10 things I'm Diggin'

I feel like it's been forever that I have connected with people. I've been living in my own little bubble. I want to give another shout out to all the awesome peeps that have been sending good vibes and just being awesome friends.

Anyhoo, enough of the "Wind Beneath My Wings" crap (look it up if you don't get the reference-I promise you, you will laugh.)Here are some things that I'm diggin' right now.

1. My new "do". I am so loving my hair right now and the best thing about it. I don't have to do anything to it. I just wake up and the curls are there. They have to be tamed a little but otherwise, it's good to go.

2. I've said it before and I will say it again. Busby Berkeley movies. LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM! Go to Netflix and put it in your queue. You will thank me for it.

3. Craftster! I have so much going on there right now. I was just made a Global Mod and I am excited to jump in and see what adventures come up. I also have a new Needlework Challenge going on (one pattern, many stitches) Go check it out now! That's an order!

4. Figuring out which bands/musicians have the most meaning through my life. So far, I have:
a-MC5. Thank you for coming along and smashing hippie crappy music. Kick out the Jams is awesome.
b-Edith Piaf-tragic and beautiful. If I could sing half as well as you, little sparrow, I will die a happy woman.
c-The Ramones-Antique Knives! That's what I'm into!
d-Willie Nelson-wonderful songwriter, amazing humanitarian and just damn hell of a guy. How can you not love Willie?
e-The Replacements-Paul Westerberg, I don't care if you are a drunk bastard, you still know how to write one hell of a song and make being screwed up very catchy.
f-The Hives-this is pretty much the only new band that I can listen to every day, for the rest of my life and not get tired of. Yes Mark, I know, I didn't care about them when we first started dating.
Good Lord, this list could go on and on....Buck Owens, Patsy Cline, Social D, The Jam, Run DMC, Bob Wills.....

5. Mark's blog: OMP's world. You just thought you knew the OMP.

6. And speaking of blogs, check out Mr.XStitch and he's new accomplice, Beefrnk. www.mrxstitch.com. You can win prizes! Yeah for that!

7. Don't forget to pick up your patterns at Sewitsforyou. Check out her etsy site for cute patterns.

8. The beginning of March Madness. The only time, EVER I will pay attention to sports. The ACC tournament is really the only one to watch and UNC is the only team to care about.

9. Girl Scout cookies. Thin Mints+Freezer=Heaven

10. And last but not least, Life. It's pretty rad.

The Tinted Lady

I kinda forgot I started this piece, put it on the back burner and then finally came back to it. I did a "reverse" tint to her. Instead of tinting her, I decided to tint the rest of the pillow. The pattern vintage. I am really pleased how it turned it out. One is the pillow flat and the other is with the pillow stuffin'

36 feet of crafty goodness

Ummmmm, I may have a problem. JoAnn's had a sale on their floss (4 for a dollar) and then I had a 10% off coupon. I bought EVERY color DMC makes. My receipt was 36 feet long! The cashier was telling people over the PA system that she had someone buying "all of this floss" and "that the receipt was 36 feet long". The customers behind me were a little freaked out. I'm good on floss for a couple of months, unless I want to do something in just one color, then I'm a little screwed.

Flickr Tea Towel Swap

I am in a tea towel swap with some wonderful people on Flickr. Kunderwood sent quilt squares instead of a tea towel. I hope she likes what I did. I love the fact that the pineapples are happy.






I also did another swap with the mods on Craftster. I did this towel for Emily Flew



One the dad news front. He had to go back to the hospital because the doctor didn't stitch him up correctly and basically the inside stitches burst open. So, they vacuum sealed him back together. Yep, you heard me. They have something called a wound vac and it uses negative pressure to seal the wound. It's a type of therapy that heals the wound from the inside out. Despite the up's and down's he is in good spirits and should be home from the hospital soon. Thank everyone for your healing vibes and prayers.

It's been a long time

Hi Everyone-sorry it has been awhile since I've posted anything but between work and a sick dad, I've been a little swamped. Currently my dad is still in the hospital and not doing too well but he's a fighter and I know will bounce back. Anyhoo,,,I just wanted to check in and let everyone know that I didn't fall off the face of the Earth and I'm still around.

I also want to thank everyone for being so awesome and so supportive. You guys have really kept me going and kept me sane. Big hugs and kisses to all of you!

Things that make me happy

Things that make me happy right now:
Mark! Mark! Mark!
Finishing Atsuko's jacket. I need to take pictures but it is super cute
Half way finished with Emily's towel. It's gonna be a work of art
Having a job(s)
A new president. YES! YEAH! ALRIGHT! GET FUNKY! YES! YES! YES!
My puppies
Watchmen-I'm reading it and it rocks my socks, I can't wait for the movie
Flight of the Conchords
Lori and Casey-cause the get me. I can't wait to see them in SF.
NY Times Book Review. I feel smarter just reading it
Amy's valentine

Mucho thanks and some sewing treats

First off I want to give a big shout out and thank you to the awesome peeps at Sublime Stitching. They are so thoughtful and wonderful, not to mention totally talented and just plain ol' rad! They brighten my day and are fab! You should go over and check out the site-they are having a super cool sale right now so you can stock up.

Second, I want to give a shout out to Julie from sewitsforyou. She is one of my best friends and her cards and texts and e-mails have gotten me through some rough times. Julie-you better text me or call me Monday!

Third, the people of Craftster. I have met so many wonderful friends there. Friends I know I will have for a lifetime. Craftster is such an amazing forum (and I'm not just saying that cause I'm a mod) . If you haven't yet-which I'm sure most of you have, go sign up and check it out-NOW

Fourth, the amazing people at PWCL and Root. They have been so caring and such wonderful listeners and just good friends. It sucks I don't get to see you guys as much, but you are always in my thoughts.

Last, I want to thank Mark for being my rock, my soul mate and just the man with the plan. I love you and always will, no matter what. I don't want to forget the puppers either. I swear to God, those dogs are the best thing in the entire world. I love my babies!

And of course, thank you! Thanks for reading this mindless dribble, for allowing me to be silly and for all of your kind words. You all get kisses. Said in my best Oprah voice, You GET A KISS, AND YOU GET A KISS, AND YOU GET A KISS!

Okay, enough of the sap! Here are a few projects I've been working on. I made these boxers for Mark for Christmas. The original pattern had the dog wearing a monocle. I decided to pattern it after Kato who would never wear a monocle and would always cheat at cards.





Next is a jacket I am working on for a swap with atsuko. It is going to be for her daughter. I'm almost done with it. Her daughter was very specific about what she wanted: a green unicorn with a rainbow mane. I could never disappoint a little girl who plays with Blythe so here's the back so far.



The last piece is for a charity quilt that digital misfit ask me to do a panel for. Her flowers are beads and her dress has little pearl beads on it. I re-did her hairstyle. Gee, who does she look like?



Whew! There ya go! All caught up and ready to face the next day!

Will it ever slow down?

So many things have been going on lately. My part time job has turned into a full time job and I don't want to jinx it but it's a great position and I think I will like it a lot. I also am still working at the crisis line. I wanted to stop working so much but now I am working 6 days a week full time. AGH! I'm used to it so it's not so bad. My dad decided to have surgery and will go in on Feb 1st. He sounded frazzled but good. I am also walking and trying to do some stitching. I promise that I will be adding pictures of some things I am working and will be back in full swing by the first. Yeah for change!

It's your birthday! Get Funky!

First off, I want to thank EVERYONE for the most amazing, caring notes, e-mails and phone calls. I love all of my friends. You guys are the best. I'm so blessed to have you in my life. You guys rule the school!

Second, it's birthday time! Lola's birthday is today and Jujube's is tomorrow. They are a year apart. I can't believe Lola is the mom of Jujube. It's crazy! So, to honor their birthdays, we got e-cards from the vet's office, and then we got them cupcakes and new sweaters. It is so silly but I love my babies! Here's some of the silliness.

The cupcakes!


I'm so happy it's my birthday!

I can not believe we have to wear matching sweaters.

Yummy cupcakes!

Life is short, even in its longest day

I found out New Years day that my dad has cancer. Needless to say, it came as a blow to me. He is the only parent I have. He is my superhero. He has yet to decide if he is going to have surgery. He knows that he will not have chemo or radiation. One thing he has decided is to sell his house and travel around North and South America for the next 3 years. He wants to see places that he has yet to see in his 74 years. One thing this has reminded me of is that life is short, too short for pettiness, for anger, for missed opportunities. I can take this as something devastating or I can take it as an epiphany. I wish I had the courage and the faith my dad has.

So long suckers!

Well, it's the last day of 2008-Thank God! So, to jump on the bandwagon, here's some of my hits and misses for 2008.

Hits:
Election night-I still get chills and teary eyed when I watch the news reels. Words can not describe the pride I felt in my country.

Life altering happiness for my friends. Babies, new jobs, new houses. It makes me happy when my friends are happy.

New Music: New music from The Black Kids, Santogold, The Ting Tings, Vampire Weekend. Indie rock was actually good this year.

Movies: Iron man (Robert Downey Jr. ME-OW!), In Bruges, Cloverfield, Be Kind, Rewind. I'll admit that I haven't seen a ton of new movies but these are ones that stuck out with me.

Tina Fey playing Sarah Palin. Priceless

The Misses:

While on the subject of Sarah Palin-she's an idiot. Enough said.

Prop 8-with as much pride as I had in my country, I felt like I was sucker punched when this passed.

The loss of loved ones and people who inspired me. You will be sadly missed and will forever hold a place in my heart.

Movies: Where to I start?

Dark Knight-now before everyone jumps all over me saying how great this movie was, you're wrong. I'll give you Heath Ledger but the rest of the movie- crap

Indiana Jones-Dear Lord! I had to kick my own ass for watching this movie. Two hours of my life, I will never get back.


That's just the beginning and I'm sure I could go on and on but I just want to tell 2008 to get the hell off my lawn! I am looking forward to 2009 and I am determined that it will be a good year.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Years eve. I hope the new years brings you mountains of happiness, success, calm and peace. I can't wait to see all the whacky adventures ahead of us. May peace, love and happiness follow you.

I'm outta here-see ya next year! Peace out! (oh yeah, I'm bringing that back for 2009)

Books, books, books...

One of my goals for 2009 is to read a book each month. I love reading but hardly put time aside to do it. Also, I can never find good books. I love mysteries, most non-fiction. I hate romance novels and not big into sci-fi. I do like a good horror novel. Mainly I like period pieces from the industrial age. So, tell me-what's your favorite book? What do you recommend?

And it snowed, and snowed, and snowed....

So, for those of you who don't know about about the Pacific Northwest, we get rain. LOTS of rain, like almost 9 months out of the year rain. Snow, maybe 2 inches a year. It never gets that cold. Well, Mother Nature decided to show us exactly what she is made of. Conversation with my husband:
(weather channel):We are expecting 4-10 inches of snow, ice, and then snow again
Me: BS! I'll believe it when I see it. They couldn't predict a snow storm if they were in the middle of it.
Mark: Honey, it's gonna be a blizzard.
Me: Psh....

Two days later: (this is our pond)


Mark: I blame you for all this snow
Me: Well, I'll be damn.
Mark: Yeah, blaming you.

We did have a pond.....



Any chance to dress up Jujube is a good day for me. The snow is up to my knee. We got about 12 inches and there is another storm coming on Wednesday.


We also use to have a dog, now we just have a snowball with ears and crazy eyes. If you see this beast, run the other way. The cuteness will kill you on the spot.


This storm has really crippled the city. They have closed a highway down in the Columbia Gorge because of snow and ice and wind. We had gust ranging from 40-70 mph. It was just crazy!Some of the buses aren't running and a cab wait is about 8 hours. We aren't even getting mail, cause it can't come in from the east cause the highway being closed. So, lesson learn-I'll keep my mouth shut (yeah right)

It snowed!

Yesterday we got snow. I love snow! Normally in the Portland area we usually get one snow a year if even that. Mainly just rain. Well, it's suppose to snow this whole week and into next. I'm so excited! Here are a few pictures of the white stuff and the pups freezing their butts off. Along with the snow, the temperatures are so cold! The high today was 26. It's getting down in the teens at night. BRRRRRR!



Since it's been cold and snowy a lot of birds have been in our back yard. We have several hummingbirds. Here is one of the regulars. I can't believe how fearless they are. It's so weird to see them stationary. I love hummingbirds!



Mr. Kato decided to stay in. Smart choice.

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree!

Our tree is up and decorated. It's so cute and smells WONDERFUL! The skirt belonged to Mark's mother. The little mouse ornament was her's too. It's so nice to have something from his family. The 2008 Pedersen Christmas CD is done too. Although, I think nothing can compare to my 2007 CD this one comes very close. How can you go wrong with when songs include "Santa wants some lovin'" and "Oi to the world"?

I've also been watching a ton of Christmas movies/shows. Can I tell you how much I love Rankin and Bass Christmas specials? A Year Without a Santa Claus-classic! I've also been watching White Christmas way too much. I save A Christmas Story for Christmas day when I can watch it over and over on TBS.

Oh yeah, and my own personal rant. This morning on the CBS morning show they were doing "Hand made" gifts-because people are so strapped for cash this season (please! Handmade does not equal cheap, ya bastards). The thing that bothered me most was that the hand made stuff wasn't even hand made. They just bought stuff from the store and put it together in a basket or took all the dry ingredients for cookies and put them in jars. Give me a break. CBS morning news, you get the finger.

All the children's smiling faces....

Who doesn't love Santa and Christmas? Apparently, these children.




On other related news-my dad's wife is doing better. She is able to walk now and has a little bit of use of her hand. I want to give a BIG THANKS to all my friends who are so supportive. Even when I thought I was alone, I could jump online and see everyone's smiling faces and wonderful comments and have my spirits lifted.


Mark and I went to a super fun party this weekend. Here's our traditional picture.


More to come! I've uploaded a ton of pictures.

Crazy times

So, I've been a little MIA lately. A lot of really stressful stuff has been going on and I haven't had a chance to catch up. My dad's wife had a stroke on Wednesday morning and I have basically been at the hospital every day since then. She is partially paralyzed but the recovery is looking good. Okay, so that's the first stressor. The second, they found a "lump" on my dad's prostrate and he has to go in on Friday for a biopsy. He is very healthy and should be okay but he is the only parent I have left and so I'm a little nervous. Okay, third stressor-yesterday would have been my mom's birthday. She passed away 7 years ago from a head injury which brings me back to be stressed about the stroke. What, there can't be any more...oh but there is...the anniversary of my mom's death is next week. Yepppers....good times. Did I mention that I am also starting a new part time job? No..well, I am. So-lots of crap going on but I am trying to stay positive.

In the note of staying positive, I have been embroidering like a mad woman and decorating my house.I love Christmas and decorating really put me in a better mood. Here are a few pictures of the house. We are getting our tree tomorrow or Wednesday.





Thanks to everyone who has been so wonderful to me and checking in. I love my friends and family.

The holidays are upon us

Okay, I'll admit it. I love Christmas. I LOVE and I mean LOVE Christmas music. I am listening to it right now. I know, I'm a freak. I love the smell of Christmas, the cold weather and darker nights. I love it all. I love Christmas lights, the tacky decorations. I'm a big ol' marshmallow!

So, what are some of your favorite winter Holiday thoughts (they don't have to be about Christmas) or favorite songs. What about favorite toy when you were a kid?

Favorite song: Christmas in NY and Baby it's cold outside.

Favorite holiday memory: One that instantly comes to mind is last year it actually snowed on Christmas. That was my first one.

Favorite toy: Easy-hands down-Barbie Townhouse. I had that with her jet and her corvette. AWESOME! I loved that she had an elevator in her house.

The interview to end all interviews!

A while back BrookOwens asked to interview me for her blog. How could I resist? She is so awesome and so rad! Can I just tell you how awesome she made me look? LOL! If you want to get all the dirt on yours truly, check out
her blog

Not much is going on

It's been pretty quiet since I got back from the coast. We had such a blast! We had the Presidential Suite which was very fitting since it was election night and we have a wonderful new president. Even if you don't agree with his politics the pride and hope that people are experiencing makes me look forward to the future. So! Wanna see the room! It was CRAZY!

The first picture is of the front of our room. Yes, that is a baby grand piano. We also had a bathroom the size of my whole upstairs! The next picture is the coastline. I love the Pacific Northwest coastline. I do missing laying out in the sun but the rocky coast is so beautiful. The last picture is of Mark at Camp Disappointment. I love that name.



Oh yeah, one more thing. I came across this tree and I am DYING to know the name of it. I want to plant on in my yard. Does anyone know. Those are the actual flowers/leaves on it. It's beautiful.