I Did It!

Whoo-hooo!!!

I completed the National Blog Posting Month challenge! This post is my last one for the month of November and I'm so glad it's finally done. I love a good challenge with prizes but posting on the weekends is just not fun.

It was a neat thing to try to see if I could really do it but let's be honest - my motivation was the prizes. The odds are that I won't win anything at all. If that should be the case then I'm going to reward myself with something unusual. Maybe a skein or two of funky yarn that I would not normally buy because of the price (Noro, Lorna's Laces, Debbis Bliss) or maybe a set of rosewood needles from my LYS. I may just take a trip to my LYS without anything in mind and see what fancies me.

I will not be posting this weekend to take a break so on Monday normal knitting, spinning and adorable baby/cat topics will be back in full effect. I have 22 days left to finish that sweater - it's going to be close!

It's a Sleeve!

By gosh, if you just keep on knitting eventually it's got to be a sleeve! The decreasing is starting to make the rows go faster finally and I'm making progress. Here's a shot of my first sleeve:


I still think I'll finish in time. I technically have until Saturday, December 22nd to finish because that's when they're flying in. I could get away with not having the collar done because he did have special instructions for that section. I could play it off as wanting to fit and re-measure him but I'm saving that for my last resort.

I never thought I'd say this but I think I need a bigger knitting bag. This sweater barely fits. I have way too many knitting bags now as it is. I'll re-think this next time I start a large project. Right now I have one bag for my knitted piece and then a different bag for my extra skeins and supplies like cable needle, interchangeable circular set, scissors, pens, pattern, stitch markers, measuring tape, tapestry needles, etc. Very cumbersome. Maybe that's why I like knitting afghans in pieces . . .

Anyway, here's the whole thing as of today:


Samson is completely unimpressed. He's curled up as tight as possible on my bed in my office and is snoring. Someday I'll have to get a video of that - it is very cute!

Hi Daddy!

I'd like to take a break from regular blogging to share some pictures and a short video with my husband who is traveling in another country right now.

Here's your big boy playing games:

Trying to climb onto Mommy's lap:

Running over to the night stand to play with the drawer:

Stuffing his face with waffles:

And trying not to be bothered by Mommy during his cartoons:

We love you Daddy and can't wait for you to come home!

Time to Fess Up

Yes I'm still knitting the sweater sleeve and yes it's still cumbersome but I am making progress so I will be patient. Thank God for the weekends and my breaks with the mindless knitting scarf!

**

I was cleaning up the kitchen today after lunch and I noticed my large stack of magazines. I just finished another one today yet 2 more came in the mail. As far as I can remember, I only pay for one subscription (National Geographic) and all the rest are free. Here's my growing pile:



Very neat, all organized by title first and then by month. I thought I should just toss them in the trash - one has been there since August. But I can't do it! Six years ago I started traveling for work so like a fool I signed up for the frequent flier program with every airline I could find. Every program gave me bonus miles for signing up, probably around 5,000 each. Now that those miles are about to expire (since I've never flown with these random airlines or redeemed miles) they sent me offers to use the miles for free magazine subscriptions. I must have 7-8 free subscriptions now and no time to read them all.

This week I'll try to read through 1 magazine a day during my lunch break. There's got to be a way to get down to a manageable amount! Right now I have: Money, Self, Shape, National Geographic, Smithsonian and Newsweek. I think I might have signed up for more than that with the last offer they sent me. Ugh. I tried to get my husband to sign up for some to use up the miles but they turned out to be very sexist (ex. Maxim, Stuff) but he does like to flip through his Backpacker when it gets here.

Last confession for the day: I am hoarding the free address labels that get sent to me in the mail asking for donations. I can't be the only one! I just got another set today from the Arbor Foundation that are very pretty. I don't think I've ever donated to any of the groups that send these to me but I keep every one! I just did a quick inventory to see how many I really have:


With the online banking that we have I will never use these up - and they keep on coming! I need to just slap myself silly next time I think about ordering address labels. I placed an order when we first moved into this house and WHAM! tons of free ones started coming in the mail. If I pledge to not move from this house for the next 20 years I'll probably never need to purchase address labels again. They do come in handy at Christmas time and any other time I have a mass amount of mail to send out. I feel guilty not donating but I can only donate so much in a year. My kid needs to eat too.

Building That List For 2008

This morning I came up with a great idea for #3 on my resolution list:

1. Learn how to knit using two circular needles
2. Knit a project using color work techniques (more than one color in a row)
3. Finish the Great American Aran Afghan

I've got all of the yarn purchased already and it filled up a storage bin. I'm at a skill level where I could probably do 2-3 a month if I set my mind to it. Not only would it be nice to have a finished afghan to actually keep for myself but imagine an empty bin! I'd be able to actually shop for yarn without feeling guilty!

This would also help me with the "Knit from your Stash" movement. I don't mind stashing yarn when it's a hank or two. But this is for an entire afghan so it takes up much more space. I really want to move on to other projects (shawls! sweaters!) but I can't do it until this one is finished and out of my storage area. It's such a cool project that it deserves to be a priority for 2008!

Back Home

We made the trip back home today everything is unpacked and we're getting back to normal. I finished my candles and got all of the supplies taken care of so I could settle in and knit. I almost forgot to blog today. It's 8:49 pm and I almost forgot. I'm so glad that this month is almost over.

I say that and then I realize that I have exactly 1 month to finish knitting my Christmas presents. Oh crap.

Yup - short post so I can go back to knitting on that scarf . . .

Friday Night Fun

No knitting last night but it was well worth it. We went out to dinner with 2 other couples and then enjoyed a couple games of bowling. Lots of fun and laughing pretty much all night long. I'd share pictures but I think I'll just keep them for blackmailing :)

I bowled a 100 and then a 130. Not too shabby!

I woke up without a voice this morning so I'm going to try taking DayQuil and eating hot soup. I definitely need this to pass because it will be impossible to work on Monday without having a voice. I really can't afford to call in sick either because there's too much work to do whenever I take a full week off. It takes half a week just to catch up!

But if I did call in sick to rest up I could enjoy a full day of knitting . . .