guess i'm that girl

OK, so what's up with people not blogging (as in writing OR apparently reading/commenting) on Saturdays? I don't get it. I feel like I'm the only one that does it. Oh well. I mean, Saturday is when I have the most free time. Apparently other people's weeks are structured differently. Feel free to comment and elaborate on this (when you read this on Monday).

So anyway. Tons of things to chat about today! Let's start with the Most Vain stuff, shall we?

Seven.

Seven is an important number this week. Wanna know why? Two reasons.

We won $7 in the Powerball Lottery this week. WOOHOO!! I know, we're basically set for life. Which is why we did what ALL smart lottery winners do, and re-'invested' that money right back in, in the form of more lottery tickets. This time, we 'diversified the portfolio,' so to speak, by getting a nice mix of Powerball, Mega Millions, and scratch-offs. I'll let you know if those end up paying off (already a no on the scratch-off). In case you are about to busy yourself judging me, please know that the original $4 we spent on the tickets was from our 'blow money,' which (in case the title isn't obvious enough) is (a very tiny amount of) money that is designated to be 'blown' anyway. So don't worry your pretty little heart. We're not as irresponsible as we sound. 

Second reason seven is an important number? I lost seven pounds in the last month-ish! Woohoo!! I know it's very stupid and vain to brag about weight loss, but I guess I'm willing to be that girl. And now that I've said it, I'll probably lose no more weight (or gain it all back) for a month. But whatever. I am very proud of myself, considering I've put basically no effort into the cause other than logging every single bite of food that passes through my lips into My Fitness Pal and making myself a devout Zumba follower. Since this is the first time I've ever made even a half-assed attempt at losing weight, it's nice to see that it isn't rocket science and that it works the way it's supposed to (for me) and that you don't have to starve to death or eat really weird things. Basically I should write a book, since I am WINNING AT BEING SKINNY right now. Even though I was feeling pretty proud of myself after losing 1 pound, or 4, or 5, seven was the best because at that point I decided to pull out a pair of jeans that had been retired awhile back due to tightness. And now they are too loose. For REAL. Oh, also my face looks normal again. That happened even earlier than 7 pounds. I'd noticed over the past few months that my face was looking really ROUND...I mostly noticed in pictures. It didn't look normal (like the way I think my face usually looks). Happily, my normal face shape has returned and I am happy to see it again, even though the skin on it decided to rebel and break out. Whatever. Can't win 'em all, right?

OK, so in less ridiculous news, today is an awesome day.

(I realize the irony of this picture following a long paragraph bragging about weight loss)

My friend Diana invited me to a craft day hosted by her and some ladies from her church. There was delicious coffee and breakfast breads followed by card-making/stamping and KNITTING (and other people brought along other crafts to work on). I was all over this because I have been needing to learn to knit for like, ever. I've never done the cardmaking thing before, but now that I've done it, I see why people like it. Only now I have a bunch of cards I need to write and send people...

 I made this one! It's for Mother's Day, obviously. Look at me, thinking about Mother's Day more than one day in advance! (In a positive way, that is-- planning for our OWN mothers. I always dedicate plenty of time to dreading/hating my own personal lack of Mother's Day well in advance, as all infertile girls do.)

 Look how many fun card making and stamping things there were! It was awesome. I even won a door prize and it was some stamping things of my own! I am super excited.

I also learned to KNIT! I am totally pumped. To say that I was not a quick study might be the understatement of the year. Basically I had to be put in the remedial class and given a tutor of my own, but DANGIT, I learned! But to be clear: I can knit (and purl). I definitely could not START the thing (cast on, if you will) or finish the thing (bind? Can't remember the word). But until my ball of yarn runs out, I will be knitting. And then I don't know what I will do. Also, I am not knitting anything in particular. Ha. It's just a random rectangle/square thing. Maybe my next project will actually be SOMETHING. (Note: since I was busy learning, I wasn't able to photograph myself attempting to learn to knit. I think Diana did, and maybe she will be generous enough to share the pictures, since I'm sure I looked calm and cool and collected as I stared in bewilderment at people rapidly doing what I could NOT figure out.) 
 Update: Diana sent pictures! Check out how awesome I look when I'm learning to knit:

 Above: utter confusion. This is me with my original teacher during a group lesson that I was clearly not understanding.

 So instead of paying attention, I focused on POSING like I could knit for the camera. This looks totally normal, as you can see.

Eventually I got my own tutor, who was able to get me focused enough to actually learn. God bless her.
 
Take home message: some crafts are easy to learn (stamping!) and some crafts are not easy to learn (knitting). Make your Saturday craft day less stressful by offering some of each, along with plenty of good snacks and conversation. I met several closet blog-readers (hello, stalkers!) as well- always good times!

Since the first half of my Saturday was so overwhelming and taxing (hahaha), you'll be happy to know that the latter half involves Matt and I going for a couple's massage! It may appear to be a Valentine's-themed thing, but the timing is really just a coincidence-- we got a Groupon for this thing back in September or something and needed to use it before it expired. Luckily, my Zumba addiction keeps me constantly sore, so it's always a good day for a massage!

Lastly, while I was busy knitting and stamping, Matt was picking up our first-ever Bountiful Basket! It's a produce co-op that we joined this week, and here's what we looted!

 Yes, that is a crapload of fruit and veggies. Luckily they are all easily identifiable and usable, although the cauliflower and eggplant are going to cause me to rack Pinterest for a good recipe. I am pretty excited about the whole thing though.

Alright. I think that's all the things I have to overshare about today. I better get back to my ball of yarn to make sure I haven't forgotten how to knit yet. These craft skills-- they can be so flighty! Like sewing-- I forget how to use my sewing machine basically 10 seconds after I unplug it every time. It's sew annoying. HAHAHAHAHA on my own pun. (Look, it's Saturday. No one else is blogging hilarious things to make me laugh. It's all on me to do it for myself!)