Happy Birthday to Me!!

Today is the first day of my last year of my 20s. I’m officially 29….

I have the day off work so I slept in. I have had a wonderful fall inspired latte with homemade waffles. I’m going to knit on something totally selfish today. I’m going to eat birthday cake before my dinner. And I’m going to make the husband drive me to the yarn store 45 minutes away because it’s my birthday (yay!) and because it’s going out of business (boo!).

I hope they some stock left and it’s still discounted, fingers crossed!

Happy Knitting!!!

 

Clutter and Junk

This past weekend I celebrated both the birthday of special princess and that of my very own husband. The hubby turned 30….shhhhhh. There was a great deal of planning leading up to this as he requested a LAN party with his friends. For those of you not in the nerdy know….that’s where a bunch of people show up at your house with their xbox and television, hook up on the household network, and play video games and drink till dawn.

Of course I purchased the obligatory cake, made homemade taco soup, and cream cheese and jalapeno spread for our guests. Not to mention scrubbing the house top to bottom. Boy, does my house collect clutter (and dog hair). I have a deep and profound hatred of clutter. It literally makes me grumpy at the sight of it. So let’s just say that preparing for the party did nothing for my mood on Saturday. I also didn’t get any of my normal workouts in due to Halloween on Thursday and party preparation on Saturday.

(Side Note: I would also like to mention that one of the party goers, after about 4 drinks, thought he knew how to “unlock” our alarm system. He succeed in sending not one but THREE silent alarms to the police. Who subsequently showed up at my door along with my neighbor across the street how works for the department as well….whoops! I was not NOT a happy camper. But now I can honestly say I’ve had a party where the cops show up. But all kidding aside, the officer was kind and polite and had a pretty decent response time…..)

Then there was the junk. Between the birthday lunch for a 1 year old where pizza and cupcakes were served and then the big kid party at my house where the above mentioned was served, I consumed copious amounts of refined sugar, carbohydrates, and alcohol. And it was all DARN TASTY! But it left me feeling lethargic and in a funk on Sunday. In my general life I do not abstain from those things, but I do consume them in moderation. And like it or not, they have an impact on my general well being.

Literally on Sunday I was agitated and listless all day. I HATE feeling that way. And here’s the kicker……I DIDN’T EVEN WANT TO KNIT! I’ll pause for your gasps of shock and horror………………………………………..

So I picked myself up by the shoelaces and set out on a long walk with the dogs. I took a lot of deep breaths, took in the beautiful fall landscape, and just spent a quiet 45 minutes with the dogs. And after our walk, I fixed a light romaine salad with diced chicken and lots of veggies and a side of Greek yogurt with a splash flax seed on top. Not to mention about five glasses of water. Not to mention a lovely cup of caffeine free herbal tea at bedtime to soothe my fragile nerves.

I guess this has been a long way around of saying…I don’t really have anything knitting related to show today and I have my grumpy/tired pants on. I will however attempt to put my big girl pants on and improve my mood. Though I have plans to pick up the needles on my Nutmeg Sweater and my Toe-Up sock this week.

I wish all you out there a week of happiness and healthfulness!

Best Laid Plans

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Hey! My name is Bella. I see that you are trying to knit. I think that’s really cool. Can I smell it?! Can I sit my butt directly on top of it and wiggle non stop!? Can I climb all over you so that you make sure to love on me?

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Here is my buddy Barley. He would very much like to use your legs as a pillow and take up 75% of the couch. He would also appreciate if you didn’t move around a lot. He weighs 100 lbs so I doubt you will be able to move anyway.

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We are so glad you came to visit!! Can we take a nap now? Oh…wait someone crinkled cellophane in the kitchen. We must investigate!!!!!

(This is pretty much what happened every time I sat on the couch to knit this past weekend. I love my mom’s dogs but needless to say I did not finish my zig zag blanket. No worries I have made progress since then and I have 1 1/2 pattern repeats and the border to complete!)

Ps. I had a wonderful time with the family celebrating Grandma’s 80th back home this past weekend. Food, wine, and fun! I even have the extra 5lbs to prove it….

Status Update: Chevron Baby Blanket

Finally some progress on stashbustin’ #7!

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This pattern by the Purl Bee is addictive! This is my second go round with this pattern and its just as good as the first. This is my “calm before bed knitting”. I work a few rows every night and I’m almost done with my third stripe!

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This pattern makes me think of the Peanuts cartoon for some reason. I find peace and the ability to meditate while working on it. It’s really helping me deal with my Grandmothers passing. Slow and steady progress as row after row of stitches form on my needles. Nothing complicated, just garter stitch beauty.

I’ll be sad when this blanket is finished but I can’t wait to see the end result!

Now I am off to pack for another weekend family event (a much happier one). My other grandmother is turning 80! We are going to let our hair down and stuff ourselves silly! So I’m off to land of little to no cell coverage and no wifi, see you on the other side!!

Happy Birthday To Me!

I finally snapped shots of my birthday presents/purchases! (Albeit with my iPhone and in not the best light, but I couldn’t wait to share my treasures!)

First up, some Berroco Vintage Chunky in a lovely hue of blue!

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This is ear marked for an Endless Circle Vest by Julie Farmer. Knit for me and only me!

Next I picked up some Berroco Vintage in a different shade blue and a great heather green!

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These are probably destined for sets of fingerless gloves and hats for yours truly or my sister who lives in blustery Colorado.

And last but not least, Berroco Vintage DK in a yummy fall orange color!

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Not sure what to make with this yarn, I just love the feel of it and the color is amazing. I am a horribly bad stasher!

You might notice that I purchased all Berroco? I knit my first sweater out of the Vintage DK and loved how it worked up, so I want to test out other yarn weights to see if I love them as much!

All in all it was a delightful 3-day birthday weekend with lots of yummy food and yarny goodness! Now back to the real world and my big kid job!

Happy Knitting!!