Hi!

Yes, I'm still alive. 

I'm on an Airplane

I'm not sure how I feel about using the interwebs on an airplane. I mean, aren't they supposed to get in the way of the controls or something? Is that all a myth? Am I totally gullible? A complete sucker?

Probably.

It's the last leg of my flight....heading toward central standard time. I'm reading David Baldacci's Saving Faith and it's pretty good so far. I quite enjoy Mr. Baldacci. I'm listening to Sara Bareilles current album, Kaleidoscope Heart, which is also quite enjoyable if you're into that kind of music. King of Anything is the song playing on the radio, but I recommend my personal favorite number from the album: Let the Rain.

The photobooth takes pictures like a mirror. I don't know why. It makes no sense to me.

It was an uneventful day flying (thus far). The only annoying thing is the woman in front of me who keeps trying to shove her seat back into the reclined position. This ain't no lay-z-boy, honey. You get about 1.5 inches of recline. Stop trying to bounce into me.


I almost forgot about the other annoying thing: HOW DID I END UP IN THE ATLANTA AIRPORT IN THE ONLY CONCOURSE WITHOUT A STARBUCKS?!?!?!?!?!?!?! I'm glad to have gotten that off my chest.

I'll survive though. Unless using the internet makes the plane fall out of the sky.

I'm gonna go now.

See that?

YES THAT COUNTDOWN.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->

It's not accurate. Add about 10 hours (from midnight to 10am) and then another 7 since I get into Wichita around 4:45pm. However, I'm comin' to KANSAS! 

Grab your mugs, it's time for a coffee date!
(Or a massage...I only have 2 people [not counting my immediate family] on my list. Email me, we'll talk time and price.)

Blast From the Past Numero Dos

Once again I am bringing you insightful, interesting information via facebook. Nah, just kidding. This is not insightful, nor is it interesting and it's definitely not any kind of important information. I'm just going to add to the right of the answers if there's an update. You'll be able to tell.
Not that you actually care.

 

silly 3's note....because i am a sucker.

by Amy Elizabeth Hoffman on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 9:23am

You've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with the 3's of YOU. At the end, choose 20 people to be tagged. You have to tag me so really you just need 19 more people. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you - but NOT in a creepy stalker kind of way.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 3's of Me, tag 20 people - in the right hand corner of the app - then click publish.)

Three names I go by:
1. Amy
2. Amy-Liz
3. Hoffers (yup. and i don't like it.)
4. Hottie Hoffers (via Rach McF)

Three Jobs I have had in my life
1. Temp
2. Curves Fitness Coach (that was the title, i wasn't actually doing that much coaching)
3. Resident Director ( :

Three Places I have lived
1. McPherson, KS
3. North Manchester, IN
3. Durham, NC

Three Favorite drinks
1. Water
2. Coffee
3. Non-fat sugar-free caramel Latte (this all depends on the season for flavoring, hot/cold, etc)

Three TV Shows that I watch
1. The Soup  GLEE
2. Project Runway
3. Designed to Sell 30 Rock

Three places I have been
1. Carhenge (Alliance, NE)
2. Durham, KS
3. Schwarzenau, Germany

People that text me regularly
1. I Megan
2. don't Viola
3. text. Maggie

Three of my favorite foods
1. grilled veggies
2. scrambled eggs
3. doughnuts!!! (yes, I just added those exclamation points)

Three friends I think will respond
1. boo Joe
2. boo Mama
3. BOO  Yeah, I made a middle school joke.

Three Things I am looking forward to
1. August 23, graduate from massage school flying to KS
2. October 9, done at UNC May 2011
3. sleeping

Crafty Sneaky Peek

Sometimes I want to write peak rather than peek. Why are there are so many words that are difficult to spell? Is it just me?

OK, so this is one of the (many) things I've been working on. I was in this fabulous store, Cameron's, in University Mall in Chapel Hill and I found these adorable notebooks and they inspired me.

I thought about giving them as a gift and what I could do to make it  more of a "gift" so I came up with this:

(You can't really tell, but I used iron-on vinyl on the inside so it can be wiped out if necessary.)

It has a strap that could go around your wrist if you wanted to carry it or you could hook it to a purse-strap or keys. I like straps.

It's just a small pouch/clutch/bag that you could keep stuff in. I hand embroidered on the front of it just to add a little sumpin' sumpin'. I stuck the notebook, a sharpie pen (my favorite pen) to write in the notebook with and some Burt's Bees lip balm (my favorite chapstick) in the bag. Burt's Bees is a local Durham product, but you can grab a tube at any Target. I think you could also stick in a gift card or something else if you wanted to add to the gift.

Not that I want to advertise to the recipient how much I spend on these things, but it really is affordable to whip up something like this. Now that I've done it a few times I can put together a bag start-to-finish in the time it takes me to watch a movie (this is not counting the hand embroidery on this bag, that took forever), I used this tutorial for the basics. If you have the time and equipment and the bravery, because, let's be honest, it's brave to hand a gift over and utter the words "I made this" I say go for it! If you're less of a crafter and more of a baker, go for that too! If you're less of a baker and more of a doer, I say shovel a driveway! If you're less of a doer and more of a....yeah, I've got nothing.

The breakdown on prices:
-the bag: probably around $3 in fabric, zipper and doo-dads (aka thread), I'm estimating because in purchasing supplies the only thing I won't get a second use or something out of is the zipper
-notebook: $3
-pen: $1.50
-Burt's Bees: $2.50
TOTAL: $10

My budget can handle a $10 gift, but how can you really put a price on something made by these hands?!?!?!??

Gratuitous picture of Hank:

Also, there's a spot on my camera, I've cleaned the lens. Help?

Blast From the Past

via facebook notes.

Apparently, I used to write notes on facebook. I don't anymore, I write things over here instead. Right now I am extraordinarily busy doing things so I am just going to do a little copy and paste action and hope that this will sustain you until I've edited a picture or two (probably next Tuesday that will happen while I'm in the airport) and have taken the time to step away from the sewing machine.

Here goes:

things i love....and miss...and look forward to in the future

by Amy Elizabeth Hoffman on Friday, December 12, 2008 at 9:34am

-having a baby fall asleep on my chest
-fall leaves
-rainy days when i don't have to get out of bed
-harry potter books
-characters who are unrealistically perfect
-men (bald, gingers, asian, nerdy, athletic, tall, curly, legs-i love good legs, smart, ambitious, curious, beards, artsy, funny, dark-skinned, pale, tattoos, emo, happy)
-singing
-performing
-talking
-drinking coffee
-good conversation
-drinking coffee while having good conversation
-i have an obsession with musical theatre, however this didn't actually begin until 2005
-baking for other people-cookies, cakes, bread, pie
-mom, dad, david, matthew and abby
-snow, seriously what was i thinking moving to a place with no snow?!?
-crushes
-really nice pens
-details
-fire-candles, fireplace, the bon kind
-love
-when people are excited to see you
-hugs-the real kind involving squeezing and emotional warmth
-scarves
-squeezing pimples
-massage
-sunshine
-Oliver Lake in LaGrange, IN (this is my favorite place in the ENTIRE world)
-my grandparents, aunts & uncles, cousins, and cousin's babies
-amazing friends
-the feel of sand between my toes
-laughter
-laying in my bed with my roommate watching grey's anatomy on the computer using stolen internet
-my bed
-being silly
-documenting my life
-college students
-the olympics

-lists. i start thinking about these lists in my head as i drive. i spend a lot of time driving. ( :

 

Luckily I don't have to drive as much as I used to, that was a year of lots and lots and lots and lots of driving between work and massage school. Now, I just hop and skip over to Chapel Hill for work (but it's not as long of a drive as when I was working at UNC because I don't have to deal with campus parking) and then spend the rest of my time in Durham (greatest city in Americur). 

What do you love, miss or look forward to in the future?

It's Time for a Giveaway!

You know I love Christmas music. You need some of that love.

Trust me.

I am now going to admit something to you. I just spent some time (no, I'm not telling you how much) reading the biographies for the members of Straight No Chaser. And yes, if they were a tenor 1 or 2 I totally skipped their pages.

I am mean to tenors (at least ones I don't know).

I'm sorry to all the tenors out there, I don't know why I'm such a bad person. Or a weird person. Or whatever I am.

Anyways, back to the task at hand. You want some Christmas music?

These are 3 of the most recent albums I have purchased:
1. Christmas Cheers, Straight No Chaser

Pretty good. In my opinion not as good as the first album. Still, how can you go wrong with men's a cappella? That's right, you can't.

2. Very Merry Christmas, Dave Barnes

This is a really fun album with just a few traditional songs you'll know and several new ones that you need to know. I love Dave Barnes in a totally platonic way since we don't know each other. I mean, I love him as I love all human beings, but not romantic, lustful, I-want-to-have-your-babies love. And I'm done. 

3. Let it Snow, Michael Buble

He's a crooner. I'm a swooner. This album is delightful and makes me think of Christmas trees and fireplaces and knitting while big, fluffy snowflakes float down outside. You know, your traditional country Christmas.

So, the winner gets his or her choice of one of these three albums.

All you have to do is leave a comment telling me your favorite Christmas song. Soooooo easy.

Deadline: Sunday, Dec. 5 8:00pm 

I like you. I think you're nice.

Do you have all these albums? Fine, you're not invited to the party. I also got Celtic Woman's Christmas album...are you interested in that one?

Deets: One comment per person, music will be sent through iTunes via email.

WINNER chosen by random.org!!!

Erin, whose favorite song is

definitely O Holy Night.
I have a CD mix I made a couple years ago with all artists I could find singing that song.

Crafty McKraftersons

I've been getting my craft on more and more lately with all the Christmas presents I'm making. It's crazy.

Don't expect much blogging because I'm a busy girl hanging out with her sewing machine, Buddy the Elf and sexy Karl. Here's what I can show you from my endeavors:

So, I'll show you crafts from some other peeps.

This is Jody, she's talented.

This is Kathy, she made her jewelry (sorry about the blur, that's all me):

She also did this project encouraging some library creativity: take 20 card catalogue cards and do something with them. There is subversive poetry on it, too. but you can't see it in the photo.

Megan's an embroiderer. She makes some cute stuff.

Rach rocked the mod podge for this beauty:

Oh, and I may have whipped up this hat while I was hanging out in Indiana last October:

(Yes, I know some of you [Meagan] have requested a personal hat that I have yet to make. I struggle with requests. That doesn't mean you shouldn't make them, but you should either a)wait a long time or b)claim something I've already made.) (Pleaseandthankyou.)

I love all these pictures you all sent me! You're amazing, talented, awesome, incredible people! Even if you didn't send me any pictures, all of the above is still true. ( :

L
 O
   V
     E.

(And if you knew that sexy Karl is from Love Actually, you get a gold star!)