Thought I was out but drawn back in again...

Yes, once again I have joined Toastmasters again but instead of an evening club I joined the club at work. This should be interesting since the oldest members have been in Toastmasters for only 3 years I have been doing this for over a decade.

Next week is the start of dance lessons again, yeah! Time to get the dancing shoes on and hopefully this year Quirky and I will be able to finally dance the Venitian Waltz together. Also, time to start finding some more clothes to go with my victorian re-enacting outfit. Quirky and I do re-enacting not a whole lot since I was in school but this year we are going to do more.

Nascar Sunday & Knitting

It is another Nascar Sunday. Greg Biffle won in Kansas and 7 Chase racers had a very bad day. Other racers are upset saying Greg Biffle did not maintain pace car speed but on the other hand Nascar could have ended the race. The race was more than half way completed when it was stoped the second time thus Tony Stewart could have been the race winner. Instead Nascar elected to continue with the race, with a reduced number of laps, and this benefited those same racers complaining about Biffle. All I have got to say is "you can't have your cake and eat it too". It is what it is and move on to Talledaga.

I finally restarted the rug that I tore apart last week while the race was on. Using knitting bobbins is so much easier than trying to weave in floats like I tried to do previously. I would like to say that the hand made bobbins, made from manilla folders, worked like a charm. They hold enough yarn but small enough to easily manipulate and not get tangled.

As I promised Quirky I would start attending church with her after school was done. We went to church today and all was good. No one's cell phone rang. But Quirky and I were remarking when a cell phone goes off in Church, is it God calling? If so, what would God say? Turn off your cell phone please or would it be your minutes are about to expire and I'll see you later. ;-)

I am also looking for an inexpensive digital camera so I can post pictures to this blog.

First Knitting Project

My first knitting project was used this weekend to great success. It was a trivit to put hot bowls, pots, etc. The blue & white trivit worked well. On to the next project which will be redoing or sending the rug to the frog pond. I will be starting over on the rug and start knitting some Christmas ornaments. Now, Mom wants a trivit. No problem I'll make her a trivit as soon as she completes my Garfield sweatshirt.

Keep in mind that she promised to make it over 25 years ago. Since then I have graduated from High School, College, and now Graduate School. Now its a matter of principal. Mom, if you are reading this better get busy sewing. Christmas is coming up. :-)

Decided to rejoin Toastmasters after being encouraged by my fiance, Quirky (But Never Jam Today blog), to join the club at work. Off to being a toastmaster again but this time I am just going to be a club member and leave it at that. The first thing I'll earn will be the Competent Leader since this was added after I quit being a toastmaster a few years ago. Then it will be off to get my Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). After that we will see.

Now all I have to do is find some time to learn how to do leather working. Thought that learning how to do leather working will fit in well with the Civil War Re-enacting and Ren Faire. Found a store that will teach it now it is a matter of scheduling time. Need to make sure that I make available time to spend with the fiance.

A Long and Good Weekend

I am back from a great weekend in Monterey and dragged the parents back down with me. While everyone was enjoying the rain last week I was basking in the Monterey sun, aaahhh! Did not have any rain until the drive back down to SoCal on Saturday.

Graduation was great and met Admiral Mullin the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A very good graduation speech to inspire and challenge all of us graduates to be the leaders this country needs.

Most importantly this weekend was able to spend some real quality time with my fiance. We had a very good time together and with my friends from my cohort. Our cohort during this two and half years created a very tight bond. I will not miss going to school (well at least the homework) but will miss conversing with my fellow students.

But it was a good weekend and I was able to finally catch up on my sleep. What will the next adventure hold, who knows you will have to wait and find out?

Before I forget my fiance has finally agreed to a wedding date. It is the first Saturday in October in 2008.

First Day With No Homework

Okay, today was the first day in 2.5 years that I did not have to do homework or feel guilty about it (WooHoo). It is an odd feeling that my day is mine and I have all this time. Basically, now what? Oh yeah, plan my wedding.

Not much to say today except HooooRaaahhhh.

Done!

Done! pretty much says it all. After 2.5 years working on my Masters degree in Systems Engineering I am DONE!

Now that I have my life back again what am I going to do now. That is easy SLEEP and after that plan on goining on a cruise, doing alot of hiking, and getting back into shape. I have realized that going to school sure plays havoc with staying in shape. Definitely want to lose at least 20lbs that way when I go on the cruise I will not feel guilty about adding 20 lbs to my weight.

A little bit about me is that I believe in volunteerism thus I devot a great deal of my time to volunteering for the U.S. Forest Service as a wilderness ranger.