let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!

It has snowed all day today to the tune of 12" or so. I took these pix this afternoon and we've easily added a few more inches since then. The birds were busily scarfing down birdseed, and our yard was bright with every cardinal in Northville.

Evan, ever the optimist, attempting to sled down the miniscule 'hill' in our yard.

He also dug an igloo and is hoping it will still be there tomorrow.

A little self portrait in the front yard. I believe the snow was going into the tops of my boots at this point and I was getting crazed.  Yeah, that must be why I have a crazy look on my face.

Other than the drone of snowblowers, it is peaceful and lovely and still. The best that winter in Michigan has to offer. Aren't you sad you're missing this, snowbirds?

In other equally fascinating news, I was a big winner at Bunco last night! Or I should say a big LOSER...I had the lowest score and took home the booby prize. But a prize is better than no prize, and I am happy with my chocolate fudge brownie mix and polka dot pot holders.

Later!

FO-Cindy's skinny la Novia scarf

This beauty is finished and on it's way down south as I type this. I love the way it turned out. The pattern from Knitspot is wonderfully written and I loved how fast it flew off the needles.

The yarn Is Berrocco Ultra Alpaca, and I used almost 2 skeins on size 5 needles. The finished scarf is about 6" long. Emma is modeling it wrapped twice around her neck.
Hey there, cute girl!

it's been an altogether weird week for me...having a rough time getting back to my normal routine. For some reason I can't fall asleep, so I have been napping during the day and not getting a thing done. I was so tired last night I thought I would have no problem sleeping, and I still had to take a Tylenol PM and it still took me 2 hours to fall asleep. I hate that. My internal monologue has a lot to say, evidently.

I'm going to play Bunco tonight, and let's hope I finally win something!

The snow has been steadily falling all day and we are supposed to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 6-8". I'll believe it when I see it! It does look pretty though.

Happy Friday!

good stuff

italian wedding soup, originally uploaded by dogglips2.

After the hustle and bustle of yesterday, I didn't get a lot done today. And that's ok...I don't expect everyday to be filled with projects.
I did, however, make some delicious italian wedding soup from scratch. It was good stuff.
More good stuff for the day-
-all new episodes of Nip/Tuck, the Biggest Loser, & Scrubs. three shows! I must be dreaming!!!!!!!
-finishing Cindy's scarf
-putting away Christmas decorations at my own pace
good Tuesday to you all!

WIP's- Clapotis & Cindy's skinny la Novia

It's officially the new year...it's Monday and the kids are in school. All is right with the world. Evan was actively begging not to go to school today, which is funny because he is not that kid. I, being the sympathetic parent that I am, told him to get his back-pack and suck it up.

I am empathetic to your plight, but not enough to let you stay home after 18 days of being home. Too bad, so sad.

It wasn't all party time this morning; I also had to go to the dentist, which ranks in my top five things I hate to do the most. Since my last cleaning (which was embarrasingly long ago) they have come up with new implements of torture! They use a tool to measure the pockets between your teeth and gums (I didn't do well, I'm afraid...) and she cleaned my teeth with a water pik, which was only slightly less annoying than a drill. I need to get a crown, and she suggested that I have a few of my fillings replaced. That sounds like a great time! Maybe I'll schedule it for my birthday.

And now on to some WIP's. I have many more than 2, but these are the 2 I am actively working on.

This is a long & skinny la Novia scarf for my Aunt Cindy. I am using Ultra Alpaca, and it is soft and warm. I figure I'm about halfway done...she wants it really long. The pattern is beautiful and I really enjoy it.

Here's a close-up of the texture. It's nummy. The color is very deep brown; deeper than in the photos.
This is my first ever Clapotis- a scarf knit on a diagonal. I am doing a KAL on Ravelry that started Jan. 1st. I am only working on it a little at a time...it's not a priority right now since it's just for me, but having the group for encouragement and to answer questions is priceless.
I'm using my very first skein of Wollmeise in Indisch Rot. The color is too gorgeous to be believed. It's hard to photograph, it looks different in each shot. It's definitely more red than in this close-up. I love the feel of this yarn and am starting to see what all the fuss is about.
Check out my new needles- they are glass! I got a duplicate ball winder for Christmas, and I exchanged it for these lovely needles in a size 5. I figured a special project called for special needles. They are so smooth and make a satisfying click as I work.

Happy Monday!!

FO-Dad's Dumbledore socks & Bart's Christmas hat

You know that commercial where the Dad is skipping through the store, throwing school supplies into the shopping cart, while the kids walk 10 paces behind with their heads hung low as "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" plays over the loudspeaker?

That's how I feel today.

I love my family. We had a very nice holiday and lots of quality time together, but it's time for everyone to go back to their respective duties. Me included.

Happy 2009! May it be better than 2008, or at least not worse.

(how's that for a ringing endorsement?)

And now I have a few FO's from the holiday that I never got around to posting...

Dad's Dumbledore socks! The minute I heard that Opal was coming out with a line of Harry Potter inspired sock yarns, I knew I would have to make some. My Dad is a huge HP fan, and I hadn't made anything specifically for him yet, so he was the lucky recipient!
They are a basic 2x2 rib sock. I kept the pattern simple becasue the yarn is so colorful.

And this didn't quite get finished in time for Christmas, what with all the 'whisking away to Vegas' that happened, so it was more like the week after. No worries! Evan got duplicate Speed Racer hats and Bart has claimed one for himself. Men.

This is the lacunae hat pattern from Knitspot made in a very nice tweedy and soft yarn. I can see now that it's done where I made a few mistakes, but they are of the 'no one but I will notice them' variety. Next time I make this hat I will slow down and make it perfecto.

I hope you are all enjoying the winter break and the New Year!

closing out 2008

I didn't do a traditional Christmas post this year, what with the traveling to Vegas and what not. I also didn't take many pix, or blog much...I just was present in the moment and absorbed it all in. Besides, exactly how many pictures of the top of the kids' heads opening gifts do I need?

Holiday in review-

my neice Isabelle reluctantly wearing the hat I knit for her.

I had better luck with Emma & Olivia. I give up on the perfect picture in my mind of the five of them wearing their hats. Not gonna happen.

Em & Bart. Yes, she is wearing a bathing suit. We were getting ready to hot tub.

Em & Ev putting together their icoaster. It's a magnetic marble track that you can hook up to an MP3 player. Very cool.

Mom & Ev taking a reading break. Not content to sit near me, he has to sit on me.

woo-hoo...we got iPod Nanos!!!!

our tree, before the presents were attacked.

Christmas morn

Ev & Grammy Sandy

Bart, Emma & Uncle Greg on Christmas Eve.

I really was lazy as  far as pictures go. And you don't notice it until after the moment is gone for good, and you can't get it back. I meant to get many more people pix, but I didn't.

The kids got a ton of great gifts (big surprise there) even though everyone is scaling back.

They both totally dig their iPods and spend every waking moment with them in their ears. Evan has a slew of new Wii games that he has been playing non-stop. Bart's been working on some home projects that he's wanted to get to for awhile, & I have been reading, knitting, & sleeping in. well, I have also been doing constant laundry, picking up after kids, & cleaning the kitchen but those things aren't fun to talk about! I'm counting the days until school starts again.

Happy New Year to everyone!!!!!

VEGAS,baby!!!!!

So when I last left off, I was spending the day with my friend Jan, running Evan to soccer practice, dropping the kids off @ Gram's house, and planning on having a nice, quiet dinner with my husband for our anniversary.

That's when things got crazy!

To make a long, involved story (somewhat) shorter, we didn't go to where we had originally planned to go...instead we went to Buca Di Beppo's... where our entire family was waiting to have dinner with us. Surprise! I was truly surprised, as evidenced by my big gaping maw and the fact that I couldn't put together a coherent entence. "When did you...?" "How did the..." "Where did the kids..." Bart had everything planned out to the smallest detail (except for the fact that the restaurant was NOT crowded and they crammed a party of 14 people into a space that would comfortably hold 10, but let's not go there...) We had a fantastic meal and lots of laughs and good conversation and wine and tiramisu. Then it was gift time!

I open a package that contains a booklet and a flashing Vegas card. It says we are leaving for Vegas first thing in the morning and that every detail has been planned for us to stay for 4 days. 4 days. Right before Christmas. Needless to say, I pretty much lost my shit right there. Who plans to leave home for 4 days before a big holiday? Bart does, that's who!

The kids were staying at my dad's, the dog was staying at the in-laws, pack your bags and we leave bright and early.

Except for the biggest snowstorm we've had in Michigan in years.

It didn't delay us too much, but it did throw a wrench in the plans. School was cancelled. Driving was terrible. They didn't delay the flight so we still had to be at the terminal at the same time. I'm sure you won't be surprised if I told you we did not leave on time. They lie.

But we made it there, 2 days after they had their first snowstorm in 30 years. Snow in Vegas!

I could write for hours and hours about all the things we saw and did, but instead I will give you a few of the highlights and some pix.

New York, New York, our first night of exploring. It was awesome.

Having cocktails on 'island time' @ Tommy Bahama's cafe. We had a wonderful dinner there and did some shopping in a super cool outdoor mall. I had a mojito. Or two. Check out all the rum up above the bar. I was in heaven.

shooting down the strip from a crosswalk. Some of the images are reversed, because they were actually reflected in the glass behind my head. The evenings were beautiful.

fancy tree @ the Town Square shopping mall. There was the cutest little Norman Rockwell Santa hit, with families lined up for pictures. I wished E & E were there!

hey, it's Elvis! I knew he wasn't dead.

palm tree, Christmas tree. It never gets old! If you look closely, you can see some snow in the background.

the Monte Carlo, our hotel. It's holding up pretty well. Not the fanciest, not the cheapest. Almost right in the middle of everywhere we wanted to go. Also the home of the AADA (American Association of Dodgeball of America). Damn I love that movie.

here we are on a gondola ride in fake Venice with our very authentic Italian gondolier. He sang us songs and talked to us for a long while. It was dreamy. And less smelly than the real thing!

The Bellagio's famous fountains. You could sit there and watch them all day. Wonderful.

And lastly, here I am, a big winner @ slots. I won $19.19 on the Sopranos machine. we spent $20, so we came out even. Note to self: lose 25 lbs. ASAP.

We saw 2 shows while there-Jersey Boys and Mystere. Both were stunning and awesome and cool beyond belief. If you ever get a chance tos ee either show, do it!

We walked and ate and walked and rode the duece and walked and shopped and eat and shopped and napped and shopped and walked. It was exhausting.

We came home on Monday night and basically had one day to finish all the Christmas prep I thought i would have 5 days for. I didn't finish everything I wanted to do, but It was worth it.

Happy 15 th to my sweetie!