100 things

1. I love God.
2. I love my husband, Wayne.
3. I love my girls, Alison & Emily.
4. My dog’s name is Brewski. He’s the 2nd dog I’ve ever owned. The 1st’s name was Watson.
5. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with an emphasis on Film – translation, I’m no fun at movies.
6. I completed a minor in English – I love to read.
7. My husband decorated my fish tank to look like Grecian ruins.
8. Our wedding anniversary is December 15th.
9. If you get married near Christmas, people will give you ‘Our First Christmas’ ornaments like they’re going out of style. I know from personal experience.
10.I share my birthday with Anne Frank.
11. I am a member of the Spanish Honorary Society.
12. I’m secretly competitive.
13. I’ve been to every state on the Eastern seaboard.
14. I’ve traveled to Canada and Haiti.
15. My husband consistently kicks my ass at Scrabble and I’m a poor loser.
16. My first memory is of my Gram – I remember her reading to me and then I remember everyone leaving for her funeral.
17. I named my oldest daughter after my college roommate.
18. Wayne proposed to me at Indian River Lagoon after a kayaking trip.
19. I picked out my own engagement ring.
20. I love fireworks.
21. My whole life I dreamed of having little blue-eyed children and swore I would never marry a guy with brown eyes – Wayne has brown eyes.
22. I visit gofugyourself.com on a daily basis.
23. I can play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on the piano and nothing else.
24. I’ve met Ricky Martin.
25. I worked for MTV for three weeks.
26. I’ve been on TRL.
27. I had one detention in my whole academic career.
28. I love Justin Timberlake.
29. Although the original will always be the best, I watch every manifestation of CSI.
30. In college I was an avid fan of South Park and Dawson’s Creek.
31. My guest bathroom is painted Daredevil Red.
32. I can’t knit just one thing at a time.
33. My bridal bouquet is on display in my living room
34. I learned to cross-stitch when I was 10 from my mom.
35. Mint chocolate chip ice cream is my favorite.
36. I love the color combination of pinks with greens.
37. I once drove the same stretch of I-75 over and over for 3 hours for a friend’s film shoot.
38. I interned for the Weekly Planet in Tampa.
39. On my 21st birthday my first legally purchased drink was a Frambois.
40. I used to own a turtle named Mitchell, after a book I loved as a child called ‘Mitchell is Moving’ about a dinosaur that moves from one house to another.
41. I went to the Everglades on my honeymoon.
42. My first camera was made by Fisher Price.
43. I saw ‘Field of Dreams’ in the theaters.
44. I believe babies should be dressed like people, not like they live at a slumber party.
45. When I was in high school I would tease my mom for dressing me in corduroys and Mary Janes, that ended in college when I started dressing myself in them.
46. I wore overalls 3 out of 5 days in college.
47. My friends have the pictures to prove it.
48. I bit my tongue badly the day before Halloween in 2nd grade and couldn’t eat any candy at our class party the next day.
49. I remember where I was when the Challenger blew up.
50. The first thing I ever knit was a scarf for Wayne. It’s awful.
51. I own three copies of ‘Catcher in the Rye’, but I’m not a serial killer.
52. I was a vegetarian for 5 years.
53. One of my most cherished gifts is a painted stick from my friend Andria.
54. I own 3 Nintendo gaming systems – N64, GameBoy, and a Super Nintendo. I like old school games.
55. I was voted Class Flirt my senior year of high school.
56. I wore elbow length gloves to Prom.
57. My prom was at the Renaissance Hotel at Sea World.
58. I’m carrying on my mom’s family’s tradition of Christmas pajamas with my kids. Alison thinks it’s great.
59. In college, I made an experimental film about my Dad that he’s never seen – I’ve never been able to format it for his viewing.
60. When I was 4, I carved my name into a wooden rocking chair with a wire hanger and tried to blame it on my sister.
61. My sister Aileen and I are frequently referred to as ‘the girls’.
62. I’ve only lived alone for 6 months of my life.
63. All of the furniture in my house was given to us.
64. I love gin and tonics, with lots of lime.
65. I know how to play a mean game of Texas Hold ‘Em.
66. I’m thrilled that Care Bears and My Little Pony are popular again so I can buy them for my girls.
67. Wonder Woman is my hero.
68. I had Wonder Woman underwear when I was 3, they were a reward for getting potty trained.
69. I found a place online where I can get adult Wonder Woman underwear but haven’t had the guts to order them.
70. I visit the library once a week with Alison.
71. I once slept almost the whole way from Orlando to Portland, Maine.
72. I failed my driving test the first time.
73. My dad took me to 7-11 for a Slurpee to make me feel better.
74. I love Splenda.
75. In high school, I taught 2nd graders Spanish as part of my Spanish 4 class, it was really rewarding.
76. My favorite poet is Wallace Stevens.
77. I won’t read the latest book in a series if the next book isn’t out yet. I’ll wait, so there’s always one more I could read.
78. I’ve read everything that Stephen King has published.
79. Even the stuff under his nom-de-plume, Richard Bachman.
80. I drive a Ford Expedition that guzzles gas.
81. My first car was given to me, it was a 1986 Mazda 626 with no paint.
82. The first hurricane I went through was Hurricane Gloria in New Jersey.
83. My favorite sweater is a turquoise-striped sweater from GAP.
84. I love Old Navy and can spend a mint there when there’s a good sale.
85. I love Johnny Depp and Gwenyth Paltrow and will see anything they’re in.
86. I enjoyed ‘Lady in the Water’
87. I can’t get enough of LOST.
88. The Amazing Race is the best reality show ever.
89. I saw the Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra perform the 1812 Overture when I was in 4th grade.
90. I lost my wedding and engagement rings, well Alison did, and Wayne replaced them for me last year on our anniversary.
91. I ship virtually everything via Priority Mail.
92. I’m diabetic.
93. I’m right-handed.
94. I’ve considered trying to write a children’s book.
95. Wayne and my ‘song’ is ‘Everlong’ by the Foo Fighters.
96. I like to sing loudly in the car, whether I’m on-key or not. It’s starting to rub off on Alison.
97. I used to work at a Market Research firm, I put together focus groups.
98. I love a good pedicure.
99. I can be bribed with chocolate, preferably dark chocolate.
100. I am excellent at memorizing phone numbers.

Knit Gifts

Knitted gifts were given:

And my wonderful husband got me some knit friendly gifts too. :) He made his way to the LYS and bought me a new swift and a ball winder! Hooray! I rec'd some beautiful yarns too, but haven't had the opportunity to take photos. Soon.

I'm trying to assess the yarns I have and the projects I want to make and will be posting my knitting goals for 2007 by the beginning of next week.

Merry Christmas!

Yummy food and presents aside, I encourage you to remember the greatest gift ever given, our Savior, baby Jesus. :)

Sweet

I just wanted to take a minute to tell you that my Secret Pal is sweet!

She's sweet in that southern belle, pinch your cheek, you're so sweet way. And in that Dude Where's My Car, cool way.

She's been awesome about keeping in contact with me, sending me emails and e-cards very regularly and they all make me feel very special.

Thanks Secret Pal!
Merry Christmas!

Edited to add: Little did I know when I wrote this earlier today, that the mailman would bring me this:

A package from my wonderful pal!!

Gifts for the girls and Brewski (!)

Wonderful knitterly gifts for me, extra batteries and everything! That's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the 'Jeans' colorway - it's amazingly soft and washable! :)

And sweet treats to share with my sweetie. Including homemade haystacks and Milky Ways (did anyone else notice that I had a hard day a few weeks ago and ended my post with "I just need a Milky Way"?)

Secret Pal you are awesome!!! Thanks very much!!

O Happy Day

I completed my gift knits on Wednesday and felt immediately lighter. And then I didn't know what to do. And then I contemplated trying to squeeze in some more projects. And then I decided I liked being lighter.

So I started a project for my Secret Pal. :) Another secret thing I can't post about. But after Monday I'll be able to post pics of all the things that have been given away.

And whilst we sit around pining away for my my sister and brother-in-law to escape Denver, here are some photos from the park this morning. No your eyes do not deceive you, Ali's in shorts - I think the high today is 78*F.

My Life. My Blog.

I love this meme. I love the handwritten element of it. I love how it asks you to think a little. If you love it too, visit here and get the form. Then post it with a photo of yourself - self-portraits are especially requested. And make sure you leave me a comment so I can go visit. :)

Hot-lanta!

1. IMG_1252: Wayne holding Confederate generals, 2. IMG_1251: On top of Stone Mountain, 3. IMG_1243: Georgia State rocker at Cracker Barrel, 4. IMG_1241: Dressy night at Dante's Down the Hatch, 5. IMG_1237: Coca-Cola sign, 6. IMG_1236: Atlanta Undergroud, 7. IMG_1235: IKEA!, 8. IMG_1234: Breakfast at IKEA, 9. IMG_1233: Coffee at IKEA

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We had a great trip!

We made a lot of U-turns while we explored the city and learned that maybe we should have flown (8 hours each way!), but we had lots of grown up fun. We went to a late movie, a fancy dinner, and on a whole shopping trip without once having to feed anyone or hoist a stoller (Thanks Nicole! Thanks Mom! Thanks Erin!).

I did miss the girls, but we've been home about 36 hours now and we're right back into our routine.

Remember how this was our wood anniversary - well, Wayne got me some really great jewelry from etsy that incorporated wood and I got him t-shirts with trees on them. The big gift was supposed to be our bedside tables from IKEA, but that fell apart quickly. Turn out that IKEA bedside tables are short like IKEA beds. Our bed is not short. So we're going to save a little more money and order a whole bed/shelf/table/headboard thing! I can't wait.

And since he's not one to follow the "please-don't-spend-more-than-$20" rule, Wayne got me a new cell phone. It's amazing.

It plays mp3s, take pictures, has games, and is all around colorful - a big change from my bulky bottom of the barrel Nextel phone. O, and there's no radio, I've been switched back to Sprint. Wayne reasons that we can still call each other for free and he really wanted to get me the best phone. I love that guy.

I have one gift to finish - I didn't knit at all while we were gone, per Wayne's request, so I'm feeling a little time crunch, but I think I'll be fine.

My Love

Five years ago today, the man of my dreams became knit to me forever.

We said our 'I do's in a gorgeous garden surrounded by family and friends. We laughed and danced and may have had a bit too much to drink.

Since then, we've done quite a few grown up things together. Bought a house. Welcomed two wonderful girls into our lives. Purchased family vehicles.

But a lot is still the same.

We still hold hands.

And kiss each other good morning and good night.

We go on dinner dates.

And go to the movies together.

He calls me just to say hello.

He can tell from one look that I need to go out to dinner and not have to cook.

He's written me a song.

I vowed that I would adventure into life with Wayne and so far it's been amazing! I look forward to the coming years and the excitement still to come.

A Break from Gift Knits

Although not to make something for me, Alison instead. She's been having some frosty nighttime soccer practices, not to mention games, and needed a hat. So I grabbed some of the leftover yarn from Emmy's Pinwheel Sweater - in purple of course (her team color) - and cast on a hatty amount of stitches.

After finishing the knitting part I asked if Ali wanted a pom-pom. She said that she certainly wanted a "puff puff" and I smacked one on top. Ta da!

2006: One Line at a Time

A cutie meme from Sandra to fill in while I finish my gift knits.

Instructions -- Copy the first sentence that you posted* in each month of 2006. Post it in the following format:

January
Aileen's sweater arrived and she tried it on and it was too big.

February

March
I am renewing my commitment to keeping this blog up-to-date.

April
I met Debbie Stoller!!

May
A cupcake a day or in two days will give you arthritis.

June
From Alison:

July
Emily Green, born on Tuesday, July 4th at 5:51AM to a very tired Mommy, Daddy and Big Sis.

August
It wasn't me, it was the one-armed man or sweater as it were.

September
I feel very accomplished today, having reached my 100th post and really applying myself as a blogger.

October
1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

November
But I'm posting anyway.

December
And you thought I wouldn't post today.


*Just wanted to say I listed the very first sentence of a post before any edits were made later on.

I think this is a very fitting take on the year. You may note the lack of post for February and the joyous news in July. I like it. You post one too, leave me a comment so I can reflect with you.

:)

Give Thanks

A friend of mine just sent this to me in an email. I hope that you'll participate, feel free to repost on your blog and direct your friends and family to the site.

Visit www.letssaythanks.com and send a thank you holiday card to our troops. It's easy, just pick a card, a message and give your name and hometown and Xerox will print and send your greeting to one of our fighting soldiers. You can't control who it will be sent to, but I'm sure that the recipient will be cheered by your thoughtfulness.

Regardless of your feelings about the war, it’s important that we show the individual people who are risking their lives that their fellow Americans support THEM and what THEY do.

18 More Inches!

So this is my kitchen on Friday, the first 3 (counter-clockwise from top right) were taken at about 4:30PM. The last pic (bottom right) was taken roughly half an hour after Wayne got home. This weekend was 'New Cabinet Weekend'!


Last year Wayne was building homes in a really high-end development. One of his houses had some granite countertops installed and when the owners came for the walkthru they remarked that the granite was supposed to be black, the installed granite was brown. A whole kitchen worth of the wrong stuff. It was some sort of clerical error on the design center's part and they ended up fixing it for free. And when the installers came they ripped out the $8000 worth of granite and were going to throw it out. Wayne was apalled by the waste, checked with his boss and brought it home.

We quickly discovered that our existing cabinets weren't stong enough to hold the new countertop, so we stored it in our master bedroom. A couple weeks ago Wayne bought new cabinets and promptly stored them in the bedroom as well. We're busy and I demanded that the job not be started until it could be finished. This was the weekend. Hooray!

Wayne not only installed the new cabinets and countertop, but by some great miracle, he managed to work in an extra 18" of countertop! I'm so stoked. You can see it off to the right next to the stove. We used to keep the garbage can there, but it's much better having the extra storage and space. I love it!

Please don't think less of me 'cause I have a sink full of dishes. The water was off in the kitchen all weekend and the dishwasher was full. They're away now. :)

While Wayne was busy beautifying, Alison had a soccer game (still undefeated) and we went to see the Nutcracker with her friends from dance class. The first photo is of our happy bundled up girls. The others are the injuries Ali sustained when she faceplanted on the sidewalk. Her upper lip and nose got scrapped and I think Nicole put it best when she said that she looked a little like Hitler.

Just in time for family Christmas pictures. Thank God for Photoshop.

---

And just when you thought I couldn't have had a busier weekend - I also managed a 15-mile ride. The hilliest ride I've ever done and it kicked my butt!

Duration: 1.5 hours
Average Speed: 11 MPH
Distance: 14.8 miles
Calories Burned: 883
Did I fall? No. Although I almost got clipped by a minivan.

Hee hee hee!

And you thought I wouldn't post today. :)

30 Days!

And 30 posts!

Here's a wrap-up of a month of posts:

Photos of Alison: 9
Photos of Emily: 11
Liquid Candy Bars Eaten: 1
Sweaters Knitted: 1
Soccer Games Attended: 4
Memes: 2ish
Comments: 27 (thanks friends)

Thanks for bearing with me. I won't be posting every day, but have a renewed love for posting. Talk to you soon (but not tomorrow). :)

Day 29: A Total Cop-out

But it's for a good cause.

Go here.

Link to the post.

Ping technorati.

Poor starving college students everywhere will feel your support like a warm hug.

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It's been a long day and I just want a Milky Way.

A Million Ends

that need to be woven in. Ick! But I'm going to count this as one more Christmas gift done!



This little project (which I can't go into great detail about) took under two days and I'm just a little impressed with myself. More details after Christmas. :)

Take a Deep Breath

Over a lovely pizza-rific lunch with Nicole today I had a happy realization. I am 100% capable of completing my gift knitting. Hooray!

In other news, Wayne and I will be going to Atlanta for a handful of days in December for our 5th anniversary. I'm really excited! A lot of our friends at our new church are from Atlanta so we've been picking their brains for ideas of where we should go.

We'll be dining at Dante's Down the Hatch, visiting Stone Mountain Park (maybe with our bikes) and hitting the IKEA store.

Happy accident: the traditional gift for a 5th wedding anniversary is wood. We were kicking around ideas while shopping on Friday and remembered that we really need nightstands. So we looked at some and experienced a bit of sticker shock. We wished that the IKEA they're building in South Orlando was finished and then - we remembered there's an IKEA in Atlanta!

So we'll be able to buy our gifts on our trip. Woo hoo!

Can anyone recommend any good yarn shops in Hot-lanta???

more Christmas gifts to knit

Baby gifts, done!

Shorter list of Christmas gifts to knit, yet to do.

Only 4 more days of NaBloPoMo, can you believe it??

Back to Christmas knitting!

Another Reason to LOVE Old Navy

Or how I got an amazing deal, just for being nice.

We stopped by Old Navy this evening, thinking that the frenzy of shopping would have subsided and there may be some clothes left. We were mostly right. The frenzy wasn't so frantic, but the clothes were mostly on the ground. Apparently a herd of frenzy had preceded us.

There was this poor girl trying to rehang everything and make sure it all had tags. I joked around with her for a bit while Alison commented on the fact that the people who put these clothes on the ground were terribly impolite.

We all agreed.

So we grabbed a couple of long sleeves shirts for the girls, Emmy's were supposed to be 2 for $12, but one of them was marked $2.97. Ali's were supposed to be 2 for $15. Well we get up to the register and the next thing we know the guy tells us our total is $12.87!

He rang everything up for $2.97 a piece!

What a blessing those Old Navy friends were tonight. :)

Wayne's Sweater

Men's Zippered Raglan from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Size: Medium (extra long)

Started: October 5th, 2006

Finished: November 24th, 2006

Handpainted yarns Handspun Kettle-dyed Wool in Black Forest

US size 8 16" Addi Turbos, US size 8 32" Susan Bates Metal Circs.

I am that shopper

I'm so exhausted.

Today we shopped like nobody's business.

And we stood on line. A lot.

And Wayne wouldn't let me knit in line, he said it was rude.

I told him, so is frowning.

Lots of Christmas gifts purchased, more to knit. Must knit the gifts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things I'm Thankful for:

My husband: he's my best friend, greatest ally, love of my life, support system, and smokin' hot in my opinion.








Alison: my best big girl, an adventure in parenting, a source of copious hugs and kisses, my palison.







Emily: Supergirl, wonderful sleeper, a beautiful smile, my anenome (it rhymes)

The rest of my family, too: My Mom who will help anyone, anytime; My Dad for his corny jokes and general Daddy-ness; My sister Aileen, who's busy making us more family members, congratulations Beanie!; My sister Erin who can't put my children down (or stop buying them clothes) but neither of those things are necessarily a bad thing.

God, for sending his only Son to die for me, little, insignificant me.

My friends that I can count as dear to me: Carlin, Nicole, Jany, Alison, Lisa, Andria, Victoria - I love you ladies!

All yarn manufacturers and yarn stores worldwide, without which I would have nothing to knit.

My house, my enormous American truck, my Addi Turbos.

What are you thankful for??

They can't say it if it isn't true

SNOW!!

I live in Orange County, one of the prominently mentioned counties listed during the weather report this morning. I can't believe I slept through this!

Sibling Rivalry

I spent my evening watching a friend of mine's children so that she could go out to a romantic dinner with her husband for her birthday. Alison had a great time playing with them and we had a fun night.

However, at one point in the evening, when the 3.5 year old was getting pummeled by the 20-month old, I had a moment of clarity. My sisters and I used to fight like this when we were kids.

The same kicking and hair pulling and scratching.

The same screaming and sitting on and petty reasons.

And then I realized that this is what I have to look forward to with my lovely ladies. Right now, Emmy will pull Ali's hair and it's funny, but the time is coming soon when she may get her hair pulled back.

Pray for my sanity.

Almost there

My wonderful Mom is going to sew in the zipper on Friday, then we'll have one warm Wayne. :)

Three **** Inches!!!

I only have the last 3 inches of the collar of Wayne's sweater left to knit and I JUST RAN OUT OF YARN!!!! Grr.. Not altogether, I'd die if that were the case. But now I have to stop and wind a-whole-nother ball which means I won't finish knitting it tonight. Hopes dashed once again.

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After a lovely morning at church, we went to the Orange County Fair and nobody died and no rides fell apart. In fact, we got unlimited ride wristbands and wore the heck out of them. Alison wanted to go on everything, and I pretty sure she made it on to every ride she was tall enough for. We were accompanied by one of her friends from soccer and his family and it was a lot of fun to have a closely-aged friend along.

Highlights of the day include, but are not limited to: bumper cars (Mommy vs. Daddy & Alison), the liger at the circus, and holding hands with my husband.



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To my secret pal: I read the jacket, just the jacket of my wonderful book and immediately knew that it was a heavy vacuum of time. I may have to wait to read it until after Christmas, but I am totally psyched to read it! :)

Super Fun Saturday

We had a big day and I'm really sleepy.

Ali had soccer pics today before her game so we had to be there at 8AM - that's early to wrangle together all the Tingles. Very early. Today they played really well and won their 3rd game in a row. The SURGE are currently undefeated!

One of my favorite things about the games is that at the end, after the teams high-5 and do their 'good games', all the parents go out to the half field line and make a tunnel with our arms and cheer as our happy little players run through. It helps you reconnect to the idea that we're here for our kids to have fun, no matter how they play. Their smiles as they run through 'the tunnel' are priceless. Maybe one of these days I'll get a picture of Ali on her way out.

We rushed around dropping things off that needed to be returned and then rushed home to get ready for our next activity: The Corn Maze!

Our friends, the Camps, accompanied us out to Mt. Dora and ran around in the corn with us for a couple hours. It was a lot of fun and I took a few pictures, but they're all of the Camps, no Tingles. Grr.

Must sleep.

Grab Bag

I totally flaked on my 'Thursdays are for Recipes' thing, so here's one just a little late.

Green Beans with Garlic

INGREDIENTS

1 tsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 14 0z can of chicken broth
1/2 tsp. sugar
1.5 lbs. fresh grean beans cut into bite-size pieces

DIRECTIONS

In saucepan place olive oil and butter over mediumheat; add garlic and onion. Cook and stir constantly until tender, about 3 minutes.

Add chicken broth, sugar and pepper to taste. Bring to boiling; add green beans. Return to boiling, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes or to desired tenderness.

Serve hot.

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In reponse to the copious comments on that last post - Thanks! I've been laughing all morning at each respondents take on the whole shebang. Maggie did her homework. My secret pal shared my Mommy-ness. And Anne-Marie couldn't help but notice that I live 'at Disney World' - I remark back that there is a marked difference in carnival money and the amount of money you spend with the Mouse. :)

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Also today I received an order I'd placed from RubySapphire yarns today and it is gorgeous! I can't show you what I ordered 'cause sadly, none of it's for me and I don't want to ruin any surprises. But what I can show you are the cutie extras they sent along:



Little marble magnets, mini Tootsie Pops and the cutest keychain EVER! It's a miniature hank of hand-dyed yarn. And it's SOFT! My keys are very happy. :)

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I may post again later as I have high, high hopes of having a finished sweater to show you. Disclaimer: I often have high hopes that don't turn out, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it if it doesn't happen.

Convicts

Do any of you have that person in your family or are you that person who believes that all carnival/fair rides are assembled by convicts??

Do you tell these things to your 4-year-old??

The Orange County Fair is in town and we have to drive by it on the way to dance class and the library and the pizza restaurant. Alison is wicked excited about it - they even have a circus (something that I can't help but feel conflicted about) - and Wayne's being dodgey about the whole thing.

Does anyone know if this theory is even true??

Taste Test: Lava Bars

You may remember that a month or so ago I received 2 Lava Bars - the world's first liquid chocolate bar - from Nicole. Well tonight after soccer practice I put together my panel of taste testers.




Okay, so Emily didn't test the bars, but she wanted to show you that she can sit up. Supported, but up nonetheless.

I squeezed a generous portion of bar on to each testers finger and asked them what they thought.

Alison said, "Great! Can I have some more?"

I was undecided. It has a weird aftertaste.

And Wayne said, "Horrible!"

Emily wanted you to know that she can stand up too. :)

So I'm going to let Ali finish off the one we opened slowly over the next week or so, if it stays fresh in the Ziploc baggie, but the second one is up for grabs.

Leave a comment by Friday at noon - Florida time - and I'll draw a winner and send it off for you to try. :)

meme-a-licious

This is cute and I found it here. An equally cute blog if I do say so myself. :) You can only answer with one word. Just one.

1. Yourself: mommy
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): incredible
3. Your hair: long
4. Your mother: caring
5. Your Father: photographer
6. Your Favorite Item: Noro
7. Your dream last night: running
8. Your Favorite drink: g&t
9. Your Dream Car: landrover
10. The room you are in: warm
11. Your Ex: ick
12. Your fear: harm
13. What you want to be in 10 years? filmmaker
14. Who you hung out with last night? kiddos
15. What You’re Not? competitive
16. Muffins: chocolate
17. One of Your Wish List Items: needles
18. Time: late
19. The Last Thing You Did: knit
20. What You Are Wearing: jammies
21. Your Favorite Weather: snowy
22. Your Favorite Book: atwood
23. The Last Thing You Ate: pringle
24. Your Life: amazing
25. Your Mood: sleepy
26. Your best friend: Wayne
27. What are you thinking about right now? sleep
28. Your car: big
29. What are you doing at the moment? blogging
30. Your summer: hot
31. Your relationship status: life
32. What is on your TV? Law&Order:CI
33. What is the weather like? chilly
34. When is the last time you laughed? B&N

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So you're wondering about the sleeves, right? I finished them this morning. Last night was looking good, until I ran out of yarn. And there was no way I was going to stay up long enough to wind another ball and knit the last 2 inches.

I started on the yoke this afternoon and completed a whopping 2 rows during SnB tonight. There are a lot of stitches. I swear.

Holy Stockinette Batman!

Bam! Do you see that??? The bottom sleeve is Sleeve 1 for Wayne's sweater, you may remember my triumphant completion of it on Friday. The top sleeve is Sleeve 2! Can you believe it?? I was really hoping to finish it today (and still may) so I kept putting off posting. I'm so proud of myself.

I'm starting to get an idea about setting a deadline for the whole shebang, but don't want to jinx myself.

Pow!

Feeding the Fiber Beast

14 Ways to Afford a Yarn Addiction Without Breaking the Bank

1. Stalk the sales – get on your LYS mailing list to know when they’re coming up and be price aware. Know you’re getting a real deal.

2. Unravel your duds – Take apart a sweater or blanket you already have and never wear.

3. Hit the thrift stores – You can find needles, yarn and garments to pull apart (see Idea 2)

4. Teach – Yarn stores and craft stores are always looking for competent knitting teachers, you could end up with a steep discount or free yarn, plus a little moola in your pocket.

5. Trade up – Participate in a yarn swap.

6. Start a finishing business – If you are really good at seaming sweaters or installing zippers, offer to do it for your knitting friends for yarn money.

7. Know your online discounters – Don’t miss out on hefty discounts at sites like élann.com, gotyarn.com and onefineyarn.com.

8. Bid wisely – eBay is a great place to get yarn, but make sure you’re not ending up paying more. Double check the price at your LYS and remember you’ll be paying additional shipping.

9. Go pro – Set up a booth at a Farmer’s Market or create your own etsy.com store and sell your goodies.

10. Work part-time at your LYS – Your not going to get rich working part-time, but the discount could be worth it.

11. Develop your own patterns – You can sell them online or submit them to knitting magazines.

12. Roll your own – Start spinning! It’s fun and relaxing and in the end a little less expensive.

13. Knit a sample – Lusting after a new hot design, but can’t afford the yarn? Ask you local shop owner if she’ll discount the supplies if you let her display the item for a season.

14. Ask for the gift of yarn – Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, any holiday or gift-giving occasion can be your ticket to free yarn. Try setting up a wish list online at wists.com.

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day here in the good old U. S. of A. and I'm happy to personally know so many brave people who have stood and fought for and to protect my freedom.

Harley Bernard Triller, my Pop Pop, veteran of the Army
William Cleveland Tingle III, my grandfather-in-law, veteran of the Air Force and Navy
Robert Tingle, my father-in-law, veteran of the Air Force
Jason Sewell, my brother-in-law, veteran of the Marines
Rodney Sammy-Guilarte, a good friend, currently serving as an active Marine

My thanks goes out to them and the thousands of other soldiers actively serving and retired. You make me proud to be an American.

A blog a day . . .

. . . can start to drive you batty. But here we are on day 10 of the NaBlPoMo challenge and still going strong.

Great knitting news: I finished the first sleeve for Wayne's sweater. This has really been a labor of love. I thought I had it finished earlier today, but wanted to check it on his arm before I started attaching it to the body - good thing too. I had to knit 3 more inches!! I don't know how he got so long.

I'm planning on casting on sleeve 2 tonight while he's at band practice. I estimate that it'll take me a week to finish it, but keep your fingers (and needles) crossed that it'll go faster.

Also pictured above are crazy kids. Emmy looking like she belongs in The Shining, Ali and her friend Landon playing the other day.

And a close-up of a fun and sparkly Christmas gift for a great friend. Could it be you?? According to the sign at Wal*Mart, you've got 44 more shopping dates to wait and see.

O, and I haven't forgotten about you Harvest Sock swap buddy - I'm getting some finishing touches for your package together today and will be posting your package on Monday.

Happy Friday!