TAG.....I'm It?

I saw this on the Knit & Purl Grrl website & thought I'd join in for my FIRST tag (although I wasn't tagged & so does this even count?)

5 Things in my fridge:

• Romaine lettuce
  
• Asahi (Japanese Beer)
  
• Pepperoni
  
• Jonagold Apples
• Shredded Cheese
  




5 things in my closet:

• My wedding dress & shoes
  
• Assortment of bathing suits (that I wouldn't be caught dead in right now)
  
• My favorite Anne Klein jeans (that don't fit)
  
• My favorite black leather jacket (also doesn't fit right now)
  
• COACH handbags (2) -- thankfully these always fit!
  




5 things in my purse:

• iPod
• Disneyland Deluxe Annual Pass
  
• sunglasses (that I hate because they are soooo out of style)
  
• pictures of my neices, nephews & grandkids
  
• margarita (I wish)
  




5 things in my car:

• map of southern California
  
• assortment of CD's (until I get my car retrofitted to play my iPod)
  
• Curel hand lotion
• Acura owner's manual
  
• lint remover
  




5 things on my Tivo:

• DH's VIETNAM shows
  
• Knitty Gritty episode from DIY
  
• Sex & the City (edited version)
  
• Law & Order
• Little House on the Prairie (yes, I'll admit it)
  




5 people I'm tagging:


• Saunshine
• D Diva
• Island Chicklet
• my lil' sis (who needs to get a blog)
• Mya Finari

(feel free to tag yourself if I didn't mention your name....I did!)

Travel Deal!

I finally got our resort booked at WDW for the 2nd part of our cruise vacation. We're staying at Disney's Old Key West Resort for 6 days/5 nights. If I book it with Disney or a TA, it will cost me $1,500. However, I am the overly-obnoxious internet researcher for almost everything & I found a website for a DVC (Disney Vacation Club) owner that will rent his timeshare points for you to use at any of the available resorts through DVC. He conferenced me in with Disney's member services, they checked availability at the resort & for the same exact location, room, etc, I'm only paying $480. UNBELIEVABLE! I will always travel to DisneyWorld this way!

Duke crawled up on the sofa after DH went to bed & decided to lie next to me & watch me knit (how cute). Normally the dogs aren't allowed on the sofa since one of them left visible scratching marks on the left cushion & if DH had found out which one it was....well, lets just say there probably would've been a boot print on that dogs behind!

Tank this Knit!

I finally started making Saunshine's tank top!

I purchased the pattern, and the mailman finally delivered the yarn!

Then there's the colorcoding of the chart

(only the 2nd chart I've ever used)

and after accessing my work...
I then begin to RIP!

(the perils of being a perfectionist I suppose)

And then it all goes back together in a partial front

Although right now I'm trying to rewrite part of the pattern for the next section since I had to recently FROG that!

Unfortunately I've found errors which doesn't help since I'm not an advanced knitter yet (then again, am I even an intermediate?)

I hope someday when I start pattern-writing (wishful thinking),

that I don't have any errors.

(my perfectionist side coming out again)

Anyway....I should be an expert at tank tops when I'm done with this!

There's no better thing when you're having a bad day, than a margarita (half drank obviously!) I went to the salon today to have my hair colored & trimmed (after putting it off for months & months). I took my knitting with me since I knew I'd be stuck for 45 mintues while the color processed, but what should have been a 2 1/2 hour total salon visit ended up being a 4 hour trip to hell!! Not only did she let the color sit & process too long (1 1/2 hours), but she also gave me the most horrific haircolor that I think I'll just stick to baseball hats for awhile!

I actually should be including a photo of my hair, but I'm so horrified, that I can't bring myself to pose for the photo! My regular hairstylist just up & quit at the salon I usually go to & figuring that the other people there were talented too....ha! BIG mistake on my part. I'm normally a blonde-ish brown color since I get my gray hair roots covered & then do a hi-light & lo-light to add depth, dimension, etc. BUT TODAY....I'm almost orange! Oh the horror!

Isn't this little hairball in front of Duke just so cute? NOT!! I cannot believe the amount of hair coming off these retrievers every day. I feel like I should start saving it, washing it, & then use it to spin yarn or something. I love my dogs, but this hair thing has me seriously reconsidering ever owning a long-haired dog again!

Tomorrow will be a better day. At least my husband has the day off from work & I'll be with him longer than usual (which is 7:30pm-9pm)!

Grandma?

Knitting? What Knitting? Cruise? What cruise? I'm busy with the grandkids!!

I can't believe that I'm only 36-yrs young & yesterday a 3-yr old was yelling at me: "Grandma Kristie, come see me blow bubbles!"
(what a beautiful sound) My mother is absolutely horrified that I'm being called "Grandma", but I love it!! So how is it that a 36-yr old gets to be a grandma? Well... I married a wonderful man a "few" years older than me. I had no idea when we were dating that he was as "old" as he is or that he had a daughter just 9-years younger than me, but age is relative. I've never thought of age as important anyway. One of the advantages of my old guy has been the grandkids - definitely the icing on the cake!!

My mom is sure that I'll regret not having kids & maybe I will, but I never wanted them until I was with DH. He's the only man that I've sincerely wanted to have kids with. Unfortunately the doctor "snip, snipped" him years ago & the reversal is $7,500.00!! I guess we could skip vacations to pay for it, but there's still no guarantee that I'd get pregnant. ...And if I did...maybe I'd go through some of the past horrors of being in a delivery room & not bringing home a baby! No thank you!

Anyway....we had a lovely holiday & loved being with the boys & can't wait until Sunday when we get to see them again for Austin's T-ball game!

Knitting? Am I knitting? Why yes I am! What am I knitting? A horrible little cardigan until my yarn arrives for my tank top! I'll take photos of the cardi I suppose....right before I burn it!

De-Clutter Me

I was reading the While You Were Sleeping blog & she was commenting on "stuff". You know, the pile of things we accumulate over the years that one day just seems to take over. I come from a long line of "keepers of stuff". My grandparents, parents, aunts, etc...they all have these "things" clogging up their lives & the comments are...."we may need it" or "I'm going to use this for..." or "so & so gave this to me & I couldn't possibly get rid of it", & the excuses go on & on. I decided to end the madness. I was not about to continue such a horrible habit of placing my things ahead of my life! I'm still in progress on this de-cluttering, but so far so good.

I started with one room. For feeling of accomplishment & to get the momentum going I started with the room I thought had the least amount of clutter... the bedroom. I was wrong! First of all there were items that don't belong in a bedroom -- exercise equipment, knitting supplies, & the boxes of items I haven't looked at and/or used in years (a box of exercise tapes, a box of stuffed animals, a box of odds & ends, etc). I decided that I would objectively look at every item & ask myself some questions:

"Have I used this in the last 12 months?"
"Will I use this in the next 6 months?"
"Do I like or love this item?"

If I honestly answered no to any of those questions... I put the item in a box & took it to charity so that somebody can get something useful from that item. Sounds simple enough, but it's very difficult to let go of things that have memories attached to them.

For example, I went to the Bahamas & stayed at the Atlantis resort & while I was there I gathered shells on the beach. A few months later on my birthday, I received a gift (from one of my travelling companions) of a glass container with some white Caribbean sand in the bottom, a few of the shells I had picked up from the beach sitting on the sand & a small candle set in the center. It was a great gift...but the leftover shells that weren't used were put in a white box that carried other odds & ends of things that really didn't have a "place".

I have carried this box with me from place to place adding odds & ends of "junk" for the last 6 years or more. And why? What purpose was it serving? I hadn't looked at or used any of the objects in YEARS....so I tossed all the items in the box! It was very freeing to throw those shells away, along with all the other items in the box. Now I had an empty box to place in my office/craft room for useful items such as cd's or knitting supplies or card-making supplies, etc. I promised myself right then & there to never have a box like that again...and I don't.

Although I'm not entirely clutter-free, I will say that my home is much more manageable. I know pretty much where everything is (or I can find it in 5 minutes). I will always be improving my de-cluttering system, but most nothing feels better than ridding yourself of useless "stuff"!

*Picture is my knitting stash storage / organizing solution

Taxes -- finally a good thing!

Knitting has definitely taken a back seat for awhile. I've been extremely busy booking a vacation and making cards for Easter! Other than knitting, the only other thing that was put in the backburner was the taxes. I normally wait until around the 10th of April to do them. I try to put off the inevitable of finding out what ridiculous amount of money I owe both the feds & the state government. Well....for some reason I started my taxes early & low & behold...we are getting back THOUSANDS of dollars! I was shocked, but then remembered that our mortgage payment adjusted last year & we were paying an extra 3% in interest! Well, instead of doing the smart thing like put it in savings, along came my guilty pleasure instinct...... I booked a vacation.


On September 23rd we leave California on a red-eye flight through New York to arrive on the 24th in beautiful Puerto Rico. There we will taxi to the pier to board the RCCL Adventure of the Seas. Our destinations on that 7-day cruise include Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, St. Thomas & then back to Puerto Rico (San Juan). When we arrive back in San Juan on October 1st, we're not flying back to California, we're stopping off in Orlando to spend 6 days at Walt Disney World. Part of the reason we're extending our vacation is because our 3rd anniversary is on October 4th. The other reason, is that I took DH to WDW last year for his 50th birthday & all he has talked since then is "when are we going back to WDW?" Well baby, you got your wish!!

Since mom is a TA, she has saved us a little bit of money on the trip, but....since she is my mom, it's not like my trip is her priority, so I've been trying to be patient getting everything booked. As it stands now, airfare is completely paid for (flying Jet Blue for the first time), the travel insurance is paid for (I opted for the "cancel for any reason" policy) & the deposit on the cruise is paid. Our hotel at WDW (Port Orleans French Quarter) is on hold, but I'd really like to get that finalized, just as soon as my mother returns the urgent message I told my father to give her. Of course she isn't calling me back because my nephew, her 2-month old grandson, is visiting overnight & I'm sure that's her priority right now. (Do I sound jealous or just frustrated that my entire trip isn't finalized because of her?)


Yesterday & today I worked on Easter cards. I only made 12 of them so it should've taken a lot less time than it did, but I wanted to make a variety pack...and I did. Unfortunately, I didn't make enough to keep any, but at least I have photos of them all.

Projects to do?

I've been blog-surfing today & have found quite a few items I'd like to make! This is a very good thing since I haven't knitted much in projects this year (I'll blame it on a lot of "practice work").




I've already downloaded the pattern for the Calla Tank but I'll have to wait until the same designer publishes the pattern for the black tank.
The cardigan (SAL) & sweater (FAY) are both kits from Kim Hargreaves New Beginnings collection. I was trying to figure out my size on their chart & unfortunately I'm at least a medium. By the way, who orders the extra small? Hollywood starlets sitting on their movie set knitting? The only problem with this kits ...they are too expensive for my budget right now. If I come into money though (lotto winnings?), I think I'll make the cardigan in the color "grand" or "rich" and the sweater in the color "whisper" or "daydream". Wouldn't the cardigan kit make a great present for me to get on my birthday?
(I think DH reads this blog, so here's the "hint" honey...and save your money, it's "spendy")



I'm also always on the lookout for my neices, nephews & grandsons & I ran across this cute cardigan. If I were a wonderful aunt (and I am) I would make these for my neices. (I wonder how much the yarn is going to cost?)

I also saw that WEBS is having their big sale. I must narrow down what I'm going to order soon! I would hate for them to sell out of something I want!

too tired

If you're too tired to brush, floss & rinse...is it okay to just rinse?

Probably not, huh?

London?

I just don't want to go to bed, but I don't want to knit either....actually I do want to knit but I'm missing either a decent pattern, or the right yarn, or the correct needles....excuses, excuses.

So I was browsing the internet & ran across a site where you fill out any one of a huge variety of surveys & you get back an answer to copy into your blog. The survey I decided to try was "What European City Do You Belong In?" I think I answered less than 5 questions in about 30 seconds & here's what I got!

You Belong in London

You belong in London, but you belong in many cities... Hong Kong, San Francisco, Sidney. You fit in almost anywhere. And London is diverse and international enough to satisfy many of your tastes. From curry to Shakespeare, London (almost) has it all!

What European City Do You Belong In?