Still here...

I haven't totally fallen off the planet; just no real time to post lately. Give me another couple weeks, and I promise I'll have a good post!

French Press Slippers

I've finally branched out from scarves and hats for knitting. The idea of felting has seemed interesting for awhile now, and when I found these online, I had to give them a try.

As a Christmas gift to myself, I bought the pattern and the wool. As a project, they weren't hard, and I'm super duper pleased with how they turned out. I just need to get a button to put on the straps for decoration.

And for full disclosure--I've already bought wool for the next pair. But I think I can combine the two and actually have enough to make a third pair as well! (It seriously took me a day to make them. Ok, a night. It's a simple pattern!) Visit frenchpressknits.com for more information, or search for French Press Knits on Etsy!


Note: All pictures were made with my phone, so the quality isn't wonderful. It doesn't have a great flash, and our house is dark.)

Before seaming:


After asembling, but before felting:



After felting:



Final product (minus the button!):



Oh, and totally unrelated, but still a fun knitting project: this is the blanket I made for my cousin Will. (I know the picture is out of focus; sorry!)

Look what Sam can do

Completely un-posed. Yes, my cat decided to battle Zombies (Check out Plants vs. Zombies! It's an awesome game!!!)

My life is a comedy of errors

I see that I never made a list of all the things that went wrong around here. Or maybe I did, and I just can't find it now. That would be my luck.

(I just went and checked. It's not posted here, but I remember typing it somewhere. Oh well.)


Anyway, a couple weeks ago, everything fell apart. How so, you ask? It started on Saturday. Our washing machine was being all screwy and decided that it would just keep filling with water. Luckily, we caught it this time BEFORE it flooded the laundry room and kitchen.

No problem though; we'll just go to the laundromat and wash clothes, and bring them home to dry. Great plan. So Sunday, Sean and I load up the trunk of my car and get in. And...nothing. It won't turn over. So get the clothes out and take Sean's car.

This isn't going to be a problem until Wednesday when Sean has to be at the hospital at 6:40p. I get home at 6:15p. So what's the problem? I have to leave for work by 7:00a and he won't be home until 7:45a. Uh oh.

Ok, we need a truck or SUV to haul dry-wall and lumber anyway, let's just go buy a new car Monday night. All of our problems are solved! (Except we still don't have a working washing machine or car).

On to Tuesday! Time to unload the dishwasher. Wait...why are all the dishes still dirty? Did I forget to turn it on? No biggie. I'll just start it now. *Hour passes* Wait...why are all the dishes still dirty? And why is water puddled up. Crap. Now the dishwasher has water issues.

(Remember that at one point, we had no water in the house. Now we have TOO MUCH!)

Ok, handwash all the dishes. Run an empty cycle...yay! It seems to have fixed it! That was easy! (I'm still waiting on the stupid thing to go crazy again.)

So Sean's dad came up that weekend and they fixed my car (clogged fuel filter and cracked battery terminal. Total fix: $30. + the new car.) And then they rigged the washing machine so it's not flooding right now. I just have to watch it like a hawk. Whatever. At least I can wash clothes at home.

What will be next? I'm certain that something else will go wrong soon. And I might not be able to laugh about it at first, but I will eventually!

Growing up

This is going to sound like a rant, but it's not really. It's just something that kind of bugs me.

It's Saturday night, and I'm at home doing laundry and cleaning up the kitchen. I'm ok with it; Sean's at work, so it's not like I'm going to go out on the town by myself. And anyway, it's nearly 11 pm. What is there to do in November in the mountains this time of night?

I was talking to a friend a few minutes ago, and he told me that he had just come in from the movies, and he couldn't believe I was doing housework stuff. His exact words were, "that kind of sucks."

Ok, so it's not fun. But it's part of growing up. This guy has a college degree, but is working a few hours a week for his uncle and living at home. He has no plans to move out, because his parents pay for everything.

I may be wrong, but there comes a point when it's time to move on. Sometimes you just have to put on your big-kid pants and deal with the stuff that isn't all that fun. Sometimes you have to take care of yourself. Life is about more than drinking beer, playing video games, and staying up all night.

And now, I need to go fold clothes and get the cat hair off the couch. I wouldn't trade my life for anything!

Hurry Home--Jason Micheal Carroll

I first heard this song a couple months ago, and instantly started crying. And then cried even harder when it got to the second verse. Please don't let the video sway you; the song is all about the unconditional love a father has for his daughter.

And I see my relationship with God when I hear it. How many times have I pushed away? How many times have I wanted to do my own thing? How many times have I thought I could handle everything on my own?

But He's always there to let me come home. As the chorus says: "It doesn't matter what you've done/I still love you./It doesn't matter where you've been/You can still come home./And honey, if it's you/We've got a lot of making up to do/And I can't hug you on the phone/So hurry home.

What about you? Do you need to call and say "Dad, I'm on my way."?

Setting goals

I'm sick and tired of being out of shape and being unmotivated. I'm tired of saying I'm going to do something, and then not doing it.

So, starting Monday, November 2 (I know, I'm posting this after I really started...my bad.), I'm doing Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred challenge. It's 25 minutes or so of strength, cardio, and abs circuits. There are 3 levels, and I'm supposed to do each one for 10 days. The levels get progressively harder. And it's kicking my butt. My arms haven't been this sore in a long time. But I'm going to do this. In addition, I'm trying to run at least 4 days a week before I shred. I'm not setting a mileage goal, but I do want to get my endurance back. I lost it this summer.

So far, I've done:
Monday: run 1 mile, Level 1 shred
Tuesday: Level 1 shred
Wednesday: run .75 miles, Level 1 shred

27 days left to go! :)