Brrrr…. Chilly!

Hey Y’all!

Today was a very cold day. We woke up to temps in the 30’s and the wind was howling! I chose to stay in my jammies as long as I could today! But, I worked really hard! All of my Christmas decorations and trees are up and the house is cleaned and ready for Thanksgiving visitors. I may need some time to recover from all of this hard work! Pitty Pat and I stepped out about 3:30 for a chilly walk, and then back under the covers we went! I only ventured out to change the laundry from the washer to the dryer and then to fold it. In fact, Pitty Pat and I are about to head back to bed for good in a few minutes!

I am really enjoying my Christmas tree lights. I haven’t taken a picture of the whole set up yet, because I am playing around with getting a new garland to go around the entertainment center this year. The one I have is nice, but it is falling apart. So I plan to head out this week to see what my (not so expensive) options are! This year I did have to add little something to my green tree. This tree is very old… at least 15 years. It is starting to brown in some spots and the limbs are not holding up well. I had a fake snow blanket that I decided to break apart to add a snow effect to the branches. I love the way it makes the tree look! I might decide to flock this tree next year (add a fake snow effect on the branches with paint) so it can last even longer. I am enjoying this tree all over again! Here’s a quick pic… remember, I am not done decorating this part!

Sadly, I did not get in any knitting this weekend. I really wanted to get my house cleaned and my decorations up. At least I have only two days of school this week and all of my hard housework is done. Now I can kick up my feet and knit over Thanksgiving vacation!

Tootles!

JKP

Happy November!

Hey Y’all!

I hope everyone is doing well! I hopped on the blog to make a post this morning and I found myself doing some ol’ blog housekeeping. A little while ago I changed my twitter password, so that in turn caused the twitter widget to stop working. I have also been posting pictures to instagram on a daily basis and I wanted to link that to the blog too. Then I thought I wanted a color change, and on and on. So the blog got a wee facelift! I hope you like it!

The month of  November has turned out to be just as busy and stressful as October. But. I have had some fun! I had a birthday a few weekends ago and celebrated with friends, family and Mimosas. Of course! Here is me toasting to 41!

Earlier in the month, as a birthday gift to myself, my best friend met me in Charleston at the South Carolina Aquarium. Our treat was to tour the Sea Turtle Hospital. Y’all. We had a private tour! It was so wonderful to see these creatures being nurtured back to health. We had a great time seeing the turtles and hearing about their treatment.

Whenever I don’t feel like getting in my 3 mile walk everyday, I think of those turtles. My miles are helping me get in shape for my sea turtle beach walking with SCUTE next summer!

I am still trying to get in my steps everyday. This week has been a hard one. I haven't had the get up and go. It seems like this past time change was difficult on everyone. I still don’t feel like myself. But the walking has helped me lose 5 pounds, so I have to keep on with it!

Today I got up with the intention of getting my house decorated for Christmas. Mom will be here for Thanksgiving on Wednesday and then the weekend after that is Girls Weekend Christmas Palooza. Y’all know how I love the Christmas lights. But. I didn’t get the trees up today. I did get a great deal at Bath and Body Works on Soap ($2.50!) but that is as close as I came to adding Christmas to the house today. Maybe tomorrow!

As you can see from my instagram feed, I have a new batch of Amish Friendship Bread starter going! With my peanut and nut allergies, I can hardly eat anything that has been baked in a store now. So I thought with the starter I could get some yummy Christmas baked goods that I could keep and give away. I can bake with this starter on Wednesday. I am looking forward to some yummy bread and chocolate chip cookies.

Pitty Pat is doing well and , I think, he is looking forward to having me at home for a few days over Turkey Day! His hair was so long at the beginning of November, I had to take him to Pet Co for a shower and a shave! I hated not to take him to his regular groomer, but she only works during the week and doesn’t groom on the weekends any more. Our situation was dire… Pitty Pat had too much hair and was stinky. But the folks at Pet Co did a fabulous job and Pitty Pat did not act like a monkey. Win, Win!

Alrighty, it is time to get in the kitchen and heat up some left overs! I do have a wee bit of Christmas cheer going on in the kitchen. This is a snowman magnet that I bought the other day. He is life size! He is so cute! He came with a buddy.. Santa, but I prefer Mr. Snowman! He can stay up longer!

It is supposed to get really cold here over the next few days. I have a few knitting projects for others I need to knit up, but as soon as those are done, I need to knit myself a few hats. My ears get cold on my walks!

Tootles!

JKP

Busy Times!

Hey Y’all!

Wow. This month has dragged by in some ways and flown by in others! Let’s just say that I am happy, happy, happy that this coming Friday is November 1st!

School has kept me busy this month with all sorts of things. Parent teacher conferences, report cards and a ton of work have kept me on my toes. I am also trying to keep up with my 10,000 steps a day. Some days it is easier than others. I have  few more days to go to make my 300,000 steps for the month of October. It helps that everyday or most everyday afterschool I come home and walk two miles around my neighborhood. Although, the weather has cooled down this week and my ears are freezing. It looks like I will be knitting my self some  hats this weekend!

Speaking of knitting, my needles have surprisingly been clacking away. I have had several baby hats to knit up for friends. Last Saturday, I put these cuties in the mail to Columbia. There is a girl explosion right now!

 

I have also fallen in love with knitting fabric scarves. These are so easy to do and I use a crochet hook. I can make one of these scarves in about 30 minutes.

I have sold several already for holiday gifts! I just love all of the different patterns that they come in! Also, they are light and airy and not as heavy as traditional yarn scarves. With our beach weather that is a plus!

Also, here is some news that made beyond happy. Remember all of the classes I have been taking to gain my Online Teaching Certification? Well, the State Department of Ed finally got around to adding it to my certificate. I am official!

Of course, I celebrated with a cupcake!

Well, I am off to run some errands, catch up with laundry and maybe switch out my closet today.  I also have some knitting to do. Good thing there is a Good Witch movie marathon on the Hallmark Channel today!

Tootles!

JKP

What Do You Mean it is October?

Hey Y 'all!

Well, as predicted, back to school has me busy, busy, busy. I think I have mentioned before how the first few months back to school, especially October are brutal. This weekend I am just worn out. I had a fantastic visit from my best friend last weekend and we did so much fun stuff! This weekend is going to be about hanging out with the P-man and enjoying being home!

Pitty Pat is doing Ok. He has had an infection in both of his eyes which has been pretty uncomfortable for him. I think this week both of his eyes finally cleared up. The vet is not sure if it was a reaction (allergy) or if it was some type of sty infection. I am just glad it is gone! Pitty Pat has the most precious set of eyelashes. I know. On a dog. And sadly he lost his lashes over this. But I did notice a few growing back, so I hope they will continue to grow. Pitty Pat was really good about  having warm compresses on his eyes to make him feel better. I think he grew to like it a wee bit too much! Spa Dog!

Right before Pitty Pat's eyes got really bad, we took a trip to the beach for a walk. My boy loves the beach!

Other than that, that is all that has been going on. I have a marathon of cooking scheduled for this too! It seems that my freezer is running low on yummy meals. I have not been cooking a lot, so it is nice to come home and have a meal that I can reheat! I noticed this week my stockpile from August is almost gone. Time to fill the freezer back up!

I have also gotten back into the habit of walking my 10,000 steps a day. It has made me feel so much better! Each afternoon when I get home, I also take a 2 mile walk around my neighborhood. I plug in my ipod and go! I have subscribed to some great knitting podcasts, so before I know it I have finished my walk. I may not be losing all of the prednisone weight I have gained, but I think every little bit helps!

So I am off to chill this weekend. It is supposed to be 88 today, so hopefully later on this afternoon I can carve in some beach time. I have a great new Mary Alice Monroe book I am reading and I would love to finish it on the beach.

Y'all have a great weekend!
Tootles!
:) JKP

It’s Pumpkin Time!

Hey Y’all!

I hope everyone had a great week! I didn’t get to go to any turtle nest inventories this week because of school, but there are several this week that I plan on attending. The last nest in Garden City hatched on Friday, so there will be a nest inventory tomorrow night. I definitely plan on being there. It is the last nest of the season, which is a little sad. I will post pics as soon as I can!

Last night we had a faculty and staff get together at my assistant principal’s house. We had some very yummy barbeque. Everyone had to bring a dish to share. So yesterday morning while drinking my coffee I went on the search on Pinterest to find something quick, easy and delish! Enter the Pumpkin Fall Dip! This is a cinch to make and it is so yummy when you pair it with Gingersnaps! Bonus.. this dip makes A LOT!

To make Fall Pumpkin Dip you will need:

 

1 15 oz can of pumpkin.. NOT pumpkin pie filling

1 5oz box of vanilla instant pudding (do not make the pudding, just use the pudding powder)

2 tubs of Cool Whip (The recipe calls for plain Cool Whip, but I like to GO BIG OR GO HOME. So I used the Extra Creamy one!)

1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

A bag of Gingersnaps and/or Nilla  Wafers

Combine all of the ingredients except for the Gingersnaps and Nilla Wafers. Mix well.

 

After mixing, place the dip in the fridge for a few hours. It tastes just like PUMPKIN PIE!

Then serve! Here’s a serving dip…. When you have to go to a party and you need to bring a dish, head to Dollar General! It is one of my favorite stores! For some reason all of my serving dishes are at school. So I headed to Dollar General and picked up a huge serving plate and bowl for the dip for under $2. The nice thing about that is you can always leave the dishes at the party if you need to leave and  you don’t have to worry about getting your serving dishes back! This is great, especially if your dish is still being enjoyed!

Alrighty, I think I am off to the beach to get some reading done. It is so quiet around here because all of the tourists are finally gone. It will be so nice to have some peace on the beach!

Tootles!

JKP

Turtle Love!

Hey Y’all!
Well, school is back in session… like you couldn’t tell from my absence on the blog! No matter how hard I try at the beginning of each year, the start of school always gets the best of me. This year has been very overwhelming and some of the pain that I was having last September has come back, which is a little scary. But. I recognized the signs and went into my arsenal and started taking care of myself a little bit better. I am drinking more water and getting lots of sleep. I am also taking my vitamins and trying to eat well. So let’s hope I don’t have a repeat of last year!
I am very blessed this year in that I have a VERY sweet class. I just love my students this year. They love to learn and BONUS.. the love hearing about Paddington, so that just makes my day. My furry baby has been alright with my return to school. During our first two weeks back, during inservice days, I tried to come home for lunch everyday. I think that helped him a bit. Paddington still throws a temper tantrum when I leave in the morning, but he is not licking any hotspots on himself which is an improvement from last year. He is just dropping his toys in the bathtub. But. I will take that!
Over the summer you may have seen on the Reads From the Beach Chair that I keep at the top of the blog that I have been reading several books by Mary Alice Monroe. Mary Alice Monroe is an author from SC and she is very involved in Sea Turtle rescue and Sea Turtle nest monitoring. After reading her books this summer, it helped me realize that this is a project that I would like to become involved in. And. I have!
Y’all know that I am very passionate about animals and I have followed S.C.U.T.E (South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts) for a while on Facebook. During Open House a few weeks ago, several of my former students came back to visit with me. One of those parents is very active in S.C.U.T.E. and invited me to a nest inventory that was happening later on that week. A nest inventory happens 72 hours after a sea turtle nest has “boiled” or hatched. During the inventory, they count how many eggs hatched, didn’t hatch and they look to see if there are any turtle hatchlings stragglers. If there are stragglers, then we help them get to the ocean. You form two long parallel lines and watch over the hatchlings. It is very important that the hatchlings walk to the ocean as this gives them time to “imprint” and stretch their muscles for the long swim to the Gulf Stream.
Let me tell you. Once you have seen a turtle hatchling lift their head and get a whiff of ocean air and then scurry to the water, you are not the same person. This has been happening for thousands of years and you are a part of it.  It is a wonderful thing to be a part of! Here are some pics from the nest inventories I have been to.

Next Summer I am going to volunteer with S.C.U.T.E. and walk the beaches a few mornings a week to look for turtle tracks and nests. I wanted to do it this past summer, but couldn’t due to class stuff. I am so excited about this!
Well, let me run!
Tomorrow we are back to school! Tootles!
JKP

450th POST!

Hey Y'all!

This is my 450th post on this blog! WOW. That's a lot of posts about knitting, crafts and cooking!

It's official... I am done with Graduate Summer School! Check it out....

A's in both classes. I may not have taken a cool vacation this summer, or done anything else but sit in front of my computer.. but I did accomplish something! As soon as grades are finalized and I get can my transcript, I can apply for my new certification for online teaching! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

I finished last Wednesday, and then I took a few days to chillax. Not really. I went and worked in my classroom on Wednesday and Thursday. Last Friday I did a wee bit of shopping and Saturday and Sunday I took it easy. I went into school today and finished up my bulletin boards and unpacking. I have a good start. We officially go back to work Wednesday. I am a little sad about it, but I learned so much this summer that I think it will be ok.

While I have had some down time, I have gotten hooked on Homeland on Showtime. I just finished the last episode of season two this afternoon. Wow. Now I have to wait until the end of September to see what happens!

I have also been doing some small knitting. With all of this course work, I haven't had the heart to knit. I did pull out a sock I started A YEAR AGO to get it finished. Sometime soon I will get to the toe decreases and kitchner stitch. Then I can start on its mate!

The furry Pressley is having a hard time with our schedule change. I have been trying to leave for a bit everyday so he gets used to it. Paddington Bear is not happy that summer is just about over.

Alrighty. I am off  to hop in the tub! I am meeting my friends for a "Goodbye to Summer" dinner....
Tootles!
:) JKP