Massage Chair

After I published my post about planning to make a patchwork pillow case while sitting in a cozy chair and listening to the music, somehow I come across this site that selling Takemi Select massage chair. I think this is a perfect Christmas present for me (hint! hint!)

The benefits of massage therapy have been known throughout the world for hundreds of years. In today’s fast-paced culture, nothing is better than the feel of a relaxing and therapeutic massage. That is why Takemi Select Wholesale Outlet has devoted itself to bringing only the finest massage and wellness products to the market.

Crochet Dress for Baby

I love crochet dress, especially for a baby or a child, because they are cute and not taking too much time to make. The problem is that babies and children grow too fast and after 1 year, they won’t be able to wear it anymore. That is why most of my children clothes are store bought, only a few of them is handmade. I made one crocheted dress for my daughter and she loves it so much that she wants to wear it almost everyday.

For this photo, I love the pattern, but I don't think I fancy the color. Black is not suitable for children in my opinion.

Table Runner

After looking at this photo, I got the urge to start a patchwork project. The thought of joining pieces of cloth together with nice evently stitches in my cosy chair while listening to old favorite musics keep running in my mind. Should I start this project? The problem is I don't have the material and I really don't have the time to go out to buy.

I think I will make something small. Like pillow case or something with my existing materials. Yup! That is what I am going to do now. Off to start the project now!

Marriage Counseling

Recently I had a chat with my class mate from high school. She told me that some of our friends in high school have already divorced with their partners. I feel that nowadays more and more couple getting divorce. I am not sure whether it is because people getting more used to convenience way and lazy to work hard on something (their marriage) or probably now people realize that they don't have to stay in a relationship that doesn’t work where in the past you just were stuck in it because of what was right to do. Probably both!

I read somewhere that if your parents have a happy marriage, most probably their children will also have a happy marriage, even if they have problem in their marriage, they will try to work on it.

If you have problem with your marriage, don’t easily give up on it. You can go to marriage counseling like National Institute of Marriage. National Institute of Marriage was originally founded by Dr. Greg Smalley as the Smalley Marriage Institute a 501(c)3 nonprofit ministry. The original team previously worked at the Smalley Relationship Center where, led by Dr. Robert S. Paul, they developed the Christian Marriage Counseling programs they called Intensives. Today the Intensive program is the cornerstone of all products and services offered at NIM.



Below is their press release:

With the national divorce rate around 50%, there is no doubt that many marriages run into communication problems at some point. There is a communication epidemic. The National Institute of Marriage has created marriage counseling programs and resources utilizing a structure that is the most powerful format they have found for helping couples who feel stuck and hopeless. They have designed several programs to help couples move past the barriers and experience the marriage of their dreams. NIM's Intensive Marriage Counseling Programs are unique from weekly marriage counseling in three distinctive ways:

· Intensive Marriage Counseling Format: Committing to an extended amount of concentrated time like the 2 or 4 day Marriage Intensive allows people to get to the root of the problem and stick with it in order to work through it. If you’ve been in traditional marriage counseling before, you may have experienced how you spend the first half catching up from the week before, the second half getting into the real issues, and then the time is gone. The Intensive format is designed so that people have the chance to go deeper without many of the other distractions of daily life and have enough discuss to consider solutions.

· Efficiency: One of the first steps in the process is an extensive assessment with some questionnaires. This allows the therapists to gather background information and can get an idea of the best strategy to proceed before you arrive for your session.

· Marriage Counselors: The counselors at the National Institute of Marriage are specialists in this area. One analogy we like to use is that of the Mayo Clinic: people go to their regular physician but may be sent to a specialist to work with specific areas. The NIM marriage therapists have been trained in this format to maximize its effectiveness. Also, the NIM marriage counseling programs provide the perspectives and insight of two professionals rather than one. If you are considering divorce, you must try the National Institute of Marriage before giving up. They have developed a continuum of care that meets couples wherever they may be in their relationship. Regardless of the health of their marriage they have a service that can help couples improve their marital satisfaction. Visit their website at http://www.nationalmarriage.com. Read the incredible testimonies from the couples that saved their marriages by attending a Marriage Intensive at the National Institute of Marriage.

Butterfly Doily

I found this butterfly doily today when surfing in the internet. It’s not free though. I think it cost about $5. It’s pretty and very delicate looking. You can put this on top of your dressing table or probably on top coffee table. It will surely become a conversational piece. I made one butterfly doily long time ago. I think my mom is still displaying it on top of her coffee table.

About Turbocharger and Supercharger

After posting my writing about turbochargers, I went to their site and looked around their website. They really have wide selection of replacement Supercharger, Turbocharger and nose cover. Not only you can find buick supercharger, you can find mercedes supercharger, pontiac supercharger and Nissan Supercharger as well. I also heard that they have great pricing and fantastic customer service.

What are turbocharger and supercharger? Both turbochargers and superchargers are called forced induction systems. The advantage of compressing the air is that it lets the engine stuff more air into a cylinder. More air means that more fuel can be stuffed in, too, so you get more power from each explosion in each cylinder. A turbo/supercharged engine produces more power overall than the same engine without the charging.

Knitted Shawl With Turtle

I saw this scarf on Crafster quite a long time ago. I am not a type that likes to knit a scarf or a shawl. However, after seeing this one I would like to make one. I think the turtle pattern can be found for free somewhere, but I could not find it at this moment. I will add the link later when I got it.

The thing is, I got 3 balls of green yarn made of alpaca and tencel. I think I am going to use that yarn into this. Someday…..

Faster Car?

My car can not run as fast as it used to be. I think my car needs one of those turbochargers. I read somewhere that almost all racing events have been won by a turbocharged car in the last 40 years. Even I am not a racer but I want to have a car that can run as fast as a race winner.

If your car needs turbocharger as well, you can visit http://www.turbochargerpros.com/ to find the perfect turbocharger for your car. This site guaranteed that they sell parts that high in quality and they even have independent reviews to prove it. They have extensive inventory of thousands of Super Chargers and Turbo Chargers, including vw turbocharger.

Round Tablecloth

I always get motivated to start making doily whenever I see this kind of photo. This thing takes many hours to make. It will take me months to finish one. I know this fact because I made one before. Not this pattern, but as big as this one. To bad that I don’t have round table so I can not display my work like in this photo.

Anyway, I got so many things that I want to make so I think I won't make this one.

Loose Your Fat by Eating MUFA

Have you heard about Flat Belly Diet? If you haven’t then read this: The Flat Belly Diet was developed by the editor of Prevention Magazine that basically said you can reduce your fat in your stomach by eating dark chocolate, olive oil, avocado, almonds and peanut butter (Monounsaturated Fatty Acids or MUFAs or healthy fats).

Yes, you read correctly. You can reduce your fat by eating all those yummy foods. All those foods are my favorite foods and if I can reduce my belly fat just by eating my favorite foods I am willing to try even I have to pay for it.

Wait! There is another news:

Between now and January 15, Prevention Magazine is looking for recruits to try the Fat Belly Diet free of charge! If you are selected you will receive a free Fat Belly Diet book, a free 1 year membership to the website, membership of their exclusive Success Story Club, the chance to blog about Flat Belly Diet and first look at exclusive Flat Belly Diet videos.
If you are interested and willing to try this new program, you just have to register yourself on their website and that’s it! Hurry up and register yourself, there is nothing to loose except your belly fat.

Cardigan in Victoria Secret

My friend told me about this cardigan. She saw it on Victoria Secret Catalog only for $88. It's made of acrylic and wool. According to my estimation, this cardigan needs about 8 x 50 gram of yarn. If each yarn cost $4, then the material alone is already $32,-

I don't think I want to knit this for only $56,- Then again probably this is machine knit and not handknit.

Say "NO" to Alcohol

Binge drinking is a particular problem among human adolescents. The latest statistics from NIAAA indicate that more than 12 percent of 8th-graders and nearly 30 percent of 12th-graders report drinking five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks. Starting to drink in adolescence might increase risk the probability to have alcohol addiction in adulthood not to mention the effects on physiology, maturation and behavior.

Promises rehab center treats addiction to a variety of drugs and substances, including: Alcohol, Cocaine, Codeine, Heroin, Marijuana, Methamphetamine, Oxycodone, and many others.

Denim Redo

Although I like denim and I love to make patchwork, I don’t think I like to make this top. It looks boxy and is not flattering at all. In my opinion it looks like a clown.

Actually the main purpose of this top is to recycle of your old denim, but making it into a top is totally a mistake. I think this idea is good to apply on bag or tote.

Lace Needle

Finally, I got the opportunity to use this needle to make lace. Now, I really like it. The pointy needle is very good to make all the manuver of k2tog or k3tog, and the brass finishing makes it not really slippery, which is very good. Because when you make lace project you don't want to drop any stitches.

White Crochet Cardigan

I made this using white acrylic thread. I think I used about 3 x 100 balls only. Actually I don’t really like to crochet using acrylic thread, especially for a top. Wearing something made of acrylic always makes me itchy.

I used Japanese pattern in old edition of Lets Knit Series. The pattern is very easy to follow, but they only have 1 size, so you have to adjust your needle size in order to get to the size that you want.

Handmade is Expensive

Did you see the price on this picture? $1,390 for the crocheted white bag, $775 for the brown bag, $260 for scarf and $140 for hat. I think this is about the right price for handmade item. If I have to sell my handmade things, I will also put that kind of price considering how much time, efforts and energy I have put into them. That is why I have never tried to sell my handmade items because I know that nobody will buy it. Not everybody knows how to appreciate handmade. Normally the one that can appreciate handmade items is a person that knows how to make it, thus no need for them to buy.

Stylish Frames

If you think you can not look stylish when you have to wear prescribed eyeglasses, then you are wrong. As a matter of fact, I know a person that actually looks better with glasses. She knows is and that is why she has large selection of glasses. She even matches her glasses with her outfit. At one time, I was quite curious on how she can afford so many glasses. I even suspected that she has a side job somewhere.

Recently, I found out that you can buy prescribed eyeglasses as low as USD 8 at ZenniOptical.com. They has a wide selection of frames which come with various lenses such as single vision lenses, sunsensor (potochromic) lenses, tinted sunglass lenses, bifocal lenses and progressive lenses. The Shipping and Handling Charge is only a flat USD 4.95 per order, no matter how many glasses you place in the order. The Secret to Zenni’s Low Prices is that they only sell their own manufactured frames direct to the customer, with no middlemen and virtually no advertising budget.

I have seen some positive reports about Zenni on Fox Newx TV, and heard about them on the radio. The popular U.S. talk radio host of the nationally syndicated consumer advocate program The Clark Howard Show, also recommended them.

Blue and Green Combination

I also found this pattern in Vogue. This is simple pattern but I like the color combination and the fit. Actually I have never make a sweater using more than 1 color, but looking at this one make me want to try it. Not now though as I still have a lot of yarn and on yarn diet. I will try to look for that color combination sometimes next year, when my stash is low and there is a clearance on my favorite online yarn shop.

Colorful Sweater

What do you think of this sweater? Don't you think it looks like an afghan or blanket? To tell you the truth, I do have blanket that looks like this. I used Knit Picks Swish.

Although it looks like blanket, I still think this is pretty. Its very easy to make also, since there is no shaping. Just make 2 rectangular, attach 2 sleeves, add the edging and you are done. Perfect for winter.

My Experience Selling in Ebay

Have you tried Selling on eBay? I have, and it was not a successful try. This beaded Teddy bear is actually made by my colleague. She asked me to sell on eBay since she was not familiar with internet thing. I started the bid at USD 9.99,- I knew that the price was too expensive, but it was not for me to decide the price. Furthermore, if it did not sell at that price, I didn’t think it was worth it to sell. I don’t think eBay is the right place to sell anyway. People want to buy cheap thing there and selling hand made items are definitely not a good idea.

I also tried to sell knitting pattern once. It was not successful also, although when I tried to sell it somewhere else, it sold within a day.

The thing that I don’t like about eBay is that they have very expensive listing fee. If I manage to sell it that is fine, but if not then I have to make a lost.

Recently I heard about iSold It on eBay, where you can just drop the thing that you want to sell, and they will do the work from taking the photo, listing and shipping it for you.