2011 Goals!

Better late than never, no? If you've talked to me anytime in the last year, you know that my newest hobby is knitting! I've successfully completed many projects and have many, many more on my "wish list". So, I was inspired by Aimee at Darn Knit Anyway and decided to plan out my projects for the year. Here's the lineup...a little ambitious, perhaps, for a novice knitter but I'll give it the 'ol college try!

January:

This is already in the works. In fact, I finished knitting the whole body and was halfway done with one arm when I realized it was WAY. TOO. BIG. So, I pulled it all out and started over in a smaller size *sigh* I'm making it in that pretty blue color.February:

Another sweater. Cute owls, right?

March:

I'm going to attempt socks for the first time! I'm taking a basic sock class (not pictured) and after that, will attempt this adorable pair for Amayah:

May:

Back to sweaters! I'm super excited about this one! It looks so relaxed and comfy and I can't wait to wear it!

June:

A cute summer sweater. Ok...hopefully I will have dropped a few pounds thanks to weight watchers so this will look good on me....it's cute, just not sure my body can pull it off LOL :)

July:

This is an open month...maybe to take a break, maybe to catch up on some unfinished projects!

August:

Another one I'm super excited about! Very cute!

September:

I'm going to make this vest for Kendall, for a Christmas present... Shhhh...Not sure if you can tell from the picture, but it is argyle inspired and has the little diamond pattern down the front. I'm going to make it a lot longer than it is in the picture.

October, November, December:

Ok so maybe I don't have the WHOLE year planned out afterall. I can tell you there will most likely be a few surprises in here for my soon-t0-be niece (due February 13th!!!) but I can't post those pictures here and ruin the surprise :)

Well, better get back to knitting!!

The big "C" and other Life Events

Wowzers, it has been ages since I've posted anything. Well let me start with the most recent news and work my way backwards.

Last Friday, my dad was diagnosed with Stage 3 prostate cancer. Six months ago he had precancerous cells and they told him to check back in 6 months. So, in 6 months time, he went from precancer to stage 3. Prostate cancer is supposed to be the slowest moving, not so in his case. He has 2 treatment options: 1st is a robotic surgery at St. John's. Second is a procedure that has not been approved in the US yet, so he'd have to travel to Cancun (or maybe it was the Bahamas) to have it done, and would have to pay $25,000 cash. It sounds like he's leaning towards that option. The thing that scares me is that it wouldn't be done until June. That's three months away. With the rapid progression he's had in 6 months, it scares me about how much it could progress in another three months.

On a lighter note, I joined a running club! ME!! Can you believe it? It meets every Saturday morning at 8am in Forest Lake (starting at the end of April). Over the course of 18 weeks, they'll be training the non-runners to run a 5k at the end of the summer. I can NOT picture myself running 3 miles nonstop at this point, but I'm determined to do it! I must admit, a lot of my motivation comes from just wanting to prove Kendall wrong. He laughed at me when I told him about it and told me I'd basically never be able to do it. Gotta love supportive husbands. I went out for my first 'jog' the other day around my neighborhood. I walked most of the way and jogged here and there for very short spurts. The total walk/run was a mile. I thought I was going to have a heart attack! Keep in mind, this was very little running. Yikes, I have my work cut out for me!!!! :)

The pets. UGH. Bosco, our 10 year old dog, was diagnosed with diabetes. He has to have insulin shots twice a day and eat prescription dog food. Kendall has refused to help with this at all so it's all on my shoulders. Bosco's levels are still not under control and he is constantly eating and drinking. He's peed in the house several times. We're supposed to check his levels at home but i have been unable to draw enough blood to do so. That means, we need to take him into the vet to have that done and we just can't afford frequent vet visits. I hate to say it, but I'm just exhausted and considering having him put down. That sounds horrible, I know and I feel guilty even thinking it. It seems so selfish of me....but I just can't do it anymore. Kendall also now keeps him penned up in the dining room 24/7 in case he does pee in the house, it's not on the carpet. That's just not fair to him.

More pet news. We got three guinea pigs several months ago, before Bosco was diagnosed. Their names are Rhubard, Sassafras, and Basil. They're super cute and I love them, and the kids love them. Kendall hates them. They are also a lot of work.....twice a day cage cleaning (they poop a lot), making sure they have a constant supply of hay, twice a day giving them a variety of fresh veggies, and their daily pellets. The first couple of months I didn't think they stunk at all. Lately, though....they seem to be kinda stinky. Again, I'm just exhausted. Between taking care of all the animals by myself, taking care of the kids (keep in mind that kendall doesn't get home during the week until midnight), I just feel overworked, overwhelmed, and tired.

I'm kinda in a funk, I think. Winters are typically hard for me, maybe I have a case of S.A.D. I'm hoping the sprintime will bring a new attitude :)

Another fun weekend!

I had yet another fun weekend! Yay for a good start to the summer! On Thursday night my moms group had their annual banquet. It was at Paddy O'Ryans in hudson.
It was an international theme and everyone was encouraged to dress as if they were from a foreign country. Initially I planned on getting a kimono and being a Geisha. But, I didn't order my costume in time. So, it was a last minute rush to find something local and something cheap. Leah to the rescue! She found us this Hula girl "costume" for only $4.99 and we both went dressed like this:

It was a fun evening. There was silent auction and among other things I "won" (bought) this awesome purse that I LOVE:There was a raffle and I won an ipod case which I will be putting on Ebay since I don't have any use for it. Tommy Ryman, a local comedian who was on Last Comic Standing then did a show for us and was hilarious!!

The next day we went up north to Tofte, MN which is about 20 minutes from Grand Marais. My friend Kathy's parents have a cabin there so we got together for a girls weekend! No kids, no men. It was a lot of fun and just what I needed. We played a lot of cards, ate a lot of food, drank a lot, and went for a hike. At one point, Kristi and kathy ran into town to get a pizza and ran into Genevieve from TLC!!! I can't believe I wasn't there to see her. Just my luck!

Wednesdays

Wednesdays have become a favorite day of mine. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love cooking, menu planning, and creating new, original recipes. I really feel like it's one of the only things that I'm good at...my only "talent", if you will. I'm not exactly sure where this skill came from. I grew with NOTHING homemade :) I guess I just kind of developed it on my own.
Anyhoo, on Tuesday afternoons I get my CSA veggie box. Which means on Wednesdays I get to start figuring out what to do with all of my weekly goodies! Many of the spring veggies (kale, arugula, watercress, lambs quarter, sorrel) I've never used before, so it's been a learning experience.

Today I had some fresh green beans that we bought last week that needed to be used up. So, I created a green bean/kale dish that we'll have with dinner tonight. I sauted red onions and garlic in olive oil, added the green beans and sauted until tender, then added the chopped kale until just wilted. Of course, you have to season well with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Done! I think it would have been good with some freshly squeezed lemon juice too, but I didn't have any lemons.

Next, for the arugula. I've always wanted to try it-its an Italian green with a spicy, peppery taste to it. I also used some ingredients I had on hand and created a summer salad that I'll have for lunch today. I combined the arugula, feta cheese, blanched asparagus, cherry tomatoes, some leftover cooked egg noodles, green peppers, green onions. For the dressing I combined some italian dressing and Dijon mustard. I haven't tried it yet but it looks delicious!

Bon Appetit!

Great Weekend

I had much needed weekend packed full of "me time". Unfortunately, I'm still tired from it :) Friday night I dropped the kids off at my parent's house and went.....to a pole dancing class. Yep, you heard me. Pole dancing. ME! This is something I never ever thought I would do. A new facility opened up in Hudson (http://www.lady-katherine.net/) and the mom's group set up a group class for us. We learned some of the basics of pole dancing and strip tease. It was actually a lot of fun, and I'd love to go back and take some classes! The kids ended up spending the night at my parent's house so I came home and had some drinks and relaxed.

On Saturday I went to a spa party/sleepover at a girl's house that I knew in high school. There were a couple of old high school friends there and a bunch of people I didn't know. I hadn't seen the high school friends in 16 years! This too was something out of character for me-to go somewhere by myself where I really didn't know anyone too well. It was a lot of fun. Lots of good food, drinks, and spa stuff. I drank a little too much and didn't sleep that great, but it was so nice to get away and not have to worry about all of my responsibilities!

Good times!

I ♥ Etsy.com

Have you been to http://etsy.com/? It's a website where people sell their handmade items-you'll find everything and anything there! I LOVE, love, love online shopping to begin with and love the idea of supporting small artisan businesses over large chain companies. Every time I go to Etsy I find more things I want! They also have a great feature where you can post requests for custom items-if you have a specific idea of what you want-and people can submit their bids to you.

Here are a few pieces of jewelry on my wish list:

New Template!

How do you like my new template? Now that I know how to use non-blogger.con templates I think I'll try out some new ones here and there! I like this one for now-I just can't seem to find a font color that you can actually read in the paragraph over the picture....