Repeat after me: I am a death metal queen

I'm going to keep repeating that over and over until I believe it because...today Jason bought two tickets for the June Iron Maiden show in Denver. Yeah, you heard me. Bruce Dickenson. This girl. Iron. Maiden. I need more black to wear. And maybe some AquaNet. It will be a true adventure.

In other news the past few weeks have been a whirlwind.

Last week alone I made some fab chicken and dumplings in my awesome Le Creuset Christmas present from Jason.

I drove to Arkansas and back in a day for work. Gotta love the free-flowing sweet tea, nice people, and frequency of running across a Chick-fil-a at virtually every turn.

I flew to Colorado and back in two days for work where I slept in this bed after working what felt like the longest day ever (Down. Mattress. Pad. OMG comfy!),


...and woke up to this the next morning (hello, goorgeous!)


On the way back to the airport I sped through these,

...stopped in a cute area for a quick bite at the amazing La Baguette Bakery,

...saw a Cheeto likeness of Rachel Ray through a shop window,

...ran into the yarn shop next door and snagged some awesome hand-dyed, springish yellow sock yarn and new size 1 needles since I broke my last pair,


...and sped the rest of the way to the airport to catch my flight back home.

I also attended the amazing first annual (I'm hoping?) Laideth Night Clothing Swap-a-rama-lama-ding-dong courtesy of the ever fabulous Shannan and Amy, where I met lots of wonderful laideth, ate delicious food, and bagged some stellar loot in the form of new clothes, jewelery, and a purse.

I also cast on for a new pair of socks. It has become abundantly clear that though I am sure I grabbed the same kind of yarn, and I thought I grabbed the same dye lot, I surely did not, and will now be the proud owner of a pair of slightly different colored pink socks. Meh, what can you do?!

February Flop

I remember reading back through my archives a couple of weeks ago and thinking of my previous late February posts, "Wow, what was up with me last year?" I mean, yeah winter is long and kind of boring, but I sounded downright pitiful.

Welcome to the end of February. Once again I find myself tired, cranky, wanting to get some exercise, wanting to start some projects, wanting to deep clean my house, but having exactly a zero motivation to do so.

Wanna know what I do have motivation to do? Sit on my couch under a blanket, knit, and watch the Olympics. Watching their superhuman feats and streamlined muscles makes me feel slightly fitter by association. Until, that is, I scuff across the wood floors to grab another sliver of brownie from the kitchen, and immediately back to my preheated spot. My kryptonite? Add a purring cat climbing into my lap and I may as well settle in for a few hours.

Uggh. I'm so...blah.

Apparently everyone else is too because I've seen a rash of How to Be Happy type articles. Even though I'm not in New York I rather enjoyed the recent 50 Steps to Simple Happiness article in the Times. Some of the ideas, totally doable. Some of the others, not so much for this KC girl, but the thought of being fabulous in New York did perk me up a bit.

In other news, my February Lady Sweater is coming along. I'm trying to knit it for the Ravelympics, which means I've got from the Olympic opening ceremony to the closing (6 more days, YIKES!) to complete a project. Must. Keep. Knitting.

Beer for Bikes

Any KCers looking for something fun to do this Wednesday night, be sure to check out Beer for Bikes at Boulevard Brewing Co. $15 gets you delicious local brew, food, door prizes, and live music; and helps provide kids with physical disabilities therapeutic bikes. Win-win!

Welcome Home

Tonight I was welcomed home not only by outside kitty waiting for her dinner, but also a package. Inside this package was the best welcome home surprise... ...a wonderful loot of four, balled skeins of Cascade 220 in Plum. MMMM! When the BF and I were in Lawrence at the Yarn Barn two weeks ago I found this, but they didn't have enough, so they offered to mail me some, with no shipping (!), when it arrived at the store. I'd been waiting patiently, and finally, today was the day.

I am a complete yarn nerd. I know this because all I want to do is sit with it in my lap this evening, lookat the fabulous color, and every so often give it a squeeze. Yarn fondler...that's me.

I already know I'm going to make the February Lady Sweater with it. I've promised myself I won't start it yet though because I've got so many other projects going on.

I finally finished my Spring Ruffle Top, and I'm pretty happy with the results.

It took me about 5 days total, working on it after I got home from work. I'm not a super experienced seamstress, and this really didn't give me any problems to speak of. I really liked that there was no paper pattern to cut out (although sometimes those are nice too), and that it was totally customizable. Is that even a word? Anyway, the formulas in the tutorial worked perfectly. I did add the shaping on the sides and I brought the bottom in a bit too, just So it wasn't quite sooo flowy.

My fabrics are from Sarah's in Lawrence, and even though they aren't from the same designer, I think they went together really well.

The polka dots fabric is a little more greenish-brown than is showing up in the photo, and the pattern has a great mix of springy green and a greenish gold. Now I'm just waiting for warmer weather so I can wear it. Do you think anyone will ask if I made it? If they do, umm, is that a good thing or no? :)

I'm also STILL working on my Owls Sweater. I've got the body and two arms mostly done but it feels like it's going so slooow.

I also resolved to knit one pair of socks per month. Easier and less painful than diet and excercise in the new year, no? I started my "January Socks" which are actually the ever popular Jaywalker Socks. I'm using a crazy Paton's Kroy Sock Yarn in Fern Rose Jacquard, and it's been really fun seeing the stripes develop.

At this rate they may be March socks :). Actually, I'm flying to St. Louis and back for work tomorrow, and plane time = knitting time, so maybe they will actually be done within this month.

On that note, anyone else think it's weird that nail clippers are considered possible weapons on planes by the TSA but knitting needles aren't? Not arguing, and I'd obviously never even have to think about that if it weren't for all the crazy regulations...just sayin'. Come fly the fiber-friendly skies :).

A Visitor

Another week bites the dust! As for the "regular updating" --this week FLEW BY. I've been busy planning my Spring travels for work, trying to finish knitting my Owls Sweater, sewing Made by Rae's Spring Ruffle Top, and planning for Jamie's visit in April!! Couldn't be more excited!

For those of you who may not know, she and I were randomly paired as roommates in college, and it was one of the best things to happen in my life :). We were fast friends, and soon known as Roomie and Roomie Roomerson, as we were that unseperable. Since college, she's migrated back to Portland, Oregon; while I'm in Kansas City, MO. Ususally we're lucky to see one another once per year, but we're actually going to fit in two visits within a six month period. YESSSS!

A quick pictoral history of R&R, Inc. You're welcome :)

Freshman year dorm room roomies, circa 2001:

Toga Roomies, circa 2002ish:

Lake Trip Roomies, circa 2004:

Graduating Roomies, circa 2005:
St. Louis Meetup Roomies, circa 2006:

The Great Divide Roomies, circa 2007:

Matching Undies and a Meetup Roomies, circa 2008:

Birthday Celebration with Jesus Roomies, circa 2009 (the looks on our faces crack me up every time!):

Soon to be....2010!! Countdown. Is. On.

A little Friday love for all my Lovelies!

(via theheartrender)

Happy almost weekend. Hopefully you get a three-day like me! :)

Blog Love: Attic 24

Maybe it's the cold, dreary weather or the post-holiday time of year, or my obsession with pretty colors and yarn, but I could not have stumbled upon this cheery blog at a more perfect time.

Lucy, of Attic 24, is a stay at home mother of three (one brand new!) who lives in the English countryside and loves bright colors and crocheting among other things. Complete confession: prior to finding this blog I was not the biggest fan of afghans and I was definitely a knitting devotee. My mind has officially been changed by Lucy and her beautifully colored creations. That, and I'm always envious of her yummy looking breakfast sweets and fresh flowers!

Check out more of Lucy and her cozy life here.

(all photos via Attic 24)

I'm back...

...from a long and unexcusable hiatus. Things got crazy busy. My nasty heartburn got worse and I didn't feel like doing anything. My nasty heartburn got somewhat better, and then a lot better with the help of some new medication. Then I learned to live without coffee and could magically eat chocolate again without feeling like crap, and life was good.

I trained for and then ran in a 5K (If you read any of my previous posts I was training for a marathon relay, until 3 of my team of 5 bailed THE DAY BEFORE. Love you Jackie for still running with me!).

The BF and I took the great American Road trip and saw all kinds of cool stuff...

... and ate hamburgers with peanut butter.

Then the knitting started...

...and the knitting...

...and the Halloweening...

...and the knitting of the Christmas gifts...

...and the buying of the new couch on which to watch tv, and lounge, and knit (excuse the knitting notions on the floor beneath) ...

...and the sewing...

...and my first time preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the fam...

... and the Christmas Treeing (I love this picture of him).


I went to Portland, Oregon to visit Jamie for my birthday...

...where we ate blueberry Mancakes with Jesus...

...and bought matching rings.

Then came the Christmasing...

...and the doggy houseguests..

...and the snow. Oh the snow. It started on Christmas Eve, where we weren't quite sure we would make it home from Grandma's and might have to eat the stockpile of chocolate mints for survival. It kept up off and on until last week, at which point every school within a 50 mile radius was closed and we ended up with a cumulative foot or so on the ground.

Pair that with a recent week of temperatures at or below zero, and you've got some really nasty roads and a major case of cabin fever.

Today however, we are currently experiencing a balmy 28 degrees with predictions of a meltoff and sunny skies later in the week. Life is good, and I am ready to start new projects, reorganize, and hopefully experience the predicted Bachelor scandal with Jackie (because it's just more fun that way).

Onward and upward, and much more blogging to come in the near future.

Welcome 2010!