FO Friday: Proxy Edition

Man, it seems like it's been an age since I've managed to finish anything, let alone get it posted up for FO Friday and Fiber Arts Friday.  Still wedding-ing full speed around these parts, especially since we're now officially at 30 days (*gulp*)!

I didn't get much knit time last week, because I was getting my SCUBA certification! (More on that below), so I was super surprised to have an FO to show you guys.  Wanna know the trick?  I totally didn't make it.  Someone else did.  How awesome is that???

A few months ago, I entered and won a little contest hosted by Kathleen over at A Surprise Every Time.  If you don't read this blog, you should.  Kathleen is all kinds of awesome.  Anyway, I won myself 2 little crocheted bookworms to use as bookmarks or to stick in worm-worthy books at the library for someone else to find.  All in all, very cool!

Time passed, and I completely forgot about the contest, until Kathleen left a comment here and let me know that she hadn't forgotten and that a package was on the way.  It was so far outta my head that it was like winning all over again.

Well.  The box arrived last night, and oh. my. gosh.  Seriously.  There were such treasures inside this unassuming little tea box:

First, book worms!  And not just 2.  Aren't they adorable?

There was even a fish!  And a star!

But the very bestest part was that Kathleen pays attention.  She put this in the box:

!!!!!!!

It's not only the cutest owl I've ever seen, it's Wendell.  And he's made in our wedding colors!  And he's holding a little clipboard that has wedding stuff checked off (flowers, music and happiness)!  Apparently, he's my new assistant, and will take on all the little stressful odds and ends of wedding planning that are left.  Best. Gift. Ever. And since I know you're wondering, Wendell is totally coming to the church with me on August 25, just in case.  Thank you, Kathleen!!

Also this week, while I was being showered with unexpected and undeserved pressies, I was also getting my scuba certification.  I gotta say, it was a little bit dicey at first.  I didn't expect to feel anxious underwater but I did.  I had an especially hard time taking my mask off down there and putting it back on.  And by "hard time", I mean I completely lost ALL of my marbles at the bottom of the pool, ripped my regulator out of my mouth, sucked in a giant lung-full of water, and shot like a (stupid, sputtering, choking) rocket to the surface of the pool.  Yikes.  This left me really scared for my open water dives the next day, but I went back.

It's important to note here that when you live in the Rocky Mountains, there are a limited number of places to do open water diving.  Here, one of the choices is the big tank at the Denver Aquarium.  So that's where I went.  And people, it was amazing!  I had no panic, no problems, and passed all my requirements.  With that out of the way, we had some time to swim around the tank.  So cool!  Proof:

There are 3 huge (12 feet long or so) nurse sharks in the tank, one of whom is particularly fond of people.  We'd been warned that she'd likely make contact with us, but didn't think much about it until we were all in a circle on our knees at the bottom of the tank and she came cruising in and plopped down in the middle of the circle, knocking 2 of us over in the process.  Too funny.

My next encounter with her came a few minutes later when I was swimming along and she came straight at me, aimed for a head on collision.  I waited to see what would happen and when she got about 6" from my mask, she dropped down and zoomed under me, close enough that I could feel her fins through my wet suit.

Finally, at the end of the dive, I was swimming along the floor of the tank and she came zooming up behind me and swam between me and the gravel.  That was enough of a surprise that I let out a little girl scream.  It sounds a bit scary, but really it was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.  This isn't me, but you can see the shark with her friend at the bottom of the picture.

So there you have it.  Not much finished, not much fiber, but I'll take a Friday any way I can get it these days.  For less sharks and more yarn, check out FO Friday and Fiber Arts Friday.  I'll see you out there!