Hunny Bunny's House

So it begins;

2012-01-23T21:15:00.003-05:00

another semester. This semester I signed up for five classes. Five! I also started volunteering for an organization I love within the last couple months. Busy, busy, busy is me the little unpaid worker bee.
But it's okay, I signed on for this. A few years from now I will sit back and think;
"Wow, I was a rock-star". Or more likely "At least I got it done". Regardless at some point I will be able to proclaim my being done. At some point I will have a schedule like Mr. Bunny. The nonnegotiable one, where there is no guilt. Someday...
Until then I am muddling through (without a great camera still) keeping busy.
I spent the morning making phone calls. The phone calls you put off because,
you just don't WANT to.
Only one follow up to be made, which is good.
Another good thing is since I cataloged at least eighty percent of my yarn I can work from a plan. Tonight I am too tired to do all of my Microbiology so I think I will pull out a project. Probably the rug I need for the front door and get that set up.
We'll see.
But the irony of me making time to blog and not having great pictures is not lost on me.
sigh

Any tales of inspiration? Not the Chicken Soup for the Soul kind that have made me teary eyed since I had my youngest but the kind that are look what accomplished. Big, small, anything. Throw me some before I want to curl up and want to sleep until summer.

Growth

2012-01-19T23:01:00.003-05:00

Ever just been overwhelmed with the need to do something.
Like paint? But settle for markers?
My family has been sick (tonsils, stomach virus that makes the flu look pleasant...) and up until today I had been spared.
Now the evil stomach bug has entered my body. I am miserable, can't eat and am in so much pain.
But for some reason I wanted to use watercolors. Feeling like I do I settled on this. Art is not my strong suit but it is the basis for a picture in my head. Tomorrow I will work on it more, if I can move anyway.
I have completed two hats but have no pictures.
My camera is well...
right now I am using my cell. Sorry for the bad pictures still, I'm not going to be able to get a camera for a bit.
But look I drew a bit of spring. It might not be great but it sure is pretty.
Since settling down finally I feel like I'm growing, slowly but surely like a majestic oak. That feels beautiful.

Things that need to be said...

2012-01-15T17:55:00.002-05:00

As a crafty/ short attention span blogger I struggle. All the time I think of marvelous ideas that I should post about and three weeks later I'm all like, oops. Or sometimes I sit to write about the day to day.
"Hey I clipped enough coupons and matched enough sales to cover my tires".
"Man, I hate mornings...".
"My kids are the most awesomest kids evah because...".
But I can't because I feel lame. Who really cares outside of these walls? I am not that interesting and I know it. So I give you a window into my world usually the best but sometimes the worst. I don't have enough shame to shield you from that.
But rarely, very rarely do I get serious. Right now I am. There is something I need to say, if I don't I will feel like a tool.

As Americans we need to stop being ignorant. Seriously just STOP!
Someone said to me today that the town I resided in before moving to small town USA was now filled with Asians and Spanish people. Um, wow.

1) Duh
2) Those folks are not from Spain. Just sayin' Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic (South/Central America, etc.) are not Spain.
3) That town was where Mr. Bunny grew up. Back in the day before it "changed", you know when it was Italian immigrants.

Because as every person from the US knows Italians were totally embraced with the Irish and Polish too.

Wait.....No. Sorry...

My great grandparents lived a crappy life, as migrant farmers. They were from Poland.

As euro-mutts we can sit here and get angry. Angry at the ethnicity of people, with a culture we don't understand. Dirty, dirty heathens they are.

We are the people that our grandparents spoke of when we behave that way.

This isn't a debate about jobs, or people's choices. People of every background make incredibly *stupid* choices every single day. You have a problem with someone cool.

You put it on their whole community as a cross to bear for something they have no part of.

Ignorant.

I mean if I were to do that I would totally hate white guys and I'm a white girl, married to a white guy. I'm also from a poor neighborhood in a defunct mill town that is in the bottom twenty percent of safe places to live in the US. I spoke Spanish before English but now my Spanish is pretty lame. I could totally be a racist butt-hole (omg they used to call me Barbie and beat me up when I was little). Or I can remember the great friends I had, delicious food and all the exposure growing up in a diverse neighborhood. I can recognize that race had nothing to do with kindness, every group had at least one jerk. Do you know how lucky I was? Do you know how sad I feel for my kids sometimes? Knowing it's on me to teach them and expose them. Not by chance but purposely and with love.

I hate no group, but dislike many people. See the difference?

Every single generation of Americans has had groups of immigrants come through and gradually become part of our culture. Every.single.one.

Every single generation has blamed these new comers throughout our history.

It is time to be better, it is time to move forward, it is time to grow together.

Every time I think we are getting better I hear something that makes me realize we aren't. So please be mindful and remind people if you need to.

I embrace every single one of you; Atheist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, curly hair or straight and no matter your ethnicity.
*disclaimer* Unless you are an ass. Then I reserve the right to call you names to your face and stick my tongue out at you whilst saying "na-na-na-boo-boo". I will only do this due to your actions though, not someone else who happens to sort-kinda resemble you. I'm fair like that.

Bizarre, Bizarre

2012-01-10T20:52:00.003-05:00

Bizarre pooling featured on my Tiramisu Blanket. Quite possibly the most popular crochet baby blanket on the net for good reason. It is simple and heirloom quality if done in the right color(s). This is not.
The yarn I used was Black Cherry from the now bought out Peaches and Creme. It was gorgeous in the skein but I don't think it is meant to be crocheted into a project this large, crochet small or maybe knit large. Maybe...
Because of how loud the yarn was I decided against the scallop border with ribbon and instead did a solid black ruffle. I like the ruffle.
Also this will still be gifted because these are the colors mom chose for the baby and if nothing else it can become a loud changing pad. If not the cotton is SUPER soft once it is washed up.

Bizarre pictures. Wait no that is just bad quality. My cellphone and I apologize because I need a new camera.

Again.

I have bad camera luck.

Bizarre requests from best friends. Okay really it's kind of cool but my kids thought it was bizarre to be making a beard. I used this pattern. Kind of, after the second? third? row I realized I had messed up and fudged the rest. Doing it right or wrong this is an awesome pattern.
My friend can now compete with her manly man with a warm face if the snow ever falls in her neck of the woods.

Bizarre falls or more accurately knee twisting. I stepped in a hole yesterday and felt my foot start to roll so in order to prevent my usual sprain I tried to steady myself. My knee is huge.
It makes me sad.
All that new year, new you motivation is now hanging out on the couch going between ice packs and elevation.

I'm sure plenty of you have had bizarre pooling, patterns or just days? Any favorites that still stick out in your mind?

Not like riding a bicycle

2012-01-03T21:27:00.004-05:00

Ah focus, look at focused they are on doing nothing.
Nada.
Love it!
Wait that is not the focus I need, I need real focus. Oh (pets do it better).

So part of my focus is writing, even if it is not about the blanket I actually finished or my debate with the magic loop method of crochet. The debate being that the end product is gorgeous but my remembering how to start is non existent. Next time I will show you because I will have done that second necessary magic loop.

Here I am going to share something that I have learned from school. I pay big bucks so I might as well mention it. Here is what I learned;
punctuation is not like writing a bicycle.
As a reader of this blog if you have a background/current interest in the English language proper I am pretty sure your eyes burn on occasion reading my writing.
I apologize.
When I was younger I rocked punctuation. I was that geeky kid that everyone came to for help editing their work because I caught it, me and my little red pen. I loved English.
I love English.

Right now I am working on a BLA with concentrations in English and Psychology. It's what I call my bachelors of Barista. The goal is a Masters in autism therapy or other special needs degree. That is where I want to be and it will take years, but it's okay.

I have been taking mostly gen-ed classes and English because my previous Psychology credits. So I have been writing,
and writing,
and writing.

My mind feels so open, like a kid again. That is all I ever did. My professors see that not to sound stuck up but I kind of rock it (not like Austen or Stephen King or your favorite author, but I don't suck). Telling stories, drawing pictures, inventing new lives, finding understanding with words is my art.

It sounds silly but that is really where my strength is, one of my teachers is using one of my papers for the next semester as an example. Another one thinks I can actually be published.

But I stink at punctuation. How did that happen? Where did that skill go? After telling myself for a while it would come back,
like riding a bicycle.
It doesn't.

So I am sorry. My bad punctuation and I are here to stay. I need to be actively writing to stay calm and carry on.

That and yarn.

Set

2012-01-02T18:32:00.002-05:00

This is color setting. That notorious cotton bleeding can be halted preemptively by vinegar. Simple white distilled vinegar is magic; wash windows, cut grease, be delicious on salad, fabric softener and setting cotton dye. Oh vinegar I love you.

I am hoping to be like this blanket made for the most adorable new baby in my family (picture of FO to come).
Set.

How is that?

By picking a word (saw on another blog but don't know which if you know please tell),

Focus.

2012 I will focus.

My 101 in 1001 was going okay. My important to me goals happened, hello drivers license. But I let some things go.

I couldn't focus. If you know me personally you know that this is an every day struggle for me. You also know I can manage but the trickle down effects things important to me.

This year I will not be perfect but I will focus.

Adventures in Yarnia

2011-12-28T11:55:00.003-05:00

One of the things that I need to work on knitting and crocheting down my stash. Some of this is due to the fact that I am incapable of walking away from a bargain, like the original Peaches and Creme hiding under this crochet thread at the Dollar Store. Plus the thread itself in a box at the thrift store saying "save me". That perspective in itself leads to a stash that is in a word insane. Yarn and other crafty supplies (fabric I'm looking at you) is where my waste not want not attitude is a little too transparent. Generally speaking I am the anti-clutter. It makes me anxious, flustered and distracted. Distraction is not something I need assistance with. But when it comes to supplies to *make things* I am quite capable of becoming a hoarder. It doesn't help that when I first started all of these things I lived in interior Alaska so when there was something you loved you had to get it because there was no guarantee it would be there next time and there was no town to travel to nearby. Also at that time a lot of businesses charged a ridiculous amount to ship things there, if they would at all. Which I never understood. Prior to that period in my life I was more of a writer, I drew and made loads of hemp jewelry. Not a lot of room for clutter there.
Then you add the last year of appointments, school and generally feeling sick (thanks gallbladder so much for that) my craft room was a mess. It wasn't just a mess but it was a room I hated. I have spent zero time there in months. In fact I had signed up for Susan's Little Green Quilter UFO along with the best of intentions but just couldn't bring myself to go dig out my UFOs. That was a huge fail for me but it also helped me realize how much I needed to do. We bought the house over a year ago and I never really organized that room. I had plans to do it, plans to craft and even plans to start focusing on art again. Those plans are irrelevant when your craft room becomes a heap of unorganized things. The kind of room where you run in and dig out your stuff and run away. Personally I can not work in that chaos some of my best friends are brilliant artists who thrive in that but without a Karen Walker amount of outside help I am not capable and being a mom that Karen Walker lifestyle isn't going to happen.

So my gallbladder is out and I am done vomiting as a job. Mr. Bunny is seeing a great neurologist. Thing 1 is taking a break from track because of a fracture in her ankle (which does stink). I am in between semesters.

It's time to get it under control. So I have been. Painfully taking bad cell pictures at night with bad lighting. Cataloging every single bit of yarn I have and uploading it to Ravelry. I have some more acrylic to do and then I will be done. Then I can plan what to make. Make lists. Use my stuff. It may not be the most creative thing to do.

But it it enabling me to take my creativity back so I can create.

I need to create.

It is what keeps me sane.

So I start my adventures in Yarnia and will be working from stash. Knowing that waste not want not only counts when you are using what you love.

Without a title

2011-12-23T12:35:00.004-05:00

Sitting here trying to come up with a title is impossible. There is so much to write not much is related.

We added a new member to our family. This is her coming home picture; welcome Frida! She was rescued from a puppy mill by the Humane Society. Over fifty dogs were rescued and after medical treatment and putting on a bit of weight they went to different shelters. Someone I know sent me the video of part of the rescue and info about the shelter close to our house with some of the dogs. Within one week she was home with us, after I met her there was no way I could let her go somewhere else. She picked me and at six months old she was old enough to decide. She loves our family, sticks, Kong Tennis Balls, rope toys and Meaty Bones.

There was a connection used to get Mr. Bunny to a good neurologist, which turned into a referral to the "House" of Neurology in Boston area (without the crazy). He just had his first appointment but already this guy has ideas. Which is remarkable and such a gift. More testing needs to be done but I think for the first time there might be some answers. Being too optimistic is foolish but I can't help but be a little bit.

I got to go see Degas Nudes at the MFA in Boston. It was amazing, go if you can. I suggest bringing one friend with an adorable baby that can give you his opinion with adorable baby speak. It really improves the experience at least it did for me.

I muddled through another semester and did much better. The key to that was using Rate My Professors. Last semester I checked my teacher reviews after the semester. The two classes I struggled with the most, the classes that destroyed my GPA and made me feel so stupid that I was about to drop out had teacher reviews were consistent with my experiences. So I used it this semester and it worked out well. I am still mindful that people generally only review to complain but:
1) People don't just complain on there which is awesome.

2) When all of the reviews are the same and have been for a couple years there is generally a reason.

3) Not every style of teacher works well for everyone even as an adult, this gives me the heads up I need.

Last but not least for now is that I now have no gallbladder except for this stuffed guy from my bestie who lives too far away. The past few months especially I had been getting so very sick. I was vomiting so much it became normal and made pretty much everything impossible to do. Other than basics; child rearing, school work, cooking and occasional cleaning. I found out on our wedding anniversary a stone filled gallbladder is what was making me feel like I had the flu all the time. It was removed and my stomach is still adjusting but all in all I feel so much better and suddenly everything doesn't seem so overwhelming. The funny part is everyone that knows me is shocked. Other than empanadas and the occasional slices of bacon tomato pizza aka my kryptonite I don't eat greasy food. So just a general tid bit of info for everyone is, yes being overweight (which I am) and eating greasy foods increases your risk. The bigger risk factors are genetics and multiple pregnancies. Both of those risk factors are prevalent for me. So if you know anyone else going through it remember that.

I want to show you a picture

2011-07-27T14:57:00.002-04:00

but I won't. Well unless you ask....
Anyway I am trying to get my crochet (yay to wrist working with me!) but I am stinking at it. On Monday I had a gum graft. Like I said if you want to see my picture of now I can show you. No one wants to see? No one?
I want to write about my experience with it once my stitches come out (Tuesday) because it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Does anyone else feel like all medical professionals that do a great job with stitches should all be quilters?

Welcome Summah-Time

2011-07-20T20:14:00.003-04:00

Or the shame I bring to my children every summer; either way. Like a good middle class American who just bought a home I bought a blue pool. You've seen them, right? I think everyone has. And while the thought of an above ground pool did cross our minds Thing 3 is still too short and we just bought a house so we don't really feel like adding an unnecessary expense right now.
-First off there is NOTHING easy about these. 1,2,3 my foot. I live in New England nothing is that level anywhere here. It just isn't. Is it anywhere?
-Looking online into the prep of these things it requires sand and levels and way too much work for a blue pool during heat wave week.
-We are not spending a ton of money on sand.
-It is now filling up AGAIN and it will be what it is. I'm done trying to perfect it.
-The closest to flat we have is in our front yard. I now have a blue pool in front of my house.
It makes me think of this song

I even have flamingos. Hopefully my plants do well and I can share bounty with my neighbors who are incredibly awesome. They don't even blink when my yard is clearly meant for something in a trailerhood.

I have no crafting to share. There was an unfortunate incident with my wrist, the vacuum and stairs. It is apparently not fractured and if it is still swollen and awful next week I will go back to the doc and cry (seriously that's what they said minus the crying). Until then I am slowly trying to work my way back to crocheting and other activities. I didn't realize how much it kept me happy until I couldn't do it.

It's okay though I have a blue pool and maybe tomorrow it will have water...
How are you coping with your weather?

UFO week, well this isn't good...

2011-07-15T15:51:00.002-04:00

Obviously I have not thrived in this UFO along, in fact well... it's just not good. BUT I am super inspired by everyone else who is already on 28 wow!
So even though I haven't been a good doobie with my UFOs I have been remaining very faithful to my stash. Really it's kind of needs to lose some weight, so yeah. Anyway here is what I accomplished that took way too long. It is to send off to Joplin it's a baby blanket or kid cuddle blanket. I used stash Vanna yarn in pink and white and the pattern was called Bubbles Baby Blanket. It's a free pattern on Ravelry and I love it. I will absolutely be using it again. I used four skeins on this and it is perfect sized I think. So no UFO but stash. I know it doesn't count but I am going to pretend it does because stash is kind of like a UFO, right?
shhh
I know...

Fail

2011-07-14T20:16:00.003-04:00

Whoa it's been a busy couple of weeks, like crazy busy.
Summer Vacation-itis? yup
The fourth? Obviously I don't have my own special calender.
Thing 1 turning OMG 12? Oh yeah.
Gardening? On occasion?
Crocheting? Absolutely! Knitting? Well it's in the project bin. Sewing? Does getting a brilliant idea that doesn't translate to reality count? If it does I am amazing.

Regardless life is good. It's calm. I love it and am just starting to get my summer routine going. So why is this post titled fail? Well that's simple really. I am laughing at me pretty hard right now because I am HILARIOUS! I am a pseudo homemaking, crafty blogger. I post all these amazing (I think) things I pull off. I even admit my defeats but I *try* to stay positive here because I *try* to stay positive in real life. I swear I try really, REALLY hard.

That all being said I sat down tonight to write a to do list, of all the to do lists I need. No really I did and in that moment I realized as a stay at home mom that is a pretty big fail. I laughed and kept going. I used to have a home management binder that I followed every.single.day. I need to get back to that but since we've bought our house last August (OMG it's almost been a year and I never had a housewarming party! oops) I've had a hard time adjusting. August purchase house. Go back to college. Kids go back to school. By October I had found my groove. Mr. Bunny got into the accident and my groove died or at least went on vacation. Fast forward a few months, I had my groove back then he went back to work. I was overwhelmed second semester. Found my groove. Kids are home, groove leaves again. Now I am getting emails from my college. Sign up for classes they say. I look at my house that was going to impeccable again and FAIL.

Sign up the kids for free swimming classes. Take them the first three classes and spend two hours in the middle of the day at said swimming classes. Get sunburnt, listen to miserable kids on the way home. "We wasted the day." they say. Lessons are of course scheduled after lunch and to them the WHOLE day is gone. Take them last day of last week and get heat rash and a burn in places that make no sense. Kids sit me down and explain they are losing summer vacation and don't even like it. Not even one little bit. Sitting there covered in after burn cream and hydro-cortisone think; FAIL. We are no longer doing that.

Last but not least. My favorite of the fails. Fermented Suint Method. Serious MEGA FAIL. I got this brilliant idea it should dry in the sun. It's hot and not going to rain. It is the most brilliant idea ever. Well until it decided that every time I say one more night it pours while I am sleeping. We know how this is going to end right? Bugs, ridiculous bug-pocalypse in MY fleece. All those black spots, bugs. Seriously. Most of them are dead June Bugs. Um eww... SO now I am left wondering if a hot scouring will remove whatever nastiness is left in there. Did I mention this a FAIL!!!! FAIL!!! FAIL!!!!!

Have you had any good fails lately? Or better still do you know if I should just quit trying with my fleece? Either one? Both?

Regardless I am sitting here smiling because at the end of all the fail I am really quite pleased. That will be the next post. Everything will come together and if it doesn't how bad can it be compared to suicidal June Bugs? Exactly.

We aren't going to mention the black bean slider FAIL...

Lettuce discuss this week

2011-07-01T11:04:00.003-04:00

Doesn't it look delicious? Not this week but the lettuce of course. We had this with dinner last night now nothing else from our garden is ready for salad we just had the lettuce because I refused to sully it with grocery store produce. Comments were made about how happy we are not to be lettuce farmers because the dirt... Thing 2 wasn't having it.
-My fleece may actually be dry today. It was almost ready a couple days ago but we had an overnight downpour. Hopefully the stink is gone. I need to wet some of it again to make sure it isn't going to reek of barn if it gets wet.
-Summer vacation is in full swing here and I'm loving it.
-I have been trying to figure out what I am going to be when I grow up this week. At almost thirty years of age you would *think* that I would have a clue but I don't. Well I do but it's not feasible yet. I want my masters. I need my masters for my dream job; early intervention or working with autistic kids in a therapeutic setting is my dream. Until then I think I may want to consider an associates then my bachelors then my masters. Obviously that is the order. I am digressing here. Point is I am about to be a junior and can only transfer so many credits to a two year school. So those would be put on the back burner until I went back for my bachelors. The thing is I feel like with a lot of the stuff going on I need to get a degree, work and continue my education. Here's the problem(s);
I live a rural area, there aren't exactly a ton of choices here unless I want to commute rather far. I don't.
My choices feel limited but they aren't.
Human Services; I could get a job without an associates. I know a lot of people that work in that field and they have been offering me employment for a while.
Accounting; I find this mind numbing BUT I am rather good at it and it seems like a more useful associates.
Business; is an associates in this actually good for anything?
Graphic Design; sounds like a lot of fun but are there are any jobs I could get with it? Or would I be struggling working at home?

I don't know. I do know I am running out of time to make a decision.

Help. SOS. Input.

Do any of you have just an associates?

Fleecey Fleeceness

2011-06-22T21:15:00.004-04:00

This past week I have been told more than once that my life would in fact be a great sitcom. Depending on which person was telling me this the only debate was which network would be more appropriate; Fox, HBO or maybe Showtime. At least I bring my friends joy, right? Yeah, that. We are still waiting on MGH to call back. How long are these things supposed to take? How many days do you wait before calling again? Is there some sort of etiquette involved with these things? I don't want to be pushy, maybe if I sent an edible arrangement with a card attached; This is not a bribe but I'd love to hear from you? And while I don't to be pushy I need answers, Mr. Bunny is getting worse and it is affecting our family. If I were to be honest and not hide behind the jokes I make about everything inappropriate I might tell you I'm scared. I'm really, really scared. But I don't admit such things so instead, we'll check in on our fleecey experiment.

Remember we were going to try the old school fleece cleaning method?

Well this is what we started with, our free mystery fleece. Because we are a beginner all we know it definitely smells like sheep and it is soft, super exceptionally soft when it is clean. So here is our fleece on tulle.

Here are three tulle layers of fleece in our container we already prepared with ten gallons of distilled water. You are supposed to use rain water but I don't have a "proper" collection area and just leaving an open container outside in the middle of the wetlands seems like some sort of open invitation to a mosquito gala with cheap drink, and ample place to lay eggs. Not what I wanted at all so my well water is very hard so I decided to go with distilled. This gets covered and sat out for 9 days, two extra because of the rain.

After nine days, I opened it up. Woo, it smells like a sheep farm a concentrated sheep farm. It's a very strong smell, very.very.very strong. I would not do this unless there is space between you and your neighbors, it lingers. I felt SO bad for mine because even though we have a little over an acre one neighbor is really close. I don't have a picture of it when I pulled it out but goodness it was rank. Much cleaner looking but stinky. The bottom of this fleece is still filled with vegetable matter and I might do a hot water wash to see if there is maybe some extra lanolin helping it cling on. You could absolutely see bubbles when pulling the fleece out of the container and rinsing so it did make it's own little stinky soap.

I then laid it out on this table Mr. Bunny made for me. Funny story attached to this, Mr. Bunny went into the woods to see if one of the fallen trees would work for legs. Instead he found scrap wood the old owners must of tossed back there. It was in good shape, he cut off the bad bits and used that. This table cost a mere five dollars because it was all scrap and hardware cloth. I love it. Anyway I put the very stinky fleece on here, to rinse and to dry with my ghetto fabulous broken screen and rocks on top to keep the bugs out. So this morning I started my coffee and went to go outside and the skies opened up and started pouring. My fleece which was hanging in lingerie bags (I had just put them in those last night to dry a bit more before I brought them in) on the edge of table to come in. I am going to call it another rinse. In the mean time I had another fleece in my suint mix for two days and tossed it on top of the table and let the rain rinse it. Maybe then my neighbor won't have to deal with the barn smell. I'm hoping this cleans it well and the smell dissipates. So I can't tell you the final result yet, but when it stops raining and dries I will report back.

Waahhh, I just want to dye it and needle felt!!!!!

Woo-Hoos and Waahs

2011-06-16T18:30:00.004-04:00

Woo-Hoo to the Bruins for winning the cup!!! There will be a parade on Saturday. I will be home with the kiddos but what fun it would be to go! This is the first time in my life that they have won the cup, I think a lot of people here can say the same. The last win was in 1972. When I was a kid I loved hockey, then stopped watching. Thing 3 is super into so we are back to watching, she picked a great year to be a fan.

Waahs for being locked out of Ravelry. The only email I couldn't get back into was my hotmail after being hacked. Well of course I can't remember the password I had reset for Ravelry after they got hacked. There is far too much hacking going on and now I can't go play on there. : ( I emailed someone, hopefully they can let me back in. We'll see...

Today was our first day of summer vacation and we kicked it off by going on a nature walk for a few miles. It was a lot of fun after dealing with Mr. Bunny's neurologist this morning which was NOT fun, no answers again. We've decided to try to get him into the city to see someone, someone has to have answers. Anyway he went to work then we had our walk which was wonderful with wild berries, tadpoles and trees covered in moss that had fallen over to climb and of course the waterfalls. Pretty, small, calm...perfection on this summer day. On Tuesday Thing 3 was downgraded to a splint for one more week and I let her take it off to catch the bullfrog tadpoles.

This is the fleece I mentioned first in Jan. 2010 on the blog, now clearly I got the fleece before then so it's been too long and it is SO gross. I have decided to try the fermented suint method to clean it. Google it, there is so much info out there but not in one neatly organized place. What you do is take your dirty fleece and let it soak for seven days in rainwater (or in my case distilled) in a covered container outside. This in theory will naturally clean the fleece, and then you just need to rinse the stink out. If you make it properly after that you just need to add more fleece and leave it in the suint water for two days because the fermentation has already occurred. To be honest I'm just excited at the prospect of not accidentally felting the wool while I'm cleaning it. If this works I am going to be a very happy girl. Tomorrow will mark seven days so this weekend I can share my result with you. Yay to stinky fleece cleaning!!!

No pictures, no comment

2011-06-13T22:02:00.002-04:00

Well wait... I have stuff to say that's like a comment; right?
We are watching the Bruins right now so I'll keep it brief but my garden is doing okay-ish. Maybe good? Only harvest time will tell. I have pictures of the stuff that is growing I just don't have them in the computer right now and like I said watching the Bruins so...
I am knitting a garment for me! I am hoping to have enough yarn, let's cross fingers.
My kids are ALMOST out of school for summer and I can NOT wait. I still need to make teacher gifts, but that is what tomorrow is for.
After watching some episodes of Hoarders I am cleaning out my craft room. Yeah...
I am going to be working on refashioning some clothes over summer so I stop feeling like a shlub.
Last but not least I am trying a new method to clean fleece. I will be posting about that soon. Hopefully it works well and we can all ooh and ahh together.

GO BRUINS!!!!!

Not quite a tutorial

2011-06-03T22:15:00.006-04:00

because my pictures are missing and to be honest you don't need step by step pictures. I just think this is a super fun activity to do with the kiddos.

When we bought our house I really wanted to capture the girls perspective. We have moved a lot (most of you already know this). Buying our home, the place that they will remember as they grow bigger was a substantial thing that to be honest I don't think the little two to grasped. So this is my moment in time captured on a rainy afternoon.

You need
canvas
watercolor or acrylic paint
pencils
one or more child (just think it makes sense; you know?)

Like I said this isn't really a tutorial. So all you need to do is have your child draw their house on canvas with the pencil. I told my girls draw it how you see it; Thing 3 couldn't resist some embellishments. My oldest who takes art quite seriously was out of her comfort zone painting with watercolors, she prefers pastels and found it quite challenging. Between the paint and the canvas it was hard for her but she did it. I love looking at them and seeing the difference age makes on how literal the pictures are or the liberties that are taken for the sake of art. Thing 2 and Thing 3 loved it as well and watching them was wonderful. I wish as an adult I could have that confidence. I also hate watching the self doubt creep into Thing 1.

These are hanging in our dining room as all fine art should be displayed and I will cherish them forever. I think this would be a fun thing to celebrate buying a home, bringing home a sibling anything life altering for your little one. Make sure you hang it up!

Now if you are anything like me and want to make sure that your child's work isn't reflective of some sort of malady here and you can find the symbolism used in art therapy for children using windows and doors. Then of course maybe you are worried about the colors they chose, so check this out. Alright well maybe it's just me but that's how I roll. It's still neat to check it out.

While I should be making dinner

2011-06-02T16:39:00.003-04:00

I am going to write here. Last night I was going to post but I was in my kids playroom for longer than expected. They actually yelled on the news "residents of the rinky dink town hunnybunnyknits live in get in the basement; NOW!" That was fun (not really). Mr. Bunny saw a funnel cloud for the first time ever and fortunately it did not come down here. I was still in the safest room in our house. We don't have a basement and my Minnesotan dad couldn't understand why we buy a house without one. But we didn't usually deal with these issues here. My heart is with the people of the areas affected, there really are no other words.

Prior to this we spent part of the weekend that is the unofficial kick off to summer in the ER. Thing 3 fractured her forearm and possibly her elbow from.....
somehow falling off a swing, doing a back flip in the air and not landing properly. sigh We broke an almost twelve year run, this is our first broken bone with the kids. Bonus is she is being a trooper and it could have been much worse. Plus they have waterproof casts now. That part is pretty cool. Plus I got give her first mom tattoo when I signed it. That same weekend our neighbor had a bear in her yard. I hope bears don't like potatoes because I don't feel like sharing.

Tomorrow I am going to post an activity to do with the kiddos, which I think is great. We did it a couple months ago but with summer vacation kicking off for most I thought I would give you one more thing to consider doing.

Beautiful

2011-05-24T16:47:00.003-04:00

The things I am growing seem so exceptionally beautiful to me. I have never had my own garden and to see everything come up is surreal. This pic is a couple weeks old but it is our bed of garlic and onions and they look even better now. Since then we have added some tomatoes but it has been so cold and wet I am crossing my fingers they do well. We have got everything in the ground now so please wait for more pictures.

Our potatoes are thriving, I can barely keep up with adding those extra layers of dirt! If nothing else grows I am pretty sure we will have potatoes (knocking on the wood box they live in). We tried to not do too much because both of us grew up without gardening. Well Mr. Bunny's dad did grow tomatoes in buckets... Still new to us. Still we may have done too much; we'll see. He dug me a pumpkin patch for sugar pumpkins and we have blueberries, blackberries and strawberries being used for the hedging in front of the house. Like I said there will be a lot more pictures. Never mind all our vegetables and if the sun makes an appearance we will be more confident in their continued growth. (Plus we may have planted a little too early, shh.)

The thing that makes me chuckle inside the most is I come from a long line of farmers. My dad spent some time on a farm growing up, my great grandparents were all farmers. Well the Polish great grandparents were migrant farmers but the rest of my family had acreage and that's how they made their living for generations. I here my grandmother telling me her stories in my head, or find that google confirms something her or my dad says. It's weird it just feels like it's part of me. Like some sort of farmer gene? I think that must be a real thing I swear!

On another note I haven't been able to craft much. BUT there is a stellar reason...
I was practicing driving...
because my road test was this past Saturday...
and I PASSED!!!!

This past year seems surreal, in the last twelve months we bought a home, Thing 3 started school, I completed a year of school and I got my license. I know that list is all backwards but it's the way it is. After all our struggles we are sitting here with our garden coming in outside and summer vacation on the horizon. I will be thirty at the end of it and I can't help but pat myself on the back. Mr. Bunny and I got through so much together and now we are making serious headway forward. How incredible!

Let the relaxation commence

2011-05-19T15:49:00.004-04:00

(ETA people clicking over from a reader there are no seas discussed in this post. That would be cool though..)
I think I have almost recovered from being hacked. Almost I am still trying to get into my old blog email which is infuriating to no end and get in touch with friends to get their new info. I was starting to get a complex, like OMG (okay I didn't really say that) my friends found an easy way to be rid of me. No one likes me... I am in sixth grade again... there must be something in my teeth... my clothes are ugly... waah! Instead what I've discovered is the majority of my friends think I just remember this stuff and I do for TWO of them. I am clearly a product of the digital age. That is depressing, so I am now using my old school address book as back up. Who knew it was for more than cards? You? Fine I'm catching up.

I'm done with the semester and it was HARD and my gpa reflects that. Never in my life have I been so relieved to be done with something. The kicker is I'm not anywhere near done. I have a lot of choices to make but I am going to decompress first. So right now we are trying to settle into our new normal, relaxed normal. This is my girls ready for the hunt at the flea market. How cute are they? We have been gardening when it isn't raining.When it is raining it has been a Magic School Bus athon here. I am actively working on driving, parallel parking I hate you!

This is an artistic photo (or one with bad lighting either way) of garter stitch. This particular garter stitch is part of a comfort shawl I completed for someone in my extended family. They lost their husband rather suddenly, he was a wonderful man and his presence will be missed by any person who ever met him. I never have the right words in these situations but I can knit. This is my knit hug to her so it's always present when no one else is there.

What is everyone else working on? Are things winding down for you? The same? More insane? (teachers I'm pointing at you) Anyone finding reprieve or fun awesome warm weather projects?

Hi and um, sorry...

2011-05-11T14:11:00.000-04:00

It is finals week, I am exhausted.

I am posting this to say if you get an email from me please do NOT open it please. All of my emails were hacked in fact they tried to hack my facebook that was the only thing that caught it. All of my contacts and emails are gone. I am still locked out of hotmail but I am pretty sure it is frozen now. I just found out today. So I do apologize if you get an email but really anyone that knows me knows I would not be requesting funds to come HOME from London.

I'll be back after finals. Hope everyone is enjoying spring.

Owls

2011-04-29T22:04:00.000-04:00

Have you seen this fabric? I want all of some sort of vintage style dress made with it! Kaufman I love you!

So after while looking for a picture of my flag I purchased at Lowes because mine is all crazy in the wind I found this.
Do you not love how serious that owl looks? I'm just waiting for him to start talking and say "What are you looking at?". I'm going to have to wait until the wind settles until I can show off my owl flag.

The reason I am posting about owls is I think we have a Great Horned Owl hanging out behind my house somewhere. I hear it at night at dusk, it is so cool! I remember "dissecting" an owl pellet at school and seeing Ravens and Eagles in Alaska, but never an owl. I want to hang out with it, you know? Anyway if you want to hear one you can listen here to different owls that call Massachusetts home. Barn Owls do not sound as cute as they look, just sayin'.

We got some stuff planted outside; sugar peas we started indoors, potatoes (russet, red and yukon gold) yellow and red onions and garlic. We'll see what grows.

Another thing for parents out there with summer coming so comes the need to find things to do on rainy days. Well it's time to sign up for bowling for free with your kids. Every area has their own alleys that sign up some require shoe rental (like ours) and I've read at some it's free. Check it out and sign up for those rainy days or those days you need some free A/C.

Spring Cleaning

2011-04-27T16:28:00.001-04:00

Well I officially feels like spring in New England; snow this past Saturday, today almost eighty degrees, therefore I will clean. Okay not really clean so much as declutter again, it's a seasonal affair you know. I really don't know how we accumulate so much STUFF. (I'm sure my love of yard sales, thrift stores and sales has nothing to do with it...whistles.) Anyway right now it's time to pare down kids clothes, besides all those reasons I mentioned that totally have nothing to do with anything, there is growth and gifts. Now the closet overflows this needs to be fixed. Each girl has gotten a list of amounts of different things they are keeping and i will go through them in the end and make sure that we haven't just kept the comfiest items (Thing 1)or things we have outgrown but still find fabulous(Thing 3). Thing 2 no problems she is at her finest when things are in order. Poor kid I don't know how she functions here sometimes, good thing she has Mr. Bunny who is just like her. We are using a modified version of this. If anyone wants to know what we do let me know and I'll post exactly what we are keeping. Alright I have homework to do and supper to cook but I wanted to share some linky-love and yup that's it.

First off I wanted to let you know about A month of free patterns the original post is from 2006 but it is going on RIGHT now. Very cool stuff if you sew.

Second is the Kids Clothes Challenge it's going on in May and my classes should be winding down so I'm hoping to participate. As much as my kids have right now I know we will be lacking in the straight up summer clothes area. Don't have a kid to sew for? Sew for mine! Just kidding...

Last is Swag Bucks which is one of those points accruing for prizes sites. A lot of other bloggers use it and they have coupons and such. So if you are into such things check it out, just click the box on the upper right hand corner. If you sign up I'll get some points and would be able to get some Amazon gift cards.

Links to everything are right on the right hand side. Lots of awesomeness going on, I think we all must be inspired by spring (in our hemisphere anyway).

What does everyone think of the new background? Header? I don't know how I feel about them yet and would love some input.

Finally a Finished Project!

2011-04-25T22:49:00.000-04:00

So this is not the artistic photo I'd planned and you can't see my super long strap BUT it's finished. Here's the pattern and I loved it! If you crochet make one NOW!

Happy Day

2011-04-24T23:19:00.001-04:00

Hope all you Peeps had a lovely day!

A Funny Story

2011-04-20T09:16:00.000-04:00

I took Thing 2 and Thing 3 to the thrift store on Monday. Thing 1 was off at a friends house because you know she's cooler than us. Alright not cooler than us but just getting really big, anyway moving on. These are some of the things we walked out of there with, I love LOVE LOVE The Pioneer Children of America. It's from the fifties and is all about colonial America it even has sections on how to churn butter and make a canoe. Very cool. Thing 2 was excited for The Bobbsey Twins book, I really want to start finding her old Nancy Drews because the kid just loves old fashioned reads. The old Vogue Knitting Stictionary is perfection. We also picked up a couple books for Thing 3 that aren't pictured and a couple more Easter decorations, with a name like Hunny Bunny I obviously have a soft spot for all things rabbit. Our best find was a complete set up for a lizard for seven dollars. It was a good day there. I share all this because it is a good lead in for my funny story.

We got this set too. How perfect is this? Three little bunnies learning away? For a dollar! I had to get it because even if I am not my kids teacher in a typical sense I do on occasion teach them things and it just reminded me of us.

All of this leads me to a birthday party Thing 3 attended yesterday. The rule here is simple for birthdays for friends. We spend ten dollars on the present. I know it might sound cheap and sometimes I feel cheap because my limit hasn't changed with inflation. They get ten dollars for the present, make the card and we get some sort of reusable tote bag for the gift usually for a dollar. On occasion I'm smart enough to make them. Sometimes I let them shop from the gifts I have stored away that I got a great deal on but that isn't as much fun as shopping at the store.

Alright now that's all out there here's our story. Yesterday we were out shopping for the birthday party (clearly last minute)at Target and Thing 3 informs me that her friend LOVES Bakugan. Okay let's go look... Ooh Thing 3 they are on clearance. See because they are so cheap at $2.48 a piece you can get three or four. What great luck, right? She is thrilled picks out the three best (I grab some for the stored gifts) we get a Where the Wild Things are tote bag and we are off. We got the party and when it gets to present time my daughter is beyond thrilled to share that they were SO CHEAP! I was mortified, his dad laughed it off and said those are the best kind. I think I turned fifteen shades of red in less than one minute. I didn't explain or anything because why would I. When it's time to go I'm not going to lie I was relieved to get out of there.

Here's the thing that I realized when we left, she was just so proud. I am raising my kids to be thrifty, cheap whatever word you want to use. I try to teach them quality over quantity, not to buy something just because it's cheap and to be responsible. They know kites from the dollar store are awful but they have cool coloring books. Yard Sales are fun and clearance is your friend. She wasn't being embarrassed like I was, she was proud that she got a great deal. Last night I laughed about it and told her that we don't need to share how much a present costs expensive or cheap because it's the thought. Last night and today funny; at the party not so much. The things we learn from our kids...

If you've made it this far here is a thrifty gift for you it's a coupon for free admittance to a public garden on May 6th. In Massachusetts this will get you into
The Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University,
The Botanical Garden of Smith College and New England Wild Flower Society’s Garden
in the Woods. Check the link to see what is available in your area, it looks like a lot of fun!

Breaking Habits

2011-04-16T14:10:00.000-04:00

I have a tendency to withdraw from the world when I am stressed. I take forever returning emails, certainly don't want to blog and if I were to be honest I would say that I would rather just hang with my kids and not be afraid if my disappearing filter. See that's my problem I don't have a strong filter in general I'm like a Brita with twenty-five percent efficiency on my best day. When I am stressed I'm left with maybe ten percent. So generally I pick a charity project and remind myself how blessed I am. Well I am breaking that habit now. I might not have too much to say but life is going on here.

I raked up a lot of pine needles and used my new wheelbarrow, at least it's new to me. Someone left it out for trash because it was covered in rust. I wish I had a before picture, but a little sanding and spray paint courtesy of Mr. Bunny and it's good as new. The raking has to be done in order to not stab yourself repeatedly while

digging. The little ones who have been so angry have been enlisted in yard work. Right now we are removing a few pine trees from our property. I never thought we would dig up a tree but a)we live in the woods. b)Mr. Bunny and I are allergic to pine. c)They are way too close to our septic and leech field. d)We need to clean up our yard and pine is just awful.
Plus keeping the girls occupied is really a good thing. They are still mad and getting out their anger in a physical way is helpful and productive.

Last but not least I rediscovered porcupine balls. I made them once when Mr. Bunny and I were first married and promptly forgot about them. I am trying a recipe that I kind of made up a bit today. It's windy and damp here and comfort food sounds good. It's like the middle of a golumpki which means the kids should love it. If it's good I'll post the recipe, if not we'll pretend I ever mentioned them...

Getting ready for our first garden

2011-04-14T21:56:00.000-04:00

Do you see what Thing 3 sees? Look at our pea seed, it's smiling at you. What a wonderful thing to see.

Today was a beautiful spring day in central Massachusetts. I did some (really a lot) of work in the yard today trying to get ready for planting this summer. I have dreams of tomatoes coming out of our ears, I'm pretty confident that twenty-five percent of my food budget (at minimum) goes to tomatoes and tomato based products. I'm not kidding we live off of spaghetti sauce and salsa never-mind Thing 3 and my own insatiable love of tomatoes. I needed to start our seeds today if that was going to happen. I've been trying to keep the girls busy so I of course enlisted their assistance. I'm glad I did and will be spending the next few days trying to keep them busy because if they are not busy they are angry. At least there is a lot of work to be done.

One of the things I want to do is make a container garden with them for tea. On occasion my girls enjoy a nice herbal tea before bed. I know to grow mint and have some other ideas but am left wondering if anyone out there has a favorite. If you were planning a container garden for tea what would be your MUST have? I forgot to mention I also have some chamomile and some lavender but I don't know if I have enough time to start the seeds.

Words

2011-04-13T14:27:00.000-04:00

Thank you for the comments on my last post.
The past couple days have been really rough around here. We knew he wasn't feeling well but didn't know how sick he was. I hate cancer. My kids didn't even know he was going to the vet that day. When they came home from school and he was gone it was the worst I've ever felt for them.

I have so many wonderful memories of the dog that came with us across country once by plane once on a road trip. The dog who loves running in the woods near Lake Superior.
-The Caesar that came on every day trip. The one who we planned hiking trips around.
-He would tell on the girls if they were making a poor choice that would hurt them by barking until I paid attention to what he was reporting.
-Caesar always had an eye on "his girls" even when they would go swimming at Bapci's he had his own special spot under a tree so he could keep watch.
-When I brought home the babies Thing 2 and Thing 3 I was afraid he would be jealous, but instead he gave them his heart.
-He was stability when we had none. Do you have any idea how difficult it was finding rentals with him and the girls? It never mattered he was our baby.
-That dog was essentially a gift from my parents. They made sure we got him, he was a tangible tie to both of them. Mom passed away almost seven years ago and I haven't seen my dad in four years.
-Every friend and family member I called cried, not just for us but because he was always with us.

I had been planning some fun artsy posts, garden talk and thrift finds before this happened. But my kids are sick AGAIN (I did break and buy Lysol, I think the house now has a layer of it on every surface) and I'm perpetually behind in my homework. My seeds aren't started and I'm generally blah. I do have some projects planned to help the girls deal with what's going on. I'd like to put it all in one post though as to not drag this out. I'm off to accomplish something for school. Tonight will be leftover night here.

There are no words right now

2011-04-11T20:23:00.000-04:00

Caesar
April 6, 2002-April 11, 2011

Sick kids=Tired Mom

2011-04-09T19:22:00.000-04:00

You know sometimes I wonder why I don't use lyslol on EVERYTHING and don't tote Purell around in gallon jars. This season has been r-o-u-g-h, I'm pretty sure that we always catch every single respiratory virus that hits whatever 'hood we are residing in. We always have and that's cool with me because my Thing 1 has an awesome immunity now, I figure it's from catching it ALL when she was younger. Anyway where I'm going with this we have had the most awful stomach bugs running back and forth in this house and I've had enough. Enough sheet washing, floor mopping and scrubbing. I feel bad for my girls with their clammy skin, tired eyes and upset bellies. I have my hippie dippie sensibilities but I am telling you right now I am "this" close to buying every single god awful disinfectant money can buy, I won't even find coupons first! What does that tell you?
All of this is of course leading me to question my new found education that I am receiving and paying out the nose for. Alright reading this over I realize I sound more bitter than I am, less bitter more exhausted. Somehow writing papers lose their importance when faced with the choice of vomiting child (one who would make the exorcist proud) or Word. Now all of this is making me not just realize but accept that I can not handle taking all the courses I am taking right now. It is insane, and with kids home from school sick (varying children on varying days) and Mr. Bunny picking up overtime I am so overwhelmed. I think in the fall I am going to try to just do part time and accept that I will not have a degree for a while. I can do that, I can take one accelerated course in the begining and one after on top of one other course. Or something. Gosh I'm tired.

On to more positive things;
I am taking driving lessons! Apparently I don't suck at driving. As long as I stop viewing it like a video game where pedestrians jump in front of cars and other cars are trying to take me out I'll be fine. So first lesson I was a mega spaz! Second calm and chillaxed, I totally rocked a rotary or roundabout depending on where you are!
I am in love with Katy Perry's line for OPI. I hunted for the black shatter but my heart lies with Last Friday Night. Light blue GLITTER!!!! At least my hands look cute while cleaning up sick.
Mr. Bunny has assembled some raised beds for me!
Spring seems to be here for at least a slightly longer visit. My kids are already annoyed with bugs.

Alright I am off to bake for Thing 2's school friend party tomorrow. Please cross your fingers for me that no children vomit while we are there and that my kids my stop long enough that we can go. Also cross your fingers Mr. Bunny isn't manning the even by himself while I am reacquainting myself with the toilet (trust me this would be our luck of late).

So if you are out and about you smell lysol, it might just be me.

*No yarn/fabric/glitter has been harmed in the making of my insanity. Textbook vs. vomit was the closest we've been.

Hunny Bunny's Bows

2011-04-01T10:00:00.000-04:00

Here is the tutorial for how to make the bows I mentioned in my last post. To start I would like to say that this is a super duper easy project that I think most of us crafty types can figure out on our own but I wanted to share the way *I* do it. Also I think this would be great for your kids to do with you because it is that easy.

Supplies:
Felt (I used leftovers from yardage used to make poodle skirts but I think a thin felted sweater would be perfect for this)
Adhesive of choice and lots of it felt sucks it up (I used Aleene's Super Fabric Glue for the felt and Elmer's Craft Bond to attach it to the barrettes)
Large Barrettes from the craft section
Ruler

First you need to measure out your felt, because I was working with the yardage I just traced around a small quilting ruler I have. The measurement of my piece once cut was 18 inches by three inches. Once I did that I folded it in half and cut it to 9 inches by three inches. So if you are working with a smaller piece you could just make sure you can measure out 9 inches across and three inches wide. You will also need a piece for the center to cover that is one inch wide. Eyeball this part and make sure you have enough to wrap around the center.

This part I think is the most important, it's how you fold it. I can't describe it but you can see how I did it. Before you do this part use glue to fold the two ends to the center. Also at this point add glue in between your folds. Lots of glue here people, lots of glue.

now hold it for a minute or two, maybe five. Okay not five but you get my point right? This is what it should look like at this point.

Now here is where we use that inch wide piece, we are covering the seam. Glue it when you first place it on and again on the other side while wrapping. Then back to where you started and add more glue. You can trim at this point. Hold that on there for a minute so it sets. At this point I realized I needed light weight on it so I could get along to the rest of my assembly line and the brilliant Mr. Bunny brought over a butter knife and out it on the center to weigh it down, it worked out perfectly. Let the glue cure a little bit at this point. I would wait at least a half hour maybe an hour.

At this point your glue should be dry enough to attach to the barrette, use a big glob in the center and press the center of your bow to it. Hold it in place for a few and then let it set for a few hours. I let it set over night and into the afternoon before I dropped it off with the troop leader.

If there are any questions please let me know. These really are adorable gigantic bows.

I'm off to enjoy what is hopefully our last snow day for this school year. Mother Nature just had to get in one last hurrah on April Fools day no less.

Why I'm a cool mom

2011-03-28T22:27:00.000-04:00

or why I'm doing so poorly this semester, either way. (please ignore how desperately my table needs refinishing) Today I went to Thing 2's Girl Scout meeting to help out with poodle skirts. Every year they have a big party and this year it's a sock hop, the troop leader was talking hair accessories so I offered to make some bows tonight and drop them off tomorrow. It's felt so quick and easy, also super cute! I used the same felt the skirts were made with so it will be a perfect match. I took a ridiculous amount of pictures in the process so will try to get up a tutorial this week. I am aware these are ridiculously easy but want to share how I did them, in case you know you are in need of a ridiculously huge and easy bow.
To be honest I'm just happy I got something crafty done! My yarn is sitting in the bin still looking at me pleading to be used. Of course I have to gently let it down.

Happy Spring

2011-03-23T13:59:00.000-04:00

from the girl who has a yard covered in snow, but a house filled with seeds. I am waiting to start them inside. More on that later though.

Last week was my "spring break" I had grand delusions of getting so many things done. Instead I spent the beginning of the week feeling like poo, and I felt so icky that when I called the doctor's office they had me got to the ER. I spent Wednesday night there, it was as fun as it sounds. I felt so icky I didn't even bring a project to work on, but did sleep a lot. I'm good now, so hurrah for that. I don't have pictures of anything because I am in the middle of trying to convince myself that Shakespeare is in fact brilliant and not the bore I remember from high school. I'm not really doing well with my argument with myself, in fact I am losing. Blah, Hamlet you are boring.

This past weekend we had Thing 3's party for her school friends. What a great bunch of kids! We had it at the local bowling alley and it was fun. Our goodie bags were western themed and I made these cupcakes. Everyone loved them, and she had her favorite colors on the top. Sky blue with pink Wilton color mist lightly sprayed on half. Her party was on the first day of spring so we didn't get to do anything special for that which is fine. Did you get to do anything special to celebrate the beginning of spring yourself? Did you see the super moon? The girls got a kick out of it here.

My project that I mentioned in my last post is still a WIP. Not really going with speed here lately.

While waiting

2011-03-14T20:37:00.000-04:00

for spring I may have gone a little overboard at Barnes and Noble. Normally I try to get my stuff at the thrift store, used book store or Amazon when need be. Instead I had two impulse purchases there one being Square Foot Gardening and the next being The Edible Front Yard. In my defense I woke up to it snowing outside, granted it was pretty non sticking snow I am getting overwhelmed at the prospect of Spring being right around the corner. I want to do SO much here but am aware that I will not be able to do it all right away. I need a plan though. I'm a list loving planner. I can't speak to the effectiveness of these books but they both are well written and make sense. My garden planning has been kicked into high gear. The excitement of both of us living in OUR home and being able to take our time to do this right is the most amazing feeling. I think it will be a while before it gets old. Hopefully I can document my attempts of gardening on here soon. Maybe while wearing this dress. Doesn't this scream spring? And it is an awesome tutorial. Of course all this would be after I make some birthday cupcakes for Thing 3's school friend party. Has anyone tried the recipe I linked? It looks great but we all know how Martha's recipes can be.

In yet another quest awaiting spring I am working on what I hope to be a very spring-y, fun project. I'll be posting more details on it when I finish it up which will hopefully be by the end of the week. What is so funny about this picture to me is our kitty, Apple jumps up on my lap any time I am working with yarn. I had to share this picture with you because 1) it is adorable and 2) I want to show off how far our shelter kitty has come. When we got her we were worried about her happiness here after spending four years in a cat filled shelter coming here with only one other cat, a little dog, the grownups and three little kids. Look at her now, she is always in the middle of everything and has claimed her rightful place as princess. It makes me so happy to see her happy.

Before I part and get back to my crocheting for the evening I want to share one more link. The American Red Cross is taking donations for tsunami relief, if you've thought about giving check it out. My heart is with the people of Japan right now and I want to fix it right now, obviously I can't but this is something.

Fiber, I love fiber

2011-03-11T17:15:00.000-05:00

So imagine my awe and general sense of happy going to Webs. I've been once before and the Yarn Harlot was there, I left with one book. I repeat ONE book. So when I go back I can be controlled again, right? Umm, no actually I can not. In fact there is one point in the store where I feel my self control leave my body, pretty sure it went out through my left ring finger. Wait a minute? Oh it was Mr. Bunny's yarn signal!! We'll go with that. So before I get to carried away I want to tell you that I went with someone from my old Stitch and Bitch, back when I lived in that thur big city (that's my small town voice talking). It was so wonderful to go with her and I really had the best time. We explored the area a little bit; there was chocolate and bagels and a witnessing a little bit of instant karma (yah speeding, aggressive man we saw you get pulled over)! So what can beat good company that you can laugh with while indulging in a pumpernickel bagel and chocolate with lavender in it? Nothing but yarn and roving and ooh fiber it's like all the rainbow sprinkles on top! So first I'll introduce you to my new yarns first there is Berroco Touche on the right. This is in fact the only yarn I planned on purchasing while I was there. I even got an email from them on my phone while I was there telling me I would love this yarn. Why yes as a matter of fact I do, thanks. I bought enough to make myself a summer shirt of some sort. In the middle is some Qina Marisol it's 80% Baby Alpaca and 20% bamboo. It is in fact the most delicious yarn I have laid my hands on, I grabbed enough of that for a sweater too from the next aisle. It was so soft I didn't even walk around. And last up is some Sublime Cotton Organic. This is again destined to be some sort of summer garment. It is so soft for a cotton, and I love cotton anyway.
Then we have our sock yarn. This department is where the self control left my body. I wish you could just touch it through the screen! It is so soft and lets face it every year I say I'm going to make socks if this doesn't make me nothing will. First the pink is Misti Alpaca and I want to make sheets with it! It is so soft and bright; perfection. Then there is Dream in Color Everlasting. This yarn screamed True Blood to me. I love that show and am eagerly awaiting the next season, I will have to use this yarn to make socks while I watch right?

The final purchase was a drop spindle. I have wanted one for a long time and am thrilled to finally have one. I can't wait until this summer when I actually have some time to play with it. For now I am enjoying my new Rain Boots that were used just today to jump in enormous puddles. Also I am dress hunting for a wedding that I will be attending in May. Does anyone have any suggestions? I love vintage stuff/style and am not having much luck finding anything. I would appreciate any suggestions.

Simple Words

2011-03-04T08:45:00.000-05:00

Thank you Karen At Free Pretty Things for a wonderful image.

This morning I was walking the girls to the bus stop and thinking a lot. You know those mornings, the ones where you haven't finished your coffee, the cold you have won't let go but you all of a sudden are some incredibly deep thinker? So en route my mind was fuzzy coming up with deadlines and such homework will be done by, dinner started by, floors mopped by, granny square completed by... Once we arrived at the bus stop I stopped with all that nonsense and watched my girls climb mountains of snow while they had their adventure and listened to the birds sing, and I realized I was home. What was going on right now would be the most magical memories later on in my life, and hopefully for my girls. Now part of why this seems so magical is my girls have been arguing like crazy women arguing over every little thing for example;
"Mom, she looked at me funny." (what do they think I am going to do offer clown college?)
"Mom, she's in my space." (Okay bubble girl, really?!)
"Mom, she knew I wanted that one for snack!!!!"(pretty sure the cabinets are filled with them)
You get my drift. It's the end of winter MOM (mega-overit-minion) season, stir crazy girls who are ready for bird watching, star gazing and nature walks. It's hard to feel 100% grateful during this season. (Ever notice Mother's Day follows up this season? I think I know why...)
Now back to the simple words, while in the midst of this be grateful moment the bus pulls up. The bus driver and I say hi every day, with a side of small talk so today she says "They always have smiles on their faces."
Now keeping in mind all the bickering we are dealing with here I couldn't help but say "My girls?"
"Yes, I would take 100 of them any day."
*shock, awe* "Thank You."

It was her simple words that made my whole day! I know I have good kids. I'm told that at every conference, book fair etc. While I'm proud of them all the time it made me feel so good to know they carry it on over to the bus as well. Let them save that all for me, it's fine just don't have your "space bubble" at school or on the bus. I am so grateful!
This got me thinking about how Mr. Bunny is always telling me not to talk to strangers. I scare them he says, you know with my overweight, soccer mom charm. I can't help it though I NEED to compliment people. That 20 year old pin someone needle-pointed for you? I LOVE it!!!! Your fabulous scarf? LOVE IT!!!! That eyeshadow totally brings out your eyes, no really it's not too much. I say things like that all the time to strangers to try to pass along a smile BUT only if it's true. People do look scared sometimes, which brings my inner evil diva joy, mwahaha but that's not the goal. I hope I make you feel a little better for one minute and I like to think it gets passed along. . Those are such simple words to utter, really a compliment is. I guess I'm writing this to one say;
Thank you!!!!! Thank you to all the people that take the time to say one kind thing to someone else, just because. Thank you for passing along something beautiful!
Maybe you can talk to strangers yourself this weekend? Pass along some love while we await the big melt here?

So I guess next time it will be WEBS because I'm feeling all gushy (darn MOM season).

Not quite wordless Wednesday

2011-03-02T10:08:00.000-05:00

Thing 3 is now six. These are the cupcakes she shared with her class. My icing tips are all missing so this was done baggie style.

Her favorite thing in the world is pandas! I bought a needle felting kit from Amazon. It's from Woolpets and even though it is imperfect she loved it. I now love felting, it's fun!!!

Mr. Bunny is back at work (he's been out since a car accident in October) and the kiddos are back in their school (building drama). I am home alone and hoping it helps me get my house back in order, catch up on my school work and have time for more creating. Next post, about my trip to WEBS!!!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2011-02-10T14:30:00.000-05:00

Isn't this an adorable bunny? I found it here.
Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!!

I'm going to try and post a project soon, well as soon as I have time to do one. School is kicking my bootie and Thing 2 and Thing 3 are home from school due to some roof drama. Plus I have been a crazy woman hawking girl scout cookies. I have not even looked at my sewing machine in a couple weeks, and the yarn scattered all over my living room is just a distraction right now. If I haven't emailed you back I am sorry and will get it out today.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day and sharing it with people they love friends, significant other or maybe a text book. No wait not a text book...

What's a couple more feet of snow?

2011-02-01T17:22:00.000-05:00

It's enough to make this Snow Bunny want to cry. That is the forecast for me between today and tomorrow. I've mentioned in the past that I love winter, I really, really do. Every time I get frustrated I think of summer, heat=ick mosquitoes=Thing 2 having extreme reactions which twice has resulted in an ER visit since we have moved to the land of country living make the snow bearable for me. Plus I'm all for bundling up, lots of layers make me warm. You can only take off so much in the summer, plus I wear jeans EVERY day. I'm digressing, I need the snow to MELT! Just melt already, please. I know around the US we are all getting slammed with the weather right now, so in honor of the thought of Spring coming I want to share some linky love.

Lets start with Ana White. Can I be her bestie? Have you visited this blog before? Look at the outdoor section, lots of plans for outdoor furniture. I can no longer see my old, beat picnic table (it's buried under a few feet of snow) but I can see hers and it's beautiful. Adirondack chairs? She tells you how to make them. I LOVE her, and can't wait to hit up home depot.

What about the mac-daddy of Compost Bins? It's pricey to make but seems like perfection. It has a cover!!! Love, love, love!!!

Here we are looking forward to ordering some chickens preferably Araucanas for spring. Look you can buy ahead of time.

Well where are the chickens going to live? Maybe I need to spend more time looking at Coop Plans over at Backyard Chickens.

Lastly why don't we look at Seeds? This company even has seeds potatoes! How many of us want to build aPotato Box? It looks like fun to me, just to see if it works because I've read a lot of mixed reviews.

Now being realistic I doubt we'll be able to accomplish everything we want to this spring/summer, but it feels good to plan right now. Remembering the smell of the earth, looking forward to what can be and remembering there is time to get ready. See maybe winter isn't all bad, it's giving us lots of time to prepare.

I want to be like this guy

2011-01-29T11:31:00.000-05:00

my Olie. Look at him relaxing, I swear that cat always looks like he's meditating. Clearly having a far better time than myself.
The past few days have been rather bland here. I sat down and watched Shutter Island finally. It was a great albeit very sad movie. I'm not a movie person and I am certainly not a sit still not otherwise occupied movie person, but this time I didn't knit, crochet or menu plan. Just watched the movie, trust me you should be impressed. I also watched a marathon of Art Race last night. How did I not know of this network Halogen before? How did I not know of this show? It was absolutely amazing, and I was cheering Ken and Ben on the whole way. If you get an opportunity to check it out, you REALLY, REALLY should!

It hasn't all been vegging out in front of the television though. I've been going through the uncomfortable motions of my semester, and started reading The Education of Little Tree. Thanks for commenting it's a marvelous book because quite clearly it is. I'm already invested and it's hitting me like a big gigantic emotional ton of bricks. I really don't know how I got out of my book-wormy childhood without reading it. Thing 1 is getting my copy when I'm done. I was already looking forward to Two Old Women because somehow I left Alaska having not read it. I used to frequent Gulliver's Books in Fairbanks and they always had a ton of copies and every time I would think I should pick this up and read it but alas I didn't. At least there is some good reads this semester.

Also this week I've been working on my family tree, which is interesting and I love working on. I've hit a point where I am ready for some mini-vacations to pick up records, I would love to give my grandmother some records and a copy of the non Polish part of her tree. I am so not ready to tackle the Polish side yet. Part of my family is old New England, the original settlers of Massachusetts and no, no one was on the Mayflower. Then there is the Polish part of my family, my great-great grandparents were from Poland, their journey I'm not ready for but I know it will be fascinating. My paternal side is more of adventure to me, and I am so excited to be looking into that. They were adventurous and headed west. I am so interested in them, probably because being from an old New England family that is still here I never understood my need to travel. I think I may have an adventure gene, and I'm pretty sure it's from them.

Like I said all in all a rather bland week, but it was good. Anyone else have any spectacular adventures? Or movie recommendations? I'm pretty sure at almost thirty I have finally developed the ability to sit still for long enough periods. Here's to hoping.

Another semster begins

2011-01-25T16:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my semester started and I'm feeling rather overwhelmed, not enough to jump up and down and stomp but more like a gentle eep. Before I delve into all that fun stuff here's a pretty thing, or at least bright. It's another cardigan for the OB ward on Pine Ridge with a matching hat, it is very bright but I love this green. Not that I could or should wear it, but how cute will a little one in it be? I'm hoping to get the sleeves completed tonight and make some booties. I wanted to get a couple sets done before I mailed them, but will probably be taking a break to make my girls something in between projects. My youngest was shocked when I made the blanket for our house. We never keep anything I make it gets passed along, whether for charity or gifting nothing stays here. It made me realize my own kids need some stuff from mama too. Does anyone else do that? Just give it all away? The notebook is going to be used for the Morning Pages mentioned in The Artist's Way. It looks like something I could benefit from right now, even if I have to get up extra early and feel bizarre about being so "open". We'll see how it goes.

These books are going to be ruling my world for the next few months. Like I said I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, which is silly. I went to school full time and watched a neighbors baby full time right after Thing 3 was born. In that same semester Mr. Bunny went to the field for six weeks. I was fine then, so really I'm pretty sure I'll be fine now and I didn't mess up anything huge last semester. I just feel so hyper self-conscious when the semester begins once I find my groove it will be fine. Why I do this to myself? I have no idea. Maybe I could craft a pocket cheerleader for these moments?

Inspired by weather

2011-01-23T18:21:00.000-05:00

If you live in the Northeast the biggest topic of conversation is the weather. If I were to be honest I would say that I don't quite understand what the big deal is, it's January. January is cold and snowy it's just the way it is unless you are in Florida, I'm pretty sure they are the only one in the states that is safe. That being said I get at least part of it, the snow hasn't melted form the last three storms we had in a ten day period and that is part of the charm of Massachusetts. My front yard is covered with at least three feet of snow and right now there is an arctic chill in the air, the time the kids go to the bus stop we're looking at temps of -17. The snow is not going anywhere before the next Nor'easter hits us on Wednesday. I can be down with discussing that, I don't really want to experience mud season again.

So in honor of the arctic chill and fear of mud season I finally made my felted sweater blanket. It is warm, comfy and totally imperfect. These are my favorite kind of projects. Hope wherever you are staying warm and getting ready to relax. As you can see that's where I'm at right now.
You doing anything special to stay warm?

Snow Days and UFOs

2011-01-21T10:48:00.000-05:00

It's another fabulous Friday here, which is also another snow day! Like I've mentioned I love snow and of course I love snow days. I love having the girls home with me and watching them play and have fun. It's not even lunch time yet but the perma-grin has set it. There is of course some worry that the snow days are becoming too frequent, I don't want them in school for an extra week or two or, oh my gosh don't want to think about it heading into summer vacation.
A couple weeks ago I signed up for Balckberry Creeks UFO along. I still haven't got my list together for that, isn't that sad? In my defense it's in my head, my UFOs nag at me I've just become proficient at ignoring them. Tonight that nagging voice will become one of the many lists I have around here. This week I did accomplish two projects, we'll start with the first one which is an afghan that I couldn't find anywhere and when I finally did
I was so disappointed. Why one earth was it rippling? I must have added too many increases. Upon reflecting my opinion of this pattern I decided to frog. I don't know if it was the pattern, the yarn or just most likely the realization that it isn't very practical for my house. So the yarn was reincarnated into a cardigan which was again promptly frogged. I think this yarn and I will be taking a break from each other. Just looking at it is making me agitated.

Before that blanket was found I finished up a layette set for Pine Ridge's OB ward. The front of the cardigan was wonky so I added a border and think that it looks super cute now. I need to get at least one more set done before I send it along. All in all I'm really pleased with this one and getting one UFO to stop nagging me is a good feeling. A lot of people participating have more complex projects to finish and I have a couple myself but I'm not ready to tackle them yet. Still finding my craft mojo.

Today I need to get a bunch of stuff ready to run to the post office and mentally prepare for my next semester which starts on Monday. I feel so unprepared for no logical reason other than the fact that last semester knocked me on my butt. So I'll be crossing my fingers that this one I won't feel the need for a pillow belt.

The Big Box

2011-01-18T19:51:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post there was a big box being put together at my house over the weekend. Now for the sake of disclosure; it's not crafty or related to cooking. It is related to homemaking, or at least homemaking in this house. Homemaking as it's related to giving. Here in the Bunny house giving is a pretty big deal. Not in the way that seeks attention or to get something back but instead to recognize how privileged we are and to send some positivity along. Hope is a powerful thing and I want my girls to realize that they can help out with that. I'm posting this to share some information on Pine Ridge Reservation which is located in South Dakota. If you aren't familiar with the reservation, please check out the link I provided.

This box was put together for the Roots and Shoots campaign that their school is working on. I love Roots and Shoots and how it's the kids working for their community. I'm lucky to be part of a wonderful group on Ravelry that posted what they needed. I feel privileged to work on this with my kids, they were so happy to help out. The one thing that is great about doing this stuff with children is there is no pity, it's just a matter of helping out some other kids. These clothes are mostly gently used worn once type of clothes, some still had tags which was nice.

We also lucked out with clearance at Walmart,backpacks for three dollars and some cute organic cotton pajamas that will work well as thermals for three dollars. Now Walmart is not my favorite place to shop but living here we don't have a lot of other shopping options and with those prices I can't complain too much. Thing 3 really wanted one but understood that she didn't need one but those children did. I was very proud of her that's a hard thing at her age.

The reason I am posting this is I felt like I had to share at least part of the story of Pine Ridge. Thanks for reading if you've made it this far.

Next time misadventures in craftiness...

Chaos before the storm

2011-01-16T01:11:00.000-05:00

Here it is Saturday night or Sunday morning, well whatever time you want to call it I should be sleeping. Instead I am sitting here indulging in a yogurt (Dannon Light & Fit Strawberry Cheesecake, which is delicious in case you are wondering) watching Inspector Morse all whilst indulging in a black cherry seltzer. I know right now I am oozing glamor, and you're all jealous... no? Moving on.

Right now I am taking a quick breath because the last two weeks have been the chaos before the storm. It is definitely not the calm before the storm, not in this house. The last couple weeks have been primarily dedicated to trying to get everything in order before next semester. This past semester was a little crazy and we hadn't even finished unpacking when it started so as you can imagine those things have been progressing at a snails pace. Now is my time to try to get everything in order; getting things together to post on freecycle, finally posting books on Paperback Swap then mailing my first book. Never mind the experience of attempting to communicate with people at the Campus Bookstore and straightening away paperwork for school. Plus playing with the kids and general house-wifery (I am aware that is a made up word). Today has been spent working on a layette set UFO, babysitting and getting stuff together for a gigantic box. That gigantic box is post worthy so I'll save the details for another day.

This awesome little birdy is named Pat. Pat the purple bird, Mr. Bunny and I decided on Pat because we can't tell if it's a boy or a girl. I mean purple with fab eyelashes, who knows. This is the free pattern I used. This is the January ornament in the year long KAL I'm participating in. Completing it was an awesome feeling 1/12 done one of my 101 in 1001 goals. It's not a lot but it's those little bits of progress that will help me complete it. The pattern itself I think was probably pretty good and the yarn used was Red Heart which is good for projects like this. The errors were all mine because I haven't knit in a while so the DPNS were extra difficult. If you are looking for a cute ornament/small bird or maybe an adorable mobile I recommend it.

Alright off to finish up my seltzer and pack up a box. Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

2011-01-12T15:14:00.000-05:00

This is what I woke up to this morning, notice that it's still dark? Let me tell you why, because I am five years old on the inside and was so excited at the prospect of SNOW! Lots and lots of Noreaster snow. I am a snow loving kind of gal, so I woke up way before my family drank some coffee and looked out the window. We just finished round two of cleaning up and will be finished up after round three tonight. We already have 18 inches here, where the snow isn't drifting. The drifts are high and it's so much FUN!!!! Can you hear the excitement? If you can't I'm sorry but my goodness I really truly love snow! The kids are home from school and we have been in and out all day. The only negative is I do NOT love my long windy driveway, but it's worth it just to play here.

Thing 2 observing the back yard on one of our breaks. I love this picture. Doesn't it just encompass childhood? The wonder and awe of something so beautiful, no complaints about the snow and how it is interfering with her plans. Just imagining what is going on out there behind the scenes and drying off just so they can all go back outside. It's awe inspiring to me.

I'll leave you with this photo, of the new hat that was made. The crowns are dead to me. I came up with my own thing and like it much more. It's not exactly what I pictured but pretty darn close and super warm. Yay to no patterns and ear coverage!!

Hope no matter where you are you are having a warm fuzzy kind of day.

The badly designed and the I DID IT!!!!

2011-01-06T19:09:00.000-05:00

In my last post I mentioned my lack of pattern speak, how it infuriates me and stretches my brain in ways that just aren't cool. The pieces were cut and assembly began, it was all working out. Whether or not I speak pattern I understood where to put the pieces. This is beyond exciting to me because this means that I can complete this project without cussing enough to make a trucker blush. In my world we count that as a win. So I sat stitching and feeling like a winner. Scarves; super easy done! Hats; super easy done! At this point I realize I should have Thing 2 and Thing 3 try them on, before I finish them completely. I call the girls and we try them on, ready for a fashion show apparently the strutting begins. I think to myself; "Oh how cute. These are so adora... Wait a minute..." At this point I ask them to look at me, and realize that their ears are in fact not covered. I just made these fleecy hats that should be super warm but in fact their ears are exposed. Then I sit there and beat myself up, because in fact it is my lack of understanding that has caused this; right? Nope, look at the picture. Quite clearly the crowns do NOT cover ears. My girlfriend suggested maybe someone from the south designed it because no one up here would dare design a warm hat without ear coverage. So at this point I really truly hate this set, and probably could fudge together some ear flaps. The thing is I don't think I want to, I think I just want to start over with something else. That is hard for me, it feels so wasteful. Could I chalk up the waste to learning? Could you? There is no desire on my part to finish anytime soon, and the kids need a new set now. Should I put it aside until later or toss it? I don't know. But really who designs a fleece hat for a winter set that doesn't cover ears?

On the more positive side of things I made a granny square. This is something I have been trying to do for eons, I am so proud of myself! There is a story behind my need to do this but I will save that for another post. There is a CAL on Ravelry for granny squares, so I'm sure I will be sharing more. This square is Maggie's Square courtesy of the Crochet Dude. I love it!!!

Sunday with a sewing pattern

2011-01-02T20:35:00.000-05:00

Intentions and reality were very different things in my home today. The reason for this was not due to sick children, a sudden urge to reorganize my home in a way that would make Martha Stewart proud or even the Pats game (great job btw). No my goal for today was thrown off by something far more infuriating, a sewing pattern. My kids will be waiting on their gear, because I spent way too long today trying to understand what this "easy" pattern was saying. See I try to understand the pattern before I cut the fabric to avoid tears, I learned this the hard way. I finally understand it, well as best as I'm going to and cut out the pieces but now I am done. It's not laziness on my part so much as it is knowing that at this point I will muck it up. Sewing patterns make as much sense to me as math. I don't get it at all. I try really hard and I get it done, but it takes twice as long as it should. I always forget that, after I use a pattern I feel so powerful like I suddenly speak pattern. But I don't. I speak "fudge it as I go" fluently, oh and sarcasm but not pattern. Oh well I will get it done tomorrow and that's good enough.

While I have you here I want to ask you something. If you could please check out this picture and vote for it, and share it if you like it I would appreciate it so much. The prize I'm after is some scholarship money. If you don't want to that's cool too, just figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Ooh and if you are like me and have more UFO's than the X-Files (yup that line never gets old) you should check out Blackberry Creek's UFO along for this year. She makes the most amazing to die for quilts, but the UFO along isn't just for those it's for anything! That speaks to my glitter filled heart and short attention span. I signed up, and am hoping to pull them all out after I conquer this sewing pattern and make my list. It looks like it is going to be a lot of fun, and I am SO excited!

I just realized I have a lot of lists to work on this week, hope that doesn't make me fall out of love with them. Though that's nothing a gel pen can't fix...

1-1-11

2011-01-01T20:16:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!!! I hope everyone had a marvelous time yesterday and slept it off today.

Here we hung in last night, and went out today. We had some returns for Target and after that we went to see Tangled, finally. According to Thing 3 she was the only kid in the WHOLE school who had not seen it yet. Normally this would be fine but she had also not seen Mega Minds. Apparently this is socially unacceptable in Kindergarten, and we were responsible for ruining her social life. Who knew? Well all is right with the world now, and the movie was really funny. Definitely a movie that is good for the whole family, you will want to cry at least once but there is a happy ending.

This upcoming year is going to be a big one for me. This year I will turn thirty, this year I will be working on a lot of personal goals which you will be able to see once I finish my 101 in 1001 list. I want to finish my UFOs. I'm going to become comfortable driving. We are going to get chickens. I could go on and on but I'll spare you. Is anyone else as excited for this year? Any super cool milestones in your life?

Tomorrow night I will hopefully have some pictures to post. The girls are waiting on some new hat/scarf/mitten sets, which I have every intention of sewing tomorrow. In fact I may toss supper in the slow cooker and hide downstairs all day. Can't think of a better start to the new year than this weekend.

Getting ready for the New Year

2010-12-30T17:31:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was so privileged to have some of my best friends come over. It was awesome! One of them has been in Michigan since she started college about ten years ago, my other two friends have been in Florida for about five years now. It was remarkable to have dinner with them yesterday. We all talked and the kids played with them. They are all on their way someplace far more interesting than my house which makes me sad but thrilled I got to see them at all.

Because they were coming I decided that it was a great opportunity to get the cubbies I'd been wanting for the dining room. I love storage, vertical, cleaned lined storage. I can see no reason for everything not to be stored in those wonderful creations. The only thing I can't stand is the stupid chipboard backing that accompanies phony furniture. I realized I could just buy some 12*12 scrapbook paper and make it pretty. That's what I did with spray adhesive and matte varnish. Now on the chipboard the paper tried to bubble up with the use of varnish, so I smoothed it out with my finger in a way that was wrinkled but flat so it wouldn't rip. The choice of vintage style papers really helped with this project. It was ready to be used just a couple hours later, and now the kids art and science stuff is neatly stored where it's used. It makes me smile, and made the dining room look better.

Really there isn't too much crafting to be done right now. I am focused on finishing my new household management binder and getting the house organized before next semester starts. I need 2011 to have better time management than this year, so I'm trying to make it easier for myself. When I have lists life feels easier and more calm. Maybe that's because I'm a Virgo or maybe it's because I get distracted by shiny things. If we're being honest it's probably both. The other list I'm working on is 101 things to do in 1001 days, that should be completed by the first.

Have any of you tried the list? Did you accomplish what you wanted to? Anything you think everyone should have on theirs?

Growth

2010-12-27T17:25:00.000-05:00

(above picture related to nothing other than my love of tacky lawn ornaments)

Sometimes life gets in the way. On occasion we have to step back and reevaluate. Once in a while we feel like we have to start over.

Maybe that's me, is it just me? It's rather obvious I haven't posted in almost a year, and prior to that I was sporadic at best. My heart wasn't in it. There were no great projects to share, nothing spectacular going on. I guess I could have shown you a shiny sink... over and over. I could have also shown you a sink filled with dishes...over and over. They kind of go hand in hand, you have to address the ick, before you can reap the rewards of your work.

This isn't going to be a very long post, after taking such a long break I doubt you need the play by play of every little thing. What I would like to share is that a lot has changed in my life and it's good. I'm in college again, I got my learners permit, and we bought a house. I love being in school even though it was really overwhelming the first semester. I still am absolutely terrified of driving but I am trying. Our house is perfect for us, it's everything we could have wanted but somehow feels like more. There is a space here for me to create, and I have been. After so long with no place to work, the overflow my brain is happy to have an outlet. There is a goal to set up a big garden with fruit trees, chickens and a compost bin. I am excited about the prospect of sharing my families journey with you, as we grow and make this place home.

I apologize for not being more present in the blogosphere. I needed time to just be, and to grow. I think there is some rule somewhere about not addressing long absences on your blog, I swear I read that somewhere before. Good thing following rules has never been my thing. I am back, and am excited about the prospect of documenting all the fun stuff going on around here. Hope you want to join me still.

Has there ever been a point in your life when you realized that you needed to step back and be? Or a period of such strong personal growth that you wonder what took you so long? When was it? I'm wondering if this is a one time deal or a precursor to midlife crisis that would make even "one of those guys" ashamed. I would love some insight.

Sometimes I need something silly. I'm guessing you do too.

2010-01-27T22:57:00.001-05:00

Doll Clothes and an appointment with a Neurologist

2010-01-25T21:07:00.000-05:00

This is the cute project I was working on, I was hoping to have completed at least one more by now. Thing 1, Thing 2 and Thing 3 all need clothes for their American Girl dolls. The pattern is available here. I made this in a Crochet Along on Ravelry, in the American Girl doll knitters group. I love the designer, her stuff is INCREDIBLE!!! I had some problems with the pattern, but again I am no good with patterns as a rule. I used Red Heart yarn, which I never use. I haven't used it since I first learned to knit, in fact I have been sticking with more natural fibers as of late. Let me tell you Red Heart was perfect for this project, so I will be using cheap acrylic for doll clothes. The reason I picked out the Red Heart was that it was all they had at Walmart. I was disappointed because I really wanted superwash wool and didn't want to wait to get it. I'm glad I was impatient and bought it because it is perfect. My rule with anything made for the kidlets is it's washable, and that my friends Red Heart is. I am not even going to concern myself with superwash now.

Mr. Bunny went to his appointment today with the Neurologist. It didn't go quite as planned, we were hoping for more answers. Instead we got more questions, he got diagnosed with Peripheral neuropathy. The problem is he doesn't have any of the underlying medical issues that would cause it. This of course means more testing, so up next is blood work and then a MRI. The doctor couldn't tell him anything about what may happen because without a cause, what can he really say? As disheartening as it was to find out there was no determined cause, we are so grateful that it isn't worse and that we will hopefully find out what the problem is sooner rather than later.

We had rain here today, it was odd. It's almost February and I live in Massachusetts. We get snow, not rain. My street looked like a river with all the water draining down the slight incline. On my way to the Bus Stop somebody soaked me with a puddle. Not cool dude, not cool.

Thank you everyone for the kind words about my last post. I really appreciate it, I was feeling so self absorbed and silly. You guys made that disappear. It really means a lot, so thank you again.

Has it really been since October?

2010-01-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been that long. I am definitely not the most consistent blogger but that must be some sort of record for me. This post will be long and filled with fun pictures while we catch up a bit. I warn you now the pictures may have nothing to do with the topic at hand, but it's what we've been up to none the less.

(Pigs from our favorite farm)

First off I have a confession to make which makes me feel awful and completely goes against my character. If you know me personally you know I'm kind of a hippie dippy, it could always be worse, make the best with what you've got kind of girl. This past year and a half, I was too tightly wound to "be me" so to speak. Mr. Bunny was waiting on G.I. Bill money for on the job training. When he took his job it was a huge pay cut but it is for a big corporation that the GI Bill offered money to help supplement your income while you were first starting out. We figured it would be much better than his very unstable checks from his sales job. The problem was this particular region has never worked with the GI Bill people before, it took over a year for them to find someone that could get it done. Then after that a few months ago it finally all got submitted and we were waiting on this back pay so to speak. When that happened it was around the time that GI Bill was all over the news that people weren't getting their benefits because there weren't enough people to process all the claims. So now it's a couple extra months we were waiting. It was emotionally draining because us buying a house and moving from this small temporary apartment was contingent on those funds. We had a plan, we stuck to our plan and it didn't matter. I feel so selfish for admitting that. Mr. Bunny has a job, and we are fortunate and I know that. I know that in the grand scheme of life this is nothing, but after he got out of the army it was so hard. We know that this is it, that this is when we set down our roots for the first time. We have been very thrifty since we moved here and after the first few months the thrill wore off and it wasn't fun. We finally did get it, and I finally bought myself a couple new outfits and smelly soap. That's all I needed, I feel like me again. I almost wrote this a few times but felt silly, but this my friends is why I disappeared. I was sad, and mopey and feeling completely ridiculous for letting that impact me the way it had.

(What do you see in this Apple tree?)

Plus we have a little one adjusting to life in middle school. Um, wow it's a very different world out there and I'm a young mom! It's amazing how much things change so quickly. Thing 1 has made best friends, helped out with a play, realized that she's okay with not being cool as long as she doesn't have to talk Twilight. It's been a big year and I am thrilled to watch her grow so much as a person. All in all I've realized this year that I seem to be raising a very strong, independent and super artistic girl. I am so proud of her and think she will really be going places.

(She let me do her hair!!!!)
We've also had our first middle school concert. You have no idea how huge it was she let me do her hair. Usually I am not allowed within ten feet when I am wielding a brush. She played the clarinet and sang. She did a great job, and I thought she was hilarious when she was bopping her head around while she played clarinet. You know how those concerts are, everyone is so stiff. Thing 1 not so much, she really wants to be in the schools jazz band, now I see why.

I went to the Brigham for another follow up and finally heard the magic word, benign. My calcification's are benign! How wonderful is that? I did a dance all the way from the hospital to the parking garage and sang as loud as I could the whole drive home. I don't have to go back until I'm 32! The reason that is the magic number for me is my mother's age at diagnosis was 42, so ten years before a first degree relatives age at diagnosis. Obviously self checks are still important, but an all clear is wonderful!

(sheepy goodness)
I was fortunate enough to grab these after someone posted in the local group on Ravelry I started washing them but the amount of water is was going to take was insane for me to use as a renter. We like our landlord and spiking the water bill so I can clean sheep fur is not something he would appreciate. These are in storage until we buy a house. I want to get a couple new trash cans and use rain water. I love the color of the chocolate brown one. I don't know if the staple is long enough for me to spin, I'm hoping to find out. If it's not then it will be perfect for felting projects with the girls.

Mr. Bunny had been having problems with losing sensation in his hands and feet, it was getting bad. I don't know how many times he grabbed the cast iron skillet while it was hot and didn't notice. I finally talked him into going to the doctor, who referred him to the neurologist. The neurologist then referred him for some testing, Mr. Bunny went and they determined he does have nerve damage. They said it's not bad, and hopefully won't get worse. We'll find out exactly what's going on when he goes in for his follow up with the neurologist. He's young, he's healthy I'm optimistic.

(SNOW DAY!)
We've been enjoying winter, and the girls and Mr. Bunny have become master snowman builders. This of course is contingent on hot cocoa waiting inside.

I'm proclaiming 2010 as my year. I have big plans for me personally in store. Every year I say it, but this year I feel it. It's good to be me. If you've made it this far, thank you you are wonderful. Next post will be some crafty stuff.I've been working on some cute stuff.

Knitters without Borders

2010-01-16T11:03:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone, long time no blogging. I have been stressed to the max the last few months and the Bunny House has been dealing with some issues some big mostly small, it's made me not feel very bloggy (excuse me while I make up words). Right now though none of that is important, right now I need to share that Knitters without Borders has mobilized so to speak. The Yarn Harlot has thrown out the word that us knitters need to get together and donate what we can. Five bucks, twenty bucks, more it doesn't matter just SOMETHING. I made a donation of twenty dollars, because that's what I have to give right now. I'm going to sit down with Mr. Bunny later and see what we can swing as a monthly donation. Haiti NEEDS our help right now, and they will for a while. To be honest they needed our help before, so I hope everyone can give something if they haven't already and consider a small monthly donation. I know Haiti isn't the only place dealing with suffering, but right now we need to work as a global community to do what we can. I'm still working on mittens for Afghans for Afghans and will continue to do what I as an individual can do for people that are less fortunate than myself. My grandmother sponsors a little girl in Haiti through her church, she bought her a bicycle last year for Christmas, and she doesn't know if she is ok. Her heart is breaking waiting for word on her. The reason I'm sharing that is somehow we all know someone from Haiti, or someone who is directly involved with the Haitian community a neighbor, a coworker, a friend or a relative. This is part of our everyday lives, please do what you can.

Farm Fresh Chicken

2009-10-03T17:40:00.000-04:00

One of the joys of living out here is being able to drive to a farm and pick up food. Whether you want beef, buffalo, chicken or maybe just some apples,zucchini and cheddar. We've been here a year now and that part of living here as still not lost it's sparkle with me. Having grown up in a mill town with no mills still producing, I find it incredibly cool to take my kids and see real farms. This isn't Little Golden Books people it's the real deal. SO when I found out my favorite farm in the area had chickens ready I was so excited, like jump up and down excited! I have read of the true real deal elusive farm fresh chicken, I'd even bought the posers at Whole Foods. But this my friends was the real deal, so I came home all excited with my local groceries, enough for two weeks in fact (with a little Stop and Shop supplement). I bought my chicken, potatoes and carrots and the same farm. This my friends was my truly exciting meal. And I was still jump and down happy until I unwrapped my chicken, and discovered....

it was NOT completely plucked. I was completely grossed out, seeing I would really rather be a vegetarian. Then I remembered the big deal that had been made up until this point about how if we are to eat meat we need to try to make smart purchasing choices. Buying local and with a conscious, letting go of our grocery store disconnect. So I finished plucking it, and it was good. In fact it was the most delicious potatoes, chicken and carrots ever. It also made a delicious stock. To be honest I don't know if I could have done that a year go.

This week we also had a surprise guest in the form of one of my favorite people in the whole wide world staying with us for a week. So I will leave you with these neat-o pictures.

Thing 3's Bean plant she started from an OLD seed kit that we didn't think would grow. Do you see her purple bean? There is another one hiding behind the leaves. I find that so incredibly cool, our hallway bean plant.

Also some of Thing 2's flowers from her fairy garden, it has different blooms that come up spring through fall. It was so cool to go outside and clip some flowers.

I'm off to listen to the rain. Is anyone else getting ready for Halloween? I am so excited about it this year. I'm not going to lie, we bought costumes this year and I am so happy about it! I know as a crafty lady that's wrong, but this year I want to focus on the holidays. No pressure...

Blanket and Baktus

2009-09-23T19:16:00.000-04:00

Alright I am working on a blanket from Crochet Today, the September/October 2009 issue. It has got to be the easiest crochet pattern ever written, so I definitely would recommend it. I'm using kitchen cotton for it, the Bernat Brand for the beige and pink and Lily for the white. I can feel a difference, but it's ok because I like it, I mean wouldn't you it looks like Neapolitan ice cream. I always loved that flavor, felt like it could keep everyone happy. I like it when everyone is happy.
I also made a baktus. Talk about hard to photograph, don't mind the lack of make up, I put that on maybe ten times a year. This is one of those viral knits from Ravelry. It was perfect to use up the beautiful sock yarn I picked up on our drive from Alaska to Massachusetts two and a half years ago. I picked it up at some Indy shop in Wisconsin on our way to the upper peninsula of Michigan. The name of the shop escapes me and the label was lost a long time ago, but it was named after Lake Superior which I thought was appropriate because we were going to be staying there with my friend for a few days. I still haven't conquered my sock phobia, so this yarn was waiting for a fabulous project. This was really hard to photograph, but it is so warm and was a great project! I wish I'd had it in Alaska, so WARM!!! I think I'm due for a new trip, so I can get more yarn. So you think Mr. Bunny will buy that? Or maybe just for my 28th birthday. Oh yah I turned 28 on labor day. Apparently Annie and I share a birthday. I'm pretty sure I'm younger, yet she is aging far better than I am.

On an unrelated to fiber note, does anyone have a source for snowshoes for the family? I really want to take the girls this winter and don't want to drop a ton of cash if it all possible. I'd really like to make the most of the winter this year, no ice storms and lots of happiness.

Also my friend I asked you to cross your fingers for just got back from filming in Kenya for the documentary!!! Yay!!! I will tell you all when it airs.

Quick Post

2009-07-26T19:43:00.000-04:00

I just want to write a quick post to let you know that the reason a couple pictures have been pulled is because of a search that my Statcounter enlightened me about. I have always been very private and balancing the blog or any online participation has been hard for me. It's hard to share and still be private (duh). Anyway I let myself get a little lax and realize now that I had been right to be overly cautious before. Anyway it's a personal choice that all of us in the "online world" have to make, and everyone's comfort level is different.
Now that I sound like a loon, I'm going to sign off for now. Hopefully I can get that tutorial written up this week. I'd like to figure out PDF prior to posting it.
Hope you are having a marvelous weekend.

Summer Hat

2009-07-23T21:22:00.000-04:00

I was really hoping to have more stuff to show off this week with yarn. Unfortunately life got in the way. Pfft life, I am totally sticking my tongue out at you. Thing 2 is having some medical stuff going on, nothing major and I don't want to write about it until we know exactly what's going on. I will say tomorrow will be her third doctors visit in less than a week at least the poor kid's a trooper. Needless to say I will be continuing my life's work of having more UFO's than the X-Files. At least I own it, don't judge me.

On to the pattern, it's crochet, supa dupa easy and free. The only link I can find is one from Ravelry, It's the Swirls Cap by Sophia Kessinger. The pattern is like a combination pattern/tutorial with pictures along the way. I thought that was a great touch for people that are visual (like me). Do I recommend this pattern? Why yes I do, thanks for asking. Truth be told it took me a lot longer than it should have, I think if your crochet skills are just above beginner and you can focus (my problem) you could have this done in a day. It would make a wonderful gift for any teen/tween girls on your gift list for the holidays. I added the count down to the side, no pressure.

The yarn I used was A-MAIZing from SouthWest Trading Company. I got it at the LYS on Clearance, if I remember I got two skeins for four dollars (give or take a few cents). I'd been waiting to try it for a long time, once I saw that price I HAD to have it. First came the yarn then the pattern, it was one of those yarns. I really enjoyed working with it, and thought it was wonderful for crochet. For me personally I think crocheting with it would be better than knitting, but that's because I freely stab ribbon yarn, like it's my job. I would definitely buy this yarn again, I lurve it lots and lots.

All in all, great pattern, great yarn!

In case you noticed that my weight loss ticker is gone, it's not because I quit trying it's because I couldn't log into the darn thing to change it so I deleted it. I got out of routine because of the Birthday festivities but I'm trying to get my groove back. Anyone else need to get their groove back with something?

ETA- How could I not mention that my friend is up for consideration for something so immensely cool? My bestest friend in the whole wide world is up for consideration in participating in a National Geographic Documentary!!!! She's a geologist who teaches at a College, is working on her Doctorate and has been part of some pretty amazing research. This research and her intelligence has gotten her noticed in the geology world, awards, grants, scholarships etc. I am so incredibly proud of her, and everything she has accomplished. Thing 1 looks up to her so much and even though she is across the country we think of her all the time, call her with questions that I'm not answering in depth enough. Anyway I was hoping you all could pass some positive thoughts her way, because she deserves it plus Thing 1 overheard me talking to her and thinks it would be so cool to see her "aunty" in a documentary. Oh and she's an artist that should give her some cred with our lot. haha Thanks everyone!

Veggie Stock

2009-07-15T22:29:00.000-04:00

The rain is apparently making another appearance in my part of the state. I thought it would be a good time to clean out the freezer veggies for stock so I could make soup, yummy.

Next post, yarny goodness...

Birthday Recap

2009-07-14T21:38:00.000-04:00

This is some of the prep for the party, the fabric for her skirt, her shirt recon supplies(the butterfly fabric is the the ill fitting t-shirt), sixty three by three pieces of cardboard, and of course our flannel goody bags.

These are fifteen newspaper party hats. I saw a picture somewhere online and said to myself these are stupendous. After stating this I found for my procrastinating behind there was no tut anywhere. I had to be logical and creative with a tight deadline I think I'm going to get a better picture of at least one and post a tutorial, because I couldn't find one anywhere! I cussed a LOT trying to find the proper everything, but I did. One of my regrets was not having more time to decorate them, they are truly an awesome canvas! These were a hit with the kids. All of them wore them, and most of the kids took them home. In my experience that has never happened with store bought hats.

This is a portable flower press found on 5 Orange Potatoes which I found VIA The Crafty Crow. I would love to make journal sized ones with the girls, the ones that went in the goody bags were three by three. Those seemed to be the perfect size for the little ones there. This is a wonderful project and I think everyone should make one this summer!

I wish I had a great picture of her in her birthday outfit, or our cupcake sized individual banana cream pies per the Birthday Girl's request. I'll have to get a picture of the outfit later.

The last picture I want to leave you with is the girls with a cat from the shelter. Isn't that ball of fluff a love? My youngest lay next to him on the floor and pet him while she told stories. It was such a sad experience for us, because we wanted to take them all home. Plus some of the stories were heart wrenching, but it was good for all of us because as soon as we left the girls were discussing things we could do to help out more, besides each bringing home our own cat each.

I hope you enjoyed this abbreviated tour of our birthday whose theme was an eclectic one to say the least. I must say that Thing 1 had to approve everything for this party, and was more than willing to help with the work. The girls all were Thing 2 made her own kitty/doggy trading cards in the goodie bags. This was one of the more affordable birthdays we've had which we liked as well. Everything was recycled or stash, we sent out evites (no need to waste paper). Everyone brought at least one thing for the shelter, it was wonderful! I think everyone was shocked at how much we got. The kids learned and the adult were reminded that if we each do ONE thing as a group we can make a big difference. I personally believe this is something a lot of need to remember when we face these hard economic times. We might not be able to give like we used to, or in the same way but WE can do something. I'm off my Soap Box now and heading to bed.

Birthday Exhaustion

2009-07-13T18:03:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Thing 1's tenth birthday. It was bliss! Bliss was achieved by ensuring perfection for all of her birthday wishes, which unfortunately for me meant no more than four hours sleep any night this week. It was all worth it though, she was so excited with how everything came out. Our theme this year was recycled and cats and dogs. This meant a lot of handmade, tomorrow I will post all the details on that. You know when I can make sentences again.

Before I sign off for the night I have to say how incredibly proud I am of her. Thing 1 is becoming a remarkable person. I watched my little girl shine so bright it was like looking at the sun break through clouds, when it seems so bright it's almost too much but really the most beautiful sight. On top of having the recycled theme to showcase the vast uses of household items, she also had a drive for the Animal Control office in our area. Everyone brought one thing, a couple people brought more, we left with a box and bag filled with supplies for them. Today we went and dropped it off, sadly she's too young to volunteer but the girls all stayed and played with the cats for a while. The thing that struck me most about her with that was she was so excited to bring the cats and dogs donations but had no desire for praise, her head went down and her cheeks turned bright red when the women working there complimented her on such a great gift to them. Hopefully by eleven she'll be able to take a compliment.

Chunky Bunny

2009-07-07T17:06:00.000-04:00

Why hello, how are you on this dreary day? Maybe it's not dreary your way but after three whole days of beautiful sunshine, we got hit another storm complete with lightning, winds and heavy downpours. I think mother nature has some grand plans for indoors this summer. Hopefully she'll fill me in on what those are soon.

Alright so upon weighing myself recently I came to the most horrifying realization...
Since moving here I have gained FIFTEEN pounds!!!! After picking my jaw up off the floor, and wondering how that even happens in such a short span of time I started coming up with a game plan. The first step in the game plan was being honest with myself, how did this happen? Well it happened when I moved to a small town with no sidewalks before a hellacious winter. I haven't been walking, before living here I walked everywhere (not that I was dainty then). Pretty easy to pack on weight when you are being completely sedentary. So on Ravelry I found a group Called Couch to 5k, I've always wanted to RUN in a 5k not walk so I signed up and printed out the information to get started. Well like I've said it's been raining here, so much so the Boston Globe published a how to for Ark building. Now I know "real runners" hit the asphalt regardless, but I my friend am a clumsy overweight mother with a bad foot. So Mr. Bunny ordered me Active for our Wii. It has a thirty day challenge. I tried it out and I LOVE it, way better than Wii fit nonstop exercise for 30 minutes. The game doesn't joke either, it won't count it if you do it wrong, so say you did 5 squats wrong, those don't count for you tally. Ask me how I know? I thought that would be a good start before I tried to Couch to 5k, and by then maybe the rain will take a break.

Next up was reevaluating my eating habits. So I signed up for Spark People. It's a phenomenal free website for tracking your exercise, meals etc. It's the Ravelry of weight loss. I started tracking my eating, I found out on average I don't consume enough calories. Apparently not eating breakfast and lunch is not healthy? Alright I knew that, but tracking it makes me eat. They also have a recipe site it's great because you can put it right on your meal plan. Very handy, Super fabulous and FREE!!!
Did I say it was free? Yes, oh okay moving on. So that explains the ticker on the side, I have got a lot to lose, a lot more than I realized.
I'm sharing this here because I know a lot of us are trying to be more healthy, and I though these resources might be helpful for you as well. Feel free to friend me on Spark People if you are on there, or decide to join. I am HBKnits on there. Would anyone like to join me? What are your favorite tips for being healthy? I won't say diet because for me it's more than that, it's being in shape again and feeling fabulous. Any favorite foods? I have a new one, Skinny Cow Truffle Bars. It's love...

Happy Fourth of July

2009-07-04T23:01:00.000-04:00

to my fellow Americans! I hope you all had a wonderful day, and are sleeping off the sun right now. The girls and I made some of our own delicious fireworks this morning to bring to a family BBQ. Everyone really enjoyed them, and one younger relative had me laughing. He very kindly informed me that although it was very nice looking it was not really a dessert. Once the red drained from my face I let him know that in our house it would be, and hey the white things are marshmallows. That made it go over even better. I must thank Marie from Make and Takes for such a wonderful idea.

I would also like to thank Dollar Tree for stocking floral foam, a reusable bucket, appropriately colored glass marbles and the most marvelous patriotic tiara. Thanks also to Stop and Shop for having good strawberries buried under the gross ones and perfect blueberries both on sale.

We had a day full of great food, wonderful family, happy kids and swimming. Days like today I feel incredibly blessed to live the life I do. Did you have a good day as well?

Um, hi...

2009-07-03T14:06:00.000-04:00

I'm back after my unintentional hiatus. It's unbelievable that I haven't posted since April. Let's see if I can break down the last couple of months.

-My family has been trying to adjust to living in a town small it's technically a village. To be honest I'd say that the results of that have been quite mixed. We certainly as a whole love it here more than not but it is SO different than what we are used to it's been emotionally draining to say the least.

-I'd say that a big part of the problem we're having (besides lack of sidewalks and the recent never ending rain) is that our place is so small. We're renters, so we're used to apartments and even military housing but never have any of us lived in a place this small. Leave it to us to leave a HUGE apartment in the city for a small one an hour and a half away from Boston.

-Due to this lack of space another major declutter was followed by a few more. I finally have access to all my supplies so I'm really looking forward to finishing up some old projects and starting new ones. It's hard to be crafty when three quarters of your stuff is packed away in boxes still. One of the things we did was pack away the China, we don't use it here anyway it's too small to have more than a couple people over. The China Cabinet is now my sewing cabinet. Mr. Bunny went thrifting with me and we hit pay dirt. Dorm dressers, I got two one for yarn and all related supplies and one for fabric. Those are now situated in the bedroom, it was only ten dollars for both so that was wonderful! My scrapbooking albums are under the computer desk since they're for digi-scrapping anyway. Everything finally has a "forever home" so to speak. It's a blessing.

-I have managed to get some stuff done, like these two dresses for the father daughter dance. I was really pleased with how Thing 2's came out, considering it was the first time I used a pattern for something sewn other than an apron. I love her tights and earrings in this picture. The little princesses for a day had a wonderful time with Mr. Bunny. I've never heard of such a thing besides on television so it was very exciting for me as well.

-I've recently dealt with kidney stones that led to an infection. That was very unpleasant and I will be content to never deal with that again. Also I had my follow up at the Brigham, it went well. There were no changes so I have an appointment with them every six months for two years to make sure everything is still all right. Again they treated me so well, I can not stress that enough. I can think of worse dates I've been on.

I'm sorry to everyone I haven't emailed back. There have been so many things going on in the background noise of my life that I don't feel comfortable sharing here and I didn't think it would be beneficial to anyone for me to write back, yup my life still sucks and I need a nap. There was a a package I was supposed to mail out a couple months back that finally made it's way to the post office this morning. There aren't enough I'm sorries for how late it is. So I'll just toss out one very sincere I'm sorry and let you know you should be holding your package in a week.

We are still waiting to buy a house, and the choice of where to live is harder than we though it would be. City, or country life? We have no idea so we'll be here for a while longer.

I have a lot of projects in the works and can't wait to share them with you this summer. It's going to be amazing!

Enter Chaos

2009-04-17T09:19:00.001-04:00

Oh my it has been a LONG couple of weeks here. It started with a cold that became a raging sinus infection in Thing 3, we ended up bringing her to the Emergency Room because we couldn't get her temperature to drop below 104. I bumped into an old friend who works there while we were waiting our turn, so we caught up while we were waiting. The poor girl ended up having Pink Eye too, which of course was passed along to Thing 2. Thing 2 just got to visit our Doctor at least, she had a sinus infection as well but because of her lack of fever they prescribed a Neti Pot. Can you imagine trying to convince a barely six year old that's good idea? It's as pleasant as you imagine, at least she's a trooper. While we there I had the doc look at me and shock of shocks I had a sinus infection and an ear infection! Somehow Thing 1 and Mr. Bunny were unscathed throughout this whole ordeal.

We were sick for a good two plus weeks, it was long. We spent Easter together as a family and went to see the Hannah Montana movie which wasn't nearly as painful as one would imagine. So that was a good thing. I have been slowly trudging along with some crochet projects and I need to find handles for my Sophie Bag so hopefully I can get that all posted soon.

Spring has sprung and we have been busy with Play dates and such. The girls are enjoying the weather and I am enjoying getting out of the house. It's been really nice. We're hoping to go hiking next week, and Thing 3 has another allergist appointment. On another note if you were my camera where would you be? I'm off to catch up on Blogs, play American Girl Doll and clean my apartment. It really got out of hand when we all had the sick.

The Winner is

2009-03-31T20:49:00.000-04:00

a very patient person who's waited longer than I meant them too.

So I bring you Thing 2 determining our winner in our very official mommy prints, neatly folds them and dumps them in a very over sized slouchy hat made from the most fab reclaimed merino sweater dyed with Kool-Aid.

Shake-Shake-Shake

Me: "Stop giggling and covering your face..."

Her: Shake, Shake, giggle, Shake "Why mommy am I doing this? I think you're weird." giggle

Me: "Yes, I am. Shake it and pick a name sweetie..."

She suddenly becomes very serious, and pulls the name.

Susan she giggles and is very happy for you. No mention of your weirdness, she probably figures it's just me. I wish you all could have won. You're all awesome!

In another part of Hunny Bunny Land I've had a fun filled few days. It all began with a you a know you're in a small town moment. I brought the girls to their school carnival on Saturday, and it was a lot of fun for them. At first it felt rather Stephen King-ish. You know it always starts in a small town with everyone talking nicely, who had a baby so and so's getting married oh and look the newcomers from the city (us). The demons did not appear from the sky so after a couple hours I settled down and enjoyed the town for what it is. So at the end there is this big raffle, and they announce the winners of the baskets. Thing 3 starts crying because we didn't win anything. I explain to her mommy never wins anything, and that we just entered to give money to the school and it's ok. So right after this conversation they start announcing the winners of the big cash raffle (the one I bought all five tickets for to avoid selling them), I won $250 dollars!!!! I know, right? So you know you're in a small town when that makes the paper. Oh yes, he even wrote of my huge smile (no mention of my fabulous cheekbones though). So that was the start of the weekend. We spent all day Sunday in Framingham for a friends party, which was so nice. We hit Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and had a great time at the party. Monday was menu planning, grocery shopping and Stitch and Bitching. It was really fun. Now I have a stupid spring cold, and an oldest trying to get through MCAS this week.
Life is good.

Poor Picture Quality brought to you by my new cellphone.

Simple Pleasure

2009-03-27T08:34:00.000-04:00

One of the things I love about living here is the vast number of local options for food. Massachusetts doesn't exactly have the acreage available in other parts of the country which leaves us with smaller farm options. In my opinion this is a great thing. I love buying fresh bison and beef here, I don't feel guilty and I know where my food is coming from. I know about their diets, and their treatment. I don't have to pay Whole Foods prices either, it's a wonderful thing. These eggs were a gift to me, they became scrambled this morning. Just a simple dish farm fresh eggs, olive oil and pepper. They were divine! I'd never had a farm fresh egg before and the color of their yolk was beautiful so bright, so big and oh so delicious. I don't think I will ever be able to buy grocery store eggs again, I'm spoiled.

We moved here when autumn was setting in, and I did get to check out the apple orchard and get my fresh meats. My goal for this summer is to check out my local options and visit these farms. I absolutely want to take advantage of these simple pleasures, especially if we're staying out here which is looking more and more likely with how much the kids love it here.

On a different note if you missed signing up for my giveaway you have until tomorrow so you might want to go sign up!

Things I love

2009-03-25T18:23:00.000-04:00

Calamity Kim's giveaway. Look at how generous she is! Everything is SO amazing, she truly is an artist. I have always wanted to get my mitts on one of her dolls, Annalee being no exception!

Pandora Radio, I have we'll say unique taste in music. This free website let me put in all my favorites then compiled a "radio station" for me, I then mixed it up so it's a wild and crazy mix only I could love. If you'd like to hear what I am listening to put in Paramore, Django Reinhardt, Pharrel, Daddy Yankee, Billie Holiday and Foo Fighters. I love listening to MY favorites while I clean.

Stockinette in the round. This has got be the most relaxing thing I've worked on in while, and silly or not I am truly appreciating my uniform stitches. Granted they will be felted (fulled) away since it's my new Sophie Bag. Funny thing is I don't think the colors are very me. I really like them but am trying to figure out if it actually matches anything I own, or more importantly if I care.

Jan Bretts Helpalong page. Great Printouts for the kids. Multiplication, Division, ABCs and sight words. All including her fabulous illustrations.

Last but not least this book I picked up at the Library The Victoria Vanishes: A Peculiar Crimes Mystery. Yes it's another "fluffy" book but so far so good. Does anyone know any good sources of I Spy Beginner Reader Books? I'd really like to order Thing 2 some, they are her favorite and we are really working on reading here.

Fun with a silk

2009-03-24T12:34:00.000-04:00

We had a tremendous weekend here, I had a girls night complete with PJ's, mojitos and a movie on Saturday night. Sunday we left to head to the city for the day Thing 1 went to a birthday party at a friends where we used to live while Mr. Bunny and I went to see some friends of our own. We didn't get home until 10 at night on Sunday which a definite no no on a school night. We ended up staying at our friends longer than planned playing a game called Munchkin which was a blast. If you were a gamer or now of one you must have this game yesterday. Mr. Bunny and were never D&D types but we knew them and ourselves have loved RPG video games. We rarely do couple things because of his schedule so this was an awesome thing for us while all the kids played dress up. The last time we did something like this was in Alaska (two years ago) so it was much needed.

Before all of this on Saturday during the day I pulled out the one silk that I had ordered from Dharma Trading months ago for Thing 3. Upon seeing a play silk in the Nova Naturals Catalog she decided she HAD to have one. I thought hey what fun project to have her help with so it was ordered and forgotten. So I finally pulled it out and she picked her dye color from the icing dyes we have, which I discovered that day are old and dried out. Ewww...

Anyway where was I oh yes, so we poured the water in the measuring cup with some vinegar and soaked the silk for about a half an hour. I must toss in here I love vinegar I swear you can use it for everything! Plus I like the smell.

So we pulled out the silk and added the oddly dried up dye, stirred, added silk and stirred some more. Then we nuked it for three minutes.

Pulled it out, mixed again three more minutes.

So far this little bit of silk has been a cape, a lake, a skirt, a dress and some really cool thing that you wave around. According to Thing 3 "it's whatever I want it be".

Now this isn't some permanent dye, it will eventually wash away which is good because it will be a like a new one for her. If you're not a purist icing coloring and kool aid are divine. I can't find the exact tut I used but Google dying playsilk and so many tutorials will show up. It was a lot of fun, I want to order more and do them.

What's your favorite project with the kiddos? Now that spring is kind of here, I'd love to get a list going of fun things to do. I've got a couple up my sleeve already but would love more.

I'm so excited!

2009-03-21T15:05:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the new blog, I hope you update those bookmarks and stay a while. As most of you know I have another blog, one I've used for a while it served me well at the time. I started it at a rather big time in my life right after the birth of Thing 3, and the death of my mother. I used it chronicle our moves and transition back into civilian life. I also used it to record my adventures as a new knitter with big design dreams which I have since let go of. I need a space that is appropriate for my life now, plus to be honest the thought of reorganizing that old place gives me the shivers. So in order to feel more free to write what I want, and continue my mission of less clutter I'm here starting fresh. Now I don't want to lose my blog buddies. I love you guys, fist bump, good...

Now to manipulate you guys to follow me I'm having a giveaway. Just a teeny tiny one but cool all the same. See now that you're here just bookmark, yah... there you go. Alright up for grab is a retro Craft Book and two very bright happy fat quarters that I think would be wonderful for a project in this book! Here's the dealio just leave me a comment here and you get an entry, post about the new blog get two (let me know if you do that) that's it. Now on Saturday the 27th at noon eastern time I will have one of the Things draw the winner.

Hope you guys like the new page more, if you any suggestions let me know. I'm hoping for more lists and less clutter much like my life, more projects and hopefully talking about buying a house sooner rather than later. Yes house buying is on the to do list for this year.