I have my final teaching tests to take on Saturday, and I will be thrilled when this whole process is over. Another thing I realized about taking tests meant for 22-year olds - when I was 22, I pretty much had all my time to myself. So if I needed to study, or practice writing essays, I would just sit down and study.
I didn't have two little kids running around who kept insisting on being fed and having clean clothes (how dare they?), or a daughter who was turning 9 this week and needed cupcakes for her class and her kids' birthday party this weekend (the theme is Greek mythology - still have to come up with the crafts and goodie bags), a game night at the church who also want dessert, a son who has his Pinewood Derby race for Cub Scouts, and the school science fair. What happened here? The rest of the month is pretty much blank, but everything else decided to land on this week.
So, of course, I have decided to knit:
This is the blanket laid out on my bed - and it's almost as wide as I'd like - I think I might add 3 or 4 more squares, and then it's all about the length, baby.
A very lovely knitting friend gifted me with these:
I believe these are all Socks That Rock, and let me tell you, they really do rock (as does she!). She even wound them into tiny center pull balls for me, so they are a pleasure to work with as opposed to the snarls of yarn I have been pulling apart from my own stash.
Now back to the studying (or shhhhh - maybe the knitting - got to try out all those beautiful new colors!).
two to go! I took my first CT teaching certification test on Saturday, and it was fine. Long and far away, but fine. This is one of the tests that all new (or soon-to-be-new) college graduates must take, and thus I was surrounded by 22 year olds sporting their sorority sweatshirts. I looked like one of the proctors instead of the test takers, and the fact that I had to get up at 5:30 AM to get there didn't help any.
I had taken the practice test on the net, and it's a good, solid test which is specific to teaching reading, with 100 multiple choice questions and 2 essays. Although my life plan didn't include sitting hunched over a middle-school desk filling in circles with my number 2 pencil with a bunch of fresh-faced college students (and being required to raise my hand and get a bathroom pass if I needed to use the facilities), the whole thing was over in a few hours and I was on my way.
I heard an interesting analogy the other day about life plans - it involved the GPS unit in a car (I covet one of these, as I get lost just about every single place I go - the kids are so used to it, that they just assume I will have to turn around when I realize we have gotten far off the track); when you take a wrong turn, or go a different way, the GPS doesn't mock you, or deride your decisions (like I do to myself in my head). Rather, the voice simply says "Reconfiguring."
No judgment, no second-guessing - but getting the job done.
because this is way too addicting. I am loving the immediate gratification of this thing. Usually when I knit, I work for about a jillion hours, and when I look at the work, it looks about the same. A slightly longer sleeve, a slightly longer sock, but nothing dramatic. I can't tell you how much I like being able to churn out a little square in half an hour!
As yesterday decided to cover itself in snow, I got quite a few of the silly little squares done. (I figure if everyone else gets a snow day, then I get one too.) Today it's back to real life - Tobie has his last obedience class this afternoon. He's smart as a whip, but still has quite the attitude. When I mention that to any sort of animal professional (vet, trainer, etc.) the answer is always, "Well, he is a terrier..." I've decided that he's like that really smart, really obnoxious kid in your class that you can't help liking the best. Happy graduation, Tobie!
Big Trouble has started exclaiming this recently. Today it seems especially appropriate, because their school will be closing early because of...............RAIN. Yes, rain. Supposedly snow will be coming, but apparently we are all frightened by the droplets of water falling from the sky. Good times.
On a knitting note, because I don't have anything else to do (you know, like find a job or study for my upcoming yucky teaching tests....) I was cruising the web and found a project that had been done with the ends of sock yarn. Every time I make socks, I'm always left with a pile of yarn that I can't bear to throw away, but don't really have a use for. I did make some Barbie clothes for Miss Serious, but I have amassed more over the years, so this seemed to fit the bill.
It's fun to knit, and I must admit I like the instant gratification of being able to finish a square in about half an hour. Much more appealing than knitting forever on a sweater sleeve which never seems to get longer. I've realized, however, that I'm going to need to supplement my leftovers, or I would be knitting on this thing for the next 20 years as I finish socks.
A bit of amusement on this treacherous, rainy day.....
Well, the week of school vacation is over. Big Trouble recovered from a stomach virus (he got all of the vomiting out of the way at Grandma & Grandpa's - sorry!), Miss Serious worked on her science fair project (yes, those letters are made with the Cricut - see how crucial it was that I purchase it...), we spent many hundreds of dollars at the vet because Tobie wasn't feeling well (doing much better now), The Professor took the kids to a program to view the constellations on a frigid evening (they enjoyed it), I made some cards, the kids played in the snow and went sledding (we borrowed friends' sleds - we tried to buy some at Target, but apparently it is impossible to buy anything winter related during winter. There was, however, a giant assortment of pool toys available...), I finished knitting a sock, and all in all we had a nice week.
Now vacation is over, and I need to start studying in earnest for my teacher tests. Yes, that's right, at the tender age of only hours away from 40 I will be sitting in a room on two separate occasions for 4 hours at a time with recent, fresh-faced college graduates, and taking tests for certification in CT.
Due to a combination of school vacation, snow all day, and Big Trouble recovering from a stomach virus, we stayed in and made some cards. Miss Serious and I decided to try out something called a waterfall card which I've seen floating around these here internets, and here is my version. I thought I'd include directions, in case anyone wants to play along at home.
The card is made up of 4 equal-sized images mounted on a long strip. For this card, I used:
Card base: 6 X 6 1/2 folded white cardstock
Layers for front: 6 X 3 1/4 black, 5 7/8 X 3 1/8 pink, 5 5/8 X 2 7/8 polka dots
4 1 7/8 X 1 7/8 white squares
4 2 X 2 black squares
9 X 2 pink strip
3 1/3 X 3/4 pink strip
I stamped my images on the white squares and embossed with clear embossing powder. I colored them in with Copic markers, and glued them onto the black squares.
The 9X2 pink strip gets scored at 2", 2 3/4", 3 1/2" and 4 1/4"; fold on the score lines to get clean folds.
After gluing all the layers onto the front of the card, I attached the 3/4" strip with brads on either side. It's important not to put adhesive on this strip. Line up the long pink strip, with the scored side on top. Place the unscored end under the strip secured with brads, and adhere only the edge closest to the score lines. Adhere this right to the bottom edge of the short strip.
Adhere the first stamped image onto the square at the edge of this strip; then, adhere the remaining stamped images, but only on the top edge, where the pink strip is scored. Repeat with the remaining images, then punch a hole and thread a ribbon on the bottom of the long strip. I stamped a greeting above the ribbon, so that when the strip is pulled, the greeting is revealed.
Monday is here once again, but as it's a day off, I'm all confused and keep thinking it's Saturday. (This tendency to confuse dates is endlessly amusing to The Professor...). The kids have been at their grandparents' for the weekend, and I have enjoyed not having to make a meal (well, I did make Valentine's breakfast for The Professor) or snack for anyone. You know the bar has been set quite low when that's all I need to make me happy!
Several years ago I had to have a test on my thyroid where I swallowed some sort of radioactive pill (you know it's going to be a good time when they bring your medicine in to you in a metal box with a radioactive symbol on the outside) and they scanned me. I couldn't be around the kids for 24 hours, so I had to stay in my room surrounded by books and DVD's and quiet while The Professor brought me my meals on a tray. (He also made a fall-out shelter sign for my door, but I digress).
A day of bliss, although I found it impossible to explain this properly to the childless. My friends with children nodded their heads, and looked at me with envy. I knew they wanted radioactive pills too, but they were all for me....
