Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet....

Happy Halloween everyone, and what a B-U-TI-FUL night it was! Wow----considering Wisconsin temps were plummeting in the 20's earlier this week, tonight was a perfect 60 degrees for Trick-or-Treating. We headed out at 5:30 (after taking almost an HOUR to get ready.) I mean, really!!!! How much makeup does Dad need to PUT on a girl?!?!?!?!? ;0)
I tell ya, we have enough candy to last for a YEAR! I didn't think of taking a picture of the entire load of candy we arrived back home with!

We had a Witch








...an angel













... and a Raggedy Anne













and a VERY dirty tub at the end of the night (that still needs cleaning. I guess that is what weekends are for, huh?)


The girls are in 'mom-n-dad's' room right now, relaxing with a movie. I would be pretty confident saying they are probably sleeping by now----but then again, they DID do their share of eating their "load" tonight, so........

Hopefully all your Halloween endeavors were safe tonight.
Happy Friday.

Enjoying an evening, relaxing--eating apples

*propping up feet*
Well folks----no quilting tonight; no teacher work tonight; I'm just kicking back, tummy full of the wonderful Caramel Apples we made tonight as a fun family project, and I'll be digging into my Quiltmaker magazine I picked up at the grocery store tonight. I am tired and want to just relax----and will hopefully be heading off to bed at 9:00 tonight.

I needed to run to the grocery store tonight to pick up some mints for the State testing our 7, 8, and 10th graders will be taking over the next few days and next week. While there, I came across a bag of caramels and couldn't resist the idea of making some caramel apples, so........ we did :0)



















There was plenty of caramel left in the bowl to cut up some apple slices for cleaning it out :0) GOSH! Why is that so good???!?!
















Caitlyn didn't care for the caramel (She is NOT my child!!!!), so we simply peeled a plain apple for her to eat while we enjoyed the sticky-yummy-sugary caramel :0) Yes----even MOM enjoyed them!!! (Silly Dad grabbed the camera and shot a pic of me without knowing) :0)
















Dad and Candace were goofing around with the silly hat too! My goodness----my DH GUARDS that hat with his life!!! He wears it in the garden all the time! It's QUITE the fashion statement!

Well folks, not many words tonight, but lots of fun family pics. I'm tuning out and off to relax with a quilting magazine.
Happy Monday!

Teacher mode----will it ever be done?

*sigh*
I'm taking a break! Since 8:00 this morning, I have been in 'teacher-mode.' First on the agenda was to grade a student's Pre-Calculus test (that he took on THURSDAY!) I felt extremely, extremely "BAD" when he came to see me on Friday, wondering how his test went. This is a bright student and will "make it far in life," so I really felt I let him down by not doing my job in an adequate, timely manner.

Next on the agenda, analyze/grade/edit/improve on the Pre-Calculus Math History Research Project papers. Thankfully, there are only 11 students on my roster. Sadly, only SIX turned in a rough draft Friday---NOT GOOD for the other five. I spent right around 20-30 minutes with each paper; checking Internet sources, checking for plagarism, etc. I am insisting on APA Citing format (rather than MLA, which the English dept uses). So I have found myself giving many examples of how to properly cite using APA format, rather than MLA. I think I may have to take 20-30 minutes of classtime tomorrow discussing this and giving examples. The final draft is due on Friday. Another sad issue---for one of my students, unless he does some drastic rewriting, his paper will receive a zero and he will need to be reported to the administration for 100% complete plagarism. OH DEAR! Seriously-----90% of his paper is WORD FOR WORD from Wikipedia. Oh golly! Wikipedia of all places!!!!

So, I think that brought me right to 11:00. THEN, the next item on my agenda was to fill out and write an application reference letter for one of my "girls" to MIT!. Words CANNOT express how special this lil'lady is! She was one of my vball girls the last year I coached---she was a freshman. I've had her in Algebra (8th grade) and Pre-calculus last year. SERIOUSLY---this is a student that doesn't come along very often! I AM NOT an elloquent writer, so I have spent that last THREE HOURS drafting and redrafting her reference/application letter. I want it to WOW anyone who reads it so they really know what this girl is like! What a gem!!!!

Okay-----now off to some QUICK lesson planning for this week so I can hopefully get downstairs within the hour.

Thankfully, DH took the girls shopping with him-----between making breakfast and lunch, I was getting delayed with all my agenda items. So now I should be able to fly without the lil' distractions :0)

FUN, FUN scrappy progress today!!!

I knew it had been a while since I blogged, but I really thought I tuned in at least ONCE this week...
sorry-----

I managed to finish up Isaac's Blue Heaven this week. The blocks went together VERY quickly, finishing at 12"x12" each. I slapped on some borders to wrap it up (I THINK that was Thursday night), measuring 3.5" wide finished. So, if you do the math, that makes this quilt right around 55"x67". This is going to be gifted to a Jan's son, Isaac. Isaac was adopted when he was a baby and is the same age as Cassie--2nd grader.

So now, ALL three quilts to go to Jan's children are finished....(well, the TOPS are finished)

We had Masha's Wonky Nines (completed at the end of August, 2008). Masha is in 5th grade right now; she is one of Jan's adopted Russian children. She currently is competing in gymnastics at the local club and being "promoted" to the next level after just about every meet.




We had Andre's Out of this World (completed October, 2008). Andre is in 6th grade and is also one of Jan's adopted Russian children. He is a soccer fanatic; basically a born athlete in almost every sport. Both Andre and Masha were from the same orphanage in Russia; they became Jan's children three years ago. :0) Wow---does Jan have some stories to share!!!!





So FINALLY, I can begin on Jan's quilt! Quite a while ago, I was browsing through some old (1990's) quilt magazines and saw this BEAUTIFUL "jewel" scrap quilt. I had it marked, knowing I was going to make it SOME DAY. I recently pulled that stack of magazines out again, seeing the jewel pattern, and I KNEW it was going to be perfect for Jan.

Jan is going through some very difficult family times right now, and she flat-out adores her children. (I know that's a dumb comment, because what parent DOESN'T love their children??!?!?!) psht----I'm a teacher; and I see some very sad "families" because the children come second to the parent's wishes.

Anyway, when I saw the pattern, the wheels started playing in my mind and I decided that I would use all the scraps from the kids' quilts to make hers. This morning at 10:00, I started cutting away and power-sewing strips and half-triangles. I now know what Bonnie meant when I read her words----they said something similar to .... "I love scrap quilts; seeing all the different styles and designs of fabric being placed in the sewing machine." Although all the kids' quilts are somewhat scrappy in their own, Andre's and Isaac's still got to a "boring" stage of sewing because of the redundant colors. Side note: Hmmm.......maybe that's why Derek's Storm at Sea is STILL waiting to be completed-----ugh

Anyway---Jan's Family Gems was begun today, and I have LOVED every second of seeing the blocks come together. I would end one stage (creating some 4-patches) and would need to go on to the next stage (creating HST's) and then needed to go to the next stage (sewing together) because I was just DYING to see part of the finished product. After taking this picture of the first 10 blocks, I deliberated about the final size of this quilt. Minimum: 4x6 layout (that would be 48"x72" before any borders), but I probably will use a 5x6 layout (60"x72" before borders). So, 5x6 means 30 blocks. I have 10 completed, so I'm 1/3 of the way there :0)

In fact, I was somewhat of a "bad mommy" at lunch time because I didn't want to stop. It's a good thing that Cassie is getting older and knows who to work a microwave :0) She made hotdogs for the other two and herself; and they all also helped themselves to a bowl of cereal. I hope you all can understand and not call the "bad mommy police" on me. DH has been cashed out in the bed for most of the day -- I TOLD him to. Yup---yup---I did! I told him to just take the DAY OFF and kick back. 15 minutes later, he was zonked (that was at 11:15). He JUST crawled out of the room and is having a snack next to me right now.

I'd love to head back downstairs right now to whip out some more blocks. HOWEVER, I'm off to shower. DH and I are going to have "somewhat" of a night out. We all (DH, myself and girls) went to the girl's Regional Semi-final volleyball game last night and our girls won. Prior to last night's game, DH hadn't had intentions of going to tonight's Regional Final, BUT he's a lover of volleyball and last night's game WAS exciting!!! He was "itching" to see the Final's, so I told him I would line up a babysitter. So, we're going to go the game---just the two of us---(well, sorta!) I called up Jan and told her our girls won, so she's going to head up to the Final's too. Jan and I coached volleyball together for seven years which is where we really built the awesome relationship we have! She was my mentor; and BOY, I respect her immensely!

Alrighty folks----have a wonderful night/evening/day.
Happy Saturday

TatorTrot Half-marathon

Yup.....as if 26.2 miles wasn't enough last week :0) Weeks ago, I was contemplating running this Half-marathon with Julie once she informed me she wasn't able to make the Full Marathon (which was last Saturday.) AFTER having run the Marathon last weekend, I told Jules I MAY only run the 5K while I cheer her on for her Half; and then by midweek, I was even toying with the idea of not running at ALL since I hadn't run all week. However, after speaking with her yesterday and hearing that she had absolutely no goals in mind and the SHE hadn't been running much either, I figured......"what the heck! It's only a Half!!!"

So, I enjoyed digging through my closet for the "perfect" outfit today :0) Both Jules and I wore our Whistlestop performance shirts from the 2006 marathon (we LOVE this shirt!!!) and she wore her "traditional" black shorts, however, I pulled out the baby-blue runners that I hadn't worn for a race yet. AND, ya gotta love the knee socks, right?!?!?!?! What a hoot! BUT, they really did serve a purpose today----it was chilly, and *sigh*....yet again WINDY!!!! I haven't checked, but I'd beg to say that wind was blowing 15-20 mpg with some gusts pushing 30+! Ugh!

We coughed up the big bucks (ALL for a really great cause--"Boys and Girls Club") and we set out to enjoy the day-----Jules's boyfriend came down for the race too and was our cheer section and photographer for the day. I apologize about the darkened and slightly grainy photos---I had the aperature set too high! Oops! I figured it should be set high since it was so sunny out, BUT if all the shots were closeups, this setting would have been perfect. However, Jamie kept himself at a nice distanct (OFTEN "sneaking" up on us, hiding on the edge of the woodline.) But we kept smiling throughout---not really pushing ourselves too hard---holding right around 10:30-11:00 min/miles and walking all the aid stations :0)

We finished in 2:23:18, definitely not a World's Record, but it wasn't our worst time either :0) Each of us have run a 2:28 (both on the stinkin' Paavo Nurmi Course!!!!)

So, I've already relaxed with a nice bubbly hot tub soak (nope---no real hot tub here, just a BIG bathtub with jets) :0) Candace and Caitlyn were giving me puppy-dog eyes to jump in the tub with me, so we all spent 40 minutes playing in the water before realizing that we all had turned into raisins. Now we are relaxing with Wow-wow-Wubzy and an afternoon snack of Apples and Cheesey Balls :0)

"Out of this World" done---onto the next one...

Finishing up Andre's quilt came to be quite easy. It was a fun, controlled BRIGHT scrappy quilt---twin size. The top will be added to my brother's OTR and Masha's Wonky Nines pile, awaiting when I need to get into a "quiltying frenzy" to finish all of them up. I finished up Andre's early in the evening (well, if 8:30 is considered early----it is when you don't begin until 8:00). And OF COURSE, Derek's Storm at Sea is FOREVER calling at me from its location on the carpet---still awaiting to have all the rows sewn together. *shudder* There is just SOMETHING about it that has become a nagging child pulling on my pants leg and I keep putting it off until I "feel like working on it." I KNOW that time WILL come----I will be patient.

So, I figured I'd take a little time to piece together some of my leader-ender square-strips that had been collecting and growing in the basket on my table. I was AMAZED to see I already had enough to complete 6 entire 6x6 blocks for my Scrappy Irish Chain. Slowly but surely I think this baby will get completed so it can be donated to my mother's church for Christmas.


Finally, since those blocks didn't take too long to piece, I figured I might as well jump right in to the next quilt on my C'mas list. I'd been searching and searching for the "right" pattern, and I STILL don't know if it's the right one, but....it'll have to do! Isaac's My Blue Heaven was begun tonight, having completed 3 (of 20) blocks. These blocks go together rather quickly, and the quilt will too since these babies are 12 inches!!! I have been setting aside my blues, knowing I was going to use them for Isaac, and I was finally able to find a PERFECT opportunity to use up the basketball and baseball "starry" remnants I had from making Zach's quilt last C'mas.

However, alas, it tis time to hit the hay.
*chuckle*...nothing like using Shakespearien terms along with some slang redneck terms :0)

Happy Friday (ALMOST!)

It's Friday tomorrow?!??!? ALREADY?????

yup...it's been one of those crazy hectic weeks where time has simply FLOWN by. Seriously, if time keeps going like this, my kids will all be graduated, and I'll be a retired grandmother in no time!!!!! *chuckle*

Blogger is a bit slow tonight for me for some reason, so I'm not going to bother with pics right now. It's almost bedtime for the girls; we're relaxing with some fish crackers as a snack and watching the Backyardigans on Noggin. I love the music on this show :0)

I found a few moments last night to get downstairs----didn't really know what I wanted to work on, but ended up cutting some borders for Andre's Out of this World. Hopefully I'll finish that top tonight by putting the final borders on once the girls are tucked away in bed. I've already written my Pre-Calculus test and key for tomorrow, so my official work is finished for the night. Now I have "play" work time :0)

Maybe I'll tune back in later tonight with an updated pic of the completed top :0)

Relaxin' with some quilting

This afternoon after arriving home and updating the blog with the marathon results, I decided to head downstairs to see what I could get done while actually having some energy. I actually didn't mind tackling sewing Dereks' Storm at Sea rows together. All the rows are now sewn individually, and I was able to sew a couple of the rows together before needing to come up to make some dinner.

After dinner, I headed back downstairs to rearrange the carpet area. I lost interest in Derek's quilt for the moment, so I wanted to lay out Andre's Out of this World blocks. I also was able to sew all of his rows together (after snapping this shot) before heading up here to update the blog. DH is breathing down my neck for me to get my biscuits to bed!





I thought I'd share some comments and a pic from Keri (pictured right) about her's and Pam's Half-marathon

here we are! we made it-- 1:57 and still smiling :) we made our second annual debut with great buddy gene harrington and joined up with his son andy and our superior friends around 8am. a beautiful day to run, tho, as amy said the trail was a bit soft from all the rain making for extra leg work. pam and i used a whole bunch of energy leaping back and forth during the first 3 mile shake out; we underestimated and started way too far back. after a bathroom break at mile 3 we were on our way for the rest of the morning. we were so surprised and so happy to see jill, megan and leo at mile...where was that?? we got so excited by the surprise that we used up all of our reserve jumping and squealing with excitement. SO SO worth it. how did they know we needed them right then and there??

we were both welcomed into the finish by our boys and stuck around for amy until it started to rain. we were so close to seeing you come in amy!! great job on the run--so glad casey got to greet you :)

I responded back to her with....:

*laffin*
HEY---have you ever noticed "backgrounds" in pics you've taken????

How 'bout that half-naked hottie to the left background of Pam!?!?!?!?
*giggle*

GREAT JOB! 1:57 EVEN after burning up your energy hoopin'-n-hollarin'
How are the legs today?? Seriously, if my toe wasn't so sore, I actually COULD manage an EZ 3 miler right now :0) It took awhile for my stomach to settle down and stop crampin (it seems ANY mileage over 10 makes my innerds jumble up and cramp) :0(

Thanks for the effort of hangin around. The rain hit me just before mile 20---another lady who played "tortoise and hare" with me for a mile was currently in front of me, looking up, wondering the same thing I was----"where in the HECK is the rain coming from?" Seriously---I didn't see cloud in the sky. As I passed her, I asked her that exact thought, she just laughed and said it might not be all that bad to wash away the stinky sweat from her body. At least she was still able to chuckle at that point of the race.

And her final response this evening:

okay, so i had to go back and look at the photo--dude! i remember his shorts! and, there was a lady running the full--that i laughed with pam about--who had the SAME shorts! perhaps they're married?? or, just both happen to have, e-hemmm, really good taste :)
i was just glad to see that we both look like we're not in pain but were completely exhausted!

my quads are sore today. every time i go to bend down i am reminded of yesterday. i was spoiled with hot tub jets as bryan and i took the boys to a hotel for the night. we even (humbly) took down every last bite of a LARGE pizza from Coops...followed by a French silk pie from Perkins--thank god there was still a full half left when it was all said and done. i was asleep before 7:30 for the night :) my husband was/is a rockstar....totally took over kids and me. now home and back to reality :)

so sorry about your little toe :( read your blog and saw pics. painful looking....tho, with the weather, you could probably wear sandals tomorrow!

i'll check in tues when i'm back at school :)
get rest!
k

Just figured there were a good couple of chuckles there worth sharing....

Night all

Whistlestop Marathon, Ashland Wisconsin

6:00 am and the alarm bell tolled. My throat was a bit scratchy, but I was amazingly feeling "almost okay." The morning temps were 46-48 degrees as we departed from the "bus-depot"----gotta love those school buses! :0) I sat with a TINY lady who had hopes of running a qualifying time for Boston----tsha! In MY dreams......

The temps warmed to about low 50's by gun time at 9:00. I actually had carried my cellphone with me in my "gotta-keep-me-going-with-sugar" pouch, so I was texting Julie at the start and TRIED to send a pic of the 900 runners in front of me as we set off from the start line. The announcer was saying there were record registrants this year, with about 900 marathoners and 1500 half-marathoners. There were also a good couple hundred 10K'ers and 5K'ers. I knew of three half-marathoners (Keri, Pam and Judge Harrington) and my sister ran the 5K.

I found it hard to dress for the day! I ended up running in my tights, a short sleeve blue shirt (which you will see in the later pics) with a long-sleeve FINISHER shirt from the marathon 2 years ago. Oh yes....I also had on gloves (which were removed by mile 3) and my good-luck charm "rabbit hat." SADLY-----I finally broke down at mile 16 and took it off :0(

The first 10 miles went very, VERY easy, coasting right around 10:30-10:45's. I needed to take a 2 minute "pit-stop" at mile 5-----*sigh*-----ya gotta go when ya gotta go.

Then...right around mile 11, things started getting bad, and then ugly, and then pretty near uglier! I was bonking ALREADY!!!! My legs were losing strength fast, and I felt my pace slow with every step. Jen and Cassie met up with me at mile 12, and sadly, all I had to say was "Jen, this is going to be a mental race from this point on." I gave Cassie a hug, and as I took off, emotions were already starting to take over---my eyes were welling, and I actually started to hyperventilate --- so I HAD to do some mental talk to calm myself down. I KNEW I was going to finish, but I think the emotion of frustration was creeping into my mind because I was already seeing my 4:45 goal start to slip away as my miles were dropping to 11:15's.

At mile 14, Jen and Cass were there again, with CHOCOLATE in hand. Again, I gave Cass a hug, and set off on my way hearing "You can do it Amy---hang in there!" The aid stations are a bit hazy in my head, but I know I didn't eat the candybar right away---I waited until I got closer to an aid station so I could get some water to wash it down, as well as some powerade. I wasn't really in the mood for chocolate, but I KNEW the importance of getting some sugar to my legs, so I gulped the water to wash it down and sipped the powerade.

Mile 16 brought the smiling faces AGAIN! Cassie created her own "noise-maker" by banging rocks together as I came up. I still was struggling, my pace having backed off to 11:30's (sigh). My sister took all of these wonderful photos, by the way. I chose NOT to crop this one because it gives a BEAUTIFUL shot of what the entire race looked like. It's on a snowmobile trail that spans three counties; nicely groomed and packed, and surrounded by trees, trees, trees. The trees were at PEEK color time, very few of them on the ground. Last year, almost ALL the leaves were already gone because of such a cold, windy September.

Suddenly, around mile 17, AMAZINGLY my legs were coming back to life and my energy was picking up. I was able to pick my pace up without much effort, and I was once again running at about a 10:30 pace (NOT counting my walking stops at the aid stations). At mile 18, my sister was able to get a shot of a female who had passed me some time back, but slowly I was able to gain on her. In fact, over the next few miles, I started passing people, one at a time. It WAS nice being able to do that after struggling for most of 11 through 17. Typically, at THIS point is when people are starting to 'bonk,' so ....yeah.....it felt good!


Mile 20 was the last stop my sister was planning to meet me at. Cassie asked if she could walk with me for a bit as I drank my powerade and water, and she sent me off onto my last 6 miles with a smile, a hug, and a "good luck mom! Run fast!" I did ask Jen to try to find another spot at around mile 23 just as one final "good luck," but I knew it was hard to follow any roads after this point. And sure enough, no happy faces at mile 22 or 23, so I kept the mental talk going, knowing they'd be there at the end cheering me across the finish. There was an aid station at 21.5 where I grabbed a cookie and the usual water and powerade. And--MAN---the next 1.5 miles until the next aid station was TOO LONG of a distance! And SADLY, there were no cookies at the station, so I settled only on the powerade. (note: next year, I WILL train with Cliffshots and have some readily available for the marathon). And, for how long it took for the 23 mile aid station, that's how fast the next one came up----seriously.....half mile later at 23.5! I'm not one to complain, but those stations really could have been spread more evenly! Anyone, I grabbed a cookie, HOPING it would bring some life back to my quickly fading legs........

then, as I turn one of the last bends before exiting the trail and entering the town, there's Cass and Jen! I wasn't expecting them AT ALL! They were walking down the trail towards me with the intentions of running along side me for a short distance. However I needed a short break (even though Jen was doing her best to get me going....)

So, one final good luck, with about 1.5 miles to go. Checking my watch, my 4:45 goal was already long gone, but I had a small window of opportunity to tie, if not beat last year's time of 4:59. However, ....UGH! As soon as we were out of the shelter of the tree lines, the easterly wind that was forecasted was finally very apparent. A full headwind of about 5-10 miles an hour was upon us, and after 24 miles of running, it took all of my mental toughness to keep my legs going. I probably walked about 3 times in this last 1.5 mile stretch, and as I was turning into the last turn, I saw my watch tick 5:00-----*sigh*! Oh well.......

found Cass and Jen in the crowd immediately and motioned for Cass to run in with me as she has done the past two years. And finally, 5 hours, 3 minutes and 18 seconds after the gun went off, I was done. (FYI 5:02:15 is my actually chip time since I always start so far back in the pack). I felt fine----glad to be done, but not completely exhausted. After how I felt from miles 11 to 17, I am satisfied with my finish and HECK---I burned 2600 calories! Not bad!!! .....and....well....there's always next year :0)


Then....about 15 minutes later, after cooling down, resting, drinking some water, and attempting to stand up *wink*, I suddenly feel a "weird pain" on my left foot. Sure shootin----my 4th toenail was black-n-blue and "loose." That baby will be off in no time *sigh*. I blame my shoes completely---they should have been replaced months ago, but just never got around to it until 2 weeks ago. 2 weeks has not been enough time to break in my new pair of shoes to feel comfortable running 26 miles, so I relied on my old ones. *shaking head*....yet another lesson learned.

We didn't spend much time around the post-party-tent. We looked over the results of the other races: Jen finished her 5K in 34 minutes; Keri and Pam finished their half-marathons under 2 hours!!!! YEAH!!!! (1:57 if I remember correctly). They made their goal :0)

After arriving back to the Farm and after a good, hot shower, I snuggled up on the couch for a nice hour long nap. Today----I am feeling okay----definitely a bit stiff and sore, but I can move. Heck---maybe I'll even head out for a short run!!! *wink* (hmmmm......maybe not with this toe)

Oops!

It's funny what goes through one's mind while laying (lying?) in bed waiting to get up.

I mistakingly wrote the Eastern times----I went one hour in the wrong direction! OOPS!
So 9:00 is 10:00 Eastern, while 1:45 is 2:45 Eastern.

And one final thought-----regarding the English post a couple days ago.
I know many people struggle with the to, too, two and and there they're and their
But I've always struggled with Lying and Laying (see above!!!) :0)

So, which is correct in my first sentence my lovely English people ???? (Amanda, Julie...) :0)

Grrrr!!!!!!!!!!!

I am TRYYYYING to stay optimistic and positive, BUT......
I'm gonna ___________ my sister!!!! (I'll let you fill in the blank with what you think should be there---just make sure it isn't pleasant!)

Yes, Jen---if you are reading this....GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR to you! *cough-cough*

*groan*

*hack*

*sigh*

I saw my sister last weekend---she was "under the weather." MY tickle in the throat started on Tuesday-----the cough came Tuesday night------the lack of energy and achy bones came yesterday.......and today is just a mix of all of it PLUS runny nose and sneezing. *sigh*

I'm STILL trying to be positive though and HOPING that all ickiness goes away tomorrow, leaving me WELL REFRESHED for Saturday's marathon. *crossing fingers* I did run 3 miles last night even though I was lacking energy----I just babied it.


Sewing has been minimal this week, but I did manage to finish all 24 blocks for Andre's Out of this World.

Tonight, Cassie (and about 70 other K-6 graders) were the half-time entertainment for the Varsity football game. Once every year, the HS cheerleaders and advisors "train" the little kids with some cheers and they "shake their booty" for the hometown crowd. The night was actually rather nice----bundling up WAS a necessity, however it was VERY comfortable with no wind. We left right after (8:30pm)---there was NO WAY we were going to be able to stay for the whole thing. Little Candace was STICKY from ear to ear thanks to those overlarge suckers, so we needed to get her into the bath. Cassie wanted to jump in too to warm up. Poor Caitlyn was almost sleep walking on her way up the stairs---she didn't have enough energy to take a bath. She konked out almost immediately. Candace and Cass finally climbed upstairs at 9:45-----thank goodness they don't have "normal school" tomorrow. We can leave the house a little later since the ArtCenter day doesn't begin until 8:30.

Anyway---speaking of getting to bed: almost 10:30 and I need to get to bed too. I'll be back Sunday night to fill you in on the run. Feel free to send me some good vibes mentally on Saturday. Race gun goes off at 9:00 am (8:00 Eastern) and I hope to be crossing the finish line around 1:45 pm (12:45 Eastern). So far, I don't know much about what to expect for the weather. Cool is definite, but I hope the little showers will decide to be patient.

Happy Sewing!

10:43 update
I KNOW I KNOW! I need to get to bed, but a last minute Whistlestop marathon newsletter just came via email....
Weather
Temperatures are Low: 42 High: 60 °F. Partly sunny and breezy with a shower possible for this year's race. There can be as much as a 1 ½ hour wait between the time you get off the bus and the start of the race. Please dress accordingly. There will be extra gear bags for you at the start lines in case your warm ups do not fit in the gear bag provided.

Yeah...I can't say I'm surprised by this information. Actually, as long as the rain stays away, these temps actually are IDEAL for a marathon!

Also, a bit of a geography lesson. Living in Wisconsin, we are surrounded by two of the five Great Lakes. Lake Superior is the northern most lake and I will be running along part of the southern part of it. The red line is a rough snippit of where I'll be running. And that red dot---that is a rough location on where I live.

A funny word......

Sorry, but I was leaving a comment on Regina's (Bitnbyaquiltingbug) site, and I wanted to write "The comments had me in stitches----HA---that's a funny for sewers."

And then.....I looked at the word "sewers", cocked my head to one side, and asked DH how one spelled "sewer"---(the stinky, poop collector kind). Once he confirmed s-e-w-e-r, I suddenly thought....."ummmmm...I better not write "sewers" then to represent "people that sew" or that could get silly.

However, is "sewer" also a word to use to talk about someone that sews?

That's just funny

English language---who said it was easy?

Do you play a bass guitar or are you fishing for a bass?
Does a Buck play with female deer or Does?
Do you live for your favorite TV shows, or are you satisfied with Live TV?
and I won't even get into which "witch" is which?
or I went to the store with two dollars. You too?

Oh....it can go on and on. I recall coming across many of these fun puns on the English language.
OH YEAH....here's another

If the plural for Ox is Oxen, why isn't the plural for Box boxen?
And why do some words NOT have a plural form? Are we talking about ONE DEER or FIVE DEER?

Thank goodness I teach Math. No confusion there :0)
3+3 = 6 (unless of course you're talking base-3) Then 3+3=0 (Right???)

MOTIVATION! Finally!

Whoo-hoo! Finally a day off where motivation wasn't lacking! I started downstairs around 8:00 this morning with high hopes of cutting into my new fabric from Friday's purchase. HOWEVER, those fabrics are mainly being reserved for the Cathedral Stars donation quilt I am planning to make for my Dad's VFW. BUT, here they are-----



and here they are after being washed and dried. I REALLLLLLY debated with myself on whether to wash them up since they are only 1/4 yard each, and we ALLLL know what happens to fabric after being washed and dried. FRAYYYYING! However, these colors are so bright, and I plan to use 100% cotton white as the background, so I didn't want to risk any bleeding, so.......washed they were. (OH! You see that basket behind the pile on the floor? That is what still is in need of ironing from the donations from my mom's church).

And neatly ironed with much of the fraying cut off.









Before starting on any ONE project, I began the day by sifting through yet MORE donations from my mom. This time, however, she purchased them purposely for me while at an auction a few weeks back. Many of the fabrics are "homey" browns, flowers, etc. But there was one red "star" fabric that would be PERFECT for Andre's Out of this World quilt. (See below)



Ooooo-----and check this baby out! Stashed at the bottom of the big box was this gem. I'll set it aside---maybe putz with adding some more blocks, borders, and donate it to Mom's church???






Anyway, after playing through those fabrics, I finally dug into the yardard for Andre's Out of this World quilt. I'm using a midnight-blue-star fabric and white, with bright colors for the stars. After about 3 hours, 96 half-square white/blue blocks were made and 96 quarter-square/half-square white/blue/bright blocks were made. (And in case you like numbers----that equated to about 576 dog ears to be cut!) That brought me to preparing lunch (chicken-noodle soup, ring bologna and grilled cheese sandwiches). PERFECT for a cold, rainy Fall day :0)

Anyway, then I was faced with a dilemma. In order to start piecing some blocks together, I needed table space. However, Derek's Storm at Sea final square-in-a-square sashing blocks (errr.....PIECES of those blocks) were taking up the space. SO...I buckled down, took a deep breath, and just FINISHED piecing those buggers! Yeah---at least they are done now. They really were beginning to be a major guilt-trip on my mind everytime I went downstairs this week. I just didn't have the heart to plow through them though. Anyway, so pictured here are the two blocks needed for Out of this World and Storm at Sea sashing squares.

Naturally, since I finished all the blocks for Derek's (Storm at Sea)quilt, I might as well lay them out on the floor so that THAT space can be freed up for Andre's (Out of this World)quilt. I sewed two rows together, and said...."Nope---I'm done!" They aren't that fun to piece----uh-oh! BUT...soon....I'll have to get them sewn----I need that floor space!!!




Finally, before coming upstairs to make supper, I whipped out one quick block for Andre's quilt. I've made this pattern before for my nephew, Zach's quilt. I think the colors chosen this time will once again be perfect for a 13 year old boy :0)


Supper is almost ready----Meatloaf and fried potatoes. I'm so hungry!!!
It's almost 6:00----holy buckets! Where did the day go??? *grin*

I hope to head back down later tonight once the girls are in bed. My parents are up for the night, and I don't think they'll be offended if I head off to my "quiet" space :0)