Open House

Tomorrow is my open house and despite my earlier misgivings I am really excited about it. Over a hundred people coming tomorrow just to see me! Now that's got to make someone feel special. Not to mention all the work my family put into this party for me, especially my mom. I was able to hand deliver some of my invitations and people seemed genuinely excited. We also got to get out all the old pictures and reminisce (wow that makes me sound old) about when I was really little. That was a lot of fun. Plus I have an AMAZING cake that deserves a blog post all of its own.

Shenanigans!

Yesterday was a very good day. In fact an EXTREMELY good day. First Stacy and I went out to breakfast with two of our good friends. As we were looking over the menu we noticed something we had never seen before, corned beef hash. Now really, that just sounds disgusting. We tried to envision the kind of person who would actually eat corned beef hash, but no images came to mind.

We laughed for awhile over it, until Stacy came up with a scathingly brilliant idea. Why don't we anonymously order some corned beef hash for someone in the restaurant and have the waitress deliver it! She was just joking but when it came time to pay I asked the waitress if it was possible to order one more thing. "Sure" the waitress said "what can I getcha". "One order of corned beef hash please, and could you deliver it to the table over there." I pointed to the table behind us where a little boy had sat and pulled one of my friends hair for most of the meal. "You want it for that table?" The waitress asked a little confused. "Yes please. Can you do that?" I asked "Sure.. I guess so". We left the restaurant trying very hard not to burst into giggles and even harder not to stare at the table we had sent that unusual dish to. When we got outside however there was an explosion of laughter. "Did you see that waitress' face!" "I would love to see the little boy's face when he eats it!" I think the funniest thing however was when my friend said, "That's what I like most about you Bo, you can order corned beef hash as if it was the most normal thing in the world!"

But this was not the last of this weeks shenanigans. Tonight at work my manager asked me if I could cover the fitting room for 15 minutes while someone went on their break. Well I usually don't mind the fitting room but tonight it was really REALLY boring. So I decided to mix it up a little by using a fake accent. I thought a little while about what one to use. I can do a pretty funny Indian accent but I didn't think I was going to be able to sell it, maybe a pirate but then again I didn't want people to go running from the fitting room in horror, so I decided on a British accent.

My first customer walked in the door and I greeted them with a cherry "Ello!" and proceeded to use my British accent. Now you have to understand when I say "British" it really sounds something more like an Australian who has been living in the hills of Tennessee for the past five years trying to speak with a mouth full of mashed potatoes. But despit how bad it sounded I did it. This customer was perfect for this because she was the kind who wants you to walk around the store and go shopping with them. So almost the entire 15 minutes was spent in active conversation with her. It sounded something like this "Oh that looks absolutely smashing on you. Quite brilliant in fact!" A couple of times she had to ask me to repeat myself! It was so funny! But the best part was that a little while later I got to ring her up, but I DIDN'T use my British accent. She looked at me quizzically for a few minutes but I guess she decided not to ask because she didn't say anything.

So the moral of this post is if you are ever in need of a good laugh, buy someone in a restaurant a strange dish or go somewhere and use a really bad, incredibly overdone accent. It is HILARIOUS and it made my day.

Hurray!

When a friend of mine was expecting her newest son, we would take her to older boys on Wednesdays. Once when they were over back in April I let them each pick what they wanted and

told them I would make it for them.

The oldest at 7 said that he wanted a Penguin. I searched and searched for a penguin pattern but could not find one anywhere! When I finally found on it was so insanely difficult I could not even decipher the pattern. So we ended up going with a manta ray which was his second choice. I found the pattern at Roman Sock


The younger at 5 said he just wanted a white bunny. So that was what he got. I found the pattern here

Both of these patterns were SUPER easy. But just a comment on the bunny pattern. I have used that pattern twice and each time I have almost abandoned the project before it is finished. You get about halfway through and the poor thing looks so homely and deformed that it makes you want

to quit. But stick with it once you get the ears and the tail on it is adorable.

Unfortunately I didn't get a good picture of the Manta Ray before I gave it to away but here are some pictures of the bunny and of the boys with their new toys!

I am so glad these are done and the boys love them!

Projects...

I have so many projects in the works right now! I thought I would make alist to help organize my thoughts and give you guys a heads up as to some of the great things to come (If I ever finish them!)

Projects in the Works...

• A box of knitted bears for the Mother Bear Project
• A crocheted nativity that I started for my Mom for Christmas
• A bag I started for Emily for Christmas
• An Alice in Wonderland Doll
• A large plush mustache
• An Ood plushie for my friend Fedora
• Two Narwhals...

Projects Being Procrastinated

• A Doctor Who doll for Stacy
• An Ipod Case for Stacy
• A Dragon
• A Painting for 4-H
• A Gnome Chunkie Book
• 3 Wizard of Oz trading Cards
• A gnome project for a swap
• A nativity to sell to a friend of mine
• And a Master Doll

Yes I am going to be a very busy girl...

Are you ready for a horror story? Good, grab a pillow and gather round for the horrifying tale of the RETAIL MONSTER!

OK so today I went into work at Old Navy prepared for just another boring day in retail land. The check out line was pretty long so my manager Mary asked me to jump on register 6. No problem right? *Que the creepy music* Up to the counter walks this average looking woman with several kids running around bouncing those stupid bouncy balls all over the place (I hate those stupid bouncy balls!) She said she had two returns to do. OK no problem. I did the first return without any difficulties but when it came to the second return it was past the 90 days in our return policy so we couldn't return it.

All of the sudden this sweet little house wife standing in front of me turned into a hideous RETAIL MONSTER, and tried to rip my head off with her cranky tone. "Well I have my receipt and I never even wore this! What am I supposed to do with it now?" I tired to explain to her the return policy but she used one of her dreaded tentacles to say the evil words "I want to talk to your MANAGER!" So I brought my manager over. The creature then began to attack telling her if she didn't do something to change this she would take her business else where. So my manager told me to go ahead and just return it (even though it is against our policy) So I did but when I told the creature that she would only be able to get her money back as a store credit through the mail she once again went through a transformation. A transformation into the poor Innocent

The lady just stood there few a minutes then started crying. She said that she couldn't believe our policy, that she really loved our store but she was going to have to boycott us after this outrage. She said that she wanted our corporate number to call and complain because maybe if enough people did they could make a difference. I looked at the woman sobbing in front of me and rolled my eyes on the inside. Man, that lady needed a cause! But on the outside I continued to apologize.

She had some other purchases and I asked her if she would like me to ring them up for her. She said no because she didn't want to support our store any longer and that having clothes from Old Navy after this would make her feel "dirty" But she decided to get them. She threw the clothes at me and then threw the money at me. Before she left she turned to the lady behind her and "warned" her about how evil we were and how she should be "very careful because Old Navy is just like every one else now, trying to trick you!"

Needless to say that the attack from this creature left me with my hands shaking. This is my most dramatic experience with a psycho transforming customer but unfortunately not my first. You would be surprised by how many RETAIL MONSTERS disguised as ordinary citizens are out there. I think my manager put it best when she said later "You don't have to be mentally stable to go shopping... Or bear children"

Ok so I was searching for sock animal patterns because I found some really cool socks at work today and they were only a buck! So as I was searching I came across this really cool blog called Homemade by Jill (you should check it out) and she had a link to this wonderful artist named Emily Martin. So I went to her esty shop (Black Apple) and I fell in love! I want some of her artwork so BADLY! I have already thought of all the cool ways I could use her art to decorate my apartment (not that I am planning on moving out any time soon but its gotta happen eventually right?) I mean look! How could you not love this?

History in Living Color...

I just finished these chunkie book pages for my most recent swap called "History in living color" The challenge was to make a 4x4 page of a historical person or event using as little black and white/sepia as possible. I had a lot of fun with this and really like how they all turned out! It was really hard to mail them out to thier new homes this morning! I hope my returns are good...
Click on a picture to see it bigger...

My new friend...

Hello everyone, I would like to introduce you to my new friend. His name is Sir Walter Archibald Orwell. He is a narwhal and he has a moustache as well as a British accent. He grew up in the Atlantic ocean and studied at Cambridge university. Later on in life he fought in the Crimean war which explains the slight bend in his tusk. He loves to eat popcorn, enjoys scifi and long swims along the beach.

I bought this pattern from edafedd on etsy after searching a long time for the perfect narwhal crochet pattern. I actually bought the pattern as a birthday present for myself back in March and have only now just made him. It was such a good pattern and I didn't want him to get lonely with no narwhal friends, so I am currently working on two more. Sir Walter isn't finished yet, he still needs a monocle but I can't quite figure out how I want to make it yet.

Softball, a fun game OR my worst nightmare?

"Sign up for the church softball team, Bodecia. It will be fun!" she says "Lots of people you know, and its lower division so nobody else will really no how to play either!" she says. So I listened to Olivia signed up and showed up for practise 5 weeks ago. As it turns out I only knew one person on the field and I was the only other person besides Stacy who had never played before. The best part however is that both the lower and the middle divisions were full so we were playing in the upper league, you know the almost good enough to be professional league, upper division. Ya. But I didn't really start panicking until the coach had to come over and show me the right way to THROW THE BALL! Yep that was embarrassing.

Well it is 5 weeks later and I just got home from a game. Things are going really well despite my doubts. The ladies on the team are SOOOOOO nice. I have only known them for only a short time but I already feel like they have known me my whole life. We are constantly cheering each other on, even when we mess up, I show up for practise and I am sure to get at least three hugs and a couple of high fives. The other day one of the other girls walks up and kinda nudges me and says " I am glad you're here Bo". They make me feel so special!

Being in the upper division hasn't been to bad either. It turns out that when everyone else on the team knows what they are doing it is almost like having 13 coaches. I walked off of the field after batting tonight and I got swamped with tips on how to improve. Also if I get confused about something, even if I am in the middle of the field during an inning I can just call "HELP!" and someone will tell me exactly what to do.

Coach says I am doing a lot better (although my throwing COULD still use some work), and I am having a blast. I think I have finally found a sport that I really enjoy. Its funny because I am the kind of person who usually only enjoys what I am good at, but even though we have been SLAUGHTERED every game so far, I am still having an absolute blast. I couldn't have asked for a better team.

Facial Hair or Shock Absorbers?

Tonight as I was watching the hockey game with Dad, I noticed that an abnormally large group of hockey players have beards. Why do they have beards? I am really not sure. Maybe it is to keep their faces warm out on the ice. Maybe they just like the way it looks. Maybe it is a homage to all the great bearded hockey players before them. Then I figured it out.

The beards work as a cushion! You see when hockey players get slammed into the wall with great force, their poor little heads get knocked around inside of those big helmets. So to solve this problem they started growing beards. The beards act as shock absorbers and cushion the blow.

I even have proof. One of the men got shoved against the wall and it was reported that he had broken his nose. When they showed a clip of him on the bench you could clearly see that he had no beard! See that proves it

Zzzzz....

It is midnight here and I am to tired to write anything witty. I stayed up late to go see the new Indiana Jones movie and it wasn't worth it. I just wanted to leave a quick post so that I don't break my streak of posting everyday. I will leave an especially good one tomorrow. Goodnight...

T-shirt!

I love looking at t-shirts online. I never buy any but I am addicted to looking at them. Here is a wierd on I found earlier! You can find this shirt here