Spring Break

This week has been my Spring Break from school.  It began last Friday and ends on Sunday.  On Friday, I set off for home (Greenville).  I was able to sit and talk with my sister in the ICU.  She was making improvements daily!  On Tuesday, she was moved to a LTAC (Long Term Acute Care) facility.  She seems to enjoy being there (much more than the regular hospital anyway).  At this hospital, she will undergo agressive therapy (physical, occupational, and speech).  I was able to talk to her on the phone yesterday and she said she was doing better, but not good.  She has no idea how sick she really was, but we are so glad that she is getting back to her old self. 

On Wednesday, I woke up early to come back home.  I knew that Philip was off and that we could finally have a day together.  We have not been home all day on the same day since he began work.  We ran many errands (returned a dress, returned some sandals) and ate lunch at Moe's.  It was so nice to be able to spend time with each other without having to worry about what time we needed to be somewhere.  For supper, we met up with some UA friends at Wild Wings.  Because we still don't know many people here, it was so nice to go out to eat with some friends.  Even if they were all guys!  :) 

Yesterday, P took his second exam.  Boy will we be glad when this semester is over!  He has one on Monday and one on Tuesday and he is done.  After his exam, he was able to get a little more sleep before I woke him up for lunch.  Leftover wings and tater tots!  After we ate, he had to submit a paper and then go to work. 

Today, he is at work again.  I was able to enjoy some time out by our pool.  I realized after being there for a few minutes that I had forgotten a towel.  I got in the pool anyway.  It is still pretty chilly, but still felt refreshing.

Although this Spring Break may not have been what I imagined or planned, it has been pretty good.  I have been able to relax, spend time with P, visit the pool, knit, and read.  I can't believe that when I go back to school on Monday my students only have a month left.  I am not sure that I am ready to let them go.  I feel like there are so many more things that I can/should/need to teach them.  I am, however, ready for summer to be here.  It will probably be much like Spring Break.      

A Better Week

This has been a much better week than last.  My sister has continued to improve daily.  Although she developed pneumonia and now has a trach, she is doing much better.  I can not express how ready I am for her to be home and for everythign to be back to normal.  All the time I find myself thinking of something I need to tell her and picking up the phone, only to realize that I can't call or talk to her.  :( 

Next week is my Spring Break.  It seems like I have been waiting on it forever.  I can't wait to be able to go back and visit my sister and my family.  I also hope to get a lot of quilting and crafting done during this time.

Tank's picture face.  He always scrunches up his nose and pulls back his ears. 

Yesterday, I was able to spend a little "me" time.  First on the agenda was to find a bathing suit.  I thought this would be a horrible task and take me forever.  Luckily, I went to the new outlet and love the first suit I tried on.  I didn't mind paying more for a suit this year because since we are so close to the beack, I know we will have lots of visitors over the summer and it will be put to good use. 

Tucker and the "Plush Pig"

Also on the agenda was a visit to Barnes and Noble.  I have been waiting all week for this day!  This week was Teacher Appreciation Week and I got a good discount on things not only for my classroom, but also for me!  I bought two books about knitting as well as an older Pat Conroy book.  I can not wait to be able to go out to the pool and beach and just read (By the way....our pool opened yesterday!!!).




My books.  I can't wait to get started on them!


I am loving this time of year (Spring Break, the weather, the pool) and I can't wait until summer when I can relax and have "me" days much more frequently. 

Worst Week Ever

This has been the worst week ever.  My sister had a minor surgery Thursday before last.  When she went home she was in a lot of pain.  The next morning, she was having trouble breathing.  They thought they knew what happened, but when they took her in to have emergency surgery, her body went in to shock and shut down.  I had not left to go home because we thought that she would just have another small surgery and then return home within days.  However, after her body shut down, it was another story.

at my high school graduation

I called my dad to check in with him about Anna again and he said, "Your sister's pretty sick, kid."  That was when I knew something bad was wrong and that I needed to go home.  I quickly took out the dogs and threw the bag I had packed earlier just in case in the car.  I got about 10 mintues down the road only to discover that my wallet was not in my purse.  I freaked out, but turned around thinking it had to be inside the apartment on the table.  When I got back home, it was not there.  I looked in the backseat of the car, in the floorboard, and in the trunk.  I called Philip, who was at work, and he said to meet him at his work and he would give me a card to use until I got back.  On the way, I called Dad back and said that I would be on the way as soon as I could, but that I had lost my wallet.  When I arrived at UA, Philip said he had already talked to his boss and could go home with me if I wanted him to.  I was relieved because I hate driving myself that far and it would have been way worse because I was so worried.

We both set off for home.  When we got back to the apartment, I found my wallet under the backseat in the car.  Turns out it was never really lost.  I was again relieved.  

with Tucker when we first got him

We left for Simpsonville and arrived around 9:00.  By that time, it was too late to visit the hospital so we went to get some rest.  We stayed for the rest of the weekend, but had to come back home on Monday.  All week at school, she was all I thought about.  

I was able to go back on Friday and just came back to Bluffton today.  I was able to see her initiate her breaths and then get help for the respirator.  She did great!  She also opened her eyes and looked at me several times.  Her swelling was much better and she was beginning to look like herself again.  

I am still very worried about her and I know she still has a long way to go.  I also know that she is in good hands with the nurses and doctors at the hospital.  She has many people praying for her and I know that has helped her along.  It has been so nice to see all the visitors at the hospital and all the comments people have left for her online.  This has been a very difficult time for my family, but I know that we can make it through.  Anna is still fighting the infection and is able to do more each day.  I am proud of the fight she has put up so far and I know that she will continue to fight just as hard until she is back to her old self.  

at the MB one summer

I love you, Nan!  I know you can do it.   

Prayers Needed

Please pray for my sister. She is very sick and in ICU.  She is improving but still has a long way to go.  Please also pray for all of the doctors and nurses. Thank you!

Trying to become someone I've never been.....

I have decided that I want to become a runner/jogger.  At Under Armour, one of the questions they are suppose to ask you is, "What can we make you today?" (or something like that)  I have decided that since I can no longer swim here (and I haven't really been swimming in a while) that I will have to find something else to do.  I am excited about this because I really want to lose some weight.  I am hoping that this transformation can make me more healthy which can make me a better wife and a better teacher.  Getting new clothes and shoes makes this process even more fun.  Here are my new shoes!!!  I have been looking for pink shoes for months now, but hadn't found the right ones.  I also love these because they are not white.  I HATE WHITE SHOES!  They get (or look) so dirty so quickly.   

Anyway, the way that I am hoping to accomplish this goal is to use the program Couch to 5K.  I feel like it makes running and exercise doable, but not too difficult.  I had seen it somewhere else online, but here is the information that I found.  Also, I found an app for my phone that keeps up with the time for each section which is awesome.  If not, I would be so obsessed about looking at my watch and keeping up with the time I wouldn't be keeping up with the program.  This program can be done inside or outside.  For now, I think I will do it outside.  


This is one of my favorite shirts.  P said it is called Burnout.  It is very lightweight, but fairly see-through.  I can wear it over some other workout shirts or with a tank top under with jeans. 

   


This comes along with P's new job at Under Armour.  The store opened on Thursday and we were fortunate enough to be able to go and purchase a few goodies.  I am so excited about the possibilities this job brings to our family.  I can't wait to see where UA takes us and allows us to go!  But for now....I am trying to become a runner, someone I've never been. 

   

New Hobbies

I was so excited today when I got home from a class and saw that no one was home downstairs.  I quickly took the dogs out and ran back in to get busy on my dad's quilt.  About half way in, I sewed things together backwards and spent most of my time taking out what I had sewn.  Then, I realized that the lady had come home.  I fixed the problem and then stopped sewing for the day.  I only got a few more rows sewn, but it was better than nothing! 


Also this week I have started a new hobby.....knitting.  A few months ago, I decided that I wanted to use YouTube to teach myself how to crochet.  After all, my little sister can do it (she can draw, but she can't do many other crafty things.)  I started making something random.  I don't even really know what I was trying to make.  After a few rows, it started getting kind of wonky.  After a few more rows, it looked like a crescent (because each row got smaller somehow).  I just figured that I did a bad job with the first row and that led to the other rows being off so I started again.  The second attempt started out better, but quickly looked just as weird.  I gave up on this.  I can do a lot of things, but I will go ahead and say that crochet is not one of them.

 
Then one of my favorite blogs, Make It and Love It, started a knitting series with Rebecca Danger.  I saw the first post and knew that I would be making a trip to get some knitting needles.  One night on the way back from Hilton Head, Philip decided to stop at Wal-Mart to pick up a few things.  I convinced him to walk to the craft and fabric section and there I found my new friends.  They are shiny, gold, long knitting needles (they were out of the shorter ones).  I came home and couldn't wait to try it out.  I got home and went back to the blog post, but I could not follow the pictures for the first step.  I followed Rebecca's link to a YouTube video and I was off!  I waited for the next post about the knit stitch, but again did not understand, nor did I understand the linked video.  I went back to the same lady as the cast on (first) video and understood immediately.  It has been great!  Each night, I just complete a few rows.  This is suppose to make a dish cloth.  I am suppose to continue until it is 8 inches long.  It seems like it will take forever to get it that long.  Not to mention my left hand hurts after about one row!

Since the knitting turned out much better than the crochet, I went to Michael's because I had a coupon and bought all this.  Most of it was on sale or clearance plus I had two coupons! 

Needless to say, I won't be buying knitting supplies for quite a while.  :)  


Now I am one happy girl who can't quilt (even though I miss the quilting).   

The First Real Post

Well, school has gotten really busy.  There is still lots to learn before the beginning of June!  You can tell that the end of the school year is approaching.  I can not wait for Spring Break and summer in Bluffton.  We live about 15 minutes from Hilton Head Island and I am ready for summer and to venture out. 


Also, Philip will be starting a new job tomorrow.  He is gone to a meeting now and I can already tell how different this is going to be.  He will work most nights until about 11:00.  I have been so spoiled having him home every day when I get home from work (sometimes with dinner cooked).  


Anyway, not a lot of sewing has been going on.  We found out that the people in the apartment underneath us do not appreciate my sewing.  The walls seem to be paper-thin and I am sure it sounds like the ceiling is going to collapse.  We are looking to move into a townhouse in the same complex to eliminate this problem.  One thing that I finished up recently is a heating pad cover.  I got the idea from this book by Denyse Schmidt. 

It is full of great ideas.  It also has projects that are smaller and less involved than a full quilt.  I did not use the actual pattern from the book.  I pieced it using some scraps I had of the fabric line Blush.  I love the way it turned out!  I wanted it to be slightly wonky, but had to use the scraps I had.   

One more thing that I have been working on for quite a while is this quilt pattern, Twisted,  from Carolina Patchworks for my dad.  I made it to match his living room, but it is proving to be much more involved that I originally thought.  There are many little pieces.  I am loving the way it looks and I would love to make a larger one for our bed (but that will probably never happen).  

Well, that's about it.  I will try to post more often, even if it's not about quilting.  :)