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!

First Saturday of September

Well, it has happened again, I was too busy to get much done this week (and sick, baby and I had nasty head colds for a few days). I did get a couple of adorable crochet hats done this week through. I will post a pic after they are given to their recipients, I don't want to give the surprise away.

Today we are going to my mother-in-law's house for my brother-in-law's birthday. It is his 21st so we are all getting together in the afternoon because he will be out with friends in the evening. Which is good because my hubby wants to be home in time to get the latest UFC pay-per-view fight and it comes on at 8:30 (though I'm not sure which time zone, this was all so much easier when we lived in Florida, it was always our time, now I'm never sure if it has been adjusted to ours or is still eastern).

Here is this week's T-shirt design from Too Long Dog:

Enjoy the weekend and I will post again soon (likely with some scrapbooking freebies and photos).

Labor Day 2008

Wow, what a crazy Labor Day. My infant son and I are sharing a nasty head cold but at least we are safe at home. We have been watching the news surrounding Hurricane Gustav and hope it doesn't become a major disaster for the Gulf Coast. I feel terrible for the poor people that have just now been able to move back or settle in and have to relive the trauma.
My hubby will probably be delayed coming home Thursday as we live in Texas and storms may delay or cancel his flight. :(

On a lighter note, professional football season kicks off this week, which will make many sports fans happy. It will also provide distraction from election season. I take politics seriously but I hate listening to pandering speeches and advertisements so I decide based on issues and ignore the media attention as much as possible. I find NPR helps a lot, though I do get tired of the attention there as well but I understand that is how many people get their information. At least it is better than watching or listening to local newscasts.

Don't forget to check out Too Long Dog for your online shopping needs, especially since gas prices will probably go up again thanks to the weather.

Have a great labor day folks!

Oops, I did it again

Oops, Friday flew past me again, maybe I should just start planning on showing a T-shirt design every Saturday instead. Here is a design from the more than 200 available from Too Long Dog:


Congratulations to Samara and Mark in Florida! They just welcomed a son, Aaron, into the world (no small feat at 10 lbs. 1 oz.!). I can't wait to see pictures.

Dem bones, dem bones

I decided that this week's digi-scrapping freebies would be Halloween themed and on the lighter side so it is a selection of goofy looking skeletons and a wordart perfect for any little skeletons that may go begging for candy this year. You can get this week's freebie here.

It certainly is a busy time for us here. A dear friend of mine just had her first child (a boy), my sister-in-law is expecting her first child (a girl) in October, I am planning my sister-in-law's baby shower for September, my husband's step-brother is remarrying in September and returning to Iraq, there is Labor Day, Halloween, Veteran's Day, and Thanksgiving (all firsts for my son), back-to-school time is in full swing which is important for my store Too Long Dog, I am in the process of opening a second and unrelated store Put It On Paper, Christmas and Hanukkah will be on us before we know it, my husband's cousin is expecting her second child in January, New Year's will follow Christmas, and there are birthdays in the mix too including my darling son's first! whew!

Take a moment to breathe and have a good week!

Oops, it's Saturday

Okay, so I missed Friday T-shirt day because we were with relatives. Here is this week's featured design from Too Long Dog:

Well, I have to run, this is a really busy weekend for me. Enjoy!

Witchy Weather

The weather today has been bizarre (and quite inconvenient). It has been a back-and-forth between heavy thunderstorms and bright sunshine all day (in northcentral Texas). This morning the power flickered on and off several times which is not only annoying because it causes everything to reset but I had the computer on too. Nothing bad happened because we have everything plugged into mondo surge protectors but I use a bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse and the computer was asking me if it should open in safe mode or not and just sat there doing nothing. Since the bluetooth peripherals don't kick in until the computer boots up all the way I couldn't respond and had to take the baby to Best Buy to buy one to plug in just to hit "enter." Ah well, at least everything is still there.

It is that time of week again for digital scrapbooking freebies and this week I am offering a trio of Halloween themed papers (previewed below) and you can download them HERE.

And just because, here is a picture of my two-tooth wonder:

Check out Too Long Dog. The store now boasts more than 200 distinct designs with something for everyone, I promise! In fact, I just added half a dozen new ones today.

Gotta run, baby on the move! Enjoy!

T-Shirt Folding Magic

I originally saw this technique in a video my hubby found. Well, time passed and now I have my own blog to use to share this awesome way to fold T-shirts perfectly in about 2 seconds (once you learn how). This is so cool you will actually impress people! With T-shirt folding of all things! The following video is Ninja T-Shirt Folding from YouTube.

Shop, shop, shop

I have added more than a dozen new designs to Too Long Dog this week and have now passed the 200 mark for distinct designs! Save gas money and do your fall/new school year shopping online at Too Long Dog.

Where did the week go?

Well it is Friday once again and time for the T-shirt design of the week from Too Long Dog:

Visit Too Long Dog to buy T-shirts, hoodies, pillows, mugs, stickers and more. In fact, there are more than 150 original designs, including the brand-spanking new one above, and products for everyone in the family no matter their size or personality. Plus, online shopping saves gas and your sanity.

It's that time again

It is the time of year for school to begin again. I don't have to worry about the logistics of that just yet since my son isn't even a year old yet but I still feel nostalgic. I love office and school supplies. In the local grocery stores they sell prebundled items for their local elementary schools and the office supply stores have the lists for the local school necessities at the front of the store. In honor of this time of year my freebies this week evoke elementary school.

You can download the ruler here and the chalkboard here.

I have made great progress on one of my crochet projects and hope to post a picture of the finished project before the week is through. Yippeee!

I am what the video game industry calls a "casual gamer" but nevertheless I have fun waiting for me on two console systems. My husband bought me a game that is for his PlayStation 3. That usually doesn't happen because pressing two many buttons easily confuses me and I just don't have the coordination or thumb control for most games, but this one is of an easier variety and has a wicked sense of humor. It is called Overlord:Raising Hell. The controls and whatnot are a lot like the Pikmin games but you play as an evil/evilish overlord controlling a bunch of goblins that aren't that bright but are devoted to your every wish and remind me of the naughtly gremlins in Gremlins 3 (I think that is the one they did in New York, or was that number 2?). Anyway, it's funny and easy enough for someone like me. I have a Wii which is much more my speed and has more games at my level, mainly because they make more games for children and other folks who didn't grow up with video games. Anyway, I have a game for the Wii I haven't even had the chance to play yet (Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, the first was a laugh riot, even my in-laws love playing it) and I love playing the regular Wii Sports games that come with the system.

Well, I hear a baby calling for "mamaaa" so that is the end of this post. Happy Humpday.

Tooth times two

Only a week or so after the initial appearance of his first tooth my darling, beautiful son has had his second tooth break through the gums right next to the first! Pics to come once I can get him to cooperate with camera crazy Mama!

Oooh, grown-up time

Darling son is going to spend some time with Nana today so that the hubby and I can maybe go see a movie (gasp!) or hang out at the bookstore or just do nothing (double gasp!).

Starting to really see interest in my store, Too Long Dog, in a variety of sections, just goes to show it does appeal to a wide range of folks. It inspires me more. I add new designs every week and I still have pages of ideas and notes!

I am working on a crochet project to use up some baby yarn I've had for years. It will be an afghan blanket I imagine. I am making modified granny squares, they have a three-dimensional flower motif in the center. Mostly pink with some off white because that is what I had. I am trying to use up what I have before I buy more yarn, or at least much more. Most of my scraps are not what I would use for projects for me though so I will have a lot of baby gifts and scarves I suppose.

Working on my sister-in-law's baby shower (her first, little Bella) which is exciting. We are all anticipating having a little girl around; the family will have one of each since I had a boy.

Off to care for the dog, elderly dachshunds get grumpy if you ignore them.

It is finally Friday George Jones

I don't really listen to country music much anymore but I grew up on country and oldies and I have "Finally Friday" by George Jones running through my head today.

Here is this week's T-shirt design from Too Long Dog:

Rise up against our Spork overlords, brothers and sisters! Hee, hee. I always manage to make myself laugh. Check out this design and more than 150 others at Too Long Dog.

If you go to the Squidoo lens at www.squidoo.com/toolongdog and submit a design suggestion you could win a free T-shirt. Submit your design idea and forward the lens on to your friends and family so they can submit theirs too.

The hubby and I may actually be leaving the baby with family Saturday so we can check out be out and about as a couple. May your weekend go well.