My Sleepy Valentine

I am writing this late. I just washed a bunch of laundry (well... Mike washed a bunch of laundry and I sort of helped fold it) yesterday and I was looking at the place mats that I made last week just in time for our Valentine's Day dinner. Seriously, I finished about one hour before.


I decided I wanted to make these as soon as I bought the Alexander Henry fabric a few weeks ago. It took me just a bit of time to find the stuff I wanted to coordinate it with. The piecing was easy peasy! I just did 3" strips of the hearts, 2 1/2" strips of the pink and black, and 1" strips of the white. I sewed them all directly to the red flannel (I bought 10 yards of it on the last JoAnn's after Thanksgiving $.99 flannel extravaganza) that I was using as a thin batting. It gave it the perfect amount of quilting. I backed them in a nice rosy pink and then did a piano key stiped binding. They are cute. I only got three done, because I calculated 3" short on the black and white binding. Good thing the Van Wagoner family is only 3. :) The unfinished was thrown on the WIP pile and will hopefully be done by next year.

We had a great dinner. I was in charge of dessert and Mike handled the rest. Boy, did he out do himself. Mama Mia!


We had a beautiful salad, asparagus with Parmesan cheese, and steak (no, those are not salad plates, the steaks were that huge). I also rolled my very first sushi. These were just simple rolls... cucumber, avocado, and crab in a delicious garlic sauce. Yummy. And, mine don't look so bad... not good, but not bad.


Cohen didn't last very long. He didn't want anything we were eating, so he ate yogurt and chicken nuggets. Delicious. He was, however, quite excited about dessert. I made brownies, topped with ice cream and hot fudge. Of course, after all that food, Mike and I saved ours until about midnight.

This is Mike (sorry I put this picture up - your blog premiere) announcing dessert... look at the excited kid in the background!

He is now heavily concentrating on eating all of it.

The rubbing of the eyes.

So drowsy he can't handle it.

What was left of his dessert.

Mission aborted. He put up a good fight against his giant brownie. This actually worked well for us because Cohen's early bedtime allowed for a nice, quiet evening. We had a great Valentine's day. We didn't buy gifts, just sat around the table and enjoyed each other... oh, and ate WAY TOO MUCH.

We have a winner....

But continue to leave comments. Someday I'll be like those magic bloggers that can announce a freebie and 100+ people comment. Wouldn't that be great??


T... you are the winner!! Email me at lori (dot) vanwagoner (at) gmail (dot) com and send me your address. Also, because our son's have the same name, HE WINS, TOO!

Marshie is from homestarrunner.com. Homestarrunner.com was the first website (besides my email services) that I visited on a daily basis. I love it, still. It is so juvenile. How embarrassing? But, everytime I eat a marshmallow I say, "Sup, Fools?"

According to wikipedia...
Marshie is infamously - and intentionally - creepy. His commercials have featured non-sequitur rantings, disturbing close-ups, inappropriate sound effects, faintly desperate pleas and even a behind-the-scenes nervous breakdown. He also tends to announce his appearances by uttering hackneyed slang phrases such as " 'Sup fools!" and "Oh snap!" in a heavy-handed attempt to convince kids to like him. However, this technique is essentially nullified by Marshie's innate creepiness, leaving the acceptance he seeks safely out of reach.

Oh wait - maybe I shouldn't love Marshie so much... I promise, bribing you to comment was not my attempt to convince kids to like me. Eeeps!

Anyway, congrats T! Send me an email and I'll get you a little goodie.

Sup Fools? Marshie Here...

Look what I got in the mail from Adrienne. Aren't they just the cutest things. They are the softest little stuffed marshmallows I've ever seen. In fact, they are the only stuffed marshmallows I've seen. But anyway, they are great diet food! Chewing on them might actually burn calories. ;)

I've received a lot of good mail lately. I've been participating in the Sweat Shoppe Swap on Craftster.org. The thing is, you make 5-10 identical items and then you get 5-10 items from others. It is a crazy time, but so worth it. My loot is awesome!
I got this pouch, and this pouch, and these Valentines, and this tool case, and these cards, and this little robot and rocket ship, and a little crochet monkey face (sorry no pics) so far. I still have stuff on the way. Yahoo!

I also got this cutest little pear pincushion from Stacy's shop. She has a great free tutorial so you can make your own, but I couldn't help myself. This little red velvety fruit was WAY tempting. My picture is way junkie. Look at her shop for a better view. Thanks Stacy!


This is the blanket I made in my alone time last Friday. It turned out pretty good and was a hit at the shower. I guess because I come from such a handmade family, I thought that is what you do. I forget that not everyone uses their free time to make things. I love the "where do you find the time to do this?" comments. I MAKE TIME TO MAKE THINGS. I got all of the fabric at JoAnn's. I hand stitched around the flowers and then did the binding with my machine.

I know there aren't a lot of you out there that read this thing, however, for those of you that do I have a little trivia. If you know where I got the title of this post from, I'll make you a prize and send it to you in the mail. Just post a comment with your best guess. Heck, if no one gets it, the best guess will get a prize in the mail. You all have a week! Good luck!

Moments of Silence

I just feel I need to make mention of the horrible occurrence last night at one of my favorite places in Salt Lake. An 18 year-old gunman shot up Trolley Square last night. You can read more about it here.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of the families of those who where murdered and to those who had to witness such an awful event.

I'll post my wonderful Valentines Day placemats I made in the safety of my own home last night tomorrow.

Alone. ALONE. Alone.

I am so wierd. I long for quiet moments when I am alone and I think I will get a lot done. Mike is off playing with his buddies and Cohen is already asleep. I have great plans to finish a few projects. However, I am watching What Not to Wear, eating Oreos and Milk, and checking email. I have a baby blanket that needs a little more work and it needs to be done before 9:00 am tomorrow. YIPES! I don't know why I can't just buckle down and get the projects done. But, I am much more productive when I have to multitask. Okay... I'll go finish the blanket. I think i am going to cheat and machine bind it. I've already hand stitched the rest, but it is crunch time. Plus, the recipient can't sew or quilt. Will she really know the difference? I'll post pics by the end of the weekend.

I got soul but I'm not a soldier

For a lack of a better title, now you know what I am listening to. My office has been so empty lately, that I decided to ditch the earphones and just turn up the speakers. Woo. I love it. However, when our box salesman came in I got a little nervous and embarrassed because I was listening to "Why Me Lord?" by Johnny Cash and he asked if I was in a sad mood today. Haha!

So, Mike just called to let me know that the wireless high speed Internet is installed and working. Yahooo! We've been mooching free Internet access from the University of Utah for the last four years or so, and suddenly we were shut off. What the? Okay, it wasn't sudden and we figured it was bound to happen. You see, the U is so nice and lets all enrolled students have access to their network for F.R.E.E. It is dial-up and it is always extra slow because I am sure there are quite a few kids using it, but it was FREE. So, the key to getting access to the free Internet is to be enrolled in school. Whelp, that disqualifies us right there on account of I graduated December 2003 and Mike graduated December 2005. We've just sort of been waiting for it to happen. One day while trying to log in, I got the "You no longer have access to this network." Oh well. It was good while it lasted, plus we got an extra year out of it. I am sure we'll eventually adjust to our new $40/month bill. Eek.

I am excited, though. I won't have to do all of my uploading of piccies from work (I'm sure my boss will be stoked about that, too) and I can sit and read your beautiful blogs at home in the wee hours of the morning (between the gym and work when all I can hear is snoring) while eating breakfast. I wake up at 5:05 am every day so I can meet Genell at the gym. I've been doing this for the past 2 years and I love it - although I love it more during the summer than winter. My favorite time of day is when the workout is over, I am dressed and showered and I can sit and eat my breakfast with towel around my head. It is about 7:20 am.

Although I am used to my schedule, yesterday I was soooooooooo tired. I had to leave work about 3:45 pm because I was literally dosing off while trying to format Supplement Facts labels. It just wasn't working. I went home and hurried to clean up Cohen's train set and then turned on HGTV and promptly fell asleep on the couch. I woke up just after 6:00 pm and wondered if it was morning. I then put dinner in (one of my 30 premade meals - veggie lasagna) and fell back asleep watching Design on a Dime. Mike and Cohen rolled in just after 7:00 just as the oven timer went off. We ate and then put together puzzles then put Cohen to bed. I kept falling asleep while Mike was reading. Mike had to wake me up to put me to bed and it was only 9:00 pm. Sheesh. The alarm went off at 5:05 am this morning and I was all better and ready to go. I was just so tired.

I think it is weird that I didn't make anything yesterday. A day without crafting seems so unfulfilling. However, obviously, I needed the sleep. But I did make this cute little guy on Monday night.


It is a surprise for Lori. She doesn't know it is coming (unless I just blew it). She's had quite a few past weeks. First her grandfather passed away and then she fell down the stairs and broke her foot the day after her husband went out of town for the week. Poor thing. The picture doesn't do this little man justice. He is brown and pink with a yellow beak and eyes. If you look closely, you can see my reflection in the (his) right eye. I love his crazy eyes. I got the idea from browsing your blogs, adding a cute pic to my wists, and then having Ginny make me one for the owl swap. I guess he could be a pincushion if he wasn't so cute.

I think I've yakked on long enough, even though I have so much more to say. Tomorrow I'll post from home now that I don't have to wait 20 minutes for one picture to upload to flickr. YEAH, again!!

Simple Gifts

I love decorating and crafting for Valentines Day. I don't know if it is the colors, the candies, or a naked cupid flying around, but I just love the decor. I'm not super big on the acts of Valentines Day. As a young single woman, I always thought it would be such a great day when I finally snagged me a nice mate. I would be showered with gifts, flowers, and a delicious meal. Now that I've snagged my mate (how horrible does that sound?), I am more concerned about using the money to pay ahead on a bill or saving up for that new muffler (blech - I hate car troubles) that I've always wanted.


My friend Lindsey and I got together a few weeks ago and made these for all of the people that we love (Kim - close your eyes. I have a pack of these at my house that I have yet to bring you). They are a very simple project. The instructions are as follows:

1. Gather Supplies
A. Staz-On Ink in desired colors
B. Sheets of small tile (they are glued to mesh for easy laying. I got mine at Home Depot)
C. Rubber or Foam Stamps
D. Clear Sealer (I used a spray by Krylon)
E. Magnets (make sure they are strong enough to hold tile)
F. Glue gun and sticks
2. Pop tiles off of mesh backing and wipe clean with damp cloth
3. Stamp away ensuring that each layer dries before the next is applied.
4. Spray with clear coat. I'd imagine something like Mod Podge would work, too.
5. Glue the magnets to the back.

EASY PEASY JAPANEASY!

We wrapped them up in tissue paper and put them in cellophane bags. I added a bunch of confetti to the bags to add a little color. Then, I tied them up with pink and red mini rick-rack. I gave some to my mom, my MIL, grandma, my sisters, and a few friends that I cherish. I also kept a few for myself of course.

Who needs diamonds?

I think I took the "no baby" news well... don't you? Haha. I went on a little binge yesterday after work. I thought I'd stop by JoAnn's on the way home because I needed about 1/2 yard more of the camo skull fabric for some swaps. But, you'll never guess who I saw while browsing the isles...

I was so happy to see two of the beautiful prints that I have been coveting from your blogs for so long sitting happily on the shelves. I am pretty sure they were excited to see me, too. They had their arms open, and I had a 50% off coupon, so it was fate. Yahoo!


They are so beautiful that I don't even want to cut them up. The hearts will be such cute, and yet nontraditional, Valentines Day pillows. I bought a few yards, so I'll probably make a Valentines Day purse for myself, too. And maybe some headbands for my sisters and nieces, and... and....

On the sale table I found this weird cotton (polyester??) lacy stuff for only $1/yd. It is machine washable and everything, so I think I'll make a simple A-line skirt out of it. It will look so cute over a dark brown satin. So cute I can hardly stand it!


Then, this red and white stuff was looking rather appealing on the shelf too. So, I grabbed a couple yards of that, too. And the gray and charcoal corduroy was 70% off so I jumped on that. It is a great combo and I would like to make some pieced pillows or something. But they don't really match anything I have, so I'll be scouting out my friends decor. Do any of you have any need for something red and gray?


And then, I just bought this weird green stuff. The stripes are actually green and navy, not green and yellow. When cut into strips (I made a headband last night) it resembles those horrible square ties from 1982.


Ahhhhhhhhhhh. I haven't fabric binged in a long time and boy did it feel good. To keep with my resolution to not just buy fabric because it is a 'good deal' I had a project in mind for all of these before I got to the checkout counter... except the weird stripey green. However, I justified all 2 yards of it by making at dinky little headband when I got home. Haha. I win. Fabric really is my best friend when I need it to be.

It is not bad news.

I leave the room for not even five minutes and I come back to find Cohen sitting on the love seat listening to The Bouncing Souls as loud as my little pink wonder can play. He's so cute. After I adjusted the volume to normal, he listened for about 20 minutes and just sat smiling while looking at the screen. Silly kid.

Without diving too much into my personal affairs, I have found that we'll be putting baby #2 on the back burner for awhile. Today I had an appointment and my doctor put me back on birth control to regulate my baby brewing systems. After a 1 1/2 years of trying for #2, I guess the last thing I wanted to hear was "let's wait 6 more months". But it is okay. It is not bad news. My body just needs to become healthy and that is good. My older sister is having a baby at the end of the summer so I can shower her little one with the bits and bobs I have been making.

I have quite a few small projects that I am working on. I am really eager to go home tonight and just cut out fabric. This is weird because cutting out the fabric is the part I hate most. It seems relaxing. I need a bit of mind numbing work to take in the fact that I don't have to worry whether or not I am pregnant. It will be kind of nice.

Besides... look at cutie up there rockin' out on the iPod. Who could want anything more?

What Fun!!

I received my package from Lori yesterday and it was just so awesome. Everything was tailored to me and my decor. I loved it all.

First. Lori and I share the same name and have since adopted "Thing 1 & Thing 2". While on vacation over the holidays, she picked up these little ditties.


Cohen loves trains. Lori was so cute and made him a picture frame with trains and painted a small wooden train set for him. The words read the colors of the corresponding car. Look at Cohen back there "patiently" waiting for me to photograph his trains so he can steal them and add to the 10 he already carries around.


Lori is an amazing paper artist and has made me great things before. This time I got two wall hangings which are just beautiful.

The house:

The bird hanging that will go in my bedroom. It matches my pink and brown bird pillows perfectly. As you can see in the picture, it is paired with the match books she made me a few months ago. OH! I just love this stuff!!

I also got these great magnets to match all of the rest of the papery pink and brown goodness. The word pairing is great.


And then, as if she hadn't done enough, she sent me a pile of ephemera to play around with. I'll never be as good as her. She's a genius paper artist.


What a great swap! I couldn't have been more pleased with everything that she sent me. Thanks Lori!

Jamboree

If you read regularly, you know I am a bit addicted to the swaps on Craftster.org. I have just finished up all of my January Jamboree stuff and took pictures of about half of it. I hope my crafty swap partners aren't reading, because they haven't quite received them yet.

I'll start with Lori's loot:

Lori loves birds so I made her this great bag:
I also made her this needle book from corduroy and felt, and I appliqued a bird on the front. The button is from my mother-in-law's stash. I successfully made my first button hole. I am sure my mom showed me how to do this a million times, but I haven't used my own machine to do it yet. It is functional, but my future button holes do need more work.


I made Lori and her daughter matching headbands using Heather's simple pattern and tutorial.


This is my first knitted Panta. Yeah. I had a few issues with it because I am a beginner and I had never increased before. I used a soft, cream wool. I haven't figured out quite how to take photos of light stuff. But, it is such a fast knit and I am already working on another one for myself and then I'll start one for my sister, Lyndsey.

We also agreed to craft and send stuff to the kiddies. Her son is getting a 14" pillow cover with vintage firetrucks printed on them. I feel kind of lame that I only sent the cover, but the JoAnn's by my house was out of 14" forms and I had to get this in the post.


Lori informed me her daughter is all girly-girl, so I embroidered these flowers on some bright pink corduroy to make a tote and lined it with the most amazing Popsicle printed quilting cotton. I have no good pictures of the full bag, but here are the flowers. The leaves and stems are bright green.


And last... they both get one of my chalk mats. One side is a chalk cloth and the other is oilcloth. These are great for taking to restaurants because the kids can draw on the chalk side while they wait, and then flip it over and use the oilcloth side for a place mat. They work well and I always get good responses out of them. Here they are all rolled up with little pouches containing chalk and an eraser. Cute!
Then I stuffed a few more goodies in the pouch where I could fit them.

For Amy. I didn't get all of it photographed because i was finishing up a few things last minute. However I am sending just as much stuff. I started knitting a pair of wrist warmers for her before her birthday (which is also Christmas) that I wanted to get sent off. Of course, I was super late and just included them in this package. I made her some cork and oilcloth coasters and included a drink recipe and a few other random treats. This is lot of headbands I made. They are so fun and easy which always equals satisfying.

I love the skull camouflage the best. I think it is really cute. I also made her this bag out of the same bright pink corduroy that I used for Lori's daughters bag. I lined it with some bandanna skull fabric (after all - Amy is a pirate) and added the fabric yo-yo embellishment. I love the big sparkly button.



Anyway, I told you I was crafting...and still taking horrible photos of all of it. I am working on a pretty amazing craft tote for another swap...I KNOW...that I am pretty excited about. I got all of the inner pockets, needle rolls, and pincushions in there. I just need to sew the lining and the outer part together to make it a tote. That is the scary part. Mike wonders when I am going to make something for myself. It will come in time.

Tagged

Tagged by Kim

"According to the rules... Each player of this game starts with the "6 Weird Things about You". People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says 'you are tagged' in their comments and tell them to read your blog!"

1. I was my high school homecoming queen. This was so out of my element. I was dressed as Cyndi Lauper and had waist length crimped hair with several different colors in it. I knew all of the candidates were supposed to bring a dress just in case they won, but I thought I had no chance so I didn't bother. I am sure that bright pink tutu and stripey tights were a hit in my small Idaho town.

2. I can twirl the baton. I was part of a troop when we lived in Carson City, NV from age 5 - 9. I know it isn't cool, but I like to stay fresh on my skills. The only person who thinks it is cool is Cohen. Mike just laughs at me.

3. I really hate mass production sewing. I'm a "one of a kind" sewer because the creating part of sewing and crafting is what I like best.

4. My favorite candies are peeps and conversations hearts, and any weird sugary candy that is like unto them. I should like the sophisticated stuff like truffles and stuff, but I don't.

5. I won't eat my mashed potatoes (or any food for that matter) if the fruity stuff has touched it. I need to invest in some plates with dividers because I HATE when my food touches.

6. I still listen to punk rock music. I can't help it. I may look a little square, but I am still a rockin' and rollin' on the inside.

And...now you are all better people because you know this random stuff about me.

Calm Before the Storm

I am titling this blog this for a couple of reasons. First of all, I just took a much needed break to crafty blog land and it really helped my mind refocus. I am enjoying the delurking that is going on. It is so fun to see what everyone looks like and to learn random bits about them. If you look to the right of this post, I pretty much still look like that. I am a little fatter, a little blonder, and a little older. That picture is so weird and pixelated.

I loved these blogs entries today:

WeeWonderfuls
Wise Craft
Meshell
Moonstitches
GentlyTipToe
Stacy - the amazing seamstress

Nothing like beautiful crafts and children's artwork to make me feel better. I LOVE YOU BLOGGERS! Leave me a note if you stop by. I'd love to see if anyone really looks at this besides my few friends and family members.

So, as I mentioned a few posts ago, I work for a small health and beauty company. This morning we got an email from the CEO and founder of our company that said he is resigning. No reason and no warning. The board has been trying to figure out what to do all afternoon. It shocked us all. There are not many of us here, so this is shocking news. Our office has such a great vibe (heck... I can blog from my desk at work) and it has been interrupted. My boss took many of the perks of this job with him. I guess I'll find out what happens next week.

I am taking tomorrow off...YAY...to cook this month's meals...BOO! My friend and I started cooking a months worth of meals in one day and it is such a hellish task. Going to the grocery store is a nightmare.

Butcher: What can I get for you today?
Me: 32 chicken breasts, 4 pounds of roast, 4 pound of ground turkey...
Butcher: You feeding an army?
Me: Ummmm (sheepish grin as I try to figure out how to explain this)... sort of.

It is a long, hard day that is so worth it in the end. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have dinner sitting in the fridge thawing all day, fully prepared. All I have to do is pop it in the oven for about 30 minutes and it is good. I tell you... golden. I do tend to forget the side dishes, though. Our consumption of fresh fruits and veggies went down last month, but I am determined to fix that this month. Plus, with my New Year's resolution to lose some of my flab, we're making a lot of broth soups this time around. I'll try to photograph the event and post it up here. It really is worth doing. It really is worth doing. Can you tell I am trying to convince myself?

I've been having drama with many other things, too. It has just been a nutty week all in all.

So the reason I say it is the "Calm Before the Storm" is because I have nothing to do today. It is eerily quiet at work and I think I'll have time for a lot of crafting and cleaning tonight. It feels so good, but I know that it will be crazy for the next few days. I am going to go home and clean the house and knit while I watch my NBC Thursday line-up that I love so much and hopefully play with some trains with Cohen. It will be good. Hopefully, I won't crash on his bed reading books like I have for the last few nights, only to wake-up about 1:00 am completely confused as to why all the lights are on and I am still wearing shoes.

Tomorrow will start early with the 5:00 am workout with Genell and then I'll hit the ground running and won't stop until about the 27th. Sheesh. Thinking about it just makes me need to take a nap.

Here is a good photo that portrays waiting. This is Cohen and Mike watching the Shrinky Dink plastic through the oven window. Cohen was quite concerned when it all started curling up.

Two Offerings

After several rounds of temptation, I have entered the Sweat Shoppe swap on Craftster. I'm offering these sweet little pillows. I have had the little tree hanging on the back of my door with a price tag still on it since my last boutique at the beginning of December. It didn't sell and I was glad. I love it and i love those buttons. I bought the blouse at Savers just for those buttons. I do hope they are well received because I think they are cute and it is sometimes hard to part with things. Oh well. I'll make more and there are other fabulous buttons out there for the taking.


Oh, this is such a horrible photo. I made this blanket for a friend in my neighborhood who just had a baby boy. It is a cute little 30"x30" blanket. It is made from the softest quilting cotton. These are the kind of fabrics that make me wish I was having a baby tomorrow. I found this piece on the 70% off table at JoAnn's last week. There was only about 40" left so I snagged it for a whopping total of $.86. The brown stuff I always have as a staple in my stash. Because I was trying to get it done before the baby was too big to fit under it (the baby is 2 weeks old and the blanket is pretty tiny), I just tied it with some sweet yarn that I tie most of my last minute baby blankets with.


And... this herb couscous with carrots and cranberries was delicious served with some lightly curried chicken and a green salad.

As I stated yesterday, I hope to get some better photos this weekend to replace some of the junky ones I have on here. I want to hire you guys to take my photos, or your in house photographers. Although, I cannot complain. I have an in house illustrator and that is ALWAYS handy.

Have a great weekend!

No Daylight

The days have been dark and it has caused me to sleep in longer than normal. I've been getting to work really late this week forcing me to leave the office just as the sun is going down. I have not been able to take a decent picture of one thing that I've made. Is is a bummer because I've been working on a lot of stuff. Hopefully I can have a nicephoto shoot this weekend with the natural light. You should see the snow. It is just like my last post. It is snowing so hard, I'm wearing no coat and canvas shoes. I did wear a yellow scarf that I finished knitting on Sunday.

I've also finished a scarf that was supposed to be a Christmas gift for my gal Steph. She looked very cute wearing it to lunch today. Last night Mike and I stayed up past one watching this (of course it was dumb - but I do like the Shonen Knife cover of the Carpenter's Top of the World that they played) while I got to the half way of a beautiful cream panta for Lori. I also started on some pink warmers for Amy. Oooooh - they are lovely and I would love to keep them. I'm glad Soul Spun keeps this color stocked.

I made little hanging pillows for a Craftster swap and they turned out quite juvenile. I'll take another stab at them tonight. Over the weekend I worked on a cute little pillow cover and headbands. I used Heather Bailey's tutorial and they whip up quickly. Right before church started on Sunday, I decided I needed a head band and I was there sitting in my seat with time to spare. I also made one of Stacy's pear pincushions, although I have yet to find the perfect twig because my world is covered in snow. Her pattern is clear and easy to sew up.


I did manage to photograph this bag I finished for Nikki. It is not a good photo, but the bag turned out great. Nikki saved this outfit of her grandmother's after she passed away. It was
always Nikki's favorite. She didn't really want to keep the clothing around so I volunteered to make it into something. The interfacing I used is WAY too thick and the 100% polyester fabric was not keen with it. But, overall it is good and she is pleased. I added a little fabric yo-yo with the buttons from the blouse.



I am happily crafting away and hopefully I'll be able to share some things with you next week.

PS. New Year's Resolution - take better photos. :)

Be Prepared

When I got to work this morning at 8:00 am, the ground was dry and the air was warm.
It is now 2:00 pm (only 2 hours to quittin' time - yeehaw!) and look what is happening:



Good thing I wore my snowshoes!


Oh brother. I have lived in snow country since I was 9 years old and in Utah since 1999. Why is it that I think putting a cardigan over a tank top counts as a coat? Why is it that as long as it is not flip flops, they are good enough for winter? I might as well be out there in my bare feet.

But let's talk about my cute shoes. I got these bright pink cotton beauties at K-Mart last year (while scrounging for 75% off Martha Stewart sparkly green ornament) on the Blue Light table for $1.50. They are a size too big, but who cares. THEY ARE BRIGHT PINK! They are cotton shoes. I figure they'll shrink a little with each washing.

One last note... man I have a great view. When the sky isn't all white from snow, I can see all the way downtown (about 45 blocks from my office) because I am up on the bench of the Wasatch Mountains (Eagle Plaza). It really is the best office in the city - maybe the guys on the third floor have a better view. There is talk of our company moving to the Industrial Wasteland that is the I-15 corridor. This is a bummer because my commute is NOTHING. I only live five miles from work. Anyway... blah, blah, blah.

Some of you have asked what I do for a job. I work at an online health and beauty company and wear a few hats. I am the copy writer (although, you'd never know from my lack speak here on this ol' blog), the Director of Regulatory Affairs, and am trying to fit affiliate marketing in there somewhere, too. It is a good job. I work with great people and it is very, very flexible which is great for spending extra time with the kiddo and crafting. These things are muy importante!

Speaking of, I better get back to work. This post was supposed to be about the foot of snow outside and my cotton shoes. Bye!

Why I Must Resolve This Year...

I love all of my neighbors, I really do. But man - why did they want to give me 10 extra pounds for Christmas? Tis the season for too many treats, I guess (but... if you read my post below, you'll see I gave them sweets, too).


This was the worst thing of all, though. My sis got a Corn Dog fryer and of course we had to try it out.



Unfortunately, it didn't stop at corn dogs and chicken nuggets. We moved on to anything that was on the counter... chocolate covered cherries, nuts, ice cream. It was pretty much a 10,000 calorie experiment.



The worst part of it all was the Twinkies. Yes... we fried Twinkies. Do you want to know what was even worse than that? They were DELICIOUS! Normally, I don't really like them, but dipping them in some sweet batter and frying them up turns them into a completely different treat. After the initial bite, I vowed that I could never eat such a thing again. (It really is worth trying - it tastes like a doughnut)

So, I am back to crafting. I haven't done much this week except finish knitting some scarves, but as soon as I am done working today, I am back to the cutting table to get some project started for the January Jamboree (another Craftster.org swap).

I hope you all have a happy New Year celebration. We're laying low this year. I'm sure we'll let Cohen stay up a little late, then Mike and I will play Settlers of Catan and Yahtzee until midnight. Then, in my old agedness, I'll go to bed promptly at 12:01. What are you guys all doing?