It’s just not worth it. You all know how it is.

Since my last blog post I -

- Had another teacher training weekend which involved actually teaching a 20 min. flow for the first time. That went much better than I expected. I almost feel like I could actually do this at some point. We also had our prenatal day which was rather challenging for my delicate psyche. I had to do yoga for an hour with a pillow strapped to my gut. If that wasn’t weird enough we then had to do a mediation which involved imagining being in the middle of an ocean and unable to see the shore. Those that know me know that I wouldn’t call that relaxing. Chest pains ensued, but I managed to survive. All in all though, a really interesting weekend.

- Then proceeded to come down with some weird 3 day stomach thing. Not fun.

- Managed to get through the week and a couple of yoga classes. Then had to get a certain bunny her well overdue haircut.

Before:

After:

We even managed to get done before midnight for once!

- Then it was time for a big weekend in NY. Which started with the Subaru not starting. Good times. Luckily we threw everything in my car and still managed to get to our appointment with a wedding photographer in time. Also luckily, since several people don’t seem to be capable of returning an e-mail or a phone call, we liked him enough to book him.

- Went to the jeweler to pick up new sparkly things. More on that another time.

- Went to Red Lobster with my folks for my Mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday Mom!! Finally was able to give my Mom this:

Isn’t it beautiful?! Made especially for my Mom by the ever fantastic Opal over at Opalescentjewels. Go get yourself or someone you love some pretties for the holidays!!

- Got decorations from my parents and acquired Christmas tree that has yet to make its way into the house. I may have upwards of 12 people here for Christmas dinner. I’ve never put up a tree without my parents. This should be interesting.

- Drove back to NJ (or should I say, HWJF drove us back to NJ) in an ice/freezing rain/sleet/snow/godknowswhat storm. It usually takes us 1.5 hrs. to get back from my parent’s house. It took us 4 yesterday. Good times. NOT!

- And oh yeah, lots of knitting!!! Some FO’s will have to wait but here are a couple that I can share..

Grandpa’s Christmas Socks 2009

Pattern: 3×1 rib
Yarn: Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock Multi in Black Watch
Needles: size 1
Knit: 11.1-12.5.09

Simple ribbed socks for my Grandpa. I hope they keep him warm this winter.

Un-purled Cables Cowl

Pattern: Un-purled Cables
Yarn: Baby Alpaca Grande
Needles: Size 11
Knit: 12.8.09

A one day quicky cowl! Gotta love that when it comes to gift knitting. Hopefully a co-worker of mine will love it too.

And finally…

Swirl Cowl

Pattern: Swirl Cowl
Yarn: Plymouth Suri Merino
Needles: size 7
Knit: 12.6-12.7.09

Another quick knit for a co-worker gift. I really liked this yarn. The blend of merino and alpaca gives it a nice hand that I think will make a very cozy and warm cowl.

I have one more Christmas gift I’m desperately trying to finish in the next day or two. Wish me luck since it really needs to go in the mail soon!

And now I fear, dear reader that if I do not step away from the computer and start thinking about bed, the time will slip me by and getting up tomorrow will be all the more difficult. Now that the car is fixed ($300 later. Oye.) things this week are looking up a bit but are still busier than heck. I’m trying not to think about everything that needs to be done when it comes to cleaning, decorating, teacher training, an actual paying gig on the bassoon and the regular day job and…

Oh wait. I’m not thinking about that!

Goodnight!

So as usual lately my good intentions to get to the blog have not been fulfilled. I hope those of you that celebrated Thanksgiving last week had a great holiday. Ours was particularly special this year because HWJF and I went to Maine and my parents went along with us so they could meet his parents for the first time! We were a bit nervous about how things would go (I think we all were!) but we ended up all having a fantastic holiday! We made sure to make the requisite stop at LLBean on the way up.

I wish the picture quality was better on that but it was kind of raining and gross out so I’m glad we got anything at all. Mom wanted to get a sweater for Sandy so we snuck her in the store to try things on. We were asked to take her out but they let us try on sweaters real quick. Just as we were getting ready to take her out but still be discreet, she started barking at one of the fake dogs in the area! Hilarious!! So much for keeping our cover!

Thanksgiving itself was definitely a feast to behold. HWJF’s parents are used to having a big crowd and they always do an amazing job of things. There were 18 people at dinner! The center piece of the meal is always my future father-in-law’s hand raised turkey.

31 pounds (yes that’s 31 pounds!) this year and absolutely delicious as always. My Dad definitely went in for seconds, maybe thirds on that bird.

I wish I had thought to take more pictures during our visit but that’s about all I have. We ended things up with a lobster dinner for the 6 of us Friday night that was also amazing. I remember getting a little misty eyed at one point because I was just so happy to see his parents and mine getting along so well. We both mentioned to each other that it was very nice to have a holiday where neither of us had to miss our parents. After this trip we’re definitely looking forward to our wedding next year even more than we were before. I am constantly overwhelmed by how much we have to be thankful for this year.

Speaking of that, a quick story about an amazing experience I had last night. My surgeon’s office called me last night to ask me a favor. Apparently they had another young woman that needed to have the same procedure that I had in their care and she had asked if she could talk to someone that had gone through the same procedure. I had told them before I left my last appointment that if anyone ever asked to talk to someone, I’d be more than happy to share my experience. I quickly told the nurse that I’d still be happy to talk to this person. I received a text message a short time later asking me to call and telling me that her surgery was December 21st. I immediately called her back and we had a nice chat. I could totally hear in her voice the same fear and anxiety that I had just over 6 months ago. We talked about the procedure and pain management and recovery and those crazy release forms that make you think you are totally not going to come out of this thing alive, etc. etc. By the end of our conversation I think she was feeling better about her chances and the skill of the team that would be getting her through this. At least I hope so. I’m just so happy that I had the opportunity to “pay it forward” so to speak and do the same thing for someone else that someone had been kind enough to do for me. I’m grateful to be on the other side of the phone this time and I hope that she will be able to do the same sometime in the future too. Please keep Josephine in your thoughts on Dec. 21st. She’s going through a very hard thing right now but I know she’ll be ok on the other side, just like me.

In other news, I’ve been knitting, but most of it I can’t show you (Hi Mom! ). I can show you this pair of socks I’m making for my Grandpa:

Lorna’s Laces in Black Watch. Fairly boring 3×1 rib that I stole from Annie when she was at my house last and I saw her knitting some socks (Hai Annie! ). My Christmas knitting list is “down” to 2 cowls, a hat, and another pair of socks.

And there’s a certain fluffy bunny that needs a haircut.

Anyone know how I can find a few more hours in the day?!?