Shhh...don't tell anyone

I played hooky this weekend in a major way. I ditched my Executive Board duties to go to the mountains to celebrate my wedding anniversary. DH surprised me by booking a room and making arrangements to put the dogs in the kennel. So I had no choice, I made up an excuse and headed west!

Saturday we drove out to Vail for a full day of fantastic snowboarding. I am so addicted to riding that I don't think I could ever move more than a few hours' drive away from the mountains. The feeling of gliding over fresh powder is unlike anything else. Saturday afternoon we headed back east a bit to Idaho Springs where we stayed at the Indian Springs Resort. DH even booked us an hour of soaking in a private tub. The water was about 106 degrees and felt great after a physical day of snowboarding. Traffic was bad on Sunday so we decided not to drive out to Vail and went to Keystone instead. The riding was still great and there was plenty of fresh snow.

I just have to say thanks to DH for being the best husband a woman could ever have. We've been married four years to this day. It's funny because I never thought I'd get married so young. I pictured myself living alone well into my twenties and doing things my own way. But then I met Law and he became my best friend. I realized that being married wasn't about giving up getting my way. For us, it's been about helping each other live the way we both want. So here we are back in Colorado where we first met six years and five months ago. He's supporting me while I get through law school - a feat only someone who really loves you would endure. I couldn't have found a better person to spend my life with. My husband is loving, caring, funny, brilliant, and even mechanically inclined. Thank you baby for being terrific! You make me excited about our future.

In knitting news...

I completed the back of my Ribby Cardi. I started one of the front panels and knit about 6 inches. Then I realized that I made a major mistake about two inches ago so now I have to frog back. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow.

Knitting and dogs

Alright, I think I'm over my funk about school...for now. I went to dinner last night with one of my most favorite people. We went to a great Ethiopian restaurant in Denver off of Sante Fe. If you have not eaten Ethiopian before, you really should. It's a unique experience and completely delicious. I am incapable of doing it justice in words, so I can only recommend you give it a try yourself.



I was able to finish my purse yesterday and took it along to dinner. I made Toby model because I haven't posted a pic of the pups for awhile. Notice he's trying to eat the handle! He believes that if he destroys my purse, I can't leave the house, and, therefore, I can stay at home with him all day.



What do you think of my new wallet? I found it while shopping with Mom last weekend. It was on clearance and matches perfectly. I love these shopping finds!


Abbey says, "Gorgeous darling!"

Let me explain...

You may have noticed that the description for my blog says I discuss knitting and studying for law school. I don't know why I use that description because shortly after I started my blog it occurred to me that if I find studying for law school boring, it would probably bore everyone else to tears. Then no one would read my blog and I wouldn't get to check out the map thingy in my sidebar and see that someone in Chile stopped in the other day.

But because I am in school and it consumes 90% of my life, I feel the need to refer to it now. Thus, (see I'll even use some pretentious sounding words) I will now tell you that participating in extra-curricular activities stinks sometimes (well, most of the time). We law students get ourselves involved in student organizations so that we can write on our resumes that we were involved. Heaven forbid you only go to law school and study your little ass off. No siree folks, you should also "be a leader" and "get real life experience."

I caved into the pressure and joined a student group. I didn't just join, I interviewed and was appointed to the Board of said group. Then I took it one step further when I accepted a nomination and was elected to be on the Executive Board. What does all this mean? It means more crappy work for me to serve the needs of crappy, spoiled law students.

If you've been reading carefully you probably noticed that I still haven't talked about studying for law school. That is because my Executive Board duties demanded every moment of my time this week and I DID NOT HAVE TIME TO STUDY. Blah!

So if one more person sends me a passive aggressive email asking for just one "tiny" change to the arrangements I've made, I'm going to tell them where to stick it!

(I will also selfishly brag to you that I got my Constituional Law grade back last night and it is an "A." Although, I'm slightly jealous that the person I conferred with on my take home exam got the highest grade in the class.)

(Also, before you get your shorts in a bunch, we were allowed to talk about the exam with each other. You just had to write it independently.)

Back to the grind

I had a wonderful weekend in the Twin Cities visiting my Mom and two brothers. On Friday, Mom and I went shopping on Grand Ave in St. Paul. We had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Cafe Latte. I had the most delicious Ginger Wild Rice salad.

On Saturday, Mom and I went to see Brokeback Mountain. What a love story! I definitely recommend seeing it. It was better than I thought it would be.

Saturday evening me, Mom, little bro, big bro and his wife, and my aunt and uncle all went out to dinner at The Times in Minneapolis. Dinner was delicious and so was the wine. Afterwards, we decided to have a couple drinks at Nye's Polonaise. We were hoping to sit in the piano bar, but there wasn't a table big enough for us. We ended up in the Polka Room instead. This was real polka folks, no joke. I consider visiting a Polka Room a uniquely Minnesota happening. After we'd had a few drinks, we even called Grandpa and Grandma to find out the name of a polka to request. They recommended the Clarinet Polka. We don't know if they played it...no one knew how it went!

Sunday was spent recovering from Saturday night in the Polka Room. I do not recommend drinking nearly a bottle of wine, a bloody mary, and four vodka gimlets all in one evening. Ouch. But we do know how to have a good time in my family so I am thankful we're not a bunch of boring wet blankets.

When I arrived home, I opened my lovely package from my secret pal!



Inside, I found so many beautiful and thoughtful items, including: a Valentine Card Making Kit, a tin of Witman's chocolate (already eaten thank you!), L'Occitane Pillow Mist (which I will be using this evening), a small zipper case also from L'Occitane (the colors match my blog perfectly! How gorgeous!), two boxes of candy hearts (Sweet Tarts and traditional flavor), a bar of lavender osmanthus shea butter soap (it smells luxurious, can't wait to try it), and some beautiful handmade note cards from Aspen Paperie (also pictured below).



Thank you so much secret pal!! Coming back to the stress of school is a real downer, but your box of goodies gave me so much to be happy about. I am going to take the time to relax this week and will use your gifts to do it! Long luxurious shower with lavender soap, I can't wait. Drifting off to the smell of lavender tea tree here I come. Eating candy while writing a blog posting...I'm already there.

p.s. Your post card was also super cute! Did you decoupage it yourself?

p.p.s. The zipper pouch was probably my favorite. I'm trying to figure out how I can use it everyday. I considered using it as a change purse in my car for parking meters, but that seemed lame. I'll come up with something though. I won't let it linger in the bottom of a drawer!

Weekend update!

I'm in Minnesota visiting family. I haven't been back here for a couple years so it's nice to be home again. Yesterday, Mom and I spent the day visiting my favorite shops. I spent too much and will probably have to mail a couple things home because they won't fit in my luggage! We even visited a yarn shop on Grand Ave. called the Yarnery. Not really something to write home about but they did have a very good selection. Today, we're going to the Yarn Cafe in Maple Grove. I'll let you know my thoughts.

As much fun as I'm having, I do still want to go home. DH called last night and said that I received a package from my secret pal along with a post card. I told him not to open it, because that's the fun of a package. So I'm anxiously awaiting getting home and seeing the fabulous goodies!

Have a good weekend!

Cast On...Training for the 2006 Winter Olympics!

If you've been reading any knitting blogs in the past couple days, you know that Yarn Harlot is hosting the 2006 Winter Knitting Olympics. You can see her blog for details. I have entered the competition and plan to knit a Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch 'n Bitch for Brian and Tammy's soon-to-be new baby. We're going to visit them in Kansas City in March so this gives me the perfect opportunity to finish the blanket in record speed.

In other knitting news, I have cast on my Ribby Cardi. I haven't made a lot of progress but I did manage to knit a gauge swatch before starting to ensure a proper fit. I have decided to knit the plain panel version with a mock collar. My goal is to have it finished before the Olympics. We'll see how that goes...

Holy mail!!

I love getting mail! I still get ridiculously excited when I get packages. When I went to the mailbox today I had four packages. It was almost too much to carry from the box to the house. So here's what I received:

Knit Picks Wool of the Andes for my Ribby Cardi





Knit Picks Shine for my Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch 'n Bitch The Knitter's Handbook



Fabric I bought on Ebay. There's enough here for two handbags.



Then I received two packages of interfacing that I bought cheap on eBay, but I didn't take pics of those because they're just boring white.

I also made some progress on my purse yesterday. I finished the knitting and sewed in a lining. Now I just have to attach the handles and I'm good to go.





Because Ann Nonamous asked about how to cable, I will now give you the worst tutorial ever to appear in a knitting blog.

First, my instructions told me to cable over eight stitches. This meant that I would have to divide my cable into 4 stitch sections. I took the first four stitches and held them on an extra "needle." I used a ball point pen in this example.



Then I knit the next four stitches on my original needles and held those "pen stitches" in the back of my knitting -- see how those stitches are in back?



After that, I knit the "pen stitches" normally -- see, I'm totally getting ready to knit those babies!



Finally, I continued knitting on my original needles until I came to the next cable section. See, it's easy!

(If you were blind, you'd probably be annoyed by how many times I used the word "see" in this post. Sorry.)

Do you play Scrabble? My husband and I enjoy playing a highly competitive game every now and then. I absolutely hate to lose so it's good I'm pretty smart! We haven't played in awhile though because Toby ate one of the letters. (Do you see a theme? Notice I never talk about Abbey ruining things! Toby sure is lucky he's so cute.) Being particular about my Scrabble, I didn't want to play without ALL the letters. Some day I'll get around to buying a whole new replacement set. Then I can use the old letters to make these. Cute huh?

Pholph's Scrabble Generator My Scrabble© Score is: 13. What is your score? Get it here.

Pictures of actual knitting!!

Yes, you read that correctly! Not only did I go back to school today, I also made some progress on my first cable knit item. I'm making one of those purses that everyone else has already made so I'm behind the times of course. I think I'll stop at Joann's tomorrow and pick up a peach ribbon to weave around the top. I should probably also get some handles!





In other news, my Secret Pal left a comment on my blog today!! Yes, Secret Pal, I do work hard. I try not to, but I just can't control my Type-A obsessiveness.

Pretty good day...




I got my ipod back from the repair shop today! Yea! It's been broken since October, when my darling little Toby stepped on it while we were driving to the dog park. The screen developed a big black blob on it. I was still within the warranty period, but Apple told me they don't cover cracked screens because that's a sign of abuse. Whatever! It's the most fragile part of the whole damn ipod, so of course it's the only piece that breaks, and the only one they don't cover. I didn't have the money to fix it before, and then I considered buying a new one, but in the end I just repaired it.

He looks innocent doesn't he?



You'll also see why I don't always get enough knitting done. Everytime I get up for something, he takes my seat. I did manage to knit another 15 rows on my brown cable purse last night. I'm halfway done with it. I'm hoping to have it finished by the end of the weekend, which shouldn't be a problem since we're going snowboarding on Sunday and Monday. I should be able to finish on the long drive. It's too pathetic to post a pic today.

I'm participating in Secret Pal Seven by the way. I got my pal's name today. I'm hoping to get my first package off to her tomorrow. I haven't heard from my SP yet, but maybe tomorrow.

Back to school tomorrow...blah. Anyone who says they enjoyed law school is on crack.

Secret Pal Seven Questionnaire -- I can't wait to learn the name of my secret pal! In the meantime, here are my answers to the questionnaire:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?

I hate to say that I am a yarn snob because it sounds icky. But, I do prefer higher quality fibers. That said, I really like Knit Picks because I think their yarns are good quality and they are cheap. I like Lion Brand Landscapes and made "My So Called Scarf" with it for my best friend and it turned out very cute. I have also knit with Lion Brand Homespun and HATED it. I made mittens with it that were soft and cute but the yarn was such a pain in the ass to use that you couldn't pay me to make matching accessories.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?

No and I don't really want to either.

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have a Boye Needlemaster that has a zipper pouch. The rest of my needles are stored in a Rubbermaid container.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I taught myself to knit about two years ago when I was living in South Dakota and there was nothing better to do in the winter. I would say my skills are intermediate.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

Yes, I have an Amazon wish list. Here's the address: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/GUYGJI2GESBY

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I love all kinds of scents. My favorites are vanilla, lavender, and eucalyptus.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

Um YES. I love anything chocolate, except for Hershey's. For some reason I don't think Hershey's chocolate tastes good. When I go home to visit in a couple weeks, I can't wait to get some Frango chocolates from Marshall Fields.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?

I have done some scrapbooking but I haven't done any in over a year. I have also just started sewing. I can't wait to make a handbag with Amy Butler fabric.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I like a lot of music. Lately I've been listening to Mary J. Blige, Van Morrison, David Gray, and Sheryl Crow. I can play just about any format. My ipod is scheduled to come back from the repair service tomorrow. I can't wait to have it back.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

Lately, I've been really into brown combined with peach, pink, or blue. I am also a traditionalist so I enjoy any shade of blue or green. The only color I guess I don't like is bright orange, but I love orange when it's mixed with reds and browns in a Fall-like combo.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I will have been married for four years at the end of January. My husband and I have two dogs. They're both Basenjis so they don’t bark, but man do they demand our love and attention 24-7.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear scarves, hats, and mittens but not ponchos. This winter has been extremely mild so I haven't had much occasion to bundle up but I have been meaning to knit myself some mittens.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?

I enjoy knitting with alpaca because it's so soft, but I don't like wearing it because I find it itchy. I am just about finished with a sweater made from yarn from Handpaintedyarn.com. I can't wait to wear it. Their yarn is probably my favorite right now because the colors are beautiful.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I don't like cheap 100% cotton yarn like Sugar 'n Creme. My mom loves knit dishcloths and I think they're nice too, but I can't stand to make them. The yarn hurts my hands.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?

I don't think I have a current obsession per se. I am anxious to finish my sweater made with yarn from Handpaintedyarn.com. I am also planning on making socks soon, but that will have to wait until I have finished a baby blanket and Ribby Cardi.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

I love knitting clothing. I'm so not hot on making bags.

17. What are you knitting right now?

I've got one sweater on the needles and a cable purse I just started.

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Yes, but it happens very rarely. For Christmas this year, my best friend, who loves to scrapbook, made me a picture album. She had a theme for each page and laid it all out with fiber, paper, and stickers. The album is beautiful! Now I just have to fill it with pictures.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?

I like circular needles mainly because I have a Boye Needlemaster so I'm cheap and don't want to buy more needles if I can use the Boye ones. I would really like to have a set of sock needles. I have been eyeing sets on ebay, but I haven't bitten the bullet yet because I haven't had time to start making socks.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I have never used bamboo, but would like to sometime. I don't mind aluminum but it's not my favorite. I like plastic needles. My favorite needles are a set of silver Susan Bates.

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

Nope, that's another thing on my wish list of knitting accoutrements. I'm not sure I'd get a swift, but I definitely would use a ball winder.

22. How did you learn to knit?

I taught myself to knit from library books.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?

My green sweater is oh-so-close to being done. I guess it's about 3 months old. I am all about the finished project so most of my projects do not linger on the needles.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?

I am not a fan of cartoons, but I love Wallace and Gromit. I have a knitting pattern to make a toy Shaun the Sheep. I'm saving it for a summer project because I'm busy making sweaters now. It's so cute!

25. What is your favorite holiday?

Valentine's Day: a quiet holiday that doesn't make me entirely stressed out (unlike Thanksgiving and Christmas). My husband and I always do something just for us and it's fabu. Last year we set up a table in front of our fireplace. We made lobster and chocolate melting cakes yum yum. It was perfect.

26. Is there anything that you collect?

Textbooks. I can't seem to let them go. I have started to seriously clear out my political science books from undergrad, mainly because they're pretty outdated now. I would like to collect beautiful decorations for my home, but that will come when I am making some money.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I have a subscription to Creative Knitting that was a gift from a friend. I was going to subscribe to Interweave Knits, but they sent me the Fall issue at the end of December along with a bill. I contacted them but wasn't pleased with their customer service so I ended up not paying for a subscription.

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?

I think I'm good on books. I have about a dozen on various topics. I have been meaning to get some double-pointed needles for sox. I have never tried Addi turbos, but everyone seems to be raving about them.

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

My next new technique will be cables. It doesn't look hard I just haven't gotten around to it. I plan to start with a cable purse and then move on to the "Rogue." I got some Bartlett Yarn half-off from Bo Peep's to make my Rogue. It's a forest green. I think it will turn out beautifully.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

Not yet, but I will be soon. I wear a size 10 (I'm 6'0 tall so that's a normal size for my height, lest you think I am a bigfoot. I'm not all gangly and out of proportion).

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

September 8th

You may have noticed that I haven't knit anything lately...

Maybe you even questioned whether this was really a knitting blog. I will do my best to calm your fears. I spent over an hour today trying to decide which yarn to purchase for my Ribby Cardi. I started at Elann. I wanted to use the colors similar to those pictured. I quickly discovered that they no longer had the brown pictured. No problem, I'll just use the mocha heather they do have. Now the next color. I thought maybe peach would like cute or a blue slightly darker than the one pictured. Next, time to order. Oh no!! They don't have enough of the mocha heather. Fine, I'll just order Knit Picks Wool of the Andes. I decide to use Chocolate for the arms and Asparagus for the body.

I also ordered some Shine in pink and red for a baby blanket. My husband's best friend from high school and his wife are expecting a baby in February. So the Valentine's baby will get a fitting (and machine washable) blanket!

p.s. I have received my student loan funds. Therefore, I will purchase my new digital camera this weekend. DH is trying to convince me I can find one cheaper online, but I really don't want to wait any longer. We'll see who wins!

Have you ever looked at Craig's list? It's this free online classifieds site where you can sell your crap. Well I started looking at it a couple weeks ago when I was suddenly in the market for a new car. I found a great little Saab there and now I'm addicted to looking at stuff I don't need on Craig's list. Yesterday I found a listing for an Ethan Allen recliner. It was a sweet little deal I couldn't pass up especially after I went to Ethan Allen's website and saw that they still sell this chair for $1000! This is my new knitting chair! It is sooo comfortable. I can't wait to cast on in comfort! (p.s. the pics are from the seller, my house isn't so dirty...ok maybe it's a bit messy but I would never take a picture of messiness and post it for everyone to see!)

So it's a new year and I have reflected some on the past year. All in all it was a rough year.

The worst part of 2005 was losing my cat. I'd had Baxter since I lived in St. Paul -- even before I got married. He was my beautiful baby. There was absolutely no better cat. He was fiesty. When we first got him, he used to sit on our armchair all night and if you got up to go to the bathroom he reach out and swat you and then run the other direction. Now he was declawed so it didn't hurt and it was absolutely hilarious. When my husband and I lived apart for six months while he was in military training, Baxter was there for me. When I'd come home he'd get up on the dinner table and get up on his hind legs begging me to pick him up and hold him like a baby. He moved from St. Paul, to Minneapolis, to Rapid City, South Dakota, to Denver with us. He even tolerated having two dogs move in with him. Did I mention he was beautiful? And so sophisticated he would only drink water out of a glass. He kept Christmas 2004 exciting when he woke everyone up to the sound of a crashing Christmas tree. He hadn't tried to knock down the tree but was only trying to perch himself on the window behind the tree. When I started law school he was my biggest supporter. He loved to lay on my desk keeping warm under my reading lamp for hours while I studied. Granted he'd start to stretch and sometimes pushed my books and pencil cup onto the floor but it was a welcome distraction.

Then one sad day at the end of July he just didn't come home. I still hold out hope that we might get him back one day. He has a microchip so maybe he'll turn up. Or maybe another family found my beautiful boy and couldn't resist taking him in. I just can't bear to think that he's not still out there keeping someone company.

Here's to you Baxter Mae. We miss you!