Where I've Been - The Big Recap

Damn near everywhere. Work all day and play all night. Lounging on the beach on the weekends. I finished a prayer shawl and started another one. I crocheted on the beach near Wilmington for WWCIP day. I crocheted at Myrtle Beach State Park and in the Subaru (when I wasn’t driving). I discovered another couple of yarn shops. I bought a ticket to the Robert Plant and Alison Krauss concert on July 11th. I had a blast the last week or so while Sunshine was visiting. I was completely SPOILED ROTTEN while he was out here. He supervised the delivery of my furniture, did chores, made spaghetti and cleaned the inside of my Subaru and made it sparkle inside. He is just so much fun to be around and manages to handle all my quirks. He is the only person I would get up at 4am eastern time to drive to the airport. I’m not even sure I would willingly do that for my sister.
I did finish reading the book Bonk by Mary Roach. This book is probably not for everyone but I was completely engrossed by it. You will definitely learn a lot about sex and the study of it from reading this book in a humorous and non-gross way. I have read a pile of magazines. I can’t help it, they last longer than newspapers and the good ones are like little flat books.
Wilmington was a lot of fun, but I think I would pick Myrtle Beach State Park as being my favorite beach. While in the Wilmington area, we went to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher. We walk in the front door of the Aquarium and this photographer pulls us over in front of a green screen and all of a sudden, he’s taking our picture without even telling us to say cheese. Sunshine hates the pictures but I honestly know we have taken worse pics and I am a sucker for souvenir. Right next to the Aquarium, is a nice state park beach (with free parking). Sunshine spent most of the time in the water and I spent most of the time sitting on my Little Mermaid beach towel crocheting the teal prayer shawl.
The day after Wilmington, we went to a newer yarn store in Hillsborough. I went a little nuts there, but it was all in the name of creativity and stimulating the economy. I bought Noro sock yarn, Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet and Brown Sheep Prairie Silk, some heart shaped stitch markers and a tiny tiny crochet hook the size of a tooth pick.
This past weekend, I rocked my world at the Hard Rock Café and the Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach. I rode the Led Zeppelin roller coaster and drank a rockuccino at the KISS Coffeehouse. The Hard Rock Park is really cool. The first time I rode the Led Zeppelin roller coaster I was scared shitless but the second time I was more prepared so I loved it. Our favorite ride though, was Moody Blues: Nights in White Satin – The Trip. You sit in a little car with 3D glasses on looking at all these optical illusions while listening to Nights in White Satin. Words cannot due justice to the awesomeness of this ride. You just kind of relax and are lost in the moment of it all and it is really peaceful. I think we rode it at least 4 times.
The Hard Rock Café in Myrtle Beach is really unique. It is in the shape of a pyramid and I had the world’s best Caesar salad there and the photographer there took one of the best pictures of Sunshine and I ever. Right around the corner is the KISS Coffeehouse. I love their French Vanilla Kiss Rockuccinos. Yum. They had a Cabbage Patch doll by the cash register that had full KISS face paint on and it was so awesome. I would totally do this to my old Cabbage Patch dolls but my mom would kill me.
We went to Myrtle Beach State Park and it is really pretty and you can find the biggest seashells there. I am not a huge fan of popular crowded beaches. Beaches are supposed to be pretty and peaceful. It also has a nice pier that you can walk out on and you can fish off the far end of the pier. I finished the teal shawl and started the seafoam one. Later on that week, I ended up frogging the shawl that I started at Myrtle Beach State Park. I was trying to gauge how much yarn it was going to take and I laid it out and realized it was the size of a couch cover and not a shawl, so I ripped it out and now I have a giant ball of seafoam green yarn sitting on my desk. I was so made that I started another shawl with the green apple Homespun that I had purchased on sale at AC Moore. I will use the seafoam green yarn eventually.
It really sucked to leave Myrtle Beach. I really felt like I was on an actual vacation there even though we only spent one night there. On the way down there we listened to Margaret Cho’s Revolution cd and it was absolutely hilarious. She is one of my all time favorite chicks and a true inspiration.
When we weren’t at the beach, I was at work or we were unpacking my furniture that finally arrived. We did a lot of shopping, I introduced Sunshine to the joy of Whole Foods and we found cool bookstore and club in downtown Raleigh. We also watched a couple of cool documentaries. This Thursday, I went to TJ Maxx for fun and they had a ton of Converses there and it was really hard not to buy a pair because I was really looking for new work shoes. Then on the last rack in my size range I found a pair of size 8 ½ Borns! Normally I don’t wear 8 ½ unless I am wearing arch supports or socks but they are narrow enough that I can keep them on without them slipping too much. So I bought $100 shoes for under $30 and I fully understand why my Mom and my sister love them so much. They are so cushy. These are brown leather squared off ballet flats with corset stitching on the heels and thin leather bow ties on the toes. They are hawt. I am wearing them to work today even though it’s casual day and I could wear Converses. I just have to wear new shoes right after I buy them. The funny part is that while Sunshine was here, we spent all this time looking at shoes for him, and I didn’t really see any that just had to come home with me. Then he leaves and I just find these cute little Borns that just called out to be adopted.
Prior to the shoes, I had gone to the Suncoast Video store in the mall in hopes of finding something to watch this weekend. I ended up finding a used copy of Big Love Season 2 and The Vicar of Dibley: A Holy Wholly Happy Ending. It was like 100 degrees out and I am pretty sure it is going to be like that here all weekend because when it rains it is only for a couple of hours and then sometimes we get a bunch of humidity afterwards.
So tomorrow, I am going to the post office to mail off swap stuff and post cards. I am also going to try and go to the yarn store in Raleigh. I don’t need more yarn but I am determined to experience everything possible while I am out here. 4th of July weekend I am driving down to Charlotte to see the parents and my sister who is flying in for the week. I am such a book slut and bought a copy of The Importance of Music to Girls, which is a memoir by Lavinia Greenlaw. It looked good flipping through it and it reminded me of my angsty teenage years lying on my bed listening to Nirvana and Pearl Jam and Led Zeppelin. I plan on working on the green apple prayer shawl and watching dvds for the majority of the weekend. It is just really hot again and I don’t like going to a ton of places when it is hot out because I become uber cranky very fast.

HOT HOT HOT!

So I'm still here. I am working on several mega posts but work was INSANE this week so I am not finished with them yet. I had so much fun with Sunshine last week that there is a crapload of stuff and funny stories for me to post about. I am hoping to finish the posts while I am at my parents for the big 4th weekend. LOL. Plus did I mention that as soon as Sunshine left the temperature returned to a 100 bazillion degrees? Yuck!

Random Crazy Talk

My home state is beyond flooded, my newly adopted home has wildfires and water usage restrictions. What is going on the world this summer?

THE MOVERS SUCK MONKEYS! Not the company just the driver. He failed to tell anyone that he wasn't going to make it until 4pm so now he has to load tomorrow morning. I am not a happy camper at all and don't even want to go into all the drama but if my stuff isn't picked up tomorrow and delivered on monday I am going to have a good ol' hissy fit of diva proportions.

In other news, my BFF Sunshine arrives tomorrow. I can't wait. It will be very nice to have company and show him the important things like my favorite Starbucks.

I started skein 3 of the prayer shawl tonight and plan to make more progress tonight while I am watching Project Runway Season 2 and Army Wives Season 1. Damn Barnes and Noble DVD sales. I am also a giddy dork because New Kids on the Block has released their new single Summertime and it takes me back to the days when I was young and beautiful and skinny and optimistic.

Other than that, I am mainly doing some last minute chores and trying to deal with the relocation BS in a calm manner. i have been reading several books too lately.

Vanilla Latte Heaven

I am happily addicted to iced vanilla lattes now. I blame it on the heat, the high gas prices and the change of place. They are actually really good and I have a tall one once a week. LOL.

I am also blaming the heat for going to Target and buying a new comforter, a throw pillow and a portable bed. the comforter is plain white but I decided it would be easier to save the color for the accent throws and pillows so that if I wanted to change my style I could.

I started skein 2 on the shawl yesterday afternoon and I have made it 3/4 of the way through of that skein. It is going fast, so I might be chaining on another one sometime this week.

Work is wonderful and the movers packed my stuff up back in Oklahoma and I didn't receive any frantic phone calls from my sister which was a good sign I think. I am also loving my pedal pushers that I bought at the mall this weekend. They turned out to be a good thing after all.

Sunday Morning

So last night and this morning I started listening to some back episodes of Brenda Dayne’s Cast-On from the summer of 2006 just to have something to listen to while I was working on the prayer shawl. I have found that I crochet faster when I listen to her podcasts because her voice is steady and entertaining and I achieve a really nice rhythm. I also put down the last of the drawer liner that I bought in Charlotte last weekend and organized my yarn stash out here a little. I told myself that I was just going to use up the yarn that I packed to come out here and I wasn’t going to buy anything new. I kind of failed on that one but it’s not my fault that there is an LYS like a mile away and a Joann’s, Michaels and A.C. Moore within a three mile distance of me.
Tonight is baseball game #2 and this time I have a box suite ticket. I am dreading the driving and parking thing because this time I have to drive myself. At least it will be daylight so that it will be easier to find exits and such.
I haven’t made much progress on the decorating front and I think that a lot of it is that I want to see how my current furniture and possessions fit into the apartment before I make decisions on new stuff to buy. The other problem is that I am really picky and things end up either being overpriced or I find that I just don’t love them enough to buy them.

Technically a Saturday Post

It is so stinking hot. I honestly thought I would have a couple more weeks before it hit above 90. This is full sun too, it has rained twice since I have been here, but not heavy rain, just enough to wash the layer of dust off the car. I can’t believe I spent Friday at the ballpark and lived to blog about it. It was a good thing that it was a night game but those first couple of hours were miserable hot. I had a blast though. It was my first time to see the Durham Bulls play (AAA baseball) and it was a good game and it was fun spending time outside the office with my new co-workers.
I heard from the movers this past week. They pack on Monday, load on Thursday and my stuff will allegedly be out here on the 16th but that won’t be confirmed until they load my stuff up. It’s mixed feelings because I will be glad to have my stuff again but the whole unpacking process is going to potentially suck a lot and poor Sunshine will be here that week. I am apologizing in advance for the box pile. It’s a small price to pay for living in such a nice area and having a job that I love now.
Today I ventured out and discovered Whole Foods and the yarn store that is like a mile from my house. Karma has been very good to me lately. Whole Foods was fun. I didn’t realize that you could actually eat there. You can buy chocolate in like pound bricks. I didn’t buy any because it would’ve melted in the car on my errands.
The yarn store was probably the best part of the day. They carry hooks!!! Like Addi hooks and Brittany hooks and a few aluminum hooks. I was slap-happy because a lot of yarn stores only have knitting needles and the lone hook for weaving in ends. So I replaced the Brittany size H hook that was stolen over Christmas and I bought two skeins of Patagonia Nature Cotton color 212 to use for a swap and then I bought a skein of Colinette JitterBug in Kingfisher. The Patagonia is a aqua/seafoam blend and the Kingfisher is a black/purple/blue/green mix that just popped out at me. They even sell back issues of Vogue Knitting (some from the early 90s even) and it was so tempting to buy a bunch but I am supposed to be saving money so I resisted. Anyways, the store is in an old house and it is covered from floor to ceiling in yarn and it is a small square of heaven. I walked in the front door and I was like damn, this is better than an old lady’s attic! I spent an hour there and I know I only saw about ¼ of the yarn there. They even carry tatting supplies and they have a couple of spinning wheels in the back. I was in a major crafty mood today because I used my 15% off coupon at BN to buy Amy Butler’s Sew-It Kit. It has some really cool patterns and I am a huge fan of her fabric.
I am still working on the shawl for my mom’s prayer shawl ministry at her church. I think I have finished about a foot so far. I would be making faster progress but I was dumb and started this in single crochet and it’s some Red Heart Plush that was donated to the group so it doesn’t frog easily, so I decided to just keep going with the single crochet. Their goal is to have 59 shawls completed by Christmas so that they can give one to each resident of a local nursing home that her church has adopted. It’s a nice summer project because it doesn’t cover your whole entire lap so you don’t get as hot but you can finish them a lot quicker than an afghan.
Hell also froze over for a little bit because I bought a pair of pedal-pushers at Lane Bryant that cost more than my jeans. The problem was that I wanted long shorts made out of a reasonable quality material that were plain and did not have a bunch of wild colors, sequins, embroidery or weird washes. Anyways, they are the perfect fit and a nice shade of khaki and now I won’t sweat to death going to the beach and baseball games this summer. I looked at swimsuits and said hell no. Anything that was remotely cute was a bikini and you couldn’t pay me enough to go out in public in a bikini or even a tankini for that matter. I also found a waterproof wristlet that I can snap on to my pants when I am at the beach or the amusement park because I am not taking my beloved Coach purse to the beach and get sand all over it. It’s really cute and it’s big enough to fit my chapstick, cell phone, keys and chapstick in. Plus it was 50% off at Aeropostale so it was only $5 which made it even better.

It's 95 degrees and I am in a coffee shop

Well, Mackie and I decided to try out the atmosphere at the Starbucks by the new apt. I really like the setting especially once the creepy old guy stopped staring at my boobs. Seriously? It was beyond obvious. Anyways, since it was hotter than hell, I decided to not buy my usual hot cocoa and I bought a mint mocha chocolate frapp. It's like someone stuck a Thin Mint in your frapp. Pretty tasty, but I still taste the coffee part. I am trying really hard to become a coffee addict, but it is slow going. I love the music they play in the store too. Anyways, I got a little wifi account so now I have internet access and I don't have to commit to either dsl or cable. I just hate setting up all that when I am going to be moving at least 2 times within the next three years because of the rotational program that I am. Plus, if I had internet in my apartment, I would never leave and since I live in a metro area now, I feel like I need to take advantage of the opportunities.

I did make it to my parents' house outside of Charlotte this weekend. It took me three hours and I did not get lost once, so that was good. I met my aunt's canadian fiancee for the first time so that was cool. The best part was seeing Sex in the City the movie. I ended up buying the movie book and the tv show episode guide. I definitely want to see it again. I ended up getting some apartment stuff while I was there and it took me forever to get it all back in the house when I came home saturday night.

I did finally get a date from the movers. I have bribed my sister into handing the whole thing. all I have to deal with is when my stuff finally gets out here. Anyways, I about dropped the phone when my moving coordinator said they were coming to Oklahoma to pack on Monday the 9th. yes, that is June. Hence sister bribery. Hello Apple. Buying her a little Nano video was a lot cheaper then buying a last minute plane ticket.

I did order Sunshine's plane ticket today and it was way cheaper than I had budgeted for. YAY!!! Anyways, he has this crazy idea that we are going swimming in the ocean and doing beachy stuff. I don't mind going to the beach or getting in the ocean but the whole swimsuit in public thing is a totally different story. We will have to see. I will add that to my list of things to do when I go to the mall next. I really want to go to the brand new Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach so that I can ride the Led Zeppelin roller coaster. I think we will do the Outer Banks too since he will be here for two weekends. I've kind of left the schedule up to him. He is the planner. I might be a planner at work but when it hits 5pm ET, all planning stops and I just do whatever.

Anyways, I will post more soon.

Life in the Enchanted Forest

I need to give a little shout out to Sunshine and let him know that this entry is proudly posted from the Barnes and Noble by my new apartment. LOL. I heart wi-fi. Anyways, I am living in my apartment now. I have slept there for two nights and yes, it is completely undecorated and has like no furniture but I still love it. I am supposed to talk to the moving people on Tuesday after the holiday.

I have discovered the Barnes and Noble, the Target, Michaels, grocery stores, and AC Moore. Once I am done at BN, I am going to visit Bed Bath and Beyond. All of this is within a five mile radius from work and home. I have died and gone to some sort of nerd heaven. I filled up on Sunday and it is Saturday and I haven't even used a 1/4 tank of gas yet. I am still in shock.

I don't have cable or internet set up at home yet. That is on my list of things to do after payday and before Sunshine visits. he has informed me that normal people have things like tv and internet and furniture and silverware. I do have silverware, it is just made out of recyclable plastic. I guess my main concern is finding a way to decorate the white walls without violating the apartment's long list of decorating no-nos. I did see some stuff I liked at target last night so i am going to keep that in mind for when I get paid and I can decorate. I have money still but I am squirrling it away because I spent so much in apartment costs and hotel and gas to move out here that my debit card hates me. Luckily, now that I don't have to spend a bazillion dollars on gas for my commute I can use that to buy fun things. YAY FOR ME!

Lucky for me, Lime N Violet has put out two podcasts within the last week or so, so I am not bored and I have something to listen to while I am hanging out in the new apartment.

I just thought I would wave hello, so that people know that I am still alive, I have just been busy relocating and learning the new job.

P.S. Did I mention that the climate out here is turning my hair into a hot mess of spiral curls? Is this good or bad? I'm not sure yet but my co-workers seem to think it looks great. I just wish people would stop touching my hair when I have it down. I don't know where your hands have been people!

Finally!!!!

So after a few delays, everything is finally straightened out and I got my apartment. I get to pick up the keys on my lunch break tomorrow. I was going to do it after work today but then the IT guy at work brought over my new computer at like ten minutes til 5pm (eastern time) so I didn't leave on time. Then we were walking out of the office and it just started pouring like the sky was going to fall and I knew that there was no way I was going to make it to the grocery store to get a money order and make it over to the apartment office before they closed at 6pm. It would be different if I knew my way around here but I don't and there is a ton of crazy drivers and trees around here. I did manage to get my renter's insurance taken care of and electricity set up.

I finished my pink placemat and I think the 2nd one for my sister is basically finished but I am not sure if it is the right length or not because the first one I made is at the Oklahoma house. I started another RH Mexicana scarf with a skein from my stash here just so I would have something to take my mind off things while I was waiting on the apartment stuff.

I'm not planning on going anywhere for Memorial Day weekend other than doing some exploring around my neighborhood. After all of this traveling it will be kind of nice to stay in one place. Hell, I might even decorate a little. That's a big maybe on that.

Anyways, once I check out of the hotel it might be a week or two before I can post again because they are picky at work about using the internet and I am waiting until payday before I set up the internet because I just spent a bejesus amount of money on the trip out here and rent.

Finally Here!

I am sooooo tired. We didn't make it to the hotel until 2am last night because of all the time we spent at Cooter's Place (Dukes of Hazzard Museum) and Dollywood but it was completely worth it. It was sunny the whole entire trip right up until a couple of minutes ago when it started raining. My sister is currently on her way back to Oklahoma (flying of course). My mighty Subaru was a trooper and held strong the whole trip even when we were winding through the Great Smoky Mountains. I died a little inside when I tallied up all my gas receipts because with our detour to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, TN it was a grand total of 1200 miles one way which makes me really glad that I got an oil change before I left.

We took I-40 all the way out there. I think every bug in Oklahoma and Arkansas died on my car windshield. We drove past 52 Cracker Barrels (we might have missed a couple but pretty close). By the time we made it to Little Rock, the sun had already gone down and so there wasn't much to see but I did see a couple of signs for Bill Clinton's Presidential Library. We drove through Memphis and it really sucked because it was late at night and they had two lanes of I-40 closed due to construction. We made it through and stopped for the night at a Hampton Inn in Jackson, TN. Even though we didn't get there until 2am it was worth it because then we had less of a drive on Saturday and more time to do stuff. Plus this Hampton Inn had only been open since the beginning of this year and IT WAS AWESOME. Big plasma tv, granite shower, a bed that we had to take a running leap to get into and it was really nice to stay there after such a long day.

Driving through Tennessee was GORGEOUS. I still can't get over all the trees that are in TN and NC. It is like some big enchanted forest. I had promised my sister that we would be able to stop along the way and do some touristy things. One of my old co-workers had told me that Ben "Cooter" Jones from Dukes of Hazzard had a museum called Cooter's Place. My sister and I grew up watching Dukes of Hazzard on tv (i saw some of them when they originally aired) and so when I told her about it she said we had to stop. By a twist of fate we happened to go there on a day when Cooter himself was going to be doing an autograph signing. I was a little nervous waiting in line due to the excitement of it all but it was all worth it. He is one of the nicest people and nicest celebrities you will ever meet. He talked to us and even posed for pics and signed our souvenirs and even gave me directions to Raleigh! I am going to frame my autographed picture and proudly display it when I move into my apartment. It was a neat place. there is a gift shop and memorabilia to see and a good representation of the vehicles are on display.

Next door to Cooter's Place was a little musuem called Willie Nelson and Friends Museum Showcase. It was started with some memorabilia purchased at Willie Nelson's tax evasion auction. It had some cool stuff in it. it was one of those things where we were like why not and I don't think that either one of us wanted to get back in the car right away. there was a Wax Museum next door but we didn't go through it because it was going to be $9 each and it looked like it wasn't going to be that fancy.

Finally we were on our way again. We took a slight detour so that we could go to Dollywood in Pigeon Forge. Neither one of us had ever been there before but I am a huge Dolly fan, so I knew that we had to stop since we were going to be so close. Pigeon Forge is like a mini Branson. It seemed like we constantly had to stop for stoplights and there was a lot of traffic. It is one of the prettiest theme parks I have ever been to. It's nestled in the Smokies and there are trees everywhere which was nice because then it wasn't as hot. We only got to spend a couple of hours there since we got there just before closing but it was so much fun. There was a lot of craftsman demonstrations that were interesting and I was able to get some pins at the pin shop. I definitely plan on going back.

Driving through the Smoky Mountains wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but we did drive through a couple of tunnels and there were some places where we had to slow down to 45 and 50 mph because of the steepness and curves. We drove by Asheville, NC but it was pitch black by then and late at night so I didn't really see much driving through there. By the time we made it to my temporary home aka the hotel it was 2am and all we wanted to do was hit the sack.

This morning we slept in. the whole Eastern time is really messing with me. It feels like i am getting gipped an hour but I finally got all my clocks changed over so that I knew what the hell time it was. We watched some tv and then we headed over to the apartment office as soon as it opened since I wasn't going to have much time before I had to take her to the airport. The apartment complex is gorgeous and clean and QUIET. I actually got to tour the actual apartment and it is really nice and very white. No 70s decor here. everything is painted white and I have a light beige kitchen and a balcony and a walk in closet. it is a very pretty area with lots of trees, sand volleyball, tennis, a pool and fitness center. Unless it turns out that I have some criminal background that I don't know about then I should be able to move in on Tuesday which would be great because then I could check out of the hotel early and hopefully save a little money. It is all electric so that saves me from having to call another utility.

Anyways, tomorrow is the first day of work so hopefully everything goes well. i think it will be fine, it's just kind of the big scary until I get there and meet my department.

East Bound

Okay, so I lied. I decided to post today just for kicks. My entire life is in a ziploc bag. Lol. well several of them. Snacks, candy, tolietries, computer cords. It is a little crazy, but this is what happens when you move out of state and not just across town. I updated the maps on TomTom the GPS so we will not be led astray. He is snug as a bug in a rug in his hot pink felted Malabrigo case. It kind of coordinates with Mackie the laptop's pink sleeve.

Yesterday, I ran a bunch of errands and watched Project Runway Season 1 on dvd. I needed something to keep me occupied since I fidget too much when i am at home all day. I have been busy printing off all my hotel reservations and maps and addresses to places. It is kind of crazy. I have two folders and a ziploc bag full of important papers.

I know it will be fun, it will just be interesting because I have never driven cross-country east before past Memphis anyways. I feel like I am taking a ton of stuff but most of it is stuff the movers won't take or stuff I don't want to get lost in the move. I think i will be able to fit it all in the trunk with the cover pulled over it.

Happy Trails!

Covered Wagon

So today was my last day at work locally. I start at the new unit on Monday and hopefully I am as smart as everyone says I am. It was really sweet. My co-workers took me out to eat at one of our favorite places and they bestowed me with lots of nice gifts and cards and gave nice speeches. I think i have been hugged more times today then I have in the last year. The sis and I leave friday afternoon to make the big trek out east. I feel like I should be loading up the covered wagon and saying good-bye to Pa. Okay, maybe not that dramatic because the covered wagon is really a Subaru.

I did receive a package from my spoiler in the Swap on a Budget. The highlights include stitch markers, MALABRIGO (YUMMY!), Eucalan, pure Maine maple syrup, candy, and the tiniest bamboo crochet hook I have ever seen, and a little felted case that just happens to fit my Tomtom perfectly. So I was really excited to receive all the goodies and managed to eat the candy and shove the rest into my knitting basket that I am taking with me as one of my "necessities" in the Subaru.

For the road trip, I purchased the new issues of Interweave Knits, Creative Knitting and the book knitalong: Celebrating the Tradition of Knitting Together. I also found a used copy of Loving Frank by Nancy Horan which is the fictionalized love tale of Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney. This is also intended to help me bide the time until I am into an apartment and my stuff is moved in. Plus, the tv lineup for this summer really blows, so this might just be the push I need to read more. I also downloaded Pearl Jam's Ten album. it is my all time favorite cd and around a year ago, i accidently shut it in my dash lid and it broke in half, so I downloaded it on itunes so I could have some good tunes to accompany us on the long trip.

Anyways, I don't know how much I will be able to post in the next couple of weeks. Assume that I am still alive, I am just going to be busy starting a new position and trying to find things like an apartment and knit nights.

Wicked Storms

So this weekend there was some bad storms in the region, but we lucked out and completely missed them and it was sunny with high winds all weekend. I did talk to Relocation on Thursday morning and received my relocation money on Friday so things are moving faster. My sister's return ticket is ordered and I am working on the apartment thing but it is really hard to apartment hunt when you are not on that side of the country. Friday morning I ended up selling my books back online, I keep forgetting to buy boxes but I plan on mailing them prior to leaving for NC on friday.

I did buy a GPS. It is a Tomtom like the one that Sunshine and Debbie Stoller have. I am such a follower! It's programmed but i keep forgetting to take it with me in the car! Maybe I will take it with me on my commute. I have purchased two books for the road trip--The Host by Stephenie Meyer (author of the Twilight series) and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. Wicked Lovely is a YA book about faeries that I saw on the rack at Target and I thought what the hell, it's written by a Melissa and it is about faeries, so I think it will be good road trip reading. Road trips are supposed to be fun and carefree, so I didn't want to bring any serious literary-type books with me. I also bought P.S. I Love You and Living with Ed Season 1 on DVD and watched those while I was hanging out around the house.

I am almost finished with placemat #1 for my sister which is made from some orange/pink/yellow sugar n cream cotton. it was supposed to be for the new kitchen table, but when we brought it home from Kmart, one of the underneath pieces of the table top was broken and so we had to take it back to Kmart and it was such an ordeal in the first place that we didn't get another one. Note to self: do not let high-schooler stockroom boy jam a table into the back of your subaru. Sunday morning, we went to Wal-mart to get my sister a new bookshelf and we got this $18 bookcase and we get the back all nailed on and realize that it is like the leaning tower of pisa bookcase because of the way the pre-drilled holes and the crooked-cut back. So it is still upstairs because neither one of us thought we could take the back off in one piece and our dumpster is full right now.

I have decided that I am DEFINITELY NOT buying any furniture for the new apartment until sunshine comes to visit because A). he enjoys furniture shopping and B). he has handy-man skillz and likes assembling things and I am convinced that he has more patience than I do. My mother and Sunshine have started this little campaign to convince me to actually buy furniture for my place like a real bed (to replace my futon) and my mom keeps mentioning dirty words like lamps and end tables and a couch! I really that these are normal, basic ideas but I just honestly don't care about decorating and furnishing a home. I am not a nester.

It is amazing how fast time flies by. I am really not sure where the weekend went. My head keeps spinning with all the things I need to do for the Big Move. I'm sure everything will be all fantastic in the end, but I until I get to that point it is going to be all shades of crazy.

Things

Well HR blows. they screwed up my paperwork and that is what took so damn long. after several frantic emails and phone calls, it has been fixed and I should hear from relocation hopefully tomorrow. I am still starting the new job on the 19th. Little Sis and I are going to drive out starting on the 16th, in the Subaru (full o yarn) Thelma and Louise style sans Brad Pitt and we are not planning on driving off a cliff. New boss has found me an potential apartment so I might not have to crochet a house out of yarn. This is a plus. LOL. Isn't it good that I am maintaining a sense of humor? I just keep reminding me that they are PAYING ME to move to an awesome place.

I am not making much crafty progress this week. I started having allergy issues today. I think I am allergic to either the outdoors or my cubicle. It's muggy which I don't like. I am just cranky right now I guess. It's finals week too. It also doesn't help that they are tearing up two major streets downtown, so driving home takes longer and I never know which lane is going to be open today.

Anyways, I am taking another personal day on friday, so I can sell my stupid textbooks back, work on a Ravelry swap and visit the insurance people. I also need to figure out what I am going to take out there with me to tide me over until I am in an apartment and my stuff is moved in.

Princess and the Purse

I finally did it! I bought my Coach purse! I am in my own little state of Nirvana. It is the Soho hobo small flap (camel color). it is the perfect fit for my shoulder and it holds everything I need with some spare room. I even bought the special cleaner for it to keep the fabric all nice and beautiful. I feel especially grown up carrying it around. I also stopped at the Origins store and bought a tube of their lip saver which is amazing!! I did go to Barnes and Noble and I bought a magazine and I bought the paperback edition of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. I originally checked out this book when it first came out in hardback at the library. There is just so much good information and it is really well written.

We also ate at The Cheesecake Factory. Even though they stuck us at the tiniest table there, the slice of cheesecake I had for dessert was completely awesome (and totally worth it even though I don't really tolerate dairy well). I would like to state for the record that Sunshine spoils me rotten! He is so patient with me when I drag him on all of my shopping and yarn expeditions. He taped a bunch of my Bravo shows for me so I got to watch them on his big new tv and crochet and it was just fantastic.

It was definitely a cultural weekend. I went to a band concert and an orchestra concert and listened to NPR (which I secretly love). Sunshine and I drove over to A's house to see her and L. That was a very interesting experience. I don't think I will be having kids any time soon.I think the best part of the visit was the light up crochet hook she gave me (it lights up really bright) and the brief trip to Jo-Ann's Etc store which is like the supercenter version of Jo-Ann's. I bought a skein of Debbie Mumm's Traditions yarn in Chocolate Raspberry because it was so pretty and soft and it is 75% acrylic and 23% wool. If it didn't say Debbie Mumm for Jo-Ann's on it you would mistake it for fancy yarn store yarn.

I finished a pink placemat made of Sugar n Cream. I started the Malabrigo purse but I don't see how in the hell one skein is going to make this purse, so I think I am going to have to call my mom and have her interpret the pattern for me. I am happy to report that Sunshine's cat loves her new kitty bed and that he liked the plarn bag that I made for him.

Anyways, now I am back home and have to go back to work tomorrow. Boo! I don't want to deal with annoying HR and Relocation people.

Same Old Song and Dance

I have now started stripe five on the stripy shawl and from the looks of it I am almost certain that it will need a sixth stripe at least. I've been working on it because I am hesitant to start any projects that might require thought at the moment. Plus, Rambo the co-worker loaned me his copy of Oil! by Upton Sinclair which was the basis for the movie There Will Be Blood. I have been reading it in between reality tv shows. I really like Upton Sinclair's style of writing, I had read The Jungle in gifted and talented class back in middle school and found it to be fascinating (and gross). So this book is sucking up my crochet time, but that's okay since this book needs to be returned by the time I move.

Not much is really going on right now. I have been sitting around waiting on the stupid Relocation people to call me back which is annoying me to no end. I should have more to report after this weekend's festivities are over

Playing on my ipod: Love Remains the Same - Gavin Rossdale (I heard this on last night's episode of The Hills and loved it so much I had to download it because I have always been a fan of Gavin's music).

I heart Malabrigo

So I was just going to edit today's earlier post and add on, but my experience with Malabrigo was so amazing that I thought it deserved its own post.

I went to Loops today because I needed a skein of yarn for the Swap on a Budget swap on ravelry. I had read a post earlier in the week saying that they had received a shipment of Malabrigo. For those of you that possibly live under a tree, Malabrigo is this AMAZING pure merino wool from Uruguay. This was my first time to see and touch it in person. IT IS SOOOOOO SOFT!!!!I bought one skein in this bright royal blue for my swap spoilee and one skein of black to make the bag I liked in my new crochet book. The colors are so bright and vibrant and amazing. the price wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but I am definitely glad I was able to buy this in store and not online. I love how the name rolls of my tongue too. I was in yarn heaven.I just stood there staring at it like it was some jewel, I was completely drawn to it. If I wasn't buying a Coach purse this coming week I think I would have bought a hell of a lot more of Malabrigo.

then I bought two balls of Berroco Comfort DK in color #2813. this is Rainbow Brite colored and I was so drawn to the colors that I had to buy some.

I started a lime green dishcloth this afternoon and I finished color three on the stripy shawl and started color #4. I am really impressed with my color changing abilities.

I bought A-dolly's birthday present at Michaels today and I bought Knit-Aid, bitch magazine, and An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor. The Knit-Aid book is by Vickie Howell and it is really awesome! It is going to be really handy. The Patrick Taylor's book is supposed to be my plane book but I imagine I will be reading it before then.

Anyways, I came in on target for my budget so I am stoked. In fact, I think I was a tad under. YAY FOR ME!!!!

All in all, it was a pretty successful day. I felt the need to do a lot of this stuff this weekend since things are going to be really crazy with the whole move thing and this was my last free weekend.

Scarfy Scarves

I have made three scarves this week. Two for the GLBT Inclusion Project and one for L at the request of her mother. L's scarf is a rainbow fun fur scarf because she likes to play dress up with them. The GLBT Inclusion scarves are made out of one skein each of Red Heart Mexicana. I mailed them off this morning. I felted the doggie bed this morning. The Bernat felting wool definitely felts up more then the Lion Wool did but I am really pleased with how both beds turned out.

My sister is at work this morning so I am waiting for her to get off work and then we are going shopping in Tulsa. I am stoked because we are going to Barnes and Noble. I could go there every single day and still get excited. I have made a shopping list so that I can stay focused. LOL. I need to find a good book to read on the plane and I need some yarn. Maybe I should say that I want some more yarn.

Anyways, I am really really really excited because I get to see Sunshine and we get to play hooky from work! It is going to be a blast.

On my ipod: After Tonight by Justin Nozuka

Lol. I will probably add to this post after I get back from T-Town to tell ya'll how bad I was.

80 degrees and still playing with wool

How come when it is like 80 degrees outside all I want to do is crochet with WOOL? My sister and I are trying to resist the air conditioner for as long as possible (especially with all the hot/cool weather we have had recently) so we have not turned on the air conditioner yet in the house. I should be making little cotton dishcloths instead of planning out my next felting projects. I went to town on the dog bed and now I am halfway done with the last side. I am not sure if I will finish tonight or not. The cat bed is dry now and it looks really awesome with and without the sides folded down. The sides are folded down in the original pattern but I strayed from the pattern and added a final row of fun fur as the trim because it is a cat bed and it needed some flair and a little kick of color. My next projects are going to be felted purses from the crochet book I bought yesterday.

I thought about taking a picture of my stash, but I decided not to because it all fits in one of those orange plastic tubs so it doesn't really look that impressive. I was looking through it today to take inventory of it because I am in some more swaps on Ravelry. You have to fill out all these questionnaires about what you like or collect or use. it takes me forever to fill these out because i don't have a LYS in town so I don't really have fancy taste. Even if I went on a yarn buying spree, I would still have plenty of space for it even in the new apartment.

I dropped my sister off at the library this afternoon and came home with five books. One poetry book, two crafty books, one earthy book and one autobiography.

I am proud of myself because I actually did my online homework this morning instead of waiting until the very last minute tonight like I normally do. This is a good thing because my tv shows FINALLY RETURN this week. YAY!!!!

5 PM Update: I finished the dog bed! Kind of. It is all finished and seamed together except for the felting part. Our laundry is all done so I don't have anything to felt it with. it looks cool but I think it will look better once it is felted because it will stand up better. I used almost five balls. there is a tiny bit left from ball 5 of the Bernat Felting Wool. This yarn only has 84 yards compared to the 158 yards per ball of Lion Wool that I used for the cat bed which I ended up using 3 balls and a little bit of fun fur to make.

F is for French and Felting

It was like 75 degrees today. Yesterday morning it was a breezy 50. I wish the weather would level out a little because it is driving my allergies crazy. I am very proud of myself because I finished the cat bed for Sunshine's cat today. It is drying on top of a box to keep its shape. It turned out better than I could have imagined. Now that it is finished, I have started the side piece for the dog bed version. I am using a bulkier wool for the dog bed so it might crochet a little faster but I don't know. I have been having issues sitting still long enough to crochet.

My movie streak continues. Last night I finally watched Into the Wild. I wish I could live that simply. Loved the book, the soundtrack and the movie. That rarely happens.In between films I have been watching Sex in the City Season 2 and tonight's movie is Paris, Je T'Aaime. Yes, they speak French in this movie and it is really fast but I am resisting turning on the English captions because I think they distract from the movie and the French language sounds really pretty.

I bought the book The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Crochet. I don't really need another how-to book but this one had some really cool patterns that I want to try someday. Plus, I really liked the layout of the book too. I found a couple of things for my spoilee in the Swap on A Budget (through Ravelry) which is a good thing. I made very good use of the 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby this week.

These last couple of weekends have been fairly laid back and quiet which might possibly be a good thing because I know the month of May is going to be like a total tornado.

It Smells Like Dead Worms

Yes, it ended up raining again today. This time it waited until i was driving through Talala on my way to Owasso. My audit class didn't meet today and since i had already worked my hours, I decided to go straight to Owasso from work (therefore conserving gas). Normally I park and walk to all the stores but I ended up driving from store to store since it was raining so hard. Old Navy turned out to be a bust. I made my final attempt to buy a pair of flip flops for my sister but since her feet are completely flat, their new flip flop design doesn't work for her. anyways, I can't wear this pair because it is a size ten so she is just going to have to deal.

Next stop was Tar-Jay. I ended up buying Juno on DVD with screenplay and bonus digital copy. Then I bought boring stuff like Flat Earth Chips and paper towels and allergy medicine. Last stop was Hobby Lobby where I bought two more skeins of the Bernat Felting wool to finish the dog bed and a couple of things for the Swap on a Budget swap.

I came home and ended up stopping at wal-mart. I made the stupid mistake of trying to buy frozen pizza two days after everyone and their dog had a payday. I ended up getting the Juno soundtrack for $9 and Sex in the City Season 2 for $19.99 with a voucher for a free ticket to see the movie. This was the only season that I wasn't able to buy during the infamous Christmas sale. So, I will be watching that this weekend and definitely watching Juno again. I watched it as soon as I came home and I just love it. It feels like I spent a boatload of money, but I really didn't. Everything WAS PLANNED!!!!

Anyways, Sunshine, I would just like to let you know that you are the cheese to my macaroni. WINK WINK!!! I hope that you have fun on your band trips this weekend and by the time you come back I will be finished with the bed for your cat.

When I Come Around

The whole relocation thing is very exciting but it is really, really annoying. the paperwork won't be finished until sometime later this week or early next week and until it is finalized I can't buy plane tickets or seriously apply for an apartment. did I mention that I have to be there May 19th? LOL. I know that everything will work itself out but it just might drive me crazy in the meantime.

To top it off, there is all this family drama going on and none of it involves me but I get to hear about it all from everyone and they are all edgy.

All that aside, I am on the last side of Sunshine's cat bed. Once this side is done then I can stitch it all together, add the trim and then I get to felt it, which I think is the super fun part. I will definitely finish it this weekend if not a tad bit earlier. I am using black wool and I crochet slower with black yarn because we have no overhead lighting in our living room, so it makes it harder to see the stitches. I know, i know, I should buy a giant lamp but anyone that knows me right now knows that I really don't care about decorating stuff and I like the darkness.

Once I finish the cat bed, I will start working on the dog bed but I might have to buy more yarn for that because the pattern technically called for 6 balls of Bernat Felting yarn and my hobby lobby only had three in the color i wanted. The base piece took an entire skein so I don't think two skeins are going to do the sides. We will see. Hopefully they will get some more in because I don't want to have to drive to Owasso for it since gas decided to jump up to 3.19 this week and I am trying to conserve gas because of my soul-sucking commute that I will have until the end of May.

Anyways, tomorrow is pay day so after class I am going to the big box store to buy Juno on DVD and I am really excited about that. I did download new singles by Alanis Morrisette and Madonna this week, but I have found myself listening to Dookie-era Green Day. Grunge/alternative music is probably my most personal favorite type of music, if I was forced to pick just one type. Lord only knows what will end up on my ipod.

Hooks and Books

I finished the base for Sunshine's Cat bed today and I just started the second side while watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations Ireland episode on my Mac.He cracks me up and I lost track of the number of pints of Guinness he consumed during the episode.
Funny story about the felted boxes aka the doggie and cat beds. Since the actual pattern name is felted box, I assumed prior to seeing the pattern instructions, it would either be crocheted in the round or I would be making each individual piece and then seaming them together. So I made the base pieces for each bed and then I was going to start on the side pieces and I hit a wall. I was so confused, I had to call my Mommy and read the ENTIRE pattern to her out loud over the telly phone. It turns out that essentially you are making a scarf like piece that wraps around the base piece and then you fold the top down a little to give it a rolled look. Well, that is not what it sounded like when I originally read the pattern, so thank God for Mom's tech support. I don't usually make stuff from a pattern and this is probably one of the reasons why. These are going to turn out really awesome though, especially once they have been felted.

This morning I had to make an emergency run to wal-mart for more dryer sheets and some girly stuff. I really didn't want to go to Wal-Mart, but they are the cheapest place in town and we don't have a Target here. I was doing okay until I got in line and the cashier started scanning my stuff. She kind of had a surly dispostion and I really just wanted to get the hell out of there. She said some really rude things to me and if there weren't small children in line behind me I would have told her to go f-ck herself because I didn't ask her to talk to me and be all judgemental about my purchases (they were g-rated for the record).

So after that disaster, i decided to head to my little sanctuary, otherwise known as my local library. I checked out The Namesake and the Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. Her latest book ( i forget the title) wasn't on the shelves but I imagine that there is a big waiting list for it. Anyways, it took me forever to find them because someone had incorrectly shelved them in the midst of the "Left Behind" book series which I avoid like the plague. I had read The Namesake back when it first came out in 2003 but I hadn't read the Interpreter of Maladies which is her Pulitzer Prize winning collection of short stories. Since I had recently watched the movie adaptation of The Namesake, I wanted to re-read the book because I had noticed some subtle plot changes in the movie version but the movie basically follows the book. Jhumpa Lahiri has quickly become one of my new favorite authors.

I came back from the library and popped in Season 3 of Sex in the City (in preparation for the movie out May 30th) and spent the rest of the day in my big purple recliner reading and crocheting. I also watched a lot of Food Network shows. My idea of a good day off.

This week should be fun. Juno comes out on DVD which is also the series finale of Rob & Big (one of my guilty pleasures, i love sk8r bois). Work is kind of crazy but I don't have to work overtime, so I could care less.

Projects Galore

Yesterday I bought some felting wool and I finally found a copy of the Bernat Fun Felting leaflet so I am all set for a felting frenzy this weekend. I couldn't help myself and I have already started making the Felted Box aka the cute doggie bed. I think I have crochet ADD right now because I technically have three WIPs right now.

Today I was naughty and bought the Yarn Harlot's new book, the eco issue of Knit 1 and the latest issue of Rachael Ray's magazine. Oh, I almost forgot, I bought Jack Prelutsky's new book "Pizza,Pigs and Poetry: How to Write A Poem." Jack Prelutsky was one of the first poets that I discovered as a young book worm.

I have almost finished the base of the felted doggie bed. I am using Bernat Felting Natural Wool in New Iris and I think the color looks like the Gulf of Mexico. Lots of blues and aquas. I think tomorrow I might start working on the kitty bed. I like the felted box pattern so much that I am going to use that one for the kitty bed too. The kitty bed is going to be black with a red accent.

I am happy to report that my sewing machine manual and spare bobbins arrived from Mom's house today. I will add that to my project queue now. LOL. as if I need another craft project. The May issue of Esquire also arrived, so it was a very good Mailbox day.

I don't really have any plans for this week other than to lounge around and have crafty time.

Singers and Shawls, Oh MY!!!

I kind of feel like I'm in Seattle or something. We had Glorious Sunshine all weekend and then this morning, I wake up to a thunder and lightning show that continued on my commute. I ended up taking an 1 1/2 nap this evening which is unheard of. My sister apparently checked to see if I was still alive and I didn't even flinch. As a result, I am pretty wired right now and wide awake! WOOT!!!

So last night I went to A the co-worker's house to see if we could figure out the sewing machine that I got from my Mom when she moved. Mom had the manual there so we didn't have a picture to look at and apparently this machine is slightly high tech because it has an automatic bobbin winder thingy and we couldn't figure out how to trip it. Well, we ended up going to A's mom's house and we all determined we were going to need a picture, so I ended up using her sewing machine to finally finish Sunshine's bag. Anyways, My mom is so tickled pink that I am busting out the sewing machine that she is sending me the manual and the spare bobbins.

I started stripe three on the stripy shawl and I think I have found the pattern that I like for the felted cat bed. I think I will attempt the cat bed this weekend. I haven't crocheted in the round in awhile so this could be interesting. I can do it, I just choose not to because it requires counting and use of stitch markers if I want it to end up looking right. I think it will look fierce when it is finished.

On My Ipod: Panic at the Disco and The Breeders (special thanks to The Breeders for putting out an awesome record!)

Stuff

My poor Subaru. She has hauled 9 big black trash bags full o junk to the local Goodwill and only three of those were my sister's. There is another give away pile which is old toys that are going to little L up in KC. That is basically what I have been doing this weekend since it was nice weather. for some reason, nice weather peps me up and makes sorting and cleaning go faster.

I did walk to the post office to mail off a swap package for the Going Green swap and then i went back to the library. I picked up Ellie Krieger's new cookbook which has some nice recipes in it (with the nutritional breakdown) and I think they are not as complicated as some of the Top Chef recipes but still cool. I am never making panini in the Hello Kitty waffle maker again. It is a bitch to clean because you can't take it apart. L's mom A is supposed to keep her eye out for a cheap panini style thing. i looked at similar things here at the Wal-mart and I was not impressed. Plus, A cooks all the time and is cheap, so i know she will come up with some good options. Trisha Yearwood has also released a new cookbook that looks interesting.

While I was doing all that sorting, I came across my stash of yarn that I got for Christmas and found enough colors to make a striped shawl since I am going for fast and easy projects right now. I am please to say that my knitting basket and big orange yarn tub are only half fun. The wine box is full but those are mainly one skein specialty yarns that I have received in various swaps. I could fit it all in the orange tub if I wanted to.

Anyways, I got to read a sample chapter from Augusten Burroughs' new memoir about his father. I am on the e-mail list so they sent us a link to read the chapter and Tegan from Tegan & Sara wrote a song called His love that plays on the website for the book that sounds really cool. The book is called A Wolf at the Table and it comes out April 29th. I am lucky because some of my favorite authors are releasing new books this summer. I started reading Book Page at my library and that has really helped me find new books to read while I am waiting for the other books to come out.

My sister is spending the afternoon at the library grading papers so I am going to crochet on the striped shawl and watch Sideways because my sister hates that movie and I love it.

One last thing! They are opening an IKEA in Charlotte this Spring/Summer so I will end up being close to an IKEA after all.

Books and Booze

On my quest to discover food, I made panini for dinner tonight. I used wheat bread, hickory smoked turkey, hard salami and American cheese. I am sans the George grill and I lack a panini press so I squished them using the Hello Kitty Waffle Maker. It heats it up really nice but it makes the panini kinda goofy looking. I also discovered that it is a bitch to clean afterwards. For dessert, I had a low fat strawberry yogurt from Stoneyfield Farm. Yummy. Hopefully it doesn't make me sick, because I don't agree with dairy very well but I love dairy products (especially cheese and ice cream separately).

I have decided to keep the hat as is. the more I wore it the more it kind of grew on me once I decided that it looked like spilt Kool-Aid. Plus, my sister hates the colors, so that makes me like it more.

My sister's copy of Kurt Vonnegut's posthumous work Armageddon in Retrospect arrived today. I read several pages of it while she was at the gym this evening. There are more of his drawings, an intro by his son and the speech he was supposed to give but didn't because he died two weeks before the speech. I am a huge fan of his essays and of his work in general. He is one of the few authors that I consistently read over and over and one of the few that my sister and I jointly love.

Prior to the arrival of Vonnegut, I checked out Dress Your Family in Corderoy and Denim by David Sedaris, who is another one of my favorite authors. I can't wait for his new book to come out in June. Sometimes people ask me how I have the time to read so much and for me, I make the time. I read right before I go to bed every night even if it is just a couple of pages. It winds me down and it is relaxing. Reading a book is like a mental vitamin, only tastier.

I am supposed to be sorting through my crap, but I am not motivated at all. I just want to lay on the couch and read. I bought the puffin classics editions of The Wizard of Oz and The Secret Garden. I also want to read Bridge to Terabithia again. I was very naughty and bought the April issue of Food & Wine, which I have lovingly dubbed "the booze issue" because it features America's Best Wines. I am still working on the liking wine thing. Right now my favorite wine is Beringer's White ZInfandel. Lol. It is like $7-11 depending on the bottle size.

C is for Crazy

Okay, this has week has been a little crazy. Sunday started off good. Sunshine made Eggs in a Hole from the Top Chef cookbook and we paired it with banana slices and bacon (i am hopelessly addicted to bacon, it is my favorite part of breakfast). Then we spent the majority of the day lounging around and watching Make Me a Supermodel. I heart Perry and I need Ronnie to take me clothes shopping. the prayer shawl is finished now except for the fringe part. I made myself a hat with the Reynolds Smile yarn that I bought in Joplin on Saturday, but the colors didn't stripe like I thought they were going to so I might rip it all out and use a different pattern.

It has been rainy and wet and misty all week and so my allergies are driving me crazy and I just want to chill on the couch with an epic novel.

The big news is that I found out where I am transfering to at the end of May. I get to go to North Carolina, to a suburb of Raleigh. I am excited because it is a promotion and there is so many things to do and see in that state, that I can't wait to start the adventure. I am sad about ditching my sister and Sunshine though. I plan on bribing them to come visit with plane tickets. Yes, I have already looked up yarn shops!

As a result, I will be spending this weekend consolidating all my stuff and getting rid of whatever i don't want or need. I forsee several trips to goodwill in the next month.

P is for Poetry and Panini

Just a reminder that April is just around the corner and April is National Poetry Month. Poets.org is my all time favorite site for finding a good poem and they have tons of things you can do to celebrate. Right now I am currently on an Emily Dickinson kick.

I was really naughty today. I bought a copy of Living Like Ed so I wouldn't have to keep checking it out and I bought the Top Chef Cookbook. Sunshine and I made a panini recipe for dinner today from it but we modified because there is just some stuff that is hard to find around here or we just don't like it. We don't have a panini press so we stuck them in the good old George Foreman grill which worked out just fine. The paninis turned out great. They are really easy and you have so many variations you can do depending on what you want to use.

We had lunch at the Red Onion Cafe and as we were walking to the cafe I saw a yarn store. Hot damn! I must have some kind of yarn radar. It is called The Needle Niche and it is really cool. It is a small store but it is full of yarn, and that is what counts. I bought a skein of Reynolds Smile yarn and an Addi I hook. They had a lot of Mission Falls and Rowan there which was really hard to pass up but since I bought two books this morning, I had to restrain myself a little. Lunch was good and so was the yarn.

I have just tied on my 4th or 5th skein for the shawl that I started earlier this week.I have purchased 7 skeins total, but I kind of lost track of how many I have left. I will have to check my portable stash. I still have a ways to go, but I am getting a lot closer. I just really love using this yarn. It is so soft and pretty. I might have to use this again when I have a good coupon. $3.99 seems cheap but it's not extremely cheap considering these skeins only have 103 yards. I will definitely have to post pics when I finish. I am still debating about whether or not I should put fringe on or not.

Hopefully our warm weather comes back soon. I like seeing the sun every once in awhile.

Songs of the Day:
Last Request - Paolo Nutini
Breakable - Ingrid Michaelson

Highway Bound

Here I am again. I think Sunshine's house might be by unofficial vacation home. For some reason I woke up at 6:30 am this morning wide awake. So here I am, typing away. Last night we went to Chik-fil-a and it turned out to be crazy family night. It was Friday night and the kids were swarming all over the play place and everything. We probably should have gone through the drive through but we weren't thinking clearly. See, Sunshine is a gentlemen and he lets me pick and I have the most unrefined taste ever and I just love their tiny chicken nuggets and the waffle fries and their ice cubes. Anyways, I told him I was done with picking eating establishments this weekend.

Then we did our usual stop at Target. I bought more flavor packets for my water. Someone at work had accidently got a mountain dew instead of a pepsi in the vending machine yesterday so they gave it to me and I still haven't finished drinking it yet. It is my all time favorite beverage but since I have really cut out the pop and junk I have noticed that I am really sensitive to the taste of sugar. It's a very strange thing.

Next, I made us go back to Michaels. I had bought some Bernat Natural Blends Cashmere in Snow for a prayer shawl that I am making for one of my cousin's hospice patients. I made the mistake of buying three skeins (103 yards) each. Luckily, Michaels still had some left in the same dye lot so I bought four more just to be on the safe side. I just started skein three before I went to bed last night. It is so soft because of the 5% Cashmere but it doesn't fuzz, which is good. The color is so pure white that it reminds me of angel's wings. I am not really into praying, so I recite poetry in my head as I am crocheting because poetry is just as equally moving and thoughtful and April is National Poetry Month so I thought it was highly appropriate. I am making a lot of progress on it, but I don't know if I will finish it or not this weekend.

The final stop was at Office Depot. I ended up buying this really cool sketchbook which is a cross between a sketch book and a five star notebook. It's made by Mead. I keep running out of journals which is funny since I blog and hand journal but my hand journals are becoming more like art journals so I consider it to be two different things.

The Big Weekend Finale

So Saturday we did a little shopping in Joplin and visited the genealogy room at the library. I used my big coupon at Michaels and then we were walking out of the store and Sunshine asks if I can make him a felted case for TomTom his GPS. I didn't mind but I was like why didn't you say something in the store and then he was like well my ideas aren't always timed right. Well, I wasn't worried because we were going to make a quick jaunt to Pittsburg to look up something at their library. The trip to Pittsburg was kind of a disaster. The genealogy room is closed on the weekends and the yarn store moved locations and we didn't know until after the fact. The food was good though.

Then we came back and it was cleaning-palooza time since Sunshine was hosting Easter for his family. We installed the mail box, and overhauled the kitchen cabinets so that they were nice and organized. Somewhere in the midst of it I managed to make and felt a prototype TomTom case. I have since finished the actual case and a matching cell phone case. I also finished and stitched up sunshine's plarn bag and like the other plarn bag, I need to make handles for it.

Easter was fun. i drove home early Easter morning and worked on the felting projects and some misc. stuff. Tuesday I bought a new pair of pink low-top Chuck Taylors. they are so pretty and they brighten up my otherwise all black wardrobe. I haven't bought a pair in ages.

I have been reading a lot too. The new issues of Spin, Vogue, Vogue Knitting and Interweave Crochet are all excellent. I am in love with the book Living like Ed, which is Ed Begley Jr.'s new book on "going green." I think i am going to have to order my own copy because this is a 7 day only library book since it just came out.

I bought used copies of Waitress and The Namesake on dvd. Seeing Waitress over Christmas break was one the highlights and I love the book The Namesake and I have a secret crush on Kal Penn (hello, Kumar!) and Jacinda Barrett from the Real World is in and she was one of my favorites. Now I just have to find the time to watch them. I might end up watching them tomorrow night after class and my little stop at the library. On the upside, I turned in my online homework tonight and it's not due until Sunday! YAY for me not procrastinating!!!

The Big Weekend Part 2

Okay, so I intended to post about this sooner but life has been busy with work and class. Friday was the big Arkansas day. We kicked off the day with a quickie to Wal-Mart where Sunshine bought a TomTom GPS for his car and I bought some really fantastic Neutrogena fast-absorbing hand cream. This lotion is a crafty girl's dream and it is not slimy or greasy but still has the Neutrogena healing powers. I was a little skeptical about whether or not this GPS thing would work, but we were going all over the boonies in Arkansas and without the GPS, we would have probably been lost out in the hills or something.

Our first stop was in Bentonville, where i conned him into taking me to the Wal-Mart Museum. I am a museum wh*re. I was so excited you couldn't smack the dorky grin off me. One half of the museum is dedicated to the Walton family and the other half is dedicated to the history of the Wal-Mart empire. Everyone was so nice there and I ended up buying a tote bag there as a souvenir that I would later use to carry all my yarn around in.

Next stop was the Bentonville Public Libary. THIS LIBRARY IS SO AMAZING!!!!!! It is modern and shiny and new. There is a coffee shop when you walk in. The genealogy room is amazing and has the coolest photocopier! I was in love and really didn't want to leave this library. Anyways, we made some huge progress on Sunshine's family tree. I definitely am adding this library to my top fives (and I am really picky about this).

Our next stop on the trip was hand written onto the itinerary by moi. I happened to know from a previous trip that there was a Barnes and Noble in Rogers which is like next door to Bentonville. Sunshine is such a great best friend that he went along with it. I used another coupon to buy another sock knitting book and I found a little book for my Mom. Before the trip to BN, we stopped and had lunch at the Atlanta Bread Co. which was really good.

After that, we did some cemetary research. I saw pretty clear spring water that was so nice I took a picture. We passed through Gravette and then Southwest City, Mo. At some point we ended up at Grand Lake and we played the penny slots at the Wyandotte Casino and ate dinner there.

I have no clue how many miles we traveled on Friday, but it was a blast and I even had some crafty time on the road. We came back home and were happily lounging on the couch when E and R pulled up with the Party Van (their mini-van). They took us out for drinks at a local beverage establishment which was fun because I hadn't ever met E and R before.

The Big Weekend Part 1

I'm a bad blogger. I didn't realize I was going to have so much to talk about this weekend so I didn't post as I went along. Oops. So now, I have to post this in parts and hope to hell that I remember everything that I did. I would make Sunshine post all this but he only posts like twice a year,

The big weekend started off on Thursday after work. I crawled in the Subaru and hit the road. I lucked out because it was late Thursday afternoon, so the traffic wasn't too bad. I dropped off my yarn stash and then Sunshine and I headed over to Joplin for shopping and dinner. We went to Target and Hobby Lobby. I had coupons to everywhere and Hobby Lobby had knitting and crochet accessories 40% off. I forgot exactly what I bought at Hobby Lobby and what I bought at Michaels, so I will stick in a stash photo in the post somewhere.I did buy a skein of Wool-Ease thick and quick raspberry that I ended up using up this weekend so I just had a little tiny bit leftover. We had dinner at Charlie's Chicken which was really good. I am in love with their mashed potatoes and the chicken chunks.


Anyways, we arrive back at Sunshine's house and we walk in and I just bust out laughing in the midst of the horror. I had brought Sunshine's plarn bag with me in the hopes of working on it while we were hanging out. I keep the loose loops I have made in a little Starbucks paper sack and just grab a few to loop on as I go, I find it to be easier then having a huge plarn ball unrolling all over the place. Well, moi forgot about THE CAT and just left the sack on the table with some other stuff I had brought in. THE CAT had knocked the bag off the table and dumped it out on the floor and was rolling in it like it was a million dollars. I should have been really mad, but it was so hilarious that I couldn't be mad.



While I was away, my package from RH swap on Ravelry arrived. I finally got to see it this morning after I got home and it was so awesome. I honestly say that I love every single thing in it. I will post more about this on the RH board on Ravelry.

Anyways, I will post part 2 later on which will cover the Arkansas adventure on Friday. I had so much freaking fun this weekend, I know I will end up leaving stuff out. THANK SO MUCH SUNSHINE!!! It was an awesome adventure and I can't possibly thank you enough for it. You definitely deserve the title of my number one best friend.

Twas The Eve of St. Patrick's Day

and I should be in bed because I am the unfortunate soul that has to go to work tomorrow while my sister is on Spring Break. I am on Spring Break from college but not from work. I just have Good Friday off from work and that's it.

I am so close to finishing Sunshine's bag. I bought bobbins and thread for my sewing machine that Mommy gifted me when I left but I forgot to get the manual from her so that I would know how to thread it because I need to use it to finish up two little projects. I might end up begging A the co-worker to show me how. I haven't had to thread a sewing machine in ages.

I went a little loom crazy this weekend and made three kids hats and two infant/preemie hats. ALL OUT OF MY STASH YARN!!! Whoop! Whoop! I have a few odd balls of left over yarn that I decided I just needed to stop being lazy and whip them up into hats. I think they were leftover from some adult hats I made last year or something. Does this mean I can buy some more yarn this weekend?

Sis and I watched August Rush and Bridge to Terabithia this weekend. August Rush is awesome. I love all the lead actors and I wish I had a stylist that would mousse my curly hair every day so it would look like Keri Russell's. The music was fantastic too. Bridge to Terabithia is even more of a tear jerker than the book was. We had to read it in elementary school (like 5th grade?) and it ended up being an all time favorite of my sis and I. I love the chucks that Leslie wears in the movie. Between those chucks and the I love Chucks group on Ravelry, I am really itching to get a new pair of Chucks. It has been way too long since I have bought a pair.

So tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day. I am going to wear my special pink and green shamrock socks to work with my green and navy striped shirt and navy blue little sweater. It might just turn out to be a preppy day.

I feel all wound up and I am not sure why. Maybe it is because it is a short week and I get to have fun lots of fun this coming weekend. I have no clue really. I think I am stoked because since I am sticking to my almost-no pop diet, I allowed myself to order some chapstick (and three complementary samples) from Kiehl's, which I am seriously stoked about. Also, Mom sent us a box that is supposed to come on Tuesday and I am on Spring Break so I don't have to go to boring Auditing class.

Anyways, I hope everyone has a Happy St. Patrick's Day tomorrow! Don't spike your coffee with Bailey's until after 5pm! I'm just kidding...

Soo True...

What Melissa Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are the total package - suave, sexy, smart, and strong. You have the whole world under your spell, and you can influence almost everyone you know. You don't always resist your urges to crush the weak. Just remember, they don't have as much going for them as you do. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Sunny Days, please stay.

I should really be in bed because I have this awful time getting up in the morning right now but I just don't feel tired right now. My mind is just lit up like a light bulb and I can't even blame it on pop and candy because I hardly consume any of it anymore and I think it actually gives me a little more energy now that I have made it over the hurdle. My poor little Starbucks tumbler gets filled up with water now and a little Crystal Light every once in awhile.

So next week is Spring Break, but I still have to work all week except for Good Friday, so that kind of blows. On the upside, I wrote 1 1/2 out of 3 of my auditing papers and the first one isn't even due until April 9th. It is part of my conscious effort to stop putting off things, especially things that really don't take much time once I sit down and focus. I might go to Owasso on Friday for something to do because we will be in town for Easter. I don't know. Gas prices suck right now so it makes me hesitant to do extra driving but at the same time, I feel like I should at least go some place since I don't have many days off throughout the year. We will see, I still have a few days to figure it out.

Sunshine's bag is 3/4 done. I made massive progress while watching Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp and Celebrity Rehab: The Reunion Show.

I am loving the warmer weather this week, I just wish I could see the sun during the day but my department doesn't have any windows. I hope we don't get a ton of rain. I just got rid of the hacker's cough and got my allergies back to maintainable levels and rain = mold which is bad for me.

I talked to my mom again this week. It always amazes my sister that I can talk to my mom on the phone for over an hour just about yarn or knitting or crafties. We bounce ideas off of each other like new yarns and patterns and I love hearing her knitting group and quilter's guild stories.

Speaking of yarn, Hobby Lobby had some Red Heart Bright and Lofty on sale for $1.99 so I bought this really bright neon red skein. It's downstairs so I don't know the colorway but it is going to make some kick ass hats. Bright and Lofty is really nice and warm and good for cold-weather hats. I might make a hat with it this weekend, we will see what all I can get done this weekend.

Books and Sleuths

Last night I finally finished reading Daniel Tammet's book Born on A Blue Day. It was really good. I am trying to get back into the habit of reading a little bit each night before I go to bed. Now I am going to start In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. My sister has managed to go 8 weeks without pop and has discovered that candy tastes gross now. I have not quit pop but I probably have less than 5 a week which is a huge victory for me. I'm not quiting caffeine but the excess sugar stuff. I feel thinner and a little healthier. Now that I am rapidly approaching 30 I am trying to un-do all the damage I did while in my early twenties. LOL. I use eye cream now! This coming from a girl who uses Burt's Bees as her main make-up staple. Seriously though, it helps.

My sister bought Nancy Drew on DVD today and we watched it after I came home from my boring audit class. That movie is so much fun, I love her clothes, her loafers and her little detective bag and of course, the little blue roadster. It just brings back fond memories of sitting in my room reading all the Nancy Drew books.

I have been working on Sunshine's plarn bag some more. I think I am at the halfway point at least but I am too lazy to go downstairs and measure it up against plarn bag #1 that still needs its handles attached. I think I am becoming a semi-pro at crocheting with plarn. I will recommend that you use some high quality hand lotion when you work with plarn because I think it drys my hands out.

I will confess to rocking out to Enrique Iglesias in the car on my way to work this morning. Daylight Savings Time is kicking my ass in the morning so i need some peppy club music to keep me awake especially now that I am not sucking down the pop. I also like to sing along to The Moldy Peaches and Flogging Molly. You never know what you will hear when you get into my car.

We have another damn potluck at work tomorrow so I am cheating and bringing Milano cookies. I can only eat so much potato salad.

Craftapalooza Time.

I received some money today from the Easter Bunny otherwise known as Grandma, so I allowed myself to buy a couple of things. I finally bought a used copy of the movie Once. It is really good. The music is fantastic, I should probably download the soundtrack, it would definitely improve the sucktacular commute.

I was able to find the right material to make the handles for the plarn bag #1. I can't really describe it further until after it has been finished and received by my swap buddy. I am currently in three swaps and one Top Chef pool.

Sunshine, you will be please to know that I have started your bag. It is currently 7 inches tall. I go by inches not rows, because I suck at row counting, so I just use my trusty sheep tape measure to gauge everything. My sister finally broke down and bought Seasons 1 & 2 of Rob and Big, so that is what I have been watching for a huge chunk of the day. I think it is highly appropriate since Sunshine is the person who introduced me to this show. It makes me want to skateboard. i haven't done that since high school. LOL. I love the fact that it's about best friends and their antics and Meaty and Mini are sooo cute. I wish we could have pets in the townhouse.

I have been reading Kristin Nicholas' new book Kristin Knits. The colors are so bright and lively, this is definitely book for crappy winter weather. My mother went to Michaels today and ended up buying two books that I have been wanting forever. One is a leaflet on sock knitting and the other one is Isela Phelps' Loom Knitting Primer. She had a coupon so she thought she would see what they were like. Then she mentioned them on the phone today and i was like SO JEALOUS...This is the crappy part about us living on opposite ends of the world. I think she might be mailing them out to me.there is an earflap hat that I really want to make. She laughed when I asked her for plastic bags for Easter.

I purchased a new journal at hobby lobby today. My current one is almost out. I slacked off on the writing these last two weeks while I had the plague. This one is a $2 sketchbook, spiral bound with thicker paper (for my sharpies)and it's 9 by 12 so i can do more cut and paste work in it. Cutting up magazines and making collages was my favorite activity in preschool. I like cutting up fashion magazines like Vogue the best.

It is very quiet tonight since my sister is in Stilly for the weekend. I went to the library today to pick up some books to pass the time.

Still Here

I am almost over the Plague otherwise known as the really bad cough/cold that I had. It would probably have helped if I would have taken off a day or two but I didn't cause I am stubborn like that. The sickness was so bad that i didn't want to eat, shop or even knit or crochet really. All i worked on was making more plarn and I did crochet a condom amulet out of some of the Vickie Howell Love yarn that I had leftover. I think I am going to finish plarn bag one, start the plarn bag for Sunshine and hopefully start the socks up again. I also have some yucky homework that I need to do before Sunday night too.

My sis and I bought The Tin Man on dvd at Wal-Mart tonight. I was also naughty and bought the new issue of Knit Simple. I plan on watching it while my sister visits some old college friends in Stilly on Saturday. I think it will be a good backdrop for my craftpalooza weekend. It is kind of strange because I will be staying home this weekend and I won't have Sunshine around. I have been spoiled rotten by his visits the last two weekends in a row.

Today is my mom's birthday, so I listened to Flogging Molly on my commute. I think they are a perfect combo of my mom's love of Irish music and my love of punk rock.

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.