I did it!

At the beginning of December I started the "Couch to 5k" running program again, and I completed it today!!  This was my 4th time doing the program, but only the second time that I made it all the way to the end.  I'm still not up to speed, though.  You're supposed to do a 5 minute warm up, then run the 5k (or 3 miles) in 30 minutes, and then do a 5 minute cool down.  I did just over 3 miles in total, counting the warm up and cool down times.  Right now I'm running at 5.2 mph, and I'd have to get up to 6 mph to do the 3 miles in 30 minutes.  So that's my new goal.  I'm going to try to do the 30 minute run once or twice a week now, and work on increasing my speed.

Emmett's hat

I finally finished up the hat I was making for Emmett (I ran out of yarn last week when I was almost done).  However, the yarn I bought wasn't the same dye lot, so there's a very slight color difference, although I'm sure you probably wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't said anything.

I followed this pattern for a basic earflap hat, but I made a lot of mistakes and had to redo quite a few things (and in the end there are parts that I'm still not totally happy with, but it was time to just put this baby to bed).  My biggest mistake was grabbing the wrong size of needles to start (3 sizes bigger than the pattern called for) and not realizing it until I was about half way done.  At that point I wasn't going to unravel all my hard work and start over, so the result is that the hat is big enough for Emmett to wear until he's too cool for pompoms and earflaps (I tried on the hat and it fits me - oops).

Emmett wasn't in much of a picture-taking mood this morning (yes, he's still wearing his jammies), so this was the best I could get for now.  I'll try to get a picture with his matching scarf later on.

Pylons

Apparently it was "pylon appreciation night" at skating lessons today.

Another pair of boot cuffs

A while ago I found another boot cuff pattern that I wanted to try, so I made these last week.  I love the texture on them.  Carey asked me the other day why I needed more than one pair of boot cuffs.  That's like asking why we need more than one pair of shoes... ;)

Ugh...

Almost finished knitting a hat for Emmett and I run out of yarn. Make a quick trip this evening to get more and find this...

And they apparently won't get any more in for a week. :(  

So close, but so far...

Fun with shovels

Anyone need their driveway cleared?

Pop chef

So, it's no secret that I have a thing for "as seen on tv" products. I adore my Snuggie (a gift from Carey a few years ago). Carey also bought me Eggies a while ago, although those turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment (they worked fine, just were a pain to clean). The latest item on my wish list was the Pop Chef, and since I didn't get it for Christmas, I decided to use some of my Christmas money and buy it myself. For those unfamiliar with it, it cuts fruit, veggies, bread, cheese, etc into fun shapes. We tested it out today at lunch on our pbj's. The kids absolutely loved it. They probably would've eaten a lot more, but I couldn't keep up with all the leftover crusts!!  Can't wait to try it out on some fruits and veggies.

Piano lessons

Annika had her first piano lesson today and she loved it. She even started practicing as soon as we got home. Let's hope that enthusiasm keeps up!

Arm knitting

Yesterday I tried something new - arm knitting!  I made an infinity scarf, using this tutorial video.  Once I got the hang of it, it didn't take very long.  I'm not sure if it was the yarn I used, though, or if I didn't make it tight enough (I thought it was pretty snug around my arm), but the scarf seems to lose some of the "knit" look when I put it on (if you click on the link you'll see that her scarf looks better when it's on her - it seems to have more definition to it, not just lots of loose yarn).  Oh well, it was still neat to try something new.

Our anniversary

Yesterday was a very busy day.  Not only was it our tenth anniversary, but I also met with Annika's piano teacher (she'll be starting piano lessons next week!) and the kids had their first skating lessons.  Annika is on her own this year, and Carey is doing the "parent and cub" class with Emmett.

After skating lessons (which are from 5:30-6:00) we dropped the kids off at Carey's parents' place for supper and a sleepover and headed out to celebrate our anniversary.  We had to stop at home so Carey could change (he came to skating lessons straight from work) and he surprised me with this beauty.  I was absolutely blown away.  I had jokingly hinted that the anniversary gift for 10 years was diamonds, but I wasn't expecting anything (we don't usually buy each other anniversary gifts).  He had picked it out himself, and it was exactly what I would've picked myself.  The only downside was that it's way too big, so now it's back at the jewellery store being sized, and I haven't had a chance to wear it yet.

We went to Tony Roma for supper (we had a gift card - thanks Mom and Dad!), and ended up also getting a free dessert, because of some poor service when we first arrived (we sat at our table for about 10 minutes without being acknowledged before we finally flagged down the manager and asked where our waiter was).  After that the service was great, and the food was delicious.

This afternoon I got out my wedding dress and put it on (I do it every year on our anniversary).  Still fits!! 

Annika also had to try it on.

And Carey tried on my gift to him - a toque I knit for him (he gives me diamonds, I give him a hat - seems fair, right?? ;) ).

10 years

Today is our 10 year wedding anniversary.  My, how time flies!!  You can see more of our wedding pics here.

Here's a glimpse back at the past 10 years...

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

(clearly we were new parents this year - 

could not find a photo of just Carey and me without Annika in it!)

2010

2011

2012

2013

Allergy testing

Back in November Emmett had a sinus infection, and our family doctor recommended that Emmett go for allergy testing (not sure if the two were connected at all, or if he just saw something concerning while looking up Emmett's nose).  I've never been too concerned about Emmett having allergies - sure, he had eczema when he was a baby, and he sort of snores while he sleeps, and he's always got his finger up his nose (I've heard there can be a connection between nose picking and allergies), but I didn't think anything serious was up.  Even when he has a runny nose, it doesn't really affect him - he sleeps well, still has lots of energy, etc.  Regardless, we went for the appointment today.  After chatting about Emmett's medial history, the allergy doctor wasn't too concerned about anything, but she did do a few tests - just for some household dusts and molds.  Thankfully (especially given my less-than-stellar cleaning habits), there were no reactions and everything was fine.  We're supposed to go back in 6 months for a follow-up, and the doctor said that we could discuss testing for outdoor allergies at that time, if it seems like it's an issue (I've never noticed Emmett to be sensitive to pollen, or have hay fever, etc, but he's still pretty young).

 Emmett didn't cry at all when getting pricked, but he wouldn't use that arm afterwards.  We had to sit and wait for 15 minutes to see if there would be any reactions, and he sat and played iPad left-handed the whole time!

Boot cuffs - take 2

My first attempt at boot cuffs didn't turn out so well (despite following the pattern), so I gave it another try, with some adjustments.  For any knitters out there that are curious what I did - I followed this pattern, but only cast on 44 stitches (instead of the 74 in the pattern) and used #7 needles, instead of #8.  They fit quite snug, so it might be good to add on a few more stitches (or maybe stick with the #8 needles).  Still, I'm quite happy with how they turned out.

I've worn them both dressed up and dressed down, although I think I like the casual look better.

Welcome home

It's been almost 4 years since we moved into our house, however one thing that didn't move with us at that time was our piano.  We "stored" it at my in-laws place while we were building the house, and it just... kind of... stayed... there.  For 4 years.  The biggest reason was because I was unsure where in our house I wanted it.  We have an "open concept" house, so that means not a lot of separate rooms/doors to be closed, and I always thought that I wanted to have the piano somewhere where the sound could be somewhat contained, if needed.  I recall there were times when I was young and was practicing piano and my mom would close the doors (but that was probably just because you were on the phone, right mom??? ;) ), and I wanted to be able to do that too. 

Over Christmas we decided to rearrange things in our "office"/kids' craft room (the only actual "room" on the main floor - other than the bathroom!) to make a spot for the piano.  It's a little bit of a mess in there still, but we got the piano moved in today, and I'm really happy with it there.  I actually started dreaming of making that room a "music" room - maybe someday....

The kids are excited to have the piano here, and Annika is very anxious to start learning how to play.

She even decided to "write" her own song and got me to help her play it.

Leg warmers

Annika is still in her "dress/skirt/never-ever-jeans" phase, so that means that she wears thin leggings or tights every day. In this weather her legs get pretty cold, but it's too much of a hassle (and sometimes too hot) to put on snow pants every time we go out. So I knit her these leg warmers as a quick and easy way help keep her a little bit warmer. She picked the color - I call it "Snuggie blue", since it matches the color of my Snuggie exactly. ;)

If you're interested, you can find the pattern here. I made the 3-5 year old size, but made them a little longer than the pattern said. They're a little loose on her, so they'll fit for a while. 

Stay warm and happy new year!!