One Way to Say Thank You

When I lived in San Jose, CA, (1997) I worked for Novellus as a temp. My starting pay was $10/hr. I worked as an assistant to the HR Director, stuffing packets for the new employee orientation, until one day I was in her office and overheard her discussing some trouble she was having printing reports. Curious, I asked her what the specific problem was. She was new to the position and did not know how to run the reports she needed using the Access based software. I asked her if she had a manual and took it home and read through it. (The fact that I would take a manual home and read it is a clue about my personality) :)

I came back the next day and showed her how to run the reports she needed. Suddenly I had a new assignment, working directly in her assistants office and my pay was bumped up to $12/hr. She needed more reports and before I left, my pay was up to $18/hr! She said "I don't know how to say thank you" to which I responded "Cash works for me!" :)

Today I got an e-mail from my boss saying that I have received a raise and at the end of the e-mail it said, "Thanks". I love tutoring and helping make Algebra make a little more sense, but I especially love a little extra money in my paycheck!

Thank you!!!

What Does Your Handwriting Say About You?

Since I was a child, I have always had terrible handwriting. In elementary school, I made all A's and a C in handwriting. I was the only child who was exempt from exams but had not been on the honor roll. There was no exam for handwriting. Go figure!

At any rate, I love to give gifts and send cards, but often I have been hesitant to do so because of the quality of my handwriting. Since we homeschool, I purchased a copy of my daughter's handwriting book for myself (they have a level for adults) and decided that perhaps there is some hope for me. :)

In searching for websites that would offer any advice on how to improve handwriting, I came across a handwriting analysis site. I wrote the sample they offer, answered a few questions and was provided with an analysis of my personality. I was amazed at how accurately the results reflect who I am!

Here are a few things that the test pointed out that you may find interesting:

I am an introvert. This is a surprise to those around me because I can be quite sociable. I do however find solace in being alone. It gives me a chance to reflect on my thoughts without being bombarded by outside influences.

I have withdrawn into myself and show my feelings only at times of great anger, extreme passion or tremendous stress. The scripture II Corinthians 10:5 comes to mind here. "...and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" This is definitely an area I need to submit to Christ.

I am candid and direct. I don't offer my opinion a great deal, but will give it to you if you ask. What kills me is when people ask for my opinion and then get upset when I tell them what I'm really thinking. I'm still trying to figure that one out. One thing that I admired about my Paternal Grandmother, if you really wanted to know the TRUTH, ask her. Now with her you might get the truth whether or not you asked for it. :) LOL

So tell me what your handwriting says about you. Was there anything that surprised you ,but you know to be true looking at it on paper?

Feeling the Fall Fever

I love to decorate with pumpkins and this year decided that I would add a bale of hay to the mix. As I thought about it, I realized I had no idea where to find a bale of hay, so off to one of the local farm supply stores to see if they had any on head. Wouldn't you know it. They had a whole truck load!

My front porch area is small I only got one to start with. I was hoping to set it up diagonally but then it blocks the door. Oh well. I guess I will work with what I have.

One thing I love about fall is the great recipes that seem to go with it. While looking for a recipe for Pumpkin Bread I found a recipe for Double-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake. I sure do hope it taste as good as it looks!

Have you gotten your menu together for Thanksgiving? Are you Christmas shopping yet? What special traditions do you have?

Learning to Knit on Double Pointed Needles

My next project in knitting in to learn how to use double pointed needles. I purchased some of the Clover Bamboo needles and found this pattern online.

I watched a video from Knitting Help and got to work. The pattern says to cast on 70 stitches. I thought that I was supposed to have an even number of stitches to distribute on the needles and so I cast on 72, to distribute between 3 needles.

I knitted the first row on my first needles and realized that I was using my yarn tail instead of the yarn from the skein ! Uggghhhhh! Well at least I hadn't gotten that far, right?

So I'm off to rip it out and start over. I'll be back with a bit more progress. :)

Too Cute

Last night as I was working, a student logged in wanting to do a lesson on vocabulary words. We came to the word literary and we discussed its meaning and how it directly relates to literature. My student apparently confused, says, "Oh, I thought it meant actually happening".

I, now confused, ask him to use it in a sentence. "Ummm, the book was so heavy that it would literary crush my hand if I dropped it." I responded and said, "The word you are thinking of is, literally.

What tickled me so about this is I too (coming from a Southern family) often said words wrong growing up. My grandmother used to pick these grape looking things and she always called them "Scuffanums". I was in the 11th or 12th grade reading a book for class when I came across the word scuppernongs and realized that is what she had been trying to say all along! Gotta love those Southern drawls and accents.