Grateful

I hope you all had a really nice Thanksgiving. I had a nice day with my family, and I've been having a nice break. It pays to live in PA- you get the first day of hunting season off from school! The weather has been nice and warm too- well, warm for November!

I made a chocolate pumpkin ice box cake for a potluck- yum!

It's layers of pumpkin mixture and chocolate graham crackers, with cocoa dusted on top.

Finally got my Halloween stuff back from the party- told you I had a lot of stuff!

Up until now, Dad has been the one to do the icky hard part of the turkey- picking it up, washing it, etc while I helped with spices or whatnot. This year it was my turn to do the turkey and it was so gross to touch- and heavy!

Here we are laughing so hard we're crying:

Ta dah!!

My grandparents sent us a Charlie Brown tree, we put it up on Thanksgiving. Closest we've become to those "Decorate the Day After Thanksgiving" families!

Dinner turned out great! YUM!

Turkey, potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, stuffing done with homemade sourdough croutons, fruit salad, etc. 

The fam:

Laura made her traditional turkey- cute! 

That night I went shopping with my friend- the Erie mall was open at midnight so we went and had a blast! Got to bed at 7 am!
I didn't buy much, some jewelry and a hat. And stripey socks. And a new shirt...and a cute wafflemaker! I was a good personal shopper for my friend, we found everything on her list, including a galoshes, boots, skinny jeans and a $30 BluRay player!

Loved this coat:

And this outfit:

Raelena rocking that hat!

Well break can't be all fun- on Saturday I got to help fill in dirt where my parents had uncovered the septic tank. And I moved some firewood- Dad used his chainsaw on a fallen tree on the property. He got the pickup truck stuck in the mud in the field- thankfully the neighbors heard and came and helped push it out!

Last Thanksgiving, Mom was laid up on the couch with the infection in her leg. I'm so glad she's ok now. I'm thankful that overall I'm feeling better these days. I'm thankful for good neighbors and friends. I'm thankful for my family and the love and support they give me. I'm thankful for the gospel and our little branch. I'm thankful to be in a good placement for student teaching and for my students. I'm thankful for naps on my couch. I'm thankful to get an extra day off for break- thank you hunters!

And I'm thankful that the snow hasn't stuck around!

Still

I've accumulated some amusing stories recently regarding my single status...here you go. I figured I'd lump them all in one post rather than having several rants in a row. I share these in hopes of educating the general public.

Story One:
My former branch president's son visited church with his wife and small children recently. They were cleaning the carpet with some spot remover when the baby started crawling for it. I grabbed the baby before he could crawl into the chemicals. It's nice knowing that I do have some motherly instincts in there somewhere! I held the baby on my lap and my former branch president says "Liz, that looks very natural to have a baby on your lap."

Ok, um, thanks? I chose to take it as a compliment. It's nice knowing that I look like I could pull off being a mother. And then I wished that he would leave it at that.

But of course he didn't stop there.

I didn't get my wish. 

"You really should have some babies of your own," he finished- in front of everyone. 

Really?? You know, I think I've heard that before. Let me get a pencil and write this down. 

Supposed... to... have.... babies. Who'da thunk it?

I think next time this happens, my retort will be "But I'd be in big trouble if I had a baby right now."

Can you say cart before horse?

And to say this to me as though I don't want babies?

Or that I am in a place in life where I could be having babies and am choosing not to?
How about I find a man first??
Hello??

Story #2:
I was at a stake meeting for YW- we have one every stake conference. I've attended 6 or 7 over the years, having been in YW since 2008. Our stake YW pres was talking about how we're to be an example to the girls and then was asking things like "Do you have faith? Are you a good example of a righteous wife and mother?"

Once again, didn't find it offensive. Trust me, heard worse. The leaders should be striving to be a good example to the girls in this area of life. Not to mention that I wish I could be an example of a happy marriage and family. Our YW pres understands the plight of being single, having lost her husband and having to take care of the family all by herself for years. And she now recently re-married, I'm super happy for her. She certainly was not saying anything offensive. My other YSA friend recently got put in her ward's YW so I'm happy that I'm not the only single person in YW in our stake. Someone to commiserate with, ha ha.

But then there was this one lady I'd never met before who somehow felt that my friend and I had been slighted and that she needed to come to our rescue. She didn't. I can fight my own battles, thank you. And this wasn't even a battle. I know she meant well, but it got bungled.

"But they're still examples of a righteous woman," she said. 

It was that still that got my goat. Was anyone saying we weren't?

 No.

Is having a wedding ring a requirement for being a righteous woman? I hardly think so. Nor does it determine one's righteousness. Of course we are still examples of righteous women. Why was this in question?

And then she went on,"And they can be good examples to the girls, because not all the girls will get married."

Well thanks for making me feel good about myself.

Is that really all I'm good for? To be the Poster Child of Singleness? I think not. I can't teach them anything else in the gospel, really?? And her comment sounded like my friend and I were never getting married.

Isn't it funny when people's comments are more offensive than what they tried to clarify?

People, please watch it when you "mean well."

Story #3:

About two weeks ago some of our YSA leaders thought it would be a wonderful idea to sign us single people up to be in charge of their ward's Valentine's Day dance. Without asking us in advance. And this activity was already assigned and they switched it so we could do it! Keep in mind that this ward is full of young marrieds. Clearly this was not thought out...you think we want to be in charge of an evening for marrieds?!? And have our noses rubbed in it?? Add the fact that no one is dating any one else in our YSA group- it's not like we could bring a date to it to remedy the situation. My YSA group protested, only to be met with "But you can use our daughter's lights from her reception, it'll be fun." Um, that makes it better???

Only my YSA group would get asked to do this!

Eventually I think they got the hint and we're not booked anymore. I probably would have helped, if only to have a good story out of it. They can borrow my chocolate fountain if they want.

Leaders and fellow members, please put yourself in our shoes. That's all I ask. 

Oh, and to all those who treat me like a human being, thank you. 

I think that's all my happenings for now. Stay tuned!

Halloween Party

On actual Halloween, My friend and I threw a party at her place. About 99% of the decor came from my stash! It took several carloads to get it all there and back, but it was fun to decorate and the party was small but fun. 

She has this blank wall in her living room that really needed something, so we brought our wooden mantel that has been sitting on our back porch. Drape with creepy cloth, add my candelabras and some crows, and you've got a fabulously spooky mantel!

Food table with lanterns:

Pumpkin bowling!

The gang (minus my sis who is taking the pic!):

 Fairy princess, witch, whatever, vampire and Peggy Carter

Headstones!

I liked my paper fans behind the couch:

We danced around to music and played a version of truth or dare where you write a dare and a question- "What would you do if...." related to a horror movie scenario. Pretty fun. My dare was that I had to be in the closet by myself for a whole minute. We also played a game where you had to find all the pieces to the plastic skeleton that were hidden around the apartment!

These suckers were LONG!

But super fun!

I need to wear stripey tights more often- it makes me happy!

With hair down....va va voom! 

Lots of work, but a fun night!

Can't wait to have my own place to decorate!

TuckaSNOW

As keeping with tradition, I went down to the Harrisburg area (the opposite corner of the state!) for their annual Halloween YSA conference, held at the Tuckahoe boy scout camp. This trip, I had my sis and two of my friends with me in our little Jeep. There really isn't anything going on around here for Halloween, and they do such a nice job with the conference, so the choice was easy.

What was not easy was trying to get ready for this conference the same week as starting at my second placement! I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. And I got to drive the 5 hours it takes to get there...so fun!

We finally made it there and met everyone else at the bonfire. Sadly we got there too late for the haunted house...and we heard it was the best one they'd done! Arrgh! The bonfire was fun but once again, I'm not going to take blinding pictures at one. Use your imagination of what a bunch of YSA around a bonfire looks like.

 Late at night + Liz being really tired + bonfire = funny things out of Liz's mouth!

The next morning it started snowing...and didn't stop. At all. We went from this:

to THIS in a very short amount of time!

I stayed in the fort cabin, not the castle, but it was pretty:

Things became very scary. The snow was heavy, and very wet and the leaves were still clinging to the trees. The snow stuck like glue all over everything- when I went out it was only a second until I was covered in snow. The trees couldn't take all the weight of the snow and large branches started snapping and falling. As the storm went on, whole trees fell. It was cold and windy too.

They had to cancel the outdoor activities and revamp the class schedule. I felt bad for those in charge! They were able to set up large games for people to play in the main cabin.

I went to my cabin to work on my costume and it was a dangerous walk with things falling all over. While at my cabin, the power went out. And stayed out. I wanted to get back to the main cabin but was not looking forward to going out in the storm. The Holy Ghost said to me "If you're going to go Liz, you must leave now."

In the hour since I went to the cabin, a tree fell across the trail. Branches were everywhere.

There were a couple of girls leaving the conference and carrying their stuff in the storm. I joined with them and  we made our way through the 6 inches of snow as fast as we could. When we heard trees snapping, we ran like crazy. It was so dangerous. I made sure I had everything with me so that I wouldn't have to go back in the storm.

On our excursion back, we encountered several girls who chose to be out in the cold and wind and danger! They were standing in the road, taking it all in. I couldn't believe it. We said "It's dangerous, you shouldn't be out here." And they said "Oh, we're fine." It became a parable in my mind- we can't let ourselves be in places of danger spiritually. We have to run, like Joseph of Egypt.

We were basically trapped there at camp- as soon as the fallen trees were cleared, more fell. I debated leaving, but I knew we'd be safer there. And we were.

We played games and had the dance equipment run by a generator. Putting on my getup in the dark was a bit tricky, but I was glad it turned out alright! The dance was really fun, my friend is a really good dj. And I got asked to dance by not one, not two, but six different guys! Cha ching! I got a lot of votes in the costume contest, but didn't win. Darn you Bellatrix!

Mario and Medusa:

Having a Greco-Roman moment at the dance:

Lots of great costumes!

Lots of Harry Potter costumes! 

Loved the TMNT costumes! The girls were a flock of birds:

The Medusa costume had been in the works for years. I started sewing a white dress and put it aside about 6 years ago. I've been collecting jewelry and snakes for the last few years. Even found gold snakeskin sandals on clearance a couple years ago. I had finished the white dress this summer, it became a fake wedding dress for a display at Girls Camp! I dyed it green, took in the waist, added trim and part of a snake necklace on the bodice. I found this scrap of green that became the front flap. I bought sheer black material and made a drape. Getting the snakes in my hair was the tricky part- I glued clips to them (Thank you E-6000 epoxy! You could bond an anvil to the side of a building!) and then layered them in my hair. I didn't have light to do eyelashes/contacts but still did green eyeshadow and just ran around with no glasses on (they were tucked in my bra, lol!). 

I got a lot of compliments on my costume, it felt good. I like Medusa because I can understand having crazy hair, ha ha. 

The power stayed out for the last 24 hours of the conference- and it was still out when it was all over on Sunday afternoon. We still had church though, which was good. I wish I could have showered, but we were all safe and warm. I felt that we were really protected this weekend.

On Sunday the sun was out, the snow had stopped and it was lovely.

Our snowy fort:

Upon leaving, it became very clear why the power had gone out- there were several trees that had fallen that were resting on the wires. I wanted to take a photo and document it, but we got out of there quick instead!
Once you got out of camp, you'd never know that such craziness had taken place.

The Holy Ghost had said to me "Liz, you're gonna want a flashlight for this conference. Trust me." And I hadn't really thought of it but decided to bring one- good thing! Parts of the cabins, like the bathrooms, were very dark and I wound up sharing my light. Hello parable of the 10 virgins!

We found Electric Avenue on the way home!

Totally gonna rock on down there...and then I'll take it higher. 

This conference makes #19 that I've attended in the last 4 years if I've tabulated correctly. They're fun and I love meeting new people and getting spiritual nourishment, but it's getting a little old. I'm not really supposed to be at these, ya know? I should be doing other things in life. 

If the Spirit tells you to go now or bring a flashlight, do it. 

Overall a crazy but good weekend! 

Placement 1: Weaving

 I didn't have the opportunity to take weaving while at Edinboro, so it was nice to be a part of the weaving class. I learned a lot in this class and it was neat to try new things. I started off by learning how to weave straps on an inkle loom. It looks complicated, but it really isn't. You push the bottom strings up or down as you you weave your warp back and forth. You can achieve all kinds of designs by how you string it and what colors are "up" and which are "down".

Student work:

My work:

I want an inkle loom for myself! I hope to turn these into camera straps. 

There were several table looms where students could make purses, pillows, table runners, etc:

She sewed in a sweet lining:

Student pillow:

 Students did work on large floor looms, our classroom was huge- room for 7 large looms!

Student afghans:

They look complicated, but they're really not.

 My teacher's work:

I got to make a rug! It was super fun.

I totally lucked out that the warp that the girls chose were great colors!

This rug loom was so beautiful- I'd never seen one like it. It came from the early 1900's and I loved the decorative pieces on it. 

By the end I was halfway decent at troubleshooting student's problems and putting the warp on the loom. Warping can get rather tedious!

I was glad to get the experience, wish I could have made more!