i love a giveaway.andpie.

my recent success in winning cool stuff has prompted me to enter every possible giveaway on blogs i read especially when it comes to books and yarn.  that being said after hearing the recent episode of the craftlit podcast, which featured an interview with andi and her book big foot knits, i couldn't resist.  this is a must for any sock knitter's library.  i love my hand-knit socks, but sometimes the fit isn't always "spot on".  this book goes beyond just giving pattern instructions and provides a recipe or template to customizing them for optimal fit. so i'm doing my part by spreading the word.  this also reminds me that i have sorely neglecting this blog, and i hope to change that.  may to august has kept me busy, while at the same time i've been trying to be "not too busy". i've wanted to spend more time closer to home.  the next big thing is getting andrew ready for college-move in day is NEXT WEEK-gah! i'm really gonna miss him, but am excited for him at the same time.  i'll be changing a lot of my daily routine, especially kitchen duties, so perhaps that will provide some moderately interesting content to bring to the blog.  in the meantime, i'll leave you with a photo of the lemon meringue pie andrew made yesterday. andrew heading off to college is going to be great on my waistline.

Catching up and casting on

instead of doing weekly spreads of project life for may and june i opted for a monthly approach.  the only thing i have left to figure out is how to include the wedding invitation, rehearsal dinner menu, etc., right now they are in an 8x12 page protector.  i used only one photo from each event in an attempt to keep it simple. i do plan to create a photo book using more of the photos from this year. sunday my work space went from this

to this

and this

i have a large number of artwork postcards that i've picked up over the years from various museums, and decided to use these where i have gaps-especially in the 2x3 spaces.  i think it's a nice addition, and a great way to show off some of my favorite works of art.

on the knitting front-i've also cast on and made great progress on my river crossing cardigan and the gingko shoulderette, and need to find a sock pattern for the upcoming falcons season.  i also need to finish the last bit on my pendulum shawlette. the dilemma is that i've run out of the contrasting color, but only need a tad, so i've got to figure out if incorporating the main color is going to work or if i need to buy another skein of the contrasting color-we shall see.

something else i'm really loving and getting caught up on is craftlit listening to jane eyre, dracula, and age of innocence.   this podcast is sooooo awesome, has made my morning and afternoon commute much more pleasant.

and despite the wretched weather predicted for tomorrow, i am ready for my 9th time "doing" the peachtree road race.  i say "doing" as i walk it not run it, but love it nonetheless.  look for me!

ANNNNd that's a wrap. . .

This month has been a flurry of activity, and every event was so awesome-here's a snapshot

 

 



PJ turns 20

 

 

Steve and I celebrated 22 years-photo is from Katie's wedding cause I forgot to take a photo on "the day". It was also the 139th running of the Kentucky Derby which I had a lot of fun watching.



A trip to Miami was included, but can't seem get the photo, there are some on instagram.

Mother's day-complete with going to see the Great Gatsby and Mexican

Andrew celebrates turning 18

Girls night out with Katie before the wedding festivities.  The Optimist.

Rehearsal dinner at Bistro VG-amazing.

Katie and Rob say I do at Summerour-it was a lovely ceremony.

The get away car

Celebrating Mom's birthday with afternoon tea

Sending PJ to France. He had to actually take a flight the next day due to weather delays.

Steve celebrates a birthday, we also had lunch with Polly, Roy, Andrew, Mom, Karen and Mary.

Celebrating Andrew's graduation-it was the perfect day to have a graduation OUTSIDE!

 

Final celebration of the month at Karen's along with the rest of the family-Paula and Andrew.



Next up-time to pack clothes and knitting for vacation!  Everything was so wonderful and I'm reminded how lucky I am to have such a great family.

a few quiet moments before.

this happens...sigh.....they really DO grow up!

half way through..divided into thirds

disclaimer-the photo has nothing to do with content-just an illustration of making the most of my "found moments" to knit. one of my jobs is escorting the vending machine guy when he comes each week, am on the collar of my featherweight cardigan (yeah!)
so since it's been a while since my last post-i think instagram is becoming my mini blog-i figured an update was in order.  we are half way through may, and so far i've:

celebrated 2 birthdays
celebrated an anniversary and the kentucky derby
attended a conference in miami

pre-mother's day mani/pedicure + lunch
made a strawberry pie
mother's day brunch + great gatsby + mexican
acquired and conquered a cold
maintained my house keeping, laundry and exercise regimes-may have missed 2 bike rides or walks
visited the dog park twice
nearly completed a cardigan
nearly completed a shawlette (pendulum's almost done!)

still to do:
get a car wash
make sure i don't forget to get some fresh air and exercise
celebrate with "the girls"
go one more time to the dog park
buy one more gift for family abroad
wrap gifts for friends/family abroad for PJ to pack
celebrate with "the wedding party"
attend a wedding celebration 
make one round trip drive to the airport
prepare and host a birthday tea
bake one cheesecake for the final birthday celebration for the month
attend the final birthday celebration for the month (lunch out :-) )
attend one high school graduation
celebrate high school graduations for 2 awesome people
finalize sophie's doggy day care
finalize sophie and mom's meals
finalize travel plans
gather quilt day bits and pieces (must not forget!!!)
pack for trip . . . . relax (i hope!)

what i most likely WON'T do before may 29, but would like to:
find cute skirts to take on vacation
get to see the dixie stars for sewing
finish reading a book
create some playlists for vacation-thank goodness for pandora
plant veggies in the patch that has been plowed for me at a friend's house
go for an outdoor bike ride
find a new blog reader "thing-y" since google reader is ending (SOON!)

so much to do, and seemingly so little time, but is all so good-my list could include trips to visit sick family or friends or worse.  i see from this list that i am richly blessed and lucky to have so many "good" things to celebrate.





 

Project Life Week 14

hard to believe i'm 14 weeks into this project, and i know at some point i'll fall a bit behind.  in an attempt to  keep things somewhat orderly, i've already created folders on my computer for weeks 15-23 along with the calendar dates so i can at least file the photos in the appropriate week.  i'm really loving the project life core kit-the cards are so awesome, and i don't have to re-size, or find coordinating paper. they are helpful in providing "prompts" to help create a story for the week.  with the many events coming up, i'm sure i'll have more pages for each week, but for now i'm trying to go with simplicity.  i love this approach to scrapbooking better than what i've done in the past-i have several albums filled with pictures i cropped and created a story of sorts which included paper and stickers.  at one point i was doing 3 simultaneously-yes i know!!, one as a family album and one for each of the boys.  once they got to the age where they didn't want their picture taken the former way of scrapbooking was abandoned for albums with sleeves that captured the year's highlights.  i may have to go back and fill in the gaps in their own albums-some day!  my other favorite album approach is to create the albums online-how easy is that?! i think if you priced out the cost of the album, embellishments  supplies, and the cost of the photos, it's a cheaper alternative.   as i reflect over my photo journaling throughout the years i'm totally okay with it all.  it not only documents what our family has done, but it shows the changing trends and techniques of scrapbooking, and at the end of the day it's all about the photos and the story they tell.

this week's highlights

the weather has been gloomy, and most days i'd have been happy just staying in my pajamas eating soup and grilled cheese sandwiches and watching trash tv, but alas it was off to work for me and a few extras "events".  first up sophie's dog park incident-poor thing in the cone of shame. fortunately she seems to be in no pain, but the limited activity is wearing us all down. hopefully this weekend, we can find some low energy ways to entertain her.  she's really being a champ-despite being photographed at 5:20 this morning-this is her-i'd rather be sleeping than have my mother take AND post my photograph-look.

there has been some knitting- am nearly finished with the shawl i'm making to wear at katie's wedding. stockinette with short rows-how easy is that now that the lace portion is complete. also, am about half-way finished with the baby blanket i'm working on for co-worker whose wife is expecting any day now. LOVE LOVE the yarn-berroco vintage-i highly recommend this yarn. i have a couple other projects just waiting to be cast on once these are finished.

my project life kit came in-whoo! i've only use a copy of the cards and am so in love with this kit. am glad i took advantage of the awesome deal offered on home shopping network, even if it mean me setting my alarm clock so i could check it out. i'm NOT normally a HSN shopper BTW.

there's been some shopping for-i've got 2 bridal showers and an engagement party at the end of this month, and of course, the fun part for me, aside from picking out the gifts, was finding stemless champagne flutes-i didn't know these things existed (these are for me-can't wait to use them). i've even made some headway on the gifts that need to be bought in May!

other good things coming up- joining the ladies at cast on cottage for the new KAL, weekend of predicted nice weather. hopefully sophie and i can sit on the deck and enjoy the fresh air, and having an empty calendar. perhaps i'll have my long to do list wrapped up before sunday's season premier of mad men! what are your highlights?