10 ways to lighten your mood.

ahh, I'm thinking - this one is easy - I've had a bit of experience these past few weeks attempting to lighten my mood! so let's see:

1. think about all the blessings in your life.

2. reach out to a friend to talk.

3. or better yet, to knit.

4. take a walk.

5. listen to a playlist that reminds you of a happier time.

6. pamper yourself - a manicure & pedicure, or even a long soak in a bubble bath.

7. surf ravelry and create your dream queue - the projects you'd knit if only [fill in the blank].

8. visit a yarn store (or a bookstore). just to browse.

9. buy yourself flowers, and finally

10. eat dark chocolate with a glass of good red wine (note that going overboard on this one will definitely backfire!)

yes, these are all things I have done myself these past few weeks, except for #9 - and maybe I do need to do that one soon! the photo I've included with this post is one I took a few summers ago - a bouquet I bought to lighten my mood after I dropped off sara at camp.

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frogged.

...yep, my first venture into knitting socks toe-up has ended with a pile of yarn. in knitting lingo, I frogged them (as in "rip it, rip it, rip it"...get it?)

I'll bet you thought I never ripped, that every project turned out well from the start?

nope. very seldom. I am a bit of a perfectionist about my knitting and as careful as I try to be, I make mistakes. or I try new things, sometimes over and over, until I get it just right. so I rip and re-knit a lot. (I had to smile when I came across the caption for this photo - guess I'm knitting a lot more now, so ripping and re-knitting does happen!)

what is unusual for me is ripping something out all the way and abandoning the project. I can't remember the last time I did that! I've definitely started the project over with different yarn (like the ulmus rectangle that is now in its third iteration), but this time, I didn't think the yarn was the problem. I think I'm not in the mood for toe-up socks. and my sock knitting group has picked embossed leaves for september. and this yarn, yukon in the fabulous fall colorway, seems perfect to show off the pretty leaf motif. so yesterday I cast on the cuff and started a new pair of socks. and so far (knock on wood!) I haven't messed up a stitch!

[edited to fix the yarn link - it's from pagewood farms]

10 things I'd tell my college freshman.

...taking a cue from beth, I'm joining Ten on Tuesday (which means someone else tells me what to blog about one day a week) - this week's topic couldn't be more timely! yeah, I tweaked it a bit - this list isn't for "a" college freshman, it's for mine!

1. be open to new things - new people, new ideas, new schedules, new routines - this is your chance to try out any and everything and see what fits you.

2. go to class - not only will the professors get to know you (and that counts for something when they figure out grades) - you'll know first-hand what to study...and the lecture will do some of the work for you.

3. when you get stressed, go to the gym, not the dining hall.

4. keep up - don't cram a semester's or half-semester's worth of work into a weekend!

5. get involved - find something you're passionate about (relay for life? faset?) and join in.

6. get some sleep - it's amazing how much easier the toughest problem looks after even a few hours of sleep.

7. take a cab if you don't have a designated driver.

8. mascara and lip gloss. always.

9. remember you can do it!

10. your mama loves you! (keep in touch...often!!)

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just because I could.

...I drove down to campus last night to take sara out for dinner. happy to live close enough to make spur-of-the-moment dates like this possible!

and now it's sara's turn.

...finally.

Oh, if I had a daughter, sir, I'd dress her in White and Gold,

And put her on the campus, to cheer the brave and bold.

I've been thinking that while this choice might've seemed like a complete long shot - after all, she's interested in cooking (and writing), or she might want to follow a different path from the one her sister took -  maybe her decision was really not so much of a surprise. she excels in math (enough to teach it!).

and she's been a fan her whole life.

sara, 1st grade (I think!)

she's got a great dorm (I still need a photo!), rush started last night, classes start monday, and I hope she loves it as much as she thought she would.

s - so very proud of you. beautiful, smart, funny, the best cook I (might ever!) know, and a smile that never fails to brighten my day. (and love that you're still close enough to have lunch :-) xxoo - m.

i carry your heart.

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
   i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(je le porte dans mon couer)

k - safe travels and best wishes on your new home and your new job. xxoo -m.

and the winner is.

...me!

I know, it's shocking, isn't it? but then sara reminds me that this isn't the first time. and maybe it's a new trend? (or maybe it's just the many many comments I leave on all those blogs does pay off!)

maybe one of the best things about these two wins is the thrill of having emails from these famous bloggers in my inbox, letting me know I've won. (and yes, it's been really hard to type my replies without way too many exclamation points :-)

first up, from kristen kapur of through the loops, a copy of her newest pattern for mitts and a beret.

sadly, we don't carry the yarn she used, but I think the debbie bliss luxury tweed aran might be a good substitute and it comes in a pretty green.

and then just today, from melanie aka lit*chick, a copy of year of wonders by geraldine brooks. bookclub read this a few years ago, but I missed that meeting and didn't get a chance to read the book. it was a huge hit with everyone, though, and I really enjoyed march, so I'm looking forward to reading it.

one more.

...lunch at bistro vg. the three of us. of course the food and the atmosphere did not disappoint. of course there was pizza (hold the prosciutto). and also a cheese plate (sara was most impressed by the fruit conserve which might mean four kinds of cranberries at this year's thanksgiving table) and katie's favorite mussels.  of course there was plenty of great conversation. an older sister sharing advice about college, a younger sister sharing expertise about cooking and outfitting a kitchen and a mama happy to simply watch them (but still wanting photos of everything).

I am struck right this minute by how very fortunate we are to have times like these. no "of course" about that. except to say "thank you".

gratitude 2010.

...I got into a very good habit back in 2008 - being intentionally thankful for the many blessings in my life. I continued that into 2009 and then for some reason which I can no longer recall, I didn't start a new journal for 2010. And I've missed it. So when I saw cathy zielske's gratitude journal template, I decided to start again.

These journal entries are centered around a photo (hoping this helps me get a bit of my photo mojo back!), and with the scrapbooking will be a lot more than the daily words I was documenting. So I'm thinking this time about weekly entries...we'll see.

I really started thinking seriously about this project over a month ago - but as usual, I got mired down in the format details. The template is great for hybrid (some digital and some real paper/glue elements) and I was hoping I could use up some of my extensive stash of pretty paper. But I had so much fun with the beaufort album that I decided to go fully digital. And then there was the size. The template is 8-1/2x11, but I want to print out the pages and put them in an album. Costco prints great 12x12, 8x8 and 5x7...no 8-1/2x11. Yesterday, I figured out how to resize the template to be 5x7...and I'm finally ready to start!

I do need to figure out a better way to choose the "papers" for these layouts. That was the hardest part of the whole thing!

girlfriend time.

...so happy I had a week filled with it. and have a few photos* to remember the good times.

the week started with lunch at bistro vg

as usual, sara had the shrimp & scallop salad and I had the pizza, but we had something new for dessert...delicious as always

and then we spent a few days at lake burton with virginia and lynn (and lynn's husband robert - but of course we didn't include him in our "girlfriend" photo!)

mary, virginia, lynn

it was a lovely break, full of knitting, talking, food, wine,

...and fabulous scenery.

robert drove us on a sunset boat ride

*I'm having a hard time lately with my photos - days go by without having any, even important days, like ones where we visit my parents... hoping I get out of that slump soon - too much important stuff is happening this month and I need photos!