Surprise!

Hello there. It's been a while since we last chatted. 

The last time I posted, I had recently gotten married and had decided to start laying down some roots. All has been going well. Marriage has been a fun and interesting ride. I don't think I have been married long enough to sit here and give any wise old tips. We will skip over that. New career paths have formed and I have been successful with the decisions I have made which I'm glad about. I even set a goal for myself to win the Sales Excellence prize and even won it this year! I won us a trip to Monaco but unfortunately I will not be able to attend. You see, something wonderful has occurred. We are now expecting our first baby. 

Surprise!

Yes, how exciting! I cannot wait to meet this little being that I have felt grow and nurtured for the past few months. Just about everything is ready (or as ready as it can be). I truly cannot believe that we are days away now. 

What can I tell you about this journey?

First of all, it's intimidating. Knowing that you are going to carry around a life so tiny and fragile. Everyone has questions and opinions. Some of them are outdated and full of superstition which can be frustrating at times. At times, I want to tell people to keep their comments to themselves but I know it is coming from a good place. They all mean well even if you do not like it.

Second, it's such a fun experience. Please note that this is coming from someone that has had a wonderful pregnancy. If you are not, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to rub it in here. I have not had morning sickness, strange cravings or gain a bunch of weight. My feet have only been swollen once and they went down within a few hours. I have had hip pain but that is to be expected. It has not turned into back or leg pain, fortunately. Being pregnant feels incredibly natural. I know parents always say all these cheesy things but I kind of get it. Nothing has felt so natural and real in my life. Nothing like this. It's like it's what I was meant to do. Raise this little being, help them grow and soon enough, bring them into this world. Perhaps the birthing part is where the fun ends? We shall see.

Third, I will tell you one thing that no one warns you about. I hate to be negative but the cramps. My God, the cramps. No one warned me about this. My pelvis was in severe pain at the beginning of the second trimester. I was doing a Couch to 5K challenge in order to be healthier and attempt to become a runner. After week 6, I had to stop. It felt like my pelvis was being ripped in two. Also, I had horrible charlie horse cramps in my calf while I slept and I would wake up screaming and crying. Let's say, the hubby knows how to keep cool under this kind of pressure when I wake him up in the middle of the night. I have trained him well. 

While I'm on the subject of the hubs, I have to say. He has been incredible. He has taken good care of me throughout this journey and I am forever grateful. 

I hope to post a bit more before the baby arrives. I usually have the best of intentions. I hope to be able to help them come to fruition. Perhaps a post about our Peru trip if I haven't already, a few knitting updates as well as a product review as an expecting mother.

Until next time, tata!

Welcoming a new baby

I introduce to you one of the two new bunnies that we have. An old friend of mine had two bunnies that she was looking to give up for adoption. At first they were a bit tough to warm up to because Bonnie, who you see pictured is quite protective of Clyde, her mate. They are absolutely in love and have warmed up to us now. Bonnie loves to be cuddled under a warm blanket and Clyde enjoys climbing on top of us as we watch Netflix. They go nuts for treats and have room to run around in the kitchen. More pictures to come.

Although the winter is now gone (Thank Goodness!), I still love looking back on the beautiful pictures I was able to snap of the view by the sound. After a long day at work, while driving home, I could catch the view of the sunset in my rear view mirror or beaming on the side of my car and could immediately tell it was another glorious sunset. It always called to me and I would drive my car to the shore and snap pictures with my camera phone while all the professional photographers had their high tech cameras with telescopes on them. There is something so calming about a sunset. No matter what happened in the day, the sun keeps moving. The sun would go down but you can always count on it to come back up. The world waits for now one and life goes on.

A few weeks ago I received great news from one of my best friends. She informed me while out on a double date that she was expecting with her husband. I was left speechless. What great news! She deserves so much happiness in her life and I could not be happier. I even had a dream that she was pregnant and told her about it. My female intuition has been kicking in!

As a baby welcoming gift, I am knitting up the OpArt Baby Blanket in 36" length. I am using a brown as my neutral and blues transition from a light hue to a darker one. I want to give them a blanket that was masculine and her husband would enjoy holding his baby in without being traditional baby pastel colors. I hope they like it and find it very useful. The yarn I am using is Knit One Crochet Two Sebago in colors Silver Fern (581), Cadet Blue (674), (Milk Chocolate) 822, Ocean (646) and Navy (695).

Finished Matrimonio Bolero

At last! The Matrimonio Bolero was finished. After much wiping sweat off the brow, I tried to get the crochet edging done but I can admit a weakness. I cannot crochet to save my life! Even with the help of the New Haven Knitting Group. Many tried to help but when I went back home, I just ended up tearing it out. I don't have any regrets though. It received many compliments and it is now a heirloom piece for me. 

Matrimonio Bolero

The Matrimonio Bolero is coming along quite well and is about half way done. I do suggest putting in safety lines for your first few lace projects. It is simply a nightmare when you make a mistake or drop a stitch and have to try and make sense of the whole thing. I think that I have been able to fix a couple of mistakes quite well. I hope to have this done in about a month. At which point I will go full force on making more projects for the wedding. Those will include paper flowers, pendant flags, photo booth back drop and other small items that will be laying around.

Lastly, I have been using my Addi Turbo needles which are heaven sent. Literally, when the mail package I am quite sure that I saw it floating down from among the heavens and landed on my door step. They are so slick and the stitches don't get stuck like my old screw on Susan Bates. You still have to push the stitches along depending on your gauge but nothing like it used to be. I definitely recommend them.

Christmas Presents

Long overdue, below are the Christmas projects from this year and the prior year.

Christmas Sweater Ornament for Jim's mother. I used some Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock weight yarn in turquoise and if I remember correctly, size 1 needles. It took about four to five hours but turned out great. My only regret is not embroidering the year on it.  

(Right) Polar bear ornament for Jim. Needle felted.

Needle felted bunny which was picked up at Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival in the fall.

Needle felted chipmunk. 

Welldigger Knitted Hat using Yak yarn

Cozy Ribbed Knitted Hat using Yak yarn

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! This year has been great so far. It started quite well while attending a Gogol Bordello concert with my sweetheart and ringing in the new year with more confetti than expected. They put on a heck of a show and know how to rock out with bottles of wine in their hand. For those that might not know of them, they are a gypsy punk band and unlike anything you have ever heard. Definitely check them out if you can.

This year is going to be amazing! As I am finishing up accomplishing several goals I set for myself last year, I am very excited for what I have earned. I have focused on knitting a lot more and incorporating it into my busy schedule which has made me feel great about feeding my creative side. I have also set the date for getting married this year and am going in heavy with planning and getting everything organized. 

Many that know me would think that I would have everything planned by now and would know exactly what I wanted but in fact, I don't. Come to think of it, I actually prefer it this way. Everything is a fresh decision and I know I can put my heart into everything I want to get done. I have already taken care of the invitations with my Gocco printer which was quite the task. At first, the machine did not cooperate and it was a challenge to make a master. After that, I had to make sure that I aligned the paper correctly and pressed each invitation evenly. In the end, they turned out pretty good. I also made RSVP postcards and hand sealed each one with hot wax. 

More knitting projects to come along with holiday gifts that I have made.

Lace, Lace, LACE

I am so excited to announce that I have reached the ankle of my new black lace socks from Knit Picks. I was able to score these in one of their clearance sales for a great price which included three socks patterns along with the yarn needed. This pattern is called Ternion Knee High Socks. I have reached a point in the pattern during one of my jury duty days where I am absolutely confused. I have checked a few forums but no one seems to be confused so I am taking the strategy to let the project rest so that I can come back to it with a fresh mind later. Wish me luck!

For the time being, I have started a new project for the wedding next year. I will be knitting the Matrimonio Bolero with a little something blue.The yarn I have selected is Shibui Cima laceweight. I am very excited to work on this especially as I keep up with Homeland and Alias this fall.

I am also very happy to announce that I finally got the opportunity to go back to Colombia within this past month. It was wonderful to get to visit family after over a decade of not visiting. Also, my heart almost exploded with joy when I stumbled upon the Botero museum, ate delicious food, saw heavenly mountaintops that reached up to the heavens and was able to lay down in a hammock and simply read a book. I cannot wait to go back and see even more.

I am also very excited to say that I was able to go to my first Mets game ever which was also my first baseball game as well. It was so much fun and am frankly a little sad that I have waited so long. Now that there is a Shake Shack in the stadium, it's over. Their 'shroom burgers are to die for.