TerpThon

Hi all! I'm Savvy. Some of you may remember hearing from me a couple times before about Terp Thon. For the past two years, I have been a participant of this event. This year, though, I have been blessed with the opportunity to be more involved with this amazing organization. This is just such an incredible and worthy cause, and I can't even begin to imagine my life without it. So for those of you who don't know or remember, let me tell ya all about it.

Terp Thon is a student-run organization at UMD. We raise money and awareness year-round for the Children's Miracle Network, which connects us to a local hospital. All the money we raise goes directly to our hospital, the Children's National Medical Center in DC. The Dance Marathon is an event in the spring at which participants pledge to stand on their feet for 12 hours for those who can't. The 12 hours represents the typical nurse's shift at the hospital. The Dance Marathon is basically a celebration of all the money we raised throughout the year. We invite some of the kids from the hospital and just make them feel like rockstars for the day. It is an absolute blast, and it really is a life-changing event. In only our second year last year, Terp Thon raised nearly $140,000 - more than any Dance Marathon has ever raised in its second or third year! Terp Thon is one of the fastest growing Dance Marathons in the nation, and we continue to try to make it even better.

Everything we do is FTK, For The Kids. The kids in these hospitals deserve nothing but the best. Every year, I meet more of these kids, and every time, they make my heart melt. Everything they go through, yet they maintain such spirit and motivation. It just moves you. They are so grateful for what we do. And to think, for most of us it's as simple as turning down that one Starbucks coffee or putting down that extra skein of yarn in order to donate a couple dollars to the cause. These "couple dollars" add up so quickly and truly help save lives. Check out this video to see a little about what we're trying to do here. We are trying to make a difference in the lives of amazing kids like Ollie.

This time of year, I think it's really important to be grateful for everything we have. I think we often get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of everything that we forget the simple things in life. This holiday season, I just ask that you remember the real reason for the holidays and enjoy it.

If in the spirit of the season you're interested in donating to this incredible cause, please feel free to check out my donation page: www.helpmakemiracles.org/participant/smason . I definitely appreciate it, and I know the kids do as well…more than I can even express.

I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season, and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Empty Nest...Part II

Empty Nest Part I brings me to this post. Chem girl has returned to college. We patiently waited for Hurricane Irene to exit and make the move.

Packing the car is always an interesting endeavor with DH. The pillows were 'smooshed' on top of the packed trunk.









The backseat was full to the top of the car and this was all I could see of her during the trip.























For the first time she has a spacious room with not one but two windows. Drywall vs concrete block walls which she dubbed 'prison walls' makes her feel as if she's home. She also has air conditioning which is another plus. She has not had air for the past 2 years and the heat and humidity were horrible in the concrete block dorms.




















She dragged the flamingo lights and this little guy with her. What is up with this kid and flamingos? LOL





















Just like the Cardinal family in Empty Nest Part I we've encouraged the baby to take flight. We now have an empty nest once again. Time is moving quickly and in another year or so we will have an permanent empty nest.
There will be another post of Mr. Bettis and his antics while we were gone but that will have to wait.
In the meantime I am in the process of downsizing and cleaning out. Everything MUST GO! well with the exception of my yarn ;)

The Move

Yesterday was spent on the road to move the college DD into her dorm to begin another year.
Thank goodness the heat and humidity held off for another day (unlike last year when we moved her into the unairconditioned 8th floor).










My parents offered to drive their van and it's a good thing, she took everything but my kitchen sink.
Last year she shared a triple room which was very cramped. Although she and her roommates did the best they could it was tight quarters.
This year she shares a double and has one of the largest rooms on her floor. It's perfect because she spends a lot of time studying in her room and by the time she was finished decorating it had a homey atmosphere.

She's a hop skip and a jump to the diner which is another plus. The stadium is behind her back door which seemed to be a bigger plus to her than the diner ;). She's a huge sports fan.
Unpacking was smooth and efficient. We took her to a local diner for a late lunch and then said our goodbyes *sniff*. (Don't tell her, but I'm gonna miss this kid)

She called last evening and was spending her time watching a movie and knitting. That's my kid.....LOL

You're Coming Home

Country roads, take me home, to the place, I belong.........
The college DD has finished her freshman year and is home for the summer :D.
We left yesterday to pick up the second load of "stuff." The vehicle was packed to the brim. I think she took everything but my kitchen sink and it's piled on the deck and kitchen floor waiting to be stored until next year.




Chester survived his 3 week ordeal on the 8th floor of her sunless dorm room. We were greeted by the DD's friends holding onto Chester refusing to let him go. Seems he made quite a hit with the dorm and will be sadly missed.
He will be officially planted tomorrow.

DD loves Flamingos. I have no idea why but she does (I think because they're pink ;). Anyway this was in the spring study package that we sent to her. She and her roommate inflated him and hung him from the ceiling pipe as a little reminder of their final countdown.

She's come a long way from the homesick kid that we dropped off last August to a well adjusted young woman. Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring break came and left in a flurry.

It's hard to imagine just 3 + short months ago her school was closed for a week due to the massive snowstorm/blizzard. Where does the time go?

Dear DD,

You left the freshman year with top grades and you should be proud of yourself. (Your dad is so proud, he could bust a few buttons ;). Secretly, we knew you would do your very best and you did.

Keep true to yourself and you'll go a long way.

You're home girl, so go ahead......Dance in the Rain.

Love,

Mom

Meet Chester

The college DD attended a college event where T-shirts and saplings were given away and of course she wasn't about to miss the event. She is now the proud owner of a chestnut tree to keep in her dorm until she comes home next month. Please meet Chester.

We asked how she was going to care for a tree on the 8th floor of a dorm and apparently she and her roommate have a plan.
Chester sits in the window during the day and retires to a dresser at night. The DD plans to walk Chester outdoors this weekend so "he can get some much needed sunshine." Her roommate has offered to "plant-sit." We're in a freeze warning tonite so thank goodness Chester is there and not here or I'd get a call to knit a tree sweater.

We're waiting for a phone call from the campus concerning a certain young woman walking a tree named "Chester." We're screening the calls.....LOL

Puddle-jump

My knitting needles were flying pre-surgery. I made MC a sweater vest. Using stash cotton with silk bits, it looks like an Easter Egg.

I forgot to take pics before we left the house so I took one in the car. Not the best picture but I love this pattern and my DIL seemed pleased with it.







There was an odd ball skein of unknown yarn in my stash and it was begging to be used. I grabbed a crochet hook and made a scarf. Took one hour and it was finished.
I need to find more yarn similar to this one. Long color repeats and only 100 yds makes this little beauty.







Intoducing Miss Puddlejump. I knitted this little pattern in a few hours. Love how she turned out. In case anyone is wondering, it's an Alan Dart pattern in the UK Simply Knitting Spring issue. A very quick knit with great results.














Miss Puddlejump is taking a trip. We can't get the college DD home for the Easter holiday :-( so Easter is coming to her.
The Rabbit put on his thinking cap and came up with a great idea, Build-a-basket!

There's a collapsed basket, colored grass, eggs (no, not real ones), candy, homemade peanut butter egg and many other goodies. She can build her own basket.
Jessi, please tell Mr. Tooth there's a toothbrush packed. Rabbit has always put toothbrushes in the baskets around here.
I think she'll have fun with this package.

Calm before the Storm

This has been a very busy month. I need to do some serious blog reading and farming (Farmville) on facebook ;) but there has been very little time to do anything let alone my poor neglected knitting.
We moved the college DD back to her school last weekend. As you can see, it's cramped quarters. She shares a triple in a very tiny room. Thank goodness she's an organized person (unlike her poor mother).
See the guy in the picture? The one who is watching the college basketball game while the DD and I work? lol
Today is his birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBBY!!!!!! We don't have any plans today besides preparing for the "next" round here. (explanation later)

Our eldest son, DIL and granddaughter met up with us at the college. They invited us to stay with them for a few days but we were not prepared (no clothes, no one to keep a close vigil on Mr. Bettis etc) Finally we worked it out that I would stay and DH would head home.
We went for a quick shopping trip to gather a few necessities before we headed the short trip to their home.

They're remodeling their home and here's Son #1 preparing dinner the first night. I baked cookies one afternoon and I can't rave enough about their kitchen. I could hang out in that room all day and never tire of it.

I've been hesitant to put my granddaughter's picture on the internet for obvious reasons so when I took this picture I thought it was okay to post. Here's MC. She's a very pleasant and happy baby girl. Mr. Milo watches on. I had a wonderful time with this family and hope we can enjoy more time together in the near future.

About the next round:I've been dealing with a lot of medical testing, doctor visits etc.
I'm having surgery on March 29 and I will be laid up for a while. There's a lot of medical issues to be dealt with concerning this surgery but there's no choice.

In the meantime I will be nagging .....er......keeping the hubby on his toes. I'm not a good patient when I'm down. I can overlook a dust bunny on any given day but let me be incapcitated and that dust bunny can get on my one nerve...LOL
I have my computer and knitting waiting when I'm ready so I'll post when I can. I have my sense of dry (sarcastic, as the family would say) humor. So bear with me as we overcome one more hurdle. There's bound to be something funny through all this mess.

Can I just say something about 2010? Nah....nevermind.....it's not for innocent ears......LOL

Spring Break

Spring Break! Yay! for the college daughter who is home for a week. Boo! For the dreary rainy weather that followed her home. But we'll still have fun for the week.
Of course anytime a college student enters the home door they bring laundry and requests for home cooked food.








Hanging out with her BF, the cell phone :). Within an hour there were issues with the phone and we thought her world was going to crash LOL. A phone call to the provider and five technicians later we discovered the phone inner workings needed to be re-set as they were working on the towers. Lo and behold while I was on the phone we found there were charges on the bill that didn't belong to us.
May I just suggest it would be wise for companies to skip the screamin-meaming music on the hold feature and instead replace it with soothing music for the frazzled customer.


Eldest daughter hanging with her best friend, the cell phone:) and Mr. Bettis who wanted his seat back.
He won.











Since Mother Spring decided to grace us with showers for the weekend, Mr. Bettis is restricted to outside play. Mud is no fun for the care-takers which mean we must tolerate the ripping, racing and play antics inside.

"Why Mr. Bettis, what big teeth you have.........."







".....and Mr. Bettis, what big ears you have..."

The daughter is settled for the week and I know it's going to fly. I'm off to do some serious baking and cooking.........oh........and the laundry.

Round #2

The college DD is in her glory on campus. No school!
These are pics of the Monster Storm, Feb 5-6, 2010.
No complaints from this house during winter.
We love it.

The kids wanted to sled ride but of course they have no sleds so they became quite resourceful. Wasn't that the purpose of the required high school tech class? Some students "borrowed" food trays from the cafeteria until the officials discovered they were running out of trays.

DD unloaded her sweater under-the-bed container and found it to be a great sled. I'm so glad we have provided this kid with the perfect sled for college.....lol

We're finally dug out and waiting for storm round #2 tomorrow. We're anticipating a foot of snow. Not too sure where we're going to put it. Running out of room up here.

Hubby shoveling around his work car. Yep. That's a car underneath all that snow.

(ahem)

Firewood is stacked and ready. Hubby has made the second run for milk, eggs and puppy treats.

I'm ready to sit and knit tomorrow.

I am also armed with snowballs to throw at the first snowplow that plows the driveway closed.

Let is Snow!!!!

Holiday Package

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. All of our family was in attendance with the exception of our youngest son and our daughter-in-law. Her father is very seriously ill and they need to be with her family during the holidays.


Good food and company.


















The college daughter was transported back to college yesterday in all of the holiday city traffic hoop-la. It was a mess! Instead of the normal 5 hour round trip, it took 9 hours. A very long day.
She will return in 19 days and I made a package of the final countdown to exams and Christmas break.
This is the count-down calendar.





There is a package for each and every day. Each little package is to help her through the stressful days of studying for finals.
She was thrilled when I presented this to her and I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed putting together the package:).

How was your Thanksgiving Holiday?

A ramble of sorts

The college DD was home for the weekend. Hubby picked her up. The trip was a 7 1/2 hour trip to and from due to the city traffic. I won't mention any more about traffic except to say I don't like traveling city traffic. Period.
The homecoming game commenced and our team won!! YAY!! Playoffs are next and if they win those then they're statebound.
While she was here she gave this book to me as a belated birthday gift. She saved her pennies (she's a poor college student, you know:) and found this book at a bargain in the campus book store. She knows I enjoy Christmas books. Cost never matters to me. My most precious gifts are the ones that have been so carefully thought out.
As if I don't have enough knitting to finish before the holidays I wound this skein of Araucania worsted to make a pair of pop-up paws for a gift. It is a blend of wool and alpaca and is so very soft.

All is quiet here for the time being. I have to wonder if this is the calm before a storm of some sort. The holidays are fast approaching and we're getting ready in this household:).

He does it again and again......

The title belies something other than Mr. Bettis. This time it's his owner aka the hubby.
This post is not a whine but rather supposed to be a little humorous.

But before I get to that I'll sum up the weekend. It was busy to say the least. The college daughter came home for the first time since she left in August. We took her shopping to the local store to stock up on the necessities of college life (remember the shopping, it's mentioned later in this post). Saturday was a home grilled steak dinner upon request and Sunday was a brunch for all, grandparents included.
It was fun and went by wa-a-ay too quickly. We had every intention on leaving early to head back but company was later leaving and packing took longer than expected. I was happily knitting in the car on this new pair of mittens.
They have a flip top for the fingers and an itty bitty flip top for the thumb. Makes it easier for texting. So you know who will get these don't you?I don't text so they're not for me.

Now onto the reason for this post.

Remember the shopping I mentioned above? Hubby was on his own in the store. Not-a-good-thing. He called me to meet him in the kitchen gadget aisle, he has a thing for kitchen gadgets. I do not. He has been wanting a griddle for a long time. I have an $8 stove top griddle that has worked just ducky for years. Nothing doing but he found griddles on sale. LARGE griddles on sale. Keep in mind our family is grown and are rarely here for anything so why in the world do we need a large griddle?

Ahem. I'll give you his reasoning (my comments are in the parentheses):
1) WE can cook everything at once i.e. eggs, sausage, bacon (but dear, we don't eat all of that anymore)
2)WE have been wanting one of these for a long time (but dear, WE haven't wanted one. YOU have).
3) This is on sale and it's a good deal (but dear, what difference does it make if it's on sale? WE don't need it).
4) IT's a large griddle at a good price (for some reason he thought it was necessary to go on and on about the good deal/price).
I was powerless once I realized I was not going to win this one. Like a kid in a candy store he promptly picked up the box and grinning from ear to ear, he toted it to the cashier.

And here it is, in all it's glory. It is big. I have very little counter space and have no idea where I'm going to store it.

But here's the kicker to this story. My birthday is fast approaching. He walked out of the store pleased as punch and announced this IS my birthday gift!
Years ago I would've balked but now I can only laugh. You see, I have opened gifts year after year with great anticipation, hoping beyond hope there would be something to celebrate ( a lot like hoping there would be a nice family dinner on my birthday......LOL). Unfortunately here's a list of some of the "thoughtful and wonderful" gifts from my dear hubby.

1) Swiffer Wet Jet (which he and the youngest kid couldn't wait to put together and try out while I sat on the couch and watched. I thought they were going to battle to see which one of them could use it first. They took turns.)

2) Salad shooter (he also brought home a head of lettuce so he could try it that evening)

3) Sweeper (he purchased it with all the gimmicks at a "good deal")

4) Dishwasher ( to help me with the dishes)

5) New roof on the house (with all of his buddies here for the weekend to help and I had "the pleasure" of using the above appliances to cook for them ALL weekend.)

6) A handmade broom (because he wanted a handmade corn broom. Trust me, there were a lot of jokes with this one considering my birthday is in the month of Halloween)

These are only a few of the highlights. The list goes on and on for 25 yrs.
Oh, I almost forgot the one and only year he ordered and purchased a birthday cake. With the wrong name. That wasn't his fault but he should've checked it before he came home.
So go ahead and have good chuckle. I am. Just don't let your hubby see this post.

I must admit, the gifts have been memorable.......LOL I already have a guess at next year's gift. A waffle maker. He was pricing them at the store.

So where's his attorney now?

He did it again! This dog NEVER quits.
He taught himself to head butt (I never said this dog was bright, did I?) the storm door in order to let himself outside at any given time. He did this a zillion times a day. After all, there are squirrels, a possum, a raccoon and occasionally a bear to bark at. There's also the neighborhood dogs, kids and occasionally a butterfly that needs his immediate attention. The list goes on and on.
We debated on installing a doggy door but then the inside cat would want out. Headbutts took their toll and the handle broke. It fell off the door yesterday morning. Which meant he only had to nudge the door to get out and of course the door wouldn't close. So Miss Aurora took every opportunity to follow him Every. Single. Time. He did this stunt. It was a very lo-o-o-ong day with Mr. Bettis yesterday.







Mr. Bettis's owner was told to stop at the local hardware store on the way home to purchase another door handle.

Last evening at 8:30 pm a new door handle was installed. He'd better not bust this anytime soon. I've caught him headbutting the door but the new latch is working and he cannot get outside on a whim.

I'm sure I'll be hearing from Mr. Bettis's attorney shortly.

p.s.The college daughter is on her way home for a visit. I haven't seen her in over a month and I'm baking up a storm. YAY!!!!!!!

College Hat

All is quiet here. Fall is normally beautiful here but we're not seeing much color here yet. Leaves are falling and it's raining so I'm holding out for some color. Fall is my favorite time of the year. When the kids were young I told them God took his paintbrush and used nature as His canvas. Winter was the beginning of a new canvas so He could paint again in the spring.

I can't seem to get my knitting mojo in gear. Small projects take up my time versus the larger ones. Although that doesn't seem to stop me from starting the larger projects:). Finishing them seems to be the problem. Christmas is fast approaching and I have very little finished.

I whipped up a slouchy hat for the college kid. It was sent in a college care package. Snacks, a country magazine and the reader's digest were included.

She loved the hat and took a picture to show me how it looks.

I need to dig for more yarn and whip up another one. Maybe I can actually get a gift finished.

Firehat!

Would you look at this! A finished item. YAY!!
I love hats but at my age (ahem) most of them don't look as they should. I like the slouch tam/berets. I made one for the college kid and sent it the dorm for her to wear. She loved it! I must admit I tried it on before I sent it packing and I liked it too. So I searched Ravelry and found the Gwen Hat.
The pattern keeps it interesting and it's a quick knit.
I made a few adjustments and posted those adjustments on my project page in Ravelry.



Not quite the picture I would've wanted but I wanted to the show the pattern.












Hubby moved the College DD's Hibiscus bush 3 days before she moved to college. We thought it died but it started to come back to life very slowly and now it has produced 2 flowers. A little late in the season but since husband almost killed the poor thing, it just took a while for it to recuperate.
I emailed the pics to the DD and she was thrilled that it survived.

The Swine Flu is on the college kid's dorm floor and her roommate is recuping from it. She says Lysol cans are being shared from room to room. Disinfectant wipes and bottles of multi vitamins are in high demand according to the college kid.
One more thing for her mother to fret about:)

Moving Day

Some of you have asked how moving day went so I'll give a re-cap.
Last week commerated the "baby's" moving day. The deck was loaded with all of her stuff. We had to downsize because there was no way we could get everything in the car. It gave me a laugh to see her father's face when he looked at the car trunk and then the boxes/containers on the deck.
A few facts about that day:
We moved her on the hottest day of the year. There is NO air conditioning in her dorm.
She is on the TOP floor.
Keep in mind that simple little scientific fact that heat rises. We unloaded everything then stood in the sun (guarding the stuff) for 1 hour. Then we stood in line at the elevator for 20 minute intervals not once but three times. She is in a triple room. Try to imagine a 15 x 15 room with 3 students and 6 parents.
On the top floor.
Humidity and 96 degree temps.
With NO air. Whew! We were wringing wet. We had a fan but it did nothing to help the heat.

Sometime in the late afternoon we took her off campus to pick up her books. More time spent in long lines. Time didn't allow a sit down dinner so we did a drive-thru. We took her back to the dorm and she turned on her computer only to discover another book was added to the list while we were out. So we had to go back out. Another hour spent.
Needless to say, it was evening before we finally we able to say good-bye. I held up well for weeks for her benefit. Unfortunately I, nor she, fared well on the good-byes.
Poor hubby had to listen to my sobs the ENTIRE 3 hour (yes, we hit heavy traffic)ride home. It is better now and we talk several times a day. Thank goodness for a computer messenger site and cell phones. Technology makes it so much easier these days.

She has pics of her friends, grandparents and of course her parents covering her wall.

Her father and I have decided to reclaim the house from WAY TOO many years of housing kids' belongings.
We have handmade placards that say, "Everything Must GO!" LOL

It feels like fall here and I'm loving every moment of it. I'm a homebody (sometimes by choice, sometimes by necessity)and there's nothing like pumpkin bread in the oven and a stew in the crockpot on a beautiful fall day. LOVE IT!

All's Quiet

It is quiet here. TOO quiet.
We took the DD to her college today (sniff). So I'm off to spend the remainder of the evening with Puffs.

Surprise!!!!!

Finally! It's opening day. Not really. We opened the box a few days ago but I haven't had time to post. We're packing the new college freshman. But that's for a later post.

Chan sent the package to DD and me, so I not so patiently waited to open it with her.







First was the little treat package for Mr. Bettis & Co from the fur-girls.
It said, " For Mr. B & the fur girls at our house! Slobbery kisses
Sissy & Gretchen"
Aren't they just the sweeteset fur girls? Oh, you too, Chan :).
Mr. B & Co sends slobbery kisses right back.






Next were these wonderful tea mugs from Aladdin. We've never seen anything like them. I told the DD she had first choice in color and she chose the purple one. She drinks a lot of tea and as she put it, "this will be perfect when I'm running to class."









The lid comes off to reveal where to put the tea leaves. The lever at the bottom drops it into the hot water of the mug to be brewed. This is absolutely ingenious. We love it, Chan.










She dove into the box to find boxes and tins of flavored teas. Scrumptous teas like Blueberry, Pineapple Mango, Twinings assortment, Pink Lady Green, Golden Breakfast and many more. Every one of them drew oooohhhhhs and aaaaahhhhhhs from us as we pulled them from the package.
The theme of the gift is to have a mother/daughter tea party although we do not live close, Chan is going to us at our tea party. Feel free to grab a cup of your favorite beverage and join us.
There was a beautiful card handmade by Chan which is packed and moving with the DD. She wants to mount it on her dorm wall.

Chan, this is a very thoughtful gift and we are enjoying it immensely. Thank you so very much! HUGS:)