Cough Cough Cough Cough

Cough Cough Hack Hack. That would be the loop from this weekend. I think I'm on the turn around, but there is only so much cough syrup I can take and still function. I need one of those little biohazard shirts to wear as a warning for people. I try to be good and hold my coughs in or cough away from people. I hope I didn't give my cough back to Sunshine because he just got over a similar thing. I think I'm starting to feel better but right now it is hard to really tell.

So Sunshine decided to spontaneoulsy come down to visit Friday evening. YAY! We had a lot of fun. He fixed our dryer vent that was blowing down into the wall (scary!!!) so now our clothes dry a lot better. The best part is that he installed the new replacement lock on my hope chest. It was my mom's old hope chest and I primarily use it as a window seat and storage for my journals, bad poetry and ex boyfriend momentos. Anyways, during the break-in, the lock was broken and the lovely people at Lane sent me a nice replacement lock. I think my mom will be relieved now that the hope chest was fixed.

We did a little shopping on Saturday in town. I know I'm sick when I don't feel like power shopping so we just stayed in town. Sunshine is working on his genealogy right now and he got a giant sack of clippings from a relative so we spent most of the Saturday afternoon sorting out the obituaries from the bible verse clippings and Dear Abby articles. I think we found several gems in the bag and he bought a couple of nice looking storage boxes to keep them in. Then we went to Garfields and Sunshine got to have his mudslide finally (they blend theirs which I think makes it taste better). Then we went to American Eagle and Sunshine bought a new pea coat and two shirts which were all on clearance. The pea coat was under $40 which is insane and it matches his favorite shoes better.

Sadly, Sunshine had to leave early this morning so that he could make it home for his Mom's birthday party. My sister won't admit to it but she had fun too. She even made scrambled eggs for Sunshine yesterday morning and she never does that. Ooh--I almost forgot, Sunshine and I split a black bottom cupcake at Starbucks yesterday. Basically it is a chocolate cupcake with cream cheese filling in the center and it is soooo good and one of the few things this weekend that I could actually taste.

I did get a tiny bit of crafting done this weekend. I stitched up the sides of the bag I am making for the Going Green Swap. I need to cut up a few more bags so that I have enough plarn for the handles. I think I might have agreed to make one for Sunshine too but I have to get bags from him first because I seriously have like two bags left. the only reason why I might have enough to finish the handles is because I have the bags from our shopping this weekend. If I have any left over, then I will put it towards the one for Sunshine. The nice thing about plarn bags is that they are pretty sturdy and it's a good recycling project and they look cool. The key to making plarn is having a good pair of sharp scissors. It will speed up the process and your pieces will be more even for the plarn. I will post pics when it's finished and my partner receives it because I don't want to spoil the surprise.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

I actually had a really productive weekend but I am way too lazy to blog about any of it. After all the darn rain this week, the sun finally peaked out. I think I am going to have to get a SAD lamp to sit under because it bothers me not seeing the sun shine for a few days and I think I am during a lighter shade of pale if that is possible. My nose is congested but my ear is still okay for now.

I am over 50% done with my bag for the Going Green Ravelry swap. I need to add more loops on to my plarn ball because I just have a few rows left and then I will need to stitch on the handles and lace up the sides. I thought about using something else to stitch up the sides to add something different to it but I haven't found anything yet, so we will see. If all else fails, I will just use more plarn.

Once I am done with my plarn project, I am getting serious and attacking the socks project. i want to learn how to make socks that look cool so that i can wear them with my low top Chucks.

Hell has finally froze over. the factory manager has agreed to let us wear jeans this Friday as a Relay for Life Fundraiser. Since I don't have any jeans that aren't worn out, I sent my little sister on a mission to the GAP to find me a pair and she actually did and they fit and they are the right size and wash. I am really stoked because every time I go they are either out or I end up with some wonky pair that doesn't fit so I have to return it.

I have been re-reading my David Sedaris books and I am in the midst of reading Born on a Blue Day by David Tamment which is really good. I found a hardback copy of it on the BN bargain books rack so I was excited since our library was closed the whole weekend plus today for president's day and i was book deprived.

Happy Valentine's Day!

So VD is tomorrow and most people would be dreading it but for some sicko reason it is one of my favorite holidays. I have auditing class tomorrow but maybe it will be short or he will cancel it. Once I get home, I am going to eat Cheerios and watch the movie Across the Universe. For the record, Across the Universe, When I'm 64 and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds are my all-time favorite Beatles songs.

Now that I am hooked on the Crystal Light Citrus Splash flavor packets, I have only had two Mountain Dews this week. folks, that is almost unheard of, however i will state for the record that this kind of Crystal Light does have a lot of caffeine in it, so that is why I am still happy and not experiencing caffeine withdrawal shakes right now. I am not trying to quit pop on purpose but my sister is quitting pop and hasn't had any since last Wednesday so I am trying to be supportive and not drink a lot of it around her cause i figure it is probably good if i can cut back a little.

The bag I am crocheting out of plarn for the Going Green swap on Ravelry is coming along awesome. I am close to half-way done, so I think I deserve an A + for that. However, I get an F minus in sock knitting. I haven't done any actual hand knitting in quite awhile and then I got this crazy idea to learn how to knit socks. I watched videoclips and read online tutorials and a couple of books and I attempted to cast on and somehow in the midst of it all, I ended up with some kind of yarn mess and possibly forgot how to knit even. I honestly don't know what happened. It was so bad, I frogged it and stuck all the stuff in a big ziploc bag and hid it under my bed. :( I know that at some point I will be able to knit fantastic, glorious socks, however, I think I need some remedial knitting lessons. It was bad. Anyways, I gave up and went back to crocheting the plastic bag. For some reason, crochet comes effortlessly to me and I really don't know why.

Anyways, I hope everyone has an awesome Valentine's Day tomorrow, full of lots of yarn, love and mudslides in no particular order.

Ice, Ice, Baby!

I woke up this morning with an ear infection and freezing rain. I left for work even with the ear infection and then got north of town and turned around because freezing rain started and there were reports of an inch of ice on the ground in the county where I work, so I turned around and came home. I just get tired of having my commute take 3 plus hours to get to work when it should only take 45 minutes because I get halfway there and find out that it is worse than I expected on the other side of the border. It is only Feb 10th and this is the fourth day this month where I have either had snow or ice or both to deal with and this ear infection is the last straw. I've had chronic ear infections all my life, so getting one this weekend was the last straw. I still have medicine from the last time so I put some of that in and if it doesn't clear up then I am going to drag my ass in to the doctor's office.

So what does a girl do when she has a yucky day outside and a yucky ear infection? Well, I am going to curl up on the couch and read my sock knitting books and listen to Amy Winehouse on my laptop. No ear buds with my ear infection. That would not be cool. I don't think I am going to cast on the socks yet, I might wait until this afternoon.

I did have a good weekend though. Yesterday afternoon it was warm enough to walk to the library so my sister and I walked over there and I checked out Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski which was a National Book Award Finalist. It seems like it has a mystery/thriller element to it but just from reading the back cover, I think it is going to be different than anything else I have read in those genres.

Monologues, Mudslides and Major Stash Envy

I went to see the Vagina Monologues performed at my alma mater last night and it was great. Before the show, I went out to eat with a couple of English professors, so I finally got my mudslide but I forgot that this restaurant makes shitty mudslides so I made a vow never to order a mudslide unless I was eating at Applebees because I am convinced that theirs are the best. The one I had didn't have any whipped cream! Anyways, after the show, I went back to the professor's house that I was staying at and she is a knitter and was showing me all the yarn stashed around the house. WOW. I thought I had died and gone to yarn heaven. She has the good stuff, and I got to touch and see it all, including some really pretty Ozarka Handspun and some Manos de Uruguay. Then she mentions to me that there is a yarn store downtown, so before I left today I made a little "yarn stop" because it was on the way to Starbucks. It's a year old and has a pretty decent but small selection of yarn. The best thing about it was that I bought three Addi hooks for 4.85 each. I about squealed, because I had never found a local store that sells these so I have to order them online and end up paying close to $7 a hook before shipping. Sadly, they only had three left otherwise I might have blown my yarn budget for the rest of the month. I also picked up a Magic Loop leaflet and two skeins of yarn.



Then, when I got home, my Knit Picks order had arrived! This included two size 2 Harmony circulars, and Cat Bordhi's book Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. I am stoked about this because I plan on learning how to knit socks this year.



As you can see, there was a little bit of stash excitement this weekend. When I got back, I did manage to shovel out all the dead leaves that the previous renter left behind. I would have done it sooner, but this was the first warm day we had since Monday. It was a good thing I bagged it all up because it was in like stage one of composting. EWWWWW...

I got a silver one!

the little town that I work in had an 80 gb silver ipod classic, so I bought it. I was tired of driving around looking for one and all that jazz, and once that I looked at it out of the box, the silver is more of a subtle sparkly silver and it matches Mackie my powerbook and then I just knew in my heart that my search was over and this one was the ipod that was meant to be.

I named her Elphaba, after my favorite character in Wicked the Musical and I just can't believe the differences between her and Spanky my 3rd generation ipod. Wow. It's sort of like going from the Original Nintendo to the Wii. I just love love love it!!!!! I am happy to report that I am nowhere near close to filling it up, but give me a year and we will see. The sound, the color and all the cutesy features are great for this little music buff.

It might have taken me a couple years, but I finally got my video ipod and I couldn't be happier!!!!

Yucky Weather

I am just asking for one week where I can drive to work without snow, thunderstorms or ice. Luckily, the snow and ice this morning melted off before I drove home this evening.

On the ipod search, good news. There is a small town on my way to my alma mater that has TWO of the ipods that I want. If they are all gone on Friday, then I am just going to break down and order online through Apple and get something cool engraved on it. I guess we will see what kind of mood I am in on Friday. The first ipod cozy turned out so wide I could almost stick my foot in it, so I started a new one and measured it with A the co worker's ipod and it fits so this one should work. all ipods need a nice warm cozy. I think I will name my new ipod Elphaba.

My sister replaced our Sony DVD/VCR that was stolen today. In celebration, I purchased a copy of The Jane Austen Book Club on DVD. I loved the book and I love the movie.

I have been watching a lot of Rob and Big on Mtv lately. they are best friends and they make me laugh. I am guilty of downloading several of their episodes on itunes. I think 1.99 is a steal considering how much they make me laugh.

Waiting for my ipod

So we got insurance check number 1 last night and I was thinking that I could go out an buy my 80gb black ipod classic (video), the ipod that I have finally decided on. WRONG!!!!! Every Wal-mart and target within a two hour radius of me is either out of stock or has limited availability (does that mean they only have one left?).

It will probably be at least a week before I can get one which is okay because I am going back to my alma mater this weekend for a showing of the Vagina Monologues (i was in the first production held at my school). It will be fun, cause I can wear whatever I want to, the money goes to an awesome cause, and I will be able to see a bunch of my old college friends. I checked and their Wal-Mart is currently out of stock too. My Wal-mart has a silver one, but I refuse to buy any more all silver colored electronics because the silver chips off really bad or it looks dingy after awhile. Anyways, since I have to hold onto my ipod money, I am making a new ipod cozy for it out of the Vickie Howell yarn that I bought this past weekend. I am about half-way done, and there is a possibilty that I might finish it tonight.

It's so Pretty!

The townhouse looks a lot better now. Sunshine was able to come down this weekend and we were able to find nice looking cheap curtains for my bedroom at Super Target that are a ruby/cranberry red. My sister found curtains for the living room that are a light french blue with suiting stripes and then some brown curtains with gold-esque suiting stripes which really tame down the bright orange counter tops. Sunshine is my handy man for sure. He fixed our front storm door, the porch lights, the vent filter, my light fixture on my ceiling fan and he hung up all the curtains in the house. It helps that he is tall and quite handy with a screw driver. Thank-you!!!!

It wasn't all work though. The three of us headed south to T-town and went to Super Target, the mall, Barnes and Noble and Loops. I bought my curtains at Super Target and a heart hand towel for my bathroom. I didn't buy anything at the mall. However, I did go to the Apple store there and I pre-shopped for our insurance money that is coming this week. At Barnes and Noble I was a good girl and I only bought two magazines and one of them was something I was picking up for a co-worker. I was even good at Loops. I bought two yarn nail files, a Laurel Hill size J hook and a skein of Vickie Howell Love in "June and Johnny" which is of course, jet black. It's a bamboo silk blend, that is so soft, I just want to hold it. i did pet some Tilli Thomas yarn that has the crystals in it. i also looked at their Louisa Harding yarn that is made out of sari ribbon. So many pretty colors. I just love yarn. all kinds and colors and weights.

Anways, I had a fantastic weekend, the house is looking even better and things are getting A LOT BETTER!!!! YAY!!!! It might be Super Bowl Sunday, but I can tell you for sure that I won't be watching the Super Bowl. Most likely playing on my mac or with a new project.

Blogger's Silent Poetry Reading

This is the 3rd annual Blogger's Silent Poetry Reading and I think it's the first time I have participated, although poetry is always in my heart every day. I present to you, a link to one of my all time favorite poems, "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop. The first and final stanzas are my favorite.

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15212

I also like "Hope is the thing with feathers" by Emily Dickinson. Her poetry never ceases to inspire me or comfort me.

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19729

This is another poem I can practically recite by memory, "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" by W.B. Yeats. I like to imagine that I am visiting when ever I am having a difficult day.

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15529

One last poem, in honor of forthcoming Valentine's Day, "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond" by e.e. cummings

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15401

Close your eyes, imagine and enjoy my little silent poetry reading.