Girls Day Out: Caulking it up

SO Belinda came over this morning and we went to Lunch at Quiznos... yum! and then went to Lowes to buy tile and stuff. We got a little silly inside... We thought that we might look weird shopping at Lowes together, and we decided that we looked like we were "partners" looking to update out bathroom. We laughed at that, and then silly got even sillier. I told her I needed to get some Caulk, so we went to the caulk isle. Giggling like a child, I thought it would be funny to see how loud and frequently I could say the word "caulk". Belinda caught on and we laughed hysterically! Here are some favorites that all work for the context in Lowes: "Do you think this is enough caulk?", "I need a lot of caulk", "this caulk smells funny", "DO you like this caulk", "DO I need a caulk machine to get the goop out?" (maybe too far with that one) the list went on and on into the drive home. We are so dumb!!! hahahahaha
Yes Gina, I just got away with saying caulk on my blog!!! hahahahahahahah

Anyways, we laid out the tiles and make templates for the cuts that need to be made. I have to say that we did a really good job!~ I also now have the light fixture and mirror.. and new curtain rod up, thanks to my handy hubby. I know in the pict the light fixture looks gold, but its not... and it looks better in person.

Next step.... morder and lay the tile. Hopefully we can do this on Fri. I am getting anxious though.
Off to knit. I HAVE started the washclothes. I will let you all know how it goes. shhh... dont tell Lizard Ridge...
Goodnight
MIMI

Life of ME

I have nothing really exciting to write. All day long I was looking for something VERY interesting to write. I was hopeful that I would have an interesting day, but really... no. Every day cant be interesting and I cant feel this pressure to come up with great blog entries everyday. SO calm down faithful readers and rest assured that I will have something interesting happen soon.

Here are some random thoughts in my head: (I am just going to type exactly what comes in my head as it hits me)

1. Idol is on tonight. I am in class and I want to be home.
2. Mango puked on the floor today-
3. Belinda is so nice for helping me this week with tile
4. Gina is so nice for giving me this present... (I am a kiss ass)
5. I am hungry.
6. Lorens casserole sounded yummy... but needs some more fat... like cheese?
7. I bought some linen.... i might have an affair with her tonight.
8. gas....
9. Why do I have so much gas?
10. Why did I type that?
11. Why am I numbering this?
12. Why am I asking questions?
13. I cant stop numbering....
14. I hope Adam gets pizza and takes the toliet out.
OK- that was really sad. As you can clearly see... nothing exciting going on here..

Good Night
MImi

19th Square Itch

It has happened. I have become very tired of knitting this lizard ridge afghan. Luckily I am on square 19 so I only have 5 more after this one, but it is becoming painful. I know it is really common for a knitter to have thousands of projects going at one time, I however am the exception. I love starting new projects, but even more than that, I HATE having unfinished ones laying around. They only remind me of everything that I need to do. I would rather unravel a project than let it sit in a bag somewhere collecting dust. I would rather unravel it, and make it into a nice pretty ball to sit in my pretty yarn basket. At least then it has some purpose.

SO I am very good about finishing things, or at least unravelling them. SO, here I am... square 19... and my eyes start wandering. Since I am remodelling the bathroom I was thinking about how wonderful it would be to have a little collection of hand knit linen wash clothes and hand towels. "OOOOOO" I thought, "Didn't Mason Dixon have cute patterns for that?"... and it began... obsessive thoughts about washcloths. Then I realized I have a skein of Maggie's knits linen. So i got out the Mason Dixon Book, GOt out the Linen, and my ebony Lantern Moon needles, and I found myself staring. This picture is seriously what I was looking at while knitting my 19th square.

I thought about it and I reach the conclusion that this feeling I am having is guilt. I think this is how a person in an unhappy marriage must feel. They are tired of being with this same person (Lizard Ridge), but they feel obligated to be with them because they made a promise, but they cant help looking elsewhere... finding something more interesting to look at.. to touch. (Ebony needles) They begin to imagine what it would be like to be with that new person (linen wash cloths), but, out of mere guilt and obligation they remain faithful.

By the way I am in an extremely happy marriage, and have never felt that way about our relationship.


Knit on
Sincerely,
Monogamous Knitter

Wii Hours of the Night

FOr those of you that do not know, Adam and I have been obsessed with the new Nintendo Wii game console. We played it at Erin's house over xmas and instantly became hooked. Now we are not big game people. I think the last thing we owned was... the super nintendo, which was Adam's, and I played a lot of Sega Genisis back in the 90's... SO really, this is the first video game console we have owned together.

ALso, for those of you that are thinking "wow, maybe I should go get one of those today!" THINK AGAIN... these are so stinking hard to find. We literally have been trying since xmas. I have made phone call after phone call. We have driven early mornings in the snow, and we have had so many disappointments. Yesterday I called Walmart, and they said at midnight they would start selling them. Midnight? For us OLD Wallace's we barely say that word anymore... but we managed to stay awake with a little help from Pepsi. We got there at 11:20 thinking that there is no way there will be many people like us out there... WRONG. In the parking lot we spotted a group of nerdy looking adolescent males. They spotted us, and the race was on. When we got to the electronics section we noticed a line..... that wrapped corners... we were last.

Because we were last that meant that every idiot walking by wondering what the line was for would ask us. We were getting sick of it after the first 5, and we started joking that the next person that asked us we were going to mess with. Lo and Behold she came. "Ummm.. Whats this line for?" She said. "The new IN SYNC CD is out" I said. I dont think she got it, or liked it... so she moved on. I am proud I did it though. FUn night.

Long story short... Waited in line... yadda yadda yadda, Adam is bowling in our living room right now.

I have to go to work. Good day.

Best Dad in the World!

Here's my dad. Hes wonderful! This is us at Christmas and he is wearing the hand knit Kathmandu sweater made by me! I am so impressed with how well it fit him. Being that he lives 3000 miles away, and it was hard to make my measurements. My mom did do some though. (Thanks mom!)

What a wonderful thing knitting is. I dont think i have ever given anyone a present quite like that before. It wasnt just a hand-knit wool silk cashmere sweater, it was hundreds of hours of work. It was a whole summer of knitting. What gift is more valuable than your time? I will never forget that feeling when he opened it... to see his smile. I get a wonderful feeling knowing that someone I love as much as I do is wrapped up in warmth and love from me. priceless.

SO, knit on blog readers, and make something special this year!

And to my dad- "your the best dad in the whole universe, since the beginning of time, for all eternity."

After all these years...

I got it today. I got my teaching licence. Its no big surprise because I knew it was coming, but there was something so exciting about seeing it... holding it at last! I have really come so far, and I am feeling so proud of myself.
Being a teacher was always a dream that seemed so distant to me. I knew that's what I wanted, but it seemed so far away. Today I am Mimi Wallace, Certified Teacher. WOO HOOO. Thank you to everyone for all your support. Thanks Adam and Mom and Dad the most!

Another Reason I Hate Clowns...

I found this magazine one day at Mosaic a couple years ago, and had to have it. I think its one of the funniest things ever, so I thought I would share. This picture above is the cover, and isnt it so enticing ! I can just see some crazy old lady knitter picking this up and thinking to herself " what a clever idea... Its a sweater that looks like overalls and a white and blue undershirt." After thinking this project over she decides to knit this for her 8 year old grandson, who will LOVE IT. In my little fantasy she comes up with wonderful reasons why this would make a great gift. Here is her list.

1. She can use Red Heart, which is her favorite- and washable
2. Its great for 4th of July- Maybe he can wear it to a BQ!
3. "An active 8 year old cant always take time to coordinate his apparel. A single sweater with the look of layers guarantees speed and success." Which is what she read in the magazine. (Seriously, thats word for word)
4. He wont have to worry about his straps to his overalls falling down.

Wow..this is a wonderful time I am having here imagining this.

OOOOH! I saved the best part for last... check this picture out. My question is.... why are they using this oversized pencil as a prop... and... do they how how sick this looks? Wow.. enjoy..>

New Peepers

Hello! I guess I should put something on here since I know it was been a day now. SO I am finished with my 16th Lizard Ridge Square (like that Loren?), and I am starting to worry about running out of colors. I guess I am just going to have to start using the colors I dont "love" now so I can finish. The end is in sight...

Speaking of SIGHT... I went to the eye doctor last week and my eye prescription has increased from +.25 to +.75 in one year! I really dont like the feeling that my body is actually decaying on me. Ok, thats a little drastic, but thats how I feel. I used to have such good working eyes. I guess... Im getting old! I found these Armani Glasses and TOTALLY fell in love. Its amazing how sexy I feel with these new peepers!! hahahah

Let me know what you think.

Over the Hump

Today I finished my 13th square on my Afghan, so that puts me more than half way through! WOoo hoo! I win I win... hehe I am still surprised of how much I still love doing it. I keep waiting to start hating it, but every time i start a new square or block a square I get so excited. I have been laying them on the couch so i can stare at them while I knit. Lucy got up on the couch and laid on them. I love that! I have the hardest time bringing it into the store and letting hundreds of people grope it, but Lucy laying on it makes me smile. I thought it would be funny to cover her in it and let you all enjoy too! How cute. I am also putting a picture of purl with a new hair do for your viewing pleasure... yes, we have WAY too much fun in the store:) I worked with Loren today (dont know if i spelled it correctly..) Shes awesome! I really like her:) Thats all for now- Adam needs some attention.

Project Bathroom

I know that I intended this blog to be about pugs... and knitting... BUT i figure there is always so much more going on that I want to share, so there will be a lot more going on than pugs and knits here. Sorry if the name is deceiving.
I have begun a new project. Its not a fair isle sweater, its not mittens. I have been wanting and needing to do it for a few years now. I decided if i don't do it now, when i have time, It will never get done. I am remodelling the bathroom. I never thought I would ever be this excited about getting a new toilet or pedestal sink, but its all I can think about. I am posting some before pictures on here, and I will update you on the progress. Today I am going to pick out the color. I will let you know.

Oh, What a Wonderful Morning!

I wake up feeling refreshed and ready to begin my day. I have nothing of real significance to do today and I feel good about it. I started my day just like most mornings, by taking my dogs out. It was a beautiful morning. It snowed a little last night and there was a light dusting of snow on the ground. The sun was shining, and I felt happy.

I look in my back yard to see the usual white-trash scene, (See picture) when Mango runs into my crazy neighbor's yard like she is hunting a wild animal. "Mango! Get out of there!" I shouted, and thats when I saw it..... Laying in the grass. It was a deer leg. Yes, a deer leg. I quickly shoo mango away and I turn around and see another deer leg... hoof intact. Now, I know this might be a normal thing to see when you live in red-neck Virginia, but I am not from here, and I find this to be very disturbing.

Now I am spending my morning invisioning this neighbor (400 pound, Hairy man with a limp) hacking up dead deer in the back yard in the middle of the night. The creepy thing (besides the hacking) is that I didn't see anything else.. no knives, no sheets covered in blood, no other loose body parts... just 2 hoof stroon about.

Maybe the deer stole something, and he chopped off her hoof to teach her a lesson...

Purl Sweater

OK. So I am obsessed with a couple new things now. Number 1: Gina's new baby pug, Purl.
Number 2: Fair Isle! SO I combined these new loves and made baby purl a wonderful fair isle sweater. Up till now fair isle has been a huge means of frusteration for me. No one has ever taught me, and I thought I just wasnt good enough anyways. I HAVE done Intarsia before.. and that is tedious... all these bobbins getting tangled up and messy. Fair Isle is a different thing all together.

I just did this 2 color motif first to experiment with this "two handed knitting"... I hear this term the other day and I was like "What?! Two handed?.... Dont you always knit using 2 hands?" Then, I decided to figure this out. I know how to know wrapping with my right hand. I also know how to knit picking from my left hand. SO I put these two together and figured out this genious method for fair isle knitting. I put the white on my left hand finger, and when i needed it i just picked it. I put the black on my right finger and when i needed it, i just wrapped it. GENIOUS... (20 grand in student loans FINALLY pays off!) (But.. did I spell "genious" correctly?... genious..geneus.. uhh?)

So heres a picture of this treasure and I am so in love with it. Oh, it doesnt help that it is 100% cashmere. Oh the life of a pug....

Lizard ridge obsession

Ok, So I have gone crazy. This lizard ridge has taken over my life. I am serious here...
Here is my list of.. "You know you are obsessed with Lizard Ridge When.."
1. You dream about it at night
2. In these dreams you figure out the mathematics behind it.. and create new ways to do it.
3. You email the designer and befriend her... and try to get her to come to your hometown...
4. You search e-bay at least once a day for rare "discontinued" colors.
5. You find yourself petting your squares "pretty sqauare...."
6. You figure ways to pay cash for the yarn so your husband wont find out..
7. You think of things you could sell... so that you can buy more skeins...
8. You write about it on a blog..

Anyone with me? or am I alone in this mess!?

PS: Yes, I did actually contact the designer. She is really nice.
This picture SUCKS.... I need a new camera.. sorry

Why am I doing this Blog?

I just got home from hanging out at the knitting store, and I found myself bored and wandering around on the web. I was looking at my friend Gina's blog and thought how much I loved reading about her on here. Weird huh? Its like this blog thing is some weird twisted form of voyeurism. So now I am actually thinking that maybe someone would want to read this... uh huh... I will give it a shot.

So here I am.. on my first blog.. and I have NO clue what to write. So I have a sneaky suspicion this will be a hit.. Adam is home, so i am going to go make dinner or he will beat me. Nope, I was just trying to get interesting... Did it work? .... OK...Maybe I will post a really funny and excited blog later... keep your fingers crossed!

Mimi