Spending

More so than ever, I try to keep my spending to the essentials. But it's hard to resist some things...luckily I have a lot of gift cards. I have some that are multi-functional like Target where I can get almost about anything I want or need. Then I have some like Gap Kids (for the boys) which is a little harder since their inventory is limited (plus I don't feel like I get my moneys worth). I've had a gift certificate from a local photo shop with a $200 balance.

Today I decided to go and spend the remainder because I don't know if they'll stay in business although I hope so. I make a little list in my head and promise not to go over the gift amount. I went after mailing out some photo calendars (yes, I know its March) but I mailed them out anyway. The store was not busy so I roped some guy into helping spend my money. We got the remote control shutter release for $15, a high speed 4GB CF card for $100 so leaves me $85 left for filters. The man tells me they're selling used filters for $4. Sold. He brought out all sorts and picked out the different ones that I might be interested in or would be good in my arsenal. Warming filters, red, deep blue, light blue, starburst and something else (I can't remember the name) and more which totalled 9 filters. $36 for filters. Sold. A multi-card reader for $30 and a couple of lens cloths ($10) which cleared out my gift certificate. Yay!!! Actually, I was about $2 under my limit but the head dude said he could discount another lens cloth for me to spend it all.

So now I have all sorts of filters to read up on and play with. I need to install my card reader which will be easier for the camera and post some pictures.

Here is the starburst filter used on my bedside lamp. Ooooh, pretty lights! I can't wait to try this one out...

Rockin It Hockey Style

On Saturday we had another hockey game. This game was against the Minnesota Wild who are a few points ahead of us in the standings so these 2 points are very important. The Kings won...woo hoo!!
There is another couple of season ticket holders in our row and have been for a long time. That day was their day to be recognized for their support. The lady, Lori was there and she brought her daughter & grand-daughter. Lori ended up with all sorts of cool swag but the best was this limited-edition guitar!!
They had several bags of stuff along with the necessary stroller and diaper bag so we offered to help them to their car. Lori was nice enough to let us take a look at the guitar and take pictures.

Heh heh, it was lots of fun playing around and tonight (Monday) is another game so GO KINGS GO!!

Daydreaming

I'm waiting for Hector to shower so we can head to the hockey game. Meanwhile I am drooling at sock yarn at The Loopy Ewe. They carry all these beautiful yarn with such gorgeous colors. Sigh. I must resist for now and be happy to dream.

I'll have to start requesting gift cards to my favorite online knitting sites to feed my yarn addiction. But I must work on my current stash and knit double time! :)

Okay, back to reality.....

Yee-haw!!

Wednesday at Tyler's school was Bike rodeo which finally arrived. Tyler has been wanting to do this ever since he has been riding a bicycle. The event is only open to 3rd to 5th graders so this is his first year.

There are 6 skills/courses that he needs to complete. They sound simple enough on paper until one actually has to do it.

1. Riding/balancing at a slow speed. This is timed course where he needs to stay in a lane and either finish the length of the course or until you put your foot down on the ground. Tyler was soooooooooooooooo slow and he tried very hard but he was going too slow so he lasted only 12 seconds.


2. Riding in a straight line. Yep with with cones on either side so if you touch one, 10 points are deducted. Again Tyler went slow so it was harder and he scored a 70/100.


3. Weaving. Again harder in reality because we had no idea how close the cones would be and they were pretty close together. Another 70/100.


4. U-turn in a narrow lane. This was a tricky one to practice at home since I didn't know how narrow the lane would be. Luckily we practiced one before so he had no problems with this. 100/100


5. Circles. Um, harder when you need to stay in a lane. Tyler was concentrating so hard that he totally rode outside of the circle. Bummer. 70/100 I think I was more nervous than he was.


6. Stopping on the spot. Not a problem. 100/100

I couldn't get my video to post so you'll just have to visualize it somehow.

Overall this was a really great experience and Tyler had a fun time. :) Can't wait for next year!

Every Inch Counts

Yarn!!! What did you think I meant? After making my Cheese Monkey socks, I had a wee bit of yarn left...like the size of plums (times 2) so I went ahead to try and make some baby legwarmers. I mean like really small. I had to omit some rows of ribbing to squeak these puppies out. Maybe I'll keep this on the list of stashbusters because seriously, I have all these leftovers balls after the main project.

I think they'll fit okay. Plus I don't believe these will serve a real purpose ie warmth. Pure accessory and fashoin statement.

Hopefully baby D will look slammin in her new hat and legwarmers. Thankfully the weather is gray and rainy...I can curl up by the fire and knit while my spicy potato soup is in the slowcooker. :)

Quick Knit

I have a couple of knit projects sitting on the needles so I decided to find a small and quick item to jump start me. Remember, the choosing and getting started process is a drawn out with lots of browsing etc. I finally chose some KnitPicks yarn that I bought in the very beginning of my knitting education. Still had a good portion left but I did use part of it for another project. Well, I throw caution to the wind...I chose a baby hat. Their heads are small, right? I started yesterday and also finished yesterday! Yay and I had just enough yarn...had about 1 ft leftover. Phew!

I have to store this pattern for future reference because it looks complicated with the cables but it was super easy.

Weekend Round-up

We had a great weekend....a visit from Carlos and my cousin's (Grace) wedding. My pictures are not that great but believe me, the wedding was wonderful. Not too small or too big, it was just right. My cousin Hannah did an awesome job with details ie flowers and planning. There are so many things to consider and the wedding went smoothly. Grace looked beautiful and I wish the happy newlyweds all the best!!!!

There was dancing where Hector and the kids took full advantage of. After the first few songs, the dance floor was pretty much empty so Hector had plenty of room to make a spectacle of himself. Typical. Josh and Tyler seemed to have inherited their dad's love of dancing which is awesome.