Happy Anniversary!

Today, my parents celebrate their 39th year of marriage. Congratulations, and enjoy the next 39!

I couldn't resist bringing a little Sign Language into a post: I love you both!

Blankets for Babies

I'm not going to lie. Crocheting scarves is the only thing I used to be able to do. Then two years ago, I learned how to crochet a circle. Naturally, my next project was making collegiate koozies.

Last December, crocheting gave me comfort. I crocheted a hat & scarf, but needed a bigger project. I made a simple baby blanket - shades of pink from just one skein. There was nothing to it: I just pretended it was a really wide scarf.


Then my sister got pregnant (insert some sort of sarcastic "way to go") and I wanted to step up my skills. I can't give my little nephew a "wide scarf." I wanted to make it more special. I went online to learn how to crochet granny squares, picked my favorite (and the easiest) pattern, and started going at it. I combined the idea of quilting (the checkered pattern) and crocheting together, and came up with this yellow & white piece. Not too shabby, huh?


I found out another friend was pregnant, so I crocheted another blanket. This time, I alternated the blue and white rows instead of making small squares and stitching them together later.


And now, a neighbor is expecting a boy - any suggestions? Should I pick a new pattern?

Can I get a fist PUMP, KIN?

So you might be wondering where my blogs have been. I took a blogcation, but I'm back! And right-o you are. I know at the very least my folks laughed at my title -- and even more after my sister explains why fist pumps are 'in' - please do not actually watch the Jersey Shore.


I planted some pumpkin seeds that have taken over my backyard. Due to only getting ONE pumpkin so far, I had to do some research, self-pollination, and that whole "talking to plants like you're crazy so that they grow" thing. Here is a little tutorial.

There are male flowers (the one with the bee), more likely to appear in the beginning of growth. They can't do anything but stand tall, and attract bees. Then the female flowers grow (the next picture - not from my backyard, but you can tell it looks different). The female flower is closer to the stem, will die if it is too hot (which is true this year), and has an undeveloped gourd under the flower (check out the third picture - this flower is not ready to open yet).

Once pollinated (I pollinated this pup by hand via a Q-tip), the gourd will grow and the flower will die/fall off. And now I will play the waiting game until it gets big enough to carve. This is the 2nd pumpkin in my patch. Now that the weather has cooled to be under 100, there are more female flowers growing. At the very least, I should be able to make pumpkin pie in November!

This last picture is the 1st pumpkin in the patch. It's about the size of... a small pumpkin.

Yard work > Soccer (This weekend only)

That's right, I worked in my yard for 7 hours and played soccer for only 3. I have come to this conclusion: yard work weakens my knee far more than soccer. Up until this weekend, I haven't had to wear a knee brace while playing soccer.

Dislikes about my yard (which I fixed this weekend):

- There were giant plots of mulch around my trees. There used to be flowers in there, but it was a pain to weed, plus the flowers died in one or more of the frosts we had this winter.

- The beds in front of my house had a wavy edge. It's quite a pain to mow.

- The side of my house near my garage is ugly. Plus, the grass right up next to the house doesn't grow.

I used yarn to mark where I wanted the new edge. You can see that I took out grass in some areas, and added it to others. And Dewie hung out with me all morning since Mike ran 13 miles about 1.5 hours away.

Check out that tree! The only thing touching it is grass! As I worked through the yard, I put the mulch in buckets, moved some grass where the mulch used to be, dumped the mulch where the grass used to be, and started all over again. And again. And again. Along that empty side, I'm planning on getting some bushes, possibly holly. I have some Holly in the front - I just have to be careful where I plant it because I have 3 sprinkler heads in that newly mulched area.

I also hung my bike. I still have random unopened boxes of stuff in my garage. Next weekend, I think I'm going to work on cleaning that out.

Adventures with a NY Redhead

I'd just like to mention that I was a NY Redhead before Ali, but she has been using the title for a longer time than I did. Here are a few (random) pictures from her visit.

Picture #1: Dierks Bentley. We went to the Austin Rodeo while Ali visited - which turned into being Ali's Christmas gift since the cooking class we were going to take had to be cancelled. Both Ali and Mike liked it. And for a little bit, I was afraid Mike wanted to take up rodeo sports. If he does extreme running, why wouldn't he want to do extreme horseback riding? Luckily, he is not interested, as it is something he cannot do barefoot. (Yes, he sometimes runs barefoot.)

Picture #2: A Love Drink. We had a fancy dinner at the Melting Pot. Don't worry - we were able to make room in our tummies for the White/Dark Chocolate dessert. Mmmmm...

Picture #3: You can take the Kasiske out of New York, but you can't take the Kasiske out of the girl. Ali, is it just me or do you look like Mom in this picture?

Pi Day - belated

What better way to celebrate {Pi Day = 3.14 = 3/14 = also Einstein's birthday} than with mini apple pies in a Pi Pie dish?

As Mike told me on Monday, HapPi (belated) Pi Day! And Happy Birthday, Albert!

Happy Birthday, House!

Today marks the start of my second year in my home! Look how it has grown! (or at least how the plants have grown. Plus if you're sharp, you'll notice the rocks on the edge of the flower beds.)




To prep for my one year, I spent my St. Patrick's Day mowing. And mowing. And mowing. I think I'm going to spend this weekend landscaping. (Um, porch swing will be added soon - right, Nathan?)

Perhaps in my house's second year of existence, I should post pictures of the inside?