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Christie Cottage

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Ruffles & Ribbon

Finished!!!!! I received an order for this Baby blanket on January 22nd... and the shower was February 5th! I had made this pattern once before so I new I had time, but I didn't want to be down to the wire so I have done nothing but crochet for days!!! :( My wrist was actually starting to ache from the amount of time I spent on this thing! LOL! I used pattern #14 Ruffles & Stripes from the Leisure Arts book #3267 Best of Terry Kimbrough Baby Afghans

The only change I made was to make the center solid rather than striped. I think it makes the ruffles pop out even more this way. :)

I'm now working on  pattern #19 Charming from the same book for my cousin and his wife's bun in the oven! They're expecting a boy!!!! I haven't had the chance to make very many boy blankies so I was tickled, plus it's a surprise for them!

When I knew Resident Evil: Afterlife was close to being released my little man and I started watching the 3 previous movies together. I had hoped my daughter would also watch them so the 3 of us could spend some time snuggled in bed giggling and fighting over who has more blanket but she wasn't interested. :(

We finally got to watch the latest movie and my son was soooo impressed with it! LOL! My husband actually popped into the room to see why we were making so much noise! LMAO! There were a few parts that we couldn't resist talking over during the movie. I'm so glad he's 11 now and can hold a decent convo about everyday things!!! We enjoyed ourselves immensely and he's already talking about a 5th movie! ♥

The three of us have also been watching Prison Break on Netflix. We watched the last episode last night! The kids weren't die hard viewers like me so I had to keep catching them up when they would decide to pop in and catch an episode. I have a DVD of Prison Break: The Final Break. It's supposed to be a continuance of the season finale... I'm sceptical but we are gonna watch it tonight when the kids get home from school.

I'll try to remember to post a review later! ;-)

Angel Hair

Yum I made Angel hair alfredo with ham for dinner a couple nights ago :) It was fantabulous!!!

Last night my hubby made me chili for dinner and my son made me banana bread!! I love being spoiled ♥

I've been working on more handwarmers and neckwarmers last week and this week!
I made my friend Angela a pair of handwarmers

and a pair for her 3 year old daughter too :)

This was the 1st smallish pair I've ever made and they turned out adorable :) Here's a picture of them on.

Tonight I finished a pair of handwarmers and a matching neckwarmer for my cousin Michelle.

I wanted to make the handwarmers with the same homespun I used on the neckwarmer, but they were just too bulky so I ended up using black Caron Simply Soft for them, then the last row is in Homespun Edwardian to match up with the neckwarmer. :)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how they turned out!!!

I had to run to petsmart to buy cricket food for my son's frogs Benjamine & Thomas and stopped into Michael's while I was in the area. I originally was looking for a gold pen for my mom but of course wandered back to the yarn section. :) A ton of their yarns were on sale and I ended up with some beautiful Loops & Threads Impeccable in the colorway Luxury Ombre for only $2 a skein!!!! I'm looking for a pattern to use it on now :)

Give me 45 minutes

and a ball of yarn and I'll return the favor with a pair of these cozy handwarmers!

I made my sister's girlfriend a pair from a different pattern last year and Ash confiscated them, so I decided to make Ash a pair of her very own! I used Caron Eco in "Forrest Floor" for Ashley's.

Since they worked up so quick and are so soft and warm Caitlyn declared I should also make some for us!

 Hers are done in Caron Simply Brites "Watermelon".

Mine are done in Caron Simply Soft "Autumn Red" and some dark gray that I don't remember the name of.

I'm also working on a Gir hat for Cait. She loves the cartoon Invader Zim and I saw some patterns on Etsy, but didn't want to spend the money :( I decided to make a simple earflap hat and added the embellishments. I'm still working on the eyes. I had trouble with the size the 1st 2 times I started on them... I have one almost finished and I think it's a good size this time around! I'm hoping to finish them up in the morning. :)

I'm not in love with his nose, but I gave up on it. I think when I make the next one for my son I might just stitch it directly onto the hat to get a better shape!

I'm-a just Mad about Saffron. She's just mad about me.

They call me Mellow Yellow. Quite Rightly.
I had that song in my head the whole time I was making these booties yesterday!!

I used the pattern Two Button Moccasin which can be bought here. I love how they turned out and I'm thinking of making a 2nd pair in green with dark green trim and adding a mouth... they make me think of a little frog :)
I'm still working on stuff for my little cousin's arrival so maybe I'll make them for him too and Cait said I need to crochet up a matching froggy earflap hat!!!





YAY! My kids are back in the swing of things at school! They seem to be happy to be back... probably because I had been doling out chores left & right the last week they were home! LOL! We got the house cleaned up, the fridge cleaned out, their rooms clean, etc. They might think they are on vacation now that they're back in school!


I also finished up this pair of baby shoes for my Cousin's baby. The pattern can be bought here.

Sorry this picture isn't fantastic... they are both shaped like the one on the left. I must have squished the right one when I sat it down and didn't notice until after I uploaded the picture from my camera. :(

I really like the patterns from this etsy shop! They are easy to read and the items have turned out adorable so far!!





I was pretty productive yesterday I got the floors done, talked to a good friend I haven't seen in a long time and finished up a last pair of shoes made from this pattern. They are bigger (for a 6-12 month old) so I think I might add some slip proof dots to the bottoms with puffy paint.

Oops I lost the picture :( I'll add it in later tonight! ♥

Sugar & Spice

Today was the first day back to school for my kids. :( I thought I was looking forward to the alone time, but I miss them!!! LOL! I hope they have a great 1st day back! They were off for so long it's going to be hard to jump right back into the school routine I'm sure.

I know they'll tell me all about it when they get home this afternoon.

I just finished up a cute earflap hat you can find the pattern here.

and baby booties to match :) Here's the free pattern for the Booties. They work up super fast and I think they are absolutely adorable!

I used Caron simply soft colorway watermelon for both and some little roses from my crafty stash.

Today I'm working on another pair of baby shoes for my cousin's baby. I'll post later about them :)

A Few things I've been working on recently.

I made neckwarmers as Christmas gifts for my Mom, Ash, Sara & myself The pattern is from bernat.com

Then I received a request for one from an old neighbor of mine! :)

I made hers slightly wider... 39 chain instead of 29 and I really like the look of it! It has been added to my list of selfish crocheting!

Today I finished up my newset pair of baby booties. I'm making them for my cousin's soon to be here little man. ♥

Sorry the picture kind of sucks :(

“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I ha

I made a last trip to the apple orchard before they close for the spring... and came back with a bushel of apples! I bought 2 bags of Winesap, a bag of yellow delicious and a bag of roma. Mmmmmm!


Colt loves homemade applesauce and has eaten every jar I canned in the Fall. This time around I decided to can them in quart jars rather than pints since he can eat a pint all on his own!


It took 3 days since I burn it every time I try to cook it on the stove.When I make it again in the Fall I'm going to borrow my Mom's slow cooker also so I can knock out double batches! We like ours chunky (see below), but when I make apple butter I puree it in the blender and it turns all smooth!



I ended up with 17 quart jars and 1 pint (which I gave to my neighbors Nikki & Andy) so we should have plenty to last us through the summer! I think they look so pretty all lined up. My favorite part of canning is hearing the lids pop as they seal! It gives me such a feeling of accomplishment!




This month was my cousin's prom so I was sent to get pictures of her for my Mom who had to work. She was so freakin' cute I feel the need to share with you all! Isn't she adorable!?!?!






Colt and Charlie caught some golden rainbow trout (I think that's what they told me) . We ate some several days ago and they tasted like regular trout to me.






Caitlyn turned 13 this month! I know the big 1, 3!!!!
I feel old. She's so mature for her age anyway and now she's 13. Thankfully she's not all boy crazy yet, but I seem to remember REALLY liking boys in 8th grade so we'll see where that all goes.

We had a beautiful quiet Easter. My sister was home and my Aunt Linda, Uncle Rich & Uncle David came for dinner. We had stuffed shells, salad, texas toast and a coconut bunny cake for dessert! Yum! Charlie had work, but I slipped away and took him food for lunch so he at least got a nice hot meal and some cake! Plus he'd rather work holidays b/c he makes extra pay on those days and I usually take him dinner or lunch. Holidays aren't special for him as they are for me. :(
He tried for the kids, but he jus wasn't brought up the way I was. He's damned cute so I let it slide. ;)

I am totally making myself these for my cookbook collection!!! Thank you to The Crafty Crow's Blog for finding these and posting about them. I have been looking for the perfect book ends for the books above my kitchen cupboards for 2 years now. Every time I find something I like they are too wide or heavy or not the right color... license plates are the perfect solution. I only have 1 right now (will post pictures later) b/c of course my hubby cleaned them up from the garage thinking we would never have a use for them. :(
I am going to recruit my family to save all their plates in hopes of ending up with a couple more. I usually get the yearly sticker instead of the new plate, but this year am thinking I'll have to mail in the paperwork in time to get the plate instead of driving to get the sticker the day my plate expires. :)

Warmer Weather Ahead!

Mmmmm... today is a beautiful spring type day! It's warmish and breezy and I love it!
The whole family has been sick for weeks and I am so ready to be over it. It seems to be settling in my chest now so I'm praying that it's not turning into bronchitis. :(
I have almost finished Cait's rug. I just have to weave in the bazillion ends and add a nice nonslip back to it. I ended up adding extra rows and circles to the existing rows to make it larger for her floor. The original doorstep size just looked lost when I laid it down on her floor. The pattern is from Crochet Me.


I'm also working on adding some long panels to Charlie's blanket (it was my 1st big project ever). I think it's going to take 4 of them, 2 for each side to make it wide enough to fit our bed.


Lastly I'm making yet another pair of star stitch handwarmers for my sister and then for me this time. I don't have photos yet of the project but I'm using the yarn pictured below.

Stars In My Eyes

It's been an eventful past few weeks. I've made several sets of arm warmers

This one for my Mom.


and a matching set for my devilish daughter...


an attempt at knitting (it's a dish cloth) find pattern here


A kneck warmer for my little man


a Kick ass pair of star stitch arm warmers for Sara



Besides all the craftiness flowing forth...

My Uncle had his hip replaced on January 31st and he went home from the hospital TODAY!!! Yeah Uncle David! He'll be rockin' the new hip in no time.

The kids and I have been sledding a ton, I'm always scared they'll bowl me down (and ruin the camera) so we don't have pictures :(

We've made friends with our new neighbors down the hill. They're only 18 and 21 and I was worried they were going to be so immature... but it turns out that it's nice to have someone close by to have over to hang out during the day while hubby is at work and the kids are at school or to play games and watch movies in the evenings. It makes me think back to when Charlie and I were 1st married. :)
Oh to be young and stupid again... No Thanks!

Charlie got a new tattoo about a week ago. I'm uber jealous.

DHL Sucks Butt

I bought a "new" car on October 13th. Usually dh takes care of all the tax tags, title, registration stuff. This time he has been working a ton and neither of us thought about plates until November 13th when I realized my tags had expired... oh beautiful.
Friday morning I called the Auto Group and questioned themas to why I had not received an Ohio title so I could transfer the car to West Virginia. It had slipped through the cracks and I was assured that they were sending it via DHL overnight and it would be at my front door Saturday morning. On Saturday I waited all day and finally when there was no package at I called and was told that she tracked it and it was marked delivered to my front door.

Monday I called DHL and they assured me it had been delivered it said so right on the screen in front of them. I let them know that there was no access to my front door b/c we have not replaced the front steps to that porch, it was not at the side door, the basement door or the garage door... so unless they had delivered it to the wrong house it had not been delivered.

After many calls back and forth that first day I was told that the driver claimed he had stopped at my Post Office to get directions and in the end decided he would just leave it with them to deliver to me. Me being the un-trusting soul that I am decided to call the post office and ask them if this was true. Maybe I could just drive down and pick it up? They had no idea what I was talking about. He had not dropped it at my post office after all. I called DHL back with this information and was told they were contacting the driver and would call me back.

Tuesday I called them back and got the supervisor on the phone. It hadn't been dropped at my post office it had been taken to the Wheeling Post Office. When I asked why he said the driver forgot to deliver it when he was in my area, so realizing that while in Wheeling he decided to have it sent to me from there. Not like interoffice mail send it my post office... he mailed it to me from wheeling. Not only did he mail it to me he opened the package and mailed it to me. I have yet to be told why he felt the need to open it before mailing.

Tuesday evening I received the envelope in the mail and in that envelope there was a check for the taxes paid in Ohio... but no Ohio Title to my car. I called the dealership to verify that there should have been a title and they said yes. I called DHL to let them know there was no title and there should have been one, and to ask why was there not one and when was I going to receive it???

At this point I have been driving on expired tags for 5 days now 4 of which were due to DHL.

After many heated convos with Mike the Supervisor I am informed that the driver opened the package to fit it into a USPS envelope and didn't realize that there had been 2 pieces of paper in it and so only mailed me the check not the title. But the title was still at the post office in wheeling and he personally would pick it up and make sure it got delivered to me by 11am on Wednesday.

REWIND he didn't realize there were two papers in the envelope, but he didn't throw the envelope away he saved it at the post office that he doesn't work for. They just hold onto empty envelopes for people all the time right??? Who knows what he was doing with the title, identity theft, loan fraud... whatever just so long as i get it now.

That evening I had to run to the store and on the way home at the bottom of my hill I pass a local cop and a Deputy Sheriff... no joke. I'm driving expired tags around and have to drive by 2 cops on the same road. Shit. I make the turn drive up the hill park in my space get all the bags send the kids across the road and am scurrying my ass as fast as possible... not fast enough he pulls into the space beside me and gets out asks who was in the car with me. Ugh my kids and me. Who was the man in the car miss? Ugh no man, sorry. Are you sure there was no man in the car with you tonight? ****at this point I have had such an awful day and am so ready to just blow up on someone**** so I answer My husband is at work at the Federal Prison so I'm sure that there was no man in my vehicle, just me and my kids as I told you once before so how about you tell me what the problem is? ***in my head I'm repeating shit goin' to jail, goin' to jail***
He finally lets me know there had been a domestic dispute down the road from and me and someone spotted my car and thought it belonged to them so I got followed home and accosted. Of course he told me they had been looking for a green explorer... really? Does my fucking car look green??? You didn't notice when you were gooning me up at the stop sign that I was driving a blue explorer?? Thankfully he just said sorry about the trouble and left. Phew.

Wednesday- Today- I finally get the 2nd envelope at 12:30 yes 1-1/2 hours late... and I make the DHL guy stand there while I open it and low and behold it contains my Title, but it has been torn in half and taped back together.

Now I want to kick the DHL guy in the balls and tell him to pass it on, but instead I am an adult and ask for a number to make a complaint against the original guy (who I'm told has been fired) and the supervisor who has been obviously covering for him all this time...
I'm given the # to the office who has been fucking this shit up since Saturday. How do you file a complaint about people to the same people????

I give up I now have the check and the title and tomorrow I will maybe be driving legally again.

This is my life.

Where does the time go?

In my case it seems to all go to my new fav game Fashion wars. I absolutely love it and can not pull myself away. Of course that does not account for my being MIA for the past 4 months now does it???
Updates:
July was a good time, summer picnics, swimming, hanging with the fam.




August sweet vacation with my Mom, Sister and kids to Myrtle Beach. I'm not a super beach fan (sand in the cracks is not my thing) but the kids had an awesome time.



September I turned 21... no really I turned 34. I feel 21 still though that counts right?
My sister got me an awesome book (that I actually told her to buy me)!!!


October Halloween of course...
My Zombies




Oh and throw an accident in there too.

Though we were fine the car was totaled. Bummer I know, but I got to upgrade from a 1997 to a 2004 so not all bad. ;)

Summer Projects

In the heat of the summer (though the temps haven't been too bad here in West Virginia) is the time I always end up starting and hopefully finishing all my big projects. Painting, staining, refinishing furniture...
This summer is no exception. I have 2 bedroom doors that are in serious need of some paint! Trim that will need painted if it ever gets mounted to the kitchen walls. :(

I've started the staining process for 3 thresholds. This is one of the doorways in question...
This is one of the pieces I finished staining!!!
(It still needs a few more coats of polyurethane.)

Actually the one was finished last summer, but never put down in the doorway... I really need to figure this carpentry shit out if I want this house to ever be finished. Since I already did the 1st one last year I now have to mix the stains to match it up to the original. You would think I would have written the recipe down or saved some from last year-- but you would then be wrong. I had no thoughts of doing the next 2. I was so excited with thoughts of the 1st one being put on the floor, I seriously blocked out the fact that there would be 2 more. Well now I am working on the next 2 and the 1st hasn't even been put where it should be |:(
Maybe he was waiting so he could swear at them all together. ;)

On a slightly happier and much less whiney note I am working on the new "bonnet" for Paula and I think it is turning out nicely!!! Just a few more rows of shells and it should be complete. Maybe I'll take it out on the porch swing tonight and finish it up whilst listening to some Siouxsie & the Banshees...

PS
Check out that cute ass airbrushing on my thumb
Thanks to Steph the owner of Dazzlin' Dezignz in East Liverpool, Ohio.
She doesn't have a website :( but is opening a new shop!!!!
She gives me a fab set of nails every 2 weeks and these are one of my favorites!!