Many thanks - to you!

Morning Coffee eReader Cover!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend and to celebrate the kick-off of my favorite time of year, I made y'all a little something.  Please accept this pattern as a token of my appreciation.  I am so very thankful for all of you who come into my little world and hang out with me.

It's available on Ravelry as a downloadable pattern and there is also a direct link to the pdf here.

I hope that everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving, surrounded by those you hold dear, celebrating all the things that make life magical.  I know I'll be adding all y'all to my list of things that I'm thankful for - so if you're traveling, be safe and if you're staying home, be at peace.

Motivation...

This little bit of information right here...

was the final bit of motivation I needed to finish this little diddy right here!  My first ever sweater!!

Guess what I'll be wearing this Thanksgiving to my folks' house...

Multi-tasking

This week has gotten away from me so the best way to get back on track is to simply pick up where we left off until we reach where we are supposed to be... so here goes!


I've had this song in my head most of the week so I thought I'd share the joy with the rest of you.   Now we have background music for the rest of the post too!

All of my projects have managed to migrate to my office and I try to give each a bit of love every day.

 The goal today is to make the sweater complete, along with the Christmas present.  I hope to have them off the hooks by this evening and ready for photographing before the sun goes down or by first light tomorrow before I have to go to work.  It's a goal, hopefully one that I will make too.

This is our supper tonight - thanks to Pinterest - minus the bacon because of my really dumb pork allergy.

Pokey and Hobbit are both having a Thanksgiving feast today while they're out so I figured a lighter supper was in order.  A simple egg and hashbrown casserole will do the trick because they should still be full when they get home and I don't see the need in wasting a roast on a group of troops that are already stuffed.

Gotta love Goodreads.com

I also started a new book the other night.  Not because I really wanted to read it but because I wanted to read something and it was there.  I'm not into it yet but I'll give it a bit more time because the scenes are still just developing.  I have high hopes for it since I like the author from when I read "Wicked" so many years ago.

I've actually had this book for some time, along with "Mirror, Mirror" and "Son of a Witch".  I received them as presents the same year I was raving about "Wicked" but I've never been moved to immediately read them because I worry that the next won't be as good as the first, leaving a souring on the first book.  I know, it's strange but y'all know that I'm strange anyway so this is not some kind of miracle revelation.  I'll keep plugging away and we'll see if it pulls me in as I go along, which I hope it does because now that I sit here remembering his first novel, I've rekindled my desire to read his later works.

There you have it - all caught up and ready for the rest of the week.  I have a great sense of accomplishment about the day now.  Let's see if we can't carry that through to the sweater like I was talking about earlier...

Inspiration

I have this bag that I love.  It was sent to me by a dear friend who went to London, UK which makes it doubly awesome...

and it's my inspiration for the color palette of my latest project.  Brilliant, no?

I find inspiration in the strangest places sometimes.  A flower, a painting, a moment, a mood... or even a bag.  I have been a lover of grey for a very long time.  It is so underrated as a color when in reality, it's practically perfect.  It goes with everything and adds just enough lift to make everything around it pop.

I've never been to London but whenever I think about it, grey has a very strong presence for me.  Earl Grey or Lady Grey, fog, stonework, River Thames, and so much more.  They just resonate and so, in order to bring a bit of that to my part of the world, I've been on a grey crafting spree as of late.  It started with a bag, then a sweater and now this latest project - a test crochet for one of my favorite designers.  Everyone who knows me knows that I am a complete Anglophile so hopefully, one day, I will be able to wear all of my beautiful grey creations at some point as I wonder around the streets that stole my heart long before I ever arrived.

The beauty and warmth is undeniable, hopefully my projects will emulate it as well.  I think it's interesting how we go through such cycles - gravitating towards certain colors or patterns.  What do you find is really speaking to you lately?

Sunday Snaps

Guess who found a USB cord that works with her camera...

and can now take - and off load - images of her projects that she's been working on...

so that she can share them with everyone else because she's kinda proud of her progress...

Like I always say... all it takes is faith, trust and a little bit of pixie dust.

Positivity Challenge

I challenged all of my friends last night to post nothing but positive and uplifting things for the next 24 hours. There is enough doom and gloom in the world and I think on a day that is numbered as fabulously as 11/12/13, we should do something equally as awesome - be positive!! So here is my contribution to the smiles today... I know I have a few fellow Whovians that will get a giggle out of this pairing doing this song.

Three things...

These times, they are hard... and I am still learning...

Well now that's a conundrum...

How in the world am I supposed to do "Sunday Snaps" without a way to offload photos onto my computer?  It truly is a conundrum... as is the fact that I spelled that word correctly the first time - even checked it in Google to make sure, which I guess is kind of sad if you think about it.  Oh well, onward...

Since I don't have a way to upload images from my camera at the moment and I have some awesome crochet project progress images to share, I'll utilize my pinning abilities to break down my week for you.  To the boards!

Monday, my laptop died but I was able to get a new tower...

Tuesday, the monitor I had died but I was able to get one added on to the tower I got the day prior...

Wednesday, I learned that all the options and avenues I explored to refinance my car weren't going to work...

Thursday, I returned my car to the dealership because I just couldn't get it into the budget any longer...

Friday, I was just over the week and focused on making it to the end of my shift...

This weekend has been spent attempting to get back to this mindset... and that's been my week.  I think I can safely say that it's been the worst week in recent history.  Here's to praying for a better one coming up!

TGIF!

I can't tell you how happy I am that it's the weekend.  All I have to now is just have to make it through my shift at work tonight and then I'm going to be a lump.  That's right, a big ol' lump on my sofa with my crochet projects all around me.

There are things that need to be done, sure, but honestly, after the week I've had, I don't care if they need to be done or not. There is nothing so paramount that it can't wait a few days.

I'm taking a mental health weekend, what about you?

Sometimes, being a grown up sucks.

It's true.  This week has been horrible, absolutely horrible.  Do you know I cancelled a doctor appointment for my yearly check up because I just couldn't stand the thought of possibly hearing more bad news.

Monday, my computer dies and I have to figure out a way to get one because of work.  It's not a luxury item any more, it's my livelihood and without it, we're toast.  Thanks to my daddy's ingenius idea, I was able to find one that worked and it was able to be financed so I could afford it.

Tuesday, the monitor goes out so I have to go back to the same place to get a monitor and add it on to my monthly bill.  It's not a big change, less than $20, but still it was more money going out the door.

Wednesday, I contacted our bank to see if we could refinance my car for a lower payment because ever since the whole restructuring of Pokey's work and the change in position, our income was cut in half... half!  That's with me finally finding a job too.  I have juggled all the bills and managed to get everything set where we can make it work but the one thing that wasn't fitting into the equation any longer was my car.  My cute, precious little dream car was no longer financially doable for us.  I'll be honest, I've been crying over it and I'm not proud... and it's not for some selfish or vain reason... it's because I feel kind of like a failure.

Today, I learned that our bank wouldn't do the refinancing and the current finance company won't redo the loan, it apparently just can't be done and so I have made the tough decision to simply return my car to the dealership.  I called the finance company to let them know, the DMV regarding my tag, our insurance to modify the policy, and the dealership so it's all set to go back tonight.  We still have Pokey's car and Hobbit can take the bus so it's not like it will ruin our lives in any way but it will make things a bit more creative when it comes time to do groceries and whatnot.  Plus, he will have to learn to keep the car clean and not full of junk... and honestly, I don't like his car so I know I won't be driving it much.  It just stinks and I feel beat up and I'm angry at things I can't control.  It's not like we aren't working our hinies off to make ends meet but to have to make the decision to return my car, it's a blow.

So that's what's up - nothing terrible in the big scheme of things but it feels it all the same.  Thanks for listening, now if I could stop puddling up for no good reason and just suck it up again, I'd be good to go.

Lots of people are worse off, it's just a car...

Progress... I swear!

I know I said last week that I wanted to get my armholes done and a few inches past on my OWL sweater.  That was my goal all week and all week, I had life laugh at me whenever I thought I would sit down and crochet... until last night!

While I was at work, I sat down and worked on my sweater between calls and research so that I made my goal.  I have armholes and two rows after!!  I gave my friends a progress update and said that "I did a full on Bilbo and it pulled a David Copperfield" because while I was working it, I didn't think it was going to work.  Not one bit.  I was crocheting, the entire time thinking that I could simply rip it out and try again but it honestly worked out perfectly.  So I went there and back again, and it was magical!

I tried it on today - mostly because I've never made an adult sized anything so to be able to try on my first ever sweater was pretty exciting - and I found the armholes to be just a touch too tight for my liking.  I'm thinking that the weight of the sweater will pull it to a perfect fit so I'm not going to frog it and extend it, as much as I may want to, becaues that might make it too big in the end.

Now here comes the hard part.  Y'all may have heard that my laptop died on Monday.  Just went splat - it powers up and runs but the screen is completely black.  Pokey thinks he can get it up in safe mode, hooked up to his monitor, and transfer off all my files that I need and dump them into the second harddrive he has on his computer so I'm not worried about it.  I was also blessed by being able to find a computer that I could finance that actually had the proper operating system for my work needs... the only challenge is that it doesn't have a drive for my camera memory card like my laptop did and I don't have the USB cable for my camera.  Pokey said we could get an external drive for the memory card but for right now, I don't have a way to offload pictures and share with you.

So there is progress on my sweater, I swear!  Hopefully by my next payday I will be able to pick up what I need and show you a completed sweater.  That would be awesome.

Tuesday Tunes

Today just calls for a bit George. Sing along, dance around, and have a great day!

That moment...

We went up for our first ever Parents Weekend and it was wonderful.

I met the most amazing young lady.  She was funny, intelligent, courteous and kind.

She lives in an old train station building... super cool building with awesome windows and high ceilings.

She has a wicked sense of humor and a great outlook on everything.

She shared the beauty of her world with us - from where she ate...

to where she studied and all things in between.  She was marvelous.

We then showed her where we had our first meal as a married couple...

Our favorite haunt on our honeymoon and even got her "the greatest coffee ever" - a Thin Mint Mocha.

We showed her where we started it all - second floor porch room with the sofa and swing is where it began.

Then together we discovered new things and admired the beauty in them.

We learned the history and appreciated the sentiments behind the actions.

We trusted one another on a journey that was scary - being supportive and encouraging all the way.

And we found the humor in the subtlety all around us. (Wait for it... you'll see it)

Thank you, Peanut, for a wonderful day.  You have brought me so much joy these past 20 years and I must say, it is an honor to be your mama.  I am so proud of you what you have accomplish and what you have set your sights on achieving. 
You have grown into a beautiful young lady and I love you so very much.

Sunday Snaps

We had a great week full of family - and those are my favorite kinds... we carved our Halloween pumpkin...

I made Hobbit a new hat (in 2.5 hours no less) for Red Ribbon week at school on Funky Hat Day...

We had a most amazing Halloween night - full Trick or Treating and having our faith in humanity restored...

and we spent yesterday with Peanut enjoying some quality time during Parents Weekend.

I'll share more about Parents Weekend tomorrow but I have to say, this has been one wonderful week.  It was fully focused on my family and those are the times I love best.  I hope everyone is able to look back on their week and feel the same way... just full of joy and love and memories that make you smile.

This weekend is going to totally rock!

We had a wonderful time last night.  Her pumpkin and costume where a huge hit and she got quite the haul!

This weekend we are going to do something we have never been able to do before... we're going to Parents Weekend up at Peanut's school!!  I'm so excited that I can hardly stand it.  For the first two years of her college career, I wandered around the weekend events with her via telephone but this year, we get to do it like the other kids and be face to face.  It's going to be wonderful.

A whole day with just me, Pokey and our eldest girl... life is going to be awesome that day.  I just know it.