Just Some Boobs

Everyone else is doing it...

2012-01-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Remember when I would post each month what I accomplished? Yeah, that didn't last long. Stupid blogger not accepting Word formatting! But now I see a "Remove Formatting" button so yay! Here's what I did in 2011:

Crafting
January
Spun yarn: lots and lots and lots of yarn!
Scarflette x 2
Luscious Mary Janes
Cthulhu mask
More yarn (4oz koi)
Cupcake purse
Ninja Turtle meets Hellraiser hoopla
Cthulhu ami
Wrist warmers
Core-spun yarn, first attempt, 35yards
More yarn (4oz Anthro 205)
USPS hoopla
Baby cocoon and hat set
February
Fabric/board box for Russ room x 10
More yarn
Ply yarn
Comb Wool, lots!
Spin combed wool
Ladybug baby cocoon/hat set
Cupcake purse
Paper beads
Frog and butterfly card
March
Cat swirly hoop
Paper beads
Comb wool x 100+
Swirly jar
Swirly stamp x 2
Bookmark x 3
Shark Triptych in hoops, “Come on in the water”
Spin 4 oz February’s Diamond Club
Spin more yarn, and then some, and then some more
Granny Squares x 6
April
Granny square x24
Mend: horse, shirt x 2
Skeleton amigurumi x 2
Dye, spin, Navajo ply ?oz
Dye, card, spin, ply with Easter colors
Storage Hammock x 2
Start Mom’s quilt at her house
Floral wreath
Stamps: ladybug x 2, pig, Koi, frog, paintbrush, floral
Poncho for Alice with Easter colored carded wool
4oz Cashmere/Merino blend, Navajo plied
Corner storage hammock
Spin, Navajo ply blue and white Sheep Shed
Spin 5.5oz Cashmere/Merino batt
May
130 yards of White wool with Pink cocoons
Spin bobbin of Black, ply with Feb. diamond batt
Mend skirt
Card, spin, ply Citrus
Spin, ply 4oz Polwarth with 4 oz BFL/Silk
Tree hoop
Kitchen curtains
Ninni
June
Ninni x3
3-Ply 300 yards wool
Ninni hoop x2
2-ply wool, ~210 yards red/blue carded 4oz Merino, Navajo plied
5 bobbins worth of raw wool, felted in washer
Mend: pants x 2, dress
Tree hoop
Sheep to Sweater
Spin ~200 yards Lux. Batt
Spin more fleece
American flag x 2
July
American flag x 3
Woven crochet pot holder
Ladybug hoop x 4
Dragonfly stamp x 4
Spin 8 oz BLF/silk blend, ply with 1oz wool, together
Recover dining chair x 6
Spin 4oz bamboo/merino blend/ Navajo plied
Sheep to Shawl: crocheted and woven
Spin, 2 ply, 4oz brown BFL
Spin 4oz batt, ply with #10 cotton
Granny square x 6
Family Stamp
Spin more, ply it all
Marble maze
Monster x 3
August
Cover journal
Spin green, ply with old spun batt
Spin 4oz blue/brown batt, ply with thread
Crocheted stone necklace x 2
Boxy cosmetics bag
Ninni
Monster
Cape x 4
Hungry monster pillow x 2
Teesha Moore inspired e-reader cover
Wonky star quilt block x 20
Kerchief x 2
Edge baby quilt
Ugly quilted potholder
Hungry monster hoop
Paper-pieced ice cream post card
September
Wonky star block x 10
Spin 111 – yards 2-ply Sari strips
Spin – 95 yards Merino/Tencel N-ply
Neck warmer lined with fleece x 2
Felt fairytale finger puppet set of 4
Wiggly pot holder x 2
Crocheted leaf dishcloth
Dishcloth
Tie/bind lap quilt
Dish scrubby x 2
Paper-pieced post card x 3
Quilted potholder x 2
Mug rug
Assemble/sash wonky quilt top
Roaring ‘20’s lady monkey
Earth stamp
October
Tree of life stamp
Spin 80 yards rainbow local wool
Clean some wool
Roaring ‘20’s man monkey complete with fedora
Alice’s birthday cake
Unspin/respin/ply b & w wool x 2 bobbins
Card/spin b & w & brown wool x 2 bobbins
Carve heart stamp
Quilted heart postcard
Yoda robe
Hat
Shirt and pants
Crocheted bookmark x 3
Crocheted Jellyfish x 2
Test tube stamp
Beaker stamp
Poorly etched mirror
Luke Skywalker shirt
Pants
“Boots”
Tie bookmark
Black heart painting
Han Solo shirt
Vest
Leia wig
Dress
Boot Toppers
R2D2 candy bucket
Tutu x 2
November
Sock monkey
Crochet scarf
Stitch marker x 8
Crochet pair of socks
Stamp x 3 – Ohm, skelly cameo, lightning
“A” Hoop
Wrap yarn ball
Tea wallet x 2
Fabric covered Styrofoam ball x 5
Tangram-esque squares (set of 42) with matching bag x 2
Broomstick lace scarf
Crochet hat
Spin ~350 yards 2-ply sock weight yarn
Stamp x 4 –envelope guy, flower, leaf, speech bubble
Beanbag x 15
Bullfinch x 6
Dodecahedron spiked ball
Cat toy fish x 6
Artist’s suitcase x 2
Mug-rug x 2
Assassin’s Creed French knot hoopla
Stocking
1” Apple cinnamon ornaments
Fabric gift pouch x 10
Small French-knotted “TV” hoop
December
Winter Ninni
Bullfinch x 2
Stuffed felt ornament x 3
Apple-cinnamon ornaments + paint (4 batches)
Maternity dress
Happy cloud stamp set of 4
Elements stamp set of 4
Penis chap-stick cozy
Pinecone fabric ball x 2
Mug Rug x 2
Mend: Alice’s new jacket (all functional buttons and then some)
Pillow x 2
Skivvies
17” x 21” Pegasus
Spin 8oz Merino/Angelina/Silk
Denice blanket
Dye, unspin, spin, N-ply ~173 yards [wool?]
Dye, unspin, spin, N-ply ~112 yards [wool?]
Fingerless mitts
Coil-spin ~40 yards
Core-spin ~105 yards
Oversized snowflake doily with bulky yarn
Small needle-felted ball x 4

Books Finished
January
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
February
The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff
Deuteronomy (Doooo… The Right Thing?)
Joshua
1 Samuel
March ? ^ or V?
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
April
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
May
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Fablehaven Book 3: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull
Fablehaven Book 4: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull
Fablehaven Book 5: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
June
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and
Psalms
The Winter Queen by Boris Akukin
July
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Girls by Frederick Busch
The Quiet Game by Greg Iles
August
Norwood by Charles Portis
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
Lamentations
September
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
October
The rest of the Prophets in the Old Testament
The Old Testament!
Matthew
Mark
November
Luke
John
Acts
December
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon

Home Improvements
January
Paint front room
Paint Russ shelves, prep for install
February
Rearrange Russ room/install shelves and boxes
March
Clock puzzle – finish – Hang
May
90%+ sprinkler system
December
Blow in insulation (hired)

Not really all that exciting, eh? But hey, it is literally the story of my life for the past year, vaguely. Raising the kids and getting pregnant might be part of that story, too, but would those go under Crafts or Home Improvements? i just don't know!

Broomstick Lace

2011-11-17T08:57:00.001-07:00

So much for being a Family, blog, eh? I haven't even posted Halloween! It was awesome, FYI, even if I don't like Star Wars.
Today is TNT Thursday over at Happy Quilting Melissa. I tried something new this week! Broomstick lace. That's right. And I even used a broomstick. We were having a good discussion about it over on the Spun to Finished thread on Craftster and how anything that uses a broom is considered housework, right?

Here it is! A broomstick lace scarf. Not much, I mean it only used about 100 yards of yarn, HANDSPUN yarn in this case, but it is still New to me and when you TNT you need to start small, right? *snort* I need to remember that more often.

Don't miss the other New Things Tried on Happy Melissa this week!

2 day passion

2011-10-27T12:06:00.002-06:00

I am not a canvas painter, but I was this week! I started this Monday and finished Wednesday. If only I could be this passionate about things in my life that really matter! Go check out my Craftster post for more info on it and progress shots!

Thanks Melissa for encouraging me to do a "Try New Things" post. This definitely was new for me!

Step 1: Pregnancy Step 2: ? Step 3: Fundraiser

2011-10-18T22:35:00.000-06:00

Dear everyone I know,

We're pregnant! Did you know that? Did you know we get our sonogram on Friday? We will be 20 weeks (4 1/2 months, 1/2 way there!) on Saturday. Did you also know that we are trying to raise money for the ALSA? You should have known that part. And the Walk for the end of said fundraiser is on Saturday? Do you see where I am going with this?!

We're taking "bets!"

Here's how it will work: You make a donation to the ALSA via Kimmy's ladybugs (web.alsa.org/goto/kfmladybugs) and then send me an email (messy_mcspud@hotmail.com) with your donation amount and your prediction for what is growing in my womb. Winners: Whoever bets right I will match all of their donations in one of my own for the final donation for our walk team. Example: if 3 people each bet $25 that there is a girl in there and the "sonogram specialist" at Rio Pecos agrees with them, I will donate $75 on Friday evening. Now, someone I ran this idea by told me that's not a great prize so, in addition to the aforementioned "prize," if you "win" I will also make you cookies (or other baked good of your choice), if that is in my capacity to do. If you want me to.

Rules: Sorry, we have to have them.
1) Donation has to be at least $5. Only $5 works, but let's say at least that amount.
2) You must donate at the team website. web.alsa.org/goto/kfmladybugs You can sign up and donate under your own name or donate under another team member, whatever, but checks and cash are not accepted at this time for the betting process. If you want to make a cash or check donation, that's cool, but it will not count towards the betting.
3) "Bets" accepted from now until I get home from the doctor's office Friday afternoon. Our appointment is at 3:30 MST so we'll say I have to have the email by 5pm my time Friday for the bet to count. If you have already donated this year, it doesn't count towards your "bet."
4) Email must include:
    -donation amount that matches amount donated on website.
        -if you donate under someone else, including yourself, note that as well.
    - your prediction! 4 choices:
        -girl
        -boy
        -twins
        -undetermined, meaning the sonogram lady tells me she is <85% certain of the gender
5) We will only match donations up to $400 total. So feel free to "bet" $400, but we can't go any higher than that on our matching.
6) As always, recipes for donations! If you donate $25, you get Kimmy's Cookies Recipe and for $50 you get Cookies recipe and Kimmy's 3 favorite recipes of Mom's, which are all totally worth it. Also, if you have already donated a little this year and you make a bet that raises your total donated for the year to one of those levels, it counts and you get the recipes! (Example: If you donated $15 a month ago and donate another $10, you get Kimmy's cookies etc. Also, you already rock for donating.)

Any questions? Comments? Concerns? Let me know! I'm here. Email, phone, and house calls are always cool by me!
-Jessie Hansen

*Subject line courtesy of my dear husband G.

2011-09-26T12:05:00.000-06:00

Donate fabric, earn prizes. I am totally doing this. Have you read my post about my stash yet? Shyeah... I totally need to send some to do some good.

And suddenly I quilt?

2011-09-07T10:53:00.000-06:00

So I got the bug, that's right, suddenly I have begun making quilt blocks.

Why?

Well, it started off by just following blogs for their giveaways... I love me some free stuff!

First, I started following Happy Melissa because Sew Mama Sew told me to. And after all the big Giveaway Day stuff was done Melissa kept having giveaways so I kept following her!

Enter Sew We Quilt. Madam Samm has started a Want To Be Quilters campaign that Melissa blogged about. Basically, if you are not a quilter, you get a sponsor (see Melissa for that), follow the Sew We Quilt blog, and check back each day to see the new giveaway. She has like 3 months worth of giveaways going on, one each day, M-W-F for Want To Be's, T-Th for actual quilters! So I started following and posting M-W-F and then had a conversation with her where I learned that while I'm not really a Quilter per se, I am a "sewer" (manic giggling at the term) so I actually qualify for the T-Th giveaways and not the M-W-F. :( But whatever, I already have a machine and needles and all kinds of crazy fun sewing stuff, not to mention a stash like nobodies business (more on that later) so whatever, man.

Well, shortly thereafter Melissa started a Quilt-A-Long! And if Madam Samm considers me a quilter I may as well do a QAL, right? Yay! She has been posting about 2 blocks/week and all those participating make however many blocks of each they want, post them on Flickr, and when all is said and done and we all have our tops assembled, there will be a winner! Yay! Another giveaway of sorts! Of course I'm excited to join. Each block has 5 different sizes for the inside block to be (before sashing) and she's posted 5 of the 6 blocks thus far. She's doing 6 of each block but that requires me to make more choices so I've decided to make 1 of each size of each block so in the end I will have 30-12 1/2 inch blocks. My quilt top before sashing will be 5x6 feet, whatever size bed that fits is beyond me but that's what it will be. Yes, I have made all 5 (25 total) blocks so far and get this (this being where the size of my stash comes into perspective): I've made them all using Only scraps, Mostly (98% maybe?) PINK scraps. If I have that many PINK SCRAPS, what does the rest of my stash look like? I'll tell you one thing, I really don't like pink all that much. I'll tell you something else though, much of my stash is hand-me-downs. So what does my stash look like? I won't show you. Tempting to photograph it (in the multiple rooms that it's in) but no, that means I would have to make some order of it first.

I have a Flickr now, only for posting to the QAL. I think my handle there is Mamajes. It's nothing special, just my quilt blocks, and not very good photos of those at that, but I have it!

Oh, and Melissa is having a giveaway right now, too! For some threads, for quilting! Haven't actually started the quilting part of quilting yet, but I have a dream... A dream that will never happen... Involving my in-laws, Christmas, a quilt frame, and a happy extended family that enjoys each other company. *sigh* Like I said, not likely, but a girl can dream...

Oh, what do I plan on doing with this quilt? Well, if it's not too ugly when I'm done with it, and if I get it quilted before April 2012, I would like to donate it to the ALSA Flowers silent auction, After all, I did get a bunch of quilting stuff from that same auction this past April. And I really want to do something that will make a difference to someone with the stuff I make. I'm kind of growing tired of swapping for others (and in return for myself/my kids) and just straight up crafting for myself. Dorothy claims I have too much time on my hands and I say no, I have time for what I want to have time for.

And if you're still reading this, our ALSA fundraising team is raising funds again, if you're interested. You know what you get for donating, right? Well, for $25 you get Kimmy';s should be famous Cookie Recipe and for $50 you get That recipe + Kimmy's 3 favorite recipe of Mom's: Texas Beef Brisket, Jalapeno Poppers, and Mom's Potato Salad. So what are you waiting for? Go donate so you can make your family a real dinner that they will really like!

Yer Mom

2011-09-04T07:51:00.004-06:00

There, I said it.

SMS Giveaway Day

2011-05-20T09:40:00.000-06:00

Sew Mama Sew is having a giveaway day on Monday and to be a part of it I have to have my Giveaway Post up by Monday at 9am EST. Well, with how my weekend is planned, I won't be making that deadline unless I post now so here it is.

What do I have to give, you make ask? Lots of stuff. Well, lots of yarn. Lots of handspun yarn!

First up for grabs you see that first attempt at cocoons. 130 yards of local wool that I got raw. Yes, it was dirty and stinky and now it is pretty with pink bubbles in it. It is imperfect, but a lot of work has gone into it. You might think I would be a little more partial to my first attempt at something like this, but I'm not. You can have it.

Next up is 1q25 yards of superwash merino wool, tencel, and Angelina sparkle plied with yellow cotton sewing thread. You can't really see it in this picture but there is a lot of sparkle.

The third option is 80 yards of wool that I got from the Sheep Shed Studios. It is a 3 ply, self striping white/brown and black. I think this will work up nicely, like tweed. I've made a lot of this kind. I love Navajo plying!

Rules:

I don't really care if you follow me. In fact, I would probably prefer it if you didn't. I'm not promoting a shop or this blog or even my spinning really, though it will be on sale at the Roswell, NM Farmer's Market this summer if anyone is interested.
I just like giving things away. I like making other people happy, and when I make someone a winner chances are I made them happy.

I also really like mail. So on to the "rules!"

1) I am limiting this to the USA and Canada only. Sorry all you foreigners, but I do have a budget.

2) The winners have to send me a postcard or letter in return. Hey, I told you I love mail. I'm not requesting anything else of you or trying to sell you anything. If I don't get anything out of this then why should I send you something?

3) Giveaway closes May 25th, as per SMS rules.

4) Make sure I have a way to contact you if you are the winner!

5) Basically just leave a comment on this post to enter. That's all you really need to know, right?

The third yarn will only be sent if I get enough comments. How about... 150? That's not irrational, is it?

I will probably try to find some extras to shove in the boxes for the winners, but I have no idea right now what extras might make it in there. Maybe some super dooper awesome Wildtree All Natural Foods samples? Maybe, we'll see.

Oh, and if you leave a comment that I like enough you may get a little treat even if yo don't win, just because I am cool like that.

AMAZING

2011-05-04T10:08:00.000-06:00

AMAZING

I am amazing. You see that poncho? I made it. No, I mean, I REALLY made it. From scratch. The only thing I didn't do was shear the sheep. But I did get the fleece raw, wash it, comb it, dye it and card it, spin it, and crochet it. You know why I did all of this?

AMAZING

Because she is amazing.

They are amazing.

ALSA Fundraiser

2010-09-25T14:10:00.000-06:00

This is the letter I wrote to our Christmas list this year:

Dear friends and family,

You may have heard that our sister Kim has been sick for several years with ALS. Our family participates in a fundraiser for the ALSA each year.

Recap: While attending college and working multiple jobs in Idaho, our sister Kim was diagnosed in 2000 with ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. They believed she had had it since 1997, when she was 19 years old.

ALS is a neuromuscular disease that basically kills the cells that carry message from your brain to your muscles. There is no known cause or cure.

The ALS Association is a non profit organization that helps people who have ALS and the people who take care of them. They are the only not-for-profit voluntary health agency dedicated solely to the fight against ALS.

You may have also heard that Kim died this past April. Despite the fact that the fundraising we do now does not directly affect a member of our family, we still think it is important to raise money for the ALSA. Let’s just think of it as a “thank you” for the support they gave her all those years she suffered. There really is no way to repay them for all they did for her physically, emotionally, financially etc, but we might as well try to compensate somehow, right?

Here’s what we’re doing to raise money this year:

Recipes: Kim was always fabulous in the kitchen. In previous years’ fundraisers, Kim used family recipes to help raise money for the ALSA. This year, I am picking that back up. For a donation of $25 or more, you will get Kimbo’s Cookies, Kim’s own cookies recipe that everyone swears by. For a donation of $50 or more, you will get Kimbo’s Cookies and 3 of her favorite recipes that our mom made when we were growing up: Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos, Mom’s Peppered Beef Brisket, and Mom’s Rocking Potatoes Salad. Along with the recipes, you will also get a good dose of Kim’s sense of humor and an understanding of why she was loved by everyone she met.

Raffle: This year, we are having a raffle to show our appreciation for our supporters. Here’s how it works: If you sign up as a member (physical or virtual) of our team at web.alsa.org/goto/kimmysladybugs, you will get one entry into the raffle. For every $25 you donate or help raise, you will get one raffle ticket.

Example: If Mike N. signs up as a team member and his friend Bradley N. donates $50 under him, Mike gets 3 raffle entries (1 for signing up, 2 for raising $50) and Brad gets 2 raffle entries and all 4 recipes.

Raffle prizes: (2) Kimmy’s Favorite foods bundle from Wildtree All Natural Foods including Wildtree’s Alfredo Extraordinaire, So Quick and Easy Pizza Dough Mix, Scampi Blend, Lemon Lime Cheesecake Blend, and Heavenly Chocolate Mousse Mix. ($61 value each)

(1) Hanging glass and marble butterfly garden sculpture, from Kim’s own garden.

(1) Set of 2 carbon stainless steel Thomas Santoku kitchen knives.

(5) U.B. Funkeys: Starter kit with Lotus and Deuce.

(3) Disney Pirates of the Caribbean Mix Max Plus Media Player with MP3, game, photo, and video capabilities, 1GB memory. ($64 retail on Amazon.com)

And then some…

To donate: We would prefer if you visited our team website at web.alsa.org/goto/kimmysladybugs and made a secure donation through there. Because the walk is on the 23^rd of October, the last day to donate will be the 22^nd so we can have everything ready to go for the raffle which will take place directly after the walk.

Thank you in advance for any support you are willing to offer to this cause that is close to our hearts.

The Hansen Family

Winners!

2010-05-22T08:28:00.001-06:00

So I only got 28 comments, but I'm still going to give the first 2 yarns because I"m cool like that. Yeah, you know you love me. Well, if you're EvaSB or mamaTAVE you do. Congrats, now don't come back (unless you really want to).

I did, however, win 2 of the Sew Mama Sew giveaways, and since I am the coolest and I left an interesting fact about orangutans on another ladies blog, she has decided I deserve a special treat on top of her 2 giveaways. So I essentially won 3 items! Tempting to give all three of my yarns because of this, but since I didn't even reach my limit for the 2 of them I don't think I will. Darn, looks like I'll just have to keep it. This makes me so sad. [/sarcasm] But what should I DO with it?

Giveaway?

2010-05-17T11:53:00.002-06:00

Over at Sew Mama Sew they are having a giveaway day and while I don't really care about people visiting my blog (in fact, I really kind of like that nobody does since I only usually post once a month tops!) I do like sending things in the mail and giving things to people. Unfortunately, I didn't make a blog about a giveaway and send it in to them on time, which was by yesterday, but I still want to give something away! Like some of this yarn I've been spinning non stop like mad for no reason that is just cluttering up my life with more stuff. What am I going to do with it other than hoard it? So here's the thing, I'm gonna go enter a bunch of giveaways and if those pople doing the giveaways come visit my blog they can enter this possible giveaway. Or people from other places can enter too, like if I decide to make a post on craftster or something, because I might, you just never know. So below you see 3 yarns, hopefully. If I get 20people to post a comment on here, I will send one of them the first yarn. 30 comments, I will send the second one, 50 comments (just to be difficult, and because I KNOW I won't get that many and I really like that yarn) and I will send the third. What do you guys think? will this be a fun game or what? (I'm thinking WHAT!?)

March/April Accomplishments

2010-05-06T19:22:00.001-06:00

Looks like I forgot to do this last month, hm...

Crafting
March
Denim strip rug
Bat bag
Spider pillow
Caterpillar tote x 2
Butterfly ATC
Fabric/cardboard postcard x lots
Silverware drawer organizer
NM quilt square
Book cover
Sock Monkey
Apron
Rice/lavender heating pad
Flour glove stress ball x 2
Crocheted jar x 4
Alter Leah’s dress straps
Cupcake purse
Crocheted Easter basket for Alice
Crocheted washcloth x2
Yarn of BFL! ~¾ oz
April
Rug with G’s old shirts
Spin yarn: cannot quantify
Thought bubbles
Ribbons for Kimmie’s memorial (~200)
Thought vase
More yarn
Etched jars (wildflowers) x3
Windmill pillow
Daisy pens x3
Bluebonnet photos in glass x2 (mother’s day gifts)
Crocheted frog
More yarn
Curtains for Alice’s room, Russell’s room, Mommy/Daddy room
Crocheted jars x ?
Mend – G’s PJs
Mend Judy’s skirt
Ply Yarn

Home Improvements
March

Patch wall
Backdoor bar
Valve for waterline in front yard!
April
New couch
Clear out shed
Demolish shed

Books Read
March
Cup of Clay by Carole Nelson Douglas
The Misenchanted Sword by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Congo by Michael Crichton
Bio of an Ogre by Piers Anthony
April
A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony
Taking Flight by Lawrence Watt-Evans

In other (read: real) news, Alice is now crawling on all fours, sitting up by herself, clapping, and even pulling up on things. What a big girl she is getting to be!

Also, I think I want to participate in Sew, Mama, Sew!s May Giveaway Day. Not because I want to draw any attention to my "blog" but rather because I like to make things and I have so many things my husband would love for me to just get rid of, what better way than a giveaway? What will I give? An Apron? A small ball of yarn? Ooh, I may just have to surprise you (1 dear reader that I have). I may just have to surprise myself.

February Accomplishments

2010-03-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

I know I missed a couple days crafting-wise, so I know I won't be able to say I at least worked on something crafty each day of 2010, but whatever. Here's what happened last month in the Hansen household:

Crafting:
Bean bags x 3
Finger sweater
Crocheted camisole
Felt mustaches x 8
Fabric/cardboard BIG postcard
Lung pin cushion
Ferris wheel card
Dog treats
“Chock” monkeys x 2
Waffle cookbook
Paper
Band-aid hair clips
Beck’s needle book
Sherlock hat
Sherlock pipe needle book
Yarn – rainbow ~ #? yards
Yarn – purple/orange ~ 17 yards
Crocheted jar x 1

Home Improvements:
Electricians
Outlets in garage 4
Outlets in bathrooms 1per
Fan box in LR
Light box in front LR
Fan in Bathroom
Check heater Plug
Outside light
Outside plug by electric fence
Water heater plug
Track lights in front room
Fan/light in living room
Repair electric fence
Move fence energizer down

Books finished:
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Artisan Bread In 5 Minutes A Day by Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg
Organic Body Care Recipes by Stephanie Tourles
The Complete Hans Christian Andersen Fairytales
Yes, I read cookbooks and crafting books all the way through like they ar enovels before I ever do anything out of them.
I just barely finished HCA last night at 11 pm. That was a hard read. 803 pages. Didn't understand a bunch of it because it was written 150 years ago with many stories about Denmark etc where I've never been, but I still read it. Yay for me!

And it really bugs me how you can't just copy and paste out of MS Word into Blogger. What the heck?

NESTING

2010-02-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Nesting is the key to... confinement, which is fine by me. I'm an introvert.

What I want...

2010-02-18T13:18:00.001-07:00

I have a list of "Wants" on my computer. I think when I started it it was supposed to be between me and G but now it is all what I want. I have lists of "Music," "Books," "DVDs/Blurays," and "Other" on there. I don't want to feel ungrateful, I have a lot, but I am going to share some of what I want with you, and maybe I will do the links right...

Let's start with books, shall we?

Non Fiction

-The Artistic Mother by Shona Cole at An Artful Life because why not? I'm might already be an artistic mother, but I can always learn more. I love learning more.

-Home, Paper, Scissors by Patricia Zapata at A Little Hut OK, so I am getting this one FREE because I won a give away on her site, but I don't have it yet and I have been so excited about it since before it even came out. I don't even remember how I found her site, but I love it and I always have!

-Geometrics Crochet Math + crochet? How could life get any better?

-Bend the Rules with Fabric by Amy Karol because, again, I try what I might but I can always learn more.

-Drip. Dot. Swirl and Crumble. Crackle. Swirl Von Glitschka
Life is a Verb by Patti Digh

Fiction

-Pride and Prejudice and Zombies Adding zombies to anything will make it worth my while. Maybe this way I can read some of the "classics" and see what they are all about, eh?
-Overqualified by Joey Comeau, author of the comic A Softer World.

-I have yet to read any Anne Rice novels. I think I would like to.

Some other things I want:
-Green Star Juicer because I need a juicer and if I'm gonna get one, why not the best one?
-A spinning wheel. I want to learn to spin yarn so bad, you have no idea! I think it may be my most anticipated new craft to date! But where would I keep it? That is the big issue...
-If I can't have a spinning wheel because of space issues, I would at least like a drop spindle from Zebisis Designs. SO PRETTY!
-A food dehydrator so I can make stuff like jerky and fruit snacks and have that much less I'm spending at the grocery store. Sure, I will have to buy meat and fruit, but 1 lb of beef is much cheaper than 1 lb of jerky. AND I could make my own flavors, maybe use some Wildtree products on it, ooOOooh!!! Healthy stuff for my family, heck yeah!

So what do you guys think, am I too needy? I'm not saying I'm going to be unhappy if I don't get any or all of these things, I just thought I would share what's on my mind.

In other news, Alice got her first tooth today! Maybe early by some standards but she's already 2 months behind her brother!

Lists

2010-02-03T13:57:00.001-07:00

I am a fan of lists so much so that last year I started keeping a bunch in folder on my desktop. I have a list of "Wants" that includes music, movies, books, etc that I want. I have a list of crafts I want to do/want to learn/need to finish. I have a list of projects we need to get done around the house. And this year I have started a list of ACCOMPLISHMENTS. This list I am keeping to help me keep track of what we have actually done because while I love taking things off of my other lists, when I do they just disappear; I have no record of them. That's not cool. So you wanna know what I did in January?

Crafting:
Sock monkeys x 4
Finger sweaters x 2
Felt cat toy
Etched glass
Cowl
Crocheted rose hair clips x 8
Crocheted hanging jars x ?
Book box w/ rub on letters
Stitch markers x 4
Bottle cap pin cushion
Paper
Paper bowls
Alice in wonderland ATCs x 3
Bird House
Caterpillar bag
Feather vial necklace
Apple trivet
Fabric postcards x 6
Felt mustache pencil toppers x 24

Home Improvements:
Fans in kids’ rooms
Quote on electric

Also in the word document I have a section for Books but since I didn't technically finish any last month, there are none on the list.

My goal this year is to do at least one crafty thing a day. I'm not saying FINISH one thing/day, but at least work on something. I have been doing swaps on craftster.org and those are helping me muchly greatly in the daily creation department. It is motivating and thoroughly enjoyable. It also adds to my anxiety. Ah well, that's a topic for another day.

Some random thoughts

2010-01-05T13:43:00.001-07:00

Yay! Happy Holidays! I'm happy they're over. Russ now has too many toys and I really need to weed through them and see which I want to save for Alice and which I want to donate to something else. I am not looking forward to this. I got diamond earrings from G... let's just say he did better last year with the sewing machine. I will keep the rest of those thoughts to myself for now. He got, among other things, a super-dooper-bad-a** tool chest! I am the best wife ever you guys!

     So I was talking to my MIL at Christmas about the whole "Trying to only buy from the USA" goal I had (and failed miserably at) this year. Turns out she wasn't saying "It's pointless; why bother?" like G led me to believe but rather "That's a really good idea. I'll try it, but OH! Darn near impossible!" It really made me happy that something I thought made sense to my MIL and she agreed. This doesn't happen too often. I usually have to hold my tongue when she expresses her opinion of my opinion just so G himself doesn't kill me for the harsh words I would like to share with him mother. But we agreed. And we agreed that it's just about impossible to take on such actions.

     And on that topic, it IS impossible to buy anything at Target Made in the USA. Yeah, my aunt gave me a gift card to Target and while we were there last night nothing I wanted was made in the USA. I ended up buying some pants made in Cambodia and some socks (to make monkeys) that were made in CHINA but that was all I could bring myself to buy. I still have 20$ and really don't want to use it but it's 20$, you know? Maybe I'll just put it towards the next season of whatever TV show we need the next time we need more visual entertainment.

     Vienna Sausages are yucky.

    Inspired by Rhonda at Down to Earth, I have quit using my dishwasher. In fact I haven't used it in over 3 weeks, which is much longer than most of my goals. My goal started with trying to get them done every morning, and while that doesn't always happen, nor does it happen everyday, I'm still only doing them by hand. I do get them done most days and the days I don't the reason is more along the lines of there not being enough to want to use a whole sink full of water on than me just being lazy. Some my question my motives but I think it's obvious: when I start the day doing something productive I have a more productive day. Makes sense, no? And, to be completely weird, I have found it to be rather enjoyable.

     It has come to my attention that people have commented on my blog! Oh! And not people I know, either! Amazing. I don't think I really have an opinion on this. Something I do have an opinion on, however, is people who leave rude comments. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but just because I don't have the same opinion as you doesn't mean I am unlearned or "haven't done my research." So if you're going to leave a comment, don't be a bitch about it, and if you find that difficult then at least don't be anonymous. Anonymous, rude comments suck and will get deleted.

Christmas Time!

2009-12-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

So my plan for Christmas was to make most presents. What I didn't make I wanted at least handmade, preferably local, but handmade in general. And what I didn't get handmade I at least wanted made in the USA, definitely not Made in China. This worked mostly. In the above picture you can see what I made for my mother in law, Lynda. G's family is so hard to buy for. Segen wants everything, Bill doesn't really want anything, and Lynda buys everything she wants. So what do you make/get the lady who can buy it all herself? Bags to help with her purchases. I thought it clever. I have also made sock monkeys, finger puppets, and etched glasses and I'm planning on making today or tomorrow some bracelets.

The last part of my resolution, the whole all USA nothing China part, was really freaking hard! I honestly believe that the ammount of items we buy that are imported is a large factor in why our economy sucks so much. Why do we send our money overseas? Why don't we help our own people and buy local more? G was talking to his mom about it and she made the point that our country is programmed this way and me trying to shop local (US local) isn't going to make a difference. I'm not going to the change the world. Here is my disclaimer: I am not planning on changing the world. I am not trying to change the world. I'm trying to change myself and teach myself and hopefully my children in the future smarter shopping habits. It's the same reason I recycle and save things I can't recycle to use in crafts. It's the same reason I'm trying to become less materialistic. Why do we have so many things? And why are a large majority of these things Made in China?

As it stands Amber's present was made in Germany and I got some Lego's for Russ (couldn't help it) and a game made in Mexico. And, 3 days before Christmas, we have 6 presents left to go AND we need to get something for my sister for her graduation, which was last week, yes I suck I know. But we are getting there.

Cord Blood

2009-11-19T15:56:00.001-07:00

So I've been meaning to do a post about CORD BLOOD for a while now, but I haven't wanted to put the effort into it so this will just be really short.

You know what cord blood is? It is your babies raw genetic material, plain and simple. Stem Cells are a big issue of debate, but they shouldnt be. There are so many stem cells thrown out every time someone has a baby. Most people don't know you can save/donate your cord blood stem cells because it is illegal for doctors/staff to broach the topic to you, which again is stupid! There is nothing unethical about cord blood stem cells! If anything, it is good because it saves that much from going to wherever genetic waste goes! If you don't save it or donate it then it goes into the waste bin. Personally, I think that is ridiculous. I have saved it from both of my children. Here is a good site to get more info on what can be done with Cord Blood and what they are trying to do with it: blog.cordblood.com

I got a call from CBR-Cord Blood Registry, where we saved our kids' cord blood-about our collection for Alice. Turns out you need at least 100 million stem cells to creat a viable collection. Average collections run about 250 million, which means Russell's collection was just about average at 290 million. Alice has a count of 1,502,000,000 cells. That's over a billion! That's 15 times the minimum! Isn't that great? I am so happy.

Wish List Meme

2009-11-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?

1. Spinning wheel (or at least a pretty drop spindle from http://www.etsy.com/shop/zebisisdesigns)
2. Some pretty rovings to go with said drop spindle (from my favorite etsy yarn shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/knit)
3. A full night's sleep
4. A yard
5. A place to store all of my crafty stuff.
2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?
I can't really think of any at all.
3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?
Resin.
4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?
My alarm clock. I asked for it in 3rd grade and I still have it and use it 16 years later. Shyeah, I'm a nerd.
5. What items are on your kids' wish lists this year?
Russ wants the Handy Manny Play Set they have on display at Target. I think Mimi and Grandpy are getting it for him. Alice wants her real food supply to stop running out every few days. That Silimac stuff doesn't make her happy, and it doesn't make her poop happy either!
6. What is your favorite holiday food?
Ham. I love ham.
7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?
I learned how to etch glass and one of my sisters is getting a set of glasses. And I'm crocheting a bunch too. Some of our neices are getting some crocheted finger puppets. They are so great RUss wants a set for his stocking.
8. What is your favorite holiday movie?
Nightmare Before Christmas - I always thought of it more for Christmas than Halloween
The Muppet Christmas Carol - Hello! Muppets! Christmas! Can it get any better?
9. Favorite holiday song?
TSO has some great music, but the latest Mighty Mighty Bosstones CD has a great song on it about being together. Love it! Totally recommend that album for everyone. It is very happy compared to their old stuff.
10. Favorite holiday pastime?
I like to to do the tree. Fun stuff! Last year I made a bunch of ornaments that weren't really fragile and wouldn't hurt Russ if he ate them, which he did, and that was a lot of fun. I think I need to do that again but he can help this year!

Halloween was almost cancelled

2009-11-04T14:20:00.002-07:00

but I'm glad I got feeling better because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten this shot!

Alice

2009-10-20T08:16:00.000-06:00

Here she is! Sorry this has taken so long, my computer is over heating.

Alice Lynn Hansen

Born October 9, 2009 2:06 am

8 lbs 6 1/2 ozs; 20 1/2 inches long

Lots of brown hair (?) and looks just like her daddy's baby pictures.

Birthed without real drugs, btw. That's right: I'm a real woman

Cricut Meme and room

2009-09-19T09:13:00.000-06:00

This is contest entry for those crazy folks at TodaysMama and Cricut. Be sure to check out Cricut's cool new cartridges and the chance at $30,000 in travel for you and your friends at the Great Gypsy Escape site! http://bit.ly/FWcud

Great Escape Meme
1. If you could escape to anywhere in the world where would it be?
Somewhere new, Oregon maybe. Always wanted to go to Oregon. I think it's the hippy in me trying to escape.
2. What song do you play when you are by yourself in the car?
Cindy Lauper and Madonna (What can I say? I'm a girl. shh... don't tell)
3. If you had a night to yourself, and money was no object, what would you do?
Currently I would say SLEEP but I know that's not what the question is asking so...
I am assuming they also mean I would NOT BE PREGNANT so again...
Go to a concert (Toadies, Chili Peppers, I wouldn't be too picky), hang out in the mosh pit the whole time, and if I had the energy afterwards, lots and lots of sex. They want honesty, right?
4. What is your guilty pleasure?
Creating for no reason. Oh, I already have a bag full of bags that I don't use? Heck, let's make another one!
5. What is the farthest place you have traveled away from your home?
In recollection, Philadelphia last September. I thought being in the middle of downtown would really not be cool, but it was. We walked EVERYwhere.
6. Last book that you couldn't put down?
Terry Gross' "All I Did Was Ask"
7. When you want to escape into another time, what movie do you watch?
Well this is a gay question. At our louse, we like to escape into the future: the post-apocalyptic future! We are now making sure Russ in bed before we watch them, but we like stuff like the "Resident Evil" movies and vampire movies. Woo!
8. What is your favorite local escape?
The internet. Roswell doesn't have anywhere to escape to.
My favorite NEAR local escape, however, would be Ruidoso which is about an hour away. Casinos, put put golf, a nice strip to walk up and down window shopping... All things Roswell doesn't offer.
9. How do you escape on a budget?
Dessert. Dessert is always a nice escape. Throw out what we know and go for the Mile High Ice Cream Pie, heck yeah. If there is ice cream involved, I have escaped, especially if there is peanut butter involved.
Best food you've ever had while on vacation.
Chinese food at a mall in Cancun. Amazing! Five course meal, peppermint tea, shark fin soup... Like I said, it was amazing

And since I should have had this on my last post and don't want to overpost myself, here is the finished room for our Alice. Man, we sure are hoping this is going to be a little girl. G would be so upset if we did all that work with the fairy wall paper and it turned out to be a boy...

News and fun things

2009-09-17T09:54:00.001-06:00

Russ has been saying some awefully funny things here lately...

-He refers to himself as "Shull," as in he's speaking in the 3rd person. While this would bother me with anyone else, this is my kid and he's not even 3 yet so...

-One thing he does say that bother the heck out of me: He calls me Jessie now, or "Sheshie" in his terms. AH! I almost want to scream at him, almost. He gets corrected every time he does it, though sometimes I make the mistake of answering to it before I correct him.

-He has added the word "so" to his vocabulary as "So tired, mama" or "So sorry Daddy! So sorry!"

-Last night while we were playing Rock Band (for the first time in months) he took the mic from me and shoved in the cats face and said "Sing, Eddie! Sing!" She was unamused, but I had to laugh.

Oh, and he already holds his pens/pencils like his dad does.

As far as the pregnancy goes, I saw my midwife yesterday and she said this little girl is going to be probably 1 to 1 1/2 pounds lighter than Russ. Everyone has been telling me how little my tummy is and it's really bugging me. I hate it when everyone repeats the same thing. I am not too little! Bugger off, people. (Hee hee, I recently found out what the term "bugger" really means.. hee hee!)

Also, my friend Leah and her sister came over the other day and dolled me up and we took prenatal pictures, similar to the ones I did when I was large with Russ, but with a short black wig and pink fake eyelashes. Sweet! Preview for you, but that's all you get unless you are a sister of mine:

Doesn't really look like me but whatever.

Leah is also helping with my baby shower and we were making jokes about having some of these photos up at the little shin-dig! HA! I can just see her mom's face. Hell, Sariah's face would be enough for me.

On the crafty front, I finished G's rug. Did I mention that before? He got new shirts for work relatively recently and while I was planning on ripping the old ones up for rags, I decided to rip them into strips and crochet a rug instead. Oh yeah, I think was complaining about the hooks breaking. Well, I went and bough some large metal hooks and this one turned out MUCH better than the one I have in "Alice's" room. Very uniform, very comfy. Eleven shirts made a rug about 30" x 42". I am please with myself. My right hand was swolen Monday because of it, but it was totally worth it.

Also, I am signed up for my first swap on Craftster.com. Already got my partner! AH! I am so nervous! I made sure to sign up for one that the birth of my child will not interrupt my participation in too much: the send out date isn't until November 20th so whenever this kid comes I should still have time to work on my goodies for her. It is a Christmas stocking swap, and I was thinking of doing one of my "burlesque" stockings but her favotire colors are orange and lime-green so we'll see what I come up with. Ah! So intimidated!

And G is going to have to go back to working every other Saturday which means the work we do around the house will be almost coming to a halt again. *sigh* Two weeks until that starts again, but each of these weekends there is an aution in the AM so we probably won't get much done. Poop and stuff!

And I have a house I have been putting off cleaning so that's all I've to say for now.

No More Plastic!

2009-09-04T08:55:00.002-06:00

Crochet hooks, that is. But they don't make metal hooks in the larger sizes! AHH! G got new shirts for work, but since they all have the company logo on them Unifirst won't take back the old ones. So we get them. I was thinking of just cutting them up and using them for rags, and then I decided it would be a better idea to cut them into strips and make a rug for the garage out of them for when G gets the work bench in there. And I have started it and it is looking fabulous but... I have broken 2 hooks on it so far. The first one wasn't that far into it, so I just started again with a bigger hook, but a shirt and half later SNAP! No good. Superglue and duct tape didn't work to fix it, so I've been using just a half sized hook for now... Which will not work for long because it is hard and hurts my hands more and takes longer. *sigh*

But we've moved most of the stuff out of the spare room and we are going to paint it this weekend. *SQUEE!* (that was a happy noise). We got the border Tuesday and went for the paint that night. I am so excited! Sure, the pink/blue cow exploded on the walls was interesting but now I have a purpose for painting the room and it's going to be so happy! We've decided to convert Russell's toddler bed back into the crib and give him the twin sized bed from the other room. HE loves it so much! Tuesday night we still had his "new" bed (which he happened to have been made on, a little TMI for you) in the spare room and I lay down on it and he brought me a blanket and thought we were going to sleep on it that night, so the next night when we moved it into his room he was so excited! Now he spends have the day sitting on his bed "reading" books! I still need to move some things around in there, but we are going to get all of his toys and books moved in there with some shelves etc and then I doubt if he will want to come out of there ever for at least a couple days. I think if we moved a TV in there with his DVDs that might solidify his dependence in there, but we won't do that. One movie a day still...

I just got the first shower I have had since... Saturday? Sunday maybe? I feel clean. I can comb my fingers through my hair again...

Busy, we have been

2009-08-23T07:39:00.004-06:00

Since Russ is not going to make much of an appearance in this post, I would like to start it by saying that he told me I'm handsome the other day. I don't think he quite understands the concepts of masculine and feminine adjectives, so I was rather flattered, especially since it was at about 7am.
But yes, his parents have been busy this week. I think I only sat down to Minesweeper once this week. I played 3 games rather than 50. Yay! G has been happy with tools lately. He says he is learning to enjoy making things. I am so happy. His grandfather was a carpenter and I say it's about time he took a real interest in such handiwork. I decided a while ago that the best solution to the bookcase problem we were having--not being able to find the anchors to keep the bookcases from crushing my child(ren) and the fact that we couldn't store anything on the bottom halves of any of the 4 3'x6' bookcases we had in our house--was to build shelves all the way around the living room. G did not agree, and indeed our friend Mr B agreed with him which gave him more reason not to disagree with me. Well, the need was finally strong enough that we compromised and went to Homes Depot and spend a lot money and built some red oak shelves around our space. We are all impressed.

Excuse the mess and limited view, but this is what I have now. Maybe I will update it later, once we get everything arranged better. He has enjoyed it so much he wanted to build the toy drawers/shelves I had in mind for Russ' books and toys. I said something about needing space out here for my sewing stuff as well and he was like "I CAN MAKE IT!" I like this side of my husband, though all the new tools he is "needing" might make it a little tight in our checkbook this month. But I am okay with it. Tools are nice to have around.

As far as my busyness, oh joy! I have been having fun with yarns and using fabric scraps as yarn and big crochet hooks and paint and pictures... Oh my! First of all, I've been trying to hard to get that room cleaned out but you know how I am: so many treasures I can't go for long before needing to stop to make/finish/tediously destroy something. I started with the closet and am getting rid of a bunch of old clothes but there were some sweaters in there that I thought would make some nice yarn so I Googled how to harvest yarn and did. Thus far I have done 2 sweaters and it was quite different than what I expected. They were both chenille yarn so when I was finished with them I put their fibred together and made a mesh market bag. Thus far. There was so much in just the pink one... I think I am going to double strand it and make a net to hang in the corner of Alice's room for stuffed animals. We had one of those in our room when we were little, but it wasn't pink and shiny and chenille and homemade. Ooh, I am so excited!

I also found my pile of projects I have started that are not quite finished yet. I have been meaning to get around to them for a while now but there are reasons why I haven't finished them yet. Like the one I DID finish last night: it was a rug I was making from sewing fabric scraps into long strips, braiding, and sewing in rounds. The hand sewing in rounds part sucked! So while G and B were playing killing each other one the XBox, I ripped it all apart, made the strips into one long string (instead of 3) and began a crochet rug instead. I learned many things from this experience. 1: I don't like to crochet with denim strips. But altogether, it went much faster than sewing it did, it's not quite as lumpy, and it's finished! I can finally take it off the list! WOOHOO! I had to make more strips from--this time from a few pair of jama pants--but it is still not very big. I edged it in purple and I think I am going to use it in Alice's room. What do you think? Do I rock or what?

My next yarn experiment is to be "plarn." Aren't you excited to hear about that?

Oh, and I have finally just about finished my Mother-In-Law's birthday present, who's birthday was in June I might add. It is a pink table with pictures of her family all over it. Like, pictures of her mom and grandma and her when she was 7 and stuff. This was a fun project. I even printed/cut out yellow roses and put them all over it, since she loves roses and Bill loves yellow and it is for both of them, kind of. It is pretty nifty. I might have to photograph it for my personal "look what I made" catalog. All we have left to do is pour the epoxy on it and call it haul it over there. G is excited too because it is getting this table out of the garage and it has been taking up LOTS of space. But it's almost done! Hurrah!

Don't be mad, please?

2009-08-07T10:23:00.005-06:00

I couldn't help myself; I had to do it. Yes, his curls were the cutest ever, and we got compliments wherever we went, but they were just too unruly for me.

Silly, coming from a girl like me. Growing up I never let anyone touch my hair. I still don't typically brush it: why brush it's just going to be in a ponytail all day? But none of that matters. His was unruly and I am his mom so I cut it off! It will grow back before too long. Can you believe this is only his 3rd haircut? He will be three in less than 4 months! I'm pretty sure his first was last September, followed by one in November...

And I don't like how this blogger thing uploads my pictures...It's a pain in my butt.

Paper Embroidery

2009-07-31T07:47:00.009-06:00

So while I had my niece Amber here, she was supposed to go tot he library for the "Tweens" activity and learn Paper Embroidery but she ended up leaving that day instead of Sunday and was really disappointed that she was going to miss it. So I decided (since I'm such a great aunt and all) to research it online and teach her myself! Not only did I come across as super cool (which I can fake sometimes) but I also learned a new skill! Wee! Happy! I meant to post about this before but I didn't because I thought I would have already told my family about this blog, oops, and I didn't want to spoil the surprise since I sent my creation to Kim for her b-day two weeks late. What do you think? Wanna do it yourself? stitchingcards.com has few free patterns. Yeah, they want you to try it and then buy some of their other patterns but the prices are all in Euros so I don't think I'm making said purchases, though they do have some really cool ones. I used their free designs for Kim's card. The butterfly with the beads was even not that bad, though I think I let Amber down by not helping her finish hers.

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And in other crafting news: I am using my first sock yarns, purchased from knit.etsy.com, where they dye yarns and rovings and I'm pretty sure they hand spin some yarn, though I don't think the two I bought are handspun. I am attempting to crochet my first pair of socks. So far I have made the leg of one sock and I realized it will be too small for me. I have never had reason to check my gauge before but I guess if I want to start making wearable garments then I should, eh? It is a new experience, and I am so down for it. Something else I want to learn to do is spin yarn, and I will someday. I hope I can get some the roving from Knit It Up. SO pretty!

MONEY

2009-07-27T15:18:00.003-06:00

The WT party at Emily's house was mostly a success. Other than the screaming children and the more-people-than-I-comfortable-addressing-at-once-ness of it all, we had a lot of sales. I think there were 10 tickets I entered into the system, Emily got her free 1/2 gallon of GSO for having a party over $500, and I made a little cash. I'm happy. We did not, however, get the ALS fundraiser thing going, because Emily wanted to do it after the WT thing, even though I told her it wasn't a good idea... But I will be hosting a tasting here in a couple weeks so I will do it then. No worries, all is not lost, we will raise money for the ALSA and WT at the same time...

As far as other money matters go, we paid off our first loan last week. It was one of my student loans, and it was the one with (come to find out) the LOWER interest rate. If I had known that last year when I started budgeting... But whatever. I used to put extra principle on all of our loans (car, house, school...) and then I got this spreadsheet that helps with budgetting and I realized it I put all the extra principle I was paying towards 1 loan at a time, I would not only get to knock some of them off the list, but I would get them all paid sooner. So that's what I did. I AM SO HAPPY! I hate debt.

Right after I sent the final check off for that loan, however, I read my pen-pals blog and discovered that not everyone is having great times financially. I knew this already anyway, but it really put it into perspective for me. Yeah, my family growing up was never really high class, and indeed some of my siblings are not where they should be with their finances, but this girls husband lost his job due to the company having to layoff people and while they did have some savings, it doesn't look likethey will have enough to pull through this recession we're going through. I wonder what will happen. You hear about this kind of stuff all the time, but when it happens to someone you know, however distantly, it really hits home. They have had to start cutting hours a little at G's office, as in since they are so slow right now noone has to work on Saturdays, but fortunately G is on salary so it doesn't affect us other than I get my husband home all day for about 2 more days every month. That is GOOD for me! Who knew a recession coul dhave it's benefits?

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2009-07-21T07:54:00.005-06:00

Yesterday was good. I spent most of the afternoon with a friend of mine and discovered some interesting things, and Russ spent time with her son discovering new things. (No discoveries were "in that way," I might feel the need to add.)
As for Russell's discoveries, he and Porter dressed up as cowboys and were going to explore a haunted house. Oh, dear! All with the creative influence of porter's 10 year old sister, I might add. They were so cute! Do you see? Russ was being the lookout!
As for my discoveries, we will start with the fact that the kick off for the ALSA walk was last Friday, which also happens to have been Kim's birthday (she even got a special birthday wish from the local news team!). So while I was with Em, we were talking some about WildTree and some about ALS and she not only decided to host a tasting, but she wants to have it part tasting/part ALSA fundraiser. As in we would be selling "Kimbo's cookies recipes" along with the WildTree stuffs. Which is great because that is what I was planning on doing at my next WT party! Woah! Come to find out, she decided a few months ago that she needed to start praying for service opportunities. Odd, I decided that a few months ago as well. Woah! Granted, Ihaven't been as diligent about it (been forgetting to pray, EEK!), but still...
So, not only do I have a WT party set up for Saturday, I also have a sort of ALSA fundraiser set up. I am excited. Like I said, yesterday was a good day.