Grrrr.....

So as most of you know I am a crafter. I love to crochet and make things. Here lately I have been looking at stuff in the stores with the mentality of "Oh that's cute, maybe I can do that". So naturally I hone in on things..design, cut, stitching..ect.

I was at HEB (Texas based grocery store), they have lots of bins filled with stuffed animals of all different sizes and shapes for the upcoming Valentines day. I didn't really have a whole lot of time to look at them but naturally i glanced on my way by.

The very first bear that I saw had a torn tail!! The stitches were coming out, one good yank from a child and wham there went your 10 bucks (I'm guessing, I didn't really look at the prices) down the drain. The next thing that caught my eye was a tiger hat, I noticed it had an unusual feature and went to check it out. As soon as I touched it, I noticed the piece I was touching was just barely holding on by a thread. All the stitching had come out and it was about to fall off.

Really?! This is what we spend our money on?! Poor workmanship and low quality. Just another piece of junk from China to end up in a USA landfill. These poorly made toys we buy, send our money out of country and for what? A temporary toy that will end up getting thrown away? To me it just clarifies what a wasteful society we have become accustomed or forced to be.

I am just as guilty as the next person...I spent two years in a row buying cheap toys for my grandsons to play with when they came to visit. At least half of those toys have been thrown out because they got broken. Heck even the first day of play one of the trucks broke a wheel!

I have tried to boycott buying anything from china but can't seem to be successful at it. Even the slippers I bought were from china and forget about trying to find a can opener! I am STILL using the old army can opener cause I refuse to break down and buy another one. I did finally break down and bought one a few months back only to have the handle fall off right in my hand!

My point is...Why do we continue to by this crappy stuff? This throw away stuff (you know you are going to eventually)?

Daddy and I were just talking about this this morning. He found a microwave and the only thing wrong with it was that the motor under the turn plate was froze up. Did you know you can't buy parts for those things? If it's broke, you fix it. Right? Nope not anymore...If it's broke you throw it into a landfill and buy a new one.

Am I ranting? You bet your butt I am! It is disgusting!

And how HEB can justify selling such crappy stuff, is beyond me. I guess cause folks continue to buy it. I like to buy things cheap just as much as the next fella but not if I'm just going to throw it away in the end.

Okay, I will step off the soapbox now. Sorry for the rant, thanks for listening.

Stomped by an Elephant

This 8 inch tall, 4 lb elephant candle holder was in a group of 5 other trinkets. I was in the process of moving these trinkets from their over crowded spots to a new location as soon as I found one. So they were sitting on the kitchen table waiting for me to figure out where to put them all, I needed the table so I again moved them to the counter top. Basically I have been shuffling them around searching for somewhere to permanently tuck them away AND out of the way. This still hasn't happened.

Yesterday evening while fixing supper (okay fine..It was corn dogs..don't judge!) I went to turn with the box of corn dogs to put back in the freezer and WHAM! I had knocked over this elephant and OF COURSE it just had to land right at the base of my big toe, right on my bunion!

I screamed, hollered, winced, cussed and repeated this process repeatedly in just a under a minute. I'm sure there were a few OMG's in there too! Hubby yells...Are you okay? I couldn't answer him, breath was being used for other things. Since I didn't answer he got up and came in the kitchen...Are you okay? What happened? I turn my head and point to the assailant laying on the floor.

He picks it up and says............ The Elephant stomped on your foot?! I couldn't help but let out a little laugh and say...Yeah and he shocked the piss out of me! Literally! (TMI? sorry) Hubby walked away laughing, yup he sure did! Left me there in the kitchen with my foot up in the air and my body hunched over the back of a kitchen chair, still wincing and well you know using my breath for other words.

Last night I soaked it, nursed it, baby'd it and still it swelled up to a nice youthful plump, too bad it was painful, I might have liked the new look. LOL! I was scared to go to bed and chance the dogs laying on it, bumping it or even me hurting it further with all the moving I do in my sleep. But I did anyway.

Now... most of the swelling is gone and I now have this lovely shade of purple going on and no it is not just veins!

Changes

Soo, I've noticed something today (I pretty much do everyday, but this one stuck out..haha).
Well since we are soo close to broke due to hubby's layoff and two week delay in getting that first paycheck, I have been only buying the bare minimum of groceries, like only what we absolutely need to go with what we already have. I never really noticed how much was spent on...maybe I will make this this week or I'm sure the hubby would like this. Most of the time these impulse buys end up stacking up in the freezer or in the pantry.
I never was a big junk food buyer, most of my groceries is your basic meals but planned (in my head)weeks in advance. BUT I would do this every week whether I needed to or not I always picked up more meals. In a way this worked out for us cause we had plenty to eat on for like the first week or so(of no paycheck) without really having to buy anything else but hubby's lunch supplies and milk. Since only getting what I need, my grocery bill has decreased by at least $20-30 a week already!
I'm thinking maybe I will try to keep this tend going and see how long before I really have to break down and buy a large load of groceries. I'm thinking that we could possibly go another month before that happens.

In other news...the hubby has informed me that he is thinking of changing jobs to a company that has more trucks, newer equipment and pays by the hour rather than paying by the load. I told him that if he is going to do it he had better do it now while I am still in poverty limbo rather than later when I get a routine going and we won't be able to go 2 weeks without pay.

Now for some lighter news...I decided to clean my office. Every box and every piece of paper is going to be gone through and assessed, thrown, kept or shredded. I'm an idiot!!!

Introducing... Southern Gal's Crochet!

So I have been debating this for some time now and have finally went through with it. As most of you know..here lately if and when I do blog, I blog about my crocheting. I'm sure some of you have been seriously tired of this convo and wish I would get back to the regular topics of animal antics and the hubs humor or maybe even my ponderings.

So in light of my realization, I have created a new blog just for all my crochet talk and creations. www.southerngalscrochet.blogspot.com

If you happen to enjoy all my crochet talk, then please feel free to come on over and join me. I will be posting about what I am making, where I got the pattern, what issues I might have had and also will be introducing fellow crocheters, their lovely work and links to free patterns I find across the web that interest me.

This will not only be for the benefit of you my readers and other crocheters but will also allow me to have all my saved patterns all in one place..LOVE that!!

Old Year yields new hopes for the New year

Last year at this time I was making a blanket for my brother and his girl. Yes I was still in the baby steps of making JUST blankets. I was just venturing out into the www and finding out that I could get patterns online! I was amazed but still too chicken to try anything out of my comfy blanket zone. Shortly after making the said blanket, his girl passed away suddenly. The family was devastated, needless to say. Sad to say but Yes life does go on and makes ya think and appreciate.

I tell you this cause I am convinced it was this time of refection after her death that made me stop and rethink what I had been doing with my daily life. I spent my days glued to my computer, doing my blog, reading blogs and feeling tons of pressure to keep up with it all. Not to mention the neglect my hubs was feeling over us being in two separate rooms all the time, him watching tv and me wrapped up in other peoples lives. I tried my hand at photography and really liked it but getting the opportunity to go places and explore with my camera wasn't feasible with our income.

So then came along crochet! I have known how to crochet since I was a teen but never really tried anything other than blankets and scarves. Squares and rectangles! LOL! I suddenly had mustered up the courage to try designs in my blankets which required learning to read patterns and new stitches. Learning how to read patterns opened my world up to all kinds of new possibilities. I look back at the pics of all the things I have done this year, I marvel at how far I have come and how much I have learned. To think that last year at this time I was still stuck behind a blanket and now I am doing hats, clothes and even toys! Oh what a difference a year makes and there is still soo much more I want to try!

This last year also brought us a new grand-daughter and we was lucky enough to go and see her and the family. Yes I know I have already told you that but I still squeal under my breathe when I think of the grandkids, I can't help it!

I do believe my last post was about the layoffs at hubby's work...well he escaped the first round of layoffs but not the closing of the company. He was out of work for three weeks but it has been 6 weeks without a paycheck. Times have been hard for the last few months but I have high hopes next year will be better. Hubby has a job (which is a blessing) and now that I have been doing soo much better with my crocheting I am also making a little bit of money to help out.

For the New Year I hope...
to further my knowledge in crochet
to teach my niece how to crochet
hubby has good luck with this new company
hubby's health doesn't worsen
Save a little money! (I can hope!)
And maybe if I am really lucky I can kick this habit of smoking. (wishful thinking!)

I hope you all get all your hopes fulfilled and have a wonderful New Year!