Disney, a recap

So back in December, we made our first trip as a family to Disney World.  The hubby had been there before, but not since his teenage years, and since I’m from Colorado originally…. Well, Coloradans tend to hit Disney Land in California since it’s closer, but since my family was always broke, we never made it there either.  🙂

Anyhow, we were lucky enough to head there while the weather wasn’t too freaky here in Chicagoland.  It was super cold, but at least there wasn’t snow at the time–a good thing when you’re flying.  I wasn’t too happy to see the de-icing foam on the wings, but I figured my plane probably wouldn’t crash.

So we got to Florida intact and ready to GOGOGOGO!!!  Hopped aboard the Magical Express bus and off we went.  I tried to get some pics as we entered Disney World, but this was the best I could manage with the glass reflections:

Beyond the entrance, we were taken to our resort:

Then we checked in and unloaded the luggage. The boys checked out the view from the room:

As soon as that was taken care of, we headed to Magic Kingdom where we saw the castle:

Which made a certain someone REALLY happy:

Then, we completely lucked out and saw….

…

wait for it…

…

HANNAH MONTANA!!!!

..If you get out your magnifying glass and take a close look, you’ll see her right beneath the candy canes. 🙂 We were really excited to see her and to hear her sing a couple takes of a Christmas tune for the Fox Disney Parade (that we completely forgot to watch on tv this past week…oops!)

Then my oldest met some princesses… at first with some reluctance:

then began to warm up a bit…

then warmed up a lot… check out the smile!

(My daughter refused to stand next to most of the princesses for the first autograph attempts.) Apparently the trip to Disney was enough to tucker out a little boy:

We met Chip n Dale:

We rubbed the nose of the creepy Norwegian Gnome dude because they told us that’s what we should do:

We tried to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus, but they were on their way to dinner:

We laughed and laughed and laughed at how Pluto had to sign his autograph books:

We saw the Epcot ‘ball’ at night:

We met some more princesses (repeat performances at different locations):

(I’m starting to think my oldest might have a bit of a crush on Ariel, judging from his face-consuming smiles when he’s near her!)

We met the Beast (with Belle, of course)

And my most favorite time of the trip: the Pretty Princess Tea for myself and my daughter… without the boys!

We sipped tea:

We ate cute little heart shaped sandwiches:

We listened to Rose Petal tell the story of Aurora (Sleeping Beauty):

We ate yummy dessert:

And we met Princess Aurora!

My daughter lost her very first tooth while we were at Disney, and she was very determined that I tell Princess Aurora. The princess was very accommodating and told us that she’d tell the fairies who could contact the tooth fairy for us. It was very cute, and definitely something my daughter won’t soon forget!

There are more pictures over in Flickr if you’re interested in looking at them. We were only there the 6-10th and did sooo much, yet didn’t even scratch the surface of what’s there! We’re all anxious for our next trip, but haven’t a clue as to when that will be. We’ve got some other news brewing behind the scenes that could affect plans… but that’s for another day!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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So many small projects!

I’m too lazy to post all of the specs on these FOs, so if you’re truly interested in the details, send me a note and I’ll oblige.

The matching Anthropologie knock-off capelets for my niece and her Julie doll:

I couldn’t get an appropriate gauge with the exact same yarns, so I matched the colors the best I could with a time constraint. The doll size version is in Lion Brand Wool Ease and the girl-size version is Vanna’s Choice.

Some silly soap sweaters:

All used minimal scraps of feltable wool.

A Very Warm Hat that I am crossing my fingers, holding my breath, and praying will fit my brother:

Some mittens for my sister-in-law:

A scarf for my daughter’s preschool teacher:

A Basic Cabled Hat for myself in mmmmmmmmMalabrigo:

and some fun Christmas dishcloths:

From left to right in white: Candle, Reindeer, Gingerbread Man
From left to right in red: Candy Cane, ‘JOY’, and a Gift

All of these projects list most details on my Ravelry Projects Page(s) if you’re interested but don’t want to email me.

I hope you’re all having excellent holiday times and ring in the New Year with much joy and happiness!  I’ll do my best to return after the New Year with a recap of our Disney trip.  See you in 2009!

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I’d love to post, but…

Apparently I can’t keep a connection long enough to upload anything fun!

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate!

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One more day…

Unless we are deluged with a foot of ice-snow tonight (as predicted on the news) we only have one more day of school before Christmas Break. Can I get an Oh Yeah?

I am still working on knits for family and teachers, so don’t have much of anything to post about. Suffice to say that no one will be receiving their hand knit gifts on or before Christmas morning. Oops. I also have so much to show and tell about our first trip to Disney World this month. I’m hoping I’ll be back at the beginning of next week because I will be done with gift shopping (wishful thinking?) and not have so much time lost to driving back and forth daily!

Hang in there!

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Been out of commission

Hello again!  It’s been a long while since I’ve posted, it seems.  I’ve had intentions of blogging, but it just hasn’t come to be until now.

Just before Halloween, I started with this little irritating cough.  Two weeks later, when I was still coughing pretty badly, I went to the doctor.  All you moms out there know that it takes a lot to get into the doctor.  You’ve gotta be on your deathbed to muster the energy to get in there with kid(s) in tow.  I went.  I got cough syrup, Thank God.  Then, the day before Thanksgiving, I spent the entire time coughing to the point of retching.  I decided I needed to go back to the doctor.  This would be my second visit in the same month…  I haven’t been to the doctor (for myself, anyway!) more than once per year since I was probably pre-pubescent!  Long story short, doc thinks I had a pretty bad case of bronchitis with an asthma-like reaction in the lungs, along with a sinus infection.  It took 5 doses of a POTENT antibiotic before I even began to feel a little tiny bit better.  I’m on the mend, and VERY thankful that the brunt of my illness was dealt with over a long 5 day weekend from school.  Take joy in the little things, right?!  🙂

I have finished a bit of knitting stuff and would love to share…  Please hang with me for a bit!

First, a sweater for my daughter’s best friend’s little sister, Christina:

Pattern: Placket Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts

Yarn: Wool Ease in Azalea Pink, ~1.25 balls

Needles: US8

Started: November 3, 2008

Finished: November 15, 2008

I think I knit the smallest size to accommodate my gauge, but I don’t remember. It fits her, so that’s enough for me.

The mom of a little boy who I take to school two days a week asked if I’d make her a hat. She basically said, I like black and I’d love a hat! This is what I gave her:

Pattern: Hurricane Hat

Yarn: Wool Ease in Black, ~half a ball

Needles: US8

Started: November 25, 2008

Finished: November 27, 2008

I knit this per pattern and thought it was a very simple but really cool spiral effect. Mom liked it, too, so a success all around!

Since I’ve been knitting things for people other than myself for a while, I decided I needed a hat.

Pattern: Thorpe

Yarn: Wool Ease in Azalea Pink and Dark Gray, pink held double=1 ball… remnants of gray

Needles: US10.5

Started and Finished: November 17, 2008

Very nice and quick pattern. I should have stopped increasing before I did, but it’s still a cute, stash-busting hat. I’ll definitely make at least one more of these hats in the near future!

Next up is a mini capelet for my daughter’s American Girl doll, Julie:

Pattern: Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet

Yarn: Cascade 220 in Magenta, less than half a skein

Needles: US6

Started and Finished: November 28, 2008

I followed the pattern loosely, casting on fewer stitches and increasing to the right arm size, then worked a couple rows of k2p2 ribbing before binding off. It needs a button to keep it closed, but my daughter was thrilled that I knit something cute for her doll, so the button will wait until the novelty has worn off!

Next is another Hurricane Hat.

another view:

This time done in Vanna’s Choice Seaspray Mist color. I used a little over half the ball. I liked the color a lot and wanted something simple that I could toss in the machine to wash and dry, but when I finished, I really didn’t like how it looked on me. It’ll be kept just in case, until someone else decides they’d like it, then I’ll give it away.

And last but not least, the beginnings of my Christmas Knits:

From the top:

And another view:

Pattern: Turn A Square Hat from Brooklyn Tweed [Rav Link]

Yarn: Vanna’s Choice in Black and Charcoal Mix, maybe half a ball each

Needles: US8

Started and Finished: December 3, 2008

This will go to my 16 year old nephew who apparently only likes black and gray! I thought it needed to be washable and dryable so that it can withstand the rigors of a teenaged boy. I totally screwed up the jogless color changes, but it’s kinda hidden since the two yarn colors are so similar. I doubt he’ll notice, even if I point it out.

I’m working like crazy on some other things for the teachers and my brother’s family…  I’m hoping but not banking on finishing in time to send things via mail.  It’s a good thing my family is forgiving of late gifts!

We’re off to Disney World on Saturday.  First time ever for me and the kids… hubby has been there before, but not in a REALLY long time, so it’ll be like his first time, too!  I’m super excited and nervous at the same time.  We’re in for a quick stay, back mid-week, but it’s gonna be a blast, I know it!

Hope everyone had a great and thankful Thanksgiving with family and friends, and with luck, I’ll be back sooner than later with some more knitting content.  Take care!

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