2016 Recap and 2017 Resolutions

2016 was an interesting year for me. There were some definite high points. My biggest priority going into 2016 was to get accepted into graduate school. I was so blessed to be accepted into my top choice. The program is entirely online, so my family was able to remain anchored in Arizona, but is supported by a highly regarded university. What I had no idea was how much of my time it would take. My life during the semester pretty much consists of work, family, homework, and (a little) sleep. Hence the blog fell completely off the deep end. As a matter of fact, I'm still on Christmas break right now, so I had a little extra bandwidth in my schedule to write this.

The other huge thing that happened this year was a promotion at work. I am absolutely thrilled that I got it. I was so nervous during the decision making process. And it's stretched me some in terms of roles and responsibilities. Compounded with this, we've been short handed, leaving me with some long hours. Luckily that should ease up into the coming year.

Unfortunately the year wasn't all fantastic. My mom was in a severe car accident while on vacation this fall. She will ultimately be okay but it will take a while. And there is nothing quite like having to rush halfway across the country to be with her. Luckily for us, she's home now.

The boys continue to grow and change in ways that are fun to watch. C is now in fourth grade and J is now in 1st grade. Hard to believe that C is one of the older kids at the school! They are such interesting people to talk to and be around. The baby years are nice, but there is something magical about the elementary age as they really become their own people. E continues to be my rock and has really provided a strong support for me to lean on as I've gone through stressful times. We celebrated our 15th anniversary this year! And we've now known each other for 20 years, more than half my life. We took our family vacation to San Diego again and stayed for two weeks this time. I've never in my life taken a two week vacation and it was glorious.

Our extended family grew this year with the birth of my nephew. I'm sure I'm biased, but he is so stinkin' cute! Although the boys are really starting to outnumber the girls on that side of the family...

Now for the resolution list:

• Get accepted into and start grad school - Yes!!!
• Sew a skirt for myself - I tried. I found a pattern online for a skirt sewn from knit fabric that seemed easy enough. No paper piecing, just measuring the fabric, cutting and sewing. However, I cut the wrong way so the skirt isn't stretching the right direction. I also did the math wrong on my ease and added instead of subtracted, so the skirt is about 6 inches too wide! I think based on that fact, I may be able to salvage the fabric.
• Lose 10 pounds - Not even close
• Finish the last two stockings - I started one of them
• Read 8 books (Honeymoon Suite  - 4/12/16; Babyland - 4/15/16; Heart of the Matter - 4/19/16; a few others I forgot to write down)
• Make truffles - nope
• Blog 24 times - hahahahahaha
• Knit 2 pairs of socks - I've got two pairs on the needles but didn't finish either

So it looks like I got through two of my resolutions - 3 if you want to count the skirt that I sewed but couldn't wear.

On to this year's list:

• Survive grad school (by the end of this year, I'll have one semester left)
• Finish at least one of the Christmas stockings
• Knit a pair of socks

It's not a long list, but considering what a time suck grad school is, I think it's reasonable. I figure I can go nuts on my 2018 resolution list :)

My Refinished File Cabinet

I recently obtained a new to me small file cabinet. I had one in the office/craft room already but it was really cheaply made and kept coming off its track so I was happy to take this one. But...it didn't match the furniture already in there, which is more of a birch wood color, along with a multicolored rug and lots of bright accessories. This was more of an oak, with gold finishes. Very 1980s looking.

I decided to change it up a bit. I knew I wouldn't be able to match the wood finish exactly so I wanted to do something that would complement the existing furniture. I decided on a nice dark blue - E calls it Tardis blue, Krylon calls it Oxford Blue, with silver handles.

First I removed the handles, name plates and lock and painted them all with a silver gray acrylic paint. Then I gently sanded down the cabinet and drawers to remove the veneer.

After it was sanded, I gave each component a couple of coats of spray paint.

Voila! A new file cabinet. I'm so pleased with how it turned out. This room has totally become my happy place!

 

2015 recap and 2016 resolutions

2015 went by so fast! Like many years, it had its highs and a few big lows. Unfortunately nine weeks after losing my grandpa, my grandma passed away in January. I'm so grateful we got one more Christmas with her after losing my grandpa but it was so hard to lose them so close.

There were a lot of bright spots in the year though. In the spring we finally felt like it might be time to have a third dog again. We had been keeping an eye out at the Welfare League's website to see if it looked like any dogs would fit in with our current crew. While we were looking, we learned about a dog who needed a home from one of our family members. We agreed to meet her and it was love at first sight. Foxy joined our family - a two (now three) year old chihuahua-German shepherd mix. She is everyone's little love puppy and I couldn't imagine not having her here.

I'm still chugging along in year two of my job and I got promoted this year! It's been such a great move for me, both in terms of my career and the amazing people I get to work with. J started Kindergarten; C is in third grade and tested into the gifted program!

We took a leap and bought an RV, which we took to San Diego for what is turning into an annual vacation for us. It was so great having a place to chill, with a kitchen to cook in instead of having to go out for every meal. The boys had a great time hanging with their cousins and riding around on bikes and hanging out at the beach. We took them to the San Diego Zoo for the first time too!

As in years past I also tried to keep up with a goal list, so on to the list:

• Blog three times a month - nope not even close. Things were so hectic and yet so ordinary that I didn't have a lot to say
• Make stockings by Christmas for each member of the family - 50% done. C and J both got to use theirs this year, but I still need to do E's and mine.

• Knit at least three pairs of socks - yep, in under the wire. I finished E's Christmas socks two days before Christmas. Funny enough two of the three pairs were for him this year. But he appreciates them so much.
• Make a shawl/stole - not quite. I'm about 2/3 done with a scarf/stole thing
• Sew an item of clothing - yep. Made four bow ties for the kids in my sister's wedding to wear.
• Make bread - yes!!! After being on my list every year, I made some on Monday! So worth the effort - especially now that I have my kitchen aid
• Make caramels - nope
• Make truffles - nada
• Lose 10 pounds - not even close
• Read at least seven books - blasted through this. I read at least 11; I think it was more but that's all I wrote down
• Learn to play guitar - nope and I think this will end up waiting a few more years
• Learn a new cast on/cast off - no. Most of my knitting was types of things I know how to do.
• Finish office/craft room organization - Almost. I got a new desk that can change heights so I can use it for typing on the computer or sewing, then raise it up if I want to cut fabric. I also got a new (old) file cabinet from my grandparents house when we were cleaning it up. It's super functional and nicer than mine but very 1980s wood and gold finishes. Doesn't match the room. So I sanded it down and am repainting it "Oxford Blue" aka Tardis blue. The handles are painted silver. It's actually sitting in the garage waiting for the last coat of paint. Then my beautiful office/craft room is done!!

So four done, six not and three half done or more. Not too shabby. I wish I had done a little better but c'est la vie. Now onward to 2016. I'm guessing grad school will be a time suck so this is a short but hopefully reasonable list:

• Get accepted into and start grad school
• Sew a skirt for myself
• Lose 10 pounds
• Finish the last two stockings
• Read 8 books (Honeymoon Suite - 4/12/16; Babyland - 4/15/16; Heart of the Matter - 4/19/16)
• Make truffles
• Blog 24 times
• Knit 2 pairs of socks

Happy 2016!

 

 

All About Me

So today's topic for Knitting and Crochet blog week is not about knitting per se but rather all about the blogger. So some things to know about me.

1. I have been married for almost 14 years
2. I met my husband in high school. Yes our prom picture is hanging on the wall (next to our wedding picture)
3. I have only sisters, no brothers
4. However I have only sons, no daughters
5. I love warm weather. I freeze in temperatures below 80 F. Lucky for me I live in Arizona
6. My favorite color is green
7. I have surprisingly little green yarn
8. I love "chick lit" books. It's the reading equivalent of a brownie
9. Someday I want to visit all fifty states. So far I've been to 19 of them
10. If I could have any career I'd be a professional singer. Not really a practical idea, though, so I think I'll just stick to singing in the car
11. Part of the reason I learned to knit was to keep me busy after I finished college and no longer had mountains of homework
12. I may have a slight sock yarn addiction
13. I only wear socks a few months of the year (see the aforementioned living in AZ)
14. I'm a novice sewer but I can see why people love it
15. I like to make lists

 

2014 Recap and 2015 Resolutions

2014 was an interesting year to say the least. Lots of changes and quite a few rough patches. Towards the beginning of the year I started a new job after twelve years at my old one. That was definitely one of the high points of the year - I'm very happy with the change I made. Unfortunately I lost my grandpa this year and we had to put down our (almost) 14 year old dog. J broke his arm, I dealt with a bad staph infection, and C had to have oral surgery to remove an extra tooth in his palate. I'm hoping 2015 is a healthier year.

C turned 7 this year. (I can't believe I have a second grader. I remember being a second grader!) J turned five. E and I celebrated our lucky number 13 anniversary. We were fortunate enough to vacation with E's family in San Diego for a week this summer. The boys got to experience Legoland for the first time and we had lots of beach time. I also got to travel some for work this year, going to San Diego, Denver and Seattle. I've only been through Denver, not staying there (for example we ate at Casa Bonita on the way back from Iowa last summer) so it was nice to spend some time there, even if I was pretty busy. I did manage to find time one evening to have dinner with a friend too! Seattle was great too - again really busy but I'd never been there before. Very different than Arizona.

We were also hit with an epic rainstorm here. Our area went one of the longest times without rain but later in the year we had a 100 year storm come through. It literally flooded out most of the freeways. I'd never seen anything like it.

And now onto my 2014 resolution list. Like most of the past few years, I got through 40% of my list. First the hits.

• Read five books - yep, in fact I read at least seven. A couple of reasons, one I put more effort into it; two with the new job I was traveling more. More time in airports and on planes led to a lot more reading time.
• Organizing the pantry - I knocked this out early in the year and kept it more or less fixed the whole year.
• Make a crochet project - I made washcloths to go along with my homemade vanilla extract and one was crocheted. It finally seemed to click with me.
• Sew a needle holder - It was a little wonky - one piece was sewn in the wrong order so a seam shows on the outside. But it works wonderfully and I use it all the time.
• Frosting piping practice - Decorated my son's birthday cupcakes in a Minecraft theme.
• Blog at least three times a month - I'm going to fudge and say yes. Some months I didn't hit at least three times but I did get over 36 posts total for the year and wrote at least once every month.

And now the misses. Make bread, make truffles, make caramels. Nope, still on the baking bucket list. Although I have yeast in the pantry, ready to go... Learn to play guitar - never made it a priority. Learn entrelac, learn a new cast on or off - I really tried a new cast on, I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. Garden - I have such a black thumb! Lose 23 pounds - epic fail, I actually put a little weight back on.

So the list for 2015 will have some repeats on it. But I've got a few new things too:

• Blog three times a month (36 for the year)
• Make stockings by Christmas for each member of the family
• Knit at least three pairs of socks (2/27/15, 4/14/15; 12/23/15)
• Make a shawl/stole
• Sew an item of clothing (5/3/15)
• Make bread
• Make caramels
• Make truffles
• Lose 10 pounds
• Read at least seven books (40 Love - 2/11/15; Sleeping Arrangements - 2/22/15; Baby Proof - 5/18/15; Fishbowl - 5/23/15; The Good Daughters - 6/181/15; Inside the O'Briens - 7/29/15; Funny Girl - 8/3/15; The Help - 9/18/15; Fall of Marigolds - 9/29/15; The One and Only - 10/29/15; Still Alice - 11/1/115; Shopaholic to the Rescue - 12/29/15)
• Learn to play guitar
• Learn a new cast on/cast off
• Finish office/craft room organization

Hopefully I finish above 40% this year! Here's to a great 2015!

 

 

 

 

 

Busy days

Man the weekend really goes fast when you're busy. I felt like I was constantly on the go. I did a little bit of Christmas shopping yesterday - in fact, aside from stocking stuffers and a book, I'm pretty much done shopping for my kids. I'm knitting sweaters for each of them but I'm not really counting that since I don't have to buy anything more for them.

I also finally got around to hanging a few picture frames. It was fun to go through my photos and decide which to print and where to put them. I made liberal use of sticky notes in my planning (why yes I may be a wee bit compulsive.) They're slightly visible in the background of the last picture.

Plus I did some baking. My family is once again doing our Christmas Eve contest - this year we are doing cookies, but with a twist. We all wrote down an ingredient on a piece of paper and drew out two of them. We ended up with peanut butter and Seagrams (gee thanks to whoever suggested that). So I decided to make a few test batches this weekend to see if I could come up with a recipe that works. I have definitely found my recipe!

 

 

 

 

Rainy, rainy day

Today was absolutely bonkers in terms of weather here. We got multiple inches of rain in just seven hours. In fact it set the all time record for rain at the airport and closed parts of five different freeways and highways. Totally not expected in the desert! J's preschool actually closed for the day - never thought I'd see a weather related school closure

He definitely took advantage of it though!

 

What a Month

And I don't mean that in a good way. I've been MIA and not keeping up with this as much as I wanted to. But frankly June has been a rough month; I'm kind of holding my breath for the next three days.

The month didn't start too bad - J got his cast off and E and I celebrated our 13th anniversary. But they went downhill from there. I got a staph infection and ended up in urgent care to have it drained. A month later and I'm still being treated, although the end is in sight. Five days after the urgent care visit we had to say goodbye to our dog. Jack had a good long life - he would have been 14 this week - but I still miss him. He was such a good dog! I never thought we would survive those puppy years, but he grew up and became one of my most beloved dogs ever.

A week or so after that a stomach bug hit our house, taking us each down one at a time. At first I thought I was lucky, because C had it on Saturday and I was fine. But then Thursday afternoon I got knocked down for the count. This week has been fairly tame (knock on wood), just insanely busy.

Hopefully July is a little friendlier than June.

 

So this happened today

 

Seriously, it's too early for this

 

The view from my ride

As part of my goal to lose some weight (15 pounds so far - woot) I've been trying to bike more. One of the great things about my city is the wonderful bike trails, lanes and bridges. It makes it easier to stay motivated since I can explore more than just my immediate neighborhood.

While I've been out on my rides, I have also taken the time to stop and get a few pictures. The variety of the scenery on my rides is just amazing - suburban and desert mixed together.

Plus this guy!

I had a roadrunner cross pretty much right in front of me! How cool is that?!

 

Update

Man, things have been busy around here lately! C started first grade and J started school for the very first time (preschool) a few weeks ago.

My first grader!

My preschooler!

Then we hit another milestone around here, as C lost his first tooth last weekend.

I have also knocked a few things off my resolution list. I just finished my fifth book for the year. I also busted out the sewing machine. I watched a Craftsy that was immensely helpful and then tried to see what I could do.

The results are super rough but I managed to make a shirt for my son's bear. It doesn't look too bad from afar but up close the uneven seams are pretty obvious. My straight seams are not so straight and the zig zags are not evenly spaced. I also didn't hem the neck. But for a first effort, I'm really pleased!

The other thing on my that I accomplished was definitely the most difficult - I've lost 10 pounds. I've been using My Fitness Pal to track what I eat and trying to bike ride more and this week I hit the ten pounds lost mark. I still have more I want to lose but this is a great first step.

And of course I've been working on my knitting. I've become somewhat hooked on sock yarn...

It does all have a purpose though. I bought a bunch of the it on clearance at Hobby Lobby. The bright multicolor pink yarn will be socks for my niece. The blue grey at the bottom and the brown will be a couple of pairs for C. The blue and green ball is a pair for J (I'm also currently working on a dark blue and black pair for him.) The other three are going to be socks for me. I can't remember what brand the blue and green cake is but I got it at one of the local LYSes. The dark blue at the top is a Zauberball (!!) from another local LYS. The last one is Candy Skein's August colorway, Blue Hawaiian. I never realized before how much I gravitate towards blue based yarn - I think my niece's socks are the only ones without at least a little blue.

Boy has it been busy around here!

 

An interesting problem

So I discovered one major problem with sock knitting. When I try them on while I am still working on them to make sure they will fit, I don't want to take them off to finish them. Even when they are half done they are too darn cozy!

 

 

Randomly

I've been slacking a little on the blog updates - I can't believe it's been two weeks. Things are busy at work and of course the boys always keep me on my toes. I have managed to snap a few pictures highlighting some of our everyday life though.

I got a new stapler for my desk...



...and a new lamp too! For some reason I'm way too excited about these items.

Somehow in the last few weeks J has started to lose the toddler look and is starting to look like a big kid.

I love this photo of him!

C is still so creative. So far we've had story time (this was the cast of characters)...

...interesting potato head characters...

...and Buzz Lightyear trying to get out of a precarious position.

One more picture - I thought this was beautiful and just had to show it off.

 

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

C's last basketball game of the season was this past weekend so I made sure to keep my camera handy to capture some of the highlights. Well at one point during a lull in the action J decided to snap a few pictures. Well let me be more specific - 23 pictures. A few highlights:

And for good measure, one that I took of the basketball player:

My Painting

On Friday I had the opportunity to go and paint. It's something I haven't done since I was a kid and was a lot of fun. Check it out:

Storms!

It seems like we have been getting quite a few dust storms in Arizona this year (and even some rain!) The dust that these storms produce is intense - it basically is a wall of dust that moves across the region. I managed to get a few amazing photos of the most recent storm. Check out how the mountain disappears; these were taken in a span of 5-10 minutes.

 

WIPs and Blogging

It's time for another WIP Wednesday! This week I am remarkably close to finishing the Mystery Knit Along. I definitely know what it is now - and spoiler alert on the off chance someone is reading this and also participating in the KAL - it's a cat!

I've actually finished with the knitting part and have moved on to sewing. I should finish him this weekend since I only have two limbs and some embroidery left (plus I'm off two extra days this week - yay - so I have more time). Plus I know what I'm going to do with him now. Turns out two more of my coworkers are pregnant (one with twins) and I sort of set a precedent of giving a stuffed animal and story, so this project will be perfect for one of them. Now I just need to find a good kids book involving a cat.

Aside from that I don't have any other projects except for the hibernating socks. Now that I'm done knitting the cat I can get back to them. I also have a few other things planned. I want to participate in the color work challenge that the Simply Notable group is doing on Ravelry. I also plan on doing a dishcloth for the Ravellenic games; this will be my first experience with cables and lace. I'll also need to get two more stuffed animals done. Lastly I have plans to knit a Serina cardigan. It will be my first try at a cardigan. I'm super excited because I found some great yarn at a Joann's clearance. It's the brown and blue yarn in the photo below.

And on an unrelated note, I just realized my 2nd Blogoversary was this week. I really can't believe two years have flown by since I started this blog. My youngest was only six months old when I started. Now he is two! And my oldest will start Kindergarten shortly. It's hard to wrap my head around this, but it's been a great outlet for me. Here's to another year!

 

For more great works in progress, check out Tami's Amis

 

Things I learned this weekend

• It is possible to live on the surface of the sun. Oh wait it's just Phoenix in June.

• Two year olds are very dramatic. This weekend J told me "Mommy, I'm melting"
• Never try out a new recipe for the first time the day before you would like to give the results to somebody, especially if it is a recipe from your own head and not something others have tried before.
• Related to that, never try a new recipe at midnight after everyone is asleep. It's a given the smoke alarm will go off.
• Marshmallows burn really quickly if you use the broil setting on the oven (we're talking less than 30 seconds)
• If you decide to make something different the next morning you will realize you are out of a key ingredient about halfway through the cooking process. This will also occur after your husband goes to the grocery store and asks if you need anything.
• If you tell your five year old before his first basketball game that his team name is the Tigers, he will growl at his opponents.

• Based on the amount of flopping and traveling that C committed in the game, he may have a future in the NBA. However if they consider things like passing, dribbling or shooting, then I would consider it a long shot.

 

House decor

When I first joined Pinterest one of the first things I pinned was a great decorating idea from this website. For the longest time I wanted to create something like it for my house. I finally got my chance to make it this weekend.

 

Most of the decor in my house is pictures of the kids, E and me so I was looking for something that would go with the pictures but be a little different. This was the result:

 

It was super easy to make! I used scrapbook paper to trace each family member's hand, then cut them out and glued them down. I wrote our family name at the top of the blue page (it's out of the shot of this picture I took). I love my new picture and it captures a nice moment in time - before too long my hand will be the smallest in the family.

 

Linking up to the Sundae Scoop on I Heart Naptime

 

NaBloPoMo recap

Earlier this month I mentioned joining NaBloPoMo, where the goal is to blog everyday. I didn't quite make it but I definitely increased my blogging frequency. I posted a total of 22 times this month. That's much higher than any other month (July was my highest before, with 15 posts).

Here's the funny thing - I'm not sure I'll try it again. I felt like there were some days that I posted just to post, not because I really had anything to say. It did allow me to find new topic ideas that I might have passed on before though. So I definitely gained from this experience.