This is what 5 looks like...

Happy Birthday Princess Peanut!

Today, It's Kindergarten....

...tomorrow, it'll be college.

Summer Catch Up...

Wow, I can't believe it's been six weeks since I've posted anything here. Sorry about that. It's been a crazy, busy Summer.

There's been lots of knitting. I can't believe the number of FOs I have just from the last few months.

I took my first ever knitting class at Threadbear in July. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet some nice people. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the lace scarf. Here's the last photo of it. All of the details are on ravelry.

Every year, I knit Peanut a scarf. This year, she got to choose the yarn. It's some sort of Joann Sensations yarn. It's incredibly soft, bulky and fuzzy. Each time she sees me working on it, she'll put it to her cheek and say, "I love it".

With her 5th birthday looming, I know I can't hold off Barbie too much longer. In anticipation, I bought the Nicky Epstein book 75 designs for Barbie or something. I found this pattern online and made it for Peanut's little buddy's birthday this week. It was a huge hit. It seems a lot like the Tempting pattern on the top, so I was thinking if I did it again, I'd add a belt or a ribbon element at the neckline. (The Barbie is vintage. It was a donation from a coworker's childhood Barbie stash...we've been toying with naming her Buffy Van Schnaussen...I don't know why but it seems fitting for some reason).

Since buying my D60 in April, I've taken nearly 5,000 photos. Yeah, that's a lot. I have my first photographer gig this weekend and I'm super excited.

This is Peanut on 4th of July at a friend's farm. The kid loves dirt, that's for sure.

I did some school shopping for her and she did a fashion show. Despite being a size 7, the Hannah Montana shirt was deemed too snug and was gifted to another Hannah fan. But she did express her joy for the outfit here first. (The pose does accentuate the problem areas a bit :) )

We finished our Parent/Tot bowling league. We came in second place and we got a trophy. She felt the need to dress for the occassion. After 12 weeks of bowling, the kid can finally throw the ball down the lane without zigzagging between the bumpers...when she feels like it. I was quite proud. A few frames, she didn't even use the bumpers. I had a career high game of 146 during the season and I'm so glad we did it. We really enjoyed the time spent doing this together and I know we'll do it again next year. All of the family leagues through the year happen on Saturday or Sunday mornings and that doesn't quite work with her visitation schedule.

And this is my baby...my great big girl...1 week out from Kindergarten. I can hardly believe it. I don't quite know where the last 5 years went. Because this is her 5th birthday, she's having a big bash for it and allowed to invite lots of friends. I made the invites and put them together last night. It was such a deja vu moment, as I'd done the same with her 1st Birthday invites as well. I couldn't be more proud of my little Peanut. She's intelligent, insightful, caring, clever, funny and beautiful. The traits I complain about are ones that we value in adults, and I try to keep that in perspective at those tough parenting moments.

Momma's so proud of you my dear Scoot McGoo...just don't grow up too fast on me.

Before the battery dies...

First the finished things...
Pair #2 for the CIC sock challenge

A requested washcloth for AJ. It's garterlac

A Twin-DiP sweater. One down, One to go...

The WIP's
Hemlock ring in the making...

Mystery shawl swatch...it's still a swatch. I'm having a hell of a time with the cast on for this one.

Precious things...

1 Preschool Graduate....

1 set of tiny baby feet...

Published

The condos near our apartment caught fire on Tuesday night. After securing Peanut and Wally for a quick exit (if need be), I grabbed the Nikon and started shooting. I have over 300 shots from the night. I submited my best 20 to the local paper, and they'll be running 3 or 4 of them with the story on Thursday! They're already using one of them for their main web site page.

If I had taken my photography classes sooner in my college career, I would have minored in it. It really feels good to be back at it again. The few photos I've gotten of Peanut that make me stop are enough alone to justify the purchase of the camera.

Where the heck did May go?

Peanut's visiting her dad this weekend it's been a good time to catch up on things I haven't had time for recently. Like updating my blog..


Seems like we've had one activity after another this month. My bowling league ended and I got 3rd most improved woman's average for the league. Not too shabby for my rookie year. Our team joked that we needed to get yellow stripes for our shoes. It was a great time and I'm pretty sure we're going to be doing it again next year. In the meantime, Peanut and I are signed up for a parent/tot league that's starting soon.


We participated in Relay for Life as part of Peanut's school's team. We had a great time! Here's the photo of her before we left. She insisted she couldn't go without the beads in her hair. Less is never more with her.

At home after...a rare shot of Wally-cat. Have I mentioned how much I love the new camera?


Some of us have started getting together at lunch at work on Fridays for a little knitting group. It's been a great deal of fun! One person joined without having ever touched needles. I think she's now building a stash of dishcloth cotton. I've started another pair of socks to send to CIC. Two of my coworkers are also doing socks. It's just been a nice break in the craziness work has been recently.


I've been lucky to have been doing a lot of knitting recently. I'm still working on baby sweaters. Seems like the one will never get finished. Of course it doesn't help that it's my last project to pickup. The BFF socks will not be finished in time for her birthday. I'm working on Aunt Peanut's scarf and dishcloths for her. Oh and I just finished a pirate themed golf club cover. I may be doing a lot more of these in the near future. AND I signed up for the Goddess Knit Mystery Shawl KAL. I think that's what it's called. I bought some KnitPicks lace weight around Christmas that I'm going to bust out for it. I may have also purchased one of those fabulous kits Laura had made up. No confirmation email yet and I see now they're sold out...so we'll see. Those are for me.

Oh and we did adopt a Wii Fit on Wednesday. Holy cow!! It's even more fun than I thought it would be.

32 Years 23 Hours 35 Minutes and counting....

The house is finally quiet. We've had a flurry of activity from the time the alarm clock went off this morning. Peanut spent a good chunk of the day with Grandma. I spent the day attending my dear friend's son's 1st Communion. I've attended Catholic weddings, but this was my first 1st Communion. I always find the Catholic ceremonies beautiful and interesting.

It is my birthday for a few minutes more. It's been a good day. The big (adult) celebration is next weekend. Tonight was spent with family and Peanut. She picked out my tiny birthday cake and we sang "Happy Birthday" with a tea light burning on top. It was the perfect way to end my birth day. I wouldn't have traded those two giggly minutes for the fanciest party.

I mentioned in my last post that I bought myself a D60. Below if one of my very favorit shots that I've taken in the last 10 days. There are a few others I may share later that really made me stop and say, "I took that." I had photography classes in college and I have a Pentax K1000 here somewhere, but it fell to the wayside when adult life took over. I've missed it for years and it's like and old friend has come back into my life.

**I think this photo truly captures Peanut. Dirty fingers, tosseled hair, a Giselle bandaid and a million watt smile**

The best gift I received this year was one I gave myself. I set a goal on January 1st of losing 50 lbs by my 32nd birthday. That's today. While I didn't make 50, I did hit 42 this morning. I've worked hard for it and I am most proud of that this year. I bought a pair of stretch denim capris March 1st. They were very stretched in the dressing room. I bought them anyway. I wore them for the first time this afternoon and they'll soon be too big to wear without being taken in. I was shocked by that! I just tried them on to see how much more I needed to lose before I could wear them comfortably. All the hard work is definitely paying off. My next goal is 70 lbs gone by Labor Day. I think I'll get there. I just need to remember that it needs to be about me for a little while or I won't be around to worry about anyone else.