halloween highlights

Mia was excited about Halloween. Jed was too, but his enthusiasm didn't show at all. Mia more than made up for any lack of excitement her brother failed to demonstrate.

Sugar Monster Roams the Neighborhood from Anna Banana on Vimeo.

sound bite

Mia: My goodness, how clever was I!

cross of #27

I am done with number 27.

As I said, I changed my mind on doing socks, although they may come later...perhaps before 40. I did make a hat and matching scarf for Mia. I learned how to do the double pointed needles. It turned out that they were not as scary as my online guide, Crazy Aunt Purl, made them sound. I thought that they were pretty easy. I did learn that I knitted the entire hat wrong, according to the guy at the knit shop. I did the entire hat in a twisted stitch instead of a knit stitch, but it still turned out okay, and I like it so there. Any way, as promised here is a picture of the hat and scarf combo.

where i am on the list

I almost finished making my first hat. We found a yarn and knit shop, Sheep Street, way out in the country. Along side of the shop is a 20 acre pasture with about 200 sheep. I went there looking lost and completely overwhelmed. I talked to a guy and he gave me a pattern and showed me two choices of heavyweight yarn--gray or tutti frutti. I didn't like either choice so I went with a lighter weight yarn in a bright pink color. I figured if it ended up to small it would be perfect for Mia's head.
I have to go back in a few days because I don't know how to switch to double pointed needles. They seemed kind of scary, and I don't want to mess up after putting in so much work. I even made a little flower to stick on the brim. When it is all done, I promise I will put a picture up.

on my radar

I am not all that connect to the world. I guess I can attribute that to my lack of staying current on current events. Did you guys know that Michael Jackson died?...I did to, but if I wasn't at the dentist they day it happened, I probably would have found out four days later, all that to say is I don't pay attention to the news, but I did here about two interesting things.

1. The Ukraine's Got Talent winner, Kseniya Simonova is unbelievably amazing and it seems that everyone knows it. The video has close to 3 million hits on YouTube.
2. I created my own font using Font Capture. My sister told me about this a few days ago and it is kind of fun to do a few times. It can get old after awhile, but how fantastic is it to have your own font.

30 things

A friend who is a few months older than me gave me this idea who I stole this idea from.... The idea is to create a list of thirty things you want to do before you turn 30. Tomorrow I begin my one year countdown and I am still working on my list. Coming up with 30 things to do in a single year is hard. I do have a few ideas, but I am open to suggestions. Here is what I have so far.

1. frame my MLS degree
2. weigh 130 (yes, I do understand that this is cliche)
3. throw a fancy dinner party
4. blog 30 times
5. take more pictures (1 picture a day for 1 month)
6. finish "a look in the kitchen" (my website for recipes)
7. finish making curtains for the house
8. run a 5k
9. go on a date once a month
10. -12: read 3 foreign novels--Hunchback of Notre Dame (French)
11. Sputnik Sweetheart ( Japanese)
12. Anna Karenina (Russian)
    
13. read Pride & Prejudice (I don't really count an English book as foreign, I just need to read this because it is referenced in every other book I do read)
    
14. take the kids camping
15. make a handbag
16. volunteer at community event
17. organize my files (which aren't really files, but binders with papers stuck here and there)
    
18. de-clutter the attic (say goodbye to things I don't really need like a Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth tape)
    
19. be more attentive to my garden (spend time in the garden daily--at least when it is nice outside)
20. try vegan cream cheese (i want to try carrot cake cupcakes, but can you really have carrot cake without the cream cheese frosting?)
    
21. add 5 more vegan cookie recipes to my repertoire
    
22. create a workout soundtrack for my ipod (it is hard to run to Harry Connick Jr.)
    
23. paint the hallway
    
24. be at least 50 feet off the ground at some point doing something
    
25. create a family budget that works towards one of our big three ideas for retirement
    
26. have a family picture taken
    
27. knit a hat
    
28. quilt a small blanket
    
29. try making a goose dish
    
30. and finally, follow through with at least one thing from this list

Only 1 year + 2 1/2 hours to go.

too sweet

Last week Jed did something for the last time, he fell asleep in my arms while I was getting him ready for bed. He seems to always be awake for me, but he falls asleep on Ben a lot. Here are some of the most recent sleeping places...

1. On Ben's shoulders while we were in St. Louis
2. On Ben's lap while Ben was mowing the lawn
3. On Ben's chest while we ate dinner

I don't know if we are pushing him too hard, but this is one tuckered out little tater tot.

Reasons why I like the farmers market...

1. Peaches as big as your head

2. Smiles as big as Ben's head

Mia

So what does my Mia have in common with Mia Hamm?...

They both "play" soccer. After seeing Mia kick around a ball in the backyard, we thought she would be really great at soccer. Lucky for us there is a 4-year-old soccer league that is still currently signing kids up to play. We signed her up and headed to Target for a Size 3 soccer ball and Peewee shin guards. Now that is all she wants to do, too bad she has to wait two more weeks for practices to begin.

haircut

Last week Mia made a very big decision...

she donated 12 inches of her hair to Locks of Love. She is now sporting a cute little bob. I miss the curls at the bottom of hair, but I don't miss the Templetons (a.k.a. rats).

She had been talking about it for a week before we took the plunge. She does not miss her hair at all.