A Fresh Start

Since Sunshine created a bunch of new year's resolutions, I thought I should write a little something. I'm not making a defined list of resolutions. I just don't have th energy to do that right now and I'm tired of making lists. I guess my first goal right now is really getting over my allegry related sinus crap & congestion from hell (pine trees + mucho rain = mold = congestion from hell) and get all the insurance claims filed and my life straightened out again so that I feel secure again.

Normally I would be staying up late to watch the ball drop but since I'm sick and very sleep deprived and I fly back tomorrow, I doubt that will be happening. Luckily my flight is not extremely early in the morning so I have that on my side.

Holiday Disasters and Retail Therapy

I am still in the Carolinas, but I thought I would update since a bunch of stuff has happened. We made it there Sunday evening with a few delays but our longest delay was only around an hour so I consider that to be good. Christmas Eve was pretty uneventful. We went to Target and Books A Million and watched the movie Waitress on DVD (this movie is sooo good but unfortunately it belongs to my Mom).

Christmas day started out really good. I got a lot of yarn, DVDs, a LV wallet and a North Face windbreaker from my dad and some other little things. Then we decided to go see Charlie Wilson's War at the movie theater because now that we are adults, it has been a tradition for us to go see a movie on Christmas. well, we went to the correct theater, but instead of Charlie Wilson's War they messed up and showed Alvin and the Chipmunks instead. Cute movie, but not the same! The theater people were jerks and wouldn't switch the movies, so we opted to just watch Alvin and the Chipmunks.

The fun begins when we get back to my parents house. I had left my cell phone at home since you can't have them turned on at the theater. Well I get back and there is a voice mail from a number with the same area code as the town I live in. Turns out it was a police officer calling to tell us that a robbery had been reported at our house back there and he found a cell phone bill of mine and that's how he was able to call me. Who in the hell robs people on Christmas Day! We don't know every single thing they took but it looks like they mostly just grabbed our electronics and ran. I have no idea if they took any of my stuff. i am trying really hard to not to think about it because it is just upsetting when I don't know what they went through. I had my ipod shuffle, my Mac laptop and my digi camera with me here in the Carolinas. I had some electronic items at home, but the only thing I would be pissed about is my old ipod but ha ha to them because it has my name engraved on the back of it and I still have the damn receipt! I feel bad though because they stole my sister's desktop and her laptop and her dvd players and our big tv for sure. Luckily our landlord was in town still so he came over and boarded up the window and the door they broke and he was able to tell my sister some of the big things that was missing but honestly we are the only ones that are going to know what is gone for sure. At the end of the day, I am just a little mad and disturbed but I am really grateful that no one was at home or hurt at the time of the break in.

So what does a girl do when she has been given a shit sandwhich? Two things: Call her best friend Sunshine and engage in retail therapy. Sunshine is the only person that doesn't say stupid things in a crisis and never treats me like i'm helpless. Talking to him was a nice relief and plus I was curious to see how his Christmas break was going anyways.

The day after Christmas in between numerous phone calls, I managed to hit the sales at Target and I saw the movie P.S. I Love You. First, the movie. The movie is based on a book and follows the general plot but changes some of the locations,etc. I really love this movie and am definitely buying it on dvd the first day it comes out. To top it off, the soundtrack is kick ass. Any soundtrack that has Flogging Molly, the Pogues and James Blunt on it is going to score beaucoup points with me. As for Target, I got seasons 4, 5 and 6 part two of Sex in the City for 9.99 each! i have never seen them marked down this low!!! I about freaked when I saw it listed in the ad that morning. Then today, we went back to Target and I picked up Heroes Season 1 for $19 and I found a hidden copy of Sex in the City season 6 part one. Mom and Dad, aka Santa got me seasons 1 and 3, so now I am just missing season 2 and they also bought me Boston Legal Season 3.

You might think I'm nuts for buying all these dvds when all our dvd players were just stolen, but I still have Mackie so that's how I will be entertaining myself until we get our claim money from the Renter's Insurance (I CAN"T STRESS ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS IF YOU RENT!!!!) Then, since I just brought a tiny clutch purse with me, it was too small to put my brand new LV tri-fold wallet in it, so I hit the sales at the Aeropostale store by my parents house and found the cutest reversible cordoroy purse on sale for 9.99!!! So really, my retail therapy doesn't count as a buying spree because everything I bought was over 50% off and on special Christmas sale that only happens once a year.

It's in the upper 50s and 60s and it's so bright and sunny that it is really helping me with my winter of S.A.D. My mom bought me new knifty knitter looms (50% on sale at Michaels this week) so I have been chilling under the skylights making hats.

Anyways, I hope everyone is having a smashing holiday. I am still having a good holiday even though all that bad stuff happened. I baked 6 trays of cookies and one Holiday Funfetti cake and have done two loads of dishes so I guess I have been coping a little like Izzie Stevens-style but oh well. I also started reading Atonement by Ian McEwan and it is really good so far, especially if you love romantic epic novels like moi.

84 Song Playlist

Last night I created an 84 song playlist to load onto my Shuffle for my flight to Charlotte tomorrow. I think that should tide me over. Of course, my Mac will be with me. It is a ten day trip, so since I will be in the States the entire time, I totally plan on taking her and my digi cam. Apparently my dad is only going to be home for Christmas and Christmas Eve, but that's okay because I am honestly really going out there to see my beloved little Yorkies and my Mom. We plan on going to see a ton of movies and maybe a couple of little side trips. Who knows. I am fully confident that we will make our flights out there. I just checked weather.com and It looks good for us for the travel day. My mom has stockpiled yarn for me, and she says I can use her stash hooks while I am out there so I don't have to try and get mine through airport security. I would be really pissed if one of my Brittany hooks got trashed.

The Kansas City trip was a success. We got close to three inches of snow after we arrived, my sister and I were conned into sitting on Santa's lap, I got a new Starbucks mug, and we spent some glorious time at the 4 story Barnes and Noble. All my Christmas shopping is done. YAY! All my out of towners, received their presents and loved them.

I am almost done packing for Charlotte. I did the essential laundry last night, so I just have to pull a couple of shirts off the drying rack and I will be ready. I don't have ten casual shirts that I like, so i will do laundry at Mom's.

Hey Sunshine, have fun while I am gone. I expect updates while I am in Charlotte. I can't wait to see you in January.

Happy X-Mas, ya'll!!!

I'm Still Here, I promise

Work has been INSANE! The holidays are sucking my soul and I don't know where my time goes. Thank the Lord for bubble bath and the Foo Fighters because that is the only way I am getting through all of this in one piece. Did I mention that I fly out to the Carolinas on Sunday and I HAVE NO CLUE what to pack, other than my favorite jeans that I need my mommy to sew back together. I promise I will update more about my past week or so either Friday or Saturday. Hopefully, I will be a little more relaxed, but no promises on that.

the Ice Man Cometh

Well, this is officially day 2 of the freezing rain ice crap. it's not as bad as the ice storm that we had last January, but it still sucked. I did make it into work today though and back and my car and I are still in one piece. My sister just found out that school is cancelled again tomorrow so since she's a teacher, she's been at the house chillin' and grading papers.

My Secret Pal Gwen (the one I sent stuff to in SP 11) sent me a really sweet thank you box on Saturday. She sent me a hot pink scarf she knitted out of Rowan biggy print, a box of See's chocolates (yummy),a copy of the new Knit 1 issue, a Hello Kitty 2008 calendar (i needed one of these for at home!) and a nice card. Totally unexpected and completely appreciated.

I did go shopping in Owasso with some work friends on Saturday. this was pre-storm, it was just cool and gloomy. honestly, I didn't really see anything that I couldn't live without. I finished up one VIP gift that I will mail to someone as soon as this crappy weather goes away. I wrapped all my Christmas presents that I have purchased so far.I just have to get presents for my cousins and I am kind of waiting to see if the weather is going to clear up enough for us to go to Kansas City because Iowa is getting hammered with snow and ice right now, so it's a play it by ear thing.

I have made two hats with the cotton candy LB Homespun yarn that I bought at Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon in Owasso. I haven't really worked on the scarf lately.

My sis and I did catch Tin Man on the Sci Fi Channel and it was totally awesome. I really hope that they release it on DVD.

I have been reading the new Charles Schulz bio and Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris. Both are excellent reads. Holidays on Ice is one of my favorite holiday themed books, it's a collection of some of his holiday short stories and they are just really funny.

this post is for Sunshine, who complained that I hadn't updated lately. Insert eye roll here. I will update again later this week probably when I have more news.

Where Did All My Time Go?

Seriously? I have no idea what happened to the month of November. I finally realized this evening that it was December 1st and oh shit finals week starts on the 10th. Work is crazy because of the new projects I am working on. I just really love working on projects with no instructions and very little guidance. NOT!!!!!!!! Then my cousin calls to tell me that she was able to get the weekend of the 14th off so now my sister and I have to drive up to KC that weekend to meet them for our little Christmas celebration. Oh shit on that too.

On the upside, I knitted two baby hats today and half of a third. I finished reading Miranda July's latest short story book (i have forgotten the title and i am too lazy to look it up cause i just call it the bright yellow book because of the cover). Landlord installed oven #3 which is a brand new Whirlpool stovetop/oven and it is heaven on earth. we have already baked a frozen pizza and made two batches of chocolate chip cookies we were that excited.

A the co-worker and the wife of another co-worker and I are going to Owasso next weekend. however, I will probably like not be buying anything because I'm going to KC now.

We did get a Christmas tree this weekend. It looks really cute. We just got a 3 foot one to conserve space.

Anyways, it has been a very crazy weekend. I am very overwhelmed right now and I know things will get better, it's just until the holidays are over things are just going to be nuts for me.

The Black Friday Report

It wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. And why do all the retailers think it is cool to make jeans skinny cut? It only looks good if you weight ten pounds. Old Navy had 50% jeans yesterday and since I desperately need a new pair, I bought a pair for $15 dollars.They would be perfect except for the fact that the leg is skinny bootcut. this pair was the only style that had the least amount of "skinny cut." walgreen's had 16 load Tide for $1.99 so my sister and i each bought the limit. It is really a good deal especially when it's just the two of us and we don't have a ton of laundry. I bought a book at Waldenbooks and read it yesterday evening. It is called P.S. I love you by Cecelia Ahren. It's really good and was just turned into a movie recently. I had Border bucks so I was able to get it and a reversible tote and two things of Bertie Botts jelly beans all for $12. I had $5 in Border bucks and a 25% off coupon to help me out.

My sister and I were so bored yesterday afternoon that once the madness died down we drove to Owasso to visit Target and Old Navy. At old navy I bought the above mentioned jeans plus a really adorable shirt for baby L. At Target I bought Sense and Sensibility on DVD for only $5!!! I also bought a little cat toy for Sunshine's cat, a dipping fork set for my aunt and hello kitty socks for L. At Hastings I found a book for baby K (not on sale) and at Bath and Body works I had a spend $10 get free lotion coupon so i bought lotion for cousin A and my friend M. I also got a snowman hand soap thing for my secret sister at work.

I did send off my last little Secret Pal 11 Reveal box and my favorite place box. I hope they like them. My Christmas gift shopping is slowly dwindling down which is good. I wish my aunt would call or email so I would know what they hell is going on with the Kansas City trip.

The Thanksgiving pot roast was a success. I took a picture to send to my mom so she would know that we didn't eat frozen pizza for Thanksgiving dinner.

We got a little snow this morning but it was so wet and wimpy it had melted away by 8 am this morning. It's in the 40s now so it is slightly warmer then it had been earlier this week.

TV this weekend really sucks. We ended up watching Sense and Sensibility this morning. Our library is closed for the whole weekend so I can' t even go there to check books out.

I started a scrap afghan this weekend and hated it so it and the chevron afghan both took a trip to the frog pond. I am in a crafty funk right now or something.

Thanks and Giving

A quick update and then I will share my thanks and giving list with ya'll. On the yarn front, I bought the yarn for the Vanna's Choice afghan and then realized that I can't make a cluster stitch for shit. So, that project is shelved until I can visit Mommy the crochet guru over Christmas break. Since I needed a project, I started an afghan using the striped chervon stitch in my Vogue Knitting Stitchionary 4: Crochet book. I am going to use blue, purple and chocolate with the intention of having a small afghan to decorate my hope chest with. I finished the first stripe (two rows of purple) and I am going to start the next stripe. I also finally bought a copy of the Yarn Harlot's latest book and it is really funny.

i was able to get some Christmas presents but I feel really behind because M and A the co worker have almost all of their shopping done and so do a lot of my co-workers. i do have my final secret pal box and my favorite place swap box ready to mail out this weekend.

In honor of my sister and I's first thanksgiving by ourselves, I present to thee my Thanks and Giving List

1. I am thankful for my favorite shows on tv and pray that the writer's strike ends soon for the sake of those affected by the strike
2. I am thankful for the Foo Fighters. i was reminded last weekend of how much I love their music and I really like their song Home on their new album because it is so peaceful and not what you would expect from a typical Foo song.
3. Iam grateful for my Mac. My connection to the big world and it is refreshing to have a computer that I don't have to call tech support for.
4. Thanks to all my swap pals and swap hostesses. i have had some really good swap experiences this year.
5. I am thankful for A and Sunshine, my BFFs. You guys continue to keep me sane and entertained on a daily basis.
6. Even though my parents are far away and I can't spend Thanksgiving with them this year, I am grateful for their newfound happiness in the Carolinas.
7. I am thankful for the 79 cent Mountain Dew I purchased at Kmart this morning. It is one of my joys in life.
8. I am grateful for my job which allows me to afford school and my yarn and music stashes.

happy tofurky day, ya'll!

At the Dawn's Early Light

I am up way too early for a Saturday morning but I am like WIDE AWAKE! I am trying to be super quiet because I had a change of plans and ended up going to Sunshine's for the weekend and I don't want to wake him up. I am really glad that this coming week is only a three day work week for me. this last week was a mad house. Since we are in a new fiscal year at work, i had to load all of this new information in the system and it was a process I had never done before so it was a really busy week for me. it should be interesting though because half of the department is going to be gone for the whole week so hopefully it will not be too crazy.

I did finish baby L's afghan this week. There is just a couple of ends i need to weave in at the ends but other than that, it is basically done. It is strange not having an afghan in the works but i don't have all the yarn that I need to start the next project. It is an 8 color granny square that has sort of a star variation in the middle. It uses Lion Brand's Vanna's Choice yarn. I have two of the colors but I need a couple more before I can actually attempt to make a block. It might end up becoming one of those projects that I work on with my mother while I am in the Carolinas for Christmas. She is my knitting and crocheting and all things crafty guru. I miss her a lot.

My copy of Vogue Stitchionary 4 Crochet came in the mail this week. I LOVE IT!!!! I don't have a lot of stitch reference books and this one has charts for all the stitched up blocks. I know a lot of people are anti chart, but it really helps me figure out the turns and how the block as a whole is going to look. I still need the words, but i think charts help me a lot when it is something new and complicated for me. I am really glad that I brought it with me this weekend. I also got the new issues of Knit Simple and Interweave Knits but I didn't bring them with me cause I was attempting to pack light. LOL.

From Where You Are

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNSHINE!!!!!

Twenty-five years ago, my best friend was born. See, I can get away with saying that because I turned 27 in September. I thought I would write a little birthday post for him because he's been sick lately and it's not fun to be sick on your birthday. I'm at a loss for words to say this year because you have accomplished so many things since last November and we've even managed to squeeze in an adventure or two. I think there are four memories that really stand out from the past year.

1. Remember the time we stayed up late and I had way too much to drink and we decided to go shopping in Arkansas the next day? I just remember looking out the window at all the pretty trees and wishing that I could hurl out the window but I had so much fun.

2. Remember when we stayed at the Price Tower the weekend before the big flood hit? It's nice having someone to talk to about art and architecture with.

3. I only had the chance to see the band march once this season but what I did see was amazing. They have improved so much and I know they will continue to improve. All your hard work and effort really shows.

4. Did you really have to mention Krispy Kremes on the way to Dallas? My sister still gives me shit about that story. LOL... We had so much fun though! You are my favorite person to go on road trips with hands down. Hopefully I will have a shiny new ipod by the next time we see each other.

Hopefully this post makes you smile a little. rest up, because when you are feeling better we are totally celebrating your birthday!

Monday Monday

I'm a little less stuffier today than I was when the weekend started but I am dragging ass. I think I might be experiencing some sort of caffeine withdrawal because I quit drinking pop at work so now I only drink pop on the weekends or in the evenings at home. There were some people burning their fields off on my way home and all that smoke screws up my allergies. I'm just glad that it's allergies though.

I did tie on skein 6 for L's afghan this weekend. I had a lot of stuff I was thinking about this weekend so I ended up crocheting like a madwoman. Plus, I would like to give it to her for Christmas and I told myself that I couldn't start another afghan until I finished this one. there is a variation on a granny square that I would like to make that uses Vanna White's new yarn line from Lion Brand. i like my afghans to be machine washable and I really liked the colors they used in it, kind of like muted primary colors of sorts.

I sat through a three hour workshop at work today. the only reason why I stayed awake was because i was sitting right next to the controller and the person giving the workshop is a really important financial analyst in my division so I was trying to soak up all of his knowledge but it was really hard because I can't crochet at work and so it's hard for me to sit through something like that and stay still and focused.

I started reading a book about Hunter S. Thompson. It's like little oral histories by his friends and family which is edited by Jann Wenner and another guy from Rolling Stone magazine. While Hunter's style of writing might be sometimes off the wall, i really do enjoy reading his works. I like to challenge my brain with ideas that are totally outside of my box.

Stuffy Nose

Yup that's me. Warm.cold.warm.cold weather has screwed up my allergies again and I am all stuffed up. as a result, i don't really feel like doing much of anything. I did go to the library because one of the books I had reserved was available. i ended up reading it in one setting. It was Look Me in the Eye which is a memoir by John Elder Robison, who also happens to be the older brother of Augusten Burroughs. It was excellent, i love a good memoir.

I have been working on L's blanket today and watching old episodes of Christy. My favorite part about watching that show was the smokey mountain scenery.

My father called to inform me that he had finally purchased our plane tickets to spend christmas with them. I have no idea what we will do, but I am looking forward to playing with my beloved little doggies and crafty time with my mommy.

I also managed to send off box number two to my Secret Pal 11. I can't wait until she gets it, I hope she likes it. Now I just have to work on the Favorite Place swap. I think that is going to require a trip to Tulsa.

Where did all the time go?

We might have gained an hour due to the Daylight Savings thing this weekend, but I have no idea where in the hell all my time went this weekend. I did go to the rubber stamping party last night. it was actually a lot of fun. We made a thank-you card and a happy birthday card. I'm still trying to decide what all I want to order. The little catalog is 1/2 inch thick and has all the crafty items I would ever need aside from the yarn catagory.
the check engine light decided to turn off this morning on my way to walgreens to get the Sunday paper, so the oil change and my alternative mix cd that I made saturday night must have done the trick. I'm just glad that I don't have to go to Tulsa to have the light reset. YAY!!!!!!
I also finished the second hat for L yesterday and I made more progress on her blankie this evening. I didn't count the row number but i will lay it out after I finish this skein to see if it is big enough or if I need to tie on the last skein. I am halfway through skein five now.
I am kinda in a vegetating mood this weekend. time changes always screw up my eat/sleep routine.

Check Engine Lights and Leftover Candy

We did not get one single solitary trick or treater on Halloween. Co-Worker J has agreed to eat all of my vanilla tootsie rolls and my Dots because my sister and I won't eat those. I am going to make hat #2 for L with some multi-colored yarn that I bought at the Ben Franklin going out of business in Belle Plaine sale while I was back in Iowa.
Last night in the middle of my commute home my evil little Check Engine light came on. Out of nowhere. My Subaru was completely happy. All I did differently was top off my tank with gas on my way into work this morning and I was a few miles over on my oil change, but my car wasn't making noises or omitting or leaking anything.It's not quite 5 years old and in really good shape. Since my Dad is still in China, I called Mom and she said that when we first got the Subarus the Check engine light would come on if the gas cap wasn't on perfect so they would have to take it in and have the little light turned off. So, out of supreme guilt, I got up this morning and took my Subaru into the swanky oil change place. The light is still on but according to the manual, it could take several trips before the light would come off or I would have to have it reset. So I might be making a trip to Broken Arrow next weekend to have them turn the little light off. Insert eye roll here.
Anyways, I am still planning on going to co-worker J's wife's rubber stamping demonstration party because we are going to make two special occasion cards and I think it sounds fun. co-worker A is going with me, so that way we will know some people because co-worker J and his wife just moved here in June.
My sister had cleaned the whole entire house while I was getting my oil changed and at the grocery store. I about fainted from the shear bliss and joy of coming home to having all her crap cleaned up AND all of the dishes done. Sunshine would totally understand this.

Candy n' Crochet

I decided to buy candy to pass out to the trick or treaters on Wednesday. I have no idea how many I will get, but I will pass out candy until my little pink witch bucket is empty. I am the designated candy person so that my sister can remain anoynomous. I think it will be a lot more fun this year because in my parents' old neighborhood, the subdivision was so big that we would get like close to 1000 trick or treaters and we would go through almost 20 bags of candy. My mom has no idea how many they will get at the Carolinas house but my dad left her with plenty of candy just in case because their subdivision is still under construction but there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood.

I made L a purple camo hat on Saturday per her mom's request since it is getting "cold" outside and she is two and has outgrown her little baby hats I made her. I liked the purple camo yarn from Bernat so much that I made myself a little ipod cozy using an old Crochet Me pattern with the leftovers. I have finished the green scarf and wove in all the ends on it and the Boss Lady scarf. I even finished skein 4 of L's blankie and tied on skein 5 so I consider that some major progress.

I made some Jello No-Bake cheesecake for snack day tomorrow. I am a huge fan of No-bake anything because I hate cooking and we have a hoopty oven that doesn't keep a level temperature. LOL...

I am pooped. Fiscal year-end closing sucks. It was nuts at the office and we kept having server problems (probably due to the high usage) so it was hard to run jobs. My trick or treat mug that I got at Starbucks was a huge hit at work. everyone told me it was really festive and kept asking where I bought it. It's one of the tall skinny mugs and is black with white line drawings on it. It is really uber cute.

Thank-you Secret Pal 11

Secret Pal 11 goodies here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shoe_girl/1782489027/

I received my final package from my Secret Pal 11. She has been a totally awesome pal. She has done a wonderful job picking out the perfect goodies to spoil me and she included really nice letters with the packages. This has probably been one of my top swapping experiences.Here's what was in the package:

1. Eight skeins of Palette yarn in orange, pink, hot pink and burgundyish purple
2. Pumpkin wax melts (they smell really good in the package)
3. A Halloween treat bag
4. Halloween socks

I was really excited to receive this package and I am either going to make a pillow or a stripy scarf with the yarn. I just finished the scarf that I made with the Plymouth Tweed yarn that she sent in the last package and I am really happy with how it turned out.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Misc. Thoughts

Things are so crazy at work right now because it is our fiscal year end. Multi-tasking makes me tired! I started reading Into the Wild (recently turned into a movie) last night and made it about halfway through. Boston Legal was pre-empted because of the California wildfires coverage and there wasn't much on tv, so I ended up reading instead. Plus, reading a book is easier to do curled up in my denim quilts. i will admit to turning on the heater on low but if the house is too cold then my sister turns into a Smurf and my hands get all cold and i don't like cold hands.

My sister and I are debating on whether or not to pass out candy on Halloween. this is our first Halloween at this house and there really isn't many little kids on our little street, just annoying teenagers. Plus, my sister is concerned that her students would accidently find out where we live and tee pee our house for life...LOL..

Where Did the Sun Go?

So I spent the entire weekend in Iowa where it was in the mid 70s which is unheard of in October and then I come back to Oklahoma and it is rainy and like barely 50 degrees. What in the world?!!! this evening, I had to turn on the heater for a little while because I couldn't figure out why I was cold and then I realize that the little house thermostat said it was 60 degrees.

I did finish the Boss Lady Scarf on the way up to Iowa, I just need to weave in a couple of ends. It is really huge and I haven't laid it out yet to see how really long it is. I did start a scarf with some of the Plymouth Tweed that my SP 11 sent me. I am almost done with skein number two and it looks really pretty and bright. I like my scarves long so that if it is actually cold outside, I could wrap them around my neck.

Anyways, I am back to my dull boring life. I had a blast hanging out with my cousins. Lots of good food and laughs. It was kind of nice being around the family. I also managed to go a whopping 4 days without getting on the Internet or checking my email.

I managed to do a load of laundry tonight and make some Suddenly Salad (ranch and bacon) for our ladies' luncheon at work tomorrow. I am currently burning a bunch of baptism photo cds for the relatives right now.

My sister picked up three pairs of the over the knee socks for me at Target on her way home from night class tonight. YAY!!! I love socks like this and Target has them on sale this week. I feel like such a bad ass when I wear them. I love accessories. Tall socks keep me warmer too and my fun socks are wearing out since I bought them in 2004 when I worked at Sears in the mall.

Traveling

Right now, i am trying to get things prepared for my trip to Iowa on Thursday. It is going to be a whirlwind weekend for sure. I have been trying to plan out what I am going to wear so that I have enough clothes for the weekend. I also ran the dishwasher tonight because Wednesday night will be last minute laundry night.

i am just not motivated for anything right now because I am learning all these new job responsibilities at work and it is like information overload so i don't want to do crap when I get home, especially not homework. I think I am just generally overwhelmed with the amount of stuff going on for school and work.

I have tied on the fourth and final skein for the boss lady scarf. It is looking really nice and it would definitely keep you nice and warm while you shovel a foot of snow off your driveway in January. She will really like it. It is what I would call mindless crochet, because I am just doing rows of half-double crochet, which is a stitch I can do practically in my sleep.

Anyways, I promise a big exciting post Monday or so after I get back from Iowa. I am sure there will be tons of stories to tell.

Song of the Day: Undone (the sweater song) by Weezer

Secret Pal 11 Goodness

So this morning I went to the post office to mail my secret pal a letter and when i got back from my errands, there was this awesome package waiting from my Secret Pal (the one spoiling me). She sent:
3 skeins Plymouth Tweed in color 5324 (this is like a blueish green color,sooo pretty)
1 skein Knit Picks Swish Superwash Capri (so soft and it's an electric blue color
1 skein Plymouth Sockotta color 06 (blueish/greenish color)

Thanks so much! I love all the yarn and I can't wait to turn them into projects.

I have been cleaning today and doing laundry in preparation for our trip home to Iowa this week. I started making the Boss Lady Scarf this week. It is a black crocheted extra-wide extra long scarf for my boss that is transfering to North Central Iowa where it is really cold. she is like 6 ft tall and always has her heater in her office turned on. Anyways, we are making her a cold weather survival package as her going away present. I think this is going to be my trip project because she is leaving November 9th, so I don't have much time to get this done.

Random Thoughts Sunday Again

Song of the Day: All I Ever Needed by Bret Michaels

Why are all the good shows on at the same time? Seriously people!!!! I have this problem on Sundays and Wednesdays and it stinks!

Today was pretty special. I was on one of my "i have too much crap" kicks so i ended up taking a trunkload of stuff to Goodwill and my sister stuck a bunch of old science textbooks in one of my bags and I was carrying the dumb bag and the dumb thing broke on the driveway and I could have smashed my foot. What does she do? She is laughing so hard I thought she was going to fall over and wet her pants. So we took the cds I didn't want anymore to Hastings and we got stuck behind a couple who was also selling back cds. they must of had like 30 cds and they were so bad they were coming up with 1 cent value and were the kind of stuff I would have just stuck in the bag for Goodwill. Anyways, we waited a good forty minutes in line for our turn. Anyways, I made a nice chunk of change and so my sister and I bought the Baptism present for Baby K and I bought a little stuffed dragon for A-dolly. I also bought Eclipse and New Moon, the next books in the Twilight series. this is a series of books I know I will re-read over and over, they are just that good.

I'm excited because we got our swap pals for the Favorite Place and Color swap. I think this will be a lot of fun. I am also excited because I finished my AIS homework ahead of schedule. My sunburn is faded but the peeling is minimal because I have been lathering on the aloe lotion. The lotion works better for me then the sticky gel does.

I managed to make it almost half way through skein 4 on Baby L's blankie. I just had a good rhythm going this evening. I wish I could keep working on it this evening but it is late already and I do have to show up at the Office tomorrow.

Bookworm

Last night I bought a copy of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer because the hold list for this book at my library is really really long. I stayed up until two in the morning reading it and I am still not done, but it is so good!!!! This is the first book in the series and even though it is technically young adult, it's written in such a way, that it is ageless. There are two others out so far, but I am making myself wait until Pay Day to buy them. I was planning on reading them on the way to Iowa in a week or so, but I am devouring the first book and wouldn't be surprised if I have read them all before I leave.

Since our lawn is now nicely mowed, I was able to go out and do lovely yardwork. My sister gets to hold the trash bag because she is not good with the hedge clippers. The rose bushes were getting too tall again and this mystery fine with pepper like objects hanging off of it was growing in our overgrown evergreen tree. The yard looks a little more presentable now too. We also filled up the ol' Subaru with our recycling. This is definitely worth the trouble of driving over to the drop off boxes because we save so many trash bags and it's reducing our footprint on Mother Earth. It's odd because I did all these chores today, but I don't feel like I have accomplished much.

I have squeezed a little crochet work on Baby L's blankie today. I haven't worked on it much today. I have a good excuse though, I was making something for my Secret Pal that I am in charge of spoiling. I made her a little ribbon bound book with little quotes and fun facts. I think it turned out really cool.

Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love was on Oprah last night. I loved her book and she is just as endearing in interviews. Normally, I don't like to watch Oprah, but if she has an author on that I like, then I will watch her show during the late night repeat showing on our tv.

I did go to the library this morning too. But I only checked out two books, which is really low for me. I blame on the fact that I am reading a bunch of books my sister bought this past Spring that neither one of us has gotten around to reading. All I need are books, yarn and music.

EDIT: I just finished skein three! Skein 4 has been added on. This blanket is turning out to be a hell of a lot bigger than I wanted it to be, yet again, but I think it will end up turning out good in the end.

My Beautiful Lawn

It is so pretty. My lawn now is golf course short instead of Tallgrass prairie length. He EVEN EDGED AND MOWED DIAGONALLY!!!! We ended up going with a retired railroad worker that we had been refered to by a couple of people my sister knows. I am pleased as punch. It really bothers me when my yard looks nasty and now it looks great!!!

I have been doing boring stuff like housecleaning this evening so that I can do homework and crochet this weekend. I might read another Nicholas Spark book too. I am a couple of books behind now, but I like to savor his books cause he is one of my favorite authors. I also want to read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer because I have heard great things about her books and I am just an all around book fanatic.

I promise I will write more this weekend after I do something more exciting.

itchy

I'm peeling. YUCK!!!! I am covered in so much aloe that I feel like I smell like a house plant or something.

The Cubs are planning for the NL pennant and it is very nerve wracking. to make matters worse they are playing arizona at arizona right now so the games are starting way late, epecially when you consider that we still play more day games than night games. I really hope we can break the curse this year because we have come so close.

I crocheted some more tonight and finished reading the lone book that I checked out from the library on Sunday. My energy has been sub-par this weekend, so i am not motivated to do much of anything.

Cross your fingers that the lawn boy will actually come tomorrow as promised and mow our tallgrass prairie. i hope it doesn't rain. it has rained a lot this week, and when it is not raining it is really hot. I just want a regular temperature. some nice cool fall weather would be nice.

En Fuego

So at the Marching Band contest on Saturday, I did a very stupid thing and forgot to put on sunscreen. i thought i would be okay cause I was just going to stay for a couple of performances, but I was having such a good time that I stayed longer and ended up with the world's strangest sunburn. I have a V from the v-neck shirt I was wearing, I have an official "red neck" , I burnt half of my right ear and 3/4 of my face because I use acne medication that you are supposed to avoid direct sun with. I know, not so smart, but I have a giant stash of Tylenol and aloe lotion, so I am making it through. I just hate the fact that it raises your body temperature really high and I have a naturally lower body temp so my type of hot is way hotter then the norm. In the end, it doesn't really matter because I had a blast watching the bands perform. It was like half time all day long which we all know is my favorite part of watching a football game.

i had so much fun though, I crocheted a dish cloth in between performances and I got to take video with my digi cam that I bought about a year ago. It has really great sound, better then I expected but it was really hot and windy that day, so I don't think this footage is perfect, but it gets the point across.

I started working on Baby L's blankie again after I finished dish cloth number 4 this past week. i'm not sure how many rows I actually did this weekend but I made a lot of progress.

I also was stuck doing a ton of homework which I hate because it is all busy work. I managed to get it done before all of my Sunday shows premiered. I can't wait to see the Rock of Love Reunion show--it will be a hilarious cat fight most likely. Brothers and Sisters was really good but some time I am going to have to get that season on DVD because apparently I have forgotten a couple of minor plot twists.

I really don't want to go to the office of complete boredom tomorrow. I love my company, just not the office biddies I work with.

By the way, I was very naughty and bought chocolate covered expresso beans at my new Starbucks in town this weekend. They are so good, but I will only eat one at a time.

Anyways, I am going to sleep on top of my bed directly under the ceiling fan and pretend that I am staying at the hotel made out of ice in Canada.

Hooks Up!

1. Purchased Ravelry "where my stitches at?" limited edition shirt and button set. It is so cool, I can't wait until it gets here.
2. purchased another skein of Sugar and Cream Stipes. This stuff is my new crack candy. I need dish cloths like i need a hole in my head, but I just started number 4 tonight and that is the fourth one for this week. LOL.
3. Purchased top secret gifts for secret pal 11. Yay for sales! At the same sale I bought another Susan Bates bamboo handle hook (the second one this week, but only because they were fifty off at Hobby Lobby)
4. Finally took yucky finance test!
5. Gathered up recycling
6. Did dishes
7. watched the first three episodes of Margaret Cho's sitcom All-American Girl. It is still hilarious over ten years later.
8. Visited my town's 1st EVER STARBUCKS!!!! Hot chocolate is great!!!! If I drink enough of it, maybe it will feel like fall weather.

In other news, good luck to Sunshine tomorrow. His marching band is competing and I know they will totally kick major ass. i will be attending a separate marching band invitational closer to home. I am attending the prelims so I can see my hometown band's show. I got to see them march at the homecoming parade before my night class on Thursday, but that doesn't really count because it's not the same at all. i am a total marching band groupie!!! I am all about supporting the Arts in schools, especially music.

My secret pal 11 (the one I'm spoiling) sent me a funny e-card for my birthday. I have been sending her almost weekly letters because I think it makes things more fun, people love real letters and i think it makes the time between packages go faster. I just want her to have a really good experience because the person spoiling me has been sending me great packages and e-mails, so I feel like sharing the love.

Birthdays are Exhausting

I haven't posted in awhile because I am trying to play catch up. I am basically caught up on everything except for homework, I still have that to turn in this weekend. My sister is in a total crab ass mood and doesn't want to do anything except for Mtv when she gets home from teaching. I really need a break from her, so i think i am going to go to Owasso on Saturday. I am thinking about looking for work pants at Old Navy and there is a marching band competion going on at the high school then and so I am thinking of at least watching the prelims because several of the local high schools will be there (that have strong programs). Plus, I know that my sister would definitely not want to see that.

Dallas was awesome. the Dave Matthews Band is an awesome band to see live. there was lots of shopping but I really didn't buy much. The big purchases were a sweater hoody on clearance at Old Navy and Crazy Aunt Purl's new book. Sunshine and I tried really hard to buy ipods but we ended up going home empty handed, they were out of the Touch that he wanted and I was paranoid about spending money, so i think I am going to wait a week or so. I liked playing with the new ones in the store though, it helps narrow down the choices. I just wish the regular video ipods came in more color choices like the nano video.

I did make two dish cloths on the trip and I started a third on my birthday which I am almost finished with. Sugar N Cream cotton has some really awesome striping colorways that come out looking really nice.

Special Thanks to Sunshine for driving, being generally awesome and playing referee. it was a blast. I promise next time we go to a concert we can go to a symphony type concert with a less rowdy crowd.

Secret Pal Goodies!

I received package #2 today! It is the Pink Package and it is so awesome. I love it all and I will edit this post to add in details but it is starting to thunder and lightning outside and I don't want to blow my router again. Thank you Secret Pal!!!


I'm back!!!!
So the mini-storm is over and I think it will be a late night because Justin Timberlake is on Oprah tonight! I have to watch the re-runs on the CW at 10:30 pm if someone good is going to be on and I saw the ads during the premieres of ANTM and Gossip Girl. Gossip Girl is going to be good I think.

Now for the goodies! My Secret Pal is the coolest ever! I opened up the package when i got home from work and it was like Yarnpalooza!

I received:
1. Hello Kitty candy! Hell yes!
2. Pair of Pony Pearls knitting needles
3. Kool-aid and a skein of Cotton Fleece to try kool-aid dying with
4. Cotton Fleece that was dyed a rose color by my pal
5. Fisherman's Wool from Bartlett yarns that was also dyed by my pal
6. Knit Picks Tulip
7. And a nice note describing all the lovely yarn.

Thanks so much! I was stoked about my birthday coming up on Tuesday but honestly any day when someone gives me yarn is almost better than my birthday.

I was naughty and bought the new issues of Knit.1 and Bust, but since i have been on a magazine buying diet for the last month, I figured it was okay. There was a couple of others I debated about but I made myself be good and pick two. Yay!

Favorite Place and Color Swap Questionnaire

FUN STUFF!

What is your favorite color(s)?
Hot pink, black, blue, purple

What are your least favorite colors?
orange, olive/moss green, yellow

If you have a favorite brand of yarn, what is it?
Cascade 220, Koigu, Sugar and Cream

What weight yarn do you prefer?
like a sport weight or thicker. I like anything that
isn't super bulky or really dainty. I like to make a
lot of scrap afghans if that helps any.

Is there any weight of yarn you'd rather not have?
No lace weight or sock yarn, because I just don't work
with those types.

Do you enjoy novelty yarn? If so, what kinds do you
like and dislike?
No fun fur or ribbon yarn, I like to try the other
kinds of novelty yarn, but it has been awhile since I
have bought anything.

What are your favorite fibers?
I like wool, cotton, bamboo

Do you have any fibers that you dislike or worse yet,
have an allergy to?
No allergies
Do you have pets? If so, what do you have?
yes, but they live with my parents in SC right now.
Two Yorkies, Haley and Daisy

Do you spin?
No

Would you enjoy receiving spinning related items, such
as roving?
I don't spin and don't have any spinning supplies, so
no.

Do you knit, crochet, both, or other?
Crochet first, still slowly learning to knit

Is there anything within your craft that you haven't
tried yet that you'd like to try or learn?

Is there anything that you enjoy collecting, aside
from yarn?
Hello Kitty

Is there anything else that your pal should know to
help her spoil you?
I don't think so. I post on my blog almost daily, and
I usually talk about what I am into right now at the moment.

I GOT IN!!!!!!!!

I received my invite to join RAVELRY THIS MORNING!!!!!!!! I couldn't ask for a better early birthday present. This site is possibly the coolest thing ever! I feel like this massive window of wonder has been opened up to me.

Anyways, for those who want to see, my user name is: shoegirl (no spaces). YAY!!! There goes my free time! I now have this instant urge to catalog every thing. YAY!

Edit: I just added my inventory of needles and hooks. the only things I didn't add in were a couple of pairs of mutt needles that I have no idea what size they are and my itty bitty crochet hooks that they don't have in the list yet (they are like the thread crochet kind). this is so cool, it's like crack candy. I am having no luck exporting my LibraryThing Library to Raverly so if anyone has tried that before, let me know!

Edit #2: I finally downloaded the new version of Yahoo Messenger for Mac, I hope it works better than the last one. My computer doesn't really like the old one, and people would message me and I wouldn't always get their messages which is annoying!

Factory Girl

Yup that's me! I had to be at work by 6 am to the quarterly inventory audit of parts in the factory. Did I mention that I have to be up at 4:30 am so I can get ready and squeeze my commute in? I will also note that this is for a random sample of parts and it takes about four hours to complete the audit. I wish I had a dorky picture of me and all the safety gear I have to wear: ear plugs, metal tarsals and safety glasses. Why don't metatarsals come in pink? That would be really nice.

Songs of the Week:

1. Stronger by Kanye West --- I don't always agree with his tantrums, but the man makes some of the best hip hop out there and I am really picky about that type of that music because it is out of my usual box.

2. No One by Alicia Keys --- She never fails to disappoint me, and I love the piano part in this song. I think this is one of my favorite singles of hers. This songs is just beautiful, and if you are reading this Sunshine, you need to listen to this song.

New Show -- Episode 1 of Gossip Girls is free on ITUNES right now prior to the premiere!!!!! The blonde girl from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is in this show and the books the show is based on is a guilty pleasure teen read for me and my sis.

So apparently, things are very slowly becoming less of a disaster. I am looking forward to October and the Fall season.

Crochet and Cleaning Day

Today was scrub the bathroom day. It is sparkly now. yay. Tomorrow is my night class, so I won't be doing any cleaning projects. i have designated Friday as vacuum and sweep day. Saturday is take in the recycling and trim psychotic bushes day. My sister did sort out the half-empty shampoo bottles, so the shower is less junky now. We also now have mystery shampoo in a cup. I just want the house to look pretty for when Sunshine comes next week.

On the crochet front, I am nearing the finish line. I have no idea what to do for a border yet. I am thinking that I will get a solid green or blue matching yarn to do the border. We will see. i am going to finish this skein and then work on baby L's blankie because it has been neglected for a long time. I also have some yummy dishcloth yarn I need to use up.

The creativity project is going great. I cheat. I refuse to get up extra early to do morning pages, so I write them during my morning break. I have a long ass commute and I don't like to get out of bed any earlier then I have to. I will find out tomorrow afternoon whether or not I have to be at work at 6am to do an inventory audit. the only plus side to that would be that I would get off work really early on a Friday. We will see. I am indifferent either way.

**** In a Box

D*ck in a Box and Kathy Griffin both won Creative Arts Emmys! How awesome is that!!!!! I would like to note that I am not offended by either one of them.

So work was boring as snails. My security badge is fixed now so at least I can get in the front door now. That is a huge plus. I did our nasty ass dishes. I can't stand it when the sink smells because my sister won't rinse the pan after she makes cheeseburger helper in it. Gross. Gross. Gross. Thank god it was trash day.

I plan on spending the rest of the night reading the rest of Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg and crocheting on the Splash blanket. There is not much excitement going on in my life right now. I have been helping my mother with some genealogy research, which I don't mind doing because I think it is kind of fun. I have been given a list of things to find when I go back to Iowa in October for Baby K's baptism.

Somethin' to Believe In

MY HOMEWORK IS DONE!!!!!! YAY!!! I also completed my AIS Exam one. All this before my Sunday night shows start. Usually I don't even start on my homework until late sunday night. More crochet time for me. My sister and I have been watching Grey's Anatomy Season 2 all day because there is nothing on tv right now and they keeping running the same episodes over and over. I am so excited for Season 3 to come out this week, because my sister still hasn't seen the finale and I forgot the some of the little things that happened on the show.

I have also been going through my tiny recipe pile looking for recipes for my college student because she put easy recipes on her list and I don't even like to boil water, but I do like to collect recipes because I like the pictures. I am going to put them on brightly colored cards, and then hole punch them in the corner, so that I can put them on a ring, so they are easy to use and keep track of in the kitchen. I think it is going to look really cool when it is done.

By the way, I just finished watching Rock of Love. Holy crap. tonight's elimination was not what i expected and I think the Meet the Parents episode next week is going to be great. There's just something about watching a good chick fight, especially when a rock star is involved. Plus, I always get a lot of rows done on an afghan when watching this show.

I hope this week goes okay. With radios, etc banned at work, I felt like I was in solitary confinement all week. My poor shuffle feels abandoned.

Random Thoughts Saturday

I have spent most of the weekend working on homework and I feel like my brain is fried. It was so bad I dug out Spanky (my first ipod) so that I could listen to some music that unfortunately is not stored anywhere else. Spanky is a 3rd generation ipod that I got just before I graduated from college the first time. He has the five buttons which separates him from all the other versions. The problem is that Spanky is PC formatted and my primary computer is my newer Mac laptop. I still have my old PC but it isn't hooked up and it is a real pain in the ass to boot up and get running. I gave myself the ultimatium of getting a new video ipod by Christmas, but I haven't decided whether or not to keep Spanky or recycle him. I think I will keep him because he was my very first ipod and my very first electronic item that I got without my dad's input or help. I just have this weird emotional attachment with my ipod. I received a really cute ipod hoodie in the Mac swap that is pink striped with polka dots on the pocket and Spanky is wearing it (does this mean he is cross dressing?) Once you go Mac, you can't go back!

Disclaimer: Yes, I am referring to my electronics like they are people. I am not crazy, I am just a loner that loves her ipods and when something is in your pocket a lot, I think you can name it. I also only put *s in certain words so that I don't get spammed by bad people.

My sister took her Sears card and bought a non-shitty DVD/VCR player that was on sale for $99. She needed to be able to record our shows coming up while we were in class. It doesn't have a DVD-R because she is low-tech and it was going to be like an extra $129 for that feature. She wanted a Sony to match our Tv because every time we stray from Sony we end up with a piece of shit. She is going to hook up her old DVD player in her bedroom to her little dorm tv that has a VCR built into it. She made me go with her to buy it because she doesn't like talking to salesmen. I felt like I was her advocate or something. She is happy with it. We haven't figured out how to record yet, that might be a project for when Sunshine comes to visit, he is one with the cords.

I organized my little yarn stash today kind of. My problem is that my yarn won't fit into the picnic basket anymore, so I had to put the overflow into the plastic zipper bag that my cotton blanket from Tar-jay came in. I also managed to get a few rows in on the Splash afghan while my sister and I were watching High School Musical. I love both one and two. they are so peppy and they just make you want to dance.

It rained really hard this morning and so it was humid as hell the rest of the day. I hate humidty it makes my hair frizz and I feel like I am stuck to myself all day.

On the music front, besides High School Musical, I have been listening to the new matchbox twenty single (this one is more rock based--yay), over you by daugherty, and radio nowhere by Bruce and the E Street Band. I have also been watching video of Justin Timberlake's HBO special and his EMMY NOMINATED D*ck in a Box SNL sketch. This is hilarious and honestly not as gross as one might think. The only problem is that the tune is really catchy and it is probably not a good idea to go around the mall humming the Dick in a Box song, especially when you are looking for a baptism gift for a baby.

My IKEA 2008 catalog came in the mail yesterday. This catalog is complete p*rn and I envy anyone who lives within a short driving distance of one of their stores. I just love their style and their prices.

I was looking for some picture frames to put the new pics of K and A that my Aunt D sent, and stuck in between a couple of frames was my long lost 2007 mini Frank Lloyd Wright calendar. Isn't that hilarious? I have been looking for it ever since we moved into the rental at the end of February. LOL....

I have been helping my sister with her creativity journal for her creativity class. She has to write every single day, so I write the sentence starters for her. Thank god, she doesn't turn this into the teacher. She just writes a paper to summerize her experience at the end. Today's sentence starter was: If you found an unmarked box under the Christmas tree, would you open it? I was inspired by the D*ck in a Box video. I am still laughing about it and that sketch has been out for ages. I am doing a creativity journal too just for solidarity purposes and to make up for the fact that my day job is a creativity sucker and I miss writing just to write. The blog is different because it is semi-censored for privacy purposes obviously.

I mailed off my first package to my SP 11 (the one I am spoiling). I hope she likes it, I can't wait to see what she says. I stuffed that box good, because I use flat rate boxes because it is cheaper in the long run, especially if you are mailing a book and you want it to arrive before it is out of print. I am also working on the box for the college student I adopted through the swap on Craftster. Even though, I am in college myself, I don't consider myself to be a traditional college student, since I don't really participate in the campus life. This swap is going to be very easy because I don't have to make anything and my student has similar taste. I might be almost 27 years old, but I still act my shoe size (yeah, that is kinda of lame sounding, i know).

I also caught up on listening to my knitting podcasts this weekend. The baseball episode of Cast-On was awesome. I want to make it to a Stitch and Pitch event next summer but it will require planning and vacation days because I don't live very close to any MLB parks, the closest ones are between 4 and 6 hours away. I also like listening to Knitters Uncensored because they are hilarious and they are ex-pats living in Germany and I think that is so cool. Lime N Violet is another favorite although, i can't drink pop during that podcast because there is a high possibility that I will laugh so hard that it might shoot out my nose and hurt my Mac.

I haven't been really reading for pleasure lately. Mostly academic books or my text books. Unfortunately I can only do like two hobbies at once, before things start to suffer.

Okay, now that I have rambled forever and ever, I am going to go, before I bore ya'll to tears.

The Good Stuff

This weekend was wonderful, but this week has been like total crap, so I am focusing on the good stuff tonight. Below is my list.

The Good Things List:

1. Spending the weekend with Sunshine
2. My genealogy break-through on my dad's side (the side we know the least about)
3. Joined another Craftster swap
4. THE NEW 160 GB VIDEO IPOD....I knew there was a reason why I waited so damn long. It is $349 which makes it the same price that the old 80 gb was. I can get the new 80 gb for $249. There is also a video nano which is cute for $149 for 8 gb (i need more gb than that for video personally)
5. My big trip to Iowa in October for Baby K's baptism. My sister gets to be godmother this time.
6. My birthday trip to Dallas to see Dave Matthews Band in concert and shop my heart out (maybe)
7. My Morning Page where I listed the 8 main things that frustrate me and since then I have felt better
8. the new Sugar and Cream cotton in Twists and Stripes. Total coolness. I have two balls of twists and two of stripes. the pink stripes, the purple/blue/green/white stripes, and the pink and brown twists
9. Watching the marching band march on Friday night (massive improvement from last year. Yay for Sunshine!)
10. Finishing skein two on the Splash blanket and starting skein three.
11. No-bake cherry cheesecake (Sunshine and I made this and it was damn good).
12. my ten dollar cotton blanket from Target
13. Watching re-runs of Army Wives and kicking myself for not watching this show the first time around.
14. The creativity aisle at the Barnes and Noble in Springfield
15. French Kiss Vanilla Frozen Rockuccino Mix from the KISS Coffeehouse. The best stuff, I could hardly tell it was coffee (and I got a nice dose of caffeine)

Thanks again to Sunshine for the perfect weekend. You are a wonderful host and the best friend anyone could ever be so lucky to have.

On Eagle's Wings

It is with a heavy heart that I write tonight. I came home from a wonderful weekend with Sunshine only to find out that my godfather passed away this weekend on Saturday. I promise to post about all my adventures with yarn and Sunshine this weekend later on this week but for tonight I just wanted to write a little about my godfather since this blog has become my diary of sorts.

My godfather was my next door neighbor growing up in Iowa. He was a dentist, photographer, master gardener, Air Force vet and grandpa to everyone. He was there for all my birthday parties as a little girl, at my baptism, First Communion and my confirmation. He took the most beautiful pictures of me in my prom dress standing in front of a silver evergreen in his front yard. I am looking at those pictures now and I still feel the beauty that I felt that evening. He always grew pumpkins for us to decorate at Halloween, sweet corn and strawberries and cherry tomatoes that I called tommy's toes when i was a tiny tot. He used to pass out toothbrushes, travel toothpaste and a box of raisins, which he lovingly referred to as nature's candy. He is the reason why I love raisins.

He was batting leukemia for the last few years and I take solace that he is no longer in pain. We weren't expecting him to die, but we knew that he did not have much time left.I am not the most religious person but I firmly believe that he is watching over me in heaven now, close to God and our Lady. He was a surrogate father to me, always filling in when my dad was traveling and I had to go to a dad's day event. Him and his wife always came to all of our recitals and plays and my band concerts. I feel slightly orphaned in a way because even though I moved away, I always kept in touch and would visit with them every time I was in Iowa to visit family.

I was so upset that I found this beautiful card at Walgreens and I was writing a letter to his wife and family and it took me four tries because these big tear drops kept falling and I didn't want ink smudges on my letter. I will be fine, my heart just hurts a lot right now, as it does when something like this happens.

Song of the day: On Eagle's Wings performed by Michael Joncas (his version sounds the closest to the way we always sung it in Mass)

Almost There

Yay! Tomorrow is Thursday and so much closer to the weekend and pay day!!!

A few weeks ago, Sunshine peer pressured me into joining Facebook and I resisted but then A the co worker started peer pressuring me too so I gave in and joined. I thought I would never use it, but I have been communicating with some people from my past that probably would not have occurred in a situation other than Facebook. I have been talking to one of my advisors from the literary magazine I used to run back in college (the first time) and I have been talking to some of my old friends from Iowa, so that has been awesome. It's funny how things work.

I have spent a lot of time crocheting tonight. It is just a huge stress reliever and I don't have to concentrate like I do when I am reading a book. There has just been so much drama and so much homework with school and it is just a lot sometimes. I am looking forward to a little break Labor Day weekend. I would be making quicker progress but the ply of this yarn isn't very consistent so it takes me longer to crochet.

I also can't believe that September is almost here. My 27th birthday (on the 25th) is a few short weeks away. Right before it is the Dave Matthews Band concert in Dallas. Double yay! I have wanted to see them perform in concert for like years!

My mom called me to tell me that my Dad's flight to India got delayed and he was forced to spend the night in Paris. Neither one of us was feeling sympathy for him. He got to go to the Eiffel Tower. How cool is that? I just love architecture and the Eiffel Tower is one of my all time favorite structures. He did make it to India and he will be home sometime after Labor Day. My dad is the person responsible for my love of travel.

My Stash

So i thought I would answer some of the questions that my secret pal posed to me in the package that arrived yesterday. I do like vintage knitting and crochet supplies. When i was first learning my mom gave me some of her extra needles and hooks. She has an old wicker picnic basket that she keeps all her hooks and needles in. My collection is a hodge podge of things, cause for the longest time I didn't know about Brittany and Addi and Lantern Moon. I have one pair of Addi Turbos size 10 32 length and a Brittany H hook, a plastic Addi size J hook and then metal Addi hooks in F, H, and I. I have the entire Susan Bates hook collection, and a hand full of plastic and metal knitting needles. I have more crochet hooks than needles. I have a Lantern Moon black sheep measuring tape that is one of my favorites and I have a white sheep measuring tape too. I have one set of chibi darning needles that I love because they are bent metal and they don't break.

I have been on a big yarn diet this past year, so my yarn stash now mostly fits into this big wicker picnic basket that my mom gave me. I will try any yarn once. If the color is hideous then I use it for charity knitting.

I have a big knitting and crochet book stash. The problem is that i love to read, so I have tendency to buy a lot of the magazines and books, but I have been better the last few months, and haven't bought very many. The only magazines that I ever make things out of are Interweave Crochet and Crochet Today, because they are more my speed and I am not that great of a knitter yet. I had to list all my craft books on LibraryThing.com (user name shoegirl) so that I could keep track of them all.

I do like Knit Picks yarn. they are nice for when you want to make a big afghan but you don't want to use Red Heart Super Saver so you can get the nice fibers from Knit Picks without having to go to the poor house. Of course, I admit I do use Red Heart a lot for certain things. I pretty much love all yarn, except for fun fur. I made a few fun fur scarves for people and that was enough.

Anyways, that pretty much sums up my stash. It will be nice when I am on Ravelry and I can inventory all this stuff in one place.

Special Delivery!

Prepare to drool people:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shoe_girl/1253284048/?rotated=1&cb=1188258025616

Oh yeah, I received my first Secret Pal 11 package and I LOVE IT!!!!! I seriously love the yarn. I keep petting it. My sister called me at work to tell me that I received a "squishy package" in the mail and I came straight home, there was no way I was staying late tonight cause I had a feeling that it was yarn. Anyhoo, I received a pair of size 10 wood knitting needles (these feel really good in my greedy little hands), two skeins of Knit Picks Main Line in Dusty Lavendar (75% Pima Cotton, 25% Merino Wool) and one skein of purple varigated 100 Pure Wool that matches the Dusty Lavendar. She also included a really nice letter, I love letters, it doesn't matter what the topic is, I just love receiving letters, it is like the biggest present for me.

Anyways, a massive thank-you to my Pal because this yarn is really cool and I honestly love it like I picked it out myself. The balls on the ends of the knitting needles remind me of my mother's macrame beads that I used to play with and make necklaces out of. I love vintage knitting and crochet notions.

Things that Begin With the Letter S

I was able to haul off an entire trunkload of recycling Saturday morning,so that was really awesome. It just really bothers me now to throw away something that could be recycled and it only took my sister and I like ten minutes to dump stuff in the bins.

I did go to A the coworker's apartment and helped her hang up twenty things ranging from decorative shelves, pictures, clocks and mirrors. I have one mirror hanging in my bathroom and it came with the house. Lol. She likes deep reds and sage green accents with some black, brown and golds. Her theme is sort of a world traveler theme. We did make cheese manicotti with spaghetti sauce afterwords with ants on a log as an appetizer (celery with peanut butter and raisens on top). We watched two episodes of Season 1 of Grey's Anatomy and I did get a few rows in on the Splash blanket.

I mostly worked on the Splash blanket today. I am halfway through skein two. I also listened to the latest episode of Lime and Violet. I think one of the reasons why I like their podcast is because I used to live within an afternoon's drive of the general area that they live in, so they will talk about local things and it feels like I am back home in away.

My sister the slob finally cleaned up all of her crap! PRAISE THE LORD!!!! I thought I was going to have to throw it all in her room. I just don't like piles of stuff all over the place, because I am one of those people that trips over everything. I will freely admit that I am sort of a neatfreak and I am definitely the Felix in our relationship.

the lawn boys fixed their lawn mower and were able to finish mowing our lawn this afternoon. I am really excited about that. I don't like having a shitty looking lawn. With all the heavy rain we had this season, we weren't able to properly treat for weeds and our yard has 20 types of weeds growing in our yarn, so the grass doesn't get very long but the damn weeds do.

Today, I did all of my Finance and AIS homework. YAY FOR ME. I did more homework today then my sister, which was a shocker because I hate doing homework and she loves it. Now I just have to do my tax homework for class on thursday. I am trying to stay caught up because I am spending Labor Day weekend with Sunshine, so I don't want have to mess with it while I am there.

I also watched The Goonies and Stand By Me and The Two Coreys. It was kind of like an unofficial Corey Feldman day. Stand By Me is one of my all time favorite movies and I always watched The Goonies growing up whenever it was on tv. I also watched the first two episodes of Big Love Season 1. I checked out the entire season from MY LIBRARY. How cool is that? I am very fortunate to have a really good library nearby. They have been expanding their DVD collection recently and this set was a two week rental. We don't get HBO, so I was having to watch season 2 while I was on business trips staying in hotels. The same thing with Bravo. I also got a couple of David Sedaris books to read, however, I think I like Augusten Burroughs better. David Sedaris books are really good though.

I don't want to work this week. The week leading up to a Holiday weekend always drags for me and it's pay day and closing the books for the month week. It's weird too because Labor Day weekend means that my birthday is getting closer and the Dallas trip to see Dave Matthews Band in concert. YAY! I am so excited about that. Sometimes i like to walk over to my bookcase just to look at the tickets. yes, I am a dork.

A and her family are also moving back to my time zone this weekend. Now they will only be about three hours or so away. They will also be a lot closer to their families, so I think it will be a good thing.

Anyways, I think I am going to bed now. Monday mornings are hard to get up for. LOL.

Wet Grass and Little Worms

Song of the Day: Rangers by A Fine Frenzy

It thunderstormed all last night so I ended up waking up this morning at 6:38 am. I technically slept in by 38 minutes. Isn't that a hoot? Before the thunderstorm the lawnboys mowed the front yard, so at least the part you see the most is mowed. They are going to try to finish today if the rain holds off. This is also supposed to be recycling day. The privately owned recycling place is in a gravel parking lot on a street that floods with heavy rain. Oops. At least now, I have it bagged up and sorted. I am annoyed with myself because I can't find my copy of The Green Book. It is nowhere in the house, so I am wondering if one of our cars ate it. The annoying part is that I haven't read it all the way through. It was sitting in the same place for weeks and then apparently I moved it and have no idea where it is. I hate it when I loose things. The Second Season of Living with Ed premieres on HGTV this coming week. I am really stoked because season 1 was hilarious.

The new issue of Rolling Stone came out. It has Maroon 5 on the cover with some eye candy photos of Adam Levine inside, so i purchased it. I used to be a subscriber for like almost ten years but then they started putting plastic barbie chicks that can't carry a tune on the front cover so now I only buy if I like the issue.

So I am supposed to hang out with A the coworker today and help her hang photos. I don't actually nail, I just hand her stuff and tell her if the placement looks good. she is a perfectionist and marks with a pencil and uses a laser level. She is the reason why our pictures on the wall are not crooked. We are going to have crafty time afterwards. She is my only local crafty friend. I think I will probably work on the Splash blanket.

Packages and Pop

Song of the Day: Don't Stop Believin' by Journey

Today was male and mail day. Our hot sexy Schwan's man game by with our order of mini pepperoni pizzas (and he puts them in the fridge for you!!!!). Then I received part of my infamous order from July that was back ordered to all eternity. I had ordered a pink argyle Dickies Messenger bag, matching wristlet and ipod case. Well, they are totally out of stock of the ipod case so I cancelled that part and the wristlet has not shipped yet. The messenger bag turned out to really be a mini one because it is purse sized, and I really wanted like the step above but I didn't think dimensions through when I was choosing the size. Then my dumb Accounting Information Systems book came. It is so ugly I am glad i only paid $12 for it. I got my Craftster Mac Swap package today. It was so cool because my partner has some serious sewing machine skills and made me little outfits for my ipod like a tiered skirt and matching hoodie. I was kind of blown away by her artsyness and attention to detail.

Thursday:
Um, so I forgot to post the above paragraph last night..OOOPSIES! I am a spaz right now.
I would like to note that for the record, I have developed an addiction to cranberry cokes. I am one of those freaks that actually likes to drink cranberry juice but when you dump some coke in with it, it's the best of both words. I did finish my tax homework, it was a little easier towards the end. I have to go to tax class in a few minutes, so I am hoping that I don't fall asleep.

The Nanny Diaries is coming out soon, so i really want to see that because the book was really awesome and Chris Evans (fantastic 4) plays the love interest.

the homework is never-ending!

Song of the Day: Two by Ryan Adams

I spent two hours working on tax homework and i am still not done. I made it through unit one and part of unit two and then I gave up. I had run out of allergy medicine yesterday and didn't realize it until this morning so I had a major congestion headache. So I put down the big evil book and went to the store to buy dino nuggets and allergy medicine.

My finance book arrived today, so that is my project as soon as I finish my stupid tax homework. I just hate busy work. I would rather do meaningful projects instead of the lame questions at the end of the chapters.

Prior to the tax homework fiasco, I had to help my sister with her Creativity class. This is very challenging for her because she is not the artsy type with a wandering imagination like me. So I googled creativity for her so she could get some ideas for journal topics. Then I told her to go check out The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron for further help because she has to do like 90 entries over the course of the semester. It helps that I hung out with a lot of creative artsy types in college and I spent must of my time in preschool at the cut and paste table making collages from old catalogs.

Gold Star for Me!!!!

I actually did homework tonight! I did all the unit one homework and discussion posts for AIS and I did the discussion post for Finance. I don't have my Finance book yet so I can't do the problems. I need to do the homework for my tax class but my brain hurts a little now, so I might not accomplish that all tonight.

I owe my success to my Kissology Volume 2 disc 2. I put that in and all of a sudden I was almost done with my homework. This even included a few Ellen-style dance breaks because my leg was falling asleep. I have bad homework habits but at least I made significant progress! YAY!!!!

In other news, none of the stuff my sister and I have ordered recently has shown up yet. I am convinced that it will all show up on the same day. The new issue of Blender magazine arrived. Yay! I like the pictures and the funny trivia.

I did make more progress on the Splash blanket, so both blankets are coming along nicely. I have no idea how long they will take since I am alternating the work on them and these are the first normal sized blankets I have ever made. We will see what happens.

My sister is taking a Creativity for Teachers class this semester. I am supposed to help her become more creative since I am the "creative one" in the family. I told her she should learn how to crochet and watch my Kiss dvds with me. She thought that was funny. I told her that grown men that dress up and wear make up and play instruments have to be creative.

Up All Night

So since today was my sister's birthday, i did not get shit done today. I did manage to kill a tree printing stuff off for my online classes but for some damn reason when I try to post in a discussion thread it "posts" but doesn't show my message. I am going to try again tomorrow using my sister's pc. they "upgraded" their online class system and so far I think it is a bigger pain in the ass.

I did get to see Becoming Jane and I LOVED IT!!!!! I also saw the preview for the movie version of The Jane Austen Book Club and I liked the preview so much that I went next door to Barnes and Noble after the movie and bought it. I read it when we got home this afternoon and just devoured it. (For the record, this book was not very long and I am a fast reader, especially if the book is good). We ate at Fuddruckers, which my sister likes. I personally think the food is ok but overpriced for what it tastes like. I do like the milkshakes though even though I am not supposed to drink them because I pay later for it.

I am not excited about going back to work tomorrow. I don't feel like I am being challenged right now. I get bored really easily and I have been doing a lot of little crap projects lately and it is annoying me because I could be spending that time on school. Unfortunately, now that I am "grown-up" I have to work 40 + hours a week so I can afford things like school, overpriced books and rent. I am really looking forward to Labor Day weekend for sure. I don't have any plans yet but it will be nice to have a break.

Guilty Pleasures Weekend

Song of the Day: Potential Break-up Song by Aly & AJ (i secretly love this song!!!!)

I finished skein number 2 on Baby L's blanket. So now I am starting skein 2 on the splash blanket. I also crocheted two different ipod cozies this week.

Today was the company picnic. My sister came with me and we were able to squeeze in a round of mini golf. My best hole was number 9, the Little House on the Prairie hole. Each hole represented a piece of local history. I didn't win any prizes at bingo or the drawings but there was a lot of free food, pop and swag so i was happy. I didn't get sunburnt either, so that was nice.

Friday night was also the premiere of High School Musical 2!!!! YAY!!!!! This was a actually a sequel that didn't suck! I also watched Kiss: Attack of the Phantoms again. I couldn't help it. I love that band.

Tomorrow is the b-day celebration for my sister. I can't decide if I am more excited about seeing Becoming Jane or going to Barnes and Noble.

I will have more to post tomorrow, I am tired from being outside all day.

More SP11 Questions

1. What is the one knitting accessory you could not live without?
My Lantern Moon Black Sheep tape measure
2. If you're heading on vacation, do you take knitting with you? If
so, how much and what type of project? I am mainly a crocheter. If it is a driving trip I take everything that I can stuff into my suitcase. I usually make scarves and hats on road trips because they don't require much space in the car. If I am flying I take knitting/crocheting books and magazines because I have a huge fear that my crochet hooks will get confiscated by airport security and I am quite attached to my crochet hooks.
3. Where have you travelled to that you'd consider your favorite spot?
Chicago--I love everything about that city, especially the Cubs and Michigan Avenue at Christmas. Although, it was really cool going to Russia.
4. What is your favorite knitting book at the moment? Do you own it?
5. Do you listen to podcasts? Which is your favorite(s)? I only listen to knitting and crochet podcasts because I haven't found any other ones that I have the patience to listen to. Cast-On will always be my favorite because that was the first podcast I ever downloaded. I also love Lime N Violet and Knitters Uncensored. Those would be the big three, although there is a few more that I listen to on occasion.

Ravelry Update:
You signed up on July 3, 2007
You are #13101 on the list.
3959 people are ahead of you in line.
12880 people are behind you in line.
34% of the list has been invited so far

The Great Mentos Experiment

My sister finally did the Great Mentos Experiment in our backyard. If you have not heard of this, do a search on You Tube. it is the most fun thing ever. You basically drop some mentos in a 2 liter of Diet Coke and it lauches the mentos in the air and sprays all over the place. You use Diet Coke because it is less sticky and it shoots the mentos higher. I took video on my digi cam but my sister told me that I can't post it online otherwise I would totally post it on my facebook. I provided the play by play commentary for the footage. She is doing this demonstration for her classes tomorrow and she wanted to practice a couple of times. She has a little gadget that loads them up and you just have to pull the pin to launch. It makes it more accurate. It was hilarious. the first time she used generic Diet Coke and it almost shot her in the face fountain style. We got much better distance with the real Diet Coke.

It is beyond hot. I dreamt last night that I was staying at one of those hotels that is made entirely of ice that I read about in an old issue of Budget Travel magazine.

In order to beat the heat, I purchased Kissology Volume 2. This has a bonus disc and contains Kiss in Attach of the Phantoms which I have not seen since I was a very little Shoegirl. This is the sole reason why I bought this one before I bought volume 1.

I only crocheted one row last night. I was lazy and working on some other projects around the house. I am going to crochet more tonight though while I am watching Kissology.

I do not want to go to my tax class tomorrow. It is going to be really sunny and hot and boring. Yuck.

Song of the Day: You Picked Me by A Fine Frenzy

It is too damn hot!

I am wilting in this heat and I spend at least 10 hours of my day in a frosty air conditioned cubicle. Then I go outside to my car and I am blasted by this like 100 degree heat and it is not fun for this Iowa girl. I will never get used to the sun down here. I am just sticking it out until I get transfered in May (well hopefully transfered, I could be stuck here--long story). I attempted to scrub some of the fried dead bugs off of my car this evening but we will see when I get into the car tomorrow morning if I actually accomplished anything.

I got my SP 11 match today and i am so excited. I also got a nice e-mail from the SP 11 person in charge of spoiling me. She sounds pretty cool.

I am going to try to crochet some more on baby L's afghan tonight. I spent most of the evening doing dishes. Yuck. There are new episodes of The Hills tonight. yay!

Home Again

Well I got back last night around 10 pm. I was so stiff and tired, that is the downside to flying.The presentation was a big success, so I am very glad that it is over with. YAY!

My sister is back too and I think she took some crab ass pills or something because she has been bitchy all day long. She still hasn't done any of her trip laundry yet and I managed to get all of mine done. she said it was because I was using the drying racks but she has been home since wednesday afternoon and didn't do any of it so she can kiss my butt on that. She spent too much time hanging out with her "best friend" that treats her like shit and owes her over $500 for babysitting her kids this summer. Whatever, her choice not mine, just don't take it all out on me.

I spent most of the morning with her at teacher supply stores helping her laminate posters since the machine at her school is broke right now. I hate those stores because there is a lot of kids, pushy people and judgemental religious people. Plus, it doesn't help that i was wearing my new Kiss coffeehouse t-shirt and my beloved gray cords. I just wanted to get it over with. I love my sister, but we are two very different people. it doesn't help that she hasn't been sleeping very well and she doesn't function without like ten hours of sleep daily.

We are supposed to go see Becoming Jane on her birthday (the 19th) but we will see what happens. If she blows me off to hang out with her stupid friend, I am going to target in Owasso and she can buy her own birthday dinner.

So, now that I am done venting, (i think) let's get on with what else is happening. I had some free time in the evenings, so I spent most of the time at the hotel watching Top Chef Miami on Bravo and reading my Chuck Klosterman books that I had checked out from the library. I am a little sad that I have read all of his books now,but then the September issue of Esquire arrived this morning and there was a feature by him about the Tulsa buried car, so that was like a little treat. I usually take books on business trips because I carry on my luggage and I don't want any of my good crochet supplies to be confiscated. I also had my little shuffle with me which was great because there was a lot of screaming kids on the plane from Dallas to Tulsa on my way home. All you have to do is crank up the Kiss music and all your worries are gone.

I finished several rows on baby L's afghan. the skein is getting smaller and smaller. I am too lazy to count rows right now so I will say that it looks like about two inches or so.

This week will be crazy because we have auditors in town and the company picnic is on Saturday the 18th. A the co worker and I are manning the water balloon toss. I will not be wearing a white t-shirt for sure.

I did check out more books at the library. Pretty much chick lit, because they didn't have anything else that I had been wanting to read. We made a pit stop at BN today too, so I was able to look at some books I had been debating about buying, which is good because there was only one book out of the five that would have actually been worth paying for. I mean, i really don't need to pay $15 for a crochet book with a cheeseburger pattern in it. I can figure that one out on my own.

I also realized that my classes will be starting on Thursday. BOO!!! I hate f-ing homework. I was spoiled these last couple of weeks off from class.

Quick Update Before Leaving

Well, the big run through for my presentation went really well. I leave tomorrow to go up for the big presentation so I think I will be glad when it is Friday afternoon and I am heading back to the airport. I don't have problems presenting, I just drive myself crazy up until that point. I want to see my annoying little sister as well. It is strange not having her around and apparently her suitcase is stuffed so full with souvenirs that it took some creative packing to shut it.

I have finished 34 rows on Baby L's afghan. I tied on skein number 2 last night because I just really needed something to keep me company. I am not taking it with me on the trip because I am very paranoid that the airport people will be over zealous and decide to confiscate one of my beloved Brittany hooks. I carry on everything. I check bags only for international travel. I might bring my new vanna book so i can drool on the pretty crochet pictures. I have to take my hefty work laptop so I can't back too many books or magazines, otherwise my poor shoulder will fall off. LOL.

On the plus side, I don't have to get up at the ass crack of dawn for my flight tomorrow. YAY! I will be able to sleep in for a little bit! YAY!

Anyways, I need to go pack. I am sure I will have plenty of stories this weekend after I get back.

Secret Pal 11 Questionnaire

It is that time of year again. i am going on trip later this week, so I am posting this before I forget.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I like SWTC Karoke, Noro Silk Garden, Cascade 220, Brown Sheep. I don't really have a fiber that I don't like but I did receive 19 skeins of Caron Simply Soft and Red Heart, so I really don't need any more than that. I just bought Vanna White's new afghan book that is made by Lion Brand, so any of her Vanna's Choice yarn would be awesome because I really like it and only have two skeins so far.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

I have a John Deere glass that stores my knitting needles and a hook roll my mom made me for my crochet hooks. There are hooks every where because I can't get enough of them. My favorites are Brittany and Addi (the metal ones not the all plastic ones)

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I am a rebel crocheter since 2003. I have been knitting on and off but I am really awful at hand knitting but I love to loom or machine knit. So I would say very much beginner on the knitting front and intermediate on the crochet side.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? Yes, I do. See below:



I also have a list of my crafty books at Librarything.com --My user name is Shoegirl

5. What's your favorite scent?

Lime, cherries, green apple. I don't like spices or anything that smells like old lady. If you want to send me a candle, I prefer soy wax candles because they burn cleaner and bother my allergies less then the normal candles.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

SKITTLES! and peanut butter M & Ms

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I don't know how to spin at all, but I think it would be cool to try some day. I do a lot of embroidery and cross stitch, and I love to make bottle cap magnets.


8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

The Killers, Justin Timberlake, Kenny Chesney, Incubus, The Bangles, marching band music, really I am a music lover. I am going to see the Dave Matthews Band for my birthday this year. I love 80s rock, KISS, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, etc.I am in the process of upgrading from a 3rd generation ipod to a video ipod. Ooh, I like Sleater-Kinney too...Alternative rock is probably the genre I listen to the most. I am an Itunes fanatic, i download music all the time. I just bought a mac powerbook this year (12''), so I am definitely tech savvy.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?

I love blues, purples, hot pink, aqua, black, rainbow colors, i look nasty in yellows and oranges. yeah, I am very pale, my skin doesn't see the sun ever.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

single and lovin' it. I have a very close friendboy and some best friends that are scattered everywhere and two Yorkies, Haley and Daisy, and a mom and a dad that have been married forever, and my sister and I share a rental house together

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I have a big head so I like hats, but they can't be tight. I don't do ponchos, but I love scarves and mittens. I would really like a pair of black fingerless gloves...that would be really cool.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I like to crochet hats, scarves, dishcloths/washclothes, squares for charity, little baby sweaters cause they are quick.

13. What are you knitting right now?
I am crocheting two different baby afghans at once.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Hell yeah!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
If i knit, i use circulars. Hooks I prefer Brittany (birch)or Addi (metal)

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

No. It is currently on my list of things to buy when I win the lotto.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?

Usually i frog them or i just collect the yarn, so they don't even get started.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Halloween, my birthday, Valentine's Day, Christmas Day when it snows.

19. Is there anything that you collect?

John Deere stuff, huge Hello Kitty fan, love Converse Chuck Taylors

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
See my amazon wish list. I don't subscribe to any knitting magazines, but if I did it would be Vogue Knitting or Crochet Today.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I want to learn how to crochet ripples effortlessly.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

No, I don't know how to knit socks. My foot size is a US 8.

23. When is your birthday?

Sept. 25th! I will be 27 this year.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?

Not yet, I am currently #13,101 on the waiting list.

One Busy Little Bee

I accomplished a lot of little things this weekend. Some cleaning, some home improvement, some crochet. I set up a mini recycling area. eventually I want to have little bins to put everything in, but that will have to wait for now because I am going on a trip this week and so I am trying to spend conservatively (for me anyways). The other part was that I just didn't find any that I liked for the price. I wish i had an Ikea.

On the crafty front, my bookstore finally had the 25th anniversary issue of Vogue knitting. This is my p*rn. Seriously, there are so many good features and I like a lot of the patterns. When A the co worker and I went to Owasso, we stopped at Hobby Lobby because she wanted to get candle making stuff so I ventured over to the yarn area. Vanna White (wheel of fortune and crochet icon) has her own line of yarn out through Lion Brand. It's acrylic, I would consider it to be like if Caron Simply Soft mated with Red Heart Super Saver, I really like it and I like the colors she chose. Anyways, they had the two books but I just bought the afghan one because it had a lot of cool patterns that were at my level and crochet taste. I got two skeins of her yarn, one purple and one dusty blue. i am trying to apply just-in-time principles to my yarn stashing. LOL. So once I am done with the baby blankets, I am going to try her book out. I finished the first skein on the Splash afghan (green and blue) so I think I will rotate back to baby L's blanket (pink and purple) and start skein two on that one. It makes it a little more interesting if you have another project going at the same time.

I did more genealogy stuff at the library saturday morning and checked out all of the Chuck Klosterman books that they had that I haven't read yet. i might take one or two on the plane with me. Right now I am reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver and her family about their first year of living off the land. It is really facinating and it has a really good sounding recipe for chocolate chip cookies with zucchini in them. For some sick reason, I really love zucchini, I blame this on my mother.

I also bought a copy of The Green Book which is this little simple user friendly type book to living a more eco-friendly life. I really liked the layout of this book and I think I will be able to apply a lot of the things they discuss to my every day life. I just want to get back to my Iowa roots and lifestyle. I slacked off on the recycling stuff when we moved down here because it's not as easy to recycle here as it was in my hometown. The hardest part of this I think will be getting my sister to take the time to participate in my little program. it will save us a shit load on trash bags too.

I found a purse on clearance at Target for three bucks while I was shopping with A the co worker. it has the same fabric/stylings as the coach purses i was looking at on ebay but it doesn't look like it's trying to be a fake or too cheap, if that makes any sense. I like the fact that it is small but not too small, and i can take it too work but it can be casual too. I am the most proud of the three buck factor though.

My sister called me from the Kiss coffeehouse this morning. I am so jealous! I want to be in Myrtle Beach too, but she does deserve a little break because she has had a shitty drama filled summer. She gets back the day I leave for my business trip so it will be late friday night before we can swap all the stories.

My big fat tax book came on Saturday morning and I promptly stashed it on my shelf with all my other big scary accounting text books. It makes me sleepy just looking at it. I also drank coffee this weekend without making the gag face. There is hope for me after all. whatever, nothing will ever replace the taste of mountain dew for me even though coffee provides way more caffeine.