GoodReads 2013 Reading Challenge Part 2 - May Reading List

I'm still keeping up with my book challenge. I enjoy reading while the kids nap, and before bed. Nothing like a little reading before bed to send you off to dream land. 

Here are the books I read in the month of May:

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir 
Jenny Lawson

Vampires in the Lemon Grove
Karen Russell

Breaking Dawn
Stephenie Meyer

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Aimee Bender

I have read 20 books toward my goal of 30 books. I'm at 67% complete, and I'm 8 books ahead of schedule!! Woot! Woot!

Chloe's favorite foods...

So here are some of the things my 2 (almost 3) year old loves to eat. 

Barilla, Rontini pasta. 

Almost every day she asked for "Curly noodles" At least I can feel better about giving her these because they are packed with protein and fiber.

Baby Goldfish crackers. I swear these are laced with crack or something. I eat way too of these.  Must. Stop. Eating.

Yep. I have a kid that loves broccoli and cauliflower. It's okay, you can be jealous.

One evening during dinner she said, "More broccoli, please?" Ha! I still can't believe it! She also likes to dip them in BBQ sauce. Which she gets from her dad.

Ranting...

So this blog post is me venting. You want to keep reading? Go for it. I'm just giving you a warning.

I have jury duty next month. So people say it's a good experience. I would agree with them. But I have 2 kids at home 2 years old, and 9 months. I DO NOT take them to daycare. I stay at home and raise my own kids. It's not the easiest job in the world. With that said, I would be more than happy to have jury duty when they're in school. Not when they're this little. Now my husband has to take time off of work to watch the kids. Anyway.... I'm 50/50 about this situation. I don't mind going, it's just not very good time for me. 

Second rant. I went to the dentist for a cleaning this morning. I have not had my wisdom teeth removed. Or shall I say, one wisdom tooth removed. I'm 30 and only one wisdom tooth popped up. I'm hoping that this means I only have one. We'll see. There is a cavity on my one lonely wisdom tooth, so I have to take it out now. There are many reasons why I've put this off. #1. No dental insurance. #2 I've been pregnant/breastfeeding for the past 4 years. #3. I'm fucking scared. Who wants to be put under and have them pretty much break your jaw to get a tooth out??? NOT ME. The one good thing about this is that we now have dental insurance. 

So after jury duty I get to schedule an appointment to get my wisdom tooth removed.

Fun times.

Currently reading...

I was sucked into this series a little too late. I started reading the first book back when it first came out. And I couldn't get past the fourth, or fifth chapter. There was so much teen drama it made me gag. So many years later, I gave it a second try. It's not as bad as I thought it was. After I finish each book, I make my husband watch the movies with me. Hee. Hee.. Hee.. He's such a good sport. 

I have about a hundred or so pages left. 

I can't wait to see what happens. 

Time to read!

New Item!

I've noticed that I haven't been posting anything "crafty" related is a long time. Hmmm... I should probably post more crafty things since the title of my blog is crafting by moonlight. Also, with 2 kids, my arse is in bed by 10pm. So I don't really craft by moon light either.....

Anyway, I made a new item for my etsy shop yesterday.

IT'S A....

NARWHAL!!!

Isn't he cute??

I'm not 100% happy about this little guy. He just looks strange. It's probably because I used my whale pattern, and added a horn. Every time I look at him I think of a whale that's been lying too much (Pinocchio nose). I will be adding him to my shop sometime today.

So what do you think?

Damn... You.. Netflix...

My daughter has falling head over heels in love with SpongeBob Squarepants. As of Wednesday, May 22nd. The show will NOT be on instant streaming. I REPEAT.... The show will NOT be on instant streaming!!!! Ugh. Yes, I could rent the DVDs from Netflix, but It's a real hassle to put in a DVD just to watch one episode. Plus, the DVDs we rent our for our adult shows and movies. (Not the X rated adult) 

I'm sure Chloe is going to have a screaming fit when I tell her we can't watch Spongebob. 

Netflix is going to push me to buy the DVD's or buy episodes from iTunes. Either way, they're costing me more money.

Guess what other show is leaving the instant streaming?????

Yep. Blue's Clues. 

Alright, Netflix. Why don't you get rid of Sesame Street too while you're at it. Your already making my life a living HELL. 

Now, Chloe doesn't watch TV all day long. Just a few shows a day, so I can get some stuff done around the house. 

Le Sigh......

Beautiful Mess...

I downloaded the Beautiful Mess app on my phone. It's really fun to play with. Here are some pictures I took today using the app.

I don't like that you have to pay money for other borders, and special items. But it's still fun to play with.

Etsy Update...

***** ETSY SHOP UPDATE *****

I'm now shipping Monday - Fridays!

Also, All orders will be processed/shipped with 3-5 days!

24 sales away from 900!

124 SALES AWAY FROM 1,000!!!

Shop now, Please.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/72stitches

That is all. 

Warning... Complaining ahead...

Alright. I have to complain a little here. No one reads this blog anyway.

So I've been selling on Etsy for 4 years now. And I'm at 876 sales. That's about 219 sales a year. That's good. I'm proud of that. But the last couple years have sucked big time. I'm starting to think that my shop is crap, and I want to quit. I want to put all my items in a huge pile and burn it. Yep. Burn it.

I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Are my prices to high? Shipping costs outrageous? Ugly photos? What is it????? I renew often, and I've added a ton of new things the past year. What else can I do?

I see shops that sell 2-3 items a DAY. And I'm extremely jealous. How do I get that much traffic in my shop? I've been around a while. I just don't know what it is....

... and it's driving me bananas.

I just want to quit.... But I won't. Because I'm not a quitter.

The End.

Random pictures of the weekend...

Fort building.

"Daddy, I'm down here. Don't step on me."

Chloe trying on daddy's new shoes.

Sisters.

Natalie and Mommy.

Twins? Not really....

So here is a picture of my girls about a month apart. 

They look like the same kid. 

Natalie is on the left (She will be 9 months old in a couple weeks) 

And Chloe is on the right (She will be 3 in November). 

Here is Chloe at 8 months.

And here is Natalie at 8 months. 

Damn, time flies.

Crazy.

Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge....

I've made a goal for myself to read 30 books in the year 2013. So far I'm doing really well. I've read 16 books out of 30, which is about 53% done, and 6 books ahead of schedule! Score! Here are some of the books I've read so far....

January

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick


February

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

March

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
In One Person by John Irving
Gold by Chris Cleave
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

April

Eclispe by Stephenie Meyer
The Twelve by Justin Cronin
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis


So there's the list so far. I'm averaging about 4 books a month. No to shabby. 

Off to read!

Read this book...

Let's Pretend This Never Happened

(A Mostly True Memoir)

Jenny Lawson

Now, I'm only on page 136, but I will write a review anyway. This book is awesome, and hilarious.  If you only read one book this year, read this one. You will laugh so hard you will pee your pants... or come close to it.

Now click on the link above, buy the book and read it. 

Or see if your local library has a copy.

(That's what I did.)

She also has a blog. Which is pretty hilarious as well.

http://thebloggess.com/

My 2.5 year old favorite book list...

Lemons are not Red

Laura Vaccaro Seeger

My daughter's all time favorite book. 

And I'm proud to say that she can read it all by herself.

Dragons Love Tacos

Adam Rubin

Come on, Who doesn't love tacos??

Goodnight Goon

Michael Rex

This book made me laugh.

Little Pea

Amy Krouse Rosenthal

So there is the list of books that my daughter loves. 

And yes, I've read them a thousand times and I know them by heart.

Thursday's Chore: The Silverware drawer...

The spring cleaning bug finally bit me. I clean out the silverware drawer about once a year. Is that too much? Or not enough? So I took all the silverware out of the organizer thingy mo-bob. As I was cleaning it I was thinking, why do they make this things white? A better question is, Why did I buy a white one? I'm thinking it must have been a wedding present. 

I forgot to take a before picture. Trust me. You don't want to see that mess. After getting rid of a few utensils I never used, here is the end result.

After I cleaned the silverware/utensils drawers, I decided, what the hell. There's a sink full of dirty dishes. I might as well was them.

Then, I decided to clean the microwave.

The End.

Etsy... and Goals...

Right now, I'm at 870 sales. 870. Wow. I've been selling on Etsy for 4 years now. I still can't believe it. I've added a lot of new things in my shop over the past couple of years. My biggest seller this Christmas was coffee cup cozies. I sold 30 in about 2 weeks. I would have sold more, but I ran out of supplies. *Note to self: Do not run out of supplies.*

30 sales away from 900...

130 sales away from 1,000....

I made my goal this year of reaching 1,000 sales. I really hope I can achieve this goal. It would make me oh so happy and.....

......I might even pee my pants.