Phoning in the weekend

I started off the weekend with some wine and good friends. We all had rough(ish) weeks and needed a good time! We took this picture to send to one of our other friends who was cheersing us from a distance on vacation.

On Saturday, I did some car knitting (dishcloths are the perfect travel project) on our way up to Houghton Lake to visit some friends. I snow shoed for the first time and it's my new favorite thing! It's so good to get out on a winter's day when the weather allows it.

On Sunday, we celebrated my nephew's first birthday. He won't officially be one until Thursday, but he got to smash his cupcake (verdict: smashing is fun, eating is alright, but less fun) and got TONS of presents. His favorite thing to do was grab a box and scootch across the floor with it.

I have had these cats for 10 years and they still manage to find ways to be cuter than I ever thought possible.

How was your weekend? I hope you got to spend it with animals, activities, and children you love!

Happy Final Catdown Thursday

Happy Thursday everyone! Look at what my sweet friend Liz found for me:

Isn't that THE BEST?!

Today is Liz's birthday! If you know her, tell her happy birthday, and if you don't find a random Liz of your acquaintance and wish her a happy birthday! Confusing, but sweet.

Here are a few fun facts about my friend Liz: ever since I put her contact information in my phone (several phones ago) at The Bird she has been listed as "Liz!" Every year, Liz and I go on a major thrifting shopping extravaganza around the same time every year and we call it Friendaversary.  I credit Liz with my love of Belle and Sebastian, my exposure to the only two (or so?) Tori Amos songs I like, and with introducing me to this song:

Liz has the best tattoos, the prettiest hair color (all of her hair colors), the coolest glasses, the fattest cat (I say it with love, Lola!) and the sweetest heart. I love you friend! Happy birthday!

Happy Linky Thursday

Just some links that made me happy or thoughtful this week. Happy Thursday!

Mighty Girl is a great blog and her lifelist an inspiration. I cracked up at her New Years Resolutions! Such good ones, but also written so well! Snacks! Making out! Etc.!

Oh these super cute doggies and kitties enjoying the winter!

Downton Abbey pickup lines in case you need to woo a fan of the show.

Meditation and mindfulness (particularly in the context of yoga) has helped me with my anxiety immensely and here's a little science to back that up! I like that the article points out that even if meditation doesn't serve a medical purpose it's free, harmless, and can be done at home.

These pictures are stunning, but I have tea at home thank you very much. The most dangerous part of that journey is tripping over cats and that's the way I like it.

More New Years Resolutions, this time from Letters to a Young Librarian. This is one of my favorite library blogs I read on my quest to read more of what librarians are writing, both professionally and in more casual contexts. I also really love her recent post about social media as a graduate student. It was reassuring to see her espouse guidelines I already try to follow about being yourself but being professional. I think they are good habits for anyone engaging in social media, regardless of your profession.

Friday FO's

Like most knitting bloggers around this time of year, there is not much I can show you. The projects I have finished are gifts, the projects I am working on are gifts...I can't even show you some of the yarn I'm going to use because: gifts.

Quick side note: I definitely told some craft friends in November that I wasn't going to knit any Christmas presents this year because that way lay madness in years past. Hahahahaahahaha, I have three knitted Christmas present finished, two on needles, and at least three or four more to try to knit before the big day. It's a sickness, I tell you.

What I can show you is the way I torture my cat when he just so happens to be sitting next to me when I'm knitting gauge swatches. Did I say gauge swatch? I meant cat bonnet:

O. Henry you are a good sport.

Second quick side note: Henry's full name is O. Henry because he's named after this guy. So when I would normally say "Oh, Henry." I use his full name instead. Because I am a dork who lives alone with her cats and needs to get out more.

There will be SO MANY FO's the Friday after Christmas, my friends! SO MANY, I SAY! Good luck to all of you who are in the heat of the holiday knitting frenzy. Rest your hands frequently, drink lots of tea and if you feel like you need to slip a little whiskey in your tea, well, it's the holidays!

Happy Happy Internet Thursday!

Happy Thursday, one and all! I only have two days of work left before the Winter Holiday Season starts and there is a festive feeling all around work. Also, a lot of cookies and candy, of which I am highly in favor. Because I can't give you all cookies and the holidays don't make everyone happy, here are just some general (with maybe just one holiday related) happy things I found (or were pointed out to me) from around the internet. Because we all know that what the internet is truly good for is pictures of cute animals and funny gifs. After the dissemination of knowledge, blah blah blah.

I could watch cats jump and miss all day long. It's one of the main reasons I have cats in my house.

I mean, seriously.

And of course, Mr. Ron Swanson.

If you are in the mood for something a little Christmassy, there's this funny story of NORAD's Santa Tracking service and how it got an unexpected start.

Phoning in the weekend (and much, much more!)

Oh hello friends! I was going to do the traditional Phoning in the Weekend Monday post but then I realized A) I barely took any pictures this weekend and B) I haven't posted since I took a vacation from work and had all the fun in the world the first week of September (were you wondering why you had no fun the first week of September? It's because I hogged it ALL.) So I'm going to do two picture posts this week and dig way back into my camera roll for those vacation pictures. It will be fun because I get to relive my vacation along with you AND it's mostly cute animal pictures, with a side of projects, fun people, and bonfires.

The first thing I did on vacation was go to Frankfort for my Aunt's 60th birthday party. There were approximately 17 trillion dogs there, but these two were Frankfort newbies! The little guy who is melting your heart on top is Miggy a 5 month old English Golden Retriever and all around heart breaker. The sweet girl on the bottom is Tina Turner, the ?? year old black lab/border collie/? mix my friends adopted from the shelter. She came with the name and OF COURSE they're not changing it. So if you're asking me if I spent the first weekend of my vacation with Tina Turner, the answer is yes and she is lovely and gracious.

And so began vacation.

With bonfires,

Fancy dinners,

Snuggle times with more cute animals,

So much good food like this birthday cupcake my friend Chris gave me,

Dr. Who themed ice cubes,

Progress on some projects,

And then some homework with my two best assistants.

More pictures to come soon!

Phoning in the weekend

 I call this the two headed catnap monster and it was judging me for doing anything with my weekend besides sleeping.

 I realized late in the day on Saturday that I had been walking around with a small double pointed knitting needle sticking out of my hood. That's what you get for leaving the house in a hurry after a marathon of knitting without checking the mirror. (I can't be the only person who stores the extra knitting needle in her hair, can I?)

 On Sunday I took Sgt. Pepper for a run. He peed on everything, chased a rabbit, splashed through puddles and was in doggie heaven.

After my run I was stretching and Evelyn stretched with me. Then there was an interlude of trying to climb on me and sit on my head.

 This is Evelyn asking me, "What are you doing, Auntie Sam?" approximately 12,546 times in a row. No answer would appease, but she did think "climbing trees" and "answering Evie's questions" were pretty funny.

Alden? He's over it. I think he might be too serious for this family he was born into. I did get him to laugh by making a sound that can only be described as "whale-monkey."

Not pictured: not getting to go to Lansing and visit Liz because my car is dying a slow and painful death, good times with old friends, my furnace breaking on a weekend when the temperature dipped below 30 again, and the rain/hail/wind weirdo weather.

Phoning in the Weekend, Monday, May 6th

 My amazing and awesome friend Derek brought me this mini-lego librarian lady on Friday! She's so tiny and cute! She lives in my office now, shushing me.

This weekend, Locust Street Crafts rode again for our first craft sale of the season! You'll be able to read all about it here later this week and I've saved most of the pictures for that post.

I try to model my headbands at each sale and I found a new way to tie it that I was particularly pleased with. It was one of those ideas that was either going to be totally stupid and not work at all or work really well. I do not  have fashion instincts to know until I see it. Much like how I have no spacial relations instinct and often end up pouring things into containers much too big or much too small. And by much like that I mean not like that at all.

Sunday was a lazy day. I rode the high of craft sale bliss and worked on a few crafts and ideas for the future. Henry sat in this box and stared at me.

Not pictured: Erica and I getting all goofy from being in the car too long, the hugest margarita ever that I did not manage to finish, the first summer shandy of the year, the episodes of Game of Thones season two that I watched, my awesome run (in the sun! I sweated! I was not cold!), or the cuddle-fest I had with Derek and Jenelle's dog Loki.

Phoning in the weekend, more room for activities!

 So many activities this weekend! Yoga and running and thrifting and moving (my cousin) and crocheting and knitting and reminding the cats NOT TO PEE ON ANYTHING I BRING HOME FROM THE THRIFT STORE and lots of chips, sometimes with guacamole and sometimes with greek yogurt and salsa.

Not pictured: dice and drinks with friends, the massive amount of cleaning I did, cuddling with my baby nephew, and daylight savings time confusing me a lot.

Phoning in the Weekend, Monday 3/4

You know what turns out to be totally awesome?  Having a niece and a nephew.

Less awesome: Jack Nicholson eyebrows.

 Also, I will pay for niece cuddles with letting her have free reign of my phone. Which is why I have about a thousand pictures like this in my camera roll:

 And then about a thousand more of her forehead.

 Running has been leading to some hurty ankles which stinks. But an icepack and a berry LaCroix makes it all ok.

The cats also helped with the healing power of their cuteness

and so did my friend's dog Loki. Jenelle and I were crafting while watching the Walking Dead instead of cuddling with Loki like we usually do, so this is the mournful face we got.

Not pictured: a phone date with my Aunt, getting my taxes done, and playing (and being awful at) pool with my good and patient friend Mandi.

Phoning in the weekend

This weekend, I discovered Instagram and yeehaw! Such fun was had!

 I also received a very early birthday gift (my birthday is in September. The bonus of having an aunt with taste as totally awesome as my own is that sometimes she finds vintage yellow cannisters she knows you will love and can't wait to give them to you! Aren't they awesome? 

 

Also awesome, Summer Shandy and veggie snacks on a friend's back deck.  

 The next morning, I made iced coffee because it was hot! (Yellow cannisters photo bombing.)

As this picture of Henry clearly demonstrates, we dedicated ourselves to being lazy and crafting on Saturday. 

 Harper concurred. She does not, however, understand that there is no need for her to sit on my lap when it's in the 80's and 90's. I took this picture and then pushed her down.

This is what I was working on. More details to come.

That night I caught up on a week's worth of the Daily Show, Hulu style.

I tried out a new recipe which was only so-so. (But the iced coffee came back. Also, I'm noticing how many yellow dishes I own and I love it.)

Early run before it got too hot. This picture is grossly distorting the length of my legs. Look how far away my feet look!

Met up with Liz and Erica for a craft meeting. There is some great stuff underway! We are getting so organized and prepared!

At Sunday night dinner with my family Evelyn was rocking on the same rocking chair my sisters and I used when we were little kids. I took roughly 17 thousand pictures of her but they were all blurry except for this one because that girl was rocking, if you'll notice the focus in her eyes. She was not sitting like a lady, so much, but when you're in diapers I don't think that's really a requirement.


Not pictured: locking my keys in my car at a gas station and my dad being kind enough to rescue me. That's about it. It was a really wonderful lazy weekend, which I needed. What did you do this weekend?