Random Thursday

OOPS - I seem to have missed Wednesday. Not to mention Tuesday.

• Hedera seems to be taking up my every waking moment (though of course, it's not. I have a job and a Lorelei and a house to get ready for a party.) I'm into the foot of the first sock and I love it more than I should. Especially since there are two rows where I knit row 1 instead of row 3. I'm not calling them design features. Features that will hopefully not be repeated for sock #2. The sleeve of my perfect sweater is starting to feel a little neglected. As are the Christmas hats/scarves/mittens that need to be knit.
• Lorelei turns 3 on Monday. I'm convinced that the "Terrible Twos" are really the "Terrible Threes". The tantrums for no reason, the arguing just because, etc. are all starting to drive me insane. Thank goodness, she's so cute and smart. Otherwise, I don't know how I'd put up with it all. Last night Lorelei wanted pancakes for dinner. So I served pancakes and she screamed. Then she stopped screaming, ate, wanted more. I made more. She screamed. I ate the pancakes. Then she stopped screaming and got mad because I ate them. At least the pancakes were good.
• My parents are visiting this weekend for Lorelei's party. It's Thursday and my house is still a mess.
• I broke the carafe for my coffeemaker on Monday. It was so traumatic that I still haven't fully recovered. It doesn't help that my coffeemaker seems to be discontinued so I had to order a replacement carafe directly from the company and I don't think they've shipped it yet. Thank goodness that they sell Starbucks in my office building. I don't know what I'm going to do this weekend.
• I know random posts are supposed to have at least 5 items, but I can't think of anymore right now.

Long Weekend Wrapup

A long weekend off of work has turned into a long weekend away from the blog. NaBloPoMo seems to be falling apart, but I've posted over 20 times in a month (about a third of the entire year's postings).

We spent most of the weekend with my SIL, BIL, and Lorelei's cousins. Lots of playing, lots of screaming, and not enough napping.

I finished up my latest Branching out scarf (except for the blocking). I'm on the heel flap of the first hedera. The heel flap seems longer than normal (but what do I know, I usually do short row heels). Next up are some hats for the niece and nephews for Christmas. And a new scarf for Lorelei.

I can't wait to finish up these Christmas presents because next up is Adamas.

Random Wednesday

It's the day before Thanksgiving. Let's see what's going on.

• I worked from home today so that I could go to the Thanksgiving feast at Lorelei's preschool. There was actually a lot of food and pie.
• Unfortunately, Lorelei decided that it was time to go home after we ate. So I didn't get to work much this afternoon.
• Luckily, work was dismissed two hours early for Thanksgiving.
• I got a lot of knitting done while Lorelei was taking a nap.
• I'm almost to the heel of the first Hedera sock. I'm over half finished with my mom's Christmas present. Still working on sleeve #2 of the Perfect Sweater.

Have a Great Thanksgiving!

I admit it ...

I missed a day of posting. And it's not even the holidays yet. Why would someone decide that November was a good month to write a novel, blog post, knit a sweater, etc. when it's a short month with one of the largest holidays of the year? I admit short months are good for blog posting, but for writing a novel and knitting a sweater wouldn't you want a month with an extra day?

I was hoping that this month of posting would help me to get a routine of posting started, help me find my "voice", and really rev up my little blog. I'm not sure it's helped. Also, I admit, I did not officially sign up for NaBloPoMo because I assumed I'd fail.

Anway, still knitting the same old stuff. Lorelei is still not potty-trained. I'm not traveling for Thanksgiving. Same old, same old.

Sunday is quiz day

Your Karaoke Theme Song is "Margaritaville"

You are a true party animal, but your style is mild and chill. Kicking back with a few friends and a few drinks is all you need to be happy. You certainly don't feel pressured to be a part of any party scene. In fact, you avoid trendier spots. You've been known to kick loose anywhere and everywhere. All you need is a cooler. You might also sing: "Gin and Juice," "Love Shack," and "Red Red Wine" Stay away from people who sing: "Wind Beneath My Wings"

What's Your Karaoke Theme Song?

Lazy Saturday

What did I do today?

Nothing.

What do I have to post about today?

Nothing.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Friday Current Events

• Barry Bonds got indicted. I'm really tired of hearing about Barry Bonds (he's getting up there with Britney). He just needs to retire and fade away into obscurity.
• Britney has ADD? Why does that not surprise me.
• Paige Davis is returning to Trading Spaces. I stopped watching shortly after she left the show, it just wasn't the same without her perkiness. I may start watching again after she comes back. Trading Spaces is responsible for my love of TLC, though lately I only watch What Not to Wear.
• Today starts the Thanksgiving travel "season." I'm really glad that I always stay home at this time of year.
• The WGA strike is still going on. We've seen the last episode of The Office for a while (I thought it was the best of the season so far). We're going to run out of my favorite shows soon. I'm going to be really upset if Big Brother and American Idol are the only shows on tv. Maybe the networks will start running reruns again. If I haven't seen it before, it's new to me!
• Our poor Miami Dolphins are still big losers (0-9) and the cheaters are (9-0). What is wrong with this picture?

FO: Husband socks!

Husband socks for Lorelei's dad. He picked out the yarn over a year ago at MS&W (Opal). He picked out the stitch pattern (stockinette foot, woven stitch leg). The woven stitch pattern was found in Sensational Knitted Socks. These fit him perfectly and I'm very happy with the way they turned out. Probably my best pair so far.

I finished these cozy wool socks just in time for cooler weather. He liked them so much that he put them on for the photos and didn't take them off for 24 hours.

More pictures in Flickr (click on the picture or the flickr button in the sidebar).

Random Wednesday

• It's almost 10pm and Lorelei is still not asleep. It's ruining all my evening plans. And I'm going to blame her for the late posting tonight.
• My Lorelei is a completely different Lorelei than the Lorelei at preschool. The preschool Lorelei always listens, eats all her food, follows directions, and uses the potty. The home Lorelei does none of those things. I'm feeling distressed by this.
• OTN: christmas present (Branching out) - repeat #2, sleeve # 2 of the perfect sweater, and 4 repeats of Hedera sock 1.
• I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. I'm really not ready for the holiday/birthday season. Lorelei's dad ordered his own birthday present today and I have some ideas for Lorelei. I also need to buy supplies for the party and deep clean my house. Yeah!
• I swore to myself that I would send Christmas cards this year. Early. I need to get on that.
• I just finished watching this week's Heroes. It fills in all the holes, but I'm feeling a little underwhelmed. I think I was expecting something more surprising.
• Is it weird that I would really like to watch Sylar eat someone's brain?
• I downloaded a bunch of podcasts last Friday. I finally put them all on my ipod, but I still haven't listened to any of them. I still haven't listened to the last epipsode of Lime and Violet.
• I have come to the realization that I need more bags for my knitting. The plastic bag method really doesn't work well when I want to transport my knitting places. It also makes it hard to organize. Or maybe I just have too many projects OTN at once.
• I've been knitting socially a lot lately. I've been meeting people at work for lunch almost ever day to knit. There have also been some weekend events. I'm very proud of myself for being so social.
• Speaking of proud, it's day 14. That's almost half the month. Yeah, me!

Hedera

I cast on Hedera yesterday. I've had the yarn in my stash for close to a year and a half (KnitPicks Essential in chocolatey brown). I've been eyeing the Hedera pattern for a while. I decided back in February that this yarn wanted to be Hedera. So the build up to this project has been long. I've completed a repeat and a half of the pattern.
Thoughts:

• I love the look of this pattern.
• I love the chocolately color of this yarn. These will be perfect for work - the majority of my work clothes are brown, tan, or look nice with brown. (that's an issue for another day)
• I only have 1 and 1/2 repeats completed, but so far I really like the way this yarn looks with the pattern.
• But man, this pattern is fiddly. If I wasn't totally in love with the end result, I would have ripped this out already.

Weekend Wrapup - Holiday edition

I had a three-day weekend this week, so I've gotten a lot done.

• I finished the Husband socks. Pictures to come soon. I hope he likes them as much as I do (he picked out the yarn and pattern) because they're a little too big for me.
• I cast on a pair of Hedera. For me.
• I started sleeve number 2 of the Perfect sweater.
• Lorelei likes her wallaby so much that she's worn it two days in a row.
• Lorelei and I visited with friends yesterday. I got some knitting done (and football watching) and Lorelei played with her best friend, Jonah. She was so sad when it was time to leave, she wanted to stay and sleep with her friend.
• There was also a lot of cleaning and tv watching.

Sunday is quiz day

Your Pilgrim Name Is

Faith Hopkins

What's Your Pilgrim Name?

Lazy Links

In an effort to post when I have nothing to post about - Links I Like!

Knitting links (a very small selection of the blogs in my Bloglines):

• The Yarn Harlot - I own three of her books, one which I got signed in September when she came to DC. Funny.
• Wendy Knits (and Lucy) - Wendy and Lucy are practically my neighbors. Lots of socks.
• Grumperina - creator of the Jaywalkers (of which I've made two pairs).
• Crazy Aunt Purl - funny. The author of a new self-help book.
• The Panopticon - Franklin and Dolores.

Mommy blogs:

• Notes from the Trenches
• Woulda Coulda Shoulda
• The Parenting Post
• Parent Hacks

TV!:

• TV Guide's Michael Ausiello - all the important TV news and spoilers, though all of TV Guide online is great.
• E!'s Kristin Dos Santos - more tv news and spoilers.
• Televisionary - recaps, news, and opinions.
• TVgasm - recaps and a tiny bit of news.
• TV Squad - recaps and news.
• Go Fug Yourself - not really TV specific, but it didn't fit in any of the other categories.

Enjoy your weekend!

Friday FO

It is finished!!!

Lorelei's Wonderful Wallaby (size 4) made from Plymouth Encore worsted in Red.

It only took about half the yarn I bought for it, so I think I'll use the extra to make Lorelei a new scarf, maybe a new hat. This has to be the nicest acrylic blend I've ever used. It's very soft and nice to work with. This pattern is mostly stockinette, so it was a very quick knit (about 3 weeks).

Day 8

It's official - I've posted every day for a week. It's a new record. Even if I don't make it through NaBloPoMo, I've got a new personal best.

It's been a rough week - first the time change, then the writers strike, Lorelei waking me up at 4:00 this morning. I'm really looking forward to my 3-day weekend.

Why is it that I have 20-million ideas for blog posts while I'm driving on the highway and exactly no ideas when I'm sitting at my desk in front of my computer all day?

I guess it's good that my job doesn't involve much creative writing.

Random Wednesday

• Five more rows on the hood of Lorelei's wallaby. It's taken a little longer than I expected to finish the hood, but it's almost there. Then all I need to do is sew up the hood and the underarms - I've already taken care of most of the ends. Good timing, since it's starting to get cold around here.
• Heroes - was so good this week. I squealed a little at the ending. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched yet, but I'm glad that the person I thought was leaving the show actually has a bigger part. I haven't been totally thrilled by the season so far and this episode definitely made up for it. I hope the next episode is just as good.
• Potty-training - Lorelei has gone potty at daycare for last two days in a row. Is it wrong that I want to do a happy dance??? When we started potty-training at 18 months, I never thought that she'd still be in diapers at 3 years (though we still have 3 more weeks).
• Lorelei's birthday is in 3 weeks. I'm in the midst of planning a Blue's Clues party. Why Blue's Clues? Because a paw print-shaped cake is super easy to make (round cake and some cupcakes). After last year's Elmo disaster, I'm all about the easy. Though maybe next year, I'll do princesses. Make a pink cake, throw on some sparkly stuff, and call it a day.
• Lorelei's dad's birthday is also coming up. He doesn't get a party. Maybe I'll take him out to dinner. Lorelei would probably like to make him a cake. I guess he wants presents, too.
• I like cake.
• The Halloween candy that we bought to give out (but didn't because we weren't home) is almost gone. I may have eaten too much of it. Is it too soon to buy Christmas candy?
• The Yarn Harlot has a new hat pattern on her blog. I really want one, but I don't have any fat, pretty yarn. Actually, I don't have any fat yarn and my worsted stash is all solid colors. Maybe I need to go shopping.
• No Private Practice tonight. I guess I'll have to find something else to occupy myself. I guess it's good practice in case the strike doesn't end soon.

Current Events - 11/6/07

Let's have current events day.

• It's Election Day here in Virginia. I get to vote for such exciting things as: school board member, clerk of court, commonwealth's attorney, and soil and water conservation director.
• The TV and movie writer's strike started yesterday. I hope that it doesn't last long, but it looks like it may. I'm not looking forward to the increase in bad reality shows that will occur if this strike lasts for more than a few weeks. Farmer Takes a Wife looks really bad.
• Our Miami Dolphins are on their way to a perfect season. A perfectly bad season.
• NBC is having a "Green" week. I'm all about the environment and global warming is bad - but this is just cheesy. Couldn't they have come up with something better for Sweeps?
• Christina Aguilera finally confirms she's pregnant. This would be one of the worst kept secrets ever. Paris Hilton outed her months ago. Also Milla Jovovich had a baby recently and named her Ever Gabo. What kind of a name is that????

Who has some current events that I'm missing?

Weekend Wrapup

Considering that I think I only left the house once this weekend, I feel like I had a pretty productive weekend. There was cleaning, organizing, filing, paying bills, knitting.

I starting cleaning off my desk, finding bills, paying bills, filing piles of papers. Sent out some cards that I've been planning for months to send out.
I found my leftover Christmas cards from last year, so I'm ready to start this year's.

I cleaned the toilet in my basement (which is used as often as the others). When we moved into this house in May, the toilet bowl was nasty. I assumed that it was stained, so I wasn't in any hurry to clean it. Turns out, the previous owners just left it nasty. I was able to make it white again.

I finished some baby bibs for a friend in FL. Mailed those off. I forgot to take a picture, of course, but they were really cute.

I'm half way through the hood of Lorelei's wallaby. She tried it on yesterday and it fit great. Then she started putting my knitting needles in her mouth, pretending they were musical instruments.

I've been limiting Lorelei's candy consumption to 1-2 pieces a day. The good thing - she doesn't over do it on the sugar. The bad - this is still more sugar than she needs on a daily basis and this way it will last forever. But I've been good and haven't touched her stash. I'm not sure how long my self control will last though.

Happy Monday!

Fire bad. Tree pretty.

You Are Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"We saved the world. I say we have to party."

What Superheroine Are You?

Day 3

Only day 3 and already I'm having trouble thinking of things to write about - this is probably why I don't blog often.

So let's talk about what I'm knitting.

1. I'm knitting a pair of husband socks. I'm using the woven stitch from Sensational Knitted Socks that he picked out with some Opal that he chose at MS&W '06. I'm up to the leg of the second sock (toe up) and while I love the way these are turning out, I'm still not sure what color the yarn is. It's blue and gray and either dark gray or green. It bothers me that I'm still not sure what color they are, but I guess as long as Lorelei's dad likes them it doesn't really matter.
2. Wonderful Wallaby - I'm knitting a wallaby for Lorelei. I'm about ready to start the hood - this sweater has gone really quickly. I'm using Plymouth Encore worsted in Red (as specified by Lorelei). This has been a really simple sweater, I might even make one for myself one day. I love that the pattern has sizes from kids 2 to adult XXXXL.
3. The Perfect Sweater - this is on hold because I wanted to get Lorelei's sweater finished before her birthday. But before I stopped I finished the back and one sleeve. I'm using dark blue Cascade 220.

Happy Weekend!

Cooking is fun!

Confession time: I almost never cook. I love frozen pizza. I love people who deliver food to my door. One of the biggest problems about where I live is the lack of other people to cook me food (few delivery places, few restaurants). It's not that I don't like to cook - it's that I'm lazy and don't like to clean.

Somehow, with all of my food baggage (and extra poundage), I managed to spawn a child who would love nothing more than to spend her days in the kitchen cooking. Lorelei will watch Rachael Ray with the same intensity that she watches Elmo. Lorelei doesn't like frozen pizza because there's nothing to "cook."

When Lorelei was about 18 months old, her daycare class would make cake for the children's birthdays. All the kids in the class got to help stir. Lorelei thought that was the best thing ever. I got her a little bowl and spoon and she would sit and pretend to make cake for hours. Last Christmas, she got some pretend food, little pots, and a tea set. She loves to "cook" for me and make me pretend to eat it. But lately, that's not enough for her. She wants to make real food. She wants to help make dinner every night and is not happy if there's nothing for her to do.

I should be happy, since this suggests that soon Lorelei will be able to cook for me and I'll be able to sit on my butt watching tv. But knowing my life, as soon as she's old enough to cook unsupervised, she'll get bored and I'll still have to do all the cooking.

November!

Well, it's November and here is NaBloPoMo post #1.



Last night, Lorelei the Pirate went trick-or-treating for the first time. We had planned to go last year, when she dressed up as Leia, but because of insane traffic we didn't make it home in time. This year I left work a little early, again there was insane traffic (it took me two hours to get home), but we made it just in time for the festivities.

Lorelei went trick-or-treating with her cousins (a fairy, a cowboy, and the youngest was a cow). She figured it out by the first house and had a great time. Her little bag was overflowing with candy by the time was she was ready to call it quits. I had thought that since it was her first time that she'd be finished after a couple of houses, but she kept up pretty well with her cousins for about three streets (she only missed the last few houses).

Now I'm afraid that since she had so much fun that she's going to want to do it again tonight. and tomorrow night. and every night for the rest of her life. Hopefully, the candy will last for a while and then we'll have the holidays to distract us.

ARG, matey!