Setting Goals for this Month

Wow! It's April! Time is flying by.

My New Year's Resolutions fell to the wayside months ago, so with this new month, I am starting anew. This month, I have some very specific goals.

1. To Lose Ten Pounds
2. To Log 50 miles of walking
3. To stick to a budget and keep grocery purchases under $500 this month
4. To use up the yarn in the ottoman
5. To raise $100 for new basketball uniforms through sales from my PenguinPlace shop

Okay, there they are. Now to explain a bit!

The first one is pretty self-explanatory. I've fallen off the diet and exercise bandwagon, and it's time to hop back on. Ten pounds in one month is doable. I just need to get back to eating healthy and exercising.

Hence goal #2. I keep telling myself I don't have time to exercise.

When the day's mail at work contains a stack of envelopes like this, it's easy to say there isn't time. For the sake of my health, however, I need to make time. Half an hour walking, biking on the recumbant bike in the basement, or on the elliptical, 4-5 times a week. I need to cut out some unnecessary stuff and get my workouts in.

Goal #3 - I love to shop. I love matching coupons to sales and getting bargains. That is why my cupboards and freezer are a bit too full right now. I need to plan meals that use up what I have on hand and back off from shopping for a while.

Goal #4 - Okay, here's what the inside of the ottoman looks like:

I would like to use up enough yarn in there that I can put in the ziploc bags of scrap yarn. That way, the scrap yarn would be easy to get at, but hidden from view. It looks rather messy in the basket next to my chair.



All that knitting leads up to Goal #5

My youngest daughter Bethany is getting ready to shoot a foul shot here.

The uniforms my daughter's school basketball team wear really need to be replaced. The numbers are falling off. They're stretched out from years of use. They're older than the girls on the team. The sizes are limited, so some girls who should be wearing a small have to use safety pins to keep their XL shorts from falling off. We're been working to raise money for uniforms through various fundraisers, and now we need $300 more to meet our goal.

For the month of April, all sales of my knit and crochet items from my Facebook or Etsy shop will go towards new uniforms. This will help me keep my inventory from taking over the closet (see below), and help the girls get one step closer to getting new uniforms!

I have a little bit of everything... from Character Cup Cozies ($4)

 To Beautiful Ruffled Scarves ($8 - $10)

Stop on by and look around, and help the Lady Falcon on their way to some jazzy new uniforms! (and ask me how well I'm doing on my other goals! I need to be kept accountable!)

2013/2014 Update:

Here are the girls in their new uniforms. 

Review & Giveaway: Jill Kelly's "Etched Upon My Heart"

Living outside of Buffalo, NY, I've seen and heard a lot of Jill Kelly over the years. When she married Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly in 1996, it was front page news. I followed her story when their son Hunter was diagnosed with Krabbe Leukodystrophy, and their family started Hunter's Hope to help other families going through the same heartbreak. Jill spoke at a ladies' event at our church a few years ago, and I've been in the same bleachers as her, watching as her daughter's basketball team creamed my daughter's basketball team. I cried my way through her book "Without A Word"

So, when I was offered the chance to review Jill's new book, Etched Upon My Heart, I was eager to take up the offer. Hearing Jill speak at my church really helped me to see the passion she has for living for Christ, and sharing the Good News. I wasn't disappointed. I was really blessed by this book, and will be sharing it with my family and friends.

In this book, Jill shares from her heart. She shares moments in her life, some recent, some from childhood, and shares a spiritual application that relates to that memory. I was in tears as I read of an incident in her childhood that left her feeling flawed and fearing rejection because of a birthmark on her arm. The lesson she ties in to this memory, about finding significance and satisfaction in God is a lesson that reaches across all ages, sizes, and colors of women and girls.

Jill shares lessons on love, significance, forgiveness, suffering, giving, prayer faithfulness and death. She has been down some difficult roads in her life, but instead of being bitter, she uses the painful times of her past to reach out to others in encouragement.

If you're in the Buffalo area in October, you can hear Jill in person at First Baptist Church of Marilla for our annual Ladies' Night Out. She will be here on Friday, October 18th, 2013. The event is free and will include a chocolate/dessert buffet. A great Christian speaker, great fellowship and chocolate... don't miss it! You can e-mail me or leave a comment asking for more info. Invitation letters will be going out in early September.

About Jill: Jill Kelly is the wife of former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly. In September 1997,  months after their infant son, Hunter, was diagnosed with a fatal disease called Krabbe  Leukodustrophy, Jim and Jill founded the Hunter’s Hope Foundation. As chairman of the board of  Hunter’s Hope, Jill helps children suffering from Leukodystrophy, and their families by raising  awareness and research funds to fight this devastating disease. She and Jim live in Buffalo, NY, with  their two daughters and three dogs. Hunter’s Hope Foundation can be found online  at www.HuntersHope.org. Jill is also the author of Without A Word. 

 

Would you like your own copy of "Etched Upon My Heart"? I'm doing a giveaway! Check out the Rafflecopter logo below for more information. Enter by March 15th to win! 

 

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

 

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Review & Giveaway: Abel's Field

We enjoy having a family movie night at our house, so I'm always on the lookout for some good, family-friendly movies. When I got the chance to review "Abel's Field," I couldn't wait to get the DVD in my mailbox!

About Abel's Field

Left motherless by tragedy and abandoned by his father, high school senior Seth McArdle (Samuel Davis) faces enormous pressure as he strives to support his little sisters. At school, he endures the daily bullying of the football team. But fighting back only finds him singled out for punishment and assigned to an after-school work detail under the supervision of the reserved groundskeeper, Abel (SOUL SURFER’S Kevin Sorbo). Much to his surprise, Seth discovers that Abel may be the only one who truly understands his struggles. As dark times lure Seth toward desperate measures, the reluctant Abel may be the one person who can point him back toward the light.

The movie touched on a bunch of current issues: kids acting as the head of a family because the parents aren't around, bullying, peer pressure, and letting others minister to us when things get tough. I liked the fact that the main character in the movie was faced with some tough situations, situations that drove him to desperation, but he realized that he wasn't on the right road, and made changes. 

The movie was very family-friendly in that it did not have profanity, sex scenes or bloody violence. There were a few scenes of bullying where some punches are thrown, but the movie doesn't dwell on that with close camera shots and all that. You see the first punch thrown, you see the crowd gathered around, cheering on the bully, and then, in the next scene, Seth has some bruises that tell the rest of the story. 

We enjoyed this movie, and would recommend it for others looking for a good movie to watch on a Saturday night with the kids -- probably 6th grade and up would enjoy this movie the most. 

You can read more Abel's Field on Facebook or their website  (both their website and Facebook have movie trailers you can watch) or follow them on Twitter. 

I'm giving away a free copy of the DVD - enter via the Rafflecopter form below by Monday, February 4th, and you may be the winner of your own copy of Abel's Field. Limit one entry per person per day, age 13 and up. The prize can be shipped internationally, so even friends abroad can enter this one!

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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Battling the Scrap Yarn Monster

I'm sure you've seen the bumper sticker: "She who dies with the most yarn wins".

I'm in the running. I have tote after tote of yarn in the basement. There's an ottoman by my husband's chair that's filled with yarn. Another tote in the living room closet. And the ever-present basket of scrap yarn by my chair.

It's the little balls of yarn that I have left over from projects, or received from people. Too small for most projects, but too big to throw away. I'm always looking for projects that will help keep the scrap yarn from taking over.

I was making progress on the basket above, so I went down to the totes in the basement to restock. This is what I found:

It took an hour to get it untangled, and then another hour to sort the yarn out into colors and get each color into a separate zipper bag, but now it's organized and ready for projects!

In the past week, I've come up with two favorite patterns that work up quickly and use up scrap yarn!

The first one is what I call "Scrapper Hats". They use up about 2 ounces of yarn per hat and size 13 needles (circular and double-pointed).

Cast on 48 stitches on circular needle. Connect and work in K2, P1 ribbing for 20-24 rows (depending on how much yarn you have and how long you want the hat).
Row 1 of decreases: K2 together, P 1 around
Row 2 of decreases: K2 together
Cut yarn, leaving a 4-6" tail. Pull tail through remaining stitches and draw tight. Tie off. Add pom-pom to top of hat. I love my pom-pom makers (pictured below)


Here are some of the hats I've made using this pattern:

 The other project that I've been making with scrap yarn is infinity scarves. These are made on a really big circular needle (size 17). The pink scarf was made on my size 13 needles, and is a little smaller. I grabbed a couple of colors that looked good together, with each ball of yarn weighing about an ounce and a half.

I cast on 77 stitches and knit in a K3, P3 pattern. Since 77 is one less than a multiple of 3, the rib gets shifted over one stitch each row, and makes a slanted rib pattern.

Basically, I just keep on knitting, not really keeping track of the beginning of rows. When it looked like my yarn was running out, I started to cast off. (Confession time... in the red/gray scarf I'm wearing below, I ran out of gray yarn while casting off, so the last six stitches are red yarn only.) With the big needles, the 77 stitches makes a scarf about 48" around. With the size 13 needles (pink scarf), it came out to 38". I just got a set of size 15 knitting needles, might try a few scarves with those, too!

I have a craft show coming up in March. We'll see how these sell! In the meantime, my neck is cozy warm!

Spiral Stripe Infinity Scarf

I have lots of scrap yarn. Next to my chair, I have a small laundry basket that is just small balls (half an ounce or less) of knitting worsted. I'm always trying to come up with projects that use up little bits of yarn like that.

So, earlier this week, I pulled all the small balls of yarn in light gray and blue. Then I found a half-used skein of cream-colored yarn.


I used a size 10 needle - my little 8.5" long circular needle that makes it easier to make things like mittens and narrow scarves.I love those needles, wish they came in more sizes (I have them in size 6, 8 & 10).


I cast on 35 stitches with the cream, and started my pattern of knit 3 in Main Color (Cream), 3 in contrasting color (blue or gray). Because it's one less stitch than a multiple of 3, it results in a spiral stripe, like this:

XXX___XXX___
_XXX___XXX__
__XXX___XXX_
___XXX___XXX

 I didn't use a marker to mark the beginning of a row - when I ran out of my first ball of blue yarn, I connected the gray yarn and just kept on going. When I finished with gray, I put on blue again, and so on, until the scarf was about 48" long. Then I cast off with the main color, and sewed the ends together to make an infinity scarf.


The scarf weighs 4.6 ounces, so I used about 2.3 ounces of cream and 2.3 ounces of assorted scrap yarn. I'd like to make another with just two colors... and I started one this morning with two spiral stripes going in opposite directions. I'll put up a new blog post with the pattern when that one is done.











This is my first time posting a "pattern" - so if my directions are as "clear as mud" let me know and I'll try to explain better!

Giveaway! Win a free item from my Etsy Shop!

 PenguinPlace Christmas Giveaway! 

Have you had a chance to visit my Etsy Shop yet? I've been having a lot of fun making up hats, mittens and scarves for my Etsy shop. All items sold until the end of the year benefit my daughter's missions trip to South Africa.

Now you can enter to win one item ($15 and under) from my Etsy shop. You can enter TWICE per day. Once by leaving a comment on which item in my shop is your favorite, or what kind of hat you would like to see me add to my shop next. Would you like a sock monkey hat in a different color? Do you like the Alien Hat, but would like it in an adult size? Let me know! I love experimenting with sizes and styles.

 You can get in a second entry each day by liking one of my items on your Facebook page.  Just click on the Like button circled above (make sure you're signed into your Facebook account first).

I'm adding items to my shop a couple of times a week. I look forward to comments from my readers to give me inspiration for new hats!

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Book Review: Until We All Come Home

I received a free copy of the book, "Until We All Come Home" by Kim De Blecourt in exchange for my honest review. I was quickly drawn into the story of how the De Blecourt family went to the Ukraine, thinking that in a few months, they would be able to come home with one more child in their family. The Ukrainian spokeswoman from the adoption agency  said it would take a week to choose a child, then four weeks for the paperwork to clear and court date to be set, and then you return with your child.

The road to adoption did not run that smoothly, however. They ran into one dead end after another, just finding a child who would be a good fit for their family. They finally found Sasha and were able to get their paperwork approved to the point where they could remove him from the orphanage and shower him with love, affection and good care. He flourished... the adoption process languished. 

The corrupt court system delayed the case to the point where Kim's husband and daughter returned home, and she stayed in the Ukraine with the little boy they had re-named Jacob, working her way through the complicated web of paperwork and court appearances necessary to finalize an international adoption.

One aspect of the De Blecourt’s story that stood out for me was how God's love flowed through Kim. She stood firm through so many trials that would have made a person with weaker resolve turn around and hop on the first plan back to the States, with empty arms. Her love for Jacob and her resolve to "care for...orphans in their need" (James 1:27) was evident to people throughout the Ukrainian court system.  

This is the kind of book that really touches your heart, and I pray that it will be the final confirmation to families across the country that they have room in their homes and hearts for an adopted child. The road may not be easy, but the final reward is worth it!