Thursday, May 20, 2010

Last day of school....

So as of an hour and a half ago...my baby is officially a Fourth Grader. *sigh* I just can't believe how fast the time has gone by! It seems like only yesterday I was dropping her off for her first day of preschool.

All the other kids were crying and clinging to their Mom's... not my kid. She stood there for about half a second and then walked away. I watched her for a few minutes and then she came over and told me "Go to work MOm. Bye!" and that was it. She never looked back.

Gawd I feel old. lol

I wish we could just slow down time, it just goes by so fast.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Knifty Thrifty got a Makeover!

I just wanted to point out that as of about five minutes ago, Knifty Thrifty got a whole new look, thanks to Farah from The Sweetest Impressions!

She took everything that I wanted into consideration and even put up with what a picky pain in the you-know-what I can be... and it looks fabulous!

If you are in the market for a new blog design, or for custom print work, be sure to check out their website at www.thesweetestimpressions.com!

Also stay tuned for an awesome giveaway featuring The Sweetest Impressions!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

I swear I still make stuff... and other news.

I've been so absorbed with all of my blog stuff lately that I was neglecting my knitting/crocheting... so when the need arose this week to make something for a friend who is having a baby in August.

So the other day I embarked on a new project...a star shaped baby blanket.

This is my progress so far, I started on Friday, and keeping in mind I didn't work on it at all Saturday, and barely at all so far today. So lets call it Day 3.

The baby is going to be a boy, and although I do already know what his name will be... I don't so much feel like embroidering his name on it...on the off chance that my friend changes her mind and names him something else.

I think that this may become my signature baby gift instead of hats and booties. It's quicker, easier for me to make, but looks difficult and I'm pretty sure that it won't be a repeat gift.

I may decide to make a matching hat with a little star on it... we'll see.

I'm still working on my afghan that  I started a few months ago...it's kind of my whenever I'm bored but don't have anything else to work on project. It's about to be summer in the desert...so it's not exactly like we have a serious need for heavy blankets. I would like to have it done before the end of the summer though so I can have it on my bed for when my sister comes to visit next fall.

In other news... I leave for my first visit "home" in two years in about three weeks...and I'm a little anxious...but I'm going with the optimistic attitude that it will all be good and fine and I'll have worried all of this time for no reason at all.

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

ANNND.... just because I felt like it, here is a funny picture of my fat black cat Athena, affectionately known around here as F.A. (short for Fat Ass).
She likes to lay on her back under the coffee table with her feet sticking out the sides. I have no idea why. lol

Saturday, May 15, 2010

We have a WINNER!!!

Ok, it's time to announce the winner of my first GIVEAWAY!!

Drumroll please........ the winner is....WENDI P.


Wendi P said...


Tweeted today #1
http://twitter.com/WendiP/status/13798401447
thanks!!!!!!!

Wendi has 48 hours to respond to the email I just sent her...and if she doesn't then a new winner will be chosen!
Thank you to everyone who participated in my first giveaway...and stay tuned because there will be many more to come including our participation in BLOGMANIA!
 

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Social Parade!

Over at Smart and Trendy Mom's they are hosting a weekly social link up to help all of us get to know each other! Awesome idea!


Smart and Trendy Moms


I'm not new to blog world but I'm having my first giveaway this week and doing my first product reviews starting next week... I'm really excited to do more with this blog than just journal.

So I hope that I make some new blog friends today, and I hope some (or all!) will check out and enter the giveaway...

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

If I was a rich girl...

I would have a maid.

Not a housekeeper. I can cook and take care of my kids just fine... I just want someone to come over and clean my house. I hate, hate, HATE, cleaning. I do it anyways of course, but I hate it.

If I don't feel good, if I have a headache or didn't get enough sleep, I have no motivation to clean the kitchen. It doesn't bother me on any deep levels that my laundry room is cluttered or that my shelves need to be dusted.

I wasn't raised to be a housewife...and yet, I find myself in that role. It's supposed to be my responsibility to keep the house and all the domestic things that come along with it...and I find myself resenting that all the time.

I should take pride in our house right? I should WANT to clean and make it look nice... but I don't.
Now don't get me wrong, we aren't living in filth or anything...but I'm definitely no Danny Tanner. (haha I'll give a gold star to anyone who gets that reference).

I'm struggling with how to make myself better at being a housewife. How do you overcome a lifetime's aversion to housework and become Mrs. Clean?

Sunday, May 9, 2010

My FIRST GIVEAWAY! Win a Beautiful necklace from SarahCatePhotography!

It's time! I just couldn't wait any longer! My first giveaway!           

The fabulous Sarah from SarahCatePhotography has offered one of her beautiful peices of jewelry to one of my lucky readers!

I asked Sarah to answer a couple of "get to know you" questions so we could all get to know the creative mind behind the beatiful work...



How long have you been making jewelry? What inspired you to begin?

I started beading when I lived in the middle of nowhere in Oregon. I didn't really know anyone, and we lived in this tiny one-stoplight town with absolutely nothing to do. I worked at a craft store and started beading on a whim for something to do. I think I probably wanted something to match a specific outfit and couldn't find anything in stores. Also, since I'm a big girl, I tend to have a hard time finding necklaces in particular that will actually fit me well without being too short or too tight. For the first year or so that I beaded, I mostly used fishing line (because it was cheap and strong), and then started using wire, making more intricate designs, and branching out to make earrings, bracelets even the occasional anklet. I was very lucky in Oregon to know a couple who mined for natural agates. They would come to store every month or so and give me first pick of polished natural agates for wire wrapping.

When I moved to Texas, I worked at another craft store and used my discount to boost my beading supply cabinet yet again, and every 6 months or so I get into a mood and do a boatload of beading. Most of the beading I do now is by special request, or because I need something to photograph, but I still have all kinds of jewelry leftover from other beading binges that need to find new necks to hang from!


 How long have you been taking pictures? What inspired you to start? 

I dabbled in photography a little bit in Oregon too, but it really took off about 6 months after I moved to Texas. For Christmas my godmother bought me a Fuji s5700 after a long and thoughtful search for a better camera. It was sort of a stepping stone between your typical point-and-shoot, and the more serious changeable lens dSLRs on the market. I spent the next year honing my craft, learning the camera's manual settings slowly but surely, mostly be experimentation and .. well, by accident!

Somewhere along the way it became clear to my friends and family that I actually have a decent eye, and tend to notice and photograph everyday things that most people don't even notice. In 2008 I got brave and asked my dad to support my new addiction and was rewarded with the (then-new model) Canon Rebel XSi. Another year of practice and learning, this time a little more seriously and I finally feel like I really know what I'm doing-- most of the time. A lot of my best shots are still about 25% happy accident. I'm into my 3rd year of photography as a serious.. hobby (for lack of a better word) and have every hope that someday it will be my primary career. And even if I can never quit my day job, I love the creative release of photography, and the way it forces me to look more closely at the world I live in.
 
OK! So lets get to the giveaway!
 
One lucky lady/or Mr. Lady (lol) will win this lovely Seahorse necklace by SarahCatePhotogphy!

 
How To Win:

*Leave a comment for EACH entry*
(If an entry is says "3 entries", leave 3 separate comments for that entry)
Please include an email address with each entry!

Mandatory Entries:
•Publicly follow my blog or let me know you already do.
•Visit SarahCatePhotography and leave a comment telling me what other product you'd like to own.

Extra Entries:
•Follow me on Twitter. (1 entry)
•Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter and leave a link. *this can be done once a day* (2 entries)
" RT- Win a fabulous necklace  from @SarahCatePhotog! http://tinyurl.com/29nzzvb @kniftythrifty #giveaway"
•Blog about this giveaway and leave a link. (5 entries)
•Follow SarahCatePhotography on Facebook and leave username in comment (2 entries)
•Follow SarahCatePhotography on Twitter (1 entry)

Giveaway begins 12am Monday May 10th and ends 12am on Saturday May 15th. Winner will be chosen by Random.org and announced Saturday! Winner will be notified by email and have 48hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.

I just couldn't wait!

I've been plotting and planning when the right time for my first giveaway was going to be...what I would give away, what I would require for entries...well I have it all figured out, and I just couldn't wait to get started.

I was going to wait until I had more followers, and had a more established foundation...but I just can't wait!

My first Giveaway will begin Monday at 12am and go until Friday at 12am. I'll be posting it shortly!!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Today is the day.

I am the worst procrastinator. If there is something that I don't want to do... I will stall till the END OF TIME to avoid having to do it.

Unfortunately my house has not yet learned how to clean itself. So today is the day. Today I am going to crank up the motivational cleaning music (otherwise known as my country playlist) and I'm going to clean the you-know-what out of this apartment.

Here is my List

1. Kitchen counters- putting away all the random crap that has accumulated on my countertops, dishes, stove, and worst of all, the floor *sadface*

2. The living room-The coffee table needs to be cleared, bad. I'm a horrible packrat and it shows in the middle of my living room. The floor needs to be vacuumed and everything needs to be dusted. Oh, and the couch needs to be vacuumed because of the glitter that is covering my whole house from the Glow Bug costume construction.

3. Bathrooms- I have been avoiding cleaning my bathroom for like a month. It's time.

4. Laundry room- It's so cluttered and I've got about five loads of laundry that need to be done.

5. My bedroom- I need to get the dressers cleared, the closet organized and everything dusted.

Ok, theres my list for today. If you see me online today before I have come back to cross off all of these things from my list... you have my permission to yell at me.

(unless of course you see me online and are telling me that I finally won one of the Hana irons...) lol

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

I survived the Relay!

Saturday night was the Relay for Life...and we made it through the whole thing...barely.

I'm proud of us for making it through, and for our team raising $500 for the American Cancer Society!

A few pictures...
                                                         
                                                     

The Glow Bug costume that I worked so hard on....