Link Leak Virus

Today I have been hit with a virus. However, this virus is a good one and really made me smile at the thought that I was bit by it!! A very special lady bit me HERE and I was very touched!!

So, to do my part in spreading the "bug" I would very much like to share three of my most favorite blogs and make sure you check out the one I listed earlier too!!

http://wanderingcyberspace.typepad.com/
A blog from a very dear Twitter buddy! She can make you laugh and she can make you cry! She is someone anyone and everyone can relate to! Check it out!!!

http://blog.zemote.com/
I check this blog everyday because of two, no...three reasons!
1. The blogger is amazing!!
2. The photographs are insightful, meaningful, and inspiring.
3. I get to learn some techie stuff too!!!

http://blondebydesign.typepad.com/my_weblog/
This blogger is one amazing woman. She is the one who inspired me to start my mission with Kandahar and helping our soldiers feel great and appreciated! This woman is truly an inspiration and if you have never talked with her, you are truly missing out!!

So to those I have just been "bitten" by me...do your fellow bloggers a favor and give some of them a great big shout out on your blog so they know they are appreciated!!

I love all my fellow bloggers and no one should feel left out by any means...these three are just the tip of the iceberg!!!

Hugs to all my readers!!!

Why Do I Knit?

This is a question that seems to be asked of me quite often. If you are a fellow knitter, I am sure that you also get asked that same question and if you don't knit, then maybe I can help you to understand why I knit and why others may feel the same way.

First and foremost, I am a crafter at heart and any craft that is thrown my way, I am willing to at least give a go at it and if I don't like it, I move on. If I do like it, watch out, because I will buy stock in materials!

However there are many reasons I love to knit. One being that I can take it anywhere with me. My children are in numerous activities and while watching and/or waiting I can knit my heart out. We often drive to Michigan to visit family and we fly to Arizona and I can take it with me then as well. Knitting is such a portable craft!

Another reason I love to knit is that it is like my yoga. If I have had a bad day, I can pick up my knitting and focus completely on that and only that, and the stress dissapates. Knitting relaxes me and makes me happy. Granted, there are those tricky patterns that can make you want to pull your hair out, but for the most part, it is very relaxing and comforting.

The utmost reason I love to knit is becuause I like to knit for others. Any project that I start for someone else I ALWAYS finish. Making gifts for others is so much more gratifying than anything I could ever make for myself. Knitting blaknets, hats, mittens, and scarves for children who need them, or donating to shelters or just giving something away to a friend because they are special! It is something that really warms my heart and I am happy to do it!

I had started making felted hedgehogs and one friend was very excited about them so I offered to make one for her! I was delighted when she accepted and asked her to choose colors for me and she chose lavendar and sage to go with her daughters bedroom since the hedgie was going to be for her. I have now completed the hedgehog for her and it is all wrapped up and packaged to go out in tomorrows mail. I hope she enjoys it as much as I enjoyed making it!!

Enjoy your hedgie, Gretel!!! {{Hugs}}

Twitter

I was sitting here tonight pondering what I could blog about while I was twittering with some of my friends and I thought, why not. Blog about Twitter.com.

Twitter. Twitter. Twitter. What can one say about Twitter?

When I first signed up to Twitter (back in April 2007) I honestly had no intention of keeping up with it. I saw it as a waste of time and just plain utter non-sense. Why on earth would I want to keep track of my day let alone tell anyone else what I was doing. Secondly, who on earth would want to know what I do all day? Curiosity got the best of me, as it usually does, and I took the plunge. I was going through a really tough time at that moment so I used it, at first, as an outlet of what I was feeling at that moment. I came up with the handle AngelEyes and gave no clues as to who I "really" was, so it was no harm no foul. I could be anybody I wanted to be and no one would be the wiser, OR I could be completely open and honest with out the pain of being judged.

What happened with in the next month was completely and utterly unexpected. I started adding a few people that peaked my interest and low and behold, others started adding me. Of course, you get the ones who only want to rack up the numbers so they look important, but I also had requests from genuine people. As I started chatting with my "friends", I learned more and more about them and I even began to open up a bit. I found it absolutely amazing that people that I did not know from a stranger on the street, reached out to me, held my hand (so to speak), befriended me in times of need. How could this possibly be? It was at that moment, I knew that this was not just another social gathering place.

Having been on Twitter now for three months (and now using my real name of KarrieLyne), I have made some amazing friends, including one whom I consider my best friend. I have met people that are true and real and are willing to be there for you in good times and bad times. I have friends that are just plain silly, there is no other way to describe these friends. They make me laugh and sometimes cry (from laughing so hard). I have, what we call, "geeks" as friends and man o man are they handy to have around!! They have taught me many a good tricks that I never would have imagined I would have learned. I have my fellow knitter friends who got me motivated to pick up my needles again and are always there for me to ask 20 questions. Some of my friends fall into more than one of these situations and some fall into every one! Who knew? Something as simple as Twitter, that I could gain all this and more?

I have tried and tried to explain Twitter to many a folk and all I receive in return is that blank stare with glazed over eyes. I can be sitting on the couch "twittering" and will just bust out laughing and my husband will ask me what is so funny. I go over the dialog with him and laugh all over again and he just looks at me like I am crazy. I think the only way that you can get the full understanding of Twitter, is to try it. Give it a go. If you don't like it, you can delete your account and if you love it, you can meet some extraordinary people, like I have. So, what are you waiting for? Click HERE to get started on Twitter.

To sum it all up....

My Twitter friends ROCK!! A huge THANK YOU goes out to each and every one of my Twitter buddies and a huge hug as well!! Where would I be with out all of you?

Kandahar

About a week or so ago a very special friend of mine asked me if I would mind asking my children to draw pictures for soldiers over in Kandahar. Well of course I said yes as I saw it as a wonderful opportunity to share with my children what soldiers do for us and our country as well as do something really special for those soldiers. I though about it for a few days and in doing so I read a post on her blog that really touched me and made me want to help out in more ways than just sending pictures. So last weekend while we were at the grocery store, we started picking out things that we thought the men of Kandahar would enjoy. Knowing there are 19 men in this troop we wanted to choose things that they could share. My kids picked out the following (with a bit of help):

* notebook paper, pens, and envelopes to write letters home

* kleenex, Q-tips, washcloths, and antibacterial liquid

* crackers, sunflower seeds, pretzels, and raisens

* assorted candy

* two decks of playing cards and Phase 10 card game

All of this is neatly packed up in a box and is ready to ship out this week to Danny's troop. I know that they will enjoy getting the things that we picked out and they would love to hear from any of you that would like to participate. If you do, please contact me and I will guide you to the right person that knows everything about it!!!

This is such a wonderful opportunity to teach our children the greatness of giving!!!

Hello World

Welcome to my new blog. This blog has been created with the purest intention to keep my creativity flowing, to inspire others, to meet new friends, to learn a bit about you as well as myself. I have no intention of hunting down readers, but with hopes that readers will find me and want to learn about me and what is going on in my life. The world is a huge realm and there is no way possible for me to meet all the wonderful people out there, so through my musings, I hope to reach out and get to know a few more people. So please, sit back, relax, and enjoy!!!