Get out your credit cards

I have a Cafe Press shop. It's full of Burst of Happiness merchandise. No, not stuff I made for my shop, but stuff with my logo that costs way too much. I don't know why I did this, but it just seemed so cool that a person can design T-shirts, mousepads, etc. and sell them. Problem is, why would anyone want a Burst of Happiness logo item besides me?

Anyway, just in case you were in the market for an overpriced mousepad that says "Burst of Happiness," today is your lucky day! Go to Cafe Press and check it out.

Idiots

I'm in the computer lab at school, where everyone is very, very silent. Everyone, that is, except the girl who came to sit right next to me. She's got earphones on and her music is so loud I can hear it. Then her phone rings and she starts yelling into it because she can't hear because she's still got her earphones on. (Everyone else steps out to talk on the phone. It's sort of the rule.) Then she starts humming to the music. I guess she thinks because she can't hear herself, that nobody else can hear her either. I am debating whether she would notice if I tried to take her picture with my cell phone.

Be careful what you write

You may have noticed the google ads at the top left on my page. They try to pick ones that are connected to your blog content. You'll notice that I write about knitting, for instance, and they'll have knitting ads. Today I noticed one for sewer stuff. I wondered what the heck. Then I remembered that I had written about the toilet in my grandma's hospital room the other day. Of all the topics I write about, it has to pick that one?!

Change of topic:
Did I mention that I get to go to Miami for the ACES conference next month and that Dave Barry will be the guest speaker? Have I mentioned how much I love Dave Barry?

Roses are red, and so is this scarf

This very soft and snuggly red scarf is available at my shop.

New look, same great Web site

Revamped my Web site to look less crappy. Let me know if you have any suggestions on how to improve it. Burst of Happiness

Grandma Update

She's going home today (well, to my uncle's house for a while)!

Is this a joke? I can't tell

Can't get enough of your loved one? Winter weather getting in your way? Try the Smitten Mitten. Almost as good as that love toilet on Saturday Night Live.

I just can't stop

Today I made this handbag, which I want to keep but have posted for sale. It's black eyelet with pink lining and a pocket inside.


Just click on the photos and it can be yours, you lucky dog.

This one, I'm keeping

I have been carrying around this quilted bag with cats all over it full of my knitting stuff. It was quite embarrassing. I had bought it a decade ago and found it when I started knitting recently. It's leftover from when I worked at Hobby Lobby a million years ago and tried to crochet for about 2 days.

Sorry it's blurry, but trust me, the less you can see it, the better for you.

I knew I had to get with the program, so I made this tote. Making a lined bag is MUCH harder than you can imagine. It probably took me about 3 and a half hours to make a pattern and then cut all the fabric and assemble it. That's after researching how to make one in the first place. There's lots of weird inside-out stuff to consider when sewing. For instance, you have the outside of the bag right side out but inside of the inside-out lining with the handles turned upside down and sandwiched in the middle. Then you sew them together and turn it through a hole in the lining. If you're lucky, it all comes out the right way and your handles aren't sewn INSIDE the bag or something. Sometimes it's hard to think that way and see that if everything's turned the wrong way, it will come out the right way later.

Anyway, here it is:


I am a terrible photographer, but it's a cute white bag with purple flowers. The lining is lavender, but looks grayish here. Inside, there is a magnetic closure and a velcro pocket on one side that closes. On the other side is a segmented pocket, good for cell phones or what-not.



And there you go. I'm cool again!

Grandma update

Grandma is doing much better. She got that awful tube out of her nose. It was draining her stomach. Now she can have broth and probably Jell-O tonight. She should be released in the next few days. She's walking farther and looking good. She'll go to my aunt and uncle's house because they work from home and are around. Then, next weekend when they have to go out of town for their business, my cousin will come from Phoenix to stay with her.

My life in a nutshell

Here is a quick roundup:

1. I sold my third item on etsy.com! It's the heavenly scarf posted below. It's very exciting when things sell, and I sold two things this week.

2. I'm PO'd because my TiVo screwed up American Idol last night and I didn't get to see it.

3. Grandma's doing OK, but I haven't visited her in two days. I'll see her tomorrow.

4. School's getting better as we get started on our projects, but I have midterms next week. In one class we were given pictures of a few outfits and we have to be prepared to create a flat pattern for one of them next week. Which one is TBA that day. The other one is multiple choice from the draping text.

Looks like sky, feels like clouds

I know, I know. Clouds aren't REALLY cottony-soft. They are made of water and stuff. I know this because when I was 3, I went on an airplane (the regular kind) and rolled down the window and touched one. It felt cold and wet and my hand had condensation on it. Nobody believes me about this because normally you can't roll down airplane windows, but I swear it happened. Maybe it was different in the 1970s -- maybe they had to lock the windows for terrorism purposes.
Anyway, I made this scarf, and it's so damn soft. I could just rub it on my face all day and night, but I won't because I want to sell it. So click the picture for the link to my shop if you want to feel clouds but can't afford a plane ticket.


Available at Burst of Happiness.

Instant Breakfast

Today I was telling someone at work that I have been really craving Instant Breakfast (chocolate malt) and that I used to drink it with my dad when I was little. A girl I work with said she has also been really craving Instant Breakfast because she used to drink it with her dad. I think that's really weird.

There's a picture of me and my dad drinking our Instant Breakfasts with one hand each on the counter and our feet crossed one in front of the other. I wish I could find that picture. At the end, we'd always smack our lips and say "Ahhhhh."

Grandma update

Grandma's doing much better today. When asked if she's feeling better, she doesn't seem to think so, but I could tell by how she looked and acted that she is. She also didn't have any pain meds today, so it was much more manageable. She got up and did her walks and sat in the chair without complaint. Yesterday was much harder. She was also very happy to see my uncle, who was out of town, and talk to her grandsons. I think she'll be much better in a few days. Yesterday, she told the nurse, "This is a pain in the butt." I think it's more a pain in the GUT. HA!

Grandma update

The surgeon called me last night about 12:30 a.m. to update me after my grandma's surgery. She said she's really, really glad we decided not to hold off and see how things go. She said it wasn't a blockage, but rather her intestines had twisted up and the blood supply was cut off. She lost about 3 feet of her small intestines (I think, I was tired). The doctor said she could have died even if we'd waited one more day because they would have possibly ruptured. I think she's doing fine after surgery -- haven't made it in yet. That's what I've go to go do now.

Meanwhile, here's a picture of her on her "throne" on Christmas 2004:

You have to find SOMETHING to laugh about

Today I got a call that my grandma was in the hospital. This took me by surprise because despite the fact that she's 85 years old, she's been healthy as a horse all of her life. Healthier, really. I mean, she has perfect organs -- no heart trouble or anything. No diabetes. The only health problem she has is acid reflux. They think there's some sort of intestinal blockage. Well, she got terribly ill Thursday night and didn't call my mom until after 5 hours of vomiting and other problems. She was taken to the ER, but since NO HOSPITALS ANYWHERE IN ALBUQUERQUE had any vacancies, she languished there in the ER for 20 hours. I had to yell about that because Albuquerque is a city of more than half a million people. You'd think you could get a hospital room around here if you need one. She finally got admitted to a real hospital room across town around 8 pm tonight.
The surgeon said that often they hope they can resolve these blockages without surgery, but my grandma's white blood count keeps rising, so the doctor was afraid to let it go. So she is currently in surgery. In a way, I think she's glad because she was so tired and all she wanted to do was sleep. They promised her she can sleep all she wants during surgery.
Grandma doesn't like people fussing over her. This is a woman who got walking pneumonia a few years ago (one of the few times I've seen her get sick at all) and swore till the end it was just allergies.
I'm waiting to hear from the surgeon whether all went well. I have a positive outlook because my Grandma's strong and mighty.

OK, here's the funny thing. We were in her room and I needed to go to the bathroom. That's when I noticed there's a toilet in the room -- not a separate bathroom or anything. Next to the toilet is a window that has blinds you can lower. But say there's someone in the room with you and you have to use the bathroom. Never fear -- there's a curtain that pulls all the way around the toilet. Only the curtain, as you'll notice in this picture, would reach to about your upper arms if you sat down on the toilet, thereby not offering one ounce of privacy for the region that actually needs it. I'm thinking it's that baby mentality that if they can't see you, you can't see them, and since your face is blocked by the curtain, your naked butt is invisible. Here is a camera phone-quality photo (the curtain is not the curtain for the window, but the toilet "privacy" wrap-around curtain):

Red-rum -- er Red-scarf

Yep. I'm a headline writer by craft, and that was the worst one I've ever done. But they aren't paying me the big bucks right now.

The point of this post is this:

My latest creation, a red, lacy, loose-knit scarf.
It's for sale here.

UPDATED: I took this scarf off the market because I was very cold and I liked it. But I'm in the process of making another from the same yarn.

Kellie Pickler aged about 30 years

Remember the young, bubbly Kellie Pickler from last year's "American Idol"? Well, she made a guest appearance last night and she looked SO OLD. Reasons she looked weird:
1. It looked like she was wearing a 1950s wig.
2. I think she quickly invested in fake boobs.
3. Her body has expanded.
4. Her dress was clearly from before her body expanded.

I tried to find pictures to make this posting more interesting, but I couldn't. And I know my tendency to stay on the computer all day instead of getting stuff done. So one more post, and I'm outta here.

high class + low brow = Robyn

OK, perhaps I wouldn't be considered HIGH class, but I needed it in order for my title to work, and I think I have SOME class. But today's movie choice was "Reno: 911," and I thought the preview looked really funny. When I told this to people, they looked at me like I was insane. People also mocked me for seeing "Norbit," but please see my reason in post below. I was concerned that it may be one of those movies where all of the funny parts are in the preview and then the rest of the movie sucks. I should have been clued in when I was the only person in the theater. Let me save you the trouble: all the funny parts are in the trailer. The best part is the unattractive women on the beach saying "Don't be hatin'." Other than that, may I recommend saving your hard-earned dough?

Changing subjects, I am a very bad mommy. I let Suggs outside this morning (it's very cold and very windy here right now) and then I forgot about her and went to Santa Fe from 9 am to 9 pm. I didn't even give her food or water. Luckily, her new daddy is going to make a run home to rescue her to save me from driving home from Santa Fe and then back again for my next class. Yes, I would do this for my kitties. If she's hungry enough, she may be brave enough to come in when he (referred to by Suggs as "That Guy") opens the door. She probably couldn't be cold enough for that, though.

Poodle-y-riffic

Here is my second knitted item - a boucle scarf.
This snuggly knitted wonder is available in my shop.