All things knit...

For the last six months or so I have been indulging in knitting. It is a hobby I have had since I was 8, but reignited when I married Corey and found that his mom was also a knitter (and a quilter and a crocheter-- you get the idea, she is very crafty).  She bought me my first real knitting supplies and answered questions. Then law school happened. And like so many of my other hobbies, knitting fell by the way-side.

Pinterest is one of the reasons that I picked it back up. So many ideas and so little time. The first scarf I made was based off of this.

Once I made the first one, my friends wanted them too-so I made a second... and a third...and a fourth...and a fifth...and a sixth...the rest is history. I have been happily knitting and experimenting ever since-I've even earned a little extra money. Now I have fellow-knitters in my midst, and friends that want to learn. Thus the birth of our knitting circle Thursday mornings.

In honor of my new hobby and all the people that have supported it, I am adding a page to the blog called "my knits...".  My goal is to share patterns that I like and projects I am working on with you. The first pattern I will share is probably my favorite. It is an infinity scarf (a circle)-warm, cozy, and beautiful. It was my second experiment after I got tired of all the button scarves.

I stole the pattern from a fellow-blogger-which you can find here. It is REALLY easy, but it takes a little longer than the button scarves because of the length.

OK-instructions per Cole (which means I know NOTHING about gauge-etc. I will tell you what I did, and you can figure it out from there).

1. Using size 13 needs and two skeins of yarn (I used this kind  in Pagoda) cast on 25 stitches ( just make a slip knot with both strands and pretend like you are only using one) 
2. Row 1-K, *P, K, repeat from * to end-make sure you end on K.
3. Repeat Row 1 until your scarf measures 55 inches long
4. Cast off leaving a long tail
5. Fold scarf so that cast on and cast off edges are together. Use the tail to "sew" the pieces together.

FINI!

 I have made 5 of these scarves, and I wear mine almost everyday-so does Danie, who got the second one.

I hope to keep everyone posted as I find wonderful knits that are easy and fun. Right now I am working on some fingerless mittens and a shrug. I even bought double-point needles to try a hat-slightly terrified, but here we go!

Recap: Week 1

This past week has  been so up and down. A wonderful trip to Dayton was definitely the high point. I visited Erin in her new town, and it was FABULOUS.

We had little to no agenda. We ate great food-watched movies-walked around her adorable neighborhood. The purpose of the visit was to see her, so any other activities were just a bonus.

 SUCH A CUTE NEIGHBORHOOD! The Oregon District is right up my alley-cute shops, bars, restaurants, coffee shops. We had a great time just walking around Friday evening.

 Most of Libby's time was spent calling for Fancy. All the girls had an incredible time together!

She did treat Libby to her first manicure-too cute! 

But I came back to the real world. My wonderful weekend was followed by a funeral. Another of my favorite people lost his dad. Murph (Ryan Murphy) has been on my favorite person list since soon after I met him my freshman year of high school. And his dad Sid was not far behind. Sid and Murph have the biggest hearts and kindest dispositions of any people I have ever met. Period-that isn't just a nice thing to say.

Murph and his wife Laura (also one of my fav people-perfect for him)

 The funeral was sad of course-but also filled with faces I haven't seen in years. Everyone was there to support Murph, to say good-bye to Sid, and it reminded me that even though we are all very far apart, we are still connected-not just by past experiences and histories, but by Jesus-a bond that isn't easily broken.

The rest of the week has been a blur. New classes-new professors. Corey was on call, so Libby attended her first law school class. It went better then I thought (except for the very loud burp she let out in the middle).

I am excited that my Thursday mornings will be be filled with some lovely ladies.

Last week, my friend Lauren and I got together (with all 5 of our kids) so that I could teach her to knit. Other ladies have been interested, so it is now an open invite for instruction and conversation. It did my soul very good to hang out with her-and I am excited that it is going to be a regular thing!

This semester will be hard. My schedule is weird, my classes are demanding. BUT I am determined that this semester, I will spend more time with Jesus, more time with my family, more time with my friends. 2012 is going to be a very good year.

One semester to go...

I will be posting a more lengthy post about my trip to Dayton soon. (It was fabulous and deserves more than a couple of minutes of thought). But I wanted to take a minute and remember that this is the LAST semester of school for me (hopefully ever). The last set of finals; the last papers-ok not really since I will be writing as part of my job; the last grades; the last few months where I have days off and spring break and time for lunch or coffee breaks with friends. The last semester with the friends who have become like family-in a few months we will all disperse and take the legal world by storm. I started this crazy adventure not really knowing what I wanted to do or be or practice. It's amazing what a few short years can do.

The end of this chapter is just the beginning of another--the next one is a very dark chapter called "Studying for the Bar Exam;" After that, the chapters should be brighter and cheerier. But this chapter--law school--has shaped me in ways I never thought possible. And I think I might be sad to see it go.

An exciting weekend and another friendship story...

I like to document things in my life-thus the blog, and my journals, and emails...I have a lot of documentation. But one of my favorite things to document is the story of my friends. I know I have done this once before--for my very dear friend Ellen-you can read our story here. So it seems fitting on the eve of a visit to her that I should document the story of Erin.

I have only been in the same room with Erin on five occasions in the last 2 years, and yet she is one of my best friends. It happens that way sometimes. We met at the end of my first semester of law school. She was visiting one of my classmates and came to our semi-formal. She wore glasses and Converse sneakers. It was friendship-love at first sight. And then I found out that we also had TONS in common. Conversation was easy. It was like we had been friends forever and just didn't know it until then.

I next saw her for our formal in February. We both wore Converse sneakers to this one! We started following each other on Twitter-and when she found out Corey and I were visiting Knoxville the next month, we met up for wings and a Mountaineer victory over Kentucky to get in the Final Four! 

Our long-distance friendship took off from there. Thank GOODNESS for gchat and email and twitter. For some reason we were ridiculously honest with one another-despite not knowing each other very well. We talked almost daily-about important things, and not so important things. The months have turned into years-we have seen each other a couple of times when Corey and I visit the Taylors in Knoxville, but we mostly communicate on the interweb-and that is perfectly ok for us!

 THEN...Erin finished her PhD (YAY Dr. O'mara) and got a job in Dayton. Two hours closer to Morgantown... manageable distance for me to drive solo. Soooo... road trip! I am excited to post about our first ever girls weekend. Libby is joining us-and of course Fancy-Erin's delightful Corgi will be there too. Be sure to tune in as we explore her new town and have our first adventure together. First-not last for SURE!!

I hope to do a little bio on all my friends as the year progresses. I am so thankful for all the amazing women in my life. So plan on stories involving Danielle Taylor and Becki Jackson, Abby Quinn Lilly and Meghan Taylor--I am sure Chelsy Gevas and Lauren Estep will be in there too. These women all shape who I am and have been amazing friends to me! I want to make sure I remember their impact on my life!

New Year

A post about resolutions on New Years. I am the most original person on the planet! But I am excited to put on paper what I am hoping and praying to see this year.

I am a goal-setting kind of person. I like having something to work toward. I like seeing my progress. I like the feeling of finishing something I set out to do. However, I am also very hard on myself when I don't reach them. I ruminate on the things that I couldn't accomplish instead of moving forward and trying again. 

But this year, I want to do a NEW THING. I was reading Isaiah this morning and God says,

"Forget the former things;

do not dwell on the past.

See I am doing A NEW THING!

Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." 

Isaiah 43:18-19

This year I want to keep my eyes forward-even when plans fall apart, or the world isn't what I think it should be. I want to see what God is doing and join in. I want to rest in Him. 

So that sounds nice, but what does it mean? For me, it means not setting such definite goals. All my life it has been... I want to lose 10 lbs; I want to memorize 4 verses a month; I want to run 3 days a week.  Those goals are all great! But for me, it can turn into a prison cell. Instead I want to make a list of my prayers--a list of the woman that I want to be, what I want my life to look like. I will try to post about how they are progressing, and any and all tips that I can give.

My prayers:

To be in the Word-to fall more in love with Jesus everyday

To teach my kids the Word and help them fall in love with Him too

To be tuned in when I am home

To cook as much as possible

To be an encourager to Corey

To graduate from law school

To pass the bar exam (eek)

To take care of my body

To believe compliments 

To read books

To read books to my kids

To teach Libby to tie her shoe laces

To take walks as a family

To grow deeper in my friendships 

To learn patience

To start more traditions

There might be more. I might update the list occasionally. I will *hopefully* be able to cross a few off (namely law school/bar exam).  But I am committed to this year being a wonderful and hard and growing and crazy year. I am excited to see the NEW THINGS that God has in store for me, for my family, for my church...

Hello 2012. I am ready for you!