I've Been Tagged

I got tagged, so here are my answers:



1) Are your parents married or divorced?

Married for over 40 years



2) Are you a vegetarian?

No. I tried it for a week, but all the soy food was making me sick.

I wish I was though.



3) Do you believe in Heaven?

Undecided



4) Have you ever come close to dying?

Technically no, but I thought I was twice



5) What jewelery do you wear daily?

A necklace and three rings



7) Do you eat the stems of broccoli?

Only if it's raw



8) What is your hair styling agent?

Nothing



9) Ever have any surgery? If so, what?

No



10) Do you color your hair?

Sometimes



11) What do you wear to bed?

Tank top



12) Have you ever done anything illegal?

Yes



13) Can you roll your tongue?

Yes



14) Electric razor or blade?

Blade



15) What kind of shoes usually?
Barefoot around the house, My little black flats for work, and flip flops. running shoes or ughs for going out.

16) Do you condone abortions?
Not when people use it as a form of birth control

17) What is your hair color?
Dark brown right now

18) Future child's name?
James Orlin and Genniveve Mary (I have to find out how to spell it)

19) Do you snore?
Sometimes

20) If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?
Any place Tropical

21) Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
Yes, plus 2 cats

22) If you won the lottery, what would you do first?
Travel!

23) Gold or platinum/white gold?
White Gold

24) Hamburger or hot dog?
I can go both ways

25) If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Cheese

26) City, beach or country?
Beach, unless it's Manhattan

27) What was the last thing you touched?
My drink

28) Where did you eat last?
El Rincon, our favorite Saturday night Mexican place

29) When's the last time you cried?
About a week ago when we were watching some show on CNN about the way the world is going and what the future has in store. I cried because I'm afraid if something bad happens, then we will be broke and then I will never get to have babies

30) Do you read blogs?
Yes

31) Would you ever go out dressed like the opposite sex?
Already have, I had to cross dress for a play once.

32) Ever been involved with the police?
A few times

33) What's your favorite shampoo and soap?
Anything that smells really good

34) Do you talk in your sleep?
All the time

35) Ocean or pool?
Both

38) Window seat or aisle?
Aisle

39) Ever met anyone famous?
Yes, Andre Agassi and a bunch of other Tennis Pros

40) Do you feel that you've had a truly successful life?
So far, but I hope to be more successful as time goes on

41) Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?
Twirl

42) Ricki Lake or Oprah Winfrey?
Ricki Lake in King of Queens


43) Basketball or Football?
Football

44) How long do your showers last?
3 minutes

45) Automatic or stick shift?
Stick Shift

46) Cake or ice cream?
Ice cream

47) Are you self-conscious?
Sometimes

48) Have you ever drunk so much you threw up?
No

49) Have you ever given money to a beggar?
Yes

50) Have you been in love?
Yes

51) Where do you wish you were?
On a tropical Beach

52) Do you wear socks with your shoes?
Yes, if it's tennis shoes

53) Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
Yes

54) Can you tango?
No, but I could probably fake it if I had to

55) Last gift you received?
A geranium tree

56) Last sport you played?
Whiffle Ball

57) Things you spend a lot of money on?
Running stuff and Photo stuff

58) Where do you live?
Folsom, ca

59) Where were you born?
Placerville, CA

60) Last wedding attended?
My roomate from college

63) Most hated food(s)?
Sardines, Anchovies,

64) What's your favorite?
Mexican and anything with cheese

65) Can you sing?
Yes

66) Last person you instant messaged?
I don't do that

67) Last place you went on holiday?
New York City

68) Favorite regular drink?
Iced Tea

69) Current Song?
Discipline by Nine Inch Nails

In the Deep Blue Sea

I have decided I needed to expand my knitting. I found a book at the library that has patterns for knitting stuffed animals. At first I thought no way can I do that; however, as I looked through it, realized it wasn't as hard as I thought. I chose the turtle as my first project because I thought it looked manageable. It was actually one of the intermediate projects, but that was only because of the shell design and the many pieces. I had no problem whipping this up. It only took about 6 movies to make. There is nothing fancy about making it. If you can knit, purl, increase and "knit 2 together" you can make this. I am going to give it to a co-worker as a baby shower present. My next project is a colorful octopus. That is going to take a lot more time. I have to make 8 legs and each one is like 90 rows long.

In my father's footsteps

There were two things that I still needed before my craft room was complete... a chair/sofa and a side table. I have been going to the thrift store about once a week looking for both. Well I finally found a table, but it wasn't at the thrift store. About a month ago, I was out for my long run that I normally do on Sundays. As I was running, I saw a sign for a garage sale. I decided I would go check it out. As soon as I got there, I spotted the table. It was a little scuffed up and not the right color, but nothing a little spray paint couldn't fix. The best part was that it was only a buck. How could I go wrong? So I had the lady hold it for me and I told her I would come back after I finished my run. I did my last three miles, ran home, got my dollar, ran back to the sale, bought my table, and carried it 1/2 a mile home...just like my father has done a hundred times before!

To keep with the theme of my craft room, I spray painted it black. I then went to the dollar store and got a package of photo paper for a dollar. I went through all of the photos I had taken over the years and turned my favorite to black and white with photoshop and printed them out. I used double stick tape to adhere them to the top and then brushed on several coats of Mod Poge for furniture. I loved how it came out. I plan on putting it next to my chair once I find one.

I've Been Tagged!

I got an e-mail from my sister-in-law this morning saying I have been tagged. I'm not totally sure what that means, but I do know that I now have to tell facts about myself. So here we go....

Ten Amazing, but true facts about Morgan

1) If I was on Death Row, my final meal would be a brick of cheddar cheese, Ritz crackers, and an assortment of cold cuts.

2) Sexuality fascinates me! I would love to be the next Dr. Ruth.

3) The event that made the greatest impact in my life was when my sister invited me to stay with her for a month one summer.

4) I often do things to make other people happy.

5) I wish I was rich so I could give away my money.

6) I want to go to Africa and do humanitarian work.

7) 99% of the time I dislike the human race.

8) I absolutely love shopping for swimsuits. I currently have 6!

9) I can make something out of anything.

10) I don't know how I will face life without my parents if they die before me.


So there you go! I tried to put things that I thought no one knew. I guess now I am suppose to tag other people. I won't be doing that, because the only people I know with blogs have already been tagged.

Give Me a Marathon Anyday!

Back in January we had a huge storm that took down the fence between us and the neighbors (not to mention a few other things). I wasn't surprised that it fell down. It was pretty much on its last post anyway. Here are a few pictures of the damage.

Our neighbors have a dog, and even though I love her dearly, she has destroyed our yard. So a new fence needed to be built pronto! One thing I miss about renting, is that I now have to fix something if it breaks. Neither Jim nor I have ever built a fence, but thankfully Jim's step dad lives close by and is more than willing to lend a helping hand. On Saturday we bought all of the supplies.

Sunday was the day of hard labor. Let me tell you, I have never worked so hard in my life! I thought building our patio was the worst. Getting this fence started takes the cake! Give me a marathon any day. At least you know the pain will be over in four hours.

First we had to rip down the old fence.

Next came the worst part. We had to dig up the old concrete and posts. That was pure torture! We all took turns breaking the concrete with a sledgehammer and digging it up with this long, extremely heavy pole with a point at the end.

By the time we got all of the concrete up, I could barely lift my arms. The next part was easier. We had to mix the new concrete and put the posts up.

Once we got all of the posts set, there was nothing more we could do for the day...Thank God! The next part will be to put up the 2x4's and start screwing on the pickets. That will take place this weekend. Too bad I have to work all weekend : )

P.S. I am still sore!

A World of Miniatures

Since I have pretty much finished up my craft room remodel, I have decided to start on the project of remodeling my dollhouse. I plan on re-doing the house itself, mounting it on a board, and then landscaping it. I want to make most of the things myself. I have been looking at different places where you can buy miniatures on the web to get ideas. So here are two things I have made so far.

A long time ago, my dad got me a sewing machine and a dress form for my birthday. I was tired of seeing the dress form naked, so I made a mini replica of my wedding dress to put on it. It's not perfect, but the point is made.

Now the next thing I made is my favorite. I am still in shock at how good it came out. It took me about an hour and a half to make. It is constructed out of balsa wood and hot glue. My plan is to stain it, or paint it. I am going to make a green house and this is going to go in it. It is a potting table. later I will put pots, soil, mini tools, etc. on it.

So that is all I have made so far. There will be plenty more to come. Hope you like it.

Room Re-do Continued

Well my room has been coming along rather well. I'm sorry it has taken so much time to actually post pictures. The room is not 100% complete yet. I am still looking for a chair, side table, and rug. Once I find those, then it will be done. But here is the progress thus far. I am very excited at how it has turned out. It is pretty much exactly what I envisioned. Which normally doesn't happen for me. So to start, here are some before pictures. You will see I have a lot of stuff packed in a small space.

So here are the after:

I have two work surfaces. The one in the far corner is for painting, cutting fabric, etc. The other one is for sewing. I have my sewing machine on it. The TV is in the middle, and I can see it from either station which is what I wanted. I made all of the covers and curtains.

WORK STATION #1:

I wanted to put a curtain around this table because I have a crate of all my important documents underneath that I wanted to hide from view, but have easy access to. I was running short of fabric at this point, so I had to piece a few together to make it work. I attached it to my table using dots of Velcro. This seems to be Rusty's new hiding place. He loves to go behind curtains for some reason.

WORK STATION #2

This is my sewing station. I wanted to be able to leave my sewing machine out, so I decided to sew a pretty cover to hide it and keep the dust off. The curtain in front hides a small shelving unit that has all of my office supplies. I got a cheap cafe curtain rod at OSH and attached it to the front of the desk. The chair was originally maroon, so I made covers to give it a make-over.

TV

As you can see in the before pictures, the TV is pretty ugly. It's an old school one that Jim's mom gave me. All I use it for is to watch movies, so I don't mind its age, but I hated the sight of it. That was easily solved with yet another cover. Now it is no longer an eye sore when not in use, and it stays dust free. I think I am most proud of the shelving unit it sits upon. The shelves are a dark brown and covered in stickers from Jim's bachelor days. I knew painting it was not going to be an option (Jim made that VERY clear). I decided to get creative. I had loads of black fabric left over from my wedding, so I put it to work. I made a runner to cover the top and the sides. I then made a curtain to cover the front. I attached the curtain rod to the front and PRESTO... a new "black" shelving unit.

I got the shelves above the TV at the thrift store cheap. They were originally brown, but a can of black spray paint fixed that:

I wanted all of my supplies and fabric organized and easy to access. I was able to accomplish that with a few plastic containers and a shoe organizer:

I went with a no-sew curtain design. The pictures are not very good, but you get the idea. I used safety pins and straight pins to get the shape I wanted. This way I can change the design any time I want:

Last, but not least, I wanted to do something cool with the switch plate and outlet covers. At first I thought about painting them, or covering them with that clay you bake. Then it came to me. I decided to cover them with fabric. It was very easy. I cut a square of fabric and hot glued it to the cover. I used an exacto knife to cut out the holes:

So that is pretty much it as of now. I plan on putting up some of my black and white photography on the other walls. Here is how much I have spent so far:

Paint - $5

All Fabric - $30

Curtain rods - $5

Shelves - $7

Plastic Organizers - $25

Shoe Organizer -$3

Total: $75

My goal is keep it under $100.