So many updates!

Sorry I've been away for so long, but it's been for good reason! My husband is HOME! Yes, home. As in here, in my arms. Okay, not at the moment, but you get what I'm saying. :) It is so awesome having him home. He finally made it home on March 16th after being in transit for over a week. The wait was horrible but sooo worth it! Here's a quick shot of the sign I made for him:


Nice, huh? That's over 70 feet of homecoming goodness. On a sad note, the wind ripped it down before he got to see the whole thing, but he got to see pictures. We had also made a couple other signs that he got to see.

Since my husband has come home, we've started doing a lot of reorganizing of the house and cleaning. We're moving to Colorado in a few months and trying to condense our stuff to as little as possible! I took it upon myself to reorganize my knitting needles. I have the KnitPicks Options interchangeable knitting needles. They used to come in a book that looked like a planner, but then they went to a plastic storage case. I like the book idea, so I bought one. Unfortunately it wasn't as great as I thought. The book was a bit too small for what I wanted and had some zipper problems. So what did I do? I went to Walmart and bought THIS:


Here's an inside shot. Each set of tips has its own spot, plus a place for cables. I even have my sock circulars for Magic Loop in there! Check it out:


I am so in love with all the pockets and places to put things. I have the pattern for the socks I'm working on in the front pocket on the outside of the case. It even has some paper for jotting down notes and a pen holder, since it was originally a planner. The handles retract so I can stick it in my purse and have ALL my needles at my fingertips! Except for those that are tangled up in other projects, of course. LOL

Speaking of other projects, check out my first pair of socks! The pattern was written for toe-up, two-at-a-time Magic Loop, but I am only doing one at a time to learn. Here they are in Mermaid Lagoon:


Well, that's about everything for now. Soon my hubby will be getting his workshop together. I'll be sure to give you the tour and show off the fabulous things he makes me. Don't forget to thank a vet!

Waiting

My husband should be home in a few days. Yes, I said DAYS! We were hoping for a certain date, but I was told today that there was a sandstorm. They may not have been able to fly out, which means that they'll be here later. I still haven't heard from my husband, so I guess I'll just have to keep waiting. I'm really hoping to hear from him sometime tonight and for him to tell me he was able to get out of the country.

There's so much stuff left to do. I still need to clean the house and finish signs. However, I'm having a hard time getting motivated. I'm afraid that if I get everything done, his homecoming will get pushed back. Plus, I work better under pressure anyway! :) Back to work. Don't forget to thank a vet!

Busy, busy, busy!

Eeeek! We're getting so close to Homecoming! The husband should be home in less days than I have fingers. Woohoo! I still have a house to scrub, laundry to do, food to buy...all kinds of stuff. I received my order today, and the Imagination sock yarn I got from KnitPicks is even softer and more yummy than I had hoped! I just placed another order for some odds and ends and some more yarn, this time in Unicorn. Wanna see? Here it is:


Isn't it so girly and awesome?! I might make the girls some socks, but it'll probably end up as another pair for me. :) Well, back to work. Don't forget to thank a vet!

Excited, yet terrified

For the past day or two, my husband and I have been discussing an idea I approached him with. I guess I should start at the beginning. Recently, I ordered some beautiful new sock yarn from KnitPicks. I am waiting on my Imagination sock yarn in Mermaid Lagoon. Isn't it beautiful?



I can't wait to get my hands on it! This will be my first attempt at socks, and I am really, really excited! You must be asking, what does this have to do with being terrified? LOL Aside from worrying about frogging the heck out of my first socks, nothing. I'm getting to my point. Anyway, I started looking online for a swift and a ball winder. It's amazing how expensive some yarn swifts are! Then I started thinking...my husband has wanted to get some woodworking tools and set up a workshop for a long time now. We are going to have some extra money soon, so why not suggest he buy them? He works so hard for our family, it's about time he has something for himself. So, I mentioned that I had been looking online and suggested that he could have a little side business making some different items that we could sell online. He loved the idea! So now we are getting things together to start our own business! It's really exciting, but also pretty scary. I mean, luckily there is little risk involved for us. He enjoys woodworking, so he'll use any tools or wood that we buy. Eventually I'd like to learn to spin and expand our business to spindles and possibly even handspun and hand-dyed yarns! However, if it didn't sell, I could just knit with it myself. Oh no! LOL I think it will be okay...but it's still a bit terrifying. Only time will tell! Don't forget to thank a vet!

He's coming home!!

Wow, it just hit me today how soon my hubby is coming home! It still feels like forever, but in reality, it's not that far away! I still have so many things that need to be done around here. Lots of cleaning to do, signs to paint, laundry, shopping...you get the idea. He should hopefully be home by St Patrick's Day!! Lucky me!! I still have lots of schoolwork to do on top of everything else. We're also planning a trip to NC for April. I'm just so ready to have him home!

Oh, on another note - my birthday is tomorrow! Happy Birthday to me! Even though I'm going to be 24, I still love my birthday and love making a big deal about it. I'll probably bake myself a cake tomorrow. :) It would be fantastic if Joe was going to be home, but since he's coming home 3 months earlier than planned, I'm NOT complaining!

By the way, has anyone seen the movie Spectacular on Nickelodeon? I am so in love with this movie for some reason! Maybe it's because I love musicals, I dunno. I just downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes and was rocking out to it while I cleaned the living room. Speaking of which, I need to make my shopping list so I can get back to cleaning. Don't forget to thank a vet!

The flu and a clean house!

The past week has been pretty rough. First the kids got sick, one by one. Then when they started feeling better, I got sick. It was the worst I've felt in a very long time. My head throbbed, my body ached, and my neck hurt so bad. My throat was incredibly swollen (it still is a little) and sore. Ugh. Then top that off with 3 days of a fever, and you had me over the weekend. The only highlights were getting to talk to Joe quite a bit. And of course, getting my new phone, which I am sooo in love with.

On a more positive note, I finally got my living room cleaned today. It looked like a disaster area from when I was sick and didn't feel like cleaning. It's amazing how quickly one room can go to hell when you are sick and the kids are running around like crazies. Today I finally got around to cleaning it and now it looks great. I've never been a person who enjoys cleaning. I don't live in filth, but my house usually has a decent level of clutter at all times. Over the past year or so, I've noticed that I start to get antsy when the house is a mess. Like the walls are closing in on me or something. It's really weird, but good! Now my house stays fairly clean. The husband will like it when he comes home. He used to get a bit frustrated with my cleaning habits. :) Don't forget to thank a vet!

It's coming!

My husband surprised me this morning with my Valentine's Day present a little early. He had to tell me sooner than he wanted because it's supposed to be delivered tomorrow. Are you dying to know what it is?! Well I'm dying to tell you! It's a Blackberry Storm!! He got one too. In case you don't know, here's what it looks like:

I'm so excited to get it!! Hopefully it will show up early tomorrow. I have the best husband ever! He's so amazingly awesome! Well, it's about time to dress the kids and go to the store. Don't forget to thank a vet!

So busy!

I've been meaning to post for a few days, but things have been really busy around here. I'm still working on schoolwork, which takes a lot of my time. Factor in the kids and Joe's upcoming homecoming (yaaaaay!), and it equals insanity! I did find out that I have about 2 weeks longer to finish this course than I initially thought. That makes things somewhat easier, but not much. I did get a chance to start on the blanket I'm making for Bella's teacher. I've only got about 2 inches done, since I don't have much time to work on it. Oh well, there's still plenty of time to finish it. Oh! I got new glasses! They are really helping with the headaches. I find myself wearing them more and more, so I'm glad I went with the ones I liked. Maybe sometime soon I'll get around to posting a picture of them and my blanket progress. That's about all for now. Don't forget to thank a vet!

A bunch of random stuff!

All I can say about that game is WOW! It was heart-pounding hard hitting action. I was standing up and yelling at my TV the whole 4th quarter. I found the great picture above on Photobucket and just had to share it. Click here for the original. It's days like these that make me miss living in Pittsburgh so very much. The schools even had a 2 hour delay this morning because of the game last night! How awesome is that?! We take Steelers pride very seriously in Pittsburgh!

What other good news do I have to share? Just the most important thing ever! My wonderful husband called this morning and told me when his flight leaves to come home. I am sooo excited that he'll be home soon. He's been gone way too long. Of course, things will change a little bit between now and then, but it should be pretty close to what he told me today. Yaaaaaay!

I also got a LOT of our bills paid off, so we should be in a better place financially when the hubby comes home. Exciting! I guess that's what happens when you have 3 kids. It makes a tax return kick ass! :) I got to tell the hubby about it today on the phone, and he was so excited! I love making him proud.

Well, I think that's all the good news for today. I've been on Cloud 9 all day. Don't forget to thank a vet!

Next month!

HOLY CRAP! It's February. Not only do I turn 24 this month, but my husband comes home NEXT MONTH! I have sooo much to get done. This is going to be a real time crunch. How I am looking forward to having that man home! I have lots to do, so I can't write a lot now. I'll make a longer post later. One last thing before I go...how about them STEELERS?!?! First to 6, baby! Don't forget to thank a vet!

A good day!

Today was so nice. I went to Walmart this morning to do some shopping, and Brooke didn't throw a fit. This is a minor miracle. After I came home, I put away the groceries and worked on some more schoolwork. I got my Medical Language reading out of the way before leaving to get Bella from school. Pasha got into the van with only a little prodding for our trip to Petsmart. She behaved so well inside Petsmart, walking right beside me as I pushed the girls in the cart. Then when we loaded back into the van, she hopped right in! Yaaaay! It's been about 6 weeks since we adopted her, and this was the first time she's hopped right in. Success!! After we dropped her off at home, the girls and I went to Burger King to eat and play. The girls ate well, played well, and didn't put up a fuss when it was time to go. Then when we got home, I checked my email and my assignment was waiting for me. I did sooo much better this time! The mistakes I made were minor and my instructor complimented me. :) Oh! We also got our tax refund today, so I got to pay off some debt. That will make Joe very happy! Days like today are what make the rest bearable. Don't forget to thank a vet!

It's here!

My Lion Brand Cotton-Ease showed up today, 2 days earlier than Joann.com said it would. Oh how I love it when stuff comes early! I'm a bit surprised at how small the skeins seem. According to the pattern, it will be enough. We'll see how it goes! :) Here's a picture of my new yarn:



Sorry about the crappy picture. By the time I finished my schoolwork for tonight, it was already after dark. Not like we had much sunlight today. Anyway, don't you think this is going to make the cutest baby blanket for a baby girl?! I like the taupe trim on the berry blanket. Add the little hat and socks and it'll be way too precious. I just hope that between school, the kids, Joe coming home, and block leave, I can get it done before we either PCS or the school year is over. Craziness! Don't forget to thank a vet!

Man, oh man.

What a busy few days! I have had NO time to knit, which means my stress levels are through the ROOF! My dog has a tick, and I can't hold her down and get it off her at the same time. (She's a 100lb Anatolian Shepherd, in case you are wondering.) I'm worried about her getting Lyme disease, which adds to the stress. Plus, what if the tick, like, comes off and attaches to one of the kids?! I'd be sooo pissed.

On another note, I am a total procrastinator. It's finally catching up with me. I enrolled in M-Tec, a fantastic school that teaches medical transcription. The program costs over $3000, which I didn't have at the time of enrollment. Another terrific organization, Operation Life Transformed, arranged for someone to pay for my schooling. Well, that was almost a year ago...and I have yet to really start. So here I am, wasting some very generous man's money. That's not going to happen. He trusted me to give this program everything, and that's what I plan on doing. So now I have about 6 months to complete a very difficult course that some people don't even finish in 18 months. Wish me luck - I'll need it!

Cookie Factory

OMG, how many cookies am I going to make today? Lets back up. A week or so ago, I pledged to make about 10 dozen cookies for our brigade cookie drive. Last night I found out that numbers were low and some battalions weren't participating. Only the battalions who gave cookies would have cookies sent to their soldiers. Totally fair! After asking how our battalion was doing (not so great), I decided it was time for cookie overload. Today has been nothing but cookies, except for a fantastic conversation with the hubby. So far I've baked 26 dozen cookies. There are some waiting to be bagged up, and two batches left to mix up and bake. *whew* Who knew this would be so crazy?! LOL I'm happy to be helping though. Our soldiers deserve every little bit of home we can send. Don't forget to thank a vet! :)

An ugh kind of day.

Today is one of 'those' days. Everything started out great. Joe and I got to talk for a few minutes online, which is huge these days. Bella got to school on time, even with a last minute stop at Walmart to buy snack for her class. That's when it all went downhill somehow. When we got home, Brooke just went nuts. She's throwing tantrums, screaming, trying to stop me from doing things I need to do...just driving me insane. I put Kaelyn down for her nap early so that I could focus on Brooke. Thankfully she's somewhat calmed down now, but I'm still all pissed off. To top it off, my external hard drive is still being freaking stupid. I also want to make an appointment to talk to my doctor about some stuff, but I know they won't take me seriously. I already know what they will say and it just pisses me off even more. So...that's my day so far. Blah.

Super Bowl XLIII, here we come!

Great game, Steelers! You had me on the edge of my seat for some of the game, but you pulled through. Good luck in Tampa! WOOHOO!!!

Hats galore!

Well, I finally learned Magic Loop! It was really easy and certainly a handy technique to know. My first attempt resulted in a hat that was too small for any of the kids. I guess that's what I get for not checking my gauge! It did give me some experience though, so it wasn't all that bad. Plus, I have a hat already made for a baby present! :) Here's the hat:



Yes, that is the same yarn I'm using for Joe's Lover's Knot Afghan. (You'll need to be registered with Lion Brand's website to see their free patterns.) The Cascade Eco Wool is just fabulous. The pattern was really easy, and a super quick knit. You can find it here: Simplest Cap of All. After the tiny one, I made another for Joe out of Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky. He loved it and even took it back with him after R&R! My mom has requested a hat also, so I'm going to use the same Wool-Ease Chunky. It's warm, but also machine washable. She requested a cream color, so I'm going to use wheat:



Not everything I knit is in muted colors, I promise! It just seems that everyone is requesting creams and tans right now. Joe's hat was green, but I forgot to snap a picture before he took it back with him. KnitPicks recently came out with their new Felici colors, and I'm hoping to get some to tackle my first pair of socks. I'm looking forward to the challenge!

Yay for babies!

I love knitting for kids! There's just something about making something in a miniature size that is just so - I dunno - cute! Plus, they make for quick and satisfying projects. Since my girls are out of the baby stage and into the toddler and up stage, I have to wait for others to have babies so I can make itty bitty baby stuff. Now I have someone to knit for! Woohoo! Bella's teacher is pregnant and just found out she's having a little girl. :) Having 3 girls myself, I LOVE pink. So here's what I have in mind for her baby present:



Isn't it just too freaking adorable?! The above photo was taken from share32006's Flickr photostream. I found this photo on Ravelry and just had to do the same project. I love how she made a matching hat and teensie little socks. After sending her a quick message, she was fantastic enough to point me in the direction of the hat & sock patterns she used. Since I'm going to be knitting for a baby girl, I think I'm going to do mine in Berry (a dark pink color) and Taupe (the brownish color above). I really like the pink and brown combo, and I'm sure Bella's teacher will be getting plenty of light pink and white presents! In case you are wanting the patterns, here you are! All are available for free on Ravelry. If you aren't a member of Ravelry, I don't think you'll be able to see the patterns. You just need to join Ravelry anyway! It's awesome!! Here are the links: Hoodie Baby Blanket, TLL Basic Knit Hat Pattern, and North Country Cotton Baby Socks.

If you don't have a baby to knit for, consider making some of the above items for local hospitals. If you do, please remember to use a soft, 100% acrylic yarn, such as Caron Simply Soft. Acrylic is hypoallergenic and able to be used in NICUs. Check your local hospital to see if they accept donations. If they don't, there are plenty of websites collecting hats for various charities. Peace!

Facebook

I'm finally getting around to updating my Facebook with pictures and actually adding people as friends. I'm starting to like it more than Myspace, and will probably be making the transition towards using just Facebook soon. As I'm going through and adding people, it occurs to me that these people probably have no freaking clue who I am. LOL There's no trace of my maiden name anywhere on my profile, since I dropped that as soon as I could once Joe and I got married. My profile picture is actually a professional one where I'm wearing makeup...something that is not an every day occurrence, by any stretch of the imagination. It's just weird. Then going through and seeing what others are up to is just crazy. One of my friends from high school is in South Korea now...and isn't even affiliated with the military (that I know of). Not many of them seem to have kids yet, which makes me feel old. *sigh* My life is so different. We had our kids early. I have to wait until they are older before I can really start my professional life. Do I even want a professional life anymore? Hell, I'd be perfectly happy just being able to get a job right now. Damn you, daycare and your high prices! LOL On the other hand, Kaelyn should be out of the house by the time I'm 40. Woohoo! That's when we'll start living. Joe should be retiring around that time, so we can go travel and do everything we want to do then. I just hate waiting. :( It'll be worth it in the long run!

Hi! Hey! How are you?

So, you've found my little slice of the web! Hopefully you'll find something that catches your interest. It's hard to tell what you might find, actually. This is a place for me to collect my thoughts, vent, and just share what I enjoy. Mostly, you'll hear me ramble on about my wonderful husband, how my kids are driving me crazy, what projects I'm knitting on or want to start, and just life in general. Laugh with me, laugh at me, whatever. Enjoy!