Wednesday Progress

Last Wednesday I shared my progress on several "projects," some crafty, some not. Today, I have more progress to report!

First of all, I want to say that Maggie had a great first birthday. Here we are before she tore into the cake.

This is her after the cake...

She had fun, to say the least!


On to progress!


Okay, I moved backward on Aaron's scarf, froggin' the whole damn thing. I redeemed myself, though, finishing it...in a different style. I ended up crocheting it. It went a whole lot faster, giving me the extra time to work on his hat!

As you can see, I'm not totally finished. I still have to weave in ends and start on mittens BUT before I do that, I'm starting on Sean's hat. This is what it looks like now:

I'm doing his hat first, scarf, second, and then mittens. I'm on a time line here. The weather is already horribly cold (for October, at least), and, again, Autumn catches me off guard. Every year I vow to knit up the winter stuff before winter and end up squeaking the stuff out--if I'm lucky--by mid-January. Not this year! My kids will not be cold...or wear mismatched hats and scarves (which is usually what happens.)

Crafty progress? There is some. Not much, but some. No picture, though. (Sorry!)

Healthy progress: I'm still eating better. Not great, but better. I made an awesome batch of Iced Pumpkin Cookies on Sunday. (I like to bake on Sunday, for some reason.) They were too good (not bragging), which led me to eat many of them. But, they were made with pumpkin, so I'm sure they were vitamin packed! ;-)

Weight, about the same.

Fitness? I've actually been working out. A little. I've been sneaking yoga in when the beast is a sleep. (Maggie is very clingy, lately.)

Homework? I took two tests. I scored a 94.5% on my math test, and I don't have my grade for government yet. Started planning out my two papers due next month.

That's it for now. Maggie is having a meltdown about something. (She really just wants to be held.)

Happy, happy birthday baby!

Magnadoodle turns ONE today!!!

One year ago this child cause me great and immeasurable pain! Now look at her!

Where does the time go?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!!!

Is that a banana in your pocket?

Why yes! Yes, it is!

Chiquita, you minx!

(Back to homework....)

Progress

This post is all about progress. Progress is defined as "a movement toward a goal or a higher stage." Everyone is progressing in some way, whether it be progressing towards a financial goal, completing an education course, or working on a quilt. I started thinking about progress this morning when I looked at a scarf I'm working on. I wanted to post on my progress with that project. As I thought about it, though, I have many things I'm slowly chipping away at, like that scarf. One row at a time, one assignment at a time, one meal at a time. The great thing about progress is, every little bit counts. Even if I only knitted two stitches, that's two stitches towards my goal. That's progress! If we look at it this way, every little inch, every little step, is a cause for celebration! So, let's talk about my progress.

The scarf--It's turning out well! I'm a little worried I won't have enough yarn. Good news is, though, it's not expensive and it's still in stock. I pulled the matching hat I made last year (by the way, this is a replacement scarf), and it was filled with holes...this is, of course, after I foolishly tossed it in the wash on a regular setting. (Shame on me!!) Oh, well. I'm already working on a replacement scarf, why not a hat, too?
Progress at school...it's progressing! :) Actually, I'm doing fairly well even though I feel so overwhelmed at times I just want to quit! (Don't worry. No one will let me.) I'm halfway through the semester, I have the majority of my field observation hours taken care of, and math--which I thought was going to suck--er, be difficult--is actually my favorite class! I've also planned out my courses for next semester. I'm going to take another education course, environmental science, statistics, and either World or British Literature. (Any suggests on which?)

Elsewhere and my universe, general craftiness is at a stand-still. I'm hoping this changes! I have ideas, and I am SO inspired by all the blogs I frequent (everyone is being crafty but me.) I just need to find the time. (So this would be a zero progress on the craft-front.)

Budgeting...no progress. I don't even want to think about it. It's expensive to run a family of five.

Lastly, weight loss/health-gain progress. Again, a stand still. I had actually lost about three pounds, but gained it back. I feel like crap (arthritis) and my big plans of joining a gym and becoming a fitness nut fizzled out. Can't afford a gym membership and when would I find time? I'm already spread thin. BUT something I can and should do is yoga at home. Strength training with that Bowflex my husband bought a few months back and has only been used a total of six times...between the both of us. And walking!!! Didn't I promise myself I'd start doing that as soon as the boys went back to school? I haven't gone for a single walk since they started--back in AUGUST.

Fitness aside, the bigger problem lies in the CRAP I've been eating the last few weeks. My husband (who I love) is the biggest wrench in my plans! I don't want to blame him totally, because he isn't holding me down and forcing me to drink copious amounts of Coke, but he wants soda, he wants chips, he wants ice cream. How am I supposed to abstain when I'm serving it to him? One good thing I've been doing, though, is baking my own treats. Not only does it take more effort than opening a box, but I KNOW what is going in my cookies, and what is NOT, like high-fructose corn syrup and trans fat. I think I eff this up, though, by eating large amounts of the final product.

So. This is the plan. I want PROGRESS in this aspect of my life. This is me now.

I will be straight with you. I took this picture this morning. I picked the skinniest looking picture out of the twenty I took. Now for the full disclosure. I am 5'5 and, according to my scale which may or may not be accurate, am 172 lbs. The goal I'm setting is 145 by this time next year. Each week, I hope to whittle away at that number, and I'll post how I'm doing. Any progress is good progress.

A Ham, a Crasher, and SOME KNITTING!

The ham...

The Picture Crasher...

and

SOME KNITTING!

(It's a future scarf...)

More Halloween fun

My son has the spirit! Here is something he made in school. Blows my stuff away!

It's a hat!!

What a "pretty" face! Now I know what he'd look like as a girl...

(Excuse the dirty face. They apparently don't believe in soap at school.)

Halloween Fun

Halloween makes me think of strolls through foggy woods. The naked trees creak as they sway in the breeze, and the only sounds of life are the occasional caw of a distant black bird...

I also think of skulls and skeletons. I like comical skeletons, like those in "Army of Darkness."

And zombies...oh, wait! Zombies are year 'round fun. (At least, for me they are!)

After the trick-or-treating is done, what's better than curling up with your own monster?

*All artwork by moi.

(Admittedly, a half-hearted effort. I'd tell you about how busy I've been, but you've heard it before!)

Drowning in Work!

Homework...cleaning...when will it all end? :)

My families coming for a visit this weekend, so I'm more busy than normal. I'm still here, though! Waiting for a few moments to post...

Oh, yeah--I'll be a GREAT teacher...

Especially when I make a kid cry during my volunteer time in my son's class. Yep. That's grade-A educating, there.

Tuesday I spent time in Aaron's class. I got to supervise one of the work group tables. The kids had to cut out a leaf, glue it to this paper, then give three words that describe the leaf. The had to attempt to spell the words, and I would go behind them and write what they were spelling underneath the word. How could I mess it up?

It was almost time to switch groups, and I told the child in front of me that he needed to hurry up and put the last word down because we were about to change groups. He gave me a confused, worried look. I repeated, "just write down you last word. What's the leaf look like?" Mind you, I wasn't being mean, but I was pushing him a little. Well, his eyes started to water, and he did that breathing thing kids down when they want to stop the tears before they start. I immediately noticed, and as if in slow motion, I said, "noooooooo," followed by a few small "oh no. No. No-no." Too late. The child started bawling. I felt HORRIBLE. I think I teared up, too. I called the teacher over, and she said, "it's okay. This has happened before," and she whisked him away to the tissues.

This ruined the rest of my Tuesday. I felt like a crappy person the rest of the day. I was so sad! I could almost feel his worry and embarrassment as he tried to hold those tears back! Aw, I feel terrible just thinking about it.

So, today I'm heading back to the class. I'm the "mystery reader" today. Not only do I have residual guilt from my last classroom visit, but I'm going to have to sit in front of the entire class and read a book. I'm nervous. My husband laughed at me and said I could read on a 1st grade level and they would still be impressed--they're only kindergartners! True, but what if I mess up?

Next week I'm back in the work group chair, helping (if you could call it that) the kids. What am I going to change to make things better? I'm going not going to rush anyone. I'll remove all sense of urgency from my voice. (Yeah. I don't have an f-ing clue.)