Well, darn.

Everything is gone. Bluehost has lost my entire website, despite still charging me to host it. The whole "I want my own website" venture has been absolutely crap, if you ask me. I was told I'd be able to move back to blogger no problem, but oops! None of my images are able to be saved. Let's not even get into the countless problems that I had with the website itself - no HTTPS functionality for 80% of the time, the site redirecting to someone else's webpage for a good 4 months... it was just a huge headache.

So, all of my blogging for the past 3 years is gone.

At least I'm able to restore everything before the move here, so my knitting patterns are still around. On the plus side - I haven't produced any patterns in the past 3 years, so at least the internet didn't lose anything there. 

Christmas Vacation!

Well, things got a little crazy this weekend.  We were driving through Vermont when this happened:

 At 6 o'clock on a Saturday night, no one was open to even look at the car, but the person that towed the car said he would come in and look at the alternator the next day. 

So we stayed at a hotel, the Paradise Inn, and ate some bad pizza, bought some souvenirs, and were on the road by noon on Sunday.  It was fun and I took some nice photos, but I'd rather PLAN a weekend getaway and suddenly find myself having one!

More Photos from MinneSOHta

I got back on two weeks ago, but catching up with things has been so crazy that I didn't have time to share these.

The hotel that I stayed at (Holiday Inn East in St Paul) actually has an authentic Korean chef, so one night I got Stone Pot - I never had Koren food, and I was scared that it was spicy, but it wasn't! It was kind of like fried rice that you cook yourself.

I had never been to Culver's, so after work I went with two coworkers.  One of them was like "Why do you want to go there? It's not that good."  They said that when I said I wanted to go to Sonic, too!  But we didn't feel like driving too far for food, so it was a good idea. There's nowhere that has similar service near where I grew up - you take a number and then the server brings it out to you. It's pretty cool! Their custard wasn't bad, either.  It was a mix between Abbot's (from Rochester) and Rita's (from PA)

And, of course, I went to the Mall of America! I was told that there was a ferris wheel in it, it was so big... no one prepared me for the amusement park that's in it! I went after 5 on a Wednesday, so the crowds weren't bad at all :) I'm not much of a shopper, but I love looking in stores for things.

I haven't done much knitting since I came back, though.  I've been trying to get my head above water and catch up with everything I missed!

Liebster Blog Award

I got nominated for this award by Jordan from In It to Knit It.  You give eleven random facts, then answer 11 random questions.

So, here are my facts:
1. When I was little I slammed my hand in a car door and can't bend the first joint of my left ring finger.
2. I love listening to people talk.  Everyone has a story and once they start talking it's amazing what everyone has in common.
3.  My Myers-Briggs type is ESFJ, which is the "nurturer" subtype.  My type has changed 4 times since I first took it five years ago.
4.  I try really, really hard to eat healthy, but I have a craving for cheeseburgers that is bigger than most lolcats.
5.  I am addicted to reddit.  I check it on my phone every chance I get!
6.  I keep a journal.  I think it's the best idea to write in one, especially when making a big decision.  I have looked back on my journals and thought "Right, that's why I did that... I forgot."
7.  I have lots of good friends, but they don't know eachother well, and I'm nervous when I get married and they are all my bridesmaids they won't like eachother.
8.  Sometimes I stop and think and am amazed at normal things like GPS (four satellites?!) and the fact that we walk on two legs.
9.  Sometimes I get this burst of energy and want to run.  It doesn't last long. It reminds me a little bit of rabbits, they do something similar.
10. I do a little yoga every day.  My dream is to be able to do firefly pose.  I never look as graceful as photos of yoga on the internet.
11.  I am devestated by the fact that Google Reader is going away in July.  That website is like my connection to all my "online friends."


Jordan's questions were:

1. What is your favourite holiday destination?

 Until recently, I didn't have an answer to this... but then I went to Maine with my boyfriend last summer.  So yeah, that! How can you say no to a view like this:

2. What is your favourite type of food e.g. Mexican, Italian, etc...?

I really like Pho.  It's the best comfort food for me, but I can't eat a whole bowl!

3. If you had an elephant what would you name it?

Mr. Sniffles.  Even if it was a girl :)

4. If you could do any job for a day what would it be?

I wouldn't want to change my job.  Ask me again in ten years maybe?

5. If you had to change your name what would you change it too?

I would pick something easy to spell.  Maybe Alice Jones?  It's hard being the only Alyssa Lynough on the internet, so Alice Jones would probably blend in well.

6. Do you play nay sports?

No.  I used to play tennis but haven't since highschool.

7. What is your favourite item of clothing you own?

Any of my hand knit socks.

8. Do you play any instruments?

I can play flute and guitar, though I haven't played either in a while.

9. Can you speak any other languages?

I can speak French and ASL enough to be understood.

10. What is your favourite dessert?

It depends on the time of year. Spring - Strawberry Shortcake; Summer - Key Lime Pie; Winter - Chocolate Bread Pudding.

11. Fruit or vegetables?

That's hard.  I would probably pick vegetables because they're healthier.

So, now that that's done... I'm going to nominate eleven people! You don't have to pass it on, it's just fun. 

My eleven people are...
1. Sara from KnottyGome Crafts
2. Dee from Tangled Up in Sticks and String
3. Kathy from Irish Eyes Knitters
4. Rilana from PDX Princess
5. Mummybear from Slugs and Snails
6. Kate from Knits In Class
7. Louise from Wildflower Wool
8. Kate from Under the Red Umbrella
9. Alysia from Anxiety and Coffee
10. Carla from Tiny Angry Crafter
11. Emily from Yarn Miracle

And my questions are...
1. What little thing are you amazed at right now?
2. What can someone do that will cheer you up almost no matter what?
3. The ocean or the beach?
4. What's your favorite word?
5. If you had all the time and all the money and no carpal tunnel, what would you knit/crochet?
6. What's one thing that you loved as a kid that you're not sure why you liked now?
7. What's your spirit animal? (Be as silly as possible.)
8. If you were stranded on a desert island, what snack would you miss the most?
9. If you had the ability to go anywhere just by thinking about it BUT you were invisible and couldn't be heard or interact with anything, where would you go?
10. You get home to find a mysterious package.  You open it up, and inside is that thing that you need right now.  What is it?
11. What is your worst knitting or crochet mistake that you're comfortable talking about?

Wow, I really like asking random questions.  I think that was the fastest part of this blog post.  Anyway, I'm excited to see what the answers are! (Or if people read my blog... >_>) 

ABCs of Me

I stole this post from Dee at Tangled Up in Sticks and String, because I'm a dirty rotten thief and I can write little bits of this during the week during in-between times.  :P

 

A - Age: 22

B - Bed Size: Full, but I want to upgrade to king so that I can sleep like royalty

C - Chore You Hate: I cannot stand anything that has to do with old food.  When people leave things in the sink with food still in them, ugh! I want to puke!

D - Dogs Name: No dog, thanks.  I'm kind of scared of them.

E - Essential Start of the Day Item:  Music.  If I don't have music during my morning I sleep on my feet.

F - Favorite Colour: Green?  I don't really have a favorite.

G - Gold or Silver: Silver.

H - Height: 5' 2"

I - Instruments you play: Flute, Guitar (passably), Piano if the song only requires one hand, Kazoo.

J - Job: EHS professional! :)  I love my job.

K - Kids: Someday.

L - Living Arrangements: I rent a nice apartment in the attic of a house with my boyfriend.

 
M - Music You Love: Anything, really, but my guilty pleasure is Taylor Swift and CRJ.

N - Nicknames: N/A

O - Overnight Hospital Stay: None yet, phew!

P - Pet Peeve: I have so many I don't want to pick one because the others will get jealous.

Q - Quote from a Movie: Anything from Mean Girls.

R - Right handed or Left: Right.

S - Siblings: 1 younger big brother

T - Time you wake up: When I don't have to go to work? About 8.

U - Underwear: Y-yeah? I have no strong pro-underwear or con-underwear opinions.

V - Vegetables you dislike: Swiss Chard, because it tastes like fish.

W - Workout Style: Walking on a treadmill reading a book like a boss.

X - X-Rays You've Had: Not counting my dental x rays...? 2.

Y - Yummy Food You Make: I have a lot of good slow cooker recipies.  I also have a killer peanut butter pie recipe.

Z - The Best Place to Visit - Anywhere with a view!

Irresistibly Sweet!

Last week, Jordan from In It To Knit It gave me this really cute award! Thanks, Jordan!

As part of the award, you have to give seven random facts about yourself, so I'm going to try and give some facts that aren't in my 100 things... I'm not going to check though :P  If someone feels cheated, I guess I'll add something.

1. I have low latent inhibition.  Every time I tell someone about this lately, they've said something like "Like that guy in Prison Break!?" - I've never seen prison break, so I have no clue!
2. My favorite thing to do when not knitting is watch Hulu - I'm considering getting Hulu plus just for the reality TV shows!
3. My favorite genre of books is Distopian - Lord of the Flies, Oryx and Crake, 1984, We, Brave New World.  I don't know why, I just really love them!
4. My grandfather tells a story about how, the first time I spent the night at their house, he came to the breakfast table and I was eating toast with marmalade and reading the obits to my grandmother from the New York Times.  I have no memory of this.  I was three or four at the time.
5. I have a folder on my computer of funny photos that I've pulled from the internet of have had sent to me.  I highly recommend this practice for cheering oneself up! I have a bunch of EHS related ones, too, for presentations.
   

   

   This was emailed to me by W - no idea if it's real.

6. Everytime I hear the word "applesauce" I smile.  I don't know why - it used to be a lot worse.  I would laugh everytime someone said it!
7. I sleep walk and talk,  Severely.  I'm comfortable with the fact that I won't harm myself or divulge any horrible secrets, mostly I babble incoherently and keep people awake.  I have a lot of good sleepwalking stories.

The second part of the award is that you have to pass it on to 7 other blogs/bloggers, so here it goes!

1. Yarn Miracle - This blog is REALLY sweet, from the adorable toys to the adorable toddler, Emily has the market :)
2. Tiny Angry Crafter - I love reading about Carla's WIPs, her posts are quite sweet - I mean, really, you can't think up a better word to describe these headbands (besides fantabulous, but I've been told that's not technically a "word.")
3. Kit's Knits - I love seeing her knit and crochet stuff! Since I don't crochet, I get my fill of amigurumi eye candy here :) And, she's just a sweet person
4. Skirted Fleece Farm - Oh, not really a knitting blog, but I can't help it! I love living vicariously through their posts, and seeing pictures of their farm as it starts up.
5. One Word Down, Millions More To Go - What can I say? I'm a sucker for reading! Rachel hasn't posted in a while, though.
6. Knitting with Olof - Also hasn't posted in a while, but she has some great F.O. pics, and some really adorable kiddos.  Oh, and her reviews are great - honest, well-meaning, and sometimes accompanied by giveaways ;)
7. Sessilifolia - I like seeing her FO's, and she's just a sweet person! So, award for you :)

Wow, finding seven blogs I like was a lot easier than thinking facts about myself!  Thanks again, Jordan, for the award!

Setbacks, Sidetracks!

Well, it's been a tough week in the room (which is my new nickname for my apartment here in NH :])

1. I lost my debit card, meaning I didn't get to buy my shiny nice things that I talked about in my last post.
2.  W left!
3.  I just found out that I made a simple mistake on my Pink Lemonade Socks and had to frog back the whole gusset!

But, on the bright side:
1. I got a new debit card, and the person who lifted it never got a chance to spend any of my money
2. I get to go on a me spree! I hope the bank isn't suspicious of me.
3.  W was here at all - I really had a great weekend, it's just watching him go that put me in a funk
4. While W was here, he inspired me and helped me overcome  problem I've been having on my DAL design!
5.  I got a Wii Fit, which has helped raise my serotonin levels and, let's face it, it's impossible not to smile when you're pretending to hula hoop and a fluffy rabbit is running around you in circles.
6.  I got a super nice blog award from Jordan of In It To Knit It :)

So, there, two nice things for every sad thing that's gotten me down!

Happy Birthday To Me!

Well, today is my 21st birthday.  As of this moment, my plans are:

1. Get my free Grand Slam at Denny's for breakfast
2. Get my free burger from Ruby Tuesday's for lunch (I'm in the birthday club :) )
3. After work, buy some booze and sit at home with Lilac, watching Hulu.  
4. Maybe make birthday cupcakes if I have energy.

It's tough, having your first birthday far from home.  My dad and brother came out, bringing all the stuff I left home, so that was a gift in itself! Extra clothes, towels, and now I can boil water, gee whizz!  My mom also sent up my entire yarn stash, and a some succulents for my dark apartment.

She also sent a nice little pot for Lilac, which was happily devoured - she's now working on a basket. I'm thinking of buying some cat grass for her to munch on, but I don't know if she'll like it.  I guess if she doesn't I can just put it out on my porch.

Anyway, like I said, it's kind of a bummer spending such a major birthday alone with no friends or family.  So here's some pictures of Lilac.

"What's this, Slave?"

I call this one "SOON."

This one is just scary!

Tuckered out after a hyperactive bun run.

I got some nice presents, but mostly cards or money that I'm going to use to buy stuff I need.  I have a short list of stuff I want, and I'm putting up here so I can remember... though I probably will never buy these things XD

(From top to bottom, left to right)

• Garnet Mitts for the Summer Bead Along - I already have the yarn and beads! (Yes, I totally gave up on my bed design- that was SO doomed from the start!
• A new battery charger for my camera... =__=
• Marlene Socks.  I HAD the issue of Knit.1 that these were in, but I lost it somehow.  That was the most AMAZING issue of a magazine I'd every bought, with a ton of great patterns.
• Blackbird Shawl.  I just love it. I don't know what to say when I look at it.
• Chameleon by Hansi Singh, to make for Stephanie, who lost her chameleon to kidney problems...
• Crafty Detour's CSI Most wanted... honestly, I've been waiting to buy this!
• A 65 pack of felt squares from Lupin Handmade - a great blog, and they sell rainbows!
• This bag from Rue 21. It's the bag I've been looking for! 
• This shawl - though, the more I look at it, the more I think I could rig something up that was similar.

WWKIP Day and On (Finally!) Being Moved In.

Yesterday was the WWKIP event in Nashua, and so I went to the park and met lots of lovely knitters from the city - which was great, because I still don't know a terrible amount of people! I also finished two sunflowers for my DAL design - I'm leaning towards the smaller one, I think the larger one will be a good coaster for my tea pot.

Then, I went to Wal*mart to stock up on supplies (like a camera cable!) and buy a carpet that Lilac fell in love with.  I think it might be the texture, but she likes to roll around it, dig at it, and get her paws  up along the side and mark it with her chin!

I don't know if it's the addition of the rug or the fact that we've been here for two (2!) weeks, but I finally feel like I'm in MY apartment, not, say, sleeping in some stranger's guest room.  I'm so happy that I got a studio instead of a one bedroom or a two bedroom (like my last co-op.) I could spend a whole blog post talking about that, but instead I'm going to show you pictures of my aptartment!

Tiny Kitchen

Not many people can pull off the "stuffed animals as throw pillows" look.

Organized chaos.

Lilac doesn't get to go outside, but she likes to listen to kids play in the picnic area.

Anyway, it's exciting to be working full time, and putting together my own furniture. I miss my friends and family (and knitting time) but, the experience so far has been worth it.

Hope You Had a Great Easter!

And, if you don't do that sort of thing, a good weekend in general.

W and I spent most of Easter hunting for our eggs on his sister's property this year - thankfully, it was only about an hour and 45 minutes in the cold rain and mud.  Who started this tradition, anyway!?

We also got to meet Booker T, the cutest puppy ever.  I never thought I could like a dog, but I love Pugs.

Speaking of cute, we got to see our nephew! He's the recipient of the sweater I made a while back, though it's still a little small.

On a knitting note, I decided that my punishment for going a month without releasing a design was that I had to submit to a call on Ravelry.  So, today I did! I hope it gets accepted, but if not, the pattern is pretty much written - all I need is yarn support, so I could easily submit it somewhere else, or, spend the thirty bucks on yarn and self publish it.

Urgh.

Things have not been going my way.  I have been stressed out, sleepless, sick, and I just found out that I owe the government $2,500 because my father claimed me as a dependent.

So, yeah, things are a bit down at camp Alyssa.  I went through the pantry today to figure out how long we can go without buying food (you know you have it bad when...).

2KCBWDAY2 - Gettin' Skillz

Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?

I have been knitting half my life.  Yes, that's totally strange to me! I haven't done anything as much as I've knit - except maybe eat, sleep, breathe, or read.  I'm at the point where I'm really happy with my skills, but there are a few milestones that I see that I've met looking back last year.

• My first published, for-sale pattern
• My first lace shawl
• My first FO for myself!

That third one is the best one! As far as knitting skills, there's nothing I really want to master - I've done pretty much everything.  Entrelac? Socks? Lace? I feel like I'm on a high mountain of knitting mastery.  And the things I haven't mastered like spinning and crochet, I don't really want to learn!

For the next year, I think I'll try to fit in a lace shawlette with cobweb lace, and maybe some dyeing - but no hurry.  I just want to enjoy the ride and knit what I feel like.  If I need to learn a new technique, by George, I'll just do it.

Lost, then Found

A while back I whined about losing my mitten - they were given to me by my mom two years ago, and I was so proud of not losing one... until earlier last quarter.

Good news, though! I found it in the parking lot by my apartment! You can tell that one has travelled a bit more than the other (that would be lefty) but I'm sure after a few more cycles through the wash you won't see a difference.

Just a little thing to brighten my rather irritating week.

In Like a Lion...

Well, I missed my own goal to publish a pattern each month thanks to a horrible flu, exams, and starting a new job. But I promise, I have a very good one (and a cute one for March, too)

The sad but true story is I may not design at all anymore, because I will be starting this job in May and it is very demanding.  All I can say is - if you know someone who wants a career, they should definitely look into EHS because there are great jobs. :)  I've gotten quite a few job offers in the past few weeks, and this one is very exciting. 

So, it's not really an end.  Just putting my dreams of being a full time designer on the sidelines.  Maybe permanently, maybe not, because you never know. I will still blog (probably more often, since working takes considerably less time than school) just maybe more simple projects, maybe going back to one at a time.

But anyway, thanks all for your support - sorry I haven't really read or commented on any of my friends' blogs in over a week! Life has been strange and beautiful.

Special Delivery!

Today at lunch I picked up a lovely little present from the Take and Replace Swap on Irish Eyes! There were so many nice things, but I took out these:

A skein of sock yarn and a wristlet.  Perfect since my old one (from my wrist troubles two years ago) was starting to get icky and smelly, and this yarn will be great for new socks for W!  I loved everything in the box, and I hope the person I'm sending it to likes the stuff I put in!

Anyway, I don't get out of work until after the post office closes, but I will mail the box to the next person tomorrow :)

Oh and I've encountered a bit of a mystery:

This was in the middle of the skein of sock yarn! What is it? Thread? It's not more yarn, that's for sure.  There's still 100g in the skein (well, 94 g...) but... it's just weird.  I want to know what it is! :D

Oh, and no quilting tonight - I'm driving across the state on a mission to rescue some cats.  But I should have a nice FO (or two) tomorrow.

Oh Happy Day!

Today is Ash's birthday, and I made her some smiley twenty-first birthday cookies.

And also, I got a very nice blog review from Tays Blog,  4.5 out of 5 stars! How nice, you can read the review here.

And Thus Another Christmas is Conquered!

The presents are delivered.  Everyone loved them! I'm pretty excited that this Christmas went so well, especially since I made more hand-knit items then ever before this year - five!

Even the slippers, which I was really nervous about, were well received.

As for me, I made out like a bandit.  I got a new sewing machine, some rocking boots, and books, to name a few of my favorite gifts.  I'm already planning to quilt a bit, having little experience in quilting but a lot of experience reading about quiliting... so here's hoping.

Also in the realm of my life... my Dad's  computer got hit by a pretty nasty virus, and I'm having some very bad family problems.  I don't like keeping secrets, but the women of my family gathered around a table today and made the decision not to tell certain people in the family things "so that they can enjoy the holidays."  I'm happy I got to sit with my family and give my input, but I don't believe in keeping secrets.  I'm pretty bummed out about it - can't post here, of course, it wouldn't be a secret - but if  you could spare a prayer or a kind thought, I would appreciate it :)

Exciting News and Ideas!

Several good things are happening to me lately!

1.  It seems that I WON'T kill myself this Christmas with handmade gifts.  Assuming that I can finish the final pair of slippers before Thursday of next week... this might all work out!

2.  I want to start a pattern collection.  Lately I've been thinking of nothing but knit pencil cases for some creepy, strange reason... so, I'm going to challenge myself next year! Put out a pattern every month!  January will be the slouchy hat that I'm currently having test knit, but after that it will be pencil cases :) A set of 11 pencil cases for your knitting pleasure.

3.  And I'm making English muffins from scratch today, that can't go wrong.

Na(Fail At)NoWriMo

So, erm, yes.  Maybe you've noticed, maybe you haven't, but I have not succeeded in writing a novel.

For a number of excuses reasons, that I will elaborate on here:

1. Finals.  Oh, yeah, those two middle weeks in November? Dear Alyssa, you forgot that those were finals week.  So you didn't sleep.  Bah.
2. No support system.  Yeah, I guess this should be minor, but from the beginning I was hearing from W how people were asking why I was "writing so much." And by writing so much, I guess they meant writing 2,000 words each day? Anyway, people started making comments like "Well, I'd write that much, but I have SCHOOLWORK." As if they were so much busier than me.  
   
   In the end, I felt BAD about writing. Different.  Socially shameful.  I wasn't skipping schoolwork or shirking obligations, but I just felt alienated by these people.  I don't know why I let them hurt my feelings, but it did and that was probably the major reason I stopped writing. 
3. I just got lazy.

In the end, though, I learned some important lessons.

1. The people that W gossips about suck. Not all of them, but the ones that are hurtful. Yeah, they're losers and I need to not care about them.
2. Finals are hard when you're taking 20 credit hours :(
3. Everyone has a novel inside of them, and mine is NOT about a pediatric nurse falling in love and knitting.  Mine is much more exciting.

My plans for next year? Eh, probably NaKniSweMo :P

Happy Thursday

This week is destroying me.  I have some much done - but so much left to do.  It's the story of my life.

But in good news, the Hooks and Needles Felting Party is tomorrow! We're keeping it small, only 4 or 5 of us will be here, so I'm roasting a chicken and making roast vegetables.  It's going to be lovely and stress-free.

Then Saturday is my HAZWOPER refresher course, where I hope to do some novel writing (bad me, I know, but I'm falling behind! Mostly because of time, partly because I have no idea what to write.)

Also, I have another slipper set done, and I'm starting on a hat that may turn into a published design! (Note the 'may,' haha) 

As for the picture? A little bit of happiness from a midnight snack, of course! :)