Friday Fill In

1. For me logic and critism is are the opposite of creativity because when we are criticized, the left side of our brain takes over. The left side of our brain has to do with logic. We create with the right side of our brain. If someone is overly critical of themself, they will hinder their own creativity.
2. "Call of the Wild" was the last excellent book I read to my son.
3. I like fill-ins because it is very fun and interesting to see how many different answers people come up with and it is fun to blog hop and meet new people.
4. In nature I like looking at water.
5. I plead the 5th on who I think should win the US elections.
6. The last time I laughed with all my belly was last weekend at my two year old, little ones are so funny!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to being alone with my husband (date night), tomorrow my plans include getting up bright and early and heading down to southern MN to go to an All About Alpaca Fleece Seminar and Sunday, I want to work on my alpaca rug I am hooking with hand carded alpaca fleece and loom knitting some more on my latest design!

More Friday Fill-Ins here.

Wordless Wednesday - The progress on our cabin.

More Wordless Wednesday here and here.

100 Things About Me

1. I've been to 10 of the 50 states in the US.

2. I have six kids that live with us full time. I also have 1 stepdaughter that has never lived with us and she has a son so that makes me a step-grandmother.

3. I am 38 (and will be 39 this year).

4. I am obsessed with learning how to use my drop spindle (I understand how to use my spinning wheel but the drop spindle is aluding me).

5. I LOVE cats!

6. I live on a 40 acre ranch.

7. I have never seen the ocean.

8. I changed my major from English Lit, to Journalism, to Fine Arts, to Graphic Arts and went to two schools before I graduated.

9. I was student of the year when I was in 8th grade.

10. I love photography and even won an award for a picture I took way back in highschool.

11. I broke my left hip when I was a kid and had two surgeries on it. First I had a pin put in and then the pin was removed the following year. I now suffer from terrible arthritis in this hip.

12. I like dogs, and used to own a dog that now lives with my mother and father in law up north (he was a problem to our neighbors). Then we got another dog but she had problems with her front legs and had to be put to sleep. Before she died, she had puppies, two survived. We had trouble with them and the neighbors so we had to get rid of them too. We no longer can have dogs.

13. I have tried just about every craft known to woman.

14. My favorite colors are purple and green.

15. I used to work in downtown Denver at an advertising agency.

16. I grew up on a farm.

17. I would love to learn how to mix essential oils to make my own perfume.



18. I was married to my husband in Las Vegas, NV.

19. I love books and reading, but have not read a novel (geared towards an adult) since before my first child was born. I miss reading. I've read many books to my kids. I do read lots and lots of how-to books or reference books and magazines.

20. I have a love-hate relationship with cooking. Sometimes I really enjoy it and other days I can't stand to do it. It depends, I think on what I am doing before I need to prepare a meal. If I am doing something I don't want to put down, I dread making a meal.

21. I hate winter (which sucks for me since I live in Minnesota and winter doesn't seem to want to let go this year, it was only 39 degrees this morning).

22. I wish I knew how to play piano.

23. I think all problems can be solved with prayer.

24. When I have a clean house, I get obsessive compulsive about keeping it clean (this is difficult and stressful when there are six kids in the house).

25. I taught myself how to do website design and taught myself how to hardcode a page, I even taught myself some CSS.

26. I HATE having dirty dishes in the sink.

27. I don't mind getting dirty, even out in the barn.

28. I am frugal. I am a saver. My husband is a spender. We clash on this.

29. I rarely watch T.V.

30. When I do watch T.V. I watch shows related to realestate and/or interior decorating or remodeling. I never watch any of the mainstream shows most people watch such as "Lost" or "American Idol".

31. A clean floor is VERY important to me.

32. I hate folding socks (probably because I have 16 feet in my house and folding socks for 16 feets takes several hours a week).

33. I like to make things, in fact, I am obsessed with making things.

34. I like to entertain.

35. I used to work for a magazine.

36. I am currently teaching myself how to do punch needle rugs. I want to make one for our cabin we are building (slooooooooowly) up north. Plus, I want to learn how so I can make some with our alpaca yarn to sell at our Farm Tour that is coming up this fall.

37. I used to be obssessed with rubber stamping, but haven't done it in several years. I had an impressive stamp collection.

38. I used to make my own soap.

39. I have dabbled in house planning. I designed my own kitchen in the house we have now and did a lot of the floor planning in our cabin.

40. A food I could not live without is the potato.

41. I used to be terrified of driving. Now I love it.

42. I can not live without my hair dryer or curling iron.

43. I am a night owl. My husband is an early bird. We clash on this.

44. I read the Holy Bible.

45. I had all four of my wisdom teeth by the time I was 16. They were impacted and had to be removed. They made me very sick.

46. I dislike wearing dresses.

47. Pantyhose and me do not mix.

48. I've moved 10 times in my life.

49. I am grumpy in the morning and do not wake up until I've had my coffee. Don't get between me and my coffee if you know what is good for you.

50. I am allergic to milk.

51. I hate being late. My husband is always late. We clash on this.

52. I avoid confrontation.

53. I am a summer girl.

54. One of the best years of my life was when I was 30.

55. I would rather give than receive.

56. I am a perfectionist.

57. I like learning new things.

58. I love being up really late at night when everyone else is asleep.

59. I love to sing.

60. I would like to visit the Holy Land, Greece and Hawaii before I die.

61. I have poor math skills.

62. I didn't learn how to read a ruler until I was in college! Isn't that just terrible? Now I need to know how because I am a graphic designer. Good thing I mastered it.

63. I can eyeball something onto a piece of paper right smack dab in the middle and make it perfectly straight too!

64. I did not learn how to drive (really) until I was 22.

65. I am maticulous.

66. When I was in Kindergaten, I spoiled for everyone that there wasn't an Easter Bunny. We went for a walk and came back to our classroom, there was a big Easter basket in the middle of the table. The teacher made a big production out of it being the Easter Bunny, I piped up and said that it wasn't the Easter Bunny because there wasn't any such thing and it was just the janitor!

67. I could draw a perfect circle when I was in Kindergarten.

68. When I was in Kindergarten I also spoiled it for the others when the teacher used to blow up a letter (like a beach ball only shaped like letters). She would bring them out into the classroom and tell us they came from outer space (what the heck?) so I piped up and said that they were all in a box in the back room all uninflated. I don't think my teacher liked me much.

69. I went to a private school until I was in 9th grade.

70. I had very blonde hair was I was little. Almost white, it was so blonde.

71. I played the Good Witch in a production of The Wizard of Oz when I was in school.

72. I also played an old lady in another play in school.

73. I sang my first solo in church during a Christmas Pagent.

74. I write poetry.

75. I've had a couple of my poems published.

76. I wanted a dolphin when I was little.

77. I also thought it would be neat to have a monkey.

78. I would love to own a horse.

79. I hate my hips.

80. I hate my stomach, it used to be so flat but after having three c-sections, it is shot to hell.

81. My children are my greatest accomplishment.

82. I wish I lived closer to my parents.

83. I would like to learn how to weave next.

84. I love the smell of burning wood. It reminds me of my mother. We had a woodburning stove in our house when I was little to heat it. My mother was the one to stoke the stove and this smell reminds me of her because of it.

85. I think the tiger is the most beautiful creature.

86. I have never had a tatoo.

87. I would like to see more plays.

88. Fresh cut hay smells wonderful to me.

89. The most beautiful scenery I've ever seen is when I used to work in Boulder, CO. I was driving to work one day on a perfect fall day. The night before it had snowed in the mountains and the Flat Irons were capped with snow. The sky was clear and sunny. I looked over into this lush green field toward the mountains, the aspens were peaking and glistening in the bright sunshine, the mountains were snow capped, and the field was filled with wild elk. Breathtaking!

90. I once came face-to-face with a Moose only a few hundred feet away from me.

91. I also came face-to-face with a giant rattle snake.

92 I love vegetables.

93. I hate white bread.

94. I will only eat whole grain breads.

95. I use whole wheat flour and not all-purpose.

96. I cook with olive oil.

97. I clean my house with chemical free cleaners.

98. I recycle.

99. I believe in creation.

100. I do not tan, I burn instead.

Kids say the darndest things!

In the wee hours of the morning, my two year old started crying for mommy. I groggily got up out of bed and went into her room. She refused to lay back down in her bed so I hoisted her up out of her crib and layed her down next to me in our bed. She yawned and stretched and closed her eyes for a few minutes. Then she started to whimper again. I sleepily asked her what was wrong and she said, "MY weg hurts." I said, "Your leg hurts? Why?" My two year old said matter of factly, "It hurts because it is broken."

LOL!

Friday Fill Ins

1. On my laziest craziest day I like to drink a beer to relax me! (I don't get lazy days, I have six kids!)
2. Progress makes me feel like I'm being productive.
3. I love little kisses from my kids and big hugs from them too.
4. This summer I want to go on vacation, but that will never happen.
5. The writing of Denise over at www.knitchat.com made me start my blog. (Hee, hee, I bet she didn't know that!)
6. Red roses and orange tiger lilies.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to steak dinner, tomorrow my plans include major spring cleaning and Sunday, I want to go out in the boat!

A Harrowing Experience

Instead of my coffee this morning to help wake me up, I had a harrowing experience that really got my heart pumping.

My morning didn’t start out so well from the get go. My soon-to-be 11 year old stepdaughter has had a serious chip on her shoulder for a couple days and we butted heads first thing. She didn’t go to school with us on good terms.

I called my hubby to vent. He reminded me to get a bid done that was due first thing this morning so I hopped onto the computer and quickly got it done. Then I went out to feed the alpacas. My mind was on my stepdaughter, and how we didn’t part on good terms. I fed them grain and hay and then I went to the outside gate to get into their pen so I could open up the gate to their newly built pen with fresh green grass. I must not have latched the gate well enough. While I was busy working on getting the gate to the new pasture open and the chain latched to keep the gate open, the alpacas went over to the other gate I had just entered the pen from. They pushed their way through and out they went, out into the wide open spaces and to freedom and to my despair! When I turned around I could have just fainted from fright! I was all alone with only my two young girls and I had five alpacas on the loose with a busy, busy highway only yards away. I was out of my mind with fright. Alpacas are fast as deer when they want to run. And did they ever run!

I spent the next two hours chasing five alpacas around our 40 acres, across the road, back again, across the road, back again, across the road, back again, around and around our forty acres all the while screaming for help as people drove by. I soon found out how few good Samaritans are left in this world. How few people really care when someone is in distress and how they sure know how to rubber neck and look to see what all the commotions is about, but won’t bother to even stop and offer to call for help. At this point I was beyond exhaustions. I was praying for help, screaming for help. Screaming to God to make someone stop and help me herd these animals back into the pen. The alpacas were on the road several times and cars just flew by. Then things got a whole lot worse. My two year old daughter came out of the house and walked right onto the road while I was trying to hold the animals in position next to our bank of trees.

I was done. I was out of my mind with fright and was breathing very heavy from running and screaming. I had to rescue my daughter first. I watched as my alpacas up into the field again and over the hill as I ran to rescue my daughter. Then I saw a truck coming with flashing lights and orange on the back. It was a road crew truck. I started waving my hands and screaming to please help me. They pulled over.

Three men stepped out and asked me what the trouble was. I told them my animals were all out and I was by myself trying to herd them. I told them I had to rescue my daughter and the alpacas went running. The men told me to get my daughter and they would help. I thanked God and I thanked them. I was so grateful for the help. My three angels appeared in orange safety jackets!

It took the men some time to get them rounded up and close to the barn. I ran to get grain to try and lure them to the pen. When I came out of the barn with the grain I saw that the alpacas were at the farthest end of our land running like mad. I didn’t think there was any hope. The men were able to get them to come back toward the barn. We managed to get them funneled between our shed and the fence. I opened the gate and stood in the space between the shed and the gate to prevent them from getting around it. We were able to herd them into the gate. Praise the Lord, they were in!

I profusely thanked the men. I asked them what their names were. I told them I would buy them lunch or something. They shook their heads and said they didn’t need anything, they said they were just doing their job. They told me that the next time I drive by men working on the road, to go by slowly and don’t laugh when they are resting on a shovel because they are just tired from working so long and hard. Thank you Stearns County anonymous road crew, whoever you were! You were angels to me today!

Wordless Wednesday - My girls and I have been playing

More Wordless here and here. Also, don't forget about my photo caption contest. Hurry, the contest ends on June 4, 2008!

Boo Hoo Sniff Sniff

It's official, our cat Garfield is gone. We haven't seen him now for about a week. My beautiful orange cat, the cat I've wanted for years (ever since I was a child and we had some orange cats), and he is gone. Too much Tom Cat'in around. We still have Cutie, but with this busy, busy road we live on, it's only a matter of time before she gets smeared on it too :-(


Cutie

Goodbye Garfield.

I've been using my thumb as a pin cushion this weekend.

Ouch! My thumb has several pin sized holes in it. No, I didn't do it on purpose. It is just one of those things you can expect when you needle felt a 3D figure (oh, and I have poked myself a few times doing needle felting on a flat surface too).

You may remember on Mother's Day weekend Lisa Anderson and I met up at the Shepherd's Harvest Wool and Sheep Festival in Lake Elmo, MN. We both fell in love with the 3D needle felted figures at one of the booths (pictured in Lisa's post here). Being the adventurous and artistic person that I am, I of course had to try it out for myself.

It was my first time needle felting in 3D. Since I have an alpaca farm tour coming up this fall, I need to work on projects to sell anyway. I decided to start out making an alpaca. What do you think? Does it look like an alpaca? I think it just needs a little more fuzz (sorry for the poor quality photo, I took it with my camera phone).



I have also been busy loom knitting some afghan blocks for my friend's comfort-ghan. There are sparkly silver strands (not showing up in the pic) in the super soft yarn I used in this block and I didn't want to distract from these strands so I just used a simple e-wrap stitch.



I wanted to use some of my super soft alpaca but unfortunately, I think the color is too dark for the stitch pattern I came up with (yes, I'll write it up for those who would like to use the pattern in their own loom knit projects). It is still pretty and the texture is nice anyway. I think I'll use it for my shrug I was suppose to be loom knitting for the May LAL on Ravelry. I'll need to use my DA adult hat loom though. Hopefully it will be wide enough. It will be 24 inches if I use all of the pegs.



Until next time!

Friday Fill-Ins and Blog Contests!

1. There is absolutely NO way you can get me to give up my hairdryer and curling iron!
2. The trees budding out reminds me that summer spring is almost here! (I am not joking, our trees are just starting to bud out!)
3. I cannot live without my knitting looms or knitting needles.
4. Knitting a sweater and knitting a baseball hat are two things I'd like to try and design on my knitting looms.
5. When life hands you lemons get out the sugar and add some water and enjoy a delicious lemonade.
6. Playing games with my mother at the kitchen table before bedtime is my favorite childhood memory.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having the house to just myself and my two youngest since my hubby and the four oldest kiddos are going camping, tomorrow my plans include finishing up planting the garden and Sunday, I want to get my hair cut, it is getting way too long and thick!

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Don't forget to leave a comment in my Photo Caption Contest post for a chance to win a custom blog banner design created just for you by me!

There is still time to win the Bordom Buster Giveaway I am featuring on my blog for the MommyFest Blog party! Hurry, contest ends today (May 16, 2008)!

What I've Learned Since Becoming a Mom...

When there are really, really bad days, days when you just want to curl up into a ball and cry because the kids are just so tough; days when you say "good morning" to your kids and they slam the door in your face; days when you find yourself counting over and over to ten so you don't blow your top; days when you do blow your top and you wish you hadn't; days when you clean the house and 10 second later it looks like a tornado blew through it again; days when the laundry is climbing out the door; days when you are sick and everyone else is well and bouncing off the walls; days when you haven't spoken to another adult in what seems like a year; days when you are exhausted from being up all night with a sick two year old who wouldn't go back to bed because she just wanted mommy to hold her; days when you are exhausted because the night before your seven year old woke up screaming from a nightmare; and days when you think to yourself "oh goodness, what have I done?"... I've learned those moments will only last briefly and moments like getting a note like this:



will last a lifetime! By George, all that I am trying to do is actually sinking in!

Don't forget about my MommyFest Giveaway! Also, I have a Photo Caption Contest going on too! The most clever or funny caption will snag you a free custom blog banner design created just for you by me!

Wordless Wednesday - Caption Contest: What is this alpaca saying?

Contest Closed - The winner is Robin McCoy! Congrates Robin!



More Wordless Wednesday here.

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Edited to add: Hint, alpacas will spit on you if you get between them and another alpaca when they are eating food.

Contest Rules: The funniest one wins a custom blog banner designed by yours truly! I will pick out my favorite so it is completely subjective! Leave a comment in this post with a link to your own blog! If you don't link to your own blog I can't find you! Keep the caption idea short, there isn't much room in the caption bubble. By entering, you agree to release the creative caption idea over to Cre8tive KJ's Corner The caption will be used on t-shirts, bags, mugs, and more! Caption contest ends Wednesday, June 4, 2008.

I interrupt this busy life to comfort a friend

I learned on Monday that my online friend Vivian (a.k.a Raven) lost her son on Mother's Day. Raven has been a very active voice in the looming community and serves as Co-Moderator on the Looming Angels Yahoo group. Looming Angels is a group of loomers, needle knitters, and crocheters creating items for charity. As a group we are coming together to make an afghan for Vivian to offer up a small amount of comfort during this great tragedy. I've been especially busy this month (it's the month just before school gets out and it is the crazy, crazy month of school functions). I had some loom along projects in progress and some designs I was working out. I, however, interrupt this busy life to take a few moments for my friend to make as many afghan squares as I am able.

My jam packed weekend of fiber, fun, animals, and friends!

I usually spend my days loom knitting, needle knitting, or doing some sort of craft or art project and don't usually get out of the house much. It is tough when you have six kids and naps need to be taken, snacks need to be eaten, potty training needs to be done, meals need to be prepared, and alpacas need to be fed and watered. I always have mountains of laundry to do or messes to clean up (I had a giant one this morning, my two year old tossed her breakfast across the kitchen while I showered). This past weekend was an exception to my usual rule of being a house ape. When I have plans, I have plans! I started out my weekend off by going with my two youngest girls on a community fieldtrip to St. Paul, MN to the Children's Museum. My daughters had great fun running from one room to the next playing with all of the exhibits! It was mayhem! LOL!


Amanda playing with ping pong balls at one of the exhibits.


Amanda sliding down an exhibit.


Paige playing with magnets in water.

While we were at the museum I found a little boy on the staircase crying his eyes out. He was about five years old. I saw so many people just walk past him. I walked up to him and asked him if he was lost. He wouldn't speak to me at first but I persisited. I told him it was ok, I would help him. I found a staff person and told him that the little boy was lost. The man said he would radio someone and walked away. My two girls were anxious to get going and took off running. I had to take the little boys hand and follow my two girls. Finally the man came back and brought a guide for the museum with him. I felt so badly for the little guy. He was so scared. I hope and pray he is home safe with his family.

After we left the museum, we headed to the Como Zoo. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day! It was warm and sunny. It wasn't too warm or too cool. My girls couldn't have been more well behaved! LOL! Too bad I had a terrible cold and had to haul a pile of kleenix along and stop to blow my nose constantly!









Our day went by quickly and we were soon home and crashed into bed early!

The next day was Mommy's day to play! Since it was my step kids weekend with their mother, I dropped off my three children off at my sister's house and my husband and I went down to Lake Elmo, MN to the Shepherd's Harvest Wool and Sheep Festival. I got to meet my friend Lisa Anderson. We had lots of fun endulging our fiber addictions! It was cold and pouring rain, but we still delighted in all of the fleece, yarn, spinning wheels, felted critters, and such! I can honestly tell you, this woman has a serious yarn addiction! LOL! Oh, and her husband is the tallest man in the world! Lisa is about the same height as my 11 year old and her husband towered over my husband and my husband towers over me! I am not short! And, I am considered tall for a woman! When we met up at the Llama barn I almost walked past them because he was so much taller than Lisa, it threw me off! LOL! I heard them say "maybe not" as I walked by so I turned and asked the gal standing next to this towering man if her name was Lisa. Imagine my shock when she said "yes"!



My only regret over the day was how cold and wet it was! I brought some alpaca fleece along to show Lisa and her husband but it was just too wet out. Oh well, they will be near by for a while so we can have them come by our ranch and visit with the alapcas in person some day soon!

At the festival I picked up a sweet little booklet to aide me in using my drop spindle. I am able to spin on my wheel but haven't been able to master my drop spindle yet. I really want to learn so I also picked up another book on spinning the following day as a gift to myself for Mother's Day.



I managed to talk Lisa's husband into buying a drop spindle at the festival. Now I need to master mine and then I can help him out with his! I figured I'd introduce him to the spindle since it is a much more economical way to learn to spin and to find out if he even likes to spin instead of investing in a wheel right off the bat.

Until next time!

5 Things About Me!

1. I am a published poet.
2. I am the baby in my family.
3. I am the only child in my family to have children.
4. I love to sing and play around with song writing.
5. Although I have to cook and have been told I cook well, I actually dislike cooking.

Mommy Fest - It's Party Time!

Contest Closed. The lucky winner is Shelly! Congratulations Shelly!


Today the party get's started! To kick things off on my blog make sure you leave a comment on my blog for a chance at winning my cool boredom buster giveaway:






Summer is just around the corner and if you have school-aged children, you know it will only be a matter of time before your kids start proclaiming "I'm bored!"; "There's nothing to do!"; "What is there to do?" I have six kids and I've heard all of these and more! After the kids tire of their bikes or get home from the pool, their energy levels are still as high as ever, give their imaginations a work out with this great book chucked full of fun-filled projects!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post with a link back to your own blog so I can stop by, meet you, and if you win, congratulate you and let you know how to contact me so I can ship you your cool prize. The contest will run from May 12-16, 2008. A winner will be randomly selected from all comments left on this post on the final day of the blog party (May 16, 2008).

About Me
I am a mommy of six. I have three biological children of my own, and three step-children. Each of my children, no matter how they came into my life, are a true blessing! My eldest stepdaughter will be 11 in less than a month, my other two step children (a set of fraternal twins) turn 10 in the fall. My son is 7, my eldest daughter is 5, and my youngest daughter is 2.

I have always had a love for creating and making things. My sister used to get so angry with me for "making messes" with bits of cut paper and glue. I was always coloring, painting, shaping, drawing, cuting, or glueing something together! I turned my love of "mess making" into a career of fine art and graphic design. I've worked as a graphic artist and then as an art director for the past 15 plus years. Even after having children, my creative talents never slowed down. My creative endeavours simply morphed into something even better! With children I've enjoyed molding and designing birthday cakes for each of my children at every birthday; I've enjoyed costuming my kids for plays, for Halloween, and school concerts; I've made party invitations that rock; videos of performances; lots of cool games and art projects; and more! Having children has enhanced my creativity, never stifled it!

Thank you for stopping by my blog and getting to know me! Don't forget to leave a comment on this post for your chance at winning my boredom buster prize. I will hop on over to your blog and visit with you too! Who knows, you may be the lucky winner!

Friday Fill In #71

1. The meatloaf had an extra secret ingredient; it was worcestershire sauce!
2. I see a beautiful red cardinal through my window.
3. Right now, I need to get over this cold because I have a big day today and tomorrow. Today I am going to the Children's Museum and then the Como Zoo. Tomorrow I get to go to the Shepherd's Harvest Wool and Sheep Festival and will get to meet my online friend Lisa Anderson.



4. To bed early is where I went Thursday night; it was just what I needed since I am really feeling under the weather lately.
5. Why does a sore nose hurt so much?
6. All I can think of is the tickle in my throat.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to turning in early again, tomorrow my plans include the Shepherd's Harvest Wool and Sheep Festival and Sunday, I want to go out to eat for Mother's Day!

For a change, I have plans...

...and I wouldn't you know it, I have to come down with the flu!

Tomorrow my two littlest girls and I are heading out on a field trip to the Children's Museum and the Como Zoo. If I hadn't already paid for the trip in advance, I'd say I am too sick to go. Hubby said he'd be home working the garden so I don't need to bring my littlest one with. She would be heartbroken though.

Oh, I hope my fever breaks and the aches and pains subside. Ahhh, I suppose there is always Ibuprofen and Sudafed.

Wordless Wednesday - We are expecting a pillow and a teddy bear any day now!

More Wordless here and here.

Mother's Day Brunch Menu

Since Mother's Day is this coming weekend, I thought I'd share some family favorites. They would make a lovely Mother's Day Brunch or Breakfast! Keep in mind I feed 8, therefore my baked omlet recipe may need to be cut in half.

Oven Baked Mother's Day Omlet
1 small onion chopped
1/4 c black olives chopped
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms
1 c chopped broccoli, thawed
1/2 c chopped green pepper
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 c cottage cheese
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 dozen eggs
2/3 c milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Preheat ovent to 375. Combine onion, mushrooms, black olives, broccoli, and green pepper together and spread evenly over the bottom of a large cassorole pan. In a medium bowl whisk 2 eggs, flour, and cottage cheese until well blended. Whisk in remaining eggs, milk, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper; pour over vegetable mixture. Bake 45-50 minutes or until egg mixture is set.

Blueberry Bran Breakfast Cake
In a large bowl add and combine well:
3 eggs
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c oil
2 c buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c raw wheat germ
1 c wheat bran

In a smaller bowl combine well:
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray bottom and sides of a cake pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Combine wet and dry ingrediants and fold together gently until just mixed. Pour mixture into 12x13 inch cake pan sprayed with non stick cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until knife inserted in middle comes clean.

Serve with fresh fruit, orange juice, and coffee. Enjoy!

Hubby took a tussle with a deer last night!

I just finished talking to my hubby maybe 20 minutes prior. I told him I loved him and would see him in about a half hour. I hung up, jumped in the shower, got the girls ready for bed, and just sat down to rock-a-bye baby with my two year old (she still likes some extra special snuggly times with me before night night time), when the phone rang again. It was my hubby! That's strange, I thought when I picked up the phone. He didn't sound so good. He was breathing a little heavy and I could hear the two kids he had with him chattering excitedly in the background. He say's "Yeah, we had an accident." My heart lept from my chest. I had visions of them tangled up in a ditch somewhere. He started telling me the story. "There was this deer just standing off into the ditch on the other side of the road, I had the trailer I was pulling behind me with the fourwheeler and I just couldn't even begin to stop"...I thought to myself "Oh, no! Someone got hurt." He goes on to discribe..."the thing smashed into the mirror on the driver's side, flew up and smashed into the side of passenger door and then flew up over the truck and landed onto the trailer and caved the whole trailer's front end in." Thankfully he was able to keep the thing steady and it wasn't more serious:



The deer even left a little souvineer behind:

A new banner...Loom Knitting FOs...and custom banner design

I have a new banner! Not that I didn't like my old banner, I just am moving things around a bit. My old banner will be my new banner for my new loom knitting pattern's blog since it is much more appropriate for that blog rather than this one. That banner will be going over to that blog sometime this week (maybe, maybe not, depends on what comes up). That blog needs an overhaul anyway, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

I am now taking orders for custom blog banners. I love design too much, it's in my blood! I just have to design! I have 15 years (well, 15 years plus since I have been designing since I was a little girl, and, well, you know I am older than 15...LOL). I will more than likely create a blog just to showcase my designs since I have a lot of neat logos I've done to give you an idea of what I am capable of.

Ok, in between all of my banner work I've been loom knitting, writing patterns, loom knitting some more, frogging, etc., etc. Here is my felted bag I mentioned a few post ago:





I've since added a zipper and I managed to figure out how to add my pretty, pretty necklace pendant. I just added it to the zipper. I thought I took a picture of it with the pendant but it wasn't on my camera. It is a pattern designed by Isela Phelps. I couldn't find it on her patterns website anymore so if you would like to make it, you might want to give her a holler.

Here is the latest dishcloth pattern I've designed and written. I sure have a funny story about this one! The sweet and wonderful Dianne Carroll offered to test knit this cloth for me. Dianne just missed part of the directions when she was test knitting (an honest mistake, more than likely due to the fact she was watching the little one again) and couldn't figure out what she was suppose to do with some stitches on both sides of the stitch markers, so she took creative license and bound off the stitches on both sides of the cloth. She was thinking "well, it seems strange, but this is Karen, she is creative, she must have some funky new design idea" and went about binding off the stitches and then finished knitting up the cloth. When she was about 3/4th done, she was thinking to herself that it was a vase with a flower. Then she asked me what she was suppose to do with the stitches on either end of the stitch markers and I told her that at the very beginning of the pattern it says what you need to do. She of course saw it then. Well, we still had time, she quick knit up another one. Only this time, I realized a serious error on my part! I had completely left off 1/4th of the pattern! There was something like 23 rows of knitting I didn't even write into the pattern! She had already finished the second cloth and I was in a panic! I had to finish writing the pattern first and then I had to quick do a test knit. Whew! Am I ever glad that is over with! We both boo boo'd and that is ok, we are only human. Dianne and I had a good laugh over it. I told her that the vase thing wasn't a bad idea and I'll have to remember that!

The cloth is reverable. Both sides look great! Normally, a dishcloth with a design has a definate right side. Here is the cloth from both sides:


Side 1 - reverse stockinette


Side 2 - stockinette

Friday Fill Ins...blog party details...and a bordom buster prize giveaway!

1. Two of my favorite ingredients in a drink are alcohol (hee, hee) and fruit!
2. My husband often amazes me.
3. You can keep doing that forever, the dog is dead.
4. Take 1 egg; 1 cup milk; 1 cup buttermilk; 1 tsp baking soda; 1 tsp salt; 2T oil; 2 cups flour, and mix it all together and voila! You have Buttermilk Pancake Batter!
5. If I had a yard with a garden, I would love to grow iris's.
6. A teenager's face is best au naturel (I hate it when girls cover up their natural beauty with makeup).
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to be knitting, tomorrow my plans include knitting and Sunday, I want have to knit (because I had a little snag in my test knit pattern that was suppose to post yesterday for the May LAL)!



Are you a mommy? Do you like chocolate? Won't you join me at a blog party? Enter now at MommyFest.com to win 1 lb of yummy chocolate! Hurry, entries are accepted only until May 10th!

During the party I'll be having a little mommy friendly prize giveaway too! Summer is just around the corner and if you're a mommy, I know you've heard the kiddos say some or all of the following: "Mom, I am bored!"; or "There is nothing to do!"; or "What is there to do?" I am giving away a boredom buster prize right here on my blog during the MommyFest blog party on May 12-16! Stayed tuned for details on how you can win!