Knitting

I´m knitting a scarf. I was thinking of making it into a hooded scarf, but the thing does not seem to get any longer. I knit and knit and knit and the thing has not grown. Ooof.

I am rethinking the hood part...but I really like how it looks. What´s weird is my hands fall asleep while I knit. Is that bad?

New Shoes

Here are some pics of the new shoes I just got:

Reiker AntiStress Shoes

I love these shoes! They are really comfortable, lightweight, and I am not stressed out at all during the day (results may vary and are not typical). I love the colors since my wardrobe is very colorful and casual. The look is age-appropriate for adults and cool enough for artistic teens.

Ugg--I got something similar to this.

I love these slip-on clogs. There is just the right amount of fuzz in them so my feet do not get too hot. These shoes can be warn outside and it feels just like wearing slippers, warm slippers, that look great with my favorite pair of jeans. The great thing, too, is that when I am walking in the rain, water does not get kicked up into the shoe or on top my pants from the heel coming up out of the water. The extra height these shoes give do not strain my feet and I do not feel like I am stomping around.

Christmas!

...is still here! Today is the third day of Christmas and everyone gets 3 French hens. Epiphany comes soon.

Christmas day was a lot of fun. Everyone got really nice gifts--and a lot of them. Some of my favorites include a new Pocket Dragon, Thai silks, and pearls. I also got a new toy bear, make up, chocolate, etc. Kyle got some cool books and a really handy lap desk. I also got a book about how to knit different patterns that doesn't have the pattern written out. Instead, there are pictures you can see. This is very helpful to me because I don't understand written patterns at all. If I can see the project, I can do it.

We all went shoe shopping yesterday. Well, all the girls did. I got a couple pairs of shoes that are really nice and comfortable thanks to my mom.

Unfortunately, Kyle fell ill so our shopping trip was cut short. He has the flu and has been in bed for about 20 hours.

We might go out shopping again today and buy some things to make tamales. If we do make tamales, it will be tomorrow. Costa Rican tamales are different than Mexican ones: they use banana leaves instead of corn husks, they are not spicy (Mexican ones aren't always spicy), and there is a lot more in the filling. The filling usually has a type of meat, potato, rice, green pepper, and basically whatever else you want. Some people put olives or raisins, but I think that's nasty.

We're Here!

Kyle and I are in NC. The flights out here could have been better, but we're here and we're safe. That's all I really care about. On the last flight over, we watched One Night with the King. It is a really nice movie about the story of Esther and King Xerxes in the Bible. Esther is a brave and intelligent girl who fights for the rights of her people and for what is good and just, even when enemies are plotting against her husband and family. I also brought The Nativity Story to watch....I'll see how I like it.

Shelly was really excited to see us when we got to the house and she had all of her toys out all over the place. She was so excited that she didn't even want to go to bed at night.

After everyone went to bed, Kyle and I wrapped a BUNCH of presents that we brought for everyone and watched a movie, Little Nicky, which is one of those stupid/funny moives by Adam Sandler.

More to come. Pics will come later.

Gifts

Kyle and I began opening gifts today since we are going to be traveling during the holidays. It would be hard for us to take all the gifts with us to our destination.

I got great presents from Kyle: a lot of craft supplies and Pocket Dragons!...oh, and chocolate. I also got chocolate from a coworker and a really pretty ornament from my boss. I also got some not so great things from other people. I am actually frustrated that I don't like the stuff I think is pretty horrible. In my mind, I should like the gifts because they were given to me. On the other hand, the gifts were thoughtless (intentionally thoughtless) and pretty much stuff I know was re-gifted to us.

So what? It was a re-gift, what's the big deal? The big deal, to me I guess, is that I know these people have a gagillion dollars and plenty of time to get something that would be semi-special. For example, I got a chocolate from someone. It was one chocolate, but it was very special because they took the time to pick it out and knew it was something that would be enjoyed. I would rather have one special little thing than have something that was passed on to me just because the person is cheap.

Rant, rant, rant.

Is it better to get something rather than nothing? In this case, no. Am I selfish? Probably so.

Backwards Day

I totally wore my shirt inside-out the whole day and did not realize it until I was already home from work. Typical...I always do that, but manage to notice before I leave the house. At least I had a sweater on over my shirt so it wasn't really noticeable. But I did wonder ALL DAY why my tags kept sticking out and wouldn't tuck back in to my shirt.

I wonder if my bloomers are on backwards, too. I better go check.

"No Spiders or Visigoths Allowed."

I watched Life is Beautiful today for the second time ever. I really like it and want to own a copy of it someday.

It snowed a little today, but the weather was just teasing us because the snow didn't stick. It was exciting, though, and cold.

I've spent the weekend working on cards for birthdays and holidays and making marshmallows.



Mixing up all the ingredients to make marshmallows.












Now it needs to set up overnight.








The next day: prepping marshmallows for a powder sugar coating.







These are some really big marshmallows.







Making the fudge to coat the marshmallows.








Chocolate covered!!








A pop-up reindeer card I made.








Pyramid birthday and holiday card, closed.







Pyramid cards opened.









Crocheted fingerless gloves I made.








My hand modeling a glove.

Elves!!!

See my family as elves. It is soooooooo FUNNY!

Kyle & Flora







The Richards







The Gustafsons

Thanksgiving is Over

...now comes Christmas.

Spent the Turkey holiday at Clear Lake with my in-laws. It was pretty fun and Sock Monkey went along for the ride.

I spent a lot of the time sleeping, playing on my DS, eating, and ran quite a bit. The weather was pretty nice--in the 60's . It is FREEZING in Orejon.

Here are a few pics of the weekend: