Friday, January 30, 2009

Basket of Biscornu

So I have found a NEW challenge - just what I needed, right??

Through a link from another blog I was reading I found this challenge blog: Basket of Biscornu on Tuesday Jan 27th.

Since I have been thinking of doing one of these little "pillows" for about a month, I decided "What the heck... I can do that." and I sent in my request for an invite.

The challence is to do one biscornu a month & have yourself a nice "basket" full of them by the end of the year. So.... that left me until Saturday to get one made, take the pic & post the pic... Well I made it.

Bought the floss on Tuesday - Started designing the pattern that night & started the main outline stitching that night.
I finished it today!!
My pic is also posted over there already.

Here it is...
My January Biscornu

I decided against a button for now. If it starts screaming for one, I'll go find it one. (well two, really)

I decided to take the pic of it on a mirror, so that more of the back could be seen. I am not too happy with the back, as the hearts are too far under & I messed up on my plan. The front and back hearts were to have opposed, not been the same. The quarter is there for a size comparison.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

funny thing

I was searching thru the swaps today & found this swap here

I followed the link to the quiz & here is my score:
How quirkyalone are you?
Your score was 83. Somewhat quirkyalone (otherwise known as quirkytogether):
You are probably part of a mysterious group of people, the quirkytogethers. You share many of our quirky qualities, but you manage to find yourself, on a regular basis, in a coupled situation. Interesting.

--- So now my suspicions are confirmed.... I am a loner at heart, even though I am happily married....

Thursday, January 22, 2009

crafty update

So over the past few weeks I have been working away on my swaps.
Made a few amis, made a couple of stuffies, made a Poo & Toilet Paper - yep REALLY!!
I also made three or four Dotee dolls.

Most of the items are up on my Flickr so they are imortalized (for now) online.

Today I created a Crochet Hook Roll for a swap - I got the one partner I really wanted to get, so I was overly happy about that. I really hope she likes what I made.

Big kids 7th B-Day is next Friday - however, we are NOT having a party. I know.... we are scaring her for life by not letting her have a mass of kids here, but we are NOT going to pay for all that crap. She is going to have ONE kid here for a sleep over. It will be the first full over-night sleep over she has EVER had with another kid, so we are kind of worried about how it will go. She can get bossy, and that is one of my biggest concerns.

I have to do cupcakes for her at school, 23 kids (plus teacher or two & any parents that might be there) I'll just propbably take thirty & extras can go to the office ladies.

Well.... as it is a quarter til 12 now - It is about time for me to wonder off to bed.... wish I could get some sleep while I was there. Hopefully I will make it to bed soon.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

We love Cheryl

one of the awesome people on Swap-Bot has a stage IV cancer that we have recently found out is spreading worse. CherylLaVon is amazing with her strength & I finally found the words to tell her.
I posted this in one of the threads in the public forums here.

*********

Cheryl.
I wanted to say thank you for helping me enjoy my swap-bot time. - I love that I've gotten to meet someone as wonderful as you.
I was not able to go back to Texas earlier this month for my grandfather's service and you helped me be strong by just being strong yourself.
My heart got added to my hand last night, thanks to one of the random swapbot tagged flicker pics. I had not found this thread yet. I have now read thru all of it & you have made me cry twice with your lovely posts.
I am glad for you that you get to have Polly come, though sad that it was needed for you to have a hospice nurse at all. - I always wish everyone could have as good an outcome as I did.
I do not really pray, but you have reminded me to be strong when I need to & reminded me that laughter is the best medicine. It definitely helped me get thru my Crap when I was younger.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING A PART OF SWAP-BOT FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN!

copy to be posted on my blog - because I want to be able to find it later. :) -- Amanda

Saturday, January 3, 2009

List to Inspire or Admire

There is a swap I joined at swap-bot. It was about the following list. I would rather post my list than just email it to my one partner. It makes the list feel more real that way.


The goal was to Bold if DONE then it was suggested to use two other colors as accents - one for NEVER GONNA HAPPEN - one for COOL - I'D LIKE TO TRY THAT.


01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
(Mommy to two, so this is a given)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (can not stand champagne so this will never happen - gotten drunk on a few other alcoholic drinks though)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight

28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run (I don't play, so this is not possible)
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day (I just can not keep it going for a whole day - I've done a few hours, but that was my limit)
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states (this is one of the things on my "life list" so I am working on it all the time)
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater (got to find one first)
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken (Don't plan on falling in love again & I have had issues with this love, so no plans for this one) - I am glad to have found that broken hearts CAN be mended.
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (I've actually never played it)
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced (I've since re-married too)
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo (actually, I have five)
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason (someone telling you they loved you is a reason... now I have GIVEN them for no reason, to my Mom)
84. Performed on stage (I think we all had some performance in elementary school, right?)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark (too bad it is a seasonal item - cause it is DANG GOOD)
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house (and had it foreclosed on too)
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror (performed AT Rocky Horrer.... audience participation is a MUST!)
96. Raised children (working on it RIGHT NOW)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (That is how we came to be in Colorado now)
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery (I want a tummy tuck - but need to be done having kids first)
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (I'm not sure if cumulative counts... but I have not consecutively done it)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback (and had someone hold me while I had one)
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours (sick with Mono as a child - slept almost all 48 of the 48)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper (at the age of 14)
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (too bad it did not last that time either)
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life (when someone tells you that the thought of you being hurt by their death kept them from ending it - I say that counts)