More Blankets

Front of the Brochure

I tell you what, "Blankets For Brianna" has completely captured my heart. I love making blankets for the organization. I am constantly thinking about other colors and designs I can do.

Crocheting blankets definitely takes some time. Depending on the pattern/size it can take weeks. I've made a few fleece tie blankets but they have always been with two pieces of fabric. I noticed some of the ladies were mentioning tie blankets with only one piece of fabric. I googled the "how to" and realized it is incredibly easy and quick!

1) Measure the fleece to the size you want
2) cut a 2in x 2in square out of each corner
3) Cut 2in strips along each side of the fabric. It shouldn't go past the bottom of each cut out corner
4) Cut a small slit in the bottom of each strip you just cut. It should line up with the bottom of the cut out corner and the end of the strip.
5) Take each strip, put it through the slit and pull it through.

I hope that makes sense! It really is very very easy. I bought 3 pieces of fleece.

I got  1.5 yards of each pattern. I thought I could make 6 blankets total out of the 3 pieces. When I started measuring I realized I could make 12 blankets total!

I finished another crocheted blanket as well.

When I dropped off my blankets to my friend, Becki, I had made a total of 17 blankets. 12 fleece and 5 crocheted. It does drive me batty bug me just a little that it was 17, not 18. I like even numbers. I know, I have issues. Good thing you love me anyway!

OH and I got a few brochures for "Blankets For Brianna" in the mail the other day! I love them. Let me know if you'd like one so you can spread the word about this amazing organization.

Marshmallow Snowmen

These are such a fun addition to any holiday party. The original picture I saw used striped paper straws as the stick but I used lollipop sticks instead.

What you will need:

1 bag Large Marshmallows
1 Bag Twizzlers Pull n Peel
1/4 Cup Chocolate Chips
Round orange sprinkles
18-20 Long Lollipop Sticks
1 tooth pick

1) take 3 marshmallows and put them in a row on each lollipop stick

2) pull off 3 strings of twizzlers and wrap it around the marshmallows and lightly tie it in a knot

3) melt the chocolate in the microwave

4) dip the toothpick in the melted chocolate and poke it into the top marshmallow, creating eyes and a mouth

5) sip the tooth pick again and make "buttons" on the second marshmallow

6) use a small dab of chocolate to get the sprinkle to stick as the nose.

They really take no time at all. I used these to add the finishing touches to the Christmas gifts I made for Jared's co-workers. I made dozens of cookies and put them in cute boxes:

I got some cute (and inexpensive!) coffee mugs, coffee and hot chocolate and wrapped them all up. It was an easy, thoughtful and inexpensive way to say Merry Christmas to jared's co-workers. 



Michelle's Baby Shower

Some lovely ladies and I had the distinct honor of throwing our friend, Michelle, a baby shower. Michelle is pregnant with her second little boy and we are all so so excited. Michelle is probably one of the funniest people I know. Every time we get together, her stories leave me in stitches. She is also one of the sweetest people I know. If anything is going on in your life, she is the first one to step up and help with food, prayers, encouragement, support etc. She's also the one that encouraged me to run my first 5K race. She was my running buddy and encouraged me the whole way through the race. We are hoping to do the same race together in March, depending how she is feeling after the baby is born.

It was a small affrair with close friends and family but I love how everything turned out. I had been dying to make these tissue pom poms and the moment I finished the first one, I was 100 % sold on them. I love them. They are pretty and so easy to make. I wish I has gotten a better picture of them.

I've been on the sugar cookie kick (clearly) so of course I made cookies as the party favors

We had a dessert table instead of just a cake.

I tried to capture as many details as possible. We made it boy themed but put girlie touches like flowers and candles to make sure Michelle knew the day was about her. I hope you enjoy all of the little details like I did.

Thrift Storing

I can't say I have ventured into many thrift stores in my life. I think there were a couple scattered trips during High School to look for Halloween Costumes or something of the like but beyond that they have been out of sight, out of mind.

I have a dear friend that find the best deals on clothes for her kiddos and super duper inexpensive stuff to satisfy her craving for crafts and creating. Every time she blogs about a good deal, it gives me tingles. Don't Judge me. You see, coupons and sales and % off and double coupons and clearance and free things make me happy. I'm getting all worked up over it this very minute!

OK... breathe...

So yesterday I met up with Jessica and 4 of my favorite little ones for some delicious Alaskan Mochas and soaking up some Vitamin D at the park. Between gulps and slurps of amazing frozen coffee, we got caught up on life and talked about crafts etc. She makes the most adorable fabric flowers! She was planning a trip to the Thrift Store after our park adventure and invited me to tag along.

I had no intention of purchasing anything but I knew I still needed to get a couple items for a baby shower this coming weekend. Lucky for me I found the things I needed at the Thrift Store. A basket($0.59) to hold party favors and a tea cup and saucer set ($1.99) that will be used as a serving platter. Apparently Wednesdays are 50% off days so I spent a whopping $1.43 on my items. I'm pretty excited about it. Maybe too much.

Day 91 Thru Day 96

Day 91:
Another baby blanket under my belt and given to a mama to be.

Day 92:

Had a wonderful time celebrating the mommy to be, Amanda, her friends and family. So much pink at this baby shower!

Day 93:

My friend, Cory, is getting married in May. When I saw this shirt I immediately thought of him. Him and the guys at the station got a good laugh out of it. I know it is a ginormous pictute but I wanted you to see the "groom"s face on the shirt.

Day 94:

This is Jared's moms' cat, Taz. Don't let the face fool you. he is well fed and very loved.

Day 95:

"Oh, life is so rough..."

Day 96:

April 6th was the annual Burn Institute "Give Burns the Boot" boot drive. I hung out with my brother and his crew at the intersection of Lyons Valley Road and Skyline Truck Trail. Our Intersection alone raised about $2500

Day 23

I have a small obssession love for crocheting.There's always a project in progress and a bag full of yarn in my car. I have various sizes of reusable bags but none of them are very deep and seem to get smaller as the crocheting project gets bigger. For my birthday I was given a Michaels gift card so I was forced to use it at the store I frequent about twice a year. OK .... stop yelling, I know that is a lie. So what if I go to Michaels atleast twice a month. Sometimes weekly. I'm just trying to save face. At any rate, I found this amazing crochet bag the other day. It is deep, has pockets on the front and a zippered pocket inside. Everything fits in there perfectly. I'm in love.

Mix Ups

I've been thinking about making my honey a fleece tie blanket for some time now. It gets horrifically cold in his room and what better way to warm up than a soft, snuggly blanket from your significant other. Right? Glad we are in agreement on that.

When I was visiting him last week I noticed a fleece tie blanket laying on a ottoman. I knew I hadn't made it so I asked who made it for him. Much to my dismay it was from an ex-girlfriend. If you know anything about me you know I am not a terribly jealous person. Most everyone has an ex out there and it's no big deal, really. This, however, was not my exact opinion at that moment. Truthfully, had she been in the room I probably would have clawed her eyes out. Hey, don't judge me.. I am sure she is a perfectly nice person (yet clearly lacking some intelligence for letting this amazing man go). I just hated the fact that he has a blanket from her. To him it is simply one way to stay warm during the winter. Although I do fear(stupid self esteem issues) deep down that he thinks about her when he is using it. My "thinking about" making him a blanket went straight to " I need to get to JoAnns ASAP for some fleece". I told him he didn't have to get rid of it. Instead I offered some alternatives:
1) I will make two new blankets and burn that one
2) He can use it but the blanket I make has to be between him and that blanket
3) Give it to the dog... I'm sure he is cold this winter too

I did make it to JoAnns to pick out some better looking than that stupid blanket new fleece for blankets. Sometimes you need a second opinion when picking this stuff out. Choosing fabric isn't quite choosing an answer on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The whole Phone a Friend option doesn't work. The only option is engaging in conversation with random strangers. Heidi (yes, we were on a first name basis) and I threw ideas back and forth for a while. I headed to the cut table and grabbed a number. Being in the holiday spirit I grabbed a second number for my new fleece searching friend. I went back and handed it off to her then waited for my number to be called. Of course now that Heidi and I were old friends we did everything together. Waited in line, chatted and found out we have some mutual friends, shared fleece colors and they even cut our fleece at the same time. Funny as it is we also checked out at the same time.

My total was a bit higher than I had mentally calculated so while I was walking to my car I was checking my receipt. "Deer in meadow"...wait...Chargers Fleece, Plaid, Teal... I didn't get any fleece with deer. I looked closer and sure enough, half of Heidi's order was on my ticket. Somehow the ladies at the cut table mixed up their little scanner deals. Thankfully Heidi was walking across the parking lot so I waved her down and explained what happened. We marched back inside and demanded it be fixed. OK OK.. we didn't do it quite like that. We politely explained the situation to the sales clerks and they graciously fixed our receipts. I ended up paying $40 less than my original bill. Awesome!

Holy Moly

I had 5 days off this week and let me tell you.. it flew by! I am generally in a fog on wednesdays due to the lack of sleep. I really have no idea what I did that day. Thursday i went to Ramona Station 80 to ride out on the fire engine.. This is probably the busiest station in San Diego that Cal Fire dispatches for but apparently this was not the case on Thursday. We went to the grocery store in the morning and just as we got to the engine, we got dispatched to a medical aid... SWEET! It is starting early! We are going to get some good calls today. Nope! We got back to the station and brian's engine was there. They did a little training on ropes then left. It was time for lunch and we still didn't have any calls. After lunch the crew did chainsaw training. Let me just say I am now scared to death to use a chainsaw! Captain McLaughlin was trying to explain to the new fire fighter how important proper use of a chainsaw is. He threw in stories of injuries he had seen. I think I was shaking at this point! I could tell you all the text book stuff about a chainsaw and how to ventilate a roof during a structure fire but please.. for the love of God.. DO NOT hand me one of those things! i would probably pass out! I have a new respect for fire fighters though. It was probably about 1o0 degrees outside and they were in full turnouts ( those yellow clothes you always seen them in on the news) with BA's (breathing apparatus.. or.. oxygen to make it easier for those that dont know the lingo), helmets, gloves etc and they were using the chainsaw. Imagine all that plus a fire raging underneath them.

The highlight of the day was dinner. Yours truly cooked. I pulled out all the stops for them. At the start of the morning I brought in the groceries I bought (OH! Thats what I did on wednesday.. went to the grocery store!). First response was " are you moving in?". So.. i had a lot of stuff.. but they were not complaining at 5:15 when they were shoveling food in their faces. I made everything from scratch. BBQ Chicken Pizza, Chicken Alfredo Pizza and Baked Pasta with Italian Sausage. Don'e get me wrong. I didn't make my own alfredo or BBQ sauce or milk a cow to make my own cheese. Im not that ambitious! I did make pizza dough from scatch. that's right folks.. yeast, flour, water etc. I even make a cheesecake from scratch. Yum-O! Check this baby out:

Today was spent running around working on Bridal Shower stuff. Time is flying by. Don't we have a pause button or something? I generally love Michael's Craft store but today sent me over the edge. I just haven't been able to find what I need there. I found some good bargains @ JoAnns though. Planning is well under way. I think Katie and I are going shopping this week to buy prizes for the fabulous games we have planned. I think it is going to be a wonderful bridal shower.. I hope so anyway :)

Creative Juices

Someone please smack me in the head!

I just finished the last of the wedding invites for Jimmy and Jessica. I was on a roll so I busted out 30 Bridal Shower invites shortly after. I was an invitation making machine on Saturday night! A warning to all paper punches though... you will not survive my projects. I have broken a total of 3 now. YES! Its amazing the kind of reaction when you hear the " snap, crack... crack.. snap.. clink, clink" of a paper punch breaking. You aren't sure if you are going to scream or cry. To my astonishment I didn't do either! I just moved on.

I have been in contact with my sister in law, katie, my mom and the bride-to-be, jessica's, best friend and my BFF feverishly planning a Bridal Shower for our little bride. I can honestly say I am SOOO excited with how things are turning out. It is so hard to keep my mouth shut around her. I want so badly to share the great ideas with her but I want it all the be a surprise too. The shower is a short 4 weeks away or something like that. The invites have been mailed and most of the details are done.

On Friday I found out my BFF, jessica, is having a Baby Girl! I am beyond excited about this. Her boys are like nephews to me and I love them with all of my heart. The moment I found out it was a girl I started thinking of baby shower ideas. I have the theme and party favors already decided! I am probably a little ahead of myself at this point. OH well! I love it!

There's always something going on. I live for this stuff. I think that's why I love my job so much. I am totally an adrenaline junky. Speaking of work.. I am riding out on one of the engines this coming thursday. I am stoked! I personally feel it is important for the dispatchers to get out, do ride alongs and get to know the people in the field. The crews at the stations love asking questions about dispatch. The Captain I will be with has been asking me for well over a year to ride out on the engine. SO, Ramona E7810.. ready or not, here I come! I know it is going ton be a great time. And seriously.. what single girl wouldnt want to hang around a firehouse full of good-looking, down to earth guys? More to come on how the ride-out goes. Hopefully we get some good calls so I can take picturesl. I am also making them dinner. Homemade Pizza, Salad, Fresh Fruit and Garlic bread. MMMMM Good. More to come later..

DONE!!

So I took on the task of making Jimmy and Jessica's wedding invitations. At first I was thinking "piece of cake, i can't do them in no time".. hahahahahaa! Joke's on me.. here's the adventure:

I found this beautiful brown/bronze cardstock at Michael's and knew Jess would love it. Then I found this pretty cream colored cardstock w/ words about love that had a shiny tint to it. Perfect! They look amazing together! The only problem was that the one store I went to didn't have enough paper to complete the task. This started my journey to probably a total of 7 or 8 different Michael's stores. I finally got all of the paper I need. Apparently the 2 types of paper I chose just happen to be the ones that are going out of stock. Way to go shannon!

I started the first few invitations and the paper punch I was using broke. It took Jessica and I 2 hrs to make 6 invitations(no bueno). Off I went to Michael's (again) to get a new paper punch... they were out.. checked with other stores.. they were out too. So I grab a different one. I try it on the first invite.. definitely not going to work. I go back to (yet again)before work and I pick up a different punch. Yes!!! It's working. I get about 50 done when Jimmy says " umm the phone number is wrong". Before I acted on the impulse to clobber him, I explain it was no time to joke and he (for once) was being serious. Easy change.. turn a 4 into a 5. no biggie. I enlist my partners at work to help when one comes up to me sheepishly and states she changed the wrong 4. Oops! I just started laughing. It was that or cry.

I headed to Jess LaTour's the other day and she was helping me. I start using the paper punch again and guess what... it breaks.. the handle snapped off! I just sat there in silence. I wasn't sure if I was going to cry, laugh or commit myself to a mental institute because I was pretty sure I had just lost my last marble! Jess calls the Michael's in Poway and they set a new one aside for me. Last night I paper punched until I thought my hands were going to bleed. I tied endless bows and got as much glue on my hands as I did on the paper.. maybe more!

Regardless of all that, the invitations are finished! They actually are very pretty and I am happy with how they turned out. I am thankful and honored that Jimmy and Jessica allowed me to make them and appreciate the work. Experiences like this build memories. I can honestly look back and laugh about the number of Michael's shopping trips I have made in the last couple weeks. Pretty sure it is bad when a couple of the cashiers know you by name...

Training: Week 1/Day 1

This has got to be the hardest day in training right? The first day... going from nothing to running/walking was tougher than I thought. I figured: 5 minute warm up, alternating 60 seconds running, 90 seconds walking for 20 minutes then a 5 minute cool down, piece of cake! Reality check.. not as easy as it sounds. The first couple minutes was easy and I thought " wow, see I can do this!" Then I keep going for a few minutes " whew.. this is getting a little harder". About 3/4 of the way through it I thought " what in the world was I thinking!?" I was so far into that I absolutely refused to give up. And I didn't! I finished 1.92 miles. Not too shabby for a rookie. I feel good about it. I feel like it was a good work out and I didn't over do it.

I am making great progress on the second baby blanket! I am over half way done. I have about 10 days to get it done. I can't lose momentum now.

I have a couple days left in a 5 day shift at work. So many people ask me if it is a stressful job. I guess it can be but there are quite a few calls that end up being funny and a great story. Here's one from early this morning:
Me: "Fire, Medical Emergency"
Reporting Party (RP): Hello?
Me: Hi this is the fire department, what is your emergency
RP: Hello?
Me: Sir, this is the fire department, what is your emergency
RP: Hello?
Me: Sir, can your hear me?
RP: well, yes!
Me: Ok, what is the emergency?
RP: well, Im clammy
Me: Clammy?
RP: yes! and I have pain in my chest. I suffer from Ang.. uh ang.. you know.. that thing in your chest
Me: Angina? (pronounced an-j-i-na)
RP: ya! that's it! and I took one of those pills. those little ones.
Me: Nitro?
RP: Yes!
Me: Did it help?
RP: Well, no. Should I take another one?
Me: probably not. What is your address?
RP: Im getting to that.
Me: Ok..

It is a never ending guessing game being a dispatcher. But it keeps life fun and entertaining. I really do love my job! Non stop fun.

May Days

May Days I sometimes wonder when life got so crazy. The month of May for instance.. how much can we cram into 31 days? Let's have a contest to see who can do the most! Burn Institute Boot Drive, Ride out at Deer Springs, 4 Birthdays, Mother's Day, Friends anniversaries, going to a wedding, baby sitting, Sea World. The list could go on forever.

The family celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday. I thought it would be fun to do something a little different and since mom absolutely HATES doing Burgers and Hot Dogs at BBQ's, it worked. I thought Kabobs would be yummy. I have this perfectionist and people pleaser side to me that gets me in trouble. We couldnt have just one kind of Kabob.. no, Shannon has to find 4 different recipes and make all of them.

Oh, wait.. we have birthdays too. CRAP! That means we need cake. I decide to make 3.. yes THREE different kinds of cupcakes w/filling. I think to myself "well, I am making Jimmy and Jessica's wedding cake, we can do cake taste testing for that too." There's this adorable decorating idea in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Each cupcake has a little ribbon tied around it. SO cute!( in the end I ditched the ribbon idea. Barely got them frosted)

In the midst of this I am still racking my brain to figure out what to give everyone as gifts. In an amazing moment of inspiration on Friday morning I think "SCRAPBOOKS!" I high tail it BACK to the scrapbook store. (The lady knows me by name now. That could be a sign that I have been there too much)I am there for hours... not good cuz I have a ton of cupcakes to make. I get home, throw cupcakes in the oven and break out the scrapbooking supplies. Then I just sit there...

Where did my inspiration go? What happened? Come back! I am on limited time! 24 hrs to complete 4 scrapbooks, 3 kinds of cupcakes and 4 kinda of kabobs. I am just staring at blank paper. Someone HELP! Finally, I get a few ideas and start working on my moms. Saturday I started working on sandy's but I couldnt find half the paper I had bought. Where in the world could it have gone? Its GOT to be here! Could I have really lost it between my car and front door??? Wait.. I was cutting it at the scrapbook store. Seriously, I didnt leave it there did I? OF COURSE I did! Way to GO! Go back to the store and there it is.

I still need to go to Costco and WalMart to pick up pictures, gift wrap, and bday gifts. Meet Brian, Katie and Peyton for lunch at Costco.. hey.. we are big spenders! I get home and its like 4 pm! I have 2 hrs to finish everything. Whew.. time is just flying by! Why couldnt I have thought of the scrapbooks a week earlier?

At this point I am pretty sure I have lost my mind! Load up the car, take it all to mom and dads. Print the notes from each kid and glue it into the scrapbooks then start the kabobs. Did I really buy that much meat? It took Brian and I nearly an hour to do them all. Everything turned out great though. Except I didnt finish the books for Katie and Jessica. Overall I had fun... Until I came home and it looked like the pillsbury dough boy trashed my kitchen and the scrapbook store blew up in my living room...