Zero

I can't believe I forgot to post about Zero being finished!  His last stitch was tied off a few days ago and he has happily been residing with Hobbit ever since.  I did manage to get a few photos before his abduction so here ya go -

He is just a happy little ghost puppy.

I modified the pattern a bit at the nose, body and ears... all over really.

Can you tell how truly massive this toy/blanket really is - he took me three days of trial and error!

Maybe this will help with judging size - Pokey vs. Zero - both equally cheesy cute.

Okay, so she didn't abduct him - he surprised her on Monday morning by waiting patiently...

And it was well worth the wait.  Zero was a huge hit.

Blessings returned

Remember that awesome swap package I received early last week?  Mine has finally arrived at the recipient's house so I can share with y'all what I sent.  I admit, I was floundering on this one since there wasn't any theme.  I had no direction and felt lost... until I sat down and realized that was my problem and just gave myself a theme.  I went with Autumn and here is what I sent to my swap partner...

My swap buddy is a baker so I thought she could use some pretty new oven mitts...

and kitchen towels because I know mine are always missing!

We had to have a local item so I did the best I could with what I could find that wasn't too kitschy.

Autumn smells like apple cinnamon to me, what about you?

Everyone loves a jar full of candy corn... don't they?

She has two little people so I added these cuties for them.

She also loves to cross-stitch and I thought this little message was wonderful and always so true.

4 Ring Pops... 4 people in her family... score!

Fun bedtime story to read to her babies during the cooler months.

I made her this cute hat.  It reminds me of a baker's hat a little bit but way classier.

and I made a matching ornament for her Christmas tree... being a baker, a cupcake works.

I wrote her a little note too - just to say how fabulous she is...

Complete with some official Walt Disney World pixie dust from my personal stash.

There you have it - my swap box.  She says she loved it all - and that makes me very tickled indeed.

Tuesday Tunes

I have been in a Monkees mood... I need this series on DVD because my old VHS has worn out! Oh well, Christmas is coming so hopefully Santa will deliver.

Cowboy Lasagna

I've had a few requests for this recipe so I figured since I was making it tonight for supper, I would post it here as well.  It's super simple and wildly popular in this house.  I hope y'all like it.

Supper's ready!

Ingredients
1. 1 lb of ground beef
2. Minced onions - 4 tbsp
3. Worcestershire sauce - generous sprinkling
4. Parsley - roughly 3 tbsp, divided
5. One can of tomato soup - 10 3/4 ozs
6. One can of corn - 15.25 ozs
7. Dried ground mustard - 3 tsp
8. One package of tater tots - 32 ozs
9. Salt and Pepper to taste
10. Mozzarella cheese - roughly 4 cups

Directions
1. Brown ground beef with spices - drain.  Add can of soup and can of corn, simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. In a greased 9x13 baking dish, arrange tator tots in single layer.  Cover with 2 cups of cheese.  Pour ground beef mixture over top and cover with remaining cheese and 1 tbsp of parsley.
3. Place in a 350F oven for 30 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

I know my idols, Gordon and Paula, would be appalled but my family is tickled.

Motivational Monday

source

I unplugged this weekend and it was wonderful.  I disconnected from the internet and reconnected with the world.  While I do love all that modern technology has to offer, I dislike routines that we can sometimes fall into which pull us from that which is most important - real people.

Today, I'm going to continue on a modified disconnected life.  I will write here and catch up on my friends blogs that I missed over the weekend but after that - I'm going to do something productive.  I find that a computer has become a great time suck and I am going to step away.  When I do sit down, I've taken to setting a kitchen timer for 60 minutes.  Once it goes off, I find something else to do - read a book, clean something or craft something.  There is so much more to life than watching it through a computer or television screen.

It's time to live a simpler life and that includes finding a better balance between computer and the world.  I didn't spend a great deal of time on it before but this was all triggered because I kept running down rabbit holes on Friday and I lost an entire day - an entire day!  That is something I have never done but came to the conclusion that if it was so easy to do it once, then it better stop now before it becomes a habit.

Every day is my day to be as productive or wasteful as I wish... and I wish to be more productive.  I dare say, if I were to tag those lost hours from Friday and redistribute them in a better way, there is no telling what I could have done!  Time to stop talking about things and start doing... because that is the only way to make a difference.

Sunday Snaps

I started my BROOM/Dissertation on the 1st...

Hobbit's been getting lots of love via the post...

I got my fair share of love too!

I created the cutest little cupcake out of thin air - and then tossed it too!

My swap box is en route - I promise to share once I know it's been received.  I hope she like it!

Self-imposed 'unplugged' weekend has resulted in some major crafting - any guesses?

My beautiful baby had school photos on Friday so I made her a headband.

And the living is finally finished (except for the sofa table that I'm searching for in the stores).

I hope your week was equally as lovely - and that your week to come is even better.

Weekend Wonderment ~ 10/5 - 10/7

Couldn't really collage the pieces of this one so we'll have to make do with an old fashion list.

Hobbit and Hufflepuffs

Hobbit is seeing the full circle.

I have been telling Hobbit for years that when she has outgrown something and we donate it, that it gets loved by another child for years to come.  She didn't quite get it until yesterday.

I have always loved my Hufflepuff family - they are the sweetest group of crafters that I have the honor of knowing - but this week, they're blowing me away.  We're doing a postcard/note swap this month.  Yes, I know I'm spending the term abroad in Slytherin but that doesn't mean that I am not a Hufflepuff so they think of me and include me because they are that awesome.  Well, I asked if instead of having the notes sent to me if they could send them to Hobbit because she loves to get things in the post.  I remember getting excited when I was her age because my birthday or a holiday was coming up and I would get a card from my aunt or grandparents.  Nothing better in the world than being important enough to have a letter sent to you when you're that age.

Our contribution to the Hufflepost Swap

So far she as gotten a beautiful postcard from Arizona from the sweetest of souls who is now her pen pal - an idea that has Hobbit giggling even this morning.  Then yesterday, she got a parcel in the post and inside, from yet another amazing Hufflepuff and her children, were some American Girl paper doll sets and a small American Girl doll named Julie, complete with a tiny book that Hobbit has already read twice!  When she read the attached note about how her daughters had outgrown these things but wanted them to have many more years of love with her, she finally understood what I've been telling her for years.  After she dried her tears of joy and inspected all of her new treasures, she sat and pondered it all.  It was wonderful to watch her process what she's been taught along with what just transpired and come to her own conclusion, which she simply put as ~

Giving is the greatest gift of all.

So very blessed

Mail lady braved the heavy rains to bring me a present today.

So naturally I thanked her, made a mental note to knit her something nice for Christmas and dove in.

It was my swap box from Heather over in Club 33!!  As you can see, I had to wait on the card...

I found some awesome blue cotton yarn...

And some equally awesome pink cotton yarn.

There was a cookie... 'was' being the operative word and it 'was' delicious too!

I even found some candied apple candy corn in there too!

Inside this pretty box was...

A precious snow globe from her local area - look at it sparkle!

I found some beautiful stationary that I can't wait to use...

Along with some awesome Halloween decorations for our new house.

Even a few girlie things just for me.

She made me a gorgeous headband...

Plus a very pretty trivet and coaster set - no, you can't have it either because it's perfect for here.

She sent me the bag pattern that I have been drooling over for months...

And the most perfect card...

The carried the most wonderful letter.

Thank you, Heather - I feel so very blessed.

Tuesday Tunes

Just a great song to get motivated by this morning - get up and dance with me!

And so it begins

May 2011 - the last time they were together

Tournament 6 started today and everyone is all a flutter with ideas and preparations for their projects.  It is also the start of the November round over in HPKCHC so there is double the amount of excitement for some of us.  Larger projects are being proposed and others have been given the green light to begin.

To add to my excitement of today, I'm surprising Hobbit after school.  My folks came in town yesterday but she doesn't know.  The last thing she heard was that Nana and Pop would be here on Wednesday - but my daddy was able to get a few extra days off so they left early.  Today, when Hobbit gets off the bus, she will have the most wonderful surprise of seeing my folks there with me.  I'm going to take my camera, in hopes of capturing the sheer joy on her face when she sees them.

Isn't it amazing how something as simple as seeing a loved one will turn the day magical.