Alter Ego

In the last 72 hours I have developed an alter ego. And I kinda like her a lot. She is a lot sexier than me, and she feels really good about herself. She looks less messy, more business. She has an amazing amount of unbounded energy and is able to do more than three things at once without screwing them up. She gets by on a few hours of sleep a day and does not freak out about it. She feels really confidant about her abilities, her Mama'ing, her doing. And she likes how she looks.


Who would have thought a hair straightener on a Friday night would have such an effect? Though she may have to retire after she attends this tonight. It does not seem feasible to keep her around for too long...especially since her hair has not been washed for a few days.

But that flat iron, well, it is on order, just so she can come back sometime soon and make me feel a little less Me and a lot more Her.

Any good ideas for a name for her?

Friday Finishing : Herringbone for Him

This whole Finished for Friday thing is keeping me on track with Christmas knitting. It is as if the goal to have something to show on Friday helps me slog through the rougher points of a project. As much as I love knitting, there are times when a pattern pick just does not flow the way I want it to. That is the case with my Fair Isle hat pictured in the last post...not finished, but getting there. I am running out of main color yarn and had such a hard time with the actual pattern that I switched things up a bit and resorted to knitting stripes after completing one motif. We will see about end results, I am vacillating between love and mild angst at the thought of making it a gift. But, moving on to the finished project.

This is the Herringbone for Him.

Who says a man can't wear a cowl? I really love the stitch pattern but had forgotten how hard it is on the hands. There is a lot of purling in this one and that is rarely something I embrace. But I have to say the finish is really worth it. I find I love scarf knitting but do not really embrace the whole length part of it. There are only so many times you can repeat the pattern and be into it, you know? So, this is a great solution for that.

I found the pattern on Rav and the deets are there. I used a nice and soft tweedy yarn and love the effect the little flecks have on the overall appearance. And I think it suits the intended recipient perfectly.

So, not much else to show. I did post about a nice little board I made to keep myself honest in this Christmas gifting endeavor.

All the little boxes are things waiting to be made. There are a few more checked off, but I still have a considerable amount to make. Let's hope I do not hit a slump, huh? And I have to share this, hoping to have these little guys made up for some special little ones. Can you say, OMG, cutest thing ever? Wee Wonderfuls is about the most wonderfulest place ever.

And I just like this picture. I do not get in pictures enough. Here is a self portrait, messy mascara and all.

I'm gonna go clean up now.

The Power of the List

The power of the list. There is a list over at Mighty Girl, one of my favorite click-to-get-through-quickly sites, (that girl does not mince words. Unlike me) It inspired me to start a few different practices.. I picked up a ridiculous package of paper products and it contained a pad for each month. I have taken to writing a weekly list on Sunday, just jotting a few things to accomplish each day, a few reminders re:work and play, and then on the back side a few recipe plans for dinner that week. People, it works like magic. I do everything on the list. Granted, I only write four to five things for each day, but they all happen. I am telling, you the Power of the List is extraordinary.

The satisfaction is pretty powerful too, the crossing out makes me feel like Superwoman.

I have always been a bit obsessed with paper and buttons and calenders. I use a chalk board at bedside to track the date (sometimes the month) and this new board to keep track of Christmas gifting.

My mom found the old cork board at a yard sale for 60 cents and I recovered it with a swatch of my cherished Heather Ross fabric, then whipped out a few of the cutest covered buttons, aesthetically pleasing and very helpful in keeping track of progress. Problem is I love the buttons so much I keep adding projects on to the the board. Just as an excuse to make more buttons Ack, stop.


And one last list. I wrote this up for the year 32 and I can say I have actually done a few of the things written there even though I only reviewed it a few weeks ago. I love that by writing it and putting it into the sphere of being, well, it just came to be. I think number 24 is a bit ambitious but it might actually happen before my next birthday. I really want to make it back to Holland soon to see my Opa, to let him see the boys, his first great grandchildren. He is too fragile to travel here, though there is a possibility he will make one more trip. I just think it would be really cool to bring the little ones to one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Not cool, the ten hour plane ride. But we will conquer that when the time comes.

1. Make the Easy Lap Quilt from Angry Chicken's book using my Heather Ross fabric swatch.
2. Lose the 10 pounds I gained post-partum. Yep, gained. Starting WW on Monday with the sister, no time like the present
3. Do at least one headstand a day to receive the benefits of yogic inversions.
4. Travel with the boys to the place where we made them. Canada, that is, eh?
5. Snowboard on a fresh powder day on the slopes of Mammoth. So close I can taste it
6. Take very deep breathes when needing to renew my spirits.
7. Reinstate long daily walks with the boys.
8. Bring my reusable grocery bags to the store at least 95% of the time, and if I do not, insist on carrying items out without bags.
9. Help out another mama-of-multiples the way so many other mamas have helped me.
10. Use some yarn stash for unique and simple gifts for family/friends.
11. Stop thinking I can do it all, stop trying to justify not being able to.
12. Get a real haircut.
13. Eat more green food, try to get fresh juices into my daily regimen.
14. Assist Tim in making matching furniture for our bedroom.
15. Knit this sweater despite the fact that I live in a climate that will afford little wear.
16. Move to a climate where I can wear it (maybe). (The move, I mean).
17. Buy pants that fit correctly and get them tailored to the correct length if they do not.
18. Learn how to properly use my mother's my sewing machine.
19. Clean the floors of the house more often.
20. Write to my friends in NY and Ireland.
21. Start and finish reading a book.
22. Retain some information from said book after the completion of reading.
23. Go to Church to renew that feeling I once had as a child... that feeling of awe.
24. Visit my Opa in Holland with my husband and children.
25. Let go of wrecked nap times when they occur.
26. Send my parents on an all-expenses paid weekend away...or at least pay for their gas when they drive to see my other siblings. Well, I did let them go away, even though I did not pay for it.
27. Shoot the boys in a studio setting with black and white real film. Getting the SLR might strike this one.
29. Stop watching inane TV.
30. Maybe just stop watching TV altogether. Except Pushing Daisies and The Office.
31. Raise beautiful baby boys.
32. Kiss my love every single day and thank the Source for my life as it is and as it can be.

33 is to take the photo of the turkey like I said I would. Let's see the power of the list in action, huh?

And here is a gratuitous knitting shot because I love to knit. Even if it is crazy to start yet another fair isle (when it was supposed to be just a simple stripe) hat for Christmas gifting.

This is the Brooklyntweed's, I have started calling it the Green Light Special.

Want to join in the list fun? Go grab your paper (no Crackberries, folks, strike is not nearly as fun as crossing it out) and jot down a few things you need to do and one you want to do. And watch the magic happen.

Turkey Stitch Pattern : Free!

Sorry folks, this was a big fat fail....give me a day to get a picture and then I will just upload that and you can have that instead of this confusing little thing called pdf sharing. Oh, and if anyone has tips on how to do this right or can direct me to a tutorial that will, throw me a bone.

Um, confession, I really have no idea what I am doing, but I made a little pdf for you to use if you would like to stitch up your own Thanksgiving shirt.

Here he is: Mr Gobble I think he is only there for a few days, as I am trying out Adobe's pdf thingy. So get him while you can. And let me know if this is working. I question the fact that I am a graduate of an esteemed East Coast college (well, NYU, not terribly esteemed, but terrible expensive), but clueless as to the things like pdf publishing and the like.

And reminder, this is Jon's work and he is awesome to let me share. Please use it for your own use and let others know... we are planning on some cute Christmas designs, think abominable snowman and working elves...have a great time stitching!