Happy Leap Day!!

Happy Leap Day!! I got the idea from Lapdogcreations to put up pictures of my pups leaping but I could not find stoic Jackjack leaping. I guess he is not a dog to leap. ;) So, here's Abigail and her silliness.


I wanted to share an email my father sent out to my family. He is a funny one.

"The new generation doesn't understand me. No wonder I can´t communicate. I was talking with Natalie and told her I had to go to eat dinner. She said No, Its Lunch time. Then I realized, times have changed. Today in my house, as well as back on the Plains in Oklahoma. We only eat breakfast, dinner and supper. I have failed to educate my own kids. But I love then all anyway. DAD"


Happy Leap Day!!

Thanks for the encouragement with my sock! I plan to buy a bottle of wine tonight and sit and rip and start knitting it back up. I think the wine will help with the ripping more than the knitting.

Elongated sock

I am babysitting tonight and I was working on my second sock...hoping to finish by tomorrow evening . We are watching American Idol which I'm not big into but I will watch and I decide to try on my second sock and this is what I found:



I would say that the second foot is too long. :) I can't believe I didn't try it on earlier. I think I did but I guess I just wasn't paying attention or I'm just crazy to think it fit right. I guess I'll blame the meds...yes the meds. Um...I stopped taking those a while ago....Oh goodness. I think I'm just sock crazy. I decided that I'd share my sock set back and put the sock away for tonight. I'm going to work on my baby knitting and head to bed. I plan to spend some time tomorrow evening ripping back past the heel and knit away. My new goal is to have them finished by Sunday. That's still March right...oh you mean February ends...when?? Tomorrow...ARG. Oh well.. I guess March 2nd will be my February 31st this year.

Happy Knitting!!

Dogs on Thursday!!

So we are starting a fun swap over at DOT!! If you've got a doggie you should go check it out. There's also a doggie spotlight on Goldentrack's puppy Jackson. He is a cutie!! If you haven't seen her new blog, she has got the most beautiful golden retrievers and a cute beagle. She's also jump started into blogging. She was supposedly hesitant but it doesn't show. :)

edited to add button for swap that I just made:

This week is picture week:

My Cute Abby with her ball!! She looks so good against the grass! :)And a man and his golden looking out to sea. I wonder what he's thinking here. :)And my BIG headed Jackjack!!

Well...there's some pictures of our outdoor times. We haven't done that in a while and I miss it. When my toe finally heals, I have big plans for loads of walks and maybe even work on riding my bike with Abby or roller blading with her.

I had to go back to the doc yesterday because my toe was not looking good. He said i may be allergic to Neosporin, who would have thought. I now need to soak my foot in a vinegar/water solution and put iodine with gauze on it. Fun fun fun. He sent a swab to the lab to see if I need antibiotics too. My toe was looking great before the Neosporin so I'm sure it should heal soon. My poor doc thought he was done with me and now I have to go back again next week.

Happy Dogs on Thursday!!

Wedding Wednesday

I'm still working on picking out the yarn but I've gotten some great suggestions. :) I plan to purchase the yarn by mid March and then cast on from there.

We've been talking about our honeymoon a little bit lately. The main decision has been that we've decided that we won't be taking it until a while after the wedding. I suggested we plan a trip to NC and spend a week in a cabin there in January of next year. Would be nice to get away for a bit but I think Special K would like to wait longer and do something more fabulous. We had thought about going to Panama, where I'm from and spend time there but he doesn't think that it would be enough of a honeymoon because it would be family time and very nostalgic for me. I agree with him. So, the plan right now is to not really worry about it and just start planning after we are married. I still think we should try for a cabin in the mountains or a cabana by the beach somewhere.

We had a very interesting conversation yesterday....about CHORES. Since my surgery I have slacked big time in cleaning. I am not the most spotless of people but when I clean I do full on cleaning. I haven't gotten a cleaning wind since my toe surgery. Usually my toe hurts when I get home and all I want is to lay down. Special K, works a lot and likes to relax as well. When he gets home he doesn't want to clean either. So, while thinking at work he came up with a chore list for us. I'm not so sure how I like it but we will see how it goes. I'm willing to do my part and more if I have to but I don't know how I like the structured cleaning. :)

Does anyone have advice?? I feel some people will feel like it's my job to do all the cleaning because I'm the woman but I feel this isn't right because I work a lot too. Yes, I get off before he does but I still work. What do you guys do?? Any recommendations or advice or cleaning examples would be much appreciated.

Thank you!!

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

PS. I'm off to the Stitch n Bitch early tonight since I will be babysitting and have to pick up girls early too. So...gotta run!

Thankful Tuesday on a Tuesday! and a Knitting Needle purchase!! and a meme!

Today I am thankful for tax refunds. I know that I will not always get money back on tax day but I'm very glad that I did this year. I am mostly thankful because I was able to finally order my Knitpicks Option Set!! YEAH!! I really wanted these for Christmas but I did get some great presents and Special K did spoil me though!! I can't wait until my order gets here!

I've also been searching for my wedding shawl yarn. I've narrowed it down to a couple but need to see them in person before I decide. I'll keep you posted!

I'll try to keep my work craziness to a minimum but it is still pretty crazy and I'm having a tough time. It's only Tuesday and I feel like I already need the weekend to come. Today was a little bit better than my crazy Monday but I am NOT looking forward to the "horribleness" that is going to be tomorrow. I really can't explain right now and I can't share what is going on but when it's all over then you will hear ALL about it.

Also, Paula tagged me with a meme:

4 Things About MEME

4 Jobs I’ve Had:
Receptionist, Computer Lab Assistant, Computer Animator, 3D Layout Artist

4 Movies Watched Over and Over:
Rent, Anne of Green Gables, Newsies, Shawshank Redemption

4 Places I Have Lived: Panama City Rep. of Panama, Tampa FL, San Francisco CA, San Diego CA

4 Shows I Watch: Grey's Anatomy, Eli Stone, Ugly Betty, Brothers and Sisters

4 Places I Have Been: Chicago, Houston, Ohio, North Carolina

4 Favorite Things To Eat: Chocolate, Ice Cream, Chicken Marsala, Sushi

4 Places I Would Rather Be: in bed, at a yarn shop, in the country, at the beach

4 Things I Look Forward To This year: My WEDDING!!!, Spring Break, My DC Trip, My secret project!

I tag whoever reads this and would like to join in the fun!! :)

I'm off to relax for a bit and put my feet up!! I have a couple more days to finish my Rainbow sock and I'm on a roll with it so it should be a breeze to finish before the end of the month.

Happy Knitting!

Weekends, a contest, more dogs!

It's the weekend again and oh how I enjoy not having to go to work. I'm having a bit of a rough time at work lately so my weekdays have been stressful and weekend precious. I woke up this morning early to get some blog reading and a post up before I head to Orlando with two of my sister's, a brother-in-law, and a nephew to hit the new IKEA over there. I have no money to spend but I love the store so am excited to see it. I have my travel knitting packed which is my Rainbow sock and am ready to hit the road.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend too. Thank you all for joining the Barknknit Podcast group on Ravelry and for all the great support for my podcast.

I'll go back to regular posts on here soon. I've been having too much fun playing around with all this new fun stuff. I'm thinking of revamping my main page www.barknknit.com soon. I want to integrate all three sites better. So stay tuned for that.

Tonight we are heading over to a family friend of Special K's dad who is having an engagement party for one of his sons. I asked Special K where is our engagement party but he said he doesn't care about it or want to have one. Oh well. I tried. :) I guess he could say the same about my family but they did have a little dinner for us when we got back. That counts. I don't really think there is a "need" for an engagement party anyway. We will celebrate our marriage in December anyway. (it's just so long away) Ok...enough with that. I'm just being silly.

Contest sharing!! Knittinggal is having a contest go over at her blog. Go forth and check it out!! I love her blog and her puppies.

Also Dogs on Thursday is going Orange for Animals !! Join us by putting this up on your blog.

Well...I'm off to finish getting ready for the fun drive. :)

Dogs on Thursday!!

So, I've had kind of a crazy day that I don't want to talk about but I did want to post up something for Dogs on Thursday. We are having a doggie swap soon so stay tuned.

This week I figured that I'd promote myself and say if you get a chance check out my podcast because I really do talk all about Abby's skin. She's doing pretty good this week. I just haven't had time to record some new video or get some good shots but I'll work on it for next week and I promise I won't self promote again on Dogs on Thursday. :)

Another thing I wanted to mention is that I started a Dogster group for my podcast. If you're on Dogster please join us. If you don't know what dogster.com is...listen to episode 2 of my podcast. hehe.

I'm also making a group in Ravelry. Courtney convinced me to just make one and people will come. If you build it, they will come!! Right?? So, head over and join in. I'm hoping to have some discussions there. :)

Well...I'm off to rest my toe which hurts. I got my stitches out today and when they pulled off the bandage it was black and blue from the whole "stepped on" incident yesterday. I'm also having to have a blood test for my uric acid levels. I might have to go on medication. UGH. We'll see. Well...hope everyone is having a great day!!

Wedding Wednesday

This is going to be quick because a student stepped on my toe today. I almost fainted but I'm OK. I'm off to put it up and relax for a bit but wanted to get this up before I forget. So..I had heard about this on the news the other day but there is a Pastor in Tampa Bay area challenging his married parishioners to do something. I'll let you go check it out on the link but it's pretty interesting. I'll just say that the article's title is For the Love of God, Get it on. Go check it out and let me know what you think. It's wedding related right??

Happy Knitting

Tagged, Podcast, and it's Knit Night!!

First off I got tagged by Chris, she said I'm too busy but I'm trying to prove her wrong by following it up. So here it goes.

The Rules--1. Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages. 2.Open the book to page 123 and find the 5th sentence. 3. Post the next 3 sentences. 4. Tag 5 people.

1. I have near me the only book I can find with sentences on the 123rd page. It's The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I have not read this book but I have it in my desk to give away. :)
3. "It was the best thing that happened. I showed Leah where you could get into the alligator pear tree and she boosted me up. I could still climb just dandy with my other arm." Interesting. :)
4. I tag kbilicous, nh knitting mama, Goldentracks, Devin, and Andi.

Have fun guys!!

I recorded and uploaded a new podcast last night so if you get a chance check it out. I had a blast recording it. I'm still working on not editing a lot but I felt like I had to a couple times in this episode. Fun fun fun!!

Last thing is that it's Wednesday!! That means there is a SnB tonight! I'm excited because I haven't been since before my toe surgery.

And just so you know...I haven't forgotten Thankful Tuesday's or Wedding Wednesday...They are both coming along soon. I think my Tuesday's lately have been jam packed so I'm going to have to work on getting that post out on an actual Tuesday. :)

Happy Knitting!!!

Knitting catch up and extra!

I've been doing a lot of knitting this weekend. I actually organized an extra SnB on Sunday because I missed last Wed. due to my foot. Which by the way I got to wear my pedicure sock a bunch because it looked great and kept my foot warm. :) Check it out.
I had a doctor's apt on Friday and he said my toe is heeling really well. We talked a bit about the gout and he said I need to get my uric acid levels tested next time I get a blood test. I got to actually see the toe and let me tell you it was black and blue. I only have 6 stitches which come out this coming Thursday. Go ME!! I already have big plans to start up walking every day with my dogs as soon as I get an ok from the doc. I miss taking them on walks as much as they miss going with me. :) So that's the plan!

As I said in the 2nd episode of my podcast that I had a couple things to finish that were on my needles...well guess what?? I finished them. The first one I finished was my fingerless gloves in the Symmetrical Braided Gauntlet pattern and I used Dream in Color Classy, which is LOVELY!! I'm a big fan of Dream in Color. I had started these as my travel knitting for Thanksgiving and I'm glad they are done. When I was finishing them I realized that it was my sister, Cris' birthday coming up..well..it was last week...and I decided that I should send them to her. She lives in Encinitas, CA and gets cold a lot and I already sent her the hat that I made in this yarn. So...I gave it to my other sister to include in her package. :) So...off they went and hopefully she will like them. Next time I knit this patter which I plan to, I think I will make them longer on both ends. These were my first cable pattern and it was surprisingly easier than I though.

The 2nd thing I finished was Surfer Girls hat and I don't really want to talk about it because again I knit a hat that is too small!! ARG. I showed it to her and she said she is going to give it to her cousin and promise to knit her another one. I have to find a pattern that is for adults and not children. I'm hoping to get on that soon.

Other than that I've been knitting my Rainbow Socks, which have been knitting up great and will take a picture of the first finished one soon and post.

I've also trying to rest my toe more than I have but I am restless and just want to be up and about. I'm paying dearly for it though. My toe gets very sore quickly.

You may also notice there are quite a few new things on the blog lately. Such as a feed for my podcast, more ads and now including ones from Google, and there is a little more info at the end of my posts. ;) I'm testing things out and seeing what I like. Let me know what you think if you get a chance. The ads are there because I'm really just trying to get some more extra money especially some yarn funds. So..we'll see how it goes. Thank you so much for all your support!! You readers and my family and friends are so wonderful and thanks for sticking around and reading and commenting little ole me.

Ok..well, off to put my foot up finally and relax.

Happy Knitting!!

PS...finishing the two on the needles projects means that I can podcast and I have plenty to talk about because we got Abby's skin test back but you'll have to listen to the 3rd episode to hear about it. Ooh I'm bad. :)

Valentine's Day Contest Winners!!

Ok...yes I realize I said I'd pick winners yesterday well...it didn't happen. :) I've been busy with recovering and well...Valentine's Day. I baked Special K a cake and wrote I (heart) U on it. Of course I thought about taking a picture but did I...ugh NO. Oh well...he appreciated it and as soon as he saw it wanted a piece. Since he is over 10 I said it was ok to have cake for dinner. The doctor looked at my toe today and said it is healing nicely. It the first time I'd seen the actual stitches too and let me tell you my toe is black and blue. OK...I'm just leaving you in suspense.

First off, money is kind of tight with all my medical bills that I decided to use red yarn in my stash for this contest. I hope no one minds because I had so much fun with this contest. Everyone had such great stories and I loved reading them all and being inspired!!

So...today I sat down and wrote out everyone's names and put in all the entries into Special K's ribbed Hat. :)


And I picked our winner!!
Kenyetta from Knittykittykat is our grand winner!! Her story is "Cal and I met 16 years ago, when he transferred to my high school. He was in my accounting class, so I buddied up to him. I actually helped him with his classwork and on his test-shhh... All the girls at school wanted him but I got him first!" She wins 2 skeins of Knitpicks Essentials and a package of Kisses.

Since there were so many of you who entered my little contest which was really a spur of the minute idea from Channon. Thanks Channon. :) I decided to pick two other winners but these were picked differently.

Our second winner goes to the person who has been married the longest. Sorry for those of you not married yet, I'm with you but come on she deserves a shout out for being married to her hubby for 35 years...and the winner is Grace Yaskovic of Loving Comfort Knits. Her story is "Tom and I met when I was 15 and a soph in high school, he was 17 and a junior in another school, in another state Our german teachers knew each other and planned a trip to Germany for the two schools. It was 1970 and 16 days, with airfare, hotel and meals was four hundred dollars and ten cents. Tom went with a girlfriend, but one night she wanted to go out with this geeky guy from my school so he asked me to go out with him. Heh we were alone on a dark bus in the Alps and he said I talked to much, so he shut me up the only way he knew how He kissed me. We have been together ever since, it will be 38 years in March, married for 35 of them this year, he is the love my life, I cherish everyday and every kiss I get from him" She wins a skein of Sugar n Cream Yarn and a package of Kisses. She also tied for our third category too.

And our third winner goes to the person who had the most people come to my contest through their blog and that winner is Channon from KnitTea. Her story is "The Knight and I met as toddlers at the firehouse. My dad was the chief. His dad was a new member. He'd chase me around the station. By third grade, we called ourselves "going together." Then, life happened, I moved away. Our families stayed in touch, and eventually, our life-long friendship found a chance at romance. The rest is history..." It's kind of nice she is getting a prize because she encouraged me too. She also gets a skein of Sugar 'n Cream Yarn and a package of Kisses.


Please go by and Congratulate out winners!! I'm sorry the prizes weren't better. I had big plans but with limit budget for fun stuff had to postpone those. But I promise to have another contest when things get better!!

Thank you again for all who joined in the fun. Happy Knitting!!

PS...if you won please email me your address so I can get those prizes in the mail!!

Dogs on Thursday!!

So...before my surgery I had started knitting outside near the fire pit while hanging out with the doggies. They are pretty funny out there and it's been really nice out. I've been trying to get some audio for my podcast of Jackjack barking or talking...he does talk and I had this opportunity so I videotaped this with my phone. :) Abigail is my girl who only barks when she feels the need to. She howls when the sirens go by though and it's so cute. She does like to bit at Jackjack to tell him to stop. I'll try to get that next time too. Enjoy the movie.

PS...I will pick a winner for the contest tonight. I think I've decided there will be more than one winner just have to find the prizes. :) Thank you though for participating!!

Edit: By the way that is the tree that the raccoon lives in. Haven't seem him lately but Special K finally did. He agreed he is huge but leaves the dogs alone so that is a good thing!!

Recovery Update!! Thankful Tuesday and Wedding Wednesday!

So, yes I've been a bit quiet for the last couple days. After my toe surgery Friday, that lasted 2 and a half hours longer that originally projected, the recovery process has been interesting. The first two days, while the anesthetic was still in my toe I felt great. We had my sister and nephew over on Saturday for dinner and I was walking around great. Then that night the pain started. It hurt pretty bad. Special K blamed it on my walking around all day. I called the doctor and he said that I had gout in my toe that they removed during surgery and the pain is probably from the inflammation from that. He called in some major anti-inflammatory and I started that. Sunday was rough with my toe. Monday came along and it got even worse. I woke up with a horrible migraine and was puking most the morning which didn't allow me to keep the medication down which made my toe hurt even worse. Special K came home from work and helped me get situated and called the doctor who said that I just had to get through the migraine and get back onto the medications. I pretty much slept all day and ended up taking Tuesday off work as well. Originally I hadn't taken any day off this week but since it was so bad I did.

I'm back at work today, and trying very hard not to walk much and figured I'd throw up a post.

I'm late on the Thankful Tuesday and kind of on time for my Wedding Wednesday post. This week they are going to be one. Special K has been a blessing during this time of recovery. He has taken care of me hand and "toe." He has left work for me and been there for me when I needed him. I'm thankful that he is in my life and excited that he will be my husband. Since my recovery we haven't really done any wedding planning and will get back to it soon.

I watched a lot of We channel this weekend and saw a bunch of wedding shows. I realized what I like and what I think it unnecessary for my wedding. I know this is kind of lame post for two of my weekly posts but will all that has been going on it's what it is.

Last but not least. THANK YOU to all those who have entered my Valentine's Day contest. It has been so wonderful. I have loved reading all the stories and surprised at the response. There are over 70 people so far who have entered!! Amazing!! Thank you again. I will be picking a winner...maybe two since there was such a response, on Thursday. Sorry I haven't posted pictures of the prizes yet. Honestly today is the first day I've driven since Thursday so I haven't made it to buy anything yet.

Hope you are all doing great. Thank you also for those who listened to my second podcast. :)

Happy Knitting

Post Surgery Quickie!!

I'm doing OK. Groggy from the anesthesia but I'm doing good. The surgery took a lot longer than the 30 minutes they had said it would take. Special K was there the whole time and only worried a little at the end. It went well but I guess the chip was in a couple pieces. Special K is getting me food and pain medication. I'm heading back to relax in bed with my foot up. I just wanted to let you all know that I'm doing good.

Thank you all for participating in my contest. If you haven't joined in the fun please scroll down and comment. When I'm feeling more awake this weekend I'll put together a prize.

Also there's a new episode of BarknKnit podcast. :) Check it out. I recorded it last night.

Happy Knitting.

Dogs on Thursday!

Thank you for those already commenting on my Valentine's Day Contest. Please scroll down to next post for details. I've been enjoying reading all the wonderful stories.

For this Dogs on Thursday post I just wanted to share some pictures of my silly girl Abigail. She was relaxing with her dirty puppy.
And then just laying around and looking at me like "what are you doing?? and why are you down on the floor with the camera?." :)
I was going to write all about my sister's dog because I got some great pictures of her but I think I wanted to scan a couple more of her and do a little story on my blog about my sister's dog. I don't have time to write that much I've got to head out. Save that for next week.

Jackjack is doing well..but I thought since he had his little video show that I'd just do Abigail this week. :)

And check this shelving out. I found it on Decor8. I thought it was awesome and would love it not that it would fit anywhere in my house but I would make it fit. :)

Happy Dogs on Thursday!!!

A Valentine's Day Contest!! Part of Wedding Wednesday.

So, it's not Wednesday but after I wrote the post about Special K and I, and with the motivation from Channon from Chan Knits, I decided that it's a great time for a contest. :) Especially next week being Valentine's day.

Here we go. We will call this contest my Valentine's Day contest for kicks.

The rules are as follows...you will get one entry for each of the following:

1. Commenting about how you and your significant other met and "fell" in love. You may write whatever you like about the experience of meeting them or figuring out that you were meant to be together. I just love reading these stories and would love for you to share them.

2. Posting on your blog about the contest.

3. and last but not least an entry for each person who comments and tell me that you sent them.

I hope you enjoy my Valentine's Day contest. I think it will be fun. I haven't decided what the prize will be so I'll get back to you this weekend on that. I will pick a winner on Valentine's Day, February 14th.

Extra Wedding Wednesday Post

Last week, I promised Courtney from Confessions of a Knitter that I would write about how Special K and I met...I kind of forgot so here I go. :)


A little back story, I was playing softball for two teams. The Tuesday night team was the younger crowd from church and then the Thursday night team was the "tad" bit older crowd from church. The coach on the Thursday night team was Special K's dad. During the time I had been playing on the team I had gotten to know Special K's dad and step-mother. I would often go to trivia with them on Monday nights. I had heard that his son was moving down from somewhere and honestly I thought he would be a young son like 15 or younger. When a 22 year old son showed up to one of our Sunday practices I was caught off guard.

Special K had been living with his mother in Ohio and had come down to get a job and live with his dad. That first practice we talked a little and Special K was already hooked. (hehe) Our first conversation that we actually had was at a going away party for his step-sister at the sports bar we are having our reception at. He came over and sat next to me and we talked for a long time. I didn't think much of it but heard from his dad that Special K thought I was cute. :)

After we talked that day, Special K asked me out on a date but I told him that I wanted to be friends. I had been kind of seeing someone, which ended shortly after he started asking me out but I still wasn't ready for a "date" with him. It was never that I didn't like him but I have never been a trusting woman when it comes to men that I liked and I was "scared" to "date" him. At first I only spent time with him in a group and then we started hanging out and doing things just us. I always had a great time but still kept telling him it wasn't a "date." You can imagine how thrilled he was to hear this. He started seeing someone for a bit and I didn't like her but was polite about it. He was seeing her when I realized that I just had to give him a chance and go on a "date." Instead of telling him to break up with this girl and date me, I told him that I had an idea(to go on an actual date) but he had to figure out the other girl first.

The other girl ended up breaking up with him and Special K and I kept hanging out and getting closer. One night we were at a friend's house for her birthday party and it was the first time I realized that I really really wanted to kiss him. :) That's when I knew that we were meant to be together. Soon after that we started dating but didn't tell anyone until we figured out that we made a good couple.
We have been together for over a year now and it's been a roller coaster ride of emotions but I know that I love him very much and would rather be with him than anyone in the world.


Well, hope you enjoyed the double dose of Wedding Wednesday this week. :)

Happy Hump Day!!

Wedding Wednesday

At a wedding for the first time, a little girl whispered to her mother, “Why is the bride dressed in white?” “Because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life.” The child thought about this for a moment, then said, “So why is the groom wearing black?”

Thought I would to start with a silly. :) I found this on a blog I read Dream Weddings on a Budget. It has some great advice and wonderful pictures. The main website is designed well and I have found it helpful. The post a couple days ago was this joke that I saved to share with you guys today.

My wedding plans this week have been the guest list. I started last week off with 207 and then started moving people to list B and cut out some of my friends kids. I ended up with 174ish. I like the ish part. :) Special K still hasn't looked at the list and put anyone on the list B but I worked hard on it. We still have time to finalize it but I gave the # of save the dates to my sister and they are working on them I think this weekend. I can't wait to see them.

We've also been starting to collect everyone's address. This is a chore. I have Sharimom on it for Special K because I know that he won't do it. He looked at me like I was crazy when I asked him so I just emailed Sharimom and mentioned it to her. :)

After we address and send those out I'm hoping to head to the sports bar with my sister and start thinking of what we want to use to decorate it. I also need to find a florist. I have pictures of what I want my bouquet to look like but we'll see.

Things still needed to think about are plenty. Stuff that comes to mind right now are the rehearsal dinner plans, bridesmaid dresses, and tux rental places. The list could go on and on but I'm thinking a step at a time.

Happy Wednesday!! (Do you say Happy Ash Wednesday?? I'm still thinking of what to work on over the lenten season.)

Thankful Tuesdays

My friend out in California sent me this movie...I think to give me perspective on my toe surgery. Today I am thankful that my toe only has a bone chip that can be removed and this is not happening to my body.




What do you think?? Crazy huh?? I guess it is said that he had a fungus that was left untreated and that is the results. INSANE!!! I hope he find the help he needs to support his family. If you want to know more check out this article here.

I am very thankful for the life I have and even though our health care is expensive and we can't always afford it but we do have it available if we can.

Knitting news...I had a tough time with the Rainbow sock and for now it has been ripped back to the toe. When I figure out what to do with it..I will share more. I need to learn how to do short rows properly....this is my goal. If not I may end up casting on for another sock and putting it on the back burner until I'm mentally ready to tackle it again. I did work on my Pedicure socks a little and brought those as my travel knitting today.

I'm hoping to get a chance this evening to record my podcast since I was at work until late last night and then headed to dinner with two of my sisters, my nephew, and a brother-in-law. I don't think I've spent enough time with my family lately so I need to do better with that.

Happy Knitting!!

PS...that friend out in California designs fabric and she actually designed the fabric for this shirt from Forever 21. Check it out. She has some even more exciting fabric designs but this is one that I told her that she's "famous" for. She claims she is going to open an online store soon. I'll share it with you when she gets her butt in gear and does it. (hint, hint, hint)

Monday....and KIP pics.

It's Monday and after the weekend it's always hard to come back to school. Especially when the kids barely want to be here themselves. I had a good weekend and spent a lot of time knitting. I finished my Monkey sock and met up with Sheryl and some others from our SnB. Sheryl and I spent the 2 hours learning the magic cast on for toe up socks. It was fine after we figured it out but it was a process. :) I cast on both toe's and when I get a better picture I'll show them.

So...My class was practicing Photoshop today and I came across these pictures so I figured I'd share them with you. I love knitting so much I will take it anywhere with me. This was on a school field trip to Seaworld. This was right before I started my knitting group so it sparked their interest in the art form.


Well...hope everyone is having a great week. I'm mentally preparing myself for my toe surgery on Friday. Yes, I know I'm crazy...it's ok.

Happy Knitting!!

PS...I'm working on my next podcast. It should hopefully be up by next week. YEAH!!

My Monkeys are finished!!

My Monkeys are finished!! I finished them this afternoon and yes that's two days later than I'd hoped but oh well.

Start date: January 5, 2008
Finish date: February 2, 2008
Pattern used: Monkey by Cookie A.
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Lipstick Lava
Needles: US 2s Knitpicks circulars
Notes: I had a great time knitting this pattern and it’s definitely going to be knit again. I have plenty of yarn left over too…so I’ll have to figure out what to do with my left overs. I had hoped to get these done by Jan 31st but I messed up twice on the second sock and had to rip back about 10 rows both times. I’m glad they are done and fit great.

I picked this pattern for this month so I could participate in the January Sockdown for a the Sock Knitter's Anonymous group on Ravelry. This is the first time I've actually participated and I'm going to play again for next month. They usually give you a designer or a technique to try and you post up the info above. You have to cast on during the month and finish them by the end of the following month.

For February it's the designer Eunny Jang or any pattern that features a heel technique that is new/ unfamiliar to the knitter. I've decided to knit the Rainbow sock using the toe-up, magic loop method and I plan to knit them 2 at a time. I've never tried toe up heels so this counts for the requirements for February.

I'm meeting my fellow SnBers tomorrow for some pre-Superbowl knitting and Sheryl from Knit Happens and I are planning to learn the cast on for the toe up method. Wish us luck.

Well...I'm off to get in the shower and get ready for my friend's wedding tonight. Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend.

Happy Knitting.

Dogs on Thursday on Friday

I planned on posting late last night after we had taken Abigail for her allergy test and I got busy and was trying to finish my sock that I just ended up heading to bed. I didn't finish my Monkey sock before midnight but I'm a repeat away from the toe and should be done by this evening.

First off I want to share with you the naughtiness that is Jackjack. I took him with me to watch Special K play softball last night. I've mentioned that he is a bit crazy but I haven't given you an example so here is one. I guess I'm cautious when I have Jackjack on a leash and I don't really let him "greet" other dogs. Mainly because he is RUDE and has a pretty loud bark. Most people are scared of black dogs and then you add this ferocious bark and they run for the hills. If you meet him you know that he's so sweet with people and with most dogs and would never harm you. He has never hurt another dog and I don't think he would but he does not greet dogs well when he is on a leash.

At the softball game, I had been sitting and being very conscious of our surroundings and keeping him away from most of the other dogs until right about half way through the game when this lady and her little dog come walking right up to us and I quickly get up and walk away. Now...I don't know if I'm wrong but if you see someone get up and walk away with their dog then you assume the dog is not as social and doesn't accept greeting. Well...the woman decides to sit right where all my stuff was and especially my knitting. I kind of wait her out but she doesn't move to let me grab my stuff. I decide I'm going in for my knitting!! So...I grab Jackjack get a little closer and made him lay down. He does it and is calm. Then we get closer and the dog comes over to greet and I try to retreat as Jackjack barrels towards the poor dog. I felt bad but I'm just trying to get my stuff.

Again the lady doesn't move away so I can grab my stuff instead she sits right in front of it and puts the dog on her lap. UGH. So, I end up having to go in and grab my stuff but as I was leaving Jackjack the bad dog that he is lunged at the dog...by the way while all this is happening Jackjack is waging his tail. If you know about dogs then you know if a dog is going to hurt another one there is NO warning it just happens and the tail is never waging happily. But I also know that other owners are not happy when dogs act like that and have a big bark. So...I grab him and walk off with my stuff finally. I then proceed to make Jackjack lay down on his side and relax. These kids that he had never met then came over and pet him and pretty much laid on top of him. They were not scared and neither was I. He is a nice dog. They pulled on him and he just laid there and took it all in. I just wish he would get over the need to growl and bark at the poor little dog that was sitting there. If they were at the dog park, Jack wouldn't even give the small dog a second thought. Ugh...my Jackjack. I guess he will be staying home from the softball games for a while. My first thought was I should have brought treats and used this as a lesson but I didn't have anything yummy on me. No one was hurt but I was a tad embarrassed of my Jackjack. Life goes on.

Ok...on to my sweet Abigail Grace. We had our appointment with the vet yesterday. She got blood drawn for her allergy test. We are testing airborne, insects, and food allergies. I'm excited to find out what she is allergic to and get her skin under control. She is my doggie I can take anywhere and is usually well behaved. She just doesn't like her butt sniffed but has learned to behave. (at least better than Jackjack) So...the vet said he'd call me in 3 weeks and we'd figure out where to go from there. I'll let you know what he says when he calls. She was so funny after they took the blood and all she wanted was to cuddle with her daddy. :)

Sorry this post is a day late but this week has been insane. I have another story for you that I'm hoping to get up today but we will see.

Happy Dogs on Thursday on Friday!!