My Northern Nights

2011-11-18T06:41:00.002-09:00

I have another item up for auction at Homemade by Jen, so go check it out please! It's a really cute head scarf, I think you'll love it!

I have been browsing the crafty blogs & looking at pinterest (I don't have an invite but I think it could be dangerous if I did because I'd get nothing done), and here it is at 10am & I haven't eaten breakfast yet. I must go eat now, but I'm also making a grocery list because I have to make these salted caramel butter bars.

TTFN!

2011-11-14T08:09:00.004-09:00

It's been a very long time since I've posted, but I feel like I need to start again. So to start off I'm going to tell you about my friend Crystal. Her dog ran away a couple weeks ago and when he was found he was in pretty bad shape and had to have surgery. Well we know surgery is expensive and the cost of his surgery was jaw-dropping! Crystal is a fabulous photographer and is selling these calendars to help pay for the vet bills. Buy one for yourself or to give as gifts they're only $20! And if you live in the Memphis area you should call her to book some holiday photo sessions!

Jen over at Homemade by Jen is holding an auction fundraiser (for more information about it click here) and I jumped at the chance to make something & help out a friend.

I made a cute little snowman "mug rug" - bigger than a coaster smaller than a placemat - it's big enough for a mug (or cup :)) and a small treat. So if you think it's cute & are interested in bidding, click on over to my auction.

Forgotten...

2010-10-24T17:59:00.003-08:00

Upon looking for some dessert, Brett found some cookies in the cookie jar. I couldn't even think of when we made them, but eventually realized they were cookies that I made for Ashley's birthday. 1 month ago!

Can you imagine how sad those poor little cookies must have been feeling? All this time, alone in the darkness of the cookie jar? Sad, very very sad.

On the other hand, I think my hips are feeling grateful...

Schmap

2009-10-02T09:13:00.003-08:00

So I have 2 photos included in the LA Schmap (had never heard of it before, but I'll be sure to use it in the future) - one for Laugh Factory and Grauman's Chinese Theater. So that's why the widget over there >>. I was contacted through flickr, and I said sure, I also have another picture that might be used for the San Diego Schmap. So we'll see!

Isn't he the best?

2009-09-30T22:00:00.003-08:00

He really is, he's the best. :)
I love my husband, he's so sweet. I had emailed him that I was doing the 365 days self portrait project, and he asked me what my new profile is so he could check it out. Usually he's not allowed to go to outside websites on the work computers so I hadn't sent him a link to it or anything figuring I'd show him when he gets home. So tonight he checked it out and told me how creative I am and how good they are, etc. See when I look at other people's pictures I don't feel at all creative. I feel kind of cheesy sometimes. And I know I can not compare myself to others but there are some really amazing pictures out there. So it really made me feel good that he said that.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that many of the people doing projects like this on flickr have Photoshop and do a lot of post processing to add textures and do all kinds of fun stuff to their pictures. I don't have Photoshop, so I can just do the basic B&W, Sepia, antique settings.

One of the other things Jeff asked before he looked at the photos - "You're not doing any risque photos are you?" Hahaha, because he read my last blog post today too where I had said that. I'm definitely keeping it safe. (at least until he gets home and can approve them hehe)

baby steps

2009-09-14T21:59:00.002-08:00

I worked out today (yay me) and will continue working 5 days a week (see I have to be positive that I *will* do it, and not just say I *plan* to). It felt good, made me tired in a good way. And then since the sun was shining(!) I walked to meet my friends for lunch, and since the sun was still shining after dinner the kids & I took Roxy on a walk. Fun times! It was a productive day :).

I have been thinking about maybe joining a 365 photo group on flickr. But then I question whether I'd take any good shots. I still use the auto setting on my camera. I try and try to read the manual and many online "schools", but I don't learn by reading. I need someone to show me what is what. I'm trying to figure it out just by doing, but even if a picture turns out good, I don't know what I did to make it that way.
Anyway, since my flickr is all of our family pictures and stuff that our families look at I don't really want to put the 365 photos on there. So I made a new profile specifically for that (not that I plan to take any "risque" pictures, but in case I do I wouldn't want my Grandma to see ;)).

Back home

2009-09-12T19:08:00.002-08:00

We've been home for a few days now from our Super Vacation in California. The kids are happy to be back to school and settling in nicely. And I'm in the process of unpacking (and we all know how fun that can be, right?).

So today the kids wanted to play Wii and I decided before I let them play I wanted to check my weight on the Wii Fit...not such a good idea. When I came back home for a week in August to visit Jeff before he had to get underway I checked it and had lost almost 2 lbs. since June (not so good in 2 months, but we were on vacation!) Fast forward to today - about a month later - and I have gained 5.5 lbs! Shocking! I guess all that Starbucks wasn't so good to me (but it felt so good going down...).

So now I've got to get back to working out, and besides just using the elliptical and Wii Fit, I've got to take Roxy on more walks (rain or shine) because the vet said she needs to lose 4-5 lbs. My mom is doing Weight Watchers and is doing well with her weekly weight loss (and that's without working out) so I was contemplating signing up for that but we'll see. I'm just going to try to keep better track of my portions and not eat so much junk, and if that doesn't work then maybe I'll sign up for WW.

I'll try to keep this blog updated on my progress, but really I'm not very good at blog updates...

3 weeks and counting

2009-08-19T21:27:00.006-08:00

We have 3 weeks until we leave to go home back to Alaska. We're seriously enjoying the families, the sun, and having some great times, but it will be nice to get back to our own house, our own routines, and definitely our own beds.

Some pictures (click to make them bigger):
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 1.Brett boogie boarding 2.Disneyland with cousins from Missouri 3.Downtown Riverside with my Dad 4.piece of the Berlin Wall at the Reagan Library 5. Central Perk (from Friends, do I really need tosay that?) at the WB studios tour 6. Girls Day Out at the American Girl Place 7.Brett at Santa Cruz Island with Grandpa for Boys Day Out

We went bowling, roller skating, to the Santa Barbara Zoo, a kids museum. The kids had a karaoke night, "So You Think You Can Dance" night, water wars (squirt guns and water balloons), backwards dinner night (dessert first, not breakfast for dinner). We've visited with friends and family we haven't seen in a while, taken family photos (hopefully I'll post them soon).

So we've had fun and there's still more fun to be had. But I do have to start getting these kids to bed earlier and waking them up earlier, or we're all gonna be in for a rude awakenning when we get home.

Hello from California!

2009-07-05T21:57:00.002-08:00

We're enjoying the sun, the warmth & the civilization in California. We've been here almlost a week and we've had tons of fun so far with much more to come. I've taken some pictures with my camera, but all the Disneyland pictures were taken with the kids' cameras. And I haven't found the cords for them yet, so that's sad I can't share those pictures yet.

something I can't do in Alaska - stand in the surf

Hope you had a nice Independence Day!

so exhausted

2009-05-26T21:35:00.003-08:00

I had planned on blogging about my new little workout regimen that I started today, but it's been a long afternoon/evening.

The day started out great - relaxing in the sun with friends and the dogs (I'm dogsitting 2 dogs - Maddy & Jake), a walk down to get lunch with said friends. Then the clouds started rolling in & the wind picked up, so we all went our seperate ways.

I went to the grocery store and when I came home and brought the bags in, Jake jumped the fence & took off running. How he did it I do not know, he's a corgi with little legs and the tip of his nose barely reaches the top of the fence when he's standing on his hind legs. But he did, and he did not want to come back to me. So I chased him down, finally caught him after 5 minutes of running (and I am so not a runner).

At about 8:45 I said "Come on, guys, we're taking the dogs out." Because the dogs are crazy & I either have to walk them 1 at a time or with the kids help. Ashley's friend wanted to walk Maddy (she's a husky, she does not jog, she runs!), and after telling the girls to stay near me so if the dogs pulled too much I could help them, her friend said "I have to go where the dog tells me to". And I told her that that is not right, she has to be in control of the dog, but still she ran with Maddy - even I can not do that because she will pull you down - so she let go of the leash & away Maddy runs. ETA: I would like to add that Ashley did a good job of holding onto Jake's leash (because he can pull!) while I went running down the street chasing Maddy, and she got him safely home.

*sigh* Needless to say my legs hurt, my lungs hurt & my throat hurts, all from running after & calling the dogs. Seriously I am NOT a runner. Maddy is fast asleep on the porch, and Jake & Roxy are playing (Jake does not believe in sleep I think, he only does it because the other dogs do it), and I just want to go lay down & pass out with some Tylenol PM.

Maybe I'll tell you about my workout tomorrow...

Spring Cleaning?

2009-05-11T22:46:00.002-08:00

I have been wanting to really get my house more organized and cleaned (clutter free. we really do have so much clutter). I had hoped to do it last week since we had a garage sale on Sat., but besides getting some old and too small clothes cleaned out I didn't get much done. I made $30 at the garage sale so I call it a success (there was only a couple things I really cared about selling, the rest I was just going to donate to the Salvation Army).

Today Jeff and I got the garage all cleaned & rearranged (that happens twice a year - each time we have to change to/from snow tires on the truck LOL), so that feels nice. And then we cleaned & washed the truck so it sparkles :). Tomorrow we're probably doing the car (have to take advantage of the sunshine-y weather).

A lot of the cleaning I need to do is a few boxes of junk in the mud room/entry (and 1 or 2 from the garage), as well as several boxes in the storage unit. I think once I get that stuff cleaned out I'll be better prepared to organize the rooms. As much as I love moving and living someplace new, it's hard because you have stuff that fits in one house but then not the next, so I don't want to get rid of things because it might work again.

Question: What do you do with your kids artwork from school? the random art, not the Christmas gift stuff...
We have so much! And I know my mom kept my stuff, but when she moved she gave a lot of it to me and I threw it away, so then what was the point? Do I keep it or do I toss it?

whoops

2009-05-04T21:53:00.002-08:00

I've been busy making baby stuffs lately - there's so many babies due this summer! I got one gift all done and then Ashley & I delivered it this afternoon (I wanted to get her stuff done first since they're moving this month) and a couple hours later I realized that in my rush to give it to her I hadn't taken any pictures of the stuff! Dangit! Anyway, it was a super soft wool (but machine washable!) hat, washcloth & bib. Maybe she'll take pictures of it & post them on her flickr (I can hope lol).

Anyway, there's more baby stuff I'm working on, but won't post it until it's been gifted (and hopefully remember to take pictures)

Hot legs

2009-04-27T16:29:00.002-08:00

I finished the legwarmers, and wore them last Friday with a skirt. I will admit that I felt rather silly, a little overdressed for this town, but had to tell myself that it didn't matter because I felt cute (whether I looked cute or not is a matter of opinion).

The only problem with them is that when I walk they fall down. And I don't know that could be the fault of my calves and not the legwarmers. So maybe they are better for wearing to a hangout party or backyard bbq and not a day walking around.

I'm still here

2009-04-22T21:53:00.002-08:00

The sun has been shining, the snow is melting, and mosquitoes are out, so summer is on it's way. I had to put up the black-out curtains in our rooms so we can all sleep at night (it's "daylight bright" until after 9pm now). Only thing now is that they're not already awake when Jeff gets them up at 6:30.

It may only be upper 40s-50s right now, but the weather is nice! I bought some new capri pants & a skirt a couple weeks ago, because I have decided that I need to get out of the jeans and sweatshirts rut. It's so easy here to just put on jeans and a sweatshirt and call it good, because really where are you going? You don't want to wear nicer shoes because you don't want them to get wet or dirty/muddy, or your feet to be cold. But I know that once I get back to the real world it might be hard to break the habit of dressing like a schlub, so I am going to stop with the jeans & tees everyday. I am almost finished knitting some legwarmers, so I can still keep my calves warm when I wear a skirt (at least until it gets warmer) and look cute at the same time. It's a win-win.

so adorable!

2009-04-09T21:05:00.003-08:00

This video is from A Place To Bark's youtube channel, it's some puggle puppies that were rescued from a puppymill. And of course I have to show you because my puppy is a puggle and they are just the darned cutest things.

Anyway, A Place to Bark is having their annual fundraiser, and I really recommend that you read their latest blog post. Obviously everyone knows we are all having a hard time with the economy the way it is, but it's so heartbreaking to read about the hard time they are having because they rely on donations. So if you have anything that you are able to donate, I encourage you to help these rescued animals as much as you can (as little as that may be). Even if it's just $3. They also need items donated, so if you have anything to donate - towels, blankets, collars, leashes, etc.

Please check out their blog & website (you can even follow them on Twitter!

Happy Day

2009-04-01T15:01:00.007-08:00

Today is a beautiful day! The sun is shining, there are few clouds in the sky, it doesn't matter that it's 35 degrees. And ask me if I care about the temp.? I do not. I opened my sunroof, blasted the radio (CD player actually, but really it's just a technicality). I was running some errands and then all of a sudden...I see the Open signs, turn the truck around and pull into Baja Taco. (this was from the photo scavenger hunt last year)
The sign said they were open daily 10-2 (it'll change in May at least), did I care that it was 5 minutes to 2? Nope. I was getting a milkshake! Hot damn! That was like the cherry on top let me tell you, the day can't get any better.

When you've lived someplace like California most of your life, you don't know how much you'll miss the sun when it's gone and how happy it will make you when you do get some sunshine. It really makes me happy. Love it!
I tried to get a picture of my milkshake, but Roxy really wanted it, she wouldn't get out of the way.

Clearly she loves milkshakes too.

I can't wait for summer!

2009-03-23T09:55:00.004-08:00

These first 4 pictures were taken in March 2008.

What a difference a year makes... this is today

Shop 'til she drops

2009-03-06T21:45:00.003-09:00

We have been doing a lot of shopping while in Anchorage, and some of that includes stocking up. So we were at Costco and we got 2 big bags of dog food as well as 3 things of canned dog food and a new bed for Roxy. So the checkout people asked how many dogs we had... we said 1 they laughed, but then we explained where we live (and they seemed to understand that we needed to stock up). Then as we were getting everything into the trunk, we took Roxy out of the car and a couple of guys walking past said it looked like we were trying to grow a bigger dog... What do you think - does it look like we're trying to grow a bigger dog?

She's a year old now (her birthday was on Tuesday), so she's not getting any bigger. But I don't think the bed is too big for her. And maybe she'll share with her little dog friends (there's room for all of the ankle biters - Dublin, Bailey & Bullet) ;)

Chairman of the Board

2009-02-19T21:29:00.002-09:00

In the back of housing is the best hills and the kids love to go sledding back there. One of the kids' friends has a snowboard and let Ashley ride it. It's a special board I guess for kids, you don't need special boots, it has straps that you just put your feet into. So here she is having fun (she looks so grown up...so scary LOL).

Thank you, Kelli, for taking the pictures!!

Top Chef

2009-02-19T21:04:00.003-09:00

Originally uploaded by knittymel

Tonight was the Blue & Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts, and Brett's den's theme was New Orleans, so he said we had to make jambalaya. He loves, loves loves, jambalaya. I told him he had to help, so he cut up the sausage & the chicken, and followed the directions and made it himself.

Edited to add: Here's their decorations

they were going to play "Jambalaya" by Hank Williams, but they hadn't practiced and there weren't enough words to go around, so after getting ready they did nothing...Oh well.

Designing women

2009-02-04T12:51:00.002-09:00

I love to knit (and I think pretty much anyone that knows me knows this). I have made patterns up in my head - or sometimes not even in my head, just on the needles as I go, but I wouldn't say I designed anything. I made Ashley some wrist warmers for part of her Halloween costume (she was an 80s pop star - I said pop star, she said 80s, she's so awesome:)), and just made the pattern up. I didn't look for a pattern and really they were only ribbed, nothing special or difficult, but I did write it down with intents to blog the pattern... And here we are 3-4 months later and I still haven't. I've never written a design or anything, so I worry that it's not right or someone will find flaws with it.

I'm sure I'll get the courage to post it at some point...

The British are coming!

2009-01-29T17:29:00.004-09:00

Brett's class did a play about the Boston Tea Party - they're studying the revolution right now. So Brett was a British soldier in the play. He was so cute! We put the costume together with stuff from home, we didn't make anything special. So he wore the top from his Musketeer costume from 2 years ago...yeah it was tight. But he put my red shirt on top since he needed to wear a "redcoat", and he insisted that one of his red sweatshirts would not do. He taped a construction paper buckle to his slippers, and wore Jeff's socks so they'd be knee high. One of his friends asked if I made his hat because it was the most hilarious hat he'd ever seen, and although it has gotten kind of smashed it's the hat from his Jack Sparrow costume I don't see why it's the most hilarious hat...

so cute!

2009-01-22T20:58:00.005-09:00

I was knitting up a storm for Christmas gifts, and once I finished the last one (which was actually last week or so) I just don't know what I want to work on next. I see so many patterns and pictures of things that I'd love to make, but just can't get started.
So here's a few of the things I made for Christmas gifts...
Gloria's socks (my mother-in-law)

Mike's USC hat (brother-in-law)

Kari's mini-sweater aka:shrug (sister-in-law)
Todd's pumpkin washcloths (my brother - and yes his kitchen is pumpkins, or rather jack-o-lanterns)

my mom's blanket

Ruth's socks (my step mom)

I have also made several hats for my dad to send to injured soldiers, but I'll take photos of those later. My dad doesn't want gifts for himself, all he asks for is that we do things to help other people and so he sends me yarn to make hats for injured soldiers. I have also made wool hats & a helmet liner for soldiers in Iraq & Afghanistan and squares for Warm Up America (and Ashley also made a square).

So now that I've finished all of this, I am at a loss as to what I should do next...

Far & Away

2009-01-21T14:31:00.002-09:00

One thing that sucks about living in such a small town - you have to wait for specialist doctors to visit or go to Anchorage. Orthodontist, veterinarian, etc.

The kids had dentist appts. last week & he said that they need to see the orthodontist. So we said it was okay for him to give the ortho our phone number and give us a call. A few days later we get a call and the girl on the phone (receptionist I'm assuming) tells us when he's coming to town and it just happens to be the weekend we were planning on going to Anchorage (we need to get Roxy fixed before she goes into heat again). What can I do? I don't know how often he visits, and although I've said I wasn't going to worry about ortho until we left here I do know that my kids teeth need help. So I scheduled the appointment and we'll just take the kids out of school for a few days and go to Anchorage during the week.

how bad is it really?

2009-01-08T10:13:00.002-09:00

So today I am 30...

I don't think it'll be a huge deal for me, but everyone else makes a big deal of it so I worry a bit about what it means to be 30. Will it be better than my 20s? And let's be real, I had kids at 19 & 21 so I didn't have time to party all the time.

The things I have been thinking about a lot are taking better care of myself - take my vitamins, get enough calcium, eat healthier, workout more (it's only going to get harder to lose this weight now). Should I use eye cream so I don't get as many wrinkles? What do I need to be doing for myself?

Really, what is so different about 30?

Photo Sharing

2009-01-07T15:04:00.003-09:00

My kids each got a digital camera for Christmas, and they are having a great time taking pictures. I would like to have a place for them to share their pictures with family. I have a flickr, but don't want to pay for theirs (and I don't even know if you can have 2 accounts). So my question is what other photo sharing sites are there? Any recommendations of one over another?

all sorts of new things

2009-01-05T10:45:00.002-09:00

This vacation was full of stuff we'd never done before. We had a nice holiday and visit with my mom, it was nice to get away from the cold for a while, but good to get back to our own beds and routines. So here's the rundown of our vacation.

We slept on the floor in SeaTac airport

We slept on cots in Chicago O'Hare airport

We flew first class - we got on the flight on stand-by since our flights kept
getting cancelled

Our luggage didn't make it on the flight, it was delivered at 3:30am Dec. 26 (even though we hadn't showered in 3 days as soon as my mom picked us up we had to make a shopping trip to Target for necessities & gifts for the kids)

We went to Pinehurst to see their huge Gingerbread village

We went to the North Carolina Zoo

There are stables at the community where my mom lives and kids were able to get horseback riding lessons and it wasn't just the riding, they had to take care of the horse & tack before and after riding)

Ashley got her ears pierced (I don't have a memory of getting mine done, so I tried to prepare her as much as I could & she did so awesome, she did not cry or anything)

The flight from Raleigh to Chicago was not bad until the pilot said that we were going to be a little later coming in than scheduled because they had to slow down due to maintenance issues (say WHAT?)

We got to Anchorage fine and while waiting for the shuttle from to the hotel it felt like I was going to have icicles hanging out of my nose, because it was -13 degrees! Honestly it was not as cold as I figured below zero temps would be, but not something I care to experience on a regular basis.

We did lots of other regular stuff - tons of shopping & eating!(I had so much Starbucks while we were there, had to get my fill), watching movies, just enjoying the sun & warmth.

fly me away

2008-12-21T21:02:00.002-09:00

We're supposed to be leaving tomorrow afternoon for NC to spend the holidays. Today the flights out were cancelled (yes all of them - there are usually 3 I think), and now I'm worried about tomorrow. Will there be ice? I heard the reason flights were cancelled today was due to ice & fog. And I was checking Seattle to see how their airport was doing and they have many many cancellations... we have a connection there. So I'm worried.
I hate snow, I hate the freezing cold. When we leave here we will do all we can to not get stationed somewhere that it snows & freezes, it's such a pain in the arse.

moon me

2008-12-14T20:44:00.003-09:00

Friday morning as I was taking the kids to school at about 8:45, the sky was so clear & the moon so beautiful. So I drove "out of town" and took some pictures.

As I was driving back home, I noticed the mountains behind the post office and loved the lighting.

When I was waiting for the boat to come in on Friday morning (around 10:30), the sun wasn't over the mountains yet, so it was "dark" where I was but the sun shining on the mountains.

(can you see the boat coming?)
And I'll end with the moon on Friday night...

Giving

2008-12-06T21:18:00.002-09:00

Is it bestter to support a cause whole-heartedly or to spread the love to many different causes? I sometimes feel a bit frustrated that there is so many very worthy causes, but I only have so much money to give.

I watched the CNN Heroes show last week (I know it was on on Thanksgiving, but I DVRed it), and it really moved me. I bookmarked several of the websites from the charities featured.

I try to remember to click on the breast cancer site & the related sites every day, freekibble.com, and when I have a few minutes I like freerice.com (I just learned that fecundate means fertilize).

I was thinking the other day about how we have so much "stuff", and I think I'm to the point where instead of gifts and more *things* I'd like donations or gifts in my name to different charities. My dad has always given a donation to Heifer International in our names - at least since my brother & I were kids.

So what do you do to help others? What causes/charities do you support? Or if you don't donate, what are some charities you've heard about?

2008-12-01T13:58:00.002-09:00

Of course we all know that Thanksgiving just passed, but since we had bad weather here the internet was only working off & on and I didn't write my "thankful" blog.

I am thankful for my husband. He does so much for our family, and although it can be very hard having him away when his boat has to go out it makes us appreciate him that much more when he comes home.
My kids. They have their ornery moments but they are great kids.
The U.S. Coast Guard. They pay the bills, keep a roof over our heads, food on our table, and thankfully we don't have to worry about lay-offs.
Our families. Jeff & I were both blessed with awesome parents and I thank God for that every day. There's nothing that any of them wouldn't do for us.
My friends. If it weren't for the totally awesome friends I have made here, I would be completely insane. This is a small town and there's not much to do, so we hang out a lot, we support each other and that is especially importnat when the boat is gone.

proud as a peacock

2008-11-29T21:41:00.002-09:00

Brett had a swim-a-thon this morning for the "Iceworm Swim Team". They would swim for 2 consecutive hours or 200 lengths of the pool, whichever came first (the swimmers are up to 8th grade). I didn't have any idea how many laps B would swim and he was guessing around 20 or so. So I (as well as some friends) pledged 25cents per length. Well I now owe 22.50 because he swam 90 laps! He swam 1 1/4 miles! He didn't stop (except to adjust his goggles & take a drink of water), he never once complained that he was tired, wanted to be done or anything! I can not tell you how proud of him we are. There were lots of kids (his age as well as younger) who swam a lot more laps, but it was not about the number at all. He just kept going. He's so awesome. But we were in a bit of a hurry getting out the door so I forgot my camera, so no pictures. But anyway, he raised $149 (there were a few kids who earned upwards of $600-$700), so that's a pretty good contribution to the team I'd say.
And then this afternoon Jeff helped B's Cub Scout den earn the "Readyman" badge (that's the one with first aid & such). I volunteered him for that (hehehe). They try to get all the parents to help with a badge, and when I heard them talking about asking one of the EMTs from the fire dept. I told them Jeff's the "doc" on the boat! So they were happy to have him do it, and he's happy it's now done and over with.

Knitting goodness

2008-11-19T14:47:00.003-09:00

Here are a few pictures that I took of some of the knitting I've been working on since my camera broke...

this is Roxy modeling B's Harry Potter scarf (she really wanted to get in the pictures, so I made her model instead of just get in the way haha)

I made this scarf for myself, it's seed stitch & I just used what was left of the ivory from a hat (Thirteen Mile Lamb & Wool Co.) and the blue was on clearance here - I just knit until I ran out of yarn.

I am made this shawl (secret gift) and I finished it last night after this picture was taken, but I have to block it & then I'll get more pics.

and I'm also working on this helmet liner. A neighbor asked if I'd be willing to help - she volunteered to make some for someone else and since she knows I like charity knitting... lol, and the yarn was donated (it's Cascade 220).

I have other things I'm working on, but I'm not going to blog about them until after the holidays :D

new pictures

2008-11-16T19:05:00.002-09:00

So here is a few pictures I took yesterday while we were at the store (and it rained/snowed today so I did not want to leave the house).

I'm going to load the software & read the manual some more (these pictures were taken before I read any of the manual, only the "quick start" manual, so that's why they're nothing special). And then maybe tomorrow I will also get some pictures of the knitting I've been doing, so I can update that as well.

supreme happiness

2008-11-15T22:35:00.002-09:00

My hubby is home! So very happy to have him home. He's been gone for about 2 months, and it can be hard with 2 stubborn kids who love to test me & push their limits. And this year his boat has been gone for an unusually large amount of time - about 8 or 9 months of the year when typically it's about 6 months. So yeah it's been a long year.

Anyway, he didn't bring home everything he bought while they were gone, but just a few important things - 1 being my new camera!! Yay! I have taken a few pictures and started reading the user's manual, but we've just been hanging out mostly. He does have to go to work in the morning, so maybe I'll take the kids out and try it out more - get some pictures of otters, eagles and other nature. It's a Nikon D60 and it will definitely be a (long) process of learning how it works & all the great things it can do.

What's in a Name?

2008-11-12T20:53:00.003-09:00

So I changed the name of my blog (haha again, if you hadn't noticed). I could never think of a good title, but I think I like it now. I'm trying to figure out how to add an image (okay, so there's an image there yes, but I want it to fit the whole header, not just be a square). I also added a "virtual model", and I'm unsure if it will stay (do I really want the world - or the few that read this - to see how much I weigh?) but I kind of like seeing the progress that I've made so far in a little cartoon chick.
I am so very low-tech, and really I do not need anymore reasons to sit at the computer, but I'm trying to read & find more interesting blogs to keep up with. I'm really just a lurker in the cyberworld.
Oh and I'm on twitter now too.

Nothing to show

2008-11-05T20:38:00.004-09:00

I have been doing a lot of knitting, but have nothing to show you. J will be home soon with my new camera & once I figure out how to work it I'll take lots of pictures and show off all my stuff. I just realized that B did not wear his Harry Potter scarf that I made him for his halloween costume, so the pictures that my friend took that night did not include it! I don't know how I forgot it, but he did wear it for the Halloween party the weekend before.

Now I'm having a problem thinking of what gifts to make for certain family members for Christmas. For my mom I have made her a scarf, hand/wrist warmers, socks, a Calorimetry (because she does not wear hats)... And then for my stepmom I've made her a scarf, a felted bag, felted slipper boots, and I've also made them both soap sweaters & wash cloths. So now I'm having a hard time thinking of things that they'd like or use. They live in a bit warmer climate than I do (and I don't think they share my love of a different scarf & hat every day)so they don't have a big need for scarves, hats, gloves/mittens. My mom has anew house filled with new furniture & color schemes in all the rooms, so I don't even know what type/color of pillow would look nice on a bed or couch, or if she has a teapot that needs a cozy (she does love tea, but I think she microwaves a mug of water), etc.

If you have any suggestions please let me know (I knit, scrapbook & can sew, but do not know how to crochet, so keep that in mind :D). Well, I'm off to scoure the internet some more.

Random Moment of Cuteness

2008-10-21T23:40:00.003-08:00

Roxy does not like to leave my side when she's really tired. So even when I'm doing dishes she curls up on the rug on the kitchen floor, or the bath mat while I'm showering, etc. Tonight I was making muffins and cleaning the kitchen, so since I was moving around too much for her to lay on the kitchen floor she got into the laundry basket (full of clean clothes) and curled up to sleep. She was so cute! When I took a fresh load out of the dryer and needed to put them in that basket she just layed there & let me put them on top of her. Silly puppy (she loves being under blankets too!)
it would have made a totally cute E.T. type picture (you know what scene I'm talking about), it's just too bad my camera is broken & my new(Nikon D60!)camera is in Hawaii with Jeff and won't be home for almost a month now.

in mourning

2008-09-30T21:07:00.002-08:00

My camera is dead. The Commissioner of Education for the state of Alaska was in town, and there was a reception last night for him. The kids morning music class were to play, as well as the Native Dancers and the high school choir (chamber singers?, can't remember what they were called). So the kids met in the library at the h.s. to warm up and all that, I got out my camera to take some pictures of them. I took one of Ashley, who was across the room so I had to zoom in, and then went to take one of Brett and I had to zoom out. Well it wouldn't zoom out, it said "lens error - restart camera" and turned off. I tried and tried to get it back on to no avail. I was googling all afternoon trying to figure out what the problem was and how to resolve it, and got nowhere.

R.I.P. little camera... It's been a good 2 years.
Here's the single picture I got (Ashley warming up her fiddle)

Hopefully we can get a bigger, better one now - gotta convince Jeff of that :). But luckily I had the camcorder with me so I was able to get their performance on tape so we can remember it forever.
Now to figure out how to get it onto the computer...

Busy busy bees

2008-09-26T23:16:00.002-08:00

Ashley is now signed up for Girl Scouts and somehow I got wrangled in to being a co-leader. Should be fun & interesting...

Brett is still doing Cub Scouts.

The kids are going to "morning music" at school (it's 30 minutes before school starts on Thursdays & Fridays). Belle, who runs the 4H Bluegrass Music Camp, does the class. Brett was learning to play the dobro (in regular music class -as well as at home - he's learning the guitar), and then Belle asked if he would be willing to play the bass in the band (acoustic, stand-up bass) so he's learning that now also. Ashley has been learning the guitar (in regular music class she learns the keyboard) and now just started the fiddle. Monday the Commissioner of Education (for the state of Alaska) will be here and there's going to be an Open House Reception, and they just told me that the morning music class will be performing. Wow! I have to remember to charge the camcorder battery & take it with me, so Jeff can see.

Yeah, the boat is gone - on their way to Hawaii. :( 6 weeks is a long time, but at the same time I'm pretty sure it'll go by fast. (jeez, I hope so)

In about a week dance classes start back up also. Since it's a small town & there's only the 1 instructor she has limited classes available, but there will be ballet for Ashley's age, and then also tumbling. So even though she was hoping for tap, she loves ballet & hopefully the tumbling will be better than creative jazz was last year (we weren't big fans of that class).

So the kids are pretty busy, and hopefully that will help us keep our minds off of daddy being gone & moping around. (ha!) I stay busy knitting & reading - who needs to clean? (oh, can't forget dog-sitting)

Oh! And the kids had their birthdays - 10 & 8! Where has the time gone?

Near Death Experience

2008-09-18T16:38:00.004-08:00

I went to the boat as usual today to drop Maddy (the dog) off to her mommy, and then to say hi to Jeff since he was on duty. The problem? It was high tide, raining & windy. So the "brow" (gangway, bridge, whatever you want to call it - you go up the stairs & across the brow to get onto the boat) was nearly straight up because of high tide, and because it was windy the stairs (they're on wheels) were moving all over the pier which then moves the brow so it's not straight. And then to top it off they had to fix the regular brow, so they had the back-up brow on and that it very slippery! It doesn't have the "grippers" that the usual one has. And although there are hand rails they're metal & as I said it was raining so they were very very slippery. I thought for sure I was going to fall off, slide down, drop my purse into the water below, etc... My heart was racing, let me tell you. When I was was ready to leave I was talking to Jeff about how nervous I was coming onboard, but he hadn't been out or looked at the brow, so when we get outside, he was a little pissed. He went down first and was moving the stairs around to straighten it all up, and then I had to try to get back down. My legs were jelly when I finally got to the car. My pants were also pretty wet from standing out there waiting for Jeff to get it straightened and then trying to get the courage up to go down. Oh geez. Hopefully the tide is down now because we're on our way to have dinner on the boat (oh joy, what delicious meal are we having?), but I did tell Jeff that if it wasn't I was not going to risk getting the kids up & down that damn thing.
*deep breath* I'm still nervous thinking about it.

ETA: So the tide was still high at 5:00 - no dinner on the boat. Went to Baja Taco instead LOL.

Juneau the Capital of Alaska?

2008-09-10T13:47:00.002-08:00

So I am leaving this evening for Juneau for a couple days. I'll be back on Friday. I'm hoping that it's not raining there as much as it is here - ugh. It's been raining for days and days, you tend to lose track after a while. It did stop long enough yesterday to take the dogs on a good walk - not just a potty break, so that was nice. Roxy hates the rain & even avoids puddles. But Maddy has such thick fur I don't think she even notices the rain. But I'm realy getting tired of this pouring-down, soak-your-jeans-in-a-minute rain. And the wind we had for a few days certainly did not help, well except to blow the rain sideways so that the covered porch was all wet.

Ooh exciting news - the Vet came to town! So Roxy got her shots and is now vaccinated for rabies. And she weighs 20.8 lbs! I thought she was around 15, shows what I know. She's getting so big, I don't think she'll be able to fit under the seat to fly.

New & Improved!

2008-09-04T21:45:00.003-08:00

I am sure that you noticed all the new & exciting things I have added to this blog. What do you mean, No? Alright well I'll point it all out to you. So I have my followers as well as the blogs that I follow over there on the left. And then I added the Green Bay scoreboard on the left as well (in case you're reading my blog while they are playing, you won't miss the score). And then at the bottom is a "This Day in History". I like that, but it's so far away down at the bottom of the page, but it's too big to put on the side there. And I'm not sure if it automatically updates every day so we'll see about that.

I signed up for Ravelry the other day and got my invitation today, so I have been busy today making my profile and adding stuff & finding people I know (so if you happen to be reading this & I haven't added you I'm knittymel - big surprise, eh?).

I have finished Ashley's sweater
she loves it & wants to wear it every day.

Hole-y Pants, Batman!

2008-09-03T17:16:00.002-08:00

What do you do when your favorite pair of jeans gets a hole in the crotch? Me, I sewed a patch over it. Now what do you do when you have 2 holes? *sigh* probably throw them away. Makes me sad because they are so comfy, but that 2nd hole is really very big - it ripped fast. I just spent $3 on that patch, should I salvage it before I throw the pants out? lol

Having a puppy is almost harder than having a toddler running around. She jumps a lot higher than my kids ever could, and sneaks into small spaces they never would have thought of. So I can't just put stuff up on top of the table or on the counter because she will get it down. Besides food stuffs, she is especially fond of pencils, knitting needles & yarn, and cardboard boxes (any size or thickness). The problem now is that she has outgrown the crate she came on the airplane with, so her new bed is our bed.

Knittings

2008-08-28T13:35:00.002-08:00

So I have been pretty bad about taking pictures of the knitting I have done. But here's some things I've made and I promise that I'll update more often when I finish something.
Socks & legwarmers for Timothy, Alexis & Caleb

Baby pinwheel blanket, not for any baby in particular (made from leftover Plymouth Encore), but when it was done blocking it still didn't lay flat, the edges curl - block again?
these socks I made for my mom for her birthday - can't remember the pattern (I found it online) and the yarn color is called "North Carolina" can't remember by who - I bought it over a year ago because they were getting ready to move to NC
And then these slippers were a Christmas gift for my stepmother Ruth. The top didn't felt the way the rest did (I did use the wool with the fur) and the Fair-Isle (my first time!) felted tighter than the striped. it was an experiment really, trying to make boot slippers. But they're pretty!
I have some "works in progress" - a few I'm actively working on, some that are in danger of becoming "UnFinished Objects" (UFOs - doo doo doo doo, you are now entering the Twilight Zone), but they'll all get finished eventually.

Adventuring

2008-08-25T11:41:00.003-08:00

In-laws are visiting, busy sight-seeing and fishing every day. Here's some evidence...
Day 1 Child's Glacier

Haystack Trail where we found a geocache

Day 2 Fishing

And Day 5 River Rafting

There's lots more pictures on my flickr, so check 'em out if you want. I'm hanging out right now -Jeff has left and his parents are out fishing again (they're taking home their weight in salmon, just you wait I'll get a picture tomorrow and you'll see for yourself).

Where in the world

2008-08-16T00:01:00.002-08:00

Brett has discovered geocaching. His first experience was a couple weeks ago at day camp, they went on a hike to geocache (I don't even know if that is the correct way to say it?), and he didn't say much about it, just raved about all the hiking & swimming in the lake they did.

And then today was "Active in Our Community" (part of National Health Center Week Celebration), and they had a geocaching workshop. Jeff & I didn't go, the kids went with their friends (we were busy cleaning house for his parents visit), and our neighbors were there and they like to go geocaching. So Bruce was showing Brett (Jenn said it was Bruce's fault that we now need to get a GPS lol), and he had a ton of fun. So when he was telling us about it, I told Jeff he should call his dad and have him bring his GPS and we could do it while they're here, and he said "We can get our own." That's fine, I don't have a problem getting our own, but we're not going to buy it in this town, we'd pay double the price you'd pay anywhere else.

Anyway, his dad said he'd try to find it (I don't know, that's just what I heard Jeff saying) and bring it with them. I'll keep you updated as to whether we do any geocaching during their visit or if we get our own GPS...

p.s. my wish for a week of no rain did not come true - it's done nothing put pour rain. now we have soggy pond-filled yards that we can't mow (the grass is really high)

60, believe it or not it really is warm

2008-08-11T10:42:00.002-08:00

It's been sunny all weekend, (yes it's 60 & we're warm enough) and I have high hopes that it will continue because Jeff's parents are coming to visit. Maybe, just maybe summer is here - for a little while anyway. I checked the weather.com forecast & it tells me that there's going to be showers all week and into next week, but really what do they know?

My dad's birthday is this week and he's going to be 60. It sounds so weird to say that because I don't see him as being that old. And then to add to that weirdness is the fact that Madonna is turning 50 just days after his. Strange...very strange. And we're not even going to talk about the fact that I will be 30 in just 5 short months. Lord, help me.

The kids start school next week! Hallelujah!

celebrity sightings?

2008-08-02T00:35:00.002-08:00

The crafty people in this town are all abuzz with the arrival of the new Captain's wife. Apparently she is a crafting celebrity - she has written a crochet book, designs for magazines and a "famous blog" LOL. Her blog is The Hook and I, so I've been busy reading that today. Although I had not heard of her until yesterday I'm looking forward to meeting her now. She gets in this weekend, but I'm guessing I probably won't meet her until the boat comes back. From reading her blog she seems like she'll be nice and not a "Oh I'm the Captain's wife" type, should be fun getting to know her. And we are predicting that most of the wives will become avid crocheters and/or knitters by the time they transfer out - good times! :)

The sun finally makes an appearance!

2008-07-29T23:46:00.005-08:00

This summer has pretty well sucked, very few sunny days, it rains most of the time & it's cold! Even when it's not raining it's cloudy & sprinkling or threatening rain. But we finally got some sun today, so we stayed outside all day soakin' it up. So here's a picture of Roxy today (I was a slacker with the camera, there were so many better pictures I could have taken but didn't have it with me)
and now because I feel like it I'm going to show you Roxy when we first got her at about 8 weeks old

And I would like to add that I bought some "Badger Anti-Bug Balm" and used it tonight since we were outside for hours (okay so it just came in the mail today, I wasn't saving it), and also made my friends put some on & let me know if it works. Well it did! I didn't get any bites, the bugs were swarming around so we were constantly swatting at them, but I did not get bit. And I think it worked for the other ladies too (but they were still annoyed with the bugs still hanging around) - just don't forget to put some on your feet if you're wearing sandals or flip-flops! So thanks Krstlchik for the tip on that stuff!

2008-07-17T10:52:00.002-08:00

While "window shopping" online for baby stuff (several friends & neighbors are preggers) I did a search for baby boy apparel from amazon and there was a lot of organic onesies that although very cute were $47.99 for a pair! That's just crazy. I am all for "going green" - buying all natural and organic, but not when it costs 50bucks for something that will get worn a handful of times?! Babies grow fast and for that price it better be something that will get tons of use.

Now maybe it's just that Amazon hikes up the prices, but I can't seem to find another online retailer that carries this brand's clothes (can only find the bedding). And they carry other onesies for $3-5 each.

I will say that the clothes are very cute, but still... Would you do it? Spend that kind of money to be eco-conscious?

I Wish I May, I Wish I Might

2008-07-15T23:11:00.002-08:00

I'm currently reading Twenty Wishes by Debbie Macomber (I love the Blossom Street series), and that's got me thinking. What would my 20 wishes be? If you had to make a list of wishes - not goals, it could be something totally frivolous - what would they be?
So I'm going to start a list here, and hopefully make a full list for myself, and maybe someday I'll accomplish most, if not all, of it.
1. Take a European vacation (at least 2 weeks long)
2. Learn to Belly Dance
3. Own my own home
4. Visit all 50 states (I'm halfway there)
5. Figure out what I want to "do" - a job I am good at & love

Okay, so is that last one kind of vague? I don't know, it's something that I have struggled with for the last 10 years. But hey Paula Deen didn't find her calling until she was in her 40s, so there's hope for me.

And that's all I will give you of my *wish* list. But I'll be sure and let you know if I accomplish a wish from my full list.

Love, Hate

2008-07-14T10:58:00.002-08:00

So I listed my "likes of Cordova, so now here's my hate list.

~It's cold
~It rains a lot
~It snows
~There's no shopping.
~It's so isolated - no roads out, you have to fly or ferry and that costs lots of money
~It's a podunk town.

There's a lot that I don't like about living here, but that's all I'm going to say...

Look for the good

2008-07-09T15:43:00.002-08:00

I was thinking of making a list of things I don't like about living in Alaska, but decided I should be positive first. So here's my list of things I like about living here.

~The scenery is beautiful

~It's a small town (where everyone knows your name?), and it's a safe town, so the kids have more freedom here than would have somewhere else

~The Coastie Ladies are awesome (and part of that can also be attributed to it being a small town, so we're always there for each other)

~You can "live off the land"

~Again it's a small town, so even though the price of gas is outrageous you don't drive very far (unless you go "out the road") so you can pretty much fill up once a month, and you can walk anywhere!

Okay, that's all I've got. It's not much but hey it's something! You gotta have a Pollyanna attitude living here