Every time I wear my octopus necklace my boss’s boss tells me how much she loves it.

So for her birthday I made her a cute little purple octopus…and .. wow I didn’t really like it. Then I made the mistake of asking “Hey, I didn’t like the the octopus I made you and thought I’d give you the choice, what color would you like?”

I almost got away with pink, she gave a couple two tone combinations and if you’ve seen the sunburst one, you know that’s pretty fun looking!

But no no no, she said “white with blue circles” Oh my oh my.

Well, I tried really hard and i kinda sorta hated it, white doesn’t work with me and stupid lint and … well this is the final product. I’m pretty happy with it but .. never again.

I am putting quite a bit of effort into prepping myself to be a business…or more of one. Oddly enough that means less crafts and more … not crafts.

I have separated my personal and craft blogs, all crafts will be posted in both craft and personal (which includes cooking) but I will only be putting craft stuff in my craft blog. Then I can start blog-networking a bit, I think. That’s the plan at least.

I have also ordered some personalized ribbon to start using on things, and am right now designing my logo. I made this pair of pants YEARS ago, and I was huge on embroidering things on the pockets. It wasn’t until I was almost finished that I realized it was my flaming heart. I’ve always been in love with it and am going to make it into a logo and print up tags to tie on things that I sell as well!

The only thing is that my name is in the center of the logo, so I’m redesigning it to remove it. I will be probably asking all of my loyal readers (yes both of you) for your opinion as I get closer to done. This will be on a tag that’s about an inch tall and two inches or so wide.

I’ve also been going eBay crazy! When I’m done I will hopefully be making more of those amazing light boxes that I started a couple years ago. I was having a hard time with how to make the the lights work but found an awesome instructable for a night light: http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Cube-Night-Light/

It’s just too simple not to try! Although he used glue, I think I might finally get myself a soldering gun W00T W00T!

I still need to hit up home depot and see what the best and cheapest way to make the boxes will be as well, and get a drill…I’ve always wanted an excuse to buy a drill Wish me luck on the construction, I’ll be using little LEDs and batter cases and switches and stuff!

So this is my update, you’ll see it as soon as I can get something to show

I’m not denying that hundreds upon thousands of chefs might be right, I assume that they are and were I ever to try some white truffles I’m sure that I would be ruined forever! Just like trying risotto for the first time. But what I always find hilarious is how a truffle adds class to any item. I just finished looking at this list of extremely expensive food items and random restaurants (mostly in New York) the ice cream with gold leaf in it, the $200 cheeseburger in london, the $1000 … whatever. The thing that all of these items had in common was truffles, and mostly white truffles.

The $200 baked potato is topped with truffle slices and is told to smell of “pure sex”. It certainly separates us mere mortals from those who can feel comfortable dropping several thousand dollars on lunch. Hell, I’m still trying to spend $200 on a bicycle. Instead of the daydreaming that I thought would come of the life that would lead me …. well here:

I find myself hoping that I get rich somehow, but never find myself in a state of mind where I think spending $1000 on a caviar pizza is a good plan! I’m sure that I might be missing out on something by being at the lower end of kinda middle-class, but I wonder if those things actually make me happy.

So today’s happy thought is that I can appreciate booking dinner on my george foreman before sewing in front of some Netflix movie that I”m streaming on my hand-me-down laptop, that’s good enough for me

I’m starting something new ..not sure how often it will be updated, but I’m hoping for the best.

Now, when you’re following any recipe that I come up with myself, you have to remember that I am full of “add about that much” or “until it tastes good”

So today I made the nommiest of the nom. It’s my take on stuffed chicken breasts, that aren’t really stuffed. The prep time is minimal and one of the important things to remember is that sometimes the stuffing needs to be at least a little cooked first.

FIRST…blanching the spinach! And this is where I get to that complicated part wher ei say that I take a good handful per half a chicken breast, and a quarter of a roma tomato per half. (half is more than enough to serve one person)
The spinach prep: Just tear the leaves off the stems and drop them in boiling water.
About ten-fifteen seconds is all it takes. Drain it when you pull it out and let it cool for a bit before you cut it up or you’ll burn your fingers…I say this from experience.
I just toss it all in a separate bowl to mix together. You can add croutons to the mix, but I like adding sourdough all cubed up
If you’re in the mood, have time, saute up a bit of garlic to toss in it. I prefer crumbling my feta myself instead of buying the pre-crumbled kind, and also add mozzarella. It’s best to salt and pepper to taste when you’re mixing it all in the bowl and not try after.
I like to buy the chicken breasts that are already sliced up all fileted, and then just pack the “stuffing” on top of it.
Cut the slices of bacon in half before you lie it on top. Be careful not to stack too much bacon, you cook so quickly in the foreman that it won’t cook properly if you have too much bacon on top of itself. Preheat the foreman and toss the chicken on it.
It takes about 7 or 8 minutes to cook and you’re good to go, the cheese is all gooey and magnificent, the bacon flavor has soaked into every last ounce of this dish YUM!

Long awaited and well deserved! I realize that I’ve been spending too much money lately, I have it technically, but need to try really hard to start putting money away for Portland for the plane ticket and my tattoo and such. I WILL get it done.

I’m also starting a new project, despite not being my manager’s biggest fan, she is quite ripe with child right now, and so I am knitting!

Two sets of hats and bootees, one as a duck one as a frog. (she’s having twins) They are new, they are an experiment, I have never before made baby anything.

I had forgotten that today was my knitting group and had a spectacular time at it! If … I think her name was Melissa … is reading this, HI!

Anyhow, I’m off to make dinner.

I wrote a blog, and then I realized it was too much real life and not enough what I want this blog to be.

I will say in this draft that I cleaned my house better than I have since i moved in, and it looks utterly fantastic.

I will say that the thing I’ve picked out to enjoy today is the feeling of said clean house.

I have disappointment in running out of clean water and still having an aversion to tap.

I have a disappointment in my perfect new glasses not being so perfect.

But I have excitement over clean houses and anticipation for crafts to come and twenty million lost cat toys that found their way home and a puppet on a shelf at eye level instead of being hidden at your knees. I have a daydream of something better, an image in my head of something amazing, and the ability to help make someone else smile. All these things, are fabulous! And make me feel … me.

The toaster at work doesn’t ever break, I swear it! What DOES break is the electrical outlets that they are plugged into.

As bagel Friday is one of my favorite days of the week ANYHOW, good morning conversation is certainly a plus to wrangle it into one of the most AWESOME days of the week!

Through the search for her chocolate chip bagel, the outlet swap and of course, the actual toasting, we chit chatted about work and home and just stuff. Anything ending in someone telling me that they were glad that the toaster broke because it meant we had a conversation is a good thing! YAY ME!

On to the craft lul…I really do think it’s the OMG I’m tired from work kicking in because when I get home I’ve lost all energy to do anything. I still have half a sheet of caramel that I haven’t cut apart. It’s still good
it’s still…cuttable, but I”m just too tired. And tonight I need to do my best to straighten up as my landlord is trying to sell the building and they’re checking it out tomorrow. Tomorrow being my last day of work before finally getting a weekend…can you tell I’m excited? The closest I got to good sleep was this morning and then I had to get up. I wouldn’t be surprised if I don’t manage climbing out of bed on Sunday, perhaps I will prepare by bringing a jug of water into my bedroom and my laptop. Fill the cooler and set it next to the bed, pick up some snacks and just stay there the ENTIRE day!

Although, I really really want to paint, I want to finish some half done polymer sculptures and perhaps make more, I want to sew a new skirt or top or something and I want to work on that new leather concept that I have that builds off of my best designed cuffs!

I love creating and think I just need a little inspiration to get myself going again. Organization helps which means having those new shelves … grand!

OK, I”m going to go read a little before work. I set down the Life of Pi that was struggling to keep my attention for the sweet, short stories of Fat Girls and Lawn Chairs. I’m not yet sure if it’s because I really am not enjoying Life of Pi, if it’s because I was predisposed from my sister calling it a steaming pile of shit, or just because I’m SO damn tired! I’m hoping for the last and that it will be spectacular when I pick it up again later on. Goodness how I love reading.

I know that I”m being silly with that but I really do believe that I need to take one day off every two weeks and I’ve learned that I”m not in my 20’s anymore!

Tonight I hit the grocery store…with a stick. Nothing came out of it really. I will be going to work tomorrow to not participate in an event that I pitched and fought for (for the party planning committee not real work) because I was just too tired to come up with … well, anything! Yes I still came home and built a book shelf. Kinda strange when you think about things like that.

I also came home to a notice that on Saturday they will be entering my paartment to show it to a potential buyer. For teh building. The really strange thing is that it had teh boxes checked of “To exhibit the premises to: “a prospective tenant or purchaser (with purchaser underlined) AND workers or contractors regarding the above repairs or improvements”

Both of them were checked, since i can’t do anything BUT read things into what I read…

1) I’m losing my landlord? But i LOVE my landlord!
2) Does that mean I might be evicted? I looked it up, they can do that!
3) I might not be able to stay here for the next few years? That was the plan!
4) My rent might go up?

there are more but … are they looking to tear the whole thing down? Are they just wanting to get an estimate on revamping the places as people move out or maybe even estimates on turning all the apartments on the bottom floor into one or hell…maybe they are just having it inspected by the contractors to make sure that IF they invest in the apartment building, they won’t be buying something that will crumble apart in a year.

After all, my current landlord found out a while after buying this place that they’d never gotten the laundry room addition approved. So they had to close it up or pay OUTRAGEOUS fees!

There’s really no need to stress myself out over it, I just … do that

On a better notes, I raised my DVD racks to put the bookshelf underneath it and it was DEFINITELY good to get teh shorter one. It’s nice to see my books with a home and kinda makes me want to buy more books just to have them on the shelves. I know it’s strange but I want to own every book that I’ve ever enjoyed reading. JUST IN CASE I want to pick them up again.

That could get very expensive very quickly and I already spent money that I probably shouldn’t have on the shelves themselves.

My next big project? Organizing the desk area! I want to get my cable management … well … managed. And figure out what changes I need to make to keep myself from continuing to stack things on top of my desk all the time. But for now, off to bed, up for yoga at six after my (becoming standard) rough night of sleep.

I’m not whining, I’m just stating. Tomorrow I will go to work, and hopefully see people taking part in the other thing I suggested/helped organize…the valentine mailboxes! I have valentines for everyone at work, and I’m sure a few of the other girls will too. The guys on my team? eh…not so much. But oh well.

..and I’m not sure I was invited to the party.

Straight out of the early to mid-90’s, Michael Jackson strolled down the sidewalk towards me this morning. Gold flair, oddly fitting jacket, seemed to be prepared for something special. He seemed very solid and sure of his choices in this ensemble, walking with an air about himself that said “oh yeah, you want to be me” (or something of the like). The confidence was unmistakable, unlike the rest of what I saw.

As they sauntered closer and I could begin to make out a pair or nice, round, rather perky breasts. In his resurrection it seemed that Michael had grown quite an impressive rack! No doubt the impending visit explains the morning’s rush! Michael was also running late for the performance for which the rest of the mob rushed, but why on earth would he/she rush? He/she was the prize, why rush to reward the rest.

They must have been rushing for a reward! That’s the only real explanation that I can come up with.

With this stretch of work…screw walking today I’m tired lol. The bus wasn’t exceptionally full, and didn’t seem to be late. Alas we pulled into the North Hollywood station and someone managed to wedge themselves between me and the back door that I had been standing near since getting on the bus.

Luckily I’m not rushed, I make myself so early every day, so DESPERATELY early, that I never have to rush. The door burst open as we were pulling to a complete stop and bodies exploded out of the side of the orange monster! Oddly, they did not seem to come from the front, all the rush was coming from the middle of the vehicle. I stepped a bit to the right to clear a way for the bustling business and observed as they knocked things out of hands with a force that would have no doubt trampled those not moving out of their way.

I wondered if the bus was late, perhaps they were about to miss a train out to Union Station, or perhaps it was the mass hysteria of one man deciding to run, and the next thinking that meant that they, too, were about to miss out on … something. The rippled affect of people looking to others to make their decisions for them weaving through the crowd.

Then again, there may have been a larger conspiracy as a sole figure comes sprinting from the crowd in the opposite direction, racing towards…wait, what’s he running to? It was unmistakable, he was on a mission and getting there fast! As I reached the cross walk I could see him half way down the side street, slowing to a trot. Perhaps he’d been bridled too long and just needed a full gallop once he again smelled the clean, fresh, smog-filled morning air. His haunches tight from being cramped in his trailer, nostrils flaring, and heart waiting to just RUN!

Perhaps.