Tuesday's Toot - I didn't expect much and I got...

This past weekend I participated in the Shepherd's Harvest Wool and Sheep Festival's Alpaca Fleece Show sponsored by Alpacas of MN DBA: Upper Midwest Alpacas. I went into the show with little expectation of winning anything since it was my first fleece show and I am relatively new to raising alpacas. I didn't have any idea of how to prepare my fleeces for show. I called a couple fellow members of UMA and got a little bit of advice. I even contacted my online friend on Twitter, @AlpacaFarmGirl for advice. She gave me a link to a website showing how to skirt a fleece to go to a mill. Of course, without a hands on demonstration, it is easy to miss things and advice isn't always as thorough as we would like it to be. I did the best I could and entered the fleeces anyway. On Sunday I picked up my fleeces from the show and was pleasantly surprised to receive a ribbon on each one! The best part, I designed the logo that was on the ribbons and now I can proudly desplay the ribbons and I get to admire my handiwork too :) Toot Toot

I've been bad...

at blogging that is. Just terrible. I've been micro blogging on twitter so you know I am around. I haven't been busier than usual so that isn't my excuse for not blogging here. I have things to do, of course, but busier days have found me blogging (here). I even joined a 31 day blogging challenge and still I am not blogging. I've been creating things so it isn't for lack of things to share :). Let's face it, I've just been bad to my blog. Then, yesterday I get this email from my friend Brenda. She gave my blog this neat little award:



The PROXIMITY Award is defined as follows:
“This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!”

This award has given me good reason to write! I thought about myself and the nature of what I tend to write on my blog and realized, Brenda is right on. I love to help out. I am an improver. I see a lot of that in Brenda too :)

With all of this in mind, I want to share some blogs with you that I think deserve this award too.

1. Helen at My Heart Exposed. Helen is deserving of this award because she shares freely of her creative designs and owns and operates a successful loom knitting group on yahoo dedicating to helping out fellow loom knitters all over the world!

2. Maria at Loom Knitting and Something Else. Maria is my friend from Mexico. She is a kind and gentle spirit. She is always ready to give a shoulder to cry on. She freely gives out compliments and lifts artists and crafters up all over the world as a Moderator on the DAlooms yahoo group!

3. Dusty from Dusty's Doings is my third nominee. Dusty is the co-ower of the yahoo group Loom Knitting Newbie Beginnings. Dusty has been very busy caring for her 14 yr old grandson Tyler who is Autistic, but she still has had time to offer a shoulder during my own personal crises and she organized and executed a huge Chemo Cap drive for Bev at Bev's Country Cottage.

Please check out these wonderful bloggers and make friends with them. They will offer friendship and lots of help if and when you need it!

Wordless Wednesday - Snuggeling

More Wordless here.

Raining cats and dogs...and ducks and geese and every other kind of animal you can think of...

And my 3 year old wanted to go outside. I told her I didn't want to go outside because it was soaking wet out. A few minutes later I told her I was getting in the shower and she said, "Well, it is soaking wet in the shower too!" LOL, LOL, LOL!

Aloha...I am having a wonderful time!

Friday Fill Ins

1. Please don't tell me it is suppose to get really cold here again next week.

2. Can you wake me in the morning?

3. The color of my son's eyes makes me want to kiss him!

4. I have a craving for real breakfast food. I've been following the Morning Banana diet as a test for 3 days now. Sick of bananas.

5. If my life had a pause button, I'd pause it when I get to Hawaii.

6. Eyes are the window to the soul, right?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to hopefully getting some rest since I've been coughing up my lungs for several nights in a row now, tomorrow my plans include giving a marketing presentation and Sunday, I want to start packing for Hawaii!

More Fill Ins here.

A dead giveaway: Yes, I am a fiber fiend!

In answer to Lime & Violet's question of the week: What's within 6 feet of your workstation that gives away your fiber passion?



Note: I just cleaned this desk off yesterday. It was overflowing with UFOs, FOs, knitting needles, crochet hooks, looms, etc. and I couldn't find anything anymore!

Travel Anxiety

We were running late as usual. We got to the airport and we saw our plane on the runway ready for boarding. First we had to line up and pick out a barf bag and an oxygen mask and various other emergency paraphernalia just in case. I was thinking to myself, "Man, why can't they just have this all on the plane?" We had to try and carry this along with our carry on luggage. We got up to the gate and were asked for our boarding passes. I looked at my husband and we both had a look of horror on our faces -- we forgot to get our tickets/boarding passes! Back at the ticket counter I realized with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had also forgotten my luggage and all I had with me was my carry on! In my carry on I only had my computer, my purse, a hat, and my knitting! I was standing there, watching everyone else board a plane I was suppose to be on and suddenly I felt someone shaking me on my shoulder. I awoke to my three year old whispering in my face that she wanted to sleep with me. Arrrrrrrrrgh! It was just a dream! I am leaving in 10 days and the travel anxiety has started!

Friday Fill-In since I have a bad pain in my neck!

1. It's January; time to get out the alpaca socks, a deep freeze is headed our way and we are going to have high temps below zero next week.

2. Sleep is what I crave most right now (I coughed all night and couldn't sleep).

3. Cork and wine go together like yarn and a loom (hee, hee).

4. Rest is so nourishing.

5. Let us dare to make changes to the new CPSIA law taking affect February 10, 2009.

6. Welcome to my home.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed early (hopefully I won't cough up my lungs and can rest), tomorrow my plans include celebrating a belated Christmas with my family and Sunday, I want to have a belated Christmas brunch!

More Fill-Ins here.

What I've Done MeMe

I snagged this from Denise's blog.

Copy, paste, and bold what you have done!

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Gone rollerskating

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb and a baby alpaca too :D

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Acted in a play or performed on stage

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business more than one :D

58. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies, no, but I've eaten a lot of them :D

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar, unfortunately, yes, YUCK!

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible once, would like to do so again!

86. Visited the White House

87. Won money

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Had to put someone you love in Hospice Care

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

Contest of wills

My husband and I were finishing up some errands this afternoon quick in preperation for my family coming here for our Christmas celebration. He stopped quick at the bookstore (to get me a gift card, I am sure). I was going to just stay in the van and wait but my three year old right away said she had to go potty. I reluctantly got out of the van and headed for the store. My daughter and I went straight to the bathroom and into a stall next to an occupied stall. She right away said she had wet her pants (she hadn't) but she was adament she had. When she gets like that, she flat out refuses to put her pants back on. I didn't have any extra pants in my purse (although there is just about everything else in there :D) so I said to her she had to put them back on, she had no choice. She shook her head fiercely. I again said she had to. She said "No, I don't want to." I said again she had to. She of course got extremely upset at this point and started yelling "No, I don't want to!" I said to her then, "Amanda, you HAVE to have pants on when you go back out in the store rather you want to or not, you have no choice". This got a chuckle out of the occupied stall next to ours. My daughter of course still yelled out, "No, I don't want to." I said then, "Amanda, you can't go out in the store naked!" My daughter innocently looked up at me, tugged at her shirt and said, "But I have a shirt on." LOL!

After the bookstore bathroom incident, we headed to the grocery store. My husband has been battling a cold. He asked me if I had any Kleenix. I reached into my pocket and handed him one. My daughter right away pipped up and said she needed a "Kweenix". My husband told her she didn't need one because her nose wasn't running. She looked at him and said, "I need a Kweenix, I have burgers in my nose!" LOL!

I interrup my LAL to appease Robin :D

Here you go Robin:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
I will use whatever. I've wrapped gifts in comics, brown paper bags I've rubber stamped, even fabric. I have also used gift bags if they are handy. I am not loyal to either :D

2. Real tree or Artificial?
I love the smell of real trees but don't have the time to give a real tree the attention it truly needs. I have a fake tree but haven't put it up in years. The tree fit in our old house (it is over 7 feet tall) because of the vaulted ceilings. The ceilings in the house we live in now are standard height and the tree would look rediculous in here. So, once again, I am not loyal to either :D...I do however like to put garland up on our deck with lights!

3. When do you put up the tree?
See answer 2.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Answer 2 again.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Yes, I do actually. I've even had it for breakfast :D

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
My first walkman!

7. Hardest person to buy for?
Starting a few years ago I began making my gifts. My dad is by far the toughest to make for, then I would say my brother. I see a box of homemade cookies in their future again this year :D

8. Easiest person to buy for?
My mother. I can think of a billion things I would love to knit or crochet for her. Then, I would say my kids. It seems lately, everything I design they squeal with delight and can't wait for me to make them a pair or they just plan snatch it when I am not looking.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes I do. I cross stitched one many years ago, way back when cross stitching was my passion! LOL

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Nothing rings a bell. I must have liked everything I've ever received.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
It's a Wonderful Life with James Stewart. I cry everytime I see it. Then my next favorite is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, tears for that one too.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Oh, I start designing and making gifts 2-3 weeks before Christmas. I am a big procrastinator.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No, I don’t think so.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Gingerbread cookies. In fact, now that I write this, I am going to have to make some.

16. Lights on the tree?
Lights, but I prefer just one color. I just love it when I see a tree light up all in one color! Multi colored lights I think look gaudy.

17. Favorite Christmas song?
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem and What Child is This?

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Since Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are always shared between our house and my three step children's mother's house, we couldn't travel if we wanted to.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Of course.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
I have a beautiful angel with these cool fiber optic lights, but as I mentioned in answer number 2, I haven't had it up in years.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
We always opened gifts on Christmas Eve after attending church services when I was a child. My husband never objected so I've carried on with the tradition in my family.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Not being able to go to the store to buy shampoo or toothpaste because there are a million people in the stores and you can hardly move and people are just downright rude and obnoxious.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
I love the old world look.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Pumpkin pie!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
You know, there isn't a single thing on my wish list this year. So, what I really want this year is lots of time with family and loved ones.

26. Who is most likely to blog about this?
It's anyone's guess.

27. Lights, blinking or always on?
Always on. Blinking lights are in that same category of multiple colored lights, I find it gaudy.

Little Stinker!

Remember last week when I mentioned my soon-to-be three year old threw my contact lenses away? Apparently she doesn't want me to see at all. Yesterday she threw out my glasses! I had a heck of a time finding them since I am very blind without any sort of visual aid! I mean, I am blind as a bat! I have to put everything right under my nose to see it. How miserable trying to find my glasses without glasses! I had to ask my husband for help when he came home. He finally found them stuffed into the garbage! She must have grabbed them off of my end table while I was sleeping. What a stinker! Needless to say, my day wasn't very productive yesterday!

Memory Lane

My digital camera is a Sony CD Mavica. A big beast of a camera my husband bought for me 8 years ago. It takes these mini cds that when you take a picture, the image burns right onto the cd. When the one-time-use cd is full (or when I am ready to get images off of the disc), I finalize the disc, pop it out of camera and pop it into my computer. Since I've had this thing for so long I have mountains of these little cds piled up in my office, piled up in my yarn stash closet, piled up under my bed (oops, did I say that?)...well, you get the idea. I usually am in a hurry to get the images on the cd onto my computer so I don't bother with writing on the cd what exactly is on the cd. In fact I am terrible at recording what is on the cds. After time I always archive the images I've placed onto my computer and shuffle them off somewhere without a label too (I know, I am terrible).

Today I sat down with the hopes of finding a recent picture I took (from this past spring) and starting popping one cd after another into my computer and reviewing the contents. What a treasure trove of memories! I found pictures from 6, 7 years ago...the kids were so young then! I sat and looked through pictures of my 5, soon to be 6 year old daughter's birth...pictures of my two year old's first steps...pictures of our puppies we had when we lived in our old house...pictures of a baby fawn my husband found curled up in the tall grass at our old place, lying so still, not moving a muscle, waiting for it's mother to return....





I never found the picture I was looking for. What I did find was a great way to spend my afternoon. I kept calling the kids into the office to come look at this picture or that. They laughed so hard at themselves. My two year old kept pointing at the cute little baby which was really pictures of herself :-)...

What memories have you uncovered recently?

Friday Fill-Ins

1. My blueprint for success includes a great deal of hard work.
2. A mini Milkyway was the last candy I ate.
3. The best facial moisturizer I've ever used is my own facial oils -- LOL, I don't need to use moisturizer.
4. Loom Knitting a pair of gloves, glittens, or half finger gloves can be good therapy.
5. I'd like to tell you about my alpacas if you really want to listen.
6. My lips are my strongest characteristic.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching the newest Survivorman, tomorrow my plans include test knitting my loom knit toe socks again and Sunday, I want to see my hubby when he gets back from hunting!

Are you spending too much?

That is what my daughter pipped up and said to me yesterday after school. She was watching a few mintues of t.v. and came up to me and posed the question. I had no idea what she was talking about. I asked her, "Spending too much of what?". She said, "Too much of your money." I said, "Yes, I suppose I probably am," thinking to myself about the current state of the economy and how expensive even the most mundane things have become. She says to me, "Then maybe you should just call or click!" LOL! Apparently she had just watched a commercial for some sort of service (I am assuming a cellular service) and they referenced other plans that were more expensive, they must have given out a phone number and a web address and she only understood or caught some of it. Kids say the darndest things!

My Crazy September

It was crazy. We had a baby (alpaca - in September). I turned 39 (in September). Went to my highschool reunion (in September). Appeared on T.V. (in September). Had a farm tour (in September). My son turned 8 (in September).


Paula with her new baby


My daughter Paige, me, my daughter Amanda


Paige, me, Kim (my stepdaughter), and Amanda


My husband and I at my highschool reunion

Here I am on T.V.


Kim with Tanner at the Farm Tour


Kaden with b-day gift


Me having fun with Kaden's b-day gift


Grandfather having fun with Kaden's b-day gift


Amanda having fun with Kaden's b-day gift

Whew! No wonder it took me a whole week to recover! LOL!

Friday Fill Ins

1. If I could travel back in time, I'd go to when I was just a little girl and watch my grandmother knit and crochet and try and bring back some of that information to today so I can become better at these two things.

2. Give me sleep or give me coffee (sorry, I only got 2 1/2 hours of sleep last night).

3. I am listening to my two year old singing.

4. Somewhere, someone is thinking does this woman ever post anything other than Friday Fill Ins and Wordless Wednesday? Well, yes, I do! As soon as five of my six kiddos are back in school, I'll be able to post pics of all my creations and I will be able to write all about my creative endeavours.

5. I'll always be creating something until the day I die.

6. My idea of a good time includes peace and quiet! (I must be getting old).

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to baking and decorating the birthday cake I designed for my mother-in-law, tomorrow my plans include attending the Alpacas of MN meeting I was responsible for organizing and Sunday, I want am going to the birthday party that above said cake was made for!

So I am an angel after all?

I found this over on Isela's blog. I would have thought I was more sinful than this, but apparently I am rather close to Godliness (yeah, right!) From the looks of it I I should go exorcise some demons from the Purling Dervish.

You Are 20% Evil

You are good. So good, that you make evil people squirm. Just remember, you may need to turn to the dark side to get what you want!

How Evil Are You?

M is for Meme since I've been chasing 6 kids and spinning like a crazed lunatic!

Yes, I feel like a dog chasing it's tail in more ways than one lately...having all the kids home from school all day everyday gets me no where fast and I am getting overly dizzy and awefully pooped out. Man, they have a lot more energy than I do, I'll be 40 next year! Plus, I am spinning like a crazed lunatic and if you stare at that wheel or whorl long enough, you'd get dizzy too :D

I looked forward to summer all winter and spring and now I can't wait for fall. My farm tour will be over and done with and I can take my time spinning and truly enjoy it. The kiddos will be back in school (only one little one will be left at home all day) and I can maybe complete a simple thought. I have had a lot to say lately and no time to say it or I lose the thought all together. I started a couple posts and ended up trashing them since they were out-of-date. So, memes are where it's at for me this summer. I found this one over on Boogie Knits, she tagged all that read the post so...

Until fall:

1. Where was I 10 years go.
I was an Art Director for an advertising agency in downtown Denver, CO. Oh, I loved the job! So much creative stimulation!

2. 5 things on today’s to-do list
- Clean the house
- Make fruit pizza for 4th of July party
- Make veggie salad for 4th of July party
- Finish the mounds of laundry
- Finish up the rolags I made last night in order to ship to mom for hats she is making for the farm tour
- Clean out Paige's cloths bin and sort out cloths that doesn't fit and put in goodwill boxes and then use the bin to clean out the living room closet filled to the brim with toys
- Make supper
- Do alpaca chores
- Go to bed at midnight?

Oops, that's more than 5 things!

3.Snacks I enjoy
Popcorn; cottage cheese and mandarin oranges; carrots; peanut butter toast; nuts; fresh fruit

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
Travel; travel; travel

5. Places I have lived.
Minnesota; Nebraska; Colorado; Minnesota again

6. Jobs I have had.
Graphic artist; website designer; illustrator; Art Director; Marketing Assistant; Sales Assistant; Mother; business owner/co-owner; Alpaca Rancher

7. Who would I like to know more about.
All of you. If you read this consider yourself tagged or not. Just let me know in a comment if you decide to do it.