Thirty something

(a little yarnie cake for me)

Today it is official. I only have one more precious year of being thirty something. I am 39 years old today. I still can't comprehend what it will be like to be (gasp) 40. In. One. Year. One. Little. Year. Bwaaaaaa!

Ok, I'm back. I might have fainted there for a minute. I think it took longer to get up than yesterday too. Haha just kidding. I am very blessed. I have a wonderful husband, three beautiful children, my health and really great friends!

Have a great day everyone! Keep smiling! (even if you're old like me!) HA!

Surprised myself

I had a good knitting weekend (for once lol). Not sure how it happened. I surprised myself. Saturday we went to my SIL's cottage for the day. On the way there and back I worked on the ankle socks for a bit and then made myself a couple of fun dishcloths.

I used the Darrell Waltrip pattern, you can find it here. It's so easy and looks great in the variagated yarns. I love the fun summery colors!

Then yesterday I was bitten by the slipper and felting bugs. Amidst a raging headache I made 2 pairs of slippers. I felted one pair, along with some slippers I made for my hubby a few weeks ago. I still have to felt the other new pair but so far I like them!

The navy blue ones are for the hubby, my own pattern. The purple and green ones are for The Sporty One. The pattern is from the book Funky Knits. I have to tweak the strap. I put it where the pattern wanted them, but I think I will cut them off and make new ones. I think they need to be closer to the toe than they are now. I'm not sure I will make that pattern again. The pink and blue pair are from the Knit 2 Together book, (they are for The Musical One). The pattern was a bit confusing at first, but they are so cute! I can see myself making several pairs of these for gifts. They still need to be felted and embellished, but so far so good.

In other exciting news (well for me at least), Opal has nominated me as a Rockin' Girl blogger.

Lately I don't feel very rockin', so I am really happy to be chosen. Thanks Opal!

I guess I have to nominate 5 people now. I hate choosing......you are all so great. Plus I am so far behind on my bloglines, I have no idea who has already been nominated. Here we go anyway:

1. Jeanie - she was recently mentioned by the Harlot herself!

2. Catherine - otherwise known as Mama Llama - she dyes some great yarn!

3. Marguerite - she knits such beautiful socks and sweaters!

4. Ev - check out her recent lace projects, yumm!

5. Robbyn - she is always creating something beautiful and interesting!

Now I have to live up to my Rockin' Girl status.

If you like contests, you can go here and enter to win a TV from 5 Minutes for Mom and Best Buy!

Recipe time!

Corn and Black Bean Salsa

2-15 oz cans fiesta corn (Del Monte)
2-15 oz cans black beans
3 med to large tomatoes diced
2 green peppers chopped
1 small red onion chopped (or sub a sweet yellow onion)

Sauce:
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup vinegar
2 envelopes Good Seasons Italian dressing mix
Red hot pepper sauce to taste
2 small Jalapeno peppers (optional)
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Drain corn. Drain black beans and rinse well. Add chopped vegetables. Mix sauce ingredients together and pour over vegetables. Mix until coated. Serve with tortilla chips. If not serving immediately, refrigerate.

Variations:
You can also add 2 chopped avacados, but the salsa keeps much longer if you don't. It keeps for about 5 days in the refrigerator without them. This salsa can also be served over lettuce for a mexican salad. I don't always add the jalapenos as not everyone can tolerate spicy food. This recipe is very flexible. If there is another veggie you love, throw it in. Let me know if you do! Enjoy!

In the groove

Ok, I am psyching myself up to get back in the blogging groove again. Here I have been home since Saturday and it is Wednesday, and I am FINALLY getting to the blog. Shame on me. Oh well, summer is like that, and I am definitely enjoying my summer.

I have a FO to share too. I finished the cream socks.

They have an easy diamond design on the front....

and up the back.

(Anyone else notice how hard it is to take pictures of your own feet without incredibly weird and wonky angles? Or is it just me?)

I have also been working on my stole. It is really growing. It feels weird to be making a stole of my own when EVERYONE else is knitting the Mystery Stole.

I am still debating how long to make it and whether or not to add fringe. Suggestions?

In case you are sick of all these boring/neutral projects, I did cast on some um, colorful socks today.

Now those should be fun and definitely not neutral lol.

I am also trying to add some color to my diet. I made a really good salsa last week. I'm telling you, this stuff is addicting. Once you start, you can't stop eating it. Yumm!

If anyone is interested, I can share the recipe. I am making it again this weekend. I can't wait!

Lame

Me. Lame. End of story lol.

It's been a busy week of unpacking, cleaning, laundry and repacking. We are off for another week of camping. Sing with me now, "A camping we will go. A camping we will go. Hi-ho the trailer-o, a camping we will go."

I am taking the same projects this time, but hope to actually have time to work on them. See you all when I get back!

Great Expectations

Can you see where this is going? You know what great knitting expectations I had for our camping week. Well......welcome to my world, where the great expectations are followed by the great crash and burn (hehe). I am taking it in stride though, because we had such a good time camping.

I did get to knit a little, but not much. The campground we were at had very little grass, so I only dared to take my socks out (wrapped carefully in their plastic bag). I really didn't work on them much because they are off-white. Off white socks and dirty campground don't go together so well. UGH!

We did get to do a lot of other fun things. The campground was in a really nice area with many activities within walking or biking distance.
The beach was right across the street.

The Monkey had fun in the sand.

Mini-golf was next door.

They had carts too. That's The Sporty One followed closely by the Musical One.

Followed not-so-closely by me and The Monkey. What a blast!

We even got to see the Wienermobile lol! We actually did many more things too, but I won't bore you all with more details.

Sooooo....even though not much knitting was accomplished, much family time was enjoyed by all, leaving us tired and happy.

Awww.