Dogs on Thursday!

Here are a few sweet pictures of Kati lady running around in the leaves, and playing frisbee. We have been doing this a lot in this great fall weather we've been having! It is the perfect temp outside for the Kate-ster, but its a little too cold for Zahra,everytime she goes out on the line to go potty, she runs back to the door shivering after only a few minutes! Poor thing! I don't know what she's going to do in the winter.. Some of them are blurry, but thats because she insists on moving every time she sees the camera! Rude! Well..at least she's cute! lol

DC and Hershey with Laura!!

Almost two weekends ago, my fab friend Laura came for a visit, and we headed down to DC for 2 days, then up to Hershey, PA for 1 day, and then back to CT for a few days before she had to head back to WA. I miss her, but our visit was amazing! We had tons of fun :D Here are some great pics of the things we saw and the places we visited...






Ok so the first pic is of us in the car... then you have the Women in Armed forces building at Arlington National Cemetery, then The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier also at Arlington Nat'l Cemetery...Then the JFK Memorial, and the Lincoln Memorial with the reflection pond in front of it.

Now here are a series of pictures that I did with the Washington Monument. I think this was my favorite btw, and it was so grand, yet simple. You could see it from several other points throughout Washington D.C., so here are pictures of it from all the other landmarks...








1. from Arlington National Cemetery
2. Coming from our hotel
3. From the yard area in front of the monument
4. From the base of the monument (this is my favorite)
5. From the WWII memorial
6. From inside the Lincoln memorial
7. From the Vietnam memorial

Yes I am a nerd... I do realize this, but here are a few more pictures I took, playing with Reflections While we were in DC






As it turns out this is a really long post, so I am going to save the pictures from Hershey for the next post! :) We had a ton of fun!

Decorating for Halloween!

What a fun little craft to do with the littles!

We decided to take advantage of some of our good weather before it disappeared, and play outside. Everyone was over, 2 Littles, 3 Neighbors, and 1 friend! So I decided to pull out the sidewalk chalk and draw some fun Halloween decorations! Here is how it looks from when you first enter our driveway, until you walk down the path, and then end at the front door! :)







Happy Munchkin Monday! Hope you enjoyed our craft! :)

A lovely fall weekend

This has been a wonderful fall weekend! I thought I would try to make some time to post, since as the Queen points out, any readers that I have, probably don't read due to my lack of postings! Which I will just say is due to me pursuing my education, and being extremely focused on getting good grades! Look at all those school books, its not easy work!
Anyhow, this weekend I have been taking advantage of this lovely autumn weather, and studying outside! I love the fresh air this time of year it just seems so crisp. :) Here are some of my attempts at artsy fall photos :)

Amazing Autumn Swap

Week 1 question:
what makes a "Fall day" for you? How do you know it's here, and what do you love about the weather, the scenery, or something else that makes Autumn lovely?

I love love love all of the colorful leaves... on the trees... on the grass, or the roadside. I just love the leaves no matter where they land. And I especially love being in the New England area of the country durring autumn! There are many many more diciduous trees here, as apposed to Seattle. It just makes everything so much more bright and cheery, when the sun peaks through the clouds and spotlights the beautiful changes that are taking place.
Ok, ok, you get it, I love the fall! I'll stop blathering on about it! lol :)

Happy Fall!!

Amazing Autumn Coffee Swap

Questionnaire

About Your Yarn Passion

1. Do you knit, crochet, or do both? When did you first learn?
I am a knitter... and I have absolutely no idea how to crochet! :) My mom taught me how to knit about 4 or 5 years ago I think??

2. Do you like using a particular type of needle or hook? (wood, metal, straight, circular) Is there something you've been wanting to try, or a particular size you always seem to be short on?
I love love love using wooden needles. I have an abundance of large needles (size 11 to 15) and I think I have a couple of size 7's but thats pretty much it. I usually just buy what I need when I get a new pattern and new yarn, if it's something that I don't have.

3. What kind of projects do you enjoy making? Any types you just haven't ever gotten into as much as others?
I make a lot of scarves. They are fun, and easy, and you can whip em up real quick to have handy for gifts and such so thats basically all I have done. I really would like to do a cardigan, but I haven't found a pattern that is at my level, and wouldn't drive me up a wall trying to do.

4. What's on your needles\hook right now? What's your oldest UFO (unfinished object)?
Funny you should ask... I am in the process of organizing all of my belongings, and I found 4 half completed scarves... luckily I was smart when I put all of them down, and I put their patterns, with what row I stopped on, in their bags with them. So I should pick those up and get them finished for holiday gifts or something!

5. If you were going on vacation tomorrow, what project(s) would travel with you?
I am going on vacation today, actually, and I am planning on bringing this one particular scarf that has a lace pattern that I created, I am hoping to get it finished up so that I can see how it looks when completed. Although I am the one who is supposed to be driving, maybe I'll make Laura drive, so I can knit! :)

6. What are your favorite types of yarns? Any you're allergic too, or just hate working with? Anything in particular you've been dying to try?
I like anything that feels good! That is usually how I pick my yarn... I walk around the lys feeling everything up, and then when I get to one I really love, I pick a color.

7. What sort of colors do you love in yarns? Brights? Pastels? More muted colors? Variegated? Are there any you can't stand?
I love most colors, I feel that color is essential! My favorite colors right now are browns and grays! I do have to say that I'm not a big fan of pastels, but all of the other options I adore.

Your Coffee Passion

1. Do you prefer caffeinated or not?
Caffeinated before noon, and decaf after

2. Whole bean or ground? For what type of pot or press?
Either works, but I generally use my french press, so if it is ground, its gotta be course--I can't stand drinking the grounds with my coffee, lol

3. What types of roasts do you enjoy? Are you more the light and lively or dark and robust type?
I like a medium to bold roast. I recently sampled the starbucks anniversary blend, and I am in love with it! Unfortunately, they didn't have any for sale when I wanted to buy it for at home, and I keep forgetting to check back!

4. How do you 'take' your coffee? Creamers? Sweetener? Other add ins?
2 Splenda and a splash of soy creamer

5. That first morning cup - is it about the taste, or the caffeine?
Both, and the smell too, For me, the smell of coffee is to die for!

6. Do you enjoy going out to coffee shops like Starbucks? What are some of your favorites?
Well where I live we only have a few options, some small town caffe with disgusting coffee, Dunkin Doughnuts, and Starbucks. I have never had dunkin, and quite frankly I'm affraid to... not for any particular reason... I just don't think i'd like it. So I attend the local starbucks 3 days a week, and drink my coffee and study for 3 hours while little dan is at nursery school.

7. You've just made the perfect cup of coffee - is it in a thick mug, or a thinner cup? Where would you sit to drink it?
Its in a big'ol mug! I recently purchased this retangular ottoman, that would be perfect for the end of the bed or something, but I have mine right in front of the window, it makes a good spot to enjoy a cup a joe, and read a good book... or a school book.

8. You're enjoying that perfect cup, and have a magic cabinet in your kitchen - when you open it, magically, your favorite treats will appear to enjoy alongside the coffee - what are they? Are they sweet? Crunchy? Soft and flaky?
None... I usually don't have anything with my coffee... I used to love sweet treats with it, but I am trying really hard to eliminate these things from my house, and my life, because once I start with them, I simply can't stop... So, if I had a magic cupboard, it would have chocolate chunk cookies in it, and they would kill me! lol


All about YOU!

1. Do you have other hobbies like spinning or scrapbooking?
I am really into cardmaking! I absolutely love it! It is a a great way to get a little creativity out, and I can complete something really quickly, so it gives me a good sense of accomplishment too.

2. Do you collect anything?
Not really...

3. What is your favorite part of Autumn?
I love living in CT in the Autumn because of all of the wonderful leaves that are constantly drizzling down off of the trees. My favorite thing is to take the Little's outside and run around in all of the leaves with them and the dogs.. Its the best. Or just sitting out on the patio with my homework, and the wonderful scenery of leaves coming down around me. I love love love it!

4. What sort of scents do you enjoy? Any difference in what you like for your house versus what you like for your body?
I love Lavendar, and vanilla... but I only like them for candles, For perfumes, I like sweet, or lightly fruity or slightly floral scent... I just got a new one that I love, although I can't recall the name of it. hmm....

5. Are you allergic to anything?
Everything!!!!! jk... dairy, dust, cats, some medicines.

6. Are you on Ravelry? What's your ID?
I am but I don't know... I've actually never used it before lol, but I will check and post back. :)

7. How would you spend an ideal fall afternoon/day?
Sitting on the patio with my homework already finished, and a good book, or knitting, and the leaves all falling around me! :)

Making the Most of Veggies

And fruits too!

First of all I just wanted to say thanks to all of you that posted comments on my lovely news post last week. It made me feel a lot better knowing that a. I'm not alone, and that b. those silly charts aren't exactly accurate.
So I've decided to nix the obesity title, and just call it, pleasantly plump! :)

And now I'm making the most of all the fruits and veggies! So every time I go grocery shopping, I am going to stock up on all kinds of produce, so that I have good things available to snack on. I'm also planning more healthy dinners, which not only saves me money, it saves me calories too! So that's the plan and the goal is to get rid of 40 pounds. But for a short term goal, I want to lose 10 pounds by the time I go home for thanksgiving in a month and a half.

Wish me luck, and I'll be working hard to accomplish this!

Oh My Munchkins!

The things they do!

So...Zahra has figured out about her hormones... and has taken to humping poor Katie while they are playing. Then I have the pleasantries of separating them while convincing the kids... oh they're just playing-those silly silly doggies!

So this morning the Little's were playing before Little Ann had to catch the bus. (Go figure, she was ready early!) And Little Dan's favorite game is to play puppies. So he's telling her, you be Katie, and I'll be Zahra. They're running around woofing and barking like they normally would when playing puppies... until--and I'm sure you know where this is going--
Little Dan say to Little Ann, "now you stay there and I'll jump up on you like Zahra and Katie when they're playing." Then sure enough he proceeds to climb up on Little Ann's back side while she is crawling around like a puppy!
I was so taken aback that I just stood there for a minute not knowing what to do! Ok so it was really only 5 seconds before I was there pulling him off of her and explaining that that's only a game for puppies to play, not for boys and girls!!