Tell Me About Yo-self!

Elley, author of Up Above the World So High tagged me with the "Tell Me About Yourself Award!"

So...here's how it works:
1. Thank the person who awarded you. (Thanks Elley!!!)
2. List 7 things people may not know about you.
3. Pass it on to 15 other bloggers and don’t forget to notify them

For reals though, 15 other bloggers is A LITTLE obscene, so I'm going to pass the award on to three other bloggers (like Elley did, lol).  But anyways, on to things you didn't know about me, which may be kinda tough to think of since I have a tendency to over-share on my blog, haha...

1) I went to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA and studied Information Systems Management.  It's a great field to get into and I chose it because I knew I could make good money doing it.  Now that my priorities have changed I think I may want to re-focus myself before I go back to work after having kids and staying home with them for a few years.

2) I tap danced for a decade and a half - yup, 15 whole years.  I started when I was 3 and continued until I graduated high school.  I still regularly tap around especially when I'm cooking and have music playing  or in department stores (they tend to play music that's easy to tap to, haha).

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3) I had an umbilical hernia when I was little that I had surgically repaired when I was 4.  It's a hernia that gives you an extreme outtie belly button if it doesn't fix itself while you're still an infant.  Because my belly button is man-made not home grown (lol) it is REALLY deep, and I'm terrified what kind of Frankenstein-esque scene it'll be if it pops out during my pregnancy.

4) Along that same note, I don't have a gallbladder.  I started having gallstone attacks when I was 17, but doctors had no idea what was going on since it is so weird for a healthy, active, 17 year old to have gallstones.  When I was 20 I ended up in the ER because the attack was so back and they new what it was right away.  When it was removed, they re-opened the incision in my belly button (I had laproscopic surgery) and so I can only imagine what the scar in there looks like - just another reason that I don't want my belly button to pop out!

5)  I went to the same summer camp for 7 years and worked there for 2.  It's in New Hampshire and all my favorite memories growing up are there.  I hope to send my own kids there some day (Pleasant Valley for girls or North Woods for boys).

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6) My first boyfriend ever was in the fourth grade.  We dated for almost a year.  He got me a necklace from Claire's for Christmas and chocolates for Valentine's Day.  Our first date was to go see Mulan (yes, the Disney cartoon), hahahahaha.

7) I drive a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix.  It has like 115,000 miles on it and is not aesthetically in perfect condition, but I love it.  I've considered getting a new car, but every time I test drive one I don't like it.  I think I'll be really upset when it gets to the point where I have to get a new car.  I would like to get it professionally cleaned on the inside though, especially before the baby arrives!

Phew, I came up with 7 things!  Sorry if they're totally lame; I did what I could.  Now, I tag:

1. Miss Tattoo @ Tattoos and Lace
2. Diana @ Garden Beneath the Sky
3. Krystal @ All My Writes and Wrongs

Until next time...

Pregnancy Week 19

First of all, I for reals have to start coming up with better blog titles.  I don't even know why you people read this crap anymore, hahaha.  But I'm glad you stick around despite my lack of creativity.

So yeah, I'm 19 weeks pregnant...almost halfway there, yo!  This week I've decided that my little guy has road rage, because although I've always been a bit testy when driving but my anger behind the wheel is going to new levels.  I'm fully aware that a more logical reason for this is being hormonal not that my son has road rage and is making me have road rage since he's still living inside me, but saying my baby has road rage is more fun.  He especially hates it when people decided to go super slow in the passing lane.  Seriously people, if you're going the same speed (or slower than) as the people in the right lane, just get in the freaking right lane!  Some of us are in a hurry for no freaking reason (hehehe - because seriously...where do I have to be?)!

The other day I made a Target run for some random stuff and as I was standing in line I realized how much my purchases screamed "pregnant lady!" Check this shit out...

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So, we have a long sleeved maternity shirt - most people buying maternity clothes would be pregnant.  Nipple pads - they're technically called breastfeeding pads or some shit like that, but that's totally misleading.  Because seriously, I need them, and I'm not breastfeeding yet!  I'm just one of the lucky people who's flipping boobs blow up and start leaking super early in their pregnancy.  Clearance Halloween candy - that shit was 80% off; after Halloween sales have never looked so good to me!  And water.  But not just 1 type of water, two types.  And I didn't want to have to open the package (which would have made it impossible to carry the water in) so I also bought a single bottle for the ride home.  Pregnancy has made me a very thirsty lady!

I totally tried to be super sly while taking that picture and giggling quietly to myself because let's face it...only weirdos take pictures of the stuff they're about to buy at Target.  But, I did it just for you, my loyal readers! haha

I dunno if you've noticed, but I've actually been calling the baby "he" this week. It's been tough.  I'm still getting over the fact that I'm not having a girl, but it's getting better.  The hardest thing for me is the name though. First of all, it isn't that I hate all boy names, but all the ones I do like seem to end in N.  I don't want his name to end in N because our last name ends in N and I don't like it when the first and last name rhyme.  So if anyone knows any cool, not so traditional boy names that don't start in H, don't end in N, and preferably at least 2 syllables lemme know.  Cuz so far, I've got nothing.

I've decided that my son is gonna be a rockstar and so The Sailor has to teach me how to play the guitar so I can play the guitar with the baby.  Why?  Because I'm totally blog-stalking MODG again.  Check out how cute this is!!!

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If she found out how often I put pictures of her on my Blog she might be slightly creeped out.  But what can I say, it's my favorite Mommy blog.

You might ask why The Sailor can't just teach our son to play the guitar - why he has to teach me so I can teach the little guy.  Because I said so, that's why.

That's really all on the pregnancy front.  I did finish painting the crib I bought at the end of last week but I'm having some serious issues putting that thing together...more on that at a later date.  And, I'm like 80% finished with the stuffed elephant that I'm knitting, but again, I'll talk more on that once I actually finish it.  So I guess all that's left is to show off my growing midsection...

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Until next time...

Knitting Project - Hooter Hat!!!

So, after finishing my last knitting project, I announced that I would next be taking on a boob hat for the baby.  So, I got to Googlin' to find a pattern for such a lovely head piece and I found this pattern:

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Perfect, right?  Wrong.

This is my first time knitting in the round.  This can be accomplished with double ended needles or with circular needles.  I was using circular needles.  This pattern starts at the nipple, and for whatever reason it was basically impossible for me to successfully use my circular needles with that few stitches.

Side note - if you're knitting in the round for the first time, for some reason this diagram really helped me understand what was happening and in turn actually be able to knit in the round.  The instructions on the source page aren't half bad either...

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So anyways...I obviously wasn't going to give up on making my own boob hat that easily!  So I figured I could just make a hat, do a color change towards the crown of the hat, and figure out the nipple later!  Once again, I got to Googlin' and I found this pattern for the "Grow With Me Baby Hat" which I really like (I plan on making a bunch more hats, but I'm waiting until I find out the sex of the baby, and I'll use that pattern).  It has a nice cuff that can be folded thicker or thinner as the baby grows and I found the instructions for the decrease at the crown of the head to be very helpful.  Not only that, but I think the crown of the hat looks really cool!

So I followed the instructions almost exactly, but I changed from my primary color (the skin tone {aka white}) to the accent color (the nipple color {aka pink}) when I had 42 stitches left on my needles, or about halfway through decreasing the stitches on the top of the hat. Et voila - a completed hat, but not a true boob hat yet since there's no actual nipple:

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Where's the nip?


Not too bad, if I do say so myself!

Now, I just had to figure out how the hell I was going to make a nipple.  I tried knitting a chord with my circular needles (this is called an I-chord) but that wasn't working.  Then I remembered this toy/knitting loom that I had as a child that basically just created long ass chords that we would then make into things - or not, lol, in which case you then had a really long chord and nothing to do with it.  Mine looked like a mushroom, like this one:

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Oh the memories

I figured even if I couldn't find an awesome mushroom shaped one, they had to still make mini-looms like this, so I went to Wal-mart.  I ended up finding a double ended one (made by Boye) that could make to different size chords - sweet!  I can't find it online anywhere right now, but if you go to Wal-mart I'm sure you'll find it with all the other knitting stuff'; it was like 5 bucks and change.

Making a really short chord was harder than I expected, so my hat has a pretty long nipple.  Don't judge - that hat is supposed to represent a boob that's constantly being chewed on by an infant!  But yeah, so I made a chord as short as I could without it looking like total crap and then I just stitched it on with some of the pink yarn.  And check it out - hooter hat, nipple and all!

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Since I'm kinda obsessed with the blog where I originally saw a baby boob hat, MODG, and she took a picture of her cat wearing her boob hat, I kinda did the same thing.  No, it isn't creepy - it's totally normal to mimic bloggers you like.  Plus, Fatman is a way better baby hat model than my knee is...

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Needless to say, he did not appreciate having a ta-ta put on his head and then have photos taken that would later be posted on the Internet.  He may be pretty pissed at me right now, but I totally think it was worth it, haha.

So - what do you think of my boob hat?  Do you think the whole concept is completely inappropriate or are you like me and think it's perfect??

Until next time...

PS - fun fact about my boobs - I'm now a 36E.  Yes - E - as in Elephant.  I think once you've gone up that many cup sizes, regardless of how big or small your baby bump is, your body is officially completely different than it was pre-pregnancy.  I'm contemplating chopping them off, cuz they're obnoxious.

First Real Knitting Project - Kitty Kuddles Blankie!

So, I had mentioned a while back that Navy Wife Kim had taught me how to knit, and yesterday I finished my first real project!

I based it off of the pattern found here but I actually changed a few things about it.  First of all, it called to use US 10.5 knitting needles.  Those things are just plain uncomfortable to me.  There's no way in hell I could finish a project (no matter how small it is) with those suckers.  So, instead I used size 8.

The lower half of the body I did exactly as the pattern instructed, but I did the hands completely differently.  Instead of adding a shit-ton (aka 20 more) stitches, I added 4 on either side (so 8 in total).  I still did the same number of rows as the pattern call for (4 in all) but instead of having to tie knots in the ends, mine are just kinda there.  And I like it that way.

Then, once I got to the head part, if I had only done 40 rows like the pattern called for, this poor little kitty would have had a very rectangular head! Check it out:

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That is with 40 rows

 So, if I had kept only 40 rows, once it was folded in half this is how strange the head would have looked:

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So, I ended up doing 55 rows.  If I make another one of these (which I probably will just so I can have a few for the baby in case we lose one or if I make one for someone else) I'll probably do 60 rows for the head part so I have more room to embroider on the face.

Once I did the 55 rows, I embroidered on the face (and I think I did a pretty good job, if I do say so myself) and sewed together and stuffed the head.  I'm not 100% happy with how the finishing seam along the neck looks, so I might add a ribbon of sorts once I find out the gender of The Sea Monkey. But, overall I'm quite happy with the results considering this is my first knitting project!



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Meow.  Sorry, I just had to say that, lol.

As far as things I need to work on - definitely using a consistent gauge.  Some rows I knit much tighter than other rows and up close you can definitely tell.  Is it still adorable? Heck yes, but a seasoned knitter would definitely be able to tell I'm a total amateur!

And since this project uses what's called a "garter stitch" it's seriously the easiest knitting project ever, lol.  A garter stitch is just knitting every single row (where as normally you would knit a row, then purl a row so you're actually doing two different stitches).  So, if you're just learning how to knit I totally recommend this as a starting project.  Not only is it a super easy pattern, it also isn't that big, so you shouldn't get overwhelmed by it.

Next up on my list of knitting projects - a boob hat for the baby to wear while breastfeeding.  Very much like this one:


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That's a photo from the blog MODG (which I looooooooooove btw, so you should totally check it out if you're into witty/hilarious Mommy Blogs) which is where I originally saw a boob hat.  I ended up finding a pattern to make a similar hat, but I might be using a knitting loom instead of just knitting needles (because I have a bunch of looms that I've never used before) so I might just kinda wing it.  We'll see how it goes.

So, are you completely impressed with my above average amateur knitting abilities?  Or am I just a tool for DIYing so much crap for my future kid, lol?

Until next time...

Blog Update

I have finally made some updates to the ol' blog here!

First of all, I got rid of the "Cross Country Journey" page.  Great in theory, but I kinda forgot I didn't have an actual computer to update it as we went along, so it was a major fail.  Then I just kinda let it sit there for a few months because I wasn't 100% sure what to do with it since according to my blog stats, some people still looked at it.  Well, I finally just decided to put it out of it's misery and delete it.

Then, I added some new pages...we've now got an About Me page (which, well, has a general quickie bio of me), a Pregnancy page (which has my belly pictures, links to all my weekly updates, as well as my ultrasound pictures), a Nursery page (which has a breakdown of how much money I've spent so far on stuff for the nursery and {once I do any nursery DIYs} will eventually have photos and links to the posts about any DIYs I do for the nursery specifically), and a Home Decor DIY page (which has photos of my Decor related DIY projects and links back to the posts about them).  Eventually I'll have a crafting/general DIY page very similar to the Home Decor DIY page just for my other projects, but since I haven't done any I just haven't made the page yet!

Now - some questions for you!

1. Are there any other pages you'd like to see/appreciate for me to create?  They're really there for your convenience (to consolidate things and make them easier to find) so if there's anything you'd benfit from, lemme know!
2. How do you feel about the general design of my blog? There are actually some blogs that I'll follow but I won't comment on because I don't want to leave my Google reader and deal with the crazy bananas that is there blog design.  Is mine too much to handle?  Is it boring? Any suggestions at all would be awesome!
3. This is slightly related to question 2, but does it take too long for my blog to load for you?  I've found that sometimes a blog with have so many things in the sidebar (or just a bazillion pictures in the post itself) and then it takes eons for the damn thing to load.  Sometimes I just give up and move on because I think it's slightly inconsiderate to have five bazillion ads in your sidebar (that I'm probably never going to be interested in) that just bog down your blog.

Thanks again to everyone that reads/follows/comments on my blog!  You guys have been a huge support throughout some pretty stressful times in the past few months as well as a great group of people to celebrate with (or brag to) when things actually go right.  I've considered doing a giveaway just as a sort of reader appreciation type thing, but I feel like it might be a litle silly for me to do one since I only have 24 followers - but we'll see, since I'm kinda crazy I might just do one anyway!

Until next time...

Don't be stupid...

And go read Our Little Casita -
http://www.ourlittlecasita.com

Specifically check out the baby girl subway art she made for a friend (
http://www.ourlittlecasita.com/2011/09/baby-girl-subway-art.html ) because its flipping awesome. I now 100% plan on making something like that for our nursery; its just too cute for words! And the heartbeat quote totally melts my heart! (The photo below is of said quote, stolen from the blog)

There actually aren't that many blogs where I read every.single.post and this is one of them. So, scoot! Go check it out! And don't forget to show her some love and let her know Amanda @ Leap! sent you!

Until next time...