Weekly Obsession: Knitting

My mother is a textile crafter. She has branched out to paper, but she loves: Cross Stitch, Crochet, knitting, you get the picture.

Well, she has been trying to get me to cross stitch and crochet my entire life. To little to no avail. I picked up the cross stitch bug a few years ago. But I just don't really like to crochet. It's just......ugh. I don't like having to figure out where the stitches are, where to put the hook, ugh. Too much thinking involved.

But when I was pregnant with Squeaker, I asked for something I could do that was mindless, well more meditative than mindless. So she suggested knitting. I had always thought knitting would be twice as difficult as crochet, one more needle after all. But it turns out all the issues I had with crochet, were taken care of with knitting. I don't have to figure out where to put the stitch, they are all on the needles.

I'm really excited to be working on this project. It's a really cute cowl and I'm doing it in a really pretty cranberry color.

AND, Mom and I are going to be doing a Mystery Knit Along in October through the Craftsy site. Should be a lot of fun. I'm really excited.

Also, if any of you are into yarn crafts, Craftsy is having a huge "2 Million Member" sale. Some of their yarn is 75% off. Most are closer to 65% but COME ON!!! HUGE!!!!

But the best thing ever is when I texted this picture to my mom, she said, "Very pretty! It looks like you've been knitting for years."

Awwwwww, thanks Mom!

Crazy Wonderful Weekend

So this weekend left me exhausted and happy. Which I guess, is better than just exhausted.

I helped out my chapter, as you can see from my previous post. They got some great women at the end of everything. But I had to tap out early on Saturday morning. Yes, Saturday morning. 1:45am to be exact. The poor women probably had another two hours or so left. Ugh. But I think I may have thought of some little things to help streamline the process for next year!!! YAY!!!

Then to Angel's dance class at 10am. (A very worn out Momma here.) Then back home, grab all our stuff for the afternoon and night, and the dog. Then up to my Mom and Step-dad's for my brother's Wedding reception.

I was so excited to see my bro and my new sis-in-law!!! She's an amazing woman and I think they are going to make each other incredibly happy. (And I think they're going to start trying for a little one sooner, rather than later!!! Yay! More family babies, that I don't have to have!!!! Woohoo!!!!

Then home yesterday afternoon, for football and more sorority stuff. Wow, who'd have though advising would take up so much time. Luckily, the major amount of time, should be on the downswing. At least until elections in December.

So how was your weekend?

Blog vs. Real Life Disconnect

I talk about things that I’m passionate about to my IRL friends. And they just look at me blankly. I talk about LetterMo and how it’s modeled after NaNoWriMo. And They look at me like, “What language was that?” I never realized how odd it is that I blog. And maybe it isn’t odd. It’s just that the people I talk to on a regular basis don’t blog, don’t journal, don’t write letters, don’t DO a lot of the same things I do.

And that’s FINE! I love all my IRL friends. I just have to remember that they may not be interested, or need more clarification, explanation, whatever.

It’s just amazing to me that not everyone has this deep need to get their words out. I get this feeling, that I have to get out what’s in my head, heart, soul in order to let go and move on. It’s almost like an itch that needs to be scratched. And I think why I’m so surprised is that in today’s society it’s common for people to put out their most inner thoughts on social media. Hell, what is Twitter if not blogging in microscopic form? But to ask someone to write more than 140 characters, they can’t comprehend it. It’s weird, to me at least.

It’s funny, my Mom always told me I’d make a great writer. I never really thought about it. And I never sat down and thought out a story, or plotline, or anything like that. But then I ran across an article online or something that said something to the effect of “Blogging is essentially published writing.” And that made me pause. Am I really a writer? Is this need to get stuff out of me, what Real Writers like Neil Gaiman and Juliet Blackwell feel? Only they have entire worlds to get out, I just have a rant, rave or some other nonsense.

Do any of my blog readers have the same feeling? Do you think of yourselves as writers? What do your IRL Non-Blogging friends think of your blog?

Great News!!!

Hey everyone, I have some amazing news. I've been playing this close to my chest for a long time now and figure that I can finally tell everyone.

I'm 20 weeks pregnant!!!!

I'm having a little boy!!!!

So, we are all of course very excited. This time around, I'm not worrying so much about how I'll be as a parent. Now I'm worried about how my daughter will handle a new baby brother. So far, she kisses and hugs my belly. Saying "Hugs and kisses for baby brother." So that's good. But at other times, I'm wondering if her new affectionate nature, is a response. The Hubs said he was very affectionate as a child so it could be a personality thing.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the unprompted "I love you, Mommy." and "Mommy pretty." comments. My heart just melts when I hear it. I'm just hoping that it's here to stay and not something temporary. Well, granted it probably won't happen when she's 13. But hopefully it will stay for a while.

I had a wonderful Mother's day. I got flowers from my mom. And a "World's Best Mom" coffee mug with a brand new Keurig coffee maker from my Daughter and Husband. Though the coffee maker is apparently for both Mom and Dad's day. No biggie for me. Cuts down on the shopping I have to do in June. ;)

So what are you all up to? Any big news for you?

The Joys of Laryngitis

Yes, my friends. I have developed laryngitis from this nasty fucking cold. The joys are numerous. To name a few:

* My 2 year old daughter doesn't acknowledge my flailing arms when I'm trying to get her attention. I've reverted to clapping, stomping and slapping walls like a crazy person. And then the only one who comes running, is my husband, who thinks I've had some odd accident.

* Random people whisper back to me. Thinking it's a conspiratorial game of sorts.

* My Mother hangs up on me, thinking my voice issue is due to bad reception. I have to call her back and say, "My voice sucks, don't hang up." really fast, hoping she'll hear and understand me.

* When going to order lunch yesterday, I think. Oh, crap. How can I get food? I have to pathetically ask a (very sweet) co-worker to order my lunch for me.

New Bracelets, Pagan Music and Aprons

I've been so busy crafting lately. In fact, I finished my peacock braclet and another one called "Flame". I have a photo of it here. I took it on my phone, so it's not the best photo ever.

I'm getting ready to start on my third loom bracelet and getting new ideas all the time. I just love it when my Creativity is working overtime! In fact, my Mom and I are going to open an Etsy store soon. We have the store name and everything, just have to make stuff to sell. ;)

Here's a Giveaway at Witchy Gumbo. She's giving away this awesome "Domestic Goddess" apron to one of her lucky followers. Check it out here.


Just an FYI - Leathra over at Confessions of a Crafty Witch has a review up about the pagan musician S.J. Tucker, and she's hosting a giveaway for S.J.'s latest cd! Check it out on her site! I had never heard of S.J. Tucker, but she's an awesome musician. She's got 6 or 7 cd's. And her Blessings cd is all pagan music. Great songs. Especially her Come to the Labyrinth. I love these lines at the end.

"When all our sorrows cauldron into one,
be reborn, this Samhain night"

Perfect for this time of year too. ;)

Feel free to check out the giveaways, but don't hope for much. ;) I'm planning on winning them both. Just so ya know. Hee hee.

Birthday Memory #1

For my 10th birthday I had a slumber party. It was a blast! I ended up getting a whole slew of stuff from my friends. I remember getting two copies of Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl album that year. But the most interesting for this story was the gift of Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth perfume.

I can't remember how long I had that stuff. I swear it sat on my dresser for a year or two. I wasn't a girlie-girl really. So I never used perfume.

Anyways, when my brothers and I would goof around. I would occasionally to spray them with it. It annoyed them and it was just sitting there.

A few months after that first spray, I ended up having it taken away by my mom. Apparently my brother decided to chase us around with the spray. However, he didn't realize that the person in the bathroom was my mom. So he thinks he's all clever and decides to start spraying a cloud of cheap, stinky perfume in front of the door. Out walks Mom.

Mom - Choking on the ghastly stench: "Why does it smell like a brothel in here?"
Bro - Still spraying it in front of her: "I don't know."
Mom - Not buying it: "Give it to me."
Bro - Still spraying and denying the existence of said perfume: "What?"
Mom - Still not buying it and wondering just how stupid Son thinks she is: "What you have in your hand."

Needless to say, I wasn't really upset at losing it. Besides, it made for a great story.

Spring Cleaning

Okay, I'm happy to say, March has been such a great month for me! February finished a bit off, but I was able to rally back in March. I'm feeling so stable, confident and centered now. It's really remarkable. I don't think I've felt this way in years. I guess the getting up off my ass and doing things is really what I needed.

In March, I:

• Finished all my necessary fundraising. Now everything I get it just frosting!
• Got caught up at work for all of 1 day. ;)
• Saw Alice in Wonderland and went shopping with my Sister-in-Law. Such a great flick!!!!
• Hung out with Domestic Witch for Tea and Shopping!
  
• Hung out with Mom, the Wee One and the Ostara Bunny. ;)
• Helped out a former advisor by interviewing a few Greek Chapters.
  
• Read tarot for people other than friends and family.
  
• Did an Ostara ritual.
• Went to a few birthday parties.
• Went to a baby shower for my cousin-in-law.
  
• Had a blast with LUPEC sisterbroads at our monthly meeting.
• Had a Pure Romance party!
  
• Made brunch for my family.
  
• Held my first Blog giveaway!!!
• Really started training for the walk.
  

So as you can see, March was a rick-rollin good time!!!

**************************
Never gonna give you up.
Never gonna let you down.
**************************

Sorry, back to the topic at hand.

April should be more of the same! I can't wait. I've got quite a few things lined up. So stay posted!

The Gift of an Ordinary Day

My mom sent me this video. And I had to share. It makes me realize that I can never take one second of one day with my family for granted. It's all so fleeting. Fleeting, but beautiful!



And it makes me think of this song by Darius Rucker History in the Making.

Enjoy every single moment with your family!

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup...well Semi-Homemade

I finally got around to making my Great-grandmother's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup. Only I did it a bit semi-homemade. I didn't boil my own chicken or make my own chicken broth. I used one of those rotisserie chickens from Kroger.

Great-grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup
Meat of 1 boiled chicken (I used a rotisserie chicken)
12 cups. chicken broth
4 large carrots sliced
4 large stalks celery sliced
1 large onion diced

Sliced Noodles

Homemade noodles - 3 eggs + 1 1/2 tsp. salt. add enough flour to make into dough.

Roll out dough on floured countertop. Roll to 1/8" thickness. Cut into 4" long sections. Roll sections up into long rolls. Slice noodles into 1/4" noodles. Unroll. Add to boiling broth separately or you will get a lump of dough.



Wait for 10 minutes or so for the noodles to cook. Serve. Makes 8 servings.



This would be really yummy with a beer and a roll.

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming

I've never considered myself to be controlling. I've never had to have everything planned out. And I can't even begin to count how many times I went out with someone at the last minute. Even now, when it's something that deals with me and my time I'm usually pretty easy-going. Some may say fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants. Yet when it comes to things that have to do with my daughter, I become the most detail oriented, planning-nazi around.

Especially right now. The wee one has come down with a rash. The nurse and I thought it was an allergy rash from yogurt. But yesterday she didn't have dairy and it's worse. It seems to be spreading. So when I can't make things better with a wave of my wand, I start spinning. What can I do? Where can I help? What can I control around her to make some impact.

It's times like this that make me appreciate my mother even more. I've already thanked her a few times for all she's done for me. Dealing with the colds, coughs, stress, etc. How did she do it? What would she recommend. And thankfully, she hasn't taken advantage like some moms might. She offers advice for what I ask and only that. And if I don't take it. She understands. Major cool points for that! But still, all the advice in the world can't make my little one better right away.

It's so freaking frustrating to feel this way. I try to do the best I can, but I still feel as though it's not enough. I know, I know. Just breathe. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming."

All about Lavender

The other day my mom bought me some Lavender dryer sachets from Trader Joe's. I never thought to put lavender in the dryer before. But man oh man does it make laundry a little easier to take.



Though I think next time, I'd just make my own. Take a muslin or organza bag, fill with lavender, knot tightly and voila! Your own lavender dryer sachet and it's refillable, cost effective and easy to do!

Speaking of lavender. This summer I found a site that talked about Lavender Wands

(These aren't my wands, but they look really similar to mine.)

So I ordered some lavender to be shipped. Of course after I made these, my mom found fresh lavender at Trader Joe's. Hmmm. It's starting to seem as though Mom is spending way to much time there. Oh well, saves me from having to look all over the store. ;) Anyway, they're really easy to do, make your house smell wonderful and if you keep a towel over your lap or work over a desk, you can save a bunch of buds and dry them out. So you get a wand, and plenty of lavender buds for your dryer sachets! Perfect!