A Brown Thumb Gets Its Bloom

As I've mentioned before, I have a great talent for killing plants.  It's not something I'm proud of.  It's not even something I come by honestly as most of the rest of my family grows a pretty mean garden.  I think the problem is that plants don't tend to complain when they're dying.  They just sort of quietly turn brown.  So imagine my surprise when I went to the window and noticed this:

That's right.  Not only is my hoya not dead, but it's thriving to the point where it is using its precious resources to produce flowers.  This is very exciting news in my world.  Very exciting news indeed.

But what's a little bit ironic is that this is the only plant in the house that doesn't have a name.  I specifically gave my other plants names because it seemed like a good way to make the sort of connection which would facilitate my remembering to water them.  The hoya slipped through the cracks in this regard because I didn't expect it to grow at all.  However, both Pete and Samuel are on their way out - it's really only a matter of time - so perhaps there is some sort of bad luck attached to naming plants....

Case in point:  Audrey II

Preview - Purple Flowers Redux

So I made these yesterday.  And they were hugely popular!  And by hugely popular, I mean all my Facebook friends seemed to really like them and a few of them actually reposted the Etsy link on their own walls.  Plus, they got 127 views on Etsy and quite quickly - the most views of anything in my shop.

I was a bit surprised because I made them thinking the colour combination was a bit much.  But turns out people like their colours "a bit much".  Who knew?

So, based on a recommendation for another colour combo - I made another flower bootie.  Here is a sneak peak:

As I'm sure most of you know, with Etsy, timing is everything.  So these won't be posted on Etsy until 6:00 pm PST.  So if you like them, stay tuned!

UPDATE:  The Etsy posting is now available.  Check it out!!

Ballet Flat Style Booties in Turquoise and Purple

Pink and Purple Flowers?! Ummmm Yes Please!

In an effort to do at least one creative thing a day, I made these.  I love pink and purple and when I was finished making the booties I felt they needed a little bit extra.  So I whipped up some matching flowers as well.

Yellow Bear makes an appearance in these photos too - he's looking handsome as always.  Anyways - the hockey game is on, so this post will be short.  If you like the booties enough to buy 'em - you can pick 'em up here:

Ballet Flat Style Booties in Pink and Purple with Flowers

A Bracelet With Polka Dots *GLEE*

My latest creation which was actually created weeks ago is now available on my shop.  And the best part?  I've lowered prices on all my crocheted jewelry - so check it out!

Here's some photos:

Blue and Black Bracelet with a candle

Blue and Black Bracelet peeking out the window

Blue and Black Bracelet up close and personal

Blue and Black Bracelet takin' 'er easy

This bracelet was SO much fun to make because I love polka dots - they are my favorite pattern.  I decided to do the crochet parts in a square motif to contrast with the circular dots.  I'm lovin' it.

Actually, even though I did a lot of bracelets with the crochet parts in white, I really like the black.  Remember this beauty:

I think the black creates great contrast - what do you think?

You can find both of these guys at my Etsy shop:

Crochet Bangle Bracelet in Blue and Black

Crochet Bangle Bracelet in Yellow and Black

Walking Ain't Half So Bad

Yesterday was the annual Run Up for Down Syndrome.  My gorgeous friend Heather and I have done it every year for the past 4 years and it's always a blast!  And the past two years my wonderful boyfriend Dennis has won the thing *beams*. 

This year Heather and I both had issues with our knees and decided to walk it rather than run it.  In past years it has taken us about 30 minutes to complete the 5Km run, and I wasn't really looking forward to walking that distance just because I thought it would take too long and I would get bored. 

But lo and behold, it was actually a lot of fun.  So fun in fact that I walked another 5Km this morning.  I never thought I would enjoy walking as fitness just because I usually like to do really high intensity stuff and get it over with as soon as possible, but bootin' it all over town for an hour actually felt great.

What do you guys like to do for physical activity?

How Meal Plans Saved Me From Myself.

Alright that's IT!  No more unnecessarily lazy, non-posting days.  Starting today. 

Today I gotta talk about groceries.  You might be surprised to learn that I have a slight problem with anxiety.  And I mean slight - nothing debilitating to be sure.  But one of the things that used to set off my anxiety pretty severely was grocery stores.

I'd show up with a half-assed list of things I couldn't forget (granola bars, milk, deodorant etc.) and then promptly become overwhelmed by 80 different brands and flavors of spaghetti sauce, and torn between the cheap produce and the organic produce while simultaneously trying to figure out what I was going to eat for dinner the following Thursday.  I couldn't think.  I couldn't breathe.  I couldn't function.  I had to get out of there!

This happened every week.  And I rarely had anything to eat in my house except granola bars, milk and deodorant.

And then I discovered meal plans.  They seem like a lot of work, I know.  And kind of stupid.  Because how are you going to know what you'll feel like eating on Friday when today's only Sunday?  But you just gotta do it.  Meal plans saved me and they can save you too (plus, if you put lasagna on Friday and you want to make it on Tuesday - who's to say you can't switch days, right?)

So, all you have to do is sit down with your favorite recipe books, pick the dishes you're going to make and write down the ingredients you'll need from the recipes.

My boyfriend and I like to do it together every Sunday morning.  We'll decide on recipes together, and then I send him to the kitchen to check whether we have the stuff while I make the list.

To do the list, we use a smart phone app called Grocery IQ.  It's free and the best part is that you can sync with someone else so that when you check off Apples on your list, it gets checked off the other list too.  This way you can split up at the store and get things done quicker.  I recommend it if you and your shopping partner both have smart phones.

Anyway, so now when I go to the grocery store I don't have to think about anything because I've already thought about it in the comfort of my own home.  I can just mindlessly grab things off shelves and check them off lists.  Sure I fret about organic vs. non-organic and I usually send The Boyf to the pasta sauce aisle, but believe it or not, I actually enjoy grocery shopping now. 

And we eat healthier. 

And I have one less thing to be anxious about.

If you don't already do meal plans, try it for a month.  Trust me, it'll be awesome.

Blah.

Okay so it's been a while since I've posted anything substantial. 

I think I have a case of the post-vacation blues.  In case you're wondering, that means the reason I haven't posted about anything is that I haven't done anything worth posting about. 

For example - nobody wants to hear about napping, eating cereal and surfing the interwebs.  I haven't even crocheted a single thing since we've been back!

Any ideas on how to get the motivational mojo moving?