Finally Finished Crafts and Puppy Dates

For starters, Mo is 10 weeks old already!! It's hard to believe how much she has grown in the month that we've had her. She really is a sweet little thing, and pretty well behaved, as puppies go...

Several years ago (about 6 years, if you really have to know) I started saving corks to make a wine cork message board. As I myself don't actually drink wine, it took me a good long while to get a sizeable amount of corks (many thanks to the plethora of corks from the Inn at Stonington!). After I got a small box full, I sorta put the project on the back burner. As I was organizing for the pre-move logistics, I unearthed the box of corks. Vowing that I would not move a box full of corks yet again, I broke out the glue gun and went to work!

I also unearthed a Sisters journal that I have had for so long I can't recall... I forced myself to sit down, put the pictures in the sheets, and write out the 4 pages worth of sisterly quotes that I had gathered from the internet.

Gotta say, it's pretty darn cute!

This morning was Mo's very first ever puppy play date!! She had a lot of fun romping around Daffin with Raina and Diego. She was by far the smallest of the three, and often tried to climb my legs for a moment's peace.

We even had a visit from some Goldens that were enjoying the dewy field. All in all I think she enjoyed herself. I know that Harley has enjoyed the fact that Mo has been passed out almost all day!

Chocolate muffins and more purses

I'm really enjoying the pattern for these purses! I whipped up two more today using old linen and some bright, colorful lining fabric. They are so fun and charming that I'm not sure how I'll part with them. In a fit of creativity, I also had an exciting idea for a new snack. A few years ago a friend told me about using a can of pumpkin mixed with boxed cake mix to make a very moist muffin. I got the idea to mix a little peanut butter with powdered sugar, then drop a dollop into the center of the muffin before baking.

The photo doesn't do it justice, but the end result is awesome! The perfect blend of chocolate and peanut butter, with just a little bit of guilt!

Several great finishes

I finally did it! I finally ran an entire 5K! Okay, so really I jogged it. But still, I didn't stop to walk at all. And I finished in 36:23, which is pretty awesome as far as I'm concerned. It's a little slower than the first Komen 5K (which I did in 36:08), but better than any other race I've done. Now that I know I can jog the whole way, maybe I'll start working on improving my times. But for the moment I'm just going to let my achy knees recover a bit... Thanks to Robyn for convincing me to do it, sticking with me most of the way, and joining me and Dad for a delicious breakfast at J. Christopher's afterwards. What a great morning all around!

On a different note, several years ago I bought a cute little sling-style purse from The Other Tiger in Westerly. I bought it because it was a fair trade product, but also because I thought "What a cute style! I bet I could make this." Then low and behold, I did make it! Katelyn had asked for a purse like it after the wedding, and I finally found the time to make a pattern and try it out. I really, really like the final product!

And for Katelyn's I even experimented with putting her name on a ribbon on the inside pocket. Pretty cute, eh?

Lastly, another example of seeing something and thinking "Hey, I could make that cheaper." Introducing the Doggie Car Hammock a la Skye! I've had this upholstery fabric since I worked at JoAnn's (which, if you were wondering, was almost 10 years ago) and I finally came up with the exact, perfect thing to do with it. There are straps to drape it from the front headrest, elastic straps to secure it to the front and back seats, Velcro to keep the edges secure to the floorboards, and a few ribbon ties to keep it from billowing in the breeze. It is amazing at keeping the dog hair and paw dirt contained.

Love. It.

Financial Literacy Month

Here are a few short videos from the Federal Trade Commission for your viewing pleasure during National Financial Literacy Month! (I love that they're spoofing "the other guys" videos!)





And the trailer to a great movie I just saw last weekend, "To Catch a Dollar" about microlending.

More more small box.

Have you seen this yet? Now THAT is dedication! (Thanks, A!)

Accountability

A very quick post to thank my friend Robyn for keeping me accountable. I somehow talked her into signing up for the Susan G. Komen 5K, then talked myself out of it! With just a bit of encouragement (and a little dash of guilt) she convinced me to go ahead and run the race anyway. Way back in October I had started what was going to be a 6 month run-training program. I started strong, for about 2 weeks! Then I got all distracted with P90X for about 8 weeks. When the wedding planning kicked off, I totally fell off the workout wagon. Which means that for the last 2 months I haven't done much more than walk Harley! I was a bit concerned that I'd be totally out of shape and disappointed with my race performance. So I Sunday I decided to try one lap around the park to see where I stood (which, conveniently, is one mile). I was able to jog the whole way without stopping and finished in 12:27. Not too shabby! Yesterday after work I gave it another go and finished in 12:29. Granted, it was two seconds slower than Sunday, but it was also a lot warmer and was at the end of the day instead of the beginning, so I was still happy. For the next two weeks I'm going to slowly increase the distance that I'm jogging. Hopefully by April 16 I'll be in a good place for the 5K. And even if I don't finish with a great time, at least I'll have done it!

April Fool, Crafting Fool

What a wonderfully productive weekend! I finally got some of my crafting projects crossed off the list. Here's a quick summary: Just before the wedding Brian had asked me if I would be able to whip up a shoe bag for his Class A dress shoes. He was looking for something that would not scuff or scratch the shoes, but allow him to easily transport them. Flannel seemed like the natural choice. So I opened up my sketch book, took some measurements, and in just about an hour I created this fun bag! It is fully lined with a divider to keep the shoes from rubbing against each other. The drawstring makes for quick and easy opening and closing, and I even made a little buffing mitt to match. And something that has been on my list since, oh, about October... Brian had a few patches that needed to be added to his motorcycle club vest. I wasn't sure my little Brother sewing machine could handle both the leather and the thick patches. But once I switched to a denim needle it worked like a champ! There was only one patch that I wasn't able to sew on the front pocket (but it wasn't for lack of trying! My sewing machine arm just didn't fit inside the pocket). Now don't go thinking that just because I'm an old, married lady now that I only do crafting things for my husband. This weekend I also made three beautiful felted scarves! They are warm and thick and oh so pretty! Though I'm not so sure I'll be needing these in El Paso...