January 31, 2009

Now we start looking for The Dress

Erin is coming down this weekend from school (3 day weekend) and we'll begin the search for the wedding dress.

Early in January, there was a small (very small) wedding convention at the county fairgrounds we dragged the happy couple to.

The Happy Couple

(Chris caught with his eyes closed!)

There were a few dresses being modeled by young women walking around the show. We didn't take too may photos, but did manage get shots of a couple of dresses that caught Erin's eye. Of course, I haven't uploaded them yet.

I did manage to upload this pic of Erin modeling a tiara. It's not the photo with the Minnie Pearl aspect, but it's a great one nonetheless.

Purty

End of January?

I'm not ready for the month to be over. I haven't done anything!

I've only read one book: Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. Fun mystery with sheep trying to figure out who killed their shepherd.

Completed knits for January: two whole washcloths!
January Washcloths

Now this site, CubeeCraft, looks like fun. I may need to print some of these out for my cube at work.

And lastly, a photo from Christmas. The nephew mugging for the camera while his Auntie Chris tries to open the Nerf guns she bought him.


Opening the Nerf guns

January 23, 2009

Gifts!

So, last week I found out I was randomly drawn to win something from Lavender Sheep. Yesterday, I pulled this out of the mail:

Gifts!


Here's a better look:

Gift bag opened

A project bag in a fun pattern, some lovely Lindor truffles and a skein of her Superwash Merino sock yarn in the Wild Violets colorway.

Yum!

January so far

FO Knitted: one ballband dishcloth from leftover cotton. This pattern and the diagonal garterstitch dishcloth have become my go-to knitting when I lack energy for anything else.

Jan washcloth 1a

UFO Knitted: the Little Sister dress in Knitpicks Dancing (Hula colorway). Being knit for a little girl due in March on size 3 needles in the 6 month size. Don't much care for this picture due to lack of stitch definition. It's really not a big mess the way it looks here.

Little Sister 3

Have also cast on for another ballband dishcloth.

FO Book: Finished Three Bags Full by Leone Swann. Really enjoyed this book and will have to re-read it since I feel like I missed small things along the way. I found myself flipping back pages to pick up on something the sheep were commenting about. Oh, it's a murder mystery with sheep trying to solve who killed their shepherd.

Upcoming post: The lovely gifts received from Lavender Sheep!

January 20, 2009

Inaugural Poem

Obama's speech was great. It was stirring, thoughtful and it invoked pride.

I knew there was going to be a poem as well. And I loved it too.

January 19, 2009

Random Post

1. I've survived another layoff and will continue employment.
2. I need to go to the dentist
3. I haven't gotten very far on the Little Sister dress - I need to bind off the stitches for the sleeves and head into the body of the dress.
4. The den looks amazingly clean
5. I also need to schedule a physical
6. Cupcakes sound good right now
7. I have yet to get up early enough to exercise and I really need to
8. But I *am* trying to eat healthier
9. I'm taking two weeks off in March due to #1
10. The sound of all the wind today reminds me of the ocean

January 13, 2009

Silver Lining

Yee haw!

I've won some fibery goodness! I entered into a little contest over at LavenderSheep's blog for her blogiversary (also go check out her shop - bee-yoo-tee-ful yarns) and I've been randomly selected to get a little something :)

I soooo need it today. There are layoffs currently happening and they aren't expected to be done until Thursday. So far I'm still at my desk, so I guess I'll just have to wait out the next two days.

But I won! Yay me!

January 05, 2009

Another time sucker

I've joined the black hole non-knitters get sucked into: Facebook.

Let's see, what do I need to keep updated?
Facebook
Ravelry
LibraryThing
LinkedIn
Blogger
SparkPeople

And that's on top of work, bible study, the women's ministries team, knitting group, watching TV, reading and knitting.

January 01, 2009

2008 Round-Up

2008 is over and 2009 has begun. The NHL Winter Classic is on the tube and I'm wrapping up the year on the 'nets.

Knit in 2008
2 Appliqued Purses as Christmas gifts for two nieces

An Odessa hat, a Coronet Hat and a Laced Edge Hat for co-workers who shaved their head for St. Baldrick's.

I knit Straight-Laced Socks for a niece for Christmas, socks for a baby and Pomatomus for me.

Hats were knit for my mom who also shaved her head for St. Baldrick's this year. She recieved a Lace-Edged Hat, a Lace Leaf Hat and a Wavy Cable Hat.

I knit a Kitty, a 5-Hr Baby Sweater and a Helena baby sweater for babies this year.
My newest niece (the recipient of the Helena sweater) also recieved a Christmas Stocking with gingerbread men on it.

A sweet niece asked for a pink hat this year for her birthday and I obliged her.

Scarves were requested by the daughter for her and her now-fiance. Those were a Cable & Garter scarf and a plain stockinette scarf, both lined with black fleece.

Also knitted were 2 coffee cozies and 20 dishcloths. The dishcloths were my fall-back knitting.

2008 Knitting

Books read in 2008
I didn't read nearly as many books as last year. But I did read enough to average a smidge over 1 book a week. In total, 66 books for a total of 21,215 pages.

In no particular order, they're listed below. And yes, I did read some title more than once. Usually when they were part of a series.

Jennifer Crusie's Anyone But You

Katie Fforde's Restoring Grace, Practically Perfect, Stately Pursuits, Paradise Fields, Life Skills (I thoroughly enjoy Fforde's books; they're comedic, relateable and I enjoy the English aspect)

Jayne Ann Krentz' White Lies, Second Sight, Ghost Hunter, White Lies, Sizzle and Burn (Krent and her alter ego, Amanda Quick, provide some of my favorite reads. She has a series going right now that spans both nom de plumes)

JA Jance's Exit Wounds, Tombstone Courage, Desert Heat (Joanna Brady is a character I enjoy greatly)

Linda Howard's Up Close and Dangerous, Drop Dead Gorgeous (I keep intending to give up Linda Howard but hope is a powerful force)

Mary Jane Maffini's The Cluttered Corpse (A new cozy mystery writer and I enjoy the organizational tips scattered throughout)

Mary Kruger's Knit Fast, Die Young (knitting, mystery. 'Nuff said)

Nora Roberts' High Noon, The Hollow, Blood Brothers, The Hollow, Dead of Night, Waiting for Nick, The Hollow, The Pagan Stone (Nora is a favorite. I read and re-read The Hollow because I loved the characters)

JD Robb's Creation in Death, Strangers in Death (Lt. Eve Dallas is a strong character and I've enjoyed watching her and her "family" evolve")

Donna Andrews's No Nest for the Wicket, The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (cozy murder mysteries, unusual family and Meg keeps it under control)

Yvonne Lehman's Coffee Rings (Christian chick lit, I tried to read more of this type of book this year)

Laura Jensen Walker's Reconstructing Natalie, Miss Invisible, Dreaming in Technicolor, Dreaming in Black & White (this is Christian chick lit I absolutely love)

Sandra Byrd's Let Them Eat Cake (more Christian chick lit and a character I could relate to)

Charles Baxter's The Feast of Love (I haven't seen the movie, but I enjoyed this book. I'm having trouble picturing Greg Kinnear in it)

Mark Haddon's A Spot of Bother (Brit lit. Enjoyed)

Amanda Quick's The River Knows, The Third Circle, Rendezvous, Dangerous, Reckless, Ravished, Deception (see Jayne Ann Krentz above)

Julie Garwood's Shadow Dance (part of a wide reaching series)

Jill Churchill's The Accidental Florist (Meh. I usually enjoy Churchill's books about Jane, but this one wasn't as engaging)

Lt. Carey Cash's A Table in the Presence (wonderful book written by a chaplain who was in Iraq)

Maggie Sefton's Dying to Sell, Killer Stitch (more cozy mysteries)

Tamara Leigh's Perfecting Kate (Christian chick lit and a story line about accepting ourselves as God made us)

Susan Meissner's The Remedy for Regret (Christian chick lit)

Michael Ondaatje's Divisadero (I'd heard about this on the BookLounge podcast, not my usual reading, but that's a good thing)

Sarah Vowell's Partly Cloudy Patriot, Assasination Vacation (love her sense of humor, her ability to pull things together)

Susan May Warren's Everything's Coming Up Josey (little bit of romance and some screwball comedy)

Julie Carobini's Chocolate Beach (and the Christian chick lit continues. This character was closer to my age though)

Jo Dereske's Catalogue of Death (I'd seen this author's books when we were in Seaside and tried it out from the library. I'll continue to read these cozies)

Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next: First Among Sequels (love love love Thursday Next)

Adam Felber's Schrödinger's Ball (I was wandering around the library and came across this book. I love NPR's Wait Wait and he's a frequent guest)

Monica Ferris' Knitting Bones (just keeping up with the series)

Polly Evans' Kiwis Might Fly (a fun travelogue about her adventures riding a motorcycle through New Zealand)

Jan Burke's Kidnapped (this took me forever to read, but it's actually very good. I just kept getting distracted)

Kate Jacobs' The Friday Night Knitting Club (very enjoyable, I cried)

Debbie Macomber's Back on Blossom Street (part of the continuing Blossom Street series)

Kathy Reichs' Monday Mourning (love Tempe, love the science, love the Bones spin-off)

Now to wipe the sidebar clean and start 2009!

Happy New Year!