Knit Devotion

“If it’s Chanukah or Kwanza
Solstice, Harvest or December twenty-fifth,
Peace on earth to everyone
And abundance to everyone you’re with” (Blues Traveler)

I have about 6 hours of Christmas music. Most of it is the same just sung by different people or put to a different beat. Don’t get me wrong, I love them all. That’s why I listen to all 6 hours of it. This song, however, is an original and new. Well, relatively new considering the Christmas songs that everyone remakes. And it just hits the perfect cord with me. I like the message~it doesn’t matter what you celebrate. The message is still the same~PEACE ON EARTH. Which means different things to different people. I would like to see people have the willingness, the patience to see all people as equals.

So whatever you celebrate, have a great celebration. I wish you and your family all the best in 2009 and all the rest of your days.

Here’s my favorite toast~”May these be the worst of our days together.”
Think about it.

Later

I’m going to get some of the things out of the way before I start. I love my husband dearly and think he’s the greatest thing to step into my life. And he has given me 2 very beautiful and loving kids. Now with that out of the way, here we go….

1. I was never happy in high school. I never believed that I fit in. I had my heart broken too many times at college. Thanks to those who were nice to me. You don’t know how much I appreciate it.

2. Sports was a way to make friends because I was a shy person.

3. I have to do things with my hands because I just can’t sit still unless I’m really tired (thanks mom!)

4. My ex-husband tried to kill me hence the reason he is my ex!

5. Since then I live life to the fullest.

6. I am an adrenaline junkie and have no fear of anything….not even death. I have seen it and it’s not so scary!

7. I have been bungie jumping, sky diving, cliff diving, scuba diving surrounded by sting rays, cave diving (and still do when I can),have been cave-diving back 1 mile in a cave, seen a shark up close, chased an octopus, driven on a dark road with no lights, gone to 160 ft underwater.

8. I gave birth to both of my children at home (no drugs) with my husband and a midwife. And planned it that way.

9. I have been to the hospital so many times in Huntsville, they know me by name and I have a plaque on a bed with my name on it. They just know me by name in Orlando.

10. I was attacked by a dog when I was 3. He bit me in the head causing me to have plastic surgery, 250 stitches and my ear canal rebuilt. But that wasn’t the start, I broke my nose when I was 2 on Christmas Eve.

11. I could sew a dress with as many stitches I have had in my lifetime so far.

12. I have 2 internet stores where I design and make maternity hospital gowns, childrens clothing and hand bags and totes. There are a lot of amazing people out there that do wonderous things with their craft. Check them out at www.etsy.com.

13. I love skulls.

14. I love to go to the Wine Bar with my friends and get so trashed that I don’t remember the limo ride home!!! Or even getting on you tube and trying to stump each other with old songs while drinking how many bottles of wine, girls????? How many decades did we cover…3????

15. I met my husband while cave diving.

16. I have lived through too many tornados, hurricanes and an earthquake. I felt the earthquake in Vegas when the big one hit California in the 90′s.

17. I win money at black jack but think it’s boring. I love poker but lose all my money playing it.

18. I love Cirque du Soliel and have seen all of their shows. They are amazing athletes.

19. I traveled to Europe by myself three times. One to run the London Marathon.

20. I am a buddhist. I believe in living in the present moment, celebrating life and Karma.

21. I want to be on Project Runway.

22. I have lived through cancer.

23. I have fake boobs and I’m proud of them!

24. I have been to a funeral in New Orleans.They believe”celebrate the life, don’t mourn the death”. It’s a beautiful concept. If you are ever in N.O. in the French Quarter and have a chance to see a funeral procession. Join in, follow and learn how to celebrate the life. They are an amazing set of people who love life.

25. I love Halloween and Dia de los Muertos. One day to scare the shit out of you and another to celebrate the lives of those who have passed.

“Where you go is where I want to be!” (Dave Matthews)

My dh is a DM fan. A dancing Nancy if you may. This has to be one of my favorites of Dave. I love the lyric. It’s how I feel about my husband. I miss him when I’m gone from the room.
I recently was talked into getting on Facebook. I have been so excited reconnecting with my high school friends. One of them decided to post some old pictures from dances with old boyfriends. I realize now what bad choices I made in guys back then. I tried to find guys like me and in the end we were too much alike and it never worked out. My husband now is completely different, opposite of me. We same common likes, tastes, and hobbies but personality wise, he is the yin to my yang. He completes me to the point where I think we are one. I am so lucky to have found someone that does that for me. I wish others could and would find someone for themselves. Not just anyone but the right one.

I love you Pookie.

Later

I’ll kill you!”

Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Not really politically correct but funny.

Jeff Dunham is a genius. He was out in the 90′s with “A jalapeno on a steek”. If you haven’t seen this you have to watch. This was my first exposure to Jeff. I remember laughing till my sides hurt and walking around for a couple of weeks saying,” I’m a jalapeno on a steek!” Again, not politically correct but funny.

It arrived today. My spoiler, Jean (doxietrek on Ravelry), stalked me well. She made me the Everlasting Bagstopper from Ravelry. It’s a market bag that expands to fit just about anything. I’ve had it in my que but haven’t had a chance to make it yet. Well, now I don’t have to. Yeah! I’ll have to make another one because I just can’t go to the grocery store for one thing. Impossible feat! She also gave me the extra yarn, I think I will make a mini bag to go with this one. There’s some pumpkin seeds, yum, sugar-free mints, which I just ran out of, and CHOCOLATE, double YUM!
She gave me some very cool Bamboo sock yarn hand dyed from an Indie dyer called Whimzy Pinzy Creations, in one of my favorite colors, purple. I now own a “I’d rather be knitting” button which I will wear with pride. All the time because it’s true!
And last but not least a Starbucks gift card and my favorite Yankee candle…you guess it? Pumpkin Spice. It made the box smell fantastic even before I opened it!
I would say I really racked up on this one. Thanks Jean! It was a great swap and lots of fun getting to know you! Hope to see you next year!

In other news, I sold 2 lunch boxes, a computer bag, and a dress on Etsy. Yeah! I will be so busy before Thanksgiving. It will make Thanksgiving a nice break for me! If I don’t talk to you guys before then have a great holiday for those of us who get Thanksgiving. I will be very busy before then!

Later

I can finally show it and she loved it! I made this knitting bag for my spoilee for the Day of the Dead swap. It’s called my “Rockitknit” bag. There’s only one problem. I have to make it in another fabric. My extra fabric is not in yet. It was backordered. AAAAUUUUGGGHHH!
I don’t want to post this one in my store and not be able to make one right now.

Let me tell you about it anyway. It is wide enough to fit straight needles with a project in the bottom on the bag. It has 3 large pockets with buttonholes for yarn to lace through to the outside to keep your yarn from tangling when doing color knitting. Plus more pockets on the inside for needles (the bag height will accommodate the needles standing up without poking out of the bag) and other accessories. The bottom and part of the sides are reinforced to allow the bag to stand on it’s own. Plus it has a comfortable strap to wear on your shoulder or carry in your hand. It’s everything you would want in a knitting bag.

Keep checking my etsy store for this bag and more. There are some changes going on. I will post about them later.

Later

The UN has declared 2009 to be “The International Year of Natural Fibers”.

Bamboo….that is all I have to say!

Remember playing tag? I loved tag. It meant I could push my brother and sisters really hard and not get in trouble. Of course pay backs were hell! Well, the brilliant girls over at Cafemom Etsy Team are playing a new game of tag. My tagger was MadebyJade . She makes some really cool bags. Give her some love if you are looking for a bag!

THE RULES:
*** Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
*** Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
*** Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as
links to their blog.
*** Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I have no fear. I will do things most people would never do much less have heard of like cave diving, my favorite. Which is scuba diving in an underwater cave.

2. I have an emergency bed with a gold plaque with my name on it in my hometown because of #1

3. I have a boxing record of 1-0 (1 win). Kickboxing at that.

4. I wish I was Laura Croft. She is a bad ass!

5. I think my hubby is the best thing that ever happened to me. Without him I wouldn’t have my kids which are the 2nd best things (and I mean things! )

6. I am addicted to knitting. I have even thought about claiming that I was insane so I could sit and knit all day long. But that plan won’t work because they won’t let me have long pointed sticks….I checked.

7. I wish more people could have great best friends like Jen.

MY TAGS

1. babylotus
2. andreabaker
3. mamisochic
4. benandlucy
5. photofrog
6. boopalinaandbebe
7. sevidesigns

Give all my taggies some love and at least check out their stores on Etsy. You know there is some really cool shit on Etsy! Search for Cafemom or CEM to find all of us. If you are interested, join cafemom and check us out on there by searching for Cafemom Etsy Team.

Later

http://www.etsy.com/flash/spots/etsy_mini.swf?user_id=5060508&user_name=MadeByJade&item_source=favorites&item_size=thumbnail&rows=4&columns=4

This is Halloween. Halloween, Halloween, Halloween. I love Tim Burton and of course Danny Elfman. Who better to do the music for Tim than someone who wrote…”It’s a dead man’s party. Who could ask for more. Everybody’s coming, leave your body at the door. Leave your body and soul at the door” I love Oingo Boingo growing up. I was so sad when they stopped. And in case you didn’t know, that is Danny singing as Jack and he does the voice for Barrel of the 3 monster kids Lock, Shock and Barrel, and lastly Clown with the tear away face. To look at a picture of Danny and his sister Jenna Elfman and think, “Wow! What happened there!”
So if you couldn’t guess, Halloween is my favorite holiday. My house inside and out is decorated. And I think I have instilled this manic love of the holiday into my kids! Yeah! They will keep the tradition alive. Next step, to get them to start goring it up. You know, not just a princess but a bloody princess with an eye missing or part of a bone sticking out. I am moving my daughter to that part by buying her books like Cinderella Skeleton. It’s the story of Cinderella except you guess it….they are all skeletons. Instead of losing a crystal slipper she loses her whole foot. I love it!
So here are my kids this Halloween. Superman with a John Deere tractor hat and a princess although she wouldn’t specify which one and she didn’t want to wear a crown. But she did want to wear her plastic princess shoes. Walking around the neighborhood in cheap plastic princess shoes. AH, NO! I am not carrying you back home. We did get rained on when we were at the farthest from our house. But did that stop my candy fiend kids. NO. Hubby and I stood under trees while my kids ran from house to house.
They know the true spirit of Halloween for their age or any age…….

CANDY!

later

came today!!!!! Yeah , this is my LOOT from my first swap, The Day of the Dead Swap. It is a fantastic present. I love it. Lindsey aka PixieThief did a wonderful job. On this swap she kept herself secret which was fun. She painted the Russian dolls (i think that’s what they are called) They are the dolls that hide in each other. Then in the last doll was a little skull (see 2nd picture) I think I’m going to make a stitch marker out of that. It’s too cool.

My favorite is the yarn (see 3rd pic). It’s bamboo. She spun it herself. It is lovely and feels wonderful. She has my approval (like I’m an expert or something) and the color is spot on! Thanks Lindsey you put a very big smile on my face.

Lindsey also gave me skull hair ties. These will have to be hidden from my daughter when I’m not wearing them. She shares my love of skulls. The golden box is chocolates that didn’t last long and they were great. They are or were from a shop in Knoxville The South’s Best Chocolates. mmmmmm chocolate.
The multi colored sheet in the back is Ms. Babs Hand Dyed Silk Hankies (See 4th pic) . Very interesting. I will have to try my hand at spinning now. Oh no, another hobby I will get hooked on. Lindsey also sent me her mom’s recipe for Honey Cookies. I think this is the 2nd best part of this package. I love getting recipes that are special to other people and introduce them to my family. It’s just a great feeling I get when I share the love with my family than looking them up in a cookbook and doing them. People always share the best recipes. You never know what you will get when you look them up in a cookbook.

Again, THANKS LINDSEY. YOU ARE THE BEST!

HAVE A GREAT HALLOWEEN AND DAY OF THE DEAD!
CELEBRATE THE LIVES THAT HAVE PASSED AND CHERISH THE ONES WE STILL HAVE!!!!

Later