Back Tack 4!!!!

Whoops!!! I'm sorry to be late posting with this but WOW!!!! Seriously I could not have been partnered up with a more generous and talented person. Karalea over at : Karalea - Karalea was beyond generous with all the beautiful things that she sent me!
Here is the package I sent to her:

The theme was Gold/Frankincense & Myrrh. The "Gold" was the sparkle in the felt used to cover the notebook, the "Frankincense" was the spicy hot cocoa mix and the "Myrrh" was the eye pillow and the yarns. I always add a felted rock to the package as I love them and the way they are a little oxymoron of soft and hard!
I think Karalea enjoyed them and I really enjoyed making them for her. Check out her blog for pictures of the gorgeous stuff she made for me!
I love back-tack and it was an honor to participate this year. Thanks guys!!

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driving me crazy!!!

Ok I know no one is really reading this but I have seen this FOUR times in the last few days and it's bugging the hell out of me.
When you are sad and crying really hard? You are BAWLING your eyes out. You are NOT "balling" your eyes out. God. The incorrect usage really screws (ha! no pun intended) with the tone of your post. It's hard for me to feel sorry for you when I have to picture you having sex in the middle of your post about your horror over the condition of man.
Whew. Sorry. Back to my regularly scheduled moments of positivity.

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Grograin giveaway & thanks!

Ok guys, this gorgeous dress is show stopper! Check out this beautiful giveaway from the always lovely Grograin blog.
Recital Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

1) I am thankful for my pets! I am always assured of a loving welcome and lots of meowing. :)
2) I am thankful for my knitting shop! I love Knitch! It's not only a great shop but the people I work with are so wonderful.
3) My friends!! I am so happy to have such wonderful people in my life and I am glad to have them to support me in all the hard times of my life.

I have enjoyed my thankful for 30 and I will keep trying to stay focused on things that I'm thankful for!

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something fuzzy!

something fuzzy, originally uploaded by budgetnaginata.

A sneak peek on my back-tack 4 package! It went out today and I am excited to see how my partner likes her things! It was really fun to meet someone new and make some cool things for her.
Now some more thanks!

I'm thankful for back-tack! It's such a great idea. I love meeting new people online and making something for them as a surprise. Packages are always fun!

I'm thankful for my family. They have been really wonderful lately and I don't know what I'd do without them.

I'm thankful for my extremely sleep-deprived, whiny, sassy, annoying, wonderful daughter. It's been "one of those days" and I know someday I'll look back on this wistfully. For now of course I am trying to keep from locking myself in the bathroom to get away. but I LOVE! ;)

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Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!!

I am a HUGE fan of Small Magazine. They did a Q&A with the amazing blogger Kathleen of Grosgrain Fabulous for the winter addition. I have a new addiction! As I gear up for my new sewing projects it is wonderful to have a new inspiration. She also has some really awesome giveaways (see below). I love finding new ways to be inspired!
And I'm thankful!!
I am also thankful for my BED! I have the best bed ever and I am heading for it now! Good night!

Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!!

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More thanks!

Whew! What a week it has been. I've been wrapping up my back-tack package, such yummy and fun goodies! :) I've been finishing my November classes, my last one is today at 2pm. And I get to do a fun night out with my my lovely friend Theresa for the Night before Thanksgiving! I can't wait!
I read a great blog by BStewart and he had a great quote for today:
"We must destroy the myths once and for all, shatter them. We must continue to speak out and most importantly every gay person must come out. As difficult as it is, you must tell your immediate family, you must tell your relatives, you must tell your friends, if indeed they are your friends, you must tell your neighbors, you must tell the people you work with, you must tell the people in the stores you shop in, and once they realize that we are indeed their children and that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and for all. And once you do you will feel so much better. — Harvey Milk"
To all my friends and family who are gay, thanks for coming out. It means the world to me to have been able to share in your lives and to love you for who you are. LOVE to you all!
And now on to some thanks!!!
1) Thank you for blogs! I know it might seems silly but I am really thankful for all the insightful, passionate, personal stories that I read everyday. And I'm even thankful for LOLcats! If you can't think, laugh and love everyday then what is life for?
2)I am thankful for SLEEP! Every Saturday morning my husband makes sure to get up with our gal so that I can sleep in and I don't know if he knows how much I appreciate it. :)
3) I am thankful for Thanksgiving!! This is my favorite holiday and my favorite time of year and I am glad for all the wonderful things that I have to be thankful for.

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ack! I'm behind in my thanks!

Whoa! 5 days since my last post and I don't even know where the time went! Things are relatively uneventful here. I am coaxing my hubby back from the ugly bronchitis and my peanut is finally not ill so that's a huge relief. Now we are looking forward to the holidays and working all of that out. We got a great surprise of Nutcracker tickets! I am so excited to take miss bean. She will love it I'm sure. Dress up + ballet = happy kid. :)
Now onto the thanks!!
1. This was so exciting! I'm thankful to all the people who are so into the political system and voting now! I think this election has really galvanized a lot of people who felt disenfranchised. Now they are seeing that with action comes response!
2. I think it's cheating to say again how much my husband rocks but I think he's great and I'm looking forward to 6 more years of fun.
3. NAPS!!! I'm thankful for them. :)
4. Our extended family are awesome. I'm thankful for Aunts and Uncles of our choosing.
and finally 5. I'm thankful for COLD!!! It has finally gotten chilly here and I couldn't be happier.
In keeping with a combo of #3 and #5 I'm heading for a nap right now!! :)

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son of thanks

:) I am thankful today for my bright beautiful bean. She sings me songs and makes me laugh and I don't know what I'd do without her. Thank you sweetie.

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ugh...

We are feeling the blahs over here. Daddy has bronchitis, I have a hideous fever blister and our daughter is slightly overtired and cranky. I am looking for some sort of magic door that I can use to slide out of here and into a lovely hotel where a nice soft bed and room service await me. Anyone? When will teleportation be a reality??? I don't car about my flying car just make it so I can magically appear anywhere in 5 seconds. *sigh
See what happens when I'm thankful for health?? ;)

Today's thanks X 2 :

I am thankful for warm covers and soft beds. Even if they are invaded by small people and animals from time to time.

I am so thankful for all the military families who sacrifice so much for all of us. I hope that in the future they may be not stretched so thin and they have all the support of our countries resources when they come home. Thank you.

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whoops!

I can't believe I have let this much time pass between posts! I have been busy with a sick husband and a kid that only wants to be with Daddy. Poor guys! I am working away on my back-tack contribution. I want to get it mailed off to make sure it arrives by the first week or so of December. I had a moment of panic the other day and somehow thought that I had missed the deadline! whew!
So my thanks are these:

1)I am so thankful that we are in good financial health. We could not have done things better in the last two years than if we had KNOWN the economy was going south. Thank goodness.

2)I am grateful for warm mugs of tea on cold mornings. And it is finally cold here! yay!

3)I am thankful for my teeny house because it makes me very mindful of what I bring in since I don't have space for much. Usually things in our house are things we love because of this.

4)I am thankful for the gift of relative good health. The beginning of this post notwithstanding I am happy that we are able to fight off most illnesses with the only real consequence being a missed day at work or two.

We are truly blessed! Have a great morning!

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Post election buzz and more thanks!

What an amazing couple of days it has been. I am so happy and sad. I am hoping that there are more changes to come and that all people can truly be equal. I am excited to do more and be a better person.
My thanks for today (and yesterday!):

1. I am so thankful that I live in the same town as my mom. I could not be the best mom, wife, friend, person that I am without her. She is really a gift and I hope I tell her that enough. (hmmm...I think some flowers are in order!!)

2. I have the BEST husband. Seriously. He's just an amazing person and it's been a pleasure to be on this journey with him. Seeing him with our daughter and knowing what a fantastic dad he is has made me fall in love with him all over again. I am so thankful for him!

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More Thanks and Election news

We had a great time voting this morning. We were lucky and our 6:45am arrival time was right on target. We only had to wait about 1 and 1/2 hours. It went pretty fast and our gal was GREAT! She wrote in her books and played games on our cell phones. She was patient and super. Whew!

We thanked our poll workers and I was surprised by how touched they were by our thanks. I think most people think that they get paid to work on election day but the truth is they are all volunteers. The do this work out of the goodness of their hearts and because they think it's important.

So we came home to make them some cookies! It went swimmingly, mostly because I already had some ready made cookies in the refrigerator. Miss thing made them a card and we'll take them over after they've cooled. Which brings me to my Thanks!! Since I seem to be doing them in twos:

1.I am SO thankful to live in a country where my vote counts and I am able to vote freely and without fear.

and

2.I am also thankful for the people who make this day possible. Here's to all the poll workers, we couldn't do it without you!

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Thankful for 30

Thanks to a tip from my amazing friend Sarah I am also participating in "Thankful for 30" from Confessions of a Craft Addict. What a great way to keep in mind what is really important right now. I am a day late but here are mine for Saturday and today.

I am grateful for the wonderful friends that I have. The last year has been extraordinarily difficult for my family and I would not have survived if not for the support of some amazing people. Thank you guys.

and that brings me to today's gift of a place for my brother. I am so thankful that he'll be getting the help he needs now and that the housing burden is off of my mom. I think the adjustment will be hard but that it's going to be much better for all of us from now on.

Here's to the positivity of this season. Hugs!

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social networking is teh devil...

Not really but I can see why it can be such a time suck. I just got an email from an old friend and she pointed me to a group of our old friends on facebook. So an hour and half later I have 20 new friends and I'm reconnected to some guys I haven't seen in almost 20 years! Which is awesome and why I love the internet. But I can also see how easily you can fall into spending an inordinate amount of time on the site. It's a great way to find folks but it's a huge time waster too. I just have to be aware and look up from the computer from time to time!
I'm off to knit a sock!! :)

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Why is it that my daughter only gets sick on Wednesdays?

It's a little weird. Oddly it's a good day for her to BE sick since it's the one day I don't usually have anything to do. :) Maybe she's just considerate.
I've been crafting Halloween stuff. I made my daughter's Batgirl cape. It was surprisingly easy. I am NOT a great sewer but straight lines seem to be my forte! I am busy planning my back-tack package. I like to list everything all out and then list the supplies I'm going to need. Then I check everything off as I go. It's a little anal but it's the only way I get anything done right!
I'm heading off for early voting! Yay for Georgia's ease of access to early voting. It's been really popular here. We might be able to turn this red state blue! Or at least purple! :)

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new ideas!!

I grabbed the new Martha Stewart Holiday Christmas edition today. There are some cute ideas with beading that I might try for some of my handmade holiday giving. I loved these initial ornaments. I will post some pictures after I get some beading wire and try it out. :)

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the crazy week so far...

It's only Tuesday and already I'm feeling a bit frazzled. I am so glad Ronin took a day off today. I think it's a big thing for him to make sure to take care of himself. I know it's hard for him but he's so much better when he does. He's such a great husband and father and I want him to make sure he's here for us for the long haul! :)
If everything stays on schedule (ha!) we'll all be in good shape. We'll see what happens!

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and what was your name again?

Hi from my house! I'm popping back onto the scene to do a swap!! A great project that I always wanted to be a part of is back on! back-tack 4 is here. And I got in! Yay me. I will be posting for the swap and maybe on into the future. I know I like it when I am writing even if it is just for me. :)
So hello again!

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