Summer Summation

For all you people complaining that school starts in three weeks, take note. My professional development starts this coming Monday. As I reflect on my lack of productivity this summer, I realize that I have had a decent amount of time to relax, which has been good. 

My companion has been Whatever is Lovely: a coloring book for reflection and worship, which has been a huge help for me in terms of relaxing. (Follow me on Instagram if you are interested in more) 

I have also been knitting some mitered squares for a sock blanket, and will intersperse with crocheted mitten ornaments to break the monotony. 

What has your summer been like? 

Joining Ginny's yarnalong today

Summer Days

When you're a teacher, typically you dream of summer as your time off. Even though the reality is not always that way. Luckily, I'm still on my "mandatory" two weeks off from school-- before slowly starting to do prep-work for the fall. 

lots and lots of ends

For those of you who have made granny squares before, you know what I mean by ends, ends and more ends. I work in phases for my grannies-- crochet a whole bunch at once, then weave in a whole bunch of ends at once. It may not be the best method, but it is the one that works for me. As you can tell from above, I'm on the massive amounts of end-weaving stage. My Kindle is hiding in the background, but I'm not reading anything new. But you can check out my brief unofficial review of The Secret Daughter of the Tsar, my latest finished read. 

can you resist?

These sunny summer days are my temporary adjustment to being a SAHM. The munchkin and I are still figuring out our schedule, but I'm not crazy yet. We think he's teething, which is making everyone edgy, but hopefully something will break soon.

What are you up to on these sunny summer days?
Ginny's link-up here.

KCBW 2015: a bit about me!

Today we take a look inside the lives of one of our teachers. So unusual, we see them every day, and never really give much thought to their personal lives. Obviously, we think that they eat, sleep, and breathe school. But that is not always the case. Underneath that "teacher look" is a person, someone that we might grow up to be.  

State your name, age, occupation: Mrs. G, older than you, teacher-- duh!

Baby selfies all day!

What do you like about your job?: I really love the material that I teach, and I truly enjoy students. Teenagers are funny sometimes, and definitely lovable. But I must emphasize the importance of being involved in extracurriculars. If I didn't help out with the school musical or MUN, I would not get a chance to see the students on a different level.

our little Tigers fan

What do you do in your free time?: Right now I spend a lot of time with my little one. He's the best, and being a mom is great, but also very busy. When I have free time other than that, I tend to read historical fiction, and crochet a lot of blankets and hats.

My reading has been less as of late, so if you could recommend some books-- I've been taking after my husband quite a bit, reading books that I can learn from, so mainly how to start an at-home business or raising farm animals. I glean a lot from blogs that I follow too.

one of my current projects

Tell me about your family: I have three siblings, plus 4 siblings on my husband's side. JT is one of 10 cousins, with an eleventh on the way. Right now, our immediate family is just the three of us, but both my husband and I would love more kids, if God wills it and we can handle them.

teacher work-- getting creative!

What do you dream about?: Weird stuff, sometimes being back in high school. Lots of flying.

teaching JT to bang on the table

No, I mean what do you want for your future: Oh, that. My husband and I would love a farm, with a few animals and such, but right now we're in no place for it. I dreamt once about being a librarian, but that was also coupled with being a stay-at-home mom, or raising alpacas. I'd love to open my own yarn shop some day, sell my finished pieces and my handspun wool. But I'm so far from that right now. It all seems impossible, and can be quite discouraging.
I really love teaching, and I love my students and my job, but home life has always called to me. Having some home business, being able to raise my kids, bake bread, make cookies. That's a dream.



Stay tuned, folks. The next few days are going to be a bit chaotic. Tomorrow, a picture is worth a thousand words. Thursday, we will be looking at what exactly teachers carry around in the bags they carry. Friday, we'll be sharing a video. And Sunday, a teacher's place of refuge. 
Thanks for hanging out!! The Mystery Student

Getting Ready

Knitting and Crochet Blog Week 2015 starts next week! I love the motivation that it gives me, especially when I've been neglecting my blog this semester. I'm hoping it'll give me the boost and accountability this coming week to get back into the groove of things.

If you haven't checked out the prompts yet, click the link above to do so. Or if you're on Ravelry, check out The Blog Hub. The community that's out on the web for crafters is so great.

This year for KCBW, I'm trying something different entirely. I'm setting up the whole week as if I was being interviewed for a project by my students. I think this will allow me to get out of my comfort zone a little bit more, and hopefully improve my writing skills.

Will I see you this coming week for KCBW??? I certainly hope so!

xoxo
~Mary

More Monochrome

Working on a monochromatic afghan means I have to have something colorful and small on the side to relieve the "boredom". 

still having color problems

I'm making half the squares using the Sunny Spread pattern, but still am searching for a pattern for the other ten squares. Luckily, I have tons of time to finish. The debate is between going with all circular designed squares, or to have the others be more square. My top contenders are Spiky Circle, KISS-fist, or Cat's Claw. 

This week, I read a great post about taking better photos. As you can see from the above photo, I'm still working on some of the ideas--- I tried the "uniform" background (kind of), but obviously still need to work on it a bit. My biggest problem is my broken digital camera. I only had a point and shoot, but I dropped it on the beach over the summer while on vacation. And my iPhone takes fine pics during the day.... So a new camera investment may be in my future... We'll see. 

In other news, I'm likely to be staying in my current job, unless a middle school position opens at my home parish's school. My principal may be getting me into some Advanced Placement training this summer, and as that's something I've been interested in since high school, I'll be staying where I am for now. But my husband and I are looking at houses closer to my job, and we would love continued prayers in that area. 

Christ's Blessings,

Mary

Snowy Wednesday

Running late sometimes has its benefits. If I had been on schedule today, I wouldv'e been halfway to work by the time I received the call that school was closed to snowy weather. Now I get to spend a lovely quiet day home with my munchkin, a bit of school work, and my yarn.

He wants to eat the phone

I'm working on afghan blocks right now, partly as a way to use up some giant skeins I bought, but also for gifts. The greys are for a monochrome afghan for one of my husband's military friends who is getting married this summer. I figure if I start now, there's more of a chance that I'll have it finished in time. The beige and gold is the start of another afghan, this time for a swap. I will be participating in my first swap with the Vanna's Choice Fan Club group on Ravelry. I'm pretty excited :)

I have a few more projects on the hooks right now, but this is my project for today. Well, this plus some school work prep. So thankful for this day off to work on a few things :)

 

Linking with Ginny. 

Looking Forward and Back

As I sit grading papers, watching my students take semester exams, I am reminded of my own high school finals, and the differences between us.
It's been over 10 years since I entered high school. It seems odd to put it in that light. I was a shy teenager, and am still a close-to-the-chest adult. But, give me a topic that I have an opinion about, and I can talk your ear off.
I see bits of my teenage self in my students. The ones who are passionately interested in a particular subject. The ones who meticulously finish their work, but still have a bad day now and then. They are the ones that remind me every day of the joys of teaching, and the blessing it is to work in a Catholic school.

I'm discerning a job change right now. I love my students, my co-workers, my boss, but I have a little one at home, and driving nearly an hour to work takes its toll. If you would pray for me, I would appreciate it.

St. John Bosco is the patron saint of my homeroom-- each of the 8 homerooms has one. I will be praying for guidance from him as well as my patron saint, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. I would love it if you joined me.

Thank you & God Bless!

St. John Bosco, pray for us!

St. Margaret Mary, pray for us!

Monochrome

WIP

A slouch hat and a pair of convertible mittens, in shades of grey, are in my project bag for the week. Hoping to finish them soon so I can move on to something more colorful in these dull winter months. Though the greys do match my mood as well as the snowy, frosty trees.

In the midst of exam week, so reading is limited to lesson prepping and essay reading. 

Linking with Ginny. 

No School

Day one: Below zero temperatures. Definitely not what I want to deal with. Luckily, school officials thought that below zero temperatures that hovered near -20 F warranted closing school for the day. So I get a day with my snuggle bunny, a gas stove, and warm tea. Well, and exam prep, but we'll pretend that's not there for a while...

Who can work with this cutie around?

Day two: snow snow everywhere. Last night I closely watched the school closings, and I dreaded the morning as I saw many school districts along my 40 minute drive to work announcing that they would be closed. Luckily, my district also decided to close for this snowy and cold day. 

So another day to get things done. But day two gets to be more interesting than day one. 

As part of my 6000 g weight stashdown, I present dryer balls

Wool dryer balls are a great way to use up stash that just appeared in your closet. No, the yarn didn't just appear, but I never had a plan for it-- a co-worker was destashing, and I find it hard to resist wool. I'm contemplating offering these for sale in pairs, but am struggling with the best way to market them. 

Mitten Cuff

I'm working on mittens for a friend who requested them in time for cold weather. Oops. The cold is already here, and the mitts aren't done. Patterns were eluding me, so I'm adapting several to fit my needs and vision.

That's all for me on this pair of snowy cold days-- off to do less glamorous (but totally necessary) chores like laundry and dishes. :)

God Bless!

Something like Progress

This has been a busy week for me. My students get their semester exams next week, so this week has been a push to wrap up material and review. As I didn't get as much done over break as I had hoped, I've been quite swamped with work. The students are also holding their breath for a snow day, which makes them out of sorts. And JT's been fighting off something yucky, so my sleep schedule is completely off.

But progress still happens:

This blanket is snuggle size, though still not finished. Maybe this weekend....

Vacation's End

Christmas break was extremely busy at our house. From work (my husband worked Christmas Eve and Boxing Day) to travel to relatives visiting, I would say our break was not as relaxing as I would've hoped. Not being relaxing doesn't also mean unenjoyable though. Probably too enjoyable, as I got very little school planning done-- but live and learn!

Sister in law brought Jamberry nails for us to try- I'm not sold, but it was fun. 

And JT got to hang with cousins! :-) 

I give semester exams in a week and a half. Then we'll be on the trek to the school year's end. Seems odd, but exciting at the same time.

Happy New Year, everyone!

January 1, 2015

The first day of a new year doesn't always feel different. Last year, we already knew we were expecting a new little one in our lives. This year, I know I am hoping for something a little more low key. To be honest though, I don't have many expectations for this year. But I can have a few hopes and dreams...

• homeownership
• new job for my husband- or at least a promotion
• expansion of my home business
• a renewed teaching contract-- I'd love to work another year at my current job
• debt reduction-- college loans are still looming, and we'd like to get them down significantly this year, especially since we are still house shopping
• expansion of garden-- we grew a few of our own veggies this year, but because I was heavily pregnant/dealing with a newborn during harvest time, we were not as successful with our crops as we could've been. Hopefully we will be able to put more up this year.
• good health all around-- back problems and migraines have plagued me throughout 2014, and we'd like to find a solution for them soon

While I've  known other people to choose words or themes for the coming year, I've never done it myself, but this year one found me. I have a habit of writing quotes on notecards when reading, especially if something good strikes me. I found this one while cleaning:

Notwithstanding my weakness, I am no longer afraid. 

I have placed my confidence in God, who can do all things 

and from whom I hope all things, for I rely not on myself. 

~St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

So I'm adopting that as my theme for the year, and plan to continue to pray and reflect on how best to place confidence in God.

Blessings in the new year!

Love,

Mary

Yarn-Along

It's been a while since I properly shared with Ginny's yarn-along, as work and baby have kept me busy. Oddly enough, I don't have any pictures of finished gifts. They were finished just under the wire, and gifted to my family out of town.

because I need more cosy blankets

My mom and sister have a tendency to pick up Lion Brand Homespun for me, for my craft show projects. So although I just started my 2015 Stashdown-- with the Knit Picks (and more!) Stashdown group - 6000 g net loss by Dec 2015-- I got a few **cough**8**cough** new skeins of yarn. To counter the yarn gain, I started another Rectangular Sampler Blanket. This pattern is great in any weight yarn- for the homespun, I just take out the bobble rows and do more granny rows. Also, since this is a bulky weight yarn, I may do fewer rows-- or just keep going for an adult sized blanket. 

My little one is getting so big!

My little bundle of love is four months old now, and loves chewing on things, wiggling, and standing. He's not crawling yet, but with the way he's moving, we expect it soon. I still have a few WIPs for him, but hopefully will get them finished before he gets too big.

Linking with Ginny!

Quiet

I tend to have a lot to say, ask, and do. But finding the time to do those things is often difficult. My whole family has been sick over the past three weeks, and as Christmas break starts, I find myself in the midst of a million things that need to get done. So, my little blog gets neglected. I apologize, as I do enjoy you all stopping by and saying hello, sharing prayers and wisdom and encouragement. Hopefully I'll get a few of my thoughts posted before school starts back up in January.

Thanks. <3

When it rains...

Actually, we just got hit with snow. But I just got rained on with crochet commissions. Just yesterday, I posted about trying to expand my business, and last night I *encouraged* my little sister to send out invites to my page to all her friends. Turns out one of my cousins' fiancees ( I have several cousins that are getting married soon) is interested in items for their family Christmas gifting. So I got flooded, a bit.

My donation for my school's annual auction

Luckily I finished an order last night, and am on the edge of finishing another one. Last year, I made my first donation to my school's annual auction, and I wanted to up the ante this year. Unfortunately, I was a bit behind, as the auction is this Friday. I am pleased with my donation, especially the penguin hat. Next year, I'll be trying to be prepared before the call for donations goes out. 

My little munchkin

We're still trying to enjoy the little-ness of our munchkin- but he's getting so big, so fast! I want to make so many things for him, but other projects are getting in the way. I'll be calling off custom orders at the beginning of December so I have time for gift crafting, and hopefully I'll get to some woolies.

For now, I will continue to be grateful and continue to pray for wisdom. Thank you all for your prayers and warm thoughts as well. 

Growing

Everything's growing in my neck of the woods. It's growing colder. My baby's growing. I'm trying to grow my home business. We're looking at food to grow next year. It's all very exciting.

I've been in the craft show business for at least 5 years now, possibly closer to 6. I enjoy doing 3 or 4 shows in the fall with my aunt, but I'm also looking at expanding. I'd like to get more of an online presence, but I'm not sure how. Any advice? I already have a Facebook page, which has been relatively effective up to this point. A photographer friend is using my items as props. What more can I do?

The weather also makes me more inclined to crochet away. Chilly winters means more woolies are needed. I have quite a few scarves, but I'd like to have a wider range of styles and colors. That may be my downfall, crocheting for myself.

However, I am crocheting quite a bit for my little one, who is getting more adorable and bigger by the minute. Going to work kills me, but right now it is needed. Hopefully next summer, we'll get a better planned garden together, which will cut back food expenses.

Living on a teacher's income is definitely not sunshine and roses, but I know this is where God wants me to be. I'm hoping and praying that working from home is in God's plan for me somewhere, as I can't imagine continuing this for more than one child. We shall see...

Snow in Progress

Four half finished snowman hats. These two are more complete than the others, as the others don't even have snow yet! The two above still need their second earflap. 

I really want all four done for my Saturday craft show. We'll see if it happens. 

The prototype is pictured above on my son. I'm not planning on a three dimensional nose on the new ones. 

I also have some penguin hats to finish but again, we'll see. Work and baby consume a lot of time. 

New Titles

I'm still getting used to being 'mom'-- my little one isn't even close to talking, so it's mainly others asking about him and reminding me of my new role. 

He's doing well, even with my going back to work. It's hard to leave him, but he's becoming very socialized at an early age with all the babysitters. 

Yes, I'm back to work, but even as a two income family, I'm still looking for ways to cut costs. 

Luckily we have friends who destashed their fabric. Burp cloths, nursing pads, and cloth wipes are all on my pile of things to sew. My sister-in-law also cloth diapered, and is passing her supplies onto me. Even though I won't ask my babysitters to use cloth when I'm working, weekends & evenings with cloth can still save us some money. 

My sister's calling me hipster and crunchy now, because of these changes. 

Why save money now? We're looking at a house again, and it has amazing potential. Prayers that it works out! 

Mickey & Minnie

This is my last week of maternity leave. I'm crocheting like crazy, knowing that as soon as I go back to school, my time will go way down.

I mentioned a week or two ago that I was having my little one's photos taken. The photographer is an acquaintance, and we ended up creating a so of partnership. She gave us digital copies of all JT's photos, and in return, over the course of the next few weeks, I would give her the equivalent in crocheted photo props. She also said she would order any future props from me as well.

Not more than two days after we came to this agreement, she messaged me asking for sibling Mickey and Minnie hats. A friend of hers is apparently a huge Disney fan, and she wanted a gift for them. I'm excited about this opportunity to stretch my abilities and see if I can work within a deadline (other than the self imposed ones).

Peaceful Fridays

So I made it through a week of professional development, followed by a week of school, with absolutely no major signs of baby. Over this time, I have felt ridiculously loved by all of my colleagues, who were always checking on me, showering me with love and humor and advice. 

The four day weekend is a needed break, for me as well as E, as his work schedule has fallen in such a way that he's home with me all weekend. I'm almost looking forward to lesson planning, just as an intellectual stretching exercise, though I'm sure I won't get as much done as I hope for. This weekend marks the start of my maternity leave from school, so even if I don't do any 'stretching' this weekend, there will be more to come. 

Hopefully my crafting will benefit from this weekend as well. Last weekend, my mom and sister helped me prep for next weekend's craft show, which they will be working instead of me, and that was a huge blessing. I still cannot believe that my aunt puts up with me-- though I think she enjoys the company. As long as I am not put on total rest post baby, I will be visiting the craft show even though I can't be there working the whole weekend. (Luckily this is our only 2-day show, so the others won't be a problem.)

I'm already restocking for the October show, making sure I have a similar variety of items, etc. Being able to create and not having to worry about the intended recipient is very freeing. I don't want to seem ignorant of my customers- I do consider those people who buy things from me, but when I'm creating for someone specific, there is some need to please. When I'm creating for a general public, so to speak, I can get have a bit more fun, guessing what might appeal to people. Right now, I am working on a variety of striped projects, and am dreaming of embellishments. 

My nesting tendency is also in play a little bit this weekend. E and I are both making attempts to tidy things up and prepare. Though we know we can't really be prepared, it is nice to clean things up in a very thorough manner. 

I'd appreciate continued prayers, and have felt loved by everyone who's commented saying that they are thinking of us. We are starting such an exciting new journey, and really don't know what to make of it. Thanks for the love and support! Hopefully there will be a new little face and model for my hats soon!

Post script-- I wrote this Thursday evening... Friday morning I woke with contractions. Our baby was born Friday evening!!!