Done!

I took my test! Oh what a relief to be done. Although I won't find out officially for 4 - 5 weeks I feel alright about it too. This, for the record, does not mean I'll get credit for the class... with only 1 week of studying my standards may be a little low for this test. I'm just not really sure. Regardless, I am so thankful that my father in law postponed the tree job he'd hired Walter for so that he could drive me to my test. I used the time to study some more and learned (short term, I'm sure) a whole HEAP of info that was directly on the test. Praise God!

After stopping by Costco, Lowes, and Chic-fil-A (for a great salad) we headed home. I vowed not to celebrate with food (the salad doesn't count... even if I didn't make it myself) but instead to go swimming. This was my first real time in the pool (all in) this summer and it was SO wonderful. The last time I peaked my toes in the water was frigid. This time: bath water (as a note, bathwater is cooler than air so it is absolutely perfect). I even did a few decent dives and one or two really bad ones. I have to re-learn every year but gradually it is sticking.

Once we got home and had dinner I had the sneaking suspicion that there was something I definitely should be doing. How irresponsible was it for me to sit around leafing through pattern books, dreaming about which one should be done when. Then it hit me that I didn't HAVE to do anything that night. No responsibilities. How wonderful!

So I fixed a curtain. I got out my sewing machine and made a reinforcement for the area the dogs keep dislodging when they squeeze thru for a better view of the neighbor kids. Walter helped me install my masterpiece and TADA a working window cover yet again. :) I bought three sewing books just before I found out about this test. So once amazon delivered them I only allowed myself a glancing look before hiding them away to study. Now I get to pull them out in earnest and begin tinkering with my new sewing machine. It is a beauty!

I have other good news too. We're getting a camera! It should come in the mail tomorrow or the next day. Soon my posts won't be quite so bland looking. Won't that be the day? ;)

today

Done!  Test 3 of 3 is complete and 2 out of 3 went fantastically well (can't complain too hard about that, now can I?).  I walked out of Statistics today feeling so free.  Now I feel like I'm on Spring Break (for those of you who don't know... I had SB from my morning classes two weeks ago, one week of both sets of classes- and all tests- and then this week I have SB from my evening classes).  So next weekend (the tail end of break... only missing one, maybe two, classes) Walt & I are heading off somewhere exotic for vacation.  We're not sure where yet.  Maybe Florida, maybe the Gulf Coast, maybe a cruise to the Bahamas... just depends on the amazingness of the deals and our timely decisions (yeah, we're not so good at that last one.  but we'll get there).  Yay!  Spring Break!!

The weather here has been BEAUTIFUL.  It feels like a warm spring at last (at last... hehe).  After my math test Wednesday, however, I wasn't quite appreciating it.  I'd just bombed it (or,  I think...)  and decided to buy some new jeans before heading home (not really to make myself feel better but really to prevent problems in the near future).  I drove to the mall and talked on the phone in the parking lot for awhile.  Finally , I got out and marched right in to JCPenny.  I was on a mission.  I had a purpose.  This was going to be quick.  I would not spend the majority of my day at the mall.  I paused momentarily to glance at the store map as I entered and then zoomed off.  Not three steps in I heard an abrupt (almost challenging), 'Can I help you?' Still in super efficient mode, I swung back around just as abruptly.  I think it caught her off guard.  'Oh... uh...'  I don't know what else came out of her mouth and  I'm not sure what I was thinking because I turned back around and hurried on my way towards the rest of the mall.  It was very slowly that I actually started to take in my surroundings: It was awfully empty and quiet (no music only a few people in sight).  As I walked down the center of the store I realized that to my right the lights were on but to my left it was still pretty dark.  Uh oh.  I started to realize that JCPenny's hadn't opened yet.  I kept going and kept looking purposeful (no one questions someone with purpose).  That's when I saw it: a glass wall between me and the rest of the mall.  Definitely confirmed.  All doors were closed and locked and suddenly I had to turn around and look purposeful the entire way back out of the store towards the parking lot.  When I got back to my entrance it was slightly harder to be nonchalant.  Apparently I walked in through the only unlocked door on my first try.  Heading out, it took four tries to get it right (much to the confusion of an entering employee).  But I made it out without even a reprimand, walked around the outside to a different entrance and then hung out in the food court with the old people (eating breakfast after their morning walks) and the mall cops gliding past on the segues.  I thought it was pretty amusing. 

Anyway, I found pants.  

It was pretty quick.  And, the majority of my day was not spent at the mall.  All in all, a success.

Now it's spring break (kinda) and it feels good.  My kitchen is half clean (that half is really really nice).  The other half is waiting for a clean dishwasher so that new dishes can be loaded in and it too will be spotless (yay!).  I have ingredients for wonderful salads and scrumptious dinners and an odd desire to knit again (since when has knitting been a spring thing?).

This pin cushion really wet my appetite, I think.

And then I remembered all the cute patterns in the free issue of Interweave Crochet I've yet to try out.  The latter are a little bit too wintery for me right now but that just makes me anxious for the next issue to arrive.  :)  I can't wait.

So today I'm celebrating spring (is today the equinox?), taking a long walk with the dogs, cleaning the kitchen, cooking up a storm, cleaning up again (yay, i have a clean kitchen!), going out to see Slumdog Millionaire, and maybe taking up my knitting or reading a book... because today I'm on vacation. :D

    

Just HAD to Share

My bookmarks folder is full of fun things I've found online. I thought it was time to start sharing them. They're much more fun to enjoy with people rather than all alone.

GurglePot Koi Pitcher... browse thru the pictures. i'm in love!
Index Chopping Boards... for those of you (like me) on a quest to organize a small kitchen
Delight... a new favorite online store
Midsummer Light... we've found where to buy the materials but the cutting looks like it'd be worth the cost. once i have th money.
Making Memory Candles... and now for crafts.
Inspiration Board... for tight spaces
Tape Transfers... like the candles
Shoulder Bag Tutorial... simple enough
Storage Basket... again, questing for organization
Playing Card Box Tutorial... for anyone with a short deck, much better than throwing it out. :)

FALL!

i don't have much time to say hi to y'all like i should. today is now grocery day (i set up a weekly schedule courtesy of fly lady) and i need to get a move on. but here are two quick and happy thoughts:

1. My dogs are home!! they've been boarding at the vet for 3 weeks now (oh my!) to get treated for heartworms. it's so nice to have them home. when i first saw them they looked odd to me. out of proportion almost. they have such broad shoulders and muscle-y butts. they are beasts! such sweeties tho'.

2. I'm getting supplies for a cute craft. And by supplies i mean construction paper. But really, this is a cute one. I'm excited to put some together this evening and see how they turn out.

& here's where i found it.

oh and 3 (i said two... but who will really complain?): Wally's building an airplane even as we speak. it's a little remote control one. he's pulled out the parts on a ready to fly version and is making his own "flying wing" version. i'll have to take pictures of the process.

OH! (4:) And today is a wonderfully fall-like day. It's rainy outside and cool. I can look out our living room to our deck (for which walter just built a railing yesterday), aunt janet's hanging impatien plant, and the soy bean and rice fields. while walter and i cleaned we watched dead poet's society. i got to sit down with some hot spiced cider and watch the end in peace in a clean cozy room! you can't ask for much more. :)

a short night, or was it long?

in a strange turn of events... i'm up, and in time to head to the farmers market at an only slightly picked over hour. i'd specifically planned not to be.

you see, yesterday walter & i decided to see The Dark Knight on opening night. At our theater the 7,7:30, & 10:15 were all sold out. We ended up buying tickets for the 10:45 showing at about 7pm and then exploring Memphis in between. We ate Cajun (-ish?) food at the Bayou Bar & Grill walked all around the pretty cute neighborhood our favorite theater is in, explored the city by car, took another walk and then enjoyed the in theater coffee shop before hopping in the (now long) line forming outside. the movie started 20 minutes late (as usual) thanks to the advent of car and tv commercials set within the listed showing time (does this annoy anyone else?) and we got out at 1:30.

i don't really want to say anything much about the movie but i am interested to hear what other people think. maybe it was the late hour , maybe it was just that good, but it was darker than i had hoped it would be (i know, what was i thinking? the Dark knight). when we got home i decided to watch the final episode of Dr. Horrible to lighten the mood a bit. By the time we finally reached our bed it was almost 3 o'clock (it has been a long time since college and a very long time since such late nights).

on that note, i decided not to go to the weekly farmers market (a sad decision) and to sleep in instead. unfortunately the dogs slept while we were in the theater. instead of asking for breakfast or to go outside they simply decided to try to serve themselves. their stealth needs a little work and here i am. alas. at least there's room in the day for a nap. i'm pretty sure i'll be needing it.

so now it's time for a quick shower and off i go. plus, my fabric came in on thursday and i can finally begin my roman shades for the living room! i can't wait to see how it looks.

Here's to fun fabric and privacy! I'll have to show you them when they're done.

Three Cheers...

...for Emily, Momma, and Deborah! they are apparently my only true friends in the world ;) I thought about replying to you in a post but I've decided to comment after your comments (on my last post) instead. hope that isn't too confusing. you're all smart. i think you can handle it. :)

Here are some things you may not know about my recent life:

1. I made a key fob! Have you ever heard of that? I hadn't! I saw what I thought was just the cutest key chain on etsy.com and decided to make myself one. Later I found out what it was and that it was made that way so you could hold your keys hands free. How great! Another great thing about my key fop is that the fabric was free. (oOo!) I bought 11 yards of canvas duck cloth for roman shades and found a ridiculously small remnant of ribbon that the fabric counter lady refused to measure. She tacked it on to my bolt of fabric and off I went. It is a very cute key-fob.

2. I made the first cut on the fabric for my roman shades! i'm not good at cutting. i'm not good at cutting 58" in a perfect straight line when my cutting mat is only 24" at its longest. i'm open for suggestions on this one.

3. When the fabric lady scanned the bar code and went to print up my receipt (she was not the usual fabric lady) she let out a little gasp and looked at me to tell me that when i saw the price I would probably rather just buy pre-made curtains. The total was probably about the cost of two sets of walmart curtains. Little did she know that I was going to make the equivalent of approx. 7 standard windows. Not just one or two. Oh well. I got a free key-fob.

4.I don't know where my camera is. Otherwise I'd show you our larger smoother ceilinged great room (it'll be very smooth by the end of this week-- spring break -- walt's promised me), the famous key fob and the strawberry plant that has at least 4 blooms on it already.

5. While I went out to run errands Walter spent the first day of his spring break building me a vegetable garden box. Our soil is too dense for easy gardening and this seems to be the best solution. Did you know that you can feed one person from a 4x4 square of garden for an entire year (using your freezer of course)? We're starting with one square until the septic tank guy comes and tells us where he's putting in the new one. Then we'll add a second!

After my running and going this morning and my cleaning and cooking of the early afternoon I'm just inexcusably exhausted (ridiculously). I've been spacing out on the bed for almost 2 hours now, almost like it took too much energy to fall asleep. But I smell the chicken tortilla soup that's been cooking in the crock pot and I think it's not going to make it to the longer side of the recipe's instructions (isn't it great that crock pot recipes give you an hour or more leeway? i'm too hungry for this soup to make it 4 hours tonight.) I can't wait to turn off the music and eat soup and salad while listening to the rain and intermittent thunderstorms. This is something I missed in PA. We didn't have good storms. You have to come back into the plains/prairies for that one. That's one thing I'm grateful for. It's a definite perk of tornado alley. ;)

amigurumi

So I'm in my pajamas and hungry for lunch but I just had to say a quick 'hello!' :)

I haven't done a whole lot lately: gone to Dorothy's to help out there and hold babies (yay!), go to the chiropractor (today will be the 4th day in a row, i think my back is starting to feel better), a little Christmas shopping and baking (i am all about baking), and a whole lot of knitting. Yay knitting!

I've made some ornaments, most of a twirly ribbon scarf (I need another circular needle to finish it off), one super silky present (did you know you could buy silk yarn?!), and three attempts at one super cool scarf. The first time I ripped it out I hadn't gone too far. No sweat. This last time I was quite a ways in before I realized that the mistake I'd corrected showed more than I'd thought. I want this scarf to be gift worthy. I may gift it only to myself but I'd like to be able to give it and that just wouldn't happen with the bulge I most recently discovered. Alas. At least this is a fun and soothing project. I don't really mind doing it again and again. Also, Walter went out and bought me a set of bamboo needles for this project and I love how smooth and soft they feel. All in all, it's great.

I was perusing the internet ... oh an hour or so ago... when I accidentally rediscovered AMIGURUMI. i love these things! Amigurumi is Japanese for crocheted doll, I think. And I can't wait to get started on this next project! Just simple little dolls with millions of millions of possibilities. Seriously, you should check out this flickr group. They've posted pictures of tons of completely diff. amigurumi all made with the same exact pattern. lots of fun. anyway, i'd better get on with the day.