I'm just going to show you everything. I'm coming clean little by little.
This is what I got at Knitting Up a Storm by the way ( along w/ the Noro of course)....the stash has been greatly enhanced.

What? You can't tell how many skeins of Debbie Bliss I actually bought? Good. I like it that way. DON'T JUDGE ME!! :-) It was all on sale so I couldn't resist; for instance you see the $5.95 tag on the tweed? already a good price right? take not 20, 30, but 40% off- ...BTW, if you're ever in South Carolina I highly suggest stopping into Knitting Up a storm. The folks are extra friendly there and they have a great selection, fair pricing, good customer service, and a nice neat shop. My little sales lady even threw in these lovely samples after I asked a few questions about the products.
I like the idea of showing a representive skein. You know, the one skein that sits out to show people what the one million other skeins you bought the same day looks like. Somehow, I feel less guilty that way. Notice that none of these are the yarns I listed a couple of weeks ago on the shopping list:-( This is a sad fact yet lord knows I can't wait to shop for more.
Anyways, if seeing stash or seeing yarn makes you happy I'm thinking I am going to go on a stash flashing spree for a bit. Besides, there seems to be a few folks out there that can't be convinced that I am not totally a ghetto knitter. I believe some people even mentioned that maybe i should be the queen of my own "ghetto knitters" blog ring. I mean a gal might want to save a couple pennies sometime but sheesh, do I have to be "queen ghetto knit blogring hostess?"
Well. I guess we'll see about that.

I don't know if I told you but I decided to do a bodybuilding show. Actually, I'll be competing in the Fitness/Figure category (which is a little softer than female bodybuilding). I'm pretty excited and I have to admit that I have been extremely caught off guard by all the support and encouragement I've received from everybody. I don't know why I always expect to hear the worse from people. I was sure that everyone would say or at least think, "there's no way you can do that." I know that is bad to admit but I can't be the only one that thinks that way sometimes.
On the other hand I wonder why I am so surprised. Am I not the first one to usually support and cheer and encourage others on? Doesn't it make me the happiest to see people I love and care about acheive their goals or accomplish their dreams? Am I not usually my friends and family's biggest advocate? Why should I expect anything less from everyone else? Everyone I know and cherish personally is wonderful...shame on me for not knowing they would be supportive.
Most likely my apprehension and Negative Nancy-ness stems from my own insecurities and fears. Yes, I'm afraid that I won't cut the weight in time. Absolutely, I'm afraid that I may faulter or not acheive what I set out to do due to some craziness on my own behalf. Still, none of these fears can stop me from at least trying or at least reaching.
I'm about to get real personal with you guys over these next months, so beware. The competition is November 18th

I went on vacation to Myrtle beach, South Carolina. I know some of y'all are probably saying, "didn't you just come back from Hawaii?" Yup sure did, you can never have too much vacation though.
I went to Knitting up a Storm with my sister while I was down there. We had a blast and she taught me how to do the cast on for these.
Yes that is Noro but no it is not the Noro that I pictured ages ago that my sister gifted to me. It's new Noro that I bought at Knitting up a storm along with this Noro( no Janet your eyes are not deceiving you, the stuff below is not the stuff I bought with you, I actually went back the next day and got this and the tweed that I put back when I was with you but the mary janes pictured above are from the yarn we bought together;I know really bad but true.)
So now I'm working with 6 skeins (well actually 4ish since I'm actually making the one pair of Mary Janes) of Noro wool in my stash. I love that stuff. It is so beautiful, artistic even.
The set pictured above are a Christmas gift. I think I will knit one more set for another gift and then eventually a set for me--it's really easy now that I know how to cast on for it, then again I haven't done any of the finishing but the the finishing is crochet and if I don't say so myself I'm pretty beast at crochet...anyway, I've actually bought a lot of yarn but I just haven't been showing it off. I am in the mists of consolidating my stash, getting rid of the stuff I've had since I was a little girl and organizing it all. I will try to take more pics of what I've got as the process goes on. Before I went on vacation I did order my ball winder and swift. Today for the first time. I rolled my own balls of yarn with them. I had some lovely Lorna's laces Bullfrogs and butterflies (wool/mohair blend) in my stash that I balled up. This stuff was an impulse buy long ago because I love wool and the colors were just so beautiful. I have 380 yds of it so if y'all have any suggestions feel free to tell me. I've actually been thinking of doing a blanket with this yarn as the focal point in the middle and some other yarn as borders. Don't totally know about that though so ... Do tell.
O yeah, can you believe that there is another black purl who has a biracial family and is living in California-AND she knits? What are the odds? Can we say twilight zone, well at least for my sister that is. Anyway, I have some yarn on it's way to you if you're reading. Its some cheapy stuff that I've been carrying around for ages but haven't used. I hope this helps you with your charity work. I have it packaged up and ready to mail to you this week so look for it next week. I'm sure I'll blog about when I've mailed it off.

Man, I have pretty much fallen off the earth this past week. I have gotten a lot done though. I sent both of my pals packages (secret sistah friend and my colorswap partner). Since my color swap partner is close by she should get her package tomorrow. My Californian sistah friend wasn't slated to get hers until Thursday.
All of this is no secret because I am the worse at keeping any. The first night I made contact with Anne, my name was splashed all over the email even though I called myself keeping it anonymous...whatever!
I got my package LAST WEEK from my color swap pal. I will post up all the wonderful things she sent me later on tonight(I'm at work right now.) My package was spectacular! She sent me nerd ropes; my husband LOVES those things. He very much appreciated them-ha!
She sent me this beautiful purple GGH touche yarn. It's velour and it is SOOOOOO soft. I've got to make something out of this immediately! I just want to have it around to drag over my skin when I'm having a bad day....um so yeah, moving on....
She sent me this really cute little black doll stuffed with hair bands; I love her. She is too cute and I needed the hair bands b/c I go thru them like crazy with me going to the gym all the time and I've gotta keep my hair or braids off of me or it will drive me insane.
She also sent me a purple Nike hat that I can run in. When I get back from vacation August 2nd my new running program begins Aug.3! You best believe I got a pair of shoes to match it too. You know a sistah's gotta look cute.
Have a look, my colorswapper made me tons of these snazzy beaded bracelets. They are too cute. THANK YOU SO MUCH- I LOVED EVERYTHING. Check me out, "You gotta cooorrdinate...."
Answer me this, if you can tell me what movie that line is from I will give you this yarn. It is 4 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun in the color 370 Coral Gables; all the same dye lot number. I will pay shipping and all.


Since the line is slightly vague I will give you a hint: Mushroom coat and mushroom belt.

I actually still haven't finished a single project that I've posted on here but I have started new ones. I decided that it was important for me to knit some thing for all my friends that i love and care about before we move on to Italy in a year or so. I've started to knit some Christmas gifts and plan what I'll be knitting folks for Christmas. If any of "the fam" is reading then realize your getting something knitted as a gift!
Also realize that this is a big deal. Those knitted gifts contain minutes/hours/days dedicated to you, sometimes prayed for you, or just spent thinking about your or being a person committed to loving you. KNITTED GIFT = LOVE. So appreciate it and don't hurt my feelings, you freaks!:-)
I've been knitting this one particular hat for about a decade now because it includes intarsia that I designed and I keep screwing it up. Of course I only realized how badly I've screwed it up this last time by the time I was more than halfway done with the thing! Anyway, I'm ripping it back for the third or fourth time to better days before the inartsia and trying the chart again...if it doesn't go well this time I may just FREAK OUT. Wish me luck.
I also started a snazzy intreloc scarf for another friend- it's actually pretty fun. It's like a little puzzle! You're only working 10 stiches at a time so it's not very intimidating. The directions can be a little confusing sometimes but I actually feel pretty good about this one.
Soon I'll be starting some of those Neka bags for some of the girls only I plan to use wool and felt them. Maybe some Noro is in order!
Speaking of new yarn; there seems to be a few different yarns on the list for me to buy. Capital Yarns actually sent me an email saying they are having a blow out sale complete with chocolate fountain... I'll be looking for the following...I'll let y'all know how that whole things goes

1. Alchemy Bamboo yarn- in purple hues
2. Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb - in purples or vibrant greens
3. Fiesta La Luz Multi- in same colors as above
4. 2 balls Lion Brand cashmere blend in gray
5. Noro in any colorway I like because it's just awesome like that

Now I know this looks like an expensive list but keep in mind that I will only need one skein each aside from item number 4, plus most likely I won't buy them all this weekend...all of them are for Christmas gifts. I may look at some Rowan cotton too. I might just order it from Knit Happens since it's featured this week. Who knows
I'll be in touch. Adios, peeps!

I’ve been thinking and apparently that’s dangerous.
Actually, I think about EVERYTHING- I’ve been accused of thinking too much a couple of times. Whatever, it’s me. It’s who I am.
I feel like I’ve been sabotaging myself for the past few weeks eating wise. I wouldn’t say I’ve been going buck nutty but I haven’t been sticking to the plan. I realize that I’ve been doing this for so long that I may have lapses but I’ve had the I don’t care self destruct attitude for a bit now. My inner dialogue has definitely been like, “Man, I work out ALL THE TIME, I’m freaking tired of not being able to eat what I want. It’s not like I want to gorge myself but frick I’d like to have desert or some ice cream or even and apple or some random fruit that amazingly isn’t on the program here and there.”
I have to admit I’ve almost been a whiny little child on the inside, (doing the whole “this isn’t fair” thing) and I’ve been fighting myself….
I also realized that I keep planning and wanting to do this personal training thing- it’s a goal and a desire of mine but I’m not making it happen and it is in my realm of possibility to make it happen. I control that and I keep putting it off, making excuses, making start dates or deadlines instead of just doing it. My friend and some of my friends at the gym have done some bodybuilding competitions and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do; something I probably appreciate and have a passion for more than any of them but I keep sitting on the sidelines and living my life vicariously thru them—being the supportive friend when I really wish it were me accomplishing those things for myself.
I wonder if we are all really that smart (or dumb depending on how you look at it) as to were our subconscious has such a big effect on the motives for which we do or don’t do things. Am I afraid to reach my goals? Could I be avoiding having to hold myself to a higher standard or actually do all the things I promised myself I would do when I lost the weight? Honestly, I have always believed that everyone’s potential in the world is so great…we could all be the most amazing versions of ourselves living to the optimum ability to what God intended for us; I love it when people excel and do great things- am I secretly afraid to live up to my own potential? On the inside I feel like I could do anything but other things cloud that confidence. Could I be apprehensive to living up to the …”deals” I’ve made with my husband? Is the concern for what others might think about me if I fail or when I succeed peeping thru my subconscious?
I made the decision last summer to start losing the weight and I’ve done an alright job but I can do better. I’ve made some decisions about myself. I’m not going to be obsessive about this whole thing but I am going to finish this, I coulda been done already – the exercise is fun and it’s the “easy” part for me. FOOD, Lord have mercy, it’s an issue.

My secret sistah friend is just awesome...she sent me a nifty little note in the mail. Now I have a clue about her....She's from Cincinnati (according to the postage). I may be able to narrow things down. She asked me about some things I like and I really have to think about that.
I know that she meant knitting/yarn related but it got me thinking. I watch Oprah all the time and you know how every year she has her favorite things list? I thought wouldn't it be cool to comprise a Nina's most favorite things list? So going from the Oprah tradition the only things on this list will be things I've tried or things I have that I own and love. A lot of them actually are knitting related because it's an extreme hobby of mine but others are just things I love...maybe in the future I will make a long to love list, as in the items that I long to love but probably never will because they are way too expensive; as it would have it already some of these items are WAY over in the luxury category and are not regular occurences in my own life (probably not an issue with oprah) Anyway, below is my top 50 Favorite things and no they are not in any particular order. By the way I love making list...I'm surprised I haven't done any of this prior

Nina's Favorite things

1. Banana Laffy Taffy
2. Banana Runts
3. My pink Ipod mini
4. Gold's gym - The gym is awesome, it has a mechanical rock climbing wall, a physical rehad center, a mini spa (facials/massages), and tanning bed. The classes there are awesome and free except for the Reformer Pilates class and most of all the people there are friendly and fun and welcoming at my gym. I've made some peeps there...
5. Victoria's Secret Full Coverage Ipex Bras
6. Victoria's Secrete Shock Absorber Sports Bra
7. Sneakers in general but in particular Nike Shox
8. Alchemy Bamboo Yarn
9. Lion Brand Cashmere Blend Yarn
10. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Yarn
11. Target
12. Food Network
13. Rachel Ray- yes I subscribe to her magazine, YUMMO! I also like Sandra Lee's semi- homemade style and the Iron Chef
14. Cookbooks- I actually kind of collect them (at least that is what I'm calling it since I’ve acquired so many)
15. Bulky yarns-wool in particular (even though I’m "big boned" and people say never knit with bulky if you're carrying a few extra pounds, I don’t care. I like bulky)
16. Funky knitting needles- I actually have those Joanns sparkle/glitter straight needles, I saw those new lite brite needles and would like to have them but these needles are actually on their way to my house this very minute. Snazzy!
17. Pretty or fun or cute paper stationary
18. Journals- here’s an example of the last ones I bought as gifts (if you know me and receive a gift from at some point in life you will receive a journal from me because I just love them that much and think they are a practical gift for every person)
19. Coconut, pina colada, and Hawaiian scented and flavored drinks, perfume, body spray, body lotion, gum, lolly pops, pretty much anything that carries the scent and flavor- you can call it an obsession.
20. Things with my name or initials on them. – You know how when your on vacation and looking in the souvenier shops for gifts and they always have keychains ors shot glasses w/ your name on them…for some reason it rare that my name is there and it really does bug me…it not the serious and it shouldn’t but it really gets to me!
21. Shoes- I don’t discriminate but there is a special place in my heart for boots.
22. Purses- I like to coordinate and I like cute stuff, I have many knitting bags too.
23. Muscle and Fitness Hers Magazine (it's been thru a lot of changes over the years but i just can't let go, it's a good fitness publication) and Oxygen Magazine
24. IKEA
25. Pier 1
26. Direct TV- I love having Tivo and now that I have it I will NEVER go back to basic cable or to Comcast for that matter. DOWN WITH COMCAST!!!!!
27. PHO- Pho Saigon in my area in particular w/ the fresh spring rolls and peanut sauce-holler at your gurl, they are scrumptous!
28. Mexican Food- El Charro or Mateo's especially
29. Arnold Schwarzenegger- Don’t laugh! I’ve seen pretty much every movie he’s ever made and when I was little I was going to marry him. It’s such a shame because I hear he is or use to be a huge egotistic maniacal jerk…:-(
30. Taylors of Harrogate Black Currant Tea- I love herbal and green as well but for some reason I LOVED this little english black breakfast tea. Mmmmm, Mmmmm- this is good stuff; I've had it every time I go to tea at the Ritz. I liked it so much I did an online search to get me some of that thur tea when I couldn’t find it in the stores.
31. The Color Purple; seen the movie more times than I can count, read the book a couple times and just recently was given a hardcover copy as a gift. My hubby gave me the best Christmas present ever when he took me to see it on Broadway in NYC this past January.
32. Knit.1 magazine and Vogue Knitting magazine; I love looking at Rowan and Cedifra (sp) and Rebecca too.
33. MySpace-I love myspace it keeps me connected with all my peeps and I always feel special when I have a new comment or message-love love love
34. Oprah
35. Mail - I love receiving mail and packages; it makes me feel special and it’s so special because people really have to make and effort and think about you to send you a note or something in the mail these days. I’ve always love receiving mail- Bills get irritating to pay but I don’t mind receiving them in the mail w/ my name on them and all. It kinda feels good. (I love getting email too)
36. Church- I love going to church (except it being early in the morning)- Don’t get freaked out by the top picture it I think that was after some type of church production or something. We aren’t like WACO worshipers or drinking rattlesnake venom or anything. It’s a normal church with normal folks.
37. Massages, manicures, pedicures, or getting my hair or eyebrows done- most of the time its’ not as expensive as you would think – actually if you’re getting a weave it’s expensive but otherwise, No- Plus, it makes me feel like a diva and I feel better and more put together about myself too.
38. Alias - I actually started watching this show (thanks to TNT reruns) probably about a year a go and I am finally caught up to the last season so I can’t wait to see how it all ends.
39. Gelati's- it's a wonderful combination of Italian ice and soft serve ice cream/custard. You guessed it I usually get vanilla ice cream with either pina colada or mango flavored italian ice or a combo.
40. Ice cream- Coldstone or Ben and Jerry's is my favorite; in New Mexico they have this place called Caliche's...it is THE best. Mmmmmmh!
41. Bookstores or Libraries. I just enjoy being in the presence of books and in that atmosphere. Weird I know, yet true. I could say the same for yarn stores. My husband says I'm a grandma...
42. Santoku knives- I use to watch Rachel Ray just slices thru things like nobodies business on 30-minute meals and asked for one for Christmas. I think she uses her own trademark type Furi Santoku knife now but I bought mine back in the day and it's the best knife I own. Better than Cutco.
43. Avocado
44. Nuts- Do I dare to say that I've never met a nut I didn't like-lol? Truly I love pistachios, cashews, peeeecans, walnuts, macadamias, peanuts, etc etc etc
45. Workout clothes- obviously I just love clothing but I love to coordinate and look cute for the gym; it is a part of who I am.
46.VX Golds Gym treadmill
47. Black cinema - Movies like, I'm gone git you sucka, hollywood shuffle, and the Last dragon
48. Old Kung Fu movies with the whack sound effects- these movies have the coolest fight scenes and they actually have quite a bit of humor in them.
49. 50" Flat screen plasma- this thing is awesome. I know a big television is typically a man thing but I LOVE IT, especially to use in conjunction with my Tivo.
50. Cotton Candy

This is pretty much the only post for this week. Sure has been a lot of fun but a lot of effort! It kind of ended up being my favorite things, activities, and people but what ever...it's MY list and I can do what I want! :-) When I think about it, it's a crazy amount of effort put in for just 3 people to read. Maybe I will post up on my sistafriends to check it out....:-)

I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th. I certainly did. My office closed @ 2:00 on Friday and today is my first day back at work. Love it love it love it!
On Saturday, I got up and went four wheelin' with my hubby, BIL, and BIL's girlfriend.It was an awesome time. My honey actually taught me how to use the dirtbike and I got into 3rd gear. It was awesome. I always thought I wanted an motorcycle but now I KNOW it. I will actually be taking a motorcycle course some time this month (hubby already has a motorcycle). I can't wait really. Sunday we skipped church AGAIN :-( and snuggled. We went shopping a little later and then I relaxed during the evening while my honey visited with the fam. Monday, we cleaned for a bit but then my honey went with me to the yarn store. I also got the the most awesome bra's and underwear from Victoria's Secret. I tell you women of the world...these are the most comfortable bras I've ever owned. It's the full coverage IPEX bra. I will never go back! And the thing is, right before we went to Hawaii I had bought what I thought to be decent bras from Maidenform. I even had the twins measured to ensure accuracy ( I actually saw Oprah's bra and jean revolution and knew that I was one of the over 80% that was wearing an ill fitting bra).
I also bought one of Victoria's Secrets new sports bra's, it's called the ShockAbsorber. I. LOVE. IT. It is THE BEST sports bra I have ever owned. I am not a small chested (I'm not Pam Anderson either) woman and I can run without pain in this baby yet it is light and flexible and it doesn't cut in or leave makes; the straps are gentle (they are luxurious on the IPEX bras, BTW). It does not even have underwire in it and I do not bounce and swish all over the place in it. The sports bra cost me $40. I have never paid that much for a sports bra but ladies for this kind of comfort I would pay $100. I feel like a new woman...
I promise I will get to the acrylic yarn pics soon. Where does the time go?

I don't mind using Lion Brand yarn and other less than...natural yarns-really. I mean I'll probably be buying some of that sugar n cream cotton soon. And as a matter of fact I think every project I've posted up here thus far(except for the socks and maryjanes) has been Lion Brand yarn. I'll be keeping my far share of ghetto yarn. Shoot, I am not ashamed...DON'T JUDGE ME!!!
Nevertheless, I am getting rid of a massive amount of acrylic yarn from days were I simply just did not know what was out there and available. If anyone is interested in cream, teal, red, country blue, coral homespun, baby blue, purple etc etc acrylic yarn please hit me up and I will gladly send it to you FOR FREE. If no one is interested but knows of some nice charity that I could donate this yarn to before I send it over to ACTS or throw it away please let me know. I just want it out of my hair! I will take some pics of this stuff so y'all will have a better idea of what I'm working with.

I looked down at my toes today and smiled.
I got a manicure and a pedicure on Saturday. I always do a little something funky with my nails....it's just my personal taste. Anyway I guess with the 4th of July and me just plain feeling better about myself I elected to paint my toenails red.
For some reason this morning, even though it was raining, I chose to wear my snazzy flip flops with this cute pant outfit. I keep a heater under my desk for unwise decisions such as wearing flips on a wet day in a cool temperature office, so this morning when I went to turn the heater on my toes hit me as funny.
I remembered when I was a little girl and my mother (who liked to look good- she was fierce) would be painting her nails/toes; I'd want mine done too but I was never allowed to wear red because it was too grown. As a matter of fact most everyone in my family (womanwise) would warn of red's fast behind ways with that "you ain't grown look on their face." Even when I turned 13 and lived with my grandmother we'd be at Jamesway looking at wet n' wild lipstick and nail polish and grandma would remind me to avoid the red.
This morning I looked at my toes and smiled...those are good memories

Never made it to the yarn store in Maryland. My manicure and pedicure ended up taking forever and by the time we left we were already cutting it close.
It took almost 2 hours to get there b/c of traffic so we didn't go. It was still an awesome weekend. My friend placed 2nd in the figure competition (short class). Honestly she was robbled. Well she wasn't robbed but she should have got first. The girl who won actually won her pro card last year but turned it down so she could still compete in this division (how weaksauce is that?). In my biased but very accurate opinion she still didn't look good enough to be Teenie. The crowd was displeased but all of us were/are still VERY proud of her.
The "pro" was sweatin' bullets there for a little while too, she even came up to Teeny after she had already been such a snitty hooch and was like, "wow, I have to say you look really good etc etc."
Anyway, nevertheless, Teeny did awesome especially for her first competition ever. This show was actually a very good and accredited natural amatuer competition too. We had done our homework at some other poorly ran and poorly organized events. What a difference!
I am just very proud of my little homie. Maybe it will be me on stage next year....gotta stop eating so horrendously first!

Today hub and I are going up to Annapolis, MD to watch my good friend Teeny compete in a figure contest. I'm pretty excited for her. I talked her into doing it so I could pretty much live vicariously through her :-)
She looks awesome. The two of us have been training together for months in the gym and I'm sure tomorrow the fruits of all her labor will pay off...
We are going up the night before so we aren't stressed running around the morning before the show. I'll be helping her put on massive amounts of tanner and I'll also be doing her makeup.
Anyway, we will leave at 1:00ish today and visit this store.
I hope that the store is better than the website. There is a fiberworks in MD too but it's too far away for todays trip. I'll most likely have to make a special trip for that one....
Anyway, I've got an action packed weekend. Hopefully I'll have a couple pictures and of course I'll post up whatever I purchase...maybe I can find something for my secret pal today!! I'm off to get my nails done. Gotta look cute for the show...
o, Be sure to scroll down and see my post about my secret sistah friend (must steal one of those cute little buttons when I get back) she sent me a whole rack of stuff that I just love but I didn't get a chance to finish putting the pictures in the post until this morning so it's got yesterdays date etc etc etc. Check it out folks.

Not to make a racially blanket statement but here it goes.... This is for the freaks of nature over at bath and body works and walmart NEWSFLASH: As long as there are black women on earth there will be a need to make coconut and tropical scented lotion/bath gel/bodyspray. I mean coconut lime verbena is fine and dandy but I need a strong coconut scent folks. I mean with that stuff its like "Do I smell like coconut or do I smell like citrus?" One would think with it being summer and all these scents would not be hard to find but goodgoogamooga I can not find what I need. I feel desprite. How am I suppose to live? Show me the coconut that's all I'm saying... PS- I did however, find some Queen Helenes cocoa butter at walmart and was very satisfied

LORD HAVE MERCY!!!! My secret sistah friend HOOKED ME UP. I hope I can show all the wonderful things she sent. Of course blogger wants to have a spasm fit when I've got something important to say. First off, I must say that it made my day to find a package waiting on my door when I got home from lunch yesterday. I thought about recreating it all so everyone could react along with me as they read but some how I refrained. I'm sure my husband would have made even more fun of me than he already does for being a 25 year old knitter- I keep telling him "knittin' ain't just for grandmas"...I digress. First off she sent me these personally hand made stitch markers. They are beautiful. The pictures do them no justice. They are just way too cool! She sent me this book full of patterns for unusual but practical and easy to knit entertainment. The book was mixed in with my very first stash of fabric for sewing. Now I have zero excuses. I actually can't wait to get my dining rm table set up to sew this week. I'm just going to do it (like Nike you know?) You see there, all that fabric to sew, you see it? Awesome. I also received two different types of sock yarn in an assortment of blue colorway (love love love) and do you see over there? My secret pal sent me Lion brand because she knew I would appreciate it and I'm not yarn snob. I don't discriminate (I like them black, white, puerto rican or haitian...-just a little background hip hop for ya...:-) Others would call it ghetto knitting but I prefer equal opportunist knitting myself, Thank you very much. Anyway, can you believe the Homespun she sent me is the exact color and dyelot I have in my very own stash here at home. I was so elated to find that out. Now I have no idea what the heck I am going to make but at least when I figure it out I will have yarn all from the same dye lot...Can you see tje Lion brand Big she sent too? What fun! In the picture to my left You can see two balls of South West trading company Optimum wool, in red. My grandmothers favorite color is red (she is one snazzy woman- only in her 60's- yup she started young). Definately think ing about making her something special with that. Just a little sumtin' sumtin'. :-) I decided that it is very important for me to handknit all my loved ones something before I leave for Italy next summer. I've kinda plotted out on paper what I need to start buying and what I can use in my stash for all the hats, scarves, and little purses I need to knit up. So all this has really enhanced my options and helped a great deal. Thank you so much, your generosity has touched my heart. This Christmas will be a very knitted Christmas. I loved EVERY SINGLE ITEM secret friend. LOVED IT. Thank you so much. Thank you for making my day just by seeing the package and thank you for greatly transforming my stash! I can't wait to find out who you are...

I found the label!!
I got a couple of comments on the sock yarn I was using and today I found the label as I was tearing apart one of my many knitting bags...
It's called Sockatta. The label says it "The Plymouth Italian Collection" All I know is that I like the feel/texture and the color, plus once the yarn shop lady told me I could make both socks out of one skein I was feeling pretty good. It's 45% cotton, 40% superwash wool, and 15% Nylon. Does that add up? Yup...good.

Have you ever had the inkling that no matter how much you give, some people will always want more? It's like when you're dating, people want to know when you're getting married, when you get married they wanna know when are the kids coming...so on and so forth.

I grew up not having a lot and appreciating the little things. Even now the greatest gifts to me are the ones that take thought and time. Those things seem more valuable to me than spending loads of money. This could very well be the reason why knitting/crocheting appeals to me so much; these are things created from my being. My personal minutes and hours of my thoughts, prayers, hopes, frustrations. (If any of you ever receive a knitted gift from me know that you share a very special part of me..) Ok I'm going off on a rant.

I got into that trying to make the point that the people that always request more no matter how much or how little one gives will NEVER be satisfied. It also has dawned on me that these same people can never take a step back and see how blessed and how much a head above the rest they are in the world b/c they are constantly focused on what is not being done and what could be better. It's a pattern to be sad over b/c a lot of joy and good times can be destroyed or missed by focusing in on small flaws. Everyone knows by now that life isn't perfect but man almost perfect ain't bad.

Couple things-none knitting related.... * Aeon Flux only somewhat entertaining and not my favorite movie * Pho Saigon just simply yummy and delightful. Mmmm mmm good. Quickly becoming one of my favorites. Beef is good but I've actually started to get the chicken and it is incredible. And here is a couple of things about me: * If you send me a message I may use lots of exclamation points because I really am just that excited. * I'm pretty easy going; some may think I'm high maintenance but really it's the little things that please me.

Yup, this is what you see just minding your own business on the way to eat, on the way to the beach, on the way to pump gas, on the way to shop. This is what you turn your head to the right and see.... Turn your head to the left and see this. This is just walking down the street people. Not staying in a resort, not traveling a couple miles to some place to see sights-this is just what naturally surrounds you. How awesome and different would life be if it consisted of this everyday. Like they say on the mainland, "No hurries, no worries...." On a sour note WTC (what the crap!)...My freakin' hamstrings and biceps are drawn up so tight you could bounce a brick off of them...tonight I need to stretch hardcore especially before powerlifting Saturday. Anyway, here's a little sumtin'sumtin' My socks! I started to knit them but have no idea what the heck i'm doing so they are too small and a little ugly; they will be ripped out very soon. I just bought the harlots knitting rules book and signed up for the first time sock knitters club so this should make a difference in how my 1st pair turn out looking. O how I do love ankle socks though. I hope they can help a sistah out.

I've been back at the gym for two day now. It has felt fantastic to be at it again. I am still not on the total nutrition tip though. Working on that. I should be good by the beginning of next week food wise. My next goal is our next beach trip. I think we're going to Nags Head- iono- I let y'all know when I really know what's up. I just know that it's at the very end of July- beginning of August. Hopefully I can save up enough vacation time. I think I may only take 3 days off from actual work and just use a weekend or something- whatever.
Back to the gym. Tonight was abs, back, biceps, and calves . I got smoked man. I didn't adjust any of the weights lower than what I was doing before, actually we did 5 pounds higher on every set and I hung in there. On the close grip lat pull down I had to pump the music up and focus hardcore though. I made it thru and afterward I felt fantastic! I feel really good. So glad I'm back on it. I've decided I'm back on the supplements and I am adding 3 mornings of cardio to the routine. I'm just going to stick to the weight program as stated. Hopefully DH and I really will get up and run together in the mornings like we previously discussed. Here are my goals for the next leg...

1. Fit a size 10, (actually 8 if I want to be radical and zealous) by next beach trip (I'm between 12 and 10 now)
2. Get in at least 3 cardio sessions a week
3. Focus work on triceps and inner thighs
4. Start training for 8 miler
5. Do more active things on weekends

lt would have been nice if my previous post would have posted like two weeks ago...stupid blogger! Guess you guys thought I fell off the earth Well, anyway-if you read below I we had a lot happen then we went to Hawaii. The trip was SO amazing--wait scratch that, the trip sucked, the visit/the vacation was SO amazing. If you are really interested in going to Hawaii you can read more about it and see pictures of the place where stayed here. My father in law is blogging about it! I thought he was so cute for that. Not only is he an official blogger but he and mi madre (inlaw) are both myspacers. How cute can you get? I'm sure you'll hear Hawaii come out of my mouth more than you can stand for the next one million years. It is truly that beautiful. I am now an advocate and I believe that every person should experience this magical land of wonder... Hopefully when blogger is not being so ridiculous about uploading pictures I will be able to include some in my post to beautify my site. Oh by the way, I finished the front and am almost done with the back of my rainbow tank. It's too cute. I started to knit a sock (anklet) and got past the heel turn but am totally clueless about how to pick up the stitches and were to knit next. I am confused because I am not using a particular pattern. I have just kinda of been putting together the patterns of several socks I liked. I really like ankle socks so that made it a little different too. Again, I'll post some pics when the system can handle.

Wouldn't u know, another post beginning w/ my honeybunches. Well, Friday was his last day @ work and then on Monday he comissioned in the US ARMY. This week has been action packed. We leave for Hawaii in two days so my 3 subscribers know that you won't hear from me until after June 5th baby! I should have a lot of peices finished by the time this vacation is over- realize I won't be seeming or blocking on vacation- just knitting. I'm almost done with the front part of my rainbow tank, of course I haven't been able to spend much time on it w/ shopping for HI, going to birthday parties, my DH's graduation & commissioning, my work, the gym- just a little bit here & there

NOTE: pics to be installed later...

Yesterday my honeybunches graduated from college! Very proud of him. Shout out to my honeybunches...

Had I been more clever I would have brought my knitting inside the ceremony and gotten about 3 hours worth of knitting done! Is that a bad thought to have? (I could so be knitting right now) It's no knock on graduation or my honeybunches. Just a kill two birds thought. I mean your sitting there listening to hundreds of names you don't know being called; waiting for the climatic ONE and then finish up by waiting through another several hundred names you don't know. What could be better than making a time like that pass a little more pleasantly? Instead me and Pecky resorted to people watching...and people are just crazy. Anyway, I still ended up getting a little time in on the drive back though so that's good news.

Speaking of my new graduate he has recently brought it to my attention that many of my posts seem a little... unscholarly, due to grammatical errors. I calmly explained to DH that by the time I insert the freaking pics into whatever post I've made I've pretty much had it. Post and Publish. Then I pray.(Notice no Proofread listed)

Dear Lord,

Please let any reader that may happen upon my site (which I know is usually only by mishap on the way to somewhere else more important-so please send more readers b/c i love blogging and think it great when people stop by and even comment or just care what I have to say; what a truly nice and personal gesture that is-it just makes my whole day) to show me some grace because this is just me and how I am and I may not be able to control that. Amen.

I will do better though, I wouldn't want to shame my learned husband! Spell check/proofread are my friends...check, got it! :-) Well, I dug around and found the sock yarn I purchased about a million years ago when my sister and I originally got the wild hair. I'm casting on tonight.

At this point I have the Mary Janes (which I will be harassing my sister over very soon- Mrs. "Oh, Nina you can do it, it will be easy- if I can do it you can do"), the rainbow tank, and the green zippered sweater- these and hopefully the socks and lace scarf should be enough to keep me busy while on vacation. BTW, Hawaii is in just 5 more days!!! On Monday DH will officially be an officer in the US ARMY. So many changes to quickly.

I AM ON A FREAKING ROLL!! Seriously though, this is like consecutive post.The could be a record for me. Enough of that, I have been checking out many many many knit blogs. Love, Love, Love, what everyone else is doing. Some time in June I will add a listing and buttons to all the wonderful people I subscribe to but have no idea that I've been lurking on their site for like a trillion years. My site needs a makeover anyway. It takes me forever to do things sometime. There's on ryhme or reason. Sometime I'll get done and other I'll drag my feet. But maybe I'll even get snazzy and buy one of those little kits/programs to do something snazzy to the site- I know I'll try to control myself. I stopped ripping the lace mohair blend scarf I screwed up because it kept getting tangled and I just wasn't having the frustration that day and I also haven't touched the Mary Janes again since the cast on fiasco. Nope, no work on the zippered bolero/sweater/thingie either BUT I have been spending my time on this...... since Saturday. It is coming along quick actually. I'm a little more that halfway thru the front. Once I'm done with that I need to make the back pc which is exactly the same and then knit all the little borders. Seaming will be the issue. Nevertheless, I am liking this so much I am strongly considering making it in plain black and white with red trim too. I've seen where black and white will really be in this summer and plus it would just look funky and punchy I'm thinking. Good thing I'm funky and punchy.

NOTE:This post is actually from the 13th but I'm being fairly ghetto and just now getting around to posting it up.

So I am feeling even more retarded today. I cast on for the sweet mary janes for like an hour last night. I went to the knit along site and everything. I tried every method except for the one that I actually might have got. Finally, I stopped being lazy and traveled all the way upstairs to get my crochet hook and cast on in only one try. Pissed! Err, irritated- I guess that’s more ladylike.By the time I got the cast on done I was like, “Dude, I am so finished for the night.” I went to bed.
^^^^^^This is the yarn I will use for the Mary Janes BTW- my sister gave it to me^^^^^^

The funk continued last night only this time me and DH were both in it. Poor thing dropped his freshly painted crotch rocket yesterday. He had trouble with the test at DMV too. I felt really bad for him.We both woke up tired, irritated, and in rotten moods today. He said something halfway retarded and I snapped and pretty much bit his head off this morning. Things are better now though. My whole day hasn’t been sucking even though I’m still not quite myself. My little diet has been going pretty weak these days. I’m not gorging myself at all but I am not eating the specific things prescribed and I am not eating often enough. I am sticking to the exercise to a T though so at least that is good. Tonight is Leg night. This is my week to do the 3 sets of 30 squats on the smith machine. I HATE this exercise. Since it’s so many and I’m lifting a little heavy it puts some pressure on my back and my back is kinda not quite right these last couple days. Hopefully, I won’t hurt myself any worse.

I’ve decided that I have enough lavender, Hawaii blue, and white Lion brand microspun in my stash to make a couple of tank tops…But first I want to make this out of last summer's knit.1 catalog. i know all of you must be like, "Stop with the knit.1 already" Obviously I really liked it...


Anyway I want to knit the other tanks from the top down and I’m thinking I could try to do this WITHOUT A PATTERN. I might even crochet them. Speaking of crochet I saw this awesome UP TO DATE pattern book on this chick’s site the other day. I want this book! Maybe next payday I’ll treat myself along with some sock yarn or a ball winder- one or the other at a time. (I wonder how much $$$I've spent on my little hobby @ this point?) After these the only other thing I want to start is a pair of socks. Surely out of all these projects I can finish one of these babies. Back to the tanks, I say I could do it with out a pattern now but we’ll see how easy it is to do this after I actually start. Thinking about it in my brain it all comes together logically but a lot of times that’s were the logic ends for me.

Mother's Day obviously makes me think of my own mother. I feel the loss so much more on that day, her birthday, and my own birthday; more than any other days of the year. I'm really thinking this is normal for anyone parentless or whose lost a parent. It's partly the magnification of what a big deal it is to have a mother. It feels awkward to be out here without one- and this is after 18 years of being without her. I'm sure this is an absense I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Surely, time has definately eased the pain but the time has caused for more questioning, pondering, wondering, and wishing. There has not been an important moment, happy moment, or a moment of weakness in my life where a flash of my mother or a memory, or a wish for her has not entered my heart. I remember turning 21 and thinking to myself,"K- I should be over this now- I'm a big girl" I thought surely once I saw her gravesight that would be my closure, instead I have even more concerns, questions, upsets-whatever.
Nevertheless, I can't help but wonder to myself on days like this what our relationship would have been like. How would she look? How close would we be? Who would I be? I'm always wondering how I even made it half way to normal if having a mother is this extremely crucial to being normal! :-) I wonder about how I will do if/when I have children of my own. Who will I call when I am totally clueless? How will I know what to do? How have I done things up to this point? Am I even doing a good job at that- because I am surely just winging it all! I know there is a certain amount of motherly instinct in us all supposedly but I can't help but wonder if I got enough. Did enough of the instinct seep in from the short time that I knew her!? (lol- I know this is all silly)
Have I learned enough from all the other women I've known to be good at this? Will I be detached from my experience with my own children or will I be a psycho over achiever at motherly stuff (which is not good either)? Balance is a word i use like everyday; will I be at a good balance when I finally do embark upon motherhood?
Well, anyway these are just a few of my thoughts. To all the mothers out there especially my sister- you guys are awesome. If anything you should gather from this post what an extremely important job and role you play in the life of your children. You are important and unreplacable. Remember that you can teach the biggest lessons in the tiniest ways. You provide more than hot meals and transportation:-) HAPPY MOTHERS DAY....

Sometimes I just get into a funk. It’s not every month or even half the time but when the funk comes it’s usually around female time. Nevertheless, it’s just one of those things were you feel drained or sad –like you’ve had a loss for no apparent good reason.
I wonder if for me this funk comes because I’ve got so much to do and feel a little overwhelmed. It’s funny that I work to the best of my ability when I’m down to the wire. When I’m stressed to the wire and finish things it feels like the best accomplishment ever (which could explain a few things about the lack of finished knitted projects-anyway) but before the “down to the wire” comes I can waste a lot of time in the funk stage thinking about all the things I need to do when I’m down to the wire.
Enough of that, I know I’m just feeling a little of the stress from all the changes that Mateo is going thru. He had to give notice to his job of over 7 years today. It was hard yet exciting for him. I know he felt like he compromised his integrity in some way but he really had no other choice. I’m sure that he will get over it as soon as he starts his new job in the military. He is about to start realizing his dream I hope it is very fulfilling for him because going to school, working at his job, doing ROTC for the last several years has not been fulfilling at all. I’m sure it just felt like he was working and working and working toward this allusive goal. Now he’s obtained it and I hope that it ends up to be even more than he could have ever thought it would be for him….

Anyway, I figured that since I have absolutely no finished projects on this baby I’d post up some old stuff. I crocheted this snazzy dress from Knit.1 last summer.






I used the white microspun called for and actually really liked it despite my sisters protest against microspun. I have to admit that the yarn does seperate some but once you get the hang of it, it ain't so bad! I like the way it feels and looks too.
I took some pics of some of the cut little details too. Note the cute little ruffled edges at the bottom, the little drawstring tie the puff sleeves (my first ones ever) the nifty single crochet edges. Uh-oh is that a cute and fresh little manicure being displayed too. I think so. She's so cute.

I did a trillion scarves when I was first learning to knit and I managed to make a couple of hats over the winter (only one hat and two scarves pictured because everything went to other people). All the hats I made were using Brown Sheep Co- Bulky Lambs Pride. The pattern is from the first Stitch in Bitch. It was the flame cap. The scarves are either garter stitch or seed stitch. The grey and the "army" print are ones I made for my Matty. The gray scarf is the first scarf I ever made. (Yes I know I need to vaccuum- Note: how pedicured toes match lovely model's manicured fingernails- work it gurl!)



Unfortunately, I made another mistake in the lace scarf I was knitting out of that Cherry Tree Hill yarn. I could let one mistake pass but I felt bad when it got to be more than one. I would show you a pic of the ripped out yarn but I'm STILL ripping it out. Who knew mohair blends were such a pain to rip-it really sucks-might be awhile before we see this scarf again.
I’m casting on for the Sweet Mary Janes- maybe tonight
No updated pictures of the pathetic sleeves for the charming zipped bolero jacket sweater thingie.I haven’t even hardly breathed in the direction of this projects in weeks-probably months. Shame.

My sister came up from Shaw AFB in Sumter, South Carolina to trek over to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. We had a blast! We both kinda lurk outside of a couple of blogs of folks who were talking about going. maybe next year we will both be more confident to jump into this tight knitted community with full force. (pun intended-lol)
Anyway, we knew there were about a trillion knitters, spinners, fiberlovers, bloggers, etc out there but we were not expecting all of them to show up at our festival...
We were so amused at the masses of husbands hauling fiber back to mini vans, SUV's, and trucks while wives or girlfriends or whoever trailed behind in what looked like states of euphoric bliss/trance. This could just be my own perception --this being my first time to experience any of this and having to wipe the drool from yarn and fiber desire from my own lips.
Anyway, when we first arrived the two of us walked around fondling every texture, pointing at every animal, commenting on every color. It was pure sensory overload. We did a couple of rounds to make sure that if we were going to purchase we weren't missing anything. My DH had contributed to my SEX (stash enrichment xpedition for all you non-knitter) fund and I was not about to blow due to lack of research/self control/education- whatever I was not going to blow it. I already was feeling like the funds I came with (which I was previously elated over) were now just not enough so I wanted to be careful.

We rounded the corner and met these wonderful people from Indigo Moon Farm.

Though the tent was insanely busy they gave my sister and I (along with about 4 other curious passerbyers) a quick drop spindle lesson. I'm telling you though I had never even seen a drop spindle before I don't know what happened.
I hadn't even found yarn for this supposed first pair of socks I told myself I'm going to knit but here I am toting way to much fiber to spin on a drop spindle. Apparently I just could help myself. I was just glad that me and my sis were there first otherwise I might have had to elbow or drop kicked one to the old ladies to get my beginners drop spindle- they were selling like hotcakes.
Anyway, I had an awesome time. It was cool to see every one in there handknitted tanks and sweaters or carrying their little felted bags. I just wanted to hug and squeeze everyone because it was such a cool thing to be a part of.
I never found my sock yarn--not because there was none but more because I had no idea on earth what the heck type of socks I want to make. We searched high and low but I just could never make up my mind.
In other news since it seems I never post anymore, I did start the scarf as stated before.. It's coming a long. These pics are from Wednesday or Thursday or Tuesday-whatever, point is that ther is more done now but you get the idea
Notice my cute little multicolored platform sandals. The are very comfy; go with just about anything and only cost me $17 bucks at Target. Free advertising Love Love Love.
Anyway, if you enlarge the photo and take a good look you can see where I messed this lovely little lace pattern up. I didnt'take it out because I was afraid i would have to start all over to get it and I got right back on pattern nad it didn't look back etc etc. Here is the scarf. Ok. For any dear heart that is still hanging on my thread to my lifeless blog I am sure this is like overload right now so go ahead and read a little bit at a time over the time spance of a few days because you never know when i may post again. And if I post again you just aren't garaunteed it will be interesting so don't complain today. See ya soon.

One post a month that is what I'm going for! Seriously though, things are starting to slow down so I should be able to get some serious knitting in. I can't wait for the plane ride to Hawaii. Talk about quality knitting time....
Today I sent out Matty's announcements over his commissioning and graduating. I am very proud of him. He has really been working his tail off these last years. Now it's all happening. I am throwing a lil shindig on the 20th in between his graduatin and commissioning. Supposedly I'll have the invites for those out by the end of this week. We leave for Hawaii on the 25th!!!!!!!!
Can you tell I'm excited?
Nevertheless, on the knitting news front I am knitting a scarf as abreak to the sweater. I'm using this really beautiful yarn my sister sent me last summer called Indian summer. The scarf is some easy lacy thingie. Soon I'll be able to post up at least one FO (finished object)...finally. ttyl