Vegas Baby!

My hubby and I have been away the last few days in Las Vegas for his niece's wedding. We rented a house with several family members instead of staying in a hotel. I was a little worried about how it would work out, but over all we had a great time and saved a lot of money. It was nice that we didn't have to get dressed for breakfast and we had a private pool. I wish I had pictures but my camera wasn't working! The wedding was held at Sunset Gardens and was beautiful! It was a short but very touching ceremony and we had a great time at the reception. We were having such a great time at the reception that we continued the party at the newly built Planet Hollywood Casino. The next day was rough, but we made it back home safely.

Cupcake-a-licious and a Bunny Update

Mmmmmm..... cupcakes..... My sister in law and I had a terrific time this weekend decorating cupcakes for my nieces' birthday party. It was the first time that I had a chance to break out my cake decorating kit for something other than dying yarn!

Update: A you can see that Fred is greatly enjoying his new owner and I think that he will be up for the challenge.

Big Foot Bunny

Lets call him Fred. Don't underestimate him because of his sweet smile and light blue color, this is one tough bunny. He will have to be to face his next mission...to be a birthday gift for a feisty one year old. My niece Lily is turning one this weekend so knitted Fred as a gift for her royal cuteness. I think that he will be up for the challenge!

I love Carbondale in the springtime!

Most people will respond that that statement by saying "right......." but it really is true. southern Illinois is beautiful in the spring and in the summer. Carbondale is not the most picturesque town but you can't beat the city's natural beauty. I graduated from SIUC in 2001 and I haven't been back since. Recently, I was invited back by the Art History Association to be the Alumnus Speaker of the Year. I spoke about applying for graduate school and beyond. The talk went really well and I was happy with the turned out. I haven't been back to campus since I graduated and it was just a beautiful as I remembered. All of the trees and flowers were in bloom. The day after my talk my husband and I took a trip to Pomona winery to taste some wine. It is a 30 minute ride from Carbondale and we were able to sample even more of the local beauty. Pomona winery specializes in non-grape fruit wines. They have some delicious varieties and we picked up a few bottles for ourselves and as gifts! Overall it was a great trip!

A Spring Visit

This weekend I am in Wisconsin! For the last two days I have been visiting with my brother and sister in law as well as with my terrific friends Lisa and Troy. We have been friends since our graduate school days and they have a little boy and a baby girl. I have to hand it to Lisa, I am not quite sure where she finds the energy to manage both kids! She is truly a super mom. It really makes me think about my own mother and how she must have had her hands full with my sister and I (we are twins). I guess that is the true meaning of mother's day, it is a chance to thank your mother for loving you even when you were draining her of every last drop of energy I was listing to the podcast of "To the Best of Our Knowledge" and they interviewed one of the editors of a new anthology of poetry about mothers and motherhood called "Not for Mothers Only." It is a true reflection of the all of the facets of motherhood, from the ecstasy to the ambivalence that sometimes accompanies raising a child. I am going to give it to all of the mother's that I know!

A Beautiful Day!

Today was a beautiful day! My hubby and I went to attempt to play tennis at our local park. It was fairly successful, without too much swearing. With the warm weather, small children and dogs have come out of the woodwork, swarming to local parks like those faux lady bugs that are everywear. Not that I mind, I find myself getting to that age when children are becoming more and more appealing, funny how that happens. This day seems like the perfect day for a photo of my beautiful niece Lily who will be 1 years old at the end of this month! Isn't she cute folks?

Welcome and a Minimalist

Welcome to my blog! This is the first post of (hopefully) many. I am working on several project right now, I am concentrating most of my efforts on the Minimalist Cardigan from Interweave Knits Fall 2007. While definately would not call myself a minimalist, I think that this sweater is going to be great. It is only the second sweater I have ever knit. The first has been sitting in my drawer since its completion, mostly due to the fact that it doesn't fit. The yarn that I am using for the cardigan is a delicious blend of angora, merino, and nylon. I will admit to petting it while knitting! The pattern is pretty simple but I have a feeling that the moss stitch is going to get old, hence the desire to finish it before I lost interest. More to come...