Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Dont bother, Im not around much...

Im at a lot of other places tho!

If you're looking for me for knitting projects, Im at Ravelry.com under the name "mlochk22" Come see my projects there.

You want pics, pics, and more pics, go to Flickr.com and find me as "mlochk22@" (dont ask...I already had one account and didn't realize it!!) and see my pics and videos as I upload them from time to time.

If you want to chit chat, Im on plurk.com also as "mlochk22". Come and visit if you want, sign up is free and painless!

For those of you who know me personally, I am finally on Facebook, so friend me there!

Otherwise, I might be here from time to time, but not always! Blogging seems too much when Im so busy with work, school, hubby, and kid. Oh, and the cats too! Cant forget them!!

Love yall!!

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Since I cant seem to have time for real posts...

I thought I'd bore y'all with our vacation pics instead. We went to Roaring River State Park in Cassville MO again, and be-bopped around to Joplin, Eureka Springs, Van Buren, the "three corners", the biggest continuous waterfall in MO, many geocaches and a few other odds and ends. We had a great time!

BTW: there are only 92 pics in this slideshow...I say *only* because I took *way* more than that! LOL!!

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

WendyKnits

Well, let me tell you about one of my favorite designers of socks (I have two at this point, and I'll do the other one next...) I love Wendy's designs and the fact that they are designed from the toe up (which is my *favorite* way to knit socks as I think my joins suck on cuff downs) and are always sooo pretty!

Here's a linkie or two for you to see:

Pay for Pattern (all of her paid for patterns can be found at The Loopy Ewe)

Six Pack Socks

Here's a freebie from Wendy's website:

Catnip Socks

And finally a pattern that was originally just for her Plurk pals (and yes, that would include me!! :D )

Nanner Socks

And as a finale, the one I'm actually working on! I picked this pattern because I wanted something that no one would stare at me strangely at work! And I had a nice subdued colored yarn that would work well for my purpose. I had bought a Knit1 Magazine around Christmas time and found the pattern for Red Brick Road. I loved the simplicity and beauty of the socks and thought "this is the pair!" And I am now proud to say I have finally completed the first sock and already got the toe and one repeat of the pattern on the second one done...and its all of 85-90 degrees F here...and the yarn is wool...guess I'll be waiting a bit before getting to wear these!

But I wont be waiting to finish them since they are going on vacation with me!

Monday, May 25, 2009

My shoes...


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Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
I like them, a lot.

'Nuf said!

Anniversary 2009 Dinner


Anniversary 2009 Dinner
Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
One of the king crab claws that we munched on...man to I love kind crab...too bad its soooo damn expensive, or Id be eating it every other day!

Anniversary 2009 Dinner


Anniversary 2009 Dinner
Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
Here's the bigger of the two lobster tails that we had for supper. Yes, thats Mikes hand, and yes, it was that big!

Anniversary pics...one at a time...


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Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
Since blogger is screwing with me and my pics, I guess I have to do this separately, each and every goddamned one...

My tequila sunrise mike made for me...yummy!! With my ring on there...

next pic please :-)

Anniversary: Year 7 and counting...


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Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
Id like to show off more pics, but unless I can get blogger to cooperate with me, this pic will just have to do for now!

This was my very beautiful anniversary present. Black hills gold grape leaves/vines ring. More decorative than the band I've been wearing, but not so decorative it gets in my way. I just think my hubby likes to buy me jewelry...

We had a wonderful anniversary, ate lovely food.
And it was good!! Mike made me a tequila sunrise (as evidenced by the pic with the ring...(and yes, that is a size 0 dpn used as a swizzle stick, isn't he inventive!) and he cooked the meal, and he even cleaned up!

He also placated me by getting me a small present to "tide me over" until he got up! I love shoes, did ya know that? So he got me a pair... And these ones aren't bad. Nope, not bad at all!

Anyway, lets see if blogger cooperates now, and if it does, I might have more pics for this entry. If not, may have to make the pics separate posts.

Sunday, May 03, 2009

Lost and Found

Stuff I'm working on (knitting wise, of course):

Soap Bubble Wrap in naturallycaron.com's Silver Service


Red Brick Road socks designed by Wendy D. Johnson in Paton's Kroy Sock Yarn, Glencheck (I've named them "Dusty Brick Road")

a pair of socks for hubby of my own design, which I will probably share with all (just because I'm nice like that) using Nob Hill Yarns Carrington in ginger.

Im also still working on dishclothes and such for a couple of weddings.

And the stuff that is currently taking all of my time:

Baby Stuff!!!! Yeah! My friend Brandi is having her first baby this September, and I think I might just be going overboard! I want to make 3 sweaters of various sizes and fiber content, a couple of hats, and a pair of teeny, tiny baby socks...but we'll see how that works out in the end.

The one that Im working on currently is:

Seamless Baby Kimono in the 6 months size (its a freebie that way, though I would love to make a newborn size, using Hobby Lobby's I Love that Yarn 100% acrylic in Linen colorway.

The other one I will be starting, probably within the next week or so, is the Cabled Raglan Baby Sweater in knitpicks.com CotLin in Sprout. This will be in the 9-12 month size.

I also have every intention of making the Ribbed Baby Jacket in knitpicks.com simply cotton in toffee probably in the 12-18 months size.

However, I first have to get through the rest of the school year before I go completely crazy. Which brings me to why I haven't been here for the last month. Besides having my first allergic reaction in two years and being on enough corticosteroids to kill a horse, I have been swamped with homework. One class I know I'll be getting a C in, damn there goes the GPA, but thats okay. Its a damn class thats a requirement, not one directly related to my degree. So I'm not going to be too hard on myself about it.

We got our garden in last weekend, and then it started to rain. All. Damn. Week. I hope none of the seeds got washed away, because I would really be sad about that! We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, tabasco peppers, potatoes, dill, marigolds, onions, garlic, summer squash, carrots, romaine lettuce, and beets. We are still waiting for the sweet potatoes to arrive so that we can plant them as well.

So, here's my first post this month, and hopefully I'll have more this month as well. So for now: Bye!!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Time flies yet again!! LOL!

Wow! Where did a month go? School, work, school, school, home, school...yup, think that sums it up! Lets see, what else? Broken camera, yeah, thats a biggie...sick me, just a little...some other things. Ok, so I really don't have an excuse! Lets be honest, shall we? LOL! Now, I do have pics to share, so I'll get on with those, shall I?

Crazy Mar/Apr 2009 schedule

Heres the first pic for ya! Its my crazy schedule for the rest of March and all of April. As you can tell by the yellow, Alex has joined kickball and it should be a whole helluva lotta fun for him...not so much for me! LOL! Add in school, work, and sleep, and I'm done! Just keep me in mind while I'm gone, eh?

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This is what the cats think of the new furniture. Which, btw, I love greatly! Too bad we still can agree on a paint color for the walls! LOL!

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Some num-nums for Mike and I. It was wonderful! Chicken breasts stuffed with roasted red peppers, feta cheese, artichoke hearts, some herbs, and cooked. Talk about wonderful! And to go with it (for me at any rate):

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Yeah, it was good!

What else to share? Oh, how bout a big ol black lump named Ebony?

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I think that just about all the good ones...oops, wait! One more!!

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Alex at his last "Honor's Choir" concert for the PTO spaghetti supper fundraiser. Too bad you couldnt hear them worth a damn cause people were still talking throughout the musical performances.

So, there ya go! Some pics of the last month...Next weekend I'll have lots of pics, since its MOGA and I'm bound to have some sort of fun!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Really, Im doing stuff!


Photo 39
Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
And lots of it! Trips to St. Louis, furniture shopping (that was successful), getting sick, having "deadlines" on knitting stuff, etc.

Just busy!

So, at this point, I've finished Mikes socks, pics coming if I dont forget! LOL! (I realize, Im really bad about post pics here because I post them on my Ravelry project pages.)

I'm now working on some disclothes for my sorta neices wedding coming up in May for part of their wedding gift, a pair of house socks that any of us can wear, depending on who gets to them first, and a pair of regular socks for me! Yeah!!

I'm also contemplating which damn sweater I want to make as well...more about that later.

Our house is a damn mess with stuff being brought in, held, moved out, and the generalized craziness of things. The tv arrived last night and is huge compared to what Im used to, the furniture should be here hopefully next week and then all that will be left is paiting, which will be a while still.

So, longer post soon, or maybe I'll fix this one up some and add more pics, we'll just wait and see!

Sunday, February 01, 2009

Upgrading the house, a 2009 undertaking!

We are upgrading some things in the house this year and thought I would share this stuff with you all as you might just enjoy it! Or something like that! :-D





The pics include the two old bookshelves that we have now gotten rid of, Mike working hard on putting them together, and the semi finished result. I say semi finished because we will be taking it down later this summer in order to paint and stain it. Although I guess first I have to figure out what color to paint the room. Damnit, this year, we ARE going to paint this room!

More to come soon, as we will have a new tv "system" within the month!

Feta Salsa


Feta Salsa
Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
Oh Smitten Kitchen, how I love thee!! You have some of the *best* recipes on the face of the planet.

This stuff may look like puke, but it tastes like *heaven*!! I had soooo many requests for the recipe, that I finally had to save it to my work computer to easily access it and print it!

I also brought this to our office CHRISTMAS party (yup, something else I haven't blogged about for a while), and there was only about a 2 spoonfuls left, and if I hadn't snatched it up to take home so Mike could have some, I don't think there would have been ANYTHING left!! It was *that* good.

Snowball Cake Balls


Snowball Cake Balls
Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
Yes, a very late posting about these (since this was for the office CHRISTMAS party!!), but a posting finally anyway!

As per Bakerella's formula, I made Snowball Cake Balls. It was chocolate cake mix, vanilla frosting and white almond bark to cover. Some had coconut pressed onto the tops while they were still damp, others did not. And yes, they were awesomely good!

I only came home with about 7 of them (out of the 50 or 60 I took to work with me).  Talk about *good*!! Everyone now wants me to make the red velvet ones I had made this last summer, so that they can try that variety as well!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Because


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Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
I have a headache, don't really feel like blogging and am feeling immensely soppy, I share a pic of my hubby, which I really like. To the weak knee point. Ah, what a cutie!

And that concludes my blog post for this week.

Brief knitting update:

Still working on scarf
Still working on shawl thingie
Still working on Mikes socks
Thinking about starting me a pair of socks courtesy of WendyKnits knit1 magazine pattern...don't know when I'll start it, but sometime.

Also, had a good time in St Louis, will share the few pics I took next week.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Daytrip!!

Since having time to post for the next 16 weeks is going to be limited thanks to school, here's my post for the week:

After a few very unpleasant days of frigid temps, we had a very wonderful opportunity to get out into the mid 40's day and go somewhere.  We decided on Hermann, MO, land of the grapes and wines! Yummy!  

A slideshow of our trip to Hermann.



 Please note the MO river that is teeming with ice floes.  Wonderful weather.  Too bad the pics don't give you any idea of how quickly the river was moving that day.  Also, there are pics of the wines we, ok, I (since I'm the only one in this house that drinks) bought yesterday.

 We stopped at the Hermannhof winery and ate a lunch there of meat, cheese, bread, apple, true german potato salad, wine for me and juice for hubby.  It was a wonderful date and day spent with Mike.  I hope we get to do this again soon.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

The Kitty Socks from Hell...


Photo 33
Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
aptly named for the hell the first sock put me through! See previous posts for link to the pattern. Here is the whole story as shared on my Ravelry project page!

11/23: started these tonight! Yeah, new socks to enjoy!
11/24: oops, never talk while trying to concentrate on w&t, it will screw you up if you haven’t done it much! So, after trying to tink it, I had to frog it to be fixed…restart! And this time, I’ll use stitch markers to keep track of my wrap and turns!
11/27: Somehow I have managed to get my sock all screwed up…I’m purling when I should be knitting! WTF?!?!?! I’m not sure how I managed that one, but, I tried to tink it back to where I started the foot from the toes, and no such luck…back to frogging it again!! DAMNIT!!
11/27: Yup, you guessed it, AGAIN!!! I had only gotten to the tip of the toe when I realized I’d been NOT reading the directions like I should have been. You only slip a stitch 2 times, not every time! DAMNIT! When am I going to learn?
12/27: I’ve missed out on a lot with this sock in the telling of the story, but lets just give the highlights shall we? I made the sock long enough to fit my bosses size 11 womens feet and had to frog back (which I managed to do amazingly well!), left the lifeline in and proceeded to start on the heel, which could also be called yet another form of hell! Yup, screwed it up a few times and had to frog back to the lifeline, which I thankfully kept in. Smartest thing I’d done to date.
The second smartest thing I’ve done on this sock was to pick up 3 stitches on each side to help close in the hole from the heel. I did a knit, k2tog then a ssk, knit for one row on those extra stitches then a knit on the next row repeating until I had made the extra stitches go poof! And it look very nice if I say so myself.
Needless to say, I’m still working on it slowly, and my current desire to make other stuff right now isn’t helping me get this one done. But thats okay, it will still be there whenever I want to work on it!
12/31: finished the first sock and surprise!! Its a smidgen too big…damn. Oh well, I’ll wear them anyway! and maybe (hoping here) they will shrink a smidgen later on and wind up being perfect! Here’s to hoping. I’ll start the second sock tomorrow, I do believe!
1/4: This second sock is going much, much faster than the first one! Im only one full pattern repeat away from starting on the heel, believe it or not! How cool is that? Much much much faster this time around, and so far: NO MISTAKES! Heres keeping the fingers crossed that it stays that way!
1/9: Finally finished and wore them to work today! Didn’t even wash them first! LOL! I was too excited! It took me two days to get 8 rows completed on these, due to life getting in the way, you know what I mean, I’m sure! Good pics to follow! Soon, I hope!

I hope you enjoyed this wonderful masterpiece of oopsies and screw-ups and finally: REDEMPTION! wOoT!!

On the other hand: I'm already bustin out another sock for Mike, since he truly appreciates them! I'll share that info soon too. I need to get them done asap, since school resumes tomorrow and I have a *very* full classload!

Sunday, January 04, 2009

My Kitty Socks!


Photo 27
Originally uploaded by mlochk22@
Ive gotten one of my kitty socks completed, finally! I had a hell of a time with getting this one right and it stretched it somewhat, so maybe after a washing it wont be a smidgen too large. And if not, thats okay as well. I'll still wear them! And I didn't bind the cuff opening loosely enough, but again, I'll still wear them! I spent way too much time to NOT wear them!

I think this year my goal will to be to blog once a week, probably on Saturday or Sunday. I don't do a lot of blogging anyway, so that shouldn't be too hard of a goal, right? Just 52 blog entries...

Also in my news: I'm working on a big chunky scarf courtesy of knit.1 magazine that I will share next week, maybe by then I will be done with it! I'm pretty far already and it is a quick knit thanks to the super bulky yarn and size 15 U.S. needles! Plus, I'm out of school for another week, so that gives me a bit more time to get this one done and ready to wear! Which, on days that are below freezing, it will be very much so appreciated! Heres a preview for you:
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I also made a hat for a friend of mine that I still have yet to send to her, and a hat that I want to make for myself from the same book (101 Designer One-Skein Wonders)...
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Well, other than a more spring time scarf/stole thing that I'm working on, also from above mentioned book...
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So, hope you enjoy this little bit of a sneak peek at what I'm knitting! I'm certainly having fun with it!

All things Christmasy...

I just wanted to share all things xmasy with you! Here is a slide show form beginning of xmas to the end! Enjoy it! But be forewarned: LOTS of pic on here! Like, 118! Ah well, if you can't photograph it for posterity, what can you do?