Which kind of candy are you?

You're Skittles!!! You have a very interesting personality, you're so unique. You're the kind of person who always thinks outside of the box. You're also a very accepting individual, and believe in inner beauty.
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Ok, I'm ready to rant about this wall hanging.

The pattern (it's from an "Art to Heart" book) calls for a spider-type button. Can you believe I couldn't find one? Anywhere! At least not in this town.

So I get the bright idea to embroider a spider. Really. How hard could it be? I have a fancy-shmancy machine. I found a spider pattern. No problem, right? WRONG!

Somehow the machine or the hanging moved mid-embroider. GRRR... I really wanted to save this, so I tried to take out the thousand-plus stitches without ruining the wall hanging, since I'm planning on giving it as a gift. Then my husband, bless him!, tried to help by offering suggestions. Now, I know he was trying to help, but I didn't want to hear it. (He suggested adding a broom in there.)

Finally, I decided to make it a BIG spider — so big no one could see where I'd removed spider number 1. So now the spider is really 3-D, made of pom poms and pipe cleaner!

And all because I couldn't find a button!

Just a short note to let those who read know that I accomplished two things this week. I've finished a wall hanging that will be a gift (pictures to follow!) and have a skirt that will be ready tomorrow. Yep, I've been bitten by the sewing bug as well!

Projects in the works include:
Afgahn for Christmas
Quilt — probably for Christmas
iPod Cover for Christmas
Dreaded Weasley sweater (grrrrr)
Costume for my sister's wedding
Choker for this month's exchange
Fingerless gloves — hopefully a Christmas gift

And then I need 100 embroidered bookmarks by March 2009 and I still want to do some soaping and candlemaking.... I need more time in the day!

I'll send pictures when I can!

One of the best things about homeschooling is getting to learn with your kids. A close second is seeing what they do with that information.

So the older daughter was getting a little frustrated with the younger one. (They are six years apart in age, so it's understandable.) But HOW does the older one deal with her sister? Simple. She has the young one put in the stocks.

The younger one is then placed on the stage with her "crime" for all the world to see -- being a "twit." (To those who know her in person, no, it didn't go over well at first!) The converstaion then went something like this:

Jailer: "You have been accused of a crime."

Jailer's Assistant: "A most obvious crime."

Jailer: "Yes. The obvious crime is you being a twit. Do you pled guilty or innocnet."

Silly daughter pled guilty.

Jailer: "Now, repeat after me: I am dumber than Jessica Simpson."

Daughter: "You're dumber than Jessica Simpson."

Assistant shakes head.

Jailer: "You aren't playing fair. Now I said repeat after me. Say I am dumber than Jessica Simpson."

Daughter (who is nothing if not consistant!): "You are dumber than Jessica Simpson."

Finally, the jailer decides to threaten the kid with water all over the pretty hair-do I wrote about earlier. It didn't stop her. She kept saying the jailer was dumber than Jessica Simpson, even after a mug of H2O down her back. (At least he did spare the hair!) Since not even the water would cause the kid to change her stance, he decided to go for another tactic.

Jailer: "This girl needs a boost of confidence."

Assistant nods.

Jailer: "What we need is 100 strapping young men to come up here and give her a kiss and she will be set free." Daughter blushes -- a lot!

Jailer: "How about 50? 10?"

At this point two little boys from the front row jump up to volunteer! It was very funny, but it did get my daughter out of the stocks!

Another fun thing about the Ren. Fest was the hair! I'm not sure that anyone actually *wore* their hair like this, but it sure looks good. Since it was only the girls who went to the event, we had to talk hair. And the younger one has a TON of it! Do you think that people in the medieval times *really* wore their hair this way? I'm sure the rich did, but the normal people? I'm not sure. In fact, I'm pretty sure they looked more like the washing well wenches that I'll talk about another day!

So, anyway, the younger one picked out a hair-do. Now, for those who may not know, this one is so NOT a "girlie-girl." Her idea of dressing up is a clean t-shirt and a skirt with leggings under it. Twice a year she'll dress up for Job's Daughters installations, but that's only because all her friends do, too!

And what does this little one pick? A fancy braid with little gray flowers in it! Complete with fairy dust (glitter) sprinkled in it. Go figure....

Anyway, the hair was done and looked beautiful. And she's pretty happy with it.

Another memory made!

Had a wonderful time at the Minnesota Ren-Fest this weekend. Honestly, I wish we lived closer and could be active in something like it, but a 9 hour drive isn't all that fun! Also got to see my step-daughter, who is living in the Twin Cities now.

We did help the Minnesota economy, though. Had a lot of fun shopping at the Mall of America Friday before going "back in time" on Saturday. The only thing I got for me was a new wok (we're having Chinese food this week! YEAH!!!) and some books at Barnes and Noble -- a shock to those who know me, I'm sure.

Will post more as I "unwind" from the trip!

Which Angel Virtue are you?

You are Wisdom! You remind us that wisdom is a virtue that is learned,and that as we grow we gain precious knowledge. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Didn't do much knitting this week, but I did do some fashion design!
My daughter found a pattern at the fabric store that had "perfect sleeves" - unfortunately, it didn't have a perfect anything else! So, being the sewing hobbiest that I am, I created the shirt. I'm not real happy with the length of this one, but she likes it. And, as long as she wears a tank top under it (which she will have to because the fabric is a little sheer!), I think it will be OK.
The originial pattern had more ruffles and ties - kind of a princess bodice thing. It shocked me that she would pick this pattern, because she's not a "princess bodice" girl. But she loves the sleeves and that's why she wanted it.
Since I just prices plain long-sleeve tees at American Eagle this week, I know that making this shirt was a little cheeper. Especially if I can make her a second one with the same pattern!!!

HELP! A warrant for my arrest has been issued by the March of Dimes for aiding and abetting the fight against prematurity.

I have been found GUILTY of wanting every baby to be born full-term and healthy! To avoid doing hard time for my crimes I must raise my bail quickly. YOU CAN HELP bail me out – or contribute to my incarceration. Visit my cell online at www.marchofdimes.com/jailandbail/jenbin today.

To learn more about how your dollars are helping to fight prematurity and save babies’ lives visit the March of Dimes at www.marchofdimes.com.

If you or someone you know has had a child born prematurely or with birth defects, or who has lost a child, encourage them to visit a special site for families at www.shareyourstory.org.

Learned something about my daughter this week — she likes caves. I mean, she *really* likes them!

We went to Jewel Cave (http://www.nps.gov/jeca/) this week to visit some other homeschoolers and — thanks to road construction — arrived a lovely seven minutes late for the scenic tour. Now, please understand, this kid was whinning all week about going in a cave. So, we show up late for the 70 minute scenic tour of our Nation's second largest cave and I decide that instead of standing around looking dumb for 70 minutes, we could take the 20 minute discovery talk. Not as much fun, I'm sure, but she wouldn't be looking too terribly bored for the whole time. (And, honestly, I thought even if she did look bored, it would be dark in the cave and I wouldn't have to see it!)

So we go and she really had a good time. Asked some intelligent questions. Really paid attention to the guide. I was impressed!

When the tour was over, she kept talking about how cool it was. Outside the cave, we found this box that showed the smallest area a person squeezes through on the Spelunking tour and the kiddo asks if she can do that when she turns 16 (the park's minimum age for that one).

After lunch with the family we were supposed to meet, the kiddo asks "can we go back and do the scenic tour?"

"Gee, I thought caves were dumb," says I.

"I was just being a butt. I really wanna go back."

GRRRRR!!! Teenagers!!!!

Is this crazy or what??? Can you belive this candle? I'm not sure why it decided to curve this way. I swear I really did make the candle as a straight taper. Very odd.... Any candle-makers out there with some advice?

By the way, this candle is a strawberry and cream scent that is just YUMMY! This week I did some "jar candles" with a chocolate bliss scent. I think I gained weight just *making* them!

Got some great news today! I entered a writing contest -- well, the writing category at the local fair anyway -- and won first place! OK, so it's a fair, but FIRST PLACE! Hello! This is what I want to do. I want to be an author should I ever decide to grow up. Entering this short story really gave me some motivation to keep working on the novel I've been "plugging away at" since NaNoWriMo.

Back to work!

To me!

Just so no one thinks I have given up on knitting and crocheting, here's a frog. Yes, a frog. I know it's a bit hard to see in the picture, but the frog is knitted into the dishcloth and the edges are crocheted. One of my daughters friends really likes frogs, so I made this for her. Hope she likes it!

Not into angel candles? That's OK. How about some snowman soap? This one is baby-powder scented. Our next Worthy Matron is using snowmen as her fun symbol, so they might get these soaps (in different colors/scents, of course!) as gifts... Who knows. I do know that I'll be chaplain next term, but that's ALL I know!

I know I haven't posted much -- although, I think today will make up for that! -- but I have been busy! This candle is so pretty! It has a huckleberry scent to it. I'm actually thinking of using it for either Eastern Star gifts or Daughters of the Nile gifts come next installation. Isn't she pretty?

This is one reason I like to go geocaching! Custer, South Dakota, is filled with these decorated buffalo and I never would have seen them if I hadn't gone caching. (OK, there was a quilt show there, too, but I got a cache!!) Maybe I'll go back and get other pictures!

My husband was so sweet! He did all this canning.... BY HIMSELF!!! Gotta love it!

We are starting to get a harvest from our garden. This isn't the first (close, though) and there are some eggplant and zucchini not shown. Today my loving husband will be doing a lot of canning! Salsa and spaghetti sauce are high on the list. He's already tried pickling some hot peppers and I've had the food dehydrator out and running. It will be a nice winter when we can still eat from our garden. (I don't have pictures, but the corn is more than 6 feet tall!!! And we'll have pumpkins out the wazoo!)

I gained a new respect for "bikers" this week. I wiped out...twice.

I took - actually "tried to take" would be more accurate - a beginner's motorcycle class. This is the class that teaches you to turn on the bikes! For some reason, I can't get the throttle to do what I want it to. So I hit the pavement. Hurt my pride a lot, hurt my knee a little. Thank goodness I was using their bikes and not my husband's Harley!!!

By the way, I DO know that the wreck could have been a lot worse! I'm thankful that it's just some road rash!

It's hot. It's flippin' hot! In fact, hot doesn't even begin to describe it. So what am I doing? Yep. Making Christmas stuff! Here's the quilt I did. OK, it's really just a wall hanging, but it IS quilted!

So what am I going to do with this new knowledge? Why more wall hangings, of course!

This candle is something! It's a bell (as you can tell!) and smells like "twigs and berries." My hubby claims it's a "Manly Scent." I'm really thinking about a candle/soap booth at a craft fair. I'm not sure I have the experience, though... Who knows!

You know, I'm really enjoying the exchanges on a craft list I'm on. This month I did a choker and a dishcloth. I haven't received any yet (this month, that is!) but I realized how much fun I have creating the items to send off. I even added some homemade soap in the exchanges as a special "treat" for my partners. Of course, my hubby was excited to see some of THAT go as well! Here you can see the dishcloth and the choker I made.

The beads on this choker are little pastel flowers. They didn't show up so well on the picture. I really need to get better with this new digital camera. I have some candle pictures and soap pictures I want to upload, too, but I'm not happy with how they came out. Maybe I'm trying to get TOO close to shoot them... Yeah, that's probably it.

I'm still working on the quilt. Actually, I have the "quilt" part done now, too. I just have to add the "extras." It should be finished tomorrow at the latest.

Finished my quilting class, but not the quilt.

I did find my 50th geocache today. And even placed my very first one!!! Not a big thing, but I think it's cool!

Will have pictures later!

NOTE: I'm gonna rant!
Ok, so why would you have an animal, let it roam the neighborhood and NOT get it spayed or neutered? Are people just that stupid that they don't know that animals WILL reproduce? DUH! They teach sex education in schools, right? You can't apply that to cats?

For those who haven't guessed, my neighbors don't "fix" their cats. They let them roam around -- which is great for catching mice, but not so great for little girls catching cats. We know have a litter if kittens in my yard. The sad thing is they will grow up and be "un-fixed" cats, so the cycle will continue. We go through this every summer. So far my daughter has caught 2 (including this little runt!) and we've taken them to the shelter. It's 90 degrees here this week and these little guys need to be given a fair chance, don't you think???

Do I wish I could keep them all? Yep. Do I regret taking them to the shelter? Nope. Better than letting them starve or have MORE kittens which will starve. Do I wish my daughter wouldn't get so attached to the cute little things? Yep. (For the record, I have 3 cats already!) Do I wish my neighbor would be a more responsible pet owner? Yep!!!!

How's this for a Cat House? I did this fish from Simplicity Pattern #9004. Just for the record, it was a PAIN! If -- and this is a big "if" -- I ever make this again, I'll stuff it more like a pillow, instead of trying to sew the foam/batting. Seriously, I broke 5 needles and 4 of them were for heavy-duty fabrics! So I'm not overly pleased with it (of course, I see all the mistakes in just about everything I do!), but the cats seem to like it. Or maybe they just really liked the catnip I put inside....

Did another washcloth last night. Most people I know seem to use them as dish cloths, but I really like them as face cloths instead. Maybe it's the feel of the cotton, or just the fact that I made it. Who knows.

I'm taking a quilting class. I'm not sure where I'll find the time for yet ANOTHER hobby, but it keeps me out of trouble, right? Yeah, I didn't think so, either. At least I have a supportive husband who doesn't mind what hobbies I pick up! In fact, he is pretty happy when I pull out the sewing machine, so this should make him ecstatic! Of course, he's pretty pleased when I'm knitting or crocheting or making candles, too. (OK, he doesn't mind the soap, but we really do have a bit of it right now!)

Made this candle the other day. These are a lot of fun to do! I also did a taper, although why I only bought ONE taper mold is beyond me! OK, so I ordered a second on off the net last week and can't wait until it gets here -- along with a bunch of other candle molds!

Finished this choker for an exchange. I liked the idea of doing it in Patriotic colors for the Fourth of July holiday. Not the style I usually do, but I liked it. I'd really like to find a pattern for one that just has a charm hanging from it or something like that instead of a lot of beads.

What's going on in my life? Well, I'm heavy into making soap and candles. I'm enjoying time crocheting and knitting. I have recently gotten 2 new contracts for web design and I'm easily working on my mystery. (Not as often as I should, but I'm still plugging away!)

As you can tell by the "Signal Box," I'm still caching. I finally broke down and purchased some travel bugs and need to get those placed soon. House work has fallen by the wayside, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make! ;)

Oh, and I'm thinking of selling soap and candles at a flea market/craft fair type thing. A little nervous about that, though!

Just got back from the Job's Daughters Grand Bethel. Too much fun! My daughter ever got selected for a Grand Bethel Officer!!! What an honor!

Been awhile since I've posted anything of substance, but hey, I've been busy! Had family in for Mother's Day and we went to Bear Country USA in the Black Hills of South Dakota. So much fun! The baby bears have been born and they look so cute. Wouldn't want to hug on one of the mama's though! They're huge!!! And the claws are frightening! We did see one bear try to eat the car in front of us. Must have needed salt or something because the bear didn't take a real bite.

Have been doing a lot of geocaching now that the weather is warming up. Have found some tough ones. I tried to plant one the other day, but it was STOLEN! Before I could even publish it!!! Can you believe it??? I was so upset! I'm not sure I'll ever plant another one.

Have I been writing? Yes. I did two more short stories and have been working on the mystery novel.

As for crafting, I've been knitting and crocheting some. This washcloths has a peace sign in the middle (got the pattern off the 'net). I've also taken up two new hobbies: soap and candle making. Love both! I am doing melt and pour soap, which I know that some believe it's not "real" soap making, but I don't have the time, the space, or the desire to do the cold process stuff. My sister, though, does it all the time.

So that's been my month or so. I'll try to post more regularly!

OK, so I like the Washing Well Wenches at the Ren. Fest!!!

You are Petunia! Congratulations! You are a lonely little Petunia in an onion patch... a sweet delicate flower, sweetening the air around you. Being a Petunia means that you love life, laundry and the pursuit of cleanliness! You don't just love your laundry, you roll around in it, sleep in piles of it and have vivid, epic dreams about YOUR LAUNDRY. You care deeeply about the public's hygiene. Which Wench Are YOU? Find out at http://www.washingwellwenches.com

PLEASE VOTE!!!

OK, so I entered a short story contest under my pen name. Please go and read it and vote for it!!!! Here's the link
http://www.donardpublishing.com/page81.html
Thanks!!!

This could be a little disturbing!

What Type of Homeschooler Are You?

Mr. Potato Head You have your ideal of how things should look, but youre flexible enough to allow for change. You are not bothered by changing methods, mid-course if necessary. You use an eclectic combination of curriculum sources. Visit my blog: http://www.GuiltFreeHomeschooling.blogspot.com
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What kind of yarn are you?

You are Shetland Wool. You are a traditional sort who can sometimes be a little on the harsh side. Though you look delicate you are tough as nails and prone to intricacies. Despite your acerbic ways you are widely respected and even revered.
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So much for the summer-like weather! Winter hasn't ended just yet. Today towns up in the hills got more than TWO FEET of snow!!! Yep, 24 inches of wet, nasty, snow. Gotta love that..... I did get some more geocaching done before winter made it's return. A new (and more accurate!) GPS makes that more fun!!

Did a creative project this week. This Monkey iPod cover is found in the latest "Stitch N Bitch" book -- "Happy Hooker." Finally a book with fun, funky patterns for crocheting as well! Other projects still in the works include the Weasley sweater (yep, still!) and a pair of socks (one is finished). I'm also doing the choker exchange still and that's fun. Did the dishcloth exchange this month as well.

I'm also finishing up the school year here. Finishing books and ending courses. Writing finals and grading a few final papers. One of the things I really love about home educating is being able to FINISH the subjects. We go all the way to the end of the book before the subject is considered over. Of course, I also need to start looking for books for next year. Have much of the year planned, I just need to get the texts ordered.

At least it's not boring, right? ;)

Been a busy week, but the weather is BEAUTIFUL!! My loving hubby got me a barrel planter and this is what I've done so far. I'm thinking I'll plant some more of those English Daisies (don't they look like pretty dandilions?) when I'm sure there won't be a frost. I also planted some "Dragon's Blood" and some Phylox near our driveway.

The house is finally sided. I'm so glad not to have to paint ever again. I won't be so glad to pay the loan, but it wasn't that bad and it did need to be done, so what can you say?

With the great weather, I have gotten some geocaching done. Although, getting a new GPS was a great reason to go out and test it!!!

Am working on chapter 7 of the mystery novel I did for NaNoWriMo. This is total re-write mode. Some of what I wrote is really good, but some is just .... well, you get the picture. I don't know what I'd do without my critique group. They really help me turn the crap into something I can use. This dream of being an author might actually come true one of these days!

Made an awesome choker the other day. I really like the colors of this one. Didn't think I'd ever be able to crochet wire! How cool is that?