Favorite Little Princess

After I completed the Disney TOT 10 miler , I figured why not just do a half marathon? I only needed to go three more miles, right? Little did I know that the holidays and cold weather would put a wrench in my training. One would think that training in cooler and dryer weather would be preferable to the heat and humidity. I guess I just had too many distractions. I let every excuse keep me from training. In the end, I felt totally unprepared for the Best Damn Race half marathon.  It was NOT my Best Damn Race. I messed everything up. I had it in my head that the race was in a different location and a different time. I'm surprised we made it at all.  On top of it all, it was cold. Not, oh I should wear pants cold. More like, I need to wear 10 layers and just hibernate cold. I didn't want to get out of the car to go to the start line. Then we turned off the engine and the car got cold, too.  So I put on my big girl panties and high tailed it to the start line. I dec...

Our season of Broadway at the Straz Center continues...with Traces !  This show was a nice change from the typical Broadway musical. It was like "Rent" meets "Cirque du Soleil" and was full of action. The only disappointment was that it was a short show compared to the musicals. We were definitely left wanting to see more, but as much as they were moving I'm sure it would have been difficult. Interestingly enough, they introduced themselves during the show. They were able to be themselves and not a character. I'm not sure how much of it was truth, but it did personalize it for the audience. And the one woman in the show had no problem keeping up with the boys. We loved it. Another shared mother/daughter moment. Getting K1 season tickets has been the best thing for us to spend some quality time together. We're already looking forward to doing it again next season.

Here is another variation on the gloves and ear warmer that I posted earlier this week. You can see the patterns here . The head band is exactly the same, but with a different flower. Oh, and the same yarn ( Deborah Norville's Anti-Pill Everyday Yarn ) , but with a different color. See how easy it is to make the same gift unique? It's one of the reasons why I like crochet. The gloves are the same pattern with just a few modifications. The stitches are closer together without the lacy look. Still feminine, but not as frilly. I just love turquoise and brown together, don't you? Texting Gloves Hook - G 1 sk of Deborah Norville's Anti-Pill Everyday Yarn (there will be enough for 2 gloves and head band) Pattern Ch 10. Note: For rows 1 through 22 in wrist ribbing, sc in back loop only. Row 1: Sc in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each ch across, ch 1, turn. 9 sc. Rows 2 - 22: Sc in each sc across, ch 1, turn. Row 23: Bring row 1 to meet row 22, matc...

This was my go-to project this year. These gloves work up quickly and I found a yarn that I just love for this! It's Deborah Norville's Anti-Pill Everyday Yarn . It's so soft and stays looking new even after lots of wear. The gloves take no time at all to work up, so if you need a quick gift, this is perfect. I can make one set of gloves AND the ear warmer head band with one skein of yarn, so this is a thrifty project, too. Lacy Gloves Hook - G One size fits all. If you need to make smaller or larger, you can crochet 4 fewer or 4 more rows on the wrist ribbing.  (4 rows = 2 rows of  rib =  1 shell and 1 dc.)   You'll need to adjust your shell/dc count accordingly in the body of the pattern. Beginning shell = Ch3, dc, ch1 , 2 dc in same space. Shell = 2 dc, ch1, 2 dc in same space. Gauge - 3 shells/3 dc (in pattern) = 4"   7 rows of shells = 4" Pattern: Ch 10. Note: For rows 1 through 22 in wrist ribbing, sc in bac...

Ok, I am simply in love with this one. Not only did K2 help me make all theses pom-poms, but I was able to use up a ton of scrap yarn that I couldn't use for anything else. I really am happy with the way it turned out. I had purchased a wire wreath form many months ago when it was on sale. You can get them at your local craft store. Use a coupon and pick one up for less than $5. I couldn't decide on what I wanted to make, but I knew I wanted more than just the wreath I hang at Christmas time. It didn't take long to wrap up a bunch of pom-poms with K2 using this handy little contraption from Clover: I had some red felt left over from another project, so I  cut out a heart shape and crocheted an edging around it in white. Then I tied the poms to the wire frame, secured the heart and finished it with a leftover ribbon from a Christmas present. I was afraid to commit to it until it was done, so nothing is permanent  I can easily untie the poms for storage ...

Image from Joyful Homemaking Keeping with my semi-addiction to Pinterest, I came across a pin that looked promising. I hate cleaning my bathroom and apparently so does everyone else in my house. But, it has to be done. In particular, I hate scrubbing the tub because with our hard water, soap scum is an every day thing.  Margo, over at Joyful Homemaking   posted this little concoction that has turned out pretty well in my tub. I purchased one of those sponge scrubbers and used the dish detergent and vinegar I had on hand. Pretty cheap to try this one out - yes! You simply fill half and half with each (vinegar and dish soap) and then scrub away. It actually gets the soap scum off pretty good, especially off the tiled walls which I can never seem to clean well enough. I hear it works equally well on glass shower doors. I keep the scrubber in the shower and then use it a few times a week while I'm in the shower. Silly? Maybe, but when I'm letting conditioner sit on my hair...