Back from Virginia

Just got back last night from Virginia visiting my sister. Over all the trip was really good, all though, I have to admit it was a bit exhausting. Bailey just turned 7 months old, and is VERY active. If I set her down in her play area, she would be crawling out the door within 10 seconds. Lucky for me that I have infallible vigilance...at 6 am...not. Fortunately, I never let her get too far, and nothing bad happened...except exhaustion. I'll have to keep this in mind next time I wish I had a baby.

She is still super cute though.  Other than playing with Bailey and watching children's television, Joy and I worked on a blanket for Greyson, our new nephew. It was hard finding the right fabric. It's so hard looking material for boys when there are so many cute options for girls. Especially, I think, because most boy fabrics are taste specific. What I mean is, the patterns on masculine fabrics are usually dinosaurs, robots, superheros, monkeys, sports, etc. It makes you wonder what the boy actually likes, like "what if he doesn't like sports or superheros?" With girl patterns, it seems to me that picking a pretty floral or paisley pattern is less taste specific. Maybe I am thinking too much. Or maybe, because I am a girl, I am more aware of what is attractive to girls than very young boys, thus my hesitations. ANYWAY it turned out really cute, and we did end up choosing a superman fabric.

 

G is for Greyson. And for Gross Domestic Product- which does not include the value of women's work. Some of which was expended on the making of this blanket. (Does working outside the market economy with no means of exchange make me a communist? Heavens!)

Oh well. Considering Greyson just barely over a week old, I think I can safely assume he has yet to form a solid opinion on superman. I also did a little crocheting while Bailey was napping; made a sweet little hat for Greyson, and then made Bailey model it for me. As you can see she is thrilled.

Happy Birthday Greyson!

I am so happy to announce that my brother and my sister-in-law had their baby boy Greyson this morning! I am so excited to crochet some things for him! I haven't tried making a baby blanket yet, I am a little intimidated by the size of a blanket. At least with hats, they are small enough to finish within a couple days. They don't just sit there staring at you with those sad "unfinished project" looking eyes. If hats had eyes...which I hope they never do...because that would be creepy. Speaking of finishing hats...

These two I finished today. These I made for my sister-in-law to give as gifts for a friend's daughters. Making these reminded me a lot of when Joy and I would get semi-matching things when we were little. The pink one is the unfinished one from my last post. I am very happy with the way these turned out, but I am a bit frustrated that you can tell they are significantly different. I suppose it would be called normal variation expected from handmade products. The purple ear flaps look way shorter to me. I suppose that is what I get for not writing down a pattern to work from.

Here is the baby boy! Isn't he just perfect? I am so happy for them, I just wish I could be there to see him. I'll have to plan a trip soon. I am hoping to go this fall, because when spring semester hits I might be back in school. Speaking of which, I was disappointed today to find out that the school I am applying to changed their application, and it no longer has a box for an admissions essay. Boo! I thought my essay was really good and would have given my application a little extra oomph. Also, according to FAFSA, I am still a dependent, and I don't really see any way around that. So, my application process is all disappointment, and I am wondering if I should just wait until I am not a dependent anymore to go back to school. I dunno. I had fun today though. Myc'Keeta and I went to the mall today, it seems like so long since I have gone shopping with a girl friend. I had such a great time just hanging out!
 

Crochet Slacker

Its been a couple days and I feel like I have been all over the place, getting things done. As far as crocheting, however, I have just been starting projects and not finishing them. Booooooo.

These are my works in progress. One is a partial hat, and the other is a surprise involving black triangles. I am feeling quite conflicted. On one hand, it is nice when presents are a surprise. On the other, I love sharing my projects on here. I think what will happen is that I will share the projects on here and if the person who is receiving the gift is loyal enough to me to read my blog, they will be rewarded by getting a sneak peak at their gift. I suppose I should open this up for debate then. If any family member is completely determined that their gift should be a surprise, let me know and I will not blog about it. I don't know. Can't I give my cake and blog about it too?

  

I made apple crisp the other night, which was delicious and I haven't had it in ages. Instead of crafting I have been baking a bit more, now that I have the basic flour and sugar stuff. Unfortunately, Chris doesn't really like desserts and baked goods so I have to eat this all by myself :-) I think will have some right now with vanilla ice cream, because I need more dessert on top of my dessert. Besides baking, I have been applying to UMBC. I want to get back to school and get a degree as a dental hygienist. On my sister's blog she posted her application essay and I thought it was cool. What do you think of mine?

In middle school, I was captivated by my English teacher’s stories from her time serving in the Peace Corps in the Czech Republic. Ever since, international aid has been a great interest of mine. This summer, July 2010, I experience it first hand when I joined a medical brigade in Honduras for a week. Our team was formed of both doctors and regular volunteers. Having no real medical experience beyond nursing assistant training, I worked in the dental area teaching children how to brush their teeth. It was an amazing experience, and at the same time it was heartbreaking. There was so much joy in working with the people of Honduras. They were so happy to see us and welcomed us with open arms. The hard part was looking past the smiles, and seeing all of the serious dental conditions these people were suffering from. So many people came to me pointing at back molars that were completely decayed. I had to rely on a translator to explain to them that I wasn’t a dentist and I couldn't pull their tooth, and that there was nothing I could do. I didn’t know cleaning teeth could be so emotionally difficult. I was upset that I couldn’t do more to help them. Upon returning, I immediately started looking for schools to study at to become a dental hygienist. The people in Honduras have such terrible dental conditions because they were never taught preventative care. I want to study to become a dental hygienist so that I can help people in America, and especially where it is needed the most, in third world countries. After graduating from UMBC and the University of Maryland Dental School, I hope to one day join the Peace Corps and be involved in other medical volunteer programs.  

 

I am pretty nervous about going back to school, and I super hate the application process, especially the prospects of trying to prove residency and financial independence. I have just been hanging out on the couch today. I am watching a neighbor's cats, one of which requires an insulin shot every 12 hours. I had two days off in a row, today and tomorrow, but can't really go anywhere, like to my sister's. It is nice to have some down time. Chris and I did go out tonight to see the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World which was AMAZING. I would describe myself as a giggly mess the whole movie. It made me so happy most of the movie my mouth was hanging in an open smile and I kept tapping Chris's shoulder as if that would ensure that he caught the jokes. Every once in a while I would start bouncing in the theater seat due to excess enthusiasm. It was that good. I was a giggle mess. And I am so glad that I didn't miss it, because I don't think it will be in theaters much longer.

Beer and Breakfast

Yesterday was my day off and I finished Combination Summer Hat round 2! This time I used the correct size hooks and knitting needles and SURPRISE, it turned out awesome.

You don't have to wear your hair tucked in it, but for working in a deli, this could definitely replace a plain old hair net. And making this myself gives me limitless color options for my daily work attire. However, this one is not for me, this is for my good friend Myc'Keeta. She offered me a block of cheese and in exchange I am making her a hat that is purple. This is true. 

While I was trying to get a good picture of the hat, Chris came over to help take the picture and we took a few of us. We don't have many, and when we do take some, they usually don't turn out right. I think one can tell from looking at these, regardless of the quality, the subjects seem to be enjoying themselves. Kinda reminds me of pictures you take in a booth.

Chris had to go to bed because he had to get up early today to teach the undergrads. I, however, decided not to waste my day off and stayed up super late drinking a few beers, crocheting, and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For some reason, around 1am I wanted an egg and cheese sandwich and had my beer and breakfast! Wow, I think this reminds me a little of the olden days in North Dakota when after a night of partying we would go out to get breakfast foods at the 24 hour restaurants: I29, Jeanie's, and more recently Denny's. Alas! I miss y'all...and I miss coercing the waitress to take my order for chocolate chip pancakes even though it isn't on the menu...

Bubble Hat and COokiEs!

Today was my day off work! I feel like I got so much done. I sent out the hat I made for Joy, and some superhero posters I got at Baltimore Comic Con for my friend Cory. Christopher and I went out for lunch at a place called El Salto that we had never been to. It was really great food, and we were glad to finally find a Mexican restaurant in Baltimore. After that, we made our way over to Jo-Ann fabrics (my favorite place to shop) to pick up some supplies for my next project. I also made sure to pick up the correct size needles to re-do that hat that I messed up last week. It was a nice day off! Even got to work on some crocheting.

I am not sure how I feel about this one. This hat uses the popcorn stitch. I have used this stitch before on a hat, making the entire hat bubbly. I thought it was too much, so I made this one with just a few popcorn stitches here and there. Not sure about it...hm. It's a good color. Other than finishing this hat, I got some baking done tonight. I have been wanting to use my new electric mixer for a while, and finally bought all the ingredients for cookies.

I just used the recipe on the back of the chocolate chips. It should have been easy, but I had a hard time with these. Each pan of cookies turned out different. I have an oven thermometer now, so I kept adjusting the temperature because one pan of cookies was too dark and the next was too light. The ones that turned out the best started cooking at 300 degrees and finished at 425! I definitely need to figure out just how to set this oven so the temperature matches the dial! None burnt, so this project was not a total failure at least. Also, I watched the premiere of the movie Browncoats: Redemption! This is a fan film, based on the TV series Firefly. If you loved the show, you'll love this, and wish you could have been in it, and are wondering why you didn't to talk to them longer when you met them at Baltimore Comic Con, and want to re-watch the Firefly series and Serenity...at least that's how I am feeling...

Birthday Hat!

My sister's birthday was yesterday, and I have been working on a hat for a present. It has been taking a bit longer than I expected. I don't have it down yet exactly how much to increase the stitches for an adult size hat, so I have been taking out mistakes and restarting over and over. Finished result: not too shabby.

The hat matching my shirt is a total coincidence. I think its cute, but I think I might have gone overboard with the stripe plus the braids plus the flower. Like there is way too much going on. But blue was her favorite color growing up, so I hope she likes it. I love this color blue too. It was one of those yarns that I bought with no plans to use it for anything, but I had to get it because the color was so great. Plus, the yarn is made from 100% recycled plastic bottles, so this hat is...mostly earth friendly (the purple and light blue are just normal yarns). I am thinking about trying to make more of the yarn I use the eco brand, but right now its about finding the right color. 

Beyond finishing this, today has been weird. I got up at 7 am today, my day off, to go to the local DMV to finally update my drivers license. I am glad I got there early because there was a line a half an hour BEFORE they opened. Got out of there by 9, and got a call from a manager at work, asking me to come in until 2. I worked, and the rest of the afternoon was OK, I got some chores done. There is nothing like waking up early and going to work to make a day off work feel... like not a day off. Also, I am stuck on a new song. Well, not new, old really, but I have never been crazy about it before. This happens to me a lot. I totally fall in love with one song, and sing it all the time, and look up the video on YouTube several times a day. Today, and probably for the rest of the week it is Mr. Big - To Be With You. LOVE IT!!