Mamma's Little Baby Loves Shortnin' Bread

Pattern: Daphne and Deliah the Momma and Baby Monster by Danger Crafts
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Merino in Wisteria and Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Seaspray
Needle Size: 5
Dates: January 26th - January 29th
My Project Name: There is a part in Steven Banks' Home Entertainment Center where he sings a little song with these lyrics while making cookies.  It's become a bit of a habit for me to sing it now when I'm feeding my piggies.  I loved this comedy show as a kid and I recently re-watched it on youtube and I still really love it.  Here is part one, follow the links to the rest of the show if you want to see it too.

Part 2 I Part 3 I Part 4 I Part 5 I Part 6 I Part 7

Did you know the Beach Boys also did a version of this song?  It's right here if you feel like checking it out.

Modifications:  I was going to attempt to knit the pocket on, but it was looking really sloppy so I changed my mind.  I think my seaming is getting better though so it wasn't that big of a deal for me to seam it on after I knit it up.
New techniques learned: None.
Notes:  I loved working this pattern.  I picked it up as a 5 pack from the Danger Crafts etsy shop.  Rebecca was seriously awesome to buy from and the pattern was written really well.  I'm definitely going back after I finish up some of the other patterns I bought from her.
More Pictures:

 

Plymouth Ice Festival

Well, my first class of the semester is finally over.  I think I mentioned it before, but just incase I haven't, it was a class about how to take online classes. It didn't matter that one of my credits I transferred was from an online class,  I still had to take the class anyway and let me tell you, it was kind of a pain in the butt.  To get you used to what taking a full course load was like we were given a LOT of work to do.  I had 2 or 3 papers to write a week.  My next 2 courses start on the 17th of next month so I have some down time to catch up on my knitting and all of my posts here about the few things I did manage to finish knitting.

I meant to post these pictures earlier, but all of my papers about time management got in the way.  So without further ado, here are a few pictures from the Plymouth Ice Festival that I went to with my mom, my pops and Kevin.

Cold Penguins.

Reindeer.  I think?

ICE DINOS.  OH YES!!!

CHAINSAW BEAR.  BEING CHANSAWED IN FRONT OF MY VERY EYES!

As you can see it was cold, but very awesome.  After walking around and freezing our butts off, we went to have pizza.  Kevin and I got an all cheese one, but my mom and dad got some weird sausage and ham one.  Kevin and I rated the cheese pizza a 7 out of 10, but Kevin said that our parents pizza tasted like 'the meat was from Kroger.' 

And because it's not a post if I don't post a picture of my always hungry piggies :D :

Chomp Chomp Chomp

Kirk goes to the Vet Part 2

Thursday was Kirk's follow up appointment with the vet. I noticed that he was doing much better, but I was anxious to see what the vet would say. He didn't have to have any needle pricks this time, but he did have to be subjected to the stethoscope which he wasn't too pleased about. He was talking away while Dr. Cook patiently waited for him to stop. After I gave him a few pets he stopped the chattering and his lungs and his little paws (because they use them to wipe their nose) passed the pneumonia inspection! The vet said that pneumonia never really leaves their systems, so there is a chance that he might get it back someday but that for now he is doing much, much better! He also said he was gaining weight which is a good thing:


Here he is sitting in his food bowl eating a treat. Ronnie sent this to me while I was at work with the caption "Only a pig sits in food to eat food." :D

In other guinea pig news, we had to throw out the crinkle tube that we got from the pet store because someone made a big mess inside of it. I was rinsing it out and putting it back in the cage after it dried, but the tube was not going to make a come back after this particular mess. I decided to order some new homemade cage accessories so that I could put them in the washer instead of throwing them out. Here is what we got:

New crinkle tube and a crinkle sac from TheCozyFerret.

Cuddle Cup from ellencho.

I tried to find them some space themed bedding/toys, but c'mon, dinosaurs! I'm looking forward for everything to get here to see how they will react. Right now we just have their little huts, their food and hay in there so it should be interesting!

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

This year I've decided that I want to try to do some book reviews. They probably won't be as insightful or as interesting as a lot of other blogs can find out there, but I thought it might be fun to try writing a few myself. Since I'm starting school this year, my reading time will be cut down and I don't think I will be doing a review for every book that I read but I'll try to do as many as I can.

Amazon Description: “My parents suck ass. Banning me from the phone and restricting my computer privileges are the most tyrannical parental gestures I can think of. Don’t they realize that Hope’s the only one who keeps me sane? . . . I don’t see how things could get any worse.”

When her best friend, Hope Weaver, moves away from Pineville, New Jersey, hyperobservant sixteen-year-old Jessica Darling is devastated. A fish out of water at school and a stranger at home, Jessica feels more lost than ever now that the only person with whom she could really communicate has gone. How is she supposed to deal with the boy- and shopping-crazy girls at school, her dad’s obsession with her track meets, her mother salivating over big sister Bethany’s lavish wedding, and her nonexistent love life?

A fresh, funny, utterly compelling fiction debut by first-time novelist Megan McCafferty, Sloppy Firsts is an insightful, true-to-life look at Jessica’s predicament as she embarks on another year of teenage torment--from the dark days of Hope’s departure through her months as a type-A personality turned insomniac to her completely mixed-up feelings about Marcus Flutie, the intelligent and mysterious “Dreg” who works his way into her heart. Like a John Hughes for the twenty-first century, Megan McCafferty taps into the inherent humor and drama of the teen experience. This poignant, hilarious novel is sure to appeal to readers who are still going through it, as well as those who are grateful that they don’t have to go back and grow up all over again.

My Rating: 5 out of 5

Book Thoughts: I have to admit I was pretty reluctant to read this book. The cover is weird and I can't say I'm a huge fan of the title but I read a lot of great reviews about this series so I decided to check it out. I'm SO glad I did.

The book is written through diary entries and a series of letters to Jessica's best friend Hope who
moved from New Jersey to Tennessee. I'm not sure if it was the format of the book, or just the start of the story but I felt that the beginning was a little slow. Once I got about 50 or so pages into it though, I was completely hooked. Jessica's relationships with her so called 'friends', her family, and even with Marcus were very real.

Jessica's writing style is also something I loved. She's very witty and somewhat snarky. I found myself laughing out loud at quite a few parts of this book. I even teared up when Jessica's sister Bethany decides not to come home for Thanksgiving, making Jessica's mom cry. I really loved this quote:

"And for the first time ever, I saw my mom not just as my mom, but as a real
person. A flesh-and-blood person who was hurt by rejection just like anyone else. Just like me."

Even though this is a young adult book, I think that a lot of the things that Jessica thinks and feels are very relatable to anyone. I'm sure everyone remembers how torturous high school could be. I'm planning on taking a break from paranormal books, or at least young adult books for a while and this book has been an excellent diversion. Since I've started this review, I've already finished book 2 and am pretty deep into book 3 so it's a series that I would very highly recommend for some quick, light reading.