Vote for Jenna!

A friend of ours has a photo that could win! Please go vote for Jenna's Snowman. I know how much this would mean to the family. Vote Here. You can vote once per day. And I'm thinking that I should ask for a pound of that coffee if I bring in a ton of votes. ;0)

Knitwise: I've got 9 rows and the BO for my Ishbel. It looks like my next projects need to be hats and mittens for the family. If the money thing remedies itself, then the In-Laws are taking us to 5300 feet for New Years Day 2010. There might be snow...but at the very least it will be cold.

Schoolwise: It is so hard for me to stay focused right now with M home...but having lunch and dinner as a family is a real treat. When he's working he gets home after I feed the kids dinner most nights.

Wish I had more time right now...but M is off to an exam this morning. He's still working on his ARE. I'm off to CBS. Well, 4 just woke up and her nose is a bit stuffy. I'll see if she's ok before we head out the door. It's a brunch morning. I HEART brunch. Especially those potatoes. J's bringing potatoes. =0) I'll post a recipe on my other blog soon. Happy Friday!

WIP Wednesday

I'm feeling lazy about photos. Also, M is on the PC that has our card reader. I'm not sure where the cable for my camera is...if I even have one. So, here's the update...and use your imagination.

I've finished Chart B on Ishbel. I'm knitting the smaller size, so I have to knit A then C before the BO. I'm so excited to block my first lace project. I really see myself knitting another one of these and I'm not even finished with this one. The stockinette section of the scarf was so simple and that's about all I can focus on now. I think I'd like to knit a larger version...that's something I don't have yarn for yet though.

I CO for a simple feather and fan scarf in a beaded wool. I'm about 18" into this project. I spent a great deal of time handwinding the skein into a ball. Yes, I have a swift and winder, but something about the slow winding was soothing. I'm really liking the simple 4-row repeat of this project. It was the perfect thing for the sore throat day. That, and a lot of lemon tea with honey.

My Knitterly Hoodie has slowed down. I'm almost done with the back. But I'm trying to decide if lengthing the sweater is what I want to do. I did lengthen the front. According to the pattern it should be 22". That's about 5 1/2 repeats of the cable pattern. I think I'd like 6 full repeats, and I have a long torso, but I'm just not sure. I've knit one front with 6 repeats, and the back it 4 1/2 repeats. I should finish it up quick...the weather is perfect for a hoodie. Only one small front and then the hood to finish. I hear the hood takes forever though.

That's it for what I'm working on. I do have 2 pair of socks OTN, and a few dishcloths...and I'm dreaming about a new shawl. This one, but I need the yarn for that project too. I'll have to knit from the stash until we're employed here again. Thank God, I should be able to knit for at least a year. ;0)

Both! ...answers to the contest

Bonus points if you know where we were by this sign.

The first piece was created by a pendulum. Some of you were right that spirograph draws repeated curves over a distance (often in a circle). Because of the pendulum, the complex curves here get smaller and smaller.

Here's a link to a YouTube I uploaded. It was a big file, so I'm not even trying to embed it. The black cylinder with a handle is a weight that you can move to change the way the pendulum reacts.

The second piece was mold. There was some mold/fungus sandwiched between pieces of glass. There were flaps you could lift so you could see the different colors of mold determined by if the mold was exposed to light or not. I didn't get a photo explaining this one.

The third piece was Sun Painting. This was one of my favorites. The photo I showed is of a wall about 12 feet tall and 20 feet wide. There were prisms and reflectors for this display. It was a fantastic sunny day, so I'm sure we we saw a treat.

Our family really enjoyed our day at the Exploratorium this summer. I would so love to go back. Other homeschooling moms might enjoy this website. There's tons of great information on their Learning Resource Collection.

And about the contest. Since no one got all the exhibits right, I'll have to just draw from all who left a comment on that post. I'm having 4 roll a dice for the winner...

And the winner is.... comment #2! And Miss Me...your answers were the most correct. I'll be sending something off to you soon. Well, I'll try for soon, but this is my blog and I'll reserve the right to get to the USPS as soon as I can.

Menu Plan Monday: the clean out the freezer edition

I knew that I had a jam packed freezer. I think that's just another way that God will provide for us over the next few weeks (I'm hoping it's just a few). I caught some good sales on whole chickens recently (59 cents/lb) and then there was just the buying of bread because the 2 loaf bundle was on sale and I didn't see the other loaves of bread hidden behind something else. So, yesterday I organized my freezer. I was blown away by how much food was hidden in there. I've planned 4 weeks of meals! I'll only need to shop for eggs, milk, and veggies. I've planned 6 meals/week with one night of planned left-overs.

Week 1

1. Stromboli (bridgeford dough in the freezer!)
2. tacos
3. whole crock pot chicken
4. turkey braid (cooked turkey diced in the freezer!)
5. hot dogs
6. lentil soup

Week 2

1. spaghetti
2. mexican lasagna
3. Tigger chicken
4. chicken pot pie (filling and pie crust in the freezer!)
5. roast (cooked and left-over from another week)
6. black bean chili and corn bread

Week 3

1. pasta & peas (Youtube link)
2. tacos
3. whole crock pot chicken
4. meatloaf (cooked and left over 2 weeks ago)
5. hot dogs
6. vegetable beef soup (use fajita meat because that's what's in the freezer)

Week 4

1. spaghetti
2. fajitas
3. mustard chicken
4. chicken kisses
5. roast (cooked and left-over from another week)
6. tortilla soup

And...because of a pancake making frenzy on Friday (if you're on FB you know why), I have enough pancakes to serve them once a week for breakfast for the next 6 weeks! I also have a dozen frozen biscuits from 'B' week. And 6 loaves of bread for sandwiches. And 6 packages of english muffins. I guess I'm I bit like a squirrel storing up for a rainy day. I'm SO THANKFUL! And a little overwhelmed. I don't know what we'll do in 6 weeks...but I KNOW God will provide. And if it seems crazy that M is enjoying lobster and shrimp while unemployed...well, that's in the freezer too. Because of my allergy he can't eat it when I'm around, and so it's sat in the freezer waiting for a celebration. Maybe he'll pull that out to celebrate an interview.

For more menu plans, check out the Organizing Junkie

!@#$%^&*

I don't normally use curse words. Right now, I kind of wish I did. I'd like to use them to let out some of the emotions I'm feeling right now. Instead, I'm typing here. I have to let it out in a way that my kids won't see. Sure, I want them to know Mommy gets frustrated. Right now...their tender hearts need to be protected.

M is home. It's not yet 4pm...on a Tuesday. What's this mean. Well, at 10:30 this morning he was laid off. It took awhile to finish things up and clear out his desk, then a co-worker took him to lunch. To say the least...my head and my heart are reeling.

October has been a good month...our anniversary, last year M's first day at a new job....

October has been a hard month...5 years ago my Gram's cancer diagnosis, 2 years ago losing my dad...

(Yes, we've told the kids. But, we're trying to keep the emotional level stable for now.)

And now...M was laid off. The 13th would have been his 1 year at this company. We're just a week short of that now. And the ironic thing...September 26th was my last day of work. I finally quit thinking things had settled down and I could find a less hectic balance as a wife, mom of 3, homeschooler, friend...

I'm not even sure of what to think...or do for that matter.