Thursday, May 31, 2007
m1 on the back
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
knitting with Keith
while sitting upstairs on the lunchroom porch knitting on Sahara (finally started it last weekend! more on that in a minute ...) and listening to a mix of Keith Urban tunes in preparation for the concert in a few weeks, I discovered it takes all of "God's Been Good To Me" to knit one row, but I can get a whole lap done (knit one row, purl the next) before "Somebody Like You" finishes up. That's even with the inevitable daydreaming that comes with "Somebody Like You" ... since I walked down the isle to marry my sweet Wesley to that song.
so, back to the knitting: Sahara had a tricky start that caused me to put it off for a while (I bought the pattern and yarn back in February!). finally I went to see Lois at AFY last week to learn how to crochet cast-on. The instructions that came with the pattern said to incorporate the knitting needle into the single-crochet row so the stitches end up on the knitting needle, but that confused me! Lois then showed how she would do it: just knit a chain of however many stitches it says to cast on, then thread the knitting needle through the back loops. This sounded hard to me too (my ventures into crochet have been less than successful), but a trip to visit Grandma crocheter extrordinaire was already on the schedule for the following weekend, so I asked her to make the chain for me. It took a couple tries to get the tension right (loose enough so I could pick up the stitches), but we got it in the end. This week has been busy at work and at home (got the new Giada De Laurentiis and have been cooking up a storm! also, discovered the best cookie recipe ever ...) but after my lunchtime date with Keith, I am down to the arm shaping on the back. yes, I said "down" and not "up" to the arm shaping ... this sweater is knit from the top down, so I have the back of the shoulders finished now. After the arm shaping is finished on the back, I'll put these live stitches on a holder, pull out the crochet chain and pick up the stitches on the top and knit down the front. I was overwhelmed when I first bought the pattern, but looking at it one step at a time, it seems a lot easier. So for now, I am just thinking about m1 stitches that I'll do tonight if I can resist picking up my other new book (the only thing that got me to put it down yesterday was an afternoon of Pirates and Hockey.)
Monday, May 07, 2007
Vacation in my own backyard
nothing new to report on the knitting front today ... although I did have a fabulous, busy weekend ... Friday was pretty quiet; Wes and I went to a new place for dinner and had great Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches and watched ESPN. Saturday with Wes at work, Tia and I ran an easy six (okay, a hard six ... Thursday's workout was INTENSE and I was sick after it, so didn't refuel as well as I should have. my legs were hating me for it on Saturday, good thing we didn't have to run 12 miles!), then after quick showers we headed up to State Street in Santa Barbara with Amanda to shop shop shop!! We'd been planning this trip for a while and after my lenten shopping fast we were all ready for some new springtime fashion! 
We hit all my favorite places: A Tropical Affair and Anthropologie (got a versatile jersey dress that will look awesome with flipflops or my cowgirl boots and the skirt to the left ... don't know what to wear with it, but I love it!), some way-expensive boutiques (no purchases there!) and of course Gap, Express, Macy*s and some shoe shops. We had great lunch at Ruby's too (not the '50s diner, a local deli with the best sourdough patty melt I've had in a long time). After a long afternoon (and aching legs!), we headed back to Ventura to take in the DeLaHoya-Mayweather fight at a friend of Tia and Omar's. Wes met us there and we enjoyed meeting lots of people who we'll get to party with at the wedding! It wasn't a late night for us though, Wes had been up since 4am and my credit card wasn't the only thing that was worn out, so we didn't stick around too late after the fight.
Sunday was HOT and wonderful. I met up with my friend Charlene and we drove out to Malibu for lunch at Paradise Cove. Apparently half of LA had the same idea and we had to wait over an hour for a table, but enjoyed the outdoor bar and feet in the sand while we enjoyed a Corona and nachos.
By the time we were seated we were sweaty and exhausted, so luckily our table had a little bit of shade! But it was great to be outside enjoying the weather ... we even had a star sighting - Jon Lovitz! It would have been fun to see someone younger and hotter (doesn't Matthew M do his yoga on the Malibu beaches?), but I liked Jon in The Wedding Singer and A League of Their Own, so it was still interesting to see a "star" ... I guess that's what people go to Malibu for!
Overall it was a spectacular weekend. It almost felt like I was on vacation, except I got to sleep in my own bed!!
We hit all my favorite places: A Tropical Affair and Anthropologie (got a versatile jersey dress that will look awesome with flipflops or my cowgirl boots and the skirt to the left ... don't know what to wear with it, but I love it!), some way-expensive boutiques (no purchases there!) and of course Gap, Express, Macy*s and some shoe shops. We had great lunch at Ruby's too (not the '50s diner, a local deli with the best sourdough patty melt I've had in a long time). After a long afternoon (and aching legs!), we headed back to Ventura to take in the DeLaHoya-Mayweather fight at a friend of Tia and Omar's. Wes met us there and we enjoyed meeting lots of people who we'll get to party with at the wedding! It wasn't a late night for us though, Wes had been up since 4am and my credit card wasn't the only thing that was worn out, so we didn't stick around too late after the fight. Sunday was HOT and wonderful. I met up with my friend Charlene and we drove out to Malibu for lunch at Paradise Cove. Apparently half of LA had the same idea and we had to wait over an hour for a table, but enjoyed the outdoor bar and feet in the sand while we enjoyed a Corona and nachos.
By the time we were seated we were sweaty and exhausted, so luckily our table had a little bit of shade! But it was great to be outside enjoying the weather ... we even had a star sighting - Jon Lovitz! It would have been fun to see someone younger and hotter (doesn't Matthew M do his yoga on the Malibu beaches?), but I liked Jon in The Wedding Singer and A League of Their Own, so it was still interesting to see a "star" ... I guess that's what people go to Malibu for!Overall it was a spectacular weekend. It almost felt like I was on vacation, except I got to sleep in my own bed!!
Friday, May 04, 2007
babies
Tia teases me on our runs because I can never decide if I am going to resign myself to my husband's desire to be a father, or maintain my no-baby position I've held since I was 11 and realized that being pregnant makes you throw up and giving birth could be the most pain I will ever be in (more than the eighth and fastest 800 repeat or running a full marathon after no training), or if I will fully embrace motherhood in all its glowy, baby-powder-smelling, liquid-poopy diapered glory.
Since she is anxious to start a family soon after her September wedding, babies are often something we talk about on our runs and every day I have a new reaction to proposals that Wes and I might have kids. Some days I say "if Wes and I have babies ..." other days its "when" ... I have introduced her to Mom's special phrase for me - "new day, new deal" - and she says it to me now whenever I change my mind.
Wes and I have names for two girl babies that I love, however he says we'll never need them because we are only having boys. We have nothing special picked out that we would like to name a son.
Sometimes I think I want a baby. But usually is more for company when Wes is working night shift and I'm lonely, than because I want to be a mother. That to me is no better than women who decide to have babies without husbands because they think it will fill some hole in their lives that a man has never fulfilled (did you see Grey's Anatomy last night?). When I think of the responsibility that will come with a baby, I change my mind and decide that I will definitely want Wes around as much as possible, even more than I already do!
The bottom line is that someday I will be ready for kids. Someday I will have a Chloe middle-name-to-be-determined and a Layla Beth (and maybe even a little Sean Wesley). It won't happen anytime soon, but when we're all ready (me and Wes and God, who teaches me lessons every day that will someday help me to be a good mom), I will knit this for my little girl to wear.
Since she is anxious to start a family soon after her September wedding, babies are often something we talk about on our runs and every day I have a new reaction to proposals that Wes and I might have kids. Some days I say "if Wes and I have babies ..." other days its "when" ... I have introduced her to Mom's special phrase for me - "new day, new deal" - and she says it to me now whenever I change my mind.
Wes and I have names for two girl babies that I love, however he says we'll never need them because we are only having boys. We have nothing special picked out that we would like to name a son.
Sometimes I think I want a baby. But usually is more for company when Wes is working night shift and I'm lonely, than because I want to be a mother. That to me is no better than women who decide to have babies without husbands because they think it will fill some hole in their lives that a man has never fulfilled (did you see Grey's Anatomy last night?). When I think of the responsibility that will come with a baby, I change my mind and decide that I will definitely want Wes around as much as possible, even more than I already do!
The bottom line is that someday I will be ready for kids. Someday I will have a Chloe middle-name-to-be-determined and a Layla Beth (and maybe even a little Sean Wesley). It won't happen anytime soon, but when we're all ready (me and Wes and God, who teaches me lessons every day that will someday help me to be a good mom), I will knit this for my little girl to wear.
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