Wednesday, December 27, 2006

testing

new blogger test

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

frankenblanket

michelle (of green kitchen), you're genius! thank you for the name for my new blanket. and what better day to introduce it, than HALLOWEEN!?!

i give you:

FRANKENBLANKET
frankenblanket
i decided to go all garter stitch, because the straight lines seem to show off the colors well. or, as well as it could be :D
there is only about 2 1/2inches of progress. not much, but it's not the only project i've got going. (who'd've ever guessed that!?!)
my kidlets got to dress up for school today as long as it was a book from a character and they had to take the book with them.
oh they were too cute! i had a raggedy andy and old macdonald. my camera was not charged so i did not get pictures. but, it's charging right now and i'm going to go up to the school and snap some quick shots of them... and then, of course, i'll get in some pics of everyone's real halloween costume. too much fun :D

Thursday, October 19, 2006

it's so, so.....UGLY!

ugly

and i mean that in the nicest way :D
as i continue on my use it or lose it mission, i came across a very large fubbermaid tote full of acrylic (red heart type) ww yarns. hmmmmm LOTS of yarn. hmmmmm what can be done with lots of single skeins of acrylic? a very durable and quite colorful blankie!
soo, hubby and i sat down to watch a little boobtube last night with yarn all around and a pair of scissors. we pulled off randsom lengths of random colors (well, i was trying to be aware of adding black more than often than anything else) and started tying them together and winding it into a ginormous, double-stranded ball.
i started a small swatch of it. i did a few rows of single crochet....and then some garter stitch, then switched to seed stitch... and ended with stockinette. i'm still undecided. hubby liked the sc, but i thought it a little stiff... so i am going to give it another swatch with a larger hook.
which would you do?

yarn!

Monday, October 02, 2006

caught up...

i think.
i feel like i've been playing catch-up in everything lately. crafting has shriveled to nothing, i fell behind in the laundry (*shocking, i know), and the house is in a bit of chaos. but just a bit. i'm also in the midst of beth moore's new Bible study, daniel. whoa! it's a doozey. but it's great. there is homework to be done everyday... add that i started the class on week 3. it took quite a bit to get all caught up - well, i'm actually not all the way caught up yet, but i no longer feel behind.
thank you all so much for the birthday wishes. it was a great day. normal, with the exception of hearing from long-time friends, my sisters and dad singing to me. and my children... ahhhh my children. little "happy birthday"s all day long. they have their moments of sweetness :D

ooooooo guess what!
my labels are here!! they are SOOOOOO freakin' cool!
i am absolutely giddy about them and can not wait to be able to sew one on.
the new web site has slowed to a crawl. hubby has been away for work... i hate it that i can't do more of it own my own. i'm learning, though.


crafty goodness to come.... soon, ya'll. soon

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

time

where does it go? how in the world have so many days passed without me posting? crazy crazy stuff....
and, another year under my belt *sigh

today ...
my 5 yr old was sleeping in my bed (yes, they still get up in the middle of the night and squeeze their little selves between mommy and daddy).....
the alarm begins to buzz from across the room and my sweet baby X is right beside me, patting my face and says "mom, is it your birthday now?"
yes, son. yes it it.

yarn cake

Thursday, September 21, 2006

saturday's sky

i didn't get my saturday sky posted. it was beautiful. gorgeous blue. i will, for the rest of my life remember the perfect shade of blue it was on saturday. you see, i spent 2 hours, staring at it. praying.
J played his first game of football.


raiders


30 fathers, standing, a little taller than they were the day before, at the edge of the field, discussing plays and strategies. pointing out their little warriors to each other. behind them, 30 mothers, watery eyed and praying. desperately trying to be supportive and strong.
oh wow... my baby is too big.

J

looks like the first game was tough on him, too
resting

Monday, September 18, 2006

any day now...

my mail is going to be SOOOO good!

ooooo- why? what am i expecting?

labels! labels! labels! i'm so excited! they are SO cool!! (i got a sneak peek!)
lisa from clothing labels 4U, is awesome! she was so helpful to me, put up with my insanity and indecision. seriously, if you have ever considered getting labels with your own logo/name on them - this is the place to go to!


i can't wait to show you all! can you feel my excitement? oooo and the new website layout is really close to being done---- eeeeek!

any day now...

Friday, September 15, 2006

still at it!

i know i've been away - but i haven't been idle!
once a month, a group of ladies that i hang with get together. i like to make a gift for the hostess of the month. this time, out little swaure was at my friend jenn's house - who is an awesome cook.... SO - i felt an apron was a fitting gift. check it out!

jenn's apron

jenn's garlic

the colors of the picture aren't very good. the red is actually a very deep brick red. :D yay!
the garlic clove is kinda wonky. i googled "garlic" images, picked 2, combined them - then free-handed (obviously. didn't really need to put in that detail) it with pencil and used simple embroidery stitches.

also....still at it, is the whole eating better thing - AND
went to the doc to weigh this morning.... i've lost 4 more pounds! woo hoo! that makes me down a total of 18 pounds! this all started on june 26th so i'm feelin pretty good about the length of time this is taking. not too fast, not too slow

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

my family's sadness

in june of 2005, we got a little kitten, jenny.
on monday, she passed away.

my kiddos are terribly sad. especially E & X. it's just awful. they keep asking why she had to die. i have an answer. just not one for them. you see, my jenny didn't just die. she was murdered. seriously, if this is something that will be too harsh for you skip until the next paragraph...she was outside-just chillin' doing no harm to anyone. someone, at some point during the day between 8 in the morning to 3 in afternoon, some evil, horrible, demon-person wrapped rubberbands around her neck. my little kitty didn't just die...she suffered.

so, what i told my 4 babies is that sometimes, people and animals die for reasons we can't understand. and that this is one of those times. not the whole truth, not a complete lie. because i absolutely do not understand why she died.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com

Monday, September 11, 2006

you promised.

you promised to never forget.
9/11
have you?

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

nuts!

my sanity


do you ever feel like you have completely lost your mind? seriously.
sometimes i really feel like an insane person. i wonder, do i have ADD? is it insane of me to wonder that about myself? surely if i can diagnose myself with a mental disorder/ablitly (whatever is PC), then i don't have it... right? i truly wonder about ADD because i can't focus on one thing for too long, but then i wonder, that's just boredom, right? i'm just fickle. because i can pay attention to a movie for it's entire length.... but crafts, or cleaning or even a book (gasp-i know, when did this happen?!)... forget it, give me a good hour and i'm done.
i second guess myself always. always. do you know how annoying this is? why in the world can't i just make a decision?
my brain is mush. i feel like i've got on on my rubber gloves and it's in my hand, trying to be remolded. but it's oozy and slippery and is dripping to the floor.
does anyone know of a brain thickening recipe? i'm not against the prescribed kind!
and could someone please bring me a mop!?!

Monday, August 28, 2006

are you serious?

really. i am. white. well, cream, actually. yes, we use it. even the kids *gasp!
insane, i know. i just couldn't help myself. it was inexpensive and beautiful. total impulse buy. what do you think?


the white couch

why didn't i straighten the cushions before taking the picture?


detail

detail of the fabric. isn't it lovely!?!

i should have taken a detail of the wood... oh well, next time.

well?

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

everyone needs one

a heavy decorative object, that is!
remember my post about the brass bunny i got at thrift?sherry has a very good theory about owning ornamentation with dual purpose- you must read it! she's hilarious

how do i do it? let so much time pass between postings? it's just rather crazy....
you know what it is. don't you?
i spend my computer time reading other posts and not creating my own! quit making such cute stuff, people! i have my own cuteness to post.... sort of. everything is kinda on hold right now. waiting on my labels. and now that i know they are coming, i don't want to make anything because i want to be able to put labels on my projects..... i'm vain like that. i want everything to have my cute ewe on it!
psssst. there's a new one, ya know. the entire website is about to take on a whole new look :D
i'm absolutely giddy about it! i've been doing some learning and practicing on my paintshop pro 9, and namo and other html insanity- which is another reason for my lack of posting great things, i suppose. i really wish i could give some big "launch date" or something... but well, i suck at deadlines. hey, at least i'm honest!

i've been meaning to get this done for a while...
stolen from laura's blog

for whatever reason, i found this really funny! go to google and enter your name needs in quotes, in my case "Rebecca Needs" and then list the top ten or so queries that come up on your blog. here's mine:

Rebecca needs enlightenment! (a great source of daily enlightenment)
Rebecca needs support around her eduacational goals. (ummm -no. if anything, everyone is too supportive!)
Rebecca needs a family that will provide her love and support. (now this is just crazy talk- i know you love me and the support thing again!?)
Rebecca needs just one good, meaty, dramatic role. (i'm not gonna touch this one)
Rebecca needs to get cut. (please, anesthetic first! or at least some whiskey)
Rebecca needs a French companion. (no thanks! i got myself a great American companion!)
Rebecca needs to make up her mind quickly. (now, that's just asking too much!)
Rebecca needs to go back to the drawing board. (it's a little too late now)
Rebecca needs a case study. (are you kidding me? i AM a case study!! LOL)
Rebecca needs prayer right now. (yes, yes she does.)
Rebecca needs a notebook computer to take with her to therapy. (oh Lordy, does this mean i have to take my own notes!?!)

oh man, be careful with that one... it's almost addicting!

and because no post is complete without a picture...
sherry, this one's for you:

brass candlesticks

it was mrs. devil in the hallway with a candlestick!

Saturday, August 19, 2006

Thursday, August 17, 2006

quiet

the silence is just about to make me crazy.

all 4 of my kiddos are in school this year. classes started tuesday. my baby V, just 4 years old. *sniff
they go to a magnet school, so the pre-K is all day. 8 til 3, just like the older ones.
so now, i've got one in preK, Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th grades. *sniff sniff

it's. so. damn. quiet.

silence.
9 years of constant mothering.

nose wiping, booty cleaning, clay creating, lego building, bathing, alphabet learning, counting, sorting, napping, playing, laughing, cuddling, doctoring, drawing, growing and loving

and now, nothing.....just annoyingly quiet, mind-numbing, heart breaking, silence.

1st day

Monday, August 07, 2006

more reconstruction

why does photobucket not like my HP?
seriously, this computer stuff makes my head want to explode! it just doesn't make sense to me. my laptop sends pictures over just fine. but my pictures are in my HP!!!!!
why?????? why??????

ugh!

okay, moving on.
in sewing news
(pictures i had previously uploaded but not yet blogged)
there is a great tutorial on how to turn tshirts into gaucho pants! woohoo! how cool is that?!
so... i made a trial pair for E and then another... we decided there wasn't enough 'froof' in the leg. trip to the thrift store on 1/2 off clothing day (every monday).... paid 60 cents for this cute cute maternity shirt:
before

a few cuts and seams later:
after

gaucho's with froof:
after with attitude


i've been doing a bit of research on gapkids, childrens place, limited too, and gymboree
to see the newest trends and what's no longer in fashion. gotta keep my kiddos cool, ya know. but, because i'm not into spending loads of cash on clothes that will be "out" next year (even though they still fit), i'm researching. i've been going through her closet and will be doing some 'updating'. it's very basic this year. it seems like adding some bohemian style embroidery, ribbon and stud accessorizing to skirt and pants will be the biggest thing i do. and the skirts that are popular - the little tiered skirts - SOOOOO easy to make! other updates will be taking sleeves off some shirts and adding different cap sleeves or poofy sleeves. oh, and legwarmers. they seem to be all over the place!
i'll post some pics of these adventures as i go.... assuming i figure out why the HP and photobucket are at odds.

Friday, August 04, 2006

please help! &computer troubles

hi! sorry for my disappearance. i'm having difficulties with picture posting.
it's really this long, crazy explaination. so i'll give you the short -
my pictures are stored on one computer, i use another. my network is down.
the picture computer does not like flickr and something is up with photobucket. so....
now ya know.

i'm pictureless. boo.

so, while i've got ya - got a question:

hubby and i have been doing a lot of talking with each other and different local business owners. i've decided to go pro. that sounds so funny. i've been developing a lot of my own patterns (sewing and crochet) - in order for me to be able to do this. while i can draw my own pattern, i can not 'draw'. so i'm having trouble with my sheep. as cute as she is, she is merely altered clipart. i could be wrong, but i can't use her, right?
so, i'm trying to decide on a new look for a new sheep.

i'd love to get as many opinions on this as possible - if you'd post a link today and ask your readers to come vote, i'd really really appreciate it!


VOTE - for my new sheep-logo

should i go with the cartoon-y feel/look - similar to what i have now?
-or-
should i go with a more realistic drawing?

with horns and a little devil tail, of course!

Monday, July 31, 2006

oh yeah! {squeal!}

looky looky looky what hubby gave me:

my new tags!

new tag!


is he great, or what!?!

Friday, July 28, 2006

spoofed!

bastards! someone made all these fake email accounts using my .com address!
i'm pissed!!

if you have come here to check out the site that sent the bizarre email - it wasn't me!!
really, i'm a nice person (stop snickering!) i had nothing to do with it.

how weird is it that someone can just make up these addresses and have them actually send emails? who does that kind of thing? how can someone get off on that? what is the purpose?

grrr. there are no words for how mad i am over this! grrrr- fuckers!


ETA: i did call my hosting company last night and they 'put a stop to it'....
although it didn't stop all the emails from all these ticked off people bouncing back to my inbox.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

fessing up

ya'll there's something i have been keeping a secret.
i'm fat. okay, that's not really what i had planned on saying, but well... the truth hurts right?

seriously, my point was to tell you all that i started the south beach diet 5 weeks ago. my regular physician and my gyno told me (within a week of each other-i think they are in cahoots) last march that if i didn't do something about the weight, i would become diabetic (this disease has a huge presence in my family). after hearing this, i started seriously considering losing the weight. considering, mind you, not actually doing anything about it... then, 6 weeks ago, a very dear friend called me in distress. she had gone to the doc and at the appt. weigh-in, they had to move the big weight. anyone who has ever had weight issues knows what i'm talking about. as i was talking with her about it, we decided - we were done with this.
done with the depression of being overweight
done with not going to the swimming pool with our children
done with the fear of disease
done with not being the fun, active moms we want to be
done with being fat
done

together, we:
read the south beach diet book
de-junk-fooded our houses
shopped for our 'phase 1' foods
cursed and whined and complained about not being able to eat at our favorite fast-food place.
whined and whined and supported each other
and made it through!

2 weeks of carb-free living. it actually didn't end up being as difficult the second week. we decided another week of phase 1 before moving on to the more liberal (slightly) phase 2.
after 3 weeks, we each had lost 12 lbs. monday will be 6 weeks. i haven't weighed in again. i don't own a scale. i know that if i go buy one, i'll become obsessed with the numbers.
i'm afraid that if i have a week of no loss or a gain... i'll buckle. i know this has got to be a life change.... so i avoid the scale. i'm curious, but... it'll wait a while longer and pop into the doc's office again.

why south beach? different diets for different people. like i said, this has to be a life change for me. it's not just about the weight loss. it's about the way my body processes sugar. i must learn which carbs my body can handle, and which it can't. if not, diabetes will find me i may just be delaying the inevitable... but in this case, a delay is good.

okay, now i'm nervous, because now people know about this and will hope for great things for me.
this is my hope:
see this ring?
ring 2
isn't it beautiful? (filthy, but you get the picture) not my wedding ring. i got too fat for it. i want to wear the ring i said "i do" in again.

so there. now you know.

oh, and for some crafty content, a little felt bunny i made. i really want to imporve on my embroidery skills.
bunny cuteness
my first ever successful french knots. woohoo for me. which will, from this point forward, on this blog, be known as buns. for one, it looks like a cinnamon bun to me, and another... well, i have a colorful opinion of the politics of the french.
buns
this is really cute, and fun.... ummmm, but quite useless. it's only about 2 1/2" tall and just barely puffy...any ideas?

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

thrifty goodness

so with all the re-decorating going on in the house, i've been out shopping. hitting up all the different thrift stores, garage sales and alleys in town. thought i'd show you all some things i've found. not all at once. just starting it today, is all.

bunny
cute cute brass? bunny - this sucker is heavy! she sits in the window seal in my kitchen. about 4"tall X 4"nose to tail and 3"wide. 57cents - is that a deal, or what!?!

rooster
fun, little copper rooster pan type thingy. although, i'm pretty sure this one is made for decoration and not actual use. 27cents. it's on the side of a cabinet in my kitchen. what is it about roosters that makes them so charming? i love them.
vanity stool
isn't this a cute little stool? i saw this on someone's porch and stopped to see if they'd sell it. yay! so, for $7, my daughter has a cutie tootie chair for her vanity
i've still made no decisions on decoration style/color for my craft room. i'm over-thinking it. i think.it needs to somehow tie in with the kitchen, which has not been decided yet. oh, what a pain in the booty.

i'll be going to the fabric store soon with my decorator -yes, i'm that pathetic. i can't do it on my own - ya know, this is one of those things -- you've either got it, or you don't. i don't. i'm about as crafty as it gets, but i couldn't place a lamp in the right place to save my life-or anyone else's. so if there's a looney with a red button out there and a room in desperation, let's all hope he finds nate and not me. pam (the decorator) is going to help me pick fabrics for the sofa slipcover. i'm working on a 'pattern' for that right now. i've got 2 cushions down. perfect fit. like a glove, i tell ya :D

work in progress


football

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

sew?

well, i did it again. joined another blog group:

sew i knit

every 6 weeks we are given a new 'subject' to sew. last was bags.. i missed that one. boohoo.now is tops. so i am making this for my daughter.

summer top



i'll be using the peach fabric under the pattern. i also was thinking of making one with this fabric:

lime green



i have SOOOO much fabric. i really need to start doing something with it other than itty bitty stuffies. so i thought this might give me just the push i needed.

i have 2 sewing machines and a serger. the singer was my grandmothers. and the babylock was a gift to me from my parents. i love them both. right now, i keep having problems with the tension on the singer. so i am using my babylock. i need to get the singer to the shop. but it's going to have to wait for another day. i've got so much going on with fixing up and buying new things for the new decoration style of the house, i haven't pennies to spare.. at least not while the other machine is still working. sooooo, you'll soon start to see more of my many sewing adventures here as well. a girl can never have too many crafts. too many going at one time, yes. but the ability, no. and so far... i've yet to be able to control my startitus. i'm really trying, though. and to prove that - check this out:

do you remember this purse?

valentine bag

i think i crocheted this around valentine's day 2005. finally, i've sewn a lining for it. woohoo for me. now, i haven't sewn it in.... but it at least exists now :D
more of these finish or frog items to come :D

Saturday, July 15, 2006

summer showers

saturday's sky

102 degrees, the sun is shining and big fat raindrops are falling from the sky.

summer showers

Thursday, July 06, 2006

ummmm, i'm telling

ummmm, i'm telling
okay, moms, tell the truth: sometimes, when you hear that, don't you want to hide? it's never ever because they are coming to tell something fabulous a sibling did.

this morning, i heard one of the funniest things ever coming from the living room:
Crash! and then, the sound of parts rolling around... i could tell it wasn't good by the immediate silence that followed. then X says to his younger brother "you'd better go tell on yourself"

so funny. i almost had a hard time putting on the "what'd you do?" face when he showed up in the doorway of my craftroom.

turns out, he just dropped the mouse and the batteries fell out. no biggee... but the siblings were all scared for him, you could see it in their eyes. which brings me to something else....
why? what exactly did they think i was going to do to him had it been broken? one of them did something odd the other day, too. we were at a store and someone was misbehaving (don't remember which-although i'm pretty sure it was X) so i reached over to grab an arm to pull him close to me, and the child flinched and covered like i was going to just beat the life out of him. wtf? yes, they've had spankings (on their little booties), but i've never reached out and knock 'em around. anyway, that was something that really bothered me and has been on my mind. (please, do not start the debate that spanking is hitting - wasn't my point)

and speaking of getting into trouble....take a look at this guy:

busted!


he knows he's not allowed on the trampoline, and yet he does it anyway!! grrrr

okay, fiber fun :D
tonight i have a martini party to go to, soooo.... a little something i made for the hostess.

top

side

she is a quilter, so i thought a really deep pincushion would be a ideal.
it is actually a tealight candle holder.... i glued a layer of wool to the inside and then needle felted the big bulb to that. not at all an original idea - i totally stole it from little birds - the one she made is beautiful! check it out

i've never had a martini before... i'm an amaretto kinda gal. are they good?

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

good times

i hope you all had as much fun on your 4th of July holiday as we did!
there was:
crafting
E
E, working on a plastic canvas needlepoint picture. and i cast on and finished the bottom of another sophie, this one is turqoise, for my dtr.
gaming
pop
friendly game of checkers between Pop (my dad) and J
food
somehow, i managed to not get pictures of anyone eating, or even the lovely decorated table... hmmm. guess i was too busy stuffing my face ;-P
there were hotdogs, burgers, hotlinks, baked beans and all the fixins'. and then, oh yes, homemade ice cream mmmmm, and my favorite flavor - peanut butter!
confetti poppers
whee!
actual fireworks are banned within city limits, so aunt chelle brought kid-friendly confetti poppers :D
more gaming
croquet
what is a summer get-together without croquet? dead last. that was me.
fireworks
pretty
they were loud and sparkly. this was the first year that i didn't have a kidlet terrified! it was fun to watch and not have to console a crying little one :D
because of my baddass 4X4 suburban, we had front row seating! after the show and there were literally, thousands of vehicles trying to get home, hubby threw it back into 4wheel drive and went "the back way" bouncity-bounce, up some questionable hills and we drove somewhat sideways on a pretty steep incline there for a while. my poor mom. she just knew we were gonna flip. shhhh, i think my dad had more fun than willing to admit :D
(didn't i do good on this photo? wooo- go me!)

the only thing missing was sissy and sherry

Tuesday, July 04, 2006

happy 4th and some sky

Happy 4th of July!
Old Glory
stay safe and enjoy the fireworks

i missed out on posting my saturday sky,
sat sky
but i did take photos. here is the sky above Texas this past saturday:
big blue

Friday, June 30, 2006

magic yarn ball

woohoo! mine came!
i'm so happy :D
it's so PINK! i love it

MINE!

fun little bucket - which was perfect... i kept my ball in it and let it roll around inside the bucket as i worked and my little goodies began to spill out:
flower brooch, anklet, yarn pin, buttons, charm, and the cutest little elephant tape measure ever!
goodies
(the first picture are the actual colors)
the yarn was cascade 220 - perfect for a sophie bag!

i have been wanting to make this pattern for a long time - i finally had the perfect excuse - i needed to knit up my ball to retrieve my prizes!! woohoo
although, the handles (i-cord) pissed me off so i decided a chocolate colored set of handles i had would be perfect. it only needed one - and the brooch is PERFECT on this bag!!!
perfect sophie
i'm so happy!
i also picked up 2 shades of chocolate fabric to line the bag and make a wallet (you didn't think i was going to let that handle yarn go to waste, did you?)!
woohoo - go me!! no pictures yet, as the wool portion of the wallet is currently in the machine being felted :D

the charm which i'm sure she made is soo cute - i love it.... very very very ME!
charming
i'm going to be shipping it off to my jeweler for a fabulous ribbon choker and see if she can match the beautiful stones for a sassy pair of earrings! woohoo! i'm so in love with my package :D

THANK YOU, ERIN!

i hope my person feels the same way about hers:
yarn ball sent
 

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