Meh.

Crazy as heck here. But I figured I could at least update the picture of K in 8 inches of snow to one that is slightly more current. Maybe I'll post again, if something interesting happens.

A glutton for punishment

Self-imposed deadlines. I love them. I also apparently love stress, drama, and masochism. I am crazy about setting a goal or a task, and arbitrarily setting a deadline to accomplish said goal or task. If I meet my deadline, I'm happy as a clam. Not meeting the deadlines, however, severely stress me out because I convince myself that failing to meet the deadline with cause nothing short of the End. Of. The. World. And. All. Humanity.

It's good to have a deadline, but I also have to work really hard to remind myself that the world will keep turning and no one's going to die if I take more time than I thought I needed. Especially if the barriers to my timely success are out of my control. (Home Depot, I'm looking at you.)

I know that there is a plan for my life. Since I'm not in any hurry to meet the final deadline (If you know what I mean. And I think you do.) I need to allow the plan to unfurl. Even when it's not to my immediate satisfaction, everything will always happen for a reason, and it will all work out in the end.

Blah blah blah. Shut up, and show some pictures of Kate, or maybe a video of her singing an inappropriate song. Well, the joke's on you--I can't find my camera. I think the plan has hidden it from me.

10 things I'm loving right now...

1. Knitting a delicious baby blanket for a wonderful friend.
2. Making progress on a big task.
3. Gone with the Wind and Olivia de Havilland.
4. Nathan Fillion
5. The conversations Katie and her new BFF (who lives two houses away) have yelling at each other from their front yards.
6. 7 more weeks.
7. My daughter's hilarious sense of humor.
8. A successful week of difficult labs--with students who said they loved it and learned a lot.
9. Learning to do new stuff, even though I may hate it at the time.
10. Plans for a productive and purposeful summer!

Just in time for Easter

Book Review

My Name Is NOT Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry

I love this book! It follows the day of little Isabella, who imagines herself as different strong, historical women. She pretends to be Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, and (my childhood hero!) Sally Ride, among others. Throughout her day, Isabella discovers that she can find the admirable qualities of these women within herself.

At the end of the book, there is a small piece of information about each of the women Isabella pretends to be. It's a great starting point for discovering what characteristics of each woman led her to be an inspiration.

I highly recommend this book for every little girl... and the mommies! One of the kindest, greatest women that Isabella pretends to be is her mommy. Reminds me to try to live my life to be a woman my daughter can look up to.

Three fun things!

A friend asked me to make some hats for a very special little girl.



I had so much fun making these, and I'm so proud of how they turned out!

Three good things...

** Menu planning. It's making my evenings so much nicer to know what's for dinner and get started on it as soon as I get home. I've been much more conscious about what we're eating, too--except for last night's caramel corn debacle. Hey, homemade means healthy, right?

** Knitting projects. I have a couple of things on the needles right now for friends. Every time I pick up that project, I think about the person I'm making it for, with prayers and good wishes going into each stitch.

** Plans. I'm excited about a few things that I probably shouldn't even bring up, since I don't want to talk about them here, yet. But they are good things, and I'm looking forward to the changes they will bring.