I just got this crazy good idea for something to make with polymer clay, only problem is I don't have all the tools to accomplish it. It will be freaking amazing if it works out the way I want it too. I just gotta price out the tools that I need. I know one of them wont be to expensive at all, the key there is actually finding the dang thing here in Anchorage. Actually I'm pretty sure everything will be on the cheap side. I haven't been this excited about a project in a while.
I still need to sit down and make my brothers Christmas gift, but that requires me to actually think about it when I have enough time to sit down and make it, I know by the time I get everything made up and ready to go in the oven mom would be on her way to get me to go to Costco's since we didn't go yesterday cause she worked late. I will sit down and do his gift prob this weekend then will post pics of it.
I also need to work on some knitting and some cross stitching as well, plus I want to work on some sewing too. Way to many projects to do. I think while I watch TV and wait for mom to get off work I will cross stitch cause I can leave that in the middle of a stitch and be ok.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Bye, Bye, Bye Cable
Richard and I have decided to cancel cable again. We just can't see paying around $30 a month to get 20 channels but we only watch around 5 of them. Just isn't money smart to do that. We have however signed up for Hulu Plus which allows us to watch tv shows that we like, and ones we haven't seen in years for $8 a month, so yeah way better and a savings of 22 dollars. It's great We are watching Major Dad a show we both liked and haven't seen since the early 90s, I can even watch ALF, the Snorks, the Original Care Bears cartoons, and the original Garfield & Friends!
Monday, November 26, 2012
Assigned Reading
A friend of mine who teaches 3rd grade and is going to school herself was assigned an assignment to list 40 books to have high school students read.She was having trouble coming up with a list and went to Facebook asking her friends for their favorite books from high school, that was assigned by a teacher. Apparently it's for a class to help kids fall in love with reading and books. I had a hard time coming up with books to help her and I was just in high school 10 years ago. I managed to come up with a book that we read in class that I thought was ok, which was Hatchet by I believe Gary Pulsen. My English teacher was obsessed with his books.
I have a confession to make, when it came to books being assigned to read on our own to read I wouldn't do it. Due to the fact that one I hate being told what had to read and teachers NEVER picked a book that I would read in general. Heck even when we had to read a book in class together, each student taking a turn to read out loud was torture to me. It wasn't so bad in grade school except in I believe 4th grade but I will get to that in a minute. Why was it torture to me to read out loud in class? It wasn't cause I had problems reading out loud, it was because other kids had problems reading out loud and when they would read it would be in monotone, choppy and just drove me nuts. I would actually read ahead of everyone and when it came time for me to read again I knew where we were and would flip back to where the class was would do my part and when done go back to where I was. If I hadn't of already loved reading this would of turned me off of it.
Now why was it so bad in what I believe was fourth grade. Well because we were reading a book called Guns for General Washington. That book was soooo freaking boring, it was the first time ever that I started falling asleep in class. I hated that book so much. I dreaded that time in the day when we would read it. Now in all fairness my 4th grade teacher did read a few books that I didn't mind listening to like Where the Red Fern Grows, when she finished that book I vowed I wouldn't read it ever again but that was because it was such a sad book cause the dogs died. but it was a good book. A book I loved that my teacher read to us and I own a copy of is Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
My 6th grade teacher read to the class and I actually own 3 books she read to us about WWII which are Letters From Rifka by Karen Hesse, Number The Stars by Lois Lowry and The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen. I vividly remember her reading The Devil's Arithmetic because it was the first time I ever envisioned myself in the book. I was living the book as if it was actually happening, I was seeing it through the eyes of the main character. It felt like I was actually there. I wasn't in class anymore, when she would stop reading it took me a few seconds to come back to reality. It felt so real to me, it shocked me. I had never done that before, now I do it all the time, when I read I am transported into the book.
I think how I got my love for books is from my dad, he used to read to me at night. He didn't do it every night but I remember him reading to me. In fact I to this day still have the last book he ever read to me, which is Oscar Wilde Stories for Children. I'm pretty sure mom read to me too, I just don't remember it, but that's ok. I also remember the first Chapter book I read on my own which was a Ramona Quimby book.
I strongly believe that parents should read to their kids, I believe it's what will help kids fall in love with books, not teachers assigning books. Those books wont appeal to every student. I know if Richard and I have kids that I will be reading to them, in hopes that they will love to read as much as Richard and I do.
I have a confession to make, when it came to books being assigned to read on our own to read I wouldn't do it. Due to the fact that one I hate being told what had to read and teachers NEVER picked a book that I would read in general. Heck even when we had to read a book in class together, each student taking a turn to read out loud was torture to me. It wasn't so bad in grade school except in I believe 4th grade but I will get to that in a minute. Why was it torture to me to read out loud in class? It wasn't cause I had problems reading out loud, it was because other kids had problems reading out loud and when they would read it would be in monotone, choppy and just drove me nuts. I would actually read ahead of everyone and when it came time for me to read again I knew where we were and would flip back to where the class was would do my part and when done go back to where I was. If I hadn't of already loved reading this would of turned me off of it.
Now why was it so bad in what I believe was fourth grade. Well because we were reading a book called Guns for General Washington. That book was soooo freaking boring, it was the first time ever that I started falling asleep in class. I hated that book so much. I dreaded that time in the day when we would read it. Now in all fairness my 4th grade teacher did read a few books that I didn't mind listening to like Where the Red Fern Grows, when she finished that book I vowed I wouldn't read it ever again but that was because it was such a sad book cause the dogs died. but it was a good book. A book I loved that my teacher read to us and I own a copy of is Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.
My 6th grade teacher read to the class and I actually own 3 books she read to us about WWII which are Letters From Rifka by Karen Hesse, Number The Stars by Lois Lowry and The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen. I vividly remember her reading The Devil's Arithmetic because it was the first time I ever envisioned myself in the book. I was living the book as if it was actually happening, I was seeing it through the eyes of the main character. It felt like I was actually there. I wasn't in class anymore, when she would stop reading it took me a few seconds to come back to reality. It felt so real to me, it shocked me. I had never done that before, now I do it all the time, when I read I am transported into the book.
I think how I got my love for books is from my dad, he used to read to me at night. He didn't do it every night but I remember him reading to me. In fact I to this day still have the last book he ever read to me, which is Oscar Wilde Stories for Children. I'm pretty sure mom read to me too, I just don't remember it, but that's ok. I also remember the first Chapter book I read on my own which was a Ramona Quimby book.
I strongly believe that parents should read to their kids, I believe it's what will help kids fall in love with books, not teachers assigning books. Those books wont appeal to every student. I know if Richard and I have kids that I will be reading to them, in hopes that they will love to read as much as Richard and I do.
Friday, November 23, 2012
It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas
It's Black Friday and for the first time in a very very long time I am by myself for it. Richard has always worked Black Friday as long as we been married but mom hasn't, I can't remember the last time she worked the day after Thanksgiving. So what am I doing? Well I'm listening to Christmas music, cleaning the apartment and decorating. I have 2 windows left to put window clings in, gotta find a place to hang our stockings cause I got rid of out floating shelf after last Christmas cause it was worse for wear, and I haven't even begun to think about where I'm putting up lights. I have however put up 2 out of 3 trees and the bathroom is decked out for the holiday including our singing snowman.
When I was a kid we didn't start decorating for Christmas till dad's birthday which was Dec 10th. I think that was dads idea cause we always got a live tree and he didn't want the tree to die before Christmas. I want to say Christmas was dad's favorite holiday, he always had the Christmas spirit, I to have it as well. As you all know Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. For the first couple of years of being married I really didn't decorate for Christmas cause I didn't have any decorations, and mom wouldn't give me my frosty and friends ornaments quite yet. When we finally were able to get decorations I decided to change the tradition from dads birthday to right after Thanksgiving dinner or if too stuffed to the day after. Richard leaves the decorating up to me, he says it's my job to decide where things go. I'm ok with that cause I know if I need his help he will help me, especially with the lights. I don't use my ornaments yet, cause we don't have room for a big tree where we are living, but once we do have the room we will get a bigger tree then the 3 small ones we have and frosty and friends will be out once again.
I only have 2 more Christmas gifts to worry about, those are for my brother and mom. I'm making my brother something out of polymer clay like I do every year, and keeping with the theme it's video game related. My mom on the other hand I have no clue what to get her this year. She is very hard to shop for. I would list off ideas I have but well she reads my blog so not giving anything away. Other then that everyone else is done. Well besides Richard, but we have never really had the money to get each other something for Christmas, maybe one of these years we will. I am just happy to spend the day with him as we travel over the river and through the woods to both parents places on that day.
When I was a kid we didn't start decorating for Christmas till dad's birthday which was Dec 10th. I think that was dads idea cause we always got a live tree and he didn't want the tree to die before Christmas. I want to say Christmas was dad's favorite holiday, he always had the Christmas spirit, I to have it as well. As you all know Christmas is by far my favorite holiday. For the first couple of years of being married I really didn't decorate for Christmas cause I didn't have any decorations, and mom wouldn't give me my frosty and friends ornaments quite yet. When we finally were able to get decorations I decided to change the tradition from dads birthday to right after Thanksgiving dinner or if too stuffed to the day after. Richard leaves the decorating up to me, he says it's my job to decide where things go. I'm ok with that cause I know if I need his help he will help me, especially with the lights. I don't use my ornaments yet, cause we don't have room for a big tree where we are living, but once we do have the room we will get a bigger tree then the 3 small ones we have and frosty and friends will be out once again.
I only have 2 more Christmas gifts to worry about, those are for my brother and mom. I'm making my brother something out of polymer clay like I do every year, and keeping with the theme it's video game related. My mom on the other hand I have no clue what to get her this year. She is very hard to shop for. I would list off ideas I have but well she reads my blog so not giving anything away. Other then that everyone else is done. Well besides Richard, but we have never really had the money to get each other something for Christmas, maybe one of these years we will. I am just happy to spend the day with him as we travel over the river and through the woods to both parents places on that day.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Fabric stores through the eyes of a child
As I sit here waiting for it to be time to head off to the Crafts Emporium, my favorite craft bazaar to go to every year with mom, I can't help but think back to a conversation I had with her last weekend. We were in the truck and headed to Barnes & Noble to get a few books and she asked if it was ok if we stopped at the Quilt Tree to just look, I said sure cause I find it fun to go look at all the fabrics. Plus it's pretty much always a given that we will go to the quilt shop if we go to book store cause the quilt shop is right behind it.
I can't remember who brought it up first but we got to talking about how when we were kids and dragged to the fabric stores we both hated it. Mom remembers being really bored as grandma would look through patterns and I agreed with her that yeah that indeed is boring to a child. There is nothing for a kid to do at fabric stores besides be bored and depending on the store swivel around on the stool and make yourself dizzy. I did that A LOT when mom would haul me to Joann's. Oh how I hated it, I would sit there and think can I be anywhere else but here please? cause I could only just sit there and wait for her to be done cause if I did anything else I would just get myself in trouble. It also seemed like the more I nagged her about being done the longer it took her. I thought for the longest time that the fabric store was my own personal hell, I would groan and pout if mom said we were going there while we were out and about.
I don't feel that way anymore, I grew up and lo and behold I actually enjoy going now. I have helped mom so many times now picking out fabrics that complement one another. I'm actually rather good at doing it too. I have an eye for colors which is amazing cause my eyes suck at everything else (besides finding a certain drink mom likes in a big bin at the store). The only time I don't like helping her is when she has a very distinct idea of a pattern in her head for the piece of fabric we are looking for. That's only till she shows me what she is kinda looking for cause she stinks at describing what it is she wants. But once I get an idea it goes better.
I think it's funny how as a kids it bored me and mom to death to go to the fabric store,but now we both enjoy it. Is it because we got dragged kicking and screaming so many times to the store that we just gave in to it? The likely reason is as we grow our brains grow and we find stuff that once bored us cause we didn't understand it, now entertains us because we do understand why our mothers found what they were doing so entertaining. It is also likely that I am more like my mother then I tend to want to admit. She is very much into quilting, knitting, crocheting, and cross stitch as am I, well besides the crocheting (I suck at it). I remember watching her sew and finding it amazing that she could take strips of fabric and make it into a quilt, or a bag. I loved helping her while she was sewing and I still do. I know she likes when I help too cause it makes the project she is working on go a bit faster.
Thanks mom for dragging me to the fabric stores when I was younger, I know I didn't like it then but I understand now why you like to go.
I can't remember who brought it up first but we got to talking about how when we were kids and dragged to the fabric stores we both hated it. Mom remembers being really bored as grandma would look through patterns and I agreed with her that yeah that indeed is boring to a child. There is nothing for a kid to do at fabric stores besides be bored and depending on the store swivel around on the stool and make yourself dizzy. I did that A LOT when mom would haul me to Joann's. Oh how I hated it, I would sit there and think can I be anywhere else but here please? cause I could only just sit there and wait for her to be done cause if I did anything else I would just get myself in trouble. It also seemed like the more I nagged her about being done the longer it took her. I thought for the longest time that the fabric store was my own personal hell, I would groan and pout if mom said we were going there while we were out and about.
I don't feel that way anymore, I grew up and lo and behold I actually enjoy going now. I have helped mom so many times now picking out fabrics that complement one another. I'm actually rather good at doing it too. I have an eye for colors which is amazing cause my eyes suck at everything else (besides finding a certain drink mom likes in a big bin at the store). The only time I don't like helping her is when she has a very distinct idea of a pattern in her head for the piece of fabric we are looking for. That's only till she shows me what she is kinda looking for cause she stinks at describing what it is she wants. But once I get an idea it goes better.
I think it's funny how as a kids it bored me and mom to death to go to the fabric store,but now we both enjoy it. Is it because we got dragged kicking and screaming so many times to the store that we just gave in to it? The likely reason is as we grow our brains grow and we find stuff that once bored us cause we didn't understand it, now entertains us because we do understand why our mothers found what they were doing so entertaining. It is also likely that I am more like my mother then I tend to want to admit. She is very much into quilting, knitting, crocheting, and cross stitch as am I, well besides the crocheting (I suck at it). I remember watching her sew and finding it amazing that she could take strips of fabric and make it into a quilt, or a bag. I loved helping her while she was sewing and I still do. I know she likes when I help too cause it makes the project she is working on go a bit faster.
Thanks mom for dragging me to the fabric stores when I was younger, I know I didn't like it then but I understand now why you like to go.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Frogs and Glasses
In other news on Tuesday I went and got an eye exam and was able to buy me some new glasses and sun glasses. They will be here 7-10 business days, I'm looking forward to getting them. For the first time I didn't have to get my eyes dilated which was very nice change of pace.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Gargoyle, Box and Kitten Oh MY!
Above is the Gargoyle Richard painted at Color me Mine. I think it turned out rather well, He is now working on a Dragon as we have money to pay for the studio fee, and for me to paint. Sadly I wasn't allowed to take my box home that I painted because of a flaw in it. It was in fact recalled because it wouldn't hold the paint and it would come off in sharp shards. I was however able to see it and take pictures of it.
I thought I did a pretty good job on it too, not to mention it's to dang cute so it irks me that I can't have it. They did however let me paint again waving the studio fee and the price of what I painted. the frogs in the background is what I painted and I will get them here in a couple of days.
Top view of the really pretty box I can't have
The inside of said box
Here are a few pictures of my mom's newest addition Flynn, he has grown a lot since I got him from a friend, who couldn't keep him due to her condo association.
He is so stinking cute but a real pain as well, he gets into everything and attacks poor Data.
He is losing his cute kitten look and becoming a grown cat he is I believe 6-7 months old now. I think it's his cuteness that keeps him alive. He also plays fetch with his toy mice.
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