MIA no longer

I was feeling a little burned out from work & as a result, took an unexpected break from blogging (but not from blog-reading). My self-imposed hiatus is over, however, because I was not only tagged, but given a very sweet award. First up, my 4 Things Tag, from Cobbalicious:

4 Jobs I've Held
Classified ad salesperson
Waitress
Obituary writer (this was actually fun)
Bank teller

4 Movies I Watch Over and Over
The Bounty
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Boomerang
The Princess Bride

4 Places I've Been
Atlanta
Miami
Jamaica
Baltimore

4 Places I've Lived
Korea
Idaho
2 places in Florida

4 TV Shows I Watch
The Simpsons
Law & Order SVU
Star Trek
60 Minutes

4 People Who E-mail Me Regularly
Leah
Julia
Weedinator
Lotto scammers who keep telling me I've won MILLIONS IN UK DOLLARS

4 Favorite Foods
Oysters
Chocolate
Shrimp
Olives

4 Places I Would Rather Be
London
Paris
Hawaii
San Francisco

4 Things I'm Looking Forward To
Hearing good news from an agent and/or publisher about my novel
Finishing my Arctic Diamonds stole (I'm going on a year for that WIP)
Paying off the last of my credit cards (!)
Spring

As usual, I'm ducking out of tagging anyone.

And the You Make My Day Award...

...came from a most unexpected place. Suzy Girl from Two Crazy Knit Chicks came out of lurkdom (yay!) to tell me about it. This award made my day. I'm supposed to pass it along to 10 bloggers who make my day. Narrowing down my list is difficult because I read so many blogs & enjoy every one of them, but here goes, in no particular order:

Rose Red
Harlem Purls
Hesira Knits
Knitology
Knitter's Haven
Nik's Knits
Black Dog Knits
The Brown Berry Chronicles
Superstarra-ville
Octopus Knits

If you've received the award already, congrats--you're getting it again! Please pass it along to 10 bloggers you feel deserve it.

And now, because this post can't possibly already be long enough, I actually have some knitting content. I knew the Lizard Ridge Afghan was going to be a long-term project going in & I haven't disappointed myself. This is all I have to show for it so far: 3 completed squares, or rectangles, since I'm doing one extra repeat.

Square #1 - Noro Kureyon color 154

Square #2 - color 194

Square #3 - color 95

Soon to be square #4 - color 207

I'm like Denzel - I have no bad sides

Next time, an actual FO!

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Waiting for Midnight

What a week. I kept asking myself "What crime did I commit for these things to keep happening?" Since I don't only want to present the downers, I'm going to examine each event with my glass-is-half-full philosophy & look at the bright side of each.

The Bad: Not getting that gig I'd worked for over a 3-week timespan.
The Good: Weedinator bringing me a card & candy because he knew how hard I'd worked for it. Plus, receiving lots of encouraging messages from other people, most of whom I've never met.

The Bad: In what can only be described as The Great Laundry Pile Up/Post Holiday Weight Gain Tragedy of 2008, I had to run errands in pants so hideous, I undoubtedly provided enough fodder for an entire episode of What Not to Wear.
The Good: It made me do laundry today (?)

The Bad: The Dimpled One putting coins in the van's CD player & breaking it.
The Good: Until it's fixed, I don't have to listen to Barney music.

The Bad: Internet issues, which had me driving all over town for a modem that, after 2 hours in the car & another hour of hookup, did.not.work. I was in such a foul mood, I actually pictured myself punting an innocent bystander or mouthy child down a rickety flight of stairs.
The Good: I'm reaching here because there was no good. Unless you count receiving bad service at a higher speed among your positives.

Tonight, I'm going to fix myself a martini so strong that no one will be able to wake me in the morning. I'll be sure & tape a note to my forehead that says "I am not dead. Do not call the paramedics. Do not call 911. Just let me marinate in my own juices for another few hours. Thank you." And although it's tough for me to stay awake late at night, I'll be sure & make myself stay up Saturday until the clock chimes midnight. I'll bid this week a fond farewell & remind it to not let the doorknob hit its you-know-what on the way out.

Oh wait, there was another good. Knitting. Knitting didn't let me down, not once.

Weedinator's birthday Christmas he'll get 'em when he gets 'em socks

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Snailology 101

Now that my 3-week writing project is finally over, I can breathe a huge sigh of relief. I've been kind of mum about it & will have to be for a while longer, but if everything works out, I'll be sure & let you all know.

During the past 3 weeks, I was busier than I've been, probably ever, because it happened during Christmastime, when the kids were out of school & then there were illnesses to deal with & a 25-guest Christmas Eve dinner to plan. I was quite on edge as a result of all the pressure, so in the midst of this, when Animal Magnet came to me one day & said "Stripes is dead," forgive me if I wasn't the paragon of sympathy he was perhaps expecting Mom to be.

Instead of Warm & Fuzzy Mommy who's all comforting & cooing & hot cocoa-wielding, I was more Jumped Up Off Caffeine & No Sleep Mommy, so I respond with "Who the hell is Stripes?" I mean, someone/something died in my house & I don't even know who it is! As it turns out, Stripes is the resident snail who lives in the fish tank. When you have a dog, fish, a lizard, a turtle & assorted children running all over the place, a snail, understandably, can be overlooked.

Anyway, I peeked in the tank & if you know snails like I know snails, you might wonder just what is it about them that doesn't look dead. It's not like Stripes is zooming all over the tank most days; he eats the algae in his slow, thoughtful way, saving me even more cleanup & that's about the extent of his usefulness.

Side note: when you're in the pet store & wondering if you should buy one snail or two, listen to your wives, gentlemen, and buy one. I never studied Snailology in school, but apparently, they're hotter than rabbits & have the same policy on birth control as the Pope. Stripes was the last descendant of the original two snails we bought who couldn't stop oozing each other, thus the gazillions dozens of eggs I eventually had to dispatch.

I ask Animal Magnet how he knows if the snail is dead & he says "he's just laying there on his side." So I'm looking at this snail, who looks about as lively as roadkill & I tell Animal Magnet to just wait a few hours & if Stripes has moved a quarter inch in that time, then he's alive. Because just who do you think is going to stick their hand in the tank & do the Dead Pet Poke to find out for sure?

And just when you thought Stripes had gone on to that great Shell in the Sky, he propels his slimy little self forward, probably looking for more of that yummy, nutritious algae that's gotten him that sexy bod he sports today. A happy ending all around, folks!

And they wonder why I knit.

It takes a lot of algae to get a body like this.

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Stashbusters 2008 - #1 and #2

Okay, this is how it's going down in 2008. I'm knitting from the stash...a lot. I'm in one of those stashbuster groups on Ravelry, so I'm committing myself more than I did last year to really knit the stash down. Each time I complete a project from yarn I didn't have to buy this year, it goes on my sidebar under "Stashbusters 2008." See it? Take the idea & make it your own if yarn is spilling over at your house. If only yarn were money, I'd be rich. Oh wait, yarn was my money.

Anyway, here's my first & second stashbusters for the year. These were actually completed in the last days of 2007, but since I'm just now posting them on the blog for 2008, humor me. I need some motivation wherever I can find it.

Pattern: The Republic Hat
Designer: Nicole at Nik's Knits (if you don't yet know Nik, you should really get to know Nik--she's way talented & funny to boot)
Yarn: Malabrigo, colorway: Stonechat
Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm)

Mama just loves little details like this button

After making the first Republic, I immediately CO for another--I figured I'd get an early start on Christmas gifts this year (yes, I'm knitting Christmas gifts--more on that later), but since this is the last of the Malabrigo I used for Weedinator's scarf in 2006, he bugged me for a matching hat. I thought Republic, with the big funky button, was a little feminine for him, so I just did a basic hat for the begging baby.

Pattern: Basic hat
Same yarn, with addition of US size 7 needles for ribbing.

Out of 1 hank plus some of Malabrigo...2 hats...sweet! I was a little bummed that I didn't get to make 2 Republics because it's the neatest pattern, but then I remembered that I have enough bulky wool in my stash to make enough Republics for Stashbusters 3-25.

Now there is something in me...call it resistance, call it Aversion to the Matchy-Matchy...that doesn't want to walk around in public with Weedinator in these matching hats. Just like I talked him out of the idea of both of us wearing the matching sweatshirts he wanted us to wear. I mean, it's obvious we're together. We're walking down the street together, we may be holding hands, more ofthen than not we've got 3 kids walking between us...they get it, man! We're together! Do we have to dress like the Bobsey Twins, too? You would think that after whipping him up a hat, he'd let me wear mine alone, wouldn't you? Resistance, ultimately, is probably futile. When we're 50, we'll probably walk around in matching sweaters & mukluks. If you see me, pretend you don't know me.

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