Cassandra's Conundrum

A New Year A New Beginning...

2010-01-01T19:13:00.000-08:00

Hello Blogland:

It's been a long time and I have no apologies. Seriously I don't. The past few years it has been fun to read blogs, post to my blog and respond and meet some wonderful people. But lately there hasn't been any inspiration.

Someone gave me a wonderful idea to just blog twice a month. On first thought it was a great idea. But I haven't done that either. Why you may ask. Well I just don't have the time and the desire.

So my New Year's resolution to myself was to end Cassandra's Conumdrum. Yes that's right I will end this blog. Why try to update something I have no inspiration to continue? Even though I won't continue to use this blog I won't delete it. I have several highly recommended recipes, connections to other wonderful bloggers here and maybe someone could use this site for reference.

Thank you for all your support. It was appreciated.

Please enjoy your New Year! May God Bless you!

Cas...

Sew Mama Sew Blog meme

2009-06-04T19:36:00.000-07:00

I'm an avid blog reader as some of you know. Blogging for myself isn't so popular for me lately. But I'm trying.

I was reading one of my favorite blogs Sew Mama Sew. Very inspirational. Even though my sewing has been on the backburner for some time I'm always pleased to read about sewing.

Here's a meme from the sew mama sew blog they posted and I decided to try. I need some type of jump start to blogging again. LOL!

What brand and model do you have?

Singer Anniversary addition (don't ask what anniversary)

How long have you had it?

I believe I purchased it in 1989.

How much does that machine cost (approximately)?

Around $400 to $500.

What types of things do you sew (i.e. quilting, clothing, handbags, home dec projects, etc.)?

clothing.

How much do you sew?

Not as much as I would like to. I haven't sewn in months. I'm trying to find some sewing mojo.

How much wear and tear does the machine get?

Not much! LOL! I rarely sew.

Do you like/love/hate your machine? Are you ambivalent? Passionate? Does she have a name?

My sewing machine doesn't have a name. I'm not crazy about it. But it works.

What features does your machine have that work well for you?

None offhand. It's just an O.K machine.

Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine?

The bunching of the thread under the presser foot.

Do you have a great story to share about your machine (i.e., Found it under the Christmas tree?
Dropped it on the kitchen floor? Sewed your fingernail to your zipper?, Got it from your Great Grandma?, etc.!)? We want to hear it!

Nope none at all. I guess if I used it more it would be different.

Would you recommend the machine to others? Why?

No, I don't think it's a great machine. It's a bit mediocre in my opinion.

What factors do you think are important to consider when looking for a new machine?

Comfort in using the machine and good features.

Do you have a dream machine?

I actually would prefer to try many different machines. I haven't done this so before I make a judgement I would like to try a Pfaff, Baby Lock, Elna, Bernina and many others.

Simple meme. As you can see I don't have many strong opinions on sewing machines. I'm very openminded. Now if I can only start sewing again I think I would be on the right track.

Wish me tons of luck.

Smooches...

Stash Busting - Lace Up Moccasins

2009-04-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

These moccasins was found in a Crochet A Day Calendar for 2008. The pattern is by Georgiann Eikenbary. I saw these moccasins and instantly knew I had to make them. This is a picture from the blog of the designer.

Here is a frontal view of my moccasins. They have beads purchased from Michaels' and fringe around the top of the foot. The pattern from the calendar shows fringe and it mentions beads but I couldn't see them on the photo.

I think mine look really really good. Very good pattern. I love how they come up the calf.

Here's a side view. There was an option to make additional soles so I did for additional cushion. Also I added some padded insoles to make them comfortable and to give them some shape.

I'm modeling these while at my mother's home. She was very impressed with my work. Watching her look over my workmanship made me feel all puffed up and proud! LOL!

I haven't decided to keep them or give them away as a gift. I may just keep them for myself. Who knows?

It feels great to finish a project and the outcome is terrific. I'm very pleased with these moccasins.

Toodles!

Something new...

2009-04-07T13:45:00.001-07:00

This is my latest and greatest craft I've added to my never ending craft resume. It's beading. I made a pendant I found in an issue of Bead and Button magazine a few months ago. It's called Hojas Inspiration. This was a pretty easy project. Not bad at all for my first attempt. I do hope to make more projects in the near future.

Please excuse the photo. I'm still learning how to take good photos. This was the best one out of the ones taken. I wish you could see more detail.

Well I'm back and I'm trying posting more often. Let's see how I do right! LOL!

Stash Busting - A Gift for Joyce

2009-04-06T20:10:00.001-07:00

It's been a while I know! Trust me! I know!

But I've been busy with a few things. For National Crochet month I started a new crochet project. I didn't want to spend any money on yarn when I had so much in my stash. So I decided to go through my yarn. There was a whole one pound skein of blue yarn which was calling my name. While in Hobby Lobby I found a really quick and easy afghan pattern by Red Heart to make. Then I remembered my cousin Joyce. Joyce has been recuperating at home for the past year after a serious stroke. She doesn't get out of the bed often so I thought this might make the perfect gift. I call it "A Gift for Joyce".

I really like this pattern. It called for a super saver skein of Red Heart yarn but since I had the Carons One Pound Skein of yarn I thought it would be a good substitution. But low and behold I didn't test gauge and I ran out of yarn.

I decided to stop after I ran out of yarn and used the variegated yarn for the edging. I love how it came out. Pretty huh? Would patting myself on the back be wrong? LOL!

I love how the FPDC creates the ribbing in the pattern. Too cool!

Here's a close up photo of the afghan. I love it! The pattern really looks good.

I may make this again. I really liked it a lot. My mom was impressed too. I haven't given it to my cousin yet but I plan on doing it after church on Easter. I think that would be a lovely gift for her Easter celebration.

What do you think?

Toodles...

Miss me?

2009-02-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

It's been too long right? I bet you thought I forgotton about my blog. Well my blog wasn't forgotten. The beginning of the year has been very busy for me. But I'm back with a short pictureless post today.

Overall things have been good but busy for me. I'm still working at the same job thankfully. Things are going well so far. I'm thankful to work nonetheless.

Now that I'm back I plan on changing a few things about my blogging. You'll see the changes over the next few months. I plan on writing more about my hobbies, changing the appearance of my blog and well as some other fun things.

Stay tuned!

A little something

2008-12-17T05:57:00.000-08:00

I was up reading blogs this morning when I saw this meme on Adrienne's and Patrice's blog. I thought it was a fun one. So here's my entries.

10 Things you wish you could say to ten different people

1. I love you but that doesn't mean I have to like you.

2. That was seriously stupid. What were you thinking?

3. God takes care of children and fools. So you're well covered!

4. I'm not taking care of you and yours because you made mistakes in your life. Get a grip, make some goals and get yourself together.

5. If you don't have anything to say SHUT UP!

6. You're not that great of a friend to me. I just don't see why you expect so much more than you give in return.

7. Get over yourself! Just because you wear nice clothes and have lots of discretionary income does not make you better than anyone.

8.Did I ask you for you opinion?

9. Your way isn't the only way to do things

10. I have better things to do with my time!

9 Things about yourself

1. I'm tall and I like it now. I hated being tall when I was younger.

2. I'm very sensitive, my feelings get hurt easily and I react unpleasantly.

3. I love adventure and I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie

4. I love crafts and I'm willing to dabble in most

5. I love traveling.

6. I like serial killer shows (creepy I know)

7. I love to read books (mysteries are my favorite)

8. Shopping is so much fun at all times. It doesn't matter what it is either!

9. I like to cook.

8 Ways to win my heart

1. Treat me with respect

2. Be romantic

3. Be a good friend

4. Take care of yourself and your business

5. Have goals

6. Be a good kisser

7. A good hugger too

8. Live with an open heart and mind

7 Things that cross my mind a lot

1. Are they going to lay me off from my job?

2. I don't want to spend too much money

3. How's my brother. Is he getting the care he needs

4. I hope mom isn't sitting at home bored. I hope she gets up and does something!

5. My aunt is going to kill herself eating all the time. It's a shame!

6. I hope I pass this class and get a part time job.

7. What do I need to do and when can I do it?

6 Thing I do before I fall asleep

1. Watch television

2. Turn down the heat.

3. Clean out the sink

4. Take vitamins and pills

5. wash up

6. find Edgar

5 People I couldn’t live without

1. Mom

2. Brother

I think that's it for me. I actually can and may have to live without them but my mom and brother mean the world to me. It would be a hard life.

4 Things I am wearing right now

1. Tweed Pants

2. long underwear. It's cold here in Chicagoland

3. Rust sweater

4. turtleneck

5. socks

3 Songs that fit my life perfectly

1. Happy - Mary J Blige

I can't think of anything else. I'm not that much into music. I may need to get back to you this one. LOL!

2 Thing I want to do before I die

1. Go to Africa

2. Win the lottery!

1 Confession

I don't have much to confess. My life isn't exciting. I wish I did have someone in my life but that's about it. I'm a magnet for men who want me to take care of them, boring and user type men. But don't worry! I run and get away from the as fast I can! LOL!

This was fun! I hope you enjoy it.

End of Holiday Weekend Post

2008-11-30T10:30:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I did! I cooked. I don't think I want to do it again unless its at my house (I did it at Mom's). I made a cajun Thanksgiving dinner. I pulled my Paul Prudhommes Cajun Kitchen cookbook out and set to creating a menu. I made Roast pork, Cajun meatloaf, Cajun dressing, homemade dinner rolls, salad and a banana cake. Everything was good except for the banana cake which fell apart when my mom took it out the pan. LOL! The bottom stuck. It was a mess and she tried to frost it anyway. Poor mom! But everything tasted good. I mean really good! I'm very proud of myself.

I didn't go out to do any after Thanksgiving shopping on Friday but I did on Saturday! You know that JoAnn's sale that started at 7am? I went! I was the first one standing in the doorway (but not the first car in the parking lot) to get in to buy a dress form. That's right! I finally got my dress form! It cost $99! I couldn't pass it up! I also purchased the super size knitting needles, a wreath for my door, two 10 yard bolts of interfacing for $2.99, the latest Sew Simple magazine, a pattern to make my mom an outfit for Christmas and material. I was on a mission.

I must say the ladies who were waiting with me were quite socialable and pleasant to talk to while waiting. We all wanted to know what each other was there to purchase. People were there for all types of things. This lady from Peoria, IL wanted a dress form too and we looked out for each other. LOL! Other ladies wanted interfacing and Christmas decorations and misc other sewing supplies. It was great. Not crowded or rowdy or anything. I would definitely do it again.

I was at my mother's home early on Thanksgiving and I didn't leave until Saturday. I got home and took a nap then proceeded to put my dress form together, cut out the pattern for my mom's outfit then do a little cleaning. I'm pretty pleased with my weekend.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm off to have a roast pork sandwich for lunch!

Bon Appetit!

Happy Thanksgiving...

2008-11-27T15:43:00.000-08:00

I just want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. I always count my blessings despite the whinning I do on a daily basis. But sometimes I don't say it enough so people realize I do realize I'm blessed.

So here's to the world!

I want to be thankful for

family
friends
having a job
having a home
having common sense (most of the time)
having money (even though it might not be as much as I want)
my cat
food on my table
and my health

If I missed anything it isn't because I'm not thankful. I'm thankful for all the blessings in my life today and what's coming.

I hope we all do the same.

Blessings to all

I'm getting it!

2008-10-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who posted comments regarding Ravelry on my blog. Any help is much appreciated. I finally got my blog feed directed there! Thanks Stacey.

I finally figured out the difference between the queue and favorites! LOL! They seemed to mean the same to me but now I get it. I just need to figure out how to get other patterns I want to do listed. Then I will be straight!

Here is my latest and greatest! I just started this on Thursday!
It's called a cushy scatter rug and its for my master bathroom. It's supposed to be 24 X 60 inches. I have a ways to go but I'm off to a great start. I am using three strands of yarn and its very thick. The yarn colors are shown in the previous post. The Caron yarns. I'm using one of each color. I hope I purchased enough yarn!

I got the pattern from Wal Mart. It's the "Beginner's Guide Crochet Stitches & Easy Projects" by Leisure Arts Little books. I'm doing a cross stitch all through it. I've done in this book. This book is a must for a newbie!

I made scatter rug before using a goldish yarn with metallic threads all through it. I loved that rug but a previous feline roommate ruined it by urinating on it. I would wash it and she would do it over and over again. Needless to say she is no longer a roommate and I threw the rug away. It was a hard thing to do! Trust me!

Well I'm off to pack for my trip. I don't plan on taking this project since the skeins of yarn are so large. I would definitely have to check my luggage for a trip with it. I don't want to do that this week. Traveling light is a preference for me.

Chat with ya later!

Ravelry Musings...

2008-10-17T12:57:00.001-07:00

O.K. I forgot to write about my Ravelry musings yesterday. I was on a roll with my finished project and it got in the way. LOL!

I've been browsing Ravelry for a while and trying to update things. I have a few questions for you ladies out there.

One, I have tons of yarn without labels.

I finally got an opportunity to sort it and put it into baggies. If you have noticed most of it has been made into balls. I do this while watching television in the evening. It helps keep my skeins from getting too tangled.

My question is how do you label your yarns in your yarn stash if you aren't sure of the amount? Most of this yarn is leftovers or extra yarn purchased. Some of it is a partial skein and others aren't. How do you handle this?

My second question would be your blog feed. I have my blog listed but it doesn't show in Ralvery. How do you get it to show in Ravelry. Is it the RSS feed? How do I learn my RSS feed?

My third question is how well do you know Ravelry? I'm learning a lot but there is so much it can be overwhelming! My group is hoping to create a group on Ravelry soon but there is so much we need to learn. Do you have any tips for me?

So far I have four projects listed and completed. I'm working on a new project now and I hope to have it listed by the weekend. Come check me out when you have the chance!

Here are some photos from my group called "Ewe Can Knit Too". We are meeting once a week now and I love it. I'm the only one who crochets regularly. They are all knitters but are considering dabbling into crochet since I finish my projects so much faster than they do! One member Kritina always teases me about my projects. I will start a new project and the following week she will ask me if I finished! LOL! I'm O.K. but not that good! LOL!

Here is Barb teaching a newbie how to cast on. This was kind of funny to watch because their were several people helping her and many different ways to do the cast on of course. I was getting confused watching them!This is a picture from my end of the table. We meet at Panera Bread Company in Plainfield, IL on Mondays and we just push three tables together and work it out. I love Panera Bread Company. Good food! Last week they brought around treats for us to try and the clerks are very nice to us.

Larisa is the one on the left with the dark hair and glasses. She is our organizer and she is great! We are working on creating our Ravelry group. I can't wait! One person who was close to me wasn't included in this picture but I will get her next time! LOL!

I'm on a yarn budget. I wasn't supposed to buy any yarn until next year since I have such a nice quantity as you can see above. However, when I received my JoAnn's flyer I noticed yarn was on sale. I needed yarn to make a rug for my master bathroom. I was going to wait until next year but when I saw the Caron one pound yarn for 2 for $9 I couldn't let that pass. I justified it by listed it as a household expense instead of a hobby expense! LOL! It's the accountant in me that did it! I bought six skeins because the rug is supposed to be 60 inches long using three strands of yarn. I'm mixing one of each color to get a varigated look. I wasn't sure how much was needed since I'm noting most patterns are in yards instead of weight. So I bought extra. I think I will have enough in one skein. If not I will return three!

I don't know if you saw the recent Interweave Crochet magazine for fall. It's the bomb! I love Interweave Crochet fall issue! It's definitely worth the price. I've already flagged five items I must make. One is of this beautiful Austen Lace Muffler. I think this is so cute! I wanted to do one so I bought Patons Bamboo silk yarn at JoAnn's. I thought I was getting the right weight but I didn't check until I got home. This yarns weight is a "3" and the pattern requires a "2" weight. I was a bit disappointed besides I wasn't sure if it was enough. It wasn't! So I returned this yarn and will wait until later to do this project if I can't find any in my stash. By the way this yarn is on sale at JoAnn's for $4 a skein. That's a good price. I really like how it feels too! Very soft!

Well I think that's enough for today!

Later chicas!

Crochet and Ravelry Musings

2008-10-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been very busy with my crochet group. Now that fall has begun we have decided to meet weekly. This was my suggestion. I find that I miss a lot of meetings with my work schedule. We are going to create a group on Ralvery too! I'm quite excited. Many members already added me to their friends list (It's mskasey for those of you who would like to add me too!).

As a group we decided to do a knit/crochet a-long. Remember I'm a crocheter not a knitter (which I will try after a few more crochet projects). Well I was the first one who started and first one finished. I decided to do this pattern by Moda Dea yarns.

This is a crocheted kimono. Kritina from our group brought a knitted kimono book to our meetings and suggested a knit/crochet a-long. They chose kimonos from the book and I searched the internet for this one. Here is my review.

This is the finished kimono

Close up details

Pattern - Moda Dea crochet kimono - leaflet

Yarn - Bernat Berella "4" the afghan yarn

Color - Burgundy

How much yarn used - about 6 1/8 skeins. The pattern suggests a Moda dea yarn but it was more per skein than I wanted to pay.

Cost of yarn - $1 a skein! I bought 9 just in case. I found it in the clearance aisle at Michaels'. I love a good bargin.

Level - easy

Started - September 29th

Ended - October 14th

Size - 36

Did it look like the picture - yes it did!

Were the instructions easy to follow - yes

What did I like about the pattern - very easy and quick to crochet

What did I dislike about the pattern - nothing was wrong with the pattern at all.

Would I crochet it again - definitely. I want to do it again for myself!

Changes made - I decided to crochet a belt instead of using ribbon like the pattern said to do. It's just a simple single crochet belt.

Would I recommend this pattern - Definitely! Very easy! Good for a beginner crocheter

I still need to wash and block it but I think you get the overall effect. I think it came out great and I can't wait to give it to my mom. I think she will love it! I'm excited!

More projects to come!

Toodle Loo!

Crocheted Finished Projects for 2008

2008-09-08T05:50:00.000-07:00

This will be a picture heavy post. I am so happy to show off my newest finished objects! I am so excited to finally post these crocheted items. They are past due my intended completion date but I am happy with the results!

The first item is a crocheted shell I made using Sugar n Cream cotton yarn I purchased at Michaels' when they had their ten skeins for $10 sale. This shell took about 8 1/2 skeins. It's very simple to make and I will make another one. I got the pattern from the Sugar n Cream website after I purchased the yarn. I am very excited and thrilled with it.

I want to show off my detail around the arms. I had to single crochet around the arms twice to finish.

This is the neckline. I like square necklines and the shell pattern looks really pretty!

Last but not least the bottom of the tank I crocheted the shell pattern all around. A very fun and easy project. This could easily be done in a week.

Unfortunately the shell is too big by one size on me. I think I will give it away to one of my friends.

This project I started back in June and had planned to complete by the end of July. This is the cardigan I worked on and ran out of yarn. I couldn't locate any skeins in the right dye lot so I had to improvise. I decided to make the back a solid color. It worked perfectly! I was thrilled. This jacket came out perfect. I actually have plenty of the multi-colored yarn left over.

The one thing about this pattern was the amount of yarn needed. I used two whole extra skeins on this project. I bought an extra skein but it was not enough. I guess you live and learn to improvise.

I must confess it is not entirely completed. I need to sew those buttons onto the sweater! TEE HEE! This is the one reason I am not modeling it for you.

As for the fit. It's PERFECT! I had to let you know this because a certain blogger and hubby (Patrice and Ian) said it looked huge. But I will say this they weren't the only ones. But it isn't huge at all. It's very thick though. My mom said it was like a coat! LOL!

Now I must show off some of my details like the ribbing around the sleeve. This was the first time I did ribbing and it really was easy. I love how the sleeves are nice and long. Sorry to the bloggers who suggested I make the sleeves 3/4 length to save on yarn. I have issues! LOL!

This is the collar. I had to do a shell pattern all around and change colors too for the back. Not bad! I really like this sweater and I can't wait to wear it when it gets cold.

Last but not least I made my first pair of socks! Yes these are crocheted socks. I love them! I made them in about a week. Not bad huh? I could have made them quicker but I took my time. I really like the way they turned out. I can't wait to make another pair. These were made with white worsted weight yarn I purchased at AC Moore in a bulk package with no name. It was incredibly cheap so I thought why not? Sure came in handy too. I didn't use much of it either. I like the way these feel on my feet. Very comfy!

These socks are worked from the cuff to the toe. The ribbing on the cuff is so easy! I mean very easy! I think I will make some of these for gifts this Christmas for family. I really like them a lot.

I really like the cuff. It's a simple single crochet only in the back loops. I made them while watching my television shows.

The heel, gusset and toe was a little more challenging in the respect of reading the pattern. I did frog once to start again but I figured it out after the one frogging. The toe was a no brainer and sews close with no ridge. KEWL!

Well there you have it! My crocheting projects for the month of September. I think I did a fabulous job! I am very excited.

Right now I think I will take a small hiatus on crocheting. I have other crafts I need to concentrate on (sewing and scrapbooking) for a while. I will get back to crocheting a little later in the year.

TOODLE LOO!

Comedy of Sewing Errors

2008-09-04T06:04:00.000-07:00

Well! Where do I start? Let’s start at my attempt to move on with my sewing projects to a jacket. It’s a simple jacket (so they say) that I started at the “Escape to Sew” day at my local sewing/quilting store. The jacket is McCall’s pattern #5241. It’s a one-hour sewing pattern. I chose this pattern because I thought it would be perfect for me to slowly get back into sewing. At least that is what I thought. Well at my first day I cut out the material and by the end of the day I had sewn the back seam and the sleeve seams. I was there all of six hours with a lunch break for about an hour. But of course, I spent most of time talking with the ladies (which is important later).

The next time I decided to work on the jacket was at the same sewing/quilting store. They have what they call “Midnight Madness” which is on Friday nights once a month. It’s from 6pm to Midnight and you are allowed to come and work on your projects. Since this was my first time, I spent time eating and chatting with the ladies. This is not good for me. I now know I cannot sew and chit chat too. It just doesn’t work for me. My mind needs to be on my work. I spent around 2 hours trying to get my sleeve to work. I will say some of it has to do with the pattern. Later my mom and friend told me to ease the sleeve even though the pattern doesn’t specify it. They feel I would have an easier time with it. Anyway I got frustrated and eventually left around 9pm. I think the ladies thought I was frustrated with them but that wasn’t it. I also had an 8am hair appointment which takes me an hour to get to from my home (I have a hard time finding good hair stylists who can do my hair right). A wedding at 3pm with nothing to wear (that’s another blog post). I just decided to go. Also when I tried on my jacket it seemed to hang weird. Hmmm?

Well, on Sunday I took the materials and patterns to my mom to check for issues. First of all my mom does not believe in sewing on Sunday. She says it’s in the bible that you don’t work on Sunday. We are allowed to cook, clean and everything else but sew and crochet. I have always wondered where she gets this but its mom and I will just have to live with it. Anyway, I lay out the material and show her what I am doing and low and behold I see the biggest issue and it isn’t the sleeve insertion. I had actually sewn the incorrect seam! I sewed the bottoms together! Duhhhh! No wonder it hung weird! LOL! The next issue was I didn’t mark my material for the circles and my darts were odd. So I came to a major conclusion. I cannot talk and work on my sewing. So maybe I will discontinue the sewing away from home. I haven’t fully decided yet though. I do like the socializing but it hinders my progress tremendously. I met so many nice ladies.

So, now you know why you haven’t seen any of my sewing creations. I can’t shut my big fat trap so the comedy of sewing errors flourishes! Pray for me and hope I get it together!

Renaissance Faire Weekend

2008-08-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

Well hello folks!

I had a pretty decent weekend. I didn't do much as planned but I got to do some fun things. The things I wanted to do wasn't all that important but I still need to do them! LOL!

Saturday evening I went to a crop with some friends and brought limited scrapbook supplies. I did work on a few layouts. My outcome was good and I had a good time as always.

Sunday was the fun day for me. I went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin on Sunday. I like going to the faire and people watching. I usually sit around amazed at the costumes people wear to the faire and wonder how they don't faint from heat exhaustion. Some of the costumes are very heavy materials. I mean very heavy for 80 degree weather! Geez! But they wear them proudly. I saw several shows I enjoyed. The first one was Washing Well Wenches. They were a duo of funny ladies who invite audience participation (or demand it) and sing songs and joke around. They were fun. Here are some photos of them!

You have to be a good sport and enjoy the silliness of the whole act.

I also think I ate a lot too. I love to have the garlic mushrooms they serve from a big cauldron fire. They are so good. The mushrooms are cooked with garlic and onions and are delicious! I always get a big bowl of them!

I also had something called Spanish Fries which were steak fries with nacho cheese, onions and jalapeno peppers. I liked them too!

Another fun show to watch is "The Swordsmen". My friend Becky has a major crush on Dirk Perfect. He is the one without the glasses.

Each time we go Becky sits and enjoys watching Dirk in his tight pants.

We watched many shows including the insulting man you get to throw tomatoes at for a fee. Another show called Moonie which is very funny I wouldn't know where to begin to describe his show. The Mud Eaters and yes they do eat mud as well as dive into it. There is a joust and many parades too. A good time for all ages!

While we were there we got rained on too. During the Moonie show which was a drag. I ran under one of the vendors awnings and tried to watch from there. But one thing was good. I found a dear friend I haven't seen in a while. Her name is Kathy! My little buddy. Even sitting I was taller than her! LOL!

Well its time to cut this post off before I really get on a roll. Someone already told me my posts were too long (PATRICE). LOL!

Smooches!

Home from Texas

2008-08-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hey!

It's been one of those weeks for me. It's good to be home. I worked in San Antonio then I had to drive from San Antonio to Bellville, to Victoria to Port Lavaca then finally Houston. It was very hot in Texas (of course it's August) and I have many mosquito bites on my legs (where they came from I don't know!). It's great to be home with my kitty though. He always greets me with a round of loud "meows" when I walk in the house. He really hates it when I leave poor baby!

Anyway while I was away I didn't get as much accomplished personally but I did find some cool stuff. In Humble Texas there is a quilt shop I got to browse in called It's a Stitch. A very nice store with lots of cool quilts. For some reason I am getting into quilts. I have no real plans for doing one anytime soon but I like to look at them. This store is also a Bernina dealer so I was excited to browse around. I am always impressed to see embroidery machines and the quilting machines these stores offer. Boy you could blow several thousands of dollars on these babies for sure! I better stay away from these stores if I want to stay within budget! LOL!

I also popped into JoAnn's and bought the latest Sew Stylish magazine. It has instructions on how to make a sloper with a friend over the weekend. I actually e-mailed a sewing friend and asked if she would help me make this for myself along with a duct tape dress form for myself. I have too many rolls of duct tape not to make this for myself instead of purchasing one! LOL! She replied she would help me now we just need some time to do it. I am hoping for sometime in September. Wish me luck! I will definitely show the progress!

Also on the crafty front I haven't touched my cardigan sweater since I left for San Antonio. I packed it but I never got a chance to do any of it. I just need to finish one sleeve and then sew it together and do the edging. I am really getting excited but I have so much to do I don't know if I will have the time this weekend. I may do it Monday night while watching "The Closer". I love that show! LOL!

While away on this trip, I did a lot of reading. I like to read mysteries. I like a good "whodunnit" to get my mind working. They are tons of fun to read and to listen to in the car. I had two books on CD to listen to while in the car. One was Lillian Jackson Braun's "The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers" and I am still listening to John Sandford's Phantom Prey. Both are series. I love series. It's fun to read about a character you are familiar from past readings. The book I began reading this week was by Maggie Sefton "Knit One Kill Two". It's a knitting mystery! Isn't that too funny! I like this one so far. I also found a crochet mystery called Hooked on Murder. The knitting and crochet mysteries are series with these books as the first. I think Hooked on Murder is new and more will be coming out soon. The Maggie Sefton novel has some books out already. I can't wait to read more. I also read Monica Ferris' "Crewel World" series too. Her books involve all needlework aspects. All of these books from knitting, crocheting and needlework have patterns in the back for you to try. I have yet to try one but the possibility is there. Overall I think there is a mystery out there for every crafter from scrapbooking, knitting, crocheting, cooking, sewer and more. I think its so kewl! LOL!

Well I am off to the library to renew my books and return some others. I don't want to get fined for having these out past my due date. I frequent the library for most of my reading. I did buy the crochet mystery from a mystery bookstore in San Antonio called "Remember the Alibi". I love cute names of stores. Just dandy! LOL!

Here is a recipe for a Thai dish I promised Sheila. I hope you all enjoy!

Spicy Thai-style ground chicken with basil

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

12 ounces ground chicken or turkey

3 green onions, chopped

juice of 1/2 lime

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 hot peppers, seeded if desired, minced

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon chili paste with garlic or to taste

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

cooked white or brown rice for serving

1. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. When it is hot, add chiken. Stir fry 45 seconds. Add garlic and hot pepper; continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Add green onions, lime juice, fish sauce, chili paste and sugar. Stir-fry about 30 seconds longer, adding basil just before it is removed from heat. Serve over rice.

Bon Appetit' Sheila!

See you in the funny papers!

Sitemeter issues

2008-08-02T06:14:00.001-07:00

I don't know how many of you know this. But yesterday I had a hard time reading my own blog entry due to an error which would not allow me to open my blog. I looked for help and found that Sitemeter was having some issues and you need to remove it from your website in order for people to view it. This includes web accounts from typepad and other blog servers. It's the Sitemeter feed that is the issue. Check to see if you can view your own blog.

Here is a link http://groups.google.com/group/blogger-help-troubleshoot/topics.

I hope this helps!

Keeping it real!

Friday evening

2008-08-01T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well! I got home from Houston around 6:30pm and I thought I would read my e-mail and watch some television. No problem. I like to read e-mail jokes and stuff and I get plenty of them. Reading the jokes can be quite relaxing. I need to laugh after a long day at the airport.

Well I was sitting here in my chair in front of my computer and I started reading my e-mail. I had a funny new one of the "Maxines" and some jokes ones. But mainly I had ones I checked while I was away in Houston. One I didn't read in Houston because it was a video and I wasn't sure if I should watch it while I was in one of the broker's offices. The title was "and all they found was the camera". So I watched this video below. Check it out.

Please tell me your reaction in the comment section. I have a major headache now and I need to find some tylenol or some wine to calm my nerves. DAMN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peace and Strength be with you!

Things I do when I work out of town

2008-07-31T18:13:00.000-07:00

I eat pretty good food! I love Houston. Anytime you are this close to the gulf you can get some seriously delicious seafood. I went to a restaurant in Sugar Land called Razzoo's and had this wonderful jalapeno fried catfish, with rice and green beans. Delicious! The green beans have been cooked with spicy sausage and are delicious! If you are ever in the Houston area try this place out! It is good!

I found these at JoAnn's they are only $1 a set. I love them. I can't help but buy crafting stuff when I am out of town. These were a steal and I can't wait to use them making cards and scrapbook pages! Besides they are very easy to pack too!

I also purchased the latest "Sew Simple" magazine. I love these magazines. I have yet to try making anything but I love the articles. Great tutorials for sewing. If you never tried sewing I suggest these magazines. I believe they come out quarterly and cost around $5.99. I wait for a coupon from JoAnn's to purchase mine. I haven't been able to find them in the library around me.
I found this quilting book at Borders for $5.99. I like it a lot. I am considering making a quilt for myself. I haven't decided if I will but it's a thought. I thought an instruction book might be great. This one has some cool easy patterns too. I can't wait to read through it.

What a great day! I am packing to go home tomorrow. It rained today in Chicago and I hope it holds off to late tomorrow night for more. I don't need my flight delayed. Nothing is worst than sitting in the airport when you are ready to be home.

This weekend it looks like I will be spending at my mother's home. My brother will be home the weekend so I will be there to help with him. I plan on taking my crocheting to work on. Hopefully my projects will be completed by next weekend. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I have already uploaded some photos today so I am getting back into the groove. I just hit one of those little bumps in the road along the way. LOL!

I'm back!

ROCK ON!

Crochet and photo news

2008-07-31T06:04:00.000-07:00

Hello there!

I knew I forgot to post something earlier this month and now I remember. I finally joined Ravelry! My user name is mskasey. I like it so far. I have visited the Ebony Elite group, updated my profile, added two new projects and my crochet hook collection. I have yet to venture many other places but I hope to do so soon. I have so much on my plate so it will take some time. But I am glad to be a member now.

On another note I have made a decision regarding my crochet cardigan project. I am going to continue to do the back in solid yarn. The old back will be frogged and I wil finish the sleeve as well as the trimming around the edges with this yarn. I think this scenario works best for me. I know sometimes I have self doubts. I just needed to vent I think. Thank you for all your wonderful suggestions.

As for the picture issue, I think I have come to a conclusion. Stacey offered a great idea of switching to html to upload photos and suggested I try that so I will. I may also limit the amount of photos I upload per post. It's just a very time consuming activity for me. I will find a way to add them again. So don't worry. I will not continue with the long no picture posts. LOL!

Have a great day!

Catch you on the flip side!

Feelin' Flaky

2008-07-29T11:42:00.000-07:00

Hello out there!

I have come to realize something about myself. I hate uploading photos to my blog. I mean I really hate the slow tedious process. I always want to upload pictures but I never do because it is so slow and arranging them drives me crazy. Hence one of the many reasons I don't blog very often anymore. Also photobucket gives me the flux sometimes. I hate it too. If anyone has any good suggestions please let me know.

This month has been a good one so far. I made my way to my local quilt shop for an "Escape to Sew" day they have once a month. One of my resolutions for the year was to go these events and I finally made it there this month. I was about to cancel when a friend I haven't seen in a while and I were trying to get together. We had decided on this day but I called back and rescheduled. I needed that day! I don't quilt but they offer space for you do any of your sewing projects. I met the ladies which meet there and had a good time. I mostly talked though. I ended up possibly offending a Creative Memories consultant but I don't care. I didn't agree with something she said and voiced my opinion. I didn't start any trouble but I shared my own personal opinion. I tend to do this with people which try to act like their opinion is fact.

Anyway, I took one of those one hour patterns to work on and I cut it out and started sewing but I am not finished in the least. I think I have about 33% left to do. I realized quickly that I talk too much. But that's me! LOL! I was there from 11am to 5pm. I am looking forward to going again but I might cut my fabric out in advance and just work on stitching when I get there.

I was also on vacation for a week. I took time do things around my home and I went to a scrapbook retreat in Central Illinois with six friends. We had a blast! But we always do. I worked on 22 layouts. I think I did a terrific job! I was very pleased. We had such a good time we decided to go back in November. I can't wait!

My other projects from the month include my cardigan I am attempting to finish. This is where the flakiness comes into play! The pattern called for 48 ounces for the large sweater. I bought 60 ounces and I ran out. I also realized the sweater was way too large. I was about 80% finished with it. I decided to frog it and start over. I did a swatch to test the gauge and I found using a smaller needle and a smaller size would work. Well guess what! I don't have enough yarn! Either the pattern is way off or its me. I think its the pattern! Really I do. I am about 90% done at this point. I ran out of yarn on the second sleeve! Yes that's right the second sleeve. I have about a third done (which is better than my first attempt with only one partial sleeve). RATS! The yarn I am using I cannot find any to match. I already threw out the labels because I was sure I had enough(note to self DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!"). So I have been to many JoAnn's stores and compared yarn and there is nothing. The yarn available is too washed out and dingy looking. Too much of a difference to use. I have completed the back of the sweater, the two fronts and one sleeve. I have about a third of the last sleeve completed and its just sitting in a basket. I finally came up with a solution. I will frog the back piece and do it in a solid color and use the yarn I am frogging from the back to finish the sleeve and edging. I have completed about 60% of the back but now I am having second thoughts about the whole project. Not one but three people have told me it still looks a bit large (which it does) but it does have drop shoulders. I am beginning to wonder if I should finish it or frog the entire thing and start with fresh yarn all together. I am so confused. I am feeling very flaky! Give me strenghth! I need some good mental vibes so I can complete the darn thing. I had a finishing date of the end of this month and it would have been completed two weeks ago if I wouldn't have ran out of yarn. What's a woman to do! But on the other note do I want to complete a sweater that will be too big for me? I just don't know right now.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Later!

Taste of Chicago 2008

2008-07-11T08:53:00.001-07:00

Projects in the works

2008-06-16T20:35:00.001-07:00

O.K. here is some fun things I have in the works. The teal fabric will be used to create a very easy jacket M5241. Now that my machine is back in operating condition I will hopefully have it made soon. I am considering doing one project a month this year to get back into the sewing swing. Wish me tons of luck.

I also hit the sale at Michael's for the cotton Lily Sugar n Cream yarn. It was 10 for $10. I went and bought 10 cream one day and then I found a pattern for a really cute shell patterned tank. I went back and bought 10 more skeins of white. I don't know when I am going to make it but when I do I should be well prepared. I also purchased a couple of idea books. I love idea books and I have very few bathroom accessory patterns so this was perfect. I already made two washcloths and I will give these as gifts for Christmas.

I actually started this post two weeks ago while I was in San Antonio. I have been busy and lazy too I must admit. Things have been spinning for me since I got back.

First things first! Tomorrow I will have my air conditioner installed! Woo Hoo! I went two summers in my home without it and it is way overdue! They said installation will take from four to six hours. I can't wait to have cool air in my home.

The next thing would be that I joined a board games group in my local area. I don't know if I ever mentioned how I like to play board games. I thought it would be cool to join a group that does it. They meet twice a week at Barnes and Noble in the evening. I didn't realize they were more focused on playing European style games (most of them I had never heard of before). These were real gamers! LOL! Well I went to a meeting and was talked into playin a game called "Blokus". It's a pretty fast game and I played it twice with a nice group of people. I liked it. The others were playing games with names like Amazona and Magic. I guess I will get a chance to dabble in other games when I join them. Tomorrow I will go and hopefully take some fun pictures.

Last night was my Ewe Can Knit Too Group meeting at Panera Bread. I really like meeting at Panera Bread. There are baked goods, sandwiches, drinks and last but not least WI-FI. I got the girls hooked on reading Stacey's blog. I told them about her reviews of her projects and they were too impressed. I also mentioned the Pattern Review website (since we have sewers too). They bookmarked Stacey's site to visit and read the previous posts. They are very excited. A friend of a friend named Sue also joined us for an evening. My good friend Lori mentioned her friend Sue has started knitting and was looking for something to do. She doesn't live far from me and came to meet us after getting off work. I was glad to see her enjoying herself and making new friends.

I also have been working on my crocheted cardigan I frogged. It's progressing nicely this time. The back and the right front is completed. I started the left front and I am moving along quite nicely if I may say so myself. I hope to have it completed by the end of the weekend (the left front) and started on the sleeves by Monday. If I keep my planned schedule I will probably finish the sweater by the end of July! Whoopee!

Tonight is my scrapbook group get together. We are planning our retreat carpool as well as working on scrapbooking. We are going to a scrapbook retreat in Central Illinois. I don't know what it is called anymore but the Stampin Up demonstrator named Kim Peck has a website to sign up for the retreat. It's from Thursday to Sunday and it includes meals, lodging, scrapbook space and tons of fun. It's $150 for the weekend! What a bargin! I have done this several times with friends are we always have a good time. I am truly looking forward to this again.

Well I have a busy week planned and it looks like Patrice will be visiting my area! I am quite excited. We are going to the Taste of Chicago to eat and have some fun! I can't wait! Stay tuned for the next posting! LMAO!

Smooches...

Frogging...

2008-06-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

I finally decided to frog some of my UFO's which were not turning out how they should. I don't know what gets into me and why I do these things to myself. I made two different things a cardigan sweater and a cropped jacket.

The cardigan sweater I had worked on off and on since last summer. I completed the back, two front panels and sleeves. The pattern called for 48 ounces of worsted weight yarn. I had used 60 ounces and I had to buy two more 16 ounce skeins to complete the sleeves which I had to buy a contrasting color because I couldn't match the dye lot. The sweater was going to be huge! I mean seriously huge and I knew that after I finished the back. So someone tell me why I did not stop myself? PLEASE! So now after completing most of it I finally decided to stop and start over from the beginning. That's right! The beginning! I knew I wasn't going to wear it and I didn't want to give it away with the money and time I invested into it. I decided my best bet would be to frog it and start over fresh. But this time I will finish it and it will fit. I already made a sample to test my gauge and I have started fresh.
The crop jacket was very easy but again I made it too large! It was so pathetic I had to take a picture or two so you could get my drift! I made the sleeves about six inches too long! What is wrong with me. The back was large and the front was not properly constructed. Can we all say "HOT MESS"? I should be ashamed. I knew something was wrong in the beginning and I kept going. I need some serious help. None the less I frogged it too! That will be my next crocheted clothing project.

I tried to work on my next sewing project but I needed to fill a bobbin with the proper color thread. This was not working at all! The bobbin winder on my machine would not cooperate. Finally I called my local JoAnn's ( I purchased my machine there about 20 years ago) and asked if they could assist me. The lady in the sewing machine department was nice and told me to bring it in. I did so Saturday afternoon and she had no clue. She had never seen this type of bobbin winder ( I have one with the drop in bobbin winder). She tried though. No luck at all with it. So now I needed to take it in for repairs. I took my sewing machine to Hancock fabrics to have the repairman look at it and he found the issue. Now my machine is working fine. I am ready to start a new project when I return home! Yah!

I am now in San Antonio and I do not expect to be home until Friday or maybe Saturday (it's a longer stay than usual). I can't wait to get home . But the weekend I spent some quality time at the Six Flags waterpark. I had a great time of course and its a wonderful way to spend a very hot Saturday. I also took some time to ride the new rollercoaster called "Goliath". Boy I am getting old! I was so dizzy afterwards! I loved it though but I couldn't even think about doing it again! Funny! I spent Sunday relaxing and catching up on some sleep. A good weekend.

I have big plans when I return home. I will be calling around to have central air installed in my home ( something I should have done a long time ago). If I can get over that one small hurdle I will be good.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Smooches!

ABC's

2008-05-30T08:48:00.000-07:00

I snagged this one from Patrice. I thought it would be a fun post to share.

A - Attached or Single: Single

B - Best Friend(s): My many hobby friends out there

C - Cake or Pie: Cake

D - Day of Choice: Sunday the kick back day

E - Essential Item: purse

F - Favorite Color(s):Red

G - Gummy Bears or Worms: Bears

H - Hometown: Chicago

I - Indulgence(s): ski vacations

J - January or July: January

K - Kids: none

L - Life is incomplete without: Hope

M - Marriage Date:Good Question

N - Number of Siblings: 1 brother

O - Oranges or Apples: Apples

P- Phobias or Fears: snakes

Q - Quote: "There is no great loss without some small gain."

R- Ring size: 8 big fingers

S - Season: Fall

T- Tag 3 Friends: Play if you like!

U - Unknown fact about me: I hate to be call Cas!

V - Very favorite stores: TJ Maxx! LOL!

W - Worst Habit: Impulse buying

X-ray or Ultrasound: X-ray

Y - Your Favorite Food(s): It varies I love spicy foods

Z - Zodiac: Taurus

Thing have not been going well for me lately. I have been sick. I thought I was getting better and I relapsed. I am tired with a scratchy throat, coughing and extremely tired. If I am up doing something for 15 minutes I am down for a few hours afterward. I tried to push myself and go to New Jersey for a corporate meeting and ended up in urgent care. Not a good thing. I am now home trying to rest and get back to normal.

I hope everyone out there is doing better than me! LOL!

Big infectious kisses to ya!

An almost perfect week.

2008-05-16T07:06:00.001-07:00

This week was definitely a good week for me. Not
only was Sunday my birthday but I had a meeting with a new knitting group very close to home. The group is called "Ewe Can Knit". This group meets at a local yarn shop called "Peggy's Strands of Heaven" which is located in Plainfield, IL. A very nice store.

The owner's is Bridgette. She is the one wearing the purple shirt. Here she is helping someone with a project. She was very friendly and accommodating to our group. If you look behind her we even have a gentleman who finished a knitting project while at our meeting. It was a very pretty shawl. I kind of put my foot in my mouth though. When I first saw the project I thought it was a tree skirt. I really need to think before I open my mouth again. He started it this month and finished it already. He just learned to knit and he is doing a fabulous job in my opinion.

This a project Nettie was working on while we were all knitting. I love the little circles. She is making a vest and is a very accomplished crafter. She had another project with her too and it was really cool. I can't wait to see more of her work.

Here I am (without make-up yucky!) and I am sporting a little scarf I made for a friend for her birthday. I just need to wash and block it before I give it to her. I really like this. It's perfect to wear with a light jacket.

I enjoyed myself meeting with the ladies that evening. I unfortunately can't make the next meeting due to travels for my job but I do like the group a lot.

Last night I had my scrapbook group meeting with the Midwest Scrapaholics of Chicagoland- Wheaton Chapter. They even celebrated my birthday with a cake!

Isn't it pretty! I love birthday cake! This one had tons of frosting too! Yummy! We devoured the whole thing and sat around with a major sugar buzz! LOL!

I didn't get any scrapbooking done. I did work on a page kit but I didn't work on completing a page. You see I am sick. It started out earlier this week with a scratchy throat and now has progressed into a sore throat, congestion and fatigue. Not a good combination. So right now I am drinking theraflu and tea. A small but noticeable blip on my good week.

Hopefully this weekend will be better. I want to work on my sewing really bad. I have my next project planned and ready to go. But I think I will take my sewing machine to a Singer place to see if they can figure out the bobbin issue for me. I really need to have that fixed. So send me some good wishes!

Until the next posting!

Buh Bye!

Just another day

2008-05-12T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday I took the day off and ran some errands for myself. I was driving home on a major street when a lady on a bike fell into the street in front of me. I stopped and got out to see if she was O.K. She wasn't! She had fallen and hit her head on the ground and she had a gash from her broken glasses and a scraped knee. She seemed to be incoherent and a little off. I helped her up and moved her bike. Another guy saw me helping her and pulled over to check on her too. He actually knew her and wanted to see if she was O.K. We got her together and took her home. He had a truck and he put her bike in his truck and she rode with me (why I didn't understand unless she was more comfortable with me). When she got into the car I figured out why she fell. She was DRUNK! For a moment I thought she was mentally challenged. I guess she was due to inebriation! LOL! She told me she was going home from having lunch and a few drinks. A few drinks I think not! She was very appreciative and wanted to give me some money. I told her it wasn't necessary. DRUNK! I couldn't believe it! It was 1:30 in the afternoon! Good Grief! Sad. But we got her home safely and hopefully she will stay there and sober up!

Well today I have to meet with a new knitting meeting group this evening. It's very close to home and I can't wait to meet the ladies. I am a part of another group but the meet in the afternoon and we all know I have to work. I hope this group continues unlike my sewing group. But we will see. Hopefully I will have some interesting things to share with you later!

Smooches!

One good weekend

2008-05-12T08:34:00.000-07:00

Well I am very happy with my weekend. I had plans and they were definitely fulfilled!

On Saturday it was my plan to go to a local sewing center and work on one of my projects. Well, if you read my last post you remember about me venting about scrapbook stores and free crops and people not purchasing during these events. I had to stop and think about that when I was going to the sewing center. I was not planning on buying anything. I have a very limited budget this month and it wasn't going to happen. So I decided not to go to the sewing center on general principle right? But I didn't let it stop me and I worked on my project from home. I am so proud of myself!

I decided to make this top.

I had some very pretty material I bought at Wal Mart I wanted to use. It's a very pretty purple. I think I paid around $2 a yard for it. I knew I didn't need anything fancy for this project. Here are some photos of my garment in progress

This is the pattern piece. It's only one for this project. I had a rough time pinning this fabric because its very stretchy. I had to keep smoothing the pattern and the tissue to make sure I got it correct.

This is the pattern cut out folded and ready to sew. There were only three seams to make for this top.

This is the first seam I worked on. I was supposed to stretch the material as I sewed but I forgot. Also I couldn't get my bobbin winder to work! I was so frustrated. I worked at it and worked at it. Finally I used one of my filled bobbins. I might need to take my machine in for repairs! RATSO!

This is the finished top! I think its cute. Very simple but has a cute style.

I highly recommend this pattern for anyone who is trying to get back to sewing. I made it in less than an hour (including cutting and sewing) and it was a definite feel good project. If I can find more inexpensive material like what I used I will definitely make more. The one downfall would be the edging. You have raw edges with no hemming which means you need to cut very straight. I do plan on going back and using my rotary cutter to clean up a few jagged edges. But overall I think its a good foray back into sewing. I had enough of this material left over to make another one so I will make one for my mom. Here is a cute picture of my mommy.

I spent Mother's Day with her. We went to church and then I went to her house and bought dinner and hung out with her. Unfortunately it rained most of Sunday off and on it was a bit miserable to go out. We had blowing rain. Yucky! But we hung out and watched television and answered many Happy Mother's Day calls and Happy Birthday calls from friends and family. I had my mom to take pictures of me. I don't know why her pictures always come out so crooked and weird. I try and I try and it just seems to get worse! LOL!

I forgot to mention Saturday night my friend Julie had her 50th birthday bash. I went and I was able to see many people I haven't seen for a long time. I usually hang out with my ski club monthly but since I have been traveling so much for work I hadn't been. It was good to see everyone and I received many birthday wishes. It was a great evening. Unfortunately I didn't take any photos. I was too busy eating, drinking and socializing. Too much fun!

Well I do have more crafty updates but I will save them for another time!

Smooches!

Some scrappy goodies

2008-05-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Last night I decided to finish some layouts I had started at my last scrapbook group meeting. I didn't have a lot to do but add titles and journaling. I tend to have issues with my titles and I need some help in this area. But with a little patience I ended up with these completed layouts.

I think the first one is my favorite! It's a photo of my brother Keith from Christmas 2006. The title is Brother's Bling. We call Keith "brother" for a nickname. He received this blingy necklace (he is handicap and tends to like shiny objects) and we put it on him only to have him try to yank it off. We took it off of him and he just sat there admiring it. It's pretty usual for him to do these things. He looked so content I had to snap a picture. The materials used are Tres Jolie papers and "brothers" title in which I added an apostrophe and journaling box. I also used Sizzlets funky brush for the "Bling!" title. The "Bling!" title was made using Bazzill bling brown paper. Overall this was a fun layout to make. I used a layout sketch from a Leaving Prints layout kit I purchased some time ago. Overall this one is definitely my favorite.

Now please excuse the blurry photo. I should have taken another photo but this one will do for now. LMAO! This is another picture of my brother during his meal time. My mom always pins a towel around his neck (he is incredibly messy) and he insists on sitting at the table to eat. I love these papers. I received them as a kit from "The Scrap Addict" scrapbook store in Plainfield, IL. When you attend their crops they will give you free kits sometimes and I received these papers and ribbon. The fonts I used for "dinner" was a accucut die from Memories and Beyond scrapbook store in Downers Grove, IL. The white scrolls are from those Studio G stamps you buy at Michaels and JoAnn's for $1. The white chipboard letters are All My Memories LLC purchased at Archivers and the distressing ink was ColorBox Fluid chalk inkpad. The brads I am not sure of! LOL! I am not crazy about the dinner title but everything else works for me!

Last but not least my Thanksgiving dinner layout. I was not happy with the way this one ended up looking but I refuse to do it over. It's kind of cartoony. But it gets the message across. I used bazzill solid papers, and Flair Designs patterned paper. The font for the title was made using an accucut die from Memories and Beyond Scrapbook Store in Downers Grove. I am not good with embellishments and I wished I had used more flair with this one. I really hated the way the title turned out too. Well my next layouts should be better.

Well this is what I worked on last night. I actually finished the Thanksgiving layout long ago I just hadn't posted it. The other two layouts I needed to finish the titles. I had trouble with the dinner layout because I couldn't figure out how I want to put the "Time" title in there. I finally looked at my Clip It up and found the chipboard letters and I found a font I thought would be perfect and "VOILA". A finished title! I was going to make the "time" title brown but I think the white had more pop. What do you think?

You know the economy is not good right now and it is showing everywhere from gas to food to scrapbook stores. The Scrap Addict (one of my local scrapbook stores) had free crops on Fridays and Saturdays. All you had to do was reserve a spot and you were in. The even had free pasta crops for all day on some Saturdays. Well that has now changed and they require a $15 deposit to reserve a spot and it is returned to you in a store credit to be used that evening. It does not carry over. I wanted to go last night but my budget isn't allowing for it this month. I understand why they are doing it though. I don't think people realize that the stores offer free crops so you will come in and spend your money on merchandise. That's how they are able to have free crops. If you don't buy things they cannot continue to have the free crops. Also when you reserve for a crop you should also do one little thing which is to SHOW UP! I have been to many of their crops where they reserved seating and the croppers never showed or called. What are people thinking? They ruin it for everyone unfortunately? I had to vent a little here because it bugs me a lot when people ruin the fun for everyone else. Oh well. I will go to their crops but not anytime soon. I have some other priorities to work on as well as saving money. The cost of living has shot up and its hitting hard and fast. But luckily I have more than enough supplies (besides the mandatory adhesives which are purchased on a regular basis) to use. I hope to work on more projects at home soon so look for more stuff soon!

Later!

Home at last...

2008-05-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

I am thinking about being "home at last" like Martin Luther King's famous speech. It sure feels good to be home. I had a wonderful greeting from my roommate/buddy/pet Edgar and I knew I was at home. Luckily I had good flights and no issues. So I do need to be thankful today. I have a busy weekend planned and I can't wait! Tomorrow I will be going to my local sewing store to work on a project I have been planning on doing for some time. My local sewing store has "Escape to Sew" days there every second Saturday of the month. I think this might push me to do some sewing I have been meaning to do for some time. This is also the place I bought my serger. I really need to break it in so I will take that and my sewing machine and work on a project. I am quite excited too!

After that I have a birthday party to attend. It's for a friend's 50Th birthday. My birthday is Sunday so I am going to pretend its my party too! LOL!

On Sunday I have church and I will spend the day at my mother's celebrating her day and my birthday. It should be fun. We don't know what we will do but I am sure it will be something fun. I may have to drag her out of the house but we will do something!

Well I think I have said enough for today. But here is a joke for my friend Patrice. I thought about her as soon as I read it and laughed my butt off!

A guy walked into the local welfare office to pick up his check.
He marched straight up to the counter and said, "Hi. You know, I just
HATE drawing welfare. I'd really rather have a Job."
The social worker behind the counter said, "Your timing is excellent!"
We just got a job opening from a very wealthy old man who wants a
chauffeur and bodyguard for his beautiful daughter.
You'll have to drive around in his Mercedes, and he'll supply all of
your clothes. Because of the long hours, meals will be provided.
You'll be expected to escort the daughter on her overseas holiday trips
and you will have to satisfy her every need.
You'll be provided a two-bedroom apartment above the garage. The salary
is $200,000 a year."
The guy, wide-eyed, said, "You're lying!!!"
The social worker said, "Yeah, well . . . you started it.

Giggles and Guffaws!

A few days in Corpus Christi

2008-05-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

I thought I would share some photos from my hotel room in Corpus Chrisiti. I stayed right on the waterfront and this was the views. There was a harbor with restaurants (unfortunately just chains like Joe's Crab Shack and Landry's) and many boats. It was very humid. My poor hair! LOL!

I also found a great restaurant called The Railroad Seafood Restaurant which had a Happy Hour with $2 margaritas and half off appetizers! They had great seafood appetizers and I thought I would share some food photos. Please excuse the blurriness. I probably need a new camera.

My margarita! Yummy!

This was shrimp and oysters wrapped in bacon with a white wine sauce with onions and mushrooms. Too delicious!

This is my shrimp salad. It was so good! The shrimp were so fresh! Yummy!

Delicious goodies for your eyes! I didn't take pictures of everything I ate! I kept forgetting! LOL! I was pretty hungry most of the time. LOL!

Bon Appetit to your eyes!

Late Weekend Update

2008-05-06T05:57:00.000-07:00

Well at least I am posting right? LOL! I hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine was definitely busy to say the least.

On Saturday I had two parties. One party was a child's birthday party. Tyler Selah my friend Marilyn's daughter turned three! She was too cute with her hula swimsuit!

It had a little grass skirt attached! So cute! I took many photos because I plan to make her a small scrapbook for her third birthday. I will post photos as I complete pages. The party was held at an indoor waterpark. It was really nice and all the kids and adults had a great time.

I then left her party went home and changed and had my next party. The picture below is of me, my friend Sue and Rebecca. Sue is getting married this month and so I went to her bachelorette party at Cafe Iberico.

This restaurant is a tapas bar and has great food! I never got a chance to take pictures of any of the food because we were too busy eating! They have some wonderful dishes and if you are ever in downtown Chicago I highly recommend going to this restaurant one evening. It's always crowded but its worth the wait.

We saw at least two other bachelorette parties while we were there. I had no idea this was such a popular place to go for a bachelorette party.

Sue had a wonderful dessert I couldn't help but laugh at! I am sure you will too!
It's ice cream and a glazed banana shaped like....well I guess you can figure it out! They even got more gross and spread whipped cream over her nose and face. I didn't get a picture of that because I was laughing too hard!

A very fun time! I didn't stay past dinner though. I had a flight to catch in the morning and staying out late wasn't something I could do. They went on to a bar then to another bar to watch the bands. I am sure they had a wonderful time!

On Sunday I had to fly to Corpus Christi, Texas. When I arrived in Dallas they needed six people to take another flight. They offered a hotel stay and a $250 voucher. Well it wasn't enough so no one offered to give up their seat. So what they did was take the last six passengers to purchase tickets which included me! This has never happened to me! I was too shocked and slightly miffed! But I regrouped and thought about the positive side which was a $250 voucher for travel. But as time progressed they were able to get me on the flight and I made it to Corpus Christi.

So that was my weekend. I do have some other updates for you regarding my crocheting so be on the look out for another posting soon!

Toodles!

I was a little bad

2008-04-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

I am here in Texas (north of Houston) and I decide to go to a scrapbook store in the area. The store is called The Lone Star Scrapbook Company and is very nice. I really liked the store. They had a really nice selection of scrapbook merchandise and a decent size crop room. I was able to find the papers I have been searching for in my area. Which was a good thing and I found some inspiration for my "pay it forward" gifts (no I haven't sent those out yet! SORRY!). Hopefully I can get to those soon. I like a store with good examples and page kits. This place had enough for me. If you are ever in The Woodlands, Texas stop by and check it out. It will be worth it!

But after I left the scrapbook store I went to JoAnn's where I slipped a bit. I don't know if I posted it here but I wasn't supposed to purchase any sewing patterns or material until I use what I already have at home. Well, to make a long story short I bought four! JoAnn's had a sale on Butterick patterns (two for three bucks) and I couldn't resist. I bought all very easy patterns for myself. I felt this would be the best way to start myself out. I don't want to push myself too much! So here are the patterns. I say look for at least one of these to be completed by the end of May. I don't want to make too big of a promise. We will see! My first sewing project will be a duct tape dress form. That's if I can get someone to help!

Check this out!

Also I tried a new restaurant. I went to Pappas Bar-B-Q restaurant for lunch. I was pretty hungry and I unfortunately did not take a picture. But I had a delicious meal of Sliced Barbecue Beef, Pork Ribs, Ranch Beans and Cucumber salad. VERY DELICIOUS! I highly recommend this place. I am still smacking my lips! This restaurant is owned by the Pappas family which owns Pappadeux and many other types of restaurants (Mexican, Seafood, Italian, Steak, etc) in the Houston area. One of my brokers told me to try any of them because they are all good. She was totally right! It was awesome!

Nothing else exciting happened today. I went to the mall and walked around. A very calm day.

Later yall!

H-Town

2008-04-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

Well I am back in Texas for another ten days on work. I am in the Houston area doing the job and enjoying some good cajun cuisine! I had a chance to dine at Razzos & Pappadeux this week and I am mighty satisfied! I think I gained about ten pounds! I must find something to do which requires lots of sweating to work some of it off!

Right now I am in Hempstead, TX in a hotel basically in the middle of nowhere! LMAO! This actually could be a good thing. It keeps me from spending too much money at the stores! I need some help in that department. I bought myself a blouse yesterday while I was in the Houston area. I don't want to start shopping while here. I almost have my credit card paid off!

Anyway I bought the latest issue of Sew Stylish. What a wonderful issue! I am feeling inspired as I read each article. They discuss basic draping, handstitching, dress forms and much more. I can't wait until I get home so I can make my own dressform. The duct tape has already been purchased I just need someone to help me with the taping process. I know I have talked a good game about sewing but nothing has been started or completed. My plans keep changing and things happen but at sometime there will be a completed project! Just you wait!

As for my crocheting I am at a stand still. I didn't bring any of it with me. I like to crochet on the road but sometimes it can be a bit much to bring. My last project the chenille cowl was easy but the yarn was bulky and took up a lot of luggage space. I did start another chenille cowl but I have yet to finish it. It can wait until I return of course. I still have two other unfinished crochet projects. Hopefully they will be completed soon.

The only thing I will be working on during this trip will be my Photoshop elements tutorial book. I can't wait to learn how to correct my photos. Look out for some digital layouts soon!

Well I think this update should be sufficient for now.

Holler at ya later!

Finished Chenille Cowl

2008-03-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

O.K. Here is my finished chenille cowl! I loved this project! It was very easy and quick to make! Here is my review a la Crimson Purl!
Book - So Simple Crochet
Author - Melody Griffiths for Creative Homeowners
Pattern - Chenille Cowl
Level - Beginner
Time to complete - about four hours
Yarn - Lion Brand Chenille Thick & Quick, 1 skein each color antique white, khaki and Champagne
Needle size - N
Pro's - It's very easy and quick.

Con's - I never figured out how they got the fringe to twist! Also the pattern is one size fits all which isn't true for us busty women! I had to add several additional rows to the pattern. If I make it again for myself I would increase the stitches at least by five!

Overall this was a fabulous pattern. I will make a few of these to give as gifts this year!

This is my finished KCAL project for the Ebony Elite group. I may have another one to show later this week! This was too fun to make and easy!

Smooches!

KCAL Chenille Cowl Progress

2008-03-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here is my chenille cowl I am doing for the KCAL with Ebony Elite. I am having some sizing issues. I wish I would have added a few more rows of the first color to the cowl. Now it only shows on the collar portion. I have decided to add a few more rows to the cowl of the other colors to make it long enough for me. I have broad shoulders and I wear an extra large in tops. This pattern appears to be made for a much smaller person. So I need to improvise some. I do like the way its working out though. I hope to have it finished by the time I leave for home on Thursday.

This is a picture of the cowl with the collar not rolled. This is a picture with the collar rolled. I would have preferred more of the cream on the shoulders but it appears the cream will show only on the collar. I know for next time now!

I will post the finished product by the end of the week!

Toodles!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

I hope each and every one of you had a fantastic Easter! Today I didn't get to go to church but I had a good day. I actually slept in until 10:30am! It felt good! I really needed it. I got up got dressed and located an I-HOP and had a very late breakfast. Afterward I went to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and spent the day riding the roller coasters. It was terrific! It was much better than yesterday. The lines were awful yesterday. I spent three hours waiting to get on one Roller coaster and an hour on another. That alone tired me out. Today I got a chance to ride the other roller coasters offered at the park. The lines were much shorter than yesterday! I simply ran and got on the rides today or I had a very short wait of about 20 minutes which was fabulous! Yesterday some of the roller coasters were not open. Today they opened them all but the latest called "Goliath". I really wanted to check that one out but it doesn't seem ready to run. Anyway it was a great day! I rode The Poltergeist, The Boomerang (again), The Roadrunner, Superman, Der Twister (another wonderful ride not a roller coaster) and Die Fledermaus ( the swing). It was a good day! Today was a bit cooler than yesterday so I didn't consider riding any of the water rides. I didn't want to be wet and get a cold.

Here are some photos I took at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. There are these beautiful man made waterfalls in the park. I really thought they were great photo opportunities. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of me. Maybe next time!

This is one of the really cool rides I found by the Superman roller coaster. It's called Das Fledermaus (wave swinger). It was really fun. The ride spins around and the total rides goes around and around while its spinning. I screamed the whole time (but I do this on all rides LOL!).

The whole Six Flags experience was made possible this weekend due to me using my coin savings. I don't know about you guys but at the end of each day I empty my pockets of change and I put them into different banks per coin( quarter, nickels, dimes and pennies). When I fill a bank I use the money for fun things. I filled my quarter container and I ended up with $135! I was too happy! I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the money. I like going to the amusement parks and I also wanted to visit more water parks (which I love). Since Six Flags has both I decided to buy a season pass. I will not take a personally funded vacation, so I figured I would take some time to visit the water park and amusement parks in Illinois, St. Louis and Texas. A friend of mine told me her daughter purchased her season passes in other places besides Illinois because they were cheaper in other states and they could be used in Illinois. I checked and the prices were cheaper (by at least $20) here in Texas. So I used the money to buy a season pass and I also learned you could purchase a parking season pass too. It cost $15 to park at Six Flags! Not cheap with even with a season pass. I checked and you can use them at other parks too! The cost of the season parking pass was $45. So Voila! I bought the season pass and the parking pass with my quarter savings! The total cost was around $115. Woo Hoo! I feel good now! I also spent money earlier in the week to purchase a Couture sewing book from Barnes and Noble. I am very satisfied with myself! I have a tendency to try to buy mostly needed stuff with found money (I get teased sometimes) So this feels so good!

I was wondering if any of you have a system for saving money. If not you should consider it. I simply empty my pockets of all change every time I come home. I separate it by coins and I spend the money only when I fill the container. I never fill all the coin containers at the same time. The dimes take the longest (maybe I need a smaller container (tee hee)). I am not sure how long it takes to fill a container but I think I will slip a piece of paper into the bank so I will know when I began my saving. If you need change you can always make your change and slip a few dollar bills into the bank. Find a system that works for you! It's nice to have some money to spend on whatever you want.

It took a lot of will power for me to not purchase anything for my hobbies. I already spent enough money and I have a serious collection of things already. This is what kept me from going crazy with those expenditures. But I am very satisfied with the way I used my money. I should get a lot of pleasure from the season pass this summer. I can't wait!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Smooches!

San Antonio

2008-03-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am in San Antonio, Texas enjoying the weather. It's a wonderful seventy degrees and I am having a blast. I spent the day at Six Flags Fiesta, Texas this Saturday and I road two rollercoasters. What fun! I love rollercoasters but I think I am getting too old for them! LOL! I rode one called the The Rattler which is properly named. I felt rattled when I was done. There was a three hour wait to get on this ride. I loved it until the end when it jerked to a stop. You see I had to go to the bathroom (due to the long wait in line plus a bottle of water which was much needed due to the heat) and I almost had an accident! Luckily I didn't! After that I decided to eat and rest a while because I was pretty dizzy. The next ride I tackled was called The Boomerang. This was even better than The Rattler to me! It went upside down twice and then went backwards! Too Cool! I was dizzy and queasy after this ride. This was the last ride I did while I was there. I thought I better stop while I was ahead. Besides I was only interested in the rollercoasters. I bought a season pass and I plan to go back tomorrow to do some of the other rollercoasters I didn't do today. I didn't have enough time to do them all anyway unless you bought the fast pass card which is too expensive in my opinion. It's like buying another ticket to the park.

Yesterday I went to the Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio. It's very pretty there! It even smells really nice because of all the flowers blooming on the paths. I went to the mall and walked around then I listened to South American band who played native instruments. Then I decided to take the boat ride around the Riverwalk to see what was there. Many shops, restaurants, bars, statues, landscaping and landmarks were to be seen. I used this ride to plot the areas I wanted to visit. But because I went on a Friday night it was very crowded and I spent most of my time trying to find someplace to eat which wasn't too crowded. I wanted to eat outside on the actual Riverwalk but that didn't seem possible without a very long wait. I found a restaurant close to the mall I started in and ate a sensible dinner of friend catfish. Yum!

Here are some wonderful pictures of the Riverwalk with captions

The boats on the Riverwalk offer a wonderful guided tour. The ride is easy and last about 25 minutes long. All the landscaping along the river is beautiful.

This is a hotel which was a school before. The architecture was beautiful. I thought how wonderful it would have been to go to a school on the river like this.
O.K. I have a funny story about this statue. It's a statue of Saint Antonio donated by Portugal. As I stood in front on it about to take a picture I noticed something going on behind it. There was a guy behind there taking a leak! I he said excuse me and ran off! I was standing there with my mouth wide open when this guy patted me on the back and laughed. I guess I had the ultimate look of shock on my face. Geez! What are people thinking! It's a saint for goodness sake! There are bathrooms close by!

Excuse my photo. I was trying to quickly take a picture of this mariachi band serenading this couple on the Riverwalk. It was just starting to get dark. There were many roving bands on the Riverwalk Friday evening. The aviance was wonderful!Here is the famous Alamo. It's located in downtown San Antonio not too far from the Riverwalk. It's very impressive and beautiful. There are many markers of historical significance around the site. I didn't get a chance to go because it was late but I am glad I got a chance to see it.

Well that's all of my photos of San Antonio. I have been working all week so I didn't go sightseeing at all. I just waited for the weekend to enjoy myself.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and a Happy Easter!

Toodles!

An Update from Houston

2008-02-26T19:53:00.000-08:00

Hey! I am in the Houston area for work. When I arrived Sunday it was 70 degrees! A big difference from Chicago! I drove to my hotel with the windows down like I wanted but I had to roll them up and turn on the air conditioner! It's a nice break!

Anyway I wanted to update you on my week. I had an unfortunate death in my family. My Aunt's husband (uncle by marriage) died last week. He had leukemia. It's very sad and a big loss to the family. Please keep my Aunt and cousins in your prayers.

As I mentioned in my last entry I had a pretty full week. One knitting/crochet meeting and three scrapbook meetings. It was very nice. The knitting/crochet group was small but very nice. I met three wonderful ladies. We worked well together and I can't wait to meet with them again. I worked on my sleeve for my cardigan. I got a lot done. I actually brought it on my trip to finish. I just completed using the last of my skein of yarn and I left the rest at home. I have about 10 rows left before I am finished. So when I get home I plan on finishing the skein then I will sew it together and have it completed by the end of the month! SWEET!

The scrapbook meetings I attended was fun. It's always a great time to get with friends with similar interests. Better yet I didn't spend too much money too. The first night was at Archivers with my meet-up group. I was able to put my page kits together for my Orlando trip. I also did this at the other meetings I attended. I am hoping to start working on my scrapbook pages next month. I would prefer to have many more kits ready when I get started. Wish me luck.

After work yesterday I found a scrapbook store called Scrapbook Junkie. I went in and browsed around. Very nice store. I found another nice store today. It's funny how I find these stores. I am just driving along then BOOM a store! Some of these stores are in small towns but they have lots of merchandise. I have been really good though. I have impressed myself. I have spent no money! I hope this lasts! I read the yellow pages and I found four stores in the area of my hotel. I think I will only visit two! LMAO! I don't want to push temptation.

Well I hope to update again this week. But do not expect photos. I left my digital card reader at home!

Smooches!

Enjoying the holiday

2008-02-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is getting a chance to enjoy the holiday. I am relaxing and trying to do a few things around the house personally.

This weekend was a busy one for me. I ran errands and did some cooking on Saturday. Then I went and got my hair done. It's really cute! I like it has grown out some. Look for some new pictures. My brother also came home for the weekend so I spent the night at my mother's home. It was nice.

I am also proud to say I have completed one sleeve of my cardigan I am making. I started the next sleeve and I do have a ways to go. I do hope to have it finished by the end of the week. I haven't however started my chenille cowl yet. I really wanted to focus my efforts into finishing the major portion of the cardigan. I think I will work on my cowl when I go to Houston for work. I think it will be perfect for waiting in an airport for my flights. Wish me luck on that one.

Tomorrow I will meet with a new knitting/crocheting group. I am kind of excited! I can't wait to find more crocheters/knitters in my area. When the organizer first started the group she had the meetings in the early afternoon. Many people could not make it so she is trying to find a happy medium. I do hope this works. I had joined a sewing group back in November and I was very excited to find other sewers who were willing to get together. The organizer for that group has some personal issues and we never had a meeting. I was very disappointed. I was really looking forward to meeting some other sewers in my area. But what can you do right?

I also have plans to go scrapbooking at least three times this week. Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening. I am quite happy. I have many page kits and I cannot wait to work on them. I want to have some pages completed before I leave for Houston. I have spent a great portion of the day sorting and getting things ready for my scrapbook evenings.

Well this is just a little taste of my crafty life this week. I hope to have some pictures to share later!

Toodles!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T05:36:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to say "Happy Valentine's Day" to everyone out there in blogland!

HAPPY

VALENTINE'S

DAY

Smooches to everyone!

GREAT NEWS!

2008-02-12T12:48:00.000-08:00

Great news! Remember that ticket I received on New Year's Day for driving through the stop sign without stopping (which was not true!)? Well yesterday I went to court and I pleaded not guilty. The judge threw out the case! The officer referred to his ticket book when the judge asked a question. This isn't allowed. He should have known better according to the judge that he could not review notes during testimony. So she threw it out and scolded him. No fines! WOO HOO! I was very pleased. Those tickets were $105! I of course did not want to pay that price! I am one satisfied woman!

Well I guess I will move on to more good news. I have had a crafty good time lately. I have many photos on this entry so beware. The first group are cards I made at a Close to My Heart Seminar (CTMH). These are nice cards. Only one has a theme which was "Thanks". I guess I can make the others whatever I want.

Here is a nice representation of the bunch! These are all made from CTMH products.

I also went to a CTMH scrapbook workshop too. I like these pages. The black and beige pages are my favorite. These are all made using CTMH products.

I learned something this weekend that made me gasp. I went to Michaels' and I was browsing the book area (which was hard because I really wanted to buy a book). I saw the Cherish book by CTMH in the store. There was only one. I thought maybe someone left it there by mistake. Then I went to another Michaels' and I saw many more. I was so confused! I didn't know they sold CTMH idea books at Michaels'. You could use your 40% off coupon and get it at a really good price. This book along with their Imagine idea book is a big hit with my friends. One had already purchased the book and I told her. She e-mailed our consultant and learned CTMH will be selling their idea books to broaden their market at Michaels'. They are waiting at least a year after the book is released. Isn't that something! I was totally shocked! Now my poor friend is a bit upset she purchased the book at full price. But what can you do right?

This is an 8 X 8 layout I made for one of my mother's friends. She is a very wonderful lady. She had a party last summer and honored me. She is so sweet. I made this to put into an album I made for her last year. I want to add pages for her now and then.

Well, lets move on to the needle arts. I was in Michaels', JoAnn's, Borders, Barnes and Noble and finally the library. I really wanted this book. There is this beautiful sweater called Icelandic I want to make. I found it at the library! Whoopie! I am adding this wonderful pattern to my library for sure!

This is the Quick feminine scarf I made this weekend. I found this pattern in the "At Home With Crochet", its a Leisure Arts Publication. I really like this pattern. I will make more and give them away as gifts. I did find some flaws in my scarf but it still looks great. I plan on making one for KimT who joined my "Play It Forward" post. So Kim if you are reading this get ready!

This is the scarf stretched out. It's really cute! I am pretty proud of myself.

O.K. I know you guys remember the cardigan I have been working on forever. Well my completion of this sweater was stalled. I ran out of yarn. I bought more but the color was off. I couldn't match the dye lot. I thought I bought more than enough but the sweater is turning out to be much larger than I anticipated. I decided to make the sleeves and trimming of the sweater out of this solid blue. It's the best I could do. I am a bit miffed at myself for running out of yarn but it happens. I do hope to get it finished soon though. I need to do both sleeves then sew it all together and od the trim. Wish me tons of luck on this one!

First, please excuse the blurry photos. I really tried working with my camera but it was late. This is a simple shrug I found in the Fall Interweave Crochet magazine. I thought it turned out wonderfully. I wore it to church and I received many wonderful compliments. I will definitely make many more. This took me about a week to complete.

FRONT VIEW

BACK VIEW

I bought yarn for my KCAL (knit crochet along) with the Ebony Elite group. I found a crochet pattern I wanted to do with the group and I am too excited for words.

The pattern is called Chenille Cowl and I found it in my "So Simple Crochet" book by Melody Griffiths for Creative Homeowner. I am so excited. I hope its as easy as it looks. I would love to make more for gifts.

After I complete this pattern and the cardigan pattern I will then move on to the Icelandic cowl pattern. I am so inspired by this pattern. I will post a picture of it later. I think I have enough pictures on this post already!

Cheerio!

Pay It Forward

2008-02-06T05:46:00.000-08:00

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on this post requesting to join this Pay it forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. So basically, if you comment, you’re on. I’ll send you something crafty that I’ll make for you.

Once you sign up, copy and paste the above paragraph on your blog, and three other lucky people will be recipients of your handmade work. I got mine from Barb's Card Creations and Other Stuff. If you read my previous post you will see what she sent me. It was very nice. I will try to make something appropriate for the people who sign up for this. Please continue the fun on your blog. I will not promise your gift will come quickly but I will send it as soon as time allows. Possibly within a month.

Let the fun begin!

Smooches!

I'm back AGAIN!

2008-01-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

O.K. I am going to post what I have been doing for the past few weeks. This have been busy so I will start with the fun stuff!

This is the beret I made for my aunt's birthday. It was a very easy pattern I found in one of my books. I used the Lion Brand Bordeaux chenille yarn instead of the chunky yarn used in the photo. I made my aunt a boa scarf a few years ago with this yarn and I thought a hat would be a nice addition. I never made a hat before and I am really proud of myself. This project took around two hours to complete. I am very happy with the results and my aunt loves it. I even think my mom became jealous. She mentioned I never made her a hat! What a spoiled mama! LOL!

This is a picture of the top of the beret.

This is how my aunt likes to wear it. Over to the side.

Very chic! I love my first beret! I plan on making many more for the future.

This is my cousin Angie. I thought her some singel crochet stitches and I might have a convert! Whoopie! She was getting the hang of it slowly. I talked to her recently and she was still practicing. I am very happy to have another crocheter in the family!

For January I think I went to at least six different scrapbook/stamping/cardmaking venues. I have begun to sort my photos for my Orlando trip and I am making page kits. I will explain and give examples of my page kits in a future post. Look out! There are some terrific ideas! Anyway here are some of the finished projects.

At one of my crops I decided to finally make a scrapbook page of my new home. I love this layout. It's simple but very beautiful. Please excuse my photos. I was in a hurry! LOL! This is my first home. I had a condo before but I finally got a house I really wanted in 2006. Things are going slowly but I will get it totally together and do a great book of my decorating.

This is a two-page layout I made of my brother Keith. I really love this layout. The title says Photo Time with the subtitle point shoot snap. I love it! It's a scraplift from an idea book I bought for Close to My Heart Stamping Company called Imagine. I made this layout while I was at a crop at a local store. I pulled out a template and marked my page for stitching. The crop area was crowded and someone saw me stitching on my layout and screamed "she's stitching on her layout!" Everyone came running to see what I was doing. LMAO! It was too funny! They all wanted to see my template and watch me make a few stitches. I felt like the cool scrapper at the crop! I loved it! LMAO!

First Page

Second Page

This is a layout I started early this month with the Mocha Memories ladies quarterly crop. It's a scraplift from Creating Keepsakes Easy Patterns by Brenda Arnall. I didn't like how it was coming along. I wanted to try and use white paper as background. This is not a background color I usually enjoy using on my layout but I wanted to try it. It turned out O.K. I was happy I got a lot of pictures on it though. This was a chili cookoff at a campout with friends. I took pictures of everyone making there own chili. It was a lot of fun! I came in a close second! A girl named Amy made the prize winning chili which had shredded beef, cloves and other delicious things. It was very good! She did deserve to win!

This is a prize I won from Barb's Card Creations and Other stuff. She had a "Play It Forward Post". This will be an upcoming blog update so stay tuned.It's a cute little album for some pictures and journaling. I really like it. Check out Barb's blog. She makes the most wonderful cards. I am now addicted to the Stamping Bella stamps! They are so cute! I must have some!

Cover

Inside

I go to these monthly scrapbook classes at a Close to My Heart (CTMH) consultants home nearby. I wasn't able to make it to the December class but I was able to get the class projects. This is what we made.

Three cards

Two Scrapbook pages

I really like these projects. They are very cute. I need to find some photos for the two scrapbook pages. I really like the colors.

Well that is just a sample of all my projects. I have many more to come. I have been working steadily on my cardigan I am crocheting. For some reason I thought I bought enough yarn but I didn't. I had to go out and buy more to find the colors are off. I will use it for the sleeves and just make due. I really hate this but what I am to do right? I also have started on my shrug and it is working out well. I am about 90% done and I can't wait to finish it. I need to find some contrasting yarn somewhere. Wish me luck!

I've been tagged

2008-01-07T15:59:00.000-08:00

Two Names you go by:

1. Cas
2. Kasey

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:

1. cream v-neck sweater
2. brown velour pants

Two Things You Would Want (or have) in a Relationship:

1. respect
2. friendship

Two of your favorite things to do:

1. crafts
2. socialize

Two Things you want badly at the moment:

1. To win the lottery
2. a milkshake which I will have as soon as I finish this entry!

Two pets you had/have:

1. Edgar ( my current fur buddy the cat)
2. Gladys (cat)

Two people you think will fill this out:

1. Stacey
2. Sheila

Two things you did last night:

1. I went to visit my friend Lori (the "kitty" as I like to call her)
2. Visited my mom

Two things you ate today:

1. A turkey and cheese sandwich
2. Some leftover fried chicken

Two people you last talked to:

1. James
2. mom

Two things you're doing tomorrow:

1. work
2. scrapbooking with my group at the local scrapbook store

Two Longest car rides:

1. Chicago to Louisiana (to visit my grandparents)
2. Chicago to the Chain of Lakes area in Wisconsin or Chicago to Salem, MO. (they both took about 8 hours and I was going to canoe with my group.)

Two favorite holidays:

1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving

Favorite beverages:

1. Squirt or 50/50
2. Peach pop

2 People no longer alive who you'd like to talk to:

1. Paternal grandfather ( I never met )
2. Laura Ingalls Wilder ( I loved those books but I have some questions which need answering)

I am tagging a few people and hopefully they will tag others.

Adrienne
Sheila
Stacey

How about a quick weekend recap. Saturday I met with the wonderful Mocha Memories Ladies for a crop at Archivers. There were four of us and we had a good time. I completed ten cards and I worked on a 2 page layout. It's about 90% completed and I do not care for it. I tried to step out of my normal style but I do not like the results. I usually do not care for white background paper. But I used it along with some old creative memories papers. I didn't like how the layout turned out. It reminds me too much of a creative memories layout! LOL! But I will try to finish it and see if I can add some pizazz to it. You never know. The cards were from a kit I purchased from Creating Keepsakes. It's one of those we mail you a DVD and a mini kit and if you want it you pay $26.95. I had two of these kits and I am not purchasing anymore since I never watch the DVDs. But I was getting low on cards and felt I needed to at least make those. They are pretty simple but nice. I actually felt as though I got something accomplished.

After the crop I had a 12th night party to attend at a friend's house. We usually go to her home and have some hors d'ouerves, light her tree (she has a Victorian tree with candles), and play games. We played Taboo and Cranium. I enjoyed myself. I really like to play games. They are fun.

Sunday I went to church. Our church is currently holding service at a school due to some renovations. It was pretty crowded in there. It's usual for the beginning of the year. Everyone's resolutions are pretty clear! LOL! Afterward I visited my mom and then went to visit a friend who lives in the downtown Chicagoland area. Finding parking was a pain in the tushy! But I found parking. She made me some delicious lasagna and garlic bread. I didn't get home until late last night. I was exhausted!

So I consider this week getting off to a great start. I hope it ends the same way!

Smooches!

Savory Sunday January 6, 2008

2008-01-04T16:10:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, I made this overnight baked french toast dish for my family. Since it is only three of us in the morning I cut the recipe to feed only three people. I used a smaller pan and estimated smaller measurements. This dish was a big hit. My mom really liked it (she's kinda hard to please) and my brother did too.

Back in the day I used to cut all the recipes out of magazines, the food section of the newspaper and whatever else I could find. So I have a pretty serious collection of recipes. Every now and then I browse through my collection to see what might intrigue me. I was looking for an overnight breakfast dish to make (something like overnight french toast) and this one appealed to me. It reminds me of a bread pudding actually since the bread is in cubes. Very delicious. You will not be disappointed.

Sally Jessy Raphael's Famous Baked French Toast

1 loaf white bread cubed

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cubed

8 to 12 eggs depending on size

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 cup milk

Line the bottom of an 11 by 13 inch pan with half of the bread cubes. Layer cream cheese cubes on top of bread. Arrange remaining bread cubes on top.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, maple syrup and milk. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until light golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Bon Appetit'

Just another creative day...

2008-01-04T12:04:00.001-08:00

I am pretty excited now. I had a bit of an epiphany yesterday. I have decided to start working on many crochet, sewing and stamping, scrapbooking projects to accumlate items for gifts. I am talking about birthday, Christmas, baby shower, wedding shower, hostess and whatever miscellaneous event comes up! I think this is a great idea because I will work on my crafts while improving my skills and giving some very thoughtful gifts to friends and family. I have already started working on my Christmas list (I have a very short one for now). It feels good to have a plan so early in the year. I already found several projects I can't wait to attempt.

Let's start with a blast from the past. Remember that cardigan I was working on crocheting? Here is a picture of the example.

I have been working on it dilligently for the past few weeks while I was sick and on vacation. I am progressing quite well. I am having issues with tension. I start out loose then it gets tighter as I progress. It's hard for me to maintain a consistent tension. Because of this I was pulling out rows of stitches constantly. Finally I got a bit discouraged and put it to the side. I decided to continue on and I will work on my tension as I make more projects. This way I should get more projects completed. I must remember this is a work in progress. Every project will not be perfect. Here are my current pieces.

This is the back of the sweater. It's pretty wide but I think when finished it will shrink some.

This is the right front. It looks good so far. I started this after Christmas and finished it by New Year's day. I was very proud of myself.
I am currently working on the left front. This is a photo of it next to the right front. I am counting rows until I need to begin shaping. It's coming along well. I worked on it since Wednesday. I think I am doing quite well.

JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts has a sale on yarn. I found a few patterns I really like so I thought this would be a good time to find some nice yarn to make these projects. I have decided to make my Aunt a beret for her birthday which is on the 8th of January. I found it in one of my crochet books I bought when I was in New York at AC Moore. I's called "So Simple Crochet" by Melody Griffiths. It's an easy project which should take around two hours which is perfect since her birthday is next week and I will see her possibly on Sunday.

Here is the photo of the beret. Pretty easy enough! I am making it using this chenille yarn. I made my Aunt a boa scarf from this yarn a couple of years ago so I thought a matching beret would be nice. The color is bordeax. Very pretty. I started a swatch to test for guage. This is a shrug I found in the Fall 2007 Interweave Crochet magazine. It's a very easy design. I can't wait to start this one. I found some really nice yarn at JoAnn's for $8.99 and I used my 40% off coupon so I am pretty pleased with myself.
I am really like the colors in this yarn. I do need to find another color for the contrast stitching. I am thinking of a nice chocolate. I really have a thing for chocolate colors this season. I also got a late start at looking at my new calendars this year. I didn't get home until later Tuesday night and I wanted to watch the latest episode of Law & Order SVU. After that I was pretty tired and went to bed. I got up the next morning and I remembered my new calendars. I had one for a crochet pattern a day and another for scrapbook idea of the day. I love these calendars. They are so inspirational. I found a pattern I liked on the first two days! I may include them in my projects to do this year. It feels good to have inspiration coming at you everyday.

While I was in JoAnn's on New Year's day I also browsed the magazine wall. This is like major temptation for me since I enjoy magazines so much and I spend a small fortune on them. I was really dancing with the devil at this point. But I didn't buy any! I was so proud of myself. I looked through the latest issue of Interweave Crochet and Crochet today as well as many other magazines. I wanted to buy one but I remembered those 40% off coupons and I didn't have any with me! So that shut that temptation down real quick. Besides my money will be tight this month and I don't need another pattern magazine now since I have so many project patterns at home. I will just wait! I am so glad I did too!

Well this weekend should be a fun one! I will be meeting with the Mocha Memories ladies for a day of scrapbooking. I need to put some page kits together to take with me. I will do that tonight. I also have a 12th night party with at my friends home in the evening. So tomorrow will be a full day. Sunday I plan on going to church and visiting my mother afterward. Then one of my good friends will come by for a visit. All together this should be a wonderful first weekend of the month.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend too!

Happy New Year! A Day late...

2008-01-02T05:24:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Year! I did. I didn't want to go out for New Year's Eve this year so I stayed at home and relaxed. I am a bit sick of parties right now. On New Year's my mother wanted to go see "The Great Debaters" at the matinee show and then have dinner. The movie was fabulous! It's was so good! I laughed at a lot and cried some too. It's definitely worth the money.

Afteward I kidnapped my mom and stopped at JoAnn's to browse around. I did very well. I didnt' buy anything. I did want to check the yarn to find something for my next project. But I decided to wait. They have yarn on sale right now and I wanted to see if I could find something. I found some very pretty yarn but I wasn't sure how much I needed. So I left without buying anything. I did want a magazine but since I didn't have a coupon with me I passed on that too. My mom hates going to JoAnn's with me. I love to browse and she has no patience for it! LOL!

Unfortunately on my way home I got stopped by the police. The officer said I didn't stop at the stop sign which was not true. I also did not have my current proof of insurance card with me and I got a ticket. Not good. I now have to go to court next month.

But, I will not let one sour note spoil my New Year's day. I spent time with my mother and watched the plentious television show marathons presented for the day. All in all it was a good day and I hope to continue to find the good in every day this year. I hope you all do the same.

Keep it real everyone!

A Year in Review

2007-12-31T07:36:00.001-08:00

QUICK REVIEW

I started blogging. This has been a wonderful outlet for me. I love to have a place to show my creations and talk about the anything my heart desires.

I met some wonderful cybersisters who blog and have become wonderful supportive friends of mine. I cherish them all! Please check the blogs I visit listed.

I went to Orland for an entire week and enjoyed myself with my friend Becky. I was most proud I didn't drive Becky crazy the entire week. We visited six parks in six days which was crazy! We were totally exhausted by the time we returned! But I finally got to see all the Disney Parks and enjoy them.

I visited the American and Canadian sides of Niagara Falls while I worked in Upstate New York. I have a list of places I want to visit before I die and even though I had been to Niagara Falls before I never got a chance to really look around. Now its another place checked off my list as well as Orlando.

I started crocheting again and I am trying to advance my skills. The Ebony Elite group has been a great inspiration and motivation in this quest. What a wonderful group of talented ladies!

I went on a weekend trip to a scrapbook retreat with five fun ladies and it was a wonderful experience. I would love to do this again.

I joined another meetup group for sewing. I am very excited about this even though I haven't been to a meeting yet (which was not my fault since it was cancelled).

I went to my family reunion in Arkansas and had a good time with relatives.

I painted two rooms in my home myself. A slow start but more to come next year.

I went on three ski trips this year. I did two Midwest weekend trips to Pine Mountain in the UP of Michigan and Devils Head in Wisconsin and one trip out west to Winter Park, Colorado. I had a great time.

I didn't buy another die cutting machine! This was hard but I did it!

Bought new furniture for my creative space.

HERE ARE A FEW THINGS I WANTED TO DO THIS YEAR

Save money

Have a garage sale

Stay on my budget.

Lose 10 pounds

Meet a nice gentlemen (not the scum I usually attract!)

Do more creative projects (sewing, crocheting, stamping, woodworking)

Be more organized

Get central air conditioning for my home

Go to church more often

This is actually all I could think of at the moment but I think its a pretty decent list. I want to thank everyone that reads my blog. I do hope in the future more of you leave a comment to let me know you are out there. It would be great to meet and get to know you!

I hope everyone had a good year and I hope it continues into 2008!

Peace and Love!

Savory Sunday

2007-12-23T20:06:00.001-08:00

Well here is another installment of "Savory Sunday". I know most of us are preparing for Christmas dinner and I thought this recipe would be perfect for a quick dessert. It's so easy and good. It's called "Impossible pie". The ingredients are simple and you put them all into a blender and pour into a pie pan. It then separates and makes its own crust, filling and topping. It's fantastic! It's basically a coconut custard pie. If you make it let me know! You won't be disappointed.

IMPOSSIBLE PIE

4 eggs

1/4 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 cups milk

1 cup coconut

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients in blender at one time and blend until mixed together. Pour into a buttered 10 inch pie pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour. When don, crust will be on the bottom, custard will be in the middle and the coconut on top, right where they belong!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Winter Park Recap

2007-12-22T16:06:00.000-08:00

Boy! I have wanted to update my blog for some time now. So here goes my recap of the Winter Park ski trip.

The flight to Denver was good with no issues. When we arrived we all grabbed our luggage and waited for the bus to take us to Winter Park. The resort is about an hour and a half west of Denver. On our way to the resort we stopped at a grocery store and liquor store to grab some goodies for the weekened. I bought snacks and food for lunch and dinner (I am still on a budget) and some liquour for the room (I bought some Hot Damn! (cinnamon schnapps and butterscotch schnapps) to but in hot apple cider yum!). We also had several bottles of wine to drink too. We then loaded the bus again and left for the resort. We arrived at 11:30pm mountain time and lugged our stuff into our condos. The condos were nice. My roommates and I then decided on rooms and proceeded to drink and get to know each other before bed. We didn't go to bed until 1:30am.

Here is a picture of my condo roommates. They are in order Lynn, Keelin, Donna and me!

The next morning we got up and got ready to go skiing. We loaded up on the shuttle and off we went. It was a good day for skiing. It wasn't too cold for sure. I started out skiing with the ladies but then I ended up leaving them and skiing on my own. I had some boot issues I had to correct but overall I had a good first day. I stayed mainly on the green runs (the easiest runs around for you non-skiiers). Since I hadn't been skiing for a while I wanted to acclimate and slowly build my way up to the blue runs(the blue runs are intermediate runs). I did ski a few blue runs though. I was getting tired so I ended my day around 3pm and made my way back to the condo.
The next day I went skiing it was very cold! I mean very very very cold. The warming huts were full of people and I stopped after every run to sit an relax. I finally began to get really tired and left around 1:30 pm. I stayed at the condo the rest of the evening and even skipped our group pizza party. I just wasn't feeling fatigued and not up to hanging out with the gang. Besides I had another bad night of rest again. The last full day of skiing on Sunday I didn't leave the condo. I just laid around all day. I figured I was getting the altitude sickness I always get when I go to the Rockies. Not a good feeling. I finally got dressed around 3pm and went to get my skis which I stored at the resort. I did attempt to go out that evening and went to a German restaurant called Gasthuas Eichler in town. The food was good. This is what I had to eat.
Blue Cheese Mousse and Crackers

Potato Pancakes with Sour Cream and Applesauce

Salad with Cranberry Vingarette and bread

Beef Goulash with Spaetzle and Red Cabbage was my entree. It was good.

I always take pictures of food on my trips. This was no exception. LOL!

I made it back to the condo with the group and I did rest a bit better that evening. But I still wasn't feeling my best. I also had developed a cough too.

The next day we were leaving for home by 1pm so we spent the day shopping. I wanted to buy my mom some jewelry for Christmas so I ventured out and did some shopping. I still wasn't feeling very good but I did it. I thought this was promising. I did find the jewelry and stopped for something to eat and walked back to the condo. I was pretty proud of myself even though I was tired. The bus arrived shortly after my arrival back at the condo and we loaded up and left for dinner. We had a wonderful bus driver that took the scenic route for us since we were early and we were able to go through the beautiful canyons. We also went through Golden, Colorado where Coors is manufactured and he gave us some nice touristy information. Great ending.

I finally make it home that evening and I was so exhausted it wasn't funny. I went straight to bed and slept in my clothes because I was pretty cold. The next day I was as sick as ever and its been horrible every since. I am now battling the flu. I made an appointment to visit my doctor and she gave me a prescription for antibiotics and told me to stay at home to rest. I still feel like crap and I am doing nothing but coughing and sleeping all day. I hate this crap! I hope I feel better by Christmas. I would hate to spend Christmas sick.

So now you know why I haven't updated my blog all week. I have been too sick and exhausted to even consider it. Say a prayer for me! I really need it! But I look to the good side to this believe it or not. I haven't been able to spend any money shopping all week! LOL! That's a good thing!

I am going to leave this post with a fun picture of me during happier times on my trip. I hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

A very long review

2007-12-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Hey folks! It's been a long time for sure. I guess I am going through some type of mini fatigue thing. I do hope to get over it soon.

This past weekend my mom had a dinner party for my family. It was nice. We had around 1o people over and we fixed a ham, fried chicken wings, meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, broccoli and rice casserole, string beans, sweet potato pie, chocolate cake, almond cream cheese pound cake and an impossible pie. I think there might have been more but you get the idea. Everyone enjoyed themselves and I believe ate a bit too much. They had those eyes half opened look to them. LMAO! It was fun though. I was quite tired afterward. My back was beginning to bother me a lot and I cleaned as well as I could and I ended up staying the night. Sunday I was very tired and didn't go to church but I stayed and cleaned my mother's home for her. I left late Sunday night and I was still not feeling very well. I don't know what to think about that.

Anyway that was the weekend for me. I cooked Friday night and went to my mother's house early Saturday to help her and that was it for me!

I was supposed to start packing for my Winter Park, Colorado ski trip last night but I didn't get a chance. I went to sleep early. I did stop on my way home today and bought my brother's Christmas gift and some ski socks for the trip. I am getting a bit excited. Woo Hoo! Three days of skiing! I hope I don't get altitude sickness. I better start drinking tons of water now!

I did want to show off some of my scrapbooking work. I completed several layouts and I have more to complete. Hopefully I will have them done on my next meetup.com meeting on the 20th.

I finally did it! I couldn't help myself! I treated myself to the upper tier of the Clip It Up! Adrienne eat your heart out! LOL! I got a couple of coupons from Archiver's for 30% off anything in the store. The first thing that came to my mind was the Clip It Up Upper Tier! I couldn't resist! I think this will be it for the month on hobby supplies! But I am so glad I got it! It's fabulous!

I also purchased a set of circle stamps. I have been wanting these stamps for some time. I wanted to use them on some layouts I had made but I worked around them. I finally decided to just go ahead and buy them. Now I am kind of regretting it. I have a tendency to buy stuff I really want and never use it. It is just stored in my craft limbo area (I call it my creative space but you get my drift) and I never use it. I must stop this!
This is my layouts from my family reunion I attended in July 2007. I started these layouts in August and I have yet to complete them. I like them so far.

This is my my mother's oldest sister (or my Aunt) Waverline. She isthe oldest sibling in my mother's immediate family.

This is a picture of my Aunt Waverline and my mom (Ivory). The "S" is for sister.

This is my Mom (Ivory). She is the second oldest.

This is my Aunt Ethel. She is my mother's youngest sister. She is the fourth sibling.

This is my Uncle James (we call him "Geek" and don't ask why because I don't know). He is the youngest sibling at number seven.

This is my mother's first cousin named Robert Jones. He is a character. This is my first cousin Cedric. His father is my mother's brother Clarence. This is my Uncle Clarence's wife Wanda.

This is my first cousin Christian. She is my Uncle Clarence's daughter. This is my Uncle Clarence. He is the sixth sibling in the family.

This is my Uncle Robert (We call him Bunkus and again don't ask because I don't know why). He is my mother's oldest brother. He is the third sibling.

This is my Aunt Waverline's husband Ira.
I like this picture of my Aunt and her husband. The "L" is for love.
This is my cousin's daughter Ja'Maya. She is her youngest daughter. She is adorable. This is my cousin's oldest daughter Diamond. She is really cute. I hope you all like the layouts I showcased here. I have about three or four more layouts to complete for the reunion and I hope to have them completed soon. I will have them posted soon.

I was very disappointed the previous weekend. I found a sewing meetup group and we were supposed to have our first meeting the first Saturday in December. I went scrapbooking on the Friday night before and I got up late but I was preparing to go. I checked my e-mail and saw that the group leader had cancelled the meeting! I was all set and ready to go too! I felt if someone had zapped all my energy. I was so disappointed! But the upside is the weather was not good. We had some freezing rain here in the Chicagoland area and it was very slippery and traffic was not good. So it all worked out for the best.

I know this has been a rather long entry with all the pictures so I will end it now. I do plan to post a recipe this week. If I have internet access in Colorado I will post my adventures skiing. I want to update you on my crochet progress too. So stay tuned!

Smooches!

Hey!

2007-11-29T16:54:00.000-08:00

Hello my blogland friends!

It's been two weeks since I have posted. Last week I meant to post the day after Thanksgiving but I never got the chance. I'm a busy woman! I have a lot to update you on! Let's start with some scrapbooking.

Here are my layout I made of my brother. I have Creating Keepsakes Easy Pattern for Scrapbookers by Brenda Arnall. I decided to use the first pattern to make these layouts of my brother. It took me a few weeks to complete it because I wanted to go through my stash of scrapbook materials to find embellishments. Finally I gave up and bought some inexpensive embellishments at Archivers. I am proud of these layouts and my mother loves them too. My brother's name is Keith and he is mentally handicapped. In the journal box I wrote all about his place in our family. Brother, son, nephew, grandson, cousin, friend etc. Here are some of the many faces of Keith. I often wonder what he is thinking when he makes these faces.
These two layouts are actually a double page spread. I had to tweak my design of the patterned papers. I like this layout. I bought this metal embellishment which said "brothers" and I cut off the "s". I really like how it looks. I love the picture of my brother laughing at the top. He can be pretty silly at times. He can also be very happy and jovial when he comes home. He doesn't stay with my family. He lives at a center for the handicap. I may add a "to be" with the "Happy Home" circle at the bottom. I think it will be more appropriate.

I also purchased a Clip It Up for myself. I bought this back in October before my hobby spending freeze. It allows you to hang all your embellishments so you can see them instead of sticking them in drawers, files and totes. It handy and I have found it to be most useful. Unfortunately this thing is not cheap! I paid around $60 for it. But so far is has been worth it. I love the ability to spin it around and find what I need. I hope to get an upper tier! But that can wait until I get my budget more under control. I have a lot more stuff to add to it.

I also bought the Autumn Leaves Designing with 2008 calendar. I bought this back in October too. I was a real spender before the realities of the market set in! LOL! I love these calendars! I have been buying them for about four years now. I like how you get inspiration everyday. I love to come to my craft room and check to see the latest inspirational idea. If I see an idea I want to try I add it to my page kit along with papers and embellishments. It makes it so easy to complete a layout. It's just perfect! This is me at one of my crops at the Creative Studio. This is where I started the layout of my brother. I was exhausted since coming back from New York earlier that day. I wanted to get out and scrap and I did. I crashed at 10pm. I needed to go home! LOL! Yes those are all my bags and I left my scrap box at home. I carry a lot of baggage when I go scrapping! LOL!

Tomorrow I will be at the Creative Studio again for an evening of scrapbooking with my friends. I hope to complete the family reunion album.

I think I will end my blog update here. I have tons of things to write about and I don't want to overwhelm you with too much information. I want to write about my crocheting, sewing, Christmas shopping and more.

Stay tuned!

Wonderful Wednesday Recipe

2007-11-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

This recipe I made years ago. I was so impressed when I took the casserole out of the oven. It looked exactly like the picture! Except I used an oblong pan. It tastes great and has a wonderful presentation. I am sure you will all agree!

I had an addiction to cookbooks for some time. Luckily I have moved on from this to my scrapbooking, crocheting and sewing addictions! LOL! I bought those little recipe books you find at the check out counter everytime I went to the store. This is from Best Recipes Casseroles, Stews, Soups & More No. 10 copyright 1991 by Publications International Ltd. These little cookbooks are great! I do hope you try this casserole. It's a chicken pot pie. Very delicious! I would serve it with a hearty salad and a fantastic dessert! Very tasty and the presentation will wow your family and friends!

DAIRYLAND CONFETTI CHICKEN

Casserole

1 cup diced carrots

3/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) cream of chicken soup

1 cup dairy sour cream

3 cups cubed cooked chicken

1/2 cup (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Confetti Topping

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teasponn salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon chopped green bell pepper

1 tablespoon chopped pimento

1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Wisconsin Cheddar cheese, divided

For casserole: In saucepan, combine carrots, onion, celery and chicken broth. Sommer 20 minutes. In 3-quart casserole, mix soup, sour cream, chicken cubes, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Add simmered vegtables and liquid; mix well.

For confetti toppng: In mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add eggs, milk, green pepper, pimiento and 1 cup of the cheese. Mix just unhtil well blended. Drop tablespoons of topping onto casserole and bake in 350 degree oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese and return to oven until melted. Garnish as desired.

Makes 6 to 8 servings

Favorite recipe from Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board 1992

Bon Appetit!

A late weekend in review

2007-11-13T11:51:00.000-08:00

Well I consider the weekend a partial bust! I did get some things done but I didn't do what I really wanted to do. I really wanted to sew!

I had planned to sew on Saturday. I had no plans and I had all day to do it. What did I do you ask? I slept most of the day and then watched television! I was too tired to sew or even really consider pulling out my sewing machine! Arrgghh! I woke up around 9am. I didn't get home from scrapbooking until 12:30 pm. I came home brushed my teeth and cleaned up and went to bed. I then got up and prepared to make Adrienne's Potato Soup. The only thing I did was bake the potatoes! There were four of them! After I baked the potatoes I took a nap. When I woke up I was still very tired! I mean really really tired! I finally pulled myself together went out to get gas and go grocery shopping at two stores. Then I came home and sat down and watched television and did some crocheting (but not much). I was just too pooped! The only reason I could come up with was the cold/virus thing I have and the late night crop (I am really not a night person. I am definitely a morning person). I think it through me off.

Anyway I did finish Adrienne's baked potato soup on Sunday morning and I took it to my mother's home for dinner. It was very good. She liked it a lot. I added an additional can of cheddar cheese soup, some milk and made more bacon. I also bought some dinner rolls too. Great for the winter! I suggest you make it! It's pretty easy! We ate it and preceded to take a nap! LOL! I went home watched Cold Case File and that was it!

Now Friday night was my most productive night. I went to a crop at Scrap Addict a new store in my area. I worked on two layouts I made at a CTMH scrapbook class the first time I went. The layouts were ready for photos and I found two of my mother that fit perfectly.

The lady in the upper right hand corner is a friend of my mother's. Her name is Gwen and she is one of the sweetest and the classiest lady. She has been a wonderful friend to my Mother. I thought her picture would be just perfect for this layout.

I also made this Disney album. I bought the kit at Scrappin' Deals for my Disney photos of course! I just need to find the right pictures to put in it!

I also worked on may layouts of my brother I had worked on at a crop last month. I still need to finish some details then I will post those. I had a kind of brain freeze while I was at the crop but then I got my second wind and really started to come up with some ideas. I wish they would have come earlier though.

I am hoping to do some sewing this weekend. I did wash a lot of clothes Sunday morning and I also washed the fabric for my latest and greatest project. It should be simple and easy! Wish me tons of luck!

Here is the fabric I am using. I bought it at Wal Mart. I just washed it so it is wrinkled!
Remember to check out Wal Mart's fabric department if you sew. You can find some awesome deals there!

Well this is my weekend recap. I hope you enjoyed it!

Buh Bye!

I have a cold...

2007-11-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

But I am doing pretty good. I am congested and a bit tired but otherwise I am functioning well. I sleep a bit more but that can also be attributed to a visit from good ole Aunt Flo! She arrived last night with all her baggage! Gotta love her!

Anyway last night I went to my monthly Close to My Heart Scrapbook evening. This wonderful lady charges $8 for four scrapbook pages. She is very talented and the pages are awesome! This monthly get together will remain in my budget since it is reasonably priced and I love her pages. I have an entire album of her pages I need to find pictures to put on them. I will post the pages as I find pictures.

But I thought I would show you what I completed last night. This page is one of the two page layouts we made last night. It's called snow friends. I love it! I plan on putting pictures from my ski trip to Winter Park, Colorado in December.
This is the second page. I love it! So many pictures I can incorporate into these pages!
I can see ski pictures coming to mind as I look at them! This page is really cool too! It's a Christmas layout! I will go to my Mother's home and take pictures with the family to put into these layouts. They were fun to make. We sponged the background paper to give it a textured look. I love it!

I can see pictures of my Mom, brother and me in these photos. So nice!

Have I ever mentioned I love idea books? I bought this one at the October scrapbook evening. When I got it I couldn't wait to get home to browse. I will definitely not purchase anymore idea books for some time. I have plenty and I don't use them often enough. I could save hundreds of dollars if I didn't buy them!
This was a special they had last month. It's a greeting card layout you could send to family. The layouts are like 6 X 6 and they come with an envelope. I think I will make the layouts but give them to my Mom as a small album. I am sure she would appreciate them.

Overall my evening went well and I met some wonderful people. My cold was definitely under control and I didn't feel too bad. I am doing well and I think the cold will run its course and I will be back to normal.

I have an idea! I will post how well I am sticking to my budget on the blog. So far I have only spent $14 on scrapbooking this month. That includes my cards from last week plus these four pages. Hopefully I can keep my hobby budget under $25 this month. I do need to buy some thread to go with my top I plan on making Saturday. I may need something else but we will see.

Keep it real yall!

The past few days

2007-11-07T05:58:00.000-08:00

Here is where I am with the cardigan back. I have made some progress but not much. I had to unravel 22 rows because my tension was really bad. But the good news is that I am not discouraged. I will complete this cardigan! It may not be soon but soon enough! This past Saturday night I went to a TAC (The Angel Company) card buffet party. I made only three cards. She had some terrific cards for us to make though. I had to be careful of my budget of course. I will use one of these cards for my Christmas cards this year!

This is a photo of little Charlie. This weekend I dog sat for my neighbor. This is a puppy. He is super friendly and loves to be held. I first would like to say I love dogs. But I will not get a puppy! Too much work! I spent the night running this dog outside to poop only to have him come back in and poop or throw up on the carpet. Also the whining at night was a bit much. He also kept soiling his bedding so that wasn't good. I really felt sorry for the pooch though. He is lovable. But way too much work!

My plans for this weekend were to work on my sewing on Saturday. This did not work out for me. I did however get the pattern cut out. It's one big piece! I just need to sew a few seams and I will be done. I picked this pattern because it was so easy. I thought for me to get back into the swing of things this would be best. I can't wait to cut it out and sew!

The pattern had two pieces which had to be taped together matching these circles. It wasn't as easy as I had expected. Those darn circles didn't line up properly. I finally got it together though. It's a good thing! I was starting to get aggravated! LOL! Not a good thing for a sewer but in my defense I wasn't feeling my best.

My mom was mad at me on Sunday because I didn't make it to church. But I felt really bad for the puppy since it was in a cage all day by himself. I didn't think it was nice to do that to him so I wanted to spend some time with him. I wasn't sure when the owners were coming back in the afternoon so I stayed with him. I missed communion but I thought it was a good cause. My mom wouldn't speak to me for a while but she finally got over it! LOL!

This Monday was not good. I didn't feel well at all that morning. I did feel better in the afternoon. Late in the afternoon I received an e-mail from my job explaining there was an elimination of jobs within the company. I was working with my manager today and he was shocked to hear the news. He began to slowly panic which made me panic. He called one of the other managers to learn there was another e-mail which was sent out right after I received the first e-mail. They eliminated four positions within my department! A director (mine), a manager, an auditor and an administrator. Three of these people have been with the company longer than I have been with the company. I have been with the company seven years. This was not something we saw coming. But we should have. I work in the real estate field and the market is terrible to say the least. It was a shock to see who they let go. Very sad. These were good people I respected. I was very sorry to hear they lost their jobs. I am now very nervous and trying to think of ways to curve my spending. You never know who will be next!

So while saying that I think I will not be going to CKU next year. That's $345 I could use to pay off a bill! I am also instituting a serious budget. I really need a good one I can stick too. I think I will make all my Christmas presents. HA! Lofty idea but a good one. I will just be a little more frugal until the market picks up again.

I also have a cold now. I am so congested. This started on Monday and the stress from my job didn't help my situation. I have a busy week planned and now I must rethink it because I am not feeling up to it. I had a dental appointment on Monday in the evening. That hygenist was very thorough to say the least. I never had that much scrapping done before. GEEZ! But at least I have some clean teeth!

Last night was my scrapbooking evening. I didn't make it. I went home and fell asleep. Besides I didn't want to share my cold with anyone. I hate I missed the fun but what can you do. I needed to rest.

Tonight I have a Close to My Heart scrapbook evening. I think I will go to this. It's only for about an hour and I like the pages we will be doing. I don't think this will be too much. I don't want to lay around and let the virus take over. I will medicate myself well so I don't get others sick.

Well I think this is a good update. I hope all is well out there in blogland!

Please keep my co-workers and me in your prayers.

Catch you all later!

Haunted Haunts...

2007-11-02T17:53:00.000-07:00

I know I am late with the Halloween stories. But bear with me on this one. In Illinois there is a prison called "Statesville". Every year a farm not far from the prison has a Haunted Prison and City of the Dead you can visit along with a pumpkin patch for children with a corn maze and rides. I thought I would go check out the Haunted Prison. I called my girls Becky and Jodi and asked if they would be interested in going. We had a hard time coordinating schedules but we finally did it on Tuesday evening. I kind of scouted it out on Monday to see how much it cost. It was $30 friggin dollars! But the way the lady explained the whole thing it wasn't something I didn't want to miss. I called my girls again and we finally decided to go Tuesday evening.

There was four of us all together. A decent enough group to do a haunted house. We bought our tickets and went inside the farm pumpkin patch area. We were chatting and then I saw this really gross looking port-o-potty. I started to go over there to scout it out for a great gruesome picture. Take a looksy!

Now you know I am not the type to miss a great photo opportunity! I walk up to this monstrousity only to have it squirt me in the face! I had water running down my face and I stood there screaming! I even went as far to do the "DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!" like Florida on Good Times! You all know what I mean. To make matters worse the security guards were doubled over cracking up! I was so disgusted and freaked out I didn't know what to do with myself. I just stood there making hacking sounds and kicking my legs out in frustration! They really got me!

So I am still a bit shaken so I start to where the security guards are pointing me to the line for the Haunted Prison. I didn't have my glasses on and I was still wiping water out of my eyes when this friggin ghoul jumps out as I am walking through the entrance towards the line. I screamed like I lost my mind. I was then stooping with my hands on my knees just shaking and thinking "DAMN! not again!". O.K. By this point I was thoroughly shakin' and I wasn't sure if I could go on with the Haunted House. It wasn't starting out too good for me as of yet.

So most of the security guards are ghouls and there is this big cage full of people. So I am like "why are they standing in the cage?". I kept walking and I see this ghoul making creepy noises staring at me and walking towards me. I started to walk away and this other ghoul comes from the other side. I start to freak and my friend points me in the right direction to go into the line so I run over there. Now remember. I HAVEN'T MADE IT TO THE HAUNTED PRISON YET! I want to make sure you guys realize this! The line was super long and we had to wait. While waiting these creepy ghoul prisoners would come up from no where and just scream and scare you. There was this one guy in ghoul make up and a prison jumpsuit chasing people with a roaring chainsaw. Not Good! Here are some of the stars of the waiting line. The costumes were over the top! Now this poor child was a psychotic clown. I thought it was a young boy but my friends said it was a girl. She was all of three feet tall. My friend Jodi brought her Mom who is seriously afraid of clowns. They kept messing with her because they got great screams out of her. I was quite freaked out myself! There were two and the other was normal size but a bit chunky and would crawl through the crowds and just appear behind you and scream. My nerves were shot and my throat was dry while standing in line. This was not going well.

Here is another ghoul that would come up from behind and pull these gross things from it nose. I kept running through the line hiding from this freak!

He was posing from me but I was so freaked out I couldn't take the picture. My friend Jodi took the camera from me and took the picture. I didn't want to see it. Really nasty stuff.

When we finally made it through the line I learned why they had all those people in the cage. That's how they measured the amount of people which went in at a time. The crowded us in like sardines and then told us the rules of the Haunted Prison. Then they led us to the entrance and we were packed in and they started the show.

I don't think I can explain this Haunted Prison. All I can say was I have never been so terrified in all my life. It's inside of a barn and they really go all out with the prisoners/ghouls and there are scary scenes. It's a maze inside! You have to find your way through! It starts out with a big grand opening meeting room with the warden who makes a speech then two guys get electricuted. This cage came down and it looked like it was going to hit me in the head and I staggered back and lost my balance. I was sitting on the floor with my knees in my face. We were packed so tight in there I couldn't get up without help. Very scary. When we finally got going I was not doing well because every time I turned a corner someone jumped out and scared me. We ended up getting separated from Jodi and her mom so it was just me and Becky. Poor Becky had me clinching the back of her sweatshirt and screaming in her ear. They chased you but didn't touch you "on purpose". We went through these narrow hallways with sliding doors with ghouls making eerie sounds and scaring us to death, these big pillowy things that made you feel like you were going through a vagina (I kid you not!), narrow odd shaped corridors and other heinous scenes. This was the longest ten minutes of my life! I was ready to come out in two minutes and it seemed like it would never end. My friend Jodi and her Mom never caught up with us inside. We were on a mad dash! But when we got out of the Haunted Prison there was another place for us to go through called the City of the Dead. We went through this one and it was shorter but just as scary.

Overall I was scared and thrilled all at the same time. I didn't think it would be as big of a production as it was. I was not able to take as many pictures as I would have liked because I was shaking most of the time from fear and watching out for ghouls. But overall this was the best Haunted experiences I have ever encountered. It will be hard to beat this and if something did I think I would have a heart attack for sure. My blood pressure and adrenaline was at an all time high for sure.

If you would like to see more about this place go to www.stateville.org. Just watch the intro and you will see a lot of what I saw. The clown in the red and white checker room was something I had to go through as well as all the other characters. I kid you not! I think there was easily over fifty ghouls in this place. Now I know why they charge so much! LOL! Also this is not a place for small children. It's too much for adults as it is. I also went to another site and found many more haunted attractions. It's called www.hauntedhousechicago.com. I am hoping to get a group together next year for some fun. I think going as a group would be a better idea.

I hope everyone had a safe and pleasant Halloween. I know I stayed in the house and under the covers with a knife! LOL!

See ya later ALLIGATOR!

Crochet progress

2007-10-29T19:37:00.001-07:00

I am currently creating a really nice cardigan. I don't think this will be a quick finish by far. I found this pattern at Wal Mart in a book of crochet stitches with like five projects included. I have made two of the projects and this is the third. I can't wait to finish it. . I started it some time ago but I realized that it was way too large for me. I had completed about 80% of the back was only about fifteen rows from finishing the back when I realized it. I unraveled it. Now I have started it again due to Sheila's cardigan completion. Do not expect me to finish it as quickly as she did! LOL

Here is a picture of the cardigan.

Here is a picture of my progress.

I purchased this yarn at JoAnn's. It cost around $5 a skein. I like the colors of the yarn. I can wear this cardigan with many colors. I have a new pair of navy blue pants to wear when I complete this cardigan. I am pretty excited.

However today I noticed a bit of a flaw in my work. Look at this picture. It looks like I added an extra stitch to the last twenty rows! Ugh! I hate when that happens. I think I will unravel and start it again. Hopefully I will finish the back sooner than expected. I want to get this completed.

Wish me tons of luck! I need it!

Smooches!

My list of

2007-10-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

Pet Peeves

I think I will only do a few of these since my list is so long! LOL! I am sure we all have pet peeves. These are in no particular order. These are ones I just thought about recently!

1. Phony people. Get real! Seriously! I would like you so much better!

2. People who throw garbage on the street. Just plain ignorant.

3. Sore losers! LOL!

4. I hate it when someone is in a bad mood or a non-social mood and they inflict there mood on you. Go home and get it together and then come and hang or lets talk. Don't share the misery!

5. I hate the feel of flour or dust on my hands. It really bugs me. You should see me cook fried chicken. I have to stop and wash my hands after I get the chicken into the oil. It drives me crazy!

6. Dirt or gunk under my nails

7. People with dry scaley feet. Also toenails which need polishing or a touch up. I have one thing to say! Don't wear sandals. That is so gross! I really don't understand why you would step out of the house with such nasty feet! Ugh! I can't stand it!

8. Sick people who are contagious and they come to work, socialize or get on airplanes. News flash! Stay at home until you are better. We don't want your germs!

9. People who do not respond to RSVP. They just show up. How inconsiderate!

10. The lack of a thank you or an excuse me when you should say it. Common courtesy folks!

Until we meet again!

Savory Sunday

2007-10-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

This recipe my Mother found in a local newspaper. I made it and I love it! It's very tasty. You know I am not a big fan of frosting and this one is perfect with just a sprinkling of powdered sugar. I do suggest you try it.

Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Makes 16 slices

Vegetable oil spray
flour
1 (18.5-ounce) package plain butter recipe golden cake mix
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
4 large eggs
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn, safflower, soybeen or sunflower
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Lightly mist a 10-inch tube pan with vegetable oil spray then dust with flour. Shake out excess flour and set pan aside.

Place cake mix, cream cheese, eggs, water, sugar, oil, vanilla and almond extracts in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to meduim and beat 2 mintues more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look well blended.

Pour batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place pan in the oven.

Bake cake on center rack of pre-heated 350-degree oven until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly presssed with your finger, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove pan from oven and place iton a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake, invert it onto a rack and then invert it onto a serving platter so that it is right side up. Slice the cake while it is still a little warm.

Makes 1 cake.

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Baking time: 35 to 40 minutes

Note: Freeze this cake, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Nutrition facts per slice:

283 calories
15g fat,
5 g saturated fat
69 mg cholesterol
33 g carbohydrates
3 g protein
264 mg sodium
0 g fiber

I submitted a recipe similar to this one which was a french toast. It appears I have a taste for almonds and cream cheese huh? Oh well! If I think its great I am sure you will too!

Bon Appetit'

Inspired by

2007-10-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

After my last post I felt to need to write about some of the blogs I read. I feel inspired to do a little better and to do more of my favorite crafts by these bloggers. They are some truly wonderful and gifted people.

Here is one of my favorites.

Real Life: Live and Unscripted

This blog is by Adrienne, a SAHM of three, wife, sewer, knitter, photographer, scrapbooker and last but not least lover of life. Her blog has inspired me to pick up my crafts again and actually dabble in a few more. I like reading her blog because it is so upbeat. I found Adrienne's blog on the CKMB scrapbook message board. She was a very active member for some time. Adrienne is the reason I blog now. Adrienne has established other blogs too for African American Knitters and Crocheters called Ebony Elite, Scrapalong for scrapbookers and she has a regular podcast she has decided to bring back due to popular demand. If you are looking for some inspiration visit her website. You will not be disappointed.

Crimson Purl

This blog is by Stacey. She is a wonderful knitter that I met on the Ebony Elite blog. Stacey is an avid knitter and yarn porn queen! If you are wondering about yarn porn don't worry. But check out the website. I like Stacy's website because of her talent for knitting and her enthusiasm for the craft. She also has terrific entries which are fun to read. She is very inspirational with her swaps and she scouts out terrific knitting patterns for the masses. I can hardly wait to see what she will post next!

A Day In My World

This blog is by Pat. She is a Katrina survivor, wife, knitter, sewer, fun-loving and a fabulous story teller. She really cracks me up. Her entries have me crying at times. I met her on the Ebony Elite blog. I love her "Tales from the food stamp office" entries. They are hysterical! Trust me! I find myself looking for another entry every day. Her entries about her life and times and really nice reads. I highly suggest you check out her blog.

Sheilaz Crochetz, Threadz and knitz

This blog is by Sheila. I found Sheila's blog on Ebony Elite. Sheila dabbles in everything crafty. She is now on a knitting binge and she has made some wonderful pieces. I am inspired by Sheila because when she starts a project it is finished in a very short amount of time. At least by my standards. I am impressed with her tenacity and her willingness to take risks and go off the beaten path. If you ever have any time please check out her blog.

I keep up with all my blogs using the bloglines website. Here you can get updates to everyone 's blog in one place. It's free! I have over ten blogs linked here and when I want to know if someone has posted something I go here to read them all in one place. I then go to the website and post my comment. I like to leave comments so people know I have been there.

Well I do hope you visit all of these wonderful blogs. I visit them regularly and I suggest you check them out. Maybe you will find some inspiration too!

Toodles!

I've been tagged tonight...

2007-10-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

7 Random Facts! Here are the rules:

Link to the person that tagged you
post the rules on your blog
Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself
Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs
Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

My scrapping buddy Kim has decided to tag me on her blog. I guess I should gear up to answer a few questions for the masses.

1. I am six feet tall (actually 5' 11 3/4" but I think I will just round up)

2. I am a sister to a mentally handicapped brother who I love dearly

3. I would like to go back to school to become a physical therapist

4. I am extremely sensitive .

5. I am one of the hardest people to read. People tend to think I am mad or angry a lot when I am not. I have one of those faces which confuse people a lot when I am not smiling.

6. I've always wanted sexy abs. I never had a completely flat stomach even though I have been skinny all my life. I have no hips and I am sort of rounded in the waist. Sometimes I feel like a tube!

7. My dream vacation would be a trip to Africa for a safari. I plan on doing this when I win the lottery.

I am tagging the following people

A Day in My World - Pat- very funny blog. You don't want to miss her tales from the food stamp office postngs.

Crimson Purl - Stacey - very creative blog. She is a knitter with a passion!

Loving Created - Ali - a scrapbooker with a love for her family which shines through her scrapbooks.

Real Life: Live and Unscripted - Adrienne - the wonder woman of blogging! If you haven't read her blog you don't know what you are missing!

Sheilaz Crochetz, Threadz & Knitz - Sheila - the woman who tackles a project and finishes it in record time! I am astounded everytime I see her projects. She just whips them out! Amazing!

Knitting in LA - Kim - Another creative site with a mother to be in waiting for an adoption.

Knitter's Delight - Susan - Another creative person who is a member of the Ebony Elite blog.

Some of these people probably have no idea who I am but at least I have tagged seven. I will post on blogs later I have tagged them!

Peace and much love...

Tales from the Weekend...

2007-10-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

I had a very full weekend. It started out Friday evening at The Creative Studio in Naperville, IL. I went to a free crop (a scrapbook workshop in which you work on your pages) with two friends Jodi and Becky. We had a good time and I worked on six 8 X 8pages. I say worked on because I have completed 95% of each page. I still need to put journaling and pictures on my pages. We met at 5pm and worked until 11pm. I actually left about 15 minutes earlier because I was tired. I just arrived home from Syracuse at 2:30 that afternoon ran home and completed some work for my job. I was still on eastern time so it was actually after midnight for me. I felt very productive and satisfied with the progress.

The next day I went to Six Flags Great America's Fright Night festivities. My friend Becky invited me and Jodi. We decided to leave by 11 in the morning at planned on arriving around noon. We did get there about 30 minutes later but it was good. We went in and the first ride we got in line for was the Superman roller coaster. This is a really cool roller coaster in which you are on your stomach flying like superman. FUN! But the line took us almost three hours to get through! Horrible! I was exhausted by the time I got up there. I had a great time but I wouldn't stand in a line like that again! It was horrible!

Anyway the park was totally decorated in spooky decorations which looked really cool! The area the Superman ride was in was called Seven Sins Cemetery. They had these mausoleums with the seven deadly sins listed on them. There were ghouls and other scary things running around freakin' me out! Too funny! I got some fun pictures.

This is me and my friend Jodi in the caskets. I was too tall to lay properly in the casket. Notice how my legs are bent. I have mentioned I am six feet tall right? Jodi said they would just chop off my feet. GROSS!

All together we went through five attractions all day which included the Superman roller coaster, Haunted House (a really bad 3-D movie), Superstition ride (Elvira's virtual roller coaster which was very cool), Studio 13 (a walk through haunted movie studio) and the Mausoleum of Terror (walk through scary area). I had a good time at all the attractions except for the Haunted House 3-D movie. It was really bad! They should have been ashamed of themselves for showing that one. In other lines we discussed it with others who felt the same way. The 3-D effects were good but the story line was so lame it was a shame. All the roller coasters had lines you would not believe! I mean at least a two and a half hour wait! I wasn't doing that again.

We finally got hungry and had to stand in line for over an hour to get food. My friends got fajitas that were cold! I had some cheese fries and a soda. I will never buy food there again. A lot of people went back to their cars and tailgated or had little picnics. I think this is the best way to go for sure!

But before our last attraction we had a coupon for a buy one get three games in the Arcade area. We were limited to playing a game called Bank of Balls. We all thought we would try it and Becky and I both won a prize! I got it on the first try! I was too excited! I got a Tasmanian Devil stuffed animal! Becky got a huge frog. We had to carry these things around the park. Very cumbersome! LOL! But we were both happy. Jodi didn't win at this game but she played the guess your birthday month game and won a key lime colored teddy bear. So we all won in the end. A good day!

This is me and Becky with our prizes. She complained I didn't post any pictures of her from the Orlando trip and I only mentioned her once. So here is a picture with her in it! Now get over it! LOL!

I think next year I will skip Fright Fest. It was just too crowded for my taste. My friend Becky said it usually isn't as crowded earlier in the month. Maybe! But, I will get a season pass and go during the week to do some of the awesome rides they have there. They have some of the coolest roller coasters. They also have a wonderful water park called Hurricane Harbor. I love water parks! I want to go several times next year.

On our way home I got a horrible Charley horse in my right leg. It was horrible. My friend had to pull over and put on her hazard signal to let me out to walk. Is hasn't gone away totally either. I can feel the tension in my legs! I hope it goes away real soon. I didn't get home that evening until after midnight. Of course I haven't got pass my eastern time schedule so it was super late for me.

On Sunday I went to my Mother's house to visit her and my brother Keith. We had a good day. I was tired though. My mom cooked some turnip greens, macaroni and fried chicken. She also made a banana cake (my favorite) without frosting. It was delicious! We went out for a drive and stopped at Starbucks. I have an addiction to the Hot Carmel Apple Cider. It's full of calories so I think I will just get them maybe once every two weeks or so. That should reign me in some. I got home yesterday around 10pm and went to bed. I was pretty tired.

This morning I called my job and spoke with the administrator to see if she had any approximate dates. She luckily did and none were the week of my CKU convention. But I am not out of the woods yet. I explained my predicament and she understands. I will check with her again in December before I sign up for the convention. But I do feel a bit better about my chances. It sort of looks good.

Well I hope you everyone had a good weekend! I hope to have some projects to share soon!

See ya later Alligator!

Excited and also a bit concerned

2007-10-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

Well!

I just read an e-mail from CKU and they have posted the 2008 CKU cities and they are coming to Chicago in March! Woo Hoo! I am very excited about this! I heard they were working on coming to Chicago and I definitely will be there for the fun! CKU is "Creating Keepsakes University" and it is a fun and exciting time for scrapbookers. They have classes, crops, contests and tons of stuff for you to try and see! I went to CKU this year in Detroit and I had a wonderful time. I definitely knew I would go again. Registration starts in December so I just can't wait to see what they offer. I do hope they do the same format this year. It was classes one day and an album track the next day (an album track is an all day project where you complete one album). Sweet!

Now here is the reason for my concern. Every year my job has a meeting for all the auditors from our department. We meet in a location (usually Las Vegas) and we are there for the week. This year it was in March. More than likely next year it will be in March again! We usually have it in February but they may change the venue to March because of the company conventions they may want us to attend. This is a problem! I don't know if I will be able to go to CKU in Chicago. They haven't told us yet when the meeting will be held. I need to be at CKU from Thursday to Saturday (there usual time). My meetings are usually an all week affair. Not good! I am excited but panicked all in the same breath. I will e-mail the administrator in our department to see if she could give me a hint.

The last time CKU came to Chicago it sold out in fifteen minutes! That's right fifteen minutes! That is super fast! I signed up for CKU Detroit late and I did not several classes I wanted to take (but I was very happy with the classes I did get). I want to make sure I get the classes I really want this time. Wish me tons of luck I really need it!

Well I must go! I am on my way to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL! It's Fright Fest and I plan on taking many pictures! I am going with two good friends Jodi and Becky so stay tuned for some great stories and pictures!

Ta Ta!

My favorite things

2007-10-18T18:36:00.001-07:00

My favorites list in no particular order.

1. I love bananas. They are my favorite fruit. I love the taste and the texture. I could eat them all day (even though its not good for you). I do eat them quite regularly.

2. RED is my favorite color. I think this is a bit of a family trait too. My Dad and my brother love red too. Red makes me feel so alive and invirgorated. When I really feel good, I wear red from inside out (which means underwear to outwear). I haven't done this often lately. That's something to think about.

3. I don't have a favorite ethnic food but I do love spicy and fried foods. I love fried chicken, shrimp, pork chops, french fries, mushrooms and ice cream. I also love peppers. I like the spicest thai food and cajun delicacies. Bring on the spices! I love it!

4. My favorite time of the year is autumn. I love to see all the vibrant fall colors. It's so beautiful. I am here in Upstate New York and the mountains look like calico with all the beautiful colors. I love it. I find it very relaxing. I plan on using fall colors in my home for decorating.

5. Traveling. I really love visiting other places. I have the wunderlust for sure. I cannot see how people stay in one place all the time without venturing outside their own neighborhood, city or state. You miss so much out of life! I love the adventure of discovering new places I have never been and finding my way around. I like to try native foods and learn about other cultures. It helps you understand why people do what they do and their beliefs.

6. I love books and magazines. I think my favorites are craft. I have scrapbook, decorating, cooking, crochet, sewing and some woodworking. Everytime I go away I end up buying several magazines and I just read and browse. It's an addiction I believe. I have a massive collection at home and they are filed in order. I really love browsing for ideas (which I rarely use). If I really enjoy the magazines I buy the subscription. My favorite books are mystery. I really don't like romance novels. I think they just tick me off because I feel a lot of them are so unrealistic. Not that mystery novels are often realistic but I like to try and figure out a whodunit. I usually don't buy mystery novels. I just go to the library and pick them up. I do have a serious collection of craft books though. I usually just browse them but I rarely make any of the items! LOL! I guess that's my draw to just browse.

7. I love board and card games. I don't get to play often but I do love them. I love to play scrabble on the computer. Other games I enjoy are monopoly, guesstures, balderdash, taboo, UNO, Pit, Phase 10 and apples to apples. I don't care for spades and bid whist. Go figure!

8. I have a thing for Adrenaline rushes. I like to ski, whitewater raft, bungee jumping, rollercoasters or anything fast paced and fun. I really love the rush you get when you do exciting things. I am not too crazy enough to do something so risky it might kill me. I go with guides and stay within restricted areas. I think it helps get out the pinned up energy from within. It's a release from the boring day to day routine. I love it! I could use a fix now!

9. SHOPPING! I could shop for anything! Car parts, medical supplies, clothes (of course), shoes, tools, food, craft items, scrapbook stuff you name it I will shop for it! Trust me! I have an addiction to shopping for craft items (yarn, scrapbook supplies, sewing stuff, kits) lately. I wish this would pass! LOL! I could save a lot of money!

10. I love to be outdoors. Whether it is a picnic, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, camping, canoeing or swimming I love to be outdoors. I enjoy the fresh air and the scenery. I joined the Sierra Club years ago and I started camping with them almost monthly. I loved it. I have activities in which I can be outside at all times of the year. I love it.

Just a little bit of me to share with you.

October in New York

2007-10-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hey!

I am in New York again this week. I flew into Syracuse and drove to Utica on Sunday. It was a good flight and a good drive. Thankfully it was later in the evening so I made it to the hotel and watched some television and went to sleep.

The next day I went to perform my audit and left Utica to go to a town called Oneonta in New York. But before I could do this I knew there was an AC Moore was in town so I had to stop. I mapquested the directions to AC Moore and then to Oneonta. The trip to AC Moore was a big success. I bought a tote (I have one just like it at home) and some scrapbook paper and embellishments for my Orlando trip. I got a fantastic deal on the tote! It was $14.99 and it was usually $50! I have one at home just like it and I am so excited to have another! Too cool!

Here is a picture of my tote!

After my purchases I left and went to Super Walmart for some necessities. I have sort of an addiction to Super Wal Mart. There aren't many of these in the Chicagoland area. They are actually building one less than five minutes from my house. I am too excited! I can go here and browse every day. Anyway, I go and load up on flavored water (my favorite), lean cuisine entrees (I try to maintain my diet while away), utensils and low calorie treats for the week. I also purchase magazines (another addiction during travel) and toothpaste (which I forgot).

Finally I leave Super Walmart to go to Oneonta, NY. Now I mentioned I mapquested it right? I don't have GPS in my car ( I only had it once and it was cool). Now if you ever used mapquest you know sometimes the directions can be off or a bit confusing or just plan silly. This was one of those moments. Oneonta is a town which is southeast of Utica. This area of New York is very rural. I mean farms and farms and more farms. I am pretty darn good with directions. I usually can find my way anywhere. I may get turned around or confused but I always figure it out. This area of New York had my radar totally off. The reason being was the lack of road signs in the area. The mapquest directions gave me street names and route names. I saw none of these while I drove through a certain area. I drove forever without reaching a town with a store. I had no idea where I was and there were only homes. I wasn't worried just confused. All these roads with no signs! What the heck was that about? I finally reached a town called Edmeston and saw a store. I bought some candy ($1000 bar when I really wanted a twix) and asked for help. I gave the lady my directions and she told me I was way off! Well I knew something was wrong. She wrote down the directions and I took off. I finally got to my hotel but I was very tired and frustrated. That is the worse driving experience I have ever had before in my career. I have never been so confused in my life and I don't appreciate it. I think I may write the State of New York Department of Transportation and let them have a piece of my mind. I have driven all over Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, Colorado, New Jersey and other states with little to no problem. I never encountered so many streets without names or route signs before. Not good.

Anyway I purchased a map today and I didn't need it. But I do have to go north of Syracuse so I want to make sure I get out of this area for sure. LOL! I had no trouble getting to the town of Norwich today. I then go to Earlville, New York for work in the morning. When I leave Earlville I will move onto Pulaski, New York where I have a hotel reservation and then work in a town called Mexico on Thursday. I then leave there and I will stay close to the airport in a town called Livingston. Then I am on my way home! Yippee! This will be the end of my business trips to New York for the rest of the year.

The leaves are changing and I must say New York is a beautiful state in the fall. The mountains and rolling hills are all fall calico colors. Very nice. I want to take some pictures when I have the chance. It's late now but hopefully tomorrow I will get some.

When I return home on Friday I will pick up my kitty Edgar! Then I can return home finish up some work then attend a free scrapbook cropping event at the Creating Studio. I will meet my friends Becky and Jodi there and have a great night. The name of the store is the Scrappin Deals but it isn't exactly a store. It's an online store and she has a crop area. This place isn't set up to be a store. She stores her iventory at the business park and has a very nice studio in which she has crops. You can buy any supplies you need and if you order something (since I live in the area) you can pick it up. Really nice. I went to an open house here and I liked the place. Now I am attending a "free" crop so I hope I like it. I would love to find another place to crop.

I also found another scrapbook store in Plainfield, IL this weekend. It's called the Scrap Addict. It's a nice store and they have free crops too. I can't get enough of the free crops. I must attend a crop here too. I am thinking November! I am sure I can find some friends to attend.

Well I have been busy and I needed to update everyone. Hopefully this is enough news about my life for you to enjoy or fall asleep reading.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Orlando 2007

2007-09-30T19:51:00.000-07:00

O.K. I am back again after a long hiatus. I would have posted sooner but you know things happen. I stayed in many hotels while in New York and the internet access was either sketchy or I was too tired to bother. I have some wonderful photos I will post later for Niagara Falls. But for now I will talk about my Orlando trip.

To sum up the entire trip I will say one word! EXHAUSTING! I will try to pace myself better the next time I go and try not to do everything in one day. It isn't going to happen and if you try you will push your body to its limits as well as your sanity! I did have a wonderful time but I ended up with swollen feet every evening.

On Monday we went to MGM Studios. I had a good time but I definitely think this park is my least favorite. I liked them all so don't get me wrong but I think I expected more. One of the rides I would have enjoyed called the "Rockin Rollercoaster" featuring Aerosmith was closed. But I was able to do the Tower of Terror and several shows. I spent the day taking pictures of myself in different hats around the park. I had scrapbook pages on my mind the entire time. It was a good time but I was ready to go around 5pm. My friend had to stay to see this show they do at the end. I stayed with her and enjoyed the show. It was worth the wait. Here is my favorite photo of the day.

I know it's one of the monsters from Monster's Inc but I am not sure which one. I just love the expression on my face! LOL!

On Tuesday I went to the Animal Kingdom. My friend really wanted to get there early. She read this was the best time to see the animals on the safari. Early morning is when they are most active. It was kind of funny to see them all laying there sleeping. I couldn't help but chuckle because they were anything BUT active. Overall it was a fun experience. I saw some wonderful shows which included "It's tough being a bug" and "Finding Nemo". Both shows were very good. I thought "Dinosaur"and "Expedition Everest" were the best rides in the park. But everything was great. The park closed at 5pm (thank goodness) and I was able to return to the resort and relax that evening. This is my favorite photo of the day

I met one of the "villagers" from Africa. He was playing this instrument and walking around. Kinda cool! I have some photos from the rides I did but I have yet to scan those. I will do them later!

On Wednesday we went to Typhoon Lagoon. I think this was the best day of all. It had been hot all week and very close to unbearable. It was nice to run around all day and play like a kid! I had so much fun on the slides and other water rides. I could go back to Florida and just do water parks all week. It's actually a serious thought! LOL! I did everything they had for adults to do and enjoyed the wave pook immensely. If you ever go to Orlando you must do the waterparks. It's too much fun. Here is my favorite picture.

This is me carrying the raft for the Crush n Gusher. It's for two people and me and my friend Becky really enjoyed this ride. It was the first one we did! We did it twice and the last time it threw us from the raft at the end and she landed on top of me. Too funny! LOL! I don't look so bad in my swimsuit either on this picture. In person you wouldn't want me to stand sideways! LOL! I like this swimsuit but the girls had a tendency to pop out at inconvenient moments. I really had to watch it! LOL!

On Thursday we went to the Magic Kingdom. It was wonderful of course! I took many photos and rode everything I could find. We saw a couple of parades and took some really cool photos. I wanted to take pictures with the characters but I always found them too late. I was disappointed. I did buy myself a Minnie Mouse hat and ran around like a big kid all day. It was funny but I got a lot of attention with that hat from kids and talking garage recepticles!

I also got to see something I really wanted to see the last time I was there in 1997. I missed it and I wasn't too happy. It was Tinkerbell flying from Cinderella's castle. I finally saw it! I was so happy about that I didn't care about the crowd or my aching feet! LOL. Here is my favorite picture from this day.

Yes! It's Tinkerbell in my hand! I couldn't resist this photo opportunity with the park photographers! I definitely got a CD before I left Orlando. I love this photo. I can't wait for my Mom to see!

On Friday I went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. That was a lot of fun. We rode all the water rides, I rode the roller coasters (my friend only rode one mild roller coaster) and saw the shows. It was a blast! I think my favorite ride of the day was Ripshaw falls. I really like way the boat goes down the chute. It's fun! We took lots of pictures and I got several shots with characters like Woody Woodpecker, Two of the X-Men (actually the girls Storm and I didn't know the other one's name) and Spiderman! It was a great day. We ended the day at the City walk at Margaritaville with drinks (I had a midori sour) and appetizers. The park closes at 7pm but the City Walk is open late. It had started to rain so we left. I got plenty of fun pictures ( I kept thinking of scrapbook pages I wanted to do) and I cannot wait to work on them. Here is my favorite picture of the day.

This is my favorite ride called Ripshaw Falls. It's a ride with Dudley Do-right as the theme. You remember that cartoon right? I like this ride because some unexpected things happened. I think that makes the ride more exciting.

On Saturday we went to Epcot. I was able to ride "Soarin" (highly recommended), Journey Into Imagination with Figament and we saw Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. I also rode the boat rides in Mexico and Norway. All were well worth the time.

We saved Epcot to the last day because they were havin a Food and Wine Festival. It's like a Taste of all the countries. We have these festivals here in Chicago to showcase the different restaurants in the area. It's was really fun. There was a seminar on Himalyan Salt I was able to attend and I got to try different salts to see the differences and got some really great tips on how to prepare dishes using it. After the seminar I left to go try some of the dishes. I got to try Boxty with Bacon Chips and Kerrygold Garlic and Fresh Herb Butter from Ireland, Coconut Indian Rice Pudding from India, Bobotie with Mango Chutney from South Africa, Seared Buffalo with Scalloped Wild Onions from Oklahoma, Escargot Persillade en Brioche with Sparkling Pomegrante Kir from France and last but not least Mofungo from Dominican Republic. I didn't hit a bad note on any of my selections. It was all good! It started to poor raining after I got my Mofongo and I was drenched. Here is my favorite picture of the day.

The photographer took many pictures of me at Epcot. I think he had a bit of a crush on me! LOL! I like this one but I have several. I have more with Tinkerbell in my hands again.

Overall this trip was a successful and exhausting trip. I of course want to go back and do more things I didn't get a chance to do. But for now I will relive the fun moments and start working on my scrapbook pages. I was imagining them while I was taking photos and coming up with really cool titles.

Ta Ta for now!

Flavorful Friday

2007-09-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

I made this recipe after receiving a Taste of Home magazine in the mail. This recipe appealed to me because I like cake but I do not care for frosting. I know its weird but its true. Anyway I love pound cake and this looked like another version of one. I made it and loved it. I took some to work and shared with co-workers and they were very pleased with the results. They always asked when I would make another one. I haven't made one in a very long time. I think I might make it some time this fall.

I thought the picture made it look like cornbread but it doesn't taste or have the texture of corn bread. It's a very delicious cake. You will not be disappointed. I suggest you go to the website and do a search if you want some frosting or topping for it. I saw one for a struesel like topping. The link is above!

Hot Milk Cake

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/4 cups milk
10 tablespoons butter or margarine

SERVINGS
12-16

PREP 20 min.
COOK 30 min.
TOTAL 50 min.
DIRECTIONS
In a mixing bowl, beat eggs at high speed until thick, about 5 minutes. Gradually add sugar, beating until mixture is light and fluffy. Combine flour and baking powder; add to batter with vanilla and beat at low speed until smooth. In a saucepan, heat milk and butter just until the butter melts, stirring occasionally. Add to batter, beating until combined. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes or until cake tests done. Cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 12-16 servings.

NUTRITIONAL INFO
Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 piece) equals 254 calories, 9 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 75 mg cholesterol, 154 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrate, trace fiber, 4 g protein.

Bon Appetit!

My travel list

2007-09-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

I made a list of all the places I wanted to visit in my lifetime years ago. I have slowly made a visit to some of these places. I wanted to share.

Alaska - I went here several years ago. I actually got a chance to see the Iditarod. It was so cool! I loved it. I also got a chance to ski and go snowshoeing. I also took a cruise to see Orcas, sea lions and sea otters. Really cool.

Africa - haven't done - I want to go on an African Safari. Especially in the Kenya region. I want to go for three weeks minimum.

Spain - I actually went to Spain with my ski club. It was fun. I went skiing, stayed in Grenada, Costa del Sol and Madrid. I even had a chance to visit Seville. I would love to go back and visit Barcelona and Ibiza! Party on!

All the Little House on the Prairie Home sites - O.K. I know this is a bit weird for most people but I enjoyed reading all of her books ( more than five times each). If you have never read any of these books please do. I enjoy the fact the simple things in life made them very happy. I have visited two of the sites so far. Here is the list.

DeSmet, South Dakota - visited - I actually was able to visit the Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum and the house Pa built in town. It was really nice.
Missouri - haven't visited
Burr Oak, Iowa - I found this one on the way to a canoe trip. It the one place she never wrote about in her stories. I think it was one of the worst times in her young life.
Pepin, Wisconsin - haven't visited

Niagara Falls - visited - I went here first in high school on a spring break trip. We arrived very early in the morning before day break and we couldn't see the falls because of a dense fog. By the time we left we were able to see the rapids and that was it.

Last month I was able to visit the US side of the falls and do a tour. On the tour was a ride on the Maid of the Mist, Cave of the Winds, Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Veil Falls and more. I plan on going back this weekend and doing the Canadian side of the falls. It should be fun. It's more commercial on that side!

Japan - haven't visited - Actually my ski club is going for a ski trip with a side trip to China. I would love to go but money is an issue. I still need to get an air conditioner for my home! LOL!

New Orleans, Louisiana - I went to New Orleans once. I had a good time. I want to go again.

Orlando, Florida - I was in Orlando twice. I had a chance to visit Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure and the Magic Kingdom. I wanted to do more Disney parks but I didn't get a chance when I went the first time. However, the last week of this month I will be there and get a chance to do all the Disney Parks I never had a chance to visit.

Yellowstone National Park - haven't been there. I can't wait to go.

Glacier National Park - haven't been there

Mexico - haven't been - This wouldn't be just a beach trip for me. I want to go to the ruins and learn more about the culture.

Costa Rica - haven't been - I want to hike in Arenal and do some whitewater rafting. The parasite issue scares me terribly.

Brazil - haven't been

Toronto, Canada - I went in high school for two days. It was nice. I want to go back again and see more.

Aspen, Colorado - I went two and a half years ago. It was right after my Dad died. I wasn't in my best place and I couldn't have a good time. I bought new ski boots and they were killing my feet. I also was there with a real pain in the ass and I will never go on a trip with her again! LOL! I will go back one day.

Wisconsin Dells - I live in the Chicagoland area and I have never visited Wisconsin Dells in the summer. I have been in the winter and if you know anything about the dells you know its closed down after the summer. Many of my friends went and had a good time. I always wanted to go. One summer!

Maine - I would love to go in the fall to see the beautiful colors

Switzerland - haven't been. My ski club has gone several times. I want to ski here and buy wine and cheese! LOL!

Nashville, Tennesee - haven't been - I want to go to Opryland.

Disneyland, California - haven't been - I still have some repressed issues from childhood I guess

Grand Canyon - I went twice. Once I did a day tour from Las Vegas to an Indian Reservation on the western side of the Grand Canyon. It was nice. The second time I went I flew into Phoenix and drove to Flagstaff and stayed at a hostel. It was fun. I met some wonderful people I kept in touch with for some time. I drove up to the Grand Canyon and spent the day roaming around enjoying the views. It was absolutely surreal! I would love to go back to do the northern section next. I also got a chance to visit Sedona and several state parks.

San Diego, California - haven't been - I want to go to the zoo, Seaworld and Tiawana!

I also want to visit all 50 states. I have visited most but I really want to visit them all and do at least one state park and one city in each. I will make a list of the ones I have visited.

Great Smoky Mountains - haven't visited

Savannah, Georgia - haven't visited

That's all I remember. I don't have the list readily available with me. That's the way it always goes.

I hope you all have lists of some travel goals. It's fun to think about places and things you can do. I hope you make a list if you don't have one.

Toodles!

Lists

2007-09-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

Are you a list person? I am! I have lists of everything and I carry them everywhere I go. I often find myself adding to current lists and starting a new list for something new. Does anyone do the same?

One of the reasons I make lists is to make sure I remember and do everything I need to do. I often do not finish everything on my list. I also loose or misplace my lists. But I don't stop making them. I wonder if it is some form of OCD.

Well one of the reasons I brought this up is to make sure I have something to talk about at all times on my blog. I think my lists are pretty interesting even if I say so myself. I wonder if anyone else has any interesting lists to share with us and maybe they could discuss them with everyone on their own blogs.

I thought I would just list some of my current lists here to share. Please tell me yours too.

List of Books on Tapes I plan on getting for my car trips

List of places I want to visit in my lifetime

Lists of things I would like to purchase for my home

A grocery list

A list of recipes I want to try

A list of things I want to write about in my blog

A Christmas card list

A gift for Xmas list

A list of things I need to do for my job

A list of things for a garage sale

A list of things I would like to learn

A list of websites and the URL

A list of my expenses (also called a budget)

A list of people (called an address book)

Lists of blogs I enjoy reading.

List of things to be done at my Mother's home

List of things to do with the money I win in the lottery (yes I do plan on winning, my time is coming)

List of television shows I care to watch

Lists of patterns purchased for sewing

Lists of crocheting patterns I want to try

I think I will start posting my lists and why I created them. I think they are quite fun too. They are mental wish lists! I love it!

Have fun!

Scrumptious Saturday

2007-09-08T17:46:00.001-07:00

I thought I would post another recipe for everyone. This recipe is a wonderful breakfast dish I had at a scrapbook retreat in southern Indiana. I loved this french toast! I never had anything like it. a stuffed french toast! Totally yummy! I am not a big french toast fan so this was a very good recipe in my opinion.

It's seems simple enough to make (I have never made it). I would love to make it one day when I am off my diet (which seems to be never).

Bon Appetit!

Almond Cream Cheese French Toast
Filling:

1-8oz package of Cream Cheese
1 teaspoon Almond Extract
1/3 of 8oz Cool Whip Container
1/4 to 1/2 cup almond slices

Dip:
4 eggs
Milk
Cinnamon

Other Ingredients:

Brownberry Honey White Bread
Powdered Sugar
Syrup

Directions:

Spread the filling onto one slice of bread. Do not spread within 1/4 inch from the outside edge. Place second slice on top and press to seal. Dip sandwich in egg mixture and immediately transfer to skillet. Cook until brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with syrup.

Savory Sunday

2007-08-26T06:33:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest installment of Savory Sunday for you all to try. This is a recipe I found in one of those little recipe books you buy at the grocery store found at the check out counter. I made this recipe and I was so surprised at how good it tasted. The red wine vinegar brings out so much flavor to a simple recipe. It's a great dinner for two people. Make a nice salad, bake some fresh bread (or by a frozen loaf in the freezer department of your grocer), some white wine and make a wonderful dessert. Voila! A wonderful meal for two! I have passed this recipe on to many others and they enjoy it as much as I do. I haven't heard one bad thing about it.

Here are some tips

new potatoes are those little round potatoes approximately the size of a golf ball.

use pearl onions for the recipe. If you cannot find these in your vegetable department substitute some chopped white onion about a half a cup or less if you don't like onion.

I use whatever olive oil I have available.

The one problem with the recipe was it forgot to say what to do with the bacon. You are to add it to the mixture at the very end. Then serve. I guarantee you will not be disappointed!

Chicken Scaparella

2 slices bacon, coarsely chopped

2 tablesppons Filippo Berio Olive Oil

1 large chicken breast split

1/2 cup quartered mushrooms

1 small clove garlic, minced

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken broth

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

8 small white onions, peeled

4 small new potatoes, halved

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons flour

Chopped parsley

In skillet, cook bacon. Remove and set aside. Add oil and chicken. Brown well on all sides. Add mushrooms and garlic. Saute several minutes, stirring occasionally. Add next 7 ingredients. Cover and simmer 35 minutes until chicken and vegetables are tender.

To thicken sauce, dissolve 1 tablespoon flour in 2 tablespoons chicken broth. Stir into sauce. Cook, stirring, until thickened and smooth. Garnish with parsley.

Makes 2 servings

Favorite Brand Name Recipes "Cooking for 1 or 2" June 1992 Special Edition, Publications International, Ltd.

Bon Appetit!

Cas...

Home

2007-08-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

I'm home thankfully. I finally arrived home around 3pm Friday. I was supposed to be home earlier in the day but my flight was delayed four hours. Here is my recommendation to all that fly. Check your flight before you leave for the airport. I could have slept in at least three more hours before arriving at the airport.

I arrived at the airport returned my car and proceded to check in. It was storming in Chicago so all flights from Chicago were either delayed or cancelled. The four couples ahead of me were changing planes in Chicago so they were trying to be routed to other locations. This took more than a half an hour to do. Finally I was able to check in for my flight to learn my flight which was scheduled to leave at 7:15 would not leave until 11:30. My flight left the airport around noon.

So after I arrived back I first picked up my cat Edgar who I missed dearly and was very upset with me. We made it home and I sat down and relaxed the rest of the evening. I never really progressed past the living room which was funny to me the next morning. I watched television, stroked my cat and relaxed. It was good to be home. I called my boss and my Mom. That was it. I was drained. I was up so early in the morning and sat around the airport so long I was worn out.

Today I plan to unpack my luggage clean house and go to a dinner. I was supposed to go the scrapbook expo but I won't. I don't need to go.

Over the next week I hope to tell the tales of my trip and post some fun pictures.

Stay tuned!

Cas...

Upstate New York

2007-08-14T18:26:00.000-07:00

Well,

It's been a few days. But most of the weekend has been a blur. Whenever I get ready to leave town I end up spending the days before the trip running errands. I believe we all can relate. Well I finally took off Sunday morning and arrived at my destination that afternoon. Well this is when the fun begins. I flew into a small airport in Plattsburg, NY. It's a brand new airport. Really nice. But a small one and when I deplaned they promptly began shutting down. LOL! Well I waited to get my luggage. No luggage. They search and nothing! So of course I had to fill out the required forms.

The next big thing is the fact the Hertz rental place was closed. I was there in the airport which was closing down for a few hours until the next flight around four hours from this time with no car! I also did not have a cell phone because I lost it over a week ago. I was having my new one delivered to the office the next day. I looked for a pay phone but they hadn't installed on yet. Sounds like fun huh? I did however meet some very nice people and they gave me a ride to the hotel. Later that evening I received my luggage (around 10pm). I then realized I didn't have my jacket. I lost that somewhere between the airport and the hotel.

Well the next day I took a taxi to the airport to get my rental car. I also checked to see if my jacket was in the lost and found. It wasn't. Oh well! I then proceeded to the office in which I was working. Remember I mentioned my cell phone was supposed to be delivered to the office on Monday right? Well it never made it on Monday. This made me very nervous because that was the scheduled delivery date. I was without a cell phone. You can see my week hasn't been great. I ended up calling Fed Ex to have them locate it to find out it would be delivered to the office the next day by 4:30 pm. I was not expecting to be there much longer than noon the following day. Luckily it arrived before noon. I am with communication again! Woo Hoo! Edie and Eric ( the nice people who gave me a ride to my hotel) brought my jacket by the hotel. I left it in the car. So now I have a jacket again! Woo Hoo!

I am now in Lake Placid the venue for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Beautiful area the Adirondacks. Lots of mountains and beautiful vistas. Cute town so far. I am staying at a decent hotel. The one I wanted to stay at was booked but it all works out. I have a nice view of Mirror Lake. I will be in Lake Placid for only one day. I then venture on further North. I am actually not too far from Montreal. I really wish I brought my passport. But crossing the border sounds like more trouble than its worth from what I hear.

Anyway there is a scrapbook store (you know I wouldn't miss that!) and a yarn shop in town. I will stop in and investigate the yarn store tomorrow. It's called Adirondack yarns. The scrapbook store I browsed in today. It's a tourist shop and scrapbook store. Smart owners. Diversify! Keep business coming in two ways! Good idea! There was nothing I couldn't get at home except for some Adirondack laser cuts. But better stocked than I thought. Good for Lake Placid. It's also very close to the Olympic center too.

Oh well I missed "The Closer" yesterday so I am playing catch up today. I think I may come back to the area on Saturday if I can go whitewater rafting. The spring sounds like a better time to go but what can you do.

Have a Blessed day!

Cas...

Tuesday in Rockford

2007-08-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

I almost forgot to post I was nominated by my wonderful blog buddy Stacy Crimson Purl asIsn't that the coolest! I am so proud! It's an honor for me to be nominated as a Rockin' Girl Blogger so I am going to take my new blog diva status to a new level! LOL! Let's see what I can come up with in the next few days. I am supposed to nominate people but I have yet to find any additional blog sites to nominate that Stacy didn't already nominate. The search is now on!

Yesterday was a fun day. I visited the yarn store on my lunch. It is a lovely store. I believe its the largest one I have been to yet (except for the one in Plainfield, IL and one in New Zealand). The name is Unique Yarns.

It's a wonderful store. I was very pleased to see many knitted projects displayed throughout the store. It was fun to look and feel all the nice yarns. I did finally breakdown and bought some sock yarn. It's very pretty. The color is grape. I thought it was more blue but when I looked at it in different light it was more purple.

The owner was very nice and helpful. She showed me around and helped me pick some yarn. She has many classes and fun things to see. I can't wait to visit more stores.

After work I went to Memories Ink in Rockford. It was right down the street from where I was working. The owner Karen invited me to crop last night and I didn't get back to my hotel room until 10:30pm! She taught a class on beginning scrapbooking and I bought some papers to start my album on my Family Reunion. I am doing an 8 X 8 album for the event. I didn't have pictures but I thought I could just make some pages to go in it. They turned out nicely. It was funny I spent a lot of time looking for papers for a layout of my mom and aunt. I didn't see anything that caught my fancy so I decided to move on to another set of pictures. I chose the family reunion. It worked out nicely. I can print the pictures off when I get home. Anyway, I used her paper trimmer, scissors and I also scraplifted some of her layouts. It was fun. I believe I created six layouts and started another before I left. If you ever have the chance visit the store. Karen is very nice and welcoming!Well it looks like I might be on my way home today. It really depends on how much time the managers and controller has at this office. I then pack for my trip to Upstate New York. This should be interesting. New York is a very scenic state. I can't wait to post pictures and spin tales of adventures for you. I have plans for yarn stores and hopefully some scrapbook stores.

Toodle loo!

Rockin in Rockford

2007-08-07T08:56:00.000-07:00

I know what you are thinking. What the heck is in Rockford that's rockin! Well I believe life is what you make of it. Hopefully you can do the same. I am working in Rockford, IL this week and I love to go on my Scrapbook store and Yarn store crawl through the area.

Yesterday I went to a local scrapbook store called Memories Ink on State Street here in Rockford. I met the owner when the store was located in Sycamore, IL. Great store and lots of cool products. Well she invited me back today to come and scrapbook. She will be open later tonight since she has a beginners class and told me I should come and have some fun. I took her up on her offer and I can't wait to go. Since I am missing my scrapbook meet-up group today this would be a great fill in. I do have my pictures on disk and I can use some of her supplies and buy whatever I need. This is going to be so much fun! I actually have some unfinished layouts in my car too. Hopefully I will have some fun projects to show you tomorrow.

I also went to another scrapbook store here in Rockford called Captured Moments Scrapbook Superstore. I love it when stores call themselves a superstore. It makes you think you are going to this humongous store with millions of dollars of merchandise and crop space. Mind you this is a terrific store. It's just not as large as you would think with this name. Here is a picture of the store.

Anyway I had a blast! I went and spent too much money as always but I found some cool stuff. I bought three really cute 8 x 8 albums for $3.99 each. I have seen these around and they regularly cost $19.99! I wasn't going to walk away from that price. Here is a photo!

I also purchased a really cool stamp pad storage crate I can hang on the wall in my creative space. It was inexpensive and it was made out of cardboard. I will alter it when I get the time and store my stamps in it! I can' t wait. Here is a picture of the one in the store.

I also went to Borders and bought an Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 classroom in a book to help with my digital scrapbooking. I really need to learn how to use the program better so I can fix my older photos and use the program to its full advantage. I plan on doing a lot of this when I travel to New York for work. I will spend a lot of my evenings and a weekend learning photoshop. I bought something for crocheting too. It's a tips and trick book for your crocheting issues. I really needed that. I do plan on taking my crocheting with me to New York too. I have already scouted the yarn stores in the cities I will be visiting to make sure I hit them all. I plan on taking pictures of them all to post on the blog.

Well today I plan on going to a yarn store here in town. I would have visited yesterday but it closed a 5pm. No way I was going to make that after work so I decided to go on lunch today. I will take pictures and post tomorrow what I find!

See you in the funnies!

Savory Sunday

2007-08-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

This recipe I found in a Better Homes and Garden magazine years ago. It was lost for some time and I finally found it in a stack of old recipes! I have one thing to say about this recipe. FABULOUS! I made these delicious shrimp and poblano pepper tamales and I instantly fell in love with them. Let me first say I was not a big fan of tamales. I was used to those commercial tamales which just tasted like slightly flavored corn meal to me. I wasn't impressed. I then began to taste authentic tamales (when the corn husks) from my Mexican American friends. I really enjoyed them. The flavor was fabulous. Then I found this recipe and I let one of my Mexican American friends try them too and they were very impressed. I had to share the recipe.

Here are my pros and cons of the recipe.

PROS

The taste is so good you will want to make a double batch

The presentation is good. Pretty impressive to those who have never made tamales

Low Calories. Only 110 calories each

Easy to freeze

CONS

Labor intensive. Takes time to prepare ingredients. Lots of chopping and measuring. Also assembly.

You may need to go to a specialty store for some things (A Hispanic grocery store should have everything).

I found my tamales were a bit sticky. I wonder if it was just me.

Overall this recipe is easy but well worth the trouble. The next time I make it I will definitely make a double batch. Totally delicious!

SHRIMP AND POBLANO-CHILE TAMALES

28 dried corn husks (3 to 4oz) or fourteen 9-inch pieces of foil
1 cup chicken broth
2/3/ cup canned cream-style corn
1/3 cup milk
2 cups masa harina
3 medium poblano chils
1 large red bell pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1/2 pound peeled and deveined uncooked shrimp, chopped
1/2 cup lard, butter or shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 cup coarsely grated chihuahua, muenster or monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup coarsely grated Queso Fresco or crumbled mild feta cheese

Guacamole

Directions

1. Cover corn husks with hot tap water in a shallow baking dish.

2. Bring chicken broth, creamed corn and milk just a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add broth mixture to masa harina in a medium bowl, stirring with a wooden spoon, until well blended; cool.

3. Heat broiler. Line a broiler pan with foil. Arrange poblanos and bell pepper on a prepared pan and broil 4 inches form heat 10 to 15 minutes, turning until skins are evenly charred. Wrap in foil and let stand 15 minutes. Peel, sed and dice chile and bell pepper; transfer to a medium bowl.

4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic, reduce heat to medium and cook 1 minute more. Cool, then combine with chile, bell pepper and uncooked shrimp.

5. Beat lard, baking powder, salt and sugar together in a large mixer bowl, until smooth. Gradually beat in masa harina mixture by spoonsfuls, beating well after each addtion. Continue to beat 5 to 8 minute smore, until mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in shrimp mixture and cheese (mixture will be stiff).

6. Drain and rinse corn husks; keep covere with a damp towel (or follow foil directions below). Flatten one husk on work surface (overlapping two husks if small) Spoon 1/4 cup filling in center of husk. Spread into a 3-inch long log. Roll up lengthwise. Secure each end with string. Repeat with remaining husks and filling.

To prepare tamales with foil: Cut each foil piece in half to make two 6 x 9 inch rectangles. Spread 1/4 cup filling in center of each rectangle. Fold all sides in to form 2 X 3 - 1/2 inch packets. (Can be made ahead. Place tamales in resealable plastic storage bags and freeze up to 1 month.)

7. Place steamer rack in dutch oven over 1 inch of water. Arrange tamales (unthawed if frozen) in rack. Cover; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and steam 30 minutes. Serve with Guacamole, if desired.

Makes 28 tamales

Nutritional Information

Nutritional facts per serving
calories 110
total fat: 6.5g
saturated fat: 3g
cholesterol: 22mg
sodium 173mg
carbohydrate 10g
fiber 1g
protein 4g

Here is a link to the recipe on Ladies Home Journal website too. http://www.lhj.com/recipe/recipedetail.jhtml?recipeId=37980&searchResults=true&showSearchNav=true&recipeNumber=3&resultCategory=kitchen&searchType=null&adCategory=&_requestid=58839
I just found it and I am feeling pretty foolish now that I have typed this thing out! It was reprinted in Better Homes and Garden! Geez!

Bon Appetit'

Miss me?

2007-08-03T08:06:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those weeks. I miss posting. But I have been very busy and tired. I must get back to exercising again. It helped a lot. Now I get home and sit on the couch and watch television. But the heat hasn't given me much option either. I don't have central air yet and its brutal.

Well here is my weekend in review. I went to Arkansas for my family reunion. My Mom wanted an early flight so we had a flight at six in the morning. Here is my recommendation. DON'T DO IT! You have to get up very early in the morning (like 3 am) to make your flight (depending on how far you are from your airport). Flying out of O'Hare is very sketchy at times so I try to arrive around an hour and a half before. By the time we made it to Arkansas and drove to the hotel our room was not ready. We had to kill time until 1pm! We arrived at 10 am. Mind you we had been up since 2:30 am and I didn't go to bed until midnight. We were tired and there wasn't much to do in town but go to Wal Mart, Sonic for hamburgers and to the birthplace of Clinton. We also visited my mother's brother and then we were able to go our room. Anyway the reunion was the same as always. We sat around and chatted with relatives and then we ate. Everything is focused around food. I was MC for the bingo and raffle and then I sat around and chatted with family and crocheted. The trip ended on a sour note though. I lost my cell phone at the airport. Bummer!

While on my trip I did work on my new cardigan. It wasn't coming along well at all. I am good at the stitching but my tension is way off. It goes from lose to tight as I work. You can see the shaping change. I was almost through with a sixteen once skein when I decided to start over. I then started over again and unraveled ten rows! I kept getting tighter as I went. This is my one major problem with crocheting. TENSION! Everytime I pick up a project I change tension. You should see some of my completed blankets. Terrible tension. But now that I recognize the problem I make sure my tension remains the same. This last go has been pretty good. The yarn is really nice too.

Anyway I am a bit sad this month. I will not be around for my monthly scrapbook meetings. I will be out of town for work. Boo Hoo! But I have decided to work on my digital scrapbooking which shouldn't take as much gear as regular scrapbooking. I have wanted to learn more and I have all the materials to do so. I can do it on an airplane, restaurant, airport or hotel room without a lot of stuff. Perfect! I just can't wait to get started. I should have three weeks of practice by the end of the month. Look for links to the pages.

I also received my ski club trip information for the 2007-2008 season. The ski clubs posts their trips and allow people to sign up at what they call "Trip Kick Offs" during August. This allows people to schedule far in advance and to start paying for their winter trips. Great deal especially for me. One of my ski clubs (out of two) will be going to Japan for a week! I really want to go but the $2000 price will keep me from attending. I was considering pushing the finances but I think I will just pass (unless I win the lottery) at the moment! Another ski club will be going to Switzerland. That one costs $1375 but it includes meals! The Japan trip includes the airfare, lodging and trip to the hotel. The Switzerland is the same but with meals. Neither offers the lift tickets because people can decide for themselves how often they would prefer to do skiing or whether they will do any skiing. Some people who are in a ski club do not ski but go on the trips and go sightseeing. This is very common and the ski clubs get terrific deals on travel. I have decide though at this point to only go on a trip to Winter Park this December. It's $550. More in my price range. That should be sufficient for me. I get to have a bit of fun and the price also includes lift tickets. I have to pace myself or win the lottery soon.

Well tomorrow I plan on posting a surprise for everyone to see. Stay tuned and check back later in the evening!

See ya later gators!

It's been a while

2007-07-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

Well the past week has been a blur to me. I was very busy with work and getting ready for a weekend away. I missed posting. I think I will try to post a bit more often in the weeks to come.

Well this past weekend I went to a scrapbook retreat in Central Illinois. It's called the All American Scrapbook Company retreat in Mt. Auburn, IL. It's held at a Christian camp. Now when I say camp I mean a building with bunk beds. We haul all of our gear ( which is a haul if you could see what I have) and scrap continuous throughout the weekend. This time I did an extended weekend (from Thursday to Sunday) instead of the usual Friday through Sunday. It was a good time. I really enjoyed myself. I am very proud to say I completed nineteen layouts! Yup you heard me right nineteen! Around fifteen of the layouts were 8 X 8 and the rest were 12 X 12. I was especially proud of one I made for a friend of her daughter. She is a cute little girl. I saw some patterned paper in my stash and realized it would be perfect. I actually put the layout together in what I consider to be a reasonable amount of time. If you would like to see my layouts you may check my website.

Getting back on Sunday late I was exhausted but I managed to get the truck unpacked. There were three of us in my Mom's truck and we had it loaded. It's amazing to see how much stuff three scrapbookers can bring on a weekend getaway. It's funny.

Now I am getting ready for a trip to Arkansas for a family reunion. I need to pack and prepare my house for the return. I am not looking forward to this actually. It would be nice to see family but the reunions are typically boring. All we do is sit around and talk and eat. That's it. No real activities. Just sitting around a hot lodge looking out at nothing really. BORING!

Well I do plan on taking my crocheting with me and a book. I will make the most of it. My cardigan is not finished. I think I will work on it next week. I just need to sew it together. It has me a bit puzzled though. I am just now realizing I am not sure what type of thread or yarn to use since it is a specialty yarn. I am a bit confused. I still need to make it to a few yarn stores so maybe I can get some help there. But in the meanwhile I have started on a new project. It's another crocheted cardigan. It's cute. I like it a lot. I bought some really nice yarn at JoAnn's to use with it and I think it will turn out beautiful. I will post a picture at a later date.

My creative space has come along nicely too. I just need to find a desk. I hope to get one by the end of the year. I first want to pay down some bills. I have been a spend thrift this summer. I need to find something to bring in a little extra income.

Well my update is complete. Stay tuned for more details!

Cas...

Good Day

2007-07-17T22:25:00.001-07:00

Well today seems to be much better. It seems things I have had an issue with are now good. First thing would be my printer/scanner. It was the inkjet cartridges. They needed replacing. I thought this was odd because my printer usually tells me when the cartridges are low. I mean actually tells me! My computer always has a message which comes over the speakers when I am printing or if there is an error with the printer. I did need to reinstall the drivers though. Weird!

Second thing was my hair! I had a great hair day. It actually looked good. I was able to make it look a bit more fashionable. I felt cute actually. I styled my hair and dressed for work a bit more fashionable and I felt a lot better. This may work out! At least until I get my braids again. I really want them back! I have starting sweating in my head already and this is not good. It might be a fro before you know it!

Third thing was I received a package today. I didn't expect one but I found one on my doorstep when I arrived home. I was a bit paranoid when I saw it. You see I watch Court TV a lot and I saw a Forensics File episode where a husband sent his wife a bomb wrapped up like a present and left it on the porch. It killed her unfortunately. When I saw the package I started thinking about who could be angry with me. No one really but you can't be to careful !LOL! Anyway this is what I got.

It's a radio and speaker case. It also has a pocket for a portable CD player/MP3 player and twenty CDs. How cool is this! It came at a perfect time too! I am going away for the weekend so I can use it when I need some music! Sweet!

This is a magnet with a picture of my cat Edgar.

This is a pillow with a picture of Edgar. Isn't it cute! Edgar seems to like it too. I put it on the floor close to his scratcher and he sniffed it and really checked it out!

These wonderful gifts came from my job. I thought it was a wonderful surprise. The adminstrative assistant had asked me for some pictures of my cat. I thought it was to submit to a contest for pet pictures on the job. Well it wasn't! LOL! They sent it to me because we did a good job getting some work done. It's great to be appreciated by management. I am lucky to have such a thoughtful department.

Well as you can see I had a wonderful day. It rained here and I still believe it was a beautiful day. As the song goes "what a difference a day makes"!

As for the recipe I spoke of the other day I will post it. I suggest you do not count on it this week. It's a very long recipe to type out (but not a tough recipe). Maybe next week. I am a bit behind on a few things I need to take care of first. But I will post the recipe. I highly suggest you read my blog next week for it.

Toodle loo!

Another weekend gone by

2007-07-16T05:20:00.000-07:00

Well my weekend did not start off too well. I can't seem to get my scanner to work. I can't seem to figure out what is wrong with it. The light keeps blinking. I think I may need a new cartridge but it usually tells me when the ink is getting low. I can't seem to get it to stop blinking. I need it for work too! I looked high and low for my instruction manual and I can't find it. I have used it frequently and I definitely have misplaced it. I don't know where it could be. Totally frustrating!

On to another blight on my weekend I went to get my hair done. I have worn braids for the past four months. I dyed my hair in December to try something different. I have dark hair. Very dark hair which tends to be hard to color. It's also very coarse and dry. My picture on blog was taken shortly after I got the color. To make a long story short. My hair began breaking off. I mean really breaking off! It became shorter and more brittle. In April I began to wear braids. I love braids! They are so nice. Well I tried to make an appointment on Friday to get my braids redone and the woman who does it was out of town. For the next two weeks! Arrghh! I was so sad. But I needed to get my hair done. So I had it permed and styled. She had to cut a lot of the colored part out which left me with shorter hair than before. I now look like Florence from the Jeffersons. I hate this hairstyle! I mean really hate it. My mom thinks it looks cute but I hate it with a passion! It's definitely an older woman's hairdo. What do you think?

Well I at least think it is a pretty good self portrait of myself. I had to tweak the hairstyle she gave me. She had it styled away from my forehead which is not flattering. I have a very square forehead which needs framing. So I combed some angled bangs to the front. The back is short (where most of the breakage occured) but not tapered. I can't wait to get my braids back. I do not enjoy rolling and styling my hair.

Well I am not going to continuing whining about my my weekend woes fortunately. One good thing came out of this weekend. While I was searching for my instructions to my scanner I found a recipe I couldn't find for years! I am so excited. It's a really good one too! Very tasty. I can't wait to make it but it won't be soon because I will be out of town for the next two weekends. I will post a picture when I make them!

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Smooches!

Cancelled

2007-07-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

O.K.

I have cancelled my garage sale. I am just not ready to do it. Everything I have sorted is in my mind and no where else. So I just decided to cancel it. I received my balloons and price tags today. It was tied to my door. I think I forgot to mention this was going to be a neighborhood garage sale. My weekends have been too busy to even put things aside. Only mentally did I decide what I wanted to sell. Oh well. I need to start doing some other things in my life.

O.K. Today I went in search of a good yarn store. Stacey from Crimson Purls made a comment which lead me to think about finding some help for my cardigan project. I am having some troubles with the directions. I really hate reading crochet and knitting patterns. They seem to be written in an ambiguous code or something. I am currently winging the cardigan on my own. I went to a yarn store in Plainfield, IL and talked with some ladies. Evidently there is a published author of crochet books there so she would be able to help me. She wasn't available when I was there but now I know where to go for help. Thank goodness. I guess I will attempt some classes one day when I know I can commit. But I had a good time browsing the store and looking at yarn. Boy are there many different types of yarn! Geez! I was a bit overwhelmed but ready to learn. I would love to do a pair of socks one day. That yarn is very expensive though. I really need to research how many skeins of $18.50 bamboo yarn I need for one pair of socks. I never paid that much when I bought socks. It's will be hard to spend that much when I make my first pair. Also I liked the yarn but I could not see myself accessorizing using them. Very bright and lively colors. I usually stick to black, navy or white. Well I guess I will just need to find something to go with my finished project. Of course this gives me a reason to shop! Tee Hee!

The name of the store I visited was called Peggy's Strands of Heaven. It's a very nice shop located in the downtown area of Plainfield. I really enjoyed myself there and met some wonderful ladies. I do hope to go back one day and sit around and crochet. I want to at least become an advanced intermediate crocheter before trying knitting.

While I was there I bought a book. It's called Knitters', Needlepointers', Crocheters', Weavers', & Spinners', Travel Guide 2007-2008 a guide to knitting, needlepoint, crocheting, weaving and spinning stores and guilds in the United States. It's a companion guide to Shopyarn.com. I thought it was a cool idea. I travel quite a bit for work and I thought this would be perfect for my travels. I can visit stores from all over! I did this with scrapbooking stores. It's a blast meeting people with the same interest as yourself. Try it sometime! Here is a picture of the book.

Just to give you a quick update on my cardigan here are some pictures.

This is the front of the cardigan. The left and right sides.

This is the back

This is one of the sleeves.

I have another sleeve to make. The sleeves are giving me some issues. I am winging it for now. They seem to be O.K. I will ask for some help at a yarn store later. There are several more in my immediate area and I think I will visit them sometime soon to see where I would like to go best.

Earlier this week I found this!

I have many digital scrapbook magazine idea books but this one was a newbie for me! I really like it. It reminds you of Creating Keepsakes "Computer Tricks for scrapbooking" by Jessica Sprague. This one is by BHG Scrapbooks. I think they are seriously giving Creating Keepsakes a run for their money for sure. Lots of great tips for using photo editing programs for your scrapbooking. Not just Adobe Photoshop elements. I can't wait to try some of these techinques!

I haven't done much photo editing just minor stuff. But I do have a nice collection of digital scrapbooking idea books. They are just fabulous! I have both of Renee Pearson's books and also a subscription to the new digital scrapbooking magazines. I just need to find the time to actually do some one day. I took Jessica Sprague's class at CKU and it was fabulous. We made two 12 X 12 layouts and they are too cool. I want to do more. I will probably stick to 8 X 8 pages or 6 X 6 pages. I will not invest in a large format printer. The ink, 12 X 12 paper, and space requirements are just too expensive for me. I rather print them in smaller format on my current printer. It seems more financially feasible.

On to other things. While I was looking for the yarn store (I failed to write down the address but I knew the vicinity) I dropped into a cute little store in downtown Plainfield called Pixie Pizazzi. It's a gift basket store. I asked the nice lady about the yarn store and she told me where to find it. I thought that was very nice of her to help me. I felt obliged to purchase something from her store. I browsed around the store and bought some fun stuff to try. Check it out!

I like to try different things and spicy garlic mushrooms and cheddar cheese soup was right up my alley. Of course I have had cheddar cheese soup before but not the spicy garlic mushrooms. At least not bottled ones. I have purchased some hot at the Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin. There were delicious to say the least. I will try these and post about them later.

Well I think I have babbled enough for now. I hope everyone is having a pleasant week!

Butterfly kisses to you all!

July 4th

2007-07-09T20:14:00.001-07:00

I know I am a bit late but I thought I would share some of my photos from my July 4th with my cuz. We had a good time as always. We ate barbecue and sat around and talked. My cuz has a new house and it was wonderful. She is very lucky.

I took many pictures of my little cousin Kaden as you can see. He is adorable. I also took many photos of Camryn and Samantha too. They were very willing posers.

I will never go back to work after a holiday like that again. It was just awful trying to get back into the swing of things with work. Weird week. Next time I will just take some vacation days.

On another note I had a productive week with my new furniture. I did complete my last bookcase for my creative space. I also move many of my scrapbooking supplies and such to them. I also put together my new chair and installed my curtains. The room is really coming together. I am very proud of myself.

This Friday and Saturday will be my garage sale. Hopefully I will make enough money to pay off the new furniture. I still need to pull furniture and other necessities to sell. Wish me luck. I have tons of things to do.

I spent this last weekend with my mother and brother. My brother was in a wonderful mood most of the weekend. It was a blessing.

Anyway I apologize for the delay in posting. Life gets in the way sometimes. Hoepfully I will have my crocheted cardigan almost completed by the end of the week and I can post a picture.

Peace out!

Sunday Cookout fun...

2007-07-02T06:19:00.000-07:00

Well this weekend ended very well. I went to a cookout my friend had at her campsite at Blackwell Forest Preserve in DuPage County. She camps out there for a week and she invited her friends to join her for an evening.

We had fun. We all brought something (I didn't bring something to grill) and we cooked and ate and sat by the campfire. It was a lot of fun.

Here is a picture of the group.

It's always a great time hanging out with good friends around a campfire.

I hope everyone had a good weekend too!

Let's be safe out there!

Cas...

So far so good!

2007-07-01T06:00:00.001-07:00

So far this weekend I have been able to accomplish at least one thing I really wanted to do. I went to Ikea to buy my bookcases. I bought three and also purchased a nice executive chair too. I was very pleased with my purchases. Here is a picture of one of the bookcases I purchased. I actually bought two of these. I want to use them to store some of my scrapbook supplies. I do plan on moving some of those magazines to another bookcase I purchased. I only put the two narrow ones together.

This is the other bookcase I have in my creative space. I purchased another one like it but I have to put it together. I think I will do it on the 4th. I have a barbecue later that evening so I will put it together in the morning. I am so excited! Now I only need a desk and I saw one at Ikea I think I want to get. It was $59.99! Very simple desk. But it should be perfect for both scrapbooking and sewing! I can't wait to buy one!

My Mom came by early to allow me to use her truck. She spent most of the day with me. Unfortunately when she left she was in some horrible traffic. It usually takes her 40 minutes to get from my home to hers but it took around three hours! It was so horrible. We don't know what happened. She thinks it might have been holiday traffic. I think there was an accident somewhere. But I am glad she made it home safely if not exhausted.

Well here is my current progress on my crocheted cardigan.

I mentioned on a previous blog that I was having some issues. I was wondering if its noticeable on this picture. On the left side is the right side of my cardigan front. The right side is the left side of my cardigan front. The left cardigan front is one stitch smaller than my right side. It's one row shorter and one V-stitch shorter horizontally. I think my guage is off somewhat. I think I will attempt the left side again. I don't understand how this happened. I probably became more tense since I was having troubles with the instructions.

These booties I did while watching television last week. I have yet to sew them together. They are very easy to make and I thought I needed a break from the cardigan since I was getting frustrated. I used the same yarn I used on my previous baby blanket. I like making these booties. You can do them in about an hour.

Then next I started a granny square baby blanket with the leftover yarn. I ran out of yarn on the last row when I almost made it half way.

I had some similar yarn from some other old projects left over so I thought I would use it to finish off my granny square blanket. I will use the white next then finish it off with the multi color yarn. It should look pretty nice I think.

Moving on to other things I have done here is a scrapbook page I made at my monthly TAC (The Angel Company) workshop with my friend Marisa. She prepared this wonderful girls night out page for us to do. We learn and hone our skills on many different techniques. I have yet to decide which pictures to use.

This is one of the cards we made. It's really cute. You open the purse and there is a tube of lipstick stamped on the inside. It's too adorable!

This is the other card we made. I kinda smudged my "thanks for everything" greeting but I like it a lot. Very easy cards.

Last but not least! I stopped by a scrapbook store in Lake Zurich, IL and browsed. I didn't go to buy anything (yeah right!) just to see what the latest and greatest was out now. Look at what I found!

My name in BLING! I was so surprised. Cassandra is a pretty popular name in the African American community (at least I have found many in my own small world) but to find it in bling was just too much! I couldn't believe it! Then I find my last name too! Even though Jordan as a first name has become extremely popular. I see a really cute layout forming in my head. I can't wait to use these babies!

Well I hope you enjoyed my update. I really wanted to update this week but I was tired and a bit discouraged about my cardigan. But I haven't given up. You will see me more often this week.

DON'T GET NOTHING ON YA!

Cas...

Weekend run around...

2007-06-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well this weekend was a busy one for me. I did a lot and I am happy with the outcome. I must stop shopping though so I can save some money and pay off some bills. I think I have more than enough to keep me busy for a long time.

I also had to pick up my car unfortunately. It stopped on me last weekend and I learned it was the battery. I also had a few other things repaired too. More charges on my credit card! Another reason for me to stop shopping! LOL! But I won't of course.

I went to Hancock fabrics and they had a $1 Butterick pattern sale. I bought two patterns for myself. This pattern is my favorite I think. I want to make the center outfit which consists of a tank, vest and pants. I already purchased some cool material to make the outfit. I really am excited about this one.

I like top A the best. It's actually one piece! Just one friggin piece. I can't wait to try this one for sure. It's at the top of my list. I bought some material at Wal Mart (yes I said Wal Mart). It's a pretty purple knit. I can't wait to try this one. Maybe this weekend?

I also spent Saturday at my monthly TAC (The Angel Company) workshop with my scrapping and stamping buddies. I created a really cute "Girls Night Out" layout. I can't wait to put my pictures in the layout. When I do I will post!

Sunday I spent the day at my Mother's and we went to Vogue Fabrics where I bought the material for my vest, tank and pants outfit. I also bought some material to make a skirt. Another pattern I bought (I am going pattern crazy!).

I have worked on my crocheted cardigan. I have the right side completed but the left side is giving me some issues. It's a mirror of the right side but the instructions are a bit ambiguous. This happens sometimes when I read a pattern. You really have to think or try it both ways to see how it looks. I think I may frog the left side and try it again. I don't like the way it looks. I will take a picture of it and post it tomorrow. Maybe someone could give me a tip or two!

Smooches!