The Crafty Hobbit

Well, the day has finally come. We're moving. I have mixed feelings. The bad part is we have to move to Phoenix (can you say hot?). The good is that we're moving because the hubs got a promotion, AND we can afford to buy a house or condo. We had no hope of home ownership here in Flagstaff, with the average price of a 3 bedroom house is in the $400k range (lame!). Even the manufactured homes are $260k+. Lame again.

So yeah, not that I've been very reliable in posting, but I think it is safe to say I won't be posting again until mid August, after the move. Hopefully, I'll have plenty of material after that. First, of course I will have photos of our new home. Then hopefully I will have done a major project monthly to make it look cute. So, yeah. I might be posting next week after we've bought the place. We're looking at some final places this weekend and we will make a decision.

I have this real problem blogging when I don't have any new photos to post. I really should just put some random little blips up more often. Anyway, to recap the last month, we got a freak snowstorm/blizzard in May. It was insane, and everyone was like "what the hell?" The storm continued all day (we got about an inch of snow total). In the late afternoon the snow stopped, and the ground cover started melting. It was gone by the next day, but still, a late May snowstorm is just plain weird. Then, that same week, we got a wicked wind storm. As I was driving around looking for a parking spot, I noticed that someone was going to have a very bad day:

It turns out, the car belonged to someone who works in my office. The back windshield was totaled, and the trunk had some major dents and scratches. It was over $2000 in damages. Stupid wind.

On a cuter note, I finally uploaded photos from when I went to the Renaissance Faire with a friend and her little munchkin. Here's a photo:

So you've probably wondered where I went. Truth is, I didn't really go anywhere but I was very busy. April was kind of a crazy month for me, and May isn't shaping up to be any better. I have been away so much, due to visiting family and funerals and work conferences. Most of the time, I just want to curl up with my kitties and take a long nap. Lucy would be happier running around at the dog park, but my kitties like to snuggle.

A few weeks ago, I went to visit mom and dad, for the first time in quite a few months. I took Lucy, of course, and a few of my dollies. Oh, and a mega-fuckton of laundry, mostly comforters that wouldn't fit in our washer/dryer at home. Mom has really done a lot of work in her backyard, and it is turning out to be a gorgeous little oasis. Lucy loves it, especially because it is fenced and she can run around off leash. We let her run around off leash outside of the yard too, but here it's much easier to keep tabs on her. She usually settles down on mom's big round lounger for an afternoon nap.

Then, I had to jet to Phoenix because my husband's grandmother passed away. It was a sad trip, but she had cancer and we were all expecting it. So I guess in a way, it was good because it wasn't a shock or a surprise. Still, she was a neat lady and I'm glad I got to know her for the short time I did.

Then, the week after returning from Phoenix, I had to go down AGAIN to attend a conference for work. The conference was really rather boring, but at least I got to stay in a swanky hotel with the worlds most comfortable bed ever! It was one of those individual spring mattresses where you can jump up and down and not disturb a glass of wine. On top of that, it had a feather mattress pad, and the covers were all down.

I brought my new Sooni Dal (who sadly is still nameless) to the conference with me, and she was so bored. I had told her to pack some books and puzzles to play with during mom's long boring seminars, but even then she ended up calling friends and chatting about how boring mom's job is.

So finally I am back home. I am looking forward to having a whole weekend where I don't have to travel somewhere. Seems like I've been out of town every weekend in the last month, and that is probably correct. Also, bonus, this weekend is a 3 day weekend. Hooray for Memorial Day. I intend to sleep, sew, and clean up my dirty-ass house. I also want to do more cooking. Last night I made some Shepherd's Pie for dinner, and it was scrumptious!

Ok, so I have a lot of patchwork items rolling around in my head lately. Dresses, skirts, pillows, maybe even a quilt. I was looking through my fabric stash and, though I have a decent number of prints, I don't have near the variety I want. Anyone want to do some patchwork squares swap? Like, I cut out 5 4" squares from 5 different fabrics (25 squares), and you do the same? Or 2 4" squares from 10 different fabrics, or whatever. Oh, and yeah I realize no one really reads this thing, so I'm mostly just begging the universe for some fun fabric squares.

Sometimes I think I understand what it is like to have a small child. My dog (ok, she's a puppy still but I don't wanna give her any excuses) is like having a herd of 3 year olds running unsupervised through the house. Last night, we fell asleep with Lucy laying between our feet. We awoke with Lucy laying between our feet. I sauntered on downstairs to take the precious dog out for morning potty time, and I beheld this:

My first instinct was to track down the dog and throttle her. Then I decided to take her out to potty instead, since it would mean less mess for me to pick up in the long run. Seriously though, I don't know how to keep this from happening. I'm guessing most people with dogs run into the same thing, based on the photos I've seen posted. I'll get over being angry, but it will probably take some caffeine and a few cigarettes.

Bonus shot:

I had my first weigh-in today. The grand total for just one week? I lost 10.2 pounds! I've lost the equivalent to a large baby. Go me. Stay tuned next week for more progress. In the mean time, I have a new favorite dinner: tilapia fillet with Tony Cacherie's Creole Seasoning, sauteed in 1 T. olive oil, served with cous cous and a mushroom/squash medley.

It's been awhile since I've posted, and life has been quickly going by. The biggest development, I've joined Weight Watchers. I wanted the husband to join with me, but I guess he's just not ready to make the life commitment. Food still has too hard a hold on him and he doesn't want to break that yet. I can relate. But I finally decided that, in order for us to have a baby, ultimately it's me who has to get in shape. That and I'm tired of being uncomfortable. I want to sew and knit myself clothes, without having to spend 3 times as much on materials. A therapist once told me to make a list of reasons why a goal is important, and that will help you stay on track. So this blog post is my list of reasons. The list is in no other order than how the thoughts come to me.

• I want to have a baby by 30.
• I don't want to have my knees replaced.
• I want to have a more creative sex life.
• I want to take my dog on hikes and outdoor adventures.
• I want to sew clothes and knit garments for myself.
• I want to fly in an airplane without the anxiety I won't fit in the seat.
• I want to be able to buckle my seatbelt again.
• I want to shop at thrift stores for clothes.
• I want to attend my 10 year high school reunion looking better than I did at 18.
• I want to be able to help my husband lose weight, when he's ready.

Oh and one more thing, I'd like to say that I'm totally in love with chinese eggplant. It is the tasty!

I woke up this morning to go to work and glanced outside. Lots of snow, but figured no biggie, it's Flagstaff, we've dealt with snow before. Then I took Lucy out to pee and saw this:

Yeah, I could barely see my car. Then I discovered that the street plows and left a waist high snow drift behind all the cars in the lot. Lovely. No way I was getting to work this morning. I called my boss and she said a lot of people were calling in; they might shut down the office, we didn't know. I told her minimum time I could be in was 10:30am, after the apartment's plow came and freed us. She said no worries, and to keep her posted. So yay, bonus day off (or at least half a day, we don't know yet). I decided to grab the dog and let her romp about. The air temperature isn't that cold (considering), so from about 7am to 8:30 we hung out together. The neighbor's dog and Lucy's best friend, Marley, came out to play too.
Lucy weathered the storm well in her pretty pink sweater. The cold didn't seem to bother her at all. She kept sniffing and biting at the snow flakes.
Lucy and Marley were playing a lot, bounding through the drifts and burying each other. I was talking to Marley's mom, when I saw this:
"Mom, can we go inside now?" I guess Lucy finally got cold or tired or both. We're in the living room and she's passed out on the recliner. The snow is STILL coming down hard. I'll post updates if there is any news.

This is a cat fish bed I got on day 12 of the 12 Days of Christmas Swap. Evie has claimed it.