running.....

Since Kaela made the soccer team, I've been doing a lot of running and driving between practices and games.   
In between doing all that and work and everything else I've managed to consume mass quantities of this stuff....in a variety of ways...it keeps me going.

We decorated our school's Crochet club tree....the kids were super jazzed with how it turned out.

I've been hitting the web HARD looking for THIS...can never find it.  Ever and I've been looking at least 3 years.

but I did find a couple of these for 2 bucks at Tuesday Morning.  I took one to work and left one at home in my craft room...

Someone brought a puppy to visit....OH MY GOSH was this guy cute.
They can't keep him and I was tempted .  I love big dogs and this guy is part lab and part Great Pyrenees and will be HUGE.  I wanted him soooooo bad....I mean, look at that face!
He was so cute, grunting the entire time.........

Sooo tempting but not to be.  Not once Kaela reminded me how big this guy's Po0p will be!  hahaha!

Ren Faire....

Thanksgiving was a whirlwind!  Dean's sister and her family was here and we really enjoyed being with them.  We did lots of catching up, lots of eating and a fair bit of shopping....

Matthew came home for a few days.....miss him so much

Dean and I got a photo of US!  ha!

While everyone was here, we went to the Ren Faire...it is SUCH fun and the boys had never been to one.  
The weekend's theme was Dr. Who and Time Travelers and the costumes were amazing!  Lots of Tardis outfits and booths!  Lots of Steam Punk costumes too.

This guy was Jaques Ze Whipper and he was hands down our favorite.  He was not only very good at his craft but he was engaging and funny....and interestingly humble.   Wonderful show.
We actually went and watched it twice before leaving for home that night.

He draws his mustache on with a marker and uses a cheesy accent and the crowd goes crazy.  He will tell you when to take photos....like in this shot!

But he was talented...and proceeded to whittle a straw of spaghetti down to about an inch while his whip was on fire...and not hurt himself.  

and by the time he was done....

The Ren Faire is here for a full month so if you are ever in the area, you should really plan on attending...

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

I am thankful for humor....I love to laugh....and THIS really got me laughing.

Seriously, what were they THINKING?

Toadstool ornaments...

I am hosting another handmade ornament swap.  This year's theme has to do with Woods/woodlands...so I thought toadstools would be perfect.

I love toadstools...and toadstool ornaments are so cute!  And fun to make.  They make me happy.

I made a zillion polyclay toadstools...some VERY tiny.

And I put them into some wreaths...

 I also made some bigger ones and put them into nests...

then I made some felt ones, just because....

Now I just have to decide which ones to use!  Or should I make some more???   Hmmmmm

How the system REALLY works....

crocheting cards...

I co-sponsor the crochet club at our local school.    Each year we teach the kids crochet basics before starting on projects.  Right now we are working on Christmas ornaments for a tree in our town square.   Each year, 50 trees are decorated by local establishments and it is first come, first serve.  I applied the first day they announced it was open and we got a tree!

Anyway, our students are all new to crochet so we had to keep things really simple.  We are making things with chain and single crochet.

One of the things we did was to do a simple crocheted edge on Christmas cards.  These are some I did with the back of the card because that part was going to be trashed.

So simple that even a brand new crocheter can do them.   Just single crochet and chain stitches.
 I'm using these as gift tags on the French Market Soup mix I give out each year.  

I'm going to do a post later showing the tree that our club decorated.  It should be pretty!

Thankful Thursday:Energy

Weird topic, right?  Energy?

I was one of THOSE KIDS that teachers hated because I never sat still.  Heck, I still don't sit still! The difference is that I am not running around the classroom with scissors making farting sounds with my arm or hand.  Yes, I was THAT kid.  And a GIRL, no less.  The shame of it all. 
I think back now and just crack myself up.  I mean it.  I bet my teachers hated me because not only did I run around the classroom, but I never shut up.  EVER.  (that part I did learn to rein in...amazing how quickly you shut up when someone calls you freckle face strawberry or chicken legs!) hahaha....oh my gosh.

Fast forward to last year when my energy came to a screeching halt.   I think it is because I'd been so sad for so long.  I just kind of got lost in all the sadness of losing loved ones...throw in losing beloved pets and a kid going to college....it was a lot and I guess I just shut down.

But then a couple weeks ago, I felt like DOING SOMETHING for the first time in a long time. As in, I ran around the house like a dervish and got tons of stuff done.  When I sat down I remembered thinking "There you are!"  I was back.  

Which got me thinking about how THANKFUL I am to have my energy level back.  
Then, that got me thinking about people with fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia.  They have awful problems with energy and that leads to depression.  So that got me thinking about depression.

It is such a vicious cycle...just awful and horrible stuff.  

I have always taken energy for granted but it is such a gift to have it, to be truly full of productive energy.  I don't want to ever feel like I felt again....ever.

I am so Thankful for energy.  I much prefer feeling like the energizer bunny than not......