Friendship and closeness September 15, 2008

Well, I won’t have a picture for this post (sad, I know), but I wanted to write these thoughts before I forget them.

Today I was telling someone about a baby shower I have to plan and it dawned on my how completely apathetic I am about the whole thing.  Not to get me wrong, I am totaly happy for her, but I’m just not excited about this. 

When Holly was pregnant with Christian, she was out of the country for most of her pregnancy so I longed for the chance to talk to her and hear about how she was doing in her pregnancy.  Then, when he was born, I was there at the hospital that day to make sure I saw them all and give them my love and support.  I was thrilled for them and so happy about their new addition to the world.  It felt more like a member of my family was giving birth than just a friend - I mean, I do feel like Holly is more of a big sister to me than just a friend.

I wish I could be as excited…but I’m not.  I’m happy for her, but not in the same feeling of “let me call her and see how she and the baby are doing…everyday”.

Hopefully, I can figure that out soon.

Lots of FOs! Oh, and no place to live…. September 9, 2008

So September has been quite the month and it’s only the 9th!  Good news is I have tons to show for the month of August as far as knitting and sewing goes.

WIP - Marie’s Easy Baby Cardi.  This is actually the second attempt at this sweater.  The first attempt was in an earlier post and ended with me frogging the whole thing out and putting it down until I was a bit more seasoned.  Well, a few FOs later, I’ve decided the pattern might not be so daunting.  I started again with the Lion Wool Ease Worsted in the cute grass colorway (she’s having a boy btw!!!).  I am making it collared instead of hooded.  Lots of progress!

FO - Marie’s Baby Booties.  I love these.  I adapted the DIY baby Uggs pattern to make these adorable little booties.  The gauge with the Rowan Cashsoft made these booties the perfect size for a little newborn’s feet.  Not to mention, the cashmere/merino blend will make them both soft and warm.  I think they turned out amazing.

FO - Daron’s Birthday Skirt.  It’s not knitted, but it is totally adorable.  I’ve had the fabric for forever waiting on the perfect project to make something out of it.  Daron’s birthday came along and the colors just screamed her.  I love the perfect amount of volume on the bottom.

Finally, I’ve committed to going to see Holly and the baby(ies) every other Friday as long as they will have me.  I feel like I’m missing out on a big part of their life since I began working again.  Here is one of my favorite pictures I’ve taken of Christian so far…he is adorable!

Over Labor Day, we all went to my Mom’s house for some grub and family time and I got to see Shaun with his new Power Wheel truck.  He looks EXACTLY like my dad when he drives it: one hand on the wheel and his other elbow on the door.  So cute and he’s getting so incredibly big.  I cannot believe what a little man he is now.  It’s amazing how fast they grow up.  He is turning into quite a young man.  So amazing.

Miss Holly also told me about some insane doll websites.  There is one that chronicles the stories and DVDs created by this group of girls with American Girl Dolls.  It wouldn’t be so insane if these doll “houses” were not LITERALLY the size of ROOMS in the girls’ house!  I can’t even describe the insanity, take a look for yourself.  Take special care to look at the Parkington’s Mansion.

Oh!  And before I forget, I need to document that the DH has been COOKING DINNER!  That’s right, folks.  I said it.  He has been cooking dinner from start to finish.  He’s quite good, too!

No news on our baby front, but I’ll keep you posted.  As of today, we are still homeless.  Working diligently on it.

Oh my! August 15, 2008

So far, August is turning into a very hectic month. We still have not found a place to live - we have to be out by September 30. I’ve been such a wreck, I’m surprised I haven’t had an anxiety attack yet. I guess I can bear more stress than I thought. My mind is total mush and I can hardly keep a straight train of thought. I zone out for an hour at a time and can’t remember where the time went.

I swallowed my pride and asked my brother for help with a student loan. He agreed much to my delight, but we still haven’t heard anything back yet. Here’s a picture of us at his 21st birthday bash at Joe’s Crabshack

The one on the right is of Paul and his soon to be fiance Brandi. She is a very sweet girl. They recently moved into an apartment together - and let me tell you it is WAY nicer than mine and DH’s first apartment.

I do have an FO for y’all. It’s a little baby cardi for my friend Marie who is pregnant. We find out what she’s having on Monday. I’m really excited. Megan and I are planning her shower for November. It’s going to be a lot of work, but well worth it.

I think it’s really cute. I am going to modify the baby Uggs pattern to make her some matching booties. She doesn’t read this, so I can tell you I am going to make her an actual pair of the baby Uggs because she did adore them so.

I have been really bad about attending my women’s Bible study. We are studying the book The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. It is an amazing book that discusses man’s search for the divine. I really enjoy it and it speaks to my soul. I realized of late I have not given my life to Him and as a result of trying to control everything, my life is suffering. I can feel the prayer others have been doing for me and I am very grateful to them for it. I strive to be closer to Him - like I was before - but it is difficult to give up the control you fought so hard to get in the first place. I highly recommend this book for some good spiritual reading.

Other than that, we have quite a few baby birthdays coming up soon. First is the DH’s friend’s daughter’s first birthday. I don’t know if we’re going, but first birthdays are always very special. October is jam packed with little one’s birthdays. First is Christian’s first birthday. He’s a big boy now! I cannot believe how much he has grown. I remember the first time I saw that precious little boy - I cried because he was just so beautiful and I knew what a gift he was to Holly and Nick. They are fantastic parents to that little boy. I honestly hope our children can grow up to be as grounded as Holly and Nick are.

And baby Shaun is turning two! I feel so old. He is such a big boy now. He started potty training all by himself. He’ll walk up to dad and pull on his diaper then run to the potty and wait. He’s being stubborn about using his words. He’s been stubborn about everything - he does what he wants when he wants to. I wonder where he gets that from? Could it be a Randy Wallace trait? I think so. We are all that way.

Do you see all that blond hair? Dad refuses to cut it. I think it needs to be trimmed in the back, but he is still such a ham! I love that little boy.

No news in baby land for us, but we’re still trying!

A lazy, rainy Sunday July 14, 2008

I love rainy days! I enjoy them that much more when I am at home with my little family to sit on the porch. There is one thing I may miss about our apartment - our front porch. It is much bigger than most apartment “patios” or “porches” and holds those lawn chairs with the foot rest. Patio furniture would be nice one day, but seeing as how we don’t know what our future home will be like, buying $1000 worth of patio furniture would be a big waste.

This is the view from my porch:

I love that big tree. There is another one to the left of it. The only downside is paper trees (like these) are very bad at shedding with large amounts of wind. There are constantly branches on or around our cars. It would help if management had them pruned, but that’s another issue entirely.

The people downstairs are becoming a problem. At this rate, it is pretty apparent that they are running a day care out of their two bedroom apartment. What’s worse is DH saw them lock two 3 year olds on the patio and put the security bar down. One of them was trying to get in and no one would let them. On Friday - around quitting time - I noticed MULTIPLE cars arriving, running in, and leaving with small children. If they have a license to run a day care, that is fine; but for the safety of the children, it was best to let someone know.

This weekend I had planned to go to one of two knitting groups in Smyrna. Unfortunately, DH decided to spend a lazy weekend hanging out playing on the new iPhone 3G. I can’t wait to order one for myself!

We did a lot of baby making this weekend much to my delight.

More to report later I’m sure.

Day Off and Stuff to Do July 9, 2008

So today I decided to take the day off and get some “work” done around the house.  So far, I’m blogging. HA!

Other than that, all is going well.  Procrastinating with this dress - so much fabric.

I was reading my old blog the other day and some of the stuff was really funny.  Looking back on holidays and such - remembering some of the craziness that has been Russell and I’s life for the past 5 years.

I can’t blog sans photo, so here ya go:

My dear husband.  I heart him.

FO and New Haircut… July 7, 2008

Well, a lot has been going on here.  I was quite productive after LYS hopping one long Saturday afternoon.  I bought some Berroco Suede Yarn to make the DIY Suede Booties.  I am so stoked about how they turned out!  They look just like the pattern - which is a huge confidence booster in the knitting department.

I decided to add the “fur” trim at the last minute and will post photos once I finish the last booty.  The DH said there is no way they can be masculine, so I opted for the fur if they are only going to be for a girl.  I think they make a grand addition to the baby boxes.

Speaking of LYS hopping…I also got some Rowan Cashsoft to work on the Debbie Bliss Ribbed Baby Jacket.  The pattern is free on Ravelry - which is a bonus!  I started the sweater when I was sick and I really messed it up - luckily I was only about 10 rows in when I realized it.  I’m going to rip the whole thing and start over now that I’m all better.  I got the yarn in green because I’ve seen the sweater on boys and girls and it looks just as cute, so I’m going to try and make it unisex.

The yarn is a merino/cashmere blend and knits up so soft and lovely - perfect for a little one.  I can’t wait to have time to cast on and really work on it.  Right now I have to postpone it because my hairstylist (really one of my oldest friends) needs a formal dress altered substantially.  Will definitely take photos when complete.  It will be quite the undertaking.

Knit Picks finally had their Comfy in the colorway I wanted so I ordered the last 3 - what luck!  I also ordered some of the CotLin in this pretty turquoise color that turned out to be very bright when it arrived.  Not sure what to make of it yet, so for right now it will live in the stash.

On to the most dramatic change here in the land of me.  For almost my entire life I have had long hair.  And for the past 6 years, I have had long, dark hair.  I decided I wanted to go shorter and lighter in commemoration of summer and warm weather.  So my lovely hair stylist (simplydana.wordpress.com) did well and here is the result:

Forgive the MASSIVE cleavage, but the boobs are here to stay, so I try to embrace them.  I look so different I can still hardly believe it.  She always does an amazing job.  If you need a haircut in the ATL, look her up!  She’s fabulous!!!

On month two of FAM - hopefully we’ll have some success this time.  Keep you updated on that front.  If it doesn’t work this month, on to purchasing the Clear Blue Easy fertility monitor.

New Project June 21, 2008

So, I found this great sleeveless cardi pattern while I was searching out some Debbie Bliss yarn.  It happens to be a Debbie Bliss pattern…and best of all it was FREE!!!  It’s great and in moss stitch.  Revelation: moss stitch goes really slow when you’re still a n00b.  It’s a great beginner pattern.  It has a lot of basic techniques that you will become very familiar with by the end of the sweater.

Camping, Mother’s Day, Boston, First FO May 25, 2008

Well, I have been terrible about posting things, so this one may be a long one.

First thing is first. I went camping in Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia in April for my birthday. It was so much fun! The falls were actually falling and I got some amazing photos.

It was so incredibly beautiful and relaxing. We also went shopping in Dawsonville at the outlets that Saturday and I got the polo I am wearing in the picture. It was such an amazing weekend!

Then Mother’s Day rolled around and we had to make our rounds for that. It was a nice day except when we couldn’t take his grandmother out for lunch because she was dieting. We got some cute pictures of ourselves at lunch though. I finally got a good one of DH after much prodding.

I didn’t forget to get one of my mom! After all it is Mother’s Day!

I love my mom so much. She is such a wonderful mother. I only hope that when we finally get our miracle, that I am half the mother she is. She sacrificed so much so my brother and I could be everything we wanted to be.

I had to travel to Boston the next week for work. It was not at all what I had hoped for. I missed the DH like crazy. I had horrible flashbacks to the first year of college when we were apart all the time. I hated it and this was not a pleasant reminder. The only part of the city I saw was what I could gather from my hotel room window. Needless to say, it’s not much; here you go anyway:

While Boston wasn’t much in the way of a relaxing trip, it was the motivation I needed to finished my cute cropped sweater!  Check it out:

So the one on the left is closer to the actual color.  But isn’t it cute?  I cannot believe I finally finished something.  Go me!!! I’m working on another shrug right now, but I now have the motivation to finish it.  w00t!

First Sock April 21, 2008

So I found a great beginner sock pattern on Ravelry and I really wanted to try it because I hear socks are so addicting to make.  So far, those people are quite right!  I’m still slow, so it’s taking me longer than I would like, but so far things are going well.  This is the first time I have tried to knit in the round using DPNs.  It’s not as hard as I thought!  I was so proud of myself:

As you can see, I have the cuff already finished.   The pattern calls for these socks to be really long, but since I never wear tall socks, I am making them more of the ankle variety.  Also, check out my “joints” where my DPNs meet.  I have to say this is what I am most proud of so far.

See how all my stitches are really tight?  I was really nervous that I would have a “ladder” of stitches where the needles meet as I read so much about.  The yarn is kind of crazy, but I honestly didn’t think it would be so neon when I got it.

So, I will keep everyone updated on my knitting of the sock.  Hopefully I will have an entire pair when all is said and done.

An addict April 15, 2008

OMG - I had to wait two weeks to get my invite, but I finally did. I am now addicted to Ravelry! If you like to knit/crochet you should DEFINITELY become a member. It’s fantastic!

http://www.ravelry.com

I will warn you, there is a waiting list to be invited, but be patient. It is totally worth it!

Oh, and I got some new yarn. It’s cheap, but really pretty.

I’m in the process of knitting a simple shell out of it. I know it’s crazy colors, but it’s so pretty!