100th Post

Wow, that couldn't have worked out better if I had planned it. 100th post, 1 hour left in the year. 2007 has been good to me, what with graduation, marriage, honeymoon in Alaska, and a new job. We have big plans for 2008, the first of which is starting a savings account for our future house (well the downpayment anyway). I am on an organization kick and I am determined to not only get the house cleaned, but also to get my decorating done.

The reason for the long pause in blogging is The 12 Days of Christmas Swap that I was working on. Oh my god, it was fantastic. Check out the gallery.

Our first married Christmas together was awesome. My dad came to visit, and we all got some nice stuff. The Hubs mostly got stuff for his Xbox and some movies. I got stuff for the house, and we got a spiffy new photo printer! The animals also had an awesome Christmas with lots of goodies.

And now, I leave you with a very strange sight: Tweek being cuddly!

Fishcat iz watchin u

This is a cat fish bed I got on day 12 of the 12 Days of Christmas Swap. Evie has claimed it.

Pay It Forward

I first saw this idea on The Bon's blog, but I was too late to sign up. Still, I think it is a fantastic idea so I am going to do it anyway.

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

If you don't think you're crafty, still sign up. You'd be amazed at what you can think of. And besides, the gift doesn't have to be huge. It's just a way to brighten someone's day. When you comment to sign up, make sure you include your email address so that I can contact you for your address and whatnot.

This is going to be great!

My baby loves the camera

Not a whole helluva lot

As of late, the usual winter sickness has descended upon our house. My husband is only mildly affected, but I'm just a big bundle of head cold. I'm taking the morning off today to try to get my head dried out. Ugh.

In crafting news, I have a lot of news.... but I can't really talk about it. I've been doing a TON of crafting for The 12 Days of Christmas Swap on craftster.org. But, since my partner won't have opened all her presents until Christmas, I'm afraid I can't talk about her gifts until then.

On the dog front, Lucy is a destroyer. She's been really frustrating lately with all her chewing and ripping. She's also not really getting the whole housetraining thing, which is really upsetting. Still, we love her little goofy face and we will keep trying to train her. She is just a pup, after all.

Cats are doing well. Tweek keeps escaping but we're learning to deal with it. The girls are cuddly as ever, and of course Frodo does what Frodos do. Really no news with them. The kitties are just loveable and healthy.

The Tub Incident

Tweek had an unfortunate incident while inspecting my bubble bath. Here is an artist's rendering.

Howl-A-Ween

This Saturday I took Lucy Dog down to the bark park for the Howlaween party. She, of course, went dressed as a Princess with her little pink princess hat. She also was dressed as a spoiled brat in her "Will beg for treats" t-shirt. When we got there, I think there were about 20 dogs. By the time of the costume contest, there must have been near 50 dogs there. And Lucy's little friend Maddy (a french bulldog) was there, so the two girls played and wrassled while the contest took place. Lucy wouldn't sit still enough for me to want to stand in line with her. Besides, it was a holiday and I thought she should play. There were a lot of ridiculously cute costumes, like the Pekingese dressed as a bee, the Bloodhound dragon, and the Boxer batman. I think the best costume of the day was the chicken... not a dog in a chicken costume. No. A chicken in a dog costume. OMG it was hilarious. The chicken actually won an honorable mention in the contest, not being able to take home a prize since technically it wasn't a dog. Overall, it was a good day. No plans here for the actual Halloween, except to scare myself silly with ghost shows and pass out candy.

Random Asshattery

I'm walking in downtown Flagstaff, back to my office. See, I had forgotten to pack a lunch, so I walked 2 blocks over to the local Pita Pit (tasty place, I must say). I usually bring my food back to the office because I have no one to eat with... and I usually don't like sitting alone in a place. It's not so much a needy thing. I'm perfectly capable of going places independently. But it's more that I tend to stare at people, usually contemplating odd thoughts such as how much their head weighs, are those Mick Jagger's lips, etc. I get dirty looks. So I am heading back to the office with my soda and chips in purse, pita in hand. A strapping young man opens the garbage can in front of me. Then he sees me and asks me for money for lunch. I think, probably a college student. Guy doesn't look homeless or underfed. But I have no money on me. "No, sorry" I answer politely. Then the guy looks at my pita and asks "Do you want that?" ..... uh...... what? Do I want that? Apparently I would leave my desk and walk 2 blocks and pay some money for something I didn't want... something that I might throw in the very trash can he was looking in? WTF? I kind of gave him a weird look and walked onward, mumbling to myself about what kind of bullshit question was that?

Home, Home on the Peaks

So lately I have been on a mission to declutter, reorganize, and generally turn my apartment into a cozy home. Winter is coming on, the nights are getting cold, and I've had this major house-to-home nesting instinct. I think it has something to do with being newly married and having started a new job. I feel I finally have the time and (almost) the money to actually do something with this place. We got a lovely bedroom set for a wedding gift, and I want to make the rest of the house not feel so college-y.

My first move was to get my dad to put up some wall shelves in the office. It fills up the blank, boring wall and gives each of us a place to put stuff. We haven't organized the shelves yet, but as soon as they're done I'll post a photo. I'm also organizing my craft supplies due to two swaps I've got coming up. The bedroom is doing well, if you don't count the laundry on the floor. Otherwise it's fairly uncluttered.

My kitchen scares me. I am thinking of ditching all the old tupperware I have for these FlatOut! ones:
Until then, I'm going to measure my cabinets and buy plastic bins to control the deluge of containers. I also have a lot of unused space in the corner under the countertop, as well as the cabinet over the fridge. Mom's coming in a week, so maybe she'll help me. I also want to organize my pantry. I know I could be using that space more efficiently (or possibly get rid of the pantry and use the cabinet for crafts??).

The living room needs the most work, I think. I am tempted to get rid of the coffee table since it is a receptacle for all our crap. The DVD's in shelves is annoying me, and I think I'd rather have bins or baskets for them. The bookshelves are a disaster, as is the coat rack and shoe rack. Oh, and the rat cage is in here. I don't like that, but currently we have no other place for it.

So yeah, wish me luck. I'll probably be swearing a lot by the end of this project. But it will be SOOOOOOOO worth it.

Say Hello to Lucy

The husband and I adopted a puppy a week or so ago. Her name is Lucy, and she's about 5 months old and 23 pounds. The vet doesn't expect her to get too much bigger. We think she's a Basenji mix of some sort. She's very very sweet, and loves to get petted and give kisses. She gets along with the cats pretty well, although the cats don't seem to like her (figures). We're working on housebreaking and "sit" at the moment. She's got "sit" down pretty well, and she consistently does her potty business on the puppy pads. I think things are going well. She cuddles with us at night, and is my buddy whenever I'm home. She loves her daddy too. Her favorite treats thus far have been cow chew hooves, beef knuckles, and pup-peroni. Also, she's tolerant of clothing. I found a t-shirt on sale at Target for $3 so I grabbed it for her. She also has a pink winter coat. The shirt was frivolous, but the coat is practical (and cute). She's very short haired and her belly is practically bald. The mornings have been in the upper 30s/low 40s when I take her out, and she shivers and is oh so happy to get back inside.

Welcome Home Lucy!

Honeymoon part 2

Ok, sorry it's been awhile. Crazyness has been happening here. More blog posts in the future will explain this.

After leaving Skagway, we cruised all night toward Tracy Arm Fjord, arriving around 6am. It was the first day of the cruise where I was actually "COLD." There was a misty fine rain falling, and whenever your surrounded by ice water the air is bound to be chilly. It was worth it though, because the views were spectacular. The fjord was steeply surrounded by mountains and was over 1000 feet deep. There were many small waterfalls snaking through the rocks; the result of glacial melt. At first, there were only a few ice bergs floating. As we neared the end of the fjord, the ice thickened. Some were a bright blue; heart ice they're called. Similar to the blue of the Mendenhall Glacier. We rounded a tight corner, and we could see two glaciers. North Sawyer Glacier and South Sawyer Glacier were responsible for all the ice bergs we saw. Sipping on excellent hot chocolate while watching glaciers pass by on our private balcony was the most relaxing thing I've experienced. Once we had seen the glaciers, the ship turned about and we headed out toward Ketchikan.

I loved Ketchikan. It was a small city, with a bright and busy wharf. Definitely the best shopping on the trip. Sadly, we only had a few hours in port so I did not get to do much exploring. I hit the shops early, leaving the husband on the ship to sleep in and get breakfast. Then, I returned for a bite of breakfast myself (salmon scrambled eggs, yum!) and we took a horse-drawn trolley ride around Ketchikan. The tour guide had lots of interesting stories about the history of the city as well as the local wildlife. We saw salmon jumping up a waterfall at one point! We learned about totems, saw a lot of the back streets and the creek, and petted the resident husky that rode along with the tour guide. After getting back, we had no more time to explore. After snapping a few photos of the local flora, we jumped aboard ship and began our trip back to Seattle.

On our way back to the States, we briefly stopped in Victoria, Canada. Since we were already exhausted, and somewhat broke, we decided to stay aboard ship. We left Victoria around midnight and arrived in Seattle early in the morning. After a not so terrible disembarkation adventure, we picked up our rental car. Advisory: never rent from Thrifty, ever ever ever. It was one of the worst rental experiences of my life. That said, we checked into our hotel and took naps (being exhausted from the day's frustrations). We got in our car and drove around a bit, to get a feel for what Seattle was like. Then we ate dinner and passed out. The next day, we celebrated my birthday at Pike Place Market. It was overwhelmingly awesome. I definitely want to go back when I have a day or two to explore. We walked the market and found the Pan African restaurant where we had Ethiopian food for lunch. Then we got some very tasty mini-doughnuts. The husband bought me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I've ever seen, and I felt like a princess carrying them. We saw fish markets, produce stands, artisan stands, bakeries, coffee shops, import stores, oh so many things. We left tired, full, and happy. We decided to take it easy that afternoon, and spent the rest of the day watching movies in our hotel room, and packing to be ready to fly home the next day.

I can say this was the best honeymoon anyone could ever have wanted. First class airfare, cruise to Alaska with private balcony, and time in Seattle. We both agree, Alaska had a special pull on us and we want to return someday. Seattle was also a special place we both loved, and we hope to relocate somewhere around it in the future. Thanks to all of those who worked to make our honeymoon possible. We love you, and we loved our trip!

Honeymoon part 1

On Friday we left for Seattle. I love that city. We didn’t stay long, because Saturday morning we boarded our cruise ship bound for Alaska! First of all, Oh My God the ship was gorgeous. It was a floating, hedonistic paradise and I loved it. We’re both going to hell for the amount of gluttony we’ve committed, but I don’t care. Seriously, all you can eat buffets 24 hours a day. There is also a casino, some theaters, a games room, and many other things. We lounged around in a hot tub and pool during our “at sea” day.

Monday we arrived in Juneau. Absolutely beautiful city. We definitely love Alaska, and now are more intent on moving there. Juneau had lots of shopping, and the deals and coupons we got on board the ship meant we got a lot of free stuff! Even free jewelry! We spent the second half of the day visiting the Mendenhall Glacier. It was truly breathtaking. I never knew glaciers could be so blue. We also saw salmon spawning in the river, and some folks even saw some black bears. We didn’t catch a glimpse, sadly. Still, the trip was lovely even though my feet hurt terribly and I was getting tired and cranky. We ended the day by coming back to the ship and just relaxing. We had to rest up, because our next destination was Skagway and more shopping and sightseeing.

I got up very early the day we arrived in Skagway, and dragged the husband shopping with me. There were, again, a ton of jewelry stores. Skagway was very small, with only about 800 permanent residents. The main street was only a couple of blocks long, and we did our shopping and sightseeing quickly. I think we got back to the ship around 10am, and as we didn’t have any shore excursions planned, we just relaxed. It was nice to sit on the balcony and watch the water and trees. We even saw a little seal swimming by. Skagway was beautiful, but I didn’t like it as well as I liked Juneau. It was just too small for my taste. We left Skagway in the evening, bound for Tracy Arm Fjord and then Ketchikan.


Next up: Honeymoon, pt. 2

Our Wedding

What a beautiful wedding! Everything was perfect. My dress fit great, neither of us fell, and now I can officially call him “The Hubs” instead of “The Boy.” The ceremony was gorgeous. I walked in on a rose petal walkway to Pachebel’s Canon in D. The vows and ring exchange was short, and my maid of honor read an awesome poem she wrote. We marched out as man and wife to the Star Wars theme (that got a few cheers and laughs).

I have to take a moment and mention my beautiful bouquet. The Hubs' aunt is a florist, so she made it for me. It was absolutely gorgeous, with burgundy mini-callas and snapdragons (my favorite)!

Our photographers were our family members. Must have been about 30 cameras going off. I felt like a celebrity in front of the paparazzi. Dinner was excellent, with delicious blackened salmon. The cake was GORGEOUS and very very tasty. It was a chocolate cake, with mocha buttercream frosting between the layers, and covered in dark chocolate ganache.

I got tons of compliments on my DIY stuff: the favors, the programs, everything. That was the best feeling. I was afraid people wouldn’t notice all the hard work I put in to designing everything. But all that work was paid off and then some.

Dancing was relatively low-key. Not too many folks wanted to dance, so we just had our first dance, and then the father/daughter and mother/son dance together. Then we got the Led out. By this point though, most people were tired and some were already leaving. We left in our fabulously decorated car, and had an amazing suite at the hotel. The next morning, life was gloriously back to normal. We spent most of the day lounging around at home, just enjoying the solitude.

Coming soon, Our Honeymoon!

I'm baaack.

Wow, omg. We've been on our honeymoon and what a fabulous time we had! I've been writing blog entries, but as we had no reliable internet source I didn't post. I'll be posting fairly consistently during the next week, about the wedding, Alaska, Seattle, and whatnot.

Oh, and my birthday. I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20, and I'm damned happy about it. My 20's so far have been stressful and relatively crappy. Every new year is a year I can change things to suit my life. We spent my birthday this year at Pike Place Market, where The Hubs (formerly The Boy) bought me a bouquet of GORGEOUS flowers. I will post a photo, but oh gosh there were lilies and sunflowers and these cool cattail looking things.


Anyways, looking forward to coming back to life. The knitting, the crafting, the being done with school. I am still looking for a job, which is shitty. But at least I get to be a housewife for a little while until I'm gainfully employed.

August 12, 2007

Oh give me a home, where the Frodo-lo roam...

... and the Tweek, and the Mees and Eves play.

Lots of stress lately. Exactly 2 weeks until the wedding. There is no way my shawl is going to get finished with all the other crap I've been working on. Also, I have to say, I just don't want to knit on it. I want to knit socks, or a hat, or work on my sweater or something. Something different. No more lace for me right now. Just no. Maybe I'll finish it on the honeymoon. I just don't want to rush and screw it up.

I've been going through the house in an effort to de-clutter. I've started a "donate this stuff" box and my goal is to fill one box for each floor. If I can do that, then maybe I can do more later. Baby steps. There is some good news however. I finished all the laundry. ALL of it, and now I just have to put it away. That's a big relief for me. The kitchen is also clean, and the living room is making radical progress. Now if I can just convince The Boy to let me get rid of his huge eyesore of a couch, all will be well.

As for the title of this post, it's just a tribute to my sweet kitties. Their daily cuddles have been keeping me sane, and Tweek's recent hyperactivity has been keeping me entertained. Frodo is my buddy boy, always snuggling up for scritches when I get in bed. Evelyn creeps up by my head and chirps in my ear for her own scritching session. Mia splays out on my belly and purrs. And Tweek usually comes by in the morning for a short head scratch. Thanks to their efforts, and the wonderful attention from The Boy, I have to say I'm happy despite all the random stress.

The Wedding Countdown

21 Days. 21 DAYS y'all! Gosh I can't believe it's creeping up. So here are a few updates.

The shawl:
I am officially 4 repeats away from finishing the length of the shawl. Then I will have to knit the border. I really really hope I can finish the damned thing in time. One option is to knit the border later, and just use it borderless for the wedding. We'll see.

Bachelorette Party:
Went out on the town with my maid of honor. It was very fun, and I got my first tattoo. It's a cat doodle that has been kind of a family symbol for a few generations now. I got it a little more stylized and I looooove it. Here we are posing as pirates:

The dress:
It fits! Totally gorgeous too. I got my bustier so now my boobs fill it out better. It's a little gappy on the top, but nothing a little double sided carpet tape can't fix.

The shoes:
I'm so bummed. I got the cutest burgundy heels to wear with my dress. I tried them on and they fit just fine. WELL, I attempted to stand around for 15 minutes the other day during a dress fitting, and I almost died. I can't do heels. So now I'm back to zero on shoes. At least I can still return the heels.

The job hunt:
Don't ask.

The wedding:
Everything is getting done. Mos tthings have been taken care of. Now it's just waiting for the week before, to do the last minute stuff.

For the love of a feline

Crazy Aunt Purl's cat Roy passed away yesterday. I can't explain why it affected me so much, but as soon as I read her post I started bawling. I've been reading her blog for awhile, and feel her pain so keenly through her lovely tribute to her fur baby. I look at my four furry children and I dread the day when I will be posting about them. I can't imagine loving anything more than I love these damn cats. So please, keep Laurie and Roy in your thoughts. I know I will be.

Desperation meets Tight Jeans

So, my favorite pair of jeans fell apart on my recent trip to the Midwest. I think the humidity combined with the heat from thigh friction killed them. I am tired of wearing skirts and I wanted to wear comfortable jeans again. In a fit of desperation and maybe a little insanity, I began rummaging through my fabric stash like a mad woman. Much to my dismay, the color scheme of my fabric remnants is decidedly monochromatic. Ok, not monochromatic, but definitely on the dark side of things. No reds, no vivid blues, no tans to be found. But, warrior woman that I am, I didn't let it stand in my way. No sir. I cut and sewed and swore and seamed and swore. After an hour, Miss Random Pants was born. The jeans went from being rather tight to WAY too big. I could take them in easily, but I'm tired so that'll wait for another day.

Wedding crafts? What wedding crafts? *hums innocently*

Random knitting

Here's an old photo. My friend was feeling really bummed, so I knitted him a Chicago Bears hat. It was my first intarsia project, and I have issues with keeping the tension just right. It's either way too lose, or it puckers. *le sigh*


In wedding news, there isn't any news. Shawl is still creeping along. I'm busy with school and job applications. Just got back from an out of state interview, and keeping my fingers crossed because I loved the company and the area. Um.... I keep changing my mind on things like wedding favors and attendant gifts and flowers. That's the source of most of my current stress.