New Year's resolutions

I'm trying to keep this realistic, but I feel the need to set some goals this year.

• To stay more in touch with my friends and family. Since moving away, I've been kind of bad about that and I've realized I really miss them. So expect more phone calls!
• To eat more healthy food. I've kind of fallen in that fast food rut as I've been very busy at work and traveling a lot.
• Try out one new recipe a month. Again, stuck in a rut. When I do cook for myself, it's the same 4 things.
• Start an exercise program.
• Lose weight. I'll start out with something attainable at 20 lbs.
• Spend 15 minutes every night doing some kind of home general clean up, whether it's putting the dishes in the dishwasher or picking up clutter off my coffee table or going through my mail pile or putting in a load of laundry.
• Go to Dentist
• Take an entire week off work. Preferably going somewhere really cool (like Europe), but if not, just taking some time off to be.
• To knit from my yarn stash and not purchase more yarn (except for baby knitting - I've got a new neice or nephew coming and no baby yarn in the stash) until I go to Stitches in August.

To help me with knitting from my stash, I've joined the YarnDAL and I think I'm going to follow Wendy's lead for her "Knit from your stash" and set some rules... In fact, I like Wendy's rules, so I'll borrow with a few modifications...

Knit From Your Stash 2007: Guidelines for Gwen:

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.
2. I will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
   2.a. Any yarn purchased at Stitches yarn. You can't go to Stitches and not buy yarn
   2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that I really and truly do not have the yarn for, I can buy yarn to knit that gift.
   2.c. If I am knitting something and run out of yarn, I can purchase enough to complete the project.
   2.d. One "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- I can fall off the wagon one time.
3. I can receive gifts of yarn.
4. Yarn purchased to make gifts for my soon-to-be neice/nephew and my current neice are exempt, although where possible, I will try to knit out of my stash. (i.e. booties out of leftover sock yarn or hats from leftovers in the stash)

2006 in review

It's been a crazy, crazy year... Let's recap a moment...

• I moved to Kansas City and got promoted. Loving the job, but KC doesn't quite feel like home yet.
• I traveled...a lot. Mostly for work, but I did manage to squeeze in some personal trips - to visit my brother and SIL in DC (coincidently the same weekend as the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival), Stitches in Chicago and Vegas.
• My beloved great aunt died. I didn't realize how much I missed her until the holidays.
• I broke my foot. Ooops!
• I paid off my car!!!
• I knit 37 finished objects...including 13 pairs of socks and (wonder of all wonder) finally finished Faina's Scarf, my 3 year old UFO. I also knit my first sweater, which I've recently decided to frog and re-make with some slight alterations. Smaller size up top and more length.
• And, last but not least...Found out I'm going to be an aunt again in 2007. Hurrah!!! What a way to finish off the year.

I didn't make any resolutions last year, so there was nothing to break, but also nothing for me to work towards, so I'll be making some resolutions this year.

Still in St. Louis. Spending some quality time with my neice who is a grade A cutie. I can't tell you how many fake hamburgers, cookies, veggies and cups of coffee I've had in the past week. I'd have gained 50 pounds. We watched some Sesame Street together with Elmo this afternoon and then we had a bath and Aunt Gwen got "Wet! Wet! Wet!"

I'm going to have to go home sometime soon, if for no other reason than to save my pocket book... I have done nothing but shop for the past 3 days. Target, Kohls, Talbots, Knitorious, Best Buy...and it's all for me. Well, except I did buy yarn to make something for my soon to be neice/nephew.

I'm going to have to go on a yarn diet. I have more yarn than I can knit in a year and Stitches will be fast approaching in August again. I think I'm going to do the knit from your stash thing going around. I'll have to work out the details...of course, all yarn procurred for projects for my new neice/nephew will have to be an exception because I don't tend to keep baby yarn in my stash as a rule.

I still don't know when I'm going home. It keeps getting pushed back. Now maybe not until Sunday or Monday.

What a wonderful Christmas day!

It has been an absolutely wonderful christmas so far. I learned I'm going to be an aunt again. My brother and his wife are due to have their first child on father's day (how appropriate). I very excited for them and can't wait to embrace the new addition to the family.

My neice was a little whirlwind at opening her gifts. My cut-apart vegetables were a huge hit. It took her awhile to figure out the TMX Elmo. Every time he'd fall down laughing, she'd run from wherever she was in the room to pick him back up before he had a chance to stand up himself. It was so cute.

For myself, I got a new table-top swift, so I can return the one I've been sharing with my aunt. I also got Victorian Lace Today, the Jane Sowerby lace book, the Knitting pattern a day calendar and an Ice cream maker. Woo Hoo!!. Ohhh, and I almost forgot....one of those knitting necklaces. It's a pewter heart that is purl on one side and stockinette on the other. Does my family know me well or what.

But for me, the most fun has been spending the past two days with my family. Laughing, catching up and telling all the old stories.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that you too spent the past few days with beloved family and good friends.

Yipee! Hoorah!! Wahooo!! 4 hours of work tomorrow and I'm free until January 2nd!!!! Totally excited by that. I just have to survive the morning!!! I will be stopping at Starbucks to celebrate and after my free lunch at work, I'll be climbing in the car for the long drive to my parent's house.

I even had time tonight to knit up a little hat for my neice to go with her winder coat. My first hat was too small and has been passed on to another worthy baby of a co-worker. This one will match her coat, unlike the other one, so we will consider this a positive. I'd show pictures, but the camera was in the first load of stuff I took down to the car this morning. I've taken down 2 more and I'm really hoping I can get the rest in 1 trip tomorrow am.

Hurrah!!! Have a great holiday everyone!!

The gifts have all been bagged up to pack in the car. It took 4 shopping bags and a garbage bag and then 1 shirt box in my suitcase. Hurrah!!! Now all I have to do is carry them down to the car. I think I'll bring my suitcase and knitting bag down to the car tomorrow am. I don't really want to leave the presents in there for a day and a half. I'm going knitting tomorrow night, which is why had to do this tonight.

My knitting bag is all packed. I finally decided on my neice's unfinished hat, some socks I'm designing and the Vintage Velvet scarf. I rthink that's enough to keep me occupied for 8 days...if not, there are always yarn stores in St. Louis.

My clothes are half packed. I'm waiting for my last load of laundry to be done and then I'm finished for tonight.

Still basking in the glory of having everything done and wrapped.

I've now turned my attention towards more pressing matters...what knitting to bring on my trip to St. Louis for x-mas (I'll be there for 8+ days or so...whenever I feel like coming back), what clothes to bring and "How in the heck am I going to get all of my packages into my car and home...along with the clothes and knitting????" The later, is possibly the most pressing. How to package it so that it doesn't take a million trips down the stairs. Compact enough that it will fit in my little trunk and yet still not crush all the beautiful bows and ribbons that I put on top of the packages. Any miracle workers out there?

Ahhhhh...

The shopping is done....

The Knitting is done (FINALLY!!!)....

The wrapping is done...












4 hours later...

I don't know what to knit for me now...

I'm finished...almost

After a marathon shopping trip last night and again this morning, I have all my gifts purchased except one that I have to get in St. Louis when I go home next weekend. Yippee!!! Tomorrow I'm going to have a marathon gift wrapping party so I can wrap all of my gifts. What a relief!

So, after my marathon shopping trip, I came home to a marathon knitting
session in which I tried to finish all of my washcloths for gifts. I bought soap and lotion to include with them this morning. Here are the second 4. Since 2 people are off next week, I have a reprieve until after the holidays to finish those two. I'm such a bad person. I have one other gift to finish and I would still be knitting, but I really needed a break. It's very close to being done about another 2 hours and it will be finished!!! Yeah!!! I'm ready to go home for the holidays. I'm going to be in St. Louis for 8-10 days and I can't wait!

It's the most busiest time of the year...

Christmas parties, get togethers with friend, christmas cards to write, holiday gifts to finish...electricity at work goes out and have to close down the office.

I finished 2 more holiday gifts yesterday so I have 2 left to finish and 5 washclothes for those who work for me as gifts. Here are the
washclothes I've finished so far. I feel as if I haven't made any knitty progress, when in fact, I've been knitting like a fiend...I just can't show any of it yet. I think I'm going to make my deadlines. They washcloth just about every day except Wednesday and thursday when I'm traveling to Chicago.


Since my holiday knitting isn't really traveling knitting, I'm going to start some new socks for me. Isn't this yarn awesome!!!
I absolutely love the colors. It's some of the Tess' Super Sock yarn I got at stitches. Yummy.

I took Monday off and went shopping with my mom. It was a good day even if I did have to work some in the morning. Then there was all the drama yesterday and today...today was just flat out busy. Worse, I'm trying to cut down on my intake of Diet Coke, so I went from about 6-8 a day to 2 today. I walked around yawning all day. My co-workers kept asking me what was wrong. So, the long and short of it is...I need a break. There are exactly 12 more working days before I have 10 days off in a row. Yippee. I love my company. :-)

Still knitting on some x-mas presents. Have to restart some socks for my neice. I made the first sock about 3/4 of an inch too long. Also trying to finish a few other christmas gifts as well. Need to go buy another skein of yarn for one of them. Ooops! Still hopefull that I'm going to finish on time.

I'm cursed

think the world has it in for me... My alarm clock didn't go off this morning and thank god! for my father, or I would have missed my 6am flight back to KC this morning. (We will all hail my wonderful father, who got up at 4:30 am on his day off to take me to the airport. That's true love I tell you. :-) Then we had the plane de-icing. I shouldn't complain, I made it to KC in one piece, albeit 20 minutes late. So, so far this morning...I've overslept. My plane was late, so I'm going to be late to the office and rushed to get to my am meeting, but if there were no accidents on the bridge, I could still make it in time and then....

...My first inclination something was wrong should have been that keyless entry wasn't working, but the battery in my key ring had been getting progressively worse, so I didn't think anything of it until I stuck the key in the ignition and absolutely nothing happened. Nada. Big fat nothing...not even that clicking noise that tells you your battery has died. No interior lights. No electric locks. No clicking. UGHHHH!!!!!!! So, I call AAA and arrange for a guy to come to the Economy parking at the KC airport to give me a jump. Yes, it doesn't get any better than this...or does it. Yes, going to take them an hour to get there. Ummm...yes...It's ummm 12 degrees outside this morning. So, I put my bag in the trunk and took myself off to the little waiting huts where you can push the button for a heater to come on. Downside to that, never really gets warm. My feet froze as well as my rear from the bench I was sitting on and I had to keep waving away the buses that come by to pick up passengers to take in. I'm sure those drivers thought I was crazy choosing to stay out in the freezing cold little hut instead of getting in their nice warm bus. I think my toes finally unfroze about 4pm.

The worst part of the whole thing...the guy who came to give my jump looks in my car and tells me "You really shouldn't leave those interior lights on like that." UGHHHHH!!!!!!!