Christmas Pictures

On December 31, 2010 By Michel McDonaldIn Holidays, PicturesLeave a comment

I am very happy today because a few days ago I found out that the person who had taken photos of Christmas lost his fanny pack which had his camera, wallet and 2 cell phones in it but someone else took pictures too. She took them on a disposable camera so the quality of the photos isn’t as good as a digital camera but who really cares? I got photos of me with the kids FINALLY!

On the left is baby Noah, in the middle is Andrew and on the right is Jordan then in the back is well, me…

I was really happy with the look on these kids faces when they found their stockings because even though they were empty, they didn’t care because they have a stocking with their names on them to use every year with a cool picture on them. That was all that mattered to them.

Andrew was the first to find it. I was watching him and he was ear-to-ear smiles and he was really excited about it. Then he was yelling for Jordan to come see his and he was really excited too.

That’s what made it all worth it to me. The months that I spent making them all boiled down to one thing, how the kids liked them. It was worth all the numbness and pinching in my hands to see the looks on their faces when they saw them.

I hope they enjoy the stockings for many decades. Except for Noah because his stocking is a baby stocking hehe. I’m obviously going to have to find another stocking to make for him.

Additional pictures:

No Christmas Photos To Share

On December 28, 2010 By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Holidays, PicturesLeave a comment

I am very sad to say that there will be no photographic memories of our time in San Diego for Christmas. I didn’t take any pictures but there were lots of pictures taken of me that are now gone.

Chips brother took all the pictures and I’ve been waiting for him to post them all on Facebook. I emailed him yesterday asking him if he could please post them so I can share them here but he responded to me by telling me that his fanny pack had been stolen. His fanny pack had his blackberry, wallet with credit cards and his camera.

I’m very sorry for him that he now has to replace all that stuff but unfortunately there is no way to replace pictures.

What kind of person steals your fanny pack 2 days after Christmas? And what kind of person doesn’t say “you know what, he may need this SD card back at the very least to keep his memories with him always?” then mail it to him with no return address. I mean really people, you’re just going to turn around and sell the camera, it won’t go down in value if it doesn’t have an SD card in it.

All I can do is describe some of the photos.

When I showed the stockings to him, he wanted me to pose in front of the tree with each stocking one by one then with all 3 and since I don’t have 3 hands I had to rest one on my chest and since it was felt, it stayed on my chest. That made everyone laugh.

Random pictures throughout 2 Christmas parties in 2 days.

When the kids saw their stockings under the tree they were very excited and they got their picture taken holding them. Then everyone wanted to get the picture of the kids with me since I made them so Jordan who is the oldest and who got the santa stocking stood to my left and Andrew who got the snowman stocking sat on my left leg while Noah who got the angel stocking sat on my right leg while I held him since he didn’t want to be there lol. All the stockings were being held up to show them and the 2 kids had a huge ear to ear smile on their faces.

That last picture was really the picture that I was going to post here but since it’s now in the hands of a thief, I can never share them. So thank you to the Grinch who stole my Christmas moment from me.

All 3 Stockings Finished

On December 23, 2010 By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Friends and Family, Holidays1 Comment

I am beyond happy right now at this very moment because I finally finished the last stocking today. Well, I finished it yesterday but today was the daunting task of sewing all the pieces together to form actual stockings.

The Noah stocking was all felt that you cut out and sew sequins to and then stuff them as you sew them to the stocking. It was quick and easy and since he won’t be a baby for that long it’s more like his baby stocking. He won’t want this to be his stocking in his teens, trust me lol. I have more stockings that I can make that will be more grown up for him in his later years.

The Jordan and Andrew stockings are both by the same company and they are the same style of stocking, just different pattern obviously. The kits were so old that the yarn was constantly falling apart throughout the process. I had to take my sweet time with them to make sure I chose pieces of yarn that would work and not pull apart as soon as I yanked on it when embroidering them on.

Before this, I had no experience in embroidery. When I was 18 years old I bought some embroidery stuff and tried to learn but it was just too boring for me so I gave up before I could even learn. Now look at me.

Well, all I have to say is I hope these kids appreciate the work I put into making these stockings for them. They are probably too young to even tell the difference if I spent months on them or if I bought them at Wal-Mart lol. That’s ok, the adults know the difference and that’s all that matters. When the kids get older they will probably ask about them and then they will appreciate them a bit more.

Friends of the Snowman Stocking is Finished!

On December 22, 2010 By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Friends and Family, HolidaysLeave a comment

I started making this earlier this year in May (you can see the date and time on the left) but halfway through making it I got bored with it because this was my 3rd stocking that I was making. So I figured, I still had about 7 months to finish it, I can certainly wait until November or early December to continue working on it.

I started working on it a few weeks ago but I could only do so much in one day because of my back. What I thought would only take me a couple of days to finish ended up taking a heck of a lot longer.

There are probably a few flaws in it like the fox’s mouth for example, I just could not get it right and that was my 5th attempt. I figure if this is the only way I can get it to look then so be it. I can’t make it any more perfect than that. After close examination of the picture I see that I missed a spot on the fox’s ear lol. I ran out of that color so I had to use the same color as the face. Screw it lol.

Tomorrow I will sew all the stockings to their felt backs then I will get another picture of all 3 of them together. I’m too tired to do that tonight because my back is absolutely killing me. I have one more day to go before time is up but I will get it done tomorrow.

Stocking Nearly Finished

On December 16, 2010 By Michel McDonaldIn crafts, Friends and Family, HolidaysLeave a comment

I am very happy to say that this stocking is almost done. Yesterday I was working on the white of the stomach and hands and then I did a lot of the scarf but not all of it. Today I finished the scarf, hat and book. What… an ordeal.

I was hoping to finish the broom and the rabbit but my back is killing me. It hurts because of the odd way I’m having to sit to work on this since it’s in a stretcher on a stand. If it were on a round stretcher then I could sit back in my chair and do it then I wouldn’t have back trouble but it requires a bigger stretcher.

If my back feels better later tonight then I may work on finishing the broom but I’m not gonna hold my breath. My goal for tomorrow is to finish the rabbit (not in picture), broom and start the fox. I officially have 1 more week to get this done so I need to really focus on getting it done with very little mistakes if possible.

Anyway, thought I’d give an update on this.

Turkey Day Is Almost Here

On November 24, 2010 By Michel McDonaldIn Friends and Family, HolidaysLeave a comment

I can’t believe Thanksgiving is already here again. The months go by so fast. Next thing you know we will be decorating the tree. Actually, I’ll be doing that the day after tomorrow lol.

Since Darrin is working again, we’re not going out of town so we’re just gonna go to Hometown Buffet like we always do. I don’t mind going there, in fact I love that they are open because frankly I’d rather not have to cook as if we’re having 10 people over for just the 2 of us then have to do all those dishes. I’m quite content going out where all I have to do is get up, grab a plate then fill it up with good food, eat and repeat until I’m about to explode.

I do miss the traditional visit to a family members house (minus all the drama that comes with that) but I think I like it better with just the 2 of us. The holidays seem to be more for kids than they do for me. I guess that’s how you start to feel when you get older, unless of course you have a family to take care of.

As I said, the day after Thanksgiving I’m gonna be decorating the Christmas tree. It’s in the garage, it’s a pre-lit 8 foot tree. I actually have a video on YouTube of me putting it together using time-lapse photography.

Now some people might say that it’s not Christmas with a fake tree. Pahleez! It’s still Christmas to me and I don’t have to pick out a new one every year and pay the high prices that they charge at the tree lots. It’s such a rip off and I have a fear of fire so that’s another reason for me to want a fake one. Some people say they like the smell of the tree, I don’t really care for it all that much. Even if I did like the smell, I’d rather just light a Christmas tree scented candle.

I have several boxes of decorations to get from the garage and who knows, it might put me in the spirit enough to finish making that last stocking that I started earlier this year. I have 3 stockings to send to Chips nephews. Only one of them is complete, another one just needs it’s red felt back sewn on and the 3rd one needs me to finish embroidering it then put it’s felt back on. I have a little bag of bells that I’m thinking of sewing to the stockings in various places. It’s just not a stocking until it jingles.

So tomorrow morning I’ll get up and have a very light breakfast, maybe I’ll get some pop tarts then starve myself until it’s time to go to Hometown Buffet which will probably be around 1-3pm. One thing I look forward to is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade that will be on in the morning.

Oh joy, I can’t wait.

New Crafts

On December 15, 2008 By Michel McDonaldIn craftsLeave a comment

I haven’t been able to do crafts since around November or December 2007 because my hands would get numb and I would even feel some pain when crocheting in my wrists so I was forced to give it up. Not too long after that I was diagnosed with carpel tunnel syndrome after harping on my doctor every time I went 3 visits in a row. He told me it’s probably carpel tunnel but sent me to a neurologist to get a proper diagnosis.

Ever since then I haven’t been able to do any crafts at all. I’ve had to wear wrist straps every night to bed which helps for some strange reason. Also not doing any crafts helped too. I still type because I don’t feel that I can use voice recognition because when I do talk my voice is carried into the living room so nothing is private.

Since I haven’t been doing ANY form of crafts I’ve been going nuts. Last week I picked up a crochet hook and some yarn and started crocheting. I’ve actually done a good amount of a new blanket. I went looking in my closet to see if I had more of the avocado color but instead I found these embroidery Christmas stockings that were given to me last year that I knew I couldn’t do. I gave 1 a chance and so for the last 2 evenings I’ve been working on it and I have to say it’s not as hard as I thought they would be. I’m actually having fun with it.

My left hand has been getting numb while holding it and my right hand was getting a little bit of pain here and there and so when I get the numbness and pain I stop for a while. This stocking obviously will not be finished within the next week and half so I’m going to just keep working on it at my own pace and hopefully it will be done by next year.

There are 3 stockings (below) and I would eventually like to have them all done but I gotta do baby steps here lol. 1 at a time for now.