March 2016: Month in Review

I have had QUITE the struggle with keeping up with my blogging this month - I only posted 4... including this one! I'm not really sure why... I planned out my posts and even wrote up a bunch of them.  I just didn't type and publish them. -___-  Meh. I'll do better in April! 

March Highlights
3/4: Brianna and I dyed yarn together.  It was a lot of fun!  She went for an orange and I went for green (surprise surprise ^.^)  We used food coloring and easter egg dye. BTW: I'm totally going to raid the easter section at walmart for all the dyes!

3/9:  I walked around and photographed Downtown Mt. Dora.  I was down there just before sunset.  The light was very pretty and made for some great photos.  I also met a couple musicians playing on the corner and took some pics of them... that I still need to send them *oops*

3/11:  Lamar and I had a dinner-out-at-home date night.  We got Olive Garden to go and set it up on the table at home.  Very nice to do something different.

3/13:  Lamar, Brianna, and I went to Universal for Mardi Gras.  It was really fun to see Brianna, who is the ultimate Disney Head, be totally lost at Universal ^.^

3/17:  6 YEARS since Lamar and my first date *.*

3/19:  I found a 4-Leaf Clover!  How appropriate to find on St. Patrick's Week.

3/20:  Lamar got two tickets to Universal Mardi Gras from one of his coworkers, so Sheree and I were able to go see 3DoorsDown in concert.  It was awesome!  When they started Kryptonite, everyone went crazy ^.^

3/21:  I thrifted a pair of binoculars that are in great condition!  I have since looked at the moon in awe.

3/26:  My mother in law put together a program where she tells select people what she appreciates about them and I was one of the people this time.  It was so sweet :)

3/28:  My phone was stolen.  In a round-about way this became a lesson in casting my cares on God.  I get really anxious about a lot of things and within this situation I prayed that if God was trying to teach me something, to make it super plain to see.  And the day after my phone was taken, my morning prayer (in the Abide App) was about casting my cares, worries, and anxieties on God.  Then on the radio I was hearing and singing along with all the praise songs and it made me feel more at peace with everything.  I now understand, more than before, the importance of praising in all situations.

3/30:  I was able to replace my phone through upgrading.

Throughout the Month
- I knit my first pair of socks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I started them on the 3rd and finished them on the 29th.  Now I feel like I can knit all the things!

- Because of the series of unfortunate events that have occurred with my electronics, I am vowing to backup my devices at least twice a month if not once a week!!!  I am tired of losing photos!

March Goals Review
1. Design a shawl - I started crocheting a shawl from the hand-dyed yarn I created.  I'm still working out the size, and I think it's almost done!
2. At least 2 date nights with Lamar - We had our dinner-out-at-home night and on the 18th we went to IHOP as is our dating anniversary tradition :)
3. Yoga once a week - nope...
4. Do a downtown shoot - Shot Mt. Dora
5. Read at least one book - I haven't finished it but I recently started reading Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.  So far its quite good.  I've checked it out from the library, but I think I'll buy it.

April Goals
1.  Finish reading Proverbs & Ecclesiastes
2. Crochet something Hufflepuff themed for the #23HarryPotterKAL
3. Volunteer at an animal shelter
4. Back up devices at least twice/month or at most once/week
5. Finish reading Big Magic

WIP Wednesday... on Thursday: Ravenclaw Socks!

Over the last couple months, I've gotten very much into watching knitting podcasts on youtube.  (I keep hoping that I'll stumble upon a crochet one soon, but it really might be up to me...)  Anywho, one of the podcasts that I've been enjoying quite a lot is Inside Number 23 hosted by Katie (click -here- for her Ravelry).  I like her vintage/handmade style, she's funny and she seems like she'd be fun to talk to or hang out with.  Towards the end of last month, she announced her first knit-a-long which would be Harry Potter themed (#23HarryPotterKAL)  Now, I'm not the biggest HP head, but I did enjoy reading the books when I was younger until my mom made me stop lest I try to become a wizard... lol!  So I decided to join in on her KAL.  And not only did I join a KAL, I decided to knit socks.  I chose to knit socks because I figured it would be a great challenge especially since the only thing I ever knitted was a very short scarf with super bulky yarn.  Bring on the teeny tiny needles!!! 

I cast the first sock on exactly 2 weeks ago and I finished the toe last night ^.^ I will also confess that I totally slept in the one sock because I was so proud of myself! So yeah, check out my progress pics!

1. The yarn I'm using is Patons Kroy - Cadet colors.  It's shades of navy with grey and I chose it because when I went to Universal for my birthday, I was sorted into Ravenclaw :)  This Patons Kroy colorway is perfect for Ravenclaw socks.
2. I did 2x2 ribbing, and that little half inch of rib took me like 2 hours to work!  Figuring out how to hold the yarn and knit was quite fiddly because I'm so use to crochet.
3. I got bored of the ribbing so I just went on to the leg after that half inch, lol.  In the future, I will def make my cuff considerably longer so it will actually fit to my leg.
4. More progress down the leg. I have learned that I knit continental and in the back loop which should be creating twisted stitches but for some reason doesn't.  I tried to follow a tutorial on youtube for continental knitting, but then my stitches started twisting... so I went back to what I was originally doing and it seems to work right.
5.  I TURNED A FLIPPING HEEL!!!!  This was the part of sock making that had me shaking in my boots! But I did it and I was so excited I wanted to do a victory dance around the room lol!
6. Working the gusset decreases.  This is the part where my funky knitting really made things hard.  I regularly knit into the back loop, but when you decrease you can't do it that way, so the decreases are a bit harder for me to do but I got it.  Also, I need to practice picking up stitches because I couldn't figure out how to do it with the needles, so I got my crochet hook out and used it.  Gotta make it work :)
7. Gusset done!  Progressing down the foot.  Round and round she goes!
8.  I did a wedge toe (??) I think that's what it's called.  It was def a good amount of practice on my decreases.  I decreased down to 12 stitches and when I finished stitching the sock closed, I realized I could've stopped decreasing at like 20... oh well, more practice.
9.  My first finished sock!!!!!!!!!!!  I'm excited to cast the next one on and wear them everywhere!  lol! 

Here's more shots of the finished sock.  The kitchener stitch for closing the toe was quite fiddly also.  But I think it being after midnight, poor lighting, and a dark section of the yarn contributed to the fiddly-ness.  As you can see, Miss Tootie approves of my work too ^.^

So yeah... I made a sock... that is just so cool!  I'm glad that Katie started the KAL and provided the idea for make these.  In all honesty though, all the way through this sock I wanted to frog it out and crochet instead.  I'm very proud of myself for sticking in there with the knitting.  Especially when my fingers got crampy and the stitches got frustrating.  Hopefully the next sock goes smoother.

Welcome Back Saturn: Caleisha Turns 30!

My THIRTIETH BIRTHDAY was on Feb 24th!  EEEP!!!  Sorry for yelling but it's pretty cool to hit such a major milestone.  Honestly, I think that a few of my friends had a harder time accepting the fact that my 20s were over than I did lol ^.^  I really enjoyed all the celebrations we had from the Sabbath lunch with friends and family to amusement parking with friends to spending quiet time hiking in the woods by myself. 

I (in true Caleisha form) made it a goal to document as much of my birthday celebration as possible.  So needless to say, I have an abundance of photos and video clips to share.  The video clips are of my hike through Wekiwa Springs State Park and will be edited together so you can experience what happens when one decides to go hiking without first checking the weather -___-  *shrug* Anywho, right now I'm going to share some of my favorite photos from the #caleishaturns30 festivities!  Oh! And I am so glad that hashtagging is a thing :)  Not only do I have a record of the things I posted on social media, but I can also see what my friends were posting as well.  Is it crazy to have a hashtag for every milestone in my future... I don't think so ^.^

A bunch of my friends and family came together for Sabbath Lunch before my birthday.  It was awesome. The weather was beautiful so we spent a lot of time outside chatting.  The kids were playing in the yard and Tootie only chased them once lol.

Sunday, we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  It has been a very long time since I went to an amusement park with a large group of friends.  It's pretty cool to have the opportunity to go since Lamar works there.

We wore our Thing shirts he got us for Christmas.  Thumbs up for cuteness ^.^

The award says 'Worlds Greatest Sweetheart' and that's so true. He planned all the activities and really made my birthday celebration awesome!

I went hiking solo in Wekiwa Springs State Park on my actual birthday since I was the only person off work, lol.  To celebrate my first Saturn Return, I wore my Orion shirt.  I need to make more space/star themed clothing... I love this shirt!

Yep... I went hiking in white tennis shoes... because I'm a grown up... and I do what I want! hehe

While I was out in the middle of the woods, it started raining... I had no umbrella or anything so I ended up spending quite a bit of time huddled under these big leaves.  Not as dry as I could have been but I got soaked... slower... -___-

I ended the night with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with Lamar.  We talked about our days and just spent time together.  It was a great ending to my #CaleishaTurns30 extravaganza ^.^

February 2016: Month in Review

I am actually a bit sad that my birthday month is over... it was a good one though!  Lots of memories made and good times with friends/family spent.  So here are the highlights!

2/5: Delaware got a bunch of snow near the end of January and beginning of February and my dad kept sending me pictures.  So I asked him to build me a snowman, and he did!  Little things like that are why he's such a cool dude :)

2/14:  Even though Lamar said we weren't going to do anything for Valentine's since we were having a few big things for my birthday, I couldn't let the day pass without doing something for him.  I surprised him with a few balloons and handmade cards when he got home from work.

 

2/16: I did aerial yoga for the first time (at Altamonte Springs Yoga) and loved it!  Post and photos coming soon!

2/18: I finally finished the yellow cup cozies!!!!  I feel like those were everlasting!

2/20: We had a Frimily (Friends and Family) Sabbath lunch for my birthday!  It felt really good to have a house full of people that love me come together to hang out and spend time.  And Brianna and I baked cupcakes.  They were delish.  I may have eaten cupcakes, I mean... sugar muffins... for breakfast the next day... lol!

2/21: We went to Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure!

  

2/24:  I. Turned. Thirty!  Since I was the only person off work on that day, I decided to go hiking in Wekiwa Springs and eat at a few random restaurants.

2/25: One night about a month ago I helped one of the librarians straighten a bunch of paintings in the library and asked her about showing my photography in the library.  I found out, on this day, that I will be showing my downtown photography series in the library during July ^.^

2/26:  I ventured into the magical world of Ikea with Brianna o.O It was pretty awesome.  I could definitely see myself shopping there more if only the traffic around it wasn't so crazy.

2/28:  A couple friends of ours had their baby shower and I was their photographer. It was a beautiful set up and they had a lot of fun.

2/29:  Leap Day!  Last leap day I started this blog ^.^ It's been an interesting four years between "blog birthdays."  Sometimes I kind of lose sight of what I want this blog to be, but it's really taken me on an adventure.

Throughout the Month
I have been really enjoying using my Bible app and Abide prayer app this month.  If you are interested in a really good prayer app, Abide is one.  It gives you a daily prayer each morning and you can browse through the prayers topically as well.  I've been loving the social aspect of the Bible app.  I have been creating images using verses I like as I've been reading.  Both apps let me share things to facebook which is kinda like a bit of ministry for me :)

February Goals Review
1.  Finish up all outstanding crafty projects. (I finished the cup cozies, but I'm still working on the hooded cowl... still... working)
2.  Document my birthday #caleishaturns30 (I took soo many pictures! I'm so glad I hashtagged because I can see the pictures that my friends took at Universal too.)
3.  Revisit Kwanzaa (I didn't do this one.  I considered it but then just decided against it.)
4.  Work on Mom's scrapbook (I made the cover page.  She and I had a great facetime conversation wherein she told me all the memories behind a lot of the photos she sent me.)
5.  Do one photo story (I didn't exactly plan for this to be a photo story, but all the photos I shot while hiking in Wekiwa Springs Park made a nice "Walk with Me" story.  Which I will show soon.)

March Goals
1.  Design a shawl
2.  At least 2 date nights with Lamar
3.  Yoga once per week
4.  Do a downtown shoot (Orlando or Mt. Dora)
5.  Read at least 1 book

Well peeps ^.^ That was my February!  What were your February highlights?  Share with me please and have a wonderful day!

Orlando Museum of Art

Back when I lived in Huntsville I would pass the art museum all the time, but never went in to see any of the exhibits.  In hindsight I was totally slacking because admission was heavily discounted for students.  So when I moved to Orlando, I didn't want to make the same mistake and added visiting the Orlando Museum of Art to my 30 Before 30 list.

National Geographic Women of Vision: Maggie Steber, Kitra Cahana, Amy Toensing, Carolyn Drake, Diane Cook, Lynn Johnson, Beverly Joubert, Jodi Cobb, Stephanie Sinclair, Erika Larsen and Lynsey Addario

A couple weeks ago I finally went!  There was an exhibit called 'Women of Vision' displaying work of various female National Geographic photographers.  It was amazing!  I found myself walking from photo to photo imagining what it was like to capture.

Lynn Johnson "In the Footsteps of the Apostles" March 2012 Odisha, India

Maggie Steber "The Secrets of Sleep" May 2010 Miami, Florida

When I was in college, I majored in photojournalism, but as I went through the classes, I started feeling like it was only news reporting style photography.  So I drifted away from it and towards the more artistic studio photography.  Walking through the exhibit really reawakened my interest in photojournalism. 

Stephanie Sinclair "Too Young to Wed" Haijah, Yemen

The photos were more storytelling and anthropological in style.  It was awesome for me and I kept saying to myself, "This! This is what I wanted to do!"  It was great to find that connection.  I want to take that inspiration and use it towards the photo stories that I want to shoot more of.  I just have to find the stories to tell.

Beverly Joubert "Lessons of the Hunt" 2007 Botswana

In addition to the Women of Vision exhibit, I also visited the African art collection which was very inspirational color and design wise.  I think my favorite pieces were the love note necklaces.  I think it would be awesome to design something using the colors/meaning for Lamar.  Hmm... anniversary/birthday gift maybe?? I think I'll start planning! ^.^

Zulu & Xhosa Love Note Necklaces - Art that Speaks Exhibition

 The last section I visited was the contemporary art.  My art lovin' heart jumped out of my chest and danced around the room and then my body followed!  I'm so glad I was alone in the exhibit.  I'm pretty sure I twirled! lol! I loved the colors and there was so much energy in the pieces.  Everything was gorgeous eye-candy.  The photo below is of one piece that drew me in straightaway.  The motion in it was... mesmerizing. Unfortunately, in all my awe, I forgot to make a note of the artist.

Contemporary art pieces at Orlando Museum of Art

Contemporary art pieces at Orlando Museum of Art

After I'd been there for a couple hours, my friend Cherie came by and we went back through Women of Vision.  On my second go through, I felt like an excited butterfly zipping all around ^.^  The last thing we did was stop in the gift shop and snap a couple pictures of the statue installation outside.

Horizons Sculpture by Steinunn Thórarinsdóttir

It was an awesome trip and definitely something I'm going to do again.  One more thing to check off my list! Woot Woot!!  I'm hoping to be half way through the 30 Before 30 list by my birthday.  So that leaves me 4 days to finish 3 more items o.O  EEP!

WIP Wednesday: Cozies and a Cowl

I am currently languishing beneath these two crochet projects... I want them to be finished soo badly, but they're such slow going!  The first is a large order of Beauty & the Beast themed cup cozies.  I have five or so left to make and then on to sewing on the contrasting details.  They are really cute and all, but man oh man are they quite boring to crochet!  lol!

The pattern is very simple.  Just 12 rounds of single crochet with 30 stitches per round.  I decided to work in joined rounds instead of a spiral because sometimes I slip into auto pilot and would totally lose count while spiraling.  Originally, I was going to crochet a chain with the darker yellow and attach it around the cozy body, but I didn't like how it looked.  So after a bit of brainstorming, I decided to switch to two strands.  I think it looks much better.  Wish me speedy fingers as I need to get these finished this week!

The second project that is loooooming overhead is a hooded cowl with ears.  I started working on this a few weeks ago and got all the way through the cowl part and into the hood... only to realize that it was going to be too small.  So I had to frog the whole thing out and start over again.  Something about frogging and restarting a project really takes the wind outta your sails -___-  Anywho,  this is how far I've gotten in the reboot.

 
I'm working from an inspiration photo my friend sent me (-via Ravelry-).  I originally wanted to make the piece out of a super bulky yarn, but I couldn't find any in the right color.  So I'm holding 2 strands of red heart worsted together.  Even though the yarn is very thick, it still is slow going.  I just wish these projects would go faster so I can start on other things!

This experience has shown me that when I commit to projects like these I need to try my best to knock them out immediately.  Since they're been in progress so long I'm really losing my steam behind them, but I have to finish.  I need to get re-motivated.

I know that after I finish these pieces, I'm taking a nice break from crocheting anything for other people.  I've been doing more daydreaming and project planning for things I want to make myself.  I just need to get these done in order to start those new things.

The Lazy Natural: Two-Strand Twist Up-Do

Hi there!

Just after Christmas I went to get my hair straightened and trimmed.  While chatting with my stylist, I mentioned that I wanted to do better with styling my hair regularly.  She gave me a couple ideas (which I tried and have failed at so far).  So instead of just giving up on the styling front, I decided to give it another shot.

This past Sabbath, I did a "twist & pin" style.  I twisted my hair around to create a crown-like situation and it actually looked nice!  So to remember what I did for the future and as proof that I CAN style my hair, I filmed a little video.  I'm quite proud of the outcome this time as well.  Enjoy! (That thumbnail tho ugh! lol)

Now I am on the hunt for more styles to do with my twisted hair.  I feel my confidence creeping up!  Yay! 

January 2016: Month in Review

Two Thousand and Sixteen!! O.o  I'm thanking God for bringing my family and friends safely into the new year, while at the same time praying for His continued protection, because to say that this world is getting crazy - is quite the understatement!

Anywho, this post is SO late!  But I promise I have a good excuse - I was super sick at the beginning of the month and couldn't be bothered to get out of the bed :(  Poor me...  I'm currently back on my feet, though not 100% I'd give myself a good 80-85%.  Well let's check out my goingson from January!

1/2 - During the youth service after church each of us was to write a nice note to someone else in the room.  Mine, of course, noted how creative and crafty I am. ^.^

1/10 - My grandma had her retirement celebration!  35 years of service!  I'm glad I was able to go and spend the weekend with her.

1/13 - I stop, dropped, and yoga'd in Barnes & Noble.  My heart ended up racing when a lady walked into the aisle as I was holding my warrior 3 pose.  EEP!

1/15 - The first Coffee & Crochet meetup with Brianna at Axum Coffee.  It was awesome!  We sat in the coffee shop for hours talking and crocheting and sipping our yummy chai lattes.

1/17 - I had a down day and to combat it, Lamar came home and suggested we do some stargazing in the backyard.  It was just what I needed.  I have the best husband EVER!

1/21 - I recorded and posted my December Daily flip through video for YouTube.  And I got 2 comments! (you can watch the video -here-)

1/23 - Lamar and I went to the SAK comedy lab with my coworkers from the studio.  It was pretty cool.  I kinda want to take an improv class now.  We'll see.

1/29 - I spent the afternoon wandering about the Orlando Museum of Art.  Cherie came by after work and we had a fun time gallivanting around the museum.

1/30 - Instead of a regular Sabbath lunch, Lamar, myself, and a few friends had a picnic and it was SUCH a pleasant afternoon!  Def something that I want to do again... just with more people :)

Throughout the Month
I really got into watching knitting podcasts on YouTube this month.  Well crafty podcasts... I am still on the hunt for a crochet focused one.  I might have to start it myself.

January Goals Recap
Fail on all accounts...  But I'm ok with that because I did so many other thing.

February Goals
1. Finish up all outstanding crafty projects.
2. Document my birthday #caleishaturns30
3. Revisit Kwanzaa
4. Work on Mom's scrapbook
5. Do one photo story

Well peeps, I'm about halfway through February at this point... we'll see how these goals go ^.^  I believe in myself!

What was your favorite part of January?  Are you looking forward to anything cool in February?

Story Time: Grandma's Retirement Celebration

Last month (January 10th), my family came together to celebrate my Grandma's retirement!  She has worked with the Bethany Child Development Center for the last 35 years.  She's such a hard worker ^.^   It was awesome to see how far-reaching my Grandma's work was.  She touched so many families within the church and in the community and I'm so blessed to be able to call her MY Grandma.  Anywho, instead of writing a long post about the ceremony, I decided to share some photos from the program. You even get to see some of her spunkiness in a few of the photos.  I always joke that the women in my family have no "act-right" and I totally love that about her.  So yeah, enjoy a snippet of my Grandma Addie's retirement celebration!

My Aunt, Grandma, & Mom

Grandma sang 'To God Be the Glory".  I can't say I've ever heard her sing before.  I was a teary mess :)

Grandma and her daughters

Three Generations ^.^

Enjoy your retirement, Grandma!