Last Post Before Wedding

I've been super busy with work and getting last minute things ready.  The shawl still isn't done, but I only have 13 rows left.  I think I can do it.  4 days to go!  I'm leaving to go stay with my parents tomorrow early, so that I can meet up with my bridesmaids and get a bunch of stuff done.  I'm going to be crazy busy.  I am making my own cakes, too!

I went last Saturday to get contacts.  I tried them out for a couple days, but ended up ripping one trying to get it in yesterday.  They never did feel right when they were in, I felt a little fuzzy, and they bothered my eyes quite a bit.  So...back to glasses.  I won't be wearing them for the wedding, though.  I'm not that blind, and my cheap college glasses just wouldn't go!

Last night, Ruby got out of her cage and was running around Jon's studio.  We started the hutch last weekend, so hopefully after the wedding we can finish it!  I saw a wild rabbit just now outside in the yard =)

I'm exhausted, I forgot (wouldn't have had time anyways) to pack a lunch, so I'm starving, but I have so much to do tonight.  I need to pack everything so I can leave as close to 6am tomorrow as possible.  The good thing is that if I forget anything, Jon can bring it up =)  I hope we get some awesome thunderstorms this afternoon!

The peas and beans are getting quite tall now.  The greens are taking it slow.  We need more heat.  The cukes, zucchini, summer squash, and sunflowers haven't germinated yet.  I've been hardening the tomatoes, eggplants, watermelon, and peppers outside.  We need to start having some sunny weather, though!

So this is my last post before the wedding, because I will be super busy, and because I'm not sure when I will have internet.  This is exciting!

Updated Picture of Shawl

I'm on row 135 of 176.  It will look pretty...later.

Getting stressed

Ok, so my wedding is a week and four days away. Time to really start getting stressed! My shawl is getting there...I figured out that I need to do at least 12 more hours of work on it. I'd take a picture right now, but its all bunched up on a circular needle so you can't tell what it looks like. I think I have everything all set, except:

-bridesmaids' gifts and my jewelry are in the mail
-still waiting for sample of seed packet wedding favors (http://www.etsy.com/listing/57220949/wedding-favors-25-wildflower-seed)
-need to buy double sided tape and safety pins
-last minute makeup purchases
-maybe make a wedding mad lib for the guests? (http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/blogs/wedding_style_file/archive/2010/01/30/new-wedding-ideas-mad-libs-inspired-guest-book.aspx)
-get nails done, not filled, but looking decent
-get drinks

and then the last minute things:
-make sheet cakes and a small pretty cake, and frosting
-cut lilacs and maybe other wildflowers

There's probably more. I have 5 more work days and 2 weekend days before I go to my parents'. It will all come together, but until then, I need to distract myself. The toddler is sleeping, and the infant is rolling and crawling around the floor, growling and chewing on a cloth book happily. I'm going to knit for a while and watching some hulu to get my mind off of things.

Oh, and my seeds outside are germinating! I just planted some cukes, zucchini, summer squash, and sunflowers in a freshly plowed plot, too. The rosemary never germinated, so Jon's mom got me a nice plant all ready to go =) Everything else is growing nicely!

Why I haven't been posting:

Money is tight.

I just sat down and worked on a budget.  I need another car, and I realistically don't have the money for it.  I can't really cut anything out of my budget- its all pretty much gas, food, rent and wedding stuff.  And of course, rabbits, but they will always have plenty to eat and be comfortable.  I love them!  When my garden gets going, they will have plenty of veggies, and when my future father-in-law starts haying, I'll get hay from him and not the pet store.  Wedding spending is almost over, though, and I will be very thankful for that.  I still have a few more things to pay for.  This is going to be a beautiful wedding!  Its coming up so soon...19 days, I think.  I'm getting nervous, but I guess that's good.  Waiting is the hard part.  If I can finally save up for another car, then I'll need to save up for a house and future children.  It never ends!

This last weekend went by very quickly.  I knit quite a bit, and am now on row 99 of the shawl.  I babysat Saturday night with Jon.  We stopped at the Russian grocery and got dinner food!  We had potato and mushroom perogi, real Russian sour cream, kvas, cake, sushki (sweet crackers in the shape of rings), kolbasa, an apple, and Challah bread.  Lots of lovely leftovers.  Очень вкусно! (Very tasty!)

I'm about ready for a nap.  I spent all morning outside with the kids.  The baby is already starting to lift onto his hands and knees...at 5 months!  The toddler ran and ran and biked and slid and giggled for hours.  =)  The kids are napping now, so I might just catch up on some hulu and think about knitting patterns!

A few hours to spare

I have a few hours to spare between jobs today.  I would love to take a nap, but I have a feeling that I wouldn't fall asleep until just before I had to leave.  So instead, I'm going to work on that wedding shawl.  I decided to go with a different pattern, which meant that I could just use the @1000 yards that I had already spun.  The pattern was also free:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ez-100th-anniversary-hearts-half-circle
Here's what it looks like so far:

I've got a lot to do!

Last night, I made bread with this recipe:

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/quick/recipe-notime-bread-040653

It takes maybe an hour to make, and tastes like it took hours.  I did forget to shape it into a ball before putting it into the Dutch oven, so its a bit flat, but its still tasty and airy and its my new favorite bread!

Back to work...

I had a wonderful weekend!  Saturday, I had my second shower.  I got quite a few dish towels, and lots of lovely things.  I'm even getting 7 volumes of family recipes that were just collected for me!  I'm going to have to do a lot of running...Speaking of food, I'm trying to eat healthier.  After going out to eat twice this weekend, I was pointed to the fact that I pretty much eat what I want, which is usually something fried or salty.  I love salt, but too much.  Its unhealthy.  I ordered buffalo wings for the first time ever (I usually just make them) and had the beer that Jon didn't want, and the next day I had a blt and onion rings for lunch.  I also had chips in the car on the way...Yes, I was keeping chips in my car.  That was mostly because I have so much time to kill between jobs and eating chips keeps me very busy and is sort of a breakfast.  I'm not really a sweets person, so I've already got that down.  I just need to cut out as much salt and fat as I can.

For my first shower, I got a Ninja blender/food processor, so I broke that out yesterday and made a strawberry and banana smoothie.  It was the best smoothie I ever had:
6 frozen strawberries
1 banana
4 oz orange juice
two spoonfuls raspberry sorbet
Even Jon drank it!

I've been experimenting with my morning shake recipe, and that is what it has turned into:
1 serving soy protein
1 cap of vanilla sugar free flavoring
2 squirts of amber agave nectar
1/2 cup hazelnut milk
6 frozen strawberries
1 banana
1 tbsp yerba mate steeped in 1/2 cup warm water
1/8 tsp xanthan gum

Its actually really good now!  I need to work on figuring out how to blend the protein in without having chunks of it stick around, but I think that I just need to spend more time blending it with the liquids before adding fruit.

I planted two raised beds yesterday with greens, beets, carrots, peas, beans, onions, and scallions.  It was very cold this morning, but I'm hoping that its warm enough to get things moving.  My father, back home, has already planted some corn!  I can't wait to start getting these fresh veggies!

Last night, I stood by with the hose as Jon tried to cast his ring.  It didn't work (the spruing wasn't right), but it was an amazing show.  Pictures to follow!  Jon was in an iron guild, so he's used to pouring molten metal, but I thought that he was going to explode something!  He's going to try to machine it later.  I need to keep reminding him to work on it, or we won't have a ring for the wedding for him...

Update: Pictures from the casting.  Also, Jon , after another attempt which broke, successfully machined a ring!  Its beautiful!