Random Snapshots

goodbye august.

August turned out to be a good month.  Here's how I did on my list of goals. 

1.    Control my eating out and get to the gym more often:  I haven't made any huge strides here, but I did do better in August than July so I'm calling this a win toward my long journey.

2.    Finish a knitting UFO:  I finished my Lindsay socks - FO photos soon.  :)

3.    Start a date-night tradition with Adam:  We've got a few date nights under our belts and will definitely be continuing this tradition.  We had a really great date night this past Thursday with burgers & fries and frozen yogurt! 

 

4.    Get in the habit of tackling a small cleaning project in the house every week on a certain day:  I haven't picked a set weekday, but I have done something at least once every week which is what I am shooting for.  So far I've organized my tupperware cabinet and my file box for bills, important documents, etc. 

5.    Do something that I haven't had time for: I've been working on teaching myself Lightroom 2 (a photo editing program).  I haven't had too much time to dedicate to it, but I've got a good start. 

Tomorrow I'll post my goals for September.  What are you trying to accomplish in September?

on the road.

Cousin Denise and I are at Sock Summit; having a great time!

 

No time to blog!  But, follow our photstream here: Sock Summit 2009.

august goals

As of August 10th I will be officially finished with school so I expect to have more free time for the last 3 weeks of August.  I'm ready to re-claim my life and get some stuff done.  In the words of Big Black, I'm going to DO WORK SON!

1.    Control my eating out and get to the gym more often:  I anticipate having more time at night to plan my meals throughout the day which will result in less eating out.  I'm giving myself 2 months to get back on track and shed a few lbs.

2.    Finish a knitting UFO:  This is ongoing for me.  I really need to begin finishing what I start.  I'm shooting for finishing the 2nd Lindsay sock and possibly my Hey Student! cardigan.

3.    Start a date-night tradition with Adam:  This has been on my mind a lot as school winds down.

4.    Get in the habit of tackling a small cleaning project in the house every week on a certain day:  For example -- Every Wednesday try and purge/organize a small portion of a room such as the "junk drawer."  I can manage something in small bits like this and think it will really add up.

5.    Do something that I haven't had time for: Edit and order a bunch of photos, learn to embroider, get back to reading, or do some home project.  Something along those lines that I haven't had time to do in the past 2.5 years.

hello august; you've come so fast!

I'm sure you're dying to know how I did on my July goals, right?!  :)  Humor me because I don't have a lot to blog about right now. 

1.    Print some photos:  I printed a couple for my mini book and one to frame for a birthday gift.  Better than nothing!

2.    Update my blog banner:  Done. 

3.    Continue to work on my EliseJoy summer minibook:  I've added some photos as well as paper trinkets from the month of July.

4.    Get my Sock Summit homework done: I'm very close and this has to be done by Wednesday so I'm calling it good!

5.    Eat better and workout a little more: I've been eating OK, but not working out at all for the last 2 weeks.  I have gotten some Pilates sessions in.

6.    Finish up at least one knitting UFO: Done!  My Embossed Leaves socks were done mid-month.  I didn't finish up a 2nd FO, but my goal was met with one.

Stay tuned for August goals. 

mid-July already?

This month is flying by me at a rapid pace.

On July 1st I set a few July goals for myself.  Simple and easy -- just a few things I wanted to accomplish before the month ends.

1.    Print some photos:  Not there yet, but I still have 14 more days in the month.

2.    Update my blog banner:  Done.  This one should last me through summer.  :)  In addition I've decided to just stick with Typepad for now instead of piling one more unimportant thing on my stack of stuff to do.

3.    Continue to work on my EliseJoy summer minibook:  I won't cross this one out yet, but I have been working on it.  I plan to keep it up through August and finish it in September. 

4.    Get my Sock Summit homework done: Not there yet.  I really need to set some time aside to do this, but the thought of knitting 6 sock cuffs is not appealing to me.  I've got my knitting mojo back right now so I'm enjoying my projects.  But, it has to be done!

5.    Eat better and workout a little more: I'm on Day 4 of Cooler 1 and it's going well so far.  Aside from skipping meals due to lack of time I haven't cheated once.  I've been tempted, but put it out of my mind.  I know I'll make it through tomorrow which is my goal of 5 days.  We'll see how it goes from there.  That being said, I haven't worked out much aside from Pilates.  This week I haven't had the energy with the low cals on Cooler 1.  I'm done with school in 3.5 weeks and have plans to hit the gym hard!

6.    Finish up at least one knitting UFO: Done!  I finished my Embossed Leaves socks on Sunday.  It's been far too hot for a sock photoshoot, but I will get around to it.  In the meantime I have a photo of my Lindsay socks which are coming along nicely.  I really plan to finish these by the end of July as well.

Overall I feel pretty good about getting a few things done.  I'm really anxious to get through July though because that leaves only 1 week into August until I'm done with school.  I know, I know, it seems like it's all I can talk about lately, but in my defense it has been a long ass 2.5 years. 

makin' cookies

I finished my Embossed Leaves socks the other day (photos soon!) and started immediately in on a pair of socks from Cookie A's book Sock Innovation.  I've been dying to knit a pair from this book, but couldn't decide which to do first.  Here is the Ravelry link: Lindsay Socks.   

 

I think I'm addicted to knitting these socks and have made a lot of progress since Sunday.  The stitch pattern is very easy to memorize and knits up very quickly.  

 

I chose a color similar to the pattern sample because this is one of my favorite colors.  I'm using Cascade Heritage which I really like so far.  It is a little splitty, but that could be caused by the fact that I like to knit with REALLY pointy needles.  

Cookie A is my favorite sock designer and the weekend before last I had the pleasure of meeting her.  She taught two classes at my local yarn shop and I was able to take both of them.

 

Both of the classes were really good.  I learned a couple of new techniques, plus several little tips and tricks.  She is a great teacher and I would recommend signing up for any of her classes if you can.

Here I am with Cookie - totally cheesed out because I love her!

one down, one to go

I finished up my first Embossed Leaves sock last night and started the second right away. 

 

I'm really anxious to have a pair because I love how the first one turned out.  I think it will be even better after I get a chance to block it.  I should have no problem avoiding SSS (second sock syndrome)!  :)

goodbye June, hello July.

Man, June flew by fast didn't it?!  I think the closer I get to finishing school (5 weeks, 6 days) the faster the weeks, days and hours are flying by.  I haven't been able to keep up with anything lately, including this blog.

I do have some goals for July though.  Just a couple of things I'd like to accomplish without putting too much pressure on myself during this last class. 

1. Print some photos.  I don't care how many or what they are of, I just need to print some instead of letting them live on the computer!  A few months ago I purchased an Espon Artison 800 and that printer is the shit.  The quality if fantastic and I've loved the photos that I've printed so far.    
2. Update my blog banner.  I think that speaks for itself.  :)  I also am considering moving my blog to another host.  I would like to be able to post larger photos in the future and currently I can't do that on Typepad unless I upgrade my format -- aka: pay more.  I'm looking into Squarespace, but open to other options, advice, opinions.
3. Continue to work on my EliseJoy summer minibook.  I don't have a photo of my own yet, but it's turning out to be pretty cool.
4. Get my Sock Summit homework done -- this should probably up in the #1 spot since it is the most important thing I need to do in July.
5. Eat better and workout a little more.  Constant goal for me which I hope becomes easier once I'm finished with school.
6. Finish up at least one knitting UFO (unfinished object).  I'm working on a delicious pair of socks right now which I think I can finish up since the yarn is sport weight.  Here's a sneak peek:

 

That's all I have for now.  Happy July everyone!  I hope you are all enjoying your summer. :)

 

wishing I had time for...

...photo editing:  I have many photos to share that have accumulated over the past 3 months.  Editing takes time.  Time that I do not have right now!  So for now I'll share my daily mugshot of the day taken on my iPhone. (Disregard the fact that my makeup looks so dark in relation to my neck.  I think that's an optical illusion -- I hope!?  In addition, I should really learn to love lipstick - geez, you learn a lot by taking selfies all the time.)

You can view more of these here if you're so inclined -- Daily Mugshow.

...learning to sew:  I should have learned to sew before I moved away from a family full of seamstresses!  But, now I'm left to learn on my own.  With You Tube and the amount of instructional books out there I think I should be able to learn some stuff!  I would like to make a few skirts for summer and I hear that is pretty easy.  Advancing to dresses would really be the thing I'm most interested in.  I love a dress that fits well!  I can sew the basic stuff -- pillowcases, napkins, simple bags and I even made curtains.  I need to bone up on the basic rules and terminology more.  I've heard great reviews on these three books -- any other recommendations?

...learning to stitch: I've done embroidery here and there.  (I think I can say that about almost every craft out there!  Thanks Mom for allowing me to grow up in a crafty home!) Mostly when I was younger and I never really advanced beyond the basic stitches.  It's coming back into style though as a modern craft much like knitting and sewing.  More variety of patterns are available too.  When I have some time to set aside I'm going to start with this kit.  Click the picture to take you to the kit's link.  Sublime Stiching has some VERY cool patterns that I can't wait to try!!

Other things I'd like to have more time for right now -- finishing up some knitting UFOs (I have enough to last for a while!), knitting socks and sweaters, cleaning my house (haha!), running, Pilates and reading.  Not too much to ask, right!?

7 weeks and 3 days until I'm done with school.  Not that I'm counting.  :)

That means that there are only 6 weeks and 4 days until Sock Summit 2009 -- more on that later.  

Happy Friday!

knit graffiti

Yesterday I saw my first real life example of Knit Graffiti. 

This is over at public library in the town I work in.  Here are more examples of Knit Graffiti -- Urban Knitting

Some days, when it's nice out, I walk over to the public library for my lunch break.  It's just a few steps from my office and there is a nice little park behind it.  The park has stuff for kids, a baseball field and benches.  I like to sit over there in the sun and read or knit. 

Yesterday I sat by this fountain, in the shade, and knit.

I was working on this:

A cardigan.  Knit in laceweight yarn.  Which will probably take me an entire lifetime to finish.  But I like it so far and think I will like the end result which should look something like this -- Featherweight Cardigan