Monthly News

I've been away for a month!? I'd like to thank all the well-wishers, my sons surgery went well and rehabilitation is going smoothly. He's back to school and trying to catch up on all that he missed. He is still not able to play football but he's started to practice baseball again.
Now if I could only get him to keep a shirt on! Someone should have warned me...if you have a scar that looks like this
You never want to wear a shirt so others can enjoy it too! GROSS!

My worst fear...

came true this weekend. The boys left to the desert to do a little dirt bike riding and one boy had to come home early. My worst fear is that one day they'll go off without me and be hurt...it happened.
My oldest son has broken a bone, his first ever. He crashed his dirt bike and landed on his shoulder breaking his collar bone and guess what I didn't die...I wasn't hurt...a little worried...and stressed out but I lived. Maybe now I could stop being so scared of everything! My worst fear came true and I didn't die!

before I picked him up they fashioned a home-made sling out of his riding jersey

(D and Dad...yeah you can't almost tell who's who)

Broken left clavical

I'm not ready

Today is his first day of school...High School and I am not there. I have taken him to EVERY first day of school since we started and it's absolutely killing me that I can not be there today. But as it was so very graciously pointed out to me by my (n)ever understanding spouse...No one takes their kids to the first day of high school! Well I say your wrong! I was taken to my fist day by both my parents! and it wasn't embarrassing in the least! it made it easier for me.
So I sit here at work making myself sick because I'm missing this. Tearing up at the thought that our tradition has been broken...this is major people, I usually don't feel.

I'd lie

Well hello there...it's been a while hasn't it? It seems like forever ago that I was telling you about my broken fridge and how we where living out of ice chests. Boy did that get OLD FAST! We currently have a working fridge now so all is better, I guess. We have forgotten all about the wrong parts ordered and the $200 non-working fridge we bought...we have forgotten about all the arguing and silent treatments over just replacing it with new. We even forgot about the night we spent at my mother's when the tension finally exploded and threatened to swallow us all. Sure you spent the night alone...but we have forgotten that too.
Let's be thankful for short memories...and if you ask me how I'm doing, I'd lie.

New month

We've officially crossed over to the second half of the year! Technically...one is supposed to re-evaluate our resolutions right about now but I don't want to. I was hoping to cruise for the rest of the year...since the beginning part of the year proved to be a little difficult. Until I got home last night from the sisters house...and noticed the fridge wasn't cold?! Crap! Our fridge broke! all the frozens where thawed...what the heck happend!?
So now...we weight the pros and cons($$$). Do we (husband) repair it? Call a repair person ($$$$)? Buy a new one ($$$$$$)? We did remember our son calling and telling us the power kept going on/off??? Did we power surge the fridge? is that possible??? Maybe I can file a claim with SCE???

For now...it's back to the old'n days!

~vintage icebox~

Okay!!! not that old!!!

Collective...sigh!

I came this close! to finally meeting the ladies of the FIBER COLLECTIVE...this close because as I was getting out of the shower, I heard a knock at the front door. It was my baker sister. She wanted to use my kitchen to bake a cake. I couldn't kick her out so she set up shop...sort of speak. Off I twittered my misfortune...hoping I might still be able to catch the tail end of the fiber goodness but it is currently 5:58 pm as I type this and my guest is still here. I will not be making the fiber collective meet once again...sigh!
I am back to the original reason this blog began...crochet. I've been very inspired as of late...I LOVE when that happens! sometimes all it takes is the newest issue of Crochet today! to flow the creative juices...
Just finished the baseball afghan...I say finished because the circle is done...not the baseball stitching but I will...soon.

I also started the afghan for my SIL...she's due in August, so I wanted something light and lacy...Mission Accomplished!

I love the way this is coming out! No pattern...my own creation.

okay...enough for today. I am here...I'm okay...and I will be back to normal in posting and online. Off to enjoy some tres leches cake and watch game 5 of the NBA playoffs

I'll call you Anita from Florida

This is the 3rd installment from the ATWQ (around the world quilt) swap. This one belongs to Anita A. from Florida...and I think she likes it.

I like how I'm learning so much with every one of these blocks I make! I hope to not duplicate anyone of them and learn a new technique for each one. This one was curves! much more difficult then I thought it would be!

Remember at the end of last year when I was making an afghan a week? Well I do (and so do my hands!) I started hanging out with some ladies...and they each started individual projects with particular purposes in mind. We met mostly weekly to work on our sed projects. Well after Christmas we kinda took a break. Most of our work finished, expect for my friend Jan. but as of last weekend she completed her very own afghan with almost no help from me!

I'm so proud!

and a bad blogger! seems not only did I miss my 100th post, I also missed my 1 year blogiversary! I suck! but I will come up with something spectacular to make it up to me. My only hopes is to not forget my 14th wedding anniversary this Sunday!

How Exciting...

In all my weekend excitement...I forgot the big news! My sister is pregnant! and you can bet I'm gearing up for a VERY crafty pregnancy...cause what are aunts for?! Now, I requested a boy but my sister is so unreliable (wink) who knows what she'll do!
Head over there and congratulate her...I'm sure she'll appreciate it.

Hitting, pitching and running...

How do kids have to ability to take you from absolutely "had it" to so immensely proud!? I think I've mentioned on here my struggles with "D" and his lack of interest and focus. Well unbeknown to us...he had a qualifying competition at his school for the MLB Pitch, Hit and Run. That he won! He then got to compete in the Sectionals which was held at our local Jethawks Stadium, holiday weekend and all.

He did the running...got a score.

(no picture of this...because let's face it...he's not very fast! Just picture the roadrunner...you know, how his legs move REALLY fast but the top goes nowhere? like that)

He did the pitching...got a score.

He did the hitting...got a score.

and then they tallied all the scores for a grand total of...

HE WON! for his age division!

So Proud!

11

What a fun day Tuesday turned out to be. My little boy turned 11...and as depressed as that made me we decided he needed to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain!
We all played hooky and headed to the park after a million pit stops...I know you can't tell from the picture but yes I was there too...

Every time I've been to six flags, we enter the park and go right...ALWAYS! So first stop Picture opt. at toon town but just quickly because it's for babies... ugh! 11 year olds!
then it was off to batman...he liked that he didn't even need to check if he was tall enough to ride!

(with the Riddler)

At the gates ready to ride! He wanted the front row seats!
or the back row...

even got a taste of 16...

Happy Birthday Kid! I know you had a blast!

To all you Mothers

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I hope you ladies had an excellent day?! I'm off to BBQ with my mom I hope she likes her gift...

Picnic anyone...my mom always has a small blankie in the car with her in case she needs to nap in the morning or when my dad cranks the A/C and she gets chilly.

Mad rush...

and the pain of it all! The entrelac blanket I was working on last week was for my cousins baby shower on Saturday at 3 pm. I started it Monday night and I don't know about you but for me entrelac is VERY slow...kinda like knitting. I thought I'd be cutting it close but I would get it done...no problem. Well, I was setting myself up to fail. On Wednesday I bought the cowboy quilt supplies...you know just in case, I would still have a present to give. I did finish that Friday, all the while still working on the crochet.

See...first in line at the 5:40pm showing of X-MEN Origins- Wolverine! (awesome) We got there at 4:00pm. Raced to the best seats in the house...

See my frantic hook skills!

At about 5:00...had to sit! and still the blanket was just not growing!!! but I figured, I'll just crochet at the kids baseball games on Saturday. (good plan) We got to the park at 7 am and I crocheted like a mad woman! Now I had no plans on going to the shower...(long anti-social story) I was just going to send it with my sister or my mother but after not much talking into I caved and made plans to go...that meant a shower and actual grooming of the face and hair. That was going to cut into my crochet time! and the blanket still wasn't done! First game ended around 10:45 and I didn't have to be back until noon for the next game. So I showered and spiffied up and was ready to crochet some more hoping to finish before my mother picked me up at 3:30...FAIL.

Okay, so now I'm stressing out! The blanket is STILL not done...it's close but not quite there. The upside (as if!) the shower is an hour away! but as we where exiting the freeway and I still wasn't done!!! I'm this close to giving up! My mother suggests she stop at payless for a pair of sandals for my niece. Well that was just the right amount of time I needed...The blanket was done. Not completely...but done enough!

See the points...they shouldn't be there. I needed to make half triangles but something had to go!

and when it was done and packed in the gift box...I realized that my left hand was throbbing! It hurts so bad...I'm going to have to put it in one of those hand braces.

But it was worth it!

My man of steel...

Didn't know what to title this post...I considered "like a bat..." as in as blind as one, but it's not really true. He's just slightly near-sighted but he did pick these awesome specs his self.

Very reminiscent of good ol' Clark Kent himself...

Saturday

Saturday Mornings are spent at the park...chore, I know. All though the day "looked" gorgeous...it was FREEZING out! and windy.

See the catcher...last name MORGAN.

He's mine...and he's 10

After the game...(that they lost) I headed out to a much needed girl date. With Sisters in tow and the niece. We lunched/dinnered on some...Soup, Salad, Breadsticks!

(care of the Olive Garden)

Lunch was just what I needed after the week of hell I'd had. Kids! that's all I'm saying.
I'm hoping Sunday brings more of the same.

Happy Easter!

Hope you have a nice one! I'm cooking this year! I've never made Easter dinner and I thought it would be a good idea to start...I think it'll be ok.

Reflection.

When I look at my son, it's like looking in the mirror. He looks nothing like me...all dad. But sometimes I feel as though he's my reflection. He struggles...with school, with his emotional well-being and self-esteem. I see myself in him everyday and it makes me sad. I know how hard his life will be...but how do I help him? How can I prevent all the hardship he is sure to endure...I know it. I live it. Will I be able to explain it to him...prevent it somehow? My dad struggled so much with me...did he see himself in me? He's never said. His tactics didn't work with me...he is old-school, Mexican through and through. I will not resort to that. But I want my son to make it, to be someone and I don't want it to come to late. As it has with me.

I just needed to talk to someone...and it's easier to open up here.

...like a bee.

I had a very productive weekend. First The western quilt top...I like the looks of it so far. But I didn't work on it as much as I wanted to, I got this far on Sunday afternoon...the rest of the weekend was spent making bags!


This bag I made for my sister...she bought the fabric and I had the pattern. I think I'm getting better...just don't look too closely! You'll see that my straight lines, wave a little at times.

The lining is a DARK purple with black polka dots so it was very hard to photograph.

I modified the pattern and put outside pockets on the sides...like she requested. I also split the handle in 2 instead of the sling handle the pattern originally calls for.

The next bag I made for the other sister, it's a diaper bag and it's SO CUTE! I love it and I can see me making a LOT more of these for future babies to come...unfortunately none will be my own (that ship has sailed). I used the same Amy butler pattern with similar modifications as above...except I put the outside pockets in the front of the bag.

I love the little iron on frogs!

I hope the mama-to-be love the bag and uses it often!

This morning as I was getting ready for work...I was thinking about how crafty I am (as I looked at all available surfaces that are/were covered in supplies...yarn, hooks, pins, scissors, scrap fabric...) but it dawned on me that my whole family is crafty. You've seen my crafts...but my other sister is an interior designer that's pretty crafty. The other sister is a cake decorator and she does an awesome job. Our dad dabbles in working with wood...I wish I had pictures of the work he's done but I do not. Take my word for it...he does a good job too.

So I come from a family of crafters and I think it really neat!