Good vs. Bad

So I've finally get to report the good news that my husband found a job. Not a great job, nor a career job, but a paycheck. We'll take it!

The bad news is that he left today for 7 (seven!) weeks of training in Minneapolis. It could be worse and be even further away from home, but a 5 hour drive does not make for convenient visits. Especially since he isn't going to have weekends off. Blah.

But, on to more good news. I finished the little Care Bear cross stitch thing I was working on, and even stuck it in a frame.



So are you supposed to put the glass back in the frame over the cross stitch?
I'm not sure.


More good news, I've been making a few little preemie things to donate. More on those in another post. (This one has enough photos in it already!)

But then we have the inevitable bad news...

I have to face the facts and rip out the back of my Manos cardigan, since my gauge went wild and it is about 4" too wide.



But I've noticed some oddly skewing rows, so it's not totally a bad thing.


If it seems like I haven't accomplished much during all my MIA blog time, it's because I've spent a lot of time playing with my Christmas gift:



The only kind of puppy for this cat person:
no mess, smell, or slobber!


Oh yeah, and I've finally had all the digital wedding photos people took printed up at Snapfish. I've assembled an album/scrapbook with them all (almost 400). I also cut up all of the cards we received into 4x6 pieces of outside designs and inside handwritten messages and added them throughout. It's kind of cool since I knew I couldn't get rid of them, but didn't really need them in a box in the closet forever either.

Not knitting

I haven't done much knitting in the last few weeks. Hopefully I will feel like it again soon. I think the problem is I told myself I must finish all the projects that are in progress* before I start something new. Maybe I should let myself move on to something fun...

But I have been doing something while watching TV at night:





I so don't know where the urge to start another cross stitch came from. But this one is small and going quickly. Can you tell what it is?


*Projects in progress include a novelty garter stitch gift scarf, a hat that has been frogged twice because of funky looking decreasing, a lace scarf that requires actual concentration, my Manos cardigan (which I really want to finish but realized that my gauge had changed drastically and the back will have to be ripped out), and a too big sock that needs to be ripped out. Hmm... see a pattern?

Goal for this weekend: Take down Christmas decorations!

Post Holiday Wrapup

First of all, I got the Christmas cards out on time this year - so people actually received them before the holiday! It was easier, actually, since I just used our wedding invitation list.

Even though I didn't make many gifts this year, there are a few worth mentioning that I can show now.




Cotton Chenille washcloth assortment for Mom. (She won't have to bug me for more now for a while ;-)



Sewn crochet hook case for Mom. The outside is a silk remnant I found at Hobby Lobby.


(and the inside)



Little flags for Dad. OK - these will make no sense and seem really dumb to 99% of people out there. BUT, if you are a Simpsons fan, you may recall Homer waving little flags for random things he likes. This is a running joke with my Dad and I, so I made him a set with some of our random things.


(So why is everything I made for my parents? Because I know they appreciate it - even if it is just a joke!)

New Year's Eve was uneventful but fun. We ate takeout BBQ ribs and assembled two vehicles (one being a pickup truck) worth out IKEA furniture for my parent's family room. Maggie helped out by testing the new cushions.




In current news, I am slowing putting together a new layout for my blog. I want a new one really bad, but don't have the patience to sit down and work on it!

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe holiday. I had a good week, but quieter than I had been expecting. I was sick (some yucky bronchitis thing) so I didn't get out much, but I did get to spend time with family from out of town and my best friend and that is all that matters right?

What I don't have are any interesting photos. I have the standard Christmas tree shot, and one of my parents and I assembling IKEA furniture at midnight on the 31st. (We are party animals)

I also don't have any knitting to show, even though I had two projects with me. BUT - both were projects that I felt like I had to finish despite being sick of them so that kind of cut down the fun factor. Which leads me to my list of things I want to change in 2006:

1. Do things (everything, not just knitting) that make ME happy. I have spent way too much of my life worrying about what other people think of me. I'm know that is hard to change, but when I am not even knitting things that are fun - well, it has gone too far! I am even afraid to write about some things here because of who might read it. (And I'm not talk Dooce type stuff either) I need my own life.

2. Don't be so anti-social. So much for living in a college town when all your college friends have moved on! But instead of saying, "I'll make new friends when we finally move", do it now! (This also kinda relates to #1)

3. Save money. I'm not really a frivolous person at all, but I do spend money on things I don't absolutely need. (new clothes, DVDs, itunes, etc.) Since my husband is (still) unemployed, this needs to stop. We can live well later, when we can actually afford it!

4. Keep the apartment clean. Ha. Easier said than done. Two lazy pack rats live here! But yeah, at least put some effort into it. =)