Monday, April 15, 2013

I want my Mama!

  You are probably aware that I am a member of a band. I may have mentioned that Ladies Must Swing has a new CD available, and that I actually play on the CD. And even though I am playing on that CD, it's a really good CD and people seem to like it.
 
This is our actual CD jacket!!

People like it so much, that we have been nominated for two awards! The Madison Area Music Association (MAMA) Awards are open for public voting, so if you like me at all, please go to immediately to www.themamas.org and click on the **VOTE** tab. Yes, you have to register in order to vote, but don't be afraid, you won't get spammed, and you can opt out of receiving emails. And yes, you have to pay $5 to vote (yes, they take paypal), but that money goes to the Madison school music programs - a very worthy cause! 
  The list of categories is on the left: first click on Jazz Performer, select LadiesMustSwing and submit; then scroll down to Jazz Album, select "Just For A Thrill" - LadiesMustSwing and submit. You can vote in all the categories, but just be sure to vote for Ladies Must Swing!  And just for fun, you should go to the Unique category and vote for the band "Butt Funnel", because I would really love to hear the presenter have to say "Butt Funnel" at the awards ceremony!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

In Search of...

  Lately, I've been in search of a lot of things: the perfect frosting recipe, my US 2 circular knitting needles, Spring, just to name a few.  I just found out about the impending arrival of a baby, and it needs a blanket from me. So it was not unusual that I was online searching for the perfect knitting pattern. You may remember that I am slightly indecisive when it comes to knitting patterns. Luckily, I have two favorite baby blanket patterns. But I still have to choose from those two, right? So, I polled my trusty Facebook friends. (Thanks to those who responded!) And the winner? Neither of those two patterns.

  Wait, what?   You heard it right, neither of those two. A knitting friend put a bug in my ear about a super-secret group project idea. So, as I was searching through the extensive Ravelry database of patterns, I came across a blanket pattern that I fell in love with. I may not love knitting it, but I hope I do because the finished product is stunning. I hope the book comes soon, I'm itching to get started.

  So what else is new, you ask? Um... nothing. The snow is slowly melting. I'm in the middle of the "icebox cookie" section of the cookies, and I have not had much success with them - hard, dry dough makes hard, dry cookies. I'm hoping to finish them up soon and move on to the Spritz cookies. I've fallen off my diet wagon mainly due to cold weather (cold salad just does not warm me up!). We finally got better cable to go with our new fancy TV, and I'm actually finding myself watching some TV at night. And, today, I'm going to City Hall with my fence plan to get our permit for the new back yard fence. The landscape plan is done, so I'll just need the ground to thaw so we can get started on our new chicken-friendly back yard.

Obligatory flower picture - not my back yard