Stashalong and other great things

Today is a very sleepy Saturday here in the Bal casa. We woke early anticipating two back to back baseball games and a party only to find that both games had been cancelled due to bad weather. We had a terrific storm last night that actually didn't scare me at all. It was really fascinating. I'm not sure why I felt so mesmerized. It could have been all the lightning. It's almost surreal to watch nature behave that way. DH and I watched King Kong (the new one) last night. Now, I've never seen the original so I have no comparison but I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I've made progress on my Orangina in lilac and have the picture to post as well. It's coming along quite quickly--more quickly than I thought even. In light of that, I've decided that I must organize myself! Enough with a closet overflowing with yarn! Enough with two, wait, I mean three unfinished quilting projects and countless sewing projects. Have I touched all the thrift store recycling stuff? I didn't think so. Oh yeah, there's also the novel(s) I've been puttering around with for ummm over two years. No, I don't have writer's block. I have a complete inability to focus on one thing at a time. So yesterday, I dragged the kids to Target and got a project notebook. The goal is to get myself on some type of timeframe. Last night, with wine in hand, I began listing all the projects I have on tap and the order in which I'll be doing them. I've even assigned some tentative timeframes. Today, I felt so motivated I actually got up the courage to tackle some machine embroidery again. For my birthday, I got a Singer Quantum Futura 200 CE. I'd been a little discouraged because it's a fussy machine. God forbid you don't thread something right. The darn thing wants you to do it correctly. Imagine that! Today I decided I would not be beaten by a sewing machine. I don't give a rat's butt if it can embroider. I had a discouraging false start and finally- success! I'm really proud of that. I haven't sewn in ages so this is very good thing. I'm dipping my toes in the water again. This week I also got my card from my Project Spectrum pal Mrs Pao. What a lovely card and a great person! Thank you so much!!! I'm not sure I told you, but I'm fourth generation Irish on my Mom's side so the Gaelic Blessing is very special to me. Also, the envelope had a Paddington Bear postage stamp as well--I LOVE Paddington. I had a Paddington bear as a child that I positively wore out. I can recall reading the books to my children as babies. Yes, folks, I do the voices--it's the only way to read! Accents and sounds make it much more fun and exciting. Mrs Pao's card has a special place in my home office beside my computer. I've been missing Thomas very much lately and this card really puts a smile on my face. Thank you again Sam! Oh, I'm also including the yarn and books I picked up while in San Antonio. I've decided Blue Sky Alpaca's 100% dk Alpaca might be heaven. It's soooo soft! The coral piece on the sofa is a wrap I crocheted. The dishtowel is, well, a dishtowel I crocheted. Both were for the stashalong I'm participating in. Till next time! Alicia

Sea World for the weekend!

We just got back from spending the weekend in San Antonio. I'm glad to say we had a great time even though we bought more than we had anticipated. No one could ever accuse us of not getting lots of momentos on any trip we take! We left Thursday morning and apparently missed quite a storm that rolled through here. So bad in fact it blew a panel of our fence down but hey, they fixed the A/C while we were gone so I'm happy! The drive was very scenic and reminded me of the small towns that my Grandma Leitha likes to visit so much. If she were with us, she would have been stopping at every house along the way asking for a pinch of whatever plant she saw. My Grandma Leitha has a deep love of all things floral and is a true green thumb. She also makes the best fried apple pies known to man. It's my personal goal this summer to take lessons from her so I can make them too. Anyway, we finally arrived and searched in vain for the Alamo. At one point I questioned whether it was really there at all and then DH suggested we get settled into the hotel and regroup. That sounded good to me! Once we got settled in and actually looked at a map, we realized we hadn't been far from the Alamo at all. We got gussied up, snatched the kids up and headed back out. It was very interesting to see that place. I didn't really realize how the battle fought for Texas changed the face of America and helped shape it into what it is today. While we were there, I got my Dad the book he'd been asking for. Now I just need to ship it! I'll do that Friday or Saturday. The kids and I were so excited we could barely sleep that night. The next day we got up and spent the whole day at Sea World. We had a wonderful time and I've decided I might need to get a Clydesdale horse one day. Of course, we saw the shamu show and sat in the splash zone. Those are the most majestic creatures I've ever seen but I have to say I'm not really convinced they should be bred and held in captivity. They are wild animals after all. Seeing marine life is always amazing to me and reminds me of how small I am in the grand scheme of things. The kids had a blast and Brandon even asked to go back. I'd kind of like to myself! The next day I found the yarn store (of course)! If you've never been to San Antonio, it is home to The Yarn Barn off of McCullough Ave. Great store and such friendly staff! It's not just for knitters, they have quite a needlework section as well. The owner helped me out and even searched for a book for me. I'm now on their mailing list and happy to know that they will take a phone order (even a special order) and ship to me. I'll have some pics posted of my purchases on my next post but I'll just say now--three words--Cherry Tree Hill!!!! We then hauled on down to the riverwalk and I took some great pics of the local architecture. Later, we had the best Indian food and just stuffed ourselves fully. The next day, we got the kids haircuts on the Air Force base and headed home. By the time we got back, we were just done! It was really great to get out of here for the weekend. Now, we're back to the daily routine and I'm proud to say that I've finished two things for the stashalong I'm participating in. Yes, I did get yarn on the trip but since I'm participating for three months, I get one stash enhancement day per month. I'm also feverishly working on my Orangina for the sexy knitters club KAL. I've decided that I definitely couldn't do both Orangina and the Somewhat Cowl before the end of the KAL so I chose to do just the Orangina. The Somewhat Cowl is next on my to do list though! I don't see a big issue with finishing it since I'm participating in the Stashalong! I was very glad to hear that Sam got my postcard intact! I'm expecting hers anyday and will post a pic as soon as it arrives. It's been very nice to get to know someone through Project Spectrum. It's expanded my horizons and helped me step outside of my comfort zone. I can be a bit of a hermit sometimes and get very routine oriented so I can resist change more than I care to admit. I'm working on that everyday! I better run now and promise to post more later!

Crazy is as crazy does....

Wow. Somedays, that's all that really goes through my mind. I've been wondering lately why I'm so very sensitive or if the world actually is being taken over by people who are just plain nuts. Why would I say such a thing? I'll tell you why! In the past two weeks, between tailgaters, rude people, and crazy landlords I'm so freakin' done with it all! Now, I know that there are folks out there who follow too close and on occasion I've done it myself, but when you are in a school zone and heading to drop off your kids at school please don't drive so close to me that you could be sitting in the third row seating of my car. This really tends to tick me off. Not so much the driving that close, (well, okay that too) but the fact that if I weren't in front of you, you'd be speeding through a school zone. As a Mom, that makes me friggin' crazy!!! I really thought that that was seeing it all. I was wrong when yesterday I witnessed a driver tailgating a police officer. What??? Maybe I need more chutzpah. Never in a million could I do that. Then, in my thrift store shopping spree, there was the employee who literally grabbed an item out of my hands and said she'd "chosen" it already. I was so stunned I was speechless. Finally, the icing on the cake was the air conditioner going out. As of right this instant, I'm still waiting on someone to call me to come fix it. Our landlords are so proactive!! Okay, enough of my rant but thanks for letting me "go there"! On to bigger and better things. My sister recently sent me some "just because" gifts from overseas and they rock!!! I love love love them so I've put up some pics. In the interim, I've finished a crochet project I had going on from some yarn that had been sitting in my stash for over a year. I'm participating in the stashalong and let me tell you, going without purchasing yarn for three months is like getting a root canal on a daily basis. DH will be glad though because it will allow me to use up the ginormous stash I have. Today I hit the Goodwill and got some new with tags on swimsuit bottoms. I'm planning on crocheting a cotton top to wear with them as a swimsuit. I also scored a Dana Buchman short sleeve 100% cashmere top for five dollars. Can't wear it in this heat but I'll be busting it out in the fall for sure. Tomorrow we are headed to Seaworld so I'm really looking forward to it. I need a break!

Car 54 Where are you?!!

Long time; no post. The kids have started ball season and we've had a lot of back to back practices lately. Plus, I've been extremely lazy. Well, not really but sort of. I've started painting the couches and they look nice. That's the good news. The bad news is that I ran out of paint. So, I'm now waiting on three liters to head my way. It's still cheaper than replacing the couches but let me tell you, hell might actually freeze over before I do that again. It looks great ( I think) but boy is it a lot of work!!! In the meantime, I've finished the socks on two circs. Still not digging that method. Call me an old curmudgeon. What can I say! I'm finishing up a crocheted wrap but seeing as how it has just turned scorching hot here I'm wondering why I chose that as a project. Duh!! Mom's coming to visit tonight and I'm ashamed to say the house is a bomb. No one has ever accused me of being the queen of clean but even by my cluttered standards things look bad. No excuses, tomorrow after spin class I'm cleaning up. No knitting or crocheting till I do. And no, self, I don't care that I've not yet even done a gauge swatch for the sexy knitters KAL. No needlework till the house looks presentable. There, I've scolded myself enough for one day. Pictures to come of the couch painting progress and a detailed how I did it if anyone is interested or drunk enough to decide to tackle this project themselves. Hee Hee.