Friday, October 31, 2014

2014 Goals Update: October

304/365

HOW IS OCTOBER OVER?? It was a big month. A lot has happened. And what does it all end with? Snow flurries + sleet all day. I walked a little on Michigan Avenue a few times today on the way to and from the hospital (where a dear friend is still at while being tested for her health) and the wind! I know it's not called the Windy City because of the gusts, but it applies in that sense as well!! I think I heard that it got to 50mph? Absolutely crazy. And this is only the start...

Anyway, I've got sleep to catch up on, so here's how I did on my goals this month!

1: one self portrait (per week)
Success! 
week forty | week forty-one | week forty-two | week forty-three

2: compose photos (every day)
Success! At least I'm going to consider it one. It will be very interesting when I compile all these pictures together at the end of the year...
276 | 277 | 278 | 280 | 282 | 283 | 284 | 285 | 286 | 289 | 290 | 291 | 294 | 299 | 300 | 303 | 304 - which is at the top of this post

3: read the Bible (every day)
"Not for quiet time purposes. I'm only human..." Same as last month!

4: journal (daily)
"Nope. And it doesn't bother me. I probably should do one of those "day in the life" or something, though..." Also the same as last month!

5: blog (daily)
Yup! I've mentioned this ritual to multiple people this month and they're always impressed, so that's kind of cool. I'm definitely glad I've stuck with this.

6: walk
Oh yes. Definitely not as much as some, but definitely more than I ever have before.

7: bike
Nope. I should probably attempt this at the gym...

8: 52 projects
Yes! I made progress! I definitely won't hit the 52 mark, but I'm so fine with that. I blogged a lot of these this month.
project 23 | project 24 | project 25 | project 26

9: 52 books
Well, I finished one book this month! I just need to get into a better routine - discipline! ugh!
what I read this month

10: experiment with photography
Always experimenting, but I got out of my comfort zone in particular while Jenna and Emily were here last weekend.
one

11: make six new meals for the family
A little difficult 900 miles away...

12: learn to play the keyboard
Nope.

13: at least one photo book
Not yet!

14: travel
Once again, it's just about exploring the city.

- rl

Previous 2014 Goals Posts:
Original List
January Update
February Update
March Update
April Update
May Update
June Update
July Update
August Update
September Update

Thursday, October 30, 2014

What I Read This Month

303/365

Hey-o! I finished a book this month! Crazy, I know! I made it a point this month to read more, which worked. How? Attempting to read at least a chapter before bed, as well as leaving for work a little early to read a little, and read when I finish my break food but still have time in my break. They're just little things, and I can probably add even more time if I really try!

 So, without further ado, the books I read this month:

46. A Royal Match by Tyne O'Connell
I think I gave this book four stars, but I'm not sure why. It's a lot more YA than I thought. Very childish, really. It was quite disappointing when I got into and saw how young she is (14), but I wanted to know what happened! I would not read it again, however, so I should probably change the rating to a three star.

And the book I'm reading going into November:
A Royal Mess by Tyne O'Connell
Yup, the sequel. I considered picking up another book instead, but then decided it will probably be best to just get it all over with at once. Hopefully I can finish it this month, though, and move onto some other books.

- rl

Previous What I Read This Month posts:
January 2014
February 2014
March 2014
April 2014
May 2014

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

WIP Wednesday


My main progress this week: the backpack! I can't believe it, but it appears that I finished four rows this week. That's about two hours of work. Not too shabby. My college writing professor thinks I'm crazy, but what better time to work on it than while we discuss each other's essays?

Other than that, not much work done over here. I haven't really been in the mood to knit. I'm still working on finding my groove. The last few weeks were jumbled, but now it's the second half of the semester, which means things are starting to be due, on time of Christmas crafting! I need to create an excel sheet or something to keep track of it all so it will stop clogging my brain.

The first two pictures are old, because I didn't work on either this week. Whoops. The bottom two pictures, which I just took, look a little fuzzy, though, which makes me think it's time to clean Margo (my camera). I got a camera cleaning kit for Christmas last year and have been scared to use it, but maybe I can find some people on campus that know what to do.

Now if you'l excuse me, I'm (finally!!) about 20 pages from finishing the book shown in the first picture, and I've got work soon. I can't believe October is almost over!!

- rl

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

J&E in Chicago: Day 3

(I'm going to say they're both 300/365 because I can.)

Our third day together was short. Jenna rolled over probably a million times while I kept putting off my alarm. Sorry, sis. I went to my 8am, then returned to my room to find the two dressed and ready to go. We decided on Yolk, which isn't even a full block from campus. 

Jenna got avocado in her eggs and ham, so she had green eggs and ham. OMG. I had a cinnamon roll and fries. Emily had a skillet something. 

After breakfast, we went back to my room and just hung out for an hour, then I walked with them to the bus stop (which is literally on campus), cried saying goodbye, then did my speech in my 12pm class. 

Having people come visit me is fun, but it also makes me very sad when they leave. I'm starting to get homesick now, looking forward to going home in 1.5 months!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Monday, October 27, 2014

J&E in Chicago: Day 2

I think this may be my photo-heaviest post so far. I think the total is 24...oops. (: Commentary to be throughout...

We slept in, then had breakfast at Luna Cafe down on LaSalle. I had made a mental note when I went there a few weeks ago to remember it, not that that makes any sense, but it was fun to hear them mention how they had walked by a place the day before, and it ended up being the same place! It's a cute little place with pretty decent pancakes.


Then we went to the top of the Sears (Willis...whatever) Tower! They said it would be an hour and a half wait, and it ended up being only an hour or so after we headed down. It wasn't an awful wait at all because you go through multiple different things versus just one long line.

Facing south.
Who knew there was a blue building in Chicago?? 
I think that building is my favorite. It seems like every time I see it it looks different...so that's pretty cool.
Facing east. // How are there bugs up that high??
Triangle = prison. #whoknew
qt
Can you see Moody on the far left? Probably not if you don't know what the campus looks like...but yeah we're really downtown!
 Before...
...after!
Dirty windows, but I love heights!
Emily trying deep dish pizza for the first time! And she liked it! 
No argument from me!
Architecture makes my tummy all mushy.
Selfie! // Taking it all in.
More buildings! 
 It took a while to get them to see that I was taking a picture! haha (299/365 for the bottom right, I think. There are so many options for this day...)
Cloud Gate is so weird...

Then we did a bit more walking and waiting before taking the el back to campus. We didn't know what to do, but we ended up meeting up with Leslie and Marika at Ghirardeli, then walked over to Epic Burger. The three of us only snacked, because deep dish, but we just hung out before walking back to campus. We weren't ready to sleep, though! 

We decided to take the bus to Navy Pier. We walked about halfway, then stopped to take pictures. It was basically all closed, so there was really no point to stay long. We had a little confusion when it seemed as though the bus back would take 30 minutes, but then it showed up just a few minutes after we had decided to wait it out. 


Once we got back to the dorm we settled in, ate some Leslie-made popcorn, and watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off...a first for Emily!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Self Portrait (43/52)


Today we went to the top of the world! Well, kinda. We got to the Skydeck around noon, and were up at the top an hour later. Not too shabby! I love heights. We did a lot of other exploring around the city, making the most of our day, but that will have to wait for another day! For now, let's just talk about how the film on the glass is ghetto!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Saturday, October 25, 2014

J&E in Chicago: Day 1

298/365

Just a few pictures from the first day Jenna and Emily are here in Chicago! We only got to hang out in the morning before I had to go to work, but it worked out well.

Marika went with me to meet Jenna and Emily at the Chicago blue line stop, then we had breakfast at Windy City Cafe, which was pretty great. The pancakes I got were massive, and I ate maybe 1/3 of them. I hate wasting food. Then we hoped on the bus back to campus, where they brought up their stuff, then I took them on a tour of the campus.

Then we decided to walk to the beach, which ended up in us just walking all around the Water Tower area. American Girl store, the beach, Fourth Presbyterian Church, and then "my" Chick-fil-A. We went back to the dorm, and then I had to work. They napped then went on a boat tour, and then they picked me up from work.

The plan for tomorrow? Nothing set. Sleep is a top priority, especially considering they both woke up early, early this morning after closing at work last night! So we may end up having a late start tomorrow, but we're going to do our best to fit in some fun Chicago things before they leave Monday!

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Friday, October 24, 2014

Project 26/52: Gin & Tonic Hat


This is my missions conference hat. I worked on it mostly during the first full day of missions conference, and finished it the second full day. 

I thought the daisy stitch, which turned out a lot harder to see with this yarn than I thought it would, would be difficult, but it actually wasn't too bad. I wouldn't mind knitting this hat again! I really like this colorway. It's a bit more blue than green, contrary to what the picture shows. Some colors are just really hard to get good pictures of.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Project 25/52: Skyping Beanie


This is probably one of my favorite hats. I wouldn't have chosen it on my own, but it was requested by a classmate so I went for it.

It's the same yarn as used with this hat. The bright orange is probably a large factor in what makes me love both of these hats so much. I didn't realize how much I liked bright colors until now. I had originally bought the orange yarn for mitts, and I think the leftovers from both hats may be able to get me that. I really need an efficient way to figure how many yards I have left in a skein...one day...

The inside of this hat is so squishy. Honestly. It's a broken rib stitch, which means for the body of the hat I did ribbing for one row, then stockinette on the next row. It looks pretty different on the inside (why didn't I take a picture??), but is so cozy. I immediately decided I'll have to knit myself a scarf of some sort in this stitch. I want a comforter in this stitch. It's a slightly concerning obsession.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

WIP Wednesday


I have way too many projects going on! I haven't even worked on either of the top two projects, so those are both old pictures. I casted on this bottom project this morning because it's much easier to carry around than straight needles, but really it's the project on the straight needles that have higher priority...maybe I overthink things sometimes. (:

- rl

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

More Yarn for Me

294/365

Today I received a beautiful box! What did this box hold? Eight skeins of yarn! Most are for Christmas gifts, then one for me. I'm not quite sure how I'm going to document these projects on the blog without giving away what they are to the ones they're being made for...so there's that.

This picture depicts what it looks like when I get a new skein of yarn: take a picture of it, cut off a little bit, tape that little bit to the label, then put it all in my stash on Ravelry. It's slightly complicated, but so worth it when I buy a skein, end up not using it for the reason I bought it, and then have to search to see what other people have made with it. Oh, how I love Ravelry.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)

Monday, October 20, 2014

Project 24/52: Urban Jungle Crocheted Slouchy Beanie


I have lots of projects I really need to blog about...so I'm working on that!

Theoretically, this hat is awesome. It's basic yet interesting. Fundamentally, however, it's too long. Maybe I went on for too long, but when you first put this thing on you look like one of the guards in front of Buckingham Palace. So there's that. It is a slouchy hat, though, so it does its job in that department...but it's still really long.

I used basic Red Heart yarn but it feels nice, so that's a plus, and the hardest part of it all was picking up the stitches for the body of the hat, and that wasn't even all that hard. So basically it was worth it, and I will definitely be making it again, but it's not the perfect hat.

- rl

(p.s. this is part of my 14 goals for 2014. You can view all my goals here.)