I'm Tired

The pictures in this post have nothing to do with it, I just figured you'd want something to look at while I whine. They are some of my favorite finds this summer.
I am so ready for a day off from working. I get next Thursday (Thanksgiving) off. By that time I will have worked every day for a month between my two jobs.

I never realized how very stressful it is to deal with the public all the time. I work at the library, and I take tickets at basketball games. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of nice people in the world, and I get to deal with a lot of them, but I always have at least one rude/annoying/whatever person when I'm working.

And I seem to get so many more at the library, between not reading things, not thinking about other people, and just not paying attention, there's a lot of them.

I would like a day where I can just sit at home and watch TV or read and not be bothered by anyone. I would turn my cell off and unplug my land line, and just ignore the outside world.

I've noticed I get really annoyed and grumpy so much faster lately. More things just get under my skin. This morning I was pissed at my computer for moving so slow, I was so annoyed, I thought about calling in sick. It wasn't even 8AM and I was really angry.

I know I shouldn't be whining because there are plenty of people that work way more hours than I do, and in so many more stressful jobs.

I also have a lot of things to do before the upcoming holiday season. I'm trying to keep up with my baking every weekend, I have 3 swaps I need to make things for and send out.

My initial thought with my baking was that I had more time on the weekends. This weekend, I'm working at the library in the morning of Sat, and then go to my other job that night, and I work a game on Sunday.

I signed up for a Steampunk charm swap through one of my Yahoo groups. I have no idea how to create steampunk charms, but I love swapping charms. I have some green leather I plan to use, I also have some metal number plates that I think are off of church pews or something, but I have no idea what I'm going to do. I have some bullet casings that I'd love to use, but I don't have a drill to use.

I signed up for an ornament swap at Button Floozies. We're supposed to make 3 ornaments where buttons are the main item. I'm planning on making 5 ornaments, one for each person in my group, one for me, and one for a stocking swap I signed up for. I'm thinking about sewing little shapes and adding buttons to them. I haven't started those out, I believe they're supposed to be in the mail in two weeks.

I signed up for a vintage stocking swap where we're supposed to make a vintage stocking and then fill it with gifts for our partner. I'm planning on sewing some of my vintage linens and hankies onto some quilt batting in the shape of a stocking. I went shopping for my partner yesterday at the antique mall that's closing, so I have the gifts for her, now I just need to start the stocking.

I'm wondering if part of the reason I'm so annoyed lately is because I haven't been doing any artwork. I've always said music and my artwork keep me sane, and with the stuff I have due soon, I should do some.

At least I have a bunch of my Christmas shopping done. I have one more thing in the works for my mother, and then I'm done shopping for her. All the presents I have are wrapped and waiting to be put under a tree or in a stocking. I don't have my Christmas list done though. I have 4 things on it, I just don't know what to put on it.

I'm annoyed with the post office, I sent a package to Virginia on the 2nd and it still hasn't arrived yet. It was for a swap that was due on the 10th. I told the hostess if she gets all of them before mine, she can go ahead and swap out. I would love to hang out with friends, and go shopping. I would love to do something fun.

I'm just so ready for a break. Even when I'm in my house, I can't just read in peace because my dad has his stuff up so loud underneath me.

Hurry up and get here, Thanksgiving.

Lots of pictures

OK, this is gonna be a long post. The antique mall in my town is going out of business and today was the last day they were going to be open, so I had to see if there was anything else I needed. I
These next 3 pictures are from a bag of linens,
I love that blue and white flower

My favorite piece is the one in the lower right hand corner.

The ribbon is more papery than ribbony, the buttons are little tiny green shank ones.

 I love things where you don't know exactly what's in it.

And here's what was inside:

I never look at the buttons here, but since they were going out of business, I figured 'why not?'. The two cards are a mottled brown/purple shank, two large black horn ones, white ones, a large green one, and a group of misc buttons.

A boot ornament cut from metal, a Santa ornament, a mirrored tree, and a reindeer.

Some vintage Valentines

A white Czech pot, an Alabaster owl bell carved in Italy, a red and white flower pot, a china doll head. It was there last time I went through, and I kept thinking about it after I got home, I think it will be a good thing to use in my artwork. I also love the Iowa gold wire coin purse.

I just wanted the fish card on the top of this bundle, the pound puppy has a tag that says "1/4 pounder", he was there a few weeks ago when I went through, I'm glad he was still there. The doll's dress says "Lime Parfait", she kinda looks like a Strawberry Shortcake doll.

The lace dress I think has silk on the bottom, a brown hanky, and a crocheted medallion.

I signed up for a vintage stocking swap, so I was really glad we got our partners before the antique mall closed. Some of the items I bought are for that, others are just for me, or Christmas presents

What If....

I stole this from Nicole, I love meme's and haven't done one in a loooong time.

What if I were to get pregnant?
I would not be happy, I am not a big fan of kids, and would probably have an abortion.

What if I could have any job in the universe?
I would love to get paid for my artwork.

What if I had the day to myself?
I'd probably just go shopping downtown. I have lots of days (well, not the whole day cause I work, but generally afternoons) to myself, and I have so much fun wandering through stores. I would love to just wander through an antique mall, unfortunately, ours is closing tomorrow.

What if I could get married?
I changed this one (it said all over again, I'm not married), I admit it, I never planned my wedding as a kid. I do love checking out the bridal magazines and looking at the dresses. I think it'd be cool to have a handmade wedding, course I'd have to have a boyfriend first.

What if I could live anywhere in the US?
I'd take Okoboji, IA. I love going there on vacation, unfortunately, I think being there all the time would make it less fun.

What if you could have any talent in the world?
I like the talent I have now, my art.

What if you met me in real life?
I'd love to meet some of my followers in real life. I like to think I don't really hold much back, so hopefully, you'd like me.

What if I went back to school?
I would totally take some of those anthropology classes I wanted to take, and maybe some art ones.

What if money weren't an object?
I wish. I could move to my own house, have a room just for my crafting supplies, have a dog, spend as much as I wanted on crafting supplies and clothing.

What if I could meet one celebrity?
I'm not big on meeting celebrities, but I'd love to meet the guys from Supernatural. Of course, I'd probably just grin and blush and not say anything.

What if I could shop at one store for the rest of my life?
Micheals. Hey, it doesn't say what kind of store. I love going to Micheals, they have so many cool things there. Thankfully, the closest one is 45 minutes away, so I don't get there very often.

What if I could choose any pet?
A dog, totally. I love hanging out with my friend when she brings puppies to town. I'd love to have another guinea pig too, maybe some day. I miss my pig.

What if I could go on a trip right now?
If money still weren't an object, Hawaii. I loved it when we were there a few years ago, I would love to explore more of the islands.

What if I had to choose between a house cleaner and professional chef?
Totally take that cleaner. Only thing is, I can find everything in my messy house. Maybe they could just clean up the bathroom and kitchen. I'm trying to get better at cooking/baking, so that would totally kill that.

What if I had the option to get plastic surgery?
Maybe get some of my fat shaved off, course if I exercised more, I wouldn't need that.

Week Two

This week's cookies, weren't what I had originally planned. My first plan was to make chocolate chip cookies, but then I thought those were boring. My second plan was to make Chai Crescents, but then I realized they are cut out cookies, I don't have a rolling pin, wax paper or cookie cutters. I may borrow those things from my mother and make them later though. So, this is my third plan, Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies. And the picture doesn't do them justice, they are supposed to be (and are in real life), the color of mint ice cream.
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 pouch Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4-1/2 teaspoon mint extract
6-8 drops green food color
1 egg
1 cup creme de menthe baking chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chunks

1. Mix cookie mix, butter, extract, food color and egg in bowl, until soft dough forms. Stir in creme de menthe baking chips and chocolate chunks.

2. Using small cookie scoop or teaspoon, drop dough 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 to 10 minutes. Cool 3 minutes; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Serve warm or cool completely. Store tightly covered at room temperature.


This is supposed to make 36 cookies, when I mixed up the dough, it looked very small, so I made 2 batches, and now I have tons of cookies. I used 1/2 t mint extract in the first batch and thought it was very minty, but after tasting the cookies when they were done, they weren't overly minty. I used 1/4 t in the second batch, and haven't tasted those yet, but with the creme de menthe chips, I bet they're still fine.
I used the 8 drops of food coloring and liked the color.
I didn't realize that creme de menthe baking chips are actually just Andes mints chopped up, I used a leftover bag of chocolate chips instead of chopping up chocolate.

We Won!!!!

It's official, the townspeople of Ames have voted to gut and add on to our library. YAY!!!!! HAPPY DANCE!!!!!

Baking Time

I decided to try and bake some bars/cookies for this holiday season. Every year my aunt has done this for me, so I thought I'd repay her, plus I get more practice baking.
I decided to make a different recipe every weekend (starting the first weekend in November) until Christmas. This week it was Chocolate Revel Bars:
I will post a picture and the recipe here for anyone who reads this to enjoy as well. All my recipes are coming from 100 Best cookies by Better Homes and Gardens. It's a magazine I bought last year.

Chocolate Revel Bars
1 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Reserve 2 T of the butter for filling. In a large bowl beat the remaining butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and baking soda. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and 2 t vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour. Stir in oats.
2. For filling, in a medium saucepan combine the reserved butter, chocolate pieces, and sweetened condensed milk. Cook over low heat until chocolate is melted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in nuts and 2 t vanilla.
3. Press two-thirds (about 3 1/3 c) of the oat mixture evenly into bottom of an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Spread with filling. Crumble the remaining oat mixture evenly over top.
4. Bake in preheated oven about 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned (filling will still look moist). Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes 60 bars.
To Store: Cover pan and store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.

Basket of Rocks

The antique mall in Ames is closing. I heard that some of the dealers decided to move to the expanded antique mall in Story City, which is about 30 min north of here and right next to the highway. Anyways, the antique mall had signs saying things were up to 75% off, so I figured I should check it out, especially since I didn't see any ads for garage sales this weekend. Here are my finds:
A rectangular white embroidered piece

2 lace cameos, a pink crocheted teacup, some trim and an embroidered collar. I figured I'd use these in some kind of artwork. I love the lace cameos.

2 doilies with embroidered edges, a white pot, a yellow cup and a cute silver spoon.

My favorite find was a basket full of rocks/minerals. I love cool rocks, I've been collecting them as long as I can remember, that was one of the things my ex loved giving me.

Here's my basket of rocks after I cleaned them. The one on the left with the circles in it, is way cool, it's pretty see through when wet, I'm gonna try and varnish it and see if it keeps the glassy affect. I also love the striped one, that's the main reason I bought the basket. The one on the bottom right that's in pieces, pretty much fell apart when I stuck it in the water to be cleaned.

I got all this stuff for under $20 and found out I save about $20 as well. The owners said they were going to be gone by the 15th. There were a few pieces I was thinking about, so I'll probably go back one more time before they close, though I doubt anything will be marked down further.

I'm pretty bummed about this. I generally go there in the winter when there aren't any garage sales. There are 2 other consignment stores here, but they're not nearly as big, course I could save some money this way.

Happy Halloween

Question

So, I'm hating blog with embedded comments. You know those ones that when you click on the post, or post a comment, it goes to a page with the post and then the box for the comments at the end. For some reason, when I go to post a comment, after I type in my comment, I've had to copy my comment, because when I click on Google Account, it goes to a page saying my current account is not authorized to view this page, click here to log into another account. So, I log back in with my google account, and then I see my comment with my avatar picture and the word verification. After typing the word verification, and pushing publish I go back to the page about not being authorized to view that page. I log in again with my google account, and finally my comment is published.

Is anyone else having this trouble, and would anyone know how to fix it? It's becoming annoying, and I want to leave comments a little more quicker. Now, I'm not having any problems with the blogs that when you click to post a comment, it takes you to a full page of comments, or the little pop up page.

Any help would be great.

What I'm Reading

Awhile ago, Bargain Hunter asked what we were reading, and I have meant to do this post ever since.
Here are a few books I've found particularly interesting lately:
Rediscovered Treasures: A New Life for Old Objects by Ellen Dyrop. This book has some great ideas on how to use all that stuff you find at garage sales and antique malls. I find it really cool, because sometimes I don't just want to display my finds, but I'd like to use them for things.

I liked this idea of using an embroidered tablecloth to make a change purse. There's also instructions for some of their ideas in the back. I used a vintage scarf to make some pennants for a swap, if you'd like to see them, go here. Everything I used in making them is vintage.

Another cool book I've found is Beautiful Button Jewelry by Susan Davis. She shows you how to use vintage buttons to make jewelry. She also gives a little bit of history on groups of buttons.

My favorite buttons in the book are the Antique Porcelain and China Buttons. I actually found a button I have on one of the pages in this section.

As I'm trying to branch out and bake more, this book has been wonderful. It's the Bake Sale Cookbook by Sandra Lee. What I love about this book is she tells you to start with a box/bag mix you find at the store and then go from there. I really don't like to make everything from scratch, and it saves time.

One of my favorite recipes was the Pecan-Coconut Cookie Cups, even though I didn't actually follow a lot of the recipe for this one. Mine still came out great.

And this last book keeps my criminal justice background interested. It's The Boy in the Box: The Case of America's Unknown Child by David Stout. I only started reading it yesterday, but it totally pulled me in and I'm interested in reading the rest of it.

Since I work at the library, that's where I got all these, but I've made the titles of the books links to Amazon if you're interested in purchasing any of them. The Bake Sale Cookbook is at the top of my Christmas list this year.

On another note, as the holidays are approaching, I really want to do a gift swap. I started doing some Christmas gift swaps last year, and I really want to do more this year, or even making something for someone. Anyone have any ideas of where I can find these kind of swaps? I am following Swapbot, and all the blogs where I found the swaps last year. I may be a little bit early on these, but I love seeing how other people interpret my interests, and when is it not fun to send something to someone else?

Great finds

I didn't find any garage sales in my area this week, but I did find a rummage sale and 3 craft sales. Here's what I got: a purple square vase, a cute top, and a math workbook. The spiky things I bought at a local store, they had them listed as goblin eggs, I really don't know what they are.
Apple zuchini bread, puppy chow and a ceramic bird.

More puppy chow, seasoned crackers and some dutch letters

Hearty Lasagna soup mix, a cute pumpkin cup with sunflowers, santa brush, snowman bell, and an angel

Jumbo fun activity book and 4 Christmas rubber ducks

3 yorkie charms, a frog charm, and a die charm. The rest of these items were in a free grab bag

I also bought some dinner rolls, dried papaya, and dried mango, but blogger deleted my picture.

I'm A Winner

I entered a giveaway on Brynwood Needleworks last week, and I won this gorgeous tote bag. It's actually bigger than I thought it would be. It measures about 12" square with an additional inch for the top border.
I also got all this fun stuff in my package, a picture of her dog Tag, a planner for 2012/2013, a pink bracelet for breast cancer, and a tiny bag of candy corn. It was wrapped in the green tissue paper with the creamish seam binding.

I don't have any pictures of the cute bundle it was when wrapped. I had just come home from garage saleing this morning, and saw the bundle poking out of my mailbox, so I sat down on the porch and opened it.

Thank you so much Donna, I can't wait to use it.

Check out Donna's blog, she has all of her adventures with her dogs, and her great quilting work on it.

This week's Finds

Not too many sales this week, I think they're finally winding down. I went to 3 planned sales and 2 not planned and bought at only 3 sales.
This one had antiques, salvage, and jewelry in their ad.
I found a cute pig bib, a pineapple crocheted doily, and the cute rectangle piece.

I also found two pins, and a necklace.

These were from a sale that benefit a girls' scholarship fund. I couldn't resist the Care Bear, the figure at the bottom says Turtle Tots Tutu, anyone know anything about these?

I also found the 2 candles and the bouquet of roses pin at that sale. The two stick pins and bag of buttons were from another sale.



I ended up spending under $15 this weekend.

What exciting finds did you all get this weekend?

Time to get things done

I finally decided I needed to stop procrastinating and finish some things up. These are in no particular order:
I need to mail the fairy card along with a couple other items to a friend for a long overdue thank you for hosting a swap.

I need to finish these cards and put together Fall packets for this month's swap.

I need to finish these and get them mailed off.

I need to mail this off with a card for my partner.

I also need to make a birthday gift for a friend who's birthday is today, and a card.

I need to make a card for my grandma, her birthday is next Sat, she'll be 95.

I need to get started on my moos for a swap.

I need to get started on my fall cards for a swap.

I need to get a piece framed for my mother for Christmas.

OK, a few of those can wait a bit, what I really need to do right now, is get dressed, eat lunch and get ready for work. I'm supposed to be there in less than an hour.

Adrenaline Rush

I got to work a concert tonight, and I have forgotton how much I LOVE to work concerts. This was a rap concert.
It was totally busy for the first 30 minutes. After we got the giant rush in, I was left to help out at that door. I got to bar a patron for coming in because he was soo drunk. I heard he had to be dragged out because he had passed out by the time the cops took him out. We had to fill out an incident report and everything, I sure don't want to do that again.
My hands were shaking after that with the adrenaline rush. The rest of the night was pretty slow. I did get to see a ton of chicks in mini dresses/skirts that I did not want to see bend over.

New stuff

I don't have any new pictures, because I didn't go garage saleing this weekend, but these pictures are some interesting things I bought on Etsy this weekend. I do have other things to share with you, so please enjoy the pictures as well.
I don't have anything exciting/interesting going on in my life, I've actually noticed I'm more tired and irritable lately, I don't know exactly why. I have been working more at work, more than 20 hours, sometimes close to 30, which I know is not a ton, but more than I'm used to working constantly.
A very cool heart necklace

The assistant director at the library told me the other day, that she can see me making a career at the library. She says she doesn't say this very often, so it means a ton, and it's totally helping me when I have troubles with my lead workers.
This is the first time I've told anyone, since talking to her last Tuesday. I feel I really can't tell my co-workers, as I felt they might not be too happy hearing about it. I'm not really interested in telling my parents, because they will push me to have more hours (even though I'm past the limit right now), and berate me about other stuff.

Cute peacock earrings.

Like I said I've been more irritable and crankly lately. When I've been buying stuff it's totally been for me. I like that I'm not really spending money on someone else (meaning I like not having a boyfriend and spending money on him). The past few purchases I've made, I smile every time I look at them, and that makes a huge difference. I've been buying junky food for me, maybe not the best choice, but I enjoy and I think that matters a ton.

A cute blue necklace.

I'm dressing up for Halloween, and have bought myself a cute costume. I'm actually working on Halloween, so I figured, why not. I haven't dressed up for Halloween in years, so I'm really giddy about that. Plus, most of the Monday night crew at the library is going to dress up, so I think it will be really cool.

And an alien pocketwatch.

I honestly keep wishing/hoping that something exciting comes along, or happens to me. But, since I don't know exactly what that means, I think I'll be waiting awhile.

I've been chatting to a few guys online through the OKCupid website. I find one of them particularly weird/strange. We were chatting on Yahoo messenger, and then through the emails on the site, and he gives me his phone number and then pretty much ignores me. I find it kinda ironic because he was telling me how my ex was a dick, and then he pretty much says, 'Unless you call/text me, I'm not gonna chat with you anymore.' Now who's being a dick? I'm not ready to give out my phone number to anyone, and I'm certainly not going to give it to someone being an ass.

I went to my cousin's baby shower yesterday. It was fun to listen to the stories from my other cousins and aunts about babies and them growing up, but I'm not at all interested in having one. I thought it was particularly amusing, how bored my mother was when we were chatting.

That's all that's been happening lately. If I'm not working, I'm either relaxing (off my feet), or working on my art projects with upcoming deadlines. Check out my post about them here. I am a little bummed today, because I heard I didn't win a giveaway, that I really wanted, but I'm used to that, I rarely win anything.

What's been going on in your lives?