May Soundtrack

Gone Away, Lucy Schwartz
Fight Another Day, Addison Road
Something More, Ingrid Michaelson
Beautiful History, plumb
Hey Soul Sister, Train
From You To Me, Jon McLaughlin
All I Have, Mat Kearney
What Do You Want From Me, Adam Lambert
It's Amazing, Jem
More Like Falling in Love, Jason Gray

I really should post more often, shouldn't I? This Friday I went to the Distillery District in downtown Toronto. I happened to pick up some "vintage lucite" floral beads from a place called Tank. Normally I don't like plastic beads and think they're tacky, but somehow if you call them "vintage lucite" it makes it a cool plastic. :) Today I went to Michael's after church and picked up some freshwater pearls to make the blue bells and pink earrings above complete. The clear blue beads are ones a friend gave me for my birthday. In the end I wasn't satisfied with those fishhook wires and ended up swapping them out for some longer trendy wires... and didn't take a picture of the finished product before giving them away.

April Soundtrack

Everything's Right, Matt Wertz
I Will Not Take My Love Away, Matt Wertz
All My Days, Alexi Murdoch
Absolutely, Starfield
Call Me on Your Way Back Home, Kiersten Holine
Giving Up, Ingrid Michaelson
Beautiful Disaster, Jon McLaughlin
Carolina, Matt Wertz
All of Creation, MercyMe

Little Guys Need to Keep Warm Too

I stumbled upon this pattern on Whipup at the end of February, and knew it would be perfect for my good friend Jodi's expected son, Caleb. Now that he's been born, I can show the finished product! Hopefully he doesn't grow out of it too too quickly.

I used some washable yarns I had on hand... and the pattern used so little yarn that I could have probably made another whole sweater with what I had left. I finished it while I was in Alberta visiting my family a couple of weeks ago. My Mom gave me some buttons out of my Gramma's stash, so this sweater is now festooned with some special old wooden buttons.

The pattern was originally written in Norwegian, and is available free on Pickles. There were a few ups and downs, but thanks to some posted errata and some helpful Ravelers, I think it turned out quite nice. I hope to knit another one or two of these with other yarns.

Check out my Ravelry project page here.

March Soundtrack

Something Beautiful, needtobreathe
Love Never Fails, Brandon Heath
Choose, Christy Nockels
Simply Nothing, Shawn McDonald
Gravity, Sara Barielles
Listen Up, Brandon Heath
Why, Secondhand Serenade
Be Okay, Ingrid Michaelson
Come Thou Fount, Jars of Clay
Let That Be Enough, Switchfoot
No Not One, Brandon Heath
Here in This Moment, Beckah Shae

February Soundtrack: Out of Shadows

Live Like We're Dying, Kris Allen
Can't Go Back Now, The Weepies
Melting, Riley Armstrong
Soldier, Ingrid Michaelson
The Mess I Made, Parachute
When You Find Me, Joshua Radin and Maria Taylor
She is Love, Parachute
Valentine, Kina Grannis
Snowfall, Ingrid Michaelson
If My Heart Was a House, Owl City
Home, Vanessa Carlton
Corner, Allie Moss
Hot Air Balloon, Owl City
Meteor Shower, Owl City
I Am Yours, Bethany Dillon

Be It Resolved

Usually I don't make new year's resolutions, but this year I wanted to make a sweater... and finished it by January 17th. I told my Mom I'd post these pictures a long time ago, but sometimes life gets in the way of things... but here they finally are. I don't have a picture of me wearing it so this is all you're getting for now (and they're not even good pictures). The pattern is called Rusted Root, although I did make some minor modifications to it (see my Ravelry link for info) Overall it was fairly easy to knit and a great first sweater pattern to work with. I chose a cheap yarn as I wasn't too sure how the whole project would turn out. Now I kind of wish I had used a better yarn after investing so much time into it, it's already quite a bit pilly and I've only worn it 3 or 4 times.

I started another sweater right after finishing this one, but was having some issues with the sizing and so it's currently sitting and possibly never being finished. We'll see. It was a lot of effort to get it to the point where it is now, and really wasn't fitting properly so have put it on hold.

Another resolution, or goal for the year, is to write and publish a knitting pattern. Most of the time I make up what I'm knitting anyway, thought it would be neat to write it down and have others be able to knit it too. Currently am working on a touque pattern. Have a few kinks to work out, but it is coming along nicely. Let me know if you'd like to be a test knitter before I publish it, would love someone to test it out first before I put it out there as a freebie.

January Soundtrack: Soon and Very Soon

Half of My Heart, John Mayer
You Got Me, Colbie Caillat
In Your Atmosphere, John Mayer
Your Call, Secondhand Serenade
Free of Me, Joshua Radin
Tracing, John Mayer
Someone Else's Life, Joshua Radin
You've Got Growing Up to Do, Joshua Radin and Patty Griffin
Behind Your Eyes, Jon Foreman
My Love Goes Free, Jon Foreman
Somewhere Over The Rainbow, Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole
Let Your Light Shine, Bethany Dillon
Gassenhauer, Carl Orff
Coffaro's Theme, Curtis Fowlkes, Bill Frisell, Eyvind Kang, Ron Miles
Soon and Very Soon, Brooke Fraser
Amazing Grace, Josh Wilson

Tree Necklace

My Mom wanted to buy all of her daughters necklace charms this Christmas, but couldn't find a tree.

However, she gave me some money instead, and I ordered one of these that I had seen on Etsy. I got it in the mail two days ago and wore it to school today.

Dear Dell.ca

Thank you for selling computers. I have to say that I have been satisfied overall with my April 2008 purchase of your Vostro 1400 laptop. I loved the convenience of online ordering. I was familiar with your brand from my day job. I liked the customizationableness you afforded me with my laptop choices. I liked it that you shipped to my door.

It hasn't really given me any problems other than the fact that every once in awhile it tells me it doesn't recognize the adapter connected to it (and a quick re-seating of the cable end usually rectifies that issue). The battery life superseded that of most of my peers' laptops in teacher's college. And it's way cooler than my work T60 IBM laptop for my computer job.

I do have one complaint though. You send me too much mail. I get junkmail from you at least twice a month, if not more. Sometimes I get it at least once a week! I know, I know, I did purchase a "small business machine" as a "small business owner." But the key word here is small. It's just me. And I only need one laptop. And this one's still chugging away. The expected lifespan of a laptop is generally three years. It hasn't even been two yet! I'm hoping and expecting this one still lasts me a while.

I like my laptop. I recommend Dell to others.

But I do warn people about the junk mail.

Kind regards,
Michelle

Movies I Can Watch Again and Again

- Serendipity
- Elizabethtown
- Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken
- Back to the Future II
- Finding Forrester
- The Lakehouse
- A Lot Like Love
- P.S. I Love You
- Brokedown Palace
- The Bourne Identity
- Kate & Leopold
- Catch and Release
- August Rush
- The Holiday
- Little Women
- Enchanted
- The Blind Side

Resolution

I can remember telling someone sometime around a year or so ago or so that I thought knitting a sweater was ridiculous due to a few factors:

a) It takes a long time
b) You can buy a perfectly good sweater for not very much money
c) You can never be completely sure the sweater you're knitting is actually going to fit you.

But here I am in 2010 with the New Year's Resolution to knit a sweater. Day 11, and it's going fairly well. I had hoped to be done by yesterday, but re-evaluated and decided not to rush things so in the end I'm actually happy with it and get a few wears (or a whole lot) out of it.

I bound off the bottom edge today. Now just have to finish the sleeves and the neck edging.

Stay tuned for further updates.

It's a New Year, And All That Jazz

I've seen a few posts around the blogosphere in my daily wanderings talking about the whole "it's a new decade!" thing, bugging out about that whole big deal, and reviewing the decade that was, year-by-year. While I appreciate this, I was thinking could I even list significant details from each of the past ten years? Some of them were so long ago! Some of them were not so significant.

But never to let a good list pass me by, here goes:

2000: Finished my first whole year not transferring colleges, and my first whole year of Bible college. Spent the summer in the Yukon waitressing. Hitch-hiked for the first and last times.
2001: Finished another year of Bible college, and applied for internships for the summer to fulfill my program requirements. Ended up spending the summer in southern Illinois as a youth ministry intern. Went to Mexico on a missions trip as part of my job. Went back in the fall for my last year living in dorm. Went to Montana for Thanksgiving.
2002: Graduated college for the first time, still had one class left to finish my B.A., and it was offered the week after graduated, so graduated with a lesser A.A. degree to walk the plank. Spent my first summer in Ontario in camp ministry. Returned to school in the fall, started my Masters degree, lived at 208 Third Avenue in a house on campus.
2003: Finished a great first year of seminary, said goodbye to the wonderful memories of the brown house, oddly found myself back in Ontario in the same place for another summer. Returned to seminary and lived in a duplex.
2004: Finished my MRRP (thesis), graduated with my M.A., said goodbye to my wonderful Briercrest years, got my drivers license (finally!) and went back to Ontario for a third summer, and headed out into the big wide real world of post post secondary life. Got a "real" job and moved to Muskoka to work at a camp full-time. Bought my first car, Hot Rod, a red 1992 Mazda 323. Moved into an apartment with two new friends. Spent my first Christmas away from home.
2005: Worked. Took a summer week off to volunteer at my old camp. Started selling purses on Etsy. Went to my Gramma's to visit in the summer. Went home at Christmas.
2006: Made the decision to move on and started interviewing for other jobs. Had a big birthday party with friends from different stages of life. Went to Sudbury for a quick vacation in the summer. Went on a road trip to Saskatchewan with friends for a wedding. Quit my job. Started working year-round for the camp I had previously spent three full summers at. Moved into my own apartment. Spent Christmas in Sudbury.
2007: Started working part-time for a computer company in February, quit in June to work at camp full-time for the summer. Moved in June to a house with housemates. Started full-time in computers in September, while working part-time at camp. Checked out teacher's college. Went home briefly at Christmas.
2008: Applied to teacher's college. Kept working 11 hour days until the beginning of July. Went to Florida for my first real vacation during March break. Was accepted into teacher's college in April, started in July. Had a great first teaching placement. Worked, went to school, worked, went to school. Part-time camp, part-time computers. Went to Sudbury for Christmas.
2009: Did my second teaching placement, went to Myrtle Beach for March Break, did my third teaching placement, flew to Manitoba for my Gramma's funeral, worked at camp full-time for the summer and part-time computers, went back to working full-time computers, part-time camp, and got a part-time teaching position. Graduated from teacher's college. Went back to Alberta for Christmas.

Of course, many many other things happened over the course of the past ten years. Can we really reduce a decade to a short list? Life was lived, and continues to be so. Here's to the next ten, may they be abundantly more than all we expect or imagine.

Buttery Neckwarmer

I originally blogged this Cabled Celtic Neckwarmer awhile ago, here it finally is in it's completed form. I finished knitting it in November, and now it's on it's way to my aunt as a late Christmas/winter gift. Here is my Ravelry Link for anyone interested. The yarn is Mirasol Yarn Miski, a super soft yarn made from 100% Peruvian baby llama. The sale of the yarn supports health and education for disadvantaged children.



The pattern is Celtic Cable Neckwarmer by Lindsay Henricks, with some minor modifications in the cable pattern. The pattern is available free here.

December Soundtrack: Interrupt My Life

Dreamer, Bethany Dillon
Heartbreak Warfare, John Mayer
1234, Plain White T's
Everybody, Ingrid Michaelson
Clinging to the Cross, Bethany Dillon & Matt Hammitt
Everyone to Know, Bethany Dillon
Top of the World, Bethany Dillon
Wash Me Clean, Shawn McDonald
Winter, Joshua Radin
Closer, Joshua Radin
I'd Rather Be With You, Joshua Radin
Stolen, Dashboard Confessional
All We Are, Matt Nathanson
Last Train Home, David Mead
The In Betweens, Geoff Moore and The Distance
Wait and See, Brandon Heath

Deadbeat Blogger

My camera batteries died awhile ago, and then I kept forgetting to charge them, and then life got busier, and then it snowed, and then winter crept in and Christmas started to creep up (again). Less than a week until I fly to Alberta for the first time in two years, and this time for longer than 3 days! Still trying to wrap up some extreme Christmas crafting (I shouldn't leave these things so late), hoping to get it all done before Friday. And somewhere in between 49 hours of work from Monday morning through Friday morning, I need to do a wee bit more shopping.

November Soundtrack: Sometimes Bombs Fall Quietly

Somehow suddenly it's already December, but this whole past month I've been faithfully saving a list of songs I've listened to over the course of the days that were November 2009. It's always surprised me how powerful music is to memory, how easily a song or an album can take you back to a remembrance. I love this soundtrack project.

Here We Go, Mat Kearney
City, Sara Bareilles
Show Me What I'm Looking For, Carolina Liar
The Best of Me, The Letter Black
Moonlight Kiss, Bap Kennedy
Someone Somewhere, Jason Reeves
Never too Late, Hedley
Fallin' For You, Colbie Caillat
Gravity, Sara Bareilles
The Chain, Ingrid Michaelson
Breathe, Taylor Swift
Wedding Dress, Derek Webb
Fireflies, Owl City
King of Glory, Third Day
Forgiven, Sanctus Real

Confessions

1. In grade 7 practically every day when I came home from school I had a snack consisting of a glass of chocolate milk (homogenized milk with Quik mix) and a spoonful of peanut butter (the chunky kind, in the jar with the red lid with a squirrel on it). Sometimes I still come home and have that for a snack.

2. I had never driven alone until I was 24 years old. I didn't yet have my full licence then (but it was just down the block to drop a car off at the repair shop).

3. I still think McDonald's is a real treat.

4. I started sewing when I was 4 years old.

5. I missed my kindergarten Halloween party because I ate a Nestle chocolate pudding (back when they came in little cans with pull-tabs) and got sick because I was allergic to chocolate and didn't know it.

6. The oldest piece of clothing in my closet is from 1996. How nuts is that?

7. I have a Gmail account that I get mostly mail for other people with the same name as me. In fact, more mail is for them than for me. Theatre e-tickets, overdue library books and CDs (Michelle, return those overdue Kelly Clarkson and Taylor Swift CDs), information on the house she just purchased, photos of various kids, emails from MeMaw, letters from her long-ago lover, I've seen them all.

8. There are certain Judds songs that I can still sing word-for-word due to long family trips and limited cassette tape selection.

9. I carry a full keyboard to work, for two reasons. a) So I have a full-size keyboard and don't have to use a laptop keyboard, and b) since I always use someone else's cubicle then I don't have to use their germy keyboard.

10. This list has taken me forever to write. I keep getting interrupted!

Fly Away

I keep thinking I should blog more often, but then after sitting at a computer all day working, usually afterwards I'm too tired to do more of the same and would rather do something else! We've been having some lovely fall weather lately, today I drove with my window down in disbelief that it actually was this late in November. But I'm quite alright with the weather staying this nice for awhile!

I got this bird t-shirt a couple of weeks ago at Jacob Connexion... too many birds to wear on it's own but I think it looks nice peaking out from beneath a sweater.

Have been working on a few Christmas presents lately, finally finished the cabled neckwarmer after I bought some buttons this past Friday. Why are buttons so expensive? $3 for 4? Really? That's ridiculous. I know somewhere I have some that my Gramma gave me last summer, but I can't seem to find them any of the places I would put them.

Slowly I've been sorting through my room and belongings and trying to perhaps better organize and figure out things I don't need to keep any more. Have some fabrics I will really never use and am not sure why I bought in the first place. Have some clothes that I always think maybe I'll wear that again "some day," but really I never wore it in the first place so why would I wear it ever? And of course always have piles of paper I need to deal with and sort out and file and such. Really would love a filing cabinet, that would solve a lot of problems. Or perhaps just make more.

I was originally planning on taking photos last weekend and posting them for each part of the weekend list, but didn't get photos of everything. So Mom, I'll still email you some graduation photos. The pancakes were very good. The steak was okay. Never did find a pile of leaves.

I'll end this post with a recommendation: the Starbucks Caramel Brule Latte. And I don't even like coffee.

Things to Do This Weekend

1. Sleep in.

2. Make pancakes for breakfast.

3. Graduate.

4. Eat steak.

5. Find a pile of leaves.

5. Knit.

6. Sew.

7. Work on secret Christmas projects.

8. Get out my duvet for winter.

9. Laundry.

10. Maybe eat pancakes for supper.