Mixed Emotions

"Coco"

Today was an awful day....we had to put our sweet little dog to sleep. He was sick with lymphoma and really wasn't doing well. He was 12 years old. It was really harder than I thought it would be. I'm just drained.

 

The house is so quiet without him :(

Yesterday however was a good day.....It was Glenn's birthday and I sprung Mom from the rehab hospital!

She's doing much better....very tired and needs to get her strength back...but happy. We had friends and family over for the birthday party...lot of fun.

Tomorrow I'm going back to Rome. Looks like I have a good crew so it sould be a good trip.

And I'm up to 109 sales on Etsy. This has been a pretty good month for sales. I sold 3 bracelets at work last week. I hope this one is just as profitable!

I got a few more little purses done this week and a few more bracelets.

 

This white bag is nice for a bride or bridesmaids gifts. Or for rosary beads!

Earrings....1st attempt!

"The Hand"....the kids think this is funny!

Ciao Ciao!!!

Sun!!!!

What a beautiful day in Roma! The sun is shining......it's the perfect day to go walking and see the sights.
And to think we are getting 2-4" of snow at home! Love my job!

More Sales!

Rome was lovely....60* and sunny! Felt good! Walked around alot and went to the Steeler bar. Good time.

I got a lot of reading done on this trip....Secrets to the Grave by Tami Hoag was very good...had a hard time putting it down. So I didn't get as much knitting done as I wanted to.

However I sold 4 bracelets, 1 necklace and 2 little pouches while I was gone! And 2 patterns online! All in all it was a very profitable few days.

I'm almost finished with the 2nd Strawberry cocoon and I managed to get a few things listed on Etsy today:

 

These are 2 baby hats I've been working on. I wanted to make sure the pattern I wrote was right before I posted it for sale on Ravelry. These are my samples.

I went to visit mom today. She is finally out of the hospital and at a rehab facility. She really looks alot better than the last time I saw her. She's doing her exercises and hopefully she'll be out of there in no time.

Loooooooong Week



"Claret"



It's been an extremely long week. Mom had surgery on Mon...with complications of course:( But today she looks great....on the road to recovery. Thank God!

I got alot of knitting done sitting at the hospital this week. Now I just have to get the time to post it on etsy!

The strawberry cocoon is a big hit. I'm almost done with my second one.

My bracelets are also coming along. Here are my favorites.....they are knitted using a size 1 needle and very thin thread.




"Pearls"

 



"'Ebony"





"Browns"


 

"Moonlight"

Wednesday was my Bunco group evening......at my house on top of everything else. I decided to take it easy and do Soup and sandwiches instead of appetizers. I was a good choice....it was so cold that night. I made wedding soup.....my favorite!

Meatballs for the soup

Soup!

And our family favorite for the dessert.....Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake

Ingredients

Cake!

This has been in the family since I was a little girl. This is the cake everyone wants for their birthday cake. And it's the easiest cake you will ever make.


Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake
1 box Chocolate Fudge cake mix
1 Small box of  Cook and Serve Chocolate pudding
2 cups milk
1 bag Semi-Sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts


Preheat oven to 350*. Grease and Flour a 13x9" glass baking dish.
Cook pudding according to package directions. When slightly thickened, remove form heat and stir in the dry cake mix. Pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and walnuts. Bake at 350* for 1/2 hour. Serve with whipped cream! Enjoy!
( I added heart sprinkles for Valentines Day)


Tomorrow I'm back to work after having almost 2 weeks off. I'll be leaving for Rome tomorrow evening. I can't wait!

Surgery

Mom's having surgery today to remove her gallbladder :(  Hopefully she will feel better after it's gone...I know I did after mine. Then maybe we can get her back on her feet again...2 weeks in the hospital is a long time.

Well the Steelers blew it last night. 3 turnovers=3 touchdowns for the Packers. All in all it was a good season, and there is always next year!

100th Sale and The Super Bowl!!!

I 'm at 100 sales on Etsy!!! Only took a few years to get here!!!        This little bear hat was it:

Isn't this little guy cute??? Thanks to Time Smart Images for the photo!

Today is the Super Bowl! We are just staying home to watch the game. Just made Buffalo Chicken Dip to munch on during the game.

Here is the recipe ...especially for my brother.....

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2- 10 ounce cans chunk chicken, drained

2- 8 ounce pkgs. cream cheese, softened

¾ cup ranch dressing

¾ cup Franks Hot sauce

1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Tostitos scoops

Celery sticks

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through, breaking up the chicken chunks. Stir in the cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half the cheddar cheese and put in casserole dish. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top and place in 350* oven for 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly and cheese on top is melted. You may also microwave until the cheese is melted. Serve with Tostitos scoops or  tortilla chips and celery sticks.

In the pan

Ready to eat!

This is the chicken I use...(2 cans) from Sam's Club

This makes quite a lot, but you can cut it in half.

Enjoy!

Sales!!!

Today I sold 8 things to a photographer friend of mine! I can't wait to see the photos she takes with them! Now I have to re-knit all of them to post on Etsy and Ravelry. This is my favorite...I just finished it last night:

Strawberry Baby Hat

Cocoon



Strawberry Baby Cocoon

And on a funny note: Here is my goofy husband Glenn doing his imitation of # 99 Brett Keisel of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jared bought him this t-shirt last night:

Getting ready for the Super Bowl here!

Go STEELERS!!!!

Almost 100!

Last night I sold my 99th item on etsy since I started! January was a really good month for sales for me! I have to get busy knitting and listing more items! Hopefully later today I will have finished my private orders and post some photos.
Mom is still in the hospital......not sure when she will be released. First it was her heart, now it's some sort of infection. I can't even go see her because I've got a nasty cough and cold and had to call in sick for work. The only good thing about it is that I will be home for the Super Bowl~!!!!