"excuses" and Christmas crocheting

I'm just going to go ahead and ignore the fact that I haven't posted anything since March.... there are about 500 reasons why this is.
Okay maybe not 500, maybe it's closer to 10....in the past 9+ months I have (in no particular order):

1. changed positions (and desk locations) at my company, not once but twice

2. very effectively ran a super busy 1st summer for Jonathan and I at Panama Rocks Scenic Park

Opening Weekend

3. have performed in 3 shows, and choreographed 2 others in addition to 2 solo performances over the summer

May 2014 

October 2014

If you were paying attention, I mentioned involvement with 6 shows and only showed photos for 3. In addition to the ones shows above, I choreographed "Annie Get Your Gun" for a local high school, performed in a theatre fundraiser called "Home for the Holidays" and choreographed "Miracle in Bedford Falls" for the Lucille Ball Little Theatre"

4. taken on a Board of Directors position with the Lucille Ball Little Theatre of Jamestown, and began actively managing their website and Facebook page

5. took a trip to Walt Disney World with Jonathan to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of my 30th birthday - I could add about a bazillion pictures here that were taken, but I'll spare you!

Lunch on my Birthday was at Cinderella's Royal Table - IN Cinderella's Castle... DREAM.COME.TRUE.

Mickey Ice Cream is the best!  Really everything "Mickey-shaped" just tastes better!

6. continued working on the house remodel, which for my part usually is just about me moving boxes, reorganizing and excitingly getting to put things away.  Again I could show a million pictures here of our work in progress but they're probably boring to you since it's not your house, and really it barely looks as though much as changed.  I'll save them for now!

7. Celebrated our 3-year Wedding Anniversary (and 10 years together)

8. took a very last minute trip to NYC after winning tickets on Facebook to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular!

Walking around my old "stomping grounds" from when I went to college in NYC

View from our Time Square hotel room

[one of] my FAVORITE dances in the Christmas Spectacular!

AMAZING yarn from a really incredible store on the Upper East Side - if you are in NYC or plan to visit NYC - go there!!!

9. spend as much time with the puppies, kitties and Jonathan when I'm not at work or the theatre

Happy Heron for my 2nd year!

Silly date night selfies!

These dogs tho!  Good gracious I don't even want to tell you how many pictures of them are filling my iPhone!  I just LOVE them and all of their silliness!

Sunday morning poses!

"Dear God, it's me, Copper.  Please send roast chicken"

My babies on National Dog Day 2014

Not sure this one requires a comment....it does make me laugh EVERY TIME I see it!

10. crocheted as much as possible...looking back, on the last day of 2014, I'm honestly not sure if I crocheted a lot over the past year or no where near as much as in years past.  Based on the lack of pictures, minimal custom orders and lack of Christmas gifts I gave this year that were crocheted it feels like I crocheted very little.  In fact, looking back on some really ridiculously busy weeks and months at the theatre, I know that entire weeks went by where I didn't pick up a crochet hook!  But I know things were crocheted....barely anything that I can recall was finished and my list of ideas has grown 10-fold.  Definitely have to make sure I do a better job at photographing the work I complete in 2015 (we'll call than an official resolution - don't worry the 2015 Goals post is up next!)

A little Facebook stalking of my own page allowed me to find the following that I did crochet, finish and photograph since March:

Olaf-inspired hat for a Halloween Costume (completed custom order)

my own pattern

"Phittens" (completed custom order)

my own pattern

My Neon c2c blanket....still no where near done, but I just love the colors of this one, and the fact that I was sitting on my front porch in flip flops crocheting! 

PATTERN

Speaking of 'warm weather' crocheting - doesn't this look like amazing way to be spending a Sunday morning??

my own pattern

My first pair of Boot Cuffs!

PATTERN

The beginning of my Road Trip Scarf.  Everything but the border has been done for MONTHS, but the last time I picked it up, I couldn't understand the pattern so I gave up...it's still waiting for me, mockingly to finish

PATTERN

Crocheting accomplishments from Thanksgiving morning while watching the Parade and Dog Show

Cowl is a variation of this PATTERN

Boot Cuff Pattern is the same as above

Remember that AMAZING tower of yarn I purchased in NYC?

Well here is the hat that I crocheted for Jonathan at his request.  This was photographed from our hotel in Buffalo the night before we left for Disney.

my own pattern (just a simple dc beanie)

Here's a quick recap of what I did crochet for Christmas gifts:

As you can see, more detail and effort went into "collaging" and decorating this in PicMonkey than the actual photographing of gifts before wrapping hastily on Christmas Eve (yes, I was that person.  We arrived home from Disney around 2 a.m. on the 22nd and I had to work the 22nd and 23rd)

And, "why?", do you ask is it that I don't get anywhere near as much crocheting done as I'd like to on the rare occasions when I'm home and not sleeping?

Oh yeah, cause someone gets jealous he's not getting all of my attention at all times!

That's all for now friends.  I've had the blogging bug bad for a few weeks now so I hope it continues to stick with me in 2015!

Wishing you all a safe and Happy New Year!

Who's excited????!?!?!?!?!

THIS GIRL!  

This morning by 10:02 a.m. I was printing out confirmation for purchased tickets to see IDINA MENZEL at Wolf Trap this August!  Tickets don't publicly go on sale until Saturday morning, but thanks to my obsessive Facebook habit, I happened to see on my wall last night that if I was an FB fan (duh, of course I am) I could use the code on the status update to purchase tickets this morning at 10 a.m.!!!!

Conveniently, the concert is on Friday, August 3rd - the PERFECT way in my mind to kick off our 1 year Wedding Anniversary weekend!!!  This also meant that my totally awesome and extra sweet husband let me purchase the more expensive front orchestra seats :-D  We will be sitting front and center - row E to be exact and I was honestly bouncing in my chair for a good 20 min this morning.  Extremely professional at work, I know.

Who is Idina Menzel you may ask?  Well first, I'm going to try and not give you the stink eye through my computer.  Have you ever heard of the musical Rent, or Wild Party, or Aida, or Wicked, or the movie Rent, or the very popular TV show Glee?  Maybe you saw a glimpse of her fushcia dress on PBS over the past week or so while channel surfing.....still nothing?  sigh - please read here and here. 

Hopefully you'll enjoy these videos - I do have a bit of a girl crush on her these days (and her husband isn't bad looking either! LOL)

Anyway, we went 2 summers ago to see her at Wolf Trap with $20 lawn tickets.  In the past we've loved going to see shows sitting on the lawn with a bottle of wine and snacks under a summer night star filled sky.  You typically need binoculars if you really want to see what's going on down on the stage, but it's fun none the less.  Well neither of us could have anticipated how CRAZY packed the place was when Idina performed with the National Symphony Orchestra with Marvin Hamlisch conducting!  Seriously, packed is an understatement, we were practically sitting in the parking lot!

Regardless of how little I was actually able to see, and how HORRIBLY hot and humid it stayed that summer night in July it was an AMAZING experience.  I remember leaving there that night thinking I’d never forget that night – after all it’s the kind of a “life changing” experience for a Musical Theatre junky like myself (similar to when I was Bernedette Peters in "Annie Get Your Gun" on Broadway my junior year of high school.  That night as Ms. Peters took her curtain call and the whole audience was on their feet I had my“ah ha” moment where I KNEW theatre was what I wanted to do with my life.  And no, the fact that I didn’t end up persuing a Professional Theatre career after my college training does not bother me, and I regret nothing.  The fact that I had to move home after graduation was meant to happen – after all Jonathan and I started dating just 3 months later).  Anyway, seeing something this amazing perform in person is still one of those life changing experiences and I’m 99% positive I will cry more than once that night (Jonathan, fair warning ;-)  I laughed when you proposed, but this I’ll cry over! LOL)  I actually texted Jonathan this morning saying "Our engagement, the wedding and trips to DISNEY are the only things that made me happier than I am right now :-)"

If you've enjoyed the videos so far - I leave you with a few singles off of her albums

And her husband filling in during a performance of "Wicked"