One Fact about Each US State

My goal while living in the USA is to learn and know one fact about each state.  Not necessarily where it is, or what its capital is but something.  So if someone says "I'm from Nebraska" I can know a small bit of information.  Here's what I have so far, some of them are pretty bad and there are some gaps but I think I'm doing well.

• Alabama: Lots of stuff in the civil rights movement happened here.
• Alaska: Cold, polar bears, can see Russia from there.
• Arizona: Football team is the cardinals after the bird not the priest.
• Arkansas: Pronounced Ar-can-saw, not Ar-kansas
• California: Where I live and thus awesome.
• Colorado: Mountains, South Park
• Connecticut: Where my grandparents used to live
• Delaware: First to sign the Constitution
• Florida: Hurricanes, Alligators, my grandma
• Georgia: ?
• Hawaii: Beaches, Lost filmed there, about half way between Australia & America
• Idaho: Potatoes
• Illinois: Chicago
• Indiana: ?
• Iowa: Corn
• Kansas: ?, Wizard of Oz?
• Kentucky: ?
• Louisiana: New Orleans, Oil covered.
• Maine: Lobsters.
• Maryland: My great aunt lives there, the Mason-Dixon line runs through it.
• Massachusetts: Boston
• Michigan: Lakes
• Minnesota: Their accents are adorable.
• Mississippi: River, M I double S I double S I double P I
• Missouri: ?
• Montana: ?
• Nebraska: ?
• Nevada: Gambling and prostitutes.
• New Hampshire: First state to declare independence.
• New Jersey: People say it smells.
• New Mexico: High desert, which means its more lush. (This is my newest)
• New York: Capital is Albany not NYC
• North Carolina: ?
• North Dakota: ?
• Ohio: ?
• Oklahoma: ?
• Oregon: Trees
• Pennsylvania: Steelers.
• Rhode Island: Actually called "Rhode Island and Providence Plantations"
• South Carolina: ?
• South Dakota: Mt Rushmore.
• Tennessee: Nashville.
• Texas: 3rd Largest state, don't tell that to Texans.
• Utah: Mormons.
• Vermont: Maple Syrup.
• Virginia: Thomas Jefferson
• Washington: Rain, Seattle
• West Virginia: ?
• Wisconsin: Cheese
• Wyoming: Has state with smallest population.

I think I'm doing pretty well don't you? Now when I say I'm not going to learn where they are, I do know vaguely where they all are if you split the country up into West, East, South, New England and The Middle.

Finish It update.

I have a confession, I've already failed the Finish It challenge. 

I know, I know, I only started it last week and there are only a handful of items on my list, one of which is nearly done, how the hell have I failed?

Weeeeeelll, I have an excuse.  Ok I have half an excuse but its a totally valid one.

Finished beanbag.

The baby I nanny for is 13months old now, and we are working on colours and numbers and I wanted to make her some beanbags.  Beanbags are great for kids and they are super cheap and easy to make.  When I get a new camera I will post a tutorial.  They are great educational tools, the ones I'm making are yellow, green, blue and red.  There are 4 of each so we can learn same/different, we can count, we can learn colours and we can learn inside/outside.  Plus they are super fun for throwing and things that aren't people or cats (actually they are super fun for throwing at them too but shhh, don't tell the kids).

So I have a super valid excuse for that.  The second project I have a less valid excuse for.  I found this super cute fabric at Walmart for $1.40 a yard and I had some batting that I had bought by accident, it was really bad quality and not even remotely good enough for quilts so I decided to make a cushion.  I think it turned out really well.  Again sorry for the crappy photo quality but if it really bothers you I am looking for a new camera so any tips would be appreciated, tips as in ideas for cameras and tips as in money to my paypal.  Wow I really am shameless aren't I?

Anyway so despite the fact that my embroidery project is very nearly finished I spent my time working on new things.  This is how the massive pile of unfinished projects starts.  I will try to be better, I swear.  Sorry Chase.

July Etsy feature Elements & Artifacts

Hello again! Its that time of the month when I try to convince you to visit an Etsy seller that isn't me (because of course you visit my store daily).
July's seller is Elements And Artifacts.
Here are a couple of great items:

 This great necklace which I would totally wear is $38.

And this "The Chariot of Khonsu" necklace which look exactly like my friend Mandy.  Well not like her but like she would wear, it would be pretty silly if I had a friend that looked like a necklace.

I promised these people that they would get tens of visitors from this feature.  Don't make me a liar please!

Elements And Artifacts
Carolyn's Collection

FINISH IT!

Finish It is a project started by my friend Chase.  And it is a challenge for everyone to finish their stack of UFOs or unfinished objects.

Most crafters have these, piles of things that you start then abandon.  They get abandoned for a variety of reasons, you get stuck, you need something you don't have, you get bored, you find something else that's cool or you get to a boring part.  Chase pulled out her stashes and has challenged herself to finish them all by December 15th AND not to start anything new until then.  This can mean abandoning projects that just aren't working out, its ok to realise that things weren't never going to get done.

I have agreed to join and while I don't have anything at the moment except things I'm actively working on I will accept the challenge to finish the project I'm working on before starting a new one and to stop buying new craft supplies.  I do have a scrap yarn blanket that while I'm not intending on finishing as it is intended to be a long term project I do need to use the scrap yarn I have on it.

Here's my listography list and I will take pictures of things I finish during this time once I get a new camera because mine broke, yet another reason you should donate to my paypal.

Don't craft? Well I'm sure you've got other things laying around the house, writing you have to do, DIY projects, even a stack of books you have to finish.  This challenge is about using the support of the group to quit making excuses and get rid of that stack of stuff. 

If you want to join in you should read the details here, Chase's List here, and join the Flickr group here.  Don't be embarrassed, show your stuff!

A letter from the Hall of Justice is not as cool as it sounds.

Let me tell you a story.  So there's this school crossing and at school crossings there are crossing guards, you've probably seen them.  They have bright red signs that say STOP and wear vests with florescent reflecting fabric on it.  Pretty hard to miss wouldn't you say?

Well that's probably why the cop that pulled me and my friend, and the baby, over didn't believe us when we said we didn't see him and asked several times. I'm sure most people claim to have no idea why they were pulled over when they knew full well, which would explain his disbelief but we honestly didn't see him.

I blame the American education system for having such short hours.  Your country is already criticized for having uneducated people and you're letting kids out of school at 1.30pm?

So I have a ticket for $256 or I can go to traffic school for $310 plus the cost of school which is about $20, which I have to pay buy August.

On a totally unrelated note you all know there's a link to my paypal donate page over on the right there? And on another unrelated note I've got this etsy store Carolyn's Collection.  Not idea why I mentioned that, weird right?

Finding a notebook, Or why I'm a crazy person.

If you know me you probably think I'm pretty laid back.  I don't think about things too much before I buy them, maybe have a quick look round, find what I want and am fairly happy with it.  Even if something is not quite right but maybe its cheap or really cute I go for it and accept its flaws.
There is one exception to this and I think its a bit crazy.
I carry a notebook in my handbag which I use all the time, for shopping lists, emails, suggestions of books.  All kinds of things.  There's something about writing that stuff down which makes sense to me, I can't use any of those note taking programs for the itouch or blackberry, the closest I get it emailing things to myself.
Because I use my notebook all the time I go through several a year and each time it causes me literally hours of stress and pain.  I will wander all over town and e-wander all over the internet looking for something that is just right.  Ready for some crazy? Here is the list.

It has to be:

• Small, maybe 10-12 lines.
• Spiral bound.
• Lined.
• Not ugly.
• Hard covered.
• Thick but not too thick paper.
• Not too expensive.

Ideally its spirals would be large enough for my pen to fit in.  I get really stressed when I have to go find a new one, I'd really like to find a manufacturer I really like and either buy 100 at once or buy the same one over and over again.

Sometimes my life is just too hard.

Is there anything that you are weirdly specific about?