Thursday, August 30, 2007

My 100th Post!!!!

In honor of my 100th post...I am going to give away some yarn...



Two skeins of Handpainted Originals by Brown Sheep (70% Mohair and 30% wool)...very soft...



and two skeins of Mandarin Petit (100%cotton)...for my Vegan friends...sock yarn perhaps....

I haven't quite decided what I want to do with this contest...so, I am going to need a little time to think...so, while I am thinking...you can go ahead and read 100 Random Facts about Me!!!

1. I have four children
2. I have four boys
3. I buy a lot of milk
4. My oldest will be 22 in December
5. My youngest is 15
6. Two in college, two in high school
7. I kept trying for a girl
8. I am licensed to teach grades 5-12 in Middle school and Secondary mathematics in both Minnesota and Wisconsin
9. I love Math because there is a right answer and a wrong answer...no grey area
10. I struggle with random
11. I am more than a little anal
12. I think anal and non random are good traits in a math teacher
13. I hate Geometry
14. I am teaching Geometry this year
15. I worked for 8 years as a special education paraprofessional
16. I have a minor in Special Education
17. I went back to college at age 36
18. College was the hardest thing I have done
19. I was married for 15 years
20. I have been divorced for 8 and a half years
21. I am sad about not ever having a 25th wedding anniversary...weird, huh?
22. I have been with my current love for 8 years
23. I have been engaged for four years...don't ask.
24. I love what my life has changed into from where it has been
25. I am half Hawaiian
26. I have never been to Hawaii
27. My biological father lives on the island of Maui
28. I met my biological father for the first time in St Louis, Missouri, during the summer of 2004
29. I am the oldest of five children
30. Our names are in alphabetical order (Alaina, Benita, Corina, Darren, and Erica)
31. I live in the house I grew up in
32. One of my four grandparents are still alive
33. I can still stand on my head (how's that for random)
34. My all time favorite TV show was Knots Landing
35. My eyes are dark brown to the point of almost being black
36. I cry at weddings
37. Little House on the Prairie is always good for a good cry
38. I can't sing
39. I would love to play guitar..but think I am tone deaf
40. I hate being cold
41. Did I mention how cold it gets here in January?
42. Spring is my favorite season
43. My birthday is March 29
44. I was almost 8 months old when President JFK was shot
45. I don't remember President JFK being shot
46. I remember when Elvis died
47. I don't like Elvis...(go ahead send me hate mail)
48. I grew up on a farm
49. I have watched piglets, calves, colts, kittens, and puppies all being born
50. I have seen a chicken lay an egg and held it while it was still soft
51. I know how to drive a tractor, a bull dozer, and an excavator
52. I am scared of the dark
53. I hate spiders
54. My favorite holiday is Christmas
55. I hate Halloween (again...go ahead...hate mail)
56. I was raised Catholic
57. Catholicism doesn't like the idea of divorce
58. I am raising my children Catholic
59. I have no idea where I am going to get married when the time comes...2010
60. I played basketball, volleyball and golf in High school
61. I spent a lot of time on the end of the bench during High School
62. I have friends that I have known for 34 years
63. I like to get dressed up, use my good table cloth, china and candles for every holiday
64. I am a little stubborn...thought I would put that way down here...since I am sure everybody has just scrolled pass all of this nonsense...to get to the contest
65. I count some of my sisters among my best friends...
66. Cats..not dogs
67. Chocolate... not vanilla
68. Dark... not light
69. I put chocolate syrup on anything I think I can get away with
70. I could stand to lose 15 to 20 pounds...okay...maybe closer to 20...
71. I've thought about adopting a daughter...from China...
72. I learned to crochet from my Grandmother
73. I taught myself to knit
74. I wish I was more organized
75. My first car was a 1975 Saab painted baby blue
76. I want to own a Saab convertible, black....
77. I took Swing Dance lessons...am not very good...lack of coordination...see #61
78. I was 5'8" in 6th grade
79. I have never watched a hockey game.
80. I know very little about football in spite of 3 sons playing...tight end??? sounds sexual to me
81. I graduated from High School in 1981...Didn't that work out nicely...
82. I once dreamed about being a professional photographer
83. I have all of the equipment to set up a dark room...just haven't made room in the basement...see #52 and #53
84. My middle name is Marie
85. I was named after the song Maria Elena
86. The legal spelling of my name doesn't have an "i" in it...I added that so people /professors would pronounce my name correctly at college...and kept it
87. My confirmation name is Theresa
88. I love being a mom
89. My favorite comfort food is hot homemade soup - preferably any cream soup
90. My favorite local band is Rock-a-Billy Revue
91. I don't drink...just didn't like how I felt when I did...nothing religious or weird or anything
92. I don't smoke
93. I've colored my hair since I was 29
94. I use to read a lot...not so much any more
95. I believe in love at first sight and happily ever after.
96. I believe we are all put on this earth for a reason and we need to make a positive impact on the lives around us
97. I believe there is good in all people
98. I believe in the power of prayer
99. I believe in the importance of investing time and energy in children
100. I am happy with the person I am and the life I have created for myself and my children

Whew!!!! That's not an easy thing to type or read

Now, for those of you who skipped the 100 facts and found the contest...

Here goes:

I want to know three things:

1. What is your all time favorite knitting book?
2. What finished project are you the most proud of... and... of course, why?
(Pictures worth extra entry)
3. Whose blog do you read daily and why?

Answering all three questions will get you one entry.
Showing me a picture will get you another entry.
Linking to my contest will get you yet another entry.

Easy as Pi (you know, 3.14159265358979323846....hee hee, just a little math humor)

I will make a numbered list of all the entries and use my TI-83 to randomly choose a number amongst the number of entries...first picked will get first choice, second number picked will get left over skeins.

I will draw for the number on Thursday night, September 6 at 6:00 my time.

I am looking forward to hearing about your projects and some great books to add to my library...

Hey.....thanks for sticking around...I appreciate it.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ummm... I don't knit (big surprise), so this isn't supposed to be an entry. Just wanted to let you know that I am proud to say that I actually knew most of those facts about you. Guess that makes me SUPERFRIEND. Must get a cape (no tights).

OOOHHH! And got a big package of Stampin Up catalogs from Candi. Awesome!

I miss you

*sigh*

Rachel said...

Congrats Alaina--since you were around to celebrate my 100th, I figured I'd celebrate yours! And that looks like some great yarn! (btw--I DID read you were stubborn! ha ha--me too!).

OK--here goes...
1) I don't have a huge collection of books yet, but one that has a collection of patterns I really like is AlterKnits (some strange patterns but some really cool, off the wall ones and the visuals are amazing)
2) I'm most proud of my finished Forest Canopy Shawl cuz it was my first real attempt at lace and I love it! Not sure how to get a pic to you but if you come by the blog and scroll to finished projects on the sidebar...click on Forest Canopy Shawl...you'll get it!
3) i read lots of blogs daily and for different reasons (your included!). but a few others I really look forward to are:
Knitspot (she designs and I love watching this process)
Shut Up I'm Counting (Cass cracks me up!) and
A Few Stitches Short (she is funny also and very creative in what projects she chooses, how she picks yarn to match etc.). All are linked from the sidebar on my blog if you want the links.

Congrats again on your 100th post!

Cass said...

How fun! Loved your 100 things. :)

1. Favorite book, hand's down, Barbara Walker's Treasury of Knitting Patterns. use it ALL THE TIME.

2. Most proud of... well, the Treasury Shawl, even though it's not finished yet. You can see pics at my blog, obviously. Does it count that it'll be finished today!? :)

3. Blogs I read daily: mmmmm, I don't use bloglines, I just sort of go through my list when I have time. Besides yours- which I do read daily! I also check out
www.yarnfamily.com (Anne)
She's usually one of my first clicks when I sit down to read.

Congrats on 100 posts!!! I hope you'll keep up the blog even though school's started! I'd miss you if you didn't.
xoxoxo

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your 100th post!! So of course I want to enter...

1. Today my favorite knitting book is Fitted Knits - I am about halfway finished the two-toned ribbed shrug and want to make most of the other projects in there

2. I am most proud of the the ugly grey sweater that was my first real FO - becuase I finished it. It looks nothing like what I remember the model in the pattern book wearing (I did start this sweater in Middle School and finished it during college). I still have the sweater and have even worn it out in public a few times. It is made out of Red Heart grey yarn, has no gauge swatch (hence the extra short, extra wide version I ended up with) and my mom did most of the finishing on it. I'll take a picture and email it to you.

3. I read a bunch of blogs daily (all listed in my sidebar) but I'll list two - NH Knitting Mama, b/c I found hers first as my neighbor on the New England Knits ring and Shut Up I'm Counting b/c Cass cracks me up.

Good luck with your contest (and with Geometry this year! I love Geometry. And I used my TI86 every day at work unitl I lost it last month.)

KnittySue said...

Congrats on your 100th! And I enjoyed your 100 things about you.
Ok--for the answers to your questions:
1) Sensational Knitted Socks by Cherlene Schurch and Nifty Knit dishcloths by leisure arts.
2)I'm most proud of my first pair of knitted socks..I really didn't think I could do it ...but I did.
You can see them on my blog..can't paste a picture here.
3) Blogs I visit often are yours because your a joy to visit.
Shut Up I'm Counting because Cass cracks me up also.
Nuttin but Knittin..Kathy is one of the first bloggers to ever comment at my site and we've gotten to know each other.. Grumperina because of her wit and talent.
1870 Pearl Abagail is also witty and very talented, and I can't leave out Susan at Knitting as fast as I can...we have the same name and I love her knitting lessons and inspiration.
I have alot of links on my sidebar I visit if you want to spend some time there.
Congrats again...OH and I do accounting...a form of math and also not supposed to have a grey area...except in the mind of a controller. LOL

affectioknit2 said...

Hi Alaina and congratulations on your 100th post. Mine was way in the past and I didn't celebrate - what a fun idea...

I'll post over at my blog with some pictures as well.

1) I don't have a huge collection of knitting books and rely on the web quite a bit - I do have the Treasury and like it - I use it all the time for stitch patterns - I also like an old book "Great Knitting in Vogue" - it came out in the late 80s and they reknit a bunch of old patterns from the 30s-70s - it includes the old photograph so it's fun to see the updates and it has a lot of kid knits.

2) I get terribly attached to anything I've ever knit - but I'm probably most proud of my first socks - simply because I'd been knitting over 30 years when I first tried - who knows why and of course I'm addicted to socks now.

3) My favorites are divided into three folders 1. "knitting sites" - yours is there - along with little purl of the orient - needles on fire - Mrs. Pilkington knits - crazy aunt purl and several others - 2. "Vegan Knitters" - - almost all of the Vegan Knitters ring are in there - and 3. "Vegan Sites" which has my favorite vegan cooking blogs - I read a lot of blogs every day.

I've already added a few new ones from the other comments here - online knitters are so cool...

chrichri said...

Congratulations on your 100th post! Must admit I only read about 50 of your random facts because man...that was a long list;)

Ok here it goes:
1) My favourite knitting book is called: "Vintage Knits: 30 Stunning Knitwear Designs Inspired by Original Postwar Patterns" by Sarah Dallas; it's totally inspiring and the colours and pictures are gorgeous:)

2)In terms of knitting I'm not sure what I'm most proud of...because I've done a lot of small projects, accesories and baby stuff but IF i had to choose; it woul be this cardigan; just because it was the first adult sized cardigan I had ever finished (and yes I know it's too big). Here's the link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/744234
6@N03/1324002654/in/photostream/
In terms of crafting, though; I think I would be most proud of slippers I designed and built myself:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/744234
6@N03/1324002670/in/photostream/

3)Blogs I read daily?
http://rosylittlethings.typepad.com/
(because she inspires me so much and writes beautifully:)

http://soulemama.typepad.com/
(because her blog is so cozy and she makes me wish I had kids....soon:)

http://theblackapple.typepad.com/in
side_a_black_apple/
(because I'm so envious of her style and she paints beautiful melancholic pictures)

[sorry I had to post some of my links on two lines otherwise they would have gotten truncated because of the page's width. Obviously they're supposed to be on one line only if you paste them in the address bar]

Cheers:) and all the best,

Christina

Karen said...

I love contests!!
1. my favorite knitting book is Sensational Knitted Socks (and its sequel).
2. the FO I'm most proud of is the first pair of socks I knit (all those needles were intimadating). My cast on was a little tight but I still wear them.
3. The blog I visit and read daily (even though she doesn't post daily) is my sister's blog http://worksforyarn.blogspot.com because she is my sister and I love her and she is my best friend.
Thanks for a great contest.

Unknown said...

Ooooohhhhh contest, I love contests.....hehehe. Hi there, hope your day (week) is going pretty good for you)

1. I don't really have an all time favorite but I am partial to Barbara Walker's Mosaic Knitting. I just love all the patterns that are so simple to do but look like you slaved over them when they're done........LOL

2. The finished product that I'm most proud of right now is the nightmare hat that I created from different patterns (part from a sock, part from another hat) and made for my daughter as she loves the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. It also won a blue ribbon at the county fair so I'm pretty proud of it. You can see a picture of it here.... http://flowoxsgarden.blogspot.com/2007/03/nightmare-before-christmas.html
(Pictures worth extra entry)
3. I don't really read anyone's blog on a daily basis per say. I do hang out at Ravelry almost every day though, if that counts :)

Unknown said...

oops, it cut off my link......it's

well, it won't put the whole link in. just go to my blog flowoxsgarden.blogspot.com and search for nightmare hat in the search box and it'll come up and you can see the picture :)

ikkinlala said...

1) I haven't read a lot of them (I read a lot on the internet), but so far I think it's Knitting Rules.

2) My first pair of socks. I've made nicer ones since, but the first pair took more effort and was the first thing that really made me feel like a knitter.

3) I don't read any blogs daily in the summer because I don't have the time to spend on the internet every day, and I haven't yet established which ones I might read daily over the school year. I do have a list of blogs I read fairly often, though, from which I'll share an example: Tan's blog (chaosvortex.blogspot.com), because I like the way she writes.

LissaDora said...

Hola, found you via the Fall into Autumn swap. This contest thing is a good idea...

1. I think my fave is still Mason-Dixon knitting, but I've read only a couple so far.

2. Finishing is hard! My first, my garter-stich scarf, because it's proof that I learned something I thought would be really hard to learn

3. Other than my friends on livejournal (more than I can count, and I read them because we're flung so far away), I read the Yarn Harlot, Yarn Miracle, & mason-Dixon Knitting, both for the nifty links and for the entertainment - and I'm in awe of the knitting people can do. I'm still not that much beyond a garter-stich scarf.

Ariel said...

Congratulations on your 100th post!!

1. I don't think I have a favorite knitting book. I love them all. I've been in the Mason Dixon book most lately so that might be my favorite today.

2. I'm not sure what I'm most proud of. I get excited every time I knit something I've never knitted before. If I have to pick one, I'll pick my first finished object. It's a striped blanket that you can find here if you're on ravelry. http://www.ravelry.com/projects/arielzoe/a-bunch-of-blankets---take-a-look

3. Daily blog reads....... the ones on my sidebar for sure. I also have Google Reader set up with tons. The cool thing about that is is tells me when new things are added.


Congratulations again!!!

Alaina said...

Thanks for all your kind words and well wishes...

So many awesome pictures/projects and books.