We really did it.

As expected, it was cold on Sunday. (and yesterday, and today......) As promised, we lit the fireplace and had a weenie roast. Starved for fun, maybe. Did it hold true? You bet!!!

I worked for awhile yesterday and went fake baking. It was nice to pretend I was on the the beach for 6 minutes. I managed to burn....so it's back down to 5 minutes. At least I should miss my big first burn of the year. I won't miss that at all.

Today, it's back to the cleaning. I should be doing laundry, but I never pass an urge to clean. Lord knows they are few and far enough between.

Damn, I'm boring. I'm happy to report there is nothing to report!

39 degrees and skating

There's the proof. It was a whopping 39 degrees today I put my foot down. It's the last weekend of spring break and we've done NOTHING outside. It's been wet, snowy, windy, cold, dark, dank and down right dreary. So, in true Shelly fashion, I put up my middle finger and we went out anyway. Thank you Jeff for letting me borrow your nice big polar fleece sweatshirt. It kept me warm. I tried out my newly made fingerless mitts and earcovers (made for sitting out in this LOVELY weather to watch hours of softball) and I have approved them for future use. I'm only pictured to prove that I really did do it.

Honest truth? We had a blast.

We also purchased hot dogs and s'more makings so we can have a weenie roast in the fireplace tomorrow.

so THERE crappy weather.

(my foot has been duly stamped)

ADHD Swap....

Okay, that title alone could be a good writing prompt.....but on the ADHD group we had a pill bottle swap (which I hate saying pill bottle swap just thinking that somebody's gonna think we swapping pills and NOT the bottle.......)

Anyway, LOOKIE at what I got!!!!!!!

I am thrilled to death and too over excited to focus on ANYTHING.

Isn't life grand???

(left turn)

Dd2 and I went tanning today. As we dropped dd1 off at ball practice, we saw snow. It's spring break. I can't handle this. I must be totally solar powered as I've been flying ever since. That got me to thinking that maybe over the weekend I'll break out the suntan lotion, put on some shorts and turn the heat up to 80. Whaddya think?

It's a new knit-a-long

have you ever wanted to knit 2 socks at the same time, but wanted a buddy system? support? encouragement? a kick in the butt? If so, then I have the kal for you. Come join us HERE!!!

I'm in LOVE

Just a few days ago, I posted my wonderful mystery ball swap gift from Danielle. She sent me some wonderful Crystal Palace Jewel Hand Painted Bulky yarn and a pattern to make the Marley Scarf. As I got into the scarf, I realized I would get a whole lot more use out of it as a purse......and here's the final result.



It's not often that I fall in love with a purse. But when I do, I fall HARD. I can't wait to buy more felting yarn and make more of these bags, in bigger sizes. It still amazes me that a couple of sticks, a ball of string and a washing machine (and countless hours) can bring so much joy....but it does!!!

Knit on!

Resourceful or Lazy?

The girls were bored last night and wanted to play tic-tac-toe. There wasn't any paper or pens upstairs, but there WAS white fingernail polish with the small brush used to paint accents and designs......

And so goes the explanation for why my daughter has a tic-tac-toe board on her big toe.

I LOVE IT

What happens when bleach meets wool

***too cool***

Monday Monday (insert Papas and Mamas music here)

Here's D's first ever washcloth. Yep, she's already learned how to yarn over (the holes) and increase without even realizing it. :D She enjoyed herself so much that she is already working on another garter stitch item. She's frustrated with what it looks like. Sound familiar? I think she did just fine. For her next project, she is garter stitching a cloth to use with the swiffer. My floors couldn't care LESS what it looks like. Me neither, as long as it works. Life is good.

I've heard from both winners and I am off to the post office soon.

Our cleaning mission for the day is the downstairs drapes/windows/sills. YUCK. I always forget how much work it is just to take the drapes up and down.

I'm knitting on several things right now. (shocker!) I have D's trumpet flower sweater to finish before the end of spring break. I am also starting on the project my Whoduknit swap partner, Danielle, sent me. I've posted my booty (as in take, gifts, sent items, NOT as in my butt) on the whoduknit blog. I'll post progress pictures soon. I have a shot of some tulips that I saw peeking through the ground yesterday. YIPPEE!!! I LOVE TULIPS!! Okay, I love easy and showy flowers.

Off to go do something responsible.

It's Winner Time!!!! and a personal highlight moment

Okay, for all of you who are on here on Ravelry, you're going to have to come on over and check out our WINNERS!!!! (aka I am going to babble so you can't see the winners in that little blurb. Why, because I like hits just like very other blog owner out there. I love comments, too. You know how it is....it feels more like a conversation than words typed into thin air.

I am the first winner. No, I am not keeping a prize. I made it through the end of the grey season. Why? Because you all painted such wonderful word pictures. I took several mini-vacations in my head using the memories your signs of spring triggered. Unfortunately, the end of winter brings on one sign of spring I had totally forgotten about....flood season. The people near the Red River over on the west side of the state are gearing up for the BIG ONE......and from what I hear, it's even worse for those in ND. It's a crazy world we live on.

Have I babbled enough?

Are you ready to dunk me in some ice water?

Drummmmmm roll...................

The first winner is

Darcy Her winning entry (drawn by our ever favorite random number generator) was for her choice to click the follow me button. Congrats Darcy! I will be hunting you down. Please email me your snail mail addy. kadezmomAT yahooDOTcom

The second winner won (by the same random number generator) by posting the following: "I know it is spring when I want to run outside because it's warm enough that I don't have to force myself to.:

That's right Bricklyrknitter, that was yours. Again, email me at the above addy and let me know your snail mail.

Disclaimers: If I don't hear from one of you by 10 am (central time zone) Tuesday, March 25, 2009, then I will draw another winner.

Thanks so much for playing everyone!!!

On a very exciting personal note.........dd2 decided to learn how to knit last night. YIPPEE!!!!!! With the girls at (almost) 16 and 14, I was sure I was going to be the only knitter/crocheter in the family. However, I see a glimmer of hope. Here's the exciting proof!




On that note, have a great Sunday!!
~s

~~Contest Time~~

Vibrant Tulip
Originally uploaded by Madam Mim

YIPPEE, it's finally here! Contest time. From now (March 3) through March 21 the contest is on.

The theme is "You know spring's coming/or it is spring when......"

Personally, my friend from college always said it was the first time she heard "Centerfield" on the radio. To this day, I cannot help but to stop and think about her and spring whenever I hear it. I also know spring is here when my back yard turns from a snow pile to an ice skating rink to pond to a mud pit. I don't think we'll EVER get a good stand of grass back there. My mom...to her tulips budding through the ground speaks of spring. I've moved so far north, that means that school will be out in a week! Scary! Oh, and WHY March 21, because that was Granny's birthday which ALWAYS signified spring to me.

Obligatory Rules
All posts on this thread answering that question that isn't a repeat get two entries.
All followers at the end of the contest get an entry.
Post a link back here and tell me about it, an extra entry.
Any comment on any posts between March 3 and March 21 will be an entry. Winners will be announced the following week.

You know, the usual.

The prize. A box of spring themed giftles. I don't have it totally together. That would be WAY too organized for me. However, it will include yarn, whatnots and spring themed items. IF YOU ARE NOT A KNITTER (or crocheter) LET ME KNOW. I can change things around a bit. If I have more entries than I know what to do with......the number of prizes will go up accordingly. SO, by advertising and getting people over here, you may ACTUALLY be improving your chances to win.

March has come in like a lion....may we all see it go out like a lamb with a PRIZE in your hand!


3/5 - I JUST HEARD THE STREET SWEEPER!!! Thanks for that!!!! I hadn't noticed that before.

I FOUND IT!!!!!

Yours truly figured out something computer related. No, the earth is NOT spinning backwards, but that would be no less amazing.

Remember how I lost some pictures? I sure do. Anyway, I FOUND THEM. My camera must have died (again) and the automatic import sorted them by date from the camera's point of view. I'm so glad that's settled.

Kansas won, all is good with the world.

The contest ends tomorrow.....so you'd better hurry and come up with SOMETHING to say! *smile*

Hey, these are the socks I made in a men's 12. I talked about them a few days ago, but I lost the pic.

A Sign of the Times

No need for Econ class for my kids. The definition for downsizing just hit their world smack in the face with the letter that came in the mail. Not personally addressed, no warning. Nada. Welcome to the lovely world we live in.

BTW - I can get the last picture loaded, so as long as I do this one at a time. wonder what happened to the rest of my pics.

One word meme and contest wind down

I copied the following one word answer meme off of Shannon's blog. Yep, no link. She's private. She's smart. I live my life all hung out and ready for a predator. Funny, how even now, I still think I'm invincible. As IF life hasn't proven otherwise. Silly girl. Eh. Well. How do I get off of this topic??/

SWITCH!!!

Thanks to everyone who as played in the contest. You still have a couple of days to enter. I'm pretty excited. I tried to either respond on all y'alls blogs or emails, but I'm sure somewhere in the middle things got lost in the noreply email notifiers saying somebody has commented while I was on the working several days in a row after hardly working at all stint. Ain't life a blast??

Anyway, all of your great comments really perked up my spirits and helped me over that hump that is "not quite spring yet". Here, in Mn, Spring comes slow. A major snow storm or freeze (as in day time high) is still more than possible, but yet, the signs are showing up. Everyone's comments helped me to see how.

In a couple of weeks, softball season starts, and my annual freeze my butt to the bleachers and cheer for kids crazy enough to be in short sleeves (why do we bother buying under armor?) playing america's favorite pastime. I have made myself wool fingerless mitts so I can knit while I watch and only freeze off my fingertips. I have a thick wool headband in my queue. I also bought a new rain coat. Its WATERPROOF not WATER REPELLANT. Anyone who has sat outside during a sporting event knows this difference is key. Before I know it, it'll be 90 outside and I'll be complaining about the heat. One thing is constant, I can gripe with the best of them! Ah, but I'm so ready for some natural VIT D!

Onto the meme. thanks again, everone!!!

Where is your cell phone? purse
Your spouse? dedicated
Your hair? hair?
Your mother? retired
Your favorite thing? knitting
Your favorite drink? water (too much midol and sudafed induced answer)
Your dream/goal? relaxed
What room are you in? office
Where do you want to be in 6 years? ???
Something that you aren't? Patient (me too Shannon, me too)
Muffins? made
Wish list item? (I literally shrugged here)
Where you grew up? elsewhere
Last thing you did? surfed
What are you wearing? sweats
TV? tonight
Your pets? spoiled
Friends? key
Your life? insane
Your mood? decent
Your car? washed
Something you're not wearing? hose
Your favorite store? (again, a camera would be nice here, I just sighed.)
When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
Last time you cried? donno
Where do you go to over and over? Walmart (BLECH)
Favorite place to eat? Plaza
Favorite place you'd like to be at right now? donno

GGGRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWLLLLLLLLL

I just finished a pair of socks. I was so excited. It's that sense of accomplishment, gee I did it, yippee thing. My first pair of size 12 men's socks. (and possibly my last:P). I took during and after pictures. I uploaded from my camera. I can't find them.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

This happened last week with my hat pictures. They came back. I wonder where on earth they are going.

Does anybody know?

What changed?

I know I can lose stuff, but this takes it to a whole new level.

On the bright side, the sun's been out. That's been nice. Mid forties is nice. A bit warmer is better, but I'll take what I can get. I took the dog out of town to a side of the road park and let her run. Apparently she doesn't run away to RUN, she runs away to ROLL. That dog was in hog heaven rolling in EVERYTHING she could find. It was great to see her so happy. I wish rolling in icy puddles would do it for me, but it doesn't. Guess I'll have to find something cleaner and warmer.

It's always feast or famine in my world, and this week was no exception. I've subbed parts of every day this week after working a whopping 5 days first semester. See what I mean? This was also softball tryouts and other after school stuff that requires the mom taxi to be up and running. You know, we all have weeks like this.

After my allergy shot appointment this afternoon and before I had to run K over to practice, I decided to play with the sculpty. This stuff is going to be addictive. That's why I now have a whole army of stitch markers. I bet a few will crawl over to etsy soon.

The other pic is a hat I made for a student from school. I loosely based this off of a pattern on Ravelry. Although, I am now beginning to think that I need to write up my own. It'd take a long time to explain all my changes. Let's start with the fact that I used a super bulky yarn and the yarn used is for light worsted weight. Yep. That's where the changes START. BUT it was a start. My policy with the kids is that if they supply the yarn and help me pick out the pattern, it's something I'm willing to do AND it fits into my life...then I'll make them something. This poor girl has been waiting since October. It's been one of those years.

Anyway, after getting more crafting stuff done, I feel much better. Almost like me. LOVE IT!!!

I subbed in art again

and they were back (still) at it. Gotta love pipe cleaner guy. He came up with a new one today. It's hand signs for the new "Wal-Mart Gang" Why? Because he came up with cool hand signs, of course. He also had ripped out this totally incredible sketch that I didn't even think to photograph. Maybe tomorrow I'll remember to ask. I'm there again. I may have to start a new blog for all their creativity. Gotta run. This working thing really cuts into my life stuff time!!!

In search of the predicted winter storm

Okay, as you've already noticed, I bore easily. I am also easily amused. I am getting a little bit tired of winter BUT if I have to have it, then I want it to be interesting. We were forecasted to get 7.7 inches of snow today. I'm thinking, "Great, then there's four of us to do the driveway and the sidewalks. With the main man's 4wd suv.......we can even load up and go sledding. It should be plenty warm to even enjoy it.

And that's why it didn't snow.

The storm timeframe was from 7a to 7p. By 12:30, I got the idea nothing was going to happen. I pulled up my favorite radar, weatherunderground.com and look. Whaddya know. I'm that circle of grey in the middle of the sea of green. What a flippin surprise. I promised dd2 a blizzard as a bribe when we moved here almost 8 years ago. As you can see, I'm not going to ever deliver, or live it down. SO, I loaded (the girls, the main man thought the idea too stupid to participate) up the car. No showers, no shoes, just pjs, hats, robes, whatever, the camera, a cup of coffee and the desire to go find the snow. And as you can see, we found it. Not 15 miles to our west. It was a beauty of a snow too. You know, those nice big HUGE flakes. I doubt it accumulated too much as it was 31 degrees, and it's been above freezing much of the week, but still. It was pretty. We documented our journey and headed for home. Then ***SIGN OF SPRING*** we stopped at McDonald's for our Shamrock Shake. YUMMY!

We were only gone an hour, but it set the mood for the rest of the day.

Now, it's time for softball tryouts tomorrow. I really don't know how you try out for ball in a gym....but I'm sure they're glad they are inside and not out!

So I'm off for another incredibly crazy running week. By Friday, I'll be worn out, confused and wondering why I didn't get a THING accomplished!

I love this cat why?

I guess I was petting her the wrong way. I donno. She still lives here. She's even inside. Amazing.

Things about me....thanks for the list, Shannon!

There's been a whole lot of not much worth blogging about going on this week. High school registration, concert, doctor appts, some subbing....and I didn't get it all done. Surprise! Not really. I lifted this all about me list off of Shannon's site and thought I'd fill it out tonight. I'm going to be up most of the night anyway, so why not!

Things About Me
My friend sent this to me so I'm going to post my answers here.

1. High heels or boots? Birkenstocks or danskos.
2. What time did you get up this morning? 8:00a
3. Diamonds or pearls? neither
4. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Marley and Me
5. What is your favorite TV show? NCIS, CSI, Nascar, Top Chef.
6. What do you usually have for breakfast? This week is cinnamon toast.
7. What is your middle name? Michelle
8. What food do you dislike? carrots
9. What is your favorite CD at the moment: okay, I have itunes...don't need the cd anymore!
10. Favorite sandwich? cheeseburger with the works, or a blt. Okay, I LOVE sandwiches. This is a toughie.
11. What characteristic do you despise? Lying (I SO agree!!!!!)
12. Clothing? Now? Sweats
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? A road trip over to the Pacific Northwest, up through Canada to Aklaska.
14. Are you an organized person? Yeah, sure. An organized MESS
15. Where would you like to retire to? too far off. Hopefully somewhere a BIT warmer, but close enough to the girls and their families. I plan on annoying them for my entire lifetime.
17. What are you going to do when you finish this? Knit with an ibook and go to bed
21. Morning person or a night person? This is NOT a toughie. It's 1:08am and I'm WIDE awake!
22. What is your shoe size? 7
23. Pets? 1 dog, 3 cats
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Huh?
25. What did you want to be when you were little? Olivia Newton John
27. What is your favorite flower? Yard flowers, daisy's, johnny jump ups, tulips, lilies, lily of the valley
28. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? I'm not. Last day of school.
29. What was the last thing you ate? Cinnamon toast (also my snack tonight)
32. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? They don't make colors for people like me!!!!!!
33. How is the weather right now? Better than it has been
34. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Kathy
35. Favorite soft drink? Italian sodas......cherry is my fav...but if we go to Rochester tomorrow, maybe I'll have to bring home a new syrup to try.
36. Favorite restaurant? Plaza Morena or any good steak house.
37. Hair color? brown
38. What was your favorite toy as a child? A car that was pedal operated....think flintstones. Wore that baby out.
39. What season? The beginning of all of them
40. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate!
41. Coffee or tea? coffee
43. When was the last time you cried? Within the last week
44. What is under your bed? Etsy stuff and books for paperbackswap.
45. What did you do last night? Watched TV, knitted, hung out with the family
46. What are you afraid of? restrictions. Somebody else controlling where/what I do.
47. Salty or sweet? Sweet
48. How many keys on your key ring? Enough. 5 maybe
49. How many years at your current job? SAHM (16 years) who escapes every now and then to sub(8 years)
50. Favorite day of the week? Nope.
51. Positive or negative? Well, that depends on if the coffee mug is half full or half empty...and THAT depends on the moment!

One grey Minnesota afternoon in art class

people got bored. And played with pipe cleaners. This was the result. Creative, no? (the picture is blurry, but said pipe cleaners are stuck through lip rings) Thank you for your permission to post this on the blog! What can I say, you keep me on my toes.

Who says life has to be boring?

To mail or not to mail

Indecision gets me all the time. But, y'all already knew that. This is a box I had started for Bella Bambina. She's started a group on Ravelry for those interested. In fact here is the intro to the group on Ravelry (didn't ask permission...tsk, tsk, tsk...but is advertising a BAD thing?? *scratches chin*)

Please join me in helping to send every baby born at Southside Hospital home in something warm and cozy. Southside Hospital is located in Bay Shore on Long Island.They deliver about 200 babies a month. Most of the families who have babies there have nothing to bring their babies home in. That’s where we come in. My group, Hugs4Hope, provides warm, handmade items for these families.

This week, I was able to edge 4 pieces of fleece in blue, crochet one preemie sized pink afghan, 2 newborn sized pink hats, a newborn sized sweater in cotton with matching hat and 2 pairs of booties. I thought it was three. I'm not even going to guess where they are.

This threw me farther behind making the socks for the main man and for D's late birthday sweater, but what the heck. They have everything they NEED. I'll concentrate on them this week. I'm about 6 hours or so from finishing the main man's socks. I wonder if I can get that done between the race tomorrow and the regular Sunday night line up. It's still supposed to be pretty cold all week, so I'm still good. We're still working on a trial basis on the socks anyway.

I've also scaled back on my computer time....I'm posting less on most places, not playing on many games. And get this.....the organization bug is still with me. I AM SO CONFUSED. I'm so not an organized person. Is this nesting more than 14 years too late? You know, I never did that with either child. Yep, I'm not a cleaner. (but I'm not the only one.....BEATLES in my head!) Hey, I'd rather be a dreamer than a cleaner! That's for sure. Anyway, I treated myself to a computer program to help organize my recipes. I have about 20 or so cookbooks. Some I need to keep, some I use so much they are falling apart...and are no longer in print....most I either don't use, or keep for 1 or 2 recipes. I'm using my posting time to add recipes into the program. I HOPE (I think it does, but I haven't figured out how to work this feature) to be able to print out all of OUR recipes, put them in plastic sleeves in a three ringed binder to have a family cookbook. Wouldn't that be great to give the girls when they move out. They don't HAVE to use it, but all the favorites will be there. We'll see. My enthusiasm usually runs out way before the project is done. However, this whole recipe thing has bugged me for YEARS. Where there's hope, there is possibility! We'll see. It would be nice, though.

Stay tuned. I hope to have the contest posted in the next 48 hours. I will NOT have the prize posted yet. I'm behind on that too. I'm sure you're all so surprised. I'm pretty excited about it!!!!!! I hope everyone else is too.

In case you can't wait....here's an interesting contest. You get to critique a project made by a knitter. She WANTS knitter input. Go over there and get yourself entered. You have an artistic eye or you wouldn't be crafting, would you!!!!!??!?! Have fun!

Until then!