Still alive and kicking

Okay, so it's been three months, what can I say, I've been busy. It's a lot of work taking care of the little guy (and home and hearth as it were) while hubby works hard for a paycheck.
In family news my little guy is now a walker though not quite a talker (still mostly baby gibberish) and more fun than ever.

In net news I've been spending a lot of time on Craftster, mostly lurking but I am on the tail-end of swap and plan to post some general creative crochet creations soon. Also, CafePress has added quality organic tees to their product line-up. Take a look at my store, Too Long Dog, the weather is warming up and there are several holidays coming up (hint: Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, just to name three).
Spring has arrived in Texas and just for those of you who may be experiencing an extended winter season I've included a pic to cheer you up.

Tis the season to celebrate

Well, once again it has been forever since i posted! With preparing for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukkah, and my baby's 1st birthday I have been a little swamped! I have personally made or designed all of the gifts so far this year! I have crochetd a lot, I've done some digital photography/scrapbooking stuff that has been printed via Shutterfly, and I've purchased some items from my own Cafe Press store called Too Long Dog (in honor of my current and childhood pets - dachshunds) at www.cafepress.com/toolongdog. If you still have last minute shopping to do I recommend you go to Cafe Press right now! Today is the last day of a promotion in which they will give you a free upgrade from standard to premium shipping to make sure your order arrives by Christmas!

STOMP, stomp it good

The hubby and I saw STOMP at Bass Hall in Fort Worth last night (the same place we saw Lewis Black perform in July) and it was fantastic. We really enjoyed it and the rest of the audience did as well, there was audience participation after all, there was also occasional laughter and a ton of applause, even a standing ovation and encore.

I didn't realize how crazy it would be having a child with a birthday in the midst of the holiday season. Trying to plan for Christmas and a first birthday party at the same time is a bit confusing and tricky. I bought supplies at Party City and food will be gotten at Tom Thumb, I actually received a coupon for a free 1st Birthday mini-cake (the size of a large cupcake but shaped and decorated to look like a baby block) if I purchase at least a quarter sheet cake (for everyone else). I was going to do cupcakes but I like this offer and will use the coupon instead. The party will be in the afternoon so the rest of the food will just be party snack trays.

As for Christmas (and Hanukkah), I am making at least half of the gifts this year, the rest will be gotten online so they can be custom and I don't have to try and holiday shop with a 1-year-old in tow! I am hoping other people will take advantage of online shopping as well and buy from my store, www.cafepress.com/toolongdog. A boost in sales would be nice even if I don't see the actual money four a couple of months (I have to wait 30 days for transactions to clear in case of returns and then I have to wait for end of the month check processing). Anyway, I can't say anything about what I may be purchasing from my own store (that could give the surprise away) but I do shop my own designs.

Have to run, my little man is looking for new and disgusting things to test is new teeth on.

Halloween past

Ah, autumn, sort of. My husband and I took our son to his first pumpkin patch and to the zoo for his first Halloween (really just excuses for photo ops).




The first week of October we went on a major road trip (nearly 3000 miles) from Texas to Iowa to Minnesota to South Dakota and back to Texas. I was able to show of my little boy to relatives on my mom's side including my grandparents, an aunt and her family that I hadn't seen in a decade, and my sister and brother-in-law.
It was tiring but fun. Of course that is when my husband's sister ended up having a c-section to deliver our little brand-new little niece.

I had crocheted pumpkin hats for my son and niece, so we took a picture of the two of them before Halloween. My little boy looks oh so thrilled to be wearing a hat. The two-week-old didn't complain.

Vote for Santa

The holiday season is here again, I'm already seeing some Thanksgiving items in the discount aisles! If you are like me and don't have the time to shop sale ads or drive around town, but don't have the patience to stick it out at the local mall either, I suggest you shop online. You can find just about anything on the internet and you have a shot at getting something unique you can't find at a traditional brick-and-mortar store.

If you, or someone you have to buy a gift for, is a fan of Santa Claus or burnt out on politics then check out the limited time only "Vote for Santa" merchandise at Too Long Dog. There are teddy bears, mugs and steins, yard signs, and a lot of shirt options. While you are there, don't forget to puruse the hundreds of other designs Too Long Dog offers.

Missed adventures

While I was absent from the blogosphere in September, I went to the Plano (TX) Balloon Festival with my hubby and baby son. It is a long standing annual event and really cool because you can get right next to the field the balloons launch from. My baby wasn't at all interested in the giant balloons going over his head, go figure, but I enjoyed taking pictures, here are a couple.





I will be adding photographs from the balloon festival (and more) to my ImageKind shop daily. I have to work around my baby's schedule and high quality photos take a long time to upload but I already have a small selection and plan to keep adding daily. Also, don't forget to check out my CafePress shop, www.cafepress.com/toolongdog, the holidays are coming up and gas prices will probably go back up after the elections!

Bad, bad, blogger

I can't believe it has been nearly two months since I last posted! Okay, that's not true, I can believe it when I start to think back on how crazy it's been for my family in that time. I threw my sister-in-law a large baby shower, got really sick twice, finished several crochet projects, took hundreds of photographs, opened up an ImageKind shop (I already have a CafePress one), had banking drama, and traveled almost three-thousand miles (in one week) with my husband and 10-month-old son; on top of the regular circus that is my life.
I will post again soon with photos and whatnot, maybe in chronological order until I catch up!