Basketball Jones I gotta Basketball Jones

So last night I made it through watching 1/2 of the Lakers Vs Magic Game 4 with BT. He is currently sitting behind me helping me write my first sports critique since I don't know the players names!

The first 1/2 of the game was all in the hands of the Magic (who the hell came up with that name?). But before I even get into the game I should mention the kindergarten choreography used by the magic at the beginning of the game. Girls with red capes and a mascot were lowered by cables from the ceiling to the floor and that was about all of the intro show. And the mascot looks like Barney on steroids with wings what is so magical about that?



Okay back to the game. To be honest there isn't going to be much in this post about the game but really the many many weird and unsightly events that took place in the first half.

1. Arm Condoms. Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Mickaeal Pietrus, and Tony Battie were all wearing what I like to "Arm Condoms" and only to protect one arm. BT said it was due to Allen Iverson who wears it due to Gang Tats which the League prohibits (or Bursitis which seems well kinda unlikely). Now I'm not to sure but I'm thinking they are trying to have a fashion contest with who has the best Arm Condom. Dwight Howard hands down wins! His was decorated with Silver lines looking like Lightening or Duct Tape.



2. Man Humping. What is up with the man humping? Guys are so worried about looking gay but they slap each other on the ass when they hit a good shot. Well now there is some obvious man humping going on. Lamar Odom and Jameer Nelson got tangled up to the point one was on top of the other. The next thing I see is some raunchy defense where the offense is deliberately bending over putting is butt against the crotch of the defense. What is going on here people??? I thought the defense was about "Stopping Penetration" not causing it right Phil?

3. That's what she said. Phil Jackson has more than one that's what she had moment but the best was when he was talking to the team repeatedly telling them "we need to work on stopping easy penetration". I immediately heard this and said "that's what she said".



4. When did the magic hire Ron Jeremy as there coach? Bold move if i do say so myself.



5. Dwight Howard is HOT. He may have an abnormally small head but his Amazing Body makes up all the difference for it. BT reminded me that he is 6'11" tall and I would look like a small child next to him so I guess that dream is over.



Overall I made it through 1/2 the game. BT came in at about 10 to tell me the Lakers won and I rolled over and went back to bed. Don't worry I won't be blogging for a while about sports it will be back to crafts and girlie stuff!

Is it a requirment to have kids to be a crafter?

I'm sensing a theme around the blogs I read. Children. I think they must be mandatory to bring out the most creativity in a crafter. I read the blogs and go holy cow how did they come up with the colors and the ideas. Then it hits me they have kids! BT and I are no where near the point of kids (were at the first step marriage and that's about a gazillion years away at best). Then there is the idea of kids. BT wants them and I well I need some more pursuasion because carrying something around for 9months and beyond doesnt sound like all fun and games. Dont get me wrong kids are cute and do funny things and are a blast I'm just not there yet (so no comments about how could I not want kids).

UGH I need my creativity to return (if you have seen it please send it back to me with loving care).

BT did Good

Well As most of you know I shared my b-day last weekend. Well this weekend it was all MINE! And BT went to the LIMIT for it as well. I knew we were going to go out to dinner that night but I was unaware of the surprises in store. So I guess I should just start from the beginning.

We got up early on Saturday because I was going to a craft fair to sell. It was hot hot hot but I did meet some people there who gave me some great advice. I dint make much but it was enough to keep me happy. After that BT took me home and said to get ready for dinner at 6:30 while he ran around doing erands that I was not to ask about (did I mention my ability to guess my gifts and suprises before they happen hence the no questions rule).

6:30 roled around I was dressed wearing heals and makeup (I know amazing right since I dont even wear makeup to work!). We got in the car and headed to Midtown to one of my favorite resturants, Il Fornaio. We got there walked in told them we had a reservation. They took us to the table where the first person I saw was Elliot (my coworkers husband) and then his wife Karen (my coworker). It took a few seconds but then I looked at the entire table and it was filled with all of my friends. Yes it was a Suprise Bday! I was in shock the entire time. I couldnt believe he had pulled the entire thing off all by himself. After a long dinner with drinks and friends we headed back to BT's house for drinks and CupCakes!!! We were up late just chating and played a little guitar hero. All in all he did good jewlery and a suprise party.

Oh and if you are wondering I'm still celebrating my bday next weekend im home with my family celebrating!!!

OOOH Boy Toy

You know those days where you cant tell up from down? I think BT was having one of those days. After running over to his apt from my place as I normally do on Mondays( a 3 mile run), he proceeded to tell me about his day. He surprised me by revealing he went running!!! Something he hates to do. So I asked "how far did you run?" He said "About 2 miles." I asked "Well where did you run to?" His reply "I ran from here to your place around the park and back." I sat there shocked and a little befuddled. I looked at him laughing saying "Boy Toy that isn't 2 miles its 5!" He then got that look. You know the look where the light bulb goes off in your head and said "So that's why it took so long". Sometimes I hate BT but then he goes and does something like this. Something he knows will make me happy (trying to get in shape) all the while having one of his "moments" which makes it even more enjoyable for myself.

Luv Ya BT...but next time map out run so you can walk the next day.

March Madness

Well it's that time of year again. For most of you that know me March is the month that I despise the most. March is the one month of they year I can count on not seeing Boy Toy for about 3 weeks due to March Madness. March Madness is probably one of the most efficient sporting events I've ever witnessed with a round robin style tournament (I could only wish for the regular season of sports to be so efficient). But it still consumes Boy Toy's life (who is writing a running diary of the event) and I'm left in the lurch. Every year I am forced (and I say forced because if BT wasn't around I wouldn't do it) to make a bracket. And every year my bracket disappoints me, but that's probably because my choices are not based on the team standings.



Last year my choices were based on matching up the mascots choosing which one would kill the other first if they had to fight. This year my choices were based upon website design. Boy Toy brought up each schools website which I rated to choose which one I liked best. This would correspond to them winning the tournament. After one weekend of seeing my philosophy at work I've come to a conclusion. Teams that were ranked lower have better website design because they have a harder time getting students to attend the school. Ive pretty much destroyed my brackets this year. I'm almost in last place out of our friends because I didn't "chalk" like one of our buddies who is sure to pass me up within the next few days.



Next years Team choices will probably based on some nonsensical idea like school population, graduation rates, schools physical size, Best Colors, or school ranking in general. What ever I choose will of course do the worst in the standings but at least I have fun figuring out how I'm going to choose since I don't follow sports nor do I understand ratings.



Don't get me wrong I love sports. I played soccer all my life I water skied in college and have always been active. I just hate watching them on TV. I also don't understand why men yell at the TV when the team isn't playing well, they cant hear you its not going to change anything. I guess id rather go play then sit and watch.

March Tree and 4 Leaf Clover Button Tutorial

Its March, which means those little leprechauns are out running around with there pots of gold. I’ve seen enough rainbows lately to know they are out there teasing us all. March also means new Tree décor. I’m back at it with those buttons and making ornaments which coincidently work pretty well as gift ornaments as well. So here is a NEW tutorial with new idea’s for you to build upon and make ornaments and decorate packages with! Whoo hoo!!!


4 Button St. Patrick’s day Ornament

Warning!!
Now I’m all for quick and easy tutorials that take a few hours. This is not that tutorial. You need at least 24 hours to complete this tutorial due to glue drying. Otherwise the actual construction takes minutes!!


Okay so the concept for these comes from the idea of a 4-leaf clover. So of course I had to make something symmetrical and it had to look like a 4-leaf clover. What I didn’t realize is that I didn’t have a lot of really green buttons so I’ve compromised and made buttons out of a light green and a purple (for some reason when I think St. Patrick’s day I also think purple).

Here is the tutorial please forgives my horrible pictures BT was at work and I wanted to get it done for the holiday!

DAY 1

Supplies
Scissors
Embroidery Floss
Embroidery Needle
4 Buttons that are all the same size (it doesn’t matter how many holes the button has I just happened to have 4 hole buttons)
Bent Paperclip
Glass & Bead Glue
1/16” Ribbon color of your choice!

The first items you will need is the Glass & Bead Glue and the 4 Buttons.


Squeeze out a little bit of glue. Be careful don’t squeeze it to hard it will start to come out by itself (something about the design of the bottle).
Place the glue on the edge of the button between two of the holes.

Place button with glue face up on the table and then push the 2nd button to the edge of the other button with the button holes lined up. Take your fingernail and remove excess glue (it usually squeezes up when you push the 2 buttons together).

Repeat this with the other two buttons. Make sure you don’t glue the buttons to the table (I gently move the buttons around on the table so there is airflow to seal up the glue). Now walk away you need to let this dry for about an hour so it stiffens up. I usually put together a lot of these 2 button pieces and then go to the gym or for a walk when you get back your ready for your next step.



After an hour has passed, take the glue and just like the last step you will add the glue to the edge of the 2 buttons you have clued together. Place button with glue face up on the table take your other 2 buttons you have glued together and push them together and remove excess glue.


Now really walk away! For at least 15 hours minimum. I usually do the previous steps in the evening so that I sleep and go to work then come home and im ready to finish up the ornaments.

DAY 2

Get out your embroidery floss, needle, scissors, and button creation.


Cut about 10 inches of embroidery floss or more if you are going to be preparing more than 1 ornament.


Thread your needle. Take the needle and go through the back of one of the holes in the button. Pull through so you have a 1 inch tail at the back of the button.


Start to stitch through the button holes to make designs.

You should end up with something like this or more creative.


Now on the back of the button ornament take the two tails of embroidery floss and tie a double knot.


Trim off ends of knot.


You should now have this…


Now cut about 20 inches of ribbon.



Place ribbon over 1 of the button holes.


With bent paperclip push the ribbon through the hole.


Pull ribbon through. Take the two ends of the ribbon.


Wrap the ribbon around your fingers.



Put the ends of your ribbon under the loop you have made with fingers.


Pull the ends of the ribbon to make a knot.


Trim the ends of the ribbon. You don’t have to do this you can leave the ends and make bows like in the previous button tutorial.


Pull so knot is behind the back side of the button.

TADA you are done! You now have an ornament for your tree or a present ornament.

Work Work Work

Yes I've been working my little fingers to the bones! Lots of projects for Etsy and possibly Sacramento Indie Craft if I can get my act together and get some paperwork done for it. It was an extremely productive weekend 2 bags and about 15 headbands later it was OVER (Pictures up later I promise!). I still have more to work on with b-days coming up and other misc holidays. This weekend though I'm officially on Vacation going up to the snow with some friends and skiing my little booty off! BT said no super pipe since last year this time I kinda sorta bounced my head off the side of it and tore up my shoulder, which has yet to heal (and I have yet to go to the doctor for it as well). It should be a fun weekend with friends and just kinda hanging out. It will be good to take a break from the crafting and work and life. I'm sure I'll be busy though with projects this week! I also go this little/big gift from my mom at Xmas which I still need to figure out how to use but I will persevere.

It's not really about persevering it's about a promise I made to the UCDavis Water Ski team to embroider some towels for a tournament. So I will probably be reading directions and watching You Tube video's that will guide me through the process!

Guilty Pleasures

Guilty Pleasures well all got them! I myself have more than just a few some of which place me in a category all my own when it comes to weirdness. Boy Toy even has a few one of which is the Peanut Butter and Pickle (yes Pickle) Sandwich. I was a skeptic at first, but then I had a bite and I was hooked. So here is a list of a few of my Guilty Pleasures.

1. Avril Lavigne

I can not resist listening to her music and singing it out at the top of my lungs. When I've had a bad day or a good day she is my go to girl. In fact her CD is ALWAYS in my CD player in the car.

2. Peanut Butter on Hot Dogs

Don't give me that look. Have you tried it? I didn't think so. This guilty pleasure is full of fat and unknowns. Its a sodium overload but its oooooh so good! My father of all people introduced me to this at a young age it was his version of feeding the kids when mom was away.

3. Watching M*A*S*H*

This series ended in 1983 I wasn't even born yet! But somehow I got hooked.

4. Blue Crush

Now my roommates from college will attest to the fact that I would put this movie in about 2 times a month and sit and watch from start to finish. I'm a girl what can I say and I wish I was a true surfer girl. Yes I can paddle out and ride a wave but not like these girls.

5. Spanish TV Channels

I speak very little Spanish but I still enjoy there shows. I especially enjoy tele novellas and soccer.

6. Cheeze-it's and a can of Coke

I'm really into that salty sweet stuff. Good old Coca-Cola and a handful of Cheeze-its hits the spot every time!

7. Popping zits

Its gross and I should stop, but I love to do this.

8. Plucking BT's eyebrows

He has "Strays" and I believe in a well manicured man. So about every 2-3 weeks its eyebrow plucking time as he sits and screams at me about how much it hurts (I enjoy every minute of it)

9. Dipping pretzels in a can of icing

Again I'm into that salty sweet thing. And the can of icing MUST be vanilla and have a picture of the Pillsbury dough boy on it otherwise its not worth my time

10. Eating and or Drinking while taking a shower!

My roommates always knew that when I took a longer than normal shower it was because I was having a beer. Well this still hasn't stopped in fact it has evolved into eating certain foods in the shower like those card board bar granola bars or fudgesicles (why because i get the best of both worlds warm and cold at the same time!)
Photo courtesy of LCJ


Okay so I'm a little off but who cares I'm sure you have some guilty pleasures as well!

Exiled to the Great White North

So it has become apparent through BT’s numerous comments about being “exiled from the southland” and “away from the comfort of my fandom” that he misses Los Angeles more importantly the bruins. His “relocation away from the sports landscape that (he) has been raised in” has obviously affected him mentally and physically as his new team colors are green and yellow instead of the majestic primary colors of blue and gold. And his new mascot can only sting you while the old one had the ability to eat you alive. What’s a Home Ec Teachers Daughter to do? Well I got some inspiration and made his day by recovering his couch pillows in the colors of his favorite team the UCLA Bruins.


This took me about 3 hours and lots of fabric but it was worth it! What was once a tan couch is now full of color and team spirited for the weekend match ups (which he no longer gets to watch but I’m trying okay!). The tutorial I used is from here! It works great my only suggestion is if you have big pillows like these to add a little extra fabric maybe an extra inch on each side. Next I’ve got to spruce up the smaller pillows with some color…

Woohoo Weekends

Well the weekend blew by like a bullet train. Friday was a long day with blood being taken and me running around like a chicken with my head cut off for work. But the best part was Saturday when two (yes TWO not just ONE but TWO) of my friends came to Sac Town to visit! It was a camera free weekend because we tend to do regrettable acts when the camera makes an appearance. So I will let you make a mental picture of all the debauchery or lack there of in your own mind. My first friend arrived On Time as expected from a 2 hour drive down the lovely 99 hwy to inform me that our other friend would be late. Apparently her Boy Toy showed up unexpectedly at her place to spend time with her that evening. Now by unexpectedly I mean the friend who showed up on time had suggested to him that he Suprise our friend, showing up at her place and spend the evening with her and he actually took her advice (when do boys actually take the advice from the girl friends friends???). He isn't exactly a early riser nor does he hop out of bed with energy (more like sloth like actions taking a while to wake up and drag himself out of bed). So we sat and chatted and well chat turned into talk that I cant talk about on this blog because then I would have to put some kind of parental advisory on the blog and no one wants that especially me (I need more people to actually read my blog and leave comments)

Finally the 3rd musketeer showed up and joined in our conversations about boys and unmentionables and the new boy in our friends life who is apparently clingy (dating one week does not make it official nor does it mean you can hang all over us we barely know you!). About and hour later we were able to coax ourselves away from the conversation to take a car ride out to the new mall in Roseville (well its not new they just have new stores). I apparently went crazy and shopped till i dropped getting new slacks and shirts and anthropology, all on sale don't give me that look. Once we got home it was time to get ready for the evening which meant a trip to trader Joe's for pizza supplies. Now I had never done this before so my friends taught me how to make pizza from the pre-made dough (and it was amazing but more about that later).

So after the Trader Joe's Stop we went to the apt and picked up our stuff for the evening and headed to Boy Toy's to make dinner drink be merry and of course have fun! We arrived at Boy Toys to find out that he had fully stocked the fridge with drinks and mixers (there was a big smile on every one's face). We started off with the pizza's which were easy to make and turned out delicious. We made a meat lovers (used left over meatballs from BT's Spaghetti) a Tomato cheese pizza and then finally a cheese pizza. We also got different kinds of crust one of which was a garlic crust talk about addictive. I could buy this and make garlic twist out of this with little or no additives. Needless to say we didn't finish the pizzas because they make a Cookie sheet sized pizza but we were close! The rest of the evening was full of movies, TV and an HBO late night show (which I again will not discuss further than we learned a lot in this informational show). By about 10 we were ready to crash. Now this just shows how old we are getting. Just 3 short years ago we were able to go out and stay up till 2am without any assistance and now were in bed by 9 out by 10 and up at the crack of dawn to work for The Man. Sad sad Life.

The next morning was again interesting but fun with the girls getting in bed with me and BT to watch GREEK. BT mentioned how he needs to post on his Facebook that he is in bed with 3 women. We all looked at him and rolled our eyes as we were fully clothed and still had bed head from the night before. I know what a pretty pictures do you now know why we didn't bring out the camera? Then it was off to my place to make breakfast and the girls were on there way home. And I had to start getting ready for the Superbowl (which means researching a chili recipe and that was it). Boy Toy and I ended up watching the Superbowl he working off the hang over and me exhausted from being with the girls.

Overall...Weekend was a Success and will be doing this again!

*Note: Remember how I said I didn't have a camera? Well I didn't I'm borrowing the photos! Maybe if i have time ill take pictures of our pizza which didn't turn out as pretty as the one photoed.