New Names for Hair Dye

See, the funny thing about black hair is that it's really hard to match the color and get a natural result. We've all seen those ladies whose hair is so black it looks neon blue.

I don't dye often, but lately the grays come faster and faster. Since my #1 is to NEVER, NEVER, NEVER actually buy "black" dye, but stick with the darkest shade that isn't black instead, I thought I was safe with "Natural Black" instead of the darkest "jet black." Boy was I wrong...

The last time my hair glowed like this was when I dyed it for fun in highschool. And I don't mean a good glow. Here are some alternate names I've come up with for "Natural Black."

"Too Poor to go to a Hair Salon"
"Why I Didn't Go To Beauty School"
"My Hair Glows in the Dark!"
"Now You Know Why That Hair Dye Was On Sale"
"You Can See My Hair From Space"
"Well, At Least There's No Gray Left!"
"Who Needs a Halloween Costume, Anyways?"

And the ever popular, "Holy Shit!" which is what my mom said when she saw my hair. Yes, I've now joined the ranks of women whose hair is "so black is looks neon blue." Just in time to head off to Houston. Oh Joy.

Warning:Make at your own risk!

I had a moment of weakness at the grocery store yesterday. Actually, a few moments of weakness in a few different aisles, and when I left I had all the ingredients to make really good Chocolate Oat Bars. I found this recipe almost 10 years ago in a recipe book of my mom's, and I've made them so many times since I have the recipe memorized. I'm not much of a baker, so that's saying a lot!

If you're up for some major acne breakouts and instant weight gain, whip up a batch of your own! They only take about 10 minutes, which is why they're so dangerous! Here's how:

Melt 1 cup of butter. Add a tsp. of vanilla and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Stir until the sugar is mostly disolved.

To this, add about 3 cups of uncooked oats. I use Quaker Oats. Cook this mixture on low about 3 minutes. You may need to add more or less oats, just add enough to soak up almost all of the butter mixture.

While that cooks on low, spray a 9x9 glass pan with Pam. Add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to a new pan and turn on low to melt.

Press about 1/2 to 2/3 of the oats mixture into the bottom of the glass pan. Be sure to stir the chocolate too, so it doesn't burn.

When almost all the chips are melted, add 1/2 cup of peanut butter and melt into the chocolate. Stir until smooth. Then, pour this into the glass pan.

Sprinkle/crumble the remaining oat mixture on top of the chocolate. Then, refrigerate until firm.

That's all there is to it. While it firms up, I recommend stocking up on acne wash!

Store Menu Changes

I finally figured out how to change the layout of my online store menu this week! I have changed it so that it is now 4 rows across instead of 2. I have added so many new catagories since I started the site that 2 rows across meant a lot of scrolling to find the right catagory. So, what do you think? Is it easier and more pleasing to the eye?

Check out the changes here!

Blackberry, Crackberry

I leave for Market in less than a week, which means that Bailey is once again having trouble sleeping.

It happens every time I'm away over night. Bailey gets so anxious she has all sorts of sleeping trouble. Just the other night she was upset because she wouldn't be able to email me while I'm away. Because, I don't travel without my laptop, which is the only computer I have at home. My sister has even called me "Velma" on occassion.

I've found a solution to this problem, and if you read the title of this post you probably already guessed it! I am the proud new owner of a Blackberry. Besides making it possible to have email without toting along my cumbersome laptop, it will also allow me to post pictures and updates right from Quilt Market. Oh! The joy of it!! I even posted this entire entry from the comfort of my super cool, super comfy new couch. Ahhhhhh.......my life is complete.

Kid Kwip-Dead Deer

This past Sunday my mom, sister and I took the kids to a pumpkin patch. On the way there, we passed a large doe, sprawled on the side of the highway with it's tongue hanging out, clearly the victim of a hit and run. It prompted this conversation in the back of the car:

"Ooooooo! Gross! Did you see that dead deer?"

"Ooooooo! Gross! Yuck!"

"Wait........maybe it was just passed out?"

New This Week

Here is the quilting update for the week:

Paisley Party arrived Monday. What a beautiful line! There is a great beginner level quilt kit, which I've scheduled a class for in November. See it here!

I added a few new classes. Be sure to check them out if you're in the area.

My sister was nice enough to update the Quilt Samples on the website.

My sister also did my dishes. Oh yeah, she even added some of the new kits:

Warm Hands, Warm Hearts
Christmas Crossing
Sweet Sunshine
And More!

Recipe for Friendship was shipped Thursday. It should be in-store by next Thursday!

I finally got to use my long-arm Wednesday! Quilts are once again going out the door. Hooray!

2 weeks and counting until Quilt Market. Can't wait!

Where's a Flu Shot When You Need One?

It's that time of year again. I'm stuck in a time warp, still wishing we were boating on the weekend, when suddenly I'm stuck in bed with the stomach flu. Just when things were starting to settle down slightly, the shop is moved, the longarm is moved, quilt shows are over until next Spring, and suddenly I'm bed ridden.

I spent all of Sunday in bed, unless you count trips to the bathroom to, well......you know the rest. In the mean time, my kids took full advantage and terrorized the house all day. Where was Monte? Why, lying right next to me with the same problem, of course! Which could have been funny, except that it wasn't.

It was all we could do to crawl to the bedroom door every few hours and yell something like "Settle down!" "Go outside and play, NOW!" or "Who left the fridge open?!"

And that big, empty room that used to be filled with a mountain of quilt tops and a certain longarm machine? My kids have mistaken it for a wrestling/tag/basketball/dance arena.

The light bulbs in the dining room/deck/family room area aren't all mysteriously burnt out at once, either. The breaker's just tripped. "Not me" decided to investigate the former longarm power outlet in the floor with a screw driver.

Now, I'm stuck home today with "Not Me," who has the stomach flu. Just when I thought I might get to make sure my longarm still runs. But hey, who doesn't love scrubbing the carpet at 6am? By the way, race car beds are all kinds of fun, except when the driver doesn't make it all the way to the bathroom. Then they're just a great big germ factory that requires lots of disinfecting.

I think I'll find some time to make 5 appointments for flu shots - ASAP.