Ugly Blanket

I can't remember if I mentioned this the other day or not, but I have started crocheting an "ugly blanket."  I'm not sure what anyone else calls them, but I am just going to call it an ugly blanket.  It's going to be all the same motif, but with varying colors that I'm letting my children pick out.  So far I have three squares.  My daughter loves it already and my son could care less, he just likes picking the colors.

The squares I have look like this:

That's a little over a foot long.  I want this blanket to be around 6 feet.  I'm using the join as you go method which looks kind of wonky when the motif borders are different colors.  Oh well, it's an "ugly blanket," right?  These flowers are so much fun to make.  I never would have known that I'd be crocheting.

Okay, I'm off to work on my Geisha and then it's bed time.  Happy stitching, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone!  I hope everyone had a spectacular holiday!  I have just put the kids to bed for the night (they were super exhausted) and I am settling in with two of my Christmas gifts right now.  I got this:

and I got this:

from my in-laws.

Both books are by the same person and I've already made two motifs since sitting down.  They're um...not very good as I've only just today learned how to read a pattern.  I made one circular one that looks like a flower and one lacy diamond one.

Flower one:

And the diamond one:

The diamond one is a little bit sloppy.  In my defense, I didn't understand how to read the pattern with this one and then when I figured it out, I had to pull out the work and then re-do it.  So I tried, I really did.

I'm off to work on another motif so I can get to practicing reading patterns.  Hopefully just doing these little projects helps.  I'm thinking of just doing a bunch of different random motifs in different shapes and colors to turn into an extremely random blanket.  Maybe a purse or something.  I haven't decided yet.

Happy stitching, everyone!

Cutting it awfully close!

I finished the blanket finally!  It's Christmas Eve, so I knew I needed to force myself to sit and get it done.  It is done!

The border is a single crochet tan border.  The tan is the same color as Link's skin in the sprite.  It's in the wash to soften up the yarn right now.

Here's both of them laid out together side by side:

Laid out like they are in that picture, they take up the entire floor in my son's bedroom.  So they're not small blankets.  I am five feet tall and the blanket on the left covers me from my feet to the middle of my chest.  The one on the right goes almost to my neck.  They're both really, really, really (emphasis on really), heavy.  Perfect for lounging in the winter time.

They're currently folded up in my gift hiding spot (not like the kids haven't seen them) and dryer sheets folded in each layer.

Now that I have both of these done I can finally focus all my energy on my Geisha.  I should have a ton of WIPs soon.  I'm off to finish baking my gingerbread men and then I'm finishing my wrapping.  Happy stitching, everyone.  Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas! ***EDITED***

My house has this weird permanent gingerbread smell right now.  Probably because I've been making a dessert every day all week and I have several more things to make before Christmas Eve happens.

So far I've made:
Gingerbread Chex Mix*
Puppy Chow (or Muddy Buddies, also a Chex mix)
Pfeffernüsse Cookies*
Velveeta Fudge*
Spritz Cookies
Italian Rainbow Cookies*

*recipe has never been tried before

So my house smells really yummy right now.

EDIT:  So I never meant to publish this where I left off and meant to save it as a draft.  Darn my fingers.  Anyway, I have a few more things that I need to make still for Christmas.  I have a pumpkin pie, a tomato soup cake (recipe HERE and it's amazing), sugar cookies, and lastly some good old fashioned gingerbread men!

So much work ahead of me.  I love baking.

I have one last row on my daughter's blanket and then I can finally start working on my Geisha.  I haven't been working on her as much as I normally would because of the time crunch with the blankets and I think I miss her.

Alright, I'm off to go work on some sugar cookie Chex mix.  I'm going to send a little of everything to my father for Christmas because I don't know what to get for him, so I figured if I make him a bunch of different stuff he'll appreciate it more.  Off to go mix.  Happy stitching, everyone!

Re-enlistment

My husband had his re-enlistment ceremony yesterday.  After all was said and done, they were rolling up the flag and all the  men were standing at attention.  In the dead silence of the room, my three year old loudly proclaims, "Okay, guys, that's enough."  Everyone standing at attention was trying so very hard not to laugh.  I was dying.

After the ceremony, we went to breakfast at Denny's.  When we got our table, we ordered drinks and then my husband took our son to the bathroom.  As soon as they both get to the table, my son very proudly yells, "Mama, I peed!"  The table behind me busted up laughing.

He was on a roll yesterday.

I have no WIP.  I didn't have time yesterday because we got a bunch of running around done after that, so I wasn't home.  My yarn from Hobby Lobby DID end up coming after all, so I am able to finish the blanket in time for Christmas.

That's all, I was just updating to say that I'm still working on the blanket and to tell you of my son's goofiness.  Off to work on the blanket and probably do some laundry.  Happy stitching, everyone!

Velveeta fudge

Yeah, you read that title right.  I just made peanut butter fudge with Velveeta.  I found the recipe online and decided that because of how odd it seemed, I needed to try it.  My father was always very adventurous in his foods, and it definitely was passed down to me.  This recipe is definitely a keeper.  I am very pleased and I understand why it got its high ratings.  The recipe is a Paula Deen recipe and you can find it HERE if you would like to try it for yourself.

No blanket WIP today.  I forgot to take the picture earlier because I've been white glove cleaning my house.  Not for an inspection, but just because I figured I should probably do it every so often.  Especially lately with my asthma being the way it is.  It's probably best to white glove clean at least a couple times a month.

I do have a Geisha WIP though!

I'm almost done with the blue.  I just can't believe the detail.  I'm so happy that my stitching is starting to actually look like something now instead of just a bunch of random patches of color!  I can't wait to have this finished.  My husband already picked a place for it.  We're going to be decorating our entire hallway with my stitching projects.

Alrighty, I'm off to work on my Geisha some and then I'm going to bed.  I had an asthma attack earlier today that just took the life right out of me.  So good night and happy stitching, everyone.

Yarn for a year

Red Heart is doing a "Yarn for a Year" sweepstakes.  If you would like to enter, the click HERE.

I would have had a new WIP of my blanket today, but my son is sleeping and his room is the only room with enough floor space to lay it out properly for a good picture.  So tomorrow for sure!

Nothing new and exciting is happening lately.  My husband is for sure re-enlisting on Thursday, so we will probably be getting news on that very soon as to where we are going to end up.  Hopefully I don't get stuck clearing post by myself because that will be stressful.  Not that I can't do it, it's just a lot of stuff to remember and I'm terrible with that whole remembering thing.

I'm off to let my dogs out and then stitch on my Geisha.  WIP on her tomorrow as well.  Happy stitching, everyone!

Well that's inconvenient.

I ordered all the supplies for my daughter's blanket from Hobby Lobby.  Come to find out today that the bank thought it was a weird charge.  So now I have to re-order everything again.  I'm planning on contacting them with my order number to see if they can just recover it because I used my discount codes AND the yarn was on sale.  Nice little set back.  Ah well.

On that note, I have a blanket WIP:

Five more rows and then it's done!  Like watching a picture load in dial up.

I am in kind of a time crunch so I'm off to work on the blanket some more.  Happy stitching, everyone!

Still no news

I hate this constant waiting of everything.  He's supposed to be ETSing to get out of the Army, but he was in the office and the dream job he's always wanted opened up, so they are willing to reenlist him for that job.  The problem I have is that we're in this waiting game.  I wish we just knew.  I don't care if I'm going home, I don't care if I'm staying here, I don't care if I'm moving to frikkin' Alaska (note:  I would actually LOVE to go to Alaska), I just don't want to wait anymore to know.  I hate it.  I really, sincerely hope that my husband gets the job he wants because he has been talking about this since we met.

Well, off my drama, I have, well, it's not really a WIP.  I have my stack of granny squares because I am very tired and have had a long, headache filled day.  So here's my granny squares all ready to be stitched together!

I just bought some Christmas gifts for myself.  I bought a Tunisian crochet hook which I have never used and have no projects lined up for.  My mother always says that you should buy first and plan for it later when it came to craft supplies.  I also bought these two kits:

Oh, my GOODNESS, I'm in love.

These are Janlynn kits which I've only ever done once before.  I really hope these turn out, but unfortunately the random item picker that chooses my next project chose the Teresa Wentzler Summer which is a very complicated carousel horse pattern.  Ah well, I'll get to these eventually.  I just like having them in my stash.

Alright, off to go play some Hyrule Warriors before I go to bed.  Goodnight, all, and happy stitching, everyone!

Nominated for a Liebster!

Okay, no news or WIPS today even though I have one ready to go.  I was nominated for a Liebster award by Lisa at Three Monkey Chaos, thank you!  Alrighty, so this award is basically a way of meeting new people in the blogging community that you might not have ever met before.  SO, here we go!

Six rules of the Liebster award!

Rule#1  Acknowledge the Blogger who gave you the award
Rule#2  Answer 11 questions the Blogger gives you
Rule#3  Give 11 random facts about yourself
Rule#4  Nominate 11 blogs you think are deserving of the award (must have less than 200 followers)
Rule#5  Let the bloggers know you have nominated them
Rule#6  Give them 11 questions to answer


Alright so to start, I'm going to answer the 11 questions I was given:

1.  How are you, really?
Well, I am doing just fine right now.  A little cold, but I'll survive!

2.  Do you like your job?
I don't have a job outside of the home.  I have two kids and I'm a stay at home parent.  So IF you consider that a job (and I don't), then yes.  Yes, I do love my job.

3.  What makes you smile?
This is one of my favorite questions to ask people and I will probably be jacking it for my blogger nominees.  What makes me smile is watching my children have fun playing pretend with each other.  Watching helicopters take off and land.  Pfeffernüsse cookies.  Stale gingerbread snaps dipped in milk.  I'm pretty easy to please.

4.  When is the last time you showered?
Like two minutes before I checked my email that said I was nominated.  So roughly 10 minutes ago now.

5.  Grab the nearest book.  Turn to page 6.  Write down the first line.
The cat didn't move.

6.  What did you dream about last night.
Bear with me, this is a doozy.  I had a dream that was Mario Kart in nature.  It was a bunch of people driving around in these wacky cars and using Mario Kart power ups.  The problem was that the game was essentially like Death Race 2000 so there was a lot of blood and carnage.  Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond were the announcers and when I crashed my car, Benedict Cumberbatch was there helping me out of the wreckage.  I remember blushing and then waking up.  Lol what can I say?  I watch a lot of BBC.

7.  What was the last thing you ate?
I haven't eaten anything since dinner last night, so it would be spaghetti and meatballs.

8.  How did you meet your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend?
Psychology class in our first year of college.  He was picking on me like little boys do in elementary school when they like a girl.  Apparently that really works.

9.  What is your biggest fear?
Mortality.  Specifically I'm scared of my children being killed or getting into an accident.  I never once questioned my own mortality or the mortality of others until I had kids.

10.  If you had 1 day to yourself, what would you do?
Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.  I haven't had a decent sleep in years.

11.  What's under your bed?
Probably the cat.  She likes to hang out under there and smack your feet when you walk by.


11 Random Facts About Me
1.  I have 8 tattoos, but only one you can see when I'm wearing clothing.
2.  My toes are so dextrous that I can pick up a baseball with my foot.
3.  I gave birth to my son on my birthday.
4.  I share a birthday with Sailor Moon.
5.  I have a scar on my nose where I tripped over a bed frame and smashed my face on the other side of it.
6.  My pinky toenails don't grow out--they grow up.
7.  I have trichotillomania (obsessive skin picking) and have destroyed the skin on my arms.  Adding tattoos to problem areas helps relieve it because I don't pick on my tattoos.
8.  I would rather watch something on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network than most prime time shows.
9.  My guilty pleasure is watching Dr. Phil.
10.  I have a super hard time keeping in contact with people.  They always have to contact me first because I'm so worried about bugging them.
11.  I am one year younger than my FATHER'S girlfriend.


I nominate:
Crafty Sasha
Evening Emma
Sally's Stitches
Tabletop and Stitches
Without a Stitch On
Gorram Quilts
Carolyn's Stitchings
In The Hand
Craftiness...Starrley's Stitchings
Pixel Pockets
Une aiguille dans une meule de foin

YOU ALL HAVE BEEN NOMINATED!

Here are the questions for my nominees!

1.  What is your guilty pleasure?

2.  This or that:  Chocolate or Vanilla?

3.  What's your favorite book?

4.  Stealing from the person who nominated me, Grab the nearest book, turn to page 23, type the first full sentence on that page.

5.  How's your relationship with your family?

6.  EDIT:  I accidentally repeated number three, so instead, what is your favorite movie BASED on a book?

7.  Are you a righty or a lefty?

8.  Use a movie title to describe your life.

9.  What's your favorite thing to do in your free time?

10.  What is the greatest gift you've ever received?

11.  Stolen again:  What did you dream about last night?

Alright, I hope to read your posts!  If you were nominated and are participating, I would love to read your posts!  Happy stitching, everyone!

No news.

Well, I had hoped to know whether I was going home or not.  The guy who was supposed to reenlist my husband never showed up, so now he gets to try again tomorrow.

Hopefully I'll be able to update tomorrow.  Happy stitching, everyone.

Can't wait for tomorrow

Tomorrow I find out if we're going home.  We find out tomorrow if my family is moving back to Florida and I can not WAIT.  I need to know now because I've definitely got my hopes up.  My mom has been wanting us to come home for a long time and has even been working on modifying her house so that we can live with her until we find a place for ourselves.

I have a doctor's appointment and then from that appointment I leave to go watch my husband swear in if he gets the job.  If he swears in, we're going home!

Definitely have my hopes up.

Alright, off my good-ish news because I have a blanket WIP and tomorrow when I update on my living situation, I'll have a Geisha WIP.  Here's the blanket where I am at now:

Ten rows down, seven to go!  I am definitely going to be done by Christmas!

I am so excited for Christmas this year.  This year we were able to afford some really awesome gifts for the kids because I have been shopping since July.  Now, I know that sounds really early, but I knew we weren't going to have much money for Christmas as we usually live paycheck to paycheck.  So I figured I would buy stuff when I knew we would be okay to spare some money.  The kids also got some really awesome stuff from my mom so far.

Alright, I'm off to go watch Cars with my kids...again.  Happy stitching, everyone!

Glitter, glitter everywhere!

My daughter is insistent on wearing her tutu all the time, now.  Did you know that glitter tulle is the devil?  It sheds so much glitter that my living room looks like a Ke$ha music video.  She's also the same kid who was walking around with my Christmas garland as if it were a boa.  She definitely loves to be girly.

I've had kind of a string of bad luck the last few days.  Bad allergies, then I got sick, plus my asthma making life miserable, AND to top it all off, I threw out my back.  Things have been annoying at least.  I'm alive, though, so there's that!  I did get an early Christmas present from my mom:

Don't mind the laundry under it, that's my laundry room lol.  That is a giant Q-snap frame that's meant for quilting, but I am using it for my peacock kit!  I only got to open it because when it was delivered it was just a long box that said, "Q-snap," so I knew what it was immediately.

So I have a WIP of both my Geisha and my daughter's blanket.  First up, the Geisha!

I took the picture with my phone instead of my iPad because the iPad was dead.  That's why it looks super washed out.  The colors are much more vibrant, remember.

Next up, the blanket!

This is extremely washed out and blurry.  I don't know why my phone wouldn't focus, but this was the best I could get.  I'm actually almost done with the next row right now.  I just have to crochet it onto the main blanket.  I think it'll be done by Christmas!

Alright, I'm going to go finish the blanket and then it's time for some Dragon Age Inquisition!  Happy stitching, everyone!