My Life, My Obsessions

Heart Baby Blanket

2010-04-29T14:23:00.002-07:00

I'm saving up for my very first iPod. It was a hard decision for me because I could also use a few other items like another pair of jeans, shoes, stuff for the house, etc. Somehow I've justified putting those off for several more months so that I can have a new toy first. Part of it was looking back and seeing how much of my personal money (Christmas gifts, etc) has been spent on other people -mostly my kids. So I convinced myself that I deserve a new toy.

I actually told hubby that I was going to sell some of my yarn stash to raise a little money. Then I discovered a good amount of Yarn Bee Baby Bee yarn left over from a previous baby blanket. Enough to make a blanket similar to the one I made before. I figured a blanket could actually sell better than just skeins of yarn -some of which were partially used. Either way, it was fun to make.

I had fun with the double ruffle edging. I love how it looks.

It's finished. I'm happy with how it turned out. It's now listed for sale on Etsy.com.

Beautiful Blogger

2010-03-29T15:47:00.002-07:00

Assuming she doesn't know many other Emilys (which is entire possible given how common the name is), my wonderful sister-in-law tagged me with the Beautiful Blogger award. I'm pretty sure it's not due to my diligence in keeping this blog well updated. But I do have two others that I keep for my kids (sorry, I'm not sharing the links) and am somewhat better at keeping those updated. Probably because my kids are the cutest things I've ever created and are much more fun to write about than crochet or any other craft.

I do have to thank my sister-in-law, not just for the award, but for her blogging as well. I don't think she knows how much I love her blog. It is the only blog that I check on a regular basis -almost every morning in fact. I realize that it took me almost a week to post this, but I read it on her blog the first day she posted it. I read her blog because it gives me a sense of normalcy. It's just nice to know that other stay at home moms deal with the same day to day annoyances that I do. It's not just that though. I love her sense of humor. It makes me laugh and cherish the remaining sanity that my kids have left me. It's also helped to realize what a great person she is. It's kind of ironic that when we lived close by we never became good friends. We both had a lot going on at the time and had we been at different points in our lives, things would probably have been different. So in case she doesn't know: Meredith, I am so glad that you are my sister-in-law. We're looking forward to seeing you and your family this summer. Thanks for your blog. I love hearing about your life -the crazy along with the fun!

1. Thank the person giving you this award.
2. Copy the award to your blog.
3. Place a link to their blog.
4. Name 7 tidbits people don't know about you from reading your blog.
5. Nominate 7 bloggers.
6. Place a link to those bloggers.
7. Leave a comment letting those bloggers know about the award.

I'm not leaving a link to anyone's blog for privacy reasons. I'm not going to tag anyone, but feel free to tag yourself and leave a link to your blog in the comments. Although an award probably should not be self-awarded, but be my guest. On to the 7 tidbits...

1. I hate wooden spoons. I hate cooking with them. I hate the feel of them. However, I do own several and I do use them on a regular basis. I just don't enjoy it. I'm really not that long suffering, there's just not a good alternative. Plastic melts, metal heats up, etc.

2. I am a home-body. I love to be at home. As much fun as it is to visit other places and cultures, I really like to be at home with my family. My mom was afraid that I would never leave home. She was sure I would live at home while attending the university that my dad taught at until she eventually married me off. She was really surprised when I went to school several states away from home and then served an 18 month church mission in Argentina. Despite a slight adventurous streak, I still like to be at home.

3. I hate discussing politics. I doesn't matter if I agree or disagree with the other person. I don't like the negativity of the conversation. It's not constructive, it doesn't do anything to help the situation. It just gets people upset, even if they agree with each other. I also refuse to tell people who I vote for, just like my mom.

4. I like trying different/new foods. I grew up a picky eater (and was subsequently cursed with a picky eater for a son). If it wasn't chicken (preferable white meat) than it wasn't a meat worth trying. I disliked most vegetables. Wouldn't eat seafood or anything spicy. There was a point when my mom was afraid I'd be put on an IV because I wasn't eating. Since high school, I became more willing to try new foods. I have eaten frog legs, escargot, baby octopus baked into a donut hole, calamari, rabbit, quail, alligator, squid jerky, fish with the head still attached, beef tongue, and tripe.

5. If my feet are dry and need lotion, it keeps me awake at night. That's not something I need when I already suffer from insomnia and a snoring husband. I keep lotion by my bed so I can apply it as needed. I even put it on twice one night this week. Granted, living in a dry climate really doesn't help much.

6. I have large feet. I'd be alright with it if I were 4 inches taller. But having size 9 1/2 shoes while you're only 5 ft 4 in just isn't fair. When I was young, my mom always joked about my foot size in an effort to desensitize me to others' comments. I think it just made me more embarrassed of my shoe size. I can't remember anyone else ever teasing me about it.

7. When we were first married, my husband didn't know exactly what he was getting to. My old roommates could have (and probably did) try to warn him. In person and to those that don't know me well, I'm fairly serious, with a dry sense of humor, and not all that talkative. But those that have lived with me (particularly during my first year of college) can attest to a very silly lesser known side of my personality. My husband first discovered it in the form of Jimmy the Sock puppet who was determined to interrupt whatever book he was reading at the time. He wasn't even a sock, but a small pillow case. I have also been known to bear-nap, play pranks, move furniture, steal light bulbs, and throw M&Ms.

Many Hoppy Easters...

2010-03-01T11:00:00.003-07:00

My grandmother passed away a year ago. Some of my favorite memories of my grandparents were meeting them somewhere between our house and theirs to celebrate Easter. I remember more Easter mornings waking up in a hotel room than at my own home. Meeting in National Parks led to some very scenic Easter egg hunts though. Thanks to my grandparents' RV, our Easter dinner didn't suffer too much from being on the road. I find it an odd coincidence that both of my grandparents passed away just as the stores began setting out the Easter decorations and candy. I think Easter will forever remind me of my grandparents.

Last year at my grandmother's funeral, I inherited some really random items stuffed in a trash bag -thanks to my mom and her twin. A phone, pink towels (which my daughter loves), a red scarf, etc. Among those items that I got was a pair of pink striped socks. I don't wear pink and the socks are way to big for my daughter who loves pink. So they sat in my drawer for a year, until I found a cute pattern on familyfun.go.com. My kids and I made sock bunnies and I got to turn my grandmother's sock into a cute little Easter bunny.

His ears are a little wild, but he's cute. My daughter turned the match into a mommy bunny who has been taking care of my baby bunny. She's also named him "Crashina."

Decorating for a little girl

2010-02-26T18:03:00.003-07:00

Since moving last summer, I've wanted to decorate and make this house feel more like home. We've been in apartments since we got married (8 1/2 years) and we love being in a house now. We're renting, so we can't do a lot to it, but that doesn't mean we can't make it feel like our own place. My son's room is really the only one that felt done to me. I realized it was because his walls were decorated and he had curtains up. It's amazing how much those two things can make a difference.

Since my daughter's room doubles as the guest bedroom, I decided to do her room next. First, I rearranged her wall stickers. My daughter had helped put them up, and they needed some help. Wall stickers are great. You can find them at the dollar store. They stay up really well and won't leave a mark or peel off paint when you remove them. Perfect for renters. We have butterfly and flower stickers in her room. Her dresser is also decorated with wall stickers and we added a pot of flowers on top.

My son picked out a poster to help cover her blank walls. You can also see some of her artwork that she posted herself.

I decided that she needed curtains. She has blinds on her window, but curtains can add so much to a room. I had some fabric that I got for free a year ago. The butterflies and flowers matched perfectly, but the colors did not. They're a little too retro for the bright pink and purple floral room my daughter wants.

So I painted the fabric. I painted most of the butterflies and used fabric markers to add color to some of the flowers. We also added pink sequins -not something I'd normal choose, but they suit my daughter's room and personality. The sequins didn't make it into this picture.

We also have the brick wall problem. We can't exactly nail or drill into it easily. Luckily this wall has a portion at the top that isn't brick. So my son (with some help from me) made letters to hang from above. We painted them and added flower and butterfly gem stickers. We used strips of the fabric from the curtains to hang the letters. The letters were his present to his sister for her birthday.

It may not be the best decorated room, but it's tons better than what it was and we did it all for under $20. Most importantly, my daughter is thrilled with it. I'm hoping to add a few more things when all the spring and Easter stuff goes on sale. It's a good time to buy flower and butterfly decorations. And then on to the living room...

Heart Baby Blanket

2009-12-01T10:12:00.003-07:00

I've been working on a baby blanket for a friend. I thought I was doing great, finishing before the baby was due, despite starting late. However, the baby was early and I still had to mail the blanket. She was born on Thanksgiving and the blanket should arrive today. Oh, well. It's the thought that counts, right?

Here's the square that I used.

And the finished blanket.

Pineapple Upside-down Cupcakes

2009-12-01T10:10:00.003-07:00

A great recipe from Family Fun Magazine. It took longer than I had anticipated, but that's probably because I had two young kids helping me. It was definitely worth the effort. They looked and tasted great.

All snuggied up

2009-10-28T08:39:00.003-07:00

My mom also brought me some wonderfully soft Patons Divine in pink. It's not hard to guess who that will end up on. There's really only one person in this family that loves and adores pink.

Since we walk to school (1/2 mile each way), I wanted to find/make something for her that would help ward off the semi-cold morning temperatures that we get in Arizona. It may not get that cold here, but my daughter likes to dress for summer in the middle of winter. Life with her involves lots of compromises. A snuggie/slanket/sleeved blanket was one of those. So while I'm still going to have to fight with her about the appropriateness of skirts verses pants when it's cold outside, I can keep her somewhat warm regardless. And I won't have to worry about her blanket hanging out of the stroller and dragging on the ground. I won't have to keep pulling the blanket around her to keep her warm. Best of all, she loves it.

Five Baby Animals

2009-09-11T10:46:00.002-07:00

A year ago, I started these cute little baby animals with big feet and a tiny body. I had great plans for them. Then something happened -life most likely- and I never typed up the pattern or finished the other little critters that I had planned to make. So after we moved and I found the little guys and some hubby added some encouragement, I finally got back to it. It's sad that it was so closed to being finished for so long. Now I can finally present my little baby animals.

I think the turtle is my favorite.

A little kitty.

An elephant.

A little bunny.

I also love the mouse.

The pattern for these little guys is now available to purchase at Em’s Emporium at etsy.com!

Still alive... and crocheting!

2009-09-11T10:35:00.004-07:00

My mom (who was wonderful enough to come help us move in) brought me some yarn. Pink, variegated purple, and this -a thin chenille. There was a big cone of it, but having never used it, I wasn't sure how far it would go.

So I started a scarf. I tried a few fun patterns, but didn't like how they looked and ended up doing a sc, ch 1, sc throughout.

There was more on the cone than I expected. The scarf just kept getting wider and wider. It would make a great wrap/shawl or (since it scrunches well) it could just be a wide and very warm scarf. You know, for all those cold winter days that we don't have in Arizona. Maybe I should have put more thought into this project before letting it get out of hand. Still, I like it. It's soft and has great drape to it.

In the process of moving...

2009-07-19T21:43:00.004-07:00

We're in the process of moving, so I've been going through stuff that I haven't looked at for years. I know. If I haven't even seen it in the past two years, I probably should get rid of it. I am trying to prove to my husband that I'm not a pack rat, but there are some things that just shouldn't be thrown out.

When we were teenagers, my sister and I didn't always get along. I'm sure it frustrated my mom. I feel the same when my kids don't get along. So, one time, Mom made us list ten things we liked about each other. This is what my sister wrote.

How can you not like someone that likes you because you're "clean," "get to drive," and "don't smell that bad." Pretty endearing. That's how my husband and I got together. He didn't smell too bad plus he could drive. That equaled our first date.

For my future scuba diver...

2009-05-16T12:58:00.002-07:00

My 6 year old wants to be a scuba diver when he grows up. He also wants to write books about the fish he sees. This week, his kindergarten class was learning about the ocean. I thought it would be fun to dress him in something related. Unfortunately, he's grown out of all his fish shirts. So, like the caring, crafty mom that I sometimes pretend I am, I made this:

It needs something else in the middle. My scuba diver (who doesn't like to put his head all the way under the water) wants me to add a pink octopus. This is the same kid that wouldn't wear the blue jacket I bought him because it had a tiny pink stripe on it.

Amish Friendship Bread

2009-05-05T10:26:00.006-07:00

A friend from church brought me some delicious bread that she had made using Amish friendship bread starter. She offered me the recipe and some starter of my own, which I immediately requested. My family loved the bread. In fact, we fought over the last piece. About ten days later, I received my very own starter in a gallon sized ziplock and a page of instructions.

The best part was the handwritten note about the apple pie filling. She doubled the starter, eliminated the oil and added a small can of apple pie filling. That made me curious about other variations that we could try in the future. I googled "Amish Friendship Bread" and was amazed with all the recipes and advice I found. My favorite was a blog entry that explained how to keep up the starter without ending up with extra starter every ten days. It's nice to have extra to share with friends, but how many friends does one person really have?

I made it through the ten days of caring for my starter. It was like having a new pet (although hubby compared it to a baby). I played with it every day and let the air out whenever it accumulated (which hubby compared to burping a baby). And then our little baby's due date arrived. My husband was as excited as I was and helped turn our baby into bread.

Arm Chair World has a ton of recipe variations, if you're interested. It makes it hard to pick what to make next. I think hubby said something about chocolate. If you can't get a hold of a friend giving away starter, you can make your own, just google "Amish friendship bread starter recipe."

Beets

2009-04-23T13:44:00.001-07:00

Growing up I think I ate beets just once at an all-you-can-eat buffet. My mom didn't like them so we never had them. Spinach was the same way. My mom only knew one way to cook it and she didn't like it like that so she never made it. Some of you are already thinking that I really lucked out as a child. Don't worry as a picky eater, I was extremely grateful. However, I married a man that likes both spinach and beets. Crazy, I know.

So, I sent him into a farmers' market by himself knowing that he would probably have way too much fun. And I was right. He came out with plenty of fun fruits and vegetables and a bag of beets. He was really excited that he got beets. I wasn't so much, but I try to be supportive so instead of commenting on his choice, I asked him if he knew how to cook beets. He claimed to know how. Guess who wasn't home when it was time to cook the beets, not that he would have been all that helpful since I later found out that he didn't really know that much about cooking beets.

I panicked a little and pulled out my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook which I love. Apparently beets take a while to cook. I should have looked that up before I left it to the last minute. I ended up peeling, slicing, and then steaming them. Next time I think I'll start much earlier so that I don't have to peel and slice a raw beet. Have you ever tried it? They're tough to peel and cut, not to mention the color bleeds all over the place. It's a mess.

In the end they turned out just fine (fine for a beet, that is). They were a little late getting on the table, but my cute beet-loving hubby liked them. My vegetable lover wouldn't try them, but my picky eater thought they were okay, although he refused to eat more than a tiny taste.

Craftiness

2009-04-17T10:09:00.003-07:00

In case you wonder where my love of crafts comes from, it's inherited. My mom often had projects going on while I was growing up. Mostly sewing, but she also knits and crochets and will pick up other random crafts just to try them out.

Despite a 16 hour drive between us, my mom and I still manage to connect fairly often. OK, we talk a lot. It's weird to have a full week go by and not have talked with Mom. In addition to catching up on life in general, we share our current craft projects and browse the web together. Yes, we check out craft sites while talking on the phone together.

I thought I'd share one of my mom's recent projects. When my daughter turned three, Nana gave her a tea set complete with a quilted picnic blanket and a family of rabbits to have tea with. The rabbits match the quilt, which didn't make it into the picture. It turned out really cute and my daughter was thrilled with it all. So thanks, Mom.

Valentine's Day

2009-04-17T09:50:00.002-07:00

I realize that Valentine's Day was a couple months ago. I just never posted this and I want to because it's such a cute (and easy) pattern. I made two to go with the stuffed animals that we gave our kids for Valentine's Day. My kids are constantly turning shoe boxes into beds for their stuffed animals and then go in search of blankets and pillows to make them comfortable. I hoped that these hearts would make good pillows for any future animal beds.

The pattern is from Owlisyly and can be found here. And check out her Etsy store too.

Horsey socks

2009-03-19T10:16:00.004-07:00

My daughter has an overly developed imagination. Some of it comes from playing with her older brother, but there's a fair amount that comes straight from her three year old mind. One night, while I was laying on the couch, she assaulted my feet, demanding "horsies, wake up." So I moved my feet. She was thrilled. She then got out pillows and a blanket for my feet and put her "horsies" to bed. I'm still not sure why she had to wake them up to put them to bed.

Since that night, my feet have remained her horsies, though they did go through a brief period as doggies. She will follow me around as I make dinner, telling my feet to wake up and bringing imaginary bird seed for her foot-horsies to eat. She talks to them, telling them to eat or saying "good boy." She pets them and keeps them well cared for, giving them money, pillows and imaginary food. She's totally devoted to her horsies. I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was when her own feet became her horsies and she started leaving mine alone -most of the time.

Because I like to feed into the madness, I made her two horsey socks. My husband recommended a nice long mane so that she would stop putting clips in his hair. She loves her new horsey socks. Unfortunately she said her horsies don't like to have their picture taken, so my hand is the model in the picture.

Clips, bows, and more clips...

2009-03-19T09:30:00.004-07:00

Until recently, my daughter's hair things had their own drawer in the bathroom. It worked well when cleaning up since I could toss everything in the same place. However, it posed a problem when I was looking for something to put in her hair. Digging through the drawer to find a clip and its potentially non-existent match was a pain. It was time for a better system.

I searched Etsy.com for some ideas. There were a ton of bow holders, but they only held clips. I wanted something with pockets for all the ribbons and hair bands. So I spent an hour at Hobby Lobby trying to find something that would form the base for me to hang everything from. I finally ended up in the Easter section and found a cute little frame with a baby chick in the middle. I switched the chick for a butterfly. The pockets are just a long strip of material that I folded up to form pockets. I put two lengths of ribbon on each side because I found two great ribbons and couldn't decide which to use (pink or purple). It turned out to be a good decision, I didn't realize how many clips she had until the ribbons started filling up.

My daughter is so excited about it that she keeps bringing me clips to put in her hair. She's also discovered that she can force Daddy to put clips in his own hair. She's got him wrapped around her little finger.

One Word

2009-02-11T12:38:00.002-07:00

One Word.

It’s not as easy as you might think to use only one word answers!

Change the answers to suit you and blog it!

1. Where is your cell phone? Desk
2. Your significant other? Busy
3. Your hair? Bun
4. Your mother? Jean
5. Your father? Kim
6. Your favorite thing? Chocolate
7. Your dream last night? X-Files-ish
8. Your favorite drink? Water
9. Your dream/goal? Stability
10. What room you are in? Dining
11. Your hobby? Crochet
12. Your fear? Loss
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? ????
14. Where were you last night? Home
15. Something that you aren't? Flighty
16. Muffins? Blueberry
17. Wish list item? Money
18. Where you grew up? Oklahoma
19. Last thing you did? Clean
20. What are you wearing? Jeans
21. Your TV? Quiet
22. Your pets? Lots
23. Friends? Yes
24. Your life? Variable
25. Your mood? Worried
26. Missing someone? No
27. Your car? Silver
28. Something you're not wearing? Socks
29. Your favorite store? Target
30. Your favorite color? Blue
31. When is the last time you laughed? Yesterday
32. Last time you cried? Today
33. Book? Buy-ology
34. One place that you go to over and over? Bus
35. One person who emails me regularly? Hubby
36. Job? No
37. One place you would like to go right now? Bed
38. One person you think will blog this too? Anyone
39. One TV show you watch all the time? Fringe

Here's what you are supposed to do...and please don't spoil the fun...Copy and Paste into your blog!

Cactus Butt

2009-02-09T09:19:00.002-07:00

My husband went to a school camp last week. While there, one of his students landed in a cactus and earned himself the name Cactus Butt or CB for short. The young man was really good natured about it and apparently gets a kick out of his new nickname. To rub in his misfortune even more, my husband commissioned me to make him a crocheted cactus. Despite living in Arizona for a combined total of four and a half years, I have never even been tempted to crochet a cactus. I told Hubby he owed me a skein of yarn in return for my services. He even willingly went to Hobby Lobby with me.

There is a free pattern available, but it's more vague guidelines than actual pattern. I made it shorter and changed the pot, doing it in sc instead of dc and put rocks in the bottom for stability.

Cradle Purse

2009-02-09T09:09:00.004-07:00

A friend's daughter just had a birthday. After listening to my friend lament how quickly her daughters can rip holes in their pants, I bought the little girl new jeans for her birthday. I know, a terrible gift for a girl turning five. So I decided to add something fun to the present. I bought a little doll at WalMart and made a cradle purse to go with it.

My daughter had a blast supervising the construction and putting the baby in with her blanket and pillow. Her birthday is coming up. Maybe I'll be making another one soon. Unfortunately, I heavily modified the pattern and didn't write anything down.

Let it snow!

2008-12-10T09:05:00.003-07:00

When you live in Arizona and have winter days with highs in the 60s and 70s, you don't have to worry about snow. Well, that's not true of the entire state. Flagstaff averages 70-80 inches of snow each year. After living in Flagstaff for two years, I've had enough snow to make up for the last three years without it. Still, it is really pretty -when it first falls and if you don't have to be out in it. So, I've found a way to have the best of both worlds (thanks to Family Fun magazine). I get the pretty snowflakes and my warm winter temperatures.

The snowflake directions are on familyfun.go.com. I tried using wax paper, but the wax paper stuck to the snowflakes leaving them less clingy. My daughter got frustrated that her snowflake kept falling off, so we tried again using a Corelle dinner plate. The snowflakes peeled off easily and retained their clinginess. The downside of using a plate is that you have to free-hand the design instead of tracing the downloadable template. It's a fun project and since no two snowflakes are alike, it lets you be creative.

The joy of ear flaps

2008-12-10T08:53:00.004-07:00

Living in Arizona, I don't get to make many cold weather items. However, since we now wait at the bus stop most mornings, I am justified in making a few wintery items. We may have highs in the upper 60s and lower 70s, but it's lower 40s while we wait for the bus.

This is my first Drops Design pattern. It was fairly easy and turned out great. My son loves which is all that really matters, right? I let my son pick out the pattern and the color for his hat and scarf. I think he may have picked orange because the photo with the pattern was of an orange hat.

Pattern for the hat The scarf is all hdc.

An Elf Trap

2008-12-08T13:21:00.002-07:00

My mom came across this idea by Kayla Lamoreaux and I thought I'd share it. It's an elf trap. Apparently elves are quite curious about the gifts under the tree. So mischievous little elves with extra time on their hands are busy peeking into the presents under our Christmas trees. With an elf trap, the elves get stuck inside of the box and the only way to get out is for them to leave candy.

To make your very own elf trap you'll need a box that can be opened and closed, some candy, and the cute poem about the elves by Kayla Lamoreaux found on her blog. Then find yourself a gullible young child or two and you're ready mess with some innocent young minds.

A note from my daughter who wants to help too:

ikikkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkiiiiihjbhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhbhjhgggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

Turkey Traditions

2008-11-25T11:11:00.007-07:00

I have to admit that while I call this a "tradition," we really don't do it every year. In fact I think it's been three years since we last did it. It came from my husband's family, but has been slightly altered since then. We had to change it even more this year when we couldn't find candy corn (tail feathers) or red tic tacs (the waddle).

As you can probably guess, my kids had a great time making their turkeys. Even my 2 1/2 year old caught on and had a blast making her own turkeys. With the frosting being treated as a controlled substance for adult use only, we didn't have much of a mess to clean up afterwards. All we had to worry about were two kids on a sugar high right before bedtime.

For our turkeys, we used:

rolos
whoppers
mike and ikes (we couldn't find candy corn)
oreos
chocolate frosting (in a ziploc with the corner cut)

It's pretty easy to make just using the picture as a guide. After separating an oreo and removing the white middle, cut (or nibble) one side to form a flat edge for it to stand up on. Glue (with frosting) the feathers (candy corn or mike and ikes) on to the oreo fanning out from the flat edge. Tail completed. Glue the body (rolo) to the other oreo piece before attaching the tail. Finish with the whopper head and the waddle (red tic tac or a piece of a red mike and ike).

And a Scarf to Match!

2008-11-17T11:01:00.006-07:00

You may remember this post about a hat that I made for my little girl. I wanted to make her a scarf to go with it, but couldn't find a pattern that looked good with it. So I played around with the yarn until I came up with this:

The color looks a little weird in the second picture, but it shows off the texture better. The waves show up on both sides of the scarf so there's no right side, wrong side.

Pink Waves Scarf

Choose a hook size appropriate to the yarn you are using. I used an F hook with Yarn Bee Baby.

Chain a multiple of 8 plus 1 more chain.
Row 1: sc in 2nd ch from hook, hdc, dc, tr, tr, dc, hdc, sc. Repeat from beginning (sc) until you reach the end. You should end with one sc.
Row 2: (In back loop only) ch 3, *tr, dc, hdc, sc, sc, hdc, dc, tr. Repeat from * until you reach the end of the row.
Row 3: (In back loop only) ch 1, * sc, hdc, dc, tr, tr, dc, hdc, sc. Repeat from * until you reach the end of the row.

Repeat rows 2 and 3 until you reach desired length. End with row 2. Weave in ends. Feel free to embellish the ends with fringe if you’d like.

Please don't publish, post, or sell this pattern. You may print off copies that contain the copyright information. You may share the pattern with others (for free, of course). You may sell items made from the pattern. Please contact me with any questions.

Two Little Whales

2008-11-17T09:17:00.004-07:00

Free pattern from BitterSweet.

I changed the tale a little bit. I did a sc and then folded it flat and did sc (plus one 2sc so that it equaled 6sc) across -going through both sides- to close it up. Then I followed the rest of the directions until the last and added a few dc to the first part of the tail.

Why Parents Hate Stickers...

2008-11-16T13:54:00.003-07:00

A very feminine hat

2008-11-07T11:56:00.005-07:00

Hobby Lobby had yarn on sale. I let my daughter pick out a color and of course she chose pink. I'm not a pink fan myself, so it's funny to have a daughter so in love with the color. It turned into a great hat. I found the pattern on Ravelry. The Swirls Cap by Sophia Kessinger. It's a great pattern. Using a F hook and Yarn Bee Baby Sweet Delights, it came out the perfect size (3T). I kept trying to alter it to fit her head, but ended up undoing the changes and following the pattern as written.

My daughter likes it as well. It apparently goes well with butterfly wings and her Cinderella dress. Now I just need a good scarf pattern to go with the hat.

Tagged...

2008-11-06T11:00:00.003-07:00

I was tagged awhile ago. So I have to apologize for not getting to this earlier.

8 TV shows I enjoy watching when I have time and would like to chill:

1. Supernatural
2. Dancing with the Stars (I find it oddly addicting)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
I really don't watch that much TV (no cable, dish, etc). The only shows I watch are kids' shows or ones that I can catch later over the internet.

8 Things that happened yesterday:

1. I walked my son to the bus stop. We walked very slowly because my daughter had to push her baby stroller all the way there.
2. I went to Hobby Lobby (with my 40% off coupon) to buy a birthday present for my son's friend who's having a party on Friday.
3. I went to Walmart for allergy medicine, toothpaste, and Herdez salsa.
4. I put my daughter (dressed in her Cinderella costume) down for a nap.
5. Cinderella and I walked to the bus stop (with the baby stroller) to pick up my son and almost came home with an extra child.
6. I put away the clean laundry.
7. I picked up the living room.
8. I helped my cute husband make dinner. (He won't let me make the creamy pesto sauce.)

8 Things I am looking forward to:

1. My parents coming for Christmas.
2. November 10 and 11 because Hubby has those days off.
3. Finishing a cute pink hat for my daughter.
4. Hiding the Cinderella costume. (It's hand wash only.)
5. The cooler temperatures. (90 degrees is a little too warm for October.)
6. My birthday. (I'm turning 29 again.)
7. My son's birthday, which will be my first time hosting a kids' birthday party.
8. Sleep. (I suffer from insomnia.)

8 Things I love about Fall:

1. It's the beginning of a whole string of fun holidays. (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas)
2. Seeing my kids' excitement during the holidays.
3. Cooler temperatures.
4. Making pumpkin soup for Halloween dinner.
5. Confiscating Halloween candy. (I take away a piece if I have to clean up candy or wrappers.)
6. Fun decorations.
7. Seeing the leaves change colors, but that doesn't happen much here.
8. Baking fall treats.

8 Things on my wish list:

1. Good health this winter
2. Clothes (I really need another pair of jeans -I just stole a pair from my husband.)
3. A new cell phone
4. Financial stability (I define this as affording a second car, health insurance, and something bigger than a two bedroom apartment.)
5. A dog
6. A happy family

That's my more realistic wish list. My not so realistic wishes include:

7. Traveling the world.
8. Winning the lottery. (Not realistic because I never buy lottery tickets.)

8 people I am tagging:

I don't tag, but feel free to tag yourself if you'd like.

I Voted!

2008-11-04T13:06:00.003-07:00

Did you?

I'm a terrible mom...

2008-10-24T10:16:00.005-07:00

When I was still a teenager, my mom informed me that I would be a terrible mother. This is why:

I scrape almost all of the brownie/cake/etc batter out of the bowl, leaving only a tiny amount behind. Apparently, a good mom leaves batter in the bowl for her kids to eat. In case you're stating to feel sorry for my kids, don't. My oldest is in school, but the little one had fun with the spoon and the spatula. And yes, she is just wearing a slip in the picture. She calls it her "white princess dress."

I'm sure I'll be forgiven tonight when we get to share our version of Kraft Food's Spider Web Brownies. I didn't frost it with marshmallow creme like the recipe said. This is for a school Monster Mash dance and I didn't want large amounts of sticky white marshmallow creme on my son's black costume a week before Halloween. I'm sure I'm not the only parent that feels that way.

Yes, I made two 15x10 inch pans of brownies, which just makes it even harder to explain to my 2 1/2 year old that she can't have any.

Confession: That bottom right corner piece -the tiny little one- never made it to the dance. I gave in and let my little girl have a brownie. So, does that make me a good mom or a bad one? :)

Bags!

2008-10-21T09:11:00.003-07:00

We have a very generous neighborhood when it comes to Trick or Treating. My son's pumpkin almost overflowed last year. So we (I) decided he needed a new bag for Halloween this year. I made this decision when I opened the Halloween box and found a very squished plastic pumpkin sitting on top. We really need another box for Halloween stuff since cramming everything in doesn't seem to be working that well. So going with my son's costume choice (skeleton) I used the graph from the Jolly Roger pattern in the SNB book. As you can see, my daughter got a new bag as well. I misjudged the size and it came out almost as big as her, but it's cute and she loves it. Hers is from the Haekelbeutel Bag pattern.

I ran across this post and really wanted to make one, but didn't really need another bag. Luckily, my mother-in-law wanted a felted purse. The picture really doesn't do the bag justice, but I was in a hurry so it will have to do.

The free pattern for the Lacy-flap Felted Purse

Is Halloween here yet?

2008-09-12T15:44:00.000-07:00

Yep, more Halloween decorations. Apparently, making one just opens the door by setting the dangerous precedent. Or maybe it's just that it gives a little five year old reason to hope (and to whine) for more Halloween items made mostly for him.

Presenting Pipsqueak the Bat.

My son named him. He was thrilled when he came home from school to find it finished. After telling me what a wonderful mom I was and how he loved and adored me (OK, maybe that's a stretch and he really just said "Thank you."), he asked me to make him more.

I'm thinking of making a few more. I think they'd be cute magnets and I'd like to have a group of them hanging together near a doorway. Good thing they're easy to make, although the wings were a pain to make. I redid them several times. I think I finally settled on the fifth version. Who knew that wings could be so difficult?

Is it time to decorate for Halloween yet?

2008-09-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

I love decorating for holidays (It's the undecorating that I hate.) and I find it difficult to wait until the appropriate month. It's gets worse when the stores start selling Halloween decorations in August and Christmas decorations shortly after that. Hobby Lobby is near torture to go into since they have Christmas decorations out in July. Hubby claims they sell them year round.

My son is even worse than I am. Of course, he just loves Halloween in general. Spooky decorations, playing dress up, and getting candy. What wouldn't a five year old like about that? He's already decided to go as a skeleton this year. He's really hoping for a glow-in-the-dark skeleton.

So walking through the stores with my son is fun this time of year. He wants to look at all the Halloween decorations and bring home all the spooky ones. Luckily he hasn't gotten into the gory ones -probably because I try to steer him away from those ones. At Costco a week ago we saw this giant spider decoration. He had to have it. Unfortunately what a five year old deems a necessity is often very different from what his mom considers necessary. So we didn't get the spider or the really cool $80 inflatable graveyard that would look great in the yard that we don't have. He was disappointed until I suggested making our own spider similar to the one that we had seen in the Oriental Trading ad.

Aside from a few little tantrums (mostly my 2 year old that wasn't allowed to paint with us), it was really easy to make. First we gathered our materials.

2 large black trash bags
red paper (or you can paint white paper like we did)
scissors
clear packaging tape
something to stuff it with (empty plastic bags or newspaper)

Stuff one trash bag until it's full enough to hold its shape -a little squishy is fine. Next, tie the bag closed. I taped down the two bottom corners of the bag after stuffing to make it more rounded. Then tie some string around it about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the bag to form the head.

To make the legs, lay the second trash bag out flat and cut it length-wise into 8 pieces. Do not cut the bottom seam of the bag or you'll end up with short legs. The bottom seam will be the halfway point on the legs and a great place from which to suspend the legs when you're done. Tape the legs to the bottom of the spider with 4 on each side.

Cut circles from the red paper. I traced around a wide plastic cup for mine. Tape eyes to the spider's face.

I'm not sure how well the spider would hang since I just put him on a high shelf and then attached the midpoint of the legs to the wall nearby.

My son and I love how he turned out. My husband is just glad that we put it up in the kids' room for now. Next on my list of homemade Halloween decorations is furry spiders and little bats.
And possibly a glow-in-the-dark skeleton costume.

Baby Polar Bear

2008-08-25T10:10:00.003-07:00

This weekend I watched Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus -repeatedly. This is because I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter that has recently discovered "princess" stuff. My sister once theorized that if you want to market something to young girls, all you need to do are put the right words on the packaging. Beautiful, fairy, and princess. This became the source of inspiration for many inside jokes and birthday cards.

So what does this have to do with the baby polar bear? Obviously you haven't seen Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus over and over like I have. Early in the movie Anika (aka Barbie) adopts an orphaned polar bear cub and names her Shiver because the bear cub is cold and shivering. Shiver is not only Anika's cute little sidekick throughout the movie, but she also causes a fair amount of problems for Anika. But that's alright because she's cute.

So after seeing hours and hours of Shiver frolicking around on screen, I made my own little polar bear cub.

Before you ask, I'm not going to sell this pattern. Instead you have to "pay it forward." I will send you the pattern for free, but you have to promise to do something kind for someone else in return. If you'd like to participate, email me at eebrs(at)yahoo(dot)com. Make sure you put "Polar Bear Pattern Request" (or something similar) in the subject line.

The pdf is also available for download from Ravelry.com! Hopefully the link works. Let me know if it doesn't.

download now

I would love to keep a running list of the service that has been rendered to others as part of the "pay it forward." I'll only list the service you rendered, not your name. If you would like your deed added to the list, let me know.

Pay it Forward Services Rendered:

Toys donated to Kristie's Kids Toy Drive benefiting the University of Minnesota Fairview Childrens Hospital.
Donated 15 balls of crochet thread to a local charity quilt club.
A daughter's promise to treat her mother with respect and help out more at home.
Making a polar bear for Granmar sick with cancer.
Donating old toys to a charity shop.
Making something nice for another person.
Making and donating "snugglies" for local animal shelters -along with toys and food.
Making hats for Inocent Smoothies which in turn donates 50p to keeping the elderly warm.
Donating toys to the local fire and police departments.
Making the bear as a gift for a friend in need.
Brightening the day of a sick little girl.
Donating to the local children's hospital.
Donating to the local Firemen's Toy Drive.

A Little Less Wisdom

2008-08-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had two wisdom teeth pulled. Not fun. At least I got to watch a little bit of Olympics while they drilled away. It wasn't quite that bad. They only used the drill on the second one. The first one came in almost six years ago while I was pregnant with my son. The second one was just breaking the surface and coming in at an angle. In fact, it looked like this.

The second tooth was a problem. It had four roots and was straddling the nerve. The oral surgeon thinks there might be a tiny sliver of root left in there, but it was too close to the nerve to go poking around without risking damage to the nerve. It was barely visible on the x-ray they took so he's not too worried about it, but I do get to go back next week just in case.

I was lucky to have several friends help us out yesterday. One friend watched my daughter during the surgery, another friend drove me there and back, another friend picked up my son from the bus stop, and someone I barely know brought us dinner. Too bad pizza doesn't fit into a liquid diet. I even had offers for more free babysitting after my son came home from school. By then I was well medicated and the kids were being good, so we just relaxed in front of the TV. My husband was great too. He came home early and took care of the kids and put them to bed. He even made me pudding and soup for my dinner.

So now it's day two and I'm trying to work the painkillers into my daughters nap schedule so that I'll be coherent enough to take care of her and to make it to the bus stop this afternoon. I'm also trying to decide if I'm still content with my liquid diet. More lemon pudding and instant breakfasts just aren't sounding good anymore. Brownies are a soft food, right? Does the oven count as heavy machinery? I'm not allowed operate heavy machinery while taking Percocet.

Pain medicine wearing off.... I better go do something that doesn't require much effort on my part. Time to snuggle on the couch and watch Curious George on PBS!

Ladybug Bag

2008-08-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

I started this a long time ago and just barely finished. Originally it was going to be a crocheted bag lined with the plastic, but I ran out of thread and didn't want to buy more. So now it's a clear bag. Not good for valuables, but a perfect diaper bag for when I don't want to bring my purse.

It's ladybug themed because my mom loves sending me bug stuff.

Time Travel

2008-08-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

I had no idea that my sleek silver station wagon was also a time machine. This weekend we left on a trip thinking that we were simply traveling to Holbrook, AZ to see relatives. Little did we know that our car would take us back to a time when Route 66 was at its prime. A time when treasures like the Wigwam Motel stood waiting for travelers along the sides of the highway.

We pulled in next to a car that was obviously from a different era than our 2003 Saturn, wondering where we were. Perhaps it was the fading light that fooled our eyes.

Maybe my car can't travel through time, but it was fun to stay in the wigwams. It was even more fun to see my parents, my sister, her husband, and their little girl. My kids really enjoyed it as well, but now when my daughter sees a picture of a wigwam she says it's "Nana's house." Someday our silver time machine will take us back in time to when I was a teenager living in Oklahoma and my daughter will get to see what Nana's house really looks like.

Marionettes

2008-08-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

This was one of those projects that take forever to finish, but not because they are difficult or time consuming. I just kept putting it off and working on other things. When I finally buckled down and finished the first, I loved it and the second one (the flamingo) came together a much more quickly.

This one is kind of an ostrich inspired bird. After all, what other bird has a long neck and long legs?

Actually a flamingo fits that description, but on a smaller scale. This one was actually my husband's idea. I was looking for something to do with some pink yarn and Hubby kept suggesting a flamingo.

While they do function like actual marionettes, my kids don't quite have the skills for that. Instead they make the birds jump and dance with a lot of shaking and wiggling.

So that's what color my counter tops are!

2008-07-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

I have a list of things that I'm waiting to accomplish. My oldest starts kindergarten this fall and I have these naive thoughts involving me and tons of free time to do everything on my to do list. Then there's this little voice in the back of my head that whispers that in reality something always fills the extra time that I think I'll have. Summer (with my cute hubby at home) was a good example of that.

Already I'm planning a short trip right before school starts, wisdom teeth coming out the next week, I've promised to buckle down and finishing editing my dad's book, more dental work, and cleaning my entire apartment. This is the first summer since graduating from high school (1996) that I haven't moved. So now I'm going through this "I need change" stage. I'm used to dejunking every summer thanks to a move. Now that I don't have the move, I still feel the needed to dejunk and change things. I tried moving around the furniture in the living room, but I almost broke the couch. It's a cheap futon and about 5 years old, but we're hoping it will last a little longer.

So today I decided that I didn't have to wait until school started to start cleaning. It's been a while since I last went on a freakish clean-a-thon and I found that I've missed it. Don't get me wrong. I hate the day to day kind of cleaning, but I love the deep cleaning that involves taking everything apart and washing things that haven't seen the light of day in months or possibly the even the entire year that we've been here.

I started in the kitchen. I've been jealous of my friends with their uncluttered apartments and empty counter tops. Of course I've been married longer than they have and have accumulated a fair amount during that time. I'd hate to see what it would be like if I hadn't moved frequently during that time. I'd be the lady on the news that has entire rooms full of junk. OK, maybe not. Luckily I'm not sentimental enough to become a pack rat. Not that you'd guess that by my kitchen. Here are the before pictures.

I actually started my cleaning in the pantry which spilled over into the hall closet. I took everything out, wiped it out, redid the shelving (it doesn't have enough built in shelves so I stole some from the hall closet), then put it all back in different places. I even put extra stuff in there that wasn't there previously. I like doing things like this because it really confuses my husband. He wanders around the kitchen looking for something that I moved until I feel sorry for him and point him in the right direction. In case you think I'm a mean spouse, I did give him a tour of the reorganized kitchen. It's not my fault that he didn't pay attention to where I relocated the bread.

After the pantry, I cleared off the counters and found/created space for everything somewhere else. Most of it is now in its proper place, except for the pile of papers that I need hubby to go through with me. It was relocated to the desk which is also on the dejunk/reorganize list. My last step was to fix what I did to the hall closet when I stole the shelves from it to put in the pantry. It now looks better than it did before. I'd like to say that I'm done with the kitchen, but I still need to clean out the fridge and the microwave. At least the visible parts look better.

Throughout the process, my kids continually pointed out that I was making a huge mess. Funny how often you have to make something worse before it starts looking better. It wouldn't have been so bad except the kids got a hold of the potato pearls. (Think fake mash potatoes in pellet form). They're stale, but the kids like to eat them. I decided it was easier to hand them the container (visible in the second picture) and let them have fun while I cleaned. This of course meant that I had a lot more to clean when I was done. They had a blast making "birthday cakes" and pouring it into lids and other containers. Luckily they were on a tile floor and the clean up wasn't bad. Although it would have been easier to sweep up if I didn't have a two year old walking through the mess and trying to take away the broom. At least I have a cleaner, more organized kitchen now.

Toy Drive

2008-07-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year. The third annual Toy Drive is going on right now. You can read Kristie's blog for more information or read the post on Crochetville. All toys are being donated to the University of Minnesota Fairview Childrens Hospital and will be delivered on August 12. If you miss that date, Kristie will be there later in the month and can take any late arrivals then.

Here's my donation. There are a couple of items that aren't visible.

Now I just need to get to the post office. This is one of those times when a second car would come in handy.

A Headband or a Necklace?

2008-07-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

I'm constantly looking for an easier way of keeping my daughter's hair out of her face. Clips are easy, but don't stay in. I thought a headband would be easy and she could do it herself. Sounded good to me. I forgot that I was dealing with a two year old.

I bought some sparkly elastic in the bead aisle at WalMart. It was cheap and came in an assortment of colors. So I grabbed the pink (my daughter's favorite color) and my crochet hook and went to work. I didn't follow a pattern. I chained the length I needed (it's stretchy so I did a little shorter than the circumference of her head), sl st to make a circle, and ch 5. Skip 2 ch, dc in next ch, ch 2. Then skip 2 ch, dc, ch 2. Repeat all the way around. Sl st in the 3rd ch of the ch 5 from the beginning. Nothing fancy, but it was fast and looked nice.

Now the 2 year old part of the story. I showed her how to wear it in her hair. It fit great and matched the majority of her outfits (like I said, she loves pink). She was really excited about it and left it in her hair for a few minutes. Then she discovered that it made a great necklace. She won't leave it in her hair now, instead she pulls it down and insists that it is a necklace. Of course she's stubborn about it as only a two year old can be.

Mmm... Birthdays...

2008-06-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

For my daughters birthday we had a Baskin Robbins ice cream cake. It was good and expensive (and a gift from my mother-in-law who was visiting at the time). It made me wonder how hard it would be to actually make an ice cream cake. So I searched the internet and found quite a few recipes involving crushed Oreos and Cool Whip. While I do love Oreos, it wasn't exactly what I was looking for. So I did my own. Really, how hard is it to make a cake and spread softened ice cream on it? A lot easier than making the baked Alaska that my husband requested. It was kind of fun. Even the kids helped out. Of course that meant a chocolaty mess when my two year old taste tested the chocolate sauce for me. Who knew you could make such a mess with half a spoonful of chocolate?

I baked a chocolate cake from a box, dividing it into two 9x13 pans. I did a layer of cake, a layer of The Chocolate Sauce (a great recipe for this since it never hardens), a half gallon of ice cream, the other cake layer, and more chocolate sauce to serve as frosting. It was good for a first attempt, but there are a few changes that I'd make if/when I make it again. First, substitute a brownie mix instead of the cake. The consistency seemed off and frozen cake feels a bit dry. Second, leave out the bottom layer of chocolate sauce since my husband thought there was too much chocolate sauce. I personally disagree and added extra chocolate sauce to my slice. And last of all, it was a little tall and the chocolate sauce stuck to the lid. Next time I might try a brownie layer, ice cream and then chocolate sauce.

Ready for an Adventure

2008-06-07T07:42:00.000-07:00

I tested this "Adventurer's Whip" for Photojenic Designs on Etsy. It was easy to make. The gray part gets a little monotonous, but is worth the effort. My son asked for it, but we have a hard enough time convincing him not to hit his sister with his blanket. Adding another potential weapon didn't seem like a good idea.

I made this for my daughter. I was looking for something with a wide brim that would be alright in the pool on a sunny day.

I made something similar for my mom recently, but didn't get a picture of it. It had more of a bucket-like top with a swirl design and a lace band just above the brim.

Broomstick Lace

2008-05-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I haven't been posting. We had the stomach flu visit our house. Magically it hit a different person each week for the last four week. Now that everyone's mostly back to normal (normal for us anyway), it's time to catch up with everything.

This is my first (non-frogged) attempt at broomstick lace. It's done in Sugar N Cream and is on it's way to becoming a short sleeve shrug for my daughter.

There's a great tutorial by Stitch Diva.

While I do own a broom, I found it much easier to do it with my ruler. The video shows it with large knitting needles, but I don't knit and therefore don't own any knitting needles.

Just so you don't think I'm neglecting my son, I did make him something recently as well. He has had a blanket hung from the top bunk to keep his sister from bothering him at night. (They share a room.) The blanket was an eye sore and constantly fell down. So it's been replaced.

My mom bought this fabric for me two years ago and it's been waiting for the perfect project. It almost became a giant lizard at one point, but instead survived to become a bed curtain. It's hung with velcro so that it can be taken down easily. Eventually I'd like to add a few pockets for small toys, etc. Aside from the three needles that I broke trying to sew through two pieces of velcro plus four layers of fabric, it was a really easy project.

Tagged!

2008-05-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Biz.

Here are the rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.

2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 things about me (in no particular order):

1. I have a weakness for good chocolate, not the over-sweetened American version. Despite being related to Milton S. Hershey (through his mom), I am not a fan of Hershey chocolate.

2. I can type really well one-handed. I can even use the shift key. It's a skill I acquired when my first child was born.

3. I don't like wearing shorts. I would wear blue jeans all year round if I could. Unfortunately, living in Arizona that's not a good idea. Let's hope capris never go out of style.

4. I suffer from periodic depression. Usually it's pretty mild and no one but me realizes it. Only once have I had a serious bout and that was shortly after my grandpa died.

5. This will be my first summer without a move. I have moved every summer (and sometimes more than once a year) since I graduated from high school twelve years ago.

6. I grew up collecting sea shells and have since added sand to that collection. We have sand from New Zealand, Taiwan, France, Australia, Japan, the Caribbean, Mexico, and more that I can't think of off the top of my head.

7. I am responsible for most of the pranks that occurred in my apartment during my freshman year of college and a fair amount that happened during the first half of my sophomore year as well. The list includes bear-napping and moving copious amounts of furniture.

I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you'd like to tag yourself just leave your blog address in the comment section.

What I Learned Today

2008-05-06T11:49:00.000-07:00

Two year olds are too young for paper mache.

My son (5 years old) declared today Bug Day. Tomorrow is Water/Ocean Day. It seems that special days such as these require crafts. I thought about doing a pom pom/pipe cleaner something to make some bugs, but I wanted to do something different. Remembering the water balloons, I thought we could do paper mache. It's been years since I've done paper mache and I remember it as a really cool way to make stuff. I made a pinata in my Spanish class in high school. It was a blue VW Bug. I had a neighbor that used a shopping cart and chicken wire to make a dinosaur mini-float so that the neighborhood kids could be cavemen in a parade. Plus the other school projects like small models of the Earth, etc. So you can see why I think of paper mache as being a great craft. What I failed to remember was that I was quite a bit older than my kids when I did my first paper mache projects.

We did great with the paper strips and blowing up balloons (except that water balloons are difficult to blow up). We did fine attaching balloons to each other to form buggy shapes. I made the paste myself since it involved cooking (see recipe below). So we were all set up and ready to begin. I did a quick demonstration and then prepared the paper strips for the kids. My little girl (two years old) had some problems sticking her paper on the balloons and quickly lost interest. She wandered off and entertained herself by popping the remaining balloons. My son tried but couldn't quite get the hang of it. He got a little overwhelmed with trying to cover all of the balloon and he hated having the goo all over his hands. So I finished his for him while he made more paper strips for me. The plus side of me having to do all of the work is that their wasn't a huge mess to clean up.

The future bugs are drying now. The original plan was to let the kids decorate them with markers, but they may need a coat of paint once they're dry. My son plans on making a cricket, a bee, and a dragonfly. I'm not sure what my daughter's will end up being. So far it's two balloons stuck together. I'm not sure I'm ready to for painting after doing paper mache this morning. How long does it take to dry anyway?

Tomorrow is Water/Ocean Day and I've already decided that there will be no crafts. Water balloons will be much easier.

Paper Mache

Mix 1/2 cup of flour with 2 cups cold water. Boil two cups of water. Add the flour mixture to the boiling water and bring it back to a boil. Remove from heat. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar. Let it cool. While it cools it will thicken and be ready to use.

Glow Bugs and Camping

2008-05-01T10:01:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Father and Sons Camp Out, which means the guys will be off doing manly things like cooking outdoors and here at home we'll be having frozen pizza and watching a chick flick. Although I do like to camp, I'm more than happy to send the guys off so that I can do girly things and sleep peacefully in the middle of my soft queen-sized bed.

My daughter thinks that she's going with them. When I tried to explain it was just for the boys she responded, "please?" She's even packed her bag to go with them. She put in her pink bear, shoes, and socks. She wasn't the only one getting ready. I've been pulling out the camping things, creating big pile for hubby to organize when he gets home. I like doing this because then I know that the sunblock, bug spray, and extra batteries got packed. It also means that I get to send along some fun stuff for my son. Aside from snacks and stuff to keep him entertained on the drive, I made him a glow bug. I got the idea from About.com, but I didn't have the same kind of glow stick that they used. I already had glow bracelets at home so I changed the pattern a bit.

With one end of a pipe cleaner I made 3-leaf clover shape. The middle leaf (the head) is smaller than the other two, which will be the wings.

I used hot glue to stick the eyes on.

Wrap the long tail around the glow bracelet. If you leave some space between the coils, the light will show through the bug more. Loose coils will let the bug slide along the bracelet, but with my son I want something that won't slide off too easily.

And be careful not to bend the bracelet in the process or you'll start the glowing before you're ready for it. Luckily I had an extra.

Not only will my son have a little something to remind him that I love him, but he'll also be glowing brightly and be easy to find in the dark.

My family has a tradition that started when I was a little girl. My dad would travel for conferences and meetings, but not too often thankfully. Each time he went, we would sneak a stuffed animal into his suitcase. It was our way of saying that we loved and missed him while he was gone. My husband and I have continued the tradition. Once again, I am grateful that hubby doesn't travel very often either. The fun part is having my kids pick the stuffed animal and try to sneak it into Dad's suitcase while he's not watching. It's a little tricky since it has to be done after the suitcase is packed, which doesn't always leave much time to be sneaky. Maybe we should make another bug to hide in hubby's bag.

Earth Day

2008-04-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Earth Day was earlier this week. I have to admit that I haven't done anything for Earth Day in years. I think the only thing I've ever really done for Earth Day was enter an essay contest in Junior High. It was required by my English teacher and I actually got second or third place and won a $25 gift certificate.

Coincidentally, I just made a Reduction Tote Bag. The pattern is from Crochet Me. I had these noble ambitions that I would whip out the bag while shopping and save the Earth from unnecessary plastic bags. So I made it and put it in my purse so that I would be ready. The kids and I went to Petsmart to buy some goldfish to feed to our cichlids and then went next door to the Dollar Tree. We got the dollar version of a Build-A-Bear. We picked out one bear and one outfit per child and then waited forever for a cashier. Finally when there were three more people in line behind us a cashier showed up. My daughter wouldn't give up her bear to the cashier and then my son started digging through the bag for his bear and outfit before I finished paying. I grabbed the bag and tried to lure my children towards the door and away from the balloons and candy machines. Once in the car I had to dress two bears. It was sometime after that when I realized that I was now the proud owner of yet another plastic bag. So much for my noble goal. Maybe while shopping with kids I should stick with the more realistic goals like keeping track of my kids and making sure we actually paid for everything. At least I can still use it on the rare occasions that I shop alone.

I made it with leftovers.

I love that it folds up although not as small as I would like. I might make a smaller one next.

I didn't like the Reduction symbols on the bottom so I made my own design on the bottom.

This year we talked to our kids about it and are trying to do our little bit to make a difference. We made light switch covers to help us remember to turn off the lights. We also started an incentive program to encourage turning off lights. When we fill up the jar with milk caps (more reusing), then we get a reward.

I ran across something in Family Fun magazine and thought it was a great way to recycle. It's an invention box. You save random things in a box along with tape. Then when your kids are bored, you can pull it out and let them create something. I'm going to start one. I haven't told my husband yet. He doesn't always approve of some of the things I save. I think he's a compulsive tosser. He throws things out without even thinking about it.

Cats

2008-04-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big fan of commercials. I think that most of us hate the in your face, consumers are idiots sales pitch. This is part of the reason that we rarely watch TV and refuse to get cable or satellite. Luckily the only shows that we watch regularly on available on the internet, which is great since the commercial breaks are shorter and therefore easier to ignore. I realize that commercials are a necessary evil and that they help pay for the shows that I watch. I still don't like them. However there is an occasional exception to the rule, like the Tidy Cats commercials. If you watch shows on ABC.com, they play commercials from just one sponsor through the entire show. So when we watched Lost, all of the commercial breaks were Tidy Cats commercials. I actually sat and watched the entire commercial and looked forward to the next. So, while I'm not endorsing the product, I highly recommend the commercials.

Since we're on the subject of cats, here's another funny cat video for you. Try to imagine this: two engineers with too much time on their hands + three cats = a very quirky guide to cats.

Arrg!

2008-04-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Recently I was talking to my five year old about jobs and how when we grow up we get to decide what kind of job we want. Before I had finished, he had already decided what he wanted to be -a pirate. He wants to be a pirate because pirates find treasure. He then proceeded to tell me about all the things he needed so that he could be a pirate. My favorite was that he needed a "talking bird." So like any good crafty parent, I enabled his current obsession.

Here's Squawky, our piratey version of Chaco the Parrot Puppet. It's not the best picture. He's really cuter than that. I had to alter the pattern so that I could fit my hand inside and because my son wanted green on the end of the parrot's tail. I also added a row of sc to the parrot's beak to even out the edge.

We also made a pirate hat and eye patch out of two sheets of black foam. The stencil is one that I got on clearance from Michaels.

I guess the next step is a treasure hunt. A year ago, I made a treasure hunt using laminated cards so that I could reuse it later. I drew pictures of each room on a card and colored a big red 'X' on the back. He starts with one card that shows him which room to look in for his next clue. The cards send him from room to room until he finds the last card which only has a red 'X' to show that he's found the treasure -candy or chocolate chips inside a shiny gold box. He's getting pretty good at it. I have to hide them really well or he can run through it in less time than it took me to set it up. Any parent can tell you the value of a happy child spending a long time in search of a carefully hidden item (and more importantly leaving Mom/Dad alone) -priceless.

A Daisy Shrug

2008-04-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

It's already hot enough here in Arizona that something like this may seem useless. Outside it certainly is. We've already had temperatures in the 90's and have gone swimming twice. However inside our church building it's freezing. Some rooms are worse than others and under the vents or fans is terrible. So I made this for my daughter. I wanted to make a short sleeved one with two flower squares, but I liked having the flower in the middle of the back instead of a seam so I added a third flower and made it long sleeved. It's made with Sugar 'n Cream in white. I plan on making a short sleeved one in variegated pink.

She currently hates it and refuses to wear it, but she's two and may change her mind next week.

The shrug is based on this pattern.

The daisy square comes from Crochet Me.

Where Does it All Go?

2008-04-10T21:47:00.001-07:00

Have you ever noticed how quickly money can disappear? It disappears even faster when you only have a meager income to begin with. I have a cycle that I tend to follow with the proceeds from the patterns I sell on etsy. I usually ignore it for a while. It starts out small and you can't buy much with just a few dollars. So it sits there and slowly accumulates. Then suddenly I'm surprised that it's more than $10. Yes, for me that's a lot. Add a Michaels' or Joann's coupon for 40-50% off and I'm a happy camper. That happens to be where most of my pattern proceeds go -towards more craft stuff. That way I don't have to justify the expense to my darling husband who happens to do all of our finances. So I spend a little on me and a little on my son (my daughter's too young to feel left out yet) and then we start all over again -ignoring the few cents left over.

So on Wednesday (that's the day that I get the car since we only have one) I loaded up my two kids and we went to Michaels. It wasn't for me this time. We bought t-shirts for my five year old since they were on sale for $2. The catch is that he can't wear them until the fall when he starts school. I picked up a pink one for my daughter, but it's currently way too big for her (they don't carry toddler sizes) so I'll either save it or turn it into a t-shirt dress. We made it through the store with only one major crying spell (my two year old wanted the red shopping cart and my five year old chose the brown one).

On to the next store. Target. We were in search of basil. My aunt gave us a pesto recipe that we are hopelessly addicted to now. We put it in spaghetti sauce and also make a creamy pesto with it. Mmmm, yummy. Since we're running low, we decided to plant basil. But when you live in a second story apartment, you don't just plant basil. You have to buy a pot, dirt, something to keep it away from little fingers, the basil plant, plus seeds for the older child because he hates to be left out of big messy and potentially expensive projects. Back to Target. They didn't have basil.

So we went to K-Mart. This may sound like a lot of wasted gas, but they were all in the same complex. So instead of driving, we walked back and forth. My daughter decided that she was unsure about the experience and needed to cling to me like a koala bear the entire time. She's around 25 pounds so carrying her can wear you out after the first store. I'm getting really good at pushing shopping carts one-handed now thanks to her.

So at K-Mart we found the basil, some hang the pot over the balcony things and some Ipomopsis seeds (a humming bird mix) for my son. Thinking that I wasn't buying much, I didn't grab a cart on the way in. Silly me. So I'm carrying my 25 pound koala bear, an awkward metal hanger thing, and two wet gooey biodegradable pots containing basil. My son carried yet another metal thing and his beloved seeds. So we made it to the check out counter, leaving a trail of water from the dripping pots. Why do I always get behind the lady that has a problem with her purchase? At least my daughter offered me her used tissue so that I could clean the dirt off my hands while we waited. Eventually I got to make my purchase and before I left I noticed a mistake on the receipt. They didn't take the advertised 20% off of my metal things, but of course I have to wait to tell the cashier because someone else had a mistake that needed to be taken care of first. Then she tells me that I have to take it to the customer service desk. I did. It was awkward, but we made it and I got my $3.41 back.

We made it back to the car. That was a feat as well since we didn't park in front of K-Mart, we parked in front of Circuit City. At this point I'm grateful that my kids were fairly good through the entire process even though it's almost lunch time. So home, lunch, and the two year old goes down for a nap. Everyone loves that time of day. So my son and I head out to the balcony to plant his precious seeds. I pull out the left over potting soil that I already had and dump it into the pot that I already had. See, there's a reason we keep things. However, there's not enough soil. Not even close. So I waited until after dinner when I could leave the kids with my husband and pick up dirt while running his errands.

Finally we got to plant my son's seeds. He was very excited. Now let's hope he's patient. The seed envelope said it takes 2-3 weeks for the seeds to sprout. I have no doubt that he'll be checking on them everyday until then. He already checked on them three times today.

If you were keeping track throughout this rambling narrative, you may have caught that I didn't mention planting my basil. That's because I didn't. My two little basil plants are still sitting in their soggy biodegradable pots because I ran out of dirt. I have a nice pot, which won't fit the second metal hanging thing that I bought, but it doesn't matter since I don't have enough dirt anyway. Not only that, but my funds have run dry. Yep, I'm poor again. So that is where my money went this month. Into the ground more or less. At least my son is happy and I'm half a step closer to my pesto.

More Monkey Fun

2008-04-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to make a regular body for some of the slinky animals, but just haven't gotten around to it until now. Here's the first conversion -a little monkey. I think he needs bigger eyes though. He has pipe cleaners in his arms so he's poseable. He's now in my etsy store.

My daughter ran off with him before I'd even finished making him.

A Barrel of Monkeys!

2008-03-31T10:07:00.000-07:00

Who remembers this toy?

I never had one, which is perhaps why I felt compelled to crochet it.

The pattern is in my Etsy store.

Check out the cute barrel. It holds eight to ten monkeys.

The arms, legs, and tails interlock to form chains, patterns or just a big mass of monkeyness.

I loved this quote.

"One monkey arouses a great deal of amusement. Two or more then double the interest and amusement. If one were to release a barrel full of monkeys, we must suppose that their antics would become hilariously comical." - Charles E. Funk

(Updated) There's another way to do the arms, legs, and tail. Below are the picture of the little monkey and the instructions (both from Midds on Crochetville).

"For the arms I sl st towards the end of the pipe cleaner, folded it over and sc 8 times close together around the pipe cleaner. I cut a long tail. Then I took the pipe cleaner and fed it through the body at round 6. I then repeated the process on the other side of the pipe cleaner. I then fed the long tails through the monkey and knotted them together and hid the yarn inside. I did the same thing for the legs except I did 10 sc and placed them at round 9. For the tail I ch. 11, sc in 2nd ch from hook and across for a total of 10 sc."

Strawberries

2008-03-30T19:45:00.000-07:00

While I was in college, my roommates and I had an ongoing joke about one of our roommates. Whenever something was on sale, Kristina would buy a ton of whatever it was. I am not exaggerating when I say that she had a year's supply of feminine products. So we used to joke about it by saying "It was on sale so I bought two." Well this week strawberries were on sale (88 cents a pound -how can you resist?), so we bought ten pounds. We're actually thinking about going back for more to make into freezer jam.

So I convinced my five year old son that he wanted to help out and we washed, stemmed, and froze seven pounds of strawberries. We like to add them to drinks in the blender (strawberry lemonade, banana strawberry, strawberry shakes, etc). In case you're not a math whiz, that left us with three pounds of strawberries. It was the prettiest three pounds, I sorted them out. We made the best chocolate sauce ever and an angel food cake and by bedtime we were down to two pounds of strawberries.

Since strawberry season is beginning, I'll add the chocolate sauce recipe for anyone that wants to try it. It came from a very nice lady that goes to church with my mother-in-law. It is also really good on fresh pineapple or eaten by the spoonful. I even put it on brownies. I couldn't help myself.

The Chocolate Sauce

1 Hershey Bar (regular size)

1- 14 ounce can Sweetened Condensed Milk

6 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup Butter (not margarine or other substitutes)

about 1/3 cup milk (to consistency)

Melt everything but the regular milk in a medium saucepan on medium heat until smooth. Take pan off of burner and stir in milk slowly until it reaches the right consistency (not too runny). It will thicken slightly when it cools. Let it cool or you'll burn your tongue -I know this from experience and not just mine (my husband can't keep out of it either). The best part is that it doesn't ever harden.

Christy's Felted Pruse

2008-03-19T08:27:00.001-07:00

I have almost finished my sister-in-law's birthday present. By the time it dries and gets in the mail, it will only be about three weeks late. Of course I unraveled (frogged) and recrocheted enough to make two purses, but it was worth it. I like how it turned out. Now I just need to find the perfect button.

Here's the before picture:

And the after picture:

Measurements (length by height by width)

Before felting: 15 ½ by 9 ½ by 4 ½ inches

After felting: 11 ½ by 7 ½ by 3 ½ inches

And here it is with the button:

My button selection was really limited, but here's what I found:

Ñoquis/Gnocchi

2008-03-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

It's time for another Argentine dish. I made this for my husband while we were dating. Actually, I had just tried to break up with him at a Mexican restaurant in Provo, Utah called Los Hermanos. He now refers to it as "the Los Hermanos Episode." So to make it up to him I made ñoquis and invited him over for dinner. Less than two weeks later we were engaged. Coincidence? Probably.

First a little history. Ñoquis (called gnocchi in most places) date back to Roman times and can be made from potatoes, semolina, wheat flour, bread crumbs, etc. Outside of Italy, it's usually made with potatoes. In Argentina, the 29th of each month is Ñoquis Day. It was the day before pay day, money was tight and ñoquis were cheap to make. There are a variety of ways to make the actual ñoqui as well as a variety of sauces to add to it. You can even buy them fresh, frozen, or dried in many grocery stores. This is the version that I came to know in Northern Argentina. I learned the process from an Argentine friend in Yerba Buena, Tucuman who laughed at me for rolling the ñoquis so slowly. I've gotten better and faster since then, but it is a little awkward at first.

Step 1: Peel and cut up about one potato per person. It may not seem like a lot, but trust me. We always end up making way more than we think. Boil the potatoes in heavily salted water and then mash them with a little oil or butter (about 2 tablespoons). The salt keeps the potatoes from soaking up too much water. There's a chemistry lesson in there, but we'll skip that for now. Once the potatoes are mashed, put them in the fridge to cool off. This can be done the day before or you can use leftover mashed potatoes as well.

Step 2: The sauce. Everything is chopped up finely, except the tomatoes and chicken, which are cubed or diced.

2 Tbs butter
1/2 an onion (chopped finely)
2 carrots (grated)
1/2 a red pepper (chopped finely)
1 medium tomato (cut up) or can of diced tomatoes
16 ounce can of tomato sauce
2-3 chicken breasts (cut into small pieces)

I use a food processor to chop the onion, carrots, and red pepper. First fry the onion in the butter. Then add the carrots. When the carrots begin to soften, add the red pepper, tomato, and tomato sauce.

Mix in the following spices:
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp parsley
1/8 tsp paprika

Add the chicken. Cook on medium high until chicken is cooked through. Then simmer on low until ready to eat.

Step 3: Making the ñoqui dough. Take the mashed potatoes and add lots and lots of flour. OK, start with 2-3 cups of flour. I add about a cup at a time until it reaches the right consistency. Mix and knead the mashed potato dough until it feels like bread dough. If it still feels sticky, add more flour.

Step 4: Forming the individual ñoqui noodles. Roll the dough into a long snake (just like you did when you played with play dough) and then cut into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. Smaller are better, but you'll be rolling them out forever if you make hundreds of tiny ones. They look kind of like this once cut:

It is helpful, but not necessary to have a ñoqui maker. They are wooden with lots of grooves. If you don't have one, you can use the back of a fork. I've tried it and it does work, but I still prefer my ñoqui makers. In fact I think I need to buy a third one one to keep my kids from fighting over the extra one. This is a step that they love to be actively involved with. It usually means that I need to reroll a few that my kids "helped" with.

To form the ñoquis, start by flouring the ñoqui maker. Then grab one of the pieces of dough and smoosh it along the ñoqui maker with your thumb. The dough will roll out from under your thumb, curling up behind your thumb as you go. That may sound confusing, hopefully the pictures will help clarify. Please excuse my flouriness, it keeps the dough from sticking.

You should end up with a little shell shaped noodle. As you make them toss them onto a lightly floured surface. I use a cookie sheet. If you make an insanely large amount (like we do) you'll want to sprinkle flour over the ñoquis to keep them from sticking together as you layer more on top.

This is a 15x10 inch cookie sheet (see below). In some places they are stacked 3 deep. The idea was to have leftovers so that we wouldn't have to cook tomorrow. Not only do we have plenty for tomorrow, but we're going to have to invite some people over or we'll be eating ñoquis all week.

Step 5: Cook the ñoquis. Boil some water, add lots of salt (the chemistry lesson again). Drop in the ñoquis. We cook a little at a time and just keep adding as the earlier ones are done. They cook fairly quickly. You'll know they're done because the start to float. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and keep going until they're all cooked.

Step 6: Dinner time! These are really filling, so don't overload you're plate. It's served just like spaghetti. Put the red sauce on top of the noodles. Enjoy.

Fluffy Bunny

2008-03-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

My son loves crafts. He's definitely my son. All you have to do is mention pompoms or pipe cleaners and his little eyes brighten and he starts jumping for joy. A couple years ago I bought a bag of 750 pompoms. We haven't even made a dent in the bag. So we let my daughter (two years old) play in the pompoms while my son and I got everything ready.

So today we made little bunnies for Easter. It's based on a Family Fun magazine pattern, but we exchanged the beads for pompoms. He got to make two bunnies (named Hoppy and Fuzzy Wuzzy) and I made one for my daughter. Before we had the mess cleaned up, my son was already asking to make a bed for his bunnies.

Oreos

2008-03-14T10:33:00.000-07:00

Usually at our house it is my husband that has the cravings. Even when I was pregnant, he had more cravings than I did. This time, it was me that had the craving. Homemade Oreo cookies. So, I found this recipe for Almost An Oreo Cookie from CD kitchen.

First the cookie dough from a cake mix. It's a really hard dough, but easy to make. Doesn't look very appetizing, does it?

The cookies come out of the oven still looking like little mounds, which look only slightly more appetizing than the dough. Then you squish them flat and they look like yummy chocolate cookies.

Here's the filling before adding the gelatin mix. It made tons of filling and I think I only used about half of it.

These didn't last long very long at my house. The recipe says that it makes twelve, but I ended up with eighteen (and a half). I'm already trying to justify making them again! Mmm...

Easter Sweet Rolls

2008-03-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

Easter almost snuck up on me this year. We just happened to be looking at the calender to schedule a trip for the summer, when we discovered that Easter is in March this year. So know I've been thinking about Easter. We've been trying to remind my five year old that Easter is more than the Easter Bunny and egg hunts. We sat down to share the story with the kids and my husband asked him "What does Easter make you think of?" My son immediately answered "Jesus died for us." Then we did a flannel board story (minus the flannel board -just double sided tape and the TV screen) and he proceeded to tell my husband and I the story of Christ's resurrection. I guess he pays attention more than I think.

So, I was remembering what we did last year for Easter. I had to teach the children at church and did an egg activity (plastic eggs filled with different items) to tell the story of the crucificition. But the highlight of the class was the rolls. I spent the day before making almost five dozen rolls. It was worth the effort. They tasted great and I got tons of compliments. Not only is it a great way to remind the kids of Christ's resurrection, but they taste great. I'm posting the recipe now in case anyone wants to make them this year. If I remember, I'll add pictures when I make them.

Even if you don't celebrate Easter, these are a great treat.

Easter Sweet Rolls

1 package of frozen dinner rolls –thawed (or make your own roll dough recipe)
1 bag of large marshmallows (don’t use old or stale marshmallows)
1 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbs sugar
¼ cup (half a stick) of butter/margarine

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Melt the butter and set it aside. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl and set aside.

Divide the dough into roll-sized servings as you normally would to bake them. (Store bought rolls will already be divided.) Flatten each roll into a circle and place one marshmallow in the middle.

Close the circle of dough around the marshmallow. Be sure to seal it inside by pinching around the sides, then roll in your hands to minimize the seam and reform the ball.

Place in pan. Brush the melted butter on the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the rolls.

Bake for 15 minutes or the amount of time recommended for the frozen dough. Rolls are done when they turn golden brown.

The marshmallow will have melted inside, leaving the roll empty, just as Christ’s tomb was found empty when he had risen.

*You can make these the day before. After sprinkling the cinnamon sugar on top, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until you're ready to bake them Sunday morning.

Unraveling (aka Frogging)

2008-03-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

You may remember this project that I was excited about making for my daughter. I'm not so excited about it anymore. I realized that I had made a significant mistake several rows back (before the two rows of X's). The problem is that this yarn is almost impossible to pull out. The fibers twist together and it takes longer to unravel a row than it did to crochet it in the first place. So now I hate it.

Speaking of unraveling things, I am making a felted purse for my sister-in-law. I have made, unraveled, and remade every part of it at least once. So if she reads this, I have not forgotten about it. I am getting close to finishing, although there is another part that needs to be redone and I might need to pick up another skein of yarn.

My other project, because I always seem to have several going, is a froggy bag. It's going to have poison dart frogs on it. I'm doing it to use up some yarn that I've had forever. Red, yellow, blue, green, white, and black. It's not very presentable right now, so you'll have to wait for some pictures.

Don't Pick a Lemon

2008-03-03T12:41:00.000-07:00

Terrible title, I know. It was the theme of a college dance while El Guapo and I were engaged, which is even worse than a blog title.

There's a place where you can pick your own citrus fruit for ten cents a piece less than two miles from us. We pass it all the time on our way to Sprouts to buy our produce. A couple weeks ago while my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were here, they took my kids there (El Guapo and I were on a date). They had a blast and came home with great pictures, fun stories, and tons of fruit. So we went the next Saturday (it's only open on Saturday) to get more. You're probably thinking, Who needs that much citrus? I agree, but my mother-in-law sent me the juicer attachment to my hand-me-down Bosch mixer. I needed an excuse to use it again and who doesn't love homemade lemonade or fresh squeezed orange juice?

On the way home we devised this brilliant plan for keeping the kids busy so that we could get to work. The kids are "helping" wash the fruit. Water + kids = mess. But it also means happy busy kids that stay outside until they are soaking wet and Mom and Dad have made plenty of progress without them under foot. We more than filled the huge bucket.

Here I am with my new juicer.

That's eighty lemons.

We measured out one cup of lemon juice into little Ziploc bags to freeze. Putting the bags into cups makes the pouring easier. Following my mother-in-law's recipe, it's 1 cup lemon juice, 1 cup sugar, and 2 quarts water. You may want to adjust it to your tastes.

Twenty six bags of lemon juice.

We also juiced fifteen grapefruit and thirty or so oranges, but that was before we started taking pictures.

FOUR THINGS ABOUT ME:

2008-02-22T16:20:00.001-07:00

A friend sent this to me and I thought it would be easier to post it here than to forward it on.

A) Four jobs I have had in my life
1. Housekeeping in the Grand Tetons
2. Teaching English in Japan
3. Receptionist in the university mail room (where I met El Guapo)
4. Adult Education TA (teaching GED and ESL classes)

B) Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Phantom of the Opera
3. Hairspray (I've only seen it once, but I'd love to own it.)
4. Curious George (It's a good thing I like it since my daughter constantly requests it.)

C) Four places I have lived
1. Provo, UT
2. Dallas, TX
3. Stillwater, OK
4. Flagstaff, AZ

D) Four TV shows that I watch:
Before starting this list I need to explain that we don't have cable or Dish Network. We get our TV from the broadcast channels or the internet. I would have added Monk to the list if I could have.
1. Supernatural
2. Lost
3. Curious George (with my kids)
4. Berenstain Bears (with my kids)

E) Four places I have been:
1. Melbourne, Australia
2. Shikoku, Japan
3. S.M. de Tucuman, Argentina (and S.S. de Jujuy)
4. Vancouver, Canada (for the World Expo in 1986)

F) Four people who email me regularly
I'm going with a very loose definition of "regularly."
1. El Guapo
2. My mother-in-law
3. My sister
4. My brother-in-law on a church mission in Germany

G) Four favorite foods
1. Buried Cherry Cookies from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook
2. Sweet and sour chicken
3. Chocolate
4. Cheese

H) Four places I'd rather be:
I'm quite happy where I am, so there's no where I'd rather be. However, there are a few places I'd like to visit.
1. Machu Picchu, Peru
2. Germany
3. Spain
4. New Zealand

I) Four family/friends I think will respond? (not including the people that already sent this to you)
I guess this doesn't really apply since I'm not emailing the list.

J) Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Not moving
2. My son starting kindergarten in the fall
3. Not moving
4. El Guapo having the summer off (although he'll be busy taking classes)

My Most Requested Meal

2008-02-19T12:02:00.001-07:00

Milanesa and Ensalada Rusa is probably the most requested meal I make aside from Kraft macaroni and cheese and ramen noodles. And we're not counting those because the voters didn't have a current voters' registration card, which could be because they're too young.

We make this meal every time we see my in-laws. As long as we make this, we have no fear of being disinherited. Plus we love my mother-in-law and she asks so nicely that we can't resist indulging her.

A little history: I spent a year and a half in Northern Argentina on a church mission. Unlike other parts of South America, they serve very little rice and beans in Argentina. Actually, I never ate rice and beans while I was there. Instead they serve a lot of beef -carne asada, chorizo, empanadas, etc. This is because Argentina has excellent beef. Milanesa happens to be one of those beef dishes. It's made from a thin slice of beef (the cut varies, but is usually from some type of steak or roast). Then you pound away at it to tenderize it and make it even thinner. It's dipped in egg, breaded, and then fried. It's often served with lettuce and tomato salad (with salt and fresh lemon juice and sometimes oil as the dressing) or french fries. The Milanesa itself can be eaten with fresh lemon or mayonnaise. Argentine mayonnaise is different than American. It's much better and more closely resembles Japanese Kewpie. If you've never tried it, I highly recommend tracking down the nearest foreign foods store and grabbing a bottle. It looks like this. Typical of the Japanese culture, it's very cute.

Ensalada Rusa actually means "Russian Salad." I have no idea where the name came from. It's a simple potato salad, although different from the standard potato salad that we see at American picnics and barbeques.

Step 1: Peel and cut potatoes. The size doesn't matter as long as you can fit them daintily into your mouth without embarrassing yourself. This preparation will also help your kids from embarrassing you by shoving huge potatoes into their mouths and trying to talk around them.

Step 2: Boil the potatoes. You want them cooked through, but not mushy. We're not making mashed potatoes. If they're too mushy, they fall apart when you add the sauce.

Step 3: Cut up and cook carrots. Or you can skip this part if you buy the frozen peas and carrots mix at the store. This is what we do. Add cooked (or at least thawed) carrots and peas to the potatoes.

Step 4: Convince my husband to come over and make the sauce. He's really good at it and refuses to write down any sort of recipe. If this fails, pour a small amount of oil over the potatoes. Argentines love to cook with oil, plus it keeps the potatoes from absorbing too much moisture and falling apart. The sauce is basically Kewpie, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. I think my husband adds some other stuff simply because he can't help himself.

Milanesa was one of my favorite dishes in Argentina. I realize that it's not strictly Argentine. Judging by the name, it probably originated in Milan, Italy, but don't quote me on that. It's also common in parts of Brazil.

Step 1: Cut the meat (I like to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts) into really thin pieces. If you have a good relationship with your butcher, this would be a good time to pull in a favor. I had a butcher at Albertsons hand cut a roast for me. If that fails, or if you're using chicken, it's easiest to cut it while it's semi frozen. If it's thawed, it wiggles around and is really difficult to cut. If it's too frozen, your knife won't cut it. Using a really sharp knife is helpful. No matter how you do it, be careful. I am always sure that I'm going to slice a good portion of my hand or finger off during this step.

Ideally, you will end up with a nice stack of randomly shaped thin slices. I used 4 big breasts for 5 adults and 1 child (the other child only used hers as a dipping device and never really ate any). We always have leftovers. I figure if you're going to put in the effort, you might as well go all out. The leftovers also make great sandwhiches.

Step 2: Beat 3-4 eggs in a bowl. Pour breadcrumbs (you will use the entire container) into a shallow bowl and a little oregano and garlic powder. Other good spices to add are onion powder, parsley, paprika, and garlic salt. It's up to you, but don't get carried away with it. Dip the sliced meat (individually) into eggs and then into the bread mixture. Place them on a plate to await Step 3.

Step 3: Fry the egged and breaded meat. Make sure that they are cooked through. No one wants to have their spouse accuse them of food poisoning. Lay the cooked milanesa on paper towels to absorb some of the grease. They should look about like this when they are done.

Serve the milanesa with Argentine mayo (or Kewpie) and lemon. We also had cucumber with ranch and an apple-pear, but those didn't make it into the leftovers picture below.

We also made coconut macaroons. Sorry, it's a secret family recipe that my mom conned another family into sharing with her. As a result, I'm not allowed to share it. But they're yummy and I don't even like coconut.

With all the yummy food, we had a great visit with my in-laws and were sad to say goodbye. We've already scheduled the next visit and milanesa dinner for this summer.

Hopefully I'll have a chance to make ñoquis, which the Argentines borrowed from the Italians as well. Except that the Italians spell it gnocchis. They also borrowed canelone from the Italians. I have a recipe for that too. Now I'm getting hungry.

Total Lunar Eclipse

2008-02-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

There is a lunar eclipse coming up tomorrow night (Wednesday February 20). North and South America should have a good view of the total eclipse. It will start at 10:01 pm EST and last 51 minutes.

I'm excited about it. My parents always showed us the events of the night sky. We stayed up late watching the Pereid meteor shower (every August) the night before school started. We saw Haley's comet and other wonders. They made a point of taking advantage of learning opportunities that they knew wouldn't come around often.

While living in Flagstaff in August, 2003 we had the chance to see Mars at its closest point to Earth in almost 60,000 years. We saw it through the original 24-inch Clark Refracting Telescope at the Lowell Observatory where Percival Lowell studied Mars (and discovered the canals on Mars). The telescope is the same one that Percival Lowell built in 1896. On the same sight is the Pluto Discovery Telescope through which Pluto was discovered in 1930.

Luckily the eclipse starts right at my kids' bedtime (8:00 pm MST) so they can stay up a little bit to see it as well. Read more about the eclipse on Space.com.

A New Project

2008-02-07T10:28:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with the Blue Bliss Baby Dress at E-patterns Central. Unfortunately I don't have a baby and don't plan on having another any time soon. Actually, we're planning on getting a dog next time either of us start thinking about having another baby. Not that I'm against having babies. They're great and I love the two that I have (they're not babies anymore though), but realistically, we can't afford another. El Guapo is a teacher which means we're lucky that we can afford two kids without me having to work. It also means that we live in a two bedroom apartment and will never be able to afford a home even with the current downslide in the housing market here.

Enough of that tangent. So I bought the dress pattern and am trying to enlarge it. I'm using Paton's Lacette and a D-hook. It's enlarged the pattern (possibly too much, but that's OK), but I think I'll need to add some length to it. After all, babies and toddlers are built a little differently. I'm also going to have to find or make a slip to go beneath, but first I'll finish the dress.

Here's what I have so far. It's the collar to almost the end of the sleeves.

Dress Alterations

2008-01-27T12:27:00.001-07:00

I showed up to drop my son off at preschool Thursday morning not knowing what I was getting myself into. Almost as soon as I entered the room, my son's teacher said she had heard that I can sew. This is because my husband works at the same school (he teaches Spanish and social studies). From experience, I know that people only bring up things like that when they need a favor.

After much searching, her daughter had finally found a dress for the upcoming school dance. So she tried to explain the dress to me and the type of alterations she was hoping for. The alterations I could understand, but I had no idea what she was talking about with the dress. Somehow it was assumed that I had volunteered for the job and it was too late to back out.

Did I mention that this was Thursday and the dance was Friday? With my husband in charge of the dance, as well as being the DJ for it, our household was already busy enough. So at 7:00 pm, I met my son's teacher at Joann's for my first peek at the dress and to buy the fabric needed for the alterations. I was home in time to put my kids to bed and start sewing at 8:00 pm.

At this point I've never seen the dress on the girl and my only chance will be at noon on Friday when she's coming for a fitting. So, I started with the most difficult part -bringing up the neckline. I had to match aqua fabric with a gathered black chiffon overlay. Sounds fun, doesn't it? The other part was too bad, just adding an extra three inches of the same black chiffon to the skirt. That part didn't take too long.

I am not a seamstress and have never sewn for anyone outside my own family. I can follow a pattern and make it look decent on the outside. The piece I added to the neckline ended up looking better than I had hoped on the outside, but was pretty ugly on the inside. I decided that if had a week's notice, I might care a little more about the inside of the dress. I had to do a little hand stitching to finish it up and declared it done at midnight. I had been in bed for all of 20 minutes when my little girl woke up. She has this amazing ability to wake up right as I'm trying to fall asleep.

I gave the dress to El Guapo to take to work so that my son's teacher didn't have to take her daughter out of school and drive up here on her lunch break for a fitting. She could try it on at school and still return it to me in time for any last-last minute alterations. Luckily it fit perfectly, because the sleepless night left me with a tension headache that lasted well into the afternoon.

She called to say thank you and that her daughter loved the dress. I was going to take before and after pictures, but I was more concerned with just getting it done. I was promised pictures since I still have not seen the dress being worn. Unfortunately, I probably won't be posting the pictures here unless I get permission from the mom.

So, the moral of the story... It may have been a hassle, but I remember being a teenager. In her place, I would have been eternally grateful to have the perfect dress to wear to the dance. Adolescence is difficult enough.

Finally some pictures!

2008-01-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

I had to wait until I could make it to the store to get the button, but I finally have pictures of my felted bag! I do really like how it turned out. Sorry if I went picture happy.

The inside. The flash makes it look gray, but it really is a dark black.

The button closure.

And a close up on the button.

Although I love the finished product, I've decided to sell it in my etsy store. That way I can make more. Besides, making the bag is the fun part!

For My New Nephew!

2008-01-12T16:41:00.000-07:00

Another baby and another sweater. My sister-in-law is getting induced at the end of the month. She's having a boy. So I better get this one in the mail soon!

It's from the Crochet Me pattern Baby, It's Cold Outside.

Felted Bag

2008-01-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

I just finished my first felting project. My kids gave me Patons Classic Merino Wool for Christmas. I wanted to make a decent sized purse that could hold everything that a diaper bag would. I've had too many years of diaper bags and refuse to carry them now even though I still have a little one in diapers. (Hmm, I should have added potty training her to my New Year's resolutions). So I made a black bag that can hold wallet, diapers, snacks, sippy cups, and more.

For my first time felting, I probably should have followed a pattern, but I couldn't find any that I liked. So, I improvised and it turned out pretty good. There are a few things that I would change if I did it again, which I just might do. The sides puckered and the strap didn't shrink like I hoped it would. Other than that, I like it. I just need to find the perfect button and then I'll post a picture.

My Book List

2008-01-01T20:59:00.003-07:00

As one of my New Year's resolutions I am trying to read 25 books this year. That's just over 2 a month. It's not really a hard goal for me, but I had gotten out of the habit. I grew up with a book constantly in my hand and I've missed it. My mom jokes that when I was home sick from school, she knew I would feel good enough to go back to school when my book was finished. I also spent most of my Sophomore Geometry class reading and only occasionally glancing at what the teacher was doing on the board. Of course he was a basketball coach first and then a math teacher, plus he spent the first half of class giving us the answers to the previous day's homework.

So here is the list of what I have read so far this year. I will update it periodically.

1. All Through the Night by Mary Higgins Clark (I actually started this on Dec 31, 2007 but since I had only read the first 2 chapters before 2008 started I'm still counting it.)
2. Pretend You Don't See Her by Mary Higgins Clark
3. My Gal Sunday by Mary Higgins Clark (The characters were annoyingly perfect)
4. Dancing in the Dark by Mary Jane Clark
5. Do You Want to Know a Secret? by Mary Jane Clark
6. M is For Malice by Sue Grafton
7. O is For Outlaw by Sue Grafton
8. The Bureau of Resurrection by D. Kim Burnham
9. Against the Grain by Mary Margaret Jensen
10. Still Watch by Mary Higgins Clark
11. A Stranger is Watching by Mary Higgins Clark
12. Ordeal by Innocence by Agatha Christie
13. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie
14. They Came to Baghdad by Agatha Christie
15. The Mirror Cracked from Side to Side by Agatha Christie
16. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
17. A Cry in The Night by Mary Higgins Clark
18. Where Are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark
19. Let Me Call You Sweetheart by Mary Higgins Clark
20. The Anastasia Syndrome and Other Stories by Mary Higgins Clark
21. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
22. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
23. Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star by Brandon Mull
24. Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull
25. Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
26. Unlikely Assassins by M. E. Cooper
27. Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
28. The Host by Stephanie Meyer
29. The Mad, the Bad, and the Innocent: The Criminal Mind on Trial -Tales of a Forensic Psychologist by Barbara R. Kirwin, Ph.D.
30. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
31. Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
32. Where Are You Now? by Mary Higgins Clark
33. Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
34. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
35. For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
36. Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story by Mary Downing Hahn
37. Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman
38. Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
39. Games for Reading byPeggy Kaye
40. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
41. Stand the Storm by Breena Clarke
42. An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan
43. Duty and Desire: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan
44. These Three Remain: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan
45. Relic by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Currently reading
Editing a book (The Mobile Conscience: Immunity and the Laws of Sinai)
The Book of Mormon

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone had a great 2007 and will have a wonderful 2008! I had mixed feelings looking back over the past year. A lot of good things have happened and a few things that I wasn't really thrilled about as well. My baby has gone from crawling to walking and talking. My little boy isn't so little anymore and is in 1/2 day preschool twice a week. He uses words like distract, disgusting, panic, and filthy that make him seem too big for having just turned 5. So while I'm thrilled to see how far they've come over the past year, I'm not ready for them to grow up so fast.

Other highlights over the past year... I picked up crocheting again and started making my own patterns. We moved. El Guapo started a new job. I went from working with the kids ages 3-11 at church to teaching a Sunday school class with my husband for 14 and 15 year olds. I found out my sister and sister-in-law were expecting (both due in February 2008). I visited Mexico for the first time on our Mexican Riviera cruise. I got to visit my 91 year old Grandma introduce her to my daughter who shares her name and take a 4 generation of girls picture with my mom there as well. We bid farewell to my brother-in-law who will be serving a church mission in Germany for the next 2 years. My son got ear tubes put in and his adenoids taken out. It's been eventful. We've done a lot, survived a lot, and learned a lot. I have mixed feelings on it's passing, but I'm looking forward to the New Year and all that it might bring.

To welcome in the New Year we had a party. It was over by 7:00 PM since since half the party (our kids) had to be in bed by 8:00 PM. We started with a yummy dinner of homemade sushi. It was our first attempt, so they weren't as pretty as you get in a restaurant. We had a great time and improved as we went. My 5 year old even made some with a little help from Dad.

After dinner we had a mini carnival. It's a tradition from my in-law's that we've adopted. It's great for young kids and doesn't involve staying up 'til midnight. We each were in charge of a game and handed out prizes. My son did a penny toss. You try to throw the penny as close as you can to the line without touching it. The closest wins. My daughter tampered with the results (she kept picking up the pennies) so we're not sure who won. Then we did a bean bag toss, a fishing game, and a shooting gallery (with a toy gun that shoots foam discs). Then we toasted in the New Year (I'm sure it was midnight somewhere) and did confetti poppers. The kids were thrilled and no one lost any more sleep than normal. I have "chronic insomnia with acute episodes." That's what the doctor said. By the way never take Ambien.

I have to admit that in the past I have skipped the New Year's resolution tradition. I figured why make a resolution that rarely makes it past the middle of January. But since there were a few things that I've been wanting to do anyway, I decided to make them into resolutions for 2008. I'm going to list them here, not because I expect you to care, but to help me remember and for a little accountability.

My first goal is one that I talked El Guapo (see previous entry for explanation of Hubby's new name) into doing as well. We plan on reading 25 books this year. We have a few already specified as part of the goal. We are both reading the Book of Mormon and El Guapo also wants to read Crucial Conversations as one of his 25. I have to admit after sitting in on my father-in-law's lecture based on the book, I am tempted add it to my book list as well. I'll be adding completed books to my list as I finish them.

Another goal El Guapo and I have in common is exercising. El Guapo has a specific goal of so many pounds by a specific date. I don't. I just want to be more active and maybe loose 5-10 pounds. I just like how I feel when I've exercised. I have more energy and a more positive outlook. So I'm not looking at a strict exercise schedule, but I plan on having a few dance parties with my kids. And I love that my son likes to do pilates with me. He thinks they're fun, which makes me laugh.

Next goal is to have a better morning routine. I admit that I'm kind of lazy. There are days when we don't get dressed until almost lunch time. Although some of my most productive days have been spent entirely in pajamas. I like to clean in my pajamas. So the goal is to get up, have breakfast with the kids, get all three of us dressed and properly groomed, and read stories. Then we can get on with whatever the day has in store for us. I may have to skip the stories on preschool days though. I hate waking the kids up, so we're often in a rush on those days.

I am also continuing the goal of making one toy a month for Kristie's Toy Drive. So that's a minimum of 12 toys by June 2008.

I am also joining in on El Guapo's goal of not moving this year. It may seem like an easy goal, but we've never had a year without a move. We're worse than the military. We've moved 9 times in 7 1/2 years. Alone I'm even worse. I haven't lived in one place for more than a year since I graduated from high school in 1996. So we're hoping to avoid the hassle of moving and save the cost of a move this year.

There may have been more goals that I was considering, but I can't remember them. Now you see why I'm listing them here. And I used to make fun of my mom for making lists all the time. Now I wish I was in the habit of doing it more often. Sorry this post went on so long. Thanks for humoring me and reading to the end. Have a wonderful New Year!

My Christmas

2008-01-01T19:05:00.000-07:00

I had a great Christmas. The best part is that I got presents that will fuel my crafty obsessions. It actually started with my birthday a month earlier. My mom gave me a needle felting kit. It came with a felted purse, wool roving, felting needles, and beads. The idea is that you can use the felting needles (which have barbed tips like a fish hook) to attach the wool roving (wool that hasn't been spun) to the felted purse. It came with a design and easy step by step instructions. My mom also sent extra needles and roving in other colors. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to try it even though I'm really excited about it. However, it has also gotten me excited about the whole felting process.

So for Christmas my kids were ever so thoughtful and bought me Patons Classic Merino Wool in black. OK, I picked it out, but I did take my son to the store with me. So I have now started a black purse/diaper bag that will be my first adventure in felting. I have spent too many years carrying ugly diaper bags and now just buy big purses instead. I couldn't find a pattern I like and have started my own. I have started and restarted a few times. I'm trying to keep it fairly simple since I'm not sure how felting will alter the final results.

This year El Guapo (aka my cute hubby) actually surprised me. He tries really hard each year, but it's very hard to surprise me. This year he succeeded. He got me a jewelry box. The kind I've wanted for quite a while. The other gift was Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker book. Which just goes to show that he really does pay attention when I talk about crochet stuff. I've read parts and like it so far, but it's not a book for everyone. If you're offended by the term "butt load" this book is not for you. I haven't really looked at the stitch diagrams and instructions, so I'm not sure how this book would be for a beginner. Hopefully I'll be able to get to a couple projects from it soon. When I get a few other projects finished up first.

Small Christmas Presents

2008-01-01T10:34:00.001-07:00

I meant to get these posted before Christmas, but life tends to get so busy around the holidays. So, here they are and a belated Happy Holidays to all of you. I hope it wasn't overly stressful and that you were able to enjoy some time with your friends and family.

These were filled with candy and given to my son's preschool teachers. I let him write on the tags. He wrote his name and drew a picture of a back bone. It was a really good drawing of a spinal column for a 5 year old. Maybe he'll grow up to be a doctor... We can always hope.

The pattern is one that I posted earlier in December.

My husband (who teased me about calling him "my cute hubby" and shall be referred to as "El Guapo" from now on) needed some small gifts for coworkers. We had originally decided on beaded bookmarks, but altered the plan slightly. Instead we made beaded crocheted book thongs. It doesn't sound like a big difference, but price wise it did make a difference. I made eight total, but I'd like to make another to go with one of my New Year's resolutions. When I get a chance I'll share my resolutions.

Here's a close up of one. I used the pattern from Crochet Me, although I altered the length.

Peguins!

2007-12-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

In honor of the snow and ice storms that seem to be occurring everywhere but where we live, I made penguins. Of course, when you find irresistible patterns, you make them regardless of the weather. Both penguins are headed for Kristie's Toy Drive come summer. It gets way to hot to keep penguins in Phoenix during the summer.

The pattern on the left is from Lionbrand's website. It's an easy pattern and works up really fast.

The one on the right is from Peggytoes. The pattern actually calls for black eyelash yarn for all the black parts. It makes a really cute fuzzy penguin. However, I didn't have enough and I hate working with it. So I tend to do fuzzy yarn projects when the kids are in bed. But I just couldn't wait to try out this pattern. Fortunately he looks pretty cute in just plain old Red Heart Super Saver. I left off some of the details from the original pattern. Partly because I prefer the simplistic and because I wanted it to be a little less girly.

Peggy Read is giving away a copy of the pattern for the large penguin (she has one in thread too) if you have donated to Kristie's Toy Drive in the past or as soon as you donate one for the upcoming drive. You have until June 2008 for the current drive.

Small Christmas Stocking Pattern

2007-12-11T20:32:00.000-07:00

Small Christmas Stocking

Crochet Pattern

This pattern has been tested. If you find any errors, please let me know so that I can correct them.

Please do not post this pattern on other sites or attempt to sell it. Instead, please provide a link back to this page. Thank you!

Beginner level

Approximate size: 5 inches

Materials Needed:
Size G hook
Color A ww yarn (1 ounce)
Color B ww yarn (2 ounces)

Do not join rounds.
Pattern is done in a continuous spiral unless otherwise noted.

Stocking
With Color A
Round 1: ch 2, 6 sc in 2nd chain from hook. (6)
Rnd 2: 2 sc in each stitch around. (12)
Rnd 3: *sc in next stitch, inc. Repeat from * around. (18)
Rnd 4-5: sc in each stitch around. (18)
Sl st in next stitch. Fasten off and weave in end.

Join Color B with sl st in any stitch.
Rnd 6-10: sc in each stitch around. (18)
Do not fasten off.

Heel
Worked in rows, not rounds.
Row 1: attach with sl st in 6th st from end of round 10. 2 sc in next 2 stitches, sl st in next stitch. Ch 1, turn. (6)
Row 2: sl st in first stitch, sc in next 2 stitches, inc in next, sc in next 2 stitches, sl st into next stitch of round 10. Ch 1, turn. (8)
Row 3: sl st in first stitch, sc in next 3 stitches, inc in next, sc in next 3 stitches, sl st into next stitch of round 10. Ch 1, turn. (10)
Row 4: sl st in first stitch, sc in next 4 stitches, inc in next, sc in next 4 stitches, sl st into next stitch of round 10. Ch 1, turn. (12)
Row 5: skip first stitch, 1 dec over next 2 stitches, sc in next 7 stitches, 1 dec over last 2 stitches, sl st into next stitch of round 10. Ch 1, turn. (10)
Row 6: skip first stitch, 1 dec over next 2 stitches, sc in next 6 stitches, 1 dec over last 2 stitches, sl st into next stitch of round 10. Ch 1, turn. (9)
Fasten off and weave in tail.

Continue Stocking
Pick up Color B from round 10.
Rnd 11: sc in each stitch around. (This will include Row 6 of Heel and the remnants of Rnd 10). (18)
Rnd 12-19: sc in each stitch around. (18)
Sl st in next stitch. Fasten off and weave in end.

Join Color A with sl st in any stitch.
Rnd 20-21: sc in each stitch around. (18)
Fasten off and weave in tail.

Optional Loop
Attach Color A with sl st to round 21 at back of Stocking (above Heel). Ch 4, sl st into next stitch of round 21.
Fasten off and weave in tail.

Abbreviations
Sc = single crochet
Sl st = slip stitch
Ch = chain
Inc = increase (2 sc in one stitch)
Dec = decrease (insert hook in next stitch, yarn over, pull up loop, insert hook in second
stitch, yarn over, pull up loop, yarn over and pull through all 3 loops on hook)

© Emily Miller 2007

A Bear

2007-12-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

My son is convinced that he needs this bear. He's sure that he doesn't have enough bears. We go through this every time I make something. Even sweaters. As soon as I put the item away, he forgets about it. This particular bear is joining the Toy Drive stash that will be sent to Kristie next summer. He looks a little plain right now. I think I'm going to have to dig a little deeper into my craft stuff to see if I can find a good ribbon for him.

The pattern was a free one and can be found here.

A Little Stocking

2007-12-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

I wanted a little stocking to crochet for a simple gift. I tried one that I found online, but didn't like how it turned out. So I improvised one. I thought it turned out well. It's only 5 inches long. The perfect size to fill with chocolate and give away.

Hopefully I'll have the pattern up soon for anyone that's interested.

A Pocket Dragon

2007-12-07T10:02:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try to make a pocket sized dragon. It just sounded fun. So, here is attempt #1.

There are some things that I'd like to change. I think the face looks like a pig. Plus there are a few other things I'd like to do differently.

SARAH - DON'T LOOK!

2007-12-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Sarah, if you want this to be a surprise, don't read any farther.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My sister is having her first baby. She has spoiled my kids since they were born. She visited just after each was born. She brings them treats when she visits, sends birthday presents, buys them clothes, etc. Yep, she's a great aunt. And a great sister. I'm sure I won't be the same aunt that she's been, but I had to do something for my upcoming niece. I'm sure that she'll be getting plenty of blankets. I know my mom has made 2. So I decided to make a little sweater.

Here's the little sweater that I made for her. I used a thinner yarn and had to alter the pattern a little. I think I may have made sleeves a little long, but they look cute rolled up.

It's from the Crochet Me pattern Baby, It's Cold Outside.

Little Alien gets a Spaceship!

2007-12-03T12:15:00.000-07:00

The alien may look familiar. It's the same pattern as the one I made for my Dad.

Only now he has his very own spaceship. Both were pretty quick to make. The alien is under 3 inches tall and the space ship is 3 1/2 inches wide. This little alien is headed for Kristie's toy drive next summer.

The pattern is now for sale in my etsy store.

My First Cradle Purse

2007-12-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make a cradle purse and decided that Kristie's toy drive was a good excuse to try one. I started and mostly finished the cradle purse in October. All that was left was weaving in the ends. I also wanted to make a pillow and blanket to go with it. So it sat like that for almost two months. Sad, I know. It was a very busy and very sick time at our house. So I finally got around to it last night. I really like the little blanket. I couldn't decide what color to make it, so I alternated both colors.

The cradle purse is from a free pattern.

Ballet Sweater With Picture!

2007-11-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

I mentioned earlier that I had finished this, but I was busy getting ready for a family vacation and hadn't taken a picture yet. This is actually the best picture I have of it. Unfortunately it doesn't show up well in black over a black dress. It did turn out great and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law both loved it. They were hinting that they'd each love one, but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make 2 more.

Our vacation went well even though I was really sick while trying to pack for it. I felt better a few days into the cruise, but didn't get in as much crocheting as I'd hoped. I spent the time chasing my little girl around the ship instead. We had a great time though and I'm very grateful to my in-laws for helping watch the kids so my cute hubby and I could have some child-free time. And for paying for the cruise too. I hope they have as many wonderful memories as we do.

Lunchtime at My House...

2007-11-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Here’s how lunch went for me today. I actually let my 4 year old pick between leftovers and sandwiches. He went with the nacho leftovers from last night. We did have to open a new can of olives though. There are never olive leftovers at our house. We have been known to go through more than one can during dinner. Keep in mind that the biggest olive eaters at our house are the munchkin-sized ones. My not quite 2 year old can eat over half a can all by herself. If you’ve ever had an olive lover in diapers, you’ll understand why we refer to olives as black beetles.

So, I’m peacefully eating my lunch as my toddler is crushing tortilla chips and dumping them on the floor. My cute hubby refers to the area beneath her chair as her food storage and has realized that trying to keep it clean is a loosing battle. Just as she asks for her water (keep in mind it’s not in a sippy cup), my almost 5 year old informs me that he needs 4 more olives. Knowing him, I ask to see the hand he’s hiding behind his back. He just smiles and asks for 4 more olives. After asking a few more times to see his hidden hand (with no results), I give in and dish out 4 more olives. Then I ask to see the hand again. His has olives stuck on 4 of his 5 fingers.

Back to sister, she has dumped the water on her tray and is trying to lap it up like a puppy. Now you see why it was just water. I’m wondering if the sour cream that her hair is falling into will leave her hair crunchy or work more like a natural conditioner. Her last bath was only 2 hours ago, so I’m really hoping for the natural conditioner. So I hand her a napkin in hopes that she’ll soak up some of the water from her tray with it. Don’t laugh, it occasionally works.

Then there’s olive boy. He now has the newest 4 olives on the second hand and is doing battle between the two hands. Apparently olives make excellent helmets for warring bands of fingers. Oh well, at least he’s not blowing bubbles in his water anymore.

And the other little mess maker (good thing she’s so cute –all kids need a redeeming value or two) is shredding her water soaked napkin and throwing it on the floor.

And me? I’m trying to listen to soothing Christmas music and wondering why Grandma has 14 copies of Away in a Manger on her iPod. Two of which are by the same group. We all need our little escapes, right?

Lunch is over. The mess is still there. My son is already asking for a snack and doesn’t seem to understand that if you finish lunch you won’t be hungry 10 minutes later. I’ve learned that logic doesn’t work well with young children. Soon it will be naptime for the youngest and I’ll finally get to shower. I do love my life. I love it even more when I don’t have to wait until “someday” to look back laugh at it.

Ballet Sweater Finished!

2007-11-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

I finished the Ballet Sweater from Crochet Me. I'm excited about how it turned out. I was worried about it all fitting together with the adjustments I made, but it worked out nicely. Instead of having it tie closed, I added buttons. I don't have time to post a picture right now, but I promise to add one when I can!

When I showed my cute hubby, he admitted that he hadn't really been able to picture what I had been talking about while I was making the sweater. He hears the word crochet and kind of tunes out, assuming that it's beyond his understanding. But he listens politely and offers his advice based on who knows what. So when I showed him the finished product, a light went on and he could finally see what I had been trying to explain to him. He said something like "Wow! That looks really stylish (he had trouble coming up with the right word and actually called it sexy first). It looks like something you could buy at Nordstroms." I'm assuming that's a compliment.

A Baby Crocodile

2007-10-31T11:29:00.000-07:00

My kids' room has been home to a lot of things. We've had a beta fish, tadpoles, frogs, a snake, and of course the many messes. It is now home to a baby crocodile. He's 6 1/2 inches long.

A year ago I made some no-slip-clips for my daughter and had a few of the clips left over. I rediscovered them last week and they were just begging to be made into something. I put one inside the crocodile's mouth. So this little guy has a pretty good grip when he bites.

My son is thrilled with him and has been clipping him all over the house.

A Halloween Treat!

2007-10-29T14:31:00.000-07:00

A long time ago I signed up for the Bright Ideas e-newsletter. The last one had a recipe for Mummies made from pretzels and chocolate. I have a weakness for chocolate and love the sweet/salty mix. I was able to convince my cute husband that this would be a great addition to our pumpkin carving party. He has a weakness for chocolate too.

Because I have small children, it's easiest to spread out the process. So Sunday I did the pretzel dipping, while Hubby tried to keep the kids away (a near impossible task). I used an improvised double boiler instead of microwaving like the directions said. I'm also substituting chocolate chips for the Dove bars. I used the entire bag of chocolate chips plus the remnants of a previous bag. It ended up making more than the recipe says.

Here they are about halfway through the process.

I didn't have vanilla frosting so I used the cream cheese frosting that I had on hand. When I make sugar cookies I double the batch of both cookie dough and frosting. Then I divide it up and freeze it. It makes the process a little easier for subsequent cookie making fun. So I happened to have my ziplock of frosting ready. Just snip the corner and squirt!

This is about half of what we made.

They were a big hit. My son told me they were scary. He was talking about the good, fun kind of scary (not the Haunted House kind of scary -long story). My daughter enjoyed hers as well, starting with the frosting. She was a chocolaty mess when she finished.

To keep us from eating all of them, we took a few plates to our neighbors. Share the sugar highs! I think these will be a yearly tradition. They were a lot of fun to make and taste great!

Something for me!

2007-10-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

I currently only have one crochet project underway. It's the Ballet Sweater from Crochet Me. It's been an adventure. The pattern is well written, but you have to pay attention to what row or repetition that you're on. That's not a big deal though and the diagrams help as well. The hard part for me is that I'm not using the yarn called for in the pattern. I'm using size 3 crochet thread which has altered the guage. I had to frog (undo) a few rows and start over after the medium was starting to look huge. The problem then is that once you adjust one peice of a clothing pattern, you have to do it to all the other peices. So far it looks like all my adjustments are coming together. I have the back and one front panel done. More updates later...

Halloween Costumes

2007-10-29T09:48:00.001-07:00

Not only did I finish the 1 1/2 costumes on time, I was able to throw together a last minute costume for me as well. It's been years since I dressed up, and I realized that I was going to be the only one not in costume. So while my daughter was napping I crocheted little ears and a tail and I went as a lab rat. I got the lab coat from my dad a couple years ago (My dad is an immunologist and does skin cancer research on mice.)

The Phantom cape turned out really good, but not because of my sewing skills. The fabric was perfect for a cape. It was lightweight and flowy (not a real word, but you get the idea). I finished it while Hubby was at work so I tried it on myself. Capes are fun to walk around in with the cape billowing out behind you. I can see the appeal.

So here we are: Phantom of the Opera in the back, Batman, a lab rat, and our Butterfly Princess who refused to wear her wings. Taking pictures with kids is an adventure. What did we do before digital cameras?

My First Non-Crochet Related Post

2007-10-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

Until now I have only blogged on crochet. Brace yourselves! This post is not about crocheting -no hooks or yarn involved. But it is craft related still. There may be more non-crochet posts coming up. I'm taking a little break from crocheting. Maybe it's time to catch up on scrapbooking.

Halloween is coming and I somehow volunteered to make 1 1/2 costumes. I'm pretty sure I did it willingly. In case you're wondering, the 1/2 a costume is a cape for my husband. Almost every year (since high school) he dresses up as Phantom of the Opera. This year he decided it was time for a new cape. I haven't told him that I'm going to charge him for it. I'm going to make him sing Music of the Night for me. He has a great voice and I love hearing him sing. My sewing talent in exchange for his signing talent. Sounds fair to me. I have to get started on it tonight since he needs it for Saturday and I still have to finish the other costume.

The other costume is for my 20 month old daughter. She's going to be a butterfly princess. Her room is decorated in butterflies and she was dubbed Princess Poopy Pants as a baby. So butterfly princess seemed perfect for her. I love when kids are too young to choose their own costumes. Buying a Batman costume from WalMart (for my 4 year old) wasn't nearly as fun.

We lucked out that nearly everything we needed for both costumes were on sale at JoAnns the day we went. The only snag we hit was that the pattern I wanted was only available for sizes 6-8. I need a size 2 or smaller. So then I had this brilliant idea to make it fit a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Sometimes brilliant ideas don't seem so brilliant when you start working on them.

I made the bodice more of an overlay that requires a shirt underneath and then it laces up with ribbon. It's a little obnoxious to get on and off, but it fits both kids. Yes, I made my poor son model it for me. I bribed him with candy to wear it while I hemmed the 4 year old length. Right now it's ready to go for a 4 year old, but I need to make a temporary 2 year old hem. I plan on taking the second hem out after Halloween and saving it for a dress up box when she's a little older. There's also a slip underneath that will make a great tutu for a ballerina dress up or future costume.

Here's what I have so far. It's a cute picture (even though she was sick when I took the picture), but it doesn't show a lot of the dress. There's gold ribbon around the sleeves and along the front.

Holiday Friends Pattern Available!

2007-10-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

The patterns are finished for my Holiday Friends! The pattern is available at Em's Emporium!

Eternity Squared Afghan

2007-10-17T11:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you see a pattern that you just can't resist. The Eternity Squared (8-inch square) Pattern was one of those for me. Mostly because my husband and I thought it was perfect for his mom. Even the name of the square reminded me of her. So we made it for her for Christmas. Yes, WE made it. My cute husband actually learned enough for me to walk him through a few stitches so that it could be from both of us. Then he saw how fast I crocheted and accused me of showing off.

Since we're cheap (I'm not ashamed to admit it) and my mother-in-law is coming to visit, we're giving it to her this week! That way we can see the look on her face and we save on postage (yarn is heavy). Plus we're pretty excited that it's done.

A Flower Sweater

2007-10-13T09:33:00.001-07:00

I had some Caron Bliss left over from a previous project and had no idea what to do with it. I finally decided that it would make a wonderfully soft sweater. I had to buy a few more skeins to finish it, so I didn't save money by making it myself. It's so soft and snugly that no one is complaining about the cost.

It's my first sweater and I didn't have a pattern. The front and back are made using Krystal's Daisy Square. I made it up as I went on the sleeves and then added a sc border in pink or mango on the sleeves, neckline, and bottom edge. It's big on her right now, but she'll grow into it eventually.

Holiday Friends

2007-10-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

I do realize that Christmas is still more than 2 months away, but I wanted to finish these so I could get to my various other projects.

The Hliday Friends crochet pattern will include the instructions for all four -the reindeer, Santa, the snowman, and elf. It will be for sale in Em's Emporium in about a week (my testers are trying out the pattern right now).

The poor reindeer almost didn't get ears. I wondered why it looked like something was missing on him. He looks much better now that he has ears.

You can't see it in the picture, but Santa has thumbs sticking out on his mittens. It looks really cute. Maybe I should take a better picture. I'm going to put candy in his bag. When it gets closer to Christmas and I can actually put him out where people will see him.

I love this little guy. He actually has 3 different hats because I couldn't decide what style he should have. I think this hat is my favorite though.

And lastly, here's the elf. He almost had a beard, but it made him look like Hagrid from Harry Potter. The elf has thumbs just like Santa.

The Bureau of Resurrection

2007-10-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

My dad recently finished his book The Bureau of Resurrection and it is now for sale! He has also decided to offer a little alien with each purchase. Here's the little crocheted alien that you'll get when you buy the book. He is my own pattern and measures about 2 1/2 inches tall.

Here's a summary of the book and more information on how to get the alien.

Tom Turkey

2007-09-25T12:02:00.000-07:00

My mom always called our Thanksgiving turkey by name: "Tom." So in honor of all the Toms that she stuffed and served over the years, here's one that you can stuff and save.

I had fun with him, except for the tail. I think I redid it at least 4 or 5 times before I was happy with it. He's only 4 inches tall. Yep, short and fat!

He's available to purchase at Em’s Emporium at etsy.com!

I'm hoping to have some of his Christmas relatives coming soon! While my daughter napped in the car, I wrote down some ideas for more little Holiday friends. What else is there to do when you're stuck in the Wal Mart parking lot waiting for a sick kid to wake up for that dreaded shopping trip that you can no longer avoid because you're down to only 2 diapers at home?

Snake for the Toy Drive

2007-09-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here's toy #2 for next years toy drive. A little green snake. It's the same pattern as the orange and white snake I made before. Now to hide it before my kids see it.

A Pumpkin Basket

2007-09-10T08:50:00.001-07:00

It was suggested that the ghost needed a little something to go with it. So here's a splash of color to brighten up the party! And a great place for a little bit of Halloween candy!

The pumpkin is pretty easy and really quick to make. For those that hate sewing, the only sewing is to attach the leaves.

By the end of the week the patterns for the 2 liter ghost and the pumpkin basket are available to purchase at Em’s Emporium at etsy.com!

Spider

2007-09-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

My son is under the impression that I should buy him something everytime I go to the store. Even when he's not there. When I drop him off at preschool he tells me to go to WalMart and buy him something. So when we went to JoAnns, he fell in love with a spider that he just had to have. Needless to say, I didn't buy it for him. I did tell him that I could make him one though. So after waiting for 2 weeks, I finally got around to making his spider for him.

I used Patons ChaCha in purple together with Red Heart Super Saver in black and a big hook (size N?). The body is just a flat ball shape. The head is a bowl shape (not a complete sphere), stuffed and sewn on.

The legs are sc-ed over pipe cleaners so that they are bendable and match the rest of the spider. I bent over the ends of the pipecleaners and tied the yarn to the bent end before starting. Then sc along the pipecleaner, stopping 1/2 inch before the end. Fasten off, and leave a long tail for sewing. I glued the pipecleaner on, and then used the tail to sew it in place. So the legs should survive two small children!