Cop Out

Too busy knitting, watching chick flicks (Nights in Rodanthe is first on the list), and eating leftover pie to blog right now. If you haven't checked out Cake Wrecks, go, now! Laugh! Subscribe!

Hmmmm.

Not really sure what to blog about tonight. I have a quiet night at home tonight, planning to watch Across the Universe and have some yummy pizza. There may be ice cream, too. We'll see. Ah, who am I kidding, there will definitely be ice cream. There will definitely be knitting, too. And even though it's lame, I'm kind of looking forward to getting to bed at a decent hour tonight. Oh, and something worth mentioning! I found Grace in Small Things through Donyale's blog, Indulging my Inner Thinker. I think it is a fantastic idea to reflect at the end of the day on the things that bring you joy. I think we tend to get lost in the negative a lot of the time. I know I definitely do! I don't think I will be posting my "small things" here every day, but maybe once a week. I did grab a cute little journal from the $1 bins at Micheals the other day, though, that would be perfect to keep bedside for just this purpose. I would love to know if any of you get into this! See you tomorrow!

Vintage

I've always had a place in my heart for all things vintage. Buttons, post cards, seed packets, jewelry, you name it, especially if it's art deco. I was pretty overjoyed when I stumbled upon this blog. She also had a love for vintage, and finds the coolest ways to incorporate vintage stuff into her crafts. it's got my mind working for some vintage inspired Christmas gifts- maybe ornaments? Little stockings? Printed sachets? Not quite sure yet... A contest may be in order! Do I have enough readers left for a contest? I guess we'll see. So, here's the deal. Leave a comment with your suggestion for a smallish vintage Christmas gift. Everyone who leaves a comment with a suggestion will be entered, and I'll do a random pick for a winner. Winner will get some of whatever I decide to make for Christmas, and some other little goodies, probably yarn since most of you are knitters. If you're not a knitter, I'll figure something else out. Check out The Vintage Moth and Vintage Printable for some more inspiration or to get some vintage images for yourself!

Hey, Look!

I'm posting before noon! It's not a few minutes before midnight! Imagine that... Ummmm, not really sure what to blog about today. Do you guys read PostSecret? If not, you should go check it out. I live the mornings I sit quitely with my tea, reading through the secrets of other people, just letting the emotions wash over me- sadness, happiness, fear, pain, love. Kind of amazing, really. So, I've been listening to a lot of hip hop lately, mostly just a mix cd that I made. I like it because it's all upbeat, and I can dance around to it. I don't know if any of you listen to any hip hop at all, but have you noticed (if you do listen to it) that they come up with some of the weirdest shit in the lyrics? Like "I got so much chips you can have a bag if you're a snacker." Huh? And what about "Them birthday cakes, they stole the show." Ummm, right. Seriously, I don't get it sometimes. Remember "I love you like a fat kid loves cake"? Hee hee. Oooooh, so much work to do this weekend. School is hard. Blegh. Alright, should go get ready for class. Speaking of! Have I mentioned that I have to wear ugly navy blue scrubs to all of my cosmetology classes? Weird, isn't it? At least I'm comfortable and don't have to think about what I'm wearing. But man are they fug. Alright, really going to get ready for class now.

Urf.

I stumbled upon this little blog comic strip, and thought I would share. It's actually rather funny. Go check it out!

Reorganizing

Today I got a bit of a bug up my ass, as they say. I decided I need to make my craft crap more "grown up". Before this afternoon, this is what it looked like: Cluttered, messy, and hard to find shit, mostly. I figured I would take the "purse approach"- It should only fit the essentials, and be pretty and grown-up looking. So, this is what I came up with: Tada!! I like it. A lot. I've decided to keep my WIP's in the knitting bag, and extra crap in a drawer or my other knitting bag. The only stuff on the shelves is pretty yarns, books, and all my other crafty things. Oh, and my vase with vintage needles and my drop spindle. And a few little friends that I've gotten over the last few years. At any rate, I should actually try and do some stuff that I have to do, like SCA sewing and things like that, instead of doing random, time-consuming, but mildly useless organizing. See you tomorrow- I'm off to sew!

Hope.

Every Sunday, I faithfully read PostSecret. It is my first stop on the blogroll. I know that PostSecret is a huge supporter of Hopeline, which is a suicide hotline run by volunteers. Right now, they need a little help to keep this hotline out of the hands of the federal government, which really, is how it should be. Please take two minutes, watch this video, and help if you can.

Baa.

Ooooooh, I want one of these. Badly. Now, please. Go. Buy me squishies! Alternatively, go buy something pretty for yourself (or your knitting needles) at my Etsy shop, so I can get one. Well, what're you waiting for?! I WANT A SQUISHY SHEEP!

Summer Knitting Goals

I don't know about you, but summer in New Mexico doesn't really scream "knitting!" at me. Sure ,I could quit knitting for the entire summer, or make nothing but little cotton dishcloths. That's kind of silly, though. So, since I know I'm going to keep knitting (although maybe not as much), I decided to set some summer knitting goals, and get a chance to win a great prize in the process! My Summer Knitting Goals 1. Finish the Jaywalkers. 2. Crank out the UFO's, especially the ones that have been languishing for quite some time. 3. Knit only from the stash, unless it's for a gift and I do not have yarn that could be used. 4. Start Christmas knitting! 5. Finish at least one more pair of socks. 6. Try colorwork. 7. Knit Hubbster's dream dice bag. 8. At least 4 charity projects, and at least one being a blanket. 9. Knit something for the Monsterette. 10. Knit something with my handspun (note: spin enough yarn to knit something with.) There! I think that is a totally doable, but not too lame, list of goals. Don't you? If you want to do this too, go ahead! you can sign up for the contest here.

I Can't

Get enough of this guy. He rocks my world.

Holy Shit.

I decided to walk down to the apartment office while Mosterette was napping to get some card thingy for our new washers and dryers in the community laundry room. I walked in and the awesome lady behind the desk asked me if I had a package. (apparently, between far-away relatives and obscene amounts of interwebs ordering, I get a lot of packages.) I said I didn't think I had a package, and she said, " (insert last my last name here), right?" "Uh, yeah..." "I'm pretty sure there's a box for you back here..." She wanders into the package closet, and comes out with a box for me! It's too small to be the box that my grandma sent me (full of YARN! More on that at another date, though), so it MUST be the box from my Favorite Color Swap pal! SQUEE! I rushed back to the apartment, and tried to calm my nerves enough to take a picture before tearing in to everything: The card was super cute, and had a great little message from Tami inside: After reading the card, I carefully took out the tissue paper and folded it up (yes, I'm one of those people. I save tissue paper and re-use it.), and this is what I saw: I immediately went for the roving, pulled it out, and fondled it a bit before moving on to the TON of other goodies. It's such awesome roving! I need to spin more... Oh, and I don't now if you guys can tell, but all the goodies were wrapped in this great stitched paper. I tried really hard to save it, but then I got all crazy and paper was a-flyin' in all directions. There was so much goodness in that box! It really made me smile. Here's the first round of goodies: From the bottom left: A bath puff, flower pen, reed diffuser (I've been lusting after one of these FOREVER. How'd you know, Tami?!), orange bell pepper cutting board, note cards (WOOT!), photo frame, yummy orange popsicle scented lotion, bath salts (with bergamot! One of my favorite scents!), and a little felt watering can and maracas for the Monsterette. (Which, by the way, she TOTALLY loves. anyone who knows my kid knows she loves to make "music".) Are you overwhelmed yet? Because at this point, I was! Can you believe there's more? Again, from the bottom left: Awesome stitch markers, star-shaped post-its, Cadbury dairy Milk chocolate bar (my all-time favorite chocolate. EVER. Oddly, one of the bars she sent didn't make it to the photo shoot. Hmm.), The awesome roving, SWTC Bamboo yarn (I've been wanting to try this stuff forever!), Panda Wool sock yarn (isn't is gorgeous?! I've been wanting to try this, too!), orange point protectors, and a Critter container that I've been lusting after for a while. The other thing that didn't make it into the photo (I was browsing though it while I ate my chocolate bar) was the Favorite Socks: 25 Timeless Designs from Interweave book. This ROCKS! This should definitely jump-start my sock knitting. I've been lusting after sock books for a while, but couldn't justify it, never knitting a pair of successful socks. Oh. My. God. Seriously, this was one awesome package. Tami, you totally rock! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Ummm...

I don't really know what to blog about today. I suppose I could mention that my downstream swap pal for FCS3 got her package, and wrote a great, heartfelt post about it. Or, I could blog about these cool needle felted sculptures that Erin found and shared with me... Oh! Maybe I could blog about the fact I've finally gotten motivated to pick up the needles again, and did a few rows on the Campfire Neckwarmer. Nah... Maybe I'll come up with something good for tomorrow.

Random Links

Since I'm not blogging about what I wanted to blog about today, here's a list of some of my favorite things, and things that made me giggle around the internets lately. Enjoy! Marble Magnet Tutorial Bagsket tutorial Transparent Tape Image Transfer His Nemesisis is Thomas Kinkaid (This made me laugh my ass off.) Exploding Dog (Not what it sounds like, I promise.) Red Sox Fans are Crazy My Current Musical Obsession (Listening to In Field & Town) Enjoy everyone!

Kids Are Cute

For those of you who haven't seen this yet, it's great. Don't leave in the middle, either- the end it the best part! Enjoy!

Abo Ruins

One of the things I really wanted to see on our road trip were some ruins. We originally planned to go see the Gila Cliff Dwellings, but it didn't work out. I spotted some marked on the map, only a few hours from Albuquerque. We stopped at one of the three sites, and were pleasantly surprised. We're planning to take a day trip out to see the other two sites, and possibly revisit this one. I really have a love for these kind of things, from ancient ruins to old, decrepit houses. Something about the history, and the fact that this exact spot is where people lived their lives is really intriguing. Here, at the ruins, I was so tempted to walk around the ruins barefoot and feel the earth beneath my feet- the same earth the Pito Indians and Spanish settlers walked on. It really sparks something inside me, and I can't wait to go back. A little bit of history: The first mention of Abo was in 1598, by Juan de Onate. What is left of the large church was built by a Spanish missionary named Frey Francisco de Acevedo, who built over the very small, existing church. The church is surrounded my the ruins of the pueblo- the small houses that most of the people living there called home. They estimate the population during the early mission days to be approximately 2,000 people. Abo was abandoned sometime before 1680 due to Apache raids. It was used as a post office during 1910 and 1911.

Wee Tiny

Hey everyone! I've signed up for the Wee Tiny Sock Swap. Want to play too? Go sign up! There's a Ravelry group here, too. Hmmm... does this mean I can buy some sock yarn?

Galapagos

The Hubbster and I started watching the BBC Galapagos series in high definition tonight. All I can say is "wow". I have always been fascinated with the Galapagos islands, they really are amazing. From the exclusive wildlife to the beautiful landscape, the volcanoes and ocean activity. Hubbster and I would both like to go someday to see it in person. Right now, though, seeing it in such amazing quality is pretty freakin' awesome. This totally makes the HDTV and Blu-Ray playing PS3 worth it. If you get a chance to see this series, do it! It is completely stunning. I'm looking forward to watching more!

Perfect Day Yarn

A week or so ago, I traded a pair of my earrings for some super yummy sock yarn from Sarah over at Perfect Day Yarns. This is her Free Verse Sock yarn, and is called Purple Over Cane: I so love it! The color is a one-of-a-kind over dye, but she has some absolutely gorgeous colors in her shop. For non-sock knitters, she also does worsted and lace weight yarn! (Be patient with her, though, if the shop is low- she just had hand surgery!) What's totally cool, too, is that a good portion of her colorways are inspired by poems. Isn't that a great idea?! The only reason I haven't started knitting it is I'm waiting on a set of the Harmony sock needles from KnitPicks. Soon, though, soon... Thanks so much, Sarah! Anyone else want to do a swap? J.P. Has been pushing me to start doing a "Works in Progress" day- I think I may be doing "Show-and-Tell" day, either on Sunday or Saturday- we'll see what day I get to it this week! See you tomorrow...

Silly Stuff

I know I mentioned my spinning a few days ago, but the weather has been too crappy for pictures. The rumors are true, though, I am spinning yarn! Between that, working on the wholesale order, amigurumi, and trying to find inspiration for the latest Project Spectrum, I've stumbled upon a few silly blogs for you to check out! First up: The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks. Good stuff. Second: Crummy Church Signs. I always wonder about some of the church signs I see, if I'm the only one who thinks they're crazy sometimes. I guess not! Third: Passive/Aggressive Notes. This shit is too funny. That's all for today, folks! See you tomorrow!

WE WON THE SUPERBOWL BI*CHES! Cake Recipe

Yes, the Giants just beat the Patriots to win the Superbowl. I am BEYOND EXCITED! For non-football fans out there, the Patriots have won every single game this season. Every. Single. Game. EXCEPT THE SUPERBOWL, BECAUSE THE GIANTS KICKED YOUR ASS!!! Ohmigawd. I'm so proud of my boys. *sniff* Alright, before I keep on, I'm going to give you guys the most awesomest (and super easy!) chocolate cake recipe ever, perfect to celebrate with. (Or drown your sorrows. I was prepared, either way.) I actually got this recipe from Dave, so if you like it, go thank him! Super Easy Chocolate Cake Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and get out a 8x8 or 9x9 pan. Dry Ingredients 1 1/2 C. Flour 1 C. Sugar 1 tsp. Baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 3 Tbsp. cocoa ( I like to do about 4, for rich chocolate taste.) Wet Ingredients 1/3 C. Cooking oil (NOT olive oil, I use regular old vegetable oil.) 1 Tbsp. Vinegar (yep.) 1 tsp. Vanilla 1 C. Cold water Mix dry ingredients in the pan. Make three indents: pour the oil, vinegar, and vanilla into separate holes. Pour the water gently over all. Mix well with a fork; do not beat. I like to pour in a good half cup of chocolate chips at this point, but that's entirely up to you. It makes it nice and gooey, though! Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Take it out and let it cool until you can no longer stand not to eat it (about 20 minutes, here). you can frost it with icing, melt chocolate chips on top, serve it with some ice cream, or eat it plain. either way, it's delicious! ********* On a side note, this is also a vegan recipe, if you just make as-is (no chocolate chips or icing). See you tomorrow- I'm going to go jump around some more!