Hurry up to make it easy

I am on a organizing spree of my house.  I have decluttered and organized the kids room, cleaned things that were not yet dirty, refilled soap dispensers that were half full, pulled out the crock pot and I have done more laundry then usual so I am actually ahead of my normal schedule.  Why?

I am planning to have a single parent week this next week and a crazy month this next month.  Bear is taking a volunteer fire fighter class 2 evenings a week plus two weekends in the next 6 weeks. This on top of his 48 hour schedule and one night a week mixed martial arts class.  So, I will be missing my knitting group and my nice evenings with a hubby who cooks and helps put the kids to bed.  TO add more stress, Hubby and I are both changing job descriptions, his has a raise involved (woo hoo) but both will be a big work change in the middle of crazy month. Good thing Maryland Sheep and Wool is coming up cause he will owe me a nice day off.


Speaking of all things fiber and knitting, I have an FO:



It is Hitchhiker by Martine Behm but I had to be smarter then the designer.  So I slipped the first stitch of every row. This made the shawl a cresent shape which while pretty is not something I will do again.  Next time I see a pattern I like that has over 5,000 people who have knit it, I will follow the design.

I will say this pattern is great for handspun yarn.  I had no idea what I started with and this is how much I had left over.



Like 4 inches, I think.  Isn't that amazing?  I think it is.

So, my goals for the next week:

1. Stay sane: if the kids eat PB&J or hot dogs more then once this next week, the world will not end.
2. Workout more: my birthday is coming up and I am almost down another dress size.  Birthday money will mean new clothes and I want them to be the smaller size.
3. Knit lots on my second Down the Rabbit Hole socks: my goal is/was to knit up everything I got from MDSW before I go to a new MDSW and this sock yarn is the last of it.

Edit to add: I forgot to mention my supportive, helpful, always there when I am in a pinch mother is moving two hours south for the next year and my trusty brother the babysitter is helping her get organized, packed and such so her house can get on the market in two weeks.  They are my normal safety net.  Sigh.

Edit to add 2: I forgot about the soccer practice, soccer game and school zoo trip I offered to chaperone before I knew it would be during this mad week (Bugs and Boo are both going with me but it will be for Bugs' kindergarten class.)

My Dog is Fat

There is a bumper sticker out there that says, "When your dog is fat, you need more exercise." Well, that is the case in my house. My poor Corgi mix, Angel, and I both need to lose 20% of our weight to be healthy.

Angel in our freak October snowstorm. She is a tall corgi mix.

I think "lose" is going to be the theme of this year's resolutions. I now resolve to:

1. Exercise 3-4 times a week to lose weight (Angel is going on a diet and going for more walks.)
2. Trim down the clutter in my house by selling or donating a big bunch of it.
3. Knit down my stash without buying a crap ton more. 

I have plans for all of it. I found a free gym that I can use on my lunch break at work. I have my husband on board with the clutter and plan to go room to room starting with the office, aka Katie's NEW yarn room (as soon as I clean out the junk.)

For my knitting resolution, I am going to knit up this basket this year.

Some of my oldest yarns will be knit up in 2012.  The average age is 3 years since purchase (that is pretty old since I started knitting in 2007.)  I am excited to get started.

After I finish my baby blanket that is. Here is my half finished baby blanket for a baby who better wait another 3 weeks before making her way to the world.  If for no other reason, then just so I can finish her starfish blanket. I just finished section 7 of 15 and she is not due for another 27 days, I think I can make it.