I think I have a thrift addiction!

First off, I got a new purse! Its a Coach, black with silver buckles. I think its microfiber. Goodwill-$8. This purse was probably in the neighborhood of $150 new. Crazy stuff people get rid of I swear! My poor little Fossil purse was so stained-it really needed to be replaced. Im liking this new purse a lot. I look so swanky! Little do they know it's from the thrift store! My Fossil was thrift too, I think I paid $4. Ive had it for 3 years so that figures to a $1.25 a year for a leather Fossil purse-not too shabby in any book! I always look at purses, I think a lot of women do. The pursuit of the perfect purse is an obsession for many. Thank God Im not addicted to shoes LOL!

So last week I went to one of my fav stores and found a bunch of stuff. My favorite is a fabric shower curtain. Stripes in gold, burnt orange, ivory, brown, olive and burgandy. Ive already started a bag from this. I have a ivory corduroy skirt that is destined for this pattern. Not sure what Im putting on as far as handles but Im willing to find the perfect belt to finish the bag.

Today, I hit 4 stores! Im sooooo bad! Went to a little thrift shop that is a non profit benefit for a program that helps adicts take back their lives. Found some black pants with a raised print and a pair of lilac pleather pants that look like ostrich! Next was the Salpointe Catholic thrift store (next door to the church of Scientology-go figure??) Olive jeans, a couple belts, a pair of boy scout uniform pants (destined for a water bottle holder) and several books. On from there (after taking hubby home) was the Deseret Thrift store. Boy, they've done a ton to improve the look and cleanliness of the place. Chocolate jeans, grey Abercrombie and Fitch jean skirt, mint jeans and a couple belts. Last was Goodwill. Bold black and white graphic pants, yellow green olive cords and the best thing-metalic ORANGE jeans! I now have metalic jeans in red, pink, orange, red and blue print and a orange and green print. Oh, I also went to Savers friday and found ---lime green and purple paisley pants! Very much in the category of "makes my eyes bleed."

So, for those counting-that's 5 thrift stores in 2 days. Might have an addiction but MAN its FUN!!

Wanna see what I do with them? Check www.recycledbootybags.etsy.com to see!!!

Fun Red Hawaiian Shirt Bag to Etsy and Men who should be Popsicles!

I just finished a terrific red and Hawaiian print bag. The handle is so cool! It was (in a former life) part of a McDonalds employee uniform!

Its funny how things work out sometimes...I found the jean shorts, the Hawaiian shirt and the belt all on the same trip to the thrift store! One in summer, one in mens and one in accessories. If you drew a triangle in the store these items were at the points-very far away from each other! It was karma!
Here is the link
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_2&listing_id=12685979
I dont think this one will last long so go take a look!

Ok, so for the fun part-not that my bags arent fun LOL!

Men who should be made into popsicles

1. John Cusack- Super high lickability factor. He keeps getting sexier with age. I love his intelligent and creative acting choices. Being John Malkavich-Gross Point Blank "What do you do for a living? Hired Killer. Does that come with benefits?" Say Anything "I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen"- hell, I even enjoyed him in Must Like Dogs! Needless to say, I love me some John Cusack!

2. Bruce Willis - been watching him since Moonlighting! Virile and very sexy. Not one of those anemic weak lookin guys. I bet he and Energizer have things in common...

3. Guy Fieri - Food Network hunk a bleach blond spiky haired DAMN! He is definately on the train to Popsicle town!

4. Kevin James - Puppy Dog adorable! He makes the list!

I will have to put more thought to this one...Who would make your LIST???
Talk at ya Later!
Oh, and John, Bruce, Guy and Kevin-feel free to come on over and see me sometime!

New Apron to Etsy!

I just finished the most insane apron. Its purple with lime green in ruffles around the edge. Its made from a jeans top that was too small to make a bag from, the scrap trim from some shorts and leftover ribbon. Its the Joker's and Betty Crocker's love child! Kitch meets emo punk! Gotta love it!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12586849

I had this idea driving home from work. Just kinda struck me. I got home and looked up jean apron on etsy. Of course I wasnt the first with this brainstorm. All the ones I saw were the front or back of jeans with lace sewn around the edge, the pockets- just everywhere was LACE-YUK! The lime is hand ruffled and I certify there is NO LACE on this apron! Jeans and lace-excuse me, 1976 is calling and they want their jean apron back!

Happy Fathers Day Everyone!

My Cat likes Crackers

I was munching on some vegi crackers tonight. My cat Molly hopped up onto my desk like normal-right between me and the keyboard. Ever tried a cat wristwrest? More like a fuzzy vibrating, shedding keyboard cozy. So Im trying to type over her and she sniffs my crackers.

Some history on Molly. She is 5. We adopted her from an organization called FAIR, a no kill shelter. She had been a young mom (at 7 months) and had been seized from a hoarder. She had regained her health, all her kittens had found homes. No one wanted her. She is mild mannered, just a really easy going cat. Unless there is food...

Well, back to the crackers. Molly is very demanding and loud about food. She is pushy about food. She has no problem trying to climb onto my lap to eat my burrito. She can hear me open a pack of turkey across the house. Needless to say that after having to fight for food with the hoarder, she is very food oriented. I left the room with her on the desk and a couple of crackers on a plate. I came back a minute later and she ate my VEGETABLE CRACKERS!

So Im adding that to her list. She likes tuna, turkey, chicken with salsa, hamburger, yogurt (especially raspberry and boston creme pie), Pringles and now vegi crackers. Cats are wierd.

Bad Pants are habit forming!

I found the most wonderful/horrible pants yesterday! On mondays, Savers (oh how I love thee) has a color tag that is 99 cents. They've been running daily manager specials too. WELL, they had ladies pants for 99 CENTS! I got yet another obnoxious pair of Talbots. I swear, more times than not when I find a delish pair of ugly pants, they are either Bill Blass or Talbots. Dont know why LOL. Well, you saw the bag I made with the pair of metalic red pants with the white and blue top?? I found another pair of red metalic AND a pair of pink metalic! Talk about FUN to chop and sew!!! I also got a pair of cool cordoroys in burnt orange, olive, tan and black. I think another boho bag is called for :) Also had the inspiration to upcycle a pair of overals into an apron. I will figure it out but I think it could be way cute!

Lets see, adventures in crafting... Oh, I decided it was time to learn how to knit. So I bought this kid knitting kit. I figured that if instructions for a nine year old couldnt teach me it wasnt meant to be. Horribly ugly yarn, but you have to learn with something...

Ive been hearing about Plarn lately. I use my jean bags for grocery shopping but I am guilty of forgetting them every once in a while. Wanted to try my hand at plarn so I went grocery shopping. Came home with about 10 bags. Looked up instructions for making plarn off google and found http://www.myrecycledbags.com/2007/02/17/instructions-for-cutting-plastic-bags-creating-recycled-plastic-yarn/ Really easy to make! The ten bags made a piece about 12" by 4". It takes a lot of bags but still cool to try!

Something you gotta try, bake or forman grill 2 chicken breasts. Shred them into little pieces. Add the chicken, a can of rotel, a can of diced green chiles, and a can of chicken broth (lo sodium.) Simmer uncovered for about 30 min. Spoon chicken onto tortillas and munch. I could eat this every day! I usually add some Chulula or salsa. Hot but YUMMY!

Good night and good luck!

Pretty good day!

Well, I had a good day today. I love being able to say that. I sold 2 sets of cpap cushions on etsy and my difficult work situation has finally been resolved. My office is at last at peace. Finally I can get some work done! Summer is slow for every business and printing is no exception. But today, I was busy from the moment I got there until I left. There have been several times over the last month that I've pretty much had my work done by oh 9:30 in the morning, and Im there till 5. Needless to say its been stressful. I HATE being bored. Oh gawd, I even tried to get them to let me go buy bathroom cleaner. I was so bored I WANTED TO CLEAN THE BATHROOM! That my friends - is criminal bored. Im geared to go go go go, and ok, you're done with the day's work by 10 isnt fun. 14 years of retail management will do that to you.

I think things will run so much smoother now. Businesses go on and on about being a "team player." I hate sports analagies but that one holds true. If you have a team who get along well, like each other and have a common goal they all work toward, you have an effective team. When you have a team where one of the players thinks his poo dont stink and that he knows everything there is to know about the game, your team grinds to a stop. Well, my team got a shot of wd40! I think things will settle into a smooth working cycle now and I am very very thankful. I was to the point that if the situation wasnt resolved that I was done. It was the first day in a while that the bathroom wasn't my refuge from stress.

Yes, today I had a GOOD day!

Im in the Main Etsy showcase today!!

Im excited! This is the second time I've done it. It was up a couple hours and I have my first sale! YEAH! Lovely lady in WA purchased some of my CPAP cushions. This was the last of this rockin bright blue that I had so good for her!

Ive been really productive the last 2 days. I have started to sort my belts. That is no small feat let me tell you! I use them in my bags, therefore I have tons. We are talking 50 to 60 at least. I got a couple belt organizers and Ive been goin to town! So much easier if I can see what I have, then I can match up belts to bags much easier.

I also complete 12 pair of my CPAP cushions. I listed 6 pair on etsy today. They are soo cute-you gotta check em out!

What's a CPAP (crap is the most common typo LOL) you ask? Well, a CPAP is a machine that people with sleep apnea use (like me) to manage their condition. CPAP stands for continuous positive air pressure. Sleep Apnea is the condition where you stop breathing in your sleep. This can be caused by blockage in the esophogeus, large tonsils, weight, etc. I have #3 and did have #2. The cpap is a machine that blows air into your throat and lungs continuously. The positive air pressure allows the person with apnea to sleep without stopping breathing.

Apnea is a sneaky sucker. You are tired all the time. No matter how much you sleep its never enough. Me, I blamed my hubby, he snored loudly and woke me up, over and over, all through the night. I had to pee-I had a bird bladder. "I wake up to pee and he snores" was my excuse for falling asleep at meetings, at work, on the couch, at the library, in the car-I admit, sometimes DRIVING the car, while eating, at the movies, while standing in the kitchen, shower...you get the picture. Apnea makes you feel like you're sleep walking through life. Its dangerous and can kill. I finally found out that was what was going on after almost dying from a combo of severe double pneumonia and sleep apnea. If I had ignored it that night, the dr told me I would have died in my sleep. Let me tell you, the rest of the shit in our lives doesnt matter if you dont wake up.

When I was finally tested I was told I had stopped breathing 30 times in 15 minutes. The tech said it was a wonder I slept at all. No wonder I could seriously fall asleep standing and talking to customers, have my legs go out from under me and fall to the floor (happened).

Now, 3 years later and the discovery that hubbys snorring was because he also had apnea, I am happy to be here. No matter how crappy of a day Ive had at work, I woke up, its still a good day!

If you have any of the symptoms Ive talked about here, talk to your doctor. You might have sleep apnea. It can kill you, get treated :)