tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80397079343501862712024-03-12T19:25:54.442-07:00Black Squirrel DesignsBlack Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-39005149528210585692011-04-28T10:12:00.000-07:002011-04-28T10:36:07.730-07:00Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?!So remember my awesome grilled cheese necklace that I was totally proud of? Well, when my friend's girlfriend wore it to work, everyone LOVED it! She said one person even thought I had somehow shrunk an ACTUAL grilled cheese sandwich and coated it in a glossy finish. Ha! I guess that's a compliment since I was worried that the necklace didn't look realistic enough!<br /><br />Well she said that people at her workplace are clamoring over themselves to get custom work done! Her supervisor sent me an e-mail asking for a custom piece for their secretary (since it's administrative assistant appreciation week! :] ), and here's what I came up with (please ignore my incredibly messy, bright red workspace!):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7QHrOZPEcPE/Tbmk-ra7-nI/AAAAAAAAANg/Z7pk45Me9h8/s1600/IMG_2203.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7QHrOZPEcPE/Tbmk-ra7-nI/AAAAAAAAANg/Z7pk45Me9h8/s320/IMG_2203.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600689008326474354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tQEBKhEHMu0/TbmkWNmDWPI/AAAAAAAAANY/DoxrvGmjsYU/s1600/IMG_2207.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tQEBKhEHMu0/TbmkWNmDWPI/AAAAAAAAANY/DoxrvGmjsYU/s320/IMG_2207.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600688313125263602" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Q3n4KZw5rk/Tbmj_oRLkyI/AAAAAAAAANQ/x2zj1h1KTYw/s1600/IMG_2210.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9Q3n4KZw5rk/Tbmj_oRLkyI/AAAAAAAAANQ/x2zj1h1KTYw/s320/IMG_2210.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600687925148488482" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdH7N273zGk/TbmjjNn56rI/AAAAAAAAANI/cFM_PClCvxM/s1600/IMG_2212.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GdH7N273zGk/TbmjjNn56rI/AAAAAAAAANI/cFM_PClCvxM/s320/IMG_2212.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600687436959705778" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h42R5MVFmBc/TbmjPPsBkbI/AAAAAAAAANA/2HBuqhZy_88/s1600/IMG_2215.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h42R5MVFmBc/TbmjPPsBkbI/AAAAAAAAANA/2HBuqhZy_88/s320/IMG_2215.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600687093916471730" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H2wk5-XtO7Q/Tbmi5_7MIDI/AAAAAAAAAM4/oXLo1J9WCH8/s1600/IMG_2216.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H2wk5-XtO7Q/Tbmi5_7MIDI/AAAAAAAAAM4/oXLo1J9WCH8/s320/IMG_2216.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600686728907857970" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8CPCbml5cds/TbmifHaLW2I/AAAAAAAAAMw/Fe3R2b_G1so/s1600/IMG_2217.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8CPCbml5cds/TbmifHaLW2I/AAAAAAAAAMw/Fe3R2b_G1so/s320/IMG_2217.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600686267060411234" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vKoL2foqe1I/Tbmh4LK_G-I/AAAAAAAAAMo/uEyPnVnMoCs/s1600/IMG_2219.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vKoL2foqe1I/Tbmh4LK_G-I/AAAAAAAAAMo/uEyPnVnMoCs/s320/IMG_2219.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600685598055537634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvIYiNujd1I/Tbmhi9jwocI/AAAAAAAAAMg/rozIsrvlx4k/s1600/IMG_2218.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvIYiNujd1I/Tbmhi9jwocI/AAAAAAAAAMg/rozIsrvlx4k/s320/IMG_2218.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5600685233624097218" /></a><br /><br />Welp, hope everyone is having an awesome spring, and isn't too affected by all of this crazy weather!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-88458264568219409822011-04-20T10:54:00.000-07:002011-04-20T11:12:57.563-07:00In Honor of National Grilled Cheese Month...So, April is grilled cheese month! Who knew, right?! I had no idea until someone told me yesterday, and that was AFTER I had created a super awesome grilled cheese sandwich necklace!<br /><br />Sooo the story is: I wore one of my necklaces to work one day (an apple one, I think) and everyone really loved it. After a few more times of wearing my own handmade jewelry, my coworkers asked if I would bring some in for them to look at, and I was thrilled! So I brought in some samples (peas and carrots necklace, all of my apple necklaces, banana necklace, and a few other things) and everyone fawned over them. It's always nice to hear someone say how much they like your work :] Someone ended up requesting a custom apple and banana bff necklace, which I was more than happy to make. <br /><br />But my fave request came from one of my coworkers/friends. He wanted me to make a grilled cheese necklace for his girlfriend who LOVES grilled cheese. Of course I'm happy to accept any custom work, especially for a friend, and was intrigued by the challenge to make a realistic looking grilled cheese sandwich. Plus, I just love playing with all clay!<br /><br />So here's the final necklace that I came up with (click on the pictures to see a bigger version):<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zVIZEq1sfvs/Ta8holIi4lI/AAAAAAAAAMY/XX5JGk-t_Bg/s1600/IMG_2194.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zVIZEq1sfvs/Ta8holIi4lI/AAAAAAAAAMY/XX5JGk-t_Bg/s320/IMG_2194.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597729842891252306" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DcpDn-zdN3U/Ta8hehiwmUI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/Gm1n2yk4K4g/s1600/IMG_2197.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DcpDn-zdN3U/Ta8hehiwmUI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/Gm1n2yk4K4g/s320/IMG_2197.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597729670128769346" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kqUhVuughVw/Ta8hC0FYaQI/AAAAAAAAAMI/GHw5HqwSkrQ/s1600/IMG_2199.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kqUhVuughVw/Ta8hC0FYaQI/AAAAAAAAAMI/GHw5HqwSkrQ/s320/IMG_2199.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597729194069485826" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OFzhg_3D6qU/Ta8gvy6RZCI/AAAAAAAAAMA/Jjc_AYd-6Us/s1600/IMG_2200.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OFzhg_3D6qU/Ta8gvy6RZCI/AAAAAAAAAMA/Jjc_AYd-6Us/s320/IMG_2200.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597728867336938530" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K636Y0YS9Lg/Ta8gaFfQI5I/AAAAAAAAAL4/KxaA1lYg1NU/s1600/IMG_2202.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K636Y0YS9Lg/Ta8gaFfQI5I/AAAAAAAAAL4/KxaA1lYg1NU/s320/IMG_2202.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597728494366761874" /></a><br /><br />I'm really happy with the way the grilled cheese came out! I've seen other necklaces that look more realistic, but I didn't use a mold for this one. And my friend's girlfriend was pleased as punch, which is what made me the happiest :]<br /><br />Feel free to comment and lemme know what you think about the necklace!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-39477037522672703122011-04-12T21:44:00.000-07:002011-04-12T21:57:44.765-07:00Super Bubbly Pink Fun!You know when you have this super AWESOME idea in your head that you just won't stop thinking about until you actually do it?!<br /><br />Well that happened to me this weekend. I got an idea for a necklace that I wanted to create, and I have been working literally since Friday on it! I wanted something super bright, funky, and bound to get compliments/attention.<br /><br />I started with green clay, since green is my FAVE color. I swirled and blended until I had about 50 green clay beads that I LOVED. I baked them and they were PERFECT. Buuut...I decided to brush each one with a thin layer of nail polish to make them shiny and protect them from chipping. All was well until Sunday, when the weather went from freezing Ohio winter to a really balmy, 75 degree day. Well, the nail polish turned tacky and I knew that no one (not even me, no matter how much I loved my green beads) would want to wear tacky, sticky nail polish beads.<br /><br />So I started over at 11pm last night with pink clay. I worked all night and most of the morning to create this beautiful shades of pink necklace, and I'm proud as a peach of it! So without further ado, tons and tons of pics from the proud necklace creator!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bJj0i18RuAE/TaUs_iTM7yI/AAAAAAAAALw/NQ35soID3-8/s1600/IMG_2171.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bJj0i18RuAE/TaUs_iTM7yI/AAAAAAAAALw/NQ35soID3-8/s320/IMG_2171.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594927582128434978" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6ceJ3hezmM/TaUskwXKtcI/AAAAAAAAALo/SOTicF7wpM0/s1600/IMG_2162.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6ceJ3hezmM/TaUskwXKtcI/AAAAAAAAALo/SOTicF7wpM0/s320/IMG_2162.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594927122046694850" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JKtkZOpQn64/TaUsVxsdk5I/AAAAAAAAALg/YPcht18gOv0/s1600/IMG_2158.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 260px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JKtkZOpQn64/TaUsVxsdk5I/AAAAAAAAALg/YPcht18gOv0/s320/IMG_2158.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594926864706409362" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HwxQwWHtdUQ/TaUsNCXRrKI/AAAAAAAAALY/4-0Fl7HrYXY/s1600/IMG_2157.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HwxQwWHtdUQ/TaUsNCXRrKI/AAAAAAAAALY/4-0Fl7HrYXY/s320/IMG_2157.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594926714562129058" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2v5aW2Snsdk/TaUr_U1xP3I/AAAAAAAAALQ/FknvtYIxCg0/s1600/IMG_2156.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2v5aW2Snsdk/TaUr_U1xP3I/AAAAAAAAALQ/FknvtYIxCg0/s320/IMG_2156.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594926479003697010" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9waKpaTBcOI/TaUrxQBCIhI/AAAAAAAAALI/JnekgU8PbNk/s1600/IMG_2155.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9waKpaTBcOI/TaUrxQBCIhI/AAAAAAAAALI/JnekgU8PbNk/s320/IMG_2155.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5594926237190595090" /></a>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-92047967804364966862011-03-27T20:02:00.000-07:002011-03-27T20:18:19.179-07:00I love reading class!This semester I'm teaching two reading class (I teach English as a Second Language), and it's my first time teaching reading. So far I love it! I teach advanced students, so I made all my students pick out two novels to read for the semester. Each novel needed to be around 200 pages, so they end up reading around 30 pages a week. Then they have to summarize it and write their opinion about the book in a weekly paper.<br /><br />I had to approve all of their book choices, and some of the choices made me so happy and nostalgic. Of course, some of my students had no idea what to read, so I gave them suggestions on books I liked as a teenager (since those books are pretty easy for my students to read), and it makes me really happy when they pick one of my favorite books :D.<br /><br />As I'm reading through their first summaries for their second books, I find myself getting really excited for my students! If they picked a book I love, I know what's coming next, and I know what surprises are in the plot. I feel like I'm reading the book along with my student, and I love talking about the books with my students. It's really interesting because often they have different favorite characters than I do because they treasure different values in people because of cultural differences.<br /><br />Any way, here are some of the books my students are reading. I think their choices are interesting, and I can't wait to read more of their summaries, even if I hate grading!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thebookwormchronicles.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/stardust.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 401px;" src="http://thebookwormchronicles.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/stardust.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://slummysinglemummy.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/gg1a.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 403px;" src="http://slummysinglemummy.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/gg1a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/images/Hg--jacket-210.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 317px;" src="http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/images/Hg--jacket-210.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.yooglimusic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/the_road.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 423px;" src="http://www.yooglimusic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/the_road.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://indiecitizen.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/mitch-albom-the-five-people-you-meet-in-heaven.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 395px;" src="http://indiecitizen.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/mitch-albom-the-five-people-you-meet-in-heaven.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ourlibrarylovebites.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/lww.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 282px; height: 420px;" src="http://ourlibrarylovebites.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/lww.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://mommylife.net/archives/2009/03/12/animalfarm.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 476px;" src="http://mommylife.net/archives/2009/03/12/animalfarm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I'd also like to know everyone's favorite short novel! If it's around 200-250 pages then I'll add it to my list of suggestions that I give my students to help them pick out books!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-28323666732681045002011-03-25T07:26:00.000-07:002011-03-25T08:26:45.338-07:00Geckos!On Wednesday I ventured down to Columbus to hang out and go to COSI (a science center) with my friends. My friends wanted to see the geckos (they're obsessed with geckos, and now after seeing the little cuties, I know why!), and I wanted to check out the rest of the science center.<br /><br />The day started off awesomely because I only had to pay half price to get into COSI. Thank you teacher's discount!!! That degree is slowly paying for itself! :D<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sNnmo3TnZRw/TYyvAErdgzI/AAAAAAAAAKI/kJ0wlZMC7ic/s1600/IMG_1879.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sNnmo3TnZRw/TYyvAErdgzI/AAAAAAAAAKI/kJ0wlZMC7ic/s400/IMG_1879.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588033653450834738" /></a><br />Isn't the coloring on this guy awesome? He's so yellow and happy looking, even though he was taking a snooze!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Eafk_tvS-ug/TYytU2yk91I/AAAAAAAAAKA/dl78jZ1RynU/s1600/IMG_1884.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Eafk_tvS-ug/TYytU2yk91I/AAAAAAAAAKA/dl78jZ1RynU/s400/IMG_1884.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588031811476584274" /></a><br />This little guy is my FAVORITE! I love the combination of blue and orange on EVERYTHING, so of course I was automatically drawn to this dude. He's so cute! I wanted to take him home!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PU6mnR7Hh_c/TYystgYWYDI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/kauuXJ9ZTWY/s1600/IMG_1887.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PU6mnR7Hh_c/TYystgYWYDI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/kauuXJ9ZTWY/s400/IMG_1887.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588031135446097970" /></a><br />This guy is gray with red dots. Also another good color combo!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hJQDgQAb5bo/TYysZdwHYEI/AAAAAAAAAJw/wLIc7POBt0M/s1600/IMG_1893.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hJQDgQAb5bo/TYysZdwHYEI/AAAAAAAAAJw/wLIc7POBt0M/s400/IMG_1893.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588030791143088194" /></a><br />BRIGHT GREEN! Love it!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ugDkASfbD4M/TYyrl0eqUPI/AAAAAAAAAJo/EOcujV2QrxA/s1600/IMG_1914.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ugDkASfbD4M/TYyrl0eqUPI/AAAAAAAAAJo/EOcujV2QrxA/s400/IMG_1914.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588029903890698482" /></a><br />This was a really cool fountain in the Poseidon area of the ocean exhibit. I thought the colors were gorgeous and I just had to take a picture.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bhu72CRGTkg/TYyrNB7jAHI/AAAAAAAAAJg/Zmz2_pOnGsQ/s1600/IMG_1915.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 295px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bhu72CRGTkg/TYyrNB7jAHI/AAAAAAAAAJg/Zmz2_pOnGsQ/s400/IMG_1915.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588029478004785266" /></a><br />Brain! This thing is awesome! It was hanging above an interactive science cafe. I reeeally wanted to stay and do the experiments at the science cafe, but we figured that the parents of small kids wouldn't like having 3 rowdy 20 somethings who already knew about science. Oh well.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ILULfc1ItUE/TYyq9VooNyI/AAAAAAAAAJY/mnYbfizRB1M/s1600/IMG_1917.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ILULfc1ItUE/TYyq9VooNyI/AAAAAAAAAJY/mnYbfizRB1M/s400/IMG_1917.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588029208416237346" /></a><br />Monkeys!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VXrUz535Mx8/TYyqnuM-HjI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/rvxX7lTOBUI/s1600/IMG_1928.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VXrUz535Mx8/TYyqnuM-HjI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/rvxX7lTOBUI/s400/IMG_1928.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588028837053996594" /></a><br />Old-timey typewriter! This was in the "Progress" section of the science center. The Progress section was our favorite part, and we were shocked that there weren't that many people in this section!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HjTg3nJOfnM/TYyqNNTTZiI/AAAAAAAAAJI/7n3R12OaVdc/s1600/IMG_1932.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HjTg3nJOfnM/TYyqNNTTZiI/AAAAAAAAAJI/7n3R12OaVdc/s400/IMG_1932.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588028381545588258" /></a><br />This was the second part of the Progress section. It had the same layout as the other "town", but it was in the 1950's instead of the previous early 1900's. Seriously, these little town exhibits were SO cool. There were some stores you could go into, like a television studio, an appliance store, and a diner/restaurant with a working juke box!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jEhhnG_lSSE/TYyp2gdPX7I/AAAAAAAAAJA/x5UBsqb8kwU/s1600/IMG_1944.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jEhhnG_lSSE/TYyp2gdPX7I/AAAAAAAAAJA/x5UBsqb8kwU/s400/IMG_1944.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588027991550549938" /></a><br />This thing is a little hard to see, but it's a HUGE wire skeleton sculpture. We had a really good time naming all of the bones in the human body. Thank you human musculo-skeletal class!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D7RaBayJzZc/TYypcg-3mxI/AAAAAAAAAI4/Fg40oKhoQAg/s1600/IMG_1960.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-D7RaBayJzZc/TYypcg-3mxI/AAAAAAAAAI4/Fg40oKhoQAg/s400/IMG_1960.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588027545014999826" /></a><br />Awesome rotating giant metal sculpture thingie outside of COSI. It sparkled in the sunlight, but it was cloudy when I took this picture when we were leaving :(<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5tjUUlP7h-Q/TYypKE60cHI/AAAAAAAAAIw/_UUJM69USxM/s1600/IMG_1969.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 367px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5tjUUlP7h-Q/TYypKE60cHI/AAAAAAAAAIw/_UUJM69USxM/s400/IMG_1969.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588027228244177010" /></a><br />Pretty sunflower wall!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhbXNUtASjg/TYyoze4Nl6I/AAAAAAAAAIo/Qxu44V0sbxY/s1600/IMG_1973.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FhbXNUtASjg/TYyoze4Nl6I/AAAAAAAAAIo/Qxu44V0sbxY/s400/IMG_1973.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588026840075573154" /></a><br />Neat house in German Village!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6WYMIV8h1Jk/TYyn70cbaHI/AAAAAAAAAIg/_xdi00_nu4Y/s1600/IMG_1974.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6WYMIV8h1Jk/TYyn70cbaHI/AAAAAAAAAIg/_xdi00_nu4Y/s400/IMG_1974.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588025883791943794" /></a><br />I loved this fence!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rGgbtHkHWFU/TYynY-BES4I/AAAAAAAAAIY/ADXdpHtqktk/s1600/IMG_1975.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 358px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rGgbtHkHWFU/TYynY-BES4I/AAAAAAAAAIY/ADXdpHtqktk/s400/IMG_1975.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588025285066115970" /></a><br />Gorgeous/tasty cupcake that I ate while waiting for our table at Thurman's. We had to wait an hour and a half, but it was sooo worth it!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h5S_WEfNfHY/TYynIKtYK5I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/YWRSzcO41x4/s1600/IMG_1978.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h5S_WEfNfHY/TYynIKtYK5I/AAAAAAAAAIQ/YWRSzcO41x4/s400/IMG_1978.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588024996415417234" /></a><br />Most. Amazing. Burger. EVER. We went to Thurman's (which you may have seen on Man Vs. Food). It was about an inch and a half thick, and as big as my face. I just had a plain cheeseburger, I couldn't even imagine adding MORE stuff to my burger! But my friends got burgers with all kinds of crazy stuff on them.<br /><br />I didn't take a picture, but in Thurman's there are dollar bills taped all over the place with notes and signatures from all the patrons. Even Adam from Man Vs. Food signed a dollar bill, and it hangs right over the bar. So of course, we had to add a dollar bill too! We signed it and taped it right near where we had been sitting!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1mOqu3AMo4o/TYymvLtn3bI/AAAAAAAAAII/z_bl1rVgI7s/s1600/IMG_2000.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 392px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1mOqu3AMo4o/TYymvLtn3bI/AAAAAAAAAII/z_bl1rVgI7s/s400/IMG_2000.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588024567188151730" /></a><br /><br />Finally, isn't this bunny the cutest?! My friend had just bought her on Tuesday night, and I was totally jealous. I want a fuzzy little bunny!<br /><br />I had an awesome time at COSI, and I can't WAIT to go back during the summer when they have an exhibit on dinosaurs (MY FAVE!). Plus that teacher's discount is super awesome!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-29205050144649792552011-03-19T21:35:00.000-07:002011-03-19T22:26:43.669-07:00Black Squirrel...With a Camera?!So, I haven't updated in aaaaages...but I've been up to my eyeballs in grading/teaching/life in general. I've moved into a new apartment with the bf (previously I was living with a crazy girl from a different continent), so that's taken a lot of getting used to. But I think the bf and I are getting along pretty well :]<br /><br />In the meantime, I've picked up ANOTHER hobby. Because I totally need more things to take up my already dwindling free time. Plus, I just love buying accessories for new hobbies :]<br /><br />Anyway, I've started a bit of amateur (and I MEAN amateur) photography. I borrowed a friend's camera (Canon Rebel DS 1000...or something like that). I like it, but the camera is way more complicated than my normal point and shoot camera (although from the reviews I've read, this camera is on the less complicated end of the spectrum).<br /><br />I got so excited to try out the camera last night that I started photographing everything in sight. Also, this evening I went to the park/woods a little before sunset to try photographing some nature! I had a blast, and got a good workout walking up and down all the hills! Plus I hiked off the beaten path more than once to take pictures of badass flora and fauna.<br /><br />Sooo I just wanted to share a few of my pictures from today. They're very amateurish, but I'm still pretty proud of them. I know that I still have a lot to learn about how the camera functions, composition, lighting, and editing (especially editing...since I hate it)...but I think this is a pretty decent first effort.<br /><br />I would love some feedback/comments/critiques on these photos, so feel free to post a comment!<br /><br />And without further ado...a million pictures!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vd1_c-DBJ4s/TYWPWdqLeeI/AAAAAAAAAIA/xtn1vRd86fY/s1600/IMG_1530.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 310px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vd1_c-DBJ4s/TYWPWdqLeeI/AAAAAAAAAIA/xtn1vRd86fY/s400/IMG_1530.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586028528904403426" /></a><br /><br />I was just so excited to capture/photograph a black squirrel that I didn't care what the rest of the picture looked like!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3of4yj3L32g/TYWPGdrO98I/AAAAAAAAAH4/ExaZZ4FD-UM/s1600/IMG_1609.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3of4yj3L32g/TYWPGdrO98I/AAAAAAAAAH4/ExaZZ4FD-UM/s400/IMG_1609.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586028254030919618" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YAdEmYgTKT4/TYWO0N3QsjI/AAAAAAAAAHw/j5vBfT4aIMA/s1600/IMG_1636.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 396px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YAdEmYgTKT4/TYWO0N3QsjI/AAAAAAAAAHw/j5vBfT4aIMA/s400/IMG_1636.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586027940548751922" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh8qCWyY9PA/TYWOiWHGmmI/AAAAAAAAAHo/A9UlCDm4-Uk/s1600/IMG_1541.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Eh8qCWyY9PA/TYWOiWHGmmI/AAAAAAAAAHo/A9UlCDm4-Uk/s400/IMG_1541.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586027633525037666" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M98ssHRs9RE/TYWOKtq4WlI/AAAAAAAAAHg/sb70fGr2JHg/s1600/IMG_1510.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M98ssHRs9RE/TYWOKtq4WlI/AAAAAAAAAHg/sb70fGr2JHg/s400/IMG_1510.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586027227532253778" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YeUfj1zC9H4/TYWNzY-RD7I/AAAAAAAAAHY/ed9jnHuucl4/s1600/IMG_1495.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YeUfj1zC9H4/TYWNzY-RD7I/AAAAAAAAAHY/ed9jnHuucl4/s400/IMG_1495.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586026826839429042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztMQSI1Wyfk/TYWNilSt_DI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/Jy9ZXLbZcIQ/s1600/IMG_1464.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztMQSI1Wyfk/TYWNilSt_DI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/Jy9ZXLbZcIQ/s400/IMG_1464.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586026538088660018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9JtKLm4CMv0/TYWNN2hw-BI/AAAAAAAAAHI/Qg1A9uQGny0/s1600/IMG_1456.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9JtKLm4CMv0/TYWNN2hw-BI/AAAAAAAAAHI/Qg1A9uQGny0/s400/IMG_1456.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586026181937920018" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-__5zwdlS3do/TYWM68sKHVI/AAAAAAAAAHA/f8sEBrL7BeE/s1600/IMG_1450.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-__5zwdlS3do/TYWM68sKHVI/AAAAAAAAAHA/f8sEBrL7BeE/s400/IMG_1450.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586025857174609234" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qt2tVNOBVDQ/TYWMWV41LOI/AAAAAAAAAG4/GAfagR3c0TM/s1600/IMG_1442.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qt2tVNOBVDQ/TYWMWV41LOI/AAAAAAAAAG4/GAfagR3c0TM/s400/IMG_1442.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586025228283489506" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2sp2WV77AOY/TYWL__gmOBI/AAAAAAAAAGw/sVHOkunZYnA/s1600/IMG_1437.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2sp2WV77AOY/TYWL__gmOBI/AAAAAAAAAGw/sVHOkunZYnA/s400/IMG_1437.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586024844319143954" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YGTlCYV3d2k/TYWLkA_3UTI/AAAAAAAAAGo/HvgTGKgSd7I/s1600/IMG_1436.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YGTlCYV3d2k/TYWLkA_3UTI/AAAAAAAAAGo/HvgTGKgSd7I/s400/IMG_1436.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586024363682386226" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lheG3UfNYto/TYWLM3I-NII/AAAAAAAAAGg/w3SfWAWA21I/s1600/IMG_1430.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lheG3UfNYto/TYWLM3I-NII/AAAAAAAAAGg/w3SfWAWA21I/s400/IMG_1430.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586023965899240578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PJwAF3tWLgk/TYWK3mCSYCI/AAAAAAAAAGY/U3gckacCcfA/s1600/IMG_1427.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PJwAF3tWLgk/TYWK3mCSYCI/AAAAAAAAAGY/U3gckacCcfA/s400/IMG_1427.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586023600530546722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MQOAJgxiIFM/TYWKhVZILkI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/K3WIRZAXGkw/s1600/IMG_1414.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MQOAJgxiIFM/TYWKhVZILkI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/K3WIRZAXGkw/s400/IMG_1414.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586023218105822786" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2rbjWDQUpo/TYWKDE7B6SI/AAAAAAAAAGI/bRZwK4_h_6o/s1600/IMG_1406.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 345px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m2rbjWDQUpo/TYWKDE7B6SI/AAAAAAAAAGI/bRZwK4_h_6o/s400/IMG_1406.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586022698288539938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0TgqMMl7iOo/TYWJmT0G8nI/AAAAAAAAAGA/ySgGw1VjYV4/s1600/IMG_1372.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0TgqMMl7iOo/TYWJmT0G8nI/AAAAAAAAAGA/ySgGw1VjYV4/s400/IMG_1372.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586022204069835378" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3gfiS_4aMjQ/TYWI1EOU1jI/AAAAAAAAAF4/cb4l2Caog6U/s1600/IMG_1345.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3gfiS_4aMjQ/TYWI1EOU1jI/AAAAAAAAAF4/cb4l2Caog6U/s400/IMG_1345.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586021358071240242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1jMNFnQI5sY/TYWIjYv2JvI/AAAAAAAAAFw/jDSxmF4sc1E/s1600/IMG_1298.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1jMNFnQI5sY/TYWIjYv2JvI/AAAAAAAAAFw/jDSxmF4sc1E/s400/IMG_1298.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586021054342899442" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WYtvT9k3Zmw/TYWIM3hnSUI/AAAAAAAAAFo/S5OlramuDus/s1600/IMG_1292.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WYtvT9k3Zmw/TYWIM3hnSUI/AAAAAAAAAFo/S5OlramuDus/s400/IMG_1292.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586020667467712834" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UonVjSwWimU/TYWH14ZApeI/AAAAAAAAAFg/XQ2vbT2DWZY/s1600/IMG_1262.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UonVjSwWimU/TYWH14ZApeI/AAAAAAAAAFg/XQ2vbT2DWZY/s400/IMG_1262.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586020272563070434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s_R5Axeckc8/TYWHhbjxDTI/AAAAAAAAAFY/pvYRBrEoRcQ/s1600/_MG_1340.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-s_R5Axeckc8/TYWHhbjxDTI/AAAAAAAAAFY/pvYRBrEoRcQ/s400/_MG_1340.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586019921226173746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XoQmOTidtKo/TYWGeqO7l5I/AAAAAAAAAFI/00h43asF5GE/s1600/_MG_1291.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XoQmOTidtKo/TYWGeqO7l5I/AAAAAAAAAFI/00h43asF5GE/s320/_MG_1291.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5586018774114080658" /></a>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-88792468875101213282010-09-23T09:06:00.000-07:002010-09-23T09:12:42.826-07:00Multiple Choice PoetryHere is some poetry that I "created" using the multiple choice answers for the quizzes I'm writing up. Enjoy! :]<br /><br />I like the fall.<br />It's romantic.<br />Warm and sunny.<br /><br /><br />Yes, I would<br />Watch a movie.<br />It's chilly.<br /><br /><br />Stay inside and drink lots of water<br />Don't use the telephone<br />It's extremely windy.<br /><br /><br />In an office<br />She's an accountant<br />She's using a computer.<br /><br /><br />A chance for promotion<br />My ideal job<br />It's frustrating.<br /><br /><br />An excellent salary<br />Working in an office<br />I'd like a chance to travel.<br /><br /><br />If you can't tell, we're learning about weather and jobs!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-8768730930190459332010-09-15T12:01:00.000-07:002010-09-15T12:13:47.019-07:00Progress!Today was the first day that I felt almost completely comfortable and at ease while teaching! Okay, well, it was the first day that I didn't feel sick to my stomach at the beginning of class (usually the feeling goes away after taking attendance and going over homework, but today there was no sick feeling at all!).<br /><br />I'm teaching two classes, an intermediate speaking and vocab class, and an elementary listening class (both at the college level since I'm teaching at a university). I LOVE my speaking and vocab class! When I find a subject that they like, man, they neveeer stop talking! Which is great, because HEY, it's speaking class! Today we finished up weather terms and talked about extreme weather (typhoons/hurricanes, blizzards, and heat waves). It's always so interesting to hear them talk about their home countries. One of the questions was, "Which of these weather events is the most dangerous? Why?" I, as a resident of Ohio, think nothing of blizzards, but I thought a heat wave would be absolutely devastating. On the other hand, one of my students from Saudi Arabia said that he experiences "heat waves" every day, and that he's terrified of blizzards! I love learning about different cultures through my students! I have so many ideas for this class! On Friday I'm going to play a bunch of review games with them to go over the vocab from chapters 1-4, and then next Friday, after the chapter on careers/jobs, we're going to visit my friend at the radio station (she's in charge of the whole shebang and said she'd give us a tour!). I can't wait! Ooh, and we're having our first oral presentations on Friday, so I've got to write up a rubric for that!<br /><br />My listening class is more difficult, because they're the lowest proficiency level that we'll take (Elementary II). I only have them for 2 hours every week, so I haven't gotten to know them as well as my speaking/vocab students. I have some students in my listening class who NEVER participate (unless I call on them...gosh I love doing that!) and just stare at me with glossy eyes. But the other half is always willing to say answers and actively participate. I even had one student who shot his hand into the air to answer EVERY question today! Of course, I only called on him a few times because I want everyone to participate!<br /><br />I hope that I'm a good teacher and that my students are learning a lot. I'm not going to tell them that this is my first time teaching...at least not until the end of the semester! Also, the international students are going on an excursion on Sunday to a local outlet mall, and all the ESL faculty was invited to go along. I'm excited for this because it's a chance to talk to my students outside of class, and it's a good opportunity for them to get to know me as a person and not just their big, bad teacher (although I'm hardly big or bad!). I'm excited for this too :]Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-51982224269415905392010-09-12T11:08:00.000-07:002010-09-12T11:29:35.710-07:00Diving headfirst into teaching!So, I got back from Germany a little over a month ago. I miss it so, sooo much and I hope to return to Dresden sometime in the future (perhaps with my boyfriend...I'd love to show him around Europe since he's never been!). I learned a lot in Germany and made awesome friends with my roommates (it's now weird to see them at school...I'm sad that we don't live together any more :( ).<br /><br />I also graduated! I now have a degree in Cultural Anthropology and a certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language! When I got back from Germany, I was really indecisive about what I was going to do with my life now. Should I look for a TEFL job? A desk job? Go back to school? Sit around and do nothing for awhile? That last one was rather tempting after working really hard for 4 1/2 years of school.<br /><br />But then I got an awesome e-mail from my professor who taught all of my TEFL classes, asking if I was interested in teaching at our university. I answered "YES!" right away...and now I've suddenly gone from being a student to being a teacher. It's a complete 180. I get to be in charge of a classroom, which is a lot more fun and difficult than I could have imagined. I have the education of 30 students in my hands (between my two classes). I teach a listening class (extremely hard to teach, and I don't think my students are very comfortable with me...I've tried to get them talking, but they're super quiet :\) and a speaking and vocab class (LOVE this class! My students are hilarious and really chatty, which is awesome!).<br /><br />I'm going into my third week of teaching, and I've already met and overcome a lot of challenges. But I had the most awesome feeling in the world when I went to the college book store a few days ago. I was picking up a book for my literature class (that I'm taking for FREE since I work at the university now!) and just for kicks I went over to the ESL section of textbooks and was poking around. I found the textbook for my listening class, and underneath there was a little placard that had all of the class information, like dates and times of the class, the call number, the required texts...and under instructor, it had my last name :] I freaked out because I was so happy and excited. I think I scared all of the other students around me. But that's okay.<br /><br />It's been a difficult transition. I don't feel like an adult. I still feel like a student. And when people ask me what I'm doing now after I've graduated, I always say "I'm a part-time instructor in the ESL center at my university." I can't bring myself to say that I'm teaching...or that I'm *gulp*...a teacher. Because even though that's what I'm doing now, I still don't feel like it's my job. But maybe that'll change after I get used to teaching!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-58937531829817562832010-07-31T09:44:00.000-07:002010-07-31T09:55:01.533-07:00So long, farewellAuf Wiedersehen, adieu...<br /><br />I'm leaving Germany tomorrow morning and I'm totally heartbroken over it. Sure I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, family, and boyfriend tomorrow night, but I'm so sad about leaving Germany. I feel like I've grown so much and I've come to call Dresden home. I learned so many things and experienced so many things and it'll be a long, LONG time before I forget any of those things.<br /><br />I spent all afternoon walking around the city, saying goodbye to my favorite things. Goodbye German beer, goodbye Frauenkirche, goodbye Elbe, goodbye Zwinger, goodbye tram numbers 8 and 3, goodbye Katie's Garage, goodbye Neustadt and Alstadt, goodbye Theaterplatz and Albertplatz, and goodbye International Guesthouse.<br /><br /><br />Goodbye Germany. I hope I can come back some day :(<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs524.ash1/30823_809983324884_12330836_45093168_3695756_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 499px; height: 374px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs524.ash1/30823_809983324884_12330836_45093168_3695756_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs584.snc3/30823_809983040454_12330836_45093137_7329311_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 497px; height: 373px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs584.snc3/30823_809983040454_12330836_45093137_7329311_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs524.ash1/30823_809982960614_12330836_45093127_4012739_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 595px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs524.ash1/30823_809982960614_12330836_45093127_4012739_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs305.snc3/28873_809670362064_12330836_45080922_1242210_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 491px; height: 368px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs305.snc3/28873_809670362064_12330836_45080922_1242210_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs305.snc3/28873_809670257274_12330836_45080910_7490405_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 561px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs305.snc3/28873_809670257274_12330836_45080910_7490405_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-28613143984343906572010-07-22T03:09:00.000-07:002010-07-22T03:21:44.099-07:00Almost there!So, I just took my last final of undergrad EVER, and I kicked it's butt (I think)! The only thing standing between me and my college diploma is a computer project that is taking me foreeeever to complete. Okay, it's taking me forever because I keep getting distracted! I'm just totally burnt out on school right now, so instead of doing my computer project, here's a list titled "Things On Etsy That I Really, REALLY Want Right Now!" To see what shop they come from, just click on the picture! Enjoy! Now I'm off to take a well deserved nap.<br /><br />P.S. There's a theme. Bet ya can't guess what it is!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/woolgatherings?ref=seller_info"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 480px; height: 480px;" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.159910017.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/polishedtwo?ref=seller_info"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 507px; height: 675px;" src="http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.160170631.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Colinscreatures"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 492px; height: 383px;" src="http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.131469335.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/SilkAndShine?ref=seller_info"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 516px; height: 516px;" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.146450809.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lambsears?ref=seller_info"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 587px; height: 440px;" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.120315685.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-4235308283637987102010-07-21T03:23:00.001-07:002010-07-21T03:37:04.990-07:00Annis Shawl is DONE!Okay, so I haven't had that much spare time to knit while being in Germany. Well, that's actually a lie...I've had spare time, but I spend that time exploring the city instead of knitting! But, I finally finished my project that I've been working on, the <a href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEss10/PATTannis.php">Annis Shawl</a> from the spring/summer Knitty (2010) by Susanna IC. I actually bought another one of her shawl patterns when the Ravelry was having their Haiti fundraiser, but I ended up frogging that one a bunch of times (always ended up with like 6 extra stitches at the end of the row, harumph!). Any who...I really enjoyed knitting this. The nupps were difficult at best, but I'm glad I did them to learn a new technique and to try something different. I think I might make another in purple for my step-mom for her birthday (in December) with beads instead of nupps (although I'll have to learn beading first!). I bought this lovely mohair/wool blend at this cute little yarn store here in Dresden. I LOVE the store because the owner remembers me every time I go and is nice enough to speak to me in English :]<br /><br />Okay, prepare for a bunch of pictures because I'm really proud of this shawl! It's the first one I've done, and I really enjoyed Susanna's crescent-shaped construction of the shawl. The short rows made it interesting, but I could really tell how long it was until I had finished all the short rows. No, I haven't weaved the ends in yet (ugh, torture), and no it hasn't been blocked yet, but I couldn't wait to show it off! I love the blue and it'll go perfectly with my winter coat. The last picture is a diagonal scarf I'm whipping up really quickly for a friend that I'll be staying with in England for 6 days starting Saturday as a thank-you present for letting me crash her pad!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLpOwTujI/AAAAAAAAADc/Z5XZqNgZSj4/s1600/DSCN3692.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLpOwTujI/AAAAAAAAADc/Z5XZqNgZSj4/s320/DSCN3692.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496304304448059954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLiNNHr9I/AAAAAAAAADU/18ojkpOMRN4/s1600/DSCN3693.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLiNNHr9I/AAAAAAAAADU/18ojkpOMRN4/s320/DSCN3693.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496304183772950482" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLclsowpI/AAAAAAAAADM/lEwAKA74u44/s1600/DSCN3694.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLclsowpI/AAAAAAAAADM/lEwAKA74u44/s320/DSCN3694.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496304087268377234" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLQE60vdI/AAAAAAAAADE/dX9TpYg0ZOg/s1600/DSCN3695.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLQE60vdI/AAAAAAAAADE/dX9TpYg0ZOg/s320/DSCN3695.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496303872311082450" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLGu25_oI/AAAAAAAAAC8/Mcz7OS7ko4M/s1600/DSCN3696.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbLGu25_oI/AAAAAAAAAC8/Mcz7OS7ko4M/s320/DSCN3696.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496303711770246786" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbK_ePTNzI/AAAAAAAAAC0/R0Ikh5tJB2s/s1600/DSCN3697.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TEbK_ePTNzI/AAAAAAAAAC0/R0Ikh5tJB2s/s320/DSCN3697.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496303587050075954" border="0" /></a>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-73403091412561017072010-07-18T11:36:00.000-07:002010-07-18T11:49:31.753-07:00Beautiful, gorgeous day in Germanland!So, it has been hot in Germany late. Like, RIDICULOUSLY hot. One of our German friends said there has been record-breaking heat in the past couple of weeks. Wonderful :\ But today, the weather was gorgeoooous. I'm more of an overcast sky and rain type of girl, so today was perfect. There was a bit of sunshine, a lot of wind, and a lovely temperature of 68-70 degrees F! So my roommate and I decided to go to a really nice, HUGE park in Dresden called the Grosser Garten. There's a palace in the middle of the garden, surrounded by forest, gardens, and paths. There's also a little train that you can take for 2 euros that goes around the entire garden and makes stops along the way (such as the zoo, the VW factory, a small cafe, the palace, etc). We rode the train and weren't the least bit embarassed to be the only people there who were childless and under 65 :] It was so much fun. Then we walked around a lake and ate at a tiny cafe that was right on top of the water. We watched ducks and swans and people rowboating around the river. All in all, it was a super fantastically awesome day! I can't believe I only have 2 more weeks left in Germany :( Any who...pictures!<br /><br />P.S. The gardens/palace are totally what I imagine Pemberley (sp?) to look like!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs078.snc4/35264_471923366631_608286631_6599691_1058628_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 492px; height: 369px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs078.snc4/35264_471923366631_608286631_6599691_1058628_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs074.snc4/35060_471923196631_608286631_6599681_5834163_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 502px; height: 376px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs074.snc4/35060_471923196631_608286631_6599681_5834163_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs071.snc4/34893_471922911631_608286631_6599664_2589562_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 504px; height: 672px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs071.snc4/34893_471922911631_608286631_6599664_2589562_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs051.snc4/34893_471922876631_608286631_6599659_6900540_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 503px; height: 670px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs051.snc4/34893_471922876631_608286631_6599659_6900540_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs051.snc4/34893_471922871631_608286631_6599658_7578416_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 572px; height: 428px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs051.snc4/34893_471922871631_608286631_6599658_7578416_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs031.ash2/34893_471922861631_608286631_6599657_7108351_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 540px; height: 720px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs031.ash2/34893_471922861631_608286631_6599657_7108351_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs185.snc4/37575_471922706631_608286631_6599649_6706323_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 540px; height: 720px;" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs185.snc4/37575_471922706631_608286631_6599649_6706323_n.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-2963823637350109732010-07-06T06:18:00.000-07:002010-07-06T06:38:36.658-07:00Mix Tape TUESDAY!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/munieca?ref=seller_info"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 303px;" src="http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.156185483.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Okay, so I didn't have a mix tape put together yesterday (but I did have ONE song stuck in my head allllll day...which subsequently got stuck in the heads of my roommates!), but I've put together a mix for today! The theme is "Summertime Songs", or more specifically "Songs I Would Have Played at My 4th of July Party if I Had Been in the USA." It's just a mix of songs I think are perfect for summertime, or remind me of summertime in high school. I think every single one of these songs is totally singable, and I love them all. My roommates and I have had this mix on repeat ALL day now!<br /><br />Summertime Songs<br />1. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqNvkNhyY0E">(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To - Weezer</a><br />2. Desole Pour Hier Soir (Sorry For Last Night) - Tryo (I can't find a video for this because SONY doesn't allow me to watch it in my country :( But this song is AMAZING so youtube it!)<br />3. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPcX-5Tmqt8">Someday - Sugar Ray</a><br />4. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwO0lNfc_h8">Long Cool Woman in A Black Dress - The Hollies</a><br />5. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzlUBOty9j4">First Date - Blink 182</a><br />6. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iaVEeTm3OM">Energy - The Apples in Stereo</a><br />7. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXIY1q-VpW0">Days Like These - The Cat Empire</a><br />8. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYN74ZW4k_E">Mr. Jones - The Counting Crows</a><br />9. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7MhpFF1vv0">Snow ((Hey Oh)) - Red Hot Chili Peppers</a><br />10. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGUG1aCUY2o">A Surprise One</a> :] (I bet you've TOTALLY forgotten this song, but to me, this song absolutely represents summer!)<br /><br />Enjoy!<br />Erin<br /><br />P.S. Totally, TOTALLY want those earrings! Click on the picture to get redirected to the shop!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-18714175320729630162010-07-05T08:03:00.000-07:002010-07-05T08:08:57.306-07:00...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/DomesticIcing?ref=seller_info"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 491px; height: 491px;" src="http://ny-image3.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.118151279.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);font-family:arial;" >"The wind is low the birds will sing</span> <span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);font-family:arial;" ><br />that you are part of everything."</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />:] </span></div>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-64462037820456170622010-06-30T05:04:00.000-07:002010-06-30T05:19:26.906-07:00How do you communicate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.154515941.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 482px; height: 320px;" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.154515941.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">with no words to use?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sometimes living in a foreign country is absolutely frustrating. Everything is different, even if you never expect it to be. The plugs are different, the pillows are different, the public transportation is different...EVERYTHING! But most importantly (and most difficultly) the language is different.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">About 75% of the time that I try to communicate with native Germans, I feel like an absolute fool. I know a couple words like "please", "thank you", "one", "I don't speak German", and some food names, but that is IT. I don't know any German, and I feel like a horrible person every time someone asks me if I speak German and I have to reply "no...sorry." I can only order food while pointing at something and saying "one, please", which has incredibly limited my diet because I'm a very picky eater and I have no way of saying "yes, but no tomatoes please!". So I've basically stuck to noodle boxes and pretzels when I'm eating on the run. Otherwise, I can just make food in my apartment (which has no oven, microwave, or toaster...grrr).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">I had a very interesting (to me) encounter the other day. I was at the public viewing park for the World Cup games (okay America, we need some of these public viewing parks ASAP...they're so much fun!) and I went to the food tent to get some french fries and beer (sooo healthy, I know) and when I went to check out, the girl told me my total, which of course, I didn't understand. So I kind of smiled at her and looked at the cash register to see what the number was, and handed her my money. She then asked, "Next time should I speak in English?"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">This totally surprised me. It's your country and your language, why should you have to change to cater to my needs? It was just kind of funny to me that she was willing to switch to English when sooo many people I've encountered in Germany obstinately refuse to use English, even if they know a bit.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Sometimes the language barrier makes me want to give up on living here and just</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"> move back home, but most of the time I see it as a challenge to myself and as a way to improve my relations and interactions with people who live in cultures different from my own!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Tschüss (goodbye)!</span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">Erin</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">P.S. Lovely photo of the best World Cup team's flag by </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheDailyFoto">The Daily Photo</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">.</span><br /></span>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-84428581973260783372010-06-29T08:52:00.000-07:002010-06-29T09:02:44.624-07:00Tuesdays >:[<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.146148445.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 496px; height: 336px;" src="http://ny-image1.etsy.com/il_fullxfull.146148445.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I think Tuesdays are the absolute worst. They're the pits. No matter what my class, work, or hobby schedule is from semester to semester, Tuesday are ALWAYS freaking terrible.<br /><br />Today I sat through 6 hours of classes. In a row. In a tiny cramped room. With an itty bitty window. In 85+ degree weather. And I forgot my water bottle.<br /><br />I think Tuesdays exist only to hassle me! But on a brighter note, I received a bunch of postcards in the mail from <a href="http://www.postcrossing.com/">Postcrossing</a>. You sign up and send out 5 postcards, and when the other person receives and registers your postcard, then you're next in queue to receive a random postcard from some random place in the world! It's fun and addicting and awesome! For the price of a postcard and stamp, you can connect with hundreds and thousands of other people around the world!<br /><br />Cheers,<br />Erin<br /><br />P.S. The picture above is a print from the seller <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/studiotuesday">Studio Tuesday</a>, the only good Tuesday I know!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-9422423842369650682010-06-28T03:23:00.001-07:002010-06-28T03:39:23.242-07:00Mix Tape Monday!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.52shows.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/rilo-kiley.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 474px; height: 277px;" src="http://www.52shows.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/rilo-kiley.jpeg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I've decided that I missed Mix Tape Monday, and I was in a music-y mood this weekend, so I've compiled another mix, this time with a theme!<br /><br />The theme is "Museums", because this weekend I went on a lovely visit to the museum inside the old palace in Dresden, where they keep all the beautiful treasures of Saxony (the region in which Dresden resides). I had gone to the old part of town just to walk around and watch tourists, but I got sidetracked and ended up in the palace museum for about 2 1/2 hours. So, to escape the very loud and animated Italian tour group that seemed to be following me around the museum, I popped on my headphones, and here is the play list I came up with:<br /><br />1. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fI_XA-cLVww">My Rights Versus Yours</a> - The New Pornographers<br />2. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml0VI8VZO2U">Leslie Anne Levine</a> - The Decemberists<br />3. She'll Hang the Baskets - Cake<br />4. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDq36YD1ESM">If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out</a> - Cat Stevens<br />5. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMfoXz6VMX0">Foundations</a> - Kate Nash<br />6. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnDC6Mt5ulQ">Syrup and Honey</a> - Duffy<br />7. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKxyoud_c-E">Slip Slidin' Away</a> - Paul Simon<br />8. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HbQFb9GR5E">Ne Me Quitte Pas</a> - Regina Spektor<br />9. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDecXVPPJL8">How Am I To Be</a> - The Watson Twins<br />10. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbfmwKM2zFg">Hail To Whatever You Found In The Sunlight That Surrounds You</a> - Rilo Kiley<br /><br />If you click on the song titles, you can listen to the song on Youtube (for those I could find...you should check out the other songs on Itunes though! They're good, I promise!). Enjoy the music, and hopefully it'll distract you from the tourists the next time you're in a museum! Also, comment if you like the mix, songs, etc, and if you have any ideas for a future themed mix!<br /><br />Cheers!<br />Erin<br /><br />P.S. The picture is of Rilo Kiley, one of my absolute favorite bands EVER. They rock.Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-16356625835167448782010-06-26T12:21:00.000-07:002010-06-26T12:32:02.517-07:00Well hellooooo!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TCZVWldOhyI/AAAAAAAAACc/3Up5IAV5kDM/s1600/28873_809670282224_12330836_45080912_153559_n.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 164px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/TCZVWldOhyI/AAAAAAAAACc/3Up5IAV5kDM/s200/28873_809670282224_12330836_45080912_153559_n.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487167042497709858" border="0" /></a><br />So, I've been on a bit of a hiatus, buuut I'm back now!<br /><br />I'm currently living in Dresden, Germany...at least for the next 5 weeks (have already been here 6 weeks). It's absolutely amazing, and I've even made friends with the proprietor of a LYS. Every time I walk into the store, she says, "You're back!" and even remembers to speak to me in English (which is a huge blessing to me). It's so nice that she remembers me, because I don't think the cashiers at my LYS at home even remember me :( Well she probably sees me walking down the sidewalk and thinks, "Oh goodness. Here's that crazy American girl again. How many socks can she possibly knit in a week to be back for more yarn!?" But I've spent a good amount of my euros there :]<br /><br />SOCKS! I finished my first pair of socks. They're rainbow colored and amazing! I love wearing them around the apartment, but it's much to warm to wear them outside :[ Oh well, I can't believe I'm actually excited for winter and coldness so that I can wear my new, lovely socks! I started a pair in blues and purples for my stepmother, but I'm only halfway finished with one sock :\ But I am ADDICTED to making baby socks...and I'm not even having a baby! I have a friend from high school who is expecting a new baby daughter at the end of August, so I'm knitting tiny socks for her like mad. I mean, they only take a little bit of yarn and about an hour to knit up! They're perfect for tram rides and bus rides! I've got 5 so far, and plan to make many, many more.<br /><br />Yesterday I went to the historic center of Dresden to look for postcards and go people watching. I got sidetracked and ended up wandering around a museum for 2 1/2 hours. Dear me, I love Germany so, SO much!<br /><br />Any way, that's it for now. I've got homework to do :( Blah!<br /><br />Cheers!<br />Erin<br /><br />P.S. Sorry the picture is so tiny, but that's me in front of a lovely fountain in Dresden :]Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-11387930451426248152010-02-04T14:47:00.000-08:002010-02-04T15:04:39.616-08:00For the first time in a long timeI finally have some good things happening to me!<br /><br />First things first, I uploaded some new things to my shop, which can be viewed in my mini Etsy! I'm really excited about them all. I updated 2 skeins of art yarn (one of which has already sold, HOLY COW!), some handmade clay buttons (that I loooove and have used on some other projects already!), and a new hat (which, I believe, is super freaking awesome)! So check em out if you have a minute (my purple buttons really need some love :( )<br /><br />Okay so I received some AWESOME news a few days ago! I'm a senior, and I thought that I had to take a few more classes in my major (anthropology) to graduate, and they only offer those classes in the fall, so I assumed I would be coming back next fall to finish out my degree, making me a super senior (or doing my victory lap as a friend described it). So I went to my advisor to discuss what I needed to take and LO AND BEHOLD I only have ONE more credit hour that I need to complete. One freaking hour! Wish I'd known that before registration ended...grrr! Anyway, it's super awesome news because that means I can graduate in August instead of in December (it's too late to graduate in May)! And that one hour will be covered in the study abroad I'm doing this summer...<br /><br />I'M GOING TO GERMANY! I've wanted to do a study abroad since I began college 4 years ago, but I never managed to make it work. My friend (a fellow anthro student) told me about how she's going to Germany this summer to get her TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) certificate, and I was intstantly interested in going! She's doing the 4 week course, which is just a teaching practicum, but I was interested in doing the 11 week course, which includes all the classes you need for the certificate, plus the teaching practicum. I got ahold of the advisor, and he managed to squeeze my application in right before the due date! HOORAY! AND I'm rooming with my friend! Omgomgomg I'm soooo excited!<br /><br />The program is in Dresden, Germany, at a university that I can't pronounce the name of (as I speak French, not German). As students there we get free travel all over the city, and 60km outside of the city. We're going to take weekend trips to Poland, France, and Belgium (where my mom has a cousin living, so hopefully I can stay for free). We live in apartments with actual German students.<br /><br />But the best part is that the one part I was worried about, having to pay for my airplane ticket (as it's not included in the tuition and expenses I pay to the school for the program)...well, my dad offered to buy it for me!!! Which is great because, well, I don't have a thousand spare dollars lying around! My dad's buying my ticket tomorrow, I've applied for financial aid and grants, and I've applied (and been accepted) to the program...which means I am OFFICIALLY going to Germany! Squeeeeeeeeee!<br /><br />And after I get back from Germany, I graduate, and am moving in with my best friend for a bit...rent free! Her boyfriend bought a house, but is being deployed to Iraq this June, so the army is going to pay his mortage while he's gone. She doesn't want to live by herself, so I offered to move in for awhile. I only have to pay for food and my share of the utilities.<br /><br />Oh, and after I graduate, I'm going to talk to someone from the Americorps and someone from the Peacecorps, as I really feel like those things are calling to me right now. I'm a little hesitant about the Peacecorp, as it's a 27 month commitment, but I'd like to know as much as I can about both before I make a decision.<br /><br />I just finally feel like my life is going in a concrete direction, and I'm so excited/happy/stunned!<br /><br />So, because I had so much good news lately, I felt like I needed to do something to deserve all this good karma I was getting. So I cleaned out my room and ended up with a bag full of clothes I don't wear anymore, and a box of jewelry, CD's, accessories, etc that I never use, and I freecycled them. It feels nice to help someone else out, and to get rid of some stuff clogging up my closet!<br /><br />All right, well I'm off to help my roomie (aforementioned bff) make chicken. We're having a medieval night and eating potatoes and cornish hens with our fingers and pretending to joust! We're silly...we know!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-28534333566574763122010-01-15T21:13:00.000-08:002010-01-15T21:22:06.727-08:00A little bit of organization!My new year is starting off the right way! I want to be a little more organized, and this is helping me out a tonnnn! I got it in a swap on Craftster, and I'm totally in LOVE with it. So, here are some pictures of my new needle roll organizer thingie (now I just wish the rest of my room would organize itself!):<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/S1FMifrHtCI/AAAAAAAAACU/AKnCTSb-cO4/s1600-h/DSCN2371.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 359px; height: 269px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/S1FMifrHtCI/AAAAAAAAACU/AKnCTSb-cO4/s200/DSCN2371.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427203181459780642" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/S1FMIGsZ2BI/AAAAAAAAACM/uE9O3zUNnxc/s1600-h/DSCN2370.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 303px; height: 227px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/S1FMIGsZ2BI/AAAAAAAAACM/uE9O3zUNnxc/s200/DSCN2370.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427202728077678610" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/S1FL-iaxFWI/AAAAAAAAACE/BD7bHKW7j_o/s1600-h/DSCN2372.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 308px; height: 231px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/S1FL-iaxFWI/AAAAAAAAACE/BD7bHKW7j_o/s200/DSCN2372.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427202563721205090" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/S1FLsMYhHmI/AAAAAAAAAB0/MbkNZv-fqIg/s1600-h/DSCN2374.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 318px; height: 238px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/S1FLsMYhHmI/AAAAAAAAAB0/MbkNZv-fqIg/s200/DSCN2374.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427202248568544866" border="0" /></a>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-11031337656079506052010-01-13T15:18:00.000-08:002010-01-14T08:26:01.749-08:00A Year of Change<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gosdenfamily.net/%7Ekengosden/vacation/Sedona/Cathedral%20Rock%201.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 567px; height: 425px;" src="http://www.gosdenfamily.net/%7Ekengosden/vacation/Sedona/Cathedral%20Rock%201.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I have decided to make this year a year of change. There are so many things I want to do, and I want to try and I'm just determined to make myself a better person.<br /><br />I just got back from visiting my Dad in Arizona, and the desert was amazing and absolutely breathtaking (okay, I liked the desert, but I wouldn't like to live there...I love forests and streams and grass and meadows!). We climbed to the top of Cathedral Rock in Sedona. I'm not a very good hiker, and it was uphill (and up-rock) the entire way...I pretty much felt like I was going to die the entire time. But the view from the top was amazing, and completely worth the effort! My favorite thing up there was this older gentleman who was just chilling at the top with his hands in his pockets. He didn't have water or snacks or hiking gear or anything (we were pretty outfitted for a rigorous climb). He looked like he just walked to the top and sat there for awhile before climbing back down. He made me realize that I wanted to slow down, stop, and enjoy life more often. So that's when I decided that I wanted to make 2010 a year of change...a year that would really count. So here are the things I want to change:<br /><br />1. I need to be more active. Even if it's not going to the rec every day (or even every other day), then just simply doing some kind of aerobic work out at home. Maybe I'll start every day with jumping jacks? I want to lose some weight...not copious amounts, because unlike most people, I'm actually okay with how my body looks, but just enough to go down a pant size (because last year I was one size, and this year I'm a size up, so I'd like to be able to use my old pants instead of buying more, yanno!?).<br /><br />2. I'm going to try to be more patient with people. This is going to be really, REALLY hard for me, as my patience is the size of a pinhead.<br /><br />3. I want to eat less crappy stuff. I have to stop eating spaghetti every night for dinner :\<br /><br />4. I'm going to try harder in school. NO MORE PROCRASTINATION! I seriously wait until the last minute to do EVERYTHING. I'm going to try sooo hard to get everything done on time, or early! This is also going to be difficult, especially with my knitting and computer about 3 feet away :(<br /><br />5. Random acts of kindness! I want to be a nicer person!<br /><br />6. I'm going to try to stay out of the Etsy forums (because sometimes it makes numbers 2 and 5 really hard)(okay, I'm not going to completely stop posting, but I'm going to try to not get sucked into some of the inane threads) and actually concentrate on my business. I've kind of just been putting stuff in the shop and not really doing anything with it, so I want to expand my business and be an active shopowner!<br /><br />Also, I'm currently working on a baby blanket for my friend who is about 6 weeks pregnant. I haven't talked to her in about a year, but I saw on facebook that she was expecting, and I thought it would be really fun for her to randomly receive a package from an old friend chock full of cute, hand-made baby stuff! You would like that too, wouldn't you?<br /><br />If anyone has any tips or comments about the things I'm trying to improve on (especially healthy eating, I'd love recipes!) then feel free to drop me a comment! I can use all the help I can get! I'm determined to make this year a really worthwhile, really interesting, and really fun year!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-21233838091212299832010-01-01T16:50:00.000-08:002010-01-01T16:55:38.165-08:00New Year's ResolutionsOkay, I'm not usually one for resolutions, and I didn't actually think of this one until a few minutes ago, but I think I want to have a new year's resolution.<br /><br />Basically, I want to expand my knitting repertoire. I want to make my first sweater. I want to actually tackle some of the patterns in my Ravelry faves! I want to knit more for my Etsy store (which I haven't made anything for in a few weeks :( ). I NEED to use up some of my yarn. I want to make a baby blanket for my friend who is expecting. I want to spin more yarn and become better at it. I want to start writing out all my patterns. I want to advertise more. I want to do a craft show. I want to GO to a craft show! I want to visit an alpaca farm and buy some yarn/wool :]<br /><br />But mostly, I want to connect with other knitters on a personal level. I don't know many people that knit...actually, I only know one, and I taught her. She ended up being the person I drew for Secret Santa so I'm getting her some nice yarn (not acrylic stuff, which is what she's mostly been using), a 16 inch circular needle, some DPN's, and a hat pattern so she can try something besides garter stitch scarves! I think I might join my LYS's knitting group, but my LYS isn't really that local to me since the closest one shut down :(<br /><br />Any hoo...just a quick update. I'm in the middle of knitting a hat, and I thought of my resolution, so I'm getting back to mah hat now! Peace!<br /><br />ErinBlack Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-40467393991596714662009-11-15T10:10:00.001-08:002009-11-15T10:26:43.654-08:00I am the world's worst blogger!So, I've been completely and absolutely buried in school work since the beginning of the semester in September. I haven't had much time to knit, or blog, or work on my shop (yet somehow, I've managed to increase my yarn stash...oops!). Since my midterms and presentations are over, I've had a little time to relax (well, until finals), so I thought I'd just do a small update on some of my projects!<br /><br />These are some socks I'm knitting for my boyfriend. They were supposed to be birthday presents for him, but since his birthday was the 11th, and I didn't even start them until yesterday, they're going to end up as birthday/Christmas presents. They're my first project on size 1 needles, and it's going frustratingly slow :\<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/shortern2/DSCN1799.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 338px; height: 253px;" src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/shortern2/DSCN1799.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />This tam is my first colorwork project. The section you can see turned out okay, but it started going all wonky towards the top. I made it (and a few other tams) for a private swap on Craftster. The colors in the picture are pretty true to the real thing. I'm thinking about using the leftover blue and black yarn to make an argyle/diamond patterned scarf with some fringe!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/shortern2/DSCN1803.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 328px; height: 245px;" src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/shortern2/DSCN1803.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I LOOOOOVE this yarn! I had it for a long time before it finally told me what it wanted to be! It's Malabrigo, which is my favorite yarn ever (so soft and squishy!). I just love the way the colors pooled together; it looks like it's tie-dye (even though it looks kind of washed out in the picture)! It's a beret for myself (since I haven't actually made anything for myself in awhile) and I'm going to add a pom-pom (erm...after I figure out how to make them).<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/shortern2/DSCN1804.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 325px; height: 243px;" src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/shortern2/DSCN1804.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Last, but not least, this is my Woodland Scarf. It's based off of a lace stitch, and the color/pattern remind me of a meandering path through the woods. I hope to put the pattern for it on this blog soon! The picture doesn't really show the color well. It's a chocolate-y brown with pretty gold specks in it. I spread it out for the picture, but I still have to block it (among the 293857293857 things on my to-do list!)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/shortern2/DSCN1810.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 327px; height: 244px;" src="http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa95/shortern2/DSCN1810.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I've also managed to add a few yarns to my stash in the past couple of months. Unfortunately, one of my LYS has gone out of business, but they had a really good closing sale, so I bought tons of yarns. Yesterday I picked up a few more for some project's from Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits 2, which I bought for myself for a birthday present! I'm going to start with Veyla and Damson!<br /><br />Well, ta for now, I'm about to go knit my little heart out!Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8039707934350186271.post-50145572103509193452009-08-24T14:03:00.001-07:002009-08-24T14:11:44.845-07:00Hats hats hats!Hello there! In preparation for the fall (and because I've been trying to plow through my yarn stash) I've gone absolutely nuts for hats. I particularly enjoy making ones with ribbons in them. I think the combination of the fuzzy, soft yarn, and the shiny, smooth ribbon makes for one adorable, awesome hat! I've really enjoyed using different types of yarns, and seeing how they come together to form a hat. For variagated yarns, I love seeing how the colors pool together, and with plain colored yarn, I enjoy the look of plain old cables or knit stitches! I made these hats pretty simple because I wanted to add ribbons to them, so I didn't want them to be too busy! Plus, the hats are GREAT stash busters! They all took just about a skein each...and I've actually got 2 more hats on needles right now.<br /><br />So, without further ado, here are a preview of my hats! I'm so glad I finally have something to list in my shop. it's been a long time since I've created anything I thought was worth putting in there! The last hat is already listed, which you can check out if you click on my banner to the right! The other hats I will list over the next few days!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMAyjaIYbI/AAAAAAAAABs/MIGewWnq_Vs/s1600-h/DSCN1597.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMAyjaIYbI/AAAAAAAAABs/MIGewWnq_Vs/s200/DSCN1597.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373639648881435058" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMAuMuIy2I/AAAAAAAAABk/Mth_gJroPCg/s1600-h/DSCN1594.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 184px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMAuMuIy2I/AAAAAAAAABk/Mth_gJroPCg/s200/DSCN1594.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373639574071855970" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMApuao0WI/AAAAAAAAABc/QU-LvTeoZW8/s1600-h/DSCN1592.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 182px; height: 200px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMApuao0WI/AAAAAAAAABc/QU-LvTeoZW8/s200/DSCN1592.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373639497217528162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMAcHkSanI/AAAAAAAAABU/9i84jtijPak/s1600-h/DSCN1586.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 182px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMAcHkSanI/AAAAAAAAABU/9i84jtijPak/s200/DSCN1586.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373639263450720882" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMAOinCpWI/AAAAAAAAABM/7WdKg7Wz9fs/s1600-h/DSCN1583.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 209px; height: 212px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Bhg6nTu8REQ/SpMAOinCpWI/AAAAAAAAABM/7WdKg7Wz9fs/s200/DSCN1583.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373639030191859042" border="0" /></a>Black Squirrel Knitshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702623780048195108noreply@blogger.com0