The final decision

I made my choice on the shawl I wanted to start. It ended up not being any of the ones that I had posted pictures of. Go figure!

I took into consideration all the votes and I almost started the vintage pattern. I likely will still do the vintage one but just not in the black alpaca that I so desperately wanted to get my hands on! I love the vintage style and I agree with those that said it was so much like me. However it did not have quite the elegant style I wanted. I love the shape of the vintage style one. I wanted one that was round around the back, and had that flow to it. I wanted something that I didn't have to piece together later, which is the one thing that I hate about any square that you make. The pieces are a pain and it feels tedious! So while I loved the elegant shawl I posted I just could not imagine having to put all those squares together after having made them all.

So onto the style I did choose...

This is called a Pineapple shawl because the pattern resembles the pineapple in the center. I love how simple and lacy it looks and I think its elegant but could easily be worn with jeans and t-shirt. I started it night before last and have already come a good way. I only have worked on it for about an hour and a half so far, but here is a picture of the progress. 

The pattern is free, and can be found by going here. It is supposed to be an intermediate pattern but so far I do not feel it is all that complex. If you know how to triple crochet then it is fairly simple. I will post pictures and blog about the progress and the final process once the project is completed so please check back often to find out how it turned out.

Secretariat ~ movie review

Being an avid horse lover since I can remember this movie was a must see for me. I remember watching replays of this amazing horse from the time I can remember. Of course Big Red won his races before I was ever born so for me he has always just been a legend. I can not think of one horse who deserves to be crowned a legend more then Secretariat though so its ok with me.

Yesterday was opening day, My dad took my daughter M and I to see it. It was a wonderful treat to go see a movie with my daughter and my father. Not at all a normal occurrence and we all enjoyed ourselves so much. So Thank you dad for the wonderful time.

Now onto the movie review! No I will not give away plots or otherwise tell the movie, I want you to go see it yourself!

Here is the trailer



This movie is fantastic! 5 stars all the way around. The cast works together well, you feel a real chemistry between the characters. I loved that while Big Red is the "man of the hour" but the movie focuses on more then just him. You get the whole back story of how he came to be, what turmoil the family went through and how it all played out. The story is a complex one that most people never knew. I love the passion in Penny and how well Diane Lane plays the part. The worst part for some maybe that you ultimately know how the story ends, however you really get caught up in the telling of the story of how he got there, the anxiety of if he would really get there and then the ultimate triumph when he did get there.

There is no way to know if another great will ever emerge like the great Secretariat but us horse lovers can always dream~

Test Anxiety

This week completely flew by! Today is Friday and I feel like yesterday was just Monday.

I had a midterm for my Mexican American history class yesterday and I had so much studying to do that I barely remember the days of the week that I made it through. The kids were left to their own devices a whole lot more then normal. I am so glad that we have the computer with some great games like I Spy and of course Diner Dash. What? Diner Dash is to educational! Just think of all those motor skills they are using when they play it! Plus as the levels advance they have to really use critical thinking to make sure they can meet their goal.  You see everything we do is educational, you just have to find the learning in it.

I remembered this week that I actually have SEVERE test anxiety. It has been so long since I was in school that I had forgotten that fact. Being that I am a life learner, and an unschooling mom we do not focus on an actual test to prove you have knowledge. Unfortuantly for me colleges do require you to take tests to prove that you know what you are supposed to know. Some of you might wonder why I say my test anxiety is severe? If you go to the link I provided you will see that there is 10 questions they ask, if you answer yes to 4 of them you have test anxiety... I can answer yes to 9 of the 10. I am still learning how to deal with this. It is frustrating to do so well on homework (100% on all homework thus far) and to get such low grades because of test anxiety. For example yesterday I had a make up test in my health class. In this health class I get 100% on all my homework, I know the material when we are just discussing it in our discussion groups online, then I take the test yesterday and its a possible 50 point test, I got 38.5 out of 50. Now because it was a make up test I am not beating myself up to bad over it, I mean after all I could have gotten a 0 for that test. That does not change the fact that I obviously know the material and my brain freaks me out so bad that when I take the test to PROVE I know it I simply can not recall much of the information or correctly answer the questions asked.

I believe that I may start working with my older children especially on test anxiety study skills as there will likely come a point in life when they will have to take a test or two. It is inevitable and unfortunate that many people believe that a test is the only way to prove that you know something. I could talk to you for ten minutes and you would discover that I know the material. Put me in a room at a desk with a piece of paper and a pen/pencil and suddenly my brain panics, I know nothing!

Yesterday I was grateful for my yoga because it reminded me to breathe deep when I was feeling the worst stress, and I remembered to stretch out those muscles in my neck and shoulders where my stress builds up and knots. Of course it didn't completely solve the problem and today my shoulder is still knotted horribly but I think its better then it could have been.

Do any of you have Test Anxiety? How did you deal with it?

Today as my reward my dad is taking me to see Secretariat~ The greatest triple crown winner ever! Tomorrow, or maybe even later today look for a review of the movie. :) until then have a great day.

Chocolate Cake is the answer

After hours of studying and reviewing information in my Mexican-American history class I feel brain dead. I am certain that the answer to every question the teacher asked must be chocolate cake. Wasn't it the Aztec's who introduced chocolate to us anyway?

I have hours more to study and several chapters to read. I am certain that this is going to be a challenging essay that I have to write because I simply can not retain the information needed to get me through. I feel as though I am spinning my way through this class and not really getting very far.

So instead I resort to doing what I do best. Cook! I am going to plop a wonderful dressed chicken in the oven and roast it for several hours. I am going to chop veggies and add them to this roasted delight. I will bake a chocolate cake completely from scratch and top it with grandma's coconut pecan frosting. I will make delicacies that everyone can enjoy and will bring me pleasure. I will then come back completely sated and attempt to compile information from the recesses of my brain so that i can pass this test.

I am posting this blog pictureless but will come back and add pictures soon ... Pictures of the beauty of roasting chicken and baking chocolate cake.

Alright folks you have waited all day for pictures of this beautiful cake so here they are!

The Ingredients

Baking tip for the night, when making chocolate cake grease your pan and then "flour" it with coco powder instead of flour. This will prevent your cake from sticking, but will also prevent that flour look on the outside of your cake. :)

before baking

after baking & cooling

The frosting has to be cooked, but it tastes wonderful & is well worth the effort.

start cooking

let it boil

add coconut & pecans

The finished product is calling for me! I pour the frosting on while its still warm right into the center of the cake and work my way out from the center to the edge. This makes a wonderful frosting method especially when its still warm enough to spread easily. I do not like frosting in the center of this cake so I simply make a larger cake and then frost only the outside. 

I hope that you all enjoy the pictures. I may post the recipe for this cake & frosting soon if enough people want it.