Boston with the Boy

In late April, Patrick took me to Boston for an overnight. We went to a Mariners v Red Sox game at Fenway Park. Stayed at an awesome hotel, and toured the city.

We arrived Saturday evening around 5, checked into our hotel, and then navigated the T to Fenway Park. The game was fantastic! I love baseball, especially going to games, and this is the first Mariners game I have been in attendance to since I was at the game that I got my cross-country moving job offer. It was a fabulous game. It moved quickly and there was some team drama with Milton Bradley.. I believe at this point he is not even on the team anymore... I should really blog more often! Anyhow the M's won! I convinced Patrick to hang around and watch the team exit the stadium.. but ya know without their uniforms, it is pretty darn hard to recognize any of them. Nonetheless it was a thrilling event. We stopped for ice cream on the way back and then called it a night.

The next day we ventured back downtown, and took the "Ride the Ducks Boston" tour. It was awesome! I have taken the duck tour in Seattle with Bora Bora, and ever since then I have wanted to do it in every town that has them! I was so happy when Patrick agreed to go. It is such a fun way to see all of the important sites in a town in one shot. I even got to drive the duck in the Boston Harbor!! So cool!

On our way out of town, we stopped for a nice seafood dinner. It was a relaxing end to a nice trip.

1 Year Down...

1 year to go!!

I just finished spring semester, it was significantly more challenging than fall, but that's how it works sometimes i suppose. No grades yet, but I expect a B average this time around.

Outside of school, life is good! I actually hae time to knit again, and have been knitting away at The Queen'schrismas '11 scarf...it is gorgeous...and i hate it! So in much need of a knitting time-out, the Queen herself recommended we knit along with a mystery shawl! How fun is that?! I popped into my lys yesterday and picked up a lovely steely violet linen, and discovered that one of the gals from the shop is knitting it to! So now I'll have my mom calling and checking the blog for updates, and some local gals at my store to check in with as well! I havea feelinghat this shawl is going to fly off the needles! And what a wonderful break it will be from that scarf!

Ive had a few mini trips too, that i will post on as soon as i get the photos uploaded!

Happy knitting

The Best Trip Ever

At the end of February, I skipped a week of school, and took a much needed vacation from work, to spend a week home in Seattle, with my family.

My heart swelled the entire time I was there, in fact, I think it is so full with love and happiness that it just might burst! And I also decided, with some help from the Queen, that you can't be poor if you have love.

I landed on a Tuesday night at about 9:30, and when I arrived at the house, my parents weren't even home! How rude! But when they came in with a Wii, I excused them.

Wednesday, I had a dental appointment, and then we wandered around downtown Edmonds--I love that town! Eventually we made our way back to the house.. got the wii all set up, and ordered pizza. Bora Bora came over, with her mom (who is a great friend of my mom's) and we had wii, wine, and pizza! It was a blast!

Thursday, I had plans with my dad, but as there was a dusting of snow, the place we were heading was closed, so my pops came in and we showed him how the wii works, and then we had some father-daughter bonding time, before going to my eye appointment. Afterward, Jess, Dad, and I went out to lunch. Mr. J and Mom met us for dessert, and then Dad had to take off afterward, and the rest of us meandered around the mall for a bit. Afterward we went home for some Parmesan fish! Yum!!

Friday, Bora Bora picked me up from the rents, and we went for a delicious breakfast in Woodenville, and then for pedi's in alderwood.. We eventually made our way back to the house around 1ish, and we all left at 2:30 for wine tasting! They have all of these tasting rooms scattered around Woodenville, and we made our way through 6 of them, sharing the tastings between Mr. Jay, Laura, and myself. Some of the wine was Wonderful, and some of it was much worse! But it was great fun, and mom got her creativity running with her camera! Later that night we gathered with a group of my friends at Red Hook for dinner and beer. It was so much fun to get everyone all together.

Saturday, we just hung out at home for a bit, then Laura and I went out to run some errands and re-arrange her furniture, of course we got carried away with fun, and didn't end up getting back to my parents for prime rib dinner until 5:30! Woops!
It was good regardless, and with great company :)

Sunday we had a lazy morning. I went and got coffee with my Grandpa, I love catching up with him, I love that he is a part of my life. On my way home I made a pit stop at my Best Friend Heather's house, for literally 30 min (it was the only chance we had to see each other!), and then picked up Jess and checked out her new grown up furniture!
I had decared it family Christmas! So once mr. Jay was up, he made Eggs benidict, and we all got ready to venture down to Freemont. It was so much fun. Great booths, with awesome jewelry and gems.. we find a few new treasures. Stopped for a quick snack and some adult beverages. Next was to Theo's chocolate factory for some delicious samples, and I bought a lot of chocolate! Lastly we ventured to the Troll! When we finally got back home, we made disgusting caserole, and opened pressies! I feel so blessed to have had such a great time, the gifts were the icing on the cake! My mom finally finished the quilt, that we bought fabric for when I was 8; and she knit me the most amazing knee-high cashmere socks! Jess made me fingerless mitts, and an adorable hat! As it was hand made Xmas, Mr. Jay hand selected some awesome jewelry!

Monday was a day to me.... I had to get my first ever cavity filled..and I survived to tell about it! Then I did some homework, and napped with the hounds, and made dinner.. we had a quiet and wonderful evening at home to finish up my trip, and a tearful goodbye before bed.

My dad picked me up at 5am the next morning and I snuck in to give one last kiss to Mom and Mr. Jay before I left. Dad took Jess and I to get a required coffee on our way to the airport, and I made it to the plane on time.

It was the best trip ever. I love my family so much and spending time with them is so wonderful, I really cannot wait until I graduate!

The only downfall to the week was that I missed a significant amount of school, and now I'm drowning in projects... so what am I doing... blogging at starbucks.

Guess I should get back to it. Hug your family!

Missed a few biggies

Since the last post we have had Thanksgiving. How was yours? For my thanksgiving, I shared it with great friends from my knitting group. I spent the late morning hours with Miss L... she made us fabulous Cucumber vodka bloody Mary's. They were delicious! Then I trekked over to another friend from knitting's house, where there was quite the group of 17 people if I remember correctly. They made 2 turkeys! There was lots of knitting, great food, and merriment. It was a good holiday.

Then there was that actual Christmas.. I say actual, because I decided that since I wasn't home with my loved ones, I wanted to push off Family Christmas until I made it home. Did everyone have a good Christmas? Any new traditions? I started a new tradition with the Bean Family! They are Jewish, and I found these Hanukkah themed cookie cutters, a menorah, star of David, and a dreidel, and we made sugar cookies, and decorated them. It was quite the project for Freddie and Jock, we had quite a bit of fun, and are sure to do it in future years! As for what I did on Christmas day, I opened stockings on the phone with Mom, Mr. Jay, and Jess. We got some good stuff. Then I went to another friend from knitting's house, and enjoyed a wonderful evening! We had homemade lasagna, which was fantastic, and homemade bread, and a salad that all followed a beautiful cheese & wine course! It was so elegant! Santa even stopped by there place and left me a fondue set, that I haven't found time to use yet, but I am aching to have a party with!

I have quite the secondary family over here with all of my wonderful knitting friends. I feel so lucky to have them all here supporting me emotionally, and helping me through the holidays!

What was after that... oh yeah, an entirely new year!
Happy 2011!
I am not big on new years resolutions... but because my birthday is so close to the new year, I do try to make each birth year a year better than the previous. This year I am trying to keep on top of my fitness, and not necessarily loose weight, but just keep healthy, and maintain a balance. (although 10lbs wouldn't hurt!) Other than that, I want to focus on not being such a consumer. Buying things I need are great, and if I purchase something that will help me to better organize my life, I am ok with that as well... but I have enough stuff!
I also made some knitting goals... I would love to do real colorwork this year, and I think I am finally ready to knit a pair of socks *gasp* Other than that, I just want to work out of my stash, I have learned that my stash pales in comparison to some of my friends, but still, I need not buy any more yarn... I have plenty to do projects with... and most of them are paired up with patterns already! Now I just have to find the time outside of school and work to keep knitting!

I also turned 25! It was a dazzling birthday in the big apple! I spent the evening dining in style with my friend Tosha, and then we enjoyed a few beers at the expense of the lovely people in Manhattan that were treating me for my big day! It was absolutely amazing! We were even able to stay in the city at Mrs. Bean's brother's place. (He let me stay there, and stayed at his gf's so we didn't have to worry about timing.. so gracious!)
So here's to the quarter century mark, and having yet another great year!

And last but not least... the final school report from last semester...
In my Math Class I received an A
In my Color & Lighting Class, an A
In CAD I received an A-
And in my Building Tech, a B

I made the dean's list, and despite the B... I am very proud of what I accomplished last semester. I hope to maintain these good grades this spring!

Hope to get another post up soon... maybe even with some pictures! (although, no promises!)

Hope It Isn't a Theme...

Although with only 10 courses left, it might just stay that way during school. What am I talking about?! My random gaps in blog updates.

I am pleased to report that everything is well! I have been using all of my time to study, work, knit for 4 hours a week (more if the homework is light), and maintain my social life (by studying with friends..2 birds).

I was only disappointed with one of my midterm grades, and after talking to my teacher, he said that I am doing really well, but that if he just handed out A's it wouldn't reflect that we were learning anything. So hopefully I can get that B+ up to an A by the end of the term.. Other than that I have two A's, and in my most difficult class, a B. Not to shabby.. especially if you know how my grades tend to go! I am loving school! It is actually a lot of fun... I shouldn't have gone back to the classroom when I first moved here, instead of waiting for 3 years..of course I really wasn't ready yet.

On other notes.. I have no finished objects, but still make it to knitting almost every week. I wasn't able to go to any of the fiber fests this year :( maybe next year I will go to all three to make up for it!

I have pictures for you somewhere, but I don't currently have time to sit here and wait for them to upload.

I will try to make it less than a month before I make it back again, and the next post will hopefully have some pictures...maybe of hand knit socks, or hair cuts, or who knows...

Happy Firday! Happy weekend!

Been a while

I finally found time to update!

After that last post, literally the same day, I was coming home from a jog, and got swarmed with Hornets! I recieved 5 stings, along with the information that I am not allergic to them whew! That was the last big thing to happen during the Hamptons trip.

We arrived home a few weeks ago on Sunday, and then School stuff began. My orientation was that Monday, and my classes were that Wednesday. My apartment had one full suitcase, and a full duffle from the trip, waiting to be unpacked, and between work, school, meeting up with friends I hadn't seen in a month, and the rest... I must admit, I still haven't unpacked the duffle! (Aren't you glad to find out that I am updating you before unpacking?!)

School has been going very well! I am taking classes towards finishing my Interior Design Degree, and I love all of my classes! Even the math. But there are a lot of hours put in to doing the whole school thing.. both inside and out of class. I am noticing a huge difference this time around in taking my classes. I am so motivated to accomplish everything and finally be able to start my career, and finally call myself an interior designer, instead of a nanny! (Not that there is anything at all wrong with being a nanny.. look where it's gotten me!) The point of this rambling is that I am loving school, and everything about it!

The Bean Family is all good as well, work is great, I love the kids and the 'rents are great too! They are working around my classes, and we are all making it work. We have finished the first Freddy book, Freddy Goes to Florida and started on the second, Freddy Goes to the North Pole. Because of my classes though, I haven't really been here to read bed time stories, and we haven't ready any of it since we arrived back in CT. They are great books though, I'm not sure who is enjoying them more, me or the kids! I'll try to keep you posted on our adventures, even though I'm busy with school!

My knitting has been receiving about the same amount of attention as my blog has. I am going to continue trying to make it to my weekly SnB. I think 2 hours of knitting a week is allowed. I am currently knitting on my Blue Tweed Vest, the pattern is from knitty, and is called Milly. I am almost finished with the Right front, and I took it to our Stitch and Pitch this past Sunday. It was such fun!

Okay, School, Work, and Knitting... that completes the update... sorry for a photo-less post. Hopefully I will find time to update soon!!

Happy Tuesday :)

Sag Harbor

Let me just first point out that it is not even 6AM, and I am already on cupa #2. Been up since about 4:30, it was almost funny when I woke up this morning. I heard crying, but my mind said, someone is handling it, go back to bed. (And that was the truth, someone was handling it.) But then it continued, so I struggled to roll over and look at the clock, and the 4 jumped out at me and scared me half to death. I managed to pull myself out of bed and go see if there was anything I could do to help so we could all sleep sooner, and there was nothing to be done. So I slinked, or rather stumbled, eyes half-open, back to bed and crawled in. Just one problem... My mind was now awake, so I just lay there not asleep, and listened to the crying that I could do nothing to help. And at 5:15, I decided to make coffee. So now I'm on cup number 2, and finally finding the time I have been looking for to blog. To be completely honest, any other moments I have had have been fleeting and my first thoughts are to quickly pick up my knitting before it's too late! But a week and a half ago, I spent the morning all by myself tooling around Sag Harbor.


It was great, and I needed it. While we have been here, I have explored many of the Hampton Towns. So far I have made it to East Hampton, where I bought the cutest bathing suit ever to be seen in all the planet! The movie theater is also there, and I have made it to see "The Switch", as well as "The Kids are All Right". I have also been through Amagansett, where I found the worlds best coffee! If you are in need of a delicious roast, let me know, and I will send it your way... I'm only here until Sunday, but I see on the bag that their main location is in NYC, so I'm sure I could make my way there to get some as well, and if not for you, most assuredly for me! Montauk was nice as well, but that was while a friend was out for a brief visit, so I'll save that post for another day. And other than this post, it is the only place I took pictures.. I'm sorry, but in ritzy East Hampton, you don't wanted to be spotted looking like a tourist. As for Amagansett, I have no excuse.

So Sag Harbor. It is a little Harbor town (never would have guessed right?), with big beautiful yachts, small storefronts, great sea food, and even houses with buoys attached. So I jammed in the car to my favorite toons on my way, windows down, sunroof open, and I arrived around 10AM. I really wanted a smoothy, but couldn't find one right away. So I simply meandered through the shops, and around the town until I came upon a farmers market. Very small. Very quaint. But really who has wine tasting tents set up at the farmers market to sample wine before noon... and yes there were multiple wine tents. So I tasted a sample. Then I successfully found a smoothy, mango-pineapple. And then I found my way to lunch at a little dock-side shack. I had an amazing lobster/seafood roll, with fries doused with malt vinegar. And even though I was full to the brim I ordered a cup of their clam chowder to bring home with me just in case I needed it when my body found room. And when I ate it, it was well worth it!

It was a wonderful and much needed day. But alas, the children are all awake now, so I am off to entertain. Or rather have fun with this kooky smile bringing boys!

Have a fabulous day!