On the Creative Path

Back with a Roar!

2012-01-23T07:19:00.000-08:00

We celebrated my son's sixth birthday with a ferocious roar! Well, as ferocious as a toothless Tyranasaurus Rex would be as he bared his ferocious gums. He requested dinosaurs which really deviates from the normal cheetah obsession, so we had to create a prehistoric jungle.

OF COURSE!

I had so much fun painting the toothless dinosaur head that I really didn't want to leave the upstairs room where, paints in hand, I had music playing and sun shining through the windows. The rest of the team, meaning my brothers, SILs and parents, came up to find me and drag me away from my art project to help with the rest of the preparations. The little guy loves to be surprised so we were all working away creating the most believable jungle atmosphere before he got home with the pizzas. No, he wasn't driving. He was with his daddy.

I had to show the cake twice. Isn't it cute? As I was scanning for party ideas a few days before (I know, it's like cramming for a test; these holiday birthdays always seem to get lost in the shuffle), I came across this tutorial.

We all had fun masks and ate dinosaur claws (Bugles!). I really wanted everyone to have tails but hey, you only have so much time in the day, right? They didn't seem to be missed as everyone was having a great time. Especially with the dinosaur habitat sounds playing in our "jungle".

Fun masks found here. Awesome dino bones here.

Happy 2012!

A Mysterious Book and a Tale Besides

2011-08-16T06:41:00.000-07:00

I have been writing novels for almost two decades. Yes, you read that right. I've been seriously writing since I was about fifteen. I'm starting at fifteen because before that I wrote as well, but never really considered shopping around my Tale of the Bunny story I wrote in first grade. I started writing and collecting stories around high school wondering if I could ever possibly have the hope of getting them published.

You'd think I would have gone on to a quietly exciting life of writing in college, completing the Great American Novel by graduation and signing a lucrative contract with a giant publishing house. Alas, that never happened. I was going to do something a lot more predictable ...

Be an actress. Or an actor, whatever they are calling them these days. That didn't work out so I decided to become an artist.

OF COURSE. Wouldn't you? Well fortunately for me, art did work out for me and I am still working in an art-related industry and making money to boot. I guess I can be proud of the fact that I at least used my degree that I finally ended up receiving after much blood sweat and tears.

However, through those college years and beyond, I still honed my writing skills, wrote down ideas or characters that inspired me and finished a few manuscripts as well. I shopped my stories around for about five years and just when things were looking up for me I had a bad experience. I had taken some time away since that experience. I still wrote but mostly for enjoyment and not in the pursuit of being published.

Then all my friends started reading eBooks. Then I started reading eBooks. Then I had an idea. What if I went ahead and published one of my books as an eBook? I immediately went back to work on one of my manuscripts (which was edited by a wonderful professional and voracious reader). I've edited it many times. I still lie awake sometimes and wonder what mistakes there are in the book.

Oh well. It's out there people! It's a fun little book. Here is the summary write up:

Alan’s life seemed perfect on the outside even to the sixth-grader himself. He had a loving mother, two best friends, and a brand new school building. That meant no more beat up desks, ancient gum on chairs, and classrooms that smelled like feet. However, something about Alan’s new substitute homeroom teacher is unusual. Even though he’s new to the school, Mr. Winter seems to know everyone’s name. He receives mysterious mail on a regular basis from a far away country. He even talks about Alan’s dad as if he knew him well.

Alan’s dad has been dead for years.

Determined to be an investigative reporter like his dad had once been, Alan is focused on finding out about this Ethan Winter. The deeper he dives the more outrageous and unbelievable the clues become. The Mysterious Disappearance of Ethan Winter is a coming of age story that follows Alan and his friends as they deal with a new school, new challenges, a bully or two, and a mystery so consuming, that Alan even risks his life to find the answers he’s looking for.

It's cool everyone! Please pass it along to anyone you think may enjoy this book.
Stay on the path!

Click on the icons for a direct link to the book:

The Close of Summer

2011-08-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

It's almost summer's end and already many of my friends' children are headed back to (or are already in) school. This will be such a different school year for us as my oldest is about to enter full day kindergarten.

KINDERGARTEN.

I really thought that I was okay with this. After all, my babies had been in day care for part of their infant lives. They have had babysitters and grandparents watching them. They were left overnight before they were one so my husband and I could get away for our anniversary. Even when he started preschool we were all excited to see Chandler head to his little class.

Now ... well. It's different. Does anyone else agree with me?

Going to full day kindergarten is going to break up our little gang. For five years we've taken mid-morning walks, exploring the natural world, making up stories and having pretend adventures. We've lounged at the coffee shop, chatting over our cups of hot coffee and cocoa respectively. We ran around like crazy people at the almost-empty zoo on Tuesdays, making animal calls and pretending we could talk with the animals. I suppose it wasn't really pretending since some of them spoke back to us. No more pre-school skating at the roller rink together. No more story time at the library.

Strangely, my keyboard is wet while I'm typing this. Hang on while I get a paper towel...

I guess what I'm trying to say is that kindergarten is breaking up my family! There, I said it. Stupid all day kindergarten that my son is so incredibly excited about. Dumb kindergarten that I couldn't possibly compete with on any level here at our boring house. Stupid time. Stupid growing up.

Clearly I have yet to grow up.

It will be very different this fall, with just my daughter and I bumming around town. She missed her brother terribly when he went off to preschool and that was just for two days a week. She'll be in preschool this fall as well and doesn't really want to go. Would I be a bad mother if I held her back a year?

Oh, I would? Dang.

September will come and we'll be a party of two instead of a party of three. I supposed us girls will just have to drop big brother off at school and drown our sorrows in a good cup of cocoa. Yes, that's it. We'll stick together, even if it's only for one more year.

On the path...

Summer

2011-07-03T04:49:00.000-07:00

It's sort of a sad sight: half finished knitting projects tucked away in their bins, patterns and cloth all cut out and neatly pinned, ready for sewing but no one to sew them, and jelly rolls of beautiful fabric just sitting there ... and sitting there.

This year has been all about focus for me. It's been fun to dabble in this and that but a point came, and I knew it was coming, where I had to hone in on a singular focus and start working towards that goal. So, that's what I've been doing lately and it doesn't leave much time for blogging and since I don't have a smart phone that will allow me to blog on the go, this site has been lonely for a while.

We are still doing so many fun things this summer! Even though this is a busy time for me work-wise, we still make a point to get out and enjoy all the summer season has to offer. These photos were from a photo scavenger hunt we recently took one morning. My children love to collect what they call treasures from their walks. We even have treasure bags to hang on our belt loops for said treasures. Well, sometimes our house (and my washing machine) collect one too many rocks, pieces of bark, leaves and such. I turned these photos into a fun slideshow that we watched on the TV at the end of the day to show Daddy.

Not Much to Say

2011-03-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

I've been debating on what to say and how to say it; in order to get back into the swing of blogging again. The blogs have been sort of back of mind this last year as I took some much needed time off to reflect, focus on family and work and just figure things out.

There have been quite a few times that I've thought about posting about something or other, but never got around to it. I notice that a lot of bloggers take time off as well, either scheduled or spontaneous.

I still enjoy the blog format though. Being able to post about things that you wouldn't journal or write about to a friend necessarily keeps the creative juices flowing. Hence the title of this blog. I think that instead of having a particular focus, I'll just let this spot meander in the creative. Wanna come along?

Anyone?

Well, maybe the three precious souls out there who read my blog will come and perhaps we'll make more friends along the way. In the mean time I will share our current family passion: treasure hunting. I am reminded how much a little found object could mean by watching my children ooh and ahh over acorns, a lost bead from a necklace, pennies, orange leaves, or any other little object that catches their eye.

Using the tutorial on fabric snack bags, I added a loop and made treasure bags. Light enough so they don't weigh pants down, but sturdy and constructed so that no little treasure can escape.

Even if they get wet.

On the path...

They're Finished!

2010-07-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

I started these quilts back in November when we purchased the twin toddler beds for Little Ms. A and Channy. I thought it would be a nice touch to have quilts in the same color scheme and theme. Green for Channy, pink for A.

As you might have guessed, one thing led to another and there were long stretches of me NOT working on these quilts. I also decided to do the appliqué with a ragged edge (there was no way I was going to seam them into the background) and then hand quilt around the edges.

Of course I had to hand bind them too. I was never good with a thimble and I think I have a permanent numb spot on my right middle finger. But I am pleased with the results. Below is a detail of Channy's quilt with the embroidered deer (he's a huge deer fan).

I am even more pleased with the fact that both of my little ones adore their quilts and use them each night.

Still on the path...

Bread

2010-05-11T11:42:00.001-07:00

I am really into bread. I was always into carbs even when the no carb craze was at it's peak. How could I say no to potatoes? Bagels? Bread to hug my sandwich? I never got into that craze. Actually, I've never really been into any diet craze. Too time consuming. I do well with just eating when I have physical hunger and stopping just before I'm full. That's it. It's hard sometimes, but it truly works. I can't make the food behave (i.e. take out all the fat, carbs, sugars, and eat 'diet' food), but I can make me behave. 'Me' is always at the heart of the matter, right?

Ouch. I get another little stab when I see that all typed out. So true. In my case, really.

Well, my therapy lately has been a quest to discover how to make bread. Really, REALLY good bread. I'm discovering that I will ultimately need a wood-fired oven in my back yard (I have already downloaded plans for one). Until then, my little oven and I are trying to figure it out.

Bread baking is truly a science and an art. I can weigh my ingredients, have a gorgeous starter going, only to have one batch turn out drastically different than the other. That is, I feel, also the beauty of baking.

Like sketching or knitting, I sometimes just need to feel the repetitive motion with my fingers. I enjoy the scritch/scratch of the lead on paper, the click of my needles and the feel of the dough in between my fingers.

After many batches of ciabatta, I can almost feel the dough and know if it's not going to have those huge holes and crunchy crust. I have only tried the bagels twice. The first time I didn't have enough flour and the dough was too soft and sticky.

The second time I let them get a little two brown and used salt grains that were too large. So that batch ended up looking more like round pretzels than bagels. Both batches tasted really nice.

I've been doing all of my bread baking lately out of this wonderful book. It is not the easy route, let me tell you. But I really wanted to do artisan breads and no matter what the recipes say, I think that most true rustic, artisan bread can't be done in a few hours. Also why I want one of these.

I was never a fan of the bread machine but I understood why it was popular. It wasn't that the bread was bad, but it wasn't good either. I liked the crust, the smell of the yeast, the heat of the oven. Sometimes my mom would decide to bake bread and it was a lovely smell.

Now we're still trying to eat up my experiments here at home and I'm really itching to try this lovely recipe for babka. I just have to empty out a few tomato cans and I'm all set!

On the path...

I say Hello, Hello, Hello...

2010-05-06T17:27:00.001-07:00

Back when I was in high school I convinced my parents to become a host home for three weeks to a short-term exchange student. I was actually always pushing them out of their comfort zone, which they ended up enjoying. They told me this later, but I always assumed they would be up for all that stuff. It seemed perfectly fine to me.

They're probably thinking, "What if this child is not well-behaved? What if she has conflicts with the family members? What if she gets sick?" I'm thinking, "Awesome." That's about it.

She was incredible. A girl I keep in touch with to this day. We LOVED her and still LOVE her. Capitals. Well, one week we decided to take her to Kings Island for a day of eating too much sugar and riding crazy rides. She was always trying to practice her diction and had problems with the letter H. So we taught her the Beatles song, Hello. Aaaaaand we sang it the. entire. day. How irritating could we be at 15? Well it turns out, I was right. It was awesome.

So that was a super long story to say hello again to you. I am so very sorry that I stayed away so long. I really missed this little spot here. I always look forward to post-Christmas quiet and I am always hit with a super busy schedule mid-January. That starts my busy time for work and with the rounds of layoffs that happened last year, I was busier than usual.

Unfortunately I had to put a lot of crafting and blogging on hold in order to keep my priorities in check. I missed keeping up, but I knew I was doing the right thing. I sailed through the busiest time I have had in a long time without tears, breakdowns and everyone somehow had clean underwear. Good, no?

We have truly been enjoying our play room. This used to be a guest bedroom and one day, while my husband and I sat in our living room among piles upon piles of toys, books, crayons and picking plastic dinosaurs out from underneath our bums, we realized something. We needed to take back our living room. Besides, when our parents visit, we usually end up letting them have our room anyway. Our house is not a hotbed of overnight visitor activity.

So we took out the dresser and bed and put in shelving. I even made some fab fabric bins from this tutorial. Now it is a room full of organized chaos and lots and lots of fun!

I ended up finding a sweet children's table from craigslist.com of all places. It's my virtual garage sale, I love it. I don't know about your neighborhood, but I believe that my neighborhood is the best place for garage sales. So, when it's not garage sale season, I like to surf craigslist.

We do so many crafts on this table. We can also have a great place for Chutes and Ladder, Hi-Ho Cherrio, and other games.

Baking was still going on and instead of cookies this year, we had copious amounts of chocolate cupcakes for Easter:

I mean, haven't you heard of the Easter cupcake? No? Urm, well.

We did have fun this winter and welcomed spring with open arms!

We're back. I hope you had a great year so far. Stay on that path!

When the Day Sucks ... Make Soup

2010-02-06T16:27:00.000-08:00

This week was a hard one on me and subsequently, our family. Things have changed quite a bit at work, making my schedule very hectic and very stressful. Fortunately, I work from home. Unfortunately, I work from home. So my family felt the pressure and stress right along with me.

Friday was a particularly difficult day. I had stayed up until 2AM the night before working under a tight deadline. The next morning, we found out that the babysitter was up the previous night with the stomach flu (we're happy to report that she is doing much better). I had a major deadline and tried to keep up with phone calls, spreadsheets and mind-boggling details while trying to corral my toddlers and being sleep-deprived to boot.

After a few breakdowns, we decided to get some doughnuts. Because, what else can you do when you're completely frazzled but go have a doughnut? With chocolate ganache? Then when we pulled into the library to rent a Pingu movie, we saw that they were closed for a furlough day. Urg. Much crying in the back of the car.

We all went stir-crazy, the littlest one fell down the wood stairs and I shut off my computer and hunkered down. Not knowing what to do with all the tears and frustration (all three of us), and the fact that we had nowhere to go, I decided we should make some soup.

I LOVE homemade chicken soup. I went to our freezer and got out a bunch of thighs, wings and drumsticks and went to work. The kids supervised, dumped in the chopped veggies as they were finished, measured out the spices, poured in the stock and started to perk up a bit. So did I.

While our soup was simmering, I got out this beloved cookbook:

We regularly watch Lidia Bastianich on our public television station and her show is it. I have done more recipes from Ms. Lidia than I ever would from a Food Network star. Sorry FN, I really like you, but this lady rocks.

One of my favorite things to make are her noodles with the three eggs (she rates her noodles in richness due to the amount of eggs). They are the perfect texture and taste for almost any dish. We just rolled out our dough, cut it into strips and put them in the soup about 10 minutes before serving.

The noodles were kind of thick, so you really don't need any fancy dough rollers. Just a good rolling pin and some muscle. The pizza cutter makes short work of cutting out all those strips. Upon reflection, I think I would have made these strips even smaller as they really puffed up in the soup.

So, when daddy finally got home and we had our soup, our day slowly started getting better.

On the path...

Woah! Winter Wilndess

2010-01-26T14:30:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, the kids and I went out to let the snowflakes fall on our faces and just get out for a bit. It was encouraging until I stepped into my yard. Every year we re-seed this exact patch of ground and every year, the grass just disappears. Anyone else ever have this problem?

Just like last summer (which wasn't really a summer, that was our fall), this winter has been pretty wild. It was mild with no snow for a while and then WHAM! We're hit with a blizzard (right in between Christmas and New Year's on our eight hour drive). Thank you nature. ;)

Now, when we're ready for some cross country skiing, just as we're getting out our skis and boots and the excitement is building ... the snow melts. Well, not entirely. It's sort of in the gross, half-melted brown stage with the crusty top.

Well, I certainly haven't been away from the Creative Path because of weather. Just as the holidays brings on travel, shopping, to-do lists, etc. I think that January is a little of the same: cleaning, organizing, starting a new year. I have been creating, I just haven't been posting.

I did get some wonderful books that I'll share with you soon. One of them has inspired me to start a rag rug project. I'm positive I won't have a finished pic for you anytime soon, but I'll definitely be updating you on the project and will let you know how easy or hard it turned out to me (my guess is easy, just time consuming).

Staying on the path!

Little Mouse

2009-12-04T19:46:00.001-08:00

Hey guys. I've been ultra-busy last month and I'll bet you've all been very busy this month as well! ...and we're only four days into December. Yikes!

Just thought I'd pass along a link to a fun little project to do with your kids. This craft is based on something my grandma used to do with her grandchildren. Little felt mice. They are painfully cute and even more painfully easy to create. Have fun!

On the path...

Where I've Been

2009-11-07T11:53:00.000-08:00

Where have I been since September? Well, I have to say that blogging hasn't been first on my list of things to do. In the past few months, work has been a little overwhelming as well as the kids, the house, travel, etc.

I must confess that I have also been working on a little something in the past two months that I've been conceptualizing since very early this year. It's take a lot of time; more time than I'm used to, but all that thinking and planning was necessary.

You see, I have been all eaten up this year about launching a business but trying at the same to time whittle down my ideas into a concept that I am truly excited about and feel there is a need for in the sewing and crafting community.

As most of you know from reading this blog, I am also very interested and passionate about fine arts; mainly drawing and sketching. It's not very practical at this point with two toddlers to take back up that oil painting or printmaking (can you imagine?) so a sketchbook and pencil suit me just fine.

I also have been very frustrated by the lack of boys designs, projects and patterns out there in the crafting and sewing world. Now, I know that there are some out there and a lot of them are cute, but I'm looking for fun, edgy, quirky stuff. I know how easy it is to find the absolute cutest dress pattern/sweater pattern/appliqué/purse/bag/hairbow designs for my girl. I just have to click the nearest blog link to find thousands of these projects at my fingertips.

However, my little boy is just as interested in handmade or even more so than my little girl. Of course, she is only two, but I am sure she'll be making more requests down the road. Channy is always asking me if I can "knit him an umbrella", or put a dinosaur on his book bag or make him a big spider! Yes, things like that. I have yet to find the knitting pattern for an umbrella.

All that is to say that I'm proud to launch a new blog and store called Puddle Jumping Designs. It will hopefully be a collection of projects and designs geared toward boys. Right now I have a small collection of really cool appliqué patterns in the shop. I am not sure if I will stick with BigCartel as my storefront, or move the entire thing to it's own web address. Time will tell. I want to get the designs out and start blogging about boy stuff. That is not to say that I won't add the girls in there as well (see my post about William Worm and his sister, Wilhelmina). Currently, my little girl adores princess stuff as much as she loves her "dy-see-nos" (dinosaurs). Gotta love a girl like that.

Please don't think that I still won't keep up the Path, but I have to say that I am a much happier person to have a clear focus now with a blog so I may be posting to the Puddle more than the Path. But I still want to keep the Path for ALL my crafty/life stuff.

Thanks to everyone who checked on this little blog the past to years. I have made some really great friends on this site! Please check out PJD, and please come back to the Path once in a while as well.

Sincerely,
Jen

Stay on that path!

What We Did This Summer

2009-09-22T08:32:00.000-07:00

Or to be more precise, What We Did Since the Last Post (A Sneak Peek):

So, it's been too long, eh? I think that in my absence, I've probably lost the few readers I had and for that, I apologize. Are you still there?

This summer has been wonderfully full and busy - so much so that I just now downloaded our summer photos from the cameras onto the computer. In late September. I know that's quite the norm for a lot of people, but for someone who's supposed to be a blogger, it's pretty shabby.

So, let's start with a recap of what we've been doing this summer, shall we? To start, we'll head over to the county fair where copious amounts of ice cream, hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy were consumed (much to the delight of the kiddos):

Hubby and I were finally able to carve out some time to celebrate our anniversary (a month late but at least we celebrated). This B&B is so awesome, we just go because of the great rooms.

I wanted to live in this tub. I think I did. Directly from that weekend we celebrated at the annual Great Lakes Folk Fest like we do every year. Mainly, we stay at the dance tent and shake a leg or two and make a few friends in the process:

More sunny days at the family cottage where being lazy and eating a lot reigns supreme!

We also spent a lot of time fattening up the ducks on our local college campus. Because, you know, campus ducks need more people food.

We drove MANY miles in just a couple of weeks.

No, we don't try to suffocate our daughter, she does that herself and sleeps like a dream. The boy, on the other hand, stayed wide awake and hyper, to his parents' chagrin.

We stopped by to see the elk and see what they thought about the impending winter weather.

A lot of time was spent wandering up and down piers on one of the great lakes looking for birds, fish and making up names to imaginary yachts like "ComeonIwannalayya", "Stabin Cabin", and "College Fund". I prefer "Mortgage Part II".

Much time was spent gazing out across beautiful landscapes...

...exploring lighthouses...

...and hanging out under the Mackinac Bridge at Fort Michilimackinac. Say that 10 times fast. We had to pass the redcoat to get in (it was pretty easy considering his apparent boredom - no riots or gunfire to brighten his day).

Then on to explore a fur trader's camp:

The entire park was just wonderful. Channy spent most of the time insisting on watching and listening to a historical actor play the hammered dulcimer. I enjoyed watching a housewife make potatoes au gratin and apple cake in real dutch ovens and have her show me her (very real) stock of dried herbs and spices along with her very neat pantry. I really wanted to play too, but I think we were supposed to stay behind the ropes. Sigh.

During our travels, we also spent a lot of time checking out local libraries (a favorite past time). This one was our favorite:

Finally, we ended the season by going blueberry picking at the very end of it's season:
Good, GOOD times were had by all.

With all of that travel, I wasn't left with much time to craft, but I will report that I successfully completed a really cool hunting sock (complete with a secret message for good luck knitted down the side) that didn't fit my hubby's foot. A smidge too tight. Oh well.

Because we were traveling, I decided to whip up a great little carrying case. More on this to come.

Staying on the path...

Fooling Around

2009-08-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

As the dog days heat up and September looms ahead (well, at least for those of you educators and parents of school-aged kids), we are just fooling around at our house. Some work gets done, for sure, but we are all enjoying the weather and gearing up for a fabulous week in northern Michigan on Lake Huron. Yippee!

The kids and I have been playing our alphabet game and it varies from day to day. We shout out letter and see who can find them first. Or we hop through the whole alphabet. Or we only find the yellow letters, blue letters, etc. So fun! Next time it rains, we'll try out numbers. For the littlest one, we are just working on color recognition.

I hope you all are busy being creative out there. I am still sketching and just now started swatching for some very thick wool socks. (Yes, these are for you, honey.)

Stay on the path!

Still Sketching

2009-08-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

So, my Sketch A Day project is STILL going, but slowly. Definitely not exactly a sketch a day; but I'm still doodling around here and there.

This one was just a little girl I had in my head for a while. Unfortunately, she didn't come out on paper just how I imagined her. Oh well.

This one is based on a story that my son likes to tell. It involves the forest, animals, nuts and a naughty crow that he has to threaten with his bow and arrow.

I've also been drawing dogs like crazy. Particularly the relationship between dogs and little boys. I have so many ideas in my head. This little guy is all over my sketchbook:
He's sort of like my springer spaniel. I think they look alike and have sort of the same attitude (yes, my little drawn doggie has attitude). You'll be seeing more of him.

So this is sort of random. Boy is taking dog out for a poop next to a confused-looking Tyrannosaurus Rex. There's a story in that one - care to take it on Jackamo or Watoosa?
So, I'm staying on the path ... are you?

Bagging It

2009-08-04T10:40:00.000-07:00

I really have been on the craft path these past few weeks. This little tote was an inspiration from this style and the beauty of the fabric.

The star is reverse appliqué and was so much fun to do. I haven't done needlework in a while and it reminded me of the embroidery I used to do as a child. Back then, it was just made up drawings on fabric that I would follow with my needle. I need to find those...

Stay on the path!

Still Creating ... Just Not Blogging

2009-07-28T08:50:00.001-07:00

Summertime! I promise I am still creating, I've just really slacked in the blogging department. I'm glad to see a lot of other bloggers out there are enjoying summertime as well.

I am still knitting...

...still baking...

...and still sewing.

And YES! I am still sketching. I have some more sketches to load onto this site. Stay tuned!

And stay on that path...

A Very Happy Birthday

2009-07-16T05:18:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was very special in our house; little Ava turned two years old. What a precious little baby she was! She slept well, ate well and was very content to sit and observe. I can remember bringing her home from the hospital and just looking at her with glee; my very own live baby doll. A girl!

Now my little, sweet lump has turned into a little lady that knows what she wants and has an opinion about everything! Even though she insists on reading the books herself, taking toys away from her big brother and throwing tantrums willy-nilly, she is quick to say she's sorry, kiss any "owie", snuggle and play.

Happy birthday sweet Miss Ava. We love watching you grow, change and develop that firey personality.

Stay on the path...

Meet Don (Dawn?)

2009-07-15T05:44:00.000-07:00

Summertime is NOT the time for consistent blog posting. It's good to know that everyone else is out there enjoying the weather as well though.

I've had this little guy knit for about two months now and he definitely shows signs of wear and tear already. My son is in love with dinosaurs, specifically stegasauruses (sp?) and "ceri-tri-tops" (triceratops). I found this cute pattern on Ravelry, had a leftover hank of green yarn and started.

This pattern was so easy, but I had a hard time with weaving in the ends. Does anyone know how to successfully weave in yarn ends so they don't unravel? Mine ALWAYS unravel. With kids banging around the toys, they end up looking like poor Don (Dawn?) here.

As for the name, my son chose that one. When I gave him the dinosaur, he was so excited and I asked what he was going to name it. After a pause, I suggested Stanley (the Stegasaurus). No to all my suggestions. Finally, my son said, "The name is Don (Dawn?)." I am still not sure of Don's gender but the name stuck.

Love

2009-06-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

So, I have yet to finish this quilt. I actually DID finish this quilt; but I absolutely ADORE this one. It's going to make a certain little girl very happy in a couple of weeks.

Just in case anyone wants to know who it belongs to. LOVE it! More baby doll quilts to come I think.

Stay on the path.

Nature Sketches

2009-06-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

On the path...

Sewing

2009-06-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Just using up a little bit of free time to finish some sewing projects. This one is for a special girl's birthday coming up. (I get the giggles just thinking about it.)

THIS lovely bias tape maker is just that ... lovely. It has saved me so much time and burnt fingers. Hopefully some FO photos coming your way soon.

Stay on the path...

Cartoons and History

2009-06-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

I pulled out the markers last Friday to give sketching in color a try. This guy was sitting in the coffee shop with a really loud Hawaiian shirt on, pecking away at his laptop. I think the whole scene looked so funny, that it came out in my drawing. I have really missed those markers.

On another note, I went through my drawings again and pulled this one from the archives:
I just love this one. I think I sketched it from a photo eight years ago. I remember really enjoying the particular shading process; this type just seemed to come easier for me at the time.

I'm off to do more sketching and creating. Are you?

Stay on the path...

Carbohydrate Bliss

2009-06-17T05:06:00.001-07:00

Start with THIS gleaming beauty – brand new out of the box.

Add this yummy cheese, drained and ready to go.

Throw in some roasted vegetables.

Little soldiers in a line.

All these equal little pockets of pure, handmade bliss. I owe my inspiration to this lovely woman. Check her out!

Oh, and of course I have to spend the entire morning cleaning up my mess; worth it!

On the path...

Foot

2009-06-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

Yuck. No more feet. No matter how you sketch it, you just can't make them pretty.

Stay on the path...

Bull Dog

2009-06-13T14:41:00.001-07:00

I think this little guy is so cute. I was out of town this weekend and was able to get some sketches done, but was unable to post them. That is why the two previous posts are dated earlier.

I hope you had a great week! Stay on that path...

Flourish

2009-06-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

I have also been fooling around with hard lines and design elements. This is from a flourish on an ornate frame. Hm.

On the path...

Corsage

2009-06-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

On the path...

Study of Hands - Open, Relaxed

2009-06-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

While wondering what to sketch today, I happened to glance down at my own relaxed, left hand. Arg. I guess I can't escape the hands, but they do push me artistically. I'm much happier with this one. I'm on the right path anyway.

I've been about a sketch every OTHER day to this point, but let's hope I can keep them up. Thanks for your interest, bloggy friends!

On the path...

Study of Hands - Clenched Fist

2009-06-03T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hands. The bane of my existence in art school. During one drawing class, my instructor said that if we completed 100 hand studies during the course, in addition to all of our other drawings, we would get an A for the class. No matter what.

So, I think I completed upwards 60 hands before my schedule overtook me and I had to quit. HANDS! Ouch.

The one above looks like a robot hand; clearly I need more practice. This is one I did 8 years ago! Right after the aforementioned hand incident.

Stay on the path!

Study of Michaelangelo

2009-06-01T18:48:00.000-07:00

I have to say that Mr. Buonarroti is my favorite artist when it comes to study sketches (I made two of these). This is unfinished too. I love the expressions he gives to his subjects and I adore his sketches. So elegant.

I'm really under the wire! Maybe I can get ahead this week. Then again, I'm only sketching...

Staying on that path...

Gift Box Update

2009-06-01T12:34:00.001-07:00

I have so many friends and neighbors expecting babies this summer so it must be that time of year again (seems like the babies come in waves). I'm busy trying to get some gift packages in the mail and this is a cheerful one going to a little boy due, well, right now.

The extra-long, extra-large changing pad is an absolute favorite of mine. My babies were big and long and they soon outgrew their changing pads that came with any diaper bag I ever received. I can just toss these into the wash and pop them in my purse or diaper bag for that emergency diaper change.

A sketch to come tonight hopefully! This day is shaking out to be a doozie.

Staying on the path...

Unfinished

2009-05-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

This is going to be harder than I thought! I have always enjoyed botanical art and this is supposed to be a study of one of Catherine Watters's paintings. Oh well. Still getting into the swing of things.

Birdie

2009-05-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

Hm, don't like this one as much, but it's okay for a second sketch. While we all sat around the kitchen table, my kids playing with PlayDoh and I with my sketchbook wondering what to sketch, I noticed a little decorative bird. I hung this little guy up last Christmas and just forgot to take him down. He has been clinging to the top of my kitchen drapes ever since; hence the slightly worried expression.

Stay on the path...

Getting Back to My First Loves...

2009-05-29T05:30:00.000-07:00

Whale Watching • Wood Block Print on Paper

I had a great birthday recently (I'm 33! Gotta love the double numbers.) and the love just seemed to keep on coming. The birthday kicked off with my parents coming up to visit, spending an entire day at two art festivals and finishing off with some dinner and pie at the Grand Traverse Pie Company.

THEN I got a free meal from this wonderful establishment. This place is great as it gives you a free meal for your birthday, a free meal for mother's day and a free meal for the date of your signing up for their club program. All that happens in May for me! So we have been walking up to town to eat here a lot lately. I'm getting spoiled!

I celebrated with cake at the in-law's last weekend and I'm still waiting for birthday goodies to come in the mail. Could it get any better? I feel really spoiled - thanks, family!

So, I've been thinking a lot lately about my crazed sewing and knitting fervor to get projects done. I'm sure most of you crafters out there completely understand the need to accumulate projects and stash, but not having enough time to work on them all (why can't we just have someone come in to cook and clean so we can get on with it already?).

I started getting into knitting and sewing as a means of continuing to feed my creative spirit and also have semi-portable projects that I can start and stop with ease. This is of course, due to the fact that I have small children that need my attention. If I'm knitting, I can pick it up, do a few rows and put it down again to kiss a boo boo or play a game. If I'm sewing, I can whip out my machine (tucked away in my study), cut the fabric on my kitchen table and either sew up something quick in an hour or so, or keep working on something and tuck it away in my handy plastic bins.

My original love was for fine art. In college, I majored in art and I took everything from photography (not digital kiddos, I had black and white film in a Pentax K1000) and developing my film in the completely black closet, to printmaking (I LOVE printmaking), to wheel throwing (another love), painting and drawing. I also took sculpture, bookmaking (printing books on a circa WWII printing press), large-scale mural painting and as many other wacky classes that my advisor would allow with my current class load. I have to admit I took twice as many studio classes as allowed for regular art students. For some reason, they let me.

However, after I had children, I had to pack up the oils, even the watercolors, the carving tools, the wire, the pliers and clay. It's not like I can work on a clay tile and then leave it on the table while I attend to a diaper, a bruised toe, a bruised ego, a cup that needs refilled and a snack bowl that needs more snack. The tile would be very dry. (Although, come to think of it, that would make an interesting study: "Tile works and toddlers: The effect of toddlers on the artist's work." Hm.

Anyway, after this birthday came and went, I did a lot of thinking about my lost fine arts and my first loves (not to say that I don't love the sewing and knitting - I DO). I do plan on joining the local potter's guild some day for classes and hopefully one day becoming a full-fledged member. (Internal squealing!) I also intend to pick up the carving tools again and trying my hand at printmaking.

In the meantime, I can do something that is portable, challenging and gets me back to the basics:

When I was first thinking about this personal challenge, I was worried about actually doing one whole sketch a day. I am going to be easy on myself and not worry about how it looks, how large or small it is, or if, halfway into the sketch I realize that it looks really dumb. I'm just going to try to either quickly jot something down, or really take my time. Either way, I need this outlet.

Just like an athlete will train as a part of every day life, an artist needs to train as well. Of course, life gets in the way or we are impatient to have a means to an end. This, I am hoping will be a journey. To where, I am not sure, but it will be fun!

Staying on the path...

Did She Say Yes?

2009-05-28T09:44:00.001-07:00

I saw this question posted on a sign to an abandoned cinema lot during my errands this morning. How romantic that some boy climbed up on this abandoned sign to post a message to to the object of his affection. I hope she said, "yes."

The Start of Summer

2009-05-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

Happy summer! After Memorial Day, we here in the wild north woods anxiously await that first day the thermometer tips upwards to 80 degrees (I hear my southern friends laughing right now). Memorial Day is truly the start of summer around here as the last chance of frost is well past and the Farmer's Almanac says we can start planting (more snickering?).

We are ready for the beginning of summer at our house. We're in the process of putting up a small fence in the backyard (good for containing children, animals and the rogue bouncy ball) and are planning to enjoy the summer months out there. A small raised bed went into one of the flower beds with a variety of veggies and the summer clothes are all unpacked and in our drawers.

We're ready, but we're just waiting on the weather to catch up with us.

In preparation for summer, Channy received some light cotton jammies:

Complete with dinosaur (what wouldn't be complete without a dinosaur?).

Inspired by all of the colorful totes out in the stores lately, I made a bright, colorful bag for myself from this tutorial:

After a brief crafting hiatus, I am back at the sewing machine!

On the path...

Goodbyes Are Never Easy

2009-04-17T09:51:00.001-07:00

Today is the last day my kids will be going to their daycare center. Completely and totally. We've pulled out our son during the time our daughter was born but they went back after a couple of months. We've also taken them down to just a couple of days when Mommy's job allowed for more free time during certain points of the year.

Now, however, we are going to just stay home - and while that is a celebration for me and my family, it is a point of sadness for some of the staff and directors for the center. Every time the director talks about it, she tears up and can't talk. She's known our babies since they were only two months old. It's been a tough decision, but in the end, I get to spend even more time with the kiddos and we think that's best.

So, to say our thanks to all those wonderful staff members who have all gone above and beyond to care for our sweet children, I've made some simple clutches from this book by Amy Karol. Of course, this can't be sufficient payment for nurturing and caregiving, but we wanted to say thanks somehow.

Tucked inside each clutch is a little individual note to each teacher along with a picture of the kids. All clipped together with some "love" (heart-shaped paper clips).

So this past week I have been preparing the house to be more organized for the morning babysitter as well as getting myself ready for some crafting fun with my kids in the afternoons (think paper plates, coffee filters, glue, paint, string and glitter...). Yahoo!

I don't want these years to slip by ... but they already are! I am sure one day I'll be helping my son tie his shoes or my daughter to do her button and I'll be at some graduation party, watching my little birds leave the nest...

I intend to enjoy every moment. Make sure you enjoy yours!

Staying on the path...

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

From our house to yours: We hope you all had a happy Easter holiday...

Getting back on the path...

Wild

2009-04-08T07:46:00.000-07:00

I used to live there. There and in many other wild places. I visited often and could always jump into each world with startling ease. I was an emperor, a thief, a fairy, an explorer, a renegade, an adventurer. I would never say I was a dreamer because to my young self, that would have been an insult. I never dreamed these things. I lived them. Every day.

I held on to that world longer than anyone ever has, I believe. Right until I went to college. After my first year, it was lost. I couldn't find it. I am hoping to go back there someday soon and I am hoping that my children will take me there...

Did you ever live in those places as a child? I think that is what, in my adult years, keeps me:

On the path...

Mommy Guilt and Easy Toddler Aprons

2009-03-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

I often struggle with Mommy-guilt. Don't we all? Am I paying enough attention to my kids? Am I paying too much attention? Are they learning enough? Do they feel loved enough? Are they getting a balanced meal at least once a day? Will they someday be telling their therapist about the time Mommy made them wear dirty pajamas because she didn't do the laundry? Am I doing ENOUGH? All the magazines tell us to give ourselves a break, but honestly ladies, I really think we're hardwired as moms to beat ourselves up from time to time. For those of you who never do, please send me a link to your blogs! I will need to read your personal guilt-free mantras when I get in these moods.

Anyway, these times always inspire me to do something really fun with my kids. Not out of guilt per se, but out of a need to have some fun and forget about my worries. So, I decided to have a cookie-making session one afternoon recently.

Nothing about that sounds particularly exciting but it was the BEST for my kids. They love to help out in the kitchen and my son will sometimes cry if he can't help me out (Frying wontons in hot oil? I don't think so.), but will be a busy bee when he can (Topping the pizza? Yes!). Now that he loves helping in the kitchen, his sister has to do it too. If she can't be all up in his business all the time, then she is not happy. This activity makes them both happy.

First, we donned our special toddler aprons for the occasion. They were both so proud and these were very easy and quick to make! I didn't have enough contrasting fabric for my son's apron so he had Thomas the Tank Engine on both sides and of course, he didn't mind.

They never stand this still for me, but I'd like to think that they were admiring the superb construction of their aprons. Or they were just being still for just a split second.

We made fairy cookies! You can find the recipe here, and please take a moment to read this blog. I love catching up on all of the crafty bits as well as all the exciting things happening on their farm.

So, Chandler was in charge of cutting the cookies. He is holding a plastic Zyliss salad knife. Doesn't cut the skin, but is strong enough for soft things like potatoes, lettuce, soft cheese and of course, cookie dough. See how carefully he holds the knife?

We are learning how important it is to be safe with a knife while you are using it in the kitchen. Once he cut a cookie, it was then passed off to his sister who took a lot of time and care to arrange each piece on the cookie sheet.

She would put one down, take a look, rearrange and then rearrange them again. I didn't touch them and into the oven they went. I can't say they turned out as good-looking as the recipe at Jelly Wares, but they were tasty!

On the path...

Have a Happy St. Patrick's Day ... or ELSE!

2009-03-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

Carrying on the theme of trying to celebrate as many holidays as we can (any good excuse for a party, right?), we celebrated St. Patrick's day.

We did a few jigs:

Had some Irish soda bread and stew (Ava's potatoes are from the stew):

Wore silly hats:

And had some shamrocks for dessert:

And then we danced some more ... mostly to this band. Happy St. Patrick's Day - and remember to take time to make some fun!

On the path...

Catching Up

2009-03-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

There is nothing like knitting a dishcloth to soothe the troubled mind. You can quote me on that. This week has been full of meetings and mind-bending spreadsheets and mountains of paper and products. Whew. So hopefully by the end of the week I'll have a finished dishcloth to show you. However, I did want to share an FO with you:

Ava's dress!

This was so much fun to knit and despite it's size, very quick as well. In between busy-ness and working to accomplish other pressing items, I would just pick this up and start stockinette in the round over and over and over.... repetitive and soothing. I received a bag of varying colored yarn for Christmas and the dress was the end result. I have yet to weave in the many ends, but I hope to get it on my little model soon for a photo shoot.

The cookies at the beginning of the post were baked on Monday right before I left on my business trip. I left the surprise for my husband and children under the glass cake stand on the kitchen table. Judging from last night's call home, I think that they are almost gone.

I also did a little bit of scrapbooking (I am NOT a scrapbooker) and made a laminated page for each of my babies to find in their beds when they went to sleep that night.

Each card featured a picture of me with each child on the front and some more photos on the back with as many colorful stickers that I could manage to put on the extra space.

My husband told me that when Chandler picked up his card, he was very excited and after examining it for a moment, he said in a grave tone, "Daddy, this card is very, very special." (melting heart here...)

On the path (back home) ...

Five Reasons I Love Flying Out of A Small Airport

2009-03-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

1. No lines at the baggage claim (the truth).
2. TSA officials ask me why I wasn't smiling when I rounded the corner.
3. Joke around with said officials about staying out late and teething babies.
4. Being the only person going through security - I mean ONLY person.
5. Having the same person who checked my bags, take my ticket.

I'll be out of town this week but I still plan on posting some crafty updates - stick with me!

On the path...

Can I Make This Dress?

2009-02-26T05:50:00.000-08:00

I am in love with this dress by Jason Wu (yes, the famous inaugural dress designer) as featured in the Elle January shops. However, the $3,000 price tag makes me think that it might be a tad too much for an Easter dress to wear to church. Ya' think?

I think I owned a $3,000 car once...

I am wondering if this dress can be made. What do you think? Any similar patterns out there?

On the path...

Another Giveaway...

2009-02-23T07:49:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to let you all know that there is a great "clean" giveaway on The Domestick Chick's blog. Check it out and leave a comment. You may want to bookmark this blog for future reference. It makes me want to get organized, purge and have a saner day. There are also great tips and coupon swaps if you're interested. Tell TDC I said "hi".

Staying on the path...

"When 'tis fair, be sure to take your greatcoat with you."

2009-02-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

I am sure Benjamin Franklin was talking about a really great coat. I wouldn't want to be without mine. Now that the weather is warming up (oh yes, to a balmy 26 degrees), I finally put the finishing touches on my new wool coat.

Oh, yes I did.

I have a heavy down jacket for the sub-zero days but ended up having to give away my absolute favorite wool coat to a good friend as it didn't fit anymore. I think my rib cage expanded and will not go back down since having Ava. Hm.

Undaunted, I ran across this pattern during a 99 cent sale and kept coming back to it. The clincher was when I found this gorgeous rust colored wool ... on sale. How can a girl pass that up. Paired with chocolate brown lining, I just had to give it a try. Voila!

Okay, so I have to pin the lapels down until they settle into place and I modified the sleeves to be full length, but other than that, this coat really was a snap. I am not so scared of clothing patterns anymore. If I can make a coat, then the sky's the limit, right?

Stay on the path...

Ready For Spring

2009-02-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

I am so inspired by Jenny's blog, her designs and the way she can put together stylish outfits with ease (I seem to have a harder time). She just picked out some Toast outfits and I love this one. It really gets me in the spring mood and gives me a strong desire to whip out my Spring/Summer Simplicity patterns.

That said, I just completed a winter project (yes, I know it's almost March). I can't believe I did this, but I think I have reached a new sewing peak. It's not perfect but it's nearly and I'm going to share it with you all as soon as I can grab a shower and get some photos!

Stay on the path...

Hey, I Have a Follower!

2009-02-17T18:18:00.001-08:00

I had no idea I had any official followers, but I guess I do. If you want to become an official follower of my blog, please click on the "Follow This Blog" next to my followers widget. Thanks, Sarah!

Stay with me on this path...

My First Socks!

2009-02-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

I am very proud and excited indeed to post my very first pair of socks! What fun they are too; bright coral and orange to perk up anyone on a cold February morning. These socks went to my good friend, Marjana, for her birthday. She said she loved them so I am very happy.

Many thanks to Pneuma for her guidance on knitting with sport-weight yarn and working out the gauge issue (always a problem for me). She was so very sweet and helpful when I threw her an email a while back. Pneuma, I am now ready to knit those hunting socks for my hubby after doing these! Of course, hunting season for him is already over, but now I have all year to knit up that birthday gift for him. Right?

My favorite part of these socks are the cheerful pom-poms on the ends. These aren't very functional (unless you are a tennis player) but Marjana wears comfy house shoes/socks in the winter so I thought I would add to her collection.

Stay tuned for more knitty goodness. I just can't keep away from the yarn lately. My sewing machine is getting a much-needed rest after the last big project.

Keeping on that path...

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-15T16:58:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone got the chance to celebrate their loved ones on Saturday. I know we sure did. We spent a whole day celebrating LOVE - we have so much in this family. Wishing you a love-ly 2009.

Stay on the path...

She said she doesn't want you here when she gets back because you've been ruining everybody's lives and eating all our steak.

2009-01-30T06:43:00.000-08:00

I really feel like that about my camera sometimes. It eats all my steak and makes me really angry. I try to get good shots and they end up blurry. I change the settings and the picture is no longer blurry but is dark, etc., etc. I even manually set the aperture and shutter speed to no avail. I miss important moments and I am hardly EVER in any of my own pictures as I am the only one who knows how to take pictures on this thing. Whenever I hand the camera over to someone else, I am blurry. Ugh. Grrr.

So much for a glorified point-n-shoot. Someday I'll have this camera. Or if God really opened up the floodgates: this one. As well as this one for other people to take pictures of ME with.

All that said, here are the pics I Photoshopped to death. Remember this post? I was working on a charcoal hat and I really think I had to undo that thing about four times before I got the gauge right. I am still not a master of gauge. Or apprentice even.

But hats are wonderfully quick and easy to knit - nothing like a full-size sweater or even one of those loooong scarves that just won't end. I have been going hat-less this winter for the most part because a few of my hats are outdated or lost and I just can't bring myself to buy one when I can very well make one!

This hat is Couvercle from Knitty. If you look at the picture from that website and compare it with mine, you'll notice that the brims are pretty different. I would LOVE to tell you how I modified it but the simple truth is this: I completely made it up as I went. It is supposed to be a crocheted brim and I don't really know how to crochet and what the crochet abbreviations mean. I was so eager to get this hat done that I just grabbed a crochet hook and stuck it in the hat and went for it. To my complete surprise, it worked. I could not duplicate it though.

I'm going to HAVE to learn how to crochet though. There are so many cute, cute toys on Ravelry that will be perfect for using up those half used balls of yarn from other projects. I love this yummy cupcake, and this little guy I'm going to make asap.

Ever since returning from Jackamo's house, I have also been sucking down the hot tea this winter. So, obviously I need one of these: Patty mug covers. I am reallying loving the moss stitch.

On the path...

And the Winner Is...

2009-01-28T12:08:00.000-08:00

G'G'MA, Congratulations! Oh, I am so very excited. It was very hard seeing all of your initials on the buttons, wondering who would be the recipient. I was very fair, putting you all in a mug, shaking you up Yahtzee-style, and then picking out the FIRST button my fingers touched. So, I am very happy to send over the Mint Chocolate bean bag and liner over to you, G'G'ma. Just email me at jennyem1(at)gmail(dot)com with your mailing info.

Of course, I'm finding that doing giveaways isn't quite as nice as I thought it would be. While I am very excited for the winner, I really have this huge urge to make EVERYONE a bean bag now, but I can't do that as I would be working forever. I love you all, but I guess not that much. I do plan on doing more giveaways though, so just keep in touch!

Stay on the path...

The Contest is Now Closed

2009-01-26T18:01:00.001-08:00

For those of you who put a comment on this post, congratulations! I am VERY excited for each and every one of you as I know you all and have visited your blogs as well. So, whoever wins this contest will just tickle me pink (or mint, as the case may be). It's a win/win for me.

Thank you, dear eFriends, for stopping by my blog once in a while and inspiring me with your blogs as well. Tune in for the winner ....

Stay on the path.

Again and Again...

2009-01-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are over, I am just super busy! Work is heating up, the temperature outside is way down, the to-do list is growing and I'm just one girl. I knock out ten of the items on my list in one day and there are 20 more to replace them. Do you feel that way? Hey people, it's after the holidays - isn't this supposed to be the slow time?

Since it is the coldest time of the year, hot soups are in order at our house. I whipped up this carrot soup this morning to have something warm for lunch. Very low fat and very yummy too - I didn't need to over-compensate with crackers on this one. Just some carrots, onions, chicken stock, salt, pepper, grated ginger and fat free sour cream. Dill for garnish. Very yum!

I'm feeling very homemaker-y and even going as far as making my own chicken stock this winter. Now that I'm into the soups and sauces mode, I find that I need more and more chicken stock. Why not make my own and save a couple of bucks? Just got off the phone with a friend and she gave me some tips on how she makes her most excellent stock - whole black peppercorns are included.

I have so much to post - especially about the wonderful holiday exchange gift that I received from my exchange partner, Kate. It was such a wonderful, well-thought out gift that I feel I need some time to really take some good pictures and write a good post to do it some sort of justice. Check out Kate's great photos on her Flickr site, HeyK8, and say hello. She's really nice.

I am also knitting like crazy this winter. It's not that I have a lot of time, but it's that I don't have a bunch of functional hats (I have a big head) and the fact that I have yarn already and am a knitter makes me feel that I shouldn't go out and purchase any knitting headgear. It seems sort of redundant. So I'm trying to figure out what the heck I did to this hat in moss stitch while watching a movie the other night. It wasn't that great of a movie, but apparently I was intent enough on it to really mess this sucker up. I may just go on with it and put a little bling over the area that just isn't working.

Another fun knit is the little dress below for miss Ava. I received a bunch of different colored yarns from my mom for Christmas and this is what I decided to do. A stripey dress is just the ticket to bring on an early spring, don't you think?

I have had to stop knitting my easy socks again, until I can get some direction on what I am doing with the heel. Bummer. I also had to stop knitting my son's striped sweater/pull over as I ran out of yarn. Sad! Now I'll have to shop for more yarn - always a burden I must bear. ;)

Stay on the path!

Win a Sweet Treat!

2009-01-12T10:33:00.000-08:00

After a crazy hectic couple of weeks, I am happily and gladly announcing my 100th posting Sweet Treat giveaway!

I realize that many, MANY bloggers enjoy giveaways from time to time to mark certain occasions or events, and they also use that contest to draw more readers. To be very honest, I've thought about a contest to do just that by having people put a cute icon on their blog or to invite 10 friends to leave a comment or to even have some clever contest that would involve creative writing or a video clip.

Well ... I'm not going to do that. These past 100 posts have been so much fun for me and through blogging, I've met some pretty amazing people. It's you (family, friends and e-friends) that read my blog simply for enjoyment or for an inspiration or two that I'd like to target with this contest. So keep it under wraps if you want to increase your chances of winning! ;)

I have seriously enjoyed blogging back and forth with all of you - visiting your websites and blogs, Flickr pages and favorite online shops. You all have given so many creative and fun ideas that my to-do list is seriously long and I my head is constantly whirring with projects and ideas. So, thank you!

THE RULES:
Simply leave me a comment to this post with a valid email address or a link to your blog so I can find you. If you and I already know each other through communications on this blog, just keep doing what you've been doing. I know where you are..

I will leave this contest open for about two weeks so that everyone will get a chance to see the contest and enter if they want. CLOSING DATE FOR THE SWEET TREAT CONTEST IS: JANUARY 26TH, 2009!

After the 26th, I will tally up all of the commenters from this post and put you all in a name jar and draw a winner.

THE PRIZE:
A hand-made, one-of-a-kind child size bean bag. This bean bag is approximately 32" in diameter when filled and is made of heavyweight, durable, machine-washable cotton. The heavyweight zipper is plastic, so please don't use an iron on this part. Included is the muslin insert that is also approximately 32" in diameter when filled.

BEAN FILLING IS NOT INCLUDED. Hey, I'm giving this away for free, so go find your own filler. (I found mine at my local grocery store believe it or not.)

I can not wait to see to who's home this little treat will go. I have a bean bag chair I made for my children and they just love it (mostly for rolling around and playing games with). These were so much fun to make and easily made out of small pieces of heavyweight fabric.

Good luck to everyone and thanks so much for stopping by. You are appreciated!

Stay on the path...

My Baby...

2009-01-02T07:56:00.000-08:00

My baby is now three. What a sweet little boy he has grown to be. He always has a hug and a kiss for his little sister every morning. He calls his daddy his best buddy. He loves yellow cars. He loves me.

I just adore this little man and am excited to see what he'll do in this new year.

On another note, I am very close to my 100th blog posting and would like to offer up a sweet treat as a giveaway! More details to come...

Stay on the path!

A Very Merry Christmas To You

2008-12-25T18:09:00.000-08:00

Stay on the path...

It's Finished!

2008-12-23T17:21:00.000-08:00

Oh, joy! This project has been on-again, off-again since May and I've finally given it to the recipients this past weekend. I also just finished it less than a week ago and couldn't wait to share.

I know that the girl in this pair loves blue and so do I, so finding fabric was very easy. In the beginning...

However, through trial and error, I found that I needed MORE blue fabric since I ran out. Fortunately, my trusty fabric store had a few of the patterns I already used still in stock. I made it work. You could never tell.

Thank you to everyone who inspired me to make this thing (example 1, example 2, example 3).
Thank you to all of those online tutorials and how-tos that gave me the courage to even try. Wow, this is starting to sound like an award-winning speech. So, on that note, I'll end with saying:

Stay on the path...

Favorite Friday - Etsy Pick

2008-12-12T12:48:00.001-08:00

One thing I love about shopping for the holidays is searching online for great handmade gifts - mostly on Etsy.com. I have been combing Etsy's vendors and wares for the perfect gifts for a lot of people and stumbled across this perfectly LOVELY shop:FreshlySkweezed.

Deb, who I am pretty sure is a glitter-lover and paperphile, runs this lovely shop and offers very cute, three-dimensional monogrammed notecards (among other printed items). She also seems like a very sweet gal, so check out her shop this weekend. If you order before December 15th, your items should arrive in time for Christmas!

Stay on the path...

Felt Hair Barrettes - A Tutorial

2008-12-10T11:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas is definitely upon us - only 15 days away! I, like most of you, have been way too busy with a pile of to-dos for this holiday. A scarflet to knit, a quilt to finish and MANY other items to bake, sew, knit, draw and stamp. Many apologies for not posting for almost a month!

I wanted to share with everyone a quick tutorial for a very fun and pretty stocking-stuffer: Felt Hair Barrettes. They are really very easy and very fun to make and since I love free guides and tutorials, I am posting this in the hopes that it might inspire.

Step 1: Supplies

There aren't very many supplies that you will need in order to make one of these barrettes - but it is very easy to build upon those supplies to create a wide variety of styles. The basics are: Felt squares (real wool or synthetic. I find that the synthetic goes through the punch machine easier), a glue gun, snap barrettes in varying sizes, decorative or plain buttons (1/2" or smaller), craft punch machine (I used a Sizzix - or you may cut our your decorations by hand), ribbon (5/8" width for the regular sized snaps and 3/8" width for the mini snaps), Fray Check, and a needle and thread.

Step 2: Cutting the Felt

If you have a punch machine, this makes cutting the shapes much easier and faster. But don't let that stop you! If you only need to make a few barrettes, just cut out the felt in simple shapes in varying sizes.

I used the Sizzix Sidekick machine with Cricut punches! I used the round flower cutouts in varying sizes in order to make the layers in my barrettes. Cut the felt down to the size of the punch (see picture) and run through the machine. Cut out enough sizes to make a few layers for the flower.

Step 3: Cutting the Ribbon

Okay, so now I have a nice assortment of flower shapes cut out and I want to choose a color scheme. I think I'm going to go with the pink and brown to match this pink and brown ribbon. I am going to use a mini-snap clip for this tutorial but will provide additional measurements for a regular snap clip as well.

Using the 3/8" wide ribbon (5/8" for the regular snap clip), cut approximately 3 " (approx. 4.5" for a regular snap clip) to cover your mini snap clip. Seal each end with Fray Check and set aside to dry.

Step 4: Assembling the Flower

While your ribbon sections are drying, heat up your glue gun and put together some layers of cut out felt to see how they look (this is important to do before you glue!). I am going to do a small brown flower on top of a larger pink flower. Just one dot of glue will hold, any more and the felt will be too saturated. I top off my flower with a little white silk flower, but you may also top yours off with a small button. If that is the case, sew the button on to the top (smallest) flower FIRST before gluing it to the larger flower.

Step 5: Assembling the Barrette

Okay, my flower is glued and ready (see it up there in the top left corner?) and I've set it aside to dry. Now, back to the ribbon we sealed with our Fray Check. It should be dry by now so take your glue gun and put a dot of glue on one end of the ribbon. Lay the top edge of the clip onto the glue, leaving about 1/4" of ribbon to fold over. Immediately fold over the tip of the ribbon onto the other side of the clip (see top clip already glued), using the additional glue from your initial dot to seal the sides. I only suggest using one dot of glue for each end so the barrette will not be oozing with glue out the side of the ribbon!

Now, on the end of your clip where the three holes are, place a small dot of glue and bring your ribbon along the top of the clip, pushing it into the glue and guiding the ribbon along to the underside, pushing it into the glue on the other side (your glue should have come through the three holes to give you adhesive on both sides). Please be sure to guide your ribbon into the curve of the clip before you guide it into the glue on the other end so that you will leave enough room for the clip to close once you've lined it with ribbon.

CAUTION: You do not want much glue on this end of the clip. If there is too much glue on the end of the clip where it snaps, the glue will act as a block to the clip and your barrette will not close or will not hold very well.

Finally, put a dot of glue about 1/8" away from the end and fold it over the bottom tip of the clip and seal the folded edges.

Okay, this is what your clip should look like. NOTE: there is no glue on the top middle or bottom middle portions. This allows the clip to close and open easily. Test your clip!

Step 6: Finishing

Glue your flower onto the back end of the barrette, leaving the two tips of the barrette open (see photo).

You are finished! Congratulations on your first felt hair barrette. Now go make some more!

Stay on the path.

CMP: Holiday Gift Guide

2008-11-20T07:49:00.001-08:00

Have you ever visited a website called Cool Mom Picks? I'm sure most of you have, but if not, please buzz on over there for some great tips and wonderful giveaways. I even won a custom onesie from one of their featured stores for Ava when she was born. Fun!

Now CMP has a holiday gift guide with some featured online stores that you can find in my sidebar. Visit the guide, download the buttons and place them on your blog. When you email CMP your blog website and they see the buttons, you will be placed in a drawing for 2, yes 2 $250 gift certificates from each store at the end of the year.

Ya can't beat that. So get on over to CMP and have some click-y fun today.

Stay on the path...

Mid-Week Lift

2008-11-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

This one gets me every time especially during the credits when the alarm goes off. Enjoy.

Stay on the path.

Duce, or Maybe Three Times Over

2008-11-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

I just can't seem to keep up with my posts these days. As the holidays approach (evidenced by Christmas music and holiday decorations in the stores ALREADY), I find that many, many things get away from me all too quickly. I am trying my best to live in the moment as my sweet, baby Ava took her first walk to the kitchen this morning. She has been taking steps here and there but just wandered off in her drunken sailor march all the way from the living room to the kitchen glass door to watch the birds outside. Sigh.

I have also decided to try more cookie recipes from my Cookie Cookbook from the Amana Church Society Guild cookbook given to me by Anne Marie.

This is a spiral bound book full of nothing but cookie recipes. I only have a few absolute favorites and I want to expand my repertoire. Experimentation has its high price: cookie consumption.

Right now, these are my absolute favorite cookies out of this book (and they ARE NOT chocolate - gasp!). Perfect with a hot cuppa tea or just shoving into your mouth when you really opened the fridge to get out the milk...

Duce Cookies
Christmas Cookie Walk Collection - Amana Church Society
Contributed by Tina Prusha

1 cup butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 T granulated sugar
4 oz finely chopped nuts
Jam (I prefer orange marmalade but the strawberry preserves were great too)
Confectioners sugar

Mix together butter, flour, granulated sugar and nuts. Roll on floured board to 1/4-inch thickness. Use small round cookie cutter (I used a 1.25" for smaller cookies) to cut the dough. Bake at 250 to 325 (I used 300 but ovens may vary) for approx. 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned (I just baked until they set) but not too brown. Cool and spread favorite jam between two cookies to make a sandwich. Roll in confectioners sugar. Try to avoid eating them as you finish rolling them.

Okay, so on the healthy side of things, I have recently been going back to Japanese green sencha tea and to make it more official, I've finally gotten my teapot and tea cups I scored in Nagoya off of my shelf and washed them out.

Green tea tastes SO much better in this stuff.

After frogging this sweater start THREE times, I have finally come up with a combination of needles and cast-on amount that I think will finally work. It is supposed to be a sweater for Chandler and I hope to get it done before the cold weather is over! After that, I'm on to a sweater for Ava and possibly a hat for myself, socks for my husband. And maybe a hand massage...

Stay on the path!

Whatnot

2008-11-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

Tis' the season for time to fly. After my last post, I headed out for an out of town business trip, an out of town concert (and to see a family member in that concert) and then finally unpacking (although my suitcase is still in the upstairs hallway) and some crafting...

I started a hat for Channy a while back with the thought that it would be yellow (his favorite color) and with some earflaps and ties. I wasn't sure if he would wear the hat since he's pretty particular about fashion (i.e. he demands to wear only a few items for reasons unknown).

Once I presented him with the hat in a nonchalant way, he immediately put it on his head and wore it all weekend (be still my heart!) and protested when I took it back to make a few adjustments. This is his favorite hat!

I am still trying to finish up my quilt(s), and a toddler sweater but I am not even thinking about Christmas and birthday presents - yikes!

Back on the path...

Back in the Saddle

2008-10-16T05:34:00.001-07:00

What a whirlwind of weeks. After my last post, I prepared to head out for my "Finally People Can Safely Label Me As Certifiable" road trip. It was around 740 miles one way and we played this song a lot. This very much provided the perfect theme song to our trip.

Our first stop was in Louisville, Kentucky to visit my brother and his family. Much fun was had by all. The big day was spent at the pumpkin farm where I had to do some fancy illusion tricks to get my son to forget about his very large pumpkin and opt for a small gourd instead. Ava, as usual, loved everything.

Second stop was in Nashville, Tennessee to visit my brother-in-law and his wife. How cool of an aunt and uncle are they? My kids arrived there to presents and playing and lots of fun. Ava started crawling at my brother's house and perfected her technique here. She also perfected her pulling up and cruising technique. (Oh well, no time like the present, right?)

We spent some wonderful play time at the dragon park where the kids got to stretch their legs and run around and play. For October, this afternoon was very warm and Chandler requested to have his shirt off - which I granted.

Third stop was to an undisclosed location south of Nashville to visit friend, Jackamo and her family. Jack and I have been friends since college and haven't seen each other in three years. She's NEVER met my kids! Sad, I know. This was the main point of my whole road trip. We always email each other and sometimes will call to chat, and our conversations always ended in a You really need to come and visit me, on both sides, knowing that was an empty request but asking it anyway to show our affection for each other and the desire to see each other again.

Jack and I had a conversation like this in September and I thought about it and had a sort of awakening. Why not go visit? My husband was about to embark on a ten day quest to find the big one on October 1st, my kids were still in diapers but on a very easy schedule (i.e. good naps and no bathroom stops). Well, Chandler is in the midst of potty training but only demands to be changed if he goes #2. So ... why not?

It was so good to hang out with Jack and her family. They were very gracious and the best hosts. I enjoyed MANY cups of tea as Jack is an excellent tea brewer and has a lot of fun teas that don't necessarily come from the grocery store aisle next to the instant coffee. (See her recommendations on the sidebar of this blog.) Of course, each cup of tea was accompanied by a shortbread or carb-y/sugar-y concoction of some sort. VERY yummy.

The kiddos were off-schedule and tired and cranky sometimes, but were SUPER troopers for being ages one and two. It was so much fun just to pack up and go. I have always had an "I Can Do" attitude which has sort of gotten me into trouble in the past (note to self: never assume - especially when using the parental car). I never want to just say "I wish I could" and never actually do. So, when I felt that I was in a good spot ... I did. I definitely don't want to say years from now, that I wish I visited my friends more often.

Finally, we traveled back up to Lexington, Kentucky to stay the night with my other brother and his wife in their new home. They've only been married two weeks and are still trying to settle into their new home and they were the most gracious hosts. They picked up an extra box of crackers (I had finally run out on our journey) set up an extra pack and play and had everything ready for us.

By this time, we were exhausted but Chandler still had tons of fun in the park and he is totally in love with Aunt Katie so time with her was the best. He, Kyle and Katie spent Saturday morning at the local park while Ava and I ate and re-packed the car for our final leg home.

We finally made it after 7 days of traveling and we had so much fun. There was a lot of excitement when we finally pulled in our driveway and Ava squealed at the sight of Daddy and touched his nose.

I would do it again. Not any time soon but I would do it again for the fun, the experience and to keep my friendships going. Does that inspire you? Shall I quote that NIKE commercial that won't go away? Okay, I won't.

I did do some knitting while I was at Jackamo's house believe it or not. While we caught up in the evenings, I made two of these washcloths for her boys. I'm telling you, if you haven't tried them, you really should. They are so easy to whip out after you get the hang of the loop stitch and so cute as a gift. So yes, some crafting was still going on. Jackamo is an expert a this apron and hopefully she'll post an official picture of it someday.

Whew! I came home to the arrival of my new Knit Picks Shine Worsted yarn - a whole bag of it! I am now finishing up an earflap hat for Channy and will start on some sweaters for the kids after that. Will keep you posted.

In the meantime...

Stay on the path.

Okay, No Mid-Week Lift

2008-10-02T16:58:00.001-07:00

It was really weird this week. There are lots of good stories out there, but I'm just looking for a laugh; a lift. Not anything too heavy or preachy, you know? Anyway, I came across a headline that made me laugh ... until I read the story. A man in Peru tried to go through the airport security with 100 birds. Isn't that funny? Can you just imagine a little old man trailing along a bunch of bird cages behind him wondering why on earth people are giving him such a hard time about some birds? Well, that story didn't turn out that way. Let's just say he was more of a smuggler and some of the birdies didn't make it. Ugh.

So, it's no longer mid-week but as the weekend approaches, here are some fun jokes to share with your kids:

What do you call a deer with no eyes?
No ideer.

Why do gorillas have big fingers?
Because they have large nostrils.

Why do cows wear bells?
Because their horns don't work.

Why do hummingbirds hum?
Because they can't remember the words.

Why do birds fly south for the winter?
Because it's too far to walk.

What do you call a boomerang that doesn't work?
A stick.

If you're Canadian in the kitchen and American in the living room, what are you in the bathroom?
European.
(This is a favorite of my nephew's! Of course, his aunt taught him that one.)

Sigh. Sorry people.

On the knitting front, I decided to try and make a yellow and orange hat for my son, Chandler, and that really didn't work out! The weight of the yarn was too small (it said sport weight but was closer to fingering it turns out) and it ended up looking more like a prison cap than a cute, striped hat. Soooo, I'm thinking of turning that into some fun socks for Chandler and Ava.

I am ordering some more of that super-yummy yarn, KnitPicks Shine worsted weight. It is hands down the best value and the prettiest yarn I've found. I still buy from my lys once in a while but I can't get over the prettiness of the Shine Sport and Shine Worsted. Love it. I'm thinking of making a couple of BETTER winter hats and a sweater or two. Better limber up those fingers!

And now, I had better get moving. I am preparing to go on a MASSIVE road trip with my two little ones tomorrow. This should be interesting ... but also fun! We plan on visiting friends and family. Happy days! Unfortunately, I'll be driving so I can't knit during the trip. Argh. When will they come out with auto-pilot? Work on that, Detroit!

Stay on the path...

Works for Me Wednesday

2008-10-01T06:40:00.001-07:00

I actually have another Wednesday tip to share although it's definitely not earth-shattering. However, I really hope this may give one or two of you an ah-ha moment and it will definitely help free up space in your pantry.

With my carb-loving toddlers, I find that my cupboards are full of half-eaten, half-empty boxes of crackers, pretzels, cereal and grahams. I went out and bought a couple of packs of raisins (some yogurt covered) or you could add non-carb things like small M&Ms or dried fruit.

I dumped all of my open boxes of cereals, grahams, crackers and snacks into an oversize, plastic zipper bag along with my raisins and shook it all around. Voila! Mommy's super, extra-special trail mix. My babies love this mix as it is always changing (depending upon what I have on hand) and they can pick out what interests them one at a time when I dole this out to them in small snack-size baggies or cups. It's especially great on long trips when you need a snack and you don't want to bring a ton of boxes or bags. Just bring along one BIG bag of trail mix!

Now that I made more space in my cupboards, I can put the rest of my groceries away.

On the path...

FOs - Avita Revisited...

2008-09-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

I finished the Avita camisole quite a while ago but haven't had the chance to share it as an official FO on my little model. You can find the pattern here. Saturday was cool and pleasant and we decided to spend some family time at various parks around town.

Ava was so interested in every plant I plunked her down by that I was able to actually get a few good photos of the top before she tried scooting away.

The plants at this botanical garden are beautiful and I have decided to start recording the ones I love for future garden ideas. I kept seeing these little trees all over the place and couldn't get over their bonsai-like shape and the bright bursts of color by their flowers - great color for the fall weather. Here's the picture:

And here's the name:

I have never heard of these before but then again, I am no botanist - or avid gardner. Yet. I'm just storing these ideas away for future reference.

Oh, and on another note, I had a great surprise when I went shopping the other day. I found this fizzy drink that I practically downed at every festival I attended when I was in Japan about ten years ago. At the time, I had no idea what their names where but would see them being peddled on the street by vendors with huge buckets of ice with each light blue bottle nestled down into the ice just waiting for me. I loved these things and I just remember calling them the marble drinks and would grab a couple when I would be at a festival with a steaming hot street-fare dish and a gigantic thirst. The vendors always had what looked like an oversized hole punch or well pump handle. When I would buy one, the vendor would place the bottle underneath the hole punch/well pump thingy and it would blast the marble that was sealing the drink, down into the neck of the bottle. The drink was fruity and full of sugar, I'm sure, but I loved them.

So imagine my happiness when I found them on a little display shelf when I was checking out at World Market. I am surprised I haven't seen these before when visiting our local Asian market, but I didn't so this was a nice surprise.

I decided to enjoy the drink with the last of the year's herbs. I'm slowly cutting them all, trying to use them up before the weather turns cooler.

On the path...

Meow (Hiss hiss...)

2008-09-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

I am done with Ava's Kitty Hat and it is SO cute I just can't stand it. I got the pattern from this book and made a few modifications as the hat seemed like it was going to be too big for her. I love the easy way the pattern had me put on the earflaps and the ears of the kitty. I'm going to have to try that same technique with a hat for Chandler.

The only problem is: Ava hates hats. It's a good thing I knitted some long i-cords for this hat so I can tie it under her chin - something that made her pretty mad. (hiss! hiss!)

She can shout about it all she wants, but I'm sure she'll find out soon enough that you can't go through a Michigan winter without a good hat. Even better if it's a berry-colored kitty...

On the path...

Your Mid-Week Lift...

2008-09-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

Em over at Em and the Gang sent in the VERY FIRST Mid-Week Lift submission and I thank her very much. This idea is so simple and so great! When we think of making things, we think of having to actually creating something like a dress, a painting or a bookshelf. But, making things can be expanded to almost anything. These videos help you think out of the box.

Let's start with the first video that inspired the video submitted for the MWL:

Cool, huh? Here's the video Em submitted. It is so FUN and inspiring. It reminds me of all those times all the families in my neighborhood where I grew up would hang out outside at dusk, talking, playing and making fun...

Wow! Who knew so many people would come together to make stuff? Isn't that what we creative bloggers are doing? I love the crafty/creative online community here. Let's keep sharing and inspiring.

Thanks, Em!

On the path...

Wedding Weekend

2008-09-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

The wedding is over but Chandler keeps asking, "Where did the wedding go?"

We had so much fun and my little boy looked achingly adorable in his little tux. As the wedding was outdoors, he was in stick heaven. Luckily, he didn't pick up any sticks while walking down the aisle.

Back on the path...

Whew!

2008-09-15T14:39:00.000-07:00

What a weekend! And I feel like it hasn't stopped. I've been trying to knit, finish a dress for Ava to wear at my brother's upcoming wedding, WORK, and personal design favors for family. Whew! All while trying to walk a little girl around the house constantly and dealing with some early-on troublesome 3s.

By the way, can anyone out there tell me that there is a light at the end of this tantrum tunnel? Or could anyone just lie to me? I am totally beat.

Okay, as promised, here is the LOVELY apron-swap apron that I received from Kathi. I took the photo today, all dishevled and crazy from my morning with the kids - but even then, doesn't an apron hide all that messiness with a little bit of glam?

Thanks, Kathi, for the FAB apron and even better recipe for chocolate silk pie. It sounds so good, and I am planning on making it for the next time we have company over for dinner.

Hopefully I'll have some more crafty photos for you this week!

Stay on the path...

Your Mid-Week Lift...

2008-09-10T16:34:00.001-07:00

Okay, it's still Wednesday so it's the center of the week. I just had to share this with everyone - you never know when you might get a small surprise (but I'd be worried if this showed up in your Subway sandwich):

Oyster lunch yields 26 pearls for Lebanese couple

By Associated Press
BASSEM MROUE
Updated: 9/10/2008

BEIRUT, Lebanon

Lebanese restaurant owner Raymond Salha and his wife were having oysters for lunch when she made a stunning discovery — a cluster of 26 pearls inside an oyster on her plate.

The find 10 days ago at his Al-Fanar Restaurant in the southern port city of Tyre was a ''total surprise,'' Salha told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

It was one of about 200 oysters they had cooked that day at the restaurant. As his wife opened the shell, she let out a gasp and said, ''Look at this oyster, there are lots of pearls in it,'' Salha recounted.

The couple immediately believed the pearls were valuable, so Salha called the city's maritime museum which sent a team that took the oyster — and the pearls still inside it — away for testing.

At the museum, Salha said officials later told him they counted ''only'' 25 pearls. He insisted however, that he and his wife Amal counted a total of 26 pearls of varying sizes inside the oyster, some very small.

A few days later, the oyster was preserved and returned by the museum, along with the pearls. Salha, who insists the oyster still contains 26 pearls, plans to keep it on display at his restaurant.

Oysters fished off the Lebanese coast are regularly on the restaurant's menu in the summer, but Salha and his wife had never seen anything like this find. Once, long ago, they found a single pearl while opening an oyster.

Although the pearls are not believed to be worth a lot of money, Salha says their importance is in the sheer number found inside a single shell.

Oysters from the Lebanese waters of the Mediterranean are of a different variety than those usually served in European restaurants, which are larger in size.

Salha said he buys a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of oysters for about US$10 from the fishermen during oyster season between August and October.

He showed the oyster on Wednesday to reporters and visitors, and later placed it on a shelf on the restaurant wall, covering it with a cloth for protection.

Asked whether he plans to get in touch with The Guinness Book of Records about the discovery, Salha said not for now.

''If they read about it and find that it is a record, then they can come and record it themselves,'' he said.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

******************

Stay on that path...

Happy Apron Day

2008-09-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

So, I've been waiting to share this apron with you since it was supposed to be a surprise for my swap partner. But it's posted on her blog now so I think it's okay that I share!

This apron was so much fun to make and turned out so great that my husband questioned whether or not I could let it go. But I was completely fine mailing it out to my swap-ee because I KNEW that I was getting an equally fun, if not better, apron in the mail from my swap-er.

Oh, and in other news: I joined Facebook.

I can't believe it did that - since it is yet another complete time-suck (Ravelry members will know what I mean) but I'm excited about it and am finding old school chums that I'm hoping to reconnect with. Especially the ones from grade school - I can't believe I found them!

On the path... (on too many paths?)

Miss Figgy

2008-09-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

I saw some fresh figs in the produce section yesterday and bought them on a whim, thinking that I would make Lidia's gorgeous fig upside down cake.

However, I could not find that recipe on her website, her blog, or her cookbooks (I even went to the library!). Oh well. I still love her.

So I went online (hey, I had a fridge full of figs at this point) and found this tasty and easy recipe by Emeril. Try it! It was a hit with everyone (except the kid who refused to eat his peas - no dessert).

Ugh - Losing My Mind

2008-09-02T13:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I was so darn excited to pack up and ship off my Fall Apron Swap apron last week that I forgot to send my note and my oven mitt too! Sorry to my swap-ee, who is now a jilted swapper. I have them all packed up and will send them out in the mail tomorrow. Bummer!

But I hope you did get your apron in the mail. I got mine yesterday and will have pictures up soon. Thank you, Kathi! My oh-so-cool chocolate brown patterned apron came with an equally exciting recipe for chocolate pie! I will have to make it and testify to it's goodness.

Legwarmies - Done!

2008-08-28T09:56:00.001-07:00

These are so cute and so easy, you should really try some legwarmies yourself!

Have a great Thursday and stay on that path!

Works for Me Wednesday

2008-08-27T08:02:00.001-07:00

I've been reading Rocks in My Dryer for a long time, but have never participated in Works for Me Wednesday. So, here goes...

I've posted about this before but this activity is OFTEN requested (demanded) in our house. I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 year old, so I find that most crafts and activities are very short-lived, or just too complicated for a boy with the attention span of a fruit fly and a little girl who likes to lick things and then throw them.

One thing that my son will play, for a long time, is BEANS. He loves to play with dried lima beans. The beans are the perfect size for pouring, sorting, stirring, lining up and shaking. They are too big for ears, nostrils, and your baby sister's nostrils.

We love the beans so much that I use them as a special treat at the end of a long day. Perhaps I have a future accountant on my hands?

Head on over to Shannon's blog to pick up more helpful tips.

Stay on the path...

Mid-Week Lift

2008-08-26T09:53:00.001-07:00

I can't stop watching this. For those of you who happen to be in my line of work - this is even more hilarious!

A WORD TO YOU MOMS - TWO SWEAR WORDS FROM THE OLD GUYS. Cover the appropriate ears. Who knew those fonts could be so crotchety?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Have a good Tuesday! Stay on that path...

Time Travel

2008-08-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

I received the best package in the mail! It was truly bittersweet as the package came from one of my best friends, Anne Marie (AMK - pronounced "Aym-kuh"). AMK and I met in college; I was a transfer and we were both sophomores at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. She was the very first real friend I made there and is pretty much the reason why I didn't go running back north during my first semester.

Back to the story: years ago, before I got married, our group of friends from Samford (mostly the girls I roomed with and that circle of friends) converged from all over the US to get together in Cincinnati (my home at the time). We had so much fun together we vowed to do it again. But, as you know, kids and jobs and other commitments got in the way. And in some cases, our bellies.

This summer, everyone decided that they should get together again - at our alma mater in Birmingham. Sadly, I couldn't work out a way to go; coming from Michigan down to Samford for one weekend driving just wouldn't work. It would take me almost a weekend to just get there. Flying didn't work either as my accumulated miles wouldn't get me a ticket that weekend. So, I am sad to say that I was the only one M.I.A. that weekend (Aug 1-2).

Being the good friend that she is, AMK got me some coffee from our fave coffee shop in college: O'Henry's. O'Henry's was the place where AMK learned to love coffee and where we would go for the best lattes and cappuccinos and a little live music. Sigh. She called and said that she wanted to get me a little souvenir from the trip. So, my plan is to brew some O'Henry's coffee, put on some 80s and 90s tunes and page through my photo albums...

While I do that, here is a little biography about my friendship with AMK (and the rest of the Bodacious Babes of Suite B ... and friends).

Anne Marie and I met at Samford during my very first semester there. We were in a dance troupe after failing to get into any of the other groups we auditioned for, we ended up being the two least enthusiastic dancers in the troupe. Well, it was something to do anyway...

NO! It wasn't THAT kind of dancing. Would you believe that this was our normal university attire? No? Well, we also participated in some campus singing/dancing competitions that required us to dress up in some clearly questionable outfits. Firey genie-like backup singer (me) meets 80s hair cave woman (AMK). Nice!

We quickly found out that we lived in the same dorm and would hang out on Sundays and watch movies in each other's room and usually take long Sunday naps. That is one thing that we both got so excited about on Sunday, crawling back into our jammies after lunch and snoozing for hours. Bliss...

The very next year, we became roommates and lived in this dorm:

His name was Ralph. Yep. We lived in a dorm with the word RALPH carved over the entryway. Nothing else. Just Ralph. Seriously.

We had some pretty fun suitemates in that dorm. It started out with Maggie and Jodi and then turned into Jodi and Christy. To round out the group, we had TaniaandChristy (yes, they were best friends, always together and thus, one name back in those days). TaniaandChristy (now, Tania and Christy) would have movie nights in their room and later, at their apartment, they would throw the best Halloween parties with good food and fun games.

Here is everyone (except Christy the suitemate - where are you Christy?)

Incidentally, Maggie is a very talented gal who, in this picture, is balancing that picture frame on her head to entertain us while we wait to be seated.

Oh, here's a picture with Christy the suite mate:

AMK and I were so close (and still are) that we would sometimes pose as one another at parties. I went as Anne Marie to her Sociology party when she couldn't make it that year. I wasn't a Sociology major nor was I a member of the Sociology club. But I went anyway, pouf-ing up my hair and donning her signature Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt. No one could even tell.

Here we are on our first day of our senior year. We decided to do "First day of school" pics like we did through grade school.

Can you tell which one I am? I think the red cast gives me away. ;)

We vowed to be roommates again after college, picking a place on the map and just up and moving there. We planned on living and working together and having fun as single girls in a big city. But AMK changed all that by getting married; couldn't be helped. So AMK became AMKT (for Trammell), but I couldn't get used to adding the T sound to the end of Aym-kuh. Hard enough.

I was the maid of honor at her wedding and it was so beautiful! She was the matron of honor at my wedding. We just had our babies two weeks apart last summer and I have yet to see Cooper, but when I do, he's in trouble! I'm going to smother him with kisses and hugs.

I am so sad that I missed the girls' weekend, but I plan on being there next time...

On the path...

I AM...

2008-08-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

Take the Quiz here!

I mean, honestly, why does everyone act so silly?

She is the reason why I started reading all things Austen! Thanks, Troye, for sharing this on your blog.

On the path...

Let the Crumbs Fall Where They May

2008-08-20T07:02:00.000-07:00

A Visual Journey...
Before the kids got up this morning, I could swear that the house was mostly crumb-free...

M'kay. Excuse me while I go shake out my pants and shoes...

On the path...

FO - Avita!

2008-08-19T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am finished with my Avita pattern and am finally blocking it. It will be so cute on Ava in the fall as a tunic and next summer as a tank top!

I am also working on the second legwarmie to make a pair. I'm trying to use up my leftover yarn and I think that she's going to look like a candy cane with these. I am loving the off white with the cherry red though, and am thinking hats...

After struggling with the beautiful, bright patterns and the rules of 1)Fall, 2)Sturdy; I have finally come up with an idea and some fun yet in the fall category of fabric for my apron swap. It's all washed and ready to be cut. Sorry, I can't show this yet on my blog as my partner may be checking every now and then to see if I slip up.

Stay on the path!

Mommy and Me Morning

2008-08-15T04:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning, I decided that my boy and I needed some one on one time. So, after dropping baby sister off at daycare, we headed out to Panera for a muffin and chocolate milk (Chandler) and a coffee and bagel (Me). He was such a little man, ordering his muffin and choosing a place to sit. I think I most enjoyed our conversation as we sat and talked about the various people in the restaurant and the cars going by outside.

Then we headed off to a farm for some fresh produce and some u-pick. Sadly, there was no u-pick option but we did get some lovely sunflowers and a lot of great veggies dirt cheap.

A little green grasshopper distracted us in the parking lot and we followed it to a barn and some cows. We even got to pet a chicken! I think that was the highlight of his morning.

Afterwards it was off to exploring and story time at the Children's Garden. We had so much fun just being together and talking in the car. I can't wait for another date with my boy.

On the path...

August!

2008-08-13T08:01:00.001-07:00

Isn't August supposed to be The Dog Days? Well, I guess I can't complain about the 70-80 degree weather, but some mornings we've had to break out the sweatshirts around here. So, that means that my tomatoes are still green! Okay, for those of you that think that Michigan is so cold that we can't even grow vegetables, don't worry. I'm growing them in pots which makes them go a little slower but the cool weather and lack of sun has made them very sleepy.

The above picture is about how far my basil has grown since May! I expected them to be as tall as trees by now, but they are only little guys. I am glad, then, that I planted so many! I'm hoping for a warmer, pesto-laden fall. My little tomatoes are still green, but I'm still hopeful. I'll keep everyone posted (as I browse your blogs with harvest tables full to bursting - grrr).

I am ready to block my toddler tunic! I'll send a picture as soon as I get her blocked. I am very excited. I bought enough pretty red yarn for a long dress, but we all know how that turned out. Sigh. So I have some leftover yarn that I'll turn into these ultra-cute legwarmies. Give it a try if you have some small ones to knit for!

New on the store-front: I've added red, white and blue to my cache of barrettes. My friend, Em, suggested that I add those colors because a lot of private schools use those colors in their uniforms and how great is it to color-coordinate? Thanks, Em! So I whipped up these lovelies for her darling daughter, Taylor Anne. I hope you like them, T.A.! Thanks again, Em. I'll be posting a set of these guys on my store site next week.

New on the kid-front: frozen monsters! I went garage sale-ing last weekend and ran into a really cool mom and her boys who shared with me the fun activity of freezing small animals/insects/dinosaurs in an ice cube tray. The PERFECT toy for bath time, swim time ... anytime! Chandler had such a great time watching the ice melt in the bath last night. Of course, the downside is that fits are thrown when it's time to put the Ice Age animals away and go to bed. Such is life.

And I have been loving the iced coffees this summer. Recipe courtesy of my uber-creative and fun SIL:

You can find the recipe here.

Oh, and for your Mid-Week Lift:

Did that make you smile?

Stay on the path...

A Good Weekend

2008-07-28T12:57:00.000-07:00

Did you have a good weekend? I had work to do but somehow, it just didn't get done. There was too much fun to be had with the family (and the kids didn't want to go to sleep at night!).

We had fun exploring the Children's Garden on the Michigan State campus and getting very dirty in the process. Well, what's fun without dirt, right?

We also stumbled upon the preparations for an outdoor wedding - someone had a beautiful wedding day! I only wish we could have stayed long enough to spy the bride.

I hope you had a great weekend too...

On the path.

Show Your Spirit

2008-07-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

I am so pleased to finally reveal a small project I've been working on, planning for and losing sleep over: College Sweethearts!

I have been crazy over the felt hair barette craze and bought quite a few before I decided to finally sit down and try to make some myself. After trial and error, I think I finally have come up with a high-quality formula that turns out the best hair pretties, and they are so much fun to make.

I grew up in a family that was crazy over college sports, I lived in a town that had a specific color scheme, I married a college sports-lover and now live in a college town. So, it was pretty easy to come up with this formula.

I love the fact that I can get T-shirts and outfits for my little ones to show their school spirit, but I haven't been able to find cute enough hair clips that will actually stay in my daughter's hair. So, I came up with these:

And these:

And these:

And then I opened up shop at bigcartel.com:

As you can see, I only have green and white in the shop right now. That is because I am only allowed to show five items at a time in my current status as a Big Cartel shopkeeper. If my business grows, I will be able to post more clips to the site. Don't worry! As soon as one set sells, I will immediately post another set to take its place.

Please don't fret if you are not a green and white fan, I plan on branching out very soon and adding all the Big Ten schools to my site. If all goes well, I will branch out into some SEC schools and go from there.

So, if you have any thoughts or advice, I would gladly take some (please be nice - I'm highly excitable since I am low on sleep). I would also gladly take some free advertising! So, if you know someone who might be interested, please direct them to my shop or email me at jennyem1atgmaildotcom.

On the path...

Your Mid-Week Lift...

2008-07-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

So, I don't have any happy NEWS exactly, but I do have a couple of cute videos to share with you. So, as I do most of my work on a mac and yes, most of my work is done in graphics programs, this is what my day feels like (again and again and again...):

Only, I'm not singing in Quicktime to myself.

This little cutie was sent over by my very good best friend Nikki (a.k.a Jackamo). This is the exact tune that runs through my head and I catch myself humming during meetings that last more than two hours:

Mnah, mnah! Have a good Wednesday.

Stay on that path...

Honored

2008-07-21T05:20:00.000-07:00

Wow - what a surprise to wake up this morning and find I've been given an award! Em, over at Em and the Gang, handed out an award to some bloggers and I was on her list - I made the list! Thanks, Em. You are such a great virtual friend.

Isn't that how it is here in blog-land? Em and I are virtual friends because we live so far apart (Her NC to my MI), which is too bad, really because I feel like we could be actual friends too. She's a super-mommy that is super crafty and creative as well. She not only went through the first round of the Quilt-A-Long but is now well-embroiled into Round II (the star quilt), doing summer lessons with her kids, traveling with her family, crafting as always, and finding time to blog as well as trying to pass legislation on allowing backyard chickens in her home town!

Check out her ETG blog as well as her new Chicken blog. It will make you want to have some in your back yard...

On the path.

I'm Back!

2008-07-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

Honestly, was I going to go a whole month without a blog post? I was very worried for a little while that might just happen. So, unfortunately summer is my absolute busiest time for work and even though I still tried to do some crafting for sanity, I really didn't get much done around here other than work. AND I mean WORK! Wow. What a whirlwind. I worked all day and started up again in the evening. A couple of times I actually had to work until 5 or 6 in the morning! Seriously. Ugh.

Well, enough of that. I can't cry about it because I got paid and anyway, I feel much better now that I have a few big projects all packed up and sent away. Yea! So I'm back in blog-land and feeling good. Shall we start?

Ava, my dear, sweet girl with the screech that could rival the tornado siren here in town, turned one on July 12th. It was so much fun and we all had a good time. As always, the baby dolls are invited to the party.

Here is the birthday girl with her proud mama:

Things are finally starting to bloom and flourish around here. June was such a weird month with hardly any sun, cooler days and lots of rain. Which is good, but when it's not followed by some hot sun, the plants go into hibernation. My veggies in pots are doing that now.

And yes, I have been knitting! Alas, it turns out that Debbie and I can no longer see each other. Remember the ill-fated toddler hoodie? Well, that was from this book by Debbie Bliss. I remember being so excited when I swiped it from the Barnes and Noble shelf, lapping up all of the beautiful pictures and planning my knitting for the next two years. Ah, no more.

I really wanted it to work out. Debbie and I seemed like we would get along so well! Remember this dress I was working on? Well, it turns out that when I finally got to the part where you normally just knit the armholes and finish off the straps the pattern directions really got all wonky. Deb had to be difficult. Even the OWNER of my lys couldn't figure the pattern out for me. Sadly, we have to break up. It's time. I found a new pattern for a cute girl's tank top. And this is what is happening to that stupid dress back:

And finally, FINALLY, today I got to do some baking. My sweet hubby is grilling some great burgers tomorrow so I made up some loaves of french bread (my first try) for the sandwiches. Yum! Apparently, I need to use a sharper blade for the slits - oh well.

I also bought these lovelies at the farmer's market. Aren't they pretty?

So often I will buy something at the FM just because it is so pretty and then I'll figure out what to do with it later. I found a fabulous recipe for Red Currant Pie. So good!

I am also trying to finish a quilt as a gift for someone who loves blue. It's almost halfway there...

I ALSO joined the Sassy Apron Swap for fall. I'm very excited - this will be my first swap! I love aprons and the thought of having someone make me one is so exciting. I can only hope that mine will be as good as theirs. Sign up is still open until July 25th so hurry up and get on the list! Maybe you and I will be swap partners?

I ALSO also (tired of the "alsos" yet?) finished off another bean bag for my shop. See my sidebar for details. Whew!

I'm back on the path!

Bath Mat DIY

2008-06-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

Have you ever checked out the helpful how-to videos over at the ThreadBanger blog and website? I've been a fan for quite a while but now I think I need to spread some ThreadBanger love. Over at their site you can find this video about how to recycle your old bath towels into a great bath mat (perfect for the family bathrooms that get a lot of traffic). That way, you don't have to feel bad about keeping old towels (I know you have a yen for those Egyptian cotton towels from the Martha Stewart collection at Macy's), or just throwing them away. This might also be a great way to make a cute rug for a kids room if you have a ton of extra baby blankets (I know we do!).

Okay, two posts in one day! I'm definitely on the path now...

Success ... Maybe Not.

2008-06-26T06:22:00.000-07:00

"Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence." - Abigail Adams

Abigail had five children (gave birth to six). Do you think that she could be talking about potty training in the above quote? Possibly. Well, it went so well on Tuesday morning before Chandler's nap. He loved sitting on the potty, he loved his new big boy underwear:

He was so excited about going on the potty and kept talking about how he "made yellow on the potty" and we danced and sang. And that was it.

After his nap, it was like a whole new boy! The next couple of times he went in his underwear and he absolutely refused to go sit on the potty. He would back away from me and just ask to be changed. Hm.

So, I had to take him back to daycare so I could get in some work yesterday and his teacher (God bless that woman!) said that every time she took him potty, he was already wet and it didn't seem to bother him that he was soaked or soiled. They ran out of underwear yesterday (all six pairs!) and ended up putting a diaper back on him at the end of the day.

My M.O.M. radar senses that Chandler may not totally be ready to make the huge jump to regular underwear and total potty time, but maybe we should keep the diaper and just go to the potty as well. Darn! I was ready to be done with the diapers. I know you should never push a child to go potty though. So, I won't. But we'll keep the potty downstairs as a reminder to Channy and ourselves and we'll try to go often and make it fun. I supposed that if we lived in the country, we could just run around outside all the time and fertilize the grass and no one would care. At least, I wouldn't. But we live in town and go to a public park to run around.

Another good thing about Tuesday was that I was able to finish some WIPs. I guess now they are FOs. I put the faces on my lion washcloths and they are ready to be used by the little people they are going to be given to. One lion is pretty happy, he must have just eaten, can't you tell by the smug look on his face? The other lion seems to be donning a grim look. Could it be he is thinking about the possibility of having his lathered-up face plunged into a dirty armpit at some point in the future? It's hard to tell.

And what does a Mom do with some extra time on her hands? Does she sleep? Take a bath? Exercise? Read a book? Well, I could have done all of those things yesterday when I found myself with a little extra time. But no, I decided to tackle this:

I don't think that it was a very good idea since I only had about a half an hour to spare, but it has been bothering me for about 8 months now. My children's closet is full of clothes that are way too small. Plastic hangers are strewn all over the floor and boxes and bags that go to who-knows-what are stuffed into the nether regions waiting for the day that I put whatever it was that belongs to it back in the box or bag. Know what I mean? So, after a very intense 45 minutes (I know, I went overtime), the closet looked like this:

I also washed and put the soft bumper back in Channy's bed since he has taken to cramming his head into the corners at night:

I finally put a breathable bumper on Ava's bed because she rolls around like crazy in her sleep and is always getting a foot stuck in between the bars:

Whew! Are you tired just looking at that? I can tell you I was sweating by the time I was finished. So, I guess I did get that workout after all.

Oh, it's the end of the middle of the week and procrastinator that I am, I am yet again doing the Mid-Week Lift on a Thursday. So, here's your lift. I hope it puts a smile on your face!

Chicago-style pizzas headed to troops in Iraq

Wed Jun 25, 6:43 AM ET

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. - Retired Air Force Sgt. Mark Evans wanted to send a taste of Chicago to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
ADVERTISEMENT

So he's doing it deep-dish pizza-style.

The Elk Grove Village man has arranged for thousands of pizzas to be frozen, packed in dry ice and shipped to the Middle East in time for the Fourth of July. His 16-year-old son, Kent, came up with the idea.

"I think it's good for them. They're in too good of shape," he joked.

Evans said DHL Global has volunteered to ship the pizzas that Lou Malnati's Pizzeria offered at a special rate. He hopes to get as many as 3,000 pizzas to the troops with the "Pizzas 4 Patriots" program.

"It's saying 'here's a taste of home,'" Lou Malnati's spokeswoman Mindy Kaplan said.

But Kaplan suspects there might be some soldiers who won't feel that way.

"Maybe New Yorkers won't like it so much," Kaplan said.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

*************************

Have a great week and stay on that path!

Success!

2008-06-24T11:24:00.001-07:00

At 12:30 PM today we finally did a pee on the potty! Chandler was very surprised and very proud of himself. Unfortunately, that was the ONLY successful potty stop thus far. Without warning he really did a number in his pants, but luckily, we were outside pulling weeds when it happened. Nothing wrong with watering the grass, right?

Keepin' on, keepin' on...

Potty Boot Camp

2008-06-24T06:49:00.001-07:00

Today is potty training day! Wish me luck everyone, when I get Chandler up this morning we are going to put on his training underpants and hit the potty. I am prepared with many backup pants and shorts along with a mop and the Swiffer Wet-Jet! I will keep you posted...

On the path.

Another Departure = Another Bag

2008-06-19T16:43:00.001-07:00

It's that time again, unfortunately, when another beloved teacher is graduating college and leaving our child care center. This time it's Ms. Jessie and we are so sad to see her go. She is graduating this fall and is leaving in a week to do her student teaching in Hawaii. I mean, who wants to go there when you can change dirty diapers all day?

Ms. Jessie has been at the center over two years so that means she has cared for Chandler and Ava both and has been able to cheer them on through all their milestones, kiss away tears, sing songs, and give plenty of love and attention to our babies. And, as I am sort of making it a tradition now, I have made her a goodbye bag.

Since I made this design up, it's going to be called "Mahalo, Jessie." The Mahalo, Jessie bag is pretty darn simple, with a loop for the wrist, a zipper and one small interior pocket. This will be the perfect accessory to take to class or to the beach, no?

Good luck Jessie, we were fortunate to have you in our children's lives and I guess we'll share you with the rest of the world now.

Stay on the path...

Better Get to Livin'

2008-06-19T08:18:00.001-07:00

What better way to celebrate the Mid-Week Lift than with Dolly Parton? I stumbled upon this great video over at the Hygge House blog. It's Alex's new theme song for her manifesto and I think I'd like it to be my theme song too!

Better Get to Livin'

With that, I'm off to live! I just spent the rest of my birthday money on fabric and it's currently in the wash ... hurrah!

Stay on that path!

Father's Day and Thoughts

2008-06-17T05:56:00.000-07:00

So, I realized that on Father's Day weekend, I was the one relaxing! Sorry, honey. Actually, we spent a lovely weekend at my parents' home spending a lot of time with family. Cornhole (or Bags, depending upon where you are from) was played, we grilled out, and the kids ran about 80 footraces across the lawn.

Don't let these relaxing images fool you. I am back and had to, once again, crawl back underneath my pile of work. As I incubate here, I will still try to find some time to get to work on my WIPs - lest they become UFOs. We wouldn't want that.

I hope you had a great weekend and a Happy Father's day. Dads are great, aren't they?

On the path...

Playing Catch-Up

2008-06-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

Like I said, I refuse to let my various projects get the best of me. Even though I am buried under work and housework, I have found a few moments to whip out some of my WIPs. So, this photo-heavy post should be a good update on what's been going on in my crazy house lately.

Still working on finishing that Debbie Bliss Picot Dress. I just started the arm strap and hope to really get some knitting done on it in the coming weeks. Keep in mind, this is the very same book that the ill-fated toddler hoodie came from. I hope the dress will turn out much better.

These little guys came from this pattern and I highly recommend you knitters out there to try it. Once I figured out the loop stitch, it was such a breeze. I've already knitted three and need to finish these. They just need their loops attached and some lion faces stitched on.

My garden almost bit the dust (or rather drowned) last weekend during the strong thunderstorms. There were a few tornadoes that touched down in our area but none came by our house thank goodness. We did spend a few moments getting comfy in our basement on Sunday evening though. Surprisingly, my deck garden survived and the plants are no worse for wear. There were a few twigs sticking upright in the soil, but other than that, they seem pretty happy.

I have planted some herbs, tomatoes, various peppers and some lovely sugar snap peas that are growing like crazy. I am excited to say that I have some beginnings of peppers growing already and a few flowers on my pea vine. I know, it's Michigan though, so we need a little extra time. This girl's garden is really in full swing.

Finally, an FO. A Finished Object. Yes, I did finish something in these past few weeks and I'm glad to say, it turned out great (unlike my quilt top). This is Ava's dedication dress - a little rumpled from wearing it on Sunday. It's a simple, reversible smock and I'm proud to share it:

On the path...

Apologies

2008-06-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

I must apologize for the apparent blog schizophrenia that's been going on lately. I'm just trying on new bloggy outfits until I find the right one. All of you are in the dressing room with me. How does this one fit?

I think I'm getting closer to the right layout. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Back on the path...