I finished sewing my Halloween costume

I haven't sewn anything in years.  I used to sew much more when I was in high school, but that was because my first job was at Hancock Fabrics.  I think it's a rule that you have to get into whatever you're selling when you're working retail or else you'll end up bored out of your mind!  So I found myself buying fabric while I worked at the fabric store.

Anyway, my Halloween costume (which I'm not telling anyone at school about until they see it on Wednesday is little dead riding hood.  The inspiration came from two places.

This picture.

Found here

This pattern.

Found here.

For my cape, I used a set of red sheets that I got at Goodwill for the material, which was cheaper than actually going to a fabric store and buying that much material.  I changed the pattern slightly by making it a little longer and not lining it.  (I figured it's a Halloween costume.  It doesn't really need to be lined.)  I think it turned out pretty well if I do say so myself.

Fall break!

I made it to fall break!  Today I slept in because my wonderful husband got up with the whining dog.  However, my wonderful husband also forgot to turn off his alarm so I woke up to it at eight.  That's still sleeping in an extra hour and a half so I'll take it!

After spending some time around the house, I drove to Plainfield to go to lunch with my friend Laura.  We went to an Indian buffet appropriately named Favorite Indian Cuisine.  It was so good!  I enjoyed every single dish I tried, but I have to say I'm partial to the paneer masala because paneer's something you only get in Indian food.

Then it was over to the dollar store so she could pick up cleaning supplies for her new house (she's closing on it tomorrow!) and I picked up some stuff for decorating my classroom for Halloween.  I found some really good stuff that seemed even better because each item was only a dollar!

This year my students are really into it.  They have planned more ahead of time this year than any other year.  Our theme is going to be abandoned asylum complete with specimen jars full of blood, brains, intestines, and other scary items; a fake body that's going to fall out of the ceiling and hang itself; students dress as former asylum patients laying on tables; a student sitting in an electric chair; and an operating table with me as the doctor operating on a patient!

We have a general plan and some of the supplies gathered, but we still have to figure out how to make an electric chair.  At this point we're thinking using my office chair and tying a students arms down to the arms of the chair and having them wear a bowl that's covered in tin foil with wires sticking out of it.  Other suggestions?

One more day

I know I've been completely missing from this blog but that's because I've been a bit overwhelmed.  I'm happy to say that I only have one more day of school until fall break (!!!) which I'm hoping will give me enough of a break to get me through to Thanksgiving and then until the end of the semester.

It doesn't help that Halloween, which is the biggest celebration day at my school, is coming up.  I'm in charge of the student government, and they are the ones in charge of the celebration.  Too bad that I only have a few of my student government students who seem to care about what we're trying to do.  At least those few are really helpful, so hopefully we'll manage to make it through...  I know that I can at least make it through until tomorrow afternoon!

So far today

I've made pumpkin bread,

started chili in the crockpot,

finished knitting a washcloth and started on another one,

repotted a plant,

and wrapped a birthday present and a baby present.

I'd say I've had a pretty productive Saturday!  I hope yours is just as productive and enjoyable as mine has been so far!

10 things

I borrowed this post idea from this lovely lady.

1. This weekend my friend Liz from college came to visit with her one year old son.  Besides the fact that it was amazing to see Liz since it's been over a year since I saw her at her baby shower in St. Louis, it was crazy to have her son Niko running around our house.  It totally gave me a glimpse of what having our own child would be like.

2. Our dog Schmoo was really good with Niko, but Niko totally liked the cats more than the dog.  Every time a cat would come into the room he would look at it and start meowing.

3. One of my students brought me a cannoli this morning for no reason.  It was the best cannoli I've ever eaten, but it came from a Greek place, which seems weird to me.

4. I read almost everything that my students read at school aloud to them, which means I'm currently in the middle of The Catcher in the Rye, And Then There Were None, and Mr. Popper's Penguins.

5. I love watching The Voice because I like seeing the judges bicker with each other.  I would totally choose Blake because he is hilarious.

6. Speaking of The Voice, last year CeeLo had a cat when he was doing interviews.  This year he has a bird.  They did show the cat once in the car as he was getting to the studio, but I totally miss the cat.

7. Have you watched the show Breaking Amish?  I watched the first episode and have the second episode saved on my DVR.  I'm not sure how much I'll like it when they actually go to New York, but the first episode was so interesting.

8. Can you tell I've been watching too much TV?

9. Last week, Schmoo was barking at something outside.  I went outside to see what it was and saw him doing the walk forward and back up because I'm scared thing that dogs do.  What was he barking at?  A flower.  I figured it out when he finally sniffed it and then stopped freaking out.

10. I'm in the middle of reading Les Miserables in hopes that I'll finish it before the movie comes out.  I really like the parts that actually have a plot, but I would totally cut out the 20-30 page chunks that describe things like Waterloo or convents, which barely tie into the plot.

This week I've been working on two projects.

I started a new prayer shawl, which is knit in squares and then pieced together.  That lets me knit it a square at a time and makes me feel like I'm making a lot of progress.

I started reading Les Miserables.  I'm always wary of reading "classics" because I have been so thoroughly unimpressed by some of them.  (The Old Man and the Sea to name one...)  But so far I'm really enjoying Les Miserables.  I don't know if it's the fact that I don't really know the story so it's full of twists and turns or that I feel really accomplished for reading it because it's such a long book to read. Either way, I feel like I can't get enough of it lately.

Why Schmoo (and other dogs) are wonderful

"One of the greatest gifts we receive from dogs is the tenderness they evoke in us.  The disappointments of life, the injustices, the battering events that are beyond our control, and the betrayals that we endure from those we befriended and loved can make us cynical and turn our hearts into flint on which only the matches of anger and bitterness can be struck into flame.  Other companion animals can make us more human, but because of the unique nature of dogs - their clear delight in being with us, the rejoicing with which they greet us when we come home to them, the reliable sunniness of their disposition, the joy they bring to playtime, the curiosity and wonder with which they embrace each new experience - they can melt away cynicism and sweeten a bitter heart." - from A Big Little Life by Dean Koontz