Friday, June 26, 2015

Finally I'm Finished: the Andromeda Shawl

Hi there!

One of the items on my 30 Before 30 list is to crochet a sweater, a top, & a shawl and I figured making the shawl would be the easiest of the three items.  Now this shawl is the product of SO MUCH FROGGING!!! I mean, I must have restarted the thing something like seven times!  There was this picture in my head that I was trying to make real... I wanted it to be lacy but have enough body to give warmth.
30 before 30
I began with the idea to make it triangle shaped but it just wasn't working.  So I abandoned that shape to go with a rectangle design.  Then after some inspiration browsing on Pinterest and more frogging, I figured out that a few rows of trellis stitch followed by a solid row gave me the look I was imagining! Hurray!
30 before 30
I wanted it to be long enough to wrap around and have a bit of "hang-time" so I made it nearly 6 feet long and about a foot & a half wide.  It took me a while to do all that lacy crochet, but the end result is pretty awesome. I've been finding myself pulling it out and matching my church outfits to it just so I can wear it. ^.^
30 before 30
I used 3-4 balls of the Martha Stewart Crafts Extra Soft Wool Blend yarn (65% acrylic / 35% wool) in Bakery Box White.  Now I want to make another in a bright color and maybe black.  I'm considering making the next using Caron Simply Soft yarn... we'll see how that turns out.
30 before 30
Finally, I named it Andromeda after the beautiful daughter of Cepheus & Cassiopeia in Greek mythology.  Her parents bragged about her looks so much that a sea monster was sent to terrorize their country.  To get the monster to go away, her parents had to sacrifice her to it, but she was saved by Perseus and went on to marry him.  Moral of that story, don't brag ^.^

Anywho, I do love how nice this shawl came out, but I won't brag on it :)  I hope you've had a wonderful day/week.  Hurray for finishing projects!

P.S. While I was taking my blog photos, Kiva decided she wanted to get in on the action.  She walked up and just sat down like, "Ok. I'm ready for my close up!"

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Our First Wedding Anniversary!

RyanAnniversary_2015
We Made It!!!!!

How awesome is it that Lamar and I have been married now for a whole year (plus 1 week)!!  *does happy dance* And to commemorate this, I found this cute list of questions for us to answer.  This will definitely be something nice to look back on as the years march on! ^.^



[1] What has brought you closer together this year?

Lamar: The many firsts we experienced together.

Caleisha: I think that our current housing has brought us closer, literally and figuratively.  Lamar’s brother has been super amazing and is letting us stay with him until we can get our own place.  That means most of my belongings are in boxes in the garage and I’m always on the hunt for ways to make the most of minimal space.  Sometimes I get frustrated but Lamar is always there to help me see through it and make the best of where we are in our life together.

[2] What's your favorite memory of your first year together?

L: Our first Communion together & our staycatiomoon.

C: We have done so many fun/memorable things this year that it’s hard to pick a favorite… so here’s a list Disney World, the Dali Museum, Cirque do Soleil, our Delaware reception, Thanksgiving with my family & him getting to see my VA house, many many #christianturnup nights, Caleishentines, Escape the Room, Christmas with his family, and our Staycationeymoon…

[3] Did you have a wedding or honeymoon disaster that you're already laughing at?  What was it?

L: "I WILL" & the 3 takes on our 'crossing the threshold' photo. (Our officiant phrased our vows in a way that Lamar had to say "I will" instead of "I do".)

C: I wouldn’t say “Disaster” but we do laugh about how late he was to the ceremony. Our wedding started nearly 2 hours late ^.^  The funny thing was when I talked to my Mother in law about it, she was like “eh… that’s my son”  lesigh… but those appetizers he was making were sooo good!

[4] What has surprised you most about being married?

L: How much things stay the same.  Our living situation may contribute to that since we're not in our own place yet.

C: It surprised me how easily I fit in with his family.  I was thinking that we’d have to warm up to each other because you always hear about “monster-in-laws” but his family is really awesome.  The other day, my father-in-law gave me a crochet kit and I knew this was all meant to be ^.^ lol!

[5] Anything shocking you've learned about your spouse?

L: Can't tell you that ;-)

C: Shocking… he doesn’t like pie.  Who doesn’t like pie! Who I ask!?!
RyanAnniversary_2015

[6] What is a bonus quality you discovered in your spouse that you didn't know about until marriage?

L: How loyal she is to her friends.

C: I didn’t know how dedicated he can be.  He’s always telling me that when he commits to doing something whether it’s in his personal life, career, or church, he wants to do it to the fullest of his ability and he sees it through til the end regardless of the opinions of others.

[7] If you could do anything different what would you do?

L: Be on time to the wedding. Do more financial planning before we got married.

C: Probably a wishing well instead of a registry.  We have yet to open the vast majority of our wedding gifts and they're all in storage.  Future brides… don’t let the Bed, Bath, & Beyond guy pressure you into putting random stuff on your registry!

[8] What have you learned from your spouse this year?

L: The importance of taking advantage of the time you have.  My late hours coaching and her weekend working schedule mean that we have limited time together.  So we have to take advantage of it.

C: I have learned to focus more on NOW instead of worrying about what might happen later on.

[9] How have your feelings changed in just one year together?

L: They have been reinforced.  I've seen everything I love about her demonstrated in our everyday lives.

C: More and more over this first year, I’ve been feeling appreciative and blessed to be married to Lamar. He is definitely the type of person that works to lead by example and he always wants to better himself as well as those around him.

[10] What is something you've done that has made a difference in your marriage, that you would give as advice to be successful to others on their wedding day?

L: Listen and make sure you communicate things clearly.  Be patient and be prepared to hear things about yourself you may not want to hear or accept.

C: We talk.  Talking about our days is a really good way to decompress and to make sure that we know what going on with each other.  Whenever we talk about something that’s wrong or upsetting, we try to use the active listening skills that we learned in pre-marital counseling.  When I’m expressing some feeling or another to Lamar and he can respond with his understanding of what I said, I personally find that very reassuring.


RyanAnniversary_2015

And there you have it. Thinking of the answers was a good memory exercise.  I did have to go back through instagram and my phone photos to remember random things we did over the year.  Also, I find it kinda funny that all my answers are longer than Lamar's because he is most definitely the talker between us lol :)

Wish us luck, send up prayers, and send us positivity as we go into our second year of marriage!  Let the adventure continue!

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Listers Gotta List: May Wrap-up!

Helloooo!

At long last... after much procrastination... I have my Listers Gotta List May flip through video!
Woooooo!!!

I wanted to take really nice staged/styled photos of the different lists, but then I realized that wanting it to be "just perfect" was keeping it from getting done.  So I sucked it up and snapped these pictures on my phone.  I was all proud of myself for stringing them together in Movie Maker and adding some cute little music I found online.  It's not what I had in mind originally, but I'm glad it's done :)

Aside from completing the video, finishing this challenge was a lot of fun.  I'm glad that I stuck with it even though I did the last week or so on June 1st and 2nd.  There is a certain pleasure I get from actually seeing a project through from start to finish.  It's almost like at some point I thought I wasn't going to finish or it wasn't going to be any good... but then at the end I feel... victorious... but I think that word is a bit strong, lol.  Strong, but accurate. 

Enjoy!


Monday, June 1, 2015

Please Pray Either Way: A How I'm Feeling Post

I'm writing this right now as an attempt to dodge the melancholy that's trying to settle on me.  The first of the month seems to be a pretty reliable source of anxiety for me seeing that it's when bills are due making it the day I'm most likely to get stuck in a money driven pit of despair. I bet that sounds really exaggerated, but it's how I actually feel.

This morning I started thinking about student loans and how I really want to be able to pay them like a good grown up.  So I decided that I'm going to make the commitment to only spend money on absolutely necessary things... well after I pay Sallie I won't have much of a choice... heh *shrug*

So that thought was my first slip down the "rabbit hole" per-say.  It then linked to the ever-recurring thought pattern of slowly picking apart everything about myself.  My desire to make things and spend money on craft supplies... my need for a full-time job, but the fear I have that I'll never get one... and then the fear of rejection I've developed after so many seemingly good interviews fell through...  All the while I'm feeling myself slipping and losing grip on anything holding me up and all I can whisper through the din is
...God keep me calm...

Have you ever felt like that? Logically, I know that I'm not the only person who has these moments when things in life send them reeling and grasping at would be straws and twigs desperate not to get swept away.  But that doesn't stop me from feeling like I am.  Just in this boat alone.  Jesus calm this sea.  I'm really not that good of a swimmer...

I try to pull myself together with breathing techniques and self talk techniques and calm music and focus... I try gathering myself up but its like filling a cup with a slotted spoon... I keep sliding through.

So I'm writing this in an effort to dodge the melancholy that's crawling up my arms.  I'm at the point where I don't know if its better to let go an let it cover me or keep fighting.  Is this a one set of footprints moment?  Or is this walk on the water? *shrug*  Please pray for me either way.