Friday, February 26, 2010

Where resolutions last one and a half months

I never told you what my New Year's resolution was, did I? Nope, I didn't think so.

It's to be nicer.

Now I imagine there are several of you out there who are thinking that resolution is crazy. "Hugs is the nicest person ever." While I appreciate that thought, I'm not perfect. The rest of you are thinking "It's about time."

Anyway, my resolution was, specifically, to tell people to have a nice day. Like at the grocery store, the bagger puts the last bag of groceries into my cart and mumbles something to me. I look him in the face and reply "Thanks, you have a good day." And I mean it. I want him to have a nice day.

While there isn't always a reaction, it's been nice to see people give me a genuine smile. They can tell I'm saying something sincere and I'm taking the time to notice them.

This has actually been a good resolution in that it's lasted a bit longer than others from years past. Last week I realized I'd driven away from the bank drive through without more than a distracted "Thanks, you too" when the teller told me to have a nice day. Ah, I guess I'm still not perfect.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share this in case any of you'd like to try it.

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Where my head is warm

For Christmas I received Luxury Yarn One Skein Wonders. I was ok with it but didn't think I'd get much out of it. I mean, I'd have to either special order the yarn or make the drive to an actual yarn shop and bring both kids with me. And I'll let your imagination play with the idea of Xander in a yarn shop.

However I stumbled across a pattern for a hat. And I could easily picture the hat in a color I need and I could picture me wearing it.

I really don't knit much for me. As you've seen from previous posts, I like making things for friends and family. Heck, my sister even asked for another pair of pajama pants for Christmas this year, so I must not be making bad things.

So I actually did trek to a yarn shop with both kids (Xander was distracted by the yarn balls so didn't make a big mess) (the balls were not just piles of yarn, they were purposefully made into balls) (that being said, the yarn balls were supposed to be decorative and not play things). The store did not have the specific type of yarn that the pattern called for, so I pondered over the assortment they did have. I bought some and went home and practiced to make sure I had the right size needles.

And I made myself a hat. With a lace pattern even. Just in time for Snowmageddon to strike!



It's by no means perfect, but you can't see the mistakes unless you're looking. So this picture distracts you from the mistakes by the presence of my nose looking huge. Not flattering, but you're supposed to look at the hat.


Oh, and if for some reason you are knitting a pattern from a book, always check for corrections on the internet first. I had to undo two rows to fix the decreases in the top.