Quickie

A quick update from Mammoth. We do have internet access here in the condo and we really like this condo. There is a bedroom with a king bed, 2 bathrooms, a loft with bunkbeds, a full bed and one more twin. A washer and dryer! The living area is spacious with a nice dining area and kitchen. The kitchen has all sorts of nice surprises like a crockpot, rice cooker, espresso machine and toaster.

The only problem and it is a major flaw is that the condo is not near the parking lot. It faces the street (Meridian) and is exactly in the center from the parking on either side of the complex. This makes loading and unloading a huge undertaking especially with all our snow gear. Hector has to park on the side of the street, turn the hazard lights on and we begin the loading/unloading process. It is kind of hectic and hurried since traffic is zipping by and debris goes all over.

Other than that, this place is awesome.

Protection

The other week or so I was showing my cousin the helmets we use for skiing/snowboarding. She had asked if she should get one or not. In the beginning I wasn't too keen on them but wore one anyway. I got a pretty light blue helmet that stood out among the many black helmets. Hey I still wanted to make a fashion statement. Well, I crashed one day on Stump Alley when I caught a heel edge which sent me flying backwards downhill and BAM! I fell on my back and my head slammed against the ground. Later I saw that I cracked the styrofoam inside which did its job of protecting my head. Yeah, I was a little dazed but no injuries. So after that, I have no hesitation at wearing a helmet.


My cousin mentioned that a friend of hers bonked his head on slopes and ended up with short term memory loss. Yikes.







Then I saw Tyler's helmet...um when did this happen?
Above is the side view of his helmet which looks okay but...

it shouldn't have a crack...
or a major rip through the plastic and the styrofoam. On our last day, Hector and Tyler hung out on the slopes. Tyler did have a big fall and that is the only incident that I can come up with to account for the damage. So Tyler will be needing a new helmet ASAP.

birthdays galore

For some reason it seems that there are a LOT of January birthdays in Joshua's classroom. He was invited to 3 birthday parties over the span of 2 weekends which was overwhelming. I accepted 2 of the parties and declined the 3rd party because it was at Chuck E Cheese and I wouldn't be able to handle all that joy.

One party was at an indoor rock climbing place called Beach City Rocks. It had about 30 different levels varying from easy to expert. Since this was a birthday party for a 6 year old, we were at the easy level. Joshua wasn't too eager to try rockclimbing; he tried last summer and froze about 3 feet off the ground. I was hoping he didn't remember that time but he did. So like a good mom I pleaded and begged and when he wasn't going for it, I said you can climb to the purple rock (about halfway up the wall) otherwise you won't get any pizza. Hey, it worked. Joshua climbed to the purple rock and when he was on solid ground, he immediately wanted his pizza. Okay.
See that biggish purple rock , just to the right of Josh's head? That was his goal.

Then he needed help getting down. Josh didn't understand that he had to keep his legs in front of him so they sent someone to help.

See how much he loves climbing? He is frozen in place....yeah, we won't be doing this again for a long time.

Nature walk

I am trying to take more pictures so here is the latest batch...

Sunday

On Sunday, we stopped at a park to see the views. The park is hidden away in a hillside neighborhood that overlooks the city. Hector said he could see all the way to Big Bear but the haze settled in. I wasn't able to take any good city pictures plus the trees got in the way but the kids had fun playing in the playground. Hector thought this squirrel was eating a flaming hot cheeto. :)

Sunset at Redondo Beach

Wicked Cowl

I finished a pretty cowl last night. The yarn is a mix of green and purples plus it has some alpaca in it so totally soft and cuddly. It is KnitPicks Imagination Wicked Witch that is very afforable. I was originally thinking socks but the longevity would be quite short and all my hard work would be cut short. I saw a pretty cowl pattern on Ravelry so off I began.

It is an easy knit and took only a few days. I lightly blocked it this morning so now I want to show it off before I hand it over as a gift for Kat.

I have another skein somewhere so I might have to make one for myself. Yes, that's a great idea.

Final Tally

Today I started cleaning out my photo files and decided to make a Knits 2008 folder. I didn't think I knit that much but breaking it down...you decide.

Baby dress - 1
Baby booties - 2
Baby hat - 2
Baby sweater -5
Baby socks - 1


Hats (adult) - 12
Purses - 2
Phone cozy - 1
Hand/wrist warmers - 5
Socks - 6 pairs
Shrug - 1
Scarves - 4

Yikes, 42 items. That's just crazy. And pretty cool.

neighborhood walk

This is from our little jaunt to the Honda center to pick up our Pilot. It was still cold then which is the total opposite now. It was about 1.5 miles so we had a nice outing.

On our way we saw Lucky who decided to show off his best side.

Then get a tad too close.

The clouds were pretty as we walked along.

I'm glad our kids get along for the most part. I hope it continues throughout their lives.

Crankin them out

yes, another project completed. I rule. :) I was busy knitting these babies out while we were at Mammoth. My rate of sock completion is improving. And because I don't knit a test swatch I pretty much guess how big they will turn out. Luckily I know lots of potential recipients with a variety of foot sizes so someone will benefit. It's kinda like finding Cinderella who will fit in the glass slipper but my slipper is a sock. Lame, I know.

Tyler eagerly jumped at the chance to model the warm thick socks. Okay, it's unfortunate that now we are having a heat wave so there is no way someone will wear these now in SoCal. I missed my window of opportunity by about 2 weeks.

The flash washed out some of the colors but the yarn consists of various shades of green. They fit Tyler perfectly so I'm guessing a woman's size 6. I am working on a plain pair of socks for Tyler with red/black yarn. Although this pair with the texture and all could be considered unisex.

Kinda embarassing yet amusing

Hey I was checking out a blog and came across this. It's just amusing because we spend a some time in the mountains and ski resorts. Maybe subliminally this is why I don't ski. :)

I'm surprised the rescue people weren't laughing and rolling in the snow. I would have.

my faves 2008

I just have to mention a couple of things I fell in love with in 2008. I was in Sephora which is a dangerous place to be when you love makeup etc. Dozens of makeup lines waiting to be sampled and tried. Heaven! I saw the Stila Smudge Pot trio and tried it again. Now I have to say I bought one several years ago and it must have been defective because it was hard, dry and painful to apply. Luckily the Stila rep was there and she demonstrated the product which was completely different than I remember. So I bought it. Hey, it was a deal for $32. Three little pots in black, gray and bronze. Much easier to apply. I'm sold.



Here is the link to learn more. The perfect eyeliner, kind of like liquid but with more control and it stays put for a long time. I tend to rub my eyes or get dust particles in my eye (unrelated to the product) so the tears might rub some of the liner off. But for the most part, it lasts for the day.

That's not all what I bought while in Vegas. Lupe wanted to get some Christmas shopping done there so we headed to the Fashion Mall about 1 mile away from the Bellagio. We walked there so naturally we gambled our way there which made our one way trip 2 hours. :) Lupe saw the Sanrio store (home to Hello Kitty) and wanted to go in. One of her co-workers loves Hello Kitty and even has a wallet. I didn't mention to Lupe that I had a crystal encrusted Hello Kitty mirror which weighs a ton. Shhh! :) She is browsing and so am I when I came across this.....

Hello Kitty in an adorable pirate inspired outfit but that's not all....

Yup, it's a iPod nano cover....so awesome! Lupe couldn't quite figure out why I was so excited about. It's a iPod cover..she has a plain one for hers but this is HELLO KITTY! I absolutely love it.
My 2 favorite products of the year found in Vegas. Yay for me!

I'm sure I have more but these are the standouts.

seriously behind

See, the holidays completely took over and I forgot to post pictures of my Vegas trip. Lupe and I stayed at the lovely Bellagio and as soon as we checked in, we made a beeline to the conservatory to see their Christmas display. The snowmen were the best part and I managed to avoid the people milling around trying to take pictures too. Our view from our room....at night.

The view at daytime....with an awesome view of the fountains.

Our super comfy beds...

We did the usual gambling, shopping and eating. No big jackpots but we had loads of fun. Lupe's friend Robin is getting married in Henderson in March so we'll be heading out again later. :)

I'm Semi-Famous

I've been knitting (seriously) for about 2 years now and the internet has been a wonderful resource of information and ideas. I kept noticing that lots of knitting blogs mentioned Ravelry. Hmm, what is this? Well, it's a great community for all things yarn. There are tons of patterns to check out and display, forums, groups etc. The possiblities are endless. There is a waiting list to join but it's free. I can show off my latest finished project and find the pattern on ravelry, click on a button to see other knitters display their projects. It's a excellent way to see how it will look on other yarns and gather tips on ways to modify too.

So I have several items posted but my first project is the Carrot Top which is an elf hat that uses up various yarns to create stripes. Starting at the top, you gradually increase the stitches to fit the intended person. I made one for both the boys which they still love. I didn't take pictures of those for Ravelry but made another baby elf hat with pastels and posted pictures of that. Today I check my messages and it requested the use of the image to post. Cool! So my hat is one of the representations of the pattern. Here is the link although I think you have to be a member to see it.



this is the picture that they used although Torchic's face is kinda obsured but that's due to flickr. I guess the site wasn't able to handle the awesomeness. Hey I can make a baby hat from this pattern for baby D. That should take no time at all. Got to get started on that one.

First of 2009

I received some Joann's gift cards for Christmas so I rushed down to grab some various yarns and I managed to buy a lot since practically all the yarns were on sale. Woo hoo.


I bought a rainbow colored yarn and immediately looked for a cute baby sweater pattern for baby D. I found an adorable baby kimono sweater and it took me 2 days. I love that!

Isn't it cute? It only needs one button for the inside and a picture of the baby wearing it.

And here is the baby looking sweet in her Holiday outfit.
But then she transforms into red, pouty baby when upset....just like her mama! heh, hehe..

Look at her push that lower lip out....oh, you better watch out when she gets older!

Best Fight (?) E-h-v-v-v-e-r-r-r-r-

This fight was entertaining to say the least although Semin's fighting style is very questionable. Seriously? I could pound on the guy better than that! :)

Okay I have to talk about my hockey experience last night. The Kings played the Flyers and we arrived early enough to see the teams warm-up. The seat that is usually empty between us and the older couple was taken by a young woman (Flyers fan). We joked around a bit that we would beat her up, etc. and she said that the lady seated in front of me would protect her (another Flyers fan). Okay...so we're just sitting there...I'm eating my nachos when I see a blur, then the woman in front grabs her head/face and lurches forward. OMG, she just got nailed by a puck from one of Flyers! She has her head in her lap while her husband has his arms around her. Ushers come over and the paramedics are summoned. There is blood...and they leave with the paramedics. Yikes.

Uhhh, then I realize that if she wasn't there, guess who was next in line behind her. Yup...me! I would have been hit in the chest/shoulder (?) but I was grateful that it wasn't me. We waited for them to come back but they never did. I hope she is okay...she'll have a great story to tell but still...that sucks. At least the little boy that got the puck gave it to her husband so she has a souvenir and maybe some stitches.

So I'm a little more cautious now because it's not the first time a puck has flown over to me during warm-ups. Another time, a puck flew over my shoulder bounced off the seat behind me and grazed my hand. Of course the puck went a few rows ahead so I didn't get it but phew....

So, warning to those we give our tickets to....WATCH OUT FOR PUCKS! Especially during warm-ups. The teams are out on the ice with buckets of pucks and they're shooting them all at the same time so be careful.

And the best thing is that the Kings won!

mammoth pictures

Here are some of the pictures from Mammoth. There are more in Hector's camera but who knows when I'll get those. :) Here are the boys before heading out to watch the fireworks on New Year's Eve. More on that later.....
The Village.

Joshua and I took a free day so we took the shuttle to the Village, caught the gondola to Canyon lodge where we met Hector and Tyler for lunch.

The crowds at Canyon. Seriously lots of people at the lifts lines so the wait was 15 minutes or more but Mammoth is so big that there is plenty of room to ski.

Oh, I finished a hat on the trip up. This is for Yan-ro. I made it smaller for normal sized heads.

Joshua lounging on one of the queen beds. The boys decided to sleep on the pullout sofa because it's more fun plus they are still small enough to think that thing is comfortable.

More to follow....

mammoth trip

For anyone who is interested in our lodging at Mammoth...we stayed at the Rodeway Inn which is kinda rundown at best. It was decent and clean but lacking in several things. Like a working TV in the bedroom which Hector converted over to the PS2 playing area. No shelves in the medicine cabinet, a broken shower rail and it goes on. But it was very convenient to stores, restaurants and shuttle.

The weather in December can be unpredictable, after all it is winter. The last time Hector and I were in Mammoth in December (1996), we got in a big fight, had our snowboards stolen and got stuck in a blizzard for 8 hours in his old Honda. But that's another story.

This trip was awesome...the weather couldn't be better. The day temps averaged in the 40's with gorgeous blue skies and plenty of snow from the previous week. Tyler had a slow start on the mountain but he came around quickly, skiing wherever we took him. Joshua is still in ski school in the fenced off area since he doesn't stop unless someone tells him. They won't take him on the chairlift until he stops on his own. But he has lots of fun anyway.

Pictures to follow...

catching up

Happy New Year!

Our winter break is moving along quickly and I'm trying to catch up. Our sweet neighbor Judy brought the kids some gifts and a gingerbread house to decorate. So one day I broke it open and let them loose on it. There are detailed instructions on how to create certain looks but we ignored all of it and did our own thing.

As a result, it looks great! Something that spewed frosting and candy all over it but the kids had a blast. Josh couldn't stop licking the icing and Tyler ate lots of little colored candy balls but we still managed to come up with a nice gingerbread house.