[ 16 things about me today ]

I've seen on some blogs (Ali Edwards, specifically) that they're listing 16 things about themselves. I figured that would be a pretty easy way to tackle a post for today! (Not that I have to blog everyday, but I enjoy it!)

1. I am sick of changing student's schedules. Especially if they have already been in my office to change their schedule two...or three...or ten times already! I'm also sick of having no options for student's who do have a legitimate reason to change their schedule.

2. I'm a little obsessed with sewing now that I'm feeling successful at it. And - the obsession extends to fabric too. I now have fabric to make 4 quilts in addition to the one I'm working on. :}

3. Speaking of obsession - Pandora internet radio on my iPhone. I've been listening to Passion music all day. Love it. So easy!

4. I'm pretty excited to see my cousin Lisa and her husband Jon next week. They're coming from Virginia. She's pregnant and due in May - and I haven't got to see her since I knew she was pregnant. (I saw her in September a week before she announced her pregnancy!) She is the petite one in our family and I know she's got to have a cute prego bump.

5. I'm shamefully watching "Gossip Girl" right now. I really like those dumb shows (The Hills, 90210, Gossip Girl), but my favorite by far is "The Real Housewives of Orange County." Guilty obsession.

6. I got a new zippie at Wal-Mart on Monday for $12. That's right folks, $12. I'm going to go back and buy a few more at that price!

7. I am enjoying hearing from long-lost high school friends that we're contacting for our high school reunion.

8. I still need new black shoes. I hate looking for them though!

9. Does anyone have any cute ideas for a baby shower invite? My friend Kate & I are throwing a baby shower for our friend Jessica and need some inspiration.

10. I love getting new clothes. I like wearing new clothes too. And, I like the indoor/outdoor slippers I got for Christmas. And cardigans. :)

11. I wish I could read more. I had a book in my basket at Target the other day and then put it back because I remembered I could check it out from the library. Not sure if that's a good thing.

12. Jeopardy is one of my favorite shows.

13. I like browsing etsy.com. I've found some great things on there for fairly inexpensive prices.

14. I love watching Samson sleep. I've heard people say that about their babies...so is that wierd that I like to watch my dog sleep? He's so cute when he snuggles or when he stretches. I love that dog!

15. I really want to go to Minnesota this summer and I'm thinking about driving. Possibly by myself. Just me and Sam-dawg.

16. OMG! I just read online that the new Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction announced today that 2009 will be the last year of the WASL as we know it. Can I get a whoop whoop?! That is such a relief! I think about all the work it takes to account for each booklet (before, during, and after), convince students to try their best, sharpen 50 dozen pencils a day, get snacks for the students, keep track of who's passed & who hasn't (because the state DOES NOT have a reliable system), and try everything in our power to get the students to pass the WASL through a variety of other means. I hate being the one to tell a student that they haven't passed or their SAT/ACT scores aren't high enough, or the very worst - they aren't going to graduate. The WASL is the worst part of my job and I'm so happy it's being revamped. It's definitely needed.

Ok - let's see your 16 random things about you!

[ one step closer ]

I was excited to come home tonight and get to work on my quilt.

I sewed my little heart out while watching the recap of today's events.

Ok - is it just me, or the TV coloring, or were Michelle Obama & Laura Bush's suits for the inaguration not attractive?!

I got all my squares sewn together (with only a little bit of seam ripping!) - then brought them upstairs to lay them out on the floor:

If you can't tell, I'm pretty proud of myself. The whole time I was sewing - each piece together and then to the next and the next - I was thinking..."WOW! I can't believe I'm actually doing this!!"

Of course, Samson had to see what was going on.

Apparently, he approves. :)

I don't think he realizes it's not finished...

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to sew the rows together...and then the rows to the rows...and then what? I don't know what to do next!

[ inauguration day ]

How did we get here and where is Sarah Palin?!

I'm just marking a spot here today to remember Inauguration Day...

Today, President George H.W. Bush (#43) exits the White House and

Barack Obama (#44) enters.

There has been a lot of talk everywhere you turn regarding the historic nature of today, swearing in an African American president. I do not understand why there is so much hoopla over Obama's race when there is also a lot of talk of looking past color and seeing everyone one as equal. Seriously...isn't this speaking out of both sides of your mouth?

Whoever it is, the inauguraton day is day in history and I am looking forward to watching as much of it as I can.

Of course, I'm also dying to see what Michelle is wearing tonight at the Ball. :)

[ another craft day on a Sunday ]

Oh man, I got a lot done today!

First of all - I took a bunch of pictures on my iPhone...and when I was emailing them to myself to put them on here, I found this picture that I took the other day. I saw this idea on Becky Higgins' blog (scrapbook celebrity) and I thought it was a cool idea. This was on my way home from school the other day after a long day. Hence the look. I thought it would be cheesy to smile at myself. :)

Back to the day o' crafting.

I didn't go to church this morning (tsk tsk), so I went to the craft room, turned on "The Message" Sirius Christian Pop music station and had church my way. :)

I made samples of the two Make and Takes I'm going to teach at the Crafters Getaway in two weeks.

This is a box made out of one sheet of paper. It's supposed to be tied with the blue colored ribbon where the two holes are - but I ordered the ribbon on eBay and it's not here yet. I thought they're cute Valentine's gifts. I made them for the basketball cheerleaders last year for Valentine's Day.

This is a gift card holder that is super simple. I hope our crafting guests will enjoy these two projects... :)

I also gathered all the supplies needed for each project and put them into containers - attempting to be organized!!

After that, I worked on the card for this week's Scripture Challenge. The word of the week is kindness. I used Galations 5:22 as my scripture - the Fruits of the Spirit verse.

I have been working on this for a few evenings. I painted it yellow and then today covered it with paper and decorated it - then Modge Podged it. I'm going to give it away as a door prize at the Crafters Getaway.

THEN, I finally got to sew. I went to Craft Warehouse last night and got flannel to make a baby blanket for my cousin's baby that is due in May. I'm a little nervous to start it. While at Craft Warehouse, I found a pattern for a cute blanket that uses 8 fat quarters. I had 5 fat quarters at home of a cute turquoise/yellow/orange/red fabric family. I picked up three more fat quarters that coordinated. Today, I decided to tackle it.

I cut all the fabric. I am not a big fan of cutting. In fact, I don't like it at all. But, it's a necessary part of the process.

I started sewing the pieces together (A +B, C+D, C+C+D, etc.)...I remembered a trick that Jennifer had told me, so I tried it:

Just keep feeding the fabric into the presser foot without raising it. It worked well for me and it made things go a lot faster and smoother.

I layed out all my combos of fabric and labeled them so I would remember what is what. It could get quite confusing without that! :) I sewed everything together that I could...and now I have to press everything. I thought I'd save that for another day. My eyes were starting to cross!!

Here's my stacks:

I am feeling excited about quilting and feel a lot more confident about it than I did a week ago. How things can change...

When I was rescuing pictures off my iPhone, I found this one - I forgot it was on there! This is Samson and I reading in Chelan. How relaxing!

Yay for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day tomorrow! I'm excited about no school! I think Mom and I are going to the Tri-Cities to run some errands and get our nails done - and I am having Jessica & Emersyn withdrawals! We have Jr Miss practice tomorrow night.

Practically the only thing that passes for news lately is the inauguration. I'm trying to stay as far from it as possible. Probably more on that later....

[ lovin' saturday ]

Does anyone else hate coming up with titles for their blogs? I'm so boring...usually it's just the day of the week - tells a lot, eh?!

Today was a good Saturday...

I went to Junior Miss practice. We have a great group of 8 girls who are learning their routines very quickly! They're a lot of fun to be around and make getting up on a Saturday morning not so bad.

After practice, I met my friends Hannah, Jen, Lindsay, and Libby to start planning our 10-year class reunion. Are you for real? I can't believe it's already that time. Anyway, it's here and I'll deal with it - even though I'm complaining and it's hard to believe we're that age, I really am looking forward to all being together again and seeing friends that I haven't seen in a long time. I loved my high school experience and I still feel as though I'll always be friends with my friends from high school. I am very lucky. :)

We had a great time together (even though I thought I was stood up at first!) and brainstormed some ideas. I started a blog for our class and posted some polls there to get an idea of what people would like to do. I'm interested to see the response we get.

Tonight, Mom, Jessica Fife, and I went to the Tri-Cities. We went to Craft Warehouse (surprise, surprise...) where I got flannel fabric to make a baby blanket. It's a little ambitious, but I think I'm up for the challenge. We went to see the movie "Bride Wars" - it was really cute...a little predictable, but I would recommend it.

Tomorrow - maybe some sewing - putting together make and take bags - and starting to pack for the retreat are on my list of to-do items. Looking forward to having no school on Monday! I will enjoy it fully since the rest of the week promises to be a whirlwind...

[ kate ]

Today, I'm thankful for my friend Kate.

I had a stressful day at work today...I was pulled in many different directions, my attention was needed by many people, my brain was put to the max trying to brainstorm options for a dilemma, PLUS CAPS was today! Days with CAPS are always a little crazy for me. I don't know why that short 30 minutes out of my day throws me into such a tailspin!

ANYWAY! The saving grace for today was Youth Group tonight and that Kate & I had planned to craft after YG! Kate planned a super YG complete with one of my favorite games [Family Feud]! We discussed our mission trip options for this summer and brainstormed fundraiser ideas.

[oh yeah, and we had funeral potatoes and ice cream for dinner...well, there was also pork roast, salad, and corn - but the funeral potatoes and ice cream were my favorite!]

Then, Kate was so nice and offered to come help me cut paper for make and takes for our Craft Retreat in two weeks. We're making two super fun and DO-ABLE projects. Last year, I spent all Friday night and some of Saturday morning getting make and takes ready - so I am THANKFUL that Kate offered to help me cut paper and get my supplies ready. She is the greatest.

We had a wonderful conversation...and could've talked all night! :) She is such an attentive and caring friend. She's a super listener and encourager. She always says how supportive I am - but I think the same of her and am so glad to have her part of my life.

Tomorrow is Thursday...one day closer to a 3-day weekend!

[ beta ]

Mom & I hosted Beta at our house tonight...it was a fun evening. The program tonight was about books. We all went around and shared about our favorite books, authors, and series. There were some great suggestions of books that I want to put on my "to read" list.

Tomorrow brings work and Youth Group. Maybe some crafting. :)

Jessica - hope you and Emersyn are feeling better. Seriously - Friday - you, me, Emersyn, and Baby Einstein. Are you game?!

[ Monday Monday ]

Not much to write today...busy day at work. I left a pile on my desk to tackle tomorrow. I hate leaving things until tomorrow, but c'est la vie.

Did anyone else love love love the spring-type weather today?! I changed into a short sleaved shirt after school and drove with my window down. Love it!

After work, I ran to town to pick up the rest of the fabric I need to finish my table runner project. I also went to this new store I found out about - Village Quiltworks on Keene off of Queensgate. When I was looking at their website, I saw that they had this adorable kit, so I called to see if they had any left and there was ONE, so I asked for it to be put on hold until this afternoon. I am now the proud owner of the fabric and pattern to make this:

(photo courtesy of http://www.villagequiltworks.com/info.html)

I realize it might be a little out of my skill range, but I might be good enough in the near future! No way to get there but to practice!

I came home and played around a little bit. I cut the fabric and batting for my table runner, but it requires mitered corners and that freaks me out. It's still in pieces.

So, I moved on to coasters that I'd seen in one of my books.

Here's my lopsided, but kinda cute coaster. It's growing on me. I had it in mind to give to someone, but since I don't quite have the straight stitching thing down, I'll keep it to remind me of my humble beginnings.

I was hoping to stop and see Jessica and Emersyn today, but they are both down and out - so

GET WELL WISHES TO YOU!!! GET BETTER SOON!!!

WE NEED TO HANG OUT!!!

Also - my Beta group is sponsoring a Crafter's Retreat January 30-February 1. We're needing some additional participants, so if you know anyone that is interested - have them call me (509-531-8471) or email me (marciekoch@gmail.com). Any and all types of crafters are welcome! The cost is $90 for the weekend. It's at the Clarion Hotel in Richland, so retreat participants can stay at the hotel if they choose. It's going to be rockin'!

[ learning to quilt on a weekend ]

Ok, so obviously you know that I want to learn to quilt/sew/create things. Not just that I want to - I feel the need to. It's weird and unexplainable.

So - on Friday at work, Jennifer taught me how to read a pattern and gave me some tips along the way. From then on, I couldn't wait to get home and try out the things I'd learned.

It was a frustrating evening. I learned to measure twice and cut once. Remember that fabric that I had double of? Well...I'm glad I had extra to spare. :)

I texted Jennifer several times with questions (thanks for responding...:) ) and finally gave up for the evening. As I explained it to Jessica, I turned off the machine, turned off the lights, and shut the door.

Jessica: "Oh, so you put your machine into time out? Classic."

Marcie: "Basically. Isn't that what you do when something makes you mad?!"

Jessica: "I swear and throw things. It's a personal choice."

Fast forward to Sunday.

(It would've been Saturday, but Saturday was our first Junior Miss practice and Junior Miss Committee Meeting - then I came home and took a three hour nap!)

So - Sunday - I was determined to make it work. I mean, seriously, how hard can this be?!

In the beginning...things weren't looking good.

Another text to Jessica:

"I've taken to your way of dealing with my sewing machine."

But then...an hour and a half later...this text to Jessica:

"Your method works! I'm a lot more successful!"

After many episodes of sewing and seam ripping - and a break for some Advil and a Kahlua -

here's the result:

These aren't great pictures - but I'm pretty proud of myself. Don't look close. The squares aren't straight or even. It's even quite a bit smaller than it was supposed to be. Not sure why.

But - beyond all of it's flaws - it's my first sewing project!! It's a table square/runner - it's more square than rectangle. I don't have enough fabric to do the outside border or the backing, so I need to head to Craft Warehouse for that - plus batting and fabric for the binding. I'm a little nervous for the binding part...and quilting.

I'm still interested in making some key fobs - where do I get "webbing"? I looked at JoAnn's, but didn't see any. Maybe I don't know where to look.

Anyway - I had to share my proud moment. I've still got visions of many things to create dancing in my head. More to come....

[ Happy Anniversary! ]

Happy Anniversary to these two crazy cats.

#32 is looking pretty good on you.