Day 16: 1993

Long live the sparkly shirts! And it's like I wanted everyone to know how pink my socks were. :)

Day 15: BONUS!!

Well I've made it to the halfway point of NaBloPoMo and thought we should celebrate with a bonus photo. I believe this picture was taken around 1996-1997. In Tampa, after a Supertones concert where we were all dancing and jumping and being silly in silly clothes. We're really sweaty, but we had a great time.

My sister Aileen is the only one who managed to look like a normal person, and if she weren't so overexposed it'd be easier to see how beautiful she is.

The guy in the top right corner, looking tall, lanky and weird - that's Wayne. The love of my life, although not at this time, we were still just friends. :)

Day 14: 1992

My 13th birthday: at this point in my life I was in full puberty swing - the weight gain, the acne, all the things that make this time so awkward. I compounded this by still having a pretty flashy wardrobe of colorful clothing (why didn't anyone take me to GAP??) and at this particular party by having the worst sunburn ever.

In what can only be referred to as a science experiment gone wrong, the weekend before this party I learned the different effects of the sun based on your location on the planet. I'd never been to the beach in Florida, but had lived on the beach in New Jersey. You can stay out all day at the shore in South Jersey applying sunscreen just once, this is not true in Florida where you are much closer to the Equator.

This trip certainly drove that point home - I'm a sunscreen crazy now.

---

No-kea for me today. The more I watched the news last night, reporting the growing crowd gathering at the new IKEA for the grand opening today, the more anxious I got about the whole thing. Would I even be able to get in?? Would there be parking?? Would Emily make it through the morning without a nap??

So in the end, I decided to just wait and go with Wayne this weekend.

Day 13: 1991

I volunteered at our church's Vacation Bible School this summer, I'm pictured here with one of my kids. I will refer to this time as the "overly-accessorized era". You may note the way big earrings and glittery clothing. I loved things that glitter. I still do, I've just learned to manage my glitter-mania.

Tomorrow is a doozie. Stay tuned.

Day 12: 1990

In Florida. This photo was taken by my friend Kristen in front of her house. I remember wearing that shirt all the time. With purple shorts.

---

I am not camping out at the IKEA, although today is the first day to start doing so. I will however be heading down there on Wednesday when they open. Hooray!

Day 11: 1989

This is me at Six Flags Great Adventure right before we made the big move to Florida. My best friend, Karen Sullivan, and her mom, who was also my 4th grade teacher, took me as a goodbye gift. We had a great time. I rode the Great American Scream Machine, which messed up my sinuses. And we drove through the Animal Park and had monkeys dance on the roof of the car.

With the exception of shaving my head in college, long story - possibly with photo later this month, this is the shortest my hair got. And it is very short. If I'd still been in private school at this time I would have been breaking "the rules".

Day 10: 1988

Look at the self confidence I'm rocking while sitting at the kiddie table with 2 party hats on. This girl's got moxie!

Day 9: 1987

Things I remember from 1987:

* I "played" softball - as evidenced here. I was terrified of the ball. I'm pretty sure I never hit the ball or caught the ball. My team was horrible, but somehow we made it into the Playoffs. Best part? The root beer at the pizza party after was awesome.

* I was also a crazy amazing Girl Scout. And I sold cookies like a champ. Our trick to big sales in 1987? We sold cookies outside the local video rental place on Friday nights.

* I weighed maybe 60lbs. soaking wet. This would also last for a few more years, the Skinny Years. Hopefully they'll be making a comeback. :)

---

I've been working on Erin's Clapotis while I try to decide what to do with Wicked. I may frog it. It hurts to say out loud, or type for all the world to see, but it's just too big and if it grows I'll be left with a sweater that's far too big and that I'll never wear. That is not my goal.

Would it be a good idea to wash the yarn before re-knitting?? So my sizing will be accurate??

Day 8: 1986

Christmas again, this time in our second South Jersey house,we moved from the beach to the mainland during second grade. My hair stays short for a few years now - I had a stylist at the mall who would snip and snip and then send me home with wonderful smelling Paul Mitchell products.

Day 7: 1985 & Glow!!

I keep a wist.

It's a great way for friends and family to know what I want them to give me without me having to write out what and where they can buy it. Last year, in preparation for Christmas, I included the fam in my wist. Adding a little tag here and there with each family member's name, we ended up receiving over 16 gifts from our list. :) It works for birthdays, too.

This year in an effort to streamline things, Alison and I have been going over her list every two or three days. I don't know if you've noticed, but Nick Jr. has been airing a lot of "feature-length" (read: 1-hour) specials, like Dora Saves the Mermaid and Atlantis Squarepantis. Great for Alison who loves an extended episode of her favorite shows, but boo to me 'cause I'll inevitably forget she's watching heavily-commercialed Nickelodeon as opposed to commercial-free Noggin.

More commercials = more "I want that. Let's put it on my list."

I'm glad she's embraced the idea of the list as opposed to thinking she'll receive every gift she loves for a 30-second tv spot. But the list requires some trimming on occasion. I watch to see how much she LOVES it the second time she sees the commercial, or as we walk by it at Wal*Mart and make adjustments accordingly.

This year, almost everything she wants glows in the dark. Or lights up.

I think it rubbed off on me, because yesterday I got this in the mail:

I don't know what I'm going to use it for, maybe some socks with glowing stripes? Or an intarsia hat with glowing hearts? If you're feeling the itch to glow too, you can pick some up here.

---

Easter 1985 at Grandma's (again), with Aileen and Erin. :)

Day 6: 1984

Christmas at my maternal grandmother's in North Jersey. That other kid is my brand new baby sister (well, she's 11 months here), Erin. She's the one getting married in January - so grown up. :)

My hair was curly for lots of special occasions when I was little. I remember all crowding into the bathroom on Sunday mornings before church, Mom in her fluffy purple bathrobe. She'd curl both Aileen and my hair, and if we were lucky, only one of us got their ears burned.

She claims that the ear burns were few and far-between, but I say we trust my sketchy, 20-year-old memories instead.

Day 5: 1983

Bangs!



--

I hit a wall on Wicked yesterday. I've been working on the first sleeve and it was looking a lot bigger than what I wanted. I added some decreases and thought that maybe when I got to the patterned edging it would be right. No dice.

Add to that the fact that I read all over Ravelry yesterday that this crazy yarn is going to grow and I'm screwed. I swear I Ravelried this before I started and no one said anything about growing.

This is a problem 'cause I've lost almost 40lbs. since I started this sweater and while I'm all for a sweater to layer with, it's gonna look weird with huge short sleeves.

My only option, short of frogging and starting over, is to knit the long sleeve version. I am not opposed to this, but I don't have enough yarn to make it happen. I've got an emergency message in to Jessica and Missa at kpixie for some more, fingers crossed.

Day 4: 1982

O yeah, I was a crayon!! And not just any crayon, a Crayola. :)

--

Wicked is still in progress. Of course it's been cold in the evenings (50s F) and overnight the last few days. I'll probably finish it during the week and the old weatherman will start announcing highs in the 90s again . . .

Day 3: 1981

Things you can learn about me in this photo from 1981:



a. I'm an innie. So are both my girls.



b. I'm not afraid of granny panties.



c. Or to go topless, well at least not when I was two.



d. You may notice there at the bottom of the picture that I'm wearing some sort of Ugg or knee sock, in turquoise, and I'm about to put on a red shirt with a plaid collar. This girl has no problem with color.

Day 2: 1980

This photo is of my wonderful Mom and I on the front steps of the "house on the hill". We lived at the top of the hill and everyday (at least that's the way it seemed) we'd go on a walk down the hill and back up. There was an older lady who lived halfway down (or up, depending on how you look at it) who would come out and bring us cookies, usually sugar wafers. :)

Day 1: 1979

There are 30 days in November and I vow to post on every one of them. It's my NaBloPoMo promise.

And to make it a little easier on myself, and funnier for you, I will post a photo of each year of my life each day. I paid special attention to pick out some gems people. Some are adorably cute, some embarassing, you're gonna love it.

Now since I'm only 28, I'll be throwing in some bonus pictures. At least one of which has a younger Wayne in it - this one is priceless and I may save it for the end of the month just to keep you in suspense.

Ta-da! 1979:

Ailments

I'm still working on Wicked. I finished and attached the pocket and have begun the "ribbing" on the bottom edge. After that we turn to the sleeves and done. :)

Unfortunately, the sweater is heavy and wrangling it around and around, even on my ciculars, coupled with moving and cleaning has caused a re-flaring of my tennis elbow. Ouch! A little ice usually does the trick, but carrying boxes to and fro is not helping. I think I'll just delegate that responsibility to Wayne.

Additionally, the weather has been up and down, I've been a little stressed with the move and the dishwasher was out of commision for a few days so my eczema is acting up too. I've burned through an entire box of Hello Kitty band-aids in the last week. Ick!

But I truck on because I MUST have this sweater. MUST.

A side note: I joined NaBloPoMo again this year and have a fun idea to keep the month interesting. Dust off your bloglines and I'll see you on the 1st!

Sshhh...

Don't tell my sister, but instead of jumping right back into her Clapotis after finishing the Fortune Cookies, I went back to my Wicked.

Wayne and I rented Transformers and Pan's Labyrinth* over the weekend and I wanted to concentrate/read the subtitles so I thought a little st st would be ideal. But then I started looking over the pattern and what's left to be done and I could be finished very soon if I apply myself.

I can taste it. So I'm going for it.

I don't feel guilty 'cause I've got until January to finish Erin's Clap and I know I can do both. Now the cautious, bride-supporters among you would say, 'Can't you just finish the Clap and then knit your Wicked??' I could, but there was a day 2 weeks ago where it got down to 60 degrees and I think it may happen again (although today's high is 92) and I want to be prepared.

Prepared with a sweater.

A sweater with 1/2 - 3/4 length sleeves, 'cause let's be honest, even if it gets chilly, it won't be that chilly.

So don't tell Erin and I'll be seeing you soon with one finished sweater.



* Wayne was talking to me the other day about movies and said, "You know what movie I never saw, but wanted to?"

And I said, "No, tell me."

"Labyrinth, it's supposed to be creepy, but not too creepy."

I was a little confused so I said, "Labyrinth? With David Bowie? I guess I wouldn't let Ali watch it, but it's not that bad."

He stood by his statement of creepiness though.

Only while walking through Hollywood Video on Saturday night did I realize he meant Pan's Labyrinth. :)

Pumpkin Patch

I took the girls to the pumpkin patch last night after dance class and baby gym (which Emily LOVED by the way). It was a balmy 82 degrees out, hence the shorts on Emily. Ali's still sporting her dance tights - I'm sure she was feeling the heat.

We picked up one pumpkin for Alison to take to school and three little ones for the house. Last year I let her color them with Sharpie and she was happy with the results, hopefully it'll work again this year. :)

O, and Emily HATES hay.

Good Fortune

I finished up the Fortune Cookies on Friday. The seaming went very quickly - I even enjoyed it a little. Friday found me with a stack of unfelted cookies.



And after approximately 30 minutes in the washing machine, a little drying time and assembly during the reunion episode of Top Chef off the DVR - I had finished cookies!



Pattern: Felted Fortune Cookies by Tanya Brooks

Yarn: Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool, just under 1 skein (there's about 1/8 left)

Mods: I knit the size small, but when I printed out the pattern, I didn't realize that Line 5 was on page 2 and accidentally omitted it. Once I realized my mistake, I tried knitting one properly and in the end liked the mistake one better. To facilitate the mistake way, after knitting 8 in Line 4, I would slip the stitch purlwise in the beginning of the wrap and turn.

Next I'm going to buy some linen ribbon to put the fortunes on. I'll be sure to take pics of the blushing bride and happy shower guests with their little treasures.

Almost finished

I only have 2.5 more fortune cookies to knit!!

My 10-year high school reunion, which I've been helping plan, is this weekend!

Normal life and blogging to resume soon. :)

Stickers

Do you remember when you were 6 years old and your world revolved around stickers??


I do, we lived in Ocean City, NJ and my sister and I would troll the seaside tourist stores on the boardwalk looking for our next great find. We each had a sticker album filled with treasures. Things like a fuzzy monkey sticker that started to run out of fuzz in the middle from being loved so much, or a rainbow-colored gel-filled heart that your best friend gave you.

A lot of our stickers came from rolls and had a lot to do with Hello Kitty. We were a little girly. :)

Being all about tradition and nostalgia, Auntie Beanie pulled out all the stops this year for Ali's birthday by sending her some very cool stickers.





Beside these, there was an envelope full of our good friend Hello Kitty. :)

Now up until now Alison has stuck her stickers in several places. Stickers for being good at dance class get stuck on that day on the calendar. A sticker will occasionally show up on the wall of Emily's crib and when asked, Alison will report that Emily was a good sister that day. She also has a mirror in her room that has a pretty considerable sticker "border".

I want to get her a genuine sticker album/book, but I'm not having a lot of luck finding one. Any ideas??

---

I do still knit. The problem is, I don't knit much and when I do, it's fortune cookies. Sorry. I will say this though, this morning there was a slightly (and I use the term loosely) cooler (another loose term) breeze which made me long to finish my Wicked. Hmm . . .

If I Were in the Market . . .

. . . for a new automobile, you better believe I would go to the Nissan dealership first.

Why?

Because they brought me the season premiere of Heroes with Limited Commercial Interruption.

"But don't you watch everything after recording it on your DVR??"

O yes, I do. And Heroes begins at our house at 9:15PM, however we've noticed a bit of a trend lately toward more commercial breaks per show. And with reality TV, there are times that you'll only get 4 minutes of show between commercial breaks toward the end of the show. Even if you're fast forwarding through them, they're a pain in the ass.

I would pledge to buy a Nissan in the next year if they would supply me with a full season of Heroes (and let's throw in LOST too) with Limited Commercial Interruption. It's like a hug from Nissan, just for me (or everyone in America watching the show).

:)

Not a Bed Wetter

Last night, somewhere around 4:30am I was pleasantly dreaming. I was roused from my slumber with thoughts of really needing to pee, but I was also very sleepy so I decided that maybe shifting my position would relieve the pressure on my bladder.

But when I moved my foot, it encountered wetness. Cold wetness. This was alarming, but not horribly so since I was still mostly asleep. I started thinking - Did I already pee?? Did I pee the bed!!?? If I did, it had to have been hours ago 'cause this is cold and wet!!

Then several things started to occur to me, 1 - I still really needed to pee and I figured I couldn't have already peed in my sleep 'cause the need was too great; 2 - It was raining; 3 - What was I going to tell Wayne.

Thought numero uno prevailed though so I sat up to go use the restroom and *plop* a drop of water hit me in the head. The stupid roof was leaking!

I yelled at Wayne to get up the roof was leaking and ran into the bathroom. It took Wayne a little bit to realize what was going on, but then he lept into action. First he found a bucket and put it under the drips.

I walked right past him, got a blanket from the linen closet and went to lay down on the couch. That didn't last long 'cause he hunted me down and said he could really use some help. He didn't use the nicest tone of voice and I'm pretty sure my reply was not very polite, but basically stated my desire to go back to sleep.

He stomped back to our bedroom and after a lot of crashing noises, I followed him to find that he'd pushed our entire king size bed 4 feet closer to the wall and out of the way of the leak. Then he took apart the culprit ceiling fan. I sat on the floor and tried to fall back to sleep. He tried to make suggestions about putting towels over the wet spot on the mattress and getting new blankets, but I just crashed on the couch.

This morning when I went to grab my glasses from beside the bed they looked a little off, I tried to bend them gently in the opposite direction. Snap! The broke in half at the bridge.

Wayne glued them back together for me. He's also going to patch the roof and repair the drywall when it stops raining. I don't know where I'd be without him.

Ali-son-pa-looza!!!

Today Alison is 5 years old!!

I can remember holding her for the first time and waiting patiently to hear her say Mama . . . Now she never stops talking (and has an imaginary friend who is nothing short of great listener) and I try to avoid picking her up and summoning the wrath of sciatica.

It's been a big year of learning new things and enriching our lives in inumerable ways.

*Learned to tap dance and be "Truly Scrumpcious"
*Learned how to play soccer and be part of team
*Became an awesome big sister and a great helper to your Mommy
*Discovered how annoying it is to grow out bangs and rock some gorgeous
*Realized that trying new foods won't kill you
*Learned how to do a cartwheel (with a little help)
*Slept in a hotel for the first time
*Discovered you get car sick

And lots of other things, but now it's time to go make some cupcakes . . .

Love you Ali!! Happy 5th Birthday!!

You say you want a revolution . . .

http://mygooddeed.org/

Challenge yourself to turn tragedy into success. :)

Looking up

Things are starting to get back to normal here. The services over the weekend were absolutely lovely and provided some closure and encouragement. We were blown away by the number of people who had been touched by Bob and came out to celebrate him. Wayne spoke at both the funeral and the memorial service and he was strong and eloquent.

Alison did very well at the funeral, it was open casket and she didn't go any closer than she was comfortable with, but loved visiting with people and talking about Papa. Wayne sat up front with his Mom, but Ali and I sat in the back row and each time they played one of Bob's favorite songs, she'd get up and dance around and talk about how much she likes that song.

Bob belonged to a Harley owner's group and they came to the funeral and led the procession to the cemetery. They were loud, but easy to follow. And the VFW that Bob belonged to is dedicating their new motorcycle parking area to him with a plaque and ceremony.

When I dropped Ali off at school this morning there was a card in her folder from her class. It was your standard sympathy/we're praying for you card, but it had been signed by her teachers and all of her classmates - like they were little office workers. I thought it was adorable.

I need to get a move on those fortune cookies, and hopefully I'll be home more this week to do so . . .

Plans . . .

Plans have been arranged, insurance is being processed, Florida Highway Patrol is wrapping up their investigation (it was an accident, a horrible accident).

I feel so much and don't know what to do, so I keep busying myself with tasks. Wayne's been staying at his Mom's, but hopefully he'll be home this weekend - I miss the comfort of having him here.

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers. In the midst of everything, we feel very loved.

My heart hurts

On Saturday morning Wayne's dad was killed in a motorcycle accident. We're grieving and any and all prayers are greatly appreciated.

I know that today is not yesterday, but we'll get to that in a minute. My sister Erin is getting married in January and as the bridesmaid that lives closest (i.e. not Colorado), I'm in charge of the bridal shower.

The wedding has an Asian theme, based around the cherry blossom, so I thought it would be cute if the shower followed suit. Enter Nicole's Monday Loves and the absolute perfect pattern for favors: Felted Fortune Cookies.

This whole plan almost fell apart when just a few hours after I knit up the first 'test' cookie Erin called to ask me how to w&t. I thought it was a strange question (and alarming 'cause these call for lots of short rows) so I asked what she was making. She replies that she found this adorable pattern for felted fortune cookies online and was thinking about making them for each and every person coming to the wedding.

An aside: I am pretty sure that I can knit the 25 necessary for her shower between now and early November, but her stating that she was going to knit almost 100 for her mid-January wedding seemed crazy.

I tried and tried to convince her it wasn't a great idea without actually coming out and telling her my plan. I mentioned things like the number of people coming, her inability to knit short rows at this time and lastly I topped it off with mentioning how most people put wedding favors in their 'dressy purses' and don't think about them again until their putting in their lipstick for the next wedding/event.

None of these things would dissuade her, she was still saying things like, "I'll just talk to Paul about it." That was it, I spilled the beans about my wanting to make them. She acquiesced and it's on.

I settled on Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool 'cause the skein is huge and the color is pretty accurate. The 'test cookie' is the orange one, knit in Cascade 220 and not quite following the pattern. I didn't realize there was a Line 5 on the 2nd page and omitted it. To be perfectly honest, I'm happier with the one I did wrong.



And for all of you living your lives thinking that you know how to fold a fortune cookie, think again. When the rubber met the road, this chica ran into quite a few problematic folds before she got it right. *Note actually fortune cookie from Pei Wei for comparison.



Yesterday's posting was delayed by the fact that I locked myself out of the house. Technically I lost my house key, but in the end, I was outside and everything I had to do was inside. Armed with barely enough formula and my check card we managed to entertain and feed ourselves for 7 hours at the mall. It wasn't pretty.

Totally flattered

My lovely friend Nicole tagged me as a Rockin' Girl Blogger! Thanks 'Cool!!

I tag . . .

Ann-Marie
Yvonne
Chick
Harriet
Julie

---

Tonight is knitting and hopefully tomorrow will be 'put an end to mumblings of put some darn pictures on your blog' day. Hopefully. :)

NoOne

For the last few months, Wayne and I have noticed Alison talking.

Not to either of us, but to her room full of no one. You'll ask her to go dance in her room and before the door closes, you can clearly hear her say, "My mom says come dance in my room." Or, "My Mom says this blue skirt doesn't go with that yellow shirt." Or, "My Dad hates leggings."

Tonight I decided to ask her about it. "To whom are you talking Alison?"

"A friend."

"A boy friend or a girl friend?"

"A girl."

"Does she have a name?"

"Yes. But you can't know it."

With that she walked away.

I figure it's normal, she's almost 5 and loves to talk, why not think someone up who hangs out in your room and wants to know every little thing about your day.

However, it is also occasionally hilarious.

Moments ago, while listening to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" she loudly sang out, "The smell of wine and chee merfue . . ."

Then looked over at NoOne, laughed and said, "No, I have no idea what chee merfue is, but it's so lovely to sing."

OMG!!

There's a new show on the Noggin that we'd missed until today - it's on when Ali's at school. But I sure am glad we caught it. Click this and watch.

There are no words.

Except how much more do I pink, sparkly puff-paint heart Elijah Wood?? :)

And the knits keep coming . . .

Erin's Clapotis is coming along beautifully. I've finished the increases and started the 'body' of the shawl. Dropping the first stitch was a little nerve-wracking, but I totally heart how this yarn drapes with the dropped stitches. It's lovely.

Thanks to everyone for their recipes and ideas. To answer a few questions. Legumes are not included, they're too starchy and I'd have to count them against my carbs, which I prefer to reserve for breads and chocolate. :) I don't have to eat 3 cups of cooked veggies, it's 3 cups raw or 1.5 cups cooked - I just prefer raw veggies.

The first week of school is over and it went great. We had more tears at pick-up than drop-off, but they tapered off around Wednesday. And today we got an awesome compliment from Ali's teacher. She asked me if Ali had every been to school before and when I said no she was suprised. She said she's very intelligent for not having been to school before. Very intelligent! It makes me feel like I'm doing a great job.

Back to knitting, I'm thinking of knitting a Everlasting Bagstopper for Ali for soccer. I've got tons of cotton and it would be nice for the soccer ball to have some where else to live beside banging around in the back of my truck.

PreK!!

My baby started school today. I have to admit, my heart is a little sad. She's only going from 9a - 12p, but we've been together every minute of every day for almost 5 years now. I'm very proud of how brave she was when I dropped her off and can't wait to pick her up so she can tell me all about it.

I have to admit, the quiet is a little nice. (Emily's napping.) :)

3 cups!!!

I'm participating in a drug research study/lifestyle modification program for Type 2 diabetics. I get to take this new drug (or not, it could be a placebo) that is supposed to aid diabetics in keeping their sugars under control and losing weight. In addition, I get to meet with a dietician and follow meal plans (or not, it's really up to me).

Wednesday morning I met with the dietician to get my meal plans. Ultimately, she did a really great job of taking the information I gave her about my eating habits (I don't drink milk, I can't eat a morning snack, I love a nighttime snack) and formulating a meal plan that suits me.

But I was completely blindsided by the amount of vegetables I have to eat. Three cups of veggies at lunch and at dinner!! Three cups!!

I've only been following the plan for two days now and I'm overwhelmed by salads, carrot sticks, etc . . .

Wayne says I should just drink V8, but I can't think of a more disgusting idea.

Does anyone have any interesting salad ideas?? I'm a little picky, but I also can't eat the same thing everyday so maybe this is my time to broaden my horizons. :)

Leave a comment with the recipe or link to it.

Love it, Like it, No way!

From Grumperina, et al

What are your limits when it comes to creative pursuits?

Love it! This is my thing: baking, knitting, photography, writing

I do or have dabbled in it: beading, cooking, crochet, sewing, web design, yarn dyeing, felting, cross-stitch, scrapbooking, cardmaking

I’ll give it a try: decoupage, glass blowing, soap making, spinning, pottery, designing/pattern writing, faux painting, interior design, book-binding, printing presswork

I’ve got absolutely no interest: applique, balloon animals, basket weaving, gardening, calligraphy, candle making, doll houses, etching, flower arranging, glass bead making, lace making (needle lace, cutwork), millinery, miniatures, painting/drawing, rug hooking, tatting, wood carving, woodworking

How about you? Where do you draw the line?

I'm an Aunt!

My little sister gave birth to a lovely little baby girl last night after a very lengthy pregnancy and labor. She is officially the toughest woman I know which is a great trait for a Mommy!

Congrats Beanie!!

Going back to Cali, Cali, Cali . . .*

Hold the phone, I'm about to blog about socks, again!

The marvelously lovely and talented Agnes made my day today with my brand new Sockapalooza 4 socks!! Thank you soooooo much Agnes!!

They're not only beautiful and soft, but also fit like a dream. She knit me a pair of Undulating Rib socks which doesn't photograph well, but I'll try to describe. When the socks aren't on, it looks like the have little bumps in the ribbing. When stretched out, you discover that the bumps are actually places where the ribbing goes in and out. That doesn't make a lot of sense, but I don't know how else to describe them.

She used a yarn I'd never heard of, Interlacements Tiny Toes, but after wearing these babies and reading her praise of this yarn, I may be a new fan.

Plus I didn't get 2 socks, I got 3!! She used the scrap yarn to knit me a little sock blocker keychain. Adorable! And do you see that card?? It has actual teeny, tiny knitting on the front!! I love it and am in the process of finding out where we can buy lots of them. I'll keep you posted. :)

THANKS AGNES!!!

*Agnes lives in Santa Barbara. :)

This post is brought to you by the letter M and the color Green . . .

After a very sucessful and thrifty Yarn Crawl with my NYGK chicas last Saturday, I was able to cast on for Erin's Bridal Clapotis (this is a Ravelry link, it doesn't have much more info than this post so don't feel bad if you're not in to Ravelry yet). We visited three stores and saw a lot of yarns that would have worked, but finally decided on Twisted Sisters Mirage in Clary Sage. It has a really great sheen that's not too shiny, but gives it a little glitz.

I'm knitting this for the wedding, but it's not really an official piece of the bridal ensemble. It's more of a "just in case it gets cold" item. Erin's hoping to wear it a lot after the wedding, so we'll call it an heirloom piece. That's snazzy!

The second picture is to flaunt my progress, that color is nowhere near accurate. The first pic shows color accuracy. :)

Last fall I participated in the Harvest Sock Swap and unfortunately, I got flaked on. To make up for it, the organizer, Tonia, put aside other things and made me an angel package. I apparently had mentioned that I like greens in my questionnaire, which is true, but no one has ever fixated on green, it's usually blue.

Anyway she knit me a gorgeous sock and sent along the yarn for me to knit the other. This pattern, Yukon Leaves, seems a bit beyond me, but I'm willing to give it a whirl. Eventually.

Best part? It fits great!

Thanks Tonia!!

Another blast from the past, my Summer Sock Party socks are finished. The Cascade Fixation was crazy to work with! I must have cast on five or six times just trying to get it right. The elasicity of the yarn was difficult to get used to, but eventually I got it. And ta da! Probably the best fitting socks I've even owned.

Simpson-mania

If the mega(k)nits family lived in Springfield. :)

*Except my hair never looks that good.

ETA: You can make yourself a Simpson here.

Lame

Summertime mommying is proving to be a lot more challenging this year, leaving little time for resting and even less for knitting.

I've picked up my Summer Sock Party Swap sock from last summer, but that is a tale for a day when I can write a longer post. The perfection of socks as summer knits and on-the-go knits has been realized once again by this lady.

Wicked is getting there, however it is a little warm to knit on during the day, even with the AC.

This weekend we go on the hunt for yarn for the Clapotis and then I'll be working soley on that until it's finished - it's best not to worry brides with procrastination. We're visiting 3 shops, two of which are having pretty great sales.

Lamest post ever, sorry. :)

Socka-To-You

My Sockapalooza 4 socks are finished!! Woo hoo!!

Pattern: Cherry Tree Hill Yarn's Potluck SuperSock pattern

Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in River Run

Size: Pal size

This is not the fanciest of patterns, but I've tried fancy patterns and they never fit right. These fit awesome! I'm sure my pal will appreciate a good fit over fanciness. :)

I knit both of these socks simultaneously on two circular needles - an amazing and truly genius technique. It's very refreshing to cast off and be finished with the whole shebang - no 2nd sock syndrome.

Started: May 3, 2007

Finished: July 18, 2007

Wedding Bells

Saturday I went wedding dress shopping with my youngest sister Erin - it was a lot of fun and in the end we found the perfect dress for her. Unfortunately earlier that day she'd been to the doctor about an infected finger and he bandaged her up soundly - but everything got a very emphatic thumbs up or down. :)





The dress is a bit more revealing than one might want for a January wedding so there was a lot of talk about wraps and jackets and such. While the lady was trying to figure out if we could get the same style bridesmaid's bolero in white, I volunteered to just knit something. My offer was accepted!

We've decided that I'll make the famous Clapotis! I'm excited to jump on this long-gone bandwagon. I did a little research on Ravelry (there are 824 Clapotises, Clapotis', Clapotisi?? listed) to explore some yarn and size options. There are 3 yarns currently in the running: Tilli Tomas Disco Lights, SWTC Bamboo, ArtYarns Beaded Silk. But in two weeks NYGK is going on a yarn crawl and I may find something that I love even more (or hopefully get an awesome deal on one of these). :)

Must finish Sockapalooza 4 socks and hopefully (since I can't cast on until I purchase the yarn) finish my Wicked.

NYGK 'Flix Swap Questionnaire

What is your favorite film genre or type?
I love scary movies. And most indie films.

List 3-5 of your favorite films and why you like them:
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and the Royal Tennenbaums, I think Wes Anderson is a brilliant director and LOVE these to movies (I also own them), the Scream trilogy - campy, but jumpy (I only own the first one), the Fifth Element - I'm kind of a closeted geek, sci-fi adventure with awesome fashion, woo hoo!

Do you like foreign films? Would it annoy you to watch a film with subtitles if you are knitting/crafting?
I do, I like a lot of Asian films, but I can't read and knit.

Is there a movie that you've always wanted to see but haven't?
I can't think of one.

Do you have any favorite actors?
John Cusack, Johnny Depp, Mila Jovovich, Drew Barrymore

What kind of movie night treats do you like? Type of Candy? Popcorn?
I love Junior Mints and Hot Tamales and "natural" popcorn.

Are you a sock knitter, lace knitter, or hat/mitten/scarf knitter?
Sock-a, sock-a

What are your favorite fibers?
Anything machine-washable, I totally heart superwash merino

What fibers do you dislike or are allergic?
Nothing too hairy or scratchy

What colors do you not like?
I do not heart yellows, oranges or most warm colors

What are your favorite colors?
Blues, greens, purples, black

Poems

By me, age 7

Sorry for all the random posts, knitting is coming soon. Promise.

Birthday Girl

We celebrated Emily's birthday with a ladybug party at the park with our friends today. She had a ball and no one melted. :)

And here's a shot of the "birthday kids" from the 4th. :)

Connected by IKEA

So I have a friend, who's a boy, who has a friend, that's another boy. I have hung out with friend of friend a couple times and started joking around with friend that friend of friend is my pretend boyfriend. Friend has told him I said this and now, even though I'm a grown adult, I'm not 100% sure I can ever look him in the face again.

Anyway, IKEA.

So today I was checking out his myspace, not in a stalker-y way, he also has one for his business where Wayne's doing some work, so it was "research".

Guess what he has a picture of in his profile pics??

Him eating in the IKEA cafeteria!! Strikingly similar to that profile pic of mine over there on the right. Crazy right?!?! I mean how many people are taking pictures of themselves eating at IKEA (I bet Nicole is). :)

Emily Green

1. 5 minutes old!, 2. 1 month, 3. 2 months, 4. 3 months, 5. 4 months, 6. 5 months, 7. 6 months, 8. 7 months, 9. 8 months, 10. 9 months, 11. 10 months, 12. 11 months

In addition to being Independence Day and Grandpa Bill's birthday, today Emily turns 1!

We'll be spending time with both of our families tonight and watching the finest driveway fireworks show in the Southeast. :)