Musical Rooms

We've been moving rooms around again. I should probably start this, by explaining when we bought our house it had an apartment in the bottom half of the house. All unenjoyable things must come to an end and this year we evicted our tenant. It wasn't pretty but it had to be done.
We've opened up the walls to the apartment and taken over. Realized we don't like the layout of the house on the bottom half. But those weren't the rooms that we were moving around this week.
We moved my oldest daughter's room to the top of the stairs, which was the office. The office is going to be downstairs but part of it remains in the upstairs family room. I have a layout, I'll scan it some other time.
For those with any OCD tendencies please do not look at the clutter I'm about to show you! This is all my clutter (actually there is more but I didn't want to cause a rash of 911 calls), not my husband's or daughter's clutter.
This was taking up space in our living room because my daughter's old room was where my crafting room is now. I've cleared all the boxes out, so the top is the only clutter left. Now where I put the clutter is scarier. I should also tell you when we bought this house the people who lived in it loved animals. They had a 6' pink fiberglass kangaroo in their living room, with plants in the pouch. Elephants painted on the floors, jungle wall paper in the foyer and living room. Then this back bedroom continues the animal theme. My daughter's didn't like the wall paper so they started tearing it down. I can't say I blame them.
It's like a mishmosh of ugliness! Plaid wallpaper with a jungle themed border again. That gross pink/purple trim and butterfly wallpaper! We tore out the carpet because it was soaked with animal pee. It doesn't smell but the feng shui of this room is terrible. We do plan on moving walls, making the room bigger and moving the entrance. Which will greatly improve the creepiness of this room. So my clutter will sit in here, keeping this creepy room company. I don't enjoy working in this room. If the phone rings or someone knocks on the door, I can't hear it. The acoustics get lost in the hallway you have to walk down to get here.
My daughter loves her new room and so far it's been kept very clutter free. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.

Merry Belated Christmas!

I know it's a day late but we just finished our Christmas celebrations with family! Look what my daughter did for Christmas at school. I love it! It's her first public school Christmas art work. At her other school they didn't do stuff like this. I really like this and it's so bright, cheerful and reminds me of a card.
I also finished the tea cozy and I think it came out really cute!

I stitched it together using my sewing machine. Since the sweater blocks are different thicknesses they like to part while being sewn. The red hearts are hiding the gaps. Bet you wouldn't have guessed that! It's true and my MIL will never know either! So shh!
I always feel like we get to much for Christmas! Anyone else feel that way? I know my oldest certainly did! Holy Cow! She received an American Girl doll, horse, dog, clothes, and various other doll crap. My MIL went wayyyyyyyyy overboard. She swears this is the last year and next year there will only be one gift for each child. I sure hope so!
My husband and I received a cool charitable gift to Heifer International. I actually wanted to give a gift like this but wasn't sure how it would go over. I'm so happy that someone else thinks like us. So thanks Aunt Dottie! She always gives awesome gifts. Like this Christmas book for the adults and then my oldest received this one this year and this ladybug one went to my youngest. Can you tell she's a school teacher?
I maybe reviewing the books we received if I think they are worth buying. We have lots to read. It will take time.

Two Gifts And Then Some!

Whew it's been busy here! I finished the snail today! It was tough, my finger is swollen and painful but I think it looks good (the snail that is not the finger)! I also made this fairy today! She's kind of a gothic fairy or a very fashionable fairy. Her hair needs a little combing but that will have to wait for the glue to dry. She is going to a good friend who I've know FOREVER, so I know she'll love this.
I'm also going to make my MIL a tea cozy. She mentioned she wanted one and my in laws are so good to us. I felt like we didn't make enough to show how much we appreciate them! So I need that for the day after Christmas. It's hopefully going to be a quilted sweater tea cozy. I like usually have NO clue what I'm doing. How big does it need to be? How am I going to sew the squares together. Damn the movie Nanny McPhee for giving her the idea. It's okay. It will be done!
So yesterday there was a war at my house! No one died but someone was hurt. Who, I don't know. All I know is the cats were fighting! Luna doesn't get that not everyone wants to play with her. So she's gets really Hobbes like and attacks the other cats. Which leads to lots of screeching, hissing, and cats running through the house. After it calmed down I went to do some work. Well there was a blood trail going up stairs. Through the hallway, ending on my CREAM colored carpet in the office! I concluded that one of the cats is hurt majorly. Have you ever tried finding a wound on an animal that is covered in fur? It's like trying to find Where's Waldo among fake Waldo's. Needless to say all the cats were intact. No one was missing a limb, ear, or tail. My husband's only other thought is that they found a mouse and were fighting over the body and tore it apart. EWW! I like to think they are super fast healers and the fur is cover this wound.

Things That Make Me Go UGH!

I've had a pretty boring uneventful days!  It's like the days know Christmas is coming and are just dragging to torture me.  I had a sick child home on Monday.  That's enough to bring anyone down.  

I still haven't finished the snail toy.  It's not as easy as the others.  It has strips of fabric you braid together.  Then you roll them into a spiral and sew 2 coils together.  Well I did all that and the middles kept popping out.  This toy is for a 1 year old, it had to withhold the abuse it is going to get.  So I've been sewing the inner coils together so they won't pop.  Boring and painful.  My fingers have holes in them.  It's not an easy thing to do.  I need a needle that is curved, it would be so much easier.  

My 9 year old bought my husband and I gifts today (from a toy store).  I was happy that she came up with a great idea to recycle the bag the gifts came in.  I'm not happy that she didn't separate the gifts.  Now who opens the gift?  Me or my husband?  I don't think individual gifts should be allowed to share the same packaging to become one gift.  There has to be a law out there.  I bet Miss Manners has a whole column about this.  I may have to look it up.  I wrapped her gifts separate from her sister's , she should have the same courtesy!  

I'm also running out of yarn for my husband's socks!  He wanted socks and of course he didn't want me to buy sock yarn.  Just wanted  socks from yarn lying around.  Well of course I don't have enough because he needed soft yarn.  Wool makes him itch and he can't handle itchy socks!  It doesn't help that his shoe size is like a size 12!  Did you know the national average shoe size for men is like a 10!  I find that hard to believe.  So he's going to get shorty socks and like them!  If not!  I'm rip them and make myself a pair!  

I hope to have the snail done tomorrow.  With pictures.  I may take a picture of the wrap job my daughter did!  

Yankee Gift Exchange!

So last night was handworks and the Yankee gift exchange. I'm kind of disappointed because they changed the rules so an opened a gift could only be exchanged 3 times. So if you opened a gift that you didn't like and no one else did, you were stuck with that gift. Many people didn't get to participate and all the really cool items were taken out quickly. I ended up with yarn and that's fine with me.

The 3 striped yarns on top were not part of the gift. The girl who's house we were at, was going through her attic and need to get rid of stuff. So I grabbed these. It's sock yarn weight, so I see gifts to me in my future.
I talked my daughter into possibly making gifts for her Aunt, Cousin and Grandmother. First she picked the heavy purple varegated yarn and was going to make a headband for her cousin. I really like the yarn and was dying to tell her no. I didn't but after it became a more elaborate gift and would use all the yarn up... I had to say NO! She moved to the blue yarn to make a headband for her Aunt. Will see if she can keep it up. It's a tough yarn because it has globs of thick yarn and then thin yarn. So it's kind of hard to work with. I've been knitting a row or two so she doesn't get discouraged! I would like her to make gifts this year. She always starts off with good intentions and then it dies. Never to be rekindled. This year, I'm going to keep after her to complete something!
The pink yarn is mohair. The orangish brown is a nylon combination. The green is scratchy and not to nice to touch.
We were supposed to have 3 days of blizzard like weather this weekend. It of course hit last night after the party started! I didn't leave till midnight and even if I wanted to leave earlier it would have never happened. I was blocked in by at least 4 cars!
I live in a valley and the party was 2 hills over. 12 miles as the crow flies and many more by car. I had to drive across 2 major route numbers. They both require you to stop and look before you go up these steep hills. I'm driving my cute, light weight Prius. I made it half way up the unplowed, snow and ice covered hill. The Prius comes to a complete stop and starts slowly inching it's way backwards!
After I finish mentally cursing myself out and trying to figure out how to not totally ruin the car. I back up a little and do a K turn. Not a ton of sliding is happening, so I know I can make it down the hill and stop. If you never ridden/drove a Prius before, it has B on the stick shift. Which puts drag on the engine to charge the battery. I put B on and slowly make my way down the hill. I wasn't 100 percent sure where I was but I knew if I turned right, I would be heading towards my mom's. I frantically try to call home to have someone else figure out how I can get home without going up hill. No answer, call the party, and thankfully the hostess was still up and told me what was coming up and where to turn! Whew, glad someone know where I needed to go. Needless to say, the 20 minute trip there, took over an hour getting back home! My husband was still up, wrestling with plumbing problems. He kept my spirits up while I slipped and slided home! Love hands free phone! I still had to go up 2 smaller hills but I didn't have to come to a complete stop before I tackled them! Thanks honey for being there when I really needed someone to talk to!
The storm stopped by this morning! It was still slick and his truck was going sideways down part of street when he had to venture out. He luckily has 4 wheel drive and regained control quickly! Winter weather, I do enjoy it!

Music?

I went to Girl Scout's last night and at the end of the meeting I received a CD of songs that are sung at encampment. So I popped it on the way home and ahh yuck! Some of the songs were good but some of the songs were so embarrassing that I had to skip through them. Girl Scout's I thought was about helping girls become strong women. Plus helping out in the local communities. Some of these songs didn't convey any of that spirit. They were a way to make a fast buck. No thought or musical talent went into them.
Well these songs didn't motivate me at all. They kind of killed my soul. They were an attempt to make a catchy but repetitively mindless song. The grammar jumped around and I couldn't figure out how a surfer girl could get around a block. Plus their solution to make it sound like a song was to have a woman sing a line or a word and then have girls repeat it for one of the songs. We skipped that song. Some of the songs were just good fun songs, that are sung at camps everywhere. My daughter will not be happy by singing some of these crappy songs. I can't say I blame her. If it makes you feel unmotivated then hum something else to yourself honey or maybe I should tell her to stand and tell the adults this song stinks.
Songs I really like right now are The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson
and Feist 1234. Simple songs with nice instrumentals that don't over power the singer's voice. Cute catchy lyrics with emotion and feeling.

Butterfly Is Done!

I finished the butterfly and wasn't sure if I was going to post it. Since I've been blogging for 1 month today, I thought I should make an effort to get it up today. Next and finally is the snail. One more gift and Christmas may be done. Well I do have to wrap gifts next.
Since Christmas is around the corner and the clutter around here is out of control. I'm going to be ebaying off unplayed with toys. My oldest is having a problem keeping the playroom clean. I'm not going to tell her because like any child, she will dig in her heels, cry about and tell me she can't live without them. If I get rid of them slowly, she'll never know. Then I won't feel like she is forever picking up after herself and never getting the job done!
I've also realized if anyone decided to rob us at night, they would kill themselves from the clutter. I have a hard time navigating the clutter in the dark. Well plus the cats. The youngest doesn't like moving even if you are about to step on her. She'd rather trip you and watch you go down. So she can pounce on you and declare victory! She just doesn't realize I can never be defeated! I now walk with a shuffling kicking motion. So if my foot does make contact with her, she will be pushed out of my way.