Knitting...

So, I haven't been blogging on time lately because I have been knitting every night. When I'm determined to learn something... it's a good and a bad thing, but it really goes crazy.. I HAVE to learn it.. I become slightly obsessed. I've done it with lots of things, like photography, oil painting, ceramics, most of the time it has gone along with school and the classes I was in, I would completely immerse myself into a class. I love learning new things. So, a while back my stepbrother's fiance taught me the basics of how to knit. The two main stiches that will get you through... so, I picked the biggest project EVER and what felt like FOREVER to finish, it was this scarf and it is huge... seriously, it could probably be a jacket for a smaller person. :) But, I finished it.. and I'm so glad, because then I could move onto what I really wanted to learn, which was hat-making. So... I began on my journey of making a baby hat.. Well, they say the hardest part is getting a hat to fit the person you're intending to make it for. This was totally true becasue when I made what I thought would be perfect for a small baby, it turns out it's probably best for a toddler... so, I sent it to Amelia.. it's a bit big for her now, but maybe next year she'll get some use out of it. I didn't even think about taking photos of the projects I have done, until I knitted the next project... which was a newborn hat for my friend Mike's little baby boy! :) So, it turned out great! hope he takes a picture and sends it too! Here's Amelia and Miles' hats :)

I have also knitted Kris a hat and I'm working on another one for Clara's going home outfit...

Next up? I have to figured out how to make booties... Kris wants me to make the baby some booties. :) Well, we'll see what happens!

Laundry...

So, today after I dropped Kris off I decided I needed to come home and get a jump start on my laundry... so, here it is... well, some of it! I have done about 10 loads and still have more. I was lucky enough to get dozens of receiving blankets and tons and tons of clothes that have kept me folding and folding and folding all day... phew!

USS Enterprise Strike Group

January 13, 2011... the Enterprise Strike Group pulled out of port. Keep my baby safe...

last of everything...

...nothing like getting sentimental before a long trip... as I was brushing my teeth and kris was getting the last bit of things ready and packed, i said... come here... come brush your teeth and let me take our picture together... so, as kris calls my "signature kiss" where i kiss him as I'm taking the picture, he makes his "signature popeye face" hahha... this is our last picture together for a while.... see ya soon my sailor.

Coldstone.. kris's last ice cream

Tonight was our last dinner together for a while... Kris leaves for work tomorrow and he will be gone then for 6 months.

We went and ate mongolian grill and then had some coldstone creamery on the way home. Sometimes, it is the littlest things that really make you happy... and this wasn't exactly the littlest thing, but it was pretty great!! :)

We enjoy eating dinners together... We are a little old fashioned when it comes to this.. we like our little date nights, getting ready and going out to dinner together and enjoying each other's company. We will be that old couple you see in restaurants where they may not have anything to say to each other after 50 years of marriage, but they're still out to dinner together... enjoying the company.

So, we ate our ice cream and treated it like just another day.

Spoiled pup...

Luna has lived a crazy life in her 5 years on this Earth. She has probably ridden in the car for more miles than any other dog, going from GA to SC to MD to VA constantly... she's my little co-pilot. Most of the time if I'm running errands, there she is in the back of the car waiting for me as I come out of wherever it is. She has a bit of an anxiety problem though at two times... when she is put in her crate... she HATES it... she will do it, but you can tel, she cries and cries for the first few minutes she is in there... and the other time is when you're packing any kind of bag. She knows you're leaving.... it unsettles her to the point where she will sit next to the door, or sit right next to you as close as she can so she knows you won't leave without her.

Luna is our child... she's not a dog, she has a personality and language... call us crzy, but I promise if you spent a day or two with her, you would understand... trust me. My mom is the most un-dog person you've ever met, but she loves her, talks to her and will even cuddle with her.

So, Kris and I spent some quality time with her today, I rocked her in the rocking chair in the baby room, which was cracking me up because sometimes she gets this look on her face like "mom, I don't like this, but you're close to me, so I guess it's alright" and then she jumped off me and onto the floor to cuddle with her daddy... :)

What would you take?

If someone came to you and said... "pack a bag for 6 months... what do you bring?" Well, that's the question we have had to ask over and over again... What DO you pack? I mean, you have very limited room as well... that's the thing! So, Kris had a lot of stuff on the ship, but the rest of his belongings collected in Clara's room to be packed up before deployment. I decided it felt much like that of the first day of Kindergarten. I had to label all of his t shirts, be sure he had extra underwear and socks and like any good mother, be sure he had some snacks he would like...

So, he's ready for school... well, guess it's not really school, more like a jail, but either way, after 6 months he will be very excited to come home to civilian clothes and his own bed... not to mention his daughter and puppy!!

Go Ravens... :)

I've always been a big fan of dressing up like a complete idiot... if there's an 80's night at a bar, I'm the idiot wearing flourescent pink for the heck of it. Themed parties... I love them.. it's like Halloween, but way better because people see you in gas stations or grocery stores and say... what the heck is wrong with that girl? But, they're all in great fun! So, Kris and I didn't even leave the house for the Ravens game. In fact, his parents and brother came down from Maryland and we watched it at the house, I made spinach dip and 7-layer mexican dip and we all watched as the Ravens won!!! This weekend is the big game against the Steelers... so, here it is GO BLACK AND PURPLE! :)

Cutest comparison ever.. :)

So, the past few days have been hectic trying to get al of Kris's things together for deployment... He had about 20 or so pair of underwear but he heard from a chief they recommended that he get about 30 or everything from socks to underwear, etc. So, when we went and bought more underwear for Kris, I noticed in the store this pair and told him he had to get these... they almost perfectly match one of the baby's gDiapers.. :) I was so excited about these as Kris just laughed and rolled his eyes, I'm a silly artist.. I know.... But, I just thought these were the cutest little things ever! His and Clara's!!

reds...

so, everytime kris and I decorate, it seems like we gravitate towards red. Most of our clothes are even black and red, it's crazy. So, this is a picture that Kris made... he said I matched the house because of my shoes, jacket (laid on my lap) and the pillows and rug. I'm not too fond of having people take photos with my camera, even kris... I feel like I never smile or look right because I'm always trying to explain things while they are about to shoot the photo.... ahh hahah..

i took all the color out of this photo except the reds so you could possibly understand what we see.... it never fails wherever we are we will see people wearing a shirt that matches a car or sign or something... pay attention and you may notice these things too. It's insane. And I always wish I had my camera at that very instant to capture all the same shades.

painting a blank canvas.

So, while Kris works his 24 hour shift, I stay here and get into trouble... well, not exactly trouble, but I was feeling a bit creative. So, I painted... I got two canvases covered in what seemed like a great idea, til I realized I didn't have anywhere to put them to dry! I was afraid to put them in the garage due the the fact that the paint might freeze and crack... so, on the dining room table they had to stay for a while. But... I wanted to paint something to put on the wall on the living room. I have a huge canvas that I will tackle next, but for now, I wanted to get started... pick up a paintbrush and get the feel for it again.. so, this was my photo for today... a blank canvas, fresh start... nothing like that first stroke... Nothing like my flowers my husband got me keeping me company either :)

so, the love birds painting is done, the other still needs work, but I will take a photo of my wall sometime soon!

belly photos continued..

So, we decided to take a few photos. They're pretty funny because whenevr Kris and I get together in a photo, we can't help but bust out laughing... especially since I was trying to explain to him that they were meant to be silhouettes... but he insisted on asking "should a smile or should I take off my glasses, whatever about my hands? where do they go?" He is by far the hardest person to photograph... I have to ive him an entire dialogue... but, luckily enough, he will ALWAYS cooperate. There has not been a single photo yet that I wanted to take but couldn't because he said no... if anything, I'm forever getting yelled at for NOT taking enough photos...

Which reminds me, sorry I haven't been keeping up with this blog! It's been a heck of a few weeks getting Kris ready for deployment and the baby's room ready... phew!

belly photos...

So, I never have my camera on me when I need it, so i decided when I see something, whether my phone's quality is up to par or not, I'm just going to take the photo... no, it may not be as good as I would with a different piece of equipment... but, why not?

So, here's two pictures from my cell phone of Kris loving my belly and baby Clara.. just about every night he would talk to her or read a book, trying to get her to come out before he left for deployment... He recorded himself reading books so she will get to hear his voice while he is gone. Already, she's a Daddy's girl. :)

We need to take some better photos... hopefully soon..

My poor husband...

so, he works his butt off at work, and then when he comes home I have been for the past 24 hours thinking and planning and concocting all of these bright ideas that I want him to do or help me with, or even that I want to talk to him about before I do! it's insane, really...

not only that, but this man can fall asleep in an instant. There were so many times I would walk into the room after leaving for like 10 minutes and he would be passed out on the couch. And, he blames it on Luna a lot of the time saying that she puts a curse on him, which I totally believe. But, some nights when we finally get into bed, he doesn't even get out good-ni---- before he is out cold and snoring.

I like to take pictures of them sleeping, they both look so peaceful, but this time, Mommy got caught!! By both of them! :) oopss!

So, you'll notice the first picture of him sleeping, but i got too close and he heard my shutter and smiled. :)

New Years Day Dinner.. a tradition.

So, it was our second annual New Years Dinner, and I cooked the usual..

Collard Greens to represent money/cash in the new year

Black eyed peas, once used as a staple in the south, but now symbolize coins and wealth... mixed with tomatoes to represent healthy hearts... health and wealth..

Ham... Pigs are the only animals who scratch forward, symbolizing progress,

Cornbread to symbolize the gold/riches in the upcoming year.

I also read that the symbolism of repetitive round objects, such as the pineapple and the round bundt cake are good ways of showing the continuous luck, such as that of a wedding band symbolizes everlasting love. SO... a new tradition of baking a bundt cake begins... (although I think Kris will have me make another one as soon as he can talk me into it!)

So, in search of a recipe for the "most moist chocolate cake" I came across a recipe for a Guinnes Stout Chocolate Cake. I paired this recipe with a chocolate coffee ganache... and there you have it... the most beautiful thing to touch your lips in the new year... I mean, really? Who needs a new years kiss if you can have this creation?!?!

Kris and I were actually able to be together for New Years, which was nice, we watched the ball drop and watching the NKOTB and Backstreet Boys and it really ages you to see those guys! wow... getting old, i guess.