Saturday, March 31, 2012

What An Entertaining Spring!


           We're getting closer to it, y'all!...I think! O_O Although the weather outside here in Holyoke feels much to the contrary! It's 37 degrees (Fahrenheit!), with green, pink and white clouds floating across the weather map. You know what that means!!!!...rain, more rain, and snow mixed with rain!....Aargh!!!
        And here I was, with my silly self, thinking we were almost about to enjoy an early Spring! ^_^ Oh well, if the weather can't entertain me...I'll find something that will! In fact, I did! :-)
       Yesterday I entertained myself making two new men's boutonnieres for a potential customer...

         They're both yellow and white, but not exactly the same. The one above is a little darker yellow, is 1/4 inch smaller, and has a larger button in the center than this one (below)...

       He wanted them to be like the red boutonniere in my Wuglyees shop, but white, with a yellow center. Look at the comparison photos below and tell me which one you think comes closer...

        I put a slightly smaller fastener button on the back of these too. "Thank you, former customer, for the tip!" :-)

       If this was the only entertainment I had yesterday, it would've been good, but nooooooo! I also had television...Tennis (Yes! LIVE tennis too!! ^_^), A 'great performance' of classical music on the public access channel, and then a show we caught by accident while channel surfing.......and the funniest thing I've seen on t.v. in a while...a show called "Duck Dynasty"!
      Apparently it's a family of 'back woods' people (they call themselves 'Rednecks') who have made a million dollar business out of making homemade duck calls for hunting. And apparently duck hunting is not their only pastime. They love catfish and bullfrog catching too!..Living off the land, as the grandfather said.
      The funny part was not that! The funny part was the situations they got into while just being themselves...In long scraggly beards and camouflage-type outfits, going to one of the grandkid's school to talk about 'Career Day', O_O...and getting arrested at night while in a golf club's pond, stealing their bullfrogs!
       Between the grandmother doing a video on how to cook bullfrogs and squirrel brains, and them building their own homemade conveyor belt, and then a duck pond in the loading dock of their business...I couldn't turn away!! ^_^ What does that say about me?!!!......I know. It says I need to wash my eyeballs and then find something else to entertain myself with!...WOW!...and I thought I was 'country'!
        Well, it gave hubby and I a night of laughter! And for  that...I'm thankful. Even though it was the kind of laughter toddlers do when they don't know what they're laughing at, but they just know it's FUN-NY!!! LOL


        Very soon, apparently, I'm gonna be entertaining myself with something else! I just read this in my blogger dashboard area: "Blogger is getting a new look in April."O_O What does that mean?!...Am I gonna have to redo my whole layout and everything?!....Aargh!! I just got the backyard looking the way I like it! :-/ I REALLY hate change!!!!
          Whatever!!...Today is the last day to enter the Turquoise Clock Button Brooch Giveaway (see the right hand sidebar for the link to the Giveaway rules this time.)
       Have a good Spring weekend....or whatever season you're enjoying right now! :-)

Entertain Me?

This is a time of 'Reality ' shows,
of T.V. and music, and internet 'chat',
of slogans, commercials and F.Y.I.,
of news and politics and stuff like that.

There are 'Self-Help' shows, like 'Dr. Phil',
and 'Trading Spaces' (Where you don't  have to pay);
There are 'Wake-Up' shows, like 'Good Morning America',
'The View' and 'Today'.

There are game shows, like 'Pyramid',
'Millionaire', and 'The Price is Right',
'The Family Feud', 'Win, Lose or Draw';
You could play from morning til night!

There are shows that are made, half for fun,
and half to look at your life,
like 'Oprah', 'Regis and Kelly',
and 'Judge Hatchett' (the judge who's  a wife).

There are shows that make you laugh;
and others that make you say "Yay!"
Those like 'Frasier', and 'Ed', and ;Friends',
and 'Who's Line is it Anyway?'

Then there's  'E.R.' and 'Survivor',
'Jeopardy' and 'The Weakest Link';
Why are we so fascinated?
('cause when watching, we don't  have to think).

There are some from which you learn
how the world is starting to flow,
like 'Boston Public' and 'Seinfeld',
and, of course, 'The Antiques Roadshow'.

So, with so many things to watch,
(not to mention-to listen to)
We need to 'Buy Out' our time well,
'cause there's  so, so much else to do!

Friday, March 30, 2012

"It Feels Like Today"!...'Virtually' Friday!


         It's romantic Friday!!!!....alias, 'Virtual Date Night' in the Wug household! :-) I say 'alias' because we've been off of our normal 'Date Night' schedule for a while. We haven't 'technically' had a 'virtual' date night for a few weeks...and it looks like, with bad weather coming later today, our 'virtual' excursion is off for today too!...Okay, actually, the weather isn't gonna bother us, we're gonna have our date night anyway. :-) It just won't be anything worth writing about!
      We're gonna be enjoying the cloudy, rainy day...


      ...close to home...in New York...our 'Go To' date destination whenever we're feeling all 'spur of the moment'. :-)
       We don't have to pack much in our bag...


         ...except maybe some snacks, and a bunch of paper and pens, so I can write some poetry. :-) ..Actually I might take two bags. One for necessary 'stuff'...and one to wear romantically across my shoulder to the restaurant...


          Maybe I'll take some bling...sorta...with me too, for my fingers!...


          That's because I love to see rings on a writer's hand while they're writing...so I assume other people notice such things too. :-) ...


         If people really DON'T pay attention to such things, let's keep it as our foggy secret, okay! ^_^

         So, it's not our usual schedule for a date...Actually, lately, it's not our usual schedule for ANYTHING! But we're working at trying to find a new 'normal'. I know we'll get there eventually! ^_^ In the meantime, we have a whole lot of time on our hands!...Funny, though, how time seems to fill itself up even when you're not looking! LOL
       Off to finish my good breakfast...


        ...and look for more inspiration for my crochet brooch keychains!...


      Hmmmm...wish I had thought of this (above)! I love them!!...Oh Well, I'll come up with something!...Although I've got a slight distraction again. A custom order for some men's boutonnieres! :-) I'll show them to you when I'm done.
      Have a good day, Everybody! ^_^ Are you going away,? Stealing a date? Vegging out?!...Share!!! :-] ... Here's a little music to get your 'today' started!



A Music Note

A little 'boogie-woogie' bouncing,
and a tapping toe or two,
and my mood is quickly lifting,
and I want to dance with you.

A little harmony and humming,
and some soul and country too,
and I'm feeling pretty chipper.
So "Let's dance!" My poem is through!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

I Had Good Intentions...Really!...I Did!


        If the gorgeous blue color of LeelaBijou's ring was what brought you over to the blog today, you're gonna know exactly what I'm talking about when I tell you my story....My story that I'm sticking to, by the way! ^_^
       I had such good intentions when I left the blog yesterday. I was off to pull apart some brooches from my Etsy shop (Wuglyees) to refashion into some usable keychains!...But, alas, it was not to be. It seemed like everything...and nothing...got in the way.
      The first thing being LeelaBijou's shop... ^_^ ...which I came across when I was in my shop getting ready to relist a few items that had expired...before I went to get started on my brooch projects offline....Did you see that ring in the header photo?!...Come on! Wouldn't that have side-tracked YOU...at least for a minute?!...No?!...What about if you saw this one too?!...


       Well, that's what happened to me!...at first!...Then I got all crazy side-tracked with these things...






        Then I came across this!...


       ...and it reminded me...Uh Oh!...you've wasted so much time! You've got crocheting to do Missy!...But all of a sudden a wave of 'sleepy' came over me...and I had to take a nap! ^_^
       Then hubby came in and reminded me that we had some paperwork to complete that  needed to be faxed to them as soon as possible....So, more delay.

       Then I started to not feel well!...That led to some preventative methods that had to be painstakingly implemented right away!....Okay! So what happened was I had to get a massage and linger over some hot tea! :-) ...But it was a legitimate side-track!...That's my story and I'm sticking to it! LOL
     Then another long nap...the watching of 'American Idol'...and a chicken wing and some popcorn later!...no brooches were even touched!! O_O ... Will I get to them today?!...Probably not. My hands are aching like crazy this morning..rain! Grrr! And my mind is so distracted! {I didn't sleep well last night...probably because the rain was coming!}
      I had good intentions yesterday. And when the plans didn't work out...I re-planned to do today what I was suppose to do yesterday!...At the moment I'm almost positive that what I didn't get done yesterday, and that was replanned to do today,...isn't gonna happen either!..Aargh! I miss my old schedule!! I need balance! :-/
         And between the achy fingers, the scattered sleepy brain, and now..the men doing yard work outside...I'll be good if I end up wrangling my mind around another nap!....And trust and believe, that nap WILL happen!! LOL...UGH!....Me!
     I'm gonna leave it all alone and say:... "It'll happen when it happens!"...No more pressure!....And I'll also remind you all that the Giveaway will be drawn in a couple of days. I don't have ONE entry according to the new rules! (You can read what they are HERE.)
      I sure hope your plans all come to fruition!...Have a good day, Everybody! :-)

 Balance

You teeter totter, in the middle,
Lean a little, OOPS! You're off!
Now you know that you're not balanced,
and you hope the ground is soft.

It's not easy to achieve,
and once you have it, to maintain.
In almost every part of life
our balance is so hard to gain.

You have to balance your emotions,
how you eat, and how you spend.
And when you're balancing your checkbook,
try to keep a level grin.

Staying somewhere in the middle
takes a conscious, careful touch,
because it doesn't take a lot
to go from balanced to 'too much'!

So try to keep a balanced eye,
 a balanced plate, and balanced life.
Keep your feelings all in check,
and minimize the stress and strife.

And don't compare your sense of balance
 to your neighbor's...you're alone.
Because your neighbor's also trying
to get some balance of his own!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

No! I Don't Have The Key!...But I Know Where To Find It!!


           Now that I have my custom ordered headbands done and shipped, I've got one thing on my mind...keychains!...I've got to re-fashion my crocheted brooches in my Wuglyees Etsy shop into some cute, useful and...something people wanna buy...keychains! ^_^
       I got a few clues of how I want them to look from the keychains I'm gonna show you today...The camera keychain in the header photo...besides being a really cute keychain in its own right...gave me the clue that if I'm gonna sell my crochet keychains I'd better take some better pictures of them. O_O I haven't re-looked at them since I first started my shop over 3 years ago!...

         These cut little owls reminded me not to forget color...and cuteness!

  

      The one below helped me to appreciate that it might be a good idea to have a space inside the keychain to keep a key, some candy or something!...


            And...oh yeah!...don't skimp on the colors! ^_^


       And these make personalization seem like a really good idea!...

     
        ...but I don't think I'm gonna try personalization with my crocheted keychains. I'm not about embroidery or cross stitch this go around!...You're on your own with this one, RiverValleyJewelry! ^_^

        I love, love, love the idea of a retro look though! And this mushroom keychain has that look all mushroomed up!...

       
        In fact, most of the crochet brooches and keychains in my shop could probably fit into the retro category! :-) More because I'm from that generation...the 70s...and retro is what I am!...whether I wanna be or not! ^_^

       Truth be told though, while I love all of the above keychains, my niche is crochet. So, I had to get a little inspiration from people who "crochet" keychains too!...


      
        Inspiration received! :-) ...These two 'really' gave me inspiration...and courage!...Courage that I'm probably on the right track this time, reconditioning my brooches into keychains ! :-] ...So, here's a few of the brooches from my shop that you can look forward to seeing re-conditioned pretty soon!...



    
        I'm going to turn them into pocketbook keychains for the woman who doesn't wanna fish around in her pocketbook for hours looking for a key. These large, soft keychains will be right up on top in your pocketbook every time! ^_^ ...Think gas station keychain....but smaller, softer and prettier! LOL...{Don't even try to tell me that you've never been traveling on a long trip somewhere, and you just had to...HAD TO...use the facilities, and you never had 'Bubba the gas station attendant' hand you the key to the restroom...attached to a huge inflated tire, or an anvil, or some other monstrosity that you were embarrassed to be seen carrying!! LOL}
       And even if you don't have any plans for buying keychains rigt now, I'd love to hear any suggestions you all might have for making them more "Add To Cart"-able! ^_^ Other than that...it just got 'really' dark outside! O_O and it's 10:45 a.m.! The sky looks like a bad storm is afoot!...so, I'm done for today!...Have a good one, Everybody! :-]

  Describe The Sky

Evoking awe and bouts of wonder.
Such inspiration, you just want to cry.
With birds high-flying, and winds a blowing,
what words would you use to describe the sky?

Would you say, whether clouds are upon it,
that it blankets a wondrous space?
Or would you be more awed and humbled,
hoping there you would find God's face?

I would say that when standing quiet,
looking up at the sun or moon,
there's a feeling of peaceful oneness
that I hope won't go away too soon.

Evoking bouts of awe and wonder
was probably what it was designed to do;
That is, besides giving off light and weather,
and the most spectacular view!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

"I'm A Wanderer...!"........Says My Mind.


      I'm having another one of those mornings! I didn't sleep that good, and my mind is wandering all over the place!...And while it sounds like it could be a really frustrating thing, the truth is...I'm having a good morning! :-)
      I guess part of the reason for that is my hubby. :-) If you're an old....scratch that!...'old-ER' woman, like myself, and you wake up at 4 a.m. thinking about platypuses and belly buttons, it's good to have a man laying next to you with a sense of humor and nothing but time on his hands!....Time to ponder the universe...of your mind...with you, and tell 'crazy' when to take a left turn! ^_^
      Not everything this old brain of mine is pondering is bad...certainly not as bad as the quick news update I just saw! O_O A wall of smoke engulfing a town.....and a man fell into a vat of mud in my home state of Georgia!....*talk about wandering off!*...No, some of the wanderings of my mind are kinda nice. :-] Like thinking back on all the pretty butterflies I saw in SpotLightJewelry!...

         Just looking at the photo above I can see that her mind wandered in all of the same places mine did when I was thinking about all of the different places you can wear a cute little paper butterfly!... :-)...But hers went even farther than mine!
        Look at these cute little butterfly hair clips...

        Wouldn't they look great in a bride's hair on her wedding day?!...

       Sooooooo pretty! :-]

       And while we're at it,...putting butterflies in our hair...why not put some flowers on our fingers too!...


         I really love a flower!!...even if they're not crocheted! ^_^ ...and these come in so many pretty colors too!...

            (Just click on the photos to go and see them up close and personal.)

          Speaking of flowers, my crocheted flower headbands sold! :-) The customer loved them both, and bought them last night!...



         O_O Did my mind wander too far out in the woods, too fast for you?!......Okay, how about this?!...

        They're ceramic woodland animal rings...also from SpotLightJewelry!...As you can see...my mind was doing a lot of wandering around in her shop last night! ^_^

        I have to admit to you that a lot of the wanderings of my mind started yesterday. It was a day of highs and lows...

---We got our tax refund in the mail finally...YAY!!!...a high!

---Hubby got a call to go to his old job to pick up his vacation pay check!...YAY!.....No!...They're not giving him the 4 weeks vacation pay he's owed. They pro-rated it according to the month he started working  there, and instead of the over $2,000 we thought it would be...it's around $300. :-( ...a low.

---We found out that there's a 'transitional program' for people in our situation, and we'll be able to get some financial help on a regular basis. Hubby may even be able to get paid to take care of me...like he's being doing all along, without pay! :-) ...YAY!...It's not exactly a high, but it's not a low!

---Our unemployment compensation is looking sketchy. The company appears to have really cut our legs out from under us...so to speak. It's kinda sad for hubby too...after 17 years of hard work, ridiculous hours with no extra pay, and contracts that took away hundreds of dollars a month from him, with the promise of getting it back later...and now here it is "later"...and he's gonna see none of  his money back! :-( ...a Low!

        Enough of that! Sometimes the wandering just has to stop and you just need a good laugh! ^_^ And that's what hubby and I did when I said this to him this morning:

      "I don't know what's wrong with my mind this morning!...My mind feels like an old lady that woke up out on the highway,.....in her nightie...barefoot...with her hair flying all wild...and wondering why the traffic is whizzing by so fast!" O_0 ...a high! LOL
       
I know Dion & the Belmonts were singing about girls, in their song The Wanderer, but I could use their song this morning to talk about my mind's thoughts. ♫ 'they're a wandering....Oh yeah, a wandering....all around round round round round!' ♫ Ha! Ha!



       I even wrote a poem about it. (below)...Have a good day, Everybody! :-) And if your mind wanders off like mine....tell your old lady to wear a jacket, will ya! ^_^

My Mind Went A Wandering

After barely any sleep,
and dreams I find that I am pondering,
my mind is on a journey,
skipping rocks and out a wandering.

It's acting sorta senile,
like an old lady in her nightie,
barefoot on the highway,
thinking she's all high and mighty.

I'm contemplating platypus
and belly buttons too.
All this while thinking fingernails
are not that good to chew.

It's probably not a good thing
that it's gotten so far from home.
Especially all uncovered,
and now clearly needing a comb.

Monday, March 26, 2012

I'm Loving It Right Now...Another Installment!


       It's Monday.....a......gain! :-)) But I'm not upset about that! In fact, I'm hoping 'this' Monday marks the beginning of a Wug's life on the upswing!....No worries though, I'm not holding my breath! ^_^ .....{an air-less 'blue' Wug would not be a pretty picture!}
       To start the week off 'on a good foot' though, I thought I'd do another installment of "Things I'm loving right now"!...And the easiest place to start was the beautiful recycled paper heart garland in the header photo! What a great idea that was...whoever started it!
          The possibilities for usage are endless!...Bridal showers, office parties, weddings, baby showers, 'Congratulations on your new job' gatherings,.....hmmmm....maybe we'll be able to use them for that too one day soon! ^_^ ....Nothing is 'on the work table' yet, but we're puttin' it out there just the same! LOL
         
         I'm also loving this 5 Carat diamond ring!...


        Why am I loving it?!....First, because it's stunningly beautiful!...Second, because it's so far out of my price range that I can just look at it and enjoy it. There's not a chance this side of Mars and Jupiter that I'd EVER be able to own it!! ^_^ ...And if I ever did...what? a girl can dream!...I'd have to sell it anyway!...because I'd never get a wink of sleep with that kind of 'ice' under my roof!! LOL
      And if I did go to sell it, and the guy from the gold and jewelry exchange...allegedly...tried to offer me $65.00 for it!.....my ghetto background might flair back up and crowd out reason, and somebody might end up calling the police! Next thing you know I'd be  locked up in a back cell somewhere in Timbuktu, holding a ring dream, and wearing a striped dress with a bunch of numbers across it!! LOL...Nope!!!...I'm just gonna love looking at it...if you don't mind. ^_^

       These are also among the newest things I'm loving right now! :-) ...

      ...gray crochet flowers! :-) I made one large one, and two small ones...(I had to separate two strands of thin yarn away from a 4-ply thread to make the small ones!...EXASPERATING!!!...PHEW!!!!)...It was a lot of work for a custom order! But in the end...

        ...the headband came out great! :-) ...

       I sent her a picture of it to make sure it was what she wanted, and she loved it!! :-) ...

         In fact, she said it was better! :-) That makes me very happy!...Now I just have to finish the 'bone' colored one today, and list them for her to finish paying for them!
       I really like the three flowers on there, but doing it that way on a regular basis.....No!! That's waaaaay too much work for $15.00!!! ^_^ ...But I'm loving it right now...just the same! :-)

       The last thing I'm loving right now is something else crocheted! Some crocheted squares to be exact!...And for my new reminder of how much I love square making, I have to send a big "Whoop! Whoop!" to Jo-anne, of the blog Blooming Lovely. :-)) ...Thanks Jo!...She emailed me the patterns for some squares she's making. I wanted to see if I could figure out #3...the one that was giving her some trouble...Behold.....number 3!!...

        I had to work it...and then take it a loose...two times before I figured out that the pattern was actually starting with the center flower bud!...

      I couldn't figure out...for the life of me!...why the stitches kept rolling up! ^_^ And me...a flower making girl too!!! O_O

       But I did it!! ^_^ Now....on to number 6!!! :-) After my custom order is done, I mean.

        (I wanted to show you how pretty this square looks even from behind first though.)

      Does yours look like this, Jo?!! :-)

      
        Okay, that's enough for today. Off I go to do some hair-washing, some crocheting, some coffee-drinking, some eating, and some studying. I've got a full day ahead...Why do Mondays always start with life at a run?! ^_^ ...Have a good week, everybody!

All The Things I Love

If I listed all the things I've loved
I could rattle on forever!
Whether by 'order of importance'
or by a poetically quick endeavor.

Right now it's Tennis...Well, all sports,
and reading informative magazines.
And crocheting, food and music.
Well..that might be in my genes!

I've loved teaching and line dancing,
So many things in my short life.
But I've never jumped from a plane,
or whittled anything with a knife!

With every passing moon
I find some other thing that I love.
Whether grassy patterns on my lawn,
or phenomenal skies above.

Yes, if I listed all the things I loved
my words could fill all space,
It comes from curiosity,
and an Ooo-ing Awww-ing place!