Finally! Ruidoso pics

Ok, so hiking in the snow after a bout of pneumonia maybe wasn't the best idea, but it ended up being fun!

Brian at the trailhead. One-way down, then we had to walk back!

Hmmm, who's a bigger nut?!?

Ugh

I've been trying all morning to upload some photos of our anniversary trip. Unfortunately, the website is not cooperating. Please try again later.

Grrr.

I'm a Pastor's Daughter!

It's been a busy, busy weekend! I flew home to Georgia this weekend to see my Daddy get ordained as the new pastor for Messiah Lutheran Church.

Not only was I in town, but Dad's sisters (Debbie and Robin) and brother-in-law (Don) all made it down from New England.

I also got to visit with some friends in Savannah and enjoy a good meal at Moon River Brewing. The only downside to the whole weekend was finding out that I'm sporting a case of pneumonia. Here I thought the coughing and fever were just a touch of a cold...

A warm welcome to 2012!

Well, a frantic 2011 came to a frantic end last month. I took a moment to reflect on some of the many things that happened this past year, and came up with the following:

*Went house hunting in Savannah

*Stopped house hunting when Brian got orders to move to Texas

*Got married

*Met my father-in-law and step-kids for the first time

*Raised an adorable little puppy

*Quit a job that I loved

*Moved halfway across the country

*Spent 7 months looking for a job

*Made some pretty amazing restoration projects

*Started adapting to Army life

*Spent two weeks with the kids

*Brian and I spent our first holiday season together

*Started a Master's degree

*Met some pretty cool people and a bunch of knitters

*Took computer classes and got Network+ certified

*Finally got hired and started working again!

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty crazy, busy, stressful, wonderful year. I am not really one for making New Year's resolutions, but I do have a few things that I would like to work on this year.

*Stay focused and proactive in my studies

*Make time for taking care of myself, physically and mentally

*Excel at my new job

*Keep in touch with my friends and family

*Explore ways to expand my creative outlets

Between working full time, taking two classes each semester, participating in the El Paso Knitting Guild, and still making time for my husband and dogs, I'm sure 2012 will prove to be a very full year!

We're having a ball out here!

No, really, we went to a Ball! Brian's unit had a Holiday Ball on Thursday, so we got ourselves all scrubbed, polished, and pressed for the festivities. This was Brian's first chance to wear his snazzy new Class A uniform, and I have to say that I think the new colors (blue and black instead of green) look really sharp.

I tried dress shopping downtown, but the choices were, for the most part, not my style and the size selection was limited to say the least. So, I did what I often do, and decided to just make my dress myself! I took a pattern I used before and made a few tweaks, and came up with this purple satin gown. I even finished it was a day to spare (though I did whip up a little matching zippered clutch about an hour before we left).

I didn't lose my slipper, but I still got the prince in the end. :)

Giving Thanks

Well, it's that time of year again. Cooking for hours, eating too much, rushing to finish up my Christmas crafting. And, of course, thinking on all the things for which I am grateful. Here is a short list (in no particular order):

the first full holiday season with my hubby
family that supports me
friends that keep in touch
dogs that lick my hands
an abundance of craft supplies
opportunites, both present and upcoming
plenty of food

Apologies and updates

First, apologies yet again for a long absence. This Master's program is more work than I expected, but classes are going great! I'm working on two really interesting projects at the moment: one on learning theory as applied to knitting and another on the volunteer management system for Army Family Team Building. Very cool stuff!

Secondly, Momo found a new friend! And so did I! Amanda is another Army wife that I met through a knitting buddy, and her 11 month old puppy Lucy is Momo's new BFF. It is such a hoot to watch these two little monkeys play with each other. And, of course, the extra benefit is that they wear each other out so we get some peace and quiet! Harley tolerated their shenanigans, and even tried to get into the fun while chasing the ball outside.

When she's feeling especially lonely and I'm busy knitting or reading in the nap chair, Momo has taken to planting her face between my feet. It's so cute that I can't even get annoyed at how distracting it is.

On the crafting front, it's been pretty low key since I finished the big red chair. Lots of fun little projects and nothing overly ambitious. I've made a few shrugs for ladies on base, and a dear friend of mine commissioned a knitted work: she wanted an obscenely large knitted diamond ring. I am pretty darn proud of the fact that I designed the whole thing all by myself and that it actually came out the way I envisioned! I must be getting good at this knitting thing...
Here's a shot to give you proper scale for the finished product. That's one BIG diamond! And I got to use my new knitting machine to make the band.

The El Paso Knitting Guild had a yarn swap a while back, and I picked up this beautiful bamboo yarn. It's super soft and looks stunning with the way it patterns. But I'm using a size 3 needle and working these fingerless gloves in all rib stitch, so it is taking FOREVER to finish! At least I'm doing both gloves at one time or I would probably never finish the second one...

Just a few years ago I picked up a pattern booklet from Paton's that included felted Mary Jane slippers. I'm pretty sure I bought it just for that pattern. Well, I finally knitted up a pair and they are even cuter than the picture! I had to make a few adjustments, but they are soft and warm and cute and wonderful! And, yes, I will be making many, many more of these. Christmas is right around the corner, after all.

Apart from all the knitting, I also stumbled across an amazingly clever idea: book purses! Who would have guessed, transforming old, hard cover books into charming little purses. I made a practice run with a Lemony Snickett book, then tried it for real on this book about Texas.

It certainly isn't a "throw everything you might possibly need for a two week trip" kind of purse. But it definitely has some style to it. I have a few other old books I snagged from the Goodwill. Let's see how those turn out...

When we moved to El Paso I had this idea that we'd be relatively warmish when most of my New England friends were shivering in their parkas. Sadly, it seems that El Paso doesn't comply with many of my expectations. This morning as I walked the dogs it was a whopping 34 degrees. In all fairness, it's supposed to get into the upper 60s later today. But still. Grrr.