How Nifty!

Those who practice the home arts are a dying breed. My grandmother canned stuff. I don't really remember what. Maybe jelly. I remember that she canned things though. She embroidered and entered her homemade goods in the county fair. Not too many people make anything anymore. Storebought is easier and faster. Does anyone outside of Nebraska even use the term ''storebought'' anymore? Usually people think it is better to buy it. The fabric section at Wal-Mart keeps getting smaller and seems with the exception of the very trendy scrapbookers there isn't much that is cool about making things yourself. My friend introduced me to the Knifty Knitter and I'll tell you it is rather nifty indeed. It comes with an instruction book but I found it easier to learn from watching my friend and there are also many videos on You Tube with instructions. With the Knifty Knitter one can make hats, scarves, ponchos, throws and even socks. For my first project I made my 16 year old son a hat. It didn't take that long and wasn't all that difficult. I spent about 4 dollars on yarn. It took me several hours split up over a few days but I think as I get used to doing this it will become quicker and easier to finish a project. Could I have saved a bit of time and bought him another hat at the store? Sure I could have but I have to say that I was thrilled when he liked it and wore it. Homemade is pretty cool after all. Next up a hat for my daughter. She insists on pink yarn of course.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! It's A Secret!

Actually it is a bunch of secrets that aren't really secrets anymore. Confused? I am referring to http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/. People mail in their secrets on a postcard to the bloggers address they might get it published. Thousands of secrets have been mailed in. The website is updated every Sunday with new secrets and several books of the secrets have been published.

I don't know why I am drawn to this website. Each week I check it and it invariably conjures up a variety of emotions. It is kind of like rubber necking on the highway when you see someone on the side of the road. Arrested? Broken down? Accident? It is just curiosity I suppose. Like coming upon an accident scene, I hope everyone is alright and I move along. It is odd that so many people have so many deep dark secrets. Not that I am an open book. I certainly am not. I don't tell everyone one everything but if you put all the people I know in one room then collectively they know everything there is to know about me. I don't particularly see secrets as a good thing. I figure everyone has a past, their own dirty laundry so to speak or they have been in similar situations as myself at some point in their life. I guess if I had a secret so deep and dark that I felt I truly could tell no one I would just tell God. He would already know anyway!

I Don't Like Negativity

I don't like negativity especially when it comes to the temperature. I have many errands that I simply cannot put off today. The pharmacy to get my thyroid medication, the post office to mail a birthday gift, the grocery store for well, groceries and the gym. Normally I don't mind having to run to a few different places around town but today I am dreading it. It is MINUS ELEVEN outside. Seeing as how it is January and I live in Nebraska one might think I should be used to this. Cold is one thing, bitter cold is another but minus eleven with the additional horrid windchill makes it an Arctic blasting cold that I just have a hard time dealing with.

Brrrr.

Life isn't just about me though so as I sat here in my warm house delaying my errands because of the weather I thought about those who would gladly trade places with me. The homeless shelters are at capacity and it is not supposed to warm up for a couple more days. I gathered some extra blankets, a couple coats, mittens and scarves and the first place I am heading is the Open Door Mission in Omaha where these items are in high demand.

I feel warmer already.

CLICKETY CLICKETY CLICKETY

I love the feel of my fingers flying over my laptop. The clickety sound of my writers block temporarily dissipated. I love to write. I get that from my mom. She is a prolific poet and writer. Published hundreds of times in various places especially Fence Posts and Lutheran Digest. Many more to be sure. Her mother wrote too. I hope my children write someday. They can pay me back for all the blogs I have written about them. I recently have made my foray into the professional freelancing world. I have a true blue professional writer friend who told me that once you get paid for something no matter how little the pay or small the article is I can now consider myself a professional. (Thanks Tamsen!) I must be a writer, I have the rejection slips to prove it! They don't slow me down though. Clickety, clickety I am working on my next story/article/project. Along with my blogs and submissions I mail out I have been submitting articles online to Associated Content (and getting paid I happily report). You can see my content here http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/380549/sandy_walker.html

I will improve with time and experience. I don't take rejection or constructive criticism to heart. I am having a great time to boot!

I WON!

At the beckoning of my cousin Nancy Joy I joined the Goodreads site. At first I didn't think the site itself was that interesting or useful but once I toyed around with it a bit I like having virtual bookshelves to catalog the books I have read and more importantly the books I want to read.

Sometimes I hear of a good book but then when I am at the library or bookstore I can't recall any of the titles I was interested in. Goodreads also has authors as well as reviews that anyone can write about a book. I was exploring the site and noticed they have giveaways. A person can sign up to win an advance copy of a book. Of course this is in hopes that you in turn will post a review of that book on the Goodreads site.

I shot off an email to my cousin to see if she had signed up for any book giveaways and she had not. Within a week or two after signing up she won a book. Sorry, I can't remember the title but she is an avid reader so she has probably already chewed up that book. I kept entering the giveaways and I finally won.

Yeah me!

Today the UPS guy delivered my book. Eve: A Novel of the First Woman by Elissa Elliott. Perfect timing too. The weather is incredibly crappy with near ground blizzard conditions. I can stay inside and cuddle up on the couch with my prize. I hope it is a good one but either way I will post a review, it is the least I can do for getting a free book.

What's New?

I am one of those people who love to try new stuff. You never know if you are going to find a new favorite shampoo, restaurant, detergent etc. It drives my anal retentive , regimented husband crazy. He loathes when I rearrange the furniture so a new food is not met with enthusiasm much less an open mind.

Sometimes we find a new family favorite such as the delicious Dellalo calamata olives. Way better than the Marzetti's brand that we tried prior to this. They are awesome. Some things slip by unnoticed like the dishwasher detergent tablets. Of course that could be due to the fact that I am the only one entrusted with the secret knowledge of dishwasher loading. It is becoming a lost art!

Of course there are the duds. Fiber One Frosted Shredded Mini Wheats were ok-ish if you didn't mind an odd coating on the roof of your mouth but the Fiber One Caramel Delight cereal was not delightful at all. GAK! Is the sound I made after my one and only bite. Truly heinous breakfast food is no way to start the day. Another purchase I won't repeat is the Chap Stick true shimmer, peppermint flavor. Yes, it shimmers but it also casts a bluish tint on my lips. So much so that I looked oxygen deprived. I got some very concerned looks at the gym.

Despite the products that miss the mark I still keep my eye out for new things to try at the store and my husband still grits his teeth as I unload my new finds on the kitchen counter when I get home.

READY, AIM, FIRE!

I only went because my teenaged son asked me to. I did not expect to have a good time. A shooting range? Guns? Camouflage wearing NRA freaks? What was I getting myself into? We drove to the local shooting range called appropriately enough The Bullet Hole. Once we stepped inside I immediately saw that my preconceived notions of the place were way off the mark. Very clean and well organized there were racks and racks of various firearms and all the accessories one might need to carry, clean and personalize them. I facetiously asked if they had a gun that was pink or purple, maybe one with flowers. A feminine one I told them. The helpful guy behind the counter (in a dress shirt and khakis, no camo) informed me that they had a lavender gun that was just sold in the past couple days. No kidding.

My son brought in his pellet gun and I was going to rent a hand gun for six bucks but didn't realize I needed a permit to do so. Bummer. We should have called first. My son and I decided to share his pellet gun so now we needed targets. My son bought the typical bulls eye target for a measly fifty cents. I picked out the mobster guy target for a buck. Then because I obviously left my filter in the off position I grabbed the target and said ''Good, I really want to shoot a guy!" Yes, this garnered many concerned looks from staff and shoppers alike. OOPS! So we slink off to the range and pin up our target. Even with the rented ear protection it was loud. BANG! BANG! BANG! After a few minutes though it didn't seem as loud. We had a great time and surprisingly I was not a bad shot. I think I am going to apply for that permit and take my son there again. We had a great time and it was nice to do something together that was his idea. It won't be too long before he is grown and out of the house so I need to grab whatever bonding opportunities come my way, fully loaded or not.

I DON'T DESERVE THIS HEADACHE

I certainly did not do anything of interest to acquire my headache. POUND POUND POUND

It is just there. Appearing this afternoon around 4pm. Darn it. I don't drink, smoke or party. I was in bed by 9pm and slept through the ringing in of the new year. Through the pounding I pondered what I could do to rid myself of the incessant POUND POUND POUND. I cleaned my glasses and took two Aleve. The label says to start with one so I am sure two is the correct dosage. POUND POUND POUND it has been forty minutes and still no relief. Damn. Sorry, DAR
N. No, this really hurts and is annoying. Let's leave it at damn. I took 3 aspirin and drank a cup of milk with a few crackers. I don't need a stomach ache to boot. Twenty minutes later I am down to a THROB THROB THROB. I feel a sense of hope. I take a steamy hot shower to relax. Clean my glasses again and drink some diet Coke for the caffeine. Now I am down to more of a strong poke in my frontal lobe. POKE POKE POKE. Four hours in and I still have it. Did someone with a new year's hangover wish it away and it landed on me? Cool pack on the head for a few minutes barely abates it. PULSE PULSE PULSE . Crap. I give in. I am going to bed and I am taking my headache with me.