One Fish, Two Fish

Secret Pal Wrap Up

2007-02-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

I received my final package from Melinda last week and am so sorry for how long it's taken to post about it. She has been so great and I'm super glad to finally read her blog. As you can see in the picture above, Mel put together a stellar final package. First she placed the cutest sheepy postcard in it and a fuzzy sheep counterpart to cuddle with. To fulfill my chocolate cravings she included a delicious dark chocolate bar and several yummy Galaxy cocoa's with a very cute green and blue mug to go with it. In fact, I'm going to go fix a mug right now... brb.

Mmmm... Cocoa! So creamy and chocolatey! Ok, ok, back to work.

She also included a wonderful set of old fashioned knitting needles, and bag to carry everything in (that's the blue mesh thing on the side. It's kinda like a mini hammock and so cute.) From her trip to europe she included Dorset Shortbread, which looks so tasty I can't wait to have them with a cup of mint tea from her last package! Finally, she include two of those most wonderful yarns. A hank of baby alpaca in the most beautiful turquoise blue, and two balls of a bumpy/loopy sort of varigated blue that is called COLORADO!!! How very perfect to round out my final package!

Mel, you are amazing! Thank you for this most enjoyable round of SP. I can't wait to make something of the Colorado yarn. I don't know what yet, but maybe a scarf? And the alpaca is soooooo soft! I sure hope to keep in touch. It has been great getting to know you. Thank you agian!

Home Sweet Home

2007-01-11T09:51:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I flew home to Oregon to spend some time with my family before heading up to Spokane, WA. In light of being unable to make it home for Christmas, I was a little nervous that we were might get snow in Colorado earlier than predicted. Well, I made it...in one peice.

Chris and I both packed up yesterday and headed out at the same time. In fact, our flights were only like 10 minutes apart. This was nice because we didn't have to make special arrangements to get to the airport, and we got to hang out longer before we left. He is off to Italy for the Winter World Univeristy Games until the 29th, then will head on to the Netherlands and to Hungary for a couple weeks, returning on February 12th. I got really lucky and will be keeping myself busy by coming home until the 18th, then heading to Spokane to work the National Ice Skating Championships, then back to Colorado on the 30th. I'll have a couple days off then will be working the Four Continents Figure Skating Championship in the Springs for a week. So I shouldn't get too bored waiting for Chris to come home.

The flights were uneventful, which in this day an age is to say something. Dad and I went to have some lunch at Fins (a great old fashioned burger diner) then dropped by to see mom at work. Earlier in the day Grandma had gotten a call from the bank saying that she had overdrawn her checking account by $100. So, Dad asked me to take Grandma to the bank to sort things out. It turns out that Grandma had a Phisher call her and try to steal money from her, but because she can't hear so well, she said she'd just have to check with the bank and didn't give any personal info...THANK THE LORD! It was really disturbing to see that Grandma is getting to forgettful, but I guess that's to be expected.

Today I don't have much planned, a Dr. appoint ment in the morning then will being going to make lunch for Grandma (yummy turkey chili). Tomorrow Dad and I are driving up to Moscow, ID to watch Kacie's swim meet. I have brought along some cheapo yarn from JoAnns to make a cable beany and scarf for Kacie. This will be the first time that I've done cabling, so I'm kind of excited. If I get it done, I'll post pictures. But for now, I should go pick up things for lunch.

Gifty #2 and a BONUS!

2007-01-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

Oh boy, oh boy, OH BOY! It came, gifty #2…with a BONUS!

So it looks to me like our mail lady is really having trouble catching up having had an extra day off this week. Usually we get our mail around 5 p.m. (we’re the last on her stop,) but on Wednesday, I checked it at around 8 p.m., and no mail. Yesterday, I checked the mail at about 6:30 p.m., and there was mail (which included my gifty!) I thought his would be the end of the mail for the day, but my boyfriend mentioned that the mail lady had just arrived at 7:30 p.m. when he was pulling in to the apartment complex. Yippee more mail! So Mel, no worries, the package got here. It seems things are a little backed up, but that’s alright!

Mel did an amazing job of theming each package. This gifty is PINK themed! Each wonderful present was packaged in pink tissue to make it all the more exciting to open. First I opened the yarn, which wasn’t pink, but is totally appropriate for this time of year. It’s got a wonderful red and dark green all mixed in. I can’t wait to figure out what to make with I; perhaps a hat? Then came some delicious dark chocolate sticks which will be perfect for stirring in coffee or adding a nice bite to hot chocolate! There were so many little packages, I didn’t know what to open next. A heavy round one looked good, and will feel good too when I use it. It turned out to be a fizzy bath ball! Then came Bubble Gum Lip Smackers, Strawberries and Cream shimmer gloss, and Tickle Me Pink nail polish to round off the pink pamper yourself items. Mel also included a cute Winnie the Pooh calendar and a sparkly fish magnet to hang on the refrigerator. Last but certainly not least, there was a pink Grow Your Own Kitty Kit! Which I promptly put in water to grow!

Thank you so much Mel, everything was amazing and makes me super excited to see what’s in the last package! We have snow today, so maybe I’ll have a soak in the bath tub and then paint my toenails while watching a Disney movie. I love the chocolate and have already dug into it once or twice. The calendar will be great to hang right by the computer so we won’t forget a date. I’m not real sure what’s wrong with the kitty, maybe she’s just stubborn, but she hasn’t grown too much yet. Heheh she’s a slow developer. Thank you! Thank you! THANK YOU! You really have put thought into these gifts, and I truly appreciate that.

What’s even better though, is that in that extra pile of mail that we got late last night, I ALSO received the postcard that my amazing knit pal sent from Dorset, England over the holidays. It really does sound like you had an amazing time there, and I can’t wait to read about it on your blog in a month!

Happy New Year!!!

2007-01-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had an amazing night ringing in the New Year. Chris and I spent most of the afternoon and evening playing a number of board games that we purchased with our Christmas gift cards. We also went out for sushi at one of our favorite sushi joints for an added treat.

I spent most of the 31st and the morning of the 1st working on a new knitting project. I was bored hanging around the house so I decided I would find something to knit away the boredom. I had some yarn in my stash that was originally picked out for felting a bag, but found out that it wouldn’t felt. So instead, I looked around for a quick/small project to occupy my time. After looking through hundreds of hats, I decided on Knitty’s Astrodome pattern. Having never done Fair Isle before, I thought something small like this would be great to learn on. I didn’t have the appropriate size yarn in my stash to make this hat, so I had to use the smaller needles recommended for the yarn I was using. I figured it wouldn’t be too big of a deal since the finished hat would have been too big for my tiny head.

It turned out great, but a little small. I think I might frog it and try again with one size smaller needles and adding an extra pattern repeat and an extra row of the stars. Since it didn’t take too long to make, I don’t feel too bad about trying again! It was a fun pattern and I had great colors to work with. When I finally get the hat the right size, I think I’ll make the nifty scarf to go with it! Happy Knitting in 2007!

Merry Christmas!!!

2006-12-25T20:30:00.000-08:00

This was our Christmas card picture!

(With a little formatting help from Christy! THANKS!!!)

Last night we went to midnight mass at one of the church’s downtown. It was a beautiful cathedral like church with a warm and inviting pink ceiling with gold accents. Chris said that they had recently refurbished all the artwork and statues, which were so pretty in soft pastel colors. I’ve never been to a midnight mass before, so I think I expected candles and other different sorts of things, but was surprised to find it almost exactly like a normal Sunday mass. Carols were added as the hymns, and the place was packed. It was nice, but I must admit, it was hard to stay awake in the warm and quiet room. By the time we got home it was well past 2 a.m., so we were both wiped out and ready for a good nights sleep.

In an effort to make the day feel more festive, I thought I’d start off by making gingerbread waffles, eggs, and bacon for breakfast. The waffles were delicious with some cinnamon whipped cream and maybe even a touch of chocolate syrup. After breakfast, we both opened our one present left (both were books) and started working on a puzzle while watching some movies. We really didn’t have much planned for the day, but made due with a movie (A Christmas Story, of course,) warm fire, puzzle, and each others company.

The Loot List (so far):
-A Knitting Journal from Gretchen & Kevin
-The Great Santa Search by Jeff Guinn, Target Gift Card from Galen
-Lovely placemats from Bridget & Brandon
-A print of Winnie the Pooh Fall Colors from Bonnie
-Pilates mat, box of chocolates, bike shorts and socks from Chris
-Sleeping bags from ourselves

We finished the puzzle around 4:30 p.m., and decided to start Christmas dinner. Since finding out we wouldn’t be going home, I was determined to bring some of our family favorites to us. We had ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls to compliment Aunt Karen’s Baked Beans and a delicious homemade pecan pie. Though it wasn’t the same as having dinner with our families, it was still nice to know they were eating some of the same exact things.

Just before going to sleep I’m going to give Chris the last present that I have hidden away for him. Several weeks ago, we went to Wilson’s leather to look at a jacket for him. Well, we found one that he really liked in his size, but decided to think about it over night. He forgot all about it, and when he called a couple weeks later found that they did not have his size anymore. In fact, the only store in Colorado that did was the Cherry Creak Mall store. After making a number of calls and trying to buy it online failed, he had just about given up. What he doesn’t know, though, is that I bought it the next day and have hidden it away. He continues, even today, to call around and see if other stores might have it. I can’t wait to see his eyes light up and wonder how I had managed it! So, I better get ready, Merry Christmas and I hope you have big plans for the New Year.

Home for the Holidays...NOT!

2006-12-21T11:56:00.000-08:00

We are going NOWHERE for Christmas! GRRRRR!

Because of this wonderful blizzard that has lashed out on all of Colorado for the past couple days, we will not be making it to Oregon for the holidays. We were suppose to leave out of Denver at 12:55 pm today, but obviously we and many others are going nowhere. However, I must admit we are lucky in the sense that we did not get stuck at the airport, and we are safe and sound in our own home. And because our flight was scheduled on day 2 of this blizzard, they did not officially cancell our flight until about 9 am this morning. This made it difficult to convince any airline representative yesterday that our flight needed to be changed even though their computers said it would be "on time". So everyone from yesterday who had their flight cancelled was given a jump start on filling in all the extra slots on each plane once the airport did reopen. The earliest we would have been able to leave was late on the evening of the 26th, which was a total waste since we would still have to come back on the 28th for Chris to be at work. We discussed driving home, or even to Salt Lake City where they could get us a flight, but they were all not very practical ideas. In the end, it was a tough decision, but we finally just asked for our money back.

Though I understand it is not anyones fault per say, it still makes me angry and sad because I know it won't feel like Christmas here! We aren't with our family, we have nothing planned, and maybe worst of all, we have opened all our presents already. We opened them early because they were gifts we were not going to carry all the way to Oregon, open, and then lug back. Now, I'm not trying to be material, but you have to admit, if you have presents and they have already been opened, it kind of ruins the excitement for Christmas Day. I suppose, though, what I'm most worried about is that because we're not going away for Christmas, our "vacation" will feel like just a long weekend. We'll stay home and do practically nothing and then the vacation will come to the end and it won't have had any special holiday feel. I don't know, maybe I'll get over this, but right now its worrying and upsetting.

In an effort to combat the week long weekend blues, I think we may try to do some fun things around town, and maybe even try to go snowboarding one day! We'll see, that will take a little research as well. Happy Holidays to everyone out their, and when you say your Christmas dinner prayers, be thankful that your loved ones could join in your celebrations!

The World Beer Tour Finale!

2006-12-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

(Left: Me drinking my 110th beer.) If you're not familiar with the restaraunt Old Chicago's, they have this program that you can sign up for called The World Beer Tour. Each beer on their menu (and there are over 150) has a number associated with it. When you drink a beer, that number is recorded on your WBT card. As you drink your way through 110 different beers, yes they must be different, you are given prizes. For example, after you have drunk 10 beers, you are given playing cards. After 25 a clip on watch with compass, 40 a bottle opener, 55 a t-shirt, 70 a travel mug, 85 a baseball cap, 100 a cooler, and finally when you've drunk 110 beers you get a sweatshirt and your name emblazoned on a plaque in the Hall of Foam! (Right: Me with all my swag that I won for completing the tour. Look that black shirt has a reinBeer on it. heheheh) It has taken me two and a half years, but I finally completed my tour of 110 beers. Now understand, I am not an alcoholic, nor do I really enjoy the majority of beers, so this was a test of will and I won. In fact, there were some very NOT GOOD beers that I ended up drinking since you can't really double up on the good ones. However, I have gained a greater appreciation for a number of other beers that really were "not too bad." And some day I can take my pals to my home Old Chicago's and show them my name eblazoned in this HALL OF FOAM!!!!!

SP GIFTY #1

2006-12-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

It has FINALLY arrived Mel! I honestly didn't think it would take this long to get here, but it did. The poor postman knows me by heart now (I live in an apartment complex, so to know little old me is an accomplishment.) It arrived Saturday evening! I would have had this up earlier, but I had internet problems. It was so weird, my computer will only stay online for like 5 seconds at a time. Sooooo, I wrote up this entry in word to import while using another computer today! Anyway, I was so excited when I got it. I practically ran all the way from the mailbox to the house. My wonderful knit pal sent me some double point needles, pretty varigated blue yarn, homemade stitch markers, and instructions to make my very first socks!!! I can't wait to take it to knit group next week to show them all! Mel also put in some yummy sour patch kids, relaxing mint tea, and the yummiest smelling candle! Chocolate Hazelnut...I'll have to be careful not to eat it! Thank you so much Mel, it's all wonderful and I can't wait to make some sockies! I can't wait to see what else you send me!

Time Well Wasted

2006-12-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Black Friday

2006-11-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

It is that dreaded day of the year...BLACK FRIDAY! The second largest shopping day of the year (the day before christmas is now the first.) I don't usually like shopping, it just frustrates me, but we need a new set of pots and pans. I had decided I either wanted a cheapo set to last just a year or two (that's about how long non-stick is suppose to last), or I wanted an amazing set that was WAY too expensive. The obvious choice for right now was to pick the cheap set and wait on the good set. I found a really great deal at Linen-N-Things for a decent set of pots and pans (not bottom of the line, but not name brand either,) so decided I'd get up at the butt crack of dawn and see if I could nab a set for $50!

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Talk about crazy! The store opened at 6 am, and by 5:45 am there was a line all the way down the sidewalk to get in. Luckily I brought my ipod, so jumped in line and turned on a little Pottercast to bide the time. When I finally got in, I fought my way to the back of the store where these pots and pans were being displayed, and grabbed a set. Then I back tracked to get in the checkout line, which is already wrapped double around the store. (Thank God for my ipod!) Two and half hours later I have arrived at home with a brand new set of pots and pans.

Eager to wash them and get rid of the old ones, I start pulling them out of the box. I get to the last pot and find, when I put the lid on, that the pot is dented. I call over to the store to find out if they have any extras that I could come and exchange them for, but they are all out...already! The lady tells me that I should just wait and call back in a week or so when the rush has died down and they have gotten a replenishment order in. Grrrr, so now I have an opened box of pots and pans (which I can't use, not get all of them back in the stinking box) sitting around the house waiting to be exchanged. At least they said I could return them!

Tomorrow I will brave the crowds again, but just to hit JoAnn's to see if I can get my mom some scrapbooking stuff for Christmas real cheap. Ugh, the crowds... I hate them, yet, I add to them.

Happy Turkey Day!

2006-11-23T08:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

Chris and I plan on staying home and having a nice quiet turkey day together for once. (Usually he's out of town or something.) We will be having turkey and all the fixings with a healthy side of football! :o) Happy feasting...and napping!

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEE!!!

2006-11-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday!!! Aren't those flowers beautiful...Chris got them for me! Since he had to work most of the day we couldn't do anything too exciting. So, I planned to go to knit group and showing off my newly finished felt bag and then we went to a CC hockey game in the evening.

We found out that the Black Forest Community Center was holding a Llama festival this morning and decided we'd go check it out. So after saying hanging around for a bit and chatting, a few of us piled in cars and headed down the street. There were a couple llama's hanging around outside that were very fuzzy looking. I especially loved the golden brown one and the baby. Inside they had a bunch of tables set up to display merchants and they're llamalicious goodies. I couldn't stay long because I was expecting a package that I needed to be home for, so I looked around and said goodbye to my knit pals.

I really didn't have much planned for the afternoon, so I just hung out and watched tv until it was time to head to the hockey game. Of course we had yummy sports food, and watched a TERRIBLE game... Yah CC clobbered the other team. It was really too bad, but Chris said it was typical of Minnesota State to suck.

We had a good time at the game, and though it wasn't an action packed birthday, we have plans to go out to dinner tomorrow night and then Chris has Monday off. We'll probably go do something fun on Monday but for now I'm off to bed. Another year gone by... they just seem to slip away these days.

Felted Bag Finale

2006-11-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally finished it. I decided to go with multi-colored handles and it looks great! :o) I felted it four times this morning with a big load of jeans. The first time, hardly anything changed with the bag, it just got a little fuzzier. The second time is started to shrink some, but was still pretty big. The third time the stitch patter was starting to just blend together and it was almost the size I wanted. In fact, I was worried that if I put it in again (since I couldn't pull it out half way through) that it would be too small. But I went for it and it came out the perfect size. It's a great size for a knitting bag, just big enough to carry the project that I'm working on right that moment. Although, I think that in the future I will sew the handles on a little differently so that they don't pull so much on one row of stitches. (Oh well, its all a learning process.) Anyway, I love how it turned out and Chris was shocked at how much it shrank. :o) That's wool for yah. Oh Oh! I have to say that the yarn I used was Lambs Pride wool with mohair so it's got this lovely soft fuzziness to it now.

As for other stuff that went on today, in honor of my birthday tomorrow, I have decided to use Chris' thoughtful Christmas present (from last year of course) and take myself to the spa for a La Stone Massage and facial. It was my first time visiting a real spa. Though I've had massages before (at sports medicine of course,) this was a very different kind of massage. As Chris says, it was a "Feel Good" Massage, not a "Good For You" Massage. It was relaxing and all, but I guess because I'm used to the GFY Massages, the FG just don't cut it. Don't get me wrong though, it felt good, but it didn't seem like she pushed hard enough. Anyway, I was nice a relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. If you have the chance, definitely give it a try some time.

Sticky Chicken

2006-11-15T09:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I decided to give this Sticky Chicken recipe off the Grocery Game forums a try. It's basically a rotisserie chicken recipe, minus the rotisserie. I made it in the crockpot, and finished it under the broiler to crispify the skin. It was amazing. I couldn't get it out of the crockpot in once piece because it was so tender. I served it with some mashed potatoes and the carrots that were in the pot. The really cool part that I figured out (after doing it once) is that you could practically use whatever seasonings you wanted on the bird.... Then just cook it the same way in the crockpot and WAH-LAH! Magic Rotisserie Chicken in the crockpot sooo tender that you won't need a knife to cut it.

Sticky Chicken
4 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 onion, quartered
1 cup baby carrots
1 (4 lb.) whole chicken

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a small bowl, mix together salt, paprika, onion powder, thyme, white pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic powder.
2. Remove and discard giblets from chicken. Rinse chicken cavity, and pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Rub chicken inside and out with spice mixture. Place onion and carrots into the cavity of the chicken. Place chicken in a resealable bag or double wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight, or at least 4 to 6 hours.
4. OVEN: Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Place chickens in a roasting pan. Bake uncovered for 5 hours, to a minimum internal temperature of 180 degrees F (85 degrees C). Let the chickens stand for 10 minutes before carving.
CROCKPOT: Place 3-4 foil balls on the bottom of the crockpot, then place the chicken on top of foil balls and cook on low all day. (It's probably best to cook the chicken with the breast side down to keep the juices in the chicken. However, even if you put it in breast side up, the breasts still won't be dried out.)

*HINT: Instead of mixing all the spices, you could also use any chicken rub like Emeril's Essence, or Lawry's rub, etc.

Frogger

2006-11-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I FINALLY did it... I frogged the bag and actually started, and almost finished it. (Which is truly my lifes story...starting and not finishing half the crafty projects I set out to do...but that's for another post.) After finding out a week or two ago that the yarn I was using would not felt, I was glad that I had not tried to complete this project on my own in the year since I ambitiously started knitting. After frogging and balling the yarn-that-would-not-felt, I went home and pulled out some beautiful country colors that my Knit Group pal Christy bought for me this time LAST YEAR for my birthday! I set out to design a bag that was both colorful, easy, and well, used equal amounts of all the colors (since I only had the exact amount needed.) :o) I started with a pattern that Christy found for me online "The Skull Knitting Tote" and then modified it to my needs. I like the size, dimensions, and look of the bag, but didn't exactly care for the artistic design. Then I just knit, knit, knit away and finally found myself at the end. All that's left now is to make icord for the handles and felt it. But first I must decide if I want to make each handle one solid color, each a different color, each stripey of all three, if so, like the bag, or even chunks... Anyway, I will experiment further. I can't wait to finish this, it'll be the first thing I've actually knit for myself, and how fitting since the yarn was given to me for my birthday! Have a great week everyone!

Dye Day

2006-11-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

I had SOOOOO much fun today! I met up with one of my Knit Group buddies, Christy, to learn how to hand dye yarn. I thought it would be so much more personal to include this hand dyed (by me) yarn in my Secret Knit Pals box, than to just find something online to send her. Not to mention a fair bit cheaper doing the work myself. :o) So, we had lunch at Ruby Tuesdays (I love, Love, LOVE their mini burgers!) then we went over to her house and she taught me how to dye yarn! She has this great basement that's set up for dying and sewing and all sorts of other crafty things. It's so cool that she can have a little haven like that in her basement! I WANT ONE! :o)

We started off by picking which yarns we wanted to dye. I picked out a really great yarn that has a different kind of fiber in it that twists around the main yarn. When it's dyed, this extra bit picks up the color differently for a candy cane-ish stripe to finish....you'll see. And she picked out a couple of different yarn types to show me how each fiber and wash pick up colors differently.

Next step was to soak the yarn in preparation for the dyes. But while they were soaking, we got to think about all the wonderful color combinations we could make up. Then the yarn is rung out and placed on a plastic wrapped cookie sheet. (I don't have any pictures of this part because I got way too excited and totally forgot!) Anyway, you bunch up the yarn in different ways, (I did mine in a clover kind of shape) then pour on the dyes for each section and smoosh (yes, that's a technical term) it into the yarn until its soaked all the way through. From there, the yarn is sprayed with a bit of white vinegar to set the colors and wrapped up in the plastic wrap; then put in a steaming pot for about 20 minutes. While the yarn was steaming, Christy and I played some Mario Party, and totally unlocked a handful of new games for her!

(Notice all the great dye bottles Christy has at the sink!) When the yarn in the steam pot has cooled a bit, it is taken out and gently rinsed in the sink. You might not be able to see in the picture, but the dye doesn't color your hands at this point, so you don't need the gloves as we did during the dying process. You also have to be careful that you don't smoosh it around too much and too vigorously or else it might felt. After most of the dye is rinse, each hank gets to soak for a bit with some of its buddies.

Once we had our fill of video games, we finished it all off, with a quick spin in the washer to get rid of as much water with as little smooshing as possible, and then are hung out to dry. It's really hard to tell with this picture because of the greenish/yellowy background, but I was hoping that mine would end up with a deep red, a golden yellow, a pumpkiny orange, and a rich chocolate brown. It didn't exactly end up like that, but it still turned out gorgeous. If you look really closely at the picture, you can sort of see the candy cane-ish stripes inthe brown (like and dark striping.) I can't wait to see what sorts of sockies she makes out of them. I really will have to tell her to send a picture! :o)

So, again, I must give a huge shout out to Christy for letting me come over and teaching me how to do this. THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! I really can't wait to do it again with my IOU yarn! :o)

In Loving Memory...

2006-11-04T06:11:00.000-08:00

Today I woke to find my poor frog Robin dead! I found this wonderfully tiny frog at the shooting range one day this summer, and have been keeping it in a froggy habitat ever since. Robin had recently graduated from flightless flies to crickets for dinner, but will never again know the joy of hopping along to catch her food. She was a quiet little frog, that never gave me much trouble. She was even getting the hang of feeding time. (I'd put my hand in, she'd hop on, I'd put her in the cricket box, she'd eat some yummy crickets, I'd pick her up and put her back in her cage.) Unfortunately, it was this ritual and my stupid forgetfulness that brought about her untimely death. Last night, like every Friday night, I put her in the cricket box to have a bite. Problem is, I forgot that she was in there and didn't put her back into her cage with the water. My poor dear little Robin died of dehydration sometime last night and its all MY FAULT! This makes me so sad because it was totally unnecessary.

Robin, you will be missed!

Happy BELATED Halloween!

2006-11-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had an amazing halloween. Chris arrived home on the evening of the 30th, just in time for some halloween fun. I decided I'd let him sleep in, but not too late because I had lots of things planned for the day. We got up and headed out for a couple errands, one of which included getting a couple pumpkins to carve. After hitting the bank, walgreens, and a couple other places, we headed to a nearby church that was selling pumpkins. We picked out a couple, and they gave us some extra tiny table pumpkins, and then headed home for some lunch and pumpkin carving.

Once we were done carving (or should I say after I was done,) it was time to head out to the special movie I've been dying to see. We made it just in time for the start of a perfectly Halloween movie...The Nightmare Before Christmas in 3D!!! OOOOoooooohhhh! :o) It was interesting because this movie has such a cult following, I figured it would be sold out on Halloween. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were very few people in the theater. No matter what, we would have watched this movie (since I own it,) but to see it on the big screen, AND in 3D was really cool.

By the time we got home, it was too late to even hope for any trick-or-treaters, so I just made dinner of the usual halloween fare (ghostly shepards pie, see last years halloween post for a recipe). It was really great to have Chris home, finally, and to share yet another boring old halloween together. One of these days we'll actually dress up and go to a party, but for now, we're pretty satisfied with just spending time together!

Snowmen Eat Banana Bread?

2006-10-28T13:27:00.000-07:00

Here is the Banana Bread that I made the other day (you know the one that I braved the blizzard to get buttermilk for?) Oh and by the way, come to find out, you can substitute buttermilk for regular milk with a bit of lemon juice of white vinegar. Grrr! That's ok though, because I had fun using my breadmaker.

Later in the afternoon, when the howling wind had stopped, my neighbors and I went outside to build a snowman. They have a 3 year old (correction: just turned 4!) that has never really seen this much snow. And when I say "This much snow..." I mean more than just a dusting that sticks around just long enough to make a mess. She was so cute and we all had a great time keeping her little hands warm (she didn't have any waterproof gloves yet) and teaching her to make snow angels. The snowman we made was huge, probably over 6 ft tall. The sad part is that for as large as that pile of snow was, you'd think it would stick around. By 8:00 am the next morning, the snowmans head had already fallen off. He, and the rest of the snow, were mostly gone within a couple days, which just proves what freakish weather we have here in Colorado. I mean you can see in the picture, that the skies were already turning clear and blue by 4:00 pm that day.

Anyway, after an hour or so romping in the snow, we all headed inside to share some of my fresh baked banana bread and a cup of hot cocoa. Boy did that hit the spot!

It's a BLIZZARD!

2006-10-26T09:29:00.000-07:00

All day yesterday the weather people were predicting a blizzard. NO ONE BELIEVED THEM because it was like mid-60's, cloudless, and gorgeous. I woke up this morning and found THIS on my banister.

And yes, that is snow OVER 4 cans of soup high!!! I knew you wouldn't believe it, so I had to put something in the picture to compare how incredibly deep the snow is. Best of all, there is suppose to be more coming all day! So maybe I'll have to take an update picture later this afternoon.

We've already had the power go out once, so this should be a fun day of homebodiness. I'm going to make soup for lunch (maybe even my grandma's old fashioned potato soup...OOOHH so good), possibly make some banana bread in the bread maker (have to venture out in the blizzard for buttermilk though), listen to some music, frog a bag I've been meaning to re-knit (must find the patter again too), and well, write a few blog entries I suppose. That ought to keep me busy most of the day! Happy Snow Day Everyone!

The Bread Woman Commeth

2006-10-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

I found the best deal at Bed Bath & Beyond today. I happened to go there to find new bathroom accessories (towels, rugs, etc.) but always enjoy looking around. I especially like checking out the clearance racks, and today was no exception.

There were several things of interest on the clearance rack: a set of colored ceramic mixing bowls (missing only one), a small salad spinner (like for herbs and small salads), a very expensive Cuisinart Mandoline marked down to only $25, but best of all was a Cuisinart CBK-200 bread maker!

This bad boy retails for $130, but was marked down to $65 because it was a display model (so no box) and was missing the instruction manual (which you can get online or by calling the company.) And then on top of it, I had one of those 20% off coupons that got it down to $55 out the door!!!

Now, I wasn't exactly in the market for a bread maker, but with it being such a good price I couldn't refuse. It makes all your standard breads, pizza doughs, quick breads, etc., but also jams (don't ask me how, I'll find that out soon enough.) I have to find a place to keep it, but I think that it'll fit nicely in the slot that the old fryer sits, which I'm getting rid of...too big and we don't use it often enough (thank goodness.)

So, my big plan is to make my inagural bread this weekend... But I can't decide between Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry and Banana Bread. Who knows, maybe I'll make both. I have all but one ingredient for both, so either way I'm going to have to hit the grocery store.

Snow...And LOTS of it!

2006-10-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

List of Favorites Contest

2006-10-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

List your favorite:
Actor - Joseph Fiennes
Actress - Keira Knightley
Animal - Fresh Water Otter
Band - Sister Hazel
Book - (Lately) The Autobiography of Santa Claus
Bubble Bath - Yes please...if the tub is clean. (Speaking of I need some more...)
Candy - Dark Chocolate 100 Grand (they were limited edition this summer)
Color - Blue
Drink - MILK
Flower - calla lily (fire/mango)
Food - Ooh everything... corn maybe.
Lip Balm - Burts Bees
Lotion - Buttercream & Mint
Movie - King Arthur
Place - Oregon Home.... with my boy.
Song - Unbelievable
TV Show - Good Eats, That 70's Show
Yarn - umm I've only tried a couple... baby alpaca?
Vacation Spot - Italy!

Work Sucks!

2006-10-08T18:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this week I totally got yelled at by someone that isn't my boss. In fact, I don't even work for them at all...they have no control over me. It was for stupid stuff that warranted a warning/reminder to begin with, but was not forthcoming. Anyway, long story short, I think I'll be up-ing the search for a real/alternate job so I no longer have to be the person these two entities around me fight over.

Also work related, I had an interview for an internship last week (monday) but it didn't seem to go as well as I would have liked. First off, I didn't realize that I was speaking with a woman via email and continually referred to her as Mr. On top of which I didn't realize until well after the interview so I couldn't even apologize! But whats worst of all, they wanted me, but for FREE! They couldn't pay me, at least now. She mentioned an opportunity to work on a contract job, but first they would have to get the bid. Anyway, I was really excited about this job and again I am let down. It's like God doesn't want me to have a job...

In other NON-work related news, it looks like Chris is going to be leaving for a work trip on the Oct. 15th, and won't be back until Halloween! So much time to be alone. Ugh. The good news, I guess, is that he's going to be getting Monday and Tuesday afternoon off this week and a day off when he gets back. I think we're gonna try and hit the cheap theater on Tuesday for a little movie matinee. It'll be nice to spend some time with him not during "football hours".

Secret Pal 9 are you out there?

2006-10-06T08:41:00.000-07:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love natural stuff. I hate the acrylic fake stuff like red heart and the fun fur and stuff.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Well, I have one of the circular needle sets, so it comes in this little folder zip up thing. All the other needles (all of one pair) just sorta sit in the basket. Oh, and don’t really have any crochet hooks.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I’ve been knitting for about a year now, off and on. It’s really been off lately, but I’m hoping things will settle down a little and I can start up again. I taught myself with a basic Target Learn to Knit Kit, and then explored the internet and knit groups from there. I’d say that I’m still in beginner land, but maybe on the upper end of it.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes, an amazon list. (HERE)

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
I like the Butter Cream & Mint frangrance found at Walmart in their candles section…

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Yes, I love dark chocolate! And gummy candies, like sour patch kids, gummy worms, etc.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I quilt, sew, scrapbook, cook, and many more things I’d like to try…

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I have very eclectic taste (Disney, musicals, country, classical, alternative, Christian rock, pop/hip hop, etc.) Not really into rap though. And yes, I have and iPod mini.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I’m partial to blues and aqua greens, fall colors, and lately (I can’t believe I’m admitting this…) pink. lol

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Just me and my boyfriend…we have a fishy named Killer and a frog named Robin. Want an orange striped kitty so I can name him Cheddar, but probably won’t happen cuz we live in an apartment and I’m allergic.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I wear scarves, hats, and mittens when its cold enough, but never really ponchos. I could live without those.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Well, right now I’m excited about knitting up a bag I want to felt, but I also want to learn to do socks! They look like fun! Otherwise I haven’t enough experience to really have a favorite.

13. What are you knitting right now?
Working on a bag to felt, and frogging a hat soon to remake since it turned out the wrong size.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes, it shows heart felt consideration.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Um, I think I like straights but I also like my circs… so uh no favorite really? I like Lantern Moon needles (I don’t have any yet, but I borrowed some and they were so pretty!)

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No and no.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Lol a year!

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Thanksgiving or Christmas, such beautiful, rich colors! Oh yeah and the foooooodddd!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Not really, I should find something though huh?

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I want the pattern from knit picks for the Telemark Ski Sweater (oooh soooo pretty), Stitch-N-Bitch, delicious yarns that are so far unbeknownst to me, and sock books, but fun ones, not boring.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Sock making!

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Um not yet (see above) and I’m never sure on this question… like standard shoe size? 8.5-9, but if its actual MEASUREMENTS, I’m not real sure how to take them… so uh ask?!

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
November 18th!!

BAD BAD Blogger

2006-09-28T10:04:00.000-07:00

It certainly has been a long time since I last posted... Well, better late than never I guess.

So lately I've been getting into this GroceryGame.com thing. Basically they produce lists for grocery stores in your area of advertised and unadvertised sales, when to use coupons to make the most of those deals, and so on. So far I have saved CRAZY amounts of money! Think between 45-76% each week depending on what I buy. You see the philosophy is to stockpile things you normally use (even if you don't need it right now) if its at the listed rockbottom price. That way, when you do need it, you are pulling it from you pantry at a cheap price instead of running to the store and paying full price.

Ultimately you start to do your meal planning around what is on sale, which helps out even more. The only downside is that until you get the hang of it... or when you really get involved, there are chances that you can go a little over board. (Prime Example: Walmart was having a special sale on All Small & Might [suggested retail value aprox. $5] for $2 a bottle. Through the GG message boards, I was notified that there was a $1 off coupon out there or in my stock of coupons I had collected from the Sunday paper. I promptly went to Wally World and bought 2 bottles with my 2 coupons... THEN came home and ordered 10 more coupons!!!!! When this sale was all said and done, I have accumulated like 25 bottles of this super concentrated laundry soap. That's like 2 years worth of laundry soap for me and the boy for only $25!!!)

Overall, its a good thing. I just need to keep the budget in mind! So if your interested in saving a ton on groceries and other items, go the the GG website and sign up for their $1/4wks trial. If you dont like it, you're only out a buck! Oh oh and say I referred you too!

I will continue to track my expenditures for this experiment as I go...and update occasionally.

4 Continents Figure Skating Championships

2006-01-31T09:15:00.000-08:00

Last week I fell into an interesting temporary job. ABC was covering the Four Continents Figure Skating Championship, and I was asked to be a runner for one of their Production Managers. At about 9 pm on Sunday night, I was called by a friend of a friend to see if I would be able to do this job for the week. Basically, it consisted of helping run errands, setting up, tearing down, and making sure everyone actually producing/taping had everything they needed (cough drops, water, munchies, tape, etc.) I even spent a few hours on two days giving tours to Garden of the Gods, Glen Eerie, and to my favorite little breakfast joint, The Omelet Parlor. The week was exciting with all the new people and things to learn, but was also very exhausting. I mostly worked with a handful of people, but made friends all over. The days were long, starting at 8:30 am and going till midnight at least. I learned a lot about figure skating and can now pick out certain elements and rate them. It will be exciting to watch figure skating at the Olympics in a few days and compare what I’ve seen in person. I had a really great time and look forward to the opportunity to work with some of these people again. So there you have it, what I’ve been up to the last week.

Kerrville Training Camp

2006-01-23T22:30:00.000-08:00

This week has been very good for my training. Though I didn’t shoot all that well, I made some changes with my gun (moved the comb), and started to work on my training plan in earnest. It’s been really weird, but I have moments of intense inspiration and drive, but don’t really know how to translate that into a constant influence. Needless to say, it was very helpful to work on the training plans in a group, bounce ideas off one another, and just train together for once without a competition looming a few days off. We spent most mornings in a classroom talking about training, mental prep, and necessary documentation and paperwork for travel and eligibility. The rest of the day was spent shooting. Then, of course, we went home to eat, hang out, and work out if desired.

The range in Kerrville, though new, is well on its way to being a VERY nice range. They had the four bunkers poured and placed, but only two were functional at the time. The range itself is located about five miles away from the main town on top of a hill. It made for a nice run home. I met with the owner and he has incredible drive to complete it with the athlete in mind. I look forward to seeing its completion near the Spring Selection match. It’s really too bad that I forgot to take pictures, but if I can get some from one of the other girls at the camp, I will repost this entry. Anyway, this camp was a great way to kick start training for the year. I’m excited and energized for the upcoming season.

Hockey

2006-01-15T14:42:00.000-08:00

Friday and Saturday night were AWESOME! Chris and I had tickets to the CC-Wisconsin hockey game for both nights. Usually we sit up in the "almost-nosebleed" section, but my uncle gave us tickets and he's like 6 rows up from the ice. It was great. Friday proved to be a close game between to two top rated teams. We stuffed ourselves silly with nasty greasy game food, and enjoyed an evening out. Too bad I forgot my camera! I could have taken some GREAT shots.

Because of how close the game was on Friday, we expected the Saturday game to be even better. Boy were we wrong! Within the first 2 minutes a major penalty was called leaving CC short handed for 5 whole minutes. Wisconsin took advantage of this by scoring 4 goals right off the bat! It was a miserable game for CC ending 9-1 Wisconsin. The newspaper said that its the worst game they've had at home since 1993! I imagine it'll make the playoff games even better though.

In the mean time, we got great seats again since no one wanted to say and watch after the first period and since the bronco's game was on. (yuck!) So we again sat with my uncle...but, I did remember the camer. I'll hafta go get more batteries before I post pictures though. (So look for late additions to this post sometime next week maybe.) I tried to choose better "game" food though by just getting a soda and a bag of peanuts. Which turned out to be a good choice to last most of the game (they take a lot of work to get out of the shell you know.)

So now it's Sunday and I leave tomorrow for my training trip to TX. I'm looking forward to it, but also a little apprehensive since I really haven't trained much. (Considering I just got access to the range on Wednesday its no surprise really!) but anyway, I'm rooming with Brandie, so we should have a good time at least. It'll probably be another week or so before I get a chance to post, so take care and talk to you soon.

Calendar Related Hockey Madness

2006-01-14T23:00:00.000-08:00

My mom received a gift card for Archiver’s scrapbooking store for Christmas. So, before she left, we went to a Valentine’s card making class one evening. We had fun, and found lots of things to pick up. (That’s all I need, another expensive hobby.) Anyway, while there I decided that for this years calendar I would design/scrapbook my own. I picked up these monthly kits and a basic calendar to start. The only problem was I didn’t have any good pictures to use for each month. Sooooo, I got this great idea that we would take pictures with the digi for stuff we’ve done each month, then use them on the calendar. Since we had tickets to two CC hockey games, January was designated hockey month. Needless to say, things have been busy and I STILL haven’t gotten around to making the calendar. I should really get on that. Anyway, the game on Friday night was good. Both teams fought hard and the game was close. You could just tell that Saturday night was going to be a great game. The night was even better because we had tickets to sit with my Uncle Chuck five rows up on the blue line. It’s really too bad Saturday was a complete shut out! However, for those more interested in the bronco’s game, it was an easy decision to make when in the first seven minutes Wisconsin had already scored four goals. A lot of people just got up and left at the end of the first period.

Secret Pal 7 Questionaire

2006-01-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

Well it's that time again, the start of another SP round. I am sorry to say that I was VERY unhappy at how the last one turned out for me, but I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles some time. I also feel I kinda owe an explanation to my SP as to why I haven't posted in awhile....things have been kinda crappy. Anyway, I hope to be good and try and post at least once every two weeks if not once a week. So Happy New Year! And I can't wait to get to know you, you sound cool and exciting already!!! :o)

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
Since I’ve only been knitting for a short time, I have thus far been a yarn snob. I have only knitted with 100% cotton, baby alpaca, and some merino wool. Of those three, I preferred the baby alpaca, however, I am open to expanding my yarn snobbery.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
No to both. Though I might not mind learning to crochet once I’ve gotten the hang of this knitting thing.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a needlemaster, so they all fit in their little case they came in. However, my one pair of straight needles just sits in the bottom of my knitting basket.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
About 5 months, and probably somewhere in the beginner to intermediate range.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I have an Amazon list, but it needs to be update from Christmas.

6. What’s your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
Well, I tend to like cleaner scents like Victoria Secret’s Love Spell, Pear Glace, and just about anything that smells nice (vanilla, cinnamon, cucumber melon, linen, etc.) So I guess I don’t really have a FAVORITE.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Yes, especially for good dark chocolate and gummy things.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Cooking (yes I consider it a craft and I often "do-it" myself), quilting, cross-stitch, and occasional scrapbooking.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3’s?
I have very eclectic taste (Disney, musicals, country, classical, alternative, Christian rock, pop/hip hop, etc.) Not really into rap though. And yes, I have and iPod mini.

10. What’s your favorite color? Or—do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can’t stand?
Blues typically, but depending on what it’s around and used for, just about anything.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I’m in a long term relationship and living together with the love of my life, Chris. Only fish for pets, but I want a puppy or kitty someday. (I had a great picture but it doesn't seem to want to load. BOOOO!!)

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I wear scarves, hats, and mittens when its cold enough, but not really into ponchos.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Since I’ve only been knitting for like 5 months and have only really knitted with 3 kinds of yarn, so far I like baby alpaca. However, I am looking forward to expanding my yarn palette (got any yarn recommendations?)

14. What other fibers do you absolutely “not” like?
I’m not really a huge fan of fun fur or similar novelty yarns. I suppose they’d be kind of cool for an embellishment now and then, but otherwise not really. After perusing the isles of JoAnn’s and Michael’s, I’ve found that I don’t like cheap blends much either. (Mind you, I’ve only used 3 kinds of yarn, so I have limited exposure to many yarns.)

15. What is/are your current knitting obsessions?
Finding a local Stitch’n’Bitch to be a part of, working on my sisters Christmas present (which I gave to her, but was totally the wrong size, therefored, I must frog it), reading Crazy Aunt Purl’s blog, learning to felt, and finding cool new knitting projects that I can make and give to friends (basically trying to learn everything I can about knitting.)

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I don’t really have a favorite yet. However, I’m looking forward to learning to knit hats, gloves/mittens, socks, and sweaters.

17. What are you knitting right now?
That ill-fitting present for my little sister, it's a hat.

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Sure, if they’re quality and well thought out. (I love when someone puts time into something especially for mwa.)

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
so far I think I like circs for the most part. Smaller stuff its good on the straights.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I started on the cheapest plastic pair you could ever imagine and they were ok, until I found the more sophisticated bamboo. After working with the bamboo for awhile I found that my alpaca didn’t slide very well on them so I purchased a pair of aluminum. It seems to work better, but I have to wonder if the Brittany or Lantern Moon needles would be any better. Then I graduated to a Needlemaster set, and because I'm cheap, that's what i've stuck with. So, I guess so far I like the aluminum best (the colorful Boyes with the silver flat cap thingy on the end are so pretty in a cup.)

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
No, wish I had a yarn winder sometimes, but I do ok without.

22. How did you learn to knit?
I taught myself from a learn to knit kit I got at Target.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Knitting: a couple weeks based on the time I haven't worked on it... but I started it in October.
Quilting: almost a year.

24. What's your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I don’t really have an all time favorite, but I’m rather partial to old school pooh and friens like in the Peter Ellenshaw prints (my all time favorite is “Autumn Leaves”)

25. What is your favorite holiday?
I suppose Christmas since I get to see my family, but I much prefer the season of Fall for its multitude of colors and brisk winds.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Not really, but I’m always up for starting a yarn stash.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None, but I’ve been contemplating getting Knit1, it looks pretty cool.

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Stitch’n’Bitch, and I just found these and love them. Gigi and Bear.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I’m going to learn to felt in the next couple months if it kills me! :o)

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Not yet, but I’d sure like to learn. I’m not real sure what it means by measurements, but I’m a size 8/8.5 most of the time. I like soft sockies, and saw a pattern for silk or cashmere ones that look yummy!

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
November 18th

Happy New Year!

2006-01-01T22:00:00.000-08:00

Since my family was here for the holidays, I thought I’d throw a little party for new years. The big plan was to have a four course fondue meal with movies and billiards in between courses. Once we’d planned the courses, shopped and gathered all the goodies, Kacie and I started to prepare what food we could in advance. My parents were suppose to show up around 5 pm, but called and said they were ready...AND were wondering if the Hall’s could come too. While Chris added two extra leafs to the table, Kacie and I set the table, and got the salad course ready. The way we planned it was to have a course, then let everyone go in the living room to watch part of a movie while the next course was being prepared. It worked out well, but was a VERY long evening.

My parents and the Hall’s arrived around 7 pm with extra chairs in hand (which was fortunate since we would have had to stretch to get just my family on chairs.) We started with a wedge salad, and then moved on to a cheese course after that. We made a traditional Swiss and a spicy curry cheese to dip the assorted breads, and vegetables offered. Then we sent everyone to watch a little bit of Bewitched while Kacie and I cleaned up and prepared the meat course with dipping sauces. We used all sorts of meats; thai chicken, plain chicken, teriyaki steak, plain steak, shrimp, salmon, turkey sausage, etc. Then, again, we sent everyone to finish the movie while we prepared the dark chocolate dessert fondue. Much wine and laughter was had by all, and the dessert fondue with cookies, cakes, and fruits received rave reviews. I wish I had taken some pictures, but as you might imagine, it was kind of a busy night for me. But just try and imagine seven people in a small apartment living room. It was a wonderful evening and we definitely had enough food for everyone and some more. We finish around 11:30 pm, which was perfect for watching the ball drop. This was the first time that I had used my fondue set at home, and certainly won’t be the last. I would love to do something for Valentine’s Day, but with Chris in Torino, would probably be a waste by myself.

Happy New Year! And good luck with all your new year’s resolutions.

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T21:45:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays to all those out in cyberland. Usually, Chris and I travel to his and my parents’ houses during the holidays. This year we were unable to do this because he had to work through the holiday with Speedskating. He was lucky to get Christmas day off. Anyway, I tried to arrange it so that his family could come out to Colorado for the holiday, but was unsuccessful. My parents, on the other hand, thought it a great idea to get away for the holiday. So, my sister stayed with us, and my parents stayed at the Hall’s house.

Christmas morning was nice and relaxed; Chris, Kacie, and I got up and started the breakfast frittata and cinnamon rolls that we had picked out the night before. My parents arrived shortly after starting breakfast. After finishing breakfast and cleaning up we started present opening. Everyone got lots of wonderful gifts this year, which proves that lists really do help. Check out everyone’s shwag in the pictures at the bottom. The rest of the afternoon was spent watching movies and hanging out. Around 5 pm we had a dinner to go to at the Hall’s house. We all enjoyed dinner and the football games.

It’s been nice having my family around, especially my sister. For the first time, Kacie and I have gotten along and enjoyed our time together. We discussed her coming out for Thanksgiving next year, which I think would be fun. We’ll have to see if it actually happens though.

Christmas Cookie Exchange 2005

2005-12-10T18:31:00.000-08:00

The cookie exchange is always a bit of a stressful event, but this year it was even more so because Mrs. Hall put me in charge of most of it. So we changed the rules a bit to try and get better quality cookies and to make it mean more than just exchanging cookies. All the participants were required to bake their own cookies from scratch (no roll or pre-prepared cookies) and have a story to go along with the recipe or its creation to share. I also decided to take pictures of everyone with their cookies to include in the recipe book. Thankfully, we had an amazing turn out. It was really great to mingle with everyone while we waited for the last couple people to show up. Once they arrived we gathered in the living room to share our little stories of cookie goodness. After the stories were shared, everyone hurried into the dining room to get the cookie swapping underway. Everyone lined up around the tables with their container preparing to take one or two of each kind. Once everyone had gone through, we went around again to trade off the last few. I spent WAYYY too much time on my cookies (probably 24 hours at least), but everyone loved them. I chose a cookie wand recipe then hand dipped each wand in various flavors of chocolate, and toppings.

In the end, each person received five cookies in a little baggie from me:

Milk Chocolate dipped w/ Toffee topping
Cappuccino dipped w/ Hazelnuts & Milk Chocolate drizzles
Dark Chocolate dipped w/ Coconut topping
White Chocolate dipped w/ Candy Cane topping
Caramel dipped w/ White & Dark Chocolate drizzles

This year was much better than previous years, and I hope get the recipe book completed sometime soon. I can’t wait to see what turns up next year! Happy Holidays!

5 Years and Counting...

2005-11-04T22:30:00.000-08:00

It was only a year ago that I received my five year employee recognition with the USOC, and now I’m unemployed. However, this night wasn’t about me, it was about Chris. This was his year to receive the recognition of his peers. We arrive fashionably late (as usual), but we still able to enjoy a little mingling before being seated at the beautifully decorated tables.

We sat with Ed and his wife Laura and of course shared a few laughs during the evening. This year there were a lot fewer people being recognized, so we zipped through the program. The meal was buffet, but was still wonderful. I was looking forward to a chocolate fountain all week, but was disappointed to find that they were only offering cobbler and cheesecake. Oh well, perhaps in another five. All in all, it was a pleasant evening of food, conversation, and honoring my hardworking man. So keep it up sweetheart, you’re hard work is always appreciated.

Happy Halloween!

2005-10-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

I hope that this holiday brings more treats than tricks to you all. It’s been a busy day, but we stuck to our tradition of making Ghostly Sheperd’s Pie! It’s our favorite and soooo easy to make. We used a basic Sheperd’s Pie recipe, then instead of spreading the potatoes out, we piled them up into little ghost shapes with peas for eyes. It’s a really hearty meal that’s great to fill kids up with before sending them out trick-or-treating. I have included the recipe and a picture for you dining pleasure.

Ghostly Sheperd's Pie
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes w/ italian herbs, undrained
1 (12 oz.) jar homestyle beef gravy
1 3/4 cups water
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 cups instant mashed potatoes
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray. Cook beef and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.
2. Set aside 12 peas for garnish. Add remaining frozen veggies, tomotatoes and gravy to beef mixture. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies are crisp-tender.
3. Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, bring water, margarine and garlic powder to a boil. Remove from heat; add milk. Stir in potato flakes and cheese. Add egg; blend well.
4. Spoon ground beef mixture into ungreased 8-inch square (2 qrt) or oval (2 1/2 qrt) glass baking dish. With large spoon, make 6 mounds of potato mixture on top of beef mixture to resemble ghosts. Place 2 reserved peas on each mound to resemble eyes.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are set and mixture is thoroughly heated.
6. Enjoy!

Knitters With Altitude -- Week 3 (The Llama Store!)

2005-10-28T20:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know I’ve been a HORRIBLE blogger and I so deserve a digital flogging, but it just hasn’t seemed like much has gone on to write about or take pictures of (which enables the writing.) And when I do have something to write about, I would rather knit or I just don’t have time to write. Ok, ok, ok, enough of the excuses. Well, I solemnly swear, *fingers crossed*, that I will try my very best to at least post once a week…and on time.

Onward and upward!

Well today was another wonderful knit day, but before we get to that, I must recap from yesterday!

(The room turns misty and we go into a typical flashback sequence…)

It was a LOOOOOOOONNG Friday morning and I was starving. I was also waiting for my dearest love to call and say “Its lunch time! I’ll be over in 5 minutes to pick you up. Where do you wanna go sweetheart?” But all I got was “Sorry it won’t be until after 2:00 pm that I’ll get to leave for lunch.”

UGH!

So I decided to go pick up lunch and take it to him, so just maybe, he could come home a little earlier if he got more stuff done….NOT! Anyway, so I went and got Chinese food and our favorite eatery down the street, drove over to his work, walked in (he is no where to be found), placed food on desk, proceeded to waste time and steal some of his food, (still no show), close up food, draw smilies on his food box, take another bite of food, close the food and walk out. I come back to the office with my food and find a plea on the KWA message board from Christie to meet someone for lunch. I make a snap decision to get out of the office early. I wrote to her saying that I would meet her at Pikes Perk on Vickers and Academy in about an hour and a half for some knitterly release. We had such a relaxing time just the two of us and we got to know each other a lot better. I brought all my knitting books that I had got from the library to share with her. We found some great ideas and laughed at a few really ugly patterns. She told me how her husband and her had acquired their house, and about the poopiness at her work with a position she had applied for. We had a lovely time just hanging out, sharing stories, and eating cookies for about 3 hours, with only a slight interruption from my mom and a stupid insurance dude that both called and wanted to talk my ear off. By 6:00 pm we were thoroughly relaxed and decided to call it a night. Christie even let me borrow Guillotine to take home for Chris to try before we bought it (as long as I brought it back on Saturday.)

After an entirely too addicting Friday afternoon of knitting, I wasn’t looking forward to wasting a lot of my Saturday morning doing laundry (since I had skipped out doing it Friday afternoon…of course.) Needless to say, I made it out to Falcon by about 11 am. There were still a lot of people there, but a few were getting ready to head out the door. I had a sandwich and looked through the quilt books that Christie had brought for me, then joined the main group. Everyone was doing well and a few had started new projects that looked rather exciting. I made an announcement about the Birthday Bash/Knit Night Movie Marathon that we will have on November 19th (hopefully I’ll remember to take pictures.) We decided that it would be a snacky-potluck/BYOB movie night, and decided on The Princess Bride! I LOVE IT!! Such kindred spirits. Anyway, that should be a good time.

BEST OF ALL THOUGH… Christie took me to The Llama Store!!! OH MY OH MY HEAVEN!

This is the coolest, most friendly little yarn store on the planet… ok, well definitely in Colorado Springs. But it is a little off the beaten path, so I am very glad that Christie drove. The store is located just off Black Forest Road in a little log cabin like shop. The moment you walk in t he door you are bombarded with fiber treasures.

Though the shop is small (four small rooms), they are effectively packed with yarn and fiber of all varieties, tons of knitterly paraphernalia, and dying supplies. There were so many delicious looking yarns that I wanted to buy. It took so much discipline to resist buying any goodies. However, I did fall in love with some gorgeous recycled silk. I don’t know what I’d do with it, but it had so many pretty colors that once I find something to make with it I’m buying some.

Christie and Brie both found things to buy, even though Brie said she wasn’t going to. EVIL CHRISTIE THE ENABLER! In the end, Saturday was spent with limited knit group knitting, but lots of knit group shopping/browsing. It was such an inspiration to go to The Llama Store. I had visions of great projects that I wanted to do. My list is ever growing, AND I have to wonder if all of it is really “necessary.” (Ahhh! Who cares about that, right?)

Knitters With Altitude -- Week 2

2005-10-22T17:30:00.000-07:00

I HEART MY KNIT GROUP!!!

They’re so much fun, and soooo smart! It was great to see everyone again, and meet a few new people. We met up at Pikes Perk on Academy and Vickers, which was great since it’s near my home. I had never been there before, but it was nice. They had super comfy couches and lots of great food and drinks.

Anti-Kathy finished her fingerless gloves (a.k.a. jazz hands) while we were sitting there. She decided to add a few accent lines to help divide the colors, and they turned out great! (Not sure if you can see, but she added the one line of green and yellow next to the middle blocks. She just sewed over the top in a knitting pattern when she had finished.)

One member of the group I hadn't met showed up, MJ, and brought her hubby! He is, apparently, the designated “Eye-Candy” of the group. Heheheheh! Though he didn’t knit, he was very quiet sitting off on a table all his own. MJ was working on this very pretty seed stitched swatch looking thing. She didn’t know what she wanted to make yet, but she was contemplating the idea of making a scarf. (Aaargh! I couldn’t do seed stitch for that long!) Anyway, she was working with the prettiest yarn. She said she was using three really fine yarns to help enhance each of three yarns qualities. Needless to say, it was pretty and I can’t wait to see what she makes. [Note: MJ - No disrespect meant, just poor memory. As you can tell, I have fixed my mistakes...Sorry!]

Christie brought her Pastaza bag that she had finished last week at knit group, and felted during the week. It turned out awesome, and I was amazed at how much it had shrunk. The bag was HUUUUUGGGEEE last week and now it’s, like, the perfect size! Kathy does a great job of modeling the bag in the traditional Knit Group Hat Bag style.

After everyone left, Christie, Kathy, and I stuck around to have lunch (which by the way, they have THE BEST egg salad sandwich and potato salad I’ve EVER had at a restaurant. Really, it was that good. And Christie and Kathy had a grilled 3 cheese sandwich and fruit bowls that were to die for as well.) Anyway, Christie had brought a game to show Kathy, so we decided to put away the knitting and give it a shot.

The game is called Guillotine, and it was so fun! It’s a card game set during the French Revolution where the object is to collect as many point (and thereby heads) as you send nobles to the guillotine. It was so much fun that I’m planning on buying it! Basically there are two decks, nobles and action cards. Everyone is given 6 action cards, and 12 nobles are laid out in a line. Play begins with a person playing an action card (following the directions – i.e. moving nobles in line, removing nobles, adding nobles, taking other players hands, etc.) then collecting the noble at the front of the line, and finally taking another action card. The game continues until the 12 nobles are gone, then 12 more are played through two times and the game is over. Points are tallied and the highest score wins! It was great fun and easy to pick up after a game or two. I can’t wait to order my copy.

Leader Training

2005-10-20T15:30:00.000-07:00

Working with the 4-H over the past couple years has been great. Crazy at times, but great! Every year we have a couple really big events that take months of preparation. These events include, but are not limited to, County and State Fair, enrollment time, officer training, and leader training. This months big undertaking was Leader Training. We’ve been preparing for months and months. In fact, the original date set to hold the training was in September, but due to HUGE last minute changes on the state level, we had to reschedule.

Leader Training is an evening when all the organizational leaders for each of the clubs comes to the extension office where we feed them, give them their update packets for the year, and discuss and explain any pertinent information. As part of this process I had a few major roles; 1) to put together these huge update packets for about 50 clubs, and 2) figure out what to feed everyone, get all the stuff, and make it. I got the packets completed a couple days ago, but waited to pick up the food so we wouldn’t have to store it for long. Gay-Leigh, the person that basically makes the office run, and I decided to make pulled pork, baked beans, salad, and cookies. I had found this great BBQ pull-pork recipe that cooks in the crockpot with little or not attention that I thought would be perfect. So I dropped by Sam’s Club last night to pick up all the food stuffs to be prepared in the morning.

I’m pretty sure I pissed off the butcher guy because I asked him for 30 lbs. of pork roast and then asked for him to cut it in thirds since it was soooooo huge! The guy was like, “No, I don’t want to cut my fingers.” Yet I protested, until finally pertinent information came out in the conversation. The package actually contained TWO porks! He thought I was asking him to cut each into thirds, when really I wanted the seemingly one giant package cut into thirds… Sooooo, the guy happily took it back and cut each of the four porks (cuz we had two packages) in half.

So after all the hard work, preparation, and collecting of crockpots (I think we had 10?) the evening was finally here. I showed up early, and trimmed the pork, mixed the seasoning, and placed the porks in their crockpots. Then I went back and decided to consolidate the porks into FEWER crockpots…which was a huge mess. In the end, we fit all the porks in the three largest pots. There was another class using our room during the day, so I had to set everything up to be out of their way (look at all that food!)

Next, Gay-Leigh and I worked on setting up the tables, chairs, and materials in the room. It took a few tries, but we got the setup figured out. People were going to be squeezed in pretty tight, but that’s just the way it was going to have to be since we didn’t have a bigger room. Packets would be picked up in the hall, while additional information was available along the side counter in the room. We set up the registration and food tables out in the hall to create a better flow in the small space.

Then the onslaught began. Crazy early people started showing up at like 3:30 pm for the event that started at 6:00 pm. Thankfully, some started helping with our last minute preparations, like setting out the food, pulling the pork, manning the registration table, and just helping with general tasks and things.

After the few pictures that I dutifully took while preparing, I TOTALLY spaced taking any other pictures the whole evening! (Bad Kyndra…BAD!) Needless to say, everyone really enjoyed the meal (all except one, who knew what we were having ahead of time, but still felt she needed to complain—disguised as a “recommendation.”) We had an incredible amount of pulled pork (damn I wish I had taken a picture…) and plenty of everything else. However, it turned out to be the perfect amount to have enough left over for the office to have lunch the following day and for a few to take a little home.

Though I spent a 15 hour day at work, I was glad that Leader Training was over and had the highest attendance ever! Now we have Officer Training to look forward to in November. Yikes! I better get started, that’ll be even more of a pain since we’re dealing with kids.

Hockey & Secret Pal Surprise!

2005-10-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

Woohooo!! Tiger Hockey has arrived!

Tonight we went to the first of the 4 CC hockey games we have tickets to this year. I'd been looking forward to the game all week. I get to spend time with my man, watch a good game, and eat terrible food! Who wouldn't look forward to that! Anyway, CC had lost the night before to Ohio State, so the tension was high, making for a really great game. It was fast paced and low scoring, (1-0 CC Final). And of course, we stuffed ourselves with terrible sporting event food (plastic cheese nachos, rubbery hot dogs, and greasy deep fried mini doughnuts.) We also ran into Maggie Moo the ice cream cow! Apparently they are a new vendor at the World Arena this year. We had pretty good seats in the lower part of the upper deck on the side of the visiting teams goal. It was great fun and I can't wait for our next game in November.

But the best part of all, was when we got home, I had a spiffy gifty from my Secret Pal!

Aren't they lovely!!! They're stitch markers from Zephyr! They're so light weight and they came in such a cute package! I just recently got into using stitch markers and making them. So BIG FAT thank you to my Secret Pal. You're the best and I can't wait to see all my other goodies.

Knitters With Altitude

2005-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I FINALLY made it to knit group! Due to one thing or another, it only took me over a month to make it. We met up at a coffee house in Falcon called The Summit House. It was small and not very well lit, but the staff was friendly and they didn’t mind the noise. (NOISE? At knit group? NO WAY!)

There were six of us when it was all said and done… and an infinite amount of personality to match. In fact, even a BOY showed up! It was nice to finally meet the people that I had been chatting with for the last month on the message boards. Crazy peeps I tell you…CRAZY PEEPS!!!

We all shared our current projects, some finished projects, and yarn aspirations. One of the gals had finished a felted bag and passed it around for everyone to see. The only problem with the bag seemed to be most people wanted to treat it like a hat. But hey, we color outside the lines in knit group… or, uh, knit outside the pattern maybe? Oh yah and we knit and dogged on the Knit Picks catalog a little. There was discussion of a date change for the upcoming Yarn Crawl scheduled for November 5. I can’t wait to go see MORE yarn shops… and with people to “get” this obsession we call knitting. Which brings me to a new realization: I can’t knit for long. This saddens me, but it looks like I have some how already hurt myself…PRE-knitting. Anyway, so slow is the way to go…at least for me.

All in all, it was a good time and I look forward to meeting up with them again… Perhaps even next weekend?

Curtain Rods, Curtains, and Screws, OH MY!

2005-10-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

So it snowed last night. But of course, we already had a holiday, so its not like we got any extra cancellations. I spent most of the morning typing up a program that just HAD to be done by Tuesday. But I did finish in time to go on a quest for drapery and pick up a few things at JoAnn's with my coupons.

I was happy to find that the yarn I want to include in my secret pals prezzie was available, AND I could use the coupons for it. While I was there, I picked out a lovely curtain rod that matched the rest of the furniture in my room, and talked with a lady about the pro's and con's of making curtains versus buying them. I decided to grab a swatch of a fabric I thought might work and headed to the checkout line. I thought I better look at some pre-made curtains before I go through all the trouble of making them, so I headed across the parking lot to Target.

Target was great, I found another curtain rod AND curetains for Chris' room, and checked the sale rack for my curtains. I found some that I liked, but they were full length as apposed to short little windows like I have. But they were such a good deal (and my room is like in kinda weird colors for curtains) that I couldn't pass it up. I figured I could cut them down and hem them on my own. I got home and immediately put up the curtain rod, which took two tries. (I should have gotten the longer rods.) I also hung the curtains in two ways... 1) folded double so it lays straight on the rod, 2) single layered and bunched. The only problem is I don't know which I like best.... Anyone got any recommendations before I hem them??

The Fall Selection Match

2005-10-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

If you've ever lived in Colorado for any amount of time (even just a week), you might have noticed the terribly unpredictable weather patterns of this region. On Monday it was beautiful shorts weather in the mid 70's to low 80's. I wore a tank top and shorts and got a SUNBURN! Not two days later, I was running to the sporting goods store to purchase HEAVY DUTY Long Johns! Then by the weekend it was lovely and warm fall weather again. But its par for the course if you look back, you will find that every Fall Selection Match held in Colorado Springs in October has some stint of adverse weather, and we just happened to get it!

NOTE: For those of you following along, but really lost as far as this Fall Selection thingy goes, never fear, I shall explain...Fall Selection refers to one of the three major national competitions held by USA Shooting, the national governing body for Olympic shooting sports, per year. I compete in an event called Trap, where the object is to shoot a shotgun at a flying clay target and hit it. The general course of fire is to shoot 250-300 targets over a 3 day period, with the top 6 getting the chance to shoot off in a final 25 targets for to decide the winner. Previously, I shot Double Trap, but this event (for women) has recently been taken out of the Olympics. My time on the team has enabled me to travel the world and compete on the International level. I hope to continue my efforts and reach even higher heights in my new event of Trap.

Moving on...

As mentioned earlier, the training days leading up to the competition were beautiful. We had over 115 participants registered to shoot, which meant long days, but a good time would be had by all. (Photo Note: Mary, our head of competitions, and Steve, our match director, run the place with an iron fist...you don't wanna get on their bad sides.) However, the weather took a sudden dive on the official training day. It got SOOO incredibly cold that more people than usual shot only one training round and left....to buy under armour of course!

Day 1: 100 Targets, "Keep the car running all day"-cold.
I started off really strong with a 24/25, then ran into some trouble. To take my mind of things and to keep my hands from getting stiff, what did I do? KNIT of course!!! Please note the ear warmer headband, the under armour, the polar fleece outer layer, the blanket on my lap, and the ski jacket in the back seat. It was COLD. But the knitting was good...and calming. Too bad it didn't really help my shooting. But on the good side, over the three day competition, I got a lot done! Yet I digress...The competition day ended with my buddy Joetta, who by the way just had a baby in May, tearing it up and finishing at the top of the board. I, on the other hand, though giving a strong showing to finish with a 25/25, had two REALLY bad rounds in the middle...therefore, was not really at all near the top....in fact, closer to the middle.

Day 2: 100 Targets, Average cold with signs of warming up.
After an evening spent in a COLD hot tub (yah it was broken, but they didn't bother telling the girl that's been a popsicle all day), I was not looking forward to another cold day. It was, however, slightly more tolerable because it wasn't as windy. Caitlin, one of our new junior shooters, brought her puppy to cuddle and play with. (Isn't he cute!) Again, the shooting wasn't that great, but Joetta continued to give us all lessons. Oh yah, and the knitting continued...on and on and on and on.... This stupid project is never going to end. It's a good thing I was drug up on pain killer or my hands would have killed!

Day 3: 50 Targets, Chilly morning but warm in the afternoon.
It was a good thing that I showed up early, because they switched squading early in the morning so I was on an early flight. I was surprised to find that I wasn't as far out of the top 6 as I thought. If I had a good day and others didn't, then I could possibly push my way in.

(Photo Note: from the left, Mimi Wilfong, Goldie Pippin, referee, Susan Nattrass, Amanda Dorman, Kyndra Hogan, Lynsey Arnold.) Joetta kicked butt again, which was a big accomplishment since a women hasn't beat EVERYONE in quite awhile. (Oh yah, men and women don't compete against each other...they're afraid we'll kick their butt like Joetta did...hehe j/k) Unfortunately, I didn't have as good a showing all around as I'd like. I started to get a little more consistent after the first day, but it was too little too late. We have a good range in Colorado Springs, and despite the weather, scores are always pretty high.

An unusually large amount of people showed up for the finals (probably to watch Joetta steal the show.) And a careful observer could find Lloyd actually sitting for 10 minutes (even if he was explaining something to an over-anxious mom.) All in all, it was nice to see everyone again even if the weather mostly sucked. At least our match didn't go through Monday because it snowed (poor double trap shooters!) I was dissappointed with my performance, but there is always another match to train for. Spring Selection Match here I come. It should be interesting at the new venue in Curville. But for now, let Old Man Winter have his way. I'll snuggle up to my man and wait out the winter. Till next match, keep your head down and your hopes high!

The Invisible Man & Weird Wisconsin Wedding Traditions

2005-10-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

Of my boyfriend Chris’ gang of close knit friends, I have only NOT met one, Dave (A.K.A. The Invisible Man) Obviously, that would mean that Dave had never met me either. This whole not meeting thing led both Dave and I to believe the other didn’t really exist, thus the nickname. Every time Chris would talk to him on the phone, playful banter would ensue. In fact, on Dave’s wedding invitation I was only referred to as “guest.” It was all in good fun though, but the time had come to meet the Invisible Man.

This weekend Chris and I flew to Chicago, rented a car, and drove to Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin for this farm boys wedding. We arrived Thursday afternoon with the intention of going to dinner with the Invisible Man. No dice though since he called in sick. (I was really starting to believe this trip had been a waste of money on someone that didn’t actually exist…not really, but sorta.)

Anyway, Chris and I hit the local mall (which consisted of a small strip mall containing about 10 stores) to find a shrug to go with my outfit for the wedding. I lucked out and grabbed the very last one in my size and color, and, oh yeah, it was on sale! After a bit of shopping/browsing, we headed to the Old Country Buffet attached to the mall. Now, I’m not a huge fan of OCB, because even though they have something that will satisfy most any human on the planet, I have found that its generally not the best quality food for the price. However, Chris was craving it (which was unusual) so I gave in, besides, what else were we going to find. So after a hearty meal of a-little-bit-of-everything, we headed back to the hotel to wait for Woody, Krissy, and Alex, who arrived around 11 pm and were sharing a room with us.

The schedule for Friday was to help decorate the chapel and reception hall, pick up tuxes, and attend rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Krissy, Alex, and I stayed home in the morning and relaxed while the boys went off to help decorate. The lack of my presence probably encouraged Dave’s idea that I didn’t really exist, but I didn’t really care. When they finished decorating, the boys went to pick up their tuxes, and then headed to Cullver’s to meet us for lunch. I’ve never been to a Cullver’s, and to be honest I wasn’t terribly impressed with the food, but it was food nonetheless AND I finally met the Invisible Man, his bride to be, her two boys, and two of Dave’s sisters. (Photo Note: They boys gettin' all spiffed up for the big day. It was so funny because Woody, left, had never shaved with a real razor before. So, Chris had to teach him...hahahahah!)

They were an interesting bunch, and I could tell that Dave was a nice guy. Yes, you guess it, he started in on me the moment I walked in with “So where’d you get this one Chris and how much are you paying her?” But I apparently redeemed myself pretty quickly when our food came and I tried to take Chris’ burger because it was bigger. They all laughed and we were fast friends. After lunch we picked up the vans for the wedding party, stopped by Walmart to pick up a few things, and headed back to the hotel to hang out until the rehearsal. While at Walmart, we picked up one of those pre-loaded game controllers that plugs into the tv and played around with the halloween costumes (don't they look great in foam hair?) The boys had a blast playing old games like PacMan and Galactica. For $15, it was a great waste of time in the hotel without the burden of a huge old game system. But sooner than the guys would have liked, it was time to head to the rehearsal.

The wedding ceremony was held in this quaint complex of old buildings that had been collected from all over the state. There was a one room school house, a blacksmith, a

printing shop, a toy shop, a hairdresser, an old mill, and of course a one room chapel. Though they had originally planned to have the wedding in a larger church, the ceremony was still beautiful…and small. It only lasted about 25 minutes, which was perfect because it was so warm out. After the wedding was over the weird Wisconsin wedding traditions begin.

Apparently in Wisconsin, several hours are scheduled between the ceremony and the reception so that the wedding party (and significants) could “bar hop” to the reception location. What the heck were the other people supposed to do between the ceremony and the reception? Why would you want to get your nice white dress all mucky in a bar? Are bars even open at 11am? It all seemed kinda weird to me, but I went along with it. We ended up only going to one bar, and thankfully, it was fairly clean with lots of other activities to partake in besides drinking. Weirdness I tell you, WEIRDNESS! Anyway, we finished at the bar after everyone had had a couple drinks and was thoroughly loosened up from the mornings tense events (you know, the whole getting hitched for life thing.) The reception was pretty average, with food, beer, dancing, and music, and ended relatively early (about midnight.)

Oh yeah, and did I mention the other crazy tradition they do there in cheese country? (This didn’t happen at this wedding, but got talked about, and often does at other weddings.) The groomsmen steal the bride DURING the reception to go to ANOTHER bar for a drink…then brings her back. In the mean time, the bridesmaids to the same to the groom. Doesn’t anyone think that so many IMPORTANT people would be missed???? Again, WEIRDNESS!

On the drive back to Chicago the next day, we hit a bit of rain, but nothing too serious…or so we thought. When we got all checked in and everything, all the flights were delayed. We didn’t get back to our house until 2am when we should have gotten home around 10:30pm. It was crazy! IT’S JUST A LITTLE RAIN PEOPLE!!! (coming from the crazy Oregonian girl sitting in the third row knitting the night away.)

Anyway, so that was my weekend. Chock full of mystery, excitement, and new traditions. It was nice to finally meet the Invisible Man, but I look forward to seeing him at a time that isn’t quite so stressful. It was really great hanging out with Woody, Krissy, and Alex (oh yeah, Alex and I got married for the weekend, but it was short lived. We broke it off cuz he gave too many other girls nookie and I couldn’t deal with that. Isn’t he just TOO cute! See picture below.) I can’t wait to see them all at Jake and Molly’s wedding in the Spring!

Oh YEAH! I knit. I knit on the plane. I knit in the car on the drive to Fond Du Lac. I knit in the hotel room. I knit in the airport during our delay, and I knit at all other knittable opportunities. Though I didn't get a TON done, I moved to another skein, which always takes longer since I have to add the beading before joining. Needless to say this project is coming along. (Really wish I could post pictures, and REALLY wishing I hadn't told my sister about my blog so that I could do so freely. Oh well!) Finally, I leave you with this priceless picture of (my weekend hubby Alex) and the age old Wisconsin tradition of "starting 'em young!"

Secret Pal 6 Questionaire

2005-09-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

Woohoooo!! I made it! I signed up late so wasn't sure if I'd make it in, but I did! So, to start off, I owe my secret pal an apology for not having the questionaire answered. So sorry! :o(

Now, better late than never, lets get to the good stuff:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
Since I’ve only been knitting for a very short time, I have thus far been a yarn snob. I have only knitted with 100% cotton and baby alpaca. Of those two, I preferred the baby alpaca, however, I am open to expanding my yarn snobbery.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
No to both. Though I might not mind learning to crochet once I’ve gotten the hang of this knitting thing.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Smoke/Molds

4. How long have you been knitting?
About 2 months, ok its October now, so maybe 3.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Not really. I have an Amazon list, but there is only 2 things on it since I just started it the other day. Maybe I’ll work on it some more when I have some time.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
Well, I tend to like cleaner scents like Victoria Secret’s Love Spell, Pear Glace, and just about anything that smells nice and fresh (vanilla, cinnamon, cucumber melon, linen, etc.) So I guess I don’t really have a FAVORITE.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Yes, especially for good dark chocolate and gummy things.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Quilting, cross-stitch, a little sewing, and occasional scrapbooking.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I have very eclectic taste (Disney, musicals, country, classical, alternative, Christian rock, pop/hip hop, etc.) Not really into rap though; sorry, that's probably not very helpful. And yes, I have and iPod mini.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
Blues typically, but depending on what it’s around and used for, just about anything.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I’m in a long term relationship and living together with the love of my life, Chris. (See photo) Only fish for pets, but I want a puppy or kitty someday.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
I hope to go to grad school at the University of Oregon, make the Olympic team for shotgun, get married, and have a job that I enjoy (and still leaves time for me to do the other things I love). Oh yeah, and stay at home doing nothing but knitting and fun stuff while still making zillions of dollars. :o) (Don't I wish!)

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Since I’ve only been knitting for 3 months and have only really knitted with 2 kinds of yarn, so far I like baby alpaca. However, I am looking forward to expanding my yarn palette (got any yarn recommendations?)

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I’m not really a huge fan of fun fur or similar novelty yarns. I suppose they’d be kind of cool for an embellishment now and then, but otherwise not really. After perusing the isles of JoAnn’s and Michael’s, I’ve found that I don’t like cheap blends much either. (Mind you, I’ve only used 2 kinds of yarn, so I have limited exposure to many yarns.)

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Finding a local Stitch’n’Bitch to be a part of, working on my sisters Christmas present (which I can’t divulge since she might actually read this, so if you want to know email me and I’ll happily tell you), reading Crazy Aunt Purl’s blog, and finding cool new knitting projects that I can make and give to friends (basically trying to learn everything I can about knitting.)

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I don’t really have a favorite yet. However, I’m looking forward to learning to knit hats, gloves/mittens, socks, a shrug, and sweaters.

17. What are you knitting right now?
A present for my little sister for Christmas. (Email me if you want to know more, or see pictures.)

18. What do you think about ponchos?
Not really into ponchos.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
I’ve never tried circulars, but I will on phase 2 of my sisters Christmas present. And, with all the hype about addi-turbos, I’m looking forward to trying some out.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I started on the cheapest plastic pair you could ever imagine and they were ok, until I found the more sophisticated bamboo. After working with the bamboo for awhile I found that my alpaca didn’t slide very well on them so I purchased a pair of aluminum. It seems to work better, but I have to wonder if the Brittany or Lantern Moon needles would be any better. So, I guess so far I like the aluminum best (the colorful Boyes with the silver flat cap thingy on the end are so pretty in a cup.)

21. Are you a sock knitter?
No yet, but I’d sure like to try.

22. How did you learn to knit?
I taught myself from a learn to knit kit I got at Target.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Knitting: probably only a couple weeks.
Quilting: almost a year.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I don’t really have an all time favorite, but I’m rather partial to old school pooh and friens like in the Peter Ellenshaw prints (my all time favorite is “Autumn Leaves”)

25. What is your favorite holiday?
I suppose Christmas since I get to see my family, but I much prefer the season of Fall for its multitude of colors and brisk winds.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Not really, but I’m always up for starting a yarn stash.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
None, but I’ve been contemplating getting Knit1, it looks pretty cool.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
Stitch’n’Bitch

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another??
You can buy single patterns? Cool!
(Editors Note: I just found these and love them. Gigi and Bear )

30. What are your foot measurements, and what kind of socks do you like?
I’m not real sure what it means by measurements, but I’m a size 8/8.5 most of the time. I like soft sockies, and saw a pattern for silk or cashmere ones that look yummy!

Vegas Vacation

2005-09-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

This weekend I attended the Industry Masters Shoot in good old Las Vegas (this is the PR trip that I did all the crazy shopping/tailoring for). We weren't going to be there very long, in fact barely two days. We flew in Friday afternoon and met up with my buddy Collyn in the airport. Talk about a freak show!!! Ok well maybe not exactly a freak show, but it was certainly a hyped up "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" atmosphere. While Buddy (our marketing director) was getting the rental car paperwork, Collyn and I wen to the little ticket booth to see if we could find cheap tickets to a show. "Cheap" is not a word that exists in the Las Vegas vocabulary. It was ok though since there wouldn't really be any time to watch one.

We picked up the car and started heading towards our hotel which was only 8 miles away. After missing several turns and heading in the wrong direction for 15 minutes, we decided that the security guard had given us VERY poor instructions. In the end, it took us over an hour and one stop at a starbucks (which, by the way, are EVERYWHERE in Vegas) to get to the hotel, and not because of traffic. If you know anything about Vegas, you know that they make it VERY easy to get to the strip and spend your money. We, however, were not staying on the strip, but out in the middle of the desert. It turned out to be ok though; the hotel was nice and had all the amenities you could want (casino, pool, bowling alley, cinema, restaraunts, etc.) all attached.

Friday night we headed down to the pool for the reception to mingle with all the industry big wigs. We ran into the owner of Smith & Wesson, the director of the Great Outdoor Games, and the director of the National Shooting Sports Foundation to name a few. It was your typical reception; bad finger food, watered down drinks, and amuzing company. Anyway, the evening wrapped up pretty quickly since we had to be up early to head to the range in the morning.

Saturday was an interesting day. We got to the range early, got all signed up and ready to go. The course of fire included 10 stations of sporting clays, 25 shots benched rifel, 25 shots standing rifle, and 10 runs on the pistol course. Since Collyn and I hadn't shot the rifle or pistol events before, we were a little nervous. We lucked out though and started with the sporting clays event. Collyn whooped up and had the highest score in the event. I shot ok, but should have started with a different gun. (Oh yeah! We had to borrow guns since no one told us to bring them.) After sporting clays was over, we headed to the clubhouse for lunch. Bag lunches go down quickly, so there was a little time for the knitting (Woohoo!) And YES! I Knit in public.

Our second event for the day was rifle. You'd think I'd be somewhat comfortable with a rifle since I shoot shotguns regularly, but NOOOOOO! I was so nervous. These rifles looked like crazy mercenary guns or something. Buddy and John explained to us how to hold and aim the rifles. The first 25 shots were benched, and proved to be relatively easy. In fact, fun...almost. And then we had to stand for 25 shots. Boy was that tough to hold still AND see through the stinking scopes. Turns out, I had the heaviest gun of them all. The guns really didn't have much recoil, they were just awkward to hold. I did pretty well for being the first time shooting a big fat rifle like that. Next up, Pistol!

The pistol event wasn't your average shoot at a paper target and get scored. You got 10 runs of six shots to shoot down 5 steel plates. For every plate left standing, time was added to your total time. It was so strange holding this little pistol out in front of me with nothing to steady it. Needless to say this was my worst event. I was lucky if I hit 2 of the 5 plates in each of my runs. It didn't help that I had 3 people trying to tell me to do different things (none of which worked.) Anyway, it was a good learning experience, and maybe with a little practice I could be a LOT better. When everyone finished their three events, we all headed back to the hotel to change and get ready for the awards ceremony and dinner.

After dinner, I roamed around the casino and spent a good $25 on the Star Wars slots. :o) I know I'm a dork, but they looked the most fun. At one point I was up $15 and should have quite, but I didn't and so I have nothing to show for my money. That's the way of Vegas though. I meandered through the rest of the casino to see what all they had, and ended up heading back to the room to pack and go to sleep. Early the next morning we flew home. My whirl wind weekend in Vegas was a nice little adventure without losing too much of my per diem. It is good to be home and watching football with my man!

Golf Lesson #4 & 5

2005-09-22T12:59:00.000-07:00

At 9:00 am I had an interview with a very cool athlete training company. I think the interview went well, and look forward to hearing from them at the beginning of next week. The odd thing was, I walked in and found out I actually knew someone that worked there. (Last I had heard, she was working for a cell phone company.) Anyway, it made me feel a little more at ease during the interview. I really liked the atmosphere and size of the office (around 40 peeps.) It's in a old warehouse that's been gutted and transformed into this cool office space. The only down side is that they're looking for part time help and only paying $7.50-$8 an hour. :o( Wish it were a little more, but for this opportunity I might be able to stick it out until they decide to go full time. (Which I'm told is a possibility after the first of the year.)

After the interview, I spent the majority of the day at the shooting range (waiting for coach to, well, coach), before it was time to head to the golf course for my last class. The rest of our group would be meeting up on Friday, but since I had the class from hell yesterday and I will be leaving town tomorrow, it is my last class.

Thoroughly excited and armed with my camera, I walked down to the driving range to meet up with everyone. Ramone gave more instruction in the first 2 seconds of speaking than BJ did the entire class yesterday! We worked on 5 irons for most of the class, and I got to play with the woods at the end. With some gentle instruction, maybe even a little manipulation, and a few laughs, we made it through the class with great success. Everyone was sad that it was my last day, but promised they'd all set up a time to golf a round later and call me.

The learning, laughs, and company were well worth the $25 spent on this class. It just goes to show, you never can tell who you might meet and how much fun you could have until you try it.

Oh and in a side note, I took a leaf outta Crazy Aunt Purls book and started me up a budget. I don't think it will fully start until end of october, so I have an accurate estimate of budgetary items, but I put in some preliminary numbers for the time being.

And DAMN THE INTERNET GODS!!!! Because they certainly don't want anything to go right at work this week.

The Day of UNaccomplishment

2005-09-20T22:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, you heard me UNaccomplishment. Buckle up cuz today was a thoroughly annoying day of getting nothing I had planned done! My only hope is to hole up and knit the night away snuggled up to the boy watching Fiddler on the Roof (but some how that dream will be dashed as well.)

4:45 am
I wake up and can not get back to sleep because I am thinking about all the things that need to be done for the day. Try as I might to ignore these things, I decide it is best to just quickly plan the attack for tomorrow and stop worrying about it. So I do, but I still lie awake.

7:10 am
Finally, and slowly, drifting off to dream land. Ahhh sweet sandman!

7:30 am
Time to rise and shine. :o( Ugh! Shower, dress, etc. Head to work.

9:30 am
Head to tailors to pick up shirt and shorts, unfortunately, when I arrived she said she had totally forgotten and that I should drop by tomorrow.

Head to the golf course for a 10:00 am makeup session since we got rained out last Wednesday.

10:10 am
Arrive and find my teacher attending the front counter. He tells me to go down to the driving range and introduce myself to BJ. So, I walk down there and say hello and explain why I'm there. BJ looks at me like I'm crazy, mumbles "good thing Ramone let me know" (all sarcastic like), grabs a club I am SOOOOO not familiar with, and finally gives me some balls. He says "just you know do like you were taught on the other clubs," and then promptly walks away, saying nothing to me again until I need more balls.

Needless to say, I jetted out early, stopping to tell Ramone that our class was awesome and so was he and that I'd see him on Wednesday at our usual time.

10:45 am
Head to the range to meet coach for some training. Coach calls and says nevermind I can't go right now, let's go at 2:00 pm. :o( So I turn around and head back to the office to do a little work.

11:00 am
All office equipment is broken for one reason or another....NOTHING gets accomplished.

2:00 pm
Coach calls and cancels training. He's too tired.

5:00 pm
Head home to make dinner.

8:00 pm
Still waiting to make dinner cuz the boy hasn't called.

9:00 pm
Boy calls says everyone at work is going out to the bar and he must escort. Dinner still not cooked.

11:00 pm
I go to bed because the day has not gotten any better...at all!

Tidings of Male Mail and Chocolates

2005-09-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

Still nothing exciting going on at work today. However, I finally got the shirt and shorts off to a tailor. The nice lady said she'd have them for me tomorrow. (Let's hope so.)

Oh! Oh!! Oh!!! The receptionist in our office received a lovely box of chocolates from her recently retired postman admirer. (Don't those look tasty?) Oh yes, and the expensive box of Russell Stover chocolates was precluded by an amazing bouquet of flowers. (aaahhhhhh!) She ate exactly one, and pawned rest off on me and my office mates, and considering I'm a sucker for dark chocolate, it wasn't like she had to twist my arm. (Me, the forget your lunch at home girl so eat chocolate instead.)

Other than that, no exciting news. Yours truly is still jobless and waiting for people to call back. You'd think that a company that I took the time to send a resume, interview with, and send an inquiry email would have the courtesy to call back and let me know if I got the stinkin' job or not. But NOOOOOOO! So, I wait.

Got home kinda early and contemplated heading to JoAnn's to show Mary my snazzy Not-So-Mystery Quilt, but decided against it once I arrived in the door. Spent the evening trying to type up a couple blog entries that totally got chewed up and spit out by the internet uploading gnomes. Needless to say, I did not feel like retyping so, of course, I resorted to knitting.

Kacie's Mystery Present is coming along, I finally finished 1 of the 5 sections of this stinking thing that's on such teeny tiny needles that I can only do like 5 rows before I just want to chop my hands off from the pain. Oh and don't even get me started on the detailing of the thing besides. (I wish I could be more specific cuz I realize this is soooooooo not at all interesting without pictures or details.)

Anyway, hopped off to bed before the boy arrived home from work (no I didn't go to bed at like 5, he didn't get home until like 11:30 pm. THANKYOUVERYMUCH!) Enjoyed a little light reading and drifted off to la-la-land.

So long and thanks for all the fish...

The Final Thread

2005-09-18T21:00:00.001-07:00

Sunday hummed by as I worked incessantly on my Not-So-Mystery Quilt so as to get it off the living room floor (wish I had taken a picture to show you that our living room/dining room looked like a craft store exploded.) Between the quilt, apron, knitting, I promised Chris that I would get some of the crap off the floor. My hopes, as stated earlier, were to finish the quilt face at least.

BOY DID I GET A LOT DONE!!!!!

Look at me go!!! Woohoo!

I'm a sewing MANIAC!

2005 Little Miss Homemaker

The Not-So-Mystery Quilt
Ok, so I told you in a previous post that I would explain why it is what it is...the Not-So-Mystery Quilt. It all started November of 2004. *cue fog* I got a bug up my butt to start quilting, and what a great opportunity because the Super Mega JoAnn's had just opened and Chris' friend Woody had just had a baby. (Who obviously needed a handmade quilt from mua!) What a great opportunity to learn, especially since there was a class starting
on my birthday! Happy Birthday to meeeeee!

So, I took the class and learned all perfecionistic ways of quilt makers, and how they can hide their mistakes. The class took place in three parts; cutting, peicing, finishing. Mary, my quilting teacher, was a nice lady. She was super patient and so dedicated to helping me finish my first project. In fact, she gave me her cell number for when I needed a little extra assistance (And boy did I!) The only catch turned out to be not finishing before Christmas. Thankfully, we would be meeting up with Woody, Krissy and Baby Alex again in January for a wedding.

Being there from the very beginning, Mary was as excited about seeing it take shape as I was. When I finally completed the quilt, I had the hardest time giving it up...(it was my first afterall.) And you would think I'd learn from this experiend, but no (see Knitting below.) Nevertheless, I gave it away and promise Mary that I would just have to join another quilting class to learn more, (and keep one for myself...just maybe.) *Check out the goods! --------------->

My friend Emily and I signed up immediately and picked up our class supply list. After visiting, oh maybe 18 billion fabric stores (some repeatedly), we each painstakingly picked out our four fabrics. On the first day of class, we showed up with our fabrics and an eagerness to get this mystery started. Mary, bless her heart, though a good teacher with a pattern from a book, is NOT such a great pattern-writer-downer. We immediately noticed that there were five (5), NOT four (4) fabrics used in the pattern. Little did we know this was just the beginning of a long and mistake filled experience.

Each month the new instruction sheet inevitably had 3 or 4 mistakes on it. So, each month I would call Mary and double check what she meant against what the instructions actually said. Needless to say, in the end there was a block created in reverse that messed up the entire pattern and the worst piecing instructions I've every laid eyes on. Anyway, so I spent one long Saturday afternoon figuring out what I could turn this expensive mess of fabric into. My queen size quilt has turned out to be aproximately a twin and only a slight resemblence of what it should have looked like. (Oh and if I can find one of the other girls in the class that actually succeeded at assembling this right I'll post the picture.) So, long story short, the only mystery is how I'm going to get this quilted with such a small machine.

Oh, Oh!!!! AAAANNNDDD, I ran out of stupid thread one row from be done with the quilt (above). So, I had to run to the craft store and get some more thread. This trip turned out to be a good thing because I ran into Luann and asked about the stoles. She had printed the embroidery out, but it was WAY too big. Luann promised to find some other font that would go smaller and give it another try. She also helped me pin the waistband on my apron so I could continue with that project.

All the while, the boy is watching football!

The Boy: How's it going hun?
Me: Good...bla bla bla.
The Boy: That's nice. Looks good. DAMN! The Vikings lost!

Anyway, I got a little further on the apron pattern, but I'm thinking of altering how the rest is put together cuz I think there's got to be a better way. All in all, its turning out really cool and I can't wait for it to be done. I may have to shorten it some so that it doesn't look like your suppose to be wearing a dress though.

AND FINALLY THE KNITTING!!!
It's coming along... I swear! Dang I wish I could post picts of it... but you know it would spoil the surprise, so instead, I post my VERY FIRST knitting ever. Which again, I did not learn to keep my first, and have given it away as a present...again! Oh yah, and I bought this kit at Target in Colorado Springs. If you've read Crazy Aunt Purl's blog, she actually shows pictures of the display. (*waves to Aunt Purl*) However, this kit was not present. She had some ugly nubby pink baby thing. So I must show her that there was something "worthy" of my time. :o)

I found that the cotton yarn was hard to work with for a beginner, but the DVD that was included was super helpful. The worst was the instructions which were in knitting latin with very little explanation and absolutely no references to websites or books or helplines if I got stuck. (Good thing I had some nice old ladies where I was knitting...)

Disposal Date

2005-09-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

The day began bright as ever with me waking up at 6 AM! So, what did I do to kill time? Sit around and read back archives of Crazy Aunt Purl because she has struck me as quite possibly the most witty person I know...or don't know per say. She also has the best patience for life (something I often lack.)

So, 9:30am roles around and we (the boy and I) head to Red Rocks Canyon to do a little AM rock hopping on the bikes. (Sorry no pictures this time cuz I'm stupid and didn't remember the camer....GREAT view though!)

10 million hikers/runners and 1 wrong trail later we are on our way home to shower up and see if the maintnence man showed up to fix the disposal. Too bad for us he hadn't. (It has been 4 days folks, 4 DAYS!!! This means rotting food sitting in the stanking disposal on which the reset button does not work.) (Also no picture, but trust me you don't want to see that.) To our dismay, we called the front office to inquire about our Saturday disposal date, and the nice ladies said that "anyone coming in on a Saturday is on their own time. We can't guarantee they'll actually come." With great stinking sadness we double checked that the maintnence order was in for next week and resigned to "toughing it out". Within mere moments of hanging up, the maintnence man knocked on the door. After some idle chit chat, a huge crowbar stuck down the drain and much fidgeting with the switch, the dude said he'd bring us a new one on Monday.

At least he got it to work long enough for the nastiness to be washed away. (Aaaahhhh! Febreeze fresh!)

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing boring, but necessary errands. Chris got his hairs cut so they would be properly grown out for his friends wedding next weekend, and we got our cell phones put on one account to save a little dough. (And I do mean a little... especially after we added insurance on both phones!)

Football ensued while I layed out the Not-So-Mystery Quilt to start putting this painful pieces of adventure together. (Which is a whole story in itself.) Needless to say I was up till 11 pm working on the stupid thing and all I'd gotten done was phase 1 of ironing...ugh! Anyway, will attack again on Sunday.

Oh yeah! And, I managed to get one more section knitted on Kacie's Christmas Present while Chris was getting his hairs cut. (Which I would love to post picts, but, well she might be watching... *peeks around the corner, looks under couch, in closet, satisfied no one is there* ...and find out what it is and ruin CHRISTMAS!!!

The Project Queen

2005-09-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

Not-So-Mystery Quilt
Of which, the only true mystery is why it didn't come together like the teacher said it would.
Steps Left: Horizontal strips to sew together to finish the front, find a backing, pin it together, and decide if I'm actually going to quilt it or not.
Goal: Complete front this weekend.
Estimated Time of Completion (ETC): Christmas

Retro Apron
Don't get me started on these "Easy to Follow" instructions...
Steps Left: Pretty much everything but the side pieces.
Goal: Find help.
ETC: October

Knitting for Kacie's Christmas Present
We're learning as we go. 5 trips to the knitting store and going strong. This is all the hint you get....hahah you picked it out too!
Steps Left: Phase 1 of 3 "in-progress".
Goal: Get two more sections done by Monday.
ETC: Christmas

Graduation Shadow Boxes
A little rememberance for the 'rents.
Steps Left: Waiting to get print copies of embroidering to see if they'll fit on the stoles.
Goal: Check up with Luann.
ETC: Christmas

Bedroom Curtains
Sooooo sick of waking up when the sun does....turning into a zomby!
ETC: Not Started

Golf Lessons

2005-09-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

I'm nearing the end of work now and starting to wish it were just over.

Wednesdays and Fridays this month I am taking golf lessons at our local golf club. Last week we learned putting and chipping, the former of which I am much better at controlling. This week we were suppose to start learning stuff on the driving range. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. Wednesday we got rained out...or hailed, depending on when and where you were. Today, the news said no precipitation was expected, but I'll believe that when I see it.

Anyway, I can't wait to try out my cool new $25 golf shoes!

Tailor Troubles

2005-09-16T12:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the team leader for a trip I'm going on next weekend accompanied me to the mall to help pick out team uniforms. On the shopping list were pants, shorts, and a dress shirt. Now, keep in mind that we're shopping for two guys and two girls (all of varying sizes.) The objective was to find a pair of dressy khaki pants to wear with a dressy button up shirt (to be embroidered with the team logo) to a fancy-shmancy party on Friday night. Then, a pair of khaki shorts and a polo to wear on the event day. All of which need to look similar if not alike. (We're talking girls and guys here folks, with matching outfits.)

It is probably apparent to you, and me, right off the bad that we will be hard pressed to find anything truly "matching" for guys and girls that still look like they fit their recipient. Needless to say we found pants and shorts at good ol' Old Navy that fit the bill pretty well. A pleated khaki pant and short for the guys was perfect. Then we found a cute pair of khaki slacks (with a ribbon belt that will have to go since its green *ick*) and a pair of khaki bermuda shorts. Unfortunately, the bermuda shorts go past my knees. So obviously they will need to be hemmed.

Finally, we found white wrinkle resistant long sleeve button down shirts for the guys, and a white wrinkle resistant 3/4 length sleeve for the girls at Eddie Bauer. After trying on several samples, we came to the conclusion that a medium (though it fit properly around my tummy,) did not fit around my bust line as one might want if they were intending to reach for, well, anything. And, that the large, though fitting well around the bust, did not fit anywhere else. The nice sales lady suggested that we order a petite large because it would be like a half size between and slightly shorter. So what do we do? We believe this lady and order them since they had no girls sizes on hand.

The shirt arrive yesterday and I tried it on... Let me just say the nice lady, though well intended, was VERY wrong! So now I have this huge shirt that needs to be tailored to fit me because its too late to order another. :o(

I have just spent the last 30 minutes trying to find a tailor that a) speaks english well enough for me to understand, b) understands the problem and how I want it solved without making me look like I sewed this thing up. Again, I wind up empty handed. So now I have a call in to a friend who I know does tailoring, just not how well. *Note to self: Maybe she can help me translate these "easy to follow" apron sewing instructions to common english too!*

All in all, this whole mini trip is stressing me out a bit. I'd much rather stay home and train...or just sleep in. (More on that whole training thing later.)

In other news, today we unloaded targets at the range. An entire semi, 24 palates of targets only took from 8am to 1pm to load!!!! If the juniors hadn't stopped helping we could have been done in like 3 hours. Oh well, we got it done and at least we had help for this load. Apparently another semi is coming in 10 days, when no one else is here. Grrr! On the brighter side of things, I got to drive a HUGE fork lift. If I can get a picture next time I'll be sure to post it.

Jury Duty

2005-09-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I got summoned for jury duty today....in OREGON.

I promptly filled out the excuse form and faxed it back to the clerk...

"I am asking for an excuse of duty because I live in Colorado for school and training. It would cause undue hardship for me to purchase a plane ticket to come home for an undisclosed amount of time to complete jury duty. I do not know when or if I would be coming home for any of the school breaks. Thank you for you consideration."

I've already been called and excused once from home. In fact, Colorado even requested my presence for jury duty at one point this last winter. Now this little loop hole in the Colorado system allows for non-residents to be called for duty as long as they've paid taxes in Colorado. Talk about lame. What a great way to piss people off, especially if they get put on standby (like I did) and not even called in. I was hoping for some really cool, long, criminal trial. Where a nifty CSI agent was gonna come in and wrap up the whole case right before our very eyes with cutting edge technology...but alas, I was not called. I suppose I will have to wait for another call from Uncle Sam (or whoever Uncle Colorado is... General Palmer maybe?)

In The Beginning...

2005-09-15T13:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Meeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Ok, not really ME per say, but to my blog! Yes, you are witnessing the very beginnings of this experiement in blogging. Though it's the HOTTEST thing since sliced bread, I have been living in a cave and trying my very best to stay there, it is time to break out! It may be tough to get in the habit at first, but I'll give it my best. (Heck, I got nothing better to do besides find a job, train, workout, study for the GMAT, blah, blah, blah...)

So WHAT pray tell am I going to write about? Well, your guess is as good as mine. How about a little of this and a little of that! But what inspired this great experiment you ask? Well, a new obsession with Knitting has drawn me to blogger so I might participate in the ever popular SP7...or 6 if it's not too late. (If only I can figure out how to get in touch with those hip chicks running the shindig! *ack*) Ugh! I suppose I should work on that contact.

Anyway, Happy Birthday to Blog and I hope you come back to visit. :o)