33

I like the number 33.
I'm weird about numbers; I like primes, and I like odd numbers that are divisible by 3. The volume on my car stereo is set to 15, 17, or 21. (Odd, I know. But it's me.) So 33 is a good number...even more so, since 33 divided by 3 (a prime number) is 11-also prime.

And today is my 33rd birthday. So it's a good day.

This is probably the first year, since I turned 18, that I have looked at my life and realized that yes, this is exactly where I wanted to be at this age.
I am married to a wonderful man. 

We have a beautiful son together.

We are fortunate enough to spend some time out of our home country.

And we are happy.

...well, most of the time.

What we've been up to...(photo heavy)

I've been busy.
Crazy busy.
So busy I don't really remember my last shower.

 All because of this little guy:

Yes, he is adorable. Kawaii is the word I hear most often. (That's Japanese for super-cute.)
But really. I've been mostly tied to the couch, nursing him, for weeks now. It's a wonder how I've gotten anything done. Actually, I haven't. At least not housework-wise...unless you count washing endless diapers. Seriously. It's like I won the stork's raffle for super-soaker baby...which I suppose goes along with his constant nursing. (On the other hand, it's nice to have an economic justification for breastfeeding and cloth diapering.)
Anyway, I did figure out how to knit while nursing (no small trick since I knit continental style), so while I've been feeding my son, and watching endless episodes of Quantum Leap and Star Trek: The Next Generation, I managed to finish up a few pieces this month.

First there's this lovely Who? hat, whose Owl cables are a bit difficult to see, but I assure you they are there:

 Then, there's the Declan hat, which I knit because I had a bunch of gorgeous purple Cascade Eco+ that screamed at me "I want to be a hat!"

I knit Clinton a pair of blue longies, so that he would have a diaper cover that also doubled as pants:

And then I started making another sweater from one of my favorite kids' sweater patterns, DNA:

So that's about it for January. I've only one more week of maternity leave, so I'm certain there will be more to write about soon.

Happy New Year!

It is the first day of 2013, and it is a pretty good day.
My son let me sleep for 3 hours uninterrupted this morning. My parents landed safely home in Detroit. And I'm almost done knitting him a pair of longies. (Actually, the knitting part is done. I just have to finish weaving in ends & then lanolize so he can wear them.)

Since I would much rather look forward to the new year than look at what I didn't finish in the past one, here's my list of what I'm looking forward to in 2013:

Watching my son grow. Because, really, Clinton is the most amazing thing that has happened to me. Ever. Way more so than even joining the Navy.

Taking the advancement exam. Again. And probably again. It will be attempts 5 and 6 to get that promotion, and the advancement rates can't get much worse...so I may have a shot. (I'm masochistic like that.)

Sewing clothes for myself. That is, once I lose the baby weight. I have a skirt and a dress that I would like to make.

Being a tourist on my island. While my parents were visiting last week, we took a short excursion around Kujukushima National Park, and I realized how little we actually know about where we live. So hopefully we can start to fix that.

How about you? Anything exciting planned for the New Year?

Introducing...

I've been away for a long while. Now I'm back, and we have a new addition to the family.

I'd like you to meet Clinton Ryu.

 He arrived on December 10th, at 6:50pm, weighing in at 4156 grams and measuring 55cm. He was the biggest baby at the hospital by a full kilogram that week, although he did not come close to the hospital's record 5400 grams.
We came home on December 13th, and I got to dress him up in the hat I knit while in labor. (And yes, I made it to match my own.)

Of course, when we arrived home the cats were curious. Clint passed the security inspection with no problem.

Now I'm adjusting to my week-old son and his non-schedule of eat, sleep, poop, repeat. But he's totally worth it.
And check out that hair!

Anyway, I'm going back to sleep now.
Merry Christmas!

Introducing Tomodachi

I was reading through my recent posts, and discovered a glaring oversight: the introduction of the newest family member. No, not the little dude still swimming around my belly. This little guy:

This is Tomodachi. Tommy, for short. He was rescued by my friend Emmett from the bowling alley. (Yes, you read that right. The bowling alley.)
See, Emmett works part-time over there, and one night a couple months ago he was on a closing shift. The guys working on the snack bar side were moving some pallets around, when a tiny blue-and-white kitten fell out of a pallet, landed on the floor, then bolted to a corner to hide. The ladies working thought it was a rat, and screamed, and Emmett came running to save them from the vermin...only to discover the two-month-old kitten, cowering behind a mop bucket.
I have long been convinced that babies of all species are adorable to ensure their survival. You see someone so tiny, so cute, and your instinct is to protect them. This was Emmett's instinct that night. The problem was, his landlord won't let him keep any animals besides a goldfish. So, he called us to help.
And of course, we couldn't say no.
Tim actually drove out there to collect him. (It was pretty late and I was pretty tired and had to work the next day, anyway.) He came home, set the kitten up in the room designated for the nursery, then came and told me I had to see this kitten.
He was tiny, very skinny, had a hurt paw and tail, and a couple fleas. (Thankfully, only a couple, and once we got rid of those they never returned.) His fur was matted, he needed a bath desperately, and he kept trying to nurse on my fingers.
Well, he sure didn't like the bath, nor did he like his paw being cleaned with an alcohol swab (although he didn't mind the antibiotic ointment so much). He absolutely loved the milk-soaked kibbles we fed him and the attention we lavished on him. And once again, I was blessed with a kitten that just used the litterbox with no training.
Fast-forward a couple of months, and Tomodachi is doing fantastic. When we finally got him in to see the vet, his paw was healed, his tail was healed, he'd gained enough weight that you couldn't count his ribs just by looking at him...and he was still flea-free. Not to mention worm-free. The vet commented on how healthy he was...which goes to show how much a little love and attention can help. (Food doesn't hurt, either.)

In case you were wondering about the name..."Tomodachi" is Japanese for "Friend." What's funny is, he and Buddy are practically inseparable. (Star, in her usual aloof manner, could care less about hanging out with them.)

Weekend Windup

Well, I got quite a bit done this week!
For starters, I finished the baby quilt:

Now I just need to convince Tim to drive up to Fukuoka with me and visit Ikea, so I can get some furniture for the nursery...it needs decorating.

Next, I finished the Halloween quilt with 2 months to spare!

This is probably the easiest quilt I've made. It took 2 charm packs, a panel, plus the backing & binding. The quilting design was pretty easy, too:

It seemed so obvious, as soon as I had it basted I just knew it was going to be a spiderweb design. And it looks pretty cool from the back, as well as the front. Now, we're just waiting for October to arrive so we can deploy this one on the couch...

And I'm still knitting. But this weekend, I decided to go with a sweater, rather than another soaker. Tim tried telling me that sweaters are useless, the baby will never wear them, he never wore sweaters as a baby...I pointed out that he was born in May, which is typically warm anywhere in the States, and his family moved to Hawaii before he was a year old...so of course he never wore a sweater. Of course, I was a winter baby, and came home from the hospital in the worst blizzard of the decade, and in every picture of me I'm in a sweater, hat, mittens, and several blankets.
So I win.
Here's where I am today:

And tomorrow, hopefully, I will finish this one and start the next.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday! Check out the button on my sidebar for more info.

Nesting by Knitting

22 weeks pregnant and I'm getting some serious nesting urges. Unfortunately, I can't decorate the nursery just yet (the crib is still making its way across the Pacific, and we haven't set up a day to make the trek to Ikea up in Fukuoka yet.)
So instead, I've been knitting baby items. Mostly soakers, since Tim can't "veto" useful items. (Sweaters are not classified as "useful," somehow, which is just his own ignorance. This baby is arriving in December. He will need sweaters.)
Here's what I've made so far:

And of course, I still have about a half dozen skeins of Cascade 220, just waiting to be knit or crocheted into something fun...
Patterns used, with links to Ravelry, from the top:
Bobbled Bloomers by Kat Coyle
Plain Wrap by Warm Heart Woolies (the two yellow + first olive green)
Snapdragon Soaker by Blossoms & Bits
I am very curious to see how these will fit, but have to wait a few more months...