August

Well, August is over. It is done. There is no going back. Hallelujah!
Monthly round up.

1. Finished Summer Session 2 with 2 As. Which match the 2 As I got the first session.  Unfortunately my school has done away with A+ and they have changed A- so that it is not a 4.0 anymore, but a 3.7.   That sucks a WHOLE BUNCH! But luckily didn't apply to me this quarter. I think that an A+ should count for a 4.3 now. yep, it should.

2. Went to Maine, fell in love with the green-ness and the ocean.

3. Started back to work at ETK with more hours, I like this. AND I get to work with Kindergarten! Most days a blessing, some days a little, teeny, tiny bit of a curse.

4.  Started Fall Semester with 5 graduate classes. In case, people haven't figured it out by now, not that anyone reads this..... but anyway, I am crazy and an overachiever. The latter I get from my mom, who was Valedictorian (woot woot) when she went back to school, and graduate student of the year.  She rocks all peoples socks off. Yep, is true.

5.  Took a CPR/First Aid class and got re-certified. Not a requirement for my job, but a plus.

6. Made a cowl for Grandma Barb, a shawl for Ana, a hat for me, another hat for me (which is bright, burn-you-eyes-out-of-their-sockets orange), and almost finished a shawl (in fact I could technically finish this tonight, but I won't. Too tired and I want to enjoy that last repeat with the yarn, not rush through just to be done. Oh, and I participated in a FFtC KAL (Fresh from the Cauldron Knit-a-long).  Totally fun!

7. Had lots of doctors appointments and such. Not anything new, but a necessary evil... I mean thing.

8. Started my Service Learning again, I working towards the Presidential Award, which I think is super cool (it is signed by the President OMGosh!!!). It is after 100 hours, I think I have 80something(?).  I'm sure I'll keep going afterwards, but that is the next milestone for the hours.

Maine

So I went to Maine to visit my Grandma Barb.  It was just by happenstance that the weekend that I flew in and drove up the coast was the same weekend of the Fiber Festival in that area. Seriously, I did not plan this, I only found out about the fiber-y goodness about a week before I was leaving. The fiber gods and goddesses were smiling on me, inviting me to come to Maine. 

So first I saw Alpacas. Which I had never seen before, and I got to pet one. (And of course, buy alpaca yarn, but that is another story entirely.)

Cute alpacas. I got yarn in each of these colors, how nice of them to get in one picture for me.  

Actually the white one is the one I got yarn from. How crazy that I got to pet her, take pics of her and by her yarn?!?!? Totally crazy.  

(If you look closely you'll notice that the black alpaca with the white face is sitting on a little brown alpaca's head. But she's not technically sitting.... um, she's dominating the other girl? or something strange like that.)

This is her. Trillium. The White Lama of Love with fiber so soft I want to cuddle up in it. 

The way a Maine lighthouse should be seen. In a heavy fog, with the fog horn going.  This is Quoddyhead Lighthouse, the most eastern lighthouse in the US. I know, it IS super cool. And surprisingly not that tall, unless you factor in that it IS on a cliff, and the winds DO pick up from time to time. 

It rained (a whole bunch) while I was there. I love the rain. 

This is Molly, my grandma's cat. She is super cute, and loves to sit with her front paws on the armrest of the couch. Strange girl. 

This is the hospital where my grandma studied to be a nurse 1958-1961. This is actually in St. Stephens, Brunswick, Canada.  

We had to cross international boarders and brave The Wool Emporium (conviently located on Main street less than 3 blocks from the boarder), to get to the hospital.  oh, the woe.  Did you know it takes longer to get in to the US than it does to get out? Even on bridges to Canada. 

Grandma wanted to learn how to knit. So I taught her. 

Molly was very proud of her mama for learning how to knit. 

So was Grandma! Look at that happy face of a new knitter. 

This is just up the road from my grandma's house, and it was the one-room school house she went to as a child. It is falling down and it was very wet the day I took this picture, so I couldn't get any closer.  But I have this romanticized version of one-room school houses in my head and I couldn't resist. 

Crisis averted, barely.

So, the Maine pictures were recovered.  There was crying and googling, and more crying and talking with the parents. I don't have time to post them up right now, but tonight after class sounds like a good time to me.

So Blonde

Well, I'm a dumb blonde and deleted all my pictures from Maine. Seriously, this week sucks. I'm going back to bed.

July is here.

Let's see.
Classes: Second Summer Session is in full swing, and while last session was easy and carefree, this one is a bit more work and stressful. Currently taking Human Development with a great teacher. She is super funny. And I'm taking an online course, Introduction to Special Education.  Apparently, most of the people in that department are a bit on the high-strung side, all I know is, this teacher seems to follow suit from the syllabus and emails sent out.  Had our first test tonight, super easy, got 100%! Hooray!

Knitting: I have almost finished my Fang Garden Shawl, and I have started my Descent into Ashes Shawl.
I have decided that I really, really, really want to make a felted bag. So I am gathering ideas for that eventual project.

Books: As of late, I have been reading in the evenings to wind down.  Since the beginning of the first summer session, I have read Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.  I really enjoyed it. But I really like old photographs that are sprinkled throughout the book.  I've also finished Why is Sex Fun? The Evolution of Human Sexuality by Jared Diamond.  I really like this author. He brings light to things I had never really thought about before, like why is human female ovulation 'invisible' and make it so interesting that I get really excited about evolutionary biology. Again.
Right now I am making my way through The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum.

Since my last entry I moved into the dorms and my roommate, Julie, was wonderful. We hit it off right off the bat. We are so similar about somethings and we can talk for ages. I say was because, well, she's not my roommie anymore. No, she's getting married this Saturday. So she's going to be her hubby's roommie, apparently that's how marriage work. ( I wrote that last sentence, and then I thought about some people I know, not so much. But for the majority that's how it works, so I'm leaving it. )

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day Daddy! 

Gelukkige Vaderdag Papa!! 

Summertime...

....and the livin' is eeeeeasyyyyyy, fish are jumpin', and the cotton is hiiiiiiiigh." Another song, yea its been a while. Um, livin' is easy? Not so much.

So let's see.

School: That has been going really well lately. My classes are pretty great. I'm taking Classroom Management with Dr. R, who is the most awesome woman/educator around (and I use awe-some in it's original meaning - filled with awe, as in she fills me with awe in her breadth of her knowledge, her kindness, and her classroom experience). When I first moved here, I registered for classes after the beginning of the semester. Because I had already missed the class and she didn't want me to get behind, she called me, let me know what I needed to do and welcomed me back to the US. She is wonderful. I learn so much in her classes. And she will be leaving after summer session.

I am super sad about this fact. Her class, my first day, I knew that this was where I was meant to be, and I know that part of that was her. She will be missed greatly.

The other class I am taking is Technology and Pedagogy. It is a good class, I am learning so much about using technology in the classroom, but I... don't know. I am all for technology and connecting with the current generation, but I have to wonder about the essential skills that we are leaving in the dust to make way for all the technology.

I was watching the news last night, and there was one principal who had taken out cursive writing. REALLY!?!?!? It was taken out to make way for more typing/computer classes. Are we really going to have a future generation that has no idea what to do when given a piece of paper and a pencil? Okay, maybe a little dramatic, but students in undergrad used to complain about physically writing out their papers with a pen/pencil. And therefore having to, Lord have mercy, plan out their papers before they begin writing. Seriously, I understand the value of having students being able to type and use common software applications, but this is getting a bit ridiculous. Like people were commenting on the news, a generation without signatures. I remember when I was able to read my grandmother's cursive handwriting as a kid. I was so proud of myself that I could read her letters on my own. I'd like my future children to be able to read her writing as well. As the key word of Tech and Ped, "balance" is the key.

Life: I am moving into On-Campus Housing on Tuesday. A little nervous, but also excited. I'll be in the graduate housing, so I won't have a repeat of freshman year. (For those who don't know, let's just say I only lived on-campus for that one year, and it was awful.) Moving on, I won't be to far from the Education building, which is nice. I'll be able to ride my bike.

Knitting: On Saturday evening I started my Fang Garden. I'm using Fresh from the Cauldron's Fangtasia yarn. It's just so darn beautiful. I'll post pictures when I think there is enough to really get a feel for the pattern.

Basketball: Mavericks Won!! YEEEESSS !!!! Dirk Nowitski MVP!!! Hooray for him. It was an amazing game. Close all the way through, lots of fouls and close calls, a 3(?, I think)-pointer right before the buzzer and a skirmish. Very exciting times.