Teething Baby

Right Around, Baby

I broke out my spinning wheel last night for the first time in a while.... it felt good to spin! I am still working on the yarn that I am thinking will become a three-ply with two undyed plies... I'm thinking of knitting it into a baby blanket. I saw a pattern on Rav the other day and I'm motivated to finish spinning now!! 

In the Kitchen

I made spaghetti the other day and I'm in the process of making chili for tonight. It is so nice to have some quick, easy meals that we will all eat... and because we still have quite a bit of goat left from Weston's hunt, we are able to have meat! :) I might even get adventurous and make bread to go with the chili if I have everything. 

Mini-Me

My poor baby is getting four teeth right now. He is miserable. And that is making me miserable. The past few nights have been kind of rough (he wakes a lot, but is able to put himself back to sleep) but the mornings have been the worst. He just walks around chewing on his hand and screaming.... Poor guy. I did buy some mesh bag things to put frozen foods in for him to chew on. I put blueberries in one and he has been loving that. He has never been into chewing on things, so I'm glad I found something that he enjoys and seems to help...

My dad and I did take Sawyer down to see the Fur Rondy train display Monday morning, which was nice. Sawyer was scared of the old men, but really liked looking at the trains. I wound up having to carry him, since the trains were too high for him to see from the ground.  I had my Boba carrier in the car, but I thought he would like to run around, so I didn't bring it in... oh well, it was my workout. 

Sticks and String
I did finish my Milo! It is blocked and awesome. I have put it on Sawyer and it is so cute! No pictures yet, as he is crabby pants and I don't want to mess with him. Hopefully soon. I cast on for his Sweet Pea cardigan and am slowly plugging away on that. 

Ramblings

We have had a very snowy winter here in Anchorage. It is on track to possibly be one of the snowiest on record. I noticed that our fire hydrant in the front yard hadn't been being dug out like it has in the past. I wasn't sure who was responsible for that, but then the mayor posted on twitter a number to call if you needed your hydrant dug out. (For locals, the number was for AWWU) Weston called, and they came by today. However, the employee came to the door to inform me that "it really wasn't their job" to dig out the hydrants, we as homeowners "should take responsibility so our homes don't burn", my hydrant really "wasn't that bad", and I really "shouldn't have called". Hmm. I have already contacted the mayor to let him know of my interaction with the employee, but seriously. If it really isn't your job, how do you know how bad the other hydrants are? And if he would have just said, yes, we are behind, there is a lot of snow and we would appreciate your help, I would have been fine with it. He was polite, but what he said irked me. 

Weekend Round-Up

In the Kitchen

This past Thursday, I made brownies from scratch for the second time. They were *amazing*. YUM! I used this recipe.  I made two batches since they were the smaller pans and we had 4 people over for dinner... the second batch I made I used 1 cup of chocolate/peanut butter swirl chips and they were even better. Weston and I both decided those were better.... I have made brownies from scratch one other time and was not very pleased with the outcome. These were super quick, easy, and yummy!

Sticks and String
I am casting off my Milo today, which is exciting! It turned out very cute. I will have to get pictures of it on Sawyer before I gift it. I have big plans on the knitting horizon. Sawyer had a really cute bunny hat last Easter, so I've decided an Easter hat is needed for this year. (All links are Rav links) This year it is going to be a chick hatching out of an egg, which I think will be very cute! I'm also hoping to knit him a polar bear for his Easter basket, as that is his favorite animal right now (he always gets excited when he sees one while watching Monty the Moose and it's always the first and last animal we visit at the zoo)... plus, I'm hoping to have his Sweet Pea coat done in time for break up! I better get cracking on all that. Luckily, I seem to be knitting more at the moment.... 

Ramblings

So we had a *long* week, it seemed like. Weston had cooking class on Monday, grad class on Tuesday, I had to teach on Wednesday, Thursday we had our last swim lesson (which went rather well, considering how terrible the others went), and then Friday Weston went to see a movie... so it has felt like we are passing ships in the night. This weekend we were able to spend some time together. Yesterday morning we met JB downtown for the Rondy pancake breakfast, which was a lot of fun. We spent some time wondering around before eating and saw a lot of people dressed up for the Frostbite Footrace. Some people were very creative with their costumes. We were going to go to the parade, but Sawyer had to get home for his nap (he is getting 4 teeth and not sleeping well...).  Today we went out to see Weston's parent's in Eagle River and we have a birthday party for one of Sawyer's little friends. Exciting stuff! I think this next week is pretty busy too... hopefully we can make it to some more Fur Rondy events!

Mellow Monday

Mini-Me

Sawyer had a wonderful time in Seward. We all did. It was so nice to spend the day relaxing and playing and knitting. Sunday we went to the Sea Life Center, which Sawyer loved.  Pictures will be on his blog soon. 

This morning as I was at the counter uploading pictures I realized Sawyer was being rather quiet.  I looked up to see him in my baking cabinet (pretty typical) and then he sprayed Pam in his face! HA! He wasn't bothered by it, but the Pam is now living in a new non-baby-accessible cabinet. That goofy baby. 

Sticks and String
I got a fair amount of knitting done on the trip.  The milo vest would have probably been finished, but half way to Seward, I realized I forgot the second ball of yarn at home! UGH! So, we had to make an emergency trip to the yarn store there to get yarn for a new project.... I couldn't have nothing to do all night! I came home with some gorgeous yellow alpaca and a new crochet project. Mom had brought her crochet magazines down and there was something in one that I had to make... more details on that later. Here is a picture of the milo vest (which should be finished this week) and Sawyer's mitts.

Ramblings

That is really all I have for now. No big plans for the week... it's actually a rather busy week.  Weston is taking a sushi cooking class tonight, he has class tomorrow, I teach on Wednesday, and he has a dinner to go to on Saturday... so maybe sometime next week we will see each other again! We are also taking our taxes to the tax guy on Wednesday, so hopefully we get some good news back on that within a week or so. Last night we had some friends over for dinner and trashy-tv watching.  We always get together to watch Celebrity Apprentice and last night was the season premiere. It was great, in a terrible way. I hope everyone had a great weekend...

Terrible

Sticks and String

No pictures of the mittens yet. I'm actually dragging my feet because I'm not very happy with how they turned out. I'm sure if I post pictures, most people will think they look great (and they are ok) but there are a few things that I am just really disappointed with. One, is the fact that blocking did not fix any of the small tension problems I encountered. I think most of this is because I used super wash yarn, which I've never loved, or had great luck with. But, silly me, I just bought what the pattern said instead of listening to myself. The other thing that really stinks is there are a few stitches along the edge that look TERRIBLE. As in, I'm pretty sure even a non-knitter could spot them. And this really peeves me off. I don't know why I didn't notice them while I was knitting, but man, they are bad. Oh, and they won't go on Sawyer's hands. They aren't too small, he just has a hard time getting them on.... 

I've moved on to another project, which is turning out nicely so far. (But, it is in super wash yarn, so who knows what is going to happen)  The midwife who delivered Sawyer had her first kid this past year, and I wanted to knit him a little something. I decided to knit a Milo vest (Rav link) as I know a lot of people who have knit them and they look like a fun, quick knit. I bought yarn (because I don't have any super wash in my stash, and I'm not sure if it would be hand washed....) ... and the yarn is knitting up nicely (color wise) but is SUPER splitty. Which is quite annoying, as most of this vest is mindless knitting, but I have to pay close attention to not mess up the yarn. I should make good progress on this tomorrow as we are heading down to Seward for the night. 

Ramblings

As I mentioned, we are heading to Seward tomorrow. My family is down there for a long weekend, and it is my dad's birthday on Sunday, so we thought it would be nice to go down for the night. I'm hoping Sawyer does ok on the car ride... we are timing it so it should be nap time, and it is only a 2.5 hour drive, so *fingers crossed* it should be ok. I'm hoping it is a nice, relaxing night... who knows though!  I hope everyone has a nice weekend. 

Drive By

Sticks and String


Just a quick drive-by post to say that I finished Sawyer's octopus mittens tonight. They are in the sink blocking, so pictures soon. (Apparently small-diameter color work is a bit more challenging for me...) I wouldn't say I'm in love with them... but, blocking might fix that. I will say that I am insanely proud of myself for starting and finishing them within a month (not a calendar month, but 4 weeks). Yes, they are small, but there are TWO of them and they are exactly the same. Not exactly a super exciting knit. But, they are done and almost ready to wear!!

Next up on the needles is a Milo vest. The midwife that delivered Sawyer had a son this past year, so I want to knit him a little something. I know a lot of people who have knit up this little vest and it looks fun, quick, and simple. I was planning to cast-on tonight, but I think I'm going to head to bed. The yarn will be there in the morning.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Pictures of the mittens soon!

Normal-ish...

Ramblings

I have been feeling a bit "off" the last month. My stomach has still been a roller coaster, and because of the new nap schedule Sawyer has been on, I haven't been seeing adults during the day. I could tell it was taking a toll on my mental health... Plus, when Sawyer was napping, I was napping to, which meant that very little was getting done during the day. On top of all this, it was so cold that I hardly could get out. February has brought warmer weather (a bit *too* warm... today it is 41!), and Sawyer and I went to the zoo yesterday! (Pics on his blog) That really helped. Being in the fresh air was amazing. We both had a great time. Then, my MIL was able to come over last night so that Weston and I could go out to dinner by ourselves. It was wonderful. We had dinner at Cattle Company (more on that in a min...) and had such a nice time. It was great to be able to sit and talk with Weston without a little person pulling on me or hitting me in the face. Then we still had some time to kill, so we went to Century Theatre and played a few arcade games.  I beat Weston at air hockey, which was epic.... he beat me at everything else we played, but it was so fun! I finally feel like I am getting back to being myself. Today during nap time I have even done some knitting.

So, Cattle Company. As you know, I am not a fan of chains and box stores. I hadn't eaten there in five years. We had received a gift card for Christmas, and I am not one to turn down free food! :) I honestly didn't expect much, I was just excited to be out with my husband. I was very surprised to find that my food was AMAZING. Seriously. Wonderful. The salad was good, the steak was perfectly cooked, my baked potato was delicious.... We even brought a slice of cheesecake home and WOW... it was heavenly. The service was great. They had a wonderful selection of mixed drinks... I was really impressed and pleased. Granted, it was still pretty expensive (it is steak, after all) so we will probably only be back to use up the rest of our gift card, but I will say that I will keep it in mind....

February Already?!

Sticks and String

This past week I started a small knitting group at Barnes and Noble on Wednesday nights. I have been interested in getting out and having more adult time, so this worked out perfectly! I do enjoy teaching knitting, but I find that I don't get to be very social while teaching... because I teach beginning knitting, my students really need my help! Which is great, that is why I am there, but I need some time out of my house, with other adults, where I can talk about things other than my kid. (Who is awesome.) I'm hoping the group will meet regularly. If you are in town, we are meeting at Barnes and Noble Wednesday nights at 7. 

Oh, and in actual knitting news, I'm working on Sawyer's octopus mittens. One just needs a thumb and I just finished the ribbing on the other one. I really need to get new ink for my printer so I can photocopy the chart and not have to carry the book around! That is really preventing me from working on them... we spent a lot of time in the car this weekend, but it is a bit hard to have a book open on your lap and read a chart, so I didn't get any knitting done....

Mini-Me

Sawyer is growing and learning more every day. It is crazy. He is also getting two bottom teeth right now, so I'm expecting a few long nights.... last night was one. I'm also expecting him to start talking any time now. He is saying "Mama" and "Dada" to the right people now, which is fun. He mostly uses them when walking around looking for us. There is nothing more fun than hearing him run down the hallway yelling "MAMAMAMAMA". Because it has finally warmed up, we have been outside more, which Sawyer is very happy about. Pictures of him playing are on his blog....

Ramblings

This weekend was the SUPERBOWL... which we don't really care about, but our friends do. One of our friends is a HUGE football fan... his dad has a crazy party (bartenders, waitresses to bring you things you want, prizes, etc) so we always go there. It was fun that the bartender remembered Sawyer from last year. She commented that last year all he did was sleep (true, he was 4 months old) and this year he was all grown up! He was also very well behaved. He stayed in our little area, ate food, drank his water, and played with random things he found. It was great. I was expecting to have to leave early because controlling Sawyer is sometimes a challenge... 

We also went out to Eagle River this weekend to see Weston's parents, who have been out of town since the middle of December. They were pretty excited to see Sawyer and he was well behaved, so it was a nice day. The weekend was so busy, it was a bit exhausting. It didn't even really feel like a weekend we had so much to do... hopefully we have a nice quiet week to top it off....