For all those who come to this happy place, Welcome!

just giving an update... I'm in the trenches of writing my thesis (yeah!) Hopefully the first draft will be done tonight (or tomorrow at the least). I need to email it to the brave women who offered to be readers for me and on Wednesday (22nd) I will turn it in to one of my peers for their evaluation. The following Wednesday (29th) I will turn it into my advisor and do a presentation for the class. My semester is over. My grad career as a Master's student ends in just a week or so. How weird to be at the end of something.  I've been going to school for the last ten years. I think I've only taken 2 semesters off (and had a couple rocky ones after the birth of both older kids), just taken two or three classes at a time. It's crazy to think it will be done within a matter of weeks. I'm excited, but wonder what I will do with myself. You hear that question so many times and always reply with a pithy word or two. But now it is real. I'm not sure about preschool i...

this is the survey for my thesis, the first part is a disclaimer... yada, yada, yada  if you didn't email me but are interested in taking the survey perusing it over - I will love you forever & your childrens children - Please copy & paste it into an email and send it to: maren_buchanan at yahoo {dot} com Survey for SSC Thesis Paper Maren Buchanan 3/21/2009 Thank you for volunteering for this survey. Your answers will help me to get a better understanding/feel for the relationship that you have with blogs, online/offline relationships, and your creative outlet (ie sewing, scrapbooking, etc.). Any information that I obtain will be used for academic purposes. Please complete the survey as well as you can. If you have any comments, do not understand what I am getting at, or need further clarification, you can email me or respond to that effect on your survey. If there is anything you don’t want to answer just state that, please don’t leave any blanks. Completion of this surve...

So I just posted this on the SSC , but I'm posting it here as well. As many of you know, (or not know) I'm in my last semester of grad school at ASU. Right now I'm working on my thesis, the title is "Those who stitch together, stay together; the modern June Cleaver's Relationship with online group blogging and an offline social sewing community"...  So basically I'm examining a women's community's relationship between blogging online and offline social connections. I'm focusing on the SSC , but I'm also looking for some other outside perspectives. SO this is where you come in. I'm looking for willing blog readers, stalkers, lurkers, friends, or relatives (like they read my blog by choice) who will fill out a survey for me in the next few days and have it back to me in a week or so. You just need to be a wife, mother, grandmother with a creative outlet (sewing, scrapbooking, cleaning, etc.) and a blog. Are you up for it? If your in just ...

- My name is not Chris, I borrowed all images from flkr, because how can you possibly read a story without pictures in it (Alice) (This is an actual email I wrote to my friend Sammy, we did MCC & our undergrads together at ASU, she likes my dumb library stories. I thought I would share this one with you.) These guys talk so stinkin’ loud. Okay so maybe the music here at Starbucks is a little loud. But I kind of like that because it’s all foreign music and I can’t sing along so it feels more like white noise, its not hard for me to concentrate if I can’t sing along. Plus it’s good for concealing other peoples private (or just annoying) conversations. Except the three monkeys who just walked in feel that they are in competition with it. Okay maybe it’s a culture thing or a guy thing, but seriously – it’s a Saturday night 9pm in Arizona (wonderful weather outside) please tell me you have some zoo lights party to attend or can enjoy swinging from trees and all your screeching ways ou...

I am temporarily on a sewing fast. For the next few weeks I am making a decided effort to work on my thesis and that has meant lots of library time. Almost all of my research is online which I could do at home, but it is so hard to do anything at home. I am way too easily distracted... so I try to spend a few hours every night at the library MCC (if Jason is on call) or ASU (If he' not - their open 24hrs.) Anyway, my friend Jill stopped by tonight. Normally I would be getting ready to sew, but instead I was packing up my lap top to head off to the library. Being the wonderfully thoughtful person that she is she brought me a study kit. 2 bottles of Coke (what would I do without the stuff), pens, notebook, coloring kit (when I need a break - yet I here I am blogging), a letter "M" to remember motivation (oh and Maren... look at that), and a cd with "brain food" music. It was all so sweet and thoughtful. Can't you see why I love my "sewing ladies" ...

Jason had this honey brown bookcase when he was young & brought it with him when we married. It was in our front room for a few years and then when Paige was a baby, it was repainted and given a shabby chic appearance . It's new duty was to hold her diapers, books, & little things. When we moved into our current house. It became my bookcase for the schoolroom. After so many years it has turned gray and needed new life breathed in. So Paige & I painted it and resurfaced the shelves with fabric, you can see the step by step process by clicking here . Doesn't it look great at home in the school room all snuggly and filled with books?

Paige started her 1st day of 1st grade. I can't believe how time flies & just think next year I will almost be alone... well, just me & angel baby Buchanan, but that will be just fine. Paige was so excited last night & kept getting out of bed that I threatened to " home school " her if she didn't stay in bed. She was pretty cooperative after that. She loves school and I think she knows all the damage I would inflict socially & by stunting her educational growth. It amazes me how smart she is. I really think she doesn't get that from me. She has been reading all summer and tonight she offered to read a bedtime story to James. Umm ... sure a few minutes to myself - what on earth will I do with it? She'll be a smarty like her dad. Hopefully James will be determined like his mom (not too much going on up stairs, but good social skills and determined to finish grad school no matter if he's still paying on school loans from the nursing home). ...

This is Carla, Maryssa , Summer, Logan, Max, and Paige. They are the top students in her class and have all turned into great friends this year. It's nice to hear her talk about her friends and getting to know them individually has been so much fun. They are a great group of kids! This is Mrs. Christopher who teaches kindergarten at Whittier. She was the perfect choice for Paige. Deciding which school to go to and then trusting other moms about what teacher to have was so stressful at the beginning of the school year, but Mrs. Christopher was a the best choice. She is well organized, maintains order and schedule in her classroom, and keeps everything together (even when she had almost 30 kids this year) - She has an amazing amount of patience and Paige really loved her. Paige reads and writes so well and I'm grateful to Mrs. Christopher's teaching methods & homework sheets that started Paige down the road to where she loves books & reading. These are Mrs. Christ...

Arrrggg , I just had to post this picture of Captain James. Today at Miss Maren's preschool we had our pirate day, it was so fun. The scalawag's (boys) loved the indoor treasure hunt and finding the treasure with pirate tattoos . The perfect ending to a grrrreat day matie . looks like a had just a wee too much of the capt'ns rum... whatever keeps things going. Don't worry I kep ' it all to me self... arrrgghh . * Check out Miss Maren's blog for more pirate adventures and a mini pirate movie: http://missmarensmonkeys.blogspot.com/

After only 6 weeks of school Paige is already writing words. She asks us how to spell whatever word and then does it all by her self. This might not seem like much - but this is a huge step from previously only writing her name. Mrs. Christopher (her Kindergarten teacher) said she could phonetically spell at this point but lacks the confidence. I can understand that, Paige doesn't like to make mistakes - she wants to do everything right the first time. Just look at this card she made for her aunts birthday.