Amigurumi fun!

This is my newest creation, don't have a name for him yet...

He came from Lion Brand Yarn's free pattern collection- they've got a huge selection of amigurumi creatures that are super fun to make, fast, cute, and great for beginning crocheters!

Next is a little bear I made yesterday, again from Lion Brand- she's holding a heart, which I adore. This one doesn't have a name either, come to think of it...

If anyone has ideas for names or how I might begin making my own business to sell these fun little toys, please let me know!

It's Finished!

I Finally finished Molly's(my niece due July 20th) baby blanket! It's pink and green granny squares, and I just love the way it turned out! Her nursery colors are green and pink, so when I found this pattern, I was elated and inspired to make it.

The pattern, posted in a previous blog, is from Lion Brand Yarn's collection of free patterns.

Isn't it just so girly and cute? I love the way it turned out! Now I've moved on to crocheting a little amigurumi turtle (pics of that later). I've decided I'm just going to start making a bunch of things to get a selection I can maybe sell. Everyone I know has been telling me I need to start an account on etsy. Anyone have advice?

my new home :)

We got the house we looked at to rent! This will be our home as of July 24th, and I'm super excited to no longer share walls with strangers! (we've lived in an apartment for as long as we've been married)

It's a little 2 bed, 1 bath bungalow, and I cannot wait to move and make it my cute little home :)

choices, choices, choices

So, as you know, my husband and I are searching for a place to live (come the middle-end of July). In the last two weeks, we have seen several floor plans in 2 separate apartment complexes, and one house for rent. All of our feasible options have at least a second bedroom/den of some sort, with at least 1 full bath. The really difficult decisions left to be made have to do with balancing our wishes with our budget. The house is more expensive when we take into consideration that utilities aren't included as they are in the apartments. But we would much rather have some distance with our neighboors...and the apartments give us just a little bit more room and a dishwasher. I'm definetly torn.

What do you think? Would you prefer to rent a house over renting an apartment?

Job hunting

Oh! I forgot to mention in my last blog that I got the job I interviewed for last week! So thanks for the good thoughts and encouragement!

I'll probably still look for another job on the side part time- something simple, but I made it though my first ever interview with a job! Praise the Lord!

In the meantime...my husband and I might be moving, so be praying for that if you could.

My attempt at being fit

Today I had some errands to run, and all that was left for me for transportation to run those errands, with my husband at work with our good car, was our untrustworthy car or my bike (which I hadn't ridden in...months).

Looking at my two options I chose the healthier one- both because I would get exercise, and because I knew it was more likely I wouldn't be too hurt if I crashed my bike as opposed to a crash in the car with failing back brakes...

This turned out to be not so good of a choice. I thought, I'll ride down the hill, wear my cute sneakers, look all "fit", run my errands, and bring my water bottle in case I get tired. This line of thinking completely left out a very famous law Mr. Newton wrote...what goes up must come down, and just the opposite is true as well in this case. I rode down the hill and that was great! I got a little nervous going so fast so I feathered my brakes and did just fine. Going back... that was a different story. I found myself stopped halfway up the hill nearly dying from my asthma with no inhaler in sight and hating life and anyone who dared to stare at me panting on the side of the road, halfway up the hill.

The good news: I'm not dead, the errands are done, and my husband will be home soon with the car so I can stop pretending I'm one of those fit people who ride their bikes everywhere.

Hating finals

As a student in the last official quarter of classes before my student teaching experience, life has been pretty crazy lately. I've had absolutely no time to craft with all the things I must get done, and I can tell it's creating a block for the rest of my creative expressions. I'm trying to finish up my senior thesis paper right now- it is a paper discussing all aspects of my senior recital- yet I find I'm somewhat "backed up" from not using my creative side in a while. I even tried to start writing a song last night during my "brain break" from writing, got some decent progress in the chord progressions, yet got frustrated when I found myself stuck, and dropped the whole thing. I probably don't even remember the chord changes anymore.

Also on my plate is the search for a job. It's rather frustrating because I have little experience in the working field to call on, and though I almost have my degree and teaching certification, I don't have anything except my high school diploma and some college to note. To add to those drawbacks, I only need work until the end of summer, because I'll be student teaching in the fall. I know I would be way too overwhelmed and overworked if I tried to keep a job while student teaching full time. So I look at all those negatives and wonder how I'm possibly going to sell myself off as someone who must be hired by anyone in an interview situation.
...and my first interview is today. Hopefully I can summon up some self-confidence by then and prove to my interviewer that I'm worth hiring.

In the meantime, no crafting... just lots and lots of typing, editing, and filling out job applications.

FREE chocolate fridays!

Don't know if any of you bloggers have heard about this great deal, but if you like free stuff, and you like chocolate- you're in for a super treat!

Mars Brand, makers of candy bars such as Twix, Snickers, M&M's, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way, and Dove are giving America an opportunity for a free candy bar, every Friday, beginning at 9:00 a.m. EST by going to RealChocolate.com- happening every Friday until the end of September! First come, first serve- so be ready!

For more details see the above website or this article: http://www.csnews.com/csn/cat_management/confections/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003971129

What a fantastic idea! :)