Just like Christmas!!

The past week has been like my own personal celebration at my house! On Saturday I received a shipment of 1000 yards of neon green, emerald, and black tulle and 18 emerald green feather boas, yesterday I received a shipment of 45 yards of taupe sequin lace and 45 yards of ivory spandex, and I just checked online and FedEx tells me that today I will be receiving 18 yards of neon green spandex, 20 yards of black stretch lace, 10 yards of black sequin tulle, 8 1/2 yards of neon green powernet, 200 feet of elastic, and a big bag of hooks! To top it all off I will be ordering rhinestone necklaces, hair combs, buckles, and earrings by the end of the week! HOW EXCITING!!

For those of you who don't know me well - and most of the 10 of you do I am sure - I have a certain creative drive that overwhelms me from time to time. The mountain of fabric and supplies listed above will, over the course of the next three weeks, magically transform themselves into 34 dance costumes for the Colorguard and Poms teams at the high school! (I use the term "magically transform" to quickly explain the dark storm of work, swearing, headaches, mess, etc. that has already begun to fall upon my household - it is going to be so much fun!!)

So far the emerald tulle has all been cut to size and dagged (cut zig zaggy so it lays flatter and transitions more smoothly when layered) and tonight I will do the neon and black so all that will be left for them is ruffling and putting them all together! Hopefully I will have some helpers over the weekend and I can get them all done in time for a performance on Feb. 1!

Let me know if you want to see pictures of the whole process!

Update from E!

Wow - just over two years since my last post! I wasn't really emotionally prepared for writing a blog I think. It takes such a commitment to force yourself to go through the process of sitting down and being coherent!
I think I am ready to give it another go though, if for no other reason than to chronicle for myself the changes that are happening so fast lately! My goal is to post once every week - no matter what. I hope you, dear 15 prior readers, are interested enough from time to time to keep me going!
Since my last post a lot has happened! Starting with me: I had a lot of fun with my crafting adventures but eventually the demands of entertaining myself got the best of me and I got a "part time" job doing accounts payable at a busy company. Part time turned to full time pretty fast and now I have a regular ol' "9-5 M-F" gig which, while I don't necessarily love (or understand) the work I do, I really like the people I work with which goes a long way. In addition to that I recently started coaching the Colorguard at the local high school and, just in case my own two kids weren't enough to keep me hopping, I now have 23 *bonus* kids to help keep me young! I have so much enjoyed the opportunity to work with them and am very excited for the winter competition season! Just in case that is not enough, I am still doing costume work on the side with some cute things coming up this month!
After a nice, long home stand in 2010 and 2011 Hubby ended up working away from home for most of the year in 2012 so I was "single momming it" with two busy kids. Looking back THOSE adventures would have been great to share but I was so busy the time just ran away! I do have to say that the level of respect I have for real single parents who manage to keep it all together increased exponentially with every challenge I faced! Poor Hubby, in the meantime, had to spend a few months living in a resort condo on the beach in North Carolina and the summer living in another resort in the mountains of Colorado and hanging out with the guys and doing a lot of hiking "work" but somehow he made it through. (I think it was beer and poker night on Thursdays that made it bearable.) At least over the summer he was able to come home every weekend and enjoy the hustle and bustle of everyday life!
Dude is now 16 (and a half) and loving his high school experience. It is crazy to think he is a Junior already and so close to leaving home! (Which I am really struggling with!) He is learning to drive and I am not consistent enough of a teacher but he is being very patient with me. He is still drumming and percussing and marimba-ing, and he has gotten to be quite good. He was the front ensemble section leader for marching band season and is currently in Symphonic Band, Pit Orchestra for the school musical (Singin' in the Rain!), Winter Percussion Ensemble, and Pep Band! This basically means I drop him off at the bus stop at 6:30 in the morning and he calls me when he is done with school at 9:00 at night.
Sis is 14 and a freshman and also loving high school. She is keeping busy with Varsity Poms and has been having a great season! She is also participating in Colorguard where she still refuses to let go of a flag once it is in her hand - which makes it very hard to toss. She is continuing ballet and pointe classes in her "spare" time but has not had as many performance opportunities with her schedule this year. She is still a *bit* shy but we are expecting her to start talking any day! I guess it is a blessing that her "friend that is a boy" is that shy too - at this rate they might actually say hello to each other by the time they are Seniors!
As you can tell, Hubby and I subscribe to the "keep them so busy they don't have time to get into trouble" method of parenting which also means we keep ourselves so busy we don't have time to get into trouble so I guess it works out. After the past two years of craziness and exhaustion though, I know I wouldn't change any of it. Going to games and competitions, sitting in bleachers, sewing and rhinestoning costumes, getting our family from one place to another, and watching it all go by in a blur is exactly the way I want it. I know that someday, when I have a chance to slow down, I will look at this time and think that I was active, I was engaged with my children, I was watching them grow and explore and take risks and find opportunities, I was able to share it with them and my dear Hubby, and we may not have enjoyed every moment but every day contained something exciting that we did together.
I am so lucky.

What a great weekend!!

I wish every weekend could be as fun as this one was! Not only was the weather phenomenal we actually had some time to get out and enjoy it! I have decided that, as much as I enjoyed them and learned from them, the past few years were too hectic for me to really get the most out of them. I hope this year is the start of a trend!
Weekends start early in my house. Ed's new job has him working 4 10-hour days and getting a 3-day weekend every week! (Except for this week- for Veteran's Day he gets an extra!) Fridays have become our official "Date Day" where Ed and I go do something fun! This week we walked around the outdoor mall holding hands like old people! (Or young people maybe but since this is actually our idea of fun I kind of lean toward old...)
Also this weekend Emily and her friend went to the open gym at the recreation center to do some tumbling (well, hanging out and playing really, but I figured it would help them work off some giggles) then we came back to my house for a sleep over. This is only the second friend Emily has had sleep over since we moved and she was so happy!
I love that November finds the whole family and a guest out on the deck around the fire pit enjoying SMORES!! Then we watched The Sixth Sense for the first time for my kids. We are not a real "scary movie" family so this was actually pretty intense for them but they had fun! The "old people" turned in early but apparently the girls stayed up watching more movies until 1:30 a.m. - which would have been great if we didn't have such a big Saturday! Not only did they have a ballet class at 9 a.m. - and since Emily takes an age in the shower that means up by 7 even on the weekends (yes, I have kids that are horribly harassed and mis-treated because we NEVER sleep in) - but there was a full cast Nutcracker rehearsal from 1-6 in the afternoon! AND there were two VERY important football games going on!
For Emily the rehearsal was not too bad - mostly short bursts of activity followed by sitting around staring off into space because she needed a nap - but for me it served to convince me that I am really old. <sigh> I have a few different parts I am playing in Nutcracker this year so after 5 hours I was really feeling it. Not physically so much as mentally - I don't think I have had to pay attention to something for that long for YEARS!
After rehearsal was over I heard the football news: Nebraska won by 1 point in overtime against somebody that never should have made it to overtime and... <sniffle sniffle> Utah didn't beat TCU... in fact, they kind of really lost big time. <insert frowny face here> Both games worked to put a damper on the evening and I just wanted to go home and relax - which I did with a nice cup of tea - and hubby rubbed my feet! Emily fell asleep right after we got home and slept for about 12 hours. :)
Sunday though - wow - I don't think I can even say how nice it was to wake up at 6:30 on Sunday morning feeling rested because of the extra hour of sleep for the time change! After we got some things done around the house we packed a lunch and headed downtown!
We have been planning a downtown hike for a couple of months, and the last time we attempted it there happened to be the "Taste of Colorado" food festival going on at the exact same place we had chosen for our starting point. Didn't work out so well that day. With everything the kids have been involved in this fall it just kept getting put off and put off but with the weather this weekend it was now or never!
We started at the art museum, saw libraries, parks, government buildings, shopping centers, the convention center, performing arts complex, the train station, baseball stadium, hotels, lots of homeless people and more! It was just over 6 miles round-trip and my kids were champs! We all took turns with the camera and got lots of good pictures as well as had some fun goofing around together. It was a lot of fun and we got to see so many cool things and have a good time just being together as a family. We got home and made some dinner then realized it was still only 4:30 - darn time change!
You know, I am really enjoying the age my kids are at right now. They are old enough to really have conversations with and be able to understand each other. They like to do a lot of the same things as we do, they make funny observations of the world around them - they are just pretty cool kids and people. Best of all, Ed and I can go to the grocery store by ourselves without having to find someone to watch the kids!

So far so good!

Nine followers!! I am seriously giddy with the way this is going so far! (I actually think that is a sign that I should get out more, but we are takin what we are gettin!) It has been so easy to start up and even ALMOST easy to think of posts! So, what I am posting about today is this wonderful blog that helped me 1-decide to do it and 2-make it possible!
A friend of mine from the wonderful days of Adult Jazz has a blog where she creates and posts blog backgrounds and "accessories" - she also reviews products and does giveaways (look for one from E.E. Cuties coming up soon!) Not only is she a great designer but she actually makes it COMPLETELY easy to customize your blog. Well, maybe a little reading is required since there are step-by-step instructions - and possibly some pointing and clicking skills - but other than that the hardest part of using her backgrounds is choosing one! If you have ever wanted to make a blog or already have one and want to change your look (and also if you like winning stuff) go to dottydotdotdesign1.blogspot.com and see what she has going on! I am going to try and figure out putting up a link on the side of my page here but you know how I am with the figuring out of things! IF you decided to start a blog I would totally follow you ;) If I can't get it figured out I know she has a facebook page for it too! You should like her because I like her!
So aside from that I also would like to share my "Stupid Lisa Trick Of The Week"! Some of you may have already read my facebook status regarding this, but for those who haven't (or just want another giggle at my expense - for reals - I am paying here) I will share it again!
Most of you do some sort of crafting or have hung around with me and I have lasso-ed you into a "fun project" or two - and know how I get around rotary cutters. I am completely "safety first" and get retentive about reminding you to close the cover and that it is sharp. (For those of you who DON'T know what a rotary cutter is, it is a round razor blade on a handle - used for cutting fabric mostly)
Just a reminder - you should ALWAYS close the cover between cuts and ALWAYS look at what you are cutting because it is SHARP!! I remembered this about halfway through my fingernail. Now, this would have been fine if my fingernail needed a trim, but since I chose to trim the part that was about half an inch down from my fingertip and therefore had to get through nearly half of my finger, it changes things just a titch.
The moment I realized what I had done I thought some bad words VERY quickly, dropped the rotary, and clamped my thumb down on the finger. Surprisingly, this all happened so fast I hadn't actually started bleeding yet.
So, as I sat there wondering what the best way to handle this situation would be, Emily came in to see the video I was watching on YouTube (which is why I wasn't looking where my fingers were in relation to the cutter). We finished watching the video and exchanged a few opinions then I mentioned that I had cut myself. She noticed the rotary cutter close by and, knowing from all of my warnings that they are very sharp, she asked how bad it was. Since I hadn't bothered to look before I put pressure on it I said I didn't know - she assumed the worst (probably because she knows me well enough) and asked if I needed to go to the doctor. Again, I didn't know but figured a band-aid might be in order at the very least.
So I meandered upstairs to find my trusty Hello Kitty band-aids and mention to darling hubby that I have cut myself. He, like my daughter, jumps to the same conclusion. At this point I still haven't looked at it, removed pressure, or spilled a drop of my blood. (Very tidy, I think) But, also because he knows me well enough, he thinks we ought to see how bad it is.
Good news - I had kept pressure on it long enough that it didn't bleed very much! Good news - it was at an angle so putting it back together wasn't too hard! Bad news- yeah - it was probably as bad as they assumed it to be and I most likely should have gotten sewn up. Bad news - it really really hurts - especially when I type :( BEST NEWS- I now have one more reason to flip people off because it is my middle finger - and if you know me, you know how much I LOOOOVE flipping people off!
I will see you all again next week! Sunday is supposed to be a gorgeous day so I am hoping to do our hike of downtown Denver! Tell you all about it! (And try and figure out putting up pictures!

I got a good thing going! Right?

Wow! Five followers already! (Though to be fair, one of them is accidentally me because my darling son wanted to follow me and used the wrong e-mail address. He got it fixed though!) I hope that I am able to entertain and/or inform you with my ramblings! No pressure, right? Just so you know - I love you guys for humoring me.
So, yesterday was election day! When Emmy realized this she jumped up from the couch and yelled "YAY!! No more negative ads!!" - which just shows that she learned something about politics. This morning she was very excited that we will be getting a new Governor - John Hickenlooper - who we were both rooting for. Not because of his party affiliation or because he has a funny last name (though that may have been PART of it) but because he started out saying that he was going to run a positive campaign and he stuck to it - even when the other 2 contenders weren't as gentlemanly. Better yet, he got a higher percentage of the vote than those two put together - so his win wasn't because of a 3-party race. I think a lot of people respected the value he placed on positivity and figured he wasn't in it to place blame on "the other guys" but instead to actually work with everyone to make good things happen. Could be just me though. 'Nuff said about politics - it makes me cranky.
Well, since this blog is about my new experiences in Denver, I will start by letting you know what I am up to! Back when I was working A LOT all I ever seemed to want was a day to just sit and spend exactly how I wanted. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED what I was doing and miss most everyone terribly, but sometimes it got a little... overwhelming.
So, now I have 4 days a week while the kids are at school to just sit and spend exactly how I want - let me tell you, I have never done anything quite so boring. Out of my skull kind of boring. The house is respectably clean (though there is laundry to be folded - can't escape it), I have read a bazillion books, I have painted, I have sewn, I have played computer games and watched movies - MY OFFICE IS EVEN CLEAN FOR GOODNESS SAKE!
So, last month I decided to start a new little business making (in my opinion) cute things for hair. I had started making things with the obsessive amounts of ribbon I have collected but then realized Emily couldn't humanly wear all of them - people said I should start selling them so... www.artfire.com/users/EECuties was born! If you haven't visited then you should because I already know you are prone to humoring me. If you haven't seen and liked my little facebook page then you should do that too and also share me with all of your friends. Better yet, if I am selling bunches of hair accessories it gives me both the funds and excuses I need to buy more ribbon!
In the meantime I will be entertaining myself by learning something new and back tomorrow to tell you about this cool thing I found!

Hmm... me writing a blog?

For a couple of weeks now people have been telling me I should start writing a blog - not that they are twitchy anticipating this possibility, but more of a "oh, you are starting something new so you should write about it" kind of thing. My question is: who could possibly be interested in what I have to say? I am sure most blogs start this way and a lot of them probably end that way too.
So, being the blog idiot that I am, I looked at other blogs to see what is interesting about them. As with anything else in the world, some are good and some are not as good - but how can I make mine more in the first category and less in the second? And what on earth could I write about that would make people want to read it? Especially with my new "boring" life that leaves lots of time for blogging?
Some of the blogs that I have really enjoyed are reviews of products or books, how-tos teaching me something cool, and tales of the day to day challenges of life (but these aren't always well done). Is it possible to incorporate all of these aspects into one blog that is still put together and not messy? Well, I guess we'll give it a try! Let me know what you think!