...a little of this and a little of that

Obviously, I have not been blogging much lately. Here's what's been going on:

1. School...that's a given. Moving on. Oh, wait! My students created photo essays using the Photo Story program. (My technology goal...and once I taught them the basics, they took off with it and were teaching ME how to do things!) When the essays were finished we had a showing in the classroom for parents and siblings. Five pizzas were gone in no time and we had a wonderful time!
   
2. Riding my bike. We're having unseasonably warm and sunny weather for February, so every chance I get I'm on my bike. Ahhh...
   
3. A date with Katie--both of us drove 1 1/2 hours on Sunday to meet in the middle. We had a great gabfest, oohed and ahhed over each other's hair cut, and parted way too soon. But we'll see each other during Spring Break, which is just around the corner.
   
4. I've tossed around the idea of getting a degree in counseling for a while now. Just yesterday I took the plunge and made an appointment to fill out the necessary paperwork. Gulp. The program starts in the fall, classes are only 45 minutes away, and...they are only held on the weekends. Friday evenings, all day Saturday, most of the day Sunday. For a year and a half. Double gulp. Can I do it? Do I want to do it? I was 15 years younger the last time I worked and went to school. But...the seed of an idea has taken hold and I need to follow through.
   
5. My cousin Jenn just contacted me recently on Facebook. I was 15 when she was born so we never really knew each other. A few years ago we started exchanging emails, then...? Who knows why we stopped? I'm glad for the chance to reconnect with her.
   
6. My sister Arlene is taking vacation days during my spring break. We're taking a road trip to Portland together to see Katie and do some shopping. (Not the usual kind of shopping. No, we'll be going to exciting places like Penzey's Spices, Trader Joe's, and Saturday Market!) I can't wait!


7. Nate is coming to spend a day with me Monday. (I'm taking a personal day.) He considered coming last Sunday with Katie, but we needed girl time. It will be good to catch up with him too. He's borrowing my little truck for a bit--he and his roommates are giving up their big old rental house and going their separate ways. A good change for him--he's tired of living in a house with multiple people, one bathroom, and no one willing to clean on a semi-regular basis. Friendships are intact, as far as I can tell--just time for a change.
   
8. Twenty-some years ago I made a book bag for myself. When Katie went off to college she nabbed it for her own and used it. And used it. Until it was worn out. (One cannot see the handles in this picture--they are in shreds!)
9. On Sunday she gave it back to me. "Mama, please make me another one!" I don't have the pattern any more, so will be taking this old one apart and using it to make a new one. Time to start ripping.

**Update: Two new bags--one for Katie because she requested it and one for Arlene, just because. I am guilty of feeding the addiction of my two favorite bag ladies. :-)

...feeding my spirit

• Cycling (Yeah, I know that spinning isn't quite the same, but it's better than nothing this time of year! These folks are fun to hang out with, and the fast guys can't leave us behind.)
  


• Sewing (I finished two projects this week and will rev up the machine again as soon as this blog is posted! This is an apron for Katie to use at work--not sure why I took the picture with my phone and not the camera.)


• Reading (I've been slowly reading the books on the Oregon Battle of Books list. My current book is a tough read and not at all conducive to sweet dreams. I need to find time during the day instead of right before bed.)

Sewing update: Another project complete and ready to be mailed. :-) This is a reversible play mat for my great niece Jadyn. Arlene will keep it at her house for when Jadyn wants to play with her daddy's Matchbox cars from 30+ years ago.

...a little bit of sewing

This past week I squeezed in a little sewing project--making bibs as baby gifts. Two co-workers and their wives recently had babies (welcome, Ryan Fisher and Anahi Itzel!) and a good friend just became a grandma (again) yesterday (welcome, Levi Robert!). I got to hold Ryan and Anahi on Friday--we had a little celebration at school--and hope to meet Levi soon. Aren't babies fun?!?

...nightgowns for Jadyn

Last week my sister Arlene mentioned that if I was looking for a sewing project...Jadyn really needed a new nightgown. I remembered a cute piece of fabric on the sale rack at Joann's, so on Monday made a quick trip over to TriCities to see if it was still there. It was...along with some other cute prints that I couldn't resist. (I had to leave a couple behind and made myself pick just the top three.)

So here are three new nighties for Jadyn, ready to go in the mail on Tuesday. They are made out of a soft, waffle weave cotton knit. I had to modify the pattern though--I hadn't noticed that it called for velcro at the shoulders. Velcro? On a toddler's nightgown? That didn't sound the least bit comfortable to me, so I enlarged the neck a bit and did a binding instead.
(I won't be using this pattern again--but not because I don't like how they turned out. A couple important pattern pieces fell on the floor under my sewing table, and for some odd reason my old dog thought she should chew them up while I was at school one day.