I've been crocheting for a year now and I must say - it's a really relaxing, mind-numbing activity!  I've made a lot of dolls here and there, a head band and a hat.

I've been trying out different types of yarns too.  For the time being, I've only really bought from the local 'Michael's' stores (a gigantic arts/crafts store)  I think as I get better, I'll go and peruse the local yarn stores for more exotic yarns!

I've found that some yarns are definitely easier to work with and acrylic yarns actually give the worst results in terms of the look/feel of the finished product.  An acrylic wool blend is a good option as it tends to break less than all wool.

Also, cotton yarn is pretty fun to use as well if you don't want all the wooly fuzzies flying around!

Here's my latest project - an 'Amineko' from the book 'Hello My name is Amineko'

Yarn used - 2 balls of Lions Brand 'Wool-Ease' Thick & Quick yarn in raspberry.  I also used the same brand in 'fisherman' (the cream colour) for the paws and snout.

By using the thicker yarn, the finished doll came out pretty large!  It's probably half a metre tall?

I wish I had more time/dedication to blog so I will attempt to do so starting this week :) 

Things have been going well for me - work has been crazy but if you want to move up, you gotsta work hard!  I will be going for a vacation soon - 11 days in SoCal!  I'm pretty excited since I haven't been out to LA before. 

I bought a CityPass so I will be doing all the theme parks - Universal studios, Disney, San Diego Zoo, and Sea World.  It'll be nice just to go off and feel like a big kid lol.

It's starting to get cold in Ed again - we had a bit of snow over the weekend but temperatures are still close to 0 - it'll be much colder by the end of the week but I'll be off!

Hope everyone is doing well.  The world seems to be in perpetual turmoil but hopefully, we can still remain positive and optimistic in times of trouble

XL Mashimaro ~ I made this with super soft baby yarn and came up with the pattern myself! 

I tried my hand at making a 'mini' puppy keychain... didn't take long but the thin crochet needle kinda hurt my fingers :(

Hedgehog! 

(but apparently, I've gotten comments that this looks like a bear with a mullet!)

No matter where you work or what you do, I realize you cannot escape the same situations ~ there will always be the trouble makers, the stress, and workloads, etc.

I've been escaping to the mountains for short getaways to destress.  I realize that camping is one of the best ways to relax.  The only thing I'm concerned with is - eating and sleeping

This past weekend, I camped for 2 nights in Banff ~ I decided to go hiking and challenge myself a bit.  My bf and I chose a moderately difficult hike near Lake Louise - 455 m elevation but the view would be spectacular.  We were almost reached the top when all of a sudden, my bf tells me to turn around.  I looked up and I saw 3 BEARS ... mama bear and her 2 cubs.  I was so scared... not only did we NOT have bear spray, it was only the 2 of us on the trail.  The mama bear grunted at us and we slowly backed off and walked away.  I was disappointed that we didn't get to finish the hike but I guess... safety first!  This was definitely the first time that I've encountered a bear... the last few times, I saw them from the safety of my car.

other than the bear encounter, I had a nice time ~ shopping at the famrer's market for groceries, cooking up a storm in the woods

I think the next time we go hiking, we'll need to get at least a group of 4 and bring bear spray!