I need Knitters Anonymous

New Blog

2011-01-03T10:19:00.000-08:00

Hey there! If anyone is still checking this site, I am moving my blog to www.eatknitlove.com which is now up and running. I still have a lot of formatting to do, but I've started posting again.

Happy New Year!

Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells!

2010-12-02T07:06:00.000-08:00

So, with all of the big events of this year, a new baby, international travel, and numerous weddings, all of which I've failed to document, what could possibly now be important enough to bring me out of my blog-silence? Well, jingle bells, of course! Not the Christmas song, but the actual noisy kind...on a ribbon...that you wear around your neck.

These particular jingle bells come from the Brennan's restaurants located around New Orleans and are given out every December to the happy, lunch time patrons of these wonderful establishments. Each year, it's a little mini-competition to see who can gather the most bells. There's no prize really, just the joy that comes with frequent fine dining. So, this year, when I'm not really feeling myself (super tired from having an eight week old who won't sleep more than four hours at a time), I've decided that Connor and I (he's the eight week old, I'll fill you in more about him in another post) are going to attempt to get all ten of the available jingle bells. Yep, there are ten Brennan's restaurants in the city and we're going to visit each one over the next three weeks.

We began our Tour-de-Brennan at Ralph's on the Park yesterday. It is one of the few (actually the only) Brennan's restaurants that I have never eaten at. The restaurant itself is beautiful and from the lunch crowd yesterday, seems to be very popular with the "ladies-who-lunch" crowd. Seriously, I only saw three men in the place and one of them worked there! I opted to sit in a corner away from the rest of the patrons just in case my plan to dine with an infant didn't pan out as well as I was hoping.

Our server, Emily, was super friendly and very attentive and after running through her favorite items on the menu, I decided to go with her recommendations of the soup of the day, which was oyster artichoke, and her favorite entree, panneed veal with a panko crust. The restaurant was running a special for the two course lunch for $19. I was happy with both choices, although the soup was a tiny bit on the salty side, it was very tasty and the veal was incredible! I'm a big fan of the baby cow and this was one of, if not the best veal I have ever had. I opted to add jumbo lump crabmeat to the dish, but in hindsight, that really wasn't a necessary addition, the entree stood well on it's own, but it was an effective up-sell by our server.

Oyster Artichoke Soup

Panneed Veal with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

Surprisingly enough, I passed on dessert after my meal, which rarely happens, but I was completely stuffed by this point. Next time I go back, though, I'm totally saving room for the chocolate mousse cheesecake I saw on the menu. It sounded divine!

So, all-in-all, I'm giving our experience at Ralph's on the Park a big thumbs up! Connor was a good boy and cooed and smiled at me all through my meal. He was also greatly admired by said lunching ladies and the wait staff. And, most important of all, we received the first of our ten bells of the holiday season!

My Sweet Boy with his first jingle bell!

Join me again Friday because I'll be giving you the run-down on the second leg of the Tour-de-Brennan. Connor and I will be joined by my friend, Kelly, at Cafe Adelaide for the second jingly prize!

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T18:34:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day, everyone! Unfortunately, my day wasn't the greatest, as I am suffering from yet another cold, but Hubby was amazing and kept Bean busy all day so I could relax and sleep as much as I could. They also brought me some lovely flowers, which made me feel quite loved!

I'm stealing this idea from another blogger, but thought it would be fun to try on my own 3 1/2 year old and my husband. So, here goes:

Interview with the Bean

What is something Mommy always says to you? I don't know (meaning she couldn't come up with an answer, not that I always say that)

What makes Mommy happy? Hugs

What makes Mommy sad? Don't find out the answers

How does Mommy make you laugh? Funny faces

What was Mommy like as a child? You were a girl and used to wear my white hat

How old is Mommy? I don't know

How tall is Mommy? Are you this tall? (holding her hands about 18inches apart)

What is Mommy's favorite thing to watch on TV? News

What does Mommy do when you're not around? You're sad

What is Mommy really good at? Finding me

What is Mommy not very good at? I don't know

What does Mommy do for her job? Clean the house

What is Mommy's favorite food? Sandwich

What makes you proud of Mommy? Poopin' on the potty (can you tell we're in the middle of potty training?)

If mommy were a cartoon, who would she be? Who?

What do you and Mommy do together? Don't know

How are you and Mommy the same? You're tall and I'm short (think we need to talk about same vs different again)

How are you and Mommy different? You're taller and I'm shorter

How do you know Mommy loves you? Very much

What does Mommy like most about Daddy? Handsome

Where is Mommy's favorite place to go? Mall

Clearly there are some challenges with interviewing a three year old...

Interview with a Daddy

What is something Mommy always says to you? Love you

What makes Mommy happy? Yarn

What makes Mommy sad? No cuddles from Bean in the morning

How does Mommy make you laugh? Being a smart ass

What was Mommy like as a child? Cute and blond

How old is Mommy? ...love shows no age

How tall is Mommy? ....really flippin' tall!

What is Mommy's favorite thing to watch on TV? CSI or Family Guy (actually I never watch CSI, it's NCIS or Bones)

What does Mommy do when you're not around? Mourns my absence of course

What is Mommy really good at? Knitting, cooking, accounting, word association games, and sudoku

What is Mommy not very good at? Manual labor (in the sun), cleaning the litter box, and understanding why I'm ALWAYS right.

What does Mommy do for her job? Primary teacher and care-giver to the Bean, CEO of the household, and personal therapist (physical and mental) to the Hubby

What is Mommy's favorite food? Anything with lots of hot melted butter

What makes you proud of Mommy? She's a good Mommy

If Mommy were a cartoon, who would she be? Kanga

What do you and Mommy do together? We like to: fine dine, play with Bean, roll in the grass, watch Family Guy, sleep in and cuddle, make and eat tacos, and listen to the Scorpions (ugh, I HATE the Scorpions!)

How are you and Mommy the same? We like to eat debaucherous food, drink wine (when she is not pregnant) and hang with friends, smooch on Bean

How are you and Mommy different? I'm a neat freak, she likes dessert, I like to work and sweat, she has an excellent memory

How do you know Mommy loves you? She's still putting up with my sh*t after 10+ years

What does Mommy like the most about Daddy? There is not enough space here to list all of the ways

Where is Mommy's favorite place to go? Disney World!

Stitches!!!

2010-04-28T09:17:00.000-07:00

I don’t think it takes a mind reader to know how excited I was about Stitches this year. Last year was my first time attending and I had an amazing time, so when the opportunity to attend again this year rolled around, I jumped on it! My friend, Lara, and I decided to go and within a few minutes of making that decision, we also determined that an invitation needed to be extended to our friend, Anna. We know Anna via our blogs and our only relationship with her so far has been via the internet and somewhat over the phone for her and Lara. It was interesting, though, that there was no hesitation for either of us about inviting her. She’s just one of those people that her natural warmth comes through and we knew we would have a great time with her. I thought it was pretty great that as quickly as we decided to invite her, she only took about half that amount of time to accept the invitation!

So, after waiting what seemed like an eternity, we finally went to Stitches last weekend. I actually left home on Wednesday to bring the Bean over to Florida to stay with my Mom and Dad. My mom’s birthday was Friday, so I joked that Bean was her birthday present. I knew they would have a great time, though.

Thursday morning I got on a plane to head up to Atlanta and met up with Lara at the airport. It was so wonderful seeing her again and after picking up our rental car we headed out to the hotel and conference center. Our first class was that afternoon, Cut & Paste with Sarah Peasley and it was brilliant! We took one of her classes last year and knew she was an amazing teacher, but this class took it to another level. For the most part, it was about the Kitchener Stitch, which is a wonderful grafting technique that I use all the time to finish the toes of socks or finish the underarms of certain sweaters. It creates a row of knitting as opposed to a seam. Sarah took it a few steps further and showed us how to graft live stitches to a side seam, how to graft in pattern (including in ribbing) and even cooler, how to pick up stitches and then cut off an area of knitting that we might not like, without having to rip out an entire item. Say after you’ve knit a sweater, you decide that you don’t care for the ribbing at the bottom. Well, using this technique, you can just cut off that portion. Or, if you decide that you don’t like a section in the middle, pick up stitches above and below that section, cut it out, re-knit and then graft it all back together!

Me & Sarah Peasley!

After our class was over, Lara and I headed back up to our room to meet up with Anna. We liked her immediately and there was never an awkward moment or lull in our conversation or laughter. Amazingly, we never made it to the Market that evening or to the Ravelry meet-up. We were just having too much fun on our own. That night we hit Sotto Sotto for dinner, which was my favorite restaurant from last year’s adventure. They have a seafood risotto that I dream about! Their Caesar salad is also really yummy and I topped it all off with a wonderful ricotta cheesecake with fresh berries. I was SOOOO full when we left!

The next morning I was up around 6:30, as per my usual. I never can manage to sleep in anymore, darn that adorable little girl of mine! I puttered around the room, took my shower and killed time while waiting for the others to wake up, but finally just had to leave the room. I headed down to the Market and hung out with some lovely ladies while we waited for the doors to open. My first stop was, of course, the Knit Witch’s booth, where I picked up a couple of beautiful skeins of sock yarn and got to visit with the wonderful Brittany and Wayne. They are such a delightful couple and I loved getting to see them. Brittany has done a lot of custom dye work for me through the year and is always so great to deal with. After my stop at their booth, I headed down to check out the wares at Dragonfly Fibers. Kate does beautiful work as well and I selected a fabulous hank of laceweight yarn. It’s a huge skein and has 2,500 yards of yarn!

Finally around 11:00, the other girls were up and ready to head out to get some “breakfast”. I sort of envy the ability of those without kids to sleep in, but I think with that much yarn in the building, I would have had a hard time sleeping in any way! Anyhow, I met up with the ladies and we headed off to introduce Anna to one of the staples of southern food (as far as I’m concerned at least), the Waffle House! Unfortunately, I don’t think Anna was as enamored by it as we are, but I do think she enjoyed it.

After breakfast, we headed back to the MARKET!!! Lara and I hit every row, but Anna was much more efficient than we were. She picked out a project and headed off to enjoy the beautiful sunshine. I ended up with four bags of Noro, two of Yuzen and two of Silk Garden. Then we hit the Unwind booth. The ladies working that booth were a lot of fun and they had some great yarn. I picked up two skeins of Unison yarn in some really great autumnal colors to make a baby sweater, hat and some booties. The ladies there were also super kind and offered to babysit my VERY large tote bag (see last post) so I could shop more freely in the rest of the market. I didn’t add a huge amount after that point, but did pick up a couple more skeins from Kate at Dragonfly.

That night we hit South City Kitchen for dinner and once again, it was delicious! I got she-crab soup for my appetizer, shrimp and scallops with grits for my entrée, and banana pudding for dessert. Divine southern fare! I was in a great mood when we headed back to the hotel and that continued when we joined in the pajama party in the lobby. I did win a prize, not for my fun pj’s that I made, but for having my wee one with me, albeit not visible! It’s a scarf kit and I think I’m going to enjoy making it. Probably not something I would have picked out on my own, but the colors are nice and heck, if I don’t like it, I’m sure I can find someone who will!

Saturday morning came and we had our second class, Basic Pattern Drafting with Melissa Leapman. I have a knitter’s crush on Melissa and she is a wonderful teacher. We took her intro to cabling class last year and loved it. This class didn’t involve any knitting, but I learned a lot and even got to use algebra. I know that might not sound like a whole hell of a lot of fun to some folks, but I kinda love math and was thrilled when the lightbulb clicked and I figured out the formula to solve the problem before Melissa even got to that part! Yes, I am truly a geek, but I finally have learned to wear it proudly! This was supposed to be our last class, but I opted to add Melissa’s afternoon class since I had enjoyed the first one so much. The second class was Celtic Cables and was incredible! I’m really tempted to take the elements that I learned in both classes and try and design my own sweater. Then again, maybe I’ll just work one of Melissa’s patterns first….

Me & Melissa Leapman (who totally thinks I'm her stalker, I'm not, I just get easily excited when around knitting genius)

I did hit the Market again after my second class. What can I say, I have issues! I went back by the Unwind booth and am so glad that I did. I picked up eight skeins of MadelineTosh yarn, buy one get one free! It may be the yarn that I use in my first designing effort.

Saturday night, our little threesome broke up so Lara could go to see some of her Atlanta buddies. Anna opted for some quiet time at the hotel and I headed out to join 150 of my closest new friends to a dinner hosted by Brittany (Knit Witch) at her dad’s restaurant, Scalini’s. I will be honest, I was expecting more of the company than I was the food, but I was pleasantly surprised on the food front. The meal began with a family-style salad and the best garlic rolls I have ever had in my life! Fresh baked light rolls literally soaking in butter with minced garlic on them. I think I smelled like garlic for days after! For my entrée I got the meat lasagna, which was huge and I thought there was no chance of finishing all of it. But it was so incredible that I didn’t leave a single bit behind. Dessert followed with a big tray of desserts served family style again. The food was excellent and the company was even better! I sat in the back of the room with the funniest group of women I have ever been around. We didn’t have a full table, but I think we may have had the biggest laughs! I am so glad I decided to go to the dinner, even without my roommates. If you are ever in the Atlanta area, I think Scalini’s should be a must visit. Plus, Brittany’s dad is just adorable and charming!

My tablemate, Dawn, who was a riot! In the background is Miss Babs, another incredible lady!

Brittany's super-cute dad, John!

Sunday was the wrap up for the event and Lara and I decided to hit the Market one last time. I hit Knit Witch one more time and got five skeins of DK weight yarn and a couple more skeins of fingering weight yarn. I must’ve really liked her Pisces colorway, because I picked up another skein of it! Not that I mind, just that much more to love. We also went to visit Miss Babs, one of my dinner companions from the night before, so I could get some of her Yowza yarn to make an outfit for my upcoming addition. If it’s a boy, I will make a sweater and pants with it. A girl? A cute little dress. I also got some oyster laceweight, which I think will become Jen’s wedding shawl. Just for good measure, some of Babs’ Yummy sock yarn found its way into my bag! Two final stops: one more trip to Unwind, mostly to say goodbye, but they lured me with buy one get one deals on Koigu! Ten skeins later and two more Unison to boot, we finally said our adieus and headed over to the stage for the grand prize drawing. Unfortunately, we didn’t win, but the ladies who did were so cute, I don’t really mind losing to them. Well, not so much, anyway!

After the drawing we were going to head out, but the Webs booth drew us in. I picked up three Zaerballs and some other sock yarn, Jawoll Magic. I know I went really overboard on my yarn purchases, but I got some really beautiful stuff.

Stitches was a wonderful experience yet again. I just loved being around so many like-minded people. By the end, I felt like I had learned so much and made so many wonderful new friends. Thanks to Ravelry, I will be able to easily keep in touch with them! On Sunday, when it was time to leave, I had the same feeling that I used to get on the last day of camp and now that I’m home, I’m trying my hardest not to completely bore my family to tears by forcing them to hear every last detail of what happened. Hubby has been great, though, and seems to really enjoy hearing about how much fun I had. The man who even a year ago would have ribbed me about it, now seems genuinely excited that I have developed this sense of community and take such joy in my knitting. I knew picking him was a great idea. Of course, he hasn’t seen all the yarn that came home with me…..

Here are some photos of some of the people who made my weekend so wonderful! Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of Anna, but I kept forgetting about my camera and she does tend to be a little camera shy!

Jennifer & Miss Babs

Brittany & Wayne

Me & Molly

Jessica, Me & Lauren

Lara & Me!

The Stash!!!!

Been lovin’ the postal system lately!

2010-04-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

I know I have a lot to catch you guys up on, but there's so much that I'm going to divide it up into two posts. The first one will deal with all the loveliness that has been gracing my mailbox lately, then I'll focus on my Stitches adventure in the next post.

I really have enjoyed checking my mailbox lately (and the front door, since a lot of things won't actually fit in the box)! Back on April 17th, I got the most amazing package from Vespa, who was my angel partner in a birthday swap that I participated in. She included the loveliest things including some yummy treats, gorgeous yarn, a bracelet that doubles as a row counter, a fabulous neck warmer, and several patterns from my Ravelry queue! The best present as far as Bean was concerned was the knit red fox tail made from Fun Fur. She looked so cute modeling it and pretended that she was Swiper the Fox from the Dora the Explorer cartoons. I have so enjoyed getting to know Vespa and look forward to continuing a friendship into the future as she singlehandedly saves the Canadian turtle population from the brink of extinction! Seriously, doesn't that sound like a story that needs to be followed? I do believe she may have need of a cape...

Please forgive the formatting of the photo below, it was blogger's choice, not mine!

Two days later was a really big mail day for me and SO exciting! The first thing I got was something that made me squirm a little bit because it presented me with a bit of a moral dilemma, but I think I’ve worked out my karmic balance so I feel better now. It was my gift for the birthday swap from my original partner, Annie-bom-Bannie. For various reasons, she had been delayed in sending it, and I had a lapse of faith and that’s how I got Vespa as an angel. This will teach me not to doubt and she sent me some wonderful gifts (and spoiled Bean, too!).

For Bean, there was a fairy costume with a matching purse, a Winnie-the-Pooh watch that actually has a little projector in it that will shine a pic of Pooh on the wall, and a super-sweet crocheted rose scarf. The scarf reminds me of an afghan that my grandmother made for me when I was around six. I’ll have to pull that out and photograph it, so you guys can see the similarity.

And for me there were two different types of yarn. One is called a Wonderball and it looks like a variety of colors and textures in there. It has a pattern included, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how it knits up. I think it will look very arty! She also included a hank of blue and green wool that has a great texture to it. I forgot to jot down the brand and am feeling a bit too lazy to walk downstairs right now to check, so if you want to know what it is, send me and email or follow-up in the comments. I also got a lotus leaf scarf, which made me giggle since I had sent her the same scarf in a different yarn, some delicious chocolate biscuits, which made for yummy road trip nibbling, and a pair of really pretty silver earrings. They are faceted and add a bit of bling to any outfit, but are simple enough that you can wear them with anything. Truly my type of jewelry! I brought them with me to Stitches and wore them quite a bit. Annie is also a super nice lady and her daughter is right around Bean’s age, so they have become “internet buddies”. Keep your fingers crossed that Annie gets over her morning sickness soon and can start truly enjoying her little miracle that’s on its way!

Also in the mail that day was the latest installment from the Dragon Witch sock club. I love this yarn! The red is so vibrant and it feels so skooshy. I’m looking forward to working with it. I really like the pattern Kate created to go with it. I may alter it to include a ribbed cuff for a bit more elasticity and sag resistance, but that will be the only change.

And finally, for my big mail day was my first etsy purchase ever! I’ve deliberately avoided etsy because I can easily see myself getting a bit carried away, but I think this was an excellent purchase. It was made by Maiden Jane, whose blog I really enjoy and it is huge! You will see in the next post exactly how much yarn this gorgeous red tote can really tote! Jane is so sweet, too and included a couple of little treats for me and Bean in the package. I got a ribbon marker to keep track of my place in patterns. It’s such a simple, yet incredibly clever, design using ribbon and a strip of magnet! It’s already been put to work for my latest lace project (more on that later). And for the Bean, a really cute little kerchief. Again, simple design, but I wouldn’t have thought of it.

My final fun package that I’ve gotten in the mail this month was waiting for me when I got back from Stitches yesterday, so I don’t know exactly what day it arrived. It’s my swap package from the Favorite Things Swap on Ravelry and it’s from Alphamperry. I love everything in it! I got a really pretty pink scarf adorned with leaf patterns down the side, a baby blanket of Alice’s own design in some great nature colors (I’m not all that into traditional baby colors for this baby, so the blanket is perfect), a red paisley pashmina, two Godiva chocolate bars, a couple of little bags of Ghirardelli coffee, Elizabeth Zimmerman’s Knitter’s Almanac, a children’s book about a knitting mouse, and three different yarns including Dream in Color, Happy Feet and Fashion Toes. I had actually looked at the Happy Feet while I was at Stitches, but ended up not getting it because the booth only had it by the bag and I didn’t need that much, so I’m really glad to have gotten it from Alice! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her that things settle down a bit at work and she gets over a cold so she can enjoy the rest of what spring has to offer!

So, all of these items add up to me really loving my postal delivery person this month. I always love getting packages in the mail! (hint, hint)

Coming up next, STITCHES!!!!!

Promised Photos

2010-04-12T18:50:00.001-07:00

Beautiful azaleas!

Peek-a-Boo!

St. Louis Cathedral and a sweet girl

Cafe du Monde - Bean took this picture herself!

Eating beignets and listening to jazz

Mommy, Bean and a cannon

Dancing with the brass band!

And the rock-a-billy group!

Mommy's haul from the Quarter Stitch

Teacup ride at the Strawberry Festival

Local Tourism and the Kickoff of Festival Season

2010-04-11T18:32:00.000-07:00

Have you seen the Disney movie The Princess and the Frog yet? If you haven't, please go out and rent it. We've been watching a lot of it since it came out on video recently and I think I love it every bit as much as Bean does. Cute story, great message and best of all, it's set in my beloved New Orleans! Each time we watch it, I bust with pride about being a New Orleanian. And yes, I mean bust, not burst....I'm a Southern (prounounced: suh-thuhn) girl after all.

What I found interesting, though, after watching this movie so many times, is that Bean had no idea that she lived near this amazing city. So, on Monday I decided that we would become tourists in our own home town. Now, I take her into the city quite often, either to the zoo or the aquarium and quite often I will take her for a little walk on the waterfront edge of the French Quarter, but I don't think I had really told her Where we were.

We started out the day by parking in the Uptown area, so called because it is upriver from downtown, not because it is particularly ritzy, although there are some AMAZING mansions along St. Charles Avenue. Due to the crazy nature of this city, you can have an incredibly wealthy neighborhood right next to one of the poorer ones. It just adds to the gumbo that is New Orleans. And no, it's not N'Awlins as so many would like to call it. Yes, we do slur the two words together a bit, but we definitely start the word with a New sound.

Anyhow, back to our day. We parked our car on St. Charles Avenue not far from Tulane University (my alma mater) and jumped on the streetcar headed downtown. I pointed out to Bean that we were riding on the streetcar just like Tiana (the princess) and her mommy did in the movie. This clicked with her and she really enjoyed the ride. It was a perfect day, cool with low humidity and we rode with the window up (open) for about half of the ride. I pointed out some of the houses that I had grown to love while I was in school and she pointed out others to me that she liked. So much fun!

When we got downtown, we hopped off the car and headed into the French Quarter. I walked a little ways with her on Bourbon Street (it was early in the day, so no drunks walking about) then cut over to Royal Street (where a lot of the art galleries are) and made our way to Jackson Square where the St. Louis Cathedral is. The square was so beautiful with all the azaleas in bloom and we had a lot of fun playing peek-a-boo from behind the crepe myrtles!

Once it got to lunchtime, we headed to one of the restaurants on the square to get some gumbo. Bean had promised to try it, but true to her picky nature, refused once it got to the table. She ate chicken fingers instead while I enjoyed gumbo and some fried crab claws with remoulade sauce. Yummy! I swear half the reason I never left this city after I graduated is because of the food! Okay, well maybe the Hubby has more to do with it...but I really do enjoy the food, too!

After lunch, I allowed Bean a really great treat as we headed over to the World Famous Cafe du Monde for some beignets. She loved them and amazingly enough did not make a complete mess of herself with the powdered sugar they liberally dump on them! We sat next to the outside edge of the restaurant, which is fenced in by a low, wrought-iron fence. Right outside the fence was a trumpeter playing lots of local jazz and he loved it when Bean began singing "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In" with him. She can be so outgoing when she wants to be, and quite charming. I was really proud of her the whole day on Monday.

We walked around a little bit after our beignets taking in the sights and sounds of the quarter, including a brass band and another kinda folksy, blues band. Bean loves music and danced around quite a bit and got a real kick out of putting money into the bands' tip jars. We also made a quick stop by the Quarter Stitch, one of my favorite yarn shops! No matter how much yarn I seem to accumulate, I never can seem to pass that store up. They are so sweet in there and have a shop dog that is more than happy to keep my little darling busy while I browse. Somehow, six skeins of koigu and one of Jitterbug sock yarn found their way into my stroller. Not sure how that happened exactly.... ;-)

But, we had to call it a morning as the Bean was starting to get a bit tired (heck, so was I) and jumped in a cab back up to our car. It was such a fantastic day and even stepping in a little dog poop once we got back to our car didn't take me out of my fabulous mood! I enjoyed introducing my little girl to the city I love so much and can't believe how long it had been since I actually stopped long enough to enjoy it properly!

--------------------

This weekend kicked off one of my favorite times of year in Louisiana - Festival Season! Not to be confused with Carnival Season (which culminates with Mardi Gras) Louisiana has some of the greatest outdoor festivals around celebrating every type of food you can imagine and lots of great music. I truly am not meaning to dog on any other part of the world, but this area of the South has such a unique personality, and this time of year it really showcases all of the things that make it special.

This weekend we started things off right by heading down to the French Quarter Festival on Saturday morning. Bean was very excited to be going back to New Orleans so soon and I think had her heart set on getting some more beignets. (Sorry, kiddo, there was no way I was waiting in the crazy line for them this time!) But we did have a great time sitting out on a big lawn next to the river, listening to a brass band and eating all kinds of yumminess. You wouldn't believe the variety that exists among the food booths at these things, everything from bbq to fried alligator on a stick. I had shrimp tacos and some of the most delicous, creamy macaroni and cheese I have ever had in my life. Then followed that up with some fresh strawberry crepes. Mmm, mmm, my belly was happy. Then we walked around, again finding ourselves near Jackson Square and then walked up Royal Street toward where we had parked. On the way, we found a wonderful little gypsy-jazz group playing on the street (it's a pedestrian mall during the day) and stopped to watch them for quite some time. Bean danced and joyfully put some money in their jar again and was so excited when we let her buy one of their cd's. She wasn't so excited about the cd itself, but got quite a kick out of giving someone money and getting something back for it. What a little grown-up, huh?

Anyhow, we headed back to our car and home so Bean and I could catch an afternoon nap. She was supposed to go over to her grandparents' house that night and Hubby and I decided to take advantage of the fact and head out for some dinner at one of our favorite little restaurants, Cafe Degas. The sole basis of the decision to go there was the fact that I was totally craving paneed veal! This kid is definitely giving me much stronger cravings that Bean did when I was pregnant with her! Dinner was amazing (escargot, veal, and frozen lemon ice box pie for dessert)! All in all, I think Saturday was a perfect day!

But the weekend continued to be so much fun! This morning we got up and once again, the weather was lovely. We headed up to the small town of Ponchatoula, which is up on the north shore of Lake Pontchatrain, for their annual Strawberry Festival. So much good food to be had, along with rides and midway games. We met up with one of my dearest friends from college and her family, which is always a treat and had a great time. For those of you who know me, you know my world tends to rotate around food and today certainly did not dissapoint: a rib-eye sandwich (so Tender), a seafood baked potato (which was basically a potato slathered with a creamy cheese sauce and topped with shrimp and crawfish), gumbo, strawberry shortcake, and a (non-alcoholic) strawberry daquiri! I was so fat and happy when we headed out of that festival! Bean and Hubby had a great time, too. They spent a lot of time on the rides (which I can't go on right now) and it was wonderful bonding time for the two of them.

Sometimes Hubby has to spend a little too much time at work and when he does, he definitely needs a little time to reconnect with her. She adores him, though, and it was wonderful watching them play and chase each other around at the festivals this weekend. Made me fall even more madly in love with them both!

Okay, I know this post is woefully lacking in pictures, but I'm feeling a bit lazy tonight and I don't feel like going out to my car to get the camera out. So check back tomorrow and I will have a post with just pictures and captions in it to share with you how much fun we had.

I hope all of you had great weekends, too. Hugs from the Deep South!

Hoppy Easter!

2010-04-04T13:38:00.000-07:00

We've had a beautiful Easter here! It started early, with me heading outside around 6:30 to "hide" eggs around Bean's playhouse. I don't really try too hard to hide them, I don't want to frustrate the poor kid. Next year I think I will make it a bit more challenging for her. When she and Daddy woke up, we chilled out and watched a couple of cartoons and then I decided to make some cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Unfortunately, I left them in for just a minute or so too long. Enough to burn the sugar just enough to where we wouldn't really enjoy them. So, bagels it was!

After breakfast, Bean was very eager to find out what the Bunny had left for her. She already had some candy that was left outside her door, but she likes finding eggs! I had hidden two dozen of them for her along with a couple of little toys and they made her very happy. In fact, we had to hide them another four or five times in the house so she could keep hunting! For lunch, we headed over to the in-laws' house for a late lunch. It was delicious, but Bean was getting pretty cranky so we didn't stay over there very long.

Currently the Bean is taking a nap, and I just finished up weaving in the ends of my latest finished object! They are Wicked by Glenna C. and were a lot of fun! I started them back on February 24, but put them down for a long time while I worked on Iron Knitter socks. After making so many pairs of socks for other people, I'm really happy to have a pair for myself. I'm still working on one other project, but I'm at the finishing stages of that one, too, so I fully expect to have some pictures for you in the next day or so.

So, here are my Wicked Socks! Have a great Easter!

Iron Knitter Wrap-Up and Other Events of Note

2010-03-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well, another two months have passed since I've posted and I doubt that I have any readers left. But, I'm going to post anyway because I have a LOT of finished objects from the past two months!

I'm guessing you remember me telling you about Iron Knitter. As of the last post, I had one pair of socks done for the contest. Well, now there are five more to show you, since the contest is over. The first pair (second from IK) is a pattern called Wishing for Spring (rav link). I used Knit Picks Kettle Dyed Essential in Spruce. This round began on February 2 at 1:00pm and by 5:30pm on the third they were done. And yes, I did sleep that night! I didn't pull any all-nighters until the final round of the contest, contrary to popular belief among the other competitors. Like the first round, I won this one! Woot!

The third round was originally schedule to begin on February 12, but unfortunately the woman organizing the contest had a bit of an emergency and the start was delayed until the 14th (bit of an emergency is an understatement, the poor woman was hit by a car!). The pattern was released about 8:00 in the morning, but I didn't get it until 10:30am. Hubby had "lost" his car the night before during Mardi Gras festivities (in his defense, someone else parked his car for him and gave him crappy instructions about where it was). Anyhow, when I got home, I got crackin'. The pattern is called Shop Around the Corner. This was my first time doing colorwork on a sock and I really enjoyed the new challenge. I'm not as crazy about the buildings at the top, but I really love the colorwork going down the foot. Unfortunately for me, the moderator made it an allowable modification not to do the colorwork on the foot, which in my opinion really penalized the competitors who wanted to remain true to the patterns we got. I did not win this round, the competitor who did chose not to do all of the colorwork and still only beat me by two hours. So I will consider it a moral victory even if it did show up as a big L on the scoreboard! Yes, I am aware of the fact that these socks do not "match", and no it was not a mistake. I like the negative mirror effect. I used Knit Picks Essential again, in Burgundy and Soot.

Round four began on March 6 but I don't remember what time. The pattern is called Maeve and I really loved working this one! It's a beautiful sock, worked from the toe up, which I don't have a lot of experience with. It also involved working with charts, because there was no way I was going to be able to memorize the repeats for these bad boys! They are Knit Picks Essential (again) in grasshopper and have such a great, Springtime feel to them! I finished these up late of March 7. Wes wouldn't let me stay up late the night of the 6th because I was just getting over being sick (more on that later), otherwise, I would've finished a bit sooner. I did win this round though.

Onward to Round Five and the patterns just kept getting better. The pattern is Cable and Lace Socks and it was such a relief after Maeve because the repeat was only 8 rows and was super easy to memorize. I used Knit Picks Essential (shocker, I know) in Ivy and they really feel like St. Patrick's Day socks. This round began on March 20 and I wrapped it up on the 21st. I'm actually kind of shocked that I won this round because I took about four hours off on Sunday morning to have brunch in the city with two of my dear friends. They were worth the risk though and for various reasons, I hadn't seen them in about a month.

The finals for Iron Knitter began on March 27 and that couldn't have been more inconvenient for me (I know, it's not always about me, dammit!). That evening we were committed to going over to my in-laws house to celebrate my MIL's birthday and there was no way I could've gotten out of it even if I had wanted to. Which surprisingly, I didn't. They are my family and certainly take precedence over any contest. We spent about four hours over there and that really handicapped me in the contest, but I toiled away at the beautiful Meander pattern anyway. Again, Knit Picks Essential, this time in Bordeaux. This round was the first time I gave myself permission to pull an all-nighter and I certainly did. I posted the picture at around 6:20 my time on Sunday morning and lost the round by about 50 minutes. In fact, I came in third. This was very discouraging at that hour of the morning, especially considering that I won the most rounds in the contest, but after stewing for a little while, I realized that I'm still thrilled with what I accomplished in the contest and I met some really incredible knitters along the way! Besides, there will be other Iron Knitter competitions, maybe I'll win some other time. In the end, I have six gorgeous pairs of socks to give to some of my girlfriends in two months time. Can you believe that I've made 9 pairs of socks already this year and March isn't even over yet?!

How's this for a beautiful "family" portrait of socks?

Oh wait, ten pairs if you count these little ones for Bean that I made from some remnants of some other socks. Okay, I don't know if they should really count, they're pretty small....

And I haven't only been cranking out the socks here. This sweater got wrapped up in February. It's another Spiral Sweater. I loved making the first one and this red Koigu just demanded to be made into one. I'm hoping that the darker band that appears in the spiral will fade a bit after some washing. That's the risk with handpainted yarns and I just refuse to frog it and re-do it. This is the first of my Christmas knitting. I'm going to try and get gifts done throughout the year so I don't stress myself out come this fall and winter.

And this is another Christmas gift, for my cute and quirky cousin. Technically, she's "EMO" (not that I understand what the hell that means), but I know she likes Pauley Perrette from NCIS, who plays the character Abby, who is a goth. This reminded me of something Abby would wear around the holidays and I also thought it would look really cute on Catrina.

And these two shawls I actually did back in December, but for whatever reason haven't posted, so I'm going to take the opportunity to show them off because they are WAY too pretty not too!

I have two other projects on the needles right now that will probably be ready to post within a week or so (unless I get totally distracted), so stay tuned! Yes, I have been a total knitting-maniac lately!

With all the knitting that has been going on, I bet you'd think there hasn't been a lot of time for anything else in my life, wouldn't you? Well, that's not quite the case. If you remember, last time I checked in I had just broken my foot and poor little Bean was suffering from pneumonia and a double ear infection. You will be happy to learn that both of us recovered from those fairly well. While Bean was sick, though, I got some rather surprising (and incredibly welcome) news. I'm pregnant! We have been trying for a long time, but the reason it was surprising is because they did a pregnancy test on me when I was at the hospital for my foot, prior to doing an x-ray which came back negative. Hubby and I were heartbroken and decided that the following month we were going to try some fertility treatment. Well, about a week after my trip to the ER, my monthly friend still hadn't paid her visit, so I decided to pee on a stick. That bad boy didn't even wait the full three minutes to tell me that come October, we are going to have a new little one around here to dote and love on along with the Bean. I have taken to calling it the Sprout.

Pregnancy this time around has not been as kind to me as it was with Bean. I had pretty bad morning sickness and exhaustion that was compounded when I came down with a really horrible cold that developed into an ear infection of my very own. I had just started to recover from these when I was attacked by a vicious stomach virus. All told, between illness and morning sickness, I have lost about 14 pounds during my first trimester. It's not unusual that I lost weight, I did it with Bean as well, but this was a lot of weight and not the way I would've wanted to lose it. I'm actually wearing jeans today that I haven't worn since before Bean came along. I don't expect that to last very long though, because the appetite is coming back and I expect in the next couple of weeks for the Starving Pregnant Lady to appear in full force! I am feeling so much better now! I had a bad bout with allergies when Spring finally sprung on us, but I have those under control now and I feel like "me" again. Perhaps a little more short tempered than normal, but hey, I've got crazy hormones, cut me some slack! :-)

So, hopefully there are still some folks checking in on this blog. If you're out there, check back again soon because I'm going to try and keep this blog up to date a bit better from now on!

What a week! (and a contest notification)

2010-01-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

Since you heard from me last, things have been a little crazy around here. I'll start out with the fun part!

Last Saturday night Hubby and I attended the Tucks Ball with a bunch of friends. I had a blast making my costume (in spite of a broken and throbbing foot). This is what can be made with about 15 yards of glitter tuille:

The picture is a bit blurry, since it was taken on my camera phone, but you get the idea! There are other pictures from the ball, but they make it abundantly clear that I was not the most sober person in the world, so I don't think I'm going to post them! The other girl in the picture is the infamous Kate (aka SB or Sugar Britches). She's the one who took care of Bean while Hubby and I were in Chicago last September. She's a Saints angel, and if you can't figure it out, that's a decapitated Viking on a stick. The ball was the night before the NFC Playoff game. I still cannot believe that the Saints are going to the SUPERBOWL!!!!

The ball was so much fun, in no small part because of the friends we were with! Tucks is one of the more irreverant krewes of Mardi Gras, so most of the people there were costumed instead of decked out in formal wear like most of the other balls. I'm sure you can see a huge difference between my attire here, and what I wore to the Eros ball last year. Both kinds are fun, but I think I like Tucks better!

Needless to say, I was hurtin' on Sunday. I definitely do not recover from drinking as well as I used to! Unfortunately, we had some family obligations the next day. Hubby's aunt and uncle were in town and we were expected over at the in-laws house for lunch. Not a terrible thing, Auntie is one hell of a cook and had homemade lasagna for us! But I was definitely not up to much socializing and used my foot and a percocet as an excuse for being a little more quiet that I normally would be.

My big brother came over that night to watch the NFC game with us (Geaux Saints!) and that was one hell of an exciting game. We were watching it on tape delay, which is usually great because you can fast forward through the commercials. It didn't work out so well for us this time, though, because we were about five minutes behind when the game actually ended. From where we were watching, the game was still tied and about to go into overtime, but our neighborhood exploded in fireworks, so the surprise was kind of blown for us. Maybe that's not such a bad thing, though, since we were all about to collectively have a heart attack!

After such a fun weekend, I was in a pretty great mood on Monday. The town was alive because fo the Saints and it was just a fun day to be out and about. Everyone in town was friends and we were all reliving the game again and again. But, like always, when things are going too well, a shoe was about to drop. When I picked Bean up at school that afternoon, she was coughing and definitely didn't feel very well. She went downhill rapidly and by that evening was running a pretty good fever as well. I let her sleep with me so I could keep a better eye on her. Not terribly condusive for a good night sleep, but I always sleep with her when she's sick.

Tuesday, she didn't even leave my room, I just brought her whatever she needed. We rested and cuddled most of the day. That night, her fever shot up even higher and she coughed a bunch. I kept treating her with Tylenol and an expectorant that we had from the pediatrician, and she responded a bit, but it was a rough night again. Wednesday, she seemed a lot better, the fever never went terribly high, so I really thought we had turned a corner. Unfortunately, that night was the worst of all and she was coughing so hard that she would cause herself to vomit. We definitely didn't sleep much that night and I had a lot of sheets that needed to be washed yesterday! Finally, I decided that I needed to take her into the doctor, she just wasn't responding the way she should be. Turns out, the cold she started out with had developed into a double ear infection and a mild case of pneumonia. Is it just me or does it seem weird describing any case of pneumonia that involves your child as "mild"?

So anyhow, now I have to give her amoxycillin twice a day, which is about as much fun as giving a cat a bath. I actually have to put the kid in time-out until she finally caves and takes it for me! Then, around four this morning, she needed some Mucinex really bad and I had to carry her downstairs and put her in the time-out chair before she would actually take the stuff! I am so tired today. But fortunately, she slept in this morning and I didn't get out of bed until almost 9:00. I think she must be doing better today, she's slept most of the morning, which I hope means she's breathing easier and finally getting the rest she needs to get better! Fingers crossed!

So, the summation of this very long story is, this week has basically sucked so far!

But did I mention that the Saints are in the SUPERBOWL! I swear, I keep thinking about that, and it keeps making me smile. So on that note, I want you to follow this link over to my favorite indie dyer's blog and check out the contest that she's running for the SUPERBOWL (yes, you do have to put it in all caps, all the time)! All the money's raised go to Charity: Water and will help benefit those suffering in Haiti by providing them with clean drinking water, something that is in desperately short supply. Brittany and her husband are offering up some really great prizes to keep the SUPERBOWL even more interesting! Oh, and did I mention, that if you win and you're not a knitter, I would be more than happy to lay claim to your prize....just puttin' it out there....

Sock Wars, Swaps, Iron Knitter and Broken Bones

2010-01-23T06:15:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy past week or so around Chez Sarah! There has been lots of knitting involved though, so I've been having a lot of fun.

First off, I decided to join not one but two knitting competitions this month. They are both through SockWars.org, but not everyone is doing both. Sock Wars started first, on January 15. Basically, you get the name of your target and have to "assassinate" that person by sending them a pair of socks before the person you got your dossier assassinates you. So, it's not just about speed, you have to hope that either your assassin is a slow knitter, or that someone gets them first! Well, I got my part done quickly enough. I did a pair of socks from a pattern called Jeckyll & Hyde, which apparently was the SLOWEST pattern in creation. Even though I got them done over MLK weekend, they took FOREVER. I do think that I was the first person to finish a pair, most other people picked another pattern that was significantly faster. It was beautiful, though, I should know, I got off'ed by a pair!

In spite of my best efforts and mailing out my targets socks on Tuesday morning, by Wednesday morning, I was out. My assassin knit me some lovely purple socks that she had dyed herself with Wilton's icing dye. She also included a ball of yarn and a story about the colorway she had created. She called it Purple Death, after a rare type of coral that is very beautiful and also after the 1918 outbreak of Spanish Influenza that caused it's victims to bleed from the eyes just prior to death. Mshmom is a little twisted like that!

So, here are the socks that I made for Sarahbee, and the stitch markers that I included in her package:

And here are the purple death socks that I got:

In addition to Sock Wars, I'm also participating a Mardi Gras swap. I don't have a picture of the package that I sent to my partner, rms, but I did photograph the handmade item I included. A pair of handwarmers:

I also included the Mardi Gras themed stitch markers that I made.

And here's the wonderful package I got:

She included a beautiful scarf that she made using the Tunisian crochet method. It is super soft and I'm hoping that it's just a little cold during Mardi Gras so I can show it off! She also included three skeins of purple, green and gold yarn from Classic Elite and a bag of gold cocoons. I was a little daunted by the cocoons, since I don't spin, but she told me she likes to use them as beads for stringing or for embellishing. I like that idea because as much as spinning fascinates me, the last thing I need right now is a new hobby! So, at least some of these will become a super cool necklace and then I'll figure out what to do with the rest later. Oh and as a happy little side note, she let me know last night that she had forgotten to put the scarf pin she got for me in the package, so I'm going to get another present next week! You know how I love me some presents! (speaking of which, tick tock, folks, my birthday is coming....)

I got her package the day after I got my death socks, so it helped cheer me up from being knocked out of one competition so early!

Thursday night, Iron Knitter (Rav Link) kicked off. This one is predominately about speed! But, prior to receiving our patterns, we have to solve a series of clues. Our Supreme Commander allowed us to form teams in order to solve the questions (and also to reduce her email load, I suspect!) and that's been a lot of fun. I'm on team Ninja Needles. It's created a great sense of camaraderie, even as we try and win the contest for ourselves as individuals. I definitely find myself cheering for my teammates as we go on.

The questions were released on Thursday night at 7:00 and by 7:36 my team was in possession of the pattern. This is where teamwork ended! I cast on and had just a little bit done before Bean had to go to bed. As I was carrying her to her room, I slipped and fell, landing really hard on my foot. Oh My God, it hurt so bad and I was convinced that I had broken it, or at least sprained it pretty bad. I didn't want to go to the hospital, though, because I was determined to start knitting and even though you can knit while your waiting at a hospital, the constant interruptions are not exactly condusive for SPEED! So, I grabbed and ice pack, propped up my leg and got to knitting. I did end up popping a percocet left over from when Bean was born (you can see how often I take painkillers). By 2:00am I had finished my first sock, and although my competitive spirit was telling me to keep going, my eyes and the percocet were telling me it was time to turn out my light and go to bed! So I did. It was really hard going to sleep though, I kept worrying that taking time out was going to cost me the first position (I really wanted to win at least one round), plus my foot really hurt! Anyhow, I finally got to sleep and dreamed of knitting the whole time!

The next morning, Bean woke me up around 7:00 and I immediately cast on for the second sock. Bean was happy since I let her keep watching cartoons long after I normally turn off the TV. My only breaks from this point on were for food or diapers. Oh and anothe percocet. Two painkillers in a day? Yeah, I was hurting pretty bad! By 1:00, I was weaving in the ends on my second sock and posted a picture on the Iron Knitters group on Ravelry. I was the first person to finish by a couple of hours! Woot!

Here are the socks:

There have been a couple of people on the boards who have basically been commenting that I must've stayed up all night to finish, but I didn't actually. I didn't sleep much, that's true, but I definitely did sleep!

That afternoon, I decided that it was finally time to go get my foot checked out, so when Hubby got home from work, I left to go to the hospital. Fortunately, there was no wait at the ER and I got in right away. They took x-rays and determined that I had a spiral fracture in the second bone of my big toe on my left foot. Now, that's a pretty thick bone and also fairly short, so breaking it like that is quite a feat! (Heh, feet!) Anyhow, I now have to wear a cast shoe for the next six to eight weeks. Which means I will not be wearing fun shoes when I go to the Tucks ball tonight....boo!

Check back here later and I'll have a picture posted of my costume for the ball. I spent most of the day yesterday working on it!

First Attempts at Making Stitch Markers

2010-01-08T17:41:00.000-08:00

What do you think?

These are for Mardi Gras (obviously)

And these, I just loved the blue. (I have no idea why blogger decided to format this one like this, the picture is supposed to be horizontal)

I used really small split rings (basically little keyrings) as the ring at the top. I still need some practice working with the wire, but I'm really liking the results so far.

What does one do with an entire bag of Noro?

2010-01-07T15:27:00.000-08:00

Well, of course, one must use all of it! I know! I know! I could use what I needed for a project and leave the rest of the bag for a later date, but that just felt wrong somehow. I began my Noro journey with an entrelac scarf for myself. I LOVE it! I was worried while I was working on it, because, let's face it, even silk garden (did I mention that I was using silk garden?) doesn't feel that great while you're working with it. But, oh my goodness, does it ever block up nice!

So, the scarf took four balls. Do the math, I have six left. This is a respectable number to leave in the stash, but I wasn't ready to stop playing with it, so a slip-stich scarf (again, for me) was next. Okay, I'm feeling a little guilty now, I haven't worn it yet, maybe it will go in the "gift box" for someone else. I don't know, I'll figure that out later.

Shortly after I got this done, (it took two balls, bringing me down to four) I realized that I was having a Christmas party the following night, and it would probably be a good idea to have something for my Dirty Santa Swap. (No, the gifts weren't risque, the "dirty" came from the fact that we could steal other people's stuff) So, I whipped up a Lotus Leaf scarf. Unfortunately, I didn't photograph it before the party, but here's a picture of one of the subsequent ones that got made. Three more, for a total of four, which killed off the rest of the bag.

And a family photo of what can be made with a bag of Noro Silk Garden (minus the scarf that was gifted prior to photographing).

I'm really digging the Lotus Leaf scarf pattern. It works up super quick and everyone has seemed to like them (I've given two away so far, but some of my other friends have put in requests). My friend, Kate (of Bean-sitting fame), requested that I make one to donate to her Mardi Gras marching club's silent auction, but instead of wanting one of the Noro ones, she wanted something pink, sparkly and fabulous, so this one, made out of Karabella Pima Gold, was born. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to make another one for her when she sees it.

Also, my friend who got the first scarf during my Christmas party called yesterday (while I happened to be in a yarn store, go figure) and asked if I would be willing to make one for her child's physical therapist as a belated Christmas present. So, I picked up some really pretty red Cascade 220 and made this one for her. Even made myself $20! I wasn't going to charge her for it, but since she was giving it as a gift, she wanted to buy it.

What else have I been doing? Well, I finished this really great pair of socks for my friend, Kelly's, birthday present (only two months after the actual birthday!). They are made with yarn from the Knit Witch in the Brewtopia colorway, which is kinda perfect since I call her "Beer Kelly". (I have two Kelly's in my near group of friends and when referring to them to Hubby, I have to clarify which one I'm talking about. She likes beer. The other one is short, so she's "Little Kelly". I'm not terribly creative.)

Also, I'm participating in Sock Wars V later this month, so I decided to test myself to see how quickly I could whip up a pair of socks that actually had a pretty complicated lace pattern to them. The good news is that I knocked out these bad boys in one weekend, the bad news is I really hurt my left hand. It was pretty sore after I finished up, most likely because I was holding the yarn differently to accomodate a new purling technique, called Norwegian Purl. I like it a lot because you don't have to shift the yarn to the front of the piece to accomplish a purl stitch, saving precious seconds when knitting for speed. These are called Flying V socks. I like that pattern a lot and wish I'd done them with a prettier color. I was just using the brown because they were practice socks and I just didn't care.

Sock Wars is a contest with about 200 knitters from all over the world. At the kick-off, you get a dossier with your "target". The point is to assisinate them by sending them a pair of socks from a specific pattern that will be released all at the same time before the person that had your dossier can assisinate you. During Sock Wars there is a side contest called Iron Knitter that I will also be participating in. During this, contestants will be knitting six pairs of socks. In each heat, a certain number of knitters who finish the pattern first will move on to the next heat. The knitter who finishes the sixth sock first, wins. So,wish me luck in the contests! I'm out to win a bunch of sock yarn from the Cocoa Beach Yarn Company.

It's a New Year, now what?

2010-01-04T18:21:00.001-08:00

So, I've obviously neglected this blog for a while and although I would love to catch you all up on everything that has been going on, well...no one wants to read a post that long and it would kill me if you didn't think it was as interesting as I do!

Let's talk about this whole New Year thing. I know the standard practice is to come up with a list of resolutions that, let's face it, will be abandoned within the first month. I'm not going to do that this year. Instead, I will focus on one word, DISCIPLINE. I need more of it, from my eating, to my exercising, to my (gasp) yarn compulsion. Maybe if I just try to practice better habits, rather than setting milestones for myself and being disappointed in myself when I fail, I'll end up getting the things that we all know I truly want.

This year has started off well so far. My best friend and her fiance came to visit on New Years' eve and stayed until the second, as did my older brother. We had a great New Years' eve. We spent it at home, drinking, laughing and roasting marshmallows while the world exploded (fireworks) around us. My neighbors spend a FORTUNE on fireworks. We sometimes join them, but refrained this year. We did, however, decided to blow up a bunch of helium balloons, attach them to glowsticks and release them into the air. I know, I know, it sounds like there was something a little more "recreational" going on, but I promise, we were only drinking... We were even all in bed prior to midnight. I know, we're lame.

The next day we pretty much lounged around all day, watching football, and that night went to the Sugar Bowl to watch the Gators whoop up on the Bearcats. So much fun! We had two Bearcats fans sitting in front of us when the game started, but when they heard how loud Jen and I can scream, they moved over a little ways and by the end of the second quarter, had left entirely. Awww, sucks when your team can't handle the SEC... (sorry to any Cincy fans that might be reading this, okay, maybe not....)

Saturday, everyone left and we began the cleanup from the holidays. Sunday, we lounged and watched football (see a trend in my house). The Saints have had a really disappointing finish to the regular season, let's hope they get their sh*t together for the playoffs. I truly never thought I'd see the day when the Aint's were the top seed in the NFC!

Today, Bean returned to school. She has been eager to return and see all of her friends and teachers and I, quite frankly, needed a bit of a break. I love that I'm the center of her world, but after a while, a little alone-time is a very good thing. I took the opportunity to take the trimmings off the tree and haul it down to the curb. I'm pretty proud of that, it was a big tree and I did it all by myself! So, now Christmas has returned to it's plastic boxes to await release again next year, I just have to bring said boxes down to the warehouse this week and it will be business-as-usual around here once again.

I'm really looking forward to this year, we're hoping to expand our family during the course of it (fingers-crossed). We've also got some really great travel plans brewing, including a trip this summer to Sweden (yes, I've purchased Rosetta stone). I hope you and yours are happy and healthy and that the New Year brings you all that you need and want.

Give-away announcement

2009-10-12T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys! Just wanted to let you know about a giveaway that I found out about this morning. There's a bunch of yarn up for grabs!

Resolutions for October

2009-09-30T12:10:00.001-07:00

Okay, we all know how I handle long-term resolutions (like not buying yarn for 6 months). I suck at it, but I think if I set a hand full of goals for a month, maybe I can handle it. I mean, it's only 31 days, how hard can it be, right? RIGHT?

So, here goes:

1 Shocker I know, but the first goal is not to buy any new yarn this month. None. Not even if I decide to make someone a gift that I somehow don't have the yarn for. If it ain't in the stash, it ain't getting made.

2 I will go to the gym three days a week over the course of the next month. I have to take Bean to school anyway, might as well hit the gym while I'm over that way.

3 I will avoid fast food and other crappy selections six days out of the week. If I can handle eating healthy for six days, then I will reward myself on Sunday with the return of No-Rules Sunday (as opposed to my No-Rules Every Day that I currently practice).

I have a couple of other things I would like to add to this list, but I feel I'm being fairly ambitious as it is, so I will save those for a later month. The goal here is to establish habits, so, once these items are habits, then I will build upon them, hopefully resulting in an improved Sarah. I know, I know, how does one improve on perfection? Well, the answer is, with difficulty, my friends! Ha, just kidding, you know better than to believe that I think of myself as perfect. Don't want to be perfect, it's gotta be dreadfully dull, but I would like to feel like I'm a little more put-together as a human being than I currently feel.

So, there you have it. What do you think my odds are?

Babysitters Facebook Updates

2009-09-29T05:59:00.000-07:00

SB was awesome about posting on FB while we were in Chicago, so I didn't feel like I had to check in all the time. In fact, I only called at night to say goodnight to Bean, even though she didn't want to come to the phone....I've done my best to remove all of the "real" names, so if you see initials in a comment, it's most likely because I changed it. Other than that, this is completely unedited. I highlighted her name in purple to make it easier to follow. (Just to note, the weekend before taking care of my child, SB was taking care of another friends diabetic cat, I'm telling you, this girl is earning her place in heaven!)

Friday Morning at 12:10

SB - is 17 hours shy of a weekend of MY MISS SB duty... who has started the wager process and what are my odds?
September 25 at 12:10am ·

KD likes this.

BWF
What?
September 25 at 12:27am

SB
Spending the weekend with Bean, a three year old who is confident and clearly a tad territorial
September 25 at 12:40am

BWF
Nice!
September 25 at 12:46am

DA
Can I bet on the little girl?
September 25 at 1:29am

SG
tad territorial? What she is going to pummel you if Barney is not on the tele?
September 25 at 7:17am

CLO
I've seen Miss SB without cigarettes. Ten bucks on withdrawl.

Friday Night at 8:45

SB
: 3-year old asleep (tear free, at that), tree frogs singing, cheesy-melty-shrimpy goodness consumed, cold beer in hand, and the strange echos of hanville high school's (I think) version of friday night lights echoing across the golf course. And... y'all doubted my abilities as a munchkin rangler! I will say that whatever animal making that noise on the colf course (hopefully not in the yard) scares the poop outta me.

BWF
So proud of you! You can come take care of me anytime!!!
September 25 at 9:01pm

SB
You?!?!? You're more high maintenance than the insulin dependent cat!
September 25 at 9:03pm

BWF
Whatever! I am not!!!
September 25 at 9:05pm

Mommy aka ME
Wait 'til the racoons start playing on the roof! I love you!
September 25 at 9:46pm · Delete

Mommy aka ME
Oh, and it's destrehan high school. Go Wildcats!
September 25 at 9:47pm · Delete

SB
I'm sorry, the racoons do what!? Is that why the ladders are there? Ah, hell! Where's the pink gun?
September 25 at 9:47pm

Mommy aka ME
They don't need the ladders. Do you want me to send you the code for the gun locker?
September 25 at 9:56pm · Delete

SB
It is best for everyone if I remain unarmed. PS wildcats beat ehret tonight. They play at lutcher next weekend. Sound really bounces, huh?
September 25 at 10:00pm

CAC
I am loving this country stuff. Pink guns, raccoons, and high school football schedules.
September 25 at 10:48pm

JC
Should we get Bean a Wildcats cheerleading uniform?

Saturday at 8:28am

SB 3-year-old was up at 5:10 and magically convinced to go back to calm mode until 7... I've still got tricks! Today, some place owned by the Audubon Institute, the weather will decide which destination though. (She just looked at metyping and opened her kiddo laptop to get working! Too funny.)
Sat at 8:28am ·

Mommy aka ME
Oh I am so sorry about the early wake up call! Give her smooches from me!Btw, your status update and following comments got many laughs out last night! Love you!
Sat at 8:47am · Delete

RG
Be careful - babies are a contagious disease you catch from their cuteness.

Saturday at 3:22pm

SB
to recap: talked LB out of 5 o'clock wake up call, accomplished AM routine, did basic workout w/additions of an audience & occasional human resistance band, visited fish, attacked play equipment with gusto, ate lunch (at least, looked at the... food meaningfully for a while & ate some of it), picked up 45 pounds of cake ay a Haydel’s without munchkin consuming anything sugary or illustrious caregiver dropping the cake, maintained awake and alert munchkin until arriving home, & convinced her that even though she 'feels better' (not that she felt badly in the first place) a nap was in order. She was asleep before I left the room & I am on my way to power nap. (If you question the need for running munchkin commentary, try leaving your kiddo with a friend for the weekend. You'll appreciate the ability to stay informed without calling to check in!)
Sat at 3:22pm

CAC
I am duly impressed. Actually like running commentary. Would like even more info on 45 lbs of cake.
Sat at 3:28pm

SB
I am bringing it to a baby shower tomorrow. Childcare and a baby shower. Huh. I suddenly feel very grown up. DOn't worry. It will pass.
Sat at 3:31pm

KO
If you need help with Bean, let me know :)
Sat at 3:47pm

SB
Thanks! So far, we're having fun!
Sat at 3:48pm

PRF
I think I need you to babysit me sometime.
Sat at 9:55pm

SB
pay the airfare and buy the liquor (and benddy straws) and I am there!
Sat at 10:14pm

KW
We have bendy straws, lots of strange liquors, movies you can cry over and, best of all, NO ONE under 21!!
Sun at 1:33am

Saturday at 9:22pm

SB
Miz Bean asleep, Big Fish on tv, and I am having a cocktail, eating Easter candy. I have not broken her yet, and I with only fourteen hours of responsibility left I am cautiously optimistic that I will return a high-functioning two-and-a-half year-...old to her parents tomorrow. Of course, there is still time for me to irrepealably damage her psyche...
Sat at 9:29pm ·

SM
reading your updates on this has been one of the highlights of my weekend. I have not laughed this much in a while.
Sat at 9:50pm

SB
Glad you are laughing, because I am crying! The double whammy of the heart wrenching Big Fish ending and the discovery that my dear friends, who not only have a two year old but a fully stocked, built-in bar (and, of course, your illustrious caregiver as a frequent visitor) DO NOT seem to own BENDDY STRAWS! Oh, the indignity of having to lift the glass to my lips and tilt!
Sat at 10:18pm

CAC
You know, you probably should have your own monogramed benddy straws-in pink, naturally. I'd like more detail on the Easter Candy. Are we talking the classic Louisiana confectionery "Elmer's" or have you found something else.
Sat at 10:32pm

SB
better yet (at least this far out of season) I found unloved (or, at least, uneaten and therefore fair game) reeces pieces eggs. second only on my fav list to mini eggs... which have also been spotted... but I am trying to resist!
Sat at 10:34pm

CAC
You have achieved "post-Easter candy in early Autumn" perfection. There really should be an award for this.
Sat at 10:52pm

TB
Should I take this as the level of kidwatching available from Aunt SB in the future?
Sat at 10:59pm

SB
That depends. Do you stock benddy straws?
Sat at 11:01pm

TB
Not only do we have bendy straws...they are umbrella bendy straws! and they come in a variety of colors...
Sat at 11:02pm

SB
And, yes, TB. You get illustrious caregiver usage. But, I am much friendlier when supplied with banddy straws, a zoo membership car (though children's museum works, too), and some sort of evening amusement.

Sunday at 8:47am

SB
wonders how I could have ever doubted that these parents would have benddy straws!?!? These are not ordinary parents; they are amazing parents! And the Bean's needs for all things are clearly met. (Malow would suggest that benddy straws, like ...excrection, food, water, and sleep are fundamental to human survival.) Now, I wonder how I could have failed to spot them behind the splenda...
Sun at 8:47am ·

SB
And, of course, kiddo in my care is well... Hey, that whole eating-paint-chips-is-bad-for-you thing is a myth put forward by the non-lead based paint marketing teams, right? After I spread some peanut butter on the wall, she said it really improved the texture issues.
Sun at 8:54am

DYV
You are SO bad - but I love you anyway <:) Sun at 9:11am
SB
Forget anyway. You love me BECAUSE of how bad I am!
Sun at 9:13am

KJF
yay bendy staws! they make a kids life complete:)
Sun at 9:14am

DYV
True...
Sun at 9:15am

DYV
Are you still planning a NW visit soon, I hope????
Sun at 9:16am

TA
chunky or creamy peanut butter? :p
Sun at 9:36am

SB
KJF- forget the kidos, I require them for a complete life. DYV- looks like Thanksgiving week for a bit :)TA- crunchy, of course!All- I should note that these partents accomodate MY playtime needs to the extent that there is a swing on the swing set adjusted to my height requirements! I should have never doubted thw presence of bendy straws!
Sun at 10:21am

SB
BWF- if you read this, please note you arte not the coolest playhouse anymore. You need a swing set!
Sun at 10:22am

Mommy aka ME
I am sitting here at breakfast, laughing my ass off! Love you!
Sun at 10:30am · Delete

Mommy aka ME
And the bend straws were completely bought with daquiris in mind!
Sun at 10:31am · Delete

SB
See! Told you they spoil me rotten out here! I mean look out for my primary needs...
Sun at 10:33am

MLM
Malow=Maslow?
Sun at 1:19pm

SB
Typo, but yes!
Sun at 1:20pm

MLM
Yay hierarchy!
Sun at 1:21pm

VW
Enjoyed your babysitting weekend. Glad you got your bendy straws.

Happy Birthday, Hubby!

2009-09-28T15:41:00.001-07:00

So, last week was Hubby's 40th birthday and I would love to tell you that he handled it gracefully, but I don't think that would be entirely honest. Now, he didn't come home with a red sports car or some other mid-life crisis toy, but he did complain a lot about getting old. Now let me tell you, I think he looks pretty great, but that didn't help him much last week.

Originally, I had planned on throwing him a huge party that would last the whole weekend with a surprise portion happening at the House of Blues followed the next night with a balcony on Bourbon Street with a band and lots of food. Well, right before I signed the contracts for Wes-Fest '09, he somehow caught wind of it and let me know that he really wouldn't be comfortable with such an extravaganza (he doesn't really like people to fuss over him). So, I pouted for a couple of days and then decided that it wasn't about me, it was about what he wanted (plus, I got the brownie points for planning the event without actually having to follow-through with the work).

Anyhow, what Hubby wanted was a trip to Chicago to see his buddies that he hadn't seen in ages. So, off we went this weekend! We were met there by his friend from New York and his Swedish fiance (NYC & the Swede). We were all staying at the Dana Hotel & Spa which was really cool. The rooms were a little small, but very chic and had the bonus of a little balcony. The biggest plus of the place was the spa and we all had massages scheduled! The guys got theirs on Saturday morning, the Swede and I waited until Sunday.

Friday afternoon when we got there, the first priority was finding something to eat! We made our way over to Lou Malnati's for some deep dish and were so fat and happy afterwards. God, I love melty, cheesy goodness. After that, we definitely needed a walk to work off the pizza, so we started walking toward the river and from there to the lake. I think we probably walked a good two or three miles. Then we found a little bar with some outdoor seating right on the river for some Irish coffee and lots of laughs. I haven't laughed as much in a while as I did over the course of this weekend. The Swede and I get along so well and she has the most amazing sense of humor, I am so thrilled that NYC is going to marry her. (Plus, they're getting hitched in Sweden, so I'll get to head over there for at least a week next summer)

After a while, we decided to head back to the hotel for showers and a little rest before heading out to dinner to meet up with a couple more friends. Dinner was at the Kinzie Chop House and we met up with Newbie and Mrs. Newbie, who live in Chicago and T-Sum who calls Dallas home. Dinner was phenominal and again, we were laughing our asses off the whole meal. It's great when you get a group of people who all get along so well together. No awkward silences for us. I think the only time we were quiet was when our mouths were stuffed.

Following dinner we headed out to one of Hubby's favorite old hangouts, Delilah. It was pretty much a dive bar, with great atmosphere and we continued to have a great time. Another friend met up with us, we'll call him Nugent because he looks just like Ted! There were a couple of other people with us as well, but NYC, Newbie, T-Sum and Nugent were pretty much Hubby's closest friends when he was in Chi-Town, so I think they're the only ones I'm going to bother making up nicknames for. We stayed there talking and drinking until last call (2:00am) and again, we had a blast. It was great not having to worry about whether or not we were going to have to get up early in the morning and take care of Bean. My friend, Sugar Britches (SB, nickname from the Vegas trip) was taking care of her for the weekend, how awesome is that?! I think I'm going to have to dedicate an entire post to her Facebook status updates, they were hysterical!

In spite of not "having" to get up early, for some reason we were both up by 8:00 the next morning. Uggh, I hate the internal alarm clock that happens when you have kids! Well, we had a great breakfast at the hotel, and then Hubby made his way to the spa and I ventured off with the Swede to Michigan Avenue to buy presents for SB and Bean. I also introduced the Swede to the joys of Ghiradelli, I think she shall love me forever!

That afternoon, we gathered up the boys and headed over to an event that the Newbies had put together, a smoked rib cookoff. Yum-E! It was held at a really cool bar called Moonshine, and they had one of the ribs that we voted for. Really good stuff! My kind of event, going around sampling ribs from 13 different teams and drinking beer! Plus, I got to meet Newbie Jr. who is 18 months old and absolutely adorable. I had lots of fun playing with that little boy!

After many ribs and much beer, we decided to go back to our rooms, so we could rest up a little before going out. Plus, I really wanted to catch a little college football. My Gators and Tigers both did great! The guys went and grabbed a little dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, but I grabbed a bite from the Whole Foods around the corner and stayed in the room to watch a little more ball. I gotta tell you, I was pretty tired! I'm definitely not accustomed to going out more than one night in a row with day-drinking thrown in. So, that night when it was time to go out, I wasn't terribly excited about it, but was happy to know that I would be making it back to the hotel early (we had promised the boys they could have guys' night).

We met up with everyone at the Matchbox, so named because the place is tiny. There was no place inside for all of us to sit and talk, so we grabbed a table outside and I was introduced to a gimlet. Yummy, yummy! It's basically like a key lime martini, with powdered sugar around the rim of the glass. So good! We were pretty much the same group as the night before with the addition of MW (Music Writer), who is best friends with Nugent. She was really nice, but I think a bit dissappointed in the rest of the girls when we headed home early. I had to go, though, I was just so beat! Plus, I wanted to be able to enjoy my massage the next morning. I'm glad I didn't decide to hang with the guys because Hubby made it back to the hotel around 6:30 in the morning and NYC didn't make it until after 8:30!

The massage was definitely the best way to end an already great trip. I was so relaxed when we got home and it was awesome seeing my Bean. SB did a great job taking care of her and even did a little housework for me while we were gone. Have I mentioned how lucky I am to have such amazing friends? Hubby was also recharged during this trip from being around his closest friends. I think sometimes the stress of work can get to him and being around people who can totally distract him for a little while is a great thing!

I know I need to post some pics, but I haven't downloaded them yet. I'll try and get them up soon!

Does anyone even come in here to check on me any more?

2009-09-28T11:54:00.001-07:00

Or did you guys pretty much assume that I had finally lost my grip on the edge of the earth and fallen off?

Well, I'm still here and I cannot believe it's been over a month since I've bothered to write any thing. There have been so many times that I've been doing something and started my post in my head, but when it comes down to actually sitting down at my computer, well, apparently that's just a little bit too big of a commitment for me.

We've had a pretty good past month here at Casa Sarah. We've had a couple of get togethers around the house, one a cookout to basically kiss the summer goodbye. I love when an afternoon cookout morphs into something completely different and the last of your guests don't leave until well after midnight! (Oh wait, we had people not leave until the next morning this time!) I think that just shows that folks are really comfortable at our house and that makes me really happy. The other one was supposed to be a girls' day by the pool, but thanks to some rotten weather, it changed into us sitting around drinking daquiris, eating melty-cheesey goodness and watching really bad movies. Such a great time! I neglected my girlfriends for a while after I got married and had Bean, but I'm so glad that I'm reconnecting with this incredible group of women.

Also in the past month, Bean and I took a little trip up to Louisville to see my best friend in the whole-wide-world! Unfortunately we don't get to see her nearly often enough (in fact, it had been over a year between visits this time), but when we get together, it's like no time has past at all. This trip was also a great chance to talk about her upcoming nuptuals! I'm super-excited that she has found such a wonderful guy to spend her life with and that I get to be her matron of honor! Also, Bean is going to be her flower girl! I can't wait to see how cute she's going to look in her little dress. I think it's pretty funny that my friend has no real idea about what she's going to wear for the wedding, but she's already got Bean's outfit picked! Of course, this just means we have to get together again at the beginning of December so we can go wedding dress shopping!

Bean wasn't the best behaved kid during the trip to Kentucky. She seems to be going through a phase and testing all of her boundaries. She has been throwing some pretty major temper tantrums. In fact, one of them lasted about two hours while we were at BFWWW's (Best Friend in the Whole Wide World) house. Fortunately, she's pretty understanding about such things and helped me power through instead of just caving and letting the monkey get her way.

Once we got home from Kentucky, things didn't improve too much for a week or two. Tantrums became a daily occurence and my tactic has been a combination of time-outs and just flat out ignoring her. She seems to be looking for a reaction from me and when I don't give her that reaction, she gets fed up and quits. The biggest face off right now is over me waiting on her hand and foot. She wants me to come upstairs and get her after her naps even though she is more than capable of coming downstairs. I don't mind getting her if she asks me nicely, but she's been DEMANDING that I do what she wants, and I'm just not having that. It was pretty funny one afternoon, she started throwing her hissy fit and refused to get out of her bed unless I carried her "like a baby". This started around 4:00 in the afternoon and lasted until about 6:45 when she finally gave up, apologized for her screaming and came downstairs for her dinner. Well, by the time she got finished with dinner, it was time for a bath and bed. Ooops, she wasted an entire afternoon that she could have been playing!

She has started figuring out that she is going to have a lot more success getting what she wants by being sweet than by screaming her head off, so I hope we've turned a corner and are on our way to my sweet little girl back.

Let's see, what else has been going on this past month? Well, last week I got to go to a very fun event up of the North Shore. Which was a return to McNeedles for Pam's one year anniversary of the opening of the shop. She's been having a sale all month and it culminated with a bit of a party on Wednesday. She had food and even brought in a masseuse to give out 15 minute massages to her guests. I was only planning on popping up for a little while, but ended up staying for about three hours. I had such a great time and really enjoyed getting to spend time with the other women that were up there. As a little bonus treat, there was a yarn rep there as well and he dumped out an ENORMOUS pile of Claudia yarns on the table to Pam to peruse. I really wish I had my camera with me that day, it was so pretty!

I did my best to stimulate the economy in the store that day and came home with some really beautiful yarns. Of course, I'm thinking once again that some grounding is in order, I've been a bit over the top with my purchases again. Oh well, I'll think about that tomorrow, right?

I have one last thing to tell you about from the last month, but it's gonna have to wait for now. It's time to cook dinner!

And now for a good cause...

2009-08-26T06:13:00.001-07:00

Today I'm hijacking a post from the KnitWitch, Brittany, because I think she's bringing a really good cause to our notice. As you guys know, I love Brittany's yarns and online store, but I also love the fact that she and her husband are really great people who are genuinely concerned for people, animals and our planet. If you don't already read her blog, I definitely recommend it. She always has beautiful pictures, stories of outdoor adventures and really cool details of their renovation of an old house in the woods! I'm just going to cut and paste her post from today, so if you skip ahead and get confused about why I keep referring to "Wayne", well, that's your problem! :-)

Oh, and I'm going to start typing again after the picture of the Morning Glory, so you have to read all the way to the bottom!

So here goes:

Water

Do you ever think about it? For the most part, we never really have to. We turn on our taps or water hoses, flush the toilet, run the dishwasher, wash clothes and there it is - clean, drinkable water. We are so fortunate to have access to such an amazing thing yet many of us never give it a second thought unless we are without it for some reason.

Here are some interesting facts for you:

- 1.1 billion people in the world have no access to clean water (that's 1 in 6 people).
- If we divided all the freshwater among all the people we could allot about 2.5 gallons/person/day. The average person in the US currently uses 300-400 gallons/day.
- Our planet is 70% water - of that 70%, 97.5% of that is saltwater leaving us to divide the remaining 2.5% of freshwater.
- Many communities must have wells in order to access underground aquifers for clean water
- Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all sickness and disease, and kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.
- Many people in the developing world, usually women and children, walk more than three hours every day to fetch water that is likely to make them sick. Those hours are crucial, preventing many from working or attending school. Additionally, collecting water puts them at greater risk of sexual harassment and assault.
- Children are especially vulnerable to the consequences of unsafe water. Of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation, 90% are children under 5 years old.

Wayne and I have been struggling and looking for a charity to support with Knit Witch. We want to support something that is worthwhile, does good, is necessary and has a reputable mission and goal. There are so many things that we are passionate about that we will probably end up supporting different organizations in different ways. But, no matter what we think about, it all comes back to one thing - water. You have to have water to do anything so that is where we have decided to start. We already run BRAEA and Smaller Footprint and we do work for our local Humane Society so we are reaching out a little more globally this time.

This morning, Knit Witch donated $50 to Charity: Water. I know that isn't a whole lot but it is enough to give 2 people in Africa clean drinking water for 20 years. Here's why we have decided to support this charity:
- Water is the basis for all life as we know it and necessary to support hygienic conditions, medical aid, growing food, raising animals, environmental issues, human rights issues, animals rights issues - pretty much everything.
- This charity uses 100% of donations for their field work as their administrative costs are funded by other means. If you donate, even the paypal fee is funded via their private donor money specifically used for administrative costs - therefore 100% of your money actually goes to building clean water sources. You can read more about this HERE.
- This non-profit works to support other non-profits already working in the field. In other words, they use resources that already exist, organizations who are already familiar with the people, the needs and the language and they work to support people who are passionate about helping others - information on this is HERE
- They have amazing documentation of their work HERE
- They have great information about their organization and their mission HERE

So, why am I telling you all of this? Because I know that knitters are a generous, caring bunch of people. No one knows better that great things are built one little step at a time repeated over and over and over again. The Yarn Harlot supports Doctors Without Borders - another wonderful organization that provides another thing that I am passionate about - health care for those who need it. She has inspired me to give to this cause as I am sure many of you have done as well. Charity: Water gives us knitters another way to make the world a better place.

Knit Witch's Goal = $5,000 - don't you think we can achieve this in order to provide clean drinking water for 500 underprivileged people? I do. I started it off with $50. I don't care if you donate $5 or $500 - whatever you can afford helps. If you skip your morning Starbucks coffee tomorrow you can send that $5 as a donation instead. Send me an email to theknitwitch@gmail.com and let me know how much you donated so that I can keep track of our total - or - you can leave a comment on the blog. I'm keeping track of the progress over on the right hand side of the blog.

Everyone who donates will be entered in a drawing and we will draw some names for prizes. The first drawing will be on October 1st and I'll let you know the prize when I figure it out. If you blog about what we are doing and link to this post I'll give you an extra entry into the pot. Just email me and let me know that you did it - theknitwitch@gmail.com.

Let's do this. Let's make a difference in the world around us. Let's make a difference in the life of someone who is less fortunate than ourselves. Let's share our resources. Let's show the world that knitters are the most amazing group of people in the world who can come together to create good in the world.

Here is a picture that I took in our garden yesterday morning. This beautiful flower certainly wouldn't be here without life sustaining water............

Now back to Sarah:

I gotta say, I think this is an amazing cause. It's something that I really haven't thought about until now, but seriously, think about how blessed we are to have such a valuable resource so available to us that we don't even think about it! I matched Brittany and Wayne's donation this morning and hope that you will add to that amount if you are able. Even a couple of bucks helps! Let's help Brittany blow her goal of $5000 out of the water!

On a selfish note: If you are not a knitter or have no interest in a fiber related prize, how 'bout you let the KnitWitch know that your entry is in my name? Just sayin'....

Obsess Much?

2009-08-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know I promised like a week ago to catch up my blog on all that has been happening lately, but I guess I must've lied....

I do have a good reason for neglecting this promise and it's name is Sage Remedy Top. I cast on last Thursday and wove in the last end yesterday. I think it's definitely a new record for completing an entire sweater for me, but it was definitely a fun knit with the feather and fan lace inserts! These pictures are really bad, but it's nighttime and the light kinda sucks. I'll try and get a better photo tomorrow.

But, I do owe some stories, don't I?

Ravelry Meet-Up

A couple of months ago, I met Asappa on Ravelry when she posted on the New Orleans Forum that she would be visiting New Orleans in August and was wondering about the local yarn shops. I wrote her back and after a little communication, we decided that I would take her up to the Northshore for a special viewing of a yarn shop that is owned by the lovely, Pam, who I met in Atlanta at the Stitches conference, but had yet to check out her shop, McNeedles.

The day we selected to meet up, Bean and I went to her hotel and picked her up. She was a real sweet person and even came with gifts, which included a handknit kitty for Bean! After a yummy lunch at Johnny's po-boys in the Quarter, we headed out to the shop. It's about a 45 minute drive and I was a little nervous about taking a road trip with a random stranger. I shouldn't have, Asappa was lovely and we chit-chatted the entire way.

Upon locating the store, Pam came hobbling out to greet us. Poor thing came and opened the store specially for us while recovering from knee surgery! And I'm so glad she did! Her store had a great selection and I bought a ton of yarn! She also has an online store, so you should definitely go and check it out.

Meeting up with a complete stranger is not something I would normally do, and neither would she, but I'm so glad I decided to step out of my normal comfort zone this once to meet a new friend and find a great new source for fibery goodness!

VEGAS!!!

A couple of days after meeting up with Asappa, I headed out to Vegas on a girls' trip. This was only my second time leaving Bean for any amount of time (the other was my trip to Atlanta) and it was the first time that I had left her with Hubby in charge!

The trip was so much fun! We had five of us staying in a two bedroom suite at the Palms. Drinking began early, with us starting on the plane out there around 8:30 in the morning. The flight was a blast and the flight attendant was even mixing shots for us! (He also only charged us about 1/5 of what the drinks should have actually cost!)

When we got to our hotel, we quickly ordered room service and then headed off to the pool. It was super-windy that day and ours was the only pool in Vegas that hadn't been shut down. I will admit, it was a little wild to see white caps on a pool! The drinking continued until it was time to get ready for dinner, which was over at a sushi place at the Bellagio. The food was good, (I tried kobe beef) but certainly not plentiful. After dinner, we headed to one of the bars at the Bellagio, but by 10:30 I was struggling to stay awake! 15 hours of drinking will do that to me! So I headed back to our hotel, with two of the other girls, who shortly after that woke me up to let me know they were going back out! More power to 'em, I needed sleep!

The next morning I was up way before everyone else, so I took advantage of the gym at the hotel and got myself some breakfast. By the time I made it back and was showered, some of the others were up and we relaxed until it was time to head down to the spa. Did Imention that Hubby was the most wonderful man in the world? Well, he is! When we checked into our room, a bell hop showed up shortly thereafter bearing gifts from Hubby which included a bottle of champagne, flowers and spa treatments for each of us! I think all of the girls were in love with my husband after we were done at the spa! I got a massage and facial and felt pretty much like putty when they were done.

That afternoon, the rest of the girls headed back to the pool but I took a nap and relaxed (knit) until dinner time. I like taking it a little bit easier than most of my friends on vacation. That night we ate at Simon in our hotel and it was DELICIOUS! The topper on the meal was when they brought out a giant plate of cotton candy for dessert. I love me some spun sugar! After dinner we had planned on heading out to a nightclub at the Wynn, my friend Matt had gotten us on the guest list, but we were all feeling a bit lazy and decided to just hang out at the casino. Once again, I was the first one back in the room, but I did manage to last until about 2:00am. I have no idea what time the rest made it back.

We slept in the next morning, but headed down to the main pool at the Palms for the afternoon. One of the girls managed to talk the pool host into dropping the drink minimum for a cabana (usually about $1000) so we rented one and spent the whole afternoon lounging, drinking mango daquiris, and eating lobster rolls! That's my idea of vacation!

That night we planned on meeting up with some other girls that one of my friends knows. We grabbed a quick dinner and headed over to the Hard Rock to meet up with them. We were totally hooked up that night with a limo, VIP at Tao, and bottle service at the table. I don't even want to know what our tab looked like that night! We had a ton of fun and stayed out until about 3:30, which normally wouldn't be too big a deal, but given the fact that we had to get up at 6:30 the next morning to head to the airport, it was maybe a bit too late!

All in all, I had a great time. The women I went with were so much fun and I loved the restaurants, pool and spa. But even though I had fun at the nightclub and casino, I don't think I'm going to head back to Vegas any time soon. I'm trying to steer the next girls' trip toward a beach resort...

I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to find when I returned home, but I was pleased to see that the house was clean, the child well-cared for, and I was very missed! I do love getting lots of hugs from my two favorite people!

So, now that this post has gotten excessively long, I am going to succumb to my burning desire to start swatching for Sylvi and continue catching up on my blogging tomorrow.

Oh, Alice asked me a question on my last post: Alice, we are heading to Disney on November 5 - 11. Wish we were going to be there when you guys are, but we decided to overlap the trip with a friend's wedding.

Playing Catch Up Part One

2009-08-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

I think you nearly every day, Internetz, and remind myself that I need to log on and fill you guys in on some inane moment in my day or another. Or hey, maybe not just the little silly stuff, maybe the big, fun stuff that has been going on as well. But I have been a big ole slacker lately and haven't even mailed out the prizes from my last give-away, or even sent emails that really need to go out to some friends that probably would take me all of five minutes to write, but for some reason, I just can't be prevailed upon to do it.

So, today I am making myself the goal of catching up on all the sh*t I've been neglecting lately. We'll see how that works out!
As for the blog, I have a few things I want to tell you about:
-my awesome Ravelry meet-up
-the girls' trip to VEGAS!
-our cookout last weekend
-knitting!

Blog posts are going to come out in blurbs, so if you don't want to get confused, maybe you should read them in order.

But first, I need to go feed my child. And maybe make a run to the UPS store and ship some things. Isn't that the reason I'm doing the give-aways after all? To get stuff out of my house?

2009-07-31T08:40:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I made a to-do list that needed to be taken care of before I was going to allow myself to do any knitting on my spiral sweater. I think I set my bar too high! Although I did get nearly everything done (the hotels for Disney are still not booked, but it's not my fault, we're still not set on exact dates for the trip), I also did not get ANY knitting done until after Bean was in bed. I also did not have any time for posting the promised yarn pictures, so I suppose I will start with those.

I don't think I've made any secret of my love of the Knit Witch's hand-dyed loveliness and she certainly did not fail to please this time. My box was stuffed with such beauty and Icouldn't be more excited to have it in my clutches!

I got three more colors from Brittany's Bridge to the Summit collection. (BTW, if you haven't voted in the sock summit indie dyer contest, go do it now!)

First is Brewtopia:

Followed by Portland Rain:

And Oregon Merlot (I think this one might be my favorite):

I also got another skein of Waters of the Willamette because I didn't want my prize skein to be lonely.

Then I got some her Celestial Cloud yarn in the Aries colorway.

And finally I picked up a little lace weight from her Mystical World line in Fire Nymph(I seem to be obsessed with lace lately, even though I haven't acutally tried it)

Although I didn't get any knitting done during the day on Wednesday, I did get a lot done after Bean went to bed that night. In fact I stayed up far too late, but got within 14 rows of completing the second sleeve on my spiral sweater before having to concede defeat (and exhaustion) and go to bed. I finished it the next morning however, and here are the pictures of my progress so far.

I'm really looking forward to Shelly's next post on working the yoke and finishing, but am also going to try and finish some WIPs while I'm waiting. I still have to do the lining and zipper on the laptop case (I hate pulling out the sewing machine).

I also still have to finish the second Pomotomus sock that I've had to rip out TWICE because I'm an idiot who can't follow instructions. In fact, I decided to start putting in a lifeline every couple of inches so that if I do make a mistake I don't have to rip out the whole stupid thing again. If you've never worked with a lifeline, it's wonderful when you're working with a complicated stitch pattern that's hard to frog. A little crochet cotton worked through the stitches of a row will save you so much frustration and it's thin enough that it won't get in your way as you continue to knit.

In not-knit-related news, today is Bean's last day in her summer day camp program. She's going to be so miserable over the next three weeks until pre-school starts! I'm already planning on taking her to the zoo, aquarium and another trip to Cocoa Beach (we're going to try one more time to catch a shuttle launch), but she seriously loves "school" and gets upset when she hasn't been for a few days. Wish me luck!

I'm also at T-minus six days until my girls' trip to Las Vegas! I absolutely cannot wait! Six of us have a three bedroom suite at the Palms for three nights. Is it a bad thing that I'm already trying to figure out what knitting project to bring with me?

Resolutions for the day....

2009-07-29T05:30:00.001-07:00

I will not wind any new yarn for my spiral sweater until:

1. I go to the gym after dropping Bean off at school

2. I remember to mail my package for my Ravelry swap partner

3. My kitchen is clean

4. My craft room has the appearance of a floor

5. The laundry is folded

6. I've put the sheets back on the bed

7. I rember to make hotel reservations for my family (parents, brother and us) for Disney this fall. Somehow, I volunteered to be in charge, and somehow, I keep dropping the ball.

8. I photograph the stash additions, that, while not hidden from Hubby, were not exactly placed out in the open until he left for his trip this morning.

And, then, and only then, will I return to the obsession that is my spiral sweater.

Anyone think I can actually hold out?

It's Tuesday again, must be time to pick a winner!

2009-07-28T16:39:00.001-07:00

Hi guys! Thank you so much for entering my contest. I really wish I had a tub of thread to send to each of you because I know in the hands of such talented folks, it will become something beautiful. But, since I think Hubby would kill me if I went out and bought enough thread to make this an actuality, I had to settle for picking just one winner. I had 43 entries for the thread and according to random.org, the winner is....drumroll please....Amy!

Competition was a little less fierce for the screen printing kit (go figure, I announced the contest on Ravelry!), and I only had nine entries. Again turning to random.org, the winner is...Lara!

So, if you guys will email me your mailing information to me, I'll get those packages out ASAP!

I'm still slowly but surely working my way through the craft room in an effort to get it a little more streamlined. And so it can hold my ever growing stash of yarn. This whole trying to control my spending by "grounding" myself has been a total and complete wasted effort. Not only did I add the koigu when my mom was here this weekend, but there's also a BUNCH of new Peaches 'n Cream cotton, along with the rest of my order from Knit Witch (which is gorgeous and I will photograph tomorrow after Hubby goes to work).

Can you have a great weekend and a really bad one all at the same time?

2009-07-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

Apparently so, because as I look back on this one, it was equal parts fun and suck. My mom came in this weekend and that was the really good part. She hasn't gotten to see Bean in about three months (since she pulled babysitting duty so I could go to Stitches) and she was amazed at how much my little darling has grown. Bean is now holding real conversations and has quite a vocabulary, I didn't know until Saturday that she even knew what binoculars were, let alone that she could pronounce the word correctly.

On Friday, we left the house early to catch a quick breakfast at McD's before taking the munchkin to camp for the day. Mom really enjoyed getting to see the school and meeting her counselor (who it turns out will also be her teacher in the fall). Then we headed off to run some errands. Pretty mundane stuff for the most part. We hit Target to swap out a cabinet component that was dinged up, a store to buy a new part for my mom's CPAP machine (it helps with sleep apnea) and the Sephora to buy some face wash for me. Lilly decided on Thursday afternoon that my old tube of it was actually shampoo and dumped the whole thing over her head! Thank goodness it a) did not get in her eyes and b) was only a small tube, so the mess was limited.

I did, however, decide on two really fun stops for the day. The first, I wanted to go down to the Quarter Stitch and show off my progress on the Spiral Sweater. I had purchased my yarn there and she had asked me to keep her posted on my progress. Well, when we got down to the store, we were about 30 minutes early for their opening. So, we hit the little bar next door to grab a couple of bottles of water and use the "facilities". After chatting with the very friendly, and bored bartender, we were convinced to try her specialty Orange-cicle Martinis (yes, I know, martinis before 11:00 in the morning!), but they were so yummy! So, with a light buzz and lots of giggles, we returned to the knit shop. Oh, not a good idea! I left the store with heaps of praise from the owner on the sweater and also enough blue koigu to make another one and some black alpaca to boot! Oops, didn't quite mean to spend that much money, but hey, I'm helping the economy....right? C'mon though, could you have resisted this color? (The picture doesn't totally do it justice, the color is a little deeper in "real life")

After our stop at the Quarter Stitch, we headed uptown to one of my new favorite spots, the St. James Cheese Company, in the Garden District. Oh my god, is it every yummy. We got a seven cheese plate, BLT (made with crispy Serrano ham and goat cheese instead of mayo) and a bottle of sparkling lemonade with grapefruit essence. I'm always so happy when I leave that place! It's probably good that it's so far from my house though (we live about 30 minutes from New Orleans), because otherwise I would soon be the size of a house!

To wrap up our very good day, we picked up Bean from school and headed home so Mom could take a nap. Bean watched a few cartoons and I started working on the first sleeve for my sweater. Great afternoon! Unfortunately, this is where the weekend starts to take its downturn.

Around 3:00am Saturday morning, I opened my eyes to see my darling little girl standing in front of me. I would usually make her go back to her own bed, but didn't really feel like fighting with her since she was sleeping in a room right next to my mom's and since Hubby was out of town this weekend, there was plenty of room for her in my bed. Unfortunately, she just wasn't really in the mood for sleep and I spent the next three and a half hours trying to convince her that she really did want to. Needless to say, we were both tired and cranky the next morning. Fortunately for me though, my mom was more than content to just hang out around the house with us and have a quiet day. At first, I chalked up the little one's crotchety-ness to lack of sleep, but realized after a little while that she was also running a bit of a fever. Now you know how fevers scare me after the kidney troubles we've had with the poor kid, but she seemed to respond well to Tylenol, was drinking plenty of fluids and didn't seem to be in any pain when she used the bathroom, so I decided not to freak out. She was crying a lot, but again, that's pretty normal when she doesn't feel well.

That night, I was again blessed with a middle of the night visitor. I checked her temperature (102.3), gave her some more Tylenol and a sippy cup of water and let her curl up in the bed with me again. Fortunately, she went right back to sleep and we both slept in until around 8:00 the next morning. And that's when the gastro-intestinal portion of the weekend kicked in. I will spare you the details, but carpet cleaner was involved. By noon though, all seemed to be on the upswing. Mom headed back to Florida. Bean took a long nap and I got to watch the Brickyard 400. Hubby made it home right after the race and the little one was feeling a lot better. We played for the rest of the afternoon around the living room and all-in-all had a really fun night.

So, now I'm sitting here in my lovely, quiet house. I have housework I need to do, but I think I'm just going to sit for a minute and enjoy the quiet.....

Gratitude

2009-07-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy about the response I've gotten regarding my give-aways. I'm going to keep it going for a few more days, but check back on Tuesday for the winners.

I've also really enjoyed the compliments about my laptop cover. As much as I might say that I don't go out seeking compliments, I can't help but enjoy them when they come my way. What can I say, I'm human.

Thank you to Rochard for the request to see some of my Nanny's projects and her picture, it was so comforting to write about her last night. I've really enjoyed reading the feedback about her projects. She would've been embarrassed, but secretly, she would have eaten it up. Thank you.

A few people asked where I got the pattern for the cover. It's from Knit Picks and is the Aguona pattern. They used to sell it as a kit, but now you can only buy the pattern. If you decided to buy their yarn to work it up, buy two balls each of the red and maroon, even though they only say that you need one. I ran out of each about six rows shy of finishing their respective sections. This was my first foray into fair isle knitting and I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to doing another colorwork pattern soon!

So, I told you last night that I was going to show you my two "Nanny-inspired" afghans and so I shall, but first, there's one more quilt I want to show you. I'd forgotten about it yesterday when I was running around the house looking for things of hers to photograph. She made me this when I was probably about five or six years old and I slept with it on my bed until I married my husband. Would've kept using it, but it's only a double size and for some reason, Hubby doesn't want to sleep in a bed that small. Go figure, we're both six feet tall!

I made this next afghan in the few weeks following my grandmother's death. Those of you that know me have seen how I can become a little obsessive with projects. Well, it gets worse when I'm really sad about something. This one was inspired by a WIP I found in Nanny's things, but couldn't find the yarn for in her stash. I wrote down the pattern as best as I could figure it and went out to find yarn right after I got home from her funeral. It turned out huge and is so wonderful to cuddle under in the winter. Makes me think of her all the time.

This other one, I made for her and my grandfather one of the last Christmases that we still had her. I wanted to show her what I could do with the skills she had taught me. It stayed on her couch until she died when my grandfather sent it home to me. It broke my heart when he gave it back because I had made it for him as well, but he explained to me that he wanted to make sure that I had it because of all the work that had gone into it and knew that it would be better taken care of at my house than at his where my young cousins were frequent visitors.

So, now I'm going to sign off and hang out with my mom who came to visit me and Bean today. I've had fun showing her some of the same projects I've been sharing with you guys lately.

My Grandmother (aka Nanny)

2009-07-22T13:50:00.000-07:00

I had a request via the entries to the give-away to show some of the projects that my grandmother, who I called Nanny, made and show you a picture of her. Gladly will I comply with such a request!

My grandmother was such a great person. She was fiercely loving of her family, an amazing cook and probably the most talented crafter I have ever encountered. She could make anything that she put her mind to, yet still somehow thought that she wasn't good at anything. I think she must have had a very hard childhood to have such a view of herself and her gifts. I really miss going up to visit her and my Papa. No matter what hour we arrived, she would be waiting with a huge pot of potato soup simmering away on the stove. Egad, I miss her cooking! Food certainly equaled love in her house and she sure did love us!

Nanny did a variety of crafts and when she passed away, I took the job of going through her incredible stash of supplies. I will say, she was a bit of a packrat and if she saw something that she thought she could make something out of, it found it's way into the stash. The task took two or three days and often through the project I would pause and try to figure out what she had intended for a particular item or to marvel about a WIP (Work in Progress) that would never be completed. I'm so glad that I was allowed to be the one to do this, it was very cathartic for me. I brought home boxes upon boxes of yarn, supplies, patterns, books, etc.

Nanny taught me how to crochet at a very young age and I have been in love with yarn ever since. She never learned how to knit, claiming it was too difficult for her, but I know, had she tried, she could've made the most beautiful of things. Here are some examples of her crocheting:

This first one is an afghan she made for me as a child. I'm looking forward to Bean getting her "big girl" bed, so she will get to use it, too.

This is a king-sized (!) bedspread out of crochet cotton. It was made for my aunt and uncle and when they split, it somehow came to me. I am immensely grateful for that fact. I am not close with my cousins and am certain that none of them would appreciate the labor that went into that spread.

Here are some dolls that Nanny made for me when I was little. My mom is bringing them over tomorrow for Bean. I hope she likes them!

Nanny was also incredibly talented with a needle and thread and made beautiful quilts.

This one she made for me and it is king-sized. When my brother got engaged, she gave him a king-sized quilt, I asked her when I would be getting one. She responded that it would be when I got engaged. Imagine my surprise when two months later for Christmas, I got this beauty. My mom said the day I asked her for one, she dropped all her other projects and got to work on it. I'm so glad she relented about her "engagement rule" for me because, unfortunately, she did not live to see me and Hubby get engaged or married. Just a note, Nanny always pieced her quilts on a machine, but she quilted them by hand. Pretty impressive for a lady who suffered extremely painful arthritis!

This is the Lone Star quilt that has been on my parents' bed for years.

And the Yo Yo quilt. Also king sized. I'm pretty sure I contributed some of the stitching on these yo yos, and speaking from experience, that is one time consuming project. She also made pillow shams and used some yo yos to embellish Mom and Dad's curtain sashes.

And the last quilt she made. Mom found it in her things. It was just the top and Mom had it quilted. My mother has inherited my Nanny's skills as a quilter, but she doesn't do the quilting by hand. She's like me, she hates the "finishing"!

Lest you think that Nanny was limited to just two types of crafting, here are a couple of her other projects.

These are Time Out Babies. They are wearing clothes that were mine and my brother's when we were little. The little girl carries the kewpie doll that my grandfather brought to me in the hospital when I was born. The little boy is wearing a flight suit because my dad was a flight surgeon when my brother was little.

And this is the family portrait Nanny made. Remember, this woman suffered greatly from arthritis, yet she took tiny scissors and cut out each and every picture.

Here's me! (I'm the kid in the red hat, and the first communion dress, and I hate to say it, the one with the enormous glasses and pumpkin)

And my Nanny and Papa!

And here's the lady herself. She who passed on to me the crafting gene. She who created the great need in me for "stash". I hope my grandchildren will love me as much as I love her. And I hope someday to master her potato soup...

Tomorrow, I will show you the two afghans that I made that were inspired by her. For now, goodnight and thank you for letting me share my Nanny with you.

Happy Tuesday! Knitting, Yarn and Another Give-Away!

2009-07-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

I've been knitting! I've been excited about it! Finally I have some semi-finished objects to show you. Well, one is semi-finished. It's the laptop cover that I started a couple of months ago. I got the yarn in that I needed to finish it a while ago, but was in my slump, and then distracted by a shiny new project. But I picked it up a few days ago and hammered out the knitting portion. I was little worried about how it was going to look as it was puckering a bit (my fair-isle skills need a little work still), but it blocked out really well and I'm looking forward to sewing the steeks, zipper and lining. The pattern doesn't call for a lining, but I'm going to put one in anyway to keep the floats from getting snagged when I put the computer in.

I've also been working on my spiral sweater for Shelly's knit-along. I still think she is brilliant for coming up with this pattern and so thrilled that she's sharing the pattern with all of us. I am eagerly awaiting the instructions for the next step! I tried to take pictures, but it's hard to capture exactly how beautifully the lace is working up in the Koigu.

The other WIP I have right now is my Pomatomus socks. I have one done and have turned the heel on the second. I'm loving the pattern and think I will make another pair after this. Perhaps in the lovely Mardi Gras yarn (Rav link) my friend, Kelly gave me. Hmm....

What else? Well, last week was a really good yarn week at Chez Sarah. I know, I know, I'm supposed to be grounded, but in my defense, four skeins were part of sock clubs that I subscribed to prior to my grounding. And one skein I won in a contest by Knit Witch for helping her name one of her entries into the Sock Summit dying contest. And the other two, well, I couldn't make her send me just one skein, right? That would be a waste of postage! So, I ordered several skeins, but she only had two ready as of shipping time. (read: excitement, there's more yarn to follow!) I love Brittany's yarn, she dyes it all herself and it's soft and skooshy and so much fun. She dyed the Tulane yarn that I told you guys about a while back. I still haven't made anything with it, but I did give a skein to one of my friends this past weekend and she was just as pleased with it as I am.

These first three are from my Robyn's Nest sock club. She sent out three months worth since so many people are going to be traveling over the summer and might want to bring their yarn with them.

This one is from my Rockin' Sock Club membership. I love the colors, but am not crazy about the pattern that came with it (pretty, but not my style. Shh, don't tell!), so I think I'm going to use it for a different pair, I just haven't figured out which one yet.

This is Waters of the Willamette from the Sock Summit contest. It's so pretty, I don't think the picture does it justice. I'll have another skein coming in my upcoming order.

And, for all that yarn, this is the only one that I actually purchased this week. It's called Hail to the Redskins, but I got it to make a pair of socks for one of my friends who graduated from FSU. I'm hoping I can convince Brittany to dye some University of Florida yarn soon. I already have some LSU yarn that she made, too, so I think that will take care of all my schools.

What else? Oh, I got two really cute project bags and some stitch markers from Gritty Knits. The bags are just the perfect size for sock projects, and although I really didn't need them or the stitch markers for that matter, I couldn't resist. Plus, her prices are really great and she shipped the out super-quick.

And, if you've toughed it out through this whole post, it's time for another give-away. Actually, I have two prizes this time. You can let me know which one you would prefer, or you can enter for both. But if you win one, I won't pick you to win the other. I want to spread the wealth. :-)

The first prize is a screen printing kit that I have had for ages. I have no idea if the ink is even any good anymore or not, but I'm guessing the screens don't go bad. I kinda want to keep it, but given the fact that I have yet to even try and use this, I think it's best to send it to someone else who may actually enjoy it.

The other prize is a tub of crochet cotton. I got this when my grandmother passed away. She used it to make really cute little snowflakes for Christmas. She also made beautiful doilies and tablecloths. I've worked with the tiny cotton on a few projects, and although I love the results, I don't see myself using it again for a while. If you win, I'll also send the patterns my grandmother had to go with them. She only had photocopies, but they're yours if you win them.

ETA - Grr, the curse of the yarn has returned, I had to frog the second sock because I failed to read the chart correctly.

ETA2 - The contest will be open between now and July 28th when I will select a winner.

I'm home!

2009-07-13T16:26:00.001-07:00

So, I've just gotten back from a wonderful weekend trip over to Cocoa Beach, Florida and thought I'd sit down to say "hi" to everyone. I know I've been a piss-poor blogger.

To start out with a little business: Robyn, you are going to be the recipient of the cross-stitch towels and pot-holders. I'm glad they will go to a home where they will be used instead of sitting in a storage box like they have at mine.

I should have another give-away later this week. Yes, I am using the internet to clean out my closet, but I'm hoping that I'm giving away things that you guys might like. I also have a big pile of stuff that's going to Goodwill. (And an even bigger one that's staying here!)

Back to the trip, which was so much fun. We headed out on Thursday afternoon to Cocoa Beach to spend the weekend playing in the surf and sand, and also to catch the shuttle launch that was scheduled for Saturday night. We stayed at one of our favorite little hotels, the Inn at Cocoa Beach. It's an old 1960's hotel that has been renovated by its owners to have the feel of a B&B. The lobby is more like a living room, they have dogs and parrots. In the evening, there is a wine and cheese hour and in the morning you get the most delicious breakfast including homemade muffins and bread, fruit salad, and boil-your-own egg station as well as bagels, toast and english muffins. The whole place has a really great "retreat" vibe to it. In fact, they were a little leary when we told them we were bringing our little Bean. She charmed the socks off of all of them while we were there, though.

Friday, Wes had a meeting in the morning, so Lilly and I tried to occupy ourselves in the room and then ventured out to find a local yarn shop that I had found online. Unfortunately, the place was closed, the owner has apparently been in a really bad car accident and has been unable to run the place. It really is a shame, the store looked very cute and I'm sure it's creating quite a financial burden for her.

Anyhow, that afternoon, we promised Lilly that we would take her out to the beach after her nap time. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate and five minutes after we got down there a big storm blew up and we had to abandon the sand. She was less than pleased, but we made up for it the next day and spent the greater part of the day building castles and frolicking in the surf. She had a blast and we had to drag her away to get her to take her nap that afternoon.

As for me, I took advatage of the naps to sit on the very large deck our room had, knit and listen to a Jane Austen novel on my iPod. I got a lot of work done on my Spiral Sweater and will hopefully get some pictures of my progress up for you soon.

The shuttle launch for Saturday was delayed because of lightning strikes from the big storm the day before (the one that messed up Lilly's beach time), so we decided to delay our return home to try and catch it on Sunday. We were assured that the possibility of launch was really good and the day was beautiful. We played a lot in the pool and one of my dear friends from high school came and met up with us for lunch and to wait for the launch with her husband. We had a really fun afternoon on the deck, drinking beer and yucking it up, sure we would soon witness the shuttle rocketing into the sky. Alas, it was not to be. Twenty minutes before launch time a storm blew into the area and the launch was delayed yet again. Boo! (Just checked the news, it was delayed again today, glad we didn't try and wait it out)

All in all, it was a really fun trip. Lilly was a really good girl and such a good traveller. She's pretty used to planes and enjoys getting to be around all the people, so that makes life for us a lot easier when we decide to go places. I am glad to be home though and looking forward to catching up on everyone's blogs to see what I missed while I was gone.

A new give-away

2009-07-07T15:34:00.000-07:00

My newest project is trying to clean out my craft room. This will be a long, drawn out process. #1 - because there is so much stuff in there and #2 -because some of the things were inherited from my mom or grandmom and they are hard to part with. But, that being said, I do have to start getting rid of some things that I will honestly probably never use. I would rather see things go to someone who will use them, so now we have a new give-away.

This week's prize comes to us from the cross stitching world. I have five potholders and around 16 dishclothes that have the panels on the front for personalization via stitching. Most of them are tan, but one of the potholders is cream, two of the dishcloths are blue and two more are black.

If you or someone you know is a cross stitcher and will use these, please post a comment and I will at some point in the next week or so pick a random person to send them to.

Belated Happy Fourth!

2009-07-05T16:43:00.001-07:00

I must say, it was a pretty darn good weekend. It started off on Friday with my new carpet being installed in my living room. I am super excited! When we first bought the house and carried out the extensive renovations, my hubby picked out some lovely white carpet for the house, but incredibly impractical given we were planning on having children. Even before Bean came along, though, the carpet in there was looking pretty rough. We used to eat every night in front of the TV and, God love him, Hubby is incapable of eating any kind of spaghetti sauce without spilling some! Then when the baby came along, things just went from bad to worse. We have stopped eating our meals in there, but the damage was done.

So, a couple of weeks ago I decided that we would be getting Stainmaster carpet in that room. Even if we don't eat in there, Bean usually has juice with her, and even in a sippy cup or juice box, there's no certainty that there won't be spills. And, she has an uncanny knack for knocking over sodas! We also decided to go with a darker color to hide any stains that might happen. We were both worried about the carpet messing up the "feel" of the room, but figured we could always go back to white later. How wrong we were! I LOVE my new carpet and think the darker tan just makes the whole room look so much warmer and more inviting! Plus it is super soft, so I just want to roll around on the floor!

We haven't done a whole heck of a lot for the rest of the weekend. I did get a sock made out of the yarn I was complaining about in my last post. I used Cookie A's Pomatomus pattern and love the effect. I think the colors are just perfect for the fish-scale pattern. I shortened the leg of the sock by one pattern repeat to compensate for the extra length I would need for my massive, size 11 feet, but think it looks really nice. I'm still on the leg for the second sock, but have put it aside in favor of another project for right now.

The new project is a knit along for the amazing and talented Shelly's Spiral Sweater. It's just such an innovative pattern that I had to take part. Shelly spun the yarn for her first sweater herself, which makes her even cooler in my book. I've never tried spinning and am afraid to do so given my addictive nature, but I think the people who do it are pretty darn nifty!

I've just about finished up my swatch for the sweater, and the best part is that it will become the beginning of the spiral. I always hate swatching because it seems like such a waste of time to make something and block it even though it won't even be part of the finished project.

Here's what the swatch looked like pre-blocking:

And here's what it looks like while being blocked:

I like this simple lace pattern. By the time I got done with the increases, I already had the repeat memorized and can really zip through it. I'm using Koigu Handpainted yarn and the colors are just delicious. Can't wait to keep going! Bring on Assignment #3, Shelly!

Can I get a yarn exorcism?

2009-06-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

I swear this ball of yarn is cursed. Not to say I don't still think it's pretty, the colors are fun and I think someday it will become something lovely, but first, I think it needs a good dousing in holy water...

I cast on with this ball for the first time while Bean was in the hospital back in March. After a couple of inches, I realized that I wasn't doing the pattern properly. So I frogged them. Then I cast on again, deciding to work from the toe up, but soon discovered that I wasn't capable of working a decent heel in that technique yet, so I frogged it again. So tried again, this time discovering that it was too tight and there was no way it was going to fit over my heel. Ribbit, ribbit, my friends. This last time I tried to cast on the same pattern, I switched to larger needles and threw in a couple extra stitches. Still wasn't liking the result, the fabric didn't have a whole lot of stretch to it and I've decided, for now, that I will not be working that pattern. Which is a shame, because I like the way the pattern looks in the pictures, but I'm just not executing properly. I'm not going to show you a picture however, because I don't want this to seem like I'm putting it, or the designer down. I like them both, the pattern's just not for me right now.

So, yesterday I decided to cast on Pomatomus by Cookie A. These are some really great looking socks with lots of stretch and I think they will look awesome in this yarn. Plus, they are named after the genus name for the bluefish, which my brother and I used to shore fish for when we were kids. However, after working the leg, I realized that, yet again, they wouldn't fit over my heel. Dammit! I checked the instructions and realized, that like a complete moron, I had used a needle a size too small. Fortunately I realized this before I finished the stupid thing, but still, to frog this yarn for the fifth time is really demoralizing.

On a happier note, I do finally have a finished object to show off. It's been nearly a month, but I have finally finished a pair of socks. I worked them over 64 stitches in a moss stitch rib from the toe up. Yes, my friends, I finally figured out how to do a reinforced heel from the toe up. Woot! They were supposed to be for Wes, but they are too small for him, so I guess I get to keep them.

I know I've been pretty silent lately and for that I am sorry. I owe you a few stories about how Lilly is doing at camp, the fun that was Camo night and our knit in public event at the World War II museum, but for now, I'm just going to be satisfied with the fact that I finally opened my blogger publisher and will promise you the rest soon.

And the winner is....

2009-06-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

Monkey! Sorry it took me so long to remember that I was supposed to draw names, it's been a bit of a crazy week. Bean started camp (although we're calling it pre-school) three days this week, which one would think would free up a bunch of time for me, but I managed to fill it all with various errands and housework that has been neglected for far too long. I haven't even knit all week! Errgh!

Anyhow, I know I owe you guys stories (and a picture of how stinkin' cute the kid looks in her uniform), but it won't happen this morning. I have to get her dressed, fed and ready to go, then I'm off to the dermatologist to find out why my skin has decided to revert to it's teenage state.

Monkey, send me your address and I will get the treats in the mail!

I cleaned out my pantry and found a give-a-way...

2009-06-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

Alright, kids, I have finally determined that the time has come to clean out my pantry. I know I have a ton of food in there, but since I can't find any of it, I just keep buying more and compounding the problem. So this morning I decided to clean that bad boy out. Here's what it looked like prior to my efforts:

I'm almost embarrassed to show you how bad it looked, you couldn't even walk in there. But hey, we're friends, right? And friends don't judge. SO STOP JUDGING ME!

I found some really random things in there. Of course there was just a ton of old stuff that needed to go, including several packets of formula. Should I remind you how big Bean is and how long it has been since the kid drank formula?

Here's one of the other random items I found:

Really? Canned lychees? Not too sure why I have these, but I'm keeping them. Maybe I'll make some lychee martinis.....

Here's a holdover from Hurricane Katrina:

Yes, my friends, those are MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) that we got from FEMA after the hurricane. Believe it or not, they're pretty tasty. However, they are also somewhere around 3000 each! Remember how people were complaining on TV after the hurricane that they were only being given one of these a day at the shelters? Yeah, there's a reason for that people, they have more than your recommended daily allowance for calories in each one. That's how they're designed and also what makes them pretty yummy. The oatmeal cookies were especially good. I think I'm going to continue holding on to these as well. After all, hurricane season started on the first and we generally tend to have a large target painted on our asses.

After about an hour of work (truthfully, I thought this would take MUCH longer, but then again, I didn't touch the right side of the pantry which is stuff like baking dishes, appliances and what-not), here is the result of my labor:

I did have to throw out more stuff than I like to admit. I really don't like throwing away that much food, but it was stale, expired or just kinda gross. But doesn't my pantry look a world better. I mean, there's a floor! How exciting!

Here's what I did hold onto:

And that's where the give-a-way comes into play. This is an assortment of stuff that I picked up at various stores while hungry and thought they looked good, that I would possibly make, or that I received in some sort of gift basket over the holiday season. None of it is expired (Oh wait, the Rudolph cocoa is, but I thought someone might like the tins, they're cute).

Here's a list of what the give-a-way consists of:

2 different cheese ball mixes

Mixes for Banana's Foster, Mardi Gras dip and some sort of Creole seafood sauce (I love these mixes, Hubby is finicky and doesn't)

Tic-tacs from my wedding. Yes, I know that was three years ago, but tic-tacs don't go bad and you can laugh at the cheesy label they have on them.

Chocolate biscotti (I kinda want to hold onto these, but I'm getting a little thick and bathing suit season is upon us)

The aforementioned cocoa mix

Red Velvet cake mix

Funnel cake mix

Two boxes of Creme Brulee mix

Two little jars of plum wine

A box of squash ravioli (I thought Lilly might like this, but then decided she probably wouldn't)

Some shortbread and also some lemon cookies that I have just burnt out on (and shouldn't be eating anyway. See previous comment about bathing suits)

Another thing of cocoa mix and some cappucino mix. I have a Flavia machine that I can use to make both of those, so don't need this.

And my two favorite items of the give-a-way: a bag of Rum-o-nade mix (The brand? Big Black Dick! Funniest name for a brand of rum ever!) and a bag of Glacier mints. Both of these are items that I would normally keep, but thought I might like to share with you guys.

All of these lovely prizes, should you win my give-a-way would be contained in the basket/wine rack you see on the table as well. All you need to do to enter is send me a comment and I'll randomly select a winner on Monday!

Knitter's Block?

2009-05-31T19:22:00.001-07:00

I'm in a slump. I can't go back to working on my laptop cover since I don't have my yarn yet from knit picks. I swatched for Sylvi, but can't make myself commit to beginning it. I made up a pattern for a water bottle holder (Ravelry link) and started a second one in nylon, but haven't managed to finish the strap. That's all that's between me and completion, a strap, and I can't bring myself to do it. I still haven't frogged the sock I was complaining about in my last post, but I started another pair in for Hubby and although I am nearly done with the first sock, for some reason it's not making me terribly happy and I'm thinking about frogging it, too. I look at my stash, and instead of seeing the beautiful possibility of it all, I merely see how much stuff I have to do. Usually, casting on a new project is a moment of joy and excitement for me, but right now, the thought of having something else on the needles just makes me feel even more scattered. Ergg! Somthing's up, I don't know what it is yet, but I hope I get past it soon...

Mixed Emotions - Warning! RSC Spoiler!

2009-05-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

Note: This post was begun on Monday, but it's now Thursday, so not sure what will happen as far as dates on this thing.

I had a great mail day on Saturday when I went to my mailbox and discovered not one, but two packages of yarn! (yes, I realize I said I was "grounded" for the next six months, post-Stitches, but what the hell!) One package did not break my grounding, as it was ordered prior to Stitches. My memberships in two different sock clubs do not count!

That first package had my third installment from the Rockin' Sock Club. I can't show you the pattern, but the yarn is lovely and reminds me of amethyst (my birthstone for any of you who may want to send gifts).

The second package definitely breaks the deal I made with myself, but I couldn't resist when the KnitWitch herself offered to custom dye me some Tulane sock yarn. I think it looks beautiful and she called the colorway "Green Wave". She also did some for moevan's over in Pensacola, but she added some white to hers. I hope Molly shares a picture of her version with me! The yarn itself is superwash merino and feels so soft and cushy!

And now for the mixed emotions part - after all this warm, fuzzy yarn-joy, I decided to get back to work on the Aguona laptop cover that I started a while back. I had gotten interrupted by a couple of socks that demanded to be made. So I picked it back up and made great progress until I realized that I was going to be 5 rows short on the lighter red color! Dammit! This was a kit, don't you think they'd provide you with enough yarn to finish the stupid thing? Okay, I know what you're thinking, it must be a guage issue, but as far as I can tell, I'm pretty darn close on guage. I would think that the makers of kits would maybe take into consideration minor variations and give you enough to have a little cushion. But, that's not the case here, so I need to order more of the poppy color. This leads me to wonder if, since it was that close on the lighter red, if perhaps I should order more of the darker red, just in case. I think I'm going to so when I get back to work on this bad boy I can just finish it once and for all. (note: since writing this I have in fact ordered both colors of the yarn, but resisted adding any others. I did buy some needles and a book though to qualify for free shipping)

As I said, I've gotten distracted by a couple of pairs of socks, so here they are:

They're just plain vanilla socks that I made for my nieces for Christmas. I know what you're thinking - "Christmas?! Sarah, you do realize it's May, right?" Yes, I know, but I want to do a little Christmas knitting each month and that way I'm not freaking out at the holidays. Plus, I needed some portable knitting and the laptop kit didn't qualify. It requires way too much concentration.

I tried to pick back up the socks that I started working on when Bean last went to the Emergency Room, but realized that I had kinda screwed up the pattern and had to rip them out. They are from my other sock club that I belong to and look really cool. I love the yarn. I decided that I wanted to work them from the toe-up, which shouldn't have been such a problem, but somehow I managed to screw that up too, so I ripped them out again. I cast them back on and worked most of the leg of the first one, but when I tried it on, realized that it was never going to go over my heel (the pattern has very little give). So, I need to rip them out again and make them bigger, but I'm getting pretty sick of the pattern for right now, so maybe I'll just use the yarn for something else. Mind you, this is not a condemnation of the pattern designer, I think they look great and since she has a picture of someone wearing the sock on her pattern, obviously she is capable of producing a sock that will go over a normal human foot. This leads me to believe that either I knit too tight (the pattern consists of a lot of floats) or that I do not have a "normal" foot. Or some combination of the two....

Other happy things:

On Wednesday, I got a surprise package from Red Envelope which turned out to be such a lovely gift from my dear friend, Lara. She remembered that I take my rings off when I knit and sent me an adorable little elephant ring holder to put them on! It's already next to my bed and looks quite smashing with my rings around his trunk. In honor of another one of my friends, he has been named Ernie. No, I don't have a friend named Ernie, I have a friend named Megan who calls all elephants Ernie.

Also, just kind of a stupid happy. I discovered that Whole Foods has their own version of Lunchables (they call them Snackables), which contain chicken salad (WF has one of the yummiest chicken salads ever), grapes, pepper jack cheese, and crackers. It tastes delicious and has enough food to last me for at least two snacks during the day. I'm trying to snack rather than chow down during the day and see if that helps kick my metabolism into high gear.

Grrr...

2009-05-19T16:14:00.001-07:00

Thanks to poor planning and rotten traffic, there was no visit to Fairhope, Alabama for me tonight. Boo hoo, no Harlot for me!

Your conversion to the dark side is nearly complete...

2009-05-19T06:46:00.000-07:00

Not so long ago, in a galaxy that isn't so far away at all, there was a young man who didn't know jack about knit and crochet or the difference between wool, merino, cashmere or anything else like that. He teased his then girlfriend about her hobby and rolled his eyes often as he didn't understand the value of or the love she had for her pastime.

Flash forward a couple of years, the girlfriend is now his wife and the obsession has not abated, if anything, it has gotten worse, now supplemented by his income and her stay-at-home status. He has begun to concede that a knitting addiction is certainly favorable to some other habits his dear one could have, such as crack or heroin, but still is not sold on why she loves it so much.

Enter two pairs of handknit socks, just for him. Oooh, cozy. Hmm, maybe her knitting isn't so bad as long as he gets socks every now and then that hug his feet just so....he's even been caught in a bar with one of his friends explaining to said friend why his lady loves her sticks and string so much. And modeling for her blog every now and then, well that's just kind of fun.

Oh, what is that? She wants to go to Atlanta with a girlfriend she hasn't seen in 16 years for a "knit convention" and spend lots of money. Okay, sounds alright. (This is when I knew I was starting to get to him) He wasn't entirely sold on the fact that she really was just going for the knitting until he talked to her each night and heard all about how they were knitting and drinking wine until all hours in the hotel room.

Wow, she's been making some cool stuff since she got back. Fair Isle, he's kind of impressed by that....

And this weekend, she knew his training was complete when she began hinting that she might like to go see the Yarn Harlot tonight and instead of pointing out that Fairhope, AL was two hours away, he looked at her and said, "Well, it's not so far and you do love the Yarn Harlot, right?"

Fairhope - here I come!

On the Ferry to Fair Isle

2009-05-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

I've decided (finally) to start working on some of the recent stash purchased from Knit Picks! Specifically, the laptop bag kit. I'm on about row 28 of 91. Fair isle takes a lot longer than I had anticipated, but I'm enjoying the colorwork and think it's going to be a fun challenge. It's knit in the round and once I'm done with the body, I get to steek for the first time. In other words, I get to cut the fabric so it becomes a flat piece. Scary! Here's where I am so far:

Let's see, what else has been happening around my house? Well, Hubby's been out of town all week, so I've had plenty of uninterupted knitting time in the evening. While I would much rather have him around, I have been enjoying my special yarn time. I still haven't gotten the zipper put into Bean's sweater, but here's a picture of it anyway. Bean seems to like it, hopefully it still fits in the fall, I underestimated how big it needed to be.

I had a lot of the yarn left when I was finished, so I decided to make myself a matching hat. It only took about three hours to whip out, but I think it turned out really cute. I was planning on taking a self-portrait while wearing it, but as I am broken out like a teen just hitting puberty, that's not going to happen.

After the hat, I decided to return to the yarn I had left from the Moderne Baby blankets, kimonos and hats and whipped out these two little kimonos. I made some changes to the pattern as written in the Mason Dixon Knitting book. Specifically, when you're adding stitches to the rows for the sleeves, the instructions tell you to use a backward-loop cast on. I didn't like this from the first two that I made, it seems a little too loose and sloppy to me, so I used a cable cast on instead. I really liked the result since it's more solid feeling to me. Also, on the first two, I used a yarn-over, k2tog to create the buttonholes. I decided this time to use a buttonhole technique we learned at Stitches from Chris Bylsma for a more tailored look. It involves binding off a number of stitches, then casting them on again to create the hole. Again, really happy with the result!

So, that's pretty much it for now. Hubby's getting in soon, (YAY!) so I'd better get ready to go get him.

Scary Stuff

2009-05-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I finished Bean's LSU sweater two days ago, but have failed to post pictures because I have yet to put in the zipper. Yeah, I guess that means I haven't actually finished, but the knitting is done, so that's something, right? Anyhow, I have to pull out the sewing machine to complete this project and I'm kinda scared. If I pull it out, that means I have to complete those other sewing UFO's, doesn't it? I don't want to be a seamstress, I'm a knitter!

So, now having said that, hopefully I will get motivated to do this. Usually putting things out there for you guys puts me under the gun to be less of a slacker. Photos to follow soon!

Things That Make Sarah Happy

2009-05-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

1. The new playhouse that Hubby built while Bean and I were out of town. It's designed to just sit in the lawn, but he built a platform and porch for it as well as laying down pavers for a walkway. I love that he also picked out potted flowers for the porch. How cute is he?!

2. My little citrus trees. Yes, I know they look like twigs stuck in dirt, but look at my lemon tree:

If you look close, those are lemons already growing.

And my tangerine tree

Actually has tangerines!

3. While we were in Florida, I took Hubby and Bean to the restaurant that I worked at during the last bit of high school and the beginning of college. Tough place to work, huh? I mean, the view was terrible....

Don't they look great together on the beach?

4. New FO's to share with you guys!

The Moderne Log Cabin baby blanket revisited. Yes, I know it looks exactly the same, but I did reverse some of the colors.

Two little baby kimonos out of the same yarn.

And three little baby hats (actually more like toddler size) out of the same yarn again. I'm trying to use up the stuff so it doesn't re-enter the stash. I have two more skeins of it in white which will probably become a couple more kimonos, but I had to quit for a little while, I'm kinda sick of the stuff for right now.

I'm almost done with the LSU hooded sweater I'm working on for Bean. The sleeves are made, I just have to sew them on. I had intended this to be a bit big for her, but I think it's going to fit just about right. I'll make the next one (which will be U of F colors) a little bigger.

Stitches! Stitches! Stitches!

2009-04-30T05:32:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe I've been gone from Stitches South for four whole days and I have yet to blog about it! Of course, there's the whole thing about needing to see my kid (who stayed with her grandparents while I was gone), coming home and spending time with my husband, and getting the house back in order after having been gone for so long. Those things have taken up some time, but I could've written during naptime in the afternoon. It was my intention to do so. However, depsite having been completely indundated by knitting, yarn and other knitters for four days, I really wasn't ready to step away from the needles and have cast on a new project.

I'm trying to work my way through some of my older stash before getting to some of my newer and more beautiful things. One of the things in my collection is some acrylic sport weight that has been destined to become a striped zippered cardigan with a hood for Lilly Bean. I have it in LSU colors and University of Florida (we have a mixed marriage in this home). Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a pattern that I like. I really do want a simple pattern, garter borders, stockinette body, in-set sleeves and a hood. I've checked everywhere and the only patterns I've found that even resemble this are for kids no older than 24 months. Given the fact that Bean is already the size of an average four-year-old (she's two and a half), those sweaters are not going to work. So, the solution here is to venture out and become a little bit of a designer. I have a book that gives the basics of what I want to do, now I just have to put it all together. I am feeling very empowered after my trip to Stitches, aren't I? I'll keep you posted on how it goes, thus far I have only about three inches of the back done, so it really is to early to tell.

On to Stitches! I have been looking forward to this trip since around October when Lara suggested we go. For those of you who don't know our story, it's pretty simple. Lara and I grew up in the same home town and went to the same high school. We were well acquainted enough to greet each other in the halls with a smile, but did not hang out together. I remember thinking she seemed like a super nice person, but being a bit insecure, didn't reach out to become better friends with her. After graduation night, we really didn't think on each other again. Enter Facebook. While perusing FB one day, one of my other friends commented on a picture of Lara, which then popped it up on my home page for my notice. It was the same big smile I remembered from school, so I sent her a friend request mostly so I could comment on the picture. She accepted really quickly and we began chatting. We learned that we both love to knit, but we also really enjoyed talking with each other, emailing regularly and finally having a real-live-phone-conversation one day while I was walking the streets of Manhattan looking for Purl (I think she may have been talking me down from a ridiculously large purchase)! Anyhow, sometime in October, Lara sent me an email about Stitches and we quickly decided that we needed to attend. After that, we just had to wait five and a half months until we could finally hang out. Ergh! That part took FOREVER! Okay, after having typed that, maybe it wasn't quite so simple...

I won't bore you with the conversations that happened during the waiting time, needless to say, we were excited and impatient for the trip to arrive. For me, it was a chance to drop Bean off with her grandparents and act like "Sarah" again for a while. Without the responsibility of being "wife" or "mommy"! I love both of those roles, but sometimes I just need a little break.

Last Wednesday, I loaded up the car and headed to my hometown to drop Bean off at my folk's house. They had been so looking forward to having her to themselves. In fact, it was my mom's birthday the next day and she was treating Bean like her present! I was supposed to leave their house around 4:00 the next morning. Unfortunately, I woke up around 2:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I finally decided around 3:30 to just go ahead and get on the road. Needless to say, by the time I got to Atlanta, I was a little loopy! After a joyous reunion with Lara (why the hell weren't we friends in high school?), we headed out for a quick lunch and then on to the conference at Stitches.

Our first class, Cable Ready, was with Melissa Leapman, who is an amazing designer and such a good teacher! I think I was a little star-struck by her, I mean c'mon, a real, live, knit celebrity! We hit the Market right after that class to buy both of her books and get them autographed. They are going to go right next to my autographed copy of Martha Stewart's book! (Yes, I am aware of what a big dork I am) The Market was incredible, but we couldn't stay too long, #1 - we had to get checked into our hotel in time to shower and get ready for dinner and #2 - it was complete fiber overload! Such beautiful yarn! All over the place! We did have a lot of fun in there over the four days we were there and I can honestly say that I did my fair share to stimulate the economy! Maybe tomorrow I'll bust out the camera and photograph my stash additions!

Lara and I had a blast while we were in Atlanta. We hit Rathbun's for dinner the first night (phenominal) and Sotto Sotto the second (even better). One of my old sorority sisters joined us at Sotto Sotto and we also got to meet her fiance. It was so great seeing them both and I don't think that she could have found anyone more perfect for her! On the third and final night we headed out to Lara's friend's house to have a great dinner with some of her friends from when she lived in Atlanta. They were such a fun group. I love when I can walk into a group and feel totally comfortable. Believe it or not, I can be a little awkward in groups of new people (a hold-over from my high school days), but these folks were a blast. As were the incredible women we had the joy of meeting during Stitches.

It was such a great experience being surrounded by such a large group of creative women. Yes, there were men there, too, but there weren't very many. We met women from all walks of life and had a great time getting to the convention center early, knitting and meeting other knitters. I feel like writing about all of them, Anne from North Carolina, TJ and her crew from South Carolina, and Millie and Susan from Georgia. We even met two women from our hometown (one of whom owns a knit shop)! Unfortunately, if I write all these stories down, this post will get even longer and I may need to schedule an intermission for you to hit the potty.

Classes, oh yeah, we took classes! We took three other classes after the cable class. I loved two of them, the Joy of Finishing with Chris Bylsma was awesome! You know how I hate finishing projects. Chris made it seem so simple and was such an incredible teacher. In fact, I've already written her a thank you/fan letter! We also took a really good intarsia class with Sarah Peasley. Of the four classes we signed up for, this was the one that I was the least excited about. How mistaken was I? It was great and I'm looking forward to jumping into some colorwork in the very near future! There was only one class that I really didn't enjoy very much. It was called Columns of Color and I'm not going to call out the teacher by name. I don't want my blog to become a platform for bashing people. The technique that was used in the class to create vertical lines of color was very cool and I have nothing but respect for this very creative woman for coming up with it, but I felt like she wasn't a very good teacher and was more interested in plugging her book that teaching us any variations of the technique, like increases, decreases or anything else. In fact, I think she told us those things were "in the book". What we did learn took maybe an hour, tops, so the rest of the two hours was really kinda dull. Combine that with the fact that we had stayed up until 3:00am talking and drinking wine the night before and you have the perfect recipe for me not enjoying myself. I did not buy her book!

In spite of how much fun we were having, all good things must come to an end, and after dragging our sorry asses out of the Market, it was time to drop Lara off at the airport and then head back to my parents' house to get my Lilly Bean! It was sooooo good seeing her and getting my arms around her! Then Hubby came over the next day to see us, he had work nearby, and on Tuesday, we finally made it back to our house. I'm thrilled to be home and although now I'm back in the real world of having to go grocery shopping, doing laundry and taking care of my family, it's nice being back! My batteries are recharged.

I was a bit worried about Shinerbock while I was gone. He has never reacted well to me being out of town and with all of his health woes recently, I was especially worried. He did great though. He is responding well to his new foods and is even gaining a little bit of weight. He does seem to be having a bit of a respiratory problem, so I will check with the vet when we go back for his check-up next week, but hopefully it's nothing to worry about. Thank you all for your concern about him. He's a big part of my life.

Shinerbock has come home!

2009-04-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

So, still not totally certain what got my baby boy so sick this week. All of his tests came back good, so there's nothing metabolically wrong with him. So, the vet treated his as though he had a gastro-intestinal infection and gave him plenty of IV fluids. She called me yesterday afternoon to tell me that he'd been holding his food down and seemed to be feeling better (read: he was hissing at the other animals, so must have more energy), so I could come get him.

We discussed his diet, since he's lost soooo much weight (he used to be a 12 pound cat, now weighs 8.75). He's a tall cat, so as you can imagine, he looks like a bag of bones right now. We've decided to put him on a mix of kitten food for the calories and some sensitive stomach food, because he's always had a sensitive tummy. I threw out the automatic feeding thing I had for him because I think that maybe having the food in it instead of a sealed container may have contributed somehow. Maybe some sort of microbe got in there or it developed a weird mold, I just don't know. He ate a lot last night when we got home and certainly didn't leave my side until Bean got up this morning. He doesn't really like her very much! He's still on two different medicines, antibiotics and an antacid. I'm not looking forward to having to administer either one of them.

So, I'm supposed to take him back in three weeks to check his progress and find out if he's gained any weight. If he hasn't then the vet says we may need to run some additional tests on him (ie cancer screens), but she didn't want to run them right away just in case it was just a stomach bug.

Thanks again for all the warm thoughts and concern. I know he's "just a cat" but I've had him for so long that it would be really hard for me to lose him.

Feline Update

2009-04-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

Thank you all so much for your good wishes with regard to Shinerbock yesterday. I was pretty stressed (still kinda am). He's been with me for a long time and I can't imagine not having him around.

Anyhow, the vet called me last night to give me an update. They put him on IV fluids because he was very dehydrated from vomiting so much. He has also lost a lot of weight, which has been going on over the last few months. I wrote it off as him getting old, but the vet was very concerned about it. They ran a bunch of tests yesterday, beginning with blood work. His blood counts came back really good. His white blood cell count was a bit high, but not enough to worry about. The other counts were fine. Then they tested his liver and kidney functions, which also were perfect. Hmmm, he's really proving to be a mystery for the vet. Next, they tested his thyroid, which can cause all of the symptoms he's been exhibiting. Nope, thyroid is fine. So, just to be sure, she ran a test for feline leukemia and feline AIDS. That test came back clear, too. She's really not sure what's going on with the poor boy. On one hand, it's good that those tests are fine, but then again, what's causing this. It could be as simple as him having eaten something that's giving his system a hard time, but it could be something as bad as kitty cancer.

I called her this morning to check on him, but she was in with another patient. The guy that answered the phone let me know that Shinerbock had passed the night comfortably, but hadn't eaten and hasn't gone to the bathroom yet. He's still on IV fluids. The vet will call me back in a little while and discuss with me a couple of other tests they are thinking about running. I really hope they figure out what's going on soon and it's something they can treat, because it sucked not having him curled up with me last night.

I'll keep you guys posted. Thanks again for caring.

Poor Sick Kitty

2009-04-14T05:19:00.000-07:00

Please keep your fingers crossed today for my sweet kitty, Shinerbock. We got back from Florida last night (I had been planning on telling you about our trip, but you know how things usually go when I make plans). He has vomited while we were gone, but that's nothing uncommon when he's been left alone and gets a little vindictive. But, he's done it three more times this morning, and has been letting out that really horrible meow that kitties do when they're really not feeling well. He's an old cat (15 years) and has been getting awfully skinny lately, so I'm afraid I may not get much more time with him. I have to wait another 37 minutes before I can call the vet....

Heading Home

2009-04-11T04:50:00.000-07:00

It's Saturday morning and Lilly-Bean decided that we should be up really early today. So, we're sitting on the couch watching Mickey Mouse and waiting for Daddy to get up. Yeah, I know, he really should have to get up at the same time as us, but he went out with a customer last night and didn't make it back until around 1:00am, so I'm going to let him sleep. We're heading out around 10am to drive over to my hometown to see my family for Easter. My uncle and his kids are arriving from Virginia this afternoon and we decided it might be a good idea to go over and see them. Especially considering that Hubby and I have been married for three years and my uncle has yet to meet my husband! How weird it that? What makes it even worse is that Hubby and I have been together nearly ten years! I'm a pretty crappy niece, I suppose! He has met Lilly-Bean, though. Unfortunately she and I had to go up to Virginia when my grandfather was ill and then again when he died, so the family did get to see her.

Since we're heading home this weekend, I thought I would show you a video that I received last night from one of my high school friends. It really does give a good feel for the town we grew up in, even though I suspect it was made in the 50's! Not much changes around the F-dub!

I hope all of you have a great Easter weekend. Even if you're not particularly religious, it's a good time to spend with those you love and eat lovely things, including but not limited to, CHOCOLATE!

Knitting!

2009-04-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

Finally, I'm taking a moment to sit down and show you guys some of the pretty things I've been making lately. Believe it or not, I haven't just been hoarding yarn, I've been making things, too!

I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted any new knitting pictures. I have been playing with yarn, I promise. In fact, I've been doing it rather than doing the things I should be doing, like housework and laundry. I've certainly been doing it instead of blogging. My priorities may be a bit off, but they are very definite - Lilly, Hubby and then knitting. Well, sometimes yarn does come ahead of Hubby...it's not right, but it does happen.

Anyhow, after Mardi Gras, I picked back up the socks that I had been making for Hubby (again, here's an example of my Mardi Gras socks coming ahead of Hubby's). His socks are made with Paton's Kroy sock yarn in Denim. I worked them from the toe up with cables running up both sides. I really like the cables, they give a really nautical appearance which I love since we're involved in the marine industry. I made them a bit tighter than I normally would, but Hubby likes his socks to "hug" his feet. I didn't make a reinforced heel on these because he just wears them around the house.

After I got done with his socks, I finally decided to work on the November sock kit I had from Robyn's Nest. I really enjoyed this pattern, it has a textured chevron pattern that I like, although it was hard to photograph. Robyn designs the socks for her sock club herself and I think she does a great job. What's really cool about this colorway is that what looks like strips going around the sock, is actually a spiral. I hope the recipient likes them! She won't get them for a while though, so I'll let you know later!

After making several pairs of socks, I decided it was time to work on something different. One of my dear friends and neighbors is expecting her second child in August and I decided that, rather than wait until the last second like I usually do, I was going to work on her gift now. I selected the Moderne Baby Blanket from the Mason Dixon Knitting book. It was going great until I started working on the border. I stepped out of the living room for less than two minutes and came back to discover Baby Girl with a pair of scissors. She announced to me, "I cut it" and seemed very proud of herself. I looked and it seemed like she only cut my working yarn, so, no big deal. I took the scissors away from her and told her she wasn't allowed to use them. Then I looked closer at my work. Then I frogged about two days worth of work...but it's done now and I love it, so we'll overlook the fact that the little one learned how to use scissors on my knitting. I liked the result of this project so much, I've already begun work on another one for one of Hubby's oldest friends and his wife who are expecting their first. After I finish it, I'm hoping to make some coordinating sweaters. I have a good bit of the yarn!

So, there's my adventures in knitting lately. I've been having a lot of fun.

Happy Knitting!

Grace in Small Things - 34 of 365

2009-04-06T06:34:00.000-07:00

After another brief hiatus - I'm back!

1. Friday night with my girlfriends in my backyard with many, MANY sangrias!

2. Baby Girl sleeping in a bit on Saturday morning (but not enough for Mommy to get over the Many sangrias!)

3. Having nothing to do on a gorgeous Saturday.

4. Sunday brunch with the girls again. We did pot-luck and I swear, we couldn't have gotten a better meal at any restaurant!

5. A cold front moving through last night, so we're now in the 60's again with a beautiful breeze and sunny sky!

Twilight

2009-03-28T19:56:00.000-07:00

So, I think I am the last person on earth who had not seen this movie. Until today. Wow, I want my two hours back! The only thought that went through my head the whole movie was, "Wow, can you imagine how much knitting I could get done if I didn't sleep? Why don't any of the Cullens knit?" Pathetic, huh?

Yarn, Beautiful Yarn!

2009-03-27T11:14:00.001-07:00

It's been a really good fiber week for me. First off, I got my March sock kit from Robyn's Nest. I love the pretty purple yarn and am really looking forward to working with it! If you haven't checked out Robyn's site, you definitely should, she's got some great stuff and she designs the socks for the club herself.

Then, on Wednesday, I got my much-anticipated order from Knit Picks arrived. I had a request for some close ups of my hoard, so here goes:

This is Knit Picks Essentials for the Fern Sweater from Mason Dixon Knitting.

The Sangria Socktail kit.

Spring/Summer Kettle Dyed Sock kits. I accidentally ordered two, but I think I'm happy about that, I like the colors.

Fall/Winter Sock kits
Warm Palette Fingering Yarn Sampler

Laptop Bag Kit

Then last night, I got a wonderfully fun package from my dear friend, Lara, who is a fantastic knitter. I love my new slippers! How freaking cute are they!
And , finally, today I got my second kit from the Rockin' Sock Club! I love the colors!

So, lest you think that all I have been doing is hoarding yarn and not knitting, I'll try tonight to get some pictures of my recent projects.

Damn Yard Work!

2009-03-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

I have poison ivy.

Joy! Rapture!

2009-03-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

This came in the mail today!

What does it have in it?

I'm so freakin' happy!

I should be napping...

2009-03-25T11:29:00.001-07:00

but I really want to post pictures of my lovely yard that I did massive amounts of work in on Monday!

First off, I am not an outdoor-work kind of a girl. I never work in the yard (much to Hubby's consternation), but he knew what he was getting when he married me, so he can just deal with it! Anyhow, this past weekend, in an effort to make him happy (he's had a really crappy past couple of months at work) I agreed to help him out in the yard weeding and re-mulching our flower beds. They were looking a bit rough after the winter and if you have any familiarity with how quickly weeds grow in a swampy region, you can kind of imagine how overgrown they were getting now that springtime has sprung in Louisiana. I really wish I had thought to take some "before" pictures, but I had no idea how involved this process was going to become.

So, over the weekend we got the front beds done. We raked out all of the old mulch and leaves to clear the way for weeding (it's much easier to weed when all the other crap is out of the way). I did most of that part while Wes reburied the wires for our outdoor lighting and he followed my work by mulching the beds. We were so proud of ourselves and how nice things were looking!

Anyhow, Wes left on Monday morning for a business trip and I decided that as a surprise for him, I would clean out the back flower bed, weed it and have it ready for him to mulch when he got home. But first I needed to run down to his office to bring some stuff for them to bring out to my brother. I decided while I was down there (it's a 40 minute drive each way) I had better do something to make it worth the time, so I popped in to a nursery down there. What an amazing selection they had! I'm not a plant person. I have no idea what you're supposed to plant and when, but I did see a whole bunch of things that were pretty and flowery and I decided that maybe I would work on sprucing the back yard up a bit. Uh huh....I ended up filling up my car (not a small car, a Tahoe) with plants! I was a little intimidated by the level of work I had just set up for myself, but what the heck, right? So, I headed home and started cleaning out the flower bed. I filled THREE huge refuse bags with the stuff I raked and weeded out of there and while I was working, my Mom-in-Law came over to help look out for Lilly-Bean while I worked.

First I moved a couple of plants from where the landscaper put them last year because for some crazy reason. If you look in the back of this photo, you can see two really tall plants, one of them (the one on the right) started out in the front of the bed and really looked odd. I also moved a couple of the iris plants to make room for the two xanadu plants that are in the front of the bed now. I also added the impatiens to add a bit of color to the setup. I know the variegated ginger in the center looks pretty bad right now, the couple of freezes we got this winter really reaked havoc on our yard. They will come back this spring though and look great in a couple of months.

Next, I moved on to the back sitting area. I love this part of our yard. This section used to be a crazy, overgrown mess that you couldn't even go near. So, last year we hired a landscaper to come in and create this sitting area. They made the patio area with paving stones and baby mondo grass in between them and put in two of the big urns filled with flowers. A few weeks after they did that, I added three more urns. None of these survived the winter, nor were they meant to. So, when I got started, the patio was crazy with weeds and the urns were really bad with dead plants sticking out of dirt. This is what it looks like now!

I love it! I think this afternoon, if it's not raining, I'll take Lilly out there to play and sit and have a glass of wine in my pretty new garden.

The next project I had for myself was an ugly little strip next to my driveway that we have never done anything with. It's always just been an area of dirt and weeds that we've kind of neglected. Anyhow, before Wes left for his trip, he created a little bed there and told me to go buy something and plant it. Sure, whatever you say, honey! Well, I think I rose to the occasion and I decided that I wanted it to have a bunch of irises. The only problem was that it's too late in the season to plant bulbs, so I decided that I would just throw something in there until the fall when I could put in what I really want. I picked up a bunch of little verbena plants that the lady at the nursery told me would spread out really quickly and give off some really pretty purple flowers through the whole summer.

Then I mulched around them. It looked a lot better than when I started, but I wasn't sure how much Wes would like it.

After, Lilly's nap, I brought her over to her grandparent's house with the intention of having some "mommy time" without her and relax for a bit. I had done a lot of work! For some reason, I decided to head over to Home Depot. I needed some more mulch for the back bed, which wasn't done. Really, after all the work I had done, I wanted it to be completely done when Hubby got home so I could show it off in it's best light and really reap the accolades. Well, by the time I got in the car to head home I had: 5 bags of mulch, 2 bags of topsoil, four encore azaleas, eight potted irises (the solution to my bulb problem!), and two hydrangeas to replace the ones that froze in my front bed over the winter. I really wasn't planning on doing any more work that afternoon, I'd even taken my shower already, but something was driving me, so I dove right back and continued the efforts. Here's what the side garden looks like:

Aren't the irises beautiful! I love them.

After that, I tore three azaleas out of my front bed that were looking a bit sickly and put four new ones back in:

And finally, put in the two new hydrangeas. You will notice in the picture that the two sickly ones are still there, but they are still showing signs of life and I want to give them a shot at recovery and I would love it if that area had a huge bushy cluster of hydrangeas.

Oh wait, that wasn't the final thing, I also mulched the back bed. I can't believe how much I managed to do out there in one day! Wes better be duly impressed and grateful when he gets home! :-) Of course, he's going to expect me to keep doing this in the future and I'm not really certain how I feel about that, it will, after all, take up perfectly good knitting time!

The Pitfalls of Planning

2009-03-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

I had it all planned out last night. Hubby is out of town for work and I was going to put Lilly-Bean down for the night, then spend an hour or so online, catching up on reading your blogs and filling you in on my adventures in gardening from Monday, then spend a little while on a new jigsaw puzzle and then knit for a little while before going to bed at a decent hour. (Wow, reading that I realize that I have become a senior citizen a little earlier than I expected to!) Apparently, life doesn't like when you try and corral it into something so mundane or comforting as a plan so I got to do none of those things last night!

Bean had a bit of a fever all day yesterday. Not really a big deal, kids get fevers all the time. You just keep an eye on them, give them some Tylenol and keep them hydrated while waiting for other symptoms to show up to let you know what you're dealing with, right? So, that's how we proceeded with the day. We stayed home, which bugged Bean, since she had really been looking forward to going to the "Li-berry" for storytime and to play with her little friends. I don't know how many times she reminded me yesterday that the "Li-berry" was open. She was pretty cranky most of the day, but it was tempered by the fact that I let her watch a bunch of DVR'd episodes of Playhouse Disney shows. We also had really great cuddles all day, which is kinda my favorite side effect from her not feeling well.

Anyhow, around 5:00 last night, we were curled up on my bed and she was obviously not feeling very well. She asked if she could sleep in my bed that night and started rubbing her back around where her kidneys are located. She knows that the only time she's ever gotten to share my bed is when she was REALLY sick, so that worried me, but her rubbing her back is what really got me. I'm a little gun-shy when it comes to her kidneys, the urologist told us that if she has a breakthrough infection while she's still on prophylactic antibiotics we will likely have to proceed with a surgical correction to her urinary tract problems rather than waiting for the issue to resolve itself. So, I called her doctor's answering service to set up an appointment to get her checked out this morning. The answering service patched me through to the on-call nurse, who after listening to Bean's symptoms, forwarded me to the on-call pediatrician. He concurred with my assessment that it was likely another UTI and recommended that we go to the ER rather than wait until morning when she would likely be even more uncomfortable. So, after packing up a bag of snacks, toys and some yarn for me, off we went to the hospital. Fun stuff, no?

Once we were at the hospital, the waiting game began. It was around 8:00 when we got there and I knew it wouldn't be a quick process. The only time I really got annoyed was after we had seen the triage nurse, I noticed another little girl and her mother, who had come in after us, were already back in the examination area. I know, you're thinking that perhaps this little girl was in more serious condition than my child and perhaps she was, but where my little one was lying listless in her stroller, the other little one was bouncing all over the waiting room, playing and having a great time with no outward signs of anything being wrong with her. She was seen and released before we even got called back for an exam. Hmm, wonder who they knew at the hospital?

Once we got back to the exam area (around 9:45), things were a bit better. I hate being in the waiting room with everyone else who is suffering from god-knows-what-that-might-be-contagious. Fortunately, the nurse and the pediatric resident came into our room at the same time, so I only had to go through my observations of Lilly-Bean once. He did a brief examination and then we waited for the nurses to come back to do a urine collection (catheter). That went as well as could be expected. In other words, pretty darn miserable. Lilly cried and told them it hurt, which absolutely broke my heart. And, since she hadn't had much to drink in a couple of hours, they had a hard time getting enough of a sample. But they finally did and we went back to waiting. I got Lilly as comfortable as I could on the bed with her blankie and sat back with my yarn to wait for the results of the labwork. About the time she drifted off to sleep, the nurse poked her head back in the room to let us know that the attending physician was hoping we wouldn't mind going back out to the waiting room until the lab sent the results. After seeing the look on my face when dealing with the prospect of waking up my sleeping baby, she smiled and let me know that she would tell him we needed to stay right where we were. I like that nurse!

Finally close to midnight, we got the lab results. There were no signs of infection and the doctor had no real idea of why Bean was running a fever. That's not terribly uncommon with kids and often the cause is viral even if the obvious symptoms haven't arrived yet. So, I was a little put off by the fact that, without knowing the cause of her fever, the doctor prescribed a fairly potent, broad-spectrum antibiotic. I worry that sometimes doctors feel pressured by their patients to "do something" and prescribe medication that may not be necessary when common sense would suggest taking a wait-and-see course of action to find out if the medication is actually warranted.

So, this morning, Lilly-Bean seems to be feeling much better, the fever is much lower (although she won't let me near her with the thermometer) and she has more energy than she did yesterday. I spoke with her pediatrician who agreed that we should hold off on giving her the antibiotics that were prescribed in the ER until we get the results of the additional culture that the lab is running. I do love our pediatrician. She is much more conservative when it comes to doling out medicine and has no problem telling a parent that sometimes the body is better able to take care of itself rather than give a kid medicine that doesn't do anything other than calm a worried parent's nerves.

Needless to say, I am very tired today. We finally got home at close to 1:00am and although Bean slept well past her normal waking time, it still wasn't enough! Maybe later today I'll get the energy to post about my beautiful garden, but for now, I'm going to cuddle up on the couch with my little girl, watch Mickey Mouse and relax!

Grace in Small Things - 33 of 365

2009-03-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

1. Making back to the gym, although I didn't really want to go and didn't do my complete workout. At least I dragged my butt over there!

2. A beautiful sunshine-y day!

3. Wes staying home from work. He is working, but at least he's here!

4. Really yummy chicken quesadillas made with chicken left over from last night's yummy dinner.

5. Casting on a new project!

Grace in Small Things - 32 of 365

2009-03-19T07:14:00.000-07:00

1. The ability to walk away from GiST for a little while, but still finding joy in my daily existence. Also, knowing I can return to GiST and it will be as comfortable as walking into a good friend's kitchen.

2. My daughter's love of tiaras. I bought some to toss from the Mardi Gras float but they never got thrown and she adores them. I think I may wear one today!

3. Finding out that a friend I have been missing terribly, is missing me too. And deciding that I will go visit her in June! Now to tell Hubby....

4. Getting to the end of a knitting project that I've been fighting, only about 14 more rows and I can cast on a new project! I need to learn how to work two socks at the same time, this second-sock-syndrome is a killer!

5. Going for a ride around the neighborhood on our "family bike" that seats four! It's like a big tricycle with two front seats for the parents and a bench on the back that can seat two kids (yes, it has seatbelts for the kids!).

Eating crow...

2009-03-18T07:46:00.000-07:00

Have you ever chewed a customer service/billing agent a new one over the phone and realized five minutes after you got off the phone that it was, in fact, not they who were wrong, but you? What are the chances, if I call this company back, that I would get hold of the correct person and be able to apologize. Especially since the issue was one of accounting and I tried, arrogantly, to throw the weight of my Masters of Accounting around....I'm a schmuck!

Apology

2009-03-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the whiny post yesterday. In truth, I really have no reason to be cranky right now. Yes, the weather is still crappy, but usually I don't mind a rainy day, gives me a good excuse to stay cuddled up in the house. Must be hormones, guys have it so good. You never see a man succumbing to the influences of too much or too little estrogen!

I love that my comments so far have not focused on the fact that I was being a little baby yesterday, but instead noticed the shopping aspect of the post. I did order some really fun stuff:

(Warning: Knit Picks plug!)

1. I got the yarn to make this kid's jacket that is featured in the Mason Dixon Knits second book. One thing I love about Knit Picks is that the yarn for this project only came to around $25, if I were to go to my favorite yarn shop here it would've cost a lot more.

2. I got two different sock sampler kits, spring/summer and fall/winter which each come with enough yarn to make six different pairs of socks and patterns. The last thing I really need is more sock yarn, but don't they look delicious?

3. Speaking of not needing any more sock yarn, I also got this sock yarn sampler. They have it in a few different color groups, but I love reds so I went with this one. I like that it's a "cocktail" of sock yarn and it gives you 12 different leg patterns, several heels and instructions for working from the top-down or toe-up.

4. I got this kit to make a cover for my laptop. I think it will look a lot nicer when I leave the computer out in the living room and I hate putting it in the briefcase looking thing that I have right now. I got it in red, because my 'puter is red. They also have it in blue, which looked really pretty, but it wouldn't have matched. I really want to try a project with steeks and this one only cost $13.99! Bonus!

5. Finally I got this sampler kit because it was really pretty and I haven't worked much with color like this. If I can actually pull this off, I will be really proud of myself!

Other than that, I got a few more dpns and some wood cabling needles to match my new harmony wood needles that I got a while ago. Yes, I went completely overboard, but I guess there are worse things I could be buying (drugs, alcohol, cigarettes) I mean, think of all the money I'm saving my husband by not being a drunken smoker, he should be more than happy to fund this yarn habit of mine!

I have decided that, with the exception of Stitches in April, I will not be buying any more supplies for six months. That means no more trips to Michael's or Hobby Lobby. No going into Garden District Needleworks "just to look". Seriously, me claiming that I'm going into a store like that just to look is like a guy claiming he only reads Playboy for the articles. It's lies, all lies! So, now that I've laid all this out, I expect you all to rip me a new one if I show up bragging about any new acquisitions, okay? I need your help, people!

So, now I'm off to tidy my house before I even let myself touch my needles today. I think maybe having the house in order will help my mindset immensely. Also, I have a couple of little projects that I've been meaning to get done that I'm determined to do. I owe my friend a CD of the pictures from our recent trip, need to post those same pictures to FB, print out and frame some family pics for our upstairs hallway and type up the pattern for my Vanna's Choice contest entry to send to another friend that I promised it to. I don't think I even made the finals, since they did not request the pattern from me. I'm a little disappointed because I was really proud of the result, but at least I have a pretty blankie to give to someone, right?

Okay, I'm off to try and be a useful member of my household today. Wish me luck!

Addiction rears it's ugly head...

2009-03-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

I really need to stay away from the Knit Picks website when I'm in a little bit of an off mood. Some people comfort eat, I hoard yarn as you may recall. I'm not really sure why I'm cranky tonight, I had a good day, beginning with breakfast with Wes and Lilly, followed by lunch with two of my girlfriends and a really great little restaurant and sushi for dinner. Yet still, I'm grumpy and have had little to no patience with Wes even though he's done nothing wrong today. Hmmm, it's either the crappy weather or hormones...

Oh well, so the result of my cranky was one heck of a large order at Knit Picks! I think I'm going to have to ground myself for a while (with the exception of my trip to Atlanta with Lara!). I'm off to work on some socks for a little while!

GiST - 30 of 365

2009-03-15T18:22:00.001-07:00

1. Finally making it back to posting on Grace in Small Things!

2. A fantastic lunch with my girlfriends.

3. Arts and crafts with Hubby and Baby Girl!

4. Sushi

5. Making it back to the gym this week

The Prodigal Blogger has Returned!

2009-03-07T12:02:00.000-08:00

As was pointed out to me several times on my trip this past week, I haven't blogged at all lately. No Grace in Small Things even. I don't know what's been up, but I just haven't really felt like writing. Nothing has been wrong, just not overly motivated either.

So, as I said, I've been traveling this past week. And I have to begin this post by raving about what an amazing husband I have. We all know how guys are when they are home alone. They make messes, order too much pizza and generally live like bachelors until their wives come home, right? Not my boy! I got home yesterday and the house looked even better than it did when I left. The kitchen was clean (not a dish in the sink), the house had been vacuumed, and to top it all off, he had MOPPED the floors. Seriously, are you turned on yet?! I'm telling you, I think he's just about the sexiest thing on the face of the planet right now! And no, you cannot borrow him, he's mine! All mine!

Where have I been you might ask? Well, for those of you who may not have heard, I've been to the Happiest Place on Earth! A.K.A. Disney World! I know there are some out there who believe the Disney corporation is the root of all evil, but I am not one of them and if you are, well, you should stop reading my blog because I am a complete Disney-phile.

The trip this time really just kind of fell into my lap. I've been itching to go, but know that Hubby (who is not nearly as much of a Disney-lover as I am) hasn't had a great deal of free time lately and probably wouldn't want to go anytime soon. So, when one of my friends on Facebook asked me if I wanted to go with her, I jumped on the chance. What's really amazing about this invitation is I have not seen Sam in 16 years (since the night we graduated high school)! Talk about a leap of faith on both our parts, we decided to meet in our home town and drive the 6 hours down to Orlando with our two little girls (Lilly aka Baby Girl age 2, and Kate age 3). I must admit, I was kinda worried about how such a long drive was going to go with someone that truly, I didn't know very well. I shouldn't have worried, we gabbed the whole time and the drive really flew by!

After we got checked in to our hotel, we headed off to the Magic Kingdom! I don't know who was more excited, us or the girls. When we got near the castle, Mickey and his crew were doing their stage show. I usually skip over these productions, not really my thing, but Lilly took one look and said, "Mama, it's MICKEY!!!!" Oh my god! She really got it! I'll admit it, I teared up at that point. It was so thrilling to see my little girl really believing in the characters. Everything was so real for her. I really do believe that the people who wait until their kids are older to take them to Disney for the first time are missing out on that moment.

We spent most of that evening wandering around Fantasy Land, riding the Small World ride, Peter Pan and Winnie-the-Pooh. We also stood in line for the girls to meet Pooh and Tigger. It was a long line and really starting to get cold out, but seeing how excited they were to meet the characters made the wait worth it. We also learned that night that my little girl is not quite ready for fireworks. She hid her little head in my lap and didn't look up until after the show was long over. We weren't even technically watching the show, but the noise was enough to get her. Oh well, maybe next trip!

On our second morning we headed over to the Animal Kingdom. I really love that park! We started off with the Kilamanjaro safari, but it was pretty chilly out, so a lot of the animals were no-shows. We still had a great time at the park though. Sam is as big a roller-coaster junkie as I am, so we took turns hopping through the single rider line at Expedition Everest and got to ride it a couple of times. I love the single rider line, you can get through in a fraction of the time if you don't mind being separated from your party. Animal Kingdom is definitely not a full-day park, so after seeing the Lion King show and meeting several of the characters with the girls, we headed back to the hotel with the girls for a nap before making our way over to Hollywood Studios. Lilly was so funny when we went for naptime, she fought it just as long as she could and I ended up hiding behind one of the beds so she wouldn't realize I was there.

Hollywood Studios is another park that really doesn't take the whole day to visit. They have added some new stuff, so maybe on our next trip, I'll spend a bit more time and check it out, but for this trip our priority was hitting the Tower of Terror (Sam's favorite ride) and the Rockin' Roller Coaster (one of mine). We also saw the Little Mermaid show, which Lilly loved! At the end when Ariel and Prince Eric hugged, she announced (loudly) "they're Married!" I didn't even know she understood the concept! It was still really cold that night, so we hit one of the stores to pick up some sweatshirts for the little ones. They ended up wearing them for the rest of the trip.

On Tuesday we hit my all time favorite park, EPCOT! We hit a few of the rides at the front of the park before heading back to the World Showcase. It's so nice just walking around back there, hitting the stores and, oh yeah, having a drink or two as you walk around! On past trips, we've taken up the "drinking around the world" challenge, but I was a good girl this time and only had two. Had to be responsible for the girl, ya know! We didn't stay the full day at EPCOT either, which was kinda disappointing to me, I usually stay until the bitter end, but it was what was best for the girls. They were pretty tired, so we went back to the hotel, had some dinner and then back to the room. The food at the hotel was pretty darn good. I would definitely recommend if you go, to take advantage of the meal plan, it was definitely worth it and I felt like they were practically throwing food at us! The one we chose included two meals and two snacks per day. Each meal included a dessert, and by the end of the trip, we were pretty sick of dessert. That's unheard of for me! We also had a ton of the snacks left over, so we hit one of the bakeries and brought home a bunch of the yummy, Mickey Mouse-shaped rice krispie treats that they sell. I love those bad boys.

Wednesday we were back at the Magic Kingdom. After a breakfast of ice cream sundaes, we had a lot of fun hitting the rides, but in the afternoon, decided to split up. I wanted to hit a few more rides with Lilly and Sam wanted to take Kate over to Hollywood Studios to meet some more of the characters. I took Lilly over to the Pirates of the Carribean ride, not really sure of how she would like it. She LOVED it! I also took her on the Haunted Mansion ride, the Teacups and the Barnstormer (which is the kids roller coaster). She loved it all! My girl knows no fear! I hope she keeps that, but I know she may go through a timid phase sometime in the future. We headed back to the hotel that evening to meet up with Sam and Kate so we could get some dinner at Downtown Disney. Unfortunately, Lilly was really tired and decided to pitch a royal hissy fit on the bus. I was trying to hold her and manage the stroller at the same time, which wasn't working very well. Fortunately there was a lovely couple behind me who took control of the stroller so I could calm her down. Not even five minutes later, the little one was out and I had a great visit with the nice people behind me. Turns out they were staying three doors down from us and after I got the little one put down for a nap, she turned up at my door with a lovely glass of wine. How nice was that!

That night we headed out for dinner at Downtown Disney. This time it was Sam's turn to have an unhappy child. Kate was so tired and in a royal mood, so they had to cut dinner short and head back to the hotel. We stayed and finished our meal, did a tiny bit of shopping and headed back to the hotel. Kate was in a much better mood when we got there, but poor Sam looked a bit frazzled. I could definitely feel her pain!

Our last day was also spent at Magic Kingdom. I really could spend days there! Fortunately, Sam is like-minded, because I can't get Wes to go for more than a day. We hit the rides again (Lilly was desperate to see the Pirates and Ghosts again) then we had to bid the parks a sad goodbye (okay, sad for me and Sam, the girls were ready to go) and headed home. Ever since we've gotten back, Lilly asks me on a daily basis when can she see the ghosts again. I think I've convinced Wes to head back in October! Yay!

So, as you can see, I've decided to drop the nicknames for my family. I couldn't really justify using them for my husband and kid if I wasn't going to use them for our friends and it was going to get difficult coming up with nicknames for everyone. So, hopefully now I will get back into the swing of things with blogging, it's taken me several days to complete this post. I've been a bit distracted since I've gotten back with sock knitting. I'll get some pics up in the next day or so.

GiST - 29 of 365

2009-02-23T19:29:00.000-08:00

1. Getting to see my big brother today when he got off his first stint on the boat

2. Yummy steak dinner with a lovely merlot

3. Getting my house back in order after the craziness of the weekend

4. Finishing a really cute hat for my friend in Sweden. Sorry I can't take pictures, but my camera didn't survive the parade on Friday

5. Realizing that Baby Girl is now having conversations, not just spouting out a few words at a time!

Finally, a parade report!

2009-02-23T18:44:00.000-08:00

I have finally managed to pull my head together enough to give you guys the full report about the Mardi Gras parade! Oy, it's been a rough past couple of days...

So, Thursday night we picked up Hubby's BFF at the airport and headed with Baby Girl down to watch the Krewe of Muses parade. It's an all-women krewe and they definitely have the best throws, the most prized of which are decorated high heel shoes. Unfortunately, I did not catch one of the those and Baby Girl got really tired so we had to leave half-way through the parade, but it was still a good time and she loved the pretty floats and the marching bands.

Friday morning, we dropped Baby Girl off at my in-laws house and headed downtown to check into our house and meet up with the rest of the krewe for our luncheon and pre-party. Even though we weren't scheduled to roll until 7:00, the party began at 12:30! So, you can see why I've been unable to type a coherent thought since then.

We were feeling no pain by the time our floats showed up at the bar around 4:00. But we loaded up and headed to the beginning of our parade route. We had so much fun riding around on the float, drinking and waving at all the people we passed by. Once we got to our destination, all we had to do was wait for our turn. There were three parades that night and we were the last of them. Funniest thing though, I was talking to one of the cops who was part of our escort and it turned out that he was a knitter and really liked my Mardi Gras socks! Of course, he's kind of in the closet, so he was absolutely mortified when my Hubby announced to his partner about our common bond. Oops, remind me never to tell Hubby a secret!

Once we got rolling, the crowds were really fun. It was definitely a blast having people cheering for you and begging for all the beads and trinkets you have to throw. Unfortunately, Iwas so blasted that I don't remember seeing my friends that we ran into on the route. Fortunately, it's gotten back to me that I did throw them so really good stuff. Thank goodness!

We got to the end of the parade around 12:40, we had run really late. At that point the post-party was just about over so we headed into the French Quarter. Oh, bad idea! My friend, Kris, and I made it back to the hotel around 3:30 in the morning. Of course, being girls, we stayed up gabbing until around 4:30. Then, being mommies, we were up 7:30! I hate that my body is so trained to get up at a certain hour. Fortunately, my in-laws were willing to keep Baby Girl the rest of the day, so I was able to get a few hours sleep once I got home. It would have been perfect if my Parents-in-Law and Hubby's brother and sister-in-law hadn't been at our house when we rolled in the door looking like something the cat had drug in. They were supposed to be at their house! Poor Hubby ended up going back out that night with his BFF. I thankfully got to go to bed at a decent hour.

Sunday morning, I got up and still felt pretty awful. I tried to catch up on reading your blogs, and I couldn't even concentrate enough to read. Poor Baby Girl was incredibly bored though, so I decided to take her into the city to watch a couple of day parades with some of my girlfriends. She had sooo much fun! Wish I had some pictures of that to show you, but unfortunately, my camera got smashed during the parade on Friday night....

Anyhow, that's my Mardi Gras weekend. I had planned on being so much more entertaining during this post, I remember thinking at so many points how funny some things were and how much I would love to tell you guys about them. Unfortunately, vodka has seriously clouded my memory, so you're just going to have to check out the pictures!

Me with Hubby's BFF's girlfriend who couldn't be with us since she's in Sweden.

Me and Hubby waiting for the floats to pick us up. Yes, we are sitting in the gutter...

Me and Amberlynne riding on top of the float. She's pouting because I wouldn't share my Yummy vodka punch!

My friend the knitting cop! He was such a ham!

Me and Kris! We had such a great time!

GiST - 28 of 365

2009-02-21T18:10:00.000-08:00

Okay, I was in no condition to post last night, so sorry this is a little late....

1. Riding in my first Mardi Gras parade

2. Beautiful weather for said ride!

3. Meeting a male police officer while we were staging for the parade who KNITS!

4. Great friends to spend the day (and most of the night) with.

5. A really great Hubby who was so cute and schmoopy last night!

GiST - 27 of 365

2009-02-20T06:24:00.000-08:00

1. Hubby's BFF arriving from New York

2. Baby Girl going to her first Mardi Gras parade and having a blast!

3. Finding out my old art teacher had heart surgery that went well.

4. Lunch with a girlfriend

5. Fun time at the park with Baby Girl and 'other kids'.

As Per Your Request - A Mardi Gras Primer

2009-02-18T16:24:00.000-08:00

I've had a request to explain a little bit about Mardi Gras for some of my friends who may not be familiar with it. So, here goes:

As you know, Catholics celebrate Lent, the 40 days prior to Easter Sunday where we may fast and usually give up something as a type of sacrifice. Prior to Lent is the Carnival season, aka Mardi Gras, which lasts from Three Kings Day (Jan. 6) to Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras day) which varies according to the Lenten calendar. It's the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, when Lent officially begins. This year, Mardi Gras falls on February 24.

During the Mardi Gras season, krewes have balls and some have parades to revel prior to Lent beginning. A krewe is the generic term for all Carnival organizations, but was first coined by the Mistick Krewe of Comus in 1857 to give their club an Old English flavor. Balls pre-dated parades by about 125 years, and unless you are a member or know someone who is, you aren't getting in, it's not a tourist thing. The ball that we went to a couple of weeks ago was like that, the krewe doesn't parade, but they do have the bal masque, which was very formal. The parades are what really draw the tourists. You can join some clubs easier than others. The krewe that Hubby and I have joined is a fairly new one and we were able to join without having been invited or sponsored by an existing member, even though one of my good friends is in it. I'm joining another krewe for next year that has a waitlist before you can even think about riding in its parade. I will probably have to wait a couple of years before I can ride, but the social aspects of the krewes are year-round.

The krewes throw beads and other throws (eg. stuffed animals, toys, etc) from the floats during the parades. Riders are required by law to be masked for the entirety of the parade. (We're also not supposed to drink alcohol while riding, but that one's not really enforced!) We went a little overboard this year on our throws, but since Hubby and his BFF put me in charge, what can you expect, I like to shop! So, if there's any chance you're going to be on the parade route, let me know where you're going to be, I'll load you down with stuff!

Hands down my favorite part of Mardi Gras is King Cake, which I'm sure you've noticed me mention SEVERAL times. I love the stuff! By definition a king cake is an oval shaped sugared pastry, that contains a small plastic doll hidden inside. It's a lot like a giant cinnamon roll. The person who finds the doll is crowned "king" and buys the next cake or throws the next party. The king cake season begins on Jan 6, King's Day. Nearly 1 million king cakes are consumed in the New Orleans metro area during Carnival season. That doesn't count the number that are shipped out all over the world. The best king cakes in the area by far come from Manny Randazzo's bakery. Any time you go to the bakery during Carnival, there is a line out the door and you happily wait your turn to get the yummy goodness. Anyone that disagrees with me about this topic, don't even try and argue with me or convince me that your choice is better than mine, it's not. Also, there are many that will argue that cream cheese or fruit filled cakes are better than plain, they're not. I'm a traditionalist, and the best kind is the traditional. Randazzo's does ship all over so if you want to try one, order it quick because they stop selling them Mardi Gras day. Here's a video of how they are made, it's not a Randazzo's cake, but it will give you and idea of what's going on. My friend, Marissa, has a cooking show and Ralph's is one of her sponsors, so what can you do? Also, if you want some really great Louisiana recipes, find The Outdoor Kitchen show on Facebook or go to http://www.theoutdoorkitchen.com/. She has some great stuff on there and even a lot of game recipes! Also, if you watch her videos on FB, she mentions me in her Soups, Pt. 3 video! I'm kind of a dork when my name gets mentioned on TV and get really excited!

So, hopefully this has explained a little bit of the fun that happens down here each year. If you haven't experienced a New Orleans Mardi Gras, do it! We have a lot of fun down here and it's not all about boobs and beer despite what's shown on TV.

GiST - 26 of 365

2009-02-18T16:18:00.000-08:00

1. Watching Baby Girl jump on Hubby's back while he's doing push-ups and yelling "Yee Haw!"

2. Having LBND come over and play for an hour or so, giving his mommy a break and entertaining Baby Girl for me!

3. Getting all my housework done before noon, freeing up the afternoon for blogging!

4. Accomplishing the errands I needed to do today without having a toddler-meltdown in any stores.

5. Knowing I can go to bed early tonight!

A "Real" Post

2009-02-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Looking at my recent history of blog posts, I see that I have been very lazy by only doing my Grace in Small Things posts and not really giving any "meat" so my blog, so today I'm going to correct that. Not to say I don't love participating in GiST, I think it's a fantastic idea to remind myself daily that there are wonderful things surrounding me if I just stop long enough to look at them, but it does seem to be the further "Facebooking" of my life, where my life and writing become just a series of status updates. I often through the day think of things that I want to tell you guys, but by the time I sit down to my computer, I usually only have enough energy to read your blogs, post my GiST and then either go to bed or knit. You remember that I'm a knitter, right? Seems like I haven't really shared too much of what I've been doing lately. I'm going to correct that today, too. So, hunker down and grab yourself something to drink and a snack, this post may get a bit long today. In fact, I'm planning on doing this in two sessions today, although you'll just get it all at once. Can't sit still too long with a two-year-old in the house, ya know!

To begin with, I am super tired today. For some reason, I woke up around 1:30 this morning and didn't get to sleep until a little bit before Baby Girl woke up at 6:30. It's only 8:30 and I'm already on my second Coke Zero. I rarely drink caffeine anymore (kicked the addiction during my pregnancy, and never really picked it back up), but today, I'm in desperate need and am finally feeling my brain cells start to wake up. I think it helps that I've opted for serving the Coke in a Waterford goblet. My best friend's step-mom always says that everything tastes better out of a crystal wineglass, and I think she's definitely right, but I needed a goblet today! These glasses never get used, what a waste! I also fixed myself a "real" breakfast of eggs and bacon, which I never do. I hate cooking in the morning, but again, desperate times...

There are certain things I have to get done this morning, so I figure by laying out the goals in writing to you guys, maybe it will force me into actually getting them done rather than face the humiliation of publicly failing. I know what you're thinking, since I'm not posting this until later today, what's going to stop me from just deleting this part or adjusting the goals accordingly? Pride, my friends, pride!

Hubby's BFF is coming down from New York tomorrow to ride in the parade with us on Friday so I definitely want to have the house clean before he gets here, so here's what has to happen:

The house has to be vacuumed and mopped. The beds need to be changed and made up. The bathrooms need to be cleaned.

Also, I have some things that need to be picked up that are Mardi Gras related:

We need hooks for the float to organize and hang our beads on. I need a football helmet, with facemask, for Baby Girl, because we are taking her to her first parade tomorrow and the krewe that we are going to see throws ALOT of stuff. It would freak the poor kid out if she got hit in the face! I don't think she would get hurt, but that being said, I did break my nose freshman year when a large string of pearls hit me....

When I open up this computer next, I will let you know how I've done! And then hopefully I will also share some more interesting things with you! (8:43am)

10:26 - House vacuumed, beds made, still need to mop and clean the toilets. Jeez, am I ever tired. Think I'll take a little break and watch Little Einsteins with Baby Girl.

10:57 - Einsteins over, back to work.

11:37 - Floors mopped, toilets clean! That wasn't so bad! Off to get the Mardi Gras stuff!

1:32 - Back home, got everything we needed and lunch. Baby Girl is in bed napping and I'm on the couch, finished for the day other than some writing. I really think I need to put my daily goals down in writing more often. It really motivated me to get things done!

So, what else do I have going on in my world? I did recently get one of the coolest gifts ever! Two of my friends went to India for a month and since they were practically backpacking their way around the country, I certainly didn't expect them to bring me a present. But they did! The night of the Eros ball, Julia called me to let me know she would be bringing me something. I do love presents, so I was pretty excited. I've never been to India and I had no idea what it could be. How could I have known that they would bring me the most perfect and thoughtful gift possible. YARN! It's a big hank of red wool and it is Beautiful! And mysterious...there's no ball band, no needle recommendations or care instructions. Just the white paper bag from India with the name of the store. I love that they brought it back in that bag! Oh, and to make it even more perfect, it wasn't Julia that bought it, it was Bill, her boyfriend! How cool is it that they both know me well enough to know exactly the perfect thing to bring me! So, now I just have to figure out what it wants to be. Hubby laughed at me when I told him I was waiting for it to talk to me, but I am. Until it does, it will be in my stash tempting me with it's loveliness!

On other knit-news, I've been pretty obsessed with socks lately. I learned how to work them from the toe up, which I love because I don't have to graft at the end, plus, if they're for me, I can try them on as I go to see how they're going to fit. I recently finished some really pretty knee socks that I love! They are made with Paton's Stretch Sock Yarn. Baby Girl likes them too! I think they qualify as tights on her!

I also just finished my Mardi Gras socks to wear on the float this Friday. I used Panda Cotton's Mardi Gras sock yarn. Unfortunately, the yarn has been discontinued, but I've been hunting it down online and building up a stash.

I had so much other stuff I was going to tell you, but I'm exhausted right now, so it's going to have to wait for another time.

5:48 - OK, so I didn't hit publish since I needed to take some pictures. Baby Girl and LBND just got done playing outside, so I had to stick this picture up too! I love little kids with balloons!

GiST - 25 of 365

2009-02-18T05:39:00.000-08:00

1. Getting all the beads for our float loaded into the U-haul truck last night and still having time to go get a glass of wine with a friend before the krewe meeting.

2. Finishing the Mardi Gras socks! Pictures will hopefully come later today.

3. Having a wonderful Mom-in-Law who is willing to babysit at the drop of a hat!

4. Hubby feeling better from his cold.

5. The librarians at our public library putting on a Mardi Gras parade for the kids during story group, complete with mini "king cakes" and beads. They put a lot of effort into it and the kids LOVED it! Thanks, Ms Cheryl!

GiST - 24 of 365

2009-02-17T07:29:00.000-08:00

1. Baby Girl's reaction to a wreck in yesterday's NASCAR race really made me smile. She asked what happened and when I told her there was a wreck, she asked if the cars had "boo-boos". I told her yes, they did, so she started kissing the screen so the cars would feel better. How cute is that!

2. Beautiful sunny days

3. Getting the upstairs of my house cleaned up and all the laundry finished in one day.

4. Getting to know one of my internet friends better and realizing what a strong person she is.

5. Steak and mashed potatoes!

Grace in Small Things - 23 of 365

2009-02-15T15:10:00.000-08:00

1. The return of the NASCAR season - I know, I'm just a little bit white-trashy!

2. Going to bed at 9:00 last night, not because I was sick, but just because I felt like it. (could've been the champagne I had with lunch)

3. The fact that I now have Hubby hooked on BSG and Lost! Yes, I'm a little bit geeky, too!

4. A nice visit with my in-laws this morning. They're always so excited to see us.

5. Finishing a Mardi Gras sock. One more to go before Friday! Can she do it? We'll see!

Grace in Small Things - 22 of 365 Valentine's Day Edition!

2009-02-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

1. Although my Hubby doesn't celebrate V-day, he did clean up the house and really gave the kitchen a good scrubbing for me!

2. Brunch with seven fabulous ladies at an excellent restaurant down in the quarter, Eat!

3. My friend, Kelly, bringing me a ball of fabulous Mardi Gras yarn and letting me keep it even after I pointed out to her that it was very similar to the yarn I already had!

4. Mimosas!

5. My new swift

Grace in Small Things - 21 of 365

2009-02-13T13:57:00.001-08:00

1. Finding my camera that has been missing for over a month, driving me crazy! Somehow it was in a bag that I've looked in no less than 4 times...

2. Not being able to get an appointment for day care at the gym. I know, sounds like a bad thing, but I really wasn't in the mood to go and it gave me a perfect excuse not to.

3. Going to the park with Baby Girl's best friend and his mommy

4. My F-i-L having a successful hernia surgery today.

5. The king cake I bought today that I get to chow down on tomorrow! Hubby doesn't like it - so it's ALL MINE!!!!!

Grace in Small Things - 20 of 365

2009-02-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

1. Mardi Gras sock yarn

2. A call from my friend that I haven't been able to talk to much lately.

3. Sushi

4. Family Guy

5. Lost

Grace in Small Things - 19 of 365

2009-02-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

1. Being able to do 50 minutes on the elliptical without struggling to breathe.

2. Buying really cool Mardi Gras beads

3. Praline pecans

4. Hubby staying home from work. Yes, it was because he was sick, but it was still nice having him around!

5. A beautiful afternoon to run around in the yard!

Grace in Small Things - 18 of 365

2009-02-10T14:44:00.001-08:00

1. Storytime at the library. Ms. Cheryl is really great with the kids.

2. Hobby Lobby

3. Morning cuddles with Baby Girl and Kitty

4. A nice long afternoon nap (Baby Girl, not me)

5. Finishing the knee socks while Baby Girl napped!

Krewe of Eros 2009 Bal Masque

2009-02-09T17:02:00.001-08:00

So, I kinda owe you guys a report and some pictures, don't I?

On Friday night, Hubby and I attended the ball for the Krewe of Eros, they are one of the older Mardi Gras krewes, but they do not parade like some of the others. Really, it's a social organization that was founded by prominent members of New Orleans society and the ball is really a glorified debutante ball. That being said, we had a really great time. I do love getting to play dress up with my friends, there was plenty to drink and I got to dance with a guy in tights. How can you beat that?

The ball began with the presentation of the court. This ceremony lasted nearly an hour with the lieutenants, maids, princesses, king and queen. It was beautiful, but a bit tiresome after a while, so we retired to our table to drink a bit more. After the presentation of the court, the lieutenants are supposed to dance with each (female) member of their party, so we lined up and waited our turn. I had actually never met our host, and as he was masked, still didn't know him even after I had my turn dancing with him. He was very nice though and liked that I knew the difference between league and union rugby. We got to chat a bit more during the supper dance portion of the evening and I received a really pretty crown pendant for being one of his guests! I like presents!

After all of the pomp and circumstance, the fun began. The band began playing and a breakfast buffet was rolled out around midnight. Very useful as I was beginning to show the signs of too much vodka. Hubby and I had a great time out on the dance floor. It was really nice going out and having fun like a couple of adults instead of "Mommy and Daddy". The ball ended around 2:30 or so and fortunately, we had a room at the hotel where the event was being held. I don't think either one of us was in shape to drive. We also thought we would sleep in the next morning instead of having to get up with Baby Girl. Alas, that was not to be, my damn internal alarm clock still had me up by 7:30. We lounged for a while, then went out for beignets and coffee (a New Orleans tradition) and then headed home to see our beautiful girl!

Going out til all hours like that and drinking excessively has certainly set me back on my road to recovery from last week's cold, but I think it was worth it. Now to rest up for the parade on Jan 20th!

Who's this masked man? It's Hubby, of course!
The Ladies!

My lovely friend, Julia, and I on our way to the ball!

Seriously, doesn't it look like prom, only with alcohol!

Grace in Small Things - 17 of 365

2009-02-09T14:28:00.000-08:00

1. Being able to breathe through my nose for extended periods of time. Yes, I'm still attached to my tissue box, but not nearly as much as I have been.

2. Making it back to the gym after a week off. Didn't manage to do my full hour of cardio, but at least I'm off my butt.

3. Taking Baby Girl to the park after the gym so she could get a good run-around

4. Being nearly finished with the knee socks, only have the ribbing around the top to go!

5. McAllister's Deli's Club Sandwich Wrap. I could bathe in the honey-mustard they use....

Grace in Small Things - 16 of 365

2009-02-09T05:49:00.000-08:00

Wow, I really fell off the face of the earth there for a few days. Going out until all hours on Friday night really set me back on my recovery from my cold and I haven't really felt like blogging.

So, here we go, this will encompass the entire weekend:

1. A wonderful night out with friends

2. A giant hank of red wool given to me by my friends who travelled through India for a month over the holidays. How cool is it that they brought me yarn! I may have to expound on this in it's own separate blog....

3. Beignets for breakfast

4. Playing out in the yard with Baby Girl in February with no need for jackets or even shoes

5. The zoo with Baby Girl and Little Boy Next Door and his parents

6. My super healthy version of Shepherds Pie that still tastes AMAZING!

7. Surviving the grocery store on a Sunday afternoon

8. A clean kitchen

9. Plans to construct a major addition to the house which will include a rec room, guest apartment/office and STORAGE (which is desperately lacking in our house)

10. Getting to know a lovely new neighbor, actually, she's not a new neighbor, we just haven't really gotten to know her up until this point, but she seems really great and I'm looking forward to a potential friendship.

Okay, so that covers the weekend! Hope you guys had a good one too!

Grace in Small Things - 15 of 365

2009-02-06T13:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry I missed yesterday, but I was in a foul mood and my list probably would've been pretty sarcastic. You deserve better than that!

1. Proactive spot treatment (yes, I broke out the day before the ball)

2. My lovely neighbor who looked after Baby Girl so I could get a pedicure

3. Picnics on the front yard

4. Super long naptime

5. All night babysitters so Hubby and I can go out tonight in formal wear!

February 6

2009-02-06T13:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I don't run my knitting projects by you guys before I start them, but I think I'm going to start doing it. Next time I decide to make knee socks....please slap me!

Grace in Small Things - 14 of 365

2009-02-04T15:20:00.000-08:00

1. Silver heels to go with my new ball gown.

2. Beautiful chandelier earrings

3. Godiva chocolate

4. Being able to get hotel reservations for Mardi Gras weekend at this late date

5. Sephora

Soapbox

2009-02-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm sure we've all heard about the woman out in Southern California who recently gave birth to octuplets. She already had six children, yet some doctor thought she was in need of infertility treatment and implanted not the usual two or three embryos into her uterus, but eight! I've been rather disgusted by this story since I suspect her decision to bear so many children was a publicity scheme or an attempt to get some sort of corporate sponsorship or even a television deal like my beloved Jon & Kate.

So, more details came out about this woman in today's paper and it has done nothing to reduce my levels of disgust. Turns out that she is a single mother, the other kids were all conceived via IVF and her mother is the one burdened with taking care of the other ones all aged between two and seven. Oh my god! Does this woman sound a bit like the crazy people who hoard cats or dogs until they take over their houses with no ability to properly care for them? Seriously, just because you are the one actually giving birth to them doesn't change the fact that there may be a serious mental issue going on here causing you to "need" so many children that you are obviously in no way, shape or form capable of caring for! According to the article, she already has a public relations firm hired and is disappointed that none of the major diaper or baby formula companies have stepped up to help support her spawn. Really, you're shocked that maybe the companies are a little gun-shy of promoting such an extreme case of unwed motherhood. Really?

Please don't take this to mean that I don't think single women are capable of caring for their children. I think there are plenty of women in this world who are doing quite well by themselves and their children. However to make a decision to bear a litter, putting your own life and the lives of all those children at risk, after you already have six children that you aren't taking care of, well, I find that disgusting and irresponsible and child services should really step in with a psych evaluation to find out if you are a fit parent.

Okay, off my soapbox. So, I have a product review for you guys. Just so you know, my mom is a big fan of those TV infomercials. As evidenced by the fact that last year I received a Ped-Egg and this past weekend for my birthday, I received the Smooth-Away system. You know, that thing that basically consists of sandpapering the hair off your body? Well, since it was sitting there today, I decided to give it a shot and see if it worked, so I tried it on my left forearm. It takes a little bit of time, but it does work! So, now I have a nearly hairless left arm. It does leave the skin a bit sensitive, but it's not too much worse than after a waxing. Of course, I should have tried it on a part of my body that I actually wanted to be hairless. I don't usually going around sporting bald arms, my hair isn't that dark. Now, of course, I need to go upstairs and do the other arm or I'm going to look like a bit of a freak. In summary, this product works, but it's a bit time-consuming and I don't know if it's that great an alternative to shaving.

Oh, and just so you know, the Ped Egg works really well, but is also rather time consuming. It also feels like you're taking a cheese grater to your feet, but it does improve the look of bad calluses.

Grace in Small Things - 13 of 365

2009-02-03T06:00:00.001-08:00

1. Halls Honey Lemon cough drops

2. Aloe-infused tissues

3. Banana Bread Oatmeal

4. Flannel Pajamas

5. Handknit socks

See a trend here? I don't feel well and am not leaving my house today....

Grace in Small Things - 12 of 365

2009-02-02T14:54:00.000-08:00

1. Popcorn

2. Pirate hats, not for me, but Baby Girl looks awfully cute!

3. Comfy sweatpants

4. Clean sheets

5. Tea parties.

Grace in Small Things - 11 of 365

2009-02-02T06:10:00.000-08:00

1. My birthday!

2. Brunch at Brennan's. Yummy!

3. My parents being in town.

4. Roses from Hubby!

5. A really exciting Super Bowl even though my team didn't win.

10 of 365

2009-01-31T15:54:00.000-08:00

1. Birthday parties at the zoo when the weather is PERFECT!

2. A hubby that's picking up Mexican food so I don't have to cook.

3. Confirmation that Baby Girl and I are going to Disney World next month with a long-lost high school friend and her little girl.

4. Temporal thermometers

5. Learning how to knit socks from the toe up. No need for grafting!

Grace in Small Things 9 of 365

2009-01-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

1. Finding some great Mardi Gras sock yarn! I want a pair of funky socks to wear in the parade. I know no one will see them, but they will make me happy!

2. Chicken Apple Walnut Salad and French Onion Soup from Applebees

3. Finding fun Valentine's stuff to send to some friends.

4. Beer helmets...yeah, I know, totally cheesy, but see #1

5. Learning how to turn on the grill

Grace in Small Things 8 of 365

2009-01-30T05:38:00.001-08:00

1. Steak, Potatoes and Corn

2. Impressing Hubby with my entry in a yarn contest. He's hard to impress with such things.

3. Baby Girl's fever lasting less than 24 hours.

4. Letter Factory and Math Circus

5. On-line friends who make you smile even though you've never been in the same room with them.

Vanna's Choice Contest

2009-01-29T19:09:00.001-08:00

Okay, so I told you guys that I was working on my entry for the Vanna's Choice yarn contest. Well, I got it done today and here are the pictures of it:

I'm really proud of the result. It's kind of heavy for a baby blanket, I would have preferred to use a lighter weight yarn, but was limited by the rules of the contest.

Conflicted

2009-01-29T05:44:00.000-08:00

So, I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad today. I think it's a little of both and I'll tell you why. My big brother is here to visit. (That's happy) He is one of my bestest friends and he's about to start working for Hubby's company. I know I haven't given a whole lot of details about the company, but it involves boats and Big Brother is going to be working as a deck hand and hopefully within the next 6 months to year working his way up to captain. Captains make pretty good money! He's going to be working shifts that are 28 days long and then off for two weeks. So, when he's going offshore, he will come over here and stay a night before and after his shift. On other exciting Big Bro news, he also has gotten back together with his ex-girlfriend whom the whole family loves. She's really smart and laid-back (perfect for Big Bro). Not to say she doesn't have some issues, we all do, but we really think they are great for one another and are happy to see them back together. This means that Big Bro will be moving from our hometown in Northwest Florida down to Miami to be with her. That's a little sad for me and my parents. It's the farthest away from him I will have ever lived!

In preparation for his move (he has to do it in the two week spans in between his shifts), he has begun packing. Here come the real sad part. Several years back, Big Bro was with a different girl and they were expecting a baby. I made him a couple of baby sweaters, socks and blankets for the baby shower. Then at eight months, they lost the baby. Their relationship didn't survive (a long story, but a good thing). Anyhow, he's been holding on to those baby gifts this whole time and now that he's moving, he doesn't really have a place to keep them. So he brought them to me. It's sad for me to look at those things I made for a little girl who didn't get to know how much she was loved even before we knew her. I told Big Bro I would keep them, but they are still his for when he and his girlfriend (soon to be fiance) need them.

Now comes the question...should they have a baby, do I give him/her the items or is it weird considering they were made for a half-sister that died? Would it be better if I just made something new? Or should I give them the original gifts with something new, too?

Okay, I'm worrying way in advance. Big Bro and his love are not expecting and may not be for a while, but these are the things I'm thinking about today.

Grace in Small Things - 7 of 365

2009-01-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

1. Devilled eggs

2. My brother now working for my husband's company, which means he will stay with us at least two nights every month or so.

3. The package I received from Blue Moon Rockin' Sock club!

4. Big hugs from a little girl.

5. The possibility of going on a trip to Disney World next month with a friend I haven't seen in 15 years.