12.30.07
Wicked is Finished
I bound off the second sleeve last night at midnight. I am happy with my first full size sweater project, I am excited to wear it to work on Monday. I changed the bottom seed stitch to mirror the crossover stitches of the neckline and added a few inches on the sleeve before the crossover stitches. I loved that this pattern gave you so many options, short vs long sleeves, pocket or no pocket, and the shaping options.
The yarn is Cascade 220, knitted on Addi size 7 needles and the pattern is Wicked by Zephyr Style. I knit the arms on a 12″ circular needle to help reduce the ladders as I seem to be having problems with those lately. I think when I knit this again I will add some decreases to the sleeves. They seem to be a little large, but that may change with blocking.
12.21.07
Christmas time already
I really can’t believe that is already time for Christmas, it has really suprised me. I thought that I was going to have another week to get things in order, but I looked at the calendar today and saw that it is only 4 days away! I am so behind. I was able to get our gifts in the mail that are headed across the state in time, at least that is what the lady at the Post Office said. And they should be getting them on Friday…TODAY! So hopefully they do get them.
One of the holiday items that I am not behind on is baking cookies. This is something that HAS to happen during the holidays, it just has to. When baking for Christmas there are certain things that one needs:
A Trusty Mixer:
Appropriate Beverages:
Dunham Three Legged Red…yummy!
A Companion:
Mac just sat there the whole time that I was baking, every-time I left the kitchen he would follow me and then lay back down right here when I went back into the kitchen.
And this is what you end up with:
Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies…the original recipe calls for dried cherries but I subbed in some frozen cranberries that I had left over from Thanksgiving and the tartness mixed with the chocolate is amazing. Sadly, they are all gone now from my house.
Obviously this sugar cookie dough is headed to the frig for up to half an hour before it gets cut into little trees, gingerbread men shapes and reindeer. And then covered in icing so that the Husband can enjoy them.
12.16.07
Over the hills and through the woods…and a Christmas Tree
On this lovely Sunday morning the husband and I went into the woods and found our first Christmas tree.
First we hiked through the snow and wind, notice the gray clouds above the husbands head.
Then we searched and searched for that perfect tree, I think the husband was sick of me looking through the whole forest for the perfect tree. So, he gave me three more trees that I could look at. And we finally found the perfect ONE.
Then we (read husband) had to dig (someone had to take pictures). And he had to dig and dig and dig…
And then we took a self portrait, which showed me I need to work on this skill. We are slightly off center in this picture, but you can see it was cold out.
We finally got our tree home and had to put it in the stand so that it was not leaning,which is difficult because for some reason our Christmas tree stand has one screw that won’t move.
After leveling, we decorated the tree and I love it!
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Quit knitting update: I have been knitting a sweater, Wicked, I am loving it. Here is a photo of the progress. It is knit top down in the round with no seams. Which is great. I am using Size 7 32″ Addi needles and the yarn is Cascade 220 that is a purple/gray color.
12.15.07
My boys
On my first Saturday of Winter Break I have been having a great relaxing time. I can literally feel the stress leaving my shoulders. I have also been having a great time with my husband and puppies. I can always count on them for a good laugh, so I thought that I would share their antics from this morning.
First the puppies; they have been chasing this squirrel around the backyard and have on numerous times cornered the squirrel in some part of the yard. But, the squirrel always finds a way to get away. Mostly in the tree or on the top of the fence. But here is a picture of Hunter trying his hardest to get to that squirrel, Mac was also there when I first looked but when I got the camera he ran to door.
The husband has been growing a beard for the last couple of weeks and chose to shave it off this morning. He started before I got a picture of the whole beard. But when I saw what he had done while using the trimmers I was literally on the floor laughing. His facial hair grows in blond in some places so it is hard to see in this picture, but he had made a long handle bar mustache. He also has bed head going on…this is why I love this man. 
12.13.07
One Last Final…a good breakfast to help
So when I was little and had a big day at school my mom would always make us a good breakfast to help us focus. So on the day that I have my biggest final, Anatomy and Physiology, I made myself a breakfast that my mom had made when I was little. I do not even know what it is called, I am sure that there is many many names for it, but you cut the center out of a piece of bread and fry the egg and bread together. Now, I know that this is not the most healthy breakfast but it was tradition and I am hoping that it will help me to focus and study and not worry about my grumbling tummy.
Here is a picture of my breakfast, notice the large amount of studying that is going on around the breakfast.
12.08.07
Finished Socks…Columbine Peaks
Today was a lovely Saturday of sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee and my knitting needles. I was able to finish my mom’s socks and since I can’t keep a secret she already knows that they are coming her way. But I am still excited to have her see them. They are to be for snowmobiling, as they are 100% wool they are going to be great.
12.05.07
One week to go…where to go from here?
We have one week left in winter quarter and it does not seem to be going fast enough. It just keeps dragging on and on and on…you get the picture? Oh well, four more days of actual class and then finals. I have to decide what classes I want to take next quarter, it depends on if I want to enter into the WSU BSN program or the WWCC RN program. I know that I will have a BS degree whichever way that I go, it just depends on if I want to have a Bachelors degree specifically in nursing and one in education or one in education and the Associates degree of nursing. I am leaning towards staying here at WWCC due to the commuting to Tri-Cities and the added costs of the program. I will then graduate with an associates degree in nursing, go to work and take night classes to get my BSN in the next year. So ultimately I will have two degrees, the time-line is just going to be different depending on where I chose to go next year.
This is a difficult decision to make and I have gone both ways numerous times. The husband and I were looking at our calendar for the upcoming months and realized that he will be gone for the majority of the first months of 2008. He will be in Wisconsin, Seattle, Mississippi, Yakima and then Wisconsin again. After all of these trips he will be back to work for the Forest Service and back in the mountains for the summer. It will be a great first year of marriage In all seriousness, this is a “normal” year for us and I think that it is one reason that we get along so well. We are both flexible and utilize the time that we have together quite well.
On the old front, I got new glasses yesterday. They are bifocals, my lovely best friend pointed out that I am falling apart in my ‘old age’.
12.03.07
December
I can’t believe that is it December already…the year is almost over. There has been so much in this last year and I look forward to what the new year will bring to my little family of my husband and two dogs.
This weekend was very productive knitting wise, and not much else. I started and finished a hat for myself and finished one of my mother’s sock that I am knitting her for Christmas. She already knows that she is getting them so that there will not be any surprises, and she has tried them on as I knit them so I know that they will fit. If you know me then you know that I am not good with surprises. Last year I had the husbands truck lifted in the front (just to even it out) while he was gone and I couldn’t keep my mouth shut so that it would be a surprise when he got home. And I can never wait to open birthday presents, or presents of any kind. This is something that I need to work on.
Today is my little sisters birthday, and she is making me feel old. She turns 22 this year. That means that my littlest sister will turn 17 next month! And I will be really old in June, a quarter of a century old. (Ok I know that it is not all that old, but I am not sure that I have accomplished all that I wanted to before I turned 25)
12.01.07
Frozen puppy
The weather was cold today, here is a picture of our older dog Mac with a frozen beard. He is part poodle.
Also finished a hat for myself today…very quick knit. Started and finished today! It was knit bottom to top, Cascade Tweed 220, on size 7 needles.
