Yarn Along: Of Finishings and Beginnings

I am happy to be linking up with Ginny's wonderful Yarn Along again today

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

So much going on at once!  I finished the neckwarmer I began at Christmastime, only to discover that in my haze and haste I selected the completely wrong set of needles - US4s instead of US8s!  It fits, but more in manner of a turtleneck than a cowl.  I have offered it to a friend's five-year-old daughter so at least it will get some use.


I am making progress on the Moose's dishtowel and have cast on a birthday gift for a friend but will have to abstain from photos or details here while it is in progress, as this friend reads my blog.  


I am continuing The Soul of a Chef, which, I have to admit, is hard reading.  The author does an exceedingly excellent job at conveying the frantic, nerve-fraying pace of the lives of the chefs he is following.  It makes for poor bedtime reading, as I find myself having nightmares about the Bar Exam (which I took almost eight years ago!) and other restless dreams.  I've also been leafing through Elizabeth Pantley's No-Cry Potty Training Solution this morning in light of Moose's first potty success last night.


I am teaching a friend to knit today!  I gifted her needles and some pretty purple yarn for Christmas to get her going (she has been talking about wanting to learn for awhile), and if we can get our boys to play on their own for awhile this morning, we will have a go at it.  So maybe there's a guest post from her in my future!

Dear Victoria (On Wedding Planning)

Does it mean you're getting old when you start giving advice?  Or was Dear Abby still young when she started dispensing wisdom?

I recently found myself on the giving end of advice about weddings and babies.  How did that happen?!  As I wrote responses (and, in some cases, rewrote, because I didn't do a good job at saving my very thoughtful words the first time around), it occurred to me that some of what I had to say just might help out someone else.

So the first in my very unplanned series of "Dear Victoria" posts is tips to reduce wedding costs.

1. Pick what 1 or 2 things are most important to you and use your funds there.  There are so many other details that you won't even remember!
2. Look for a venue that is "self decorated" so you don't have to spend on decorations.  Daddy Moose and I had ours at an historic B&B that was already decorated with antiques and flowers.  All we did was throw some rose buds (from Sam's Club) in little fishbowl vases (available at Jo Ann or Michaels, or probably even the dollar store depending on the day) on the tables and we were done!  We had friends do something similar at a local art gallery.  
3. Ask if your venue works particularly closely with a caterer or baker.  Ours recommended a baker and because they worked so closely together, the venue let the baker use their cake hardware for our cake so we didn't have to buy the hardware (which we would have never used again!).  Some may offer discounts if you use an affiliate.
4. Don't be shy about making your flowers do double duty - we used our alter pieces for the food table at our reception.  My bridesmaids were under strict instructions where their bouquets were to be placed for decorative purposes at the reception (they didn't really want to haul them around the whole time anyway!).
5. Depending on your personality, a videographer might not be a must-have.  I can tell you we have watched our video exactly 1 time since we were married.  Thank goodness my husband's uncle was the one who did the video (for free)!
6. Seriously, don't spend too much on favors!  How many favors have you kept from others' weddings?  I know I have exactly zero.
7. Do not, however, pinch pennies with shoes! When you're looking at your special clothes for your special day, remember how long you will be on your feet - comfortable shoes are invaluable.
8. If you have a friend who is a photographer and perhaps trying to make a name for herself, you might ask if she would do the photos as her gift to you.  A great way for her to build her portfolio and she's off the hook for a present.  One of my best friends did this and it worked perfectly for her and her photographer friend!

Have I missed something?  If you have a great tip, add it to the comments!  Someone will thank you!

Photo credit: Tim Forbes

Trying Tot School

~ Moose is currently 25.5 months old ~

Letter of the week: Gg

Object/Theme: Goat/Farm

Color: Blue

Shape: Heart

This is my first Tot School post!  A little background is probably in order.  Moose attends an educational daycare three days a week when I am at the office.  That gives us two weekdays, plus the weekend at home together.  Since we were snowed in last January (and he was only 13 months old), it has been very clear to me that Moose needs some structure and stimulation to his days or he'll get bored and peel the paint off the walls.

I purchased Before Five in a Row last summer, but found it to be a bit too advanced for the Moose at this point.  I spent the fall scouring Lakeshore Learning for educational toddler activities and started loosely doing a theme week thanks to the great ideas at Teach Your Tot. Then I happily discovered Tot School and spent my little bit of downtime after Christmas getting ready to integrate some of the wonderful ideas on our days home together (typically Wednesdays and Fridays) and downtime on the weekends (if he seems in the mood).

For now, I will be taking my lead from his teacher as far as which letter/color/shape features in a given week.  Thankfully, they are covering the alphabet in order so I can plan some of our activities in advance.  Sometimes I don't know the color and shape until Monday.

Last week we covered the letter Gg. I used the 1+1+1=1 printables for some of the letter tracing and coloring pages, as well as the vocabulary and shape cards.  I also had some of the ABC coloring pages from Making Learning Fun ready and in Moose's weekly notebook.

I set up his favorite shelf in the kitchen hutch as Monetssori-sytle tot shelves.

This week we featured a farm puzzle, his blue counting bears, the "Old MacDonald" storytelling pieces, plus some stickers and the lacing beads he received from his Mimi for Christmas.

This was our book basket for the week:

We also had Big Red Barn and a DK Touch and Feel Farm Animals book featured in the book basket in his room.  For his indoor physical activity, we used Sesame Street: Get Up and Dance (at Moose's request).

I can't say how relieved I was for Carisa's warnings that Ladybug's interest in the writing/drawing/tracing activities was atypical!  Moose was pretty ambivalent about the tracing pages (although he seemed to love the binder and the dry erase markers, so maybe it will catch on).  He did color a farm-themed page from a coloring book I offered to him.

It doesn't look like much, but it was the first time he appeared to intentionally color a particular part of a picture (he did the nose and ears in pink with prompting from me; when he switched and started coloring in blue, he informed me "color toes").  All told, I think he sat at the table a grand total of three minutes.

Otherwise, his favorite activities involved motor skills and manipulation (no surprises there!).  He loves his storyboard, and brought out OldMacdonald several times (even in the evening when I wasn't trying to get him to do Tot School).

He also loved playing with his counting bears.

I am still covering one color at a time rather than forcing sorting since he is not catching on to colors particularly well.  Daddy Moose is afraid he might be color blind (any time you ask him what color something is, he will tell you it is green).  But he seemed to take well to shapes when I singled them out over the last few weeks (oval and star) so I'm going to try a similar approach with colors.

He also really loved the vocabulary and shape cards.  The only words he didn't know were "barn" and "farmer" and he had easily picked up "farmer" by the end of the week.  We are using an old food canister with a slot in the top for storage, which has added another dimension to the "game": placing each card in the tin once we review the shape or word.

Off we go . . . on to Hh this week!

For more Tot School inspiration, visit 1+1+1=1!

Yarn Along: Loose Ends

Once again linking up with Ginny's delightful Yarn Along today

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

 I finished up another baby hat earlier this week:

I especially love the spiral top:

I have a baby shrug to cast on for my new niece (due in April), a birthday gift to cast on for a friend, and a hat in special edition yarn to cast on for myself (the yarn for all three of which came from a delightful new LYS I sneaked out to last Friday).

But then I cleaned out my knitting corner today and found some unfinished things that need some attention too  A pumpkin hat I started for the Moose  before he was one (and by now will probably be for eventual #2), a Celtic cable neckwarmer that has been snoozing for a long time, and this bunny dishcloth/towel I'm working on for the Moose's play kitchen:

All of which is to say that I'm having a difficult time prioritizing.

In the meantime, I'm reading Michael Ruhlman's The Soul of a Chef, this month's Kitchen Reader selection.

Happy New Year (Observed)

Camellia at Zoo Atlanta - 1/1/12

Having the New Year begin on a Sunday has really thrown me for a loop!  Even though yesterday was the day, both Moose's daycare and Daddy Moose's employer are closed today.  Because of some kind of NFL monopoly on Sunday airtime, today is THE day for college bowls.  Even the Tournament of Roses parade was today.

Yesterday, Moose and I treated Daddy Moose to an extra few hours of sleep by heading to the zoo first thing.  Thankfully, Zoo Atlanta is open 363 days of the year and is one of the Moose's favorite places (behind Chick-fil-A and anywhere where construction is actively taking place). 

The gorillas were particularly active yesterday and Moose and I were able to see two babies riding on their mommies.  They were too quick for the shutter speed on my camera phone, but the zoo graciously provides statues of some of their residents for photo opportunities.

Moose very sweetly - but too quickly for a photograph - stroked the baby gorilla before giving both mom and baby a hug (almost serenely enough for a non-blurry photo).  Almost.

We had a beautiful morning - a wonderful start to the year!

While Moose napped, I finished a darling little baby hat.

Today I am getting back to the grind.  I have laundry in process.  I think we'll have freezer meals tonight and I'll hit the grocery store tomorrow on my way home from work (in favor of watching football and playing with Moose this afternoon).  I started the homemade vanilla given to me by a friend for Christmas.

I'm planning posts on my favorite reads of 2011, my word for 2012, more knitting adventures, and even a possible foray into Tot School so stay tuned!

Happy New Year!