Life, the Universe & Knitting Things

Moments to Treasure from the Week

2011-05-14T17:34:00.000-05:00

Not much knitting or anything done this week. I mainly spent the week trying to meet a deadline, resulting in CG watching approximately four hours of Mickey on Thursday. To make up for it, we spent basically the entire day at the park on Friday. This morning we had a photo shoot with Stephanie and discussed a possible second photographer role for me in her growing business. I enjoyed our session and her company, she's a very cool kind of person. I'm looking into investing in a used DSLR camera and selling off my 35mm film cameras, with a promise to myself to buy an old Canon AE-1 (my very first camera which was stolen from me in Tucson) when I have the money and a darkroom. I love digital, but nothing beats the feel of film, or the smell of a darkroom for that matter. Anyone have any ideas where I can pick up a good used DSLR, preferably not a $2,000.00 one?

Simply Ten Good Things*

2011-04-25T13:47:00.000-05:00

Dyeing eggs, for Easter deviled eggs
Beginning our own family traditions
A chocolate bunny
The excitement of Easter morning
A new handknit sweater
That sweet neck
That suit, oh I love that suit...!
Mama made toys and fresh flowers
Birds singing
Trees leafing out...

There's nothing quite like a list of ten lovely things to start out the week, especially on such a grey and rainy day. It grounds me in the now and reminds me of all the good I have in my life, despite the hardships coming. Have a happy Monday!

*Inspired by Soulemama, though not nearly as lovely as hers.

Two

2011-04-20T09:23:00.000-05:00

Connor is now two, two, TWO!! When did this happen? When did my baby become a boy? This past year has been so amazing. He went from a little baby with a funny crawl to a boy that runs and climbs and goes down the slide all by himself. He tells me "Connor's turn, mama" when he wants a sip of my drink or to talk on the phone. He climbs everything, knows his colors and even helps feed the dogs and make dinner. My baby's a big boy, and I couldn't be prouder.

Then and now

The New Year

2011-01-07T15:53:00.000-05:00

This is it, the New Year, the year in which we all change something. Swear to ourselves that this year will be different, this year we will be better, this year we will do better for ourselves, our loved ones, our pets. This year we will set and maintain goals, we will be more fun, more spontaneous, more exciting, more responsible, more, more, more...

That's something isn't it? These broad promises we make to ourselves and then break and then torture ourselves over breaking them. We set ourselves up for disappointment, we think "Surely I must be able to keep these five, ten, eighteen promises to myself...There is soo much time in a year! Certainly 365 days is plenty of time to do everything?" I tell you this, after a disappointing year of breaking all my resolutions, this year I only hope.

This year I hope will be better than the last. This year I hope to do things for myself that I normally don't do...this year I hope to make more and do more. This year I hope I can speak up when I am upset, rather than bite my tongue for fear of hurting the feelings of others. This year I hope I can live more gently and thoughtfully, spend more time with my family, and find a way to make it all work. This year I hope I can help people better understand me and I hope I can be clear when expressing myself. This year I hope I can let go of resentment and jealousy and live happily within my own life with my own limitations.

Most of all, this year I hope Ryan gets what he wants so that he can be happy and my that little boy (no longer a baby but a toddler, a boy) continues to grow and thrive and be healthy and happy.

Happy New Year to you, my wish is that you can realize at least some of your hopes for this new year.

Gifting

2010-12-16T14:55:00.000-05:00

Every year I convince myself that it will be the year our holidays are completely handmade, and every year I fail at it.* This year is no exception. I had grand plans for knitted gifts for everyone on my list, and now Christmas is a little over a week away and I have nothing to show for it. Well, not nothing...I have two dishcloths and a sweet little pink and white baby sweater for my cousin...and a Christmas sweater on the needles for Connor and a nearly finished cowl. But I wanted to make fingerless mitts for the ladies 10 washcloths and mittens or hats for the fellas. It's possible I can finish the washcloths and make hats for everyone (that's 7 hats,people), if it's in a bulky weight yarn or a doubled worsted weight. Truthfully, what I should do is work on one item each month and then by Christmas I'll be done. In theory. What I want to do is knit finish Connor's Christmas sweater, make something for my lovely hubbie and do a bunch if things just for me! I rarely knit for myself and I have so many things I want to make, so many projects in my queue that i never get to because i am always knitting something for someone. There aren't enough hours in the day to get it all done! I am thinking of not knitting my brother a hat this year, (because we have some revision work to do on his Viking hat) and instead making him something funny and stitchy. Anyway, we are getting in the Christmas spirit and this weekend the house will be cleaned and decorated, cards will be sent and gift planning will begin!

*Although, last year I whipped up two hats before Christmas and a pair of mittens by January..so that's not tooo bad....

NUTTU JA KYPÄRÄMYSSY (Jacket and Hat)

2010-12-13T13:48:00.000-05:00

This post really only pertains to the knitters out there. I found a hat pattern that I like, for the bambini, so I translated it. I hope I translated it well, but not havging knit it yet, there's no way to know. Anyway, below is the English translation of the original Finnish pattern Jacket and Hat by Arja Viitala

Jacket and Hat by Arja Viitala

Size: 23.5” (60 cm)
Yarn: 4 skeins of Novita Wool or 591 yards of any DK weight yarn
(Approx. One hank of Novita for the hat (148yds) and 3 (444yds) for the jacket)
Needles: US 4 (3.5mm) and a 3.0mm crochet hook
Notions: 6 buttons
Gauge: 22 stitches and 50 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch
Stitch Pattern: Garter stitch, knit every row.

JACKET:

Back:

Cast on 60 stitches and work in garter stitch until the piece measures 9 ¾” (25 cm)from CO edge, BO all stitches

Left Front:

Cast on 32 stitches and knit in garter stitch. When the piece measures 7 ¾” (20cm), begin the neckline over the next as follows:

1. BO 4 stitches, knit to end (28 sts)

2. Knit

3. BO 4 stitches, knit to end (24 sts)

4. Knit

5. BO 5 stitches, knit to end (19 sts)

Knit until the piece measures 9 ¾” (25 cm) from CO edge, BO all stitches

Right front: Knit as same for left front, adding button holes every 1.5”, starting 1 ¾” from CO edge, as follows: K3, K2tog, YO, K to end **

** Be sure to do neckline decreases on the same edge as you did the button holes!

Sleeves (knit both the same):
CO 40 stitches and k until the piece measures 4” (10cm)

Begin increases:

Knit 3, Inc 1, K to last 3, Inc 1, K3 (42 sts)

K for 1” (2cm)

Knit 3, Inc 1, K to last 3, Inc 1, K3 (44 sts)

K for 1” (2cm)

Knit 3, Inc 1, K to last 3, Inc 1, K3 (46 sts)

K for 1” (2cm)

Knit 3, Inc 1, K to last 3, Inc 1, K3 (48 sts)

Knit until the piece measures 7.5” from CO edge (19cm)

BO all stitches

Finishing:

Sew Shoulder seams, attach the sleeves and sew sleeve and side seams. Crochet around the edges as follows: *1sc, 2 ch, 1 dc, skip s 2-3 or 5-6 rows in between* repeat between **

~I do not crochet, so I am not sure if the above makes any sense in crochet language.

Attach buttons, weave in ends and block.

HAT:

CO 32 stitches and K every row

1: K2, increase 1, k to last 4 stitches, K2tog, K2

2: K

Repeat rows 1 & 2 above 14 times (28 rows) then switch:

1: K2, K2tog, K to last 4 Inc1, K4

2: K

Repeat rows 1 & 2 above 14 times (28 rows) then switch:

1: K2, increase 1, k to last 4 stitches, K2tog, K2

2: K

Repeat rows 1 and 2 above 9 times (18 rows), then switch

(this is where the shaping is for the point above the face)

1: K2, K2tog, K to last 4 Inc1, K4

2: K

Repeat rows 1 and 2 above 9 times (18 rows), then switch

(this is where the shaping is for the point above the face)

1: K2, increase 1, k to last 4 stitches, K2tog, K2

2: K

Repeat rows 1 & 2 above 14 times (28 rows) then switch:

1: K2, K2tog, K to last 4 Inc1, K4

2: K
Repeat rows 1 & 2 above 14 times (28 rows)

Bind off all stitches
Finishing:
Sew edges together to that are opposite the point for the face. (See diagram below) Pick up 2-4 stitches at one edge and make an i-cord for 8”, repeat for other side.

The weekend

2010-12-10T15:49:00.000-05:00

Ah, the weekend….the most wonderful time of the week. I can’t wait to have a couple of days of solid “Connor Time” I have a stack of freshly printed knitting patterns and plans to whip up a pair of mittens and at least one hat for my little guy. I have plans for gifts, but am not entirely sure I will get to them. What I really need is two to three days of solid knitting and nothing else. I doubt that will ever happen. In the mean time I will try to get at least a few things done. I really need to do something for my DH, he hasn’t received a knitted anything in forever. Meanwhile, Stephen is loading up on hats. Perhaps the goal should be one fabulous knitted gift per Christmas? I could rotate the recipient each year. THAT may be a plan, my friends. Going forward, not this year…this year people will get what they get. If it’s knitted, good for you! If not, maybe next time!

Meanwhile, today is our fifth anniversary. What a ride, five years dating, two married and 20 months, 2days of being parents. Happy Anniversary.

I sang "Rudolph" over 100 times last week.

2010-12-08T14:36:00.000-05:00

I won’t apologize for my absence. I know now that by neglecting things here I was able to squeeze out every last moment of “Connor time” my days at home would allow. Now that I am at work again I can see how I would have regretted putting him off for this, and you. (No offense meant.)
Connor is in his fourth week of daycare, a nice little family care place with two sweet young women running it. Today is day two of dropping Connor off without tears. (His, not mine.) It’s a bittersweet victory. On the one hand I don’t want to see my little boy cry, on the other I am selfishly sad that he now seems to leave me with so much ease. I can picture his earnest little face, chubby hand waving good-bye. I was deserted for French toast.
I miss our days together, frustrating as they could sometimes be. Walks, playing at the park, feeding the ducks, stacking blocks, running back and forth over the footbridge at the neighboring apartments, snuggling together, all our daily activities. I especially miss laying him down for his naps, that moment just after he falls asleep where his whole body relaxes and I can feel all his weight resting on me, and hear him snore softly. I miss him, desperately. I know I am not the only mother to feel this way, but I do not know any other mothers with little ones in my area, and I don’t know any mothers who have been in my situation of being home for such a long time and then suddenly having to return to work. I feel isolated and alone with no one to really understand what I have been going through these weeks that I have returned to work.

It has been an adjustment, for both of us. For all of us, really. It’s a finely choreographed dance we do in the mornings now, if we miss one step the whole dance is off resulting in a missed lunch to make up for a missed morning, and a long and difficult evening with a cranky toddler.

Now that the Christmas lights are going up Connor has something to look at on our way to the highway. He loves the lights and often tells me that they are cool. In Springfield they have Bright Nights and we hope to take him before they are taken down. I think Connor will be riveted by the displays. I have found that singing Christmas carols to him is an effective way to keep him happy on the drive back home. His favorite is Rudolph. I believe I sang it every single night last week, at least twenty times. When it’s over, he says his version of “again”, so on and on we go. Sometimes he’ll allow a few repetitions of Jingle Bells, but only if I start it with the “dashing through the snow” verse, otherwise he gets upset that I have gypped him out of an entire song.

I am currently in a knitting frenzy, trying to get something done for everyone on my list, getting distracted by other projects I want to do for Connor and myself. I found out that my cousin and his wife are have a baby girl, so I’ve knit them a few things…and am addicted to baby knitting. I want to make ten thousand bonnets, but have had to rein it in. There are sweaters and socks to make for myself and for Connor. I have 3 skeins of Christmas sock yarn and have not cast on for a single pair, even though I only justified the last purchase by promising myself I would do so. I have a sample pair to knit for a friend and two designs in the works. And yet, I have only finished Jess’s birthday gift. I have sooo much more to do. I think it is time for a project a night; small, simple things that can be done quickly. Intermixed with all o that is my desire to decorate for Christmas, clean out the house and make some Christmas things…a banner, a stocking for Connor and some soft ornaments for the bottom of the tree…otherwise known as the “Connor Zone”. As you can see I have a lot on my plate and very little time in which to get it done. If I could enlist helpers, I would. I would have everyone I know over to help me craft things and clean and decorate. I’d entice them with food, desserts, wine and beer. However, I think I am too far from my loved ones and therefore it is up to the two of us to get it all done. Everything that needs to be done, will be. Everything else can wait.

Le Sigh

2010-06-18T12:39:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a jerk, I've been. Not only did I blow my resolution, but I've taken months to finally get back on here and post something! I really admire those moms who post every day. They must hand their kids over to their husbands and RUN to the computer to put together a post. I wish I was more like that. In any event a lot has been going on since my last post. Connor began crawling and is now walking, well running really. He has also figured out how to go up the stairs and up a stepladder, but not down. He runs away and laughs when I chase him. It's all very cute. On the other side of it, I think he may be starting the "Terrific Twos" early. He screams, I mean SCREAMS when he does not get his way. HE has temper tantrums quite often. I do my best to ignore the screaming and crying and I explain to him why things are the way they are and give him something else to do. It works about half the time. So, what else? Well, the little monkey turned one on the 8th of April and Steve got married on the 10th of April. It was a nice wedding, although I STILL haven't seen any of their pictures.

On the job front, I still don't have one, but I need one before the end of summer. Sigh. The thought of putting Connor in daycare makes me queasy. I don't like the idea of non-family looking after him, but millions of people do it, so I know I just need to man up about it. In knitting, not a whole lot, some dishcloths some swiffer covers I have 2 pair of socks and a sweater on the needles. I'd really like to start designing. So maybe I will, I just really don't like gauge swatches! Again, I'm just going t have to suck it up, because I have an idea for a sweater for the C-Man and it's not going to write itself.

We went to AZ in May for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. I had a great time. We all did. We took Connor to the zoo for the first time and Ryan's second time. They loved it! There were bears and monkeys, lions and rhinos and elephants. It was great. i wish I could afford to go out there more often. It's always so nice to spend time with my grandparents. I really love and miss them so much.

I let Connor play with markers yesterday. It was both good and bad. Good: he had a lot of fun and I have his first masterpiece on the fridge. Bad: When he got bored he sucked on the end of the marker and we both still bear the marks of a green marker. Apparently they wash off of everything but skin. I think I'll get him some of those Crayola ones that only write on the special paper. Might be easier.

Well, I think that gets you mostly caught up with things. The stuff I skipped over is all of your typical family drama. Which I can't really talk about. Let's just say I'm hurt and I'm upset and I'm sad for Connor because he's really the one that loses on all of this. Speaking of Connor I'm going to end this with a few pictures of my baby boy.

On his birthday

At the splash park in Tempe, AZ

At McCormick Ranch Railroad Park in Scottsdale, AZ

Where does the time go?

2010-01-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

Holy crap! Where DOES the time go? I have really broken my resolution. To be fair, though I did try to post an awesome video of Connor last week but blogger took FOREVER to load it, and eventually my computer said, "no more!" And stopped the whole thing. Sigh. And now it's all screwy and I can't post a picture or anything. So that's that. I really have a lot more to say, but I hear a crying baby, so I better go take care of that. More soon...

Plants

2010-01-09T13:19:00.002-05:00

I started keeping plants this year, well last year, but towards the end, and have managed to keep five, yes FIVE plants alive. Which is a small miracle because plants never tell you when they need water, they just up and die on you. Stupid martyrs. So I have two ivys a creeping charlie, some hanging flowers and a Christmas cactus, currently blooming. I also pulled up some wild mint from the backyard and put it in a pot in the house. It's growing like mad, and I have no idea what to do with it! Connor voted for eating it right out of the pot. Well, not so much eating as pulling leaves off and sucking on them until something else catches his interest. I voted that suggestion down, so now I just need to figure out what to do with this out of control mint. Suggestions? While you're ruminating, I am going to go out and get some pots to replant the cactus and the flowers, they are quickly outgrowing their homes. Maybe I'll go to Annie's they have a sign luring me over there...something about having everything I need to make my own terrarium...

Some things...

2010-01-09T12:34:00.009-05:00

Apparently if you don't send thank you cards out right away people get upset. Who knew? Well, in any event, they are going out en masse today. In order to acheive that little feat I stopped bathing my baby. Yes that's right in exchange for "thank you's" I had to have a filthy baby for a few days. I mean, I wiped him with a washcloth but as we all know, that's not the same as a bath! He's cool with it though, he hasn't been crying about it and I can't write my name on him by wiping away filth, so all in all it's no big deal.

Moving on! Some things I have been knitting, I knit a bunch of bonnets and booties for an auction for my church, but of course I didn't take pics of everything. I also knit something for a friend's baby girl (bonnet & booties) and OF COURSE was in such a rush to mail it that I didn't take a photo of either, but they were super cute, lavender and flamingo pink! Can't you just picture it with little jeans and a long sleeve skull tee? I knit a hat for my dad, devil stylie, and an earflap hat for K and a Hannah hat for S. I'm starting a battle bonnet for Steve and mom & Anne are having gifts knit as well. And I need to do up another Gnomey hat for A's boy twin, the girl twin's is finished. Oh and I knit a Gnomey hat, a pixie hat and a pumpkin hat for C. So that's that, let's begin the photos! Of course, you can also access this on ravelry, too.

MONSTAH

Snowbunny

Laundry Day

Hannah Hat

Connor's Gnomey

Ok, so I have more photos but I haven't e-mailed them to myself from Ryan's phone yet, so we'll just have to wait on those.

I sent Ryan up justa minute ago to handle getting Connor down for a nap and it's completely silent. I wonder if they passed put from the stress of it all? Maybe Ryan actually got Connor to sleep and in his crib! I wonder...I better check on them...Nope, asleep on Ry's chest, but sleeping in his room. It's the little victories. Well, I better get to work over here. Until next time!

That didn't take long

2010-01-06T09:01:00.002-05:00

Boy, it sure didn't take long for me to start breaking my New Year's resolution! Well, can I beg off and blame it on a lousy internet connection and wanting to maximize my last couple days with the mom & Steve?

Monday was a great day for all of us, Steve babysat Connor so Mom and I could go out. We hit the salvation army where I got two wicker baskets, one for shoes the other for laundry, and three books for under $15.00! The we went to B&N and I got a couple knitting mags and a fun little book, the latest in the Undead & Unwed series. (I know, I know, but sometimes my brain needs a little bubblegum!) I also checked for Breaking Dawn in paperback, but they only had hardcover...is it in paperback yet? I sooo got sucked into that series. What can I say? I love vampire books. Anyway, so that was Monday and then on Tuesday it was time to drop them off at the airport. It was so nice to see them both, and I'll see them again in April for Connor's birthday and Stevie's wedding. It was such a help to have mom out here. Sometimes it's really nice to be able to have my hands free for an extended period of time!

This week I'm starting Connor on (hopefully) consistent naps in his crib, and not in the swing, in my arms, on the couch next to me, etc. and then we're going to move on to nighttime in the crib, consistently (hopefully). So I hope that goes well, but I think I might be in for an exhausting week or two. Right now he's playing in his pack n' play with his wooden caterpillar, but he just started making the sleepy noises so I think I'll go put him down for a nap. Pictures of my most recent knit things when I reconnect my laptop to the internet!

It's been a while...

2010-01-03T14:28:00.007-05:00

It's been a while, to say the least. I made a New Year's resolution to post at least once everyday this year, even if it's just a photo. I know, I know, I already missed two days, but that will lead me into the following year. As you probably already know, a lot has been going on this year. I had Connor, I graduated law school and took the bar exam (which I did not pass), Ry and I had our wedding ceremony and joined the church, and I've been here at home with the wee man. Which has, at times, been trying, but wonderful. And I have been knitting, I'll show you in another post.

Today Connor was baptized in the Methodist Church. He wore Ryan's baptism outfit and a bonnet that my mom made for him yesterday. It was a beautiful ceremony, our pastor has known Connor since he was four-ish months old, and Connor was so calm and at ease with him. He didn't even cry when our Pastor put the water to his head, although Ryan did. He was then blessed and walked around and show to the congregation. Then we were welcomed as new members of the church. It was a very special day for all of us. Ry's parents and sister couldn't make it because of inclement weather, and they were missed. However, because they couldn't make it we decided to share the baptism cake I made for him with the congregation and that was so special to me and to some of our new friends there. All in all it was a lovely day.

In his outfit

The bonnet Mom made

The cake

The baptism

How about some pics of Connor?

2009-07-18T15:02:00.005-05:00

Connor is now Three months, one week and three days old. Here are a few pics of his journey to this age.

Wow, it's been a while!

2009-05-25T11:01:00.004-05:00

Hello! Sorry to have made you all wait for so long for a post. Mommyhood and finishing law school are quite a time suck! There are a few things I want to accomplish with this post the first being that I'd like to get the birth story down, while I can remember most of the details.

At my 41 week check up, my midwife did her usual things and told me that I was still not dilated and that Connor was still at -2 station. I took one look at Ry and, as we discussed I asked if I could be induced, explaining that I had law school finals coming up and I was so tired and swollen and bloated from being pregnant that I was ready. My midwife explained that usually they wait until 42 weeks to induce unless someone requested it earlier than that. She said it was no problem and called the hospital and the other midwife on call. I wasn't expecting to be induced that night, but they had space available so they scheduled me to check in at 7:00pm. Ry and I went home and packed some last minute things into my hospital bag, called K to come up and look after the dogs and we were off. We checked in and at about 8:00pm The on-call midwife, J, came in and explained what they were going to do, firt they were going to put in some cervadil to "ripen" and soften my cervix, and they they were going to give me some prostoglandin (sp?) to put me into labor. J explained that every once in a while cervadil will put a woman into labor, but it rarely happens with new mothers. So she put in the cervadil at about 8:15 and it was to be left in for 12 hours. RY and I chatted and talked about how nervous we were to become parents. The nurses and I told him to go get a stiff drink somewhere, he checked the convenience store across the way to see if they had some beer, but had no luck. When he came back we chatted some more, I got a shot to help me sleep around eleven thirty and then we went to sleep.

At about 3:00am, I woke up and felt a little funny. I kept having this aching pressure that would come and go and it was pretty intense. So I started breathing through it and timing myself. One minute long and about four minutes apart. I was in labor. I didn't want to wake Ry until it got a little more intense so I stayed in bed and kept timing things. The night nurse came in and asked if I was on my cell phone (which is not allowed in the labor & delivery rooms), I told her no, I was timing myself because I thought I was in labor. She smiled, and I think didn't really believe me until I had a contraction right in front of her and then we woke Ry and she went to get J. J checked on me and said that yes I was having contractions and hooked me up to a contraction/heart rate monitor, and things got into gear. RYan was great, he held my hand and reminded me to count and breathe through each contraction. J kept monitoring me, and Connor's heart rate, she kept me on the monitor because she didn't really like what his heart was doing the heartbeat wasn;t reading the way she wanted it to, so she gave me some juice to see if she could perk him up. It worked for a bit and then it went right back to what it was doing. At about 6:00am the contractions were a minute long and only a minute apart and I asked if I could go into the jacuzzi tub. My nurse and midwife got the tub ready and Ry helped me to it. He sat next to me and held my hand when he could (when I could) and talked to me and reassured me...at some point I looked at Ryan and told him I didn't think I could handle it anymore. I was so tired, I hadn't gotten any sleep that night and the night before I had barely slept. I was crying a little at the end of each contraction, I told Ry I felt like I wanted an epidural, but that I felt guilty about it. I had so wanted a natural labor, but I was just too overwhelmed. Ry reassured me and reminded me that it is ok to have an epidural and that if I wanted one and felt like I couldn't handle anymore, then I should get one. SO I talked to J about it and she kept telling me I was doing so well without and to keep thinking about it. it kind of made me feel worse, but then there was a shift change and Midwife P came on...Ry and I talked about it again, between contractions and told P I wanted an epidural. She said fine and I got out of the tub. They still had me on the monitor and did not like what was going on with Connor's heart rate. P checked me too see where I was for dilation and she said I was at about 5 1/2cm, but then my water broke and I was only at 4cm ("but a stretchy 4"). P also did not like what was going on with Connor;s heart rate. It was dipping after each contraction instead of during each contraction and it was concerning them.

So finally the anesthesiologist came down to do the epidural, while he was doing that some nurses came in to do my blood. He was working on my back and this nurse came in and she jabbed my arm, removed the needle part way jabbed it in again and moved it around, meanwhile I'm balling, it was painful what she was doing to my arm and he was hurting me in my back, I was weeping uncontrollably. The nurse working on my arm gave a nasty sigh and said "I can;t get it from her" and looked at the nurse holding me still for the epidural. My nurse told her to come back in about 20 minutes, after the epidural was done. The doc finished up, but not before I had more jabbing in the back and felt blood running down my back. RY kept trying to get me to visualize the grand canyon and our vacation in AZ, but I asked him to stop, I'm not a visualization type person, and I fear I was a little short with him, but Ry was a trooper and took it fine. The doc hooked me up to an automated machine to regulate my epidural and was off. It was sweet sweet relief and I really wanted to take a nap, but P kept talking to me about Connor's heart rate, and then after about a half hour or forty-five minutes I mentioned that I could feel a pinch when I was having a contraction, then after a little bit I could feel a little cramp. Right around that time she called the anesthesiologist to come down and give me a little button to deliver more meds if I was uncomfortable, so another doc came down and did that. After that P had talked with the OB and they decided that due to my lack of progression with dilation and Connor's heart rate, I should have a c-section. They talked and explained to both of us and Ry and I said we would do whatever was best for Connor. Our focus was on our ultimate goal of having a healthy baby. So we agreed to a C-section. Those pinches and cramps I mentioned earlier? It became full-blown labor contractions. I kept pressing that little button that was installed, but ti wasn't working. P kept calling for an Anesthesiologist to fix it, but since we were going into the OR, no one was really in a rush to fix it. BY the time they wheeled me into the OR I was shaking with contractions and felt like I needed to push. When I got in the new Anesthesiologist checked the machine I was hooked up to for the epidural and it turns out it was broken and not delivering any medicine, that why I could feel the contractions again. Anyway he administered the c-section meds and numbed me from the chest down, they set up the sheets around me and the Ryan came in. He sat with me and held my hand and then P told him to come see Connor being delivered. the moment I heard his little wail, I started crying. i remember thinking "How is the Doctor going to stitch me up? I'm shaking so hard with my crying!" Finally, after he was weighed and cleaned I got to see him. It was the best moment of my life. (I mean aside from marrying Ry, obviously)

It took me about four weeks to come to terms with the fact that I'd had major surgery. Ryan, my mom, my MIL, everyone kept telling me that, but I just could not get it through my head. I was a little sad that things didn't go the way I'd wanted. i wanted a natural and normal childbirth, but I'd caved and had an epidural and then had to have a C-section. One of my midwives, R, told me that it was natural to grieve a little for having that option of childbirth taken away from me by having to have a c-section. In all though, I recognize the fact that I got exactly what I wanted a happy, healthy, beautiful baby boy. I couldn't be happier.

Connor At Easter

2009-04-12T19:28:00.005-05:00

We made sure that Connor was in his Easter finest for the 1st drive home!

Introducing Connor George

2009-04-12T19:11:00.003-05:00

J's hubby Ry posting here. Without further ado, here is the story of Connor's birth. After waiting a week and no baby, we went to the Midwifes for the check. Knowing that we could have waited another week before they would induce, J and I asked, why not do it today? That was at 4:30 on Tuesday the 7th, at 7:00 PM that night, we were checked in, by 7:30 the nurse induced J. Fast forward to 3:30 AM on Wednesday, and the contractions started. No matter how hard we wished, Connor refused to budge. At 9:00 J got an epidural. Later that morning, the team knew that he was not budging and we all agreed on a C-section. At exactly 12:01 on Wednesday, he came out yelling at the top of his lungs. I cut the cord, and the nurses and doctors took a bunch of pictures. J had minimum side effects, Connor needed some lights for jaundice, and we all came home on Easter Sunday, which turned out to be the best Easter present J or I could have hoped for.

Hi All,

Not yet

2009-04-02T14:52:00.000-05:00

No baby yet. Will keep you posted.

Baby's room

2009-03-24T15:29:00.004-05:00

So we've been trying to finsh things up around the house before the bambino arrives, the first thing that we finished was the baby's room. I sewed up some black gingham curtains and loaded up the shelves organized the clothes by size, etc. Ry painted the room and assembled the furniture and we together we got it finished about a week or so ago. So here are some pics of the room.

The dogs love hanging out in there, I think it's their favorite spot in the house!

Meanwhile, I'm STILL pregnant and am really wishing that this little boy is not late. We'll see, but I am so done, lugging this extra weight around is no fun! I am also really looking forward to the next phase, so hopefully he'll pick up on the fact that his new place is so much better and more fun that his place now, and he'll join us sooner rather than later. In the meantime, here's a pic of my almost 39 week baby belly:

Huge, right? To be fair I took the picture with my camera that's built in to the Mac, and I was reclining, but I'd say it's pretty accurate for size.

Hello Again

2009-03-04T16:08:00.005-05:00

Well, hello there. I'm sorry it's been so long, a lot has been going on since I last posted. First, I was, in fact, laid off from work. So I spent much of February finishing things up for work and getting all my files in order for the people that will be taking on my workload. All in all, despite most of the people there, it wasn't a bad job. I enjoyed the work but not the various and sundry people that i worked with. The was The Pervert Sleeper (he liked to take naps at his desk and look at porn, before they put the regulators onto the internet system), The Butt Shaking Nail Clipper (he liked to shake the rug out in front of the receptionist by bending over at the waist and shaking his behind at her while straightening the rug, and he clipped his nails everyday at his desk), there was Dog Breath (his breath smelled as though he munched on dog feces while sitting in his office) and of course there was Useless (a woman who was employed there solely because of her brother's pull, because she is in fact completely useless and has no idea how to work or what to do, she's only there an hour a day to eat her lunch and then she goes home). So it will be a complete joy to not have to ever be near those four again!

I also had my baby shower, hosted by my MIL and SIL. They did an absolutely wonderful job and really went out of their way to make it nice. The food was amazing my SIL prepared a lot of the apps and I believe she and my MIL prepared the lunch. A good friend of the family made cupcakes (the only thing I asked for), and they were perfection! Tasty little pieces of heaven! So here's a few pics of the shower:

We received a lot of really lovely gifts and it was a wonderful time.

I also finished the Baby Surprise Jacket by EZ. I think I already told you that? Did I? Well, in any event I actually finished it, I blocked it, sewed buttons on and did a crochet edge to make it look more finished. it ended up being Newborn size so the baby will only be in it for about a half second if what every one tells me is true. It looks fine, I just found it to be a terribly boring and unenjoyable knit. Either way,here's a pic of it:

I'm going to finish this post with a belly shot, mainly because my heart's not really into blogging today, I've been sick with a cold and Sam the Dog is really bothering me to play with him. So here's the belly:

Bugger

2009-02-09T18:29:00.000-05:00

I caught that bug, that nasty stomach bug that's been going around the area for weeks now. Normally, for whatever reason, my immune system is awesome and I wouldn't catch that nasty bug, or I would but it would be far less severe that what other people got, but not this time. This time I caught it and it had me down for the count for at least two days, and while yesterday I was feeling a bit better, by the time I went to bed that night I felt like garbage all over again. I eventually decided, upon Ry's brilliant suggestion, that I should sleep sitting up for two reasons the first was to avoid vomiting and the second was to avoid aspirating on said vomit...just in case. Luckily, I was able to avoid both, and by 3:30am I could lay propped up on pillows on my side and sleep until the alarm rang at 6:00am. I still, however had to go to work and class today. It's the first time I've left the house since Thursday. I could skip class tonight, but truthfully, I volunteered to cover a case for my second class and my Prof in my first class said all information relevant to the final would be covered in February, and let's not forget about that little thing of saving up my absences so I can miss classes after the baby makes his way into the world. So, as you can see, I just have to suck it up and deal. (However,I still don't feel good and I definitely would rather be in my pj's lying in bed until I feel better, but it would violate The Rule. The Rule is that if there's no fever and/or no vomit, then there's no staying home. Too bad! Deal with it, that's The Rule!)

That's why its been so quiet around these parts, sickness. Ry first, then me and hopefully that'll be all. Due to The Sickness, I have not been knitting for fear of infecting my knits with The Sickness. I also realized last night that I should soak my toothbrush in boiling water in order to avoid further infecting myself with the The Sickness. I didn't do it, but I did use the scalding, burning almost boiling hot water from the sink to rinse my brush off with this morning. Hopefully that will suffice. It occurred to me that toothbrush may be affecting my recovery, that and the fact that my blood volume has doubled but my immune system has not, so it's a lot harder for my body to fight off The Sickness.

That's all I've got for you. Sorry it's all about being sick.

...One more thing, I decided that I will try to replace my swears with "bugger" because of the little guy. I figure "bugger" is only offensive to the Brits and since i don't live there, i wouldn't really be offending anyone. It also prevents me from teaching the bambino swears inadvertently. So it's a win-win.

Lay-offs

2009-01-29T14:51:00.004-05:00

Lay-offs are coming people, layoffs are coming. Even if I survive this round, there will be another when even more of our state aid is cut off in July. The upside? I get to be home with the baby and collect a check and because we were preparing for a period of time when my maternity leave would be unpaid, we have enough money put away to account for two months worth of my regular pay. (Thank God.) There is also a great state health insurance plan that we’ll qualify for that will either be free or have such a low premium that we’ll be paying less than what we are now, but getting better insurance.

All that said, it’s still massively scary, and will require some definite adjustments in our lives. Things will work out, though. Why? Because things always work out, one way or another.

I haven't forgotten

2009-01-28T16:01:00.003-05:00

I haven’t forgotten you. I just haven’t wanted to bore you with the mundane details of my life recently. Basically, I have been knitting, reading, nesting, baking a baby, going to classes and working. I know it’s dull, but try to stay awake. I finished this:

and have been knitting up the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I’m going to say it, although you may not want to hear it, I don’t like it at all. It’s a tedious and boring pattern, the only thing that is keeping me from ripping the whole thing out and calling it a day is that at the end it folds up like origami and you sew two seams on either sleeve and you’re done. I do love me some paper foldin’, and that is what pushes me forward, the faux origami at the end. Other than that I’d have set fire to the pattern by now and donated the nearly finished blob of knitting that it currently is to good will. I feel guilty just saying it, just mentioning that I do not like the BSJ. I know that if anyone form the knitting world reads it, I’ll be black-listed, banned from Ravelry and avoided like a plague. Even with all of that looming, I could not keep it to myself any longer, never again will I knit this pattern. (Unless someone specifically asks for it, and I love them enough to acquiesce, but only then.) What’s currently calming me and keeping me knitting is the fact that, once I realized that I did not like the pattern, I prevented my self from working on anything else until it is done. It’s very difficult considering I have several more baby sweaters in the wings and a baby hat, as well as a shawl and some socks…you see? I am self motivating to finish it, so that I can do something better. It’s like eating all the brussel sprouts on your plate first so you can get to the good stuff. Yep, the BSJ is my equivalent of brussel sprouts, not deadly, not hated, just a bit yucky and something to get over with.
The only monkey wrench in the whole deal is that I got distracted by a book. So instead of knitting the darn thing for the past few nights, I've been hungrily reading The Commoner it's written by John Burnham Scwartz, the same gentleman who wrote Reservation Road, which is now a movie with Jennifer Connelly and Joaquin Phoenix. In any event it is a beautifully written story, set in Japan. The book is quietly complex, like the country and culture it depicts. It is simple and engaging yet full of depth in the way that he expresses the main characters voice. Thoroughly satisfying and well worth the read, even if I didn't finish the BSJ.

Real Life Begins Again

2009-01-16T09:08:00.011-05:00

Well, the holidays are over, which means my vacation from the blog and real life is over. Not that I wanted to vacation away from the blog, but you know how it is during the holidays...you'd rather be with family and friends eating pie that sitting in front of a cold laptop, typing away...at least I would rather be doing that. In any event, much knitting has been done in my absence from you. I knitted Stevie a bulky hat of my own design (to be posted shortly),

a bulky cowl and matching hat for my mom (photo quality's awful, I was in a rush taking the photos literally as we were walking out the door to the airport),

a February Baby Sweater in a pretty, rustic green color and began a pair of socks for Stevie for his b-day. (He knows, so the only surprise will be the color.)
I also got to get a picture (finally) of the hat that I knit for Stevie last year, apparently its his favorite hat, knit with his favorite blues. I am so glad he likes it and wears it!

One last pic, here's the Selbu mittens I made for my swap partner this year.

So that's my knitting, except for the FBS which is blocking as we speak, and waiting for it's little toggle buttons to be sewn on. The Baby Surprise Jacket (BSJ) is fun knitting, but I like the FBS a lot better. Maybe I'll change my mind as I get closer to the end, we'll see.

In regular life news, I started my last semester of classes (FOREVER) this week. The classes are all pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to what this semester holds for me. Quite a few people think I'm a little crazy for not taking this semester off because of the impending bambino, but I figure since I'll be on maternity leave, it will actually be better to finish up than to take a semester off and have to work and care for a baby and go to classes in the fall. Just makes more sense to only deal with baby and class, and not have to worry about work too. Anyway, I talked to all of my professors and talked to some people about note taking for me in my absence and everybody’s been very happy and excited for me, my prof’s told me not to worry about missing classes, and I’ve found some willing note-takers for me, so I’m pretty much set for the semester!

In other news, did anyone watch the Globes on Sunday? We only watched a portion of it because my main interest is in what they wear. So I was perusing the best and worst dressed lists and found that these two were put on several worst dressed lists, even though they look gorgeous: (Drew was on them mostly for her hair and Banks was on them for the dress, which I think is elegant and quite lovely.)

And THIS one was put on ALL the best dressed lists!

Am I crazy? Or is that the most UNFLATTERING dress you've ever seen? It's like a sliver sack tied in the middle, it does nothing for her shape! And, I'm sorry, if you've nursed 3 babies, you need a bra. That's just all there is to it. Sigh. I saw those lists and fell like I was living an world where everyone was drinking the kool-aid except for me. I know why she was on it, it's because apparently Hollywood thinks she's some kind of saint, never mind the fact that she can't raise her kids without a nanny for each one of them, nor can she take a vacation short two nannies, oh no, they had to call in the other two, apparently a one-to-one ratio on those kids is just not enough. God forbid you parent them for five minutes. Ok, sorry, for the rant, I'm just so sick of them and the fact that each time they reproduce its like the second coming or something.

Moving on, Ry's Mom & sister volunteered to have a baby shower for me, which I thought was very sweet. We're still working out the scheduling, but I think it'll be the 2nd to last weekend in February, so that will give us about a month to see what we still need and assemble anything big we may receive. Although, i get these e-mails telling me what this week's activities should be, and this week (week 29) they say I should be assembling the baby furniture. What furniture? I gotta tell, ya, we haven't bought a darn thing yet except for a few onesies for the little guy, and a cute little pair of baby sneakers for $2.50 at TJ Maxx. We may get that room organized and painted this weekend though, considering it'll be so cold outside it just won't be worth going to any of the place we'd wanted to for the long weekend. I wonder how long it would take for us to get to 60 degree weather from here?? I guess I shouldn't complain though, I heard on NPR yesterday that in North Dakota with the windchill factor it was 70 below. It's so cold there that they can't do field sobriety tests outdoors. On the flip side, the crime rate goes down, apparently criminals hate being out stealing cars and wallets in that kind of weather. Either way, I am VERY grateful that I do NOT live there.

Baby's Gender Revealed!

2008-12-25T10:00:00.002-05:00

It's a BOY!

Merry Christmas!

Astra!

2008-11-25T17:03:00.000-05:00

Well, we finally did it. We traded in our beater for a new car. At first i was not so keen on the new car payment that we would also be acquiring, but sine the old Saturn's door handles fell off and two of the four windows stopped rolling down and it’s iffy starting issue, we decided it was time. With Ry’s long commute every day and a baby on the way we thought two safe cars are better than one safe car and one death trap. So, with that in mind, we heard an excellent deal on the Saturn Astra being offered and we dove right in. What I love about it, is that even though it’s a Saturn, it’s a German engineered/German made car AND it has a huge sun roof that goes all the way to the back seat. Ry loves that it handles really well for inner city driving (great for where Ry works) and has a stick shift. So all in all we’re pretty pleased. Ry picked it up last night, so I haven’t had a chance to take a picture of it, but here’s a picture I pulled up on Google images. (Ours is the same silver color.)

Query

2008-11-25T15:30:00.004-05:00

Why are there so many books, articles, Internet sites devoted to how you should let your baby sleep? I'm not talking about the "never let a baby sleep on it's tummy" kind of directions. I'm talking about the let your baby cry it out, put your baby on a sleep schedule, never let your baby cry it out, wake and feed your baby every 2-4 hours, co-sleep, don't co-sleep kind of crap. What the heck IS all of this? Why does every need all these instructions? Can't we just do whatever is convenient? I doubt that using a reasonable method that works for us is going to seriously mentally damage our child. Something in me thinks that perhaps John Wayne Gacy's issues can not, in fact, be traced back to the fact that he slept in his parents room until he was 8 months old or that Son of Sam was allowed to cry it out and that caused him to become a serial killer. I mean, really, do we need a book for every little thing? Can't we just get a book for the hard stuff that you probably wouldn't just naturally figure out? Like how much tummy time a baby should have and when to start, or when exactly do they start solid foods? Those things seem so much less intuitive than figuring out a sleep method that works for you & your baby. Perhaps it is just me, maybe it will be harder than I think when I have my baby, but I think the sleeping thing (aside from being sleep deprived), should be relatively low on the totem pole of difficult baby-rearing techniques.

Mostly, I'm just impressed

2008-11-25T07:04:00.000-05:00

I regularly go to the Craftzine blog to check on what is new out there in knit land. It's a fun little thing to do and often you have the leg up on the Ravelry world, like with the February Lady Sweater. I heard of it and cast on for it before it set the Ravelry world afire. (I still count my elf as being ahead of the curve on that one even though it's languishing in my knitting bag half done.) When I checked Craftzine they were featuring sculptural knits by Sandra Backlund. Here's a sampling of her work:

I admire the amount of work that was put into each piece she's designed and knit, the final production is, of course, gorgeous and something to behold. Would I wear them? Maybe the pom-pom one...maybe, but only if I had those legs. (In fact, I'd probably walk around in a long t-shirt and high heels all day if I had those legs.) Mostly though, I am impressed with Backlund's creativity and the way her knitting has translated into these stunning architectural knits.

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. ~ Unknown

2008-11-18T19:02:00.001-05:00

Hello, there people. Things have been busy and a little stressful for me these days. About three weeks ago I had a quad-screen done to test for various things like spina bifidia, neural tube defects, trisomy 18 and downs syndrome. Well, they drew the blood on a Saturday and I got a call the following Tuesday. For those of you that aren’t familiar with ‘Jenn’s Medical Testing Theory’ (to be renamed something more awesome later), it goes like this: The longer it takes to get a phone call from the doctor, the less likely it is that there is something wrong and vice versa. Thus by my Theory, a Tuesday notification of a Saturday blood test is indicative of the fact that something came back in the test that raised a red flag. True to my theory, the midwife told me that my test came back with a higher than average chance that my baby would have downs. She explained to me that for my age I should have a 1/700 chance but my blood screen came back with a 1/180 chance. So she set me up for the following week for a level II ultrasound and an amniocentesis if I wanted it. She also explained that an amnio was the only diagnostic test, so the only way to determine for certain whether anything was wrong with the baby. Meanwhile Ry and I had to wait a week, in that time I cried in the bathroom at school and spent much of Halloween night in tears. I read information and did the math (a 1/700 chance equals a .14% chance and a 1/180 chance equals a .55% chance), and did my best to try to make myself feel better by reading boards on baby center and the stats in What to Expect When You’re Expecting that explained 90% of women who have positive blood screen results go on to have healthy, normal babies. It was helpful to some degree, but it was still just information unrelated to ME and MY baby. Ry, I found out later, was doing his best “I have to be strong for you” routine trying not to get too upset around me or too worried. Although I appreciated it, I told him not to do that anymore. I prefer Ry as the loving and emotional person that he is, not the strong silent type. So on the 4th we wnet to the hospital for the ultrasound and in our anxiety, arrived an hour early. So we hung around for a half hour and then went in. They saw us right away and I went in for the ultrasound. The tech said everything looked normal for a baby at that gestational age, no abnormalities, but the doctor would have to look at them to be sure. Then we went to genetic counseling, the girl was very nice, but she kept saying over and over again that an amnio was the only way to know for sure about the baby. The doctor came in and said everything looked fine and perfectly normal and we told him that we weren’t going to get the amnio. Well, Ryan was pensive and quiet and we had a little talk and he told me he’d just feel better with the amnio, but he didn’t want to force me. I told him I would, because I didn’t want him worrying throughout the entire pregnancy. Let me tell you, it hurt. Not bad, but like getting an IV or drawing blood, except it was in my abdomen. It hurt more afterwards. I had muscle pain in my abdomen for a few days after the procedure, even with being on bed rest for two days. It was not fun and on the second day I was alone for a long time because Ry had to work. Being on bed rest and trying to take two dogs outside for a potty break is no fun and they proved to be wiled that day, chasing after another dog in the neighborhood. I wrestled them back into the house and then was terrified I had done something wrong and something bad would happen. It didn’t everything was fine, but it was a difficult week. On Friday we got the preliminary results of the amnio, everything came back fine, no abnormalities, and the baby is fine. Last week we got the final results which confirmed the preliminary ones and it has been a relief. Lately, I have been feeling the baby move around in there. Little taps and flutters, reassuring me that things are okay. In the meantime, I’m just so glad that everything thing came back normal. I know that for a lot of people that does not happen, so I am just happy to be counting my blessings and hoping that for those whose tests did not come back normal, that they will be okay.

Hope and Change, People, Hope and Change

2008-11-06T16:56:00.002-05:00

I just want to take a moment to say that although I do my best to keep this blog free from any political ideology, I think this past election was far too momentous in our lives as Americans to fail to say anything. Whatever your political leanings may be, I hope you at least fell proud of this country for basing its political decisions not on race, but on qualifications. Not on skin color but on basic political ideologies and reasons. I know that some people out there did vote based on race, but I think its apparent that those who did were in the minority. considering that it was not that long ago that African Americans could not drink from the same fountains, could not ride the same elevators and could not even go to the same school as others, I think we can say, as Americans, we achieved something important this election year. To be honest, I wasn't sure this was something I would see in my lifetime, but I am so glad that I have been a part of history.

Then (1956):

Now(2008):

We had two outstanding presidential candidates this year, and for the most part they acted with grace and dignity throughout their campaigns. They are both devoted to our nation and devoted to getting our country back on track, even if it means they have to "reach across the aisle". I was unable to see Obama's acceptance speech on Tuesday, but I was able to watch McCain's concession speech. We should all be proud of the graciousness with which he delivered that speech and the kind and decent words he had to say. Congratulations to us all, Republican, Democrat, Independent, libertarian and the rest. We should all be proud of what we and our nation has achieved this election year.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T14:43:00.005-05:00

Just a quick note to say Happy Halloween! Hope you have a good one, whatever you decide to do!

Apple Picking and Bun Baking

2008-10-23T17:35:00.005-05:00

I told Ry a while back that I really wanted to go apple picking. Having lived mostly in the south and southwest, this is not something you participate in as a child, so I thought 'when in Rome...' and told Ry many times over several weeks that I wanted to put apple picking on our weekend agenda. Finally, I had a little let up in my school work and Ry was feeling less allergenic so we decided to go. I can't remember the name of the farm we went to, but it had a little stand with veggies and fruits and an inner store serving sandwiches and selling apple cookbooks and apple based goods as well as a deli with pork products from a nearby farm. It was all very quaint and very cute. I felt like those new yorkers that go the the general store in Baby Boom, kind of obnoxious, kind of admiring. The way it works there is that for something like $18.00 you get a bag and get to fill it to the top with your apples. So we got our bag and I commented to Ryan "Wow, that's a little pricey for apples..." and we went across the street to the orchard. There were so many trees at the beginning of the orchard that were just picked clean, as we went down the rows we saw trees with tons of apples, but they were all at the top and out of reach.

We got down a little further and finally there were some apples both of us could reach, so we started merrily picking away. We deftly avoided obnoxious college kids, annoying pre-teens and weird parents with kids named Kennedy and Reagan that refused to behave. We had a nice conversation with a man from Ohio about African Lady Beetles (thanks mom) and saw some cute families that had the apple picking process down. (Older kids climbed the trees for the top most apples and the little ones in carriers got to reach for apples at a grown-up's level.) Ry and I had a lot of fun and filled our bag to near overflowing before deciding to call it quits.

We put the heavy bag into the car and went into the farm stand for a sandwich and soda, both of which were thoroughly enjoyed. Then we headed home. When we got there the bag was so heavy I asked Ry to take it in for me and set it on the counter. It was only then that I noticed the bag is a half bushel size! I remember thinking to myself that a half bushel seems like a lot of apples so I looked it up, a bushel of apples weighs about 48lbs. We have TWENTY FOUR POUNDS of apples at my house people! I have made apple bread, apple muffins, apple crisp, apple sauce, I have been eating an apple everyday and I still have half the bag left! My Gramma suggested that perhaps if I parboil them I could freeze them , which I still have to look into, and I suppose, I could make some pies and freeze them for Thanksgiving. Still...that's a whole lot of apple. Next year I'm getting a smaller bag or I'm getting some basics so that I'll be able to can some apple sauce.

In other news, Ryan and I got married. Well, we eloped to be precise, with a wedding ceremony and reception tp follow for September of next year. There were a number of reasons we did it, the first was we just wanted to be married already, another was that he needed health insurance and we couldn't afford to not have it or to individually cover him through the state's insurance and that was the only way to get him on my insurance and finally when we were thinking about getting married in Mexico it was recommended that we marry before hand because the process for legal marriage in Mexico is very intrusive, expensive and ridiculous.

Now that I've got your head spinning a little, the other big news is that we're expecting a baby on March 31st.

It's okay, sit down, take a breath, I understand how you feel. This is a lot of information to digest.

I am 18 weeks along this week and starting to show.
(See? That's my bump.)

The first trimester was filled with nausea but no vomiting (thank the Lord) and I now have a well developed aversion to chicken. Not turkey, not duck, just chicken...and greasy food. I crave oranges like you'd not believe and fruit is my new best friend. (I love it!) I'm also not digging sweet desserts or any junk food. We decided on this wonderful place for prenatal care and will be going to their birthing center. I am so pleased we are using a midwife instead of the awful ob-gyn my doctor referred me too. The midwives take the time to get to know Ryan and I, and every time we go in there they are all smiling, pleasant and happy to be at their place of work. Such a change from the other place we went to, where they barely answered my questions and gave me a copy of a diet for pregnant women with heart and blood pressure problems (I have neither). The diet basically said all I could eat was boiled chicken and steamed broccoli with a dessert of air-popped unbuttered popcorn. Yum! So we heard about Cooley and decided to try them out. I've never been happier. Everything is progressing nicely and I have another appointment this week. It's absolutely shocking to think I'm going to be a mama soon. I barely feel capable of being an adult!

So, that's how things are going. I'm still attending law school and I still intend on finishing in May and taking the bar in July. It will be challenging, but so is everything worth doing. Well, that's it. That's my news. I'll probably start a baby blog for the out of town family & friends to keep up with, perhaps I'll start it by Christmas, we'll see how the demands on my time are. I may just keep putting baby updates and pictures here rather than a new blog. We'll see how things go.

Quickly

2008-09-30T18:44:00.001-05:00

Quick post for your reading pleasure, many exciting things have been happening that I need to update you all about, but it will have to wait until next week. (Are you waiting in suspense? You should be.) Something I was thinking about the other day was how disappointed I am when some of my favorite bloggers don't post every day or even every week. I always think to myself "Hey, I'm trying to keep up with you and your creative life here. Throw me a bone!" Then I realized what a hypocrite I was being! I don't post weekly, though I try, and I definitely don't post daily! Who am I to judge? I always have a rationalization for it though, "I'm in law school, I'm busy" "I'm too tired to post after classes" "I'm always on the computer for school and work, I just want time to knit/sew/relax" So if those are all my excuses, what do you suppose a mother of three's excuses are? Or a photographer with baby's excuses are? Or anyone elses excuses are? Surely they are at least as good as, if not better than mine! In that vein, I have decided to be less of a judgy-judgerson until I can get my act together. No promises, but I will attempt to be a bit better about the old blog here. Even if it's just a quick update. Well, I'm off! Two big projects due for two big classes!

Why Hello There!

2008-09-17T12:15:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness! I can't believe I haven't posted since August! I will, of course, summarily blame school. Normally I wouldn't because I usually use class time to catch up on things like e-mail, blogging and ravelry. This year however, I've been shockingly engaged in my classes. Leave it to me, last year of law school and I'm finally taking classes that are engaging.

First things first, there's this young woman in one of my classes, she's well spoken, very pretty and as cute as a basket full of kittens. One day we were discussing a case involving arbitrary discrimination against women as corrections officers in jails and prisons. It was an arbitrary limitation not narrowly tailored for the particular business purpose. (Still following me? It gets better, I swear.) So this little Kitten speaks up and says that she feels the regulation is fine, and that she doesn’t believe that women should be corrections officers anyway. (WHAT!?!?!) When pressed why she thought that she stated it was because women are nton intimidating enough, nor are physically or emotionally equipped to handle the job. (Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I was thinking it too.) So when one of us suggested that perhaps, the state correctional facilities in question could impose rigorous strength and fitness tests, just as the fire department does, she said "I don't think women should be firefighters either." My school is very liberal and many of the women that teach and that attend are all subscribers to varying levels of feminism, but one of the mainstays is that nearly all of them believe at least, in equal pay for equal work and the right of a woman to have any job she can handle, regardless of her gender. So to come across someone that has had so much education and has even gotten to law school that feels that way is a bit, well, shocking. I'm not saying I would expect her to be a crazy left-wing feminist. I'm just saying that I would expect more from her than that.

Moving right along, Ry and I celebrated his 30-something birthday last week and one of his requests was a homemade yellow cake with berries, something light and summery. So I scrounged the internet and found a Strawberry meringue cake (I used a boxed yellow cake mix for the base. It was just a bit easier for me, this time.)
with homemade whipped cream frosting. Wow! What an endeavor, but I am happy to say that the meringue turned out and the whipped cream frosting was pretty easy to make. It was just a delightful cake.

I finished my Belle Cardigan, and I have to block it before I decide if I like it or not. I knit it in Rowan Spray, in a mottled red color way and it is very cute, but I need to see how it fits after blocking before I make my final decision. I'm still plugging away on the February Lady Sweater, although I'm a bit disenchanted with it at the moment. (Totally me and my yarn, not the pattern in the least.) I have to cast on for 3 pairs of mittens this weekend and I have a BSJ in the works as well. Whew! A lot of knitting to work on, it seems.

This weekend Ry and I are taking a trip up to Woodstock, VT for a special little outing and will be staying at a quaint little B&B. We are both very excited about this trip, and Ry's sister K will be looking after the dogs, so it'll be just us. It'll be a nice change to sleep in a bed that isn't full of dogs for a night!

No More HumDrum Mittens Questionnaire

2008-08-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?

I am a self-taught knitter and have been knitting since 2006.

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I would say I am an advanced intermediate.

What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike?

I love all colors especially purple, red and turquoise. I do not like mustard or olive colors.

Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?

I do like latvian type patterns, although I have no favorites, they are all too lovely to decide on just one.

Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?

For myself! (Selfish, I know!)

What is the measurement from your wrist to the tip of your longest finger?

About 7.25 inches

What is the circumference of your hand at it's widest point?

About 7.5 inches

What other things do you enjoy knitting?

Socks, sweaters, cardis, baby stuff (love those little booties!)

What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)

I enjoy working with wooden needles the most, I ususally use DPNs for smaller things like mittens and socks and circulars for everthing else.

What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?

I really want to make the mittens from Fall Vogue that say "Let it Snow" on them. Other than that...I'm not really sure.

What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?

I guess something cashmere based. I haven't worked with anything remotely like cashmere yet.

What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook?

I cook and sew and would like to get into spinning, but have decided i should wait until after I finish law school.

Besides yarn, do you collect anything?

I wouldn't say I "collect" anything, but I do love matroyshkas (nesting dolls) and nativities.

What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?

I enjoy sweets and salties. I love choclate covered pretzels and peppermint bark!

Do you have any kids? Pets?

I have a finacee, two great dogs (Sam and Molly) and no kids (yet).

What is your favorite part of Winter?

The first snowfall, snuggling up under the covers with my sweetie, Christmas with family, you get the idea. Those warm precious momets that are so abundant in winter.

What is your least favorite part of Winter?

Getting dismissed from work in the middle of a blizzard and having to drive 30 miles to get home. When all the other places just cancelled work at the beginning of the day! (Can you tell that happened to me, more than once?) Driving on icy roads. That's it, other than those driving conditions that I love winter!

Ahhh, that's a bit better

2008-08-29T07:26:00.000-05:00

After having pinpointed the source of my melancholy, I'm feeling a bit better. Part of it was money woes, part of it was that weekend, and part of it is my job.I am completely disenchanted with my job, in fact I detest going in every day. It's not because it's uninteresting, believe me I could regale you with many, many interesting stories from my job. I dislike my job so much because in order to stay busy for the week I have to work at less than half of my ability. Which means that I often forget that and end up with an end of the week involving very little work. I know that seems like it would be luxurious to have free time at the end of the work week, but the reality is that it is no picnic being tied to your desk for eight hours everyday bored out of your tree trying to find something, anything, to do with your day.

In any event, I started classes this week and have found out that I only have ONE FINAL this semester!!!! I am soooooo happy about this, granted that means I have to write papers for my other two classes, but who cares? One FINAL! Awesome. Additionally I found out that the school has to readjust my tuition so I'm getting money back and we decided to resell our law books on-line and we're getting money back there too. When it rains it pours! Now we are fairly financially secure until Ry gets regular employment. What a weight off our minds, we were pretty concerned for a while, but are feeling much better about things now. AHHHHH, relief.

In knitting news I'm working on the February Lady Sweater and I hope to finish it before Rheinbeck this year, and I hope I can wear it over a brown turtle neck because it will be cold-ish and I am knitting it out of linen. (I began when it was hot and couldn't fathom knitting it in wool.) I am also working on the Belle Cardigan in wool, so that may be the way to go; although in order to finish it for Rhinebeck, I should probably pick it back up again! I am working on 2 pair of socks but I have kind of set them aside for a bit, my inspiration for them is at a bit of a standstill, but I am sure it will be recovered in time to finish them for the gift-giving season. I'm getting the mitten knitting itch again, so thank God for No More Hum-Drum Mitten Swap 3 and Deb's willingness to run it again. I guess I have a lot of projects coming up, now that it has gone back down to the low eighties here I feel like really hard-core knitting again, so this fall and winter season will be jam-packed with knitted goodness.

And in case you were wondering I am feeling better, thanks to good friends, Ry, the pooches and a little time to myself.

Sigh

2008-08-18T18:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend was difficult. I really can't say why, but it was hard for me and Ry this weekend. Sort of a lackluster and disappointing end to an otherwise uneventful week.

Something nice did happen in the week, though. Deb and Lexi, in my knitting group, brought me birthday presents. I was supposed to have gotten them on the 30th of July, but due to a massively bad migraine I missed that week. (It was BAD, people!) So this past week the Lovely Deb and the Cute-As-A-Button Lexi brought me two lovely and gorgeous skeins of sock yarn (which I do not currently have a picture of, but will post it as soon as I do.) That was a fun night, and I shared something personal with Deb that planted her ever more firmly in my heart. She is a wonderful person, and I am so glad I was fortunate enough to meet her.

In other news, classes start back up again next week. I'm so tired of law school, this is my last year and I can't wait for it to be over. It's not so much an excitement I feel about finishing, but just the gnawing wait for the inevitable conclusion. How's that for a positive attitude? :)

Lately, here I have been too tired to knit. I am fatigued and recently a bit too downtrodden to really want to work on any one of the four projects I have going. It makes me sad that I feel this way, but hopefully I'll snap out of my funk soon. I have so many projects lined up for Christmas gifts and I really want to be working on them, but I am just so tired and a little sad, which does not make for fun knitting. Perhaps I'll change up my projects and focus on something new for a little while, maybe that will cheer me. If nothing else, it will give me a small change of scenery! Well, best get going. Stay tuned for a more cheerful person in the coming weeks! (I hope.)

Birthday!

2008-07-31T06:37:00.000-05:00

Well, that was it. Saturday was the BIG "Three-Oh". My mom called and asked me how I felt, I said "Old." All in all it was a nice day though. I slept in a little, Ry bought us some breakfast, then I met up with my friend M and I went to lunch and a movie (she is such fun). I went over to whole foods afterwards to buy a bottle of wine for dinner and then headed home. When I got there Ry was done studying for the day and we ordered dinner,Indian food, yum! Afterwards he sent me upstairs with the dogs to hang out for a bit while he brought my presents downstairs. When I came down he sang me happy Birthday and had the candles on my cake lit. (only 3, not 30 thank goodness!) I blew them out and made a wish and chatted for a bit with Ry, when he left to get a knife and plates I noticed a bike! Ry had hunted down a pretty purple bicycle for me for my birthday! We didn't take it for a ride that weekend because of the rain and Ry's bar studies (almost done). The I got to open my gifts from Mom, she got me two great books, one knitting, one baking and a lovely flatbed scanner that can also scan my negatives! She also got me Friends Season 1, but I opened that earlier. My Dad got me a purse from Turkey and sent me a check which I promptly spent on clothes and yarn! My grandparents also sent me a little birthday moo-lah, which I am still hanging onto. I'm looking for that perfect thing to get with it, and Ry's parents chipped in on a plane ticket to get me out to see my Mom and my brother in August. I am so grateful to have such loving friends and family. My Dad even managed to call me from a castle in Austria where he was camping for a bit. I missed the call, but appreciate the fact that he made it! My dear friend Amy called me too, but I missed that call as well. I am so lucky to have such great family and friends. (And my knitting pals had something planned for me for Wednesday, but I went home from work early that day with a migraine. I'll see them next week though, and I feel terrible about ruining their plans! I'm so sorry, ladies! You wouldn't have wanted me there half blind, cranky and shushing you every five seconds, trust me!)

Thanks everyone, you made my birthday very special!

Oh no!

2008-07-23T14:15:00.003-05:00

Oh. my. GOD. I sent my boss's boss an e-mail that said "What the hell? Has this even been assigned yet?"

It was supposed to go to the office administrator.

Not my BOSS'S BOSS!!

Oh.my.God. Hopefully I don't get fired or severely reprimanded over this.

Update
I didn't get fired, I sent my boss's boss an apologetic and self-denigrating e-mail, and then met with him in his office. He said not to worry about it, I was over-reacting and he didn't care. (Thank God) Still. How embarassing. I'm going to have to double check if I hit "forward" or "reply" from now on.

Ahhhhh....Sweet, sweet release

2008-07-17T17:48:00.005-05:00

I am done, finito, fin, with my finals! Yes, I turned in my last final yesterday and then went on a much needed kitchen cleaning spree and then made an apron. Yup, I cleaned thoroughly, I even wiped down the microwave, toaster oven and wiped the grease off the teapot (I don't know how it became greasy, it was here and greasy when we moved in.) After the kitchen was sparkling, I went right upstairs and used the pattern in Amy Karol's Bend the Rules book to make an apron out of a pretty half yard of fabric I had in my stash. I really love the way it turned out although next time I'll probably make it a bit wide and add a pocket or two.

Now that I have finished with my exams I can finally share that red sauce recipe I found. The Original recipe is here. The original is from the Orangette blog (If you have not been there yet, you really should see it, the description of food and the gorgeous ohotographs make the mouth water.) As I have said before, finding this simple red sauce recipe was a goal, a challenge presented to me in such a way that I would rise up and meet it. So I did, and in my quest I found Orangette's recipe, which served as an excelelnt base, but somehow did not seem quite perfect. Without further ado, here is my adapted recipe:

Infamous Red Sauce

28 oz. can of the best whole peeled italian tomatoes you can find (I like the organic tomatoes, the taste is perfect)
1 medium to large yellow onion peeled and halved
1 stick plus 2tb. of butter cut into pieces

Puree the tomatoes in the blender. Combine pureed tomatoes, butter and onion halves in a medium pot. I like to use our cast-iron pot for this, but it is not necessary. Cook for about 1 hour stirring occasionally. Remove onion before tossing with pasta.*

*Save the onion, it's excellent chopped up and put into the next mornings eggs or use it in a salsa.

Blogger hates me today and will not upload anymore photos, it just flat out refuses. I will add more later when blogger and I have reconciled.

Joining the Bucket Bandwagon

2008-07-01T07:26:00.001-05:00

So Lisa over at Confessions of an Apron Queen is having a "Kick the Bucket" contest and give away ecouraging us to post our very own bucket list a la the movie of the very same name! (Deb has already done this, but she wasn't having a giveaway. Ha-ha! Just kidding, Deb!)

So this is their bucket list:

Witness something truly majestic
Help a complete stranger for a common good
Laugh till I cry
Drive a Shelby mustang
Kiss the most beautiful girl in the world
Get a tattoo
Skydiving
See the pyramids
Get back in touch with...
Hunt the big cat
See Rome

And here's mine:

Go on an African Safari
See tigers in India
Go to Xi'an China and see Emporer Qin's Terracotta Army
Explore Mayan ruins
Own and operate a vineyard
Adopt or foster a child
See the pyramids
Learn to play the piano
Drive a fast car as fast as I can on an open track
Go to Japan

I think that's it. There were many thing on my list that I had already done, so coming up with a new list was a bit difficult, but fun!

p.s. Soon there will be pictures and a recipe, I just have to get myself in gear and upload the pics!

Ahh-HAAAAA!!!!!*

2008-06-23T19:25:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have one of those moments where you feel as though life has brought before you a subtle challenge? Like when there is a blouse for sale and you say "I can make that" or a handmade baby blanket starts to fray and you think "I can recreate this blanket, or make a quilt from the remains" or there is a soft doll you has as a little girl, and you think "I can replicate the pattern and make a new one for another little girl" or there is a decadent cake at a birthday party and you think "I will figure this out and make one for my best friend's birthday." Well, I had one of those moments at Ry's graduation. You see, his sister made a pasta sauce that is a family recipe (not their family, but still)…a secret family recipe. It was delicious but she could not tell us what was in it (being secret and all)...I know I tasted butter...and there was something sweet about it...probably just the tomatoes combining with the butter. Well, as soon I as found out that I could not get the recipe, I filed the taste and texture away in my mind and challenged myself to recreate it. I would figure out this recipe. Oh, yes, yes I would. The family the recipe comes from is Italian-American, thus it must be a traditional Italian recipe...a la Marcella Hazan (Polini, before marriage)...perhaps with a bit of tweaking involved, or perhaps that classic tomato sauce recipe in her Essentials book...Well my friends, as soon as I read a certain cooks recipe inspired by the Italian Goddess of Cooking, I knew, I just knew that was my recipe! So I say to you, my friends, ahh-HAAAAAA!!!! This was truly a Sherlock moment, soon I will be making the recipe I have found, and if it is substantially similar, I will post the link, because everyone loves a good red sauce.

* Original post edited by request

Not enough time in the day

2008-06-18T13:55:00.002-05:00

There is just not enough time in the day for me to create everything that is dancing around in my head and still get work, school work, time with the dogs and time with Ryan into my week. If only I had a clone that could sit through my classes instead of me, I'd be golden. Anyway, I am in the process of making some shoddy cloth napkins. I say they are shoddy because three are one size and three are another size and, quite frankly, I don't care! They are just for us because I want to stop buying so many darned paper towels. I'd like to relegate the paper towel use to the exclusive arena of cleaning up any of Sam’s little accidents and/or the occasional dog sick. We already have quite a few cotton cloth hand towels, and some fancy napkins, but I'd like to make a slew of cloth napkins. Part of the sizing problem was haste and my lack of a self-healing mat so that I can use my rotary cutter. I know, I know, it was very shortsighted of me to purchase a rotary cutter and no mat, but what can I say? At the time I had already blown most of my craft budget on yarn! I also hear tell of these lovely plastic squares that you can use in quilting to make a perfectly square square! Imagine that! So, obviously, when I purchase my self healing mat, I'll need to get a couple of different sized squares in order to make a few different sized napkins. I think, once the summer semester is over, I will be crafting more, especially since Ry will still be studying for the bar, and it's something I can do quietly upstairs so as not to disturb or distract him. If things go according to plan I may even be able to open an etsy shop in time for the holidays. Wouldn't that be lovely? At the very least it might help pay for some small portion of the wedding expenses if any of it sells, that is.. In other news Ryan and I have decided that Saturdays will be our day together. “Special Saturdays” is what we have dubbed them, and last Saturday we when to the local farmers market and bought fresh lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries and rhubarb. (There isn’t a lot in yet.) On Sunday I made strawberry rhubarb pie, for the first time, and it was delicious. I’d show you a picture, but we gobbled it up! The only thing I would change in the recipe, is that I would bake it for longer than the recommended time, it was a bit too liquid at first (strawberries juice like a sonofagun) and had to go in for another twenty minutes; and I would add much less sugar, there’s just no need for it, the strawberries are already sweet and the rhubarb is tangy sweet, so I’d reduce the sugar by at least half. We also went to see Indiana Jones, great summer movie, perfect little escape on a muggy day! (Thank you!) Moving on, this Saturday evening we have friends coming over for a barbecue at night and we’ve decided we want to go back the market and get more lettuce, I also want to get more strawberries and rhubarb so I can make an upside down cake for barbecue. But other than that we’re not sure what to do. Maybe a picnic or maybe there’s a festival or something. I'll have to check into that...I think that the Taste of Amherst is happening that weekend, so maybe we will do that, if the weather cooperates. So anyway I had a weird dream last night that I was elected as a State Rep. All I had to do to be elected was give an impromptu speech in front of the five other Reps and then they texted me later that day to ask me for the correct spelling of my name so I could be put on payroll. I didn't even live in the town I was representing and they didn't care, just wanted me on payroll. When they texted me Ry and I were walking around some little woodsy town that I've never seen or been to before, holding hands. Very weird dream.

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-06-10T07:45:00.008-05:00

Today is my Mom's birthday, she is fhshsimensna years old.

There is so much that I know and don't know about my mom that it is sometimes a little startling. I know that she is kind, she would give me her last penny if I needed it, even though it would mean she would have to do without for weeks on end. She is an amazing cheerleader, encouraging me along my way when I get lost or am bogged down by self-doubt. She has counseled me through fights with boyfriends, frustrations with school and conflicts in my workplace.

She listens to me and lets me ramble, she backs off when I am cranky,soothes me when I'm sad and laughs with me when I am happy.She did her best as a mother and helped my brother and I develop our personalities without question, she did her best to lead us away from bad decisions to help us recognize when we were being stubborn, unreasonable and, in my case, very very loud.

All this I know about my mom, but there are so many things that I don’t know about her when she was a child or a teenager. I know she and her brothers and sisters spent some time in a children’s home while her parents were separating. I remember her once saying that they tried to run away. I know that she deeply loved her mother, but that she was a Daddy’s girl. I know that at some point they moved from Brooklyn to California, but I don’t know how old she was when tat happened. I know that her sisters, like most older sisters, teased and harassed her and that she was deathly afraid to tell on them lest she suffer their wrath. I know that she met my Dad in Tucson, but I’m still not clear on what she was doing there. I wish I knew more about her when she was little, what she was like. Was she as quiet as is she is now, drown out by the loud boisterous people that surrounded her? Was she athletic? (I vaguely remember hearing something about running track and field.)

I imagine my mom was a sweet little girl always doing her best to behave herself and gain the favor of the Pop by doing so, with two fun-loving, hell-raising sisters and two big brothers. I imagine well groomed children at dinner and saying blessings in Spanish before meals and always coming inside before the street lights went out. I imagine this but do not know if it is true. I wish I knew more about Mom.

Happy Birthday, Mom. I love you.

Gym Story

2008-06-06T07:49:00.001-05:00

The gym I go to is in the heart of the downtown area, it’s the only place to exercise that is within walking distance to many of the offices here, so most of the people that come and go, do so between noon and one, and are normal business type people. Occasionally though, you get a weirdie. For instance, a few days ago, a little old Chinese man in khaki pants, a white undershirt, wool socks and Birkenstock sandal was just pedaling away on the recumbent bike. That was the first time I’d seen him and haven’t seen him since, however seeing an aged Chinese man in street clothes pedaling his heart out on an exercise bike is a bit startling. Then we have the attorney who wears short-shorts (I mean really short, horrifyingly short) and reads the paper while he leisurely pedals along on a standing exercycle. There’s the runner who when he’s finished on the treadmill stretches out in front of the ladies on the elliptical machines in a desperate attempt to have someone, anyone pay attention to him. There’s a young man who, when he runs on the treadmill turns it up so high that he has to grip the back of it so he can keep up and force himself to continue to run. There are two ladies, one heavy one thin who discuss in the locker room how thin the one lady is and when they work out, the heavy one doesn’t even bother to put her hair up because she moves at a snails pace on the elliptical and therefore never sweats. I guess the thin one doesn’t have the heart to tell her, that she probably needs to get the old heart rate up to lose some weight. The best so far, however, was yesterday. Yesterday the all the elliptical machines were taken, so T and I did the stair climber, the bikes and the treadmill, kind of like a gym triathalon. We’re on the stair climber when suddenly someone’s cell phone rings. Yes, you read it correctly; someone had brought their cell phone with them to work out. I can accept that under certain circumstances, like you’re waiting for a verdict to be returned, your wife is due to go into labor soon, your husband is coming out of surgery (although I don’t know why you’d be at the gym instead of the hospital, but still) or something along those lines. So, the phone rings and I look over and it’s some forty year old faux-blond woman in fluorescent orange shortie-shorts and a white tank top, and she answers the phone. The ensuing conversation is something along the lines of a woman giving an order to either a dog or her husband. I’m going to guess it was her husband because she didn’t strike me as the kind of person that would train her dog to dial the phone that would take too much time away from her “me time”. Then she hangs up, tucks the bottom of her tank top into the top of her tank top…you know that look, that kind of ‘80’s dance video meets low-end prostitute look? (They used to do it with t-shirts in the ‘80s) The kind of look that a kid of a teenager could pull off, but on a a 40-something looks like a desperate attempt at trying to be young and super-hot. Anyway, that’s what happened, and then T and I went to the bikes. Then the phone rings, again and she answers it, again. On this call she is talking in all sweet sounds and words, I heard things like “I love you so much” and “Well that’s why I have all this love for you.” (This is clearly not a verdict coming in.) Then she does the unthinkable, she gets off the elliptical and sits on the weight bench in the middle of the gym to toss her hair and finish her call. She does not go into the locker room for a private conversation or even out to the deck to be alone. (There is hardly any one ever on the deck.) No, she makes herself as visible as possible by sitting on the weight bench in the middle of the gym. At first I gave her the benefit of the doubt, thinking she must intend to continue her workout after the call. Nope. She finished the call and then went in the locker room to shower, change back into her street clothes, and leave the gym. T and I looked at each other, and then suddenly T shouted, “LOOK AT MEEEEEEEE!!! LOOK AT MEEEEEEE!!! I’M VERY BUSY AND IMPORTANT!!!” Perfect.

In which Jenn gets a her hot little hands on a craft room

2008-06-04T09:51:00.011-05:00

So, on Saturday, our roommate P moved out. (Who, for the record, is so selfish & nutty that he banned our friends J & M from coming to the house while he was living there, because he and J exchanged words,(J insulted P's ex-girlfriend and P insulted J's wife) and J apologized. However P wasn't satisfied so he told us that we could never again have them at the house while he was living there. Normally, I would not have agreed to this and would have told him where to stick it, but then Ry pointed out to me that he's on meds and keeps guns in the house, so I kept my mouth shut. So that's the back story about P.) There are three exciting things that come out of this grand move-out: 1) No more P, no more hippy friend and no more stinky tea that's on the DEA watch list!(that all counts as one as far as I'm concerned) 2) We get a dedicated guest room and 3) I get a CRAFT ROOM!!!! Glorious! I spent the day Saturday setting it up. (Truthfully it's not totally finished yet, I need to make up some curtains,get a more comfortable desk chair and slap a coat or two of paint on the walls and baseboards,but I didn't have the time for all of that because Sunday is study day.) Ry hauled two shelving units in and put them in the closet, which is where I have my yarn and fabric organized. I swept and mopped the floors, cleaned the window sills, washed the windows, dusted and organized. All of my woolen yarn is now neatly packed away into plastic bags so the moths won't get to it. I have WIPS on one shelf sock yarn on another, DK, Worsted and Aran weight yarn on their own shelf, and my novelty and cheap acrylic yarn has been segregated away from the good stuff. (I know Rev. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would have something to say about my malicious yarn segregation, but any knitter will tell you, it's not all created equal) All the yarn still in bags is on the top shelf. Then I put my sewing items on another shelving unit, Washed and unwashed fabric is separated out, WIPs have their own shelf, the scissor/zipper basket has a little home of it's own and I have a remnant bag as well. My embroidery floss is hanging from little hooks in the shelf as well. At my built in desk, I went all Martha Stewart-y and strung up my twine an ribbon and I have a couple of glass jars holding crochet hooks and some knitting needles.

I have what use to be P's TV shelf, holding my sewing machine, books and magazines as well as all my vintage and new sewing patterns.

(these pics are before the rug was put in) Ry put in an area rug that the dogs love and I have two big sunshiney windows in there so I can have a lot of natural light during the day. I just love it. While I was putting my room together, Ry was starting the guest room (which also needs paint, it's the most atrocious green I've ever seen in a room.) He swept, mopped dusted and cleaned his little heart out. He moved a dresser up there, all of our shoes, the spare bed and two night tables. We just need to paint and decorate..and put beddign on the bed.

This will also be our first time living ALONE together! Which we are both incredibly excited about. No more, "is this our milk?" type questions, because from now on the answer is "Yes,yes it is." In knitting news I finished the Anouk dress and Saartje's booties(did I already say that?) and I'm almost done with the embossed leaves socks.

I am casting on for the Belle Cardigan this weekend, I even did a gauge swatch!
I am knitting it off-gauge though because I kept reading reviews on Ravelry that it comes out way too big, so I'm knittign a smaller gauge and a smaller size, both in the hopes that the gym will have really paid off by then and it will be a near perfect fit. Oh yes, did I tell you? I found a gym near work, so I've been going on my lunch hour everyday since the 19th. I've already lost some weight! Hoo-ray! Deb really inspired me, she does an aerobics class on her lunch hour and is driven to lose weight. So, I hunted down a nearby gym and joined up, it's the favorite part of my day now. Except, of course, for knit-night on Fridays!

One last shot of my room.

Hi! I missed you!

2008-05-28T17:00:00.003-05:00

Where have I bene and what have I been up to that I wasn't blogging regularly? Well, I've been busy! First it was finals, and then on the 17th Ry graduated from lawschool. It was so wonderful to see him in his cap, gown and hood. He looked so handsome. He also won an award, highest achievement in labor law! (So proud.) When his sister S saw him acceot the award she started crying and my FMIL got a little choked up. Me? I thought he was keeping it a secret, so I was excited when I heard, but couldn't beleive he kept it a secret from me! Well, as it turns out, he didn't even know, it was a surprise to all of us. Afterwards we had a drunken grad party at his parents house (just family). it was lovely, lots of food booze and good company, just what a grad party should be!
Then the following weekend we went to the MAss sheep and wool festival in Cummington Mass, where we watched the border collie trials and met up with my friends in the knitting group, Deb, MA and Lexi. I (of course) bought llama and some gorgeous alapca yarn, all natural and undyed, something about that espresso brown alapca and creamy white llama and alpaca really called to me. Then on Sunday we went to Ry's Aunties house for his cousin's girlfriend's baby shower. It was lovely Auntie really knows how to hostes a party! I knit Anouk and matching saartje booties. (pics will be posted soon) I think they were well recieved, she was so excited about all of her gifts it was hard to tell! When we got back I went upstairs for a nap, and then we went over to J&M's place for some drinks and didn't get home and to bed until 3am! MOnday was a study day (because classes started last week), and here I am today. Now that classes have begun, there's not much going on in my life, mostly because we're squeezing a semester of classes into less than 2 months. Can you imagine? The reading load is insane! Well, I'm in class right now, so I'm gonna split, talk to you soon!

No worries, I’m still here!

2008-04-22T08:59:00.003-05:00

Hello, my friends. I've been missing blogland. As ususal, life (and Ravelry) got in the wayof some serious blog time. I have been knitting, though. I began the embossed leaves socks (which I will be making for Ry’s Mom because they’re easy and pretty), I’m also about halfway done with an Anouk baby dress. I did make some modifications to it. The original pattern calls for it to be a little pinafore, which meant that it was unattached on the sides and would have to be put over some kind of poufy dress. I did not like that, so I am knitting it in the round and then dividing it and knitting back and forth for the top. I’m using Blue Sky Dyed Cotton as the yarn, it’s my first time using anything by Blue sky, I have to say that I just love it. So soft to the touch, such delicious colors and such whimsical names! The dress is knit in pickle and circus peanut and the pockets will have flamingo colored flowers on an orchid background. I just adore the pattern and the mods were not a big deal. This baby dress has gotten me addicted to knitting for babies. They’re such fast little knits. A friend of mine suggested that perhaps I should just knit up little baby things, box them up and wait for more people to have babies. Not such a bad idea, although I don’t know how Ry would feel being overrun with baby knits! I other news, our roommate P will be moving out on June 1st, so we’ll (finally) have the whole place to ourselves. Which also means that the sunshine-y room upstairs that is currently being used for P’s plants will be my office/craft room. I am, of course, very excited over the prospect of this, as is Ry (he’ll finally have his office back). The first order of business will be to paint the room in something that will be both bright and calming, then I will make some curtains and set up the room. We will also have a nice big guest room (P’s old bedroom), which we will move the spare bed into, paint and furnish. This will be a nice summer project for all those weekends Ry will be his little patootie off. It’ll keep me busy and out of his hair and will allow me to have a nice, freshly painted interior. (Oh, did I mention I plan on repainting the bathroom, hallway and hopefully the kitchen and living room too? Yep it’ll be a whole new house, ladies and gentlemen!) Moving on, Mom and I got Ry his graduation gift this weekend. We gave it to him early so he could enjoy it before finals. We got him a gas grill, something he’s been wanting for a long time. He loves it and to “Christen” it he grilled up some delicious steaks from whole foods. Yum! The next night we had hotdogs on the grill. Double yum! This grill is so nice, even I might use it! I forgot to take some action shots of the first using of the grill, but I intend to either recreate it (by having more steak) or take other action shots. (Burgers, maybe?) This week is the last week of classes for Ry FOREVER, and for me, until the resume again in the summer. Next week begins finals, so I will probably not post again until afterwards. I had registered for and was hoping to see the Yarn Harlot in Noho this weekend, but unfortunately, I will be studying. Deb and MaryAlice will be there and they promise to tell me all about it. MaryAlice even bought me her book, so they could get it autographed for me. (Aren’t they the best?) Finals also mean no knitting group for the next three weeks…I am already going through withdrawals! The ladies in the group are great and our time together is filled with lots and lots of laughter. For the past two weeks MaryAlice was bringing in her spinning wheel, and she even let me spin some yarn! Now, of course, I want a spinning wheel. I even have it all picked out, so that it can be my gift to myself after the bar! I say after the bar, because I really do not need the extra distraction of spinning. I already have loads of fabric and knitting calling my name I don’t need that spinning wheel whispering to me too! Hmm, well sorry about no pics, I’ll go back through and update this post with pics. (If Blogger isn’t a pain about uploading pics like last time.) In the mean time, have a fabulous week!

Arizona, baby!

2008-03-29T11:37:00.005-05:00

Ry and I went to Arizona for spring break, it was a whirlwind trip and, as always, it felt like it was just not enough time. Ry fell in love with AZ and just yesterday asked me when we can go back. I just laughed, he has to take the bar exam, and then we have a wedding to plan and save for! Silly boy. While we were in AZ we got to visit with Ry's friend D and his family, D & K have two kids and they are just absolutely adorable. I also got the opportunity to get to know my Cousin's Future Wife a bit better, she's a charming girl, a bit quiet, but than again my cousin and I tend to be loud and talkative, anyone who ends up with us would have to be a bit quiet. (and they both are!) We went to Tombstone, Bisbee and the Grand Canyon. The hotel we stayed at in Bisbee was The Copper Queen Hotel, which is haunted by three ghosts...and I know you're going to laugh (ahem, Grampa), but I swear the female ghost was in our room. All of the sudden at 2:30am I woke up from some extraordinarily vivid nightmares, I out on my glasses checked the clock and lay back down. Suddenly I was freezing. I felt like i was outside in 10 degree weather with nothing but a swimsuit on, that is how cold I was. Then I felt a cold arm lay over the top of mine and a cold hand squeeze my own. Needless to say I freaked out, I was yelping and kicking Ry, and he would not wake up...it went on for maybe 15 or 20 seconds and then it stopped. I didn't fall back to sleep until dawn (just incase she came back). I know it's my fault, see she used to conduct business in a room that was just a door down from mine, and apparently she was a Lady Of The Evening... Except I kept calling her a whore, but with a cheesy Boston accent, so a "Hooah". Pretty sure she didn't like that, so she woke me up. Well anyway, it was creepy, and weird, but kinda cool. From Bisbee we spent some time in Tucson and I showed Ry around my old haunts, we even went to Gentle Ben's! I haven't been there since my Dad was going to UofA! When we got back we spent time with my Grandparents and had a picnic and played some games and just generally relaxed and had fun, which is easy to do with them. Then Ry & I went to the Grand Canyon, he was astounded. His jaw literally dropped when he first saw The Canyon. It was great we had a picnic and went all along the South Rim. Then we spent some time with my grandparents, and Gramma and I dyed Easter eggs and ryan saw an old family video of all us cousins when we were kids. It was such great fun. We had a wonderful time. So, without further ado, here are some oice from the trip.

(at the canyon)

(the desert in bloom)

"Smelly cat, smelly caaat what are they feeding you?" ~Phoebe

2008-03-11T15:26:00.003-05:00

I work with a person who smells. Bad. Really bad. Lest you think I am a small and petty person, let me say this: This is no ordinary b.o. It does not smell like sweat. I have lived in hot and sweaty states and been around my fair share of sweaty people. That is not this odor. This odor is acrid, it stings the back of my throat when I breathe it in. It is almost as though this person keeps the litter box in the closet with the clothes. The problem with this theory is that GP does not own a cat. I asked. No cat because of allergies. So where is this odor coming from? I cannot look this person in the eye and say “You know something, GP? You smell. I mean really, really smell bad. What’s going on? Are you ill?” I cannot say this anymore than you can look someone in the eye and say “Why yes you are quite unattractive. People do care, and it’ll probably be harder for you to be hired as say, a model, but not to worry I’m sure you’ll find love. There are plenty of other unattractive people out there, and if that fails your mother will always love you.” Um, no. That cannot be said, it can be thought, but never said. The odor ebbs and flows, today it flowed. It flowed right over to my cubicle, if it hadn’t been so chilly out, I’d have opened my window. However it was chilly and I was stuck, stuck with this odor choking me, stinging my eyes. Thinking about it now I can taste the odor in the back of my throat. It is truly an awful smell. I deduced today with the help of a co-worker, that it is a very bad case of Vinegar Foot. Feet that smell so bad it is like leaning over a vat of vinegar and breathing it in. That is the acrid odor. (That, by the way is what comes of buying cheap “leather” shoes.) Now my problem is that GP keeps a spare set of shoes at work. So, I ask you, how can I sneak into GP’s cube and spray down the spare set, wrestle the regular set off GP’s feet and spray those down all without GP’s knowledge? Horse tranquilizers? Tranquilizer darts? A quick bonk to the head? Let me know.

Swap Package Received!

2008-03-06T23:17:00.003-05:00

I received my swap package today! What a lovely surprise at the end of a crap day! Claudia did a wonderful job with my mittens, they are the herring bone pattern in a lovely pale blue and plummy purple. I just adore them! They will go with EVERYTHING! She also sent me some Scottish and Welsh Yarn and most favorite chocolate, Cadbury's!! Thanks so much to her I just love everything, it really brightened my day. The package is wonderful, I adore it, but enough gushing, here are the pics!

Ugh

2008-03-06T11:37:00.002-05:00

So I got up ths morning and decided to make a protein shake for breakfast. I took the shake mix, some milk, a banana, and some ice cubes, threw them in the blender and BAM! Deliciously good shake. I had a few sips and boy was it tasty. Then I gathered up my things and headed out the door to work. Ivery carefully placed the shake on the roof of the car and began throwing my bags onto the passenger seat. As I was moving Ry's driving glasses and repositioning my bag...WHAM SPLOOSH! The whole DAMN shake came crashing down on me. Needless to say not only was I mad that I was covered in banana protein milk, but I also had to change clothes, rise off my coat make another shake (this time just with mix and water to save time) and left late for work. Thank God it narrowly missed my hair, otherwise I would ahve been REALLY pissed!

On the knitting front, I finished the mittens for my swap partner, a pair of baby booties (which will be going on the feet of a doll, because the first one is not as good as I'd like it to be and Trish really wanted them) and the campfire socks. I'm startign a gauge swatch for a pair of socks for my FMIL and for a sweater (I know sweater season is almost over, but hopefully I'll have it done before the next sweater season).

7 Random Things About Me

2008-02-26T11:40:00.003-05:00

I've been tagged by Deb, my fabulous knitting friend that quells the voice of reason inside my head and encourages me to buy more sock yarn!

Here are the rules, and they must be posted to your blog:

Link to the person’s blog who tagged you (see above).
List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog and also so they can look at your blog and not tag the same people all over again!

And now, my 7 things:

1. I used to know the entire soundtrack to Rocky Horror Picture Show by heart. I still know most of it.
2. I have always wanted to be a blond or a redhead, but I am completely terrified of doing it and then looking like a dumb ass.
3. I never EVER want to skydive. It seems to me there are better ways to spend $500 than throwing yourself out of plane. It's just not my bag.
4. I have always wanted to learn to ride horses, I must do this before I die.
5. I'm secretly obsessed with Japanese culture, particularly the history of the geisha.
6. I want to own a vineyard. Owning a vineyard would be my dream come true, it is something I have been wanting to do for a while, and I think we can do this. I almost have Ry completely convinced.
7. My two all time favorite movies are Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy and Pee-Wees Big Adventure. Don't get me wrong, there are a tons of movies that I love, but these two are tops, they always crack me up.

I have to think about my seven people, so I'll edit this later. Meanwhile, any volunteers?

Thank you!

2008-02-20T15:02:00.003-05:00

Thank you everyone for your congratulations. We're really excited and I ahve already begun to overwhelm myself with planning the wedding. We've decided that the last two full weekends in Ocotber of 2009 look good. That, of course, may change but for now that's the plan. Truthfully, I think a winter wedding would be a lot of fun, but Ry is concerned about how a snowstorm might delay or even ruin our plans. I promise to post a picture of the rings, hopefully this weekend if my camera hooks up to my brand new MAC!

Yep, that's right, I now have a Mac Book. My old laptop finally "shit the bed" (as Ry likes to say) if had been going for a while. the bottom third of the screen ahd ben overtaken by horizontal white lines, rendered that portion completely useless unless I used wood clamps to correct it. The part of th power cord that plugged into the computer had to be propped up with pens, folded papers, etc in order for it to get power and then finally the power cord got so screwed up that without some serious fiddling I couldn't get any power. Well, that was the final straw. we talked about it and I got a new MacBook which we will be reimbursed for through the lawschool. WaHoo! It's so exciting I was almost tempted to ditch my knittign group to play with my new toy! But I restrained myself and decided that I can,. in fact have it all, I can go to knitting and get home, take out the dogs, have dinner and play! YAY!

In more wedding planning news, Ryan and I have decided to take the 29th of this month to go and check out three possible venues for this shindig and in the process we'll be having lunch with my FMIL (F, which used to mean Faux, will now mean FUTURE!) and Coffee with Ry's Uncle. I am looking forward to this. I feel like the 29th might be an auspicious day for us, being a leap year and all. We'll see. In the meantime I'm goign to try to keep the wedding planning stuff to a minimum here and a maximum at our wedding blog, which is listed in the sidebar. Feel free to check it out. It's not very full yet, but, then again, it's still early!

p.s. Mitten Pal #1, it's okay, I forgive you! (haha) I was just wondering if you fell off the planet or something. It's good to hear from you again, and congratulations on your wedding!

Engaged!

2008-02-11T10:01:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry. I was a bad blogger last week. I have a good excuse, though....I got engaged! Ryan popped the question, twice! Here's the story:

We had our friends over to watch the “big game” with us and, after a loss by Ryan & J's team, Ryan began the clean up process while J&M left before any possible rioting would take place. After the clean up Ryan and I watched a little television and snuggled up on the couch together. In the midst of this television watching and chit chatting I looked up at him and told him that my hands looked old, that the palms are more full of lines than one of my friends who has a son Ryan's age. Well, he kept telling me that my hands did not look old and then he excused himself for a moment. When he came back he had two glasses of wine and sat down next to me and began telling me he loves me and that the people he has known with lines in their hands have always been good people, people that were always there to lend him a hand and help him, even though they didn't know how much they had been helping him, people that worked hard for what they had and were honest, good people. (Right then I knew he was leading to something, he kept putting his hand in pocket and looked nervous.)Then Ryan got up, walked around to the front of me and got down on one knee.He said "I don't have a lot of money, but would you marry me?" He cried, I laughed and told him that I, of course, would marry him! He looked so happy and said "Will you? Will you marry me?" "Yes! Yes, yes, of course I'll marry you!" And the rest of the night was spent celebrating!We opened the Champagne that Sarah and Kate gave us about a year ago and we just enjoyed the rest of the night. In fact, I called in late to work for Monday. Ryan gave me his signet ring that he received for his high school graduation and then he picked out an engagement ring that will actually fit my ring finger. Meanwhile I wore his signet ring on a necklace all week last week and Ryan gave me the engagement ring last night hen he took me out to dinner. He was so slick. He got me rambling on about candles and lighting candles and when he had me look to the back of the restaurant he put the ring on my bread plate. I turned back and went faffing on and on for about five minutes when I looked down and saw the ring. It's just beautiful. He propsed to me again (in a more casual way) and sl;ipped that beauty on my finger. He did such a wonderful job, and think I might be the only girl I know with two engagement rings. I love that guy!

New Fabric & Sock Yarn!

2008-01-26T13:53:00.000-05:00

So I ordered some fabric from Sew Mama Sew on Tuesday, and it has arrived! I'm so excited, I ordered some fabric for a lap quilt from Bend the Rules Sewing Isn't it beauteous? I just love it, I also ordered some assorted fabrics for no project in particular. I'm currently using the blue and green fabric for a tablecloth, and the rest perhaps napkins? Pillows? Another quilt? I don't have it earmarked, I bought it because it was so lovely I could not help myself!

The other EXCITING news is that I just received my first skein of yarn from the Rockin' Sock Club. Can I tell you? I did a happy dance all around the living room when I opened that delicious package! The yarn is so beautiful and soft and lovely, I cannot wait to start knitting up a pair of sockies! I even let the dogs sniff the emergency mini skein of yarn. They both liked the the skein so much they wanted to eat it! It's wonderful! I'd post a picture of it, but I'm not sure what the rules are as far as doing something like that since it's an exclusive colorway. I'll have to check. But in the mean time, I'll post a picture of the gloves I knit for my Faux Sister-in-law, S. Oh! I almost forgot, here's a pic of the package my fabric came in! Never mind that book in the background, I was looking at recipes when the Mail-woman came. I was so excited, I cracked that package open and plopped the fabric down for a pic!
Ok, off to knit! Have a happy weekend!

"And then I looked down and he really did have two left feet."

2008-01-25T09:07:00.000-05:00

Hey! Hey! Did you know? I'm an idiot! Seriously. I was at a department store the other night and found a pair of little ankle boots for $15.00, I pulled one of the little booties out and tried it on, perfect fit! So threw it back in the box, grabbed some sneakers for Ry and headed for check out. The clerk pulled both the boots looked for a tag and, after pulling another pair of boots for the price tag, rang me up and out the door I went! Fast forward to this morning, I pulel those fab little booties out of their box, slapped one one the left foot, and grabbed the other little bootie to slap it on the right. Well, lo and behold, I found myself with two left boots. Yeah. I didn’t check to be sure that they were a set of boots for a normal human pair of feet. So now I have to run back over to that store to exchange them. I hope & pray that they have a box in the same size that has two rights in it!

Hello My Friends!

2008-01-22T18:52:00.000-05:00

HI there! I'm feeling better. I no longer have The Consumption. Now I have pain in the ass law school. Why still here if it's such a pain in the ass? Sheer pride and strength of will. But, I digress, I'm really here to tell you that I was the crazy one at Ry's parent house. See, Ry has 2 sisters, S & K who are sweet, and my FMIL (Faux Mother In Law), S, K and I were discussing the new babies that re being born to Ry's 2 cousins. So, FMIL asks,"So, girls, will you nurse?" K said no and that it was disgusting, S said it was disgusting but she'd do it because it's healthiest for the baby, and I said, Heck ya, why not, if we weren't supposed to nurse, we wouldn't have boobs, it the most natural thing in the world! So then FMIL asked about diapers, both girls shouted Pampers, and I said cloth. I was looked at like I had two heads. But come on. Wrapping a new fresh baby up in toxic chemicals? No thanks. Not to mention the fact that cloth is less expensive, better for the environment, babies with cloth diapers potty train sooner and there are so many more options for cloth diapering now than there were even ten years ago. Well, I'm pretty sure S and K think I'm crazy, but my FMIL, might be convinced. She cloth diapered both Ry & S. We'll see.

Anyway, I knitted a pair of mittens for S, and she LOVED them. The were a big hit, and FMIL asked for a pair for next year, so I promised a pair to her. Maybe I'll knit socks for FFIL and then they'll be taken care of, with just two little projects! Woo-hoo! So that was my weekend, that and I swatched up for my mitten pals mittens. Tomorrow, knitting group with Deb! Yay!

The Consumption

2008-01-15T22:31:00.000-05:00

I swear I had the consumption. Not TB, mind you, but The Consumption where you cough delicately into hankies and waste away on your chaise lounge, while your beloved says things like "Darling! Don't leave me, I cannot go on without you."

Hmmm...well maybe it was just a bad cold. The only thing delicate about my wheezing, coughing, feverish, mucus filled body, was that even when sick I am still a delicate flower. (Hahahaha! Those of you that know me, may laugh as well.)

Well, before coming down with the consumption, Ry and I went to L&C's wedding. What a beautiful event! From the Church to the reception everything reflected L's sense of style, it was very posh and elegant. Of course, you know that the Beautiful Bride, l, cried, but so did C, C's mom and C's little brother (also the best man), as did L's little sister (also the maid of honor). It was lovely and adorable all those happy tears of the friends and family of the bride & groom. Ry kept looking at me to see if I was crying, I didn't and I think that may have disappointed him! I'm not much of a teary-eyed gal, I never have been. (There are only four movies that I cry at every time I see them.) So the ceremony was beautiful and the reception was just lovely, it was at the Foxhill Inn in CT and it was just amazing, the lighting was perfect and they had these beautiful winter decorations up, and, best of all, a coat check! (How I LOVE a coat check!)

We had a wonderful time, drank far too much and were shockingly hungover the next day. Therefore we used the Patented (not really) JC Hangover Method: #1 Devour some kind of greasy breakfast at your local diner, #2 drink massive amounts of Orange Soda and #3 watch and afternoon of John Candy movies, beginning with Uncle Buck. Do this for the entire day in order to feel human again.

So that was the first weekend of January and then I fell sick, started classes again, finished mittens for Ry's sister, finished one mitten for my Mom and that's it, my friends! I have just been so bogged down with work (not school work, but work-work), that I haven't really done anything too fun, but Ry & I promised each other that in February, when work calms down, we're going skiing! Yay! I've also joined the 2nd round of the No More Hum-Drum Mittens Swap, and I am very excited about beginning a new mitten project, AND I've joined the Rockin' Sock Club! I am very excited about the RSC, I have been coveting their yarn for so long and have been unable to decide on a color or pattern that I am looking forward to letting the ladies at Blue Moon Fiber Arts decide for me!

No More Humdrum MIttens Swap 2 Questionnaire

2008-01-04T11:32:00.000-05:00

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?
I am a self-taught knitter and have been knitting since October of 2006.

Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I would consider myself an intermediate knitter who is always up for a challenge!

What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike?
I really love all colors, especially reds, turquoises, greens and purples. I don't like mustards or olive greens.

Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?

I love all of the the Latvian type patterns, but no real favorite.

Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?
For me!

What is the measurement from your wrist to the tip of your longest finger?
About 7.25 inches

What is the circumference of your hand at it's widest point?
About 7.5 inches

What other things do you enjoy knitting?
I also enjoy knitting socks, sweaters and hats.

What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)
I really enjoy working with wooden and plastic needles. I mostly work with my Denise needles for Hats and sweaters, and wooden Brittany DPNs and Pony DPNS for socks and mittens.

What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?
The Bird in Hand mittens, Clapotis, and The Firestarter socks.

What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?
Koigu, I have never used it, but have always wanted to.

What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook?
I sew, bake and cook.

Besides yarn, do you collect anything?
I love Matroyshka dolls, especially weird ones. (Like the Elvis set I have.)

What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?
I enjoy baked goods, hot chocolate, and sweet/salty combos. I don't have any food allergies, and the only things I don't like are liver, kidney and blood pudding. ugh.

Do you have any kids? Pets?
No kids and two dogs.

What is your favorite part of Winter?
Snuggling up under the blankets with my sweetie, building snowmen and playing in the snow with the dogs.

What is your least favorite part of Winter?
The endless gray skies.

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T07:03:00.000-05:00

I find that at the start of the New Year, particularly a landmark year (like 16,18,21,25, etc.), I tend to become a little down in the mouth. This past year has been a wonderful year, we added a new dog to the family, we celebrated our second anniversary and our first anniversary of living together. We became close friends with new people, we fought and made up and strove to be better people. In this up coming year I will be turning 30, it's a milestone, to be sure, and I look back at those lists I made when I was younger thinking about how different my life is as compared to what my expectations were. When I was 16, I though I'd be married with 3 children by now; when I was 18 I thought I'd be married with at least two children and established in my career; when I was 21 I thought I'd be married with one child and have an established career; when I was 25 I thought I'd be established in my career and perhaps be married, but that I would never ever have children. Now, here comes 30, and I have changed my career path from art to law, been engaged and then not engaged, and am now living with my Love in freezing cold New England talking about buying houses and watching my friends and cousins get married and have babies. It is very different from where I thought I'd be and what I thought I'd be doing by now. This stark difference is all the more apparent with the impending marriage of L & C this weekend. They are young, beautiful and starry eyed in love, an sharp difference from Ry & I who are older, wiser, more tired and more practical. (i.e. In response to expensive invitations: "I can totally do that myself, I'm crafty." When hearing about the lovely table decorations being done by a florist "That sounds easy, I bet I could get everything at Michael's or a wholesale place on-line for half the cost and put them together in no time!") (***Of course, everything was sooo beautiful, on second thought, I'm not sure I could ave done any of it myself!***)
So they are marrying at the weekend in what promises to be a lovely affair, I finally bought a dress today for the event. (Green, an appropriate color, don't you think?)I will be borrowing black pumps from a friend of mine and have a black wrap to cover my unsightly arms (it is winter after all). I think it will be a lovely event, but I know myself, and I know that I am about 80% happy for them and about 20%jealous. It's okay, I know that their path is not the same as mine, but sometimes that smidgen of jealousy wells up inside me and and makes me a little sad.
That being said, I ma looking forward to this year. Ry graduates from law school, we're taking our first long vacation together, I'm going skiing for the first time and law school is winding down. So even though, I'm a teeny bit sad and a teeny bit jealous, I am also excited for a year of firsts, first time skiing, Ry's first job as an attorney and our first real vacation together. So, Happy New Year I hope you all have something to look forward to, despite the little stumbling blocks that we all come across.

Holiday Goodness

2007-12-08T14:26:00.001-05:00

Here are some holiday pics! Enjoy!

Lengthy Holiday Update

2007-12-04T21:10:00.000-05:00

Ah the silence, that’s the silence of boredom. Not with you, of course, but of my boring life. I am now in the countdown to finals. (First one is on Tuesday the 11th, ask me if I’m ready. No, don’t ask.) This is what I like to call my cranky time, the time where I’m snappy and miserable and not much fun to around. It is also around this time that my laugh acquires a little undertone of mania. Of course, let’s not forget that it is not just me who is going through finals at this time, but also Ry. Ry has his own particular crabbiness at this time too, and together we’re like…like…like that bomb in the school in the Die Hard movie with Jeremy Iron, where once the two liquids mix any little thing can detonate it…that’s what we’re like during finals. Ry gets super worked up and then wants to tell me about his outlines and how much he has done and all of that. Meanwhile, I work full time and go to class at night and can only take so much time from work for preparation of my finals, so I always feel like I am way behind when I hear where Ry is at in his studying. Now I know we all study in different ways, but hearing him be so self-satisfied about where he is in his outlines is like eating half of a filet mingon in front of a homeless person and then giving the remainder of the filet to your dog. Not cool. (Then again, during this period of time I am a cranky, shrewish, witch; more likely to rip your face off than look at you, so I guess it evens out.)

In other news, however, we got ourselves a tacky tree this year, we had a choice between white & silver. I’ve always wanted silver but I let Ry pick and he picked white, it’s cool though because it’s got sparklies on it anyway. We got it at Target for $24.99, it came packaged in a clear plastic tube, and nothing says class like a clear plastic tube. It’s pre-lit and about four feet tall, we also got a star to go on the top, which is so supremely tacky and cheap that it didn’t even have a way to affix it to the top of the tree! I ended up wrapping the tip of the tree on top it and then wrapping the cord tight around the tip of the tree, underneath the star. I actually really love it. It’s so kitsch and tacky that it’s awesome. In fact I think my goal will be to start collecting really schlocky ornaments to decorate to hang on it, it will be my Christmas kitsch. So the POINT is that since neither of us will be home for Christmas there’s no point in buying a Christmas tree stand and a tree if we can even enjoy it, but a tacky white plastic tree is the perfect way to decorate and we can put it up every year that we don’t have a real tree. (And some years that we do!)

That’s my holiday update, that and I’ve been inspired by blogs that I read and some friends to try and give, make and buy at least a few handmade gifts this year. Hopefully I’ll plan better for Christmas next year so that the majority of my gifts will be handmade. I will probably not post again until after finals or I receive my Mitten Swap package, whichever comes first, but I will be responding to e-mails and comments, so keep in touch!

p.s. Thanks to my mitten swap partner for her words of encouragement. That means a lot to me. Thank you.

Thanksgiving and Mittens

2007-11-23T23:29:00.000-05:00

Well, this Thanksgiving Ry and I had the pleasure of hosting the big meal at our place. Ry's parents went to Colorado for Thanksgiving to be with his sister, so we invited some friends who couldn't go home and see their parents for Thanksgiving and voila! Thanksgiving at our place! Ry and I made the Turkey, mashed potatoes, appetizers, and pies. Our friends J & M made the dressing, sweet potatoes and brought bread and pumpkin pie; and our friend C made a traditional English trifle. We had so much fun! The food was wonderful and I made bacon turkey
with maple flavored bacon on top and pear gravy. YUMMY! Ry and I and all of our wonderful friends had a great time, and it made Ry's first Thanksgiving away from his parents very special.

In further news, I finished one mitten for my swap partner, and am diligently working on the second one. It's turning out nicely, although it's a tad snug to put it on, but once on, it's absolutely perfect! Here's a picture of my progress:
I am really enjoying this project!

Well, I hope all your projects are going well, and that your Thanksgiving was full of much love, joy and fond memories.

Gramma

2007-11-07T14:58:00.000-05:00

So, a couple of weeks ago my Gramma felt a Lump. She went to the doctor, and he scheduled her for a biopsy. Last week she was diagnosed with breast cancer. it sent my world into a tailspin. Now, my Gramma is one strong lady, but I just kept thinking about my Grampa all alone. It broke my heart, they've been married since they were about 18, right out of high school, they became grownups together. I can't imagine losing someone that important to me. Well yesterday Gramma had surgery to see if the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. Grampa sent out a family e-mail last night, apparently after ten hours in the hospital she got a pass. No cancer in the lymph nodes. She'll be starting an aggressive radiation treatment next week, and we'll see from there what will happen next. So go hug your mom, sister, aunt, cousin, gramma, and friends and be thankful that you have them, because you never know what is going to happen next and where the next Lump will be.

Mystery Swap Package Goodness!

2007-11-04T15:09:00.000-05:00

I received my Mystery Swap package the other day and Barbara really did a wonderful job. The theme she chose was "Coffee To Get Through School And Knitting". Included were coffee bean stitch markers, a coffee cozy, coffee yarn hand dyed by Barbara, chocolate, Caribou Coffee which donates money to the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer foundation, highlighters and tags for my textbooks. It is really a wonderful package and I can't wait to get started on the sock pattern she gave me for the yarn. Anyway, without further ado here are some pictures of the package!

Happy Halloween (Belated)

2007-11-01T19:24:00.000-05:00

Halloween rundown:

We had 3 bags of candy + 2 dogs in costumes (pics to follow)+ One eager-to-hand-out-candy female

result? NO trick-or-treaters. None.

But we did have these:

(And candy, scary movies and beer. Yum!)

Secret mitten

2007-11-01T07:49:00.001-05:00

Well, as promised, I cast-on last night for the revamped mitten. MUCH better. Not only are the colors working together in a more cohesive way, but I was able to get the tubular cast on correct in only two tries this time! woo-hoo! Now I just need to hustle my butt and try to get it finished by next Wednesday. Why Wednesday? Because then I can cast on for the other one and hopefully get the pair done in two-ish weeks, so I can work on all the other projects in my little queue!

2007-11-01T07:49:00.000-05:00

So I’ve been reading a lot of blogs about knitting recently, and a lot of those blogs are being written by either expectant mothers, new mommies, or moms. It’s giving me The Fever, to which an old (male) friend of mine said “What is about women our age that constantly talk about the clock ticking or wanting babies? Is it the age?” (I told him yes, and unlike men we are constantly aware of the expiration date on these little eggies.) So back to The Fever, I want kids, Ryan knows this and we’ve talked about it, we’re all set and have a Plan. The problem is I don’t have any friends with babies (yet), thus depriving me of the one thing that will help alleviate The Fever, access to a baby. See, I’m not even an Auntie, so I can’t even baby-sit a niece or nephew to get a dose of reality, nope I’m relegated to reading the blogs about babies with pictures of babies sleeping quietly or gurgling happily. When what I need is one screaming colicky baby, and I’ll be all set until the enactment of the plan. If I had friends with babies (or friends in this area for that matter), that would be one thing. All I can do is hope that when Ry’s cousin’s baby is born, we can sit for them and she screams the whole time, because if she's sweet, I'm done for.

In other news, I completely ripped out the mitten for my Swap partner. It wasn’t perfect, and I don’t like to give shoddy gifts, so I ripped it out rewound it, rethought the color scheme and have made some changes. The Great Re-Cast-On will begin tonight after a quick trip to Webs! I keep meaning to get started in this knitting group that meets once a week on Wednesdays in Noho, but I haven’t mustered up the courage to walk in alone with nothing but a bag of knitting to guide me. I used to be so bold about things like that, but I find that since moving to this state (and having been here for basically three years with no girl friends), my courage has deserted me. Which just perpetuates the situation, I know. I have tried, but law school is not the best place to make girlfriends. Most girls where I’m at tend to be mean and catty, with only a few exceptions. The nice ones are all married and living far away from me. I think, however, next week will be my week to attend. New month, new start.

In other knitting news, super-top secret gift #1 is almost complete. Unfortunately I can’t blog about it until after Christmas, but when it is done, I'll let you know so you can see it on ravelry.

Mittens, Mitten Buddy & One Sweet Guy

2007-10-25T17:06:00.000-05:00

As you may know I'm knitting mittens for Ry. They are grey and red and turning out quite nice. Well, last night the big sweetie turned to me and said "Would you mind making these for my sister? She doesn't have anymore winter stuff since the fire." (I'm paraphrasing)Well, how could I refuse, I love his sister and she does need more winter stuff, so I'm knitting away on them with the ultimate plan to shrink them a little bit before packaging them and giving them to her for the holidays. Is he the sweetest or what?

Mitten buddy: You posted a comment on my page & I posted a return comment, I'm not sure if you saw it, but it's there! I can reply to you that way or I can do it on my regular posts, let me know what's convenient for you!

Tubular What?

2007-10-25T07:33:00.000-05:00

I think I have reason to believe that I may be an idiot. Hear me out, I wanted to do a tubular cast on for the mittens I am making for my partner, so I looked it up on Google and found this cast-on. Now the first time that I cast on, I read the directions all wrong and ended up with only two stitches spinning around and around, and then a tangled mess. But I persevered and re-read the directions and cast on again, this time I got it, but when I did the set up rows, I totally screwed up. I ripped back and cast on again (3rd time here people) this time it was perfect, I even removed the yarn and the whole thing...then I realized...WRONG SIZE NEEDLES! Idiot! I ripped it out and cast on gain...apparently 4th time's a charm. This whole process took about 2 hours! Yes, two hours of wasted time because I, like an idiot, cannot read directions. Lovely.

Nightmare Before Christmas + 3D = LOVE

2007-10-23T08:03:00.000-05:00

So, on Friday we went to see the re-release of Nightmare Before Christmas. Now this movie is a favorite of mine, and had been from the moment I saw it but THIS time it was in 3D!!! When I told Ry that come Hell or high water we were going to see this movie, he gave me "the look", the "I-don't-want-to-see-this-dumb-movie-but-if-I-don't-I'm-never-going-to-hear-the-end-of-it-so-I'll-just-agree" look. When I was done ignoring "the look" he then said, "I can't see 3D." "What do you mean you can't see 3D?" "I can't see it." "Are you talking about those red and blue glasses 3D?" "Yeah, I can't see 3D with them." (rolling my eyes) "Of course you can't. Those things don't work, nobody can see 3D out of those! They have new ones that are clear, you'll be fine." "Oh." "We should go, you'll like it." "Mmmhmm."

So, he appeased me and when we went to see the movie, he saw 3D for the first time. Which was, of course, adorable because he kept pulling his head back when things "jumped out" of the screen. When we left he said he really enjoyed the movie and that it was better than he was expecting, since he does not like Tim Burton. (I know.)

All in all it was a good night, and if you can, go see Nightmare Before Christmas! It's only a 3 week engagement starting on the 19th. It's completely worth the money, I highly recommend it, especially if you liked the original. If you live in Western Mass, it's playing at the cinema on Route 5 in West Springfield!

Done and Done!

2007-10-17T08:06:00.000-05:00

Well, that is it, my little Chickens! I am done with Ry's Socks and my Beret. Although I have a little confession to make. It's a little big...the beret. I made it with needles one size up so it would be a little big, so my hair wouldn't get mashed or a hat line or anything. However, it doesn't feel all that secure. Oh, well, at least the plan for no hat hair is in full force and effect! Ryan's socks fit him quite well, and he does love them even though some of our friends saw them in progress and thought the colors were "gay". First of all, what does that mean? That they look like drag queens with too much makeup and glittery bits? They're SOCKS! And second of all, when did blue whit and green become "gay" colors? Ugh. They are male fashionistas, and couldn't get around the fact that socks are rarely seen, except with dress pants, and these socks are too casual for dress pants. Idiots.

Anyway, moving on...I was sick all weekend and accomplished almost nothing, except I did finish my reading for classes and Ry's sock. So I guess I did something. I am feeling a bit better now but, still not great. I was also assigned my mitten partners! Yahoo!!! Let the mitteniness begin! I am excited to hit the stores this weekend and pick up the yarny goodness. I also finished up the shopping for my Mystery Swap partner and will be mailing that package out this weekend...I hope she likes it!

No More Humdrum Mittens (Re-post)

2007-10-11T14:30:00.000-05:00

NO MORE HUMDRUM MITTENS QUESTIONAIRE

1. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?

I have been knitting for a little over a year now, and I am self-taught. I learned through the videos on the internet and the back instructional sections of knitting magazines.

2. Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I would consider myself to be an intermediate knitter that accepts challenges.

3. What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike?

I LOVE reds and turquoises and purples, the only colors I don't really like are olive greens and mustard yellows.

4. Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?

I do like the Latvian patterns, however I do not have a favorite style. Although I can say that I do not like the fringed bottoms I see on some of the styles. I'm a no fringe kinda gal.

5. Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?

I know it sounds a bit selfish, but I'd like the mittens for myself. I've never really owned mittens before, mostly because until recently I lived in VERY warm states.

6. What other things do you enjoy knitting?

I enjoy knitting socks and sweaters and hats, of all kinds. I have been on a sock kick recently, but I am also enjoying the sweaters that I have going on as well.

7. What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)

For socks I like working with DPNs, for sweaters and hats I work with circulars. I recently purchased some Brittany wooden needles for my socks and fell in love with them! Although, I have been trying to hunt down some swallowtail casein needles to try them out.Usually ai Work with my Denise needles for the Circs and Pony needles for my DPNs.

8. What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?

The embossed leaves socks from IK, possibly something entrelac, the lace leaf pullover by Teva Durham. Something entrelac or fairisle. Umm...that's all I can think of. I really just enjoy knitting anything, except shawls.

9. What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?

I have been dying to work with Alpaca, cashemere or a wool/silk blend. I also would like to try working with some Socks that Rock yarn from Blue Moon, I love their Christmas themed colorways.

10. What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook?

I enjoying baking, cooking, photography and sewing. I also love to entertain and go for hikes with our dogs when the weather is nice, and this year is the year I am going to learn to ski and snow shoe!

11. Besides yarn, do you collect anything?

I like to collect oddities, kitschy/tacky things that I can place in various places around the house, they make me laugh. I have a poodle ornament that hangs around and is all coated in feathers. It's so tacky it's cute!

12. What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?

I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I love cupcakes and candies and chocolate, and sweet combined with salty things too! I'm a food nut!

13. Do you have any kids? Pets?

I have no kids, but I do have two dogs and a live-in boyfriend.

14. What is your favorite part of Winter?

The mugs of hot chocolate while you're inside watching the snow come down, warm fires, the holidays and time with family.

15. What is your least favorite part of Winter?

Finals and the never ending grayness that lasts until April!

Vermont Weekend

2007-10-10T08:46:00.000-05:00

Well, I am about 97% done with my little beret! Just in time, too because the weather is finally starting to act normal again, so I can wear my sweaters and hats now. Hooray! In other news Ry & I went to Woodstock Vermont on Sunday. What an awesome day! Vermont was so pretty, the leaves were all turning and Woodstock is such a quaint little town. To begin we walked through a little park area where people could walk their dogs. As we were walking through there I smelled something odd, but ignored it. Then we wandered in and out of these little art galleries admiring some of the works, agreeing on some things and disagreeing on others. Ry really made the effort to talk to me about what he did and did not like, and why that was so. I continued to smell something weird, so I asked Ry to check his shoes. Nothing. So we wandered on. We had lunch in a fabulous little restaurant we were fairly ravenous so we both finished our plates, and we had some Long Trail Blackberry Wheat Ale. Delicious! There was an old covered bridge that was still in use and some gorgeous old houses that we both wished we owned.

Later we had ice cream from an overpriced little shop (ahem, $5 for a cone), then sat on a bench looking at a babbling brook and eating out ice cream. Later we went to Quechee and saw the Quechee Gorge and a HUGE hot air balloon.

It was at the gorge that I discovered the source of the weird smell. It was MY shoes. Not Ry’s, mine. Did I think to check my own shoes? Nope, I just assumed it would have to be Ry’s shoes, because my shoes are so cute, they would never have stepping in something as gross as poo. Boy, was I wrong. Well, I managed to scrape it off on a rail thing and there wasn’t any in my tread, thank God, but I wonder how much was tracked in and out of those galleries…Anyway, the gorge was awesome and we saw it from both sides of the bridge. Apparently Ry had been passing over the gorge to go skiing since he was a kid, but had never stopped to see it, so it was a first for both of us. We also stooped at a cute little place that sold local cheese, handmade furniture and all things pickled. For instance there were pickled eggs, regular pickles, pickled cabbage. You name it they had it, and it was pickled. They also had flocks of sheep, bears and cows. Ry and I took photos in the midst of each! On the way back we stopped at a rural gas station/general store and there I saw the BIGGEST apple pies in my life. I ended up buying a blackberry pie, which is now gone, but was delicious. That pie must’ve weighed ten pounds, it was delicious and worth every penny we paid. All in all it was a wonderful weekend.

Fall Festivals and Pot Luck Dinners

2007-10-01T16:55:00.000-05:00

Well, in the end I could not decide what to give to my friend. Apparently, though, that was for the best because she is going home in a couple of weeks and is going to ask her mother to teach her to knit. So she'll just get her needles and yarn while she's there.

For the pot-luck dinner we made chicken wings with 4 different dipping sauces, and bought a chocolate cream pie from Whole Foods for dessert. J & M made miniburgers and BBQ Chicken Chili. Now I don't know if you've had BBQ chicken chili, but let me tell you what it contains: BBQ Sauce, Tomato Sauce, Shredded Chicken and Elbow macaroni. Got that? Process it for a moment and let me remind you how acidic tomato sauce and BBQ sauce is...see where I'm going with this? I couldn't finish. It was like someone was pouring a vat of acid down my gullet. It has a good flavor, but it was really soupy, so the soup was tomato & BBQ sauce and I just couldn't do it. Apparently, this chili was something of a comfort food. J said they used to serve it at school with peanut butter crackers and it was delicious! Hmm. Ok, well either way, they cooked for us, and that always rocks! And we had pie...even better...yummmmm....

So Saturday Ry & I went to the Fall Apple Harvest Festival in the town common. It sounds like it was pretty cool,right? Like Gramma Ethel's famous Apple Spice Bread, Grampa Joe's Cider, and Aunt Tilly's Apple Pie were all being sold at little stands from different farms. And there was bobbing for apples, and bushels of apples so you could buy different varieties that you haven't tried before. Seems like that's what the festival would be like, right? Right? WRONG. It was lame. There was only one stand with apples, and none of the fall festival stuff that I was expecting. It was a complete let down. It was like being told you're getting a really exciting, super-cool gift and the fact that this super-cool gift is coming has been built up for weeks and then getting a roll of Scotch Tape. It was a fizzle rather than a bang. Still, it was nice to be out of the house. We walked around the town square and I went to a little yarn shop I had been wanting to check out and got some yarn for mittens for Ry. Then we ran some errands, and went home and decorated for Fall. Later that evening we took the dogs to the field to play with the frisbee. Well, Sam played with the frisbee, Molly just ran around and rolled in the grass.

Meanwhile I turned the heel on Ry's second sock! Hooray! I think that counts as being nearly done. I don't know what it was about this project, but I has SSS really bad...I kept thinking "Why do I want to do the same project all over again? In really want to do something new!" So I cast on for the second sock in May and didn' pick it up again until August. I guess i figured, Ry only wears sandals in the summer, why bother with the sock, if he won't wear it until cool weather sets in? It proved to be true, Ry rarely wore shoes all summer, and now the weather is just barely getting cooler so I still have time to finish it. (Barely)

Rainstorms, Knitting and the Dogs

2007-09-28T09:33:00.000-05:00

So last night I finished the leg on Ry’s sock, and just as I was getting ready to start the heel Ry lured me out on the porch to listen to the rain and enjoy a drink with him. By the time we came back inside it was almost midnight. If the painters hadn’t removed the porch light, I’d have probably brought the sock out with me, but it was not to be.

It’s been a long time since I’ve sat outside and listened to the rain and thunder. I forgot how soothing rainstorms can be, especially since in the summer the rainstorms are harbingers of humidity, nasty weather and mosquitos, but in the fall they are perfection. The dogs, however, did not like the rain as much as we did. Molly and Sam hid behind our chairs whenever there was a little thunder and Sam kept walking to the edge of the porch and looking in wonderment at the rain pouring down. He absolutely refused to go potty before bed; the rain was too much for his delicate sensibilities; so he woke us up barking this morning to go out. Molly didn’t go out before bed either (she too has delicate sensibilities), but she’s a camel, she can wait until we’re up before going out.

Tonight we have a potluck dinner with some friends, one of whom has been asking me about knitting. I was thinking of giving her one of my books, some yarn, needles and a pattern and letting her experiment. The thing is…what yarn? What pattern? I have to figure that out first. I have some stuff in my stash that I bought before I became a bit of a yarn snob, which I can’t bear to get rid of because it seems like a waste. So it has been relegated to hats, dog sweaters and experimental uses. I hate to give her some of that lest she think that’s what all yarn is like, but I can’t see giving her some of my more expensive stuff, because it will probably not be appreciated for a first time project, or she’ll have a heart attack if she messes up or breaks the yarn (I almost did). I have multiple colors of one brand, but it’s kind of scratchy and stretchy and I wonder if stripes might be too challenging. Although, I think something like that is fun to learn because then you have something to change up the mindlessness of garter or stockinette stitch. Hmmm…I may have to ponder this further…I’ll have to decide by tonight though! I have some Lionbrand…that’s soft, and it tends to be good for beginners because it’s easy to work with and there will be no heart attacks if you screw up royally….maybe that’s the way to go?

p.s. Do you like my new fall theme?

Mystery Swap

2007-09-25T18:15:00.000-05:00

Ok, like an idiot I didn't really "get" what my ideas should be, so here are a few more:

1. Italy (I am in love with Tuscany.)
2. Arizona and the desert. (I grew up there, it's still my home.)
3. Pumpkins and the fall. (My favorite season.)
4. First snowfall
5. Christmas (I used to have red & green Chuck Taylors and broke them out right after Thanksgiving...I should get another pair...)

That's a little more along the lines Kim was looking for, I think!

The Weekend

2007-09-24T08:18:00.000-05:00

So, Friday night was "date night"! We went out to dinner and we were going to see a movie when a sudden and vicious pain began attacking my neck. I didn't sleep on it in an unusual way, because it hadn't been hurting since the morning. I think I strained it, here’s why:
Monday through Thursday I carry around a laptop bag at night. It’s easily the cheapest laptop bag that money can buy. It has a narrow strap, no padding for your shoulder and it distributes the weight unevenly. In addition to this monstrous laptop bag I carry a giant purse. Seriously it’s giant. In this purse I carry my lunch, my pens a law book or two, my planner, about 5 lipsticks, a change of shoes (if I am wearing heels) and my knitting…just to name a few things. The weight of my purse is probably about 25 pounds, and it can only go over one shoulder, it’s not a messenger bag type thing. It’s a one shoulder, two strap purse. The weight of my laptop bag (with assorted documents) is probably about 35 pounds. So between the two I am carrying about 60 pounds, unevenly distributed onto one shoulder. Is it any wonder my neck was hurting?

Anyway, back to date night…My neck was killing me by the time we were going to see a movie, so I had to beg off and we compromised by renting a movie from the local video store so I could lay down. We got home, I popped 4 Aleve and we watched Death Proof. Let me say Tarantino ALWAYS makes a good movie and an even better soundtrack. So after the movie I went to bed and crashed out.

On Saturday, Ry & I went to the fair! The first thing we did when we finally got there (3 hours of traffic to get in, thank you very much), was have corndogs and fresh lemonade. Yum! Then we hit the buildings, saw the exhibits. There was a butter sculpture,

a cow that had the same coloring and marking as Sam,

and of course the FOOD! We had cream puffs, lobster rolls, quahog clams, seafood, blueberry crisp, and of course, beer! My neck was still bothering me, but 3 Aleve and 2 beers made me forget all about that! We had a ton of fun, even though Ry turned a little green on one of the rides. (Too much food!)

Sunday was a gorgeous day, so I studied on the porch and pseudo-enjoyed the day.

I only did a little knitting over the weekend due to the neck pain, but overall it was a fantastic weekend!

Quickie

2007-09-23T21:49:00.000-05:00

Weekend in review:

Friday: I hurt my neck :(
Saturday: Loaded up on Aleve & went to fair
Sunday: Studied & cleaned house.

...More on the fair tomorrow...

Ravelry

2007-09-20T12:26:00.000-05:00

Ahem.

"Your invitation was sent on Yesterday."

Hot Damn! I knew I should have logged on-line yesterday, instead of knitting Ry's sock and doing the copious amounts of laundry! WooHooo!!!! I am extraordinarily excited about this. This means all day Saturday will be spent shooting the stash! This also means that all hopes for paying attention in Crim Pro tonight have just flown out the window. Yaaahhhoooo!

Package Delivery!

2007-09-18T22:42:00.000-05:00

So my package from The Loopy Ewe arrived yesterday! Hooray! I have been wanting some Cider Moon Glacier yarn forever and when I had finally decided what to buy, they closed up shop! (The blog says that's temporary and due to a legal matter, so hopefully this won't be too long.) So then I began a quest for Cider Moon, and wouldn't you know? The Loopy Ewe had it! So I ordered two skeins of Taos and a skein Superman. I also ordered a skein of Perchance to Knit in breezy. YUM!

Taos is on the left, Superman is in the middle, and Breezy is on the right

Score!

2007-09-18T12:15:00.000-05:00

Here's where I am on Ravelry....

You signed up on July 6, 2007
You are #14529 on the list.
589 people are ahead of you in line.
18893 people are behind you in line.
41% of the list has been invited so far

I am sooooooooooo excited! Can you tell how excited I am? Can you? Can you!?!?!

Ok, I'm out, but I did get my awesome package from The Loopy Ewe yesterday, so tonight there will be sockporn!

No More Humdrum Mittens Questionnaire

2007-09-16T13:57:00.000-05:00

HA! I joined the "No More Humdrum Mittens Swap". I am really excited, I've never participated in a swap before, mostly because I always found out about them too late! Well, not this time, baby! Below is the Questionnaire. Lalala! I'm so happy!

NO MORE HUMDRUM MITTENS QUESTIONAIRE

1. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn?

I have been knitting for a little over a year now, and I am self-taught. I learned through the videos on the internet and the back instructional sections of knitting magazines.

2. Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I would consider myself to be an intermediate knitter that accepts challenges.

3. What are your favorite colors? Any you dislike?

I LOVE reds and turquoises and purples, the only colors I don't really like are olive greens and mustard yellows.

4. Do you like Latvian type patterns? If so, what are your favorite patterns?

I do like the Latvian patterns, however I do not have a favorite style. Although I can say that I do not like the fringed bottoms I see on some of the styles. I'm a no fringe kinda gal.

5. Do you desire mittens for yourself, your "special someone else" or your child?

I know it sounds a bit selfish, but I'd like the mittens for myself. I've never really owned mittens before, mostly because until recently I lived in VERY warm states.

6. What other things do you enjoy knitting?

I enjoy knitting socks and sweaters and hats, of all kinds. I have been on a sock kick recently, but I am also enjoying the sweaters that I have going on as well.

7. What sort of needles do you enjoy working with? (straights vs circs, bamboo vs aluminum)

For socks I like working with DPNs, for sweaters and hats I work with circulars. I recently purchased some Brittany wooden needles for my socks and fell in love with them! Although, I have been trying to hunt down some swallowtail casein needles to try them out.Usually ai Work with my Denise needles for the Circs and Pony needles for my DPNs.

8. What’s one project you’ve not yet tried but are dying to make?

The embossed leaves socks from IK, possibly something entrelac, the lace leaf pullover by Teva Durham. Something entrelac or fairisle. Umm...that's all I can think of. I really just enjoy knitting anything, except shawls.

9. What’s one yarn you’ve not yet tried but are dying to work with?

I have been dying to work with Alpaca, cashemere or a wool/silk blend. I also would like to try working with some Socks that Rock yarn from Blue Moon, I love their Christmas themed colorways.

10. What other hobbies do you have? Do you spin? Sew? Garden? Cook?

I enjoying baking, cooking, photography and sewing. I also love to entertain and go for hikes with our dogs when the weather is nice, and this year is the year I am going to learn to ski and snow shoe!

11. Besides yarn, do you collect anything?

I like to collect oddities, kitschy/tacky things that I can place in various places around the house, they make me laugh. I have a poodle ornament that hangs around and is all coated in feathers. It's so tacky it's cute!

12. What kind of goodies do you enjoy? Sweets? Salty? Anything you hate or are allergic to?

I have a HUGE sweet tooth. I love cupcakes and candies and chocolate, and sweet combined with salty things too! I'm a food nut!

13. Do you have any kids? Pets?

I have no kids, but I do have two dogs and a live-in boyfriend.

14. What is your favorite part of Winter?

The mugs of hot chocolate while you're inside watching the snow come down, warm fires, the holidays and time with family.

15. What is your least favorite part of Winter?

Finals and the never ending grayness that lasts until April!

Sabbatical

2007-09-12T12:25:00.000-05:00

After a long sabbatical, I am officially back. There was time there when it was touch and go. When I wasn’t sure I even wanted to continue with this blog, not because I don’t like having a forum on which to “let it out” as they say, but because it seemed like such a useless commitment. Let’s face it, nobody really reads this blog and there’s the commitment of writing on it and taking photos of my knitting and various other things going on in my life. It just seemed like…a waste of my “me time”. However, the realization struck me that the blog can be part of my “me time”. With that in mind I have returned to you, my non-existent public.

What may not be known is that in the interim of this break several things have happened. The first of which is that I had a birthday. Ry, Mom, and Stevie did everything in their power to make it very special for me. It was the nicest birthday I have had in a long time. Among the gifts I received were a sewing machine from Mom and Seinfeld DVD’s that I take such delight in I watch them nearly every night. My brother got me a jewelry box from his travels in Europe that is apparently made from Camel bone, but the dogs seems to think it’s made of the most delicious kind of doggie crack on earth. In other words, all Molly wants to do is sniff and lick the jewelry box and all Sam wants to do is eat it. I have sewn a few blouses on the sewing machine and I love it, the patterns are fairly simple, but they are lovely. I have already committed myself to sewing curtains for the bedroom, and a friend of mine has inquired as to whether or not I’d be able to sew her a Snow White costume. Ummm…we’ll see on that last one.

Another big occurrence is that I am able to afford law school again, so I will be able to continue my education. I have mixed feelings about this. I am still not sure that this is my path, but on the other hand my pride will not let me be a quitter. I have done some research, and I can pursue an alternative legal career or perhaps just maintain my hobbies to be a well-rounded person.

My major difficulty this summer has been Sam. I am having a hard time adjusting to having a puppy in the house, particularly one who is still not fully house-broken nor crate trained. Let it be known that I did not want a puppy, I wanted a dog. To be more specific, I wanted a dog between the ages of 1.5 and 2 years, the same age that Molly was when I got her. I’m not going to fool you, Molly was tough when I first got her, there were accidents and chewing incidents, but I crate trained her and the accidents and chewing stopped. I hired a dog trainer and taught her most commands. She is now a good girl, she can be left in the house with no accidents and no chewing, unless an errant cotton swab finds its way out of the bathroom. She behaves. Sam on the other hand wakes me up in the night to go outside (3:00AM people) he chews everything, he barks his fool head off in the crate (yes, even when we’re right there with him), he pees if left alone for any extended period of time. He kind of knows his commands, he does come when called, he does know “inside”, and he knows “No”. But he needs his shots he needs to be fixed and he needs to be trained, both crate trained and command trained. It was my hope that we could have accomplished this before classes began, but that was not to be. So now we have Sam, and it’s like having a difficult child. Ry, of course, thinks the world of him, which is wonderful. I wanted him to have a dog to love and bond with, and now he does. We just need to work on the obedience aspect of Sam. He has potential and all we have to do now is get him fixed and hire a trainer. Ry & I discussed it and decided that those things need to be done asap, because neither of us want to continue to worry if Sam's incessant barking will cause us to be evicted, nor do we want to walk with dread into the house wondering what he has destroyed this time.

The next big thing that happened is that I paid a surprise visit to my Mom over Labor Day. She had no idea that I was arriving, and was shocked beyond imagining when I waltzed through her living room door. It was a wonderful weekend, and my brother and I got a wheelchair for her (because she has a lot of leg pain which prevents her from doing most things) and took her to the Farmer’s market, the craft store, and lots of other places. We all had a lot of fun.

And last but not least, Ryan had a birthday. It was his 31st and among his gifts were some books, picture frames and a few other little things. I am also having party for him this weekend, which should be perfect, the high is only going to be 68 and we’re going to have a bonfire. How exciting!

In knitting news, I have finished one of Ry’s socks, I have cast on for a Beret and I have the back piece of Simply Marilyn done! I have a thousand other projects in mind, but I realize I should pace myself, 3 projects at a time is probably enough, especially with the sewing I want to do. However, I do need to get some more Christmas gifts onto needles. By the way, does anybody out here have a cool, basic pattern for a hat and scarf with sock yarn? Well, I guess I have some projects to think about!

Here's a pic of Molly and Sam. They are cute together...

Here's What's Happening

2007-07-12T09:45:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm almost done with sock #1 for Ry. I tried it on him last night to see where I was on it and make sure everything is turning out ok,not like the last sock disaster! When I tried it on him he made two comments, #1 "Ooohh, that's comfortable, I like it," and #2 "Is it going to take you this long to finish the other one?" Whhhaaaaaat?? I just looked at him and said, "Yes, it's 88 stitches around and you have a BIG foot." So I promised him he would have a set by the end of August. (I sincerely hope that holds true.) Anyway, it's summer and all he's putting on his feet these days are sandals or gym shoes when we take walks, so he'll be fine with gym socks until it gets cool out.

In other news, I was hired at my job (YAY), and will now receive a LIVING WAGE. Can you believe it? I was so excited when i found out I bought myself a little "Congratulations" cake and waited up until 12:30am (when Ry got home)to eat it!

The search for a new pupperoni continues (and will do so until we have some moolah to pay an adoption fee) and I sometimes worry about Molly and if she'll adjust to a new addition very well. I guess I'm mostly worried about dividing my attention evenly between the two doggies, and I don't want to neglect Miss Molly...I'm sure it will all work out for the best. I mean, ultimately she’s getting a companion so she’ll have someone to play with during the day and hopefully they get along like a house on fire, which will ease my worries considerably.

So I have a birthday coming up. I'm a little excited and a little anxious about it. Something usually happens on my birthday, and it’s usually never good. I am trying to be positive, although I am a little sad that I don’t hardly any people that live in the area that I could invite to a party, or that I haven’t had a birthday party since I was a kid. I guess it’ll just be a quiet night, which will be nice, too. Especially because a big birthday bash requires a lot of clean-up before and afterward.

I have a gift already waiting for me…it’s from my Dad…it’s been in the house for almost a month now…I REEAAALLY want to open it, but my willpower is pretty strong, so I am resisting the urge. (barely)

I have some new sock yarn from Chameleon Colorworks...but no photos yet, and I still haven't felt presentable enough to take a photo of the Anthropologie Shrug. I will take & post those pics as well as the sock progress pics soon, I promise.

A few Pics

2007-07-03T15:34:00.000-05:00

Ok,ok, here are two pics, one of the fingerless mitt, and the other of the slippers for Mom for Mother's Day. More updates later!! Happy Fourth (a little early)!

This picture is terrible. I assure you they look much better on my mother's feet than in this photo AND let's not forget that the color is all funky because I was using the craptastic camera! Ugh. Sorry about that.

Grunge ruined Wrap

2007-07-02T13:44:00.000-05:00

I have been sitting here wondering about the knitted shawl/wrap. Here’s my problem. I kinda love them, but only when they are simple (i.e. Glampyre’s City Shawl). When they are this confection of laciness, I think of sweet little grannies all wrapped up in their shawls ready for church. I can’t shake the granny image of these lacy things. To be sure, they are masterful pieces of knitting…but they do seem a bit…old. Perhaps it’s me…I’ve had an aversion to all things lace since I was able to make fashion choices. It always seemed contrived and most of the girls I knew who wore lacy things were always trying a bit too hard. I can’t do it, even to this day when I see lacy blouses I can’t help but pair it with shoulder pads, big hair and the 80’s when all prom dresses had fountains of lace. (A co-worker frequently wears a black acrylic lacy ruffled blouse that smacks of white trash; not in a good “tongue in cheek/kitsch is fashion” kind of way, but in a “this is seriously what I wear” kind of way.) The second part to this is the fact that I’m just not sure I could pull it off even if I wanted to. I have a pashmina, I love it, I bought it in Italy, but when I wear it, I fiddle. I fiddle with the arrangement of it, so that it has the “I just fashionably threw this on” look to it like then women in Europe had. But then after I throw it on it inevitably slips down one shoulder or I feel as though I am being pretentious. (I’m a snob, but not a pretentious one.) This uncomfortability keeps me from a few projects that I love, such as the City Shawl or the Clementine Shawlette, both of which I admire (and own the patterns for), but neither of which I am sure that (a) I can pull off or (b) would even wear. I’ve always been a cardi girl. It’s chilly out? No problem, throw on a cardigan, no biggie. Maybe it comes from being part of the grunge generation (Nirvana hit mainstream when I was either in 8th grade or a Freshman in highschool)? Having kept my flannel tied to my hips and throwing it on when there was a chill in the air reminds me of throwing a stylish cardi over the handbag and putting it on when the chill sets in. Anyway, just to sum up, I won’t be knitting a shawl or wrap anytime soon, unless it’s requested as a gift for someone…it’s just not me. (yet)

I'm baaaaaaack!

2007-06-25T11:50:00.000-05:00

Well it's been a long time since I posted. In that time I took my finals; cast on and finished a sock only to realize that I should have done a gauge check because it didn't fit the foot it was intended for; I went to K’s graduation with Ry; Webs gianormous yarn sale; found out that after Mom’s cardiac angiogram, she collapsed, was treated by some incompetent doctors and nearly a week later was diagnosed with a hematoma and a psudoanuerism; Ry and I then traveled to Indiana to take care of Mom for Memorial Day Weekend because Little Brother went to Austria to visit Dad (to date, Mom is still not better); cast on and finished a shrug; cast on for another pair of socks (and knit about 2 inches); cast on for Wicked (and knit about an inch); gauge swatched for Simply Marilyn; gauge swatched for Thermal, and have been working; spending QT with Ry and playing with Molly.

So…I have pictures of the Mother’s day Gift (a pair of slippers), and some photos of the basket my Gramma made for me for Christmas…and of the shrug I finished. You'll have to wait to see them though, I don;t find any of them particularly flattering, so I have to re-shoot! I promise to post them ASAP, though. (Really, I mean it this time.)

Besides all of the above there have been some other developments in my life, one of them being the realization that I will have to take a year off of law school because I actually can’t afford to go! HA! Actually it’s rather depressing and I’ve sort of been cutting myself off from friends because I don’t want to talk about it. The other thing that has happened recently is that we’ve decided to get a second doggie. When school is in session, Molly is alone during the day and we both think it would be nice for Molly to have a friend. So we are currently looking at little brothers for her at the local shelters. We’ve decided not to get a puppy (they’re always the first adopted anyway), but a dog that is between 1 and 5 years old. I’m letting Ry make most of the decisions while maintaining veto power on names and breeds, although I don’t plan on exercising it unless he wants a Pitbull and wants to name it Muff. He’s never owned a dog or named a dog, or even trained a dog, so I think this’ll be a good experience for him! However we’ve decided to wait on getting one until we know if I’ll still be employed at the end of the month. (I’m temping and they’re interviewing for the position I’m in, but I’m scheduled for an interview…we’ll see, I guess.) If I am still employed it’ll be a nice raise and we’ll be all systems go on the new pooch! In other news, I have decided that I will be posting every weekend, even if it is just a quick brain dump. I'd like to really get going on the blog thing, but it sort of reminds me of a diary...and I have never been good with diaries, but I'm giving it the old college try!

More Stuff than you can shake a DPN at! (a big one)

2007-04-24T17:11:00.000-05:00

Hip hip HOOORAAAAYYY!!! Yes that was cheering. I finished the Mother's Day Gift that I was working on. Yes that's right I finished it! But no pics...why? Mom reads the blog! In other news I finally receive Sensational Knitted Socks (SKS) in the mail and I am diligently working on my first pair of sockies. I am very excited about this, even though I had to frog the whole darn thing and start from scratch b/c I did a knitted cast on which SKS says is insubstantial...so I frogged it. I cast on again and even though I only have about an inch of ribbing, I'm still really excited about working on the socks. I am working from the pattern in the Spring '07 IK 'Roza's Socks' The pattern should keep me from getting bored and my recipient likes to have plenty of ribbing so the socks don't slouch down...the best of both worlds! In other super-fabulous news I finished the fingerless mitt, although I ran out of yarn and had to use some pink sock yarn to finished the thumb...but it looks like a cute little thumb ring...and it was just for fun anyway. (Pics to follow, of course) I went to LYS on Friday and bought MORE SOCK YARN!!! While I was there the knitting ladies complimented me on my Sexy Little Sweater(even thought the sleeves suck butt!)So big ego boost for me. (yay!)And THEN I called Mom and asked her if she could use her mad sewing skills to make me a DPN case, and she said ok! Not only that, but she went and bought funky fabric and even found some patterns for them online AND insisted on making some pockets in it for my circs! How much do I love Mama? TONS!!! So that's the stuff. (I told you it was a lot.) I promise to post pics soon!

SWTC Sock Boot Camp

2007-04-18T17:14:00.000-05:00

So it occurs to me that I may have left out some of the details of my first ever visit to Webs, in my haste to update you on the past two weeks. On Sunday was the SWTC Sock Boot Camp from 12-4. I signed up and had been anticipating it for weeks. However, due to the fact that I had a medium sized emotional breakdown the Thursday (or Wednesday) before the Sock Boot Camp, I was filled with the dread you feel on the first day of classes at a new school. Will I meet anyone? Will anyone talk to me? Will I be an island in the middle of an LYS sea? Will I be the only beginner? What if I don’t knit “correctly”? All of these things and more were running through my head, and with a great deal of nervousness I made it out the door and to the Boot Camp, without getting lost. I arrived with a) no needles b) no sock yarn and c) no idea how to knit socks, but I did arrive with a very firm grasp on how to knit with DPNs and Circulars. (Ry tried to convince me to take my beach-now-knitting bag with me, and I said, “No, no, no, besides I don’t have any sock-type thing to knit anyway!)

So I arrived (friendless) behind two ladies that were obviously very good friends. “Here we go,” I thought. “Here I am the only with no knitting friends.” Well, I walked in and the the ladies that work there were wonderful, thery made me feel very welcome, friends or no friends. They directed me to the beginners table with my wee skein of yarn and my new Pony needles and when I looked at the table, it was full. So I wandered around for a bit and then when I checked back, halleluiah, there was an empty seat. So I took it! I sat down and immediately the instructor asked me if I had worked in the round before and I said yes but never with such eensy-weensy yarn or needles before and she said fine & I got started. Well as we were all knitting away, we were (of course) chatting and people asked me how long I had been knitting, and I said since September of ’06. And then they asked me how I learned to knit.

Me: “Ummmm…I taught myself”

Lady#1 :“You did? How?”

Me: “Well, I just Googled ‘how to knit’ and it came back with instructions and videos and all kinds of things so I just read all of those things and then just practiced.”

Lady #2: “Oh, that’s terrible.”

Me: “What?”

Lady #2: “That’s just awful, teaching yourself how to knit on-line. I tried that and found all those tutorials to be such garbage, you can’t learn anything right on there.”

Me: “Well, it seems to be working out…”

Lady #2: “Why didn’t you just have a friend teach you or a grandmother or take a class, so you could learn it properly?”

Me: “I don’t have any friends in Mass, my Gramma lives in Arizona, and I think I do alright at it…I mean it’s not perfect…but I seem to be doing okay.”

Lady#2: “Well, as long as you’re all right with it.”

I take a special kind of glee in saying that the lady who learned how to knit properly did NOT know how to do a knitted cast-on. Ha-HA!!! So anyway, I also spoke with 2 other ladies that were really nice (I only remember one’s name) and completely ruined my foundation row of K2P2, seems easy right? Apparently I can’t chat with people until the first 2-3 rows have been knit, or I’ll get too caught up in talking and end up with four purl stitches all together. I can, however walk and chew gum at the same time…so I’m getting there. (I ended up ripping the whole damn thing out & starting over, even I can’t live with that much imperfection.) I also realized that I am a slow knitter. Everyone reassured me that with practice I will get faster, I certainly hope so…I have a lot of projects in mind and I’d like to be able to finish them before Christmas (for the gifts) and next summer (for me). That was about it for the LYS visit. However, when I came back I felt pretty good, and Ry is encouraging me to go back and maybe take a Saturday class, or just hang out and knit with other people. So, after finals, that’s my plan. I like the idea of meeting people who share in this newly acquired addiction of mine, and being able to ask questions of more experienced knitters. The whole thing appeals to me. The next event I plan to go to is the Tent Sale, which I will be saving for. I plan on increasing my stash, much to Ry’s chagrin, I’m sure. Oh! And I have completely fallen in love with knitting socks! The tiny yarn, the little needles, the transportability of it all…I just LOVE it!

Roasted Poblano Recipe (as promised)

2007-04-18T10:52:00.000-05:00

How to roast chiles

Before chiles are stuffed, they must be roasted. This gives them an earthy flavor and eases removal of the tough skin.

1) Place fresh chiles on a rack over a hot gas flame, on a grill or under a broiler. Cook on all sides for 3 to 5 minutes, making sure all the skin is blackened. Be careful not to overcook. As soon as the skin turns black, turn the chile to blacken another portion.

2) Place in a paper or plastic bag. Allow the chiles to sweat until they are cool enough to handle.

3) Pull off the skin, or scrape it off with a blunt knife.

Shrimp Salad Chilies Rellenos

1 pound shrimp
2 serrano chiles, seeded and minced
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted (divided use)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3/4 cup corn kernels (from 1 or 2 ears of corn)
1 red bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded and julienned
Corn vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Salt, to taste
4 poblanos, roasted, peeled and seeded

Toss crabmeat with the serranos, half of the pumpkin seeds, the basil, corn kernels, bell pepper and half of the corn vinaigrette. Season with salt. Fill each poblano with one-fourth of the shrimp mixture.

Serve each chile relleno on a plate with the remaining corn vinaigrette and garnish with remaining pumpkin seeds.

Makes 4 servings.

Corn Vinaigrette

2 ears corn, shucked
1/2shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt, to taste

Boil corn for about 10 minutes (until cooked) or you may roast the corn in the oven, but this takes MUCH longer. Cut the kernels off the cobs. Combine corn kernels with shallot, garlic, vinegar and chicken stock in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive and corn oils until emulsified. Season with salt.

Recipie taken from AzCentral.com

Laziness

2007-04-17T16:58:00.000-05:00

Well! First and foremost let me just say that I have delaying the blogging until I could get my pictures uploaded! Why did it take me so long? Laziness, pure unadulterated laziness.

Now, that I’ve fessed up to that, a lot has happened since I last blogged! First there was Easter. I decided to make roasted poblano peppers with a shrimp filling and shrimp fajitas for dinner on Good Friday (Ry is a Catholic so no meat!). It was delicious, roasting the poblanos gives them this beautiful smoky taste which contrasted nicely with the sweetness of the shrimp an corn filling. (I’ll post the recipe, relax!) The shrimp fajitas were pretty darn good too, if you like fajitas. If you don’t, the poblanos would go well with a nice steak cooked on the grill. After we digested for a bit, we decided to color eggs for Easter.

I have to admit, I was a bit surprised that the last time Ry colored eggs was when he and his sisters were little. Where’s the childlike joy and enthusiasm for Easter? Well, anyway we had a lot of fun and got creative with out little wax crayon and 3 colors of dye. (I messed up & bought the wrong kit, oops!)

Saturday was a day of rest and relaxation followed by a trip on Easter up to his parents’ house. Ry’s two sisters were both there, S & K. The visit was a lot of fun and very relaxing, K & I started in on the wine early, and I forgot (as usual) that when in the M household, you have a bottomless glass of wine. So needless to say I got a little toasty, and poor Ry had to drive us home! (again) The week that followed was not a good one for me mentally. Let’s just say I’m questioning some life decisions right now, and due to various circumstances I’ll be taking at least a year off of law school. I’m still not feeling so great in my mental processes, but I’m doing better.

Spring

On Saturday I noticed that the crocuses were in bloom and felt like it was actually starting to turn to Spring and then on Saturday we got rain followed by slush followed by snow and then finished off with some more rain. But I did get these great pictures of the crocuses. On Sunday I went to the SWTC Sock Boot Camp event at Webs. (Ahem, that means that I finally found Webs. As in, I did not get lost this time) It was awesome to finally be with a group of knitters!! I sat at the beginners table and chatted with the ladies there. Although it was a sock knitting event SWTC did not send enough sample yarn of the new TOFUtsies line, so we all ended up knitting a fingerless mitt. Still, it was nice to get the hang of knitting with sock yarn and on small DPNs. I was at the thumb gusset of the mitt, when I realized I could not live with so many imperfections in my knitting, regardless of the fact that it was only for me, so I ripped the whole darn thing out and started from scratch. I’m done with the ribbing & so far have no mistakes (knock wood). While I was there I explored the warehouse (LOVE IT), the front of the store, and their selection of needles. I must go back! Especially since there are some patterns that they have, that I want/need/must have. I also bought some sock yarn so I could finally make something for Ry, he was very excited about the prospect of having some lovely hand knit sockies! So that is a quick as a bunny rundown of the past two weeks.

In other news I finished the Sexy Little Sweater, tried it on & decided that a) I am a chub-a-lub and b) I’m not in love with the sleeves on it.

Sleeve Gap

Close up of sleeves

I think I might have to rip it out and re-do the ribbing on them. Ry thinks the sleeves should be shorter too, so that it’s almost a sleeveless top, I’m not so sure about that. (I have upper arm issues.) I wanted this to be a Spring/Fall Sweater, something to wear on the kinda-warm-but-not-really days here in New England. I was thinking about an inch of 2x2 ribbing done on smaller needles and decreasing the total number of knit stitches for a snugger fit. Any suggestions?

Spring Break!! Woo Hoo!!!

2007-04-01T20:47:00.000-05:00

So last week was Spring Break, and for the first time in a long time I actually did something, thanks to my lovely grandparents. This is how it went down: I got an e-mail from my Gramps asking when spring break was, so I replied and told him it was the 17th through the 25th of March, then he replied by saying that he & Gramma really missed me and would I like to come out to Arizona for a visit during the break, so I replied “YEEEESSSSS!!!!! Of course!!!!!” So he booked my flight to leave on the 16th and to return on the 23rd.

Now, let me just remind you that New England weather hates me, it really does…I plan for a hike and it rains, I want to go for a bike ride, ditto and on and on. Well the 16th was no different, the nigh before they said to expect flurries and snow on Saturday, so I went to bed thinking “Haha, Suckers!” I woke up with the weatherman telling me to expect 1”-2” of snowfall per hour starting at about 6:00pm. So, I thought, well maybe my flight will be fine. Nope. Flight was cancelled. Cancelled! So I tried calling the airline, big mistake, big HUGE mistake. I was on hold for about an hour before Ry reminded that I was on my cell phone, during the day, and not a weekend. I quickly hung up and told Ry to hop in the car, so we could go to the airport ticketing counter and get my flight rescheduled. We zipped on down there (it’s only about an hour away) screamed up to the curb and I FLEW out of the car and up to the ticketing booth and guess what? It was devoid of almost all human life except for one lonely airline chica who gladly and helpfully scheduled me for a flight leaving out of Boston on Sunday. So Ry & I went back home and settled in for the snow, and did it ever snow! It was buckets (or so it seemed) and we went out with Molly into it and played around and then watched a ton of movies, and went to bed.

As it turns out we got about a foot and a half of snow; it was pretty, but I was ready for the Sunny Southwest, not dreary New England! Ry and I made arrangements for Molly (he was going to Florida to see his Nana) and spent Saturday packing, then headed up to his parents house in the Boston area, so we could have a short trip into Logan in the morning. We arrived at Logan at about 6:00am so I would have 2 ½ hours to check in, and it was a total zoo. Everybody flight had been cancelled on Friday and most of Saturday so everyone was flying out on Sunday morning. Well I rushed and rushed and even rushed my good-bye to my sweetie so I could make the plane on time. I rushed to my gate, threw myself down and heard it “Due to a maintenance problem your flight has been delayed…” AAGGGGHHHH!!!!! They wouldn’t even give us an estimated time of departure so that I could go and have coffee with Ry or anything, but every hour they pushed it back another hour, it was awful. Finally at 1:30 we boarded and left. The flight was easy and it was a direct one, so no connections. The girl sitting across the aisle from me had about 10 beers on the plane, and she was tiny and she seemed fine!

I arrived in AZ intact and very happy to see the Grandparents; we had Mexican food and relaxed in the evening. The week I spent there was wonderful, we went to the pool. I got to drive the golf cart around, we saw a concert (The Guseman Family, pretty peppy group, the son was the most talented though) had Chinese food went shopping. Interspersed with all of this my Gramma showed me the picture of the pine needle baskets she makes and the decorative gourds she makes and designs. She showed me pictures of her when she was little, and where she grew up, pictures of my dad when he was little. We had heart to heart talks about my Dad my aunt and my uncle (God rest his soul), and life in general, it was the most amazing thing. I felt like I really got to know my Gramma in a very real way, in almost the same way I got to know my Mom over the past few years.

Towards the end of my visit I was able to get together with some friends from highschool, Danielle, Sarah, and Mark. Sarah was one third of our trio (Sarah, Stephenie & Me) in highschool. The three of us went everywhere together and did everything together we were the Three Musketeers. And then senior year, Sarah & I had a huge fight and did speak to each other again. Steph kept us up on each other lives and eventually the loss of the friendship faded from my mind and the Steph got us all back in touch with each other. Until I arrived in Phoenix, I had only e-mailed Sarah, and had not spoken with her. So, at my Aunt’s she returned my phone call and it was the first time I had heard her voice in 11 years! Well, Dani, Sarah, Mark and I all decided we would go to Pizzeria Bianco in downtown Phoenix. The wait was ridiculous but the Pizza was the best I’ve had in my life!

After getting together with my friends, Gramma, Grampa & I went out to the mine claim she used to live in. On the hike out we passed by some bleached out coyote bones. I took a picture of them (it didn't turn out) and wanted to pick up one and take it back with me, but then I thought I might have to answer some tricky questions to TSA. So I left them where they lay, and hopefully will be able to see them again when I take Ry out there with me.

Mine Claim

It was very cool to see where my Gramma lived and summered as she was growing up in Arizona. They just had a shack on the claim and a collapsible trailer that she, her sister and her parents all slept in. They had no electricity and had to drive about 10 minutes to get water. It's amazing to think that her mother and father moved from the "luxuries" of Pennsylvania to absolutely nothing in Arizona and made a real go of it. It impresses me immensely that these are women that I am descended from.

All in all my visit was lovely, and I miss my Grandparents already. But I am slowly trying to convince Ryan to take the bar in Arizona and move out there. Hopefully I'll be going back to AZ soon and making a permanent life out there!

Did ya miss me?

2007-03-09T14:02:00.000-05:00

After a brief hiatus, I am finally back! "Where were you, Jenny?" You may wonder..well, here's the deal...First, I generally only post on Monday or Tuesday during the week, because I tend to have some free time before classes on those days, and then I have to wait until Saturday or Sunday to post. Well, last week a work-friend's father died on Monday and I couldn't think of anything to say. It was so much like when my Grampa Dominguez died that I got a little depressed. So then the week goes by and Friday there was the viewing and Saturday was the burial, reception and what I thin of as the wake (lots of drinking and fond remembering.) And that took up the whole of Saturday. "OK, so what about Sunday and Monday and TUESDAY??" Well, I'm not gonna lie to you, people...I got sick. Yup, it was almost like getting a bout of exhaustion, I was achey and tired and out of breath and just felt like garbage. I spent Sunday laying down and not even knitting!(Shocking, I know.) I spent Monday laying down and knitting. I spent half of Tuesday at work and then went home, laid on the couch, and finished up a gauge swatch so I can begin a new project. (By the way, the gauge swatch was spot on!)

In other news, I am almost done with the ribbing for the sexy little sweater and then I start the sleeves. The bad news is, I was knitting this for St. Patrick's Day in Arizona, and then I checked the forecast...it'll be 90 DEGREES!!!!! NINETY!!!!! I'm super excited, but the little sweater it a wool blend. Wool, WOOL, as in warm, as in sweaty, as in not meant for 90 degree weather! So there goes that, but it'll be nice for spring here, anyway (if it ever arrives).

Now that I'm not going to be wearing the sweater for St. Pat's and the weather will be in the nineties, I'll just to have to go shopping. Awwww...too bad for me to have to shop and buy pretty things...awww...hahaha.

So that's the update, I'll be sure to post my progress on the sweater this weekend, and show you what I'm starting on now. (I'm already planning for the summer!)

Boredom

2007-02-28T19:34:00.000-05:00

So the other night I was watching television, and I was attacked by a vicious boredom. I became bored. I mean really really bored. I was bored of t.v., bored of (prepare yourself) knitting, bored of being on the couch, just plain bored. So what to do? Well I got up and went to the make-up kit. Well, it's not a kit so much as it is a toolbox filled so full of make-up that it will no longer securely close. (37 lipsticks the last time I counted, which was 2 years ago.) So anyway, I went to the toolbox and selected my M.A.C. Blue Pigment and a brush, and then hauled myself back out to the living room, picked my canvas, and painted...

Isn't she beautiful?? Ha ha ha, I only wish I could've found my white eye pencil so I could have given her eyebrows. (In case you were wondering, Ry just laughed & laughed and called me a nut.)

Peculiar Obsession

2007-02-26T18:44:00.000-05:00

Is it normal to be so uncontrollably addicted to knitting? Sometimes, when I'm sitting in class all I can think about is whether or not Ry would let me eat cereal for a month so that I can buy some yarn and start new projects. (He definitely would not, since we split the grocery bill!) Or at work all I want to do is read the blogs and see whats going on out there in Knittingland. Of course they really do not keep me busy enough at work...so maybe that's their fault? Once my mind wanders off, it's very difficult to reign it back in.

So here I am on Monday thinking that I should have finished 5-7 more inches on the Sexy Little Sweater, and I only finished about 2-3 inches. I don't know what happened! Molly wanted to go for a trail hike on Saturday (because it was finally warm enough.) Then Ry & I had a friend over. (I played drinking games for the first time ever.) Then on Sunday we slept late, and I had a TON of studying to do, so my T.V./knitting time was cut way down. Today all I can think about is that little sweater, and that fact that I could probably do my legal research at work and knit at the same time...but I'd probably get fired. I can't afford to get fired. (Unfortunately, otherwise I'd quit! ha ha ha)

Of course it' more difficult now, because I got my Denise Needles. I LOVE my Denise Needles, they are pink and cute and I'm able to go a bit faster on them when knitting in the round because I can make the left needle smaller than the right, the gauge stays the same and the stitches just slip right off! So I sit in work and I daydream about those needles and my knitting and all the FABULOUS projects I have lined up! Oh to be a kept woman...I could stay in a paid for apartment and knit all day...Ha ha, who am I kidding? I'd die if I couldn't work at least half time, but it's nice to fantasize...

2007-02-25T18:08:00.000-05:00

So, lately I've been in this sort of funk. It was grey and cloudy, there was no sun, and the temperature alternated from "so cold cold I'm gonna die" to just "I think my face will fall off from the cold" cold. I grew up sort of all over, but mostly in Arizona and Florida...I'm used to sunshine and heat. (Although, in Arizona it does get cold, but nothing like up here.) I was feeling so crummy that I didn't even want to knit, or walk the Molly, or even snuggle with my guy! It was touch and go for a while there, I'd come home grumbling to Ry about how much I hated it here, and I just want to stop law school and go back to Florida or Arizona. Suddenly the humidity and hurricanes of Florida were forgotten. The scorpions and black widows of Arizona, a fading memory. All I could recall was the beautiful heat and sunshine. The beaches in Florida, the hikes in Tucson Mountain park. Riding my bike, swimming in the pools, wearing short sleeves...Oh! to be in the southern part of the U.S. again. Well, I woke up Friday morning and the sun was SHINING!!!! I looked again and saw that it had snowed the night before and it was still snowing, coating the trees and houses, it looked like powdered sugar had been dusted over everything. It was glorious. On my way home from work, it was the most beautiful sunset, orange and pink and gold. To top it all off, Ry & I had decided to make some pizza. We got some organic pizza dough & sauce, we chopped up some veggies and made some pizzas.

We had some good old-fashioned quality time together. We watched movies and I promised not to knit as long as he promised not to tune into the internet, and snuggled up together on the couch and watched The Prestige. I felt like I had come out of hibernation. My sour attitude was gone, and my funk had disappeared. Finally, the Seasonal Depressive Disorder is over, I feel like a normal human being again. Thank God!