Welcome 2019

It's 2019 and I'm not going to lie about this. 20 years ago I was old enough to party like it was 1999. Man, that makes person feel old. Still it's been a great ride and I hope it keeps rolling great. My daughter went back to school today and I've finally been able to turn on my computer to get some productive work done. So, let's start looking at what's up.

Over the Winter break Lou decided she wanted to learn how to sew. This was an awesome moment for me. She watched me hand sew her quilt. Yeah, you read that right. I hand stitched a full sized quilt. Not something I care to repeat, but there's some pride in it.

The sewing went alright. Lou picked out a handful of felt pieces she had tucked away in her room somewhere and said she wanted to make a quilt for some of her stuffed animals. I gave her a need and thread and she got to work. Sitting next to me she has sew four of the six pieces together and it's not looking half bad. Then I found something.

Little felt monsters. These lil guys are so cute and adorable I couldn't resit. While Lou worked on her quilt I set about making a couple of these things. She got interested and decided that she wanted to try her hand at it too. The results are in and they're smile inducing.

The first picture here is the monster Lou worked on. The arms were forgotten in the blur of learning. So this guy needs lots of hugs and love. The next pic is of monsters I worked on while she did her thing. These were so fun to make and I may end up making a few more.

     

New Years is always an event at our house. The fluffy family has to come inside and stay inside as the locals like to shot off fireworks. We all stay up to count down the new year. Shader, bless her, has a fear of loud noises, so come 2019 she was safe in the bedroom, but Demon and Yepa had fun with confetti. That stuff went everywhere! Lou loves playing with it too and there is still shiny pieces drifting around the carpet.

My applesauce cake came out a bit odd. It split into almost even slices once I flipped it out of the pan. Still, it may not look the best, but it tasted great. Though, Lou has threatened to send the picture into NailedIt. Apparently she wants to get me on the Netflix show.

2019 holds a lot in store. I've got two planned book releases. The Star Crossed Series is starting to wrap up this year and I'm looking forward to a few book signings at the local book store. Lou is turning 10 and I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

Later, there will be a few posts on those monsters and I'll share my recipe for the applesauce cake.

Have a great 2019!!

Flash Book Sale for Shader

End of the Year Book Sale

I was planning an End of the Year book sale, but instead I'm doing a Flash Sale! My coffee buddy of 13 years, Shader, has some unexpected vet bills and every book sold will be going towards her health and recovery costs. 

This sale will be going until all my current stock is sold.

I will be posting each book and description in the comments.

Dates:  Now!

Find your next book on my Facebook Page

Book Prices

(Shipping costs - $3 + .50 per extra book after first)

• Just Beyond Daybreak - $5 ($5.99)
• Caught by Nightfall - $5 ($5.99)
• Lost Relic - $5 ($5.99)
• Witch Hunt - $10 ($12.99)
• Fox Hunt - $10 ($11.99)
• Fire Hunt - $10 ($12.99)

Payment: Paypal

·         Paypal.me/JRWhite84

·         Pay in Person at Pickup

Every order will ship within two days of purchase. A tracking number will be provided.

Local Pickup available in Oconee SC to avoid shipping costs! 

Current Stock

Vlogmas with V

My dear friend, who moved so far away a few years ago, has started her Vlogmas videos on YouTube and I'm loving it!

On Vlogmas Day 1 V showed off her Dollar Tree holiday haul and it didn't disappoint!

Shader Aging Issues

Like humans, dogs and cats age. The older they get the more we have to help. My oldest girl, Shader, is 13, she'll be 14 in Feb 2019. She's had a number of problems through her life that my husband and I had to help her through, but this is the most heartbreaking.

A week ago Shader was having trouble getting up. Her back legs were weak. She didn't seem to be hurting, but she was having major trouble on her own. With nearly week left on her antibiotics for a slight infection on her paw, I decided to wait until her check up to speak with her Vet about it. The checkup was for a growth that's shown up on her shoulder.

Yeah, an infection from a sore she just won't leave alone, a growth on her shoulder and then her back legs just didn't seem to be working like they should. I've cried a good bit in these last few weeks. Shader has been with me since she came home from the shelter at four months old. She's stood between me and trouble. She's been an awesome coffee buddy, cuddling on the couch.

At the vet's office she was scared, she always is, but I felt hopeful because as much as she want to get out of there she was in better control of her back legs. Determination is a strong motivator. The vet was careful with Shader and diagnosed either arthritis or spinal stenosis, both of which have the same treatment. He sent us home with a nerve pill to couple with her pain pills and wants a call back in a few weeks to know if they've been working.

That growth on her shoulder, hasn't grown too much and he's more concerned with getting Shader walking again. She isn't to be using steps or stairs and she can't run off on her own anymore. Someone will have to watch her close during outside time. Otherwise she's to rest.

My wonderful hubby found a pallet at work that is perfect for a ramp. It's setup in the carport to help Shader get outside. Now, I just have to keep my mind off the age and on the treatment. She starts the new pills tonight and I'm hopeful that they'll help.

Peace friends and take care.

Year End Splash (The Romance Reviews)

For all those moms that love to read! 

The Romance Reviews website is a great place to find new romance books, but this month they're doing their big Year End Splash. With a grand prize of a $50 gift card and tons of book prizes, this is a great time to check out some new books.

Hop on over and check out some of the awesomeness!

For a full list of prizes click HERE! 

 

Halloween Costume 2018

So in my last post I shared my daughters Halloween costume wish. Eva from Wakfu. The character looks like this:

 

That was kind of a tall order for me. While I've made her costumes before this one scared me a little, but I think I got it. This is what we ended up with:

I wasn't able to get a picture of her wearing it yet, but I did get to see it on her for like a minute and it doesn't look too bad. The gloves are still needed, but those should be easy to make really quick when she slows down long enough for me to measure.

So here's the step by step:

All the material was second hand or cheap t-shirts from the Dollar Tree. The tights are a pair of Lou's from a few years ago and two t-shirts, one black and one brown. Now on to the cutting!

I took the brown t-shirt and cut off the sleeves and cut down  the seams on either side. Then I cut off the top neck area and folded each into rectangles. I sewed these for the "boots" of the costume.

Hot glue worked great to hold the "boots" in place on the tights and for putting on the rope accents.

Next I moved on the the pouch. This stumped me for a second. Then I found the perfect thing. Those sleeves worked great! The hot glue gun holds them together and leaves a nice unfinished look. 

I don't have any pictures of working on the shirt for the costume, but it wasn't hard. I trimmed off the collar of the curt up brown shirt and played with it until it made a nice design on the front of the collar on the black shirt. I think it came out okay.

That's the costume for this year! Almost finished just in time for the Halloween party and some trick or treating!

Oh yeah! I have to introduce the newest member of the animal family. Lou won a goldfish at the Oktoberfest this weekend and it took some creative thought to find a tank for the lil gal. Her name is Eva and you can guess who she's named after!

Halloween Costumes and Life

Sooo... Life got tricky, but that's okay. It happens and I'll keep rolling along. Today, this morning as my daughter was taking her time getting ready for school, I realized I have to get started on a Halloween costume.

My baby girl has been going down the path of cosplay more than scary costumes for the last few years. Last year she was Midnight from Fairy Tail and two years before that she was Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss. Don't worry, we've always been careful about which episodes she gets to watch.

Here's a look at how those costumes turned out... And yes, I had to make them. Buying these things is waaaaay too expensive.

 This is Lou as Tomoe. This character is a smart ass, grumpy fox demon. 

This is Lou as Midnight. This villian is from Fairy Tail and sleeps through most of the fighting, but when he wakes up he's a force to be reckoned with.

This year my girl wants to be Eva from Wakfu. This French cartoon has a great fantasy journey of the hero story line and my complete support for a forth season. Here's Eva:

 

I'm hoping a black t-shirt, some brown fabric and black tights can get me most of this costume made. I'm thinking clothes line rope for the belt/hip pouch thingy. The ears are covered! Thanks to Wish I found a pair of elf ears that fit perfect. 

 On a side note, I do believe my girl is getting to the point where she wants to give up trick or treating. I can understand. She's  nine years old and she doesn't get to keep all the candy because of her teeth. We do make use of the Switch Witch though. I'll cover her in another post later this month. 

No I think the reason she is getting finished has more to do with her costume choices. Most people don't recognize her costume. It happens, but she still has fun with it and just rolls her eyes are people when they get it wrong. This year's costume is a little more well known to kids so I'm hoping she'll enjoy it a little more.

Also, my daughter doesn't care about the gender of the characters she dresses up as. I don't care either. It's Halloween. Have fun, dress up and eat as much candy as you can.