Meme stolen from Amy........

Cuz they are fun I say! hehe

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (indoor)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

Wow I really have done less than Amy.....do I get extra points for having had more than one kid? ;) I think I should. lol

Knitting- I have frogged the Hedgerow socks. The ladders I was getting using dpns sucked so I will use my circs once I have finished to project currently on them. Which would be Porphyria some mitts that I am making for a swap pal. Yes, I am in more than one swap so I won't say which one in case they snoop. :) I also got a bunch of goodies for my swapees today. Hopefully they will both like their gifts.

I got a package!

My hubby got the mail today and there was a package. I thought oh goody the book we ordered is here - nope it's from my secret pal! Look at the pretty yarn I got! yum sheep with chocolate kisses. :)





The yarn is from The Unique Sheep in Verve Lake Erie and Leili Tow Path - both are used in the included toe up sock pattern. :) And both are yummy! Can't wait to start this and see how long it takes me to get the hang of it. I love how I got Lake Erie since I live in Michigan - what a cowinky-dink. ;)

Thank you pal! I totally LOVE the yarn that you sent and the sock pattern is new and a new technique for me - YAY!

SIGH & SP13 QOW

Cars are fixed YAY! Oh and I won a $200 visa gift card from the radio the other day - woot that went toward the repairs of course. :) Today is my oldest girl's birthday - she is 10 in about 2 hours. Where did the time go?!?!?!?!?!? Not to mention that she is almost as tall as half our family (my mom and aunts....ok not a big deal there) but if she keeps growing like that she will probably be as tall as me - 5'8" or taller since her dad is.....sigh

SP13 QOW - What is one thing you think you can't do that you really want to do in 2009? Please elaborate!

Well I know I can't crochet. I mean I can make a mean chain but anything further and the patterns confuse me. I have books and have borrowed books from my library and to me it seems that knitting is better explained than crochet is. Crochet is of course younger than knitting so that might explain it. I have even sat with ladies at our knit night and they took my pattern and ran with it but I was lost after the first part.

But what I'd really like to do but haven't would probably be tackling a big project like a sweater. Most likely the February Lady sweater to be exact. And of course I don't want to follow the pattern exactly - I want to do one of the variations off it. Or maybe it was more than one I can't remember which I liked better. It seems like forever since I was on Ravelry looking around.

Knitting news - I worked more on my sock at the Fiber party our knitting group had this past Saturday. There was a total of 3 of us there - the hostess, another lady and myself. We had a blast and were all local to the area so the crap ton of snow that was coming down all day and that night didn't bother us too much. I have started getting things around for a pair of mitts I plan to make. The pattern for Porphyria by Cissy Black is pretty and one that I want to try out with my Buffy the Vampire Slayer tvyarn. :)

Just call me car killer.....

Well this is pretty much a week from heck and its almost over with. Earlier this week my van started leaking antifreeze worse than before so we stopped driving it. But we hadn't been driving the hubbsters car because of the wheel bearing starting to come loose. With the van leaking we had to use it and a co-worker said it should be fine for short trips. It made it 2.5 days before it got to the point that if I had driven it much more I think the wheel would have come off. At least I wasn't that far from hubbsters work and turned around to leave it there. SO glad he has some mechanical training and is order the part and will fix it today after work. When I parked the wheel was on an angle tilted in toward the engine so you know it was getting bad. UGH!!!!!! only 6 more months and then hopefully his car will be paid off and we can use mine as a trade in on someting newer. But this leaves me bumming a ride from one of the other ladies I work with for today since I am supposed to be working kindergarten for the regular lady and amd the only one today who knows how to out of those of us regulars that will be there. *SIGH* It'll all be better tomorrow when we take the van in for a fix as well and tehn it'll be back to having to working cars for a while longer until the next silly thing breaks.

Knitting news - nada, zip, zero zilch! Nothing is done. I worked on my hedgerow socks over break and got further than I had before I frogged them. But I haven't picked up anything recently for some reason. Not starting anything (prolly a good thing) and not finishing any of my current projects. At this point when I finish the two scarves I have to do it will be spring and they won't need them. LOL Hopefully I'll get to working on them tomorrow and Saturday while waiting on the van to get fixed. Fun fun!

Well gotta dash cuz I need to get ready before my friend gets her to pick me up. Hope everyone is having a better day than I am! :)

I got a package!

And sorry pal for the delay in posting! Craziness is my life with the holidays and being sick - again. UGH!

About a week ago I got this awesome box in the mail from my secret pal. :)



Inside was even better - even Jack decided he HAD to smell everything!




So In my lovely package was the following: some colorful Catania Color yarn, a bar of goat milk soap - so pretty, some bath confetti (keeping this away from the girls!), Berkshire Mountain Blend coffee - yum can't wait to try this, an Herbal Tea sampler - the white pear was yummy!, a mug, a Christmas tree note holder and the cute dog card wishing me a brightly colored holiday!

Thanks pal!!!

Christmas was good I felt better then and I even surprised my Aunt with the Owl cloths with matching towel. But I had to borrow a needle at her house to get the button on the towel. She came over and saw the towel and said it was good work but didn't see the owl on it to know it was for her. hehe I just kinda started laughing and showed my mom who laughed with me. My aunt laughed later when she opened the gift and saw it. Then I had to print the pattern for her because she'd never seen a washcloth with a design in the middle. And I got her on ravelry too. yay!

My mom got me Fraggle Rock! Ok so she got it for both me AND my brother each. But she had gotten his first and then went out to get mine once I said I wanted it. hehe I got the better boxed set. We told Matt is was because she loved me better. :D I also got soem Nora Robert's novel's from her a shirt from her trip to Alaska AND a giftcard to Threadbear. That I had to wait a week to use since we were coming back then for more parties. I got some undyed roving and some size 2US circulars for a pattern I wanted to make. yay!

Now back to cleaning - UGH!

Snow!

Secret pal I know in my email I said we never have snow days - guess I didn't jinx it because we have to day off today!



And the snow is STILL coming down outside.......and I am miserable sick with a common cold (yay!) and not the same thing the rest of my family has had. That's not to say that I haven't been productive today. Our oldest has a birthday party to attend tonight and will be sleeping over (woot 1 less kid!) until tomorrow morning. Hubster is driving her there tonight as he took the Jimmy to work - 4wd. But I made a floating necklace and matching bracelet for her friend in her fave color - blue. The friend's not our oldests that is. :) By floating I mean I used clear nylon wire and crimp beads to make sections appear to float on the wire.



I thought I'd share my swap from the knit group dishcloth exchange. This is what I made.



And this is what I took home. It's a pot holder! Two garter stitch dishcloths knit in complementing colors and then crocheted together around the edges. The same color yarns used, the pattern, some candy canes and yummy Nutmeg & ginger body spray. :)



This is the other side of the pot holder.


To top off my exciting day we confirmed that the hubsters parents will indeed be taking the girls from Christmas eve until possibly the weekend of the 3rd. I love that they are retired and willing to take the girls for a week or to in order to spend time with them. Gotta dash almost time to get the oldest to her party!

And then there was one.......

As of right now I am the only one not sick or recovering. My hubby got sick this morning as I posted earlier. My middle monster has been complaining all week about her tunny hurting. The rule is 'if you haven't thrown up you are going to school'. So I sent her and then she didn't eat any of her lunch. Well for her that is guaranteed to make her throw up and she knows this. When I came in from the end of work my oldest was in the office complaining her stomach hurt. I asked if she thought she could make it to the end of the day after reminding her of the rule. She said yes and was sent back to class. I had some things to finish in the school for the youngest monster girls brownie meeting (secret santa gift to make). When I was done I put it in her locker and then found I had voicemail. It was my middle monster in the office sick. I sat with her for a few minutes and tried to get her to eat her chips from in her lunch as they were the mildest food in there. I finally made the decision to take her home and sent her to her locker. She then of course threw up on her coat and backpack and the hallway floor.

Being the smart mom that I decided to be I went to check on the oldest to see how she was doing. Her tummy still hurt and I asked if she was sure she could make it to the end of the day. She again said yes but when I felt her forehead it was warm. I decided to take her home early as well. Sure enough about 2 hours ago at least they both got sick.

Hubby is starting to feel better and is out at his computer - just in time for me to send him back to our bedroom. I get to sleep in the living room with the youngest as we are not sick. So I am crossing my fingers and knocking on wood that I will not catch it now. Hopefully the girls will be better by Friday. My oldest is supposed to be going to see The Tale of Despereaux with all the 4th grade classes at her school. Then all the classes have their holiday parties at the end of the day. Not to mention my family Christmas with my dad's side on Saturday...........EVERYONE has to be better by Friday!!!!! >.<

Jsut got off the phone and Saturday party has been pushed back a week due to weather and driving conditions for family coming from Chicago area. Ok they still need to be better by Friday for their parties I say. ;)

A Christmas Meme

I saw this on a blog that I regularly read and thought 'what fun'! *steals it for her blog* >.>
Enjoy. :) Oh and on sick people front in our house B is better but Hubster is now down for the count with the same thing.....and I am dragging from less sleep. :( I will kick some serious butt if I end up sick. I haven't thrown up since roughly 1995 - not even when I was pregnant all 3 times.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Both and sometimes wrapped and in a bag. I'm ebil like that. It depends on what I can get to the easiest in my closet. I have a box of bags from past years that we recycle and boxes as well. Only a few rolls of wrapping paper. So mostly its bags and tissue paper.

2. Real tree or Artificial?
We have this super tiny (maybe 3 foot) Christmas tree - artificial of course. I got the tree when my step-mom moved in before she married my dad. That Christmas our main tree was a "themed" tree - all purple and teal and NO family ornaments allowed on it. I pitched a fit (being 15 at the time) about wanting to have my ornaments on the tree - even dad's old beer ones from when he worked for a distributing company. I still use it but not as much as my cat attacked it last year. I have this super old tree topper that was my great grandfathers and is of course glass. If broken the cat would be finding a new home so not ricking either.

3. Why are you willing to answer these questions?
It's more fun than dong nothing which is what I'd be doing right now.

4. When do you take the tree down?
The past few years it pretty much as soon as possible. Last year was the day after Christmas.

5. Do you like eggnog?
I LOVE eggnog and drink it every chance I can get and yes I KNOW how fattening it is but it's a love thing. :)

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Hmmm tough choices probably my cabbage patch doll. I think I got that for Christmas.

7. Hardest person to buy for?
This year it is my cousin Kevin. We do a name exchange on my dad's side and I have no clue what to get him. I have to have it for this weekend of course. Looks like a visa gift card will be what he is getting.

8. Easiest person to buy for?
The girls - I have usually picked up many small items throughout the year for them and like this year misplaced them and can't find them. UGH.

9. Do you have a nativity scene?
We do not. But I heard this awesome idea of what to do with one until Christmas day. Typically you see all the people gathered around the manger with or sometimes without baby Jesus there. But since its not Christ mas yet you spread the wise men, the angel, and Mary and Joseph out on the lawn and leave the manger empty. You then move them closer to the manger the closer to Christmas it gets.

10. Do you send your card by mail or e-mail?
Hand deliver at Christmas parties if I do them at all.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Probably the year my mother in law bought me a dress that was 3 times to big. Instead of giving me the gift receipt I had to go with her to the store to "try" to find something I liked, that fit to replace it. Being a bigger girl that was hard. It seems like all the plus size clothing is super frumpy at stores like Kohl's (where my gift was from). I think I ended up with a shirt to replace the dress.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?
White Christmas and Holiday Inn

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Whenever I see something at a good price that I know would make a great gift for someone in my family I get it.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes and I plan to this year with some items from a fundraiser that wanted our business at school so they sent a sample kit. :D

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
I have to pick one???? Wedding potatoes and my Aunt's sugar cookies. I have gotten the frosting now but can't seem to match the cookies.

16. Lights on the tree?
Yuppers

17. Favorite Christmas song?
White Christmas or the Trans Siberian Christmas music and can't forget Feliz Navidad ;)

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Travel to our hometown as most family is still there and parties are all there. We make several trips as all parties are not on consecutive days usually.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer’s?
Pretty sure I can....

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Glass tree topper - old heirloom that I love.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Both because we usually have at least 2 parties on Christmas eve and then at least on on Christmas day. Or at least we open our presents at home that day.....if we are home.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year?
Our town gets B U S Y because we have a big mall that people come to to shop at. Traffic is ridiculous. Or the people who insist on driving 20 - 25 in the snow because their car sucks but they have to be out driving to get somewhere - making you late to where you need to be (last night knit group :( )

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?
My Holiday/Celebration Barbie ones. I now have too many to fit them on my tiny tree so they go on display somewhere the cat can't get them. Which means this year they will not be out. :(

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner?
Hmmm Lasagna or stuffed shells - always have some pasta dish at my moms side and her broccoli cheesy casserole thing. Dads side - wedding potatoes. Inlaws was coconut cream pie but she doesn't make it any more.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?
Yarn, yarn, yarn, spinning wheel, roving and oh did I mention yarn? :D

QOW #2

Part A:

Are you doing any holiday knitting?

Part B:

Have you finished?

A ~ Yes and no - not anything to give away to family but something for a Holiday swap at my knit group.

B ~ Yes I finished the dishcloth the other night and am now working on another to have for myself because the pattern is really pretty! It's the Doily Style Dishcloth from www.sugarncream.com or off the ball if you get that pattern or even in the 2009 Knitting Pattern-a-day catalog - where I used mine from. :)

Becca seems to be feeling better - no more getting sick today and no fever so she will go back tomorrow. I better get going or I'll miss getting to knit group on time!

Something fun & silly

Amy posted how she was Emmett from Twilight. I LOL'd a lot when I got my results and then told her we were made for each other. :D

Which Twilight Character Are You?

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