A Playful yarn

Yarn feast

2011-10-12T07:06:00.000-05:00

I tell you, it's either feast or famine as far as yarn related sales go. For so long I've been sitting around doing other things instead of crocheting and out of the blue my husband says he got me a sale. A woman ordered a 'Fisherman sweater in pink'....alrighty then. After looking at many different patterns I decided on this one for a size 4 girl. The woman (who bought it for her grand daughter) loved it so much she wants one of her own. Phew, ok. (The sweater for the little girl is pictured)
Then he comes home and says he has an order for 3 penis pillows (he just thinks they're the funniest thing I've ever made) from another woman at work. Wow, ok. Then I get an order from my Etsy store. Then....catch my breath....I get a recurring order for beanies. I'm up to my neck in yarn activities right now......and I like it.
My daughter has been telling me for a while that I need to get back into crocheting because I loved it and because I could make money at it. I guess I should have listened to her.

Trying to get it back

2011-09-29T11:29:00.000-05:00

It's been so long since I've sat down and crocheted something for the fun of it. The only thing I've done lately is the few orders I get from Etsy. You know how life is, it takes over sometimes and leaves you in the dust unless you keep up. So many things have changed in my life the last time I posted.
Last night my husband came home with 2 orders for me from people he works with. One was for 2 penis pillows and one was for a Fisherman's sweater for a child. He said "you have such a talent and you've been wasting it. You have to get back into it". That really surprised me. That he thought of things that way.... So, he's right. Time to get my blog going again and back into the crochet world....where I belong!

Crochet Dude's Crochet Tools now available online!

2010-09-09T07:44:00.000-05:00

And here it is! Finally! The new line of crochet tools by The Crochet Dude. I'll take one of each, please. I haven't been able to find them close to me yet so the fact that they're available online is awesome (or not, depending which side of the wallet my hubby is on...lol). But, now I have some things to put on my Christmas list. Go here to check out all the cool things you just MUST buy!! By the way, congrats Drew. You deserve all the success you are achieving. You've hard for it and you certainly deserve it.

Getting published. Me, that's who.

2010-01-28T20:38:00.001-06:00

I've been gone for a long time and am trying to get more active in many areas of my life, including crochet and posting on this blog. This is just a quick 'catch up' post to let you know that I have had some things happening to me since I've been away, including being published 2 more times, with my own designs! I've also been doing some work for The Crochet Dude, which is always an honor.
So...for starters, this pretty afghan in this months issue of Crochet! magazine called Chaco Canyon Afghan & Pillows. This is so comfy and warm, I need to make one for myself.

Then there are two publications that I had things published in. One is called 1, 2, 3 Skein Crochet. In there you will find a lot of really nice things to crochet including this Apple Tea Cozy that I designed.

And this is the one I just got the other day. It's called Scrap Crochet . It has another one of my designs in it, another tea cozy. This one is the Daffodil Tea Cozy.

So, my goal is to get more things published, create more designs and be more 'crochet active'.

Please leave me a comment to let me know what you've been up to.

Also, I'm on Facebook........ Lisa Marchand Harris

and Twitter....... @etxsaver

Stop by and say 'hey'.

Missing in action....me

2009-08-28T09:40:00.002-05:00

Well, no, I'm not really missing in action but I have been very absent from this blog. I apologize.

I've been busy with weight loss and busy with money saving. The weight loss was going fantastic and I'd lost 60lbs but then I kind of fell off the wagon and have gained at least half of it back. An ongoing struggle that, I'm sure, a lot of you can relate with.

As I said, I've also been busy saving money, which means couponing! I follow a lot blogs to find the best deals and best coupons and use that info for saving in my home. Since January I've calculated that we've been able to save at least $5600 through my 'hard work'. It's amazing actually.

I've started my own blog to correspond with the money saving but it's not nearly as big as the other 'mom blogs'.

Just thought I'd stop by and say 'hey'. Leave me a comment and let me know how you're doing. If you feel like it, stop by my new blog and say 'hey'. Would love to hear from you.

New blog: East Texas Saver

A New Year, a New Outlook

2009-01-05T11:30:00.002-06:00

OK, here we go. Nope, no resolutions from me this year, they don't stick. I started to change my life last April when I decided to finally get rid of some extra lb's and have reached the 60 lbs gone mark, which I'm very proud of. I'm actually shopping in the 'normal' sized clothing area..it's awesome. My secret? Cutting calories, increasing movement (I walk at least 2 miles a day) and SparkPeople.com.

On a crochet note, I'm back into it again. I had heard that some people get crochet burnout and I thought that was crazy...that is until it happened to me. Luckily I got quite a few orders at Christmas time on my Etsy store so I had to start doing it again. It got me back in the swing of things again and I've been crocheting daily again for over a month now. Lookout world!! *smile*

I've never made many baby things in the past but my husband's best friend and his wife are expecting their first child in May and he asked me to crochet a few things for them. Alrighty then! I started looking and getting ideas and now I may not be able to stop! She may have a whole wardrobe by the time I'm done. Know any really cute patterns? Let me know where to find them.

I hope everyone has a fantastic New Year and that 2009 is the best year ever. I know I'm looking forward to it!!!

By the way, when my parents were here in November we took some pictures and here is one with me and my mom and one with me and my dad.

Just had to share....

2008-12-02T08:53:00.002-06:00

I got these in an email and just thought they were too cute....

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
Mothers don't do spare time.

What's the difference between moms & dads??
Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be??
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Enjoy.............

Crochet Dude's Designs for Guys has dropped!!

2008-10-16T13:01:00.003-05:00

At long last, here it is!! I got my pre-order in the mail yesterday from Amazon.com and let's just say I was not disappointed. Ok, I've seen many designs by Drew (aka TheCrochetDude) so I was expecting great things but that was even an underestimation of this book.
Would it sound condescending to say I'm so proud of Drew for this book and the patterns that are in it? I hope not, because I don't mean for it to be. He has just so outdone himself, you'll be surprised too.
There are a number of things in here that I have plans to make. There's even a hoodie that I just L.O.V.E. so much that I'm going to make it for myself.

If you click on the picture of the book it will take you right to the page on Amazon where you can buy this book.
I highly recommend it.

By the way, the book has a lot of Drew's humorous personality in it as well, but there is a spot in there where he talks about his mother and dedicates the book to her. It will touch your heart.

I'm officially published!!

2008-10-11T21:08:00.002-05:00

Ok, ok, I do know how long it's been, trust me. I've been so busy doing a crochet dress for a yarn company that I let everything else go. I just finished that dress on Monday and am getting things back in order again. Then yesterday I got this by UPS (dontchya just love UPS??). I was so surprised. Well, I knew it was coming at some point but did not know when exactly.

And here it is....drumroll please...
Blings & Things for Dogs

My designs are as follows.....
Top row middle
Blue & White 81 jersey
Colorful sweater to the right of that
Bottom right pink outfit.

There are some very cute designs in here. Just click on the link above if you are interested.

Oh yeah, something else happened while I was away......I've lost 50 lbs. Please don't try to find it, as I'm not looking for them. I don't want them back! I'm feeling so much better in my own skin now, even though I still have another 50 to go. Heck, if I can do the first 50, the second half should be a breeze!!

I promise I won't wait so long next time to make an entry. I'll get on here at least once a week, if it kills me!!!

Inspiration

2008-10-03T07:50:00.000-05:00

It's been a while

2008-07-18T21:34:00.000-05:00

Yes, I guess I've been slacking but I have a good reason...well, really I don't but it's an excuse. It's summer! Howdyalikethatone? With the kids home I've barely had more than 5 minutes in a row on the computer...and even then I always here "mom are you done yet"? I swear!

I haven't been doing a lot of crochet for the past month or so, just been so much going on with the kids at home.

We went to the Dallas Zoo a couple of weeks ago and that was a lot of fun. The kids are going with our neighbor to Hurricane Harbor (HUGE waterpark) this coming week, which works out great because dh has this week off. It'll be nice for it to be just the two of us alone all day...what a concept!

I've lost a little over 30 lbs now...and counting. SparkPeople has really been a blessing for me. If you are wanting to lose some weight I highly suggest it. I love it!! It's been making this so much easier for me....really!

On that note, I'll let you go for now. As usual, I have a child over my shoulder asking when I'm going to be done...I swear!!!

I hope y'all are having a great summer so far!!...................

Woman Challenge

2008-06-27T15:54:00.006-05:00

This is great for anyone who wants to 'walk across America'. I've joined it. I've become much more active as of late and am hoping to walk as far across America as I can!!

Not a lot has been going on around home. The kids are home from school for the summer so of course it's more hectic around here. I don't get a lot of computer time because they monopolize the computer the entire time I'm awake pretty much. I know I could kick them off, but to be honest with you, it's much quieter when at least one of them are doing something on the computer.

I've lost 25 lbs so far so I'm feeling pretty good about how things are going as far as that goes. I'm still working on crochet stuff too, it just doesn't take up my whole entire day anymore like it used to, which is good and bad.

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far. If you need any heat sent your way, just let me know. We've had our extreme fair share around here (Texas) for over a month now. It's not been out of the mid to high 90's (or higher) since mid May. I am not looking forward to July and August, I can tell you that much.

K, have a great weekend everyone. Don't forget to leave a comment to let me know how you are doing. Have a good one.

Samantha has graduated

2008-06-07T18:45:00.003-05:00

My baby girl is no longer a baby girl. She graduated high school today. The ceremony was relatively quick and at times, emotional. I got through it without crying though..Imagine that!!!

Sam walking down the aisle to get her diploma

Me and Sam after the ceremony

Jamie, Sam and me after the ceremony

Austin and Sam after the ceremony

Congratulations baby girl....momma loves you!!

Been a while, my bad

2008-06-02T10:55:00.004-05:00

Wow, hard to believe it's been 3 weeks since I've posted here. Sorry 'bout that. I have lots of pictures to show you.

On May 12 was Austin's 9th birthday. Here he is just before blowing out the candles.

This past weekend we went to Tyler State park. It was so much fun!

Here are Samantha and Austin having watery fun!

Sam, with the lake in the background, and Austin looking cute!

You know it was a good day when...........

And some bird pics.......
Inca Doves doing, I don't know what and a Scissor Tailed Flycatcher

I'm fascinated by this beautiful bird. It's a Painted Bunting. So pretty!!

I promise I won't wait to make my next post. With Samantha's graduation next weekend it will have a lot more pictures, I'm sure.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

2008-05-11T10:38:00.002-05:00

To all of us out there that are mothers and that have mothers, I hope you have a fantastic day!! My children spoiled me with breakfast in bed and a lovely card...I feel loved....and to be honest, with them being teens I actually get a great breakfast now, not just a overflowing bowl of cereal!!

So HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!!

My mom and my daughter

Life Adjustment

2008-04-30T08:14:00.003-05:00

I know I have talked about losing weight before on my blog, don't know when know but just know I must have. I seem to acquire the resolve and then after a week or so I putter out. This time I've started something different that I'm hoping will stick.

First of all, it feels different this time. I feel like I'm ready to put the demons away that have contributed to my weight gain and get on with my life....never had that before.

The Biggest Loser....yes, a tv show is helping my resolve this time as well. I watched it all the time when it was on and kept saying 'if only I could get on that show, I know I could lose weight'. Ok, so why do I need to use that as an excuse? Good question!! I don't...that was silly. Instead I bought The Biggest Loser workout dvd and I've been using it....nearly every day for the last 2 weeks. I've also just bought The Biggest Loser Power Sculpt and am just waiting for it to come in. Let me tell ya, the workout dvd sure gets your blood going. I even walked a 15 minute mile last night...first time EVER...so I'm proud of myself!!

Also I found this great website (thank to DogwoodKari) that helps you track EVERYTHING. It's awesome. It's called SparkPeople and it fantastic! It really helps when you can see everything in front of you...it's sure helped me. I plan all my meals the day before now, that way it's a no brainer and I can make smarter decisions. Oh, by the way, if you decide to take a look at SparkPeople and you decide to join, look me up. My user name on there is...surprise...jchllm!

Anyway, I've lost a few pounds already and I feel like I'm finally getting things under control. It's about time!!

I hope y'all have a fantastic day and thanks for stopping by!

The Crochet Dude's Designs for Guys

2008-04-23T08:24:00.003-05:00

Just a little advertisement here. Our favorite Crochet Dude, aka Drew Emborsky, has his very first solo crochet book coming out in the fall. You can preorder it now from Amazon by clicking on the picture...I know I did already.

I helped him out a bit with the book by crocheting something for him so I'm excited to see how it looks in print.
Congrats Drew! And I hope this book makes you rich rich rich!!! ;)

Doggie Sweaters going to be published....

2008-04-12T20:37:00.002-05:00

With permission, I can show you the doggy sweaters I'm having published. I'm very proud of them, if I do say so myself. These will all be published in a book of Dog Clothing coming out in the fall 2008 by Annie's Attic.

First, here is what I called a 'Pet Pillow' and as you can see, it passed the test. I barely had enough time to get my camera and Romo was sleeping on it when I got back.

Here is the 'Doggy Football Jersey'. Of course it is in Dallas Cowboys colors and I just had to put my favorite player (Terrell Owens) number on the back of it!

Next is a sweater called 'Handy Dog Sweater'. It is handy because it has a detachable hood and pockets with velcro on the inside to carry those dog biscuits.

And last, but not least, is my favorite.... 'Dreamy Dog Sweater'. It has a detachable hood, booties and rhinestones galore. I just think it's so darned cute. I know I shouldn't toot my own horn, but hey, what the heck?

I will keep you posted and let you know when the book is coming out. Let me tell ya, to be just starting out like I am, to have these accepted has given me confidence to keep going. I'm excited!

Crochet to the rescue

2008-04-10T11:13:00.002-05:00

Yup, it's storm season in Texas. There are 4 seasons here.....Summer, Fall, Winter and Storm Season. Right now, it's storm season.

The last few days we've been getting a lot of storms, but this morning we had a 'whopper'! As soon as it passed through, then the power went out. It was 6am. Time for dh to get ready for work and the kids to get ready for school. And when 2 of your kids are teenagers...mirror time is important.

No problem, I'll just get the candles. Ok, where are the candles? I found 1 candle. ONE stinkin' candle!!

So the boys go to the bus, fussing because they couldn't see anything but then 'the girl' gets up (dh drives her to school) and all H-E-double hockey sticks, breaks loose. NO LIGHTS? WHAT DO YOU MEAN NO LIGHTS? HOW AM I GOING TO GET READY?? All of a sudden a crochet hook popped into my head. Trish got me a lighted crochet hook for a swap a while back so I got it and gave it to my daughter. The little sucker actually lit things up quite well. When placed in front of a mirror it really lit things up. Whodathunkit? A crochet hook saved the day!

Of course, she more or less opened the door to leave and the power came back on. Too funny.

It's official!!

2008-03-25T13:40:00.002-05:00

Well, I feel like I can actually clarify it.....dh says it's official....I'm a crochet designer!

I just got a call from my 'person' at Annie's Attic and they want 4 out of the 5 patterns I submitted for dogs. I'm so thrilled, you just can't imagine.

I would post pics but I haven't made them yet, just the schematics.

So, if you don't hear from me in a while, you'll know why. I'm crocheting my fingers off. I have until April 20th to get it ALL done.............. can you say 'overwhelmed'?

YAY ME!!!!!!

I am going to be published!

2008-03-24T10:02:00.002-05:00

I'm so thrilled. I am going to have 2 of my patterns published in a book. My 2 Tea Cozy patterns (along with matching coasters) are going to be in a book called 1, 2, 3 Skeins to Crochet by Needleworks. I'm not sure when it is coming out as it is still in the stage of verifying patterns, but you can be sure I will let you know.

Here they are.....

And to think. This whole design thing started because I couldn't find an apple tea cozy anywhere. Well, cheers to my son for saying 'mom, just make one.' Easy as that, huh?

I am just so excited!

I miss her already

2008-03-07T08:50:00.003-06:00

What a time we had when mom was here. She got in on her birthday 2-26-08 and stayed for a week.
Of course Sam was the first one to get to her with a big hug!
Here we are waiting for her bag. This was her very first flight and, can you believe it, her luggage was lost. However, they did deliver it to her the very next morning, so that was good.
We went shopping and my mom bought Sam her prom dress. Keep in mind this is not as good as it looks, or as good as it's going to look. Would you believe that THE dress was actually the cheapest and she can also wear this for graduation, so two birds with one stone. How often does that happen?? It looks great on her though.
I have more pics of her stay but Photobucket it co-operating right now!

We got some snow here this morning too. A lot of the Dallas area got a bunch yesterday but we got ours this morning. It's still cold and icy but it's going away.
Here's another pic. Now, if I remember correctly, this is why I DON'T live in Canada anymore. Don't like the snow. Oh well, I'm sure it will be more Texas like on the weekend....let's hope.

Spring has sprung!!

2008-02-25T09:43:00.003-06:00

I know a lot you are still under snow but here in Texas the flowers are starting to bloom and they are so pretty. In my yard I have a couple of Daffodils coming up, one's that actually did not bloom last year but I cut down a couple of shadowy dying trees so now the flowers are seeing new light, literally.

The turtles were taking full advantage of the warm sun too. I just think it's so cool how they line up, nearly on top of each other, to sunbathe.

My last nature picture is a quintisential Texas picture...well, one of them anyway. Vultures in a dead tree. I thought it was cool, even though they are likely one of the ugliest creatures I've ever seen in life!!

On a design note, here is a closeup of something I've just finished. I like the colors of it. What do you think?

31 hours until my mom lands at DFW airport. I can't wait to see her! "Miss ya mom!"

Save Friday Night Lights

2008-02-24T15:59:00.002-06:00

I don't do this often...or ever as a matter of fact but SAVE FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS!! Sign the petition to save the show. It's the only show my husband really loves!!! So click on the picture and sign a petition to save it!!

It all starts somewhere.....

2008-02-20T14:46:00.002-06:00

Well, I was looking at the patterns on Crochet Pattern Central at the 12" squares and lo and behold...there was mine! Ok, maybe to others it's not a big deal, but to me, it's certainly a start. I'm very proud to be on there......so thank you CPC, for adding mine to the other great patterns on your site!

In other news, I"m counting down the days until my mother gets here....6 days and counting. I can't wait.

My cat had 6 kittens yesterday too but one was still born. That was sad. The others are doing very well and, of course, so cute!

I got my copy of C&C's Wrapped in Soft, in which I crocheted the Ribs and Scallops Cardi for TheCrochetDude. It looks awesome and I'm thrilled about it.

I've been working hard trying to come up with new things to design. My son says I'm a bit OCD when it comes to things and that it's like I get obsessed with the things. Well, I don't know about being obsessed but I do know I put my whole heart into whatever I do and I hope that will help it pay off in the long run.

Have a bright day everyone and thanks for stopping by!!

Nothing like it.....

2008-02-13T12:23:00.002-06:00

First, you hear the beep of the UPS lady (I have a lady, not a UPS guy). You go out and get a box. Bring it in the house. Kids yelling 'ooo what is it? what is it?'. Me yelling...'it's mine, go away'. I open the box and what do I see? YARN!! Ahhhhhhh, there's just nothing like it, is there?

I bought some cotton yarns NY Cotton and TLC Cotton Plus because I have some ideas floating around in my head that I NEED to get swatches for. And the RH Soft for something else I have in mind. I got them all from Knitting-Warehouse.com. I just love them!!

After reading The Crochet Dude's blog this morning and he was singing the praises of the 365 Crochet Stitches a Year: Perpetual Calendar

It is a great place to get ideas for new things, and the awesome catalog of stitches is .... is....well, it's awesome!! I have it littered with bright pink sticky-notes with all kinds of new ideas floating around in my head. Hmm, I'm guessing they want out because floating around in my head can't possibly be a safe place to be...yikes!

On a very happy note....my mother called me yesterday to tell me that she is going to come down for a visit, by plane, on her own, and stay for a week. Now, this may not seem like that big a deal, but 1. keep in mind that my mother has never flown, and 2. and an ever bigger deal, is that mom has never been away from my dad for this long in over 40 years. Dad can't get away from work but mom is missing us (we miss her big time too) so much because they weren't here for Christmas because of her hip replacement surgery. She is arriving on Feb 26th, which happens to be her birthday. I can't wait. I really need some mommy time!!

Watch out! The flood gates have opened!!

2008-02-06T07:50:00.000-06:00

Have you ever noticed that we get stuck in a rut and just do things the same way over and over again? I'm no different. That is until recently, when I decided to try my hand at designing instead of just crocheting. Someone recently said to me "once you have released the damn of creativity you'll have so many ideas flowing" and he was right....I'm amazed.

I've had ideas pouring out of me. I'm even surprising myself....which is a good thing. My biggest concern is that I don't accidentally duplicate something...that would be heart breaking.

I also just made my very first square pattern. I'm going to put it on my 'free patterns' page, which I've made but not put anything on yet. Stay tuned though.....

Ok, I have to get back to work. Time to turn my brain on and see what I can come up with. What a scary thought!!

The pinky toe wins!!

2008-01-29T23:26:00.000-06:00

I have tossed thoughts around for a while now about maybe possibly submitting one of my designs to a publication but of course had absolutely no idea how to go about it so I left it on the back burner...wayyyy in the back.

Of course, the very first thing I'm proud of designing is my Apple Tea cozy and that really got me into doing things on my own. How does this work? How does that work and so on? Then the cardigan I made for Drew (TheCrochetDude) Emborsky came out. I remember how interesting it was working on it. Soooooo......

I asked Drew a few questions and told him I had recently dipped my baby toe into the designing pool. The first tip he gave me...join The Crochet Guild of America because is the hub of all things crochet. And one of the best parts of joining is their mentoring program.

To make a long story short Drew (hangonasecondwhileIsitdownandshakethemarblesinmyhead) offered to be my mentor. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT??? Sorry for yelling, I just can't contain my enthusiasm. I'm just so excited about it, I can't tell you!! He's already been such an amazing help to me and giving me tips that are invaluable for someone starting like I am. I mean, I admire him so much and what he's been able to accomplish and now here I am with him in my corner... wow....that's all I can is WOW!! I just hope I don't disappoint him.

I also have to give a shout out to Kathy at Crochetmania. She is the one who encouraged to start designing my own things. She always had faith in me and pushed me to do it. She knew it before I did........thanks so much Kath!!

Now...to get the rest of my foot wet.....................

Presenting: Ribs & Scallops Cardi by The Crochet Dude and crocheted by ME!!!

2008-01-27T20:38:00.000-06:00

Here it is!! Presenting the 'Ribs and Scallops' Cardi. I crocheted this for The Crochet Dude in late summer but couldn't tell anyone because of publication rules. But now I can shout it from the rooftops!!

This was such a nice cardigan to crochet. It was made with Red Heart Soft in Seafoam Green.

The picture on the left is that actual publication photo. That is the actual sweater I made in the photo. So cool! On the right is the sweater before I mailed it off to Drew. The lighting makes the colors look different but it's the same one.

It is available for purchase at Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby and Michaels for sure....according to Drew. Or online at the Coats and Clark Website. I haven't got mine yet but you know I will have to get one of my very own!! If you see it anywhere let me know please!

Edited...picture on the dress form donated by TheCrochetDude aka Drew Emborsky. Thanks Drew.

Here is what the cover looks like.....

The sun still shines....somewhere

2008-01-25T12:47:00.000-06:00

Another dreary day here in Texas....cloudy, rainy and cold but somehow I can still smile. Putting on a happy face is not that hard to do today. Hubby has been gone for a couple days and he's on his way home now...should be home in about 6 hours...so I'm happy about that, I actually missed him while he was gone...go figure.

Also, I talked to someone on the phone who I hadn't spoken to in .... hmmm... this might give away my age... 25 years. He was actually my grade 6 boyfriend...the man (well, a boy at the time) that I got my first kiss from. You know how girls are....that kind of thing we don't forget. We just found each other again on the internet (isn't it a wonderful thing, this thing we call the world wide web?) and have emailed for about 2 weeks and now have been able to talk on the phone. You know, through the years I've always thought of him and wondered how he was and what he was doing and, frankly, if he ever thought of me. Even though that is all irrelevant, it's makes you feel good in your heart to know that you made a difference in someone's life, whether you were trying to or not. He actually told me he thought I was brave for liking him when we were young.... while it made me go 'awww', at the same time it made me glad to know that I had made a difference in his life when he needed it. I guess it's the whole 'it's a wonderful life' thing. You just never know what you mean to people. It warms my heart.

See, I'm the type of person who will give you a second, third, twelfth chance and then be ready to give you another one. My hubby on the other hand is a 'you burn me once and I'm done' kind of person. I'm not saying he's right and I'm wrong or vice versa but I wonder about what an empty place my life would be if I had just cut people out of it the first time they crossed me. I can remember my mother telling me one time that she didn't understand where my 'feelings' came from because she nor my father are like that.....must be from one of my other lives.....lol.

Too trusting? Maybe. Do I wear my heart on my sleeve? Definitely. Do I get hurt because of it? Of course. Do I regret it? Not one bit. All I can think about is what I would be missing out on if I closed my heart away from everyone. It's just not worth it for me. If, for every time I get hurt I can feel love from someone, it's worth it. Naive? Possibly. Will I change? Not on your life!!

It's Grey's night....fingers crossed

2008-01-10T12:17:00.000-06:00

Well, tonight's the night. Grey's Anatomy night. Thursday January 10th. Let's hope the sweaters don't end up on the cutting room floor. Wouldn't that be just the most embarrassing thing EVER!?!

Just wanted to show you something new I've made. I kinda think the sunflower is too big but I did sell it so ...... I do think I'll make one with a smaller flower though, to see how it turns out.

I'm going to be making a bunch of different cozies ..... my own cozy line..lol.

I know I'll be sitting, with the rest of my family with my eyes glued to the screen tonight when Grey's Anatomy is on. Who made it? How does it fit into the story line? Who's having a baby and why did it HAVE to be yellow?? So many questions, the will hopefully be answered tonight. Fingers crossed!!

Resolution schmesolution...

2008-01-04T08:37:00.000-06:00

Here it is, 2008.....hard to believe.

Of course, like everyone I've been asked if I've made any resolutions for the new year. Nope, not this year. HOWEVER....

I was watching The Biggest Loser the other night, as I have for most of its 5 cycles, usually while eating a snack...and something flipped the switch. I started to cry, how sappy is that? I am so sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time and the reason for that is my weight.

As I told my husband, when I was 9 months pregnant with my son 8 years ago, actually right up to the day before I went in to be enduced, I walked 4 miles a day (1 there and 1 back twice a day) to my kids school. (BTW, my hubby and I don't have any biological children together). Now, I get all huffy and puffy walking 1/2 mile up to the dock near our home.

So that was it for me. For some reason it's there, it's clicked. I told hubby (who is diabetic and smokes) that I would love for him to do it with me but I didn't NEED him to. I've started walking the dogs every night to the dock so that's a mile (there and back). I'll walk that for about a week and then put the 'marker' farther up and so on. DH did walk with me last night but not the night before....so he's trying a little bit anyway.

It's time..........
What about you?

Goodbye 2007

2007-12-28T08:43:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been quite a year, hasn't it? It's hard to believe 2007 is almost over. We have no plans at all, even less than normal, for New Year's Eve because hubby is working a double shift that night. He will get home just before midnight though so that's not too bad.

I just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a very Happy New Year.

May all of your dreams come true in 2008!! I'm hoping some of mine do!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

2007-12-24T08:29:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas this year. I hope everyone is warm and with family and/or loved ones.

Think of friends and they will be sharing the day with you.

Take a moment and think of loved ones who are not with you

Hold the joy of the season in your heart and it will stay with you all year around!

And I hope all of you have a wonderfully Merry Christmas. Y'all make my year much brighter!! Thank you for that!

Dallas Mavericks and .... is it really almost Christmas???

2007-12-22T11:40:00.000-06:00

Go Mavs Go!! Had a great time last night at the Dallas Mavericks game. They won, of course and it was so cool to finally get to go see them. And of course, they won!!!

We had really awful seats though and were only 4 rows from the very top...not good. Luckily my camera has a decent zoom on it and I could get a few pretty good pics.

#41, Dirk Nowitzki, team captain and center, is my favorite player. #34, Devon Harris is my second favorite. And they both played a great game last night!!

Dirk scoring a 3 pointer!

Dirk again, guarding

Opening faceoff

Samantha, being camera shy...lol

Yes, we were farrrrrrrr away!!

Dirk (center) and Devon Harris (facing Dirk) during warmup

Dirk, scoring on a free throw
And some shots outside the American Airlines Center in Dallas, after the game....

Samantha and Austin

Me and Samantha

Me and Austin...I really like this picture!
*******************************************
In other news, I can't believe it's only a few days until Christmas. I guess I'm just not excited about it this year because my mom and dad won't be here....just won't be the same. Oh well, I'll make the most of it.......I guess.

I hope everyone is healthy and has a wonderful Christmas!!!

Austin's Christmas play

2007-12-14T11:53:00.000-06:00

Austin is the one behind the little boy with a hat and vest on. He has the plaid shirt on with short sleeves. You can't see him very well but he's still trying to sing along.
It was cute..........
Here is a picture of him first, so you can recognize him a bit better....

GO! SENS! GO!!!

2007-12-08T10:21:00.000-06:00

We had a fantastic time at the hockey game last night! I've never been so excited to see a hockey game before in my life. We were 10 rows away from the ice and I. was. in. heaven..... I don't know how I'm ever going to be able to go back to the nosebleed section!!

I was amazed by how many people did have Ottawa jerseys on, like I did...so we made some noise!

And now...for some pictures.......

You can see how close I am ........and loving it!

I sat so close I could see their faces!!

My favorite player....team captain, Daniel Alfredson....Alfie (on the right)

Assisstant Captain (on the left) Wade Redden

And the final score.............gotta love it!!!

It was a great game and I had a fantastic time!! I can't wait until Ottawa comes back again!!!

I'm so proud!!!!

2007-12-08T10:10:00.000-06:00

Congratulations, Samantha! You’ve been admitted to SFA as of 12/04/07.

Admissions Counseling Coordinator

Office of Admissions

Stephen F. Austin State University

Caution: long post ahead

2007-12-07T11:21:00.000-06:00

Geesh, I had no idea it had been this long since my last post.

I've put up my Christmas tree, had Thanksgiving dinner, crocheted a whole bunch....phew...ok, now for the updates........

Here is a picture of my boys putting the star on top of the Christmas tree. It was just too cute. One of those times when I took a mental picture as well as a digital one so it would stay in my mind forever!

The cat really liked the tree too.......too much......

I just had to take a picture of my turkey...it turned out so good this year. And it was so yummy! And if you look closely at the other one you can see a happy face in the stuffing....Matt thought it would be funny......

Earlier this week we went to the high school for an 'Honor Role Banquet' that Samantha received a certificate at. I'm so proud of her.
The night went beautifully, including a speech made by the Superintendant that actually made me cry. It was about how we have to enjoy our children and even though some things they might ask us to do for them, like tie a shoe (or straighten hair as is my case with Sam) that we will miss it so much when it's gone and they're not at home with us anymore. I tell ya, it brings a tear to my eye right now. I'm going to be a basket case when she goes off to college next year!!

These are not great pics but..........

Let's see....my mom had hip replacement surgery on Dec 4th and came through with flying colors. My dad has called me every day to let me know how she's doing (I don't think I've ever talked so much to my dad on the phone before!). Yesterday she even put all her weight on her leg when she was up walking and while her incision was sore, her hip was not. It has literally been at least 15 years since she's had no pain in her hip. Amazing. There'll be no stopping her now!!

One last note before I go.........GO SENS GO!! Tonight is the BIG hockey game! I finally get to go see my Ottawa Senators play!! Ironic that I had to move to Texas to see them huh? I'm so excited...we have a great seats....10 rows from the ice!!! Don't worry, I'm bringing my camera and I'll tell you all about it tomorrow!!!!

Have a good one ................

Goodbye little friend

2007-11-27T11:54:00.000-06:00

It's been a few days now and I can just now post something about it. We had to put our little kitty 'Bo' down last week. He had kidney failure. It came on so fast. It was like one day he was here and the next he was gone. We were all very sad. So this is a tribute to Bo.

Bo, we will miss you. I hope you feel better now, where you are, at the Rainbow Bridge. We love you little fella.......

Christmas Decorations......done

2007-11-20T18:33:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a lovely day here in Texas....it was about 84F. We put up our Christmas lights and if I say so...we did a lovely job. They could always better but I like them.

I have to give credit where credit is due though. I told my son what to do and where to put them and he did. One of the few times a 16 year ol boy listens to his mother. He had fun though, it was a nice time.

I promised you pics and here they are..........

(All pics clickable...as usual)

And of course, Patches had to 'help'.

It's been too long..........

2007-11-15T12:46:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time since I've posted but I have a good reason...I've been dying. At least that's what it has felt like. I've soooo sick. I was kinda sick for a few days at the beginning of last week and then I felt like I was getting better, then it hit me. I woke up Friday morning literally feeling like someone had taken a sledgehammer to me in my sleep and decimated all of my body, especially my joints. It was awful. I had a fever that would not go below 101F. It was rough.

Would you believe I have not picked up a hook a week? I know, me either. I think I'm going to give it a go as soon as I'm done this post. My hands were hurting me so much, I couldn't even imagine picking up a hook. I do have orders though so I really have to get things going again.

Saturday is the big day around here. We are putting up our Christmas lights. Have no fear...I'll take pictures and let you see them. I can't wait. It'll be about 70F that day so it'll be nice weather for it. Gosh, I remember putting up Christmas lights when I lived in Canada...freezing my fingers off, wearing full winter garb and going in every 15 minutes because it was so darn cold. Another plus to living in Texas......ahhhhhhhhhhhh

Oh, and my mom's hip replacement surgery was scheduled for Dec 4th. So things look 'iffy' for them being here for Christmas but if I know my mom at all (she's as stubborn as a mule!!) if she can take the drive at all she'll be here. If not, we'll have Christmas in January this year when she can stand (well, actually sit for 7 hours) the trip! Good luck mom. You know I love you so much!! I really hope this operation gets rid of the personal hell you've been going through with your hip for the last 15-20 years. It'll be so nice to see you walking without limping and knowing you're not in unbearable pain anymore. Break a leg.....hahahahahahahahaha.....yeah, poor taste, but I couldn't help it!!

Here is my mom with my kids last Christmas.....

If you don't laugh with this...

2007-11-05T22:14:00.001-06:00

Cool website

2007-11-05T15:09:00.000-06:00

I was sent a link for a really cool website: http://www.biglots.com/NorthPole/elfomatic.aspx

You can upload a picture of your house and decorate it like you might for Christmas. I'm going to do my house in a couple of weeks....let's see how close I get it......

Kids will be messy kids

2007-11-03T20:22:00.000-05:00

As dh worked overtime tonight I was taking a minute or two away from my thread crochet to save my eyes and was looking at my email, etc.
When I did groceries this morning I got the kids some fruit. Well, they decided it would be 'cool' if they tried to make smoothies. I told we didn't have the right stuff to make smoothies. "Trust us mom, we know what we're doing." Uh huh, famous last words.

This is what my kitchen looked like when they were done......and YES....they clean it up again, spotless!!

Oh well, they had fun and they enjoyed their drinks....and they laughed. They laughed so hard. It made my heart feel good.

Grey's A-freakin'-natomy!!!

2007-10-31T06:36:00.000-05:00

OMG!!!

I am totally beyond myself right now. I got an order from a woman yesterday for 2 baby sweater/hat/booties sets...which was great...but she wanted both sets in her hands, in California, by Thursday....are you freakin' kidding?
So, I'm thinking just that, this woman is crazy. There's no way I can get 2 sets done and to her in 2 days, seeing how one of those days would be a shipping day. Then, I get an email.....

Hi there good folks of a playful yarn -

My name is **** and I've just placed an order for some of your items. I'm the Propmaster on a TV show called Grey's Anatomy. Our schedules are very tight and the script included a scene that involves hand knitted baby clothes that shoot Thursday - hence my rush. If it makes it easier I can give you our fedex number, please let me know if there is any way I can facilitate this transaction. If that's not convenient, I'll paypal you the shipping difference. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me on *****. Thanks again. Kind regards - A***

My daughter was at my computer and I asked her to check my emails. All of a sudden she starts yelling "OMG. OMG. She's from Grey's Anatomy. Mom! OMG!". She was not making any sense to me so I got up and read it and then I started going...OMG!! So, what's a person to do?? I called her.

It seems this one set in particular will be what they call a 'hero prop'....meaning someone will hold it up and say 'Look what I made for you'. How awesome is that????

She said she printed off a picture of it off of my Etsy site and showed it to Chandra Wilson, the big shot at Grey's. Chandra said 'that's perfect!'

So, I started at 5pm and stayed up until 3am making these sets. My fingers are still sore this morning. I got 2 hours of sleep but it was worth it. I have to admit I'm going back to bed though as soon as the kids and hubby leave.

The show will air Dec 20, and I'll remind you again, be sure of that, and it's called 'Lay Your Hands on Me'. Now, I have no idea who has 'made' this outfit or who it's for but it's too cool.

Anyhow, I'm running on fumes right now and just thrilled beyond belief!! I keep wondering if McDreamy will touch it......ahhhhhhhhhh to dream.

Oh, I have to make a special acknowledgement to my dear dear husband, without whom this would never have happened. He had to go to WalMart on his break at work (he was working a double shift) and buy 2 skeins of Caron Simply Soft yellow yarn. Wouldn't you know it, I was out. So without his kindness I would never have been able to do this. Mind you, I'll be hearing about it for the next year now....lol.

Ok, I'm going back to bed now.......hope I don't wake up and this was all a dream!!

Update 1-1-07 11am pst:

Got the sweaters this morning, Lisa, thank you.
They are adorable and everyone loves them.
Thanks again for your prompt fufillment of the order.
Best regards -

Purple?? Purple!?!

2007-10-24T08:59:00.000-05:00

Why is all my text purple?? It didn't used to be purple...so why is it purple now?

Any suggestions how I can fix it??

Are you freezing kidding me?

2007-10-24T08:49:00.000-05:00

I don't know how this happened. How did it go from 90F on Sunday to being so cold that I've had to turn the heater on?? I don't understand. Does someone want to put in a call to Mother Nature and tell her she's made a mistake? She skipped over the 70's completely this year. First we were having August weather in October and now we're having December weather in October. Can't we just have October weather in October? Would that be so wrong?????

Phew, ok, I'm done ranting now...I think.

So much is going on right now but I'm going to try my very best to keep up with my blog at least a few times a week.

There is a Secret Santa Swap coming up on CMania that I'm in charge of. I just love swaps and I love Christmas so what a perfect match. I can't wait to start making things for my swap partner.

Well, on that note, I'm off to sit under a blanket and crochet some ballerina slippers for a customer. They're a pain to make but they turn out cute.

I hope everyone has a great day!!

The fall Blaahhs have hit

2007-10-22T10:30:00.000-05:00

Well, it went from summer to winter here in just one day. Yesterday afternoon it was almost 90F and today it won't get higher than about 56F. How d'ya like that? Yes, we've been spoiled in Texas, and as far as I can see, a lot of the country, with warmer than normal temperatures, but I like to be spoiled. I don't like to be cold. It's been raining most of the day so far too...just blaahhhh. Good thing we mowed the yard and did all the yardwork yesterday!!

I haven't posted much lately because I've been busy. Busy with crochet. I've been starting to sell some stuff on Etsy finally, which is good. I actually sold 2 Longhorn hats this weekend....HOOK EM HORNS!!.... Then my apple cozy pattern is selling and I'm just thrilled about that...something I made up on my own is something people like to buy!!

I've been crocheting that dang sweater for my mom!! What a pain that is. The pattern is so screwy, but I"m getting there. I just have the arms left to do.

I'm also involved in making something from thread crochet for my all time favorite designer for a book be published next year. I'm very excited about it, and feel honored to be involved in any small way.

On a different note, with Thanksgiving right around corner I'm starting to think about Christmas and decorating my house outside. We recently went to a yard sale where I bought 4 deer, 3 stars and 2 other 'light up's' for $10.....and these will go along with the current 3 deer I have and all the outside lights too. My son and I are so looking forward to decorating. He's so much like me...yikes!!

Sam will be getting her SAT scores on Thursday and she's excited about that. I hope she gets back the scores she's expecting or 'it' will hit the fan...if ya know what I mean.

OK, I think that's it...oh! Wait! I forgot!! Yesterday I won tickets on eBay to go see the Dec 7th Dallas Stars hockey game. Why am I so 'over the top' excited about it?? Because they are playing THE OTTAWA SENATORS that night. Even when I lived only 45 minutes away in Canada, I was never able to go see the Sens play. This is the 1st time in 3 years that Ottawa has been here and I'm so excited. And yes, I'm going to be wearing my Sens shirt that night and cheering loudly for my team to win!! GO! SENS! GO!!

Ok, I think I'm done now. But I can't leave without a picture so here it is.....

Don't ya love how cats sleep in piles? This is my entire cat family...so cute!!
Bo, Romo, Belle, and Patches...

Well, it went from summer to winter here in just one day. Yesterday afternoon it was almost 90F and today it won't get higher than about 56F. How d'ya like that? Yes, we've been spoiled in Texas, and as far as I can see, a lot of the country, with warmer than normal temperatures, but I like to be spoiled. I don't like to be cold. It's been raining most of the day so far too...just blaahhhh. Good thing we mowed the yard and did all the yardwork yesterday!!

I haven't posted much lately because I've been busy. Busy with crochet. I've been starting to sell some stuff on Etsy finally, which is good. I actually sold 2 Longhorn hats this weekend....HOOK EM HORNS!!.... Then my apple cozy pattern is selling and I'm just thrilled about that...something I made up on my own is something people like to buy!!

I've been crocheting that dang sweater for my mom!! What a pain that is. The pattern is so screwy, but I"m getting there. I just have the arms left to do.

I'm also involved in making something from thread crochet for my all time favorite designer for a book be published next year. I'm very excited about it, and feel honored to be involved in any small way.

On a different note, with Thanksgiving right around corner I'm starting to think about Christmas and decorating my house outside. We recently went to a yard sale where I bought 4 deer, 3 stars and 2 other 'light up's' for $10.....and these will go along with the current 3 deer I have and all the outside lights too. My son and I are so looking forward to decorating. He's so much like me...yikes!!

Sam will be getting her SAT scores on Thursday and she's excited about that. I hope she gets back the scores she's expecting or 'it' will hit the fan...if ya know what I mean.

OK, I think that's it...oh! Wait! I forgot!! Yesterday I won tickets on eBay to go see the Dec 7th Dallas Stars hockey game. Why am I so 'over the top' excited about it?? Because they are playing THE OTTAWA SENATORS that night. Even when I lived only 45 minutes away in Canada, I was never able to go see the Sens play. This is the 1st time in 3 years that Ottawa has been here and I'm so excited. And yes, I'm going to be wearing my Sens shirt that night and cheering loudly for my team to win!! GO! SENS! GO!!

Ok, I think I'm done now. But I can't leave without a picture so here it is.....
Bo, Romo, Belle and Patches...on their favorite place to sleep, the crocheted blanket I made for Samantha last year.

Vicki Howell Podcast

2007-10-16T06:04:00.000-05:00

In celebration of the upcoming launch of her new podcast, CRL: with Vickie Howell, she is having a goodie giveaway! Everyone who posts the CRL banner on their blog or website will get a free ball of yarn.

I think that's 2 good reasons to post this here. #1. helping a fellow yarnie (even if she is a 'biggie' and I'm not even a 'smallie'...lol) and #2, free yarn. Congratulations Vicki an good luck!!

Halloween Swap and awwwwwwwww

2007-10-11T09:37:00.000-05:00

I got my package in from Aurora yesterday (from Crochet Mania's Halloween swap) and I just love it. My 16 y/o son is amazed by the mummy, he thinks it's just too cool!! Thank you so much Aurora (Dragonflymom).

And I just had to post this.....I thought it was so cute!! It made me go 'AWWWWWWWW'. This is Romo (the newest addition) and Chico this morning. It's so cold here this morning that Chico was shivering so I put a sweater on him. I guess Romo was chilly too and wanted to snuggle for warmth. Yes, I do realize the coolness is all relative but it's been 90+ here up until a couple of days ago, and 70 overnight. Last night it got down to 57....brrrrrrrrr

Apple Tea Pot Cozy

2007-10-11T00:22:00.000-05:00

Well, I couldn't find one so I made one. My son said "Mom, you can make one yourself, just make one."........so I did.

I was going to publish it as a free pattern buy DH said I'd be crazy to do that as there's likely other people out there looking for one so I posted it on my Etsy shop.

Here are a couple of pics ...........

I have it for sale on my Etsy store.

I'm soooo happy

2007-10-08T14:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, as you might know, if you read my blog, I'm a HUGE hockey fan, inparticular the OTTAWA SENATORS. So I'm flipping through the channels today, totally bored, and what do I find??? Ottawa Senators vs NJ Devils. I got to the channel exactly as it was about to begin....and to top it off, it's Canadian broadcasters (they're unbiased....they just like good hockey) coming from a Canadian network.........I'm just besides myself with joy right now.
So, while most women watch soaps on the tv in the afternoon, I'm sitting here watching hockey...ahhhhh...it's wonderful, isn't it??

Ottawa has won every single of their games so far this year, including the preseason. This is the 4th (season) game and it's 1-0 for Ottawa. Can't you see the big smile on my face?? They lost in Stanley Cup finals last year, but this year....THEY. ARE. GOING. TO GO. ALL. THE. WAYYYYYY........

Planned Christmas gift and '!!*&%!!

2007-10-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

So here it is. The yarn that I'm going to use for my mother's Christmas gift. It is Lion Brand Homespun 'Harvest'. Now, she kinda knows about it, well to be honest, she picked it out. When she was here in the summer I got the book in the mail. She went through it and told me she loved a sweater called 'Frilly-Edged Sweater. Hang on one sec, I'll take a picture of it so you can see it.............

K, I'm back, here it is...... pretty huh? Although, this is the one and only time I will post a picture of it until after Christmas. My mom, I just learned in the summer when they were here, periodically reads my blog. So, for a tiny bit of a 'surprise factor' I won't post a finished pic until after Christmas.

I just ordered the yarn for it today....JoAnne's Fabric had the best price....and I can't wait to start it.

Now, onto something that I'm (literally) just sick about.

A couple of weeks ago we went to the beach, remember, I posted about it. Well, something horrific that day!! I dropped my camera on the paved picnic area. When this happened the lens popped out and skipped across the pavement....as you can see in the picture below. You may have to click on it to see the scratches. BUT if you look at the (what would have been) pretty picture on the left, you can see the scratches very clearly. *sigh*

So, now I'm looking on eBay to find a camera like mine that doesn't work that I can use to repair mine. DANGIT!!

Things I've made and acquired

2007-10-01T15:30:00.000-05:00

Here are some things I've made recently. All of them are for sale at my Etsy shop. I just love the outfit for Chico though, the little Santa suit. You should have seen him 'high steppin' because he's never worn shoes on his feet before. I was rolling on the floor laughing...it was quite a sight.

I made these two scarves over the weekend. And yes, those are my two gorgeous children posing in the photos......nah, I'm not biased at all!! *smile*

I've been making a whole bunch of stuff and listing them on Etsy hoping to get orders. I'm hoping I get some money for Christmas shopping...keep your fingers crossed. I have another scarf on the hook right now too. After that, who knows? Any suggestions? Do you know what might sell good? Let me know, I'm certainly open to any suggestions.

I think the only one I don't have modeling something in my Etsy shop is my dh. My foot is in there for some slippers.

Oh, and one more thing.....as you can see in this picture, there's a kitten laying on the back of my couch. Last week sometime there were 5 kittens dropped off in front of my house (I swear, I'm like an animal magnet!!). On Thursday, Maisy, my lab/basset mix, found this kitten in the drain pipe at my driveway. The other 4 were nowhere to be seen. Long story short....by the end of the night he followed me to my door and went nuts to get in.......he's still in. DH asked around work to see if anyone wanted him BUT.....then he and my daughter named him. So.....everyone, meet Romo. (Named after Tony Romo, the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys).

Yup, Selena.....I bet you knew he was going to stay, didn't ya?

Lunch with Selena

2007-09-27T16:05:00.000-05:00

Selena and I had our second lunch out today and as always, it was great fun. We ate at a Mexican restaurant in town I love called 'Paco Dominguez'. Their guacamole is TO DIE FOR!!

Thanks Selena for the lunch and the visit.

Thought I'd go ahead and post this picture of us seeing how we actually remembered to take a picture today.........

Pre-weekend

2007-09-21T16:00:00.000-05:00

My neck is still not 100% but it's getting better...thankfully.

It has been a ssllooww week for some reason. Not much going on with dh working a lot of overtime but it's nice when the $$$ comes in.

I've been working on swaps at CrochetMania as well as stuff for my Etsy store. I'm hoping sales pick up soon, I was hoping to start Christmas shopping soon. It would be nice to be able to buy some stuff with crochet money. It would make me feel like I was contributing.

We are going to be taking family photos soon too, likely within the next couple of weeks. I do the photographing and use a tripod for the shots I have to be in. We do it every year in the fall. The first time we dh was 'bothered' by it but now he says 'shouldn't we be taking our family photos soon?' I love having that record of my family growing. I like my shots better than the ones the kids take at school. They never get that natural smile at school but with me it's a lot better. I want us all to dress in same colored shirts this year but I'm getting some resistance on that so time will tell. I'm thinking white shirts, what do you think? White shirts and jeans (long or capri for the females). I have to wait until Drew is here though because I like him in the photos with us. K, I'm really not sure why I'm talking about taking family pics...lol....oh well.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'm hoping to hit the jackpot when we got to yard sales tomorrow but they've been slim to none lately....wish me luck.

Ta ta for now........ttfn

OWWWWWWWWWY

2007-09-19T07:36:00.000-05:00

Did you ever wake up in the morning and your neck hurt? Well that was me yesterday. Now, this morning I woke up and it still hurt, just as bad. Ok, I dealt with yesterday so I'm sure I can deal with it today.

Then.......it was time. Time to get my youngest the cereal. No biggy. I got it off the top of the fridge, slowly, poured it in the bowl...no problem, put it back up on top of the fridge.......OWW OWW OWW....CAN'T MOVE....I'M STUCK....HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!

So, now I'm walking around like an invalid, hardly able to move my head at all, nevermind bend over. I don't even think I'll be able to crochet today.........the HORROR of it!!! I can type because I only move my fingers.

DH even had to help me get dressed....which he enjoyed waaaaaay too much I might add. But after that he was nice and tried to loosen up the muscles and rub my neck and shoulders. It didn't help much though.

So, I'm off to go find a comfy place to sit that I can rest my head on so I don't have to hold it up.
I don't know if it's my bed or my pillows or the way I sleep but I'm getting sick and tired of this. It's not the first time it's happened since we've lived here......at least the 3rd time I'd say. I DON'T LIKE IT!! Can I take my little temper tantrum now?

Ok, it's time for me to get off the computer now.....wish me luck getting around today....I could sure use it!!

I was hit with a RAOK

2007-09-18T19:22:00.000-05:00

When dh works overtime my ds goes and gets the mail for me. It's a mile walk to my mailbox from my house, each way. So when he came home with a big box under his arm I actually felt sorry for him. That left quite quickly when I opened it up!!

Tina, I can't thank you enough for all the stuff in the box!

Look at all this awesome stuff!!!

She made a little candy filled pumpkins for all of us....

She even included a 'how to learn to crochet' for Samantha but it wasn't in the picture.

This totally made my week!!!

Thank you soooooooooooo much Tina!!!!

Countdown to Heroes

2007-09-18T07:31:00.000-05:00

6 days....13 hours....8 minutes.... (taken from an online countdown...I'm not quite that obsessed)

I just love love love this show!! It is likely one of my most favorite shows EVER!! Well, Heroes and Survivor, which, by the way, starts its new season in 2 days...yay!!

Random thoughts

2007-09-17T11:15:00.000-05:00

Totally random thoughts..............

The house is a mess
I wish I had a friend to come over for a 'coffee'
Dallas news is so depressing
I'm already making plans for next July
Don't want to leave Chico for two weeks (in July) but I'll have to
I'm so proud of my daughter
I'm so worried about my oldest son's future
$5000 would change my life forever
Teenagers are so hard to get along with, even my own
Looking forward to 12/7/07
Yikes, Christmas is only 3 months away
DH and I are going to start walking tonight
I'm so tired of being overweight
I wish I had enough $$ to adopt a little girl
Thinking about fostering but dh thinks I'd get too attached
I will be lost without my daughter when she moves out next year
I want an orange kitten..a male
I miss trick or treating in Canada
US healthcare system SUCKS
Hillary for president?
I miss chatting with Viqui every day
My dad is my hero
My mom is my best friend
Putting my hair up in a ponytail gives me a headache
I dropped my camera and scratched the lens....so mad...I need a new camera now
Aren't hummingbirds cute?
I hope mom's surgery, when it does happen, goes well
Craig Ferguson is hillarious
Go! Jeff Gordon! Go!!

Just sitting here.....what a week!

2007-09-15T21:38:00.000-05:00

Well, I was just sitting here, at the computer, realizing I had not posted in a few days. Maybe because not a lot has been going on........oh wait!! I'm wrong.....there has been stuff going on and that's why I haven't posted........been busy.

On Wednesday, the day after my birthday, Selena came and took me out for lunch. She also brought me some great gifts too. It was awesome. The best part of it all was getting to 'meet' her. Well, we talk on the phone all the time and talk on the Crochet Mania forum but it was so nice to see her in person. We had a wonderful time and I sure hope we get to do it again.
Here is the stuff she brought me............nice red yarn to make stuff for my red/apple kitchen...yay!!

On Thursday a woman by the name of Darlene came to my house to learn how to crochet. We found each other through 'freecycle' which is kind of like a trading post for people to get rid of things they don't want instead of throwing them away in the garbage and taking up landfill space. I had made a post about wanting some yarn and she emailed me to ask if I could teach her how to crochet. She was extremely way too generous and brought me all of this stuff as payment.......

It turned out she already knew how to crochet but she had some big questions about certain things that she couldn't get the answers to. I still feel guilty about 'taking' all this stuff from her but I'm glad I could help her.

Also, I made this bag for LadySnow on Crochet Mania for a purse/handbag swap. I tell ya, I loved the way it turned out so much I nearly kept it for myself....and I'm not kidding, I almost did. I couldn't find a purse strap for it at WalMart so I ended up buying a heart chain belt and using belt. I'm tellin' ya..........it turned out sooooooo nice.

And then there's this. I made this 'scarf' for someone who asked me to (custom order from a pattern she'd found and I purchased) on my Etsy store. It was a pain in the butt to do and if I ever do it again I'll charge more for it. Let's just say it's not MY style but I hope she likes it. My daughter is the model in this pic.

Well see, I guess I had a busy week after all...........
(((hugs)))

Jimbo's Crochet holiday Sept 12th

2007-09-11T23:01:00.000-05:00

On Jimbo's blog he's come up with a great idea........Crochet Day!! Sept 12th!!

So, what am I going to do to celebrate this day?? I'm going to get together with a friend I met on CrochetMania. Selena is coming over and we are going out for lunch. How d'ya like that?? I am so excited. I'd say I'm excited to 'meet' her but heck, we've PM'd, we've emailed, we've talked on the phone.........now we'll just to see each other face to face. Can't wait. I'll fill you all in with some pics...I promise to take some pics!!

Happy Jimbo Crochet Day!!

Happy Birthday to me

2007-09-11T07:11:00.000-05:00

I've already received some very nice well wishes from people. What a nice thing to wake up to!

Funky time of year

2007-09-10T08:14:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's that time of the year again. The anniversary of 9/11. All the programs will run their remembrances. Everyone will remember how horrible it was. It's a depressing time of the year.

Geesh, how awful it must be to have been born on that day of the year and have to share YOUR day with that memory. I can't imagine....oh wait, I can......that's my birthday, isn't it?

I remember one time I was on the phone with someone.....someone who needed my birthdate for some reason, I don't remember why now....and when I told her her comment was "you're kidding? How unfortunate for you."

Geeeeeezzzzzzzzzz!!

Hubby, Yard Sales and more.......

2007-09-08T11:54:00.000-05:00

Thursday was dh's birthday. For 5 days he's a whole 'year' older than I am...lol. It was also a cook-a-long at the Mania so I made what everyone else was making, my recipe for Chicken, Potato and Veggie bake. Looks yummy doesn't it?

Here is a pic of me and hubby from last weekend. It was his birthday after all, so I had to include a pic of him.

DD got her Letterman's jacket in the other day. I was thrilled for her. $35 for a leather coat like that...awesome!! She got it because of UIL last year. I'm so proud of her.

Went to some yard sales today and found some crochet stuff...for a change. Although, I had premature buying syndrome.......bought stuff I really don't know what to do with. The buttons are great! I've been looking for something like for such a long time. I use them for so many things...I was excited about that!
The pic on the left is from knit squares that are not put together and I'm not sure what to do with them. On the far right is 8 flowers made from thread. I love them...but don't know what to do with them.

I hope everyone has a fantasterrific weekend!!

Blog contest winner!!

2007-09-06T12:17:00.001-05:00

Congradulations to Tina (Timeless Creations) for winning the box of yarn. I got so many nice comments from people and get to know some of you too. She coincidentally also made the most comments. DH picked the lucky 'ticket' this morning.

Tina, it was a ball getting to know you through blogging.....so much fun!!

Thank you again to everyone!!

Apples Apples Apples

2007-09-05T11:26:00.001-05:00

I'm starting to finally get some things to put in my 'appley' kitchen. Yesterday I found some spongey kind of tack paper that I just loved the design of. So I cut out the apples and glued them onto the backsplash behind my stove, which is blue...I'm not fond of blue.
And I finally the perfect curtains for my kitchen window. I was sooo happy.

So here it is ......my 'appley' kitchen...so far!!

Now I need to get an apple utensil holder, an apple clock, an apple mat for in front of my sink, salt and pepper shakers.........and so on and so on and so on........lol

Life's a Beach

2007-09-04T08:20:00.000-05:00

What a great day we had at the State Park (Tawakoni State Park) . DH thought it would be fun to go the lake for a 'cookout' and we all thought it was a great idea. There had been news stories lately too of a giant spiderweb along the nature trail out there so I wanted to go check it out.

Of course, I had to take a lot of pictures...what else is new??

Here is DH and DD striking a pose. And the 'little fella' who can't wait for the food to be cooked!

Don't know why but I just love this pic of Austin. And had to fit Matt in too.

Yummmmmmmy

Just thougth this grasshopper was sooo cool looking. Almost looks like an alien to me.

Here is one pic of a spider web cluster that we saw. The majority of my pics didn't turn out well because of the lighting but you get the idea. Click here for a news article about it.

And we left, literally, just in time. We rounded the corner, leaving the park and it started to rain. When we got home, and inside, it started to pour. Phew.......just in time!!

Hope everyone else had as great a Labor Day as we did.

What really bugs me...

2007-09-02T08:41:00.000-05:00

Ok, there are a lot of things but for this entry I'm focusing on getting my email...or rather NOT getting it.

Since I moved to this house in December '06 I have changed ISP's 3 times. This new one I have is great for speed and it's half the price I was paying for satellite. So what bugs me then? EMAIL.

I don't know how many times now I've had problems receiving my email since switching to the new ISP. It also bugs me that I've grown so dependant on my email. It's how I communicate with so many friends. It's how I get orders for my Etsy store. It's become such a major part of my life, kinda like my cell phone and computer in general.

Growing up we didn't have any of this stuff. Try to tell my kids that and they think I grew up in the stone age. I'm an 80's teen and to get the kids to understand that there were no cell phones, Nintendo, home computers, DVD players.....it's hard for them understand.

I remember in 1998 when there was the big Ice Storm in Eastern Ontario and we didn't have power for 3 days, which was actually a short time because my parents were out for a week and my brother was out for 3 weeks. My power came back on so soon because I lived close to the hospital and was on the same 'power vein' as them. No one could do their banking because it was all done by computers and using the ATM's. What a mess!

Yes, I start on one subject and go off on a 'rabbit trail' as dh would say.

Anyway, I'm done venting now.

I hope everyone has a fantasterrific day!!

Off to the yard sales

2007-09-01T07:32:00.000-05:00

Yup, dh and I are going to hit the yard sales today, hoping we find that perfect 'thing' to sell on eBay or to add to our home. I've always heard of people finding big boxes of yarn and such but I never find anything like that. Maybe today is the day.....

Well, I'm still a 'normal people' as we didn't win the lottery last night and it was won by 4 different people in different states. One winner being in Texas but I think they said Houston, or was is Arlington? Doesn't really matter to me....it wasn't me!!

I've been crocheting up a storm lately. Doing stuff for swaps, for my Etsy store and a comfortghan for the 84 year old lady who lives next to me who was just diagnosed with cancer (so sad).

Well, my little fella is looking over my shoulder, wanting to get on the computer to play his games so I'll cut this short for now. If I find any fantasterrific deals, I'll sure let you know!!

Have a great Saturday everyone!!

Reality show junkee and Megamillions winner wannabe

2007-08-31T08:23:00.001-05:00

Anyone else?
I can't help it. I LOVE LOVE LOVE reality shows.
It all started with Survivor...which, in my humble opinion is still the best reality show out there. I can't wait until it starts up on Sept 20th when the next season starts, in China. Should be interesting.

What has me thinking about reality shows this morning is Big Brother. In the past I've been an 'in passing' kind of viewer. Because it was on so many nights a week and there was always something else on, I never really got into it....until this year. (Gotta love the invention of the DVR (Tivo)) I have not missed a second of the show this year and just love it! I can't stand not knowing who the HOH is this week, and am worried because next week is a double eviction, instead of just one person going home. It's getting so close to the end.....I want Eric or Jessica to win. Can't stand Dick or Danielle. Yes, I know I'm going on but still............

Also can't wait for the Dancing with the Stars this year. Mark Cuban, who is very well known in my area because he owns the Dallas Marvericks basketball team (which I love) and he's a very 'fun' guy. Real mouthy and 'out there'. It will so funny to watch him DWTS....wonder if he actually has any talent??

Now, on to much bigger things.........MEGAMILLIONS!! This is a multi state lottery and it is now up to about $320 Million dollars. The drawing is tonight and I told dh to either bring home 2 tickets or he'll be sorry. If you take the cashout option, which I would, then we'd get $190 Million. I can live with that...you? I promise, if we win the jackpot I'll give each of you some money....really, I will. You have it in writing!! LOL

Crochet news: A couple of new swaps have started recently at CrochetMania. If you crochet and are not involved in 'the mania' yet, you might want to check it out. It's a fabulous bunch of people. It's amazing how people actually become your friends, isn't it? It always amazes me when, someone I met online, really cares about me and how I am. It's heartwarming.

I have to thank everyone for reaching out to me earlier this week when I was having my meltdown. I got so many 'I know how you feel' and 'if you need a shoulder' posts and emails and phone calls......it really felt nice and warmed my heart.

Also, don't forget to comment so you can win some yarn. My contest is still running for another few days. Don't miss out!!

Have a FANTASTERIFFIC DAY!!!

Scattergories.........

2007-08-30T13:16:00.000-05:00

I snagged this off Will Blog for Yarn

SCATTERGORIES … and it’s harder than it looks! Here are the rules:

* Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.
* They MUST be real places, names, things … NOTHING made up!
* If you can’t think of anything, skip it.
* You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.
* If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can’t use my answers!

My name: Lisa
1. Famous Singer/Band: K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Kansas
2. Four letter word: Love

3. Street: Lisa Lane (it's true...in Ottawa, Canada)

4. Color: Lemon

5. Gifts/Presents:
6. Vehicle: Landrover

7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Letters
8. Boy Name: Larry
9. Girl Name: Lucy

10. Movie Title: Love Actually
11. Drink: Long Island Iced Tea
12. Occupation: Landscaper
13. Celebrity: Leah Reminy
14. Magazine: Lucky

15. U.S. City: Las Angeles
16. Pro Sports Teams: L A Lakers
17. Fruit: Lime

18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Lovemaking made me late...but it was worth it!!

19. Something You Throw Away: Lumpy gravy

20. Things You Shout: Love Rocks!
21. Cartoon Character: Lil

A better day

2007-08-30T07:43:00.000-05:00

Thank you to everyone who sent me hugs yesterday.
It was a tough day, right until I went to sleep pretty much, but today is looking brighter.

I woke up to brand new yarn (that was in the plastic wrap, IN the box) all over the floor this morning but that didn't ruin my day so I'm off to a much better start.

Would you believe we actually had 2 inches of rain yesterday?? In August?? And they're calling for more today?? What a crazy summer it's been...not complaining though. Me? Not complaining? Dang, it really is true...miracles really do happen....lol

I hope everyone has a great day today and thank you for joining me in my bloggy contest. Don't forget to comment on my posts for your chance to win. No more 'downer posts', I promise!!

Here is a picture of the rain yesterday...pouring down. Did I mention that it's August...in Texas??

I miss.....

2007-08-29T11:16:00.000-05:00

I know I almost always keep my blog entries light and with not a lot of thought behind them but today something is bothering me and after reading Kari's blog I decided to go ahead and 'spill the beans'.

As most of you that read my blog know I'm from Canada and came to live in Texas in May 2003. I have not been back since either and today, well actually the last few days but especially today, things are really getting to me.

This morning I got out some old pictures, that are still in a bag because I've not put them into albums yet, after bringing them here with me over 4 years ago and the thing is.....

I miss home. And everything that goes along with that.

I don't have any friends here. I've lived here this long and I still don't have anyone I can go have fun with. That was always really important me. I always had friends...at least a couple that I hung around with and of course, since moving here we've lost touch. (Well, one showed her nasty ugly true colors and the other doesn't have a computer anymore...or even a phone)

I miss my mom....a lot. My mom has always been my very best friend and we talked at least once or twice a day. I always lived close to my parents and when my 2 older kids were little, I likely wouldn't have made it without their help. They were always there for me. My mom would come over, even if just for a coffee while she was up town for something and visit with me. Now I only get to see her twice a year and it's so hard. I worry about something happening to them when I'm so far away and can't get to them to help.

I miss my doctor. I know that may sound funny but I had the same doctor for 12 years and the receptionist knew who I was by the sound of my voice and would say 'who is it today?' Not to mention missing the whole healthcare system in Canada where you never have to worry about not having enough money to go see a doctor because you didn't have the money, didn't have insurance. I live in fear that something happens to one of my kids and I have to go to the emergency room. For this being 'the greatest country in the world' as many shout....it sure is lacking for healthcare.

I miss the friends I used to have. I miss having my phone ring off the hook with friends calling. I miss my house being grand central station with friends and the friends of my kids coming and going. I miss volunteering at my kids school and being 'known'. I miss feeling useful. I miss going to pick something up from the store, like a jug of milk, and it take me an hour because I keep running in to people I know. I miss going for a drive to the river and just sitting there and watching the water. I miss taking my kids to the beach any time I had an extra hour. I miss the flowers blooming right about now. I miss Swiss Chalet. I miss Canadian chocolate. I miss going to my brothers to watch tv with him. I miss my dad teaching things to my kids that no one else can teach them. I miss my parents getting sick of me and the kids going over EVERY Sunday for dinner. I miss going over there for Sunday dinners. I miss fall colors. I miss Canadian hockey coverage. I miss not having to worry that the person in the car next to you might have a gun. I miss the freedom I used to have to just get in the car and go. I miss chip wagons. I miss poutine. I miss living in a 2 storry home. I miss fall. I miss snow on the ground at Christmas. I miss Canadian Chinese food. I miss Giant Tiger. I miss Tim Hortons. I miss hearing the Canadian National Anthem.

Yeah, there are things I don't miss too but right now..............I miss home.

On your mark.............CONTEST TIME

2007-08-28T14:10:00.000-05:00

Alrighty now.
I've been meaning to do this for a very long time so, here goes.

I'm having a blog contest!!

I'm giving away balls of yarn that I have laying around, as well as some hooks. Yes, I say balls of yarn, but there are few that are full or half skeins.

All of the dark red you see is actually Bernat Satin and there is at least a full skien to a skein and half of that. There are some veriagates as well as some Patons Shetland. I also have 4 hooks, sized K, F, J, K.

What do you have to do to win? Leave a comment. That's it. That's all. Everytime you post over the next week I will put your name into a hat and on Wednesday, Sept 5th, I will get my son to pick a name out of the hat. You will get one entry for each post. So if you make one comment you'll have one chance to win. If you make 100 comments, you'll have 100 chances to win.

While you're at it, I'd love it if you could vote for me at the 'top crochet lists'. I appreciate it.

So...come on people......let's get posting!!!!!

Here is a pic........and there might be more added if I get a lot of commentors!!

Bless his little heart.....

2007-08-28T08:53:00.000-05:00

7:09am my phone rings...."Hey mom, it's Sam. I just wanted to let you know that the bus might be bringing Austin home. He got sick on the bus." (Looooooovely) "The bus driver asked me if you were home so I'm not sure what they'll do."

7:40am......"Hello, Mrs. Marchand?" (with emphasis on the 'ch' sound) It's 'L', the school nurse for (his school). Austin is sick. He's here in my office. Bless his little heart, he's been throwing up ever since he walked in the back door of the school. The poor little guy was even apologizing because he said was feeling fine at home but this came over him all of a sudden, bless his little heart. " My responses are jumbled up in there. "Is there some way you can come and get him?" Well, after I tell her we only have one vehicle she tells me she'll call me back after asking a bus driver if they would be able to run him home.

7:47am..... "Hello, Mrs. Marchand?" (again with the emphasis on the 'ch' sound...geesh). It's 'L' again, the school nurse. Our vice principal has offered to drive Austin home, if that's alright with you." I tell her that would be great. "It'll be about 15 minutes before he can leave though, letting the traffic clear out from the moring. Austin is laying on the bed in my office, bless his little heart. I just feel so bad for him."

8:15am..... The vice principal drives in my driveway dropping Austin off. "I hope he feels better soon." he says. I thank him very much for bringing Austin home.

Austin walks in with a completely different set of clothes on because his are...well, let's just say he wouldn't want to be wearing his at the moment.

I have him put on 'jammies' and lay on the couch. Miraculously, he's feeling fine now. Laying on the couch playing play station.

So much for my 'alone time'...........the second day of school....lol.....

..............bless his little heart.

Lovely fall colors

2007-08-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I cheated. Living in Texas, one of the things I miss the most are the fall colors in Canada. These are pictures I took myself when I still lived there. I made one of them into a background for my blog and I must say...I like it.

So enjoy a little bit of Canada's beautiful fall foliage..............I know I will.

Here are the two pictures before and after tiling for my blog.

Doin' the happy dance

2007-08-27T09:07:00.000-05:00

Oh yes, I am!! I am doin' the happy dance!! At 6:33am I saw the lights of the bus coming up the road....woo hooooooooooo!!!! There it is. There is my own little piece of heaven. Coming to take my little angels off for the day. Leaving me alone, with no fighting, no 'mom can I go on the computer', no 'mom, can I have something to eat'? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, the peace.
Then the happy dance got even bigger as dh left for work. Not that I don't love his company, but I was sooooooo happy to be able to spend alone...all by myself...after 3 months of 'torture'.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my kids but the fighting.............arg!!!!!!!

It is hard to believe though that I have a senior in high school, a junior in high school and one in grade 3. Amazing.

Oh yeah, did I mention I was doin' the happy dance?? And did I mention how gooooooood it feels??

Here are my little angels on their first day back to school. I hope you have a good at school my little angels....with your friends....away from mom.........lol.

Happy Sunday....Happy Raceday

2007-08-19T08:12:00.000-05:00

It's quiet in the house so far this morning. I'm the only one up. Oops, too late, hubby just woke up. Well the kids are still sleeping and that's what makes it quiet.

So I heard back from TheCrochetDude and he loved the 'thing' I made for him. I'm so happy, what a relief! Wish I could tell you more about it but then I'd have to kill you, so...........

We are going shopping today for the remainder of the school supplies. School starts in one week...yippee!! This coming Thursday is 'Meet the Teacher Night' for my youngest, so that will be 'fun'. It will be nice to get back in the swing of things though, especially for him. He's looking forward to grade 3.

As far as anything else going on, it is Race Day after all and I predict that whoever won the pole will be the winner....... Oh. Wait. Didn't Jeff Gordon win the pole? Oh yeah, that's right, he did. Well then I guess he'll just have to win then...tee hee! GO JEFFY GO!!!!!!

Til next time...........

Done!

2007-08-16T08:36:00.000-05:00

It took me a while but I'm finally done. I was doing a project for TheCrochetDude and this morning dh took it off to work with him to drop off at the post office at lunch time.....such a wonderful feeling......but now the anxiety begins.

Are my stiches even?

Did I weave my ends in right?

Did I make a mistake somewhere that I didn't see?

.....Is it good enough??????

Oh the horror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**********************************************

On a lighter note.............

Over at Crochetmania we are having a contest. A 'sign people up' contest. And of course, being the competetive person I am, I want to win...isn't that natural? So, if you read my blog and do not yet belong to Crochetmania why don't you come on over and join us...and make 15 posts. Don't forget to mention my name and/or blog as the way you go there.

It's a win win situation after all.....I get the glory of 'being in the race' and you sign up to a great crochet board with fantastic people. See, everybody wins!!

**********************************************
Obligatory animal pic..............Patches

Time flies......

2007-08-14T22:12:00.000-05:00

Geesh, it's been nearly a week since I've posted anything.....shame on me....

Let's see, what's new. Well, we've started the 'let's start getting ready for school' routine this week. Going to bed earlier and waking up earlier. It's hard to believe school is almost here already...not that mind...lol. It's been a hellish summer here, that's for sure. My two older kids fight a lot....well, to be honest they really only fight once a day....from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed. It's so stressful.

My daughter starts her senior year in high school this year......I just can't believe it. My baby girl is almost grown. Everything I can do for her, to teach her, is done. There's nothing new I can do. Nothing I can say that she hasn't heard a million times before. Now it's up to her to do with it what she will. She's a good girl though. I am very proud of her. She's going to be a teacher...a high school teacher. She will make a good one. With the age of my kids, she could possibly teach my youngest when he's in high school. That'll be interesting if it does happen......

I've been busy crocheting lately too. As I've said in earlier posts, I'm crocheting something for TheCrochetDude. I'm almost finished too. I'll be finished with it tomorrow and they'll I'll be able to send it off to him. It's been fun though. I've enjoyed it a lot.

When I'm finished with that I'll be busy making a couple of hat/sweater/booties sets for an Etsy order. It's nice to be busy like that. Actually making money doing something I enjoy. Whodathunkit?

It's been horribly H.O.T. here too this week...over 100F. I can't stand it. I guess I can't complain too much....who'd listen...lol. Thank goodness for air conditioners.

Ok, I've taken up enough of your time, now go do something productive. Weed the flower bed. Do the dishes. Sit down with a nice tall glass of iced tea and crochet something. Yeah, I like the last choice better too! Think I'll do that one!

Now, you know I wouldn't leave you without a picture or two....

Here is my daughters cat playing peek a boo...silly cat!

This is what I had for lunch today. My kids looked at me like I was out of my mind when I took this photo. "Mom, why are you taking a picture of foooooood?" They just don't understand...lol.
This is my favvvvvvvorite lunch. Grilled cheese and tomato soup....yummy!!

Have a great day everyone and thanks for stopping by to share a moment of your time with me!

All back to 'normal'

2007-08-08T08:39:00.000-05:00

Yes, my parents have been gone for a little over 24 hours now and it's all back to normal in the house....especially the kids fighting. They were sooooo good while my parents were here and I swear, the minute they drove out the driveway the kids started to fight!! Oh well, I guess the important part was that they behaved while mom and dad were here...I just wish they always acted like that.

I always enjoy when my parents visit and this time it seemed to fly by. It was like one day they showed up and the next they left. I miss them already.

They took the kids shopping and got everything on their school supplies lists.....I could not believe it!! I was...and am...so grateful. The list just seems to get longer and more expensive each year. They got them clothes too....so all I have to buy is shoes for the boys and a hoodie for my daughter....such a relief!!

My mom, who has had a bad hip for a long time now...I'd say at least the last 15 years, from bursitis (sp?), is going to have hip replacement surgery, possibly in November. That upsets me because I am so far away I can't be there to take care of her. She says my dad is good at that stuff, and he really is, there's never been a doubt in my whole life how much they love each other, but I'm the daughter...I'm supposed to be there to help. I wish I didn't live so far away.

Well, I guess I'd better 'git' for now. I've been making something for The Crochet Dude and it has a deadline so I'd better get back to that....after a blueberry bagel for breakfast!!

Have a great day everyone!!

P day is here.....

2007-08-01T12:04:00.001-05:00

P for parents, that is.

I'm sitting here in anticipation for their arrival. I think they should be here anytime now... I hope...than anticipation is killin' me!

They've been driving for 3 days now, from Ontario Canada. They make the trip about every six months, but it's been 8 months this time because my dad kept getting work...he's a private contractor in technology stuff...anything more than that, I just don't know.

I've been up since 5 am, anxious about them getting here today. We've already been to town for groceries and other arrands so now it's just a waiting game..........*me pulling my hair out*.

Well, this didn't take up that much time, now did it?

They'll be here for about a week and I'll blog about it after they've gone.

I"m soooooooooooooo excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Catching up

2007-07-27T18:10:00.000-05:00

I know I know......I've not been posting as much as I usually do...I'll try to do better, I promise.

Not a lot has been happening lately. With the kids home they've on my computer much more than I have been......frustrating yes.....but it gives me more time to crochet. I've even signed on with a very well known person in the crochet world to do some contract work for 'them'. I'm excited about it.

My parents will be here next week, Wednesday August 1st, and will be staying for a week. I'm very excited. It's always so much fun when they're here. They spoil the kids like crazy. They just love going shopping down here. A lot of things cheaper....except for food that is!! I'm hoping my mom, whose mother (my dear sweet grandma) taught her to knit, will remember enough to show me how to knit. It's been a long time since she's picked up the needles though so I don't know. I don't ever remember her knitting...ever!!

I've made some more hats. I'm hoping they will sell well once the cooler weather hits. Time will tell.

Next Saturday, Aug 4th is dh's high school reunion. I'm sooo nervous about it. He is very gregarious..the life of the party and I'm just the opposite....shy and quiet...until you get to know me. I will know not a sole there so it will be tough for me. Besides that....I don't a dang thing to wear to it!!!

Things are going well at my crochet home...Crochetmania... just like always. What a great bunch of people...and by people I mean women...lol... It's like sitting around and crocheting and having a *insert beverage here* with friends. I just love it!!

You know I have to post a pic or two so here are 2..........

This is the new scarf and hats that I've made...I have them on sale at my Etsy store

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Been busy

2007-07-24T22:06:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been busy switching my Etsy shop. It was strange to me to have jchllm as the name listed on my account, and it couldn't be changed so I really wanted it to be aplayfulyarn. So what I've done is switched everything to a new name...it's done now...but phew!!

gotta get back to work..........

Just a few things....

2007-07-20T20:10:00.000-05:00

It's almost been a week since my last entry...hard to believe. What else is that I still don't really have anything to say.

I did find a couple of cool websites this week. One is called Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/) which is, for lack of a better phrase, Myspace for adults. I've found a lot of old high school friends on it and some other friends too. I love it. If you decide to sign up make sure you look me up....Lisa Marchand.

Another new site I found, through Viqui, is iGoogle (http://www.igoogle.com/) which is a great 'homepage'. They have so many different modules, it's amazing. One thing to remember though...if you do like it and love all the goodies, make at least one more 'add page' at the top of the page or it may load waaaaaaaaaay slow!

I got burned on Etsy this week. I had a person make a $51 order and then decide to just not pay for it. I was not amused...trust me. I'm still not!! Oh well, what can ya do??

I made my first thread items this past week and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's not really that different from yarn...and here I was so scared to try it...silly me. I made a couple of things for my swap partner at Cmania for the Christmas in July swap so I can't post a pic yet, but I really did like it.

Well, hubby's working overtime, the boys are playing PS2 and 'the girl' is watching tv...guess I'll go do some more crocheting.

Later gaters!!

Drew the shmoo......

2007-07-16T13:26:00.000-05:00

My step son, Drew turned 13 on Friday the 13th......but he was at camp so we celebrated yesterday. Here he is with his cake......

And......have you ever seen such a thing?? A cat eating watermelon!! I swear.

This cat is fascinated with water in any shape or form. If he hears you in the kitchen he'll run in and sit at the sink and meow until this happens.................

(sorry for the dirty sink)

Bo, you silly little animal!!!

More fun at the lake

2007-07-15T17:24:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun at the lake today...thought I'd share a few 'movies'. The one singing about the Titanic is my 16 year old son Matt....the comedian.

If you're not sick of the kids jumping off the dock, there are more on my YouTube 'inventory'. Click here If it doesn't work, just look for videos by 'jchllm'.

And this is how a tree is supposed to come down...

2007-07-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

Well, looks like dh had finally had enough of the trees of falling through the roof so he contacted a guy to come and cut them down. He cut 3 trees down for $170, which was an extremely good price. We had been quoted $1500 at one point and that's why they weren't down yet.

Here's the guy getting it ready up the tree and then starting to saw it down....

Drumroll please................. Click to play the video

Now we have big cleanup but it's entirely worth it. We're going buy a fireplace for the winter anyway and now we sure have plenty of wood for it!!

Just had to post these pics

2007-07-11T23:53:00.001-05:00

Well, if you read my blog regularly at all you know how much I love to take pictures and my daughter Samantha is usually the prime target of my lense. But....you also know she loves it too!

You know how we all are, we have our good days and our bad days...right? Well, there are times when I look at her and she's 'just my daughter' and then there are times when she comes out of her room looking a certain way that I think "man, how did I make that??" Yesterday was one of those days. Her birthday was yesterday, she turned 17 years old...wow and here are some photos I took of her on her special day......

I love you honey.

Go jump in the lake!!

2007-07-07T18:26:00.000-05:00

What a great day today was! It was actually sunny outside for a change and NOT RAINING!! How awesome is that?!? The kids had been bugging me all week to let them go swimming in the lake by our house so today I gave in. They had a blast, as you will by the pictures.

Chico and Maisy had to come of course. Chico stayed on the dock but Maisy had to dive in.

Sam looking waterlogged.

Matt jumping in backwards. He's funny.

My 3 little men. Drew (my 13 year old step son), Matt and Austin

My little daredevil. He decided to just go ahead and jump over the side of the dock like it was a hurdle....and made it. He also did this other little trick. I swear...talk about giving me a heart attack!!

I think these pics speak for themselves.

My little cutie pie!

And the final pic of the day before coming home.

It was so much fun!!

Here's a bonus pic. Not a good one of me...but it was fun!

My newest, and first, creation

2007-07-05T06:56:00.000-05:00

Well, she bugged me and bugged me until I finally thought of something. Thanks Kathy!
While sitting with my kids we were throwing ideas around (my kids are 16 and 17) we came up with this. Now, brace yourself!

It's called "Mr. Willy Pilly" The car penis pillow. It's the first thing I've made from scratch and Kathy helped me with getting the right stitches in the right spot. (Oh, if you could only have heard the converstation...lol)

I have it for sale on my Etsy shop. I also have to give a 'shoutout' to Jodi, who truly was inspiration to me to get this right!

I'm working on something else right now too that my 13 year old step son helped me 'invent'. It's cute. Stay tuned.........

Happy Independence Day everyone

2007-07-04T09:27:00.000-05:00

Dear Mother Nature.....

2007-07-03T08:27:00.000-05:00

Ok, I get it. You were sick of everyone in Texas complaining about how, over the past 2 years, we were in a drought and never getting enough rain. Well, we're all shutting up now. We understand how women get when you nag and nag at them about something. Finally, at some point she blows and says "fine! You want rain? You'll GET RAIN!".

I do understand that you got tired of listening to us all complain but don't you think enough is enough? Can't you please give us a break? Please? I'm not saying we don't need rain at all. I mean, it is wonderful to see the lakes back up to their normal levels again but there is a lake close to here that is 20 feet over its normal level. And we do need SOME rain to keep our lawns from turning crunchy but don't you think you're going a bit overboard?

In a little over 2 hours this morning you fed us with 3 more inches rain, to top off the inch (plus) you gave us yesterday...not to mention the rain you've 'blessed' us with over and over over again. As a matter of fact you've helped us set all kinds of records this year as far as rainfall goes.

So, in closing, I'm showing you exibits A, B and C in the photos below and begging fo you to reconsider your anger and just lighen up a bit.

Thanks so much for your consideration.
Your waterlogged fan.

Exibit A: On the other side of the 'weeds' on the right is the creek that has peaked and busted over into our yard.

Exibit B: Looking at this photo you can see that the trampoline and the bench near it are at least a foot under water. This is supposed to be my backyard where my children can play. Now they are housebound without being able to go outside and blow off some 'stink'.

Exibit C: This is the view from my living room window. You know...the window right next the patched roof where a tree branch fell through the other day because of the rain. Anyway, this is what I see when I look out of my window and honestly, I''m not liking it that much!

If it's not one thing.....it's another.....TREE

2007-07-01T13:05:00.000-05:00

This is how I feel right now.....

Ok, so ya'll know how much rain there has been here latelyin Texas.... It's been just awful!

Well, if you've been paying attention, you'll also remember that we have a lot of trees around our house, including one that we cut down and it went through my son's bedroom ceiling...not fun.

Well, Friday night, while dh was working the second half of a double shift, I was sitting on the loveseat crocheting and all of a sudden..BANG... a huge branch fell through living room ceiling...right over the couch.

DH says it's because the dead trees just soak up the water, instead of using it like the living trees do......if he says so....

It's fixed now but here are some pics of what it looked like.

This is how my couch looked when the tree went through the ceiling. The funny thing is that even before I talked to my wonderful hubby on the phone to tell him what had happened, I had this picture taken...lol

If not for this electrical wire I am certain the log would have been laying on my couch. Thank goodness it was there because my special little doggie, Chico, was laying in the one corner asleep when it burst through.

And the 'on top' view. Yup, it went through in two spots but all the way through in just one spot. As I said, I really think it would have been one BIG hole if not for the electrical cord. The breaker popped and the tv went out because of it, but it was just fine, thank goodness!

I really hope these dang trees stop falling on my house! Enough is enough!!!!!

Hats, hats, and more hats!!

2007-06-24T14:47:00.000-05:00

Well, this is what I've been doing this weekend. Aren't they cute? I even made one bigger, the blue one, and it fits my 8 year old son. The other ones are for 6 months - 2 years I'd say. I even included a pic of my son with it on....isn't he a cutie patootie??

I will have these on sale in my Etsy store soon. Come and take a look.

Has it really been a week?

2007-06-21T22:49:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that it's been over a week since my last post. I guess I've been busy. Actually I have been.
I've been crocheting my little fingers off!!

I made 3 Baby it's Cold Outside sweaters for family expecting babies in the fall. Two boys and one girl. Isn't modern medicine wonderful? Now you can make things in the 'right' color even before a baby is born. The one on top is for the little girl and the other two are for boys. I don't really like the bottom one but........... I'm also making each one of them the 'Seija set' from the 'Stitch 'n Bitch' book. I have the one little girl hat done already and it's adorable. I'll post a pic later this week.

I just made this for my Etsy store. It's a cupcake purse. Cute huh?

And I also made these 'Baby Janes' for my Etsy store. Kathy Hudgins of CrochetMania designed the pattern and has allowed me to sell them on my store....thanks buddy!!

Besides that, I did sell a set of baby sandals with a hat on my store, so I had to make that too because she wanted them for a baby boy and I had listed in pink for a girl. Been busy, let me tell ya!!

I finally gave in and turned the air conditioner on the other day. We've been lucky this year and it hasn't been THAT hot yet so I've been able to talk dh into keeping it off. Finally a couple of days ago when the humidex got to about 105F I gave in. I just couldn't stand it anymore. I know I won't be able to stand the electric bill when it comes in.....but you gotta do what you gotta do, especially live in jolly ol' Texas!!

'Til next time.......................

You gotta love the UPS guy...Part ??

2007-06-13T23:16:00.000-05:00

The other day Viqui sent me an email telling me that she was sending me a gift. She said she had thought of it when she saw the pictures on my blog of Austin's birthday. I could not, for the life of me, figure out what it was going to be. So when the UPS guy showed up today...late at almost 8pm, geesh...I opened up a box to a 16 piece dinnerware set from Corelle.
The funny thing is, every time I go somewhere I go to the dinnerware section and oogle the dishes. I've wanted to get a set like this for a long time but never could afford an 'extravagance' for myself.
As silly as it sounds, I was so thrilled when I saw this set in the box....I was even silly about it. They are apple design to match, how I'm trying to make, my kitchen!

Here's a picture of them.....

Thank you Viqui....you are the best!!!!

Pleasureable headline

2007-06-08T16:54:00.000-05:00

Screaming Paris Hilton sent back to jail (click to go to Yahoo news story)

Should this headline really give me as much pleasure as it does? There are 2 ways of looking at this....the first one is as a mother of a teenage daughter. If my daughter broke the law I would still want to protect her and I would never want to see her go to jail.

Although, it is very difficult to see things that way when someone keeps shunning the law so fortuitously? It is very difficult to see beyond the 'I'm better than you and don't have to abide by the rules'.

I have always been a strong advocate against drinking and driving. I believe not only are you putting your own life at risk, but you are treating your vehicle as a 4000lb missile, ready to 'take someone out'. Yes, I feel very strongly about this.

So when you have someone who repeatedly drives under the influence without any concern for anyone else, what else is the 'system' to do?

I was irate when they let her out of jail yesterday because if it had been anyone else in a 'normal' tax bracket there would not have been a question about where she would have stayed. I kept wondering what we were showing to others who do or have done this. Why should Paris get special treatment because she doesn't like the food or the living quarters?

So today when I heard she was going back to jail I was so happy. I actually yelled out loud 'GOOD'.

She was taken from the courtroom screaming and calling out for her mommy. How old is she? 25? Don't you think it's time you grew up, Paris? Become and adult and take responsibility for your actions. Don't ask mommy and daddy to throw their millions around and get you out of trouble, yet again. Maybe you will learn something from this, like how to read your own mail.

Well, whether it was the right way or the wrong way to feel, I am very pleased she is back in jail, where she belongs. You do the crime, you do the time......there's no other way around it....no matter who you are!!

Paris, I hope you will learn to be a better from this and not just use it as yet another 'poor me' experience. Give the people a chance to forgive you, not hate you.