2006 in review

2006 was an extremely busy year!

We made a few changes:
-Nathan switched jobs, much closer to home now- 10 minute commute vs. 1 and a half hours each way
-We sold our townhouse
-We bought a single family home

We went on a few trips:
-Nashville for my brother's wedding
-Williamsburg for Thanksgiving
-few trips up to Buffalo to visit family

I went to a few fiber festivals!
-Maryland Sheep and Wool in May
-Rhinebeck in October
-Stitches East in November

I learned a few new techniques
-spinning (bought a wheel!!)
-lace (still working on that one...)
-socks!! I'm hooked!!
-tried dyeing with food coloring- and will take an actual class in January

Met a LOT of fantastic bloggers!!
-I participated in many swaps and met some great people
-I even hostessed SP7, 8, 9...and will hostess 10!
-I was even able to meet some of you in person!

Thanks for a fantastic year everyone! I can't wait to see what 2007 brings! I'm sure I'll be meeting more of you, and having even more fun! See you all in 2007!

Yay!!

Tomorrow morning at 8, our handyman is coming over to paint our living room!! Which is really our entryway, hallway and living room! It's going to be SO pretty, I can hardly wait!! Woo hoo!

Oh, and my mom and step father are coming in tomorrow too so we get to spend some time together! I get to give my mom her Christmas present- some really lovely brooks farm yarn! I can't wait to see the look on her face when she opens it...it's so yummy!

SP9 surprise!

I did end up making it to the mall yesterday. I got there with my husband and daughter, ran into a few stores, grabbed lunch at the food court, and headed home. When we pulled into the driveway, I saw 2 boxes on my stoop! My SP9 had said that she sent something but it probably wouldn't get there before Christmas. So I was thrilled and excited to see that one of the packages was from her!! The other box was some fiber I ordered from Bonkers Fiber for a christmas gift for myself from my dad. ;)

In my SP9 box, was a wonderful treat! First, was a gift for my daugher- a bear and a sheet of stickers. The stickers have been used up and she's been carrying the bear around all over ever since she opened it! Then, I opened the card which had a starbucks gift card in it too and a note to tell me to have a gingerbread latte on her! What a sweetie! I am definitely going to do just that this week! Then came the book- ScarfStyle!! I've been wanting this book for ages, and now I have my very own copy! There are at least 4 scarves I want to make out of it, including the lace shawl. Next, was another great surprise- 2 skeins of Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud (which I've been lusting after for a long time now!) in a lovely blue!! SO beautiful and soft, I'm definitely casting on tonight for the lace shawl. She also included- her favorite needles for lacework in the right size for the shawl! So I'm all set!! My SP put together an absolutely fantastic package for me, and I can't thank her enough!! 1 more month to go and I get to find out who she is!!! The suspense is killing me!

I will post a pic later- I promise! I have to finish getting things ready for tonight!
Ok...I'm finally adding the picture!

Christmas weekend

Celia is SO excited for Christmas, it's way too cute! She keeps saying that Santa is coming Sunday but today isn't sunday yet. She keeps saying she has a present for me too...last night she said it was a car, she's too funny! Somehow I doubt my husband would ever do something like buy me a car (when we can't afford it), just after we paid off our current cars. Silly girl!

Today will be busy!! I've got to take Celia to her gymnastics class this morning, and then head over to Whole Foods to buy the meat for christmas dinner. I'm planning on making a standing rib roast, with a currant gravy, but we'll see what they have that looks good. Definitely buying a dessert, some veggies, and some other random things. It's sad- Whole Foods is about halfway between home and work if I take the back roads, so I could go much more often, but I usually only get there once a month or so. Now if there was a Wegmans closer, I'd be there every week! There are 2 that are about 45 minutes away, but with holiday traffic I don't want to do that. I heard a rumor from a friend who has a relative who works at Wegmans, that they will be building one in Frederick, MD soon. If they do, I will be THE HAPPIEST person in the world!! I realy miss Wegmans. Every time I go home I stop in, and just wander around and buy all my local favorites. By some odd miracle, they actually carry most of the local WNY favorites at the Wegmans at Dulles!

Ok, enough rambling about grocery stores! Now for the knitting content. I have been working on a scarf for Celia's teacher that I"m planning on giving her tomorrow night when we're at her house for Christmas Eve. Which reminds me...I forgot to ask her what we should bring! I guess I will have to call her today. Anyway, I've been working on that, and socks. I did finish Celia's legwarmers for Gymnastics, but of course, the last 2 weeks Nathan took her so I didn't get to see them on her. I'm looking forward to taking her today so I can see them in use. They are way too cute though- I'll have to post a pic.

I may brave the mall this afternoon or tomorrow afternoon to grab a few more things for the husband. I got him mainly PS2 games and books, and he knows what his main gift is (a UPS for his computer). We'll see how it goes. Other than that, I'm looking forward to a nice and quiet weekend!!

Coffee swap package!

Yesterday afternoon I got home and found a package on my doorstep! I knew what it was the second I saw that it was from Chrissy! Inside, I found wonderful treats- coffee, cookies, chocolates, and hot chocolate! Lovely yarn from Chewy Spaghetti in yellows, greens and pinks, a great book with quick gift patterns (even a few of them are Chrissy's own, and cool espresso machine ornament. I'll post a pic as soon as I find my camera! I'm sure it's hiding underneath some wrapping paper on my desk. Thanks for the fantastic package!! I can't wait to make a pot of coffee tomorrow morning!

EDIT: Finally adding a picture! Sorry it took so long! Darn holidays got in the way!!

My AWESOME SP8 CDQ has tagged me...so here goes!! This is a fun one.


"THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the '6 weird things about you'. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says 'you are tagged' in their comments and tell them to read your blog."

Here goes: 6 Weird things about me:

1. I'm terrified of bees. If I see one, I completely freak out. I can't even be in the same room with one if it gets in the house.

2. I usually don't like fruit in my food. Banana bread is good, banana cream pie is good, but any other type of fruit pie or dessert with fruit in it I really dislike.

3. I don't like to get my feet wet. I don't mind it if it's in my own shower, or a shower of a friend, but public showers and wet cement (like at the pool) really grosses me out.

4. My favorite sandwich is peanut butter with grape jelly and doritos (yes, the doritos actually as a layer in the sandwich. I like to thank my brother for that one. But now I can't eat a PBJ sandwich without the doritos!

5. I've been wearing glasses since I was 3.

6. When I was an undergrad, I was a Resident Advisor in the dorms. One of my residents was Nathan, who I really never saw that sememster. The following year, when he checked in to the dorms at the beginning of the sememster, he was wearing a Barenaked Ladies T-shirt. From then on, we started hanging out as friends. As soon as I broke up with my boyfriend of the time, we started dating. If he wasn't wearing that BNL t-shirt when he moved into the dorms that year, we may never have dated, let alone gotten married. It's fun that I get to say I was my husbands' RA in college. ;)

TAG: Anyone who wants to! Just comment here so I can go find your entry.

wow...

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted here! So much has been going on with holiday prep that I completely forgot post- sorry everyone! Unfortunately my daughter was sick all last week with an ear infection, a sinus infection and bronchitis. After 2 trips to the doctor (and a 3rd today to make sure her lungs were clear- and to get her a flu shot), she's finally doing better. Thankfully as of Sunday, she was herself again! I'm now recovering from too much children's TV- I probably watched about 100 episodes of Little Einsteins, Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, the Wiggles, and whatever else she wanted to watch while home with her for 4 days. The first few times, the episodes are cute- then the music gets into your head. And you wake up in the middle of the night with a stupid song in your head. Or in the shower, or while making breakfast. Now I'm going through withdrawl. I was actually glad to get back to work this week!

Then there is my car. Yesterday the little engine light went on (the one that's an actual picture of the engine, not the service soon one). I called the dealer (because I was a sucker and got the extended warrenty when I bought it 4 years ago), and took it in. Thankfully, the warrenty actually did some good- we paid the 100$ deductible for 500 in parts/labor to replace the oxygen sensor that was shot. Then they tell me that my breaks also need to be replaced (since it was there, I had them do the service and oil change that was due...1 trip better than 2. And of course, my rotors in the back were rusted so they couldn't be reused, so they had to be replaced too. $1200 later, my car was ready to pick up. Not exactly what I was expecting when I dropped it off yesterday. At least I own the car outright, so I don't have any car payments anymore. Definitely annoying though.

We've been having fun getting ready for Christmas this weekend, AND doing the lights/candles for Hanukkah. She gets one little present each day after we light the Menorah- and she's had fun with that! So far she's gotten a little puzzle, a sheet of stickers, a My Little Pony, and a water book (use water and the picture appears colored in). She's loving the attention. I just love holidays!

crazy weekend!

So this past weekend was our annual "holiday" party, and it was SO much fun!! I think that there were about 30 or so people at different times of the night. The food was great- I was so happy! I started out around 9am, made the stuffing, followed by the ham, followed by the turkey, and the yams simultaneously. Everything turned out great! A few friends didn't end up coming, but overall, everyone made it! It was so much fun to actually entertain without being cramped in our old townhouse. We had space, the kids got to run around like crazy, and the adults got to hang out and chat. I have to say it was by far the best party I've thrown! I did end up having a little too much to drink, but thankfully by about 10AM on Sunday I was feeling much better. The disgruntled elf sure packs a punch! And I seem to remember something about a chocolate martini...

So after a busy but fun weekend, it was back to work. Yesterday was good, and productive. Then last night I got a call from my dad saying that the hotel arrangements for our vegas weekend were changing and that I was going to be an a different hotel (NY, NY) all by myself. I guess there isn't enough room in my cousins' room for me too. In the end, it worked out really well though. My aunt was able to get one more room at a discounted rate at the Bellagio, so I'll have my own room at the same hotel as everyone else! Thankfully my dad is being awesome and splitting the room cost with me. (Thanks Dad, you rock!). Then, last night, darling daughter woke up at 1AM hacking and coughing so hard it freaked me out a bit. She's been doing it on and off for weeks, and has been congested for weeks, but last night the cough changed somehow. So I took her into the doctor, who said she definitely has an ear infection, and her lungs are wheezy. She said the cough has a little bit of a croupy sound to it, but not horribly. Her main concern was that she has had croup recently. Apparently when that happens, and you get sick again with a sinus infection/cold, the likelihood of developing wheezing is pretty high. So, I have to keep her home for a few days and watch to make sure it doesn't get worse (or make sure it gets better). If it's not better by friday, she has to go back agian and they'll treat her with a nebulizer. All freaky stuff, and I was a bit shocked, since I was hoping to hear "you're overreacting, she has a cold and that's it". So she's on antibiotics, and we're taking it easy.

mitten swap package

I had a lovely surprise yesterday when I went outside to grab the mail before guests started arriving! It was my package from the mitten swap I participated in a month ago! I brought in inside and tore into it. What I found inside blew me away! I had heard from my pal Morgan, who let me know that it looked like my original package was lost in the mail between Canada and the US, and that she wanted to make sure I got my package before the holidays. She had someone put a package together for me here, and it was just fabulous! Beyond worth the wait! First, was a lovely pair of fingerless mittens- a lovely red with ladybug buttons on them. They are so warm too! Then came a scarf, which is so soft and warm- I'll be wearing it tomorrow for sure. Then came the hat! A beautiful black and red hat- with a pretty flower embellishment. There was also a sachet with little cards for gauge swatches- what a fantastic idea!! The package was put together by the Knitting Guru. All I can say is Thank you SO much- I really love everything. I'll be nice and warm this winter!!

EDITED to add pictures! I finally found the cord for my camera last night when cleaning off my desk so I could finish the Xmas cards I made.
Here are the fingerless mittens- way too cute! I love the ladybug buttons.

And here are pics of everything else. The scarf is so soft- the funky border around it is just amazingly soft! And I love the hat- it fits perfectly!

success!

I made a trip to the liquor store after work yesterday, and managed to find all that I needed! I did end up getting the Bombay Sapphire Gin, thanks for the advice! I walked in figuring I'd spend $150, since we needed to stock up on the necessities like vodka, rum, tequila, etc, and I really don't like to buy the cheap stuff if I can help it. And why buy a little bottle when we go through it often enough to buy a big one instead?? I'm really not a lush, I just enjoy a margarita, vodka and tea or rum and diet coke every so often. Here's what I picked up:
large bottle of Bacardi Rum
large bottle of Sauza silver tequila
large bottle of Smirnoff vodka
large bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin
bottle of triple sec
bottle of Jack Daniels
large bottle of Yellow Tail cabernet sauvignon
large bottle of Beringer Pinot grigio
large bottle of Fat Bastard Shiraz

And the grand total?? $150.48. I have never gotten that close to a budget without even trying before!! I was so proud of my shopping skills. ;)

Pleasantly toasted

Today, we spent the day shopping and baking. Again. We went to the mall, and Celia got her picture taken with Santa! She was dressed up so adorably, and was such a good girl! We picked up a few gifts, and came home baked the cut-out cookies. Celia helped for the last bit, and she did a great job! When I get the energy to upload the pics, I'll show you her first cut-out cookies.

Since the kitchen was a mess, we went to Red Robin for dinner. They had a pretty green beverage on the special card, that was called the Disgruntled Elf. Let me tell you this drink was FABULOUS! It had Gin, Tequila, Rum, Triple Sec and Granny Smith apple syrup. Needless to say I'll make a pitcher or two for the Potluck on Saturday. It was just that good. Now I've never bought Gin before, any suggestions on a good brand??

all baked out.

I spent most of the day baking, and I don't want to do anymore! I made 3 kinds of cookies: twisted wreathes/candy canes, almond spritz, and mint chocolate chip cookies. The dough for the cut-outs is chilling, and I'll bake them off tomorrow. I'm SO exhausted! Celia was a bit of a help, and made a huge mess all at the same time. It was fun though, and I can't wait for her to help with the cut-out cookies. It will look like a sugar/flour bomb went off in our kitchen tomorrow afternoon!

I started a pair of legwarmers for Celia this morning while at her gymnastics class. She was the only one there, so she had the teacher all to herself! She was really good too, I was proud. The gym is cold though, so I decided legwarmers were a must, since she doesn't want to wear her pants in there. They are purple/silver/navy and out of Tess yarns sock yarn. I'm making the pattern up as I go, so we'll see how they come out.

And, I signed up for a dyeing class in January, which I'm really looking forward to. And the teacher...no other than the talented Mama-E!

Now, I'm off to watch some TV, knit, and down a Vodka and tea or two. ;)