Is This What It's Suppose To Look Like?!

(Peanut Butter Cookies by dazycakesbakery)

       I know!...it was a dirty trick, getting your mouth all watered up and drool-y for some chewy crunchy peanut butter cookies...when all you're gonna get is a PICTURE of peanut butter cookies!...unless you order them from this shop, I mean....Which I may end up doing!! ^_^

      I know what you're saying to yourself right now too!..."Why is she talking about buying peanut butter cookies when her hubby and her friend have been making a bakery out of her house, baking peanut butter cookies almost every day?! O_0"...Well, the answer is...I still haven't had the peanut butter cookie of my dreams.

     Hubby's cookies ended up having clumps of flour stuck to them, underneath...from flouring the cookie sheet so that they wouldn't stick...O_0...*still shaking my head from that one!*... And my girlfriend, in between our giggling, talking, listening to music and dancing yesterday decided that she would give my peanut butter cookie recipe a 'Go!'

     With our weather taking a turn for the 'rainy', and my aching joints, I was thankful that she was gonna give me something to smile about....COOKIES!...especially since I wasn't up to making them myself...Gotta love hubbies and good friends. ♥♥♥

      Unfortunately...somewhere in between her not liking the use of electric mixers, and her forgetting to put eggs in the recipe...O_O...my dream cookie got lost! ^_^ ...She realized she forgot the eggs...and after being so happy that she had added walnuts too!...but when she went to take one of the cookies from the cookie sheet it crumbled all apart!!...She suggested that maybe the crumbles would be good for a topping on some other dessert or something at a later time. ^_^

     She scooped the second batch back into the bowl and added an egg and started again...but these came out kinda like biscuits instead of cookies...Oh Well, back to the peanut butter coconut chocolate chip drawing board!!...But make no mistake, these cookies will be eaten!!! ^_^

     A good cookie wasn't the only thing that was trying to get made correctly in my house yesterday, though. I went on Youtube and found a video for 'How To' do a Tunisian afghan crochet stitch...so that I can make the center piece for my pink and white crochet pillow case.

   Surprisingly it wasn't difficult at all! In fact, I took to it like a duck in water!...

      It makes a very pretty pattern...but it rolls up just like knitting does...

       In fact, it looks and feels a lot like knitting...

       ...In fact, it looks and feels TOO MUCH like knitting!!...I love the way it looks, but you don't want me to tell you how long it took me to do just this little part!!...

       I just keep reminding myself how pretty my words are gonna look on top of that pretty stitch...maybe.

    I needed some inspiration to keep going, so I went on a search...on Etsy of course! :-) ...A search for things made with this Tunisian crochet afghan stitch...This is what I found...

 (Baby Boy Diaper Bag by TunisianTotes)

(Tunisian Crochet Scarf by NikisKnerdyKnitting)

(Sweater With Hood by ForBabyCreations)

(Kitchen Towels by VsVisions)

      Not only are these crafty people talented...I now know that they're patient too!...*deep breath*...If patience is what it's gonna take...patience is what I'm gonna have!....Patience and another peanut butter crumble biscuit cookie!...to go with my coffee!....QUIET, YOU!!!! LOL

     Have a good day everybody...and remember!...the drawing for the Giveaway is tomorrow! :-)

 I Like A Cuppa

I find I like a 'Cuppa' soup
when it's chilly out the door;
And I like a 'Cuppa' tea
every day around four.

And I like a 'Cuppa' coffee...
not a decaf 'Cuppa'...NO!...
any time of day or night
I like my steaming 'Cuppa' Joe!

Has This Ever Happened To You?!... O_O Whine! Whine! Whine!

(Pink Piggy Bank by TulaneRoadPottery)

      YIKES!...Get ready for the whine!...We're gonna have to start pinching some more pennies!...And it's not gonna be fun either! We're already pinching our pennies so hard that Abraham Lincoln (whose profile is stamped on the penny) is screaming!! LOL

    As I say usually when things like 'this' happen,...and I'll tell you what 'this' is in a minute...I'm glad I had some crocheting to distract me! And the fact that I finished another soft blue scarf yesterday let's you know just how much distraction I needed!! LOL...Whew! That scarf crocheted up fast!!! ^_^

     The 'this' that happened was  that we got...*gulp!*...a letter from the government saying that we were being assessed for an audit!!! O_O I had to check the envelope a couple of times, whine about it for a while, and then check the envelope again to make sure our letter hadn't been confused with Donald Trump's or Oprah's!! LOL

    Really?!!!...An audit assessment?!!.....US?!!! O_0 ...How could that be?!! We are such nuts about making sure that we pay every little cent we owe, dotting our 'I's and crossing our 'T's at every move!!...As a matter of fact, hubby used to do our taxes, but a few years ago we decided that we needed to get professionals to do them, because of my online business and everything, and just in case some new tax laws popped up that might get by hubby...which there always are every year!...UGH!!

    Sorry...just talking about it made me wanna distract myself with some crochet! ^_^ ... Anyway!...in the letter it said that we owed almost...*gulp!*...$2,000!!! And that it would have to be paid within the next month or so. They gave us a deadline!! O_O ♫ Dun dun Dun!! ♫ ...I whined about that.

     That was the dreaded chore that I didn't want to do yesterday...I had to find out if this was a scam letter....I hoped! I hoped! LOL...or if there was some mistake on their part!...Nope! Apparently it wasn't a scam letter. :-( ...but, as we found out, apparently there was a mistake alright, but not on their part!...*shaking my head* :-/

     Apparently a few years ago, when hubby was doing our taxes, he transposed some numbers on our tax form. Nobody caught it. We were sent a wonderful refund that, thinking back, we were so surprised to get that year. Surprised and HAPPY!!...and unquestioning!...which in retrospect was a mistake! O_O

    But the good news is,...and yes, believe it or not, even though we were dealing with the government tax people, there was GOOD news! LOL...After a phone call, and a re-assessment of our assessment, they realized the mistake my hubby made, and we won't have to end up paying the $2,000!!! :-)

     The bad news....and yes, you knew there was gonna be SOME kind of bad news, didn't you?! :-)) ...we're still gonna have to pay...*gulp!*...$600...It's not $2,000, but it's still gonna be penny pinching time in our house for a little while... :-( ...Sorry Abe...That's what we get for spending our BIG refund check before we checked to see if the refund should've been refunded!!...More whining.

     And more distraction...but I'm gonna really be happy to have the distraction of my beloved crochet over the next little while...and I'll be doing a LOT of it too! I'm certainly not gonna be doing any shopping!... ;'_'; ..."Sorry yarn boxes. :-( ...I'll be back to visit you soon...but not right now."

 (Engraved Coffee Mug by EngravingByT)

      Nope! Not gonna be shopping...Gonna be whining...and gonna be, hopefully, selling!...And gonna be listing some things right away in my Wuglyees shop, so I can be selling some things right away! LOL I wanna make the world some scarves.....At least $600 worth. ^_^ ...Anybody out there wanna buy a scarf?!...How about a headband?!

     Okay...I'm off. My 'Tigger-iffic' friend is coming today, and I might just end up with some eatable peanut butter chocolate chip and coconut cookies by the time she leaves! :-) ...Hey! If I have to 'shell out the dough'...there's definitely gotta be some chocolate and peanut butter cookies, and some whining, in it for me somewhere!! LOL...Have a good day Everybody!!...And watch your 'P's and 'Q's....and dot your 'i's and cross your 't's too while you're at it!!...*gulp!*

(Life is a trip... by TruyVeraDesigns)

      And then again...it is Friday...'Virtual Date Night'!! And hubby's love is better than money in the bank. ♥

Whining

I'm cold. I'm hot. I'm helpless.
I don't want to eat that stuff!
I'm hungry...full..exhausted.
Why does life have to be so tough?!

I'm lonely...tired of people,
Need to find something to do.
Why doesn't someone call or text,
or email me...But who?!

I'm whining all the time
about one thing and then another.
If I had a dime for all that whine...
I could be rich just on the weather!!

No, I'm not a little kid.
I am a full grown "Whiney Mama"!
And I can whine, and list and list,
comma after comma!

I don't like waiting. I am bored.
And I've got so much to do!
Did I encourage you to whine?!
Don't want to hear it...Mine is through!      

If You Crochet, Or Work With Yarn, You're Gonna L-O-V-E This!!!

(Pinback Button by BarrelOfMonkeys)

          Big Surprise....I love crocheting!! ^_^ ...Okay, 'not' such a big surprise! So when I tell you that I found something in a shop on Etsy that, after forty plus years of crocheting, 'did' surprise me...something that I can't believe I've never seen before, and that I'm gonna have to get one of as soon as my money gets to the "You Can Spend Some Now" zone...that oughta tell you something!!

      What surprised me weren't the cute little pinback buttons in BarrelOfMonkeys shop (in the header photo)....Although they are the cutest! :-) I wish I had seen these little buttons back when I used to be in a 'Crochet Club'. Those would've been cute to wear on our shirts as our 'calling card'. :-)

      What surprised me was something I found in BringingSunshine's shop...a shop that's full of all kinds of cute and wonderful things! But before I show you my new L-O-V-E, look at a couple of the other things she has in her shop!...

       They are the cutest little baby blankets ever! :-) ... And yes! I have seen crocheted baby blankets before. I've even made a few...thousand...in my life time! LOL But I'd never seen anyone crochet a little applique to put on them like these!

        The one with the little bear in the corner would have made my own little 'Baby Wuglyee' jealous! ^_^

          What a cute idea!! :-)

        And what a cute idea these were too!...

        And, again, Yes! I have crocheted purses before! :-) Not thousands,...but enough! But I've always hated crocheting the linings into them...YUCK! Hate it!!...So, how cute is this idea of making the loops bigger and using them almost like a drawstring through the lining?!...

       That may be just my eyes trying to see the good in sewing a pocketbook/purse lining, though,... ^_^ ...because I can see her stitch work on the inside lining still...Impressive! But the bigger loops gave me an idea of how to make my pocketbook and purse linings a bit easier...if I ever crochet another one I mean. :-))

       But as impressive as these items of hers are, they're not the ones that surprised me...and that became my new L-O-V-E! These are!...

        They're Yarn Boxes!!...YARN BOXES!!!!....Ohhhhhh, yarn boxes, where have you been all my life?!! O_O

     Look how the yarn is kinda skewered through the middle of the skein, and then a strand is fished through the hook thingee in the front!! That is plain and simply GENIUS!!!...I can't tell you how many times I've had to retrieve my yarn from some place it's rolled off to, or how many times I've had to unroll a skein and re-roll it into a ball because it was too much trouble to keep stopping what I was crocheting to unravel the knotted up yarn in the skein...which got knotted up, by the way, from rolling all over the place while I was crocheting! LOL

           This one doesn't have the hook thingee in the front, but that would work great for me when I'm crocheting with a doubled thread, like I do when I'm making my scarves or headbands. I'd just have to buy two of them!! ^_^ Which I'm gonna have to do anyway...or three!...because look at the cute designs!!

        This one is my absolute favorite though! :-) I love the wood-carved word "YARN" across the front!

        Am I the only one that's never seen these yarn boxes before?!!! I mean...if you know what crocheting is in the first place!! ^_^

(Printable by valerierehrman)

        

      Of course yarn is used for a whole lot of other crafts too...

(Craft Tools and Supplies Illustration by blockpartyprints)

        ...and I could see these yarn boxes used in a lot of different ways!...What a great invention! "Trust and believe, Mr. Yarn Box, you have not seen the last of me!!" LOL

       Okay...I'm almost through raving. ^_^ I said 'almost' because I'd also like to share with you some more L-O-V-E! :-)

          Remember the small red and white headband that Cindy, of CinLynn Boutique's Blogspot, won here on my blog a little while back in one of my Giveaways?!...Well, her granddaughter loves it!! :-) .......And I love her in it!!! :-)

      Maybe I'd better make some smaller ones for the shop, huh?!...For the smaller head people. :-)) ...Thank you so much Cindy, for sharing the photos with me, and for letting me share them here. :-]

        If you look at the little one's feet you'll see some more of Cindy's handiwork!...

       Cindy ventured into a new area...*She's an expert jewelry maker already!..."Yes you are!! LOL"*...She made the socks on a loom!! :-) I L-O-V-E them too!!...Very impressive, Cindy! I can't wait to see what's next!

     Okay...I'm almost all 'l-o-v-e-d' out now! ^_^ Except to say that I would love it if you would enter the GIVEAWAY for the Keychain that I have going right now. (see the right hand sidebar link) The drawing will be on January 1, 2011...in a couple of days!!!...WOW! O_O Where is the time flying to so fast these days?!!

      Yesterday I started another soft blue scarf. :-) ...Today I've got to make some 'Virtual Date Night' plans, and I'm gonna have to go on Youtube and look up some videos on Tunisian crochet, so I can work out what I'm gonna do with the front panel of my pink and white pillow cover.

       But first I've got some studying to finish, and a couple of other things on my "To-Do" list. I'm dreading....O_O...DREADING!...one of them! I may tell you about that tomorrow...I'm leaving you with a poem I wrote a little while back about some other boxes I loved...and with the words: Have a good and L-O-V-E-ly day Everybody!! :-)

My Special Little Box

No, I don't have a baby
with tons of golden locks
that need a place of memory
like a special little box.

No, I don't want old watches,
or the parts to wind old clocks
to mar or scratch the insides
of my pretty little box.

No, there's no baby pictures.
No, not even baby socks,
that'll occupy the insides
of my flower covered box.

No, I can't have it damaged
by some clumsy, nosy ox.
My butterflies must be safely kept,
secure upon their box. 

Let's see, will it be chocolates?
or my diamond studded rocks?
Yeah, those would do just fine
encased in my little box!

Oooo! Special boxes rock!

Is This Chicago?!...Is This December?!...Almost January?!

(Chicago The Windy City collage by Artisticcollage)

         Even though I've never actually been there 'in person', I have a real love for it...Chicago Illinois I mean.  Besides having relatives there that I've never met, there's a lot of things I love, and look forward to seeing in person, in Chicago one day!...Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox baseball,... Wrigley Field,...Chicago Bears football at Soldier Field, {Yes! I do love them, even though they aren't my first football love. That would be the Dallas Cowboys BABY!!! LOL}...Jazz clubs and all kinds of other great music,...Deep Dish Pizza...and Oprah! ^_^ Those are just a few, by the way!

     But one thing I've heard about it...that's not so great...is the wind in Chicago! Apparently it's not called 'The Windy City' for nothing!!...I'm mentioning it this morning because apparently Holyoke tried to rival Chicago's wind last night! Overnight we got 45 MPH winds, and apparently it's suppose to be an issue all day today!

     There were power outages from the wind last night, and they're telling us to keep our flashlights close by today because they're expecting more power outages today. O_O ....So, if you don't see my blog post here tomorrow...look for me in Chicago. I may be blown there by a wind off of Lake Michigan!! ^_^

    The funny thing is...I never heard the wind last night!! I was more bothered by the rising temperature! O_0 I was up and down all night! I thought it was just another bout of my hormones acting up...I've been known to become heated like a Butterball turkey in the middle of the night for no reason at all! LOL

       Poor hubby. :-( First he had to get up to re-position the fans for me,...(I have two going at all times in the bedroom)...then he had to get up to get me some tissue so I could blow my nose, (my nose got all hot, sweaty, and clogged up inside my C-Pap machine...Can you say UNCOMFORTABLE!!)...then he had to get up to open up the door! I was H-O-T!!!!...Who knew it wasn't my internal clock, but outside's out-ternal clock?!! ^_^

      I hadn't looked at the news or the weather last night like I usually do either. It was just gonna bother me and I knew it!...After hearing about the five people that died in a house fire on Christmas day,...two of the ones that died were a grandfather and his little granddaughter he had been trying to get out of the house with, and didn't make it. :-( ...And the news of the 70 fire-fighters who were trying to fight the fire to save the five people, and couldn't. :-( They're gonna have to get counseling because of it today ;'_';)...And the news of the two robberies of '7-11 convenience stores' in my town...And the news of 100 'Sears' and 'K-Mart department stores' that are gonna be closing....And the news of a local man who is very violent and still on the loose in our local today! O_0...I didn't want to see any more news...never mind weather!!!...I wanted to keep it light!...Pink and white.......CROCHET!!! :-]

      Remember this 'frame'?!...Well, it's no longer going to be a frame. I've decided. It's going to be a pillow cover!! :-)

       This was the first step in that endeavor...I crocheted a flap piece for the back of the pillow cover. I wanted to make it so that you could easily slide a pillow in and out of it...

       Once it was crocheted, I sewed it in place...

      ...and started on the other half of it...

         Finished it...and sewed it in place.

       It looked pretty cool when it was done! :-)

           Then I sewed a button in the middle where the flap over-lays...

      Now that the back is all done, now all I have to do is figure out what I want to put in the empty space in the front. O_O ...Any ideas?!

       I'm not gonna get any ideas from hubby on this one. It's not a cheesecake or a peanut butter cookie!...and it doesn't 'move like jagger'. ^_^ Hubby...apparently 'DOES' move like jagger!! LOL...He didn't know he did, until he kept hearing that song playing in every store he went in to put his cupcakes and stuff in...and then he couldn't get it out of his head!! ^_^ 

       Now, every time he hears the song...he starts dancing like a crazy man!...And me?!...I find it extremely entertaining!!! LOL So...I may or may not play the song on purpose just to see him dance. ^_^ And I may or may not have even taken video of him while he was doing it!!! LOL............Well, I've got to have something to keep me smiling, don't I?!! :-)

       Have a good day everybody...and move like....SOMEBODY...if you want to!! ^_^

News

News of war and near disasters,
Lots of folks who are to blame;
A world that's ever slightly shifting,
and yet still remains the same.

You can turn off your T.V.,
Unplug your phone. No one would care.
But soon you'll need to be connected,
and the news will still be there!

We have to streamline all our focus,
no matter what we use,
and keep our minds on what's important.
Now, Baby, that's some news!     

Bzzzzzz!....Bzzzzzzz!......Inspired.

(Drawing by LongboatComics)

         I know! I know!...The header photo gave me away! ^_^ It did for those of you that have been following my blog lately anyway!...But for those of you who haven't been following it, I'm talking about the bumblebee inspired scarf, gloves, and now...flower headband, that I've been crocheting lately! :-)

      Hubby took photos of the scarf and fingerless gloves/wrist warmers over the weekend, and I took a few photos of the headband I just finished. I'm hoping to have hubby take some better shots of it maybe later today. He's much better at taking pictures than I am. The 'cooking' thing though?...That's still my 'wheelhouse'!! LOL...Yep! Still trying to eat, little by little,....and I mean little by little!...all of the stuff he was inspired to cook over the weekend! ^_^ He was a cooking fool!!!

     Before I show you my crocheted bumblebee inspired stuff, let me share a couple of cute bumblebee inspired things I found on Etsy!...besides that cute drawing in the header photo I mean!...

         Look at this cute little baby dress by spinkie! It's made from a 100% cotton fabric print, so it'll be really comfortable. And it's so bright and cheery that it'll make everybody around your baby happy and in a good mood! :-]

          And look at this cute little sewing needle case by doodlebugquilts! :-) It makes you almost wanna drag your old Singer sewing machine out of the closet and blow the dust off of it so you can take it for another spin, doesn't it?!....Wait!...Maybe that's just me! ^_^

        Anyway!!!!...Bzzzzzzz!.....Bzzzzzzzz!

        This is the new headband I just finished. I was trying something new with this one. I put an edging on one side (two rows...one yellow, one black) so that it could be worn a little tighter on one side than the other. I also made it about an inch smaller around, so it wouldn't be quite as loose...for the smaller head people...NOT ME!! As I told you before, I'm officially a BIG HEAD!! LOL

         See!...You could wear the gray part next to your face, or the yellow!...I put it on Shequita both ways. I liked the yellow side. But, of course, I would! I'm all about some color! ^_^ ......I also put one of my vintage buttons in the center of the flower...

       

      I made this one just in time too! I needed to replace the headband I just sold from my shop. :-)

          This soft blue one was the 175th item sold at Wuglyees! :-] And therefore the buyer also won a free scarf of  her choice!...She chose this one...

         It's the matching one to the headband! :-) It's off to her in the mail today!

       I also got another photo from someone who received a headband. If I get permission to share it with you, I'll do that tomorrow...In the meantime, here's the photos hubby took, outside in the backyard, of my latest scarf and gloves...

         He said Tina was cold...*Teehee*...He didn't put her coat on her because you wouldn't have been able to see the top of the wrist warmers....What do you think?!...I almost put a flower on the back of them to make them more feminine, but it felt like it would have been over-kill......As if the black and yellow isn't over-kill enough!! LOL

       Okay...I'm already behind a day with my schedule, with having a long weekend this past weekend and all! Today I've got to get back to some balance! But first I have to help a friend prepare a talk she has to present on Thursday, I've got some personal studying to do for a Bible review we have this week, I've got to get started on another soft blue scarf and headband, and I've got some bills to pay!....See what I mean?!!

        And pouring rain is due this afternoon too! You know what that means!!...I've got to hurry and get as much done as I can before the 'Ache-Monster' shows up!!! ^_^ So..."Here I come, balance!"........Bye!!

Balance

You teeter totter, in the middle,
Lean a little, OOPS! You're off!
Now you know that you're not balanced,
and you hope the ground is soft.

It's not easy to achieve,
and once you have it, to maintain.
In almost every part of life
our balance is so hard to gain.

You have to balance your emotions,
how you eat, and how you spend.
And when you're balancing your checkbook,
try to keep a level grin.

Staying somewhere in the middle
takes a conscious, careful touch,
because it doesn't take a lot
to go from balanced to 'too much'!

So try to keep a balanced eye,
 a balanced plate, and balanced life.
Keep your feelings all in check,
and minimize the stress and strife.

And don't compare your sense of balance
 to your neighbor's...you're alone.
Because your neighbor's also trying
to get some balance of his own!