Crochet Pattern for Stuffed Bubble Yoda

This is my first time attempting to create/write a pattern.  Being intelligent, I didn't write things down as I went, so I hope the below information is correct.  Also, math is not my strongest subject, so hopefully all my calculations are correct....  If there are any errors or if anything is unclear, please let me know!  I hope you enjoy ;-)

Materials:

Yarn A: worsted weight green (I used Lion Brand Organic Cotton because it’s what I had in the right color)

Yarn B: worsted weight chocolate brown

Yarn C: worsted weight light brown or tan

Crochet hook G

Tapestry needle

Stuffing

Abbreviations:

SC: single crochet                                                             Sl st: slip stich

HDC: half double crochet                                                 St: stich

DC: double crochet                                                          Ch: chain

Notes: do not turn project unless otherwise advised.  Also, rows are worked in continuous rounds. Smart people use markers to indicate where their rows begin... I just count.  I recommend using markers...

Yoda head and body: With A, ch 2

Row 1: 8 SC in 2^nd ch from hook (8 st)

Row 2: 2 SC in each st (16 st)

Row 3: *SC in next st, 2 SC in next st* (rep from *)(24 st.)

Row 4: *SC in next 2 sts, 2 SC in next st* (rep from *) (32 st)

Row 5: *SC in next 3 sts, 2 SC in next st* (rep from *) (40 st)

Row 6: SC in each st around (40 st)

Row 7: *SC in next 3, 2 SC in next st* (rep from *) (50 st)

Row 8 -22: SC in each st around (50 st)

Row 28: *SC in next 3 st, SC 2tog* (rep from *) (40 st)

Row 29: SC in each st (40 st) Begin stuffing piece.  Continue to stuff as you work.

Row 30: *SC in next 2 st, SC 2tog* (rep from *) (30 st)

Row 31: SC in each st (30 st)

Row 32: *SC in next st, SC 2tog* (rep from *) (20 st)

Row 33-34: SC in each st (20 st)

Row 35: change to B, SC in each st (20 st)

Row 36: * 2 SC in next st* (rep from *) (40 st)

Row 37: *SC in next 2 st, 2 SC in next st* (rep from *) (60 st)

Row 38-58: SC in each st (60 st)

Row 59: SC in bl in each st (60 st)

Row 60: *SC in next 4, SC 2tog*(rep from *) (50 st)

Row 61: *SC in next 3, SC 2tog* (rep from *) (40 st)

Row 62: *SC in next 2, SC 2tog* (rep from *) (30 st)

Row 63: *Sc in next st, SC 2tog* (rep from *) (20 st)

Row 64: *SC 2tog* (rep from *) (10 st)

Row 65: *SC 2tog* (rep from *) (5 st). Bind off and weave in ends

Arms: with A, ch 2

Row 1: 4 SC in 2^nd st from hook (4 st).

Row 2: 2 SC in each st (8 st)

Row 3: *SC in next st, 2 SC in next st* (rep from *) (12 st).

Row 4: SC in each st (12 st).

Row 5: Change to B: SC in each st (12 st)

Row 6 -10: SC in each st (12 st).  Bind off leaving a long tail for sewing.

Ears (Make 2): with A, ch 10

Row 1: sl st in 2^nd ch from hook.  Sl st in next chain. SC in next chain.  HDC in next ch.  DC 2tog twice. HDC in last chain (7 sts: 2 sl sts, 1 SC, 2 HDC, 2 DC).

Row 2: Ch 2, turn.  DC in next 2 sts. HDC in next st.  *2 SC in next st* (repeat from *). Sl st to the end of the row.  Sl st 4 in the final st to create an edge to the ear, then  sl st around the bottom of the ear to create a smoother finish.  Bind off leaving a long tail for sewing.

Feet (Make 2): with A, ch 4

Row 1: SC in 2^nd ch from hook.  SC to end of row (3 SC).

Row 2: Ch 1, turn. SC in same st. 3 SC in next st. SC in last st (5 SC).

Row 3: Ch 2, turn. DC in same st.  Sl st in next st. 2 DC in next st.  Sl st in next st. 2 DC in last st. Bind off, leaving long tail for sewing.  Weave long tail through side of foot to bottom in order to bring the tail to the correct place for sewing on the foot (and provides a smoother finish to side of foot).

Finishing: Stuff arms and sew them to the body, one on either side. Sew ears to head, one on either side and feet to the bottom of the piece, leaving enough for the toes to “peek” out.  Using yarn B, embroider a mouth and eyes on the head.  Weave in all loose ends. 

Coat (this is where you should fit your coat to your Yoda doll.  If your sts are bigger or smaller, make adjustments in the following as needed for your coat to fit your Yoda doll.  I found that working the rows while the doll was wearing the coat helped me to make my coat an exact fit for my doll): with C, ch 60

Row 1: DC in 2^nd ch from hook.  DC in each st (57 DC)

Row 2: ch 2 turn (counts as 1^st DC here and throughout), DC in each st (57 DC)

Row 3: ch 2 turn, DC in next 12 st, HDC, sl st in next 4 st, HDC, DC in next 19 st, HDC, sl st in next 4, HDC, DC in next 13 st

Row 4: ch 2 turn, DC in next 12 st, ch 5, DC in st after 2^nd HDC st from previous row, DC in next 20, ch 5, DC in 4^th HDC st from previous row, DC 12 (47 DC sts, 10 ch sts)

Row 5: ch 2 turn, DC in next 12 st, 5 DC in ch 5 space, DC in next 21 st, 5 DC in ch 5 space, DC in next 13 st (57  sts)

Row 6: ch 2 turn, DC in every st (57 st)

Row 7 (beginning to shape shoulders): ch 2 turn, DC 2tog, DC in next 49 st, DC 2tog, Dc in next st (55 st)

Row 8: ch 2 turn, DC 2tog, DC in next st, DC 2tog, DC in next 3 st, DC 2tog, DC in next 7, DC 2tog, DC in next 3 st, DC 2 tog, DC in next 3 st, DC 2 tog, DC in next 3 st, DC 2 tog, DC in next 7 st, DC 2 tog, DC in next 3 st, DC 2 tog, DC in next st, DC 2tog, DC in next st (47 st)

Row 9: ch 2 turn, DC 2tog, DC 2tog, DC in next st, DC 2tog, DC in next 6 st, DC 2tog, DC in next 2 st, DC 2tog, DC in next 2 st, DC 2tog, DC in next 2 st, DC 2tog, DC in next 6 st, DC 2tog, DC in next 2 st, DC 2tog, DC 2tog, DC in next st (33 st)

Row 10 (beginning to shape hood): ch 2 turn, DC 2tog in back loop, DC in back loops of next 28 St, DC 2tog in back loop,  DC in back loop of next st (32 st)

Row 11: ch 2 turn, DC in next 31 st (32 st)

Row 12: ch 2 turn, DC in next 13 st, 2 DC in next st, Dc in in next 2 st, 2 DC in next st, DC in next 14 st (34 st)

Row 13: ch 2 turn, DC 2tog, DC in next 11 st, 2 DC in next st, DC in next 4 st, 2 DC in next st, DC in next 11 st, DC 2tog, DC in last st (34 st)

Row 14: ch 2 turn, DC 2tog, DC in next 28 st, DC 2tog, DC in next st (32 st)

Row 15: ch 2 turn, DC 2tog, DC in next 10 st, DC 2tog, DC in next 3 st, DC 2tog, DC in next 9 st, DC 2tog, DC in next st (28 st)

Row 16 & 17: ch 2 turn, *DC 2tog, DC in next st* (rep from * to end) (19 st for row 16, 13 st for row 17)

Row 18: ch 2 turn, DC 2tog, DC in next st, *DC 2tog* (rep 3 times) DC in last st (8 st)

Row 19: ch 2 turn, DC 2tog 3 times, sl st in last st in row (5 st)  Bind off.

Join yarn at bottom right corner and SC around edge of front and hood (** note I did not SC around bottom of coat, but you can if you’d like to keep the edging consistent) weave in ends

Belt: with B, ch 81.

Row 1: sl in 2^nd ch from hook, sl st to end of ch (80st) bind off & weave in ends.

Word in Worship II

So, it's taken me a while to decide what to address next about the words used in worship.  I've finally agreed with myself that writing about Issac Watts' hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" would be the best way to go.  The more I learn think about the words Watts chose and how he put them together, the more I'm blown away by his sheer brilliance. 

Each of the three verses are one sentence, divided into four clauses.  Each sentence contains only one independent clause (one phrase that can stand on its own as a complete sentence).  The first verse sets up the main point in such a way as to make the point of the rest of the song clear.  Three of the four clauses in the first verse contain (or allude to) a first person subject ("when I survey the wondrous cross.... my richest gains I count but lost and pour contempt on all my pride").  Only the second clause contains a third person subject; only the second clause is parenthetical (not necessary to the completion of the sentence); only the second clause contains a preposition: "on which the prince of glory died".  By doing this, Watts pulls this thought out from the rest of the verse, making this clause the most important, the most noticeable.   The point: identifying that "the prince of glory" is the key to the whole song. 

On to the second verse.  Here, Watts deviates a little by not including a clear subject.  He opens this verse with the command "see", but with no clear subject at whom this is aimed.  Is he talking to himself or to his audience?  Who knows.  I think Watts did this on purpose to divert attention from a speaker (or us as the singers) and make the focus on picture we should see at the cross: Jesus dying for our sins.  Whatever his reasons, the result is effective; one looks now fully at the cross with no sense of self or a speaker intruding.  But what do we see in this picture?  "See how his head, his hands, his feet".  To whom does "his" refer here?  The only third person male mentioned so far is "the prince of glory". Thus we can assume that we are now looking, not at the cross, but at the one who died upon it.  Watts furthers this point by choosing some interesting, repeated, terms: Sorrow and Love (both capitalized in the text). "Sorrow and Love flow mingled down.  Did e're such Love and Sorrow meet".  By repeating these terms, Watts reminds us of two key points attributed to Jesus: the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3) and that "God is love" (I John 4:8).  By reiterating these two names in conjunction with the possessive "his" Watts is clearly connecting the view of the cross with the aforementioned "prince of glory" thus solidifying the main subject of the whole hymn: Jesus' death.

In the third and final verse, Watts returns the focus from the view of Jesus' death to the speaker by again using first person pronouns. Instead of using first person pronouns as subjects, he uses "Love" from the second verse (attributed as stated in the previous paragraph both as an action and a characteristic of "the prince of glory") as the subject for the final two clauses: "Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life my soul, my all".  Here, Watts moves away from the picture of the cross to the response that it (should) elicit in us: awestruck repentance.  The view of Jesus dying should remind us of what he paid for our sins; and should drive home the point that there is nothing I can do or give to repay him.  But all that I am is now his.

The point of all this is pretty simple: the hymn is not about the cross, but about the one who died upon it.  The cross is an object, never a subject, in the hymn.  The subject is Jesus' love, sorrow, and sacrifice. 

Words and Worship Part I

So, first, sorry about the long delay in posts. A combination of family, graduate school, and work keeps me pretty tied up! However, I've been meaning to write a post about this topic for a long, long time. The end result is that I have way too much to say for one post, which means I'll probably be write a few blogs about this topic. For those who haven't figured it out yet, I have a small love affair with words and that is what the topic of this blog will be about: how we use our words in the worship of Christ.

For those who would argue that words are not important, I will make a few, brief, points before I begin:

1. James warns us about controlling our tongue (what we say, our words), as our words are insight to our hearts (James 3:1-12)
2. God spoke the world into existence; everything in creation was originally spoken (with the exception of people, who were formed) (Genesis 1)
3. Jesus is called the Word (John 1:1)

The point being that words, and how we use them and what we say, are vastly important to our worship and our lives. Therefore, in this episode of Words and Worship, let's consider Madeline L'Engle's point that as our vocabulary decreases so does our intelligence (Walking on Water, 1995). I have to agree with her in general, and, as an application of this point in our worship, will use the example of the beautiful old hymn, "Come Thou Fount". (For those unfamiliar with the song, I suggest you look it up: http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh400.sht).

My point lies in the second verse of the hymn. Traditionally, the second verse begins "here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I'm come. And I hope by thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home". I've noticed, recently, in most churches, the second verse has been changed to "here I raise to thee an alter", thus eliminating the reference to Ebenezer all together.

To those well meaning, but poorly educated souls who thought this change was a brilliant idea, I say, look it up: 1 Samuel 7 (specifically verse 12). To give the story of Ebenezer in brief: the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, under the direction of their leader, Samuel, to make sacrifices and repent of their sins before God. While they were there, practically unarmed and defenseless, their enemies, the Philistines, decided that would be an excellent time to attack and destroy the nation of Israel. Naturally, when the people of Israel got wind of the impending attack, they were upset. They cried out to Samuel, who cried out to God. God led the Israelites in a resounding victory. The end result being that Samuel set up a large and called it Ebenezer, meaning stone of help, saying that the Lord was their help. Ebenezer served as a type of monument to a time when God saved His people from certain destruction.

The point being that 1. Ebenezer is not an alter (seriously, what do Christians, living under the new covenant, need an alter for anyway; wasn't Jesus' sacrifice enough?); and 2. Ebenezer means more than just a place of worship. It is a place of remembrance.

The point, then, of the second verse in the song isn't about sacrifice, it's about remembering the saving power of Christ. It is about being at a point in one's life when there was no other option but to cry out to God for help, and God hearing, and God saving from certain destruction. That is the meaning of the second verse. But in removing all reference to Ebenezer, we remove that story, that point, from the verse and completely change (for the worse I think, see the point above about Christ's sacrifice negating the need for an alter) the intent. When singing this song then, the goal is to make us remember when the Lord was our help. The point is to worship God because we remember the point (or points) in our lives when we needed Him most, and what he has done to save us.

That brings us back to the reasoning behind the change in the second verse. Some well meaning person thought to make the hymn more approachable by "modernizing" the second verse (and possibly because "Ebenezer" and "pleasure" is really bad half rhyme). Let's face it, how many people really know what Ebenezer means without reading the story? I remember singing this song in church as a young girl, and wondering what it meant to "raise my Ebenezer". Being me, I went home and looked it up in the encyclopedia (yes, I am a nerd). Which lead me back to the Old Testament story in 1 Samuel 7 and to the realizations listed above. Not many people know what Ebenezer is without being told the story. However, that should not deter us from looking up the story. If we don't teach others about it, how will they learn, and how will we remember it? The point then, is not to forget the story, rather to teach it to others. How about, instead of changing the words of the hymn, we tell the story of how the Lord saved his people before singing the song?

So, the next time you sing this song, loudly sing the original words of the second verse and remember when you were at a point in your life where you needed God's saving grace, where nothing but God's love could deliver you, and raise an Ebenezer in your heart as a monument to His unfailing love.

Gweli i chi
Amy

P.s. for another fascinating reference of this story, Mizpah, the area in question, was originally created and named by Jacob and Laban. It means "May the Lord keep watch between you and me" (Genesis 31:38-39)

Robyn Update

I cannot believe Robyn is almost a year old! She is doing so many new and fun things:
1. Her current favorite game is called "boom." She stands on the bed and throws her self forward onto a pillow yelling "boo" (meaning "boom").
2. She's figured out how to climb the stairs and so loves chasing the poor cat up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. Fortunately for Pepper, Robyn often gets sidetracked by the bookshelf at the top of the stairs and starts pulling books from the shelf instead of fur from Pepper.
2. Robyn loves to play "chase" which is a combination of peek-a-boo and being chased. This usually consists of her peeking at me from around one side of the ottoman and then crawling away as fast as her little bottom can move. That is my cue to run after her, pick her up, and blow raspberries on her tummy. This is her second favorite game.
3. She has added so many new words! She says kitty cat, book, bunny, boom, doggy, and duck. Naturally she doesn't quite have the enunciation down (book and bunny both sound like "ba" but she points to the book or the bunny so we know what she's talking about). She also says "hi-ya." Quite loudly too.
4. Puffs are her favorite food. She will eat them at any time of the day. If she sees the container, she points at it cries "ooh!" and makes the sign for "more." Even if she's already eaten her fill of other food, she still finds room for puffs!
5. She's discovered the power of pointing and saying "ooh!" We made the mistake of taking her into Toys 'R Us one day for a quick diaper run; we ended up buying quite a few toys for her because she kept pointing at them... it was too cute!
6. Robyn loves to swim: she loves water, she loves her bathing suit.
7. When Mark makes her fly around the house, she makes airplane noises.
8. She is so close to walking: she stands up on her own and cruises the furniture (she's been doing this for about three months now), but she just won't take a step without help.

Well, that's about all that's new with Robyn. She is such a fun little person! She is very independent and gets so excited about everything!

Gweli i chi
Amy

Procrastination

I forgot how evil homework is. I love learning; I love reading. One would assume that putting the two together would make grad school super enjoyable. Sadly, that is not the case. I have quite a lot to read in less than a week... which is why I'm blogging instead of reading.

Seriously, grad school is a great boost to my blog: the more I have to do, the less I want to do it; thus the more time I find to spend elsewhere.

To my (two) followers, you're welcome. My professors would be happy to know that my work is sub par because I'd rather blog than read a 3000+ word poem in Middle English :-)

Eating octopus

My parents have a teacher from Spain staying with them for a few weeks; he's here with a tour group that is somehow partnered with the school where my mom teaches (I'm not really quite sure of the how or why here...). We've been having lots of fun dragging him around to all the "fun" things to do in Davenport (not much... we have a bridge that goes to nowhere...). Today, he decided to cook an octopus for our dinner to say thanks.

Normally, I'm all up for trying any type of food once. And I love calamari, so the octopus itself was not a big deal. It tasted great. What grossed me out was seeing it as it looked before it had died, and seeing the little suction cups on the cut up tentacles, and watching Mark slurp a smaller tentacles like a spaghetti noddle....

Its things like this that make me wonder why I'm not a vegetarian... and then I realize that I love steak and am not so fond of vegetables, which would be the answer.

Boasting in my weakness

So I've been doing a Bible study on trials through the Women's ministry in our church this summer. All I can say is Wow. It's deep, emotional and intense. Great stuff! I'm really connecting with more women in my church (yay!) and learning more about drawing closer to God though my trials.

One thing talked about today was sharing what God did for us through our trials so that we can glorify Him. It is through our weakness that He shows His strength and His goodness. In other words, boast about my weakness for God's glory. In general, I tend to keep my problems low key. I don't share my struggles with many people, because, well, it's personal. But I think that there are somethings that have happened in my life that I need to "boast" about so that others can see the amazing things that He has, and is continuing to do.

The most recent trial for me started in January 2008. Mark and I reached the all important decision in a marriage: we were ready for kids. So we started trying. Things were OK for a while. I went to the doctor for a routine check up in August 2008. It was a new doctor, so we chatted a bit about my health history and that Mark and I were trying for a baby. A few things I said made her go "hmmmm...." the end result was that she ran a series of tests on me. By August 15th, I was diagnosed with Polycisitic Ovarian Syndrom (PCOS). This diagnosis meant a slew of future health problems, including a greater risk for ovarian cancer and heart failure. However, the immediate issues were also grim: women with PCOS had difficulties getting pregnant and had a greater risk of miscarriage if they did get pregnant.

Basically, there was a fairly good chance that we would never have children.

I was heartbroken.

And angry.

Mark and I are good people. We work hard and try our best to live the "right" way. Why would something like this happen to us?

I won't go into all my anger issues at this time. They were many and rather unpleasant.

Eventually, I found myself, on my face, crying to God each night: Why?

A letter from my mom, who had gone through similar questions and issues 30 plus years before helped me see this issue in a different light. While "why" is a fair question, it isn't often answered, and even less so in a way that my slow brain can fully comprehend. For me, focusing on "why" didn't help the pain, it just hurt more.

I had to come to a place where I realized the most important fact: my question should not be "why" but "who." I thought of the possible years a head of me, facing various infertility treatments, and the consent disappointment of the negative test results each month. And I realized that I had to decide who was in control. Me or God.

Giving everything, utterly and completely over to Him was harder than words can express. But eventually I said, and truly meant "Your will, not mine." I knew full well that this might mean never having children, and I knew full well that, if that was the case, I would be content in God's grace and love.

On December 6th, 2008, I had a positive pregnancy test. I could go on about all the amazing ways Mark and I saw God work through the pregnancy, but that would take too long. It is sufficient to say that on August 11th, 2009, at 3:28 am, Robyn Grace was born. She is the most amazing blessing. She is my daily constant reminder, that God's grace is more than enough for my needs, that God is in control of every situation in my life, and that God's will, not mine, is the best possible plan for my life.

Amy

Philippians 4:4-8
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all; the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds.

Fall

I love fall. It's my favorite season: the leaves changing, the crisp, cool air... and of course the Halloween candy and Thanksgiving dinner. This fall is especially fun. Robyn went as Tigger for Halloween - she was sooooo adorable! She loved her Tigger outfit. We have a mirror in our car so when she sits in her car seat, she can look at herself. She was laughing at herself in her costume when we went out trick-or-treating. We had so much fun!

I can't believe how big she's getting! She has rolled over from her tummy to her back a few times now, beyond the twice she did for me at 7 weeks old. Now she rolls on to her side from her back. She reaches for toys, even when she's on her tummy, and she holds her head up so well! She discovered her toes a few weeks ago and will spend a good half an hour sitting on my lap looking and reaching for them. Every once and a while, she'll actually get them in her hands; she's never quite sure what to do when she catches them.

All in all, we're having fun. I knew having a baby would be great, but I never knew it would be this much fun! Every day is a new discovery for her and it's so exciting to watch her grow and change.

Gweli i chi,
Amy

Ha!

All this free time as a stay-at-home mom has allowed me to blog more frequently (for me any way)! Well, actually, it isn't free time, it's not wanting to actually do the work I should do (like dust, laundry, clean the bathroom...) so I'm blogging instead... To be fair to me, I did do my actual work (grading papers and answering questions in my class) earlier this morning. So I could call blogging a break in between work...

Why is it that house work is so unappealing? I'd rather fiddle with my printer and get raving mad at technology that could work if it wanted to but is being pugnacious, just for me (how lovely of it). Take the printer this morning...We decided to do an entirely wireless home since we now have a baby... it seemed like a good idea: laptops, a wireless printer, wireless XBox Live (yes, we have an XBox, a PS2, a Wii, and two DSes... and yes, sadly, we do use them all) no wires for little baby to chew on, trip over, etc. But now the wireless printer has decided not to connect to either computer. I eventually got it working the old fashioned way (using the cable) to one laptop, but the other one won't install the software... which I thought was already installed but apparently not. I printed out stuff, but wasn't able to scan information in as it all decided it wasn't going to work any more. Why? Well, my professional opinion is that the printer is possessed and am considering an exorcism. I'm not sure that holy water would be a good idea though... water and electronics rarely mix well...

Any way, I should go dust, clean the bathroom (yuck!) and do the laundry, especially since Robyn decided to pee while being changed not once, but twice and so I have lots of pee covered clothing/diaper changing table stuff to wash...

In other Robyn news, she rolled over twice yesterday (from her stomach to her back)! I'm so proud of her! I tried videotaping it, but she decided she didn't want to perform for the camera so you just have to take my word for it.

Gweli i chi!

Amy

Hi to anyone who is still reading...

.... So, I've effectively proven that I suck at keeping up with my blogging. So much has happened in the last (almost) two years... We had a baby, I quit my job to stay home with aforementioned baby, and Mark started grad school, we've done lots of projects on the house (new kitchen, windows, and siding).

Well, that's about it.

I'll leave you with pics of Robyn Grace, who was born August 11, 2009 at 3:28 AM. She weighed 7 lbs and 14 oz (she weighs much more than that now...)

Gwela i chi!

Amy

Just when I thought things couldn't get more complicated

Well,
I know it's been a long time (sorry Anne, I didn't post every day this month... oops) so I'll try to catch you (all, if more than one person still reads this thing..) up. Mark and I put an offer in on a house last week. It's great! I'm so excited, our first house!!! We were really excited because Iowa has this great first time home buyer's initiative, they give you a really good interest rate, and a grant to pay for your closing costs. How cool is that? So we are technically closing on Dec. 12th. That's great, not too complicated... But wait. There's more.

As you (all) know, I've been working on grad school (by the way, up is a modal verb for anyone who cares...) and going slightly crazy. Just to give you an idea... I have 3,000 word essay that I'm working on right now, but my last homework assignment was picking out morphemes in other languages. To put it simply, I was given some examples in random languages (Persian, Turkish, and a Native American language Isleta which I have never heard of before) and told to basically write some translations. At first I was a little freaked out, but after completing the homework, I feel really smart. Anyway, that was a long side note... the whole point being that I wanted to concentrate on grad school since it is so difficult and I'm not half as smart as I think I am and about 1/4th as smart as everyone else thinks I am... But I got a job offer I couldn't refuse. So I accepted a position at a university up here editing papers. I'm sure it will be as exciting as it sounds, but it pays well, is in my field and would look good on a resume when I get my MA and PhD and go into teaching... however, this is where it gets complicated...

The Iowa first home buyer's initiative is only good up to a certain income level. My salary puts us over that level... which means that our interest rate will go up .25% and we have to pay closing costs. And buy a car. And pay our bills. And purchase gas for a 45 min one way drive for me. And, as we all know, when one starts a new job, one does not get paid right away, so we are doing all of this on Mark's salary... and it is going to be squishy. Very squishy. And then we have Christmas. So I have 3 options: 1. ask if the new job will move my start date 3.5 weeks later (probably not feasible) 2. quit new job before I start (also probably not feasible, or nice, or good work ethics, or good for my rep, or good for our finances....) 3. suck it up and hope we make it though Dec. I'm thinking 3 is the best option. Although, I suppose there are worse things that could have happened (i.e. no job for me OR Mark, no house, etc.) Being an adult is complicated. Ah well, we do have a house, we do both have jobs and, it will be fine after Dec....

Homework

HELP! I'm slowly drowing in a sea of homework. I'm so confused! I'm overanalyzing EVERYTHING. Do you know, I spent almost 3 hours debating if "up" was a verb, adverb or adjective in the sentance "You're pushing it up."? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm still not quite sure. I'm thinking adverb as it describes more of the action (pushing), but then my husband said, "no, it's a verb" which if it is, it's not the main verb and is either auxilary or modal. I think it's modal. Maybe that's it. Maybe it's a modal verb...
(Whimper.)

I do, however, know that the semantic role of "up" in the afore mentioned sentence would be the goal (intended destination)... or location (place of action)? No. It's definately the goal.

HELP. I have lexicology on the brain AND IT WON'T STOP!!!!!!

The day after...

Well, we had an interesting time yesterday. Houses in our price range are... interesting...
Mark and I are discussing what we liked and didn't like about the 3 houses we saw yesterday. I can't stand the one he would like to buy and he is not comfortable with the one I liked. I'll describe the houses and see what Anne, I mean my reader(s) think.
House 1: small (925 square feet) brick square house with 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and a walk-out basement. Has almost .5 acres yard space, in a quiet neighborhood, on the corner lot. On one side is a nicely kept-up house, on the other, a deep ravine. It needs a lot of help, but has good bones and room to expand without loosing too much yard.
House 2: small (700+ square feet) ranch house with 2 bedrooms, one bath and a large laundry room. The yard is a nice size but you can see all your neighbors, and your driveway is almost shared with your next door neighbor. It has no basement, no space to properly expand without major renovations and possibly adding on, taking up valuable yard space.
Can you guess which one is my choice?

Oh Well

I was planning on trying to blog everyday for a month, but I guess I broke that chain. Oh well. Life will continue. Maybe a sadder, duller life, but it will continue...

Any way... I'm really excited!! Mark and I are going to look at houses!!!!! Yeah! We are considering a few options, none of them horribly expensive, or large (we really can't afford large/expensive on Mark's salary... I suppose that's the curse of being a teacher, lots of work and no pay...) but small and quaint and in good neighborhoods. We could afford large houses in bad neighborhoods, however, I'd prefer to be squished yet safe. We're still debating if we want to buy a house now, or wait a bit. We just moved here, but I think we're going to stay for a while. Well, we'll know more after looking at houses I'm sure. If we wanted to wait a year, we could to save up money, but I'm not sure how long I can take the basement. It's cold. Very cold. And it's only going to get worse in the winter. But mom and dad are great. We actually don't see them alot.

Well, I still have homework that is screaming to me "Finish me!!!" so I'd better go.
Bye!

HA!

That's right! This is the third post in as many days. And I really can't think of much else to say. I mean, I'm really just typing to have more than 2 sentences in my blog for today. My life is actually really boring right now. I read and do my homework. My head is so full of linguistic stuff, such as lexical words, pragmatics, syntax, split infinitives, prepositional phrases, phonemes, morphemes..... AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! I can't think!!! Education is taking over my brain.... must... strive... for... sanity!!!!!

You know, the sad thing is, I'm re-reading this for editorial purposes and picking out the noun phrases, verb phrases, and realizing that when I write like I speak, I have extremely poor grammar.

Grad school is killing me.

I'm on a roll!

Hey, this is my second post in 2 days! I'm on a roll. Possibly. I think I've already beaten my record for the most amount of posts per day... which isn't saying much...

Well, for those of you who care, I've officially changed my last name. That's right. After 4 and a half years of marriage, I decided it was time to finally take my husband's last name. Yeah. I am so on top of things.

Well, I have homework from my grad classes, so I can't stay on here and write nonsense all day. I have professors who need me to write nonsense for their entertainment as well.

Bye!

So... It's been a while...

Sorry about that to my one reader (thanks mom!) or maybe I had three.... (mom-in-law, and 2 very cool sisters-in-law) I'm not really sure...
Anyway, for anyone who still reads this, thanks.

Well, lots of fun things have happened in the last year since I posted...
Mark, my wonderful husband, got a job in Davenport, Iowa. So in less than one week, we packed everything, quit our jobs (I'd wipe a tear, but I wasn't fond of that job anyway...) and moved from Fort Myers Florida to Iowa. And I'm COLD!!!!!
We've been in Iowa about 5 weeks now, and I'm freezing my little buns off. We've had the electric blanket on every night and we usually have a space heater running during the day. The sad thing is, it's only JUST October. I have no idea what we're going to do in the winter when the real cold hits.
Oh, here's the other fun tidbit of information. We currently are living in my parents' basement. While things are going well, and probably will stay that way, I can imagine all sorts of humorous possibilities waiting to happen...

It has been quite a change, but I know this will work out well for both Mark and I. He is in a fairly good school district. It's amazing that there are administrators and districts out there that care about the TEACHERS. I'm blown away. We're so used to hearing "deal with it yourself" that having a support group behind Mark is a bit strange. It's like they want him to succeed as a teacher! What a concept!

For those of you wondering what I'm doing while Mark is playing at school... no, I'm not sleeping in and laying on the couch every day (just 2 or 3 out of the week...) I'm actually enrolled in graduate school at the University of Nottingham (yes, as in the Sheriff of, and England. No, I'm not moving there, it's all on line). And as a side note, Nottingham was ranked number 74 out of the top 100 universities in the world by Newsweek this past summer. Yeah! I'm going to a smart school! I'm learning lots of new stuff and maybe, just maybe, my grammar will improve!

Well, speaking of school, I'd better go learn, and stuff. To all my Florida friends, I miss you. Come visit. Davenport is pretty cool (pun not intended). To the three or four people who may or may not read this thing, hey!
love you all!

A Belated Thanksgiving

I apologize for my negligence in not posting a Thanksgiving blog. To the two of you who read this, I am deeply sorry. I know how much it must have pained you.

Mark and I went to spend Thanksgiving with Grandma in Bradenton, FL. Her condo association was hosting a Thanksgiving feast, which was fun, considering that Mark and I were the only people under the age of 70. Grandma signed up to make the mashed potatoes. If I have to peel one more potato, I will scream. I'm sure Grandma feels the same way. But really, in all seriousness, it was a good time. Except for the one older gentleman who didn't sign up and was turned away by the lady in charge. After he left, and Mark and I realized that the lady in charge had turned him away on Thanksgiving, Mark went to go find him and bring him back as our guest, but we never saw him again. I hope, despite her rudeness, that he was able to enjoy the holiday...

Now, I know that most people went shopping on black Friday, but my Grandma likes to defy convention. So she took us parasailing. Did I mention that I'm scared of heights? It was fun though. I'll never do it again, but it was definitely worth the one time. Needless to say that we had a fun, enjoyable time with Grandma. And we got to drive in the new car. Yeah. It was good.



That's right. This is me. Hanging from a parachute. Above the Gulf of Mexico. It was very, very high. One might even say Exceedingly high. Yeah. I was very, very scared. One might even say exceedingly scared. Note the hesitant smile and the inability to let go of the straps.













And this is Mark. Hanging from the same parachute. Note the complete lack of fear.



And that is what we did over our long weekend.

It's a little late to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving, so happy Christmas season everyone! THREE MORE WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS BREAK!!!! YIPEE!!!!!!! (for those of us who work in schools....)

The Newest Addition to Our Family

Meet the newest addition to our family: Tabbitha (for right now... we're still deciding on the name). This is the first brand spanking new car that we've ever owned. It's a 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer. And it's beautiful!

Mark took this picture on our first road trip with the new car. I've never owned a car with less than 50,000 miles! This is so exciting!!!

Taking a Day Off

I love personal days! Tomorrow is one of three personal days that I have taken off so far this year (that probably isn't good to say, but hey, we all know how I feel about my job). I'm rather excited as we are going to purchase a new car. And it's brand spanking new. No previous owners and built in this millennium! How amazing is that? It will also be our first car with a CD player. Yeah. We're a little behind the times. Just a little.

We are also going to a place called the River House for a relaxing weekend with our Church. Yep. All 20 of us (or are we up to 30 now?) are going. It will be excessively fun/exciting/relaxing. I'm looking forward to the hammock on the porch. Although, it is supposed to be cold this weekend. Our highs will only be in the low 70's. That's practically freezing. Maybe I'll take along my winter coat...

But I think that the best thing ever was that today was like Friday for me. I have spent most of my working life waking up every morning saying "woo-hoo! It's Friday!" even if it isn't (which is especially depressing on Monday). It got so bad, that I used to tell people "happy Friday", on Thursdays... But today, today was a Thursday that was a Friday. It is beautiful. May I just say, that I'm a big fan of the three day work week?

To my devoted reader(s): have a lovely, wonderful and relaxing weekend. Happy Friday!