It's All About the Babies

so knowing 3 preggo's means...... that's right lots of baby knitting *insert happy face*  I totally love knitting for babies! They couldn't care less what colors you use, what pattern you use, etc. All they care about is whether or not they are warm. That being said 2 of the preggo's are due in March & 1 is due in July. 1 March mom knows she's having a boy so I'll break out some blue & get her some items ready. I am also passing them anything I find here that is baby related.... I took the bassinet to them Sunday night. Woo hoo for de-cluttering & re-homing ;)
1 March mom doesn't know the gender so for her I am in unisex land on the colors. So far I have 1 hat done & am about halfway done with hat #2. My plan is to make 3 hats & a snuggle sack. Here goes with the pics:

finished hat.....

these are using the same baby hat pattern I posted last time. And I think I'll make the pea-pod-baby-snuggle-sack    for her too.

hat in progress

yarn for hat #3

Random Thoughts

Ok so I have been a very bad blogger this week......
But between me being sick & then oldest kiddo has it now too. He's been home sick the past 2 days with a low grade fever. I'm better but it's still not gone.... it's the lingering kind :\
I had to take my poor old kitty to work with me Wed night to have the Dr. check her teeth. And as I suspected she has yet more bad teeth - 2 to be exact. I ran bloodwork on her & for a 17 yr old kitty it looked pretty darn good. We ended up getting a bit busy so we didn't get to work on her then plus the Dr. wanted me to leave her on fluids for awhile so back in she goes tonight for a night of fluids & our tech who does dentals is gonna hook her up in the morning. I'll be in the doghouse for the next week or so if anyone needs me....  :D
Here's the old girl giving me the look after I made her take her antibiotics...

It's amazing how much knitting I get done when I'm sick. I guess it shouldn't be all that surprising considering I spend most of my time sitting since I don't feel like cleaning. I've been working mostly on 2 projects: hubby's scarf & the prayer shawl but I also started another baby hat - a friends sister is due in March & also a guy at work & his wife are due in March so I need to crank a few out for them as well. So today we have WIP pics:

This is the basketweave scarf pattern  found on knitting daily. This really is a great pattern....easy to memorize & a beautiful finished project. I am beginning to hate it though as this is my 3rd one. I have requests for 2 more - they may have to settle for a different pattern

 This is Mara which I linked in a past post. Love this pattern - totally mindless knitting which is great for when you're sick or just watching tv too.

And last but not least my absolute favorite baby hat...... so easy a caveman could do it as the Geico commercials say :D  perfect-fit-baby-hat

Taking it Easy

Today was hold the couch down day! lol What else does one do when they have the crud? Yeah huge thanks to the wonderful parent who sent their kid to school sick last week. B boy caught it & then brought it home to me - such a sweet boy :|
So for today's pics we have an updated pic of the shawl I'm knitting for my friend's mom.........

Yep can't get the whole thing in 1 pic anymore! So far I have almost 1 whole ball of Patons Classic Wool in it. Oh & since today's theme is taking it easy here is Noel chillin'........

Just how did that dog get in that rocking chair anyway?? LOL

The Longest Day Ever

So after my adventures in yesterday's post I went to work where I was scheduled 6pm-12am. No biggie right? wrong! So we started the shift off slower than slow & all of a sudden around 9:30pm the flood gates open. Then as I'm getting ready to try & sneak out a bit early since it's finally slowed down & I'm getting really sleepy here comes a call from the overnight girl. She went out to get in the car to come too work & there's a flat tire...no biggie right? yep wrong again.....apparently the last person to put a tire on there put it on in such a way that the wheel was attached to the rim so her hubby couldn't get it off. She lives 30 min away & they only have 1 car. 1 girl has really young children & is preggers again so she couldn't stay other girl has a day shift job & had to be there this morning so she couldn't stay. We see where this is going right? Yep I got to be the one to stay & cover the overnight shift. Somewhere around 3am I wanted to just pass out! I made it through the shift though & decided I was stopping at Kroger on the way home  b/c there was just no way mom was cooking real food tonight & they had frozen pizzas on sale this week. So I finally get home with way more than just pizzas & have reconciled myself to the idea that I'm not getting sleep anytime soon since the dogs sure aren't gonna put these groceries away.......
Then comes the wonderful surprise in the kitchen. Oh yeah my guys can sometimes be the biggest jerks.....sink full of dishes, counters trashed, etc *insert truly pissed look here*  I have a serious issue with dirty dishes in the sink - it's like nails on a chalkboard. So I put the groceries away, wash 3 loads of dishes (and no we don't have a dishwasher other than 2 hands & elbow grease), straightened some things up & finally sat down to have my breakfast at noon. Sat here  chatting with a friend on skype for a couple hours & then finally laid down for a nap at around 2:30pm & was up again by 4pm..... can't sleep too long during the day or I'll be up all night again & I am due back in to work tomorrow from 2pm-12am so sleep tonight is a definite must.

DIY Day

Today was my DIY day..........
Tuesday my heating element in the oven died. Of course as I was trying to cook a turkey :( I didn't realize until a couple hours later so I had to carry it next door & use my neighbors oven and we had leftover spaghetti that night. Yesterday I used my toaster oven to re-heat part of the turkey for dinner & had hubby remove old heating unit for me so I could take it to the appliance repair store & get a new one. This morning I went to the store I called yesterday & they don't carry elements for my oven so they sent me to another store who thankfully did have what I needed. I sprayed the oven with cleaner before I left & had 2 other stops to make so when I got home it was ready to be scrubbed.....most distasteful job ever. Once I finished cleaning it I looked at the new element & thought "if he can do this so can I" .....so I did. Plugged the stove back in & ta da it works again.
Yesterday was spent finishing up the entertainment center & punching holes in a giant stack of printed off knitting patterns & getting them in binders. I tell you I am loving this organization thing :D
Seriously though it feels so good once you get finished with each chore. And then knowing  the next time you need something you'll know exactly where to find it.... priceless! Next week it's back to my bedroom for more fun......

A Long Day

Todays task took me quite some time to get done.....perhaps because my motivation was not all there. I decided this morning after I ran a couple errands that the Living Room needed a facelift since it's the room everyone spends the most time in. My entertainment center is pretty big & takes up almost a whole wall. It's  also right inside the  door so it can be a catch all at times. So today I took everything (well except the tv) off, dusted everything & then put what was supposed to be there back in an organized fashion. The rest of the stuff either went to wherever it belongs or in the trash. I also moved my knitting pattern binders to the bottom shelf of the entertainment center & got all my pattern books organized on my knitting book shelf. I have a little 3 shelf book shelf next to the entertainment center for all my books, magazines, needles & notions. I'm still not 100% done but I've made some big progress in here & it feels great! I'll take pics once I'm all done. Once I finished with the entertainment center the kids & I worked out with the wii active.....I can still feel my legs this time :D Hopefully that means I won't be as sore for the next few days as I was last week. I need to get back to work on my bedroom next......as Auburnchick pointed out to me this morning during our phone conversation if I start skipping around too much I'll end up with a whole bunch of little things done but no fully finished project (ie: the knitting wip pile). I love her.........she keeps me grounded :)

A Shocking Revelation

Ok so today was gather up all the wip's & take a long hard look at things day. Wow talk about shock! I know there are a few more around here somewhere but just what I found in my basket, in my knitting bag & in my living room near my chair the count was 16!!!! Now this is just ridiculous so many things here are going to the frog pond. But here are the pics of all these wip's

now we see why this girl is in desperate need of organization.......











and perhaps a good swift kick in the.....











We won't even get into how much yarn has taken up residence here but rather we'll just leave it at....there's more than enough to outlast my lifetime.

What a day

Woke up today still so sore that going down the stairs was excruciating so needless to say nothing got done here today except the load of laundry I had eldest boy carry down for me (yeah been a long time since I've had to have someone else carry the laundry for me). So all day I've hobbled around doing only what's necessary & trying to massage my leg muscles which feels like digging into a bruise....super fun eh? And crazy me I plan to do it all over again next week once I heal up. I will however limit myself to simple cardio the other 4 days of the week but I will do the workout on the Active at least once a week. Needless to say my finding all my wip's & making decisions on what stays to get finished & what gets frogged & rewound didn't happen today.  :(
Maybe I can talk Bean (youngest boy) into helping me with that tomorrow when he gets home or this weekend. But since I did promise pics today I managed to take a few of my stuffed manicotti I made for dinner tonight. I'll let the pictures do the talking.....

       yummmmmm







Then the hubster baked cookies & no I didn't get pics of them but I did snap a pic of bullyboy doing what he does best......trying to sucker mother into giving him some people food of course :D

How could anyone not love a face like that??

A very rude awakening

In the grand scheme of taking baby steps to stick to my goals today was the day I broke out the Wii Active. Oh my gosh what a rude awakening that was..... I had no idea I am that out of shape but it's true :(
Halfway through the workout my legs felt like jello but I continued on b/c it needs to be done. I was very thankful for the rail leading downstairs as I might have fallen & cracked my head open without  it when I went to fetch the laundry from the dryer. I found this wonderful little massaging chair roll yesterday on sale & thankfully I bought it & boy does it ever feel good with the heat & massage going after this mornings exercise session. So here we go again with the not much cleaning but hey the way I see it is I have 4 main goals to achieve & if I only make progress on 1 each day it's still better than nothing. That being said I am designating tomorrow as dig out all those wip's day. *gasp* Yep no pictures today but oh the pics you will see tomorrow.....

the magic of ordinary days

Ok so there was no major cleaning going on here today......... baby steps ya know. But I had to run to the grocery store for a few things & I got a new book while I was there.

Here's a little bit about the meaning behind this book: The-story-behind-The-Seventeen-Second-Miracle. Makes you think about things doesn't it? You know one of my favorite sayings is "people of character don't do the right thing because they think they can change the world but rather because they refuse to be changed by the world" It's so true. Now ask yourself have you performed a 17 second miracle? why? or why not? whichever the case may be.
The rest of my day can be summed up with 1 word...... knitting. To me there is nothing better than a day spent curled up in my favorite chair with music playing on my laptop, my bulldog on my feet & my knitting. Except perhaps when the weather is nice & I take everything outside & sit under my little tree in the back yard but that's a story for another day. So since a picture is worth a thousand words  here is a picture of an ordinary day at my house..... and yes he does like to be covered up.....poor bullyboy has such a short coat he gets cold easy

And last but not least here is a pic of the shawl I'm working on right now for my friends mom. Lots of stockinette so it's slow going but it's 100% wool so will be toasty warm. She could use lots of good thoughts/prayers whichever you're inclined to do.....thanks in advance. The pattern can be found here in case anyone is interested and what knitter isn't interested in free patterns :D

A busy day

So today was quite a busy day here. I work long hours on the weekends like 10-12 hour shifts both days. So needless to say not much gets done in the way of housework but I do manage to stay up on the laundry...... well washing & drying it that is. For some reason I seem to be the only person who can fold clothing around here so there is always a mountain of laundry needing to be folded on Monday. Yeah we won't spend much time on that topic. Anyhow this morning I got up & was taken over by Martha Stewart. LOL
 So after the mountain of laundry was defeated I moved on to tackle my dresser & all I can say about the amount of clothing in there is just OMG. I have so far gathered 2 boxes of clothing to go to the Rescue Mission & I am nowhere near done. I did find some things I totally forgot I had though including several pairs of shoes *happy dance* oh yeah this girl has a serious shoe addiction in addition to the yarn addiction 

Yeah that big pile there......stuff I'm still undecided on. Now Auburnchick would say....undecided? means toss it my friend I can hear her now. But I dunno I need to sort through it again & make some decisions. I have still not even opened the closet door......someone please just   kill    me    now. So I ended on that note with the clothes b/c well I was feeling a bit overwhelmed & lunch time had come & gone and my blood sugar was plummeting. So I ate lunch, worked on the shawl I'm knitting for a friend's mom who is ill & then come dinnertime I decided to hook the oldest boy up & make his favorite dinner...... my homemade lasagna. Yep he was a happy boy! So I was chatting with a friend while cooking who has heard of but never had lasagna so I promised to a)make him some when he finally gets around to visiting me and b) take some pics of the finished product so Sam this is for you :)

Ok so these pictures don't do this dish justice.....this stuff is awesome! My boy does have good taste after all ;)
And for the ending of the day I went to my knitting guild meeting. Yep joined TKGA this year too & am really looking forward to learning new knitting techniques.

A blog for the new year

So I've had people tell me for awhile now that I should have a blog but I've resisted. Well this year I have some goals so I decided I would blog about them along the way. Maybe that will help me stick to them...... I tend to procrastinate but I come by it honestly thanks to my dad & pretty much everyone on his side of the family. Now onto my goals for the year these are not "New Years Resolutions" but rather just personal goals I would like to accomplish and there are no time limits.

1) Organization.....this really pains me to admit but there is little to no organization around here. So my goal is to 1 room at a time organize this house beginning with the master bedroom (mine & hubby's). So starting this week I will be cleaning out dressers & the closet of all clothing that is not worn on a regular basis & once I'm done I'll call the homeless shelter to come pick it up. Then comes the re-arranging of furniture & organizing what's left. Fun times are ahead I can feel it.

2) De-cluttering & Simplification......simply put we have way too much stuff & I'm tired of trying to figure out where to put it. So if it doesn't get used it's outta here. I had an eye opening experience a few weeks ago while chatting with a friend in India. He told me he was getting a refrigerator,washer & dryer (he got vouchers through his work) and I said "oh a new refrigerator?" to which he replied "no I've never had one" *insert shocked face here* I am truly ashamed to admit I never thought about living somewhere where having a refrigerator means you are rich. It just goes to show what we take for granted here in the US. So the next time you think you have it bad or you don't have what you "need" stop & think about how much more you have than some folks do & be thankful for it. For me every day that we all wake up here with our health, a roof over our heads & food to eat is a good day but I would like to live more simply. So this year I plan to start making some changes to head in that direction....I'm still in brainstorm mode so more to come on that later.

3) In terms of my knitting my ADD kicks in hardcore here. I am constantly being attacked by "startitis" as my girlfriends & I call it. What the heck is that you ask? Well it all begins & ends with Ravelry........it's like crack for knitters & I really need to  set time limits for that site. I go there & look at the millions of patterns & I think "oh I wanna make that" so I start it then I see something else & think "oh I wanna make 1 of those" and on & on it goes then the next thing you know there is a basket full of wip's (work in progress). So this year I will finish my basket full of wip's or I will frog them (ripping out the stitches & rewinding the yarn) *gulp*
And last but not least in the knitting department...... no new purchases this year ;(
I have more yarn than I will ever be able to use in my lifetime so no more comes in until I have used a sizeable amount. That being said I plan to really get back into my charity knitting. I've been taking a break while knitting for friends but I can do both so I need to get back to it.

4) I will eat better & start exercising more. I am not concerned with personal appearance here but rather how I feel and I can feel there is a little too much of me. That being said..... the kids got a Wii for Christmas this year & mom bought herself the Active for the Wii. So beginning this week 20  minutes a day..... I have my work out buddy in a close friend a few states away who has Wii Fit so while we won't be doing the same exercises we will still be exercising together & we are holding each other accountable. So here's to feeling healthier in 2011