I probably shouldn’t be writing today since I’m fasting before a blood test later this afternoon. My dermatologist asked me to fast for 12 hours before another Accutane blood-work procedure to check up on my liver function and cholesterol levels. I don’t know why I had to go and choose an afternoon appointment instead of a morning appointment, because now I get to think about food during my waking hours and drink copious amounts of water with Crystal Light imagining it’s a liquid fruit salad. I even pulled a Bugs Bunny on Jason when he got home from school- rolled up his sleeve, tossed on a little pretend salt on his forearm and pretended to corn-cob-gnaw up to his elbow. So yes, I am a touch cranky and I reeeeeally want to get this day over as fast as possible. I see sushi or roasted soy-lime tofu in my dinner-future.

The past weekend was a bit tortuous in the South- it rained for almost four days straight and rainy weather is my trigger for a rotten mood. I get really mopey, don’t feel like doing anything, and start taking every little thing personally. I knew I had to do something about it so on Saturday I made sure that Jason and I did something fun together- we went out to Ru-San’s sushi buffet for lunch, and saw Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D that night. If you’re into old sci-fi movies or enjoy Japanese robot vs. monster movies, you’ll like Dreamworks’s latest offering. We were surround by kids, but I think we got more out of it than they did. Jason and I almost peed our pants when the monsters were telling their background stories- each one is based on an old sci-fi movie, so funny.

In scarf-related news, I got an offer for something kind of big, but I’m reluctant to discuss it in complete detail here yet. It’s something that involves a fast-approaching deadline… I’d have to have the scarf completed by the end of April or beginning of May to be considered. And I’d have to have some semblance of a pattern made, and I’ve never written an actual knitting pattern before aside from the chicken scratch I write for myself. I feel like I could dig deep and crank it out in a month, but I’m really worried that I’ll set this huge goal for myself and end up crashing and burning. I just wanted to be honest with all of you and get my thoughts out there, but I don’t want to encourage any great expectations… yet. I probably won’t mention this again unless something actually happens come 30 days from now, sooooo yeah.

Another project I’ve started planning is a series of actual tutorials (ones that I will actually succeed at, heh) on what I lovingly refer to as “camp crafts.” When I was a kid, I dabbled in a bunch of crafts that weren’t exactly practical, as in, they didn’t serve any serious purpose, but were a lot of fun and really got my fine motor skills working. I’m talking about finger knitting, making friendship bracelets, etc. I do kids’ crafts every week at the church and realized that a lot of these kids don’t know how to do a lot of the things I did at their age. There are a lot of books out there (that I probably once owned) that can teach kids all these skills, but some cost up to $20 a pop, but you don’t get the same instruction a live person can offer. I want to make video tutorials aimed at kids that are free on the web, and invite you to solicit yours ideas/suggestions for activities. I’d even love to have guest vids! This project is still in the works and I will probably make a whole new web page to house everything so this isn’t something cropping up overnight. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about for quite awhile and have been envisioning all the possible angles of approach. My goal is to give kids everywhere the chance to experience easy and fun crafting that they can pass on to friends. Viral crafting for kids, if you will. And it gives me the chance to be a kid again!

This week’s goals include:

• Spinning furiously to add more yarns to the Etsy shop
• Making lists of kids’ crafts
• Spring cleaning my craft room
• Sprucing up the front yard! (Yay! Been waiting all soggy winter to get started!)

And just so this post isn’t complete picture-less:

Remember “Delightful” from the other week? I measured it today to put it in my Etsy shop and it’s 255-freaking-yards! I had no clue it would end up that long. And it’s about a worsted to bulky weight which means helluva lotta yarn!

Atlanta has seen some funky weather this winter. We had the odd warm days during November and December per the usual, but most of this winter has been dreary, cold, and wet. I get that a lot of places north of us have it much worse and get it every year, but Atlantans just aren’t used to temperatures persistently below freezing and day after day of rain. Last week, we had really cold temperatures and it just wouldn’t stop raining. Finally, this week we got a break and since Tuesday it’s been sunny and warm. We’ve actually seen blue skies more than one day in a row! For the first time in weeks I’ve been able to get out and walk with the four-month-old girl I babysit and enjoy the beautiful day.

Out and about at Joe's Coffee with Harper

The one crafty thing I do on a regular basis involves kids. I do kid-centered crafts every Wednesday with a group of young elementary/pre-school aged children at my church. For me it’s been something of an experiment as I try to plan engaging crafts that encompass many skill levels. Some of the kids can barely hold a pair of scissors while a few of them can fold origami. One thing I know they can all do is paint. I found a link to a great bubble wrap printing project by Daisy Yellow on the Crafty Crow blog and decided to give it a shot. I bought a roll of 3M bubble wrap (a 25 square foot roll did the job for about seven kids), black and white cardstock, and acrylic paint. I wish I’d used paper for acrylic paint, but the kids wouldn’t have known the difference.

The prints came out great on black paper, too.

I made a heart for my print, which ended up inspiring a mom of one of my kids to make all their Valentine’s with bubble wrap prints! I think I’m going to use the same technique to make some for my friends, but probably not with a big giant red heart. I really like the effect on the black paper.

If I don’t have a substitute teaching job tomorrow I plan on getting my craft room totally clean and starting work on the scarf. If I end up subbing, you won’t see the post until mid or late Saturday, but I really want to get some new pictures of my craft room to share.

And here’s a big word I want to share with y’all: triskaidekaphobia. It means “fear of the number 13″. My second grade teacher (who is still teaching!) made us learn that word on some Friday the 13th back in the day and I haven’t forgotten it! And it has 17 letters in it- impress your friends!