Lazy Daisy

Today's flower is the Lazy Daisy from the book 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet.
http://issuu.com/lesliss/docs/100_flowers_to_knit_and_crochet/1

First some inspiration pictures from google

http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/okwild/lazydaisy.html

This is one of my favorite flowers so I was excited to crochet my own.

This flower was very easy to crochet. I added the stem to add stablity to a hairclip

This is the finished clip.

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with Love and Laughter. Be well my friends.

Chrysanthemum

Lets start with inspiration pictures:

http://www.theflowerexpert.com/content/aboutflowers/tropicalflowers/chrysanthemum


http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&biw=1600&bih=754&tbm=isch&prmd=imvns&tbnid=PGUJGPBj4yknNM:&imgrefurl=http://www.flowerspictures.org/flowers/chrysanthemum/&docid=irMPTabX_3_dVM&imgurl=http://www.flowerspictures.org/images/flowers/chrysanthemum/chrysanthemum_25.jpg&w=660&h=495&ei=eKbtT5jTD4-q8ASNwfytDQ&zoom=1


http://www.feng-shui-tips-for-wealth.com/chrysanthemum.html

This Chrysanthemum Flower was not my favorite. In fact as soon as I took the picture I pulled the yarn and made it disapear. Again here is the link to the bookhttp://issuu.com/lesliss/docs/100_flowers_to_knit_and_crochet/1 

Here is my flower. . .

I really think that there is a better way to crochet a Chrysanthemum flower.

If you had a better result I would love to see it.

I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well My friends.

In the news

This morning I was trolling the news on Yahoo http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/philly-area-teacher-fired-her-controversial-blog-sues-211207163.html. Go ahead and take a minute if you haven't already read the article. It is about a teacher who got fired, she says it is because of her tell all blog, the school says that she was not teaching. My opinions are based on this one short article only as I have no real interest in reading hate filled blogs. The teacher should have been working to help the students in her class instead she rushed home to tell the world that they were lazy, disrespectful creatures. The teacher is suing the school for a violation of freedom of speech.

 Here is the thing how can you be a good teacher if you are putting down your students, parents, and coworkers? I understand that there are real problems in the school system I am a home school parent. When I kids are acting out I don't rush out to complain to the world, (well maybe a few close friends). I try to evaluate myself first, what am I doing to facilitate the problem behaviors and try to change. Now I get that teachers have 30 students on average but I know that a good teacher can and will create a learning environment.  There are teachers who go beyond the classroom to help teach others. For awhile I read a blog that was about the school lunches, that teacher wanted to help change the system for her students. I have friends with children in public schools there are good teachers, and then there are these teachers who prey on children. Yes, I do think she was preying on the bad behaviors to fuel her hate filled blog. The truth is Hate never, never solves anything!

Here is the question should people be held accountable for their negative actions or should they be ignored and allowed to continue under the guise of freedom of speech? Can people be allowed to bash and humiliate the people around them? It is free speech. Should teachers be held accountable for calling their students awful names whether it is true or not? It is free speech.

I do not know the answers but I have zero respect for people who bully. In my very humble opinion this is virtual bullying. Mind your words, people are watching, children are listening, be accountable for your own actions. How about the one we all should have been taught as children by a teacher, or parent. If you do not have anything nice to say, do not say it at all.

Believe it or not I am not against public school, much. The truth is that public school saved me when I was a child. At times I was lucky enough to have great teachers who saw me when I thought I was invisible, praise me when I knew I was nothing, encourage me when I was failing at life. Honestly thinking back to all the teachers I had I do not think that I ever had a truly bad teacher. Then again I was (and in some ways still am) a very quiet, shy girl who would never speak without being spoken to first.  Now if that lady was my teacher would she rush to her blog to tell the world that I was disinterested because I did not have my homework? Or would see the scared abused kid? That is the point we do not know what the other human being is going through in life. Maybe they are just lazy, but maybe she is a lazy teacher.

I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Buttercup

Today's crochet flower is the buttercup.

Here are the inspiration flowers from google

http://www.flickriver.com/groups/656517@N23/pool/interesting/


http://www.free-cute-backgrounds.com/flower-backgrounds/buttercup-flower.php

Now here is how my crocheted buttercup turned out

I am only using the yarn I have on hand.

This is not my favorite flower but it is cute.

I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Hellebore

Today I am crocheting the first flower from the book 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet
http://issuu.com/lesliss/docs/100_flowers_to_knit_and_crochet/1 is the Hellebore. First I thought it would be nice to see what the actual flower looks like in nature.

http://en.cvetq.info/news.php?extend.80.13

http://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/hellebore/

http://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/hellebore/

  
I want to be totally honest with you I googled these pictures because I had no idea what they looked like. I was surprised by the many colors their many different colors.

I added a slip stitch around the finished flower.

This is the back of the flower

This was my first attempt.

The hardest part is that the pattern is written in the UK terms so it takes a minute or two to get used to the stitch names. If you have any trouble with the flower I might be able to help if you ask.

I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well Friends.

100 crochet flowers

I crochet everyday whether it is a single flower, a new hat, fun project, beard, or whatever fancy I found. I followed an inspriation on pinterest and found this free book on crochet flowers. I think it might be fifty of each knit and crochet flowers but I want to make one a day just to see if I can make all of them. Since I already have many time consuming hobbies I am not going to try the knited ones, yet.

http://issuu.com/lesliss/docs/100_flowers_to_knit_and_crochet/1


If you would like to try to I posted the link. I don't know if you can post a picture in the comments or not. I would love to see your finished flowers. I plan on making hair clips or adding them to various projects. I like crocheting flowers because it is a quick project so I know that it will be finished when I stop. Plus it is a great way to use up some left over yarn.

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Things that I fear

Here are some things I have always wanted to do but was to afraid to try.

1. Dye my hair bright pink.

2. Dye my hair purple

3. Dye my hair red.

4. Bike long distances.

5. Bike across Europe.

6. Alone with a backpack.

7. Travel to New York City.

8. Own chickens in the backyard.

9. Write a non fiction book from start to finish.

10. Run a marathon.


Here are a few things I was afraid to do but did it anyway

1. Go to College.

2. Finish College (Considering I am planning on getting my degree sometime this decade it counts).

3. Fly.

4. Use my canner to store food. (A new step for me)

5. Get married. (I know I was young when we got married but up until we set the date I was scared)

6. Move away from my hometown.

7. Have kids.

8. Made new friends everywhere we travel. (I am a nervous wreck around people I don't know)

9. Sew my own clothes. (My one skirt counts because I plan to make more)

10. Home educate my children.

Today look at all that you have accomlished even though you might have been scared and know you did it. You are wonderful. You are worthy. You can. And friends I am starting to understand that all of those thing aply to me too. I may not be perfect but I am an active work in progress. Be brave and try something new.

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Crochet dreams

I have been busy crocheting away avoiding my own school work which has put me in a last minute time crunch getting everything done. Yet here I am. So today will be a short post with pictures. So here are a few things that I have finished over the last week or so.

Flower clips. A little hot glue is amazing!

Remeber the last post with a weird green thing that was my sole.

I got the pattern from http://www.etsy.com/shop/bonitapatterns?ref=seller_info

The best part is these slippers are only half inch different in size (I had trouble keeping count I guess).

I made beards for my boys. I got the idea from http://calleighsclips.blogspot.com/

I love this picture

This is the same beard Damian is wearing but I love this man.

I made this lovely shawl. I got the pattern http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/crocheting/Accessory/Half-Circle-Shawl-with-Scalloped-Border/5690

I have become obssessed with the idea of granny sqaures. This is my first one.

I tested a pattern to give myself an excuse to at least try. You see I have been afraid to try because I did not think I would be good enough.

I am happy to report that these are the same size. Which means if I wanted I could make a blanket.

 I still have a couple of things on the burner that I will get done sometime. I am thinking about doing a little follow along blanket a sqaure a day. I will post the patterns where I can so you can make a blanket at home too. I like to do things with friends and it could be fun to make something together. I have to decide on the colors that I want to use but I have to confess I have already been searching the web for free granny square patterns so that I can share them with you. What do you think? Believe it or not these granny squares are easy to make, which makes crocheting the sqaures to go by quickly. Well I need to get back to my own school work....

I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

A day late and bad news on the rise

Last week was rough on me. Our animals we have a cat and a dog came in with fleas which caused me to have bath them every other day, plus laundry which is still not even close to being caught up from washing everything the cat can get into, cleaning, and to top it off my aunt flow came for her monthly visit. I ran a mile straight on Monday and did not get back on the treadmill until yesterday. I gained back the two pounds I took off. It is incredibly disheartening but today is a new day. I can make better choices and try again. I feel like I have been on this up and down ride for so long. I think I can lose this weight, I know I can lose this weight, I think I can, I think I can, I know I will. I just wanted to share my weight gain so that I would not lose focus and in some little way remain accountable.

I hope you are having a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

For the love of Pinterest!

I am totally in love with Pinterest. I check it a couple of times a day just to see if anything new and wonderful has shown up as an inspiration. Yesterday I found the new greatest homemade treat for my ever growing obsession with all thing homemade. I found a recipe for homemade Chocolate Syrup here http://www.glorioustreats.com/2012/01/homemade-chocolate-syrup-recipe.html.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup water

dash of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a small saucepan, add sugar, cocoa, and salt. Whisk together gently. Add water. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and cook 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool. Store in the refrigerator.

For delicious chocolate milk, add 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup to 8 oz. of milk. Heat for hot chocolate.

For milk shakes, combine 1 cup cold milk, 1/4 cup chocolate syrup and 2 cups (1 pint) of vanilla ice cream to a blender. Blend.

This syrup would also make a delicious dessert garnish or ice cream topping.

Recipe source- Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 1968. http://www.glorioustreats.com/2012/01/homemade-chocolate-syrup-recipe.html

One warning, I doubled the recipe and used the same sauce pan because it did not seem like a lot of syrup and when the chocolate started to boil it flooded the stove top. I suggest you make a small batch to start out.

I took a picture of James and his slight milk mustache. I am currently the greatest mom ever.

Damian also found some joy in his glass. I love this picture.

He also ate four tomatoes with lunch today as you can tell by the random seed leftover on his chin.

I used two tablespoons and it was wonderful

Okay it was more like three tablespoons.

In my super special know it all opinion this taste better then the store bought version that are filled with lots of preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. As for calories the syrup is about 41.3 per tablespoon. So if you are trying to lose weight like me don't use three tablespoons. 

I hope you are having a sweet day filled with Love and laughter. Be well my friends.

New project

As you may have guess by now I really like to crochet. Well today I started a little something for me. Based on these pictures can you guess what it is I am making?

I have a confession I think it looks a little like. . .

What do you think?

So I also want to add a song that I want to dedicate to crochet

Oh Crochet, I hate myself for loving you.

I hope that you are having a wonderful day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Monday, Monday

I made it to another weigh in Monday. I have to be honest my husband was gone this week so I only got on the treadmill twice but we went swimming once. I also did not do a great job at counting calories because I didn't do it at all. This is a new week and I can and will do better. This week I am going to focus on counting calories and drinking more water throughout the day. I am also going to be on the treadmill three days this week. 

Last week I weighed in at 166.6.

Today I am 164.4!

A two pound weight loss!

I decided to write my starting weight on my lose it jar to remind me of where I begin. So when the going gets tough I can look at it and know I am getting better.

I would love to know how you did last week if you are coming along on the journey with me. I hope you are even in a small way. You know a random tip I heard on Extreme Makeover Weight Loss addition is if you are craving sugar a lot give it up for a week. Because eating sugar causes you to crave it more and more. So the less you eat the better it is. I love that show. If you haven't seen it yet you should check it out on abc.com. It is truly inspiring.

I hope you week is full of satisfaction, love, and laughter. Be well my friends.

Bright hair ideas

I have long hair not overly gross long hair but it does come to the middle of my back. My husband asked me to grow it out because he loves long hair. Now I am ready to change it but I want to wait to cut it until I have enough to donate like 12+ inches. What is a girl to do? I mostly wear pony tails, bulky hair clips, and braids. Then I got an idea, a truly bright idea, a awful horrible idea. Remember when I said I wanted Farrah hair from the 70's? Well I went out and . . .

I bought curlers. This is only the second time I have rolled my hair. I think it looks both hilarious and wonderful. I think it is the possibility of perfectly wavy hair. Did you know that most people use like a can of hair spray to roll their hair? I did not and most likely will not use hair spray. I just want to try it out and see if it looks different.

I have to admit I spent hours watching YouTube trying to figure out how to use these rollers. I got lost on some vintage hair and make up which is cool. At some point I am watching this girl put on make up and it occurred to me that I don't wear make up. Did you know that a pin roll is a curl hot from the curling iron pinned to your hair unrolled until it is cooled? That seems to be an insane amount of work. Because I have long hair and half of it is really thick it takes forever for my hair to dry. So I water the yard, do a little dance, drink some coffee, make food, do dishes, wait, wait, and then blow dry in a desperate last ditch move. So while we wait let's listen to some music.

Take a bottle, shake it up, Break the bubble, break it up Pour some sugar on me. Oh Yeah!

Let's dance put on your red shoes and dance the blues, Let's dance to the song they're playin' on the radio

Everyone Wang Chung (I am not even sure what that is but it sounds fun)

I just think this song is just cool.

It takes forever to dry my hair! So I finally grabbed my blow dryer and tried to dry my hair a little faster. Then I unrolled slightly damp hair.

So I still have super long straight hair. Oh wait plus a new random crimp at the top of my head which is why my hair is parted like this. At somethings I am totally helpless. Maybe the third time will be a the charm. Besides practice makes perfect right? Any ideas on what would make this easier? For the record I prefer the picture with the hair curlers in the above picture.

I hope you have a wonderful day filled with Love and laughter. Be well my friends.

Hats, Scraves, and earrings

I have been busy crocheting lots of fun stuff. I am really excited to share my finished projects.

I would like to point out that I used the Galilee Scarf pattern from  http://www.etsy.com/shop/mamachee. For the hat I just modified the pattern a little to make it work.

For this hat I used mamachee's Brimley Hat pattern.

The spikes are also a pattern from  http://www.etsy.com/shop/mamachee

The reason why I am telling you where to get the patterns is because her pattern is copyrighted. More than that it is the right thing to do.

This as you guessed is from mamachee.

I have to tell you that Tara (mamachee) is super helpful. I got these patterns the same day I ordered them back in March and a couple of days ago I emailed her a question about the hair on this monster/bug hat. She emailed me within a couple of hours with a link to a video to help me. If you are looking for patterns she a great person to buy from.

Now to my very first pair of earrings. A couple of weeks ago I stumbled on to http://www.craftsy.com. They have classes that you can buy and I got the Crafty Crochet Embellishments class. I love it! It teaches you to add crochet embellishments to fleece to make a nice baby blanket, to towels, to sweaters, and more. That is where I got this idea from

I bought some hoop earrings from Hobby Lobby with the intention to follow along.

Well it turns out you do not need the hoop to make earrings. So I modified and used part of a flower pattern to finish these earrings.

Believe it or not these are not heavy and because it is yarn not bothersome either.

You know it is hard to take a self portrait with the earrings in the picture. I love them.

So this is what I have been up to lately. I also started on a set of matching blankets, quilting not crochet. Yes, I have many hidden talents that involve me avoiding say a college history course that started on Monday. No I am not avoiding it. I was kidding. Seriously. Okay, you got me I am procrastinating a little. So wants a new pair of earrings? Okay I will read three chapters of my world history work tonight. You are so right. I am glad we are friends and you help keep me in line. I am looking for a shawl pattern I think it would be a cool gift for a couple of people I know but I promise not to start on it until my blankets are finished, and maybe a girl bug/monster hat ( I already gave my word).

I hope you are having a wonderful creative day filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.