Put a few pounds on this body.  Some of you know that I have been working hard to lose some weight…..so far I have taken off 26  pounds and I can tell you that it has been a good thing.

Last year when I went to the doctor for a physical my sugar was up a bit and coming from a family history of type II diabetes, I knew it was time to do something about the extra weight I have been carrying around or face the unpleasant consequences.  Having seen a friend this summer who had dropped a significant amount of weight on the south beach diet, I decided to give it a try, especially since it works well for someone facing diabetes.

The holidays have definitely been a bit of a challenge though for sure!  I sailed thru Thanksgiving without gaining nary a pound, but Christmas and all of it's goodness snagged me a bit.  Thankfully since Thanksgiving I have only put 3 pounds on, but now it's time to get serious again and loose those last 25 (plus 3).

The other day Kathy and I were discussing how much we love our fatbaby boots and how much we liked this black and white version.  Somehow the topic of weight loss incentive crept into the conversation.  Both of us wanting to take off 25 pounds decided that these boots would be the perfect half way reward.  So as of today, I am back on track and looking forward to a new pair of dress boots!

The last few days here have been pretty much dedicated to my Twisted Vines sweater.  Having finished up with all of my Christmas knitting, my knitting schedule is pretty much unoccupied right now.

A few months ago, I was smitten with this pattern and thought that it might work well with a few of the new yarns that I have to sample….so on the needles it went.
 

I had thought that this would be a great pattern for my Tranquilo alpaca yarn, but as you can see the pattern was much too loosely knit for this yarn.  I suppose I could drop down a few needle sizes, but that would greatly reduce the size of the shawl, so I decided to try the pattern with another yarn.

This yarn is a sea silk yarn that I picked up a few months ago and truly this pattern would be perfect for this yarn……except I can not get past the sloppy edge I am getting on the left side. 

Each side starts with a K1, YO and ends with a YO, K1.  On the beginning of the knit side row, I can get the tension right and it looks neat, but at the end of the row with the YO,K1 and then turn to purl, it is just sloppy looking 😦

I spent the afternoon scouring shawl patterns and this is the one that I would love to use for the sea silk, so I am hoping that a few of you may have some helpful hints to send me on tightening up that left side edge. 🙂

I swore this morning as I was straightening out the house in preparation for company that I would not forget to take pictures.  You see, our company was Dan,Jean, the boys and the dogs……..and did I take a single picture?  Of course not….agggh!!! 

We had another wonderful visit with Jean and her family while they were up visiting her family a few towns over.  One of these days, I will remember to drag out that camera, but until then I will leave you with this video that Ashley made for her best friend for her birthday.  Pay close attention to the very end of the video……..this is the Ashley that we know and love…LOL.

I didn't ask for much for Christmas this year, but I guess I was a good grrl as Santa brought me the one thing that I had on my list……and I LOVE them! 

Every time I have seen Cheryl this year, she has been sporting a pair of really neat cowboy boots.  Normally I am not a fan of cowboy boots and their pointy toes, but these rounded toe, chunky fatbaby's are so much fun!

Ken had been bugging me for a Christmas list, but I just could not think of anything that I really wanted or needed until I saw Kathy's post.  That was it!  I had forgotten how much I loved Cheryl's boots, so on the list they went and Santa listened.
(of course a link to Zappos was provided…grin).
Thank you Santa!!

Now that the push for Christmas knitting is done, I sat back and worked a bit on my Twisted Vines Sweater. 

The back is completed and the first set of cables on the left front are as well.  I love picking up this sweater when I feel like some mindless knitting and as you all well know there are times when mindless is a good thing, right?

I have a few new things on the to do list that I am looking forward to starting now that the holidays are nearly past.  I will share them with you soon. 🙂

Did you have a nice Christmas?  We had one filled with family and friends…..and it was fun!  As much as I enjoyed Christmas when my children were young, I think I enjoy it even more now that they are older.  As the kids have gotten older, their relationships have becomes stronger…….it's fun to see them enjoying each other's company.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from last night and this morning…..

Hannah giving her Nana a Santa Hug….

Sisters who now enjoy hugging a bit more than squabbling 🙂

McKayla with her American Girl Doll
(finally a girl who I can spoil with a doll!)

Miles had fun this year playing Santa…..

………….and my most favorite picture of the day………..

It's a rare thing when you can completely surprise kids these days, but I think we succeeded this year 🙂

I hope that your day was filled with family, wonder and joy too!

Christmas eve day is a very very busy day here, so I will leave you with my 2 Christmas favorites to enjoy 🙂

This little ditty ALWAYS makes me smile!

Every year on Christmas Eve we have a family gathering, and the one thing that everyone looks forward to every year is my Homemade Eggnog, so as in previous years, I will share it with you again.

EGG~NOG

12 eggs (separated)
1pint heavy cream
1/2 gallon milk
1cup rum (more or less)..we like more 🙂
1 1/2 c. sugar
3tsp. vanilla
                                    dashes of nutmeg
Beat
yolks & sugar in large bowl.  Beat whites in another bowl and beat
cream in yet another bowl.  Slowly beat milk into yolk mixture, then
fold in whites and cream.  (I actually beat the whites and cream in, so
that it is well mixed).  Add your rum and then top off with lots of
nutmeg  ~YUM

Bottoms Up grrls……….Cheers~

Pattern:  Spiralucious
Yarn:  Opulence ~ Robin's Nest
Needles:  US size 3 (16 inch Addi's)
Modification:  Extra repeat on second chart

As much as I love Poinsettia, I think I like this pattern even more.  There is a little more room in the neck area to throw over a sweater under a jacket…..and I LOVE the dainty little lace edging.  So Victorian!

 

Stacey loves it enough to want one for herself in Sugar Plum (definitely a pink kind of grrl)…and I am going to do one for myself in some sort of teal color with matching mitts.

Whew……….birthday hat…check!  GF gift…..check!  Now if I could tell you that I got all of my Christmas cards out…..my name would be Pinocchio. 😉

I thought I was going to have a finished item to show you today, but the lace edging is taking a wee bit longer than I thought it would, so I will finish it up this evening.  This is a fun knit!  Watching the dainty edging grow as you bind off is so interesting.  I had my doubts that I had it right at first, but after 2 repeats…I saw that I had it. 🙂

I am working on Spiralucious for my son's girlfriend. (No, she doesn't read the blog that I am aware of, so it's safe to discuss).  I dyed the colors to match both of the gifts that Miles bought for her…..a dark brown jacket and a light blue fleece from Northface.  She is very fair, so I dug into those pastels that I usually steer away from…..I went for a very soft blue and taupey brown.  The blue is actually much softer than in the picture.  The only modification I have done was to make it a bit longer by adding an extra repeat on the second chart.

I will hopefully get it blocked and modeled by one of my grrls tomorrow 🙂

Back in November, just before Hannah's birthday party, I picked up this sign to put by our back door.  I'll admit, it's a bit tacky, but I just loved those happy snowmen faces. 🙂

After the 7 inches we received here on Friday and the 18 inches we are well on our way to getting today, Ken asked me if I would consider taking that sign down… 😉

I think he likes it. 🙂

Pattern:  My own
Yarn:  Mission Falls 1824 Superwash Wool, Harmony and Handspun Angora
Needles:  US size 7