School, sick kitties... and BFF toasts.

I started back to school for the quarter, and already taken a test. That's all I have done - study, study, and study.

Also, poor little Loverbunny is really sick. He is diabetic, and we knew that when he suddenly dropped 5 lbs of weight. He also drinks and urinates all the time. We were doing 4 units of insulin/twice a day, but his last fructosamine level was almost 750. Yes, 750 - that's pretty much coma, DKA, death level. :( So, we've increased him to 6 units/twice a day now.... but it's sad he feels so bad. And he's my two year old's best friend.



I've been waiting for my floss to come for my Dessert of the Month cross-stitch, but in the meantime, I started this cute little BFF Toasts with some floss I had lying around. :) It's not the same colors, but now I can make my jelly grape. ;)

Moving up the social networking food chain

Hey! I got myself a twitter! You can follow me @ey_re!

All the social networking seems exciting, but I think it's a hard learning curve (even for someone who has always used computers!)..... I still don't really get what the #ihavenoideawhatthismeans is for?!

Also a little mommy "WHAT?!" for today. My sweet little boy. So sweet, so precious.... learned the word "shut up" from somewhere. (Probably daycare.) We DO NOT say that word in our house. It's a pet peeve of mine and my husband's. We honestly would rather hear curse words than "shut up". How did we know he learned it?.... The cat was meowing, and he turned to the cat and said "Shut up Sam!". My husband and I both spun our heads around so fast we probably put shame to the exorcist.... "WHAT DID YOU SAY"

*sigh* I'm sure it's not the worst thing he'll ever learn out in public, but still...

On the crafting front.. I have nothing. My classes started back up, and I have a test over 12 chapters on Monday. That is a whopping 6 days to study for it, and that's only 1 out of my 3 classes!

I did purchase a subscription to The Dessert of the Month club from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery. I've never cross-stitched, but this was too cute to pass up, and seems like a pretty good project for learning.

Laundry room is coming along!

We are turning our butler's pantry into a laundry room.... When we moved in, we realized when you flush the upstairs toilet, it came with it's very own waterfall in this room!! *sigh* So, we had to rip out the ceiling to fix it.



The ceiling stayed ripped out until just recently.... We redid all the plumbing finally, and now we are converting it into a laundry room so I don't have to go to the basement.



I will post a final picture when it's done. We still have chair railing, a few bead boards, and painting trim to go.

Coin purses

picnikfile_qVXaJO, a photo by ey_re on Flickr.

Making little coin purses... after a verbal tutorial from a nice lady at a local quilt shop!

Iphone makes blogging easier.

While I did not love blogging from my iPhone, I do turn out a lot more pictures thanks to the phone!!

Anyway, during my in bed blogging post, I promised a link to the little mug rug tutorial I was using, and it was from Sew Mama Sew. It's a pretty nice little tutorial, and my little mug rug is coming along nicely. Mug rugs are great practice pieces, and are a much more manageable size.

Also, I have to tell you that I bought some fusible fleece batting. Sometimes, I do worry about my intelligence level, or at least common sense. I wish I would have taken photos of the disaster. I didn't read directions.

I placed my hot hot iron down flat onto the fabric with the fleece showing around the edges and it was smoking and smelly, and got stuck to my iron. So, in my frustration, I just flipped the piece over, then, and stuck my iron straight to the fusible fleece batting. It scorched it. Quickly!

I failed to read the whole - always place a damp cloth over your piece - part of the directions..........
Like I said, I wonder at times. How is it I learned to knit safely?

My two year old loves Goodnight Moon. Our book is falling apart. At night, we tell EVERYTHING goodnight, including the cow jumping over the moon. When I found Goodnight Moon fabric, I couldn't resist it. I had to buy it - although I'm afraid to cut it. It's too cute.




Also, thought I would share a few little views of my little sewing area. It's very humble, but it's my spot.





Totally random, but I bought these children's books in Beijing 10 years ago. I like them. Wish I could read them to my son.



A little kitty love:

Blogging from bed

Yes, I'm blogging from my bed on my iPhone. It's Monday, and I'm already exhausted.
I spent the better part of last week sick (very very sick). Then, when I felt better Sunday - I went in a run.... I made tins upon tins of peanut butter fudge, peanut butter balls, and peppermint bark. I also started a little mug rug tutorial that I got off Sew Mama Sew. I'll link to it when I'm not on the iPhone. But here is a peek:

I have more to say but iPhone blogging isn't easy. I have tales of fusible fleece disaster and our new laundry room re-do!!!!!! So - I'll blog again soon!

Sewing

I have been working hard with my sewing machine.

I am learning a lot from many great online tutorials and helpful blogs, but still have much to learn. Things I have learned that people don't always tell you...

1. Don't watch the needle. Watch your material and where you are guiding it. You'd be surprised how long this took me to learn! My stitches are much much straighter now.
2. Change your sewing machine needle - frequently.
3. Using your iron that same amount of time you use your machine, or even more, makes the project look so much better. Press, press, press. (Well, I think people do say that a lot, but it just gets ignored because you don't really want to use your iron. But you better learn to love it.)

Oddly enough, I am really taken with zippers, and I want to be able to do those well. So, I ordered a bunch of zippers.



Great etsy shop for zippers

I am getting to the point where I feel like I know my machine well enough to venture out and take a class. I really want to get to a place where I can have my Etsy shop full of items. :D

Other things I've done is a few ornaments. I love felt. Here's my sweet little owl.



In the midst of learning to sew well, I was thinking about how helpful tutorials are. I am feeling inspired to do a few tutorials on here with knitting...... maybe soon!

Is it Friday yet?

Deck demolition

My life is really full with school, work, and having a family.... to the point I sometimes feel overwhelmed!! So, sometimes I wonder why I'm trying to blog - it's just something extra.... But I keep on trying to blog, so it must mean *something* to me.

Anyway, our house restoration has been very slow go lately. It takes this thing called money.... haha! We did, however, tear down our back deck. We will eventually rebuild it, but not this year. It has been rotten and dangerous to walk on since we moved in 4 or 5 years ago. It has gotten continually worse, and we were worried that a heavy snow would bring it all the way down this year. Whoever put this thing up.... they put green indoor-outdoor carpeting on it. So it just held in that nasty rain and weather, allowing it to sit against the wood.

Ta-da!!! It looks weird with that door kind of in mid-air. I wish I had a before picture - I guess I didn't ever feel like photographing it before. Probably because it was so hideous~!

Also, I've always had a sewing machine, and I really can't sew a straight line. Thanks to many tutorials and great blogs - I've started really practicing. I put in my first zipper the other night (crooked, but.... hey...) into a little zipper pouch I made for my two year old's markers. I was proud that it actually turned out halfway decent.

Turkey Headband

Pottery Barn Kids has these Thanksgiving headbands that I've adored for two years..... Someone from my knitting group makes lots of felt crafts, and so I bought some felt.... and I thought, "Hey, I can make that..." So, I free hand drew the turkey and leaves, and transferred those to the felt. Instead of a french knot eye, I placed a little button. A little embroidery work (which I wasn't concerned about being neat - it's supposed to be child-like and whimsical), a little sewing.... and I had a turkey headband!!! I really enjoyed working with felt, and learned lots of new techniques. I plan to be working with felt a lot more!!

Fall Party Treat Bags

I signed up to make treat bags for my son's fall party. No sweets like candy or cupcakes.... healthy foods only, are to be brought to fall party. So, some cellophane treat bags in orange... they came with twist ties and I threw those out because I question their safety around 2 year olds. I substituted some ribbon in green and orange to tie around the tops, and curled them with scissors. Then, I fluffed the top part sticking up out of the tied end. I thought it made the bags look like little pumpkins!! Inside the bags: a box of dried cranberries, box of raisins, a package of cheese and peanut butter crackers, and a small party-pack Play-doh. It would be easy to vary the contents for classroom allergies, etc. Happy Fall !

A little knitting...

I took my last test for the quarter today!  Hooray!  Now, I have a 3 week break!

I started the Dahlia Cardigan from Interweave Knits, Fall 2011.  Using Wollmeise Sockenwolle 80/20 Twin in Petit Poison #5 dark.  I have gotten Chart A completed. 



When I started, I actually swatched and decided I didn't want to use the size 4 needle I first chose.  I went down to a size 2 needle with the swatch and thought it looked neater (tighter stitches).  However, starting the chart with size 2, it became quickly obvious that my lace panel was not going to have the openness that I love about lace.  So, I ripped it out, and went back to size 4. 



I will definitely be putting in a lifeline before starting Chart B though!  I made a small mistake in the last rows of chart A, but I "fixed" it enough for my satisfaction.  If I made a bigger mistake, though, it would be sad to rip it all out.

Just a few things....

I'm a terrible blogger.  I guess it's better than being terrible at the other roles in my life.  Wife, mother, student, nurse, knitter, blogger....  I think blogger is probably the safest to be terrible at.

Life is a lot different for me lately.  I feel the most like myself, though, since my son was born.  In case you don't know much about that, I will fill you in.

My beautiful son was born 2 years ago, by emergency C-section because my fluid was very low.  He was delivered at 8 pm on the dot.  He was 37 weeks, and he screamed the most beautiful screams when he was born.  He sounded strong, he looked strong at 7 lbs, 3 oz.  The pediatrician saw him, and told me he was perfect.  Then, some time went by....  I asked "Where is my baby?"  They explained to me he just needed some supplemental oxygen - no big deal.  Ok.... then it's midnight.  Still no baby, and he still needs oxygen.... and they are obtaining some blood gases.  I'm a nurse.  I'm a nurse, and I know all about obtaining blood gases.  Even though they are fluffing it up, and reassuring me, I know.  I know something is wrong.

At 6 am the next morning, I am facing 4 pediatricians, with concerned looks.  They aren't sure what's wrong - they think "... blah blah blah blah blah" (And yes, that's what I'm hearing.)  Have I mentioned - I am a nurse.  I know, I know, I know in my gut something is terribly wrong.  That is when I insist he be transferred to a different hospital.  My nurse brain kicked in, I threw out the mother's grief, and I insisted he be transferred.  Not only do I insist on this, but I give them my scientific arguments for why this should happen.  And they agreed.

So he was transferred.  He was intubated and placed on a ventilator within hours of arriving at the other facility.  Bilateral chest tubes were placed.  Drips were started.  My child had Primary Pulmonary Hypertension (PPHN), or as previously known, persistent fetal circulation.  He was sick.

I plan on writing more about this in the future.  I actually have a little dream to do a series on it.  I have a lot to say about it - a lot of feelings I want to share about it...... 

The good news is that I have a beautiful, perfectly healthy 2 year old now who has no lasting problems.  Unfortunately, I think it left me with the typical postpartum depression, mingled in with a little post traumatic stress disorder.  Just until recent months, I haven't felt myself.  Nothing off the wall, but just not myself.  Finally, finally, I feel like myself again.  And I still wish I were Buffy.

I'm moving home.

I am coming back to blogger, after being gone for a few years. I have no idea if I can transfer my wordpress blog posts, but I will try. If not, we'll start fresh!
Fiber goodness coming soon.

Kroger Trip - Another couponing post

Well, I went to Kroger today and bought $109.17 worth of groceries for $35.93.  I was so excited.  It was a day where I needed stuff I didn't have coupons for too, so I was super happy with my final total.



Some more couponing strategies that I use include planning.  When I first started using coupons, I didn't always plan, but now that I do - I'm a lot more successful.  For example, my coupon for aluminum foil today stated it wasn't good for 25, 30, or 40 square feet boxes, so I wrote that on my list so I wouldn't pick one up, then be surprised at the registar when my coupon wouldn't work.  Also, I find that planning and making a list keeps my buying habit in check.  I don't walk away with unnecessary things, like extra cookies or candies.

And don't worry.  Planning doesn't take all that long.  A few minutes here or there.  Make a list (I like to use my iPhone notes) of things you think you need as the week goes on.  Then, when you are ready to go to the store, look at your list and see what coupons you have that match it.  And you'll save time in the store by planning at home.  And it gets easier every week once you get the hang of doing it.

And for all my yarn friends who think I've gone off the deep end, I am going to a fiber festival tomorrow, so I hope to provide you with some fun fibery goodness pictures!

Couponing 101

I said I would post a little bit about this - and I've really gotten distracted lately.  My baby got ear tubes!!  I was very resistant to it, but glad we got them.  He had completely failed his hearing test, and at 9 months old - it's important for his development to be able to hear!!    He started really babbling and saying new sounds the day after he got them.  So far, I'm happy.

So, on to coupons.

Someone asked about them not being high value - but I actually have gotten a lot of FREE coupons and high value coupons.  Right now, I have a coupon for free barbecue sauce and a free package of hot dogs that I got in a package from Kraft.  Sign up for samples from the companies, as these often have very high value coupons with the samples!!!  Also, coupons.com is a very good site for coupons, and they are almost always higher values.  Also, even if they aren't high value, stores often double or have double days.  My Kroger doubles all the time for any coupons under 50 cents.

Drug stores are a completely new skill - using their cash registrar reward systems to roll your money and obtain free items when you add to your coupons.  For example, this week at CVS, I bought Crest mouthwash, Pantene shampoo and conditioner, Kotex, and Carefree liners and ended up walking away with a profit of $2.00.  I will link some sites that are great for couponing 101, and they explain this drugstore strategy.

www.southernsavers.com

www.coupongeek.net

www.pennypinchinmom.com

www.frugalfemina.com

These are just a few of my favorites.  Often you can find them on Facebook and friend them, and they update with all the new samples out or coupon deals and you can get it instantly to your Facebook feed.

I hope this is enough to help some of you get started.

Here's to saving tons of  money!!  (So you can buy more yarn!)

New knitting needles and a (sort of) new hobby

Well, I really am still knitting.  Even though I have nothing to show for it.  Motherhood doesn't stop you from doing the things you love, it just takes a little longer!

I got some new needles, for socks, and I adore them.  I got the Addi Turbo 8 inch circulars!!!  They are so tiny, and I love them, but I think you either love them or hate them.  I can go really quick on these things, and even the Cookie A. socks I love doing are going faster!

So, I have found something else to occupy my thoughts and mind.  Couponing.  (You know, so I can buy more yarn?)

I have really gotten into it, and doing quite well with it.  I've not bought body wash or toothpaste, but gotten it all free after coupons, and have enough stockpiled for another month!  Food is harder to get free - not as many great coupons, but still you can cut the bill a lot lower.  If any of you are interested, I might do a blog post with some starter tips.

Oh, and I got my laptop back.  If any of you noticed me missing, my laptop died and was getting repaired.  I have another OLD laptop, but it's hard to use, heavy, and doesn't have any of my bookmarks.  Soooo... yay, my laptop is back!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

For Valentine's Day, we didn't do much.  Went out to dinner last night to celebrate the Chinese New Year with some friends.  I got a card, but most of all... I got sleep.  I slept until 1 pm today.  Oh, it was sooo wonderful.  I haven't done that in years.

Sleep is good.

I also have been joining in the Ravelympics, and finished an old project that has been sitting in my knitting bag.  Sad and all alone.  Olympic knitting is so much fun, and so motivating for some reason!!!

This shawl is from "Knitting Triangles" by Evelyn Clark, and is a mix and match of different patterns to make your own.  This book is great, and is more of a recipe book for a shawl than anything.  Great book, I highly recommend if you like lace knitting, particularly in triangle form.  Malabrigo laceweight, in a really candy cotton pink.  My favorite of colors.  I'm definitely not girly until it comes to the color pink. :D  Size 4 Addi Lace needles.

Damson blocking

Not much going on here.  We've been a houseful of sickness.  The baby has been sick, we have ALL had the stomach virus, and I officially tested positive for mono.  Whee.

I did get Damson blocked.  Thank you Rachel, I used the spare bedroom bed, and shut the door to keep the kitties out and off the yarn!

Lazy Sunday

I'm practicing a post with my new Wordpress app on my iPhone... It's a rainy lazy Sunday.