In a Seated Position I Fall Asleep

Have you ever felt like your simple existence is tiring? Just sitting is too much, and you nod off? I'm at that point today. It's not yet 9 p.m. and I'm heading to bed, like the elderly woman I've always felt was trapped inside (ever since I realized at age 7 that I was and would always be the first to fall asleep at the slumber party).

We've been so busy the last month + that I'm ready for a vacation from my summer. Fall days that I'm inclined to throw a meal in the crock pot and play leggos all day actually sounds pretty appealing. However, it'll have to wait until another business trip is wrapped up, another weekend out of town is happily had, and preparations for Halloween (pumpkin trains, trick or treating and more!) are all entered into with vim and vigor! Oy, October is shaping up to be another duzy!

What have I got to complain about? Nothing! I'm just sayin'...if anyone figures out how to squeeze two more hours out of every day or get 8 hours of sleep into six, let me know.

I hope you had a wonderful, restful weekend! Per normal, we packed a lot in -- dinner out, a girl's outing, apple picking, some thrift stores, and more!

Wordless Wednesday

Workin' for the Weekend

My hubby is a stay-at-home dad by day, wedding DJ by night. But he's so different than most wedding DJs, I actually LOVE to tag along with him when he DJs because he plays the best music. The motto on his business card says "No chicken dance. No macarena. No B*lls&^t" And it's true. And the coolest thing is that he still plays much of it right off the vinyl records.

This weekend we were asked to repay a favor from the chef at our own wedding and head "up north" do DJ his wedding. We took the opportunity to spend lots of time soaking up the sun and tooling around on the boats at the neighboring resort. It was unseasonably warm here -- like 20 degrees warmer than what I would expect. So warm, that we all were contemplating swimming in the lake. Pretty unheard of for September in Minnesota.

It was so nice to get away, but after a long, busy summer, I can honestly say I am really starting to look forward to not getting away. We've got one more cabin weekend away in early October, and then Halloween weekend we'll be spending time with family but otherwise I think we're tucking in for the winter and finding lots of at-home kinds of fun. A vacation from our vacation, so to speak!

I hope you had a happy weekend!

Oct. 24 Save the Date for Bundles of Love

If you're in the Twin Cities, please consider coming out to a fun fundraising event for Bundles of Love. It's for a great cause -- babies!!!

What: Bundles of Love Fundraiser Dinner & Silent Auction
When : Saturday, October 24th 6 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Where: TriCity American Legion
400 Old Highway # 8 N.W.
New Brighton, MN 55112
What: Dinner, silent auction and a night of fun.
Why: Because with your assistance Bundles of Love Charity can help more Minnesota babies receive the basics they
deserve.

We are delighted to invite you to join us in celebrating our tenth anniversary at our Annual Fall Fundraiser. It will be held at the Tricity American Legion (400 Old Highway 8 NW, New Brighton, MN 55112 • (651) 631‐1124) on October 24th from 6-pm. The tickets will be $15 a person for a delicious dinner of marinated chicken breast, whipped potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables and tossed salad or Fettuccine with broccoli (our vegetarian choice). Amazing desserts will be provided by our volunteers. In addition to dinner we will be having a silent auction of items that were donated by local organizations and a raffle with first place being a Toro snow thrower and second place being a Llyod Security system. Kindly RSVP to Deb Persing by sending $15 per ticket to

Deb Persing
1352 155th Ave NW
Andover, MN 55304
Hope to see you there!!

The raffle tickets will be sold for a $5 donation.

First place is a Power Clear Toro Snow Thrower, Model 38583

Second place is a GE Concord 4.0 basic system- 2 doors, a keypad, 3 window contact and a motion Installed. A $395 value!

Wordless Wednesday

Thank You, Lucky Stars

My little niece got kicked by a horse named Tinker (from now on known as "The Stinker") over Labor Day weekend. She was pretty beat up, with head and abdominal injuries. But through some special miracles granted for our family, she's now safe and sound at home with her family. After a week spent away from home, the whole family is getting back to normal life.

So, we did a little celebrating this weekend -- celebrating the warm weather, the fresh, vine-ripened cantaloupe grown by a special 6-year-old, and the return home of a healing 8-year-old. We all were counting our blessings and marveling at how lucky we all are -- lucky to be with family, lucky to be healthy, lucky for all the things we have and the people we love and who love us. And lucky that there are people in this world who don't get woozy at the sight of blood or think spending 27 years in school is way too much.

My little niece was quite a trooper, though, and her biggest concern was falling behind on her homework. Kiss those babies every night, and keep them away from horses!!!! (kidding...I know some horses are safe...but here I go a city girl again).

I hope you and yours are happy and healthy today and every day!

If This Post Were a Library Card...

...Here's what it might say:


I discovered this handy library catalog card generator in my internet travels today and thought it was pretty handy. You never know when we might go back to the old card catalog system, right? I myself really enjoyed those little cards tucked in the sleeve in the back of the book that got stamped when you checked the book out at the library. I kinda miss all that stuff.

Anyway, I really do need your book advice. I'm craving some new crafty books to page through. Any suggestions?

Wordless Wednesday

From Curb to Cute

Mr. Pumpkin and I, being "retired" punks, have traded in our dumpster-diving ways for thrift shopping and garage-saling. We even hit an occasional flea market if we want to really class it up. However, we went back to our roots a few months ago when driving around my hometown (a HUGE college town, and thus a hot-bed for dumpster-diving activity). When we saw this great little kid's play kitchen sitting out on the curb, I made hubby whip the car into reverse so I could throw the cabinet into the back.

When we got it home, it had little handwritten signs taped on and was pretty scratched up. Nails were sticking out in places...it needed a good cleaning and sprucing. We left it sitting in my parent's garage for a few months until they could deliver it -- it never seemed to fit in our vehicle with all the junk we typically haul around. This weekend, they brought it up and we took hammer, nails, sandpaper, and spray paint to it. We painted the front doors with chalkboard spray paint and I love how it turned out. We've already started to collect some little food containers for it (indicative of what we eat around here: popcorn, brownies, coffee, creamer...yikes).

I love things that came from the garbage. It's got character, it was free, and it's been saved from a landfill. Oh, and our kid thinks it's the greatest thing ever. So, thanks anonymous daycare for throwing out your slightly used and stickered-up cabinet. It's now a super cute addition to our boy's room!

The Great Minnesota Get-Together

Here in Minnesota, where casseroles are "hot dishes" and the curious knack for passive-aggressivity (is that a word??) is called "Minnesota Nice," the annual Minnesota State Fair has been dubbed The Great Minnesota Get-Together. Maybe that's because Minnesotans, if I might stereotype for a moment, don't like crowds over about five people and therefore need to entice one-another to an event that annually draws over 1.6 million people and on the day we attended, over 200,000. Now how many of you would call that a get-together? A raging party? The population of the city you live in (or more)? I guess that answer depends on whether or not you're a Minnesotan. We Minnesotans like it better if we can think of it as just a little get-together among friends. Just poppin' in for a sit-down with some old chums.



Mr. Pumpkin, Wee Pumpkin and I stopped in for a spell at the get-together on Saturday. We got a real early start so as to avoid the crowds (in keeping with the attitudes of our state-of-residency). Even with a small crowd, though, we had a fantastic time people watching. Having just been introduced to People of Wal-Mart, we quickly drew correlations to the fair-goers. At an event where deep-fried candy bars and chocolate-covered bacon are easier to come by than a pizza joint in New York City, and where the muffin top still reigns supreme in women's fashion, it wasn't hard to find examples that could have easily found themselves in a "People of the State Fair" photo gallery. Mullets, mom jeans and Fair Do's, oh my! However, we restrained ourselves from too much mockery or stealth photography and just enjoyed looking at the animals and trying some new foods. I know, how boring, right?



We rode the Skyride, which wee one called "car up high" and looked at all the boats and tractors and plows on Machinery Hill. We tried a Spam breakfast sandwich (delicious) and washed it down with a shake from the dairy barn (at 9:30 a.m.). The honey lemonade was a hit with me and the family friendly magic show was a hit with the wee one. We saw the 1900 pound pumpkin and checked out all the seed art. We took a free trolley ride. It was a beautiful, perfectly sunny but not hot, not too crowded, pleasant day. I still regret that we didn't document the People of the State Fair. Maybe next year. Maybe if you go, you can do it. You won't have to work very hard at it. And now with the new-fangled camera-phones, no one will ever know what you're doing.



I love the fair. We go every year. Every time I go, I see something new, and I always miss seeing something, too -- because it's just so darn big and there's just one or two too many people at the great-big super massive gosh darn overwhelmingly gigantic Great Minnesota Get Together.

New Pants

My little guy is growing like a weed. He doesn't seem to ever grow wider, just taller. Which makes it hard to find anything to fit him. Every pair of long-enough pants have him running around, looking like the teenagers I see hanging around my neighborhood. Which meant I hit the sewing machine last night and finally got around to using some awesome fabric I added to my stash after a trip to Crafty Planet this summer. It's reversible, and although I admit I didn't really make good use of that quality, I did add the cuff at the bottom using the inside of the fabric.

I ran across several really easy patterns online, which I'll share below. I also think the key to a nice pair of handmade toddler pants is to take a pair that fits well and give them a rough eyeball. I always add more to the top part that will get folded over and elastic threaded through -- the rise of the pants seems like it can always be more generous on a diaper-butted child, am I right?

Here are some references for making infant or toddler pants:

--Rookie Moms directions for using an old t-shirt
--Sew Mama Sew instructions for modifying a pattern to fit better
--Handy Home Projects instructions for pants with a cuff detail (this isn't the way I did mine, but it's another option)
--Julie K's instructions for making kid's shorts
--Balancing Everything's instructions using a pair of pants that fit (as I mentioned above, this works well)

I love making kid pants. It's easier and quicker than a drive to the store to buy pants. Really! And so much cuter. Mr. Pumpkin and Wee Pumpkin met me at the bus stop after work today, and when I saw Wee One in his new little pants, I let out a squeal. They are just as cute as can be and fit perfectly. Ah...I guess that means I need to make some more!

Wordless Wednesday

I decided to follow the lead of the super-talented Lisa of Lil Fish Studios who I am so admiring lately and institute "Wordless Wednesdays"...next week will be more wordless...

Animal Therapy

Last week sucked. There's no two ways about it. The day before we left for vacation, I stepped in my kid's poop, worked all day, worked until 10:30 that night and I was not happy about any of it. I was thinking, "Either I need a vacation, or I just need to run away and not tell anyone where I went." My mood was sour, I was lippy and all I really wanted to do was have a beer, make a list and pack up my stuff.

But what a difference a day makes. In the morning, I felt ready to leave town. I taught the little Pumpkin to say "hit the road" and we did just that. Of course without my handy list getting made, many things were forgotten, but in the end it really didn't matter. We headed out Highway 169 with a few hours to kill and a destination of "up north" Minnesota to eventually arrive at. Spontaneously, we made a pit stop at Kelley Farm in Elk River, Minnesota, and it was such an awesome way to start our trip. If you're local, you MUST check it out. They have animals, buildings, gardens and equipment true to the era (late 1850s). The costumed workers still work the farm as they did in the 1850s, too. I love costumed guides! It's like the Renaissance Festival, but inexpensive, and not irritating!

We pet all the animals with the exception of the pigs, which the Wee One did not want to get too close to. Oh, and the sheep somehow did not interest him. But the barn cats became his best friend and even tried to follow him out of the farm. And those cows loved him up a bit, too.

We thought about what it would be like to live on a little farm. It seems so peaceful and the animals are so cool -- except the big, fat pig that slurped around in the mud. However, I think if I lived on a farm I'd want screens on my windows. The flies! Oh, and I'd want to have plumbing. And thank God for Claritin. Geez, I was a sneezing, wheezing mess. Hmmm, guess I'm back to the realization that I'm a city slicker.

Anyway, more to share about the weekend in a bit -- I've got lots of photos to sort through. I just wanted to let anyone local know about Kelley Farm because I think it closes this coming weekend. It's so worth your time to drive up there. Plan to take a picnic, spend a few hours. Even though it's small, it's so nice to soak in the sun and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

Project Runway News: Cricket Syndicate Designer on Season 6!!

OMG, I am SO excited! The last few years that I've been planning No Coast Craft-o-rama, we've had the good fortune of having Cricket Syndicate and designer Christopher Straub join our ranks. Tonight I also discovered that Christopher, a self-taught designer hailing from Shakopee Minnesota, is a contender in Season 6 of Project Runway. A show I love, a designer I love, I guess I'll be glued to the TV this season. Oh well. It'll be worth it!!!

Easy Project: Recycled Laptop Cover

I love projects that I can complete in an hour or so. I'm big on instant gratification. That's why I've never gotten good at knitting -- it just takes too much time. I love the feeling of taking an idea and turning it into something useful and tangible. I don't want to go to bed wondering whether my idea was ridiculous or as brilliant as Spanx (and will result in me becoming as rich and famous like the woman who invented Spanx). That's also why I love Project Runway. I get to see the results in one episode.

This project is so easy almost anyone can do it!

1. First, I measured my laptop. Mine is 14.5" x 10".
2. Then, I measured two pieces of fabric that were roughly twice the long side x the short side, adding an inch or so for stitching (Just about 31 X 11).
3. Next, I stitched them up on the long side, creating two identical sleeves or pockets (you could test putting your laptop inside now, just to be sure it fits). Press both pocket so the seams lay flat and trim the corners.
4. Then, cut the end off of an old tie. Or, if you want to use a ribbon closure, cut two lengths of ribbon.
5. If you are using ribbon, sew the ribbon to the outside of the pocket that will form the outside of your cover
6. Turn the pocket that will form the outside of your cover outside in (so that the seam is on the inside).
7. Place this pocket (with seams still facing in) inside the other pocket with the seams facing out; the finished seams should face each other. Tuck the tie or ribbon into the "sandwich" lined up with the center of the cover (midway between the side seams). Pin in place.
8. Now sew all the way around the top of the cover, leaving a few inches to turn inside out.
9. Turn the project inside out so that the seams are enclosed.
10. Press around the top; topstitch around the top enclosing the section left open for turning.

Note: I sewed velcro on the back of my tie and onto the front of my cover; however, you could do a button and buttonhole, ribbons, just about anything to close the cover up. If you do use velcro, add it to the front cover in step 5 instead of adding ribbon.

The best part of this project is that I totally screwed it up, but was able to salvage it. My sewing machine, bless it, SUCKS as the automatic buttonhole feature. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say it does not work. Therefore, I tried at first to create a button and buttonhole closure and ended up totally ruining the front of this tie, which I love. To cover up the goof, I ended up making a yo-yo and stitching that on -- it also covers up the addition of velcro!

I hope my new little friend loves her new fall apparel. I sure think she's going to be well-dressed!

Yin and Yang

I spent another weekend back home in Wisconsin with the family. Remember when I said we were considering moving back there? Well, although a small wrinkle means that we can't move at the moment, we spend a lot of time visiting there. Although it's a little irritating to have to drive 5+ hours to get there (okay, a LOT irritating), once we're there, all is well and we enjoy ourselves quite a bit. Well, except for the 8-person, hour-long screaming matches. But that's a story for another blog.




We spent Saturday morning at Prairie Nursery taking a little tour of their demonstration gardens. At the end of the tour, there was a short garden photography tour that I got to join. I am really pretty clueless about photography, so it was extremely helpful. For demonstration, the instructor held up a simple styrofoam bucket (think minnows or bait or whatever) and showed us how the placement of the bucket relative to the sun changed the shading and perceived volume of the object. Being not so arty, it was nice having someone explain how to look at flowers in a different light (ha! different light! get it?).


I can't say I'm much of a gardner. That's probably why the idea of a prairie garden full of naturally resiliant and adaptable plants was really appealing. The garden was in full bloom, and it was full of butterflies. That's more than I can say for my garden at the moment. Although a few things are still blooming, it's mostly starting to look like fall is setting in.


We rounded out the day at a greasy spoon called Pioneer. Things sort of went downhill from there. Imagine eight family members in one vehicle and the zaniness that ensues. Luckily I had about 2 hours of sleep the night before (you know, sleeping in an unfamiliar place...) so I zoned out through most of it!


Anyhoo, it's over and I'm back to my normal workaday life. But I'm still daydreaming about my prairie garden. Any places I should check out in Minnesota?

Car Shirt Complete!

Here's my little pumpkin, just turned two years old, answering the question, "How old are you?" He crosses his fingers and says, "Choo!" All that combined with the new shirt I just made him and I could pretty much just eat him up. Scary to think, though, that now I have to think about things like "a big boy bed" and potty training and cutting out all the cursing (or for sure it will be repeated back to me when it's the most inopportune moment possible).

Older kids in our neighborhood are starting to think about going back to school. Our little pumpkin will be starting school of sorts this fall, too. It's called Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) and I'm excited to hear what it's all about. Apparently the kids play with the parents in the room for the first part and then daddy pumpkin will go do "adult learnin'" while the wee one continues on with an ECFE instructor.

We'll see how it goes. Of course, I'm 100% sure he's the smartest child on earth, so I'm sure he'll totally ace ECFE. And if not, at least he'll be dressed well.

Horsin' Around

I wish it wasn't true, but if asked whether I'm a city mouse, or country mouse, I'm the former. I'm a city slicker who likes flush toilets, dislikes bugs and is uncomfortable with being away from a shower for more than a 24-hour period. I didn't spend a single weekend growing up in a tent (other than a few spent with my high-school buddies in Wisconsin Dells, which really truly doesn't count). So when my sister told me she'd purchase 14 acres of land for the sole purpose of sleeping under the stars and, what our family lovingly refers to as "dootin' around" out in the woods, I was not found quickly throwing my tent and sleeping bag in the car and heading out. It took me all summer to get there, actually.

Once we were there, I was thinking, hmmm, let's see...14 acres divided by four humans multiplied by the number of ticks that could cover the surface of my body...ew! After I pried myself out of the car, though, I can honestly say I enjoyed it. Well, at least until I went into the woods and was inhaled by mosquitos. Then I acted like a bratty baby and ran out of the woods swatting and itching and cursing. Luckily my kid is too little to notice my bizarre behavior and he had a great time discovering toads, throwing old cans in the "crick" repeatedly and playing with the path-clearing tool "game."

The best part about the new hangout (in my opinion) is the neighbor's horses. Have you ever stood and listened to them graze? It sounds exactly like what's happening: a giant animal is literally tearing grass out of the earth. It's incredible, and it makes me glad they don't eat human hair (they don't, right? eeeeek!). They made the most interesting noises, not at all the "neigh! neigh!" I've been teaching my son.

Hopefully, with time, I'll get over my aversion to bugs and affinity for indoor plumbing and spend some more time at the "land." Tonight, though, I'll be snuggled up with all my city mouse conveniences enjoying the snapshots from my day as a country mouse!

Horse Embroidery WIP

Horse Embroidery WIP
Originally uploaded by truckertracy

I'm working on a birthday gift for my little niece. Isn't it turning out cute? I printed this horse out of my clip art and used a heat transfer pencil to put it on a tee shirt. It's going to match perfectly with the "me and my doll" pajama set I bought for her on Etsy. I'll be sure to post the finished version when it's ready!

Goodbye, PC; Hello, MAC!

When I was a kid, I had -- I forget if it was a sticker or a tee shirt -- something with the phrase "Today is the first day of the rest of your life." I felt like I had that kind of day, today. I walked into the local camcordercameraTVcellphoneappliancecomputer store intending fully just to "comparison shop" and went home having spent more than twice what I had intended and getting something that was totally not even on my short list of possibilities. I went home with a mac laptop! At least I wasn't shopping for a DVD or something...

I have almost always been a PC girl, aside from a short stint in college where I posed as a graphics design student while I figured out what I might be good at and what might actually pay the bills. Mr. Pumpkin is a Mac guy, so I'm blaming this purchase partially on him. He's totally a Mac-groupie (like most Mac owners seem to be).

In my defense, however, this computer is supposed to last a lot longer than it's PC counterpart. And, I figure hubby and I will really share it, so that's sort of halves the total cost right? And I work hard so I deserve it, right? Right. Whatever. I overspent but I got a heck of an awesome computer that will basically do my dishes and clean my house after it's done editing my films and photos and turning my musical inclinations into a Garage Band.

The only thing that worries me about the computer is that it's kind of smarter than I am. And it's definitely more attractive and slim. Who's to say my hubby will even need and want me anymore, now that SHE'S come along. Well, of course she doesn't cuddle and she's as of yet not able to get beers out of the fridge. So I guess I'm still in business.