Summary Sunday - Superbowl Sunday Edition

Superbowl Sunday has now come and technically gone. I'm not really one for professional football and I typically watch the game just for the commercials, but I have to admit that the game was a pretty good one. As for the commercials, eh...not bad. A couple of good ones in there. I enjoyed the bribing Doritos dog, the first Acura owner and of course the Matthew Broderick CRV commercial. Also, high five to NBC for using Betty White in their commercial for The Voice. Anything with Betty White is an automatic win.

Now...let's take just a moment to discuss the halftime show and then we'll move on. I like Madonna, really...I do. I like her older stuff better than her more recent works, but I think she's a good singer. I thought she had the potential to put on an amazing show. But...when you lip sync the entire thing in a way that becomes obvious ten seconds into it...I lose interest and, quite honestly, some respect for you. Oh Madge, I held you to a higher standard.  Also, maybe you should've discussed with MIA how to behave properly during a Superbowl show. Thanks for the cursing and middle finger salute. You really brought maturity to the table there. Thanks. Heaven knows we're now going to hear about that for the next week. Pathetic.

Okay...that part's done now. Moving on...

I busted out my huge shopping run and got enough groceries to get us through the next two months and then some (excluding the produce and dairy we may need to replenish along the way).  I'm pretty proud of myself. My meal plan includes a bunch of new recipes and a large portion of crockpot recipes. I got quite a lot of food, including a ton of meat and cheeses. Plus, I estimated really well. Once I figured out my recipes and the special items I wanted to buy, I expected to walk away at around $400. Our final total? $398.78. I'm happy with that. If things work out like I expect them to, that will put us at around $175 per month. That works out to less than $2 per meal and most of those meals will leave leftovers.

Collin worked a lot this week and I spent a good chunk of my time trying to fix his office books for the accountant (there were some issues with how inventory has been being entered). All in all, by Saturday morning we had spent about four hours together this week. We did however get to relax yesterday evening and spend some time together on the couch. Thanks to Costco, we also had some yummy red velvet cake. But...back to work he went today. He may be home on Wednesday. If not, we won't see him again until Friday. It's a completely nutso schedule, but we just keep plodding along. One of these days we'll be rewarded by having our debt paid off.

I also made a couple of noteworthy purchases this week. Using the money I had left on my Barnes & Noble giftcard, I marched right out to their website and preordered Let's Pretend This Never Happened...the memoir written by Jenny Lawson (you know, The Bloggess, my girl crush). I'm super excited for it to get here, but I have to be patient. Delivery is expected around April 17th. And yes, that's right...I gave you a link...because I know you all will want it too.

The second purchase...a new carpet cleaner. I've been absolutely distraught since my Hoover Agility took a dive back in November. It's been hard to part with that loss. It was such a good little trooper. So...after much time and patience, I finally worked up the nerve (read: had a complete mental breakdown and became obsessive when it became evident that everyone around here was out to destroy my carpet) to go out and find a new one. My new Bissell should arrive next week. I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm pretty sure it will be amazing.

Here's what else I was up to this week :

Posts I Posted : I busted out not one, but two tutorials. I'm pretty darned proud of myself. I taught you how to make bottlecap coasters for the men and decoupaged paper & photo coasters for the ladies. I'm inclined to like both of them, but the photo ones make me particularly happy.

I also received the Liebster Blog Award and passed it on to five of my blogging friends.

Darian also posted a review for you on Fever 1793. This was his first review of an assigned book. I think he did pretty well, but he obviously doesn't have the appreciation for historical fiction that I do.

Projects I Finished : Because I am apparently not the type to think while I work, I was forced to make new models for my tutorials this week in order to get the photos I needed. So...I busted out a few coasters. They're not technically finished yet, but they're pretty stinking close. I also finished a scarf for a cute little girl. You may remember that I gave this purple scarf to my friend Erin for Christmas.

Well...her adorable daughter decided she loved it and was modeling it around their house shortly after I gave it to her mother. I decided that maybe the little diva needed her own. So hers is basically a reverse of her mother's. Whereas Erin's is purple with a hint of fuschia, hers is fuschia with a hint of purple. I know, cute right? I did make one mistake and made it slightly wider than I should have, but I made the length slightly shorter so it will fit her fairly comfortably. We'll see how she likes it when I give it to her tomorrow.

Books I Read : I finished reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It was fantastic! I'll be doing a review on it later this week. I am now reading Once on a Moonless Night by Dai Sijie. It's a bit of a departure from what I normally read, but it is technically historical fiction. It's been a challenging read, but I hope to be able to finish it either tonight or tomorrow so that I can stay on task with my BOTY goal.

Recipes I Tried : Meh. I didn't make anything new other than the Crockpot Sesame Chicken that we tried last Sunday. I did make one of our easy family staples, though. For lack of a better term, we call it goulash. Now don't get all technical with me...just go with it. It's super easy to make. Cook one box of Macaroni & Cheese according to the box directions. Add in one can of chili and one can of diced tomatoes. Tada. See...easy. And it's good...I promise.

I don't have any favorite blog posts for you this week...for two reasons. 1 - I spent a good portion of my evenings getting ready for my grocery run...and 2 - I forgot to star the ones I liked. Oops. I warned you, my memory is crap. Oh well, maybe next week.

In Stitches

Last week I gave you a preview of the projects that made up the Christmas Project Countdown. As you no doubt noticed, there were quite a few scarves.

I feel like I'm finally starting to get the hang of this knitting thing. Now...that being said, I know I still have a long way to go.

But...considering that my skills started off with some miscalculation and this, I think I'm doing alright.

I've talked to you before about the fact that I'm all about taking the easy way out on things. So all of these scarves were knitted using a knitting board (loom). I have no desire to mess with needles. I'd probably just stab myself.

For the scarves, I used one that looks an awful lot like this :

I found that it's rather relaxing to do this while half watching a television show. I got through quite a few episodes of My Boys. 

The first scarf I made was this one : 

Originally I didn't know who I was making it for, but as I worked on it I realized that it just looked like it would be fitting for Collin's grandmother, Jean. Turns out...I was right. She sent us a thank you note the other day saying that she really likes the color. Score!

The best part about knitting these scarves for Christmas was that I got to try different types of yarn. For some of the girls' scarves I used angel hair yarn. This is typically a double stranded yarn. It's soft and pretty, but it can prove occasionally problematic if you're not paying attention to the strands.

This yarn is so soft in fact, that it prompted me to tweet this.

The softest yarn though was the one I used to make a scarf for my dad.

This is crazy heavenly. It's Goldenrod by Sensations. It's like a fluffy cloud.

I also played with some fun color combinations to see how the patterns came out. 

I really enjoyed how the pattern ended up coming out on Jon's scarf...a nice diamond motif.

I ended my endeavor by learning how to blend different yarns to make a pattern. I goofed up and don't have a good picture of it, but you can kind of get the idea...

I made that one for my grandmother. She's the knitter/crocheter in our family. She has made me some really beautiful afghans. And that brings me to my goals for 2012...

I'm going to keep working at the knitting and trying new things. I still have to break out the crochet hooks and learn that skill, but that's another story. For the knitting I have two 2012 goals. I want to make an afghan and I want to knit myself a pair of fingerless mitts. My hands always get crazy cold, so it would be really nice to have those handy. (No pun intended, but it certainly worked out that way.) I'm hoping to start on them soon (I need to go pick out some yarn) and have them finished by February at the latest. The sooner, the better. My hands will be very happy.

Also, Erin's girl loved her mom's scarf so much that I've decided to make a girly one for her. She's requested fuchsia so I'll be picking up some of that as well. Maybe I'll even try and learn a new stitch. Hey! Look at me branching out!

*** If you want to see an idea of the projects I'm thinking about trying this year, check out my Pinterest. I have a specific board out there just for knitting that I'm hoping to add more ideas to. ***

Projects Past

Well...I've put it off as long as I could in order to try and get the last person her gift before I posted this, BUT she's decided not to come back until Saturday. So...she has been blog banned until she opens her gift.

The rest of you get to see what those 40 projects for the Christmas Project Countdown were all about...

Today I'm just listing each project along with a photo and the name of the person who got it. Individual posts and tutorials for each project type will follow over the next couple of weeks.

Now...here's a small disclaimer. These are not the best photos. I took pictures of the projects right before we wrapped them. I was in the midst of Emily's project and time was ticking down so they don't look awesome. But they work. Also...I majorly failed to take pictures of a nice handful of them before wrapping - so you get a picture of the people with their gifts. Oops.

Now...for the 40 projects of Christmas I ended up with...


Presents 1 & 2 : Emily & ME - Advent Calendars

You saw these back quite early in the game. They were the result of a Pinterest find.

Present 3 : Carole - I Love You Photo Frame

Presents 4 - 9 : Carole, Collin, Krista, Darian, Abigail and ME! - BSU Hats

You've already seen these on my December 10th post. Well...except for Carole...who managed not to get her picture taken.


Presents 10 - 16 : Grandpa, Dad, Tyler, Chad, Jon, Kirsten & Marley - BSU Hats

Kirsten managed to go without getting her picture taken.

Jon was the only one of us on Collin's side that didn't get to go to the game. So he needed a hat too...

These are the true BSU fans on the far left and second from the right.
The far right - Tyler - is actually a Vandal (we won't hold it against him today.)

Present 17 : Mom - Love Shadowbox

Presents 18-26 : Jean, Mom, Dad, Jon, Krista, Patti, Melissa, Erin & Grandma - Scarves

The very first scarf I knitted. I don't think it's half  bad.

I love the colors on my mom's scarf. It should go with just about anything. My dad's should be able to go with his BSU gear fairly well and it's SUPER soft.

I love the diamond pattern that ended up coming out on Jon's. I was a little worried about it when I first started. In our house we all agreed that the one on the right was "Krista colors".

I took Patti with me shopping for supplies for this undertaking. She unknowingly picked out the yarn for her own scarf. Melissa still hasn't opened hers yet, but I think the bright colors fit her personality.

Erin was the first one to jump on and comment that I should make it 41 presents because she needed one too. Ha! She was already on the list.

I really wish I would've photographed this one. This is my first attempt at multiple yarns. I really like how the pattern turned out. Unfortunately, you get a slightly blurry idea. I wanted to give this one to my grandma because I knew she would appreciate the effort - she herself does some wonderful crocheting.

Presents 27 - 29 : Owen, Tyler & Chad - Bottlecap Coasters

(I'll be honest...I don't know who got which set. Pretty sure Chad's are the top ones, the Tyler's, then Owen's. I could be completely wrong.)

Presents 30 & 31 : Krista & Patti - Decoupaged Tile Coasters

These I know! The pink/red set is Krista's.

These funky shapes and colors just seemed more Patti-like.

Project 32 - Carole : Decoupaged Tile Photo Coasters

This photo isn't blurry FYI. I antiqued the photos.

Project 33 : Collin - 52 Things I Love About You Card Deck

Don't worry...this one is at the house. There will be better photos of it in it's own post.

Projects 34-36 : Marley, Kirsten & Abigail - Sock Monkeys

 Projects 37 - 39 : Kirsten, Abigail & Marley - Patchwork Name Quilts

...and...

Project 40 : Emily - Alphabet Soup Quilt

Not a bad haul, right? Now you see why I said my sewing machine was busy. It was fun, but I think next year I'll get a bit of an earlier start. Live and learn.

Check it out! I can knit!

One of this year's resolutions was to learn and/or do 33 new things...one for each year I've been around. I passed the mark quite a few months ago, but there are some new things that have been more impressive than others. Since I'm a bit of a crafting nut, (I seriously could do this full time...if only the pay would support me) I made sure that some of these new things were crafty.

A couple of months ago, I messaged my friend Jen over at Two Frogs and a Grasshopper. She is a seamstress extraordinaire and is handy with a skein of yarn. I decided that she would be the best on giving me advice for how to learn to knit and crochet. The tips she gave me were marvelous. I haven't yet braved the crocheting, but I did start knitting about a month ago. Jen's best tip on knitting? Don't use knitting needles. Use a loom.

Now if you're like me, you hear the word loom and think of some giant contraption. Well...you, like me, would be wrong. This was the kind of thing she was talking about.

This makes knitting ridiculously easy. Yes, it still takes time to complete a project, but there isn't the frustration that I can foresee myself having with needles.

I went out and purchased a set of round and a set of rectangular looms. This way I can make anything from hats to scarves to afghans. Fantastic!

I started out with a hat. My first hat took me just a couple of hours, but I made a fatal error. Not having done this before, I had no idea which size would work. The initial plan was to make one for one of the little girls. Ya...size fail. Here's who it ended up fitting.

He doesn't seem to think this is fashionable.

All kitty torture aside, here's the basic instructions for knitting on a circular loom. If you get one you might want more specific instructions, but this will give you an idea of how straightforward it is.

Get your loom, a skein of yarn and your knitting hook (these typically come with the looms).  Loop your yarn around the start peg on the loom (the only peg that is on the side of the loom instead of the top. Starting with the peg to the left of the start peg and working clockwise, wrap your yarn counterclockwise around each peg. Do this until each peg has two loops.

Once everything has two loops, pull your yarn down and loop it again on the start peg or hold it fast. Starting with the peg to the right of the start peg use your hook to pull the bottom loop over the top loop and off the peg. Continue this clockwise. When each peg is back to one loop start the process again.

Once you have a few rows (somewhere around 5ish) you can release the yarn around the start peg and let it just drop through the center of the loom. Continue row after row until you've get the length you like (I created a brim on my hat - that will require an extra step - but let's keep it simple).

Once you have the length that you like you will use your needle (also usually included with the loom). Cut the yarn (leave the end long enough to wrap about 1 time plus a little slack around the loom). Thread this yarn up through the loops one at a time in the same order this time pulling the last loop of the loom as you go. When you get to the end, pull the yarn tight, tie a square knot and clip. Done.

See...that wasn't that bad.

Once I figured the process out, I broke out the next sized loom and went to town. This time it did fit one of the original intendeds. She was a semi-willing model.

Her blue steel look needs a little work.

The process for making a rectangular object is slightly different, but the skill level is about the same. Now granted, there are some more advanced projects that I haven't really tried my hand at, but I was pretty proud to be able to complete a wearable product in my first attempt. I don't call that half bad.

Happy knitting to you! I'm off to work on some more Christmas Projects!