KU Crafter

Big Changes

2009-12-29T16:58:00.000-08:00

Well, belated Merry Christmas everyone. Despite being snowed in for 3+ days, or maybe because of it, we had a pretty great Christmas around here. We were all pretty spoiled this year, Junior got a mountain of toys, Jaime got a sweet set of computer speakers and an Oreck. Yeah, I bought him a vacuum for Christmas, and he loved it, here's the proof:

And I got an iMac!! I'm so completely in love. It is taking a little getting used to, but I'll get there. Yaay!

So besides the new computer, there are a few other new things in our lives. Starting Monday I officially have a new job. In the past three years I have worked my way up from a part-time student to the head of my section. I have been acting in this position for a couple months so it isn't a huge change, but now it is real. I am in charge, eek!

There's even something new in the bathroom these days. (OK, that could go so many bad directions) Junior has his own potty now! We finally decided to try this potty training thing. I'm a little scared and we have no idea what we're doing, but Junior has gone potty before bed the last two nights, so I guess we're on the right path.

As they say, the more things change the more they stay the same. With all the new going on life is still pretty boring aorund here which is just how we like it. There's been some knitting, some spinning, a bit of reading, and lots of just hanging out with my two boys and enjoying life.

I know I probably say it every time, but now that I have a computer to myself and it is in a convenient place I'm really planning on updating more often. Here's a random bit of cuteness to get you through till the next time :)

Show And Tell

2009-09-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

I know, finally right? Admittedly I probably wouldn't even be here now except My arm is a little sore from the knitting with big needles (US 10.5, pretty big compared to the 1.5's I've been using recently). So rather than cause permanent damage I decided to take a night off. Which sort of stinks cause I am really close to FINALLY finishing this damn scarf, but more on that next time.

This post is my photo tour of the past...little while, sock style. It's been all socks all the time around here for a while.*

The Double Eyelet Rib Socks from Wendy Johnson in Seacoast Panda "Surf," finished 9/13/09. These are my re-entry into the SKA universe. With all that had been going on, I hadn't been participating in their monthly sock challenges much (or at least not finishing much), but life is getting a little more normal (hahaha) so I decided to jump back in. I wasn't sure how the pattern and the yarn would get along, but I think it works.

Funny story. Jaime saw me knitting these socks and kept saying how it seemed like I had knit them before. I had no idea what he was talking about! Until a couple days ago I remember this little number:

The socks I knit for my aunt over two years ago. Not quite the same, but still earns him big points. I'm glad he can remember...

Here we have the Dog Days Socks by Kristi Schueler in Madelinetosh Tosh Sock "Beach Towel," finished 8/27/09. This sock is brought to you by the June 2008 Woolgirl Sock Club shipment. I know the club was exclusive and all, but I can't believe more people haven't knit this pattern. I loved it! The construction was so different it really kept me interested the whole time.

Next up are my Glinda Socks by Bethany Whitney in Madelintosh Tosh Sock "Glinda the Good Witch," finished 7/5/09. The socks came in one of the Oz kits from Woolgirl and is part of my goal to finish all of the sock kits I have around here. Um, ok. I LOVE these socks!!! The color couldn't be more me. I seem to be a fan of the yarn. The pattern seemed to take forever (lots of teeny cables without a needle with teeny stitches and teeny needles), but it looks fab. Yaay!

We're really traveling back in time now. These are the Yarn Over Cable socks by Charlene Schurch in Rowan 4 Ply Soft color 378, finished 3/23/09. These socks seemed to take forever too. I like the pattern, but it wasn't that interesting and didn't even have fun yarn to help keep me into it. They turned out pretty well, and then they felted a bit in the wash. I can get them on but they're a bit snug now. These socks convinced me to start hand-washing and air drying my socks...for a couple weeks until I got lazy.

Last but not least, my first pair of socks this year. Cloning Anemone by "Team Blue Moon" in Socks That Rock Lightweight "Tide Pooling," finished 1/5/09. I am so upset over these socks I can hardly even talk about it. I made them, I loved them (PERFECT patter, GORGEOUS yarn), I wore them once maybe twice. And then I lost one of them!!! I figured it got lost at the bottom of my old closet (it was a scary closet), thought it would turn up in the move. Months later and still no sock. Makes me want to cry a little.

So, I think we're caught up now. I owe you a spinning post in the near future. Until then!

*99.9% of the links are from Ravelry. But for reals everyone is already there, right?!?

Life Goes On

2009-08-20T20:04:00.000-07:00

I really meant to post again before now, if for no other reason than to move down that depressing post.

So what have we been up to? Well, we moved into my mom's house at least for now. I'm afraid it will always be "my mom's house" and never "our house." But it is a house none-the-less and beats the stuff out of paying rent for an apartment we can't stand and barely fit into. Junior has a yard that he loves, Jaime has a grill that he loves. I have room for my yarn and new spinning wheel (post on that to come...soonish).

And for our inaugural event, Junior's birthday.

It was a pretty small party; Jaime's parents, my dad, Junior's babysitter and her two kids. Just the right size. The kids had fun playing with all of Junior's toys and we all enjoyed the food from the grill. We're already planning a few more cookouts with friends.

I can't believe my boy is two. He is getting so big, talking more and more everyday. He must know over 30 words by now (and of course Spongebob or "pa-bob" is one of them). He loves playing with his cars, running down the hill in the backyard and watching a cartoon whenever we can get him to sit still long enough. He is so full of energy and life it is sometimes exhausting to watch, but sometimes it can rub off on the rest of us. He's still such a joy.

The End

2009-06-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

On May 14 my mom died.

It has been over a month and I still don't know what to say. I think that about 98% of the time I am living on autopilot, in denial. The times it really gets to me most is when something happens during the day, some little thing that I wouldn't bother to tell anyone else (or couldn't), and I think about how I could tell her about it the next time we talk. Except I can't.

The story. Early this year my mom found out that the clinical trial chemo she was taking in Omaha wasn't working. Her doctor suggested another chemo that sometimes helps with Leiomyosarcoma, one that she could take at home in pill form. But it was hard on her. Things had been going downhill for a while I guess. But by April she was losing weight and having trouble cooking for herself. Jaime was already doing all of her cleaning and grocery shopping. So we decided to move in and try to help her out. Well, that didn't work out so well. She likes things her way and we never did get comfortable there so two weeks later we moved back out.

Just about the time we moved out my mom decided that the side effects from the chemo weren't worth it so she stopped the chemo. At this point she had tumors in both lungs and two in her pelvic area that we know of. Jaime and I talked and we were thinking that she might not make it into next year; 2009 would probably be her last Christmas.

So as not to worry me, in true Mommy fashion, she didn't tell me what was really going on. I knew that my aunt had been helping her out since we had moved out. One night my aunt called and said my mom wasn't doing well. We didn't know much then, but she mentioned that her long term care insurance wouldn't help because they need 90 days notice and she likely didn't have 90 days.

At this point my mom was no longer leaving the house. Hospice nurses were coming over several times a week to check in and get her what she needed. A couple days later I left work early so that I could meet the nurse when she was checking in. She said we had a couple weeks.

Days went by and my started using a cane to get to the bathroom right outside her bedroom. Then she opted for a bedside commode and stopped leaving her bedroom. She virtually stopped eating; having a half a jello cup for a meal.

On Friday May 8th the nurse said she wasn't sure my mom would make it to the next scheduled visit on Monday. That Sunday was Mother's Day and that is the day that we said goodbye. She was ready.

I got no sleep that night. I kept waiting to hear the phone ringing, my aunt calling to say she was gone. I took Monday off of work so that I would be around in case. The nurse came and told us how strong my mom was. It could be any time.

I had to go to work the next day. I would have lost my mind sitting around and waiting. My mom wasn't in the mood for company anyway. Every night after work I'd stop by to see how things were going, give her a hug and kiss, maybe tell her a bit about my day. She was always pushing me out the door, telling me to get home and spend time with Junior, to rest after a long day at work. We had said everything there was to say.

Thursday after work my aunt stopped me outside the door and said that there wasn't much time left. I still wonder what the nurse saw that made her decide that. I went upstairs to say hi and rather than being under the covers as usual she had all the covers off and an icepack on her forehead. By this point she wasn't eating of drinking and her mouth was so dry she could hardly talk. I sat with her for a few minutes (she said my hand was too warm so I couldn't hold her hand) until my aunt came up. I went to my car and called Jaime to tell him I needed to stay a while and see what happened. She hadn't told me to leave yet and I knew that wasn't a good sign.

So I sat with her. Flipping over the icepack every few minutes when it lost is chill. Finding a fan that I could point at her to try and keep her comfortable. And then I watched her take her last breath.

I don't know if anyone has made it this far, or if anyone even checks this blog anymore. But I needed to get this out. My mom gave me so much in life. Most of all, and the thing that I will never forget, was her love for me and for my Junior. I will miss her every single day, but most of all I miss that Junior won't remember her and how much she loved him.

New Year, Same Old Me

2009-01-01T18:41:00.001-08:00

(4/143)
Happy New Years everyone!! I hope you have all enjoyed looking back at the past year and looking ahead to the next.

When I think about 2008 all I can see is how damn lucky I am. I have never been happier in my entire life. The depression has lifted. (Don't get me wrong, I get down sometimes just like everyone else, but I can move through it and past it now.) I have the most amazing family. I have a job that I love and that is pretty darn secure (knock on wood). While all around me, all around the world, there are people losing their jobs and their homes here we are having one of our most stable and prosperous years ever. (NOT that we're rich, just that for once the money I bring in is pretty close to covering the bills. It hasn't been like that since....ever.) Enough reflecting. Point is, '08 wasn't bad.

The wonderful thing about starting the 101 in 1001 in December is that I don't have to make any New Year's resolutions. I feel like I pretty much covered all the changes I want to make and the goals that I have already. I just need to act (my downfall).

Here are some belated Christmas pictures. Meant to get a post up, but I suck. Christmas was pretty fab. Jaime even enjoyed it and he is a Scrooge. Junior really helps put some magic back into the holidays.

me, Junior, and my mom or "Granny Jenny"

The List (3/143): Past Due

2008-12-23T04:00:00.000-08:00

A quick post to say, "Gaaaah, I'm behind!" The list has been pushed to the side a bit this past week. I guess the holidays will do that. I'm behind on a few of my weekly tasks (for instance, this post should have gone out by Sunday...)

But I'm not giving up. To err is human and all that. I will just have to play a little catch up. The List must go on.

In other news, I'm also behind on Christmas knitting. So I said I'd knit Junior, Jaime and myself stockings this year. Welllll, I finished mine and started Jaime's. I just don't have it in me to stress and force myself to try and fit in another before Christmas. Junior won't know the difference, right? So now I just have to finish Jaime's. Heh.

The List (2/143): The Escape Artist

2008-12-14T16:41:00.001-08:00

This week's update is brought to you by list item #83. take 5 pictures per month of Junior. He's given me plenty of photo ops this week with his great escapes and expert climbing skillz.

taken 12/8/08

taken 12/12/08

taken 12/11/08

So, I think it goes without saying that I haven't gotten much else done this week. I am still working on Jaime's Stocking when I have the energy to knit. The heel is turned and I just have the foot and toe left. I'm beginning to have my doubts as to whether I'll pull off ANOTHER stocking, this time for Junior. Seriously, 10 days left...

The List (1/143)

2008-12-01T17:37:00.001-08:00

So there was this thing going around last January. You make of list of 101 things you'd like to do in the next 1001 days. Like a super-resolution. It sounded cool so I started my list, got to 60 or so, and said eh. I'm not good with commitment (except for you, Pookie) or deadlines. If I can't handle one resolution, what makes me think I can handle 101??

And that was that. Until a few days ago when I got bored (but not at work, never!) and saw the saved Google Doc with my list. I opened it up and for the heck of it started re-arranging and editing and adding a few things. I got to thinking maybe I'm in a better place for this sorta thing now. January 1, I'll give it a go. I edited my list for a couple more days and then decided that there is no time like the present and if I wait till January I'll just lose steam and quit again.

Today, December 1, 2008 is the day. Wanna see THE LIST

Things I've started working on are bold and (eventually) things I've finished will be crossed out.

One of my goals is to post at least once a week (I like a challenge), so hopefully Monday will become list day and I can highlight an item or two that I'm working on.

84. Read to Junior everyday, 51 free passes (1/950)
It is so hard for me to make time to read to Junior everyday. I know it is so good for him, but he resists (it requires at least something resembling stillness, not his strong suit) and I am just so tired after working all day blah blah blah. No more excuses!!! Tonight we read a nice simple board book Toys (tried to link to Amazon, don't bother searching on there for "toys") with colorful pictures of toys. Junior really liked it!! I got almost all the way through before he wanted to flip pages. After we were done he walked away with it and paged through it a few times alone. He didn't even try to eat it for a couple minutes. I'm so glad I started this!!

Let The Holidays Begin

2008-11-28T21:12:00.000-08:00

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. I am ready to give in to the holiday season. This year will of course be different. Junior is one year older and I think he's going to enjoy getting some gifts from Santa Clause. And hopefully he won't mind meeting Santa either...

So of course there is the holiday knitting. I try not to get too crazy with the holiday knitting plans. I'm not good with deadlines and don't want to make myself insane. Buuut, there are a few things I have planned. I've even finished a few projects.

Vicki's Stocking

I'm going to knit Jaime, Junior and I stockings this year. I had talked about it last year but never got motivated. And yes, I knit mine first. I knew that the first one (being the first stranded knitting I've done in over 2 years) might be a little wonky and I want Jaime's and Junior's to be (closer to) perfect. I've started Jaime's stocking and so far I was right. It is going so much more smoothly (and quickly, that goodness).

I also finished a simple hat for Jaime. I knit him one a few years ago, but it has always been a bit big and he wanted some variety.

Hat For Hubby

He really likes is and even requested one in a bright orange. Now I just need to find a good yarn...

taken 11/27/08

Had to add in a picture of Junior. This is us after our Thanksgiving dinner. Junior ate with us this year. Well, he ate sweet potatoes at least.

So, that's all for now. I have a new project that I'm starting up on December 1st. More on that in a couple days.

It Has Been Far Too Long...

2008-09-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

since I've posted a picture of Junior. Right?

taken 9/24/08

I think he has finally turned a corner and decided to give table food a real go. Last night he had peas and carrots and apples for dinner. Yaaaay! He's so big now. And he is getting harder and harder to entertain. Jaime and I play with him, and he has toys, but he just seems to need more excitement. My mom went with Jaime and Junior to look at cars and Junior was an angel (ok, those were my mom's words and of course she thinks he's an angel). When we're out of the house he's fine. I think he is just bored of his toys, his room, us.

Sooooo, knitting. Right. I've been knitting a little bit.

That would be palm cozy, Monkey's and Junior's blue jeans socks. They are all knit in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport in Jeans. I just can't get rid of this yarn! I bought two skeins for socks and only used a teensy bit from the second skein on my Monkey's. I'm thinking Junior might get his first hat this fall made to match his socks.

Ok, one more Junior pic for the road.

taken 9/24/08

I sure love that kid.

Again With The Socks

2008-09-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

For a week or so there I was knitting something besides socks. It was between RSC mailings and SKA's month off. I knit maybe 4 inches

And then, again with the socks. First, some Monkey's.

It only took me 2 years to get to this pattern. Actually at first I wasn't impressed by it. But after seeing so many variations I caved. I'm in love!

Next, the September mystery socks for SKA. The challenge was to knit orange socks. It doesn't count as stash if I start them right away.

As far as the life that goes on between sock knitting sessions, it's been going pretty well.

We're in the busy season at work, gearing up for year end close out at the end of this month. It's been a little crazy but I'm still loving it.

Junior gets more ornery every day. He gets into EVERYTHING. I just have to remind myself that his curiosity is a good thing. He still isn't talking at all, which worries me sometimes, although everyone says I shouldn't be concerned. Aaaand the only "big boy foods" he'll eat are cheerios, cheez-its and just recently frozen soft pretzels (ok, and there was that one time I let him nibble on my oreo cakester, but that doesn't' count at all). UGH! It is so frustrating. The doctor said not to force it, which is good cause the boy is seriously stubborn. Don't know where he gets it...

Ravelympics Drop-out

2008-08-25T04:26:00.000-07:00

I finished a sock. No, really A sock. I'm making good progress on the other half of the pair...

See, Junior decided to put his birthday right in the middle of the Olympics. So inconvenient.

8/16/08

We had company in town (in our apartment, on our couch to be precise) for a week. I took two days off from work, and we kept so busy I was almost glad to get back to work. The party was small, just my parents, my mother-in-law, and us. We had considered inviting all my extended family and some friends, but I'm sooo glad we didn't. I had estimated we would make it to my mom's at around 2. We didn't get there till 4. The day was stressful, but we managed to have a great time watching Junior open some gifts and eat some cake.

8/16/08

Happy Birthday Bubby!

Olympic Knitting Begins

2008-08-11T09:15:00.001-07:00

Joiner that I am, I signed up for the Ravelympics. But in a non-commital way. I am competing in the WIP wrestling event, meaning my goal is to finish stuff. As much stuff as I can.

Fortunately for me, my newest obsession (seen above) was started a week ago and therefore technically counts as a WIP. Maybe not the intention of the event, but whatever. They're actually going relatively quickly and after they're finished I plan to actually dive into my UFO bin. Scary!

New Sock Parade - Part One

2008-08-05T09:49:00.001-07:00

In my blogging absence I've finished a few pairs of socks. This is the most recent, I'll work my way back in time in the next few posts.

Details*:
May 2008 Rockin' Sock Club yarn and pattern
Cleopatra's Stockings by Yarnissima
Socks that Rock Lightweight in The Incredible Shrinking Violet
Ravelry Project Page

mods: none

For the first sock, I added some stitched to accomodate my wide feet. After binding off, I realized that not only were the mods unnecessary, but I had also made the foot too long. I couldn't bare to rip yet, so knit the second sock to be sure I could make it with no mods (I don't trust sock patterns; see my above comment re: wide feet). They were PERFECT, so then I got two knit sock 1 again. I didn't know if I'd make it, but I managed to finish. It helped to have Ravelympics and the next club shipment coming up.

So, they fit wonderfully with no changes at all. I even managed to knit a decent sized cuff. (I usually go for anklets or short cuffs as my calves are pretty wide as well.) The yarn is fab, the socks are lovely. I'm a happy sock knitter!

* I'm a rabid Ravelry-er, so many links point to Ravelry. This is your fair warning. If you aren't a member, sign up already!!

Time Flies

2008-08-04T08:16:00.001-07:00

Patient
Originally uploaded by allsmile

I can't believe my baby is getting so big! Just yesterday he decided he'd like to walk. I was sorta weepy all day, thinking of what a big boy he is and how quickly this year has gone.

Junior really is such a joy. I know I say that pretty much every time i talk about him, but it's true! He loves to play and laugh. I don't know how I'd make it through some days without knowing I get to go home and play with him.

Ok, so he can be a booger. he is REALLY curious and gets into everything. And now his favorite thing is to put EVERYTHING into his mouth. Every little piece of fluff on the floor, every crumb, everything. We are still having some trouble getting him to eat table foods without gagging, but junk off the floor he doesn't have any problem with.

Junior will be turning one year old on August 15th. We have a very small party planned, just my parents, Jaime's mom who is flying in from CT and us. We really wanted it to be a nice no-stress party for the people who love Junior most in the whole world.

My baby isn't a baby anymore!

Suburban Farmgirl?

2008-07-06T08:44:00.000-07:00

What can I say? I'm a total Violet (of Lime & Violet fame) follower. First she got me addicted to Plurk. And then, the Plurkette Hencircle. I tried to hold out, but they she mentioned a project. I LOOOVE projects. So this is project #1, my introduction.

I'm Vicki, hi. I have a wonderful husband, Jaime. We've been married for almost a year, but we've lived together for 6-ish years and been together for over 7. We have a sweet boy, Junior, who is almost 11 months old (can't believe that). His middle name is trouble, and he has the sweet smile and beautiful blue eyes to get away with most of it. Jaime and I are working to re-claim our relationship after adjusting to the baby.

I work for the US Geological Survey as a budget analyst. It isn't what I had always pictured myself doing, but I have a thing for numbers. I LOVE my job. I work with some wonderful people and, while I don't always understand what the scientists are doing, I know it's important work. I'm so lucky I can leave my baby with someone I totally trust, Jaime.

I used to have lots of hobbies, in the pre-Junior days. I'm also still adjusting to having a baby (and a job). I have just recently realized that I need to take care of myself. Even if it's just 20 minutes for an exercise video and an hour for knitting before bed, I need that me time. Eventually I will get back to reading (I miss you reading!) and scrapbooking (god knows I have the pictures now). I would love to really throw myself into quilting and spinning. And I've always been down for some random craftiness.

The only other big aspect of my life if my mom. She was diagnosed with breast cancer my freshman year of college (she put off telling me so I would be able to concentrate for finals). She opted for a double mastectomy, so fortunately that cancer hasn't been a problem since. Less than a year later, however, she was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in her uterus. This isn't a cancer that surgery can make go away, it just hides for a while. There is no recovery. Since then she has been through multiple rounds of chemo and radiation. She has had surgeries to remover tumors in her ureters and her lungs.

Sooo, why the desire to nourish my inner farmgirl? I need simplicity. I love the whole idea of creating. I also love the idea of the sisterhood, the connection. I have been thinking a lot about connecting lately, especially as it relates to my blog. I was thisclose to retiring the old blog. But I just couldn't do it. I love being able to share myself with this community.

For anyone visiting my blog for the first time, I hope I've given a pretty good picture of who I am. And if anyone else is still reading, hopefully I've shared something new. I can't wait to see what adventures and projects are coming up.

Mobile Bloggin' It

2008-05-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

So here I am in Denver. I'm here for the next two weeks for a work-related course. The hotel is fab (the Magnolia) and I have a vehicle from the office to get me around. Last time I went to a training I was stranded at the hotel with no way to get around. This time I'm armed with a car and the directions to four nearby yarn shops. Now I just need to find a McDonald's for food (whatever I don't use of my daily food allowance I get to keep).

I'm sorta excited to be here, out on my own. I've never lived on my own or traveled on my own so this is an adventure for me. And it's kida cool to be able to knit or read or whatever whenever I want.

Oh, but then there's this:

I miss my boys like crazy!!!

My Baby

2008-04-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

Junior is getting so big!

taken 3/28/08

And yes, that is Jaime's favorite oufit to dress him in.

I have probably said it before, but we really do have it pretty good with Junior. He sleeps well, he eats like a champ (we rarely even use a bib, Junior doesn't like to let food go to waste by making a mess), he holds his own bottle. And he's just so much fun! All the toys we'd gotten him are really getting some use now as he's starting to figure things out and realize that not everything is a chewtoy (ok, there's still a lot of chewing, but still).

taken 3/8/08

Just in the past month Junior has started "crawling." Of course his form isn't perfect, he looks like he's doing the army crawl through a trench, but he sure is mobile. Every time we put him down he goes straight for the TV/stereo cords, the little booger. And of course he has no patience for sitting nicely with boring Mom and Dad anymore. So we got him what I lovingly refer to as his cage.

taken 4/3/08

We have a relatively small apartment and there just really isn't any way we can baby proof even one room well enough that he can be left alone. So we set up this gate in his room. It is genius! He can play with all his toys and have room to move around (my problem with all the pack-n-plays we looked at) and when we want to join in we just open up one side.

Everyone keeps saying that before long he'll be pulling up and walking. I just want my baby to stay small for a little bit longer

Mission: SOCKS!

2008-04-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

Of course. As soon as I swore I wouldn't cast on till I finished Serendipity I lost all interest in it. Well, in my defense things got busy (busier than normal that is). So the last sock drug on a bit. But, they're done now and I'm IN LOVE!

They fit perfectly and they even survived a long day at work. I'm definitely a Socks that Rock convert. (For the record, I'm enjoying the mediumweight a bit more than the lightweight used here)

After wearing these socks Tuesday and an older pair of handknit socks Wednesday, I've come to a conclusion. It's a mission really. Life is much too short for poor-fitting socks! Nearly every sock I've knit to this point has been "great but." You know, great but a little loose, great but too short, great but bound off too tightly. Most of the time I knew the problem as soon as I tried the socks on, but decided it wasn't that big of a deal, or I just really wanted to be done with them.

NO MORE!!! These socks took a little more time, I mean it nearly killed me to have to rip back after I thought I was done, but it was so worth it. Now I have a pair of socks I look forward to wearing. From now on, I will not settle.

When Motivation And Energy Meet

2008-03-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

Until a couple weeks ago, I really hadn't knit since my trip (had to go to DC for a work-required class for a week in February).

Fortunately, Junior has slept through the night since about 7 weeks and not long after that he established a pretty regular schedule of going to be between 8 and 9. I generally don't make it to bed till at least 10:30 and sometimes later, so it seems like I'd have plenty of time to get in some knitting or anything else. Except I was tired. I work all day and then come home and play with/take care of Junior so Jaime can have a break. I never even get a chance to eat dinner till the kid is in bed. So mostly I would just sit between his bedtime and mine.

For some reason though, I've been feeling a lot less tired lately. Work has been going well and Junior really enjoys playing with all his toys, so I can maybe even manage some dinner while he's awake.

Add this new energy to my recent motivation, namely the Rockin' Sock Club and suddenly I'm knitting again.

I had started the first sock on my trip but never finished it. Then all of a sudden the next shipment seemed to be sneaking up on me. One glorious Saturday afternoon alone and a few good lunch hours and I've finished sock one and am making good progress on sock two.

I REALLY want to keep up with this club, if I do nothing else knitting related this year. I just received the March club shipment and can't wait to get started. I had finished my Serendipity socks last night and just wanted to take a few pictures. This is how one picture turned out.

Don't know if you can tell but the bottom sock is a wee bit shorter than the other. Yeah, I sorta forgot half a repeat of the pattern on the second sock. I was just so excited to finish it! So I ripped back and am patiently (haha) working my way towards the finish line again. My new yarn keeps staring at me though...

Hopefully I'll have some finished socks to show you very very soon!

All But Given Up

2008-03-17T10:18:00.001-07:00

I had basically given up on ye olde blog. Life was crazy (baby, work, holidays, baby, more baby). I didn't feel like I had anything to offer, maybe I still don't but whatever. Honestly, I was still adjusting and it is just now that I am finally feeling able to take some bits of time for myself. I know making time for myself is important, it is just something that I wasn't used to having to work on. I'll admit it, my life has been pretty easy and "me time" hasn't been hard to come by until just recently.

So in a nod to making myself a priority (not top priority mind you, but on the list at least), I've decided to come back to the blogging world. I missed you!

taken 3/6/08

Updates soon!!

We Made It

2008-01-04T17:05:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. Junior's first Christmas went pretty well. He got some fun toys that he can almost play with as well as the biggie, his jumper.

taken 12/25/07

He seems to like it, except when he becomes fixated with getting the frog into his mouth and he can't quite get it. Then he gets pissy.

I got some nice gifts too. Jaime got me a beautiful Knitter's Satchel from Jordana Paige, some super cute, sock-showing-off clogs and a couple other little things.

How Goes It?

2007-12-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

Slow ~~and steady~~. No, just slow. I've made some progress on the beret for my mom. I'm not terribly confident that it will work out though. See, the store bought one she had made her head hot and she blames wool. And I know she hates acrylic (a yarn snob and she doesn't even know it) so I decided to try a cotton linen blend, appropriately named CotLin from Knit Picks. I think I'll at least end up with a head covering of some sort, I'm just not sure how beret-like it will be.

No other progress has been made. Well, at least no other knitting progress.

Junior is making progress. A few nights ago he decided not to go to sleep until 1AM and used that extra time to come THISCLOSE to rolling over from his back. I was there cheering him on and he was just almost there a few times. But then he got tired (ok, we both got tired) so we gave up for the day. Now I'm convinced he just likes spending time on his side. He's even fallen asleep like that a couple times. Sooo cute.

Daily baby pic - check out that hair

taken 12/7/07

Ho Ho Ho

2007-12-03T08:28:00.000-08:00

So, what craziness have I gotten myself into with the Christmas knitting? I've never gotten too swept up in it, but this year (you know, since I have so much free time on my hands) I am way in. Here goes, in order of importance:

Beret for my mom (she'd like it before Christmas actually, ha)
Sweater for Junior (only need to sew in the sleeve and seam up one side)
Fingerless mitts for Jaime (he's wanted a pair for a while)
Shrug for cousin Christina (she's 4 months older than Junior, shouldn't take too long)
Hat for Jaime (to match mitts)
Cell cozy for mom (she keeps hers in a plastic baggie right now)
Stockings for Junior, Jaime, and I (maybe in time for next year...)

The worst part is that I haven't started any of it yet. I have a pattern for the beret, but I'm using a different sized yarn so I'll have to adjust. Same for the shrug. I'll be making up the mitt, hat and cell cozy patterns as I go. Wish me luck!

Daily Baby Pic

taken 10/24

Pay It Forward

2007-11-30T06:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I suck. Moving on...

I managed to get myself swept up in the newest blog craze, Pay It Forward. Here are the details:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I'm going to be getting something fabulous (I'm sure) from the lovely Ren. So, any takers?

(Not so) Daily Baby Pic

taken 10/23

Next time, my ambitious (for me) Christmas knitting list.

Day 8

2007-11-08T19:27:00.000-08:00

Although I still have a fair number of projects in various states of not-quite-done*, I have become pretty monogamous with my knitting. I don't have the time or brain power for more than one project at once! So what am I working on now?

My main project is a sock for Sockdown: Ravelry. I decided a couple months ago that my life wasn't crazy enough, and I should try to knit a pair of socks a month. Of course, the prizes don't hurt. I'm knitting my first sock from Sensational Socks and so far I'm loving it. I apparently have unusually wide feet, so it is nice to be able to adjust for that easily. I actually left my sock, or more accurately toe, in progress at work, hopefully I can get some pictures soon.

Another thing I'm working on every great once in a while is Junior's Trellis. I LOVE this sweater, but HATE seaming. So once a week or so I pick it up and sew up a seam. I'm going to have to pick up the pace though, as he's probably pretty darn close to fitting into it.

Annnnd since I left my sock at work, I think I'm about to cast on for the famous My So-Called Scarf. I've wanted one for so long...

Daily baby pic

taken today

*Yeah, I've given up on the sidebar for now. And I've even become too lazy to link. I'm really just holding out for the Ravelry sidebar.....

Day 7

2007-11-07T17:39:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I kinda missed a day. Whatever.

And I still haven't quite finished Miss Dashwood. But it looks finished...

Just needs another half an earflap and some buttons. I'm REALLY hoping Junior will go to bed before 11:30 tonight and I can finish it up.

I've really liked knitting this sweet little hat. It really wouldn't take very long, if I had more than 15 minutes a day to put into it. The pattern will definitely go onto my list of favorites.

Daily baby pic

taken today

Day 5

2007-11-05T20:40:00.000-08:00

After a long day of work, there is nothing like coming home to my sweet boys. Junior has gotten into a bit of a routine, a biorhythm perhaps. He wakes up happy and smiley. He's pretty content all morning and into the afternoon. Then, just around the time I get home, he gets grumpy. He eats but isn't completely satisfied with that. He naps a bit, but wakes up whiny. We don't dare put him to bed, if he'd stay asleep anyway which is doubtful, because if we do he'd probably be up at 2AM. SO he fusses and whines (admittedly with a few wonderful smiles in between) until bed time. At least this I don't take personally. It isn't me, just his natural rhythm.

Daily baby pic

taken 9/21, so much for new pics everyday

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have an FO report to share :)

Day 4

2007-11-04T09:52:00.001-08:00

This was just all fun and games. But then Jaime and I made a bet of who could make it the whole month posting every day. Now this is serious business. His link is in my sidebar, Can You Dig That? , if you happen to be interested in video games.

We're already to Sunday again, which is bittersweet. I love my Sundays, expecially during football season. I try my hardest not to have a reason to leave the house. Junior has the right idea.

Daily baby pic

taken today*

But of course Sunday means tomorrow is Monday. Oh well. For now, the Chiefs are about to play, Junior is napping and I get a chance to make some more progress on Miss Dashwood. My kind of day.

*I am going to try to post current pics from now on. Ya know, instead of reaching back to September like I had to yesterday...

Day 3

2007-11-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

Lately, Junior has been eating more. Like, quite a bit more. Two weeks ago, I pumped so much that we had to freeze 3 bottles worth. But this week, this week Junior has had 3 bottles of formula. Like I wasn't having enough self-esteem issues in the motherhood area. I was just getting over feeling like Jaime and Junior didn't need me, and now they sorta don't. I hate that I can't make enough milk to satisfy him. Ugh.

To look on the bright side, Junior is happy and healthy. Evenings can be a little rough when he starts getting tired, but he sleeps allllll night and wakes up all smiley. And he's probably growing if he's eating more.

Daily baby pic

taken 9/30, with my dad

I love that sweet boy so much

Day 2*

2007-11-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

I've been home since 6 and this is the first time I've been able to do something without Junior. I had to eat my dinner with him laying on my lap. Someone is being a little difficult today.

So, Halloween is over and apparently the holiday season has begun. As in previous years, I've planned a few gift knits, but nothing too elaborate. Jaime and Junior need a few things. I'd like to make something for my mom and dad. I'm even thinking of keeping the family socks thing going with some holiday socks for us all.

Of course, I have a few other things to finish first...

Daily baby pic:

taken 10/4

*Let's face it, coming up with a post everyday is one thing. Coming up with a clever title is just beyond me.

NaBloPoMo

2007-11-01T19:34:00.000-07:00

So here we are, at the first post for National Blog Post Month (NaBloPoM0) in which I attempt to post every single day for a whole month. Yeah, I'm a joiner. I figured that a month of posts might get me back on track here. Or bore us all to death, we'll see.

Today was a really good day. Jaime was FINALLY able to bring Junior to my job to show off. Of course everyone loved him :) Actually, he got the best compliment to date. A man at my job said that Junior looks really smart (and then added "like his mother," which I didn't mind hehe). Everyone says how cute he is, and of course I agree. But most babies are. It just meant a lot that someone saw something else. I guess I've always been more about brains than looks.

Yesterday my new-mom buddy in the office stopped by to show off her sweet little girl. She'll be returning to work next week, so I've gone into overdrive trying to knit something sweet for her. She made it to my shower and gave me a great gift, but Junior was really new when she had her shower so I missed it. So now I get to make it up. I'm making a soft yellow bonnet, Miss Dashwood. So far, I'm only on the picot cast-on.

Better get back to knitting!

Happy Halloween

2007-10-31T18:37:00.000-07:00

Changes

2007-10-27T00:11:00.000-07:00

This new life of mine is just filled with changes. I've always been big on continuity, stability. Change scares me. I get really anxious when I have to go to a new place or try something new, even when I know it will be good. But lately, I've come to embrace the changes that are taking place. Looking back at all the changes I've been through, I realize that everything that has happened to me has happened for a reason, to get me to this amazing place where I am now. For once in my life, I wouldn't trade places with anyone.

So, it's been a month since I've posted and so much has happened I hardly know where to begin.
I'm now back at work and that has gone so much better than I thought. I really enjoy what I do. I love the people that I work with. Being back at work makes me feel human again. I have a reason to get dressed in the morning, I am more than a pair of breasts. And Jaime is just AMAZING as a stay-at-home dad. Of course, he's almost too amazing. Ever since Junior got home, I've felt that Jaime was just a bit more in tune with the him. That has become even more apparent now. Jaime always knows what Junior needs, can always make him laugh or "talk." It's hard not to feel like my being gone everyday means missing out on the bonding. I've gone from the one Junior needed every 2 hours to feeling like they don't need me at all. I'm trying to frame the situation, and remember that it is good that Junior is home with someone who loves him and who is so good with him.

My mom is back to doing chemo. Can't remember what the last update I gave on her was, but they found a tumor in each lung that were recurrences of her leiomyosarcoma. They were able to remove both and now she's doing one week a month of chemo in the hospital. She has had a few issues with this round, but overall she's still doing really well. Of course, she is just completely in love with Junior. I try to make sure that they get plenty of time together, even though she isn't able to babysit anymore.

Life means change, especially with a sweet boy growing so much everyday. Guess I better get used to it.

Victory!

2007-09-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

As I speak, Junior is slumbering away...in his crib! I really don't think he's slept there since his first week. Man do I regret letting him get out of that habit. We finally decided that it was time for him to learn to sleep on his own and not on top of one of us, especially since I go back to work next week (eek!). I hadn't had much luck, but today it just clicked and he's had two good naps there. My secret is a swaddler that my mom got from a garage sale. I was just never able to wrap him up tight enough and he'd always startle himself awake with his flailing.

Actually, it's been a big couple of days for the little guy. Yesterday out of the blue I decided to try feeding him without a shield and he's been eating fine without it ever since. I started on a nipple shield in the hospital when he was having difficulty latching on and while I'd tried without it a couple times, it just never seemed worth the screaming. Now I feel so free! I can nurse him anywhere without needing to worry about having pillows just right and a clean shield. And on a lesser note he has officially switched to size 1 diapers.

In other news, Friday Jaime and I got married. We've been married through common law for a bit, but we (I) wanted it to be official. As soon as I get the chance, I'll be going down the the Social Security office to chance my name. It's all very surreal

Freedom

2007-09-10T08:49:00.000-07:00

I'm temporarily baby-less and it feels so good. Jaime took Junior to the store so I could have a few minutes to breathe. It's nice being able to knit (or blog) without having to worry about whether he'll need me rightthisverysecond. We even get to go out for a birthday (mine was Saturday) dinner tonight while my mom watches the baby.

So far I've eaten two chocolate chip cookies for breakfast, knit a bit on my forget-me-not socks, and posted this. Who knows what kid of craziness I'll do next!

Here's a newer shots of my handsome boy. I can't stay away from him for long. He's getting to be such a big boy.

I love that little guy more than I could have imagined, but he can be such a booger. He sleeps a fair amount, and even for some decent stretches at night, but he can only sleep on one of us or in his bouncy seat. I've been sleeping on our couch for over a month (it was more comfortable for the last week or so of being pregnant as well) because he won't sleep in his bassinet or crib (and so that Jaime can get some sleep since he's still working). I seriously miss bed.

I really have to say that this mother thing is so much harder than I expected. I know that sounds dumb, I should have known. But with my experience with kids and infants I thought I had an advantage. Well, I don't know if I've been working with numbers for too long or if kids this young are just a different animal (my best guess), but I have NO advantage. It's better now, but I've had some rough moments when he won't stop crying and nothing is working and I just break down. I'm supposed to be good at this and know how to make him feel better and sometimes I just don't. I'm so logical that in my mind when he cries he must want one of a finite set of things that have made him happy in the past and when none of those work I feel helpless.

Ok, end of vent. Despite those moments I'm really enjoying this new little person.

Two Weeks Later

2007-08-30T06:14:00.000-07:00

And a crazy two weeks it had been. A public thanks for all the recent comments, I haven't had nearly enough time to respond to each; I haven't even sent out baby announcements yet, eek. We won't even talk about his baby book... or knitting.

But I think I have time for the abbreviated birth story. Well, we went in Tuesday the 14th to get ready for induction, and they started the pitocin Wednesday morning. I was in labor through most of the day, even got to have an epidural put in twice. The doctor came to visit around mid-morning and said that twice Junior had reacted negatively to contractions and we could either keep trying or just go ahead with a cesarean. I was a little scared by the though of having a surgery and having to recover while taking care of a newborn, so I opted to wait and see how things progressed. But by afternoon I wasn't making much progress and Junior had another episode of lowered heart rate, so I ended up having an "emergency" c-section. Sadly the epidural didn't end up working well enough, so I had to be put to sleep and Jaime had to leave the room. Not what we had envisioned, but at 4:46 Junior was born. After a bunch of fuss over him being too big according to ultrasounds, he came out at 6 pounds 14 ounces and by Friday had shrunk down to 6 lbs 6 oz. We were all pretty surprised.

Since then of course it's been all baby all the time. He still hasn't quite gotten down this night versus day thing. Each day seems a little better than the last as we figure him out. Thank God for Jaime; he's been amazing. Although I was the one with all the baby experience, admittedly not with any this young, he is often much more in tune than I am. We've seen the doctor twice since getting home and Junior is growing and doing just fine, up to a full 7 pounds as of yesterday.

I haven't managed to ruin him yet!!

Introducing

2007-08-18T13:06:00.000-07:00

Junior

and his Pinwheel Blanket.

Making Progress

2007-08-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

So, no baby yet. But getting closer. Baby J's still doing great. I'm due Monday the 13th and we decided that if nothing happens we'll be inducing Wednesday morning. I'll actually be going in Tuesday night to get things ready and then they'll start the pitocin Wednesday bright and early. We were really hoping that things would happen a little sooner, but I'm really ok with everything.

I've been so focused on how uncomfortable I am, always wondering whether this new sensation meant that I was going into labor. Every day I'd think that maybe this was the day. It was exhausting! So even though it could still happen at any time, I still am relieved to have a scheduled time. I really feel like for the next week I will just be sure and enjoy being pregnant and not worry (too much) about what is coming next.

There's been knitting progress too. I have been working on my Forget-Me-Not socks. I found this sweet pattern on Ravelry and actually decided to cast on after joining the Sockdown there. The idea is to knit a pair of socks based each month based on either the theme or designer of the month. This month the theme is lace and I just decided to jump in. Really didn't need another project, but oh well.

And since finding out that I have another week till hospital time, I have cast on for the second in the pair of Twinkletoes slippers. I knit the first one a while ago thinking that it'd be nice to have something special to wear in the hospital, but then had issues with the second and had to rip. Well now they're moving forward again.

Yeah, I think I might be rebelling against all the blue. But, I'm making progress!

Waiting

2007-08-05T17:41:00.000-07:00

That's the name of the game for now. Baby J is officially due the 13th but could decide to make his appearance just any time. Every time I feel something even the slightest bit new or different, I'm convinced that I'm going into labor. I know that I just need to be patient, but that isn't my strongest virtue.

Other than being a bit stubborn, the little one is doing just fine. I really can't complain either, although this heat isn't so much fun. As long as I'm sitting down and I'm in the AC I'm great though. Just can't wait to meet him!!

I've actually been getting in some good knitting time recently, thanks mostly in part to finally getting into Ravelry. I won't go on and on about it, but suffice it to say that I'm completely hooked. My nickname is Allsmile, feel free to look me up if you're already signed up. I can't wait until it is public so everyone can get involved and we can get even more fun features. Ok, so I'm really just looking forward to not having to mess with my sidebar anymore...

So, what have I been knitting? Well, there was some baby knitting going on. I finished up a nice soft pinwheel blanky that is safely tucked away in Baby J's diaper bag. I figure he'll need something nice and homemade while in the hospital. I was hoping that finishing the blanket would be enough to entice him out, but no such luck. After knitting on that for a couple days straight to finish it, I was about done with baby stuff for the moment. I still have another blanket on the needles, his Trellis which is paused way too close to being done, and a sweet bootie needing some seaming and a mate.

Since finishing the pinwheel, I've really been working on just two projects: MS3 and a pair of socks. I signed up for the last Mystery Stole, but never got around to starting it. This time I have really gotten into it! Not enough to keep up with the clues, but still. Here's my progress so far.

More on the socks (and hopefully baby pictures) next time.

Just A Meme, For Now

2007-05-25T08:22:00.000-07:00

Everything is still going great, just too lazy/boring to post :)

Bold for stuff you've done, italics for stuff you plan to do one day, and normal for stuff you're not planning on doing.

Afghan/Blanket (baby)
I-cord
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl (wrap?)
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with camel yarn
Mittens: Cuff-up
Mittens: Tip-down
Hat
Knitting with silk
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Slip stitch patterns
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Knitting with soy yarn
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
Teaching a child to knit
American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Knitting to make money
Button holes
Knitting with alpaca
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dying with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting for a living
Knitting with cotton
Knitting smocking
Dying yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Knitting with wool
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backward
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Knitting with cashmere
Darning
Jewelry
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting with linen
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public

Makes me feel rather accomplished, although I don't relaly consider myself to be. More updates later.

2007-04-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

So, I'm due August 13th. Less than 130 days away, not that I'm counting.

And the knitting has definitely begun. I started with Trellis in a nice neutral before I found out the sex. I've also nearly finished a cute pair of booties in a soft yellow. I would have gotten more knitting done if not for my obscene tiredness until recently and the whole summer baby thing. I just can't imagine using TOO many knits for a couple months. Although I'm sure there will be some cute fallish items in the future. Jaime is a bit put off by my obsession with hoodies with little ears. Pictures to come.

And that obscene tiredness is the biggest reason for my long absence. I was so tired that I'd get home at 6 and just sleep. I didn't have the energy for knitting, which is pretty sad. I kept rationalizing in my head, "I'm probably just still adjusting to work and school, a month later" Makes a lot more sense now.

The Story

2007-04-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

So, it's late February. Life is going really well, I've started making money and surprisingly enough that means we have more of it. I have accepted a job offer for after graduation that is an amazing opportunity (more about all that later).

It's also quite cold, and I've noticed that lately certain parts of me aren't happy with the cold, in fact they stay quite uncomfortable even 30 minutes after the rest of me is totally cozy. So, as I've done a million times in jest, I start telling Jaime I think I'm pregnant. Yeah, cause remember how a week ago you had canned spaghetti and I couldn't stand the smell of it? And I've been emotional even more than usual, right? I never actually believed myself, I just like to scare him. But the next day, I sorta kinda stared convincing myself. In fact, I was afraid enough it might be true that I said I didn't want to take a test.

Except, that the next day I was supposed to get the HPV shot, which you are NOT supposed to have while pregnant. So I thought that I really had to know for sure before I did anything terribly stupid. We got a test, and I couldn't wait till morning like they suggest.

The line for pregnant came up so fast I thought it was the control line. We had to sit with the instructions for a while before we were sure. I was not only pregnant, but VERY pregnant. Wow.

We were both completely shocked and scared for what this would mean for our plans. I was convinced that my new job would change their mind. Jaime was afraid that he wouldn't be able to get his PS3. And we didn't really want to believe it just from the home test. And this whole time we are completely unsure of how far along I am. Considering that it had been, ahem, a slow month, we figured it was probably from about a month beforehand.

The next day I went to my ob/gyn when I was supposed to for the shot, but instead asked for a blood test. They gave me one and scheduled an appointment for 3 weeks. Seriously?!? No one should have to wait 3 weeks with something like this. I survived, but went a little crazy.

The blood test came back positive, as we really knew it would, and we were starting to come to grips with it. Making new plans. Getting excited. Hmmm, that would mean about October. OK, plenty of time.

Then, during one of many doctor visits around that time (endocrinologist, nutritionist, diabetic counselor, etc) we got the first chance for an ultrasound. It was about to become really really real. We told them that we figured I was maybe 8 or 9 weeks along.

But as soon as they touched me with the ultrasound they said, "No way only 8 weeks, it looks like a real baby," And it did. There wasn't just a little bean in me, but a nearly whole person. With feet and fingers and a nose. Oh, and a stick instead of a hole. A BOY!

A Tease

2007-03-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

More updates to come :)

Seriously?

2006-12-06T07:56:00.000-08:00

More gauge fun! So I said I was done with my multidirectional scarf and that I love it. Well, I spoke too soon. I love half of it. And the other half makes me nuts. Here's the evidence.

See how the end on the left, the cast on end, is nice and tight and lovely? And the other end is wider and sloppy looking?? Yeah, that sucks. So I found about where it seems to go bad (just a little less than halfway through) and I've decided to rip back and fix it. I haven't decided yet whether I should go down a needles size or just consciously knit tighter. Right now I don't want to think about it.

Then we have the sock I just picked back up. I'm finally going to finish those (Not) Padded Footlets that I've been (not) working on forever (I think I'm so clever). So I pick up the beginnings of sock 2 and go along my merry way. I try on what I have of sock 2 with the completed sock 1, and sock 2 seems a bit wider. Hmmm, strange I think, but I continue. Then, 20 rows later, it hits me. I was supposed to be decreasing for the gusset this whole time. For some reason when I picked them up I got it in my head that I had finished that part. Sooooo I rip back those 20-some rows on 0 needles with 90-some stitches.

And I'm DECREASING merrily along when I actually look at the sock. Hmmm, now the lacey motif in the center looks a little funny. Like, it isn't quite as tidy as the rest. I tried capturing photographic evidence of this, but it didn't work so well. 20 rows later (again) I realize that I have been knitting at a looser gauge since I picked it back up. Ok, people, this is like three projects in a row. SERIOUSLY?? This time the culprit was my knitting style. I used to sorta throw with my left hand, but in the past couple months I've taught myself to pick while holding the yarn in my left hand. Pretty similar, just a slight difference in which hand does the most moving. But apparently enough to screw me over. I switch back to my old method and things look lovely again. I don't have the heart to rip back again, but I don't think it will bother me so much on socks. *SIGH*

Will I ever learn? Stay tuned.

Updates

2006-11-29T09:28:00.000-08:00

Motivation on all fronts is getting really low. Now that I made it past Thanksgiving break I'm just really ready for winter break. So for today, a fun updates post.

Knitting: I finished my lovely multidirectional scarf last night. LOVE IT! It needs a blocking, but I want it ready for wearing so that'll probably wait. For some reason I've been having some serious gauge issues recently. This is the second project that has changed gauge midway through, although the first was after a bit of a pause and I made the mistake of switching needles partway through this one. It's just getting a bit annoying. Guess I'll just have to be more careful about it.

The reason I switched needles partway through my scarf was that I got in my first order from Knitpicks. Yeah, I'm a little behind, as usual. So I finally decided to try out their new needle system. I've had trouble with Addi's so I wasn't sure whether to bother, but I couldn't resist. The verdict---well I absolutely love them, and I thought things were going well. But I'm starting top see some trouble around the joins. The finish is wearing off just like with Addi's. I still haven't given up, if it just stays in that tiny area it might be ok, but I'm afraid it's a sign of things to come.

School: As I mentioned, no motivation. Finals are coming up and I really should be studying for an investments test. But it'll be over soon and then only one more semester. I'm not ready to leave yet!

Job Search: I still haven't heard from any of the prospects yet. I have heard that the government takes forever to get around to that though, so I guess I'm not totally defeated yet. And there are other jobs out there I'm sure. I have heard back from the US Geological Survey about a part time job doing some light accounting and filing type stuff. It seems like things are progressing and they must be interested, but now I'm waiting for paperwork and such. More money is always good :)

WW: I've had a bad few weeks as I got totally off plan and was just eating whatever. I've been trying really hard this week to do better, but I'm not sure how well it's working. Again, my motivation is slightly lacking. I've been using all the stuff that's been going on as an excuse, and I'm very convincing!

Life: Besides all that, things haven't been that exciting. My aunt and uncle were here from Louisiana a few weeks ago and we had some fun, but most of it involved antique/thrift store shopping which isn't really my thing. For Thanksgiving my mom and I cooked for Jaime and my dad. It went pretty well, although Jaime keeps whining because we didn't use any salt.

Spinning: Hah! I'm hoping to get back to that soon, really.

So, that's the past month of my life in a nutshell. I'm getting seriously in the mood for Christmas. Hopefully I'll be able to get a good shot of my scarf for you soon. Have a great week!

KMKS Questionnaire

2006-11-12T08:14:00.000-08:00

Are you allergic to any fibers? Nope!

What are your favorite colors? Absolute fave is pink, but I'm pretty open to color. I'm not a huge fan of primaries or pastels.

Are you a new mitt knitter? How long have you been knitting mittens? I've knit gauntlets and fingerless gloves/mitts. I'm not too worried about being able to handle a mitt pattern though.

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? Uh, both? Depends on the pattern I guess. On something as small as mitts I definitely wouldn't mind a pretty handpaint.

What fibers do you prefer in mitten yarn? Natural fibers, wool and the like. Not a big acrylic fan.

Where do you usually knit mittens? I do most of my knitting at home. A bit while waiting for classes or appointments.

How do you usually carry/store small projects? I have one little project bag (pink silky lantern moon beauty) other than that I use drawstring plastic bags from my lys. Sad, really.

What are your favorite mitten patterns? Don't really have any. Just got a book with some lovely two color patterned mittens that I'm drawn to. Cables are nice too. I'm not picky!

What are your favorite mitten knitting techniques? See above

What new techniques would you like to try? See above

What are your favorite needles for knitting mittens? Double points, probably bamboo although I don't mind metal either. No addi's though, we don't get along well.

What are some of your favorite yarns? HUGE cascade 220 fan. Love anything soft. Not a big fan of yarns that are sheddy (I'm looking at you Lamb's Pride!)

What yarn do you totally covet? Not sure it's mitt related, but the yarn I must have someday is Jade Sapphire Cashmere in vintage rose color. It's a wee bit expensive though.

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? As far as mitts, again I'm really feeling the two color "fair isle" mittens.

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? See above

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? I'm gonna go with my Cascade 200. I'm pretty plain (in a good way) but practical and soft.

Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Not a big chocolate fan. Love gummy anything.

What's your favorite animal? Piggies!

Would you prefer super warm mittens or something more like fingerless mitts? At this point I really need something warmer, but there's always room for another pair of fingerless mitts too.

If you were a color what color would you be? Hm, I'd say I'm a combo of pink and brown. I have a very girly side (and obviously love pink), but in reality I'm a pretty simple girl. I don't dress up much and don't NEED to be girly at all times.

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature? Right now I'm really inspired by the lovely autumn leaves. I think the characteristics of the different seasons really inspire me.

Do you have a wishlist? Not really.

Fighting Startitis

2006-11-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

Well, not fighting too hard. I've started two very happy projects in the past couple weeks. Of course there are still probably five more I'd like to start. I was doing so well with clearing out old projects too. Ah well, they won't mind waiting a little longer.

So here they are, the two I just can't stop working on.

On the left we have "Mediterranean Lace" from A Gathering of Lace. It is just divine. I'm using some lovely alpaca laceweight I've had in my stash forever just waiting for the right pattern. I have had a craving for some lace, though I'm not completely sure where I'd wear lace, but was having such a hard time finding something that appealed to me. I'm a bit picky about my lace apparently. For those who aren't familiar with it, this shawl as written has the beginnings of a regular triangular shawl in the back, but then it has two rectangles that make the front look more like a long stole. I'm leaning towards just making a straight triangle... We'll see.

On the right is my multidirectional scarf. I've seen these all over blogland (about 4 years ago of course) and have loved the pattern but just never found a good candidate for yarn. I probably shouldn't say this, as I've never actually knit with it, but I'm not a big Noro fan. To me they all feel pretty scratchy and for some reason I have trouble finding colorways that I like. But then I saw this Rowan Tapestry. The colors are amazing and it is SO SOFT! I couldn't resist this lovely autumnal colorway.

One requires a bit of concentration and the other is prefect for my podcast knitting. I could just knit on those two all day. Unfortunately, as it always goes, just as soon as I thought things were slowing down I got really busy again. I'm getting ready to graduate in May, so the job search is on. I went through what I now know to be the first round of on campus interviews at the beginning of October, but nothing came of them. I was trying to keep my spirits up and just figured that after the new year I'd start looking in papers and applying to companies I've heard of in the area. And then a week ago I was offered the opportunity for two more interviews, the first of which is tomorrow. *Sigh* I really want to get a job lined up so I can just enjoy the rest of school, but I so seriously hate interviews.

And to make things even more complicated, one of the jobs I'm interviewing for wants me to move to Cincinnati in a year. I don't really mind the move in itself. I mean, I love KC but Jaime and I have talked about moving. The thing is that I hate to leave my mom when her cancer could return at any time. If this job was my last resort, I would do it cause I must get a job. But I feel like there are still opportunities in town that I haven't checked out yet. If they offer me a job in two weeks though, I just don't know how I'll handle it.

Well, this has gotten you pretty much up-to-date on stuff in my world. Now if the interviewing and homework gods will just let me keep up.

Have a great day!

Such A Sucker

2006-10-31T14:49:00.000-08:00

for a good swap! I totally missed out on the KSKS so I'm super excited to get in on the KMKS (Knit Mitt Kit Swap). You should all join so we can all play together. It'll be fuuuun!

Happy Halloween!

Socktoberfest Parade

2006-10-28T13:35:00.000-07:00

Remember in elementary school when everyone put on their Halloween costumes an hour before school got out and paraded through the school and playground? This is sort of like that. But with socks. And less cupcakes.

These are my most recent pair of socks. They're the famous (or infamous depending on who you are) Jaywalkers. I've loved this pattern forever, but got a little worried when bloggers were saying that they don't have much stretch. I have thick ankles, no stretch is no good. So I made them from a nice stretchy yarn (Fixation) and made them shorter so as not to cut off circulation to my ginormous calves. I ADORE them!

Next comes another pair for Jaime. He never really wears the other socks I made him (he claims they're too nice to wear...) but I can't blame him cause they are pretty big. But after seeing the thicker socks I made for my mom and dad he had to have some. These fit much better and he loves them. His feet were occupied at time of post. Now will he wear them?

With the leftovers from Jaime's socks I couldn't help making these cute little sockies. They also used up some of my leftover fun fur. I knew keeping all that crap would come in handy someday. These socks are destined to warm some Mongolian toes through the Dulaan Project.

Last and somewhat least is my not exactly socklike, but still foot related, effort. I love love love these things. I sorta funked up the bottom, but they are so comfy. And super cute in my fave color.

As always, more details can be found on my project page (link on left side). And you can click on the pictures to see a bigger version, but I will warn you that no shaving was involved in the taking of these pictures.

Coming soon, my new project and life updates. Have a great weekend!

Kansas City Girl

2006-10-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Yep, this is what I'm doing today.

Although I have a test Tuesday, school has actually settled down for a week. So I can enjoy a nice Sunday of football and knitting (and maybe even some podcasts) without feeling guilty about it.

More about that somewhat fuzzy project soon.

Hope you're enjoying your Sunday too!

Coming Soon

2006-10-16T18:46:00.000-07:00

That's right. I've missed you guys so much I just can't stay away much longer! Things are still a little nuts, but I'm getting into the groove of being in school again and the time budget has some room. Actually, I've secretly been reading a few blogs for a few days now.

I want to get the sidebar updated before I jump in, it always seems to get behind so I figure it'll be easier if I start out caught up. But after that I'll have plenty of news to share. And even some finished projects perhaps...

Busy, And A Pause

2006-08-30T10:07:00.000-07:00

Everything is going pretty well. I don't get to knit or read (for fun) nearly as much as I'd like of course. But school is great and I'm still really motivated. Normally by now I'd be skipping classes.

I think this weight loss has just really changed things for me. It's strange, I had to get to a place where I really liked myself before I could start losing weight. And now that I'm losing weight and taking care of myself I just keep feeling better and better. I feel more in control of my life and like maybe I really can handle the stuff coming up. I almost feel ready for the big changes, not terrified of them. I want to do well in my classes and I enjoy being in school. I am still a bit nervous about the job search, but I feel like I have a lot of things going for me and someone will realize that and hire me. Some of my laziness has gone away too. Now sure, I can still enjoy a lazy day now and then, but it feels really good to get up and accomplish things.

All this is to say, I am really enjoying life, probably more than I ever have. And of course that means being busy. Didn't mean for this to get so long or mushy. Anyway, I'm going to take a break from blogging. I just can't keep up with all you, my good friends, let alone keep you updated on me. Maybe after the craziness of recruitment is over I'll be able to get back into it.

Hope everyone has a great fall! I'll be back before you know it :)

School

2006-08-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah, that's pretty much all I've been up to. Not a lot of craftiness going on, I've been doing homework. The first few days of classes have gone pretty well. I don't think any of them should be too tragically difficult, just lots of reading and junk. Always fun.

I found out from a friend yesterday that I'm probably not going to have to get any grad level classes. This was the best news ever! See, I want to get a CPA (certified public accountant certification) but the things KU had always sent me said I needed to have 5 credits of grad level accounting to get it. Yeah, turns out that's only because I need 30 total acct credits and they only offer 25 for undergrads. Soooo, I can save tons of money (like thousands) by going to the community college for some easy accounting credits. My problems are so solved! Now I just have to find a job (for after graduation, my "real" job) in the next 3 months and I'll be completely set. Heh, wish me luck. Actually, now that the CPA weight is off my shoulders I am feeling relatively confident, which should help some.

WW Update
Yeah, the downward spiral continued. After my trip to Outback which I mentioned last post, and a couple other slip ups when I decided I "deserved" a break, I had a bit of a gain, up 1.8 pounds. Frankly I was afraid it would be a lot worse. But, this week I have totally gotten back on track. I have been exercising religiously (and actually sort of enjoying it) and being very good about my eating. I made a plan for school that is really working for me and just getting out of the apartment everyday and DOING things has me more motivated. I'm really hoping to lose what I've gained and then some this weekend. *knock on wood*

I'll try and scrap together a crafty update soon. Have a great day!!

Preparations

2006-08-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of several days of getting ready for school to start. Tomorrow is the big day. I am the type who makes a big deal of starting a new semester. I like to have some fresh supplies (a new pen and pencil is a MUST) for the fresh start. So yesterday was spent almost entirely shopping for these things. Today, I've been cleaning my spaces (have to have some order for my fresh start) and getting my backpack ready. I even have a brand new book and knitting project in my bag for use during breaks tomorrow. Yeah, I'm a little nuts. But I have fun.

Knitting has come to almost a complete standstill, thanks mostly to a good (long) library book that's due Saturday and a new video game that I can't seem to put down. I did break out my spiral scarf* last night for some tv watching, but that's about it. I really am trying to get something (ANYTHING) finished for UFO August, but I just don't see it happening. If nothing else, it has been good motivation to get out my long-ignored projects. And (besides the requisite new knitting for school) I am dedicated to finishing these projects before starting anything else.

WW Update
Yeah, downward spiral here. So, I had a tiny gain last week, up .2 pounds. Which didn't discourage me too much really, especially considering the amount of salt I had the night before. But then this week I have been just totally off plan. From a trip to Outback to a couple fast food incidents, it hasn't been pretty. But I'm back on track today and ready for the big changes tomorrow. I was afraid that going back to school would ruin my diet as I had gotten into a bit of a routine, but I have a plan that should work.

I'll report back after my first day. Have a great day!

*I'm too lazy to link, but if you ever want more info on my projects, there are links on the sidebar to my project blog. It has pictures and stats for all my past and current projects. Just FYI :)

In Which A Bad Weekend Makes For Good Crafting

2006-08-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

It's all over. That's a plus. So Jaime's car tags expired at the end of July. But being broke now, and with the promise of money coming out our ears by mid-month, we really had no choice but to wait for the money to get him new tags. But I'm not doing a darn thing, so he had been taking my car to work. No biggie. Not ideal maybe, but nothing terrible.

Until Friday (only the 4th), when we both woke up from an afternoon nap (hey, just cause I don't do anything doesn't mean I can't get tired...) to find that his car was gone. We assumed that someone in the apartment office had it towed. Yeah, great! Jaime flipped out and after I finally calmed him down we spent the rest of the night trying to remember what "normal" was supposed to feel like. He talked to someone in the office Saturday, but she only works on Saturdays and had no idea what was going on. She seemed to deny that they had anything to do with it, suggested we try the police, and gave the name of the tow company they use. Hmmm, first hint that things weren't adding up.

So we searched for the phone number for this tow company, but they had no listing in the phone book or online. Must not get much business that way huh? Called the police station and they said that they can't tow a car from private property. Haha. Another dead end.

Meanwhile my wonderful Mommy, whom I may never speak ill of again, assured me that by Monday she would be able to get us the money we'd need to get the car back. Sure, she'd already given me $60 so we could pay our rent, but she's just that good. I got a lot of knitting done that weekend. Not much sleep, but my nervous fingers were flying! Here's some proof.

In honor of UFO August I've gone back to working on my Clapotis. It is so slow! And, I'm going to need another skein to make it as long as I want it. But I made progress none the less. You can click here for a close-up.

Sunday I went with my dad to Topeka (1.5-ish hours away) to see my Aunt Cathy in the hospital. She has been there for over a week now with some bad bladder infection turn kidney infection. I assume she isn't home yet, as I told my dad to keep my updated, but she was doing a bit better when I saw her. (Her kidney function was up to 25% and she had pretty much stopped hallucinating) On the trip, I got some work done on my socks. Gotta love passenger knitting.

Monday we called the office to get the number of the tow company. She apologized up and down, claiming that the tow company makes a sweep every so often and she didn't know whose car it was and she's soo so so so sorry. Hmmm. And gave us a cell phone number for the tow company. We called, they had the car. WOOOHOO! Yes it sucks, but it's better than it being stolen. Oh, and they'll even tow it back. No need to go to them. Again, I find this whole thing VERY ODD. But we want the darn car back, so ok.

We got the money they told us we needed, plus a little towards the car tags which we had to go get that day too. They called and said they were on their way, and to watch for them at around 11:45. Jaime, not wanting to miss them, goes outside at 11:30. At 12:30 they call and say they're running late (really??) and are probably 15 minutes away. At 1:00 they finally show. I watch from a window, and notice that they are having to jump start the car to get it parked. Hmmm, is that normal? I don't know much about cars, obviously.

Jaime comes back upstairs, not so happy. Turns out that the battery is beyond dead. The power locks wouldn't even work. The tow guys claim that the dome light was on when they picked it up. I don't believe it for a second myself. Oh, and they tried to charge us an additional $50 for towing the car back here. Which they didn't mention when totaling the charges over the phone and giving us no choice in the matter. Jaime said he only had $25 extra and they decided that was ok. People can be so kind.

So the car was back in the lot. And after an hour sitting on the floor at the DMV, we even had it's new tags on it. Sure, it won't move, but at least we know where it is. Jaime decided that he could change the battery, now we just needed the money to buy a new one. He was going to ask his boss for a loan, but he was away for a few days and it was making Jaime crazy not to have his car, and this whole ordeal, fixed and done. So I asked my mom for a wee bit more money. I will not complain the next time she asks me to vacuum the ceiling for her. At least not out loud.

Yesterday, Jaime got the battery and switched them out. I was terrified that after all this, something else would go wrong, but it seemed to do the trick. AHHHHHHHHHH!

I've also gone back to spinning again. I've been doing one length every day, and I can see such an improvement over the last skein I spun up. It isn't completely even, but much much more so. And I'm getting pretty good at adding in a new length of roving and even at reattaching the roving when there's a break. Those two things have been giving me the most problems so it's nice to be figuring them out. Of course, I still spin the spindle, park it and then draft, but it works for me so I'm not stressing it.

WW Update
I lost another good amount this past week, 4.2 pounds. I've so far lost 22.4 pounds and I'm so happy. I'm just a little over 10 pounds away from making my big 10% mark and I'm hoping to have it gone before my birthday in September. Wish me luck!

Have a great week everyone. I sure am going to try to :)

August Already??

2006-08-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

Sakes! I start school again on the 17th. Guess I better get in as much lazy time as possible before then, huh? hehe

Here's a picture of that yarn I mentioned spinning. It's about 60 yards of, uh, some kinda wool, and just all over the place as far as gauge. Mostly pretty bulky though I'd have to say. Oh, and with SEVERAL knots from some plying incidents. But I'm thinking they'll just add character if I ever knit it up. Click here for a close up.

I actually haven't gotten back to spinning since finishing up this little skein. I was really enjoying it, but I did all the plying in one sitting and it got me a bit frustrated. And I've actually been somewhat seriously looking at wheels, which doens't motivate me to use the spindle much. I enjoyed using the wheel MUCH more. I'm thinking today I might pick up the spindle again...

It seems that there has been a UFO bug going around blogland lately. I actually joined the August UFO KAL to encourage me to finish up some projects before the fall knitting season. Check the sidebar for the link. My UFO's are all listed in my sidebar as well, feel free to click on them for more details as usual. Some are getting pretty old now, so I think it's time to get moving on them. I have put down my socks and picked up good old clappy again. It's going well, but still awfully slowly. I'll have pictures soon.

WW Update
I had a good loss this week, down 5.6 pounds for a total of 18.2 so far. Of course, there was one day where I wasn't feeling that great and sorta "lost" my dinner. But I still think I deserved the loss for the most part. I'm trying to really stay on plan this week to make sure I can keep all of that loss and not backtrack.

Sky And Cake And Crafts, Oh My!

2006-07-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

I'm a Kansas girl, what can I say? This looks to be a picture heavy post, so beware.

First off, my first ever on-time Saturday Sky.

And of course the end of the birthday celebration. For those of you with delicate sensibilities, I edited this picture of Jaime's cake.

I bet you just have no idea what's under that airbrush huh? I decorated it myself. Aren't I an artiste? Ha. We're goofy, what can I say...

Here's one of the birthday boy blowing out the candles. He wouldn't tell me what he wished for.

Sorry for the fuzziness. That's one of those tricky shots. So, all in all we had a great day yesterday.

So, when I haven't been partying with Jaime, or reading books like they're melting, I really have been knitting. Here's proof!

Getting closer.

There's even been some spinning. I picked my spindle back up three days ago and for once it seems I haven't forgotten everything I'd learned. I've spun a section a day since then. I might eventually have enough yarn to knit something with. Imagine that.

For those of you who've made it this far, a special treat. This is the second thing I knit. The first being a "scarf" that was probably 14x40 inches, with variegated acrylic yarn, in garter stitch. Was fun fur a step up? That's debatable. Well, this scarf has been well loved and is now looking a bit mangy so I'm giving it to Goodwill. But first I had to take a picture.

WW Update
apparently my intuition about those gummies for breakfast was right. I gained .8 pounds this week, but I know I deserved it. Just means I'll have to get my butt back in gear this week :)

Such A Big Boy

2006-07-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

Yep, today Jaime turns the big 2-6. Which means he's really getting hassles for being "nearly 30." I just love that he'll always be older than me, hehe. Here's a few shots of our day so far.

Jaime waiting patiently for his gifts. Yes, I did make him sit there with his eyes closed while I took a picture.

And the gift of choice for the manly man? A mandoline slicer of course. Not that there's anything wrong with that. (And he really likes it too. Go me!)

And a cute picture of both of us, now that I've figured out how to put my camera on the tripod. That's all I've got for now. We ran a bunch of errands this afternoon and we're doing the whole cake thing tonight. I'll be sure to snap a few shots of that too.

And there'll definitely be a crafty update this weekend. Really!

WW Update
Had another underwhelming loss last week, down 1.2 pounds. I'm just hoping for any loss this week. I haven't been that good. I've followed plan and all, but I just feel like a day where gummy bears was my breakfast shouldn't really be considered a success.

Funny?

2006-07-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

In order to distract you from my lack of knitting content*, I'd like to offer this joke thanks to inspiration from a certain Yarn Harlot.

Q:How many men does it take to wallpaper a living room?

A: Two if they're thinly sliced.

So, what do you think? Hilarious? Sorta amusing? Just weird? See, this is my favorite joke of all time. Jaime can walk up to me and out of the blue say "Two, thinly sliced" and I'll break into uncontrollable giggles. But he thinks it's dumb.

So to set the record straight. (I won't get my feelings hurt, I swear) Do you think it's funny? Feel free to take a poll of your own.

*I've finished one sock, but have yet to photograph it. The second one is SLOWLY coming along as I've gotten a bit sidetracked by books.

Support

2006-07-10T14:36:00.000-07:00

First order of business, a tardy Saturday Sky for Sandy.

Unfortunately, it's looked like this for a couple days now. I love the rain, and the supposed cool-down (it still feels pretty warm out to me), but sun sure is nice.

And now for the main subject of this post, my sweetie Jaime. This whole weight loss thing has been a big adjustment for both of us. Sure, I'd hinted in the past that I'd like to lose weight, but he laughed it off saying he liked me round and soft. Of course this was nice to hear, but not exactly motivating. When I decided to join Weight Watchers, Jaime figured it was another time (and there have been many) when I was doing something just to make my mom happy. So he wasn't thrilled and I didn't really talk to him about what I was doing, not the program I was on or anything.

After about a week, though, he realized that this was different. I am truly doing this for myself and no one else. Since I started WW I've had a totally different attitude and I'd like to think that it shows. So he started asking questions about the plan I was on and how I was doing. He said he really knew I was serious when he offered to get us breakfast from McDonald's (a nearly weekly routine for us) and I said I wasn't interested. He has since then been completely supportive.

He has encouraged me not to give in, but he has also reminded me not to deprive myself. He pushes me towards balance and a lifestyle that I can live with as opposed to a diet. He knows that I can't handle certain things and he makes sure not to bring them in the house. And when I was discussing how I wasn't sure if I could keep up the routine once I was back in school (ya know, once I have to leave the house more than once a week...), without even thinking he said that working out 5 days a week was awesome enough and I didn't have to exercise everyday. He actually said I was doing awesome. And he doesn't say awesome, um, ever.

So this is just a big public thank you to Jaime. I won't say that I couldn't do this without him, because I've gotten to a place where I know that I'm worth the effort just as I am. But he makes it so much easier.

I love you Pookie. Thanks for everything.

WW Update
Sheesh, nearly forgot. I had a whopping loss of .4 pounds this week. I was hoping for more, but it's still a loss.

Sockies!

2006-07-05T09:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, so just part of one.

I've finished 4 of the 7 repeats of the main pattern. So close! And it fits like a dream. I'll have to make room in my sock drawer pretty soon.

New Look

2006-07-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

I saw the link for this lovely site from Heather B. and decided it was time for a change. I've wanted a new look for a while, but I knew it would take a time investment. And frankly, I don't see my own blog that much so it wasn't urgent.

So last night I spent a couple hours tinkering with the blog trying to get it the way I wanted it. You like?

Life has been crazy for the past week as my Aunt Vicki has been in town. She, like the rest of my mom's side of the family, has the unique ability to be completely fun and lovable one moment, and testy and demeaning the next. I used to take it personally that she still treats me like a child. I figured it was because I really have seen her since I was 12 so she didn't have time to adjust. But I realized this past week that she treats EVERYONE like a child. Completely annoying, but at least it isn't just me. So her, my mom, and I have been playing Upwords, doing puzzles, and cooking up a storm. I've been spending more time with them than at home the past week.

Of course this didn't leave much time for craftiness. I'm still working on the sock, but it isn't much longer. Hopefully I can knit away on it today and get a picture for you soon.

WW Update
I was so nervous for weigh-in this week, again. Of course I really had no reason to worry. I've been sticking to my plan and i have been exercising religiously. And it worked! Down another 2.6 pounds for a total of 11.8 so far. The exercise is still a challenge for me though. I have been enjoying the warm days by exercising in the pool, but my new sunburn means I'm going to have to go back to the treadmill. It's so hard to walk past the nice cool pool into the warm exercise room to walk. Ugh! But it's worth it. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

Be Guilt Free Today

2006-06-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

WW Update:
Just a quickie today. I was SOOO scared I was going to go up I was actually considering shaving and wearing a skirt just to have a better chance (I normally wear jeans, they weigh a little...). I even considered using my "no weigh-in" coupon. I was just terrified of having a gain and feeling like a loser. But I finally decided that eventually I was going to have a gain, even if just a tiny one, and it was better to have one now and get it over with.

Surprise, surprise I was actually down .2 pounds this week for a grand total of -9.2 so far. I'll take it!

Today in meeting we talked about positive self-talk and the title today was my favorite affirmation because it's just what I was talking about yesterday, taking my mistakes and looking at them positively; not letting them get me off track completely. It is also really how I try to live my life. Admittedly I don't run around announcing every part of my life, but I try to never do anything I would be ashamed to admit. If it makes me want to hide it, then it's probably not how I want to be living.

So, be guilt free today!! It feels amazing :)

Refocus

2006-06-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I decided on a new project. And it apparently was just what I needed because I can't stop knitting. Here's my progress so far.

Anyone recognize this? It's the reverse of the socks I made for my sockapal2za pal so long ago, the (Not) Padded Footlets. Hers were turquoise with pink stripes and of course mine are going to be pink with turquoise stripes. These were the best fitting socks I had ever knit, and it was REALLY hard to send them away.

Here's a close up of the heel flap detailing. Did I mention I LOVE these socks?

WW Update:
I finally made it down to the workout room this morning and it felt SO. GOOD. Of course, it was mostly to make up for the poor choice I made for dinner last night. Lets just say it involved someone delivering food. I feel so guilty!! But I guess if that's what it took to get me to start the exercising habit again maybe it wasn't soooo bad. I'm just not going to let it make me get down and do anything else bad. Weigh in's tomorrow...

Another Accomplishment

2006-06-21T11:55:00.000-07:00

Maybe not quite as exciting as working towards better health and taking care of myself, but pretty great none the less. I have a new FO!!

Meet my newest pair of socks.

They're spunky! As always, click for a closer look.

I've been working on these since October of last year. Not my oldest UFO by far, but still feels good to get it done. I'm hoping that this will be the first of many new finished projects, and if nothing else I am excited to start on a new pair of socks. Now I just have to decide which ones...

Go Me!

2006-06-18T18:59:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm usually not one to brag... But I lost myself 9 pounds this week! This new program must have been a total shock to my body. I have been drinking lots of water and actually eating fruits and vegetables for the first time since I lived at home and my mom made me. And lets face it, I hid and tossed most of that anyway ;)

So, I'm LOVING Weight Watchers. I highly recommend it. Everyone there is so nice. My new friend was on vacation this week, so I can't wait to get back together with her and see how she's doing. This week I'm going to try and focus on getting more exercise in. We'll see how that goes...

Hello, Anyone Out There?

2006-06-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

I love you my few loyal readers! Until I have something else interesting to post (it's looking like once a week is my max this summer...) here's something fun :)

Please leave a one-word comment that you think best describes me - it can only be one word long. Then copy and paste this into your blog so that I may leave a word about you.

So, any takers?

A Good Day

2006-06-10T15:24:00.000-07:00

Although you probably can't tell it from my blogging schedule, I've finally gotten over the summer lazies and have begun the productive phase. I do this same thing every break, waste a couple weeks doing nothing and then suddenly decide I have to DO something. I've been making lists and getting stuff done all week.

*I've started my online class, Technical Writing. It shouldn't be too bad. I have to write a sales letter and a user manual among other things, but no 10 page papers. Thank God!

*I've applied to a few places for a job. So far I've applied at Michael's, JoAnn's, a scrapbook store and Kohl's. Still hoping for a call...

*There was a bit of a booboo in my mom's taxes from '04 (which I did for her) so I had to write a letter to get that straightened out.

*More cross stitching (progress pictures eventually, it doesn't grow very quickly though).

*I've finished up a bit of spinning. I spin until I feel it's about full, then roll it off onto a toilet paper roll and try to spin the same amount to ply with it. Halfway to a skein of yarn, woohoo!

*I've managed to clean up a bunch of my clutter, like my desk and our file drawer.

And the biggest accomplishment, I finally got my butt in gear and signed up for Weight Watchers. My aunt goes on and on about how amazing it is and finally convinced me to try it. Well, and a girl who works with my mom's financial planner wanted to start too so I had a buddy. I'm so pumped to get going and lose some weight. I'l try to post my progress from time to time to keep me honest.

Mom Update
I really should rename this the Mommy and Me blog ;) My mom is doing really really well. She's now been through two sessions of chemo and still she's up and active. There has been a bit of nausea and constipation, but nothing bad at all. SUCH a relief.

Summer Of...WHAT?

2006-06-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

Everyone is getting ready for a summer of great crafty projects. Some are getting ready for a summer of lace, others for a summer of socks or a summer of tank tops. Me? I'm a week into my own "Summer of Cross-Stitch." Thanks to some amazing inspiration from a friend I decided that I can manage an hour a day of pretty much anything, even this darn cross-stitch. And of course me with my obsessive personality haven't been able to put it down since. Here's the latest picture.

Ignore the hoop, I'm too lazy to take it off. So yeah, that's what I've been up to.

Actually last night I couldn't get to sleep and got out of bed at midnight to do a little spinning. I haven't done it in a while and it didn't go terribly well. I have such a problem with starting up again when I let the yarn get too thin and it breaks. So frustrating! But I'm going to try and practice a bit each day (maybe I'll actually do it this time) and hope I can get a little better at it. I have to make some progress if I want to be able to justify buying a wheel.

I finally updated my sidebar too, just FYI. So, back to cross-stitching :)

Polski Day!

2006-05-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

Finally ImageShack decided to work with me and I got a slideshow up of all my Polski Day photos. I had a great time this year, this being my first "of legal age" Polski Day. Why yes, my dad did get me tipsy. The whole parade is made up of floats from various bars down this stretch of road. Although there are firepersons and policepersons in the parade also, no one seems to mind that everyone on the floats is participating in some public drunkenness. That's Kansas City, KS for you. I got plenty of beads (no, I didn't do anything in particular for them) and some candy and just had a great time. It really is the perfect fun little parade, no big crowds here.

Click HERE for the slideshow.

In other news, I have a big day planned. I'm finally getting back to the pool as soon as I'm done here. Then tonight I'm driving out to my aunt's house for some BBQ fun. They're cooking up some ribs and other assorted grill goodies and I'll get some family time in too. Hope everyone's enjoying their weekend :)

A Title Would Require Too Much Thought...

2006-05-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

School Update
School is finally over and I'm just beginning to catch up on my usual laziness. The school website is down so I can't find out what grades I got, but I'm sure I did well enough. Well enough for me at least. My dad won't be thrilled because I didn't get all A's, but whatever. At least it's OVER! I'm actually taking an online course through the community college over the summer, but it shouldn't be too big a deal.

Fun finals week story. So, I had two finals scheduled for 7:30 AM, one Monday and one Friday. (7:30 AM is an ungodly hour for a final to begin by the way) And one of them got pushed back to 8 (thank god!) because it wouldn't take the full time anyway. So I study Sunday night for a few minutes and show up Monday morning at a couple minutes to 8 with nothing but my notes for that class (for some quick cramming before the tests were passed out). And for some reason there's another class in the room. Uhh, did I miss something? Yeah, I call Jaime to check my Palm calendar and I've mixed up my 7:30 finals. I'm supposed to be in the middle of the other one, which is an open note test. Did I mention I had nothing with me?? So I cried and I drove back home and emailed the teacher begging to take it another time. Fortunately he let me, but I was completely terrified for the rest of the day until he got back with me. Yeah, my mind was soo not on finals, obviously.

Mom Update
My mom is doing pretty well. She made it through surgery all right and has only made me crazy a few times. The pathology reports said it was a recurrence of the sarcoma she had last time and she'll be starting chemo Friday, assuming they ever confirm the appointment. More than her annoying me, although like I said there have been moments, I've mostly been annoyed at doctors. We've spent so much time waiting for calls back and for appointments to be confirmed. I do realize that the nurses and doctors are very busy, but it gets frustrating. We actually went to a "Cancer Action" center yesterday and she picked out some scarves and a wig for when she needs them. She seems to be taking things pretty well right now. I'm just trying to prepare myself for whatever I may need to do to help her. I'm generally a patient person but she just gets to me for no reason, so I've been trying to work on that. Ahh, personal growth here I come.

Knitting Update
There still hasn't been a whole lot going on. When I get a chance to veg out I don't even have the energy to knit. I did manage to knit my mom a really nice washcloth for Mother's Day. And I finished up a child sized hat for Dulaan. Nothing terribly exciting. Oh, and I knit a bit more on my spiral scarf. Enough to finally conclude that me and Addi's don't mix well. Every pair I've had now the finish eventually starts wearing off. I'm thinking maybe it's like those people who can't wear a watch cause their chemistry makes the watch stop working. Something in my chemistry just erodes Addi needles. Yes, I am a freak :)

This doesn't relate to my knitting, but I just wanted to say a public thanks to my new friend Erica and her mom for knitting up a bunch of great things for Dulaan. Before winter break I mentioned on a knitting list on Facebook that I was knitting for Dulaan and that I'd be happy to send along stuff from anyone else who wanted to help. I am so glad that I decided to get the word out, Erica and her mom were awesome and put my donations to shame.

Random Stuff
*I've actually been reading a lot more lately. Hmmm, escapism much?? I just finished a great book by Jane Green. She is now one of my favorite fun authors. No, she probably won't change your life, but that's just fine.

*I totally owe you guys some pictures! I have a whole series from Polski Day with my dad. It seems like it was AGES ago. And I have a couple cute ones of my mom and I. And I might even get around to taking some pictures of my knitting eventually...

*This weekend is Memorial Day and therefore party weekend at Aunt Cathy's. It sounds like it'll be packed with random relatives this year, so it should be interesting. My family (and when I say family I refer to my dad's side) is unique and wonderful and beyond description. Gotta love em :)

Life Update

2006-05-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

Ups and downs. That pretty much sums it up.

My mom's minor surgery went well last week, now we just have to make it through the next one this Friday. I'm not terribly worried about the surgery now, and I don't think she is either, it's the stuff afterwards that we're all stressing. My mom's still scared and unsure about the chemo. For a while I was really angry that she was worried about being tired or nauseated when it could save her life or at least extend it. And I was angry at myself for being selfish and thinking she should do what she could to stay alive for me. I'm starting to get over that now, I still hope she will decide to go through with it since the study she found says there's a 50% chance it'll help, but I can sort of understand her thinking.

Besides stressing about that and school and family and a job... I haven't been doing a ton of knitting. I started a washcloth for my mom as she was complaining about hers being really old and too rough. It's nice to be able to knit something that can comfort her in some way while I'm thinking about her and sending good thoughts. Almost a prayer washcloth :)

And of course I'm ridiculously behind on my blog reading and podcasts. Just not enough hours in the day. Have a great day everyone!

Busy Busy Busy

2006-04-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

School has been keeping me super busy lately. Only a few weeks left, but so much more left to do. I talked to a counselor about the masters program, which of course means I need to make more decisions. I'm just so tired of thinking about what classes I should take and when I should graduate and whether I should get a few grad credits or just finish and if I can even afford a masters at all and and and... Pffff!

Aunt Vicki was in town for a few days and of course that meant lots of random fun. I think Jaime's feeling a bit ignored as I haven't been home for like three days except to sleep. He actually said he missed talking to me, so I know I've been away for a while. I haven't even been keeping up with my blogs. I'm so excited to have this weekend to do a bunch of nothing. We might even make it out for a date night, it's been way too long.

We found out Thursday that my mom is going to have another surgery, probably on May 5th. And after that the doctor wants her to do chemotherapy. It's a little scary, but I think I'm really just more worried that she won't agree to it. She's worried about how all the side effects will make her feel, which I can totally understand, but if it'll help her keep this cancer away for a little longer I think it's worth it. Hopefully with all the support from her sisters and me she'll feel strong enough to handle it.

So, knitting. Well, since I had to get Aunt Vicki's birthday socks done in time for her birthday and all, that's about all I'd been knitting. I finally got a picture of them before they were gifted away.

As far as I can tell she loved them. I know she kept mentioning that she would have to get a new pair of clogs to show them off. Nothing like a well received gift. Now that that's over with I'm back to the ruffle scarf, after tinking a bit so that I could remember the pattern which I didn't bother to write down since it was so easy. Should have known better.

Sharing The Love

2006-04-01T13:59:00.000-08:00

First, I'll share my stash. Not as much as some, but I'm pretty proud of it. Now seems a good time for my not-so-frequent reminder that you can click on any of my pictures to see a bigger size.

Here's the corner where all my yarny goodness lives. Except for the backpack of leftover partial skeins which is in the closet. I didn't pull that out and don't consider it stash (denial I know hehe). And the yarn I got from my SP which I don't know where to put. As you'll see, the drawers are pretty much full...

And working from the top down we have:

My needles, stitch markers, tape measures, and other random accessories

Cotton for dishcloths, my handspun yarn, and some fixation

The sock yarn drawer

Spinning stuff

My Cascade 220 collection (anyone surprised that's what I have a whole drawer of?)

Random yarn I don't really have plans for yet, some more sock yarn that won't fit up top, and the yarn for my shapely tee

And finally the yarn that has been set aside for a specific pattern

So, show me yours!

The other meaning to the title is that I'm completely thrilled I'll finally be able to share my love of knitting with someone I love. My mom has decided, after finding out she doesn't have lymphedema (yaay!) that she'd like to learn to knit so she could knit hats for charity. I love that I can share knitting with her. I am totally excited that she's going to have a hobby (I think I've mentioned that I worry that she doesn't have much to do). And I think it's wonderful that she wants to help others, which I really should do more of with my knitting. I'm thinking next weekend when I go do my laundry I'll get her started. SO HAPPY!

Big Sweaty Men And Lots Of Pink

2006-03-31T10:58:00.000-08:00

Ok, so not at the same time. Tuesday night we went to the live taping of Smackdown and it was SO MUCH FUN! Like I said before, I'm not a huge huge fan, but in person it was great. Not so great for photography though. The combination of the low lights and them moving constantly made it nearly impossible to get a good shot. This one shows how close we were (and the nice security guy). It was crazy, we were like 15-20 feet from the ring. I think I got a bit starstruck frankly. And the boys, they look even tastier in person. It'll be on TV tonight so we'll be watching and hoping we made it on the show. Well, sorta hoping and sorta thinking I don't need those extra 10 pounds on national TV...

Here we are before the show. I'm doing the try to hold the camera as far away as possible trick, can you tell? haha

And now onto the pink. My amazing SP, Cassa knows me SOOO well. Wanna see how I know?

Look at all that pink! I also got a beautiful pink Lantern Mood pouch for holding some yarn on the go (seen here) and some to-die-for honey bath stuff all of which is currently being used. YUM! I think my favorite part though is the needles with little pigs on the ends. Piggies are so fun :)

Thanks a bunch Cassa. You were a great pal and spoiled me much more than I deserved.

Tomorrow I'll be back for the big stash flash and then maybe I can tell the tale of my aunt's socks. Have a great weekend!

Picture

2006-03-26T12:14:00.000-08:00

My first finished (sorta) sweater. I'm very proud of it, but being the person that I am I can't help but think what I'll do differently next time. For one, the collar is too wide. Also, while I love the color, it doesn't match much of any of my clothes. Well, unless I want to look like an Easter egg, which isn't really what I'm going for. I think I did learn a lot about the construction used though. Ahh, a learning experience.

Yesterday I went got on a major cleaning streak. I think Jaime nearly passed out when he saw what all I did. He's the clean one in the relationship. That is to say, if left alone eventually I would clean up, but I don't see it as a priority really. It can always wait till x is over, ya know? Anyway, I got my stash a bit more organized and my stash corner cleaned up. Just in time for...

It's always nice to see what all you've got. I, for instance, have an entire drawer (my stash takes up 5 drawers of varying sizes not including projects already started) of a certain yarn. Any guesses??

My Random Day

2006-03-24T19:11:00.000-08:00

Hey, everyone else is doing it.

1. Is it weird that the only playlist I've created in iTunes is "Drinking Songs"? I am in college I guess...

2. My Aunt Vicki is coming into town for the week of Easter. Her birthday also happens to be on Easter and I've volunteered to make her a pair of socks. Why do I open my mouth??

3. Because of the above, all other knitting (should, in theory) be put to the side immediately considering my history with socks. And I'm thinking I should go for full socks, as opposed to ankle socks which is what I make for myself, which means more knitting.

4. I've decided on a project for my handspun, Panta. I don't have a link for the pattern, but everyone's made one and you can probably find it on Craftster if you search. I think I'll have enough for at least a narrower one and I love the pattern. Yaay! Oh, but not until the socks are done, right.

5. Saw some action last night. No, unfortunately it wasn't THAT kind of action. I swear we might as well be married... Anyway, right as we were getting ready to get in bed last night we saw two police cars pull someone over in the parking lot of our apts. As Jaime says, "It doesn't take two cops to write a ticket," so we were curious. Apparently (I wasn't watching yet) the guy got out of his car and tried to jump this like 6+ foot fence, which fell down. Then they had to like tackle him and stuff. Hey, you don't see this stuff here too often. Pretty soon there were 7 cop cars all over the place. They carted him off and didn't appear to find anything of interest, though they certainly looked. We maybe sat at the window and watched this for 40 minutes. Sakes, we are boring huh?

6. Tuesday night we're off to see wrestling live. Don't know if I've mentioned this before, but Jaime's a HUGE lifelong wrestling fan. I never would have given it the time of day if not for him, but now I'll watch sometimes with him or at least keep up on the stories. It's seriously the same as the soaps with some fighting in between. Oh, and there are some cute guys too. Anyway, this will be my first live show and I'm actually pretty excited. Sports are always more fun in person. And I could be on tv :)

That's about all the randomness I have for now. I swear, I will get those pictures soon. Hopefully Monday will be nice enough for an outdoor photoshoot. Happy weekend!

Springtime...ish

2006-03-23T11:43:00.000-08:00

Ahh, spring break. Not so much spring-like, but I'm enjoying a bit of chill. Better than getting to nearly 80 again. 65-70 is ideal, but 80 is just too freaking hot. Especially when the pools aren't open... Anyway, it is sooo nice to do nothing. Of course it's nearly over, have to go back Tuesday. So what have I been doing with my time?

That pretty much sums it up. I started a new scarf, Ruffles from Scarf Style using some of the yarn my SP got me. I had to buy a couple extra skeins, but no biggy. And yes, I am a bit behind on the trends, but are you really surprised? Considering I put my clapotis to the side AGAIN to work on this... I've been listening to my podcasts while knitting, especially when Jaime's watching crappy tv. LOVE LOVE LOVE my podcasts. I added all the ones I listen to to my sidebar (except Knitcast which bloglines doesn't see...) so check them out.

I've also been reading a book from the library, Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton. It's not amazing literature, but I'm enjoying it.

And finally you'll note some spinning. After months and months of not spinning I finally got up the courage to pick it back up. It was one of those things where I got really frustrated with it so didn't want to do it, and then when I was ready to try again I figured I'd forgotten everything. So guess my surprise when I went back to it a day or two ago and it went really really well. I don't really know what the difference is, but it's coming much easier to me now. Ok, so admittedly I still can't let it spin and draft at the same time, I spin it then stick it between my feet and draft, but I'm still making progress. I'm even hoping I might be able to knit something from this eventually. Something kinda funky and uneven, like the yarn, but something none the less.

Still Around

2006-03-15T11:18:00.000-08:00

Just haven't felt the blogging thing lately. Well, at least writing. I'm sure you all've noticed that I can't help but keep up with everyone else. School's been crazy as usual, but mostly just cause of my procrastinating. One huge test tomorrow and then spring break though, so it's ok. I'm so looking forward to a whole week of sleeping late, knitting all day, and most importantly no homework. Woohoo!!

Oh yeah, and my mom decided her car didn't work and that she would wait two weeks to get into a specific mechanic (I realize it's hard to find one who's good and trustworthy, but sakes!) so I had to drive her around for a while. Wouldn't have bothered me much, except I knew there was nothing wrong. Her car died in the driveway, but she restarted it to get it all the way into the garage and it was fine. So playing chauffeur has cut into my laziness too. Plus it reminded me why I moved out and why I see her once a week. I can't take more than that. I love my mom but we just don't get along if we have to be together more than a couple hours a week.

As far as knitting goes, I haven't been doing a lot. I have been working on my shrug/capelet and it's finally finished (blocking right now actually). My first sweater! Ok, so it's a short, cropped sweater, but it counts. I'm pretty proud as I had to upsize it from a size small to a size *cough cough* and it actually fits. I'll make Jaime take some pictures once it's dry.

Since finishing that I've been trying to work on other things I've had on the needles for way too long, but I'm just not feeling some of them. Now that the weather is getting better I'm not much in the mood to knit my stripey scarf, although actually they say it'll be cold next week so maybe then... And my bright fun socks are making me crazy. I'm just trying to finish them so they'll be over with. I love the colors, but the yarn is making me crazy. It's that fun stretchy Fixation which I love in theory, but at the sides where I switch needles there's a ladder no matter what I do. I've tried knitting a bit tighter, super tight, looser then usual, and just normally and nothing is helping. Ahhh! Oh, and this is my second pair of Addi's that have had the coating totally rub off. It only happens to my sock knitting pair though... All in all it's just a mess. And I love my clapotis, but it goes so slowly it seems almost pointless to knit on it. I wouldn't consider myself a "product knitter" but I at least like to see some sort of progress.

OK, enough whining! I should go study now anyway. I'll be back with a fun (read: with pictures) post soon. Have a great day!

***ETA*** Nearly forgot. For those of you wondering, no, the tornados (or microburst as those fancy weather people like to call it) didn't get me. In Lawrence, 40 or so minutes away, there was quite a bit of damage, enough to cancel classes on Monday. But here we got teeny hail for maybe 5 seconds and that's about it. Being a girl who's lived in KS her whole life and quite a fan of storms, I'm rather disappointed that I STILL haven't ever seen a tornado. So yeah, I'm fine :)

Olympic Project

2006-02-26T14:26:00.000-08:00

So I mentioned in my last post that I may have picked the wrong project for these Knitting Olympics (too lazy to link, but it's in the sidebar for now). Yeah, I loved the yarn I got and really the stranded knitting wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, although I could still work on my tension. The problem, is that this is what I had exactly one week into the Olympics.

I got REALLY into knitting it needless to say. I would have had it done in probably 3 days or so but I had schoolwork and "life" to attend to. All joking aside, I'm terribly proud of it. I love the color and it matches my squiggle scarf (photos on my projects page) really well. In fact, I went to the doctor with my mom and everyone there was gushing over how amazing it looks. Of course, as I said, I'm not thrilled with my tensioning, but it fits. I'm definitely going to have to find some more stranded knitting to play around with.

Other than that I haven't been doing anything terribly fun. School has been nuts as I had 3 tests within a 24 hour period. I survived however and think I did fairly well. Only 3 weeks till spring break, woohoo! I'll be sitting on my butt and knitting, but I still can't wait.

As for the engagement, so far everyone has taken it really well and seems pretty happy for us. Strangely enough, my dad was the one who brought up the actual wedding, which for some reason I didn't connect to the engagement. So, being the person that I am, I've now started "thinking." We won't be getting married until at least fall of next year, which is what I'm pulling for, although Jaime seems to think that's too soon. But let's face it, he's gonna be freaked by the whole thing no matter when it happens. We've talked about a few things and we even got so far as to thinking about who all we'd invite. It's funny, we both figured that we weren't going to be able to think of many people to invite (who'd actually show up) and we'd have this tiny wedding, but we came up with over 100 to invite and over 80 who we think would really show up. Sakes! That's what big families can do for you. I'm not sure my dad knows what he's in for lol.

Thanks for all the sweet comments last post. Guess it takes a ring to bring out the lurkers, just teasing. It was nice to feel so loved. Hope you have a great evening and good luck to everyone trying to finish up something tonight :)

We're Engaged!

2006-02-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

Not that it was huge surprise, but last night Jaime proposed. It was the most amazing evening. He was worried about not being able to make it something over the top, but while it didn't involve skywriting or anything it was completely us. We ordered some carry out from the best Chinese place in town and had a terribly romantic candle-lit dinner. He even bought some wine glasses so we could drink our wine out of something besides plastic cups. Anytime I can eat dinner without shoes on and feeling free to burp if necessary I'm happy :)

After dinner he got nervous and it was so sweet. He gave a little speech for a few minutes, how he feels about me and us and everything. Then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was crying too hard to actually say yes, but I nodded.

Here's the ring. It's really really hard to take a picture of my own hand and make the ring look even remotely decent.

I'm a happy happy girl! One of the best parts was when I called my mom this morning and she was happy for me. She and Jaime have had their differences, but they're both getting along pretty well now. It just meant everything to me when she said she was looking forward to his joining the family. It's so hard when two people you love can't get along.

Well, that's my story. Sorry if it was too gushy. I hope everyone else had a great Valentine's Day. Today I have a million things to do unfortunately. I'll post an update on my Olympic Knitting soon though. I think I may have picked the wrong project, but we'll talk about that later.

Have a great day!

I'm In Love

2006-02-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

*edited* About 5 seconds after I posted I just decided I couldn't say something not nice (it wasn't MEAN really) on the blog. So it's gone now. Sorry bout that.

Yep, it was bound to happen. And I think Jaime is only a little bit jealous. My new love? Knitting podcasts! Thanks to the generous people at the Office of Admissions and Scholarships at KU, and special shout out to whoever gives the accounting scholarships, I finally got my iPod a week or so ago. So of course after uploading every CD I can find and spending my $15 iTunes gift card I started searching for the free goodies. I'd listened to maybe half an episode of Knit Cast before, but just sitting and listening really didn't do that much for me. So after I dug around an found a few others I forced myself to save them for knitting time. Yesterday, I finally managed to get my reading for class done with early and had some time to sit in the hall and knit. And try my podcasts. LOVE THEM! It is so nice to knit and feel like I'm having a conversation at the same time. And they do a great job of blocking out the sounds of episode 5 million 76 of "Spiderman the Animated Series." I may be a bit obsessed. Eventually I'll get the links up to all the ones I've found and adore so far.

Anyway! What have I been busily knitting away on while listening to my beloved podcasts? Well all kinds of good things! At first I was working on my bright socks. I'm getting through the long stretch that is the foot right now.

I'm thinking that Fixation maybe isn't the sock yarn for me. I love it in theory, and there are some great colors, but the socks just never look how I want them too. And the place where my big toe goes always gets REALLY stretched out and funky looking. I guess this could be fixed with some of that carry along sock stuff, but really I'm just thinking it isn't for me. I picked up some beautiful Toasty Toes by Interlacements at the LYS the other day (and at 20% of bay-bee!) and can't wait to try it.

The other thing I've gotten back into is my clapotis. I know, it's about time. The darn thing just moves so slowly... I knit for at least 2 hours last night and only got through one repeat of the straight section. But I will finish it, really.

And last night, after an emergency trip to the LYS when I realized I didn't have the right size needles, I swatched a bit for my Olympic project. I can't wait till tonight!! I'm kinda sorta getting gauge, that counts right? Don't answer that. See, first I knit with just one of the colors alone and got a too few stitches per 4 inches. Then I tried doing a little made up fair isle pattern to see how it feels (really awkward so far btw) and it turned out to be just the right gauge. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. I figure I'll probably see how it goes tonight and then if I need to I can go buy another addi to make it work.

Sorry for the extreme lack of pictures. I'll get some for next time though. Have a great day and good luck to all my fellow Olympians :)

Update

2006-02-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

Wow, even worse than my record of getting posts up is that of getting the sidebar updated. Well, I just went through and cleaned it up some. The projects site still needs some work, but I've been in front of this computer for far too long today already. Possibly due to a twinge of guilt over the price of the ring (which we may or may not have gone back to purchase yesterday!!!) or possibly due to the fact that I'm now completely broke from price of said ring, I've gotten serious about finding a job. I've applied to 3 places already and am hoping that one will work out. I'll probably be heading to a grocery store later to get an app just in case.

Well, I still have lots of reading to do tonight, along with going to pick of the needle I need for my Olympic project. I sorta failed to think about that part when I ordered the kit, duh! Is it crazy to anyone else that today is February 8th? Time goes WAYYY too fast nowadays.

Make it good :)

Hello, Hello!

2006-02-07T11:21:00.000-08:00

Another week (or so). School is going well but still keeping me busy. The nerve! I've been getting back into knitting a bit more, a trip to the yarn shop really helps with that. In fact, I'm planning on getting back into it hardcore soon as I'm signed up for the infamous Knitting Olympics and just received my supplies yesterday. I'll be attempting some fair isle. I'm a bit scared really. But what the heck! The kit I'm using is this one

which can be found here. But of course I'm making it in pink and white.

As a bit of a side note, I think my obsession with pink may be reaching a scary stage. I don't want to talk about how many pink items I've purchased in the past couple weeks, many of which have been cases to house electronics (glorified cozies which they seem to make for EVERYTHING now). Can there be too much pink? Is it bad when the only non-pink items I own are mostly because I FORCE myself to pick something besides pink? These are some questions I ponder often.

In other news, Jaime and I went on a very special shopping trip yesterday. We visited a jewelry shop to look for "the ring." That place is DANGEROUS! The nice lady working there asks what I like. Then she starts putting rings on my little finger (chubby fingers, whatcha gonna do?). She doesn't show you the little tag on the back until you're already hooked. I was thisclose to begging for a $4300 ring. Hahahaha!! It was purty though. We found one a bit more reasonable which I love even more, but we're still going to have to do some creative financing to make it work. I'll keep you updated.

Oh, and I have the greatest package to show you! I got the first gift from my sp last weekend and it is great. Wanna see?

She obviously picked up on the pink thing huh? I can't tell you how many times I've eyed that exact yarn in the LYS. I think I've even picked out a pattern for it, the Potato Chip Scarf from Knit Picks. Yaay! That little pot is maybe even more heavenly, some honey and shea lip balm. YUM!!! Thanks so much SP, I love mail days like that :)

Have a great week all!

Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things

2006-01-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

Has it really been that long since I've posted? It hardly seems like it. I've been busy like crazy getting ready for school and such. And my Aunt Joan's mother-in-law passed away suddenly last week so I had relatives to try and fit in to this crazy week too. It was great to see everyone, but we all had a lot of things to do besides sit and visit. I've been having issues with my schedule this year, which I guess I'm due as usually I get everything set months ago and don't have to worry about it. One of the classes I signed up for just isn't for me, so I've been scrambling to find ANY class that sounds remotely interesting. I would just drop the other one, but according to my scholarship, my car insurance, and my health insurance I MUST keep at least 12 hours. I've finally found a spot in a really interesting class, Religion and Moral Decisions. It has nothing to do with accounting, but it's definitely something I'd like to take for "fun." And now I'm having trouble actually getting enrolled in it. UGH!

There hasn't been much knitting going on lately either. Probably why I'm getting so stressed out, I need my calming knitty time! I got stalled on my latest project because I was a bit afraid it wouldn't fit. So this morning I forced myself to pull it off the needles and try it on. So far so good. Yaay! So hopefully I'll be out of this rut soon. I'll have pictures soon.

Have a great weekend!

Extreme Lack of Motivation

2006-01-15T07:47:00.000-08:00

Yeah. Chalk it up to school looming up ahead, but I've been ultra lazy lately. I mean I've done pretty much nothing. I did manage to get a bit of knitting done, but it's going slow as these old projects are old for a reason. They sorta bore me. I can't make myself rip them out, cause I know they're gonna be awesome if I can just make it through. Here's what I've gotten done so far.

My one FO.

Bits of progress on the day-glo socks.

That is the beginning of the second sock there in the back.

And my most recent work of art...

I needed a little something to make me feel girly. And for some reason my normally tiny splitty nails are growing pretty well. I did them myself with a little kit from Target and I'm terribly proud. I feel a serious nail polish kick coming on.

I have been on a doctor kick lately. I got to meet with my new endocrinologist Friday and I absolutely love her. It's so great to find a doctor who I can get along with and feel comfortable with. I'm taking my chances again and trying a new ob/gyn this coming Friday. And the endo has all her patients see a nutritionist/diabetes educator so I have those two appointments next week also.

And of course all this on top of getting ready for classes. They officially start the 20th, but because of my awesome schedule I don't start till the 24th. My dad still can't believe how much he (mostly the scholarship, but he does help) pays for me to go to school so little during the year. I'm ok with it though. Jaime and I are going out to dinner with my dad tonight to get book money and then we're off to Lawrence tomorrow to go book shopping.

So that's what I'm up to. I'm thinking I might have to take a break from old projects and start something (anything!) new. And I really should get back to spinning before I completely forget everything I've learned.

Have a great day!

SP7 Questionaire

2006-01-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

I've been totally lazy the past x days, but I do have a few updates coming. To get started, here's my answers for the newest SP exchange. I got my pal's name tonight, and I already have a secretive note and cute e-postcard from my pal. Yay!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?

Sorta kinda. I hate to say I'm a yarn snob really, but I prefer soft and natural fibers. I do a ton of knitting with Encore though as everyone I knit for insists on machine washables.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

I do both, but neither very well. I'm very interested in getting better at spinning though. Crochet is interesting, but I do prefer knitting.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Right now I have my straights and dpns in needle rolls. My circs are all in the little zippies they came in.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been really knitting for maybe 2 years or so. I guess I'd say I'm advanced. I'm pretty comfortable with most of my skills and there's nothing I'm really scared to knit, but there are still some simple things (like finishing) that I need to work on.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I have a wish list blog, there's a link on the sidebar.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

Honey! I've been on a big honey kick lately. I also like vanilla and fruity/citrusy scents. Pretty much anything but really flowery.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Of course! I'm not a big fan of chocolate, but can definitely do white or dark chocolate in moderation. I really love fruity candies like skittles or starburst. And I LOVE gummies of all types.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

Anything really. I cross-stitch, sew, scrapbook, make cards, etc. And what I havne't tried that's crafty I probably want to try.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I am a big country fan, but I listen to lots of other things too. My computer can play mp3s and I'm determined to get an iPod soon.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

PINK! Pink is by far my fave color, but I'm pretty open to colors in general. I guess neons are probably my least favorite, but I could find a use for them if I tried.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I live with my sweetie Jaime and our one hamster.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I don't wear ponchos mostly because I generally carry a backpack and/or purse. The others I wear though.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I'm a big fan of Cascade 220. I really haven't experienced too many yarns, so other than that I can't say. I'd love to find some new favorites though :)

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I'm not terribly big on novelty yarns, if that counts, but even they have their place.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

Hmmm. I'm currently obsessed with finishing old projects so I can start some new ones fresh. I have the yarn a plans for a couple shrugs once I get the old stuff finished.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Anything really. Scarves kinda make me crazy if they don't have much to keep me interested.

17. What are you knitting right now?

I'm working on finishing up a clapotis, a double knit (read: sloooow moving) scarf, and a pair of socks with Cascade Fixation.

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Sure!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

Straight in theory, but cirsulars are usually more practical so I have more of them.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

Yes please, hehe.

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

No, but I'd LOVE to ;)

22. How did you learn to knit?

I taught myself from a book.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

Too old! A little over a year old.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

I like Pooh and his friends the best. My favorite animal is a pig.

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Christmas

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Pigs, yarns.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

Interweave Knits

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?

Wow, there are so many. Anything on my list would be great, but I love surprises too.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

I'd like to learn fair isle.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Yes. My feet are about 9.75 inches around, 9.5 inches long, and my ankle is 10 inches around. My calves just get bigger from there so I always make myself ankle socks, but if you're brave I'd love regular length socks :)

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

September 8th

Holiday Recap

2006-01-03T14:39:00.000-08:00

Thursday night we had dinner at Jaime's boss' house. It was a really fun time, but I still felt a bit out of the loop since everyone else there had something in common including jokes between them and such. Fortunately everyone was really nice so it was still enjoyable. And of course Sean, the boss, got Jaime a game that I had already gotten for him. Grrr. Forced me to go shopping Friday which I was really trying to avoid, but only to a small video game store which wasn't too bad.

I also finished up Kiri Friday and was able to give it a good blocking. I've never experienced the wonder of blocking before, but it was quite amazing. Imagine a picture of it here, I sorta forgot to take pictures. Saturday I knit ALL DAY to finish my dad's socks. I had to stop for a shower a few hours before the party, but afterwards I finished up about twenty minutes before we were supposed to leave.

"The party" is my dad's family's annual Christmas Eve bash. We always get together for a super informal dinner (traditional favorites include spinach dip with bread which was missing this year much to my dismay, my appetizer roll ups that everyone loves but I refuse to eat, and the main course sloppy joes) and a gift exchange. As per usual I got money and a gift card from my two aunts, although in a strange twist this is the first year that I got the same card as the rest of my cousins, one to the movie theater which is burning a whole in my pocket. Ever since us kids have grown some and we started getting gift cards, my cousins have gotten one to Best Buy and I've gotten one to Borders. I try to look at this as a compliment, but it still feels a little strange that they think of me as so different from everyone else.

The highlight of the evening was without a doubt Kiri. Everyone was just blown away by it. My aunt has decided that I must teach her to knit even. I think for a second everyone may have fogotten about my grades and appreciated me for something else. (I don't sound bitter, do I? hmmm) My dad really loved his socks too. He even called me once he got home to let me know they fit perfectly. Score!

Christmas morning Jaime and I woke up and opened the few presents we were able to get each other. I gave him a couple games off of his list (so original I know).

But he was thrilled to get some new games to play. And I got a new CD I'd been wanting, Comin' to Your City by Big & Rich and a pretty new blender.

Please pretend I'm not the size of a small house in this picture, it was too early to worry about looks.

I actually have a bone to pick with a certain Yarn Harlot about getting a blender. See I was reminding Jaime how he said he'd get me yarn (he was trying to wuss out a bit though I'm thinking maybe I'll get some for our anniversary in a month) so I let him listen to her advice for gifting yarn on her holiday knitting SOS line. Turns out she mentioned NOT buying a blender, which reminded Jaime how I want one. I actually am pretty happy with it though. I went out the next day and spent $30 on blendable drinks and ice at my favorite liquor store. It's been all frozen drinks all the time here since hehe.

Then we went to my moms for some more holiday fun. She furnished the cheese Danishes and we brought the breakfast casserole. There was a bit more gift giving

and a LONG game of Uno. All in all, fun times!

New Year, New You

2006-01-02T11:01:00.000-08:00

Or something like that. Now that the holidays and 2005 are over I'm looking forward to this fresh new start. I won't say that I'm making resolutions, but I'm making some plans that I hope I'll be able to work into my everyday life. So here's the list in no specific order.

~Make a schedule for each day so that I make sure to get done everything I need to.
~Include exercise in my schedule at least 5 days a week.
~Get a job.
~Make time for reading everyday.
~Finish my old WIP's before starting anything new this year.
~Keep WIP's to a minimum.
~Blog more regularly. (Stop laughing, I can do it!)
~Spin more often.
~Finish the cross stitch.
~Take more photos.
~Make time to go out with Jaime more often.
~More, uh, private time with Jaime as well. (For the record we got off to a good start with that yesterday....twice hehe)
~Be more tolerant and an all-around better person.

I can do that, right? I think the schedule thing is really the one that will help the most. I did it for a couple weeks last year (soo weird thinking of October as last year) and it really helped me to get stuff done instead of sitting in front of the tv/computer all day.

I'll have a big holiday post in the next couple days. I'm currently doing a big new year computer clean up. There's just so much junk I'm saved over the past year and I'm feeling the need for some order. But after that I can upload some pictures to share. And just to let everyone know, I did manage to finish up my holiday knitting in time. And with nearly 20 minutes to spare. Sorry to keep you all on the edge of your seats on that one.

Happy New Year!

**ETA** Just finished my first workout of the year and it felt SO GOOD. This will definitely become a habit.

Getting There

2005-12-22T10:42:00.000-08:00

It's been up and down these past few days, but I'm now pretty confident that I'll finish the knitting in time. I'm past the heel turn (haha, typed that as hell turn the first time) on the second of my dad's socks and I hadn't thought about the fact that I'll have all day Saturday before the party to finish them. Here's a pic, nothing special really.

I made Jaime try the first one on to make sure it was in the neighborhood of the right size (my dad's foot is a couple sizes smaller than Jaime's) and now Jaime is desperate for a pair just like them. It means more work, but at least it's worsted yarn. I'll probably start a pair for him after the first of the year. Making the ribbing go through the top of the foot all the way really helped with the sizing, the socks pretty much fit me width wise too. I'll definitely remember that trick.

The shawl for my Grandma is coming along too. I'm hoping to finish it early tomorrow or maybe tonight. I'd have a picture, but I swear it looks the same as it did months ago. Just a big ball of fur really. According to the all-knowing spreadsheet*, I'm already over 90% done with it and I only have like 4 more rows and the bind off.

I'm pretty sure I'd finish today, but tonight is the big holiday dinner at the boss' house. Last year I was completely terrified cause I'd never met any of them, but now I'm pretty excited to see everyone again. And it's a good excuse to dress up. Speaking of work, in the past couple months, 2 couple Jaime works with have gotten pregnant (one sadly ended in miscarriage shortly after though). Now his boss keeps teasing him that we're next. Hah!

Have a great day everyone! Oh, and I've gotten a couple requests for the pattern for my scarf. I posted the information on my projects page a day or two ago, you can either click on the name of the scarf under FO's or just on the "Projects" link (both in the sidebar). I put info for all of my projects there, check it out :)

*You enter how many rows the triangular shawl has and it tells what percentage you have done for every row. Pretty cool, and good motivation. Every row I finished last night I had to tell Jaime what percent I was on. I have no idea where I got this, or how to link to it here, but if you are interested just email me.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2005-12-20T10:17:00.000-08:00

Today's my mom's birthday and it's just such a nice reminder of how much she means to me. After everything that happened during the past year with her double cancers and surgeries I'm just so thankful that she is still doing wonderfully. As of a couple weeks ago, still no recurrence or problems whatsoever! And although she was convinced she would be gone by now, she's obviously just being silly as usual and will be around to bug me for YEARS AND YEARS to come (and I mean that in the best way possible). Yes, she does make me crazy, being a bit controlling and uh, "hands-on", but I know that she does it because she cares about me and doesn't know any other way. And of course we are so alike that we're bound to butt heads sometimes. But throughout it all I love her and she loves me. Thanks mom for being yourself!

I have already made my birthday call this morning and will be seeing my mom on Friday for our weekly laundry date and for a little more holiday fun. Another of our favorite Christmas traditions is to read a holiday book together. For several years it has been The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden and illustrated by Barbara Cooney, which is an amazing book that I highly recommend, but it is a bit long. So while in the bookstore together last week I stumbled upon a cute one that looks fun, The Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas by Janette Sebring Lowrey. Ok, so I mostly picked it so I could say "poky puppy" and his friend "pickles," but that's as good reason as any. I can't wait!

As promised, here's the great final gift from my AKSP, Lynda.

That is all the yarn and notions to make a really fun felted bag from the book she also included, Pursenalities by Eva Wiechmann. I LOVE LOVE LOVE these colors and have been really resisting casting on right away. Such a temptation! Thanks Lynda, you were a great pal.

Have a great day everyone. And if you don't mind, send out a thought of continued health for my mom.

WOOOHOOO!

2005-12-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

I'm sooo done. In every way possible. DONE! I survived finals, though I'm not quite sure how. And I even managed to get some decent grades. I never have to go to a tax class again. YESSS!

And now that I'm destined to do nothing but knit for the next week it's snowing and I'm getting in the holiday spirit. Last night my mom and I went for our annual lights tour. Every year we get in the car with a blanket and drive around looking at all the houses with lights. It was definitely what I needed. I think we're going to get our tree Monday. I'm so excited to be able to have a Christmas tree again, we haven't had room for the past two years. Life is just so happy!

So as I mentioned, I'll probably be doing nothing but knitting the next week. I finished up my mom's hat (although it's a wee bit big) and I finished and gifted the scarf I was making for the teacher I helped at the elementary school. She was pretty impressed I think. I didn't get a picture with her in it, but here are a couple I took before I gave it away.

Click to make bigger.

I absolutely love this scarf, it is so soft and pretty. I would have liked to have made it a bit longer, but I only had 2 balls of yarn.

Now I am working on my dad's socks and kiri for my grandma. I'm staying optimistic. For some reason I'm being completely good and not knitting on anything else. I'm desperate to finish up some of my older WIP's for the Naked Stix kal, but those will have to wait.

Coming soon: Updated sidebar and AKSP reveal

That Time Of Year

2005-11-30T15:52:00.000-08:00

No, not the holidays. End of the semester. Makes me shudder just to think about it. School is making me crazy. I'm trying to be a good little girl and go to class everyday, do my homework, etc. (sorta like I swore I would do at the beginning of the semester, haha) and it's making me crazy. And on top of that I do have to start thinking about the holidays at least as far as the knitting goes. I won't get into the spirit till I'm finished with the last test. So this is my way of saying, see y'all in a couple weeks. I can't stay away from reading blogs for long, but I probably won't have anything to post about anyway till finals are over. Till then, imagine the following post whenever you wonder what I'm up to...

Hi, it's me. I'm studying for a test right now. I wish I was knitting, or reading, or spinning, or sleeping. But I'm not. Oh, and I'm seriously stressing myself out over nothing. But that's what I do. Have a nice day!

PS. Thanksgiving was pretty nice, though I may not be able to look at a whole chicken for months. Just wasn't feeling it. I still have half a pecan pie left and if you know me at all that says something. I did have an amazing time freezing my ass off and watching Jaime play football with his coworkers. WISH I had thought to bring a camera, duh!

What A Weekend

2005-11-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

Ugh! Why is it that bad things always seem to come all at once? Well for the record I'm done with them for a while now thanks.

Friday I had an interview in Lawrence (45 minutes away) to be a teacher's assistant for one of my favorite teachers. I was of course super nervous. So I get down to my car that morning, all dressed up and trying to think good thoughts and all. Yeah, my car won't work! I'm no mechanic, but it would just barely creep out of the parking spot and then just barely creep back. Luckily my mom wasn't doing anything so she was my chauffeur for the day. I got there in plenty of time and I swear I've never had a better interview in my whole life. I knew what I wanted to say and I said it. I didn't have any of those awkward pauses where I look at the ceiling trying to quickly think up an answer to a question. I rocked! God bless the teacher he said he'd call the two he hired and email everyone else. I was just so sure he'd pick me, he knows me from class and has always seemed pretty impressed with me. Well, I'm sure you can guess how that turned out. I got home after stopping by my mom's to do some laundry and of course I have an email. Not only did I have the one generic email he sent to everyone who didn't make it, but I also got an email just to me saying to call him. So I do and he basically says that I had a great interview and probably would have fit in well with the other TA's, but I just didn't make it. And don't get discouraged blah blah blah.

A few cries and one awkward class later and here I am. I'm pretty much over not getting picked, that's their loss and all. But it kinda bugs me most that there was no good reason why I didn't get it. If he said that I didn't have the right experience, or I didn't interview well, or ANYTHING, I would be able to accept it better. But how'm I supposed to feel that I should have gotten it but didn't? Oh, and I secretly keep hoping that someone will back out or he'll change his mind. Is that terrible?

As for my car, we were afraid my transmission was messed up, and as it turned out it had no transmission fluid in it. So my dad came over to fill it back up and see if he could at least drive it to the dealership to have them look at it. He poured in a quart and it promptly drained out all over the parking lot. It had to be towed to a transmission place for the weekend. For the record, I love my car! I know i may take it for granted, but I go crazy without it. Anyway, so Monday my dad calls and says they have looked it over and apparently I managed to do something they've never seen before. I blew the fitting on the radiator (yeah, I don't quite know what it means either, but obviously it doesn't happen often) and that's where the leak was. So they fixed it and everything is all better. Of course, it cost $500 (Thanks Poppa!!) but that's better than needing a new transmission.

Knitting hasn't been terribly exciting, just trying to get some of these holiday knits out of the way. Hah! I was able to ply my very first skein of yarn all by myself. I can't say I'm terribly impressed with it, but it's yarn. Sorta.

You can click to see the really big one. So now I have a bunch of sorta random yarn and I have no idea what to do with it. The gray one I made in class desperately needs a wash as it's still sorta sticky/oily. Jaime says he'd wear something from my first yarn (which was definitely the right thing to say, the sweetie) but I have no idea what I'll make.

This weekend Jaime and I also had our first date night in MONTHS. Like since July at least. We went and saw Saw II which was just SO. GOOD. Very creepy/gory, but good. And it was just so nice to both get relatively dressed up and get out of the apartment for once. I've decided we should get back to our monthly dates, but we'll see.

And on a final note, yesterday our dear friend Milo passed away. Milo the hamster that is. He is survived by best friend and cagemate Milton of the same age. Poor Milton is looking pretty gray as well and I'm afraid he may not make it much longer either. Let's all bow our heads for a moment of silence.

Field Trip!

2005-11-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! I just got back from volunteering at the elementary school across the street. I found out that I get to go along on their field trip to Science City next month. Yaay! Ok, so I'm a little intimidated too. I have never been on this side of a field trip before. But I'm sure it'll be great and fun. I love these kids. Volunteering there has sorta made me want to be a teacher...REALLY BAD. Before I started college that was definitely a possibility I was considering, but as terrible as it is I think that my parents may have somewhat talked me out of it. I'll admit I'm kinda spoiled, but I'm really not looking to be rich. That is the farthest thing from my mind. I do love accounting as weird as that is. Ugh! I wish I had 4 lifetimes so I could be everything I'd love to be. I've been placating myself saying that I can volunteer with children and still not have that as my career. But seeing my favorite teacher ever is just really inspiring I guess.

There has been knitting here. The Christmas rush has begun (at least I didn't wait till the very last minute) so I'll have plenty to keep me busy. I joined a holiday kal hosted by the lovely Alison to help me keep on track. I have 6 items on my list, but 3 are for people close enough they won't mind a late gift, which helps. I also joined Lisa's Naked Stix by 06 kal to help me finish up some stuff. You know, like the clapotis that's been on the needles for MONTHS. Look at me go! I'll be updating the sidebar...sometime.

So here's my first holiday knit, a scarf for the teacher I help at the elementary school. She's been so good to me and I really want to thank her.

Isn't it pretty? Not to toot my own horn or anything. It's knit with some really soft Frog Tree Alpaca. Mmm, Vicki like alpaca. And I designed it myself from Knittting on the Edge and the first Barbara Walker book. The curling thing is worrying me, but I'm hoping a good block will help that and the lace to shine a bit more.

I've been working on my Kiri, but it looks exactly the same as last time. It's getting a bit S L O W. In July it seemed like I had forever until Christmas, but now I'm getting a bit worried.

I finished seaming up the baby sweater. My first decent seams, WOOHOO! Here's a cute picture of it.

Since I don't have a baby, or a friend with a baby, I don't have much use for this sweater though. I wanted a good practice of cables, which I feel pretty comfortable with now, and I figured it'd make a good Dulaan donation. So until I send it off, this is the only thing I can think of to do with it.

I must confess that this pose was actually Jaime's idea, but he refused to let me photograph him in it. Just try to picture it though. Haha.

So I have one more thing to show, but I'll save it for another day. I'm off to warm up some mozzarella sticks. MMmmm, the perks of having a boyfriend who works at Sonic. Have a great day!

The Meme

2005-11-13T14:10:00.000-08:00

So I owe at least one person this meme. Don't remember who exactly, but whatever. Here goes.

What is your all-time favorite yarn to knit with?
Yeah, I haven't knit with that many yarns, but as I mentioned recently I think my fave is Cascade 220. I love the feel of it and could it come in more colors? Good stuff!

Your favorite needles?
I know everyone loves their Addi's, but I sorta prefer Inox to tell the truth.

The worst thing you've ever knit?
Well, there's the Homespun poncho. Which wasn't bad at first, but grew quite a bit. But I do love how soft and cuddly it is. There's also the hat I planned to felt, but that my mom stole before I got a chance and then couldn't figure out why it was so big. And of course the socks that just don't quite fit...

Your most favourite knit pattern? (maybe you don't like wearing it...but it was the most fun to knit)
I've really enjoyed knitting things that require more than stockinette, like the cabley baby sweater and Kiri.

Most valuable knitting technique?
I'd have to say the most valuable I've learned recently is how to seam without it looking terrible. My first seams didn't look so good.

Best knit book or magazine?
Again, I haven't read that many, but my overall favorite mag is IK. It consistently has the most things I'd actually like to make.

Your favourite knit-a-long?
I loved Sockapal2za, so fun to get socks someone else made for me.

Your favourite knitblogs?
Who asks something like that? I mean, that's like asking whether I love my mom or dad more! My list is in the sidebar, those are the ones I read.

Your favourite knitwear designer?
Uhh, I really couldn't say. There are so many amazing designers each with their own specialty or look.

The knit item you wear the most? (how about a picture of it!)
Well, not wear the most, but the one I use most is sadly my washcloth. Every morning baby! Other than that I guess my most worn is my fun fur scarf from last winter, but it is looking a little worn.

That wasn't so bad!

In other news, I've begun the requisite holiday knitting. You'll get sick of hearing about it I'm sure. Ahh, deadlines :)

Learning Curve

2005-11-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

That's what I'm facing right now, a learning curve. And I'm not used to it. I am usually a pretty quick learner, like with knitting. I picked that up and I was off. But this spinning thing, not so easy. I LOVE the spinning, LOVE IT! But then I get going too fast, and the drop spindle drops. EEK! Now I have to grab it up before everything undoes itself completely and try to re-attach the roving. I officially SUCK at this. I think it's partly due to the fact that unlike the cute chubby yarn I've seen most new spinners make, I tend more towards the thread end of the spectrum. So then I put the spinning away before I must throw it out the window. And it sits. For like weeks. That's where we were this morning when I decided to give it another shot. After a few tries I got it started again (THANK GOD) and was off. Yaay. I'm still not so much even, but I love my spinning yet again. And the joining thing gets easier, right??

Here's the little bit I spun up this morning.

The plan is that eventually I will get through all of this bluey stuff that I have and then I will ply it with some plain white goodness. That is, once I figure out how the hell to ply on a drop spindle... I did it on the wheel in my class, too bad I don't have a wheel huh?

Here are some pictures of the knitting that I'm working on, finally. I'll even be updating my sidebar...soon.

This is the cabley baby sweater.

The knitting part is done and actually I've seamed up one side since this picture was taken. This is my first attempt at real seaming, as opposed to the crappy seams that have been showcased (or rather, hidden on the back) on my previous projects. I get the instructions from ever encouraging Lauren who said that if I can kitchener I can seam. Who knew?

And this is the new pair of socks I've started. I'm on the endless stockinette part.

These are the brightest socks I've ever seen, but they're growing on me for sure. Jaime picked out the yarn and kept bugging me to knit them, so here they are. And on a side note, after seeing me knitting and loving his choice in sock yarn, I convinced him to buy me yarn for Christmas!! And even more surprisingly, he's excited about it. "So I can buy anything?" he asked. I gave a few basic guidelines (how many balls of this or that I need for a pair of socks, no baby poop green, etc.) but other than that I'm open. I'll let you know how he does.

Funk

2005-11-04T12:01:00.000-08:00

I've been in a bit of a funk the past couple days. Seems that, like the cold that I also caught recently, the funk is spreading around. I know I've read several blog posts from people whose depression has caught up to them and the same is true for me. My depression is generally not an issue for me anymore, but then there are times when it hits hard. I find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning. I'm even lazier than usual, if you can imagine that. It just feels like nothing I do will ever be good enough, so why bother trying. And then when things don't go well and money isn't working for us, it just builds up. Yesterday was pretty bad. I may have snapped a bit. I was getting an attitude with Jaime, and then I just start crying for no reason. And he never quite knows what to do. I don't know how he lives with me on days like that. I obviously really scared him with such comments as "I can't stand you." I think I just was hoping he could make everything better and understand just what I'm feeling (even though I don't know), and then he was his normally endearing but yesterday annoying self. I really need to learn not to look to other people to snap me out of things like this. Luckily I'm feeling a bit better today. I made it into the shower and got dressed, which helps.

I haven't so much gotten around to taking all the pictures I wanna show, but here's some to start with. Gotta stretch them out ya know.

Introducing, the super secret mystery quickie project. I seriously knit these both in 4 days. And I'm S-L-O-W!

Yaay for Natalya! I LOVE these things. So perfect for sitting in the same freezing auditorium for 3 hours taking notes and keeping fingers from turning blue (I swear it's happened before). I made them out of my official fave yarn ever (which doesn't mean much as I've knit with like 5 yarns ever) Cascade 220 and took less than one skein. Is that the happiest thing ever or what? I think I need more. And maybe to make them for random other people so I have an excuse to use this pattern and yarn together again. For the record, they'd look better on someone with thinner arms and hands, but I'll take what I can get.

I'm off to knit on super secret not so quickie project two. Ok, so it's only secret because, like these, I'm too lazy to take pictures and share. Soon my pets.

Could I BE More Boring?

2005-10-30T18:48:00.000-08:00

Yeah, probably not. Sorry bout that guys. I've been on a serious knitting kick though. When I get around to getting dressed and taking pics I'll have lots of things to show ya. In fact, I have an FO that never even made it to the WIP list. It was sooo nice to knit, I just couldn't help myself. And I most certainly DID NOT stay home from school one day to knit on it. I wouldn't do that! Annnyway. Today I got on this kick that I needed to email a bunch of old friends and see what they're up to. I really hate that I never talk to any of my old high school friends. But maybe we'll keep in touch now. Ok, so that's about all I've got. Pictures tomorrow, or I'll....do them later :)