Thoughts of...Music Teacher and a Mom

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T12:28:00.007-04:00

We went to the arboretum to take pictures after church. I think this will be a new tradition.

Last Day of the Year 2010

2011-01-01T16:13:00.003-05:00

a winter garden

Yesterday was unseasonably warm, so the girls played outside for a while. Of course, we had mud too, but that was part of the fun!

the last snow

I had the chance to try out my new Tamron 70-300 zoom lens. I really like it, but i had trouble panning. i guess i'll have to practice more. it's hard to pan with a heavy lens, so another lens may be more suitable for that effect. I just wanted to be ready by the time Erick starts racing again.

I really like this lens; i focus it manually inside, but outside, i used the auto focus and it worked quickly and well most of the time.

I love the neutral background of winter. I love the browns and grays. I love the texture of bare trees and grasses. Some of my favorite pics were taken on mild winter days.

Here are some pics of our happy, muddy day.

Emmy was so proud of her snow man. he's sort of reincarnated from a previous snowman.

My littlest one didn't bother with unmelted snow. she went straight for the puddles.

She's using a snowball maker to transport hay, mud, and melted snowman pee.

And rocks, we can't play outside without using rocks.

Back to the puddle we go!

Madge.

I love using this long lens to capture shots of Madge. I can sit back far enough that she is disinterested in what I'm doing. It's lovely not having that wet sticky nose all over the front of my lens.

Making plans for playing ball with Madge

Not the best shot technically, but I adore the textural background of my ornamental grass and sedum.

Chasing Madge

Taking a break and thinking about her favorite food: egg salad sandwiches

Cleaning mud off her new boots.

Love that red hair!

Madge is helping her clean her boots

A favorite picture. Happy New Year everyone!

MOMMY! IWANTAWACHA'MACALLIT THING-A-MA-BOB!!!!

2010-12-28T08:44:00.006-05:00

Christmas and Candy Canes

Yeah, and so after all of the extravagance of christmas, and wallet-throwup everywhere, all i can say is "i want a....!!!"

I've spent my time off perusing my favorite photoblogs. I love photoblogs! If i didn't have a job that forced me to leave the house everyday, I'd spend my entire day reading photoblogs, discovering photoblogs, adding photoblogs to my google reader.

Anyhow I stumbled on this site
and saw this book:
Visual Poetry: A Creative Guide for Making Engaging Digital Photographs by Chris Orwig

and added it to my wish list.

The end.

Fall 2010

2010-11-02T15:39:00.004-04:00

some fall pics. I thought the colors were so beautiful this year.

Cooper's Rock State Forest
We love to go here every fall and have a camp fire and cookout

The view from my yard, Zebra grass and trees

Cosmos, they began to bloom in late summer and are still going strong!

Happy little cosmos

Cosmos flowers are so photogenic!

Emmy at a park, I love the fall leaves behind her

Darling Hubby at Cooper's Rock, this pic is exactly how I see him, rugged and handsome! :-)

Wooly Worm, a sure sign that Winter is on it's way!

Bibi, I get so few good pictures of her...she's always on the move

I have lots of these pics with Emmy and the fall leaves, I couldn't decide which i liked best!

Zebra Grass and the Sunset

The sunset over our winter pool cover (no kidding). I thought the refection was so beautiful I had to capture it.

Hope you enjoyed the pic. Thanks for sharing some lovely fall moments with me.

Fun in the Yard

2010-07-11T07:24:00.003-04:00

I know this is turning into a picture blog. Thanks for bearing with me as i keep working on my hobby and figuring out my mad (not!) photo skills.

I had fun snapping these pics of the girls playing in my garden cart. Really, who needs a little red wagon when they have mom's garden cart? It gives a much better ride, lol!

Run! Madge is chasing us!

Time for the littlest one to pull

Sun Flare and a Rock

Notice how the rock is in every picture

I finally agreed to take a picture of the rock

It is almost impossible to get the two to smile at the same exact time

... Oh, and to get them to look at the camera while they're smiling

What? Leaving so soon?

Of course! It's Tubby Time (time to pet Tubby)

Better Than Thunder, Prettier Than Lightning

2010-07-06T15:34:00.004-04:00

Emmy was so excited watching the fireworks in "one of america's best small cities."

Anyhoo, she chattered nonstop, first she was scared, then she was excited. Finally she exclaimed, "i love fireworks! they're better than thunder, prettier than lightning!"

She cracked up the people around us!

They were beautiful. I didn't realize the number of blue and gold fireworks there until post processing. Welcome to Mountaineer Country!

I took about 100 pictures, and about half of them turned out fairly well. I used an aperture of f 11 and a shutter speed of 4 seconds, less for the grand finale. I put the camera on a tripod, and because i don't have a remote, I used my 2 second timer and just hit the button as soon as i heard the firework shoot off. I had to use my 18-55 mm lens, because that's all i have. someday though, i'll have better lenses...after i sent up a savings account, lol!

Here are some more of my favorite shots:

at the park, getting ready to watch fireworks

More blue and gold

Did you ever find yourself giving fireworks names? I do it all the time, lol! Here we have the "patriotic fireworks".

Heaven help me, it's so hard to pick favorites!

I call these the "princess firework" because of the pink glittery look

Overblown a bit because i was as excited as emmy and couldn't make my fingers work the right buttons!

Princess fireworks! all pink and glittery!

I think i'll name this "star trek"

Blue and gold?

And the rockets' red glare...

I swear, i'll stop soon...

Stars and stripes! I love it!

We had such a great time, so glad we braved the crowds and went!

Flowers are Blooming!

2010-06-30T17:05:00.004-04:00

Totally, totally, totally procrastinated on running errands today. My excuse? Oh, look at these gorgeous flowers! Who wouldn't want to hang around the house all day, windows open, doing much of nothing!

Besides, I hate shopping.

(My library books are going to be late, but oh well.)

My yard looked like big green weeds, giant weeds, until these beauties popped out.

And so, it's time to figure out the camera, and it's time to try to be "artsy" with my pics. I was trying to capture "flare", too.

Oriental lily, I bought 3 for 1.99 at a local hardware store.

Okay, there's a reason my face is not focused. Because i don't know what i'm doing! The flowers look great though. (My face looks like it's glowing because there's "flare" on it! I look angelic, lol!)

Ooo, flare!

Gladiolas, also bought at local hardware store, 1.99 for 10!

Ooo, flare and gloriosa daisies!

Ooo, flare and coneflowers. Looks like a bubble, want to pop it!

This pic was a pleasant surprise. I think it's one of my favorites.

no mom, i didn't look directly into the sun.

This is my favorite, bar none. it has bokeh and flare. I'm learning.

Have a beautiful day!

The Extrememly Interesting Things We're Doing

2010-06-26T13:10:00.003-04:00

In fact, life is so fun, my girls are watching an informercial. right now. this very second. "Walk-Fit". These commercials must appeal to kids as much as they appeal to older folk.

Wow, emmy is pushing a poptart wrapper around on the floor with her toes. Yep. Very Interesting.

Here are some pics that may be a bit more interesting than my random ramblings...

Flowers in my garden

Kids (big and little, lol) in my pool

Hubby completing an Xterra race in Richmond, VA
He came in 2nd in his age group.
It was so hot!

On Rt. 33, in Va. It was an exciting road to take to Va. The guy's truck overheated as he hauled new cars up the mountain. He actually backed the cars off of the ramp while his truck was on fire.

Hubby and local pizza joint.

Waiting for pizza to be done and taking pictures of flare.

Our new dog, Madge. She's really sweet. and smelly. she needs a bath.

Whoa

2010-06-14T22:00:00.002-04:00

Umm...do those kids on the Header really belong to me? Cause it's been so long since i've been on here, i don't recognize those little people. Did my girls really look that small? maybe it's time to change the header.

Or maybe I should try posting on here a little more often! I logged onto to my dashboard and thought, whoa! Do i really contribute to all those blogs? were did they come from?

seriously, it's been a while, but you'll be relived to know, it's not just here where i disappear from the face of the earth, submerged within the viscera of work. apparently the complaint department (my ears) has received various reports that certain family members forgot what we look like. I say, the road goes both ways sweetie. and those pictures i posted in my last blog? from 2 months ago? yeah, i finally got them to family members. today.

i don't know if i love summer as much as i proclaim. because then, i have to do everything i said i was going to do "in the summer". you know what i'm talking about: in the summer I will (fill in the blank with next to impossible thing that i really don't want to do anyway).

yeah whatever. here's what's going down "in the summer" this summer: I will stick to a routine in order to feel that i got something accomplished, i will grudging give up some precious "doing nothing" time to attend some summer classes, and the rest will be spent in my yard, in the pool, and/or reading a good book. I will recuperate from my previously burned-out state and will return to school refreshed, full of creativity and ready to tackle the challenges of the upcoming year.

Come, join me.

Easter 2010

2010-04-04T16:24:00.002-04:00

Breakin' out the old camera and snappin' some photos. I love spring. First the magnolia trees bloom with the daffodils and forsythia, next the cherry, pear and apple, and then my favorite, dogwood.

Since i love flowering trees, we took the girls in their pretty dresses to a local arboretum for some pics. Lovely day.

Sisters by the Magnolia Tree

Little Woodland Nymph

The Other Little Woodland Nymph

Admiring the Star Magnolia, love the contrast of the polka dots with the flowers...

Looks almost like a spring snowfall

So beautiful and such a pretty smile

Taking a break, posing for photos can be hard work

Telling Daddy about the flower she found.

At least it's not a stick, this time anyway...

Finally got the 3 to smile at the same time.

Pretty portrait under the magnolia tree. I almost stepped in doggie doo here.

Bibi in front of some sort of yellow flowering tree. I'm not sure what it is..

Love how the flowers match the flower on her dress...

Smiles

yes, she's wearing glasses now. she needs them all the time.

Leaving our pretty spot, love the shadows at their feet.

Come on, Mom!

Admiring another secret nook. Beautiful day today!

Spring is Here!

2010-03-30T08:16:00.002-04:00

spring is here, spring is here, la la la la la (sing it with me now)!

Yea! And i am enjoying my full week of spring break. How is it we get a break after [umm, cough, 'teensomething] snow days? I don't really frickin' know! Something about the law, and the unions, and bunions, and I don't care, but it's here! yea!

And so, for the past month or so, i've been pouring over my gardening magazines and catalogues. My goal this year is to define the borders of my yard. It still looks like a great big field, which is what it was, up until 2 or 3 years ago. All it's missing are the cows.

Last year we bought some pine tree sticks. And that's what they still look like, sticks. We put them along our east property line, between our house and the neighbors who just build their house. Some have died. But the others will grow, they're doing ok. This year we bought some larger pines to replace the dead ones. And we bought some leyland cypress to put along the north side of our property, between our house and the road. I hear that they get tall, but we have plenty of room for them. My yard is beginning to look defined, well, it will look defined when we get all the trees in. I'm so excited.

My front flower beds still look bare from winter. I'm moving some of my Autumn Joy sedum toward the middle and back of the bed since it gets so tall. A bunch of bulbs came up. They're not all blooming yet. The deer snacked on some tulips, so i bought "liquid fence" to spray on my plants. That is the nastiest, foulest smelling stuff I have ever encountered. Cough. Gag. Nasty. I hope the deer think so too!

Cheers and happy spring! Will post pictures of flowers sooner, or later!

Snow Days, or Why Hubby Likes It When I Get a Snow Day

2010-02-17T13:27:00.003-05:00

12 snow days...really, I don't know what to do. Or do I?

Mmmm, bagels...

Mmmm, sandwich bread...

and dear hubby came home with flowers...

which I had to take pictures of and add texture...

Thanks sweetie, dinner is cooking.

Snow Day!

2010-02-09T08:18:00.008-05:00

Lots and lots of snow days, actually. And more snow is on it's way...

Emmy, posing in the snow :-)

So, I've been cooking, and sketching, and completing assignments for an independent course. Of course, i waited till the last minute to take a course to renew my teaching certificate, but these snow days have been a blessing. I'm almost halfway done with the course, yea!

The course was supposed to be an art course, but it's more of a craft course, so being left unfulfilled in the creativity category, I turned to writing and sketching. My sketching is heh, but that's why I want to learn! I discovered that it's hard to sketch snow with a pencil, but had fun trying!

Pictures I took to sketch from

Someone abandoned their red "monster truck" on our road (narrow, one lane road) so I was inspired to write this haiku as my facebook status:

Monster Truck on road
Neighbors cannot drive past you
Driving skills frozen??

This is not the "monster truck" but DH got the truck stuck at the end of our driveway

The abandoned monster truck cracked me up because it's like 10 feet above the snow.

More snowy pictures to draw from...

Bracing for more snow, yea!

I Have a Lava Lamp and I'm Not Afraid to Use It

2010-01-18T10:19:00.005-05:00

Lydee! Where have you been?!

Watching my lava lamp.

Really, that can suck away hours of your day.

Years ago my mom gave me a lava lamp. And I still have it in our bedroom, ooh la la. My kids find it fascinating, even better than tv. And watching it is what they're doing right now, so i have some moments of quiet. What a great mother i am!

Actually, life has become a busy endeavor. By the way, I hate being busy. I really do, almost as much as I hate driving in the snow. I'd rather watch the lava lamp.

Some things are a good kind of busy: I have been writing here , I made a quilt (and inadvertently dyed it red by using a recycled red flannel sheet as batting, don't do that, ever), we put up the girls bunk beds, hoping to bring a sense of order to their tiny room, I've made bagels, and have been refining my italian bread recipe.

Now, I need fuel. I need comfort food. Yea! for a long weekend! Today I am making Italian Wedding Soup. It's no coincidence that Pioneer Woman is making Italian Meatball Soup, (because it's cooold!)but her soup is more of a vegetable soup, whereas mine is all about the pastina and the tiny meatballs.

Italian Wedding Soup is the stuff of comfort. I am not italian, and I'm no expert at italian food, but I know what tastes yummy! I took voice lessons as a teenager. One of the unexpected benefits of voice lessons was this little Italian restaurant called Hills (not sure about the very un-italian sounding name) close to my teacher's voice studio. After a lesson, my mother and i would eat dinner at Hills. Mmm, my memories of Italian Wedding Soup stem from there: tiny meatballs, escarole, carrots and pastina floating in a flavorful chicken broth, warm crusty italian bread on the side, smeared with Real butter, yum. (Their Gnocchi was amazing too, but that's for another day, it's a wonder I didn't weigh 300 lbs.)

I started my soup and crusty italian bread yesterday. Actually, I started it earlier this week when I cornered two lovely italian ladies I work with and threatened them until I got their family's Italian Wedding Soup recipe out of them. Ha! I kid. You should never threaten an Italian lady! Especially when it's about food! I just asked nicely and got two recipes with a lot of good stories tossed in for flavor. Thank you lovely ladies!

My recipe is based on theirs, and what i remember from the soup I ate all those years ago.

Italian Wedding Soup (a very loose recipe based on multiple sources)

So, yesterday I tossed a whole chicken, with an onion and garlic and salt and pepper in a pot of water to cook until the meat fell off the bones. I strained the broth and separated the meat from the bones and all of that other disgusting stuff. Picking meat off of bones is one of my least favorite activities. Ah, what i will do for food.

I shredded the chicken and put in fridge. I will add some of it back to the soup, and freeze the rest for another recipe/cassarole. I put the broth in the fridge too. Today I will skim the fat off the top and heat my broth to boiling on the stove.

In a skillet I will brown tiny meatballs (which I still need to make, I'm going to use last week's crusty bread as bread crumbs) and remove when they are done. Next I'll saute chopped onion (you can add pepper flakes and celery, optional), and carrots sliced thin. I'll add the meatballs and veggies to the pot of broth and simmer. I'll add a cup of chx broth to my skillet and heat to boiling, scraping off the goodness on the bottom of the pan. I'll add that to my pot as well.

Add some of the shredded chicken from yesterday. Add as much as you want. I'll probably use 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken. (Freeze the rest of the chicken for another use).

Next I'll add 1/2 cup of pastina or so. You can cook it ahead of time, but I take the lazy route and just add to my pot of broth with everything else.

Add 1/2 lb of spinach (fresh, or use frozen-thawed and drained) (spinach is easier than escarole)

Scramble 2 eggs and add to the soup, stirring with a wooden spoon the entire time.

Cover soup and let stand for a couple of minutes. Serve with grated cheese and italian bread.

Italian Bread

2 Cups of warm water
1 T sugar
1T oil
1 1/2 t salt
6 C of flour
1 T instant yeast

Mix and knead dough in your favorite way. I use a bread machine.
Allow to rest in a greased bowl for 1 hour. Punch down and allow to raise for another 1/2 hour.

Shape into a long loaf on a greased surface. (some people use a floured surface. I like my bread well hydrated, so i use a greased surface instead, whatever your preference). Shaping: I pat into a rectangle and fold over 3 times, and then began to shape into a long loaf, pinching the bottom, do whatever works for you and whatever stretches the "skin" taunt without breaking it.

Place on greased (couple of spritzes with a Misto) parchment paper fitted to a baking sheet.

Allow to raise for 20-25 minutes.

Cover with a damp towel, or plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight. This helps the loaf hold it's shape and gives it that crispy crust.

The next day, heat the oven to 500 degrees F. Take the loaf out of the fridge and allow to rest for 1/2 hour while the oven heats up.

Spritz the loaf with a water mister, and slice diagonally along the top with a sharp knife. Bake at 500 degrees F for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 450 degrees F and finish baking for 10 minutes until the loaf is golden brown, and an instant read thermometer inserted into the loaf registers 190 degrees.

Allow to cool and slice.

That's What It's All About

2009-12-29T22:43:00.004-05:00

Pioneer woman has some ~~AWESOME~~ pictures of bokah if you want to go check them out.

But

since i have serious competitive issues, that according to my husband [The Machine], could be worked out if I'd race (like him), i'm going to post what i submitted to her since ~~she obviously hasn't seen my fabulous pictures yet~~ i'm still learning how to use my new camera.

And

(grit grit) it's not whether you win or lose, it's about how much fun you have learning how to play, right? (grit grit).

I just made that up, btw.

no. I don't feel better.

But here are my pics.

Hey, it's all about the bokeh, or the "fuzzy tree" as hubby says.

For more beautiful pictures taken by people who know better than me what they're doing, go visit Pioneer Woman photography. The pictures are breathtaking.

I Heart Faces: Hilarious Outtakes

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

This was a tough assignment because most of my outtakes are deleted right away. I did scrounge around for a few.

Almost all of my outtakes involve my daughter Bibi in one form or another. In fact, it's almost impossible to take a picture of her looking at the camera + smiling.

Here are a few that somehow were not deleted. Maybe, just maybe, they cracked me up in one way or another with Bibi's special brand of drama.

I'm ready for my close-up.

My fingers are so much more interesting than looking at mom.

Fingers again.

That child can cross her eyes like no one else I know.

This is so typical. This pic is a few years old, but typical of any posed shots I try to do of Bibi. She absolutely has had enough.

Christmas and a new, and a new, and a new...

2009-12-26T19:34:00.002-05:00

The short version: we got some new toys for christmas. Although I consider myself the "Chuck" version of a Navigation System, (have i mentioned my freakish love of maps?), I bought Hubby a Garmin anyway. He wanted a navigation system that wouldn't yell at him because she was too busy looking at flowers to remember to tell him when to turn. Besides, now I get to stare at a digital map for the entire length of the trip. It's cool.

Hubby bought me a new camera. I'm so excited, I'm so excited!!!

I was so excited, I couldn't concentrate on reading mundane things like the manual. It took me 3 hours to figure out how to take a picture. Wow! I have a lot to learn. Anyhoo, now i can capture all of Bibi's moods.

Bibi on Christmas Day

Okay, so this wasn't actually taken on christmas day, but this is the only real smile i have from this goober.

No, Bibi, we are not going to open this yet.

Look Mom, look at my present, Mom, look; look Mom!

No, my present, don't look.

Uncles are good for joking around, especially Great-Uncles.

You want a knuckle sandwich?!

Getting grumpy.

Grumpier.

And, yeah. It's time to shut out the world.

I feel like that too at times.

It's A Snow Day!

2009-12-21T18:15:00.004-05:00

I know, i know. My last post had beautiful fall scenes. And now this. But really, that's how fast life seems to be going these days. One minute we're walking outside in moderate temperatures enjoying the fall scenery and the next minute I wake up to a snowy world. Where did all of the in between time go?

Bibi

December is extra busy for the music teacher because of the ~~dreaded~~ anticipated School Winter Music Program. This year seemed to have more than its usual share of stresses, but the kids did a great job and sounded good too. I'm proud of them and of Student Teacher who was directing a few pieces also.

We are scheduled to teach this week, but so far are stranded at home. That is, I'm stranded at home. Other people, I think, have been out shopping. They go where I fear to tread. Our neighbors got their Subaru stuck at the bottom of our hill. That's all i need, to end up in a ditch. It's okay though. The girls and I have baked and decorated cookies, played outside, and played games inside. It's been a fabulous long weekend.

Some pics of my snow angels:

Emmy

Sisters in the Snow

Bibi and Her Stick

She's telling me about Her Stick

Our House

Bibi

The Girls and Some Snowy Scenery

Emmy, Snowy Girl

Fall, Stall Here at Our House

2009-11-28T16:15:00.004-05:00

Ha, ha, it's a little pun. And, it's a rather ironic statement. Really, if i wanted company, why did i move so far out into the country? Garmin doesn't even know where we are. I'm such a freakin' hermit crab.

It has been a beautiful month here though. Usually Sept and Oct are the beautiful months, but this Nov was gorgeous. And warm. I love unexpected warm weather.

Today the sky is crystal clear, the sun is low in the sky casting a warm amber glow on everything. I am so glad i didn't cut the seed heads on my Pampas grass, or move them to their new home yet. I will probably be regretting this decision in the spring; they cannot stay in my front flowerbeds. They get too big and send out too many runners. Next Spring I'll move them closer to the edge of the yard where they'll have all the room they need. But for now they look so lovely in the warm sunlight swaying in the breeze, their fluffy tan seedheads blending in with the browns of the trees in the distance.

Imagine my surprise yesterday when it started snowing! Woah, wasn't ready for that one. But it was beautiful in it's unexpectedness and my girls bundled up and went outside to play. It didn't stick around for long, but it was lovely while it lasted.

We also spent some time at a nearby state park. We had a little campfire going, and Bibi's pants stretched out by the fire, drying, because Bibi has the knack of getting her pants wet in various ways. The park ranger drove by, stopped, got out and started walking towards us. We thought for sure we were in trouble, maybe we shouldn't have started that fire. But he just came by to say how pleased he was to see families getting out and enjoying the park. Phew.

Smores! Yum!

Bibi looks so content.

Emmy. I can't get her to not pose for the camera.

Bibi and her Stick. She finds sticks wherever we go.

I think Fall might be my favorite season of the year...

Scenes from Fall, 2009

2009-11-13T18:39:00.003-05:00

And 1/2 month later I finally get my lazy arse in gear and throw another post up. and it's a picture post to boot. lame and easy, especially when i could talk about hubby's iron distance triathlon and how he rocks, but there it is.

The story? The girls and I went walking with some friends a few weeks ago and the leaves were beautiful. We had a fabulous time. Enjoy a last taste of fall!

Blood, Gore, and Pumpkin Guts!

2009-10-31T09:53:00.012-04:00

Yesterday at work was zany. It was our annual halloween parade, and our first ever Pumpkin Drop. Earlier in the week was the auditions for our talent show (another first, my bright idea). In between, I sandwiched more university observers, yet another new student teacher (male this time) and "fun" halloween lessons (using all the "cool" instruments). The kids were nuts all week.

The talent show auditions went surprisingly well. We set it up "america's got talent" style. Art, music and pe combine classes and the three of us, + new (male) student teacher, were judges. The kids in the classes were the audience. We had a lot of fun. I took my meds and got along surprisingly well with everyone else. The actual talent show will be in a few weeks, no judging then, just all fun.

Yep, i'm back on my meds. My anxiety, combine with hormonal depression, and a new feature, paranoia, convinced me that i've got a real problem and should not EVER be out in public without meds. Ever. At least, I should be on meds until menopause hits, or my baby making sack is removed, whichever comes first.

Yesterday, it was impossible to concentrate on anything after the Pumpkin Drop in the morning. It was the Art teacher's idea. Each class brought in materials to package up their pumpkin, hoping to insulate it in the best way possible. We brought in a crane and our principal went up in the bucket, 80 ft into the air and dropped the boxes. (one of the pictures i took here.) PP totally moved up to the "YOU ROCK!" level in my book.

Even the newspaper was there. They got the kids' names wrong, but they were there.

I snapped a couple shots with my camera phone, hoping to post on facebook, but was too mesmerized to do much more than send a confusing pic to hubby. I did shoot a ton of pics with my regular camera (as did a number of us) and that is posted on our school's web page. I took video as well, check out a link here (it's just like being there!). The kids were wired. We were wired. The kids knew they had a halloween party later in the day. It was a great and zany day.

The only picture of me, and it's my shadow. I was slightly spastic at the time, all that blood and gore and pumpkin guts.

Still slightly spastic, trying to figure out how to work my camera phone. I gave up and took 100 pictures with my regular camera.
...which are on my work computer...sorry. Check out the link for more pumpkin guts.

Happy Halloween!

Frosty Flowers, Goodbye

2009-10-24T16:03:00.005-04:00

Frosted Flowers...and grass. The end of the growing season is here.

It was frosty and foggy this particular morning. I jumped out of my car on my way to work to snap these last photos of my garden in the end-of-it's-season glory.

Alas poor cosmos! I behold your beauty one last time this season.

How different you are from this...

Naked, cold and shivering...
You certainly know how to go out with a bang...

...or shall we call it a "brrr"....?

At least I'll get to enjoy you maiden grass, with your beautiful seedheads throughout winter.

Ah! Sweet hardy Coneflowers! Until we meet again! I'll see you next summer.
Goodbye.

3G part 2

2009-10-18T09:02:00.002-04:00

Oh yeah, I found out I can tether my phone to my computer via Bluetooth and cruise the internet. It also is totally not allowed according to some fine print i finally found on at&t's website, after looking for hours and signing my lifeblood away with registrations and passwords. The fact that I may or may not have found it while tethered to my phone will not be discussed here.

Unlimited does not mean unlimited folks. That's why they have various levels of "unlimited" data plans. You pay for how "unlimited" you want "unlimited" to be.

Can't wait to see my first bill. Funny how they say my balance online will not be visible until after the 1st billing cycle. It's sort of funny. Except it's not.

enter 3G

2009-10-16T12:41:00.004-04:00

I have now entered the world of 3G network. And no, it's not Verizon. You know of their latest commercial, where they brag about their "service map"? I laugh, because you can see WV in the negative image. Almost the entire country is yellow (service) except WV. It's white (no service). Crack me up.

No, we went with AT&T. And living way out in podunk-ville, I get what no one else can offer me, high speed internet connection. We may not have it with cable (no cable out here), we may not have it with DSL (thanks verzion, but you suck, 6 years you've been promising it and it never came), but I have 3G on my new phone. Now, if only there were some way to tether my phone to my computer...let me know if you know anything.

It's very cool. And now, we've decided to take the plunge and eliminate the landline. Except, it's not really a plunge, more like entering the pool on the shallow side and wading to the deep end. I simple downgraded our phone service. We see how we like it for a month or so and then make a final decision.

It's weird and cool all at the same time.

I can even check the weather from my phone. so cool.

lovely lazy day

2009-10-10T10:00:00.003-04:00

I tossed Tubby outside. Voluntarily or involuntarily, neither of us are sure. There was protesting, but i think it was about the "picking me up off the ground" part and not the "tossing outside" part. Ok, maybe it was about the "tossing" part, but not the "outside". Whatever. She's out there to stay for now. Catch something good Tubby!

Today is a lovely, lazy day. It's the first day I have nothing to do since August.

It's glorious.

Hubby was: gotta get dressed, gotta do something, gotta go somewhere. And I was all: take the girls with you.

They left and he was disgusted, but today i have nothing planned and i intend to do just that. Maybe I'll bake. Maybe I'll curl up with tea and a book. Whatever it is, it will be glorious. And I'm starting now.

:-)

the sunny side

2009-10-08T05:58:00.000-04:00

i'm keeping on the sunny side. thanks everyone.

work. sigh.

2009-10-01T07:47:00.002-04:00

I have entered a deep dark pit of despair. Not sure if i should have gotten off my meds. i love teaching kids music. i do not love the stress that comes along with the job and the extra "stuff". Maybe i wasn't meant to work full time. Maybe I was...I don't know.

Oh The Smells You Can Smell!

2009-09-25T18:44:00.003-04:00

I'm getting in touch with my sensitive side. Or my "senses" side. My sense of smell anyway. I really noticed smells (good, bad and ugly) this past week at work:

The sweet smell of a clean room (the kids noticed it, i told them to thank mr. custodian because he works so hard to clean our room, and they did)
The mint spray disinfectant matienance gave me to sanitize my instruments (supposed to help prevent the swine flu. i decided to disinfect my sticks today while student teacher taught, i forgot she needed the sticks for her lesson. doh.)
Body odor from my older students at the end of a folk dance (they're in the process of discovering how magical deodorant can be)
Drywall (in the main building close to the construction area)
Some compound that smelled like paint thinner (in the main building- it was at the end of the day, origin- construction)
Manure, absolutely permenated all of the outside air around the entire bldg. I figured they must have hauled manure in the dumpsters before they switched them out with our old ones. It is strong.

You know you teach in a country school when the students say "It smells like Cows!" as they walk past the dumpsters to your room.

I'm glad that's all they said.

What a Good Hubby

2009-09-23T20:39:00.002-04:00

I'm tired. It's been a long day. My feet hurt because i insisted on wearing beautiful shoes to work. Hubby puts the girls to bed...talking...in a quiet voice... the girls calm down...jumping stops...giggles still...silence except his sweet mellow voice.

What a good hubby and daddy. :-)

Easy Recycled Quilts

2009-09-19T12:38:00.003-04:00

So i came across a business website where the lady will turn your baby's receiving blankets into a large quilt. Cool idea, right? ;-) However 1 throw, or twin sized blanket is going to cost you between $77-$99 (us) dollars.

I was surprised, of course, because I recently made 2 myself and a.) thought it was an original idea, b.) it was a quick and easy sew, therefore c.) was surprised at the price.

I posted a quick picture blog on how i made mine before, but I'm going to repost it and, I'm going to post a link to an even easier, much, much, easier recycled quilt made from vintage sheets (if receiving blankets just aren't your thing.)

I'm posting because I'm ready to make a queen size quilt for my own bed and i'm going to use recycled sheets and blankets from a second hand store. And I'm posting it because it's Fall (almost) darn it, when my mind turns to warm crafty things.

I would love it if you decide to make a recycled quilt too. Please let me know in the comment section, maybe even post pics on your blog and let me know!

Thanks!
--Lydee

Directions to an easy recycled quilt found on The DIY Wedding. This is good stuff, and pretty close to how i made my blankets.

My directions (quick and probably missing vital instructions, but for what it's worth...)

Reprinted from I Quit My Meds and Other Useless Stuff

I also (finally) finished the second of the "easiest quilts to make, ever". I made them out of my girls old flannel baby blankets. Just piece together, find batting (buy or recycle: i used an old bed sheet), find a backing (i used another old flannel bed sheet) and connect (with yarn every 6 in, or with a fancy stitch on the sewing machine).

Pictorial History of said blanket, not necessarily in order because i'm drinking wine.
you get the idea....

Piece the top section, 6 baby blankets together: arrange in the order you like, cut if necessary to make it all even, pin and sew (and then i sewed the raw edges down to make it look neat).

Once the top section is sewed together, you need to layout and sandwich all of your quilt layers together to prepare for sewing all together. I used an old green sheet (bottom) for batting, and then my backing (middle blue flannel sheet), and my baby blankets (wrong side out) on top.

Trim overhanging edges as needed to reduce bulk close to the seams.

Remember, I'm sewing 3 sides (and part of a 4th side) together, inside out, and then I turn the entire bundle right side out so the ugly green sheet will go into the middle where it belongs. And then I will finish closing the 4th side with a hand stitch.

(btw, I marked where i wanted to cut with a washable marker.)

Now, you can either hand tie with yarn every 6 inches or so, or you can quilt with your sewing machine if it does that, or you can do what i did and just run a fancy decorative stitch every 6 inches or so to connect all the layers together.

Finished product.

Why did I chose to use an old sheet for batting instead of batting i purchased from the store?

Well, I was broke. And I liked the idea of recycling an item i wasn't using into something useful. I got the idea from Crafting a Green World, go check them out.

where have you gone my old best friend...

2009-09-10T20:24:00.002-04:00

there are so many things i love about my job/being a music teacher One thing though, one thing i miss is singing at home whenever i want. my voice is so tired, i'm afraid to use it when i don't need to. i caught my self humming and made myself stop.

it's not that i can't, i just don't want to reach that point where i can't. so i take it easy. and that sucks.

I Showed Up Late, My Cell Phone Rang, and My Husband Blocked the Fire Lane

2009-09-03T18:49:00.002-04:00

And that, in a nutshell was my open house. Oh, and the only open "teacher's seat" was clear on the other side of the room, which i waltzed over to 5 minutes late with my two cranky kids in tow.

In my defense my cell rang cause hubby didn't know where i was, but i shoulda put it on vibrate, and I can't help where hubby parks. In his defense, they did an "all call" 5 times, but we were in my room which doesn't have an intercom, because they refuse to admit that I work here too.

However, this is the second year that hubby's car was called over the all call to be moved. I guess he just has that special knack. Unlike the other year, this year we didn't hear it. I should have told PP that i had no idea who owned the green truck with all of the triathlon stickers on it, i can't imagine who that belongs too.

I would have laughed it off, but i sat in the cafeteria, eating stale cookies, listening to everyone (teachers and parents) around joke about the green truck. I decided it was time to go back to my ~~monastery~~ annex/classroom.

Open House sucks and if it weren't for the fact that i'd have to come in on Christmas Eve to make up for it, I'd miss it this year, and next year, and the year after that, and again and again, and again.

I Haven't Had Anything Good to Say, and There's An Evil Plot Against Me

2009-09-03T12:46:00.002-04:00

Emmy on her first day of school.

Really? it's been almost 10 days since i posted?

(sing song) if you don't have anything good to say, blah blah blah.

And it's taken me 10 days to figure out that, at work, there's not really an Evil Plot to get me. Everyone is just all about themselves.

Duh.

I was going to fuss about the whole extra duties thing, but i realized that there are people in my building who have more duties than me, so i shut up in the nick of time.

Bibi started Kindergarten. I guess her teacher made her cry. The teacher told me. I'm still not sure what happened. Bibi says she likes school.

Emmy likes school. She's in 1st grade. Her biggest concerns are her friends. She wanted to "talk about things" with me last night. I felt privileged to be included in her plans. She usually wants to talk to her dad. So we sat in our lower lot and talked about birthday parties and friends. It was peaceful.

We ate corn from our garden last night. The girls helped shuck the corn and i told them we were looking for "treasures". They're weren't thrilled when they discovered what those "treasures" were. But they were brave and we finished the job together.

Put your hard hats on. It's time to go back to work.

Emmy on her First Day of School- New Construction

Country Roads Take Me Home...

2009-08-25T21:14:00.002-04:00

...or to work.

I love living on a road where everyone waves as you drive by on your way to work. It's one of the first things i learned when i moved to this part of North Central WV. I recently visited my hometown. We'll call hometown "Unnamed In Southwestern PA". Out of habit I started waving at people as i drove by. After a number of weird looks, I duct taped my hand to the steering wheel to make it stay down. I guess people up there didn't realize the whole hand could raise up. They're just used to using the one digit.

Back to work. This was me...

Not anymore.

Late Summer Eye Candy

2009-08-21T06:50:00.003-04:00

...in honor of those of you going back to work/school. I hope these will brighten your day...

I had so much fun taking these pictures in my backyard. it was a gorgeous day. and i had some beautiful models, lol!

I think i have more pictures of emmy than bibi because emmy is a ham. and i'm still editing the pictures of bibi. she had a big chunk of green tooth paste in her hair. go figure.

Happy late summer everybody!

I quit my meds. and other useless stuff.

2009-08-20T19:45:00.005-04:00

So i weaned myself off of zoloft. that is , i quit taking it cold turkey. Why take a half of a half of a pill to wean off; that sounded pretty useless. So i just stopped taking them.

i cannot believe the mood swings in this household from not taking a half of a half of a pill. My moods were pretty bad too.

I bought my first bottle of wine in 3 months. I figure it's just from the thought of going back to work. Maybe the mood swings have something to do with it, but i doubt it. it's not me, it's them. It always was.

I have too much stuff to do for summer to be over; doesn't it know that yet?? like clean my house. that was big on my list of things to do this summer. yeah when summer break comes, i'm going to clean my house. yeah.

...putting clean the house on the list for next summer.

I did get a lot done this summer, and i got to visit many new blogs! I made a new template. I discovered i could sell my photos through micro stock photography. micro stock = micro payment, but still. think of all the photos i can tag and label during school meetings.

i've always wanted something constructive to do during meetings.

I also (finally) finished the second of the "easiest quilts to make, ever". I made them out of my girls old flannel baby blankets. Just piece together, find a lining (i used an old bed sheet), find a backing (i used another old flannel bed sheet) and connect (with yarn every 6 in, or with a fancy stitch on the sewing machine).

Pictorial History of said blanket, not necessarily in order because i'm drinking wine.
you get the idea....

I discovered i love taking pictures more and more. And I'm working on being able to sell them through a particular website. (some website. whichever will take me.)I want to save up for a nicer camera with interchangeable lenses and manual adjustments.

Also i finally made a flower garden that i'm proud of .

Yeah, it's been good. now, i can finally relax. I'm going back to work.

Where I may, or may not have a room. again. due to construction. or constriction. of someone's brain. cause they're so stupid.

do you know our school is missing from the school board's map? the map hangs in their building. and we're not on it. hey, at least i know that i'm not the only person no one wants to claim. Who, her? she just shows up here everyday. no one hired her.

What? that school? they just showed up one day and started teaching kids. no one invited them to join along.

Whatever.

Tomorrow I'll post some sweet end of summer eye candy in honor of going back to work/school. I promise.

xx oo

Tubby Violated My Child's Dinosaur!

2009-08-16T19:50:00.004-04:00

Two scenes that cracked me up this evening...

Tubby (my 'super sized' cat) sitting dangerously close to a piece of string and a toy dinosaur looking extremely guilty. (tubby looked guilty. the dinosaur just looked violated.) Tubby has a dinosaur fetish lately. I've caught her sleeping with a plastic dinosaur the other night. I just wonder if she needs cat therapy...
My two stacked up oversized containers of chai tea in my tea cupboard. Oversized because i'm too cheap to go to a real coffee shop and buy the real stuff. Stacked up because i'm afraid of running out. because. i'm addicted. It's so hot outside, so i sit inside in air conditioning so i can drink my hot chai tea. hot. because. i'm addicted.
(i can't count) myself, drinking chai tea. it finally dropped to 86 out there. I think i'll go outside.

I've been tossing around a post about the easy quilt i made. but quilts aren't sexy. and i'm all about sexy here. and fat cats. and my stupid addictions.

speaking of addictions. i've decided. i'm going to save up to buy the Canon Rebel xitsblah, blah, blah whatever it's called. it's a lower price but i can still buy extra lenses and change them out. fun and i can't wait. i can't wait to play around with it and see what pictures i can take. i'm also considering selling prints of my photos. thoughts anyone?

friday foto shoot

2009-08-15T07:00:00.001-04:00

Man, i've got issues. can you help me? i have a photo fetish. i like taking pictures. of myself. my mac says...beep beep beep, flash!

For real though, I actually was super excited that after mumble mumble years, i figured out how to fix my hair smooth curly. i could fix it curly before, but the front never looked right. and i used gel. lots. yuck.

so, here's my tip, disguised in voyeurism cause i've got issues:

finger twist the wave! doh!

i used leave in conditioner, finger twisted 3-5 strands around my face and dabbed/secured just those pieces with gel. i also used the tiniest bit of gel on the ends of my hair. i used the diffuser on my blowdryer until it was mostly dry and presto!

when it's dry, scrunch a little with your hands to fluff it.

i'm letting my hair grow out so i can enjoy my curls.

My mother in law gave me this cup. We'll call the girl on the cup my "before" photo.

My piano. it's out of tune. it's so bad, i'm too ashamed to have someone tune it. and they'd say, "and you teach what??" i'll tell them i'm an art teacher...

My Mona Lisa Look. Divine Infinite Patience. I'm practicing for this school year.

Divine Infinite Patience II (notice the kids)

yeah...

I think we need a change of pace...

My best Renee Zwelliger* expression.
*(or however you spell it...)

Actually the first photo i took. see how my hair's a bit "crunchier". (and see how there's more of it prior to pulling it out...)

Really, where would i be without my faithful audience. Hello? Hello??
.....
I'm all alone, just me, myself, and my pictures...

But, wait! There's more!
yeah, ok. maybe next time...
i do have more pictures. no, seriously. i do.

Garden Eye Candy

2009-08-13T17:25:00.003-04:00

I'm posting these just because...

...because my garden is in bloom...

...because we worked so hard on it in the rainy spring...

...because i wanted to play with my camera settings...

...because i wanted to see more pictures on my blog...

...because i'm weird...

...because i can...

...because...i'm going to shut up now...

.....

.....

.....

...are you still there?...

I love you summer. xxx ooo.

how to add the d@m comment form back to my new template

2009-08-13T09:20:00.008-04:00

Apologies to anyone who tried to comment on my blog yesterday. The new template i was so proud of did not include that nifty comment form in it's html. Oh, it would go to the pop up box, or the comments on the second page, but i had fallen in love with the "comment form", and i had to have the "comment form", i needed the comment form on my blog, dagnabit!

So I stumbled on the tutorial here and unfortunately got sucked into scanning html code at bedtime. surely prison cannot be worse than reading html code when you are tired. I should have waited till this morning, but i'm stubborn. and stupid. and i missed out snuggling with my littlest one who asked mom are you ok?? and i said yes, i had told her i was just going to shut the computer off....sucked in.

Anyway I figured it out. this morning. after i got the bright idea to use my find button (in "edit" in Foxfire) to highlight "comment" and finally found the illusive code. in under 10 minutes. i'm the next einstein.

So, if you are as frustrated as i and switched templates only to find that you lost your "comment form", HERE is the tutorial for adding it back in. Works for just about any template in blogger. (at least, that's what the guy says).

Picture of my screen, the html in pink is what i was looking for... (click on to see, life is not working for me today)

The Html in green is the code i had to add in. I copied and pasted from the tutorial page.

And make sure you hit save, not preview. Preview didn't show my comment form. Well, save didn't either, but at least i could get on my site for real and check it out. and it worked!

Have fun and good luck!

new template??

2009-08-12T16:38:00.002-04:00

So i learned how to use a different template here, and downloaded my template here, and i like it. i'm sure there's more i can do with it, but i'm happy for now.

work looms large.

but a paycheck is good. money means i start a "new camera fund". hmm, which one should i get, canon, nikon?? a fancy point and shoot, or one were i can switch lenses and do other cool, fancy stuff. cool fancy stuff that i don't know how to do now.

in other news, i garden.
i got mad at my non blooming cosmos.
i yanked it out.

i shouldn't garden when i feel rash. or i should just stick with digging holes. digging holes is good.

Waiting...

2009-08-11T09:26:00.003-04:00

Waiting for Daddy to cross the finish line at the Med Express Triathlon in WV.
He did the "iron man" distance.
I don't know the exact distances on that.
I do know he was out for 6 hours.
And it was hot.
Real hot.

Yea Daddy!
He came in 5th in his age group.
It's only his second "iron man".
We're so proud of him.

I Heart Faces: Fix It Friday

2009-08-07T13:45:00.002-04:00

This picture is just so sweet. And Oh! How I want a nicer camera. But that's neither here nor there.

This is the first Fix It Friday I participated in, and I had a lot of fun! I felt braver editing photos that were not "my own", so to speak. Some of my edits were just for fun, just to see if I "can". And I did.

My editing, ummm, ok, so i don't own photoshop, right? and i have a mac, and some rinky dink arcsoft photoediting program from some unknown source that i'm pretty sure is at least 5 years old, yeesh. So I did a little editing with my basic iphoto program, did a little with old rinky dink program (and layers, i learned how to work with layers, thanks I heart faces), and here you go.

This is the original, what a beautiful, soft picture!

This is a basic edit that I usually do to all my photos in iphoto. I adjust the saturation and the exposure in order to make it "pop".

I blurred the edges with an effect from iphoto.

This was fun. I did this all in iphoto. I ran the antique effect a couple of times, adjusted the color temperature slider to cool as far as it would go, and used the matte effect.

In Arcsoft, I used the whirlpool effect in layers and made the layers more transparent. And then I darken the edges and cropped the picture using my elliptical shape tool.

In arcsoft I used the "splash effect in layers, went back through and erased the effect from the boy, used my elliptical shape tool and inverse the selection to darken the outer parts of the picture. I had to use my smudge tool to soften the edges because my program is antiquated and doesn't have a feather selection.

Same sort of thing. In my second layer I used the elliptical tool and inverse to desaturate the picture except over the boy. I smudged to soften the edges and used my eraser to add color back to specific areas. I also used my elliptical tool and inverse to darken the edges.

I had so much fun and learned some new tricks through experimenting, thanks I Heart Faces!

(Click on the link above to see more fabulous fixes)

After looking at many of other "fixes" posted by other people, I wanted to add another edit to show what I learned. Many thanks to A Moose, A Bear and A Ladybug for giving good directions on this particular edit.

Road Trip to Grandma's House (part 3) Interesting Sights on the Way Home

2009-08-07T09:03:00.002-04:00

On the way home.
The trip to grandma's is 70 mi, so we made some little stops for fun.

This sign cracked me up. It's an old hotel that's owned by a plant nursery now. It is across the road from the gas station and Dunkin' Donuts. We had to get fortified, lol.

Then we stopped at the candy and chocolate shop.

I love how they're running into the shop.

Comparing the goods.

It was so hard to choose.

On the road again. With our chocolate. And donuts.

Road Trip to Grandma's House (part 2) At Grandma's House

2009-08-06T08:33:00.005-04:00

We played in Grandma's Backyard.
We took turns taking pictures.
They had a water gun fight.

Meet My Little Brother. He's weird. Not like me.

My kids are hot.

They don't know what life is like without airconditioning.

My Little Brother (the weird one, not like me) says, "Do you want me to take out Mom's flowers?"
Actually, he didn't say that.
He said, "Watch me do my best James Bond Pose."
Actually, he didn't say that either.
He just did it.

Mom and I.

Anyway, Emmy got a hold of my camera.

James Bond and his sidekick.

Did James Bond ever have a sidekick?
He usually had beautiful girls.
And they're usually not making weird faces like this.
Except Halle Barry.
But she didn't make weird faces.
She just couldn't act.

My Mom's Flower Garden and one of her beautiful stepping stones.

Bibi admiring.
Actually, I think she's looking for bugs. Under the stepping stones.

Bibi got a hold of the camera. And yelled at us. And succeeded in taking a picture of....

...Her finger.

Road Trip to Grandma's House (part 1)

2009-08-05T15:30:00.004-04:00

Join me on a road trip to Grandma's. Yes, these were taken while driving. After viewing them, my husband said I shouldn't be allowed to own a camera, but I said, homeboys were out on the streets and i was afraid to stop and he said, well, nevermind what he said, when he prayed at supper that evening he thanked God that we made it home safe. And I replied, "God made me do it."

You can't argue with God.

Anyway, here we are, driving to Grandma's.

Over the river and through the woods.

I love the bridges around Pittsburgh.
So here we are entering Clairton, the City of Prayer.
I wasn't fast enough to capture the signage.

I really wanted to get out here and snap some gritty pictures of the mill, but I didn't think I'd be able to get to my Mace fast enough if need be.

Clairton Coke Works. Somehow it managed to stay alive while most of the other steel mills in the valley shut down. They quit making steel there and only make the coke that fires up the steel furnaces at another location.

As a kid, I always liked this railroad crossing.
Something about how the tracks cut diagonally across the road instead of perpendicular.

There's an old cemetery on the other side of that tree. Very old, older than the mill. Cool.

Mill entrance.

Love this Americana shot: dude on motorcycle a, gritty buildings, and the American flag.
Notice that said dude does not have a helmet on. They don't have to in the great state of Pennsylvania. They're studying the Darwin Effect.

I couldn't resist the colors of the buildings on the left. And the "Happy" on the bar on the right.

This is how I remember growing up. Mom and I took the bus everywhere. Clairton, Glassport and Mckeesport. I even took it to school because ~~the Catholics didn't want me on their schoolbus~~ we lived ~~in the projects~~ too far out.

Grandpa was a born and raised Slovak, and when the City of Clairton went bankrupt in the 80's, he paid for me to go to catholic school. Except i was Protestant. and had a big mouth. and mom and dad made lots of trips to see Sister Dorothy, the principal. But, that's another story.

Anyhow, I would have made a great homegirl except that we moved to Glassport where I lost all homegirlness. And mom and dad thought public school might be a better fit. Glassport had two nationalities: Polish and Italian. Unfortunately for me, I wasn't either. But I learned from my experiences with Sister Dorothy and kept my big mouth shut.

Clairton-Glassport Bridge.

But I digress.
Glassport on the right of the pic.

I always liked this view. USS steel mill on the hill.
Bend in the river.
Love those barges.

And folks it's called the Monongahela: Mo-non-ga-hail-a, as in "Hail Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death, amen". Not "heel-a" like people who live in morgantown, wv say.

Its understandable though, a river with barges and "still mills" takes on a life of its own, and they may not want to associate their relatively tame piece of the water with this one.

Clairton Coke Works on the other side. They rename it CITE.
Stands for:
Continuous
Improvement
To
Enviroment

I am not making this up, I swear on my hail mary's.

Finally, Glassport, home of Tube City.....

Does this remind anyone else of ZZ Top's "Tube Snake Boogie"?

Yeah, no wonder they kicked me out of Pennsylvania.

Good old West Virginia. I finally fit in here.

More Road Trip to come....

Really, I Should Be...

2009-08-03T16:23:00.003-04:00

So glad it's not raining today.
I'm going to go play outside. I'll leave you with some flower eye candy.

Salvia with pink cosmos in the background.

I'm either brave or stupidly crazy to try to snap a picture of a bee with my macro setting.

But she was begging me to take a picture of her bumbly furryness.

I know that deep inside she really wants to pick these flowers but doesn't want to upset mommy.

Get me mommy, take a picture of me too.

What I've Learned From Blogging

2009-07-31T22:00:00.005-04:00

SO I thought it would be a brilliant idea to add, like, 60(??) new blogs to my google reader, why, I don't know, just thought it would be great to read all of the blogluxe winners, and then I added a few more I found by accident, simply to balance things and then I didn't touch a real book all week, and my husband complained that he never sees me anymore and actually he was right because i did stay up until 1:00 reading blogs and I still have yet to reach the end of the internet.

Anyhow, I have accumulated a vast amount of knowledge, and being the generous person that I am, I am willing to share my wealth of knowledge with you, my faithful readers. But don't share this with anyone else, cause, you know, this is privileged information, being such earth shattering stuff and all that.

10 Things I've Learned From Blogging (Just this Week)

I learned how to make a link open in another window. Go ahead, try it. Cool, huh!

I learned how to blur the background of a picture.

I learned that I need a new camera if i'm going to enter pictures in photo contests, preferably an expensive one. That way i can say smugly and with confidence in my amateur self, "oh this picture was taken with my old camera, the point and shoot."

I learned that I can use an old sheet for quilt batting.
And sew, I did.

I made a weekly dinner plan and stuck with it.

And now I'm going to tick some people off. I come to the conclusion that there is such a thing as too much modesty. My modest friends, you need to give men more credit than what you do. Men have self control and they can and do use it. Your Religious Male Leaders' insistence that women dress "modestly" is ridiculous. Perhaps it reflects upon themselves: that they're all horny toads and choose to not exercise self control?? They need to be responsible for their own d@m thoughts. [Totally my opinion, and really, what do I know???] And for pete's sake, an oversized* hat and a sleeveless shirt/pants combo is not going to be featured on the next playboy. (I'm not making this up, I swear.) Although, if you could please make men stop wearing those saggy arse pants, the world would kiss your feet.
*unless of course, you ditched the the pants/shirt and the oversized hat is somewhere else other than on your head.

And then there's the other side of the spectrum. I learned that some men shave their testicles to make their penises look bigger.

And I learned that some men bleach their scrotums. See, I'm all about balance here. [And I wouldn't recommend doing either, but then again, what do I know?]

Cats have anal glands that sometimes need to be expressed. Gives new meaning to "what an anal expression", kind of like my rant above.

And I learned that some women have heartbreaking life stories here, and here and they still find the strength to do what needs to be done. God Bless them and their families.

If you have time, please click on some of my links and share in the joy and laughs that I had this past week.

Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

2009-07-30T12:44:00.008-04:00

My crockpot/roaster, thanks grandma!

So, here we are again, in the kitchen. Seriously, I'm not trying to turn this into a cooking blog, just want to share some easy tips I learned as a working mom, or a lazy mom, whatever.

I'm having Spaghetti tonight. My homemade sauce is cooking right now. Later, I may whip up a batch of my breadsticks, mmm.

Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This should make enough for a family of 4 or 1 lb of spaghetti pasta.

So, what you need is 1 crockpot (because I love to watch someone slave in the kitchen, all the better if it's not me).

One 28 oz can of whole tomatoes.

One 6 oz can of tomato paste.

One tablespoon (give or take) of your favorite seasoning. I happen to love Penzey's Buttermilk Ranch Dressing seasoning. BTW, I don't think I've ever used the seasoning to make dressing!

Open cans, dump into crockpot, add seasoning. Set on low heat for 6-8 hours, or high heat for 4 hours.

The whole tomatoes will break down slowly as they cook, just like old fashioned sauce.

Before serving, give it a stir and adjust seasoning to taste. You may also want to add more tomato paste if sauce is too thin for your taste.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can cater it to your taste:

If I want meat sauce I'll add a 1/2 lb to 1 lb of lean ground meat to the crockpot with the other ingredients. When sauce is ready, break meat apart with a wooden spoon or spatula.

I've also used jarred spaghetti sauce and added a can of whole tomatoes with it. You may also add garlic or onions. Just use whatever you have in your pantry.

It's so nice to come home at the end of a work day to that wonderful spaghetti sauce smell, and know that I only have to make the pasta and maybe a salad and we're ready to eat!

BTW, I am a Penzey's girl. They don't know who I am, nor do they pay me to promote them. I just mention their seasoning because I love their stuff. And going to a Penzey's store is like going to heaven, for your nose anyway. Smelling all of the different spices is one of the best things known to man (and woman :-)

Seriously

2009-07-29T09:24:00.005-04:00

Seriously,

I love this cookbook.

Not a brand new one,

This one,

Seriously.

Breadsticks

2009-07-27T16:59:00.007-04:00

Mmmmm, my house smells like a pizza parlor. I am in heaven. I made homemade bread sticks. I ate some. And I was intoxicated for the next hour. My dear sister-in-law called with some questions. And I babbled. It wasn't until I stepped onto my porch that I realized I also smelled like a pizza parlor. Ahhh, (sniffing again), ahhhhh....

So, here's how to make homemade bread sticks if you too want to join in the aromatic fun.

Breadsticks

(Use your favorite method of making dough: breadmachine, standing mixer, food processor, or by hand. I use the knead and raise only setting on my bread machine.)

1 1/3 cup of warm water
1 Tablespoon of salt
2 Tablespoons Oil (optional, leave out if you want a "crustier" traditional style breadstick)
4 Cups of flour (bread, high gluton, or all purpose, whatever floats your boat)
1 Tablespoon of instant yeast (or 1 packet of yeast)

Non-stick cooking oil for greasing 2 baking sheets and spraying the tops of the breadsticks (I use canola oil in a Misto sprayer)
Your favorite Italian seasoning (I use Penzey's Sandwich Sprinkle) [optional]
2 T Butter (melted)

Mix and knead your dough using your favorite method. Let it raise, covered for 1 hour.
Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Pat into a long flat oval shape.
Using a dough cutter, or pizza cutter, divide dough into 14-16 skinny pieces about 6-8 inches long or so. (Cut shortways across the oval, not longways.)
Place pieces on two greased cookie sheets. The pieces should not be touching.
Spray tops of breadsticks with non-stick cooking oil. Lightly sprinkle italian seasoning on top of sticks (being careful not to get any on baking pan, it will burn and set off your smoke alarms; i speak from experience) if desired.
Allow to raise for 15-30 minutes while oven heats up. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. Arrange oven racks so that one is on the bottom and one is on the top. (I have a propane oven and this works for me. With an electric oven, I would try placing the racks more in the middle first to see how much the bread sticks brown, and to prevent burnt bottoms!)
Bake about 15-20 minutes (rotating pans halfway through) until the breadsticks are a beautiful golden color.
Brush tops with melted butter.
Cool on a cooling rack and enjoy!

Thanks to Sneaky Momma Blog Design for showing me how to open links in a new page. Go check out her site for good blog design tips.

I Heart Faces Challenge

2009-07-27T10:57:00.004-04:00

So, you know, like I don't kill enough time already online, I added all of the 2009 blogluxe winners to my google reader. It's been 24 hours since my discovery, and i'm in blogging heaven. My real life paper books are very sad. My library card? In purgatory.

I Heart Faces co-won "blog you've learned the most from", along with my hero Pioneer Woman Cooks.

Anyhow, here is my entry for "At the Beach" photo challenge.

I just love this pic of my daughter Bibi. It captures all of her personality and joy in the big "sand box". In the background is my other daughter Emmy (who can play nicely with others) and my niece.

Kale! Here's What to Do With It

2009-07-25T19:45:00.002-04:00

Kale.

Previously I had never tried it and never wanted to. Adventure is not my middle name! But a few years ago, I purchased a cookbook called Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely. It rocked my culinary world! And I felt like a real cook.

Anyhow one of the recommended side dishes is kale. I finally mustarded up the courage (ha ha) to prepare some. And.... I liked it!

In my journey of sharing my recipe with you, I decided to take pictures, al la Pioneer Woman. Ahem. That woman must have 6 hands. It's hard enough to cook. But to cook and snap photos?!! And I just use a point and shoot.

So here is Leanne Ely's braised kale (with my extra additions):

Braised Kale:

Rinse, ha ha, of course.
Remove the big ribs with a knife. Here's how I do it.

Not sure if there's an easier way. My kitchen prep skills are somewhat...lacking in finesse? Especially when I am holding a camera??

When you're done, you'll have a big stack of ribs (throw in compost pile if you have one),

...and you'll have a big stack of de-ribbed kale.

Stack the leaves...

...And roll them up.

Starting at one end, slice into ribbons (the kale, not your fingers).

One of these days I'm gonna buy myself a fancy knife like Pioneer Woman...if I don't cut my fingers off taking pictures while cutting things...

Mmm, garlic.

To take the skins off I lay the flat of my blade down and give it a gentle wap with my hand.

You only need a clove or two. I guess I went a little overboard.

Press your garlic, or mash with a knife, whatever pleases you.

Now, normally I would break out the can of cannellini beans, but I'm broke. I'm scraping the bottom of my pantry so to speak.

Yep, this is how I roll. Supercharged.

And I'm out of cheese, so the powdered stuff will have to do.

Heat 1-2 T of oil in a large skillet.

You can see how carefully I'm measuring. Hey, I'm all about accuracy in the kitchen.

Add your kale and garlic.

Saute for a few minutes...

...until it's bright green.

Add a little water to the pan (enough to cover bottom, about 1/4").

Cover and simmer on low heat (something i forgot to do because i was snapping photos and my camera was sticky from garlic juice) for 5- 10 minutes until it's tender.

While kale is simmering, I check on Tommy big Wheels.

I wipe garlic juices off my shutter button.

I delete a bunch of blurry pics because it's hard to shot and stir at the same time.

I wash dishes and reflect on my delusions.

It's ready. (Yours will have less water because, I added a little too much water because, it's hard to shot pics and judge depth with one eyeball because,...but it's all good.) :- )

This is all ready to be your side dish, but if you want a meal, add a can of drained and rinsed beans toward the end of the cooking time. Heat through, and sprinkle with Romano or Asiago cheese (or a powdered cheese substitute, lol!). Add a splash or two of rice vinegar too if you like.

Or place kale on a bed of pasta (like good old Tommy here) and sprinkle with cheese. Add some sauteed summer squash, zuchinni, or fresh diced tomatoes too! Yum!

The Fruits of my Labors

2009-07-24T15:26:00.007-04:00

Sorry, it's been too long! Want a sneak peek at what's been keeping me away?

Life and love.

And gardens.

And questions like, what am I gonna do with all that kale? It's taking over the garden.

And, why isn't my cosmos blooming? (According to the internet, it's because my soil is too rich. Phooey. It's just full of sheep poop.) And why can i still smell basil? I weeded it 4 hours ago!

Flowers from my flower bed, flanked on either side with lettuce and kale from our vegatable garden.

We worked hard in our yard this past Spring building new beds and a new raised garden. It's so nice to sit back and enjoy the results.

Well, I'm enjoying the kale anyway, not sure about anyone else, lol!

Pardon my Hair

2009-07-17T09:36:00.010-04:00

Warning, post is loaded with self portraits of My Hair.

I love my hair. I'll admit it. I am vain about my hair. I spend money on my hair. I take pictures of my hair.

My hair even has it's own face book page.

Not really.

Now, clothes and makeup? Not so much. I rarely wear makeup, in fact, i had to edit these pics to cover up the circles under my eyes. And I have been known to shop at goodwill because I still cannot stand paying what i consider too much for a pair of jeans.

But my hair, no I will not cut costs with my hair.

That said, I stumbled upon a blog that is trying to change my cavalier attitude about clothes. In the process, I noticed a post about hair: how to blow dry a bob in 3 minutes, complete with video! It looked easy enough so, i tried it. And I love it!!! It's called a hair wrap. My hair is so smooth, and it's no longer getting damaged by all of that sectioning and rolling with the round brush. My hair stylist has been surprised at how healthy my hair has been.

So I asked Imogen, the author of the blog if i could post a link to her video here. And she said yes!!

And then I snapped 100 pictures of my hair immediately after i blow dried it.

Anyway, here it is, How to Blow Dry a Bob in 3 Minutes.

And if you're interested, Imogen, who is an Image Consultant, has a lot of great advice for dressing different body shapes. Please go check out her blog Inside Out Style.

Or else I have 89 more pictures of my hair to show you...

Triple Berry Sour Cream Scones

2009-07-16T11:18:00.008-04:00

Triple Berry Scones, or Blueberry Scones, or Strawberry Scones, whatever kind of berries you have, this is fairly easy to make.

And, like all other baked goods in this household, this does not last to see the light of another day. In fact, I think I ate the last sliver for lunch.

I would have gotten better pictures, maybe of the pretty slices, or what have you, but hubby was home and was disgusted at the feasting delay due to my impromptu photo shoot. Sorry :-)

Breakfast, yum. I make my scones in a greased cake pan because, it's easy to pat in dough, easy to flip it out when it's done, and easy to cut perfect pie shaped wedges. Lately, I'm all about the easy life.

Triple Berry Sour Cream Scones
(recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook)

1 1/2 C of flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 C of sugar
1 C of sour cream
1 C of mixed berries (frozen or fresh; i used a frozen mix of black berries, blue berries and raspberries)

optional: sparkling sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
Grease 1 cake pan
Blend dry ingredients
Scoop in sour cream
Add berries and mix with a light hand (or you will have Frankenberry scones). Mix until dry ingredients are damp.
Scoop into prepared cake pan and pat down with rubber spatula. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar or regular sugar if desired.
Bake on middle rack for about 15-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes, Loosen edges with thin knife.
You can cut and eat directly out of the pan or you can flip it out. Here's how i do it: Hold cooling rack on top of cake pan and flip over. Use a second cooling rack to flip scone back over, right side up. You can slide parchment paper underneath of scone to keep the crumb mess down.
Divide and eat.
Enjoy!!!

Sunset Over the Beach

2009-07-16T10:20:00.003-04:00

I had so much fun taking (and editing) these pics. I hope you enjoy the sunset on Oak Island with me.

My lovely sister in law.

Taking a picture of a photo shoot.

My sister in law and her daughter

Shaking out the sand

Sunset and Sea Grass

Cloud Swept Sky

Good night.

Tea Party

2009-07-13T15:30:00.000-04:00

You take one retro Tupperware Tea Set (mine from when i was a kid), one mom who decides to act like a real mom by getting off of her computer, 2 little girls who are into tea parties (well, one is just hungry and doesn't care where we eat), some appropriately attired stuffed animal friends, snacks and a blanket and you get:

Happy Monday Afternoon Tea Party Everybody!!!

The Best Easiest Chocolate Chips Cookies Ever

2009-07-13T13:55:00.007-04:00

I have developed an elaborate chocolate chip cookie recipe that is one of the best I've ever tasted. That recipe, unfortunately, has not seen the light of day since I went back to work full time. (perhaps I'll share it with you sometime.)

This recipe has come to take its place, and while it's not the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Ever, it's probably the easiest. And it's a darn good substitute. My family (husband) has grudgingly learned to accept them. At least, I think so because the cookies never last for longer than 24 hours at our house.

You start with one kid (because they're never far when I start banging bowls around in the kitchen, always hoping for a nibble of something sweet), one bowl, one oven heated to 350 degrees F, one greased 9x13 cake pan, and one box of cake mix (any kind of your choosing). Yeah, you've heard of this recipe before (cake mix cookies, cake cookies, etc...). Well, we love it.

Here's the official recipe as I received it from a friend of mine:

Cake Chocolate Chip Cookies (or the easiest chocolate chip cookies ever)

1 box of cake mix
1 C (or 1/2 bag) of chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk)
1/2 C. oil (i use canola)
2 to 3 Tablespoons of water

Mix together and pat into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 18-20 minutes (it always takes mine longer in my propane fired oven, about 20-25 min).

cookie dough patted into a greased cake pan

Divide and conquer when cool.

baked cookies, ready to be cut!

This recipe also makes a wonderful cookie cake for birthdays. I would post a picture, but i'm afraid it might end up on cake wrecks, lol! A baker, I am. A decorator, I am not!!! The cookie cake was such a great alternative because none of us like regular cakes. I always end up throwing out leftovers. I'm sure you could divide it between two 9" round cake pans, or one of those lovely heart shaped cookie cake pans, or whatever you put your mind to.

These cookies are fabulous with ice cream. Once we used a chocolate cake box. Oh! heaven! Like brownies, mmmm.

My friend who passed on this recipe, forwent the chocolate chips and made it with a white cake mix. It was like shortbread. She served it with strawberries and whipped cream. Delicious!

Have fun with this recipe, and if you make it, let me know what adaptations you made!

Pappy

2009-07-13T09:00:00.000-04:00

Pappy and Emmy, Oak Island 2009

It's been an unusual, stressful weekend. Hubby was on call last week, and then his dear dad was admitted to the hospital. Pappy wasn't feeling well during our vacation, but the doctor told him he was dehydrated. He began to be in terrible pain after their return home. A few more trips to the doctors and one ER visit still left everyone baffled. And Pappy continued to feel worse. Pappy is the sort to only to to the doctor as a last resort, so we knew he was in a lot of pain. Another doctor visit and another ER visit finally showed that he has Lyme Disease. Apparently, Pappy is one of the few people that didn't get the rash.

It seems like Pappy is going to be ok, but they're keeping him in the hospital for a few days to watch his heart rhythm and make sure he will not need a pacemaker. This has been so difficult for Pappy because he is an active guy, lifting weights, riding his mountain bike, doing masonry work, fishing, etc. And Pappy loves his grandkids and hates not being able to see them.

Pappy will heal from this, but it may take some time. We hope it will happen quickly so he can get back to doing the things he loves.

Pappy and Emmy fishing, Oak Island 2009

Pappy and grandkids, OI 2009

Emmy and Pappy Catch a Fish, OI 2009

we take a break from our regularly scheduled program

2009-07-10T09:21:00.006-04:00

If you are my brother, or heaven forbid, any male friend of mine reading this (if i have any), be warned this post discusses things of a feminine nature. You may want to move on to the next post...

As i was getting dressed this morning, and carefully selecting appropriate under attire to go with my white tee, I suddenly remembered another time when not selecting appropriate under attire got me into trouble.

Back in the day, I was a server at a certain restaurant chain that prided itself on it's "down on the farm cooking" and it's wholesome-ness. That's why they hired people like me...and people like my co-worker, the (ahem) dancer of an 'exotic nature' out on parole.

I was a newlywed at the time, prone to feeling young and sexy, which may or may not excuse the fact that my favorite 'supportive wear' was a light lilac thingy of a delicate nature. It blended well with my very fair skin. Wearing the white shirt, khaki pant, blue apron uniform to work was boring, so i liked to spice it up with my favorite bra. hey, I had a blue apron on in front of me, so you couldn't see it. And the back, well, I couldn't see it.

My exotic co-worker also found the wholesome uniform boring, so she liked to spice it up too, with something a little more apparent. The wholesome old men who would request her for a server seemed to appreciate the change as well, judging from her tips.

One day though, she took it too far, and an extremely wholesome customer complained to my boss. He complained to my co-worker, and she, being a forward thinking female, all about equality and such, complained about me. I was called into the office and told, very diplomatically what the dress code is and was given a paid break to go purchase a 'white bra' from the department store next door.

I hate white bras. So I set forth to find the brightest, whitest, most obnoxious looking bra in the store. I hit pay dirt when I found 'the cones'. This bra was a real winner, a throwback from the '50's, when all women thought their assets should resemble small traffic cones protruding from their chest. I gladly paid for and donned the eye searing cones, and went back to work.

yeah...i really showed them! (he! he! pun intended).

And 'the cones'? They were eventually banished after my husband strapped them around his eyes and ran around the house buzzing. I collapsed on the bed laughing and decided they had done their time.

"BUZZZZZ....BUZZZZZZZ..."

Transformations.

2009-07-09T08:21:00.009-04:00

I have been having issues revamping my blog. Guess it's been so long I forgot how!

Anyway, I wanted to share some post dinner beach time pictures with you. We had so much fun playing until dark!

But wait dad, look at my shells!

Come on Dad! Throw the Frisbee!

Oooo! I got it! I got it!!

Uuuunnnggg...

...aaaahhhhh!

Pheeeww!

I got it! I got it!!!

No, I got it, I got it!!!!

Wait! Wait! I got it this time!!!

Yes!!!

Uuuunnngghhh!

There!

Follow through!

Dad! Why did you throw it clear over there??!

Poof!

Perfect!

Catch it! Catch it!

And a throw.

Good Times.

Next up will be sunset pics. The sunsets there were so gorgeous.

Oak Island Kids

2009-07-08T11:47:00.013-04:00

So we went to Oak Island N.C. with our extended family. We had lots of joy, love, boo boo's and kisses. And of course, lots of sand time.

Enter into a secret world...
Emmy and my niece

I have discovered little sand angels.

Shh...mustn't scare them.
Emmy

Bibi

And really, what fun is it to go to the beach if we can't be ornery?

Or Conquerors?

Or just spending time with our best bud 'Dad"?

Dad can be so silly...

Mom can be snuggly...

And sisters can be loving.

And we have to go fishing with Pappy while we're at the beach.

What fun to be a little one at the beach!

Hello Out There!

2009-07-07T10:50:00.003-04:00

Guess it's high time i posted. I finally feel like myself again (after a month off of work). This past semester was very stressful. The kids were great. I couldn't have asked for better students. Some of the coworkers were less than great. Needless to say, i love my summers off.

I had been nominated for two teaching awards. They required a lot of effort for very little results. At least, the one reward let me know i didn't win. The other just left me hanging. I finally figured out, hmmmm, don't think i won that one. But, hey, I did it and can say, been there, done that, brought the crappy tourist tee shirt back.

Oh wait, I didn't even get that.

But I'm not bitter.

lol.

At least I had good experiences with both of my student teachers. They were very capable and both are gainfully employed now. One of them is even going to get her first level in Orff Schulwerk (an approach to teaching music, the approach I use). Ah, it does one's heart good, after that harrowing semester, with the awards I didn't win, and the butt headed teachers I work with.

But, I'm not bitter.

At the end of the school year, we had to attend various meetings, one of which focused on the power of positive thinking. We then were handed a sheet with the names of all of the school staff on it. We had to write one positive attribute beside each person's name. One of my collegues, who gossips about everybody, moaned the entire time.

I. was. ready. to. strangle. her.

But, I'm not bitter.

I love me some time off.

up next, beach pics. We had a great time at the beach, and i had fun taking pics. good to be back :-)

A Break

2009-02-24T19:24:00.003-05:00

Hey you all, I'm going to take a little break from blogging until I get a school break. Yes, work is going well, and I am in my new room, but it is too busy. I've got a small army of university students bouncing in and out of my classroom, student teaching or observing, and a few other professional things going on. It's fun and exciting, but my creativity for writing is zapped. If all goes well I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I'll be catching up on some reading, dreaming about gardening and watching reruns of "Chuck".

Stay well :-)

Lydee

yep, it's one of those days.

2009-02-03T20:44:00.008-05:00

Emmy, hamming it up for the computer camera.

Or maybe one of those weeks.
Or maybe one of those months.
It could even be one of those years. I can't tell yet, since we're only into the second month.

(Ugh.)

We have not gone a week without someone in our small family getting sick. I brought in the New Year with pink eye and strep (3 bouts with each, 3's a charm, eh?). Little Bibi developed an ear infection a week ago. And Dear Hubby came down with strep throat on Sunday. Now Emmy's complaining about her ear.

(Check my tonsils mommy.)

My "not a classroom" finally turned into a classroom on Monday. PP said, "It's done but the workers left a mess in there." Nobody wanted to clean it up. I said, "can I have classes in there? I'll move the junk." "Yes" she replied.

(Phooy to those messes.)

So 2 classrooms of kids, 1 student teacher and I got it cleaned out. We moved yucky tables, 1 shop vac and some leftover plywood. We pushed junk shelves and unwanted boxes out into the hall. The kids popped the furnace vents on. They helped me move the majority of the music stuff, including 4 carts of instruments, 6 drums, a cart full of textbooks, a desk, a rug and a puppet stage. They were angels whose enthusiam knows no bounds. They said how nice it was not to have to push carts anymore after music class. They thought the purple paint was cool. I passed out "good coupons" to all.

(Sweet Angels)

And then there was the crap we couldn't throw out: comments that I'd be shoveling the path to, and cleaning the annex because I moved in before it was opened "officially" and it wasn't in anyone's contract. Everyone whose anyone in the school had an opinion to share, about the state of the renovated bldg., about the kids traveling to an outside bldg., about what should have been done better, about that d@m purple paint on the wall. My magic phrase became, "You're going to have to talk to the PP about that."

(The Boss)

The kids and I set up the instruments, hopefully never to be moved again, or at least for the next 4 months. I pounded a new makeshift peg into my Bass Xylophone, one of the casulties of demolition derby cart riding. I was just in the process of moving some shelves when the teachers' aerobics group came in and wanted to hold their after school class in there. I felt like the Little Red Hen. "Who wants to help thresh the wheat? Who wants to help grind the grain? Who wants to help make the bread?" "Not me! Not me! Not me!" Who wants to eat the bread? Me! Me! Me!

Nope. Not. going. to. happen.

I'm not on their christmas card list for next year.

Drip Drip Drip

2009-01-28T13:53:00.004-05:00

That's all it's doing here. We had beautiful snow and then...rain. Rain on old snow is sad. Rain on fresh snow? Mother nature should be locked up; that truly is a criminal act. What could be more pathetic than patches of snow, once pristine, running, puddling, down a muddy driveway?

Drip. drip. drip.

Even Emmy's piano practicing sounds like it:

(in a low octave)

drip. drip.drip.

drip. drip.

Ugh. The only change is the threat that all this will turn back into freezing rain and snow within a few hours. Ugh.

Tubby says, "Please, please take me away."

Some Cooking Tips and a Recipe

2009-01-21T07:26:00.006-05:00

I have been using my crockpot more since I went back to work. It's much easier to come home to dinner when I know that something has been cooking all day. Mmm, the house smells good with very little effort on my part.

So, spaghetti sauce, one of my favorite easy recipes: put 1 lb of lean (very lean) ground meat (chuck, turkey, whatever you like) in the crockpot. Add 1 jar of your favorite sauce, 1 can of whole tomatoes, and 1 can of tomato paste. Maybe add a dash of red wine too if you have some. Put crock on low heat and allow to cook, 6-8 hours. Oh! The meat is so tender. Break apart with wooden spoon and stir. The tomatoes will be cooked down and add a homemade taste. Add cooked pasta and salad and you're set.

Use more or less tomato paste depending on how thick your like your sauce. If you don't like store sauce, add another can of whole tomatoes, or canned plain tomato sauce and your favorite seasoning. I've done it both ways.

You can freeze extra sauce for another day. Next is a recipe I adapted to use my (accumulating) leftover frozen sauce.

Baked Ziti (adapted from Saving Dinner, by Leanne Ely)

Leftover meat sauce (equivalent to 1 1/2 jars or so. I guesstimated :-)

1 lb Ziti Pasta (cooked al dente)

3/4 C of low fat sour cream

3/4 C of cottage cheese

6-8 oz of Provolone Cheese

1-2 C of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

9 x 13 pan or lasagna pan

Put sauce in fridge in the morning or night before to thaw. Sauce needs to be thawed.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix the sour cream and cottage cheese together in a small bowl. Set aside.
In the 9 x 13 pan start layering (like you're assembling lasagna): spread sauce on bottom of pan, then a layer of ziti, then the sour cream mixture, then a layer of provolone, then sauce, ziti, sour cream mixture, etc. Repeat until it's all gone.
Top with mozzarella cheese
Bake in the preheated oven until it's heated through, about 20 minutes.
Eat and enjoy. Add a salad and garlic bread if you wish.

Oh! This is so yummy! My whole family enjoyed this, especially hubby.

I forgot to mention that I added spinach to the sour cream mixture. If you would like to do that, add 1 10 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and well drained) to your sour cream and cottage cheese mixture. Mix well.

Sorry I don't have pics. Probably the only pics I would have taken would have been me sipping wine while I cooked, lol!

Interview by Julie

2009-01-19T10:20:00.002-05:00

"Interview Me": Get interviewed by another blogger.

This is an interview by Julie of Good Yarns.

1. What is your favorite teaching moment at home? It can be a big or small thing.
I really enjoy when my girls draw pictures and then tell me a story to go with the picture. The stories are so sweet. Some can be a real eye opener into their world. I also enjoy playing games with the girls. Games can be fun and teachable. Memory, Candy land, Chutes and Ladders, and Boggle Junior are all games we enjoy. Junior Monopoly is one of my favorites (albeit the dinosaur version). Emmy can be the banker and she has learned how to count and give change.

2. Tell us about your musical education and the instrument (s) you play and teach.

My instrument is voice. I started formal voice lessons when I was a teenager. I would describe my sound as light soprano (think Celtic Woman, they're my sound models :-), as in when I grow up I want to be....)

I've never had lessons on an instrument, one that requires me to read music. I learn mostly by ear. I have always felt at a disadvantage because I never learned how to read music well. Thanks to some (lots of!) practicing, I can play piano "fake book" style, following chords, and I play guitar. My note reading is improving over time too, because I have to do it.

I went to West Virginia University for my bachelors in music (education). I took all three Orff Schulwerk levels at Eastman School of Music over the next few years as summer courses. These courses helped to solidify my path into general music. I love to sing, dance and play instruments with kids, so when I did decide to go back to work, I held out for a general music job. My job includes teaching K-5th grade and elementary choir.

3. What is your favorite type of music...and favorite song/bands to listen to for fun.

Ah, my fave type, what kind of music don't I love...depends on my mood. Some pieces I love with my inmost being, but I do not listen to them that much: Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov is at the top of my list. The violin haunts my soul. Mars Bringer of War from the Planets by Holst is wonderful and exciting. And the moody theme to Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 has never left my brain even though it's been years since I heard it in full. I love classical music that has a story to tell or a picture to paint like Respighi's Pines of Rome.

Music I do listen to on a more occasional basis: KLOVE (contemporary christian music) radio is on almost all the time at my house. On my ipod is Thousand Foot Krutch (rock out), Toby Mac, Blue Man Group, Eric Clapton, J.J. Cale, Alison Krauss, and ZZ Top, to name a few.

4. I told about a dirty little secret on my blog, do you have one you'd like to share?

Ugh. Truth or Dare, lol!

I love clothes. I love to buy clothes. The only problem is that I have terrible taste in clothes! I will buy 5 different colors of the same style of shirt. Once I came home with 9 different colored turtlenecks and 6 tanktops, same style, different colors. Compulsion takes over. Thanks to therapy sessions with my husband and my checkbook, I have become aware of the problem and try not to buy multiples of the same style.

I was proud of myself yesterday. I started to load up with different colors of the same shirt, but only came home with 3 shirts, all coordinating colors but separate styles.

5. I know your faith is very important to you. Do you have a favorite verse...and why?

I don't talk about my faith much here, but yes, it is very important to me. I have a lot of verses that I like. Just reading the bible brings a calm to my soul. Peace is something I've been striving for lately. (Like Master Shifu in Kung Fu Panda, "Peace. Inner. Inner. InnerPeeaace.")

One verse in particular has been in my mind over the past few (stressful) months is:

Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

--Phil. 4:6-7

I'm a worrywart, a born worrywart. It would drive me into the grave if I let it. But over the past few years I am learning to do what I can about a problem and let go of what I can't do.

I'm not perfect at this (or at anything), but God, thankfully, has saved me through his grace, and not by the things I do. (whoops, slipped another verse in there! :-) (Eph. 2:8-9).

******

Thank you Julie for interviewing me.

For those of you who might want to be interviewed, here are the directions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Tales From The Crypt. Well, not really....

2009-01-14T19:15:00.004-05:00

But tales from work, which can be considered the crypt in an imaginative sort of way...

I'm left wondering if the "Alberta Clipper" has anything to do with the strange behavior:

Kid running down hall gets stabbed by pencil held by another kid. Has to leave school early to get tetanus shot.

What's up with that? Apparently it was an accident. How do you get stabbed with someone else's pencil when you're running? And why are you running anyway? Don't you know running in the hallway is dangerous? Oh, I get it. Rules are just for sissies.

I can predict your future. And it's full of numerous "Hey guys, watch this!"

*****

My husband asked if that happened under my watch. No, but unfortunately the next incident did.

Kid sitting in chair cuts holes in new jeans with someone else's scissors.

Okay, what is this with "someone else's" stuff. I think "someone else" needs to have his stuff confiscated. I have no defense for this other than we were watching the Sound of Music (figured I could show a movie as easily as a sub could, so I went back to work) and I did not see him with scissors. The kids told me. He cut various holes in his pants, one dangerously close to his crotch.

"Kid With Scissors," I said to him, "What do you think your mom is going to say when she sees your pants? Do you think she's going to be happy?...or angry?....Yeah, she's gonna be angry."

Later I glance over, from my somewhat closer perch. "Kid With New Crotch Hole in Pants (real name excluded), quit ripping that hole or your pants aren't going to be so private anymore." Sigh.

*****

Kindergartner forges parents signature on homework page.

My daughter, my own sweet daughter...I asked her all weekend if she had homework. No ma. Tuesday morning, at school, she pulls her homework folder out of her backpack. Homework! Undone!

"Emmy! You need to finish this! And then I'll sign your folder."

I go to her room a few minutes later. "Where's your folder?"

"I turned it in Mom."

"But I didn't sign it!"

"That's okay Mom. I signed it for you." Oh no.

Sure enough, on the folder, in the correct spaces she signed "Mom".

Later we discussed that there are some things that only mommies and daddies can sign.

*****

Finally, a funny moment today, made even funnier because I didn't "get it" until my drive home from work today. Once again, it involved my dear sweet daughter Emmy.

In music kindergarten is learning a simple rhythm pattern with a rest at the end. This happened to be my daughter's kindergarten class. I showed them my pretty picture cards with clapping hands and a rest drawn in at the end.

I point to the rest and ask, "Who knows what a rest is?"

My sweet daughter is the only one to raise her hand. Well, I think, she's already seen rests in her piano music, so of course she knows what a rest is.

"Okay Emmy, what's a rest?"

"It's when you go to jail."

?!? :-)

*****

sick again, and again, and again.

2009-01-12T13:52:00.004-05:00

That picture of Bibi on my last post cracks me up. maybe that one should go on next year's christmas cards ("here's how I really feel about cards"). Not really. I just like to crack myself up.

I'm home with strep throat, again. I had it in may, in october and now again in january. In between October and now, I filled in the time with the hacking cough that wouldn't go away and 3 bouts with pink eye. I had an occasional week of wellness thrown in too.

What is up with all this illness?!? Thank goodness I had the flu shot, at least that's what I told the doctor I saw yesterday. But then, with typical doctor no-bedside manners, she said, "yeah, it may work if enough people got their flu shots."

Thanks.

Thanks for your reassurances.

And thanks for the "get out of work" excuse.

And thanks for recoiling in horror and disgust when you looked at my throat. I really do feel better now.

Yep, That's How I Feel Too.

2009-01-04T14:57:00.007-05:00

Going back to work is not my favorite activity.

I wanted to post these pictures before less important things take up my blogging time, you know, like work (ack.).

I've had such a nice, relaxing vacation catching up on blogs and looking up useless information all the while in my pj's!

I was inspired by Pioneer Woman's photography blog and decided to try my hand at a few interesting photos. Kinda hard with a point and shoot, but I'll wait on buying a new camera; it's not high on our list of priorities. Someday...

Anyhoo, I asked one of my favorite models to pose for me. She was slightly reluctant.

Actually, Mom, I thought you wanted to tape a movie of me and my favorite tree ornament.

No, Bibi, I want a pretty picture of you. Let's put the ornament down. No, down low...by your lap. Here, let mama hold it. Doesn't mama look funny? (Ornament hanging off her ear.)

Okay, I guess not. (Puts ornament down.)

Bibi, you keep making sour faces like that and I'm going to post them online.

Thought you'd like some un-posed pictures. One thing about Bibi, she's full of expression. She has more moods than a sunset has colors.

Speaking of sunset, the late sun was coming through the windows, so I snuggled her on my lap and snapped a few shots with the macro lens. The coloring wasn't quite right. I still need to play with the white balance on my camera, but I adjusted the color later with my photo program.

This one is my favorite.

And so, I'll leave you with a Bibi quote. After eating an ice cream sandwich in the car, she wanted wet wipes to clean her hands. I was driving and couldn't reach them. In frustration she threw her napkin down and said, "Sticky fingers are not my best friend!" Yep, I feel the same way too little Bibi.

Domestic Diva Goddess? Ha! No More

2009-01-02T12:13:00.009-05:00

A loaf of my homemade bread.

Today....I scrubbed my kitchen floor. This is a big deal because I'm not sure when I scrubbed it last. Now, don't get me wrong, it's received it's occasional sweeping, and I would scrub particular nasty spots, but an all out, pull out the furniture, hands and knees scrubbing? Nope, it's off the memory grid.

Sigh. I used to be a Domestic Diva, the Goddess of my household, the Magic Fairy that would deliver clean, freshly folded clothes to their proper spots, and always have a clean sink. I baked almost everyday. I cooked. I cleaned. I folded my laundry in a way that would make Real Simple magazine proud.

Re-enactor at Genesee Country Village and Museum.

Spinners at Genesee Country Village and Museum, NY.

Loom, Genesee Country Village and Museum, NY.

Peace abounded. Flylady helped too.

And then, I went back to work, full time. Now I can barely keep my head above my growing laundry pile. I'm just happy when my dishes are done every night. I'd rather be playing with my daughters, or relaxing or reading a book.

Being a teacher gives me long breaks of time where I can tackle my household issues. But who wants to spend their time off cleaning? Unless, of course, you have company coming. Ah! The motivation! Thus, the clean kitchen floor.

Well, the dried-on green play-doh had to go. It looked like last month's dinner. And I let the girls put on their swim suits and "help" me. I should have taken pictures. But that's something the Domestic Diva would have remembered to do, in her non-stressful, slower paced life (I'm referring to myself only, cause I never went anywhere, lol!)

Now I need two weeks to let my refried brain cells recoup. Over this past week and a half, I sank blissfully into the relative peacefulness that is my home, Little by little I got it straightened up, and I still found time to do my favorite things, read, write, blog... I asked myself, why did I go back to work? And then I remembered: the loneliness, the depression. It was time for a change.

Re-enactor at Genesee Country Village and Museum, NY

Sometimes it seems to me like the grass is always greener. Yes, work is stressful. Yes, my house can get lost in the shuffle, but work is work, whether you do it in a different building or at home. And my girls are old enough now to go to school. I'm glad I stayed home with them when I did. And I'm glad I'm back to work now....

....eventually, it will all balance out.

My Favorite Things

2008-12-31T09:51:00.006-05:00

Yep. Your eyes are not deceiving you. I did change the background color on the blog from a blue to a slightly darker purple. I'm in love with purple for the moment. Actually, that moment has lasted for about 10 years. Guess I like purple.

It's snowing, I'm drinking coffee and blogging. Yes, it's a perfect time.

My girls have also decided it's a great time for a tea party.

I adore these tiny ceramic tea sets.

So precious. Tea anyone?

Some Christmas Pics

2008-12-30T11:55:00.004-05:00

Just some happy pics to add a little warmth to the day.

My two little ones.

I don't think Emmy liked Bibi's chin digging into her arm!

Emmy, posing for the camera.

Enjoy the holidays everyone!

We Are Here, We Are Here, We Are Heeeerre!

2008-12-26T07:50:00.003-05:00

***the following is extrememly opinionated and may or may not have actually happened. characters are a figment of one person's imagination which may or may not be a reality in some world somewhere. any resemblance to actual people is entirely a coincidence.

hey you all. I'm still here. I've been reading blogs when I can, but not posting much. December has to be the busiest month of the year. Finally, we get a break! Surely the next few months cannot be as stressful as the past 5 months were for me.

I think of the year in semesters, because of school I guess. This past fall was nuts. I lost my classroom at school because we added another regular classroom. So I had to teach music on a cart, 4 carts to be exact. We move desks, I push carts, we set up instruments. I really wanted to rip my hair out, or at least gouge out my eyes. That surely couldn't be as bad as hearing those desks scrape across the floor or, "waaah! so and so is in my space" (because they're squished in what little floor space we have). Or, "I think another peg is broken on the xylophone." (Yep, another casualty of being loaded and unloaded on a cart).

And then I had to go and tick off the most difficult, mentally unstable mother in the entire school. Remember the boob twister student? This was his mother. We were having a meeting because she was of the opinion that we teachers were setting her child off. She was going on and on about how well her child did in a one on one situation. So I suggested home schooling. She didn't like that suggestion very well. She went the the pp and explained to her how evil I was. And she insisted that her son not be in music.

Over the next few months, her son got a free pass to roam the halls. At one point he was in the school's electric box. This is a student who will be starting middle school next year. He was supposed to be with a particular teacher when he wasn't with me, so I started writing him up every time he was running and roaming the halls. And...you guessed it, things came to a head again, the week of our music program. See, if a student gets too many write up's, they cannot participate in the 9 weeks reward. Mom did not like that one bit. So more meetings were held. Not sure what what my pp told her, but Mom decided to take her child out of school and...homeschool. Interesting.

In the meantime, maintenance has been renovating a room for me in an adjacent building. They let me choose the floor tile and paint. I choose 2 shades of purple paint. The floor is light gray, with some darker gray tile as accent. I have now christened the room as the "Great Purple Room". There will be some offices out there too. Hope they like purple. It should be done in a few weeks. I'm so excited. I have large instrument pictures and I'm going to make some poster prints of some of my favorite pictures I've taken outdoors. I also want to frame and mat some poster prints of the students that I've taken. I think it will be a fun room.

Here's to a calmer new year, less stress, and more peace and harmony.

Feeling Better

2008-11-28T08:23:00.002-05:00

Some antibiotics, eye drops and cough syrup with codeine....I'm feeling better. Happy to be staying home this Friday morning too. I'll probably do some online shopping. Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

An Apple A Day...Bah Humbug!

2008-11-26T08:50:00.002-05:00

Yeah, so, what has Lydee been up to?

Attacking and defending herself against every known disease to man!

Not quite that bad, but perhaps against every disease going around our school building, and losing, pitifully losing.

Strep throat? Check
Nasty cold with deep hacking cough that won't go away, limiting how much one can sing, and sending the art teacher to go get chest x-rays? Check. (the singing part is kinda vital to teaching music. I sing, stop, cover my mouth, hack-hack-hack. sing again, try to sing through it. stop, give in to spasms of coughs, hack-hack-hack... that's been my past 3 weeks). hubby's going to the dr. for that today. could be walking pneumonia?
typical cold turing into sinus thing? Check.
Pink eye? got that one covered, both my girls and myself, Check.

The pink eye, in fact, I have right now, at this very moment. Bibi had it first. Emmy got it a week later, along with all the other students at her table, and her classroom teacher. And yesterday, during a pleasant outing to find new christmas ornaments, I wiped my eye, and yes, pus. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

Frantic call to the drs:

Me: I have pink eye, both my daughters had it. can you call in a script? [figuring they're busy and all.]

Nurse: it's not our policy to call in a prescription until we've seen you. it could be anything.

me: I know it's pink eye (describe symptoms), both my daughter have had it, it's going around the school I work at.

Nurse: we need to see you first. Unfortunately [evil laugh] we don't have any appts available today...or tomorrow...or thurs. and fri. because we're closed. Maybe I could talk to your dr. who's your dr?....well, she won't be back till the first week of dec.

Me: I can't go to work with pink eye [never mind that I have the whole week off, I can't go to my mother's house on thur. with pink eye!]

Nurse: well, I'll talk to some of the drs here; maybe one of them will call in a script for you.

Me: Thanks. [auuuugh.]

They did call it in, thank goodness. Same nurse called me back, sweet as pie.

And so...I hope I don't have pneumonia...auuuurrgh.

Pictures from a Fall Bike Race

2008-11-02T07:59:00.006-05:00

So hubby and his dad did a bike race at a local park. We had a lot of fun cheering them on, and trying to keep the girls from getting run over (stress level-up). The trail was taped off everywhere and they had to ride through some of the playgrounds ("devil's playground")and up and down some steep hills ("hill of death") and bunny hop over obstacles. We saw "Batman" and "Robin" and a "circus rider". Hubby and his dad didn't dress up, the party poopers.

The girls had a good time too after we found a relatively "safe" playground (the bike trail was all around it, but not through it, thank goodness). Then Bibi found a stick and decided to chase other kids around with it, until I realized what she was doing.

Afterwards, we found the donuts and hot chocolate. Fun was had by all.

Hubby racing.

Emmy, disgusted with her sister.

Bibi and her stick.

Aren't sticks so much fun!

Aww mom, why can't I chase people with sticks?

That's okay, it's still fun to run around and have mom tell me to be careful not to poke my eye out....

Like when I go down the slide with my stick. Or when I attack sissy in the car with my stick. She can't get away, ha ha ha!

Yea, we're going to get donuts!

Good job hubby!

Some Autumn Pictures

2008-10-25T11:57:00.006-04:00

I haven't been doing much lately, so I thought I'd post some autumn pictures.

Beautiful pic of the butterfly and my asters.

Below: Carving pumpkins is hard work! Note the hot chocolate and cookies that had to be consumed for extra energy.

Love that look on Bibi's face: So that's what Pumpkin Guts feel like!

Mmmm!

I love this pic. Bibi looks like she wants to eat the seed. I didn't roast them because hubby wanted to feed them to the deer! :-0

Below the girls are "Bogging" for apples. I had bought a bushel from a local farmer and they couldn't wait to try bobbing (they called it bogging) for apples, complete with goggles and swimsuits (or nothing but underwear for little Bibi).

We had beautiful weather the past few weeks. It was a lovely fall.

Barfing Pumpkins

2008-10-11T08:01:00.004-04:00

Crack me up! If you're here to look at the barfing pumpkins, know that we didn't carve them, but I'm guessing it'd be easy to recreate. (we did carve these pumpkins with patterns.) Just take all the pumpkin "guts" and pile up and out of an open pumpkin mouth. Bottles, optional unless you have some extras, lol!

This one's for Olga: the barfing pumpkins.

We didn't carve this, I got the picture via email.

Happy October everyone!

pumpkins!

2008-10-09T06:33:00.003-04:00

We carved pumpkins this past weekend. The girls had fun taking the pumpkin guts out, and we enjoyed carving the pumpkins. My fingers were sore, but it's strangely satisfying to carve out a shape and see what it looks like.

We did "cheat" by using those pumpkin carving patterns you can buy at the store, but they do make cool looking pumpkins, so we decided to use them again this year.

My cat's whiskers and tail fell off, but it still looks cat-ish. Hubby did the best job on the cat in the window carving. I like the wolves.

Enjoy!

Halloween Contest

2008-10-05T08:14:00.006-04:00

Sophanne is holding a contest! Memoirs of your favorite halloween costume.

My mom and dad, ever the creative ones, dressed me up as a christmas present when I was 5 years old. There were lights on my package that were wired to light up (a big deal in 1983). I marched in our town's Halloween parade and won 1st place in some category. We all got our pictures in the paper. I'm the one on the left.

Here's me before the parade.

The following year, my aunt sewed a pilgrim's costume for me. I entered the parade again, but didn't win anything! I loved the pilgrim costume too though and I still own it! It's worn though from years of dress up. (My mom sewed the turkey.)

Anyhow, these are some of my favorite costumes!

Family Pictures

2008-09-29T06:55:00.004-04:00

So, I decided to snap some family shots this fall in front of our flower bed. I love them. Decided to share them with you all. Emmy is celebrating her 6th birthday too! Happy birthday my lovely redheaded baby!

109 Thoughts To Share!

2008-09-12T22:48:00.004-04:00

One Hundred and Nine unread posts in my google reader. 109!!! What have you all been talking about?! My gosh...even Olga had something to say...I don't know what it is yet, but she had something to say. Guess I've been out of the loop, little overwhelmed with the start of the school year and all that.

Things are calming down, and yes, Emmy likes Kindergarten. Her teacher says, "Emmy liked being the "helper" today. She had a lot to say."

I said, "you mean, she never quits talking?"

Teacher replied, "No, she just has a lot to share with me."

Well, that's a nice way to put it. Emmy decided to share in gym class that her little sister always says, "I'm so hungry," when she wakes up. And she decided to share with the art teacher that she has "2 boyfriends, and her sister makes messes, but she doesn't," and she decided to share with me during music that she would get to "be the helper" the next day. So Emmy likes to "share" info in class a lot, a lot more than what I expected.

At least she hasn't shared anything too embarassing, like the time daddy hit the telephone pole because the cat was throwing up and did over $5000 worth of damage to the jeep. No, I shared that, and over the internet.

I guess we all have a lot to share.

Update on the jeep. It's back, after 2 "false starts" (2 returns back to the garage). One for a faulty mirror and one for a cracked window they missed the first time. It seems good as it was pre-cat barf era.

Pictures From the First Day of School

2008-09-04T12:55:00.003-04:00

Emmy's first day of Kindergarten. She was excited. All went well.

Because I have nothing better to do....

2008-08-30T07:54:00.000-04:00

you are blueviolet
#8A2BE2

Your dominant hues are blue and magenta. You're the one who goes to all the parties but doesn't quite fit in at every one... you know what you want, but are afraid of what the world might think of it. You're a little different and that's okay with them, and if you're smart it's okay with you too.

Your saturation level is higher than average - You know what you want, but sometimes know not to tell everyone. You value accomplishments and know you can get the job done, so don't be afraid to run out and make things happen.

Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

A contest and other things

2008-08-20T09:54:00.002-04:00

Patty from Fiberholic is holding a contest. Go there to maybe win sock yarn or Nova Scotia mohair.

I'm getting ready for the start of the school year. It's exciting to plan for a new year. We have a new principal too, so lots of changes are in store. Good changes, I think...for the most part ;-)

No word on the progress of my jeep yet. My confidence in jeep has been shaken with this past accident. How could one telephone pole, which is still standing btw, cause so much damage? I though jeeps were "trail rated". I like the jeep because the roads going to our house are gravel roads and are a mess in the winter. Now I'm thinking of getting rid of it. It's a gas guzzler. I need something with 4 wheel drive that's easier on gas.

4 wheel drive and easy on gas don't exactly go along together, but there has to be something.... I'm open to suggestions. :-)