Winter is Here?

I think winter finally decided to show up.  We actually have a few inches of snow on the ground, just in time for the winter sports season to be over :)  This morning it looked like we were going to have a blizzard, the wind was whipping and it was snowing hard, but now the sun is shining!  New Hampshire weather is a lot like Michigan weather, it can change in the blink of an eye.

My schedule has gotten much more hectic over the past few weeks.  I've started working in the library every morning as well as tutoring at night.  I'm much busier now than I have been since moving here!

I've been reading like crazy lately.  So far this year I've finished 13 books for a total of 4,800 pages!  I don't think I'll have any trouble reaching my goal of 40 book this year.  I'm currently reading the last book in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.  The 1st book was hard to get in to, but about half way through I had a hard time putting it down.  The 2nd book (The Girl Who Played With Fire) was great.  It hooked me right at the beginning and I finished it in less than a week, and the final book is going good, I'll let you know my final opinion soon :)

I've definitely been slacking in the crochet world.  I've finished a few projects that are going to be gifts, so I'll post pictures once they have actually been given out.

This is our last week of school before March Break (our spring break comes early and we get a whole 22 days off!)!  We will be back in Michigan soon!

Super Bowl Sunday!

Wow I've been a terrible blog slacker.  I really have no excuse, except that I find it more entertaining to read other people's blogs than actually write my own.

This weekend is parent's weekend here at school.  I forget how loud the boys actually are until they are gone.  It was really quiet around here last night :)

One of my latest projects was making a Kindle case for myself.  I used this pattern.  I liked it for the most part.  I learned how to moss stitch, and I think I like this stitch.  I did have to make a few adjustments to the pattern.  I basically just had to make it wider and longer to fit my kindle (but this may be because I crochet very tightly!).  Also, when I stitched up the sides I turned it inside out, so when I turned it right side out the top is a little wider than the sides.  Oh well, for my first attempt it wasn't terrible.

I've also been experimenting with more monster hats.  I made two baby hats (6 month size) with ear-flaps and ties.  They were probably the best hats I've made so far, and I only took one crappy cell phone picture :(

But I've heard happy things from both babies (and their mamas)!  I was really worried about the size, since I've had two size failures so far, but they both fit great! 

I'm still debating about opening an Etsy store.  Not really sure if I want to pay a portion of all sales to Etsy, as well as a listing fee...

In other news, it's Super Bowl Sunday!  I'm excited to watch the commercials :)  It's pretty big news in these parts since the Pats are playing, but I'm secretly rooting for the Giants. 

Also, I'm going to make some cookie dough dip (don't worry, no raw eggs!)  and I'm pretty stoked to try it out.  I've been in a cookie mood lately.  I made cookie dough bites and chocolate chip cookies the other day... Good thing I've been running lately ;)

Crocheting

So I taught myself how to crochet using You Tube a few months ago.  Sometimes I feel like I am doing it all wrong, but things turn out (for the most part!).  One thing I need to work on is making sure my gauge is correct! 

I did spend a lot of time making hats and then taking them out.  Hats are tricky!  But I think I'm getting better. 

Current works in progress:  one more hat and scarf, then possibly attempting mittens and a new blanket for our apartment!

I'll leave you with pictures of what I've done so far and links to where I found the patterns:

 To make the flowers I used this pattern.  I just didn't pull the magic circle tight to leave a hole big enough to fit a button through.

 

This hat was based on this pattern, but remember that gauge thing I talked about earlier...yeah, when you actually use the right size yarn the pattern works amazing, but my yarn was way small, meaning i made quite a few hats before getting one that fit :)

 I made this pattern up myself.  Not too hard though :)

These cute monster hats came from this cool blog, but I modified them a little bit (larger size and the teeth are crochet, not felt).

I'm also having a lot of trouble with sizing of hats.  Every source I find has different information for head circumference and hat length.  It's pretty frustrating.  Any tips?

Happy New Year!

So last year was a big year:

- Liz got her first out of college job at a school
- Mark moved to Lansing
- Mark graduated
- We got married!
- We traveled to Washington DC for the first time.
- We moved across the country.
- We got a dog.

We celebrated tonight with new friends at Cardigan.

We are looking forward to everything 2012 has in store for us!

Oh Baby!

It's a beautiful sunny day here in NH!  It was snowing this morning, but it was nice to actually see the snow fall instead of waking up to a few inches on the ground.

I have been crocheting like mad lately!  I love the feeling of finishing a project.  I can't wait until Christmas to give these awesome gifts out.

In other more exciting news...my BFF is having a baby TODAY!  I can't believe it!  So good luck to her (and her hubby too!).  I can't wait to meet their little man.

Christmas Time!

Wow, can you believe it's already December 5th!  Time sure is flying! We have been listening to lots of Bare Naked Ladies Christmas music lately.

We are officially decorated for Christmas.  Not hard when you have a total of 5 decorations though (tree not included).  Since we won't be here for Christmas, we decided to go with no tree this year, oh well there's always next year.

I have been crocheting a ton lately!  My first homemade Christmas gifts are finished, only a few more to go.  Plus Mark will finally be getting the scarf he has been asking for for years now :)  I'll post pictures once the gifts are given to their recipients.

Yesterday one of my friends came over for a crochet/movie party.  We watched The Holiday.  I forgot how cute that movie is.  Yesterday was definitely a good day :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are spending time in Michigan until Saturday night.  I am definitely enjoying being so close to the grocery store and to the mall!

Today we are spending time with both families eating and hanging out.  I am beyond stoked to get some green bean casserole!

I'm still deciding if I want to go out and shop tonight/tomorrow morning, but there isn't really anything I need...