Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to one and all! I hope everyone celebrates like rock stars, as I plan to do! (I might as well since the monthly fairy came and I'm not preggers. pout, pout)

Whew! Christmas is almost here!

I'm so excited! I'm almost ready for my trip north. I've bought/made almost all of my presents, all I need yet is to make 4 totes and buy some golf balls and I'm done. I'm doing a little happy dance here!

I'm off the hook for the golf wear job. I'm a little disappointed over it, but the designer found a new manufacturer that will give her a better deal if they do it all.....I was looking forward to the challenge of doing something new, but not the pressure of the time constraints.....All is not lost, the designer has more work for me after the first of the year. Stuff with out rush deadlines.

Would you like Cheese with your whine?

I'm tired. All I want to do is sleep. I just finished a rush sewing job. I had a week to alter 8 drapery panels. It's not really hard, just time consuming. So I work my 40 hour day, then fight traffic and go home to sew all night. What fun. I have to keep reminding myself that the money is worth it. The more I pay off my credit cards, the more likely it is that I can stay home when I get preggers and have a baby. I just wish my hubby was more helpful. You know, maybe clean the house a little bit? Take care of dinner or the laundry without me having to beg? I finally gave up and started making crock pot meals and telling him to fend for himself. Sigh.

So, what do I do? I accept another rush job. This one is to make 12 clothing samples for a golfwear designer. I've got until January 12th to do it, but I have so much other stuff to do between now and the day after Christmas. Somebody shoot me please! Please? Pretty Please? Or come and clean my house for me?

I've got nothing to say

I've got nothing to say today, other than I feel like a big failure. Sigh. Now I need to confess it to a co-worker. It's not about work, my job is a slackers wet dream. No, it is a sewing failure. Which is really strange and uncomfortable for me. My pride and self-confidence are shattered (well, bruised)

I have failed in making a baby quilt. I have no problems with making one, but this one was a copy of one from a picture and I tried to make it 4 times and I couldn't get the embroidery right. It looks like shit. I feel really bad about it, I'm actually horrified about it. After my 4th try, I altered the quilt she bought, but didn't really like and made it much cuter and more matching her theme, but it is not at all like the picture of the one she wanted that was discontinued. Now I just have to tell her about my failure. Maybe I'll get hit by a bus first. Naw, I couldn't get that lucky. If you look up "ashamed" in the dictionary, you'll see a picture of me.

RiP: Coraline review

It's the final countdown.....da-na-na-na(I'm hearing Europe running thru my head-the 80's rock band, not the continent) I actually read Coraline last week, but didn't get around to posting about it. I loved it. There was a quote from a reviewer in the book that sums it up perfectly for me. I'm going to paraphrase, because I returned the book on Sunday, but the reviewer said : It is the perfect children's book, not because it is scary, but because it shows kids that fear can be conquered. I love it. Simply because I know I did learn that from my childhood books. Most of the books I read as a child and teen (almost all were fantasy and sci-fi) carried messages of ethics and moral. They taught of how things should be and what to do if they are not. They did it in such a way, that I never noticed it was happening.

Coraline is a great child's horror book. Not to scary, and Coraline solved her problems by being clever and facing her fear, accepting it and then doing what needs to be done. What a great lesson for a child.

I'm excited because it is going to be made into a movie in 2008. Henry Selick is directing and it is going to be a stop motion animation movie. Yay!

oh what a beautiful day!

Last Saturday was a wonderful, wonderful day. It was one of those days that makes me wish I lived closer to my family. What makes it so wonderful you ask? I'm happy to share that with you!

Saturday I went to a backyard BBQ at a friend's house. The weather was perfect, high 70's and it was sunny, yay! But that is not all! At no additional cost....2 babies! 2 months and 6 months.












Just too cute for words. I got to spend the day with with Zalebaby, our good friends and their family and Dad-Chuck. I love me some Chuck. He so cracks me up. I think that Zalebaby is going to grow up to be Chuck.


Chuck is newly retired and when he came to visit, he brought a game he'd been playing in his retirement. He kept saying its all the rage with in the retirement home (not that he's in one....)

Edit * The damn game's name is Holy Board

Anyway, here's horrible illustration I did (in the paint program--shudder!) to give you an idea...please don't laugh too much...The way it works is you have 2 1'x3' boxes 10' apart (attached together with a chain- you have to be precise, ya know!) Each box has 3 holes, the closest to center is 1pt, then 3pts, then 5 pts. The idea is to stand on the box, with 3 3" washers in your hand and toss them in the holes across from you. THIS. IS. NOT. EASY. the goal is to reach 21 points. it must be exact. if you go over the extra is subtracted from the total. say you started with 17 points, hit the 5pt hole, then you wind up with 12. Let me tell you this game was a blast. We played the stupid game all afternoon.

So with the friends and family, grilling of hamburgers, snuggling of babies and playing the dumb game (while drinking lots of wine) It was a perfect Saturday.

Ps. I am now off of the birth control........

I'm not shaking anymore!

eyes, originally uploaded by Carrie SS.

It's done, I have new eyes. I can see and it is wonderful! I must admit that I asked for a valium at the doctor's. It's a good thing I did. I nearly freaked out with it. Not that I'm trying to make it sound scarey or that it hurt, 'cause it wasn't and it didn't. It was just uncomfortable.

When I got off the laser chair, I could see better than I had since I first got glasses. It was cloudly/hazy sight, but I could see things in focus.

Now I have lots of different drops to put in my eyes and today, things are still a little hazy, but no worse than dirty contacts. Matter of fact, my eyes feel like I have contacts in, just a little itchy, but no worse than that. How cool is that?!?!

I'm shaking in my boots

Guess what today is! You'll never guess, because I haven't mentioned it anywhere, I've been afraid that I would jinx it. Since it is happening at 2:45 today, I think it is safe to crow about it. (knock on wood) I'm not usually superstitious, but I want this so badly, the pessimistic side of me is thinking the worst.

So, are you at all curious?

I'm getting Lasik! New Eyes! NO MORE GLASSES!!! or CONTACTS!!! Whooo HOOO!

Zalebaby gave me the go-ahead. I'm paying for most of it, by taking advantage of my office's flex-spending account and Zalebaby is picking up the rest of the tab. I am so fricken excited, I'm beside myself. I've wanted this for years.

I thought I taught you better!

So I provided my hubby a belly laugh Friday night. Well, a belly laugh doesn't quite describe it. He was laughing so hard, I thought he was going to wet the bed. It was one of those laughs, where you laugh so hard you are afraid you are going to hurt yourself. Dang man, I almost wish he did! Stupid man.

So, what did I do to make him laugh so hard? It's more of what didn't he do....jackass!!!!!! Let me wipe the egg off my face (well-off my ass) and I'll tell you. Friday night, after an extremely satisfying round of marital sex, I went to use the toilet, in the dark, without my glasses. You can probably guess where I'm going with this, but, Yes, I fell in. Not with a splash mind you, more of the jerk of go farther than you intended and landing on the nasty cold porcelain. I shrieked and started cussing his name. What a way to loose the after sex glow. He knew immediately what had happened and started laughing. The more he laughed the longer and louder I cursed which made him laugh more. Not that I blame him for that, 'cause it was funny. I firmly blame him for leaving the seat up. That he is in trouble for. He doesn't usually leave the seat up, but he was cleaning the toilet (the first time ever! I've never seen him clean the toilet in the 4 years we've lived together) He put the cleaner in the bowl, but got distracted before actually scrubbing it, hence the seat was up.

Sigh.

RIP II Review of the week

I've been a busy reader this week, well, I should say the last 10 days. I've read 7 books in the since 9/10, three of which were part of my RIP II challenge.

1) Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. I didn't care for this book. I know I've been saying that a lot lately, but, to me, this book was meh. It didn't draw me in and force me to read it. It was a well written book, it had all the elements of a story that I would like, except for one thing. I didn't like Vivian, the lead character. She was never lovable to me, so it was hard to care about her plight. I also thought the story was to be a Romeo & Juliet -type, from the blurb on the cover, but it really wasn't. So I was disappointed in the book. I'd like to see the movie, to see if it leaned more toward the Romeo & Juliet-ness.

2) Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn. I loved me some Kitty. This book had a heroine I could like. I read it in a couple of hours over the weekend, It drew me in and kept me hooked. I mean, really, tee-hee, a werewolf named Kitty. Snicker, snicker. The appeal to my sense of humor was the hook that caught me. The writing style of the story reeled me in. I am looking forward to finding out what happens next in the life of Kitty.

3) Storm front #01 by Jim Butcher. Another enjoyable book. A little dark and creepy, with bits of humor creeping in. I can see why it was made into a TV show. I wish I had caught an episode of the show. I am definitely going to read more books in this series.

The other books I've been reading have been by Tamora Pierce. I discovered her during the Last Challenge that Carl hosted. A big Thank YOU! To whoever recommended her. I am absolutely in love with her books. I just finished The Circle of Magic quartet which is 4 books of course. Yum. Yum. Her books are devouring books. They are children's stories, so they are fairly short, but oh, what great stories they are! I've been getting each quartet out of the library at the same time, so I don't have to wait to get the next book in the series. I'm impatient that way. Right now, I'm counting down the minutes until I can leave work and go to the library to pick up my next fix of her books The Protector of the Small quartet.

Interview---No I'm not a Vampire

A few day's ago, Marla, from Have the T-Shirt offered to interview her readers. So I took her up on her offer. Here are her questions, and my answers....If anyone wants me to Interview them, just ask! I am so willing to pass on the favor.

1. In the movie of your life, who would play you and why?
Nicole Kidman, 'cause I think she is so beautiful. She's who I want to be, so why shouldn't she play me?

2. What scares you the most?
I am terrified of losing Dale and being a single parent. Not of raising a child on my own, but the financial side of raising a child.

3. What have you done that you are most proud of?
Getting my College degree and working in my field for a few years. I was the first in my family to go to college, although, that bit of fame didn't last long, as my sisters both started college 3 years later.

4. You win one of the following, which would you choose and why?

a) You house cleaned once a week for a year.
b) A massage once a week for a year.
c) Manicure/pedicure weekly for a year.
d) Lawn Service once a week for a year.
e) ? once a week for a year
a! I hate to clean with a passion. I despise it. I, however, hate to have a dirty house and can only put off cleaning for a couple of days. Grr!!

5. What was your favorite concert experience? Please describe it.
Jimmy Buffett! I'm not a huge Jimmy Buffett fan, but I saw him one summer in Pittsburgh during college. I've never had more fun at a concert. We got there at noon, the concert was at 8, we had lawn tickets, and they had let you in at Noon. We picnicked/drank all day, wandering around watching the fun mayhem that was going on. What a blast!

RIP review, 2 for 1

It's coming to my attention that I love to do the reading challenges. So many people putting their favorite authors out there for me to see/find. I love finding new authors to read. However, I hate writing review. I have a hard time defining why I like or dislike a book. You think with the amount of books I read, I'd be more articulate. Not so. My reviews are stilted and boring. Hopefully if I keep practicing, I'll get better. 'nuff said.

Poltergeist by Kat Richardson. I loved the story. It is a foggy, misty tale. I love the descriptions of the gray. I root for Harper and I want to learn more of what she can do.

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield I loved this writer. It was a warped and twisted tale that kept me reading late into the night. The writing is rich and textured, the way of Jane Austen, without the feeling of being drowned in extra words and images that I feel from the classics. It's this depth that is missing from the The Gardella Vampire Chronicles. I just loved the twists and turns of the The Thirteenth Tale.

Happy Ella picture:

1st RIP Review

Hubba-hubba! You just have to love this cover! In fact, this turned out to be a rather steamy read. Colleen Gleason's Rises The Night is the 2nd in The Gardella Vampire Chronicles. The 1st book in the series The Rest Falls Away was an OK read. It was good enough that when Rises The Night came out, I put it on my library list, but not good enough to buy the series.

Rises The Night has me pleasantly surprised. I still found it a slow read, but by the end, it really had my attention. The story-line had my attention, I just think that writing could have been a little more in-depth, a little more fleshed out. Gleason's sex scenes and her interactions between Victoria and Sebastian were the best in the book. It show cased her writing talents well. I just wish the rest of the book was as good.

R.I.P. II Autumn Reading Challenge!

Yay! Carl over at Stainless Steel Droppings has issued a new reading Challenge. In honor of the approaching Halloween season, Carl has open the flood gates to register for the R.I.P (Readers Imbibing Peril) Autumn Reading Challenge. I'm all kinds of excited, because my reading list has turned down a dark a spooking path (Mostly filled with Vampires) which is right in line with the challenge. Officially, the challenge starts September 1st and runs until October 31st. The rules of the game, per Carl: The Perils:

(Choose one, or more than one if you are feeling adventurous)

Peril the First:
Read Four books of any length, from any subgenre of scary stories that you choose.

Peril the Second
(Otherwise known as the Obese Book Peril):
As you may know, some books are scary not just because of their subject matter but because of their size. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna
Clarke is 737 pages of small type, for example, and Gordon Dahlquist’s Glass Books of the Dream Eaters is 637 pages long with type so minuscule it makes Strange’s look like large print!
For this peril simply read two weighty tomes during the challenge period.

Peril the Third:
If you think you have it in you, this third choice of perils is the Scary Sandwich Peril…choose two large books like those described in Peril the Second and read a
smaller qualifying tale in between.

Peril the Fourth
(Otherwise known as Just a Bit of Peril):
Some of you wonderful readers, or would-be readers, may have a tendency to shy way from this genre, thinking it is just not your cup of poisoned tea. However, it
wouldn’t be a challenge if I wasn’t challenging you. This peril is for those of you who want to take a chance. Simply choose one book that you feel meets the criteria for Readers Imbibing Peril II and, well, imbibe it!

This Challenge couldn't come at a better time for me. I had just finished ordering library books before reading Carl's post. Just about everything I ordered falls into the Gothic horror genre. So I'm going to do Peril the First x two. That gives me a little over a week per book. Easy peasy. As long as I don't scare myself too much!

My reading list, so far:

Poltergeist by Kat Richardson
Rises The Night: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles by Colleen Gleason
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield
Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) by Jim Butcher (if I like this one, I'll read the whole series)
I need to add two more to my list, but I'm going to hold off until I see what the other people doing the challenge pick. I'm sure to find a new author that I've never heard of, with a book I'm dying to read.

Catch 22

The house that we are renting is set up for DSL not cable Internet. So when we moved in, we had to get phone service or Bellsouth wouldn't sell us Internet service. What a pain in the butt. Zalebaby and I both use cell phones. We haven't had landline phone since we first moved in together in 2004. We don't even own a plug-in-the-wall phone. However, since the house is a rental and the Landlord didn't want us to run the cables to put a cable outlet in the computer alcove, we were stuck, with a extra $30 (the cheapest phone service you can get) thrown down the drain.

Then, Joy of Joys! I met the At&t Southeast VP. He came into the Airplane Sales office where I am the admin asst and bought a plane. (it was only a little plane, but it still cost more that it would cost me to buy the house I'm renting) He's a really nice man, so I plucked up my courage and said to him, "I heard a rumor that you can now get high speed Internet without having to have phone service" He hem and hawed, tried to tell me I should have a phone line for 911 calls, then asked me for my phone number and told me that he would check to see if they were set up in my area. (I had to look up the phone number since I never use it....)

A week later, I get a phone call from At&t, and they set up my new account, for just Internet service. Yay! I bootie shaked all around the living room. Yay! $30 more a month to go on my Credit cards! Paying off the CC = time to make a Baby! Yay! (I don't know if I'm going to be able to hold out on baby making until all of them are paid-off)

Ok, here's the catch 22. I do paperless billing and I've always paid thru the Bellsouth website. So, I received my notice that the bill is ready and I went and logged in to pay my bill. I could log in, but it wanted me to verify the last 4 SSN to go with the phone number. Which since that number is no longer in service for me, my SSN is no longer attached to that phone number, which means I can not finshing logging in and pay my bill.

After an hour of talking and holding, I have gotten the paperless billing turned off, so next month I'll get a paper bill. When I get that, I'll set up to Pay my bill thru my bank. Now, I just need to find my check book and pay the current bill over the phone. Why they don't take debit cards over the phone is beyond me!

Bonus picture- Babe Ella (Since I've got a severe case of baby lust)

Pay it Forward

Yay! Now that I am home from my "Visit the Family up North" trip, it's my time to play "Pay it Forward" thanks to Denise at Mormar. The way it goes is this:

PAY IT FORWARD. The first three people who leave a comment and pledge to pay it forward to three others on their blogs will receive a handmade gift from me within one year (August 2, 2008) of this posting. I will read your blog and get the essence of who you are to come up with an idea.

So, Who would like a present from me?

I'm done, sort of!

I've finished my sewing projects, mostly. I have a headless frog body to finish, but, since I didn't get it done in time for the baby shower, I have month to finish it before the baby comes.



Speaking of babies, I'd like to introduce my niece Ella. Born July 17, 2007 weighing in at 9lbs 13oz and 19 inches long. I just love those chubby cheeks!

I'll be away this week, I'm going to PA to meet her. I can hardly wait.

Tick-tock

I'm making progress, slowly but surely on my sewing projects.

I've finished the pillow sham. Yay! There was enough fabric left over to make a bolster pillow so, now I've got to add that to my sewing list, but hey, I get paid for doing that, so I can't complain too much.

I've got the baby quilt cut and ready to piece.

The screens are cut and ready to be sewn into the proper widths, the trim has been bought and the frog is figured out and ready to be cut.

So, just to stress myself out some more, I'm going over to my friend Heat's house to help her recover the glider for her sister's nursery. In lime green cheetah print. I think the pregger hormones are messing with Joh's brains.

Either way, I'll try to take pictures tonight .....

Oh Boy! When it rains, it pours!

I've got more sewing on my plate than I know what to do with! Even better, I'm getting paid for some of them. Now the problem is time! I am a procrastinator, just call me Last Minute Mary.

Paid jobs have a due date of July 19th:

1 king pillow sham with trim. (1-2 hour project)

3 fabric trimmed hanging patio screens (your guess is as good as mine.) I've got the screens, but they need to be cut to size and I have to go buy fabric to trim with. I love the idea of the screens, but doing the math always stresses me out.

Personal sewing:

1 baby quilt for the niece (needs to be done by the 19th for the trip home to PA to meet her) she's scheduled to be delivered on the 17th.

1 stuffed frog in a tutu (due 14th for the baby shower) I've got a doll pattern to covert into a frog. Should be too hard, but it will take some time to do it.

I so need to light a fire under my own ass. I'll see how much I can get done this weekend. Then I will start panicking.

Yippy!

Yay! I don't have pictures for you, but this weekend I took one step closer to my goal of having my own sewing business. It was only a little step, but I'm practicing my Grrl Genius-ness and recognizing my step. Now that I have you all confused, I'll tell you what I did.

I altered drapes. I know. Whoo-hoo and all. Like I said, it's a small step, but I got paid to do it and it only took me a couple of hours to do the calculations and do the deed. I hemmed them and added butterfly pleats. So I say a big thank you to my buddy Erik (who just left JC Penny's to start his own freelance installer business. Go Erik). One of the designers that he installs for needed a rush alteration. So he passed the alterations to me to do. I'm hoping he'll be able to pass more little jobs my way. Keep your fingers crossed!

My dream is to be a stay at home mom, and to earn my own money by doing alterations and custom sewing. I someday want to open an Etsy shop and sell handbags, softies and whatever else floats my fancy. It's not a big dream, lots of other people do it, but it's what I want.

Anansi Boys By Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is a wonderful writer. His flexibility of style is intriguing. You never know what you are getting until you read the book. After reading American Gods, I was excited to read Anansi Boys, as it is set in the same world view of man/god combinations. In this case I was disappointed. To me, it lacked the flare and drama of American Gods. I didn't get hooked by the story. I kept waiting to be enthralled and it didn't happen. It could be because I didn't like Fat Charlie, or Spider for that matter. In fact I thought they were one note characters, no depth at all. The story line should have been exciting. Fat Charlie's father dies, he meets his unknown brother and the chaos Spider causes that changes his life. All good elements that should have given the book more life. Sigh. This won't stop me from reading more of his work, as much as I've trashed this book, it was still worth reading, just not his best work, in my humble (not!) opinion.

Scattergories Meme- fun, fun

I stole this from MamaLee at Full Plate.

Guidelines:

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following categories. They should be real places, names, things.nothing made up! If you can’t think of anything, google it.
Copy and Paste to answer in your blog - let me know if you do this one!

Your Name: Carrie
Famous singer: Carrie Underwood (hm, I sense a theme)
4 letter word: Care
Street name: Cedar Crest Lane (where I went to high school)
Color: Crimson (such a sexy color)
Gifts/presents: Chocolate(lots and lots please! Dark Chocolate is a must!)
Vehicle: Corvette (I'd love to drive one, once. Not to own!)
Things in a Souvenir Shop: Candles (I'm a little pyro)
Boy Name: Charles
Girl Name: Charissa
Movie Title: Carrie (tee hee)
Drink: Creamsicles (yum yum!)
Occupation: Cook
Flower: Crocus
Celebrity: Carrie Fisher (princess Leia!)
Magazine: Cosmo
U.S. City: Cape Cod (never been there)
Pro Sports Teams: Cowboys
Something found in a Kitchen: Crock-pot
Reason for being late for work: Constipation
Something you throw away: corn husks
Things you shout: Crack-whore!
Cartoon Character: Calvin

Anyone else wanna play?

Catching up on my book reviews

Ok, I'm a bit behind on my book reviews for the Once Upon A Time Challenge. It's not that I'm not reading my challenge books, I'm just behind in writing the reviews. One of the best things about doing this challenge is all the new Authors that I have been introduced to, which leads to more books to read, which pushes back the review process. So I babble away about writing the reviews....instead of writing them.

I'll stop that now.

My book choices:
Mythology:
1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I loved this book. It was dark, with vivid details that kept you hooked. I was such a different style from Stardust. I really enjoyed the duality of the god's natures. Fascinating.

Folklore:
1. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (I'm waiting on the Library for this one)
Fairytale:
1. Stardust by Neil Gaiman (I posted a review of this one)
2. Widdershins by Charles de Lint - I substituted Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey (I posted a review)
3. Tithe by Holly Black (I posted a review of this one)
4. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale I read the Princess Academy instead. It was a lovely fairytale story for younger readers. I enjoyed the simplicity of the storyline. I liked the message of believe in yourself, you can do more that you think you can. I think kids need to hear that message alot, especially girls.
5. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan (I posted a review of this one)
Fantasy:
1. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip I substituted The Strange Adventures of Ranger Girl by Tim Pratt It was a Wild West elemental god vs. Coffee Shop Girl. It was quirky and fun. I really enjoyed the wild west aspects of the book. It was so different than the current trend of Fairies, vampires and werewolves in Fantasy books. The book is not a western, it just uses the west as a back drop. I'm looking forward to more book by Tim Pratt.
2. Eldest by Christopher Paolini (I posted a review of this one)
3. Greywalker by Kat Richardson Another book I really enjoyed. I've put the 2nd book on order at the library. It sort of reminds me of the Anita Blake novels, without being "naughty". There is something about the way she struggles against her fate that interests me.
4. Something Rotten by Jasper Fford I hate to say it, but I didn't care for this one very much. I've read the others in the series, but this one lacked the fun of the other book.

Tonight I am planning on digging up my old Riverside Shakespear Book, from college and rereading A Midsummers Night's Dream. I love that play. I've always wanted to perform in that play.

....Shoot me please.

Is it possible to die from boredom? I'm not sure I can deal with much more of it. I really dislike feeling like an overpaid waste of space. It's only Tuesday and I am counting down until Friday. Hell. I'm counting the minutes until it's time to leave for the day. Sigh. I'm about ready to ask 1Peanut to pass the meds.

I have plenty to do outside of work, It's just the long, slow hours here that are driving me insane. I keep telling myself, "this too shall pass". After all, I'm in the Airplane Sales office and everyone knows that sales goes in spurts. I must say, I am glad I'm not a salesman. I get paid per hour not commission. I couldn't handle the gaps in paychecks. I love it when we are buying and selling. My job really is nessary, I'm the one that does all the paperwork, but right now all I'm doing is answering the phones. And reading blogs. Lots of blogs. I think I found the end of the internet.

Cruise trip report!

The cruise rocked. My camera broke so I don't have any pictures of my own. That so sucks. The pictures that I'm posting are from Marathon Girl.

It turned out to be a really relaxing cruise. We didn't party as much as I thought we would. I thought we'd be dancing every night, simply because Marathon Girl loves to dance. We never once hit the dance club. We gambled, watched the shows, drank like fishes and ate like pigs. I think the sunbathing took a lot out of us. It didn't help that The Hampton Girl had a 24 hour stomach bug right before we left for the cruise (She threw-up for the last time a 4:30am before getting in the car to drive down to Tampa) and Marathon Girl was getting over bronchitis. Lovely. I was the only non-sick one to start the cruise. We drove the 6 1/2 hours to get to Tampa with no problems, I was worried about the fires closing down I-75, but we were lucky. The Hampton Girl slept the whole way there, poor sick chicky.

When we got to the ship, The Hampton Girl was feeling alot better, she at least didn't look sick as we were dealing with the boarding documents. Boarding was quick and easy, there were no lines, we just breezed up to the check-in desk. Yay! I was practically jumping up and down with excitement. The girls were laughing at me. We got our sign and sail cards, avoided the boarding the ship photo moments (we did alot of avoiding of "photo moments" on this trip) and on the ship we went.

We couldn't go to our cabin until 1:30, so we went to the Lido deck for a bite to eat and to start the drinking. Poor The Hampton Girl, she wasn't up for either but Marathon Girl and I had a yummy fru-fru drink.

After that we started exploring the ship, we found the spa and booked treatments for the next day. I got a ginger and lime salt scrub with a massage and the girls both booked facials. The scrub and massage was one of my favorite parts of the trip. DH does not give massages and I sooo love them. The spa had these great multi head showers.

Some day I want to have one like that. It had sprays that were on either side of the shower stall and shot out to meet in the middle. It was heaven. The treatment left me so soft. I loved it. It was too bad DH wasn't around to enjoy the benefits!

We continued exploring the ship, is it just me or does this wooden thing look more like a cock and balls then the violin head that it is suppose to be? At least that is what the 3 of us thought. On our 3 day, we came across a female staff member polishing all the wooden sculptors. We so wished we had a camera on us. We giggled over her "technique" and "happy endings" all the way to dinner.

When it was time for sail-away, we went to the front of the ship to watch. We found our spot and were so excited. Then the ships horn went off. I damn near dropped my drink and my camera over the side. We were standing directly under the horn. Damn that thing is loud!

We watched the ship ease itself into the canal and down the waterway for a bit, then Marathon Girl and The Hampton Girl gave up and decided to go take a nap. Well, I don't blame them. Marathon Girl and I went to bed a 11:30pm and were up at 3am, we picked up The Hampton Girl at 4ish and started the drive to Tampa, at 4:30pm, it's been a loooong day. I tried to last until the ship went under the channel bridge, but it didn't happen. I was too tired and I went back to the cabin shortly after they left.

We got up and went to dinner, our seating was at 8:30. After meeting our seatmates, 3 blond chics out for fun, we nicknamed them the hurricane sisters, cause they were a wild mess. They came to the table, past tipsy into drunk, chattered like chipmunks and whirled away after dinner to party some more. They were a hoot. It was like that for every dinner.

Cozumel was fun. We did a ship excursion, The Deluxe snorkel and beach party. We took a catamaran out to snorkel (the snorkeling sucked...nothing to see- Oh look at the dumb tourists looking at nothing) then they took us to a lovely beach for an hour, the beach had floats, kayaks, hammocks, you could buy food or a horseback ride. Both the beach and the catamaran had an open bar of beer and margaritas. We had a great time at the beach and on the boat. I musta had 6 margaritas. Marathon Girl and I were very tipsy. Most of the drunk girls (including Marathon Girl and I) were dancing on the boat. Lots of fun. The first thing we did after getting off the boat was go into town and get some food. We sure needed it!

The Hampton Girl and I enjoying our Margaritas. They were very different than the US margaritas, I swear they were made with cactus juice instead of lime.

Me and Marathon Girl drinking more. Shortly after this we were dancing our way around the boat in a conga line.

I loved the sweet bird we found at one of the jewelry stores!
The rest of the trip was: sun, eat, nap. repeat. Lovely!

Book Review Stardust by Neil Gaiman

It's hard to write a review for this book. Not because it wasn't a good book, because it was a wonderful, funny book that I can't wait to read to my kids. The ones that are still a twinkle in my hubby's eyes. No, I'm excite because I'm leaving for my cruise in a couple of hours. I'm sitting here at work watching the clock tic by so slowly. Sigh, back to the book.

This story completely excited me. I so enjoyed reading it and am excited that they are making it into a movie. The story line is so conductive to a movie.

Ta-ta for now!

What to pack or not to pack, that is the question....

To put it mildly, I am an over packer. Do they have a 12-step program for that? I sure need one. So far I have packed my suitcase 3 times. Rewashed half of the cloths (thanks Tater!) of course that was my fault for leaving the suitcase open on the floor. Sigh.

To combat my over packing tendencies, I am limiting myself to 1 suitcase- 26" and a small beach bag. That seems like plenty, doesn't it? It's only a 4 night cruise.... I'm having trouble fitting everything in. My current list:

4 dresses (one for each dinner)
2 swimsuits
2 cover-us (they match the 'suits of course)
2 shorts
2 Capri's
2 skirts
8 shirts
1 Shaw
5 shoes

Now, that all fits in the suitcase, but there is no room for my toiletries or the legal bottle of wine or a 6 pack of water. Plus I want to take a power strip with me. The room has only 1 outlet. 3 girls, 1 outlet = primping disaster.

I also need to figure out what to wear for boarding. I want to wear a swimsuit, so we can lay out without having to change, but what to wear over it? I don't really want to wear the cover up as we're going to be in the car for 6 hours before boarding. Sigh. mountains and molehills. Any advice?

Obsession, like totally Obsessed

I am Obsessed. Out of my head and totally off of my rocker. I'm going on a girl's trip. IN 17 DAYS!!!

WHOO-HOO! I am so excited about getting away with the girls that I have already started packing. It's too bad I made the mistake of leaving the suitcase open on the floor. Now I have to wash everything again as Tata, our Jack Russel decided that it was the perfect place to take a nap. I so wish I had gotten a picture of that.

I've been shopping too. I love me some Target. I got a new swimsuit and a cover-up. On sale of course! You can't have one without the other. I bought all kinds of fabric to make some cruise wear for myself, but that's not going so well. I'm most of the way through one dress, it was meant to be a cover-up, but I'm not liking it so much. Hopefully, I'll like the next dress better.

Anyone have any cruising advice for me? Besides taking a chill pill so I can get through the next 17 days?

Review of Mercedes Lackey's Fortune's Fool

So, I'm drifting a little away from my goals for the Once Upon A Time Challenge. Not so much in content as to my goal to read new authors. But what is a girl to do when her favorite authors release new books? I am not known for my patience. ;-)

Mercedes Lackey is hands down one of my favorite authors. She is someone I can't wait to introduce my (not yet in existence) kids to. Her writing always has a moral to it. It's not "shove it down your throat-holier than thou" obvious, but it is there, easy to see. Whether it is a message of saving the environment or animals or simply how to be a better person by showing the cause and effects of your actions, the message is there and given through character that are easy to relate to. Fortune's Fool is no different.

Fortune's Fool is part of Lackey's Five Hundred Kingdoms series. Pure fairy tales in the once upon a time but with more of a behind the scenes feel to it. The Characters in the series know that they are in a fairy tale world and what is expected of them, which gives them the chance to work with or against the 'tale. Fortune's Fool is an adaption of the Little Mermaid, sort of. If you can picture the Little mermaid with strong Russian fairy tale influence's. The Five Hundred Kingdoms series, Fortune's Fool included, fun fluffy romantic reads. So enjoyable to read on a lazy day.

Review for Eldest by Christopher Paolini

So I've finally finished reading Eldest by Christopher Paolini. It took me a little longer than I hoped, but my crafting/sewing life interfered with my reading time. But, Hey, that happens to all of us, right?

I was a bit leery of putting this one on my list. I really didn't enjoy Eragon. Sacrilege I know, but I felt that the storyline was weak and the characters plodded through it. Eldest, however, was much more enjoyable. The plot moved more quickly with a little more flaver and texture to the writing. I'm interested in seeing how the story progress in the next book.

One of these day's I'm going to learn how to write a proper review. Does anyone have guidelines on how/what to do?

Prelude to Trouble (with a capital T)

My Easter weekend was a blast. Zalebaby, Marathon Girl and I went to Tampa for the weekend. Ybor city, to be exact. Poor Zalebaby, we made him go shopping on Saturday. Lucky for him, he brought his camera. He took some really cool shots while Marathon Girl and I ransacked Urban Outfitter's.

Then trouble happened. Trouble came in 2 forms.

1. Zalebaby found the Tampa Brewery, which had a patio, so, what do you drink on a patio while sitting in the sun. Margarita's of course. Lots of them.

This started at 1pm. We were still there at 5pm, due to Marathon Girl's friend, Jewels. Jewels Lives in Tampa, and she joined us, oh, at about 2:30-3:00. I'm not sure when, as telling time was getting a little bit difficult at that point. She is a hoot! This was my first time meeting her and she had me rolling under the table I was laughing so hard.

We left the Restaurant around 5:30ish and weaved our way back to the hotel, so we could get ready for dinner. We got all glamed up and went to Samurai Blue for sushi, then to the Ybor City comedy club afterwards. Then we stumbled ourselves back to the hotel to pass out.

Even after a couple of aspirins and a bottle of water before bed, Sunday hurt.

The prelude part is I'm going on a cruise in May with Marathon Girl and most probably Jewels. The Hampton Girl, who is going on the cruise with me and MG can out party both of us. I have the feeling I'm going to need a couple of days off of work after the cruise to recover.

Review of Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

I've finished the first book for my Once Upon A Time Challenge. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan was a lovely, quick read. It definitely belongs in the juvenile/teen category. It had all the best elements of a young reader fantasy, a slightly confused hero, the old teacher, conflict at home and different world to explore and learn to grow. I'd give it 3 stars (on a 5 star scale)

One of the parts that bothers me is Henry's (our hero's) home problem. Just because it is odd (his mother is having an affair with his father's female secretary, that's a new one to me) and that it really wasn't important to the story. All of that plot line could have been edited out of the story. It didn't have any affect on Henry's actions in the story. I would have liked to see Henry have to struggle more, grow a little more character. Overall, I enjoyed the story and would encourage my 8 year old niece to read it. Herbie Brennan has written a couple of other books in the series, I'll borrow them from the Library rather than buying them. Not something I would reread.

Next Up on my reading list is Eldest by Christopher Paolini. I've already started it, so it shouldn't take too much longer.

I'm Not Pregnant...Yet

So, what is with the "Hi! I'm pregnant summer fashions? It is driving me insane. The majority of the female population are not hip-less 12 year olds. Even the models look preggers. I keep seeing the style everywhere. Grr. Hello! I have a waist! I'd like to not look pregnant. I'd like to show off my curves, isn't that why I workout everyday and deny myself all my favorite foods, just so I don't look fat? Sigh.

Maybe it is just baby lust. I feel surrounded by babies or mothers to be and I want to be one. Time goes by so slowly. Things are still in line for starting to try in January, but that seems so far away. But until then, do I want to look pregnant? NO!! Of course by the time I am pregnant, will I be able to find this type of clothing? With my luck, no. Maybe I should buy a bunch when they go on sale, so to have them next summer when (I hope) to be preggers.

I'm doing the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings has issued a reading challenge.

The Challenge as issued by Carl:

"Once Upon a Time…all the great ones begin that way, don’t they? At least in our
recollection? Hearkening back to childhood, those four words represent the
foundation upon which story is built. In that same way, these four types of
story, Mythology, Folklore, Fairytale, and Fantasy, form the very foundation of
storytelling itself. It is from the roots of these genres that our latest
challenge grows...."

He has offered up 4 Quest of varying difficulty...I am accepting Quest 1. Which is to read at least 5 books from any for the 4 genre.

I'm an avid reader of that type of book anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard. I've been looking at the other player's choices for suggestions and books I haven't read before. I'm having a tough time choosing, so...

My book choices:

Mythology:

1. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Folklore:

1. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Fairytale:

1. Stardust by Neil Gaiman

2. Widdershins by Charles de Lint (I love Charles de Lint, this one is already on my library request list.)

3. Tithe by Holly Black

4. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

5. Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan

Fanatsy:

1. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia A. McKillip

2. Eldest by Christopher Paolini

3. Greywalker by Kat Richardson

4. Something Rotten by Jasper Fford (I've read the others and love the cheekiness of them)

I think I've chosen enough books for now. This should last me until June. If not, I'll be sure to add more!

I Am the Empress

You are The Empress
Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.
The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents, beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.
The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Yea! the Monkey Shower was a hit!

I am so, so glad the Sewing marathon for the baby shower is over. My sewing room is trashed (and the rest of my house), I haven's cooked dinner for my Zalebaby in two weeks. So tonight is dinner of his choice. But I digress, I want to show you what I've been doing. Heat's Shower had a jungle theme and she is doing the baby's room around a monkey picture. So, as part of the shower committee, I was delegated to making the favors. Which I never did get a picture of. Sorry. I made animal print pocket tissue covers, I put trim on the edges of mine, but they basically looked like these. Thank you Stardust Shoes!

So, one day I was hanging out with the father to be, and he started talking about the barrel of Monkeys game. Then I got the bright idea to make a foam barrel and some monkey's for the baby's room. It was a great idea, but the making of it, oh dear, somebody shoot me please! I hand sewed the whole dang thing. Now that I've finished it, if I had to make another I think I could manage to sew it on the machine. I think. But I am not making another. Not anytime soon.

Here is my barrel with a store bought monkey. I finished the barrel at midnight the night before the shower. I did make a monkey for the barrel, but at midnight, he was still in several pieces in my sewing room. I never want to work with that fabric again. I wound up making the monkey twice....I had to hand baste everything, the fabric was that fluid. Grr! Here is my Monkey at 2am. I think he is really cute. Annoying to make, but cute and cuddly.Now I have to show you what my friend Elliwati made. Too funny! Heat laughed her head off. Way to go Elli! My friend Michele also made a monkey. She borrowed her 8 year old daughter's bratz sewing machine to do the job. Heat promptly named him Floyd the Lesson Monkey (don't drink and sew) what you can't tell by the picture is Floyd has no stuffing in his neck, so his head flops around when you carry him.

I also was in charge of making a diaper cake. That was a first for me. I used 250 or so diapers, size 2, 6 yards of ribbon (I had just enough- which is why the top bow is so small) and an extra set of arms to help hold the diapers in place while I adjusted and tied the ribbon. Thanks Joh and Amy!
My next project is to rearrange my sewing room and make something to wear during my cruise in May. What to make....hmm. I don't know what, but it will be fun! (I'll take suggestions! What should I wear on the cruise?)

My 1st Swap

When it rains, it pours. I'm not talking about the weather, I'm talking about my time management skills, which are poor. I've been wanting to do a swap, I kept seeing the cool things others do in the craft blogger world and I wanted to join them. So...I found Swap-bot and signed up for a swap. The Handmade Bookmark Swap. I signed up in early February, then had to wait until the end of the month to see who my partners were. It seemed to take forever. Then in the first week of March I got my partners. That is when it started raining. I looked at the calendar. The bookmarks need to be Mailed by the 10th and on the 17th is Heats baby shower (for which I had/have huge amounts of sewing to do) Ack! Alas and alack. So I kicked my butt in gear and got the bookmarks finished and mailed out on the 9th. I had two partners and each one got a sewn paper bookmark and a quilted bookmark. For a little something extra I included a handmade note pad to each lady. I got the idea for the notepads at my house is cuter than yours! Mine are a variation on the theme, but I really hope they like them. (and my bookmarks!) I had fun making them.







This is what I received from crochetoholic debb a lovely crocheted pink rosette bookmark and a fun pink bookmark that has a sweet poem on the other side. Also a Leprechaun Pin (I'm going to wear it to the baby shower) some green tea (long gone now! yum!) and a really cool card. It is going to be cut out and go on my Christmas tree this winter.

From my other partner, Denise I received 4, count them 4 bookmarks. Each one a treasure. I really liked her metal stamping. Way cool. She also included a neat multi media handmade card. I shouldn't forget the dum-dum. (also long gone!) She sent her bookmarks in a cool sleeve to protect them.

I am so pleased with everything I got in my swap. I can't wait to do it again. I just need to get past this weekend, then clean up my sewing room before I can sign up for another. Nothing has been more annoying that look for all of my supplies. I hadn't unpacked them from the move, so I don't know where everything is. This will be remedied next week!