Stitching and Bitching

I've started knitting.

My new and wonderful friend Sarah has taken to showing me this lovely new obsession on the weekends.  It's great.  I'm in love.  My first project is a scarf, as most new knitters tend to do.  It's really hard to put it down once I get going.  Seeing it grow with each new row of stitches is such a wonderful feeling.  The moment it got to the point that it was longer than it was wide, I was in knitting heaven.  I think it's safe to say I've found a new hobby.

There's this website, www.ravelry.com, that is filled to the brim with amazingly nerdy patterns.  Harry Potter and Doctor Who are well represented, which means I've found a way to make personalized Christmas/Birthday presents for all those people in my life who live and breath fandom, of which I know quite a few.

Also, I'm going to make a Dalek hat and possibly a TARDIS potholder.  Maybe a Sonic the Hedgehog hat for Ben.

If ever I disappear off the face of the interwebs, it's probably because I can't be bothered to put down the knitting needles.  Sorry.

Chopsticks Are Scary.

Fact.

I bought a bunch of chopsticks from World Market the other day, as I have been cooking a lot of ramen dishes and generally feel cooler when I'm eating it with chopsticks.  Ben was helping me put away dishes, or rather dancing in the space that is the kitchen and giving commentary on my putting away of the dishes, and stopped when I reached the chopsticks I'd used earlier in the day.

He then grabbed them, smiled adorably (ei: something wicked this way comes) and proceded to run full speed through the narrow hallway of our apartment to his room, diving headfirst onto his bed.  All while holding the chopsticks.  And laughing.

It was terrifying.

Luckily no eyes, throats, or stomachs were stabbed during this escapade.  I know it probably comes with time, but currently any semi-pointy object spells out certain doom whenever Ben is placed near them.  He's a smart kid.  He's not going to ram a chopstick pointy-side into Rob's stomach and cackle into the night, but that thought still absolutely crosses my mind whenever certain factors come into play.

99 Red Balloons

Who knew a little red balloon could entertain someone for longer than 5 minutes?  I sure didn't.  Until, of course, hanging out with Ben, my boyfriend's wonderful four year old son, became a common occurrence.  But oh, was I wrong.  Hours of entertainment, those balloons can be.

I suppose a little bit of back story is probably beneficial in this whole starting a blog thing.

I'm Carley.  I live in the lovely city of Madison, Wisconsin with my boyfriend of a year and half, Rob.  We have a cute little apartment that I adore.  It doesn't allow cats, which occasionally enrages me, but it does have big, wide windows and enough space for two adults and one halfling to sprawl about and enjoy the day.  I sling coffee at a Starbucks down the road and am attempting to get myself together enough to go back to school this fall for English Education.  We'll see how that goes.

When I'm not bouncing around a balloon and pretending the ground is lava, I'm normally baking.  Or maybe attempting to poach an egg, or starting a craft project I know I'll never really finish, or possibly writing.  Actually, if honesty is really my goal with this whole blog business, I'm probably watching Doctor Who.

Mine is not the glamorous life, but it's a good one.  A kind of life I've grown to love quite dearly.

Rob and Ben drew me a picture a month or so ago, that is now framed in my room and cherished.  It's of me looking up, as if ready to fight, during an alien invasion.  It is labeled "Dating Someone With A Child" and it could not be more perfect.  It's actually the inspiration for this blog.  This is not something I thought I'd be getting used to a few years ago, but now that this is safely my life, I wouldn't change a thing.

That doesn't stop me from occasionally freaking out over a balloon getting dangerously close to smacking me in the face while I'm cooking dinner.  That I'm not quite sure I'll ever be prepared for.