I have been tagged....

by ansewon for 7 things you don't know about me....

This might be hard...

1. I can write with my toes - yes they are that long! and really small feet - size 2 1/2 in kids

2. I do not eat ANYTHING that is remotely related to tomatoes

3. I'm scared of the dark

4. I am very very very afraid of bats

5. I played the clarinet in school

6. I don't eat cake, unless its ice cream cake.

7. Some day I want to visit Australia, and swim with the dolphins.

Ok, now I get to tag people:

- Melissa at Corn Bread and Beans
- Krissi at JNJ Mom
- Mary at The Closet Quilter
- Renee at My Quilted World

and whoever else wants to play!

We have...

...a skirt, shirt and scarf!

Ok, the pic doesn't do it justice, but for my first "real" sewing of clothes, I am pretty impressed with myself! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It actually went together pretty easily. Of course, I didn't really follow the directions, but hey, it worked! Will I do this on a regular basis - ummm - NO! But for Alyssa, maybe!





Otherwise, today was work, and out to lunch for a co-worker who is leaving! We went to a very yummy mexican restraunt. It was also a no punch lunch so we got paid for it! WOO HOO!! The day was pretty hectic at work. Our system went down right in the middle of our busiest in take times and then again in the afternoon, but we survived. Otherwise, I am off to get kiddos to bed and get ready for tomorrow before I settle down for the night with my book. Hope everyone had a great evening!

We know how to party, and NO MORE DRAGONS!

For all of the farther away meets, the Cross Country parents have a tail gate party and bring tons of food for the kids/families. We set up tents, grill out and just generally give our kids somewhere to sit down and eat during the long days! It is a ton of fun and as new parents to this, Rich and I are having a blast! Yesterday was "Bring whatever you want day!" Normally they assign each "team" something different to bring such as desserts, fruit etc. So we took bagels, cream cheese, coffee and hot chocolate. We also had to be there by 8 even though J didn't end up racing till 11. He had to be on the bus at about 7 so it was early again. This is a picture of the Buckeye parents in the morning, we were grilling ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast, had donuts etc and then had grilled chicken and brats for the kids for lunch. The kids really enjoy it and its much better than us having to buy greasy pizza for them to eat.

Rich helping set up the tent - it was broke,

they had to duct tape it!

Buckeye Parents tailgaiting

These pictures are of the course they had to run. Lots of Hills! Two miles for Jr High of all hills, 3.1 for high school! It was a tough course, but they all did great.

Looking out over the course

Coming over the first hill

Then last night the neighbors, boys and I went to a corn maze. The maze is in over 5 acres of corn and was a lot of fun. You can see an ariel view of the maze here. We let the older two kids, T and Amanda go together and then J and Amber went together in the maze and I went with the girls mom, Teresa. They give you these game papers to do while you are going through the maze and give you history about whatever the theme is for that year. This year was Dragons and Knights. So we learned about squires, knights etc. You also got to do rubbings of different important charachters, such as a knight, nun, and dragon. Each was in a different part of the maze.

Well, Teresa and I just couldn't get out of the one area where the dragon rubbing was. We tried everything! We went all right turns, all left turns, right left right, and even eni, meani, miny, moe! Nothing! We came back to that dragon AT LEAST a dozen times! Also, they give you flashlights to use, well both ours died. Needless to say, it was kinda dark, but not too bad and we only got scared by someone coming twice! We finally get out and then decide to go back in with Amber and J to find T and Amanda. We had a really good time and were all completely tuckered out by the time we were done! I would definately recommend this if you have older children. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to take a baby or a toddler, after awhile, it gets to you!

We did learn however that the longest someone has been in there was 4 hours (during the day!) and that they plan their design, plant the corn in the field and then when the corn is about 3 inches high go in with a GPS and cut their design. Then they put nitrogen on the paths to kill the corn. We are definately going to plan on going back next year!

The kids, Amanda, T, Amber and J

Lost in the corn!

Today, I have cleaned the house, and now I am going to blog read and work on Alyssa's costume. I tried to go out to get my horse so I could ride, but he wouldn't come in so maybe later tonight he will! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Well, That was different!

What was the most unusual (for you) book you ever read? Either because the book itself was completely from out in left field somewhere, or was a genre you never read, or was the only book available on a long flight… whatever? What (not counting school textbooks, though literature read for classes counts) was furthest outside your usual comfort zone/familiar territory?
And, did you like it? Did it stretch your boundaries? Did you shut it with a shudder the instant you were done? Did it make you think? Have nightmares? Kick off a new obsession?

I think one of the most unusual books that I have ever read was "The Grapes of Wrath". Ok, so this book is not unusual, but for some reason I really enjoyed this book and it has become one of my favorites over the years. It was not something I would have normally read, but then it was one of Oprah's choices and I just picked it up one day. I am glad I read it since I am not normally a classics reader, but it really opened me up to the classics and most of them I enjoy. I enjoy reading most classics and I love historical fiction!

On that note, one book that I read that was unusual for me was "Sense and Sensabiltiy". I hated this book. Sorry all you Austen fans out there, but I just could not read it. It put me to sleep, I would shudder every time I went to pick it up. Unfortunately, it was for a book club, and while I finished it, I will never read it again!

PS: Almost to 100 posts! Keep an eye out for a giveaway!

Cages and Costumes

Well, I meant to update last night, but I couldn't find the cord to plug my camera in. I forgot to put my memory card back in my camera after the zoo and so the pictures were saved to the camera and not the cord on Sunday.

Sunday T had a double header baseball game, which they won both games. It was a beautiful afternoon for baseball, not too hot! Rich's parents came up to see some other family so his Dad and I went to the game and met Rich there since he had to work. Rich's step-mom was visiting family and picked Dad up at the game later. Here's a picture of T batting:

Then after the game I came home to work on the pirate costume for Alyssa. I have actually got the skirt cut out and mostly together, along with the scarf. I need to hem the scarf and skirt along with putting the elastic waist on the skirt. I may actually get the hang of this by the time I am done. I am waiting to do the shirt last and it is going to be the hardest. Who knows, maybe I will get some wild inspiration to make myself some clothes - yeah right! But at least there are no bindings!

Tonight I am taking J to the local rec center to run in the pool with cross country. So I will sit in the parking lot and read while he swims. Then I will come home and probably not get to work on the costume since it will be about 8:30 before we get home. But tomorrow I will definately have to get some work done on it before I go to 4-H. This is the fabric for the costume; I love the glittery spiders!

This picture was taken at the games on Saturday. J has a pet bunny that is just so calm! He was in the cage with her and I just thought - "Look, J in a cage! Perfect!"

Till tomorrow - with hopefully some pictures of completed costume parts!!

CC, Zoo and Awards

Well, no sewing has been done. Its just been too busy so far this weekend!


This morning was CC at Cloverleaf. J ran a pretty good race, but not his personal record/best. It wasn't really that tough of a course, so I am not sure why we didn't run a better time than 15:46, but we didn't. Oh well, there is next week. And really, he is loving it so who cares! As long as he is enjoying it and doing his best, I don't care! He was 130 out of 228. So that's pretty good! This is his first year and has never really done a sport like this (only horse showing) so this is a whole new world!

J and Rich's parents

Then we left CC and went to the zoo with our 4-H club. We had an advisor check into getting us behind the scenes at an exhibit so we got to go behind the scenes at the Rhino exhibit! It was great! She talked to us for about an hour, told us about what they eat, how they train them - everything! Then we got to pet the Rhino. They had 4 of them there, a male and three females. They also had 3 baby kangaroos and a 2 day old giraffe. We saw just about everything, but we didn't go to the rainforest since we got there at 12 and everything closes at 5. I thought that was kinda early for a Saturday, but oh well, it was fun! We stopped at the butterfly house, fed the lorakeets, saw the kangaroos, went down the snake slide, walked way! up to the top of the hill (1250 feet!) and back down, and petted the sting rays, just to name a few things!

Me, petting a rhino

Butterfly in the butterfly house

Waterfall

Sting Ray

Top of the hill

Feeding the Lorakeets

Wallaby - this guy was less than 5 feet from us!

It was a really great day, and fun day! I took tons of pictures for the 4-H club of different things, and just in general had fun! I love the zoo. My neighbor and I are now planning a trip to the botanical gardens and to a corn maze with the kids.

Also, Carol at What's happening with Carol, gave me this awesome award! That's so great! I always think that no one reads my blog or cares so its cool to know that people do. Thanks Carol!! I have to pick 7 people to pass it on to, so I will do that tomorrow!

Yes, its Friday

I know that I missed Booking Through Thursday yesterday so I am doing it now. Yes I know its Friday, but better late than never. More tomorrow after the ZOO!!!

Autumn is starting (here in the US, anyway), and kids are heading back to school–does the changing season change your reading habits? Less time? More? Are you just in the mood for different kinds of books than you were over the summer?

I think that the changing seasons doesn't really change my reading habits. I read probably just as much. The things that change my habits are the kids activities and work schedules. Both kids are pretty active, but I still manage to fit in at least a half hour a day reading. My books that I read really don't change either. I read just about anything anytime.

Yeah! Power!

Well, we actually got our power back yesterday afternoon. I would have posted then, but there were a few things to do since we actually had power, like a load or two of laundry! And there is still plenty more! Plus, we had all the candles out and extension cords running everywhere! You know how it is - we just had to live a little primatively! The boys were glad that they didn't have to take cold showers anymore! Boohoo, it was only 1 day - get over it! There was enough hot water in the tank for Monday morning so we all took QUICK warm ones then! I think Rich is probably the happiest since he has been the one working the generator most of the time at night, and he likes to play poker or games online after I go to bed! LOL! And yes, they did try to hook their computers up to the generator but the cable was out too! Thank you so much for all the kind comments and thoughts! It means a lot and I certainly realized how dependent we are on some things!

So after I did a few things around here I did finish up the surprise, but its a surprise so I wonder where it is going?? Picture to be posted later of the finished product, once I know the person likes it!

Today I had to work a full day (voluntarily) so that there was enough coverage. I worked 8:00 to 4:30 with about a half hour lunch. Everyone keep your fingers crossed that Nate gets this job he wants so that hopefully I can move right into his position and score a full time with benefits position! Because I worked I missed J's cross country meet tonight, He ran a 16:44 and the kid we are trying to beat ran an 17:14. I guess this course has a lot of hills and everyone was slower. That's fine. Now on to Saturday's meet at Cloverleaf! Then Rich took T to a baseball game in Green (I think) or maybe it was Green Park. I don't know - somewhere! So I am home by myself tonight.

Then I came home and checked out my garden. My corn is definately fallen over. The pumpkins though are looking great!

Corn on the side

Then I played with CC for a few minutes, tried to get Bob to play, fed the cows some corn and rode my horse. Here are a few more pictures.

CC chasing the lounge whip

Steak and Patty

CC and Bob

I think after I catch up on all my blog reading I am going to work on some (gasp!) bindings! (gasp!). Yes, I hate bindings, but I have a few to do and then I will also probably work on Alyssa's costume. I really need to get going on that and get it done and in the mail!!

Missing In Action

Right now I am at the library for my book club. I will be MIA till further notice. We were hit pretty hard with wind yesterday and are now on hour 26 without power. They say it could be Thursday at the earliest till we get power back. So we are living the simple life right now. We do have a generator to keep our sump pump running and are also hooking up necessary appliances for an hour or so every few hours (just so we don't lose everything!) and certainly no quilting or sewing has been going on since I guess the sewing machine is not important enough to hook up to the generator! LOL! (the coffee maker is!). We also have no computer/Internet etc. So I will see you all when we get our power back!

Rain, Rain and More Rain!

It has been raining since Thursday night. Ok, well, it is not right at the moment, but it rained all day yesterday and most of the day today. Yesterday when the kids went to get on the bus it was POURING! I usually don't drive them to the end of the drive, and wait with them but they would have gotten so wet that they would have looked like they just stepped out of the shower! And J was completely drenched after practice last night.


Today we woke up to more rain! This is what our little crick that runs through our front yard looked like. Its even higher now, but I didn't take another picture.

J had a cross country meet in Galion today so we drove down there through the downpours. Just when you thought it was going to let up, it rained harder! He had to be at the school by about 5:45 this morning so it has been a long day! We left here about 6:30 and actually got there about the time the bus got there (actually about 5 minutes ahead of the bus). I guess the bus got lost. There were only two pavillions in the entire park which was Armann park in Galion. Our coach went down last night and stayed at a bed and breakfast, then went to the park at 5:30 this morning to get us the pavillion.

The Armann Reservation

Then J races at 9:00. Just after his race goes off there is a tornado warning. Well, they didn't stop the race, but delayed the next race. Everyone kept telling us to get back to the pavillion etc and I was like I am NOT leaving my kid out here! They wanted to put the kids back on the buses, but our team decided that we were not going to do that. We figured we could take all the kids down the hill toward the resavior and while we would have to worry about a flood it would still be safer. Then we found that we could get under the bridge and there was a concrete area that would be safer for them. Needless to say, we didn't need it, the tornado never came.

J did very well today. He ran a 2.3 mile course in 15:18. He keeps improving so that is all we want. He came in 46 out of 94, got a ribbon and was SO happy! It continued to rain on and off till about 11:30ish and then it stopped raining, but got really humid. The team had a picnic and watched all the races for our kids. Rich and I headed home around 3:00 and J rode the bus. We were going to come home earlier with him if he didn't feel good and it kept raining, but he got much better as the day went on and it stopped so we let him stay. He has been fighting a head cold since Thursday and we didn't want him to get sicker.

Dad, wrapping J's ankle

Warm up/stretch with Coach Connie

I almost have my "surprise" quilted and should be able to finish it up today or tomorrow. Ohio State plays USC tonight so I will be watching at 8:00 pm. Tomorrow T has baseball (depending on the weather) in North Canton. Then it will be back to work on Monday. Hopefully I will have some quilty pictures by then! Off to blog read and quilt!

Booking Through Thursday

Today is the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I know that not all of you who read are in the U.S., but still, it’s vital that none of us who are decent people forget the scope of disaster that a few, evil people can cause–anywhere in the world. It’s not about religion, it’s not about politics, it’s about the acknowledgment that humans should try to work together, not tear each other apart, even when they disagree.
So, feeling my way to a question here … Terrorists aren’t just movie villains any more. Do real-world catastrophes such as 9/11 (and the bombs in Madrid, and the ones in London, and the war in Darfur, and … really, all the human-driven, mass loss-of-life events) affect what you choose to read? Personally, I used to enjoy reading Tom Clancy, but haven’t been able to stomach his fight-terrorist kinds of books since.
And, does the reality of that kind of heartless, vicious attack–which happen on smaller scales ALL the time–change the way you feel about villains in the books you read? Are they scarier? Or more two-dimensional and cookie-cutter in the face of the things you see on the news?

Wow, what a question. It is a day to remember those who lost their lives and cherish those we love. While this is a hard question to answer for some, I think for me it is relatively simple. Ok, maybe not. Yes some books I find much harder to read, ones that are really gruesome or tell way to many details about how war works (bombs being dropped, evacuations etc) IF they are fiction. Those books tend to get to me, but then on the other side, I can devour a book written about or by a soldier and how they survived. To me at least there are two sides. I want details, but if I have to read the really gruesome stuff, then I want it to be true. This probably makes absolutely no sense at all. I want to know how those soldiers are feeling, then and now but I am not into the Tom Clancy or Dale Brown books, (especially Dale Brown - his seem a little far fetched to me with his Delta Force or whatever it is!).

And I definately think the reality of it all has changed how we see villians. Many of us have become desensitized to the villians of the world. We can't and don't realize all the suffering many individuals are going through at the hands of the merciless killers. I think as a nation we have definately become desensitized to the horrors of war, and while we all cried on 9/11 7 years ago, many of us now don't think about it the horrors out there because it is not so close to home. I personally, unless I am reading a non-fiction, do not associate killers or villians in books with real life. It is a book and I know this, but I don't think that I am totally desensitized to the horrors around us. I think it also depends on the books. Stephen King, I have a hard time reading at night - just freaks me out to much, but others I can read with no problem. So I would have to say that yes, the horrors are real for me, but only to a certain extent, and depending on what I am reading.

Ok, now that I have babbled with no real thought here I am currently reading Mansfield Park by Jane Austen for my LBC that is meeting Monday. We all know how much I love Jane Austen. I hope I can get through this one by Monday! Pride and Prejudice has definately been the easiest for me to read, and this one started out a bit on the slow side for me. If I can't hack though I will move on to something else and it will be the first time I have not read the entire book for my BC.

Lots of Quilty Things!

I actually have had some time today to make some thing and get some things going in the quilting world! I went and picked up the pattern for Alyssa's pirate costume the other day and today I went and picked up the material. I forgot to take a picture of the material, but its really cool and I will try to remember to get a picture tomorrow. If anyone has any suggestions on how to sew from a pattern (clothes) then I would gladly take them. I have never made anything like this so it will be a new experience!

Then I came home and turned this:

Into this:

Yeah, my first one is not NEARLY as good as Crazy Mom's but hey, I am trying. I figured I would make one to see how it worked out for me and I suppose IF I had ACTUALLY followed the directions instead of just reading them through real quick it would have come out better. Now I know for the next one!

And then I cut out this:

Wonder what it's for - but I can't tell you because its a surprise!!





Tomorrow not much will get done I am sure. We have a quad Cross Country meet in Wellington so we have to leave as soon as Rich gets home. We didn't get home from the Buckeye meet till about 7 and that is right around the corner so I am sure it will be at least that late tomorrow! The good news is there are only 6 races. JR High all run together!

I also went back to the police station today for my interview with the detective. I seriously will not be happy if I don't get this job! I had to fill out 38 pages of questions that were like have you done this, have you done that, what's the worst thing you have ever got caught doing, what is the worst thing that you have done and not got caught...you get the idea. The detective, who went to school with Rich, and is now a Buckeye parent, thought it was pretty funny that I answered yes to the question asking if you have ever taken morphine, codine etc. And then of course you had to explain why you took it and I, of course, put surgery down. He was like "that's not quite what we meant, but at least you were honest!"

That's about all happening here....Till next time!

Baseball and Gardens

Today T had another double header, in Wadsworth, which is alot better than North Canton for us. They won both their games yesterday by 10 runs and both their games today by 10 runs. They take about a half hour between games to get something to eat, supplied by the home team. It is great for T playing on a team that wants to play. They are all talented and they all want to be there! Usually our Spring team has about half the kids wanting to play and the other half are hit or miss, some good days and some bad days. Here are a few pictures of T at the game today:

Playing Outfield

On Second

Then I went down to check out the garden and do chores. Very exciting news in the garden area:

Our First Mini Pumpkins

Our first larger pumpkin!

My lone green bean plant

This is the quilt project on right now. This is going to be a table runner for my Grandma. She likes getting things that we make for her and she has been so great to us this year with helping out! I will post a completed picture as soon as I can.

Tomorrow its back to work for me and school for the kids. This was Rich's weekend to work so he is off tomorrow and will be back to work on Tuesday. But I am sure he will be busy around here. It rained on Friday so he couldn't do anything he had planned on doing when he was off then.

Personal Best

Coach Van Epp told all the JR High kids that if everyone on the team beat their personal best she would cook them any dinner they wanted. The boys chose Beef Tenderloin, Sweet Corn, Potatoes and Cheesecake. The girls chose Pizza and movies. As of now, I know the boys made their goal. All of them beat their personal best! I don't know if the girls did, but I know the JR High boys did today.

J and Matt, warming up

Today was the Tiffin Carnival. Races starting at 8 am and going to 5 pm! There were over 3000 kids and I have no idea how many schools! There were 4 that were wearing orange like our Bucks! Our fastest JR High Boy and HS Boy both did not win. They ALWAYS win, that is how big this event is!!

Starting Line, HS boys cheering them on!

J beat his personal best by about 30 seconds! He ran a 15:11. Great job! His personal best before that was somewhere around a 15:45. I don't remember the exact time. So we are happy with that! He did beat T's girlfriend by 37 seconds the other day so we are VERY happy about that! Sometimes she is a little bossy with J.

1 mile mark

Next week a dad and I are planning on painting our hair orange. We also decided we are going to make parent shirts that are along the lines of the MC priceless commercials. They will go something like this:

Gas $100

Pay to Play $295

Spikes $85

Water $75

Watching my kid run hard

Priceless!

We haven't decided on the exact details, and the season is half over but we definately want to make up something like that if not for this year then next year! And we came up with a new slogan for our team. We are the Buckeye Bucks so our new slogan is "Fear the Deer". The kids love it, we all stand on the side of the course and cheer and started yelling it. Now they all are yelling it to each other! It was a great day!

Happy Anniversary!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD!!

Love you both!!!

Stop by country-chicken to wish my folks a happy 38th anniversary!

This would only happen to me!

So I am at the police department yesterday interviewing for a job. Well, actually I was observing because I am trying to get a dispatch job at our local police department. It is 5:15 and J's race should be just about finishing up, and I should be able to leave in about 15 minutes. A police officer comes in to get something and then leaves. I am watching the screen and I think "she seems awfully close to my truck". Yep, she hit it! It's not bad damage wise, and it certainly wasn't my fault. I have a police report number etc but they told me to call my insurance guy. Guess I wasn't as focused as I should have been since the Sargent didn't take my name or number (not like they don't have it!) and he told me to call my insurance agent. So I do, and he tells me even though they said they are going to pay for it all they will probably pay for is my deductible! Wonderful! We have no money to spare and I certainly think it is going to cost more than $250 since it will have to be painted where that little black mark is. Still - shouldn't they have to pay for the whole thing? A civilian on private property would have too!!! Ok, enough of my soap box.

Not much quilting has been done this week. Its been busy with CC and interviews for the job. Plus my sewing machine was acting up a little. The tension was on 0 and it was still loose. I did look online though and found this little screw on the bobbin case that needed a little turn (half turn actually) and it fixed it right up so back to that tonight. I am working on some fall table runner/mini quilts.

I am also reading a book called "The Sleeping Doll" by Jeffery Deaver. He writes Lincoln Rhyme mysteries. I have only read one of his Lincoln Rhyme books but it was really good and this one is too. Its about a man who committed a Charles Manson style murder, but in the end you find out who really did it! 583 pages and I have 40 to go! After this one I will be onto Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell. I also have to read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen for my LBC on the 18th. This weekend CC is in Tiffin, and we have baseball both days in Canton! Guess I won't be seeing much of Rich or doing much sewing!

Booking Through Thursday

I was looking through books yesterday at the shops and saw all the Twilight books, which I know basically nothing about. What I do know is that I’m beginning to feel like I’m the *only* person who knows nothing about them.
Despite being almost broke and trying to save money, I almost bought the expensive book (Australian book prices are often completely nutty) just because I felt the need to be ‘up’ on what everyone else was reading.
Have you ever felt pressured to read something because ‘everyone else’ was reading it? Have you ever given in and read the book(s) in question or do you resist? If you are a reviewer, etc, do you feel it’s your duty to keep up on current trends?

I have, at times, felt pressured to read books "everyone else" is reading. Sometimes I do read those books because the books have rave reviews and others just because. Funny though, about half the time I like the book and the other half I don't. Example; everyone is reading Twighlight - I loved it! A few months back everyone was reading The Road - started it - and not so much. I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it was the book, maybe it was my attitude/mood at the time. I don't know. There are times when I have resisted reading the current trends (It took me months to read Twighlight!). I am not a reviewer, but I do certainly keep up on current trends. I like to see what is out there and see what everyone is reading.

September Already?

I can't believe it is September already! Where has this year gone? It has just flown by and I really should at least start getting ideas for Christmas, last year I was done by mid October. I don't think that is happening this year! The leaves are already starting to change here. We get down into the 50's or 40's some nights, but lately it has been back up in the 80's during the day!

This weekend, we went to Cross Country on Saturday. Yesterday was spent at home. I cleaned the house really good while Rich and the boys worked outside. Rich played in an online poker tournament yesterday and while he did that I worked on my current project. I turned these and a jelly roll into these:

Then I made these:

Can anyone guess what they are? Bookmarks. Rich was like "What is it?", and of course J knew immediately what they were! (He doesn't even read, but he knew!) LOL!





Today I am going to work on finishing up my project, maybe start on Alyssa's quilt and I will dig back out the fabrics (already cut!) for the tree skirts I was making last year. It would be good to have it for this year, and since the year is flying by - well, I better get sewing!