The Daniel Fast:) DAY 2

Bonjour mes amis,



Yes my friends, it is indeed day 2 of my fast and it went way better than day 1 did:) This morning, I woke up at my usual time on weekends (about 10-ish) and made my way downstairs to the kitchen where I seem to be spending a majority of my time as of late. This morning, I decided to partake in the impossible, and eat something that I vowed never to eat again:OATMEAL:( After some things I heard on the radio, I was very apprehensive about eating oatmeal, but my extreme need for something warm overtook my dislike for the mushy cereal, and I ate it. In fact, I ate the whole bowl, and I think I may even have enjoyed it. This fast is changing me in ways that I cannot believe....Anyways, I had church this morning, and chose to wear a skirt and a quarter-length sleeved sweater. That was a mistake. It was rainy and windy outside. I stepped outside and nearly froze to death on my garage step. Its okay though, because I was brave and I survived:) Church was extremely interesting because of quite a few reasons. The first peculiar thing about church today was that my mother had arranged for me to "befriend" this girl so that I would not be lonely....The girl turned out to be very nice, and her friends were nice too. She introduced me to a  bunch of people, many of whose names I have since forgotten. and she filled me in on what was currently going on in their realm of the world. In some ways, I felt like the odd grape in the bunch, but I decided to just listen and catch up so that I could maybe offer opinions and not be the odd grape of the bunch. The other odd thing was....well there wasn't really anything else that peculiar about church that morning except for the fact that I met some new people. Thankfully, I found that the girl my mother arranged for me to meet was also fasting like me. I was sort of glad, because being a loner sucks. I gave you guys a list of things that I would do today, and I didn't even do half of that stuff I don't think. I did make some earrings, and I did my nails. Other than that, I wasn't very productive today. Tomorrow I have to go back to school, and I am not looking forward to that. My lucnh is probably going to be very interesting, and I don't quite enjoy eating strange things in front of people who always seem to want to know what you have for lunch. I honestly think that the best thing about my lunch is my fruit-ish salad (it also contaings cucumbers, which I don't think are fruits). For some strange reason, today I was insanely tired and could barely stay awake while reading my scriptures and praying. TTYL you guys, because I am beginning to fall asleep. Bye:)                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                               

The Daniel Fast:) DAY 1

Bonjour mes amis:)

    I am back again after a tres long break. If you have not noticed, I have adopted the language of our fellow European friends, The French. I am currently taking yearlong French, and am ( in my mind) currently failing with an 80. Back to the point of this post though, I have decided to complete a fast along with my church. This fast is going to last for 21 days, and I am going through day one and have been fasting for more than 12 hours now. The Daniel Fast is a very special fast because it is not like most fasts. In the Daniel Fast you can eat only certain foods, but you are pretty restricted. The Daniel Fast is basically like being a vegan for a short period of time. You cannot eat any meat or dairy products, and no artificial preservatives or flavorings, and if you chose to eat any type of grains they have to be whole grains. To be honest, I am not enjoying this so far. It may have been more enjoyable if we had prepared better for this, but we did not. I woke up this morning starving, and made my way downstairs to find that there was barely anything in my house to eat. Quickly, I called my mom, begging her to bring me some tofu burgers. She came through with my request and bought me BOCA meatless burger patties, and showed me some things that I could use to make my burger tasty. After devouring all of the lentil bean soup that she bought me from Whole Foods, I waited a while before trying to turn my meatless burger into a Burger King burger. It didn't quite work out as I had planned, due to the fact that I accidentally overcooked it in the microwave. I have resulted to eating some apples that my mom picked up from Kroger, and am trying to figure out what I am going to take to school for lunch on Monday. The whole point of this fast, though, is to grow closer to GOD. I am supposed to depend on GOD's word for nourishment, and not the foods that I am accustomed to for nourishment. This is going to be a very interesting period for me, and I plan on successfully growing closer  with GOD. Since my booklet says that I should remain occupied during the fast, i made a brief list of all the things that I plan to do during the fast. I have completed a few of the things today, but I still have more to do. So far today, I plan to read(which has already been done), do my nails, wash clothes, use the beauty tips from Lucky Magazine, and try to start making a skirt. Even though this list does not sound very exciting, it will keep  me busy. I have a few pictures of my adventures so far today with my fast. Thanks for reading:)                                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                      

Artshow in Newton County

Hello All,

                   Recently I vended at a fall festival  in Newton County at the Newton County Theme School. It was a wonderful experience, and I hope to do another one like it soon. I met lots of wondeful people and had plenty of buyers, as well as many people wanting custom orders (which I offer.) The festval was lots of fun, and there were lots of other vendors there that had amazing things. One lady was selling all of her baked goods for a dollar, and practically sold out. I bought some things from her and am pleased to say that the goods were absolutely amazing. Near the end of the art show, I learned that the lady whom was selling the baked goods was the mother to two young girls that were planning on buying some of my stuff. Both girls were really nice and I am glad to have met them, and have been able to taste their mother's amazing brownies. Anways, I ended up sharing a booth with a family friend at the festival and I have pictures of her table and mine at the festival. We did pretty good, and I even bought a pair of earrings from the girl that I was sharing the booth with. I also got my own shirt made for my shirt, and am planning to make more. Love. Peace. Krochet.

      
                                                                                                                               

Headwarmers for the Homeless and Flower Pattern

Every once in a while, I set aside my time to do some good for the community. Since my talent (Besides being a genius, artist, baker, and athlete) is crocheting, I usually do a project that requires me to donate something handmade. I've done scarves for the special olympics, chemo caps for cancer patients(that i have yet to deliver), armwarmers and legwarmers for homeless women, and I am now doing more things for the homeless women. I have decided to create Headwarmers for them, I do this with a church group called the Prayer Shawl Ministry. My headwarmers have not only done good for women without homes, but they have also done good for me and my business. They are very popular amongst the women, and I am still receiving orders. I made up my own pattern for these Headwarmers, but I have provided a different pattern that I liked much better. But, I did provide the pattern for the flower that I used to embellish my headwarmers.

http://daperfectmix.blogspot.com/2010/10/easy-head-warmer-pattern.html


Below are My Creations for the homeless:]

Flower Pattern:

Materials: Hook in any size, and any kind of yarn, scissors, large-eyed plastic needle.

Row 1: Ch. 40 and single cr. in each st. across. 40 single cr.

Row 2: Ch. 3 and complete 5 dbl. cr. in first st. from hook. *complete 5 dbl. cr. in next st.  repeat from * until end. Emd and leave long tail to weave in. 200 dbl. cr.

Flower assembly: Roll flower together in a spiral shape and using needle and yarn, sew together, starting at center. knot and cut. Sew flower to Headwarmer and wear your gorgeous creation,

Apple Tarte Recipe (Pomme Tarte)

For those of us that love the taste of the traditional apple pie, but find it too troublesome to go through the tedious task of making a graham cracker crust, or just want to get in touch with their French side, I have created a recipe that is perfect for you. Apple Tartes were invented in France, and the word for apple tarte in French is la Pomme Tarte.

You Will Need:
10-inch tarte pan
Skillet
Mixing bowl
Ingredients:
Crust: 10 tblspoons butter, 2 cups flour
Filling: 3 decent sized apples, 4 tblspoons butter,2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 cup sugar.
Instructions:
  Crust:Preheat oven to 350 degreees farhenheit. Place 7 tblspoons of butter and 1 1/2 cups flour in mixing bowl and use a round bladed knife to stir butter and flour together until it resembles bread crumbs. Spread crust evenly inside tarte pan. Place Crust in oven to bake for 10-15 minutes.
Filling: Peel and cut apples into quarters before beggining. Place butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a skillet over medium heat. Let cook until mixture turns syrupy and smells like caramel. Place quartered apples in pan with mixture and stir occasionally. When apples turn a golden-brown remove them from the stove and set aside to cool for about five minutes.
Using a large spoon, scoop caramelized apples into partially baked crust.
Top Layer of Pie: You should still have 3 tblspoons of butter left over from the crust. Use this to mix with the remaining flour from crust using a rounf bladed knife until mixture looks like large breadcrumbs. Flatten dough out on a flat surface dusted with flour and cut into large uneven pieces. Place these pieces over top of filling. Place Tarte in oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until top layer of pie is a golden-brown and not doughy anymore.

                                                                           My French Creation!

Beanie Crochet Pattern

These hats are simple and fun to make. The pattern is short, and you can embellish them any way you want. I prefer to use flowers as embellishments, but I've also seen people use buttons, crochet animals and shapes, and much, much more. Here's my pattern for the Crochet Beanie:

Crochet Beanie Pattern:

Gauge: Unimportant

Materials: Plastic large-eyed needle, 5mm crochet hook, Caron yarn in any color, scissors.

Rnd 1: Ch 4 and connect to form ring. Ch. 3 and complete 9 dbl cr. in ring. sl. st. to ch. 3

Rnd 2: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 that was made.  Complete two dbl. cr. in each st. around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 20 Dbl. Cr.

Rnd 3: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 and do a dbl. cr. in next st. * Complete  2 dbl. cr.  in next st. and one dbl. cr. in next dbl. cr. st.* Repeat from * until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 30 dbl. cr.

Rnd 4: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 and do a dbl. cr. in next 2 stitches. *Complete 2 dbl cr. in next st. and a dbl. cr. in next 2 stitches repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 40 Dbl. Cr.

Rnd 5: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 and do a dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 complete a dbl. cr. in next 3 stitches. *Complete 2 dbl. cr. in next st. and 1 dbl. cr. in next 3 stitches* repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 50 Dbl. Cr.

Rnd 6: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as Ch. 3. do a dbl. cr. in next 4 stitches. * Complete 2 dbl. cr. in next st. and 1 dbl. cr. in next 4 stitches. Repeat from *around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 60 Dbl. Cr.

Rnd 7-14: Ch, 3 and dbl. cr. in each st. around. sl. st. to ch. 3. 60 Dbl. Cr.

Round 15- 17: Ch. 2 and single cr. in each st. around until end. sl. st. to ch. 2. cut yarn and leave a long tail to weave in later.

Slouchy Hat Crochet Pattern

When fall and winter time comes round, I pull out my favorite kinds of hat: the slouchy rasta hat. They are extremely comfortable and warm to wear, and they are very stylish. I absolutely love them, and they go with any and everything. These hats are always big sellers for me in the winter and fall time, so I decided to post the pattern because they are so popular.

                           Slouchy Hat Pattern:

Gauge: unimportant

Materials:1 skein Lion Brand Homespun Yarn in any color, size K10.5/6.5mm, wide-eyed needle, scissors

Round 1: make a ch. of 4. ch. 3 and complete 9 dbl cr. in ring. sl. st. to ch. 3 10 dbl. cr.

Round 2: Ch. 3 and dbl cr. in same st.  ch. 3 is in. complete 2 dbl. cr. in each dbl. cr. around. sl. st. in ch. 3. 20 dbl. cr.

Round 3: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3. complete 1 dbl. cr. in next dbl. cr. *2 dbl. cr. in next st. and 1 dbl cr. in next st.* repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 30 dbl. cr.

Round 4: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3. complete dbl. cr. in next 2 stitches.  * complete 2 dbl cr. in next st. and dbl. cr. in next 2 stitches. * from * repeat until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 40 dbl cr.

Round 5: Ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 dbl. cr. in next 3 stitches. * 2 dbl. cr. in next st, and dbl cr. in next 3 stitches. * repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 50 dbl. cr.

Round 6: ch. 3 and dbl. cr. in same st. as ch. 3 dbl cr. in next 4 stitches. *2 dbl cr. in next st  and dbl cr. in next 4 st.* repeat from * around until end. sl. st. to ch. 3. 60 dbl. cr.

Continue to increase like this for three more rows or until you decide that the back of the hat is long enough and slouchy enough as you desire.

Round 11: dbl, cr. in each st. around. sl. st.  to ch. 3. 100 dbl. cr. 

Round 12-15: Ch. 2 and single cr. in the next 9 stitches. sk. next st. *single cr. in next 10 stitches and sk. next st. 

Round 16-18: single cr. in each st. around. sl. st. to ch 2. 60 single cr. cut yarn and leave a long tail to weave in ends later. 

I also made a slouchy hat with Caron Yarn.