beeeesharp

2009-07-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months I have taken an interest in diet and exercise. It was about time too, because I weighed the most I ever had. Working out and eating right has now become a part of my regular routine. So far, I've lost a total of 32lbs, and the weight is still coming off. I go to a gym and I walk my dog around the neighborhood, but I wanted to incorporate something new into my workout routine. My parents recently gave Anthony and I their old bikes, which are okay, but not exactly the safest considering how old and rusted they are. I really enjoy riding a bike, so I've decided I'm going to upgrade to this beauty: it's the Schwinn Jenny 7-Speed Cruiser Bike.

I am in love with this bike. It's a bit on the pricey side, but I have a birthday coming up. I think that's a reasonable excuse to splurge a little bit. Guess the yarn buying will have to come to a halt for a while.

Speaking of yarn..... I've been knitting like a mad woman. I'm not sure if it's the unusually cool July we're having here in Ohio but I've got the knitting bug. I've also been drinking way too many chai lattes. Again, the cool weather is tricking me into thinking it's fall. Anyway, I cast on for Ishbel last night and I'm in love with the pattern. I'm using malabrigo sock in the lettuce colorway. The yarn is lovely, the pattern is lovely. I have no complaints. It's knitting up very quickly too, which is always a plus! I will post a progress picture once I'm done with the stockinette portion.

I also finished a hat last week. It's my own version of the Harry Potter Gryffindor beret. I LOVE a slouchy hat, so I used the basic formula from the Slouchy Copy Cat Hat pattern just omitting the cables. It turned out great and I can't wait until the fall so I can wear it! You know, that is unless we keep having 68 degree summer days.

Isn't he just handsome?

2009-04-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

I am now the proud owner of this lovely piece of equipment....

2009-03-28T19:15:00.000-07:00

coming soon.... beeeesharp etsy shop

I will be updating within the next couple of weeks with lots of zip pouches, key fobs, and who knows what else! All handmade by myself. Keep checking back :)

books!

2009-03-03T06:07:00.001-08:00

I have finished the first three in the four part Twilight series. Breaking Dawn is really good so far. I also read the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is really only like thirty pages, but I think that still counts as a book. So I'm on book number six for the year. I'm already beating my goal of one book per month.

In case you're curious, so far I've read:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse all by Stephenie Meyer
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald

currently reading:
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

planning to read next:
Looking for Alaska by John Green

I've also come to a decision about my schooling. For the past year or so I've been very uncertain about what I want to do with my life. Well, I've decided to study English literature while obtaining my teaching certification for grades 7-12. I feel really good about this decision. Now I just need to figure out which school to transfer to. I'm leaning toward either Capital or Otterbein. Next quarter at Columbus State I'm taking some classes that I failed when I first started college way back in the day so that I can raise my GPA. Hopefully that plus all the work I've been putting in recently will help me to get into a good school. I've been sure for a very long time that I want to be a teacher; I just haven't decided until recently that I want to be a middle/high school English teacher.

2009-02-14T06:16:00.000-08:00

Two books down, many more to go. After reading the last Harry Potter it was recommended to me to read the Twilight series. I finished the first one and am now reading New Moon. They are great books, cheesy, but really entertaining. I also joined www.dailylit.com and am reading Pride and Prejudice while I'm at work, because typically I have nothing but time to kill at work.

2009-01-21T18:31:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 2009!!! I'm only 21 days late. oh well.

My only goal I set for myself this year is to read at least one book each month. I'm going to try to read more than that, but that's the goal. I'm also going to cut out a lot of tv watching. It's such a time suck, and I have lots of other things I want to do. So yeah.

First book of 2009:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
I don't know why I've been putting off reading this. I'm about halfway through it and it's awesome, just like I thought it would be. Next book will be An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. Woot for John Green and his awesomeness. God I love young adult fiction.

I recently purchased this book

if you like pie and you like making pie this book is all you will ever need. I've been reading it before bed every night.

bento go go

2008-11-10T08:23:00.000-08:00

I am so obsessed with the idea of this laptop lunch box. I cant get it out of my brain. I must have one.

I finally made some curtains for my craft room. They are yellow and adorable. I will post pictures soon.

I've decided that since I am in school and only working part time, shouldn't my part time job be enjoyable? I think so. Working at the bank is nice because I get lots of down time to surf the internet.. but I think after two years I've surfed as much web for 5 hours a day as I can. ha. It's just not a fun job. I applied for a position at the Container Store, so hopefully that works out. I was speaking with an employee there and she was telling me about the ohsoglorious discount they get.... guh. I hope I get it. I will be an organizational monster. Watch out.

2008-10-27T08:12:00.000-07:00

I carved the owl and Anthony carved the other one. His pumpkins are always "geek themed" and he never follows a pattern. So creative. I always use a pattern because I don't want to mess it up. We have so much fun doing this every year.

2008-10-25T17:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I really got the sewing bug. I wanted to try something new so I made a zip pouch! I'd never attempted a zipper before so I was pretty intimidated. After a bit of frustration (and some cussing) I figured it out with the help of Amy Karol's book Bend the Rules Sewing and a tutorial by Splityarn.

Then I made another one...

Man oh man, I really do love knitting but my goodness... such instant gratification! Sewing is really where it's at when you have as short an attention span as myself.

2008-10-18T06:23:00.000-07:00

There is no time of year that I love more than fall. I especially love the first cold day of the season... you know, when you have to throw on a sweater to keep warm on your drive to work. I love that. Thursday was our first real cold day (the high was 55 degrees) which I realize isn't "cold" but it's much better than the 82 degree day we had on Wednesday. The Circleville Pumpkin Show is going on, so that is where I will be all day today. I cant wait to eat some pumpkin flavored goodies!

As for knitting: I have so many things on my needles right now! A scarf for myself, a scarf for my mom, a ripple stitch afghan, a hat for a friend, and very soon I will be casting on for the February Baby Sweater (I just need to find the perfect yarn).... any suggestions? I was thinking of ordering some Dream in Color Smooshy. I've never used it but I've heard wonderful things.

I'm currently at work and it is early and deathly boring in here. I think I need some coffee.

it's almost the most wonderful time of the year

2008-10-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

here are my buttons (newly organized)....

and here are some things I made with the buttons....

I'm already in the Christmas spirit, so I've been making lots of ornaments. I never manage to make it through halloween before I'm making christmas crafts.

2008-10-06T17:12:00.000-07:00

i was driving behind this car the other day. it scared the crap out of me until i realized what it was. only in the midwest.........

2008-10-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

My mother recently taught me how to make pie crust. So, with this knowledge I set out to make something I remember my mom making when I was a kid. Every time she made a pie, she made "pie bites" with the left over crust. All you do is roll out your left over dough, spread butter or margerine across evenly, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar, cut slices and roll up and sprinkle more cinnamon and sugar on top! Bake for 15 minutes and enjoy! YUMMY! It is one of my favorite deserts!

Sprocket enjoyed them too (he stole a bite while I was in the bathroom!)

2008-09-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin and I played with some yarn this morning......

2008-09-28T16:30:00.001-07:00

As requested, here is the yarn I bought at A Wool Gathering....

The top two are from yarnsmiths and are called Shepherd. They are 100% wool.

The one below is Jaggerspun Zephyr 4/8 dk weight. 50%wool, %50 silk.

This is what I made with the zephyr:

it is the slouchy copy cat hat by Terra Jamieson.

2008-09-22T04:22:00.001-07:00

I had a very busy weekend! Saturday the town I live in had a small art/craft fair called Arts in the Alley. I entered a photo in the photography contest. Did not come away with any prizes, but it was cool to see something I made hanging on a wall. Next year I am definitely entering something into the needlecraft contest.

Sunday we drove to Yellow Springs, Ohio to go to "A Wool Gathering" and oh my gosh was it worth it. I cant even count how many yarn vendors were there. Not to mention all the cute animals:

This man was demonstrating how to properly shear a sheep without harming the sheep. He managed to keep the sheep calm the entire time. It was really cool to see.

The llamas were bigger than i thought they would be.

(I thought they were alpacas at first, i'm such an amateur)

lamb (so cute!)

And of course the alpacas. This was right before big brown on the right took an enormous sh*t. haha. The little boy standing next to me was amazed. His mother said "Well, honey I do believe we've seen it all today"

I came away with only three skeins of yarn. I could have bought much more but I had to restrain myself. Not to mention the hubby was ready to go home pretty soon after we got there. Wool gatherings are not his cup of tea. He was a good sport though.

2008-08-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

I made a few purchases online while at work today. I'm pretty excited about both of them.
They are as follows:
I haven't bought a new purse in so long, and this lovely one from Lesportsac was just too tempting.

And this was a slightly bigger purchase but I've been needing one for a while:

How could I resists this lovely YELLOW laptop?!?! I know I know, it's kind of lame to buy a computer because it's your favorite color, but it just so happens to be a very nice computer as well. The fact that it's yellow is just a bonus. I ordered it online, so I should hopefully be getting it in a couple weeks. This is my first laptop that is all mine that I paid for and I cant wait to get it! No more sharing with Anthony.

I've been doing lots of knitting lately. Just another month and fall will be here so I've been making scarves and hats. I always wait until it gets cold out to start working on winter items but I want to be prepared this year so I'm starting early.

I really need to post more often.

2008-05-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

You can start calling me Jennifer "Fraud Finder" Fowler.

I work at a bank and it is part of my job to deter fraud. Well, this is harder than it sounds. People can be very very sneaky when it comes to cheating the bank. Not too long ago I caught someone trying to cash fraudulent travelers checks. They were worth $2,500. Just a few days ago I discovered that a customer was trying to deposit a fraudulent check. It was one of those "you've just won the Scandevanian lottery" things. The check she was trying to deposit was for almost $4,000. Yikes. I just saved the customer and the bank a lot of time and money. The bank loves it when we do this so they reward us handsomely. Last time I got $100. This time I should be getting $200. Nice, right?

Mission: Organization.

2008-05-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

I visited

today.

I decided to take some steps
towards organizing my kitchen.

Because I'm an idiot this is
the only before picture I took:

And here are all of the after pictures:

The can organizer is my new favorite thing.

Previously everything in this cabinet was
scattered everywhere. No organization.

This cabinet was full of spices.
They were all over the place.

This counter top was cluttered
with utensils and more spices.

As you can see, this is where
the utensils found a new home.

This was previously our junk drawer.
It is also our ONLY drawer in the kitchen.
All of the silverware was previously
in a container on the countertop.
Anthony hated it.

This is where the silverware used to be.
As well as the flour and the sugar.

I hide my kitchen aid mixer and
other appliances behind the curtain.

Sprocket sneaked into the picture.

And here are some peonies from my garden :)

I really like that store. I'm considering applying for a job there. The woman who rang me up told me that they get the bomb discount... so that alone would totally be worth it. I think it would be a fun place to work. We'll see....

simple kind of life.

2008-05-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

this is what our Memorial Day morning consisted of. Front porch sitting and lots of coffee (and cigs for Anthony). We made it an entirely unplugged day. No tv. No internet. No electronics (kitchen appliances excluded). This is the first time I've been on the lap top all day today. We spent the day sitting on the porch with Sprocket and some friends.

I'd definitely like to try and live a more simplified kind of life more often.

2008-05-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

we ate our cake top from our wedding last night. who knew cake could last in a freezer for a year and still be delicious?

and boy was it delicious!

Sprocket wanted some too. too bad it would probably make him very ill.

This was my gift to Anthony.

He gave me an award.

He never fails in the gift department.

Anniversary number 1.

2008-05-10T14:59:00.000-07:00

Today my husband and I are celebrating our first wedding anniversary. I guess if you want to get all technical our actual anniversary isn't until Monday... but who has time to celebrate on a Monday? Not us. So we're spending the day together. We woke up and had coffee and cereal... followed by a trip to the movie tavern. Now we're at home feeding the dog, then it's off to the House of Japan. I can't wait. I've never been there. Should be fun :)

2008-04-12T15:06:00.000-07:00

I am loving some granny squares this weekend :)

2008-03-05T15:50:00.001-08:00

I've been sewing bags the past couple days. They're just simple tote bags. I didn't follow any pattern, just made it up as i went. I think they turned out pretty well.

I love the crazy print.

the lining is shimmery purple.

This one was the first one that I did. I had no idea what I was doing.

and of course my baby boy, Sprocket :)

2008-02-21T07:11:00.000-08:00

Columbus, Ohio Convention Center

June 11th-14th 2008.

http://www.knittersconnection.com/

I cant wait. I'm so glad that Columbus has an event like this. I'm not going to take any classes this year (though there are a few I wouldnt mind taking) I'm just going to go for the Knitter's Market.

Anyone that might read this (which I'm sure is nobody) that is going and would like to meet up, let me know! I'd love to meet other knitters! :)