Yellow Belt!

On Saturday, my husband and eldest daughter tested for their purple belts, and I was initiated into belt testing! (This is some of what I've been doing instead of knitting; some of my very best knitting time used to be while Katie was in class, then I would take her home while Joey was in class. Lately, I've been stretching with Joey while Katie is in class!) For our yellow belt, we had to perform the white belt "form," called Chun-Ji. Then we pair up and perform one-steps, which are in preparation for sparring. (We won't spar until we're green belts.)
My partner is Deb, who is so much fun! Her husband, Tony, started at the same time Joey did, so they're almost at the same level. Robert's wife, Natalie, is also a blue belt, so it's kind of fun when we get lined up behind our spouses for warm up!



I should've warned you about the picture. I didn't realize what a marshmallow I appear to be in my ghee. I'll have to be in better shape to spar, so check back in about 4 months! I can say that I'm having a blast; Tae Kwon Do, while being a great form of defense, is also art. It's a workout, but also a cerebral endeavor (lots to remember and think about!), and I'm really, truly enjoying it. If you'd like to see more pictures, it's the Katy Tae Kwon Do Academy. Joey is the web guy, and he got some really great pictures! (Some of the board breaking ones are mine, though-- he had to hold boards, since he's a big guy, and I grabbed his camera. You can work all kinds of magic with a great camera!)

I have been knitting a bit. Here's my jaywalker in progress:


Seems like there are quite a few of us out there enjoying this pattern. I love how simple the pattern is, but how really neat the sock turns out! My sincere thanks to Grumperina at MagKnits for the wonderful creation!

I've also been busy painting. Now, I don't have much skill-- I have grand ideas, but not much skill. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to stop me from doing much. My youngest daughter's preschool has a silent auction as a fundraiser, in which they offer art created by the whole class. This year's project is frames, and I was asked to create two. Fortunately, the school names each class after critters, and ladybugs

and ants

are very easy thumbprint art! The blue is hard to see (I apologize for the poor photography); I used a transparent green glitter on the leaves, which really looks neat! I need something to make the ants frame "pop." I was thinking about using sort of goldish-brown glitter to give it sand or crumbs, but I'm not sure. If you have any suggestions, please share them! The best part of this project was visiting the classrooms and helping each child with his/her fingerprints. I put in an application to substitute at the school next year-- even though I'm certified to teach secondary, I sure enjoy working with the little ones. Simple things, like food color mixing in water and chipping plastic dinosaurs out of blocks of ice (they used golf tees as chisels and wore goggles-- it was too cute!) are still magical. It's a good place.

I'm off to read a little Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with small people before bed, and then maybe, maybe I'll get to finish a sock!