My brush with jury duty

I was summoned to jury duty on Sept. 16, 2013, a day when my kids were scheduled to be out for teacher collaboration. I asked my mom to come be with my kids, hoping I would only be gone a couple of hours. This was the first time I'd ever been asked to report, so I went in knowing very little.

I left our house around 7:15 am. When I arrived at jury duty, I found out that an acquaintance of mine was also there. We sat and waited together--it was helpful to have something with whom to chat. Our group was too large to all fit into the courtroom at once. This was clue #1 that things were not going to be smooth. My friend was called up to the courtroom in the first group, and I stayedClue #2 was that they told us our group was much larger than normal. . Clue #3 came close to noon when the judge announced it would be a criminal case, lasting 4-5 weeks.

After that announcement, we were released for lunch and told to report to one courtroom if we wanted to discuss a hardship with the judge, and a different one if we had no hardship. Earlier in the day, the clerk alerted us that if we thought we had a good reason, we should discuss it with him, because once the jury was chosen, it would be too late.

I decided at that point that I had to talk to him. I went on my lunch break (nearly 2 hours), ate a sandwich, fabric shopped at my favorite Old Town store, and explored Old Town by myself. (I forgot the piece of advice to brings something to read. Those who had something to read were much more content waiting).

At 2:30pm we reported and found that there were a large number claiming hardship. It got a little ugly waiting . . . people upset about who would be called next, etc. At 4:00pm I counted close to 70 of us still waiting to speak to the judge. At 4:40 he came into the courtroom, said there would be 10 more called and the rest should report Tuesday, the 17th. My name was the last one on the list.

As the 50-60 others left, the tension in the room decreased dramatically.

I went in and said that my main concern was the length of the trial. "I have five children, one who is home full time with me."
"You are a stay at home mom?" the judge asked.
" Have you thought about bringing in help?" one of the lawyers asked.
"Yes, but I haven't  . . . , " I replied.
She pressed on, "Are there people who you could ask to help . . . they could drop your children off and you could bring them home?"
I said, "Yes, I have done that. But the length of the trial . . . "
The judge interrupted and said, "It would be possible for you to be here, but I am not going to go any further with this." Then, he thanked me for my time and dismissed me.  I liked him a lot, and even more when he told me I was done. It was 5:15 p.m.

I thanked them for consideration of my circumstances and hopped, skipped and jumped out of the room.

Jury duty is serious business. I know a lot more about what to expect and hope I'm not called for a criminal case anytime in the near future. I have no idea how my name got on the list of the last few to speak to the judge, but I am so grateful it was only one day.

Labor Day Adventure

During the summer of 1995, I worked at a camp in New Hampshire. The story of choosing that camp is a long one, but a good one if you talk to me in person. It is called Camp Calumet Lutheran, and if you want to know more about it, click on the name earlier in this sentence.

Every three years they hold a reunion for the staff members who worked there in the 1990's. I was invited to attend and we decided it would be fun to take Andrew & Bryn there. The price of plane tickets and distance did not make it an attractive option to bring everyone. We enlisted my mom to help and made our reservations.

We left on Friday and came back Monday. It's a short time to go so far, but it was worth going.

Looking away from our tent

Road on the property

Family by the lake

Approaching Camp from the lake

Camp road

Memorial garden

Random granite or marble on our hike

Jackman's Ridge (a 10 min hike from Camp, owned by camp)

Hike

Bryn's footprint photo

Frisbee rescue attempt

Frisbee rescue success

Playing on the beach

It was nice to see people I haven't for a long time. We are all older, many with children, all with daily work, many with spouses. The site is beautiful. It rained about 5 inches while we were there--which illustrates why it's so green. We were very unprepared for that kind of moisture. Next time.

We enjoyed tying a quilt, playing frisbee, riding in a canoe, on a pontoon boat, playing basketball, attending a Lutheran service in the outdoor chapel, a gong meditation session [more than one member of our family may have fallen asleep during this], singing camp songs, and visiting with friends. Nathan won the 5 K race.

There were lots more photos, if you are interested, click HERE.

The view

We may or may not have surprised our babysitter.

One year older

For our birthday(s) this year I had an idea to see what was playing at Red Rocks. I found out that they show movies. Most are not our taste, but there was going to be a showing of Princess Bride just a few days before our birthday. I booked my mom as our babysitter, since I knew we'd be out LATE and Nathan got tickets.

It was a sold out show--5,000 seats.

They also offer yoga and give tours, so you can go even if it's not for a concert. We left around 4 and stopped for dinner on the way. Nothing fancy, but nice to eat alone together.

I just loved this parking lot.

38 yr old us. His version of this photo turned out better because he has longer arms.

Tons of steps. Some people come here to work out.

This large group of "Men in Black"a few rows down was great for people watching. The thing about Red Rocks is that you have to go early. There is an expensive section in the middle roped off. But all the other seats are first come/first served. We got there close to when the gates opened. There was some LOUD music playing for the first hour and a half . . . not our style, but part of the package of getting a good seat. This is the view from our seats . . . . except more focused on the people in black than the stage.

Amazing view . . . . this is closer to the top. Weather was perfect.

When Tara & Stephen came to visit last year, she met a friend for breakfast. They introduced us to the Silver Grill's Cinnamon Roll french toast. We've been a handful of times--it's your typical local diner. Nathan had also been invited there for a work breakfast. We took our whole family one morning and most of us ordered the C.Roll french toast. After getting the bill, however, I decided we'd try it at home. We went the day before Nathan's birthday to buy the rolls & everything else we had at home. It worked really well and we saved about $50.

 

 If you try this at home, (which you should), I have two tips.
1)Put the cut side of the roll down first in the pan. It works better.
2)Get cinnamon rolls that have more of a glaze than a frosting . . . like what's picture below.

It will probably be your best breakfast all year, and you don't need syrup or anything else. We put powdered sugar on the table but you don't really need it.

For Nathan's birthday we bought a used backpacking type backpack from Craigslist for not very much. He is our new scoutmaster, so will be using it lots with all those boys.

Scoutmaster is Nathan's dream calling and I am hoping he's not still in when it's Eddie's turn.

He asked for zucchini and squash for dinner, so along with other things I made him this:
Zucchini Gratin

He went easy on me for dessert. Oatmeal raisin cookies from the freezer made into an ice cream sandwich.

I wanted a new helmet for my bike. My former one was from 1993 and looked like it. Bike helmets have changed a LOT in the past 20 years. I've already been out with it and plan to ride more frequently. Maybe someday I will ride to a store????
I found a sour cream angel food cake on sale so I bought it and made this fruit dip to go on top, served with berries. It was exactly what I wanted.

Happy birthday us.

1000 miles with my kids

We returned from an 8 day trip on Saturday night.
Nathan had an oral board exam in Chicago. For months, I went back and forth about whether or not the kids and I would join him. My mom was not up for grandchildren watching this time around . . . she would have but the timing wasn't right.
So Nathan flew and the rest of us drove the next day.
I didn't like telling anyone (except friends from Chicago who do this drive annually by themselves) because I got all kinds of negative feedback:
"You are doing what?"
"With all your kids and not other driver?"
"You should really take someone else with you."

I was going to order AAA, but then I realized my auto insurance had a similar program, but even better b/c you only pay for it if you use it. Armed with that phone number, I knew we could do it.

Not sure who took this photo, my guess is Bryn . . . . note how calm and relaxed I look

My kids rose to the occasion. They entertained Eddie, helped me with navigation, $ for the toll roads, distributing food for lunch. They were super helpful.
I was very happy to see Nathan when we met up, and I let him drive a lot after that, but it was a big success for me to do something so far out of my comfort zone.

YEAH for long road trips!!!!

I have lots more to say about going back to Chicago and 198 photos . . . . but that will wait for another day.

NCTM Conference 2013

TH, FR, and SA were my "days off."
Nathan stayed home (not exactly home, but running around with kids and other errands) and I got to go to Denver to attend the annual National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference.

The conference had posted large signs inside with lots of little math jokes . . . . stole this pic from instagram.

To keep my license active, I complete 100 points every three years. I can earn these points in different ways, mostly I take Independent Study classes and go to these math conferences as often as is reasonable. Since it was so close to home, I felt compelled to attend.

I took no pictures, but pages and pages of notes. I met people from all of the world and also some of the teachers from Andrew's school down the street. When someone talks to me at the conferences, one of the first questions is always something like, "Where do you teach?" or "What grade level do you teach?"

My reply is always the same, "I'm not teaching right now, I stay home with my children." Which leads to,

"Do you homeschool?"

"No, but they are young . . . the youngest is 3 . . . I am here to keep my teaching certificate."

"Will you go back?" comes up most of the time.

I always feel somewhat out of place. Many teachers go with friends from their schools or districts, this time I did notice many, however, who were alone. Like me.

I listened this time for the pro-mothering comments. They were awesome:

"Good luck raising your children. That's important work."
"Being a mom is the best job."
"I stayed home while my kids were little, too."
"You get to stay home, you are lucky!"

I don't really remember hearing these comments before this year.

The last time I attended a conference, I brought my mom and nursing Eddie with me. The time before that, I flew from Chicago to SLC and stayed with a sister. Previous to that, I attended in Chicago, pregnant with Diana. I went from UT to a conference in Boise and stayed with Nathan's mom. (I ran into his aunt at one of the presentations). Happy memories that mark the passing of years.

I love going, especially once I get over the awkwardness of feeling out of my comfort zone.

Here are some of the highlights:

Greg Tang
He is one of the funniest math comedians ever. He's been at each of the conferences I listed above--I would pay my $$$ just to hear him. Love his ideas, his books, and he's got games I need to look into. This time he talked about fractions for the bulk of his presentation. If he were going to teach someone multiplication for the first time, the first problem he would teach? 4 X 35


Vi Hart
She calls herself a "mathemusician." If you follow no other link, you have to watch the previous link (her name). It's a YouTube video called: Hexaflexamexagons.
So funny. She and her dad, George Hart were the closing speakers. If you see none of his other work you should probably start here with, "Mathematically Correct Breakfast." To be honest, what made this presentation great was their videos. You may enjoy them, too.

Tim Kanold
Is one of my favorite inspiring speakers around. Ever. He worked at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, IL, (one of the Chicago suburbs). I heard him speak the first time in Salt Lake City and was so inspired. Because I knew of the reputation of Stevenson . . . . and I lived miles away. His lecture was titled, "The Greatest Math Teacher I Ever Knew," and was purely motivational. Every seat in the room was filled, and he brought tears to more than one eye. Everything this man touches turns to gold. He's the kind of leader you want to follow.

4 Teachers from down the road:
When I opened my book to find my first class, I opened right to a presentation taught by Andrew's middle school math team. I was impressed with all they said. They are doing some exciting things by keeping classrooms more homogenous than ability grouped. They differentiate once a week or so, and provide extra support in other ways to help all the kids find success. Purdue is coming next year to videotape what's going on.
I also talked to Andrew's math teacher for about 20 minutes while we waited for a presentation to start, (more time than I get at Parent/teacher conferences). We chatted about the principal, who is making it a wonderful learning community.

Dan Meyer
(If you follow this link, be forewarned that his vocabulary is a little more colorful than mine). This former math teacher is a fellow at Stanford. Very good presentation skills. He talked about what technology you need in the classroom, and what you can skip over. At math teacher conferences, we are all a little nerdy. But he was a cool math nerd. And, from what I can tell on his blog, he broke a world record stringing together paper clips.

The biggest change from last time (aside from the fact that then I had a nursing baby), is that MANY attendees took notes with their cameras. I was surprised to see people taking pictures of presenter's presentations with their Ipads and Iphones. When I talked about it at home, Andrew told me his classmates do it all the time . . . . . .

BYU was there, and they gave me a T-shirt, water bottle, pen, and sweatband. So far the water bottle has been the most handy since I didn't have one and the conf. center waters cost $4.

Well, there was a lot more, but I am done for tonight.
I learned
1)I am not quick when I leave the house in the morning
2)that I can handle rush hour Denver traffic in Denver. Thank you, Chicago!
3)all is not lost if you leave your cell phone at home.

The big bear is always at the conference center. For the math geeks, they added the stickers with his height and width. Also stolen from instagram.

My favorite part? Talking to the other teachers at the conference. I'll be back for another round. Next year is New Orleans, then Boston and San Franscisco--all places I would like to go.

Nurture

At the baby shower for my 4th, my friend asked those who attended to embroider a heart, which she made into a lovely quilt. One friend made this:

I love this beautiful reminder of her friendship, encouraging me to be a better nurturer. Her willingness and capacity to put in the time to make it lovely are a message in themselves.

“Never forget that these little ones are the sons and daughters of God and that yours is a custodial relationship to them, that He was a parent before you were parents and that He has not relinquished His parental rights or interest in these His little ones. … Rear your children in love, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Take care of your little ones. Welcome them into your homes, and nurture and love them with all of your hearts."
President Gordon B. Hinckley

True power is found in the hands of a worthy nurturer, especially at mealtimes. 
(If you want to read more of this message, click here: Sister Julie B. Beck)

Happy Mother's Day to my mom and mothers everywhere!

bangs

Somehow I grew out my bangs. I hadn't intended to.

They are back.

Scouting Builds Men

My little Ed helped me retire from Cub Scouts, at least for now. It is a bittersweet change.

Scouting includes all the skills I want my sons to have, and is an organized way for them to achieve these skills. I love the memories I created with Andrew and his friends. At one point, half my scouts came from single parent families. These single mothers are great heroes.
I learned to be ready for the meetings 30 minutes before they started, because that is when my first scout(s) would arrive. The activity pictured above was in December, when Nathan spent the first few minutes teaching them how to tie a tie. Some of my favorite activities: kickball in our cul de sac, Day Camp 2009 (I thought I would never live through this in the 100 degree heat with morning sickness), field trip to the fire station, charades, marbles, woodworking, and the opening and closing songs from each meeting.

We sang:
I am a Child of God
Teach Me to Walk in the Light
America
Love at Home
How Firm a Foundation
The Star Spangled Banner
Choose the Right

Boundless energy and potential sitting behind those ties.
Sam, Brenton, Trent, Spencer, Andrew, Dakota, Ricky, Connor, Seth, Mason, and Austin

FHE: GRRRR + Attitude

Shopping for an FHE idea?

Most Monday nights Nathan and I take turns teaching lessons. Last week he taught us a way to remember the 10 commandments with hand signals. Perhaps we'll post photos of that another day, it is quite clever.

This week, I went to one of my quick back ups, the last page of the FRIEND magazine. There I found this idea:

"Read “My Gratitude List” (pages 6–7). On a piece of paper write “GRRRRR” and on a second paper write “ATTITUDE.” When we are unhappy, how can gratitude help us to be happier? Slide the second paper over the first so that all the letters are covered except “GR.” What word do you read? Talk about how having gratitude can make our bad attitudes go away."

At the end of my lesson, Bryn said, "Where did you get that?"
She thought the GRRRR + ATTITUDE was brilliant. So did I.
Try it out sometime this month. (It will work better if your learners can read).

For our activity, we cleaned out the fridge. It was long overdue. Morning sickness prevented my wanting to do it for a long time, and now it's my size. My little helpers were happy to unload and re-load everything I wasn't. Pretty sure that "cleaning the fridge" will repeat as a FHE activity.
Thanks family!

Not much else to report. Our camera is down . . . so it might be a little slow for awhile.

This year I'm grateful for:
70 degree temps in November
My neighbor's fresh garden lettuce
Homemade bread
A husband that loves children
His career in a beautiful place to live
General good health & access to medicine
To be able to be a stay at home mom
Laughter in my home
To know how to read
A college education
A piano in my home
My ancestors
My siblings
My children
New life to come
The Cat in the Hat (I read it every day to Diana before her nap and she can finish almost every line. Her favorite line, "What a shame! What a shame! What a shame!").

Why I don't read fiction . . . very often

Just finished a book I started yesterday. This is one reason why I don't read fiction . . . at least very often. I get sucked in and can't set a book down.

These books, Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3 are written by Blue Balliet. Andrew is reading the first one right now, and the Wright 3 is the sequel.
Great stories--they have mystery, math, secret codes & patterns, art, architecture, and they take place in Chicago! I enjoyed looking up Vermeer on the Internet and learning more about his paintings. After finishing the Wright 3, I must return to Chicago to tour the Robie House. (I always wanted to see Frank Lloyd Wright things while we lived there . . . but never did).

If you are looking for a good read, I recommend either one (but go in order, of course) and enjoy! Don't pick them up on a day you need to do housework, however, or you might get caught with your book read and your housework left undone. Like me.

While I am waiting . . . .

Monday I was not prepared for a long wait and was very frustrated having to "wait" without having something for my two hands to do. (What brought about my wait is a long story I don't want to share, I will just tell you what I am doing to cope with what would be an otherwise frustrating half hour of my life every weekday for the next two weeks).

Tuesday morning I prepared myself by getting one of my favorite "waiting" projects, more dishcloth yarn, and set to work on some new dishcloths. My friend in Chicago taught me the pattern, I played with it until I found the right size for my hand, and now I am hooked. On the dishcloths, and on knitting while I wait. (I should be sewing, cleaning off the top of my desk, or planning the year for Cub Scouts, but knitting is my favorite portable project). I feel glad that I have to "wait."

Waiting is an interesting thing to observe. I am not good at it. My impatience kicks in, and I have to DO something--so I knit. When I am surrounded by other waiters, I wonder what they are thinking while the world passes by, and I sit knitting quietly by myself. Not really by myself, because I am rarely waiting alone. Some read, some listen to Ipods, others send text messages, or just watch other waiters.

Sometimes I want to offer, "Do you want to learn to knit while you are waiting?"

Earlier this year, while stuck on a plane waiting for a storm in Chicago to pass, I did ask someone. She was the stewardess, who, because of my seat in the last row, got to sit beside me when we finally took off from Austin. She politely declined, but said it was interesting to watch because her mom used to knit, too. [Sidenote: both Nathan and I have been stranded on planes in Austin waiting to fly to Chicago this year. So fun to have so much in common, isn't it? Mine was bad weather in Chicago, his was bad weather in Austin. Different days, different flights, but we shared the same waiting experience . . . I wonder what he did while he waited?]

About this waiting situation, Caitlin said, "At least I have a toy to play with. You don't have a toy, but at least you have your knitting."
I replied, "My knitting is like a toy."

She waits with her dog, and I wait with my knitting. She's used to hearing, "Just let me finish this row."

I secretly hope that one day Caitlin will reflect on our "waiting" together and think, "My mom couldn't sit still. She always knit while she waited, in the car, at the doctor's office, at the park."

Here's the pattern for my favorite dishcloths:

Cast on 4.
Row 1: Knit 4
Row 2: *Knit 1, Increase 1, knit rest of row*
Row 2: Repeat ** until 34 stitches.
Middle Row: Knit 34
1st decrease Row: *Knit 1, Knit 2 together, Knit rest of row*
Repeat** until decreased to 4 stitches.
Bind off. Weave in ends and hit your kitchen sink.

The name of this yarn is Fiesta: we party every time we wash dishes or wipe sticky fingers. It is festive yarn to me, I feel happy every time I touch it.



How do you wait?

Happy Birthday to Me

Diana blew out the candle the first time, but I got it the second. We ate Rhubarb sauce on vanilla ice cream at my request along with this tiny cake. Thanks for a great birthday! Another year older and wiser, too . . . .

70 degrees

My favorite temperature.

Finished Woodworking Projects

The lowest grade I ever received was in 9th grade woodshop. The reason? I never finished my final project. I think my teacher was generous with the grade he gave me. At some point during the class, I got scared of the tools. I don' t know how I spent my class time--because I obviously never finished my stool. Wonder if my dad has that wood sitting around somewhere . . . ? Hope not.

In Cub Scouts, (at least at Andrew's level) some woodworking is mandatory. I approached it hesitantly, but am happy with the finished project, seen here. Nathan talked me through it from shopping at Lowes all the way to the last screws. Thanks to him--it's done. And thanks to Scouting, I can now say that my most recent woodworking project is a finished woodworking project.

The Webelos and Bears made this toolbox, the Wolves boys made bookends. Each boy got to use a handsaw, measuring tape, C-clamps, and screwdriver. I think they had fun, too. One finished toolbox left my home tonight, two in varying stages, and two more stayed here because they need quite a bit more work. Three sets of completed bookends and one more than halfway done. Oh how I love a finished project!

I also enjoyed working with wood growing up. My dad had a box of scrap wood that he let us use without needing to ask his permission. I don't remember making anything spectacular out of it--anything for that matter--just fun to use my imagination and my hands. I remember practicing driving nails and pulling them out again. Dad also made the wood blocks we played with, which he did keep for his grandchildren. They are a treasure.

I almost forgot the best part of this project. The first day I cut wood, Caitlin came out into the garage, watched me pushing and pulling the saw back and forth and burst into laughter, saying, "That's funny. A mom working?!"

Andrew stayed home from school today with a headache, so he spent several hours working in the garage with me getting wood ready for tonight. Hopefully he will remember that we were together the first time he used a saw, because he's my unfinished project.

(p.s. I am giving this toolbox away, but will be building another one with Andrew when he's a Bear. Thanks to grandparents, he already has tools to store in it).

This is the bread that Beth baked

I bake bread a lot. Often enough that my son says my favorite hobby is "baking." Often enough that much of the bread we eat comes from our own kitchen. Often enough that when I put these loaves into the oven, I knew something was wrong. I don't make this mistake often enough, however, that I could identify it when the loaves went into the oven.

The mystery was solved when Bryn took the first bite. "Mom, you forgot the salt!"

When she said it, I immediately remembered having seen that problem before. I've forgotten to add salt, oil, yeast, and sugar. All during distinct baking sessions, not all at once. Today it was salt. It looks like I'll be baking again soon. We've eaten saltlesss bread before, shaking on the salt at the table. But I don't know that I will do that this time. So disappointing! The loaf is extra sticky and the yeast goes like crazy--because salt slows it down. Hence the bubbly appearance on the top of the loaf on the right. If you don't believe there's a difference, scroll down to see the bread that Nate baked.

It reminds me of this scripture: "Verily, verily, I give unto you to be the salt of the earth; but if the salt shall lose its savor, wherewith shall the earth be salted? The salt shall thenceforth be good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men." 3 Nephi 12:13

That's about all this bread is good for--to be trodden under the foot of men.

Thank goodness I get to try again.

Salt free bread anyone?
Going once . . . Going twice . . . gone . . . .

Selective posting & Rewards

I began to realize about two months ago, that the accounting class would not be enough hours to renew my license, so I signed up for another class. I have been much more quiet about this one--that's my selective posting. I only write the details I want to share.

Yesterday, I finished the other class! It was a one credit class on how to get student cooperation. It was interesting, easy, and quick to finish. It made me think a lot about my parenting skills, things I am good at, and things I am not.

It was all about rewards and punishments. After thinking about them long and hard, I decide to buy some Smarties to eliminate one of my greatest daily struggles: getting Diana buckled into her car seat. It worked like magic on the way home from the store today. What do you think? I decided it was worth the price of a Smartie to not have to fight her every time--we have enough battles throughout the day over what she can and cannot do. I hope her price won't go up over time. It would be great if she would value what I do: getting in the car quickly to move on to the next thing. FOR NOW, she doesn't, so a little sugar is helping. We'll see how I feel about it as time passes. What do you think?

All that is left to re-certify is to get my transcript when my grades are posted, send it and some other forms in, pay $90, and wait for them to send me a new teaching certificate. I will be so happy for that--an active certificate for three years.

Now, my celebrating! In the middle of accounting, I bought a serger. I was looking for Craigslist for about a month to find just what I wanted.
Used
Within my price range
A good brand
After searching for a short period of time, I found that many sellers of sergers bought them or received them as gifts and never used them. So I added that to my list:
Used, but not really used.

It didn't take long to find one--and it has been sitting in my room ever since. It was my prize for finishing recertification (see, I am rewarding myself here, maybe rewards do work). It is part of my goal this year to sew something I actually would wear. On June 13th, I will be in Austin for a class on how to use it.

After that, I might disappear into my sewing space and never return! As you can see in the photo, I probably won't be gone very long before someone finds me.

Accounting class complete!

It's done! I finished my BYU accounting class today! I took it to re-certify to teach, even though my immediate plans do not include formal instruction at this time. The accounting class was the big hurdle. There are several smaller ones still at hand, but with an approaching deadline, May 30, it will not be long before the whole process is complete for 3 more years.

Many people have supported this effort along the way, from cheerleading to watching kids while I study, to reading papers I've written for assignments, to paying for the classes, etc. To washing dishes while I didn't, and waiting for me to read a story later . . . Thank you--it isn't possible without you!

Latest sewing project(s)

During some spare moments when I was procrastinating Accounting, I was working on these:

Bryn and I worked on baby quilts for church to donate to the NICU. All that we did was sew and tie them, they were already cut for us. Cutting is my least favorite part of any sewing. I finished handsewing them on Saturday, they've been around a little over a month.



More cub Scout patches: no photo of these, but I did sew on Andrew's Bobcat.

And this wallhanging for my sister in law, Sarah. She picked the colors, I picked the pattern, called Buckeye Beauty, (which seemed like the obvious choice since they live in Ohio). It took me much longer than anticipated, (largely due to the procrastination problem previously mentioned), but I am happy with it.

I like to learn something new, or challenge myself in a new way. This is more blocks than I've done before, and I learned a new trick for the half-square triangles. It is also the first quilt I've made without a border. I have three favorite parts about it--
1. Thinking about Sarah while I made it.
2. The contrasts between darks and lights
3. The bold stroke of orange--it is the most striking color in the quilt, and brighter than most colors I've used before. I also was advised against using it, but love how it turned out--it adds a little more life.
4. Ok, I thought of one more--I like following the line of squares diagonally across the quilt with my eyes.



ps Have I mentioned lately how I wouldn't mind being locked in my room with my sewing machine?

Accounting update & Musings: Liabilities

I am more than halfway there!!!!!!! I've taken two midterms, Nathan took a day off for one, and while my mom was here last week, I took another! I have to say this class has been a team effort of many people, so thanks mom and Nathan. This week I've taken 2 quizzes, one was a VERY low score, and tonight, a 100%. That is a much happier number for me!

So, this will be a much shorter musing on liabilities: defined as "Probable future obligations to pay assets (usually cash) or provide services to another entity."

So this is my big question about liabilities: How can I better keep myself out of debt? I am not referring to my financial situation at all.

I refer to how I get myself into debt to other people. I've started praying for help to stay out of debt to others, which has helped. It has helped me think twice before saying yes. Still, I feel pressure each day to take on more. There are so many needs in my church and community, my children's school, my home, and people I know with heavy burdens. Waking up in the morning feeling, "Where do I begin?" is not a pleasant experience for me. And once I get out of debt, how do I stay out? ie How do I deal with repeated invitations to give more? How do I know when I can, and when I can't?

What are your secrets for avoiding overcommitting? How have you learned to say NO? Please help if you have a tip, either post or email me. I appreciate in advance any tips you have for how to deal with this type of indebtedness, because I am not good in this department.

I've been thinking of placing a list of the commitments (debts) I already have somewhere near my phone so that when someone calls and asks me, I can glance at it, realize there is not time to follow through on one more commitment, and say NO.

Tomorrow Nathan is working, his first Saturday working since we've been here! The kids and I are going on a family adventure, possibly posting to come, but I don't want to commit!

My First Blue and Gold

I took the first accounting midterm on Friday, and have now finished lesson#5, too. Friday was a big day at our house. Nathan took the day off work, the kids got out of school early, and we had our first Blue and Gold Banquet. (That is our first blue and gold banquet together . . . Nathan had many and I remember at least one, but that was the 80's . . . . Our first JOINT Blue and Gold banquet).

For those who know nothing about Scouts: The Blue and Gold Banquet is the annual dinner for Cubs to celebrate scouting. If you've been working in your pack since September, your boys should earn their rank at this time, also.

For those who know more than me: (which is probably more of you, depending on your generation and whether or not you have a boy older than 8) This dinner is usually in February, but we weren't quite ready. We weren't even going to have one, I was going to give awards away at a den meeting held at my home. A leader over me suggested we do it more officially, so I listened. Late is better than never. My decision to have one was finalized one evening when I called home. My mom was there, but not my dad, he was attending his ward's blue and gold banquet. Thanks, Dad, you still are a good influence on me.

It was the first time we've had parents and cubs in the same room. Only one family couldn't come. We have a long way to be the pack I want to be, but I am happy to see the progress. My perfectionism often is a problem--Scouting is teaching me to be more concerned with direction than current location.

It dawned on me, I've never been the leader before. I have been a teacher a number of times, and helped other leaders, assuming a portion of responsibility, but this time it was my turn to make the decisions and oversee all the details. That realization was a little frightening. For the the first time, if I didn't do it, no one else would have stepped in. I even chose the menu, made food assignments, and unlocked the church to set up. I worried when the invitations went out. . . . . . "Do I have to ask permission to have this event?" It was helpful to have Nathan's support.

Andrew is officially a Bobcat, working toward his Wolf and I have a blue and gold under my belt.

The Miracle of the Seatcovers:

Sunday before the dinner, I was searching for decorations in the closet that stores the cub supplies. I saw a large piles of blue and gold fabric, so I dug to find out what it was. I discovered nearly 50 blue and gold chair covers, sewn to fit over the back of a folding chair. It was such a great find! They added to the decor and showed me that one woman really can make a difference. She had such vision. I can't believe she spent that much time. She also cannot know how much it meant to me to find them. I felt her support, even though I will probably never know who she is. I asked around, and no one knew. I wish I could tell her thanks, she is my new hero. I also wish that I'd taken a photo that night to share with you. I am sure we'll use them again next year, so stick around!

ps I can't tell you how many times at Scouts we do something that at least one of the boys has never done before. Like play marbles, or flip pancakes, or play kickball or table tennis. Every once in awhile I am shocked, but pretty quickly I remember, I am doing this for the first time, too. I love being there to watch them grow.