Sunday Snaps

We started the week with a visit to my folk's house.  There was kite flying, crafting and general silliness...

While there, the most awesome of project bags ever made from my hook got fully lined with pockets and a zipper!

I made Hobbit a hat that she has worn every day since because the weather has been very typically FL Fall...

That means lots of rain.  I love it but apparently I am in the minority for this - along with hoping for a cold winter.

It's been pretty uneventful around here.  This coming week proves to be different so I'm soaking up this last day of relaxed bliss before charging head first into October.

Weekend Wonderment ~ 9/27 - 9/29

This is my bag... and this is what is waiting for me inside my bag!

Oh my heavens, what a week.  I can't wait for midnight tonight so I can just do nothing for two straight days.  No homework.  No car pick up.  No work.  No nothing.  I'm going to plop my happy hiney in my spot on the sofa and rotate through my projects.  I'm going to add a hood to the cape, work on my epic granny square bag, and get some serious yardage on my monster for Peanut.

Yep, doing nothing is going to feel fabulous.

Whistle a happy tune

You know when you feel like you're coming down with a cold and you just get kinda bleh... yeah, that's me this week.  I'm fighting this thing with all I've got because I can't stand being sick on my days off.  I did finish a few things this week - I even started a new shawl...

Hobbit got her own house inspired hat.  I think I'll make one more but in a plain yarn so the pattern details can pop.

I started this yesterday and I think I messed up the last row... it appears I have double the necessary shells.

The entire week so far has looked like this, and I'm loving it honestly... as Peanut would say - lugubrious indeed.

So today I will fix the shawl that I just realized was off and possibly make one more twisted cablely hat in a plain color.  It's a super cute hat, I'm just curious what it looks like without the stripes from the Team Spirit yarn.

Now, since I was under the weather yesterday (see what I did there... yeah, I know), here is your song for the week.  A little something to lift your spirits...

Or lack there of

On Mondays, I try to write something motivational that will get me through the week.  Something that will spur my creativity and be a little reminder that I can carry with me for the next several days whenever I think what I want to do can't be done.  It's a great start and a wonderful habit but here's the thing... what if just aren't motivated at the moment?

I'm tired.  I'm feeling icky because of allergies.  I want a nap.  I miss my eldest daughter and want to spend some serious time with her.  There are some people in this world who are upsetting or hurting those I love most and I want nothing more than to sit down with those horrible ones and set them straight... but I can't and that makes things even more frustrating, leaving me feeling like I can't help so I just kinda feel like "blah"... and how am I supposed to write something that is full of awesome to spur me along for a few days when the reality is so very different?  Batman had the "Bat Cave"... I've got Pinterest... to the boards!

Sunday Snaps

The week started with a goal of finishing this bag because I have a crazy month coming up and it needs to be done...

It ended with my folks coming down for lunch with Hobbit at school and taking her away for the weekend...

A bit of kite flying during a lazy weekend day while visiting with loved ones...

Oh yeah, and a fully lined, fully completed bag!

Plus one hat that I made for Peanut, modeled by Hobbit, to cheer her up - it's in school colors and everything!

Tasty allergens

I could resist it no longer - I had to have some BBQ Pulled Pork and I had to have it now!!  That meant one thing, pulling out my crock pot and getting to work on some of the tastiest allergens ever.  I'm happy to report, I only had a slight reaction so I just may have the leftovers tonight!!  Here's my recipe -

Ingredients

• Pork roast - about 6 lbs is what I bought
• 1 can of coke - I'm southern, it's all coke but for everyone else I guess it's cola or soda.
• Garlic salt and Pepper to taste.
• One small minced onion.
• 16ozs of your favorite BBQ sauce.

Directions

1. Place roast in crock pot.  I put mine in frozen but it can be done thawed as well.
2. Pour coke over entire roast.  Be sure to lift it up so it gets underneath.
3. Toss in the onion and your seasonings.
4. Turn on low for about 7 hours.  Now, mine was frozen so I had it on high for an hour and then turned it down to low for the remaining time.
5. Take the roast out and shred it.  Drain all but 1 cup of the juices.  Put shredded roast back in the crock pot and smother it with all the bbq sauce and saved juices.  Mix it all up so that the meat is properly covered and wet.
6. Let cook on low for another hour or two or until you just can't take it any longer and have to have some.
7. Serve on a bun, over rice, on a plate with taters and corn... anyway you want it and enjoy!

I was so set to eating it that I totally forgot to take a picture of it.  I'll try to remember to do it with leftovers tonight... but I can honestly tell you that it was the most delicious thing I've put in my mouth in a very long time.  It was heaven on a bun, let me tell you!!

Winding up tunes

I have the straps left to go and then it will be done... and I'm so tickled with how it all came together.

This is what I have in my fabric stash to use but I am not sold on either one really.  Hope my mama has something better.

... and because I totally forgot about coming in here yesterday, here is my song for the week and it is dedicated to my husband.  I love you, Pokey... we'll get through this and be stronger for it.  Promise.

What you do now, that's what's important

It's been a bit of a rough week/weekend for me so I needed something simple to motivate me today.  I don't want to rant about it here because the things that started aren't important... what is important is what I do and where I go from here.

Since I refuse to stoop to those levels, I will simple figure out a way to soldier on.

My week... in pictures

I finished my hat and blocked it - again, totally marveled by the power of blocking.

I started my next OWL project this past Sunday and have been working on it all week.

I did a little bit of "just for fun" photography too for my photography group.

This just made me giggle... an invite to play.

I got this far by Monday morning - learning the stitch was not as hard as I thought.

I cleaned out and straightened up my craft closet - got it all uploaded to Ravelry too.

This is where I ended the week on my bag.  It's amazing what I can get done in the car queue at school.

The headache is down to a dull roar today so I'm hoping to get my chore list done for today and then I'm just going to rest.  These that last several days have been horrible but the upside is that my head doesn't feel like it will explode today so that's a step up.

Nothing exciting but a lot of little thing that just need to get done.  We're shooting for done by lunch... guess I better get started before it gets too hot around here.

Weekend Wonderment

It's coming along better than I imagined so I can't wait to get it finished and figure out the lining.

I'm currently battling a migraine so I have nothing on tap for today but hopefully I can get it under control and it won't ruin my first full weekend off in months.  My plan is to hopefully finish this bag so I can start my Quidditch plans and finish mapping out my Mission pattern... basically, I don't have time for a migraine.  I've been able to sneak in some extra crafting time so I am further ahead than I anticipated on this project, which is fine since it gives me the cushion to take a bit of time off for illness but I don't want to lose my cushion all together, you know?

I know what triggered this episode and, fingers crossed, I can get it gone before my shift tonight so I can enjoy my weekend.  I think I'll curl up in a dark room and cry myself to sleep for a bit... hopefully by this afternoon, that will have done the trick.  It never does but a girl can dream, right?

Nibbles and Narratives

(c) mostlyhomemademom.com

I am just past the halfway point on my current book, Beautiful Creatures, and I have to say that I am rather enjoying it.  Granted it does have the whole standard storyline of boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy questions girl and loses her (this is the part that is building up if I'm right), and then boy wins girl back (I hope, if the previous occurs).  It's a very engaging story and I do love that the author has yet to play down to me and spoon feed me plot lines instead of letting them fully develop naturally, trusting that the reader will be able to 'get there' on their own.

The characters are well developed too.  The 'good guys' are good but not too good so that it ends up being super unrealistic and the bad guys are just bad enough that you can associate but not so bad that it's fantastical.  They are all just regular people whom you can latch on to and go on the journey with, emotionally connected, and hope that y'all make it to the other side with very few wounds.  As long as the author doesn't ruin it by killing a main character simply because they can, I am going to absolutely love this book.  It's even something that both Hobbit and Peanut will enjoy so I'm sure I'll be passing it on.

What makes this book even better is that it is part of a series so I already have my hopes set on getting the other 4 - and to add to my nerdy love, the series is numbered as 1, 2, 2.5, 3, and 4... yep, there is a 2.5 which just makes my heart happy.

(c) Ohbiteit.com

As far as the nibbles go, it's been a bake free week but I am hoping to remedy that this weekend.  I have been wanting something but I wasn't sure what I wanted - I still don't actually - but cruising my Pinterest foodie board as led me to two fantastic ideas.  One is a supper dish called "Ranch Chicken Enchilada Lasagna" that sounds oh so delicious and then a dessert called "Apple Pie Cookies" which looks really neat.  I need a few things from the store for these but hopefully, I'll be able to run in and get the missing ingredients.

Time to get started on the day - make it great!

Whirlwind!

I tossed everything from my craft closet out in the open, took stock, and purged it.  Books, magazines and skeins.

Now it's all organized, decluttered and documented on my Ravelry pages!

The challenge now is to decided if I'm going to go with 7 rows of orange instead of 3.

Such a productive morning!  I went through all of my crafting books and magazines, along with my yarn stash, and purged it.  I took out things I didn't want, wouldn't make or didn't need any longer.  All books and magazines will be donated to my local library and the yarn was just odds and ends that will be thrown away unless I can find some place that might want it though there honestly isn't enough of any one to do anything with... though it is two garbage bags full.  I'll stop waffling one of these days and get it settled.

So I took all that was left and made my Ravelry stash and library up to date.  What you see in there - between my stash, library and project pages - is exactly what I have on hand!  It's all been photographed and accounted for which makes me feel fabulous.

I am still married to my OWL bag because I'm debating a color change situation.  There are 24 rows of this fan stitch situation before I get to the boring stuff for the handles.  I used the dark grey for the bottom and first fan transition to the orange.  Now I need to figure out if I am going to go with two more rows from where I am, plus the transition row, or not.  It think I am because it gives it a nice sense of balance.  I also think I'm going to go from the orange to the maize yellow and then the light grey because it gives it a nice gradient flow from dark to light.  The actual crafting is taking a bit longer than I anticipated too so that means I have to adjust my time tables for it... plus, now that I have my stash all sorted out, I can figure out my Quidditch projects based off of what I have 500 yards of to work with... so happy!!

It's amazing what a bit of cleaning out and cleaning up can do for a person.

The Mama and the Mamaw

This song was in my head this morning. It always makes me so happy and it makes me think of my Mamaw - she passed when I was just a baby so I don't remember her but I have created my idea of her based off of stories that my mama has told me over the years.

 In my head, she is Doris Day - full of beauty and grace with just the right amount of sass - and this music - all bubbly and bouncy and full of life - is what I think of whenever I think of her.

 So this is for my mama and my Mamaw, two beautiful women that I would have not had the honor of knowing if it weren't for the other.

It's rather simple really...

I don't remember where I found this image because I've had it for a while but it's one of my most favorite Disneyisms.  Y'all know of my love of all things Disney.  He truly does have an answer for everything and I was gifted a book full of nothing but quotes from Walt by one of my cast members years ago.  It is a treasure and I flip through it whenever I need motivation... today, this is the one I need so I thought I would share.

Sunday Snaps

We started the week with some time at the park to burn off some energy after all the rain that prior week...

I was given the "go ahead" on my OWL and started the first of three projects involved - a slouch hat!

We had Open House and she is doing better with her 'tude.  This was after she cleaned her room, without asking.

This is the finished hat!  I love how it came out and it's currently blocking so it lays better.

Next part of the OWL, my bag.  I made it to the first "planned" color change which was my goal so yay!

I get to see my mama for a very little while on Thursday since she's coming down to have lunch with Hobbit for Grandparent's Day.  Otherwise, it's just going to be business as  usual around here.  I hope to get some serious headway on this bag and start the first of two shawls for Quidditch.  I have an idea for one but we'll see if I can make it work.  I want to see if I can't noodle out four more classes.  I have managed to turn in two already but I have a thing about hitting six if I can - and I never see why I can't so there we go.

Time to go fix some Meatcakes and Rice with Tomato gravy for supper.  Hope y'all had a fabulous week!

Thank the maker, it's Friday!

I will finish this tonight... it's my goal anyway so I hope that it's obtainable because I need to work on...

This bag - I just have a sinking feeling that it won't be nearly as cooperative as my hat has been.

This has been on nerve wracking week, I swear.  I'm so happy that it's Friday and I will have my first full weekend off in months.  We don't have anything planned because I need a mental health day after this week.. it might just take both days to recoup!  Fiber therapy is definitely on tap of me this weekend too.  I'm hoping to make it to the orange on that bag... if that bottom doesn't continue to give me fits.  I am toying with blocking the bottom before moving forward because it just twists back on itself something fierce.  I don't like fighting with projects, it wears me out and makes me resent them.

Toying with placing Hobbit in a youth bowling league as something fun to do.  I placed an inquiry so we'll see if they call back any time soon.  It would be on Saturday mornings so that works out well.  The bowling alleys are now smoke free so I can sit in there and craft while she does her thing.

Okay, I need to make my menus for the month so I can get my grocery list set up and ready for tomorrow.  I want to get all my chores and errands done before Pokey gets home on Saturday.

Wednesday Wound-Up

I almost forgot what day it was... having everyone off on Monday has me thinking it's a day behind - on the upside, I got a surprise day off since it's Wednesday and not Tuesday.  So here is an update on my projects -

I got the approval for my OWL so I started the hat last night.  I love how it's turning out so far.

I finally broke down today and frogged that shawl that I wasn't happy with so I can find something better.

I'm almost done with the first of two presents for a dear friend.  I'll share once they are received.

Now it's time to make some burgers, grab a soda and chips, and settle down to watch the finale of "So You Think You Can Dance".  I forgot to vote but I love all of the final four so I'll be okay with any of them winning - though I'm rooting for Fic-Shun and Jasmine!

Whoa, back to business

My goodness, that was one crazy holiday weekend.  I didn't get any time off between family and working but it was fun all the same.  Time for a little recap of events...

Thursday was spent on Ravelry.  Seriously, the vast majority of my day was spent there in the HPKCHC group because Sorting happened and I am a Mentor which means we had a lot of First Years and NQFYs to get settled and into place.  I love this 'job' - it brings more joy than you could possibly imagine.  Plus, I got sorted back home to Slytherin so there was a lot of catching up to do with my friends.

Friday was spent cleaning in the morning and then running around with Hobbit in the afternoon because of a rash she had all over her arm.  It was awful.  I got a call from the school nurse to come up and see but I figured it was just prickly heat from being sweaty after recess - it so wasn't that!  I called her pediatrician and he asked for us to take pictures and email them to him, which we did.  Turns out she has eczema so he gave us some samples of a cream to put on it which has really helped.  I love our pediatrician because he runs his practice like an old school doctor.  None of that cost me a dime because it wasn't about the money, it was about making Hobbit better.  That reminds me, I need to call him today and give him an update.  I also had to work that night which left me little time to breathe that day at all.

Saturday was spent catching up on the things I didn't get done Friday - I had to swatch for my Muggle Studies OWL so that I was ready to submit on Sunday, I had to do laundry and tidy up around the house and work that night.  Not as busy but still, crazy days because classes hadn't started yet for Fall Term over on HPKCHC but the students were still abuzz because it was less than 24 hours away... and I was too!

Sunday was my only day off and so I was lazy bones.  I submitted my OWL and spent a good portion of the morning answering questions, setting up the Slytherin Study Hall and learning my Beater position on the Slytherin Quidditch team.  My gaggle of First Years are settling into a groove and some had even submitted their first classes so there was a great deal of celebrating going on.  That afternoon, we took Hobbit to the park down the road so she could run around and enjoy the cooler afternoon temperatures.  It's not but a mile up the road so we may walk it and let her ride her bike next time because there's a nice metered track outlined around the park area.  After we put Hobbit to bed that night, Pokey and I watched "This Means War" - super cute movie.  I really enjoyed it and I think we'll be picking it up from the store if we see it.

That brings us to yesterday.  I did have to work but I don't mind working on holidays because I get paid time and a half and it's generally quiet.  We did have a bit of systems issue last night so during the downtime, we had a bit of a book club chat and discussed what we're reading and how we're liking it.  I got in a few rounds of my Potage's Cauldron shop shopping submission done too.  Overall, it was a nice day.

Today has been good so far.  I had a talk with Hobbit about the standards her room will be kept at and if I have to do it, she will pay me for my maid services since we had to spend ten minutes searching for her planner that she misplaced earlier in the week.  The thought of giving away her money may be the key to her finally getting a grip on her extreme messiness which drives me batty.  It's like she has a complete disregard for cleanliness and just tosses things on the ground when she's done... so gross!  I gave her tonight to clean it up and if I have to go in there will be garbage bags involved.  I do have to work tonight but I don't anticipate it being busy though I do think things will slowly start to pick up since we're entering the Golden Quarter in October - that magical time of year when retailers make roughly 50 to 75 percent of their annual income thanks to the holiday season.  I do love my schedule this month though - working on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.  It's a great blend of days off.  That third day in a row was a complete de-motivater for me when I had to go back to work the following day.  Something just clicks after that third day... it's like you were on a fake holiday and get cheated out of the rest of the time.  You know?

So that's where I've been... at Hogwarts mostly and caring for my family but now we're back to business as usual, which means - here's your song for the day... Enjoy!