Garbage in Garbage Out!

So I've been a busy bee. I finished my grad class and I went on an interview and cleaned out my stash.craft.guest bedroom and D got a job! Yay. D was offered the job of asst. manager at the new store and he took it. :D It's a blessing really since he was as high up as he could go in his old store. Now he's asst. mgr- in less than a year time- from part time seasonal minion to asst. mgr. WOOT!

And I went on an interview and I felt like I rocked it. I was armed with test scores and stats about the school, they were blown away. I'll hear by July 8thish. Pray that I get it, it seems like a great place to set up shop for a while.

And my bedroom was trashed- really. I had been so busy with weekend crafty stuffs that I'd just shove stuff back in there and not really put it up properly. So, here we have the new and improved closet where almost ALL of my yarn, et al is stored.


And a close up of the tall thingy:

This is a little messy still, but I have to get new bookends for this:


Then there's the new yarn D got me at his store at a STEEP discount. :D
That's all double stacked in there. I know...

Then there's this drawer too


And I'd like to share my tattoo for the first time


Also, I saw Shawn Mullins at The Loft last weekend. ROCK OUT! He played late and my mans Marshall Ruffin opened for him


Oh and the car is still screwed up- something else this time. GOOD LORD!

Stop buying and Think for a minute

http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2008/05/mid_year_resolu.php

Go there. Read that. Back? Okay.

Now. I'm not poor. I'm not broke. I am, however, unemployed in about, um, 24hrs. Yes, tomorrow is my last day at my current school and I'm still looking for a school (ahem universe, I'm sending positive vibes- using the Secret, please help a sista out!) for next year. Anyway. I was reading this and it really struck home.

Laurie Perry (aka crazy aunt purl) speaks as thought she lives in my body. Really. Like she has the same soul. Freaky huh? Maybe that sounds all weird and stalkery, but really. Anyhow. She is taking a break from buying crap. Not like the world ends if she buys, but she's just gonna focus on her needs, not her wants.

And as I was reading this, I was flicking between tabs- frantically refreshing the Yarn Pirate website, stalking roving. I have just purchased two bumps (12 oz) of fiber. I need no more.

I just sold four skeins of sock yarn that I know I wasn't going to use. I get rid of stuff at a scary rate.

But I also bring stuff in at a scary rate. I scour the Rav boards for great yarn finds. I think about yarn and junk to buy when I'm washing my hair in the morning.

I'm a rabid consumer. And it scares me. My finances are not up to snuff for me to want to own the world. No Trumps or Rockafellers in my family. Nada.

Jeesh. I think I should follow her example and stop the buying a while. But, lets face it- I can prolly only last a month.

Whoa Cool!

I linked to Sonny and Shear, a yarn store online. They kick butt. You can send them yarn bands that total up to 2lbs and they give you 10% off your next purchase. EVEN if you didn't buy the yarn from them, they let you play. EVEN IF you have never ordered from them, THEY LET YOU PLAY! How rock is that?

Also, they give you points for your purchases. You only have to spend $200 to get $25 to spend for free. We all know how FAST we can do that. Sheesh. I'm thinking my next birthdays and Christmases may come from there- that way I get the yarn and the yarn credit too! :D

Check it out. They rock.

Six Things

Six Things

"The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer."

Since I hate to be tagged, I tag not here.

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? Let's see, I was 14. That puts me in middle school, living in Columbus, GA. Arnold Middle School- 8th grade. I would have been totally in love with a guy named Matt, dorky but tall, dark, and goofy cute. I was giving gifts for all occasions- wearing tie-died pants on Easter. My parents were still married- unhappily. I was growing up- trying to figure life out. :P

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order): write study guide, learn to center clay on the wheel, spin, knit, take a nap, grade papers. Notice what I put last - the thing I hate most!

3) Snacks I enjoy: Apples, bagelfuls, cheesesticks

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Quit my job, invest some money, save the rest and live off of the interest. Buy a new car. Pay off my credit cards. BUY MORE YARN!

5) Places I have lived: Cordele, Americus, Columbus, Ga Seale, Alabama

6) Jobs I have had: waitress, tutor, lab monitor, teacher, babysitter

Whoosh!

I feel like I've been in a windstorm all weekend. Well, Sunday I was, but we'll skip that for now.

Friday was a busy bee kind of day. Had to get home, pack orders to ship, pack clothes to go to Americus this weekend, and clean up a bit before we could go. I let the house fall in during the week and then rebuild each weekend. Sucks when I don't have a weekend to rebuild, then I have to do it during the week. Boo.

We got in around dark at his mom's house and had steak, potatoes, asparagus (sp?), and salad. I actually at the veggies, never before being a fan of the spears. That being said, I do think the only way I'd eat them is grilled. mmmm We veged out the rest of the night with Dave making fun of Mom about turning off ALL of the lights in the house. "We're saving electricity!" Except we couldn't see to talk to each other at one point she had been so click happy. It became a running joke.

Saturday I got up and went to the college, the real reason we were there, and attended the first day (pre institute) of the Writing Project. I worked for the WP for years while I was in college and now I get to go through as a fellow. :D Yay. And I got my books and supplies. It felt great, like the first day back after summer. I really do LOVE to be in school. Go with it, you and I both know I'll be grumpy once the projects start coming due, but we'll pretend like that's not the truth.

Saturday night we went to Cordele to visit with my cousin Cal. We ate pizza, played guitar hero, chatted, and then watched the real history channel version of 300. He freaked us out because he's been sick and his blood pressure has been sky high. Like 10 points from stroke zone. We're very worried about him. I played the role of Mama and made him get out of his wheelchair when we were just sitting around talking or watching tv. I know it wore him out, but the chair doesn't do him much good.

Sunday was interesting. I had about 10 lbs of water on Saturday so I kept having to get up and tinkle. Well, I noticed one blurry time that it was very dark and that it was flashing light and I heard the thunder. Then I woke up again to potty and it was raining like something out of the old testament! Jeebs. [I later found out that tornados touched down all around our area!] Dave, saint that he is, let me sleep unabused until 11am. Glory! Then I got up, showered, and we sat around waiting for Terry's kids to get there for Mother's Day lunch. They took FOREVER! GOOD GOD. Ahem. After we ate and chatted, we packed up and headed out. On the road between his mom's and Americus, we saw 2 turtles in the road. One was a big snapper and the other turned out to be a gopher tortise. We turned around to go back and save the snapper but he must have hauled boogie or been saved by the truck behind us, we never did find him. And then we turned around in the parking lot of a church to save him.

When we got home, we went and ran errands and at at Wendy's. On the way back into our apts, we saw a baby snapper caught between the curbs, making a mad dash. We picked him up, drove him up the hill, and let him go down where our drainage ponds are. :D We are the turtle team or something hehe.

The Fuzzy Peach Rides Again!

Etsy Buy Handmade thefuzzypeach

Check out our new base- Sproing!

Spin me right round baby

Yeah, what's with all the song titles? I dunno. They just come to me and seem to fit. :P

I've been given the gift of a spindle and fiber. I'm a spinner! Finally. I've wanted to learn to spin since I started knitting.

Here is the gift that I got from SPLJ5 pal Knit Kit.


I got the package right around my birthday and managed to spin all the fiber she sent before I managed to snap a pic. :D I love spinning. It's fun. And easy. I might can make sock yarn one day. :D WHOO.

This is some Crown Moutain Farms roving that I bought from a person on Ravelry. I think it's called Tahitian Dream or something. I broke the big pile into 2 bumps and have spun up all of one and have one left.


This is something I got in a birthday swap. IT ROCKS!


And this is recycled yarn that I got from the same person who I got the fiber from. It was a sweater and I ripped it and dyed it this weekend. It's drying now, I should be able to use it this weekend. I'm thinking to start the mystic lights shawl. I joined the KAL, but you know me- I've not even picked out my yarn! :P


And since I'm here, since I'm posting, I'll add one more. This is my sock yarn stash as of last month. I think there are 5 new ones already and I have a $100 order from Woolgirl coming my way. My cousin loves me and forgot my birthday. SO he made up for it in fiber. :D YAY

I need to cast on a new pair of socks with some of this yarn. I just finished a pair of socks out of my own yarn and I need to get a pic soon. But I forgot yesterday when I was snap happy.

Touch me, turn me on, baby burn me down

I used to LOVE that song. I am on fire this week. I've crocheted three owls and a robin. I cleaned out the stash to give like 10lbs to his mema's church for their children's center. I've purchased lots o' crap. Just tons of stuff has been done this week. Please don't make me go back to school.

Please?

Really?











See how cute? *dies*

Out of the Pot and into the fire

I'm dyeing again. :P I've been busy like a bee. I dyed up 4 skeins Saturday night. Fun stuff. I had a blast. I tried a new way of doing things. 'Speriments if you will. [Me and Dusty Rhodes]

So here we have my fave mistake, er um, experiment.


It's still in the rinse, so no really great pics of it. BUT LOVE IT! I can't wait for you to see it. It's like the inside of a watercolor paintbox after it get rained on. Fab.


And here you see a project that I've finished recently. My stearing wheel kept freezing me to death. So as soon as I got sick of it, Spring happened. Whatever. I'm over it.


And a yarn I just got from The Loopy Ewe. I could just roll in the yarn.

Speaking of what's left, we've got a few skeins left in the shop. Go check it out. I want to wait until April to put more yarn in the shop. I have a birthday to celebrate early in the month, so no yarn worries for me then. :P Maybe my new sock base yarns will be dry by then. It's squishier than the one I already use. :D

We Interrupt This Radio Silence

We're back. After the Holidays, I needed a break. Now I feel fantabulous and we've been head over heels in the dye pots these past few weeks. I dabbled a bit in there last night as a matter of fact, so those will be coming out soon and up to dry. When they do so, we might sneak a few into the shop. :D And we have a new sock yarn base to play with. I'm still testing some stuff, seeing what dyes work, etc. So look for a new base yarn to add to the one we already have in stock.

Enough already! Check our Etsy mini and see what we have new for you!

Etsy Buy Handmade thefuzzypeach

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. One lucky buyer who purchases one of our four new yarns will get a FREE matching set of stitch markers (4)!

Enjoy!

Chore Wars!

Random Friday

Jan. was the month that I thought would never end. I lived six lives through that stipid month. And went broke! :P This being a teacher and getting one check a month thing is for the birds.


I voted. :D I felt very grown up. It was my very first time voting. Eva. !

I have just finished a pair of socks. I'm wearing them right now as a matter of fact. They are from my own handdyed yarn. I hated that I had to many knots, but if there weren't knots, I would have never been able to keep it!

I'm not impressed with the last Pirates movie. It was a bit too fantasy for me. The first one could have happened-ish but the next two, no way! And I hate that they left it open for a 4th. Won't be seeing it if they do. I don't like when movies keep going and going. Jason, Freddie, and the Halloweens are dumb to me for that reason.

I want to start a pair of Noro socks. Bad. Real bad. Like NOW. But I'm still at school, so no socks for the wicked.

My car is broken. It's leaking water like crazy and we can't find where it's coming from. I've driven to work the past two freezing mornings with no heat because I can't keep enough water in the stinkin' radiator. We hope it's just a hose. And we can fix it over the weekend. If not, we may have to do something serious like borrow a car or rent one! for the 4 days I'm in school next week. Eep.

There is a really icky piece of hair on my speaker on the desk. Squick!

It's Friday, 3:14 and I can't stand myself I'm so excited!!! My fave guy is going to be playing at The Loft tomorrow night and we are THERE! :D He hasn't played since waay before Chirstmas because he's been cutting an album. Yay! He's going to have a CD release party in March.

I hate giving makeup tests. I always wind up rewriting them so that the kids these days can't type them into their cells and then give them or sell them away to the kids who missed. More work for me, but it keeps them a little bit honest.

I had a really healthy discussion with my 4th block 10th graders today about race, racism, and MLK. We read his speech and talked about whether or not his dream has been realized. My special ed. teacher grew up in the civil rights era and told some stories that happened to her and her family in Alabama. It was really cool. A very neat way to spend a Friday during Black History month. Oh, have I ever mentioned I teach at a predom. black high school? That made it especially cool to have the convo. with my kids. I've been hit as a racist sooo many times this year that I'm so sick of it but I think the kids really opened up to me today. For the first time. Breakthroughs.

Ok. I think that's all the random info I can type out before the 3:30 bell. If only this kid would get finished so I can go!!! :P I feel the highway calling my name. Must make a note to add water to my car before I hope in and fly off.

Hace a great and random weekend!

Whoa Weather!

GA. has been having some weather as of late. Snow and sleet and ice. Some are braced for the end of times. ;P I managed to get home the other day fine because it turned into rain and the temp. rose right after that. And then we had a heavy snow warning for Saturday. It snowed all around us, but none in Col. as far as I know and I live on the North end. I wonder if my kids got snow?
I worked another yarn event at AC Moore and people were saying that it was snowing in Pine Mtn. and Warm Springs. So maybe they got some at school. I know they'll be pleased if they did.

Other than snow news, no news. I'm still knitting away on two pairs of socks. Working the scarfotis. Started sewing a lamb out of socks last night. Have the stuff cut for a zebra but I ran out of polyfil. Bummer. D said he'd bring some home from work for me if he could remember to buy some. :D We'll see about it.

Today is a good day, no school. But of course I had dreams of school all morning as I slept through my usual time. I had one where I didn't get there until 4th block and my principal was mad because I didn't call and was about to fire me. I woke up thank goodness before he got the chance. And then I had one where someone came in and rearranged my room. Put up these shelves in front of the chalkboard (*chalk where a white board should have been!) and moved my desk and my kids desks. Freaked me out a lot. I hate when I have time off and all I can think about is work. Makes me crazy. :P

Sleet and Prayers

So...we have sleet. In Georgia. And I'm 30+ minutes away from home. Im' not excited about that. Not at all. I keep hoping that they will cut us loose before 4th block and call this a snow day before the roads ice over. Let's all send out a prayer. :D And if they do keep us all day, I'm soo going to skip the faculty meeting. It's been sleeting in Columbus where I live for hours now. And it hasn't gotten any warmer outside, only colder. So I'm thinking I may drive slow and slide home. :P

For the Mason Dixon Ladies

ETA: SCORE! I won. :D Yay. *happy dance* And Ma, we rock. :P

I am a sheep. Baaa. I also love contests. So this is the reason for my posting. I am entering my recipe box, the one we use and the one that sits on top of my fridge.

My mom started this for me when I was in high school. She was going to give it to me for my birthday or something but she got caught or ran out of time or something. So she started it and I finished it. :D So this is a two person project and I've used it for various things since we finished but since I have my own house, I use it for holding recipes. :D

This is the front view.


Open and not at all cleaned up!



And a back view.

You can tell I was a little bubblegum pop, teeny bopper back then. I love it and I have kept it cleaned off since I've been using it. :D


And now for the recipe. This is one from his Mema and it's sinfully easy!

1-2-3 Tuna Pie Serves 6

Needed:
1 frozen pie crust
6 1/2 oz. can tuna in OIL, drained
1 lb. can Mixed Vegs (veg-all), drained
10 1/2 oz. can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

Do:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Turn pie shell out on wax paper.
Combine tuna, veg-all, and soup in mixing bowl.
Put mixture in pie tin.
Slit crust in several places, place over tuna mixture.
Do NOT seal edge.
Place pie tin on baking sheet.
Bake 15-20 minutes, until crust is golden.



This is yummy, yummy, yummy! Sorry Ma for not sharing any of our families recipes. Truth be told, none of them are written down. :P

Christmas nears :D

So we will hit our first Christmas event Saturday. We'll be motoring down to his Dad's house to do that side of Christmas. Then we'll come back Sunday, do our own little Christmas, he'll work Monday, we'll then drive back down to Americus for Christmas Eve and Christmas with his moms, and then back on Christmas day for him to work day after Christmas. Whew. I guess while we're in the area, we should go by my Dad's etc. but I haven't gotten them one single thing for Christmas. Crap. That also leaves his grandparents in Macon and my mama in Valdosta. Whoa. No IDEA how we're going to manage all this. Stupid job. I can go just whenever, but he can't manage to get off. But we're not bitter, we won't go there.

Ahhem.

More pictures of the Christmas nature.

This is a pic of the angel and the two lady ornaments we found in the stuff his mom ditched on us this year.





This cool little ornament is another that we found in the box o' crap. I love it!


Is this not the sweetest thing? I love it very much and it's at the front center of the tree this year.




And this little one has sisters, but they are so fragile that I left them packed up. I think they were his Mema Joyce's and then his mom's and now they are ours!



And isn't she sweet? I found her too. I like her painted face and hair.


And these are some new additions to our collection o' junk. The hippo is a candle, how cool? I got it, along with tons of others, for $2 at the goodwill store! And then the little snowman is something that was packed in with the mom stuff the sent us. It is china and so dainty! I love it. Then there's the yellow bird. Do you love it?! It was $1.01 at the goodwill. It was cast in 1945 (so says the pencil inside of him. I just love these three guys. :D

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

So here's the state of the craft:
I'm crankin' stuff out like a machine over here!

These are some things I've been knitting:
Camo Scarf for my little brother-


And a Mason-Dixon Scribble Scarf going to a teacher at school-


And the snail I mentioned-


A Fun Fur tree I made to give as SnB swap tonight-


And to prove that I still knit- WIPS

Branching out-


Some socks in progress-

That's 2 pair! The lighter of the two purples is some yarn I dyed for myself. It was the end of the cone that was all warped etc. SO I got to keep it! :D

And now for some of the cuteness that is my house at Christmas:

The cactus of 52+ blooms. :D We think it's dying.

And the cutest tree on Earth!!!


And the greatest stocking yet made by man-

Status

Jeesh. Whirlwind would not even begin to describe my life. Hither, tither, and yon I have been. Or at least it feels like that. I did little of nothing all weekend, but boy howdy do I feel like I climbed Everest. We cleaned the house, I mean CLEANED the house this weekend. After Sunday, you can't tell any difference. We spent all day Sunday in house, piddling, crafting, watching movies.

I've been sewing and knitting. And dyeing. I dyed up three more skeins of yarn for the shop, one though, is short so I get to keep it. :D It's a beautiful mix of greens. I started with a school theme in mind, blue and gold, but it was more fun to keep dumping them in at the same time and see what came out of it! I was also a bit impatient. I could have let the yellow strike and then the blue after the yellow exhausted, but who DOES that? :P

Not me.

And I think I've broken the curse of the ugly stocking. I've made a new stocking for myself for the last three years running. And they all come out ugly. So. This year, with my handy new machine, I ziped one up in patchwork. SO cute. I'll have to get pictures up. I'm in such a Christmas mood today. I've been listening to Yahoo! Music's Christmas stations. It's postplanning today, no kids!!! Can you tell I'm in a great mood? I would to a hula if it weren't so blasted cold in my room. I am not keen on the heater becuase of all the candy(paper) in the heater. Afraid I'll set this place ablaze. Not sure that's a bad thing, but you know, I'll wait for a day with kids to do it so we can all go home! :P Just kidding.

OH, I've knit a snail. It has to be the cutest thing EVA. I used the top part of the Nautie pattern from Knitty and made his little shell. Then I freehanded the body. I'm so proud. And no, I can't share a pattern. I just kinda did it. I increased when it seemed like a good idea, I decreased when it looked right, I made i-cord when it felt like the thing to do. I guess I can finally say that I am a true knitter cause I pulled that entire snail out of the air. It's for the boy who has said on multiple occasions that he's a snail. I don't know why, but he is a 26 yo kid at heart. Really. He just up and says he's a snail sometimes when we're playing around and then makes this noise like he's slithering. Eww. Then we were huddled under the covers, in cave darkness, one cold day and he was suddenly a "bat snail." So after I finish sewing him up, I've got to make some bat wings too. :D

Oh and my mom's husband's name is Donald. Naturally, we all give him ducks for Christmas. Dave just got this the other day when he was saying something about Donald's duck. He's slow I swear. But I'm going to sew him a duck. I've made this pattern out of thin air too. So I'm now a real sewer (is that a word?) too. I saw one online that I liked and it's from a Japanese craft book. It would cost $30+ to buy and ship from Japan, so I am guessing how this thing goes together. I made one out of paper first, and then some scrap, and next will come some bright yellow fabric I didn't even know I had. :D Yay for being a packrat.
For your info, I am NOT procrastinating grading papers. I'm being informative. :P

Sneaky

I've just put up one more skein in the shop. Catch it while you can!

The Update Is Up

We've updated. Faster than expected, so it's now up there. We didn't expect to have it up until 9, but I'm a fast little bunny.

Speaking of bunny, there is a skein called Bunny Nose. :D