March Madness!

"Where has this month gone???" I find myself asking that question more and more often. I had thought I'd get more done this week than I did, but the week zigged when I had planned to zag!

First, Thomas had to return to the hospital for another GI test to determine why he's anemic. This time he had to swallow a camera! Yep, that's right...a camera. It's called PillCam, and it's just fascinating...or as John Denver would have said..."far out!" We don't have the results yet, as his doctor is out of town until Monday. Fingers crossed...toes, too!

On a more pleasant note, the rest of my week was centered around a visit from one of Mom's friends, Rose Liming. She and her daughter, Carol, motored over in Carol's new Murano (neat car!) from the Cincinnati area for a couple of days. Rose and Mom have known each other for many years, dating back to the days when Daddy worked his "second job" at Clopay in Covington. Carol is a skilled and enthusiastic cross-stitcher, and she had already Googled the shop in St. Charles (Stitches, Etc.), so we headed to Main Street for a wonderful day on Thursday. We also "hit" the quilt shop, Patches, where we oohed and ahhed over the amount and variety of fabrics as well as buttons. This photo is in front of the fireplace at Canoe restaurant, where we enjoyed a nice lunch before heading back to the shoppes. I, of course, had to show them the new yarn shop (Knit 'n Caboodle), where I'm already on a first-name basis with the shop owner, Connie! A good time was had by all!!

Thomas surprised us by heading home from Wisconsin last night...he had said he'd be gone until Friday (today). So he's in his office, toiling away. Hopefully, he'll surface to help us cheer on the Tigers in about an hour (11:30 a.m., Central DS Time).

Yep, the University of Memphis made it into the field of 65 teams in the NCAA Basketball Tournament for 2007! We've got our brackets set, so now it's up to them to go all the way...to the Final Four in Atlanta!! Go Tigers Go!!! (Click for the Fight Song!)

The Lion of March

It's been so true here: "March comes in like a Lion, goes out like a Lamb." The wind blew ol' February away (thank goodness!) and blew our new month right in. Of course, we are still getting some low temps (went down into the twenties last weekend), but the days are brighter and the cold is receding...gradually. I'm eagerly awaiting that first daffodil to pop open...there are several candidates for the honor in both front and back gardens, but none has dared brave the coolish weather to make a full appearance.

Maredith was here for the weekend and stayed through Tuesday morning as she had work in the STL area. It was wonderful to have her here...period. I find that I miss her more and more.

I worked "overtime" on Sunday to finish up Hannah's Big Girl Blanket, crocheted in a shell pattern using Lion Brand's Baby Soft in White, Powder Pink, and Bubble Gum. That's a picture of it in the "Projects Completed" area on the right, along with a fluffy white scarf I made for Mom for Valentine's Day, using two threads held together (Moda Dea's Dream in Winter White and Caron's Simply Soft in White). Both turned out well and made me proud of the efforts. I think the recipients of each will enjoy using them. (This is Hannah's second blankie; her Mom made a special request for one, as the one I made when Hannah was born 5 years ago has about been loved too much...and needs to be retired!) I just love it when I start a project...and when I complete it! It's the middle part that can sometimes feel like forever!

Speaking of starting a project, I started a new knitted baby afghan with some new baby blue and white self-striping yarn I picked up when Maredith and I met for some Mother-Daughter Bonding Time at Michael's on Monday. It's knit on the diagonal, casting on 4 stitches and using a simple YFWD to increase between the second and third stitch on each row, until you have 190 stitches. Then, you do a decrease on each row after the YFWD and before the loop on the other end of the row. It's simple...and looks like it will work up quickly. We'll see...

And, I continue thinking about working on my green cotton thread knitted sweater. I worked on it while on our last visit to Maredith, but I haven't picked it up since returning home. Such is life...

I've entered the CNBC Million Dollar Challenge contest, so I've been studying the market a lot this week. I find that it does 'challenge' me to determine some parameters...only, not for investing...but for the contest itself. Still, I've been able to put some of the things I've been learning about investing to work, and I found that I already had a "Watch List" available to start my 'investing' on CNBC. Yesterday, I was surprised to learn that I had moved from the top 92% to the top 23%! How about that?!

Time to close and get supper ready. Let's see...what sounds good tonight? I've got a good many 'fixins' for another Mexican meal, but can't decide just what...? We'll see...

Spring has Sprung? Let's Hope So!

Look at these beautiful Bassets! That's Elmo on the left, Duchess on the right. They are out on the deck on their pillows, enjoying the sun and mild temperatures today. The snow has all but vanished (except in the piles on the streets, where the snow plough ran), and lots of spring flowers are pushing through the ground. How they survived all that cold weather, I'll never know! I've heard that the forecast for this weekend isn't the greatest (rain and wind on the way), but surely we won't slip back into Winter again...surely?

I'm starting to get the hang of Blog publishing, particularly on my http://ChoicesCoach.blogspot.com. I pick a topic for each day, select my resources and supporting materials, and create the content to publish. I've used the links, and I'm adding a few features that I can upload. I've learned all about using AdSense from Google, and have added a number of elements as suggested. As I get more comfortable with the process, I'm sure I'll learn more and grow the site.

I've also made my goal of one hour (or more!) on my novel each day. While I can't always make that happen first thing, I can usually work it out in the late afternoon (like today). Most of my work has been on research and character development. Silly me, I thought that you just sat down and wrote until the novel was finished...voila! Who knew that you first have to dig a deep hole to plant the tree that will grow into your story?

Thomas told me he liked all the photos I've been including on this site, so I wanted to add another bird picture. This one is of three male cardinals at the copper feeder in the back yard. Can't see all three? Trust me, there's another one in the thicket! Actually I counted at least 6 male cards at one time, flitting around the thicket and the feeders. A month from now, they won't be that close to one another without having a fight for the females! Ah, Spring...:)

Could Spring be on the Way?

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful here in O'Fallon! The skies were blue, the birds were singing, and the snow was almost all melted away...oh yes, and it reached the mid-50's! Who could ask for anything more? I took this picture from our deck of a male cardinal in the thicket in our back yard. He and his mates were busy at the feeders all afternoon.

It's hard to believe that this time last week, we had 5 inches of snow on the ground...and it hit 5 degrees at 5:00 a.m. The snow was beautiful, but we are all ready for Spring!

I started back working on my novel yesterday, with a renewed sense of purpose. I've determined that the key to reaching my writing goal is DISCIPLINE...at least, that's what I read. I'm happy to be moving forward, even though it feels so scary to not know what I'm doing...a bit like stepping into the darkness. I know that as I am successful at figuring out the process, I'll feel much more confident...and want to work that much harder to reach my goal.

I've also determined that I need to begin a Business Blog, too. I've been working on my email signatures, and I realize that a new blog can help me. I'll mix that into my writing to keep me fresh...and to help relieve the pressure of staring at the page without writing anything of substance!

Snow Redux

Say hello to my snow helper...what should I call him? As you can see, he's wearing his Mitsubishi-Fuso cap and drinking a Diet Pepsi...much like Thomas would be doing if he were here to help shovel the snow that fell with a fury this morning...and is still coming down this afternoon.

It took me a couple of hours to clear the driveway, sidewalk, and to create some paths on the deck and in the back yard for the dogs to be able to get outside. Then, I came inside so I could check out Realtor.com for houses in Florida!

After I get warmed up, I think I'll get in the kitchen and make Mom and me some home-made chicken noodle soup. It's so simple, and so much better than the red can. I made some banana pudding for us last night, and Thomas brought us a bakery bread loaf that should be just the thing. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!

Way to go, Peyton!

It wasn't pretty, but it was a happy ending. Of course, I'm speaking of the Super Bowl. We were pulling for Peyton and the Colts all the way...and they came through as the Champs. As we have always thought he was robbed of the Heisman, it certainly was great to see him standing there with the MVP trophy in hand. Sweet! Of course, it would have been sweeter if he played for the Rams, but you can't have everything, can you?

This weekend, during the Super Bowl and all the pre-game programs, I knitted and crocheted 9 "squares" (they're really 7 x 9, more or less) for the Warm Up America project. Hopefully I'll get them blocked and mailed off this week.

It's bitter-cold here...going down to 5 degrees at 5:00 this morning. We're having a heat wave right now at 16 (!), and it's snowing big puffy flakes which are, of course, sticking. Thomas says he's driving to Chicago (where they registered -10 degrees!) this evening after his doctor's appointment, but I hope he changes his mind. Weather doesn't seem to bother him in the least, while it worries me the most...that, and the other drivers on the road who shouldn't be there.

New Month...New Snow

We woke up this morning to frigid temperatures and a new layer of snow...brrrrr! As February is "Feed the Birds" month, according to P. Allen Smith, I thought this would be the perfect picture to post on the first day of the second month of the year. I took this picture, looking out the bay window in our bedroom at the platform feeder that Santa brought Thomas for Christmas. He had stocked it with both sunflower and safflower seeds yesterday, and it has had many visitors since then: cardinals, titmice, juncos, sparrows, and finches. We truly love having our morning coffee and watching the birds enjoy their breakfast, just a few feet away from us.