Knitting my first sweater!

The news in my world? I have decided to graduate from knitting socks to sweaters! So I have picked out the pattern from the book Stitch 'N Bitch. The pattern is called "Big Sack." The idea is that it is a big bulky sweater, so I figure I will have a little breathing room in the size and I won't end up knitting it too tightly and ending up with a chunky knit belly shirt. Not flattering. I got some 100% wool yarn from a local yarn shop called A Knitted Peace. So the goal is to turn THIS into... THIS.

I like the washing instructions on the yarn. Evidently it can only be washed in 30 degree C water with one hand, not while climbing a mountain, and there is no third rule. Alright, that makes sense. Wish me luck!

The coffee in my cup is cold and it's almost time for work

This is a new post. And that's all I got.
Ok, lets see, what have I been doing? This morning I have been drinking about three cups of coffee and writing a hub recommending a pizza bar here in town that is our current favorite place to eat and drink. They have this sandwich called the Elvis. It is peanut butter, honey, banana, and bacon on yummy bread. It's one of those things that you have to take 2 or 3 bites of to understand it. The first bite you think, huh?. The second you begin to understand what it is trying to do by mixing those flavors. And the third- no more thinking, just pure pleasure. Then you want to come back again the same week for another one.

My mom is coming out to visit at the end of March for a whole week! She, Tara, and I are going to drive to Moab, UT for a few days to hike around and see some crazy desert landscapes. I have never been to the desert. I imagine that it will be kind of like the ocean in the sense that it is sort of desolate and lonely feeling- but in a good way that makes you feel quiet and contemplative. That is what I imagine and it is how I feel when I sit and look at the ocean; I sort of love it, but am scared of it at the same time- you know you can't survive there, but it is so beautiful.

Recently our friend Merry came to visit us this past January! She and her boyfriend Aaron took a train from Omaha, Nebraska into Denver. We went to the Denver Zoo and saw a mountain lion stalk a small boy from its cage. The family and the boy didn't even notice, as they didn't really seem to be looking at the animals; they were just walking through the zoo as though they were going to receive a prize when they got to the end and had walked past every animal. Extra points for hitting more that two snack stands!

Back home from Indiana

I have a love/ hate relationship with getting home from vacation. After being away from home for many nights, I crave my own bed with just the right amount of blankets-a sheet and an afghan- and my shower where there are little shelves for each of my little shower things including my nail brush that I am not willing to fly across the country.
And when I am away from home I miss Simon the cat--and then for the whole next week after getting home he is so loving and under our feet constantly. I like that.

But going from being surrounded by family for a week to our fairly solitary life in Littleton is shocking. It hit me when we were taking the shuttle from the airport to our parked car- sitting there with all of our luggage and a bunch of strangers with theirs, bumping and jolting our way to our cars-I was looking at the open sky and the line the mountains make against that sky. Everything was so big and expansive that it felt a little bit lonely. I knew it would be a passing feeling and that I would be back in the mode that my life requires before long-which I am now--but I hate making that transition. Then going to work the next day--grrr--must put on my LensCrafters self, which means shutting down as many non-essential bodily systems as possible.

Indiana was good to us though--really it was more like our mid-west tour. We were in Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. We kayaked, laid flooring, saw a copperhead, ate Irish food twice and set off a huge illegal firework in a Bloomington alley. Good times.

Lots of living, not so much writing

Oh lord it is June. My birthday has past; I turned 28, Joseph's birthday was on the 7th; he turned 26. Now we are married and Joseph has started school and is taking a full load of classes and working full time.

I am still taking it all in, being married, having him in school, still realizing we live in

Colorado. We have officially become a one car family. Joseph sold his car to a girl I work with and takes the train to work, and I can take the bus to work when he needs the car. I think it is going to work out well and save money.

This Sunday Tara, Joseph, and I are going to Boulder to see and Indigo Girls show. They have got to be my all time favorite people in music. I have been listening to them since high school. Joseph has never seen them live, so I can't wait to be there with him at their show.

It is getting close to time to come home to Indiana on July 1st!! To spend time with my family and celebrate our wedding with them is going to be just what I need.

The DMV hates happiness.

Today I went to register my car at the DMV here since I just had it pointed out to me that my Indiana plate expired two days ago. Before I can get my plate, I was told that I have to get an emissions test and my VIN number verified, both of which cost about $25 dollars. When they told me I thought, what?

They didn't do this stuff in Indiana...or was I just ignorant of it...hmm. It's like they want to keep the mountain air fresh or something. So my car is pretty much legal- I paid 6 dollars and they gave me a 10 day permit to keep me kosher until I can get to the CO Clean Air place for the checks on my car.

Right now Simon is napping on the kitchen chair and Joseph is at work. For today I have planned the eating of rocky road icecream, job hunting, and laundry. I was going to wash my car, but it snowed last night and the roads are a little sloppy--really I was going to do it. And I still will one day.

Well, happy St. Patricks day my friends. I was hoping to walk out the door this morning and see the Platte River by my house running green, but I just saw a statue in front of a garden center holding a clover in its mouth and a lady at the DMV wearing mint green shirt, which was nothing like what I was doing, wearing a bright green.