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My kinda of quiz (sorta)

Does this sound like me? From the results it looks like I am pretty firmly in the hazelnut camp ... Whatever ... LMK what YOU are. 
Introducing ... 
A pack of 6 pair for each of them.

Carefully packaged in a resealable ziplock plastic bag.

Do people really take the socks out one pair at a time and then reseal the bag?
Posted by Karen at 11:39 PM 3 comments: Links to this post 
Taste this MORE than Twice 
I didn't know... 
She did it again ...

So, this morning the Knitting Queen and I, along with a third partner in crime, Lisajoan, went to a yarn shop. Again. This is becoming a nasty habit.

I was only going to buy a new circular needle, which I do actually need. Instead I bought a book of patterns, and some yarn, and some other patterns ... this is not the exact photo of what I got, but it gives you an idea. It's felted bowls. Same technique as I used on my slippers and bags earlier, but now bowls. How cute is that?!?!
We'll see when I actually get any made ...
Posted by Karen at 12:50 PM 3 comments: Links to this post 
Some days ... 
The Next Big Thing New Tattoo

I am SO wanting another tattoo. Only problems are:

2. Where on my body should it go?

I'm taking suggestions!
Posted by Karen at 6:17 PM 8 comments: Links to this post 
Today's Political Report 
Man Made Card

Well, this man does. Enjoy!
Posted by Karen at 11:07 AM 1 comment: Links to this post World's Fastest Knitter While at the Knit Out on Saturday, I had a brush with fame! Sitting directly behind me was the World's Fastest Knitter - complete with her Guinness World Record Certificate to prove it. Miriam Tegels of the Netherlands came to Minnesota just for this event!

A local cameraman recorded her and put it on You Tube ... if you go watch the video, right at the moment she pulls out the certificate you hear a woman say "Look at that!"

That's ME :-)
Posted by Karen at 9:59 AM 1 comment: Links to this post 
Yarn, Yarn, YARN Well, yesterday I once again fell under the spell of the Knitting Queen as she convinced me to attend the Great Knit-Out at the Mall. And let me tell you, it took a lot of work to convince me. I think we wrangled over it for at least 4 seconds and one email exchange.

She actually was volunteering, teaching people to knit. Don't know that I have the patience to do that, but she did get an awfully nice thank-you goodie bag, so I may consider it next year.

I got some fun give-aways - patterns, a few skeins of yarn, some needles, a magazine. And we met a Knitting Author ... Kristin Nicholas, and we both bought her book, had her sign it, and announced we were now her groupies. I don't know what she thought of that ... and I guess two 40-something moms saying they are groupies to a knitter is kinda odd (scary?)! But what I came away with most is that people are weird. I have never met a knitter, one-on-one, that I didn't like. But boy, put them in a group and put that group in a line - and they turn nasty fast!

And the most bizarre thing about it is they stood in long (and I do mean L - O - N - G) lines for a VERY long time .... for nothing. The majority of booths were NOT giving away anything. Yet the people continued to stand in line and growl if you looked like you were looking at a booth over their shoulders without having done your time in the line. Quite by accident I ended up walking around the Mall THE WRONG WAY. I had no malicious intent, I was not trying to slip anyone a fast one. So I approached each booth facing the oncoming line, and I just. do. not. get. it.

Why they all chose to stand in line is beyond me.
Posted by Karen at 9:05 AM No comments: Links to this post 
A rough day

So I'm having a bit of a rough day.
Posted by Karen at 12:14 PM 1 comment: Links to this post 
People at the Dells 

Come back tomorrow for more pictures and stories!
Posted by Karen at 2:41 PM 1 comment: Links to this post 
The Great Dells Adventure 
Why do people do this?

But it BUGS me. And obviously I am still thinking about it now, 8 hours later.
Posted by Karen at 9:58 PM 2 comments: Links to this post 
Man, I gotta get me a Coyote!

And then this answer: 
Prom Fiasco

How, you may ask?

They just don't realize the harm they are doing ....
Posted by Karen at 10:04 PM 2 comments: Links to this post Monday Morning Check-In

It's Monday. Another weekend over. Another list of plans which didn't go as planned. But it was a good weekend nonetheless ...

1. I cleaned. Not a ton, and really it was more putting things away than actual cleaning (no sponges were wet.) But it made such a difference in how I felt when I walked into the dining room to actually SEE the table, and to actually be able to sit in any of the 6 chairs that I wanted to.

2. I reconnected with a friend and we saw 27 Dresses. Chick-flick, romantic comedy, not gonna win any awards, but fun.

3. I continued a week of healthy eating and the dial on the scale moved a little more to the left :-)

4. I earned some money, working on a project for my Chicago client.

5. I bought yarn and knit a while ... total relaxation and food for my soul!

6. I took the dogs to the dog park. They have been so neglected lately between the extreme cold and my level of busy-ness, they have not had the opportunity to run and run and run for a few weeks. They loved it and my guilt was assuaged.

7. I bought milk. Seriously, this had been a problem for me lately, managing to get to the grocery store before running out and needing such basic staples as milk. So the fact that I remembered - and acted on it - before the boys came back from their dad's was pretty darn good!

Now for what I planned to do but didn't ...

1. Didn't get my financial stuff in order so that I can get my taxes done. (This was my #1 goal for the weekend. I made a small start.)

2. Didn't finish up a work project for a local client that is getting dangerously close to being delinquent (yuck).

3. Didn't change the sheets on the boys' beds. Oh well, they are kids.

4. Didn't excercise. But am continuing to pay my monthly fee to have the right to not exercise at the gym.

Well, 7 goods and 4 bads. Not a horrible ratio, I guess. And Good #3 has me happy this Monday morning!
Posted by Karen at 10:31 AM 1 comment: Links to this post 
Brief Political Foray 
Oh, just a normal Saturday ..... 
Where's the beef? In my basement!

Yesterday I bought 141 1/2 pounds of beef! Yup, you read that right.
A former neighbor emailed a while back with the offer to go in on the purchase of a cow. Her aunt and uncle have a farm, Prairie Horizons, and they sell their beef directly to hungry families. The boys and I had our first pound of ground beef today for lunch, and it felt so good to be cooking and eating it. I talk the talk a lot about going organic, eating foods with less processing, eating more whole foods, and focusing attention on what I put into my body and my children's, but it's sometimes hard to be consistent with those intentions.
Now I can feel good that not only are we eating high-quality, non-chemically "enhanced" beef, but I also am so pleased to be supporting a local family-run farm. And with nearly 150 pounds of it in my freezer (that was a quarter cow, for those who are wondering) I won't have to buy any for a long time. I just sent an email to a neighbor farmer of these beef people, where I can get pork and chickens. I am excited at the prospect of not having to purchase any meat products from the grocery store!
My freezer is full and my heart is happy.
Posted by Karen at 5:18 PM 1 comment: Links to this post