Monday, December 31, 2012

NYE staying in.......Toys Toys Toys!

Post Holiday shopping was a bit of a bust, but we were able to find a few close out Kre-O sets and I found some clearance Barbie accessories at Target.  I don't know if they are making more Target Barbie exclusives, but they came up with some beautiful dolls in 2010-2012.  The Stardoll line is interesting.  I like the clothes and K-Mart has great deals on those. 


We plan on building a Kre-o store in 2013.  I found more than 6 Optimus Prime Kre-O sets with Kreons included at different Marshall's and TJ Maxx Stores around town.  We found one Bumblebee set at a Ross store.  There are a ton of cool pieces and Austin will be working on some Lego TFs using some Kreo-O pieces in the next year.  With the new sets coming out, I think we're going to come up with something neat.


Thanks to our friends Tony and Rose, we are proud owners of the Energon Wheeljack!  Thanks again you two!  


Because of the purple, I think I am going to ask Austin to make a Lego version of him for me as well!  

We are both excited about the Fall of Cybertron Generations Line!  The Soundwave Toy with the discs are awesome!  It looks like they are selling fast too!  There are tons of the small packs of the Ravage & Rumble and Frenzy & Ratbat.   It seems like those were put out first.  I went to the same Toys R Us that we found Wheelie at to get Soundwave and Soundblaster.  


It's been quite a Christmas!  There was only one Swindle at Walmart, so we grabbed it as we were buying the storage bins for the Legos. I found Soundwave and Soundblaster today at Toys R Us!  Soundblaster comes with Buzzsaw!  Frenzy, Ratbat, Ravage and Runble have to be bought separate.  It's neat how they are CD or discs as oppose to the cassettes a lot of us grew up with!    I was talking to my friend Christina and had to get of the phone for a few minutes!  I didn't think we'd find em', but alas, there they were!  

This NYE we are staying in.  We planned on going out, but we changed our minds.  We have work coming up and need to recharge our batteries.  Plus, we need to organize our Lego and Brick collection.  




Walmart has these cool storage bins with 6 drawers.  This works for the bricks that we have to work with!  Luckily, these fit in the corner of the office!

Happy New Year Everyone!  



Sunday, December 30, 2012

My only New Years resolution

Okay, this is sad.  My only New Year's resolution is to use my weekly Michael's coupons every week to stock up on Yarn, Jewelry making supplies, costume stuff etc.  I care less about about my progress with my natural hair journey, (4 years, 2 months natural) or weight loss (current weight, after Chipotle veggie burrito, 133lbs) and more about buying yarn and other stuff for upcoming projects.


I wanted to get a jump start on my weekly Michael's visit.  The picture above shows the yarn I saved 40% on and some clearance earring supplies.  In addition, I want to take advantage of the other bonus coupons from Michael's as much as possible.  Thus, on New Year's Day, I shall return to Michael's.

While, I was out on my Toy rampage this past week, I picked up some other goodies from Michael's:


I freaked when I saw these Peridot Faceted Beads! I haven't seen these at the stores.  I want to make a tiny bracelet with these.  The Black Onyx beads are a great staple, because my Step mom loves black Jewelry.  I am always running out of black beads and because I like gemstones, my options can be slim.  The Shell Beads are always fun to work with, I really liked these squares!  

Here are some of the things I was working on over the holidays......





More are coming!  I wanted to work on something a little bit every day, but we'll see what happens with that!





Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Not much time for knitting....


I had a goal this year about knitting for the holidays and that goal was to start seriously knitting by June.  Didn't happen.  With crazy things happening with work and my living situation, it just didn't happen.  I have gotten some things done and the kitties are either sleeping, watching and trying to help....Especially Blue.

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It's the end of the year again and it's funny, there is always time for shopping for projects, but never enough time to finish these projects.


I have finished a few items, but I am not nearly as far along as I could be.  I have about 9 days left to complete 6 different projects.  Time to get back to work!








Monday, December 10, 2012

Diet goals? Well yeah, but not just for weight loss....

I work with someone who has been gluten-free for over a year and it is no gimmick.  There are so many diet fads out there and nothing works.  Sensa, Herbs, low-carb, high-carb, raw food etc....It's exhausting.  I have always hated diet food and I have never jumped on the fat-free food bandwagon.  (I gotta have my half and half in my coffee).  I just want to feel good and have all of my organs function right!  With my health history, I cannot afford any more gastro-intestinal problems.   My co-worker and I are both obsessed with food and cooking so we always are on the subject of gluten-free.   This lifestyle works for her and not only is she healthier, she actually dropped weight effortlessly.   It was not about weight loss for her, but more of a cure for various allergies and health issues unrelated to weight.

Now, being a woman and being honest with myself, losing weight is something I never complain about.   It's a welcomed thing.  It would be nice to be 120lbs again, but I am not holding my breath.  I am closer to 40 than I am to 30.  I have been doing my best to maintain a healthy diet and treat myself to sweets in moderation (and maybe a fast food meal once in awhile).  However,  I am taking my friend's suggestion and eliminating gluten based products out of my diet slowly.  I am starting to see the difference in my bodily functions and it's awesome.  No more indigestion, gassy feelings and clearer skin! (OK this is better than weight loss!  Less Zits?  Are you kidding?  That means less makeup!)  I only wear make-up, because I look like 20 miles of bad road without it.  Some women are natural, others, well we can use some help and don't want to offend others when we go out in public!  Yet, as I am aging, I am attempting to wear less and prefer it that way.  I never wear makeup when I'm at home or out shopping.   It would be nice to get to the point to not feel the need to cover those brown spots on the skin from acne.  Anyway, I digress.....

I actually feel fantastic!  I'm not one to get sick a lot, because I eat clean 70% of the time out of habit, but since I have practically eliminated gluten, I feel 10 times better.  I have less headaches, sleep better, digest food better and my vitamins and supplements seem to be absorbed more. Have I lost weight?  Well I guess, but I lost weight when we moved out of the Inland Empire this summer.

My diet goal is to continue to eat better and to watch the gluten intake.  If I eat pizza that will be a cheat day for the week.  It's hard to get away from gluten, but it can be done!  Also to just keep moving.  Even if it's just walking, gardening, using the kettlebell or cleaning up after my cats.  Keep moving.........

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Kre-O and Transformer Toy High!


Austin and I get pretty excited about finding Generations Figures and Kre-O sets discounted at close out stores.   One of our many date days or nights are as follows: Some good grub, (preferably meat and potato based) and a few trips to different stores looking for Kre-Os and Generations figures.  Sometimes Barbies and Legos if the price is right!  The Kre-O sets are not cheap and have some pretty neat unique pieces, not to mention Kreons!  Many Transformers collectors know about going to closeout stores like Ross, Marshall's, T.J. Maxx, Tuesday Morning and Big Lots to find Transformers figures that they may have missed while they were at the other retailers.   Sometimes you get lucky and find some stuff.  Other times, there are opened boxes with stolen Kreons and roughed up packaging.  T.J. Maxx and Marshall's tend to be on a cleaner and more organized side, so it's easier to find things.  Ross is great, but it's more of a crap shoot.  Many of these stores do have the movie toys, so any movie toy collectors should hit up these stores too!




This past week Toys R Us had a buy 2 get 1 free sale on Transformers Deluxe Figures!  How could we pass this up??  I have been focused on picking up Wheelie and I didn't object finding Cliffjumper and Swerve! I went to 2 different Toys R Us locations and no such luck.  I was checking stock online and they didn't have Wheelie available for awhile and that was annoying.  Generations Retail Tag is around 15.00 dollars and the sale was a steal that I wanted to take advantage of.   But earlier this week we were in luck!  We drove a few miles east of us and not only found these three figures, but found two discounted Kre-O sets at Marshalls.   Yay! There is nothing like a toy high!