We have made it through another year!!! Yay me, another year with me, the boys, two cats, a boyfriend and family! I celebrated my first year as being a single homeowner and my five year anniversary with my job as a sleep specialist. The year has been great and somewhat chaotic for me as I feel myself starting to realize my age and the responsibility that comes with being a single parent and provider. I have strengthened my bond with my family and friends and have come to realize that it is okay to count on others in times of need. That has always been a tough one for me! The kids are growing up quickly, my oldest is a junior in high school and my youngest in third grade. Quite a difference in ages, but I am happy with that. I can only handle one teenager at a time! I hope to have Quinn and Kel conditioned and well trained by the time they hit the teens so the drama will hopefully be less. On the crafting end I have expanded my interests to include fiber spinning. I never thought I would have enjoyed it as much as I have, but I find it to be very relaxing. Jen has been a great help to me and i have been able to learn from her experience. I was able to pick up a used Ashford Spinning wheel over the summer and I am anxiously awaiting for my Fancy Kitty Drum Carder and mill end fiber to arrive. I am expecting a friday delivery and this date also happens to be my youngest ninth birthday and the first night of skiing and snowboarding at Timberline. I will have to find a way to get the kids to leave early so I can rush home and play with my carder! Oh, I have also finished my first ever sweater for moi! From blending the fiber, spinning it and knitting it I feel pretty proud of my accomplishment. I don't think it is ready to be worn to work, but I will wear it proudly here at home so I won't have to hide the crooked seams! I was so excited to get it finished I whip stitched it up quickly. I have managed to learn a few other crafting techniques as well. I picked up a solder iron from Michaels and was able to make a few photo charms and I have used the Cricut to make some really cute cards. The scrapbook of my Dad and his family is almost complete.... If only there was more time and more space I'd be crafting 24/7. As it is now I get too overwhelmed so I end up starting many new projects and finishing few. This leads me to my New Years Resolutions:
Just to name a few:
For my health: I will dust off the treadmill and get to walking again!
Increase h20 intake and decrease soda intake
It's time to drop the excess weight I have been carrying around
For my sanity: Take time for myself without feeling selfish
Read at least three books this year and actually finish them!
For my career: Work on punctuality and continuing education
For fun: Craft,craft,craft! Make all my cards for the years occasions,
knit and crochet at least one more sweater for me. To start
early on Christmas gifts, everything will be handmade. To promote
and profit from Ebay and Etsy for additional income. Blog regularly!
For family & friends: To be the best mom, sister, daughter, aunt,girlfriend and
friend that I can be!
A wish for a happy and healthy New Years to everyone! P.S. Here are some photos of my carder that I am getting and my completed Mint Chocolate Sweater!
Jen and I had such a great time there while being in the company of so many other wonderful fiber fanatics! I had a chance to meet a lot of new faces through Jen. She has been in the fiber industry for I don't know how many years and she was nice enough to introduce me to some folks. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly. There were many names I recognized too from Ravelry and I had to chance to see everyone's work in real life. I also volunteered to photograph the festival and I have to say I enjoyed it tremendously. I had a chance to use my Rebel and anytime I get a chance I love using my new camera. Here is a link to those photos here OFFF We had a beautiful sunny day on Saturday and even complained a bit about it being too hot. Well, we must have complained too much because Sunday greeted us with some Oregon rain. We had a few moments of sunshine and took advantage of them while moving our yarn display out. Sunday also hosted the parking lot fleece sale. I would have bought more probably if it weren't for the rain but I did manage to get a lovely lincoln fleece and some beautiful mohair curls. I am not fond of raw fleece, but I was able to get one that wasn't too dirty and I actually used the washer to clean it. It worked out really well, so I will definitely try that next time. I sooo love the mohair curls, they were already washed and I am wanting to dye some in a variety of deep rich colors. I did however use some of them in my first ever needle felting project, my little sheep. She's a beauty and I had so much fun creating her. I took her to work with me and she now resides on my desk so I can look at her sweet little face just about everyday. 
I have also been spinning like crazy trying new techniques. I was able to do a coiled yarn and my next thing to try will be to corespin. I have attempted it once, but had to go back to youtube to see more demonstrations. So for the crafty side of my life all is going great :) I am so still in love with fiber and my spinning wheel. I also made melt and pour soap this summer and worked on some jewelry projects and felting items. I have also been thinking about my gift list for the holidays and hope to be on top of it this time. It will be a totally handmade Christmas! As for my home life, the boys went back to school last month. We had a few milestones happening too, Connor is my senior in high school and Quinn officially started middle school. I only have one left in elementary school! Where has all the time gone? I usually don't think about how busy my life is as a single parent until times like these and all I can do is just "breathe!" tata for now :)
