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the current

current clothing: the usual jewelry, uggs, jeans, white long sleeve shirt under a blue striped short sleeve t & knee socks coz its cold.

current mood: bored to the point of going to thesaurus.com to look up another word for bored - blase'.

current taste: sippin' on black coffee wishing it would turn into a cinnamon dolce latte, size tall, no whip, extra foam and don't forget the powder.

current hair: pulled back into a low ponytail & sprayed with aussies scrunch spray. effort was not in the cards this morning.

current annoyance: it appears today is going to be just as long as yesterday. and cold, let's not forget cold.

current smell: the aroma of the coffee which presently sits right in front of me is slowing finding its way up to my nose.

current thing you ought to be doing: if i were a go-getter i could go to my boss and as for more work today. that's a big IF though.

current jewelry: wedding/engagement ring on the left hand and my metal ring from EVV on my right middle finger. also, my silpada circle necklace.

current book: i'm thumbing through my stitchnbitch book while i procrastinate the start of the reader. one of these nights i'll choose reading over knitting. i swear.

current refreshment: bottom of the carafe coffee. blech.

current worry: that the internet at work might suddenly and w/o reason go out. i might have a panic attack if that happens.

current crush: why, edward cullen of course!

current longing: it's a toss up between that cinnamon dolce latte and the chicken & stuffing leftovers in the breakroom at work. how i long for lunch time.

current music: the secondhand serenade channel on pandora which is currently playing let it roll by secondhand serenade.

current wish: i dream of being at home, snuggled under a blanket, the kitties lying on my feet with the x-files playing on the tv and my knitting needles in my hands. i, of course, also have my macbook propped open on the coffee table next to me while i chat w/ my friends in between stitches.

current lyric in your head: i'm just humming along to pandora as it switches songs.

current makeup: just the usual, a splash of foundation here, a little blush there. nothing too extravagant. NET was my only intended destination today anyway. no one to impress here!

current undergarments: my light purple hanky pankys and a cream VS bra. woot.

current regret: bird-bathing it up instead of the full on shower this morning. i feel gross and sneezy.

current desktop picture: cellys! from EB and KL!

current plans for tonight/weekend: tonight - the american idol premiere, knitting, and dinner. weekend - TBD.

current cuss word du jour: "ahhh crap" said wisconsin-style. think bobbys world.

current disappointment: that i didn't stop at starbucks on my way in this morning.

current amusement: the giant man next to me on the phone telling one of our customers how he's "a listener."

current IM/person you're talking to: banda on googletalk.

current love: technology that bridges the distance.

current obsession: knitting.

current thing or things on your wall: in my cube - just the usual pictures/cards from friends/last years calendar still set on december. i'm living in the past.

current favorite book: eclipse. i will not be judged.

current favorite movie: the thing called love will always be my favorite. i did, however, just watch into the wild last night and have a small obsession now.

a tip of the hatty to ya...

hats. are. stressful.

once i switched to the double pointed needles it was a bit of a thoroughfare to complete the top but i am proud to say i overcame my fears and voila - a la hatty!

my project list

lets do this in order...

first things first
the video collage for my dads birthday. i have two video jokes from my family so far and i have yet to really delve into imovie. hopefully it's easy-peasy coz i have to have the video complete by the weekend of february 7th! i'll upload it here when it's done!

ugh and...
i need to finish up the scrapbook i'm making for seany. it's a memory book from the trip he and my dad took down the mississippi river.

presently
i'm of course, working on my hatty. this is a small project however and will be done in the next day or so. i'm getting a little nervous about decreasing and finishing the top off. oh the pressure!

next
i'm going to attempt a baby blanket. it shouldn't be too hard as it's just a simple stockinette stitch. it has a hood though which will be interesting. here's a picture!



and then...
i need to try my hand at cabling! insert cabled scarfy!



all the while:
i'm working on a simple ribbed scarf like the first (technically 2nd) one i made a few posts ago. this time i followed the pattern and it's wide enough to not warrant the name "charlie brown" scarf. i like to have one easy project to work on for when the harder projects weigh on my mind. sometimes its nice to work on something you're good at.

dun dun dun...
my goal is to make the mittens that bella wore in twilight. they're so super cute but they also look really complicated. i found a pattern online but i'm definitely not skilled enough to attempt them quite yet. i have to master cabling first.



addendum
i found this on etsy.com - doesn't look too complicated! add it to the list!

me, shovel?

i woke up to about an inch of snow this morning with more falling every minute i wasted lying in bed trying to not think of the snow. al roker didn't help with his constant reminders of snow across the plains. it was inescapable. unfortunately we didn't get enough downfall in the morning to justify an absence from work. i groggily made my way to the window in the kitchen to make one last judgment call. nope, not enough. i had to come into work. i refused to shovel though. the snow blower still intimidates me and i prefer to leave the snow removal to the male gender. i'm too dainty to shovel. i grumbled to aiko, "your dad wants to live in wisconsin - HE can shovel." unfortunately though he's out of town until late tonight. it's okay though - the snow will still be there when he returns. driving into work was fun. or not fun, depending on who's making the statement. my little eclipse mitzy didn't appreciate my making her trudge up the big hill on the way to the beltline. she gave me a few whines but got me here safely.

i am quite the busy bee this month. i have several projects ahead of me and it feels good to be busy. i'm feeling a bit more connected with myself which is relaxing. there are only a handful of things that could make this life better - living down south where there is no such thing as snow, and living in the same town as all the people i love. that is the only aspect where i sometimes feel disjointed. i am thankful for the internet though - it makes the distance seem shorter and helps keep us bound together. i am very lucky that my three closest friends are always a fingertip away.

take two!

well this is turning out WAY better than the first. practice makes perfect. needle size makes a huge difference. my stitches are much tighter and more secure. i'm finished with chunk one - the seed stitch and now i'm onto the fake stockinette stitch for the bulk of the hatty! wish me luck!

size matters

the problem has been identified. i need to re-read the chapter on how to read a pattern. that and needle size. using a size 10.5 circular needle on a pattern that calls for a size 7 results in a hat for giants. oh and also, apparently when a pattern calls for a stockinette stitch and you're working with circular needles all you need to do it knit a regular stitch! funny how the book failed to mention that. i think it's a conspiracy. thank the lawd i have mrs. banda to identify my short-comings. i vow that hat #2 will be a success!

well, it will be a success if i can find needles which are the correct size. i made a trip to michaels on my lunch break and it looks like the knitting section was ransacked by thieving grandmas. there were absolutely no size 7 8 or 9 circular needles. i'll have to make a second attempt at joanns on my way home. banda came to the rescue again and even sent me a 40% off coupon! woot!

on another note - i'm officially signing up for the gym tonight. a new golds gym opened up right by my house for $20/mo. it doesn't get any better than that! i'm looking forward to tracking my progress on the wii fit. my goal is to fit back into my khaki banana republic cargo pants. i've been saving them for a time such as this!

yay fitness and knitting!

RIP ye hatty

okay sometimes you just have to know when to say enoughs enough. i've effed this hat up too far beyond repair. let's just say it has served its purpose well as a practice hat! bah!




and then there was none...

in two parts

part 1
call me ancient. knitting is fun! the work week just started back up and my mind is wandering back to all the knits and purls that await me at home. i am working on a hat now and i can't wait to finish it. banda informed me last night that i'm doing the stockinette stitch wrong but i'm too far into the hat to stop and start over now. it will turn out fine... technically i've made my own pattern. woot! this is my practice hat anyhow, so it really doesn't matter. the next hat i'll make (correctly following the pattern) will be super cute! i can't wait to use the pretty yarn i bought at the meyer house in st. louis. i have been scouting out some local yarn stores in madison and am excited to check them out this weekend. joann fabrics works okay for some things since i'm just starting out but as i get better i know i'm going to be a yarn snob. acrylic - eegads!

okay, enough about knitting.

part 2
i always have a wavering feeling on new years eve. this year was no different. it is nothing i dwell on - just every year right around midnight i get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. the new year has come and gone though and i'm back to feeling optimistic. i have a lot to look forward to this year.

jenny and sean are planning a visit to madison this summer. hopefully we will be able to make it to the harry potter exhibition in chicago. i'm also counting down the days until harry potter 5 comes out which jenny and i have planned on meeting in st. louie for.

phantom of the opera is playing at the fox theatre in september. seany and i are planning on going and i'd love to take emily too. the only thing that would make this better is if it were les mis - but i do love me some phantom.

my daddys birthday is in february. it falls on a weekend so i'll be going to st. louis to celebrate! he's going to be 70 this year so i need to plan something special.

the presidential inauguration is in a few weeks! i can't wait.

we can't forget about new moon coming out in *hopefully* november. i sure hope the summer doesn't drag on... :)

i would lovelovelove to plan a trip to CT with jenny to see erin! we'll see how this pans out though ~ plane tickets sure are expensive.

my calendar is filling up quite nicely. i like to keep busy in the summer. the winter months are always filled with snow and ice and make it hard to travel. i end up sitting on my butt at home in layer upon layer of clothing waiting for the sun to come back out.

hopefully 2009 will be filled with a lot of good memories.

voila le scarfy!

knitting project number one = done and done!

my new appreciation

so yoga is hard work! and i'm not even talking about regular yoga. i'm doing poor mans yoga on the wii fit. what's pretty neat about it though is how you can see your center of balance while you're doing the pose. i'm in a constant struggle to maintain my pose, to keep my little red dot in the center of the bigger yellow blob, all while remembering to inhale and exhale deeply. i have a newly found respect for people who do yoga. it's incredibly hard to do correctly.

better yet - the wii fit also has hula hooping for cardio! let's jut say i make sure my curtains are closed before i attempt to hula hoop. i watched bryan do it the other night and almost died in a fit of laughter. it's definitely not for the weak hearted.

i'm really digging the fit and am excited to track my progress. what's even better is that i'm going to start my gym membership soon so i'll be feeling better in no time. i kid you not folks - i've gained 20 pounds since getting married. not cool. it's not even the weight that bothers me it's how i feel. i get winded walking up a flight of stairs and i'm constantly tired. let me make this clear though, this isn't my new years resolution. i don't really believe in resolutions stemming from the new year holiday. they're always so forced and un-followed through on.

i would just like to better myself. no more negative, only positive! i've already seen a huge improvement in myself within the past month or so just by weeding out all the negative energy around me. i'm ready to move on up... to the east side! ha.

this ones for da homies

so here i sit one day before christmas eve thinking about all the things to be thankful for - the spirit of christmas will do that to ya i guess.

there's one constant in my life and that's my friends. i couldn't ask for better. you know who you are. you're the ones who love me unconditionally just as i love you;

my best friend - you're my sister. i cannot explain in words what a feeling it is to know i can tell you absolutely anything without harboring any fear or self-doubt. i don't laugh nearly enough when you're not around. it still amazes me how even though we physically exist in different parts of the country i always feel like you're with me. (could be the texting, ay? :) i love you.

my childhood friend - you're my friend of make-believe who i can always spend hours talking about all the fun we had when we lived just down the street from each other, riding bikes and playing in the basement. you make me see more of myself; and i am incredibly lucky to have you just a few hours away. we need to take advantage of that fact more often. i love you.

my scientist - you've always been my other sister. this past year i'd like to think our friendship has grown even more (thank you googletalk!). you have no idea how many large bouts of laughter i've let out sitting in my lonely cubicle during the 5-day work week. your humor has yet to be matched and i love our lamo inside jokes. i love you - even if you're a scarf nazi.

my new friend - i say "new" because you are the only new person in my life i need. thank you for always watching out for me, picking me up on snowy days and always automatically disliking the people i dislike. you are a true friend through and through. my life in madison would be a mess without you in it. i love you.

my san franciscan - you are going to have no idea what this means but i'm going to make the analogy anyway. you're my jacob. i don't know how we went from bomb threats to this but you're one of my closest friends. thank you for always making my sides hurt from laughter and thank you for always loving me without reason. i love you.

word.

snowed-in!

it sure does seem like christmas is sneaking up on me. my dad was right when he said the older you get the faster the year goes by. it might be the result of my days all seeming the same. sometimes its hard to tell a monday from a friday. i'm not really complaining. i like knowing what to expect each day. i do miss back in the day when my waitressing schedule would be different every 2 weeks. i complained then too though. i think we always want what we don't have.

it looks like we're going to be snowed in tomorrow. while i would love to be without snow for the rest of my existence i do appreciate a snow day off work! it's the one upside of all the bad weather - that and the fact that i don't have to shovel anymore. shoveling + me = crabby. when bryan was in germany a few weeks ago it really showed me how helpless in the north i would be w/o him. if i were single i would definitely not live here. i like madison a lot more than i did at first and it does feel like home but i definitely don't see myself braving a solitary winter here.

the cold weather does at least force me to come to terms with being indoors. i don't typically enjoy a lot of physical outdoor activities but when the weather is nice i like to bounce around town - do some shopping and just drive around with the windows down. the snowy weather forces me to stay in and then i can actually focus on indoor stuff i enjoy like knitting and reading and snuggling with my cats. man, what an existence. :D

oh yeah ~ i finished all 4 of the twilight saga books. let me tell you how depressing it was to finish! i was dreading the ending not because of what could possibly happen at the end of the book but because i didn't want the story to end. i read all of midnight sun on stephenie meyer's website too. i wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was but it sucked me in even more than twilight! god bless a good book on a cold day. life doesn't get any better.

oh and PS

i started reading new moon last night. yeah. i'm not even half way thru the book yet and it's already a sob fest. good thing i stocked up on tissue. :)

two bah's and a gaaaah

maybe i do see the negative in things a lot but i don't think i'm as bad as most people. i like to think i'm a realist. i tend to see things more as they are than how i'd like them to be.

i hate being told what to do. i'm not even going to go into more explanation than that but i just wanted to put that out there. i hatehatehate being told what to do. i also hate when people assume. don't assume. you don't know me. you might think you have me all figured out but believe me; you do not.

ugh. i feel like going on a tirade right now. and its not even worth it. there's really no point. people will form their ideas and opinions based on a few interactions, and that's just fine. if you're going to typecast me by just a few attributes and a few of your own perceptions, so be it.

for clarification; very few people know me. very few. very, very few. you might think you know me, but you have no idea. what a stale statement to use, but it sure holds some validity.

bah. stupid.

don't judge me

please allow me to be a huge dork for the next, oh, 10 minutes or so.

i finished twilight last night. you know where you get to the point in a book where there's no chance you'll be putting it down until you've completed the last page? well, i got to that point around 8pm last night. let's just say it was a late night. i didn't get to bed until around midnight. i'm usually in bed by 10pm. don't judge me. i'm an old lady.

sidetrack: cut to me in the bookstore buying the sequel to twilight. after commenting how i am buying a book from the 'young adult' section the middle-aged sales clerk reassures me, "oh you have no idea how many 45 year old housewives and moms i get in here buying these books." to which i reply, "HOW OLD DO YOU THINK I AM EXACTLY?!"

but i digress. it was a smart move on my part to go out and buy new moon before i finished twilight b/c i want to jump right into the next book tonight. i was going to blog about my super good/scary/intense dream in which edward saved me a million times from things that wished me harm but i'm feeling a little too dorky right now so...

and scene.

in summation; a book report: twilight isn't going to be winning any awards for literary expertise but OMG is it a good read! if you're looking for something you won't be able to put down - cha-ching!

ya know, i kind of scoffed at the movie at first because it took the place of the next harry potter movie which got pushed back to next summer but i'm glad i bit the bullet and started the series. kudos to me!

hello. i'm thirteen.

i'm reading twilight right now in anticipation for the movie and i'm starting to develop a big ol' 13 yr old girl crush on edward cullen. i think maybe for the sake of my reputation i need to stay away from teen novels (after i finish this series, of course!) i have such a long list of books to read. i'm really enjoying getting back into the groove of reading. it's such a great feeling of accomplishment when you finish a book. getting started is always the hardest part. it always takes me a few chapters before i'm completely enthralled in the book and have a hard time putting it down.

the best books are the ones that i find myself wishing i'm reading while i'm doing other things. they're the books that make me turn the tv off because the world i create in my head while i read them is far more captivating than the one created for me on television. so far twilight is fitting into that category. gah! why do i always turn into such a dork for shit like this?

wait what am i doing?? i better get back to reading!

tis the season

bah. we're supposed to get snow this afternoon. okay, so as much as i complain about snow - it really does kind of put me in the holiday spirit. i can't wait to get out and do some shopping. i'm also looking forward to the time when it's socially acceptable to start putting up some christmas decorations. i feel any time before thanksgiving is too early. if i do it this soon i'll be sick of christmas before christmas is even here!

the madison holiday market is this weekend so i'm looking forward to going to that and getting some shopping out of the way early. it's always good to space it out - especially when our economy is in the crapper.

hopefully our new president will bring a breath of fresh air to the country and things will start looking up. i think that all it will take is for people to start having confidence again. of course, if people are negative then things really will be negative. it's all a matter of outlook i think.

hello mr. president!

i respect the opinions of others.

that being said, i have no place for blatant negativity. some people found that out on november 4th when barack obama became the first african american president-elect of the united states.

i have nothing but respect for people who voted for mccain if they voted on the issues. however, i can name a handful of people i know who voted against obama strictly because he's black - and that's bullshit.

i really found out who people were that night when some peoples facebook statuses were extremely vulgar and racist. and you know what? DELETE. bye. i have no place for that. it's absolutely disgusting. it's the year 2008. wake up.

ya know what else i don't have time for? people who stick to their biases. i want to surround myself with people who are educated; people who have a craving for learning and growing.

i don't need the negative. i don't need the bullshit.

and with that; hellooo mr. president!

jungle fever!

while i in no way am as masterful as mrs. banda with my cuppycake skillz, i still managed to snap a few photos of the cuppycakes i made for my birthday treat for work tomorrow:



my cuppycakes fight segregation:



tada!