The Crafty Hobbit

Never trust a fart.

2011-08-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

I'm just sayin'.

One More to Go...

2011-06-15T09:08:00.001-07:00

I've been neglecting this blog for the last couple of months, but here's the update. I had my 4th and 5th appointments and now I only have one more to go. I'm having my last appointment with Dr Clark on July 5th, and then I go straight over to Dr Berger to have my final consult and schedule my surgery. I have chosen the Duodenal Switch procedure and I am very happy that Dr Berger is able to accomodate that.

I'm also down 15 lbs from my highest weight (weighed the day I started the program on January 6th). I had some "before" pictures taken and now all I need to do is get some "before" measurements. I'm not going to go crazy measuring everything, but I'm thinking waist, hips, upper arms, and thighs.

I'm currently researching my vitamins, as the DS surgery has a heavier protein and vitamin supplement requirement than the standard RNY. They make special DS vitamins but those are pretty pricey. Still, I might end up spending just as much if I try to buy all the vitamins in "normal person" amounts. I'd have to take a crazy number of them, so three DS vites a day might be more economical in the long run. We'll see.

I'm also planning on stocking up on a bunch of protein shake samples. I've heard that sometimes, even if you really liked your shake before surgery, you can end up hating it. So I want to have a variety although I hope I can keep up with my current shake as it's pretty cheap and I can get it at Sam's Club.

Surgery seemed so far away, and now that I'm getting close it seems there are still mountains of things to take care of first. I got my packet of paperwork to fill out for my medical leave at work. I've also been "nesting" a lot lately, by cleaning our house and purging lots of items. I feel the need to make things as simple as possible. And I absolutely CANNOT WAIT to start throwing out fat clothes. I have a ton of clothes right now, some that fit and most that will be my "transition" clothes for while I lose weight (I'm basically covered between the sizes of 28 down to 18, then I have to go shopping). The closets are busting... it's really getting out of hand. I'm only saving one pair of fat pants so I can take that "stand in one leg of the pants" photo after my weight loss is done. Then I'm going to have a party where I burn the fat pants!

Halfway

2011-04-19T14:19:00.000-07:00

On the 12th I had the 3rd of my 6 appointments with the bariatrician. I'm down another 2 lbs. Not much else to say, don't feel like writing. I've been experimenting with flavors in food, like chili-lime shrimp and curry turkey meatballs. Trying to make things as flavorful as possible so I will be satisfied with less.

Strength in Weakness

2011-03-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

So recently I haven't been feeling well. Feels like some sort of flu bug. While wallowing in my self pity, I had a weak moment and purchased a bottle of Diet Coke. This is after over a month of being soda free. Well, I opened it, took a swig and the first thing in my head was "OMG YUCK! I can't believe I used to drink this crap!" Seriously, I couldn't take another sip and ended up giving the bottle to my husband. So I feel very comforted now, knowing that I don't even like the taste of it anymore. My moment of weakness has completely obliterated my cravings for Diet Coke. I feel stronger than ever now in my ability to stay off soda forever.

As my husband said: "You're now officially de-toxed."

Psych Eval

2011-03-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

I had my psych eval today and I passed. It was really not a huge deal. They were just looking to see that I understood that WLS is not magic and you won't lose weight by drinking gallons of melted butter afterwards. Also checking to make sure I'm emotionally stable (i.e. do not have unmedicated mood disorders).

I feel really good right now. I'm getting there, slowly but surely. Almost halfway to surgery!

Second Bariatrician Visit

2011-03-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

I had my second visit with the bariatrician today. We went over my lab work and I am highly deficient in Vitamin D (normal for obese people), but my hemoglobin count was WAY low. So low in fact that it would prevent surgery. Luckily, this is most likely due to my excessively long and heavy period (have been bleeding pretty much constantly since Thanksgiving 2010). I'm on birth control now to get my cycle under control and the Dr wants me to take iron supplements. Hopefully over the next 8 weeks the extra iron + lack of bleeding will bring me back up to normal levels.

It is also time to schedule my psych eval. I'm a little nervous but I am sure it won't be a major deal. My next appointment with the bariatrician has been scheduled and I will be taking a few classes on the same day.

I'm still Diet Coke free. The Dr said that there have been studies that proove that diet sodas cause craving of "bad" foods (like fast food and sugar). I'd never have believed it before, but now that I've been off Diet Coke for a month, I totally buy it.

If you don't have anything to blog about...

2011-02-14T13:35:00.001-08:00

... then don't blog anything at all. That's kind of what I thought when I drifted away from this blog almost 2 years ago. Life was life... working, taking care of husband and animals, sleeping. I wasn't doing much in the way of crafting, traveling, cooking, or anything else. But now, oh dear readers, now I have so much to tell you.

I have started down the road towards Bariatric Surgery. There came a point in my life when I realized that I needed to get serious about losing all this weight. I will be 30 years old on August 25th, and I want to start this decade out right. I'm not doing it so I can look cute in clothes. I'm not doing it so that I wear high heels. I'm doing it to get healthy... to have a baby. That's some serious bizness y'all. Every single reason I have for having this surgery stems from a health/ability standpoint. Looking good and wearing small clothes are a bonus, I really could care less.

I have been blogging my progress on the ObesityHelp website, but I will be cross posting here as well. I am not going to make promieses to post every day or even every week. But I do promise to blog frequently. I will be taking "before" photos this coming weekend (fully clothed, not in undies you pervs) and posting them as well.

I am blogging all of this for me, mostly. To keep a record of the journey. But if I can help someone else with their struggles with weight, even better.

Lucy's Boys

2009-03-17T09:23:00.001-07:00

My internet connection ate itself last night before I got a chance to post. So I'm going to post twice today.

Lucy saw her boyfriends for the first time in 6 months yesterday. Oh goodness I wish I had my camera. She was so excited she immediately rolled over and had a look of pure joy and contentment in her face. Her boyfriends are 2 large Rhodesian Ridgebacks named Loki and Ketu. They're both owned by a geology Ph.D. student at NAU, and they dote on Lucy. Whenever another dog tries to play too rough with her, one of the boys butts in and protects Luce. It's really adorable. The guys are big brutes too, around 100 lbs of sweet dog. I am not sure if we're going to the park tonight again, or if I will wait till tomorrow to take her. She surely does love playing with the dogs and getting petted by so many other people. I can't wait till Angel is up here and I can start taking her regularly. She would benefit from the experience, since she hasn't been to the park as many times as Lucy has.

And lastly, gratuitous Lucy photo I took last night because she was being cute.

Tell me something I don't know.

2009-03-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

According to The Geek Test, I am a MAJOR GEEK (36.29191%). Shit man, everyone knows that.

Boring old update

2009-03-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's been really hard to think of interesting things to say every day. I'm not at home, so I don't have any crafting going on. I don't cook lately. Even the dogs are down with the husband. So all I can really do right now is update some of the benign aspects of my life. I got new glasses today. I can see clearly (YAY), but 3 people in my department have the same frames... and they're all guys. I think I bought dude glasses. But oh well, I fit in right? I look like an Analyst now.

Been looking for affordable rentals around here. Found a few out in the Mountainaire area of Flagstaff. They're small and not totally cheap, but very charming. One is an A-frame, but I think it will be nixxed because it is smaller and more expensive than the other place. Still, the other place isn't much bigger (maybe 50 square feet), but it's $150 cheaper. We'll see. I've only just started to look.

Tomorrow's Friday, so I will not be blogging. I am planning on blogging on Sunday with a recap of the weekend. I just am so wiped when I get to Phoenix on Friday nights, and then Saturday sometimes I don't get online. Besides, who wants to blog when you're seeing your husband for 48 hours all damned week.

Work

2009-03-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

I have to say, I am very happy about my current job. It is finally something that uses both my college degrees, the company is stable and well managed, and I have a great department. Everyone has been very friendly and helpful. I am even starting to make some friends. It makes going to work so much more fun when you know you'll be seeing and interacting with people that make you laugh. That and it's Wedesday, which means I am now closer to going home! When people say they live for the weekends, they don't understand it the way I mean it. I FREAKIN' LIVE FOR THE WEEKENDS! It's the only time I get to spend with my husband and our pups. And I get to spend it at home, not as a house guest. Someday hubs and pups and I will all be together again in Flag, and that is a nice thought. That someday couldn't come fast enough for me. But until then, I shall satisfy myself that I have old friends in town, and new friends at work.

The internet is for.... nothing.

2009-03-10T18:12:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I have had the shittiest connection to the internet since my days with a 56k modem. There is high speed where I'm staying, but I time out of online games, and half the time web pages won't load until the 3rd or 4th try. I pinged the router and I get immediate response. I ping google, and I get a seriously delayed one. I know the problem has to do with the connection from the router to the net, but I don't know how to fix it. It isn't my house so it really isn't my place to. But it's really frustrating when I come to write a blog entry and have it take 15 minutes to log in, press the "new entry" button, and have the screen load. I'm seriously fuming right now. It sounds lame, but right now the net is all I have. I'm not living at home, not living with my husband, not living with my pets, and not living with the vast majority of my stuff. When I get off work, I want to come home and connect to friends and family, and the net connection is seriously imparing that. *frustrated*

Ch-ch-chaaaanges.

2009-03-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

I’m going to add a caveat to my blogging every day. With my travel back and forth to Phoenix every weekend, it’s making weekend blogging extremely difficult. I was so tired when I got home on Friday, I forgot that I had to blog and so ended up posting a one line, lame-ass entry. I did not blog Saturday because I didn’t really get online, since hubs and I were hanging out and doing non-computer things. And Sunday I didn’t blog because I got into Flag kind of late and I was tired. SOOOOooo I’ve decided to blog every weekday (Mon – Thur) and then once on the weekend (Fri – Sun). I think this will be more acceptable with my crazy traveling, and now I won’t feel pressured to post something that I could have twittered instead. I’m hoping this will lead to more interesting blog entries, with a little more thought and some photos to boot.

That being said, this weekend was nice. I hung out with my husband and the dogs. Went to the 2 pound locations looking for Mia, but could not find her. I decided that, in addition to getting some more dog food, I would buy dog treats as well. Short of finding Mia, I felt the only thing that would make me happy is to watch our rupps (short for ruppies, which is a derivative of puppies) munch on some gnarly and gross bones. It worked. They LOVED the beef knuckle steaks I got. At $6 for a pack of 2, it wasn’t a bad price. There were still bits of fat and tissue stuck to them. Completely gross, which of course means completely tasty to the girls. I think Angel buried hers. Lucy, ever the lady, daintily picked off pieces and crunched them before settling in for the big chew.

Hubs foot was all kinds of jacked up this last week. It is awful to watch him limp around in so much pain. This happens about once a year. Best way to describe it is a charley horse from hell that won’t go away quickly. We went to the hospital once last year, and they couldn’t tell what it was. At least he isn’t working right now. He couldn’t be standing on it the way it is, anyway. He gimps around as well as he can, but I know he was happy to have me there this weekend to baby him.

I ended up breaking from our usual pasta/potato and meat routine this weekend and made huge sandwiches. I used a loaf of French bread piled high with Virginia ham, smoked turkey, provolone, lettuce, and tomatoes. That’s right; I actually got the boy to eat some veggies. He loved the change of pace, and I love that I only had to wash a cutting board and 2 knives instead of pots and pans and strainers. Especially now that Phoenix is starting to heat up, cold dinners are going to be a priority for me.

And since I don't have a photo from the weekend, here's a little eye candy. This is why I want to move to the Pacific NW. The photo was taken in the first week of January 2004 along the coast of Oregon. Breath. Taking.

The Valley

2009-03-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

Nothing like a purplish blanket of smog to welcome one back home.

Book Review - Year of Wonders

2009-03-05T19:43:00.000-08:00

I recently read Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks. I have to say, this was a fantastic read. I'm already fascinated by plague in Medieval Europe, and have read many books on the subject. But this took a fictional perspective of a woman living in Eyam, a very famous plagued village in England. I won't delve into too much detail, but I think the author captured very realistic feelings, reactions, and imagery in this story. I highly recommend it.

He's mellowing

2009-03-04T19:36:00.000-08:00

Tweek (along with our remaining cats) has been living with my parents for awhile. Ever since Mia disappeared, I sent the kitties to my folks for safe keeping until we figured out how to cat-proof the back yard. As it is, now they're staying with my parents until we figure out where we'll be living.

I talk to my mom every day to get "Tweek Reports" because that cat does some outrageous stuff. Nothing TOO bad lately, though. Aside from being a treat fiend, he's ripped open large bags of cat food, ran off with my dad's hearing aid, and chomped and crunched numerous insects in the house. There have been no flayings (though I think this is more due to my parents learning to steer clear of his claws than of him not using them). He has started to get real cuddly with my dad. It was about 3 years before Frodo mellowed, and Tweek will be 3 this summer. There is hope yet...

Sty

2009-03-03T18:32:00.000-08:00

Sty - (noun)

1.) a circumscribed abscess caused by bacterial infection of the glands on the edge of the eyelid; hordeolum.

2.)FRICKIN' PISSING ME OFF!!!

Yeah, I have a sty in my right eye. Sorry for the short blog tonight. I'm gonna go lay a hot compress on it.

Not my eye, but you get the idea. *sigh*

M.I.A.

2009-03-02T18:06:00.000-08:00

Our beloved Mia has been missing since late January, and I've gone through all the emotions from denial, to hopeful, to despair. Lately, I've been thinking about her and thinking of the question "How long is too long?". How long should I keep looking for her before it becomes "too long"? The simple answer is that no amount of time would be too long to spend if I got to see my baby again. But at the same time, logic has to come into play. Eventually, we may move away. We won't be able to go to the shelters to look at the strays. I suppose I could keep a constant internet vigil, posting her on every site continuously. But I've been facing that scary thought of "What if I never find her." It's not a place I really want to go, emotionally. I've been steeling my heart to that ultimatum while trying to remain hopeful. I am still worried sick, though I try to not let it interfere with my life. In the end, I know I will see her again. I just don't want to wait that long.

Another day, another blog entry.

2009-03-01T21:24:00.000-08:00

And so a new week begins. I drove back to Flagstaff tonight, unloaded the computer and got it set up. I have a few more things to unpack. I try to bring a little bit up at a time. I want to bring up my Lack shelves I bought at IKEA a long time ago, but I'm not sure how well the in-laws would like me drilling holes in their walls.

I left both dogs home this week. I hate leaving everybody, especially the hubs. But last week when I brought Lucy up, it was easier to leave. But hubs and Angel missed her, and she's staying down there for now. I'm going to make up the lonely afternoons by rediscovering the library. I have been wanting to read a lot lately, and with the penny-pinching, I thought it was a great time to rekindle an old habit. When I was little, mom took me to the library all the time and I have good memories of it.

Tomorrow I'm going to the eye doctor. My Rx is in serious need of reevaluation. I'm getting headaches a lot from squinting. I am also looking forward to picking up some frames. I'm trying to decide on the style. Hubs says to stay with the black plastic, and I probably will. I think I'm going for something more square this time though.

So that's it for today. No picture, sorry. It's late, I'm tired. Better luck next time.

Recap, now that I have the will and the sanity

2009-02-26T15:59:00.000-08:00

I haven't had much of a will to write about all the things that have happened since we moved to Phoenix. I don't know if I will ever blog it all since I don't really want to rehash all that nonsense. The short version is presented here, in the form of a timeline.

September 2008 - Hubs and I buy our first home. Jobs are going well. Happiness.

October 2008 - Welcomed new dog, Angel, to the family. Lucy's happy, we're happy.

November 2008 - I get laid off. Things get scary.

January 2009 - Hubs loses his job. Mass panic ensues. Depression imminent. No health insurance, no medications. Yay!

February 2009 - I get AWESOME job.... in Flagstaff. For those not from AZ, that's about 150 miles away. Hubs lives in Phoenix, I live in Flagstaff. We visit on weekends. Without going into more detail (since I've been talking of little else with the Hubs lately and frankly I'm tired of thinking about it), this living situation is the most financially sound choice.

All in all, things are looking up. But yeah, you can see why I haven't had the heart to blog much in the last 4 months. Anyway, the goal now is to sit tight and hope Obama can fix the economy enough that Hubs and I can live in the same city again.

Good news, I've been at my new job 3 weeks and got my first paycheck. It's almost $500 more than I'm used to bringing home! So that will help things. Settling into life here, getting used to the new routine. Next week I get to go to the doctor again and get my meds refilled. Nothing makes for crazy and grouchy than being overstressed and undermedicated. Also, I'm going to get tested for new eyeglasses, so good-bye needless headaches. And lastly, I just bought a mega comfortable bed. This is a HUGE issue since I've slept on an air mattress and a rock-hard-awful twin for the last 3 weeks. Good-bye back pain.

Aside from catching up, the purpose of this post is to say that I've decided to make March the month I will blog every day. I finally feel calm and in control of life enough to do it. You'll recall that it was one of my "To Do in '09" items.

And in closing, since I hate reading blog posts without any pictures (because yes, I am that grade school):

Our Angel

Randomly Generated

2009-02-24T12:35:00.000-08:00

Using a random integer generator, I chose a page number and photo number out of my Flickr gallery. The page number is 26, and the photo number is 9. Soooo, let's see what that brings up.

I remember this bento well. I had made it shortly after making Brown Eyed Susan cookies. The gyoza were just frozen ones I steamed and put atop a bed of rice and furikake. Add some edamame, spinach, tomatoes, and koala cookies and you have a tasty lunch. I also happened to have some Ramune too. I need to start making bento again. I ate healthier when I had bento, and I definitely ate less.

100 50 37 Things to do in 2009

2008-12-31T03:18:00.000-08:00

Not so much resolutions, but more of a wish list. A wish list of things I have been wanting to do, but just never "got around to it" in 2008.

I have to admit, this list started as a 100 things to do list. But I got stuck. And since I didn't want to put stupid stuff down for the sake of having a nice round list, I decided to leave it at 37. A wonky list to go with a wonky blogger.

Make my own marshmallows
Experiment with different flavors of said marshmallows
Hang shelves above my desk
Put craft supplies in matching boxes on shelves
Sew a piece of clothing for myself
Knit a pair of socks (and not stop after one sock is done)
~~Make chicken stock~~ Done: 1/5/09
Use stock to make chicken soup
Make Grandma's noodles for soup
Get all our boxes unpacked
Sort old clothes and donate some (or all) to goodwill
Decorate our guest room
Paint my hall bathroom
Put up tin backsplash in kitchen
Paint kitchen cabinets
Make headboard for our bed
Send 5 letters, hand written, physically mailed
Participate in one of those "365 days of" photo challenges
Blog every day for 30 days
Reduce our garbage output
Replace kitchen sink faucet
Make some art for the house
Visit the Phoenix Zoo
~~Take the dogs to Flagstaff while there is snow on the ground~~ They LOVED it!
Get a library card
Read one book per month from library
Get garage door fixed
Grow my hair out (I will NOT get it cut, other than trims to even it out as it grows)
Learn to use my Canon Digital Rebel thoroughly
Walk for at least 10 minutes a day
Eat a vegetable or fruit at every meal
Eliminate soda for one month
Update address book
Send Christmas cards
Host a party
Twitter at least once a day
Make pierogies from scratch

Foheenix update

2008-09-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

We're here. It's been absolutely insane, what with husband moving, moving out of apartment, finding/buying/moving into a new house, and starting a new job. But we lived through it and have relatively few scars. The animals are all fine, and overall we're settling into some semblance of normalcy. I have a few before photos of our house... well I shouldn't call them "before" photos since they're really "current" photos. But we have decoration plans. Mind you, we DO have plans. Just not the energy and money to do it all yet. Little by little, my young padawan.

Our new house was built in 1970 and is one of those ranch style homes. It's officially 1320 sq. ft. but that doesn't include the bonus room (as yet unfinished) as well as the large amount of storage in the garage. We have 3 bedrooms, and 1.75 baths... basically 2 bathrooms but one has a shower and one has a shower/tub combo. Living, dining, family rooms and kitchen round out our abode. Oh, and we have a HUGE yard for Lucy Dog to run around in. We are considering getting her a friend, but that won't be for a long time. Maybe after the holidays.

All crafting has been put temporarily on hold until we get unpacked. After that, I imagine there will be a lot of sewing of doll clothes and a lot of household decoration posts to come.

Fo-heenix

2008-07-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

Well, the day has finally come. We're moving. I have mixed feelings. The bad part is we have to move to Phoenix (can you say hot?). The good is that we're moving because the hubs got a promotion, AND we can afford to buy a house or condo. We had no hope of home ownership here in Flagstaff, with the average price of a 3 bedroom house is in the $400k range (lame!). Even the manufactured homes are $260k+. Lame again.

So yeah, not that I've been very reliable in posting, but I think it is safe to say I won't be posting again until mid August, after the move. Hopefully, I'll have plenty of material after that. First, of course I will have photos of our new home. Then hopefully I will have done a major project monthly to make it look cute. So, yeah. I might be posting next week after we've bought the place. We're looking at some final places this weekend and we will make a decision.

Ok, not so triumphant

2008-06-27T11:20:00.001-07:00

I have this real problem blogging when I don't have any new photos to post. I really should just put some random little blips up more often. Anyway, to recap the last month, we got a freak snowstorm/blizzard in May. It was insane, and everyone was like "what the hell?" The storm continued all day (we got about an inch of snow total). In the late afternoon the snow stopped, and the ground cover started melting. It was gone by the next day, but still, a late May snowstorm is just plain weird. Then, that same week, we got a wicked wind storm. As I was driving around looking for a parking spot, I noticed that someone was going to have a very bad day:
It turns out, the car belonged to someone who works in my office. The back windshield was totaled, and the trunk had some major dents and scratches. It was over $2000 in damages. Stupid wind.

On a cuter note, I finally uploaded photos from when I went to the Renaissance Faire with a friend and her little munchkin. Here's a photo:

The Triumphant Return

2008-05-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

So you've probably wondered where I went. Truth is, I didn't really go anywhere but I was very busy. April was kind of a crazy month for me, and May isn't shaping up to be any better. I have been away so much, due to visiting family and funerals and work conferences. Most of the time, I just want to curl up with my kitties and take a long nap. Lucy would be happier running around at the dog park, but my kitties like to snuggle.

A few weeks ago, I went to visit mom and dad, for the first time in quite a few months. I took Lucy, of course, and a few of my dollies. Oh, and a mega-fuckton of laundry, mostly comforters that wouldn't fit in our washer/dryer at home. Mom has really done a lot of work in her backyard, and it is turning out to be a gorgeous little oasis. Lucy loves it, especially because it is fenced and she can run around off leash. We let her run around off leash outside of the yard too, but here it's much easier to keep tabs on her. She usually settles down on mom's big round lounger for an afternoon nap.

Then, I had to jet to Phoenix because my husband's grandmother passed away. It was a sad trip, but she had cancer and we were all expecting it. So I guess in a way, it was good because it wasn't a shock or a surprise. Still, she was a neat lady and I'm glad I got to know her for the short time I did.

Then, the week after returning from Phoenix, I had to go down AGAIN to attend a conference for work. The conference was really rather boring, but at least I got to stay in a swanky hotel with the worlds most comfortable bed ever! It was one of those individual spring mattresses where you can jump up and down and not disturb a glass of wine. On top of that, it had a feather mattress pad, and the covers were all down.

I brought my new Sooni Dal (who sadly is still nameless) to the conference with me, and she was so bored. I had told her to pack some books and puzzles to play with during mom's long boring seminars, but even then she ended up calling friends and chatting about how boring mom's job is.

So finally I am back home. I am looking forward to having a whole weekend where I don't have to travel somewhere. Seems like I've been out of town every weekend in the last month, and that is probably correct. Also, bonus, this weekend is a 3 day weekend. Hooray for Memorial Day. I intend to sleep, sew, and clean up my dirty-ass house. I also want to do more cooking. Last night I made some Shepherd's Pie for dinner, and it was scrumptious!

Who's up for a fabric cleanse?

2008-03-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I have a lot of patchwork items rolling around in my head lately. Dresses, skirts, pillows, maybe even a quilt. I was looking through my fabric stash and, though I have a decent number of prints, I don't have near the variety I want. Anyone want to do some patchwork squares swap? Like, I cut out 5 4" squares from 5 different fabrics (25 squares), and you do the same? Or 2 4" squares from 10 different fabrics, or whatever. Oh, and yeah I realize no one really reads this thing, so I'm mostly just begging the universe for some fun fabric squares.

Dog for sale, $1.99/lb.

2008-03-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I think I understand what it is like to have a small child. My dog (ok, she's a puppy still but I don't wanna give her any excuses) is like having a herd of 3 year olds running unsupervised through the house. Last night, we fell asleep with Lucy laying between our feet. We awoke with Lucy laying between our feet. I sauntered on downstairs to take the precious dog out for morning potty time, and I beheld this:

(caption reads: "Note the proximity of the untouched toy box to the center of destruction.")

My first instinct was to track down the dog and throttle her. Then I decided to take her out to potty instead, since it would mean less mess for me to pick up in the long run. Seriously though, I don't know how to keep this from happening. I'm guessing most people with dogs run into the same thing, based on the photos I've seen posted. I'll get over being angry, but it will probably take some caffeine and a few cigarettes.

Bonus shot:

Week 2

2008-03-04T18:26:00.001-08:00

I had my first weigh-in today. The grand total for just one week? I lost 10.2 pounds! I've lost the equivalent to a large baby. Go me. Stay tuned next week for more progress. In the mean time, I have a new favorite dinner: tilapia fillet with Tony Cacherie's Creole Seasoning, sauteed in 1 T. olive oil, served with cous cous and a mushroom/squash medley.

Major Changes

2008-03-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted, and life has been quickly going by. The biggest development, I've joined Weight Watchers. I wanted the husband to join with me, but I guess he's just not ready to make the life commitment. Food still has too hard a hold on him and he doesn't want to break that yet. I can relate. But I finally decided that, in order for us to have a baby, ultimately it's me who has to get in shape. That and I'm tired of being uncomfortable. I want to sew and knit myself clothes, without having to spend 3 times as much on materials. A therapist once told me to make a list of reasons why a goal is important, and that will help you stay on track. So this blog post is my list of reasons. The list is in no other order than how the thoughts come to me.

I want to have a baby by 30.
I don't want to have my knees replaced.
I want to have a more creative sex life.
I want to take my dog on hikes and outdoor adventures.
I want to sew clothes and knit garments for myself.
I want to fly in an airplane without the anxiety I won't fit in the seat.
I want to be able to buckle my seatbelt again.
I want to shop at thrift stores for clothes.
I want to attend my 10 year high school reunion looking better than I did at 18.
I want to be able to help my husband lose weight, when he's ready.

Oh and one more thing, I'd like to say that I'm totally in love with chinese eggplant. It is the tasty!

Holy Snow!

2008-01-07T07:41:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to go to work and glanced outside. Lots of snow, but figured no biggie, it's Flagstaff, we've dealt with snow before. Then I took Lucy out to pee and saw this:

Yeah, I could barely see my car. Then I discovered that the street plows and left a waist high snow drift behind all the cars in the lot. Lovely. No way I was getting to work this morning. I called my boss and she said a lot of people were calling in; they might shut down the office, we didn't know. I told her minimum time I could be in was 10:30am, after the apartment's plow came and freed us. She said no worries, and to keep her posted. So yay, bonus day off (or at least half a day, we don't know yet). I decided to grab the dog and let her romp about. The air temperature isn't that cold (considering), so from about 7am to 8:30 we hung out together. The neighbor's dog and Lucy's best friend, Marley, came out to play too.

Lucy weathered the storm well in her pretty pink sweater. The cold didn't seem to bother her at all. She kept sniffing and biting at the snow flakes.

Lucy and Marley were playing a lot, bounding through the drifts and burying each other. I was talking to Marley's mom, when I saw this:

"Mom, can we go inside now?" I guess Lucy finally got cold or tired or both. We're in the living room and she's passed out on the recliner. The snow is STILL coming down hard. I'll post updates if there is any news.

She works hard for the yummies

2008-01-06T12:51:00.000-08:00

So hard for 'em honey! She works hard for the yummies, cuz she loves her dog-gy treats!

No photos today. I've been mostly keeping up with our pup who has decided to become a destroyer. And in true puppy style, unless there is a yummy involved, she won't listen to me. Right now she's chewing the stem from one of my old, dried Christmas roses. She'll start school on January 20th and I'm looking forward to it. We need to get some communication going. Otherwise, Lucy is the same sweet dog she's always been. She loves to romp in the snow and bites at the snowflakes.

The other fuzzies are doing well. They've been meowing to go outside ever since the snow started coming down Friday night. Right now, Mia has taken up residence on my thigh; her usual place. Tweek has wanted to cuddle lately, but he won't put his claws away. Frodo is still waking us up at night for petting, and Evie is still as skittery as ever.

100th Post

2007-12-31T21:59:00.001-08:00

Wow, that couldn't have worked out better if I had planned it. 100th post, 1 hour left in the year. 2007 has been good to me, what with graduation, marriage, honeymoon in Alaska, and a new job. We have big plans for 2008, the first of which is starting a savings account for our future house (well the downpayment anyway). I am on an organization kick and I am determined to not only get the house cleaned, but also to get my decorating done.

The reason for the long pause in blogging is The 12 Days of Christmas Swap that I was working on. Oh my god, it was fantastic. Check out the gallery.

Our first married Christmas together was awesome. My dad came to visit, and we all got some nice stuff. The Hubs mostly got stuff for his Xbox and some movies. I got stuff for the house, and we got a spiffy new photo printer! The animals also had an awesome Christmas with lots of goodies.

And now, I leave you with a very strange sight: Tweek being cuddly!

Fishcat iz watchin u

2007-12-15T12:47:00.001-08:00

This is a cat fish bed I got on day 12 of the 12 Days of Christmas Swap. Evie has claimed it.

Pay It Forward

2007-12-02T17:09:00.000-08:00

I first saw this idea on The Bon's blog, but I was too late to sign up. Still, I think it is a fantastic idea so I am going to do it anyway.

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

If you don't think you're crafty, still sign up. You'd be amazed at what you can think of. And besides, the gift doesn't have to be huge. It's just a way to brighten someone's day. When you comment to sign up, make sure you include your email address so that I can contact you for your address and whatnot.

This is going to be great!

My baby loves the camera

2007-11-30T08:28:00.001-08:00

Not a whole helluva lot

2007-11-29T07:24:00.000-08:00

As of late, the usual winter sickness has descended upon our house. My husband is only mildly affected, but I'm just a big bundle of head cold. I'm taking the morning off today to try to get my head dried out. Ugh.

In crafting news, I have a lot of news.... but I can't really talk about it. I've been doing a TON of crafting for The 12 Days of Christmas Swap on craftster.org. But, since my partner won't have opened all her presents until Christmas, I'm afraid I can't talk about her gifts until then.

On the dog front, Lucy is a destroyer. She's been really frustrating lately with all her chewing and ripping. She's also not really getting the whole housetraining thing, which is really upsetting. Still, we love her little goofy face and we will keep trying to train her. She is just a pup, after all.

Cats are doing well. Tweek keeps escaping but we're learning to deal with it. The girls are cuddly as ever, and of course Frodo does what Frodos do. Really no news with them. The kitties are just loveable and healthy.

The Tub Incident

2007-11-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

Tweek had an unfortunate incident while inspecting my bubble bath. Here is an artist's rendering.

Howl-A-Ween

2007-10-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I took Lucy Dog down to the bark park for the Howlaween party. She, of course, went dressed as a Princess with her little pink princess hat. She also was dressed as a spoiled brat in her "Will beg for treats" t-shirt. When we got there, I think there were about 20 dogs. By the time of the costume contest, there must have been near 50 dogs there. And Lucy's little friend Maddy (a french bulldog) was there, so the two girls played and wrassled while the contest took place. Lucy wouldn't sit still enough for me to want to stand in line with her. Besides, it was a holiday and I thought she should play. There were a lot of ridiculously cute costumes, like the Pekingese dressed as a bee, the Bloodhound dragon, and the Boxer batman. I think the best costume of the day was the chicken... not a dog in a chicken costume. No. A chicken in a dog costume. OMG it was hilarious. The chicken actually won an honorable mention in the contest, not being able to take home a prize since technically it wasn't a dog. Overall, it was a good day. No plans here for the actual Halloween, except to scare myself silly with ghost shows and pass out candy.

Random Asshattery

2007-10-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm walking in downtown Flagstaff, back to my office. See, I had forgotten to pack a lunch, so I walked 2 blocks over to the local Pita Pit (tasty place, I must say). I usually bring my food back to the office because I have no one to eat with... and I usually don't like sitting alone in a place. It's not so much a needy thing. I'm perfectly capable of going places independently. But it's more that I tend to stare at people, usually contemplating odd thoughts such as how much their head weighs, are those Mick Jagger's lips, etc. I get dirty looks. So I am heading back to the office with my soda and chips in purse, pita in hand. A strapping young man opens the garbage can in front of me. Then he sees me and asks me for money for lunch. I think, probably a college student. Guy doesn't look homeless or underfed. But I have no money on me. "No, sorry" I answer politely. Then the guy looks at my pita and asks "Do you want that?" ..... uh...... what? Do I want that? Apparently I would leave my desk and walk 2 blocks and pay some money for something I didn't want... something that I might throw in the very trash can he was looking in? WTF? I kind of gave him a weird look and walked onward, mumbling to myself about what kind of bullshit question was that?

Home, Home on the Peaks

2007-10-03T18:35:00.000-07:00

So lately I have been on a mission to declutter, reorganize, and generally turn my apartment into a cozy home. Winter is coming on, the nights are getting cold, and I've had this major house-to-home nesting instinct. I think it has something to do with being newly married and having started a new job. I feel I finally have the time and (almost) the money to actually do something with this place. We got a lovely bedroom set for a wedding gift, and I want to make the rest of the house not feel so college-y.

My first move was to get my dad to put up some wall shelves in the office. It fills up the blank, boring wall and gives each of us a place to put stuff. We haven't organized the shelves yet, but as soon as they're done I'll post a photo. I'm also organizing my craft supplies due to two swaps I've got coming up. The bedroom is doing well, if you don't count the laundry on the floor. Otherwise it's fairly uncluttered.

My kitchen scares me. I am thinking of ditching all the old tupperware I have for these FlatOut! ones:
Until then, I'm going to measure my cabinets and buy plastic bins to control the deluge of containers. I also have a lot of unused space in the corner under the countertop, as well as the cabinet over the fridge. Mom's coming in a week, so maybe she'll help me. I also want to organize my pantry. I know I could be using that space more efficiently (or possibly get rid of the pantry and use the cabinet for crafts??).

The living room needs the most work, I think. I am tempted to get rid of the coffee table since it is a receptacle for all our crap. The DVD's in shelves is annoying me, and I think I'd rather have bins or baskets for them. The bookshelves are a disaster, as is the coat rack and shoe rack. Oh, and the rat cage is in here. I don't like that, but currently we have no other place for it.

So yeah, wish me luck. I'll probably be swearing a lot by the end of this project. But it will be SOOOOOOOO worth it.

Say Hello to Lucy

2007-09-23T01:20:00.000-07:00

The husband and I adopted a puppy a week or so ago. Her name is Lucy, and she's about 5 months old and 23 pounds. The vet doesn't expect her to get too much bigger. We think she's a Basenji mix of some sort. She's very very sweet, and loves to get petted and give kisses. She gets along with the cats pretty well, although the cats don't seem to like her (figures). We're working on housebreaking and "sit" at the moment. She's got "sit" down pretty well, and she consistently does her potty business on the puppy pads. I think things are going well. She cuddles with us at night, and is my buddy whenever I'm home. She loves her daddy too. Her favorite treats thus far have been cow chew hooves, beef knuckles, and pup-peroni. Also, she's tolerant of clothing. I found a t-shirt on sale at Target for $3 so I grabbed it for her. She also has a pink winter coat. The shirt was frivolous, but the coat is practical (and cute). She's very short haired and her belly is practically bald. The mornings have been in the upper 30s/low 40s when I take her out, and she shivers and is oh so happy to get back inside.

Welcome Home Lucy!

Honeymoon part 2

2007-09-22T12:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, sorry it's been awhile. Crazyness has been happening here. More blog posts in the future will explain this.

After leaving Skagway, we cruised all night toward Tracy Arm Fjord, arriving around 6am. It was the first day of the cruise where I was actually "COLD." There was a misty fine rain falling, and whenever your surrounded by ice water the air is bound to be chilly. It was worth it though, because the views were spectacular. The fjord was steeply surrounded by mountains and was over 1000 feet deep. There were many small waterfalls snaking through the rocks; the result of glacial melt. At first, there were only a few ice bergs floating. As we neared the end of the fjord, the ice thickened. Some were a bright blue; heart ice they're called. Similar to the blue of the Mendenhall Glacier. We rounded a tight corner, and we could see two glaciers. North Sawyer Glacier and South Sawyer Glacier were responsible for all the ice bergs we saw. Sipping on excellent hot chocolate while watching glaciers pass by on our private balcony was the most relaxing thing I've experienced. Once we had seen the glaciers, the ship turned about and we headed out toward Ketchikan.

I loved Ketchikan. It was a small city, with a bright and busy wharf. Definitely the best shopping on the trip. Sadly, we only had a few hours in port so I did not get to do much exploring. I hit the shops early, leaving the husband on the ship to sleep in and get breakfast. Then, I returned for a bite of breakfast myself (salmon scrambled eggs, yum!) and we took a horse-drawn trolley ride around Ketchikan. The tour guide had lots of interesting stories about the history of the city as well as the local wildlife. We saw salmon jumping up a waterfall at one point! We learned about totems, saw a lot of the back streets and the creek, and petted the resident husky that rode along with the tour guide. After getting back, we had no more time to explore. After snapping a few photos of the local flora, we jumped aboard ship and began our trip back to Seattle.

On our way back to the States, we briefly stopped in Victoria, Canada. Since we were already exhausted, and somewhat broke, we decided to stay aboard ship. We left Victoria around midnight and arrived in Seattle early in the morning. After a not so terrible disembarkation adventure, we picked up our rental car. Advisory: never rent from Thrifty, ever ever ever. It was one of the worst rental experiences of my life. That said, we checked into our hotel and took naps (being exhausted from the day's frustrations). We got in our car and drove around a bit, to get a feel for what Seattle was like. Then we ate dinner and passed out. The next day, we celebrated my birthday at Pike Place Market. It was overwhelmingly awesome. I definitely want to go back when I have a day or two to explore. We walked the market and found the Pan African restaurant where we had Ethiopian food for lunch. Then we got some very tasty mini-doughnuts. The husband bought me the most beautiful bouquet of flowers I've ever seen, and I felt like a princess carrying them. We saw fish markets, produce stands, artisan stands, bakeries, coffee shops, import stores, oh so many things. We left tired, full, and happy. We decided to take it easy that afternoon, and spent the rest of the day watching movies in our hotel room, and packing to be ready to fly home the next day.

I can say this was the best honeymoon anyone could ever have wanted. First class airfare, cruise to Alaska with private balcony, and time in Seattle. We both agree, Alaska had a special pull on us and we want to return someday. Seattle was also a special place we both loved, and we hope to relocate somewhere around it in the future. Thanks to all of those who worked to make our honeymoon possible. We love you, and we loved our trip!

Honeymoon part 1

2007-09-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

On Friday we left for Seattle. I love that city. We didn’t stay long, because Saturday morning we boarded our cruise ship bound for Alaska! First of all, Oh My God the ship was gorgeous. It was a floating, hedonistic paradise and I loved it. We’re both going to hell for the amount of gluttony we’ve committed, but I don’t care. Seriously, all you can eat buffets 24 hours a day. There is also a casino, some theaters, a games room, and many other things. We lounged around in a hot tub and pool during our “at sea” day.

Monday we arrived in Juneau. Absolutely beautiful city. We definitely love Alaska, and now are more intent on moving there. Juneau had lots of shopping, and the deals and coupons we got on board the ship meant we got a lot of free stuff! Even free jewelry! We spent the second half of the day visiting the Mendenhall Glacier. It was truly breathtaking. I never knew glaciers could be so blue. We also saw salmon spawning in the river, and some folks even saw some black bears. We didn’t catch a glimpse, sadly. Still, the trip was lovely even though my feet hurt terribly and I was getting tired and cranky. We ended the day by coming back to the ship and just relaxing. We had to rest up, because our next destination was Skagway and more shopping and sightseeing.

I got up very early the day we arrived in Skagway, and dragged the husband shopping with me. There were, again, a ton of jewelry stores. Skagway was very small, with only about 800 permanent residents. The main street was only a couple of blocks long, and we did our shopping and sightseeing quickly. I think we got back to the ship around 10am, and as we didn’t have any shore excursions planned, we just relaxed. It was nice to sit on the balcony and watch the water and trees. We even saw a little seal swimming by. Skagway was beautiful, but I didn’t like it as well as I liked Juneau. It was just too small for my taste. We left Skagway in the evening, bound for Tracy Arm Fjord and then Ketchikan.

Next up: Honeymoon, pt. 2

Our Wedding

2007-08-28T14:39:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful wedding! Everything was perfect. My dress fit great, neither of us fell, and now I can officially call him “The Hubs” instead of “The Boy.” The ceremony was gorgeous. I walked in on a rose petal walkway to Pachebel’s Canon in D. The vows and ring exchange was short, and my maid of honor read an awesome poem she wrote. We marched out as man and wife to the Star Wars theme (that got a few cheers and laughs).

I have to take a moment and mention my beautiful bouquet. The Hubs' aunt is a florist, so she made it for me. It was absolutely gorgeous, with burgundy mini-callas and snapdragons (my favorite)!

Our photographers were our family members. Must have been about 30 cameras going off. I felt like a celebrity in front of the paparazzi. Dinner was excellent, with delicious blackened salmon. The cake was GORGEOUS and very very tasty. It was a chocolate cake, with mocha buttercream frosting between the layers, and covered in dark chocolate ganache.

I got tons of compliments on my DIY stuff: the favors, the programs, everything. That was the best feeling. I was afraid people wouldn’t notice all the hard work I put in to designing everything. But all that work was paid off and then some.

Dancing was relatively low-key. Not too many folks wanted to dance, so we just had our first dance, and then the father/daughter and mother/son dance together. Then we got the Led out. By this point though, most people were tired and some were already leaving. We left in our fabulously decorated car, and had an amazing suite at the hotel. The next morning, life was gloriously back to normal. We spent most of the day lounging around at home, just enjoying the solitude.

Coming soon, Our Honeymoon!

I'm baaack.

2007-08-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, omg. We've been on our honeymoon and what a fabulous time we had! I've been writing blog entries, but as we had no reliable internet source I didn't post. I'll be posting fairly consistently during the next week, about the wedding, Alaska, Seattle, and whatnot.

Oh, and my birthday. I'm closer to 30 than I am to 20, and I'm damned happy about it. My 20's so far have been stressful and relatively crappy. Every new year is a year I can change things to suit my life. We spent my birthday this year at Pike Place Market, where The Hubs (formerly The Boy) bought me a bouquet of GORGEOUS flowers. I will post a photo, but oh gosh there were lilies and sunflowers and these cool cattail looking things.

Anyways, looking forward to coming back to life. The knitting, the crafting, the being done with school. I am still looking for a job, which is shitty. But at least I get to be a housewife for a little while until I'm gainfully employed.

August 12, 2007

2007-08-13T20:05:00.001-07:00

Oh give me a home, where the Frodo-lo roam...

2007-07-29T20:19:00.001-07:00

... and the Tweek, and the Mees and Eves play.

Lots of stress lately. Exactly 2 weeks until the wedding. There is no way my shawl is going to get finished with all the other crap I've been working on. Also, I have to say, I just don't want to knit on it. I want to knit socks, or a hat, or work on my sweater or something. Something different. No more lace for me right now. Just no. Maybe I'll finish it on the honeymoon. I just don't want to rush and screw it up.

I've been going through the house in an effort to de-clutter. I've started a "donate this stuff" box and my goal is to fill one box for each floor. If I can do that, then maybe I can do more later. Baby steps. There is some good news however. I finished all the laundry. ALL of it, and now I just have to put it away. That's a big relief for me. The kitchen is also clean, and the living room is making radical progress. Now if I can just convince The Boy to let me get rid of his huge eyesore of a couch, all will be well.

As for the title of this post, it's just a tribute to my sweet kitties. Their daily cuddles have been keeping me sane, and Tweek's recent hyperactivity has been keeping me entertained. Frodo is my buddy boy, always snuggling up for scritches when I get in bed. Evelyn creeps up by my head and chirps in my ear for her own scritching session. Mia splays out on my belly and purrs. And Tweek usually comes by in the morning for a short head scratch. Thanks to their efforts, and the wonderful attention from The Boy, I have to say I'm happy despite all the random stress.

The Wedding Countdown

2007-07-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

21 Days. 21 DAYS y'all! Gosh I can't believe it's creeping up. So here are a few updates.

The shawl:
I am officially 4 repeats away from finishing the length of the shawl. Then I will have to knit the border. I really really hope I can finish the damned thing in time. One option is to knit the border later, and just use it borderless for the wedding. We'll see.

Bachelorette Party:
Went out on the town with my maid of honor. It was very fun, and I got my first tattoo. It's a cat doodle that has been kind of a family symbol for a few generations now. I got it a little more stylized and I looooove it. Here we are posing as pirates:

The dress:
It fits! Totally gorgeous too. I got my bustier so now my boobs fill it out better. It's a little gappy on the top, but nothing a little double sided carpet tape can't fix.

The shoes:
I'm so bummed. I got the cutest burgundy heels to wear with my dress. I tried them on and they fit just fine. WELL, I attempted to stand around for 15 minutes the other day during a dress fitting, and I almost died. I can't do heels. So now I'm back to zero on shoes. At least I can still return the heels.

The job hunt:
Don't ask.

The wedding:
Everything is getting done. Mos tthings have been taken care of. Now it's just waiting for the week before, to do the last minute stuff.

For the love of a feline

2007-07-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

Crazy Aunt Purl's cat Roy passed away yesterday. I can't explain why it affected me so much, but as soon as I read her post I started bawling. I've been reading her blog for awhile, and feel her pain so keenly through her lovely tribute to her fur baby. I look at my four furry children and I dread the day when I will be posting about them. I can't imagine loving anything more than I love these damn cats. So please, keep Laurie and Roy in your thoughts. I know I will be.

Desperation meets Tight Jeans

2007-06-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

So, my favorite pair of jeans fell apart on my recent trip to the Midwest. I think the humidity combined with the heat from thigh friction killed them. I am tired of wearing skirts and I wanted to wear comfortable jeans again. In a fit of desperation and maybe a little insanity, I began rummaging through my fabric stash like a mad woman. Much to my dismay, the color scheme of my fabric remnants is decidedly monochromatic. Ok, not monochromatic, but definitely on the dark side of things. No reds, no vivid blues, no tans to be found. But, warrior woman that I am, I didn't let it stand in my way. No sir. I cut and sewed and swore and seamed and swore. After an hour, Miss Random Pants was born. The jeans went from being rather tight to WAY too big. I could take them in easily, but I'm tired so that'll wait for another day.

Wedding crafts? What wedding crafts? *hums innocently*

Random knitting

2007-06-24T21:37:00.001-07:00

Here's an old photo. My friend was feeling really bummed, so I knitted him a Chicago Bears hat. It was my first intarsia project, and I have issues with keeping the tension just right. It's either way too lose, or it puckers. *le sigh*

In wedding news, there isn't any news. Shawl is still creeping along. I'm busy with school and job applications. Just got back from an out of state interview, and keeping my fingers crossed because I loved the company and the area. Um.... I keep changing my mind on things like wedding favors and attendant gifts and flowers. That's the source of most of my current stress.

Wedding Blues

2007-06-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

Today I've been pretty cranky, as far as crankiness goes. I have been working like crazy on my wedding shawl, and apparently caused a lovely case of tendinitis in my right arm. I drank some Pain-Go-Bye-Bye Juice though, and I'm in the mood for blogging.

It's been awhile... much longer than I like to have in between posts. But there's a good reason. Several actually. After the last post, classes picked up a helluva lot and then of course finals hit. During all of this I'm planning a wedding, attempting to find a job, failing at keeping my home clean, and pretty much completely losing my mind. Immediately after finals were over, I started a Philosophy class entitled PHI 105: Introduction to Bullshit*. As of this writing, that class is over and I have survived. I start another class on Monday though, so the saga continues.

In wedding news, I managed to hand-make 50 invitations and send them out. That may not sound like much, but when you consider that, on the invitation inserts alone, I rubber-stamped a flower 250 times... well you get the idea. Here are a few lovely photos:

and

As for general crafting, I've done pretty much jack. Too stressed and too tired to really settle down to all the projects calling to me from the Unfinished Crafts Closet of Shame. Someday, my pretties. Someday.

And of course, for your random gratification, a cat photo:

*ok not really, but it sure felt like it

My New Love

2007-04-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Dyson. Love ya, babe!

~ the Crafty Hobbit

The Shame

2007-04-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

With every passing week, it has been harder and harder to write something. I think it's the constant buildup of shame that I have neglected the blog this long. There's a good reason, though, I promise. It's called "OMG there's so much stuff to do for classes and this wedding planning thing and OMG OMG I need to find a job." They are the unholy trinity of stressors that have converged on my life all at the same time.

I haven't worked on my wedding stole AT ALL which is worrisome given how slow I knit in general. I did some primary layout work for the invitations though. I swear, those $@&#ing invitations. I thought it'd be cheaper to do it myself, but it's expensive. True, they are cheaper than similar looking invites that are done professionally, but at this point all I want to do is buy some $25 invitation kit, print 'em up, and send 'em out. I keep telling myself that the invitations will be gorgeous. I've just sort of stumbled into an ennui about the whole planning process. Ok, that's not totally true. If someone were to come take over the planning, I'd probably kick them in the shins. But seriously, I just can't wait until the actual day... and mostly because I know all the planning and the tedious little details will be done by then.

On the other side of the issue, the wedding is going to be GORGEOUS, y'all. I'm going to the cake and catering meeting next week, so I'll actually know my menu. I already know about the cake: Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate! It's my wedding and I want a chocolate cake, dammit!

The kitties are all fine. Frodo is up to his old tricks of stepping on my ribs at 3am. Tweek still destroys things. Mia is still unbearably cuddly, and Evie is still silly. Maybe I will post a purely photographic entry sometime soon. Guess I will have to go out and take some more pics.

Sore Throat Blues

2007-03-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I've been sick and at home for the last few days with a wicked bad sore throat. I don't have the fever officially, but there are chills. Chills people! We're keeping a wary eye out for strep throat. I hope it doesn't come down to it, but I suspect otherwise since swallowing burns like fire.

And now, general updates from my life...

Gladys has been joined by at least 10 more sisters! So happy. No photo, since the general grumpiness of sore throat has kept me from the downstairs area in general.

I finished my first project with intarsia, but as it is a gift for a friend I cannot post photos yet. He may see!

Wedding shawl has had no progress, because of crazed school schedule, the sickness, and the gift. However I'm hoping to pick it up this weekend and do at LEAST 2 more pattern repeats. Would like to get 5 done, but hey I get distracted.

The Wedding Scrapbook is coming along nicely. After staring at the 12x12 album and feeling incredibly overwhelmed, I opted for a smaller 8x8 scrapbook and creativity was born. I will take pictures tonight if I think of it. So far, the title page, the "bride" and "groom" pages (which are mostly blank until we get photos of us from the wedding), and The Boy's "The Early Years" page is complete. Since most of our relatives will be meeting us for the first time at the wedding, I thought a few mini-biography pages would be a good idea. I'm going to include a few blank, black pages for guests to sign instead of a guestbook. I thought it would be more meaningful this way, although I am not sure how I want to do them. I don't like the idea of signatures all over the place (too high school scrapbook for my taste), but I'm not sure about how to draw the writing lines. Mom suggested finding a black pen or marker that would show up, since the guests will be signing the page with silver ink. I don't know though, so I'm considering very fine lines drawn in white pencil. Whatevs. I got ... 4 months. Holy shit, only 4 months!? Crap.

And a gratuitous cat photo:

Flowers

2007-03-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

So about a year ago I bought a gorgeous bridal bouquet hanging plant from the local nursery. It has been hanging in my kitchen since then, barely clinging onto life. The soil it was originally planted in was very very bad at holding any moisture and the thing would dry into styrofoam consistency between waterings. I don't know why it took so long, but about a week ago I repotted the damn thing in a last ditch effort to save it. Well, that was a great idea because now it's bounced back and is more beautiful than before! Within a week it's put out a lot of growth, about 25 flower buds, and one lovely lone white flower. I call her Gladys. Every time I walk by the plant, I have to smile and say hi to her. I don't know if that makes me really weird, but I know I'm not the only one who talks to their plants.

Here's a closeup of Gladys in all her glory:

Speaking of flowers, when he came home my boyfriend presented me with these!
... which is good because earlier in the day I dropped my laptop on its wireless card, which resulted in this:

Wedding Progress

2007-03-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm zeroing in on a centerpiece design for our wedding. I wanted to do something clear with candles, but not flowery or prissy. Then I thought of using coffee beans. They are such a gorgeous color, and aesthetically interesting to boot. There was some debate on how to do the candles, but I found some really cheap votive glasses at IKEA and they fit perfectly. Now the only task is to figure out a way to decorate the glass with our names and the wedding date. I was thinking of etching it onto the glass but I'm not sure. My other idea is to tie a silver ribbon around the bottom and put a tag with our names on it. After the wedding, guests are welcome to take these home. The glass is actually a compote glass, so it can be used for desserts and things. I'm all for double tasking objects.

Knitting!

2007-03-16T18:56:00.000-07:00

I finally have some knitting progress to show off. I've been working on Eunny Jang's print o' the wave stole to wear during my wedding. So far I've only done a few pattern repeats. Screwed up a whole lot at the beginning so some of that part looks a little wonky. Still, it's coming along a lot nicer now that I'm getting the hang of this lace thing. The color is slightly more ivory than the pic shows, and it's just lovely. Kidsilk Haze in color Pearl.

Wedding Shawl

2007-03-12T21:23:00.000-07:00

I finally started Eunny Jang's Print o' the Wave shawl to wear with my wedding dress. I'm knitting it with Rowan Kidsilk Haze in color Pearl. So far I've gotten 2 pattern repeats done. 20 to go (I think). I'm not going to knit it symmetrically, I'm just going to knit the shawl until I think it's long enough. I had a lot of problems when I had stitch markers at the beginning of each line repeat. Eventually, after consultation with another knitter, I removed the markers and haven't had any more problems. I guess there were some k2tog's and such that spanned a marker, and I just wasn't realizing this. So yeah, hooray for shawlness. Can't wait to see it blocked when it's finished.

Abcessed with a mother's intuition

2007-03-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

Two nights ago, I was frantically studying for a test and preparing for two job interviews (nailed one of them, by the way). Frodo, as usual, was in my way wanting to be petted. I was scratching his neck when I felt a huge bump. It was the size of a large olive (oh, by the way I'm not eating olives anymore) and kind of soft. It was about 1am, so I decided to get to bed and call the vet in the morning.

So after an insane day of feeling like a dumbass and taking that damned test, I hurried Frodo off to the vet. By this time he was starting to act lethargic, and you could feel he was running a temperature. We waited a short time at the vet, while Frodo became angry at being cooped up in his carrier. But he seemed to forget his anger when the vet tech took him out and patted on him. Little did he know. I don't think the hissing started until he had the thermometer shoved up his bum. That made him mad, as would I have been in his situation. He got so angry in fact, the vet tech couldn't finish the temp reading. However his temp was already 105 so she knew he had a fever. The vet comes in, and, within seconds of feeling the bump, diagnosed it as an abscess most likely the result of rough cat-on-cat play fighting (fuckin' Tweek). Frodo must be drained. They tried to give him local, but apparently he disagreed with that idea so the vet had to fully put him under. When it was done, I was given medicine and a very angry cat to take home.

However, the good news is that Frodo is doing fine. In fact, as soon as I got him home and out of the carrier, he began ceremoniously licking his butt. His fever is gone now, and he's been eating and drinking just fine. This morning he's still a little lazy, but can you blame him? Dude had stuff shoved up his ass and drained outta his neck. But the upside is that I get extra cuddles from him during this convalescing period. A mother's intuition, I tell ya. Glad I took him to the vet.

The Great Crouton Adventure

2007-03-03T20:17:00.000-08:00

It was a rushed morning where both the boyfriend and I were running late. As always, he was ready first and flew down the stairs to grab some breakfast and head to work. I'm pulling on my jeans when he leaves and, as he is walking out the door, I hear "Sorry I didn't clean up the mess." "Oh god, what mess?" I thought. Standing at the top of the stairs, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. At the bottom of the stairs, same thing. However when I got to the living room I saw croutons scattered everywhere. My immediate thought was WTF? Then I found the empty crouton bag, with its telltale holes and bite marks. Then I knew. Tweek. Tweek the destroyer. Apparently the crouton bag is made from the same type of material as the Temptation's cat treats bags. The Destroyer has a history of ripping into those as well. I sighed, and stooped to clean up the mess. A few days later, I am still finding errant croutons in odd places in the house. Damn cat.

The Fug Monster

2007-02-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

Went with my man to meet his family down in Phoenix this weekend. I had a great time, and his family is wonderful. One of his aunts took the following photo of us, and I would normally say it is very cute... of him anyway. I look like a total fug monster, and it depressed me greatly. Can't I take one attractive picture? Just one? What will happen with the wedding? Am I going to feel like a fug monster in all those photos too? *le sigh*. :(

click to see scary, unedited version

Bento, no Knitto

2007-02-23T22:10:00.000-08:00

So, busy with life = not knitting. And not knitting = not blogging. Or apparently that's the equation that I've inadvertently proven. I haven't done much knitting since finishing Calorimetry. I really want to get back to working on the Sandy Cardigan from Big Girl Knits. I keep seeing everyone else's sweaters and I'm getting jealous.

I did get back to making bento lately. I don't have a photo of my latest creation, but here is a particularly tasty, recent one.

Top is leftover cajun chicken pasta from a recent Red Lobster trip, along with sesame green beans and cucumber flowers. Bottom is spinach, tomato, cucumber salad with piggie of dressing, cheese stars, and some Koala cookies, strawberry gummies, and a few apple wafers. Yum!

And it's finished.

2007-02-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

This pattern was a bit annoying in that it came out huge. I actually went a needle size below my gauge so that I could avoid that. Oh well. Nothing a little thin elastic can't fix. I could always button the button in the next rib or so up to tighten. Either way it's a great looking pattern, mega warm, and I'm in love with the color. It took one skein plus a few yards of Patons Rumor in Hibiscus Heather colorway.

Calorimetry

2007-02-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

Well, it's just about finished. I still have to weave in the ends and sew on a button, but the knitting is complete. I will be posting a pic of it tomrrow, when I can get outside to take a good photo.

Not much else is going on around here. Cats are their usual selves, house is still needing a good scrubbing, and I still haven't gotten around to making more bread.

Squeee!

2007-02-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

It's being sized! It's being sized! It's being sized! It's being sized!

I will be receiving it on Valentine's Day.

So excited.

Soft and Pricky

2007-02-01T18:44:00.000-08:00

I got a lot more done on Calorimetry. I think it will be finished by the end of the weekend. I'm in love with Paton's Rumor. It's just sooooo soft and lovely and wonderful. I don't remember the name of the colorway at the moment, but it's a gorgeous dark rose heather.

And also, The Boy brought me 12 long stem roses today! He came home from work carrying a huge white box, and there they were. I love him so much, he's so sweet. No special occasion today. I had him take my photo with them, even though I looked like crap. He says "I bring you flowers all the time because you never look like crap to me." *swoon*

Dum Bells...

2007-01-31T19:44:00.000-08:00

"Dum dum da dum" that is. I haven't posted in awhile because I am planning my wedding! August 12, 2007 baby. It's been crazy nuts over here, getting the major things booked and planned. Now that we have a venue, a caterer, and a baker I feel like I have time to breathe. And knit. I'm working on a Calorimetry for myself out of Paton's Rumor. Soooooooooo soft but kind of a bitch to knit with. I hope it doesn't come out ginormous. I am using relatively small needles because a lot of people I know have had trouble with the finished garment being way too big even though they got gauge. I have a huge dome, so I don't really foresee a problem, but I want it snug so it doesn't fall off. I'll probably finish it this week.

Also, I'm now working just a few hours a week as a teaching assistant for my advisor in his first level programming class. After feeling like a moron in my other classes, it's nice to show up and actually know what I'm doing. Plus the silent looks of awe and worship from the kids who are totally confused is great fodder for the ego.

School and snow hit all at once

2007-01-19T23:17:00.000-08:00

Well, the first week of school is done. I only fell once, and thank goodness it was into soft snow. The only thing I hurt was my pride. Seeing as I fall once a winter at a minimum, I'm glad it was into snow and left me completely unbruised. We're all cozy and settled in here for the night. There is a big winter storm moving in and is supposed to snow all weekend. Good news for the skiers I guess, since this is opening weekend for the Arizona Snowbowl. I am happy too, because the weather is a valid excuse to stay inside, bake bread, and play World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade all day. I mean, I do that anyway, but y'know... nice to have a valid excuse.

Oh, and check out this boss mouse pad my grandma sent me. I seriously dig this.

Mom's Present: A Great Success

2007-01-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

I gave my momma the hat and fingerless hand warmers I made her. She LOVES them. Wore them all day. Actually, less than 2 hours after she put them on, she had already got a compliment. She said she wants to show all her coworkers and brag about how awesome her daughter is at knitting. While I'm flattered, and extremely pleased that she loves the set, I laugh when she says I'm awesome. I'm far from awesome. In fact, half the time I MacGyver my knitting into looking presentable. But I have to say I'm really pleased how this set turned out. The hat is my own pattern, which I am going to attempt to write up very soon and post. The mitts are modified from this pattern. Whatcha think?

Holy Snowdrifts, Batman!

2007-01-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

It's official, I have returned from my hiatus on blogging and knitting. Winter break has that kind of effect on me. Everything gets put on hold except watching TV in my pajamas and eating freakish quantities of food. But my beloved mother's birthday shocked me back out of my knitting slump. I never did finish the hat I promised her for Christmas... actually I never even started it (BAD HOBBIT!). But in a grand effort to redeem myself, I have a hat and wristlet set knitted and waiting her arrival on Monday. They're knitted in Noro Silk Garden, in my very own, very first pattern! Can you believe it? Me! I made a pattern! Well ok, the wristlets were a pattern mod from someone else, but the hat is mine. My own. My precious. I can't post photos until she actually receives, and even then it will be a challenge to capture her on film. She's one of the rare, elusive ex-Texas homecoming queens. And while aging has treated her very well and she is still gorgeous, she still dodges the camera at every possible chance.

In other news, Winter '07 officially started on January 12th. I don't count the 1st - 11th, since we had absolutely no snow. None. But a large winter storm moved our way, and dumped about a foot of snow on the 12th. I spent about 20 minutes just brushing massive quantities of snow off my car. My father eschews all things winter-y, and seemed generally amused at my irritation with the car-snow scenario. He keeps up this weird hope that, the more he pokes fun at the weather here, I'll magically realize that winter sucks and I should move back to the desert. But I have a better solution to all of this: I just need a garage. I don't mind the cold or the having to warm up the car. I just mind having to spend 20 minutes of my "could be sleeping" time brushing off a snowdrift.

Christmas in Funky Town

2006-12-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

Despite erratic weather patterns, we had a semi-white Christmas. The snow was sad and tired (and half melted), but it was there and that's what counts. My parents came here to spend Christmas with me and The Boy. SantaDad brought the cats a whole box (I mean like a shoebox) full of packages of treats. They, as usual, seemed to ignore most of what was going on, but Tweek ripped open a whole bag of treats before we saw it coming. So now the treat bags are hiding in the pantry, away from prying little jaws. Our Christmas tree was knocked over only a couple times, which I think is an all-time low. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the general loafing around.

It was a good haul this year too. I got a new Bernette sewing machine, an immersion blender, some bento toys, a silpat, and some bread baking books. Mom also bought me The Sims 2 Pets, which has been eating up most of my time lately. I've been cultivating my own personal musk over the last few days. It is my general tendency to take showers when I leave the house, but usually when I have no where to go I just marinate. Natural oils are good for the hair, and my skin dries out easily after bathing. But mostly I blame The Sims for the current state of funkiness.

The Sickness has now settled upon The Boy. I was pretty miserable all through the holiday season, and therefore have done any knitting (or anything productive, for that matter). And then The Boy got a fever last night, so it doesn't look like knitting is on the near horizon either. Actually, I've been going through a crafting slump. There are days when all I think about is yarn or knitting, and I can't sleep because of the visions of Bearfoote dancing around my head. But then there are times like this, where I haven't knitted and for some reason I just don't want to. The slump usually lasts a couple of months. What I need is to find a project that I'm REALLY excited about, and that should get me going again.

2006 has been pretty good to me, bringing me a wonderful man and a tweaky little kitty. 2007 is shaping up to be even better, with an engagement ring, a graduation, and a wedding. As always, I'll be posting the highlights. Until then, I'm going to go soak in a tub with my new Lush products!

Holidays and Head Colds

2006-12-23T11:11:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted in awhile. I really haven't gotten anything done that is note worthy. Mostly I've been trying to purge my head of mucus, which has taken almost all of my energy. I've been planning Christmas dinner too, since my parents are coming here. It's their first Christmas at my house, so I want to make it special. Mostly I've been sitting at my computer playing World of Warcrack, with tissues and decongestants handy.

Look what it did yesterday!

2006-12-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

This...
... and this!

New springform pan!

2006-12-17T20:54:00.000-08:00

My mom gave me this awesome-o springform pan. It's nonstick and it has a glass (glass!) base so it's really pretty. It also came with a fluted insert for making Bundt, but since I don't make Bundt, I decided to christen the pan in a new way. BUTTERMILK DINNER ROLLS!

Finally free.

2006-12-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

For better or worse, finals are finally over. I spent the first couple post-exam days in a groggy state of binge sleeping and computer gaming. But then I was able to snap out of the stupor and finish The Boy's Christmas Gloves. They are the Unisex Gloves pattern from One Skein, and are knit in Tahki Torino in color 116. The Boy looooooves them and they passed their first test today in keeping his fingers warm as toast. I wish I could boast such success out of the hat for mom. I might end up frogging it and starting over. I dunno. Anyway here are some photos of the lovely gloves.

I know, I know

2006-12-15T17:59:00.000-08:00

*grumble grumble* finals *grumble grumble*

I'll get a post up in the next couple days, honest.

Another day, another loaf

2006-12-08T18:36:00.001-08:00

Well we ate the sandwich loaf pretty dang fast. I decided to make another loaf, but I didn't have any milk so I used a more basic recipe. The loaf came out looking pretty much like the red-headded step-child of my baking career. It tastes ok though. I don't think I let it rise long enough. Oh well, live and learn.

And no, I haven't done much knitting other than stuff for chistmas presents. Nothing is done yet, so I have no photos to post. Bad Hobbit.

My first sandwich loaf

2006-12-07T13:13:00.000-08:00

I've been baking a lot lately and last night I made my first white sandwich loaf. Now, most of my breads come out all wonky shaped and not much capable of being a sandwich bread. This one came out perfect! The crumb is very nice, and the crust is a little crisp but not so crunchy you feel like you're gnawing on a piece of bark. And the color and shape is perfect too! Yay me! I'm going to make this loaf a lot. It was really really easy, and no sponge to care for or anything. I do want to make bread with a bread sponge sometime, but this is definately an easy "start in the early afternoon, and it's ready by dinnertime" bread.

Baking Results!

2006-12-04T14:01:00.000-08:00

Mmmmm. Zucchini brownies and Linzer cookies. Both were a real success. I highly recommend them. Also, Flagstaff is still gorgeous. Snow's melted off the ground, but there's still some on the peaks. Here's a view from our living room.

Knitting progress is slow but sure

2006-11-30T21:22:00.000-08:00

I've been working on so many non-knitting related things lately, it's been slow going on The Boy's x-mas gloves. But here is the one I finished over Thanksgiving. They really don't take long. If you knitted in a marathon, you could do it in one day. Or like me, it'll take you 3 damn weeks. They aren't made from "one" skein either. It's going to take 2 and a partial 3rd to finish. But then again, they're small balls and the book probably used a huge one (huh, the book has huge balls. y'all know, I had to say it). Anyway The Boy also has huge......... hands (tricked ya!) so that is also why the gloves are gobbling up yardage as we speak. I have the second glove cast on and half the cuff finished. This weekend I'm going to sit down and finish it completely. And none too soon, because it got COLD here in Flagstaff. Observe:

Jingle Bells, Yummy Smells, Batman laid an egg...

2006-11-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

Well, we still haven't put the lights on the tree or anything of that nature, but I did start some beginning holiday decorations. The lovely Kim helped me wrap the front door. Thank goodness we did it right after Thanksgiving because now it is too cold. We ended up putting the cats in "daycare" (aka the bathroom) and wrapped the door while it was wide open. I think it looks good though. I wish I would have put the cross piece of ribbon higher up near the bow, but eh it's my first year to do this. Mistakes are bound to happen, and happen frequently. Actually I think the door looks pretty boss. You can't even see the peephole, but it can see you!

The further plans for actual decorations are a lighted, dinky tree and some electric candles in the window. That and many batches of x-mas cookies. I have been baking like a mad woman. I am not sure what has come over me, especially since I haven't eaten all the cookies yet. This is a rather large accomplishment. So far, Birds' Nests, Brown Eyed Susans, Spritz, Walnut Fudge, and Butter Cookie Christmas Trees are all baked and frozen, ready to be thawed closer to time. The linzers are also baked, but have yet to be filled and decorated. Still, it has filled my house with all kinds of yummy smells. And this weekend I'm adding Banana Nut Muffins and Zucchini Brownies to the baking schedule. Oh yeah.

I just realized...

2006-11-29T11:46:00.000-08:00

I've been giving primary blogging real estate to Tweek and Frodo exclusively. Only one photo of Evie and absolutely no photos of my Mia. This will not do (Also, I'm tired of working on school projects and without any photos to post of recent craft and baking work, I'm basically going to throw photos of my cats at you).

Mia:
The girly girls (Mia and Evelyn):

Computers and cookies and Christmas

2006-11-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

It's 2 weeks till finals and we've all been a little crazy around here. Large presentation due the yesterday, and even larger SQL project due Thursday. I've been dividing my time between homework and baking christmas cookies. I thought a little baking and a little sugar might ease my tired ol' brain. And Christmas is quickly approaching. I started the decorating (photos coming when I get time) and the X-mas knitting. And today it finally started snowing for the first time this winter, so I also spent some time prancing around outside. I have to confess, I actually did prance. I've missed my hand-knit hats and scarves. Sadly all gloves have been given away. OH NO! Excuse to make more gloves. *score* I really hope there's a white Christmas this year. We had a brown and wet one last year, and from my experience not very many good things are both brown and wet.

I'll post photos of the cookies and other stuffs after the rush of finals are over.

Ate turkey, must contemplate cookies

2006-11-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

With much feasting and general stuffing of faces behind us, I decided to turn my attention towards Christmas cookies. When I was a child, we lived out in the country where people still brought over a fruitcake at Christmastime... only we were REALLY lucky because our neighbor pooh-poohed the fruitcake and brought over a mad plate of cookies. There must have been at least 20 different kinds (the same neighbor also baked a cake each year for grandma's birthday on Christmas... what a lovely neighbor, no?). In a fit of nostalgia, I decided I wanted to recreate the Christmas cookie plate of old. But on my scale, i.e. 8 to 10 kinds of cookies and not 20. I raided our Christmas decorations today, trying to ferret out those tacky old cookie tins so I can pass out home-baked goodness to all my friends (that and I'm a bit poor this Christmas, so cookies are about the only gifts I can afford to give). I might end up dropping some dough (HAH, I'm such a dork!) on quality disposable plates and go the Easter-basket-cellophaned route. Anyway, here is the menu this year:

Brown Eyed Susans
Birds' Nests
Walnut Fudge
Linzer Cookies
Spritz Cookies
Basic "I Need Comfort" Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Crackle Cookies
Surprise!!!!!

That last cookie is not so much a surprise as a "I haven't decided on the last kind to make yet" kind of cookie. I was thinking of making peanut butter cookies for The Boy, but I really want to make some sort of pumpkin cookie. Maybe a pumpkin spice ginger snap type thing? I need to find a recipe though.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all.

2006-11-23T18:06:00.000-08:00

I must go stuff my face with pie now. Otherwise I'm too incredibly full and happy to care that I am not posting regularly. Just a quick update though, I'm feeling a lot better and my back is not hurting hardly at all. So all is happy.

I hypnotize you. Feeeeeeeeeed me now. You want to feeeeeeeeed me.

Oy

2006-11-19T14:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I have gotten almost nothing done lately. Test week from hell + wicked bad head cold + excruciating back pain = no posts. It goes like this... I had all my crafting stuff piled on the guest bed, waiting to be put away in my nice, clean bookshelves. Well, I guess I worked too hard organizing because I've been laid up lately with awful back spasms and, until a few hours ago, I couldn't get out of bed. It sucked. Thanks to my amazing mother (who drove 2 hours at 3am to come take care of me), I am now able to sit up in bed. Since I'm not able to do much of anything else, I should be getting some much needed knitting done. I've missed it. The last time I went this long without knitting was when I got frustrated and had to put away all knitting for a few months.

On a different note, I've been researching some bread baking techniques for uber-high altitudes. Now that it's getting chilly, we could use a little heat in the kitchen. Our ceramic tile floors are pretty harsh on bare feet, and I've given away all the FuzzyFeet I've knitted. Must stop doing that. Bad hobbit. Bad.

Oh yeah, and I recently had a job interview. With any luck, I'll soon be employed at the local hospital doing SQL programming. Go me!

Survey says!

2006-11-17T19:06:00.000-08:00

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love to knit with merino, and soft wool blends. Anything that is so soft that it induces fondling. I fondle my yarn people. I HATE red heart. It's such a scratchy yarn, its awful. Oh, and chenille. @#$&*%! chenille. Soft and cushy yes, but a bitch and a half to knit with.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I have a couple needle rolls, one for straights, and one for DPNs and circulars.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
I've been knitting a couple years now. Taught myself everything, from reading books and online tutorials. I'm intermediate. I'm not afraid to try anything, the only thing that defeats me are long projects. Sweaters and garments have eluded me thus far.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
http://www.wists.com/halblingefrau

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
I love the smell of real orange blossoms, but it tends to be too intense in its manufactured form. I also like patchouli, and this scented oil called "Egyptian Goddess." And just in case you're wondering, I do in fact shave my pits.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I love sweets a bit too much. Chocolate is my vice over other types of sugar. Dark chocolate is best, but good quality milk chocolate is also appreciated. I have recently found an affinity for gummi Life Savers too.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I sew on a machine, and I'm teaching myself to crochet. I spin with a drop spindle, but I am salivating over the pretty Kromski wheels I've seen. I also stencil and make jewelry.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like a lot of music but I hate rap and R&B. Don't particularly like Country but there are some exceptions. I love old rock (Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd in particular), as well as some of the old 90s alternative bands.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I have a lot of browns and blues in my closet. I'm trying to branch out though. I'm told that rosy pinks and deep reds look good on me. I like black but usually don't dress in all black except when I'm trying to go a bit more formal. Pink is ok for me, but I like it paired with brown a lot more. I dislike yellow, pastels, and bright colors (eg. I prefer navy blue to royal blue, sage green to bright green, etc.).

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my boyfriend and our 4 fur children... our cats. We have 2 boys and 2 girls and they are spoiled brats. I also have 2 gerbils and 2 fish tanks (one 30gal planted and one 2gal betta tank).

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I hate mittens but I will wear gloves. I like fingerless gloves a lot, since my computer is close to a drafty window. I used to not wear scarves until I started knitting. Now I love them, but only if they're soft. My neck is sensitive and itchy-ness is bad. Ponchos make me look like a barn... I generally avoid them. Hats are necessary here at 7500ft. and I wear them often, even in summer (ok, the real reason is that I have disobedient hair and it's easier to cover it up than try to fix it).

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I love to make fingerless gloves, hats, and I'm starting my first sock project (I've made felted slippers, but those are on huge needles and I don't consider them a "sock"). I don't particularly love scarves mostly because I get really tired of them about halfway through. I love to knit bags, as I am a bit of a purse-a-holic.

13. What are you knitting right now?
FuzzyFeet for my dad, socks for me, bag for me, scarf for friend.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Oh I love it. I love it as much as getting tools to MAKE handmade gifts. :)

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I love circs and DPNs. I will knit on straights, but I prefer wood or the flexible Bryspun. I hate aluminum straights. They hurt my hands. I just ordered the KnitPicks Options set, but I wish it came with a 16" length. I guess I'll have to learn the magic loop technique.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I have two swifts, one made by my dad. I have a notespinne, but I suck at hand winding. I want a ball winder for Christmas.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Longer than a year. I have a tank top out of microspun that is about 66% finished, but I just can't seem to pick it up again.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I LOVE halloween because I love spooky movies and stuff, but overall I love Christmas. I just love the cozy winter, the decorations, cookies, carols, etc. Plus the presents. I mean come on, everyone loves presents.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn (my stash is growing), boxes, interesting glass bottles, cool pens. I guess books too, I have literally almost a ton.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Gosh, I would just love some Lantern Moon needles.... pretty. I also absolutely love Addi Turbo circulars and bryspun DPNs. I would love some great books on socks, but I mostly already have the books I have coveted (manic spending spree on Amazon one night). I have no knitting magazine subs, however. I don't know which are good and interesting, and which are (what I call) obnoxious and pretentious. Any suggestions?

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'm trying to learn fair isle, and I would love to make a chullo. Getting better at lace would also be nice. I can read a pattern and all, but I have never had the patience to make anything large and lacy.

22. Are you a sock knitter?
I am just starting socks. I love handknit socks, but I'm not sure how I like knitting with 0's... it sure takes forever. Maybe I'd like it better if I did something other than just stockinette stitch the whole time. Booooring.

Spam Fried Rice

2006-11-11T17:42:00.000-08:00

I used the recipe from Cooking Cute with a couple modifications (I used soy sauce instead of sake, and I didn't have any onions on hand). The Boy loved it, and was quite visibly sad when I told him we had eaten the whole batch. Now he's begging me to make it for dinner tomorrow night. I had a little spam leftover after making the recipe, so I sliced it thin and heated it up in a pan with some teriyaki sauce and served it along side the rice.

So yeah, I am officially saying that Spam is, in fact, not disgusting. Amazing, no?

Coffee, coffee, coffee.

2006-11-11T01:38:00.000-08:00

I just finished my last swap for awhile (I'm so broke, y'all). But at least it was a success! I did a caffeine molecule on a shirt, as well as made some earrings out of coffee beans, and sent a coffee recipe book. Most of the recipes use coffee liqueuer, cuz I kind of am a drunk. Ok, not really, but sometimes? I don't know. It's late. This week has been a week of hell. 5 tests and homeworks and a project due... so alcohol is definately in the cards for the weekend. I just realized I went from talking about legitimate crafting to booze. Yeah, it's been a long week.

Weird

2006-11-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

Today has been very strange. For some reason I didn't hear my alarm this morning and slept through two classes. Then, as I went to my car, I discovered someone had written "I love cats" and other such silly things in glass chalk on my windows (eventually found out who it was). My third class (computer lab) gets cancelled, The Boy's cell phone goes into no-signal-land for awhile, and I dropped a cordless phone on my foot while shopping for such items. Now it's 10pm, and the doorbell rings. No one is there, but there is a book about cats and a Jelly Belly gummi rat on my doorstep. Is today Freak-Out-Mary-Day? Because it's working. I mean, yeah I love gummi rats, but still, this is too weird.

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn!!!

2006-10-31T10:18:00.000-08:00

Posting About Not Posting

2006-10-30T14:53:00.000-08:00

Hey all. I have a huge database project due this week so I haven't had much to post about. I did get a little more done on the Sandy cardigan. Got one whole back panel finished and started the second. Unfortunately photos and further progress will have to wait until the database of doom is finished.

Here's a little somethin' to tide you over 'till next time...

My Knitting Spot

2006-10-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo! Got the house cleaned this week (with great amounts of help from me mum) and now I have a knitting spot! Check it:

And a shot without flash, to show the relaxing lighting...

Socks and box

2006-10-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

I finished my dad's birthday present, a pair of slippers. I have not yet felted them, but I plan on doing that tonight. They are SOOOOOOO easy to knit and knit up really quickly. I did one whole sock in 2 hours while watching Court TV.

Also, I finally started using my lovely bento box. I will try to post photos of them regularly. Here is today's bento (more info on flickr):

Cats in the Night

2006-10-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

So y'all have heard me rant on our kitten, Tweek. Tweekie McTweekersons. Well he's got a new name now. Spazmondo the Psychotic Feline. Last night, The Boy and I went out to get some late night fast food. It was a normal night, dark and chilly and smelling of fires in fireplaces. Cozy Flagstaff. Then the storm broke.

We no more than cracked the door to come in when Tweek streaked out into the front yard. Too stunned to close the door fast enough, Frodo was able to follow. Normally when the boys get out, they go down two apartments and flop in the dirt to roll around. Nope. Not this time. Tweek takes off at light speed. I mean seriously people, he was a streak. You couldn't have told the difference between him and any other cat.

So the boys race around the back of the building and into darkness. I grabbed the treat jar and started rattling. I hear a galloping noise and some strange cat-like grumblings. Fur flies past my feet. Then Tweek approaches me in the hopes of treats. I grab him, hand him to The Boy who promptly puts Tweek inside. NO! Tweek escapes again, although luckily contained by the back yard fence. Quickly grabbed and stuffed inside, I go in search of Frodo.

Frodo totally blends into the shadows. He's the Ninjacat. Luckily for me, the neighbors cat was staring intently at a corner of its yard so I was able to find the Fro. I called him once and he came over like "Hey mom, there's cat poop in this yard. I was just smelling it, but I'll go inside now." The ordeal over, I take my cat and go home.

...

And Tweek escapes AGAIN! This time he's running light speed across the front yard, back and forth, back and forth. His tail is bushy. He's doing the sporadic kitten-jumping-sideways-while-running thing, and generally being completely insane. It takes The Boy and I almost 20 minutes to catch the little bastard. If that wasn't enough, we then had to listen to Tweek wail and moan at the doors of the house begging to be let out.

I swear, I don't know how we deal with him.

*sigh*

A Day In My Life

2006-10-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

The following photos are from October 17th. I didn't have time to upload them until today though.

7am

8am

9am

10am

11am

12pm

1pm

2pm

3pm

4pm

5pm

6pm

7pm

8pm

9pm

Tasha, Tasha, Tasha!

2006-10-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

Well, part of it anyway. I have the bottom and one side done. This is my first foray into cabelling and I am liking it so far. The simple cable on Tasha is perfect, and very easy to memorize with only a 7 row repeat. Sorry for the crap photo. Late night combined with poor lighting means blurry photo. The flash photo was worse. Ah well.

LA Loot and Angry Cat

2006-10-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

So my parents recently took a cruise to Mexico that left from the Port of Los Angeles. I just had to jump at the opportunity to make my mother go to Mitsuwa and bring me back goodies. And bless the lovely woman, she got me what I wanted and more! Check out the goods:

A ton of Pocky in my favorite flavors, a bento and toys, strawberry gummies, an awesome steamer, and all the Ramune I can drink. Go mom.

In other news, Evie was apparently quite angry with me for cleaning up the house and destroying her hiding places... dirty laundry, open closets, unorganized yarn stash. You get the idea.