T-minus 14 hours....

Well, I've been going non-stop since ..... too long. What day is today again?

At least, I think everything is ready for tomorrow. Big day and all! We're doing a lot ourselves for the wedding. Trying to keep it small and simple and non-bankrupting. And I'm really proud of how things are coming together. Granted the lack of sleep has been frustrating, but there was so much we couldn't do until these last few days. Decorations and food and such - stuff that wouldn't last otherwise.

Here are a few things we've put together all on our own that I'm really proud of:

The Guests' Welcome Bags.

Directions, maps, information about the area, some snacks, tea, little things. Just basic white bags with green stamped decorations and silver accents. Anne had a lot of fun with the decorations ("coloring!"). Then stuffed with some green paper and tied with silver and white ribbon. She did a great job on those bags!

And her final product:

The Guest Book

Just a basic wire-bound scrapbook from Michael's. On the front page of the book I pasted in a extra copy of our invitation. On the pages inside I pasted in pictures of the two of us together, or from things we've done together. Made a neat photo album, with a lot of empty spaces on the pages for people to sign. Will be put out on the table with a handful of silver pens for people to sign the pages. Looks really neat now, and it'll look even better when everyone signs!




And before you start fussing about how I should be sleeping now....well I'm gonna try soon. Kinda dead on my feet right now, just too keyed up to sleep. Stupid nerves!

God bless you, Sandi Wiseheart!

I've finished I Do!!!! And it fits! Well, it's off the needles at least. Tomorrow will involve much blocking and weaving in of ends and then it will be truly done! I'll post pictures then, but I have to announce that it is OFF THE NEEDLES!!

So, thank you to Sandi and Knitting Daily, and the instructions on seaming without Kitchener (using a 3rd needle, instead of sewing the grafted seam together). I have to say that was SO much easier for me! Maybe it was being left-handed (I already know I knit oddly), but Kitchener just wouldn't work for me. I kept twisting stitches or having them come out purl instead of knit, as they should have been. Stupid stitches - what do they know? With the 3rd needle method, it just flew along. All I had to worry about was stitches slipping off unneccessarily, but I'd been dealing with that the whole project - slippy cotton yarn on metal needles will do that to ya.'

So, yes - big, busy day planned tomorrow. Besides the extensive blocking and end-weaving for I Do, there is much wedding business now that Christmas is past. We have favors to assemble, I have to finish putting together the guestbook, we have guest-room bags to put together, cookies to bake, I have to finish my bridesmaids' gifts, pick up a dress for the 5K on New Years (more on that later!) and if Zach gets in town in time, we have to run down to the courthouse and get a marriage license (minor detail, right?)

So, yes, I must get some rest for the full day tomorrow, but I just had to share - I finished I Do!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good knit!

I haven't posted much in the past week or so, as I'm a little busy. Between Christmas and getting married this Saturday (!!!!), there's been a lot to do. But I feel I should update :)

Wedding planning goes as smoothly as planning ever does with my family. Things are almost all ready (good thing considering we have less than a week left!). We're baking up a storm for cookies for the guests and for the reception. I'm "knitting like the wind," as a friend instructed, so as to finish I Do before Saturday. And before you fuss at me to pick my needles back up, I'm taking a break from knitting to type - at least it's a different motion for my hands! The two halves are finally done, and now it's just a matter of a mile of Kitchener to join them together!!

As for Christmas, for my present to you and to celebrate my 20th post, here's one of our family's favorite cookie recipes (and my absolute favorite Christmas cookie):

Chocolate Mint Cookies

3/4 c. margarine or butter (1 1/2 sticks)

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

2 T. water

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 c.)

2 eggs (real)

2 1/2 c. flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

16 oz. bag Smooth'n'Melty mint candies (use 3 little ones or cut big ones in half)

Combine butter, sugar and water. Cook over low heat until melted (microwave on high approx. 2:30 minutes).

Add chips and stir until partially melted.

Pour into large mixing bowl and cool 10 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time, and beat on high.

Stir together flour, soda, and salt.

Add to chocolate mixture and mix on low until blended.

Chill one hour at least.

Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil.

Roll teaspoon of dough into ball. (Handle as little as possible! Does not have to be a perfect ball.)

Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Removed and immediately (while still on cookie sheet) place mint candy on hot cookie, wait a few seconds and press in gently.

Allow mint to soften slightly and spread with a knife.

Cool completely and store in an airtight container. Makes 10 dozen.

Enjoy!

Rave Review for Ravelry!

So, yes, the squealing and running around like crazy last week is TOTALLY warranted. I've had a week now to play around on Ravelry, and I LOVE it! I was pretty sure it would be good, since people have been gushing about it for months now (at least, that I've been aware of) but things can get over-hyped quickly, right? Take the average summer blockbuster, for example.

But no grain of salt needed - I love it! It's not a hassle to use, and this is coming from someone who's not reeeally computer friendly. For example, I hate the Microsoft habit of having all sorts of nice, easy one-button commands for formatting, etc. but put in the most obscure places; it's all very easy, you just have to know where to look. Drives me nuts! None of that here in Ravelry though! It makes logical sense moving through lists of patterns, yarns, whatever, or organizing your own information. You can tell that the people who set it up really thought about it and making it useful. And it's easy to meet people and network too. Have groups and forums for just about everything under the sun! This is one of those tools that really does like up to its hype!

In short: Ravelry - highly recommended! Go get yourself on the list!

(And if you ever want to check me out on Ravelry: oddbird26)

Death Valley, here we come!

The big news of the day: Zach has gotten his orders. It looks like we're heading to Ft Irwin, CA.

For those of you who have no idea where that is, it's in southern CA, north of I-40 about halfway between LA and Las Vegas, just south of Death Valley National Park.

Don't worry - I was part of that group of unknowning, myself, until just a little earlier, when Zach called to tell me where we were headed. Had to look it up on Mapquest, and then keep panning out to find the next nearest town. Which is Barstow, CA, population 25,000. No, I didn't leave out a 0 in that number, it really is that small. And that's the town where I-40 and I-15 connect, so therefore the big traffic center for the area. And only 25,000 people.

So yeah, we're headed to the middle of nowhere.

Plus, it's not just the middle of nowhere, but the middle of nowhere in the desert.

I've grown up in the southeast US and mid-Atlantic regions. Hot and Humid (the capitals are fully warrented). And now me, Little Miss Dry Skin herself, is moving to the desert. So, a bit of financial advice: Buy stock in Jergens. I'm going to be drinking the stuff. I think that's about the only way I'll keep from drying up and blowing away.

But still, I'm kinda excited about it. I've never lived out there, and I've only visited CA twice, and never out to southern CA. It's supposed to be beautiful out in that area, in a desert-y kind of way. Part of why Irwin is so from from everything is because it's surrounded by so many national and state parks (kinda like Asheville and Brevard in western NC, but nestled in the desert, not the forests). So, we'll pack lots of lotion, deal with being 30 minutes from the closest town (nothing new to my farm boy), I'll keep myself busy on post, have Anne mail me yarn (lots of cotton and small projects) since there aren't shops around, and appreciate all the outdoor activities while we're there. And then I'll appreciate moving whenever we get new orders. At most we'll be out there 26 months, and if Zach turns in his OCS paperwork, we might be moving even sooner. Another added bonus, since Irwin is a training base, he's less likely to be heading to the Sandbox soon (lots of prayers!)

As Mom always says (a career-Army brat and career-Navy wife, which I'll be the reverse), "If the military teaches you nothing else, it teaches you that you can live anywhere for 2 years!"

The Penguins are coming, the penguins are coming!

...and I couldn't be happier!

Be forewarned! The penguin invasion has begun. Prepare to bow before the beady-bird-eyed stare as the tuxedoed masses enter your home too!

They begin in such innocence; you should be careful! Take this little guy...

He recruited Zach's help to enter my house. (Zach saw him as these candies were being handed out at the hospital, and knew I'd love him - what a sweety!)

But the little guys are just preludes for the big ones! Check it out:

This is the bathmat I wanted from my registry!!!

Amy, my good friend from work, has a similar sense of humor and decorating sense as myself. She and her boyfriend saw this on my wedding registry and couldn't pass it up. And it matches my bathroom too, believe it or not! The bathroom is done is shades of blue and white, mostly pretty subdued, but I did need a bathmat. Can't stand cold tile on my toes in the morning (yeah, I know - I'm fussy). When we were registering, Zach and I saw this, and he graciously let me put it on our list - wouldn't let me get the penguin sheets though [pout]. Still, when Amy and Matt saw this on the registry, they knew they had to get it for me!

Personally, a home needs those quirky little touches, family pictures, etc. Those homes in Southern Living and Better Homes & Gardens and such things really don't seem REAL to me, y'know? Too put together, no personality shown. I guess it's supposed to be like when you're selling your house, and you're supposed to present it in a way that people can see their own things in the rooms, but it still strikes me as unnatural. A room needs those touches of personality, creativity, tackiness - whatever you want to call it. So bring on the penguins!! :)

EEEEE!!!!

[runs around room squealing]

My Ravelry invite came!

If anyone's interested, I'm oddbird26 (another Tacky the Penguin reference - "Tacky was an odd bird, but a very nice bird to have around.") Feel free to look me up!

And browsing through it, it's definitely as wonderful and time-guzzling as everyone says! Wonderful job, Casey & Jess!! I could spend forever in there. Which I plan on doing. Now. So a short post only, today, since I must Ravel!! I just had to share with folk who'd appreciate the hypersonic-squealing-inducing excitement of a Ravelry invite :)

EEEE!!!!