Tuesday Tunes

I have been enjoying Kenny long before he was a barefoot pirate - I even had the great pleasure of meeting him when he was first starting out. It was about 16 years ago and he talked to Peanut, let us see his tour bus and signed our tickets for a charity concert. He was the most humble and beautiful soul. I make a point to always buy his albums - his voice is just one of those that wrap you up in and you can get lost in his story.

Motivational Monday

I saw these images around Facebook and Pinterest.  They just needed to be shared because they fit the mood as of late...

Sunday Snaps

I finished the little shawl that I was making for me to wear in the office when I get chilly...

I started a bag but it will be taking me a long while to finish - that's the bottom...

I actually got to wear my shawl the first night I made it because I got cold - I was tickled...

I am doing my best to cloth the poor nudist colony that is Hobbit's doll collection.  This was my first creation.

I made a placemat but I am not sure how I feel about it so it's currently sitting on the table while I debate it...

I turned in all my HPKCHC homework for the month and wait to see if I broke 1,000 points...

That's been my week - work and very little play though I am striving to find a better balance now that I know what to expect.  I need to make one small tweak to my blog - allow my work account access to it so I can write and respond during breaks... that will help out a LOT!

Weekend Wonderment

I've got my bag with a new project just waiting to be started and my office, the same place I've been all week.

I know, I know - I somehow lost an entire week and didn't say a word.  I'm sorry.  It's been a heck of a week too.  It appears as though my office chair decided to not stay at the appropriate height last week so I pulled up the old dining room chair that I use for sewing but let me tell you, that chair was not made for 8 hours of continuous use.  It has caused a severe issue with my neck and shoulders, to the point that I have been in pain for days.  Hopefully I will either get a new office chair or a new desk, whichever is the least expensive.  I am rooting for the new desk so that I can sit in my lazy boy in the office.  My phone can sit on a side table and all I need is my laptop on the desk part big enough for it, a mouse pad and a bit of writing space.  That way, I can be completely comfortable between calls.

Pokey has been having a great first week at his new position.  It's wonderful to have him home sooner and off on the weekends.  My schedule for August is not what I had hoped for but there is always September.  I refuse to spend my days wishing them away or being put out by not having what I requested so I'll just move on with life and hope for the best next month - though next month, the only thing I'm hoping for is Saturdays off... the other days don't much matter any more.

I did manage to get a few things finished this past week so I'll share them on Sunday.  I can't even remember if they're new but I will share anyway.  Here's to a better week that is more organized than this past one!!

Sunday Snaps

It's been hot, stormy and generally icky this week.  Lots of bright personal moments but the weather wasn't one of them.

I made this bunting while we watched the latest Transformer movie during our celebration dinner on Wednesday.

I also finished the hat I was working on.  Sadly, the bind off was too tight like I feared but it fits Hobbit perfectly.

I got a little silly yesterday and made this sleep mask for Peanut.  Still cracks me up every time I look at it.

This upcoming week is going to be interesting.  Pokey did get the job that we were hoping for and he starts tomorrow!  He is very excited and we celebrated with some steaks we had in the freezer and a movie on Netflix.  He's been off this weekend which has been wonderful and during the school year it will be doubly so since I have to work at least one day of it.

Speaking of work, it's currently in the aftermath of the mad rush to plan summer activities.. people are out enjoying what they planned.  At first, I was really disappointed but I've decided that in the next month or so, I'm pretty sure things will pick up for those who are planning holiday things and I'll be wondering where all the time went.  I'm still learning the ropes but I haven't gotten a note saying I messed up anything so I'll consider that a win.

I'm almost out of yarn on the shawl I'm making so it will done soon whether I want it to be or not.  I've got about fifteen yards left on this one skein before I break into my last one.  I just finished the banding for my final repeat so I'm debating if I'm going to simply do the three row finish now.  The more I think about it, the more I think I might considering the last skein only covered two rows and they're just over 200 yards a piece!  I'd hate to be in the middle and just run out.  I'm also debating a button to help keep it on during work.  I don't have a fancy shawl pin so I'm thinking a button would be the best option.

That's been my week.  I was thinking it was pretty lazy and not very exciting but then I started thinking about it and realized I was wrong in that analysis.  Pokey got his new position, Hobbit is fixing to get ready to go my folks for her last visit before school starts, I made three new things and am almost done with a fourth.  Yeah, it's been a pretty awesome week.

I must say - I am one blessed girl, that's for sure.

Weekend Wonderment

Three skeins of yarn down, at least one more to go.

I started out with five skeins of this cute baby yarn and now I'm down to two left in my basket.  This shawl is for me to wear while I'm at work because I get cold in the later hours of the evening.  It's soft and the colors are just so happy.  I needed Hobbit to model it for me so I can point out that I want it to hit me right where it is resting on her.  It currently sits right where the banding is for the section separation... about short sleeve length.  I think one more skein ought to do it but just in case, I do have an extra to get the job done.

So that's my plan this weekend - finish this up.  I was saving the hat I was working on and a bunting idea for later in the weekend but something happened on Thursday that I couldn't control...

I finished the hat and I made the bunting from start to finish as well... oh well, Hobbit's happy!

Now if I can just get this shawl finished, I can figure out my next project!  Any suggestions or ideas?

Wednesday Wound Up

I'm just trying to finish this... I'm further than this photo that I took on Monday but I've got to get back to it!

Tuesday Tunes

I needed a bit of Mumford & Son to motivate me through the day today. May your day be filled with such passion, power and deep convictions.

Motivational Monday

I needed a new outlook for today because I woke up earlier than I had planned and in a mood I didn't like.  It was cranky and negative and irksome - not a good way to start the day.  Since I always say that you choose your mood, I decided to choose a different one.  I chose to be opportunistic instead of fatalistic... less doom and gloom and more sunshine and daisies.  Granted the image may not say 'sunshine and daisies' but I think that is more of a case of me missing actual seasons than anything else.

So here's to great opportunities this week because the only difference between an obstacle and an opportunity is your attitude.

Weekend Wonderment

I spent a great deal of my time this past week sitting right here because of work - though I must say, the view is nice.

I was surprised by a most awesome box that traveled halfway across the world to me and just made my day awesome.

I finally finished my OWL and even though it was a complete pain in the rear, my mama seems tickled so it was worth it.

To reward myself, I'm making something just for me - a shawl in the happiest colorway ever imagined.

Weekend Wonderment

I needed a bit of sunshiney bright colors to work with after all the dark colors the past few projects.

I'm making myself a shawl.  That's my reward project for finishing that gingerbread house and tree for my mama.  I hope to have it done this weekend but I already had to frog back three rows from last night that I did wrong.  I'm about back to where I was prior so that's good.

With all the rain we've been having, we had a small plumbing emergency here today - none of the potties would flush and water was backing up from the drain in our shower... grey icky water!  So I called the realty group and they had a plumber out and the situation was fixed all in a matter of three hours.  Yes, see - this is why I don't want to own a home.  I won't have anyone to call when stuff like that happens... it would be all me and my pocketbook can't afford it.

So this is my last weekend off before my regular schedule starts.  I can't wait either.  I'm ready to just figure out my routine and get things rolling... speaking of which, I should get supper started since Pokey won't be rolling in until after 8 p.m.  Man, if any of y'all are the type to believe in a higher power, please send up a good thought or prayer for him to get this front counter position he interviewed for this past Monday.  It would put him 5 minutes up the road instead of 2 hours and it would be a true lifesaver!!

Okay, back to the shawl... I think I'll turn it in for DADA... or even Charms.  I'll have to think about it a bit more.  Man, I do love my HPKCHC for pushing my creative buttons.

Care for a Nibble?

Things have been whackadoodle around here since I started working again.  Getting into a rhythm has been hard but I'm sure by August it will all be ironed out.  I'll be working my real schedule instead of what I've been doing during training and hopefully Pokey will have the position he interviewed for on Monday which will put his office just up the road instead of almost 2 hours away.  All of that to say, I've not gotten in much reading time lately.  When I get off work, I am brain dead so I just turn on Netflix and fall asleep to a classic series I've seen a million times over.  I do, however, have a nibble to share!

Hehehe - I couldn't resist.  You can't eat that but I just wanted to say that I am finally done with it!

Gotcha!  I just had to my project share since I finished it last night and the only reason it is even finished is because I love my mama that much.  So many times I wanted to toss this sucker in the trash.  It was fiddly, unforgiving and rather rude.  The tree is an original design since the pattern from the kit was all kinds of pathetic.  Trees should be big and fluffy, not tall and skinny.  Anywho, here is my contribution to my mama who is reestablishing her Christmas decoration collection.

I do have a recipe to share though.  It's down and dirty simple but it tastes really good and you can get 8 or more servings out of it, depending on your portion size.  We didn't name it so I'll just call it "Down and Dirty Dinner", for when you're cooking on a budget and in the trenches... kind of like us lately.

Seriously taste, seriously easy!

Ingredients:

1. 1 16 oz package of angel hair pasta
2. 1 10 3/4 oz can of Cream of Mushroom soup
3. 1 cup of milk
4. 1/2 pound of chicken, cooked and chopped
5. 2 tablespoons of parsley
6. 1 tablespoon of garlic salt
7. 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
8. 1/2 teaspoon of pepper

Directions:

1. Cook noodles per instructions on package. Drain and set aside.
2. Mix soup, milk and spices.  Combine well and until smooth.
3. Add soup mixture and chicken to pasta.  Mix thoroughly until all the pasta is wet.

That's it... I told you it was super simple, Down and Dirty Dinner in under 15 minutes.  Not bad when you're cooking on a 30 minute supper break.  We got a full supper, two helpings of seconds and three frozen larger portioned meals.  The total meal costs were less than a dollar a portion!

Everyone loved it and my mama suggested putting broccoli in it.  If I did that, I might add more milk to stretch the sauce a bit more but not much, maybe a quarter to a half cup more.  Plus, if Hobbit wasn't going to be eating it I think I would have added some crushed red peppers because they would take it to a whole other level of wow.

Enjoy!

Wednesday Wound-Up

I only need to assemble it all and make a tree... I think... we'll see once I get started what happens.

I am grounded.  I'm not allowed to start another project until I finish this one.  This one is worth 150 points if I get it done.. no... when I get it done.  I will finish it by Saturday because that is the deadline I gave myself simply because I'm grounded.  I want to work on something else but I know me and if I get started on that something else, I'll not finish and I'm too close to being done to not finish.

I'm going to make something big when I'm done too - something non-fiddly... mark my words!  Oh yeah, and finish that hat I've been making because it's needed for Detention - the last component of my Order of the Serpent, First Class.

Wish me luck... I think I'm going to need it.

Tuesday Tunes

It's just a Michael Buble kind of day... you have to smile whenever you hear him sing - Enjoy!

It's all about the brain

Have you ever had one of those days that just didn't go right?  My husband asked me what was wrong and all I could say was that "I couldn't brain today".  He laughed but he understood exactly what I meant.  I was just having a dumb day and it brought me down.

After work, Hobbit came into the office and said that this box was for me.  I hadn't ordered anything and I wasn't working any charity events right now so I was completely confused.  I looked down and read the name - it was from a dear friend of mine that I've known since I was 14 years old.  Her husband is currently stationed in Germany and they took a recent vacation to London... and I received a box full of Anglophenia goodness.

L to R: Publications, post cards, tea mug, teas & coffees, crystal, totes, coins and London pixie dust!

This box made my day.  To think that she was off traveling in a place that I've only dreamed of, having the time of her life with her family, and she thought of me.  Yeah, I admit to getting all misty eyed over the fact that while there, of all the things she could be thinking of, I crossed her mind and she knows that Pokey and I dream of retiring over there one day.  She knows that I am such an Anglophile that it isn't even funny - I would drop everything and move if someone gave me the opportunity.  I spend my free time booking imaginary trips, touring the houses that are for sale online in the area, watching every travel documentary that comes to pass... oh yeah, it's bad.  I love London - all of the UK really but London has always had my heart.

I may not have been able to brain today but I must say, thank goodness I was able to 26 years ago when I met her!  Life has handed us a lot but we both came through pretty darn good on the other side and it's friends like her that remind me how truly blessed I am - and I don't need to be able to brain to know that one.

Thank you, Giggles - I love you girl!

Sunday Snaps

I'm a bit late today, aren't I... so sorry about that.  I got in a cleaning zone and did the house top to bottom, including mopping the floors!  I feel rather accomplished, and now very tired, so I'll share the past week with you before I end up drooling on the sofa and calling it knitting...

I'm plugging along through training and should be set free tomorrow!

Broke out in a horrible rash from the wrap cape that I was making Peanut.  Thankfully, it cleared up a few days later.

I keep contemplating this blanket but it's too hot to sit under it while I work the rounds right now.

Peanut absolutely loved her new cape - it was well worth the rash to get that reaction.

Hobbit got her shawl that I made her too and loved it.

So now it's time to relax for a bit before the work week starts up again...

Weekend Wonderment

I want this project to be done so I'm going to spend all my time working on it this weekend.

My weekend is going to be spent finishing my OWL.  I don't have much more to do - cardboard inside frame, corner posts, doorjamb, corner candy cane posts, random candy cane decorations and a snow tipped tree.  Then I have to glue it all on - yep, the directions say to hot glue everything.  I sewed the icicles on because it just didn't seem right to glue them to the roof.  I was going to sew the door and candies on to the front but I was worried that it would make the final product lumpy so I didn't.

Once I'm done with this, I'm going to finish my Detention project that I designed back in the beginning of June.  I knew it was going to take me some time because it's basically sock yarn so it's taking me a while to work all of those tiny stitches but I am really liking how it is coming out so far.  Still not sure if I'm going to keep it for me or use it for Christmas but either way, I know I will be happy with the end result.  Here it is so far...

I'm a little further than this photo shows - I'm down to the 2x2 ribbing for the band now!

I was supposed to see Peanut this weekend when she and my mama brought Hobbit home, an event that happened on Wednesday because Hobbit had a really bad moment and my mama made that threat earlier that week that if she were to do it again, she would go home... 7:30 on Wednesday night, Hobbit was getting out of the car in the driveway.  Everyone is fine now after a long conversation and Hobbit was wonderful yesterday so hopefully this is the end of a very long road.  Anywho, back to seeing Peanut.  I was designing that star wrap for her and finished it last Sunday so I don't think I shared the final results.  Here is Peanut on Wednesday, which was supposed to be tomorrow, in her wrap/cape that I designed for her...

She was super tickled to get it - even said it was 'awesome' and never took it off.

I think she really honestly liked it... and if she didn't, she faked it really well which is just as good in my book because it felt like she was really happy to get it.  I love that she was wearing purple when I gave it to her.  It just reaffirmed that I chose the right colors.

So that is my weekend... my last full weekend off since starting the next week I will begin my new 'normal' schedule.  It has me working Sun-Tuesday from 4 p.m. until midnight and again on Friday.  It's actually a really great schedule because even after school starts, it will be seamless.  The only challenge might be when Pokey gets a new position that he's been interviewing for lately but even then, I don't think it will be a big deal because we will always have Saturday.

Thank You & God Bless America

To all the brave service men and women who made and keep this day possible - Thank you! I hope everyone takes a moment today to pray for our soldiers - past, present and future - who protect our freedoms so that we may celebrate our nation's day of independence with those we hold dear.

In roughly 1,825 days...

I've been seeing a little banner about my blogisphere and I thought I would take a gander at what it was all about. I really liked what I found. A group of fellow writers setting to 'paper' what their five year goals were and I can totally get behind that. It encompasses my two favorite things - list making and planning for the future.   Let's just dive in, shall we?

In five years time I hope to be more financially stable.  I would love to have three months worth of bills set up in a savings account, along with some extra going for something special... not sure what yet but definitely special.

I hope that my husband and kids are all healthy, happy and they know I love them more than life itself.  This goes for my parents as well because without any of them, I am pretty much nothing.

Five years from now, I hope to have expanded my creative knowledge base - either with professional classes or self-guided study.  I would love to take a "real" photography course or graphic design class.  Who knows, I might just get another degree in the arts.

I don't know if I want to own a house but I would love to be in a different area five years forward - one with more open spaces, a pool and a great yard.  A place where it doesn't feel like you are living elbow to elbow with your neighbors and privacy is a truism instead of a question.

We might be down to one critter in five years, or coming close to it.  Buddy will be almost 11 years old and Tinkerbell will be 6.  I've already broken it to both Pokey and Hobbit that when these two walk the rainbow bridge, I don't want any more.  Yes, I love the ones I have but I know that I honestly won't find another two who are as perfect so I don't want to even try once they are gone.

In five years time, Hobbit will be 13 and heading into 8th grade.  Wow.  I'll go you one better - Peanut will be 25 and hopefully living a beautiful, fulfilling and successful adult life... and she'll remember to call home every now and again.

I'm sure when 2018 rolls around and I look back at this, many will be the same because there are things I just stink at - finances being one of them - but hopefully I can nod and smile at the others because they have come to pass.  Who knows... the only thing I can be certain of is that in five years time, I will continue to be blessed with a loving and beautiful family who are the center of my world and I am so very proud to claim as my own.

That is something that I know will stand the test of time.

Motivational Monday

It's time to stop worrying and start living again...