Unconventional Hillbilly

Holiday Shopping

2011-11-06T15:00:00.000-05:00

If you or anyone you know would like some simple, elegant, incredibly adorable jewelry...check out this Etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/proteales

I love Samantha's things. I think my favorite piece she ever made is the Papillon Large Green Butterfly ring. It's made with a piece of a butterfly wing. It's incredible. I'll try to post a pic here.

Gorgeous, right? So check it out.

Too much bad stuff

2011-10-14T12:10:00.000-04:00

We've had a string of bad things happen lately. I must say, I'm tired of it.

First were some really sad personal things. Not going into details, but it broke my heart. Let's hope I never have to go through something like that again.

There have been a few deaths in the family and of close friends. Phoebe and I spent last weekend at my mom's because my step dad's brother passed away suddenly. He was ill, but they didn't expect him to go so quickly. One of my grandmother's sister's passed the same day he did. Then yesterday one of my husband's friends lost his battle with brain cancer. So yeah, it's really sad around here.

Then stupid me, hurt our cat Pete. I was trying to trim some matted hair off of his neck with scissors and cut his neck open. It didn't bleed, I'm shocked about that, but I could see his neck muscles underneath! I nearly fainted, repeatedly. I feel so horrible! DH said it wasn't bad and would heal on it's own, so we put antibiotic ointment on it and waited. It started to look infected yesterday and he was walking funny, like he hurt all over. So I took him to the vet. He needed 7 stitches! 7!!!! My poor Petie Pete. They kept him overnight. We just picked him up. They even brushed and shaved off a few of his really bad dreds for me. Poor Buddy Pete. He has to have antibiotics twice a day. Monkie is freaked out because he smells different. Stupid me.

Giveaway

2011-09-23T09:56:00.002-04:00

Crystal is hosting a giveaway over at her blog. I've wanted to try the Shaklee products for ages.

Homesteading Homemaker

Watermelon Mojito

2011-08-22T15:40:00.000-04:00

I had a dream recently that I had a drink called a Watermelon Mojito. It was delicious! I looked it up in my bartender's guide when I woke up, but it wasn't in there. So I kept thinking about it, wondering of it really would be just as tasty in real life.

So I tried it the other day. :) Here's the recipe I came up with:

Juice of fresh watermelon
Handful of fresh mint, spearmint and/or peppermint
1 shot clear rum
2 Tbsp sugar
Key Lime juice
tonic water

Place mint in a glass with the sugar. Use a muddler or the back of a spoon to crush the mint. Add the rum and lime juice. Fill glass half way with watermelon juice. Top off with tonic water. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

I used both peppermint and spearmint because I grow both. Next time I will try some of my pineapple mint to see how it tastes. If you don't have tonic water you can use seltzer or even Sprite or Sierra Mist, although they would change the flavor a bit.

Bummer

2011-08-22T15:32:00.000-04:00

I went out to pick tomatoes this morning. I was planning to can tomato juice. I use it when I make chili, and we eat a lot of chili during the winter. As I was picking I noticed some moldy looking spots on the fruits and all of the leaves had turned brown and dropped off of the plants. My poor tomatoes have the dreaded blight! I can't use any of the fruits I harvested today. I have to pull up all of my plants, because every single one of them is infected. I can't even compost them because the fungus will spread to the compost pile. I have to burn them.

I called the County extension office to notify them, they need to know for their records. Plus I have to tell the neighbors in case it jumps to their gardens, or maybe it jumped to mine from one of theirs. This is so disappointing. Mike has only eaten two of his Cherokee tomatoes. :( He looked forward to those all winter. From the day I started the seeds indoors to the first bite he took. I think he is even more disappointed than I am, if that's possible.

Canning, Canning and more Canning

2011-07-25T13:42:00.000-04:00

Last night we were blessed with a bag of plums from the neighbors. Mike has requested plum preserves. I'll do that later. Right now I've got chicken soup in the pressure canner. I've also got beans on cooking to make White Chili. I'll can some of that too. I'd like to can as much as I'm able to while I'm in the mood to do it. It will be so nice this winter to just pull out a jar of soup to cook when I'm tired or not feeling well instead of having to cook from scratch or order take-out.

The same neighbor also gave me a bag of zucchini. I plan to shred that and make some zucchini bread. I'll give her a loaf, or maybe some muffins. Hmm...

I forgot how loud the canner is when it's going. Goodness.

Phoebe was a contestant in the Little Sunflower Outfit contest for the Sunflower Fest on Saturday. I made her dress, it was cute, but not as cute as some of the others. She won 3rd place in her age group. :) I didn't realize that she would be competing with all of the pageant babies. I thought it was just going to be a little thing with three or four little kids. There were some hardcore pageant kids there. There were babies younger than Phoebe wearing makeup with their hair teased and sprayed. INSANE!

Play kitchen

2011-07-22T10:18:00.000-04:00

I finally finished it! Now I just need to decide where to put it in the house.

Before.

After.

The painting is just to give an idea of where I'll put the frame with a picture of an outdoor scene. It looks nice though, doesn't it?

I still think I may paint the cabinet door. I'm not sure I like the fake wood grain.

Canning Pickles!

2011-07-18T12:22:00.000-04:00

Phoebe is so excited. She loves, no LOVES pickles. She loves "keybumbers" too. We are fans of Kosher Dills, no sweet pickles for us. No thank you, you can have them.

I only planted 4 cucumber plants. I thought that would be plenty for the three of us. We've been eating them every day for two weeks. One day last week it was so hot I didn't go out to check on them. So they had two whole days to grow. One of them was gigantic! I picked 26 cucumbers yesterday. Time for pickles!

Clean cucumbers ready for processing.

Sliced cukes and fresh dill.

First jar packed and ready to go.

Batches one and two. I've still got enough cucumbers to make another batch, but I need to wash more jars.

Work, work, work

2011-07-12T05:21:00.000-04:00

It seems like that's what I've been doing lately. My garden has gone INSANE! I never got the tomato plants staked. I'm just going to let them go, I think. When I went shopping for stakes, no one had any. I waited too long and the stores had been bought out. Southern States said they might get more in, to check back later. If they don't, meh, oh well.

I finally got a paintbrush and started priming Phoebe's play kitchen for painting. I used spray paint that looks like stainless steel for the appliances. Then used metallic silver spray paint for the faucet, sink and stove hood. They were a horrible bright red plastic. Now I can prime and paint the rest of the kitchen the aqua color Phoebe chose without it clashing with the red. She also wanted yellow, so I think I may make her little curtains in yellow to cover the "window."

This is the before shot, it's cute, like 1950's vintage cute, but Phoebe doesn't like the red, neither do I. ;) So I let her choose paint chips last time we went to Lowe's. She picked aqua and yellow. I managed to find a can of returned paint in the exact shade of aqua she chose! It was only $5 for an entire gallon of Valspar!!!! It was my lucky day.

We went camping at the farm over the holiday weekend. Phoebe had sooooo much fun playing with her cousins. She got to run and swim and be "outshide" all day long. Her three favorite things. I had a good time too until the chiggers found me. I still have bites and they STILL itch!

I've been canning the past few days. Grandma let me pick blueberries when we stopped to see her, then I bought some peaches at a local market. I made blueberry jam and blueberry conserve and Peach butter. Mmmm.

Happy Father's Day

2011-06-20T03:37:00.001-04:00

Mike, you are such a wonderful father. You amaze me every day. Phoebe just adores her "Daddy Dad." We are both blessed to have you in our lives. Wuvs.

Neighbors

2011-06-10T14:00:00.000-04:00

One of the best things about being back home is the people. In general people here are friendly. They wave at you when you drive by, even if you don't know them. People smile for no reason, hold doors open for you (especially if you are carrying a wiggly toddler.) It's nice.

Even better are our neighbors. They have all been so kind. They have all fallen in love with Phoebe. In fact she has Deb and Kim, sisters who live across the street from each other, completely wrapped around her little finger. She adores them too and talks about them and their dogs and families ALL DAY LONG. I think she would be perfectly happy to stay with them even without me. She has taken walks on several occasions with both of them without me tagging along. I'm ok with that. It gave me a chance to just sit and stare at nothing. ;)

The garden is really taking off. I need to go buy posts so I can put the fence up around it. I still need to go to Grandma's and get the rest of the plants I need. Not to mention just visit with her. I also need to get stakes or tomato cages. Maybe I'll do a combo and see which I like better.

I just took my first attempt at chicken enchiladas out of the oven. I hope they taste good. I'll make the hubs taste them before I do. :P

Summer time!

2011-06-04T13:11:00.000-04:00

It finally stopped raining! Phoebe and I put out all of the plants and seeds that we had for the garden. Two kinds of tomatoes, green beans, two kinds of lettuce, spinach, kale, carrots, celery, and strawberries. I still need to go to my grandma's and get egg plant, zucchini, cucumbers and basil. Phoebe even has her own row in the garden. It's called "Peebee's Garden." She has two tomato plants, carrots, onions and cucumbers. I'll post pics of the garden when it fills out a little, right not it looks pretty sad.

Here are pics of the herb garden and Phoebe's flowers in the front yard. The herbs are thyme, mother of thyme, lavender, and purple frilly basil. The flowers are nasturtiums, marigolds and pansies. Oh, the bushes are azaleas, they have all ready bloomed, they were the prettiest shade of pale lavender.

Anderson's Corner

2011-05-19T16:58:00.000-04:00

Now has a new look and a shopping cart on the website! Check out the retired Chamilia beads!

Anderson's Corner

Way to go Mike! The site looks great.

Rain, Rain

2011-05-19T00:29:00.000-04:00

Go away! It has been raining for days with no end in sight. There is rain forecast every day from now until Tuesday. The rivers and streams are already flooding. I'm thankful that we live far from the river and on high ground, but I'm worried for the people who do live near it.

Since there has been so much rain we've not been able to get the garden plot tilled. Which means I haven't gotten a single thing planted. It's too late for peas now. It may even be too late for spinach and lettuce by the time this rain lets up. Sigh. At least the local Farmer's Market has started up. I'm excited to go check it out this weekend. I don't really have anything in mind to purchase so far, just looking, but if I see something that looks yummy, I'll buy. That's how I first came across the Cherokee tomatoes. I tried one at the Farmer's Market and was hooked instantly. I saved the seeds from that first tomato and have been planting and saving every year since then. :)

I'm itching to get my sewing machine out and finish up some projects. I just don't have the room to do it yet. If we ever get to have a yard sale then I will have the room. Or I may just be tempted to set the machine up on the bar in the kitchen. O.o

Nothing much doin'

2011-04-27T15:16:00.000-04:00

Besides a name change. After years of trying to think of just the right name. I think I've finally come up with one that suits me. After all, I am unconventional and a hillbilly. Truthfully, if you had seen me barefoot and pregnant hanging laundry on the clothesline, you would have had no doubt in your mind about it. :P

Speaking of the clothesline. I need to get a post set in the yard and hang my line. I'm going to run it from the deck to a post in the yard. I have to decide the proper spot though. I need to leave room for a truck to get in the yard for fire wood deliveries in the winter, room for the Phoebester to play and a spot for a garden. So many things to worry about. Too bad the line isn't long enough to reach the trees out back. It's about 3 feet too short.

Phoebe has learned so many new things since my last post. She can now say: Ginger Dog, Beefy Dog, Flo Dog (can you tell she loves dogs?) Phoebe Jane (Peebee Jane) and she can count to three. Oh, she used to call her grandma "Mamaw" but now calls her "Grangran." She's been having a blast going up and down the stairs on Grandma's front walk. Her first Easter egg hunt was awesome. She loved it so much that every day since then I have to hide the eggs for her. She walks around with a basket saying,"Eggy, eggy eggs?" Soooooo cute!

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! Last Wednesday was my mil's birthday, Happy Birthday Patty!

Time to go hang some clothes on the temporary line on the porch. :)

Sadness

2011-04-18T14:03:00.000-04:00

We have sure had our share of sadness the past few weeks. First my husband's great aunt Mary passed away. Last Tuesday his grandmother passed also. Then on Friday I had to have my Kitty B Crazypants put to sleep. We're ready for some happy times.

L-R: Aunt Mary, Gram and Phoebe

This was the first time we brought Phoebe to visit after she was born. She was only two weeks old.

Kitty B Crazypants, aka Turdmeister

Double Chocolate Cookies

2011-04-18T13:16:00.000-04:00

I'm a bona fide chocoholic. I could not live without chocolate, the darker the better. Mmmm. Yesterday I was in the mood for some cookies, so I fiddled around and came up with these. Enjoy.

Double Chocolate Cookies

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp dark cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Cream together butter, sugars and vanilla. Add eggs. Mix well. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add to wet mixture, stir until well combined. Add chocolate chips. Drop onto cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cookies will be soft, but crispy on top. Let rest on cookie sheet until cool.

I used a serving spoon to scoop them onto the cookie sheet. I like large cookies. Also, don't try to take them off of the cookie sheet until they are cool, they will just get all smooshed up. Ask me how I know.

Potty Training

2011-03-21T10:41:00.000-04:00

I was not prepared for this. Well, I sort of was. A friend gave us a potty as a baby shower gift. Yeah, she was thinking ahead. Which was really cool, she also gave us the baby proofing stuff like outlet plugs and drawer locks. Sweet.

So this week, Thursday to be precise, Phoebe decided she was using her potty. She had peed in it three times while her bath water was running. I know it was just from the sound of water running. It always makes me have to go. ;) I made a big deal about it each time, but didn't really think it would make a difference. She had other plans.

As soon as she woke up Thursday morning she asked to go "pahpah." So I took her into the bathroom and put her on the potty. She peed right away, the potty plays a song when something lands in it, clever, isn't it? So I did a happy dance and clapped for her. She clapped for herself. We dumped it in the big potty then I washed it out and put her potty back together. I tried to pick her up to go get dressed but she threw a fit. So she sat back down on her potty....and POOPED! Holy cow! Where did that come from? I know the biology, thank you very much. I mean the desire to use the potty in the first place? She isn't supposed to be old enough for this yet. Just barely 16 months.

Since then she has done both every morning. Yesterday she even got upset because she peed in her diaper instead of the potty. Poor kid already has high expectations of herself. I don't even have training pants or panties for her yet. I'm not going to waste money on Pull-ups. I'll just use training pants during the day and keep her in diapers at night until she's completely trained.

Wow. That's all, just wow.

This was the day I put the potty together for her. Just so she would get used to it and not be afraid. Guess my plan worked.

Spring, have you sprung?

2011-03-19T13:36:00.001-04:00

Please say yes! I'm so in need of sunshine and open windows and going barefoot in the grass.

Yesterday was 76 degrees. It was sunny with a slight breeze. Man, I needed that. I opened the windows as soon as it got up to 60 degrees. I love, love, LOVE having the windows open letting the fresh air in. The cats love it too. They all staked out a window to sleep in all day.

In preparation for my new garden at our new house this summer I have started some seedlings.

Lettuce seedlings.

Tiny herb seedlings.

Just for fun. This is the hub's bonsai tree. He got it for his birthday three years ago. I've kept it trimmed for him, since he's allergic to pine. He can't touch it, just admire it from afar. :'(

A friend of his gave us a kit to build a raised bed. I'm excited about that. I've decided to go with Square Foot Gardening this year. I'd like to have two 4x4 beds. That way I can still garden, but also have enough room left in the yard for Phoebe to play.

I need to get my tomato seeds started indoors now too. According to the almanac I can plant them outside on May 4th. Woo hoo! I can't wait for that first tomato and cheese sandwich. Mmmmm. I can taste it now.

Maple Valley Off Grid Farm and a Lehman's Giveaway

2011-03-06T12:57:00.000-05:00

I discovered Mrs. Angela's blog Living Off-Grid at Maple Valley Farm a few years ago before they actually moved to the farm to live off grid. I am continually amazed and thrilled by their lifestyle as they learn about life on an old Amish farm. I like to think that I could manage living off grid, but I don't really think I could. I'm pretty spoiled by all of our modern conveniences.

You all know that I garden and can. When I heard about the reusable canning lids from a friend I was very excited. I'd love to have a set of my own. This summer I plan to try square foot gardening and hope to have a decent harvest to can. Those lids would definitely get used. :)

Go check out the Maple Valley blog, it's so neat all of the things they do. I think the most fascinating for me was the ice cutting. Just like Little House on the Prairie!

Hello, ello, ello, lo, o

2011-01-21T15:31:00.003-05:00

Is there an echo in here? I think there is. Poor bliggety blog got left alone for months this time.

We're in the process of moving ~~again~~ so I have no time at all. I'm making time for you though. Poor neglected blog.

Yesterday I decided I wanted to bake some bread. I've said it before, but it bears repeating...I LOVE baking bread. So I settled on the Pesto Bread from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads. Of the more than 1,000 recipes I've tried about 6. This is one of our favorites.

I prefer to knead by hand. There is something intensely satisfying in it for me. Push. Turn. Fold. Push. Turn. Fold.

Before kneading.

After kneading.

First rising. 40 minutes.

After first rise divide the dough in half. Roll or flatten into a rectangle. Spread on pesto. Then roll it up like a jelly roll.

Place into greased bread pans. Seam side down. Cover and let rise another 40 minutes.

Ahhhhh. Fresh from the oven. :)

It is a very soft, tasty bread.

Halloween

2010-11-03T20:59:00.000-04:00

Phoebe just had her first Halloween! She was Obi Wan Kenobi, her daddy's request. I must admit she was a super cute little Jedi.

We took her out to Trick or Treat. That was fun. People gave us lots of candy, because they knew she wouldn't get to eat it. There was even one little old lady that ooed and awed over her for being the youngest Trick or Treat-er all night. She even got her first juice box. I let her taste it, but she thought it was pretty gross. So I drank the rest of it for her.

Of course I had to dress up too. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. We're big fans of True Blood...

I think I made a convincing Merlotte's waitress.

30! What, what?!?!

2010-10-12T09:57:00.000-04:00

Last week I turned 30. I didn't really think I'd care. It's just a number, right? Then as the day was sneaking up behind me, I found it did. I got butterflies in my stomach. I felt sick. I felt dumb. Why would I care, it was just another day like every other. Nursing, playing, changing diapers. Same old, same old. So why did it bother me? I am not sure. My close friend Melissa told me it must be my biological clock. Her's is ticking away, she's only a year older than I am. So that's what I decided it must be. Truthfully I thought I would be done having children by now, not just getting started.

My super sweet, thoughtful hubby got me an Amazon Kindle for my birthday. It is a digital device that you can add ebooks, pdfs, blogs, mp3s, audio books and even clip magazine and newspaper articles! It is sooooo awesome! He said he thought I'd like the pdf capability for knitting patterns. I wouldn't have to carry around a bunch of papers anymore. Wasn't that incredibly thoughtful of him? I think it's my favorite present ever. I'm going to get so much use out of it. I already have. I've burned through 6 books already since he gave it to me last Monday.

This is what I would like to be doing.

Isn't it nifty?

Breakfast night!

2010-09-08T20:19:00.001-04:00

On Wednesdays the hubs works late teaching a class then photographing student work in another class. Since he's not here at dinner time Wednesdays have become breakfast night. This typically means cold cereal. But tonight I have some bacon left from Sunday that I need to cook. Thus the pancake and bacon meal idea came to me. I don't have any eggs at the moment. That recall was pretty scary, so I haven't bought any since then. Wish I knew someone who kept their own chickens.

As I was cooking the bacon I started thinking about my favorite fast food breakfasts. It's horrible, but I love the Egg McMuffin and Bacon McGriddle from McDonald's. So that sent my mind racing down another rabbit hole. A couple years ago I found a recipe for home made McGriddles on a blog. I've long since lost the bookmark or perhaps I never book marked it in the first place...

So I decided to wing it. :D

First off, cook the bacon or Facon or Stripples. Perhaps you are fond of sausage. You can use that or veggie sausage. Whatever you want!

Use your favorite pancake mix. It can be store bought or home made. Whatever suits your fancy.
Follow the directions for mixing. Now comes the fun part...the McGriddley part.

Add 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar to the batter. That's right. It's so simple I can't believe I didn't think of it myself!

Cook up your little pancakes to desired doneness.

Assemble your little sandwiches. I like cheese on mine, yes I'm gross. So mine has a slice of smoked cheddar.
Voila!

Mmmmmmmmm. Even Phoebes likes it. The pancake part anyway. :)

Fall

2010-09-08T12:58:00.000-04:00

Oh how I love you! My favorite season of all.

Ok, enough of that. No more rhyming or poetry.

I am glad that Fall is nearly here. I'm so tired of the heat and humidity of Summer. My garden didn't do much this year. It was too hot for too long. Although I did have my very first home grown cantaloupe. It was delicious! Phoebe thought so too.

I'm ready to bust out the sweaters and warm, fuzzy socks. I'll have to get Phoebes used to wearing socks. She dos not tolerate anything on her feet. She rubs them together until the stuff is off of her feet. Maybe once her feet get cold enough she'll leave her socks alone.

She's cruising along holding onto the furniture, or me, now. She even took one step by herself. When she realized what she had done she plopped down on her butt. It was pretty funny. Last week she learned how to say "baby." It's her new favorite word. She hugs me, all the while patting my back, and says,"Mommy." Then she will pat her chest and say,"Baby!" She's such a smarty pants!!!!

We're fighting the never ending battle against diaper rash, yet again. Ever since the freaking Pampers Dry Max rash it seems like every other week she's got a nasty one again. Her doctor says that her skin is just super sensitive now. So I'm stripping my cloth diapers. I've ordered a different brand of detergent to wash them in. I can't use rash creams with zinc in them. She gets blisters from that. I tried a home made herbal salve. It made the rash worse. I've tried home made wipe solution and cloth wipes. Sigh. My last resort is corn starch. I started using it on her today. So, HOPEFULLY it works. Poor baby. I know she's miserable. I just want to make her feel better.

Check out this Giveaway

2010-09-03T12:52:00.002-04:00

Roo has a super cute new blog. She's having a giveaway.

NiceGirlNotes

Oops, I did it again

2010-09-03T11:39:00.000-04:00

I neglected the blog. I just don't know how the moms of multiple children have time to blog when I can't seem to do it with one little baby.

She's not so little anymore. :( She's 9 1/2 months old now. My goodness! She has learned to crawl. I thought she was going to skip that. She's standing on her own for short periods of time. Last night she took a step, BY HERSELF! Now she has 4 teeth, the four front incisors.

In other news I have managed to knit a pair of socks. I'm thinking they will be a Christmas gift. I have two sisters-in-law that have asked me to make them some socks. So, if I can get another pair made I'll have them marked off my list. No one else, just them. If I had a working oven I would just make everyone cookies.

I also began pieceing a quilt for Phoebes. It's only a 9 patch, but I love it. Let's see if I have a pic of it.

I'm going to make borders from a dark brown, maybe with a little print in it. I'll use the same material for a back. It all depends on what Jo Ann's has in their material section and if it's on sale or not. Their stuff is kinda pricey unless it's on sale.

Giveaway

2010-07-20T11:19:00.000-04:00

Kendra at New Life On A Homestead is having a giveaway! It's for a Survival Pack of heirloom garden seeds from Hometown Seeds.

Canning

2010-07-13T16:30:00.000-04:00

I decided to bust out my canners and do a little canning this week. Yay!

Sunday evening I canned 10 half pints of mulberry jam. I didn't take any pictures though. There is a mulberry tree in our neighbor's yard. Most of it grows over into ours though. I think they trim it back on their side of the fence. I picked all I could reach standing on a chair and gathered all I could find in the yard. I almost had enough for a batch of jam. So I tossed in about 1 cup of blue berries to make enough. :) It was the first time I've canned on my own. I used to can with my Grandma all the time. In fact the last time I canned with her we made strawberry-rhubarb jam. Mmmmm.

Yesterday I got out the pressure canner to can green beans. The rabbits ate off all the beans I planted so I had to resort to farmers market beans. It's ok, I didn't mind too much. Although I think they were a bit pricey. I paid $20 for a half bushel.

I was a little bit nervous about using the pressure canner so I waited until Mike was home in case it exploded. That way he could take me to the hospital. Thankfully nothing went wrong. So I now have a dozen quarts of green beans!

This is what it looked like half way through the process. Half of the beans remaining to be snapped.

The other half in the canner ready to go.

The finished product!

Happy 8 months!

2010-07-13T15:50:00.000-04:00

Wow, has it really been a month since my last post?

Phoebe is 8 months old today. This is such a fun age. She's learned to clap. I love it. She claps and says,"Yay!" It's so stinking cute. She tries to play with Monkie all the time. Monkie wants to play too, but is a little rough. She doesn't know how to play without her claws.

Phoebe has 2 teeth. Her bottom front incisors. The right incisor on the bottom and the canine beside it look like they are coming in too. I thought she would get top teeth before any more bottom teeth came in, but I guess not. There's no sign of top teeth yet.

She doesn't really crawl yet. She does the worm or the Army crawl. She's really fast! Sometimes she tries to get up on her feet. I'm not sure if she's trying to stand up to walk or if she's gonna crab walk.

The swimming pool is endless fun. She loves to splash. She'll close her eyes and smack the water as hard as she can to make giant splashes. I'd like to take her to a big pool somewhere and see if she'll try to swim. Daddy will be in charge of swim lessons. :)

Happy 7 months

2010-06-13T10:05:00.000-04:00

Today my Phoebe girl is 7 months old! This week she got her first two teeth. The bottom front teeth. She won't let me look at them or feel them, but when she smiles I can see them. Poor thing had such a hard time cutting them. The teething monster is a beast! I'm told the worst is over, until the next one comes in.

This week she learned to run in her activity center. Of course it was chasing after Monkie. She adores Monkie Du. No matter what she's doing, even if she's throwing a screaming fit, when she sees Monkie she stops and grins. It's really pretty funny to see. I keep trying to catch it on video but always miss it.

Daddy thinks Phoebes is tons of fun. She is thrilled to see him when he gets home from work. They spend quite a while playing every day. She loves to be tossed in the air. She loves to pull his hair. When he gets his bass out to play, either the electric or upright, he has her undivided attention.

June? Really, already?

2010-06-06T20:00:00.000-04:00

Where did Spring go? I have no idea. I suppose I've been so wrapped up in the cuddly sweetness that is my Phoebe girl that I didn't pay attention to anything else. She just gets sweeter and sweeter every day. She's started hugging us. It's the best! She'll snuggle her nose into my neck and pat my back. It makes me smile just to think about it.

I've been sick this week. Strep throat is not fun. Now it seems I have a sinus infection. Boo. I just want to sleep, but I can't do that with a wiggly little girl. At least I can get her to take her afternoon nap with me. Today it lasted from 1:30 to 4:00. Ahhhhh.

When we went to Grandma's last week I got the plants for my garden. Roma tomatoes, Beefsteak tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, cantaloupes, jalapenos, and salsa peppers. I need to get some bean seeds. The ones I had left from last year got wet somehow. They were all rotten. :(

Sunshine On My Shoulder Makes Me Happy

2010-05-30T10:44:00.000-04:00

It does. I swear. At least until the sunburn sets in. That's why I'm grateful for SPF 70 sunblock. Oh yes. Give me the strong stuff. I can burn on a cloudy day through UV protected glass, i.e. the car windows. Oh the joys of being a red head.

Yesterday we went back to Fairmont to buy some artwork from a friend. Pat Vincent has been exploring different kinds of art for several years. Each year he has an art show. Last year was the only time we didn't go and buy anything from him. One year it was cloth and paper, I bought two pieces from him that year.

Another year it was embroidery. Mike bought one that time.

The next year was wood burning. We got our favorite piece then, the Dharma Initiative symbol from Lost.

This year it is paintings.

We weren't able to go to the art show because my brother was here with the kids. Thankfully Pat put pictures of everything up on Facebook. I saw several things that I liked, but they were all sold. Then I found the perfect set. I loved them instantly. I'm going to hang them in Phoebe's room. There is nothing on her walls yet.

She loves them too. When I showed them to her she got very excited. :)

We stopped by Grandma's too. My youngest brother, Zack is in for a visit. He hadn't met Phoebe yet, he was very excited to. He wanted to be in the delivery room with me. Weirdo. He says he wants to be a doctor, maybe a surgeon. That was his reason. Anyway, it wasn't gonna happen. He lives in SC with his mom. She wouldn't drive him up here or let him miss school. So, yesterday was his first time meeting his niece. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure he has ever met Hannah and Abby, our brother Jimmy's kids.

I forgot Zack was there. Oops. So I didn't have my camera with me. I'll make sure to take it when I go back down one day this week.

Tired

2010-05-23T16:17:00.000-04:00

I'm really tired. My brother came to visit with Hannah and Abby yesterday. They were so excited to see "baby girl." They overwhelmed her with playing and noise. I forgot how loud Abby is. She doesn't know what an inside voice is, she yells all the time. Plus she's like a toddler tornado. I know, I know...she's only 2, but still.

Both girls kept taking Phoebe's binky out of her mouth and trying to cram a different one in it. I had several different kinds on her blanket in case she dropped one or just wanted a different one. She's learning to pick them up and put them back in her mouth by herself. I was afraid they were going to hurt her, so I had to make them stop that. Besides, it was just mean to keep taking her binky away. Punks. After that she was excited to play with them.

By the time they left we were all worn out. Poor Phoebes skipped a nap while they were here, so she was extra cranky sleepy. I hoped she would just go down for the night, but she fell asleep around 8, slept for 45 minutes then woke up for an hour or so before finally conking out for the night.

Happy Half Birthday!

2010-05-13T16:41:00.000-04:00

Can you believe Phoebe is 6 months old? I can't. It is simply shocking to me. Shocking! Her infancy is passing in a blur. It really is. I feel like it was just yesterday that I brought home a tiny, little, sleeping angel. Now she's sitting up, trying to crawl. So many new feats are accomplished every day. Her first tooth has just poked through her gums. It isn't all the way in yet. So the teething monster is in residence. I'm going to miss her gummy smile.

She has become quite social. She just adores other babies. As soon as she sees one she grins and will crane her neck to keep staring as we pass. Yesterday we went grocery shopping, just the two of us. I carried her in the Baby Bjorn. She jabbered and squealed at every single person she saw. As you can imagine, she was exhausted by the time we left.

So here's to her first six months! I'm excited to see what the next six will bring us.

Co-sleeping

2010-05-08T08:28:00.000-04:00

It's something I said I would never do. In fact, it was the first thing Mike & I agreed on when I was pregnant. There would be no baby in our bed. Our bed was OUR place. I had read all about the pros and cons of co-sleeping, but still knew it wasn't for us.

Life has a way of changing your plans. Just like the natural, drug free labor I wanted didn't happen. I was induced at 40 weeks 5 days. I requested the epidural after being in labor for 5 hours. The nurse that taught our birthing class was right. Pitocin made the contractions incredibly intense and unbearable. Because of the episiotomy I had it was hard for me to walk, so once we came home carrying her to the bedroom upstairs hurt too much. Since I am nursing her it was not feasible to have Mike take her up and down the stairs all night, just to have her in the crib. I first tried putting her in the pack n play beside the couch. That didn't work, because it was too hard to bend over to reach her. So I improvised.

We have an ergonomic neck pillow, it looks like there was a scoop taken out of the middle of a regular pillow. She fit perfectly in that pillow. I put her between me and the back of the couch. It was so much easier. I knew she was safe and not going anywhere.

When I was healed and able to climb the stairs I put her in the crib. That was when found that I couldn't bear to have her that far away from me. We got a bassinet and tried that. She slept in it a few times. Truthfully I felt safer with her next to me. Right next to me. I could put my hand on her belly to feel if she were breathing or not. We never had a scare over her breathing, but I was afraid anyway.

Thus began our journey in co-sleeping. Honestly, I love it. Mike...not so much. He says he's always half awake to be aware of her so he won't roll on her. He wouldn't. I keep my arm between them or put her on the other side of my body if she is nursing from that side.

Now that she is able to roll on her own she tosses and turns a lot. Just like her parents. Both of us are active sleepers. The tossing and turning is keeping me awake. I get less sleep now than I did when she was a newborn.

I'm trying to transition her to the crib. Trying being the operative word. I'm having such a hard time with it. I still want her with me. If we had a bigger bed I would have no problem keeping her with me. *Sigh*

Getting her down in the crib initially has gotten much easier. I can get her to sleep in just a few minutes. Keeping her there is the problem. She still wakes to nurse twice at night. The first time I can get her back down with no problem, but the second time is a fight. I admit that I cave in and take her back to my bed.

Yes, I know I should be consistent, but it's hard! Can you tell how whiny that was? Picture a four year old saying that. I know it's so hard for me because my heart really isn't in it. I don't regret co-sleeping at all, it's been wonderful. It's just time to move to the next phase.

Cloth Diapers

2010-05-01T21:03:00.000-04:00

I had intended to cloth diaper from the beginning. I found a few different patterns for pocket and all-in-one diapers. I couldn't find the water proof material to make them out of though. So...I went to a local cloth diaper store, A Little Behind, to get my stash started. It is located on Wall St. in Morgantown,WV. Sandy, the owner, is fantastic. She is so knowledgeable and friendly. I had been given a one size pocket diaper from her store as a gift. I started with a dozen unbleached Indian prefolds, 2 fitted diapers and 2 pairs of plastic pants. I liked the fitteds, but Phoebe outgrew them so quickly I barely got any use out of them. I tried the one size pocket, but...her legs were so skinny that it leaked through the leg holes. So I put that away for later use. I used the prefolds with a Snappi and the plastic pants for a while. Then I got a couple Thirsties covers and a couple Bummis Super Whisper wraps. The Thirsties got too small too fast, I should have gotten them in a larger size. I'm still using the Bummis. They work pretty well for us. Sometimes it's hard to get them tight enough...somebody is a squirming worm.

I just got a Flip cover, a set of Econobums and a Bum Genius Deluxe. I'll be trying these out this week. I'm trying different brands and types to see which I like best. I bought another 12 prefolds from Sandy today as well. That should last me for a while.

I really love the fluffy butt.

Hello there!

2010-04-26T21:57:00.000-04:00

Things are changing around here. Phoebe is getting bigger and bigger. She's 5 months old now. She's trying new things daily. She can sit up on her own now. Not that she chooses to very often she'd rather be standing. She can't stand on her own yet, so I hold her or put her in the walker. I think she may skip crawling and go straight to walking.

Phoebe started solids this month. Her favorites are sweet potatoes, squash, carrots and bananas. She thinks anything green is pretty nasty.

Oh My

2010-03-30T23:49:00.002-04:00

I have been neglecting this poor blog. I'm sorry bliggety blog.

Phoebe is now 4 1/2 months old. We have started trying solid foods. One every few days and only once per day. So far she loves sweet potatoes and bananas. Squash, pears and peaches are ok. She hates oatmeal, green beans and peas. LOL

Happy Easter!

Amazing

2010-02-28T17:03:00.000-05:00

That's what this little girl is. She amazes me every day. On Friday she rolled over from belly to back for the first time. We don't do tummy time very often because it results in much screaming. I decided to make her do it Friday. She arches her back holding her arms and legs up in the air. She looks like she's sky diving. When she started listing to one side I showed her how to move her elbow out of the way. It took 2, that's right 2, times of that demonstration for her to figure it out! Phoebe rolled over 3 times before she had had it and started screaming. I got pictures of it, but no video.

Almost got it...

Whew! That was tough.

Now every time I put her on her belly she rolls over immediately. It's like she's thinking, "Ha! That'll teach you to put me on my belly!!"

Slacker

2010-02-21T11:46:00.000-05:00

That's me.

I've totally slacked off the workouts. After being at the mil's for a week it's been hard to get back to our normal schedule. So I only worked out once this week. I tried a second time, but Phoebe wasn't having it. So maybe I'll do better next week.

Speaking of Phoebe, you knew I couldn't resist, right? She is 14 weeks old! In the last week she has become very talkative. She is trying sooooooooo hard to talk! I swear her first word was,"Hi." She also wants to sit up or stand all the time. I really need to get her the Jumperoo. She'll have so much fun in it. We have a toy from my mom that's kind of like a walker and an exersaucer combined. She can't really use it yet though cause her legs are too short. Here she is trying it out for the first time.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T16:14:00.000-05:00

As of yesterday, Phoebe is 3 months old. Incredible! It sounds so cliche to say this, but time is flying by. She's not my teeny little baby anymore. My little turkey weighs 14 pounds! She's a Butterball. Plus she's outgrown certain brands of her clothes in the 3 month size so she's now wearing 3-6 month sizes.

We spent the last week at Grandma's house. Stupid blizzard. It knocked out our power last Friday night. We had about 2 1/2 feet of snow! Without power we had no heat, even though the furnace is gas, it needs the electric thermostat to work. We managed to make it out Saturday morning to go to my mother-in-law's. She had more snow than we did, but a wood stove. So even if she lost power she'd be warm. It took us almost 6 hours to make a trip that normally takes 2 1/2 hours. There were many spots on the interstates that hadn't been plowed or if they had, it had been several hours since they'd been touched. It was a nerve wracking trip. We made it in one piece though.

Here's poor Ginger dog heading out to potty. This is the walkway to Grandma's front door.

Grandma was soooooo happy to get to spend time with her little princess. It took Phoebes a little while to warm up to her. She's developed the "stranger danger" reaction. Eventually they were good buddies. :)

Mike bought a kerosene heater and went back home on Sunday. We didn't want the cats to freeze, Kitty needed his shots anyway. He said it was 37 degrees in the house when he got home. He had to work this week, whether we had power or not because the school had power. Stupid. Our power came back on Tuesday. Thank goodness.

Mike came to get us and return his mom's truck yesterday. He borrowed it since it has 4 wheel drive. We had to drive through another snow storm on the way home. I swear it isn't ever going to stop! At least we're all home together now. I missed him so much! I'm pretty sure he missed Phoebe more than he missed me.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Fitness???

2010-02-01T12:59:00.000-05:00

So, I know I should have posted this on Friday. Oops.

I managed to do the walking video every day last week. I did 3 miles 4 days, one day I did 1 mile and another day only 1/2 before Phoebe had had enough. She had a grumpy day last week. :( I only got to do about 15 minutes of the Yoga Booty Ballet. I think I should skip housework and workout instead. lol I've been cleaning while she naps in the mornings, it's her longest nap of the day. Maybe I should throw a workout in there some days instead. Anyway, on to the measurements.

Waist: 29
Hips: 34
Thigh: 21

I think only my thigh was smaller. That's ok though, I'm not looking for Biggest Loser style improvement. I just want to tone up a little. I've still got a jelly belly. It's amazing to me that my belly got so big, but I didn't get any stretch marks. Let's see, I'll post a pic of my belly the day Phoebe was born. Hold on...

So this was 40 weeks 5 days. Gigantic!

This was one week after Phoebe was born. It still looks exactly the same.

Here's a shout out to Jenny. You go girl! lol Keep up the good work. Oh, and kiss you little man for me.

What a day

2010-01-24T12:42:00.000-05:00

I went to Morgantown yesterday to get cloth diapering supplies. There's a lady named Sandy, I can't remember her last name, that has opened a store- A Little Behind- she also runs a diaper service. She delivers all the way to Pittsburgh, so I could join the service and have her do all the washing of the dirty diapers. It would be just a bit too expensive for me to do that. Besides, I have a washer and dryer, it won't kill me to wash diapers. I bought a dozen Indian prefolds, 2 fitted diapers, 2 covers and 2 snappis. I need to get a bucket today while I'm out shopping and we'll be set to start cloth diapering. My grandma gave me 2 dozen prefolds and a pack of covers. Plus I was given a pocket diaper that is one size fits all, it is adjusted with snaps. I'm going to give it a go and see what we like. I may go back and get more covers and prefolds from her later. We'll see.

So...Miss Phoebe was a terror yesterday! She was in a bad mood before we left, but was asleep before I turned the corner of my street. So I thought she'd get her nap out and be fine. Nope. She screamed the whole time we were in the diaper store. She wouldn't nurse and was generally inconsolable. Then I met a friend for lunch. She was fine through the salad. Then screamed like a banshee again. I took her to the bathroom and changed her. That cheered her up, so I thought maybe we were ok. Went back to the table and screaming resumed. I took her back to the bathroom to try nursing. She never stopped screaming. So I decided we just needed to get home. I felt awful, because I couldn't figure out what was wrong. People were starting to get pissy and I was so upset because she wouldn't nurse. My friend had the waitress box up my meal and we left. Phoebe was asleep before I even got out of the parking lot. It took an hour to get home. By then it had been 7 hours since she had eaten, I was really getting worried. As soon as we got in the house she wanted to eat! I checked her temperature to see if she had a fever, but she didn't. So...

Maybe it was just too different for her. I don't know. We don't go out much. So maybe it was just scary for her. She's back to normal today. Thank goodness!

Feeling the burn

2010-01-22T16:48:00.000-05:00

I've finally started working out. One of my friends from the What to Expect message board has inspired me. So Jenny here is my Friday update.
I don't have a scale, so I'll just be taking my measurements.
bust-38
waist-30
hips-34
thigh-22

At my 6 week post-partum check up I had 10 pounds left to lose to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I thought that was pretty awesome. So this week I have either walked a mile outside with Phoebes in the carrier or walked a mile with a Leslie Sansone video with Phoebes in the carrier. Today I did all 3 miles on the video. I also added in Yoga Booty Ballet. My word did it make me sore! I forgot how much work it is. I'm feeling good though. Hopefully I stay motivated this time.

It was a hard workout today. She's pooped. Carrying her like this adds a lot to the workout. Whew!

Milk...it does a body good!

2010-01-18T12:19:00.000-05:00

That's right, it sure does. I took Phoebe for her 2 month check up last Thursday. She weighed 12 pounds 8oz and was 23 inches long. That is a 5.66 pound weight gain and 2 inches since she was born! Amazing!! I knew she was getting heavier. I had been comparing her weight with the cats. She's heavier than Monkie, who weighs 10 pounds, but lighter than Kitty, who weighs 13 pounds. So I guessed she was 12 pounds. I was close! The dr said,"Mommy is doing something right." This makes 2 months of breast feeding success. Hooray! I was a bit concerned because she never spends more than 10 minutes nursing. It's usually only 5 minutes. I hear other moms complain about 45 minutes or longer, so I was nervous for her. All is well though. My little piglet is growing like crazy. Oh, she cried when she got her shots, but only for a minute. We had a rough night though. Her poor legs were so sore it made her scream to move them. Diaper changes were bad. We couldn't bicycle her legs to help with her gas either, so that made her little belly hurt. :( Oh, she has a new cry now. It's the "I'm hurting and I know what pain is" cry. She did it when they stuck her for the shots. So now when her belly hurts with gas, she makes that cry. Scared her dad half to death the first time he heard it. I think he thought I was torturing her or something.

Yesterday she tried something new. I was holding her in the crook of my arm as usual. She tried to sit up! I thought it may have been a fluke, but she did the same thing when her dad was holding her! She's not really a fan of the Bumbo, but I suppose she wants to sit up now. I'll prop her up with a pillow on the couch.

Time keeps on slipping...

2010-01-10T16:49:00.000-05:00

In three days my angel will be two months old. It's amazing! She's growing and changing so much already. She smiles at me, on purpose. I just love her smile and her laugh. She thinks it's funny when I stick my tongue out at her. Now she's imitating me, sticking her tongue out at me. It's sooooooo cute! She wanted her daddy to hold her the other day. She actually fussed at me until I handed her to him and then she was fine. It melted his heart. See, Phoebe does love her daddy! I told him so, he didn't believe me.

Just for fun

2009-12-31T18:51:00.002-05:00

Video

2009-12-23T00:21:00.002-05:00

Phoebe laughing.

Photo post

2009-12-15T14:34:00.000-05:00

This is her Zoolander impression.

A little smile after her bath. She's still not a fan of bathing, but at least she didn't scream this time.

I'm a huge fan of icanhascheezburger, especially the "invisible" pictures. Go there, you'll see what I mean. I give you...Invisible Lollipop.

Month One

2009-12-14T19:46:00.000-05:00

Whew! We made it through. It wasn't bad. Not as bad as people told me it would be. There weren't countless nights spent rocking a screaming baby. There isn't any colic or other health problems (knock on wood) to deal with. All in all it's been great. We're all learning a lot about each other. I definitely learned that all those years of insomnia have paid off. :D I get slightly more sleep now than I did before I was pregnant. I also have learned that I'm eating my words. I swore I would never give her a pacifier. That lasted all of one day. She has such a tremendous sucking reflex that she was sucking her hands and arms until she had hickies! So, she gets a binki. I also swore the baby wouldn't sleep with me. She does. I can't bear to have her far away. I'm terrified that she will stop breathing. I have managed to put her in the bassinet right next to the bed. She doesn't spend the whole night in it, after the middle of the night feeding she stays in bed with me. Dh doesn't like it, he's afraid he'll roll on her. But I just can't quite explain to him how I feel. He doesn't understand our need to touch each other. She is still in that stage where she needs to touch mommy to feel safe.

We are getting used to the carrier. I have one called The Ultimate Baby Wrap. It's kind of strange to put on at first, but gets easier with practice. She doesn't like it at all, that's why we're practicing with it a little every day. I need to be able to do a little housework occasionally. ;)

Settling in

2009-12-06T12:37:00.000-05:00

That's what we're doing. Phoebe is 3 weeks old now. It's going by way too fast. I'm learning what her noises mean. She makes noises all the time, even in her sleep. I'm pretty sure she will talk in her sleep, DH and I both talk in our sleep. We think it is funny to carry on conversations with the sleep talker, some very strange conversations happen that way.

I want to snuggle her all the time. I don't ever want to put her down...or share her with anyone. I have been letting daddy have baby time. He loves to snuggle her too. I even left her with him while I got groceries. I made sure she was fed, changed and asleep. She was fine...I was not. I cried all the way to the store. I knew they would be alright, but it hurt to be away from her. I knew that I would love her, I just wasn't prepared for the forcefulness of the feelings I have for her. The complexity of the emotions is nearly overwhelming at times.

She is truly a joy. At her 2 week check up she weighed 9lbs 3oz, up from 7lbs 13oz at 3 days old. Amazing!

She's here!!!!

2009-11-23T09:25:00.000-05:00

Phoebe Jane made her big debut on Friday November 13th at 4:22pm. She weighed 7lbs 14oz and was 21 inches long. We were hoping for a red head, but she has her daddy's dark brown hair, a full head of it. I was right about her feet, they are soooo big! She has my hands, it's amazing, her little thumbs are mine, in miniature. The same way with her feet, except they are her daddy's. She has his ears too. My lips and chin, his forehead. We spent so much time speculating who she would look like more. It is pretty evenly matched. We find it all very exciting and fascinating. We are so blessed, she is a wonderful, happy baby.

Here she is at 1 week old. Isn't she precious?

Happy Birthday to Me

2009-10-06T09:44:00.000-04:00

Today is my 29th birthday. I don't feel any older than I did when I was 16. I wonder if anyone else feels this way? Some of my friends were beside themselves when they realized that they were almost 30. They acted like it was the end of the world when the DID turn 30. I don't get it. Maybe when I'm pushing 70 I'll feel old.

So far today I've had my cup of spiced chai and breakfast. Now I'm lying on the couch in a cat pile. That's right, a cat pile.

Monkie is lying on my belly, getting kicked by the baby. Kitty is curled up in the backs of my knees. This is how we keep warm. :D

One more just for fun.

This was my belly yesterday at 35 weeks 1 day. The day that Phoebe finally decided to turn! She has been transverse the entire pregnancy. In fact, she still was when I woke up in the morning. Some time between that and my dr's appointment at 8:45 she turned. When he did the internal exam he pushed on her head for me, so I would know she was head down. I told him I was amazed because not 30 minutes before she was still transverse!

I am excited to be finished and finally get to hold her in my arms. At the same time I don't want it to end. I have really enjoyed being pregnant. I've had such an easy time, I know how lucky I am. It really has been wonderful. I know I will miss it.

Another good thing is that it's Fall. This is, without a doubt, my favorite season. I love the foliage colors, the way the air smells, the chill in the air. Most of all I love it because I get to wear my sweaters again! I can't wear any of them right now, the belly is too big...but I will soon. :)

Feeling Weird

2009-09-12T10:58:00.003-04:00

Only 8 weeks left until she's due!

Not sure how to explain this really. I feel so tired, exhausted really, but antsy at the same time. I want to be up preparing things and cleaning for this impending arrival. But I can only do things for maybe 30 minutes before I'm completely wiped out. I've heard that this is normal, but it is strange.
Not to mention that yesterday all three cats tried to lay on me at the same time. That never happens, so it made me nervous that something was going to happen. Nothing did, I'm fine, Phoebe is fine.

I finished knitting the last of the gifts for Dana's baby girl yesterday. Now I just need to get it all boxed up and shipped to her. Maybe I'll do that sometime next week. I found the cutest child's sweater pattern on Ravelry this morning. It's called Cardigan for Merry. It is an adaptation of an adult sweater, A Cardigan for Arwen. Yes, I'm dorky enough to want us to have matching sweaters. :P

Oh, my cousin's son weighed 7lbs 11oz and was 19 1/2 inches long. He just looked so big because he has chubby cheeks. They are home and both doing well. :)

Belly Shot

2009-09-02T16:53:00.001-04:00

I forgot to include a pic in the last post. So, here I am at 30 weeks.

Wow

2009-09-02T16:40:00.004-04:00

Is it really September already? Where has the summer gone? Oh, I know...I've been so wrapped up in my cocoon of pregnancy that I didn't notice! :D

I only have 10 weeks left until Phoebe is due. I feel like we aren't ready. The crib still needs sanded and painted, then we need to buy the mattress. My mom still has the dresser and rocking chair for me.

I have the baby's bag packed for the hospital, but not mine. I need to get a going home outfit for myself. I'm thinking a terry cloth track suit sounds nice and comfy. My friend Amber gave me a bag full of things for the hospital at the baby shower. She said they were all the things that she wished she had had when she gave birth. It has things like a word search book, gum, candy, slippers, and a toiletries bag full of samples. It was so kind and thoughtful of her.

Last night we had the last of the childbirth classes. I think DH learned a lot. It didn't help his nerves though, which was why I wanted him to go in the first place. I also registered to take the breast feeding class taught by the lactation consultant. Hopefully it will be just as informative.

My cousin gave birth to her son yesterday, she was due on Friday. He's a BIG boy. I'm not sure yet how much he weighs, but he looks huge!

I have so many friends that are pregnant now. It's so exciting! I wish I lived closer to them. It would be so fun to have play dates and to get their advice on everything. I'm a first timer, the rest of them all have other children. Oh well, I guess I just have to be content with Facebook. LOL

3rd Trimester

2009-08-16T21:29:00.004-04:00

I am officially in the third trimester now! Seven months along. My, it's going fast. I didn't think it was at first. It didn't feel slow, but it didn't feel fast either. I feel like the whole second trimester went by in a blur. People tell me I'm on the downhill slope now, that it will really go by fast. I hope not. I'm enjoying pregnancy. It really has been nice, for the most part. Only a couple little things I can really complain about, but don't really want to because everything else has been great.

The baby is getting bigger and stronger. She has a spot that she likes to punch over and over again. It's sore all the time. It must be bruised, because it hurts. She likes to pull her legs up to her chest then stretch them out really far. I do believe she's got my big feet. Poor kid. She is still hanging out low, right between my hip bones with her head by my left hip. She keeps her back toward mine most of the time. Occasionally she'll roll over the other way. When she does I rub her back. I think it puts her to sleep. Aww...

I've been taking the childbirth classes offered by the hospital. So far we are learning a few things. Some things I knew from reading, most DH is just learning. He's been great about going with me and being supportive. I'm still trying to convince him to be in the delivery room. He's very squeamish and is afraid he'll pass out. So he says he'd rather do it old school...He'll sit in the waiting room passing out cigars. Dork, he doesn't even smoke. LOL

I've also begun knitting again. Just a little bit. I have two gifts made for Dana's baby. One is a girl gift and one is a boy. She doesn't know yet what it is. So, when she knows for sure I can make a couple other little things to go with each gift. I've also started a sweater vest for Phoebe. It's so stinking cute!

Can't do it

2009-07-26T19:52:00.003-04:00

I can't clean the bathtub anymore. The belly is in the way. I can't lean over to scrub it while in the shower either cause I'll tip over. Nor can I get on my knees to scrub. ~sigh~ The hubs is just going to have to take over that chore from now on.

I wonder how long it will be until I can no longer carry a laundry basket. I have the kind with the u-shaped cut out to fit on your hip...Hmm...

Phoebe is getting very strong. She can already kick so hard it makes my whole belly move. I wonder if she'll be a rib breaker? She really enjoys music. So almost all day today we have been rocking. She seems to be a big fan of U2, Ben Folds, Cake, The Police and anything with lots of bass. Yep, she's definitely her father's spawn. LOL

Get up & get moving

2009-07-08T18:12:00.003-04:00

How many times a day do you hear that? From fitness gurus to commercials for workout videos to PSAs for kids. I hear it quite a bit. Now that I'm not completely exhausted anymore I was starting to feel like I should probably just get up and well, get moving. I hadn't exercised at all since March.

Unless you count cutting the grass once a week with an old fashioned push reel mower. Actually I hadn't done that in a few weeks either. Now that it is hot out and my belly is growing my DH doesn't want me cutting the grass. He hired a lawn care service to do it for us instead. He can't use the mower I bought, it's too small, even with the handle extended all the way, he has to bend over to push it. Not good.

So...yesterday I walked. I have a leslie Sansone video with 3 miles on it. I only did 1 mile. I know I shouldn't over do it. So I'll just do 1 mile for a week, maybe two before I move on to the 2 mile walk. I feel good. A smidge sore, but still good. I did it today too. I'm going to try to do this every week day and take the weekends off. I want to stay in shape. Yes, I know round is a shape. You know what I mean though. I don't want to gain too much before Phoebe is born.

I've never been one to really exercise a lot. I've always been small, so never saw the need. I used to get plenty of my exercise from marching band. That consisted of cardio, weight lifting, endurance training and breathing workouts. I played tuba, so I got a tremendous workout every day! LOL

So, here's hoping I can keep it up and stay healthy. :D

Things I'm learning

2009-07-07T09:25:00.003-04:00

I've always enjoyed learning new things. It's one of the best things my DH and I share, we love learning. I'm learning a lot right now!

It's amazing what the pregnant body can do. How mind blowing is it that there is a person growing in my womb? She's moving a lot. It feels like she is doing gymnastics. Yep, got a little Mary Lou in there. Every time I feel even the tiniest of movements I stop what I'm doing just to enjoy it. I love watching my belly move when she kicks or turns or punches me. I hear that I won't be loving it in a couple months, but I think I will anyway. ;)

I'm learning that I can't move as quickly as I'm accustomed to. I am a fast walker, a fast worker...I don't move slowly. But now I have to. I can't walk fast anymore because I'm already starting to waddle. :D I can't work fast because I get tired easily. I'm learning that I have to work a little while, then rest. It's made a difference in housework for me. I typically clean the whole house at once. Can't do that anymore.

I'm also learning that I truly love being pregnant. It's probably the most wonderful thing ever so far. I'm just thrilled and amazed, I know I've said that already, at what is happening in my body. God truly makes miracles happen.

Not sure what to call this

2009-07-02T15:29:00.002-04:00

You know how sometimes you just KNOW something? I've known since I was a little kid that I wanted to be a mom. Not just a mom, a good mom. I'd like to be great, but don't want to put too much pressure on myself. ;) I went to college, but didn't enjoy it. In fact, I didn't even graduate in the major I studied. I intended to be a music teacher, then realized that I actually didn't want to be a teacher. So I took a general studies bachelors degree to graduate. Somewhere along the line it occurred to me that I just wanted to be a wife and mother. Sounds wonderful doesn't it?
I can't imagine doing anything else. I'm so thankful that I have the chance to be just that.

The first week that my husband and I dated we talked about children. It was so important to me that I didn't want to spend time getting to know someone and possibly fall in love, if he didn't want them. Thankfully he did. (does?) I wanted a large family, maybe 6 kids. He, being the practical man that he is, worries how we will be able to feed that many. So he's thinking more along the lines of just 2. We'll see how it works out.

Now that I am pregnant with our first child I feel like I'm in Heaven. Really. It's been such an easy pregnancy so far. No morning sickness, not once! I'm not having any complications. It's really just been a dream. Every time she moves I stop what I'm doing and just enjoy it. It makes me grin from ear to ear. I talk to her, play music for her. I even let the cats sit on my lap and purr so that she will recognize the sound and not be afraid of them. She likes that a lot. I can feel her roll toward them and kick at them. :D

So, here's to embarking on a new journey through life!

Ch-Ch-Changes!

2009-06-28T21:40:00.002-04:00

I've decided to change up the blog a little bit. Partly because my priorities are changing and partly because I have lost my knitting mojo. I'm trying to work on a couple little things, but just don't really enjoy it right now. I know it's probably just because I'm pregnant, but it makes me a little sad anyway. I've never enjoyed something so much as knitting. Oh well, this too shall pass.

So, my mind just went completely blank. I had a whole new post about being pregnant and loving it...but it was just eaten by my preggo brain. Lot's of things seem to get eaten like that these days. Maybe I'll remember what I wanted to say tomorrow.

Guess What?

2009-06-19T17:47:00.000-04:00

It's a Girl!

http://vimeo.com/5236274

A little experiment

2009-05-14T08:52:00.002-04:00

I put the project on bamboo needles to see how my hands would feel.

The verdict is:

It's the yarn, not the needles! I don't typically use acrylic yarn because it makes me itch. It has never done this to my hands before. I suppose it's because I'm pregnant and my body chemistry has changed.

I'll donate this yarn to my friend Melissa, since she likes this brand so much. We're always trading yarns back and forth. ;)

Meh

2009-05-13T10:49:00.002-04:00

I haven't felt much like knitting lately. Blasphemy, I know! I'm chalking it up to pregnancy fatigue. The fatigue is going away, some days are better than others.

I started a baby blanket, but I really didn't like the way it looked, so I frogged it. I decided to do the Baby Blocks by Ann Norling, that I've made four times now. It doesn't look right either. I think it must be the yarn. I got several skeins of Caron Simply Soft Eco, it's partially recycled plastic bottles. It just isn't knitting up well. Maybe I'm just being picky. I don't know.

Oh, and how's this for something weird? The skin is peeling off my fingers where I hold my knitting needles. I think it's because they are metal, I have a sensitivity to nickle, but it's never bothered my hands before. Gross.

I now have two good friends who are pregnant! I wish we lived close to each other. One is in GA, the other in VA. Maybe I'll get some inspiration to knit things for their wee ones.

Well

2009-04-16T10:26:00.002-04:00

I have to apologize for my prolonged absence. I've been distracted, with good reason.

I found out last month that I am pregnant!

I've not been up to knitting or much else for a while. Some of my energy is returning, so hopefully I can get back to it. ;)

I've found an incredibly beautiful baby blanket pattern. So...maybe I'll get it made before the "Passenger" makes it's debut. That's what my dh is referring to the baby as, the Passenger. He's such a dork. LOL

Stretchy Monkies for Sarah Jane

2009-03-09T12:41:00.003-04:00

I had been holding off on posting until Sarah got her socks in the mail. She got them today, so here you go interwebs.

These were made with Patons Stretch sock yarn. I've never used yarn with elastic in it. It was very weird for me. Truthfully, it felt funny. It didn't slide easily over my fingers or the needles. I'm a tight knitter, but was afraid to pull it too tight. I thought I might be pulling the elastic to the breaking point.

All is well that ends well....
They fit! She loves them. I'm so relieved. I'm glad you like them Sarah. If you want to show them off, feel free. ;P

Evangeline

2009-02-23T13:23:00.003-05:00

Finished

2009-02-15T17:33:00.002-05:00

I finished the Evangelines today. I'm quite happy with the result. Although, I need more practice switching from one color to another. There are a couple wonky spots.

I'm still holding off on finishing Cassidy. I'm just not feeling it right now. Any one else ever feel that way? I know for sock knitters it's called Second Sock Syndrome. What is it called for sweaters? Hmm, not sure.

I'm gonna start another pair of socks. What can I say, it's my thing. I love them. I'll be trying out the Paton's Stretch sock yarn. It's got elastic in it, I'll let you know what I think.

Sidelined by injury(ies)

2009-02-13T14:25:00.003-05:00

As you may well know, I'm clumsy. I don't think clumsy is a good enough adjective to describe me though. I'm an injury waiting to happen, a disaster magnet. Seriously, if there is anything that could possibly happen to hurt you, it will or has happened to me. Case in point:
I have now fallen down 2 flights of outside stairs, on separate occasions.
I broke my leg in elementary school gym class.
I have broken both pinkie toes on numerous occasions, both are now crooked.
I can't walk across a flat surface without tripping.

Worst of all has been the most recent event. I cut my index finger and thumb, on the same hand, trying to wash the grater attachment for my food processor. You know, if you turn it one side up it grates and the other side up it slices, right? Well the slicer blade got me. It is horribly bad on my thumb. Probably should have gone to get a couple stitches. It's really, really deep. That freaking blade was SHARP! Word to the wise kids, be careful!

As the title says, I was sidelined. I did this on Monday and couldn't pick up the knitting needles until last night. No, it isn't healed yet, not even close. It's just not as sore. I can deal with the discomfort of holding the needles now. That's right, pain is good! I'm so hardcore, yeah right. LOL

I decided to make myself a pair of Evangeline mitts. I didn't want the short or the long version. So I'm going with one in between. I have 5 total repeats of the cable pattern. I'm also making them two colors. I have leftover Shine from the Cassidy sweater and two balls of Shine in a different color. I had ordered them a couple years ago, but hadn't made a thing with them yet. Exciting, isn't it?

Mullet

2009-02-08T17:46:00.004-05:00

Remember the glory days of the mullet? Billy Ray, Tim McGraw, even Hulk Hogan...
In case you didn't know the mullet is back.

That's right Abby is rockin' the mullet!

Sunday

2009-02-08T13:48:00.003-05:00

Another lazy Sunday afternoon is upon me. This time with sunshine!

I've been reunited with a dear friend. She was my very best friend in the whole wide world, when we were ten. I lived in Georgia then, she was the best. Amazing really. We kept in touch for a few years after I moved back to WV, but lost touch in high school. When I was in college I was inspired to contact her again. We e-mailed for a while, but then life got in the way. She has three little boys and got rather busy. ;)
I was overjoyed to receive a letter from her yesterday! I have really missed her. Sarah Jane, if you read this...I'm so glad you're back!

My knitting is, well hibernating. I'm kinda nervous about seaming this sweater together. I've seamed up the sides to the arm holes. I am ready to seam the shoulders and then sew on the sleeves. Thanks again to Melissa for sharing the tutorials with me. She really is my Ambassador of Quam. So, I will attempt it this week. I just want to be done with this project already.

I spent a couple days with my family in WV this week. Finally gave them their Christmas presents. I made socks for my mom and brother. They both loved them. Although my mom told me the wrong size for my brother, so his socks are enormous! He'll just wear them as slippers over another pair of socks. His oldest daughter, Hannah loved them too. She said, "Aunt Tiffi, you need to make me a pair of socks because my feet are cold. You can make them purple and green and white. They will match my coat." She just turned four and thinks she's the coolest thing in the world. She is, of course, in case you didn't know. :P So, now my mission is to find purple, green and white sock yarn. Maybe I can get Melissa to dye some for me. Hmm...

Dear Knitting

2009-02-02T15:23:00.002-05:00

I am sorry. I have neglected you. I've put you aside for another hobby.

It's been a couple years, so I decided it was time I made a quilt. This is only the top. I need to add borders. Then find a backing, sandwich the batting in the middle and hand quilt it.

I promise I will get back to you, knitting. We had some good times, like last night. I learned the mattress stitch to sew together Cassidy.

It's Alive!

2009-01-22T11:37:00.001-05:00

Yep, Cassidy lives again!
I had to get a new size 7 circular before I could continue. So, with that done, i am rocking along with the right front panel. Just have that, the sleeves and the hood left to do. Then I get to seam it all together. Ugh, not very good at that part yet. Maybe I will be by the time I'm finished with this...

Fingerless Mitts

2009-01-17T21:09:00.002-05:00

I knit a pair of mitts today. The pattern is Evangeline.
They were so quick and easy. I only made the wrist length, they are for a friend's daughter, who is only 11. I think I may make the elbow length for myself.

Another Photo Post

2009-01-12T15:18:00.007-05:00

Cassidy

Fetching

Sock-aholic

2009-01-11T12:50:00.002-05:00

Ok, I admit it. In fact I may have admitted this before. I love knitting socks! This time I'm trying to wing it. I have two hanks of Happy Feet I bought months ago. I had planned to make the hub's first pair of socks from them. That didn't happen, so I'm using them now.

I also made a pair of fingerless gloves for a friend's daughter. I made a scarf for her dad and she absconded with it. So I've made her a gift so she'll give her dad his scarf back.

Contest

2009-01-08T08:55:00.002-05:00

I stumbled upon a contest via another blog. Perversia from Ravelry linked to the contest. Justine is running the contest on her new blog.
Post a comment about your favorite literary character, and why that character is your favorite. I read a few of the comments and there have been some interesting replies.
Oh, if you do pop over and leave a comment, would you mind mentioning that you got there from here? Thanks!

Pictures

2009-01-06T16:21:00.004-05:00

My kittehs.

The new Digs.

The hubs and his new girlfriend.

Hedgerow Socks

2009-01-06T16:09:00.005-05:00

Finished them about 10 minutes ago! I do like the pattern, except for the round toe. I think next time I'll just graft the toe.

More socks

2009-01-03T14:38:00.003-05:00

I started the Hedgerow socks on Christmas Day. It's a pretty quick knit. I've enjoyed it so far. Just finished the first sock. I'm using Knit Picks Essential Tweed in Lumberjack, a dark green. I must say I love this yarn. It is sooooo soft. It feels nice in my hands so I think it will feel good on my feet.

I'm still unpacking and getting settled so I hadn't picked up the knitting since Christmas Day, until last night. It felt good to get back to it. I was having withdrawal symptoms, shakes, jitters, nervous twitching...you get the idea. LOL

Done!

2008-12-22T19:00:00.002-05:00

Yes, that's right, I'm done. With the Christmas knitting that is. I'm sad to say I must pack all of my knitting paraphernalia up tomorrow. :( It's all got to be ready to go into the U-Haul on Saturday.

We're spending tomorrow packing the last of our things. Then Wednesday we are traveling to spend Christmas with the hub's family. We will pick up the U-Haul while there on Friday. Get the rest of our things from his mother's house loaded and come back here. Then spend all day Saturday loading the truck and possibly driving to our new home. Although, I think we may be too tired to manage that. So we may go up on Sunday and unload the truck.

Man, I'm tired just typing it out!

I hope everyone has a nice Christmas. If you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a nice time, doing whatever it is you do.

Are you a Jackie or a Marilyn?

2008-12-17T07:43:00.003-05:00

Thank you, Mad Men! And Brocante Home!

I am...

You Are an Ingrid!

You are an Ingrid -- "I am unique"

Ingrids have sensitive feelings and are warm and perceptive.

How to Get Along with Me

* Give me plenty of compliments. They mean a lot to me.
* Be a supportive friend or partner. Help me to learn to love and value myself.
* Respect me for my special gifts of intuition and vision.
* Though I don't always want to be cheered up when I'm feeling melancholy, I sometimes like to have someone lighten me up a little.
* Don't tell me I'm too sensitive or that I'm overreacting!

What I Like About Being an Ingrid

* my ability to find meaning in life and to experience feeling at a deep level
* my ability to establish warm connections with people
* admiring what is noble, truthful, and beautiful in life
* my creativity, intuition, and sense of humor
* being unique and being seen as unique by others
* having aesthetic sensibilities
* being able to easily pick up the feelings of people around me

What's Hard About Being an Ingrid

* experiencing dark moods of emptiness and despair
* feelings of self-hatred and shame; believing I don't deserve to be loved
* feeling guilty when I disappoint people
* feeling hurt or attacked when someone misundertands me
* expecting too much from myself and life
* fearing being abandoned
* obsessing over resentments
* longing for what I don't have

Ingrids as Children Often

* have active imaginations: play creatively alone or organize playmates in original games
* are very sensitive
* feel that they don't fit in
* believe they are missing something that other people have
* attach themselves to idealized teachers, heroes, artists, etc.
* become antiauthoritarian or rebellious when criticized or not understood
* feel lonely or abandoned (perhaps as a result of a death or their parents' divorce)

Ingrids as Parents

* help their children become who they really are
* support their children's creativity and originality
* are good at helping their children get in touch with their feelings
* are sometimes overly critical or overly protective
* are usually very good with children if not too self-absorbed

Yeah, so...umm

2008-12-14T09:35:00.002-05:00

Christmas knitting is sort of limping along. I've finished my mom and step-dad. Oh and the hubs, can't forget him. I am half way finished with my brother's gift. I bought one for his girlfriend. I won't be able get anything done for my mother-in-law, brother-in-law, grandmother-in-law or even my own grandmother. Maybe I'll just buy her something. She's like me, she's all about the useful gifts. I'll snoop around and see what she needs.

Speaking of useful gifts. I was at my mom's and saw a tv commercial. It was about a man buying his wife a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. So she sent him to the dog house. It was kind of like prison in the dog house. It was a really stupid commercial for a jewelry store, of course. Because obviously your wife won't love you unless you spend hundreds, or even thousands (gasp) of dollars on a piece of jewelry. I know this phenonmenon is real, after having worked in a jewelry store, especially at Christmas. It is utterly ridiculous to me. Really, how many diamond rings and necklaces does one woman need? I guess I'm in a minority these days. I'd rather have a washing machine. I can do without a dryer, there are these things called clothes lines...

My husband knows that I'd much rather have a useful gift as opposed to something frivolous. He did buy me jewelry, from the family business of course, in the beginning. In fact I only had one necklace and one ring before we dated each other. I'm not really that into jewelry, I guess. Now he asks what I need. What I'd love to have for, well for ever, is a pressure canner. There is a brand, that I can't think of right now, sold at the co-op in Romney. It does not have a gasket. It is milled so that it seals itself without one. So, with proper care it could concieveably last forever! Amazing!!!!!!

The amount of commercialism and "buy, Buy, BUY!" that has crept into this season just makes me sad. This is supposed to be a time of joy and celebration. Not a time of stress and amassing enormous amounts of debt to buy things. I'm not going to wax poetic or anything like that. Phew! Just caught myself! I am just hoping that more people remeber the true meaning behind this season and take a step back from the other things. Take time to love on your family. Give an old friend a call just to say hi. Send a letter to a pen pal. Enjoy your Christmas.

Finito

2008-12-07T00:22:00.002-05:00

I finished the second sock! The hubs now has his very own pair of hand knit socks. I'm so glad he likes them. He said they are so awesome he'll need six other pairs. One for each day of the week. ;) He said he's got a sweater I can take apart if I need yarn. Haha
Someone has been looking up knitting on the intrawebs. I've never told him you can take apart sweaters to reuse the yarn. He's a smart cookie, that one.

News and Nonsense

2008-12-03T17:45:00.003-05:00

I've put sock #2 on hold for the moment. I've decided to make something for our friend Bob, for Christmas. I affectionately call Bob, Mike's Ambassador of Quam. He is, good things seem to happen for Mike if Bob is invloved. For example, most recently Bob helped Mike get his new teaching job. I don't think Mike has ever enjoyed a job so much. So, in thanks I am making something for Bob. I know he will like it. Even though he makes fun of me for knitting. It's like when you're in first grade and a boy will hit you if he likes you. He teases, because he secretly likes this sort of thing. Bob is all about traditions and old fashioned things. So, I KNOW he likes my knitting.

We will be moving to the town where the school is, over Christmas break. So, I have a million things to do. None of which include sitting here, updating my blog. Silly me.

Sweet!

2008-11-30T09:13:00.003-05:00

It fits! It fits! It fits!

He said,"This is the most perfect fitting sock I've ever worn in my life!"

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And so

2008-11-29T11:42:00.003-05:00

I have finished sock number one. Well, almost. I have to graft the toe. I'm waiting for the hubs to try it on first. He's out of town. I don't want to go to all the trouble of grafting, if I have to turn around and rip it back out. I've enjoyed this pattern. It was easy, but not boring. That's always good. I got most of it knit at Thanksgiving dinner. Yeah, it pays to invite yourself to someone else's house and not cook. LOL

Yes!

2008-11-26T21:13:00.003-05:00

They are a hit so far. The hubs likes the pattern and so, I'll keep trucking along with sock number 1.

I'm taking the knitting along to Thanksgiving Dinner. Of course I am, who am I kidding. I'm not cooking and I plan to sit in the corner somewhere anyway...so...knit I will.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Don't forget to be thankful.

Finally!

2008-11-24T08:41:00.002-05:00

I think I finally found a sock pattern for the hubs. Phew! I was beginning to worry I would have design something myself. I'm really not ready to attempt that.

I'm trying the Globe Trotter socks. I hope they work. They look awesome in the pics, so here's to hoping.

Sense and Sensibility

2008-11-07T18:12:00.002-05:00

I may not have ever told you this before, but...I like to sew as well as knit. In fact I'm totally in love with the patterns from Sense and Sensibility.
They are amazing and her tutorials are so helpful. Jennie has just started a line of e-patterns. How wonderful is that? You can find them here.

I am attempting to make a Regency Period dress,(think Pride and Prejudice) but the pattern I bought is difficult and not fitting together properly. So, one day in my internet travels I came across Jennie's site. One day I hope to make all of her dresses.

Check out her site, I'm sure you'll love it. If you are as much of a dorky history buff as I am, that is.

Frustration

2008-11-04T07:49:00.002-05:00

I have been, for months, trying to find a suitable sock pattern for my husband. I have found nothing that works. I don't have the nerve to try to design my own pattern yet. Although I feel I may have to do just that. It's not like he has enormous feet and tiny little chicken legs or huge legs and small feet. He's got normal feet and legs. So why won't the socks fit? Gah!

I've also been trying to work on Christmas presents. I have one finished. One, out of I can't remember how many. Sigh. I need to get to work.

Oh and one other thing. Melissa is the Devil. She made another Knit Picks order and asked if I wanted anything. OF COURSE! The Devil. LOL

Progress

2008-10-24T18:24:00.002-04:00

I finished the back of Cassidy! It really looks good. I'm surprised. What? You thought I had unbelievable confidence in my knitting skills...right. I'm shocked, it looks like Melissa knitted it. I told you she was amazing, right. She is. For real.

Working away

2008-10-20T08:55:00.002-04:00

I know it's been a while since my last post. I've been busy.
I'm working away at Cassidy. I was all excited and gung ho about starting it. So I jumped right in. I made such a huge mistake! It's the first time I've used charts and the first time I've made cables. I didn't read the chart correctly at all. I thought there was a mistake in the pattern. There wasn't, I just can't read. So, I ripped it all back to the ribbing. Then I had to have Melissa help me. She uses charts all the time. She suggested I write out on paper what I was supposed to do, in the correct order. There are six different charts in this pattern. So, I took some graph paper and enlarged the charts. Now I can actually see what they are supposed to be. It's really easy to memorize, now that I know the proper sequence.
I need to measure, but I think I have about 8 of the 14 inches of the back panel made. I am totally in love with this yarn. Knit Picks Shine worsted. It is so amazingly soft. I'll definitely make more things with it. I'll get picks up soon.

Anticipation

2008-10-15T07:38:00.003-04:00

My long anticipated birthday present arrived yesterday. I was so excited! The mail man stopped me as I walked to work to tell me that he had a package for me. I didn't have time to take it back to my apartment, so I took it to work with me. My co-worker wanted to see it...So I had to pull out all of the yarn so she could ooo and ah over it. I must say, I love, love, LOVE Knitpicks Shine. It is the softest most cuddly yarn I've ever felt. I'm so glad that I decided to make the Cassidy sweater with it. I hope I can do it properly so that it becomes my favorite sweater ever!

I'm almost finished with a pair of fingerless gloves for my step-dad. They are for Christmas, but I'll give them to him early for deer season. If I can manage to squeeze it in before then I want to make him a balaclava also. It gets mighty cold up on that mountain sitting in a tree stand. ;)

I bit the bullet

2008-10-07T06:47:00.002-04:00

I decided which project to order yarn for. I was a little hesitant, because it was a lot of money. Well, it seemed like a lot to me. I decided on Cassidy it looks great and from other people's comments doesn't seem too hard. My dh even said he loves it. He said, go for it, you'll do a great job and look fantastic in it. I hope so. Oh, then he said, "Congratulations, your birthday present is lumber." You should have seen the look on my face. That made no sense to me at all! He explained that it was like giving me lumber, becuase it was a raw material to make a final product with. Oh, I gotcha! My brain was too fogged up with thoughts of yarn and still swiming in the Indain food.
I've been dying for some Indian food for months! We promised each other that's what we would do for our birthdays. His was two weeks ago, but we didn't go then because his mother came for a visit and took us out to eat somewhere else. So, I had to wait until my birthday to have it. Definitely worth the wait.

Birthday Lists

2008-10-04T17:54:00.003-04:00

My birthday is on Monday, and my kind, sweet, wonderful hubby said I could order things from Knitpicks...
That's right, I get to buy knitterly things! How incredible is it that he supports my habit? He knows I'm addicted and he enables it. :0 The problem is I can't decide what to get. I have a couple things picked out for sure, but...I don't know what yarn to get. I went through all the patterns in my ravelry queue and added up the yardages and cost of different types of yarn for each one. I'd like to make another sweater. I just can't decide which one! Maybe I should just order a ton of sock yarn and wear out my obsession with socks for a while. I just can't make up my mind. ~sigh~

Frogged!

2008-09-29T07:43:00.002-04:00

I seriously hated that sock pattern. I got all the way to the end of the heel and realized that it was wrong side out. I followed the pattern exactly, it was labelded wrong. Dang it! So, since I hated it so much...I frogged it. I'm on the lookout for another men's sock pattern now. I'm not sure I'm ready to try designing one myself. So, he'll have to wait. Maybe he'll get them for Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, I have the list of things I intend to make. Now I need supplies and a schedule. If I don't write it all down, I'll never remember. So, wish me luck.

I don't Wanna

2008-09-27T10:05:00.004-04:00

Did you ever start a project and hate it? I have. It sucks. I'm supposed to be working on a pair of socks for the hubs. He picked out the pattern and I hate it! Don't tell him though. I think he thinks that I'm taking my time because I need a break. If I had actually liked this pattern I could have had both socks finished by now. As it is, I've only just started the heel on the first one. Granted, I did have to rip it out and start over. It was actually too big for him. I still don't like the pattern. It's sort of like a basket weave but not quite. It certainly is not a pleasure to knit. I don't like that feeling. I thoroughly enjoy knitting. Just not right now.

I know what you're thinking, just hurry up and get them done. Then they will be out of the way. I know, I just can't. I can barely bring myself to pick them up. Sad, isn't it?