can fly through what she knows and mainly concentrate on what she really needs.  We have a nice little rhythm set up.  In the morning, we do either math, science or social studies.  Her science project is her favorite -- she's growing strawberries!

You can see they're starting to pop up.  She's been very diligent about watering them, just a tiny bit, every day!  She keeps a journal in which she writes her observations about them once a week or when she sees something new.

After lunch, we work on reading.  We take the chapter of the book we're reading and she writes down 3 things about each chapter into a notebook.  She's getting pretty good at telling me what happened.  Now we just need to work on her handwriting!

After that, she has arts & crafts.  She's learning to knit on my Knifty Knitter looms. 

Right now, she's making a scarf.  As soon as I figure out how to wrap the small round right, she's going to make a hat for her new cousin for Christmas.  We have a stuffed mouse to make that goes with a book and she's giving that to Diana.  Then we have to figure out something for Luke!

As far as my crafts go, I'm almost finished with Carla's model!!  I am 100% done with the black thread and have only the red left.  I'm working on the line that seperates the last two bands today.  I got some more done on Mariah's coffee cup.

I also am working on two crocheting projects, both are for an exchange.  The first is a book cover.  I'm going to put it on a copy of 'In the Kitchen with Rosie', a cookbook by one of Oprah's personal chefs.  I still have to block, stitch and decorate it. 

The 2nd is a tea cozy.  It's a pretty mustard colored yarn and I'm going to thread a green ribbon through the top of it.

Both projects are my own design!!  I can't wait to get them finished!

Well, that's it for me this week.  I still have 2 more assignments to finish for school by tonight.  Then we're going to watch the finale of Food Network Star and the season premiere of The Great Food Truck Race. 

And how was YOUR week?

New things

I started my new assignment for OfficeTeam yesterday.  I'm working in the shipping office of a factory doing data entry.  At least, that's the way it was explained to me when I was offered the assignment.  The hours are supposed to be Monday thru Friday 1pm-6pm.  Perfect, I thought!  I can get up early like normal, do my schoolwork, go work out, come home and do Mariah's schooling then go to work.  I'll get home early enough to go over whatever Mariah did while I was gone, tuck her into bed, finish up my own homework and then do some stitching!  Then I got to work yesterday.

The big boss is who I report to.  We sat in his office while he completely overwhelmed me explained to me what he wanted me to do.  It seems that I'm going to be entering every single form, piece of paper, etc, that the entire factory uses.  I will be designing spread sheets, going to safety meetings and designing a safety plan for the factory.  He anticipates the hours increasing to full time plus and permanent.  I was pretty much hyperventilating by the time we got to my office.  Yes, I'm a temp with my own office.  Today I get a phone, scanner and he told me to just let him or HR know what other supplies I need and he will make sure I get them.  I almost asked for an espresso machine!  :)  Last night went pretty well, we'll have to see how it continues.  Full time plus would not work for me, especially since we're hoping to move out of state by this time next year.  We'll see!

On a stitchy note, I started Mariah's coffee cup the other night.  This is the design she picked:

This is my progress after two days.  I HATE borders!

It's going to be really cute though!

My friend Sarah over at CraftyMoo is having a holiday giveaway.  She loves cows so I guess I'll have to hide Mariah's coffee cup!  Swing on over and take a look at her website, she's got some beautiful stitching!
http://craftymoo-sarah.blogspot.com/2011/08/holiday-give-away-from-cr4ftym00.html#comment-form

Well, that's it for now! 
And how was YOUR day?

Frogs a-leaping!

I finished the square on Deb's RR.  I think he came out cute!

Good stuff!

The mailman came yesterday and brought me good stuff!  First, I got my package from Mare for our Summer exchange.  She sent me several summer charts, a hand towel to stitch on and a pretty card.

Then, I got my Christmas in July package from Tinna.  She sent me the most beautiful Christmas ornament annd WDW threads. 



I love all of it, thank you so much ladies!!! 

I'm working on Deb's RR today.  Here's a picture of the progress so far:

I think he looks pretty cute!

Speaking of cute, Mariah was working on her knitting loom for arts and crafts the other day.  She's so intense and actually got a whole row done!

Yesterday I took her to get her hair cut.  She wanted to grow it long, but she & Daddy can't do anything with it if I'm not home.  So, now she looks quite pixie like!

Well, that's it for today!

And how was YOUR day?

Lots of stash

This is Mariah.  This is how she spends most of her time, teaching her 'kids'.  At last count, there were 25 in her class.  Each student gets individual and classroom time with the teacher.  They're all doing very well.  I swear, if you were listening from another room and didn't know that it was Mariah teaching them, you really would think that it was an adult teaching a classroom of children.

About a week ago, a friend put me in touch with a friend of hers who used to cross stitch.  She had a bunch of stash that she wanted to get rid of and offered to send it to me for the cost of the postage.  She sent it in 2 priority boxes.  The postage cost me $29.90.  I didn't do as well as some people I could name who shop thrift stores and find untold treasures (yes, Meari, I'm talking about you!), but I think I did pretty well.  She sent me 3 UFOs that she had started.

The Santa I will finish, it just needs backstitching.  The other 2 are not to my taste, so if anyone would like to give them a home, please let me know.  She also included some hoops and a floss card, all of which are going to my mom.

There were also some charts and booklets

Fabric and stitchables

A LoRan magnetic chart holder

And last, but certainly not least, a few threads

I think I did quite well!

I finished another band on the model I'm stitching.  Two more and it's done!

School's going well.  Biology is much easier than algebra!

Well, back to stitching. 
And how has YOUR week been?
 

What I've been stitching

I know, I know, a second update a day later, someone check the temperature in Hades!!

I have been given permission by the designer to show off what I've been working on for the last few months since I'm almost done and the design repeats.  So, here it is:

The design is called 'Romanian Star' and is by Carla Rizzie.  I think it's gorgeous!  I'm down to the last 2 pages.  But, I think it'll be a long time before I use red or black again!  :)

Much needed update!

Wow, I can't believe it's been over 2 months since I put an update here.  So much has happened!!  Lots of thunderstorms and flooding.  At one point, our backyard was a lake.  The farmer's field down the road was so flooded that if you didn't live around here, you'd think it really WAS a lake.  It even had a family of ducks for a few days!  There were casualties, though.  Mariah had been watching the tree on the other side of our courtyard.  There was a nest with eggs in it in the tree.  The evening after the babies hatched, we had a monsoon.  This was the result:

Mariah took the picture herself after she cried for several hours.

Most of my time has been taken up with school.  Algebra II was really tough and it really came down to the wire whether or not I was going to pass.  I got my final grades this morning and passed it with a 77.44%!!  I also got a 96% in my Intro to the Exceptional Learner class.  Woo hoo!!!  This semester I have Biology and Teaching as a Profession.  Much better!

I've gotten several crocheting projects done, including wristlets and a matching scarf for Mariah for her birthday. 

Speaking of Mariah's birthday, she turned 8 on June 17.  She wanted an aquarium cake, but since I was in the middle of algebra class, I didn't have time to do the serious decorating.  So, instead, I did an abstract aquarium.  She loved it!

We had a new addition to our family.  My brother, Kevin, and his wife, Teresa, had a beautiful baby girl, Emilia.  We're all very happy, although Mariah, Rich & I still have not been able to go and see her. 

I participated in a St. Baldrick's event.  It was a fundraiser for a local 10 yr old boy with a rare brain tumor.  Here I am getting my head shaved:

And, here, is the result:

It is so much cooler for the summer that I'm considering doing it every year!  It's already grown long enough that I can hold onto a piece of hair.

I'm still working on Carla's model, although I'm almost on the last 2 pages.  That will happen tonight.  I finished all the projects for our ILCS RR and got mine back home.  Everybody did a wonderful job, thank you!!  I have managed to get 2 more projects of my 15 project Crazy SAL partially finished.  Unfortunately, for both of them I need to order some ribbon floss so it'll have to wait a couple more weeks.  But, here are pics of what I've gotten done so far:

I think that's about it for now. 

And how was YOUR last 2 months??

Lots of creative juices flowing!

It's been a busy couple of weeks again.  Last week I had a temp assignment at a place about 10 minutes from my house.  $10 an hour, Mon-Fri, 7-3:30 for 2 weeks.  Woo hoo, I thought!  Monday morning I reported to work.  It was a steel factory, very casual.  The office dress was jeans & a shirt.  It looked like they hadn't had anyone doing filing for about 6 months.  I dug right in. By 3:15 Wednesday afternoon, they had nothing left for me to do!  They asked if I would be willing for them to call for me to come do paperwork on a temp basis every month and I said yes.  The temp agency was amazed that I had gotten the assignment done in only 3 days!

This week I have finals - World Culture and the Arts & Algebra I.  I've finished my paper for World Culture & emailed it to my wonderful teacher friend for review.  I'm reviewing for my algebra final and I should be able to take it by tomorrow night. Then I can take Sunday off.  I start my new classes on Monday - Intro to the Exceptional Learner & Algebra II.

Wednesday, the temp agency called me and asked if I would be interested in interviewing for a part time job.  A landscaping agency near us is looking for someone to run the office, occasionally run supplies out to one of the crews.  It would start out at 3 days a week, from 7:30 to ?, for $10 an hour.  I said sure!  The interview went well (I think), they said they had 2 more people to interview that day and they would make a decision by the end of the day.  I talked to the manager at the temp agency today - we're still waiting!  I hope that's a good thing!

In the meantime, I started a new crochet project.  I'm learning to make socks.  The first one went pretty well.  I kept trying it on every so often & it fit nicely.  The yarn I used was a little thick so they were going to be slippers.  Cool, my feet tend to get cold sitting at my computer anyway.  I had problems with the heel, but Carla talked me through it & I finally went to town and finished it up.  When I got down to 24 stitches around, I took up needle & thread and stitched up the opening.  1 down, 1 to go!!

Or so I thought.  Uh oh!! 

The part that Mariah is holding on to is the heel.  I think I miscounted somewhere.

Monday I'm going to go get some sock yarn and start all over!

 I worked on Vickie's RR piece and finished it up today.  I did 4 squares, 1 for each season.  Mine are Hope

the sunflower

the acorn

and the gingerbread man.

And how is your week going??