New Years Eve

I had a good day today. Rob and I went to lunch at or favorite Korean restaurant. We have been going there for years and the owner knows us well. She always makes sure she gives us her calendar every year. Today her daughter got us to move over by the TV so she could play some Korean music videos for us. They had English subtitles, and she also came over to help explain when she didn't have to wait on anyone. I liked them a lot. They were all very sad though. I think someone died in every single one and many from suicide. She was telling us that students in Korea kill themselves a lot due to all the stress that they undergo in school. It is extremely hard to get accepted into the Universities there, so the pressure and competion is emmense. You know, I'm really going to miss that place. I'll have to make a point to eat there everytime I come home to visit. We went to B&N after that. Holy crap are there a lot of knitting books now! I wish I had money to spend, but I am saving all my Christmas money for the move. It was nice to go and look at them though. I saw some beautiful patterns. We rented Seabiscuit. Rob and I both read the book, and it was great. You really fall in love with that horse. The movie doesn't totally stick to the book, but it was good. It will be 2004 in a couple of hours. Another year has come and gone. They seem to fly by faster and faster. Last year one of my resolutions was to learn to knit. I started learning how to knit 12/31/2002 and by the morning of 1/1/2003 I was knitting away! I taught myself using the Coats and Clark Knitting Made Easy CD. The first thing I made was a sweater for my nephew. I learned how to knit socks a few months later. My first pair were knit on two circular needles using the basci sock pattern from Cat Bordi's book Socks Soar On Two Circular Needles. I think my Knitting New Year's resolution will be to learn Intarsia knitting. Hmmm I'm inspired. I think I'll go online and see what I can find.

Blah Blah Blah

Rob and I went to see his younger sister tonight. She gave me a really neat book. It is called Normal Is Just A Setting On The Dryer And Other Lessons From The Real/Real World by Adair Lara. This book is a compilation of things different people she knew wish they had know before they went out into the real world. It's a really cute book, and I think it gives some pretty good advice such as, "Never leave a place where you're having a good time to go somewhere else where you only think you'll have a good time." I really like this one..."Blame your parents and get on with your life." Like I said it is a pretty cute book. Today at work I decorated tote bags. That was a lot of fun. I still can't believe I get paid to play! I just wish that I got more hours. I have a knitting class coming up soon. Hopefully some students will sign up. I love teaching people to knit. I can't imagine not knowing how. I am going to go to one of the local yarn shops this weekend and exchange the needles I got for Christmas if it is open. I got some awesome Clover bamboo needles and two sets of Brittany DPN's. My mother-in-law got them for me. She rocks!! She didn't know what sizes I had and accidentally got me duplicates. That's ok though. I probably won't have any trouble exchanging them. I want to get a set of size 1 and size 0 DPN's. I don't know what size I will trade the bamboo needles for. I have to prepare myself for the trip to the shop! I have to be strong! NO NEW YARN! I have to save my money for the move! Hahaha! Think I can do it? I don't know...

Awesome Movie!

We finally got to see Lord Of The Rings! Rob and I went to see it this afternoon. It was incredible! I cannot wait for the extended version to come out on DVD. That is going to be awesome! We are going to buy the whole DVD set. I want to have a LOTR marathon day! If you haven't gone to see the movie yet, goooooooooo! You won't regret it! Rob and I are goin on a diet starting tomorrow. I have gained weight from sitting on my hind parts too much. I was so busy trying to get my presents finished that I honestly didn't have time to exercise. We are thinking of taking up tennis. I think it would be fun and really good exercise. In the meantime we are going to do the Escape Your Shape workout. That is how I lost weight before. I just want to lose the five holiday pounds I aquired. We still haven't found a place to live yet. It is getting really frustrating. I really want a place with a washer and dryer hook up. I can't stand using public laundry facilities. We have had a washer and dryer for about two years now and I can't imagine not having them. I would also like to have two bedrooms and two bathrooms for out of town guests. I just hope we can afford it. Heck, I still have to find a job down there! Yay!!!

Cleanin up

Nothing too exciting happened today. I just spent the day cleaning up the massive mess in my living room. It looked like a yarn shop had thrown up everywhere. I still have little peices of yarn everywhere. I had to stop cleaning cause my head felt like it was going to explode. It felt really strange not having to make anything. I am still thinking about what I would like to make for myself. I think that I will finish this really cool striped scarf that I started on a while ago. I found this really interesting verigated yarn at a thrift store a while back. I think it will make a really neat scarf.

If you look close you can see the blue stripe. I wanted it to be very subtle. I think it will turn out pretty good. This yarn has a really neat texture to it. Unfortunately I dont know what it is. I am pretty sure it is a cotton yarn. I almost positive that it isn't acrylic. And by the way here is a picture of the dress I made for my neice. Now keep in mind it is the very first thing I have ever sewn.

I don't think it is too bad for a beginner. We chose a very simple pattern for a starter project. I can't wait to make something else! I think I will make myself a sundress. Rob LOVES sundresses. For now I'm gonna focus on getting my house clean and organize my stash. It is a mess! Plus I really think I need to get off of my butt!!!!

It's finally over

Is it over? Yes! Yes it is! At this moment I would like to have a moment of silence for my hands. They were good old hands. I'll really miss them. The memorial service will be held Sunday at Noon. The location will be announced.
I got up at about 8am and finished up the last of my gifts. Rob got up at noon and wrapped them. Must be nice huh? We went to his parents house around four. His sister is in town with her hubby and kids. It was the first time we have seen our nephew. He is so adorable. He looks identical to Rob when he was a baby. Our neice Amber is a real cutey too. I spoiled those two little ones as much as I could in the short time I had with them. They are both very sweet and loving. I had such a great time playing with them. Amber really cracked me up. When Karyl said to Amber, "Is that your Aunt Stacie?" She would say, "Noooooo dats not Dacie dats Mama." The real Mama reminded Amber about the 12 hours of labor and 4th degree episiotomy(sp?) that came with giving her life! I just sat there and cracked up which fueled the fire of course. I was "Mama" for a couple of hours at least. This whole thing was hilarious since a little earlier her baby dissed her twice and opted to stay with me instead of nursing. When Karyl said "Do you wanna nurse?" and held out her hands to him, he turned away and snuggled into me. The first time he did it was funny. The second time he did it was hilarious. He did go to Mama shortly after since I can't make with the milk! Haha! Rob and I will actually be moving about two hours from them so I will be able to see them a lot. That will help my homesickness some I hope. After dinner Karyl gave me a crash course in sewing. Yes you read right. It's Christmas day, and I am learning to sew after months and months of making presents. Well the reason for this is that my neice Lexie loves dresses, and I thought it would be awesome to make her one. So what do I do? I learn to sew making her Christmas present the day before I'm going to give it to her. I had planned on doing it Sunday, but I ended up staying home to keep an eye on Zoe. Well I made the dress from start to finish in about four hours. I did everything myself and amazingly enough it turned at pretty darn good. I am going to take a picture of it and post it here. I am pretty proud of myself actually. I enjoyed spending the time with Karyl. We really bonded. I haven't ever really had the chance to get to know her because she has lived out of state pretty much the whole time Rob and I have been together. I think that we will become good friends. Now I will have a friend to knit, sew, and crochet with when we move. Craft buddies rock!! When we were saying our goodbyes little Amber didn't want me to go. She started crying saying,"Nooooo you can't goooo!" Then she says,"Hold me Dacie please hold me!" I thought I was gonna start crying myself! Haha! I picked her up, held her for a little while, and then handed her off to Mama. Man did she tug at my heart strings. All and all I had a really awesome day. I got to bond with Rob's family and learn a new skill. We are going to my mom's house tomorrow to have Christmas with my side of the family. I really hope my neice loves her dress. Well, I'm off to bed. I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Goodnight!

Christmas Eve

Spent the entire day watching the While You Were Out Marathon and finishing gifts. I think one of my fingers may have actually fallen off and slipped down into the couch cushions. I really love knitting and crocheting, but I think I got an overload. I am doing a knitting demostration at work on Saturday. I'll be knitting in front of people to create interest in the craft. I think it will be a lot of fun. I love getting paid to do what I would do for free! I really hope these presents go over well. Back to work for me! Merry Christmas Eve!

Ugh!

Ugh tomorrow is Christmas Eve! I really should be happy about this but I'm not. You wanna know why? Cause I'm still not done! I finally got the rings for my toy nets. Rob went to Lowes and couldn't find them. I found them but I had to go to two different Lowes for the full amount I need. Tomorrow I plan on getting up early and getting the nets done. Christmas day I am hopefully getting my neice's present done. I don't have kids so I don't have to play Santa. I had to take two aleves today for my poor hands. I think they are going to fall off. I really hope everyone loves their presents cause I have killed myself to finish them! I think I have gained like five pounds from sitting on my butt making this stuff! I haven't taken the time to exercise. Waaaaaaaaa my jeans are feeling kinda tight! That's ok I'm gonna fix that right after Christmas. I'll be darned if I let myself grow out of my size 1 Old Navy jeans! I'm proud of that freakin one! I worked hard to get there! I tell you what it sure goes on a heckofa lot easier than it comes off! Today I have worked on some crocheting projects that I can't mention for obvious reasons. Everyone on my list is going to get one. They turned out really pretty, and I think everyone will love em. Well I am dead tired. If I don't get to bed soon I'm gonna pass out on the keys!

Last Minute Knitting Anyone?

What time is it? Time for me to sing the last minute knitting praises to those bad boys you see above! So, it's Dec. 21st and I'm still not done knitting. Imagine that! So many people to knit for so few hands. Thank God for size 35 knitting needles. They are the perfect cure for your last minute knitting blues. Hold three strands of yarn together, cast on 12 stitches, and Garter Stitch away! Tadah you have a super cool bulky scarf! Yay! The Seed Stitch looks awesome too! This scarf only takes a couple of hours to make, but it looks so good. If you want to dress it up a bit add some tassels. Scarves are IN big time this season, and they make awesome gifts! If you click on the picture, it will take you straight to the Lion Brand website. You can order them there. Ok ok too much typey typey not enough knitty!

Froggin!

Don't you hate it when you get to the final rows and drop a stitch? I know I sure do. I was about four rows from being done! I was excited! Well I only had to frog a little. I was just too tired to fool with trying to recover the stitch. This four hour project has taken quite a bit longer than four hours. That's ok though it will be done shortly. For those of you reading that don't knit, I should explain the term frogging. It is when you make a mistake will knitting and have undo your knitting or as we say rip it out. So it goes like this....Rip it>>>Ribbit >>>Frogging!! Ya learn something new every day don't ya!?

Can anyone tell my why it is 4am, and I am up knitting? How the heck did that happen? I didn't realize it was that late, because my husband was still up. He just got a modem for his playstation, and now he's completely addicted. He's been staying up late every night playing video games. I just looked up at the clock when he got up to go to bed. I think I am going to join him and leave these last few rows for later. I will probably be knitting in my sleep!

I NEED MORE HANDS!!

Christmas is right around the corner and I am still not done with my presents! I have been knitting and crocheting everyday since October. I think my pinky on my left hand is about to fall off! It is killing me! I really enjoy knitting, but I could use the break about now. I'm beginning to get a little stressed! On top of the usual Christmas stress, I have other lurking problems. My husband and I are about to move several states away in February, and we still haven't found a place to live! My job cut my hours! I have to find a new job in another state! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! When it rains it pours I tell ya.

I did actually have a break from knitting today. I hung out with my mom, sister, her husband, and kids. It's always good to spend time with my neice and nephew. I don't get to see them very often. I swear my nephew is the most beautiful little boy I have ever seen in my life, and that isn't just bias talking! If his mommy doesn't mind, I'll put his picture in here some day. My neice is the smartest kid I have ever met and also adorable. That kid is going places! I know it! I really want to make this move with my husband, but I will miss my family so much! I can't imagine not being able to just drive to see them when I want to. I'm going to hate missing birthdays! I haven't missed one yet. I think I am going to buy my sister and I webcams so we can still see each other. Ugh! Just thinking about leaving them makes me almost cry!I'm also sad about leaving my friends. I have the best friends that anyone can ask for, and it's hard to imagine what life will be like without them near me. My phone bill is going to be a monster I tell ya!

I am going to end this ramble now. But before I do I want to mention one more thing. My best friend Tanya has a friend that is hanging onto life by a thread due to a horrible accident. Her name is AC. Please say a prayer for her. She is a wonderful person and it would be a tragedy if she died.

Now back to the needles......

My First Entry

I have no idea what I am doing so please be patient. I always enjoy reading Blogs created by other crafters, so I decided I would create one of my own. In my mind's eye my Blog looks so great. When you add to that the fact that I have no idea what I am doing, the outcome is a very amateur Blog and disappointed Blogger. Oh well! I guess practice makes perfect. I have actually managed to figure out how to change font size and color. I guess I am on my way! Looking at this editor I am wondering.....what the heck does ping blog mean hahahaha! I guess I will figure it out one of these days. For now maybe I will just check that to be safe! haha!