Chugging Along on the Crochet Train

Crochet and I are still trying to work things out. =) I figured out how to make ball shapes and made my bro-in-law a hacky sack for his birthday. I did pretty well crocheting it but not so much in actually stuffing it. I am still perfecting the technique and envision a gazillion more hacky sacks in my future before I get just the right one.

PHOTO-A-DAY-HOORAY #4 - My second crochet project: a hacky sack for my bro-in-law

After stuffing it with rice-filled pantyhose.

It still has the line marker attached...

It still has a tail!

And perfecto!

Hooray!

A special thanks goes to the maker of the video that made it possible for me to learn this! Thanks a bunch Jan (WireMySoul)! The videos are very informative and easy to understand. Jan's videos can be found here.

I used a video for something else as a starting point and mixed in some different suggestions for the actual stuffing. Rice is an easy and cheap alternative to specific materials but I do suggest using pantyhose as a barrier for both. The crocheting will ware down eventually and the insides will start coming out if there isn't another layer like pantyhose.

Also, as I learned the hard way, don't over stuff them; they're a bit too bouncy and the purpose is somewhat defeated. =)

Obviously I'm Back in Class...

I am ridiculous. I know I need to post the gazillion Photo-A-Day-Hoorays I have yet to get to. I also have a few things to discuss but haven't been able to get on until homework was complete... so, here I am!

This class has been rough in the sense of workload. The work isn't all that difficult but the class structure is different and the amount of participation has tripled. It is comparable to the wretched statistics class we just completed; the stats class was just plain hard but we didn't have as much work to do.

I think of my 'tude every night and mourn the time I am away. =( I am still trying to get better with posting consistently. I am a work in progress. =)

A Day I Will Never Forget

February 18, 2010 - the day Austin, Texas and the United States experienced its second terrorist attack by plane. This form of terrorism, however, was homegrown and way too close to home for me! I know I will never forget where I was the day sicko Joe Stack flew his personal plane into the IRS building that resides in the city I have come to know and love.

I don't care your reasoning or how wronged you feel you've been, the selfishness it takes to risk the life of anyone is indescribable and just sick. I am still shocked at the events that unfolded today. I just can't get over the ridiculousness that was this man; a frikin' idiot and what good did it do?

My prayers go out to the families and those missing and injured.

The letter the creep left can be found here. The sickos' website was this (you can go there but it is disabled with links that will lead you to here).

Photos a day coming soon...

I have been SUPER busy but have pictures that are ready and waiting to be posted. Coming soon...

They Triumphed Through All

PHOTO-A-DAY #3 - My plant that bloomed despite the numerous freezes.

These are some shots of our little guy that made it through all the recent freezes unscathed. We lost quite a few despite numerous efforts to keep them cozy... *sniff*sniff* I am not sure hat kind of plant this little guy is. ran's mom gave him to us and he has done really well. =)

He just bloomed and made it through a small freeze last night! Hooooray!

The photos aren't my favorite but they caught the moment none the less; yucky weather and diminshing light kind of rained on my parade. Hehe.

A Milestone

PHOTO-A-DAY #2 - My very first Inter-office mail!

This is milestone in my personal world of business and office working... yesterday, February 9th, I received my first ever inter-department delivery, or as it is more commonly refered to, inter-office mail.

It was awesome and very exciting!

"What was it?" you ask while sitting on the edge of your seat. It was my graduation certificate for the 2007 Office program I completed at work. =)

You haven't seen Office Space!?!

This is the phrase I exclaimed last night after dinner with my awesome n-laws. Somehow we got on the topic of movies and it was discovered that my mom and granny-in-law have not seen the movie, Office Space. If anyone reading this has not seen this movie, please do the folowing as soon as possible and in the following order: drag yourself from the rock you've been under, slap yourself awake, question your sanity, then go get this flippin' movie! Don't rent it, BUY it.

This is a classic. That's really all that needs to be said. It is PURE AWESOMENESS... period.

Who's the King?

Michael Douglas is... in King of California.

This is one of my ALL TIME favorite movies. It is deep, funny, touching, and just plain clever. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Michael is superb as usual and Evan Rachel Wood is a breath of fresh air. Rent it, Netflix it, just go see it! It is a beautiful story and has some of those life lessons thrown in for effect.... AWESOME effect.

I LOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVE this movie.

Hooray for a Photo a Day!

And here we go... starting yesterday, Monday, February 8, 2010, I began my 'Photo-a-day Hooray' series and payed myself well with some awesome shots of my first chrochet project! I tinkered with the idea of putting a time limit on the series but then thought, "Why?"

DAY ONE: Some shots of my very first crochet project.

I needed to get these photos taken and finally had even more reason! Photo-a-day Hooray!

A Self Challenge

I have challenged myself to stop making excuses about not having enough time.... period. A friend inspired me again... I love all this inspiration goin' on around here! (More about this later.) We are here to enjoy life and while I take the time to have fun everyday, I don't think I allow myself to truly live and love every single aspect of life, and this is how it should be, through the good and the baddest of bad. I want to slow down to enjoy the little things and the enormous things all the same.

Soooo, I came up with a little project to get myself inspired to do what I love to do every single day, no matter what I "have on my plate" or how little time I think there is. It's kind of like that famous money-making tip, "Pay yourself first." Meaning, to put savings away at the beginning of the month before you get to the end of the month and have spent that money because it was there...

Pay yourself first. "We have to enjoy the days for us first and the rest will fall in place." ~Me! =)

What is this amazing 'pay yourself first' project, you ask? Well, it's a series involving a photo a day, hooooooray! And that's it. I want to challenge myself to stay on top of the art I love so very much while also getting inspiration to blog more about my experiences with this and in general. I am going to take a photo (or more) a day for an undetermined amount of time. These photos will revolve around my daily shenanigans, inspirations, issues, feelings, friends, family, kittehs, and a multitude of other life encounters. And that's it. Just paying myself first...

:) Tune in!

Best Buddies

Shadow and Jefferson have been the best of friends since we got Jefferson (7-4-07) and they continue to play, fight, and snuggle day in and day out.

Peaches likes to hang out too! Since her arrival in October 2009, she has definitely marked her spot as the queen around here...

Jefferson likes to get in anything but he particularly loves boxes and has recently developed a love for baskets. =)

Peaches likes boxes too. =) Just the right size!

Curious about Crochet?

I had no idea where to start so I bought a $6 generic how-to video and would stop and start it so I could see hand positioning and technique. It kind of sucked though because whenever it was paused a little window would pop up and block some of the screen. Basically, it wasn't the most effective way to learn online, in my opinion. I wanted a book but also thought it would be nice to actually see it happening for starting off. The video did help get me started but once I needed to stop and start to perfect my technique, it became more difficult. That's when I googled crocheting videos and stumbled upon a true gem. I wanted to share because in two videos I feel that I have perfected my technique 100% and feel more confident in my hand positioning. Woo hooo!

The website is http://www.bethintx.webs.com/ or you can go to YouTube and search crochet videos called 'Back to Basics'.

The videos I watched are included in her series "Back to Basics" and they are great! The creator is extremely detailed, thorough, and the video is very clear so you can actually see what's going on.

Check 'em out if you need some assistance, want to perfect your technique, or want to learn how to start from the beginning!

Better late than never, right?

I hadn't posted any shots of our Christmas lights and wanted to (even this late, hehe) because we worked so very hard on them. Here are some shots of our Christmas tree 2009.

Our attempt at a repeat family photo... this year didn't go as well as last year.

We FINALLY took pictures of our outside Christmas lights. We have been NUTSO busy and honestly just hadn't had time to take the gazillion lights and decorations down in an organized manner. We finally got 'em down and I snapped some pictures before. I am a bit mad though because I forgot to turn the outside Christmas tree lights on and it was pretty cool. Boo.

You can barely see the cool little, purple tree... that should have been lit with white lights. =(

The back door.

The front entrance.

We're looking forward to next year. I want to see how many years our apartments can deny us first place. There was no denying it this year but they did, somehow. They don't like us very much and we are certain they won't ever let us win a competition. Hehe. Oh well. I loved every second of it.

4 Rows - Check!

I have successfully completed 4 full (and extremely long) rows for my scarf and first ever crochet project!

It's getting exciting...

Although, I need to figure out why I have a slight curling effect. It isn't too bad and I think I have the technique correct but maybe not... I am off to do some research!

=)

Light Dancin' Dream

I had the weirdest dream last night... I dreamt that when we were taking our Christmas lights down we left them out all over the ground outside. It gets interesting because we ended up having a dance party and were dancing all around the lights. I remember thinking that it was cool that we could dance without breaking the lights. And then awhile later and right before the dream ended, I remember thinking, "There's no way we haven't broken at least one light!"

Raaaaaaaaaaaandom.

Oh also...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I never did say that, huh?

This was my very first Gin 'n Tonic, courtesy of Jonathan himself. =) It's his favorite drink and in 4 and a half years I haven't tried one! We had a cozy New Year's all to ourselves. It was lovely.

A Formal Welcome for My Niece

As her 1 month birthday approaches, I would like to give a formal Amy'tude welcome to my best friend's baby girl.

Welcome to the world Miss January Sky Hernandez!

Born at 1:13 pm on January 9, 2010, weighing 7 pounds 11 ounces.

I had the honor of being able to be there to see her first minutes in this world. There were lots of smiles and lots of tears... it wasn't too long of a day, although I bet Emilie would beg to differ. Jonathan and I left to be there at 6:30 am and got there just in time to wait with the family, get some pictures, eat, laugh and smile. They had just broken her water and she was good to go!

Gettin' ready! We were just in time!


We just had a few minutes with her before she had to be taken to get cleaned up. I shot pictures like a mad woman while trying stay back to let the family get in close.


The January sky minutes after January Sky came into this world. Beautiful - not a cloud in site!

Elated Dad says I'm next! Oh boy! (Look at the little January's foot prints on Daddy Nelson!)

The gorgeous sunset in the January sky on January Sky's first day here! Our trip back was beautiful but bitter sweet - we didn't get to see Emilie before we left. =(

:) Hoooooray! Welcome January! Happy almost 1 month birthday! We love you! And thanks for waiting for your Tia Amy!

Crocheting Quest!

I am super excited to announce that I have officially joined the crocheting world! I learned to crochet when I was just a kiddo; however, I gave it up and had only mastered one long single crochet and covering hangers. Yarn-covered hangers really make a pretty cool gift and are a super neat craft for the kiddos - under adult supervision, of course.

(Single Crochet Stich - Photo: http://www.fourgoodcorners.com)

(Yarn-Covered Hanger - Photo: www.pinkdaisygirl.blogspot.com)

For you non-crocheters out there, a single crochet is shown above; it is the base of majority of crocheting projects and is the easiest part, in my opinion. Because I never learned how to turn and continue past the first row, I never actually learned how to make anything! LOL

Well, thanks to a friend’s inspiration, I have embarked on a quest to learn everything there is about crocheting! Jessica recently made a pretty scarf with little pockets that I just fell in love with. I have occasionally thought about picking up some yarn and a few needles to give it other go but I guess I just never found my true inspiration. When I saw her handy work, I knew I had to give it another shot.

I don’t remember the exact day I began again (it’s been about a week) but I just up and decided to go to the craft store; I bought some needles, some cool purple and green yarn, and the coolest little carrying bag (with holes at each end for the yarn!)

With the bit of effort I have given, I can honestly say that I am quite proud of myself already! While I always had a crocheting passion, I didn’t necessarily know if I had true ability. I am learning to give myself a bit more credit and now, I think I can, I think I can! I have practiced a bit on and off this past week inbetween statistics reading and grueling problem work and have found myself rushing around to get back to crocheting. Pretty fun.

I used the same area of yarn for several attempts, practicing with a few tries at a row of single crochet stitches. These were pretty horrid attempts and my fingers felt like they were going to fall off, but I knew it would get easier. I did and redid until I was happy enough with my technique to move on to the next row for the very first time in my life! I practiced this a few times as well before I realized something very important... I was doing most everything wrong! No wonder it was so flippin' hard! I was pulling the "yarn over" the wrong way and was pulling another part over instead of through. I undid some of the mistake and tied it off; from there, I continued the correct way so I could look back at my success in the future.

(The curly part was my first try and the rest that falls closest to my ring was the best attempt; after I learned my misakes!)

The correct way is much easier and much more fun! I saved my first ever double row (shown above) and decided I wanted to start off fresh with a scarf, in honor of my first inspiration. =) And so it began... at this point, I have completed three full and correct rows for my first crocheted scarf! Wooo hooo, crocheting here I come!

To Reader Tracy

Hi Tracy!

I apologize that I haven't been able to get back with you! I have some crazy hours and was smack dab in the middle of my Statistics class for my Master's. Whew! It is NUTSO! I definitely want to speak with you about your questions and haven't forgotten about you. My major class work will be complete on Friday. I would love to chat then or soon after. Please don't hesitate to email me if you'd like and I will get back with you after Friday! (AwesomeAmytude@gmail.com)

Thank you for your readership. I hope I can help.

:)

*~* Blessings for the Family *~*

My family and friends are always in my prayers but I wanted to send out a special blog with some extra special blessings for our family during these hard times. Cancer is being battled on both sides of my family right now and I am very blessed to be amongst a strong and loving family. It is hard but we will make it through. I know God is watching and His plan is there waiting.

I love you all and will be thinking of you.