Breakfast of Champions...

Greetings, my lovelies, on this nearly bright Tuesday morning!  This is what I had for breakfast.  It was meant to be my dessert last night, but I had a migraine, in its place.  Go me!  I think it may have been worth the wait, though...because I think I may not have snapped a picture of it last night.  And I would be sadly unable to blog about it.  And what would my life be then? And yours?  Lacking, for certain.

Anyway, while this may seem highly inappropriate for breakfast, this is from the woman who would gladly eat pie or ice cream in place of more common breakfast goods.  Such as cereal or *gasp* toast!  But, before you cry "but it's whipped cream" at me, know that it actually isn't.  It's home-made greek honey yogurt.  I'd like to claim I made the yogurt -- which is on my to-do list -- but I bought it at Whole Pay Check (tm).  I did however mix in Honey, a teeny tiny bit of agave and some vanilla extract.  It's a much cheaper way of getting the yogurt we love without having to spend as much or visit multiple grocery stores.

As far as the fruit goes.  *giggles maniacally*  This is soooo good!  I cored and sliced strawberries.  Macerated them with sugar, a splash of orange juice, some vanilla extract and some orange zest!  They are ridiculous, and should be illegal.  In fact, I'm sure they are in like three counties.  But I don't care.  Because they're delicious.  Very.

At any rate, I am loving all the comments my giveaway post is receiving.  This makes me a happy person.  Which is what you want.  Well, it's what I want in any case.  There's just a couple more days left to sign up, so go...leave a comment.  I promise I won't bite.  Mostly.  On a good day.  Haha!

Happy Tuesday!
~j.b.

Worse for Wear...

This whole house-buying...thing...can be, at times, irritating and exhausting.  I recently received an email from the Under Writer wanting "satisfactory" explanations of things I didn't think anybody knew let alone needed explained.  Everything from why my Husband has two last names -- we both hyphenated when we got married -- to an explanation as to why Jon lived at my parents' house at one point.  Which, by the way, he never did, so I don't know why they think he did.

My initial reaction to these "requests", which read more like demands, was shock.  Then fear!  It felt like a trap.  As though if I answered any of these incorrectly, the possibility of the house would be yanked out from under us.  So, lots and lots of pressure was being heaped onto my shoulders.  But, I was putting it there.  Which is quite common for me to do when I'm already stressed.

Then, after speaking with our Loan Officer, and hearing her explain that it seemed a lot worse than it actually was, and even she was confused as to why they needed some of the info they are asking for, I feel much lighter and not quite so stressed out.  Basically, they just need us to prove we are who we say we are, and let them know we don't have any unaccounted-for debt they don't know about.  Basic stuff, honestly.  I've just never bought a house, and I was young enough when my parents bought their current house that I wasn't privy to everything they had to sign and seal.  Thank god!  If it freaks me out this much now, I can't imagine what it'd have done at 17 years old!  Good grief! 

Wow, I feel so much better getting all these feelings out in the world.  It's much nicer than leaving them cooped up in my head.  They're much less powerful, now.  Which is good.  I really think the feelings we hold onto, and the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, can be very powerful in terms of manifesting things, situations, and events in our lives.  We so completely want this house.  It will be such a good move for us, and fulfill a good number of dreams we've had.  And I don't want to do anything that could jeopardize our ability to obtain this house.  This is why I write.  To lighten my mood, and release stress.  So I don't carry it with me day after day.  It can get very heavy, very quickly.

Alright.  Thank you for listening.  I am so (!) happy to see everyone popping over to say hello.  It means the world to me.  Thank you all.

Happy Stress-Free Thursday Night,
~j.b.

Nonsense and a Giveaway!

Edit: this give-away is now closed.  I will be posting the winner in the next couple of days!  Thanks for your patience!

 Edit:  I have just made it easier to comment, and opened the comments up for all.  I am sorry to anyone my previous settings may have disqualified from the giveaway.  Don't give up, yet.  Just come on back!  :D

The day has finally arrived!  It is time for the giveaway!  And there are even options for this one.  I want to first say Hi Hi to all arriving from Scissors and Steam, and say Thank you for stopping by.  I know you're just doing to get free stuff, and I'm totally and completely okay with this.  I'd do it too.  Haha!  No, seriously, I would.  I have.  You're in good company.

So, this is mostly a Thank You (!) to all my followers and readers for putting up with the lax postings over the past few months.  And for reading when I'm sure I had nothing interesting to say other than moaning about my health.

Firstly, the rules -- I know, the boring part.  There are two steps to entering this give-away, and they should both be completed.  #1) Become a follower -- I promise I will not jump off a bridge...mostly.  #2) Comment on this post and let me know that you are a follower -- you know, confession time -- and say something funny.  No pressure, just say something, anything...I really don't care.  Just want to hear from you.

If you already follow this blog, just comment and let me know.  

You will have until the 7th of April -- I was going to do this on the 1st, but thought that might be kind of mean -- to enter in the drawing.  I will make the announcement of the winner on Monday (the 9th).  I will pick the winner as randomly as I am able to.  I know there's a tiny little app you can get that will pick a random number, but there really is no such thing as an algorithm that can truly pick a random number.  Plus, I don't know where to get it.  So...rambling over.

Let's get onto the important part. 

The first and best part -- in my opinion which isn't biased at all -- in this giveaway is the Stitch Markers from last week's Tutorial.  You will receive:

 

This set will actually include two more of the small orange and blue markers.  I just don't have pictures of them all.  So, all totaled, you will receive one large marker, plus four small markers.  A pretty good deal, if you ask me!  :D

Next, you will get to choose from one of two different colorways.  Here's the first:

There will be enough yarn here to complete a pair of Fingerless Mitts from PurlBee's blog.  The pattern for which I will print off and include in a page protector.  There will also be quite a bit left-over from each yarn for another small project.  Here is the second choice:

Each choice will contain two skeins of Cashmere Blend yarn from KnitPicks, and one skein of 100% Alpaca.  Also from Knitpicks.  Please understand, no substitutions are possible.  Sorry.  

I am also going to include the two sets of needles needed to complete this project -- although I do suggest you make a swatch to determine your unique gauge.  And if the needles I send don't work, then...you have two sets of dpns you didn't have to pay for!  Woot!  

Alright, I think that's it.  On Monday-ish the 9th of April, I will make the announcement.  Best of luck to all who enter, and May the Odds be Ever in Your Favor!  Why I just quoted Hunger Games is completley beyond me.  Forgive me, please.  I promise no one will die.  Really, I promise.  Stop looking at me like that!  

Happy Thursday,

~j.b.

Rain, rain...every day!

The weather has been lovely here.  And by lovely, I mean rainy and dark and dreary and beautiful.  I absolutely love this weather.  I always have.  It was this type of weather that first started me writing poetry -- along with serious depression -- and I've always had a thing for Lightening storms.  I think they're magical and powerful.  

This weather makes me want to curl up in a blanket -- hand made, of course -- and knit or read...or write.  Just depends on the mood I'm in.  It's also great tea weather.  Which is my beverage of choice.  I just found Teavana, and it's pretty much heaven in a cup.  Or a pot. Which is how I make it.  I drink a lot of tea.

I stopped by today, on this dreariest of dreary days to let you, my readers and followers, know that I am going to be having a give-away in the next couple days.  And it's going to be a wonderful one.  I'll be posting it as soon as Jamie, over at Scissors & Steam finishes her's up.  After you've received her give-away (lucky lucky) head on over here and check out mine.  I'm quite excited about it, and you'll all love it too.  

I'll give you a hint.  *whispers* it's going to contain fiber!!!

Make sure you pass that on.  And I'll see you all soon.  

Happy beautiful rainy Tuesday,

~j.b.

As promised...

So, I have finally taken all the pictures, and now I just have to write out the tutorial for making Stitch Markers.  I will also be selling these in my Etsy Shoppe, and I think I'll have a give-away for a set of Stitch Markers, for those not interested in making their own.  Because I mean, those people do exist.  Heh.

Here's where we start.  Gather your supplies:

The wire cutters and the beads shown above will be different in the following pictures.

You will need:

• Fox-tail beading wire
• Two different types of beads (one focus bead, and two each of a smaller bead)
• Crimp-beads (not shown)
• Wire cutters
• Crimp-pliers (necessary for crimping the crimp-beads)

Step 1:

Grab a small section of the beading wire and hold onto it.  I usually leave the length of it attached to the spool.  This way I waste much much less of it in the long-run.

String a crimp-bead, one of the smaller beads, your focus bead, and another of the smaller beads onto the beading-wire.

Create a loop in the wire, by sliding it back through the tops of each bead.  Just be careful not to pull the loop completely closed, because you will have to scrap it and start over.  It will cause a permanent kink in the wire.

Slide the wire all the way through, and out the end of the crimp-bead.

Now, using the crimp-pliers, press on the crimp-bead, closing it around the beading-wire.  On most crimp-pliers, there are two indentations.  You want to use the one that is smooth on one side, and serrated on the opposite side.  This will put the correct crimp in the bead.

Now the bead is crimped, and the wire will not slide around and/or out of any of the beads.  Your Stitch Marker is secure.

Next, you want to clip the ends of the wire.  I stop about 1/16th of an inch from the crimp-bead.  I don't creep closer, because I don't want to accidentally cause the crimp-bead to fall out.  Experiment, and find what works for you.

And here you go!  All three of the Stitch Markers ready to go.  I like having a set with one "different" bead to use a beginning of round marker.  

Alright, there you go!  Hope you enjoyed the tutorial.  Come back later -- possibly today, maybe tomorrow -- for the giveaway!  For those not interested in making their own.  Or anyone else who wants cute free stuff.  Sign me up!  Oh, wait...I made these.  Guess I can't be part of the give-away, can I?  Dammit.

Alright.  Enjoy your Friday night.  Jon and I are going to see Hunger Games and to dinner.  Hope you have fun plans, too.

Happy Friday

~j.b.

Itsy, bitsy...ack!

Things have been coming along quite nicely with the House Purchasing.  We're in the "signing our lives away" part, and are now the proud owners of way more debt than we know what to do with.  Don't quite have the house part signed up yet.  But, we're getting there.

And it couldn't get here at a better time, really.  It's spider season at our current place.  And by spider season, I mean that there are about to be spiders EVERYWHERE!  And I mean everywhere.  They managed to keep me inside most of last spring.  Because they pounce on you the second you leave the front door.  I tried again and again to out-smart them by leaving at different times, and leaving from different doors.  But they have spies.  They're tricksy little beasts, those spiders.  They know.  And I hate them.  I kill them the second I see one inside.

I used to be of the school of thought that if they were outside, minding their own business, then I had no call to kill them.  Not any more.  I just don't go outside any more, really.  I really really really hate spiders.  I can't wait to get out of this place and onto...two acres of land, probably riddled with spiders.  Damn.  I can't get away from them, can I?  Probably not.

Well then for now, I'm going to holed up in my apartment, armed with a box of tissue and the vacuum cleaner, intent on doing harm to all the spiders who dare enter.

Houston, we have a...house?

Wow, nearly a month and a half.  Have you missed me?  I've missed all of you.  I've missed getting a little bit of writing in when I can.  I'd like to say I've been super busy, but that really hasn't been the case.  Much.

I do have some exciting news, though -- and no, we're not having a baby...yet.  But we are trying to buy our first house.  It's been a roller-coaster of an experience, that I have tried to write about three or four times since we started down this road. I just can't seem to stream-line my thoughts into any sort of sense.  Mostly just ramblings and nonsensical...stuff.

So, the offer will be officially accepted either Monday or Tuesday.  The Earnest Money will be deposited in the Escrow Account the day everything is official.  Then Tuesday evening, Jon and I have an appointment with our Loan Officer to send off (all) our paper work to the lenders.  Then I think it's another waiting game for a while.  Which is honestly the worst part of this whole experience.  

When we first began this adventure, I told Jon that there are three things one does in life that truly feel like "adult" type stuff.

1) Buy a car

2) Have a baby

3) Buy a house

He's done #1, and we are in the middle of attempting #2.  Maybe #3 is next?  Maybe not.  For sure though, we will be getting a dog.  And two cats, that currently live with my parents.

I will try, as we continue walking through this to post updates and pictures.  I cannot promise I will succeed at this, though.  All the stress and psychological trauma of spending so insanely much money is taking up pretty much all of my energy.  Which is fairly limited begin with.  So, you may not see me around these parts for a couple months.  But, I give you all my word...I will try.

I still have a tutorial languishing in my Studio waiting for photos and writing.  I probably won't get to that until we've moved.  Just keep being patient, and you will all be rewarded.  I promise.  I think I will even do a give-away for some of those stitch markers before I stuff them into my shop.  What are your thoughts on that?

Other than that...Thank you all so much for being so patient and understanding about my absence.  I really appreciate it.  

Happy Saturday,

~j.b.