2/12 #27

blanket for romy's new (upcoming) room.
i don't think i've ever fallen in love with something for it's "synthetic" quality, but the pre-teen girl inside of me is still drawn to things hot pink and black. this particular fun fur yarn has bits of thin soft strands of "easter grass" in it. i love it!
oh, so does romy!!
SOUPS OF THE WEEK: TAMMY'S CHICKEN TORTILLA, also ALPHABET and more PEANUT

2/5...project #26, half way!

some hats for a mama who lives near me...

she has been fighting stage 3 breast cancer for about a year now, and just had surgery to remove it from her brain as well.

although i don't know her, many of my friends do, so i put these in a package with some other stuff for her. i hear she has a great sense of humor, and i want her to know she has friends she never knew about who would love to lend a hand.

if it turns out to be not-so-appropriate, at least they'll smile and say "what a psycho!!" either way, i think she might smile.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: CHILLED STRAWBERRY CREAM (ok, have to admit 2 of the kids gag on every soup...hence the might-as-well-have-been melted ice cream soup)

RESOLUTION #6: 9 lbs down, 21 to go

1/29 #25

painted drum for my mama...

i've decorated them with henna before, but this time i tried leather paint. i think it will fade nicely with use.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: EGG DROP SOUP and gabi's CREAM OF VEGETABLE...i also made about 45 cups of african peanut soup, and got just as much of 6 other kinds at the soup exchange last night!

1/22

painted xylophone for my niece's 3rd birthday.

last week we received our second shipment of drums from Ghana through a customer of tom's. i also had my eye on this, and got it for her. i thought about doing more painting on it, something intricate and delightful, but in the end i thought a more simplistic approach was better, wrapped in a playsilk.

SOUP OF THE WEEK: CARROT CURRY (not the best "first baby food"...i shared some with desmond, and he ended up with a terrible rash.)

RESOLUTION #7: i made the desicion to just be brave and do away with ALL regular breakfast cereals. it's been over a month, and it hasn't been all that difficult...whole wheat pancakes and oatmeal muffins, whole grain oats, eggs, sometimes homemade tapioca pudding with raisins.

1/15

a different sort of project...mermaid twins photo shoot.
yes, i obviously was barely able to pass my one required college computer course, and it shows. it is very fun to play with photoimpact : ) even if i can only figure out basic lighting techniques. i do have to say, the pics i was able to get are outstanding and i absolutely love looking at them. the top photo is only cropped and not changed otherwise.
SOUP OF THE WEEK: AFRICAN PEANUT

RESOLUTION #6: 3 lbs down, 27 to go : p

resolution #6

i decided resolution #6 was not progressing very well. although there are abundant good intentions, i had to contemplate whether eating oreos while watching The Biggest Loser would get me any closer to my goal.

now, starve me if you will, but for the love of God do not make me work out! i mentally tortured myself by committing to 30 minutes on the 'hamster wheel' even if i had to spend the rest of the day laying on the shower floor. (yes, i know, PATHETIC!!!!!)

it amazes me that it even happened, i had to hunt down an extension cord that wasn't being used by all the construction, only to find out that our jr. contractor had lost the key to it somewhere in his tools. since i had actually managed to find and put on a pair of gym shoes, i didn't give up, and took the suggestion from my husband to track down a round magnet and gorilla tape. (if this isn't willpower, people, i never want to see what is)

i ended up finding a personal trainer. he wasn't my first choice, but since this was a last minute workout, i had to take whoever i could afford. he ended up being pretty damn effective, yelling "you're getting bigger!!" and "daddy's gonna take a picture of you!!" but i lost it when i did my required 5 minutes of jogging and he screamed "you're breaking it!!" i screamed back "go find some play doh!!", at which point he cried and i felt really bad. to get me back, he did the ultimate fake-out of "pip's crying!" and i actually risked the baby's emotional wellbeing for the dedication to my last 3 minutes. It turns out he was faking after all (or that the rush or hormones flooding a baby's brain that they talk about actually hppened, and he fell back to sleep, all in 3 minutes)

in any event, 30 minutes went slower than any hated activity i have ever done in my life. i think i would have chosen a third episode of thumb stitches.

1/8

exactly 60 silks, 30 play wands and 2 silk satchels for several orders, all finished in less than 48 hrs.my hands are grayish and aching!!

SOUP OF THE WEEK: BEER CHEESE SOUP