April 2012 – Page 2 – Celebrate Life!

Work in Progress Wednesday; Crocheted Red Angry Bird and crocheted bookmark bookworms

April 25, 2012March 26, 2013 Aynaria 25 Comments

I’m not a big Angry Bird fan; but my five-year old nephew is, and so last week you could find me looking for appropriate Red Angry Bird crochet patterns.

Angry Birds

Initially, I was going to purchase eyes, but I couldn’t locate them in the local craft store I’d visited. Perhaps that was for the best? I do know how to embroider, although admittedly it’s been years since I’ve attempted to do some of the intricate embroidery I used to create, but I figured I should be able to handle the simple angry bird eyes, and so I gave it a shot…

Crocheted Red Angry Bird

Crocheted red angry bird 2 Crocheted red angry bird 1

The only thing left is to create a thin line around the beak; currently the beak looks like it’s in one piece; we can’t have that! Additionally, I need to crochet some of his partners in crime; Black Angry Bird bomb, and perhaps one of those poor little piggies? Oink, oink, please don’t hurt me Angry Birds!

My crocheted Red Angry Bird was featured in last weeks, Work in Progress Wednesday; but I didn’t complete this Red Angry Bird as quickly as originally planned. I’ve been distracted with other crochet projects, I should have it finished today. Perfect, since I’ll be able to feature it in Finished Object Friday.

h3Crocheted bookmark bookworm

Crocheted bookworm bookmarks

This is my first batch of bookmark bookworms. I’m making them for my daughter’s third-grade class; fifteen students are in her class. As you can see, these Crocheted bookworm bookmarks are almost complete. The only thing left is to add the eyes. The next batch I’ll make differently, they won’t be bookworms, but some other tiny critter that I can create; I already have a few ideas.

But back to those bookworms…

As a child, I remember receiving similar bookmark bookworms. One of my Sunday schoolteachers doted on her students, and was regularly making something for us. She died about three years ago.

Next week, there’s a Mom’s day at my daughter’s school, and so I’ll be bringing in the completed bookmarks, and passing them out to the children. I hope her classmates like them.

I heard about them via the lovely Kathleen, she’s a talented fiber artist, I recently awarded her site with The Versatile Blogger award too.

Edited to add… I’m participating in Pay it Forward handmade! Stop by to see what the fuss is about!

Sites I’m linking too

Tami Amis WIP
Yarn Along
Frontier Dreams
Crochet Addicts CFS
The Crochet Way

Maryland: Snow in April and Raw foods

April 24, 2012April 27, 2012 Aynaria 1 Comment

Yesterday, if you lived in Western Maryland you might have received snow…

We didn’t receive where I lived, but the temperature didn’t rise above the mid 40’s, and so I bundled up my daughter in her winter coat when I took her to school. You know, it feels strange to be still wearing winter clothes…

What’s even stranger is looking at our garden, and still seeing a lot of tilled earth. Because of the unseasonably cool weather, we have been holding off planting crops, we usually have a bit more in the soil by this time. I’m hoping that we’ll soon have stable temperatures, so or planting can resume.

I’m relieved we didn’t receive snow in our area. It’s not because I dislike snow, I don’t. I love it, but I definitely don’t want the crops we’ve planted to be affected.

I didn’t get around to making any raw food pasta yet…but I have raw veggie wraps, raw soup, and made some fruit, and vegetable smoothies. For my daughter, I made chicken and rice.

So yes… yesterday was an all raw food day (for myself). I mainly drank water throughout the day, but I did make some raw juices and smoothies too. Incorporating vegetables into your juices or smoothies is an excellent way to boost your vegetable intake, especially if you or those you’re preparing meals for, aren’t used to eating a lot of vegetables. For my daughter and myself, we love vegetables, but it’s nice to have variety too.

Yesterday, homemade fruit pops were made, and my daughter happily consumed one today; even though we had chilly weather. She likes them because they taste great. I like them since it doesn’t have a lot of junk she doesn’t need. Making your own homemade fruit pops is a healthier, and it can be a cheaper alternative to purchasing all natural fruit pops from the store.

I’m definitely happy that I’m taking a break from cooked foods. I decided to switch to raw foods for a little while. I’m not doing it for health reasons. I’m in great health, not doing it to lose weight, I’m at my ideal weight, and I exercise daily. I’m swapping to raw foods, simply because I can.

Hopefully I’ll get a chance to include pictures of the fruit pops (along with a few recipes) before the week is over.

Fun with Raw foods

April 23, 2012April 23, 2012 Aynaria 21 Comments

For myself, there’s nothing like biting into a ripe peach, juicy tomato, or munching on some dark leafy greens; pure heaven!

We eat plenty of raw foods in our household. I’ve always enjoyed eating foods fresh from the garden. The flavor is miles ahead of what you find in the grocery store. I realize that I’m fortunate to be able to have a garden filled with organic produce.

The beauty of gardening is that you don’t need a lot of area to grow vegetables, so even if your in an urban setting you can have a garden, it just won’t be as big.

Colorful vegetables

Raw food made easy

A few years ago, I decided to go raw for thirty days. no reason really, it’s something I never tried, and I wanted to eat lighter meals. Eating raw foods was the perfect option. I’d already eating a lot of raw foods, and I thought it would be interesting to see how I’d manage during that month. Well, a month turned into a year. Initially, it was challenging creating food in a different way, but I soon learned simple is best; occasionally I’d make elaborate raw food meals, but they were rare.

Over the course of a year, my eyes were open to numerous raw food delicious dishes that I prepared while experimenting in the kitchen.

When I gradually started introducing cooked foods into my eating lifestyle, my raw food pasta maker, Kitchen Aid food processor, and Vita Mix blender, received a permanent spot in the kitchen; because they are amazing. Six years later, and those machines are still doing well. Foods that are constantly in our rotation are raw collard wraps, vegetable pasta, raw sandwiches, and a variety of homemade butters; raw almond butter is my favorite.

I’ve always had a lot of energy, I did notice an increase while I ate only raw foods, which amazed my friends, since they know the amount of energy I had before. Afterwards, my love for dark leafy greens increased, and you could actively find me trying to include raw or lightly steamed portions into my daily routine.

These days, I still eat a high amount of raw foods, but I have been thinking about eating only raw food for a time. During that time, I’ll share some of the recipes here at Celebrate Life. Today, I believe I’ll be making some type of raw food pasta dish, and so I’ll be sure to take a few photos of whatever I create.

In other news…

WordPress: Disappearing comments

Ghost animated

It appears like some of my WordPress comments have disappeared. Uh oh! Crochet and knitting diva, Nicole, and a brand-new reader (who’s name I can’t remember offhand) have gone missing. After a lot of research it seems that I’ll need to log into phpMyAdmin and repair the comments database, and so I’ll be taking care of that later today.

Once repaired, the comments that disappeared should reappear. Yeah!

Awesome deal: yarn stash updated; Mother Bear Project

April 22, 2012April 24, 2012 Aynaria 7 Comments

After the 9:00 morning service at our Lutheran church, my daughter and I stopped by a store.

I was running out of the acrylic yarn that I use for the Mother Bear Project, and I needed more…

Crochet aminekos Red Heart yarn

Marigold and Mario (my daughters crochet aminekos) are turning up everywhere aren’t they? Now they’re on the new Red Heart yarn…

We stopped at Michaels first, since I needed eyes to complete the Red Angry Bird I’m making for my five-year old nephew. While there I decided to check out their yarn; sometimes they have great deals. Turns out I came at the right time, since the Red Heart Super Saver yarn was only $1.89. It’s usually $2.99 at Michael’s. Red Heart yarn is cheaper at Wal-Mart. I grabbed seven skeins, thinking I’d stop by later in the day, and really clean up… in hindsight I should have bought more.

I was thrilled… since this now meant I didn’t have to stop by Wal-Mart just to pick up the yarn, however, when I walked up to the cash register I faced a slight problem…

Red Heat Super Saver yarn

The Red Heart yarn was ringing up at the regular price; $2.99. Wait… what? I told the cashier that it was on sale, She shook her head, “No, it’s not. I mentioned the sign, and so she sent another employee back to check. That employee came back, nope she didn’t see it either, and so I went back and pointed it out to her.

That sign was easy to overlook, whoever had put it there, had tucked it in a spot where it didn’t stand out, and so the one day sale on yarn which should have been removed yesterday, was still there today about twenty minutes after the store opened.

The good news is that Michael’s did honor, the lower price, and with the additional yarn I already had I have enough acrylic yarn; to keep crocheting bears for The Mother Bear Project for quite some time.

Many thanks to the cashiers at Michaels in White Marsh, Maryland, being polite, and honoring the advertised price.

This lovely girl lives in Namibia, and seems happy with her crocheted bear.

Why am I choosing acrylic yarn for crocheting amigurumi bears?

The Mother Bear Project sends crocheted and knitted bears to children…

The Mother Bear Project is dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of a hand-knit or crocheted bear.

The simple gift of a hand-knit bear with a tag signed by the knitter has touched children with the message that they are unconditionally loved.

The last thing their caregivers needs to be concerned with is ruining the bear by washing it incorrectly; with some of your delicate fibers this can be an issue. Acrylic fiber is durable, and can be washed at any temperature either by hand or tossed into a washing machine. Perfect!

What I’ve been forgetting to do, is to take pictures of the crocheted bears I’ve already made for this organization, and sharing some of them here at Celebrate Life. Although this isn’t the normal way I volunteer, I do believe this is the perfect chance for some kindhearted crocheters and knitters to help those in need..

How can I participate in the Mother Bear Project?

If you crochet or knit, and would like to make bears to send to this wonderful organization, stop by the Mother Bear Project website, learn how you can donate your bears to help children in need.

Phillipians 2: 3-4

³Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

In my early twenties, I had a hard time giving the things I’d create to people I didn’t know. Those items were my babies, some items (such as the cross-stitched afghans) took a while to create. And so I created only items for friends/loved ones. What changed that? It’s hard to say, but I know that…

One day I thought about the amazing things that strangers have done throughout time; Soldiers fighting for us, and in many instances giving their lives so others they don’t even know might have freedom, civil rights supporters doing the same thing, organ, and blood donors, the list is endless of what some people will do for perfect strangers… and it made my hangups (about making crafted items for those I don’t know) seem a bit selfish. This wasn’t about anyone else, and what they were doing; it’s how I viewed what I wasn’t doing…

Although these children are far away, I’m thrilled that I can help out in some way, and perhaps put a smile on their faces too… Thanks Mother Bear Project!

It’s a chilly Sunday in Maryland; it’s about 45 F. It’s Spring here, but it doesn’t feel like it. We have a fire going in the wood stove… later today I’ll be curling up next to my daughter and crocheting some bears.

Photo Source: Mother Bear Project

The rain dancing worked; plants are happy

April 21, 2012April 22, 2012 Aynaria 4 Comments

Yesterday, I completed a lot of gardening; more onions were planted. We love fresh onions.

Also I planted cucumbers, and more tomato plants and flowers were set out too. So yes, Friday was busy!

Once the gardening was complete, I cut our grass.

Sure, I could have done it the easy way, hop on the riding lawn mower, and breeze through the acre of grass that needed to be cut, but I chose the push mower. The reason was simple; I wanted a good workout.

After tossing my funky clothes into the washing machine, I hopped into the shower. It felt great having the hours worth of dirt, sweat, and funk being washed away. Yes I was smelling funky, quite normal to stink, if you’ve been working outside for a while.

While in the shower, I remember thinking that it’d be great if we received some rain; After picking up my daughter from school, I told her about this, and we did our little rain dance. Truth is… it was just an excuse to dance. We love dancing!

Although I was planning on taking photos of all the yard work that I’d completed, it’ll have to wait until another day; it’s raining.

Versatile blogger award, linkage, and seven things you might not know about me…

April 21, 2012August 9, 2013 Aynaria 10 Comments

At Celebrate Life you’ll notice that I write about a variety of topics.

The reason is simple, sticking to one topic would bore me to tears…

Not everyone likes that approach, and I’ve had a few blog buddies tell me they wished that I’d stick to one subject… nope, not going to happen, that’s not me. I enjoy writing about a variety of topics.

I’ve received The Versatile Blogger award…

This is the first award for this site, and so that makes it extra special.

I would like to thank Michelle, of Will Knit for Food, for nominating my site. When I first stumbled upon Michelle’s site, I couldn’t help but smile… Will Knit for Food… I’m betting many of us have thought that about something we enjoy doing. Then there are the fortunate ones that have been able to turn their craft into a business. Michelle’s a talented knitter and sewer, just look at her in that dress, isn’t she lovely?

Ok, moving on to the requirements for the award…

Requirements

Versatile Blogger Award requirements

Here are the conditions of The Versatile Blogger Award:

Thank the person who gave you this award.
Include a link to their blog.
Next, select 15 bloggers that you follow regularly or have recently discovered.
Nominate those bloggers for the Versatile blogger-award.
Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself.

Since I’ve already thanked Michelle for my Versatile blogger award, it’s time to nominate others…

I am not going to award as many bloggers. I think I’ll change the number to five, ok? This post should have been completed a few days ago. However, I do link out to bloggers a lot, so if you follow my site, you’ll be sure to see other bloggers mentioned.

Blog update cartoon

Celebrate Life’s Versatile Blogger Nominees…

Suituapui of Still Crazy after all these Years

I’ve been following Suituipai for a few years. Suituipai lives in Sibu. His posts are entertaining, and I’m frequently introduced to a food that’s new to myself, such as the jungle fern; that’s he’s posted about many times now. Suituipai is also entertaining, and makes his virtual guests feel welcome.

I love the fact that he takes the time to read the many comments left by his guests.

Nicole of D’Nali

I’ve met Nicole through one of the crafty blog hops that I participate with, and I’ve been following her view my RSS feed reader. I enjoy her writing style, and the crochet she shares on her site, including her commitment to start making her Christmas presents early. I’m with you on that, I’m doing the same.

My only regret, is she doesn’t write more; selfish… I know.

Kathleen of A Surprise Every Time

Kathleen’s a talented fiber artist, and I love to read what’s going on in her fiber world. Her posts are entertaining, and feature many of her talented crochet designs, she also makes the most adorable amigurumis.

Her comments on my site, have always been encouraging for me as a newbie crocheter, thank you Kathleen!

Andréann of Aux Demilunes; Every Single Day is Magic

I enjoy stopping by Andréann’s virtual home, she writes about her love of creating, which is evident in the variety of fiber art, which is regularly displayed on her site, take for example, the gorgeous handmade doll, knitting and sewing were combined to make this simply adorable doll. I also appreciate that she writes about her daily life. That’s refreshing!

Currently one of her children isn’t feeling well, so I hope he feels better quickly.

Mike Goad of Exit 78

I’ve followed Mike’s blog since perhaps 2008? It’s been a while…

Mike and his talented wife Karen (she makes gorgeous hand-sewn quilts) enjoy wide open spaces as much as myself. He’s shared many of their road trip adventures through his site. Mike shares plenty of photography photos to keep his readers entertained.

He also loves history, as do I, check out his website that focuses on the American Civil War site. This site features daily written account of the Civil War, by those living during that time.

calvinonwriting.06.18.10.jpg

I’ve always loved Calvin & Hobbes; this is one of my favorite strips.

Seven things you might know know about me

I work from home; I have a few business sites that are monetized, and I write; online and print publications. The amount of money I make has been enough to keep me working at home since 2005. I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning, not as much now. Can you make money online? Sure but it’s a lot of work, with my business sites, I don’t write about how to make money online, but they do make money. 🙂
I’m a single mom. When I was two months pregnant, my daughter’s father, was killed in a car accident. Naturally that was unexpected. I’m slowly starting to think about possibly dating again; nine years later. Yes, it’s taken that long to heal. I’m not rushing into anything, nor am I actively seeking one.
I’m a Christian Lutheran. My faith is part of whom I am, so occasionally it comes up in my real life and online chatter; it’s an interest of mine, so as with anything else I’m interested in, I talk about it; no shame here.
I enjoy helping others, because of that I’m involved with a lot of outreach ministries through one fabulous organization; my Lutheran church. My church is predominantly White, but our doors are open to everyone. It’s not just a saying. I’m there after all, and quite a few other ethnicities consider this their church home. We’re welcome there. I appreciate that my church practices what they preach; reach everyone — not just those that are similar to you; step out of your ‘comfort zone.
I enjoy staying in shape. I was planning on competing in Figure competition, but I kept gaining a few pounds. Turns out I was pregnant with my daughter. A surprise yes, but the best gift I’ve ever received.
I enjoy extreme sports. My favorite extreme sport is skydiving, and I’ve been several times. That came to a halt when my daughter was born, however, I’ve told her when she gets older. I’ll take her on a few jumps. She’s excited.
I love insects. My daughter and I regularly go on insect hunts. We take pictures, and when we return home we look them up in Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity

Thanks again for the award, and I hope you take the time to visit the bloggers I’ve mentioned above.

Finished Object Friday: Two Aminekos are better than one and Swirly Twirly Scarf

April 20, 2012May 29, 2012 Aynaria 18 Comments

I’m finding crochet to be quite addicting, although I’m still new to crochet I usually have something on my hooks.

Recently my finished objects all have one thing in common, they’ve been made for my daughter.

Daughter amineko swirly twirly scarf

But, how can I complain look how adorable she is? The above photo was taken this morning…

I was getting ready to drop her off at her Lutheran school. What’s her expression saying? “Mom, please hurry!”

She’s modeling the swirly twirly scarf, and holding onto the two amineko’s that I crocheted for her. The scarf came off right after this picture was taken. They wear uniforms at her Lutheran school; swirly twirly scarves aren’t part of the dress code.

Amineko love 1 04 20 12

Two aminekos are better than one

I think these two need to get a room, don’t you? The white Amineko is my Finished object for this Friday. The mustard colored amineko was featured last week.

Amineko’s are so much fun to crochet, and my daughter is having a blast placing them in various poses.

She’s named the white amineko Mario. Marigold, is the mustard colored amineko.

Amineko 1 04 20 12

Crochet amineko number two was completed last weekend, but I have to admit my lovely eight-year old daughter helped. She embroidered the face; eyes, nose, and mouth. I must say, for her first time, she did an excellent job.

Amineko love 2 04 20 12

Swirly twirly scarf

Since I adore scarves, I thought it would be smart to start attempting to create them on my own, and that’s why I made the swirly twirly scarf. Marigold is modeling my daughter’s scarf. While Mario is, a bit peeved that their snuggle time was interrupted. Humph!

Red Angry BIrd; still a work in progress

The crocheted Red Angry Bird I’m making for my five-year old nephew still needs eyes. Once I purchase them from a local craft store, I’ll finish the Angry Bird. I’ll crochet the Black Angry Bird bomb, and wrap them up and ship them to Texas.

Month: April 2012