New Years Goal List

2007 is upon us. Many people are making lists of their resolutions, so I thought I would put my list out there, too. I prefer to call them "goals" rather than "resolutions", because I think it makes them stay fresh in my mind throughout the year. My list isn't long, but I think I put down all of the goals that I feel strongly about going in to the New Year. I hope I can look back one year from now and say that I accomplished everything that I set out to. And if I don't, it's something to keep working toward. So here's my list of to-do's for 2007:

• Spend as much time with the Munchkins as I possibly can.
• Work with the Munchkins more on things like the ABC's, counting, colors, shapes, and other preschool-type learning stuff. Munchkin #1 will most definitely start HeadStart in the fall, and I want her to be ready. Munchkin #2 won't be far behind!
• Take more time to appreciate the little things, those moments of my life which I will never be able to experience the same way twice, but will draw so much happiness from. A hug from one of the Munchkins, a cup of coffee with a friend. Sometimes I'm so caught up in the whirlwind of life that I forget to appreciate those little moments that make life worth living. I want to slow down a bit, and enjoy!
• Tell the Munchkins I love them more often. Give more hugs and more kisses.
• Pay down the debt I was left with after the divorce. Even if I can't pay the whole mess of it off this year, I can put a huge dent in it. The amount is easily manageable, by most standards, so a little will go a long way in this case.
• Save a little money for an emergency fund, and hopefully someday, the down-payment on a new car.
• Take a time-out for myself more often. A hot bubble bath, paint my nails, crochet in a quiet room for 10 minutes, have a cup of coffee and stare out the window in the morning. Anything to relax and refresh me.
• Always be grateful for how blessed the Munchkins and I truly are. Friends, family, good health, a warm home, and best of all each other. We have come so far in the last couple of years. Always be grateful.

That's it. That's my list for 2007. The Munchkins and I wish everyone a safe, fun, and happy New Year, and hope that you all feel as blessed as we do throughout 2007.

What the ....?

My Fortune Cookie told me: Tomorrow will be an excellent day for putting Slinkies on an escalator. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

Ummm, yeah. Slinkies. On an escalator. Ok, I'll get right on that. (No, I won't.)

Family

We had a wonderful Christmas here at chez Busy. The day was filled with family and friends coming and going, food, presents, and all-around holiday cheer. The Munchkins and I were extremely blessed this year, in a gift-y sense and in a love of our family-sense.

This is the Munchkins with my sister, Tiff. They are wearing their new pj's from Santa. Munchkin #1 is in love with Spiderman, and Munchkin #2 prefers Dora, as you can see. They still have not stopped playing with their new toys, and we haven't even opened them all yet. I might put some stuff away to pull out later on in the year, when they are getting bored with the toys they are playing with now.

As for some of the gifts that I gave:

Here is my mom on the left, and my aunt on the right, showing off their matching Serafina shawls. If I had went through with my whole contest idea, the purple Serafina on the right would have been the answer for Mystery Project #2. They both loved their shawls, and my mom wore hers for the rest of the day. Success!

I'll post more photos of the gifts that I made as I get better pics. Some of our pictures were digital, but the majority were taken with disposable cameras. Which reminds me, my wonderful boyfriend splurged on a new digital camera for me! So now you can expect some better pics around here! Thanks, baby!

Christmas Eve

I'm done! Yay! Everything is wrapped, decorated, groceries are bought, and I got pictures taken of everything I wanted to take pictures of. Ahhhhh, what a relief to be done and be able to finally relax. Since it's Christmas Eve, I thought I'd share my meager decorations. I know in the picture my tree looks very crooked, but it's really just the angle of the photo. And yes, that is a Santa hat for the tree-topper. I didn't have anything else to use last year, so I threw the hat on top of the tree, and I guess it's kind of a tradition now. The hat says "I Believe in Santa Claus," and I really like using it for the tree-topper because it's cute and different.

Here's the wreath I made, very simple. I took forever to make the bows, though. I wanted them to look just right.

And last, our stockings and some Christmas cards we've recieved this year. Ooh, we have to get going to Christmas dinner at the boyfriends. Have to hurry! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

A Little Side Project

I've been busy the last couple of days finished up decking out the house for the holiday. I put my tree up weeks ago, but only half-heartedly, and it really didn't look good. I paid a visit to Wal-Mart and picked up some ribbon, new ornaments, and these super cool sequined ornaments, among other things. When I got home to do the decorating, I discovered that the sequined ornaments weren't ornaments at all! They were a garland, rolled up in a tube and disguised as ornaments. So I made them into the ornaments I wanted them to be.

Ornament Garland
Originally uploaded by lill_mama83.

This is the end of the garland I deconstructed, pre-cutting. I simply cut the loop at the end and let the seed beads fall into a bowl. (The garland is basically fishing line threaded with seed beads, sequined balls and single sequins.) I then threaded about eighteen seed beads back onto the line above the ball and tied it in a loop. Then I cut the line below the ball, dropped the beads again, and tied a knot in the line directly beneath the ball. I then repeated the whole process for each successive ball, turning them into ornaments.

The boyfriend took this picture of me while I was working on the garland-to-ornament project. It's one of my favorite pictures of myself.

Ornaments 1
Originally uploaded by lill_mama83.

Here's what the ornaments looked like when I was done. I only did four, and the rest are, well, still a garland. I draped it around the rack our stockings are hanging from, and after the holidays I'll finish cutting it up. I'll have more time then to finish them. I really like how they turned out, and they pretty much look just like the ornaments that I originally thought they were. They look very pretty on my tree! I'll share pics of my tree, the wreath I made, and some other decorations in the next couple of days. Until then, I'll be wrapping!

A Finished Present

I've finally finished something I can blog about, yay! I'm pretty sure that the recipients of this Christmas present are not blog readers, so I can share it. Yet another tied fleece blanket, red with dragons on one side, plain ole black on the other. It's huge, it covers my entire bed.

Very warm, very soft, very cuddly. I know that two people will be very happy curling up under it together.

Here's a close-up so you can get a better idea of what the dragons look like. Very Asian-inspired. For anyone who is wondering, I picked up both colors of fleece at a JoAnn's sale.

Well, I guess that's one more thing checked off the Christmas to-do list!

Only 11 More Days?!

Wow, time sure is flying by now that Christmas is really just around the corner. I have been SO busy! There hasn't been much blogging around here lately, because if I can manage to find the time to sit down and write a little something, I can't find the energy.

I'm pretty much finished with the holiday gift making. I have a few little somethings to work on yet, but nothing major. Oh, and I have some pillows to sew up and stuff, but the sewing machine has went crazy on me. I don't know if I'll be able to get it to cooperate with me in time to put those presents under the tree, but I'll do what I can.

My biggest concern now is getting everything wrapped up in time for Christmas morning. I have a LOT of presents to wrap! I'm really feeling the Christmas spirit, now (and the Christmas rush). Only 11 days to go!

On another note, I am going to hold off on having a contest for the Mystery Christmas Projects. I only managed to put up 3 hints, and I personally think that makes for a crappy contest. I promise I'll make up for it by having some kind of contest sometime in the new year.

Remembrance

I just wanted to take a moment to express my sympathy for the James and Kati Kim family. As the mother of two small girls, this story really struck a chord with me, and I think it is so sad that the man who was trying so hard to save his family will not be reunited with them. I can't imagine the pain that the Kim family must be going through right now. There is a fundraiser planned to benefit the Kims, and gift baskets are being put together. If you would like to help, please check out one of those sites. And please take a moment to tell your family how much you love them. You may not get another chance.

A Post With a Pic (Finally)!

I've been chugging away in the Christmas sweatshop, er, I mean, Christmas workshop. I'm only a little way from being done, yay! I might just make my goal of being done a week early. Then I can relax and focus on the Munchkins and having fun for the holidays. We're going to keep Christmas very casual in our family this year. No turkey-cooking for me! It would be so nice not to be stressed out over things I should be enjoying. I'll have pictures of some finished presents that I can show here soon, but until then, I have the hint for MCP #3.

Can you figure it out?

Little Pink Brain

Here's a cute little something to waste time with: LikeBetter.com It's fun to watch the little brain turn pink, but what's really weird is that the brain is pretty much dead-on!

Just One of Many Opinions

I came across this post at AlphaMom about breastfeeding in public today. It's very funny, check it out for the links if nothing else. Since there is virtually nothing crafty that I can talk about here due to several *SECRET* projects, I thought I would share my opinion on breastfeeding, in public and in general.

First off, I breastfed both of the Munchkins, the first for almost a year and the second for a little over six months. I think they are both much healthier little girls now than they would have been if they had started on formula right off the bat. The doctor, nurses, and WIC office all were pro-breastfeeding when I was pregnant, and all had plenty of literature to support it. I was very easily convinced, and knew long before Munchkin #1 was born that I would try my hardest to breastfeed, and if it didn't work out, we'd go to the bottle.

The first few days were very hard. The little one had a lot of trouble latching on, and I was a very nervous new mom. By the end of that first week, I was in tears on an hourly basis because I couldn't get the baby to eat. My ex called his sister, because she was the only person he knew who had breastfed, and she calmed me down tremendously. Once I was calm, the baby latched on with no trouble. From that day on, I breastfed. And I loved it. Not only was my little girl getting the best nutrition on the planet, but it was a great time to bond and be close to her. Breastfeeding Munchkin #2 was automatic, and I never had any trouble with her eating.

I guess it's pretty obvious that I'm a strong advocate for breastfeeding, so I feel for the woman kicked off the plane for refusing to cover up. It IS her right to feed her baby, and if nothing is showing, why is this so offensive? I can see asking her to cover up if she was flashing people. But if you're all the way in the back and no one can see you? I say, breastfeed away. There is nothing wrong with breastfeeding in public as long as you are discreet and considerate of others. I signed the petition at MomsRising for this issue, and I think it's worth everyone checking out. Let's tell Congress and everyone else that we support breastfeeding mothers and their babies.

Here We Go!

Thanksgiving dinner came off without a hitch. Unfortunately, I was so busy cooking and hanging out with my family that I forgot to take any pictures! I could be showing off some fabulous turkey or scrumptious pumpkin pie here, but I did not even pick up my camera Thursday, not once. Oh well, everyone's belly got full, and we all had a good time together, so that's what matters.

I've noticed that a lot of bloggers out there took advantage of the holiday weekend to work on some crafty projects, but I did just the opposite. I pretty much ignored everything I've been working on in favor of cooking, cleaning, and laying around the rest of the time. Now that the weekend is over, however, I'm jumping headfirst into all the crafty things that I need to finish (or start, for that matter) for Christmas. I have a lot of stuff to make, still, and a little shopping to do, too. I'm hoping that if I really hit it hard for the next two weeks, I can take a little stress out of the last few days leading up to the holiday. That's the plan, anyway. Let the two week sweatshop begin!

Turkey Day

I'll be spending the whole day with family. To all who celebrate,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gettin' Geared Up

I know I said that I wasn't going to even think about Thanksgiving until today, but let's be realistic. You can't get everything ready the day before. So I've been doing a little prepping behind the scenes here. I did all but a small bit of the grocery shopping, including a 22-lb turkey. Start big, right? Here's the menu I have planned:

• Turkey
• Stuffing
• Mashed Potatoes
• Gravy
• Corn on the Cob
• Green Beans
• Brocolli, Cheese, and Rice Bake
• Macaroni and Cheese
• Rolls
• Pumpkin Pie for dessert

I still have to shop for a couple of things, and I may decide to add more things to the menu. I know I left out some of the traditional stuff, like sweet potato pie and cranberry sauce, but I'm trying to keep things simple and easy. This will be the first time I've actually been in charge of cooking the big family meal, so I don't want to screw it up. Simple and easy will definitely be the way to go. Less stressful!

I'm going to get a head start tonight, and make everything I can then. That way I can just pop some things in the oven to reheat, making things even simpler. Oooh, I better get to it. Happy Turkey Day, everyone!

Mystery Christmas Project #2

You'll remember that a while back I posted a hint for my Mystery Christmas Project #1. Well, here is the hint for MCP #2.

Pay attention, because I'm planning a contest towards the beginning of the year, and it will involve all of the MCPs and the hints that go with them.

Here's a preview of the pj pants I'm making the Munchkins for Christmas. This pair is for Munchkin #2, and they are almost done. Yay! I figured out how to make a pair of pants! Now that I think I have this figured out, you may not be able to keep me away from the sewing machine.

Hats (and Sweater Help Needed!)

Well, inspections are finally over. The head of our apartments and the people from HUD came on Friday and checked the place over top to bottom. As far as I know, I passed with flying colors. Whew! Maybe things will be a little more normal around here now.

Christmas preparations are well under way, and I've realized that even though I started early this year, I still have so much to do! (Please don't mention that Thanksgiving is Thursday, and that I'm having like, 15 people for dinner here that night. Please don't ask, "Amanda, honey, shouldn't you be worried about Thanksgiving preparations before Christmas preparations?" I will think about Thanksgiving on Wednesday and figure it out then, OK?) I think I might be getting a teensy bit stressed about the holidays. I always manage to get everything done, so maybe I should just relax and let things flow a little more this season, it might just make the holidays a little more enjoyable for me.

In crafty news, I finished the hat that I started Monday, and made another.


Project Specs

Snowborder Skullies
Pattern: Snowboarder Skullies by Catherine Lindsay. I've had this pattern bookmarked for a long time, and I finally decided to try it out. Both of my hats are the dude version.
Yarn: Bernat Softee Chunky in 40713 Circus and 39742 Hot Blue.
Impressions: Like the yarn, like the pattern. These hats work up super quick and would be great for gifts or charity donations. I made the blue one with a size I hook and the vareigated one with a size J hook. I wanted the blue one to be a tad bit smaller, and it is. The fabric is also much denser, tighter, and less stretchy than that of the hat made with the J hook. I'm still not sure whether I like that or not. I'm going to keep the blue hat (because it fits me well, he he) and the vareigated one has a secret destination.

I've started ripping apart the sweater, but I'm having my doubts about using it as recycled yarn. I know the pic is crappy, but look closely. The edges are very frayed and threadbare where I ripped the sleeve seams apart. I'm afraid this will make the yarn have frayed spots every so far along, and I don't want that. So now I'm thinking about tossing the whole mess into the washing machine, felting it, and then cutting it apart. I could sew cell phone cozies out of the pieces, or something like that. I think the cables would be really cute felted, and I don't even know how to knit cables, so I can't unravel them and then knit them again. Yes, I think felting before unraveling is going to be the way to go here. What do you think? Anybody have any more ideas on what I can do with this cut-up sweater now? I should think these kinds of things out more thoroughly before I start attacking with the scissors from now on.

Hmmm......

I almost finished a whole hat out of the Softee Chunkee last night. A whole hat! I really like this yarn, it's thick so it works up quick, and it's really soft even though it's acrylic. Pretty cheap too, and y'all know I love cheap. I can see myself making a ton of these hats for Christmas presents and charity projects, and maybe a couple for myself to wear to work. I'll take pictures of this first hat tomorrow, when there is more daylight. Hopefully it won't be so dreary and rainy here like it has been. Dreary does not make for good photos.

I haven't started unraveling the grey sweater. I'm not really sure where to start. I don't want to just cut it into pieces, because I want to get as much recycled yarn from it as possible. Maybe taking apart the seams would be a good start?

For now the munchkins and I are headed off to a birthday dinner for one of their friends. Very small, low-key. I'll probably get to work on the hat for a bit while the kids play, and the bonus is that I don't have to cook. Happy Birthday, Korbin!

What's Up For Today

The munchkins and I have been laying about the apartment all day, trying not to make things messy. Little Munchkin is sick, with a nasty sounding cough and sniffles but no fever. I still plan on crafting today, but it might have to wait until after the girls are in bed. I took advantage of the good afternoon light in my kitchen to take this pic.


These are what I plan on working with tonight. I picked up the Softee Chunkee for a hat for Christmas presents, and I bought the sweater last year at a yard sale for a dollar. It's Hollister brand, 100% wool, and too small for me. I'm going to unravel it and felt a purse from it, I think.

I promised to tell y'all about the idea I've been brewing, so here it is: My boyfriend's mother and I are planning a really cool (I think) crafting party to be held the first or second week of December. We're ordering crafty kits and supplies from a bulk-sale company, and inviting a ton of women and girls to come over and craft Christmas presents for super cheap. We're planning on charging around $5 per person to come in and craft away, and then the guests can take home what they've made to give away as Christmas presents. It's kind of like a Home and Garden party with a crafty twist. What do y'all think of our idea?

Woot, Woot!

It's done! Yay!!!! Finished up all the crappy cleaning jobs this afternoon. Bring on the inspection, boys! (You'll have to excuse me. I think that all the cleaning fumes I've been shut in the house with all day might be going to my head. I may not make much sense here.) Everything is done, and now all I have to do is wait around for the next two weeks to see if my place is randomly inspected.

All the cleaning really sucked, but in the end it was totally worth it. First off, the apartment looks GREAT. It hasn't been this deeply clean for a long time, and it's oh so tidy. We'll see how long it stays that way after the munchkins get back from their dad's in the morning. And it smells great in here, too, like PineSol and strawberry cheesecake-scented candles.

I finally get to relax now, and I have the whole day off tomorrow, so the munchkins and I will just be lazing around the house. Maybe I'll even get to craft a little bit, I have some things I want to wrap up and also some projects in mind to start. Tomorrow I also plan to tell you about an idea that's still brewing in my head tonight. All I will say now is that it involves a party and it's crafty. I'm just so glad all the inspection prep is over!

Inspection Central

I got my notice yesterday for yearly apartment inspections. Woo hoo. (Note the sarcasm, please). That means that I have until Monday to get the apartment clean, check the smoke detectors, replace the heat duct filters, etc. And I have to keep it clean all the way until the 22nd, because inspections are random, and can happen anytime between the 13th and the 22nd. I got all prepared and had everything looking great for inspections last year, even though we had just moved in. And they never showed up. I guess I was randomly not picked. I'm still going to be prepared this year, though, because I expect that the "higher-ups" will be here to check on the place at some point. That means I have 5 days of solid cleaning ahead. So you may not hear much from me for the next couple of days. I'll try to check in as much as I can. For now, I'm off to get ready for inspections!