What a bunch of squares!

The first party Saturday morning was a shower for Baby DeVault number two. (Ma and pa haven't decided on a name yet, so we'll just call him Baby for now.) Denise agreed to host the party at her place since I live three hours from everyone who would be in attendance, including the guest of honor.

It was a great bunch of folks - mostly with Eagle connections, and a few "other" friends of Amy's. Amy and I aren't really the types to be into cheesy shower games (not that there's anything wrong with them, it's just not our style), and, Amy didn't want everyone to just have to watch while she opened presents, so we gave our guests a little assignment in the process.

Awhile back when I was reading "Mason-Dixon Knitting" (a great book), I got this idea for a knitting baby shower.

While Amy opened presents, the more experienced knitters in the group got a start on their squares. Then, I tried my best to help those who weren't knitters work on a square as well. Amy picked out five colors of yarn, and once we get 56 squares knit, I'll sew them together to make a blanket for the little one.

We got 26 done this weekend, and Teresa took a few balls of yarn home to help me get the rest knitted. Even Betsy got in on the action, knitting a square during the ride home today.

Cory - thankfully smiling while working up her square.

Here's a photo so that Julie can prove to her sister that, YES, she did actually knit something - on her own!


Suzanne, with her perfectly knit, if a LITTLE bit tight, square. Since she's a relatively new knitter, she's kind of a white-knuckler. She also coined the term "Flipping Off" for the bind off process. We might have a new knitting movement on our hands.

Lisa and Teresa - both experienced with needlework - between the two of them, we had a handful of completed squares on our hands.

Maybe the only two non-Eaglets in attendance - Karla and Vic.

Some of the completed squares. The baby's due May 21, so I'll be chipping away at this project until then. Hopefully I will not be sewing it together in the car while Adam drives us down to see the baby for the first time...

•••

On another note:

While I was at the shower, Betsy got some QT with her Aunt Susan, who owns Susan's Flowers in Lincoln Heights Village. Bets didn't tell me her family was famous...We did a little research, and come to find out, the family owned the parcel of land that Wichita East High School now sits on. You should pop over to Betsy's blog to see part of the story. It's quite interesting.

I've driven by the fountain and statue in front of East High for 10 years, and only now do I have a clue what it is - Mr. McKnight and his Indian friend. That's Betsy's last name. I wish the weather would have been better so we could have gotten a cool photo of her with the statue. Maybe we'll have to make that our project for the next Doo-dah road trip.

Monkey Business

The annual Lauryn-Turns-3-Fondue-UCLA-makes-it-to-the-final-four party was a rousing success. Betsy was initiated into the Wichita group of friends last night. Mostly the usual suspects were in attendance. Adam couldn't make it because he had class Saturday morning, so it was nice that Bets could provide the in-drive entertainment for me.

Lauryn went for the monkey's ear.

Here's the fondue setup - plenty of pots of hot oil, along with melty cheese. If you've read Loving Life, or We Three Love to Be, you've already read all about it.

Here's Doug and his tiny-winey. Doug always has quite the interesting drink choices - usually it's something and Tuaca, but last night he was going for the wine. Why the tiny glass?

"It was the only one that fit in the cooler for the ride over," he said. Nice and practical.

After a lot of eating, a LOT of laughing (Pamida, anyone?), and some present-opening by the guest of honor, we finished watching basketball and then hit Rock Band. I'm no longer a Guitar Hero disciple - Rock Band rules! Four people can play at once! I think I must have been a drummer in a former life because playing the drum kit was my favorite part. Hopefully they'll make it for the Wii soon. Until they do, we'll continue to rock out to GH on our Wii.

•••

I get a "D" for party hopping this weekend. I only made it to two out of the three I was supposed to. Look for another post very shortly to explain the morning's festivities. I missed my friend Cary's wedding party. Honestly, I felt really weird about going by myself (since Adam had to stay back in KC). I know there would have been lots of people I know there, but after being married for all this time, I'm a little self-conscious of going to big events by myself.

Too used to having someone to talk to, I guess. I really wanted to go, but I didn't. Sorry, Chuck.

Hold Me Closer, Tony Danza

If you've been over to the Bets Week Ever, you've already heard the news - we're the weekly trivia champs again!

We changed our name - changed a few team members (it's a fluid group) and ROCKED THE HOUSE last night. Three perfect "Name the Artist" 10-song montages? And we didn't even need our laptop to do it.

The win will pay for a repeat performance - we got a $35 Tanner's gift card. I guess the money gods have heard all over the poor teachers whining and decided to do something about it...(a little something)

Betsy's so good - she actually posted the news last night. As soon as I walked in the door, I kicked off my shoes, changed my clothes, set the alarm and fell into bed. Blogging had to wait til today.

We're all crazy mennonites?

UPDATE: I really didn't mean this to post twice...

Are they all just crazy Mennonites...

livin' in a HIP HOP paradise?

My apologies to Joshua, but check this out. Crazy Bethel kids.

I stumbled upon this little gem today after reading a blog post here about teachers learning the "Soulja Boy" dance. (I'll get back to that in a minute.)

How did I get from "Soulja Boy" to Joshua? The post reminded me that every once in a while, I feel like I should Google search myself, YouTube search myself, etc., to see if any crazy kid has posted random cell-phone video of something stupid I've done or said...So, I searched "Chittum" on YouTube, and along with random videos of babies taking first steps (not mine), and a bluegrassish band with a member whose last name is Chittum, up popped little Joshua and his mad hip hop dancing skills.

It's also helpful to see what from my blog pops up when I search my name. I think I'm pretty good about keeping it mostly G-rated, but I feel like I need to be extra careful these days. I'm torn - there are a lot of things I'd like to say on here that I don't. I like my job, and I like my paycheck, so I try to tow the line.

The real reason I went to YouTube in the first place was to see if any of the video that's been shot of BV teachers doing that dance made it into internet oblivion yet. Last semester, our broadcasting kids did a segment of teachers doing the dance. (I was not one - a. I don't know the dance, and b. I think the song is freakin' ridiculous and highly offensive). I thought maybe some enterprising kid would have posted a bit of it somewhere.

I have to say, our teachers do it much better than the few that I looked at online.

I wished one of the math teachers a happy late birthday today - he's 25. He said last year he was the youngest staff member in the building. This year, there are eight people younger than him teaching at BV. That's good news for Adam and I - lots of new teachers to get to know and add to our circle of friends.

I think I'm going to take a little nap - we're playing trivia tonight for the first time in what feels like forever tonight. I've been up since 5:30, so I don't think I'll make it until 11 without a nap.

God, I am getting old.

Tossin' and turnin' turnin' and tossin'

I am beat after today. It wasn't a tough day at school, I just got no sleep last night. Adam and I both are stuffed up right now, and I don't know if his snoring actually woke me up, or just kept me up. I finally had to hit the sofa about 3 a.m. Even after the relocation, I still didn't get any good sleep.

Finally, at 5:15, I just quit fighting it and got up. I was going to get up at 5:45 anyway, so the extra half hour just helped me get to school early enough to get my stuff ready (copies made) before 80 other teachers were in there trying to do the same thing.

I told Adam maybe I should get up that early every day. I got a ton done before the first hour kids rolled in, and if I go early, then maybe I wouldn't have to stay late? Who knows. I stayed til 5 tonight, but that's just because I got everything ready for J1 for the rest of this week. Since I don't have to plan for those two hours for the next few days, hopefully I'll catch up on grading stories. I made a good dent in the pile yesterday.

My side ventures (knitting, Etsy, crochet, scrapbook tags) are all definitely taking the back burner here for a little bit, with everything else that has been going on and will be going on for the next few weeks. Too bad, too, because a little Etsy money in the pocket would be nice.

Unfortunately, I married into the part of the alphabet that gets stuck paying personal property tax on vehicles the same exact month that we pay income tax. Yay. Anybody ever notice that the zip code for the seat of our state government starts with 666? I'm jus' sayin' is all.

I'm going to watch DVRed "New Adventures of Old Christine" and hit the sack. It IS a school night, after all.

Fourth quarter, baby - let the games begin!

Weekend Recap

We made it back from Doodah okay yesterday. Our original plan was to do something with Betsy and Mitzi last night, but after we got home from the grocery store (which, trust me, if you went to the same store we do, it would sap you as well), we were really tired. We ate dinner, watched basketball, and went to bed early.

Both of us are feeling a little congested again. Not sure if it's a cold since we were around to sniffly three-year-olds, or if it's allergies since I worked in the yard raking up dust and leaves all day Saturday. I'm getting all Airborned up, and I slept in today, so hopefully I won't have to take a sick day this week.

Right before we left town, we met with our real estate agent about our little house. She really liked the house, and said she didn't think there were any major things we'd need to do to get it on the market. She's going to let us know in about a week what we're thinking as far as asking price and all that stuff.

It's very emotional. I love that house. I don't really think of our house in Valley Center as our first house, because we were only there for a year and I hardly remember it. We lived in this little house for three years, and it's so damn cute.
There are a lot more signs of spring in Wichita than I've seen here in KC. All around the yard, the perennials are starting to poke out of the ground.

Tulips near the house, and the rose bush next to these is waking up as well.

These little guys are always the first flowers I see in our yard. They're crocus, I think. We have a few little sprigs of them around the yard.


These are daylilies that I picked up from Georgia last year. She always has tons of great plants to divide and spread each year from her yard. I'm glad to see these are already up and going, it looks like they did spread a little bit even just from last year.

In the front yard, the peonies we moved from Grandma J's house are coming up as well. I didn't take a photo because they look like little red lipsticks shooting out of the ground at this stage, so they're not really pleasing to the eye.

Lucky for me it was warm on Friday, because Saturday it got pretty chilly. I wish I could have taken Friday's temp and mixed it with Saturday's lack of wind - that would have made a perfect day for raking. Sometimes, raking in Kansas really blows (and yes, I do mean that literally).

After I worked in the yard most of the day Friday, we headed off to Jeff and Kat's for basketball and pizza and drinks. We got to hang out with Kurt and Terry and Kurt's new baby boy, Cam. We had seen Cam in photos but hadn't met him yet.

If you read We Three Love to Be, you've seen the sweet TV setup for watching basketball. So, I wonder why we all ended up standing in the kitchen watching the tiny TV for a while? Parties always end up in the kitchen, I guess.


While it was still light outside, L wanted to go out and play, so she got to run around with her buddy Adam for a bit. I'm always worried when we don't get to see Kyle and L for long periods of time that they're going to forget who we are.


When we came in, she tried on my sunglasses. Now, tell me, do you think this girl gets her photo taken very much?


She's a pro.

Short and sweet - bad internet connection

It's like 1996 in here, with super slow connection, so I'll try to be brief. I've spent most of today out in the yard cleaning up leaves and digging out the little green babies who have decided to make appearances in my flower beds. It looks a million times better now than it did at 10 a.m., but you'll have to wait to see photos. Maybe Kat will let me post from the We Three Love To Be headquarters tonight. I'll have to use her cardreader to upload a few pics.

Last night we dined and played at Kyle's house, and watched KSU win! So far, I think I'm doing pretty good on my bracket. I picked the WKU upset today, and I was right on a few games last night as well. I should have brought it down here with me so I could keep track, but I'll have to wait until we get home.

I've got to hop in the shower, and we're headed over to Kat's. If you check out her blog (linked above) you'll see why the guys love watching March Madness at their place.

Tomorrow we meet with the real estate agent about our little house. I'm nervous. I love this house. We'll never be able to find one like it in KC that is either a.) in our price range or b.) not in the ghetto. You Wichitans just don't know how good you have it.

Roadies Rally! Don't let them cancel October Road!

Okay girls - I know you're reading this, and I know some of you are fans of "October Road."

It seems the big wigs at ABC aren't pulling for our little show. Rumors abound that it could be canceled before season three.

Check out the blog post here, and add your two cents. I love this show - it's pretty much the only bright spot in the reality TV wasteland of 2008, besides "Lost." Looks like there's a grassroots (or webroots) campaign to keep it going, similar to "Jericho." But, "Jericho" was actually canceled, and the web campaign brought it back from the dead. I hope "October Road" doesn't get to that point.

They can't cancel it on us - I have to see if Eddie and Janet get back together and I'm still waiting for Big Cat to get his ass kicked.

Bodies Revealed - my take

It's hard for me to say whether the exhibit was worth the price of admission, because Mom bought our tickets. I suppose I'd have to ask her. If you have the chance to see the exhibition, and you are at all interested in it, you should go.

There's been a ton of controversy swirling around this thing, probably since they announced it would be here at Union Station. Stories in the Star, letters in the Star, pieces on local TV, some extolling the virtues, most decrying the horror of it all. I was really on the fence about the whole thing.

I remember back in 2005 when I attended the ASNE Journalism Advisers Institute at Berkeley, there was a woman in our class who went to an exhibit that must have been similar to this one. At the time, I thought - What a wacko. Who wants to see plasticized human bodies? The mental picture I had was completely different from what I've now been exposed to. Back then, I was picturing bodies that still looked like humans, like people. To me, that wasn't it at all.

It's much more clinical, like you're looking at models used in anatomy classes. And it was fascinating. I feel like I have a much greater appreciation for my body and all that it entails. I spent a lot of time looking at the knees near the beginning of the display. I wanted to see how that joint that I pound so much actually looks on the inside. The tendons and muscle displays were quite interesting. I think I just always pictured the inside of my body as a solid mass of goo, not really thinking about all of the systems in there.

Now I know that the spinal column almost looks like fiber optic cable running down our backs. And, that some of our organs really look like meat that you might see on someone's table. (Still not sure how I feel about that one.) We really are animals, just like the cows we eat. The brains looked a lot like what you're used to seeing on TV.

As I stood peering at a smoker's lung, I watched out of the corner of my eye as an elderly man looked over the same lung. He had that yellowish-green-white mustache you see on male smokers. Next to the lung, there was a clear bin, into which the exhibitors asked smokers to toss their packs of cigarettes, in hopes of convincing them to quit once and for all. I listened as the man's adult son asked him time and again to throw his smokes in that bin. This went on for about three or four minutes. It was quite uncomfortable.

They walked away from the display, and the older man never did throw his pack away. He really did look like he was looking to see what his own lung may look like while he was standing there.

Overall, I'd say the most startling things in the exhibit would have been the contrast between healthy tissue and cancerous or diseased tissue. That stuff does a lot of horrible things to our bodies.

The controversy surrounding "Bodies Revealed" sure didn't hurt attendance figures. It was packed when we showed up and packed when we left - lots of families with kids on spring break, I'm sure, but also many adults and single people as well. It wasn't just the school vacation crowd.

All in all, it took us just over an hour to see the entire exhibit.

Quick update

I'll write more about the exhibit tomorrow. After running around a little bit with Mom today, we came home and cleaned (Adam rocked the kitchen and laundry room, I started on the guest room/craft central), and watched two movies. Now, it's 11, so I'm too tired for witty commentary...

We watched "3:10 to Yuma" and "Mr. Woodcock." I worked on two knitting projects during the movies. I'll shoot some photos tomorrow. It's been too long since I've put up knitting pics. BUT, I forgot to mention - the scarf I'm wearing in the Saturday night pics I crocheted all on my own! My first major crochet project. Check the photos out here.

3:10 was grrrrreat. I love westerns, and there aren't really that many out there to watch (any newer ones, anyway).

Tuesday

We're off to see the "Bodies Revealed" exhibit at Union Station this morning. Mom, Adam and I are going. I still can't decide how I will react.

I want to go, because I think it will be incredible to see what the inside of my body might look like. But, I'm also not sure how I'll feel when we actually get there. Will I be grossed out? Squeamish?

I'm not usually squeamish, so I think I'll be okay.

Yesterday, we checked out "Be Kind Rewind." It was cute, but not my favorite Jack Black movie. We got to the movie about four minutes before it started. It was in one of the smaller theatres at the complex, and there were a lot of people in it (Spring Break and all). Since there would be four of us, we had to find four seats together. There were four in one row, but the three people next to them said they were saving one. Okay. So, I asked politely if they would mind moving over one seat. The dad and daughter were like "Yeah, that's cool." The mom said. "YES. As in YES, I MIND moving over and will not."

Nice. I really think moving over one foot would have ruined her movie-watching experience.

I meant to turn around later and see if there were actually saving the seat - I don't think they were because when they walked out there were still only three of them.

So, we went and grabbed four seats together right behind the railing between the upper and lower level, and we put our feet up, so it was probably better anyway.

The night in pictures

Here's the photo take from last night.


Mitzi and me.


Betsy, me, Mitzi. Okay - take a look at this photo. Two words. BARE MINERALS. I love them, and how they make my complexion look. I hate putting on makeup, but I love that stuff (and no, I'm not being paid to say that).


Adam and Doug. It kinda looks like Doug is checking Adam out in this photo...


Two things about this crowd photo: Yes, that IS a can of Schlitz you see raised to the roof, and YES, that is a vintage 80s-style prom dress on the right side of the photo. It was a packed house, as you can see.


Most of the staches were fake, but not this guy's.


I don't ever remember ChaNandler Bong talking about _____ plugs when he discussed working with the WENIS on "Friends." Thanks to Betsy for stealthily snapping this photo. And, please God, don't let there be ads on my blog based on this post...


Here's the guitarist rockin' his best Neil Schon. BUT, don't you think he kind of looks like Kevin Cronan from REO Speedwagon?


LOSTIES: I think they had Roger WorkMan, from the Dharma Initiative, brought in to play bass at the gig.


Billy's disguise.

"Only the Young" can stay up until 1:30 in the morning - Stone in Love at the RecordBar, Westport

As promised yesterday, yes, we did actually go out last night.

My throat is sore today, I'm a little hoarse - but it's not from being sick this time. We all met up with Doug and headed down to Westport to see Stone In Love, a Journey tribute band. Much singing along (well, screaming along is more accurate probably) ensued. Now, all of you who are looking down your noses at Journey - be careful before you cast stones. You know it's one of your guilty pleasures - and judging by the 300 or so people in the venue last night, you're not alone.

It's not a guilty pleasure for me - I love Journey. I've been listening to them for as long as I can remember, and every time I hear certain songs, I think of the movies that featured them on the soundtrack. Or, I think of skating in a million giant circles during the Snowball (yes, that's what they called the couples skate) back in the day.

Even Adam enjoyed the show, despite the fact that he doesn't like 80s rock. I might need to give my mom the title of social secretary, because she's the one who saw the little piece in the paper about the band, and called to tell me about it. A high school friend of mine plays drums, and Stone In Love is one of his projects. We probably wouldn't have known about the show if she hadn't called.

The crowd was a good mix of folks - when we first walked in, it was mostly older people, probably there because they were big Journey fans back in the day (like, when they were in high school), but as showtime got closer, the average age dropped a little bit. To get everybody in the mood, the DJs played LPs featuring some of the greatest early 80s rock - Boston, Bad Company, Bon Jovi, etc. (It was like my Pandora station!) The band took the stage rockin' some hair band wigs, and badass 'staches.

Bets has the photos, because I took my purse and coat out to the car and didn't bring the camera back in. We used hers. You'll have to check out her blog, and maybe she'll be nice and share some photos with me so I can post them here later.

•••

I've got to decide how productive I'm going to be today - what I can get on my list and actually get done. Mitzi and I are going to workout this afternoon, since I didn't do that at all last week. Hopefully since I took my week off sick and tired, I'll be energized to get some good miles in starting this week.

Spring Break, Baby!

Wow. I just realized I haven't posted since Wednesday. I guess the Chittum Files took a bit of an early spring break.

Sheesh.

Got done with grades about 2 yesterday, and met up with Adam and his friend at Johnny's, and then Bets and Mitzi showed up. We had a few drinks, and celebrated the beautiful weather heralding the beginning of our spring break.

You know why I like my friends so much? Because we can sit at a bar, have a couple beers, and do the crosswords in the paper, and laugh our asses off. We had two days of papers, so we had two KC Star crosswords and one NY Times crossword to keep us busy. It's amazing how funny some of the clues are once you're good and lubed with beer. And, our "guesses" on some of the clues were pretty funny too.

We watched basketball at Mitzi's last night, and just vegged. Tonight we're actually going out. To a bar. To see a band.

Unheard of. (Us going out, not the band.)

Hopefully I'll have a few photos and a good story to put up tomorrow morning.

Catch you cats on the flipside.

The Yearbook Gods - Songs Edition

Today was the last day for students before spring break. We've got two days of inservice tomorrow and Friday, which while not exciting stuff, is a welcome respite. Our last yearbook deadline (spring book - yea!) is over break, though, so we were working hard the last few days.

Last night we stayed until 8, tonight I was there with one of the editors until 7 p.m. It's the tedium that's getting us now, but we did get it done. Now, we wait for proofs.

Ashley and I were running the indexer. Well, she was running the indexer. I was giving moral support, reading instructions and calling computer support. Don't get me wrong - the fact that we CAN "run the indexer" makes our lives a million times easier than it was back in the dark ages of yearbook ca. 1992. BUT, the way it's set up, it can only be run on what amounts to one huge document on one computer, so it's incredibly tedious and time consuming. We had been working on it bit by bit for the last few weeks, but when we tried to generate it today, it didn't work. We called computer support, and they so graciously told us we'd have to mark all the names again.

All the names. On every page. All 360 pages of them. That was after we'd been working for about two hours. We were getting a little loopy.

Thank God for Pandora internet radio (it lets you choose an artist or song, then creates a "station" based on it). I turned it on. One of the kids had created a Queen station.

The first song it played? "Under Pressure."

Ashley and I got a good laugh out of that. This was just before we had to start over.

We got that problem figured out, spent another hour or so clicking the mouse about a bajillion times, and got to the "Generate the Index" step.

Clicked it, and proceeded to watch the spinning beach ball of death (Mac users - you know it well) spin and spin. And spin. And spin some more. While it was spinning, we began to wonder if it was really working or if the computer was locked up. It was like waiting for grass to grow. We decided to call computer support again, for a little moral support in addition to tech support.

Just after I dialed the number "I'll Be There for You" by Bon Jovi played on the Pandora station (by now, I had started a Journey station). Again, Ashley and I grinned that our radio station seemed to be echoing our yearbook life. Computer support was there for us...She said, as long as you can still move the mouse, it should be working.

"Take five, go get a soda, get blood back in your legs. Then, you'll have a better idea when you get back to it."

Okay. We thanked her and hung up. Just then, the beginning of "We Are the Champions" started to play. Ashley looked hopefully at me, and me back at her.

Could this be the sign? Is it working? Are we the champions of indexing?

The beach ball stopped spinning. An actual progress bar popped up, and it was moving!

FINally. It really worked. I'm not making this up. One of my all-time favorite songs that always gives me goose bumps when I hear it, and it really did mean good things.

"WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIENDS - THE INDEX IS GENERATED!"

A little bit of text box creating, some loaded cursor clicking, a little bit of size adjusting, and dang it if we didn't get that darn section finished at 7 p.m. Yeah, it's going to need a little adjusting when the proofs come back, but it is so close.

At some point, in the middle of all that "Hysteria" by Def Leppard played. By then, both she and I were feeling a little hysterical.

And I'm totally serious about all those songs - they really did randomly play. You can't make this crap up.

I can't believe how far yearbooking has come in all these years. My freshman year of high school, I lugged a little baby Mac (that's what we called it - I think it was a Mac Classic?) back and forth from school to home so that I could type in all 1400 names of students and teachers, and type in all the page numbers that we had indexed by hand. Then, we were listening to an old boom box in Lucas's room, and it was Elton John and Billy Joel, and .38 Special. I used to complain about Elton John and Billy Joel back then. What the heck was I thinking?

Thank God for databases, Excel files, and software plugins.

Coming soon to an Etsy site near you...

Check out my latest trick!

It's a crocheted iPod/tech/phone cozy. Worked it up last night while watching October Road. I'm actually pretty proud of it since I JUST relearned how to do it last week. E is a good teacher!

I think my new favorite seaming method might be crocheting instead of sewing. I still haven't mastered the whole sewing by hand thing to my satisfaction. I'll DO it, but I don't LIKE it.

•••

I'm wondering how many of you watched "High School Confidential" last night. I had planned to, but I was caught up in "October Road." I've already set the DVR to catch the rerun of last night's show, so that I can watch the rest.

It takes place in the school that is just about a half-mile from our apartment. It's the same district in which I teach, but not our building.

I heard complaints today from a few students who watched it. The biggest complaint was that in the transition scenes, the producers choose to use scenes of pastures, sunsets, cows and wheat fields. All beautiful, I'm sure, but I can assure I see none of those things on my way to and from work each day as I pass "Northwest" High School.

Do people think that viewers will "forget" that a show takes place in Kansas if they don't show farm scenes? Come on. The sad thing is that the woman who produced the documentary is from this area - her daughter attended the school. It's not like it's a big city West Coaster who came in to shoot the thing.

Grrr.

I suppose I'll reserve future judgment until I see it for myself.

Why do I even watch the morning news?

Every day I wake up and the price of oil goes up, up, up.

Today's news? $109 a barrel in global trading. Great.

Seriously. It literally depresses me to see that.

When am I going to get paid that well to teach?

October Road - "What goes on?"

Because this week's October Road kicked ass and took names. I will wait a few days to post much more than that, because I know at least one in my OR fan club hasn't watched it yet.

Don't want to be a spoiler. All I will say is I knew Big Cat would show his stripes again. I HATE THAT GUY.

After last week's debacle (yes, I see the points some of you made, but I still didn't like it that much) - this week's two-hour season finale was hella good. If it wasn't a school night, I would watch it again right now.

It's on the DVR in case anyone wants to come over and check it out over spring break!

•••

Must not blog anymore tonight. I have to write a letter of recommendation (Hi Candice!), then I gots to go to bed.

Hey Sports Fans!

Today's Etsy finds all fall under the theme of sporting pursuits. It's spring, it's getting warmer, baseball teams are already at spring training, the golf courses are filling up again. Check out some of these gifts for the Sporty Sporterson in your life.

Sports Crazy toy by TheCraftingCorner



Cute little Sports Night Light for your little athlete's bedroom


And, in honor of one of my all-time favorite sports movies, this Cleveland Indians brooch


And another of my favorite movies gets a nod here, with this PingTime clock


Now that it's March and the weather will be getting warmer (I hope), it's time for the golfer in your life to hit the links. Give them a good luck gift as they get ready to start the season - this handy golf towel with a large pocket for holding golf balls, tees, cell phone, etc.

Etsy makes it big - check out this NY Times story

Building an Online Community
Of Loyal and Vocal Users

Internet Marketplace Etsy Embraces Forums, Blogs,
Social Sites to Get People to Spread the Word

By RAYMUND FLANDEZ

Etsy Inc., an online marketplace for handmade goods, offers a host of ways for its customers to connect with the company and each other.

These include user profiles, forums, blogs and a rating-and-feedback system for the site's 800,000 registered users, including crafters and artisans who sell their wares on the site.

But Etsy also has embraced ways that its customers interact with one another outside of the company's domain -- mainly a handful of social-networking sites created by Etsy.com⁹ fans.

Among them is We Love Etsy, a site created by Lis Kidder, a 28-year-old lawyer and glass-jewelry designer in Fairfax, Va. We Love Etsy has 2,780 members who build their own profile pages, interact with each other and post reviews of handicrafts among other things.

"We blog, swap tips, and share photos and tips for selling on Etsy," says Ms. Kidder, an Etsy.com vendor. She says she created the site to give buyers and sellers another place to interact, in different ways than they can on the official Etsy site.

Loyalty Builder

Consumers are increasingly using the Web to talk to, and about, the companies they do business with. Some use venues like blogs and forums supplied by companies, while others create their own spaces, such as on social-networking sites, to connect with other like-minded users.

Providing such spaces for people to interact, embracing outside sites and encouraging the dialogue can help companies build positive exposure and engender goodwill -- which will, ideally, translate into more business. And while they take work, such efforts can be easier for small firms that can more quickly make operational changes and adopt new technologies than their larger counterparts. Etsy, for its part, has welcomed many of those venues in an effort to build a loyal community of customers who are vocal about the site and the goods its artisans sell.

"You get free marketing," says Scott Allen, co-author of "The Virtual Handshake," which discusses how mainstream companies are using social media and social networking to advance their businesses. "You have consumer evangelists. Why wouldn't you do everything to encourage that?"

But Mr. Allen says not every small business should attach itself to the social-networking phenomenon, especially if customers don't really have anything in common to bond over. "You have to make sure that your customers have a compelling reason to engage with each other," he says.

Rob Kalin, the founder of Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Etsy, says, "What it means for us is that we don't have to spend anywhere as much money on marketing because there are all of these avenues for people to spread the word and talk about what we do."

Etsy members include 130,000 sellers. They sign up for free and just pay 20 cents for five pictures of one item that can be listed for four months. They also pay a 3.5% commission on each sale. On any given day, 15,000 items sell, from homemade instruments to clothing.

Mr. Kalin says the company raised $27 million from private investors in January to expand operations in the U.S. and overseas. It raised $5 million in three earlier rounds. He adds that Etsy is on track to generate between $10 million and $20 million in sales this year and to sell $100 million worth of goods.

Blogs, Forums and Workshops

There are numerous ways for Etsy's customers to interact. In addition to the profiles, feedback systems and forums, Etsy offers live workshops with video conferencing, where people can hone their skills in areas like silk-screening or jewelry making. There are online seminars on marketing or real-time shop critiques, where Etsy staffers critique sellers and give them tips to enhance their shops. In addition, the company hires several of its top sellers to hold interactive workshops on topics like applying color theory to brighten up an Etsy shop.

The site's blog has evolved into an online newspaper, with articles written by Etsy staff and its members, who also can comment on them.

Fifteen of the company's 50 employees are support staff, whose job it is to maintain the site and address customer issues, by interacting with them on the site, via email or phone. Mr. Kalin interacts on the forums as well.

Etsy also receives hundreds of emails every day, sometimes nearly 1,000, on a variety of issues, including how-to help, new ideas, complaints and comments about the site.

Spreading the Love

Etsy staffers found out about the We Love Etsy site (etsylove.ning.com¹¹) when Ms. Kidder sent a message in August, via a messaging system for users, telling them that her site was up.

Ms. Kidder, who is an associate at law firm McLeod, Watkinson & Miller in Washington, D.C., says her site's profiles go beyond those on Etsy's site, allowing members to set up their own page, much like profiles on social-networking sites Facebook or MySpace.

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Rob Kalin, founder of Etsy Inc., at the company's office

Etsy staffers saw the site's existence as another way to connect with customers -- and drum up business -- and decided to tout it on the Etsy.com blog. The blog post urged readers to "break down these walls and spread the Etsy love" to other "crafty" social-networking sites. The post also mentioned other social sites created by Etsy users: Land of Etsy and IndiePublic.

The We Love Etsy site also has links to the official Etsy site, so customers could buy goods being featured or talked about. We Love Etsy members' blogs often discuss new items and link to the individual item listing on Etsy as well.

Mr. Kalin says he hopes to add photo-gallery and video capabilities to its user profiles and would like to eventually expand Etsy's social-networking capabilities. But for now, the company is focused on improving its marketplace, he says.

"I'm not interested in controlling [members'] conversations," Mr. Kalin says, "just [in] giving them a more personalized space to have them in."

That's the kind of attitude Etsy customers thrive on. Etsy has "always been very open to hearing from the members," says Ms. Kidder. "In the forums, they frequently solicit...feedback on changes at the site -- more than the vast majority of corporations that I've dealt with."

But that doesn't mean Etsy isn't concerned about brand dilution. The company recently started a trademark-permissions program, in which people wanting to use Etsy logos and other marks with the Etsy name must submit an application for permission.

The firm has received more than 50 applications so far and has granted permissions to the majority of them. Sarah Feingold, Etsy's in-house counsel, says she will be contacting Ms. Kidder about her use of the Etsy name on her site.

Money-Saving Tip of the Week

It's been pretty quiet around the old Chittum house today. I woke up with a horrendous sore throat, and Adam had class, so I went back to bed when he went to school. You know I'm not feeling well when I'm on the couch, and I can't even really get the motivation to grab yarn and sticks.

My throat feels better, but I feel pretty lethargic, so it's been "Sofa City, Sweetheart" for most of the day. (Anybody name that movie?)

Here's my Budgetary Tip this week: Don't give up the massages if you feel like you need them, but check out the massage therapy school in your area if spending $80 bucks an hour sounds like too much to you. I got an hourlong Swedish massage after school yesterday for the low, low price of $25.

Sure, it wasn't the ambience of a "spa" but it was a quiet, dark room, with soothing music and the massage therapist did a great job. It was an hour I got all to myself, so no complaints outta me. I will definitely go back next time I'm feeling wigged out. The only thing is to make sure you get an appointment early, because I did have to wait about a month for mine.

Cheezmo SapFest - This Week's October Road

You've all heard me rave about this show before - but not tonight.

The ONLY thing that saved this week's episode for me was the inclusion of the following songs:

"Epic" by Faith No More

"Coming Home" by Cinderella

and

"I Remember You" by Skid Row (yeah - still gives me goosebumps, must be memories of the good old Snowball Skate or something)

The ep was completely non-sequitur. Did we forget that we had an hour to fill this week or something? It was so surface - "Hey Guys, a childhood friend (who happens to be a girl) you haven't thought of or seen in 18 years passed away - let's turn that in to a lesson about why you're having problems with current girlfriends."

It just didn't add up. What a disappointment.

Thank God E. taught me how to crochet today at our weekly after-school knitting gig, so I had something of some value on which to concentrate.

Committed to the future of print? Uh...

So, there's a little piece in Editor and Publisher that says Mark Zieman has been named president and publisher of the Star. He's been editor for a while now, and was interim publisher since the last publisher left in late January.

Here's a quote from the story:

"Mark understands both the challenges and opportunities facing newspapers today," Gary Pruitt, chairman and CEO of the McClatchy (which owns the Kansas City Star) said in a statement. "He is deeply committed to quality journalism and a future that includes print, digital, and niche publications. He is a wonderful fit to lead the Kansas City Star."

I'm sure he'll be great, that part I don't disagree with. The problem I have with that statement is that I don't think the Star is committed to the future of PRINT publications. Based on a couple of decisions they've made in the past few months that directly affect me as a classroom teacher, it seems like they think the demise of print newspapers is inevitable.

First: Before the end of first semester, I received a letter from the Newspapers in Education director at the Star saying they were discontinuing the NIE program for local schools, but GEE, I can SUBSCRIBE to "eStar in Education."

Really? Great.

First of all, I don't need to subscribe to their website. Secondly, let me think about how in the heck I'm going to teach newspaper design using an online newspaper (and one that is hard to navigate, as well). Third - I'd much rather have my students read the "paper" paper for 10 minutes in the morning instead of turning them loose on the internet. I'd walk holes in the carpet making sure they were actually on the Star's site.

At my school, we're lucky to have enough computers for every student to have their own to use during class - but what about schools that have one, two or three computers per classroom? It's completely ridiculous to expect a teacher in that situation to use an online version of the paper as a teaching tool.

I know when I was at Derby, our papers were paid for by a corporate sponsor, and subscribers also donate their vacation papers to NIE. The Star kept running the "Going out of town? Donate your paper" ad even AFTER they discontinued the program. Surely corporate sponsors were also donating papers in KC?

Longtime blog readers might remember last September, when I wrote about my students' views of print vs. online media.

Here's a little bit of that post:

Take note, those in charge of big online pushes:
“Print for me is better, I like it because it’s delivered to my house everyday. I already know how to use it and know where everything is. It’s (print) easier to read and has better headlines.”

“I probably like the print version better because it’s easier to read and I feel more grown up reading an actual newspaper. I also like all of the color and organization of the print newspaper.”

“I like newspapers. I think the website has a lot more stuff to look at, but the newspaper is more fun. The huge headlines get my attention a lot more than those on the web.”

“I like the feeling of actual newspapers. Newspapers smell good. I think it’s also easier to find what you want in the print newspaper.”

“The internet is not organized in a way that makes me want to read it. Too many ads, too hard to find what I’m interested in.”

And, my favorite:
“I like the newspaper better because you can take it anywhere, touch it, burn it, eat it if you need to do so. Also, you can doodle on the pictures of people you don’t like.”

Obviously, I’ve only given you one side of the story, but the just over half of the students preferred print to online. What I think is interesting about this is that many of them said they find the paper version easier to navigate, and find what you want.

The other decision that just kills me (and will speed the eventual death of their newspaper) is that there no longer is a TeenStar. The weekly section written by and for teens has been discontinued, taking away a wonderful opportunity for local teens to showcase their writing, as well as taking away a part of the newspaper that drew youngsters in. I know it's not a money maker, but for one thing, they don't pay the kids to produce it. (I know there are staff members who work on it, so, yes, it does cost some money...)

People who read the paper now do so because someone set the example for them when they were younger, and they started doing it at a young age. It's a habit you have to build. Kids today will not wake up when they turn 40 and decide to read the paper out of the blue. If I were a newspaper publisher, I'd be doing everything humanly and fiscally possible to get papers into the hands of teens.

I mean, jeez, have you seen the statistics on how much disposable income most teens have? They'll patronize advertisers, for pete's sake.

Does this view make me a dinosaur of sorts? Do I have a romanticized view of the daily newspaper?

Blog jinx similar to SI curse?

Uh oh. I hope my writing about the girls basketball team last night didn't cause the jinx. BV was seeded No. 2 going in, and Lawrence knocked them off this afternoon in Emporia.

One thing I love about our school is that when something big happens for kids, they make a big deal out of it. We had a send-off assembly today, just before the team boarded the bus for the tournament. All of the girls, coaches and managers were introduced, and they played a season highlights video on the big screen.

I think I've said before, but just so you don't forget - our mascot is the Tigers, so every time we do the pep thing, they play "Eye of The Tiger" about seven times. AND I FREAKIN' LOVE IT. I'm sorry, you can call that song total cheeseball all you want, I know it is. But when you actually are the Tigers, and you want to get pumped up, it's pretty darn perfect for that. Seriously, it gives me goosebumps.

The coach spoke, and the senior girls presented our principal with the 6A substate champions plaque. Then, as is BV tradition, everyone poured out of the stands, gathered on the court, formed a tunnel, and sent the team off. Basically, the team parted the crowd right down the middle, and those in the middle held up their hands, forming the arch of the tunnel. I've never seen anything like it. I guess they do it for all teams headed to state.

BUT, somehow I don't think a tunnel will be formed to send off the handful of kids we placed at our regional...

FINALLY got the results tonight - one first place (yearbook layout), one second place (theme development), one third place (infographics) and one HM (headlines). I was really surprised that we didn't have any photographers place - one of my kids had some nice swimming photos. Oh well.

Thank bejeesus for carry-ins, though, since nobody got to compete on site. At least this year wasn't a total loss.

Gotta go - I need to download my own version of "Eye of the Tiger" so I can play it tomorrow in Newspaper when we make the regionals announcement...Or, I could always dust off "The Final Countdown" from the Betty vs. Minnie video.

Big news always happens right AFTER deadline

So, our girls basketball team is substate champs - headed to Emporia Wednesday to continue play. If the girls win, they'll play in the state championship Saturday night. Exciting stuff.

The un-exciting stuff is that our paper is due to press at 1 p.m. FRIDAY. I'm working on trying to get the deadline extended for at least the cover and double truck so we can cover the weekend's events as well. It sounds like the boys team at West is also playing this weekend, so maybe extended it for two schools in the district will be okay? Who knows.

We're having a pep assembly tomorrow to send off the team. Then, the spirit bus leaves at 12:45. A yearbook photographer is riding the bus. Should be fun for her. At least she gets to ride it for no charge since she's working!

Then, on Thursday, we're supposed to have a spring recognition assembly. Yearbook and newspaper have the option of being announced - which would be wonderful IF we could get the results from our regional contest by then. The natives are getting restless and would like to know whether or not we had anyone place with carry ins. Everyone say a little prayer tonight that we'll get word by tomorrow so the kids can get the recognition they deserve.

•••

By the way, if you read Betsy's blog you saw her post about celebrity hair makeovers. It's addicting. I've picked out a few of my best. I'll post them over spring break when I have no other exciting news.

Spring Shopping Guide

Here are a few springy items to tickle your Etsy fancy:

Because everyone likes a little bubbly every once in a while -


Betsy's Champagne for Two earrings.

How about a nice bright and fizzy phone cozy:


It can be yours here for only $5!

For those of you with little ones (and there are a bunch of you!) check out this darling pillowcase dress from addyclairesboutique:


I love the colors and the pattern in that fabric!

Here's another pair of earrings. I love the blue beads - reminds me of crystal waters.

They're from VickyVK.

And last but not least, the springiest of them all: This tote bag from Beanhank.

Again, love the fabric!

That's enough shopping for me - it IS a school night after all.

Holy Flip Flops! March comes in like a lamb!

We went for a bike ride yesterday for about an hour and 10 minutes. It was pretty windy, but I suppose that just added to the "intensity" of the workout. Everyone else had the same idea we did - I lost count of all the folks out walking dogs, riding bikes, and playing with their kids on the playgrounds.

Temperatures in the 70s drew everyone out of their winter malaise. I even wore flip flops when I ran an errand a little bit later in the day. Of course, it looks like those temps aren't hanging around long. I guess it's supposed to get back down around 35 and rainy/snowy mix late tonight and into tomorrow. Blah.

Mitzi and Betsy came over last night. Betsy brought little Minners with her. After the initial shock of being in a new place, Minnie settled down and chilled with us. She's a good little dog. We watched the KU-KSU game. Um, not as happy about the outcome of this one as I was about the earlier one this season. Oh well. It happens. We watched Ellen Page on SNL. It was a pretty good episode. There were definitely some laugh-out-loud moments, but Weekend Update continues to be my favorite sketch.

Hopefully the warmer temps will inspire me to come up with some spring and summer knitwear projects. I don't think I'm going to be able to sell scarves and winter wear on Etsy this time of year...Any ideas? What would you buy this time of year? I'm working on a new version of this:


In different colors. I think I'll be done knitting it in just about a half an hour. I started yesterday afternoon, while watching "Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest."

I've got to go to school for at least a couple of hours today. I need to get caught up on some grading, and be ready for the next two weeks of classes.

Just a quick update from yesterday. I'll be posting some cool Etsy finds later tonight (after I get my WORK done...)

Sour Grapes

Yeah, I'm prepared for all of you to call me a sore loser.

We "celebrated" Leap Day by (GASP!) actually going out on a Friday night with Mitzi and Betsy, instead of staying in and playing GH or crafting...We played trivia at one of the Johnny's. I thought since it was a Friday night the place would be packed, but it was fairly quiet, only about seven teams playing, and there weren't a bunch of non-playing Loudy Loudersons like there always are a Tanners.

It's so much easier when you can hear the DJ's questions and you can hear the sound clips. Under the team name Adam and Eves, we hung right around second place most of the night. We did so with no internet on our phones and no laptop, and there were only four of us.

The winning team had about 15 people on it (much easier with the larger teams - more brains to mine for useless knowledge). BUT, they also had a guy who brought a freaking laptop so that they could look up the answers. They were Googling almost everything. What fun is that? Our team didn't have a chance against that, but we hung in pretty close most of the game.

Next week is the semi - finals. All these teams who have qualified by cheating for the last 10 weeks will be screwed when they get to the semis, because you can't take any sort of electronic device in with you. Bets decided that maybe the DJs encourage cheating in the early rounds so that the not-so-smart teams get weeded out right away in the semis. Could be.

I think we've already qualified as Adam and Eves at the Tanners location, so I need to check the website and find out. The winner of the whole she-bang gets a $1000 prize.