The Day After

I hope everyone had a happy holiday yesterday.... us, we had a good time! We celebrate Chris-ma-kah, so most of celebrating was already over by yesterday. I broke tradition and bought Weston a gift (we normally don't get each other anything, just buy something fun for the house... this year it happened to be a washer and dryer... not really "fun" but necessary) which I think I already talked about. I bought it on Black Friday... so he has had it since then. It was a super big Craftsman tool chest for his shed. He loves it.

Yesterday morning while hanging out with the in-laws waiting for breakfast to cook, W brought Sawyer to me. He had something hard in his sleeper, so I unsnapped it to find a gift card to the pilates studio by our house! It said To: Mommy Love: Sawyer.... he is such a thoughtful baby! He knew that I wanted to take a class there, and now I can!! Later that night, when we were back at home, I went to change Sawyer into his party clothes (one last party last night!) and I found two super nice bottles of wine (that are for ME and apparently not really to be shared) and a gift card for a massage. Awesome! I was blown away, especially since we don't get gifts for each other!! W said he wanted to get me something nice since I have been doing such a good job of taking care of Sawyer. Awww.... My husband is pretty amazing.

Sawyer got some new clothes from his aunt and a set of soft blocks from grandma. I made him two (one more is on the way....) fabric books. One is the Poky Little Puppy and the other is the Saggy Baggy Elephant. He was hanging out with me when I made the elephant book and was really getting a kick out of all the different steps that I would show him. It was really fun. The last book that I have to finish is a counting book with pirate bears. I think he will really like that one as well since he seems to have a thing for bears...

I was able to get a good amount of knitting done yesterday, which was a gift in itself!! I am down to the last 12 rows of the second sleeve of Sawyer's sweater. I'm hoping that he can wear it as a jacket in the spring and fall. I need to get cracking on it!!

In the spirit...

When I went to Sock Summit 2009 (and yes, I am going in 2011... my hotel is already booked and I have crazy amounts of yarn money squirreled away...) I got to meet the Knitmore Girls.  At that time, I did not listen to podcasts. I was still quite taken with them, and did manage to listen to a few episodes later that summer. When I was on bedrest this past summer, ALL I did was listen to podcasts. I didn't ever move the TV into my bedroom, so that was my only means of entertainment. So I started at the beginning, and listened to every Knitmore Girls podcast there was.... all 100+ of them. :) Needless to say, I enjoy the podcast. And, in the spirit of the Knitmore Girls, I would like to describe what Sally 2011 is going to be like....

Sally 2011 is going to be a finisher. I am tired of having things almost done. I need to buckle down and do them! When I was going through cleaning my craft room I found the supplies for at least 50 projects. That is crazy. I am going to finish a few of them!

Sally 2011 is going to get dressed every day. Now I know this sounds like a small thing, but some days I don't make it out of my pj's. And, yes, I have a small baby... but seriously, the change it makes in my attitude to put on REAL clothes is amazing. So, that is the plan. Get dressed every day.

Sally 2011 is going to continue to de-stash. This coincides with the finishing. I'm hoping to not bring very much (if anything) INTO my sewing room (Sock Summit is an exception. I am allowed to do what I want there, but if the past few months have shown me anything, it is that I can resist temptation. I haven't been buying too much for a while now, since I wasn't working... and I don't really miss it) and I'm hoping that a lot of things LEAVE my sewing room, either as FO or to find new homes where they can be used.

I think that is all that I can really commit to openly. There may be things added along the way (like, I really would like to not wear pants that often, but that requires me buying more skirts, so I need to save some $$) but I know I can do those three things starting now. I was telling Weston about Sally 2011, and he was pretty excited. He wanted me to commit to always cleaning up after myself, and I said I didn't think I could do that. He thought that was part of finishing things... like if I start a project and need to use the ironing board, the project isn't finished until the ironing board is put away. I looked at him for a while and then decided to ignore the comment and continue to talk about how excited I was for my new ideas. Maybe I will try his way of "finishing".... but, baby steps.... baby steps...

OH! And a quick Sawyer update. At his two month checkup, he weighed 13lbs and had grown 2inches since he was born. Crazy. He was a bit heavier and taller than average, which I expected, since I do carry him around quite often. He also got his first round of shots... it was quite traumatic for him, but he doesn't seem to be bothered by it today, which is good! Off to shower and get dressed!! GO me!

Can't eat just one

I have a problem. I am addicted to chips. Seriously. If there are chips in the house, I will eat them non stop. And, normally we don't HAVE chips because they are crazy expensive, but recently, Safeway released their own brand of chips. They are a decent price, delicious, and they have a ZIP TOP bag. Seriously, why had no one done this before?? It is ingenious! I love it. Of course, chips don't last long enough in the house to get stale, but STILL, amazing.

Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. We are heading to our last Christmas party tonight.... (I think we have had 4 to go to as a family, and I have had 2 two of my own, and Weston one of his own...) I'm pretty excited for this one. We play this dumb dice game where you get to steal presents. They are all pretty inexpensive things (I'm bringing some dog treats, an extension cord (who doesn't need that!) and some candy) but it is SUPER fun!

Sawyer is still doing well. Growing like a weed. I'm hoping he still fits into his Christmas clothes next weekend! We have his 2 month check up on Tuesday. I'm very interested to see how much he weighs.

Alright, there is a bag of chips calling my name... that and a fussy baby. :)

Smile!

Back to work...

I returned to work this week at the Quilt Tree.  I do have a new job there though, I am now working in the back doing all the receiving and inventory tracking. It's a part time job (24 hrs/week) and so far I am loving it.  Monday I learned how to reconcile the tills, yesterday was a freight day so I was able to learn how to receive shipments. I've been learning a lot, making mistakes along the way, but I have been able to figure out how to fix them and that has been rewarding. Sawyer has been doing well at home, I think he saves being fussy for me. We are getting better at calming him down though...

Other than that, not much going on. Still trying to finish up some knitting projects. It is hard to knit with a fussy newborn though. He flails about and I don't want to stab him with my needles... that would surely put me in the running for worst mom. :)

We have our Christmas lights up and my house looks like a little gingerbread house. I love driving up and seeing it!! It is so cute! We are hoping to get our tree this weekend. The nursery is just up the street from our house, so we will be walking there and dragging the tree back in a sled. Much easier than getting Sawyer in and out of his car seat.

Today is my day off at work, so Sawyer and I are going to go check out the new eco-friendly toy store in town. I don't know how excited he is, but I am looking forward to it. He typically falls asleep in the car, so he probably doesn't really care where we go.... I hope everyone has a great week!

Happy December!!

Sawyer has been good.... have you?!?

It's beginning to look a lot like....

The holiday season!! It has finally decided to look like winter outside of my door, which makes me really happy. I hated the slushy, gross, warm weather. I'm much happier with the cold, snowy weather. My Christmas lights are up, and my house looks like a little gingerbread house. I love it. Of course, Chris-ma-kah is in full swing here. Weston and I already got our present for the house... a new dryer... since I broke the other one.  That brings my breaking appliance count to three for the year (we have replaced the dishwasher, washer, and dryer this year). Weston has informed me that if I break the refrigerator, I will be keeping my cold things outside as we can not replace anything else in the house. :)

I also decided to get Weston his own present this year (we normally just buy something for the house) since he has been such a big help with me and the baby. I bought him a nice tool cabinet thing for his shed. I went out on Black Friday to Sears to pick it up because it was 50% off. I was so excited that I was actually able to get one!! Normally on deals like that, the person in front of me grabs the last one... I couldn't keep it a surprise though, as we had to go to the distribution center to pick it up.  So when I came home, I gave him the receipt and told him he had to go pick up his present... his favorite kind of gift... a chore!  HA!

Thanksgiving went well. We weren't able to go to my parent's house as my dad was sick and refused to let us come over. So we just spent the day with W's family. It was pretty nice. After we ate, Sawyer and I took a nap and everyone else played cards.

Sawyer has decided that he doesn't like going to bed at night. He naps just fine, but when you try to put him to bed at night, oh no.... he throws a huge fit. We've been working through that. I think I have found a solution (swaddling him tightly and a noise making bear that sounds like a womb apparently....) and last night he slept from 10:30-5! So, hopefully this will continue to work. Right now he is hanging out in his swing trying his best to stay awake. He is just sooo funny....

Alright, off to put the laundry in the dryer and grab something to eat while I have two free hands! It is amazing how much I have learned to do with only one hand.... again, I am amazed by moms. I'm also amazed that not everyone in the world is an only child... further proof having kids makes you crazy....

Happy Birthday Frito!

Today is Frito's 4th birthday!! Weston and I adopted him from the AK dog and puppy rescue back when I was in grad school. He has been a great addition to our family and he is pretty funny. Here is a summary of his life, in pictures...

The first day we brought him home... he has always been very attached to Weston. And I can't believe he was ever that small....

He has always been a "fat kid" and obsessed with food. The obsession started at an early age....

Like anyone, he had his awkward teenage years... (what is up with his fur?? It is super curly at this point in his life for some reason...)

But, he grew out of that and is now one of the most beautiful dogs I know! And, he has a sense of humor, as you can see in this well captured moment. :)

He is always looking for the most convenient place to spend time...

He now has a brother, Snickers, who he loves a lot...

And he is Weston's adventuring partner. 

Frito, I think you are an awesome dog and I hope that you are enjoying your dog life with us. I hope you and Weston continue to have fun adventures for many years. I will be home waiting for you both. :) 

In awe...

I am in awe of mothers who get things done. I feel like since Sawyer has been born I have been incredibly unproductive. I'm starting to get my act together... I normally can load the dishwasher and shower on top of taking care of him all day, which to me is a major accomplishment. I'm also trying to knit for an hour or so while he is sleeping... and maybe trying to clean my sewing room for a few mins each day. Either way, I am incredibly impressed with mothers who accomplish more than daily care of themselves and their children. Kudos to you!

I guess you will have to take my word for it that he is awake for parts of the day... but can you blame me for not getting things done?? I just sit and stare at him... he's pretty amazing. 

Another thing that I am loving (besides watching Sawyer do funny things) is my cloth diapering. It is awesome. I don't really know what it is I like so much about it, but it is just amazing. I love that I haven't had to go to the store for diapers for him, which is good because I hate going to the store, and it is saving us tons of $$! I would say I go through 10-12 diapers a day, more if he decides to pee right as I'm changing him, but it doesn't matter.... we have 24 diapers and just have to run the washer to get more.  I run the washer every night at dinner just so I don't have to worry about running out of diapers, but because you don't have to fold them or anything, it is the easiest laundry ever. And, I haven't had any problems with the diapers smelling at all. I have a bag that I keep them in by his changing table, then I just toss them in the washer when I'm ready to wash. Easy. And, he has the cutest little poufy bottom. Cloth diapers are a bit bulkier than disposables, but it hasn't been a problem so far. And, his diapers have cool covers (one has trees, and he has a bunch of different colored ones) instead of just being boring. 

In other non-baby news, I'm knitting a hat for a friend in Juneau. She wanted a sample to show how her yarn knitted up to display at her craft fairs and things... I'm hoping to have it done by the middle of next week so I can get it to her before Thanksgiving. It is a bit slow going, but I think I can do it. Here is the Rav link to the pattern. We also bought quite a few bags of Halloween candy yesterday at Target for 75% off. Oh, and we are trying to not go grocery shopping... so we are eating what we have... it has been a challenge. Breakfast is the hardest, because I am a cereal junkie and we have been out of cereal for almost two weeks. We ran out of milk and cheese too. But, I am still very successful with dinner! The other day we had chili, tonight we are having chicken and rice... I am looking forward to going grocery shopping though... I'm hoping that we can make it to the 15th and then stock back up on food. 

Alright, off to go entertain the baby. He is trying to decide if he wants to be awake or asleep... these are the big questions of life...

Surprise! I'm a week old!

And my name is Sawyer Lee. I'm keeping everyone entertained by my funny faces and the cute little things I do. Mom and I are figuring out this whole feeding thing and I am tolerating being changed. She always wants to change my diaper. I hate it. I don't understand why she won't just leave me alone.... anyway, off to sleep again. It's one of my favorite things to do...

Baby and I did it....

Baby Boy Bennett (name TBD, hopefully this weekend) was born 10-20-2010 at 10:49pm. It was a bit of a rough labor (for weird reasons... I only pushed for 2 hrs and was done, so I was very lucky in that aspect, but I was fully dialated and never really felt any pain, so I went from 0-60 on the pain scale pretty quickly...) but Baby and I both made it and we are fine. We were able to stay at the birth center, so I was home at 4 am the next morning and we have been figureing each other out ever since. He's a pretty good baby, not too fussy. The dogs are getting along with him as well. We are one happy family. Oh, and he weighed 7lbs 9oz and was 1'9.25"tall (21.25 inches long :) )

Stashing

Anyone who crafts probably has a stash. (I say probably, because I am sure there is one person who only buys for one project at a time, and then finishes that project... crazy) I have a very large stash. My strategy for stashing up to this point has been "if I like it, I buy it". Well, this leads to a lot of things that don't go together, single skeins of yarn that sit there, and just a lot of STUFF. I have decided to change my stashing strategy. I am now going to try and only buy for projects (and hopefully projects I plan on starting soon) and actually finish things. I'm not so set on the finishing part (because, let's face it, you know me...) BUT I am set on buying with a purpose so that I can go through my stash and make things not just admire it. Along with this new plan comes a large DESTASH. I have started to go through my yarn and fiber and anything that I don't LOVE or have a project for, it going in my destash pile. If you are on Ravelry, my destash page is here.  If you aren't on Ravelry, I have the pictures of things I am destashing on Flickr, here.

Here is a small sample of things I'm destashing....

 

If you see something you like, let me know. I may be willing to negotiate on price. I have projects I would like to start, but no room or extra $$ for the supplies.... There are no prices listed on Flickr, so just shoot me an email of leave me a note here and I will get back to you. Also, keep checking back for more stuff... I have only made it through my fingering weight yarn and part of my fiber....

What is your stashing strategy?? What do you do with things that you have outgrown??

Oh, news....

So Justin Beiber is in the news. For "assaulting" (in quotes because the story kind of sounds like he didn't really do it, and if there was any encounter it was accidental) a 12-yr-old boy. First off, I don't really care. Secondly, I'm a bit disappointed in America that this story was actually in the NEWS hours of the Today show. Gross.

And of course, Joe Miller is in the news again. This time for having a blogger "arrested" (in quotes because he had his private security put the man in cuffs, once the police arrived the man was set free) at a town hall meeting for trespassing. I was unaware that you could trespass at a public event.  I also think that he is a bit confused on what is his private life. I don't consider my work history private. If I were running for public office, I would kind of expect every bit of dirt to be uncovered about me. That is what happens... not saying it is right, but it is what happens....

I just hate watching the news. And I can't wait until November 4th when all the political ads are off the air. There is ONE that I really like, it is put out by GCI (our local cable company (that I actually dislike... )) and it just encourages people to get out and vote. It reminds people that this election is important for Alaska and no matter what you believe in, you should voice your opinion. Which is one belief I can get behind. VOTE.

Baby, baby, baby

I'm about as ready for this baby as I think I ever will be. The new washer (remember, the washer broke... I think I mentioned that...) was delivered on Monday and I finally prepped all of my cloth diapers. I have kind of been finding excuses to do laundry because the washer is so awesome.  It is a whirlpool duet and just amazing. The clothes are washed, sorted by size, and put into the changing table. My bags are packed and ready to head to the birth center. (I think I have everything.... who knows...) My room is still a mess, but oh well. Our bedroom, where the baby will be for at least a while, is clean and ready to go. The midwife said yesterday that the baby is head down and pretty low (which I kind of guessed, because my stomach is in my way and I haven't really gotten any bigger)... any day now. Of course, Baby could still be late, but even late, it is the middle of October, so two weeks... CRAZY. Here is what I look like now.

It's very weird to see myself in pictures... I don't feel like I look that pregnant. I guess I'm just used to it... 

We decorated for Halloween early this week. Which means my fall quilts are out! I find it slightly amusing that I have two quilts for this season and none for Christmas.... I do have all the fabric for two Christmas quilts... it's even all cut out... maybe next year. :)

The scottie dog pillow is a new acquisition. I bought it at the Friends of Pets quilt auction. It matched my quilt perfectly, so I knew I had to have it! 

I had some other things, but they have already slipped my mind. I have an exciting day planned today... lunch with my former teaching team, and then selling my wares at a craft fair. Fingers crossed that I make some $$ so I can treat myself to something nice! :) I will try to remember to take pictures of my booth so you can see it. Off to my busy day!

Dinner

Weston and I don't eat out a lot. We both would rather buy "things" (like, yarn, bullets, washers, DVDs, etc) with our money than fancy meals. Along with that, often when we eat out, we feel that it wasn't worth the money because we could have made it ourselves for far less AND better. So, eating out hasn't been a large part of our life for at least a year. When we do eat out, it is at Bear's Tooth, Spenard Roadhouse, or some other local joint. 

Lately, I have been trying to plan dinner. While we often have been cooking at home, dinner has been this THING where we both open cabinets, him and haw, and then determine there is "nothing to eat" and wind up with something disappointing. Plus, even when W suggests things that I normally like, sometimes I'm in a whiny mood and don't WANT that and get cranky. Especially when that is what we wind up having anyway... So, I have taken it upon myself to sit down once a week, make a menu, write a grocery list, go grocery shopping, and cook. Yeah, that's right, I have been cooking dinner. I think last week I cooked 3/5 nights during the week. That is pretty much unheard of. This has improved dinner time in our house ten fold... I know what I am going to eat, I can get it ready when I'm hungry (and not have to wait until W wants to eat), and I go to the grocery store once a week instead of multiple times.... which saves us $$. Every time I go to the grocery store, I buy things I don't intend to, so the fewer times I go, the less money I spend!

Another thing this has helped is our meat intake. We have been trying to eat less meat for a while, for a few reasons. 

*It is better for the environment. A lot of the greenhouse gases are caused by meat production.... plus, shipping it a far way, etc. etc. 

*It is better for us.... If you aren't eating meat, you replace that with something else in your meal, such as a hearty vegetable...

*It is cheaper. For example, today when I went to the store and bought 34 items and I spent $58.69 (I saved $29.91 with coupons and stuff) and $14 of that was meat! I bought a pack of chicken breasts for two meals this week and a tube of sausage so I can cook it up and have sausage biscuits for breakfast. That is crazy. And I spent more $$ than I normally would for a week of groceries because I had to buy popsicles and other snacks to take to the birth center, which I normally wouldn't buy... and that was probably about $10-$12 total as well. Blows my mind how much meat costs... and I find that I don't actually miss it... I'm not a huge meat fan, mostly because we always have leftovers and I have a big THING about leftover meat. I HATE it. If I wasn't forced to eat leftovers, I probably would be more pro-meat... but as it stands, gross. 

W has a hard time coming up with dinner ideas that don't include meat, so I'm glad that I have taken over this task. 

I have a ton of cookbooks, but I have found that the best and easiest place for me to find recipes to use is a site called allrecipes.com.  You can store recipes you like, add recipes to a grocery list, and change the quantities of recipes, so that it yields more or less than the original. Amazing. I love it. OH! And almost everything has pictures... I need that. This week we are really branching out and I'm trying 4 new recipes. On the menu this week: Black bean burgers, chicken and dumplings, spinach and black bean pasta, buffalo chicken sandwiches, and spaghetti. Oh, and I might be making cheesecake, chocolate cake, or pumpkin bars... still undecided on which one (or all) of those I will be making.

So, that is our new dinner plan. Of course, now that I am in the groove of this, Baby is going to come and things are going to go crazy again. :) Oh well.... maybe I can convince family members to come over and cook....

It's all downhill from here...

I've made it. I'm officially 37 weeks (well, 37+1 actually) pregnant. Baby and I did it. Whew. So, who knows when Baby is actually planning on coming, but I will get to start at the birthing center, so that is nice. :) I am going to my birth center orientation today....

Monday my washer broke. Oops. I may or may not have been felting some sweaters at the time. Ok, I was... but it was just bad timing. I did not break the washer. Weston has assured me that it wasn't my fault. So, now we are getting a new one...

It's PFD day!!! Whoo hoo! Who doesn't love free $$. For those of you who don't know, Alaskans get what is called a permanent fund dividend every year in October. Here is the wiki page telling you all about it. This year the PFD is a little over $1,200, I'm not sure how we will be dividing up our two PFDs, but any $$ that I get to spend on whatever I want (probably 1/3 of one of them) will be going to my Sock Summit fund... I plan on going crazy while down there. Need to spin/knit down my stash to make room (which I have been doing...)...

I'm sure there were other things I had to blog about, but who knows. I have terrible baby brain (which, sadly, I've heard is one thing that doesn't go away once Baby is born... I would love to remember things for more than oh.... 5 seconds....) lately. And my legs are swelling now. Whoo hoo. :) Can't wear my dansko shoes anymore because my feet are swollen (which is actually probably a good thing, as I tend to fall in them). Oh, the joys!

Squirrel Mittens 101

What I learned while knitting my squirrel mitten....

1. I love picot edges. They are dainty, girly, and pretty slick. I don't enjoy knitting them.... BUT it was worth it and I'm glad I did it. The jury is still out on the braids... they look ok. I think maybe just one would have looked better....

2. When working color work, it is best to hold your contrast color in your left hand (if you hold one yarn in each hand like I do). I actually have done this subconsciously most of the time, but the pattern recommended it because it helps the CC "pop".

3. Working decreases on size 0 needles is not fun. I bent my addi turbo needle doing the decreases which made me even more annoyed.

4. Charting color work is a bit more difficult than I thought it would be. I'm sure there is probably some slick computer program that would make it a bit easier, but as I was charting my initials for the mitten, all I had was graph paper and a pen. It took me four tries to get it the way I wanted. The third time I was on the last row of stitches and messed up ONE. Ugh. The little bit of altering I did to the chart was much easier.

5. Even though it was a challenge, it did make me want to chart something for my own designer mittens. Not sure what yet. I also really like the idea of having two mittens that don't match, but coordinate. Like, maybe one mitten has a dog and the other has a fire hydrant or a bone or something...

6. I love knitting color work. I already knew this, but figured it was worth mentioning. Watching the picture appear keeps me motivated to knit. It is often called "potato chip knitting" because you can't just knit one row. :)

7. When marking off rows on my chart, I prefer to use something see through, like a highlighter or a marker, rather than a pen or a magnet. Why? Because I like to read the stitches in relation to the ones in the previous row rather than counting. :)

I like when I learn new things about knitting or myself while working on a project. The other color work project on my needles (the Baby Christ-ma-kah sweater) is going to be a learning experience as well because it is steeked. Ahhh. But, I have a wonderful friend who has done it before and I'm sure she will help me out. :) I am working on the second sleeve and then I have the body to do, but it has been going faster since I started marking off rows on my chart with a marker as mentioned in point #7. Not sure why this makes such a huge difference, but it really does for me. I think another thing about it, is you can really easily see how much you've knit. If you wanted to be even more crazy about it, you could switch colors for every time you worked on it to see how much you got done in a day... just a thought. Alright, off to walk the pups and get ready for my day... considering it is 11:15 I guess I should get on that....

Drive By Picture

My first thumbless squirrel mitten!! I might do the thumb today, but who knows. :)

The Return of Thursday

Not that it was missing... but in the summer Thursday's are a bit different than in the fall for us. Thursdays in the fall/winter involve a bunch of friends coming to the house, watching Thursday night comedy (Office, 30 Rock, Community, Parks and Rec) on NBC, and enjoying dinner (typically made by me!). It is awesome. I look forward to it every week. Last week was the return of comedy, but we had breast feeding class (which W actually could not stop talking about... he is so impressed with breasts now... as he has told many people "They do so much... they are more than just good to look at!") and had to miss out. So, tonight is the official return of Thursday night. I'm making pizza. I'm excited.

Another thing that is pretty exciting is the fact that my first squirrel mitten is almost done! In fact, there is a pretty good chance it might get off the needles tonight (minus the thumb... I might have to change the chart for that, so it will require some thinking and alone time) which is awesome! I am loving them. It is amazing how once I decided to actually sit down and knit them instead of just think about them how quickly it went.  I've literally knit 85% of this mitten in the past two days. Here is the problem though... I'm not sure I want to just jump in and knit the second one. Sure, a pair would be super nice.... buuuuuut I also have some other mittens I would like to knit. Is it crazy to knit a first mitten of another pair before knitting the second mitten of this pair?? Oh, and I decided I was going to line my squirrel mittens, so really, when this is off the needles it is still only half done. (The lining should go way faster since there is no colorwork....) I don't have yarn to line them with (seriously, not even just joking around... it is laceweight and I don't buy laceweight yarn...) so I will be making a trip to the store tomorrow for that. I would love pink, but doubt I will find that. We'll see what I come up with.

Also, random side note on the mitten topic. I will wear one mitten out in public when it is done. I have no shame. I will show it off to everyone. And then when I have the first mitten of the other pair done, there is a good chance I will just wear the two mismatched ones as a pair. Whatever. I'm not trying to win a fashion contest, just keep warm....

Oh, and I'm still pregnant. :P 36 weeks and 1 day to be exact (I know you were keeping track...). I will take pictures of myself and of my mitten tonight perhaps. W is now predicting that the baby will be 2 days late (being born on Oct 29th) and a boy. I don't know anymore, so I'm not playing any predicting games. He also told me the other morning that he is really excited to meet the baby. He is so sweet. I never really thought about that... I guess I am too. (I'm actually really excited to not have heartburn and to have my body back, but meeting the baby will be a sweet bonus as well)

Alright, enough rambling about babies and mittens. (Speaking of, the baby has no mittens... does it need mittens?? oh my....) I am off to make pizza dough and enjoy my evening.

Termination Dust

It is here... termination dust... the first sign that winter is coming! Now, for a lot of people who live here, this is a sad time... but for me, I would have been dancing in the streets if I was not in a car when I noticed it!! I LOVE winter. Love it. (As long as it is a good winter, snow is soooo much better than ice or just freezing cold... but, either way, winter is amazing) It is my favorite season. And I'm sure I've mentioned that just a few times here, but in case you forgot, here is why: I love layers, I look so much better in three or four different shirts and then a scarf than I do in just a tshirt. I love snow, it makes it so sparkly and beautiful outside. My dogs love the winter... they are just so furry that this may be the only season where they are comfortable. I knit mostly with wool, so winter is just the best season for all of my handknits! I love to see my dad pull out his winter hat and wear it around... Basically, I think winter is amazing.

One thing I am happy about though, is that I am not working right now. I guarentee that a lot of people are going to spend the week lamenting the snow and complaining about the weather constantly. "We didn't even get a summer" (Which, May was amazing, and really, we have been spoiled... and we had/are having an AMAZING fall...) "I'm not ready for winter" "I hate snow" "I hate winter" "blah blah blah". Again, I know I have mentioned this before, but I don't really believe in complaining too much about the weather (or complaining in general... sometimes I will voice my frusterations to W and we will come up with a plan of action or I will just move on...) so I am very glad that I will not be around all the winter nay-sayers.

So, no matter how you feel about winter, it is almost here. After all, Friday is OCTOBER 1st! Crazy. Bundle up. Knit. Drink tea. Be happy.

Facebook

The Network (or whatever the "Facebook movie" is called) opens soon. And, truth be told, I'm a bit excited to see it.  It looks like it is well done and entertaining. The people behind it are pretty well known for making good movies.... I'll probably wait until it makes its way to Bear's Tooth just because I am frugal, but I am still looking forward to it.

Mark Zuckerburg, the founder of Facebook, has been in the news a lot recently. He is planning on donating one hundred million dollars to a struggling school district in New Jersey. Good for him. So the publicity is all positive, right?? Oh, no... for some reason the media has decided to turn it into a "why is he doing this?" story. WHO CARES!?! He is giving money to schools. I don't care why he is doing it... it is a good deed.  Do people question the motives of men who hold open doors?? Ugh. I just don't understand the media. Which is probably another reason I need to move to a small time and just live without all of this media saturation.

We had a cable box dropped off at the beginning of the week... (it is supposedly going to make our bill stay the same, but we will have unlimited internet... we will see GCI, I don't really believe you) but, we haven't even hooked it up yet. Maybe that is weird. But, that is just how we roll.

Went to the dr. this week and found out that everything is still going really well with Baby and me! So, I have been released!! I am OFF of bedrest... It was a nice anniversary present! Weston and I went to see Toy Story 3D at Bear's Tooth to celebrate. I had never seen a 3D movie, and it was ok. I did LOVE Toy Story though, they did a great job with it... Also had my breastfeeding class yesterday, and that was good. I learned a lot and feel a bit more confident that even if I don't know the answers to my questions, I know where to find them.

My knitting is still going well. I haven't been knitting too much... and only on my squirrel mittens. I did ply my first 3-ply yarn last night. It is a small skein (I only spun 1 oz of each ply because I didn't want to spin it all and then hate it...) but now that I know I like it, I plan on spinning the rest and getting it plied up. I also got back into my sewing room yesterday and sewed a little something for a special birthday boy...just need to hand stitch a button on and it will be ready to go for the party tonight!

Alright, I need to go be productive now.... enjoy your weekend!

EARTHQUAKE!!!

Oh, Alaska, how I love you. Even when you shake my house and kind of scare the crap out of me. We had a 4.92 magnitude earthquake at 1:24 today. The epicenter was only 13 miles WSW of Anchorage, so I felt it pretty strongly... (All of the earthquake info came from the Alaska Earthquake Information Center)

I realize that earthquakes can be an extremely devastating natural disaster. But, as far as natural disasters go, I much prefer and earthquake to a hurricane, tornado, or flood. Sure, those can be more predictable, but man... water is SO damaging. I can not believe how much damage water can do. So, I'll take a little earth shaking over that any day!

That's really all I had.... I just hadn't felt a big earthquake in a while... I did have another awesome mail day, but I will talk about that later after I have time to play with everything and take pictures!

Squirrels, Sundays, and Small Towns

I have cast on my squirrel mittens, and I am really liking them so far. The pattern can be found here (Rav link).  I have had these in my queue for a long time and I am really happy that I am finally getting around to them. Mine are grey and pink, which will match my winter coat wonderfully. I started knitting them on DPNs because that is how I normally knit in the round on things smaller than hats. I don't like magic loop... but I was finding with the long floats, it just wasn't turning out how I wanted it to. So my mom was able to pick me up some circular needles and I am now working the mitten on two circulars and it is turning out much better. I do like knitting on two circular needles a lot as well, but I just always feel like when I knit with DPN I look really smart... but I guess since I don't really go anywhere right now looking smart isn't a big deal. :) Instead of the year, I will be putting my initials on the mittens. This is for a few reasons... 1. I don't know if they will both be finished this year 2. I don't really know why I would want the year on them anyway... if someone was super curious what year I knit them in, I could look it up on Ravelry and 3. With my initials, they hopefully won't go missing! So I will keep you updated on the progress on those.

My Baby Christ-ma-kah sweater is going well. One sleeve is done and I am working on the second one. I keep that project in the living room and my mittens in the bedroom so I can work on both throughout the day, depending on where I am relaxing at the moment. I still REALLY need to finish up my wool baby nest. It is sad that it isn't done because all it needs is a button band. But picking up 150-ish stitches just doesn't sound appealing to me.... I should have thought ahead and knit the button band on as I went... sometimes I'm a goober. Oh well. I do plan on finishing it in time for Baby to actually use it, so I guess I better get on it. Maybe I will try to make that my goal for this week....

It's Sunday, which is one of my favorite days of the week. Typical Sundays are spent relaxing with Weston and cleaning the house, which sounds like a chore... but when we do it together is actually fun. Not that I can do too much right now, but I cheer him on and do the little bit that I can. It also means that the only thing on TV is football. Blah. I'm not a sports person. I don't follow sports, I don't really watch sports (I used to be pretty into hockey, but I'm even over that... I will occasionally go to a game, but seeing something live is so much more fun than watching it on TV), I would lose any trivia game based on sports... I do like to have the TV on when it is golf, tennis, or football because it makes it super easy to nap. :)

The last thing on the agenda today is my discussion of small towns. If you know me, or have read my blog for a while, you know that I want to move to a small town. I love my house (and if I could take it with me I would), but this town is too big. I want to live in a town where I can walk everywhere, most of the stores are local, and people actually care about each other and the well being of their fellow man. Weston loves small towns even more than I do. When he goes to one, he is constantly emailing me pictures and telling me how much he loves it... I'm sometimes worried he won't come home. (Except for the fact that he would come get me and the pups... he couldn't leave us behind) I am kind of the same way. The last time I went to Seward, I was very excited to go, but also kind of mad that I went. Upset because going there reminded me of how badly I wanted to live there and how much I didn't want to live in Anchorage forever. If I had made it to Valdez this summer, I probably wouldn't have come home... that is where I really want to live... they have amazing winters...

The reason all of this comes up is that Weston has spent the weekend in Talkeetna for a friend's wedding. He was in the wedding party, so he had rehearsal dinner Friday, the ceremony Sat, and is making his way home today. He is in love with where he is staying and told me about 15 times that we need to spend the weekend there together. We have it built into our long term budget and plan to be able to move somewhere smaller in 5-7 years, so I am looking forward to that. We haven't lived in our house long enough to make it profitable (or even to break even) to sell, and Weston needs to have a little more job experience to transfer around the state. Plus, he is working on his Master's degree and it will be a few years before he finishes that up, which will also make it a lot easier for him to get a job anywhere. Either way, I am looking forward to it. I love small towns...

Alright, off to work on knitting and relaxing. The pups had a play date yesterday, so they are still pretty tired. Weston is on his way home.... I hope everyone has a nice Sunday!

Locker room chat

So there is one hot reporter in the center of a controversy. Apparently there were some lewd comments made in the Jets locker room towards her. She didn't feel offended, but the NFL is still investigating. Whatever.

My only question is, are male reporters allowed in female locker rooms? Like after a soccer game? I honestly don't know. (If I had to make a guess, I would say no....)

Maybe we should all just respect the "male" and "female" signs on closed doors and wait to talk to people until they are dressed appropriately and in public. Just a thought....

Oh, and for those keeping track, today is 34 weeks pregnant! Baby and I are still doing awesome. 2 weeks until I have my freedom back... whoo hoo!!!

Baby Picture Mania!

This weekend I had "Baby Shower Weekend!" My friend threw me a shower here at my house and then a gal from work threw me a shower at her house. It was pretty awesome. I loved being able to see everyone (it is amazing how not being able to leave the house really puts a damper on seeing people) and everyone brought Baby such amazing things. And in case I haven't shared this, you can find a lot of the pictures I post here (and a lot that I don't) on my flickr page. Here are lots of pictures... be prepared....

From left to right, handmade burp rags from Whitney, a variety of toys from Karla,  bottles and music player from Carol

The music player is very cute! I love all the animals on it... and the wrist rattles, I think those will be amusing for me! :) And, who doesn't love handmade things (well, I'm sure there are some people, but I am not one of them... that is Baby's theme... handmade!)

Our shower "game" was to decorate clothes for the little one! This was the result... I love them all!

From left to right: duck set from Dee and Jessica (they also bought me a Boppy pillow which I forgot to take a picture of), onesizes from Allie (she is obsessed with being an Aunt.. can you tell!?), striped sweater and moose bib from Marlene, and farm animal clothes from Leah.. the caption on the cow is "udderly adorable" hahahhhaa.

Clothes and books from the shower on Sunday. Books and green chicken sleeper are from Brandy. The other two sleepers and the quilt that everything is laid on are from Kelsey.

A handknit Baby Surprise Jacket from Toni! It is knit from baby bamboo and is super snuggly.

Handknit bibs from Kelly. By baby will sure be stylish!

Farmhouse toy from Brandy. Have to make sure the dogs don't get a hold of those animals! They are so cute. 

Diaper bag made by Lynda. I picked out the fabric, but it turned out even more amazing than I imagined!

Quilt, booties, fish toy all handmade by Kelsey.  She also got me the alligator crocs and the socks. Those were cracking me up! The monkey blankies were made by my mom, she made me a quilt to match, but she took it back home to finish it. The bird fabric peeking out of the bottom right corner is a baby sling Becky made me! I will be so stylish with my matching bag and sling. :) 

Close up of the knitted booties.

Close up of the fish toy!

And last, but not least, the Zany Zoo toy I received in the mail yesterday from a Rav friend, April! I was playing with this toy constantly while taking pictures. I hope Baby is as entertained by it as I am.

Whew! If you made it this far... congrats! I think that is all. :) My baby is so lucky to be surrounded by so many people who care for it so much already! And I am super lucky to have such amazing friends and family. I'm hoping this weekend that W and I will be able to figure out where we are going to put all the furniture (well, the changing table and the bassinet... that is really all we have) and I can wash all the clothes and get everything put away. The house is kind of in a state of disarray and it is driving me crazy.  Also, only 2 weeks and 1 day until I am allowed to be off of "bed rest"! That means I will be allowed to WALK around as much as I want (so I will be heading to Target to spend our gift cards!) which will be pretty amazing. Not that I'm anxious about it or anything.... 

When it comes I want to yell, MAIL!!!!

33 weeks pregnant today... Baby and I are still doing well.

Last night we bought a changing table off of craigslist, which I am super excited about! (Pics of it later, I have lots of other stuff to show you) It is more like a dresser, which is exactly what I wanted because I wanted it to be useful for a long period of time. I'm not one for things that only have one use, or are only useful for 6 months. I don't want to spend $100 on something I'm going to use for a short period of time and then have to get rid of.  Which is why when we picked out a car seat, we got one that will last the child's whole life. I knew that I would never carry around the infant carrier one... it weighs a ton! (I'm lazy too, plus, I don't think I could get it in and out of the car by myself, and that has been one of the things that I am pretty set on... being able to do things by myself since W will still be working.) So, I knew I didn't want to get one like that. Plus, a kid grows out of it pretty quickly and then you still need another car seat. And the price difference between one that lasts 6 months and one that lasts until they don't need one anymore is maybe $50. And when you are talking about having to buy TWO car seats that are $150ish or one that is $200, it seems like the second option is a better deal.... BUT, I digress.  Anyway, I'm super excited about the new changing table. It even already has stuff in it!!

Which leads me to my next topic: I had a SUPER mail day yesterday!!! The mailman had put two packages on my porch, which I promptly ripped into... one was half of the cloth diapers I had ordered, and the other was a gift from a Ravelry friend! How exciting!!! Then, when W came home and checked the mail, I had TWO more smaller packages in the mailbox!! WHAT!?? Amazing. One of those was the other half of the cloth diapers I ordered, and ANOTHER present from a Ravelry buddy! What a great day! I felt super lucky.... so here are the pictures of what came in the mail!

First up, the cloth diapers. How cute are these?!? I'm totally excited about them. I do have more, but they are just flat diapers, and not as fun to take pictures of. These are the cutest ones. I bought a sampling of different types of diapers and covers to figure out what works best for us before I shell out a bunch of $$ for a ton of them. One of our friends was over last night and I was showing him how awesome they were. I asked him, "doesn't this look more comfy than paper?" And his response was, "Heck yeah, I'd rather wear those than my boxers!" hahahaha. So, there you have it, they are amazing....

This was one of my presents. I fell in love with this roving, but I couldn't click through fast enough to buy it during the Bohoknitterchic birthday party last week, so I was a bit bummed. So imagine my surprise when it made it to my doorstep anyway!! Complete with a baby catapult! :) (She was giving out goodies with purchases made during the birthday party) A friend on Ravelry decided to have it sent to me even though she bought it because I had posted about how much I loved it... isn't that sweet! I am planning on spinning it and knitting it into some fall type jacket for Baby for next fall... the colors are just amazing.

And, here is the other present I received! Three hand knit soakers for Baby! Weston is totally in love with the pants, which are pretty amazing. I was so excited to get these! I love that Baby has so many hand knit and hand made items already... such a lucky little one to be loved by so many talented people! 

In other news (besides the awesomeness that came in the mail), I finished the first sleeve of the Baby Christ-ma-kah (our Christmas/Hanukkah celebration) sweater.  It is pretty amazing. I knit it in three days, so it went pretty quickly considering it is colorwork on size 1 needles. I'm looking forward to getting more of it done, but I need to focus on the baby blanket today... I'm half way through that... I also need to sew the binding on one little baby quilt for the little one. It can't wait too long or it will be too small to be useful... it is just a little quilt for the car and things like that.  I also need to sew on the buttons for Baby's coming home outfit... that is pretty urgent too! 

Alright, off to get busy... well, not really, because I'm still taking it easy and staying off of my feet. I spend most of the day in bed listening to podcasts and knitting... but, I need to get to doing that! :) 

Labor Day Weekend

It's a holiday weekend. Which means it is raining. :) Luckily, I spent a lot of time outside this past week while it was still sunny... my sandal tan will be sticking around for quite some time. I'm spending my weekend watching The Office and knitting. I just couldn't lie in bed anymore. My hips hurt. All of the weight I have put on (about 20 lbs so far) has been in my stomach area, which is awesome... BUT it means that there is no extra padding on my backside or hips to help cushion the extra weight. So, I'm sitting like I'm allowed to, and knitting, and enjoying some great comedy.

I'm test knitting a blanket, and I'm half way done. SO, I'm rewarding myself by casting on my colorwork baby sweater as soon as I finish this post. Why am I not just continuing on with the blanket? Oh, because I have to wind yarn for it, and I have delegated this job to W while I am supposed to be resting... and he isn't home... and the baby sweater yarn is wound... and well, I feel like it. :)

OH! The one other thing I wanted to let you know was that Spilly Jane is having a labor day sale on her patterns. I love her mittens, and she has some wonderful cabled socks. The details can be found here on her blog. I will be buying a few patterns to work up for gifts. Just have to decide which ones I really want. If you have a favorite, let me know... and if you've knit any of them, please share!!

Quick Update

Just a few things.

* I'm 32 weeks pregnant today, whoo hoo! (If you want to see what that looks like, scroll to the bottom) So 5ish weeks to go. I'm still on modified bed rest, meaning I can sit up now, and I am just supposed to be "off my feet as much as possible" as opposed to "in bed at all times unless you need to go to the bathroom". So, things are going well!!!

* I am still stuck in my knitting monogamy rut. I'm test knitting a blanket right now (it is pretty small...) and that is taking all of my attention. It is an easy knit, but I need to stay focused to finish it in time... you know me and blankets. :) I did wind the yarn for the baby sweater I want to knit, and put it in a project bag... so I'm working towards my goal....

* I still really want to knit those mittens. I picked out the yarn, but didn't wind it, because of the previously mentioned monogamy problem.

That's really it. Baby and I are doing well. Off to get ready for bed....

The Case of the Missing Toothbrush....

And other dental hygiene adventures...

The other night Weston yells from the bathroom "What did you do with my toothbrush?"
"Nothing" was my response...
"Well, then someone or something has taken my toothbrush"
"That's weird"
"I say something because when we first got Bud (W's childhood dog) he stole like 12 of my toothbrushes. We had no idea what was going on until one day my sister moved her bed and there was a stash of them"
"Well, if Bud could get up there to get the toothbrushes, it is possible that both of our dogs can"
"Yeah, I know, weird though..."

It is weird. Who knows what happened to his toothbrush. And why would the dogs take his and not mess with mine?? Our bathroom is kind of the center of a lot of controversy in the house. I'm pretty sure that having two sinks has saved our marriage. Having two tubes of toothpaste may have been the best idea we ever came up with as a couple. We have very different ideas on how the tube of toothpaste should be squeezed. W believes it should be squeezed like some sort of ape... right in the middle, all crumpled up. It drives me CRAZY. It gets so hard to get the toothpaste out when you are towards the end of the tube... I choose to squeeze the tube like a normal person with two fingers, typically starting towards the bottom. I don't flatten or fold it as I go, but it remains in a state that it would be easy to do so should I choose to.

About three months ago (or more, hard for me to gage time anymore....) we switched to natural toothpaste, (Josh kindly informed me that one of the ingredients in toothpaste is saccharin, which is known to cause cancer. So once he found out that natural toothpaste is still endorsed by dentists as being effective, he switched, and because I value his opinion so much, I did as well...) which is incredibly expensive.  (Like $5-$6 a tube depending on the store you get it at...) So we went back to having one tube of toothpaste. BIG mistake. Every time I went to brush my teeth I would become immediately annoyed. Then, Fred Meyer had a big sale on the toothpaste we use (2/$6) so we stocked up... but still, we were only using one at a time for some reason... THEN, I was admitted to the hospital and W brought me my toothbrush and a NEW tube of toothpaste. So now we are back to two, one for each of us.

I mentioned the other day that the toothpaste we use now likes to get everywhere (it is a bit more runny than the previous toothpaste, not like a liquid, but not as solid....) and I hate when it gets on my shirt.  Then he says that he is glad we both have our own tube because apparently I am the only one who has this problem, and I "get it everywhere" even in the lid and on the tube... so I was driving him crazy. :)

Even if we have to go back to sharing a sink at some point, I don't think we will ever go back to sharing toothpaste. And the Baby is going to get its own tube too when it has teeth to brush... then Baby can figure out how s/he wants to squeeze the toothpaste all on his/her own.....

Off to brush my teeth....

Monogamy

As we learned yesterday, I am a process knitter. Also, I am typically not a monogamous knitter. (Which W asked me this morning if that was a "real thing" of if I was making it up) Although, lately, I have been rather monogamous. I will start AND finish something. Weird. Maybe because I have so much more knitting time? (Not being able to leave the house or really get up and do anything does lead to a lot of knitting time) Maybe I'm nesting? (Which, I don't really think is true... I don't feel a need to get these things done, they just happen to get done.) Who knows. But it is driving me crazy. I don't like being monogamous... as a knitter anyway.

I have dreams of start-itis. I have the yarn for three projects sitting next to me begging to be put on the needles. Somehow, it is still just sitting there. I want to have different projects to choose from. And, I need something that doesn't have a ton of finishing to work on... the things I have finished lately have too much finish work to them and I do not like finish work. So today, I will cast on the second of W's socks. (Can you believe that!?! I only just finished the first one like a week ago... this is monumental!) The finish work of a sock... weave in the ends. Easy, peasy. I also want to cast on the colorwork baby sweater... my awesome friend picked up the yarn from the shop for me since I can't go anywhere... and it is amazing, and I think the sweater will be even more amazing.... AND I want to cast on this felted sheep bag. I did a practice swatch for it last week and while it turned out fine after the felting, I hated the knitting of it. So, I have devised a way to make it easier for me to knit and do less finishing, both of which make me happy. Plus, it will look better pre-felting, and since I don't really want to felt it that much, I think this will be better in the long run. So that is the plan. Forced start-itis. Because if this whole monogamy thing keeps up, I will have a lot of FOs but I will be crazy. I can't take it much longer.

Alright, off to go eat lunch. W took today off of work to work on the shed, so he is making me some food and then I'm going to go enjoy the sunshine... the weather people say it is supposed to start raining again tomorrow, so get out while you can!!

Process vs. Product

I'm not sure if I have talked about it before, but here is a whole post about the type of knitter I am.  The Yarn Harlot describes two different types of knitters in her books, process knitters and product knitters. Process knitters knit to knit. They enjoy knitting, they like the feel of knitting, they like to keep their hands busy, and will knit and knit and knit. Product knitters knit because they like FOs. They want to knit a sweater, a pair of socks, a hat, etc.

I am a process knitter.

I love to knit. It is weird when I go a day without knitting, even stranger when I go more than a day. I constantly have multiple projects going, strewn about the house (much to W's dismay), and yarn is a way of life for me. I typically don't care what I'm knitting. Sure, I like FOs, but I don't always pick up my knitting with the goal of finishing it in mind. I knit things that are fun, interesting, challenging, pretty, and catch my eye. I mostly do not knit for myself. I think I have one hat that I knit for myself out of some handspun that is stuffed in the back of my trunk by the front door (which is kind of sad, because it is beautiful...). I did keep the lace shawl that I knit, but it has a specific purpose in mind, I plan on using it as a nursing cover when in public... Oh, and one pair of socks, but one is on display at Quilt Tree, so I can't really wear them. So three things. One of which is useful. All of my other knitting is given away to other people. Or in a box for Baby.

I enjoy giving my knitting away because other people enjoy it. Only a few of my friends are knitters, but everyone always admires my knitting and ogles my projects. So I knit for them. I pick something that I think will be fun to knit, grab some yarn that they would like, and go. It's a win-win. I get to knit, which is what I enjoy, and they get a FO, which they enjoy.

I think the other reason that I don't knit for myself that much is that when I start things for myself, they rarely get finished. Even smaller things. This goes back to why I knit. I love to knit, and I love to see others get enjoyment out of my knitting. When I knit for myself, I miss out on that second half of the equation. So, things get pushed to the side that are for me and projects for others move to the top of the rotation. I guess one could argue that knitting for Baby is kind of knitting for me, because the baby won't really know or care that it is wrapped in handknits... but when it is older and looks back at pictures I think my hard work will be appreciated.

So what kind of knitter are you??

Random thoughts

Sometimes I think my Roomba is really, really smart and I worry that it might be part of the robot takeover of the world ala i, Robot. (Example, once it hits something it won't hit it again until the next day, it has memory... and it locked me out of the house once, which to me meant war...) Other times I think it is very, very stupid. Like today when I heard it making weird noises and I went out (to make lunch and investigate) to see it continually trying to shove itself underneath the fridge.  Silly, Roomba.

Also, I am obsessed with mittens. And, after looking through my fav's on Ravelry, it isn't just colorwork mittens, I am obsessed with cabled mittens as well. I think I'm going to finally take the plunge and cast on for the Squirrel Sampler Mittens (rav link) if I can convince W to help me wind yarn for them tonight. He thinks I should start his other sock... silly man.

Ooops, the Roomba just locked itself in the bathroom. Better go rescue it.

Political Parties

Aren't parties supposed to be fun??

Today is the primary election here in Alaska, and there one of our Senate seats is up for re-election. Did you know that Senators are in office for SIX years?? Holy cow. This is important stuff. The big showdown is who will get the republican nomination, Lisa Murkowski (the incumbent) or Joe Miler (the Tea Party supported candidate).  I'm sure there are people running for the Democratic nomination, but that always takes the sidelines here in AK.

Let me just say, I will be happy when it is tomorrow. I am so tired of all the political TV ads, and I haven't even been watching that much TV!! I have been in bed and I maybe watch an hour at night right around the news. It seems every commercial is telling me who to vote for (or why I shouldn't vote for someone) and it is annoying.

I don't really like primary elections, because you have to choose what ballot you are going to vote on, either the Democratic ballot or the Republican ballot. And Republicans have a closed primary, meaning that unless you are registered Republican, Independent, or Undeclared, you can't choose their ballot.... which I have issues with, but I am Undeclared for that very reason. I wanted the opportunity to choose any ballot I want. I wish I could vote on both of them, and I kind of don't understand why I can't do that...

I'm not going to get all political and say how I plan on voting, but I do think it is very important to vote. Voting is one of the many freedoms that we enjoy, and that others have fought and died to defend. I am a die hard voter. Give me something to vote for, and I will go vote. I believe in the democratic system and want my voice to be heard.

So, get out and vote. The weather isn't stopping you! :)

Random, short post

A random conversation I had with W this morning...

Me: I'm kind of mad that I've lost all of my hair rubber bands... now I can't pull my hair up.
W: Lost all of them? I find them everywhere. Yesterday I found one in my shoe!
Me: Did you put it somewhere that I can find it? Can I use it?
W: No! I threw it away! They are everywhere...
Me: Well, that isn't very much help.

I think this is a pretty good snapshot of my life. Neither of us was mad, in fact, it was quite a humorous conversation. I thought it was funny that a rubber band had made it into his shoe. But, I think this is how W feels about a lot of my stuff... it is everywhere... it gets everywhere... I tend to not clean up after myself... (For example, right now, on the coffee table I have one GIANT bag of yarn for a baby sweater, the leftover yellow yarn from the baby sweater, leftover orange yarn from the turtle toy, and my current WIP baby sweater... oh and two knitting books.) Moving on....

Teaser Pics

So, I haven't photographed everything, but here is the baby sweater and the last yarn that I spun before this whole bed rest thing. I went to the Dr. today and she said that I am doing amazing and that I am now allowed to SIT down all day! Which means, I can do a little bit of sewing and spinning!!! :) But, I will still be taking it super easy... in fact, after I post these pictures I will probably take a nap... but I am excited that it seems everything is pretty much back to normal in baby land. No more signs of Baby trying to break out early.. :)

The sweater still needs to be blocked and the yarn is supposed to be more of an "art" yarn. It was spun out of a batt inspired by Rex from Toy Story. I autowrapped it with silver thread. It is chunky and fun. No idea what I'm going to do with it, but it is neat... alright, off to nap. :)