Spring Cleaning and News!

Oy, it seems I've been on cleaning overload tonight. Its totally not even true though.

I cleaned the bathtub - it had a gross ring around the bottom. Think The Cat in the Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss.

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Yep, the gross ring was pink, just like it is in this book. I thought it would never come clean but with just enough elbow grease it came just clean enough. Clean enough for me, for now, that is.

I did some laundry and vaccumed, which doesn't really count as cleaning because I guess I do these on a regular basis. I also cleaned out my closet a little and pulled out some clothes to sell on eBay or at a garage sale, or maybe even donate. It feels so good to get rid of things like this sometimes. Although, I did it a couple times this winter and now feel like my closet is in pretty slim pickings now. Hmm...the rememdy I see here is only to go shopping! Another day. I have more cleaning and work to do.

Why so much cleaning you ask? Well... Eeee! I guess I can break it to you. Luke is moving to town! Not just to town but to my actual apartment! Our adventures of living in opposite ends of Wisconsin will no longer exist separately in approximately three weeks. Oh the joys. And the changes! Yikes. It is going to be a difficult task for me, I will boldly proclaim any time you ask, but its going to be worth it. (Difficult for me only because I think I can be bossy (ok, I know I can because my family tells me all the time) and I like to be in control. Living with someone will take away a lot of that control. I'm willing to give up some of that, don't get me wrong! There will just be some adjusting. Perfectly fine.) It will be nice to see Luke for more than two to three days at a time.

So until he is here for g-o-o-d I have more cleaning and reorganizing to do. Yay me. Yay us.

April May Bring...

Quality time with one of my all time favorite four legged friends.

Let's just say 'Over the Hill..."

Easter egg hunt with the fam. Oooh, last year we did egg on spoon races with our parents, Luke, and Aunt Steph and Aunt Cheryl. Hope we can look forward to that this year!

Maybe some bubble blowing or chalk drawings. Yep, we can still be kids and enjoy the joys of life.

Maybe some of this, minus the snow of course.

Hopefully some of this! My very own bike/scooter/moped and its awesome! Just needs a little loving before she hits the road.

Hopefully some beautiful flowers, colors and fresh air.

Probably none of this for me. Its still a little early yet and April is already packed to the brim with plans of all sorts.

If you haven't already guessed it, it will be filled with family, family and more family! Yayy I can't wait! Love, laughter, Spring, and the outdoors in many ways.

What are your plans for one of the greatest months of the year? Yeah, I think I might be a little biased. I must admit, the good ones are born in April.

Oops

I realize its the last day of March and I have no finished project. No worries! Its in the making and is almost done! Its the sweater for Luke's sister I told you about in my last post. I'm excited to share it but you can't see it until its all finished. I know, you can't wait, I'm sure.

In other news, I think Spring is here! For real this time. Or nearly for real. I guess it there is still a chance for snow a few nights this weekend but I'm optimistic we will only have rain.

In honor of Spring and the coming warm, summer days, wouldn't it be nice to be here?

 

 Don't worry, I'll answer. Yes! Ahh, fishing and relaxing together with those you love and enjoy.

All in all, March was a good month. Now, for the crazy rollercoaster April and May will bring.

Its a Package!

Eeee! I'm so excited! I ordered yarn online from yarn.com and my shipment arrived, a few weeks ago actually. I would highly recommend their site if you like to stock up on yarn. They offer discounts of all kinds, you just have to keep your eyes open. :)

Here's a little looksie:

My first peak... Look at that color!

 

My knit wear portfolio consists of scarves, a washcloth (yep, just one), scarves, leg warmers (though not so cute), fingerless gloves, scarves, vest (ug-ly!), and baby sweater! Oh, did I mention any scarves? I started knitting scarves and eventually got a little bored with that so I ventured on to bigger and badder things. Well, some of these beauties are for my next knitting project. The rest are for later projects...

Luke's sister is having a baby - due in May, eee! - and I'm going to make little baby a sweater, the same sweater I made for a college roommate's baby. I'll share more deets about the sweater later but for now lets focus on the yarn. The first sweater I knitted using regular ol' 100% acrylic yarn. The sweater was cute and the shape was decent but I couldn't block it because of course, acrylic is synthetic and doesn't respond well to heat. Alas, I caved and splurged on "real," more natural yarn. The pattern of the sweater uses Rowan All Seasons Cotton so I decided I would try it. Its a teeny tiny eetys bit more expensive than acrylic so I also bought Cascade Yarn Cotton Club, which is the same weight and cotton blend as the Rowan yarn, but a little easier on the wallet.

Sure these yarns are more expensive than my amateur knitting skills typically handle, but mind you, I did my research. I scoured ravelry.com for finishead projects of the sweater and noted what yarn was used and how the sweater turned out. I'm excited to start this project! Oh and did I mention I hope to have this completed by mid-April?! Hmm, we will see how that works out.

Cast on set for Saturday - tomorrow!

Happy weekend!

Pat Benatar

The scene: Luke and I running together as we are training for the Halffer. He is listening to music on my old iPod. Of course, I put sweet tunes on it that I thought he might appreciate. :) His momentum starts to pick up, usually indicative of a "good song."

We reach the intersection. A car is coming. We stop and allow the car to pass, which probably lasted a mere 4.5 seconds.

Luke: Nuts! I'm on a good song.
Me: What one?
Luke: Pat Benatar.
Me: Oooh, which one?!
Luke: Love is a Butterfly.
Me: A butterfly? (skeptical)
Luke: Yeah. (serious)
Me: Love is a Battlefield?
Luke: Oh, I thought they said butterfly.

Bahhh, I busted a nut. At least it got me through the next half mile!



Luke and I at one of his motocross races two summers ago. He's taller, not me.
An oldie but a goodie!



Madre's Scarf Picture

Remember I said I would show you a pic of my mom's scarf I made for Christmas? Take a gander if you missed it or don't remember. I took a picture before the big reveal to mom and never loaded the pics onto my computer. Finally got to it!

I even tried editing the photo in Photoshop! (Maybe I shouldn't have said that...I'm definitely not a pro, nor have much more than hmm, maybe 20 hours of experience using it.) Critique my final photo edit all you want. I could use a tip or two. Or more!

St. Patrick

I may not be Irish (though my mom says we're a little bit of everything) but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy a green St. Patrick's Day celebration. Beer can be tasty, leprechauns are fun, and green is usually my favorite color!

Can you find the four leaf clover? Don't look too hard, there probably isn't one.

Happy St. Pat's day!



Spring is in the Air

Raise your hand if you're ready for Spring!!!



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I was at the library the other day, talking to a man that lives in my apartment building. We were talking about the warm weather (um, hello?! Its at least 32°F outside. That's definitely warm!) and how we are excited to be able to do more things outside. He said, "Soon we'll be able to smell the Earth again." Oh so true. I love the smell of the earth. Dirt, rain, grass. Mmm, I can almost smell it now...

Warning, This Might Be Gross

A Fun Fact and Get To Know Caboose

My cat goes to the bathroom in the toilet! No litter box exists in my house! How awesome is that?!

When I got my cat, I knew I wanted to try and toilet train him because the stereotype I had of cat owners is that they always smelled, or stunk rather, like their cat. Cat owner's houses always smell gross; as soon as you walk into their house it stinks like a litter box. There is cat hair all over the house and the person's clothes. I could go on and on. While this isn't really true, its what I thought was true. I think because I'm more of a dog person too. The only reason I have a cat is because I can't have dogs in my apartment building. Regardless of why I got my Caboose in the first place, I love him tons and he makes me so happy.

Back to the reason for this post...he's toilet trained. I realize you may never read this again but I'm willing to accept that (no one reads this thing anyways). If you've never seen a cat go to the bathroom on a toilet before, behold!

I know, I know. Just look away if you can't handle it. You're lucky I took the picture with my phone with its poor photo quality.

We endured a few obstacles throughout the training process, and sometimes still do, but I think its totally worth it. I don't have to scoop poop or pee on a daily basis! How can you dislike that?! I guess I'll spare any more details.

If you want to learn how just google "how to toilet train a cat" and you'll figure out pretty much everything you need to know from there. Good luck to you! Keep up the good work Caboose!

Pssst... If you're so outraged by this grossness, what would you like to read about instead? Ideas are welcome. :)

Project Complete: Madre's Scarf

I finally officially finished a masterpiece! Well, not exactly a masterpiece but I did finish my January Masterpiece project. I knitted a scarf for my madre and its finally done. It was supposed to be a Christmas present. I'm glad she stills loves me even though its hmm, two months late.

I'll add a picture soon. For now, picture this: mustardy yellow, knit and purl stich, thick scarf with fringes. Just like that. Except cuter. :)

I decided I'm counting my home-styled picture frames and package of love my family and I sent to my sisters as my February Masterpiece. Maybe I'll try and get a picture of that, too.

Bring it on, March! I'm ready for my next project.