I'm a knitting MACHINE!

I've had knitting revelation: knitting with circular needles is SO easy. Once I learned to knit, I only knitted two projects with regular knitting needles. The other um-teen million projects I've made with circular and double pointed needles and almost forgot what it was like to knit with regular needles until the other night. I was teaching myself how to knit a cable pattern and used regular needles and it was SUCH a hassle. The needles were long, awkward to hold, and I was shocked at how weird it felt to use those needles. I guess that means I'm just a natural at making circular projects (ie: hats, socks-even though I haven't tried those yet, but I've got a good feeling about it).

Speaking for circular projects, I made ANOTHER hat!

And its bright green! (shocking, right?)

It's not for me, believe it or not, but I could definitely pull it off if it was mine...

It's for someone I worked with this spring. I've made a very similar hat for myself and someone else I worked with during the spring, but those were fuzzy and multi-colored. All three of them have turned out well and I keep revising the pattern as I go along and it just keeps getting better :)

My next knitting project is going to be a combination of hat styles and hopefully it will turn out how I want it. I'll keep ya posted. And then maybe I'll try my hand at a pair of socks. I'm also thinking about knitting a blanket...so many choices and so much time to try it all! Can't stop this knitting machine!

Jigga what?

Since I've been back from Florida, I've realized that I need to dress my age just a little bit more. I have a really cool Dr. Suess shirt and some other silly t-shirts that I like, but they're not really the typical clothing of an almost 23 year old female. So I'm attempting to modernize my wardrobe, or at least cut back on wearing the "childish" clothing until I get a job and can just replace my old clothes with "better" ones. 

And along with the clothes, comes the hair. Y'all know that I have crazy, and, at times, out of control hair so I've been experimenting with different ways of blow-drying my hair. Straightening always adds a few years, and I've even tried curling. Note to anyone with curly hair-SPONGE CURLERS SUCK! I slept with curlers in my hair one night and the next morning I looked like a crazy landlord with all my hair and curls stuck to my head. I DON'T recommend it. What I do recommend for those of us with curly or frizzy hair (or both!) is Bed Head Foxy Curls. It detangles curls and gets rid of static so you don't look like you stuck your finger in a socket...every day. It's worked really well for me and I've seen a definite decrease in frizz. My hair is FINALLY smoooooooth :) So be on the lookout for a KG looking her own age..dun dun dun!

Rain, Rain, GO AWAY!

Good evening ladies and gents! 

It has not stopped raining in the Pacific Northwest since Saturday and I am about to go crazy if I don't get some sunshine SOON! No matter where we go, it still seems to rain. Aaron and I went to visit his hometown in Eastern Oregon last Thursday and just got back today and it rained there and the majority of the ride home. The trip could have been less rainy, but nonetheless it was a good time. We checked out Hot Lake Springs Hotel in La Grande, which used to be a really hopping hotel/surgical center in the early 1900's. Apparently the sulfur in natural springs were good for people and are now used as a spa treatment. In the mid 1930's, a fire burnt down half the building and the other half shut down, became run down and supposedly, "haunted". A family came in about 6 years ago, bought the property, and have been rebuilding the place ever since and are hoping to reopen the doors for hotel and a full spa and salon plus much more in the next year or so. Right now they're open for tours, so we went and checked it out. There was some pretty neat stuff and their wine isn't too bad either :) Aaron and I also made our way up to Wallowa Lake to hike around a little bit and see the lake, even though it was pouring down rain :'(  I guess its alright though since my camera still isn't fixed. Next time though...next time.

Well, hope y'all have a wonderful night and hopefully I'll be able to bring some awesome pictures your way soon. Until next time...

April showers bring May flowers

Hey y'all! I am back in Washington enjoying time with my boyfriend and pup. The spring season went by ridiculously fast and I can't believe I'm done. My last 2 crews were awesome and a challenge. I had a Venture crew from California who were a ball to be around (the awesome ones)! Every dinner, they wore fun hats/headgear such as bunny ears on Easter Sunday, or shark and fish hats (and they got me one! So exciting!) We all got along really well and it really made me want to be a part of a venture crew once I settle into a more permanent location. My last crew was the challenge because the kids never really talked and the adults only talked sometimes, which can be really weird, especially at the beginning of the week. By the end of the week, they started talking more, but for some reason they didn't believe that I could swim...which is silly because I work on THE OCEAN. In the end, they had a good time and that's all that matters. But I am VERY glad to be back with Aaron and Elphie. 

Speaking of the pup, I was worried that Elphie wouldn't remember me because I've been gone for 3 months, but at the same time was attempting to mentally prepare myself for starting over with her. Turns out, she DID remember me! :0) She ran outside and jumped into my arms when she saw me and has been back to following me around ever since, as though no time has passed between the day I left for the airport and now. What a comforting feeling! And even though she's a small dog, she still attempts to protect me when I am in "harms" way. Whenever Aaron turns me upside down and I yelp or if he starts tickling me and I scream, Elphie will rush over to wherever I am and try to get in-between me and Aaron or will just jump on my lap and try to stare him down. She backs down very quickly, but it's very cute and reassuring that she'd at least come to me if I was seriously hurt. And she's got a good memory too- she remembers all the tricks Aaron and I taught her. She can wave goodnight, shake, rollover, fetch, lay down. Now I've gotta make her a better protector dog ;)

Since I've been back with Aaron and Elphie, I've been counting my blessings. After being gone so long from the ones you love, you start to remember to not take them for granted and you realize just how important they are in your life. Whether it's Elphie silly puppy smile or actually being able to hug Aaron whenever I want to, I didn't really take into account how crucial they are to my happiness. And I don't ever want to be away from them for that long ever again. Unfortunately, I don't get the same privilege with the rest of my family and friends, but I'm still very grateful for the time we have spent together and am very much looking forward to seeing everyone again someday (hopefully sooner than later)!  

In recent knitting news, I've been a failure. I was on a roll making cool beanies for a couple friends and I made a cool slouchy hat and was even teaching other people how to knit when it all fell apart. I tried making a fuzzy, lacy beanie for Jillian, but it turned out looking like a Chinese rice-picker's hat. Then I tried making a blue slouchy hat with a neat band that looks like a strap, and, unfortunately, got a huge rice-picker hat again. I think the problem was that both the patterns start from the top-down instead of from the bottom of the hat to the top and so I have sworn off all hat patterns that are top-down. I've also taken a temporary hiatus since my last knitting fiasco but I'm gonna get back to the needles this week and knit up a beanie or two and then perhaps move onto bigger and better things like wicked-awesome socks, or maybe even a toasty warm blanket. I'll keep you posted once I decide!

(rice-picker's hat)

(learning to knit parties)

Now, you're probably wondering what I'm doing with the next few months of my life. That makes two of us. I'm in Washington till the end of the week and then we're going to La Grande to visit some of Aaron's friends. Then...who knows. There's talk of a job offer for Aaron in Wyoming, maybe Wisconsin. We're also waiting to see if he gets his captain's license in time to work the summer in the Keys. We've got our fair share of waiting to do before we figure out what's going on so cross your fingers and hope for the best!

Until next time...

Return from Big Munson Island

Hey hey everyone! After 2 back to back island crews, I finally have time to sit down and blog for a moment! Hooray! The first week was super windy (hence the jackets in all the pictures below), but none the less a good time. (All the pictures on this blog post is from that week.) My camera still isn't working so I'll take what I can get! We caught a Silky shark, got ourselves 2 Blue fish (they do exist!) and some snapper for dinner on fishing day and caught a lobster in front of the island during the week as well!

The weather was much less windy this week which made all the activities more pleasant since they revolve around the water. We caught a total of 6 sharks throughout the week (Lemon, Bonnethead, and Silky), caught a squid (didn't eat it but it was fun to watch) and a lobster (YUM!). 

All in all the 2 weeks have been great but I am ready for some activities on the main land! Unfortunately, that's all I've got for now. Hopefully I'll have more stories and/or pictures to post soon. Until next time y'all...

These are the mates from our double (Me, Steven, Kacey, Mikey)

Working on our conservation project

Opening campfire. It rained the whole night so we had to improvise!

Sailing with Dolphins

Unfortunately, my camera is broken and I have no pictures of sailing with dolphins, but at work yesterday (I love saying that) we were about to finish sailing for the day when we saw some dolphin (the ones like Flipper)! I've seen dolphin from far away just popping up to say hi, but yesterday is the closest I've ever seen them! I probably could have reached down and grabbed their dorsal fin. I was chillin at the bow of the boat when the dolphin came up  to swim next to us and they came up within arms reach of the bow and did some somersaults in the water. They are such beautiful creatures and it was a great way to end our sailing day.

It's now spring break for many people so many college students have migrated their way down to the keys, making Key West a very crowded and busy place. Thankfully my crew's Key West day is today and not tomorrow-St. Patty's Day. Sadly, I won't be partying it up for the occasion, but there's always next year, eh?

I hope everyone is having a good Monday and that y'all have a safe and wonderful St. Patrick's Day!

March Madness

It's been over a month since I've written and I apologize for not updating y'all, but its been a pretty hectic month.

The beginning of February was spent traveling. Aaron, Elphie and I went to the Washington coast (Newport and Ocean Shores) and had a very wonderful time. We stumbled upon a little Irish pub and had dinner there before heading back inland. I also realized that living away from water is a big mistake for me. I don't know how I lived in land-locked states most of my life. This picture is of Aaron saving Elphie from the wave surges. (Elphie looks like a pig!)

The following day, I left on a jet plane to visit Christen in L.A. and had an AWESOME time! I got to see all the hand prints in front of the Chinese Theatre, saw the Hollwood sign (it's really just a sign-nothing special), went to a flea market at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and saw Coraline in 3-D (it was pretty cool, but the 3-D didn't do much for me).

All-in-all, LA was a really fun trip, but definitely too short. After a few days I was headed back to the keys to work back at Sea Base. I got to set up Big Munson Island a bit before our first crew of the season came through. Had a blast with my crew and the week flew by (as it usually does). Our fishing day was alright but it was so cold. I'm sure you're thinking, "60-70 Degrees in Florida is NOT cold", but you have no idea. On land it's usually very nice, but out on the water, that northern wind will suck the breath right out of your lungs and makes fishing days rather difficult. We got ourselves two nice sized mackerels and a yellow jack but we definitely worked for our dinner that night. Once we got set up on the island for our fishy dinner, it was a very relaxing night on the island. We sat around the campfire and just chatted, and munched on our day's work. The next day we kayaked around the front of the island and took a nice tour. It was probably the most relaxing and enjoyable time I've had on the island. Man I love my job. 

The rest of the week was a real good time. The wind was whipping for sailing day but it also stuck around for snorkeling, making it a very chilly boat ride back to base. Key West day was a fun time to wander around and I took my crew to the Lighthouse, where I had never been and it was a real good time. The view was beautiful and I even saw a pretty little yellow house right by the light house for sale (if i was rich I'd buy it in a heartbeat!) I also got to see a cruise ship push back from the dock, which I've always wanted to see!

After all the scouties left, some of the other mates and I went out, checked the crab crates we have set up and found lots of stone crabs which we later feasted on (DELISH!) and then went fishing for bait fish (ballyhoo, pinfish, etc.). Before we started fishing for the fishies, we made a bet that whoever caught the biggest pinfish, got to eat the biggest stone crab and guess who won the bet? ME of course! (Booyah!) In fact, there was only one other person who caught a pin fish and it was the smallest pinfish in the bunch.

Now that the crews are gone, I've been working P-force and have weekend off so Aaron flew me up to Montana before I have to get back to staff training and more crews and it has been a WONDERFUL weekend so-far! I arrived in Great Falls late Friday night and yesterday we drove to Helena to see the Helena Symphony perform. We got all fancy and dress up and I even wore high heels! (shocker, i know!) The symphony played Mahler's Ninth and performed very well. Today we visited the Brewhouse in Helena and then came back to Great Falls. Tomorrow's plans are still up in the air and then I head back to the Keys on Tuesday. Hopefully I'll be able to better keep up the blog and if so, it will probably have quite a lot of fishing pictures because who doesnt love posing with their catch of the day?

Anyway, I hope all well with my few blog readers. I hope you all are good and well and are staying out of the winter cold. Until next time...