Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Goodies goodies goodies

Well I was responsible today and headed outside to do some overdue recipe writing for a quicky swap from swap bot. The idea was to send three of your favorite recipes (hand written) to 2 people for a total of six recipe cards. I chose some real winners and was just kinda lazy about all that handwritten work when the computer is so much easier quicker and neater. It is a gorgeous day today tho and so I decided to get to it since the send by deadline was tomorrow and so I went outside and did my writing. When Jarell came down for lunch he brought the mail and in his arms was a nice big box from my Enchanted swap partner Sherry. I opened it up outside and then I started crowing. Everything is so beautiful and I just smiled and squealed. Jarell looked at me like I'd lost my mind when I came inside to show him all the pretties. Ehh more for me, right? There was chocolate and glitter and cards and a movie (A little Princess) and bubbles (My Bubbles!) and this AWESOME wandy scepter thing. The pictures just don't do these goodies justice.



I also got some great deals at a couple of garage sales today. I got a matching pair of cast iron and ceramic lamps that are about 30 inches tall for .... $3! Yeah no joke.The shades alone sell at Wal Mart for $15. I know because they happen to match a smaller lamp shade that I paid $10 for. I also got some mushroom prints and an old sugar tin and 3 vintage scarves. I spent a whole $4.75
so I'm pretty happy all around. Hope the bargains fly your way! I may be doing a give away soon so pass it around and keep an eye out for free stuff headed your way.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Jumping all over the place (well in my head anyway)

Today was a good day. I knew that from the moment I woke up without feeling sick to my stomach even a little bit. I was so happy that I felt like doing something ambitious. Well I sort of did. I redid my Myspace profile and looked up and found a couple of old friends from high school which was cool. It was quite a bit more labor intensive than had originally anticipated because I have issues with using the pre-made layouts most of the time and prefer to use pictures and backgrounds of my own choosing. Today I tried a new site and made a not at all sucky picture with this awesome program called GIMP 2 that is a freeware program I found as a substitute for photoshop. Anyway, I got done with all of that (it only took me like 3 hours with the internet connection I have) and then got responsible and showered and decided to wear a spring outfit. Enter the pretty purple peasant skirt from last years Wal-Mart collection and the light teal tank top. Oh so comfy and paired with my pink flip flops very colorful in nice soft tones. J11 told me I looked like spring which is a very nice compliment coming from someone who is very into winter and darkness. In a good way. So we went over to the in-laws house in order for hubby to work on our lawn mower that he took over there to mow with last year and never brought home. I had a really pleasant conversation with my MIL which is always nice because when we get along I really like her. We came home and I hopped on the internet for a minute to see about some emails I was waiting on and there at the top of my inbox was a message from paypal saying payment received followed by an email from Etsy saying someone had purchased something from my store. I was ECSTATIC! to say the least. I grinned and then yelled to my husband to tell him and then ran to grab the ordered item and package it up so I can ship it tomorrow. I was so very happy and I have decided today goes in the Good Day category with a capital G. So I want to pass on best wishes to everyone who reads this and send the Good Day juju on to you all! Au revoir mes chers amies

Monday, April 28, 2008

Just a quick note for now

I run around on a lot of how to sites and today I thought I'd share a couple of fun project links from one of my favorites.
The website is called Cut Out + Keep
Here are a few ideas that grabbed me.
Rhumba earrings
Felted balls
Necktie Feathers


Try those out and check out the website as well. I may be back later, I may not. I gots a lot to do today what with the sorting of the boxes of junk and all.
Have fun children

Sunday, April 27, 2008

So much Junk! err good stuff

So yesterday Jarell and I decided to start going thru the boxes of stuff I've had stored down there since last year when we got married. It was an interesting task. As I was going thru the stuff to try and get rid of some of it we had the brilliant plan to have a garage sale and suddenly things got easier. I was really into it and I picked up today where I left off yesterday. I found lots of craft goodies that I'd forgotten I even had and all my books that I've kept to re-read and now I can. O happy day. I found a choir trophy, some cool 70's flowery fabric, TONS of pictures and so much more. It was like going through a flea market owned by an alter ego and any urge that may have been slowly creeping up on me to shop with nonexistent money has been put to rest yet again. The only sad thing is I've been using all those boxes as a quick fix whenever I felt the need to accumulate more stash. Instead of going shopping I'd go downstairs and dig through one box and bring a whole armload of stuff back upstairs. Now I don't have that option so much as most of the really good stuff is now where it needs to be put away. On the upside, Jarell said the proceeds of the garage sale are all mine. This makes good sense since all the stuff in it was mine, but at the same time I feel like I should share with him as unselfishly as he shares with me. I'll let you all know how that works out. :) Until then I leave you with this old essay I found by a mysterious unknown author. I apologize in advance.

The Last Night
by Melissa Bacon

The thunder crashes and the winds howl outside, The sky is a mix of colors. Near the top it is a dark purple that slowly fades into pink and finally orange near the horizon. Inside it is cozy and dark. A fire, the only light, crackles cheerfully in the stove and the soft murmur of a single voice blends itself around the storm.
A small dog observes the peaceful scene, her black eyes clouded. Her breathing is labored and rasping. The television box that makes her bed seems to dwarf her shrunken body. Next to the box is a young girl. You hear a soft voice singing an old song. As you listen the voice wavers and pauses. The storm rages outside. Seeming to take courage from the tempest out of doors, the voice continues, stronger and more pure than before. A single tear lands on the faded blue blanket underneat the little dog.
The voice fails again and the girl looks around her. The weary green eyes search for a distraction. They fall on a dulcimer the color of honey. Suddenly the scene is animated. The girl scrambles to her feet and seizes up the instrument. Now the plaintive tones of "Amazing Grace" compete with the storm.
As the song winds to an end, it is followed by a hymn pulled from the depths of the girl's memory. The fingers race along the fret board as if possessed. The little dog, however, appears oblivious. Abruptly the music ceases. The girl grasps a small log and tosses it deftly onto the fire. There is the sound of paper being crumpled and the fire roars to life as it consumes the light material. A soft sigh, followed by several sharp barks startles the girl out of her reverie. Once again the scene changes from a solemn still life to a quick movement. The girl is at the dog's side fumbling for a syringe of water. With compassion she works the syringe into the now frantic dog's mouth. The dog has yet to move, but some remaining reflex causes it to swallow convulsively. Even so, it isn't long before you hear the cries again.
A man appears. He walks into the room and drops down next to the sobbing girl. They pet the small dog. Eventually it is silent, the energy seemingly spent at the moment. Mouth closed, the dog seems to rest. From outside comes a new sound. It is the sound of more dogs and you see headlights. The girl slowly rises and gives the dog one last pat before she heads out into the storm. The little dog gives a few more piercing barks and slowly fades into silence. The once labored breathing falters and finally ceases. The man sighs and closes her now unseeing eyes one last time. Outside the storm rages on.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Another day another.... Oh heck post I guess

No money made today so I guess you'll just have to be happy with a post from me instead. I was remarkably crafty today. I started a doll last night for the Mermaid Swap and finished her up today. I wish I could show you pictures but I want her to be a surprise for my partner so you'll just have to wait. I enjoyed making her so much that I've decided to make her a couple of sisters and maybe add them to my Etsy shop. I don't know for sure tho. I thought about it a while and realized that part of my lack of creative ability lately stems from the fact that I was trying way to hard to do something for someone else and not thinking about why I make the things I make-- self expression. Well lacking pictures to show you, I can say that Sherry got her package which makes me happy. I really can't say that I have much else to tell you so I won't stay to chat. I grin each time someone leaves me a comment. Thank you Sherry and KathyD you guys are the best.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Further Commentary on Always

So I was happily reading my new BHG magazine the other day (the first of a three year subscription for $2o Awesome) and all of a sudden I come across an ad for none other than Always new overnight something or others. So of course I look for their slogan and lo and behold it says in plain print-- have a happy period. Now some of you might say these are just well wishes and your periods really aren't that bad or better yet, you don't have to deal with that any more. I have heard often that menopause sucks and believe me I'm totally not ready for it yet, but periods are no cake walk. I have the bad ones where I bleed profusely with no pain and the bad ones where I stay curled in a fetal position with little bleeding. Yes this is TMI but it has a point. I also have the rare just annoying one where I am simply bitchy, bloated, tired, hungry, emotional, and in general a wreck. That was what the most recent one was like when I sent my MIL a how I really feel about her text that still hasn't blown over and for those of you who have used your monthly visitor as an excuse to tell someone what you really truly think of them with no remorse afterwards, that was what I did. So naturally when I saw the ad I laughed out loud and ripped it right out of my brand new magazine. I carried it back to my craft room and left it there to think about what it had done till I was ready to decide what to do with it. I was back there last night at 11:30 ish unable to sleep when I remembered the vintage science book I had dismantled a couple of weeks ago. I dug through the pages a bit and Eureka! There was a diagram for a flower. Flowers over the ages have often been used as a symbol of all things female and this struck me as particularly appropriate. The result?



Why this of course

Have a happy evening folks

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Terrorific

I had thought to terrorize you with photos of family and pets (some are both) but I think I'll leave that job to my flickr account. Instead I will share a couple of pics of some bookmarks I made for another swap I'm in. It is a lyrical bookmark swap and so I tried to tie the lyrics of the song or at least the artist to the decoration I chose. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the bookmarks as a whole per se, but there are parts that I think are awesomeness itself. I know that sounds a little self-centered but gosh darn it once in a while I feel I should be proud of something I've done. The nice thing is knowing that I'm not the only one who feels this way-- guilty about feeling proud of an accomplishment. But I do nevertheless and I wonder why. I excelled at many things in school but always felt the necessity to downplay those things while focusing on my flaws in order to fit in. I'm not sure what the deal was with that except some of my friends weren't as good at some of the things I was good at and that separated us unless I was able to show them I sucked too. Am I being too mememe here? Well thats tough petunias. I am proud of my high school accomplishments and always will be because they're the
high point in the accomplishment category thus far and likely to stay that way. Thats not to say I don't have high hopes for my art endeavors, far from it, but I am a realist. There are many many people out there much more talented than I who I feel I should bow down to and step aside for. They are the shining star of this world of crafts and I am happy to let them be just that. I'm not sure where all this is coming from, but its one of those days I guess. Anyway, without further ado, the pictures in all their glory.



Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Mexican Christmas

Not the actual holiday altho thats a very unusual event in and of itself. But it sure felt like Christmas last night when I got to open the bags of our belongings that just came back to us from Mexico. Let me explain to those of you who didn't live through this with me on myspace. Back in the middle of November my darling dearest and I moved to Mexico for his job with his father. It was an open ended trip that may have lasted for years. We came back for a couple of weeks just before Christmas and because it was supposed to be a short trip home, we didn't bring all our stuff home with us. But we never went back (and for that I thank god every day. I still have nightmares where we had to go back down there.) Our stuff however was still there. Mostly clothes, but I needed those clothes especially the shirts. Also some really nice yarn that I bought for a steal down there. And my extra contacts. Well I was ecstatic to find out yesterday that this stuff all came home with my MIL and FIL. How awesome is that? So I happily dug out the clothes from the first suitcase that came upstairs last night and threw them in the washer and this morning they were dry and warm and so happy to be back in the US. They clung to the dryer which doesn't surprise me because we didn't have a dryer down there and everything was line dried. Oh I was so happy that got my spongebob pj's back and my good cute shirts. I was almost crying over the stuff I thought was gone for good. Well enough of all this misplaced emotion. I'm off to dig through another bag of goodies.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Blech

I don't have much to say today due to a night of intense nausea that has thoughtfully continued into the morning. I gave up on sleep a while ago and have been scrolling around on other people's blogs trying to ignore the sickness feeling. For any of my former Wal Mart compatriots, according to the last test I took, no I'm not pregnant. I have just been having bouts of sick off and on ever since we came home from Mexico. Go to the doctor and have that checked out you say? Well sure why not? Oh wait--- not health insurance Thats why not. Ah well not much to be done then except drink copious amounts of anti-nausea goop. The strangely best tasting medicine I've ever had to take probably because its made with two kinds of sugar. I stumbled across one that has a challenge to lose weight and seeing as how I'm quite a bit fluffier than I was in my glory days of High School, I think I shall have to try it. I totally dig smoothies and if you do too, check out Pancakes and French Fries blog for the recipes and some bonus cute kid pics. Aside from all of this, here's what I stopped by to show you guys. My friend posted this on a myspace bulletin and I couldn't resist snapping it up to share here. I made me laugh a lot until my stomach rebelled at so much shaking and then I had to content myself with grinning some.
Happy reading.


This is an actual letter from an Austin woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products.She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It's PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.Dear Mr.Thatcher,I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings.Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic.I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16in my pants.Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from the curse'? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now.As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body.Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing? As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customersmonthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'.Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying, jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.In fact, only last week, my friendJennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend's testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by a bunch of drunken chimps,Crazy!The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing,were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'Are you f**king kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unlessyou're some kind of sick S&M freak girl, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong', or are you just picking on us?Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere.And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullsh*t. And that's a promise I will keep.Always.Best,Wendi AaronsAustin , TX

Saturday, April 19, 2008

The World has truly begun to disgust me

I am often at odds with my husband over the state of human beings in this world. He sees and attributes the worst possible motives to people whereas I try to see the best. However I have come to a place where no matter how I try all I want to do is see this person punished. This is not art. No matter how you look at it what this woman (I use that word very loosely as she obviously did as well) is sick and demented and I honestly hope she never has children as she has abused the privilege beyond reason. I feel I should comment and clarify something here. There are options besides abortion. I do not feel that it is something people should be able to do because they did something stupid. Adoption is a GOOD Thing. At the same time I feel that there are situations where a child should not be punished by a parent's stupidity. And I'm not saying all abortions are done because a parent is stupid. There are also financial concerns, mental capability et al. But again adoption is a good thing. Basicly my feelings are my body my choice, your body your choice. I choose to not have an abortion ever. You may not choose the same. That is your right just as it is my right to think you may have made a mistake. This is a very controversial subject. Inately I feel abortion is wrong-- it goes against all that I believe in. That said there are reasons why it may be necessary. I can't make a firm stand on this subject. I can firmly state that what this thing did in the name of art was morally reprehensible.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Responsible me

Woo hoo I got my three finished swaps off in the mail today. I'm proud of myself because I have a tendency to be a bit of a procrastinator sometimes. I just have bookmarks to make now altho I need to do some work on stuff for my etsy account. The puppies are even more beautiful today then they were yesterday and I should have some pictures soon. I took one of Tink all curled up with them yesterday, but with them being all as black as she is (except for Navin) it just came out looking like an oddly disformed dog. Hehehe. I will go for now, but want to remind you all to check out my swap. For obvious reasons, (no one seems interested) I have extended the sign-up date and sent the info over to the swap-dex.
Until next time
Funny Pictures
Funny Videos

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Exhaustion

When some one or something you love is going through something potentially life threatening, you worry. My little dog had her first litter of puppies last night and I stayed up with her till 1 am. She had 6 puppies in the space of about 2 hours and I knew at least 2 more were left to come, but I couldn't stay on the hard basement floor any longer and I was seeing double. So I went to bed worried but deciding she'd done wonderfully with the first 6, the last two would be fine. I spent about an hour trying to fall asleep and was about to drift off when my phone rang. It was an unknown number so I let the voice mail get it. But now I was awake. Slowly I drifted back to dream land, but rather than sleeping soundly, I was haunted by dreams of dying dogs and puppies. One dream had me putting Tinkerbell and her babies in a little overturned tupperware bowl on the sink counter (these things make sense when you're asleep) and then there was a storm in the bowl so I had to keep the babies from drowning. This kind of madness went on all night interspersed with me half-waking thinking the puppies were hurt or worse that Tinkerbell was. Finally at 8 I gave up and went downstairs to check on her again. She was fine altho she looked exhausted and there snuggled up to her were 8 beautiful little babies. It took a little talent to count them as 7 of them are black as is she. The 8th little guy is blonde. He really sticks out like a sore thumb among his darker brothers and sisters and he was the second born. I have decided to name him Navin after Steve Martin's character in the movie "The Jerk." This means that either we'll have to keep him or he has to go to J14. I can't risk someone renaming him when they don't know that he was meant to be the white boy in a black family. After all of this there ended up being 4 boys and 4 girls. I think Tink had ballroom dance lessons in mind for the future and did this to ensure that none of her children would be wall flowers. It works out rather nicely. I'll keep one girl and J14 can have one boy and we'll have to find homes for the other six but we'll convince everyone that they have to take a matched set. If this is all rather confused and loopy, forgive me. I'm having enough trouble with keeping the typos at bay to worry abou this making sense. I'm half tempted to leave this as is with all the mistakes because man would that be trippy. But my innner english teacher is censoring that sort of stupidity so I'll just lieave you wondering. Yes I saw that. but is not as funny as "forvige" woild would have been.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Awww she brought me a present.....



I love my dogs. It is well known by family and friends alike that my dogs are my babies and thus far lacking any human children I dote on my wubbies instead. (I am not sure what wubbies means but it is something I repeatedly call my little girls) This post is dedicated to them. Tinkerbell is my little black lab. Jarell brought her home for me the Saturday after Thanksgiving in 2006 as an early Christmas present. It was love at first sight. She was 3 months old and floppy with long awkward legs and ears that were much to big for her dainty head. She grew rapidly but not very much. She came from a breeder and is a purebred but to this day she comes to my knees and is a very delicately shaped. An absolutely beautiful little dog her very easily earns her name. Right now she is about to give birth to at least 8 puppies any day. And she looks like a barell on tooth picks or a childrens drawing with no sense of proportion. All the puppy weight has shifted lower to make ready for birth and she's hilarious. She still runs around with all the dignity of her skinnier self and this is especially comical as seen in the following picture. (Warning: for those of you with an aversion to dead animal body parts, don't look.)

She's so generous that she chased me around trying to give me her severed cow leg that she picked up from who knows where. Our neighbor has cows and I'm pretty certain, from the amount of cow legs that our dogs bring over, that he has a bone yard that isn't very well hidden.

Much to little Pepper's dismay, Tinkerbell never shares her bone stash until she's completely done with them. This doesn't get her down for long tho because while Tink is running around proudly showing off her find, Pepper can get all the attention she wants.

Missy has a very laid back approach to life. She's in charge and as long as no one challenges that, everythings good. The exception being when another female is pregnant at which point Missy cedes all claim to being in charge of that particular dog. Temporarily. She's a lovable bouncy 7 y/o who wishes she was a lap dog.


Monday, April 14, 2008

Pictures promised and long overdue

I found the Camera!!!! So here are some long overdue pics.

This first one is not me, but it is funny and its an interesting use for knitting needles
A quilt square start, or possibly something else pretty. Not sure just yet.
The puzzled doll I keep talking about with her beaded bird
An embroidered dolly without a face or clothes as of yet
I have more but they're secret for now unless you know how to find my flickr. If you do you may see them. I was remarkably responsible today and I cleaned off the built in desk in our kitchen. It looks so very nice now that I'm not sure what to think of myself. I actually only did it because I was looking for the camera (which I found in my craft room under some stuff) but it felt so nice to have a clean space there wher its been a pile for quite some time. Anyway, just thought I'd post these while I was still thinking about it. Now I'm heading over to my Etsy shop to do a couple of very minor updates. Keep watching for more soon tho because I have come up with some brilliant ideas that I can't divulge as of yet. Hasta luego bambinos.


Sunday, April 13, 2008

Weekend of Blahness

Still not finding the Kodak as of earlier when I ransacked my worktable where I was sure it would be. My darling dearest just took the youngers home for the evening after we had them and my baby brother for the weekend. I am a bit drained from all this teenageriness not to mention the semi argument Jarell and I had over the message to my MIL. We're okay now because he said it was one of those days where everything was making him angry and he didn't know why. I personally do. Men PMS too. There I said it and I'm not sorry, because its true. Its either that or he's manic-depressive like the rest of his family only to a lesser extent and that is not something I really want to think about. Has anyone else ever noticed that manic-depressive people seem to be drawn to other MD's? Point in case. My parents and step-mom are all definitely in that group and my dad is finally getting some help for it. My MIL and FIL same boat and they passed it on to several of their kids. I don't know whether I inherited it or not but unfortunately my younger brother definitely did and we're not sure about the youngest. He does exhibit classic signs of it tho, ones that I saw often in my older step-brother who had actually been diagnosed. (he got it from both of His parents) This is all rather irrelevant, but it is my life and again it is my blog. The weekend improved after we got that all sorted out. We saw the new movie Superhero Movie and it wasn't too bad. Nothing to write home about, but.....
In craft related news, I bought a snap squisher thing for applying snaps the easy way instead of painstakingly sewing them on by hand, and also a scissors sharpener which was a Much needed addiction... er addition to my sewing stash. I have really nice Fiskars scissors that got waylaid in my inlaws house for a time a while back and they were used on *gasp* cardboard. Among other things. Needless to say they haven't quite been the same since, but we'll soon fix that. Along with the 5 pairs of cheepo's that I keep as back-ups. You can never have enough scissors I say. And on that note I think I shall say goodnight. I really didn't have much to say anyway so I doubt you'll miss me too much. Au revoir mes amis

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Saturdays at home

It's April 12th everybody and here in Missouri central, it is snowing. It isn't sticking, but it is definitely snowing. I can't say how I feel about this because we were kinda short of snow this year, but I love spring and all the green things too. I worry that it will kill all my bulb plants like it did last year tho and that is not a happy thought. We got our other camera in the mail today which is a good thing because I seem to have lost the good Kodak. Not sure how I managed this but I did. Anyway, getting the camera gives me the opportunity to take some pics of my swap items and my stuff that I have been half heartedly working on for etsy. I have been embroidering a doll all over, but I don't know where I'm going with it. Right now its just a bunch of random swilrs and a flower and spider web looking thingy. Strange, yes? I also have the puzzled doll that never got any further than the beaded bird on her front. I've been sidetracked by so many other things that this is kinda taking a back burner. I think I may try some other things like painting and air dry clay and such. I'm not sure yet. But my dolls haven't really gotten a very strong response as of yet.
Well shoot just turned the camera on and it appears to be shot. What the heck? Its just got a white screen with a black line down the middle. So much for that idea. Off to find the kodak.

Friday, April 11, 2008

one of those days

Well actually yesterday was one of those days and I just never got around to complaining about it. We did our tax thing with the CPA and for as much as we made together, we came out pretty good for the total due. Missouri is retarded tho because we actually owed more state tax than we did federal tax. Go figure right? If we'd been in California we'd have probably gotten it all back :) Its kinda like the year when I worked all year except December in California and then moved back here and made $400 bucks in Missouri. I then had a $90 dollar refund from CA and owed MO $35. All I could say was WTF and I'm working in acronyms to protect tender sensibilities. I don't use this kind of language usually but taxes and my in-laws bring out the worst and that is the other half of why yesterday sucked. My husband got a call yesterday morning from his wayward mother who is in Texas running around with his dad. She called to yell at him because he wasn't at their house taking care of the 4 youngest kids. Ages 12, two almost 15's and an almost 17. She had also, I found out later, called J11 (the almost 17) and yelled at her for the same reason. When I found all this out yesterday afternoon, I finally told her what I thought of her having the nerve to yell at them when she's the one who keeps running off and leaving them! Since July of last year either I or both my husband and I have watched the kids while his dad traveled for business and his mom tagged along because she couldn't stand to be away from his dad. Nevermind the kids. Gah! So the message I sent her went along the lines of if you want your kids taken care of you need to do it. Grrrrr! And I'm not saying we won't keep an eye on them, but we can't live at their house and it gets a little old having them here ALL the time. I love to death but my darling dearest and I need a break from all the teenagers sometimes. So then he was mad that I sent his mom that message and I felt bad for making him mad, but not for sending it. She'll just ignore it anyway and the kids are better taken care of when his parents are gone than when they're here. So I just needed to vent. It didn't help matters that I have now got a wonderful spring cold to contend with and a full house of ears for the arguments. We shouldn't have to do this all alone because there are 5 other grown children in the area capable of helping out but only one of them does. So this is a very angry post that is also very negative and I'm sorry for that. But today's another day and I'm gonna chill and try to get well.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Oh the horror

So much rain! So very much. It has temporarily stopped but it isn't fooling me. I know what lingers in those ominous black clouds. Actually I'm totally a rainy day person. I love to snuggle with a good book and be lazy as can be on the days when the heavens really let loose. And today due to crampy painful monthly troubles I am doubly inclined to do just that. I ran around the net last night gathering up pictures from SharonB's stitch dictionary so that I have some picture reference and I plan to try some crazy quilting on a doll skirt gone awry. I would have pictures for you except I can't quite remember where I put the camera. I didn't mention yesterday, but the new pics are thanks to the wonderful world of Ebay where a $40 item is $15 with shipping wonder. I'm so glad to have our Kodak 10 mega pixel camera back in working order. Now if I can just remember where I put it.....
On a funny note I found this cat while strolling around random sites last night and thought I would share it with you. Not for the faint of heart. Until we meet again my friends

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

the creative phase

Since I got home from ye olde Florida I've been kinda stuck with regards to craftiness. I would get temporary inspiration only to have it fizzle into nothing. Well that seems to finally have lifted. Last night I was on a roll thanks to this new Enchanted Swap and when I finally went to bed I had visions of different projects flashing every time I closed my eyes. At that point I really shouldn't have stopped but it was Jarell's birthday and I wanted to spend some time with him before he fell asleep. I think I'll be okay this morning tho cuz I'm just itching to get back to work. But first some pictures of various stuff. Some dogs, fabric from the Jo Ann's trip, my space, and a very vintage pin cushion that belonged to my grandmother. Oh and the PITA picture I painted for Jarell's birthday.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Strange Contemplations

Ok this post may fall a bit under TMI, but for reasons unknown I found myself contemplating the toilet paper this morning and realized that it really has a very pretty butterfly pattern on it. (we use Angel Soft) I had to marvel yet again at a country where even the butt wipes are beautiful. Sorry but I felt I had to share that no matter how risque it may sound.
In other news, I'm getting ready to work some more on my swap item when I get off the computer and I found out who my partner would be today. I'm really looking forward to this whole deal and of course I ran right over to my partner's blog. I smiled when I saw she was the same zodiac year as I am and I really love her items.
Yesterday was gorgeous and we had a barbecue for Jarell's birthday. (He caught up with me today and is now 22) We had a lot of fun and it was a nice $40 get together thanks to stuff we already had on hand. This is a good thing as he spent most of his last paycheck bailing his brother out for the umteen millionth time. Actually our house was bought on one of those bail outs. Somehow J5 seems to get into debt quicker than you can say, "would you like fries with that?" and my darling dearest helps him despite the fact that he is public enemy number one in this household. Sorry if that sounds cranky but I have never genuinely hated anyone. Until I met J5. I am by most accounts a very sweet person. Inside my head I believe differently but I worked as a suprervisor at a small retail store and my cashiers often told me they were amazed at how nice I always was to people when from my point of view I had been the meanest of mean. (go figure-- no one ever takes me serious when I'm mad) I guess this is probably a good thing since I like to be thought of as nice, but its weird to sometimes.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Lazy Saturday mornings

I'm sitting here fuming at my computer ready to tell microsoft to take window's vista and shove it violently where the sun don't shine. It's screwing with everything and it sucks. But oh well. I'm re-watching Enchanted to reaquaint myself with it for the swap and thoroughly enjoying it. I want the fabric they used for her dress of curtains for my stash and I think a trip to Joanns is in order for today. However I need to go to the store and get my poor baby doggies some food and that most definitely needs to come first.
So I leave you with, "No. I'm looking for a prince actually."

Friday, April 4, 2008

My new swap

As I mentioned yesterday (or at least I think I did) I'm going to be starting my own swap. So here's the unveiling so to speak. As I mentioned the other day I was absolutely enamored of Mr. Magoriums Wonder Emporium when I watched it and when I stumbled across Gypsy Mermaid's page yesterday and saw here swap the information culminated in me deciding to do one of my own. Hence the Wonder Emporium Swap. As I was watching the movie I was fascinated by several things. So I have several options for you.

Option 1: There is a boy in the movie who has a huge and diverse collection hats and wears a different one each day. So for your first option you can make a unique hat of any materials you come up with. It can be full sized and wearable, flat and made out of paper or anywhere in between-- your choices are endless and this could be a lot of fun.

Option 2: There is a magic book in the store that when opened to a particular page brings up the toy you are looking for. Your challenge would be to make your own big book to emulate the stores catalog.

Option 3: Mr. Magorium hires an accountant to get his affairs in order before he leaves the store to Mahoney his faithful assistant. However, throughout the movie everyone calls Henry the accountant "The mutant." This was just too cute in my opinion. So the third option is to make your own "mutant." It can be as human or mutated as you want.

If you haven't already seen the movie, now would be a good time to watch it. Its really cute and will give you a better idea of the themes I came up with. I'll be taking entries starting on tax day 4/15/08. You can sign up by sending me an email at littlesongbird17@yahoo.com or leave me a comment here.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

Just a quick note

I just thought I'd make a quick note about a swap I'm going to be doing from Gypsy Mermaid life that is gonna be a whole ton of fun. She's also inspired me to do my own swap but more on that later. I also wanted to alert you to an incredibly, ridiculously talented artist who just happens to also be my little brother. You can check out his art on his myspace and I highly recommend it. The pic this links to happens to be one of my fav's but you can look at them all. He does "grafitti" art and monsters. Apparently he got all the drawing talent from our parents because he can envision AND create. Go figure. Anyway, nuff said fer tonight.
I'm outty

Getting a little fed up

With blogger deciding that it won't let me in. How silly is that? I just want to ramble on a bit. I know that someone somewhere out there is looking at my page from time to time because once in a while the counter goes up when I've been away from the computer. Suckily enough it also goes up when I go to the home page but oh well-- not much I can do about that I don't think. I was responsible today and got the stinky bag of seashells from outside where I left it after we realized it was responsible for the odor in my backpack. I accidentally brought home some of the live shells along with the dead ones and boy do they smell.... sea-ish. Not exactly the scent I wanted to bring with me but it sure takes you right back to the beach in a hurry. I had fun sorting through them and washing them up. None of them were too brightly colored but they're still beautiful nonetheless. And as ashamed as I am to say it, the ones that were still alive are the coolest because they're so dainty and whole. Can anyone tell me how to add a comments section at the end of my posts? I realized that there were none and I thought maybe I'd get more feedback (duh) if there were. My email is littlesongbird17(at)yahoo.com and if you just put blog or something in the title somewhere I'll figure it out. Thanks so much in advance.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

I did it again!

I made it thru after umpteen tries and here I am to tell you that there is really nothing new to report. I've begun a doll with a puzzle piece shape inspired by a toy shelf in the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. (http://www.magorium.com) She has a Dotee doll face because I've been dying to use one of those, and so far has a beaded bird on her front. I'd gladly post a picture but in the same week I doused my phone in water, killing the camera, and accidentally left our digital camera in Florida. Its return is pending. So no pics for a while. I'm also working on a couple more of those hanging candle holders that I have in my etsy shop but the posting of them will again have to wait till I have a functioning camera. Sucks that we lost the charger for our really awesome Kodak EZ share because I'd be in photo heaven if I had that thing running. But we haven't been able to bring ourselves to spend $4o on a new charger yet. *sigh* On the garden front I planted some tulips, more grape hyacinths, a stargazer lily, some mixed basil seed, and some tomato seed outside yesterday. I've got to get them watered today but its a definite start on the outdoor garden. I've got to wait on my dad to do the big one but I bought a lot of seeds to go in it. I'm going to have a pumpkin and ornamental squash patch along with like three different kinds of zucchini (who doesn't love zucchini, right?) and cantaloupes too. I haven't got any watermelon seed yet but I will before too long. Do I seem a bit obsessed? Well I am. Growing things is like breathing for me-- necessary. In a way its another form of creation with an outdoor twist. I love the feeling of knowing that the things that come out of my garden will feed my family and friends and hopefully cut down on our expenses just a little. I plan to learn to can and I may ask to borrow my dad's dehydrator because I'm expecting a lot from my garden this year. I just hope we don't let each other down. On that note, I'll leave you to contemplate other things, but I hope to be back tomorrow if I can make this machine work.