Making plans

I have been inspired! I recently had a very successful experience in doing a commissioned knitting project for a friend of mine. I knit her a lovely scarf! I have also been browsing through a very cool site called artfire.com, which is a site that allows you to set up an online store for free. I think I am going to do it! I love my knitting and want to get even better at it, and I think this would be a great way to do it. I can use the money I make from selling items to pay for classes to learn new techniques and items. Plus, it gives me a great creative outlet and high! I even have a name for my store: Sunflower Creations. My first step to getting it up and going is to knit up some samples and take some pictures. Here is a picture of the Faggot Stitch Scarf I made for my friend Carrie. I used almost a skein of Cascade Quattro.





One potential item I am working on is reusable covers for face rests on massage chairs. I am currently knitting up a sample for my husband's new massage chair. If it goes well, I plan to sell them in my online store.

Another project I am working on is training for a 5K I plan to run in October. I am starting slowly by trying to get into the habit of walking for 30 minutes a day three days a week. I am going to do this for three weeks, and then I will be starting the Couch to 5K training program which is supposed to take about 9 weeks. So it appears that I could be ready by the end of May. I am excited to get into shape and hopefully feel better and be healthier.

Finally Finished!

Well. I finally did it. I finally finished my afghan for Warm Up America! It has taken me exactly three days shy of a year, but I got it done!! I completed it last night while watching "Ultraviolet" on SciFi with Aaron. I think it turned out pretty good! I mean, it has its little personality quirks (i.e. a random block of mismatch color or a block that had to be striped sue to a lack of a specific color), but I like that! I think it is kind of synbolic of life. To quote Forest Gump's mother, "You never know what you're going to get." So here it is!

On another good note, I have found a wonderful local yarn store that I call my own: Yarn Garden! Yes, this is a shameless plug, but I adore this place! I have also joined the Thursday morning Knit Chat group that meets there. A truly wonderful group of ladies. Looking forward to the up-coming swap at the store.

Books I am reading...and other stuff.

I am currently sitting at the computer at Janine's house listening to the lovely noise of Aaron, Janine, and the electricians demoing her bathroom. Aaron was cutting up Janine's old fiberglass bathtub, and let's just say it was a colorful experience! Aaron was covered in fiberglass dust which made his hair and arms gray. He looked to have aged about thirty years!! LOL.

For the most part I have been spending my evening downstairs with Sue watching tv and reading. It is so good to have a mother-in-law who, much like my mother, loves to read and watch Jeopardy! Albeit some of what Sue reads I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole (re: harlequin romance novels, or more affectionately known by Aaron as "bodice rippers"), she really does have gooc taste in books (re: mysteries and suspense). Currently, as I search for a job, I am reading three books: The Rules of "Normal" Eating, by Karen Koenig; Locker Room Diaries, by Leslie Goldberg; and Stone of Tears, by Terry Goodkind. One clinical book, one semi-clinical book, and one novel. Gotta have a mix or I feel unbalanced. I had been dying to read the first book ever since I heard about it, and finally recently broke down and allowed myself to spend the money on it. I do not regret it! The second book I think I have read about five times already! It is a fantastically fun written ethnography of a place I have never been but would someday like to dwell. The third book is the second in Mr. Goodkind's Sword of Truth series that Aaron so lovingly has drawn me into. Good stuff, but at times very intense.

It is getting very, very cold tonight! When I talked to my dad today he said that it was supposed to get really cold tonight and even colder next week. Let's hear it for space heaters and sleeping with a husband who is one in and of himself!

Welcome 2009!

Here it is. Another new year! I rang it in in a great fashion with my family in Newnan: Harry and David chocolate truffles, Asti Spumonti champagne, and watching music videos on youtube! I think I have a new favorite song - New Age Girl by Deadeye Dick. I also learned that Weird Al Yancovich has been doing his thing since 1979!! Dude, that is longer than I have been alive! New favorite Weird Al song: White and Nerdy!

I made some "resolutions" for this year, but really they ar really more like goals. I will post them later as I am heading out to Wal-Mart with Jennifer!

Getting moved in - Part 1

Preparations for Aaron and I to move into our new apartment are coming along swimmingly. The new carpet has been put down and looks great! We also began moving some of our stuff in today. We moved in the massive stash of wedding gifts that has been in my old room at Mom and Dad's house as well as most of my possessions (sans clothing, some books, and some CD's). I am really excited about getting things together! I can't wait to have everything in and organized. We plan to be completely moved in by December 1st, though if we can swing it maybe by Thanksgiving. It's been very nice living in Newnan with Aaron's family, but we are both very much ready to have our own space. The first thing we plan on doing once our new pad is settled is having our friend Joan over for dinner. She is a very sweet lady who has been a friend of my family for a long time. Last Sunday she approached my Dad at church to say that she had been thinking about it for a couple of months and wanted to pay our first month's rent! Aaron and I were SO touched that we decided we absolutely had to make her our first guest for dinner as a small way of thanking her for this immense act of kindness. After that I think it would be fun to mabye have some friends over for a housewarming. We will see what we can afford to do.

Quick Update

I am typing this from my Mother-in-law's computer due to the fact that my laptop has effectively decided to be useless. I cannot get it to go past the welcome screen, which leads me to believe it has some sort of crazy bad virus or something. This is particularly bad since I really want to do some job hunting. Meh. Geek Squad here I come as soon as we can afford it.

Also, I got my hair cut for Locks of Love yesterday! I got a full TWELVE INCHES hacked off, and I think I like it! I haven't had my hair short in years, but I think it looks better now that I have bangs to go with it.

Renovations on the floor at the house in Newnan are coming along quite well. I will be glad when it is all done. Aaron and I are really looking forward to moving back to Lilburn. We are SOOOO grateful to Janine for allowing us to live with her rent free this month, but we are longing for our own place. Please pray for us as we continue to look for jobs and get our feet on the ground.

The advent of the LP?

In working on putting in the new hardwood floors in my sister-in-law's house Aaron discovered a fully-functioning stereo which includes a turntable. He has been happily listening to his 1980's LP's all morning as he has been taking up the carpet in the TV room. I have really been enjoying it because he has excellent LP's including Electric Light Orchestra, Dire Straits, Kiss, and The B52's. Personally, I have been wileing away my time by writing thnak you cards for wedding gifts. This is a tedious process after a while. 12 down, seventy-something to go? Ah well.