Happy Birthday

A Quarter of A Century ago, this little ham made me a big sister.

My Brudder- age 8

Happy Birthday Bubby- if I haven't driven you to insanity by now, I'd say you are safe.

Love you!

College Graduation - Dec 2010

PS- I'm still really sorry for that day I ripped Bubby's leg off and we left it in the hotel on vacation and made you cry... Although I still do laugh about it on occasion, I still feel bad.

I'm a Reader

Nothing like a great book to bring your yearly count up another notch in such a short time.

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
2. Wish by Alexandra Bullen
3. Mockingjay by Suzanna Collins

Oh my, where do I start? I literally mentioned that I finished Wish on Thursday and was able to get started on Mockingjay. It was finished Saturday night and would have been finished sooner had I not had to take a break to go to dinner and a movie with the girls. I loved this book. Like loved. Seriously. Although it wasn't my favorite of the 3, it was still fantastic. A bit graphic and violent for pre-teen or teen I would say, but the way the story evolved from book to book really held me in. I can't imagine having to wait in between reading the books like those people who were reading them in real time and had to wait for publication. Suzanne Collins is a highly gifted author and I look forward to reading anything else that she puts out.

With such a great book I am hoping that I won't be dissapointed by any other book I pick up next. Although, I did find The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest that I was missing for a few months. I may go ahead and plow through that one before moving onto my next nook book. But I'm not sure.

What are you reading right now that you absolutely love???

I'm a Reader

Well, I finished my first Nook Book!

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

2. Wish by Alexandra Bullen

I don't know quite what to say about it. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I know that it probably terrible to say, but it's the truth. It was a shorter book at 256 pages. I read it because I wanted to finish it and get to Mockingjay, so maybe my reaction is a bit unfair to the book. But now that I'm finished with it I will be starting Mockingjay today! I'm way too excited.

There apparently is a "Wish" series that I may or may not pick up. I read an excerpt from the next book and I didn't hate it so it is still a possibility.

It's Skyline Time

So Lizzie asked a question I deem worthy enough for a post.

"What is Skyline?"

Allow me to enlighten you.

Skyline is the best Cincinnati Chili ever. Better than Goldstar, better than Empress, just the best. And no one can tell me any different. Chili is an art and Skyline is like Michelangelo... okay that is taking it to an extreme. But seriously? Ask me my favorite food and I will tell you Skyline.

I worked at Skyline while in high school and ate it multiple times a week. It's pretty much a part of my DNA by now I'm sure. Whenever Mr Buckeye is gone for a trip or anything it is one of my go-to meals because he just can't stand it and wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft. pole. So I take advantage!

Now let me educate you on the chili because it's probably not what you think. In my opinion there are 2 kinds of chili.

Texas Chili- lots of meat, lots of spices, beans, jalepapenos, thick and chunky and best served with cheddar and crackers.

Cincinnati Chili- My kind of chili, meat, spices (secret recipe including Cocoa!) and not thick. Best served over a plate of spaghetti with a heaping mound of cheddar cheese. (aka the 3-way)

Now Skyline has options- you've got the 3way, 4way (beans or onions), 5way(both onions and beans), chili spaghetti, cheese coney, coney, chilli cheese sandwich, and it goes on and on. Of course nothing is quite the same as getting it from the restaurant, but it is sold in cans at the grocery so that was my method last night.

I indulged in a cheese coney (hot dog, mustard, chili, onion, cheese) and a 4way onion (spaghetti, chili, onion, cheese) I must tell you it was delightful and I have enough for leftovers which I'll probably have again tomorrow.

both images via skylinechili.com

Seriously- I'm already hungry again just looking at it.

If you ever visit Cincinnati you must give it a try!

Any other Questions?

Achy and Shawly

So this week has been a bit of a mess. I feel achy (not that running twice this week had anything to do with that) and I've had the most ridiculous of headaches pretty much daily. It's getting annoying.I did manage to run on Saturday and again on Monday. Hoping to continue the trend today. I may not be running very far or long but I think I am still okay for a half in the late spring. It's goign to be hard work but I'm still looking forward to it. I should have run last night but instead I planted myself on the couch and ate Skyline (homemade) and watched the Biggest Loser... something is wrong with that picture.

Anyway.

Knit night was somewhat of a disaster on Monday. Since I finished Mindy's Cala on Sunday (totally can't wait to block it this weekend and get it around my neck!) I decided to cast on yet another shawl. The lovely Citron in a fabulous teal Malabrigo Lace yarn- It's a very feminine half circle shawl reminiscent of a lime wedge with slight ruching and a ruffly edging. I noticed the yarn was trying to felt itself in the skein. I managed to get it wound with few issues and went to cast on. (And we won't even talk about the issues I had with my needles...) 3 tries later and I was able to move past the garter tab. As if that wasn't insulting enough, I screwed up royally around row 4 or so and ripped it out. It was just not my night for knitting. As of last night I have moved past the cast on and set up rows, completed the first section, and am now understanding the concept. It will be a lovely shawl once I can get it completed. I have been wanting to make it for a while now.

Lovely Citron made by Nyxxie

Another Lovely Citron made by avelinux
This is the color that mine will be


Though I am itching to wind up the new Rosalind yarn I bought from Mindy last week. In an absolutely gorgeous gold colorway, I just need to pick the right pattern. I'm leaning towards Damask.

Damask by kitman

I think I have a thing for small shawls now. Mindy is to blame for that, but I still like her :)

Cala Shawl

Well- I wrapped up my test knit of the Cala Shawl last night.

I knew going in that I was short on yardage but I figured I could make it work. I was also testing to see how adaptable the pattern was. (Or so I'm telling myself rather than feeling dumb for not using a yarn with enough yardage) and I think it was a success.

Anyway- I followed the pattern as written, but had to leave out the last section of the third chart. I still think it looks lovely- and it is quite big anyway. And I'm sure with my talent to block things to within an inch of their life (I'll have to show some restraint on this one so I can still wear it) the lace will open up and be quite lovely.

I'll be taking it to the shop tonight so that I can get approval from the designer before I move forward with blocking. I hope she is happy with it. I know I am!

Start to finish was less than 2 weeks and I would have been finished sooner had I not skipped a couple knitting days. The pattern is well written and the lace is lovely. A bit challenging I would say for a beginner, but an enthusiastic beginner to intermediate would likely be where I would put this. The lace is challenging enough for an advanced knitter so as not to get bored, but not so challenging to discourage an intermediate knitter to never want to do lace again. A great mix I would say!

Yarn: Schaefer Heather in an off colorway- unnamed (The true color is a dark purple, maroon, blue variation- hopefully I'll get some better color photos)
Needles: Knitpicks Harmony US5
Pattern: Cala Shawl by Mindy Wilkes- to be released in mid-February
My Ravelry Project Page!

Me against the snapper

So the big snowstorm that cut a hole in our staff meeting plans did come as expected. I got to work remotely on Thursday which was a good thing considering we got approximately 5 inches of snow and the commute would have been brutal.

Of course, the Mr. was out of town and I wanted to do something good so I decided to tackle the driveway. We do have a snowblower after all!



Only the snowblower did not agree with my plan for a quick and speedy task. I put gas in it, primed it, moved the choke, and pulled... and pulled... and pulled. For 20 minutes and the damn thing just would not start. At that point the neighbor got home and came over to help. He took the spark plug out and cleaned it... nothing, pulled and pulled... nothing. Then he checked the gas tank. Apparently my depth perception sucks because I ended up pouring almost the whole gas container into it. Then he pulled again... started! And then stopped. He ended up getting it started for me and I went on my merry way.

Time to start the snowblower- almost 40 minutes
Time to plow the driveway- Maybe 15 minutes?

It was me against the Snapper and I totally won.


Only now this morning I wake up to an aching back and a right arm that literally wants to fall off my body.

Touche Snapper- you won.



Pretty snow, sparkles like diamonds

 












Sidenote: It's official, I am totally out of shape and must get body to the gym and on a machine ASAP!

Busy Busy

Oy- I just realised it was Wednesday and I had yet to blog this week. That just goes to show how busy it has been!

The weekend was fairly productive, got some quality friend time in, lots of knitting, and a bit of relaxing for good measure.

The one thing that was missing was a trip to the gym and/or a run outside.

The motivation that captured me last year has been aggrivatingly absent since the marathon last October.

I had- strike that- HAVE a goal to run in 2 half marathons this year. The first of which I wanted to be the Flying Pig in Cinci in May. I'm now less than 15 weeks out and I am not sure that will be enough time to get conditioned.

We are expecting to get a whopping 4-6 inches of snow tomorrow so no commute for this gal. I may however try to haul my cookies to the gym for an early morning run or a lunchtime run. Not that I expect much, but to even get a mile in would be an improvement. Who am I kidding? Making it to the lobby of the gym would be an improvement!

I'm terribly exhausted today after a very productive meeting that went all day long so now I'm hunkering down on the couch in my snuggie ready to watch American Idol.

This should be interesting.

Fill in the Blank Friday!

1. I feel happy when I can knit in peace and quiet, or have date night with the Mr., or have game night with friends. Feeling happy is a natural part of my every day. (Usually).


2. I get silly when I'm tired. It happens often actually.
3. Something that makes me sad is when I hear about the people I love and care about having hard times or issues.

4. Something that makes me annoyed is People who chew with their mouth open. Whether it is gum or candy or dinner. Chew with your mouth closed... unless of course you are a horse.

5. A time that I've been truly surprised was when the Mr. surprised me in college and gave me a car stereo for our anniversary. He rode with his roommate, located my car while at work (I worked in a HUGE outdoor mall so it was a tough one), had gotten the spare key from my parents, swapped the cars, took mine to have the stereo installed, took a photo while at the store of him holding a sign and printed it out, returned the car with the photo taped to my new system, and didn't say a word till I called him completely surprised!!! He is sneaky, that one!

6. I am so thankful for Mr. Buckeye. He is one in a million and I'm so glad that I found him and that he picked me! He loves me despite all my dramatic tendancies and makes me laugh every single day. I'm truly blessed.

7. I feel loved when I can be around my family and friends. We don't even have to do anything, just being together and a rousing game of Catch Phrase or Phase 10 to bring us all together.

Sites

Here are some of the sites I see everyday. It is kind of dark and grey today and sort of bumming me out.

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today

Was a snowy day.

I still had to work but luckily was still very productive. Laptop and live meeting helped greatly.

Aside from work I also:

Supervised while Mr. Buckeye hung up the shelf, picture, and mirror in my office.

Skinned a young chicken for dinner and almost barfed about 6 times. Also peeled those veggies and had the crock going in time to have dinner deliciously waiting for us at the end of the day.

Washed and dried a load of laundry and folded 2 others.

I also made quite a bit of progress on the Cala test knit. I am completely through chart a. We will kindly ignore the fact I spent way too much time performing surgery due to my own stupidity and lack of paying attention. It still is coming along quite well.

Back to the office tomorrow so cross your fingers for okay traffic!

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I'm a Reader

Well, 6 days into 2011 and I have read my first book!

1. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I could not get enough of this book. I stayed up even later than I should have after the Sugar Bowl (WOOT! Buckeye Win!!!) because I couldn't stop reading. And again last night. I sat on the couch and read 200 uninterrupted pages. I kept telling myself I would stop after the chapter but I had to keep going.

I am completely left hanging however and absolutely MUST get the third installment soon. But I'm going to exhibit some retraint and not jump right into it. Just to punish myself I suppose.

This book is the second in The Hunger Game series. I was held through the first book, which happened to be book number 26 for 2010! but in all honesty I think I loved this one even more. Plowing through it in 3 days was really something for me. I probably would have stayed up even later last night but I just had to get to bed. It was an awful early morning today.

At least I'm off to a good reading start for 2011! I'll not set a target number since I know things come up and change, but I did happen to get a nookColor for Christmas so hopefully I can get even more reading done this year!

Pour Some Sugar

Cheering on our BUCKEYES tonight in the Sugar Bowl!

O-H!

First Knit of 2011

Why yes, it is another slouchy beret... I swear I can make these in my sleep.

Unfortunately, this slouchy hat will be send off to someone else other than myself. I'm kinda bummed.

I really have become a selfish knitter!

2010 Wrap-Up

Well, once again another year has come and gone in a flash.

And since I am just at a wall in terms of how to wrap up the year, I'm going Brie's way and answering a series of questions. This should about sum it up!

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
We finished our basement!
I ran a half marathon.
I actually knit a sweater I can wear. as well as my first triangular shawl that resulted in 2 more!
I participated in my first knitting olympics- and medaled twice!
I played my first ever round of golf.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I didn't actually make any formal resolutions, but getting active and running the half marathon was something I always WANTED to do and finally went through with it. I'll be making a couple formal resolutions this year though so I can track progress for 2012.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Two of my WC girls gave birth to beautiful baby girls over the summer and My BFF Steph gave birth to a handsome young man in November!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
We lost my cousin Adele to Cystic Fibrosis on 3/15/10

5. What countries did you visit?Sadly we stayed domestic in 2010, though we hope to take vacation this year! We did, however make it to the west coast to celebrate our friend's big 3-0!

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
This is a tough one, I don't feel like there is really anything missing. Perhaps that vacation I was talking about earlier.

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
October 17- the date I ran my first half marathon.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
This would be a 3 way tie. We finished our basement in the spring, I ran my half marathon in the fall, and we refinanced our house in the winter.

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not taking time to enjoy each and every moment. This is a personal flaw of mine that I'm desperately trying to adjust. I get so wrapped up in the process and wondering about details that I don't enjoy things as much as I could... and should.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major. I did end up with Bursa in my knee earlier in the spring due to a bad training schedule and pushing too hard without building up. Other than that I was healthy... until Dec 29th when I became a leaky faucet and am still fighting this darn sinus infection cold thing. It's not so fun.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
All the stuff for the basement- Bar, Kegerator, TV, Entertainment Center, Pool Table, etc.

12. Where did most of your money go?
Basement and refinancing took a HUGE chunk of our savings. But luckily with the refinancing and my new job we will bounce back quickly, we are already moving along nicely. I'm lucky in that we save smartly and were able to finish the basement and refinance with absolutely NO credit card debt (save for the TV- But that doesn't count because it is no interest and will be paid off with the tax return)

13. What did you get really excited about?
The basement, Josh and Katie's Wedding, The Half Marathon

14. What song will always remind you of 2010?
Supermassive Black Hole by Muse from the Twilight Soundtrack. This song was the single largest motivator during my running. As soon as I heard the opening guitar riffs I would get moving.

15. Compared to this time last year, are you:
– happier or sadder?  Happier.
– thinner or fatter? Thinner but fatter than I was 2 months ago which I'm not happy about.
– richer or poorer? Poorer- refer to basement and refinancing investment above.

16. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I read as much as I wanted to. I still managed to read 21 books so I guess it isn't all that bad. And I wish I did more sewing. Luckily I have a little station set up in my new office so that it will entice me to do so.

17. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Getting involved in drama. Eating crappy fast food. Procrastinating.

18. How did you spend Christmas?
We had 5 Christmas celebrations. 3 in Cinci, 1 in Columbus, 1 in Canton. I'm exhausted.

19. What was your favorite TV program?
This was definitely the year of trashy reality tv for me. I can't get enough of the Jersey Shore. Although my nights are equally consumed by the Monday night sitcoms, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and others. It's a sickness how much tv I watch.

20. What were your favorite books of the year?
Of the 21 that I read, I really enjoyed the Girl With th Dragon Tattoo and Girl Who Played with Fire, as well as The Hunger Games. Dismantled was another off the wall book for me but I was completely consumed till I could finish it.

21. What was your favorite music from this year?
I absolutely LOVE Rihanna's song Only Girl in the World, and I'm loving Mumford & Sons

22. What were your favorite films of the year?
Harry Potter of course and I can't forget Eclipse... I'm pretty much a 12 year old. I did like Inception too.

23. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 27 this year. Here is what we did.

24. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
I could have won a million dollars. I'm pretty sure that would be quite satisfying. Realistically, I would like to have made progress on the house other than the basement. It's been 4 years and I still don't have rooms in order. It's on my goal list for 2011!

25. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
I've always been on the classic/preppy side of fashion, I did end the year a little more on trend with some tall knee-high boots (though they are traditional equestrian boots :) )

26. What kept you sane?
Patrick had to deal with me a lot last year. I'm pretty sure I would have lost my mind without having him there as a sounding board. Along with my long saturday runs. They were a great time to get out and not think.

27. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.
Tell them Yes.