Wine Club!

I joined the Wine Club at a cute little store called Wine Styles last week when W was in Nevada. I have only been to the store a few times, but it is pretty awesome. It is very well designed and all of the employees are very helpful and seem to know a lot about wine. So every 15th I get to go pick up two bottles of wine from different parts of the world. I also get 10% off everything else in the store. I bought two bottles of wine the last time I was there and one of them was PHENOMENAL. I will probably go back and get one more bottle and enjoy it on a another sunny day in the yard.

The other bottle is one that is a wine club pick. It is decent. There is an episode of "The Office" called "The Dinner Party" where Jim, Pam, Andy, Angela, and Dwight go over to Michael's for a dinner party (duh!). In that episode he describes the wine as having an "oaky afterbirth". Now I know that isn't the right term, but it is pretty oaky. I don't think that is bad, but it is a bit different from the wines that I am used to.

I'm looking forward to getting to try new wines that I wouldn't normally choose. I am also looking forward to hopefully learning more about wine so when I go to pick a new bottle I can know that I am going to like it. Pretty sure the only way to learn more is to drink more. I will toast to that!

Dog Bath Craziness

If you remember, the first time we tried to give Snickers a bath it didn't turn out so well. We took him to PetCo and got a call saying he was too aggressive. Hmm. So I was a bit nervous about giving him a bath. But they were SO dirty that they needed their Spring time cleaning. We took both dogs to the Monster Wash on Diamond which also has a do it yourself dog wash. Frito actually did pretty well. He didn't try to jump off the table like he normally does and now his white fur is white again and you don't have to wash your hands after you pet him.



Snickers was another story. While he didn't try to bite us (my main fear) he did try to jump off of the dog bath table. Because they are hooked to the table, it would end very badly for them to jump off. I had to keep comforting him and making sure he didn't jump off. Luckily, Snickers has shorter hair and he is able to finish his bath quickly.

Now the dogs are clean (without too much of an incident) and they should hopefully stay that way until the end of the summer.

Etsy Surprise!

The other week when I got paid I ordered a bunch of fun things off of Etsy. The first thing was a hand carved stamp from wine makers sister. It is a moose wearing a pair of socks. More on the image to come. I really enjoyed working with her. She was very quick to respond and very helpful. I LOVE my stamp. I haven't been able to use it yet, but I am excited.




The other thing I ordered was a bunch of fun roving to needle felt a moose. I ordered this from 7 yaks. It was very nicely dyed and a joy to work with. I had never needle felted anything, and a book that I got for my birthday came in very helpful. I was very pleased with the finished product.






But, I need help! This moose needs a name! He is a boy (the antlers decided that), so let me know what you think.

My Roomba may be trying to take over...

Scene: A sunny Monday afternoon. I had a long day at work so had mixed myself a drink (yummy AK vodka and OJ) and was going to enjoy the sun out in the back yard. All was good. The I decided to get crazy. I should rake, I thought. That is when it started to get ugly.



I go inside to put on appropriate raking footwear. While by the front door I notice it was left unlocked and flip the deadbolt. I wouldn't want crazies wondering into my house when I'm not in it! Then I wonder back outside to start to rake. I walk into the yard and realize I forgot to grab the shed key. Walk back to the sliding door and...it doesn't budge. I pull again harder. Nope, nothing. Then I see it. The big wooden stick that we use to lock the sliding glass door (the handle lock is flimsy and depending on the weather doesn't work) is in the track. The roomba is backing slowly away from the crime to erase its tracks. But I know it did it.



I start by calling my husband.

Me: "The Roomba locked me out."
W: "What?!? How in the world did that happen? Are you sure?"
M: "Yes, I'm sure...hear me pulling? The door is locked."
W: "Well, don't break the door."
M: "Does anyone else have a key to the house?"
W: "No one but Josh" (who is sitting beside W....in NEVADA!)
M: "Great...."

Then I decide I should call all of our relatives just to check and see if we did give them a key. Nope. We have a bunch made. In the junk drawer. Inside the house.

Luckily, my IPhone saved the day. I used it to find a locksmith to come and let me back into my house. So here is my plug for them, because they were quick and amazing and didn't even charge me for after-hours work even though they weren't able to get me in until 5:30 (apparently those anti-pick locks can be a bitch).

Alaska Locksmith is awesome! Call them for all of your locksmith-ing needs. (907)-243-0822

And that is how my Roomba locked me out of my house.

Motivation, where did you go?

I woke up a bit early this morning (7am!) for a few reasons. 1. W texted me to let me know he was leaving Seattle and heading to Nevada for a weekend of rock climbing. I was happy that he was able to make his flights, as he was flying standby and I know he would have been disappointed if he had to spend the weekend in Seattle. and 2. Snickers decided to jump on the bed and make it well known that he was ready to get up. So I got up, and got a LOT done! I made two batches of cinnamon-sugar pecans for my parents, washed my sheets, and roombaed my room. I was also able to eat breakfast, and be ready for quilt class on time! Amazing.

Now I'm back home and don't feel like doing ANYTHING. Lame. I was hoping to feel super motivated and get a ton of stuff done. Maybe I will eat lunch and that will fix it....

(For pictures of my quilt block, follow me on Twitter...I'm much better at posting pics there because I can do it from my phone.)

Lurker

So I was reading comments on another blog just a second ago and someone mentioned they were a "lurker" but decided to comment just this once. Using my powers of deduction, I figured out that a lurker is someone who reads a blog but never posts comments. Hmm. I'm a MAJOR lurker. As you can tell from my sidebar, I read a lot of blogs on a pretty regular basis. I don't post on them. It got me to thinking that maybe I should start posting on them. Isn't that the idea of a blog? To share your ideas with others? I LOVE it when people leave me comments because then I know they are reading. So maybe that will be a new goal of mine.

On another note, the snow is almost GONE! I love seeing grass....even if it is dead, super gross grass. One thing that is a HUGE pain is trying to keep most of the dirt outside the house. The dogs are getting so dirty and they track it everywhere. Plus, the volcanic ash is still on the ground and that gets everywhere too. So to try and battle the mess I've been running the Roomba twice a day (once on schedule while at work and then when I get home) and mopping the floor with a towel when I get home. It's a bit more work, but being able to see my floor and not a big bunch of dirt is worth it.

I dyed some yarn last night, which was VERY exciting. I would post pictures, but I am not on my own computer, so I will get to those next time. It was only my second time dyeing yarn, and I think it turned out pretty well. I plan on working more on that tonight.

New Office, 30 Rock, and Parks and Rec. I heart Thursday. Ohh, and a new bottle of wine....

Things I love

1. Being so close to summer I can taste it. I think I am down to less that 30 days with students.
2. Knitting socks on two circular needles. Got some more knitting done while waiting at the car wash and the tire change place.
3. My new hair cut. Pictures to come later. I was pretty sure bangs would be a bad life choice, but I went for them anyway. I think I like them pretty well. I think after about two weeks I will love it.....
4. Credit Union 1. I opened up my checking account today for my big summer plans (more on that to come...) and got everything I needed in 30 mins. Including my debit card. They print it right there. Amazing. They were very helpful.
5. Yarn. I watched the new PhatFiber videos last night and was SUPER excited and can't wait to hopefully get my hands on a box.
6. Spenard Roadhouse. Yum.

So my new goal is to post three times a week about my crafting. This will force me to craft at least three times a week. I sometimes find that a whole day can go by and I did nothing but eat candy and read on the internet. I need to detach myself from the computer and get some stuff done! Today, I was able to knit quite a few rounds on my socks while waiting to get my tires changed. This past weekend I finished my Easter chicks for some babies and they were a HUGE hit. Corbin thought it was fun to make them "play together" which meant he was going to smash them together. It was quite amusing to me. I was excited that someone was excited about them as I was.

Break up is officially here. I hate the smell of break up....rotting leaves and dog poop just don't do it for me. But the dogs are finding tons of toys they had lost under the snow, so that is exciting for them.

What I've been up to...

I realized that I haven't been posting about my crafting life. So here is what I have been doing:



Knitting circles around socks! While this may look like a tangled mess, it is actually a PAIR of socks being knitted on two circular needles. This is my first time knitting two socks at a time, and I love it. It is also my first time using AddiTurbo needles, and I am impressed. Wasn't sure that I was going to like them, since I am hopelessly devoted to bamboo (and I've heard that they do make bamboo, so I may be hunting for those soon) but the cord on these circulars is amazing. I'm definitely sold on them. And glad that I bought 6 pairs in different sizes the other night...



Crocheting a sweater. Yup, I can crochet. And I love how quick it is. I normally don't love things that are crocheted though, which makes me not do it too often. I am crocheting the sweater "Frou Frou" out of "Stitch N' Bitch: The Happy Hooker" and I am pretty happy with it. Love the yarn (a Cascade 200 heather in a teal color) and I love the pattern. I am going to change it a bit, as I don't like the edging on the sleeves, but that will be a simple modification and not a big deal. (After typing this paragraph, I am concerned that I spelled crocheted wrong....so if it is spelled wrong, please excuse my poor spelling. I have a very hard time with spelling...)



And I checked some new books out from the library. Both just have a few patterns that I was interested in. The new gloves and mittens book has some cool patterns, but I know that I would never knit them. They don't seem very practical to me. Probably because I live in a climate that I actually NEED to wear gloves 8 months out of the year to prevent frostbite.

Alright, I have to go get ready for the day. We get to deliver Maverick back to his house today! Having three dogs is a bit too much. They are all nuts.

Finally Friday

I was pretty sure this week was twice as long as it should have been. Every day felt like it was 36 hours long, and not in a good way. I accomplished nothing in my personal life and was just plain stressed out all week. I have decided when your job starts to affect all aspects of your life in a negative way, it might be time to leave.

ANYWAY...today is Friday and I could not be happier. Well, I guess I could be...I am watching my parents' dog which is always a chore. He is not really that demanding, but it is just a pain to have three dogs in the house. You always have to keep an eye on them and make sure that Maverick (parents' dog) isn't being eaten. He is probably about 15 lbs, compared to my 45 lb and 80 lb dogs...

I think I might try to check out Kohl's this weekend. I guess it had its grand Alaskan opening on Wednesday or Sunday...or some day. So I might go do that. Other than that, no big plans. Just a whole lot of stress-free time at home.