Distractions

My dreams of maybe having OU play in the national championship game may have been crushed last night so I'm going to look forward to something else.

Enjoy.

Distractions

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/distractions.html

Smart Habit Saturday

This week for SMART habit Saturday, I'm going to tackle getting the kids stuff organized. It is time for me to get rid of all the baby stuff and pass it along to my sister (due in February). We are driving down for Thanksgiving so I need to get as much stuff together as I can so I don't have to mail it to her later.

I can't help but think that once I have all the baby stuff out of the house and the get the kids clothes organized that I'll be a happier person. Isn't that the way it works?

Smart Habit Saturday

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/smart-habit-saturday.html

Grand Opening

My etsy shop is kind of opening with a whimper today. The kids have been a little demanding the past couple of days so I haven't had the opportunity to photograph most of my items. I don't know what it is about them but they want to be fed and entertained.

Slowly but surely, things are being added. All of my cards and ornaments have free shipping this weekend. Now that I can add my Stampin' Up items, I have so many things to get ready.

I also made some magnets for the WBON fair this week. I really, really like them. I've only got one set in my shop so far but I made six different sets of four. The fair was fairly well attended but people weren't buying. Julie and I passed out a lot of business cards. She's adding her totes to her shop soon. They are made out of recycled sweaters and shirts. There is a green one that I'm absolutely in love with.

The next craft fair I'm attending is my last one for a while. It is on Dec. 1st. I think I'd rather just keep adding stuff to my shop and then do just one or two shows a year just to get out of the house and pass out some business cards. I'm just having a good time working on something like this. People always say you should do what you love. I feel that I'm doing that now.

Grand Opening

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/grand-opening.html

What Draws Them In

Every once in a while I check my site meter to see what kind of searches bring people to my little blog.

1. Smells. A lot of people find my blog by searching for how to get rid of certain smells.

2. Conservatism. I've had people stop by looking for conservative Christmas trees and male knitters. I don't know how many conservative male knitters there are out there. I can think of at least one.

3. Can Docs be resoled?

4. My latest favorite? Vanna White and autism. Together. Good thing these people have my blog as a resource. ;)

5. Lots of people stop by looking for Oprah ticket information. I am the Oprah Ticket Master!

What Draws Them In

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-draws-them-in.html

No Prayer!

When Caleb didn't want to go to sleep and was too mad to say his prayers the other night, this is what he said:

NO Heavenly Father!
NO Thank you for this day!
NO bless Eva!
NO bless Mommy and Daddy!
NO thank you for my teachers!
etc...
NO in the name of Jesus Christ!
NO Amen!

No Prayer!

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/no-prayer.html

Autumn in New England

Have you had enough of my incessant blogging about this past weekend? Are you sick of me bragging about all the fun I had with my sister in law, Connie? This might be the last post about it.


Day One: BOSTON

As soon as we left the airport we headed for the subway. But, some nice guys on the bus told us to take the water taxi instead. So, we did! I'm telling you---we just did whatever the heck we felt like this WHOLE DANG WEEKEND!

This pic is of Connie and our water taxi cab driver. We were the only ones and he told us a little bit about the hahbah (which I'm told is the same word for harbor) and some of the buildings. He dropped us off right where we needed to go and that probably saved us a good 30 minutes or so. Time is a precious commodity when it gets dark at 4:30pm.
We went to Fanueil Hall and the food court at Quincy Market. I was able to cross two food items off my list with one lunch. I ate a lobstah roll and some clam chowdah. They were pretty tasty.
Then we decided to do the hop on/off trolley tour and we got off at the Prudential building to do their skywalk tour. About the trolley...our driver, Sean, was AMAZING! He was really funny and full of information. My favorite was about the Boston Molassacre. He drove us into Cambridge and I saw MIT. Carl was accepted there to go to grad school but the fellowship they were offering was the same amount as he would get at Purdue. Cost of living, anyone? While living in Massachusetts could have been a lot of fun, I'm glad we didn't miss out on all those years in Indiana.

This picture is of Fenway park. I took it up at the Prudential tower. They have an audio tour that is really nice and the views were fantastic. It was a really nice day to be out and about.
We ended our day in the North End. We ate Italian food and went to Mike's Pastry. I had some Boston Cream Pie (of course!). Actually, I just took it to go. I ate it for breakfast on Day Two.

Day Two: Some Culture and Rhode Island

We got up and headed over to the Classic Elite Hub Mill Yarn store. It was pretty darn awesome. They have $1 and $2 bins, bags of stuff for $20, loads of discounted Classic Elite yarns, and even some other yarn thrown in for good measure. Poor Connie. She went in for a few minutes and then sat in the car to talk on the phone while I shopped. I forget sometimes that most people don't like to browse in yarn shops. It took me a while to decide what to get. It finally came down to something I knew that I would absolutely love (as opposed to something that was a super deal but not something I really "needed" or would love to knit). I bought some Classic Elite Lush in Keys Green. I bought enough to make a sweater for me.

Then we drove down to Walden Pond. Isn't it absolutely gorgeous?
We next headed over to Orchard House. This is the home of Louisa May Alcott. I couldn't take pictures inside but you can get some views by checking out that website. There was a swift and some other knitting items in Abigail's room. I thought I would enjoy this museum but I was surprised that it was probably my favorite place to visit (besides the yarn shop, of course) on the whole trip. I'm going to have to re-read Little Women now!

After Orchard House we drove down to Stoughton to the IKEA. Yes, we went to IKEA!! I bought some things for the kids and for our bathroom. Good thing I brought an extra bag for the trip home. We then made a quick trip down to Rhode Island. By this time it was about 4:30pm and getting dark. We just headed across the border, drove around for a few minutes and then came back home. Now I can say I've been to Rhode Island!

Day Three: New Hampshire and Maine

We drove up to Maine (bonus state: New Hampshire) so I could go to the beach and we went to the Kittery Outlets as well. At the outlets I bought some dress slacks for Carl ($6 each!) and we had lunch. This is where I ate lobster. YUMMY, YUMMY wicked lobster. It was so delicious. I didn't take a picture because I got the Lazy Man's Lobster where they get all the meat out for you. I didn't know what I was doing so I figured that would be best. I was right. I ate so much good stuff that I really feel like I need a week to "detox" from all the rich, delicious food we ate.

It was almost getting dark so we hurried up to York Beach to take a few pictures. Here is one to prove that I was actually there. Yes, it was cold. Who else would go to a Maine beach in November? Just me!

That concludes my lovely trip to New England. I'm back home now and getting back into my routine. I've got a craft fair tonight and I'm stressing out preparing for it. Normal stuff.

I had a great time but I am glad to be home.

Where would you spend a weekend for some alone time?

Autumn in New England

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/autumn-in-new-england.html

A Thousand Words

A Thousand Words

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/thousand-words.html

I'm BACK!

I made it back to Nebraska. I'll blog about my awesome weekend tonight when I have more time.

I'm BACK!

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/im-back.html

You Give Love a Bad Name

I'm going to see Bon Jovi in February!

They will be at the Qwest Center with Daughtry.

What a line-up.

You Give Love a Bad Name

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/you-give-love-bad-name.html

More Highlights

A few of the things we did today include:

1. Seeing Rhode Island.
2. IKEA
3. Eating my Boston Cream Pie (from Mike's)
4. Walden Pond and Louisa May Alcott's home (loved it!)
5. Classic Elite's Hub Mill Yarn Outlet---spent a pretty penny on angora...beautiful angora.

I'm tired...but oh, so content. We had loads of fun.

Tomorrow I am looking forward to seeing New Hampshire and Maine. We are going to eat some seafood and see the beach. Good times.

More Highlights

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/more-highlights.html

Safe and Sound

I arrived in Boston this morning and spent the rest of the day being whisked around the city enjoying every minute of it!

I'll go more in depth with my travelogue when I get home and can post my pictures but for now let me just give you some of the highlights.

1. Water Taxi
2. Our trolley driver, Sean, and his awesome accent
3. Lobster rolls and Clam Chowder
4. Skywalk at Prudential Tower
5. Mike's Pastries

Tomorrow will include a trip to a yarn store. We're also planning on driving to either VT & NH or RI. Why? Because we can! Woohoo!

Safe and Sound

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/safe-and-sound.html

On My Way

I slept like a six year old on Christmas Eve last night. I woke up every hour (at least) in anticipation for this very moment hoping I wouldn't miss it.

I'm on my way.

Blogging to resume when I make it to New England.

On My Way

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/on-my-way.html

To-do List

ETA: Since 2:30pm I have not been able to do anything except keep the kids on track and go to that parent meeting. Caleb is in bed but Eva's still putting up a fight. Carl is at scouts and won't be home until 9:30pm. Doesn't look like much else is going to be done before I go.


In less than 24 hours I will be well on my way to Boston to spend a glorious weekend with my sister-in-law. I've got quite a list of things to do between now and 3:15am (when I have to leave for the airport for my 5:50am flight). This has helped me in the past so I'm going to list them all here and cross them off when I'm done.

In no particular order:

laundry
brush my hair
grocery store
decide which knitting projects to take
pack up knitting projects
pack everything else
decide whether or not to check any baggage (for possible purchases)
double check what I can take as carry on
work on items for my craft fair (which is TUESDAY!)
fix my craft fair display
Start getting my cards organized
Tag my products
Make a gift certificate for the door prize
Drink a pepsi
Fix Eva's hair good enough that it will last the weekend
put away the clothes
set out some outfits for the kids
make a list for Carl detailing when and where everyone needs to be
email Connie (SIL) to give her my cell phone number and a quick heads up on the itinerary
fill up the van with gas
Caleb's home based visit is this afternoon
Take kids to a school meeting (free dinner and childcare)- I'm the parent classroom rep
Put the kids to bed (Carl has scouts tonight)
Make taco soup to last Carl the weekend
Use an exfoliating mask (I'm getting a humongous zit right in between my eyes...perfect)
Go to Hobby Lobby to use 40% off coupons on some supplies for the craft fair
Pay bills
Get money from ATM
Play my last few codes on the McDonald's Monopoly game and hope I win something (didn't win...oh well!)
charge iPod


I better get started!

To-do List

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/to-do-list.html

Stuart Little

Eva has been obsessed with watching Stuart Little. She loves that little mouse and Snowbell the cat. I've been sitting down with her sometimes to watch it while I've been knitting. Some interesting things about the movie.

Hugh Laurie (from House) plays the dad.

Taylor Negron (the pizza guy from Fast Times at Ridgemont High) is the sales clerk at the mall.

The most interesting thing of all?

M. Night Shyamalan wrote the screenplay. Really? It's true.

Stuart Little

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/stuart-little.html

Talk About Tuesday

Today I'm going to talk about all the crazy knitting projects I have going on at the moment. I have some I have to do, some I want to do, and some I need to get started.

Just in time for the Husker football team to be have its worst season ever, I'm making more ornaments! I've put one at my etsy shop and I'm going to have them on display at my craft fair booths. At least we've still got the volleyball team doing well! I'm planning on branching out and doing some other schools as well. I'll definitely do some OU and Purdue.

I'm also making some baby mitts (thumbless mittens) and socks. I'm having a hard time with the sizing because I don't remember how big (or little) baby hands and feet are. Got a baby (0-6 months)? Will you measure their hand for me? I need to know the length from wrist to tip of the middle finger. On the foot I just need to know the length from heel to toe. Thanks in advance! These will also be in my shop and at craft fairs.
I'm also working on the next Harry Potter scarf for my brother, Joe. He turns 11 next month and he wants a Ravenclaw scarf. My brother, Sam, turned 12 yesterday and his Hufflepuff scarf has been in the mail the past couple of days. Scarves are probably my least favorite thing to knit. Oh well.
I decided I needed a more portable item to knit. The Ravenclaw scarf is my portable right now because it is still small. But when I was still working on the Hufflepuff scarf, I needed to start some socks so I had something to knit at a training meeting I had to go to.

These socks are using a twisted stitch decorative rib and I'm using some Sophie's Toes sock yarn that I got from my Sockret Pal. They are going to be slow going because I really have no deadline for these. They are for me!
Here is a peek at some test knitting. This is my last test knitting project for a while. I can't go into detail at the moment but here is the sneak peek.
I have some other projects on the needle around the house but they are all officially hibernating until I can get a handle on all of these other projects. I'm also working on a ton of cards for my craft fair and my Nov 15th "grand opening" of my etsy shop.

Talk About Tuesday

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/talk-about-tuesday.html

Pumpkin Pie

I made these cute little pumpkin pie gems last night. They were super easy, delicious, and came from a box! I bought these on clearance when I went shopping for day after Halloween goodies. I think they are Eagle Brand Pumpkin Pie Gems...or something like that. All you add is a stick of butter (for the crust that tastes like shortbread!), 1/3 c. of milk and 1 egg. Everything else, including spices, is in the box. It makes 6. They didn't last a whole day around here. Yum-o!

Pumpkin Pie

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/pumpkin-pie.html

Big Surprises

My kids didn't get the memo that we were allowed to sleep AN EXTRA HOUR last night. Instead they woke up earlier than normal (4:30am!).

Are you surprised I've signed up for NaBloPoMo? I figured I blog every day anyway so I may as well sign up and see if I can win some prizes and find some cool new blogs to read.

Caleb is really starting to like my MIKA cd. Are you surprised that he has started to play those songs on the piano? His favorite track is "Lollipop".

It should also come as no surprise to most of you that I am starting to fall behind on my deadlines. It was bound to happen as I have over-committed myself to myself. Time to re-prioritize and get back on track.

Big Surprises

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/big-surprises.html

Looking Back

First sweater. Including bonus spelling error!

First socks.

First contest.

First baby girl. Another pic of the family.

Lincoln?

What I used to do before I entered knitting competitions.

I love Neil Diamond.

I am the Oprah Ticket Master.

Remember Bloody Pegs? How about Eva being able to crawl and climb up on things at 4-5 months?

My first Runza.

100 Things About Me.

Classic Caleb.

My first Gold Medal.

Our first home.

First Girls Weekend.

First State Fair entries.

Broken Butt. This was almost a year ago and I'm still suffering from a sore bum.

In 2007 I resolved to blog every day. I've done it so far. It has been really great to share my life with so many people. Thanks for sticking it out with me for this long! More to come...

Looking Back

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/looking-back.html

Items of Note

1. Do you like the new look? Julie did it all. In fact, I came to check on my blog yesterday afternoon and it was taking shape. I came back a little later and all my links were there! It was amazing. Julie--you may want to come up with a basic "blog upgrade" fee because a lot of people have been asking me about it. Cottage business?

2. I also have finally opened my etsy store. You can click on the link in the sidebar or here. It is pretty weak at the moment because I am only going to upload a few items a day. I can't add any of my Stampin' Up items until after November 15th.

3. My 3 year blog anniversary is TOMORROW! Want to celebrate? I guess we'll have to see what I come up with...even I don't know yet.

4. When did the Classic Rock radio station decide to stop playing "classics" from the 60's and 70's to playing songs that I remember all too well? Is it true that Pearl Jam is already classic rock?

5. In one week I will be heading to New England to visit my sister-in-law. I'm pretty gosh darn excited and she just sent me an email this morning with a load of choices for things to do. We're touring Boston on Friday and Saturday and Sunday are up in the air. We'll probably do some stuff in New Hampshire on Saturday and head up to Maine on Sunday. I get to add some new states to my list! Anyone in the know have any "must-sees"?

Items of Note

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/items-of-note.html

Don't Mind the Mess

This blog will be under construction these next couple of days. Things may or may not go smoothly. Some of you may never notice. We shall see.

Here are the pics from last night at Trunk or Treat. I used my laziness in my favor and got the kids ready for bed AND trick or treating at the same time!

They were mesmerized by Bert & Ernie.

The candy is separated (some for the kids--good stuff for the grown ups!) and hidden. Thus begins the epic battle of wills. Help me!

Don't Mind the Mess

http://craftyconservative.blogspot.com/2007/11/dont-mind-mess.html