I know it's a while until the season starts ...

... but I saw this today and HAD to share it! Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!

*

*

KU March Madness!

Pretty cool commercial!

*

*

Etsy shoppers pick a favorite team!

I got an idea last fall to make some earrings that were college-themed after I was tired of only finding cheesy (sorry KU fans, you know it's true!) Jayhawk earrings. Well, I think it's interesting to see how many views these pair of earrings have each had.

Check out the KU Jayhawks vs. the MU Tigers vs. the KSU Wildcats earrings! Clearly there are more Jayhawk fans! :) Let me know if you see something you like. You should be able to click on the descriptions to get to each item on my Etsy page!

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk ... good luck in tonight's game!

KU Earrings - 59 views

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, Go KU - Beaded Earrings

by betsyonetsy

KU Earrings - 40 views

Beak 'Em, Hawks - KU Jayhawks Beaded Earrings

by betsyonetsy

MU Earrings - 1 view

MU Mizzou Tigers - Black and Gold Beaded Earrings

by betsyonetsy

KSU Earrings - 7 views

Kansas State Wildcats - Purple Beaded Earrings

by betsyonetsy

The HIGHS and lows of Erik's Day

It's football season ... that means that Molly is a bit of a football widow and Erik spends a lot of time preparing for the best tailgate in Lawrence for each home game!

Erik's tent (with his buddies, too) has everything you need for ideal tailgating: 2 tents, camping chairs, a bar (bartender included), a plasma TV with cable hook-up, yummy desserts, 2 meals made by Chef Erik, etc, etc, etc.

Today we decided to drive up just to hang out for the tailgate since Molly & I could care less about the actual game, and it was chilly!

Here are a few pics from the 2-ish hours we were there! Molly & me, before breakfast burritos or grilled Krispy Kreme donuts. We were super cold, even though the sun was shining all morning.

Erik's brother & Dad and Molly.
Mom, Dad & Jeff.
Chef Erik. Can you see his system of pre-cooked breakfast burrito "slices"? He makes them in advance and then warms them up with a tortilla. He tops it all off with sour creme & salsa. Best breakfast burritos in Lawrence ... hands down! Molly made him this awesome chef's jacket for Christmas last year. It says LUND on the back and he's added some great patches, too.

Might have scarfed this grilled KK donut in about 2.2 seconds. Shhhhh ... don't tell!

Erik, saying "hi" to Lulu before he left to go into the game.

And here they are again ... Erik had just dunked his head in the ice water to "cool off" before he went into the game. Sweet pants, huh? Check out Molly's cute shirt she made. Rock Chalk Baby! She got lots of comments on it. I told her she should make them to sell on Etsy!

A few minutes after this picture, we went back to the car, picked up Mom & Dad and then headed back home. The girls went off to the Holiday Mart and to run errands (blog post on that coming soon) and Dad & Minnie went home to rest.

Dad called while we were at lunch to tell us about the score of the game. 63-21 - KU Loss. Erik texted Molly to say (jokingly) that he was no longer a fan! He came home earlier than planned to unwind and get ready for tomorrow.

Since Molly & Erik are both doing quite a bit of nesting and preparing the house for the baby, there seem to be large projects around their house every few weeks. There was the bathroom rennovation while I was living with them over the summer, lots of painting, preparing the nursery and now the complete demolition of a room on the back of their house. This room at one point (long before Erik bought the house) was a nice den, but since then it has been shut off to the rest of the house and named The Room From Hell. It is falling off the foundation and really serves no purpose. Sunday, Erik and a bunch of family & friends will tear this room off the back of the house. Nothing will go up in it's place quite yet ... that project will have to wait until after the baby comes.

Anyhoo ... Erik got out some of his frustration from the game by doing a little bit of demo on his own tonight. Molly caught it on tape for all of us to enjoy! Be sure to listen closely to the commentary by Molls! :)

Crafty time VS. Grading papers time

Guess which activity won last night???

Yep, you know me too well. I decided I'd rather get a few new things posted on Etsy last night than grade the hideously large stack of papers I brought home with me!

Here's a new set of magnets that I made using some vintage gold earrings that Jill gave me from her Grandma's stash! After making all of my glass bead magnets, these earring magnets have been a fun change for me!


These K-State Wildcat earrings were hard for me to make, but I figured that there were bound to be some KSU people out there that wanted fun earrings to wear like my KU earrings! Kat had asked when the KSU earrings were going to go up, and I thought now was as good a time as any since we are in the middle of football season!

Enjoy!

Etsy Favorites - Rock Chalk!

Yes, it's been a long time since I made new things for Etsy. Yes, it's been forever since I put new things up on my page on Etsy. Yes, it's been a long time since I blogged about Etsy.

Yes, I've finally done all three! This weekend I got an itch to make some new earrings. It is always tough to come up with a good ideas for a bead combination that I like. It suddenly came to me as I was pulling all my beads out: make some earrings that are college color combos! I know that I always have a hard time finding cute, fashionable ways to show my KU pride. Most earrings that are out there are giant Jayhawks, and sometimes I just don't want to have a bird on my ear. You know?

So here are my new earrings that I made to solve this problem. In the coming days/weeks I'll be posting more earrings, so keep checking back. I even swallowed my pride and made some for the K-State/Mizzou fans ... are there any of you out there?

I like these earrings I made because they are great for going to a game or going to a game-watching party ... but they also can be worn on any plain old day!

This domino necklace is so much fun! I think the variety in beads makes the necklace not so serious. The artist makes lots of chunky jewelry that is very popular right now.

I don't know much about felting, but I know that it takes a lot of practice and skill! When I saw this felted Jayhawk bead, I was amazed! The artist is a Lawrence girl, so she definitely knows her Jayhawks, too!

This listing is actually just for one lampwork bead, but I wanted to show you the variety of what the artist makes. She makes these beads that fit on Troll & Pandora charm bracelets for those of you that are collectors.

As always ... feel free to let me know if you see something of mine that you would like in a different size or color. AND ... go browse around on Etsy! It's always nice to help local artisans out!

We will remember ...

... Of course, we will!

I think it's amazing that when this happened, my students were only toddlers. I was living in the Pi Phi house and watched the towers fall on my computer during my Technology in the Classroom class. Molly was living in Chicago at the time. There was no war. We could fly without security stress. Things were much different!

It seems like both a millions years ago, and just last week at the same time!


Where were all of you on September 11, 2001?

I thought I was done with KU stuff ...

... but a friend just sent this to me, and I thought it was a great re-cap!

*

*

On another note, I got an e-mail from Molly last night that had other fun KU scoop! Here's what the note said from an "inside source" at the KU Bookstore:

"Saturday Night Live just called in an order of $250 worth of KU merchandise for their KU skit they are doing! We assume the skit will be this weekend. It is supposed to be a bar scene, so I'm guessing it will be pretty funny! Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!"

The www.kusports.com message boards are buzzing about it!

I think this is great. As Jill said last night, "I guess it helps to get some Kansas stuff on SNL with a Kansas boy on there now."

Jason Sudeikis is the cast member who is from Overland Park originally and went to Shawnee Mission West. There was a skit a while back when Jack Black hosted that was set in a bar called, "The Wheel". Jason said it was one of the first skits he wrote when he got hired. In another skit with Lebron James, he made another statement about playing basketball for the SMWest Vikings! Pretty cool.

I know that SNL ends up cutting 3/4 of the skits they practice, so I hope this is true and that it is one of the skits that gets picked for tonight's show!

Rock Chalk, Baby!

I was going to be done with Jayhawk posts, but I just HAD to share these last few items tonight.

I love the guys' faces in this picture! I included this picture in my "morning work" PowerPoint this morning! The kids were so excited to come this morning and share their excitement with me. Of course, they all stayed up to watch the end of the game, which didn't make me too happy. We had our 5th State Assessment this morning. (Only 2 more State tests and 2 more district tests to go!) Even the non-KU fans came wearing KU shirts and were excited!

I just cannot believe that this is Mass Street! Just 5 years ago, I was on Mass Street celebrating that we were going to the Final Four in New Orleans and calling Byron to tell him that I was coming back down to visit! It was wild then, but there was at least room for cars to drive up and down Mass. I checked the live feed of the crowd on kusports.com at 1:00 this morning and it was just as busy then as it was right after the game!
And then there's this picture! You might know this guy ... and you might recognize his kick-ass KU outfit! The back of his Tailgating shirt says, "We piss excellence!" Erik ran into Governor Sebelius in San Antonio on the Riverwalk and she commented on his pants. Tonight he was happy to share a video from a local newscast in San Antonio. Check it out! It's pretty funny ... if only the broadcasters weren't such idiots! :)

Seriously?!?!

Let me paint a picture for you.

I've had a bulletin board above my desk that is all decked out in KU stuff all year.
I have talked openly about how I am a KU grad and a HUGE KU fan all year.
I wear KU shirts and hoodies often before big games.
I have framed pictures of me graduating from KU and going to KU football games on the bookshelf by my desk.
I brought the Beak 'Em visors that my dad made for the 1993 Final Four into school today, and gave them out to the fourth graders.

Even after all of that ... today one of my students came up to me and said, "Ms. McKnight, do you like KU? You know, like the school?"

He was completely serious and the response he got was me turning and walking away. I guess he doesn't pick up on things that quickly. :)

Rock Chalk ... Etsy Favorites!

I had a lot of trouble trying to come up with this week's Etsy favorites. First I had a "new home" theme, then I was going to do something in a "spring" theme. After last night's game, it was no question I wanted to do something with KU, and I was so lucky to find that there were actually some Etsy items that had a KU/Jayhawk/Kansas/Crimson & Blue theme!

I think this KU Charm bracelet is very unique! I can't even imagine the hours of work that went into it! The designer, CharmU makes jewelry in many different college color themes, but I was happy to see that this bracelet was one of her featured items!


WOW! What a cute Jayhawk table! I love the sunflower theme to it, too! It's hand-painted and is sealed with varnish, so it would look great on an outdoor patio. There is also a KSU Wildcat table by the same artist ... but guess which one has more views! :)


I had to do a little self-promotion today! I know these aren't KU themed, but these crimson beaded "Apple of my Eye" earrings are to die for! I think they are so beautiful and make the perfect gift for a girlfriend, mother, sister, or teacher!


I've got this new thing about knitted hats! I have some beautiful magenta yarn that I wanted to knit into a hat for this winter. Well, winter has come and gone and my knitting has fallen to the wayside, but THIS hat makes me want to still make it! This knitted cap is for a newborn and has the cutest crocheted red flower on the front. You HAVE TO go look at the link for the store to see the cute baby that is modeling this hat!


These red, white and blue lampwork beaded earrings are perfect for the KU fan in your life! Aren't they cute with the little white flowers on the beads? I have a hard time wearing loud Jayhawk jewelry, but these would be perfect to wear on game day!


Last, but not least is this custom-made college themed Jayhawk bracelet! I love all the different types of lampwork beads. One of the other great things about this bracelet is that it's designer is from Overland Park! What a small world! :)


As always ... feel free to let me know if you see something of mine that you would like in a different size or color. AND ... go browse around on Etsy! It's always nice to help local artisans out!

Beak 'Em, Hawks!

Just to get everyone ready for the game tonight!

*

*


This video is the perfect pump up we all need! Go get your KU gear on and head out somewhere fun to watch the BIG WIN!

(p.s. If you are heading to Lawrence to watch, I've heard that they've brought in 7 extra police forces to help deal with the crowds, drunkiness, and drivers! Be careful!)

Beak 'Em, Hawks!

Too tired to post much of anything tonight. We had a busy weekend, and I'm super exhausted! Jilly and I pulled into town around 4:00 this afternoon, and after I picked up Minnie from grandma and grandpa's, we came home to promptly lounge on the couch for the rest of the evening! I just came upstairs for the first time.

I hate to say, but I dozed off during the KU game from time to time. My internal KU spirit woke me up to see the last 2 nail-biting minutes! How amazing that this is the first time ever that all four #1 teams are going to the Final 4!

Okay ... conferences start this week. I'll try and post more about the weekend, but it will be late-night after I get home at 8:00pm.

Happy Monday to everyone!

I WAS doing well ...

See all that yellow?!?! It means that my bracket was doing pretty well. At the time I took this picture, I had 20 wins and only 9 losses.

Now that all of the first round games are over, I have 22 wins and 12 losses. Boo!

Really, there is only one important yellow, and that is from the KU/Portland St. game. I'm proud to say that that is a yellow game. And for those of you looking closely at my bracket ... no, I don't have KU winning the whole thing. I do have us playing in the final championship game, but I'm always afraid to jinx us with wins all along.

Anyhoo ... that's it for now. I'm on a roll of cleaning, purging and packing things. It's a miracle that I'm actually making progress, so I'm afraid to stop now.

We are the CHAMPIONS, my friends!

I've been waiting to share this until I had time to include my pics with the post about my Sunday afternoon!

Saturday night, Julie's Mom called to tell me that she got tickets to the KU vs. UT basketball game at the new Sprint Center, and she wanted to know if I could join them. Of course, I had to say YES! Julie's family is so nice to continue to invite me to games (even when Julie's not in town) and normally when it has been on a school night, I haven't been able to go. Well this time, I was on Spring Break and had NOTHING to keep me from going!

Molly had texted on Friday night (yeah for her finally getting into texting) to let me know that it was tons of fun in the Power & Light District with all the Bit 12 Hooplah! We tried to make it down there Saturday night, but instead only drove part way and went out in Westport, and even yesterday it was too hard to get down there for the holiday festivities. With the torrential rain storm, tipsy drivers all over the roads, and empty wallets, we ended up just hanging out in our hood.

So anyway, I went to meet Julie's parents and her Aunt and the four of us headed downtown. I hadn't seen the new Sprint Center or really any of the new restaurants, bars, or buildings. It was pretty amazing. Next payday, I'll save up for a tank of gas to get down there and $7 beers! :)

We got to the arena early (which was a first time for the Chonko clan) and it made for great people watching and allowed me to watch all the seats fill up in the throughout the next hour. It was exciting to hear that we were there for the biggest crowd yet ... 19, 046 people!

*

*

Those are the pics I took. I got some great video, too, but they always take forever to upload to the blog. I hope you all enjoy checking out my pics ... KU fan or not! :)

Who's ready for the Big Dance?!?! I need to schedule in time to fill out my brackets.