looking back and forward

Tomorrow is a new year. Can you believe it? My mom and dad say that time flies the older you get and I am beginning to believe them. Really I am. By the end of the year days were flying by me and I was there but not really present and I didn't like that at all.

This year has been filled with many fun activities. We did tons of hiking and playing outside.... I think the frogs thought we were a permanent fixture at their pond this spring. We rode our bikes around town and had great fun. We went to the tree farm several times and on a trip to St. Louis that was loads of fun (minus the heat).

I created lots of "stuff", much of which I can't remember at this moment, but it was fun in the process.

For the next year....

I want:
- to be present more, not just occupying space. I want to be in the moment and enjoy the time that I have with my family and friends. Really listen and participate.
- to "be". I want to find time for me without feeling guilty for taking that time. Be it for reading or sewing or exercising or knitting or.....
- to travel.
- to keep going with karate.
- to finish a sweater for me that is wearable.
- laugh with family and friends.

oh the "I wants" could go on forever, I guess.

Take care. I'll see you in a few days.
kari

Coming into the home stretch

The first batch of Christmas cookies have been frosted AND eaten. The second (double batch) are un-frosted and half gone. The boys keep asking when we are going to frost the next ones, I figure if I keep putting them off I won't have to make more frosting.

The pre-holiday rush is really a rush this year. I finally have the cards done and in the mail (thanks to a 2 hour delay this morning) and have the gifts in the house (as opposed to the trunk of my car), so now all I have to do is wrap them.

I promised myself I would give ample time to the gifts that I wanted to make...hmmm..... maybe some will be Valentine's gifts. :)!

Saturday when I announced that I was going to the sewing room for a while Ian said,"That's great because I have an idea for something for Simon that I need your help with". Simon took that as a cue to start plans for a gift for Ian. They did a wonderful job designing stuffed animals for each other. They did all of the designing and stuffing. I did all of the cutting and sewing. Oh and the BEST part (according to them) was that they got to pick fabric from the "other" drawers, not just their drawer. I thought that the best part beside spending time creating with my kids was that they respected each others privacy during the whole process. There were knocks on the door, but no yelling or barging in. They wrapped them after they were finished and put them under the tree. I'll post pics after Christmas.

Now to finish a ____ and some_____.

sledding

We just got back from sledding. We had a good time UNTIL Ian hit a bump and got the wind knocked out of him. It was kind of down hill from there (hehehe).

For a while, I layed on a sled under some pine trees. The snow was nestled in the branched and around little pine cones. It was so peaceful and really a good picture (maybe I'll take the camera next time). Then some middle school boys came and the testosterone was flying. They were having so much fun and I tried not to be too much of a mom asking if they were ok when a crash occurred.

Busy weekend

not in any particular order because I'm being lazy and only have a bit of time....

A finished potato chip scarf (I've noticed that the older I get I can't get a good self portrait - too much neck/cheek/jowl action)

A birthday boy

Our Christmas Tree

Simon's orange belt test

The sign that Simon made to tell the mouse he was not welcome in Ian's room.

Scarf (blah, blah, blah)

I finished a potato chip scarf for a friend at work. It was really cool and she really liked it....Wish I had a picture to show you, but I don't. I have been leery of putting pictures on this computer. So I haven't been taking many pictures. I know excuses, excuses.

I really like the photo application on the macbook, and don't get to use it that frequently, so that is another reason why there haven't been many posts with or without pictures. Maybe I'm just lazy? Who knows? I have been going through a lazy couple of days.

I want to get back into my blogging because I really do enjoy it.

What do you do to get your blogging mo-jo back? Set aside a special time of day? Include a picture everyday? I'm open to suggestions....

The weekend

up a tree without a ladder

Finally!

The fort

Mowing

Testing the water

Election Day...

No I am not going to spout my electoral views BUT I am going to say that I voted this morning on the way to work...I do have one complaint. GET A HEARING AID!!! I shouldn't have repeat my name 4 or 5 times before you, election volunteer, get it. Only to repeat the process again at the next table 15 minutes later.

I have an office day, ahhh. I had great plans to get lots done and so far... I have facebooked, you-tubed and now blogged. The you-tubing was related to work though...I sat and watched about 15 "It gets better" videos in ASL. It was interesting to see I how well I understand adults signing compared to kids.

The long weekend was just what was needed. We had tons of fun outside making a fort and walking the trails. I got another square done.

AND Simon lost his first tooth. "Finally something good is happening in my life!"

I'll try to post pictures later this week.

Ok, it's time to eat some lunch (smile) and get to work.

Enjoy your day AND don't forget to vote!

Two weeks ago???

With the weather today, I find it hard to remember how nice it was two weeks ago. It was a beautiful weekend. We went for a last boat ride on Lake DeNeveau.

Captain Ian and First mate Simon

Goofing before the boat ride- lucky Dad wasn't around....

My Mom and Dad

Aunt Barb, me, Mom with our beautiful sun hats.

Ahhhh

October will soon be over. This will be a god send. I am not exaggerating when I say I had AT LEAST 3 after school meetings per week this month. Oi! Then a big birthday - Ian turned 8. and blah, blah, blah.....

I am grateful for the long weekend. Ah...nothing to do but knit, watch the kids, go for walks (if the weather is ok).

As for Sockoberfest....I've not gotten very far. I have one more square finished and another on the needles, but it will be a miracle if I get 5 or 6 more done. I'll just keep plugging away and those squares will get done.

Sockoberfest

Every year I say I am going to participate in Socktoberfest. My goal is to finish the pairs of socks that I have started. This year I have a fighting chance. I only have 2 pairs started. But here is the problem, I still have 7 blocks of my barn raising afghan to go. I'm thinking that I am going to count those squares as socks BECAUSE they are after all made out of sock yarn. See my fuzzy logic??

Wish me luck. I really want to get these squares done - I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Computers

My computer died. I knew it was dying a slow death - zapping in and out. Now I have a new computer (for work) and the cursor jumps from one place to another (while I am trying to type important stuff i.e. blog, not so important stuff i.e. reports, email...). It is annoying and the tech. guy who I generally love hasn't worked on it yet.

We bought a macbook for home, but I haven't been able to get on it because Kal is using it for school until his laptop gets fixed....errrrrrr.....

Oh and all of the 5 yes FIVE years of photos that were on the dead computer are lost....Guess I really need to get a Flicker account.

First weeks

Aye, aye, aye....

These first few weeks of school are kind killing my free time. I am getting back into the groove of teaching, but have not found the after school, home groove. Seems like we are always on the go. Homework, supper, karate, read, bed. Repeat everyday at 3:45 pm (except Tuesdays and Fridays).

One good thing (for me) is that the boys have been grounded from t.v. and wii for the past week. They were naughty on their dad's watch and they got the goods. Oh well, it has been very quiet here this week...the t.v. cabinet has been closed...nice. There have been lots of books read, games played and laughter. I'm almost tempted to try no t.v. during the week, but I think I will be vetoed.

Hopefully soon I will have pictures of "things" that I created.

soon.....

Let's go for a walk

I got up this morning before the house was awake and went for a walk. Want to come along?

First Day

Dear Teacher,

Yes, we really went school shopping. Yes, we bought new shirts, pants, and supplies. This is what they CHOSE to wear today and I CHOOSE not to argue over clothes this year. Please don't judge them for what they wear to school. They are good boys who are independent thinkers. And they are comfortable.

Thanks,
Kari

p.s. I'm sure you will see some of their new clothes after they run out of the "good" ones.

Sometimes you have to start something new

I made a bunch of these little socks a few years ago. They are really fun to make. So last night whilst taking a break from the barn raising squares, I made this one. I see more of them in my future.

The boys are already gone with gma and gpa to the vacation house. They put the next Gregor the Overlander book in the cd player and were off.

The topic for tomorrow is dyslexia and Tuesday is better customer service - some lady is coming from Culver's to speak to us (just in case you were wondering what my agenda is for the beginning of the week). Customer service for teachers? Remember I work for a CESA, the agency sells my low incidence spec. ed. services to school districts for a fee.

Ahh, Saturday

The boys were gone all week and leave again tomorrow. I've been doing some "professional development" for work. Ask me anything about children living in poverty, bullying, or visualizing/verbalizing AND I can give you an answer. While I enjoy learning something new and having a few extra days to play with if I have snow days, I was ready for them to come home yesterday. I think that I will probably be ready for them to come home again on Friday.

Yesterday one of Ian's friends called 5 minutes after he got home. Ian just looked at me when I said," Maybe you can see him tomorrow". Today they sit on the couch playing Wii. I like his friend,. so I don't mind him being here, but what about me??

To be truthful, I am having a bit of anxiety about work. I am getting a few new students in districts that I haven't been in a while. It probably won't be as bad as I am envisioning it, but sometimes change is scary.

Rookie Mistake

I decided to take my spinning wheel for a whirl this afternoon. We sat out on the deck with the sun shining and the breeze blowing. I was really getting the hang of drafting again. Soon I had 3 bobbins full of spun fiber. I thought I had more bobbins like 4 or 5 total so the spinning part was going full blast. No need to worry.

While I was spinning, I had decided that I was going to try my hand at plying next. I was having fiber dreams of creating more yarn this week during the evenings. So I sat and read the instructions for the lazy kate and found that I needed an empty bobbin. I searched my craft room - no more bobbins.

I really need to read all of the instructions before I start new projects. I guess that I will have to wait to ply it until I go buy a few more bobbins.

Ahhh. I guess it is back to the barn raising squares (23 and counting) and quilting.

The Front...

The "mood" front had moved on. This morning we made a quick trip to JoAnn Fabrics to get some minkie for the back of an alien quilt (not one of the 2 projects that I left on the table). We were scouting the polar fleece when I heard Ian say," I've found the softest stuff in the whole store". Wow, did he ever. I promptly put the canary yellow fleece/minkie in the cart. Then we perused the store.
It seems like I have been saying "no" to the boys a lot today. They have been asking for stuff... to go out for dinner.... to the grocery store for lunchables.... You name it they have asked for it and I have said "no". Today I said yes to some of those black velvet maker posters and they are working on them right now. Enjoying every minute.


Have a good afternoon, I'm off to do some machine quilting.

One of those days...

Birdseed Sunflower growing through the deck

I'm having one of those days. You may know the kind. It's a day when I feel like doing something, ANYTHING and nothing is exciting. I've cleaned the house, made lunch, watched some Disney movie. If I eat any more Rollos, I'm going to have a different problem.

I went downstairs and put fabric and yarn away in my craft room. I thought that something might inspire me. It didn't. I did get my feather weight fixed though. It no longer has a tension problem. The table is cleared of all but 2 quilting projects (the most current). It's the first time no extra fabric or yarn is waiting in line to be used.

Am I bored? Not really, well maybe just a little, but not really, maybe...

What have you been up to?

The other day when I took the boys to get hair cuts, the stylist asked what we have been up to.

That seems to be a question we have been asked a lot lately. It's not like we have dropped off the earth or anything, but mostly we have been doing lots of summer stuff. Stuff most people wouldn't find terribly interesting.

Our A.C. has been working intermittently, so it has been lots of pool time and library trips. We had a picnic at the park one day and on another day went to visit friends we haven't seen in a while. Kal had a birthday and fortunately for us, the A.C. worked long enough for us to make a birthday cake.

On the crafting front, I got some new needles to work on my barn raising afghan. I've started a quilt with mermaids on it (pictures soon) and have been knitting pot scrubbies for the church festival - I can honestly say that I am tired of those scrubbies...

Not much summer left for me - one more week, then it is back to work. So I'm out to enjoy what is left of it.

Better

The bridge between Metropolis, IL and Paducah, KY

Today is a better day. Yesterday wasn't so bad either. I didn't find a needle. But to be honest I didn't go looking very hard either. Maybe later in the week.

I did however start sewing on a quilt kit my mom got me at Hancock's of Paducah. Have you ever been there? It is fabric overload. Thousands of bolts of fabric...moda, alexander, butler....you name it.

The first time I went there was during AQS show several years ago. I was on overload looking at all of those quilts and then the vendors. Quilting nirvana. I remember going home (to the camper) at the end of the day and petting all of my fabric purchases wishing that I had my machine with me.

So that means today is another sewing day, if I can get the boys to cooperate.

Ohh and I overheard this yesterday...
S: What are you doing?
I: Looking at this moth?
S:Hmm, it's a big one.
I: slam
S: What'd you do that for?
I: Moth's are not good for fiber. We live in a fiber house.
S: Oh...but we are outside.

Not happy

Broken #2 40" bamboo needle

I'm not happy at the moment. This morning I found the ONLY needle that I have to work on my barn raising squares hid under the couch. When I asked where it was I received a noncommittal "I don't know". When I found it and asked what happened, I got the same answer.

A little later, Simon needed my help with something and I asked again. The answer this time was "I don't want to talk about it". Ahhh, avoidance.

Needless to say I will be calling around today to see if I can find this needle ANYWHERE in the greater Madison area. I am on a roll people. I am half way there. I have 21 squares done and 21 to go! I really want to finish this project....

City Museum

The last of the vacation pictures - I promise - for a while any way....

If you happen to be in St. Louis and have children under the age of 12 - well I take that back, there were people there of all ages, but younger kids would probably enjoy this the most, go to City Museum. It is well worth the price of admission. We had a blast on the slides and enjoyed the sculptures. The place was created with tunnels and mazes and climbing areas. It really is a place to be experienced. Pay the extra for the roof, it's worth it.

The Arch

Honestly....

I haven't been here because I didn't have the vacation pictures off of the camera. Really. I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't blog until I got the pics off the camera, so I stayed off the computer (pretty much) until this weekend.

So what have we been up to? We went to Springfield, IL, Hannibal, St. Louis and Paducah, KY with my parents. It was a fun trip. We went to the Arch, Grant's Farm, the Zoo, home of Superman (Metropolis, IL), and much more. We had a really good time - the only bad thing was the humidity - yuck! We were lucky to have an air conditioner.

Just for Luck

Painting the Fence

Being Silly

Mark Twain Memorial Bridge

I did it!

This morning I got my white belt in karate. Learning karate was on my bucket list. I think I even put on the list that I wanted to get a black belt - we'll see about that! I'm really glad that I started. The boys have been going for a little over a year now. When I started total fitness in the spring, I think it was inevitable that I would start karate.

It is a process. A process where I am learning to do something new, making connections with my body, brain, and spirit.

I like it. Actually, I like it a lot. It is a 30 to 45 minute period several times a week where I can only focus on what I am doing in the moment. I can't think about family, bills, school, the boys......... the list goes on OR I can't do the movements. After wards, ahhhh.

Mt. Olympus

Today we used our tickets to Mt. Olympus. It was a lot of fun. We got there as the water park was opening and went on a few of the water slides right away. Later in the day there were waits up to an hour....yuck. We had a ton of fun in the tidal wave pool. We stayed until 5:00.

Now for the bad news... the sunscreen was left on the kitchen table. Luckily the boys are only a little bit pink. I, on the other hand, have bits that are REALLY red. I have already rubbed down with vinegar and smell like a pickle. The only place it still hurts is between my shoulder blades - the boys won't put any vinegar on me..."it stinks too much".

Lesson learned. Double check the bag before the car leaves the driveway.

DeForest Splash Park

Sock (monkey) Love

The sock monkeys are complete. They have been to karate, the park, and beyond.

The mouse ear hosta is blooming. Actually most of my hostas are blooming, but this one is so little and cute.

Yummmm. I can't wait to have one!