My Sampler Stripes Ghan

I actually made this a few months ago but realized I never shared it on my blog so here goes. I made this as part of a CAL over at Crochetville. It was meant to be a scrap ghan (I had a bunch of Bernat Soft Boucle left over from a previous project and decided on this yarn) but it turned into a much bigger animal. As I started stitching this monster I realized that I wanted to make it big enough to cover our king sized bed so I ended up buying an additional 3-4 skeins to finish it. If you've never cuddled with an afghan made with this yarn you are missing out. Not only is it incredibly soft but it's super warm. In fact, it's so warm that I am only able to use this ghan during the winter months.

I made this in I believe about 2 weeks time (I'll have to double check that) but it worked up fairly quickly and is one of my favorite ghans. I have since made a throw with this yarn for my dad and am currently making another ghan with this yarn for my step-sister who has taken possession of my dads. I'm making hers a ripple one with 3 colors changed every 2 rows. I was lucky enough to get 6 skeins of this yarn at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $1.50 a skein! I guess they were fazing out some colors but what a great deal!

P.S. If you've never worked with Bernat Soft Boucle before let me give you some tips. Use a larger hook (at least a J) as the stitches are very hard to see and this yarn does NOT frog well. Also, use this yarn for projects where the stitches don't need to be shown. If you're looking for stitch definition this is not the yarn to use. However, if you need a quick ghan this is the yarn to use. You can make a nice throw in just a few days.

Payday Loans ~ Do they take advantage of the poor?

Ok, I am the manager of a Payday Advance company. I've been working in this industry for several years and am sick and tired of the media blaming us for people filing bankruptcy and calling us "scam artists." In the Ocala Star Blunder yesterday they featured an article. You can read it here.

Several of the statements do not pertain to Florida at all and some of it is insane.

First of all, we charge a 10% fee of the amount you are borrowing plus a $5 state fee per transaction. In Florida you can only have one payday loan out at a time and must wait at least 24 hours from re-borrowing. Other states allow you to take out a payday advance at every store in town and there's where the problem lies.

Several years ago when I was living in Pennsylvania on my own for the first time and didn't know how to budget my money, I had to take out a few advances. These companies didn't force me to borrow money. They certainly didn't hold me at gunpoint either. I went of my own free will and borrowed the money. I was happy to be able to take care of some bills and was always sure to pay off my advance on time. I only ended up taking a handful of advances and didn't get stuck in a cycle of repeating it as many do.

The media keeps writing stories about how we target the poor and make it so they can never be free of us. Well that's certainly not true! I have several customers who only borrow when they make a mistake in their checkbook and think they'll bounce a check. Paying us $35 to borrow $300 is a lot cheaper than bouncing 2 checks at $40 a pop! It's the banks that really are the rackets! They charge so much money when you bounce a check and you can't do a darn thing about it.

Before calling this kind of industry scam artists, look at the facts. We are operating under the law and we do NOT force anyone to take an advance from us! How are we any different than a pawn shop which now charges almost 50% to get your items back!

If you don't want a payday advance, don't come here but I'd sure appreciate it if people would stop using us as the evil giant that's forcing the poor into debt!

More wonderful news!

Well, my hubby called me this morning with the news that he got the job!!!! We can finally rest knowing that we will be able to actually afford our dream house!!!!! He worked so hard for this! We are so truly blessed it is beyond our imaginations!!! Honestly, the only thing missing in our lives is a child, but I know that God has given me the heart of a mother and that in His time we will have one. (Can you remind me I said this when I'm down in the dumps and depressed?)

I think we're gonna have to drive over there one night and take some pics! The woman we rented from said her husband was there almost every night painting so we could stop in whenever we wanted. I'll have to convince my hubby that my online friends really want to see the pool!!!!

In other good news, the boss is on vacation this week so that's making it a nice breather for us! My hand is getting better all the time but still too weak to grip anything. (I am going crazy NOT picking up my crochet hooks!) I get the stitches taken out on the 30th so hopefully shortly after that I'll be good as new!

I had to go to the cardioligist this morning for my Echo and heart monitor. This time isn't so bad as it's attached to my waist instead of being strung around my neck. It was weird seeing my heart on the ultrasound machine, very eerie!

We get our first official "Holiday Off" since New Years Day on Monday which is awesome!!! 2 whole days off in a row? I don't know what I'll do with myself!!!

Better than sex cake

This is my hubby's favorite cake and all he wanted for his birthday was for me to make it. This recipe has so many calories in it (even much more than a normal cake) that I do not make it very often. If you've never had it, you are missing out. It's one of the easiest cakes to make and will be sure to be a hit at your next family gathering.

Here's the recipe:


1 chocolate cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 small can caramel sundae topping
1 small can Hershey's syrup
1 bag Heath Toffee Bits (or 2 Heath Bars, finely crushed)
1 container Cool Whip

Bake cake as directed on box.
Immediately after taking out of the oven, take a fork and poke dozens of holes throughout the cake being sure to push the fork all the way to the bottom of the pan. Pour can of sweetened condensed milk over the cake and let it soak in. After it has all soaked into the cake, take the caramel topping and pour over. Once that has soaked in, take the syrup and do the same. (You will only need about 1/2 a can) After the syrup is completely soaked in, place Cool Whip on top and sprinkle with Heath Toffee Bits. Serve chilled.

(Note, it can take anywhere from 30-45 mins for each item to soak completely in. Be sure to place cake on a perfectly leveled surface so that the syrups are able to soak in evenly into the cake.)

We found a new home!!!

Well, as shocking as it sounds, we actually found a place today!

First of all, I have to say that us being able to swing this is going to take a miracle. We know that the Lord will provide but at this precise moment we just don't know where the funds will come from.

Housing is very expensive in our neck of the woods. The home we are in now we are paying $700 a month for rent on. At this present time, the landlord could easily get at least $1000 a month for it so that tells you how valuable land has risen here.

Well we knew we would have to pay anywhere from $1000-$1200 a month for rent for what we need. We've looked at several places and so far, everything we've seen that's in the $1000 range has been tiny and not very nice. Then we saw our dream home today. It's almost perfect!

The house is perfectly landscaped (my hubby loves doing this kind of thing so he'll be able to keep it up) it's got a stone front and is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, formal dining room, sunken living room (my DH has always wanted one of these) with a beautiful bay window. The kitchen has all new countertops and in the eating area there is a fireplace. Out back there is a beautiful Florida room and beyond that a gorgeous in-ground pool which is completely screened in and the backyard has a privacy fence all the way around it. Next to the pool there's another beautiful garden with a wooden swing. It's just incredible! They could have easily rented this for well over $2000 a month. They are in the middle of remodeling it so we can't move in til August 1st but that'll give us extra time to figure out how we'll work this into our budget.

Please say a prayer that Doug gets the job he applied for. If not, we'll have a nice roof over our heads but no food in the fridge!