the frog, the penguin, the piglet

the frog



the penguin




the piglet

I hadn't picked up my crochet hooks for more than 10 minutes all summer long. Partially because when I sat in front of the tv I wanted to do nothing more than sit! And partially because its hot in the summer! 

Last month I scored big on craigslist--4 kitchen size garbage bags FULL of yarn for $20. Half of it I ended up donating to Bradford Woods for kids crafts. I wouldn't have had anywhere to put all of it anyway...as it is yarn seems to be in almost every room of the house. A couple weeks ago I sat down one night and finished a scarf I'd started months ago. Then I got excited again and started trying to making a pig hat. This is not a new idea- people make animal shaped hats all the time. Once I finished the basic hat I found a really simple pattern online to make the ears and nose, then it turned into a pig! I think my favorite part is the tails from the ear flaps. The pig got me excited about animals so I made the penguin and the frog. Since I'm not one for following patterns it took a little while to figure out just how to create the features. But now I know and they should be much easier to replicate.  Hopefully I'll have a whole bunch of different animals for upcoming craft fairs!



NAWGJ USAG Judge

When I was a little girl my dad practically had to drag me out to the car after gymnastics class. I'd beg my teacher-- "please, just one more?...I want to show my dad" :) Of course showing my dad was just a ploy to let me continue to play. I competed for 5 years when I was in middle school and high school. High school gymnastics was great cause I was still working out at the gym I grew up in--thank you Genie:) I was never amazing but I loved it--so much so that I was chosing to do two-a-day practices sometimes alone. I missed gymnastics when I was in college! Coaching/Teaching at summer camp was not always awesome in the moment but I loved it and then coaching at the Y in Ligonier was amazing! I remember my head coach there talking about becoming a judge but I didn't think it was something I would ever be qualified to do. My head coach in Martinsville is also a judge and there's a high demand for judges these days so she encouraged me along :) Lots of studying, lots of hoops to jump through and here I go... Saturday will be my first meet to judge. Am I nervous? You bet I am--I don't want lots of inquiries my first meet and I don't want to be way off but there's no wading into this field--you gots to jump right in to the deep end and hope your brain is filled with enough to keep you afloat.

big picture gal

In the last fifteen minutes I realized something about myself...I am a big picture gal! I like to have a decent understanding of something before I dive in. I like to put a lot into something the first time around so that instead of recreating the wheel every year I can just tweak things. As a teacher I was ok not having all the answers. I'd just flat out tell my students I didn't know and to make sure they let me know when they found the answer. And to some degree I am ok not having all the answers but I like to know my resources to help me find the answers. Resources oh resources, where for art thou resources?
So now what? I know this about myself. What do I do with it...I'm not sure...

mysuzyhat

Since I started crochetting people have been saying "you should sell that stuff!" I have always said it would take the joy out of making things. I am officially launching 'mysuzyhat' on etsy.com in the next few weeks. I turned a couple of my housemates into crochetting monsters and they have started selling at craft fairs. I made just a few things and helped out for one morning. See our booth...and one of my hats:) I actually sold a couple! Yeah for mysuzyhat!!! 

isaac and noah

What good am I if I don't post at least a couple pics of my favorite twin baby boys? Meet Isaac and Noah. One day I might be able to tell them apart:)

Noah found his thumb while he was getting a bath!

Bebo Norman's 'Borrow Mine'

Bebo Norman=smile on my face.
I don't listened to Bebo nearly as much as I used too, although I still heart him and have a great appreciation for his music...especially LIVE when Gabe Scott is playing the dulcimer...AMAZING! Anywho, I was just looking for some ring tones and stumbled across Bebo's song "Borrow Mine". Today I am thinking about it in a different way.
The chorus is:
You can borrow mine
When your hope is gone
Borrow mine
When you can't go on
'Cause the world will not defeat you
When we're side by side
When your faith is hard to find
You can borrow mine

Maybe I am simply going through a pre-30's crisis? Whatever it is, I am grateful for those around me who continue to encourage and let me borrow their faith whether they know it or not. I have locked all the verses Emily has texted me. I hear Maureen in my head saying "God is sovereign." Patrick talking about Ebenezer. Sandy's perfect cups of coffee. Quint talking about seeds. Jim singing From the Depths of Woe. Zan's blog!  Sarah's caring and listening ears. Dawson family 'squeezers'. Melanie's affirmation. Jo-Jo puppy dog kisses to wipe away tears. Plus sooooo many more. Amen and Amen.


Follow the link if you want to see the rest of the words to the song.
 http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Borrow-Mine-lyrics-Bebo-Norman/2D912BF65D679B9D48256FAD0005FC85

NY Thruway

This last weekend I headed up to Lake Ontario with my parents and one of my brothers. We've been making this trip my whole life though this time it looked a little different! I drove, Dave sat in the front, mom and dad sat in the back---weird! Part of this journey is stopping at the Rest Area that is in between the Thruway. You walk over the Thruway on an enclosed bridge to get to the restrooms and food.
As we walked across the bridge late Friday night I heard a little boy say "woah!" I turned to look and sure enough he was standing at the window next to his dad facing down and a semi truck had just driven under the bridge.  It's so silly and exciting. As the trucks drive under the bridge you feel like you are right on top of it. Hence the "woah!" from the little boy. If you have never experienced this sensation you must add it to your bucket list:)