Day 57 (2/27): KSU Wildcats - WOW!

Well my KSU Wildcats gave me a bit of a scare the first half but they came through at the end.  We got to the game early so we could see some dunks which were pretty cool!

I love how wild some KSU fans are.  Check out the KISS rock-n-roll fans!

And I also love the Fist Pump song!  Colton and everyone at the game gets into pumping those fists! I would like to know what the name of the song is so I can download it and use it on some videos.

Willie was super trusting of the fans as he let them carry him up to the top of Bramlage.

Check it out! The Verizon guy came into the game at halftime to check "Can you hear me now?"

The halftime show was hilarious!  The Classy Cats brought in guys to do a 70s show.  They danced to Saturday Nite Fever, Superfreak, and Play that Funky Music and some other great songs from the 70s. The guys broke out their lime green polyester suits and fros!

Day 54 (2/24): Middle of the Week Duldrums

Not much going on this week so I'm pulling out the old pics.  Here's one of Cullen, one of Colton's friends little brother, that was taken at a basketball game.  If you look real close you'll see the blackish greenish smile that was caused by fun dip.  Well that fun dip made him a little wild at the game and my video of Colton had him babbling non-stop in the background!

This is the lady that sits in front of us at the basketball games and she is so spirited! She always has her banglish necklaces of powercats and purple and white beads and pompoms a pumpin to cheer for the Cats.  She brought out the purple wig for this game....I wonder if I will be that crazy when I grow up?

She isn't the only one that breaks out the purple wigs at the games.  This boy has the Pullen beard and the purple crazy hair wig.  So cute! 

This week has been a crazy week with work related stuff but not too much going on in my personal life to take good pictures to post.  Hopefully next week is better and I can stay on top of this blog. 

Day 53 (2/23): Ramblers and Rusty

I listen to 94.5 Country most days when driving the 30-45 minutes to work and about a week ago they talked about the St. Jude benefit at Ramblers which featured a concert by Rusty Rierson. 94.5 Country has DJs Rusty Walker and Jim Daniels in the morning (shown above).  It was, of course, FREE and we know how I love free things!  Well you had to pay for your meal but that was how you donated to the cause.  Since I was going to eat anyways I might as well make those calories count as a donation for something besides extra padding on my badonkadonk. They played some of Rusty's songs on the radio and he was pretty good so I googled him and checked out more of his bio and music.  I was impressed and so looking forward to the night just to get away from grading and work.  And it did not let me down - Rusty was phenomenal and quite the entertainer!

You can find more of his music at his website: http://www.rustyrierson.com/

He does a great rendition of "If my nose were running money, I'd blow it all on you....

but it's snot" to make fun of country song lyrics.

Rusty and Jim made funny balloon shapes and challenged the audience to blow up one of the balloons without a balloon pump. If the audience member did they would stick $10 in the St. Jude's bucket.

Rusty Walker told some really bad jokes but she thought they were pretty funny.

I think Jim was thinking about swording Rusty with this balloon?? Perhaps because of the bad jokes??

Rusty even signed the magazine cover he was recently featured in - KSU's Agriculturist.  He's attending school at KSU working on his master's degree. His advisor was even there to support him. 

Rusty was joined by Larry Jenssen, from Wichita, KS.  This picture shows how Rambler's used to be called The Ranch in its earlier days.  Larry was a great keyboardist and I did a little research on him and he's starting up his own Christian band (http://www.myspace.com/lar222 )

One of my favorite parts of the evening is when Rusty Rierson's father got up and sang with the group.  When he wasn't singing with them, he was back at his table nodding along and playing the drums with straws on the lady that sat next to him.  He was such a proud papa and you could see it all over his face as he watched his son perform.

I would definitely recommend Rusty Rierson!  His vocals were great and he was quite the entertainer.  He sang a variety of songs of his own and some covers that could appeal to all - Zac Brown, Sweet Home Alabama, Garth, George Strait, Don Williams and Johnny Cash.  So if you see him performing near you, GO!  You won't regret it!

Day 52 (2/22): Dipped Strawberries

One of my kiddos favorite foods is chocolate dipped strawberries and here are some goofy shots of him eating them. No time for editing so they are a bit dark.

I find this one somewhat ironic because he's stuffing his face with one while the girl on tv was stuffing her face.

Colton is getting increasingly difficult to take pictures of as he closes his eyes or has that goofy cheesy grin on his face.

See what I mean??? Just plain goofy!

Day 51 (2/21): Pink!

and Purple! You think I could go a whole week without mentioning KSU at some point? Nope!

Today was the Pink Cure for Cancer day at the Women's KSU game against Oklahoma.  Everyone got a free pink K-State shirt.  We ended up getting 3 because Colton also caught one as they were throwing them out to the crowd.  The weather was not wonderful so there weren't that many that went to the game.  But it was still a crowd of pink!

I fell in love with Oklahoma's shoes.  They were shiny pink Nike shoes that were so cool with the pink socks!

Plus there were tons of higher level sports connections with the OU team.  Ben Roethlisberger's sister was #10 for OU.

The daughter of NBA start Hakeen Olajuwon also played on the OU team.

The KSU girls did great the first half and was up by about 20 points going into half but they lost their lead in the second half and were neck and neck until the last couple of minutes of the game.  They ended up loosing which was very disappointing considering that OU was ranked #11.

The girls had some head-cutouts just like at the guys' games!

And here's the newest Barton employee Dee McKee holding up her Every Woman A Wildcat sign!

Day 50 (2/20): Studly Scorer

Colton had his 3rd basketball game today.  He scored over half of the team's points!

My parents even went to the Wareham after Colton's basketball game to see what it was like.  They didn't stay long but it was long enough for them to get stuck in Herrington on their way back due to all the ice.

Colton brought a friend to the Wareham and they like to sit in the very front row, which is similar to sitting in the front row of a movie theater.  We don't sit up that close to a 30 foot screen because the picture stinks when you are up that close. I can't wait for him to grow out of that icky cheese smile pose.

The t-shirt that Colton caught from Willie.  He has been wanting a t-shirt for so long.  I'm not sold on this one because I don't like the Wildcat on it. This one has been rolled up for awhile stuffed in a bag. I'm thinking they should have kept it in that bag.

Day 49 (2/19): My new favorite student...

Most teachers won't admit that they have favorite students. But we do. We all do. I think it's something that is inate in nature - to like some more than others.  For me personally, I walk into a class the first day and I like everyone equally.  I think they all hold the same amount of promise for me, that sponge that is ready to be filled with mathematical knowledge.  And then that student comes up and tells me that they are going to be gone for 6 days and they have the nerve to ask if they will still pass the class.  They immediately move down out of the favorite ranks and I usually want to throw their sponge across the room.  My favorite students are usually those that do what is expected of them and what model students should do.  They come to class on time. They study. They ask questions. They listen. They might not be the smartest student but they try.  That is probably what I like the most - students that try.

I had many favorite students this past cycle but one that I will never forget brought me a cake on the last day.  It was gorgeous with the smoothest frosting and beautiful pink flowers and pink bow. She made it and I couldn't wait to taste it.  In fact if you look real close at the picture, you'll see a little break in the icing that accidentally fell off on my finger and I had to lick it off.  It was homemade icing and so yummy.  I could not wait to get home and have a piece. 

I cut into it and then I saw that there was a middle layer of more homemade delicious-ness.  I ate that first bite and then I knew she was my favorite.  That middle layer was filled with a strawberry creamy heaven like substance.  It was the best tasting cake I had ever had in my life.  It even beat the neighbor kid's wedding cake I had about 2 years ago that I had about 5 pieces at the wedding.  (Good thing there were so many people at the weddign they didn't realize I kept on getting back in line for more.)  The frosting was not too sweet and truly a perfect combination with the white cake.  She did amazing work and I will hire her to make my birthday cake and any other celebration cake.  Now don't just think that she is my favorite student because of the cake.  She was a great student coming to class every day, sitting in the front row, asking questions when she needed help and she tried.  In fact, she took the final and received the highest grade of anyone that had taken that final (and this was before she brought me the cake!)

I had the cake for breakfast the next day.  It counts for breakfast if you have a big glass of milk with it or at least that's what I told myself.  I also am forgettting some of the stuff that I learned in kindergarten - like sharing - until this cake is gone.  I love this cake!

Day 48 (2/18): Students...never cease to surprise me!

It's always a crazy week the last week of class.  Students frantically trying to make up for not doing anything the previous six weeks, the begging for grades that they want to get, or their stark realization that the damage has already been done and it will be impossible to dig themselves out of the hole they are in.  Students nervous about the final, nervous about getting the grade and wondering if they will have to take the course again and me wondering if they will have to take it again. These are all things that I have come to expect the last week of class.  But one thing that I did not expect was my College Algebra course to surprise me with a gift. Oh...wait a minute...was that their feeble attempt to beg for the grade they wanted.  Many of the students in that class I had been torturing, er rather, teaching, for months because they had taken Basic Algebra and then Intermediate before they ventured into College Algebra.  When the students presented the gift with the speech of wanting to thank me for those months of pleasure (ok they didn't phrase it that way..but a girl can wish, right?), I was almost speechless.  I didn't expect it and it finally hit me that I wouldn't be seeing many of them again because it was their last math class.  I was almost sad but very happy for them because they were finished and were moving onto bigger and better things like graduation. 

The bag was filled with all sorts of goodies!  Chocolate galore - YUM!  You can't tell by the picture but the bag of Reese's were already opened the minute they left the room.  I needed it to get ready for the next group of give-me-an-A-hungry students.  And it was fancy chocolate, stuff I don't normally get so it was such a treat.  Oh and Winter, you also gifted me your pen that I stole as I was helping you after class.  Sorry I'm a kleptomaniac when it comes to writing utensils.

Not sure what they were trying to tell me by the Stress Relief body wash...do I smell?  Or do they think they stress me out?  Or do they stress me out so much I do smell?

Thank you my students!  I take back all the negative things I said about you....lol.  On the serious side, I hope you did learn something (especially that invisible graphs don't get graded) and are able to use some of those skills in your next life. 

Day 47 (2/17): Basic Math

I tell my students practically every day that math is everywhere. And it is so true..even at the KSU games you can find what one student called basic math.  KSU is greater than Nebraska.  This is one of the best signs I have seen in a long time although it almost didn't hold true tonight.  It was such a close game and my blood pressure was elevated through 3/4 of it.  Nebraska seemed to have a basketball goal that was as large as the Oklahoma pan handle and made practically every sloppy shot they threw up.  It was unbelievable the number of 3-pointers they had and the KSU boys just weren't having a good night.  The referring was not in our favor in the first half.  Well not until Doc Sadler got the technical and then I think the refs were tired of him and seemed to call things in our favor.

Colton went to the game with a friend and sat on the total opposite end way up high. I got out my zoom lens and tried to snap a few shots.  I was wondering what Joe was thinking when I saw all three boys with huge bags of hyper-inducing Skittles bags?  At least they had a chance to cheer some of that sugar off with a back and forth game.

Now for the airplane competition. I stunk!  Mine didn't have a chance as it landed on the chair under the press table. I oughta get a prize for that because I'm sure that's a hard shot!

Bill Snyder seems to have perfect seats.  He's always got some great people sitting by him from Darren Sproles a couple of weeks ago to Nick Leckey who played for the Saints in the Super Bowl. I wonder how much you have to donate to have seats like Snyder?  I'm probably going to have to win the lottery to even think about that feat.

Next game for the Cats is on Saturday at Oklahoma. Hopefully I'll see some of you at the Wareham.  Let me know you're coming and I'll save you a seat.

Day 46 (2/16): Cheap, cheap, cheap

Check it out - I paid $2.24 for gas today thanks to Dillons double points this week!  The last time I paid this little for gas was probably about a year ago.  I tried to do some research online to see average gas prices over a year and it was about that price in February 2009.  The lady next to me paid $1.94/gallon so she definitely did tons more grocery shopping than I did but it was so fantastic paying less than $40 total!

And of course, the best time to go to a movie is on Tuesday nights because it is $1 pop and pocorn night.  We saw Valentine's Day which was cute and funnyfor a chic flick.  It was one where you had to pay immense attention to because of the jumping between story lines.  Taylor Swift played a goofy stereotypical high school girl which was a bit staged at time but it was typical of the middle school age group. I did laugh more at the outtakes than the actual movie and I especially liked Julia Roberts mention of Pretty Woman.

The movie staff did alert me to a humongous fire hydrant after they saw me snapping shots of the Stimulus Tuesdays banner. 

And what do you do at a fire hydrant??......Sorry I couldn't resist!

Day 45 (2/15): Quilting help for friend

Front view of quilt

I have mentioned before that I quilt and this is a finished product called a rag quilt. This is called a rag quilt because of the unfinished edges instead of finished seams. A friend at church is working on her own and this will hopefully help her complete her quilt. I gave mine to my mom so it is down in El Dorado. It's a good thing that it is down there since it is so dang cold in her basement.


Back view of quilt

Notice that it is not ragged. I'm sure if you looked real close you would see that it is hard to match up the seams but the point is fuzzy warmth not perfection.

Close up view of front side. Notice I did one big block and then a four-square block inbetween those. Once you have it finished you will cut about a 1/4" apart and then throw it in the washer.

Picture I snagged off of someone else's site that shows a pic of the seams before it is washed. (Directions and pics if you follow link)