I have been dying to tell you

Hello Everyone!

 How was your weekend?  And the start of your week is going well I hope.

There is something I have been dying to tell you!  I have been wracking my brain on the best way to share this with you. I wanted to smoothly transition into this. Reveal the news to you in a stylish sleek and even organized way. However much like when I was an awkward teen, I never seemed to grow out of that awkward stage. Stylish and sleek are not words I would readily use to describe who I am.  Even to use the word organized is pushing it quite a bit. I do not flow with grace nor do I tend do things in a graceful manner. I have lost count of the number of times I have looked back on how something went down and thought that could have been more graceful. So I am going to just forge ahead and spill the beans already!!

Remember about those changes that are going to be taking place??  Well here is the reason for those changes.

DH and I are expecting our first child! As soon to be first time parents we are concerned about well everything. Getting things done on time. Being good parents. Making sure everyone is good and healthy. We are by the way. Just came from the doctors and all is looking good.

 In fact here is the little one's first picture. Everything is right on track with a due date of May 26th 2013!  This news has thrown us for a bit of a loop. But its exciting and well received news. We were surprised because with everything that has gone on in the last few months, getting pregnant did seem high on the list. None the less we are thrilled!!!

This bit of news has had me doing a lot of thinking.  Of how, of course, our lives will never be the same, but of all the little things that will change.  I got to thinking that one of the first places it seems fitting to start some of these changes is right here on this "baby" blog project of mine. Writing helps focus my thoughts and calm me down when things feel like they are getting out of control. Plus I love the sense of community that is felt in the blogging universe.

One of the biggest changes in store for this blog is a name change. I have been thinking that Crazy, Crafty and Caffeinated just does not fit anymore. Oh sure I am still crazy, though more tired, and I am always looking for crafty and DIY opportunities, the caffeinated part has had to come to a bit of a halt though. Now my priorities are changing and I want to share this special time in our life from beginning to end. To get it documented to have forever. I want to tweak things to reflect that. Don't worry I still plan to speak quite a bit about DIY projects and Knitting! That's what got me started into blogging to begin with and I can not just abandon that. Besides even with baby coming I am not changing my thrifty ways, in fact they are probably going to increase!! Right now the new name of the blog  is still a secret but I have hopes of making that reveal later this week, by next week for sure(the websites that I use to help makes these kinds of changes are being finicky right now so that has delayed me a bit).

There I have told you! I feel better now!  I am so excited for what is to come, I hope you are too!  Now I am off to take a little nap and plot out what I have in store next.  Have a great evening everyone!

Till Next Time,

Amanda

Time to start making Lemonade...

Hello Everyone...

My my it has been quite a while hasn't it?? You may recall I wrote about some difficulties that have come up in my life in this post Heart Broken.  These past few months have been about just getting by.  Frankly everything just kicked me in the butt big time. It knocked the wind out of my sails and thus out of a lot of the routines that I did and things I enjoyed. However, now it is time to start rising above it all. There is still life to live no matter how many lemons it throws at you.

Its time to start making Lemonade...

I have been meaning to sit down and write to you all for a long while now, but every time I would sit down to write, my mind goes blank. I know I have things I want to talk about, things I am dying to share with you, yet the words don't seem to come out. I am thinking an overhaul is needed. You know clean air, clear out mental clutter so I can get to the good stuff.

I was perusing my Google Reader account last night and I realized just how long I have dangling off the edge of the planet. There are tons of blog posts I need to catch up on from all my favorite blogs. I used to have a daily ritual of coffee and reading the latest blog posts, my version of the morning paper. I got out of that habit and thus an account full of unread posts. 

Along with reading to catch up on there are projects to be telling you about. Things I have finished. Things I am working on, and planning for the future(because nothing helps clear mental clutter than a little future planning). There is so much to share with you!!! Including a few changes that will be taking place very soon!

Here is to making LEMONADE and re-instituting routine!

Have a great weekend all you Crafters and Homemakers. Thanks for stopping by and hanging in there with me, when my world was silent.

Till Next Time,

Amanda

Bad Decision

Hello Everyone,

I made a bad decision in my coffee choice last week.  I wanted a change. I thought a little change would be a good thing. I WASN'T really feeling like coffee. Which should have been my first clue.

My first clue, that All was not well. Me. Not. Want. Coffee? That is the definition of insanity right there. What I should have done was bought my usual coffee as I always do when I went shopping. Since I was in a mental fog, with not even wanting coffee, that is what I should have done.

However that is not what I did. Instead I bought Tea. Yup Tea. At that moment the idea of Tea and scones sounded so lovely and relaxing that I caved. Now I have nothing against Tea. I really don't. I just don't usually drink it. If I do its Iced Tea.

Then next day when I came out of my tea induced coma, I realized I still had no coffee and despite how good that cup of tea was in the morning, it just wasn't my cup of tea.  So I dashed to the store again, to get coffee. You would think that this would have righted everything in the world, but it didn't. Because I was still suffering from insanity. I still did not buy my usual brand of coffee(which is Starbucks by the way.) I stood in that coffee isle thinking "Maybe one of these others brands have a nice flavor. I should try it out so I am not stuck in a rut."  So I bought this guy...

This stuff is painful to drink. I even hate the smell of it as I grind the beans to be brewed. It doesn't get any better while its brewing either. And the taste. Ack! This stuff is only a step up from Dollar Store Brand Coffee, which tastes like someone took tree bark shavings and passed it off as coffee to the public.

This all started because I was afraid of being in a rut. Because I wanted change.  What I failed to consider is that the relationship between coffee and I has been going on now for almost 15 years. That's 15 years of already trying things out. Testing different brews. Going cheap because you have no money(hence the dollar store coffee). Which means that by now I know what I like.  Which means if I want to change it up now and again well fine, but maybe that change should happen with a new nail polish color instead.

So please everyone, if you hear me going off on spiel about needing to change or wanting to change my coffee habits. Stop me. Slap me. Remind me that I have been here before. That I don't need to go thru the pain again. Buy me a new nail polish color. What ever you do, keep me away from the coffee isle.

Till Next Time,

Charting Un-Charted Waters

Hello Everyone,

How has your week been? Mine has been another one of surviving. That's what I am doing right now. Just making it from one day to the next. Its all I can ask for at the moment. And I am OK with that. I am living in every moment right now. Its a new feeling, that takes some getting used to.

I am doing a lot of knitting. Its very soothing on my soul. I have finished yet another Kerchief Scarf. Its blocking right now. I have moved on to another scarf. The Nancy Pygora-Merino Lace Scarf. Its beautiful. I am working it up in a lovely Cinnamon Fire Kid Mohair fine lace weight. It will be the perfect scarf for fall. Light and airy for still warm days, but warm enough to keep the fall chill at bay. Plus it's so gorgeous it will add instant style and flair to any outfit.

The only trouble I am having is that I am in uncharted waters. I have never worked a pattern that was Charted before. Its been quite different.  I have been enjoying the challenge of learning something new. I think I am finally getting the hang of the chart.

Have a great Friday everyone! Hope you have a great weekend too!

Till Next Time,

Heart Broken

Hello Everyone...

I have not been feeling crazy(not the good kind anyway), nor have I been crafty, and the caffeine is one of the only things that has been keeping me functioning. I have been hibernating. Literally just going thru day to day activities on auto mode. This month has dealt me some pretty hard blows. You know what they say when it rains it pours. Some blows were personal, some concerning family, others work and frankly it was just to much for this heart and mind to handle.  So thus the hibernation. My world stopped for about a minute and then spiraled out of my control.

I don't think I can explain it any better than The Yarn Harlot did...

-my heart got broken.

It doesn't matter what happened. Hearts get broken all the time. Marriages crumble, people die, there are bad accidents, reversals of fortune, intentional hurts, crushing disappointments, or surprises that one can't bear. Every person is different, and to describe to you what broke my heart would only draw a divide between us. As humans we can't help it, can we? You hear about something that's a heartbreak to another human, and because you are strong where they are weak, you can't understand how it would hurt them. You can often see it in the face of someone as you try to explain your heartbreak. As you tell someone about something that has knocked you down, kicked you in the stomach, kept you awake and sobbing for ten nights, and then took your lunch money, you see that as sympathetic as they are to you, as much as they love you, they're sort of thinking "That's it?That's what all of this is about?" We're all different, and all you need to know is that something broke my heart, and I was beyond sad-  Stephanie Pearl-McPhee  All Wound Up: The Yarn Harlot writes for a spin 2011

That was a paragraph or two from Stephanie's 3rd book. I just love how she writes and I have been re-reading this book as it brings me comfort. I write to you about this difficult phase I am in, about this heart break, not to focus on the cause of it. For that does not matter. It will only cause me to keep hurting. No, I mention it to help the healing process. To move on. To work and focus on the ways this will all change my life and my outlook.  Hopefully all for the better.

Till Next Time,

I Heart Packages

Hello Everyone!

I have mail! I love mail and packages! I love to receive them and I love to give them! So you can imagine my delight when the other day my package arrived.  I had some splurge money set aside and I had finally decided on what I wished to spend it on. I guess it was never really a question of what I would get.

Can you guess?

You got it. It was yarn. Or at least some of it was yarn...the rest was knitting and yarn related.

I ended up with a pair of much needed fold able scissors...

 Two books  I have been dying to have...So many patterns, so little time...

I finally broke down and got my much anticipated Soak Wash. Now I just need to finish up a project so I can use this bad boy...

Then finally some yarn! In finger weight with well over 450 yards in each. What shall they become?? You will have to wait and see.

Have you sent anything special in the mail to a loved one lately? Or have you received a special package?

Till Next Time,

Hanging Lake

Hello Everyone,

How is your day going? Mine not too bad. I am currently procrastinating in cleaning my house.  Of course I am justifiying not cleaning at the moment with taking care of much needed things on the computer( like writing to you all). Also I have a strict rule, "No work to be done till the last drop of coffee is gone". Right now I still have a half of a cup so I got time! Course now I look at the clock and feel a twinge of guilt because I think of how the day is slipping past me and what will I have to show for it, alos how nice will it be to have all of my have tos out of the way before Dear Husband gets home. *Sigh* Ok I will get to work on things as soon as I am done here I promise!

So I took a break and I actually did get up and give the dog a bath and cleaned the house, plus got some laundry going. Motivation must have finally hit me. Or it could have been that I hit an impasse with finishing this blog. My tablet and I are still feeling each other out and I have yet to figure out how to get pictures where I want them in a post on my tablet. Can anyone tell me how to do this??? Anyway with this difficulty it was going to require going to the library to use their computers and I could not allow myself to leave the house with out cleaning it. Anyway back to the story...

First I want to share with you about our trip up to Hanging Lake. Rememeber I mentioned here that Dear Husband and I needed to get away from the craziness we have been experiencing lately. So we escaped to a town not to far away from where we live. We went to Hanging Lake for a hike. And it was beautiful. Once you got there. Because let me tell you think you are going to die as you are climbing up there.

Just before starting the hike up. I don't think its a very good picture but  I am keeping things real.

Thoughts are running thru my head like, How did I let myself get talked into this? And why doesn't some one just shoot me and get it over with already? When you first start out you are so joyful and looking forward to this little trek you are going to do.  I wasn't even half way to the halfway point when my legs were screaming and I was sweating in a very unlady like manor and felt like I had a permanet scowl attached to my face. Maybe I really should get that Gym membership after all. I didn't think I was that badly out of shape but apparently I am! I kept thinking how if we ever experience one of those Day After Tomorrow or Deep Impact scenarios, I am likely to be the first to die because my survival will depend on getting up the mountain the quickest and I shall be trampled!

This is the stream you get to hike next to on  your climb up to the lakes. It really was peaceful, even with the other hikers around. Frankly I found myself doing a lot of Think Walking. I didn't speak much, that could have been due to a lack of oxygen but I like to think it was because I was being reflective. I wanted to be absorbed in the moment. I wanted nature to take me in and restore my soul if you will.

Here we are at the last leg of the trail up.

And then before I knew it I was there! And I was pooped!

sshhh! I am sleeping

But the view was worth it!

There that's a much better picture of Dear Husband and I. Mmm I should get it framed. The hike down was much easier and faster and very much looked forward to, by me anyway. Obviously I survived to tell the tale, unlike how I felt on my way up. Nature did her trick, I was relaxed and at peace. Anyone else go somewhere that put them at peace and was beautiful to see?

The End...Till Next Time