Cozy fleece slippers for the winter!

I made these slippers for Hannah and a larger pair for Emmaly from a pattern I got from http://www.prudentbaby.com/. The embroidery pattern is from http://www.emblibrary.com/. I had to use my brain a bit to size up the pattern, and then I had to make a few adjustments, but they turned out pretty good, the girls love them and they keep their little tootsies warm! So much fun to create something new...

Here are Emmaly's. I forgot to reverse the pattern on the second slipper. :oP

Ella's Blanket

Another project completed!

Seven embroidered panels, 35 buttons and a couple months after starting, baby Ella's blanket is finally done! I'm particularly fond of this one. It is the first "inside out" quilt face I've done. I used some microfleece panels I got from my sister, and added the cute polka dot fleece for Ella's mommy, Becky, who likes dots. It's going to be hard to let go of this one since it's been on my list, on my table, and on my mind for so long! But, I know that it's going to a "crafty" family who will love it for what it is: imperfect, but made with love!

Explosions and Implosions

So, I had what Chris describes as an implosion last week. I got so sick of all the useless junk in the way, and was feeling overloaded with responsibility, so I got out the giant Costco box of giant black trash bags and started filling them up with my clothes that I never wear, scarves, my belly dancing stuff (haven't had classes in almost 2 months due to everyone being at belly dance camp, and then our leader being out for back surgery), jewelry, and all the other stuff of mine that's been laying around in the way for months and I don't use it any more. Incidentally, it's all still in trash bags, including my jewelry. I am just overwhelmed by all the stuff we have accumulated, and feeling pressured to try to sell things we don't use/need any more because we need money, but people aren't buying stuff much these days, and I just want the JUNK GONE, and my life simplified! I'd like to load it all up in the truck and take it down to Goodwill and be done with it. I've sorted through a lot of this stuff at least 3 times now, and I'm sick of it! Why do I feel the need to hold on to stuff that just weighs me down? I need some validation that it's ok to just give it away to someone who might need it more than I obviously don't need it! I feel an explosion coming on.

Halloween

This year, I decided we would have a family theme to our costumes.

Chris pouted a bit, but in the end he was a good sport as always.

Here we are! The crayon box, the pretty crayons, and the art work!

Crock Pot Chicken and Purple Potatoes

I got a bag of baby potatoes at Costco last week with Red, Gold, and purple potatoes. YES! Purple potatoes! They look almost black on the outside, but they are a shockingly deep purple on the inside.

Anyway, I tossed a chicken in the crock pot with some spices, carrots from Chris's parent's garden, and these neato potatoes.

Here are the results before and after 2 hours on high and 6 hours on low heat. And how they looked cut up on a plate.

Belly Dancing!

Belly dancing is becoming a larger part of my life. Here are a couple pictures of outfits I've put together.

I made the red top from a shirt I got at Goodwill and altered to fit me. I made the blue hip scarf and got the Coin belt from a vendor at the County Fair this year. It's hard to tell, but I'm wearing panel pants that flutter out when I turn, and the red top has shiny red dots on it.

The blue and silver one is Chris' favorite, and the black and gold is my favorite. Which one is your favorite?

Something about Family

It occured to me recently that although this site is primarily about me, my family is a large part of my life and I would like to put more about them here.




This is a picture of Emmaly playing in a box. She loves to climb in and out of boxes, close herself in and shout "Where's Emmy?! Where did Emmy go?!".





This is a picture of Grandpa Wood playing with Hannah in the backyard of their home here in Port Angeles. "Dapa" as Emmaly calls him, loves our girls a ton, and we all see a side of him we didn't know was there when he plays with Emmaly and Hannah.