Crafts take two...

Remember Crafty Crap? In case you forgot, read here.

Oh what a difference a year makes. I finally accomplished crocheting scarves that were straight and (mostly) error free. This year I decided that I would tackle the 'granny square'.

First I must tell you how every friend, person, instructional website, stranger on the street and Sammy told me that granny squares are the easiest thing to learn. I must be an idiot because it was NOT the easiest. Maybe it's because I'm self taught.Andthe crochet vernacular was just too confusing: single crochet, double crochet, half double crochet (isn't that a single crochet), chain stitch, and more.

I have no idea what I taught myself when i made the scarves, but it was the reason I couldn't grasp the granny square. I finally devoted an evening to watching instructional you-tube videos, yarn in hand.


Ok, ok, now I get it. I see why people say this is easy. Check out my first granny square blanket or Lapgan (afghan sized for your lap). When I took this picture, it wasn't completely done. You can see that Sammy thought she was going to be the model for this photo shoot - not this time baby girl.



I am really proud of this. The only problem was the size. I love the colors and the yarn texture so much, I might go back and make it bigger.

I proudly took my craft accomplishment to Biscuit's to show off. She immediately put it on her couch to show me how GOOD it looked right there in her house.  Sorry Biscuit, I'm keeping this one.

Giving Back

The other day I was participating in a community message board and someone mentioned being a bone marrow donor. Now this is something I’ve always wanted to do. If there is something in me that could save another's life with little risk to myself, why wouldn't I offer it up?
At that moment I decided to read up on joining the registry to become a donor here.

After reading all about it, I went home to talk to Husband about my desire to join the registry. If I did get selected as a donor, I’d need support and I wanted to make sure he was on board.

He was pretty skeptical.

I was pretty passionate.

With his support, I signed up.

About a week later a kit came in the mail for me to swab my cheek and mail my DNA submission to the larger database.

From what I read, there is a slim likelihood that I will be contacted. The majority of the donors are Caucasian, while the need is stronger for those with a more diverse genetic code.

The reason I’m telling you all this is 1) in case you ever want to clone me, you can get my DNA from these people 2) so you can encourage others to consider joining the registry 3) because I don’t have anything else to write about and would normally keep this to myself…

Speaking of giving back, I believe I told you about my involvement with Women For Women International here. I’m proud to announce that Ms. Change Laraba has graduated! My new sister that I am sponsoring is in Kosovo. She started her training in December and will graduate in November of 2011. I strongly believe in this organization and believe in what they are doing. Please check it out if you haven't already.

Also, see the link below for the book that speaks to what the organization is trying to do.

Happy Anniversary!

Monday marks my 2nd wedding anniversary. It makes it sound like we are still newlyweds, when in fact we've been dating since 2002 and living together since 2005. We are long past young love. That isn't a bad thing, our relationship has grown much stronger and deeper over the years.

This year, by our anniversary, my goal was to FINALLY finish the wedding album. It arrived yesterday in the mail, but we are waiting to open it together this weekend. I actually am glad I waited this long to assemble the album. It was a fun exercise to piece together all the details, sift through the photos and carefully select the best representatives. In cause you are new to my blog (sarcasm) here and here are my blog posts detailing our wedding day.

It was a great day, but it has been an even better two years. To my better half - I love you.

My vows:
"From this day forward, I promise to try to be the best partner I can be for you.

I will be tender with you when you’re troubled, laugh with you when you’re funny, conspire with you when your mischievous and be your strength when you wane. I will care for you, be patient with you, sing your joys and always be a constant reflection of our love.
From this day forward, I will cherish you. I will look down the path of our tomorrow's, and find peace and happiness knowing we will walk it together, side by side, hand in hand, heart to heart."
 

January

And it's here.....

That awful time of year when the cold has permeated into my bones so deep that they are frozen. There is no amount of heat, layers, blankets, or hells fury that could thaw my bones. When I'm warm, it's only a surface warmth. Deep down the chill has taken over and settled in.

The deep freeze has even clouded my demeanor. Be nice to my Husband this time of year, because chances are I'm not.

On top of the cold, the lack of sunshine exacerbates the problem. Even if I did get out of my cube before sunset, chances are the clouds would take prison hold that precious vitamin D hostage. For everyone's sake and my own sanity, here's hoping for a short winter.