Please remember that there is no midnight email fest tonight. I'll be taking requests from 10am to noon EST tomorrow and randomly drawing the list shortly after.
I hope everyone had a wonderful night!!!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
Please remember that there is no midnight email fest tonight. I'll be taking requests from 10am to noon EST tomorrow and randomly drawing the list shortly after.
I hope everyone had a wonderful night!!!
Later October, Bring it On November!
WooHoo! I finished Jessica's crabby longies, the very last custom order of October, with 8 hours and 20 minutes to spare!
I hope you like them, mama! They'll go out first thing in the morning.
Kyle called me a few hours ago to tell me that he caught a glimpse of Henry trick or treating at school and that he was happy as a clam, dragging a too heavy bag of goodies on the ground behind him. I hope that holds out for our Halloween party and evening trick or treating.
I am applying to The Southern Highland Craft Guild this month and I'm all nervous. Wish me luck! I have no idea what the requirements are yet, I have the application and whatnot coming in the mail. It is a pretty fancy pants thing so I am not sure if I'll fit in or be something they want to include, but it'd be pretty dern cool.
Also:
Yay for hand made!!!
I hope you like them, mama! They'll go out first thing in the morning.
Kyle called me a few hours ago to tell me that he caught a glimpse of Henry trick or treating at school and that he was happy as a clam, dragging a too heavy bag of goodies on the ground behind him. I hope that holds out for our Halloween party and evening trick or treating.
I am applying to The Southern Highland Craft Guild this month and I'm all nervous. Wish me luck! I have no idea what the requirements are yet, I have the application and whatnot coming in the mail. It is a pretty fancy pants thing so I am not sure if I'll fit in or be something they want to include, but it'd be pretty dern cool.
Also:
Yay for hand made!!!
Ever haveone of those days...
... where your child acts like a complete and total poo? And then you think "What a horrible mother I am to be thinking that about my child. No wonder he's acting like a total poo, with a horrible mother like me". Then you remember the single episode of Supernanny you actually watched all the way through with that girl in England that leapt over the table and tried to scratch Jo Jo's face off and think that maybe that will be your kid in a few years and all the other moms will be watching your poo of a child on TV and feeling better about their parenting skills while Jo Jo tells you what a horrible mother you are. Yesterday was one of those days.
Henry has decided to take a stand and assert his power. Over Halloween of all things. Let me preface by saying that I delight in Halloween. I love it. For Henry's first Halloween I made him a Vegas Elvis costume. Gold lame in the legs of the white bell bottomed jumpsuit. Wide white collar. Hundreds of sequins. He was 3 months old. Last year he was a "chicken robot" complete with knobs, dials, rooster crown and glowing apparatus. I was looking forward to what he was going to come up with this year. I wasn't thrilled with the ghost thing, but whatever. Then yesterday happened. He refused to let me make his ghostie costume, which should be the easiest costume on Earth but is NOT! You can't just throw a sheet over the kid's head like on Charlie Brown. There is way too much fabric that bunches around the neck area. And it gave Henry a panic attack. So I went and got a couple of white pillow cases, thinking I could cut eye holes and arm holes and there wouldn't be that fabric bunch problem. Except that then he looked like the ghost of Gumby with a square ghostie head. So I sewed the corners of the pillow case down to make a ghostie head shaped top instead of that square. After prodding and wheedling for 20 minutes I finally got Henry to try it back on and to my dismay it was difficult to discern if he was a ghostie or a Klansman. Not the look I was going for. I tore up a white garbage bag and pinned the strips to the costume, giving it a shiny, flowy look. And then Henry announced that he would no longer be trying on the costume, would not be wearing the costume and in fact would not be trick or treating at all. He would stay in the classroom with Ms. Gina while the other kids did their little trick or treat (for healthy snacks of course) at school. And he wouldn't be attending our Halloween party later this afternoon, either. Candy be damned. So. I decided to get him all excited by letting him pick out the design for our Jack-O-Lantern from a book. Of course, he picked the most complicated freaking design on Earth, a sort of Jack-O-Lantern meets Phantom of the opera number. For the next hour and a half, I slaved away at The Thickest Pumpkin on the Face of the Planet trying to make it look somewhat like this design while Henry stabbed the discarded pumpkin top with a plastic "hole driller" (hole driller my ass, that thing couldn't drill a hole in a stick of butter) and renewed his stance on not participating in Halloween festivities. Finally. I finished the pumpkin. I took it outside. I scrounged through every drawer and came up with a long lost cherry scented votive candle and a lighter that actually worked (why we have 17 lighters that don't work is beyond me, but I just stuck them back in the drawer instead of throwing them out so there you go). I lit up the Jack-O-Lantern and made Henry close his eyes so I could present it to him with a flourish and see his face all aglow with wonder at how he was blessed with such an amazing mother who could carve his dreams out of an autumn squash. It ended up being more like I was dragging him to his death, but I got him out there nonetheless. As he took his wee little hand from his eyes, they did shine and he did smile. An "ahhhhhhh" escaped his mouth and he said "Mommy. I do want to go trick or treating tomorrow". Sweet victory! The hours I spent on that stupid ghostie costume were all worth it! He would appreciate how cool I made a ghostie be! I wouldn't be on Supernanny after all! And then he finished his thought: "I wanna be a pirate".
Poo.
Henry has decided to take a stand and assert his power. Over Halloween of all things. Let me preface by saying that I delight in Halloween. I love it. For Henry's first Halloween I made him a Vegas Elvis costume. Gold lame in the legs of the white bell bottomed jumpsuit. Wide white collar. Hundreds of sequins. He was 3 months old. Last year he was a "chicken robot" complete with knobs, dials, rooster crown and glowing apparatus. I was looking forward to what he was going to come up with this year. I wasn't thrilled with the ghost thing, but whatever. Then yesterday happened. He refused to let me make his ghostie costume, which should be the easiest costume on Earth but is NOT! You can't just throw a sheet over the kid's head like on Charlie Brown. There is way too much fabric that bunches around the neck area. And it gave Henry a panic attack. So I went and got a couple of white pillow cases, thinking I could cut eye holes and arm holes and there wouldn't be that fabric bunch problem. Except that then he looked like the ghost of Gumby with a square ghostie head. So I sewed the corners of the pillow case down to make a ghostie head shaped top instead of that square. After prodding and wheedling for 20 minutes I finally got Henry to try it back on and to my dismay it was difficult to discern if he was a ghostie or a Klansman. Not the look I was going for. I tore up a white garbage bag and pinned the strips to the costume, giving it a shiny, flowy look. And then Henry announced that he would no longer be trying on the costume, would not be wearing the costume and in fact would not be trick or treating at all. He would stay in the classroom with Ms. Gina while the other kids did their little trick or treat (for healthy snacks of course) at school. And he wouldn't be attending our Halloween party later this afternoon, either. Candy be damned. So. I decided to get him all excited by letting him pick out the design for our Jack-O-Lantern from a book. Of course, he picked the most complicated freaking design on Earth, a sort of Jack-O-Lantern meets Phantom of the opera number. For the next hour and a half, I slaved away at The Thickest Pumpkin on the Face of the Planet trying to make it look somewhat like this design while Henry stabbed the discarded pumpkin top with a plastic "hole driller" (hole driller my ass, that thing couldn't drill a hole in a stick of butter) and renewed his stance on not participating in Halloween festivities. Finally. I finished the pumpkin. I took it outside. I scrounged through every drawer and came up with a long lost cherry scented votive candle and a lighter that actually worked (why we have 17 lighters that don't work is beyond me, but I just stuck them back in the drawer instead of throwing them out so there you go). I lit up the Jack-O-Lantern and made Henry close his eyes so I could present it to him with a flourish and see his face all aglow with wonder at how he was blessed with such an amazing mother who could carve his dreams out of an autumn squash. It ended up being more like I was dragging him to his death, but I got him out there nonetheless. As he took his wee little hand from his eyes, they did shine and he did smile. An "ahhhhhhh" escaped his mouth and he said "Mommy. I do want to go trick or treating tomorrow". Sweet victory! The hours I spent on that stupid ghostie costume were all worth it! He would appreciate how cool I made a ghostie be! I wouldn't be on Supernanny after all! And then he finished his thought: "I wanna be a pirate".
Poo.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Whew!
The last week of the month is always crazy and this one is no exception. Throw in Halloween and a charity raffle out of control and you have... chaos.
I FINALLY listed this month's auctions. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!
I just listed the I'm Wired monster bag over at the Etsy Shop. I know a few people were interested in it, so go check it out!
As for October business, I just finished Brittany's Navy Monster Booty longies:
The picture was taken in direct sunlight so it is kind of washed out looking, sorry about that! We are looking at a new camera lens that will take care of that sort of thing...
Jessica's longies are on the needles and I am hoping to have the shipped Thursday. I am starting the legs this morning. I was hoping to get one leg done last night, but I ran out of one of the stripe colors. I have to wait until the yarn store opens today to get more. 7,000 skeins of yarn and not one orange...pth. One day past my deadline, not toooooo bad. While I should have been knitting her leg, I started on a pair of small hand dyed BFL longies for the Venus Vanguard stocking in early November. I'll actually be in MI for the stocking, but they should be done by then. Hopefully.
With the new site going live in mid-November, I am put in the position of having to write an "About Me" page. It is a difficult thing to do! I did it, but it was so hard to write a little blurb. Even more dorky? The pictures. Here are a few of the ones that make me cringe the least:
In personal business, we had a crazy weekend. Susannah stopped by on Friday morning to pick up Gabe's Autumn Tree longies on her way to the Fiber Festival in town for the weekend. I was going to use all the willpower I could muster to stay away, but she called me later and said that it was not to be missed. I went at opening on Sunday morning and was so impressed with myself that I came out of that place with nothing but a size 9 16" Addi Turbo to replace the one that Henry dented under a chair leg. Then I got home and realized that was a size 8, not a 9. Oops. But still. I bought zero yarn. ZERO! Go me! Sunday afternoon we went to a Halloween cookie making party and played in the garden at our neighborhood elementary school. I have pictures somewhere, but I don't think they came out very good.
Henry has been insisting that he wants to be a "ghostie" for Halloween. I thought I had it made in the shade, how easy is a ghost costume? SO I didn't even start it until yesterday. Henry wants nothing to do with a ghostie costume. He let me put the sheet on his head for about 10 seconds before he started yelling that he "doesn't like it in here!". Gah. Now it is the day before Halloween and he won't tell me what he wants to be. He won't let me make his ghost costume but he insists he wants to be a ghost. I scrounged a pretty kick booty pirate costume from dress up clothes I've made/bought him in the past but he refuses to be a pirate. AHHHH! What to do what to do? I am going to give it one more try this afternoon and then just hope that when he here's "trick or treat" he'll put on whatever outfit I give him to go beg for candy in. Cross your fingers for me...
I FINALLY listed this month's auctions. Nothing like waiting until the last minute!
I just listed the I'm Wired monster bag over at the Etsy Shop. I know a few people were interested in it, so go check it out!
As for October business, I just finished Brittany's Navy Monster Booty longies:
The picture was taken in direct sunlight so it is kind of washed out looking, sorry about that! We are looking at a new camera lens that will take care of that sort of thing...
Jessica's longies are on the needles and I am hoping to have the shipped Thursday. I am starting the legs this morning. I was hoping to get one leg done last night, but I ran out of one of the stripe colors. I have to wait until the yarn store opens today to get more. 7,000 skeins of yarn and not one orange...pth. One day past my deadline, not toooooo bad. While I should have been knitting her leg, I started on a pair of small hand dyed BFL longies for the Venus Vanguard stocking in early November. I'll actually be in MI for the stocking, but they should be done by then. Hopefully.
With the new site going live in mid-November, I am put in the position of having to write an "About Me" page. It is a difficult thing to do! I did it, but it was so hard to write a little blurb. Even more dorky? The pictures. Here are a few of the ones that make me cringe the least:
In personal business, we had a crazy weekend. Susannah stopped by on Friday morning to pick up Gabe's Autumn Tree longies on her way to the Fiber Festival in town for the weekend. I was going to use all the willpower I could muster to stay away, but she called me later and said that it was not to be missed. I went at opening on Sunday morning and was so impressed with myself that I came out of that place with nothing but a size 9 16" Addi Turbo to replace the one that Henry dented under a chair leg. Then I got home and realized that was a size 8, not a 9. Oops. But still. I bought zero yarn. ZERO! Go me! Sunday afternoon we went to a Halloween cookie making party and played in the garden at our neighborhood elementary school. I have pictures somewhere, but I don't think they came out very good.
Henry has been insisting that he wants to be a "ghostie" for Halloween. I thought I had it made in the shade, how easy is a ghost costume? SO I didn't even start it until yesterday. Henry wants nothing to do with a ghostie costume. He let me put the sheet on his head for about 10 seconds before he started yelling that he "doesn't like it in here!". Gah. Now it is the day before Halloween and he won't tell me what he wants to be. He won't let me make his ghost costume but he insists he wants to be a ghost. I scrounged a pretty kick booty pirate costume from dress up clothes I've made/bought him in the past but he refuses to be a pirate. AHHHH! What to do what to do? I am going to give it one more try this afternoon and then just hope that when he here's "trick or treat" he'll put on whatever outfit I give him to go beg for candy in. Cross your fingers for me...
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Warm Fuzzies
Can I just say that you guys rock? Since we started the whole Miracle Diaper lottery thing people have popped out of the woodwork wanting to contribute. Who knew all I had to do was drop a hint about a tee shirt and I would get so many responses!!! The winner of this lottery is going to be the best dressed baby around!
Hmmm... a new Addi Circular Knitting Machine would be nice...
I kid, I kid.
But if anyone has anything to throw into the pot, send me an email. I'm trying to think of the thing that will make the set complete and can't really think of anything, but bring it on!
Seriously, though, thank you to everyone. I think we are going to have to make some kind of form thingie to make sure we get all the listings and whatnot right. Everyone who has offered an item will eventually get an email asking for specifics so we can post the same info about each item included in the lottery. A lot of them are custom, so I think I'll just end up providing the winner's email address to all the contributers and let them arrange their items separately instead of having me in the middle trying to manage it all. We'll see. This was not expected at all so Suzanne and I have to figure out how the whole thing will work. I am not going to separate everything and do multiple lotteries because I am going to be traveling a lot in the next couple of months, my new site is launching next month and it is the holiday season so I honestly just won't have the time to do more than one.
Thanks again for all of your support!
Hmmm... a new Addi Circular Knitting Machine would be nice...
I kid, I kid.
But if anyone has anything to throw into the pot, send me an email. I'm trying to think of the thing that will make the set complete and can't really think of anything, but bring it on!
Seriously, though, thank you to everyone. I think we are going to have to make some kind of form thingie to make sure we get all the listings and whatnot right. Everyone who has offered an item will eventually get an email asking for specifics so we can post the same info about each item included in the lottery. A lot of them are custom, so I think I'll just end up providing the winner's email address to all the contributers and let them arrange their items separately instead of having me in the middle trying to manage it all. We'll see. This was not expected at all so Suzanne and I have to figure out how the whole thing will work. I am not going to separate everything and do multiple lotteries because I am going to be traveling a lot in the next couple of months, my new site is launching next month and it is the holiday season so I honestly just won't have the time to do more than one.
Thanks again for all of your support!
Liana's Rainborangutans
Liana was inspired by last month's Rainbow Bright Monster longies, but she wanted to do a monkey face instead of the monster. Pink is not her favorite color so we did a bright blue instead. I think they came out super cute! I wish I had better lighting but the shadows are kind of odd right now and I wanted to get them in the mail today.
Also- a few mamas have come forward offering embroidered or hand painted shirts to go with our auction, yay! I am going to talk to Suzanne about it and see how we want to do it. I love how the community is coming out to make this as successful as it can possibly be. You guys kick booty!
Also- a few mamas have come forward offering embroidered or hand painted shirts to go with our auction, yay! I am going to talk to Suzanne about it and see how we want to do it. I love how the community is coming out to make this as successful as it can possibly be. You guys kick booty!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Auction Update
After putting a link to my blog post in the Miracle Diapers thread over at DS, I got a message from Katie at Ewe Need It. To make this auction even cooler, she is donating:
* an 8 ounce woolie spray
* (2) 8 ounce bottles of woolie wash and
* a 2 ounce bottle of liquid lanolin
so the winning bidder has all they need to care for their fluff. This is a $60 value all by itself. Thanks Katie!!! You rock!
Hmmm...a tee shirt might be nice...;)
* an 8 ounce woolie spray
* (2) 8 ounce bottles of woolie wash and
* a 2 ounce bottle of liquid lanolin
so the winning bidder has all they need to care for their fluff. This is a $60 value all by itself. Thanks Katie!!! You rock!
Hmmm...a tee shirt might be nice...;)
Crankypants + Goodmama = Love!
I have been sitting on my hands for a couple of days waiting to post about this, and I just got the green light from Suzanne over at The Good Mama to post about it, so yay!
In mid November, Crankypants will be teaming up with Suzanne from The Good Mama and Molly from Tree City Diapers to bring you the charity auction of the season! We will be auctioning off a dynamic duo of one Goodmama fitted in one of her gorgeous prints (the print will be announced soon, please do not send email inquiries because we aren't sure what will be available yet-we do know there will be one boy and one girl option for the winner to choose from) paired up with a semi custom Crankypants slot. All of the proceeds will go towards purchasing diapers for Miracle Diapers, who we heard are in desperate need of donations right now. It gets better. When Molly from Tree City Diapers heard what we were doing, she generously offered to MATCH the high bid in free diapers and supplies from her store! Yay Molly! So keep your eyes peeled for the specific time and place for the auction, we are still working out the details. Feel free to spread the word, we want this auction t get the most buzz possible so we can send a big fatty box of diapers to Miracle Diapers and make their holiday season!
Kerri- I have started on the legs of your longies, so I hope to have them done this weekend!
In mid November, Crankypants will be teaming up with Suzanne from The Good Mama and Molly from Tree City Diapers to bring you the charity auction of the season! We will be auctioning off a dynamic duo of one Goodmama fitted in one of her gorgeous prints (the print will be announced soon, please do not send email inquiries because we aren't sure what will be available yet-we do know there will be one boy and one girl option for the winner to choose from) paired up with a semi custom Crankypants slot. All of the proceeds will go towards purchasing diapers for Miracle Diapers, who we heard are in desperate need of donations right now. It gets better. When Molly from Tree City Diapers heard what we were doing, she generously offered to MATCH the high bid in free diapers and supplies from her store! Yay Molly! So keep your eyes peeled for the specific time and place for the auction, we are still working out the details. Feel free to spread the word, we want this auction t get the most buzz possible so we can send a big fatty box of diapers to Miracle Diapers and make their holiday season!
Kerri- I have started on the legs of your longies, so I hope to have them done this weekend!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
True Civil Service...
When I went to mail a bunch of packaged this afternoon the postman behind the counter said I looked tired. I said that yes indeed, I was tired. Then he asked me if I was a college student. I nearly jumped over the counter and kissed him right on the mouth. It is nice to hear, but I'm afraid he was either really drunk or on hallucinogens of some kind...
Swimming!
Henry had his very first swimming lesson yesterday. We have never even managed to get him to put his face in the water before so I was a little worried that he would have a terrible time. Apparently, as long as it is someone other than us telling him what to do, he's pretty good about following directions. He was all smiles the whole time, and though it took him almost the whole class, he finally did get his face wet. He even slid down this little slide and into the pool (the teacher caught them at the bottom) which amazed me. I think I have to let go of the idea of Henry as "the timid one".
In Crankypants news, I finished Kerri's dragonfly longies.
Liana's Rainborangutan longies are next up. I am hoping to actually get the reminder of the October longies out by the first, so hold tight mamas. I shall do my best.
In Crankypants news, I finished Kerri's dragonfly longies.
Liana's Rainborangutan longies are next up. I am hoping to actually get the reminder of the October longies out by the first, so hold tight mamas. I shall do my best.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Oh Susannah!
Sorry, I couldn't resist...
Susannah had this awesome idea for a tree of life inspired by our amazing Autumn foliage down here in Asheville. I met her and Gabe at my favorite coffee shop (everyone go to the West End bakery if you are in town. Best. Cinnamon Rolls. Ever. And they are good friends) with my trusty knitters graph and colored pencils and we had some coffee and charted out a pattern for her..errr..Gabe's Autumn longies. After our meeting she emailed to tweak the idea slightly so, Ms. Susannah, I hope I came close to the picture in your head.
Susannah had this awesome idea for a tree of life inspired by our amazing Autumn foliage down here in Asheville. I met her and Gabe at my favorite coffee shop (everyone go to the West End bakery if you are in town. Best. Cinnamon Rolls. Ever. And they are good friends) with my trusty knitters graph and colored pencils and we had some coffee and charted out a pattern for her..errr..Gabe's Autumn longies. After our meeting she emailed to tweak the idea slightly so, Ms. Susannah, I hope I came close to the picture in your head.
Monday, October 22, 2007
LEAF!!!
Wow, what an amazing weekend. Kyle took over 1200 pictures this weekend, so I will be posting them for a while, get ready for it! I don't want to futz with his photography so I am going to wait to post any until he has done the editing and whatnot. There were so many high points, from the Mizero Children's Troupe of Rwanda to Doc Watson-there was so much amazing music and so many wonderful people. And to get to take my parents along for the ride was really awesome. I have one more LEAF experience today when I go work an outreach show with the Jambali African Acrobats of Kenya at The Orange Peel downtown and then it is over for another 6 months.
Now, to get to my inbox...
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Angelika's Bears Longies
Or should I say, Angelika's husband's longies? They will be in the mail in the morning.
Tiny man Gabe's Autumn Tree of Life longies are up next so look for them sometime next week. I won't be able to work (or update) at all this weekend so they will take longer than usual, but I hope to have them done and pictures up by next Wednesday or Thursday. If, in all the hubub of visiting family and Henry having the day off of school tomorrow I don't get a chance to update before the festival, I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Tiny man Gabe's Autumn Tree of Life longies are up next so look for them sometime next week. I won't be able to work (or update) at all this weekend so they will take longer than usual, but I hope to have them done and pictures up by next Wednesday or Thursday. If, in all the hubub of visiting family and Henry having the day off of school tomorrow I don't get a chance to update before the festival, I hope everyone has a great weekend!
**This Just In**
I'm old.
Last night the girls assembled to usher in our friend Amy's birthday. We went to the super shmancy Grove Park Inn where I can really only afford to have one drink, but somehow we ended up in the piano bar downstairs, where people with more money than me are willing to buy rounds of shots for the birthday table. Bad news for me. Washington apple and chocolate cake shots abounded and I am just too old for that business these days. Just how much did we drink? Let's just say that the evening culminated with Amy sitting on top of the piano while all of us kneeled around her singing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin". No, really. Needless to say, I am not in top form this morning. Thank [insert minor diety here] for the lovely gentleman who invented coffee. Coffee is my friend.
I haven't talked about it much (I feel like I've been too busy to talk about anything much) but the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) is this weekend. I am actually staff this festival so it should be interesting. I am still a little baffled that I am getting paid to do something I love so much and have been doing for free for 3 years, but happy! If any of my local mamas are coming out for it, I am managing the LEAF in Schools and Streets raffle/donations tent on Saturday afternoon, so stop by and buy some tickets! LEAF in Schools in Streets is an amazing program that brings the arts into local schools, does international outreach and has collected thousands of dollars worth of instruments for schools in NOLA who lost all of their musical gear in Katrina. It is such a wonderful program and I feel blessed to be involved with it. This is always a special weekend for our family and I am looking forward to it even more this time around because my parents are flying down to take part in it with us! Henry and I are going to pick them up at the airport tomorrow and then the festivities begin. Let's hope by old bones have recovered from last night by then... Actually, they have to recover faster than that, because I have to drive up to the LEAF grounds today and do some last minute work before the festival opens tomorrow. The energy is so amazing up there that I'm sure they'll bring me back to life in no time.
Yesterday I sent Henry into the bathroom to wash his hands before dinner and he was just a leeeeettle too quiet for my liking. I went in to check on him and found this:
He had found my old under eye concealer stick (I can't remember the last time I used that thing...college?) and smeared it all over his eyebrows of all things. The kicker is that Kyle is color blind and couldn't see that ti was green. He thought it was just skin colored. So he kind of lamely wiped it off thinking it was no big deal, but Henry's eyebrows still looked like that. Thankfully, I caught it before he went to school this morning.
Angelika's Bears longies are done, I just need to snap a picture when the sun comes up. I'll post it later today.
Last night the girls assembled to usher in our friend Amy's birthday. We went to the super shmancy Grove Park Inn where I can really only afford to have one drink, but somehow we ended up in the piano bar downstairs, where people with more money than me are willing to buy rounds of shots for the birthday table. Bad news for me. Washington apple and chocolate cake shots abounded and I am just too old for that business these days. Just how much did we drink? Let's just say that the evening culminated with Amy sitting on top of the piano while all of us kneeled around her singing "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin". No, really. Needless to say, I am not in top form this morning. Thank [insert minor diety here] for the lovely gentleman who invented coffee. Coffee is my friend.
I haven't talked about it much (I feel like I've been too busy to talk about anything much) but the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) is this weekend. I am actually staff this festival so it should be interesting. I am still a little baffled that I am getting paid to do something I love so much and have been doing for free for 3 years, but happy! If any of my local mamas are coming out for it, I am managing the LEAF in Schools and Streets raffle/donations tent on Saturday afternoon, so stop by and buy some tickets! LEAF in Schools in Streets is an amazing program that brings the arts into local schools, does international outreach and has collected thousands of dollars worth of instruments for schools in NOLA who lost all of their musical gear in Katrina. It is such a wonderful program and I feel blessed to be involved with it. This is always a special weekend for our family and I am looking forward to it even more this time around because my parents are flying down to take part in it with us! Henry and I are going to pick them up at the airport tomorrow and then the festivities begin. Let's hope by old bones have recovered from last night by then... Actually, they have to recover faster than that, because I have to drive up to the LEAF grounds today and do some last minute work before the festival opens tomorrow. The energy is so amazing up there that I'm sure they'll bring me back to life in no time.
Yesterday I sent Henry into the bathroom to wash his hands before dinner and he was just a leeeeettle too quiet for my liking. I went in to check on him and found this:
He had found my old under eye concealer stick (I can't remember the last time I used that thing...college?) and smeared it all over his eyebrows of all things. The kicker is that Kyle is color blind and couldn't see that ti was green. He thought it was just skin colored. So he kind of lamely wiped it off thinking it was no big deal, but Henry's eyebrows still looked like that. Thankfully, I caught it before he went to school this morning.
Angelika's Bears longies are done, I just need to snap a picture when the sun comes up. I'll post it later today.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Lots O Stuff..
Wow, it's nice to sit down to post and actually have things to say! Lots of them are business-y, so all of you Crankyheads listen up!!!
First. I know I have had some pleas to keep the Midnight Madness Crankypants ordering system in place. BUT... I just don't think it is going to work anymore. There are too many people and too much drama for me to handle that way. As you guys all know, I'm in the midst of a giant website overhaul, so as I was writing the custom ordering information for the new site I really had to think about what would be nice and easy to understand and carry out and what would be the most fair. I have decided on this:
The auctions will be the same-2 before and 2 after the mad rush. The mad rush will change so it isn't so mad anymore. I will open up for custom requests on the first of every month from 10am to noon. I will have a random generator pick the list for me. I will only take one email per person and I will no longer be accepting emails from friends on your behalf. One person, one chance. I'll post the list and notify people asap after noon. That's it, easy peasy. Because I do love the mad midnight dash and all of the excitement and community that surrounds it, I'll be doing other stuff to keep that feeling alive, like give aways and whatnot. I'll still be fun. Pinky swear.
Second. I just listed a handful of monster bags on my Etsy shop so go check them out. Henry was kind enough to model a couple yesterday and I have to show off the pictures...
That green one has already been snatched up (the red one is up now-link's on the left sidebar), but I'm going to be open to requests for bags soon, too, so if you need that one, let me know.
My friend Lisa also agreed to a tiny modeling session in her driveway last night for another bag that is up in the shop now...
On to the custom pictures...
Claire's Orange Monster Booty:
Meagan's Olive Monster Booty:
Shana's Black Monster Booty:
All 3 together, a happy monster booty family:
Also, wait listers, take heart! Some of these are going to Mahar Dry Goods and some of them are coming to you! I will be contacting people this week.
Angelika's (husband's, lol) Bear's longies are next on my list. Hopefully he'll have them by the time they play the Lions (which is our team coming from MI and all, sorry Angelika's husband!).
I think that's all. I hope everyone is well!
First. I know I have had some pleas to keep the Midnight Madness Crankypants ordering system in place. BUT... I just don't think it is going to work anymore. There are too many people and too much drama for me to handle that way. As you guys all know, I'm in the midst of a giant website overhaul, so as I was writing the custom ordering information for the new site I really had to think about what would be nice and easy to understand and carry out and what would be the most fair. I have decided on this:
The auctions will be the same-2 before and 2 after the mad rush. The mad rush will change so it isn't so mad anymore. I will open up for custom requests on the first of every month from 10am to noon. I will have a random generator pick the list for me. I will only take one email per person and I will no longer be accepting emails from friends on your behalf. One person, one chance. I'll post the list and notify people asap after noon. That's it, easy peasy. Because I do love the mad midnight dash and all of the excitement and community that surrounds it, I'll be doing other stuff to keep that feeling alive, like give aways and whatnot. I'll still be fun. Pinky swear.
Second. I just listed a handful of monster bags on my Etsy shop so go check them out. Henry was kind enough to model a couple yesterday and I have to show off the pictures...
That green one has already been snatched up (the red one is up now-link's on the left sidebar), but I'm going to be open to requests for bags soon, too, so if you need that one, let me know.
My friend Lisa also agreed to a tiny modeling session in her driveway last night for another bag that is up in the shop now...
On to the custom pictures...
Claire's Orange Monster Booty:
Meagan's Olive Monster Booty:
Shana's Black Monster Booty:
All 3 together, a happy monster booty family:
Also, wait listers, take heart! Some of these are going to Mahar Dry Goods and some of them are coming to you! I will be contacting people this week.
Angelika's (husband's, lol) Bear's longies are next on my list. Hopefully he'll have them by the time they play the Lions (which is our team coming from MI and all, sorry Angelika's husband!).
I think that's all. I hope everyone is well!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Asheville, Sweet Asheville
Ohhhhhh I am so glad to be home! Yesterday was a long day. L-O-N-G, long.
The booth (note the "very handmade looking" Crankypants banner):
My welcome sign:
Monster Bag Display:
Tee Shirt Display:
Soap Display:
Okay, this is kind of weird. At one point a giant bunny chased a man with a large mustache through the middle of the whole thing. It was some sort of high school Jackass thing, I think, but it was entertaining.
The good:
I got to meet a couple of awesome customers who came by to say hi and check out my booth. It was definitely the high point of my day (at 9am, yikes!). It was so cool to put faces to names and see little Ms. Piper rockin' her crazy legged Princess Monster longies. I got to meet some really cool vendors (the organizers of the show were super sweet and cool) and made some crafty new Asheville buddies who are gung ho to do a holiday show in town. I got to hang out with Melissa all day, which was lovely.
The bad:
We got lost on the way there. I locked my change in the car causing absolute panic until I remembered (after I had already hauled booty back to the car) that the keys were in my hoodie pocket. Back at the booth. We got lost trying to find dinner and ended up at the most annoying sports bar ever. We got lost on the way home. Are you seeing a theme here? Next time we directionally impaired ladies drive somewhere together we are getting a good map and highlighting the route. We'll still probably get lost.
The ugly:
I barely made enough money at the fair to cover costs. The show was set up way off the beaten path and there didn't seem to be any signage or much visible advertising at all. The poor mamas at the booth next to us didn't make a sale until after 3pm. I had a bit of flow for a while, but it just wasn't really my crowd. They weren't a monster-y bunch.
It's okay, though It was a good experience and I have a bunch of monster bags to put up in the Etsy shop now, woohoo! Look for them tomorrow. I am going to take today to put my house back together and spend some quality time with my little man.
Later gators.
The booth (note the "very handmade looking" Crankypants banner):
My welcome sign:
Monster Bag Display:
Tee Shirt Display:
Soap Display:
Okay, this is kind of weird. At one point a giant bunny chased a man with a large mustache through the middle of the whole thing. It was some sort of high school Jackass thing, I think, but it was entertaining.
The good:
I got to meet a couple of awesome customers who came by to say hi and check out my booth. It was definitely the high point of my day (at 9am, yikes!). It was so cool to put faces to names and see little Ms. Piper rockin' her crazy legged Princess Monster longies. I got to meet some really cool vendors (the organizers of the show were super sweet and cool) and made some crafty new Asheville buddies who are gung ho to do a holiday show in town. I got to hang out with Melissa all day, which was lovely.
The bad:
We got lost on the way there. I locked my change in the car causing absolute panic until I remembered (after I had already hauled booty back to the car) that the keys were in my hoodie pocket. Back at the booth. We got lost trying to find dinner and ended up at the most annoying sports bar ever. We got lost on the way home. Are you seeing a theme here? Next time we directionally impaired ladies drive somewhere together we are getting a good map and highlighting the route. We'll still probably get lost.
The ugly:
I barely made enough money at the fair to cover costs. The show was set up way off the beaten path and there didn't seem to be any signage or much visible advertising at all. The poor mamas at the booth next to us didn't make a sale until after 3pm. I had a bit of flow for a while, but it just wasn't really my crowd. They weren't a monster-y bunch.
It's okay, though It was a good experience and I have a bunch of monster bags to put up in the Etsy shop now, woohoo! Look for them tomorrow. I am going to take today to put my house back together and spend some quality time with my little man.
Later gators.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Charlotte, Ho!
It's just a smidge before 5AM and I am almost ready to get in the car and skidaddle. I am picking up Ms. Melissa at 5:15 and then we're off! I had to raid Henry's room for last minute display ideas so it should be...interesting. Wish me luck!!!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
I really don't feel like whining about the craziness that has been my week so I am just going to make a short list of things I am digging right now (since certain people *ahem* have reminded me that I haven't posted since Monday):
1. Pushing Daisies. I was loving the whole Tim Burton with a sugar high feel of the show and the Pie Man is adorable, but the P.I. who knit himself special little hand gun and money wad cozies? Sealed the deal. It is giving the dry humor and hot-and-misunderstood cop show Life a run for its money as Amy's favorite new show. An honorable mention to the Peter Krause love fest that is Dirty Sexy Money. Bad name, good show- and it is nice to see Donald Sutherland doing something worthy of him. Yes. I love TV. I know it is the devil (which brings me to the fact that I am so happy that Ray Wise-AKA: Leland Palmer from Twin Peaks- has been perfectly cast as the devil in Kyle's favorite new show Reaper) and all, but it is really nice to have when I am knitting for 17 million hours in a row and I am completely sick of my ITunes. I listen to a ton of NPR too, pinky swear.
2. The album Writers Block by Peter Bjorn and John. So. Good. Pretty much every track kicks major booty. Go listen to it. Also on the playlist? Old Kinks. "I Took My Baby Home" is on heavy rotation over here.
3. That is it my brother and Kirstin's 6th anniversary today! Happy day, guys! I hope that Sam gives you a chance to do something special to celebrate.
4. That Henry wrote his name on the library card application so we are bringing it down to the library today to get him his very own library card!!! Mo Willams fans, you'd better get your fill because Henry is going to be checking those bad boys out willy nilly pretty soon.
OH! Speaking of kids' books, did I ever write about meeting Jon Scieszka a few weeks ago? If you don't know the name, he is the mastermind behind such greats as The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. He came into town to read his new book Octopus and Cowboy and do a signing. I got Stinky Cheese Man signed for Henry and Science Verse (an awesome book of science poetry) signed to the 3rd grade class I left when I quit my job as a parting gift. Jon was great! He was funny and smart and really engaging. If he comes to your local bookstore, run don't walk.
Wish me luck in Charlotte tomorrow! We are leaving here at around 5am, so please excuse the huge dark circles under my eyes and disheveled hair. I can't wait to meet some of you there. I will leave you with a parting picture of my genius child developing a new kids' product for the site. We call it: Undies Hat. It is going to be all the rage very soon. Trust me. I hear that Suri Cruise has a whole closet full...
1. Pushing Daisies. I was loving the whole Tim Burton with a sugar high feel of the show and the Pie Man is adorable, but the P.I. who knit himself special little hand gun and money wad cozies? Sealed the deal. It is giving the dry humor and hot-and-misunderstood cop show Life a run for its money as Amy's favorite new show. An honorable mention to the Peter Krause love fest that is Dirty Sexy Money. Bad name, good show- and it is nice to see Donald Sutherland doing something worthy of him. Yes. I love TV. I know it is the devil (which brings me to the fact that I am so happy that Ray Wise-AKA: Leland Palmer from Twin Peaks- has been perfectly cast as the devil in Kyle's favorite new show Reaper) and all, but it is really nice to have when I am knitting for 17 million hours in a row and I am completely sick of my ITunes. I listen to a ton of NPR too, pinky swear.
2. The album Writers Block by Peter Bjorn and John. So. Good. Pretty much every track kicks major booty. Go listen to it. Also on the playlist? Old Kinks. "I Took My Baby Home" is on heavy rotation over here.
3. That is it my brother and Kirstin's 6th anniversary today! Happy day, guys! I hope that Sam gives you a chance to do something special to celebrate.
4. That Henry wrote his name on the library card application so we are bringing it down to the library today to get him his very own library card!!! Mo Willams fans, you'd better get your fill because Henry is going to be checking those bad boys out willy nilly pretty soon.
OH! Speaking of kids' books, did I ever write about meeting Jon Scieszka a few weeks ago? If you don't know the name, he is the mastermind behind such greats as The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. He came into town to read his new book Octopus and Cowboy and do a signing. I got Stinky Cheese Man signed for Henry and Science Verse (an awesome book of science poetry) signed to the 3rd grade class I left when I quit my job as a parting gift. Jon was great! He was funny and smart and really engaging. If he comes to your local bookstore, run don't walk.
Wish me luck in Charlotte tomorrow! We are leaving here at around 5am, so please excuse the huge dark circles under my eyes and disheveled hair. I can't wait to meet some of you there. I will leave you with a parting picture of my genius child developing a new kids' product for the site. We call it: Undies Hat. It is going to be all the rage very soon. Trust me. I hear that Suri Cruise has a whole closet full...
Monday, October 08, 2007
Rock Climbing and Monster Bags
Yesterday morning Kyle took Henry out for a little adventure. They climbed to the top of Mt. Pisgah and even did a little real mountain climbing. It gives me the warm fuzzies when they do father and son stuff together, it is just so nice. And I know Henry loves every minute of it. I mean, I know mountain climbing will never compare to sitting with me while explain knitting to him, but it is a nice try...
I whipped up a few larger monster bags for Charlotte. I am kind of actually hoping they don't all sell because I want one!
I whipped up a few larger monster bags for Charlotte. I am kind of actually hoping they don't all sell because I want one!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Pumpkins!
It's a bit hard to believe, but it is that time of year again. Pumpkin time. Henry's friend McKai and his mama Melissa came over this morning to go pick out or first round of pumpkins (when it gets closer to Halloween we'll go get the real ones we'll spend a lot of time carving). We piled the boys into the wagon and walked down to the annual pumpkin sale at the church on the corner. Notice how McKai is smiling nicely and looking at Henry like "What the heck is wrong with you?" while Henry screams like a banshee...
Henry took this one of McKai:
We got some sad news yesterday. My good friend Jess from Quilt Baby had a death in the family and won't be able to make it to the Crafting Patch in Charlotte after all. She will be out in Seattle spending time with her family. (We'll be thinking of you, Jess!) We were splitting a booth, so now I will be stocking the whole space myself. I am going to be scrambling a bit in this upcoming week, so if I don't return an email right away or seem not to be around much, that's why. For all of you in the Charlotte area, I will NOT be bringing any longies to the show. I am really trying to focus on putting all my extra longies time into getting through the waiting list and they aren't really a "craft fair" type of item anyway so I am focusing on other stuff. I'd loooooooooove to meet some of you though, so swing by if you are in the area! I'm planning on leaving Asheville around 5am (all bow down to Melissa who has agreed to come with me to help (wo)man the booth) so I might not be particularly well groomed or perky, but I'll be there!
Henry took this one of McKai:
We got some sad news yesterday. My good friend Jess from Quilt Baby had a death in the family and won't be able to make it to the Crafting Patch in Charlotte after all. She will be out in Seattle spending time with her family. (We'll be thinking of you, Jess!) We were splitting a booth, so now I will be stocking the whole space myself. I am going to be scrambling a bit in this upcoming week, so if I don't return an email right away or seem not to be around much, that's why. For all of you in the Charlotte area, I will NOT be bringing any longies to the show. I am really trying to focus on putting all my extra longies time into getting through the waiting list and they aren't really a "craft fair" type of item anyway so I am focusing on other stuff. I'd loooooooooove to meet some of you though, so swing by if you are in the area! I'm planning on leaving Asheville around 5am (all bow down to Melissa who has agreed to come with me to help (wo)man the booth) so I might not be particularly well groomed or perky, but I'll be there!
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