Saturday is for Shopping

Saturday’s big event was knitting group but before I could go to knitting group I had to go to the post office and mail the Nicholas Sparks books back to my sister. I also mailed off the scarves my mom and I had made for the Red Scarf Project and I mailed a couple of paperbacks to A. She finished the Harry Potter series last week and she is having a lot of drama right now.

I am also excited because I found out that there is a new book in the Wicked series by Gregory Maguire coming out. I think it comes out on the 14th because there is a couple of other books that are coming out then too that I want to read.

I ended up buying some Halloween hot cocoa at Crate and Barrel. There is some throw pillows that I really like there but they are like $36 each and I don’t have a couch so I resisted buying them. I also resisted some of the kitchen gadgets because I just don’t cook enough to justify the cost. I went to Sephora and bought a really nice lipstick and some black nail polish by OPI, which only took two coats and it has a nice shine to it. I think I was in a girly mood when I walked into that store or something. After I got back from group I went to Old Navy and bought two new t-shirts because they were having a 14.92 sale and these shirts were 2 for 14.92. They are regularly $15.00 a piece, which seems insane to me because these were plain long sleeved t-shirts. I looked around at AC Moore and Michaels but I just didn’t find anything I wanted to use my coupon on.

I made a lot of progress on the Pink Poodle shawl at group. I will probably finish today after my morning Starbucks. Knitting group was so much fun. We always have lots of laughs and all of us have our areas of expertise so it’s nice knowing that if you were stuck on a project you could have some one to help you out.

So Sunday has been a lazy day. I'm not really sure where the day has gone. I did go see a movie. I saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and I LOVE IT... Omg. There was so many things in that movie that reminded me of my upper high school and college years. I found out afterwards that it is based on a book, so I will have to get a copy of that. I think I am two rows away now from finishing the Pink Poodle shawl which is good because I am getting sick of looking at this yarn. LOL.

Books are my Bliss

Last night I finally meet one of my all time favorite authors, Nicholas Sparks. He is one of the only authors that my sister and I both read and like. He also is a local author and my sister has met him twice on tour in Tulsa and she told me to show up two or three hours early. So I left work 30 minutes early and went straight over to BN. I almost didn’t find a parking spot. Apparently, people from all over the state drive to see him in whichever town he goes to in North Carolina. One of the booksellers told me that people started coming in at 10 am for a 7pm advertised reading.
So what is a NY Times best-selling author like? He’s very nice. He posed for countless pictures and signed thousands of books. He just sat there smiling and chatting and sipping Mountain Dew. When it was finally my turn, I approached his table and I seriously thought I was going to melt like the Wicked Witch when I shook his hand and told him how great his books were. I am convinced that he is a literary rock star and the people’s writer. He is really smiley too and it’s a real smile, not a fake one.
Even though I spent three hours in line, and I was tired and hungry, it was all worth it. I had Saffron my itouch with me, so I could surf the web and look up his books when my new found friends in the line and I couldn’t remember a certain plot point or wondered which book came out first. There were moms and daughters and grandmas and even a few guys. I had so much fun. I would definitely go to another one of his signings again.

Meeting authors and poets is one of my favorite things. I love to meet the person behind the page and find out what inspired them.

Beyond books, I am still working on the Pink Poodle shawl and I have no clue what I am going to take with me to knitting group. I think I am just going to end up hauling the Pink Poodle to the mall with me. I made a new cozy for Saffron out of the Red Heart Eco Cotton in Denim. This time I made it a little smaller so it fits her nice and snug and she won’t slide out of it like she did with the other one.

I discovered a new show this week too. It’s called Spain On the Road Again and it follows Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow and friends on a culinary road trip through Spain. It is so fun. The first episode features the windmills in la Mancha and cheesemaking and all kinds of local cuisine. Mario and Gwyneth have a really good banter and watching it is like being a road trip with your friends. It makes me wish I had a Mercedes Benz convertible because that’s what they drive in the show. I keep hoping that they will play some Coldplay on the show.

Peeking Out of My Cubicle

After practically living in my cubicle all week, month-end hell is over with, so yay! How did I celebrate-- with a skinny latte and a shiny new Nine West purse (i got one of the new ones 50% off!!!!) The purse is big and teal and I love love love it. It is a statement bag and it goes well nicely with my collection of black shirts.

I joined the Starbucks and Yarn swap on Ravelry this week so I am excited about it because it involves two of my very favorite things.

Last night I bought the new Nicholas Sparks book The Lucky One and stayed up late reading it (I can't stop in the middle of his books). It was really good and he will be at my beloved Barnes and Noble on Friday so I can't wait to see him because my sister has met him twice.

I am on skein number two on the pink poodle shawl. I have also made three coffee cup cozies this week too.

I'm excited because it's October and that brings Halloween and the potential for cooler weather. LOL. This weekend is also knitting group at the mall weekend so that will be a lot of fun. I always like seeing what everyone else is knitting or crocheting. Plus, my new purse is so big I could stick a tiny project in it!

P.S. Sunshine, I miss you!

Follow Your Bliss

Saturday Day evening:

So today was my little phone chat with my guru or health coach. Today was the call where we came up with my plan. This is a service provided through my work and we get a discount on our insurance premiums for using the service. Some people are skeptical about it but this actually works for me. My guru is really nice and she doesn’t sound like a drill sergeant and I told her about all my bad food habits and caffeine dependency. She gave me numbers and structure so I am ready to go. I feel more confident about this attempt to eat healthier because this is a series of gradual changes with the ultimate goal of breaking old habits. We will see how it goes in a month when we have our next chat. She is even sending me a little goal sheet for my fridge! I think I like the fact that we just talk on the phone. I don’t have to go to meetings or a special facility.
I went to my neighborhood yarn store today. I bought a Brittany L hook (yay!), two crusty issues of Vogue Knitting and a vintage Cabbage Patch clothes leaflet (all in crochet). That was my post birthday mini-splurge.
I am almost done with skein one on the Boston Rose shawl. I bought some Vanna yarn in Pink Poodle today so I started another shawl with my new hook. My mom says that the pink shawls are going the fastest at church so
I also made my Saturday stop to Whole Foods and the post office. I mailed off some Halloween books to little L.
Last night at BN, I bought a copy of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz which has won several big awards including the Pulitzer Prize. I picked it because I wanted something to read that wasn’t something I would typically pick and it just sounds like it will be a great read. I am also re-reading Wicked and Anne of Avonlea. I like to rotate around when I am reading.
My sister’s evil roommate from hell moved out today. She has found a new host family and hopefully my sister will be happier now. She is coming out here for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year thanks to some miles that my Dad needed to use before they expired.
Sunday Morning:
It is also doing the rainy thing here again today.Paul Newman has passed away which is very sad because he was a great actor and philanthropist. I had just purchased a bottle of his Caesar salad dressing at Whole Foods yesterday too.
I went to Starbucks this morning and this time, The Way I See It featured on my cup was highly appropriate.

The Way It See It #268
"Music is what I always turn to when I'm feeling a certain way. It's my reason for everything." --Josh Groban

I have been dreaming of a new purse too. I love my Coach purse that I got back in early August but I keep seeing everyone and their dog carrying the same version of mine in the same color and that is annoying me so I have started using Coach purse #1 again.

I am also really tired of having to drive to four different gas stations just to buy gas. I had to do that yesterday because I was close to running out and I had been putting it off for this exact reason.

28 is great!

Not really but one of my co-workers commented that I was being pessimistic today so I thought I would use a peppy title for my post.

My actual birthday was seriously uneventful. For the first time in 28 years I did not have a road trip or party for my birthday, so I ended up eating leftover frozen pizza and watching Sex in the City the movie (so good--Carrie is my favorite of course) and episodes of The Cho Show.

I am almost finished with the cotton candy pink shawl. i think I have 2 inches to go and then I can start working on the Boston Rose shawl.

I read Dewey:The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron this week. It's a true story and it takes place in Spencer, Iowa so it was a fast read for me because it contains talk about two of my favorite things- libraries and Iowa.

Speaking of books, the professor sent me a copy of her poetry book! What a wonderful surprise. I am totally reading it this weekend. I think I was happier to find that in the mail box then I was to get the $20 birthday check from my Grandma yesterday.

I also think I should get extra brownie points for spending 40 minutes on the eliptical machine at work on my birthday! Too bad that I have drank two pumpkin spice lattes this week. I don't even want to know how long I would have to work out to work those off. It has been chilly out and I need tasty caffeine.

The Birthday Week Begins

So on Friday I took a half-day of vacation (OMG, I know!!) and drove down to my parent's house. Prior to leaving town I finally got my oil changed at Jiffy Lube which was hectic because i was dumb and went at noon but they were fast and friendly. Jiffy Lube is kind of pricey but I'm new to the area and wanted a known company. Plus they gave me coupons and a discount and they had the new issue of People magazine. Now the Subaru is happy again and she has special high mileage oil because we are over the 104,000 mile mark. Knock on wood!!!

Speaking of mileage, I will be turning over the big 28 on Thursday the 25th. Scary! I had my mom cut my hair on Saturday because it was getting way too long and think I lost ten pounds of hair in the process. My parents gave me my birthday presents. I got Made of Honor, Atonement, Private Practice Season 1 and Grey's Anatomy Season 4, two kitchen scrubbies, a yarn holder and a yarn tote that my mom crocheted out of Red Heart Black and Mexicana and it possibly my new favorite bag. You can hold a lot of junk in this!

Mom and I went to a local quilt show on Saturday. I ended up buying a cupcake pin cushion and a pink pig tape measure. Cuter than words. Mom also ripped out the Jayne hat and helped me re-make it. We modified it but it still has the Jayne vibe to it.

I downloaded more shows on itunes, thereby securing Apple's future. I also finally bought a wall adapter for my itouch so life is easier now. I also bought the movie Young and Heart which is this great music documentary.

I am almost through the first skein of the Cotton Candy pink shawl (homespun, of course). I would have made more progress but Mom and have been out and about all weekend.

All over the Place

I'm on a quickie business trip again. I really hope we don't have to come back next week. I like the people but all these quickie business trips in the middle of the week are getting old. The best part is being able to watch my Bravo shows at the hotel. I think I am having a cranky day because my brain hurts and I had to get up early and we rode down in my boss's stick shift car and she's a jerky shifter!!!!! It just makes me further appreciate my automatic Subaru. Subaru really is Love. There is just so much going on in my head right now. I just can't seem to shut my thoughts off.

The Montana Blue Sky shawl is finished. I am almost done with another Special Olympic scarf. I am almost out of the white yarn so I might have to pick up some more this weekend to be able to add the fringe on.

I ended up buying a North Face backpack to haul my laptops around in. I tried to find a rolly laptop bag but I couldn't find any for a decent price that passed the curb test and that would fit under an airplane seat. Normally I don't like backpacks, but I tried this one on and it just fit perfectly. I even had the salesman load it up with a bunch of junk and I didn't feel like I was being pulled over backwards or that it was cutting my shoulders. It has some nice padding in it and a MILLION pockets. My sister is super jealous and offered to take it when I get tired of it. LOL. It's like two different shades of blue.

I am actually taking half a day of vacation Friday afternoon. I just kind of felt like I needed a little break. It has been a long month. Work has been really busy and there is a lot of drama with my sister that is stressful. I didn't want to take a whole day because I feel like I should be saving up my vacation for God only knows what and I hate missing a lot of work at once because it always seems like you get slammed with emails and crap when you're out of the office. I just wanted to have a little extra time at my parent's house this weekend and we are celebrating my birthday early since my birthday is on the 25th and it falls during the week this year. I need to get an oil change too before I head down because I didn't get to do it before I left on this business trip because it was raining really heavy and I just didn't want to mess with it then since I was cutting it short on time since I left work a little later than I planned.

Update: I was ranting and I forgot to brag about the fact that I worked out for 30 minutes over lunch and I didn't pass out and die and I wore my new Nikes that I bought because I didn't have any work-out friendly shoes. I am trying to make this a routine. I used the eliptical machine with the arm movement thing and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Friday

It's Friday! Yay! I love Fridays the best. Today we went out to eat at a Chinese buffet that is my co-workers favorite. I like the sweet biscuits. I'm not an Asian food person but I am sociable so I tagged along. Sunday is knitting group so that is exciting because I missed group last month due to stupid work.

Right now I am hooked on this newer British show called Gavin and Stacey that just started airing on BBC America but is also available on Itunes which is how I am watching it. It is hilarious, and I loved the music in the first episode so I am currently downloading episodes 2 and 3 as I speak.

Gas is going up again. Yuck. Stupid oil prices and hurricanes!

Right now I am re-reading Anne of Green Gables and I just bought this interesting memoir by Michael Gates Gill titled How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Like Like Everyone Else. I also received the 75th anniversary edition of Esquire so I am reading it too but it is taking awhile because there are a bazillion articles and profiles.

Still working on the shawl and I am hoping to make a couple more Special Olympics scarves this weekend.

Humid

Dang Apple! I just bought an itouch this summer and then I go to Apple.com and they released a new pimped itouch and new Nanos in wild colors that remind me of what the mini used to look like. there's a gray nano and a purple one and lime green and i am having serious Apple envy right now. the new touch has built in speakers! and cheaper price! the 32 gb i think is the same price that I paid for my 16gb. I am seriously annoyed about this right now but I will get over it. I will have to stop by the Apple store this weekend and pet them.

So the business trip is going well but I am of the opinion that most of our projects could have been completed via conference calls. It was nice to put faces to the names. I am also enjoying the free hotel hot breakfast and Bravo tv, I'm just a tiny bit sad that we aren't staying wed. night so that i can watch Project Runway's new episode.

I have finished skein 1 of the Montana Sky Blue shawl and started on skein 2. For some reason these skeins were wound really tightly so when i tied on skein 2, i pulled out yarn barf twice. This is the last of the Homespun that I bought on sale over Labor Day weekend so I will probably have to go and get some more after pay day. This time the 15th falls on a Monday which sucks. i like it better when we get paid on a Friday because then you have it for the weekend and the first paycheck of the month seems to be when my more expensive bills fall.

I don't have any major plans for the weekend other than knitting group on Sunday! Yay. No work interference this time. I hope all the humid weather goes away and the tropical storms/hurricane stuff. I would just like some nice, cool, hoodie and jeans weather, please.

On the Road Again

So tomorrow morning at o-dark-thirty I leave for a business trip with the newbie, my boss and my boss' boss to go to Charlotte. This should be interesting. I would love to just chill in the back with my itouch but I have a feeling my boss is going to talk NON STOP!!! We are staying at hotel brand that I don't usually stay at so I hope it's not gross. When you travel as much as I do, you have every right to be picky and have favorite hotels. LOL. But it does have tv, free wi-fi and free breakfast so my basic needs will be met. I will be traveling with two computers! I am bringing my mac and the stupid work laptop so that I can use my mac in the evenings. I really need to work on finding a rolling briefcase that is still small enough to fit under an airplane seat. I saw one I liked at Best Buy but it was over a foot deep and if i took that on a plane with me that would be like the main carry-on!

I finished the deflt Homespun shawl Friday night. I started another one made out of the Montana Sky Blue Homespun and I also made a Special Olympics scarf on Saturday and I am half-way through Special Olympics scarf number #2.

I also talked to my health coach Saturday night. It's a free service through my company's insurance and if we signed up for the program we get like a big credit on our insurance premium. Anyways, I am supposed to write down what I regularly eat for the next two weeks so that she can figure out my plan of action. She's really nice and she sounds like a peppy cheerleader on the phone. We will see. I'm sure I'm going to notice some eating trends. I'm not trying to look like a toothpick but I know i packed on the pounds this summer and I would to get rid of those since the weather is starting to cool off and it will be easier for me to make myself go walking. We will see. I'm kind of curious to see what my daily caloric intake is because I have no idea.

Happy September!

I caved and went to Wal-Mart Saturday. I bought a wooden pre-assembled drying rack because my sister kept all of ours when I moved. Target didn’t have any wooden ones that were assembled and Mom needed to refill some prescriptions so stopped at Wal-Mart. I also stopped at Mc Donalds Friday night on my way to Charlotte because it was easy to get to and get back on the highway and traffic was SO AWFUL that there was no way that I was going to be able to wait until I got to my parent’s house. I left straight from work at 4:40 PM ET and did not make it to my parent’s house until 9 PM which is ridiculous. I left today (Monday) at 2PM ET and made it back at 4:45 PM ET which was a personal best. The traffic was much better and I went the speed limit because there was cops out like crazy.
Sunday night I finished the Candy Apple red Homespun shawl, my mom thinks that it is the 10th shawl that I have made this summer. This morning before I left, I started another one , this time in Homespun Delft (which is a painterly shade of blues and a little bit of white). I have at least 6 inches done on it.
My Kiehl’s order arrived on Saturday while I was gone but it was waiting on my doorstop for me when I came back. I ordered a bottle of their new Aloe Vera Bipgradable Liquid Body Cleanser, which is made out of 100% biodegradable ingredients and it is in partnership with the lovely Brad Pitt so 100% of net profits go to JPF Eco Systems which supports global environmental initiatives. It’s very light feeling and it makes you smell really good without it being overpowering. I will definitely be ordering another bottle. I love ordering from Kiehl’s because you get three free samples of your choice with your order and they are great for air traveling and for little stocking stuffers.
I popped into Books A Million on Saturday and I ended up buying a copy of March by Geraldine Brooks (which won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize). She tells the story of Mr. March , the father from Little Women, and what happened to him while he was away in the Civil War. I think it will be a quick read and I will probably take it with me on one of my work trips this month (or that is my intent, if I don’t use it as my bedtime reading).
I figured out when I came home this evening that I had downloaded FIFTEEN SONGS and one tv show through itunes this week. I am blaming it on my internet binge and the most recent copy of Blender magazine because I was reading the magazine and I would see a song that looked interesting so I would download it. I guess you could say my music dry spell is over.
Mom and I watched a lot of movies and HGTV and occasionally the news for updates about Hurricane Gustav.
I had a lot of fun this weekend and it turned out to be a highly productive one, I just wish it would have lasted a little bit longer. I can’t believe that September is here already and soon it will be my birthday (the 25th) and then we will be thrust into the Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year’s holiday craziness season. I am looking forward to this humidity leaving and having the opportunity to wear jeans and my hoodie without sweating to death.

Holiday!

I fell off the wagon hard. so far I downloaded the latest episode of the Cho Show and after reading the new issue of Blender magazine, I ended up downloading about 10 songs on itunes. I bought a book, eight skeins of homespun and probably four magazines. the only thing I have not been able to find is a rolling laptop case that is small enough to fit under a plane seat and non dorky. Carry around a bunch of work crap and the huge work laptop is killing my shoulders and i can't use backpacks any more because i feel like they are pulling me backwards and it still doesn't help the shoulder thing.

Mom and I hit a bunch of the Labor Day weekend sales, hence, the shopping mentioned above and now we are just chilling watching Jane Austen movies. Right now we are watching the BBC version of Mansfield Park.

I started another shawl, with some Candy Apple Homespun that is a really nice shade of red and I really like how it is turning out so far.

I was naughty and had a mango rasberry swirl smoothie and a chocolate chip bagel from Panera for breakfast this morning. I did take the dogs on two walks around the neighborhood today so hopefully that balanced things out.

Traveling!

This weekend is Labor day weekend and I should be at home rounding up the yarn and the Jane Austen movies. it's been kind of a long week and it will be nice to have a little break. My ditzy boss told me this morning that I will be traveling down to Charlotte four times this month. seriously! One of them is right two days after Labor Day but it's little 2 and 3 day trips during the week so it's not that advantageous for me but if the company wants to pay to put me up in the hotel and all that goodness, then I will happily go along with it.

I finished the Gothic shawl that I started this weekend. Last night at Michaels I discovered Bernat's new glow in the dark yarn which comes in tiny skeins but it's pretty cool so I bought a skein and made a cozy for Saffron the itouch.

My delft blue Red Heart arrived yesterday so I am excited because I can work on the Special Olympic scarf this weekend. I also received my Emily Dickinson print (ordered from the Emily Dickinson Museum) so now I just have to find a frame to fit it so that I can put it up over the manual. It's very tasteful looking. Now I am just waiting on my Kiehl's order but it didn't ship until Monday and I am not really expecting it until after the holiday.

Victory!

I finished the quilt block and it looks pretty good! I know it’s not perfect, but I think I did well considering the fact that until Saturday afternoon, I couldn’t even figure out how to thread the bobbin correctly. I packed up the sewing machine and drove it over to the local sewing machine repair store and told the lady my whole sob story. She helped me thread the bobbin and showed me how to fix the tension (the tension knob had been knocked around during all my moving this past year). I took it home and was able to finish the block in under an hour. I really need to buy a table so that I can have a place to set up the sewing machine without having to move stuff off my desk to sew.
I made a stop at Jo-Ann’s and they are carried Dritz branded Project Runway sewing notions now. It was really tempting but I didn’t buy anything because I didn’t really need any of it. I can’t wait until season 4 of Project Runway comes out on DVD. It will be fierce!
Speaking of fierce, I was at Barnes and Noble and discovered Mia Tyler’s new book, Creating Myself: How I Learned That Beauty Comes In all Shapes, Sizes and Packages, Including Me. It was so good that I started reading it this afternoon and read until I finished it. I really need to buy another bookshelf. I have two five shelf bookcases and they are packed with books. My DVD rack is also completely full too. I did watch a couple of episodes of The Tudors last night.
I was able to finish another dishcloth yesterday as well. It’s made from the Sugar N Cream Stripes too, but it’s the blue-green stripes that remind me of the ocean colors. I have about six inches done on the Gothic shawl. I really like how this colorway looks. I am using the M hook on this one because Homespun is easier to crochet with the larger hooks.
Yesterday morning when I was at Trader Joes, I discover their store brand lip balm. It’s spearmint flavored and you get three tubes in a package for about the same price as one tube of my all-time favorite Burt’s Bees. I wasn’t planning on going there this weekend but I needed mail off my car insurance payment and there was this giant festival downtown which is where the closest post office is to me but there is another post office that is over by Trader Joes and Whole Foods, so I decided that since I was already in the area it made sense to go over there. Sunshine will be amused to know that I finally discovered where Wal-Mart is located. The funniest part is that it is RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM WHOLE FOODS!!!! Now, let me explain how it is possible not to notice this. Across the street from Whole Foods is this strip shopping area that is at the bottom of the slope. So Wal-Mart is at the bottom of the slope and this street is really busy but since it was early Saturday morning the traffic was light and I just happened to notice what was actually down at the bottom of the slope. I didn’t go there but at least now I can say that I know where it is. I just think it was funny that it was right under my nose the whole time because I go to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods at least once a week if I am home during the weekend.

Flying By

This week has been crazy. It really nice that I don’t have any place to go this weekend because I know this coming week is going to be rough because it’s month-end and the fiscal year end is drawing near.

Last weekend I discovered Trader Joe’s oatmeal and cranberry cookie dough. It is packaged into 16 little dough balls and smells like heaven in the oven. I have so much fun every time I go there just reading the little stories on the packages and the employees are laid back and friendly. I still love my Whole Foods too because they have my favorite croutons and dip and the trash bags I like.

I scored The Tudors Season 1 on dvd at FYE’s big dvd sale this week for only $15 and this normally retails for between $30-40. I think I am going through a Brit Lit phase again. I re-read Jane Eyre recently for the first time in ten years and then I found the BBC/Masterpiece Theatre edition on DVD and loved it. I also watched the new versions of Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion and the biopic Miss Austen Regrets. I also bought Smart People on DVD with Ellen Page and Sarah Jessica Parker and it is hilarious! I am happy that I bought that one too.

I finally read Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks (LOVE IT) just in time for the movie to come out next month(?). I also finished reading Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. This book is definitely the most dark and twisty book in the series but I was happy with the ending. I also read Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Story of L.M. Montgomery and Her Literary Classic by Irene Gammel and White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson & Thomas Wentworth Higginson by Brenda Wineapple. Both books were excellent and make me want to visit Prince Edward Island and Amherst. I have been reading like crazy lately and so that’s why my crafty progress has been slower.

The sewing machine drama continues. I still can’t figure out how to thread the damn bobbin so I am going to go to the Singer store on Saturday and plead for help. I have the new needle installed and threaded so I am so close. I have over a foot completed on the knitted shawl but I am using two strands of TLC Amore and I knit really super slow so it is taking me forever. Plus, I am also halfway done crocheting a dishcloth and I started crocheting another shawl out of Lion Brand Homespun in Gothic (which is the deep purple that I really like). I haven’t made much progress on the tote bag I started crocheting in Virginia Beach because I have to alternate stitches every row and I keep forgetting which row I am on. I might be ripping back and marking it off as I go on a Post-It.

Breezy Days

I honestly don’t know where this weekend has gone. I ended up watching several movies, including The Notebook and Lars and the Real Girl. I also watched Sex in the City Season 1 today which sounds like a lot but the first season only has two discs. I have watched the entire series several times but I still laugh every single time and I can’t wait until the movie comes out on DVD. I have finished the Prairie shawl, the blue shawl and I am halfway done with the purple shawl that I started yesterday. It sounds like a lot but it’s a really simple pattern and I can crochet really fast when I am watching a movie or TV shows or if I’m with a big group of crocheters or knitters.
I should have been sewing but I have a small problem. I managed to thread the machine and find a bobbin and then I look down at the machine to thread the needle and I realize that there is NO NEEDLE!!!!!! It was like after lunch and I thought I would practice a little so that I got all the kinks worked out before I started to actually sew the block. So, I am just going to wait until next weekend because I have already been to Jo Ann’s this weekend and for some odd reason I just don’t feel like going out again today. Then I had to call my mother and admit how much of a spaz I am so that she could tell me what kind of sewing machine needles I needed to get because there is like a bazillion different kinds and they are all for different purposes. I think she got a good laugh out of it. Hell, I was laughing too just because it was so typical of something that would happen to me.
I am really excited though because I was reading the new issue of Crochet Today and they had mentioned that Red Heart had a new kind of yarn called Red Heart Eco-Cotton blend which is made up of 75% recycled cotton. I thought that it would be cool to try but I didn’t seriously think that any of the craft stores would have it in. Much to my surprise, AC Moore had some so I picked up a skein in Denim. It’s like 3.39 for 145 yards. There was even a free leaflet for it that has a washcloth, a hand towel and a soap holder. I think I am going to make the soap holder because it looks really cute and I have all this free hotel bar soap.
Yesterday, I had this sudden cleaning kick and I ended up reorganizing my yarn stash and my knitting and crochet books. The yarn has been consolidated more but I still want to buy some cube like shelves so that I can actually see it on display and know what all I have. The books are all on the shelf and group together by category. I am not motivated to organize the magazines, because I just have a ton of magazines in general and most of them are the reference type.
Last night I started reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I still need to finish Breaking Dawn too. I am really bad about having several books going at once and switching back and forth depending on the mood I am in. I haven’t read Jane Eyre in about ten years, so it’s like reading it for the first time all over again.
Musically speaking, it’s marching band season again. YAY! I think I am going to go to a couple of football games this season just to hear what the local marching bands sound like. One of my favorite drum corps, Phantom Regiment won the championship this week and my other favorite drum corp took third place so I was overall happy. I got to watch clips on You Tube so that was cool. I’m seriously thinking about buying the DVDs when they come out so that I can see all the shows in their entirety. I have also been listening to Coldplay, Alanis Morrisette and the Mamma Mia soundtrack. I think Violet Hill is my favorite song off the new Coldplay album so far. As for Alanis’ new cd, I actually enjoy the whole cd and it is in heavy rotation in the Subaru. The Mamma Mia soundtrack is just fun peppy music to listen to and I have always been a fan of ABBA. I was actually listening to it yesterday while I was cleaning and organizing things. I came to the conclusion that I need to hang some artwork on the walls or something because since I spent the entire weekend in my apartment for the most part, I realized how boring the walls are and they are painted that “apartment white” color that just doesn’t inspire me that much.

Here

I'm not sure how this happened, but the temperature managed to drop a few degrees today. I think I even felt a breeze walking out of the office this late afternoon. The second awesome this is when I got to Barnes and Noble, I could hear the marching band practicing and I think I let a little tiny squeal of joy out.

I did managed to find another skein of the blue homespun so I can finish the blue shawl and I am almost finished with the second skein of the Prairie shawl that I started while I waited to find more blue. Hopefully I don't run out of the Prairie. I have not worked on the Summer tote much. it uses a G hook and it alternates between single and half double crochet and so it is very slow progress.

I also have ambitious dreams of threading my sewing machine this weekend and making the quilt square this weekend for the quilt raffle at work. Lol. This could be interesting, but I have a back-up planning of taking it into the local Singer store if I can't understand the manual. I won't be going to see Mom until Labor Day weekend and we are supposed to turn in our squares on the 22nd, so that is why I am sort of paddling without an oar. I really want to learn though. My mom is a sewing goddess, so I think that somewhere inside of me I must have some repressed sewing talent. If this works out then I would like to make a little kitchen curtain and a big curtain to cover my bedroom window that faces the disgustingly bright street light.

Anyways, I am home for the whole weekend. it should be fun, I think. I have mountain dew and soy ice cream so I should be good to go.

Just Beachy

I woke up this morning and my breakfast arrived and it was huge! I forgot how big the portions are when you order room service. It also came with the world's largest Heinz Ketchup packet, so i am totally taking that home with me. Anyways, I took a picture of the whole thing because my sister likes vacation food pics.

I am nearly finished with the blue shawl but since it is a little wider than the last one I made with Homespun I am almost out of yarn and I'm not sure that it will be long enough and I know I won't have enough to add fringe. damn. I am going to hunt around for another skein this week. Hopefully AC Moore will have more of it because when I originally bought it, they only had three skeins left when I originally purchased the yarn. Oops! Once this is finished I am going to start a bag made out of kitchen cotton. It's a free leaflet pattern that I got at Hobby Lobby while I was visiting my parents the other weekend.

Since I have time to burn before the reception I am going to go back to the beach. I already checked the weather report at weather.com and there is not supposed to be any sprinkling or rain going on today.

Road Trip!

I woke up this morning and fell off the purse wagon hard. Yesterday at work, one of the other female accountants told me at lunch that I should go to the outlet mall in Smithfield because they have a Coach factory outlet store there. Smithfield is just south of Raleigh so I decided that I would take a little detour on the way to Virginia Beach. If there is such a thing as purse heaven, this would be it. I bought a brand new "Carly" purse with the purple strap (to go with my new Converses). I basically bought this purse for cheaper than my first purse that is like half the size of this one. I definitely plan on coming back. they have the scarves and the matching wallets and the keychains in all the styles and colors and shapes. I just wish that a Coach purse would have qualified for the tax-fee holiday but I got such a deal on this purse I can't complain too much because it was around 50% off the original price because it was on sale. The nice thing about buying at the actual Coach store or the Coach outlet stores is that they give you the little brown bag to store your purse in when it's not in use. They had a Fossil store there too so I was able to buy a new wallet for my sister. It is so cute!!! She needed

I'm not sure how long it took me to get to Virginia Beach but it seemed like it took awhile. The only bad thing about road tripping solo is that you don't have someone to chat with on the way there. I think the trip home will go a little faster because I will be driving straight there.

I stopped at the Virginia visitor's center and got a free "Virginia is for Lovers" bumper sticker and a map (just in case). I drove through the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel and went over the bridge. That was interesting. The only other time I have driven through a tunnel like that was when I drove through the mountains on my way out here. I stopped at First Landing State Park and spent twenty minutes on the beach before it started to rain a little. So I packed it up and headed for the hotel. The cool thing about the bay is that you can see all the barges off in the distance and the Cape Henry Lighthouse. I'm not too sad though. It has been a long week and it's nice to just hang out in the hotel and relax. I am going to finish the blue shawl and probably read some more of Breaking Dawn (soo worth the 3 1/2 wait at the store).

the best sign I saw on the road trip has to be at this Baptist church in Virginia. The quote on their sign out front read "Wal-Mart isn't the only saving place." Unfortunately, I was driving and I couldn't snap a pic. I had to smile because I haven't been to a Wal-Mart since I left Oklahoma. I was also excited to see the Welcome to Virginia sign because it meant I was almost there.

Anyways, tomorrow is the wedding reception and then I will head home to the Triangle. I can't believe that summer is almost over.

Breaking Dawn!

The wait is finally almost over! I am really mad because a certain bookstore claims they dont have my reservation. I think it's because the chick entering it had never done it before and she was a beyond air head. It just ticks me off. I wish they would give you some sort of confirmation number or something.So I am debating on whether or not to go yell at customer service or stay in one of the few chairs left in the cafe. I did not wear my fish nets today. it is like humid and 100 degrees, so i settled on the black sparkle shirt and my black pants.

the other fun thing about today is that I bought a pair of gray and purple satin double-tongue Converses at Lady Foot Locker today and they also qualified for the sales tax holiday. Hell yeah. I am wearing those right now as I speak. I went to the mall looking to find actual clothes that fit which was a total joke and most of the stores are switching to fall and it is too hot to wear long sleeves right now.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Virginia Beach. YAY!!! I am stopping at the big outlet mall on my way that is home to the Coach Outlet store. I want to look and see how much (if at all) cheaper they are then buying them from the regular mall. it is hit and miss with outlet stores sometimes. Too bad a Coach purse isn't part of the sales tax holiday. They should be. Every woman needs at least one really nice expensive purse.