C'est Fini!

My Cute Little Felted bag is all done!
Ultimately I did go with the lucite handles, but had a hard time finding the type of button or brooch that I had in mind. While I was at Michaels picking up the handles I looked through their beads and found some that are close to what I wanted, only much smaller. Because of the size I thought that I would put the beads all the way around the top of the bag, but after sewing on the first one I liked the way it looked with just the one accent bead.

Delainas bag is being felted. It just finished one round in the wash, but I dont like the way its shaping. It seems to have shrunk more in the length than in the width. I'm hoping that another round or two in hot washes will correct this. If not, I do have time to whip out another one before her birthday - it's still a week and a half away.

I made a trip to Target this evening. I do love that store. Especially the dollar area when you first walked in. Tonight they had flavored coffees. I got a couple of little Carolans Irish Cream flavored coffees. There were also Jack Daniels flavored, I'm not a whiskey drinker and didnt know if I'd like so I passed on that but may go back to pick a couple up.










Also, I've been eyeing these shoes for a couple of weeks. When I first saw them they were about $20 but I was in post-holiday-shopping budget recovery and feeling very cheap at the time. Tonight, they were marked down to $3.74. Got to love the clearance section.

I'm back from San Francisco

The trip was great, but much too short.
Saturday morning I boarded Amtrak in Roseville headed for Richmond, where I would travel to a Bart train in to Civic Center San Francisco. I was prepared for a long ride, I'd brought along my laptop, ipod, journal and knitting.
Halfway between Roseville and Sacramento the train stops. We spend an hour stuck behind a couple of freight trains. But, I didnt mind the wait since I'd planned on having to entertain myself for those couple of hours. I was listening to my ipod with the earbuds in. When someones wearing headphones, isn't that the universal symbol to leave them alone? This did not stop nearly every person that walked by from stopping to tell me that we were stuck behind a couple of freight trains and would be there for a while. Oh well, they were all well intentioned right?
Once I arrived in SF Erin, Jeremy and I went to GREAT cafe in North Beach. Eguna Basque at the corner of Union and Powell. Wonderful cappucinos and amazing croque monsieur. After lunch we walked to Union Square where I did a little shopping at Lush. LOVE LUSH. The soaps and bath bombs are so cool. Theyre pretty and they smell wonderful. Some of their items can be a little pricey, but theyre so neat! I got the Arabian Nights henna hair conditioner, Coal Face soap, and a lavendar bath bomb. I can't wait to use the bath bomb.
By the time we got back to E&J's apartment we had enough time to enjoy a cup of coffee before getting ready for the Broadway sing along. We made it to the church in time for the cocktail hour, and met some interesting people at our dinner table, and had a great time at the sing along. Many of the congregants are from eastern europe so we had a few soloists performing czech operas as well as more current broadway standards and for the group sing along the majority of the selections were Rogers & Hammerstein so we got to sing a lot of South Pacific and The King and I. We had a great time.

Erin and Jeremy at dinner.


Erin and I at dinner.
After dinner, we met up with some friends who were also visiting from Sacramento for a few drinks then called it a night.

Sunday Erins parents joined us for lunch. We ate in Chinatown, then walked around North Beach and had more cappucinos at Cafe Trieste, sat out on the sidewalk and just enjoyed the evening before I headed back towards Sacramento.
I do love the city, and Erin and Jeremy have been heavily petitioning me to move there. As it happens, the city controllers office does have a position posted for a payroll clerk and tomorrow is the deadline to apply. I really think I'm going to send in my resume.

Felting in progress...

I've put my own cute little felted bag through its first wash cycle.
However, its not as felted as much as I'd like and hasnt shrunk as much as I'd like. Now that is most likely because I'd only put it through a warm wash and not hot. When I went to put it in the washer my internet was down (It's COMCASTIC!) so I couldn't look up felting instructions. I thought it was hot that you're supposed to put it through, but I wasn't positive so I decided to err on the side of caution and go with warm. I've ran it through one wash in hot and its about half way through the second wash in hot, so it should be finished felting shortly. All thats left is to attach the handles and find a cute button to adorn it with.
I haven't been able to do too much knitting this week, so D's birthday bag isn't quite finished, but I think I should be able to get the knitting completed by tomorrow night. I won't be able to complete the felting this weekend as I'm going out of town. I'm venturing down to San Francisco to visit my dear cousin Erin and her husband Jeremy. A local church is having a fundraiser for their music department... a Broadway Sing Along! This should be so much fun. I LOVE singing along to showtunes.

I've already selected my next knitting project. Valerie was looking at patterns for knitting bags, and I think I need one as well. I've selected this one.
I'm going to be using the same colors in the photo, although it was a tough decision. I was thinking about using the Lilac-Fuschia and the Lilac-White, the ultimate decision maker? Only O-N-E LYS in the Sacramento area carries Crystal Place Trio, and the selection there was very limited. The Circus-Celery and Kiwi-Celery were the only coordinating colors they had that I liked. I also purchased my very first circulars and DPN's.
The bag calls for a few techniques that I've never heard of before. A cable cast on. I-cord handles. Thankfully the pattern has links on how to do many of the techniques



I also got some Outback Mohair from Plymouth Yarn (on the right) while I was there. I'd purchased the Outback Wool (on the left) a couple of months ago but wasnt sure that I wanted to do with it. I think I may use the two to make a larger version of the Cute Little Felted bag.
I'm not sure when I'll be working on this one as there are a couple of projects lined up ahead of it.

Tag. I'm It.

I've been tagged by Tara!
Four jobs you have held:

~ Telemarketer for Olan Mills Portrait Studio
~ Export Agent for a freight forwarding company
~ Photographer and Make Up Artist for Glamour Shots
~ Customer Service Representative for Fed Ex

Four places you have lived:

~ Citrus Heights, California
~ Chelsea, Massachusetts
~ Malden, Massachusetts
~ Citrus Heights, California

Four vacations you have taken:
~Disneyland
~ Disneyworld
~ Washington, D.C.
~ New York City


Four vehicles you have owned:

1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle
1990 Oldsmobile Cutlass Calais
1993 Geo Prism
1995 Ford Explorer

Cute Felted Bag.... Almost.

Well, I've completed the knitting portion of my Cute Little Felted bag.
I'll give the felting portion a try tomorrow.
I've decided to go with a black lucite handle instead of the knitted strap like the pattern calls for. The only thing left is to find a vintage looking button or brooch of some sort.
Yes, I did complete my bag before the one for D's birthday.
D decided that she wanted a Cute Little felted bag for herself as well. Actually, after picking out which bag she wanted she said that I could just buy the yarn and needles and teach her how to knit it herself. Little does she know that my plan is to include some additional yarn & needles inside the bag.
So, I've started on D's bag. Like mine, I'm using Cascade 220 in black, but the Crystal Palace Fizz is black with silver flecks instead of the pink with gold like mine. I'm thinking for D I'll use lucite handles as well.

After last weekends beer & hockey fest I was looking to stay a little more low key this weekend.
Yesterday, I slept in and then did a little yarn shopping for D's purse as well as the sweater I'll be making for my coworker. My cousins Holly & Meghan were here when I left and they wanted to go with me. They had fun fondling yarn and every time they found something soft & fuzzy they would come up begging me to make them a scarf out of it. Actually, they came up to me whispering for me to make them a scarf out of it. I finally asked Meghan "Why are you whispering?" and she told me "Its like a church in here. but for yarn." I like that comparison.
After taking the girls home, I came home and finished my bag.
Today I got started on D's bag and then went to see Brokeback Mountain. One of my coworkers had seen it last week and has been wanting to talk to me about it all week long so she told me that I had to see it this weekend.
The movie was fantastic. Usually when theres a lot of "hype" over a film I go into it with high expectations and then walk out disappointed, then later on - like a couple of months or more later - if I see it on DVD I like the movie a lot more than when I saw it in the theaters. That was not the case tonight. Brokeback Mountain lives up to all of the acclaim that it has received.

New Camera, New Yarn, New Projects...

Recently, Marissa made a Cute Little Felted Bag that I decided I had to have for myself. A trip to my favorite LYS was in order.

For my Cute Little Felted Bag I chose Cascade 220 in black and Crystal Palace Yarns Fizz Stardust in Rose Chiffon - a prety rose pink with flecks of gold. I was excited to make the first project that will actually be for ME and not as a gift... FINALLY, a little selfish knitting. This would also be my first felted item ever, a technique I've been looking forward to learning. The original pattern calls for knitted handles, but Marissas is lovely with lucite handles and a beautiful vintage style brooch. I'm not sure whether I'll go with the knitted handles, wood, or lucite (black lucite may work nicely...) but I do think I'll look around for a black and pink vintage style brooch or button regardless of what handles I decide to use.


However, my plans for selfish knitting have been derailed.
My friend D's birthday is coming up in in 25 days. This afternoon as I was giving her a ride home from work she was looking through my copy of Stitch 'n Bitch Nation, she noticed the "Letter Have It" hand bag. It is still felted, so I would get to experiment with felting anyways.
I may make it for D for her birthday. However, it calls for dpns. I've never used dpns. They scare me. I don't know how well I'd be able to knit it. So far, I've only knitted scarves. I've crocheted hats and bags before, but have never knitted them. Does anyone have any suggestions for knitting with dpns?
So, should the dpns ultimately intimidate me to the point that I decide NOT to make this bag I have chosen an alternate project.
Also from Stitch n' Bitch Nation, it is the "Saucy Tote". D liked this bag as well, and although she does not knit she saw that it looked like it would be easier to make than the Letter Have It bag.
I'll have to see how ambitious I'm feeling, decide whether or not I'm up to the dpns or not. I think I'll most likely go for the Saucy Tote and save the "Letter Have It" bag for a less time crucial gift. But, I'll include a little something extra with the Saucy Tote. D went to LYS with me tonight when I chose the yarn for my Cute Little Felted Bag and while we were there she asked me if I would teach her how to knit. I figure that I will chose some good practice yarn and some nice needles, and fill the Saucy Tote with those, and possibly a copy of Stitch n' Bitch. Knitting and Crochet for Dummies has also been of great help to me, maybe I'll go with thta one. I don't know how well I'll be able to teach her to knit considering I just started knitting a little over 2 months ago myself, but I do know the basics of casting on, knit and purl. I think I should be able to show her how to do that well enough. Hopefully she doesnt ask me to show her anything too advanced.
On another project in the works:

My mothers shawl. Her birthday is still over a month away so I have plenty of time to finish it. I'm not following a pattern. just put together a combination of stitches I learned while making some scarves from the Candi Jensen Knit Scarves! book. LOVE that book. I'm thinking I'll call it the "Seawrap Shawl". If I like the finished product well enough, I may attempt to write the pattern out and post it here.
All photos are courtesy of my new digital camera - the Kodak EasyShare C340. It has a glorious 5.0 mega pixels. So far, I love it much much more than my previous camera, a Canon PowerShot A60 which only had 2.0 mega pixels.
My new camera is courtesy of my 15 hours of overtime last week.

Beer, and hockey, and more beer.

Way too much beer was consumed in the making of these photos.

We gathered at the pub for a bbq before taking off for the game.
Joe, Megan and Barry booing... just because.

The game was fun, the Stockton Thunder lost to the Florida Everblades. I really don't understand the game though, but it was still fun to watch.


During half time the players all shrunk... either that or the adorable local youth teams came out to play.


Like I said, much much much beer was consumed and as a result, photo quality was absolute crap.

So I couldn’t wait until this Friday to make my final car payment.
Tuesday I went and emptied my checking account and made the final payment. Knowing that I was only five days away from having the thing paid off was just eating away at me.
It is so liberating to know that I have one less monthly bill and that I’m that much closer to having my debts completely paid off. At the same time, its WEIRD knowing that the car is completely paid off an I never have to make another payment on it again.

This week has been kicking my butt though. This is the busiest month of the year at my work - especially this week. Last Saturday I went in for 4 hours, and I’ve averaged 2 hours of overtime every night this week. We are treated well for all of our hard work this month. In addition to the overtime I’ve been earning, I’ve also been given an additional 2 hours off paid to use at my discretion in the future. YAY! I love the additional paid time off. In the department I used to work in, there was overtime at this time of year as well. However, it was expected that you had to work that overtime - and that was it, you got the overtime pay and a couple of times the management would buy pizza for the department, but other than that there was no perks to working the overtime. You most definitely did not get additional paid time off.
The weeks been so busy, I haven’t even been able to knit or crochet a single stitch. Not.A.Single.Stitch. And not for lack of desire, or lack of projects to do. I’ve just been so damn busy!
I am designing my own first knit project though. My mothers birthday is coming up, March 1st, and I’m making her a shawl. Nothing fancy, just a couple of stitches that I learned in all of the scarves that I made for Christmas. Really only two stitches. A seed stitch on the edges and an open work stitch inbetween. The yarn is a wool & acrylic blend by Plymouth Yarn Company and I think my mom will love the colors - blues, greens and purples. My original plan was to do a take on one of the scarves in the Knit Scarves book - its done entirely in seed stitch and has wired ribbon flowers on the ends. I was going to do a larger sized version in this blue/green/purple colorway and make the wired ribbon flowers in the shape of waterlilies - end effect being that it would bear some sort of a resemblance to Monet’s Waterlilies. Or, at least it would in my mind. Then after rows and rows and rows of the seed stitch, okay - only 30, I decided to encorporate an open stitch. I’m not sure if I like it so much now. I am fairly close to finishing though, so I’ll post pictures as soon as its completed. I’m just not sure when I’ll find the time to complete it because.....
I’m going to my first hockey game this Saturday night. A minor league ice rink of some sort has opened in Stockton and the pub I frequent has hired a charter bus to take us to game Saturday night. For $35 the pub is providing us with BBQ at the pub before hand, the bus ride, tickets to the game and ALL.THE.BEER.YOU.CAN.DRINK. At the bbq and on the bus, all the beer I want. There will be photos. I don’t know that I’ll be able to guarantee the quality of the photos after ALL.THE.BEER.I.CAN.DRINK.
Not being a hockey fan, initially I wasn’t going to join the group. However, a couple of my friends at the pub talked me into, saying that it would be worth it for the party on the bus alone. Plus, after the busy week at work, I think this will be a great stress reliever.
I have this itch to get out of town lately, and I know that a hockey game in Stockton it not going to satisfy it. I'm considering a weekend trip to L.A. next weekend. possibly get off work a couple of hours early Friday, drive down that night and enjoy the warmer weather for the weekend.
This is very sad to admit, but I have never spent much time in L.A. despite living in Northern CA for almost my entire life. When I was a child my grandparents went to southern CA at least once a year to visit family and they would take my cousin Erin and myself with them, but we spent most of the time in Oxnard and Ventura. We would always include a day trip to Disneyland, but that was it. When I lived in Boston I did go to LA to visit Erin while she was at UCLA. Both of us being broke college students, we didnt do too much other than hang out around the neighborhood she lived in, went to Santa Monica Pier one afternoon, and eat In-N-Out.
I've never been to the Farmers Market, The Getty Museum, Griffith Observatory. Considering I live less than 6 hours away from LA, I find this to be pretty sad.

The New Year Is Off To A Good Start

DEBT
I have one only one car payment left.
In one week my car will be paid off. I am so looking forward to having it paid off and having one less bill each month.
However, I’m looking at new cars already. Pretty dumb, isn’t it? I’ve been paying on my car for three years, the last year I’ve been looking forward to the day it was paid off, and as soon as I’m on the verge of having it done and over with I begin thinking of getting a new one.
Something has lead up to this though. That would be my super sweet baby brother, Ryan. Last May he turned 16, legal driving age in the state of CA, but he still has not gotten his drivers license. About 2 weeks ago our grandma told me that she had asked him when he was planning on getting his license and what he was going to do for a car. He still needs to take drivers training, so I told grandma that if he needs practice behind the wheel I can take him out driving on weekends, thats when she told me that he had said he wants MY car. I asked “Oh, he wants a Ford Explorer?” she said “No. Not A Ford Explorer. YOUR Ford Explorer.” I said “HAH!”
Then, I gave it some thought.
Ryan will be graduating from high school next June. 16 months from now. My initial thought was that for the next 16 months I would put the equivalent of my car payment into a high interest savings account, and then next June I would have a FAT down payment on a new car for myself and I could give my current car to Ryan for his graduation. He’ll most likely be going to college outside of the area and will need a decent car to come home on weekends. He’s the star player on his high school football team and his coach has been approached by a number of scouts from colleges, but they can’t scout him until his senior year (Is there some law on this or something? I don’t really know too much about sports - especially college sports - but a friend of mine said that he “can’t” be scouted until his senior year). Anyways... his coach has been approached by CSU Sacramento, Santa Cruz, and a couple others that I don’t recall. I do know that one of his top choices would be Fresno. I guess thy have a good football program or something? Either way, if he’s outside of the Sacramento he’s going to need a decent car to be able to come home on the weekends. Or, at least I’ll want him to be able to come home on the weekends.
So, then I got the genius idea to start looking at cars online to get an idea of what I may want for myself, what price range I would be looking at, etc. Of course, the cars I like are at least TWICE what I paid for my current car (I got a SUPER SWEET deal on it 3 years ago). And, in the process of doing so it occured to me that he may very well get a car before graduation so perhaps I should give him my car sooner than next year. I talked to our dad about this idea and he said he may be willing to work something out with me - I interpret that as him possibly thinking of buying the car from me for my brother. BUT as great of a guy as our dad is, he’s also incredibly cheap. I know he’ll try to low ball me. I looked up the Kelly Blue Book on my car. Retail value on it is about $7,000, private party resale value is about $6,000 and trade in value is about $3,000. I know my dad would not be willing to fork over the bucks for the retail or private party value. MAYBE the trade in value, but thats a long shot. I do want to do this for Ryan, he’s a good kid and I am in the position to be able to do something like this for him. I would prefer to keep my money, maybe take a trip to Ireland, France or Italy (three of the places I most want to see) but I also want to help him.
So, I’m looking at used cars. So far my top 3 picks are a 2000 Infiniti QX4, a 2002 Ford Explorer, and a 2003 Chevy Trailblazer. Of course, I haven’t researched each of them yet. I’m just going by the different features available on each one. I’m really liking the Infiniti though. It’s cheaper than the other two by about $5,000. I haven’t gone to actually look at them yet, and definitely want to find out what the gas mileage on them is like.

Another good aspect of this week so far in addition to almost having my car paid off? Southwest Airlines is having a sale on airfare from Sacramento to Portland. ONLY THIRTY FOUR DOLLARS EACH WAY! WOOO HOOOO! I immediately purchased tickets for a trip in the end of February and another in the end of April, then called Grandma to let her know I’d be seeing her so much she’d get sick of me. My dads also going to try to get tickets on at least one of the same flights so we can go together.
And if thats not enough, my birth father will also be coming out to visit in June. He’s going to be in Las Vegas for business and figured since he’s so close he’d take some time off from work to come out this way.

Storming in the New Year

Wow, 2005 went by FAST.
i've been sick all weekend, so I spent New Years Eve sick in bed drugged up on theraflu.
I did venture out of the house today to stock up on some more theraflu and coffee creamer. By the way... Coffe Mates limited edition Creme Brulee flavor..... SO GOOD!

This picture really doesn't do justice to the storm currently blowing through Sacramento. We just had a weather alert that Sacramento County is under flash flood warnings for the next three hours and a levee in southwestern Sacramento County has broken and the area is being evacuated. The idea of driving to that area to take photos of the levee break did briefly cross my mind, but I have ultimately decided to stay indoors where I'm safe and dry. Just driving to the grocery store was nasty with how strong the wind gusts are and how wet the roads are.

This is the McDonalds across the street from the grocery store. The winds are strong enough that the cable on the flag pole snapped and the fllags are blowing the full length of the line. Trees are down all over the place, creeks are flooding, and while I havent gone and inspected the back yard, I know its a mess. But, my back yard is nothing compared to those who are having to be evacuated from their homes.
The I Street Bridge over the Sacramento River is one of our main gauges of flood conditions. As of Thursday night the water level was at about 26.5 feet with estimates that the storms coming through this weekend would take it up to at least 27.5 feet. I haven't been able to find out what the current level is, but wouldnt be suprised if it has passed 27.5 feet. Once the levels hit 31 feet, thats considered official flood conditions. Sacramento hasn't had flooding like this since 1997, and I was living in Boston at the time but it was on the Boston news channels. I'm glad that I'm home now and able to help my Grandma out if flood conditions do hit hard here.

Anywho...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I’ve never been one to make New Years Resolutions.
I’ve always been of the mindset that if theres something you want to do to improve yourself, or a goal you have in mind, that turning a page on your calendar shouldn’t be what motivates you to work towards those goals. Why not start them when you think of them?

However, I’ve decided to make some resolutions this year. I’m really not sure why, other than possibly because I’ll be turning 30 in only 238 days.GAH! THIRTY! I’m not looking forward to it. I’m certain that my thirties will be great, I’m just not looking forward to saying goodbye to my twenties. I’ve grown attached to them. I like them. Like my favorite pair of jeans, theyre COMFORTABLE.
Anyways.... there are things I’ve wanted to accomplish by the time I turned thirty. So, here goes.....

1. QUIT SMOKING.
Maybe not immediately, but soon. Watching my granmother go through chemotherapy to treat her inoperable lung cancer has had an effect on me. Theres a couple of reasons why I’m not quitting effective January 1st, one being that I’m switching insurance carriers and am thinking of going the welbutrin (or whatever its called) route. A few coworkers of mine quit this way and I’m hoping it will work for me. Second, I like smoking. I look forward to my smoke breaks, to sitting out on the smokers patio at my favorite pub, to my last cigarette before bed. What I don’t like is the smell, the sense of being held hostage to an addiction, the antsiness I feel when a meeting or phone call is cutting into my regularly scheduled break time. I also dont the cost. I’ve calculated that each week I spend about $35 on cigarettes. Thats $1,820 a year! HOLY CRAP! Thats a vacation! A downpayment on a new car! 438.55 triple venti toffee nut lattes! 364 pints of Newcastle Brown Ale (with tip)! A SHITLOAD of yarn! So, I need to quit. Question... .what should I do with the money I save? I’m thinking vacation.


2. LOSE WEIGHT.
I’m sick of being so damned fat. A friend thinks that I audition/apply for “The Biggest Loser”, and I’ve thought about it but I don’t think I would want to do this on national television. I’ve never watched an entire season, but have caught a few episodes here & there. I think my biggest reluctance with this is that I grew up the fat kid and was teased in school. I guess a part of me is nervous that I’d be the fat kid being teased again... but this time not just by the school yard bullies but by the entire nation.
The Weight Watchers that I started back in September or October? Didn’t really pan out. Between work, traveling, and social activities it was hard to make the Saturday morning meetings. I'm thinking of rejoining, but going to a weeknight meeting after work. Perhaps that will be easier to get to than one on the weekends.

3. COMPLETE THE AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION TOUR DE CURE BIKE RIDE.
This is something I’ve wanted to do for a few years now, but a couple of consecutive car accidents (none of which I was at fault for, by the way) left me unable to ride. After that, I gained back all of the weight that I had previously lost and then I gained about 40 lbs more, got lazy and didnt feel like training for the ride.
I’ve chosen this charity because my mom and sister are both Type 1 diabetics and I have spent many a night in the emergency room with them.

4. BLOG MORE FREQUENTLY.
At least twice a week.

5.TAKE A FABULOUS VACATION.
I’m not sure where yet. I’d like to go someplace that requires my passport though. Shamefully enough, I’ve never been outside of North America. I was about to say I’ve never been outside of the country, but I did spend a weekend in Quebec City once.
I was thinking of taking a vacation with my friend Kelly who turns 30 about 2 weeks before I do. We both wanted to go somewhere for our 30th, and have some mutual friends, so it would be a large group of us - about 10 total. Initially before Hurricane Katrina hit we were talking about New Orleans, then that got changed to possibly Boston, Chicago, or Austin. BUT, Kelly is afraid of flying and the more she thinks about it the more she wants to do a road trip to Portland and Seattle. Her thoughts are to rent a large van and load everyone up for the road trip. I've been to Portland countless times since I have family there, but theres a lot of stuff I haven't done there because I'm usually visiting with my family, so that could be fun. Also, I've never been to Seattle and have always wanted to go there.

6. START A ROTH IRA.
I have a pretty good 401k through work but my father (who is my financial advisor) recommends that I also have a ROTH. Better tax benefits in the long run or something like that. So, I'll be shopping around the local banks and credit unions to find which offers the best rates.

7. PAY OFF MY DEBT.
My student loan and Visa have been whittled down to practically nothing and my car will be paid off in 2 months so I should be able to finish paying off the Visa and student loans REAL quickly.

8. GET ORGANIZED.
I am such a mess. I have chronic clutter all around me. I never put things away where they belong. Combine this with number two and its no wonder I’m single.

9. BE MORE ACTIVE.
This should help with numbers two and three. Even if I’m just walking my dog, I need to move more. I’d like to go skiing this year. I love to ski, but havent been in about 10 years. Mainly because I have a knee tracking disorder and I’m pretty sure that a day of skiing will leave me in pain for about a week afterwards. Perhaps I should try snowboarding. Is that easier on the knees?

10. GO SOMEPLACE I'VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE.
Even if its just last minute airfare specials to Las Vegas for the weekend. I need to venture outside of my comfort zone.

11. WORK ON MY "100 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE" LIST.
I currently only have 17 things on there and have only done 3 of them.

12. KNIT SOMETHING OTHER THAN A SCARF.
Perhaps a hat, or dare I even try a sweater? A coworker has asked me to make her a sweater. She’s a midget (or is it dwarf? Whats the difference? Is there a difference? I don’t know....) and has a hard time finding sweaters that fit, she says that mainly the arms are way too long, and you really can’t hem the arms of a sweater like you can with other shirts.

13. DATE.

14. READ MORE.
I used to be a total book worm and read ALL the time. I haven't read as much the last couple of years, but I'd like to start again. Any recommendations for my first book choice?