Home Again, Home Again

Hello again, and happy new year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season. The Monsterette and I went on a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico with my family, and then headed up to Minnesota to spend more time with family and see some friends. We had a really great time exploring the Mayan ruins of Tulum, swimming in the ocean, sledding (Monsterette's first time!), staying up until midnight to ring in the new year, and relaxing with family. We also celebrated her fourth birthday- I can't believe how much she has grown! All in all, is was a great trip. It is good to be home and back in the arms of my dearest and settling into real life again. School starts again on Monday, so I have been getting myself ready for that. My books are purchased, my binder organized, and just a few things left to get from the bookstore before classes begin. I have to make the daycare arrangements, but otherwise I am planning on relaxing and enjoying my free time before my hectic schedule kicks into full swing. I have been thinking about my knitting goals for this year, as well as some personal goals. A lot of plans to be made, including planning a spring break vacation. Doc and I are thinking about going on a cruise to the Mexican Riviera, which would be a lot of fun. It was great to have some computer-free time, but it is nice to feel connected again. For now, though, I think I am going to go amuse myself with some Sims 3 while The Monsterette watches a movie. How were your holidays? Do you do anything special this year?

Snow Day

On Tuesday, we had a 2 hour delay because of snow here in Albuquerque. it snowed about 1/2 and inch overnight. People in the southwest are so silly! It made me miss Minnesota, though. Most people would think that living in the warm southwest, with out mild winters and general lack of winteryness, that I would not miss the bitter cold and piles of snow that come with living in the midwest. But I DO miss it. Not the cold, so much, but sometimes it makes that cup of hot chocolate or a steamy bowl of chili that much more enjoyable. I miss sledding, and the peace of waking up in the morning to the stillness and quiet of a snow that has been gently tumbling from the sky all night. I love seeing the trees covered in powder, the pristineness of freshly fallen snow, the joy of making a snowman. I've never been able to take my daughter sledding or play in the snow with her until our cheeks were frosty and pink, and then head inside for some chicken noodle soup and a movie on the sofa under a big fleece blanket. I think that all of the bad things about real winter- the cold, the crappy driving conditions, the shoveling, would all be completely worth it for the joy that I get from real winter. Call me crazy. I am so close to being done with this term! One little final on Tuesday, and I am done. Then I can freak out about the gift knitting I have not completed, the Christmas shopping, the packing for our big trip, and all the other fun holiday stuff. It is going to be a pretty packed and mildy crazy break, so hopefully I can get a little bit of relaxing done in there, too. I am really excited to take the Monsterette sledding in Minnesota and to take her to the ocean for the first time. So many memories and new experiences and wonders, it should be an excellent vacation, even if it is a little stressful. I just need to remember to find the joy and happiness and relax and smile. Ride the wave, Nichole. Ride the wave. What are your plans for the holidays? How is the gift knitting coming, if any?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Again, a few things I am thankful for today: - My first homemade Thanksgiving dinner was a success! - Spending the afternoon with my wonderful boyfriend - Monsterette being a great this morning before going with her dad- she played in the leaves, helped me cook, and looked super cute in a new outfit and after a bath. - Comcast now includes the NFL Network, and I can watch my team tonight! Woot! - Ubuntu! Hope that everyone out there has a wonderful day filled with love, family, friends, and good food!

Handmade Holidays

Alright, I know I said I would get knitting pics up soon, and I promise, they are coming! Maybe tomorrow, if there is enough light for pictures when I get home from class. And if I remember. Heh. Moving on... In addition to my (alleged) knitting, I enjoy a few other crafty endeavours, like sewing. I don't do a ton of it, but every once in a while I get on a sewing kick. I am always surprised by the near instant (compared to knitting, anyway) gratification that I get from sewing something. I am thinking about whipping up some hand-sewn gifts this Christmas. Not entirely sure what yet, but I've got my eye on some things! The Sew, Mama, Sew! blog is having their Handmade Holidays series for the third year now. Every day in November they post a handful of tutorials, mostly for sewing projects, for things that would make great gifts. I've been scouring the last two years' posts, as well, and starting to kind of overwhelm myself with ideas. I suppose I should settle down and pick a few and get to work! Speaking of work, I need to get back on my homework and studying. I'll leave you guys (is there really more than one of you??) with a few of my favorite tutorials from today's searching! Simple Keychains (how fun would it be to let Monsterette "personalize" these?) Beanbag Chair (Monsterette would LOVE this in her room) No-Sew Laptop Cozy (I want one of these! It would be great for my college-faring bro and sis, too. How cute would some applique or simple embroidery be on these?)

Halloween Pictures

The Monsterette as a princess: Me and Doc: I really love the mask I made! I got one of those plastic masks from Hobby Lobby. I covered it with some cool textured felt, added some sparklies, the pretty pink butterflies, feathers, and some ties. super easy, and I think it came out great! Some close-up pictures: Hope you all had a good Halloween! I think we are still recovering from the sugar coma over here. See you tomorrow!

Happy Halloween!

It's the night before Halloween, and we had our kind of "grown-up" Halloween. We went to see a scary movie (Paranormal Activity) and went to a pretty decent haunted house. To keep up the vibe, I decided it would be a good time to get caught up on Ghost Hunters. Tomorrow night we'll start early since we have The Monsterette tomorrow night. We were thinking either the zoo or Old Town before some trick-or-treating. I think tomorrow I'm going to decorate a cool Venetian style mask to wear trick-or-treating. Should be a good time! Pictures soon, after we all come out of our sugar-induced comas. What are you're plans for Halloween? Hope you have a great time, no matter what you do!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, EVERYONE!

Pudell-O

Every big family dinner we ate over at Grandma's included this magical bowl of goodness. It was always served with dinner, as a side. It was a creamy, citrusy concoction that was almost reminiscent of a Dreamsicle. For years, I thought my grandma had just invented this delectable dessert, and that all kinds of love, magic, and special ingredients went into it. Little did I know it was just some Jell-O, pudding, and Cool Whip. I made some last night, and although different from Grandma's, it's still delicious. Here's her basic recipe: INGREDIENTS 1 Box of orange gelatin 1 Box of lemon pudding (cook & serve, NOT instant!) 1 Tub of Cool Whip DIRECTIONS In a large bowl (needs to hold at least 6 cups), prepare Jell-O according to package, but use 3/4 cup of water (both hot and cold) instead of 1 cup. Put aside. Prepare pudding as directed on package. Pour into the bowl with the Jell-O and stir until completely mixed. Put in fridge and let set for a few hours, until firm. When ready to serve, spoon into bowls, and top with a dollop of Cool Whip. Alternatively, you can spread the Cool Whip over the top, while it's in the bowl, and serve it with dinner. Last night, I strayed from the tried-and-true recipe of Grandma's, and decided to use cherry Jell-O and chocolate pudding. It's still delicious, and much more decadent. I also got some vanilla pudding and peach Jell-O. Hubbster also suggested banana cream pudding and strawberry Jell-O. The possibilities are practically endless! I'd love to know if you make this, and what flavors you use!

Wee Tiny Christmas

Yesterday I received my sock from my Wee tiny Sock Swap pal. I wasn't quite expecting a wee bit of Christmas, but it was gladly welcomed! Christmas is definitely my favorite time of year: Inside my Christmas card was a lovely message and my wee tiny sock: I totally love it! It's going to be a cherished ornament. You know, this is the first thing that's ever been knit for me? I'm totally stoked. (You know, guys, you can send me hand knits any time. Really.) My pal hand-dyed this yarn last Christmas for her sister, so it makes it even more special! The base yarn was Louet Pearl, for those of you who are wondering. Isn't it the cutest?! Thanks again, pal, for a special treat in the mail. I know my sock got to it's new home safe and sound, I'll let you know when she blogs and takes pictures of it. Yaay for tiny socks!

Happy Easter

N is For...

N is for nostalgia. With Easter coming up, I thought I'd share some of my childhood Easter memories and traditions. When we awoke on Easter morning, we'd (my younger brother, sister, and I) rush downstairs in our pajamas. Mom would usually be cooking breakfast, most likely egg bake (it's like a scrambled egg casserole) and bacon and cinnamon rolls. The three of us would start hunting- both for our Easter baskets, and those little chocolate eggs, wrapped in colorful foil. Mom and dad would hide at least an entire bag of the little chocolate eggs for us to find. We never found all of them on Easter. For weeks later, we would be finding them tucked away in folds of the couch, or in the corner of a windowsill. After we'd found our Easter baskets and chocolate eggs, we'd sit down to breakfast. (Mom never let us have any candy until after breakfast.) We'd eat and laugh, eying our candy, then go upstairs to nibble away on the goodies as we got ready for church, always in a new dress. A few of the years, I remember my mom sewed our Easter dresses herself. My sister and I always had matching dresses and shoes, and sometimes a hat. After church, we'd head straight over the my Grandparent's house. My Grandpa would hide plastic eggs for us all over the house and yard. We each had a specific color that was "our eggs" , and we'd run off with an old ice cream bucket looking for them. (My grandpa still makes us do this if we come over for Easter, even though we're all now over 18. We still love it.) After we'd found all of our eggs, we'd go back into the living room and open them up to see what prizes were to be found. We always got change and candies, sometimes little erasers or things like that. Then Grandma would give us our Easter baskets, filled with more goodies and toys and whatnot. Easter dinner was always at two. We'd have ham, green bean casserole, Swedish meatballs, and this awesome creamy potato casserole my grandma makes. We'd sit around and talk, laugh, and enjoy the company of each other. We'd drive home, and usually crash from our sugar high, happy and stuffed. What are your Easter memories?

The Day After

Valentine's Day has come and gone. Now, I do think it is a bit of a cheesy holiday, but it is still fun to celebrate love. (Before some of you get all worked up and tell me Hallmark created the holiday, it's not true. Go check out this! Hallmark just banks on it.) I try to get nice, thoughtful gifts for Valentine's- this year, Hubbster got some much needed new slippers, and some swanky satin pajama pants. He kind of looks like Hef in them... Anyways. I got some very lovely gifts too, but those deserve their very own post! So, more on that tomorrow. At any rate, I hope you all had a great day yesterday, even if you just spent it loving yourself. (Erin, quit giggling! Not like that!) I'm off to get caught up on email, blogs, and Ravelry- I'm almost two whole days behind!

Happy Holidays

Hey everyone! I hope everyone is having a great holiday season! So far, ours has been excellent- lots of family and joy. I thought I would share a picture of our tree from Christmas morning. See you all soon!

Fun Times

My sister has been in town since Saturday morning, and I've been having a blast with her! Shopping, good food, snowboarding, and hair dye have all played their part these past few days, and boy do I have some funny crap to tell you guys. Well, I think it's funny, at least. Knitting has been almost non-existent, and I really need to get cranking and finish the very few bits I have left! packages need to get mailed, and I've given up hope (once again) on doing Christmas cards. Even though this is my favorite time of year, I'm a little stressed. On that note, I'm leaving you guys with yet another LOLcat- this one, though, totally reflects my feelings today. See you soon! moar funny pictures

Finished Knits

I have a ton of finished stuff to show you guys! I've been cranking on the Christmas knitting, and a few things for myself, as well. No effin' around, let's get right to the pictures. First thing, here's the new scarf I mentioned in this post: I used one skein of Malabrigo in the Little Lovely colorway. The scarf is done in seed stitch, which while fiddly, I love! This scarf rocks my face off. It was a quick, fun knit, and I love the texture and how it plays with the yarn. YUM! Next up, the Braided Cable Gauntlets I've been working on for ages. I finished them over the Thanksgiving holiday, and I think one is floating around the car somewheres... They're really cute, no? Warm and toasty, too. my only complaint is the they're not long enough in the fingers area. I may make these again someday, and I'll fix that. The braided cable is deceptively easy- It looks so complicated, but really isn't any harder than a normal 3x3 cable. Some of you have no idea what that means, and that's okay. I still love you. Next up, some Christmas gifties. I made a slightly adapted pair of Fetching gloves for my sister-in-law: I really love the color- you can't really tell from my crappy picture, but they're a gorgeous heathered light blue-grey color. I made them longer in the wrist and in the fingers for extra coverage, because that was my one complaint with my pair. Next on the list, I decided to venture into felting my knits, and made some stylin' hot pads for my aunt-in-law, who is really more like my mother-in-law, bless her heart. I decided to hand felt, because I wanted more control over the felting, and besides, I'm still really scared to throw wool into a washing machine. Anyways, the first I knit on 2 needles, then seamed up and felted: The second, which I love, I just knit a big rectangle, felted it, and then decided to try my hand at some needle felting: Here's a close-up of the corners: I really had a blast with the needle felting- I can see it easily becoming my new addiction. It's really cool to see what you can do with it. I'm pretty stoked at how my very first project came out, too. I also have almost three of four of my Christmas hats done, too. Maybe I can squeeze in a few more knitted gifts this year. Or I could gouge out my eyes with knitting needles. We'll just have to wait and see...

Crunch Time

Only two weeks until Christmas! Yaay! I really do love this time of year. I've got almost all of the Christmas shopping done, and even more of the Christmas knitting. Although, I do keep trying to find little projects to add to the knitting list. I think I'm going to start next years Christmas knitting much earlier- like, March. That way I don't have to see all these beautiful and awesome projects flying off my needles without a single one being for myself! I'm really proud of all I have accomplished in my knitting, though, and I am excited to see how people react to the gifts I've made them. I really do think that is the best part of it all- giving the gifts you made. Hopefully in the next few days, I'll have my mini tree up, and I'll be sure to post pictures. Gift wrapping, baking, and lots of other fun holiday things are coming, too! Please, don't spoil my festivity by reminding me I have a 9 day vacation to pack for... Update: I forgot to add we found the missing mouse- she hadn't escaped, but died in the cage. I found her when I was changing the bedding. I know, I'm sad too.

Holiday Meme

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Definitely Eggnog. We don't really do much hot chocolate, but there is hot apple cider. 2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa wraps presents, and puts them under the tree very late at night. Funny, though, his handwriting has always been strikingly like my mom's. 3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? My mom does colored lights, but not excessively. When I have a house to put lights on, I'll do white. 4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nope. 5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually around the first week in December. I don't have the mini tree up yet, because I've been so busy with all the Christmas knitting. 6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? My grandma makes this awesome potato casserole that is diced potatoes with cheese and sour cream and oh, it is just too good. 7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? I always loved decorating the tree- my family has such an eclectic assortment of ornaments, wel ove to pull them out and laugh and reminesce. 8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Honestly, I don't remember! 9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? We've always done Christmas Eve with my dad's side of thre family- dinner, presents, the whole shebang. 10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Like I said, my mom's is very eclectic. My very first tree was done with white lights, silver garland, and different sized balls in silvers and whites, with a star on top. Oh, and of course, candy canes! Now, though, we have some different ornaments, which I am fine with. 11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love it! Christmas isn't the same without snow. 12. Can you ice skate? Are you kidding? I'm from Minnesota. Of course I can ice skate! 13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Joie was born right after Christmas- does that count? 14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Everything! This is truly my favorite time of year. I love the spirit, the joy of gift giving, the family, the food. 15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? My Grandma makes this awesome rice pudding and we put fresh strawberry sauce on top. Yum! 16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Since we were really little, my brother and sister and I have gotten up around 4:30 on Christmas morning, just to look at the tree. We sit quietly in the dark, and just admire it all lit up with the presents stacked underneath it. 17. What tops your tree? Mine has a twinkly star, but my mom's has an angel. 18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I really love it when someone opens a gift from me and they love it. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. 19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Carol of the Bells. I like it because it's kind of creepy. 20. Candy canes? Yum! I like all of the flavored ones, too.

Sorry, Elmo.

Two of your friends may have been harmed in the making of these scarves. Nonetheless, two young girls will be absolutely tickled to receive them as Christmas gifts. Here are the two Muppet Murder Scarves, one in hot pink and one in bright purple. This is also my one allotted fun fur post for the year. These were so easy to make. I used one skein for each scarf. I cast on 15 stitches and just knit until I ran out of "yarn". They are the perfect size for a little girl- if for some ungodly reason you would like to make one for yourself, I would get two skeins. I still need needles for more Christmas knitting, so I've been working on more dishcloths that will go out as Christmas gifts, as well. I recently discovered that I can knit dishcloths without even looking at it while I knit, so they are my new favorite TV knitting item. I think I'm going to go to Hobby Lobby today and get some needles, though. Christmas is right around the corner now! In other news, you should go check out Stitchy McYarnpants if you haven't already. Especially funny for knitters, but good clean fun for everyone! The most recent post is positively creepy.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

First off, I want to apologize for minor blog wonkiness. I've finally fixed the permalink issue, but not sure if my feeds are working (they haven't been since I switched to beta) and I need to make a few adjustments, as you can probably tell. At least they are minor things like text size and that crap. With Thanksgiving being tomorrow and Christmas around the corner, I thought I would share my favorite holiday dessert recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. It is super yummy, and really easy to make. Pumkin Cheesecake Ingredients: 16 ounces of softened cream cheese 1/2 C. Sugar 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract 2 eggs 1/2 C. canned pumkin 1/2 tsp. each of cinnamon, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg One 6 ounce pie crust First off, make sure the cream cheese is softened. Just let it sit on the counter for about an hour. If it isn't softened, then you'll get little cream cheese chunks in it and it won't look as nice. Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend well- it should be smooth and creamy with no creame cheese lumpies. Pour into pie crust (I like to use a big measuring scoop so as not to make such a huge mess). Make sure to save the plastic liner from the pie crust- when the pies are all finished, you can take off the label and sticky glue crap, and use it as a lid. Just flip it upside-down and pinch the pie tin edges over it- voila! Easy to transport!I find that it doesn't all fit into the pie crust- that's okay! You don't want it overflowing. Put it in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until the center is set. This means that when you pull it out with some hot pads and give it a little shake, the center doesn't wiggle like it is still wet. It'll jiggle a little- kind of like set jello. Cool and refridgerate until serving. This recipe is really easy to double, as well! If you're not afraid of eating raw eggs, you can lick the spoon and eat the leftover filling like decadent pudding. Enjoy!

Halloween Costume and Knitterly News

I thought I would share my Halloween costume with everyone. It didn't see much action- I wore it to work last night, and it was only a two hour shift and the store was dead. Ah well- I still got my name in the hat for a goodie basket from work. Anyways, here it is. I was a teabag. No perverted jokes, mmkay? It's not really a great picture of me, but there ya go. You can't really tell in the picture, but the skirt has a layer of meshy fabric over it to enhance the look of it all. It was pretty easy to whip together, and I got a good reaction from the coworkers, so I guess that's good. I just want prizes, really. In knitterly news, my Super Secret Spy Gift is almost complete! I have to knit one more row, cast off, and weave in some ends and make some pretties on it and give it a dip in some washy stuff, and It'll be lovingly shoved into my Box of Christmas Gifts until it's time to pull it out and wrap it up. I'm actually quite pleased with how quickly the knit went, and it makes me hopeful that I actually will finish all the knitted gifts I want to give for Christmas. Keep your fingers crossed for me! Keep those great blog ideas coming, too! Feel free to submit more than one if the mood strikes you. Remember, there's goodies involved!! I'll see you all tomorrow...