Egad! Its been nearly two weeks since my last post! Don’t you just love a good reason to use egad? Must just be me, huh?


I’d love to say that I’ve been so craftily productive that I just haven’t had time to blog about it all. I’d love to say that I fear misplacing Piper underneath the pile of FO’s that threatens to take over my apartment. Or that my yarn stash is depleted to dangerously low levels.


Yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh out loud at that one.

The truth is that I’ve been tired and lazy. There was some sort of Back to School event all last week. The principal’s meeting was a wash because the Biff and Buffy parents couldn’t shut their traps long enough to let anyone hear what was being said. We did get to meet Pi’s teacher who is very young and extremely wet behind the ears. He seems to have a passion for teaching, so I hope that translates into fun and unconventional learning for the class.


Last Friday was the Back to School “block” party. Block goes into quotation marks because it was actually held in the school parking lot. There was a DJ, food, games, and general silliness. It was perfect weather and I had a chance to chat with other parents.

Pi also plays one mean game of water balloon tossing.
How awesome is that expression? Ha!

But not such a mean game in the hula hoop contest.


She was out after 15 seconds or so.


Because I've been so tired, there’s been a whole lot of lazy going on when I can squeeze lazy in! I was especially lazy last weekend when I slept til 12, then took a nap around 3 for oh...two hours! It was heavenly. Pi was with her dad in Brooklyn, so no need to call DCS just yet.

So what have I been doing? Getting up, working, coming home, and crashing.

The place mat I was working on during my commute has been replaced with sleep (dudes, I catch a 6:12 am bus and have to use a flashlight for the driver to see me at the stop) or light reading. In an attempt to cajole the mojo back, I tried sitting at my new craft table to sew some coasters. I figured that was simple enough, but after 2 broken needles and general disaster, I accepted that the mojo is way way off and put it away.

When my mojo is off, I usually head back to the hook (preferably a big one..size J or bigger plskthx) and something that's got the kind of instant gratification bang I need to get things moving again. Since the weather has gotten chilly, a new slouchy hat seems to be in order. Here's hoping that I'll actually have a FO before the weekend is over.

If only I had an ounce of this energy!


Happy Wednesday peeps!

Festifall

This weekend was the annual Festifall street fair in our town. Apparently, its a big fair to celebrate the coming of Fall, but today felt more like Summer than Fall!

For such a small town, it was a big fair with lots of people. There was a water dunk tank. That guy got dunked at least 3 times in just a few minutes.



A kiddie train rode around the street.



Piper got into the festivities too. She loves rock climbing and jumped at the chance to do it again. It was tougher for her this time because she was wearing ballet shoes** and they didn't have much grip on the bottom.



A spinning, flying teacup ride that made me want to puke just watching it.



A local knitting store, that I'd yet to visit, had a booth outside with plastic bins full of yarn on clearance. They were all $1 each because they were trying to make room for their fall yarns coming in.

I scored 5 skeins of the 80% cotton, 20% wool yarn that's made in Peru. Never heard of it before, but the tag says its normally $7.95 a skein, so I'd say its a good deal.



Pretty, eh? If I didn't have storage issues, I probably would have bought up an entire plastic bin. Man, the temptation was soooooo bad. They've got a knitting club on Tuesday nights too. Not sure if I've got the time to actually go, but its neat to know that its there.

I've been crocheting too. Just very very slowly, since I've mostly been sleeping on my rides to and from work. Its nothing exciting...just a placemat, but here's a sneak peek.

** Speaking of those shoes!!! I took her to buy a new pair of flats because she'd outgrown her old ones. None of the children's sizes fit anymore, so I knew we'd have to try adult sizes. I figured a 5 or 5 and a half would do it. Nope, not even close! My little...err...big girl fit into a 7 and a half WOMEN'S shoes! Good grief, we're going to be sharing shoes soon and she's only 9!!!

And the winner is....

The random generator picked number 1! That's Kristina P! Shoot me an email with your addy and I'll mail it out. :)

Thanks for all the blog recommendations. I'm about to get into my pjs and check them all out.

**Please ignore the fact that's its only 8:20 on a Friday night, that I'm only 28 and probably shouldn't be sooooo excited about getting into my pjs, but alas I am.** ;)

Happy weekend peeps!

Turning two!

Holy cupcakes, batman! The blog is two today! How time flies!



I seriously appreciate this blog and all the blessings it comes with. I've made an amazing group of bloggy friends, whose knowledge on all things (crafty and non-crafty) is mind boggling and awe-worthy.

I've learned so much from reading your blogs, your tutorials, and your tips. Venturing into new crafts, like knitting and sewing, didn't seem so scary because I knew there was a whole group of supportive peeps to lend a hand. Or an ear when a project blew up in my face and I needed to vent.

You guys seriously rock, so I want to say thanks for listening to me babble (usually with bad grammar...sorry Mary!) for the last two years. You've saved me so much in therapy bills, haha!

So as a small token of my appreciation, I'm having a teensy blogiversary giveaway! Its another Potato Chip Scarf (you can't make just one, heh).

Its made with Moonlight Mohair and is really soft and girly. This second picture gives you a better idea of the color and the how the yarn sparkles.

Click the pic to get the full effect.

The sidebar needs some cleaning up and I want to add new blogs that are must-reads, crafty or not. I love to click on sidebar blogs and find new people that I might have otherwise never been exposed to. So tell me what one of your favorite blogs is!

Since its a small giveaway, I'll only leave it open for 24 hours. I'll pick the winner tomorrow via Random Generator when I get home from work. If you don't have a blog, please leave an email addy that I can contact you at.

**I would have liked to give away something bigger, but my crafting time has been seriously limited lately. I'm hoping that as soon as I get adjusted to my new travel schedule (aka less exhausted), I'll get my mojo back.

Its close enough!

In all the years I've been crafting, I've never had my own crafting space. I stuffed yarn in random closets, drawers, bags, and plastic totes. In the last year, add fabric and sewing notions to that and its been a hell of a mess.

In order to use my sewing machine, I had to pull it out of a closet and set it up on the dining room table. It was a pain in the ass and I didn't sew unless I knew I could keep the machine out for awhile.

But now, I have my very own space! I'd tell you to pinch me, but I've already done that to myself a bunch of times, haha. Its not quite a room, but its close enough!



Our new place has very little closet space, which made for a lot of craft boxes and bags left in the corner unpacked. What our bedroom lacked in closet space is made up with a little alcove in the corner of the room. We weren't quite sure what to do with it, then hubby had the bright idea to get me a portable table for my crafting supplies and sewing machine.

That wicker chest on the right and the dollar store bag on the left holds yarn. The drawers are actually deep enough to keep all of my sewing supplies, knitting needles, crochet hooks, and ribbon. I still have my fabric folded in the closet, but that's easy to pull out.

I'm beyond stupid excited to have my own little space dedicated to the hobbies I love.

Now, I need to get curtains, make a sewing machine cover and decorate a little. Its bland for sure and needs sprucing up. Maybe a cork board for the wall for ideas and current patterns I'm working on. Any ideas to make the space a little warmer?

I can't wait until I've got an evening with some free time to use my new space!

Worth Repeating

This is the message I posted last year on this day. I think it is worth repeating.

Please keep all the September 11th victims and their families in your thoughts and prayers today.

Also, please keep the rescue workers in your thoughts and prayers as well. My dad was a rescue worker at ground zero for more than 5 months, searching for victims and clearing debris. He now suffers from respiratory problems that he did not have before the September 11th attacks. Many, many of the rescue workers are suffering with respiratory illnesses.

A big thanks to the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program at Mt. Sinai Medical Center for continuing to provide medical care for the rescue workers who are ill.

For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

The Milkweed Project

A few months ago, I signed up to participate in the Milkweed Project. Its basically a giant group effort of knitters, crocheters, and fiber peeps to make pieces that will be joined into a giant milkweed pod. It sounded fun, artsy, and out of the box for me, so I jumped in.

The only requirement was that the piece be at least 3 feet long in either white or off white. I didn't want to do something flat. I felt like a little body and dimension would be great for a project like this, so I went with the Potato Chip scarf pattern.



The only difference I made was to make a longer starting chain to make sure I had 3 feet worth of scarf. I may have over-done it, haha. The scarf is nearly 5 feet long.



This is made with Red Heart super saver and a J hook. I love the way it curls on its own. It wouldn't be much good for keeping you warm, if you used it as a scarf, but it sure does make an interesting shape.



Check out some of the other entries to the Milkweed Project so far. There is some gorgeous work! The deadline isn't until December, so they might have room for more participants if you're interested in joining.

Adios Summer

So much for being back at regular blogging. I've been a slacker and honestly, boring as can be, haha.

The last few days of summer vacation for Pi and I were coming to a quick close, so we made the best of it outside. We spent a lot of time exploring the local playgrounds. This particular playground has a tire swing that the kid is in love with.



It also has geese that just walk around the playground. They have no fear...they will follow you around without hesitation.



While Pi was exploring the local kid spots, anonymous hubby and I have been on a mission to find a good cup of iced coffee. We must have sampled half the places in this town and while they were all good, I still miss my Dunkins coffee. Good thing there is one by my job!

Today is the first day of school and if I do say so myself, I've got one cute 4th grader on my hands. I wonder where she could have possibly gotten that fabulous hair? heehee



Although, this must be someone else's child. Mine has never picked up a book in the morning. Alien Piper?


Yes, that's a Mary Kate and Ashley book. They never go away!

She was nervous this morning, and I was nervous for her. Who am I kidding...I'm still nervous! She doesn't get out for nearly 5 hours and I am tempted to go sit in front of the school and wait for her right now! The only thing holding me back is knowing that I would embarrass the crap out of her if her new classmates saw me sitting there.

It can't be that embarrassing, right? LOL.

The move

I'm sure you're sick of hearing "the move" this and "the move" that, so I promise, this post has all the details and then we'll move on to regular blogging again.

The day we moved, I went around the apartment taking pics of everything, showing what condition we left everything in. You know, have to make sure we get our security back.

Anyway, after a so-so season with our pot garden, look what I discovered in the backyard! They were finally starting to grow and ripen. We left them there and hopefully the next people who move in can enjoy them (before they discover a Mickey problem and run too).



The tomatoes weren't the only things that decided to sprout. Hubby planted these sunflowers for me ages ago and within the last few days before we left, this sunflower sprouted to be nearly as tall as me. I was so tempted to pick it and take it with me, but decided to let it keep growing instead.



With typical Christina luck, there was a block party the day we were moving, so the entire block was closed off. The movers showed up an hour late and we managed to get the truck down the block without running over anyone playing in the street. Worst movers ever by the way, but I guess that's what we get for going with the cheap movers.

Pi was amazed by the way the movers packed everything into the truck. So much so, that she planted herself in a plastic chair right next to the truck. The movers were patient with her and let her watch.



After taking FOREVER to load the truck, we were off. We didn't get to Jersey until 8pm. It was already dark and I felt so bad about moving in so late. We got unpacked by 10 and just crashed.

This is how we all felt.



So, this is a view of our new street. See that green stuff? Grass! And loads of trees. My allergies are protesting the trees, but I like the trees. Ooh, ooh, did I mention crickets? Oh man, they make that chirping noise all day and night. I had no idea that crickets made noise during the day. After the first two night, I got used to the sound and can honestly say I like it now.

Our downstairs neighbors are super nice. How can you not love someone who tells you they're a hugger and then gives you a big hug when you first meet? I can tell we're going to get along great. The neighbors suggested that we get milkshakes from a place called Cheeburger, which has like 50 flavors or something close to that.

Pi went with a boring strawberry shake but it was good. I didn't get one this time around, but I've got my eye on the Oreo Cheesecake flavor for next time.

This is one of the parks close to where we live. There are parks in pretty much every direction you turn.

Pi being a ham. Not everything changes, haha.

Yesterday, we hopped NJ Transit to visit my parents and grandparents because they've been having serious Piper withdrawal.

Pip is adjusting really well. Our neighbors next door have been awesome with her. They have a 4 year old daughter that Pi really likes and they have a big backyard (and swing set) that they allow Pi to play on. Their daughter comes and knocks on the door every morning, so Pi can go out and play. They also brought over some neighbor kids close to Pi's age (one in her grade actually) and so Pi has already made friends.

She's already gotten used to getting up and heading out the door without having one of us watching her. She's even biked to the ice cream shop with the neighbors. In less than a week, she's already becoming a townie kid. I'm really relieved that she's doing well. We visited her school too and the principal seems amazing! Overall, it looks like this move was the right decision for us.

I never thought I'd say this, but, I like you New Jersey!

Tap tap, anybody out there?

Sorry its been so long. The move was crazy stressful and we just got the Internet hooked up last night. We're about 75% unpacked and I don't ever want to see a cardboard box again. :) I love the neighborhood! Who knew New Jersians (jerseyites?) were so friendly? I'll get pics up soon, but just wanted to let you guys know I'm alive.