Summer Update

Hello! Once again, a long time since I've posted. Instead of lamenting how long it's been, I actually had to look at the date and be amazed at how much has happened since I last posted. I have a lot of good reasons for being busy. Some of the highlights are:

1. Finishing the school year
2. T started walking two days before his birthday...then climbing...then running. Exhausting!
2. T's first birthday

3. Two week trip back to our home town, where we helped roof my parents' house
4. Trip back home...one car, two adults, a one year old, a two year old and two cats.
5. Packed up and moved...three floors down and 200 meters away
6. Unpacked most of our house in a day and a half

'Helping' with the move

7. Started a job a couple days a week, with Z at home with the kids
8. Had friends stay with us. Our friends from Germany (two adults, a two year old and a nine month old) stayed with us for three weeks. During that time, some other friends also stayed with us for five days (two adults, a 12 year old and a three year old).

M is sad that we're saying goodbye and mad that we can't go with our friends to Germany right now.

9. While visitors were here, we were tourists in our home town. By far the busiest summer we've ever had.
10. M turned three years old and we had a big party to celebrate

11. Gearing up for my return back to counselling from maternity leave
12. Starting a new role, which will be very labour intensive

One of our busiest summers ever. We had a really busy summer last year as well, but that was mostly because we moved twice and had a baby. While that was gratifying in a different way, this has been a lot more fun. Equally tiring, but more fun.

On the beach at Jordan River, BC. Guess which one of us isn't part Japanese?

Needless to say, I haven't been knitting a lot. I knit a shawl (which is actually more of a scarf) during the Olympics as part of the Ravellenic Games on ravelry. I'll write a longer post about it, but here's a little preview of it.

I have less than a week before our school starts up and I'll be flat-out busy. I'm going to take better pictures of my shawl for a longer post, but in the meantime I'm working on a blanket for my friend's brand new baby.

Weekly Update

Oh, hello! Do you remember me? I can't believe it's so long since I've posted. I had such a good rhythm going but life seemed to get in the way. The funny thing is that the big reason I got derailed was because it was Spring Break and I had more family time. That's always the time that I plan to do more things that I really want to do, but in reality do less relaxing and have more organized outings.

So, my plans have been derailed for a little while but are now back on track. I think that as time passes and I'm not meeting a personal goal (about finances, exercise, sleep, etc., etc.) I feel that I need something big to jolt me back into the routine or as penance for not keeping up with my plan. To that, I say, screw it. I'm going to keep posting on my blog at least once a week and refuse to be sucked into guilt about not posting. For anyone who has known me over a long period of time, this shift from every-present guilt to acceptance and (dare I say?) compassion may be shocking.

Life has been pretty busy in the last five or six weeks. I'll post more about that in the next few days. I haven't been keeping up with my goal of knitting every day, only because I was sick and have been putting in a bigger effort to get more sleep. I have some ridiculous stories about keeping up with a two year old and almost-one year old (who said his first word today...Mama!...or more like MAMAMAMAMAMAMAMA, while crying. But I'll take it!) and have had some photographic evidence of these travails, so keep posted for an update in a day or two. Or five weeks. Whatever, guilt be damned!

I've now started the tradition of colouring Easter eggs with my daughter, which is a tradition that I have previously (and, will again in the future) force my adult siblings and friends to participate in.

Weekly Update

Well, I'm only a week or so behind with my weekly update, but who's counting? We've had a lot of upheaval lately but the dust seems to be settling. Just to add an extra challenge to our lives, we're going to host a small party at our apartment after work. My husband invited 35 people. I would guess that our apartment could comfortably fit 10. Maybe 12. I guess we'll be cosy!

Some things I'm knitting this week:
I finished my socks, which I love. When M saw them, she asked me for a pair for herself. I've been working on those when I have a few moments, but they're few and far in between. I'm sticking with my challenge of knitting every day...however, sometimes I'm picking up the needles at 1 am. That still counts though, right?

On the horizon, the cowl that I started a while ago. I love the pattern (created by yours truly) but need to size up the needles. I'm going to rip it back and start over, writing down the instructions this time.

I also just bought a lovely skein of Malabrigo Sock in Violeta Africana, a beautiful variegated purple. I'm going to make a little knit dress for my new niece (the very first one, after four nephews!) who will be born sometime in March. Hopefully I will finish this project before my niece turns 8.

Some things I'm loving this week:
This blog makes me laugh all the time. You know when you need a good laugh? Go check this out. I think I can relate to 99% of what she writes about. The only reason it's not 100% is because her kids are slightly older than mine. That's it.
http://crappypictures.com/

Posts I can especially relate to:
http://crappypictures.com/2011/05/what-it-is-like-to-change-diapers-illustrated-with-crappy-pictures.html

and this:
http://crappypictures.com/2011/07/my-cat-before-after-kidsillustrated-with-crappy-pictures.html

Making soap...I'll post more info soon.

Some things I'm working on this week:
Hanging on for dear life. While party planning.

Off to go wake up the kids from their nap. Just kidding! M has been crashing around in their room the entire 'nap' time and is now alternately yelling "MAMA!" and playing a trumpet.

Weekly Update

This has been a busy, stressful week this week - hence, my Monday post is being written on Friday. Next week is another week, right? Trying to sort out lots of job stuff for next year, which will hopefully be resolved very soon. Also...we're going to be moving (very close by) in July. Big changes brewing in our household.

Some things I'm knitting this week:
Lovely socks. A great pattern (as always) by Susan B. Anderson, called How I Make My Socks. I especially love that I can follow her exact pattern because we have exactly the same size feet. I finally broke out this yarn, which I had been hoarding for a long time. It's Yarntini's Self Striping sock in the Vintage colour way.

Some things I'm loving this week:
Watching my kids play together. Having 'help' in the kitchen from my daughter. Learning to cook around M's food allergies (no dairy, no soy, no gluten, no peanuts).

Some things I'm working on this week: 
Keeping my sanity? Actually, working hard on keeping my personal integrity during a stressful time. Also, figuring out what I want and how to ask for it.

Weekly Update

I had a great birthday on Saturday. I treated myself to some new tea from Silk Road Tea. I got their Summer Shangri-La tea, which I absolutely love (you have to scroll down to the near the bottom of the page). I also grabbed two new tea cups that match my favourite tea pot. 

I was also spoiled by a good friend who got me a pack of three tins of Silk Road teas, as well as other very lovely presents from friends. Apparently when I ask for no presents, it means that everyone brings me presents. 

Some knitting this week:

-I picked up my First Snow Mittens again and cast on for the second mitten. The thing about mittens is that it's best when you have two that you can wear! I finished the first, which was all that was needed for the test knit. I put the project down so that I could do some Christmas knitting and haven't picked it up since then. It's knit from the bottom up, and so far I've finished the first two rows of snowflakes.

-I have a bunch of projects that I want to finish up, but when I saw that Susan B. Anderson posted a pattern for a pair of socks, I decided that I had to cast on for it. I have a skein of Yarntini Vintage that I've been hoarding, so I pulled it out and it's on it's way to becoming a very cute pair of socks.

Self-Striping Sock by Yarntini, in Vintage colorway.

-I still haven't sorted out the Square Upon Square pattern. I know that I wanted to change the pattern a bit but haven't had time to sit and work on it.

I finished my Forest Baby Pullover this past week and posted pictures here.  I so excited because I was able to finish off my Winterfresh Cardigan too. I LOVE it. I haven't had a chance to take any pictures yet, but it's one of my favourite projects that I've finished. I'm actually going to wear it today. Stay tuned for pictures.

Some things I'm loving this week:

-Valentine's Day! My husband and I don't typically celebrate the day, although sometimes we'll get each other a little gift, like some tulips. I'm really enjoying doing some Valentine's Day projects with my daughter, which I'll show tomorrow.

-T is getting more mobile by the minute. He's figured out how to roll, so when he's hanging out in our living room, he's all over the place. Today he also figured out how to make a clicking noise with his tongue. It's pretty cute to look over at him and for him to respond with a loud click and a big grin.

-My husband and I started dating 17 years ago, on February 16th. I just turned 34 years old. So, doing the math, I've now officially been with my husband for half my life. Wow!

Some things I'm working on this week:

-More cringe-worthy errands! I was easily able to do three last week, but want to do another three this week.

-I wasn't able to get together some boxes of donations last week, so I'd love to do it this week.

-Although I didn't make it to 8 glasses of water every day last week, I definitely drank more water. I'm going to keep going with this goal this week.

-Yoga. Hmm. I wasn't able to do this goal last week, so I'm putting it back on the list for this week. I did have two times in the last week when I had time to do some yoga, but went for a massage and out for a drink with friends (not at the same time!) instead.

That's all from me. How did you do with your goals last week? What does the week ahead look like?

Weekly Update

For the longest time, I've been a list maker. This drives my husband nuts but helps me out, especially in my sleep-deprived state. I'm a night owl, which means that I usually make lists at night and then have no memory of what went on that list early in the morning (you know, when shops are open...). In the spirit of making lists, I've decided to do a weekly update about things that I enjoy and appreciate, things that I'm hoping to accomplish during the week and, of course, my lovely knitting projects. So, without further ado, my first weekly update...

Some knitting this week:

- working on my Winterfresh Kina cardigan. I've made good progress on it but have been a little bored with the rows and rows of stockinette lately. I'm this close to finishing, so I'm trying to keep it up.

-testing a pattern for someone to check for accuracy. The pattern is called Forest Baby and Child Pullover by NEEDdesigns (on ravelry here). This is almost instant gratification! A baby sweater knit with two strands of worsted weight yarn held together. So fast.

-starting a Redheart pattern called Square Upon Square, which is a crocheted blanket. I love the colour and design of the blanket. I've finally wised up about bigger projects like this and started off with only one ball of yarn, rather than buying all ten up front. This is sometimes how I'm left with a million skeins of yarn. I was thinking about doing a square or so a day, which means it should be finished in about three months or so. I'm not in love with how the squares are joined so I'm trying to change the pattern to my liking. The first set of squares that I'm doing are a similar colour to the picture above.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to show off the finished cardigan and baby sweater in less than a week. By the way, can you guess what my favourite colour is?

Some things I'm loving this week:
-my 34th birthday. I don't typically like to do anything big for it. I'm not sure what we'll do this year. Maybe dinner at a restaurant?

-going to the White Heather Tea Room with a very good friend. We order the Big Muckle Giant Tea for Two every time we go and this visit I brought home a package of Mad Hatter tea. If you're ever in Victoria, it's worth a visit - just make sure you book ahead.

-M and T sharing a bedroom! So far this has been a love/hate relationship. We finally bit the bullet and stuck T in his crib in the bedroom. The first night there was a bit of crying but it was pretty smooth. The last two nights they've been taking turns getting up every 30 minutes or so, with last night being particularly bad - M was up for about three hours in the middle of the night. Ugh. But, I do really love having the rest of the house to ourselves again.

-M finally using the potty! In the midst of the Nights With No Sleep, she decided that she's going to do everything on her own, including using the potty. We were all very excited about this milestone (for evidence, see here and here) and made a very big deal out of it. M has been announcing details of the experience to anyone who will listen.

Some things I'm working on this week:
-getting together one or two boxes of items to donate

-doing at least three cringe-worthy errands. These are chores that I've been putting off for any number of reasons but I cringe about every time I think about them. I want to get some of these done instead of letting them take up real estate in my thoughts everyday (like they are right now).

-going to do yoga four times this week

-drinking eight glasses of water a day. I (like most people) don't drink enough water, so I'm going to consciously do this for the next week.

That's all from me. What does your week look like?