Favorite Little Princess

My hubby's family is from Tennessee, so there are lots of Vols fans for me to crochet for. I thought I would be adventurous and try something new. Because I wanted to create a checkered pattern, I held the white and orange together and just dropped the one color every other stitch.  Note to self: creating checks isn't as difficult as it is time consuming. I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn in white and orange and and I hook (some men have big noggins). This yarn can be itchy, but softens up a lot when washed.  1. Using main color (orange)- Ch3, 11 dc in first ch, sl st in top of ch 3. 12 dc Now, pick up 2nd color and alternate each dc to create checks - or alternate row to create stripes. Be creative! 2. Ch3, 2 dc in each st, sl st in top of ch 3. 24 dc 3. Ch3, *dc in next st, 2 dc in next st* around, dc in joining st below, sl st in top of ch 3. 36 dc 4. Ch3, *dc in next 2 st, 2 dc in next st* around, dc in joining st below, sl st in top of ch 3. 48 dc 5. Ch3,

Charlie - newborn sized hat When I saw this pattern on Repeat Crafter Me , I immediately knew I wanted to make it. Why on Earth did I not crochet when my kids were babies? Time to find someone to gift it to, because I just HAD to make it. Even though K2's baby, Charlie, looks pretty cute in it, too. Lucky for me, my hairdresser just had a baby. Crissy - toddler sized hat Then I decided to increase the pattern slightly to give to a co-worker's/friend's toddler niece.  Darn these cuties are addictive! Of course, wouldn't you know that after I did, Sarah at Repeat Crafter Me posted an update with more sizes. Geesh...well, now I know I can go back for bigger sizes. Better late than never, thanks Sarah! Want to make your own? Crochet Owl Earflap Hat Size: Newborn Supplies: • Vanna's Choice® medium worsted weight yarn (I used  Barley  and an accent color such as magenta, turquoise, light pink) • Crochet hook size H-8 (5.0 mm) • Tapestry needle

My Grandma used to make me cinnamon apples when I was little and I loved them so. About 13 years ago, I put together a family cookbook with my mother and I'm so thankful that this is one of my grandmas's contributions to the book. Not that it needs a recipe because it is so easy! Core and slice about 7 cooking apples. I like to use Jonathon apples. They are firm, crisp, and less expensive. You can peel if you like, but I leave mine on.  Place in a heavy pot. If you don't have a heavy pot, put in 1/4 water to keep apples from burning. Add 1/2  to 1 cup of granulated sugar - depending on how sweet you like your apples. I usually go in the middle with 3/4 cup. Sprinkle on 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and a dash of cloves. I like to give a dash of nutmeg, too just to be wild. The secret ingredient here is a handful of cinnamon red hots. It gives the apples color and a little punch.  These don't taste like Cracker Barrel cinnamon apples. More like a candy apple without

The girls are getting older and we suddenly realized that we have never taken them to the circus. A serious crime since their headquarters are just a few miles down the road. Let me tell you, today's circus is not like I remember it. How cute is it that this elephant paints? They gave that painting away in a drawing, but we didn't win. The prices were outrageous. I suppose since they have to compete with other large shows, they have to keep up with what they offer. It was all really well choreographed and fun to watch. The tigers used to be exciting to me. Now it's just kind of sad. I much prefer to see tigers out in the wild. K1 doesn't like seeing white tigers. She discovered that white tigers are "created" by inbreeding and usually result in birth defects. I had no idea.You can read more about it here . Bring on more thrills. I had my doubts that this young woman could be shot out of a cannon in such a small space, but sure enough it happene

I thought that the holidays were busy, but they aren't anything compared to starting the spring semester. I'm teaching two sections again, on top of my already full-time job at the university. Lots of activity going on at work and home life isn't any slower. Thank goodness we have two bathrooms, because last weekend one of our toilets bit the dust. Non-repairable (read: expensive replacement). So, this upcoming weekend I will be installing a new toilet. I guess I should embrace that I will be learning something new. Or not. With all that going on, I needed to focus on something I could  resolve. Sink clutter. This little mess has been bothering me for a long time.   I think the bottles are ugly and I'm constantly knocking them over. The sponge is a whole other battle. I'm forever griping at my hubby about leaving it wet (ewww...gross) and scour side down - which sticks to the sink when it dries. I DO NOT like scraping the sponge off of my stainless steel sink.

Before January gets too far gone, I wanted to share with you our little outing to Sea World to see the Christmas decorations. We actually delayed our holiday travels so we could go. The month of December got away from us and we just barely made it in time.  K2 was totally excited to get inside the giant snow globe for a picture.  This is the closest we get to snow in Florida.   It's so nice to have the aquariums to look at while waiting in line for rides.  They are really well maintained, too.     Such cute decorations throughout the park.   We really enjoyed the Polar Express experience they had set up. It was very popular with all the guests.   I think the shows are so much fun, but we have always been impressed with animal performances.   It was actually a little cool out and we were ready for the sun to go down to see the lights.   Aren't the trees on the lake pretty?   My sweet girls...this hardly ever happens. It needed to be docu

Not too long ago a new resort was opened in Walt Disney World, in Orlando, Florida. We have been waiting for the initial excitement to die down before booking a stay to check it out. Living less than an hour away, we don't always stay at one of the resorts. However, we had plans to be in Orlando late for a field trip anyway, so this was a perfect opportunity for us. It's set up much like the other Value Resorts, so it was easy to find our way around. We stayed in the Little Mermaid section.There are lines of Conga Fish everywhere and K2 has to have her picture with all of them. Funny kid. Next to us was the Lion King area. There was a big "dino boneyard" playground for children. Mine are a little too big for that anymore, but they still got a kick out of it. Behind the main building is the BIG pool and Finding Nemo area. It was a little too cool for me to go swim, but the water was warm enough that K2 got in for a little while.  The last section is

Second show in our season passes to the Straz Center Broadway series...Sister Act! It was very similar to the movie with Whoopi Goldberg, which I loved. K1 hadn't seen the movie, so she was a little skeptical of this show.  Of course we got dressed up, but not as much since it was an afternoon show. However cute we looked in our sweater dresses was soon  regretted as the Florida sun showed us who was really in charge of December weather. So we made the best of it and had some lunch outside by the water. K1 looked so pretty with the fountains behind her that I forced her into a little photo shoot.  See what a lucky mom I am? Soon it was time to head in for the show.  The singing was amazing only to be outdone by the costumes. As a 70's era show, there was lots of glitter, feathers, and disco balls. It was quick paced and over before we knew it. A sure sign of a good show. And yes, K1 loved it. I'm sure the people sitting around us were glad to see us leave, t

After taking last week off to travel to two different states for the holidays, it's time to get back into the swing of things. Starting with wishing you all a Happy New Year! I'm optimistic that 2013 will be a year of adventure and happiness. Last year, my resolution was to " DeCrap MiHouse ". Although I didn't get as much done as I would have hoped, I still think I have made strides in the right direction. I got my laundry room cleaned up, removed the aluminum foil from my oven , cleaned up my headlights , cleaned my makeup brushes , and organized my kitchen drawers , just to name a few.  So what will I do for 2013? 1) Continue to make progress in cleaning out my house to make things less stressful. 2) Keep up with participating in 26 Random Acts of Kindness ...I don't plan on stopping at 26. This is something that I want to make a lifelong habit in order to commit to my community and country. 3) Continue making gifts to give for next Christmas i