Ceru the Traveling Sock Monkey!

Here are a few snaps of my favorite traveling Sock Monkey from our recent trip to Europe. :)


This is Burg Eltz. I was very pretty.
This is the longest fjord in Norway. Fjords are so beautiful!

Going to Europe on Wednesday!

I am so excited!
First stop Rome, then Florence, Munich, Dusseldorf - this is the reason we are going to visit friends in Dusseldorf who will take us to Holland- then Oslo (yes I know we are crazy to go to Norway in November) this is also to visit friends. :) then back to Germany for a couple of days.

This is one of the friends we are off to see!

Eeeeeee!!!! Can't wait. :D

Kick Your Defiance in Pains Teeth

I read the title phrase on the shirt of a fellow runner at about mile 12. It made no sense to me at all. I must have passed that runner, cause at mile 24 or so he passed me again... and then... I understood. See, by that time me and pain were well acquainted. And my defiance was waning....
Thank You fellow runner, your shirt helped me kick pain in the teeth! ;-)

Marathons are hard! This one was my hardest so far. That being said, I had a great time. As I have at every race I've ever run. The weather was fantastic for running - no rain - sunny but not super hot. I got a little warm by the end of the race, but really could not have asked for a nicer day.
I have done the Portland Marathon 3 times before. First time I walked, with one of my best friends. (I was not a runner before). I loved walking it, but.... wanted to get done faster and I liked the idea of running. So, next time I ran with a different friend. Both of these friends I was able to train with the whole summer, that makes it so much more enjoyable. The the third time I ran it with my cousin from California, so we were not able to train together at all, that made training hard. I had a great time running that marathon, but was not keen to train again without a partner. So, after that marathon I pretty much stopped exercising for a few years (read- MMORPG). I finally got back into running the beginning of this year, (I found a new running partner read- ipod nano) but I am about 20 pounds heavier than I was at my last marathon 5 years ago... so I was 45 minutes slower and it hurt alot more.

Solution? = Lose 25 pounds! :)
Goal for next year is sub 4 hours. This has always been a goal, really. This is like a sorta holy grail for alot of novice runners.

My brother says he'll run with me next year. Yay! We should be able to do some training together too as we live in the same area.

Thanks to Hubby, Mom & Dad, Frank, Tyler and Lindsey for coming down to watch me finish. A few of those peeps walked the 10k for the day too! :)

Portland Marathon Tomorrow!

AaaaAAaahhhhh!!! I am a little excited and .... a little ....um.. nervous too.

I didn't train as much as I have in the past, and I am really hoping I don't pay for it. I am not worried about trying to finish super fast, and by that I mean super fast - for me - cause I am never gonna be super fast as a runner. :) Once again I am signed up in a weight class. I don't really know why I do that... I guess it's because deep down I am a little competitive. And last time I got a plaque for second place in my division. My brother says, yeah - if you make the pond small enough...

So, today's task is to make my 4-5 hour play list for my run tomorrow... wow that's a long time. Thankfully I have everything by Crystal Method, so it won't be hard to fill the time.

My goal is to finish in less than 4 hours 30 minutes. I'll post finish time tommorow afternoon. :-D
Ciao!

Sock Monkey Dreams~ Available Now!

I just ordered a copy of this great book!
I ordered directly from the Authors site Sock Monkey Dreams
But it is available at Amazon also.

If you've ever been curious about the lives of Sock Monkeys, you need this book! :)

the Pom Pom ~ amigurumi style

I have finally made one of those little Japanese style dolls that are so popular now.
If you've never heard of Amigurimi, then you are most likely not a crafter. :)
Here is my version of Pom Pom from Homestar runner.

Tampon Pouch

I finally decided to make something I have needed for years.
I am embarrased when I go to pull my wallet or my phone out of my purse and a tampon comes out with it. *cringe*
Solution?... a tampon pouch! :)
I have seen some really cute fancy ones. I like those, but I opted for totally plain. It's big enough for 3 tampons and a couple of liners.

Fun new toy! Meez Avatars

One of my favorite things about most of the video games I have played is making my avatar! :D

Now I can just make the avatars without having to sink tons of time into actually playing a game. hee hee

Here is my first creation.





To make your own Avatar check out Meez!

Tying a Quilt With Grandma

We had a houseguest this weekend. Grandma Norma came and taught me how to put a quilt on a frame and then how to tie one. This is a very quick and easy way to make a quilt. It takes almost as much time to set up the frame and get the quilt on it, as it does to tie it up. :)

It came out beautiful! Now I just need to sew up the edges. :)

Princess Leia Sock Monkey

For those that don't frequent Craftster.org they are having a Rockin' Sock Monkey Contest this month.

The contest was to make a sock monkey resembling some one you admire.


Growing up in the late 70’s early 80’s, Princess Leia was my hero.
Whenever I played with my buddies at school or in the yard, I always wanted to be Princess Leia.
She was smart, strong, and courageous and held her own with Luke and Han Solo.
And who wouldn’t want to be the girl who ends up with Han Solo. *swoon*

I have made a few monkeys before but I have never worked harder than I did for this little monkey.





I tried several different options for ‘The Buns’ and finally ended up making my own wig from
Wool -mohair yarn. (I love Lamb’s Pride <3)

For the dress I made my own pattern. It has a single snap in the back and can be removed. And I think it’s even made from that same polyester that became popular just after the original Star Wars.

The eyes were the hardest for me and I think I tried about 8 different options before deciding to go with buttons and embroidery.

For the little blaster, I tried to make a good looking one, but decided I was better off altering a toy.
So, I found a little gun the right size and gave it a custom paint job.

Now, If I could just get my hair to do ‘The Buns’. :D