Knitty Batty

Momma, we missed you!

2011-08-17T06:38:00.001-04:00

Mr. Winks missed me a little, I think. He has been a super snugglesaurus since I got home Monday night. Lots of purring cuddles for me!

(Martin has been playing hard to get and is acting like nothing happened. Haha)

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Flying Away!

2011-08-03T19:33:00.000-04:00

Well, I survived another year of Summer Camp (whew!) and I am actually going to GO on a vacation while I have some free time before school starts. :) So! I will be flying away to see my sister and we will take Texas by storm! haHA! That won't leave much time for blogging, but then again, you are used to not seeing me very much (I know, sad but true). I will try to post some pictures if we have some down time and I will definitely reconnect once I get back. Texas, here I come! :)

And if you are concerned about my boys, wish them luck. I am leaving John home with the kitties for over a week! Hopefully they can feed themselves and no one gets hungry enough to eat somebody else.....

I'm Impressing Myself

2011-07-17T18:06:00.003-04:00

More Crafty Updates. I must say, for as much as I am usually very slow about actually finishing projects, I am very proud of myself today. I have been quite productive. :)

1) Over Memorial Day weekend, I bought fabric to make several skirts. The shiny silver skirt was one project, but I also bought plain grey jersey knit to make a maxi skirt. I usually don't cave to the whims of the fashion world (that's right, there are no skinny jeans in this girl's closet), but I keep seeing my coworkers in long dresses and skirts and they just look so comfortable! I didn't get a pattern and planned on just making it up as I went along... when I eventually got around to it. Well, I finally pulled the jersey out today, and after a little internet research, started sewing. I got two yards of 56" wide jersey because I wasn't sure if I needed to insert gores to make the circumference bigger than 56" down at my ankles. It turns out, 56" is plenty big enough to walk comfortably in AND that meant there was enough leftover "tube" to make a shorter skirt. Yay for options!

Yes, I am standing on my chair to take a picture of my skirts in the bathroom mirror. Don't judge.

I kept the longer version fuller and just gathered it in more at the waist. I purposefully chose to slim down the shorter version. (Though if I had to do it over again, I would probably slim the maxi as well, but it doesn't bother me too much as it is now.) I also wrapped elastic twice around the waist in the maxi version and only once in the short one; that's just due to the weight of the fabric in the maxi pulling downwards. I definitely don't want my clothes falling off my body in the middle of the day!

2) While I was feeling crafty and productive, I pulled out the 31 Purse Skirts that I have stashed away. I feel like I did more work than what is showing in the Finished pile, but I did get two more slip covers done. :) It took my less than an hour to sew both of them! Go me! (Recognize that silver fabric? Haha. Waste not, want not!)

I also had a brainstorm that may save me space in the long run. I am quickly amassing numerous covers for my purse, and I believe they may soon get out of control. But! If I start making them reversible, then two slip covers will take up the space of just one! Genius!!

The purple design in this picture is more true to color than the one above.

I say I did more work because I really DID do more work than what ended up in the pictures. I went ahead and cut out all the fabric I had (enough for about 10 more, if I remember correctly), and then I ironed the fusible interfacing to them. Now I have all my fabric cut and prepared for when I have a crafty mood but don't feel like running up to the ironing board. :) Winks may have helped me cut all the fabric.

More Finished Craftiness

2011-07-10T17:14:00.001-04:00

This circle skirt has been sitting on my sewing table for a while. I had to walk away from it for a bit because it was angering me. First, why do patterns say "for a 36 inch hip, make size 14" ... only to have a size 14 be SUPER HUGE?! There was literally room for another person in the skirt with me when I first pieced it together. Made me angry to waste time repeatedly taking in the side seams to make it fit. On top of that, the fabric was too slinky / silky / slippery for my skill level. Hemming was a pain and I really need to iron it, but it's done now! And I even remembered how to put in a zipper! I still think it's a little long, but (again) I need to step away before I get angry and do something I'd regret. :) Apparently, anger fuels my craft projects. Haha.

Oh! I also put a pocket in my pajama pants so I can carry things on lazy days. :) I think it's working quite nicely so far today.

New Species of Bird

2011-07-10T12:24:00.000-04:00

Several months ago, I put up a bird feeder in our backyard. I mainly wanted to entertain the kitties, but it was spring and why not feed the birds (it's only tuppence a bag). I covered all the bases and put up a finch feeder, a hummingbird feeder, a suet block, and a general "wild bird" feeder. Well, since then, there has been a very fat something eating the wild bird seed very quickly. I always thought we had a family of squirrels or raccoons eating in our backyard-- you know, the usual bird feeder guests. Then, the other day I come home and happen to look out the window and see who had really been visiting us!!

Now, my question is: are deer cute enough that I continue feeding it, or should I take steps to try to deter it from eating out of my bird feeder?

Trying to Finish things!

2011-07-04T21:56:00.001-04:00

While I had the long weekend, I have tried to knock out some projects that have been lingering. I FINALLY blocked the Foamy Scarf, officially putting it in the "Finished" category. :D I also have to note that this is the first proejct I have ever blocked. (GASP!) I know, I know. I have been knitting for HOW long without ever blocking anything? What have I been doing?! Well, I knit a lot of hats and smaller things that don't need blocking. I've only knit a few sweaters.... and I just never did anything to them. Mom unofficially blocks the sweater I made for her when she washes it; you know, lay it out while wet and make sure it dries in the shape you want. That counts, right?

Well, this scarf had some lace, dropped stitches, and "bubble" accents. I could no longer avoid blocking it. I just got a set of blocking wires the last time I was home to visit my preferred Yarn Shop, so I bit the bullet and blocked my scarf. I think it looks pretty good, yeah? :)

The other project I am READY to put into the "Finished" pile is a sun hat I have been wrestling with for a very long time! I really wanted a "movie star" hat that will keep my nose from burning this summer, but my head is too darn big for commercially bought hats so I decided to whip something up myself. I couldn't find a pattern that I liked, but I found a "recipe" for a sun hat that sounded good enough. They called it a recipe because they told you how to turn a doily pattern into a sun hat, but didn't give specifics for sizing or lace patterns or anything. Well, next time I will use a pattern! I think I have pulled this hat out 400 times trying to get the right amount of brim while still staying true to the lace... THEN came trying to find the right gauge wire to attached to the edge. 18 gauge was too flimsy, the wire from a pop-up hamper was way too rigid. (John calls it my Goldilocks hat, as I look for a wire that is juuuuust right.) We finally settled on the wire from some car sun shades, you know the kind that can twist back on itself? I'm not sure it's 100% what I was looking for, but I am sick of trying different things! I want to wear this hat before the summer is over! I am so tired of fiddling with this hat!!

Yes, observant reader, the hat is not totally complete yet. I still have to put elastic in the headband and I have to weave in ends. But I want this hat to be done! I call it done! So there! (I also noticed after the fact that my "no dye lot written on the label" yarn was lying to me, as you can tell by the stripe through the brim. Grrrr... hat from hell... mutter mutter)

Random Cat Play

2011-06-25T17:19:00.000-04:00

Just in case you needed a bit of silliness in your day. :)

P.S. My life / energy / time / will to live is being consumed by Summer Camp, so I will be pretty much absent until sometime after July 28. Sorry, but that's how my job works. See you in August!

Helpers

2011-06-03T21:21:00.021-04:00

While putting up the fan down in the basement, we had to use a full-sized ladder and we discovered that the kitties (Mr Winks in particular) LOVE the ladder. Winks loves it more than the cat tree I bought for him. I guess that's a cat for ya, huh? Winks wanted very much to help put up the ceiling fans and, in the process, kick us off "his" ladder.

Strangely enough, Martin was only interested in the ladder in as much as he wanted whatever Winks had. He was much less confident on the steps and was not as nimble. Winks would hang out on the steps, while Martin would only scamper up if something interesting was going on... like a feisty feather stick being rattled on the metal ladder.

We actually left the ladder up for a few days because the kitties loved it so much. Are we spoiling them?

(Yes, that is a big belly resting on the step so that he can reach out and grab the feather stick with his paws.)

Adventures in Adulthood

2011-06-01T21:04:00.000-04:00

You know how they say, "You're only as old as you feel"? I think there should be some kind of secondary statement that goes something like, "You're only as old as the stuff you get excited about." Don't believe me? Observe:
small child - excited over poop jokes and bright colors
teenager - excited over cars and hanging out with friends
young adult - excited over parties and "college"
middle aged - excited over children's poop and paying bills
geriatric - excited over finding keys and spoiling grandchildren

See how things change? I personally have entered the stage where I get excited about home improvements, to whit, ceiling fans. I'm not sure if that puts me in the "responsible home-owners" category or in the "give up now because your life is super boring" category. Haha! But nevertheless, I am super excited about my ceiling fans. ^_^

The whole story is pretty long, but to boil it down for you: when we moved into the townhouse, I wanted to add more ceiling fans... because I was raised in the South and all rooms need fans, I guess. (I don't ask why.) So, for the past 2years I have been on the hunt for fans, but have never really committed to anything specific. I did pick out a few models that I liked, but never could get over the huge price tag of buying three fans at once. Well, over the holiday weekend, I went online with the purest intentions of showing Mom what I had picked out, and what should pop up but the big SALE banner. Of course it was for the fans, and of course it ended within 24 hours. I was not planning on buying fans this weekend, but when the sale saved me more than $100, how could I resist? So I surprised John by leaving for the weekend with a small duffel bag and coming home with three ceiling fans.

I am actually surprised that John has been so gung ho about installing them. I guess he recognizes Crazy when he sees it and wants to avoid Angry Fan-less Crazy. (I've always known he is smart.) We did have some adventures in the attic that lead me towards a deep hatred of blown insulation. (Scene-- John: "Just step on the studs." Anne: "WHERE THE HELL ARE THE STUDS?! EVERYTHING IS COVERED IN 8inches OF CRAP!") And we realized a long time ago that the builders/ previous owners love dimmer switches and that CFL bulbs hate them, but recently found that apparently ceiling fans hate dimmers, too. The first fan was making awful noises until we got the switch swapped out, and I was quite grumpy until we got it fixed.

Well, we did manage to get the second fan up tonight, which leaves us only with the fan that goes in the basement (which we need a ladder to install because the ceiling is much taller). I am very pleased and hope that this will cut down on the "pockets" of dead air we get in our house. I have definitely noticed that air is hard to move through a skinny, tall house. We have several dead spots that don't circulate very well. But hopefully, no more!

Nerd Rock!

2011-05-26T21:00:00.002-04:00

Get your nerd on! ... I found this band, Kirby Krackle, from a fellow nerd online and think it's hysterical!! If you know anything about gaming, comics, or general geekiness, listen to some of their songs. Dooooo it! Do it now!

If you want to read the lyrics, go here. How can you not love self-titled "nerd rock"?

Thor

2011-05-15T10:34:00.001-04:00

I was able to drag John out of the house and to the movie theater yesterday so I could see "Thor." I know, I know, it's a bad movie, but it was enjoyable and I love super heroes. :) There are numerous reviews out there, so not to bore you, I will sum it all up quickly: it was stupid & fun & I can't wait for more shirtless Chris Hemsworth ... wait, I mean, the Avengers movie. ;)

No, really, I am a comic book dork, but I just don't know enough about Marvel's Thor mythology to get picky about details. I could have written you a thesis paper when Batman Begins came out, but I really don't know enough about Thor to say anything. .... The movie did have about 30 seconds of Sleipnir, so that made me happy. And I always love Anthony Hopkins. But other than issues I have with the movie industry as a whole*, I don't really have any witty review that isn't out on the internet already.

* Specifically, why do we need to zoom in so close on a person's face that we can see their eye-boogers? Or the fact that more CGI shiny lights and swooshes do NOT make a movie better? Or how about investing in a steady-cam for the fight scenes so we can actually see what is happening? Or at the end of the movie, how did Natalie Portman suddenly grow 8inches so she could kiss him easily? ... Okay, okay, maybe that last one stems more from my personal life of dating someone 10inches taller than me. But the fact still remains, short girls cannot kiss tall boys without the boy exerting a lot of effort to squat down! (getting off my soap box of craziness) Anyways....

What I do want to talk about today is the movie previews we saw. Now, I like going to the movies, but I LOVE movie trailers. (There's a "show" on some DirecTV channel that is simply 30min of movie trailers! How awesome is that?!) And I was pleasantly surprised that there were mostly good trailers for what is coming up this summer. Not to say that there are pieces of poopoo, too, but I like the surge of comic book movies coming out now.

Cowboys & Aliens - AWESOME! How can you go wrong with cowboys & aliens? Wait for it... There's Daniel Craig & Harrison Ford starring. (squeee!)

Immortals - Pile of poopoo. They are trying to capitalize on the success of 300, Clash of the Titans, and Spartacus and make another Greek "mythology" movie. This one's about Theseus, but I saw not a single image of a minotaur anywhere. (Angry at it already)

Green Lantern - MORE AWESOME! Not to get too dorky on you, but I have reservations about this movie that are balanced out by how much I absolutely love Ryan Reynolds. I prefer Kyle as GL, but I think Ryan Reynolds will make Hal Jordan likable. How can you not laugh at, "Oath? Well, everyone knows the oath... I pledge allegiance / to the ring / that I got from a dying purple alien..."

Super 8 - Not sure what exactly is going on in this movie. I would have sworn that it was an M. Night Shyamalan movie from watching the trailer (it's not). You know how he never really shows you what it happening, but there is a bunch of crazy stuff and maybe monsters, and chaos. Not cool.

Captain America - EVEN MORE AWESOME! Again, they are taking "not my favorite superhero" and combining it with "actors I really like." It's almost as if they are catering to me personally. :) I am really hoping that there is some "Sergeant Logan" he runs with in the War, just as a nod to X-Men history. (Hey, "Mr Stark" flipped the switch on the gizmo that changed him, why can't we have Logan, too?)

Colombiana - More poopoo. I can tell you the entire plot in a few words from the trailer: "From those who brought you La Femme Nikita." It's basically a Hispanic Nikita kicking butt. Nothing new or interesting at all.

I've already told John to prepare himself for taking me to numerous bad movies this summer. AND I'M GOING TO LOVE EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!! :D (breathing into paper bag to calm hyperventilations)

Wall o' Yarn

2011-05-08T21:31:00.002-04:00

I decided to finally get organized about my yarn stash and (maybe) motivate myself to knit more projects and buy less yarn. I have a few under-bed storage boxes that hold all my yarn, but I've never seen the whole stash in one place... and therefore, I've yet to realize exactly HOW MUCH yarn I've got. :( Well, I got a bulletin board to shove that reality in my face each day. I've got it all sorted into "yarn with patterns attached," "projects in some stage of completion," and "good yarn with no pattern." I also organized the actual piles of yarn to condense and better sort what I've got. I think I am satisfied with what I've got... I definitely have a lot on my plate! So, I'm logging off the computer and back to the needles for me!! :)

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Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T09:49:00.000-04:00

At my own mother's request, I will post some pictures here. She wanted to see my fabrics and didn't feel like hunting through my Flickr account, I guess. (Don't worry, Flickr is a bit unwieldy if you are looking for a specific picture. Great for browsing, though.) LOVE YOU, MOM! Here you go:

The first batch of bags I made...

The fabric I got the first time to the store...

The fabric I got the other day....

Purses

2011-05-07T23:01:00.001-04:00

I have had a few requests for the pattern for the Thirty-One skirt purse slipcovers, and honestly, I have been trying to figure out where the boundary of copyright infringement lies. I know I joked about that earlier, but I don't wan to be helping people hurt a company that I like. If you are going to make a few covers for yourself, maybe some as a gift, I have no problems with you using my pattern. However, there will be a special hell waiting for you if you use my pattern to sell covers on eBay. I do not allow permission for that. I personally do not own this pattern, nor do I make money off of it; neither should you! (end of legal disclaimer)

Admittedly, this pattern is pretty fast and loose. I opened the seams of a skirt cover that I bought, and then traced it out on paper before transferring to the PVC. I really do just wing it each time I make a new cover. (Sorry to those who were expecting detailed instructions.) But, I've measured out my pattern for you, and it should be fairly easy to recreate onto your own piece of paper.

I know not all the measurements add up (since when does 14.75 + 1.75 + 1.75 = 18?!), but that is what my pattern says. Don't worry about it; the seam allowances are pretty big (more like 3/8in than 1/4in) and it doesn't have to be a perfect fit. (The small black dashes in the corners in the picture are the seam allowances.) I often trim the cover down a bit to make it more snug on the purse; I don't like it to be baggy.

Extra Notes: I have found that plain ol' quilters cotton (such pretty patterns!) works well with fusible interfacing on the backside. A stiffer material is easier to form into the right shape and also will be more durable and long-lasting. I also haven't added any hook/ bars fasteners to my covers. I try to make the top opening a little snug and just count on the magic of friction to keep it on. (I also don't feel like going through a pack of fasteners for each cover.)

Basic Instructions:
1. Sew bottom seam.
2. Sew up side seams.
3. Fold bottom corners and sew seams. Congratulations! You now have a basic bag!
* Check for fit on your bag - adjust side seams if cover is "baggy." Measure how "tall" your cover is on the purse; you may need to cut down the top corners if they are too high.
4. Fold (tiny!) seam allowances in top corners and sew seams around notched corner
* Check for fit again. Measure how much to fold top seam down.
5. Fold top and sew seam. Run second line of stitching for strength.
6. Add bars (4 on each side) if desired.

Question...

2011-05-04T19:54:00.002-04:00

Do I have a sign on my back that says, "Take my stuff"? I cannot remember a time when I had something stolen from me* in more than a quarter century on this earth (*a time when I know it was stolen, not just when I misplaced it and thought someone took it), and yet in the last three weeks, I've had my credit card number stolen and now someone at the gym took my headphones. I'm pretty pissed off to say the least.

And I'm not mad because of the financial reasons of having to replace the stolen items... because I haven't really lost anything of great value; I don't have to replace a TV or a car. But that is exactly why I'm mad: who really goes out of their way to steal low-in-value items? I mean, a pair of nice headphones can be had for only $20; if you're pinching pennies, I think Wal-Mart stocks some for $10 (They actually have some for $7.11). So, seriously? A whopping eight dollars after tax? If that person at the gym today came up to me and asked for money to buy headphones, I probably would have given him some. But no. The jackass has to take mine, now I get to spend the time and effort to replace them. Was he purposefully thinking of inconveniencing me?

Additional information that makes the situation even more confusing:
--The thief at the gym moved aside my prescription sunglasses and unplugged the headphones from my smart phone in order to take them. Really? You passed over two expensive items to steal a pair of headphones?
--Would you take someone else's IN THE EAR headphones? I mean, that's a little gross. I'm not saying that my ears are full of crusty nastiness, but I wouldn't want to stick something in my ear that has been in someone else's ear. (blech!)
--I live in s VERY strong Christian town and my headphones were taken from the YMCA. Is there a special hell for people who break a Commandment... in the Bible Belt... while in a building with "Christian" in the name? Just askin'.

.... I WANT TO FEEL SAFE AGAIN, YOU JERKS!! I want to think that there are good people in the world and that not EVERYbody is out to get what they can, no matter what happens to others. I want to believe that I can leave my stuff in a cubby at the gym and not get ripped off. I want to think that people are good and nice and friendly, and that they are not two-faced, selfish bastards. And most importantly, I want to kick the headphone thief right in the nuts! (Or, not to be sexist, I want to pop the female thief right on the nose.)

Baking Extravaganza!

2011-04-27T22:07:00.030-04:00

If I've learned anything while working at a school, is that teachers love to feed people. It feels like we have snackies / luncheons / treats all the time. :) The last luncheon we had was a pot-luck dessert luncheon; but several of us in our office were leery about the number of rich chocolate cakes we would be having, so we set out to find a "healthy-ish" dessert recipe to bring. I volunteered to do the baking, but this turned out to be a really easy (and really yummy!) recipe, so I'd thought I'd share it. It's an amalgamation of several similar recipes, so I'm not sure quite what to call it. If you think of a catchy name, please let me know!

Cream Cheese Fruit Dessert Pizza

4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
4 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 pkg.(16.5 oz.) refrigerated sliceable sugar cookies, sliced (**You can always make your own sugar cookies. I normally hate the ready-made cookie dough, but this time around I was short on time and used the "break and bake" cookies.)
4 cups assorted cut-up fruit (kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, drained canned mandarin oranges, bananas, raspberries, blackberries, etc.)
1 16-ounce can sliced light peaches, drained (reserve juice)
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut cookie dough into slices and arrange on a 12-inch pizza pan, coated with non-stick spray. Press slices together to form a solid crust. Bake 12 to 15 minutes until golden. Crust is done when edges begin to brown.

**You can also alter the "shape" of your pizza by how you make the cookies. I was taking my recipe to a potluck, so I kept the individual cookies as single servings instead of forming a big pizza that would need to be cut apart.

Beat cream cheese until smooth; add sugar and whipped topping. Spread evenly over cooled crust. Top with fruit.

Combine 1/2 cup reserved peach juice, 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Cook until thick. Drizzle over pizza and chill. (**I didn't do this part due to time restrictions, and my fruit browned overnight. I think the peach juice will help prevent that.)

Makes 8 servings of fruit dessert pizza.

I also tried a "savory" version of the recipe, using a tube of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (they come in a big sheet now, too) in case the sugar cookies were too sweet... I'm not fond of them. I don't know if it was the dough (the sheet of Crescent Rolls was not equal to normal Crescent rolls, boooo!) or what exactly, but it seemed to get soggy and un-appealing fairly quickly. It was still good, don't get me wrong, but the fruit on sugar cookies was SO GOOD that the rolls never stood a chance.

Overall, this recipe is super fast and easy -- the only real "cooking" you do is 15min of baking sugar cookies and cutting up a lot of fruit. Of course, you all know me, the time-consuming part for me was arranging the fruit to me mathematically precise and pretty. ^_^ Cut to my kitchen: Me, humming happily, "Strawberry here, then a banana, then strawberry, then bana-- DARNIT! FIT BANANA! GET IN THERE! ... lalala,then another strawberry...."

Craftiness!

2011-04-24T19:20:00.003-04:00

I finally got Mother to stand still long enough in her sweater so I could take a picture of it. I made this about 2 years ago, as one of my first "garments that isn't a hat or scarf." I was determined that it would fit her and be gorgeous... so needless to say, I was not happy at her losing weight while I was knitting! I ripped this sweater apart so many times it was ridiculous. So! I am happy to finally post a picture.

Blue Heron Yarns, Egyptian Mercerized Cotton (2,000yds / skein) Color: Canyon

Knitting Pure & Simple #257, Split Neck T-Shirt for Women
Raveled here.

And because they are so easy to make, I've churned out a few more 31 Skirt Purses! I feel so good about myself that this is working as I envisioned it! Normally, my craft projects don't go NEARLY so well.

Finished #2!

2011-04-17T19:34:00.001-04:00

SQUEEEEEE! I've finally finished a project! I've got three others sitting on the coffee table, ranging from 60% to 90% done, but my "Finishing ADHD" is kicking in and I just can't seem to get anything completed!I even pulled out a skein of "gift yarn" the other day and have been staring at it, trying to convince myself to finish old projects before I begin new ones. I'm such a mess... Though today I put on a determined face and started with the one that needed the least effort to complete it. Even though I underestimated how much effort was needed to attach the brim and buttons (namely, re-knitting the brim to fit my new PVC insert), it only took me a little while to get everything attached as it needed to be.

This is only my second project finished this year, so I am admittedly behind on my "12 Projects in 12 Months" goal. But! Like I said, I have others that are very close to finished, so I am still optimistic about being able to catch up and get 12 projects done this year.

I'm particularly fond of the buttons.

Cabled Chapeau
Stitch Nation By Debbie Stoller

Bernat Satin (arcylic) 200yds per skein

color #1101, Plum Mist Heather

ARRRGGHH!

2011-04-17T12:16:00.000-04:00

I was so mad yesterday I was not fit to talk to! It all started Thursday at the optometrist's when my credit card was declined. I was confused, but the lady said that their credit card machine doesn't always accept Credit Union cards. Weird, but whatever. Then, yesterday I was running errands and my card was declined again! The cashier was very nice about it, but I was financially embarrassed and getting a little annoyed. Once time is a freak accident, but twice is becoming a pattern. So, I called the bank and the customer service lady politely explained that there was a fraudulent charge and they canceled my card. Way to let me know, bank!! Thanks a lot for your prompt communication... three weeks after the fraud, I have to call you to figure out why I have no more credit card. >:(

I can only get so angry at the bank because she told me that the fraudulent charge was for the Tahiti Club (motel) in Indiana.... so someone did steal my card number and then tried to check into a sleazy motel with it. Gah! Now, I have to go to every Internet account where I have a credit card saved and change it, re-enter the bills that post to my credit card, and (worst of all) memorize a new number! I've had my credit card number memorized for the longest time and it was so nice. Now I have to change everything because of some schmuck who wanted a free stay at the Tahiti Club! I'd really love to meet this guy and kick him hard right in the naughty bits!!

The plus side, I guess, is that I can't spend any money for the next 7-10 days while I wait for the new card to arrive. That, and my bank was able to protect me from a fraudulent charge. Not much of a consolation, but I'm trying to find the silver lining in all of this.

Going Underground!

2011-04-10T15:47:00.102-04:00

For those of you that don't know, there has been a recent infectious fungus up & down the East Coast (from Canada to the Carolinas) that is decimating the bat populations. Scientists are working very hard to figure out how White Nose Syndrome is killing the bats, how it is spreading, and how we can stop it. This has been a major concern for the speleological society because WNS kills up to 100% of the bat population that it reaches. Little Brown Bats (the most common species we see around here) have mortality rates over 90%. :( For several years now, entire cave systems have been shut down to prevent humans spreading WNS between caves to new bat populations. However, regulations have been created that will allow cave entrance once again (YAY!), providing there is strict cleaning and disinfecting of gear between cave trips.

(UPDATE: WNS has been confirmed as far west as Ohio and Kentucky within the last few months!)

Obviously, the Girl Scout caving program has suffered because of WNS. We have been shut down for about three years now, but the new cleaning regulations are allowing us to start trips once again. Of course, we are essentially rebuilding the program from scratch: we had to re-establish contact with the cave owners and see who was allowing visitors; our girl members have scattered to the winds (as well as some adults); and, as luck would have it, our main recruiting workshop event was canceled this year due to bad weather. All this resulted in a trip this weekend with 12 girls and 25 adults. Haha!! All of us adults were so excited that we ALL signed up even though there were not enough girls.

First - The Bad News- My group of girls was supposed to be the "Junior Staff in Training" group.... the girls who are old enough & experienced enough to help the younger girls. Usually, at full capacity, each group of cavers has 2 adults, 1 junior staff, and about 5 girls. However, my girls are nowhere near responsible enough to help lead others. There was little motivation, exploration, or personal responsibility seen all weekend. That's not to say they didn't have fun; but they would have had probably as much fun in the mall back home. It didn't matter to them that they were in a cave at all. :(

Now, The Good News:
1. Got to see the "second family" once again. There were even some of the now-college girls that came back! (That's Mom's favorite part about our caving program: you get to see the girls mature from bratty 12-year-olds to responsible junior staff & college ladies.)

We had a retroactive high school graduation ceremony for them since they missed it. Each spring, the soon-to-be-graduates get caving mortarboards and a ceremony.

2. In the adventures to get permission to enter caves again, we actually got some "new" caves opened up to us. My group went into Norman on Friday.... and Norman has been closed to the public for about 10years!! I haven't been in it since *I* was a girl in the program. I even made the brave leap to take my camera in with me and got some good pictures.

The funny thing about the picture of the water dripping into a rimstone pool is that I have (somewhere) the exact same picture from 10years ago! Haha! Some things just stay the same I guess.

3. On Saturday, my group went into Lost World Caverns, owned by friends of ours. The front section of the cave is made into a commercial tour with lights and handrails and such, but the back part is open for "wild" tours. Unfortunately, my camera pooped out on me and died that morning, so I have no pictures of that GORGEOUS cave. Seriously, if you are ever in Lewisburg, WV, go check out Lost World. It is sooooooo pretty!

4. I got new toys to try out this trip! Now that I am a adult on these trips, I have to carry more supplies and emergency gear. My old pack is still usable, but just not big enough, so I upgraded my pack. I also got a hose to connect to my Platypus water packs to try a "hydration system" rather than just water bottles. Then, I used the rainy weather as an excuse to wear my cute new rain boots! Squee! Overall, everything worked splendidly for me and I really liked all the changes! (However, the downside to having a sippy-hose for your water is that you drink more and really stress your bladder by the end of the day!)

Copyright Infringement?

2011-03-20T22:19:00.000-04:00

I finally sat down and reverse engineered my Thirty-One Skirt Purse this weekend! It definitely wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be!! I made a permanent pattern (heavy-duty, made from PVC), finished two new skirts, cursed minimally, destroyed nothing, and gave up not once in several hours!! ... I know I am using a lot of exclamation points, but I am really excited. :D A sewing project where I don't curse the paint off the walls, destroy my project, or give up (usually with a strong desire to light the project on fire) is a rare occurrence. I have the basic sewing skills needed to get me through life; it is neither easy nor relaxing for me to tackle a tricky project. BUT!! This one worked!

Here are all the skirts I have now. I think I've decided to become the crazy lady with the seasonal bags. It's so easy to change them out!

I measured the fabric needed to make one skirt, and it takes less than 1/2 yard of 44inch wide fabric. That means even expensive fabric is not expensive to buy for this project. First, though, I used some of the left-overs from making the comforter cover a few weeks ago as a "test run." I didn't want to ruin anything as I worked out the kinks of the pattern. Though, I think it looks awesome and I'm keeping it as a real skirt, not just as a mock-up.

After the test run, I drew my pattern onto the PVC and cut out a permanent pattern.... that will last forever! (John brought me the PVC scrap from his work for another project of mine, but there was enough extra to make a pattern for the purse.) Then came the real question: could I make a functional skirt from the pattern I had just made? I had found in my stash this cute bat fabric and wanted to show it off for all my caver friends next month. This was the main focus of the afternoon... and I think I succeeded!

As I said before, I think I'm going to start accumulating half-yards of fabric to make as many skirts as I can. Change my purse every few weeks! It's only copyright infringement if I sell the pattern, right? Maybe I should look into that. :) To counterbalance, let me say that you should look up your local Thirty-One consultant (like Tupperware, Mary Kay, or Pampered Chef) and see the great bags they have! It's delightful!

Kevorkian Scarf!

2011-03-19T21:49:00.000-04:00

Lara and I are working on a knit-a-long project this month, and to understand why we are so excited about it, you first must watch this video: (Safe for Work. There is no truly foul language, just one "jackass.")

Back in college, we were all hooked on this series of web-toons, called Neurotically Yours. (Beware of following that link; the main character is an extremely foul-mouthed squirrel named Foamy who has no problem telling you what he thinks of you. Funny, but DEFINITELY not safe for work... unless you work in a biker bar.) We were all foul-mouthed college kids at the time, so we loved Foamy dishing out his "squirrely wrath" to the unsuspecting public. Flash forward .... a few.... years and imagine my delight when Lara shows me a scarf named "Foamy!" (Raveled here.) Instantly we re-name it The Kevorkian Scarf and decide we have to have it!! :D

Lara and I both re-arranged the pattern blocks a little to make it suit our tastes more, but it's still pretty much the original pattern. I used a skein of Tofutsies from the stash, a sea-FOAM green to match the pattern (color #789). Haha! For never having done drop stitches before and for not writing down a pattern, I think it's coming along nicely. It's mostly big blocks of garter stitch, so it knits up quickly.

As John noticed, yes, it is more of a shawl shape than a scarf shape (i.e., triangular vs rectangular), but I will wear it more like a scarf ... neckerchief? bandanna? Around my neck, not my shoulders. So I think it should remain "The Kevorkian Scarf." "Kevorkian Shawl" just sounds weird. :)

Walkies!

2011-03-13T20:34:00.000-04:00

For Martin's Christmas 2010 present, we got him a harness and leash. Now, I've never taken a cat outside on a leash before, but Martin is so persistent about escaping that we figured, "At least he'll be supervised this way and won't get hit by a car."

We didn't take him out too much .... because it was winter and cold.... but Martin quickly showed us that he didn't care about wearing a harness when he was outside exploring the Great Unknown! We never make it very far into the Great Unknown; Martin's winter record was three doors away from ours. Haha. He moves very slowly when he stops to smell every bush and perk up at every noise around him.

(Lara loves those pictures because John is so tall and Martin is such a tiny cat. She thinks it's hysterical.)

Anyway! Now that it is getting a bit warmer, I took him out again. We very quickly beat our old record, making it FIVE doors down the road! Whoa! But then Martin got distracted again.... this time by a tree. And I guess that a kitty will eventually do what all kitties love to do when they see a tree. (Sigh)

Yes, I was terrified that the little goober would lose his balance, fall out of the tree, and choke himself on the leash. I kept a very careful eye on him and how his harness was trying to wrap around the tree. But I couldn't help but marvel at his determination and sense of adventure. The owner of the tree who's yard we were in, of course, came home while we were exploring. Thankfully, he was okay about us trespassing (not like some cranky pants would be) and just said, "I've never seen a cat on a leash before." We shared a laugh as he went into his house. I had to call it a day when Martin wanted to explore where our neighbor was going. Silly boy, we are trespassers, not cat burglars! Haha!

"OOH! What's over there?"

Yay for bags!

2011-03-09T08:44:00.001-05:00

I know girls are supposed to be crazy about purses, but I have never really gotten into having 400 bags. I just carry too darn much in my purse and I don't like having to switch everything every time I switch a bag. Well! The solution is here! The company 31 sells a bag known as the Skirt Purse which has interchangeable slip covers. When you feel like having a different purse, you just swap covers and don't have to worry about transferring everything from one bag to the next. Yay! I finally bought one for myself and it arrived today!! So excited. :)

The black swirly print is my basic print, but I had to get a wild & crazy color, too! I plan to dissect the cover to make a pattern so I can make more covers whenever I see I fabric that I like. (Also, the covers alone are pretty expensive for only half a yard of fabric. I'm going to save some money, too.)

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Question...

2011-02-05T22:32:00.002-05:00

Would it be weird to get a weight-loss tracker widget for my cat's diet? Mr Winkers is looking quite slim now, and we are about half way to goal. :)

Don't Read without Tissues!

2011-02-05T20:51:00.001-05:00

WARNING: Tears ahead. I'm serious, this poem really just made me tear up ... a lot. Maybe because I'm a cat person or maybe because all my cats have been rescues, I don't know. But you have been warned! Get the tissues!

Thanks to the Snuggles Project website. Check them out, they are a great charity!

Stray Cat
by Franic Witham

Oh, what unhappy twist of fate
Has brought you, homeless to my gate?
The gate where once another stood
To beg for shelter, warmth, and food.

For from that day I ceased to be
The master of my destiny.
While he, with purr and velvet paw
Became within my house, The Law.

He scratched the furniture and shed
And claimed the middle of my bed.
He ruled in arrogance and in pride
And broke my heart the day he died.

So if you really think, oh cat,
I'd willingly relive all that
Because you come, forlorn and thin
Well...don't just stand there...come on in!

My Dorkiness Knows no Bounds

2011-02-05T18:36:00.000-05:00

NEW OBSESSION!! :)

We all know that I've been playing Neopets since I was stuck behind the College Info Desk (who can argue with free online games when you have lots of time to waste?), but recently they've been updating some of their features and they've added in the Habitarium. Basically, it's a terrarium filled with little bugs that you tend to and oversee. There's really no point to it, but it's excessively addicting! Trust Neopets to find the next addicting game for me.

Anyway, if you've been wondering where I've gone off to, chances are I am looking after my "little guys" and organizing their habitat. There are three species and three jobs available: Pinchit, Mootix, and Larnikin in the roles of Nester, Soldier, and Worker. Sadly, my Habitarium has undergone an accidental genocide, and I have no pinchits left! That was when I started my eugenics program and organized the species to coincide with certain jobs; all my workers are mootix, and all my soldiers are larnikins. (You can "discard" or "hatch" eggs once they are laid, and I am just discarding everything but worker mootix and soldier larnikins.) My loving sister claims that the genocide was intentional and that I am some form of cruel overlord, but I just wasn't paying attention to which guys were getting "old" and all my pinchits died off without breeding replacements. :(

ANYways.... the nesters obviously breed you more guys, and the soldiers defend your land from invaders (yes, there are evil invading forces that threaten your habitat). The workers gather resources (wood, stone, mud, pollen, water, grass) to let you build structures and buy food & decorations. You can drag-and-drop your workers to get them started on a certain resource or move them into the house to rest. As you can see below, I've currently got all of my workers focused on mud; I have to gather a lot of wood/mud/stone in order to upgrade my buildings right now.

I took a screenshot of my Habitarium today to show you how dorky I am. :) It's almost embarrassing how much I'm addicted to this game, except then I think about how I got a few friends hooked, too! I don't feel so bad when there are others out there like me.

Comforter Cover

2011-01-30T19:54:00.002-05:00

A while back, we upgraded our bed to a queen-sized mattress... which, of course, meant that we had to get all new linens and things to fit the new bed. :( However, Mom had an extra down comforter at her house that she did not use, and she brought it to us over the holidays. (Thanks, Mom!) Unfortunately, Mom had no cover that matched our color scheme, which meant that we went shopping for sheets and /or fabric to make a cover that matched our room. I couldn't find any sheets that were exactly what I wanted, so I came up with the idea of getting two prints and making it reversible! We got a printed sheet and then several yards of quilting cotton to finally make me happy.

I knew that making the cover would only be "hard" because of the size. Blankets and such have to be laid out on the floor and constantly tweaked to make sure that all the layers are straight. It's not like a garment that you can grab both sides and tug to make smooth; blankets involved one contortionist or two people to arrange! Needless to say, the kitties LOVED the new toy I put on the floor for them.

Sliding into Home Plate. "Am I safe?"

Leap! and Pounce!

Kitty on top vs. Kitty underneath

We finally ended up putting the kitties in "Kitty Jail" (i.e., the bathroom behind a shut door) so that I could finish the stupid blanket! Though it took me all afternoon (but really, what sewing project does not?), I am very happy with the outcome. I think the cover looks great! Even John was impressed when he saw the finished product. :)

Quiche!

2011-01-29T19:04:00.052-05:00

A long time ago, (not far far away, just here in my house) I was browsing recipes and found a "crustless quiche" that looked interesting. Sadly, cooking fell by the wayside as Life attacked me vigorously in 2010. But! I rediscovered the recipe and tried it out this weekend. Overall, for my first quiche, it was delicious! Even John loved it, and he says, "Real men don't eat quiche!"

CRUSTLESS SPINACH QUICHE
(Thanks, Cooks.com!)

1 onion
1 (10 oz) package frozen spinach, thawed & drained
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1 lb. shredded cheese (I know, I know, that's a lot of cheese. Alter this to suit your dietary needs)
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

1. Chop and saute onion in pan until brown and soft. Thaw and drain spinach while this is cooking.

2. Whisk eggs and milk together. Add flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt to egg mixture. Add cheese, spinach, onion (and any additional ingredients you selected); mix until evenly distributed.

3. Pour into greased 13x9 pan (also can use 2 pie pans or brownie pans for the same cook time). Sprinkle top liberally with Parmesan. Bake 30-35min at 350 degrees. (The original recipe says cool 30min afterward, but I was not able to wait that long!)

I don't know if I can convey our reaction in written form. It may have gone something like this:

(Cautious nibble )... Mmmmm ... (more confident bite) ... Oooh! .... (snarf snarf snarf!!) .... Oh my gowd! This is so good!! (runs back into the kitchen to get more)

Kitchen Updates!

2011-01-27T20:16:00.013-05:00

Our old microwave finally bit the big weenie the other week. It was slowly falling apart in various ways, but when I tried to open the door one day and the handle came off in my hand.... Yeah, it was time. We lived with the "stumpy" handle for a while until I finally picked out the new model -- i.e., opened up Consumer Reports and bought the recommended brand. :)

I worked late today and when I called home, John's dad answered and said that they were installing the new microwave right then. "Yay!" I thought to myself. "I still have to go to the grocery store, maybe I will have a new microwave installed by the time I come back. How long can it really take them?" Well... when I came home around dinner time, the kitchen was totally taken apart and John's mom informed me that they hadn't even made the obligatory trip to Lowe's yet! (Haven't you noticed that all home repair projects need at least one trips to Lowe's?) Ugh! I was so discouraged!

I shouldn't be too hard on the menfolk, though, because they did all the work and made my kitchen look fabulous again! I am excited about the new microwave; it's a serious upgrade from the one that came with our house, so I hope I won't make too many things explode before I get the hang of it. :)

Hello, 2011!

2011-01-18T18:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, it seems like every-other post recently has been about me wandering off, only to eventually find my way back again. But this time it was a little more serious. I had a pretty emotionally rough fall (don't ask me about October), but I think it was rather cathartic. Cathartic - isn't that a great word? It makes me sound educated and intelligent when I say I purged the evil out of me while I was being viscously attacked by bad-bad-very-bad things. But! True to the nature of catharsis, I feel like I have been through the wringer, made some mistakes, but am now prepared to keep on going with a new mindset.

My new mindset happens to coincide with the New Year. Now, I am not normally one for "life-changing" New Year's Resolutions (because really, how many people are still at the gym after April?), but I think that the Great Year of 2011 should be called my Year of Patience & Acceptance. I need to be calm, rational, and let things flow at their natural rate. Will the Hot Pocket microwave ANY faster just because I am starving? No. I need to be calm and patient and know that the Hot Pocket will happen, even though it might not be ready right now. ... Hey, I like that. This spur-of-the-moment Hot Pocket metaphor may be my new mantra; it definitely applies to numerous aspects of my life. :)

As a side note, someone told me that according to the Chinese zodiac, 2010 was the Year of the Tiger. I know a bunch of people will agree with me on the viscious and predatory nature of the events of 2010! Thankfully, 2011 will be the Year of the Rabbit... 'Nuff said. I am so exhausted after 2010 that I am looking forward to a cute little bunny!

Songs for my New Year:
"Let it Be"
- The Wise Beatles

"There for the Grace of God"
- Flogging Molly

...and for something a bit more peppy, but still with a message:
"If you're going through Hell,
Keep on going, don't slow down.
If you're scared don't show it.
You might get out
Before the Devil even know you're there"
- Rodney Atkins

.... Oh, partly because I feel I need to make a concrete New Year's Resolution and partly because I need to use up my yarn stash and finally FINISH some projects, I am trying to go for "12 Projects in 12 Months" again. Failed miserably last year when the craziness started, but in my Year of Patience and Acceptance, I am going to make more time to knit! Lara and I already have an awesome knit-a-long planned for March-ish after we get a project or two finished. :)

Kitty pile!

2010-12-16T07:17:00.001-05:00

The kitties say we can all fit in my chair, can't we?

Needless to say, they were keeping me quite warm! :)

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Blizzard # 1

2010-12-16T07:10:00.001-05:00

It begins with a silent snowfall at dawn....

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Snuggles

2010-12-11T11:20:00.001-05:00

Kitty says, "This would be a lot more comfortable if your fat butt wasn't in the chair!"

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Back to knitting!

2010-11-08T06:37:00.001-05:00

It sure had been a while, hasn't it? Stress does not make for a good knitting companion, let me tell you! But! I have finished another project, plus it was a "lingering" project. Double yay! These gloves for John are made from local alpacas that we met. How cool is that? (The sadly now-closed Fish wood Farms)

This is also my first attempt at decorative gloves; all the other ones I've done have been stockinet / rib stitch with pretty yarns. Don't ask me for a pattern... these gloves are cobbled together from the Not Just Socks pattern I always use, plus a but of Knitty's Cigar Gloves for gauge, plus a slapped-on cable I found on another pattern somewhere, then the fingers were done to custom fit. Like I said, don't ask me for a pattern! Haha

Overall, I am pleased with them. I learned a lot while making them- number one rule is to not put down a project when you don't have a pattern for it! It makes it very hard to pick back up again. And, number two, they look a but rough, but that is because apparently non-factory alpaca shows tension issues. Who'd've guessed? Though, once John starts wearing them around, they will start to block a bit on his hands and look a bit cleaner.

Yay finished projects!

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Garlic Festival Festivities

2010-10-16T17:49:00.001-04:00

Fun times at the Garlic Festival include:
1. Getting oh-so-good-for-you midway food (gyro for me, polish sausage for john)
2. Fudge!
3. Touching a tarantula at the petting zoo.
4. Tasting the "Kiss the Devil" wine (brewed from chiles, not grapes).... And then wishing for death. :(
5. Eating real, not low fat ice cream.
6. Bringing home loot & goodies from various wineries and shops.

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Frustration for the Week

2010-10-05T13:50:00.001-04:00

Can I just say that it really pisses me off when other people drop the ball on something and yet I am the one that gets that subtle reprimand.... Yeah, that is getting old, Universe. Can we try something new?

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Kids & Animals

2010-10-03T16:41:00.000-04:00

You know that old show-biz saying, "Never work with kids or animals?" Well, folks, today I proved the animal part true. Mom was up visiting and I used her to take our annual Christmas card picture (yes, I can say "annual" because we're on our third year of including a picture in our Christmas cards). And I thought that since our "new thing" this year was the kitties, they should be included in the picture, too.

.... Have you ever tried to get two cats to sit in your lap, let alone get them to sort-of look in the appropriate direction?!? This is what you end up with:

John and I look decent... but Martin is chewing on John's foot and Winks has chosen this moment to groom himself. Notice, too, the numerous kitty toys scattered about that we were using to "pose" them. (Sigh) What am I going to do with these boys!?

Sicky Me

2010-09-30T21:14:00.001-04:00

I am so tired of wanting to throw up... Why are stomach bugs so lasting?

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Saturday morning musings

2010-09-25T09:49:00.001-04:00

Here I am, still in bed as I catch up on my social networking, wondering how awful I would be if I hollered down at John to bring me up breakfast in bed.... That crosses a line somewhere, doesn't it? Toasty blueberry bagels in bed should be a spontaneous act of love, not a demand. Sigh. I guess I will have to go toast my own blueberry bagel. Stupid rules of relationships.

(Yeah, didn't you know? Rule of Relationships # 359: don't holler for toasty blueberry bagels in bed. Look it up, it's a well known fact.)

Also as I am still in bed, the kitties have decided that I would make a great addition to their obstacle course of morning craziness. I have been run over by rampaging kitties several times now. Not really the best way to start a morning. Haha.

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Wishful thinking

2010-09-19T12:30:00.002-04:00

Well, the realistic part of me says I wasted a Saturday afternoon, but the stupidly optimistic part of me disagrees. What was I doing yesterday? I spent much of the afternoon planning wedding colors and themes. I've known I want to use a dark purple and a dark teal -- in fact I have a shirt and sweater that I was using as a color guide -- but I wanted to see if they were workable for a wedding theme. I have been playing with the idea of a "peacock" theme based on the colors, but I want it really understated... with minimal feathers... so, "peacock" without being too peacock. :)

They say when designing anything, you should make an "inspiration board" with pictures of things that you like and, well, are inspired by. That was what I was doing yesterday. The bonus point is that I also helped narrow down the style I like: Grace Kelly, Understated Chic. I REALLY like simple, clean lines that are rich and luxurious. I'm not opulent, garish, or over-stated. I like minimalist decorations that evoke high quality and taste. I've seen too many wedding TV shows where the bride/ designer think, "If one centerpiece / flower arrangement / feather / yard of lace / jewelry / knick-knack is good, then 4,000 must be great!" Some table settings I've seen just make me want to gag! (Same goes for engagement rings! There are some U. G. L. Y. rings out there in the world!)

So here's my inspiration board. I really like that L'Instant Taittinger poster!!! I didn't even realize the dress I want is basically a white version of it.

And for those of you asking, no, I am not engaged yet. John and I have been together coming up on five years this fall, but he is a planner / saver who won't settle for less than "what I deserve," but is reluctant to go into debt when the economy is so bad right now. Which of course puts me in the position of having to show him that I don't want a $50,000 affair. My thinking is that if I can plan it all out and show him that we won't bankrupt ourselves, he will be more amenable to the idea of a wedding.... or I may kidnap him one day and take him to the courthouse and just make it legal with no frills attached! Haha.

Life Musings

2010-09-19T11:37:00.000-04:00

I seem to be going through a bit of a rough patch in my life-- the Thursday before school started back in August, my (former) boss calls me up and tells me that I am moving sites... back to the high school. The understatement of the year is that I was not thrilled with the idea. I was really excited to start a new school year in the same place that I was last school year, and I was really liking my client age-group and my coworkers over at the elementary school. The high school staff and I aren't really the best of friends, and you just have to ask anyone working with teenagers: they are a tough crowd. Now, add on mental diagnoses, histories of abuse, and total apathy for their futures, and you have our special teenagers.

So now I am stuck in limbo with stupid company politics determining my future. I've been told that the company is doing the best they can; but, let's be real, I am not high on the priority list when regulations are changing, the economy is tanking, and our billing just got audited. :/ I am trying to be positive, but when faced with glaring proof that your company does not give a rat's ass about you, it is rather hard. I know I'm not special, but they don't have to rub my nose in it.

On the flip side, the caving program is back up & running! White nose syndrome had put all caving on hold so scientists could figure out what was killing the bats and how we could prevent spreading the disease. If I am remembering correctly, it's been about two years since any caving was allowed up and down the east coast. BUT! Now the NSS has put out safety measures and restrictions on recreational caving groups that would allow small parties inside the caves. The Girl Scout program I help staff is going to be taking a (very!) small group of experienced girls this October up to West Virginia to see if these restrictions are manageable. Usually, we have about 40-60 girls with about a dozen "rookies" that take trips twice a year. This fall, I think we are taking only about 25 girls total, with LOTS of staff to supervise. Hopefully, this trip will go well and we will soon be able to resume regular trips! Yay!

Testing....

2010-09-16T17:08:00.001-04:00

My new toy (read: my new phone) is owned by Google... My blog is owned by Google... There should be an app for my blog to be able to use on my phone!

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Finished Project!

2010-08-29T15:52:00.003-04:00

I also finished another project while in Florida! Yay me! Nothing big, but a Finished Project nonetheless. I made a cozy for my mega-huge water bottle. :)

During Summer Camp, I found that my regular water bottles were simply not enough to keep me hydrated, so I bought a huge (54oz) water bottle. The only downside to it was a lack of insulation, so it tended to sweat everywhere. For the summer, I used an unmatched sock of John's as a cozy, but I knew I would need something a little classier to use on a permanent basis. So, I scrounged up some old wool blend that I had laying about and made a super-quick rib-knit cozy! Yay!

It was really easy, when all was said and done. Sizing didn't need to be exact since I wanted it to be a snug fit, and I used the water bottle itself as a guide for length. Then I just used a drawstring to cinch up the top, and Voila! I am still deciding if I want to loosely seam the gap around the handle or not. I don't want the hole to be that big, ya know? Right now, though, it's working just fine.

2 skeins Berroco "Soft Twist" (41% wool / 59% rayon) -- one in purple and one in magenta, held together.
US 8 needles
Less than 100yds used!

And, yes, this is Finished Project Number Six for the year. (Remember, 12 projects in 12 months was my goal.) I know I am a little behind, but I seem to be progressing at a rather nice pace, I think. I just need to re-adjust to the school schedule and wrap up a few of the half-finished things I have laying about. Summer Camp really did me in! I was waaaay too tired to knit anything once I got home, and now I have to catch up! But I think I can do it! (Determined face)

New Toy SQUEEEEE!

2010-08-29T15:46:00.000-04:00

First, let me sum up my absences: I had a few weeks of vacation at the beginning of August... and I took it! I was a waste of organic matter, resting and relaxing without any responsibilities. Then, we took a week to visit family in Florida for my grandfather's 90th birthday party. Not as relaxing, but not as stressful as it could have been either. (John *loves* going to see my extended family; it shows him that I am one of the saner and more rational people in my gene pool. Heehee.)

While in Florida, Mother and I opted to use our cell phone upgrades and get something fancy. I have been suffering with extreme phone-envy since John got his Droid many moons ago, and Mother was finally caving to the lure of the smartphone. I got the Motorola Droid X and Mom got the HTC Droid Incredible.

Can I get this out of my system? ... SQQQQUUUUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Ok, I'm better now. Seriously, this phone is slick! I am slowly moving my way through all the settings and functions, but I think I can say now that I am enthralled with this phone! I don't want to sound like just another review, but I highly recommend this phone to someone who is looking for serious fun. Maybe it's just a symptom of upgrading from a Blackberry (which is probably the LEAST intuitive operating system out there), but I am really enjoying the Droid X.

Next step: choosing a skin for my phone. I'm not really liking any of the cases I see, and as I suffer from "black phone in a black purse" syndrome, I need something to brighten up the casing of my phone. There are several on ebay that I like, but I can't choose! So indecisive! :)

2010-08-07T12:10:00.001-04:00

I think I just found the best (American) sushi I've ever had! And at a buffet restaurant of all places! Yummmm ... Happy place.

Weirdness from the Web

2010-08-06T19:18:00.000-04:00

Aaaaand, here's one more thing to add to the "Stuff not to Knit" list. The blog I found it on doesn't say anything about it, just that it's machine knit. My question is which dress is worse: the front one or the one in the back? (In revisiting the What not to Knit blog, I have discovered that they already found this lovely dress & that it apparently costs a mere $1500! Goodness!)

Maybe that website gave me two things to add to the "Stuff not to Knit" list. They say this "Compubody Sock" is the way you keep hands & ears warm, as well as ensuring privacy as you watch DVDs on a plane. Weird.

P is for...

2010-08-05T12:50:00.000-04:00

P is for phone! Well, folks, it's that time of year again. When your cell phone plan is coming to a close and you start looking at your current phone... and you realize that you hate it. Haha. Don't get my wrong, I love my Blackberry in comparison to the Windows Mobile phone I had before (mainly because the BB would actually WORK consistently without crashing!). But since I have seen John and his Droid.... I has the phone envy! :(

Mom reminded me that our plans are renewing soon, so I am looking at the new Android phones. Sadly, I am torn between two options: 1) get a phone that is a little bit better than what you have now, but is not expensive, or 2) pay an arm and a leg for the coolest phone out now, knowing that it will last longer before becoming totally obsolete. Hmmmm.... decisions, decisions.

And yes, knowing me, I am making lists and comparison charts and reading up on all the reviews out there. For some reason, I have a VERY hard time buying electronics / appliances without some serious research done first. Maybe it's because they always cost so darn much and I have little understanding of what they're all about.

Wish me luck!

O is for...

2010-07-31T16:47:00.016-04:00

O is for overtime! Ain't Summer Camp great? Where else can you easily work 55hr weeks and only get paid for 37.5hrs? At least they compensate us with "comp time" when we work more than 40hrs per week (yes, your math is right, we donate 2.5hrs for free). For our department, you can save up all that extra time from Summer Camp and use it as vacation time in the weeks between Camp and school starting when we have very little to do. The catch is, you can only use it in August and you lose it if you don't. But it's REALLY nice to have because there is no possible way to run Summer Camp and do all our paperwork if we only work 37.5hrs. And since the overtime is "mandatory," it's nice that they compensate us for it.

This summer, I earned a whopping 45hrs of comp time! That's six full days off from work without having to take annual leave! Yay! I am using it to visit the Florida Family for Granddad's 90th birthday party.

ABC Catch-Up

2010-07-31T15:43:00.001-04:00

I is for... I don't know! Rraarrrrg! I don't have anything for I! Epic Fail!

J is for... John, of course! :-*

K is for... knitting! So sue me, I went for the cheap and obvious choice; I have no excuse other than that I am behind on my alphabet. But, I do have a bit to say that's new and interesting: I am aiming for "12 projects in 12 months" this year. I noticed that I was churning out finished projects this spring, so I decided to set myself a goal. Admittedly, I have gotten a little sidetracked, what with having to pull out Mom's copper sweater and then Summer Camp giving me no free time or energy. BUT! I am decided and determined. I have so many half-finished project lying around that I think I can whip a few of them into shape and still meet my goal. (And if all else fails, I have a 24hr round-trip car ride coming up next week. That should definitely give me time to knit!)

L is for... lifting weights! I know, technically I am bragging when I report my lift successes, but I don't really care. The other day, we were doing deadlifts and the guy resting behind us actually applauded me after I lifted 185lbs-- it was not even my personal best! Score one point for tiny girls everywhere! And if you combine the magic of Deadlift Fridays and the euphoria of No-More-Summer-Camp, you will get me rocking out multiple reps at my max weight (225lbs, thank you very much). PLUS, after establishing that my calves are freakishly strong (my back starts to crumble under 315lbs, but my legs don't feel it), I felt even stronger when a muscle head stereotype was working 315lbs on his calves, too. Me and the muscle heads! Haha! ... I'm sorry, it's just too funny.

M is for... Martin! Martin the new kitty has settled in quite well and is developing a personality of his own. He is very twitchy and always seems to be mobile; I call him our little tap dancer. He is very different from Winks, but they still get along. They make me laugh at least once a day with their stereotypical "brother" attitudes. For example, one kitty can be on the floor ignoring me, but if the other jumps up and starts purring because he is getting attention, then you better be sure that floor-kitty will soon become "He's getting loving, I want loving too!" kitty. :) Such brothers! Though Martin meets my criteria for defective kitties: he has herpes. No, cats don't get the genital kind; the feline virus lives in their eyes (ewwwww! gross!). Soon after we got him, he started losing weight and had the worst eye-goop discharge I had ever seen. The vet recommended oral antibiotics, eye drop antibiotics, then eye drop anti-virals for more than three weeks. She said that cats, like people, will have the virus forever, but may only have outbreaks every now and then. So, to date, I have chosen a cat with Feline AIDS, a cat with one eye, and a cat with herpes. I am apparently the protector of medically defective cats. Go, me!

N is for... new games! This summer has seen the release of a much-anticipated sequels for both John and me. John (and 99% of Korea) have been WAITING for Starcraft 2 to come out for over a decade and they all squealed in fanatic joy last week when it was finally released. I didn't play video games back in the day, but apparently Starcraft is a real-time, war-strategy game where you command various troops and support units. The original game has such a cult following that it is still sold in stores... 12 years after the initial release date! So needless to say, there was much excitement when the sequel was released. John has turned me into a video game widow this past week... but I don't care because my Puzzle Quest 2 was released too!! Yay, PQ! Puzzle Quest is basically Bejewelled with a plot line. The battle mechanics are just a Bejewelled board, where matching the different colors charge up various attacks. It's pretty stimulating because you take turns with the enemy, so you don't want to set up a great move only to have him steal it. I LOVED the first one and was very excited for the sequel. :)

Hello Again!

2010-07-31T12:32:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a grueling seven weeks, but I have once again survived Summer Camp. For those of you confused about my absence for two months, I work with the local community service board providing Therapeutic Day Treatment for children in the school system. During the summer, we run a day camp to continue services to these kids. Yes, it all sounds like a bunch of fun when you think back to your own childhood summer camp adventures.... but you were the camper then, not the counselor. Now, with that mental adjustment, also think of being a counselor to children who are medically diagnosed with hyperactivity and defiance disorders (among various others as well). Let's just say, it's about four tons of stress in a two-pound bag. Not to slander our kids too much, I should admit that the "good" days can be lots of fun; we take them swimming and to the skating rink, do crafts, and watch movies. But when our kids decide to have "bad" days.... (shudder). 'Nuff said. On top of all that, our days are MUCH longer than we get paid for and we don't get any breaks at all. (Because if you scamper off to use the restroom, who is watching the kids now?) Having not done any marathons personally, I can only liken it to running the Iditarod... without dogs.... or shoes.... or sleep... while still trying to maintain "therapeutic" reactions to the children's bad attitudes.

That being explained, I AM NOW FREE!!! I only have to work this upcoming week, then I can use my overtime to take a long vacation. And then school starts at the end of August. Woohoo! Who would've thought that a person would be happy to see the school year approaching? Haha.

2010-07-12T21:31:00.001-04:00

Guys, bear with me as Summer Camp eats my will to live... 10hr days (with no breaks AT ALL) are a real bitch, let me tell you!

Past Sillies

2010-06-23T20:00:00.002-04:00

(trying to catch breath from laughing too much) I revisited a HYSTERICAL video today; I wanted to share it with a coworker and decided to share it with you all. If you have cats or engineers in your house, this will be beyond funny, and you might want to go ahead and visit the bathroom.... you know, just in case. I don't want to be blamed for any accidents that may occur from laughing too hard while watching "An Engineer's Guide to Cats."

P.S. We tried corporal cuddling on Martin last night to get him to stop begging for breakfast (AT 4:20 AM!!!) and it worked! Thanks, engineers! :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You really should check out Paul the Engineer's other videos on YouTube. But, if you are too lazy to link over there for the full view, here is a small, embedded window with his playlist. The "Guides" are all around 6minutes, but the others are shorter. You don't even need cats to laugh at the "Family Portrait," just imagine trying to arrange any 3 separate entities to sit still for any length of time! Haha! And if you fall in love with Engineer's Guide, check out their stuff- I am trying not to get something that says "Don't Buzz Da Tower!" hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha .... silly kitties!

Random Silliness

2010-06-20T18:17:00.001-04:00

Just because I haven't been around recently, I will update everyone with a dose of cute kitty pictures. Because everyone could use some cuteness in their day!

Aaawwwww... The kitties are friends!

You play with that end, and I will play with this end!

HOW is this comfy for that cat?!? He's done this a few times now and will stay until John kicks him out.

Fat kitty & skinny kitty: my ying & yang twins.

Competitive with my Sister? Nooo...

2010-06-20T14:26:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a while but I have not (as rumors may have stated) died. The school-year-to-Summer-Camp transition is a headache and a half, and while I may have wished for death, I stayed both alive and exhausted. Needless to say, we have all survived the first week of Summer Camp, and now I have a little time this weekend to catch up on my pointless internet surfing. So of course I see Lara's blog post about the movie list I sent her... and somehow my little sister competitive streak comes out a bit... because I have seen more movies on the list than she has! hahahahaha! I'll do the same system as she did, bold for movies I've seen and italics for movies I know are on my Netflix queue.

12 Angry Men (1957)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The 400 Blows (1959)
8 ½ (1963)
The African Queen (1952)
Alien (1979)
All About Eve (1950)
Annie Hall (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Battle of Algiers (1967)
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blow Up (1966)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Breathless (1960)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Casablanca (1942)
Chinatown (1974)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Die Hard (1988)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Duck Soup (1933)
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
The Exorcist (1973)
Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
The French Connection (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather, Part II (1974)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1968)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Graduate (1967)
Grand Illusion (1938)
Groundhog Day (1993)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
In the Mood For Love (2001)
It Happened One Night (1934)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Jaws (1975)
King Kong (1933)
The Lady Eve (1941)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Lord of the Rings (2001,2002,2003)
M (1931)
M*A*S*H (1970)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Matrix (1999)
Modern Times (1936)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
Network (1976)
Nosferatu (1922)
On the Waterfront (1954)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Paths of Glory (1958)
Princess Mononoke (1999)
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Raise the Red Lantern (1992)
Rashomon (1951)
Rear Window (1954)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Rocky (1976)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Schindler's List (1993)
The Searchers (1956)
Seven Samurai (1954)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)40
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Star Wars (1977)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Third Man (1949)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Titanic (1997)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Toy Story (1995)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Vertigo (1958)
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Wings of Desire (1988)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
The World of Apu (1959)

That makes 53 for me! With another half-dozen on my Netflix list. Take that, Lara, Miss Queen of the Movies! mwahahahahahahhaa (little sister evil laugh)

2010-06-19T08:10:00.001-04:00

My kitties like oatmeal. Or at least they like to lick my oatmeal bowl clean ... One more for the category, "weird things kitties do."

Little Brother Marty

2010-05-15T17:19:00.000-04:00

Winks really zizzed me off today. Two unprovoked attacks, plus numerous moments of defiance and refusal to submit to my authority ("mah ah-thor-i-tay!") just pushed my over the edge. He's been doing fairly well controlling his biting for the past week or so, but today he's ripped up my arm anew. John scruffed him, dragged him upstairs, and shut the door, saying that Winks needed to behave because he couldn't listen to me fussing anymore. Yeah..... not a good morning. Winks has definitely reverted to his "bite-o-saurus" ways.

We had a deal that if Winks wouldn't stop biting us despite other training methods, then we would get him a friend in June. He came from a house with dogs that he played roughly with, so we thought he just had lots of energy and poor sportsmanship. However, in light of today's set-back, I dragged John to our Petsmart (it has a Humane Society adoption center in it) to get a friend a little earlier than expected. There were maybe a dozen cats, but only a few were labeled "good with other cats" ... and two were sadly mislabeled. That left us with a skinny little ginger tabby, about 6months old, named Marty.

Marty has spent a good but of his time today attacking feather-mouse.

Marty definitely likes people, loves to rub up on you, and was indifferent to the various cats who hissed at him (we wanted to prove the "good with cats" label before we brought anyone home). He's got a few fleas and could stand to have some weight put on him, but otherwise, they say he is healthy. We'll take him to the vet as soon as we can get an appointment next week.

Who is that handsome kitty behind me?

As I write this, Marty is sequestered away upstairs. We're trying to do this introduction the right way so that Winks and Marty will get along. This whole thing is to acquire Winks a friend who will mellow him out; it's not worth it if the two felines don't play well with each other. Can everyone pray / keep their fingers crossed for me that this crazy plan works? I am irrationally stressed out about it all.

How often do you get the freeze-frame shot of the kitty eating something? Everyone say, "Bleh!"

ha HA!

2010-05-12T17:04:00.000-04:00

Aaaaannnd this is what I did on Mother's Day. No, really, I called my mother, too, don't worry. But I did spend most of the day playing Warf Rescue, determined to finally get my gold trophy. Apparently, May is my month, as everyone sucked and my not-so-great score DOMINATED everyone else! MWAHAHAHAHA! I am the Warf Rescue Grand Champion!

2010-05-04T22:28:00.001-04:00

Adventures in fixing an annoying ceiling fan instead of going to bed! ... Yay ...

New Knitting!

2010-04-27T20:52:00.002-04:00

I know, I know, I've broken my new-found rule (no more new projects until I finish some old ones), but I have been staring at some new yarn that Lara sent me and reeeeeeeally wanting to make something not meant for winter weather (my two "old projects" are a heavy cardigan and a pair of gloves). I hate making things and then having to put them away for several months before I can wear them.

Lara's yarn has been staring at me and I have put off making anything with it because I have not found a pattern (that's not a scarf) that only needs around 500yds total. But then, enter Classic Elite Yarn's Four Season Vine Lace Vest. Light and summery, and exactly 500 hundred yards! Yay! Thus, new yarn plus finding a usable pattern equals Anne not being able to wait to start a new project. I am so very weak-willed. :(

Look! I can do a mattress stitch without it looking like total butt! Woohoo!

I have now officially finished the sweater ("officially" means I actually have woven in all the ends. Haha!). Go me! I am excited about finally making something for me that I can wear. :) This sweater was pretty easy to make and I was able to whip it up fairly quickly without it having to be one of those "I need to work at least an hour every night or it will never be finished" projects. I highly recommend the free pattern from Classic Elite.

Yarn: Araucania "Ruca," 100% sugar cane (how cool is sugar yarn?!?!)
     263yds per 100g
     Colorway #6 (pale blue & grey mixed)

In the fairness of full disclosure:
- I used a DK yarn meant for US4-6 needles; the pattern called for US9. I used US6 on the ribbing like I was told, but dropped to a US8 for the pattern and made the size 40inch to fit my ~37inch self.
- Pattern called for 515yds & I had 526yds. I still have a handful left over; I haven't measured it yet, but I feel like it is more than 10yds. But...
- None of the ribbing is as long as it "should" be. The waist ribbing is shorter because I was worried about running out of yarn, so it is only 3in long instead of 3.25in, and the neck ribbing is 2.75in rather than 4.25in. I was planning on doing the neck ribbing until I just ran out of yarn, but John said I should stop there as it looked good. Thus the left-over yarn, I guess.
- I was not expecting it to be a crop sweater (for some reason, I didn't notice that from the picture), but I really like it. It hits me right where it should and makes my waist look tiny! :)
- My sleeves are different lengths! :(   One side is a row longer in the ribbed cuff than the other side. I know about it and I was too lazy to fix it. John promised me that no one would be able to tell while I was wearing it. (What does Grandma say? "It'll never be seen on a galloping horse!")

Fetch, Kitty, Fetch!

2010-04-23T19:35:00.001-04:00

My kitty is better than all three Gallion dogs because he plays fetch and they don't! HAHA! Take that, canines!

We probably played fetch last night for 15min before he got distracted. John took a longer video of him, but since I was throwing the toy, I had a better angle of him holding mousie in his mouth. Cats holding things in their mouth are super silly / cute!

This video was taken at the end of our session last night, so he was starting to get tired. He was bringing mousie more towards the blanket rather than straight to me, but when we started, he brought mousie immediately back to my feet.

2010-04-23T07:08:00.001-04:00

My cat plays fetch!!! ... Videos to come.
:)

H is for...

2010-04-14T21:11:00.009-04:00

H is for Hammock Man! Not very dear to my life, but funny nonetheless. The story: We had a few warm & gorgeous, picture-perfect spring days in a row and one of our back-door neighbors decided to hang out in the ditch between our streets... in his hammock. John and I laughed at his enjoyment of the awesome weather when we saw him napping outside, and then, just like that, Hammock Man left our lives as suddenly as he had come. We may never know more....

(dramatic and slightly sad violin music)

Me = Pickiness

2010-04-10T17:41:00.001-04:00

Yay! John and I went engagement ring-shopping today to see how hard I am to shop for... or something like that. Whatever. Anyway, we found three so far that I like.

At Kay:

Kay was a little hard to find something for me because I'm not totally sold on having diamonds down the sides of the band. I like the plainer bands to accentuate the stones better, rather than hiding the main stone in the midst of the all this crap on the band. Eh. Personal preferences.

And at Zales, there were two that I liked:

This is a solitaire with a wrap-around do-dah. Just enough to be different from a regular solitaire.

This is a three-stone that has swooshy thingies coming up from the band to form the setting. Again, plainer (i.e. not tacky), but just a little unusual. I find that I am walking the fine line between "plain and boring" and "god-awful tacky & decadent." Sigh. I want it to be unique but not horrific. Is that too much to ask?

Random & Geeky

2010-04-05T16:51:00.000-04:00

Ok, if you haven't noticed yet, I am a super-dork. (Gasp!) I know, I know, I hide it well. But there it is.

ANYway, in random perusing of the internet, I found another super-dork like me, but she has artistic talent! If you have any interest in brain chemistry / chemistry / psychology / neurobiology, check out Made with Molecules. Raven Hanna, PhD is a "Yale-educated scientist turned artist" who lives out in sunny California and makes chemistry-inspired jewelry and things. My favorites would have to include:

Neurotransmitter Charm Bracelet

Neurotransmitter Earrings

Ethanol Champagne Glasses

And for when I win the lottery (it IS hand-made jewelry), the Endorphin Choker. It is made of the 31 amino acids in beta-endorphin! How cool is this?!?!!

She also makes t-shirt designs, baby onesies (glucose for sweet), greeting cards, and more! When you get a minute, check out her store!

FINALLY!!!

2010-04-05T16:27:00.000-04:00

A day I thought would never arrive is finally here! We received our IRS New Home-Buyer Credit today!!! WOO HOOO!!! It only took 270 days! (I submitted my 2008 Tax Return Amendment on July 7, 2009. 8-12 weeks, my ass!)

I guess what makes it all worthwhile (besides finally getting the government to do what they said they were going to do) is the fact that we got about $300 interest as well. Almost as if the IRS admits that it took them a long-ass time to get a check mailed out to us. And it pays for the new tires I've been needing for several months!

:D

G is for...

2010-04-04T13:36:00.000-04:00

G is for Great Ideas (said sarcastically) ! Recently we have had a spate of great ideas ... and I am at a loss for a "G" item, so this post might seem a little weak. I apologize. Moving on.

John and I have had two Great Ideas recently, and they are both coming back to bite us in the butt. A few weeks ago, we looked up and said, "Why are we both paying for personal training sessions with the same trainer on the same day? Why don't we go for a partner session, which is cheaper (per hour) than the individual sessions?" Well, Fletcher said he would do a partner session with us, but he'd want to bump it up to a full hour. We've been at our full-hour sessions for a week now, truthfully, the thrill has worn off! Monday was a leg day, so I easily outpaced John in endurance (he felt bad and wondered why we signed up for a full hour). Wednesday was arms & abs, and I hated every minute of it because I admittedly have no ab strength and the upper body power of a hamster. Then, with my triceps still in searing pain from Wednesday ("It burns & stretches!"), we moved right into dead-lift Fridays.... with the added bonus of Fletcher purposefully trying to hurt us because he will be out of town on Easter Monday and we will not have a session. Take it from me, you do NOT want your trainer to go out of town; he will only hurt you!!! So, I sit here on Sunday, back in pain & arms still hurting, wondering who's crack-headed idea was it to move up to a full hour work-out session!

The other Great Idea we've had was John's, and I have no idea what prompted it. Anyway, John went out and got us a chin-up bar. Having a chin-up bar in your house means you have to use it! ... 'Nuff said.

And if that doesn't cut it for you, G can also be for gray face. A sleepy gray face.

Happy Easter, Everyone!

2010-04-04T13:08:00.001-04:00

What? Does it really matter who brings us the chocolate?

F is for...

2010-04-01T21:07:00.000-04:00

F is for FATTY! and FELINE FETCH!

So I took Mr Winks to the vet today for his "new kitty" checkup to make sure he's healthy and all that. The vet confirmed that he is a heifer, but not by much. She says that he's not too fat, since he is larger-framed cat; but since he is a young kitty still, it's best that he lose a little bit of weight. If he's a fat kid, he'll be a fat adult. (THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC ACROSS AMERICA IS SPREADING TO THE KITTIES!!! EEK!!)

The vet said to cut back his food a little bit and to make sure he gets his exercise. She suggested that I take his dinner portion and toss it across the room .... kibble by kibble. She said that her kitties like to do that every once in a while for dinner. Kitty gets his exercise and eats slower, so it diminishes the chunk-belly in two ways! (Now, I just need someone to do this for me! Toss bites of steak across the room and make me chase it. Haha)

We've been doing this most of the evening, and I can assuredly say that the kitty knows when the camera is out & running. He's quite boring when I am filming him, and AS SOON as I put the camera away (LITERALLY the next throw) he will do something crazy and spastic. Boooooo!

Above: The perils of the bouncing kibbles.

haHA!

2010-03-31T19:19:00.000-04:00

It's official!! My scores were reviewed and approved! :) Who is the #4 player? I am, that's who.

Amendment!

2010-03-27T15:44:00.001-04:00

THIS JUST IN! On my final play for today, I BLEW my previous high score for Warf Rescue out of the mother-stinkin' water! Woot Woot! (dance dance) I got 7477, which is high enough to move me to FOURTH PLACE! I will get a silver trophy! I am going to rest and try again tomorrow to get the gold trophy.

(I am a Dork!)

Can I Get a "WOOT WOOT!" ?

2010-03-27T14:00:00.000-04:00

Every month, Neopets keeps track of the high scores for each of their games. Since it's a lazy Saturday, I've been playing around with trying to get on the leader boards of some of my better games. Aaaaaannnnd... SUCCESS! I am #41 out of all the roughly 175,112,611 Neopets owners/payers! (statistic found by dividing 262,668,917 Neopets total by 1.5, the average number per person). And don't you go bursting my bubble by saying, "Oh, Warf Rescue only has 10million plays; obviously not all 175million players are doing it." I will put my hands over my ears and go "lalalalala," 'cuz I am still #41 this month!!

And I was told that spending so much time playing dumb games on the computer never paid off. :)

WOOT WOOT!

Just another snippet...

2010-03-26T20:08:00.002-04:00

While perusing the internet (I seem to be doing that a lot lately), I found on some old posts at Grumperina's blog a turn of phrase that I LOVE. I think it explains what my sister and I call "Cast-On ADD" or "New Project ADD." I love the thrill of starting a new project and getting everything organized and new... then the ADD kicks in, and I have difficulty focusing long enough to finish the project. :( But here, I think, Grumperina explains that special new-project feeling:

Nouns:

Potential, promise, prospect, possibility.

Hope, expectation, dream, optimism.

Encapsulated in every new project we cast on.

Candy for the eyes and the heart's romanticism.

Will it be everything we desire?

Thing not to Knit...

2010-03-22T18:59:00.000-04:00

In my random travels through the internet, I have found thing both enlightening and entertaining... and then there's these. Now, I am all for creativity and innovation in the fiber arts, but really! This is too much!

Apparently she makes knitted couches and flower pots... What is her gauge, you think? US 458?

Brought to you by Etsy, our favorite shop of random! This seller also has knitted lab rat & fetal pig dissections... as well as various cute animals.

God looking out for us

2010-03-15T21:16:00.000-04:00

So, with the passing of Mr Jones last week, my main question was, "How long do you have to wait before getting another cat?" Not to be cruel to the memory of my previous kitty, but my house was feeling really empty without the pitter-patter of crazy, fluffy feet. Let me also say that I can't remember the last time I remembered a dream, and in the first three nights of an empty house, I had not one, but TWO anxiety dreams! Purring and fluff really does help calm the nerves, I guess.

This is where you learn that God looks out for you when you need him. While at work the Friday we had to put Harvey down, John encountered a guy he works with who was looking for a home for a kitty. Apparently, the company had thought that a shop cat would be good for their warehouse, but then thought rationally about what goes on in a warehouse & nixed the idea (fork trucks, larges piles of boxes to hide in, and kitties don't mix well, I guess). Our contact, Brian, was left caring for the cat who didn't get along too well with his dogs. John says that one of the reasons was that the dogs probably chewed up all the kitty's toys, and so kitty would get bored (since he had no toys anymore) and harass the dogs. Brian was not too keen on this and was looking for a good home. Brian's girlfriend is the vet technician who fostered / adopted the grey kitty that was brought in with mysterious injuries to his eye. They had to remove his eye, so he was named Sir Winks-a-lot.

The missing eye really doesn't affect him, as far as I can tell. He jumps up on things more than Harvey ever did (he's already mastered the windowsill, back of the couch, dining table, and bookshelf!). The only really noticeable thing is that he has a very stretchy neck - which may or may not be due to the one eye. Winks' neck is usually normal-looking, but when he sees something interesting, he cranes around and stretches out his neck to get a better view. It's kind of funny the contortions he goes through looking out the window or watching TV.

"A bird!! I sees it!"

So we are now four days into our "probationary week" ....that I don't think we'll need, honestly. Winks spent the first night/ day hiding in his carrier, and was easily scared by the noises coming from everywhere. However, rubbing and persistence got him out into the basement in small bursts. Small bursts led to exploring, which led to more loving and getting to know us. Pretty soon, Winks was able to to remain calm while one of us went "upstairs" and made noises. Even now, the fear of the noises from the ceiling is lessening. He does still occasionally glare at the offending ceiling when one of us is clomping around upstairs, but not so much anymore. :)

Today was pretty good: he's come into the kitchen several times today and traversed the stairs multiple times as well (the two worst places in the house for him). We've been trying to increase the comfort Winks feels in the house and so far he seems to be doing really well. He is such a lover cat and is quite content to sit next to you on the couch all weekend... with spurts of craziness every now and then, of course.

I do have to admit, I am not used to such a big cat! Harvey was 7lbs ... on a fat day! Winks (we're guessing, since he maxed out our accurate scale) is around 13lbs! Heifer Cat will crush you! Ha ha! His belly is fun to snorgle, though he doesn't like it too much. He does like the games Toes Under the Blanket (you have to have the right safety equipment for that though!), Hair Ties on the Bathroom Counter, and the sequel: Hair Ties on the Bathroom Floor. We are already having lots of silly kitty adventures as he figures out how everything in our house works, but we seem to be settling in quite nicely.

"Stinking female! Move over! I am Heifer Cat! I need the whole couch cushion"

E is for Eulogy

2010-03-05T10:48:00.006-05:00

Mr. Harvey Jones, Jr., my fluffy boy

2002? - 3/5/2010

It is with a heavy heart and red, puffy eyes that I blog today. I sadly inform you that we had to put our kitty to sleep this morning. I came down to make breakfast, and he wasn't there waiting for me. I found Harvey stuck in his litterbox because he no longer had use of his back legs. John rushed him to the emergency vet and I soon followed. The vet told us that Harvey apparently had a heart murmur, and his age had caused his heart to fail. This threw a blood clot into his veins that lodged in an artery and shut off blood to his back legs. The prognosis wasn't good and they said it was painful for him as well. With strenuous fluids & medicine, he had about a 5-10% chance of recovering the use of his legs. If the treatment didn't kill him, and if he recovered, he would need lots of physical therapy and home care for the rest of his life. It was a lot of "ifs" and a lot of pain for him, so we made the hard decision. We buried him in a sunny spot so his old bones would be warm.

(L) The Men-folk are bonding. (R) "What? You mean you didn't get this extra bed for me?"

All I can say is that we will miss him terribly. He was *MY* cat, not my family's, and I love him. I only got 18months with him, but he will always be the one for me. Two summers ago, just as I moved out here to the mountains, John's family found one of their outdoor cats badly beaten up and infected. They took him to the vet, saw the worst case of earmites ever, and found out he had FIV (feline AIDS). The vet was reluctant to treat a "stray," but John's parents insisted that he get well again. If you remember, 2008 was the release of The Dark Knight, and John's family laughingly said that the cat looked like "Old Two-Face" Harvey Dent because his face was split open on one side. Somehow the name stuck. Harvey was recuperating in the garage when I moved in. I instantly saw a kitty that need loving and introduced him to the wonders of head-rubbin's and a brush. I spent a lot of time in that garage that summer. When he no longer smelled like a toilet (he was pretty infected and gross), I moved him into our apartment and refused to release him back into the yard. John would open the door for him and try to shoo him back outside, but my feminine charms were too strong for Harvey. He would sit and look out into the yard, sometimes he'd go visit with the other kitties, but he always came back (I might have called him back a few times).

(L) Grey Momma, Handsome Kitty, Mangy Kitty, and Harvey. He's so pretty compared to the outdoor kitties. (R) Harvey officially deciding he likes it inside!

Harvey quickly adapted to life in the apartment, developed a love a strings, and added a little something to our lives with his squeaky purr and bald spot (the fur never grew back fully on his face from his original injury). We laughed that we had to keep him because he was so defective, no one else would want him. But the truth is, I would have him no other way. Every little thing about him was special and made him mine, from his missing teeth, to his toe fluff, to his curly tail.

Oddly enough, for a knitter I had little trouble convincing him that he had "his strings" and I had mine. I made him several "yarn monsters" that he was allowed to chase around the house, and he was content with them. He also knew that when I was playing with my strings, he was not allowed in my lap (but he sure could squeeze into the small area next to me on the couch, see below). I have yet to meet a cat that can differentiate between his strings and mine and won't make a mess of your knitting.

And let's not forget the itchy skin episode where he was put in a t-shirt for several months. What cat do you know would tolerate being in a shirt?!? I told you I had the best cat ever. I think he knew how lucky he was living inside with me, a self-proclaimed Crazy Cat Lady. He just wanted to be with you and to share some loving. That was enough to make him happy. Even John slowly came over to Team Harvey, though he was not initially up for having a cat in the house. He was my mellow, cuddle-boy, and he could worm his way into your lap and your heart fairly easily.

(L) "Fine, don't move over on the couch. See if I care. I'll sit up here. No, really, I'm fine. I like it up here." (R) "Ooooooh, I love belly rubs! More please!"

If you are reading this, turn around right now and hug those that you love. Harvey was fine (if underweight) these past few days, and we had no idea that our time with him was so short. Not to sound trite, but life moves quickly and we don't really know how fortunate we are to have somebody that loves us, whether they leave the seat up, shed on your clothes, or dig in your flower garden. Be nice to the people and the fuzzies you love; you don't know how long you have with them.

R.I.P, Mr. Jones. I will always love you.

Blackberry Fun

2010-02-28T19:15:00.000-05:00

Well, it all started Friday at work when my coworker (who has the same model phone as I) and I were talking about finding a St Patrick’s Day theme for our Blackberries. We both had awesome Holiday themes for December and were ready for a new one, since are the kind of crazy person who likes to change out decorations every holiday season. My coworker had transferred to a generic theme in January, while I had been holding on to my holiday one since it was snowflake-based and not Christmas-based (have you noticed we’ve gotten like 6feet of snow on the east coast?). But since it’s getting just a little bit warmer, I have finally decided to remove the snowflake theme and find a good one for March. Well, let me tell YOU! St Patrick’s Day is not so popular that it warrants free themes for phones! Christmas and Valentine’s Day are all over the internet, but nooooooo, not St Patrick’s Day.

I started the search immediately after I got home from the gym Friday afternoon … and finally got it working around 10pm! I kid you not! Over 5hrs.

The up-side is that I smile every time I see my phone theme, I have learned a bunch about downloading stuff to my phone (formats and all that), and I found about 5 more themes and half a dozen games as well! A very frustrating 5hrs, but I came out with a good haul at the end of it.

Anne says, "Huh What?"

2010-02-24T18:11:00.002-05:00

Is it a trap? Students push Admiral Ackbar for Ole Miss mascot | ajc.com

Am I seeing this correctly? There is a student-led "rebellion" trying to instate Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars as the mascot for a college? I mean, I get it: Ole Miss Rebels... Admiral Ackbar led the Rebel Alliance... but really?! (high squeaky voice) Sigh. Maybe I am just jealous that William and Mary didn't think of it first. Haha.

Posted using ShareThis

Rar! I am Beast!

2010-02-22T18:16:00.008-05:00

I know you all haven’t gotten much updating of my adventures in the gym, but I feel it is necessary to post today because I hit a big milestone: I can dead-lift 205 lbs! Woohoo! Now, in honesty, I lifted 205 a while ago, but fell over just a little bit. :) Fletcher said that it sort-of counted because I got it off the ground, but it was a bad pull. But today I did three singles fairly easily! Fletcher says that since I did three, if I exerted all my energy once, then I probably could pull 225lbs. :0 Craziness! Though, he laughs at me because I can pull 205, but I still cannot do a pull-up on my own (on the assist machine I only use like 25lbs of counter weight, but I totally fail on my own). Conclusion: If I were to fall down a hole, I wouldn't be able to pull myself out. But if John collapses on the floor, I can carry him to the car. Haha!

Best. Game. Ever!

2010-02-19T19:48:00.000-05:00

Have you heard about what all the cool kids are playing? It's only the best-est game ever. It's RECEIPT UNDER THE DOOR!

I had a huge (HUGE!) grocery trip over the weekend and had the usual extra-long receipt ticket. Somehow, it fell off the counter to the floor by the bathroom door. Harvey already loves the What's Under the Door game and grew quite excited to see the second level, Receipt Under the Door.

He has gotten so into it that he has torn the original receipt into three pieces. We have another in standby mode for when the first becomes totally decrepit. Every morning with breakfast and in the evenings (during the "crazy time") we all pause to play a little Receipt Under the Door. I hope to catch a vigorous session on video because Harvey Jones is so intent at getting the receipt that you will just laugh and laugh.

D is for...

2010-02-19T18:54:00.000-05:00

D is for DELAYS! and DIATRIBES! **ANGRY RANT WARNING** **ANGRY RANT AHEAD** In case people haven't heard, John and I applied for the New Home Buyer Credit ... since we bought a new house and all that. :) Needless to say, dealing with the IRS has made me a HUGE proponent of small government! I mean, these people take forever to get anything accomplished! And I am not whining because da gub'ment aint givin' me my moneys... I am irate because the government organization says that it can accomplish X in given Y time, but then it fails. Miserably. Let me give you the timeline:

June 11, 2009 - Bought House
July 10 - Amended 2008 Tax return to get New Home Buyer Credit

Tax forms said wait "8-12 weeks" to get the credit
.... waited ....

Oct 22 - called IRS hotline for the 2nd time to check on status

Was told the wait was now "14-16weeks"
Told to call back after Nov 13 (which would be 16 weeks since our submittal)

Nov 20 - The IRS wrote us a letter...
Dec 1 - The IRS put that letter in the mail and we received it on Dec 3 (really? how does it take 10 days to put a piece of paper in an envelope and send it to the post office?)

The IRS requests documentation proving that we 1) bought the house and 2) it is our primary residence, but they only accept certain forms: driver's license, car registration, bank statement, or paycheck. Now, as the rude man on the hotline informed me, "Well, don't you want your W-2 to come to your new house?" No, dipstick, I want it to go to my "old" address which remains our mailing address and is where we get all our important papers. Same with the license and registration-- I paid $10 to get a new license and (drumroll, please) tada! the address that appears on your license is your mailing address, even though the online form delineates between "mailing" and "residence" addresses. I paid money to get a card that looks exactly like my old one. What a load of crap, DMV. Then I called my employer, who is outsmarted by their own payroll computer system and can't print anything unless it's a paycheck. No re-prints, no year-to-dates, nothing until the ONE time a month we get a paycheck. All I have left is the bank statements, and I still have to wait until the end of the month for those to clear. (sigh) Why don't they ask for things that are TRULY based on your residence? Like utility bills? Or maybe your voter card? No mailing address accepted on voter cards, and they can force people to register to vote... and don't you hear the government fussing all the time that no one is registered to vote? Get two birds with one stone, IRS!
Needless to say, it was a long few weeks waiting for all my monthly statements to finalize and for us to gather the necessary documents to mail off. (Did I mention that the man working the hotline was as spiteful and rude as I-can't-think-of-something-without-reverting-to-profanity? Yeeeeahhhhhh, he made the whole process really smooth and stress-free)

Jan 1, 2010 - Mailed needed documents back to IRS within the 30day request
Jan 5 - IRS wrote us another letter....
Jan 22 - We received that letter (Did you notice their mail system is getting slower?).

Letter states that we have been rejected due to us not mailing the necessary documents, please mail back this form if you agree with this rejection.

Jan 25 - Called IRS to question why we were rejected when we HAD mailed them the forms and to definitively state that we did NOT agree with the rejection.

Was informed by a much nicer hotline lady that ...(are you sitting down? you need to be sitting down for this)... that the IRS takes 45-60days to process incoming mail! Did I hear that correctly? That means that my mail from Jan1 won't even be seen until after Valentine's Day?! Maybe not even until March1?! This does not mean that it will be read and we will get a response, just that someone recognizes that we mailed something. Sheesh! I am glad to report that by this point, I was just "done." No longer angry or upset, just tired of fighting and D.O.N.E. So, I ask the lady what I can do. She says to fax a letter stating why we reject their rejection... and for good measure I re-submitted the 15pages of documents just to prove my point.

Feb 8 - IRS wrote letter: "Thank you for your correspondence, which was received 01/04/2010. We will review your response and you should receive a reply from us in the next 30days. If we are unable to complete our review of the information you sent within that time we will contact you again providing a date when to expect a response."

They wrote us a letter telling us to expect a letter within 30days... and if we don't get a letter, they will send a letter with the date of when they will mail a letter. As weird as that sounds, I do appreciate the communication. I would be a stressful wreck if I had to wait this long with no word from them.

Feb 16 - IRS wrote a letter: "We are reviewing your response dated 01/04/2010. You should receive a reply from us by 03/20/2010." WOOHOO!

And that is where we are now... still waiting... We are at 32 weeks currently, on a process that was originally supposed to take 8-12 weeks. And we still have 6 weeks to go. (quiet sobbing to myself) The real kicker came from a college friend who was visiting. She and her husband bought a house the April before we did and they filed for the New Home Buyer Credit on their original 2008 taxes. We were talking about it, and she very seriously tells me, "Oh, just be prepared to wait 12 weeks for the money." Sigh. I wish it only took 12 weeks. I'm not sure if tons of people falsely amended their taxes just before we truthfully applied, and now the IRS is super-bogged down.... or if they just hate me. :(

Finished #2! On a Freaking Roll!

2010-02-14T21:23:00.000-05:00

Presenting the Koolhaas Headband! Originally a hat in Interweave Knits a few years ago, I made the hat and love the design. The other day, I was walking to the gym and nearly lost my ears to frostbite! It wasn't that cold (my torso was comfortable in just a fleece over my t-shirt), but the wind was whipping so much that my ears almost fell off my head before I made it the 3minute to the gym!! Brrrr That got me thinking that I need a warm ear band to stuff in my pocket on chilly days heading to work out. I didn't want to crack open a new skein of yarn for just a head band, so I went stash-diving (a lot like dumpster-diving, but much more pleasant!)

The finished band. A little thin (it barely covers my ears), but you have to accept that when you are using remnant yarn. :)

In the midst of my stash, I stumbled across the Sublime cashmere that I made into the original Koolhaas hat (if you don't remember that episode, look here, here, and here) back a while ago. I was thinking both 1) how gorgeous the cashmere looked in the hat, and 2) what was I going to do with this snubbin' of yarn leftover? So, I decided to make a shortened hat, a.k.a. an earband! I knew that I would be TOTALLY making things up as I went along (how much ribbing for edging? how many pattern repeats? will I still have enough to bind off? should I hold in some sock yarn for flair/ added thickness? again, how much yarn do I really have?), but I was okay with that because it really is a quick little project.

This is the test-run. I knew I would have to knit this thing twice... unless I was going to be touched with Divine Intervention, making my guesswork freakishly accurate. :)

John is super-cute when I have to pull something apart. I think it started as a joke: he would exaggerate my (usual) frustration over having to rip out stitches in order to make me laugh and not be so angry at the knitting. But I am not sure if he knows that a lot of times it is ok to rip out stitches. He gets very distressed when I have to start over, even something simple like a long-tailed cast on that is natural to try several times before getting right! When I ripped out the trial head band, he looked at me like I was crazy. :)

In case you care, I ended up only doing 2 rows of 2x2 rib on the edges, I used a US6 instead of an 8, and I did 1.5 patterns repeats from the original hat pattern. Told you I was short on yarn! :)

Football FO

2010-02-07T21:35:00.001-05:00

It's official: my first Finished Object of 2010, completed in the Super Bowl. John's NeverEnding Sock-Yarn Scarf is finished!! Woot Woot! I only started the thing a year ago (at least)... though, to be fair, I put it down for several... several months. Picked it back up a month or so ago as a "knitting thoughtlessly" project, the kind where my hands can keep going with no need to consult a pattern. I am happy that I have finally finished something; it's always a nice boost to actually complete something! Especially me, who has severe "new project ADHD" and has difficulty focusing on a single project long enough to finish before starting on something new.

This is him with his hat, gloves, and new matching scarf! (I apologize for quality, it was taken on my phone because I was too lazy to find my camera and take a real picture)

C is for...

2010-02-07T11:12:00.000-05:00

The Ref had to step in-- possibly for a "foul" play or Unnecessary Ruff-ruff-roughness.

C is for CUTE!! Brace yourself for the adorable-overload!! Iiiiiiit'ssss PUPPY BOWL!!! Animal Planet started a show to run on Super Bowl Sunday that would be just too cute to be ignored. The premise is part silly, part humanitarian: Animal shelter puppies playing in a football "arena" in order to raise awareness of adopting puppies from shelters. It is a starting line-up of cute! As Animal Planet describes:

About the Game ...
If your favorite team is on the bench instead of in the playoffs this year, it’s time to forget that post season slump. Some very special rookies are ready to take the field with a winning combination of tackles, fumbles and even a few tumbles, for their shot at the end zone —or a tug toy—in Animal Planet’s PUPPY BOWL VI. This annual canine battle is back as a new pack of pups mix it up on the grand gridiron of Animal Planet Stadium.

On Sunday, February 7 from 3-5PM e/p an all-star lineup of rambunctious, rescue pups competes in the ultimate showdown full of dogged defense, puppy penalties and fido first downs. Animal Planet has also booked a bevy of frolicking felines for an all-new edition of the Kitty Half-time Show.

This year, they say there will be Bunny cheerleaders and a "rogue hamster" camera crew providing aerial shots from a blimp. HAHAHAHA!! What is better than the Puppy Bowl? Mom and I stumbled across the Puppy Bowl a few years ago, and have been hooked ever since. It's totally ridiculous and totally cute! (and it repeats itself all afternoon in case you miss some of the action!)

If you want video clips from past years, go here; I can't embed anything due to copyright concerns. Do a little browsing yourself and check out the cuteness if you can! :)

Snow...

2010-02-07T10:24:00.001-05:00

I am so ready to have the snow stop falling. News channels are calling it "Snowmaggedon." (sigh) I'm tired of digging out my car every day.

B is for... Part 2

2010-01-30T18:11:00.000-05:00

After shoveling out our cars before the over-night freeze makes it very hard & icy, B is also for the Bucket Brigade (we have no snow shovel, so we used a bucket and a dust pan), blisters (dust pans chafe!), and yes, my Batman Band-Aid. :)

B is for...

2010-01-30T11:17:00.001-05:00

B is for BLIZZARD of 2010! Eek! The Snowy Death is upon us once again!

Soooo I might be a little late in my B posting, but I was having difficulty thinking of a good topic. Then the Snowy Death came for our faces, and all my problems were solved. I <3 snow because I am from the beach and never see it, and also because I don't have a full driveway to shovel out! Yay, for townhouses and maintenance crews to shovel the sidewalks for us!! :)

That is my little pot of mint (that was totally buried and killed in the last snow, back in December). I think we will get about as much snow, if not more, than we did before Christmas because that mint was buried back then... but today (this picture was taken 1.5 hrs ago) the pot is pretty much buried, and the snow is still coming down pretty hard. I scampered out to put bags over my window boxes of herbs and the snow is so light and fluffy... and coming down sideways blowing into your face! This will be a great weekend to snuggle up and be happily snowed-in watching Netflix movies and catching up on our TiVoed shows. :)

John is eagerly watching the snow come down from the comfort of his snuggly blankie.

The only bad part about this weekend is that our annual Girl Scout caving workshop, Cracks, Crevices, & Crawlways, was canceled. I was undecided about driving back to Williamsburg to help staff the event, and as much as I no longer feel guilty about not going, I am sad that the event had to be canceled altogether. Apparently, Tidewater is going to get about as much snow as we are getting out here in the hills, and they are even more easily spooked by snow.

Completed Island!

2010-01-17T10:58:00.001-05:00

Woohoo! Mark came by today and brought our island top! Yes, those previous pictures were purposefully like that. He wanted to bring the base by ASAP so that they wouldn't get scratched in his warehouse, even though the top was not ready yet. But now we are complete! It is sooooo awesome! :) Mark says that the wooden top is unstained, but will darken with use & time, so it will become a closer match to our existing cabinets. He gave us a treatment/ polishing oil to use when it becomes scuffed up and funky.

And to increase the beach-dork humor, we are calling it "Greenland" because it is now the biggest island in the world!

The top is six inches wider than the base; we were planning on making an over-hang on the side away from the sink. We haven't officially decided if we want small bar stools on that side, but we have talked about it. We kinda like the idea of making a "breakfast perch" area where you could talk to the person in the kitchen, but be out of the way, or to rest a moment and stuff food in your face before leaving. That, though, will wait while we test out the new placement of the island in the kitchen and see if we really want/ need stools.

A is for ...

2010-01-06T08:25:00.073-05:00

A is for arrivals! Arrival of the new kitchen island! When we were looking at the townhouses in this neighborhood last summer, one up the road had an kitchen island, and I just fell in love. It immediately went on our "to do" list for the new house when we moved in. We put our tiny side table from the old apartment in the middle of the kitchen as a pretend kitchen island (we called it the "sandbar" because it was not quite a full island, haha, a little beach dorky humor there), but I have been longing for the day when we could get a full island of our very own....

John's parents were so nice to us this Christmas: they ordered us an island from a friend, and it has been so exciting! Mark came by a few weeks ago to measure our space and talk to us about what we wanted, but he delivered the monstrosity today. It's so huge and awesome! He made us a wine rack on the one short end, even though I am still not sold on the idea of it (we really don't go through that much wine!), and a spice rack on the other short end by the stove (above L & R).

And the far, long side is just swing-open doors with adjustable shelves inside (above). We are thinking that may be a good place to put all my baking supplies, but we haven't decided yet.

But the "piece de resistance" is the long side nearest the sink: While planning with Mark, we talked about making the island a place to stash our recycling bins so that they are out of the way. Well, what I was thinking and what happened were worlds apart... in a good way!

We had three tiny bins for the recycling, but Mark totally up-graded the bins and made custom-designed spaces for them in a big drawer! How cool is this?! They are as big as our regular trash can (13gal) and are organized and awesome. :D Though, the first time I went to put bags in the bins, I was struggling with a way to balance the bin without having to pull it all the way out. I laughingly told John that we need to go back and request a pneumatic lift system that would elevate the bins 6-12inches so I could bag them and then lower them back down into the drawer. John said that if we told Mark... he would probably do it! He makes fancy (FANCY!) motor coaches and uses a lot of lifts for TVs hiding in cabinets and bunk beds. John said that Mark would think the idea awesome and most likely put one in for us! (Mark has a tendency to make things bigger & better than originally expected.)

2010-01-04T08:06:00.001-05:00

16 degrees in my car this morning! Happy frigid New Year! ... brrrrrr ...

New Year, New Alphabet!

2010-01-03T08:03:00.021-05:00

Yay! It's a new year and I am proud to say that I made it all the way through 2009's ABC-along. I dropped off in 2008 around V, but 2009 was the strong finisher! Woot woot for me! (Unlike my sister, I did not hook up with a "Zach" to make the end of my alphabet any easier. She cheated!)

So, if you are unfamiliar with this ABC thing, it started on Flickr and Ravelry when someone realized that there are 52 weeks in the year and 26 letters in the alphabet - making for an easy 2weeks per letter. The original design is that the blogger / photographer / knitter takes a picture of something relating to that letter (A is for animals, B is for Batman, C is for College, etc.) and posts it every 2 weeks throughout the year. It's harder than it looks, especially with the time constraint of posting during the appropriate two week period! Besides, how many things start with X or Q? A real brain-buster sometimes.

Well, I'm not doing a "theme" this year like some, but I am aiming to make it through the year again. So let's get started!

Jan 3 - A July 4 - N

Jan 17 - B July 18 - O

Jan 31 - C Aug 1 - P

Feb 14 - D Aug 15 - Q

Feb 28 - E Aug 29 - R

March 14 - F Sept 12 - S

March 28 - G Sept 26 - T

April 11 - H Oct 10 - U

April 25 - I Oct 24 - V

May 9 - J Nov 7 - W

May 23 - K Nov 21 - X

June 6 - L Dec 5 - Y

June 20 - M Dec 19 - Z

I am old!

2009-12-21T21:23:00.002-05:00

Thanks to everyone who sent me birthday wishes today! I appreciate the thoughts. :) Be kind, though, if I start forgetting who you are. It's all downhilll from here, you know.

Harvey's Snow Fun

2009-12-20T18:05:00.002-05:00

Harvey was mildly interested in what we were doing out in the snow, and John kept saying that he was an outside cat for a long time, so he wouldn't mind the snow. I claimed that he was too spoiled now to go outside, so we decided to test the theories.

Step 1- Try to lure him outside. He had been left alone all weekend and was ready for lovings, but not enough to brave the snow. I stood out on the back deck and called to him, but Harvey was having none of it.

Step 2 - Physical placement outside.

...3 seconds later..

Harvey says, "No way!"

This was as far as Harvey got outside. Not even a full body-length out the door.

He then went immediately to the heater vent under the sink in the kitchen and looked disgruntled over being manhandled in such a cruel way. Silly kitty. He is sooooo spoiled now.

Z is for...

2009-12-20T16:23:00.053-05:00

Z is for ZE ZNOW!! Or, if you re-name it based on how the area reacted to the weather, ZE ZNOWY DEATH! If you live under a rock, or just don't watch the weather channel / news AT ALL, then let me fill you in: The East coast just had a butt-load of snow. There. That pretty mcuh sums it up. Lynchburg got over a foot of snowy death, which is the record for snowfall ... ever.

At around 3:45 on Friday. The snow had been falling for 15-20min.

Now, John and I had been planning on going to Durham (~3hrs south) on Saturday to see The Phantom of the Opera as a birthday / Christmas present. With the snowy death coming, though, we decided to leave Friday ASAP and try to beat some of the winter ick. John snagged us a hotel in Durham, and we just holed up to avoid traveling in the worst of the weather. It was a good idea, too. We were going to meet friends, but they called us Saturday morning and said they were not physically able to leave Lynchburg due to the snow. Go us!

We picked up a truck from work to help us drive in the snow... but the windshield kept icing up. Solution: turn the heater on "turbo" to melt the ice... but that roasted us to death. Solution: crack windows to cool off... but that let the sleet bits hit your face. Solution: John found a pair of safety glasses to protect himself. (I might have been laughing a little bit at him wearing the glasses inside a car.)

The show was delighful, and we got to stay in bed and be lazy the rest of the day-- best birthday present ever! We drove back home on Sunday, noticing about 2 dozen abandoned cars on the interstate. :( But also noticing, as we got into town, the extent of the snow accumulation.

SNOW HATS FOR EVERYONE!

Our road on the left, my poor forgotten /buried car on the right.

For some reason, John's spot was mostly cleared when we got home. It was either nice neighbors, or a very direct sun beam all afternoon. Either way, it made our job a LOT easier.

John was very good at shoveling snow, but one thing I learned it that you cannot hit snow-clumps away from you with a broom. Trust me, they just explode in your face. I am being nice and not telling you HOW the snow came flying at me (glares at John pointedly).

My first job was to clear off my car. VERY DEEP SNOW! It ate the broom!

Harvey says, "What are you crazy people doing out there?" (John throws snow at him) "What was that?!" (John throws snow and hits the door) "OMG! Run away!"

This being our first winter in the new house, we did not have our own snow shovel. We borrowed a regular shovel from a neighbor and used our mop bucket. Needless to say, we were slowly creating a bucket army in our front yard as we moved the snow. (John would like you to note the size of that clump of snow he is carting and be impressed)

Left: the corner of our back deck... where there USED to be several gallon-sized pots. Everything on our deck was completely covered in snow. Don't beleive me? On the right is the ruler that I used to test the depth. We had over a foot of snow.

The kids had already gotten out and had their fun by Sunday afternoon.

Cookies!

2009-12-13T15:49:00.001-05:00

I am blatantly using the Christmas luncheon this upcoming week as a reason to make Christmas cookies. John and I are just two people and cannot eat dozens of cookies by ourselves (without bad consequences!), so I make cookies for pot-luck events and give half of them away. That way, we can have cookies without getting too fat. Today I decided to make two of my favorites: (peanut butter) Kissie cookies and (almond shortbread) Candy Cane cookies. The Candy Cane dough is chilling in the fridge as we speak, so I will post that recipe at another point in time.

Kissie Cookies (or if you are crazy, "Peanut Butter Blossoms")

1 3/4 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar (plus extra in small bowl to roll in before baking)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbs milk
14 oz bag Hershey chocolate Kisses (they sell them in 12oz or 19oz - it's trifling to count Kissies to fit the exact number of cookies, but the 19oz bag gives you some extras afterward)

Makes about 5-6 dozen
Preheat at 375

1. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In bowl #2, blend together the sugars and the butters until smooth. Beat in the egg. Add milk and vanilla.
3. Add flour mixture in small amounts.
4. Shape dough into small balls, about the size of a large marble/ smaller than a quarter. Roll balls in white sugar and place on baking sheet. Cook at 375 for 7-10 minutes.
5. As cookies are baking, peel as many Kissies as you have cookies in the oven. When cookies come out, place a Kiss on each cookie, let sit for a minute and then press deeper into the cookie. The Kiss should have softened enough to melt into the cookie and seal itself in place. (We used to challenge ourselves as children, how many "petticoats" you could put on the Kiss before it completely melted.) If you don't double-press, then the Kiss won't be secured to the cookie well and will tend to fall off in storage /transport.

* Do not eat these fresh out of the oven! The chocolate becomes molten and VERY HOT! Partially cooled, however, is DELICIOUS when the chocolate has not fully hardened.

** Cool cookies COMPLETELY before storing. As noted twice already, the entire Kiss will soften from the heat of the cookie, and if you place them in a container before they harden again, you will get a BIG MESS!

John is waiting patiently...

Haiku for Today

2009-12-07T18:29:00.001-05:00

Detention. Mouse Hunt.

No paperwork time for me

Playing football now.

Thank you, thank you. That was my day today. Kid came in at 8:35 (a whole 5 minutes after the bell rang) and pretty much refused to return to class. Long story short: he ended up in detention for the day and I had one less kid to deal with for the rest of the day... because I'd already spent a whole hour with him before breakfast! Bah. Then came the Great Mouse Hunt of Lunchtime. We apparently have a new friend in our room. Coworker #1 and I were trying to catch him for release into the wild, while Coworker #2 stood on her desk and told us to kill it, and Coworker #3 ignored all our craziness. And I ended my day playing football with two of my boys. Veeery interesting. While I cannot say that I am any GOOD at football, I am not as BAD as I thought I would be. (at least compared to 5th graders) Needless to say, dealing with office referrals, mice, and football, I am still very behind on my daily paperwork!

More haikus to come... maybe?

Shopping... Done!

2009-12-06T18:54:00.000-05:00

I feel so productive today: laundry done, electric bill paid, groceries bought, two loads of dishes washed, first batch of Christmas cards assembled, and most of Christmas shopping is now complete! :)

Fun things I've learned today:
1) Buy Hallmark Cards. I've licked four different brands of envelopes today, and they are the only ones that did not make me gag. In fact, they started to taste like coffee a little... glue poisoning?

2) When you do all your Christmas shopping in one session (thanks, www.theanimalrescuesite.com!), there is a large chance of dying from sticker shock. But! I tell myself, I have very little else to buy this holiday season, so it all averages out.

SNOW

2009-12-05T11:09:00.000-05:00

SNOW SNOW SNOWING!! SNOW SNOW SNOWING!! IT'S SNOWING!!

It won't stick, but hush your face and let me do my happy-happy snow dance.

Meanie Poo Poo Head

2009-12-04T11:03:00.000-05:00

Just a quick catch-up on my life recently: I finally got angry at my laziness (and the dues money wasted when I didn't go to the gym all month long) and signed up with a trainer, forcing me to be motivated. I tacked on my own session after John has his, which is with a different guy because John's old trainer recently moved out of the area. So, when John started with the new trainer, Fletcher, he told me that he is a power lifter. I was like, "He's a what?" I imagined some beef-cake monster of a guy and was not thrilled with John looking like that. :( Well, imagine my surprise when I meet Fletcher to set up my schedule with him and see that he is not huge at all! He's more like a full-time swimmer's build, maybe a skinny gymnast (I might have drooled a little. Allegedly). I told John that he has my full permission to look like Fletcher from the collar-bone down. ;)

So, needless to say, there are some upsides and down-sides to training with a power lifter. 1) He has NO problem increasing the weight on you. Very often, he sets up the weight, and I am like "HNNNNHG!" ... and nothing happens. Fletcher laughs/ sighs, lowers the weight and we repeat. However, 2) He knows what he is talking about, and when the weights go up, the reps go down. So even when my arms turn to pudding, I only have to do like 3 reps.

Sad part about when I chose to start working out is that my "sixth workout check-up" was the Monday after Thanksgiving. :( Anne is a fatty fatty who likes pie! But I have been weighing myself since and have lost maybe half of the Thanksgiving weight. Yay! Only half a fatty now! And again, needless to say, for like the last three weeks, I have just been in pain. Sometimes the pain is localized (like the first day we try a new exercise), but more often, I am just sore. John says he hurt for about three months when he first started working out before his body got used to it. sigh...

Y is for ...

2009-12-03T11:05:00.009-05:00

Y is for YULETIDE! OK, so I may be a little early with this post, but it's officially after Thanksgiving, and we can now put up decorations / buy Christmas candy / listen to carols / all those things that commercial America has been doing for weeks already. Call me a traditionalist, I don't care! Christmas season is not allowed to start until after the Macy's Day Parade. (Why, yes, I did have a parent grow up in New York-- where it is the "Macy's Day" Parade, not this "Macy's Thanksgiving Day" Parade I hear some people speak of.)

First step towards Christmas: the Bear! "Just" a silly little advent calendar from childhood that Lara and I fought vicisouly over as kids. The point is that the bear is looking for Christmas and searches throughout the house as the days go by.

What is it with cats and tree skirts?!?!??

Though his second favorite spot is a little weirder... Yes, that's a shoebox lid he's sitting in.

With John's mom's broken ankle, she's put Christmas on hold at their house, so we got to rummage through her extensive decoration collection to use at our house. Yay! I love Christmas decorations. Maybe it's because it's MY house finally, but I was ready to go hog-wild. We did wreaths in the windows/ doors and I put up lights all around the front and back porches. Haha, those lights were adventures in physics. I ended up starting a string of lights at each end, then inter-twining them on the middle post so that the wraps were the same and the plugs lined up.

Harvey was VERY excited about my present-wrapping marathon, too. He really wanted to help out.

But then Demon Kitty showed up and wanted all the presents for himself.... Bad, Demon Kitty! Those presents are for the family members.