...monkeyknits...

It's almost here!

This photo was taken the day we decided to purchase this house 9 weeks ago... before we even knew that we "got" the house. Now the grass is green and the previous occupants have gone.

Now, t-minus 12 hours and counting. It's all downhill from here.

Except for the moving of the boxes into a three story house.

New 'do, take two!

More boxes.

Srsly. Can we just move already?

boxes and boxes

We are in deep, deep packing mode. We're in the phase where it looks like we're living in a flop house. We're in the phase where we don't really know where anything is. But we're also in the phase where we can see an end in sight.

We move in eleven days. I can't wait!

* please pardon the iPhone photo... I think the real camera is in a box somewhere!

Fishing

My dad took us fishing last night. The guys fished and I knit. They each caught a couple of really big fish, but they didn't keep any... They weren't the right kind. This one is a small mouth bass, apparently.

The weather was gorgeous. Amazing, since usually holiday weekends in Duluth are filled with rain and cold. I think it's supposed to rain tomorrow, though. Better enjoy it today!

We are smack dab in the middle of packing now. Boxes everywhere. Where is that (insert item here)? Oh, it must be packed. That's the bad news. The good news is that two weeks from today we will be enjoying our new house! Woot!

I need to try to dig up some photos of the new house to post on the blog. It's so strange buying a new house. We've spent maybe a total of two hours in this house, and while I know that I love it, I don't know a lot about it. Like, is it wired for cable? Are the washer and dryer good? What is the water pressure like? Are the neighbors normal? Stay tuned for the answers to these and many other questions after the move...

I'm off to pack a few more boxes... And then outside to enjoy the sun for a bit. Have a great weekend!

Vanity plates?

John and I have a long standing joke. Well, we have a few, but this one involves vanity plates. It's a version of "would you rather?" and it goes like this:

Would you rather drive a Mercedes S-Class with vanity plates that say "AWESOME" or a Camaro with regular plates?
Would you rather drive a a BMW 7 Series with vanity plates that say "FNCYPNTS" or a K Car?

Or some version of that.

Well, today on my way home from work, I ran into a real life example. I tried to take a photo with my phone while driving but I couldn't get close enough without crashing so you'll just have to take my word for it.

The car: a brand new Lexus RX
The plate: JOANUS

Really? I'll take my Ford Focus with regular plates, please!

A new beginning

It's been a while. I've missed you! I'm not even sure if anyone still reads this, but I'm going to start blogging again.

Why start blogging again? Well, I've got a lot going on, and I need an outlet. I'd love to get back to craft blogging, and at some point maybe even "mommy" blogging.

So, what's new? Well, John and I bought a house. We've been renting a gorgeous house on Lake Superior for the past year and a half, and we got word that the owners are selling. So we started the search, and it all happened very quickly. Our new house is in a great neighborhood, and we move in three weeks. I'm getting a little panicky about the whole packing/moving process. I'm sure it will be fine, but it's a bit overwhelming.

I've also been very busy with work. The salon world is very challenging, and I'm still learning new things everyday. Most days are good, but there are days where I wake up and wonder what I'm doing! It's great fun to work with such amazingly talented people. We have an awesome crew right now, and I'm very thankful for that. The economy has been a challenge for us, and we're working hard on making changes that will allow us to "weather the storm." We have such incredible potential and I really hope that we make it through these uncertain times.

John and I have also made the decision to start trying to have a baby. I'm trying to keep things in perspective, and I realize that this kind of thing doesn't happen overnight. Well, I guess literally it does, but you know what I'm saying. It may take a while for it to happen overnight, right? I'm very excited about the prospect of becoming a mom, and I know that John will be an amazing dad. I'll keep you posted on it!

That's enough for now... I'm looking forward to blogging again, and I'd love to hear from you.

MeMe

Here's the latest meme making the rounds through the blogworld. My answers are listed below.

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Jen
2. What is your favorite food? Thai curry
3. What high school did you go to? Duluth East
4. What is your favorite color? blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Vince Vaughn (Owen's not bad either, eh?)
6. Favorite drink? Diet Coke
7. Dream vacation? Tokyo
8. Favorite dessert? chocolate cheesecake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? a mommy
10. What do you love most in life? my husband
11. One word to describe you. creative
12. Your flickr name. MonkeyKnits

1. “Coriolis Effect,” 2007, 12" x 12" x 7", construction paper by Jen Stark, 2. Thai red curry., 3. Bob Dylan Home Duluth, Minnesota, 4. Sun and Signs, 5. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, 6. Cakespy's L'il Cuppie Character, 7. Shibuya at Night, 8. Double Chocolate Cheesecake, 9. Mommy and Me, Maybe Around 1950, 10. ring / yüzük, 11. Last day in Paris, 12. One of Each

The Kids

On July 17th, 2008, my mom and I will be going to jail. We haven't broken any laws, but we'll be locked up until we raise our bail. It's going to be rough, but we're committed to taking a stand.

The goal is to raise money for the MDA -- the money goes to support not only the amazing research that the MDA does, but also to send kids to camp to get support from other kids just like them, to buy medical equipment for kids who need it, and so many other wonderful things as well.

The reason I'm sharing this with you is because we need your help. Our goal is to raise $2500 in the next few weeks. I know it sounds like a lot (and it is!) but if everyone donates $5 and spreads the word to 2 or 3 friends, I think we can do it.

What's in it for you? Glad you asked! I will have prizes for the highest donation as well as three random donors. I've not decided on the prizes, yet, but they will be fabulous!

We only have a couple of weeks to reach the goal, so please donate today. Simply visit my MDA website and donate securely online. If you're not sure about that, email me at monkeyknits @ gmail DOT com and we'll set up an alternate payment plan.

If you can't donate today, please spread the word to your friends -- perhaps they can help! Truly, every dollar will help.

Thank you in advance! I'm excited to see what we can do together.

back to the blogosphere

Can I just tell you, I have the coolest shade of polish on my nails right now? It's called Blackberry Chutney and it's part of the new India Collection from OPI. I'm loving it. It's fierce.

Speaking of fierce, have you seen the previews for this? OMG. Talk about a hot tranny mess. Fabulous. And in other news, I'm in two (count 'em two!) quilt swaps. Granted, they are "doll-sized," but still. I've got four weeks for one of them and about eight weeks for the other one. Think I can do it? Sure... Not to worry. Pish posh.

I'm working on a pair of bright pink mittens for a co-worker. She gave me a massage. I'm knitting her mittens. I'm also working on spinning yarn, yarn, yarn for a non-bloggable project. I'm not sure if the recipient reads the blog or not, so better safe than not surprised.

That's it for now. Sorry I'm not more exciting. The photos are from a party I had at our Sioux Falls house last summer. Oh, summer. When will you return?