Socks

I was slightly naughty this weekend and ordered two pairs of circular needles and a Cat Bordhi book so that I can learn how to knit socks. I need a portable project and I need something to hold my interest. Since I discovered that it is impossible to find two pairs of circular needles in the same size small enough to knit socks with in my town, I did what anyone in my situation would do and ordered it all through Knit Picks. I got the Harmony wood fixed circulars. I prefer wood to metal and I don't think I'm responsible enough yet to have interchangeable circulars yet. Especially when I keep having to move, I would be upset if I lost a piece! Anyways, this will be my first online order since the move, so hopefully it goes smoothly. It's a small enough package, they should be able to just shove it in the door or through the mail slot.

I'm excited because Sunshine is coming to visit this weekend and we are going shopping with my sister in T-town. I put myself on an allowance for this trip, but if my current trend continues, I have either had problems finding what i am looking for or it doesn't work/fit right and I end up returning it, so I should be okay.

My knees are still killing me from the stairs and all the moving this weekend. Unfortunately for them, it is really hard for me to be imobile long enough to give them a rest unless I am sleeping.

Mission Accomplished!!

We are officially moved all in one day! It only took five chicks and one dude! My sis and I are really lucky to have awesome co-workers. I took us all out to the Pizza Hut downtown as a thank-you and we ended up with the most perfectly cooked pizza and breadsticks. We still have some leftovers in the fridge. Mackie and I are online again and the only issue we have is that the cold water hook-up in the utility room has a leak but we called the property manager and she is sending a plumber over on Monday. My new room is so big is makes my double wide futon look like a twin bed even when it is folded flat. I can put like all my furniture in there and still have loads of floor space to sprawl.

I love my new closet. All my clothes and coats don't even fill up half of one side. I am still working on unpacking. Our first project this morning was finding the power strip so that we could plug in the router and the printer.

Somehow in the midst of all the crazy, I snuck away to have lunch with S from Tempted Yarns. Seriously, she is one of the coolest chicks ever! We had been messaging back and forth on Ravelry for weeks and finally had the chance to meet. She is going to teach me how to knit socks and probably a ton of other stuff. Her yarn is gorgeous in person too. I definitely came away with a good dose of knitting inspiration which is good because I am in between projects. Once I unbury my yarn stash I am definitely going to start a new project.

Hitch Up the Wagon, Ya'll!

That title sounds really cheesy, but too bad because it is the truth. We are moving to the new townhouse on Saturday. My sister and I have recruited some of our co-workers to help us move. I recruited some man muscle by bribing them with pizza and beer. The beer will only be distributed after all furniture and boxes have been delivered to the townhouse. I can't help it if I am a control freak. A the co-worker came over this evening to help me pack up the kitchen. We have enough cups and plates for a family of ten, but most of the kitchen crap is actually my sisters. I am only really guilty of my est. 60+ Eskimo Joe's cups in a variety of colors. Anyways, A the co-worker is a super packer and we had that all packed up in about 1 1/2 hours. It seems to me that we are basically down to the odds and ends stuff that you just throw in the back of your car or in a laundry basket.

We still don't have our mail. The post office is blaming it on the Monday holiday and claims that we should have it tomorrow. I just want my stupid paycheck that was mailed to me so that I have some cash flow again.

I am excited about Saturday, it's just a little nerve wracking thinking about the logistics of it all. I just have to relax a little and trust that somehow it will all work out. My sister has to play hooky tomorrow so that we can get the utilities turned on over there. Half the places insist on someone being there which makes sense but if they won't come out past 2pm how in the hell are working people supposed to be there? Hence, my sister taking a personal day.

Anyways, I'm really tired from everything that has been going on, but I thought I would give a little update. Crafty news probably won't occur until sometime after Saturday.

EDIT TO ADD: I just found out that Apple has released a HOT PINK NANO VIDEO!!!! OMG I have died and gone to electronics heaven. This might be the one I pick. I heart hot pink soooo much.

Weekend Update

After a trying day on Friday,I must say I am having a fantastic weekend. I have spent the weekend at my best friend Sunshine's house for some much needed R & R. When I got here, my shoulders had so much tension in them that made it really uncomfortable to do much of anything without taking some Rapid Release Tylenol. I am happy to report that the tension has left and even with a couple of drama calls from my sister I still feel more relaxed then I have felt since before the robbery. I'm not really sure what it is but Sunshine has this quality about him that just makes everything crappy going on seem less crappy. Even when he makes me watch scary movies like Joy Ride, it's still not as scary as it would be if I was by myself or with my scaredy-cat sister.

Anyways, before I describe my shopping trip, I have to give Sunshine a BIG THANK YOU FOR EVERTHING that he has done for me this weekend. Did I mention that he gave me the coolest presents ever? When he was in Chicago he was fortunate enough to see one of our all-time favorite musicals, Wicked and he brought me back not only the fancy tour program, but he book me a copy of the Wicked Grimmarie(sp?) which gives all the behind the scenes info about Wicked the Musical and it is just an awesome book. It's the kind of book that you put on your coffee table and every one picks it up to start looking at it. Wicked is coming to Kansas City and we are going to try and get tickets.

The shopping. Well since my sister and I are moving into the new townhouse this weekend and my stupid paychecks are still being mailed to me, I have been on a semi-strict shopping budget. I did get a new pair of Clover bamboo straight needles (size 10 1/2), one skein of chocolate taupe LB Cotton-Ease, an issue of Simply Knitting (British) and the first book that Wally Lamb did with his writing group from the York Correctional Institute. Sunshine bought a really cool new laptop bag (his current one is pretty beat-up) that is kind of like the new one that my dad bought my sister for her new laptop. I want to get one that is a similar size and slim like theirs but I don't want the exact same one and I need a different color scheme as in not black. I don't like to buy black laptop bags because everyone gets black ones and I wear enough black clothes without adding to it. While I was at Books-A-Million, I did read through the new Anticraft book and it has some really sweet patterns in it that I could and would actually make, so after I have moved and etc., this will be ordered.

I have made three child-sized hats on my knifty knitter (red loom) this weekend from some LB Homespun and RH Supersaver that is from my stash.

Happy Birthday to baby L! She's turning two today and I can't believe it and I'm sure that her A her mother can't believe it either. L is a sweet little girl and a very well-behaved child (which is quite rare these days).

Songs on my itunes:

Closer by Joshua Radin
What If You by Joshua Radin

These songs are so beautiful and were brought to my attention by Sunshine. So of course, I listened, got hooked on the melody and then proceeded to download them through itunes. For statistical purposes, What If You is the 409th song I have downloaded since purchasing my Mac Powerbook (Mackie) in March 2006. Yes, I am contributing to Steve Jobs' retirement fund very heavyily, but the Apple folks have always given me superior customer service and provided me with products that are pretty, functional and low maintenance.

Setting Forth

I have been on a roll today. I got all the vacuuming, dishes, laundry and recycling done. I returned my sister's book to the library for her and walked out three books that had been on my "to-read" list for a long time. I saw the movie No Reservations, which is so good!!! I will definitely be watching it again. I even watched the series finale of Sex in the City (I am counting the days until the movie comes out).

I am excited because the PACK IS BACK!!! My all-time favorite football player Brett Farve and the boys won the big game at Lambeau Field and the snow was falling and it was just so pretty....His wife's new book was one of the books that I checked out at the library today.

I also found the world's most perfect Valentine's Day card for Sunshine today at Walgreen's. I am so proud of myself because it is one of the coolest cards I have found in awhile and it just really describes us perfectly.

Tomorrow the big Masterpiece season kicks off on PBS and I am so excited because they are doing "The Complete Jane Austen." Six of the movies based on her books and one Jane Austen biography movie. The first one they are showing is Persuasion. I am really excited about this because one of my goals this year is to read all of her novels, so this series could not occur at a more perfect time. Plus, my cousin gave me the BN complete Jane Austen edition which is really heavy, but it is handy to have them all in one book. I printed off the teacher's guide and the Jane Austen bookmark from the Masterpiece site too. I am stoked.

More book talk. These are the three books I checked out today:
1. Slash - the audiobiography by Slash (Velvet Revolver and Guns n Roses guitarist amongst other accomplishments). He was one of my musical idols growing up.
2. Don't bet against me! - Deanna Favre's new book about her life and overcoming breast cancer. I love stories that inspire and talk about overcoming the odds.
3. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain- written by Oliver Sachs, who wrote Awakenings (remember the movie version with Robin Williams?) I am a total sucker for music and books about music. This book looks like it will be really good.

I know it seems odd to be checking out books when I haven't read the ones I received for Christmas yet, but my library is a really nice library and they order a lot of new books and since there are apparently a lot of readers in my town, sometimes there is a long wait list to read some of the more popular books, so if I see it on the shelf, I check it out. Plus, I like to save the ones I buy for trips because that way I don't have to worry about losing a library book or racking up a fine if I don't make it back in time.

I did download the Into the Wild soundtrack last night and yet again, Eddie Vedder has provided me with hours of blissful music. It's a good cd to chill to.

I did sleep in until 8:34 am today, so I am really proud of myself because I am one of those sickos that functions on 6 hours asleep every day except on the weekends when I might get 7 or 8. I did get my oil changed. Sunshine would be so proud of me. I took my Mac and my new issue of Vogue Knitting which was a good thing because I sat there for over an hour. They are always busy on Saturday mornings and you pretty much have to get there when they open or else you will sit there forever. I just had my external door lock re-keyed, but that key is at the bank because I am lazy and just use my keyless remote. I watched the mechanic go outside to get my car, and he didn't click the remote right so my car didn't unlock, so he tried using my ignition key (which no longer unlocks the door) and that didn't work so he came inside and got me and I had to tell him the abridged version of my sob story and then I unlocked the car with my keyless. My car is low-tech and you have to hit the remote twice until you hear a click. No clickie, no unlockie. This dude was really embarrassed, but there's no way he could have known my car's quirks. anyways, my car received some new oil and a clean bill of health, so I am happy about that.

Our new back door (all metal) is supposed to be installed on Monday and my sister talked to State Farm on Friday and we should hear back in about a week on the results of our claim. The bank stuff is resolved but the payroll dept at work screwed up and left off my holiday pay for New Years which annoys me because I could use that money and I have email confirmation from them that my holiday pay was supposed to be on that check. So that's what I will have to straighten out on Monday. Things are starting to get back to normal. We are making the best of a really shitty situation and the messiest stuff has been taken care of.

On the yarn front, I started another hat using RH Lipstick. It is a multi with red, magenta, and purple in it. It kind of makes me think of Valentine's Day. I organized all my new yarn into two 1 ft tall totes and my antique Budweiser wooden crate (it has a hinge lid that is really handy). One of these days I will enter it all into Ravelry, but that will happen later on because I am tired of taking inventory right now.

All in all, it has been a quiet yet productive day. My sister is in Dallas and since I haven't received any phone calls since she arrived I am assuming that she is busy having the time of her life. Which is good, she needs a little break and some fun.

Driving Around in Circles

Not literally, but it seems like it. I have been to T-town twice in the last two days plus my regular commute to KS. I plan on staying in town this weekend with my yarn and some Eddie Vedder music (as in the Into the Wild soundtrack). I might also watch some of my dvds that I got for Christmas, I don't know for sure. I have some cleaning chores that i want to tackle while my sister is away. It is easier to clean when she is gone because then I don't have to clean around her and her piles of papers. LOL. I am also going to try really really hard to get an oil change Saturday morning so that my car likes me. I am "slightly" over on the mileage sticker. Oops. I am really bad about that but in my defense, I drive an average of 70 miles a day, so that adds up faster then it would for most people, but they are mostly highway miles so that is good.

My box of yarn that my Mom gave me for Christmas arrived this week. I am really stoked because now I can start working on my Vanna afghan again. We will see, I have a really low energy level now so I find it hard to focus my attention on things.


Songs of the Week: Guaranteed by Eddie Vedder

P.S. Sunshine, I'm sending a rainbow your way.

Another Week

Last week when I came back to Oklahoma, it was a butt-numbing 20 degrees in the mornings. Today it was in the low 70s and we had to turn the heat off in January and turn on a couple of ceiling fans. How crazy is that? My sister and I managed to clean up a little today. I took the Christmas tree down and cleaned up a bunch of scuff marks on the walls with a Magic Eraser. We shredded a bunch of stuff and the rest is a manageable pile that I think I am just going to take to work and use their industrial sized shredder if I have some spare time. LOL.

I made three child's sized hats on my knifty knitter since they didn't steal those. I think what happened is that my "notions bag" was inside of my brand new Green Day tote bag that I had found on clearance at Wal-Mart for $5 before Christmas. So they must have just carried the whole thing off. One hat is hot pink (in honor of the L-Word Season 5 premiere) and the other two hats are RH Zebra (black/white/gray) and RH Mexicana (primary colors). In the spirit of finishing things this year, all three hats already have their ends woven in.

We ordered pizza tonight and ended up with Pepperoni Sauce Pizza. I am not sure what they did with the cheese, but it wasn't on our pizza for sure.

I'm not really sure where the weekend went. I feel like I accomplished a lot of things but I know that there is a whole lot more I wanted to accomplish.

In Rainbows

I heart Radiohead. I have been just hanging out and listening to their latest cd In Rainbows and I just love love love it. The hyper sneezing seems to have slowed down so I was able to get like 10 hours of sleep last night. I didn't wake up until after 9 am this morning which is unheard of for me. I am one of those freaks that naturally wakes up at 7am or so. For some reason though, my fever is back and I have been really sluggish all day, so I just went out this morning for a brief Kleenex run. I love the ones with lotion. they are the best. I used my Christmas gift card from Aunt E since my new debit card hasn't arrived yet.

Sadly, I realized today that one very important thing was missing. I had this little zip top Dickies case that I had bought a couple of months ago to keep my hooks and needles and scissors and such in. THOSE FUCKERS STOLE IT!!!! My Brittanys, my Addis, my Chibi darning needles and all my Titanium sewing scissors are all gone. I've been so sick and at work non stop since I got back and didn't even thinking about crocheting or knitting until this afternoon and I looked through everything for it and it was all gone. All I have left are my plastic knitting needles and some of my old Susan Bates crochet hooks (which is just not the same!!!). Totally ripped the wound right open. I was so upset that I called my Mommy. The irony is that I got a TON OF YARN for Christmas. I know it's replaceable and everything, but I don't feel like I can have nice things anymore, because they could be taken away from me again and I hate having both of those feelings but I can't help it.

My yarn is supposed to arrive on Tuesday. Mom had to mail it to me because there was no way it was all going to fit in my suitcase especially with all the stuff that Aunt E sent us for Christmas. Thank God she sent the presents to my parent's house.

I haven't read hardly anything this week other than some magazines. It's hard to concentrate when you are sick and I've been really distracted this week so I would doubt I would remember what I actually read anyways. LOL.

All the Small Things

Okay, so since I am up sneezing like crazy and I went to bed at 8:30 pm and am now awake mostly to the sneezing part, it sounds like a good time for an update. Our cars are getting re-keyed and the keyless entry stuff re-programmed. My Subaru is going to be the cheapest because I only have one external door lock and I don't have a microchip key, unlike my sister's Honda which has multiple external door locks and a microchip key. Tomorrow my sister will be filing our renter's insurance claim and following up with the police to get the police report. I also managed to get a start on straightening out all the bank stuff but having to change my direct deposit really sucks when I get paid weekly because they might have to mail a check to me and sometimes I don't end up getting it until Saturday and they haven't been delivering the mail lately until like late.

Somehow I managed to make it through my first day back at work but it really sucked because of my runny nose and uncontrollable sneezing that seems to be a result of all that congestion I had last weekend. Oh joy. I want my 60 degree weather back. I left for work at 6am Wed and it was like 19 degrees! Yuck!

I don't think I mentioned this but my Mom did teach me how to make the blocks for the crochet afghan that I had mentioned like back in November-ish. It's using 8 colors of her new Vanna's Choice yarn from Lion Brand and it's a variation on a granny square with the center of the square being a round of cluster stitches. The cluster stitches turned out to be a lot easier once I was able to watch my Mom making the stitch. Their directions aren't really geared towards newbies or people that really suck at reading patterns, but it was one of their free online patterns, and it's working out now that my Mom decoded it for me. I do better with charts which is funny because a lot of people think that is harder.

I think I mentioned that I saw the movie P.S. I Love You while out in the Carolinas (I am obviously very scatter-brained right now. Anyways, before I left I went to the Best Buy by my parent's house and bought the soundtrack. Shocking! I haven't technically purchased a cd since Fergie's solo album that I bought in late June. Anyways, it was so worth paying the insane Best Buy price because there are a lot of Irish bands on the soundtrack including one of my favorites, Flogging Molly. Irish music is actually really soothing to me. I can honestly say that I actually listen to all of the songs in the car which is not something I normally do.

Things are starting to put themselves back together slowly. I will be really glad when I can get back to my normal work schedule next week and maybe some normalcy. I'm going into work early this week so that I can leave early to go do all of the stuff that isn't open later in the evening.

I thought about doing a music recap of what I liked best but then I read the latest issue of Blender magazine (with Fergie on the cover) and I actually agree with their choices (as voted by their readers). They listed Umbrella by Rihanna as the Song of the Year, and anyone who has heard that song knows how catchy it is and probably secretly hums the chorus while sitting in their cubicle. I have mixed thoughts on reading Blender. It seems like every other issue is good but I do like their music trivia and this issue also did a piece on Led Zeppelin which made me very happy because I am a big fan of their music.

Anyways, I think I am going to crawl back in bed and try to get a couple more hours of sleep before I have to go into work.

A Fresh Start

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

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

Holiday Disasters and Retail Therapy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

84 Song Playlist

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

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

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

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

Happy X-Mas, ya'll!!!

I'm Still Here, I promise

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

the Ice Man Cometh

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Where Did All My Time Go?

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

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

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

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

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

The Black Friday Report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks and Giving

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

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

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

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

happy tofurky day, ya'll!

At the Dawn's Early Light

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

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

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

From Where You Are

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNSHINE!!!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday Monday

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

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

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

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