Christmas Booty

Christmas is over and I have survived. Jay and I rushed around on Christmas Eve day and got all of our shopping done. I managed to pull off his present before we left for dinner at his grandma's and I even filled his stocking, on Christmas morning. Thank you, CVS, for being open. We manage to lure the kids into our room Christmas morning & Jay kept them corralled there while I ran for Starbucks (and his stocking stuffers). Two grande Pikes in venti cups the double shots in each. We needed it.

I got home, stuffed Jay's stocking and gave the release signal. Like a herd of wildebeest, they trampled downstairs and dove under the tree. Well, Phoenix went under the tree for presents, Paxton just wanted candy. We got everyone sitting and handed out stockings. Paxton was happy with his Ring Pops and Smarties; Phoenix wanted the big stuff.

Watching them open presents has got to be the funnest thing about Christmas. Their little eyes lighting up, the excitement and joy when they open something they really wanted. It seems to fade pretty quickly though, when the presents run out or if one of them gets something the other one wanted. Then there's a mess of wrapping paper and boxes to clean up and a million toys to put away in an already-packed room.

Jay got a headset for Xbox Live and a new charge & play kit since we go through batteries in ridiculous quantities; he put them to use right away and has repeatedly told me 'Thank you', with hugs and kisses and all. He didn't think it would be that cool but he said the same thing about Live and honestly, Live and this headset are two of the BEST presents I have ever gotten him. He didn't know how much he would like or use either until he had them!

I'd be lying if I didn't admit to making out with an insane haul myself. I got the new phone I was asking for, some towels from the mother-in-law, (including one for the new baby!) and between my brother in Portland and my sister-in-law here in town, I probably have TEN POUNDS of yarn. NO JOKE. My brother, Galen, sent down some vintage Mary Maxim, some funky fun fur, a brick of yarn that could probably make a sweater or a couple shawls at least and a bunch of other stuff. My sister-in-law gave me four huge skeins of Red Heart and a skein of Lion brand Homespun that looks like boucle. Jay picked it up immediately and fiddled with it for a bit, which totally threw me for a loop. Yes, he's asked me to knit hats to give out but he's never really been interested in anything for himself. Slowly but surely, I am winning him over. Maybe I'll even knit him a hat out of it, if I can find the right pattern.

I've already dug into this new-found stash and I'm working on stuff to ship out that should have gone out before the holiday. If you're expecting something, forgive me; December is hard on me and these little fingers. I still haven't learned that holiday knitting should start right after Christmas and go ALL YEAR LONG.

The boys have cracked into their booty too; Phoenix has built ALL of his LEGOS, with some help, and Paxton has actually played with his some of his toys, since all the Christmas candy 'mysteriously' disappeared. Of course, his favorites are his Thomas the Train set, which is loud and damned annoying and makes Mommy want to go all Godzilla and start stomping and crushing and destroying and his Ninja Turtle skateboard, which is also loud and annoying but not as bad as Thomas.

We also seemed to catch Christmas colds and are nursing coughs and itchy throats. Both boys were hacking through the night and I woke up to that tell-tale burning, scratching, raw throat. Better to catch them now, after the holidays and with plenty of time off from school, than to have them during the holidays or right before school starts back up. I'm looking forward to this little 'vacation' and hoping you guys had a great Christmas.

Have fun during Winter break. Be safe. Stay warm.

NEW YEARS' IS ALMOST HERE.

The secret I just can't keep

I recently got asked to participate in something AH-MAZING and while the title of this post implies I'm going to tell you all the lovely little details, I'm not; I'm going to give you just a little tidbit and make you wait for the rest.

A couple days ago, FB Messenger popped up and I was scolded by Kelly at DeBie Hive for not being more accessible. You see, my personal profile on FB is set to reject any messages originating from people outside of my friends. Not always the best privacy setting to have active when moderating a page and attempting to be more "open".

After the scolding was over (it was really more like "Fix your settings!" but this is where I take a little 'creative license') and the privacy setting had been updated to allow any old user to message me, I sent out an I-heard-you-were-trying-to-reach-me message.

I quickly got a response and a call to action.

In this blogging world, you either make it or you don't and part of making it means making friends. We support each other and sometimes, because we're almost exclusively connected via the intrawebs, we band together to DO SOMETHING REAL for one another. Being asked to participate in something for another blogger is awesome. It's not a guest post or anything bloggy though; it's a physical, real-life, you-can-hold-in-your-hands thing and I will be a part of making it.

Many of you may not know this but I gotz mad skillz.

Mad knitting skillz.

You may not think knitting requires skill but I'll fix that piece of misinformation for you. Knitting takes insane skills, some of which are math-based and therefore NOT my strongest. It's creative and challenging and consuming. I can do it just about any time, any place; I can knit while watching t.v. or having a conversation. I've knit hats, shawls, shrugs, sweaters, mitts and animals and no one can escape getting something I've knitted.

While I can't say what or who quite yet, I am so honored to be doing it I had to say something or risk exploding from keeping all this awesomeness bottled up. I'm already speeding through and I'm sure I'll be ready to ship out next week. It's only put a tiny dent in my holiday knitting time and it's worth the lost time to be able to say "I was a part of that."

I can't wait to see what it looks like in the end!!

Back to the needles

After a year (as close as I can guess; maybe a little longer) without a single yarn purchase, I was beginning to think I'd never knit again. I know. So sad, huh?

Ostrich Plume Mitts

After I finished my Ostrich Plume Shrug, I decided a pair of mitts would be a great way to use up the remaining yarn I had and would be the perfect accessory. The only problem was, I couldn’t find a pattern that I thought matched. ‘I can still do this,’ I told myself so I pulled on my Big-Girl pants, took a deep breath and dove in.

Here is the pattern that emerged…

Obviously, my inspiration was the Ostrich Plume Shrug mixed with a little bit of  some Mmmalabrigo Glovies.  I hope you enjoy it my Ostrich Plume Mitts!

Happiness on a Monday

I have two reasons to celebrate this Monday.

1: I got the Oregon Emergency Benefits! This means I get a few more weeks of unemployment; it's been a struggle since they were cut off in January. Between financing the business and keeping the household in line, we were sinking -- slowly but surely. Now we can breath a little easier and do some catching up. 

2: I got a wonderful box of goodies from my swap partner! She made a huge, lovely bowl and threw in some Lindor chocolates, a little pink birdy, some wicker balls and potpourri. I even got a recipe and a handwritten note <3

 I've already busted into the chocolate...it's got caramel in the middle!

This makes me super excited for the next swap coming up in June; this one is a "long term swap" so it's suppose to be more extravagant. It's spa-themed swap so we're encouraged to knit a spa set which will be so much fun! I have a wash mitt halfway finished already and have plans for a magically shrinking soap sack and a felted loofah. 

All of this is on top of three other projects! I've never had this many projects going at once; I almost think I'm asking too much of myself and my knitting skills...