So, the Pants and I recently decided that we needed to replace the gross carpet in our den. Old carpet is the nastiest of nasties. Those of you with old carpet - you know what I'm talking about. GROSS. Also, we have a white carpet and a black doggy inside whose favorite pasttime is the wormy worm. (That's when she army crawls all over the floor, dragging her black little legs behind her. Very low quality video can be seen here.)

We've been looking for some affordable floors for a while, and we came across a deal we couldn't pass up, and so we bought 'em. And, in a fit of insanity, decided, let's just go ahead and install the damn things. NEVER MIND that our wedding is a month away. That's OKAY. We can do it! And hey, let's paint the room, too, while we're at it. NO WORRIES.

And we did. But, I say to you: do not embark on major home improvement a month before your wedding. It may cause you to become overly stressed about other things. Like the cake. Or maybe the centerpieces. Or the availability of hotels on your wedding weekend. Or...

Ahem.

I'll just show you what we did.

Before.

After.

Oh how I love it. I am really glad we were able to do this before the wedding, because we've got folks staying with us, but it was a lot of work. And these are floating floors - no nailing or gluing - so pretty much the easiest floors to install. But really, not so easy. Jacob and his dad did the hard stuff and I helped align boards and ran around a lot. I used the miter saw *once*. Note: I did not like using the miter saw.

We still need to finish the kitchen, which we'll work on this week. Hopefully we'll have the entire downstairs done before the wedding. This is the goal.

In other news? Juliet, she is super fun to knit. And she is nearly done...

sorry for the crappy quality, but bathroom light is the best I can do right now.

The garter stitch at the top did hurt my hands a bit, but I think it's because I'm using a cotton yarn. This yarn (Gedifra Softig) is very soft, but the cotton is hard to knit since it's so bulky. Once I got past the garter stitch, it's been smooth sailing. I'm so excited about this sweater. I'm already imagining a long sleeved version in a different yarn...

I'm also coveting this sweater knit by FlintKnits Pam. Awesome. I think I might have some yarny goodness in the stash that wants to become that sweater...

But, I'm thinking I might pick my Kim Hargreaves Maggie back up and finish that baby up...it's starting to get a little chilly round here. OH BOY TIME FOR FALL!

She is so pretty. and ready to be finished.

Lord, I have so much to tell you. Like all the sewing I want to do. And the quilt pattern I bought. and the Emmys! did you watch them? And also, I think I might do a teeny bit of wedding knitting. I have 30 days to do it!

But, I have to go. Next time!

Posted by Carrieoke at 11:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (38)

The new swift. YAY! My crafty-schmoo-fiance built me my very own swift. He was able to make this:

I'm working here.

into this:

It works!

I helped with measuring wood and reading directions. The Pants did all sawing, drilling, hammering, etc. We used these instructions that I found online: [ edited the link: http://www.craftydiversions.com/patterns/homemade_yarn_swift.htm ] and they worked perfectly. Of course I ran and bought a ball winder almost immediately -- I'm not wasting any time! I love my handmade swift so. much.

Now. A fun activity from the fabulous Fricknits: ten topics that begin with the letter E. Yikes. E seems hard. I guess everyone thinks their letter sounds hard...

English : I majored in English in college, and I now work in an English department. I am a stickler for correct spelling and grammar in writing. Questionable grammar in spoken English doesn't bother me as much as written mistakes. I am especially appalled at spelling errors on websites -- if you see one on my blog, you can tell me. I will luv u 4 it.

Exercise: It's starting hardcore in January. I got a step and hand weights for Christmas, and I just ordered that Nike-iPod thingy that Rachael was talking about. I'm planning to run a half-marathon in March -- and I'm mentioning that so you'll HOLD ME TO IT -- and I need to start training. MUST. DO. IT. Did I mention that I'm getting married in October of this year and I want to be my super-cutest self for the wedding?

Espresso : Every morning, I get a 16 oz vanilla latte from Jittery Joe's, our local coffee shop. Sometimes I get an extra shot of espresso if I'm feeling extra droopy. I realized over the holidays how much money I spend at said coffee shop. Woo-hoo! I'm supporting local business, so that makes it okay, right?

Election: I volunteered for our mayor's re-election campaign at the end of 2006. And it was FUN. Extra-fun activities included playing an election benefit show with Bling and creating a banner ad for our local online newspaper. She won!

Explosion: We set off fireworks last night. Lots and lots of fireworks. Jacob loves to be the dude that lights the fireworks and then runs like crazy away from the fireworks before they blow up. (Which makes me, inevitably, the girl who's yelling "Be careful, schmoo! Are we being too loud?") Don't worry, we're careful. And we're all about fire safety -- my future father-in-law is a fireman.

Entertaining: We had a little New Year's party last night, and it was really fun. Our new house is perfect for having guests. At one point, we had a poker game, karaoke, and Wii-playing all going on at the same time. Good times. And we still have leftover pigs in a blanket and tiny cheesecakes. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Tiny cheesecakes.

Evil: Tiny cheesecakes! You are evil! Stop tempting me from the fridge...

Education: Semester two of grad school starts next week. I'm taking one face-to-face class and one online class. We had a few online sessions of class last semester in my theory class, and it was sort of awkward and painful. I'm hoping a whole semester of online sessions aren't as painful...

Engaged: So I have the date. And the place. And the dress. (And the Pants. hahahahahahahahahahaha.) Apparently, the REAL planning can start now. Note to self: Must consult excessively organized and already married twin sister.

And, finally...

Endpaper Mitts: Finished!

My First Endpaper Mitts. Certainly not my last.

My first Fair Isle experience was a good one. I learned that it's hard to get consistent gauge, which I'm working on, and I also learned that it's a bad idea to do colorwork when you're a little tipsy. D'oh. But, the mitts fit, they look decent, and I'm not scared of colorwork anymore!

Excellent.

Later this week: Progress reports on Maggie and Forecast.

Posted by Carrieoke at 9:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (34)

Ah. The holidays are so, so lovely. I've been sleeping until embarrassingly late hours, wearing my (new) pajamas all day, and knitting constantly. One of the perks of a university job is that the university is closed the last week in December, so I've got lots of time off. It's a wonderful thing. Luckily, Jacob works with schools as well, so we're both at home relaxing. It's given us lots of time to put the house in some kind of order and play with our Christmas presents.

Christmas was totally awesome. We got all kinds of great stuff for the house, loads of gift cards (LOWES! HOME DEPOT! BEDBATHANDBEYOND!) and lots of other fun things. I got some great Sephora stuff and the perfect jewelry box. So much good stuff.

The Pants gave me two ultimately awesome presents: this necklace

SchmooTag.

and... a camcorder!

I'm gonna video you.

That one was a bit of a surprise. So. Excited. About. Video. I have a feeling that videos of Bella, Chili, and other adorable thingsin my house may be making a more regular appearance on this here blog. Woo-hoo! I also taped ridiculous amounts of nephew cuteness on Christmas Day -- the child has gotten SO. BIG. I got to feed him a bottle, which was really fun and also kind of scary at the same time.

Here's the BigHeadSchmoo:

I'm the king of this blanket.

The sis finally got her Central Park Hoodie, for keeps:

Finally!

And there was also some intense game playing: both Texas Hold 'Em:

Jacob won. Again.

And Clue DVD:

Wes is a sleuth. He had the time ALL NARROWED DOWN.

Good. Times.

Now? I'm going to sit on my butt some more and surf blogs and knit and not have any responsibilities. We are having folks over for New Year's, so at some point I need to clean a little more, but NOT NOW. Now is for lounging. And building a swift...more on that later.

Hope everyone is having a happyhappy with their family and friends. This is the FOURTH Christmas I've celebrated with my blog, can you believe it? I can't. Time flies when you're having fun. And other cliches.

Happy New Year from our house to yours!!

Posted by Carrieoke at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (34)

We are almost completely into our new house. We've been sleeping there (on a mattress on the floor, but still we're HERE.) and all the super heavy stuff is moved (the piano, the dressers, the boxes of yarn.) Now we need to clean the rest of our crap out of the old house, CLEAN the old house, and start unpacking. In the blush of my first-time homeowner happiness, I forgot: Moving is Stressful. Yikes. Add that to major projects being due in both of my grad courses, and work, and starting the whole wedding planning process. I am overwhelmed. (My sister and I got into a who-is-busier competition on the phone yesterday, and let me tell you - don't get into that with a high school teacher. YOU WILL LOSE.)

But. Enough of that. Everybody else in the whole world is busy too, so at least I'm not alone in my overwhelmed-ness. And, it's lunchtime, and I'm sitting in Hot Corner Coffee, drinking a latte and using the wireless internet to blog, so I can't be THAT BUSY. Right?

First of all, you should know that my nephew makes the best owl ever:

Owl. Schmoo.
That's my mom in the pic.

My older sister Michelle made that fabulous owl costume for Brady and he totally rocked it on Halloween. You should've seen the layers of felt she was working with...she's a crafty one. Isn't it precious? That child is star material.

In other crafty news, I'm almost done with the second sleeve of the Central Park Hoodie, and to reward myself, I've started a little something for me: Forecast. I've eyed this pattern for a while, and after reading this fabulous post over at Fricknits, I immediately cast on. Me likey so far.

Now, to close this brief and random post, I will make two requests of you:

1. Can you recommend good affordable furniture stores? And, if you're going to suggest Ikea, have you had good luck with their stuff?

--------------------------------------------------------------

2. EDITED TO ADD: Previously, I had posted something here about how my fiance and I had come to the decision to try and find a new home for one of our dogs, Chili. This apparently prompted hate-filled (anonymous) comments from several people, and honestly, I am already way too sad about the whole situation to deal with negativity from anyone. I posted the info because knitbloggers tend to be really awesome people, and I was hoping that maybe someone nearby was looking for a new schmoo. If any of you ARE looking for a new doggy, please email me.

Because I now feel like total shit and feel the need to explain myself, I want to let you know that: we are keeping Chili until we find a really wonderful home fo her. And if we don't, she will stay with us. The reason we are looking is because Chili and our smaller dog, Bella, used to be friends and now, for whatever doggy psychology reason, they have started attacking each other and we are afraid for Bella's life. Chili needs to be the only dog in a good home, and that's what we are trying to find for her.

Anyone who reads my blog on any kind of regular basis knows that I love my doggies very, very much, and this has been a very heartbreaking situation. I feel like I'm having to choose between my kids, honestly, and it stinks. But I would rather give Chili to a better home than have her or Bella hurt.

I know I shouldn't let a few random comments get to me, but dude, this has been a rough situation for me, and I've waited a while to post about Chili. Thank you for the supportive comments, and thank you for letting me explain myself.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

And that's all I've got right now. Back to work...

Posted by Carrieoke at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (82)