New Sweater...and Juggling?

I have to take the boyfriend to the airport soon, but I have just enough time to post my newest creation! It's an Aqua 3/4 Sleeve Sweater! The waist is made in a looser lacy type of stitch to let the body breathe, and the top a tighter knit to give a little bit of warmth after the sun has set. I hope you guys like it!

In Juggling News:

I can already juggle balls...I do so at work every day, and though I'm not the best juggler, I'm not nearly as terrible as I used to be. Well, last night, the boyfriend decided that I should definitely learn to juggle clubs. For those that don't know, the clubs are the ones that look like bowling pins.

They are much harder than balls...both to juggle and when they hit you in the head...OUCH! I think I broke every single nail...Not good when your real profession has people looking at your hands. I'll have to practice a bit more with 2 clubs and hopefully I can suprise the boyfriend when he gets back from Kansas City...

By The Way...

If anyone lives out in Kansas City, next time you go to the airport, you might see my boyfriend on one of the video screens...he's leaving today to film it.

Awesome Book!

I just finished reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for my book club...just in time too, since we meet the day after tomorrow. It was in one word: AWESOME! Not only was the writing brilliant, but the story was compelling too!

The story is narrated by death and is about a little girl in 1940's Germany who started stealing books before she could even read them. It made me laugh and cry and go through an entire range of emotions. I would recomend this book to anyone who loves to read...and even to some that don't.


In knitting news:

I am 3 seams away from finishing my new top. I really wanted to get it done last night, but after doing the shoulders, my eyelids started drooping and the next thing I knew, my boyfriend was waking me up. So much for that goal...hopefully I'll get it done today...hopefully being the opperative word.

Keep an eye out tomorrow and hopefully there'll be a picture of it...

Tomorrow's post might be a little later than usual since I have to take the boyfriend to the airport before work...

Sunday Funday!

Yes! The Sunday Funday video of the week is back!

This one is amazing. It's a trick pool shot envolving dominos...I wonder how long it took those guys to set it up, and I wonder how long it took to perfect it. I hope you enjoy, and have a wonderful Sunday!



After watching the pool shot, you might be ready for a different kind of pool...click here for some of my spring and summer items!

Camping is Fun!

Yes! I remembered my camera...No, I forgot to take pictures most of the time, but I did get a couple...This one is the boyfriend and the dog walking down by the edge of the lake.

We had a nightmare of a time finding a campsite. Every employee told us something different and when the boyfriend tried to make reservations by phone, the guy was rude and said to just show up....Well, after a couple of hours of searching, we finally found a place and that's when our vacation began.

We cooked salmon, and smores (of course), and baked potatoes; all over the open flame...We went hiking (which was the dog's favorite, we took a drive, we napped, we read and all in all we had a wonderful time.

We ate waaaaaay too much, and so for hours after dinner we were left gazing into the fire and clutching our tummies...What a way to live!

In case you missed the "Friday Favorites" (they were up late yesterday), be sure to go and check them out.

Friday's Favorites

I just got back from my camping trip...(more about that tomorrow), so the Friday's favorites is a little later in the day than usual. Also, since I wasn't in town on Thursday, I was unable to do submissions this week, so instead I decided to focus on the one team I belong to: The Etsyknitters Team

They are a really great bunch of people, and very supportive, both for knitting and the little pep talk we all need from time to time. For the month of June, we're doing a wedding challenge! I thought all of you would like to see just a couple of the items that we've made...if you like what you see, and want to see more just Click here and enjoy!

Musings...and then I'm off!

I check my google analytics everyday, and everyday, I get numerous hits for "fishnet tank top"...and yet mine hasn't sold. I wonder if it's the color or the style, because obviously people are looking for that sort of thing. I might try some different colors when I finish with my current project. There's obviously a demand out there, now I just have to figure out how to fill it.

I also get lots of hits for searches for things that aren't even in my shop. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to get the hits, but when someone is looking for "Japanese Anime Cards" how in the world do they find my shop?

And I'm off...

After I finish my living statue shift today, the boyfriend and I are off to Big Bear, CA for a little bit of camping. It will be good to get away for a day or two, and I know the dog will love it. I'll do my very best to remember my camera...I have a really bad track record with that.

I'll be back on Friday...Hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

A Fun Book...

I just finished reading a book called We'll Always Have Parrots by Donna Andrews...yes you read it right, it says parrots. Well, I know you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but truth be told, the pun in the title was what made me grab for this one. It was a really fun, and really clever mystery that takes place in a convention (much like a Star Trek one), where parrots and monkeys are on the loose, everyone's in strange costumes and all told through the eyes of an "outsider"...well, sort of. It makes fun of itself too, but not too much...a great beach read...I would have read it on the beach if my body had any sort of capacity to tan.

In knitting news:

I would have been done with one of the sleeves of my newest creation if I hadn't messed up the front. There was much unravelling (and many words which I won't type in this blog), and finally the front was finished and one of the sleeves is now about halfway done. I can't wait until the finished project comes together...I will say this, though, it's in a very bright turquoise!

Public Service Announcement with a bit of sleep...

Wow! I must have been so tired yesterday after work. I came home, cooked dinner, and the next thing I knew I was waking up on the couch. After stumbling upstairs to bed, I slept through the night (a rarity for me) and on until 9:30 this morning. I usually wake up naturally around 7:30 sometimes 8. I think if I let myself go back to bed, I probably could squeeze out a couple more hours. This dancing is really taking its toll on my poor body...magic is so much easier.


Public Service Announcement:

If you are on vacation to such places as Las Vegas, Disneyland or anywhere that has costumed characters that you would like to take pictures of, and if you have one of those cameras that looks like a camera but is actually taking video, you'll get a much better video if you inform people that you are in fact taking video.

After the shows people always want to take pictures of me and the cast. And so many times we'll be standing there smiling like idiots for what seems an eternity while they're waiting for us to do something because it's video. Even as a magician, I'm not psychic...just tell us it's video and we'll do something fun for the camera otherwise when you get home, you'll find a lot of really boring video of people standing there...

This works conversly as well...if you have a video camera that you're taking stills with, you should tell people...otherwise you'll get a lot of blurry pictures of people moving around trying to mug for the camera.

Arrrg!

My computer crashed this morning, and by the time I got it up and running, I had no time to find a Sunday Funday Video before going to work...

We'll pick it up again don't worry...

Have a great Father's Day everyone!...which reminds me, I need to give mine a call.

Randomness

First things first...one item has already been sold from the "Friday's Favorites"! Yay for DirtyGirlSoaps and her watermellon soap!

In knitting news:

I'm almost finished with the front of the sweater I'm making. It's taking me quite a while because I've only been knitting at work lately. By the time I come home, all I want in life is to curl up on the couch and do absolutely nothing. Even the knitting needles seem to weigh 500 pounds. At least when I'm doing shows, throughout the day, I get a good hour of knitting in...

In Fish news:

One of my fish died sometime during the night. I hope the other fish aren't traumatized by having to spend the night with a fish corpse, although I've been told that their memory is about 5 seconds long, so maybe if they were shaken by the experience, they've probably forgotten it by now...

Between cat medicine and fish disposal, I think I accomplished a lot before my first cup of coffee.

Friday's Favorites!

There were so many totally awesome Summer items, I couldn't pick just 8, so I went with 10. Everything from Jewelry to Firefly holders, from charms to sunbathing companions...I'm sure you'll find something to aid in your Summer fun!



3 items were sold from last week! Lets hope even more get sold this time around!

Cat update:

She's getting better and better by the day, both heathwise and at trying to avoid her medication. At this rate, by the end of the week, I'll have to change her name from Betty to Houdini!

Camping and Submissions!

The boyfriend has gone camping this weekend...well, his weekend which is Thursday and Friday. I was supposed to go with him, but my work schedule was already set for the week. Since one of the performers is out for a month, we are doing the schedule week by week, and the manager has been wonderful at giving me first crack at the days available...Unfortunately for the boyfriend, I was dying for 2 days off in a row, and the schedule was set when he asked me...

We might go together next week...at least I'm planning on having are days off at the same time...

He left after his last show on Wednesday, and last night sent me a "Survivor Man Video"...it was so cute!


Friday's Favorites Submissions

In honor of the weather warming up, I'm looking for Summer Items...anything that you have in your shop that makes Summer just a little more fun, post those links in the comments. Tomorrow I'll post the Friday's Favorites, and of course, I'll choose from the comments first before choosing from the forums.

Back to Work

Despite everything that's been going on, it has been really nice to have two days in a row off of work. That ends today...back to the grindstone. I'm thinking of bringing back some older magic stuff, just to keep the shows interesting...when you get bored, the audience can always tell.


In knitting news:

I'm working on a summer sweater with 3/4 sleeves right now in a delicious shade of aqua. The back's done, and I'm hoping that in between shows I can finish the front today. I might even have it up by next weekend! (fingers crossed)

I also found some great yarn on sale, but am still at a loss about what to make with it. Hopefully something will inspire me soon.

In Kitty Cat News:

There's already a huge improvement in Betty. She's horrible about taking her medicine, but I was strong and got it down her throat. I can already tell that it's working!

Cat Saga part 2

Betty, the cat, was great at going to the vet. She never tries to run when I carry her out to the car...she is so scared that she plasters herself against me and hides her head.

In the car, she didn't even hiss at passing cars like she usually does.

We got to the vet and they checked her out, did xrays and bloodwork and everything.

The good news: They can cure her! Yay!!!!

The bad news: She has severe pnemonia in her right lung. She had to stay overnight so she could do nebulizer treatments yesterday, this morning and later on today.

The not-so-bad news: I thought it would be more...I was preparing myself to here something like $1000!...When I heard $450, I was quite relieved.

I'll be picking her up this afternoon along with pills and nose drops...I am so not going to be her favorite person this week...she looks at medicine as some sort of torture that humans inflict upon her, there's no way to explain to her that this is going to make her feel much better.

Soon she will be able to resume her favorite pastime (pictured above)...torturing the dog. Don't worry, when I adopted her she was declawed so her torturing techniques always seem to fail, much to her chagrin.

Good book, sick cat

I'm off to the vet today at four...Betty (the cat) was sneezing all night, and won't eat her treats, and refuses to come out of hiding...classic signs that she's not feeling well.

Even though she's feeling bad, it is mildly entertaining to take her to the vet. It doesn't matter how strong or fast you are, she will NOT get into a carrier. I've given up long ago...so I carry her into the car and she climbs up to the area above the back seat and hisses at cars as we drive along...I always wonder what the drivers behind me are thinking.

I'm sure she'll be ok, but she is 11 years old, so it's best to check up on these things.


In book news:

I just finished Monday the Rabbi Took Off by Harry Kemelman. It's part of a series that starts of Friday which the rabbi did something I can't remember and it ends on Thursday. It's a fun little detective novel...I'm getting a wee bit tired of it, but I'm detirmind to finish out the "week".

Now I'm reading The Book Thief which, so far, is just awesome. I'll let you know more about it when I'm done.

Sunday Funday!

Oh yes! It's time for the Sunday Funday Video of the week...yes, I was able to tear myself away from my number puzzle addiction to find this one for you guys.

I so wish my magic was loud enough to do this at work...come to think of it, I wish management would allow me to do this at work...Ah well...



Can't get enough of the Sunday Funday Videos? Click here for some that you may have missed!

I have a problem...

...and I think I'm ready to admit it now...I'm totally addicted to number puzzles. Sudoku, kakuro, hitori...and some that I've even forgotten their name.

Before it was manageable. I'd do a puzzle in the newspaper, or maybe one in a puzzle book before bed, but then I discovered conceptis.com. It has all sorts of cool puzzles. The one I'm currently focused on is called fill-a-pix which is kind of reminicent of Mine Sweeper.

I was almost late for work yesterday trying to finish one.

These things are like crack! (No, I've never done crack, but I imagine it would be just as addicting)

I have stuff to do, and a life to live...maybe if I do just one more puzzle I'll get it out of my system?

I have to go now...there's a puzzle sitting there just waiting for me...Remember to tune in tomorrow for the Sunday Funday video of the week...that is, unless I'm in puzzle rehab.

Friday's Favorites...And treasury action too!

My wedding snood was featured in a treasury yesterday along with other wedding items made by the etsyknitter's team. If you have a moment, please give it a couple clicks to help boost it's hotness rating...http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=64097

Onto the Favorites!

It's all about men, and Father's day in particular. Haven't bought anything for him yet? Well, check out the clock at the top of my blog...yes, it's panic time...but here are some dad items from a bunch of different seller's that might be right for your dad!

Can I relax?

I have one precious day off today and then back to work tomorrow. My body is less sore than it was...I guess that means I'm either not working as hard or I'm finally getting back into shape. That's one week down and three weeks to go before our other performer should be back from his foot injury, so the marathon working schedule continues.

I should probably fix my magic props that have broken, or clean the poor neglected house, but there is probably a lot of couch sitting in my future...maybe I can even talk the boyfriend into a backrub.






In happier news:

Tomorrow is "Friday's Favorites!" and since Father's day is coming up, I would love to see some of your items for the occasion. Just post the link in the comments and be sure to check back tomorrow to see some must have gifts for dad.

Wedding Snood!

I finally finished and listed my wedding snood. I've never made a wedding item before, and I think I like how this one turned out. I'm not sure how many brides are in the market for snoods, but I wanted to do something different for the etsyknitter's team wedding challenge and I didn't see a lot of snood action going on.

I hope you guys like it!

Now I'm working on a cool short sleave top in turquoise...I'm digging the color, so I hope the top does it justice.

Updates and Suggestions

Well, my Wedding Snood is finished, I just need to put a bow on in and take some pictures. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out...I hope the other etsyknitters team members like it. In case you don't know, the etsyknitters team is doing a wedding challenge this month. For more info about it, go to www.etsyknitters.blogspot.com.



Looking for suggestions:

I made this tank top a week or two ago, and I can't decide the best way to market it. At first I called it "Purple Fishnet Tank Top", which I thought was very self explanitory, but then I worried that people might not want a tank top that was fishnet, so then I've been calling it "Purple Beach Cover-Up" since that is how I would probably wear it.

What do you guys think? Would you think of it as a beach cover up or a fishnet tank top or even something completely different? Let me know, I'm really interested in hearing your suggestions.

In other news:

Dentist appt was fine...minimum pain and a clean bill of health.

Out of Shape

Ooooooooooow!

My whole body hurts right now.

Since the Venetian made the cuts to the entertainers, I've had to do double duty. For some of the shows I'm still the magician, but for other shows I'm a living marionette and I have to dance.

Now in my former life I was a dancer (ballet to be exact), so it's not out of the realm of possibility. And actually when I was first hired there, I was hired as both marionette and magician...but that was when I was in my twenties...now my body is older and far more out of shape.

Then to top it all off, the guy who does marionette got injured and will be out for at least a month, so I'm picking up a lot more days....Owwwww!...I'm off today at least.

I know I'm going to spend the morning "relaxing" in a reclining chair...unfortunately, my mouth will be open and a dental hygenist will be poking sharp pointy metal things in my mouth...then back to work tomorrow.

Did I mention Owwwwwwwwwww?

Sunday Funday Video

Oh yes, is that time of week again. This time I went for one of the funniest commercials I'd ever seen...Enjoy!

Trying to accomplish the un-accomplishable

Yesterday I was only supposed to work a half a day. 3 shows, in and out, what could be easier? I had my day planned, go to Michaels, then go to work. Unfortunately, the person performing during the first half of the day hurt his foot and asked if I could work a whole day...Change of plans...but I said yes because I needed the money.

So then the plan was to finish my newest beach cover-up and then start on the wedding snood in between shows...the key word is "was"...After working during two breaks I ran out of yarn for the cover-up. (I was working with some really long scraps I had left over from another project.) I don't need that much more, so I'm still trying to decide whether to buy a whole new skien where I'll use less than a quarter of it, or just scrap this project for a while.

Ok...change of plans...I thought, "OK, I'll just work on the snood today." Well, I wanted to add pearl beads to it, but unfortunately, the pearls that I got had holes that were waaaaay to small for the yarn....sigh...I ended up playing solitaire on my phone for the rest of the day...fun as it was, very unproductive.

I did get to Michael's after work, got some new pearl beads and have since started on the snood...my fingers are crossed that I can finish it today at work.

Want to see some projects that aren't frustrating?

Remember to tune in tomorrow to see the Sunday Funday Video of the week!

Updates and...Friday's Favorites

Well, the microwave is just fine after all. It was the power strip in the cupboard which I'm way too vertically challenged to see. Yay! As much as I like shopping, I wasn't really in the mood to find a new microwave just yet.

In Boat news:

We had a great time on the boat, but the weather (at times) was much too strong for our skill level. It was fun and exciting, but there were a couple of points in there where I was sure I was going to die...luckily I'm writing this blog now which means I'm home safe and sound.

Friday's Favorites!

Speaking of home, here are some lovely housewares that I found in the etsy forums. I'm such a sucker for house stuff, but since my house has no room in it, I'll just have to post my favorites and shop vicariously through all of you.



Weeeeee...the room is tipping, I haven't quite gotten my land legs back, so I'll sign off for now.

Feeling good...until...

I am finally up to date on all of my bills...hooray!

Of course no sooner had I hit the dreaded send button, my microwave decided that it was retiring. There is a small (very small) chance that it could have come unplugged, but I have to have the boyfriend check it out because I'm too short to look up there...maybe if I'm lucky, it's the outlet...less than $1 at Lowes and those are easy to install...fingers crossed.



In Other News:

I'm spending the night on the boyfriend's boat with him and Bess (the dog), so there's a very good chance that there won't be a blog post tomorrow...Don't worry, tune in on Friday for this week's "Friday's Favorites"! 2 items fom last week's favorites are now sold! Hooray for kishcrafts and cuteability!

In Submission News:

In honor of my kitchen trama, this week I'm looking for housewares. Post your the link to your housewares in the comments and you could be featured on Friday! I'll be scanning the forums too!

Something New

Just listed my Rainbow Headband finally. I had taken the photos last week, but just got the burst of energy to list it today...believe it or not the hardest part was measuring it...no really...we have at least 6 or 7 tape measures in the house and rulers gallore and yet I couldn't find a single one...well, obviously I found one, but it took a while.

Now I need to start making a wedding item for a wedding challenge that the Etsyknitters Team is putting together. They are the only team I belong to and are a really great group of people...trouble is, I don't have anything wedding in my shop right now, and haven't thought of a good idea yet...I guess it's kinda hard to start making something until you know what you're going to make, so I think I'll start with that first.

In other news:

Living statue went great yesterday. I've been working out and I could see that it's really paying off. I was barely sore when I finished my shift...now if only I could fit into my jeans...I guess that will come next.

It's a grind

I spent most of yesterday working on a new magic trick. I'm not necessarily the greatest when it comes to big illusions, so it was definitely a work out. Luckily I wasn't the one getting in and out of the box, so (because I have worked as an assistant before) I know I definitely had the easier job.

I was so tired afterward that I couldn't keep my eyes open and ended up crashing on the couch. I didn't even have the energy to cook anything, so the boyfriend got take out...whew...

Today I got called in to do another shift of living statue. Though it's not magic, it definitely pays more and I could use the money...thank goodness I'm doing the later shift, because there's no way I could get up there and do it at 10 in the morning.

What will you be doing while I'm standing still? Maybe clicking here?