2014 in Review

I don't believe that I've ever done a year in review. I really should have thought about it earlier but I'll hit some major points....

February: Did 2 trips to Mammoth on back to back weekends. First weekend was blizzard conditions and the next weekend was beautiful.


I even bought photos of Hector and I shredding....hee hee.





March: I traveled to Calgary with my SIL Lupe on a LA Kings fan trip. We met lots of fun, nice people, explore Calgary and watch the LA Kings!









April: For the first time, we changed our usual spring break trip to Mammoth to 2 trips. Tyler went without us to Costa Rica with his 8th grade group. He had a great time and the memories will be special.




The remainder of our family went to Washington DC...the family dynamics were definitely different and quiet. Josh got to experience being an only child and eat lots of fattening food. It was my first time to DC and we did lots and lots of walking. We also caught the cherry blossom season which was really cool.






June: We had both kids promoted to the next level of their education. Josh to middle school and Tyler to high school.





Also if you live under a bridge, the LA Kings won their 2nd Stanley Cup in 3 years. The adults in our household were very very happy and the kids are thankful the screaming, yelling and cheering is over (for now).




July: NHL awards in Vegas with Kathy and the kids. 



 
 I head over to NYC with Lupe for 4 days which was my first trip there. It was a wonderful time and we did LOTS of walking like over 7 miles a day. My feet didn't cooperate with my shoes so I had lots of bruised toenails and blisters. 






October: Back to Vegas for Frozen Fury. Apparently I don't have many photos uploaded so just use your imagination....




My knitting production decreased although I still knit a lot. My painting increased and I learned nail art too. Maybe I'll recap those in my next post....

Ashburn

Ack, it's already December! I've done some shopping and we're still decorating the house/tree. After taking a break, this year the Christmas cards and photo calendars are back so that took up a good portion of my time. I guess it seems really hectic in addition to being my mom's assistant and driver. 

I used my anniversary  Amazon gift card to buy an Instant Pot. So far I used it to make mashed potatoes (success) and pinto beans (success). I make beans often and used the stove top method. I would just boil/simmer the heck out of them but using the Instant Pot was like night and day. WOW! I know it's just beans but married to a Hispanic can put some bit of pressure on a girl. ;)  Heh, see what I did  there unknowingly? Pressure ===> Instant Pot = electric pressure cooker. 

Okay, these beans came out really good. I'm no bean expert but after 18 years of marriage and beans, these are GOOD. And it only took about 35 minutes of cooking in the Instant Pot. I didn't have to stir every so often, check the water level or worry about burning the beans. So I'm making more today. No more fuss...I can't wait to make stew and soups.
Mmmm...

So on to the real topic, my Ashburn which is not technically correct since I knit it for someone else. It was a real labor of love and it came out just beautiful. I only had about 12 hours to enjoy it and try to take proper pictures of it before I handed it off. I hope hope hope that the recipient LOVES this to death forever and forever. It was a lot of work for someone I don't even know and I won't do that again. Too much for me.

I plan on knitting myself one next year and picking out the colors will be the most difficult part. :) This ranks right up to Color Affection in use of colors and coziness. 





Here it is laid out on the floor which you can't tell how large it is. It measures over 70 inches along the top edge so it can be a lovely shawl or as I model in the following photos a cozy scarf/bandanna.




The cool feature of this pattern is the texture created in the middle portion. It took the longest but the end result is well worth it. 




A new technique I used on this is the picot bind off. I can't recall doing this on any other project but I may be wrong. I think it adds a nice feminine touch to this. 

The weather is even cooperating so I wasn't sweltering during the photoshoot. Although now I see some strange white flecks in my hair!  Blergh..




And now for my artsy look...It's going to rain a lot tonight so since the Ashburn is gone, I will have to find my Color Affection to cozy up with during the hockey game. :)

Repurposing

Ack! It's already December! Thanksgiving flew by and now Christmas is speeding towards us! Everyone has plans, lists and shopping on their mind. We had to be more on the ball this year because we adopted a family and had to have their gifts ready for delivery today!

It was lots of fun to shop for them and I hope they're happy with their gifts. It 's nice to help others as much as possible.

Anyway, my family has now seemed to FINALLY be over the cold/flu we got last month. I just saw on the news today that this years flu shot is not that effective. Huh, that might explain a lot.

I've been knitting but this one particular project has taken up my time. I am soooo close to finishing but then I have the long bind off which may take me a day to complete. It's very pretty and I'm happy with the results.

My youngest has requested a variety of cereal to try for breakfast so I had got a variety pack at Sam's Club. The last bag was Cocoa Puffs and wouldn't you know, the kid that loves chocolate is just sort of meh about it. So I have a full bag of this stuff. 

The internet and Google to the rescue!! Reese's Pieces Cocoa Puff Bars!!!! Super easy recipe but I did substitute regular Reese's Pieces because I couldn't find the minis. I mixed the candy into the bars instead of putting them on top because they wouldn't be able to stick. Even then, some of the candy would fall off but not a big deal. 

Just had to use the microwave and mix. I offered them to the kids after school and the oldest one, who really doesn't care for chocolate ended up liking them after they were transformed with the peanut butter and Reese's Pieces. Funny kid! The youngest still refused. So 50% is not bad...I saved a few pieces and sent the rest to hubby's work. Win/win and I used up that bag of cereal, gave some people a treat and looked like a genius baker/cook. :)

Friday is Here!!

Cute video of a young Boston Bruins fan getting fist bumps from the team.




Also I've been trying my hand at nail art which is lots of fun. My results do not come out like the videos but my nails look decent and I've gotten a couple of compliments on them.











This is the person I follow on Youtube and she has many pretty & cool designs. I tried the second one but used black as the base color for that 80's vibe. Not as pretty but from far away, my nails look cool. I  obviously need improvement on my stripes. So many videos to watch and try!

Life Goes On

Hi,

I honestly feel bad about neglecting my blog for long stretches of time. Life stuff happens and one must deal with it as best they can.

I'll share this just to get it off my chest and I don't usually post heavy things. My mom has been in declining health for a while and this summer, I (we) couldn't ignore it any longer. In August, my mom's iron level was getting dangerously low and an incident with her car (while it was parked) at the doctor's appointment, made us come to the difficult decision of not letting her drive anymore.

This has been added stress to me as the only child and there were some difficult moments of adjustments for all of us. After 3 months, we settled into a routine that suits everyone. It brings back memories of H and L caring for their mother when she needed it. Decisions to be made. Lots of repeated explanations but we carry on. It hasn't gotten to a serious stage yet but the upcoming holidays make life take on extra meaning.

My mom took care of me and keeps on giving us love & advice which can bug but we know her heart is in the right place. So I cherish the time I have with my mom and enjoy what we share together. :)

So be nice to your family and friends, they may not be perfect but deep down, hopefully their hearts is in the right place towards you.


And since I'm posting, I might as well get to the lighter things now.  I knit when I can...the whole family came down with the nasty cold with H & I suffering the most. We actually got real rain in SoCal in I don't even remember when it rained last here. Josh has his school fundraiser and like usual the parents stepped up and sold 51 orders of cookie dough. His goal was 15 orders to he can go in a party bus to In n Out! Well, H's work always comes through and he sold the majority to them. I'm ecstatic because we get another Sector 9 skateboard with 50 orders.

I picked up a paintbrush to try and continue on with my Van Gogh painting. It is very time consuming (in a good therapeutic way) and I need lots of natural light to see the tiny numbers/areas.

I'm thankful to Hector...our 18th anniversary is coming up on Sunday! We have something planned and with kids have Monday/Tuesday off, I will have them for some fun time planned sort of last second.

Hopefully I can get motivated with photography again. I miss it.

Carry on...  :-)

Friday Mish Mash

I have no excuses for this bad blogger. Just enjoy the assorted and random things I post today.

I finally picked up my Reef painting over the past weekend from my childhood friend Kathy. I love it and decided to place it in the kitchen so I can see it all through out the day.



Of course, I spy another painting that is lovely and for sale.



Went to Vegas for Frozen Fury with the girls and had a blast. Lots of drinking amongst the eating, hockey player sightings and heat.




This was just in the Long Beach airport.

Hockey season began and last night was the replica ring giveaway.




They look pretty nice, don't they?

I totally missed the Throwback Thursday...so here are 2 pics.

One is of Hector & Carlos at our wedding (1996). Time flies by so quickly.




Here is one from 1993 when I had my car accident. I should leave it for another post but it was a miracle that I lived. Just sayin...






Okay, I threw practically everything in this post except the kitchen sink. Until next time!

Hockey on the Brain..

I. AM. SO. READY!

Flashback Friday

It 's so hard to believe that this little cute baby is now 15 years old. Here Tyler is enjoying his trike rocker. Hector used to get an umbrella with the hook handle to snag the front rail to drag Tyler around the family room. Tyler thought it was the greatest thing ever.

He pretty much wore a bib his first 2 years of life because he drooled constantly. I always said it was his natural lubrication because boy, can this guy talk and talk. :)

He's been a joy and challenge and we love him more than he knows.

Knitted Lace Jewelry Frame

Okay, so now I'm kind of expanding my knitting wings so to speak. I usually like to give knits as gifts and it's nice to know if they're being used or not because I don't want to be that weird person/ family member who is always giving handknits.

I've knit the usual hats, socks, and scarves but I found a cool pattern and hopefully the women in my life will enjoy this as much as I do.




It's an unusual and cool gift IMO if the ladies don't like these, then they can re-gift. I already know of one person in my family who does not want one. The horror!

The frames can be set on a table or hung on the wall. Pretty nifty.

I like this a lot and spent all weekend looking for frames, knitting the pattern and finding the fabric backing. :)




This barely uses any yarn and I like how the frame can totally set the mood.

A better photo with my DSLR.



One last one that will be a birthday gift. It has the funky Instagram filter on it so I will get proper photos of this and the others too.

This pattern is free on Ravelry.

Glimpse

Super quick post to show what has been going on.


The kids finally started school. Time flies to where I have a 6th and 9th grader.




Labor Day weekend was low key. Tyler turned 15, we saw Guardians of the Galaxy (highly recommend) and I made a rib roast.

Summer NYC Trip

A super quick blurb/pics of my first trip to NYC. 

Four fabulous days & many many miles of walking left me with lots of fun memories and not so fun reminders of NYC.

We saw as much as could pack in and ate great food.

I realized that all the walking I did combined with poor choice in shoes resulted in blisters and bruised toenails. We walked about 7-10 miles a day.

My Instagram NYC photos.

Happy September

Hockey is coming back in a month (more or less) so I thought I'd put up one the funnier hockey commercials we remember.

Free Pattern: Boho Hobo Infinity Scarf

Boho Hobo

How this pattern was discovered... I was stashbusting my leftover balls of yarn knitting a length-wise scarf, I would trim the ends off from the fringe and add those bits to my gallon sized Ziploc bag, I think have trimmings and pieces starting to almost the beginning of my yarn addiction.

I began thinking, what can I do with these little random lengths of yarn? And the Boho Hobo was born!! I began knotting the strands together, mixing colors and weights at will. Everything was included, fingering, DK, sport, worsted and bulky. Nothing was left behind even the crazy novelty yarn I had no clue how to use.

I cast on and in the beginning, it didn't look like much but I persevered. As I was knitting, I'm thinking someone must think this is nice, right? This entire week, I bring my mom to the infusion center for her IV iron therapy. The nurse on Monday sees me knitting on this unknown entity, asks what I'm knitting. I say, I think it may be a scarf but I don't have enough yarn scraps so probably a cowl. The nurse replies, It's pretty.

Aha moment!

I keep knitting until I run out of scraps and then began to make more to add on. The length I stopped at was about 44 inches. Bind off and mattress stitch the ends together and wow! I can't believe how cute it looks.

I am now in the process of cutting up my leftover yarn balls into smaller pieces so I can knit another one.

So if anyone is interested in making their own Boho Hobo, I am posting my notes although it's not set in stone...do whatever you like!

Boho Hobo Infinity Scarf: 

Ingredients: lots of yarn scraps knotted together (this can take the longest so don't be afraid to ask family and friends with finger dexterity to help).

Needles: US size 8 (I knit loosely). Choose a size to get the fabric and drape you desire. 

Gauge: not necessary

Cast on desired # of stitches. I choose 28 stitches which gave me about 6 inches width. 

For each row, slip the 1st stitch purlwise, knit to end of row. Knit all rows to get garter stitch which will be reversible and let the knots fall where they may on either side of fabric. Sometimes the knots will get caught on the loops but just work them through gently.

Continue knitting until desired length. Mine was 44 inches, the length is entirely up to you and/or recipients preference.

Bind off and stitch the ends together. 

Feel free to knit and sell your Boho Hobo but please link back to this pattern please. Also if you knit your own, please leave a comment or photo! :)

Start of project

Endless possibilities

My ball of knots

August

Summer is flying by much to the kids' dismay but we are enjoying every moment of it. The days seem warmer than usual due to increased humidity so we stay cool inside and then go for nice long walks in the evening. Did you see the supermoon? That was really cool and neat to see at midnight with the kids. We pulled out the binoculars and could see pretty good details. 

I've been knitting too, Christmas is around the corner. I have  several new things to show off.


First up is a nice crescent shaped shawlette/scarf that uses fingering weight yarn. It's called 504 King West and it's free on Ravelry. I am always attempting to use stash yarn which made a little dent. I really like this but these colors are not my taste so I will gift this one.





I found another stashbuster called Bandanna Cowl from Purl SoHo in NYC where I just was a couple of weeks ago. I like how this looks although it may not be used that much here in LA, I think my snowboarder friends will like it's usefulness while boarding on gusty days.


Boot cuffs! A cute accessory that looks like tall thick socks but no! It's an illusion. Girls get it and believe me, actual socks would be too warm. My calves are big so I would use these, I can barely find boots to fit over the calf so sadly these will be gifted to my family/friends with smaller calves. 

To complete my headband theme, I found a cute headband pattern called It's a Cinch. Also free and a quick gift.  This is the first headband which is knit as pattern states. It's pretty wide so I also knit a narrower version. 




I knit these socks last month but had to rip out the toes again because they were too short. I really wanted to keep them. I don't remember if I posted pics of them but here they are. Show-off Stranded Socks. I love the shades of purple. 



Wow, that was a lot more than I realized. I have some WIPs to get to like socks, a shawl, 2 scarves and always, my hexipuff project.

See you next time....