My Valentine

here's my latest:

Unfortunately i didn't get them listed on eBay in time for Valentines Delivery...but who knows maybe they'll still sell...i think they ARE still very cute......I've worked on a few other little projects but need to finish them up.

The Jewish Mother-cross post

Tonight Brad and I are meeting for dinner with Friends at the Jewish Mother in VA Beach...my friend E. has a brother who is in a signed band ..and they are here in town this week performing there tonight ..so a bunch of us going to hear them play...it should be a lot of fun....I'll be sure to take pics and post them later with an update of how the night went.
BTW as you can probably tell from this post Brad isn't in Korea afterall...he got out of going this time...but will be going to San Diego next week instead...so it looks like we'll make it to the Valentines Dinner afterall....yeah!

I have a GREAT pal!

 How exciting it was yesterday to recieve a package from FRANCE!!  My pal had told me she was from somewhere in Europe but i had no idea where!! She had told me she sent a package but i wasnt' expecting to recieve it for quite some time......I LLLOOOOVE it all.......the yarn is sooo beautiful and I will defiantley enjoy the candle and the soap....and i can't wait to make the pasta......what an origional idea...anyways I sjut want to say a big Thank You to my Secret Pal..you're the best !!!

Domestic Goddess?-cross post

I don't know what it is but lately I've been feeling VERY domestic....'wanting" to clean....baking....crocheting..crafting etc etc....maybe it's reading all these blogs and reading about the lives of other women who are creative and love to cook and clean and bake.and make kewl things...?? i mentioned it to Rae today as we were leaving the hosital...she 'wondered" how long this phase will last...LOL...i told her probably not long!!..ha.....so we both agreed we better all enjoy it while it lasts...hah ha ...here's todays domestic offering:
dark chocolate cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting YUMMMM

15 Minutes Early??

DD had a Drs appt this afternoon. I Love how they ask you to arrive 15 minutes 'early" then make you wait for antoher 35 mintues past your scheduled time before seeing you..@@ for a 1:40 appt...we were finally taken back to an examination room at 2:20 and finally saw a Doctor at 2:45. ....we made it out of the hospital altogether at 3:00...Everything is looking good and she is pretty much all healed up......he said it will probaably be a couple more months before we REALLY see her final results...but she is pretty close to the final results now..I think it looks pretty good...it's 'different" so it will take some getting used to..

anyways gave me lots of time to work on my latest project....a filet crochet table mat for Valentines...I got the pattern online somewhere...it's looking cute I'm about halfway done. I really like filet ....i enjoy watching the design build up as i go....

86 Years Young-cross post

Today we celebrated Father Richardson's 86th Birthday. He is such an inspiration to us all....At 86 he is more active and sharper then most people half his age...he told us today that he still runs 3 miles everyday...I can't even run 5 feet...LOLAfter Mass, we had a big celebration with Cake and Cookies..all the kids in all the CCD classes made him cards. He seemed very touched.

Vintage Crochet

I just made this cute Vintage style Shrink Vest. I was going to sell it on eBay but decided to give my girls first dibs on it....Rachel wasnt' interested but Britt was...i think it's looks pretty kewl....and she seems to really like it...I had a couple of these( my mom made them for me) when I was a kid in the 70's...LOL .I'll probably make more to sell..

Wonderful Evening-cross post

We spent the evening at the Z's...they had invited us last Sunday to come over tonight as a going away dinner for a young marine that has been singing in our church choir.....the meal was wonderful and the company was even better...i don't think i've laughed so hard in months..LOL..... it's always a pretty WILD time when we get together with the Z's and H's.....I made another Batch of Valentine's Brownies..YUMMM

Magic House?

I swear I must be the luckiest woman alive to live in such a "Magic" house.....where the laundry just hops up and marches itself to the washer ..then hops into the dryer..folds inself and hops right into everyone's drawers...amazingly enough the dishes do the same thing......food hops right out of the fridge and into the frying pan...i swear i never have to lift a finger......i am able to just 'sit around ALL day..doing 'nothing"...at least that seems to be what my 'husband" thinks.....men.....can't live with them , can't kill them......ARGG!!I swear I want to make some little medals to give him for when he gets on his 'martyr" throne....the opne where HE does EVERYTHING and the rest of us all 'sit around doing "nothing""

TGIF-cross post

Off to the H's tonight to discuss PR plans..I can't believe it's only a MONTH away...!!! i am soooo excited...... I decided to make some Valentine's Brownies to shareBrad just found out he is going to Korea next week for 10 days....so much for Valentines Plans....our church is having a special dinner and i was looking forward to it ..bummer...

It's snowing!!!

it's has been ucky and rainy all day but i jsut looked out my window and now it's Snowing!!!!

An eBay Day

Well I spent a good portion of today posting a few new things on eBay. Actually I only got 4 new things listed....It's sooooooo time consuming...Wish there was an easier way...........I love reading everyone's blogs...It has really inspired me to be more creative..I admit I fell into a rut of only making things from other peoples patterns...But it's sooo much more fun making up my own stuff...I still use patterns for 'some' things ..But even then I usually try to tweak them a little....Anyways here's the new pics.....These Poncho/Hat sets I designed myself..I enjoy filet and incorporate it in lots of my projects..




and here's my new baby blanket..I think it's very 'punk"...LOL

Post Op Appt-cross post

Whew......well good news! ...it's mostly swelling and should go down quite a bit...the doc said it will probably take a few weeks....for the final results..but she was VERY happy with how it looked so that is a sigh of relief for me, and for Rachel too I'm sure...i could tell she was a little worried about how she was looking too...although i have noticed changes the last couple days...actually it almost looked worse yesterday then it did Monday night....but this morning it looked better...unfortunately she'll have to live with it not looking 'so great" for a little while......she got a lot of 'questions" yesterday at school of course....and she hated THAT...one teacher even 'had " to pull her aside and ask her if she was being 'abused" at home...( she looked like she ahd a 'black eye" from the chemical peel...and her jaw is swollen and bruised) ....she has to go back in week...and then again in 4 weeks...

Latest Stuff...

I've been busy this week.....Crocheting like a Bunnie...things are just multiplying....I finished she White Hearts Baby Blanket and already sold it one eBay!!


and I just finished another one just like it in Black and Pink...I'll be posting it on eBay soon..it's pretty kewl....perfect for that "Punk" baby...LOL

and here's a Goth Dolly I made a few months ago that i jsut sold on eBay as well...



I did pretty well on eBay thsi week...i ahd some hats and scarves that sold as well...

I just finished a couple of girls poncho's and hats and a couple little purses( i still need to line them)I plan to lsit them on eBay and will posts pics once I've got them taken...

The Unveiling-cross post

She was able to take her Bandage off tonight.....it's a little 'scary" I didn't expect it to look like this... I HOPE this is just 'swelling" and that it will go down considerably....I am pretty sure it is....if not then i wish we'd jsut left well enough alone.....her condition was hardly noticable before....

Guitar Lessons-crosspost

Brandon is learning guitar so Brad is giving him 'lessons"...Hey it's a way to get him over here and 'see" him...LOL....take note of the Yellow Billabong!!
He practiced wuth Brad for a little while ..then asked Britt to come down and sing for him...It turned into a regular Jam session.
she has been writing her own songs and they are GOOOD! if I do say so myself...Brandon was impressed...He has been going to this coffeeshop that has open mike nights and I think he'd like to bring her..

Surprise Phone Call-crosspost

So who should call today but Brad( which wasn't all that surprising I expected a call since today was Rachel's surgery)
What I DIDN'T expect though was to be told 'hey, I'm in NY and will be home in a few hours!!!" ACKKKKK.....I thought I had a whole 24 more hours to get the house together.......that's what i get for letting things go and then procrastinating till the 'laaassst minute" ....then ....joy joy..the electricty goes out so then I couldn't even DO half the things i needed to do.....ARGG
We managed to get what we could, done without electricty and luckily things didn't look too bad.....it was kewl seeing the kids actually hanging together in the living room( even Nate!!)

....playing a card game...by candlelight..LOL...
Brad's flight even got in early..LOL...he brought us back some neat loot from Holland..hats for the girlspottery for meand cheese for Rachel but we hope she will share..LOL
the electricity eventually came back ...and it was a really nice evening..

More Extreme MakeOver-crosspost

Well this morning was Rachels operation..we had to be there at 6:15am...which meant we had to leave around 5:30am...which meant we had to get up around 4:30am( yyaawwwnn)needless to say we are EXHAUSTED.........her surgery went VERY well....they said she had no trouble going under and she had no trouble waking up...and that she was the perfect patient...we were on our way home by 10:00am...so far she is not feeling any pain...we are both just tired...i can't really tell 'how it looks" as she has a big white bandage covering it all up.....here are some pics...from today......Mooooooom I'm getting dressed!
Joy Joy we LOOOVE IV's
all marked up....
all done and bandaged

Secretpal#4

I've joined my first Secret pal swap! this should be fun....I really enjoy this whole crafting,crocheting,knitting bloglife....I love reading all the blogs and seeing everyones ideas and projects...
so anyways I figured I'd post my answers to the Secretpal#4 questionaire.....

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I mainly use Redheart or Lionbrand but that's mostly because that's all that's really available to me in my town....I do occasionally buy nice yarns online....I pretty much like anything though...
2. Do you spin? Crochet? I would really love to learn to spin...i love to crochet..and am pretty good at it..knitting is pretty 'new' for me ..
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) Nope
4. How long have you been knitting? I actually was taught to knit when i was a kid but i never really took to it..but a year or so ago i felt the urge to try it agian and i've been enjoying it...i still prefer crochet though..
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?no, unfortunately not....
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Jamine..but i like anything...
7. Do you have a sweet tooth? absolutely...especially CHOCOLATE
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? now a days i mostly crochet and/or knit......i would like to pick up painting again....I do a little bit of sewing....
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like all kinds....my favorties are peopel like Sheryl Crow, martina mcBride, and Faith Hill......but i like just about everything....not sure about the MP3 thing...i think so
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? I like pinks and purples....but I'm also starting to gravitate towards turquoises and other blues like that<--and am having a hard time finding yarn in those colors...
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? Married to a Navy man...4 kids all teens( actually one is now offically an 'adult") and two cats....
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) gosh ...my life 'dreams"...to travel to italy.....to learn to spin and create my own yarns ..and to open my own YarnCraft shop...
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? I like it all
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Can't thikn of any
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? I'm not sure...with knitting..i'm pretty much at the good at knitting scarves stage although i did make a nice sweater once....with crocheting...i'd say maybe hats...and ponchos
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
17. What are you knitting right now? the Alien Illusion scarf from the Stich n' Bitch book
18. What do you think about ponchos? Love them....have made a bunch of them...
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? I'd say straight ..although the circular ones come in handy for some things...
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? no preference ..all iv'e sued so far are alluminum...
21. Are you a sock knitter? not yet but i really want to try it....
22. How did you learn to knit? my mom taught me to crochet and knit YEARS ago....when i was little...the crocheting took off the knitting didn't....but now i'm knitting and i really like it..
23. How old is your oldest UFO? Oh man....i got some that are YEEEEEAAAARS old....LOL
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Hello Kitty
25. What is your favorite holiday? New Years
26. Is there anything that you collect?yarn..LOL.......Mary Englebreit...Mermaids....Candles....Dolphin Fish( not to be confused with actual "Dolphins" this is a certain kind of 'fish") ...Virgin Mary( Statues..pictures)....Crosses.....

Gymnastics Again-crosspost

Britt's meet last week was canceled due to snow...so tonight was the make-up meet.....they had it at Deep Creek HS ......tonight Britt got to do Vault ...and she did really well IMO...although her coach only let her do a straddle .....which means a low score...oh well it was nice for her to get to do something different and at least she DOES get to participate....this was their last regular meet...now all they have are District. regionals and state ...but Britt doesn't think she'll get to compete in those....so she's probably pretty much done now..for the year....I plan to put her back in Ocean Tumblers so she can get up to speed and hopefully be much better next year...she really did seem to enjoy it this year..and the other girls were all great with her...here are a few picsgetting ready for the Line Upsiiting in the sidelines while their team member performshelping to break down the floor after the meet....

Extreme Makeover??-crosspost

Well it's official......as some of you may know Rachel has a skin disorder called Parry Rombergs Syndrome ..which is basically hemifacial atrophy...the right side of her face is/was atrophying...or the soft tissues cells were not regnerating....so she has some significant asymetry going on although it's really not ALL that noticeable......well....they are going to do some cosmetic surgery to try to correct it on Friday.....she had her pre-op appointment today...they'll be liposuctioning out some fat from her abdomen and injecting it into areas of her face that have atrophied.....they are also going to be doing a chemcial peel to try to remove some of the discoloration caused by it as well.....anyways we joked about how lucky she is gettign lipo on her tummy...she'll have anice flat tummy for our PR trip..LOL here she is in the examining room....

Comments!!!

BTW I wanted to say how excited I was to see my first 'comments" on my blog...thank you guys so much....i am pretty proud of that seat cover.....LOL....i STILL haven't started on the second one..i am dreading it ......

Slacking off already........

Oh my ...it's been a few days..ok a good week......here is what I have been up to lately....

most of these will be put up on eBay..the duplicates will be donated to a homeless shelter nearby...

I made this during Britt's Gymnastics meet last night...i got most of it finished there..only had the last couple rows to finish up at home...here's a pic from her meet..


and this is what i'm working on now...it's a Valentine's Baby Blanket that i'll list on eBay when it's done...

No School-crosspost

The girls had today off for MLK day.... man is it cccccold here.... this morning their Chorus class sponsored a Pancake Breakfast....$5 a head....yesterday she sold tickets at church to some of our friends...she didn't exactly give them a choice.....LOL.....so it was a nice morning with friends....yummy ...and i don't really even like pancakes..LOL..i took some cute pictures of the 'spoon" contest....i'll post them when i can get my hands on Rae's camera....

Amsterdam or Bust-crosspost

Well Brad left for Amsterdam today....he will be gone for 2 weeks.....lucky him....he just got back from Japan a few weeks ago.....this trip is for some kind of 'warfare' conference...he is pretty excited that he got picked to go...so it's mainly the girls and me at home....Nate's usually not around much....We were disussing what kind of 'goodies" he should bring us back....we were trying to figure out WHAT Amsterdam was 'known" for....then it hit me ..the Redlight district..and legalized Pot...LOL Ummmmmm..nah we don't need THOSE kinds of .'souveniers"...and he better not bring any home if he knows what's good for.him.LOL....I'm sure he'll find other suitable 'goodies" for us....

Hickory Rocks!-crosspost

Britt had another gymnastics meet last night.....Hickory came in first as usual....although it seemed to be a rough night for quite a few of our girls.....Britt fell off the beam twice and was quite disappointed ...another one of the girls fell off the beam as well and one flew off the bars( she was quite upset about it) ...and there were a few mishaps with the vault....the floor routines ROCKED though.......sorry the pics below are blurry...we can't use flash during the competitions..and without it my pics tend to come out blurry....Britt on beam practicing...her team watching the floor routines and rooting their teamate on...

To Market ! To Market!-crosspost

I had such a great day yesterday ...I went to the Asian Market in Va Beach with a couple of friends. What a great place...I couldn't decide what to buy so i bought a bunch of different things for us to try..after we were done shopping we piled into the truck and passed our loot around to sample.....some of it was yummy , and some of it was Yucky!..LOL....here are some pics of my loot....yummy stuff:Yucky stuff:More yummy stuff:this actually came with cute little spoons:we also went to the Puerto Rican market and nanci bought me this......then we went next door to the Puerto Rican Diner and had lunch ..it was very good ...fried plantains.....chicken stew..and yellowrice and beans...washed down with coconut soda....YUMMMM

Puerto Rico Here We Come!!!-crosspost

Wooo HOO....we booked our flights last night so we are definately going!!! My best friend N. is origionally from Puerto Rico and her and her husband are buying a vacation home there. They are going in March to close on it and have invited us to come along. There is another couple that we are good friends with that are also going... I am sooo excited ...it's going to be such a fun trip.....now I have less then 2 months to lose 50 lbs!!!!!

Busy Busy Busy

I have been crocheting up a storm the last few days......
I made this Poncho in 2 1/2 hours to wear to a Post Christmas party at our home. I also made another just like it later that night in other colors...

then i made this one ..I plan to let Rachel have it...if she doesn't want it, then I'll probably sell it on eBay.

Here are some hats I've been making...these take me less then an hour..I plan to sell the two colorful ones on eBay and the brown one will be donated.. I plan to make more of the colorful ones to donate too

and here is a poncho I'm making as a swimsuit coverup for our trip to Puerto Rico..it's not finished yet I need to buy more cotton yarn..hopefully i can still find this color pattern..

the alien illusion scarf I am making for Rachel. I have finsihed two aliens ...hopefully only 3 more to go...

and last but not least here is Britt modeling the Poncho I made for her...