Accomplishments...

Alright, so the other night, I kicked myself into gear and decided to get out of my "do nothing" funk. I was getting really upset with myself that I was being so lazy. Sure, I'm working a lot, but I still need to get stuff done. Working isn't a good excuse for why my dishes are piled in the sink and not in the dishwasher... nor is it an excuse for the fact that the fiber/yarn/etc that I have been getting in the mail is just sitting on the counter and not put away. So, I got up off the couch and I got to work. I put away all of the stuff on the counter, and that made a huge difference. I already felt like I had accomplished a lot. Then I decided that I needed to get started sewing the blocks for a block swap at work... so I went to clean up my sewing room a bit (which meant putting away all of the fiber, which led to me realizing I have WAY too much fiber, and that I am now doing a yarn challenge which I will discuss in a min...) and get to work. Sadly, I didn't have the ruler I needed, so I couldn't get started. But, not to be discouraged, I got to work on something else. I finished knitting my baby blanket (and blocked it last night. It is amazing. I will post pictures later. I am SO happy with how it turned out!), and did some spinning. I tried to finish up the spinning last night, but while plying the yarn it kept breaking and driving me NUTS, so I took a break and did something else. (Well, actually, I did nothing, but still, I had tried!)

So, on to this yarn challenge. I have four baskets of fiber in my craft closet. (And 6 of yarn, but who is counting...) They are stuffed full. It is out of control. And I know that I already have more coming in the mail (a SAL that I signed up for a while back that hasn't shipped yet, along with some other fiber that I earned with a free points program one of my favorite shops does...) so I need to get it in check, stat. SO, I have decided to do a 10 yarn challenge. I need to spin 10 yarns before I buy any more fiber. Seriously. I have spun 1 (the plying still needs to be finished...) and I'm half way through yarn 2. So, really if I keep up with this, it shouldn't take too long. And then I will have lots of fun hand spun yarn to knit. :) I will try to keep you updated on my progress and take pictures along the way... but you know how I am with pictures...

Alright, back to knitting my felted project bag I started yesterday. I'm about half way through, and then it will be another item to check off of my list! :)

Finally Friday!

I have had a busy week! I subbed every day except for yesterday, which means I'm tired and haven't gotten much done. Yesterday when I was trying to eat breakfast a million things kept happening... the dogs wanted in, the dogs wanted out, my phone was ringing... it was crazy. BUT with the phone call came some exciting news... my parents are buying us a new dishwasher!!!! I was SO excited about this. Our dishwasher is pretty lame. It is really inconsistent with how clean it will get the dishes... some days it works awesome, sometimes even after running it twice only half of them are clean.  Lately, it has been getting worse. The other day, I had to pull FIVE glasses out to find a clean one to use. That about drove me over the edge. I had told my parents about the woes of our dishwasher, mostly because it is a topic of conversation, something that is going on in my life.  Never did I think they would get us a new one! So, I'm pretty stoked.

I went in for my facial on Wednesday after school... it was not relaxing... not that I thought it was going to be, but it was seriously painful. I looked like I had the chicken pox when I left. But, this is supposed to help, so I endured it. I think in the next few days I'm supposed to see a difference, but it is so hard to tell... reversing what has been going on with your skin for 13 years takes some time. I would just love to be able to wake up, wash my face, and go. We'll see....

I have the whole weekend off! I'm hoping to get a lot of sewing done, but I really need to buckle down and do it. I have been really lazy lately... I need to kick it into gear and get some stuff DONE! I hope everyone had a good week and enjoys the weekend! :)

Nothing Interesting

Just wanted to check in. Nothing is really going on. I am subbing all week (except for Thursday) which means I have to get up early... boo. I'm not a fan of waking up with an alarm, especially when the alarm is at 6:20. I don't know how people get up earlier than that. I mean, I have before, but to do it on a regular basis would be hard. I need at least 8 hrs of sleep a night. So, if I have to get up at 6, I need to go to bed by 10 (which is actually about normal, but I like to sleep until 8... call me lazy). I know a lot of people who get up earlier and stay up later which is mind boggling to me.

I am a little more than 50% done with my blanket I'm knitting. I would be further, but I ran out of yarn this morning while at school... doh! As soon as I am done here, I am off to wind my yarn for that and another project (what, me start something new?!? never....) that came in the mail today.  It is another KAL with Desert Garden Farms... this time a felted bag. I'm not a super huge felted bag fan, BUT I love to have things in my stash to give as gifts or donate, and felted things are quick and quite popular.

In other news, I went to see a skin specialist the other day. Not a dermatologist, but more of a cosmetologist. I have had acne since oh, 13, so I decided 13 years is enough... I have seen dermatologists and been on a bunch of different meds and nothing has really helped. SO, I decided to go into a salon-type place (they do a lot of laser treatments and hair removal... not really cutting hair and stuff) and see what they had to say.  It sounds promising. I am going in on Wed for a facial that sounds intense... they told me I probably shouldn't go anywhere the rest of the night because I will be red and swollen. Hopefully, I will have to only do this a few times and then I will be able to control my skin at home. I'm hopeful, but we will see. I'm not too uptight about my skin, but some days it drives me CRAZY! I wish I could just wake up and go somewhere without feeling like I was 17 and everyone is staring at me.

I think that is really all. I hope everyone had a great Easter (if you celebrate Easter). We went to both my inlaws and my parents house. It was quite the adventure. Now I'm off to wind yarn! Have a great week.

A note about dogs...

I can tell it is spring. How? Well, people besides me and the lady down the street are out walking their dogs.  I'm glad that people have decided that because it is warm (40*F) they can go outside and exercise their dogs. I do feel bad that these dogs don't get to go out in the winter time though.... I wonder how these dogs don't drive their owners crazy... Frito barks in my face if I'm even 30 mins late walking him...

Another thing I find interesting about dog walks is encountering other dogs. I don't mind if people have their dogs on a leash or not, as long as their dog is under control, I don't care. I keep my dogs on a leash because they don't listen, not because they are mean. It is funny to encounter dogs off leash when my dogs are on leashes... the people seem to panic that I'm going to freak out on them. And I don't really blame them, some people are CRAZY about that stuff.

This post is not nearly as focused as it was in my mind. Anyway, my point is I think if you have a dog it is important to take care of it. Walking my dogs is one of my favorite parts of the day. When I do it alone, it is a nice workout. When I do with W it is the time of the day that we can talk and discuss different things that are going on in our lives. And, the dogs love it.

I'm going to go enjoy a bowl of cereal, the rest of the show Parenthood, and then head to bed. I hope everyone has a good week! Tomorrow is Wednesday, so you are half way to the weekend!

Imagine my surprise...

I was at Carrs today buying cereal and milk and I decided to read the ingredients of Rice Krispies. Did you know they have high fructose corn syrup in them?!? Really? Holy crap! I had no idea. Not even Marshmallow Mateys (which is the malt-o-meal version of Lucky Charms) have high fructose corn syrup in them... it was mind blowing.

I just have to seam up my reversible toy and it will be done! That will have to wait until tomorrow because I am exhausted. I didn't sleep well last night, I had weird dreams all night, and I'm actually not sure how much I slept. It was super weird. So I didn't take a nap tonight like I normally do in hopes of sleeping well tonight.

That's really all I had. I just couldn't believe the rice krispie thing... I love rice krispies... and now, now I can't eat them. So sad.

Easter Knitting?

In my web browsing today, I came across this blog... how I did not already know about it, I don't know. BUT, it will be added to the blog roll and read from now on. I LOVE Susan Anderson's designs and I'm even going to try and knit this before Easter. It claims to only take a few hours, so it seems pretty realistic that I can get it done in a week. :)

Other than that, things are plugging along here. I had to rip back a part of the baby blanket again. I keep messing up on one of the YO rows which creates an extra stitch... and I seem to not notice until 4 rows later, which is VERY annoying. So I need to pay attention and count after I do that row every time... because at this rate the blanket will never get done!

My friend and I are throwing a baby shower for a friend tomorrow, so I have been busy cooking and baking all day. I finished all the food for tomorrow (well, to the point that I need to) and all the decorations are boxed and ready to head to the house in the morning. So now all that's left to do is wrap the presents and relax! :) I should have a pretty relaxing night as W went to his friend's cabin, so I can do as I please....

Signs of Spring

Melting snow, the nursery is open, spring is right around the corner. Of course, in AK spring is confusing. Snow might still fall, but it probably won't stick around for too long. In honor of spring, I put up my summer shower curtain. 

The pig trash can actually lives in the bathroom all year, which adds character to my other seasonal shower curtains... and I don't really have another trash can... those are too expensive to get ones for every season! I would love to have an Easter shower curtain, but I haven't found one yet...

Here are some other pictures I had to share. 

The stuffed elephant I made from 101 One Yard Wonders. I put his arms on upside down, and when I make him again, I am going to make my own legs... I wasn't happy with how these turned out. But, he is cute and goofy.

The baby blanket I'm knitting with yarn from Desert Garden Farms. The yarn is called "Thin Mints" and is super springy... I love it. 

A close up of the little hearts that are in the blanket. 

So that is what I have been up to... do you have any spring rituals??