Wednesday, September 26, 2007

26.2 Miles to Help Find a Cure

Hi Everybody. Please visit my fundraising page to help me raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) by running the Portland Marathon (26.2 miles). Every mile I run will mean even more with every donation received. Please consider donating $1 for every mile I run? Thank you!

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Ready for the Card Swap this Thursday

I finished my cards for the card swap happenin' this Thursday. The theme is "stitches". The frosting confetti does look yummy enough to eat but I wouldn't recommend it because it's not good to eat beads.

Happy Birthday Jurnee!

I am busy tonight working on a prototype for the next card swap due this Thursday. The theme is "stitches". I will post it when it's done. Once I decide on something, I need to make 5 of them. This is just a quick post to share with you the picture frame I made for Lydia's friend, Jurnee. Happy Birthday, Jurnee!

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Lots of crafty things going on this week (and running too)

Last Sunday, Lydia and I participated in the 1 mile kids run/walk for the American Cancer Society. We purchased this flag in memory of my mom who passed away from cancer a couple years ago.













My craft pal and I have been doing many different kinds of crafting this past week. Lydia had some fun with her perler beads and made a snowflake.

I had to special order the fabric I need to do the Strength cross-stitch from MonsterBubbles.com and while I was waiting for it, I practiced up on my cross-stitch with the help of these free Sanrio patterns. Lydia asked me to create the Chococat pattern first so that is what I did. I am thinking of making a little pillow out of him for Lydia's baby doll.


I have started the Strength cross-stitch but the stitches are so dang small! Oh my goodness! I had to buy a magnifying glass. Seriously, I need it. It may take me forever to complete this project. I am thinking about asking the designer from MonsterBubbles how she works so small and if it's ok to miss a stitch here and there. How does one do something like this without going insane after 9 stitches (not even complete x's, just 9 diagonals!?). Her patterns are so cool but dang, the stitches are small!

I taught myself how to crochet a couple years ago. I am by no means good at it but I can make scarves. I have been wanting to try knitting but have had no luck in teaching myself. Well, I bought a children's book on how to knit and finally, last night I was able to cast on and do some garter stitches! You can see below that I am catching on. I'm not doing something right with the last stitch in the row. I was hoping to see my friend Dawn at church today so I could ask her what I am doing wrong. My grandma can help me too. She has a lifetime of experience and has made me and our family so many beautiful sweaters.


I am eager for our local quilt shop to start up some new beginner's quilting classes this fall. I want to learn how to quilt. Also, I am currently planning for a monthly craft club I want to hold at my house. Today I am going to work on a project for a good friend (I will post a picture of the finished project) and I must get started on my cards for the next card swap due this coming Thursday. The theme is "stitches".

Saturday, September 15, 2007

21 Miler Results

Today was my longest run before I run in the Portland Marathon. Once again, I woke up for this run with a raging headache just like I did for the 30K. Felt like I was hung over. I think I was clenching my jaw in my sleep throughout the night because I was worried about today's 21 miler. I tried not to think about the run (worry) but my brain was working on it's own. I just returned from my run and my Polar sports watch tells me I ran for 4 hours, 9 minutes, and 45 seconds. Max heart rate was 178, average 158. Burned 2,501 calories. Ran for 23.67 miles. Max pace was 8:20, average was 10:32. Went through 4 Gu packets, 12 bottles of water, two of which were Accelerade. I had two bathroom breaks and needed to stop to stretch throughout the whole time. I took your advice Tara about the stretching to help with the achilles pain. The stretching helped to keep the pain in my achilles, knees, shins, and hips to a level that was tolerable. I saw a lot of my city and surrounding towns today! The weather was perfect this morning. Clear blue skies and chilly. I love this time of the year.

I was thinking about my life-long friends, Tara and Dana, that I will be doing the marathon with throughout the entire run. One friend lives in Oregon and the other about an hour to hour and a half away so we are training by ourselves. I am happy to be doing this marathon with them--a first for me and Tara, not sure about Dana. It will be something I will never forget.

My left ankle is sore. On the inside, between the ankle bone and heel where the indentation is. Going to take a bath now.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Window Frame Art Gallery is Complete


The window frames we made to display Lydia's artwork are finally finished and in use on the kitchen wall. Notice I said "we" made. Ken (my husband) was a big help on this project. He didn't ask for a craft project. :-) He cut all of the cork to size and attached it to the windows. He also did all of the hanging. I am really happy with the finished product. Now we will have a nice way of displaying all of the art that comes home. And I no longer have a bare wall. The kitchen feels more "homey" now. When Lydia came home from school and saw the wall she said "Wow!" so I think she likes it. I do plan on painting the picture frame this week with the same color I used on the windows.