30 March 2007

We're NUTS now...

The reason is...

Jason and I have been talking about looking for a single family home for awhile (since Turkey Day). We've looked at new builds that we definitely could NOT afford and we've been cruising the internet looking at the various offerings there. We actually found a couple that we liked, but found that there were already contracts on them. Boo hoo... I finally got in touch with a realtor and began the exhausting search through the listings he compiled in our price range.

Last Friday, we looked at 3 houses. The first was a bit smaller than what we have now, the second was HUGE and the third was teeny tiny. Of course, the second one was the one that was a new build, has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a living room, a family room, a dining room and a spacious kitchen. It also has an unfinished basement (not a problem...Dad and I were pretty handy with completing the current basement). There's already a contract on that house, but the contingency is that they have to sell their house first. We can put in a contract also, give the other people 48 hours to put money down or take away their contract. Our realtor thinks that we will have NO problem getting this house.

We looked at it again Monday afternoon with my parents and signed a contract. We found out tonight that the builder finally accepted our counter offer (long story). Now, we just have to wait those 48 hours...it will seem like an eternity! Once we hear (hopefully in our favor), we will close at the end of April. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Now that the scream is out...you have to remember, there's WORK, GRAD SCHOOL aNd MOVING??????? I have a few gray hairs now. By the end of April, my gray hairs will have gray hairs.

29 March 2007

Another Sort of Madness...

Tomorrow is the end of the third quarter at school. Today, I had 2 students come after school to make up quizzes because they will not be at school tomorrow (it's also a 1/2 day and the beginning of Spring Break). What responsible students, right? To balance this, I also had a student who requested any "make-up" work to improve his grade. He doesn't understand why his grade is so low. When I said that it might be because he is never concerned about getting work turned in or paying attention to what is going on, his response was, "but I sit in the front of the room!"

Now, I know that sitting in the front of a classroom does have SOME correlation to your performance in the class (I tested this out in college...) but so does paying attention, asking questions to clarify and handing your best work in on time. I stated all of this to the student in question.

His response...

"I still don't see how I could be missing so much work. I sit in the FRONT of the class!"

This got a head shake and an eye roll from me (how professional, I know) and I told him to see me after school and we could take a look at his grade, etc., etc. Bet you can guess what happened next....


HE NEVER SHOWED UP! Talk about responsibility...

22 March 2007

Secret Pal 10 Contest

This is easy...I just have to mention what I'm working on now, who it is for and why I love it.

Here it is, the fav UFO...
This is the Easy Ripple Shawl from LionBrand. I'm even using LionBrand MircoSpun yarn in Blush and Coffee. I love this combination of colors even though my favorite color is BLUE. Of course, the red chair does nothing to help the shawl...I should really find somewhere else to take my pics!

I've used this pattern and yarn before-I made it for my sister-in-law in black a few years ago for a Christmas gift. I don't typically make the exact same thing twice. That's not fun for me. But I was having a tough time deciding what pattern to use. I thought about using a pattern from Arctic Lace (there's a whole other post just waiting to be created about why I LOVE Alaska), but using the double strand just wasn't working out well.

The shawl is so soft and will definitely be warm when it's finished-hopefully very soon!

I also finished my MadCow Socks (first pattern in SockMadness). They turned out better than I expected. I used up a bit of the stash (KnitPicks Essential in navy) left over from another pair of socks. They feel great-warm and snuggly! They even ended up being jogless-Wooo Hooo!!! That never happens for me... I guess I got lucky!!!


15 March 2007

Some more knitting...


Here are some pics of some of my creations...

This is a hat I made my mom (yes, that is Mom modeling her own hat!) It's done with some ultra soft baby alpaca. It's the type of yarn that you just want to rub against your cheeks. This pattern was fast and easy to knit. Mom went with me to purchase the yarn and the pattern (Ewenique Yarns) on a Friday and she had the hat on Saturday. She was pleasantly surprised. Mom was thinking that she might see a finished product by Christmas!

This next FO has been finished for quite some time (before the blog started). This bag was my first attempt at felting and it turned out better than I expected. The pattern came from Creative Knitting (magazine) and was very easy to follow. If I were ever to make this bag again, I would make the i-cord handles just a tad bit wider or make the body of the bag just alittle smaller. I was very pleased with the end result. It took a lot longer to felt than the pattern stated, but that's probably due to my lack of experience. Felting is fun to do because you never quite know how the wool will felt. I like to be surprised!

14 March 2007

Secrets

Although I may not be a lunatic anymore (see yesterday's post), I still am a secret pal today! Secret Pal 10 is a swap of knitting goodies given by someone who is your secret pal over a 3 month period. The secret pal knows what to gift because you answer a questionnaire on your blog. Plus, you can send cards, emails and even post to your pal's blog (having a blog is a requirement for this swap). I got my secret pal info yesterday and sent her an email. I can't wait to start getting all her knitting "treats" and other goodies together. It's like Christmas all over again! I love finding those little things that one doesn't really need, but just brings a smile to that person's face. I already have some great ideas...

Another secret...my grad school class! Supposedly, we're on "Spring Break." HA! That's the big secret. I will be working my you know what off to get two HUGE projects finished by the 20th. Of course, you're saying "you have the syllabus, you knew the workload," etc, etc. Did I fail to mention that we have other indepth assignments to complete as well???? A classmate and I spent 7 hours working on 3 assignments and still did NOT finish everything that we needed to complete. It will all get finished, but probably not on time (which I hate!) I'll be spending my Saturday at the library...too bad they're only open 9-5!

13 March 2007

I'm not a lunatic anymore...

Well, I have officially been knocked out of Sock Madness. I was trying to make that second sock as fast as my fingers would move, but at 9:30pm, I cried "Uncle!" I'm not sure my fingers will even move in the morning, so I may be popping some Aleve or Advil to aide in my mobility issues. (Good thing I'm giving quizzes tomorrow!)

The good thing about being out of Sock Madness is that I can concentrate on my Grad school work and hopefully catch up on the 2 big projects that are due right after Spring Break (started today). There is one other nice perk to Sock Madness...even though I didn't advance to the second round, I will still get all the patterns. The patterns are all original, so it will be nice to have some different patterns to work with as well as try out some new techniques.

12 March 2007

Daylight Savings???

This business of daylight savings time coming early is for the birds! First of all, my body does not like time changes period. It doesn't matter if it happens twice a year or because of travel. My system is totally out of whack for about 2 weeks. Who can function like that??? Secondly, a few years ago, my alarm clock went peacefully to alarm clock heaven. I purchased a new one that automatically changed due to daylight savings, power outages, etc. It did not change Sunday morning. My guess is that three weeks from now, it will change all by itself (when we were originally supposed to have daylight savings). Oh my... Finally, time changes are just NOT safe. Because of reason #1, I pretty much drove to work this morning with my eyes closed. That's dangerous, you might say. Of course it is! But getting up at 5am (really 4am) is for the birds (literally and figuratively).

Needless to say, I don't think we're actually saving much of anything. This change in when we change the time is just causing more grief.

11 March 2007

The Madness has BEGUN!

"THE MADNESS" can be many things...
  • Sock Madness (started yesterday...many have finished, I sadly have not)
  • Grad School (worked all day on projects and STILL have yet to finish all the assignments plus have 2 PROJECTS to work on...UGH!)
  • Work...(but that's just insanity no matter how you look at it...)
Plus, we went to see SPAMALOT tonight...that also has a bit to do with "madness." It was fun to see, but it definitely was lacking in parts. (Still wasn't going to see WICKED...oh, wait. DID NOT get to see that one due to the @%$&^*weather here) Oh well...

08 March 2007

Getting ready for Sock Madness!


I went to my LYS this afternoon after work to find a suitable yarn to make my first pair of socks for SoCk MaDnEsS! I did much searching for just the right yarn and just the right color. I purchased Colinette's Jitterbug in CopperBeach. It's a dark brown with navy blue, maize, red and some other colors thrown in. It's perfect for me! The first pattern in SM calls for a variegated and a solid yarn. I have some navy sock yarn leftovers in my stash that will go nicely with the CopperBeach. Here's what they look like together. I really like the combination.

Yesterday was another SNOW day here (it was a joke...you could still see the grass poking out of the snow). We'll be going to school until July this year. All the seniors are laughing and saying,"we don't have to make up these days!" I wouldn't mind if the superintendent just decided that since we've missed 5 whole instructional days, that EVERYONE had to make them up. Wishful thinking on my part, that's for sure!

Since it was a snow day yesterday, I got some more work done on the shawl for myself. It's coming along nicely. I would like to get it finished soon so that I can wear it before the weather turns too warm! (You just need to wait 5 minutes here in MD.)

I still haven't finished those socks for my mom. I'm procrastinating there as well...

05 March 2007

So much...

I have been quite busy of late. I've been trying to stay ahead with my grad school class, but am not being entirely successful about it. It's tough to do when I am a procrastinator by nature. My BEST work has ALWAYS come at the 11th hour. In high school, my partner and I WON the biology portion of the science fair by putting the whole project together the night before. (Yikes!) In college, my best paper in poli sci-finished the last minute and running to class to turn it in (me? run? I think not!)

Back to the being busy...Jason and I went to the Caps game on Saturday (hockey) with our friends, Niki and Colleen. It was a very sloppy game. I almost got to see a fight (darn those referees!). It's not hockey without one!

I've also been knitting a shawl for MYSELF with the Lion Brand Microspun in coffee and blush. It's turning out well. I'm using the feather and fan pattern that came on the label. I've made it before, but never with double strands. It will be nice and warm when I finish. I also completed two dishcloths for Niki as a housewarming gift-she moved in to her new abode last May (better late than never!). This is one of the dishcloths. I really like how it turned out. The pattern is from Creative Knitting. (I forget what issue and I'm too lazy to go downstairs and look!) Niki posted a pic of the festive dishcloth on her blog. Check it out!