Happy Cow

I knew it'd been a few days since I'd last blogged but I hadn't realized it was since Monday! Its not that I haven't been working on things...because I have been...but because I just haven't found the opportunity to sit my butt in this chair and get an entry in. The week has been busy...you know how that goes.

One of the things I did this week was to test the Happy Cow pattern for Sanda at Crochetville. The pattern is easy and very well written. Sanda also included lots of instructional photos, which are great for ami newbies. If I may say so myself, I think he's pretty darn cute.



Cow butt! :X



Look at my grape tomato plant! It hasn't died yet....forget dying, its blooming! Hopefully it will bear fruit in the next month or so. Much of that can be credited to the fact the hubby takes care of it instead of me. I'm sure it would have gone to Pot Garden Heaven if it'd been in my care.



My basil plant is also taking off and smells SOOO good.

Oh yeah, I wanted to tell you guys about the oopsie I made at work this week. I called a hospital to ask for some documents we needed for a case I'm working on. The man who picked up the phone was very polite. He asked me if I was calling from a law firm. Now, when dealing with work related stuff, I try to be polite and say "yes sir" or "yes ma'am." So I answered the question with a "yes sir." After a long pause, I was informed that "his" name was Cassandra. :X Oops!

How much do you want to bet those documents I need will be burned to a crisp?

Cathedral Rose Window makes a return

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day weekend!

The family and I decided to treat ourselves to a movie. We don't go to the movies very often because, let's face it, its highway robbery! We make exceptions when we really want to see a movie and we couldn't pass up seeing The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Hubby and Pi said it was so-so, but I really liked it. This movie doesn't have the innocence of the first, but it was well done. I'd say more but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it/read the book. I'm very much looking forward to more of the Narnia series coming to the big screen.

Since the weather has been nice, we went to the library and the park a few times. I also got some Cathedral Rose Window time in. I realized that it had been an entire month since I'd last worked on it.

This is what it looked like last time I showed you:



This is what it looks like now! Sorry about the darkness of the photo...getting good lighting is something I've yet to master. Filling in all those peaks and valleys sucked!!! I'm really glad to be at the point where I can work in the round again. Its exciting to see this thing grow! It measures about 52" across.

Its very hot when its sitting on my lap, so I'm hoping to work on it more steadily over the next few weeks and get it done. I'd love to be done by July. Is that goal too crazy?

Keep swimming

I'm feeling pretty good today. My ankle is ok to walk on and I finally finished my 22 day period. Yeah you read that right...22 friggin days. Mr. Ob/Gyn will be hearing from me soon. I also went back to work yesterday, even though my ankle isn't totally healed. Keep swimming, right?

Anyhoo, I spent most of Monday and Tuesday in bed crocheting. I filled in a few of the peaks and valleys from the Cathedral Rose Window. Not enough to get excited over...its slow going at this point.

I worked on more daisy squares for the twin's Christmas afghans. I've finished 63 squares. Only 17 to go! There's a light at the end of the tunnel! Woot!

I also finished up May's charity squares for a women's shelter. I was determined to only use scrap yarn and partial skeins left over from previous projects. Trying to bust the stash and it worked! None of these 6" squares was made from a new skein of yarn...which also explains some of the funky color combos.



There's a bud on my tomato plant! I've been so worried because we've had so much rain, but it looks like the tomato plant is a trooper.

Bezzie, yep those are huge snaps on the table. They're going to be my experiment with purse closures. I bought the sew in ones because they're cheaper. You get 4 pairs for just under 2 bucks compared to almost 5 bucks for 1 magnetic closure.

Thanks for the knitting tips everyone! I'm going to see if the library has some of those dvds and books. When I get some alone time, I'm going to try!

Smiley's and Sprains

Yesterday was The Big Day! I couldn't sleep because I was so stupid excited, so I was awake by 6am. I forced myself to crochet a bit before jumping into the shower. I didn't want to wake hubby with the sound of the water so early. I finally got ready about 9, then headed to Dunkin Donuts to get iced coffee for hubby. Yes, I was ass kissing and he knew it. :)

Janet picked me up at 11:20 and we drove over. Its super simple to get to from our neck of the woods and we were there and parked in a half hour. Lisa (isserlie) met us there too.

I'd heard that there was a line around the block just to get in on Saturday, so I was nervous that the place would be picked clean. There wasn't a line but it was crowded. Smiley's is way smaller than I'd thought it would be. For a name that includes the word "warehouse" I was expecting it to be large but it was smaller than your average craft store. The shelves were packed from top to bottom with yarn, which more than made up for the size. I'd made a list but forgot it. Doesn't matter though...I was so overwhelmed that it probably wouldn't have helped me much. Janet brought huge 99c bags for both of us and we shoved them full of yarn.

Nothing was more than $1.99, so I went nuts! I blew my yarn budget for the rest of the year, but got a lot of bang for my buck. This is what my purchases looked like in the bags.



Here it is spread out on the table. I bought alot of normal stuff like Red Heart soft and TLC. I also bought Bernat Silky soft, which I'd never heard of before, to make an Eagles afghan for hubby (more ass kissing).



I also got some great high end yarns that I would have never been able to afford otherwise. Most of them were Italian. Maybe you'll recognzie the names Angela? I bought 2 bags (20 balls) of Jaeger Roma which is an angora blend. Super soft! Its normally $9.99 a ball, so for the 2 bags, would have cost $200 at regular price. What a steal! I'm hoping to make the Butterscotch Cardigan from Interweave Crochet with the greyish color I bought.



I also bought some yarn called Cervinia which I'd never heard of before. It looked nice, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I also got 8 balls of 100% wool for felting projects.



I bought an L hook, which was the only size I was missing. Also...drum roll please...I bought a pair of knitting needles for $1. I'm going to try to teach myself soon. I have no clue about knitting needle sizes. I bought a size 10 because....well, I don't know. Any of you knitters have tips or a good resource for learning you can point me too?

I was exhausted from all the weekend excitement, so I decided to take today off. I brought Pi to school, since I enjoy doing that when I can. On my way back, my right ankle just gave out and I fell. Its sprained again. I had to call hubby to come get me and help me home. Nice way to spend the day off, eh? At least I sprained it close to home and not on the subway or in Manhattan.

For anyone who knows how badly I was hurt last year (pre-blog), knows that this is bad news. My ankle hasn't fully recovered from last year's injury even with physical therapy, so this new sprain is going to make things worse. Thank goodness this time doesn't seem to be nearly as bad as last year. I was out of work for a few weeks last year and definitely can't afford that this year. I'm going to take tomorrow off from work too and rest my ankle as much as possible, so I can try to make it back to work by Wednesday.

Never a boring day in Casa de Chris.

Happy First Communion Piper!

Today was Pi's First Holy Communion and it was beautiful! Pi did a reading in front of the whole church and she rocked! We weren't allowed to take pics inside the church, so here are a few shots from after the ceremony and brunch.

Pi and her grandpa (my dad)



The beading on Pi's veil.



Pi and her grandmother (Pi's dad's mom)



Pi + steak = love



Happy Communion....Great Grandpa! The doll he's holding is a Precious Moments communion doll. Pi's name and today's date is embroidered on the skirt of the doll.

This cake was so good! It's chocolate with cheesecake filling and buttercream frosting. It was so sweet, I felt my face tingling from the sugar. Mmmm!

Mimi inspired me to get a "Four Generation" picture, so here are four generations of women in my family.

Pi, mom, Grandma, and me! I hope Pi will treasure this picture when she's older.

The weather was perfect today. I was so worried it would rain, but it was sunny and warm. I couldn't have asked for anything better. Pi was pretty happy too...I didn't cry my head off at the ceremony! ;)

P.S. - Janet (auntbubbels from c-ville) and I are going to the Smiley's yarn sale tomorrow. Nothing over $1.99! One of my co-workers went today and said there was a line around the block just to get in! Let's hope there's still yarn tomorrow!

First time mommies

Two of my friends, Kiki and Ozlem, celebrated their first Mother's Day this year. Kiki's baby Andreanna is almost 8 months old and Ozlem's baby Antalya is 10 months old. I wanted to do a little something special for them to celebrate.

I used the Simply Sweet Halter Top by Chelle of Luv2Crochet. These were made with Lion Brand Cottonease in the color Berry and an I hook. I LOVE the Cottonease colorway. So pretty!



Andreanna's halter is made in size 12 months. Kiki said she's growing like a weed and is already almost wearing a size 12 months!

Here's the back, showing the ribbon bow.

Antalya's halter is made in a size 18 months. Big babies around here! You can tell its wider because there are more shells across the top. I also weaved the ribbon in differently for a slightly different look. Believe it or not, this is the same color, but the lighting was different when I took this picture.

Man, I remember my first Mother's Day. I was proud that I was getting the hang of the mother thing! At 19, I was petrified that I was going to do something wrong. I'd babysat bunches of times, but its different when you've got your own munchkin. Even though I made first timer mistakes like all parents, the kid is loved, safe, healthy, and happy (except when she's moaning about how unfair life is of course because a bedtime is SO uncool). I gotta say...being a mom is the coolest job ever!

Happy Early Mother's Day!

My family celebrated an early Mother's Day today, so that we can all use tomorrow as a low key, relaxing day.

I actually finished the shawl for Mom on time. Its the Alleghany Moon Mobius shawl from Amazing Crochet Lace by Doris Chan. Here's what it looked like on Thursday night. I don't have proper blocking materials, so I used my trusty ironing board.



I was really worried that my acrylic "blocking" wouldn't work, but as you can see, it did!



Here's Mom with the shawl on. Its a perfect fit!



Why couldn't I have been born with her hair?



My mother's day gift to dirty Grandma was to treat her to some pampering and a haircut. She was feeling pretty good after her haircut. She told the stylist that she was ready to look for a man with.... alot of "meat." Yeah, she actually said meat!



My uncle and his baby were in town, so we also got to visit with the cutest baby on earth, Jaylianna.



After visiting with my Uncle's family, we headed over to my cousin Jeannie's house for a Pre-Mother's Day bbq. It was small and cozy, with only about 20 people there. Pi loved the old fashioned wooden swing attached to a tree in the yard.



A bird made a nest in my cousin's window. She's not sure what kind of bird layed these eggs, but she's guessing a Robin. Its pretty neat that she can watch the progession of these egga right out of her window!



I get along best with animals and munchkins. I've been surrounded! The non-Christina-spawn children in this pic are my cousins. The three of them decided to have a sleepover, so Pi isn't home with me now. She's a mother's day flatleaver! The dog is a pug named Ally, who fell asleep in my lap.

As Ally was sleeping on my lap, she threw a loaded fart. Oh yeah, the dog took a small crap on me! Go Ally! I had to clean off my pants and pray I didn't smell too bad until I could get home, shower, and change clothes. Its not a Mother's Day celebration without someone crapping a pair of pants. Usually, its a baby, but not today. Lucky me! haha! :)

Happy Mother's Day my friends!

Meme fun

I've been tagged and also promised Lesa I'd answer some questions for her. If you're not a fan of meme's, feel free to skip this.

I was tagged by Amanda and 2Kute from Crochetville with the same meme.

Here are the rules:

1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.3.
Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

So, here are seven facts about me:
1. I'm double jointed in my feet and wrists.
2. I get fainting spells on the subway if it is too crowded, so I take an early, local train to make sure its fairly empty.
3. I dreamed of owning a crayon factory when I was a kid.
4. I sometimes talk in my sleep.
5. I have a flower tattoo on my right shoulder blade. The petals spell Piper. I designed it myself while I was doodling in a college class.
6. I used to pluck my hairy sideburns. I've given it up, since I realize they're not too bad.
7. I've also got nose hair. Hubby and I share a nose hair trimmer. (can't believe I admitted that, hahaha!)

Here are the answers to Lesa's questions:

1) What crochet hook size do you find yourself working with the most without even thinking about it you find yourself picking up the most?
An "I" hook. That's what I learned with and feel most comfortable with.

2) What is your favorite thing to crochet the most?
Baby stuff! Its fast and always cute.

3) What would you like to crochet that you never crochet before?
I'd like to make myself a sweater or cardigan. I've only made a sweater in kid sizes.

4) Do you think you will pass down your love of crocheting down to your kids/nieces or sisters?
I hope so! Pi shows some interest already. She can chain and do single crochet. Her interest comes and goes, so I'm not pushing it. I hope she decided she likes it enough to continue.

5) What is the craziest thing you ever heard someone say to you about you crocheting?
My dad tells me that crocheting makes me a "grandma."

I received my swap swap gals swap!

I received my Swap Swap Gals package from Caroline yesterday! Its an awesome swap package! Me encanta!!!

She sent me a large fat bottom bag in one of my favorite colors - pink! Its a cool coincidence because my maiden name means "pink" in Spanish! The size rocks because as anyone who's ever seen me carry a purse knows the bigger the better!



She also sent a change purse (Pi keeps eyeing it) and the cutest little bird. My husband assumed the bird was a chicken or a rooster since I'm Puerto Rican. He's such a cracker!

Check out the lining...pink camoflouge! With pockets! I can't sew a lick, so the pockets really impressed me!



Here's the flower with a brooch in the middle. I love purse bling.



Speaking of purse bling, Caroline also attached a cute heart keychain (Pi is also eyeing that).



Thank you so much Caroline! The package is wonderful!!!

If anyone was curious what shawl I mentioned to Joyce in yesterday's post, its this one from Amazing Crochet Lace by Doris Chan. Anony Joyce and I e-mail each other back and forth a few times a week about our crochet projects and things we have in mind. I mentioned that I wanted to try this one for my mom for Mother's Day.



Time is short, but I think I can do it. I'm going to use Caron Simply Soft in dark pink instead of what's recommended. 1. Because that's what I have on hand with enough yardage and 2. Mom wears alot of black, so I think a pink shawl will pop with her all black outfits and 3. She's always complaining how cold her office is, even in the summer.

There are 20 pattern repeats, so I figure if I do 5 a day starting today, I can be done by Friday and let it lay flat on Saturday for minimal blocking. I say minimal because acrylic doesn't always block well, but it doesn't hurt to try.

What are you peeps up to for Mother's Day?

Traveling Hook III

The Traveling Hook III arrived at my house last week all the way from Canada, eh! I first gave it to my friend Desiree, who made 4 squares and then I had it for 5 days and made 10 more.

I think the hook enjoyed its visit to NY. Here's the hook gazing at the view from work. The cloesest bridge is the Brooklyn Bridge, the second one is the Manhattan Bridge, and the third one is the Williamsburg Bridge.



I originally tried to put in a slideshow or some kind of collage here to make this more compact, but it didn't work. Its my figgy brain I'm sure. See what happens when I don't have coffee? So I apologize, but you'll have to suffer through the 14 separate pictures.

These 4 were made by Desi

All of the patterns were found at crochetpatterncentral. This was alot of fun for a great cause!

Some personal notes:

Joyce, I forgot to bring the book home to get a pic of the shawl I want to make. I'll post it soon, I promise!

Caroline, I received your package today and its wonderful! I'll post pics in the next day or two! Thank you!

Swap Swap Gals Purse Swap

My Swap partner, Lesa, confirmed that she got the swap package I sent her in the mail, so its safe to show now.

The theme was purses. I really enjoyed this swap, as I tried a few things I might not have otherwise given a go.

Here's a pic of what I sent...in addition to the 2 purses I sent a bag of chocolate candy (not pictured here), 2 crochet dolls with stickers for Nellie and Nesa, a set of purse handles, a skein of Lion Brandy Lofty, and a tear off of purse patterns.



The purse done in Patons Classic Merino Wool in the color rosewood is the Chic on the Halfshell purse by The Crochet Dude. Its the perfect size for a set of keys, cell phone, and small wallet.

This green purse is the Honeycomb purse from Joanns.com. Although you can't really tell in the picture, the handles are white with a marble finish.



The downside is that its the most poorly written pattern ever! If not for some serious help from AmyS over at Crochetville, it might not have been finished. My honeycomb pattern isn't as neat as the picture in the pattern, but I'm proud that I managed to get through it!



Here's the lining of the Chic on the Halfshell purse. Definitely a challenge due to the shape but I'm very glad I lined it!



If anyone's interested, the pattern to the small dolls are here.

Other than that, not much else is going on. Its still raining here in bklyn, so no sign of bees. Work has been nuts and tomorrow will be no exception.

A cool thing for you Law and Order fans...they're filming at my job tomorrow. They've been filming there a few times a year and this is the second time they're back this month. We've had various films crews in and out, like the Nanny Diaries. I'm pretty sure its because the view of Manhattan from the bosses office is sweet. While I'm babbling about movies and famous people, I should mention that Erin Brokovich came to our Christmas party. Due to one of the things we sue for, she sometimes flies in and gives assistance.

Ok, I'm babbling now and I'm sure its due to being over-tired. Time for me to crash.