Wednesday, March 29, 2006

IFOTD #1

The impressive Cliffs of Moher were the setting for The Cliffs of Insanity in 1987's film The Princess Bride.

51 days.....

Monday, March 27, 2006

Back to the grind...

I hate it when the weekend comes to an end.

Sunday I spent the day at the pub. Yes, the WHOLE day.
I joined up with my knitting group at about 2:30 yesterday afternoon and completely lost track of time. The next thing I knew, it was about 7pm and trivia would be starting in just a little over an hour so I stuck around for the game. Our team took first place and I didn't get home until about 11:30, BUT I've got a token for a free beer.
Knitting wise, I was able to get a lot done. I finished the ponchos I was making for my 6 year old cousin and her friend (photos to come the next time my oh-so-cute little model pays me a visit) and I got started on my next felted purse. This one is for my friend Heather and is being done in green and black. I LOVE the green yarn I'm using - it looks like that "grass" filler for Easter baskets. The yarn I purchased last week - I dont think I'm going to make a traditional felted purse like the other ones I've been making with that. I'm working up a design of my own for that one. I'll keep you posted on how thats coming along.
One of the other regulars was at the pub while we were knitting and after trying to annoy us a good portion of the afternoon he made the mistake of taking a nap next to us. Hijinx were had, and fortunately, I had my digital camera with me. Scarves were draped about him and other magic is being worked in photoshop:

WARNING: Don't nap near mischievious knitters

Then, it was back to work today. Where the air conditioner was broken and the office was 85 degrees at 7 am. By the time people started rolling in at 8, it was getting hotter. The air was finally fixed and it quickly plunged to 55 degrees. WTF? Is there no such thing as a moderate climate?

OH, and P.S. - - - 52 days to Ireland.
I'm considering starting an "Irish fact a day" feature between now and when I actually leave.
What do you think?
Yay? Nay?

Thursday, March 23, 2006

I'm A Cheater.

Only two days in, and I've already blown the Yarn Diet.
I stopped into my favorite LYS on my way home from work this evening to pick up a pair of size 6 circs and dpn's to make this hat.
I walked out with the needles, a copy of Debbie Bliss "Celtic Knits", because I'm feeling the celtic vibe lately, and a copy of The Happy Hooker. No, not THAT Happy Hooker, THIS Happy Hooker. Just glancing through the patterns in the book, I can tell you that it is unbelievably cool. Theres a couple of cute handbags and one sweater called "cupcake" that I will DEFINITELY be making for myself.
I walked out with the needles, the books, and this:

I was waiting in line while the owner was winding yarn for another customer and, well, I got to looking around. I'm planning on using it to make another felted purse for myself.

Since Blogger has gotten its anti-photo glitch worked out, heres the purses I finished last Sunday:


and heres the photo of my coworkers Carrie, Heather and I on St Patricks Day.

Yes, Carrie and I showed up in the same cheesy sweatshirt and Heather was "Seein' Dublin".

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

59 days and counting....

59 days until I leave for Ireland.
I should be purchasing my tickets tomorrow. The only reason I havent bought them already is that I have to wait for funds to transfer from one bank to another.
And yes, I HAVE been compulsively checking Aer Lingus' site multiple times a day, you know... just to confirm that the flights don't, you know, magically disappear.
I need to lose some weight before the trip though. I can't imagine squeezing my current behind into an airline seat for a 10 hour flight. I'd like to lose 20-25 lbs by then, so my friend Katherine and I are joining Weight Watchers next Tuesday. I'd given WW a try last fall, but did not do very well at it. I think there were a number of factors that contributed to my failing.
First of all was my decision to go to meeting on Saturday mornings. Between sleeping in from going out on Friday nights, having work and social functions on Saturdays and the various weekend trips I took to Portland, San Francisco and Salt Lake City, I just missed way too many meetings.
Second, I tried doing it solo and I am one of those who needs a buddy to go with. If I'm going on my own, its too easy for me to skip a meeting and throw off my entire week. If I'm going with a buddy I feel a sense of obligation to go, like I'd be letting them down if I skipped a meeting.
Another thing I'd like to do before leaving for Ireland? Save up some more money.
Fortunately my tax refund this year was huge, and even after airfare and hotels (I've found some great deals) I should have enough for my trip. But, I want more. I'd like to have an extra cushion of funds in the event of an emergency... like if I need to bail myself out of an Irish prison... or if I find myself near the Aran Islands and there happens to be some luscious wools. Plus, I'll need to find two nice birthday gifts while I'm there. I'll land in Ireland on my baby brothers 17th birthday, and my third day there will be my aunt Glorias birthday as well. I'd be bringing gifts back for them anyways, but since its their birthdays I'd like it to be a little extra special.
Anyways, I'd like to go with a busload of money available. Is this greed or practicality?
Either way I'm going to have to budget between now and then. This means, cutting back on the starbucks, dining out, and :::gasp::: not buying any yarn. Fortunately, my stash is large enough to provide me with enough yarn for projects between now and then. Since friends and coworkers have been consigning my knitting and crochet services lately, the only exception to the new Yarn-Diet I'm going to allow myself is if its for a project I've been hired for, that way the purchase isnt coming out of my own pocket. I'll have to brown bag my lunch, this should help with the weight loss as well.
I'm also thinking I'll be putting some of my extra crap, I mean TREASURED BELONGINGS, up for sale on ebay to raise some extra cash for the trip. I've got an extra silver ipod mini left from when I upgraded to the 60gb ipod photo. I also have an XM Radio Roady2 Personal Audio System that was an impulse post holiday clearance sale impulse purchase. Its designed to make the Roady2 portable like a walkman HOWEVER, I don't have a Roady2. I have a RoadyXT. The two are not compatible and I got lazy and never got around to returning it and now its too late to return it for a refund. Plus, I lost the receipt.
But I digress,l I will have ebay auctions up within the next couple of weeks. But, due to the Yarn-Diet, there will be no extra stash going up for sale. That, and I'm a smoker so my yarn is all stinky and who wants to buy stinky yarn?
Also... NO NEW SHOES!!!! Okay.. MAYBE a couple of weeks before I go I may invest in a good pair of walking shoes and break them in before the trip. Any suggestions on some good walking shoes? My main problem with shoes is that they cut INTO the back of my ankle usually. This is why I wear mules year round. My only stipulation... they must look cool and not look like "practical" shoes.
In knitting news...
I joined up with my friends Maya, Jen and Susan for a little stitching and bitching on Sunday afternoon at the pub. I was able to put the finishing touches on the purses I've made for my aunt Gloria to give to the pastors wives at her church.......

What? You thought there would be photos? So did I. HOWEVER, Bloggers being a major pain in my ass and won't load any of my photos.

Anyways, I finished the purses which was mainly just sewing on the handles, but I'd been putting that off for a while since I hate to sew. Thats not entirely correct. I don't HATE to sew. I just don't do it very well.
I was at the pub long enough that after finishing the purses I was able to start a kids poncho which I finished last night... no photos of that yet since I have two more to make and I'll post the pics of all three at once.

I also had a photo of a couple of coworkers and I on St Patricks Day to share with you.... oh well, hopefully I'll be able to post them tomorrow.

Monday, March 20, 2006

I'm half way there....

My request for vacation time was approved.

I WILL BE GOING TO IRELAND IN MAY!!!!!

I am so excited right now that I am SHAKING.

I'm having to transfer money between accounts so I won't be able to actually buy the tickets until Wednesday, but I AM DOING IT!

GAH! I'm so excited.
This will be my first international trip anywhere, ever.
Well, I have been to Quebec City, which I know is another country and therefore it is technically international, BUT since its the same continent and you can just drive across the border (well, this was way back in 1993 so you could just drive across the border - they didnt even check my ID) I don't really consider it to be "international" travel.
I did LOVE Quebec City - absolutely gorgeous. I imagine it would have been very romantic... had I been there with anyone other than my father.

But... IRELAND!... IRELAND!!

IRELAND, people!

I'm going!
GAH!
In TWO MONTHS!
I havent been able to stop smiling in the past 2 hours.

Of course, I do have fears with traveling to Europe.
Such as....
I won't understand the currency exchange rates and will find myself completely broke my second day there.
I'll commit some sort of major cultural faux-pas and offend everyone around me, therefore becoming that tourist woman that people talk about for months.
That I'll unwittingly break some bizarre law and find myself in an Irish prison (shut up. It could happen.)
I won't have the proper type of power adaptor for my hair dryer and will set the hotel ablaze (perhaps thats how I'll end up in prison)

However, I am more excited than I am afraid.
I know that this will be an amazing trip and that I will have one of the best experiences of my life.
And, its only 60 days away....

Friday, March 17, 2006

Woooo Hooooo!

I'm getting my car back today!
Happy St. Patty's day to me!
After 2 weeks I am DONE with my rental car. My big ol' butt was not made to fit into a Chevy Cobalt.
I decided not to bake cookies for the guy who fixed my car for 2 reasons:
1 - I'm not that great in the kitchen.
2 - LAZINESS

But, I have assembled a gift basket for him containing:
Chocolate
cookies
ghiradelli hot cocoa mix,
cashew roca
cookies
chocolate
chocolate covered cookies
chocolate

seriously - theres about 15 or more items in the basket and theyre all variations of the above. Can you tell I was a little hungry and moody while I was shopping for it?

Sunday, March 12, 2006

FINALLY, some good news...

My car is NOT being totaled.
I reap so many benefits from my late grandfather having worked in the auto body business its not even funny.
The repair shop where my car is being fixed is owned by a friend of my grandfathers, and he knows that I am not wanting to have to buy a new car, and he has knocked down his labor costs to keep the quote below the blue book value so that my car won't be totaled. I owe him a HUGE thank you - perhaps I should bake some cookies for him and his staff? Would that even begin to cover him the humongous thanks I owe him?

Also, Kim has posted a meme. Not necessarily to me specifically, but to anyome in general:

1. Why and how did you start a blog?
I've always been bad at keeping diaries and journals and thought that this format may maintain my interest longer than a traditional journal. On my very first post, my dear cousin Erin commented something along the line of how she'd started a blog or two herself in the past but wasn't able to maintain it and wished me better luck. I took it as a sort of challenge.

2. If you have a special "nom de blog", how did you chose it?
Initially, I wanted to go with Miss Ness since my family and friends often call me 'Ness' or 'Nessa', but that was taken. So was "lochness" another nickname for me among fewer friends and family, so I went with Nessacery - - something an old friend from Boston (whom I've unfortunately lost contact with) referred to me as.

3. how did you come up with the name for your blog?
Same as above, it was my friend George who started calling me Nessacery a number of years ago, he even spelled it this way (or misspelled it this way) to suit my nickname of Nessa

4. What things do you tend to blog about the most, and why?
I think the majority of my posts tend to be about craft projects - mainly knit and crochet with the occaisional beaded project thrown in. I also whine about some of the crap going on in my personal life, such as my recent car accident.

5. Are there subjects you'd like to blog about, but don't, and if so, what is stopping you?
Theres some personal topics I'd like to blog about - loneliness, fears, more introspective themes but insecurities prevent me from doing so. Anything too personal is hard for me to blog about - some of my posts regarding my grandmothers battle with lung cancer are the most personal I've been able to post and thats been hard for me, I just have a hard time sharing anything too personal. I have started a few rough drafts about personal issues that involve myself only but have never posted them - theyre just saved as word documents on my desktop, waiting for me to gather the nerve to share them with all of you.

6. How do you organize your blogroll/links:?
Alphabetical order

7. How do you feel about the design of your blog? Are there any changes you'd like to make to it?
its okay. There are some changes I'd like to make but I am an HTML MORON and don't know how to make any changes. Tara of Coffee Crochet (link in blogroll to the right) made me an AWESOME button, but I've got no clue of how to post it. I've tried, it doesn't work for me. Any techies out there want to give me pointers? I work on a Mac if that makes any difference.
I'd like to post more photos, but I forget my digital camera at home a lot. For example, last night I had a party at work, and wanted to post pictures to prove that I do "clean up nice"... I had a PRETTY red dress, did my hair and makeup, even had my nails and toes done - usually I can be found in jeans and a sweatshirt - as I was getting ready I kept mentally reminding myself to take my camera with me. Half way to the party I remembered that I'd left my camera at home.

8. How often do you post new entries on your blog? Would you like to post more (or less) often?
Ideally I'd like to post every other day, but thats a rare occurence. It seems like I tend to post only once a week, sometimes twice.

9. How often do you read and/or comment on other blogs? How do you find new blogs to read?
A few times a week - however this is going to decrease since rumor has it that my employer is going to start monitoring personal usage of the internet. DAMMIT!

10. Have you done anything special to get others to read and/or comment on your blog?
Other than commenting on others blogs, I don't think so.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

My baby brothers worst nightmare has come true.

My brother Ryan has a new girlfriend named Nikki and I think shes great. She’s sweet, friendly, nice to sit down and talk to, AND the best part.... she wants me to teach her how to knit and crochet.

I don’t think Ryan fully comprehends what this means....
Nikki and I will be stitching, and what happens when a couple of girls sit down to stitch? They bitch. And the one most obvious thing we have in common? MY BROTHER.
Theres a 12-1/2 year age difference between my brother and I so I have very clear memories of the bizarre stuff he did as a child.
It is going to be so tempting to tell her how when he was about three he continuously flushed his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles down the toilet because they were supposed to live in the sewer. At least once a week our dad had to remove the toilet and snake Ryans toys out.
Its also going to be hard to not tell her about the time when I heard him playing in the bathtub making weird sound effect type noises and splashing all over the place (I think he was 4 or 5) so I peeked my head in to see about 20 or so pink plastic applicators floating in the tub. He had discovered my box of tampons, thought they were weird little submarine and rocket toys and was launching them in the tub.
I must resist the urge the embarass the hell out of him.
I’m a BAD sister.
BAD. BAD. BAD.

Friday, March 03, 2006

This entry is brought to you by the letter “F”

Caution: this entry is not for those with sensitive ears (or would it be eyes?). Massive amounts of profanity ahead.

I have said the “F” word so many times today.

This afternoon I dropped my car off at the auto body repair shop, picked up my rental car and spoke with the insurance agent of the woman who hit me.

Without even getting a quote from the repair shop both my insurance agent and the other womans insurance agent are talking about totaling my car out. Apparently the blue book value on my car is only $5,000 and they are anticipating the repair costs to exceed that.
MOTHER F*CKING SON OF A B&TCH!!!!
I JUST paid my car off less than two F*CKING months ago!
And I KNOW that if they pay me $5,000 to total out my car I am NOT going to be able to replace it for that amount. I’m going to be stuck with a F*CKING car payment again.
DAMNIT!
I’m only THREE months away from being completely debt free! In three months I will have my visa bill and my student loan COMPLETELY paid off! I was SO looking forward to it - to being able to put money away for a trip somewhere, to opening a ROTH IRA like my father so heavily suggests, to buying luscious wooly yarns, to just having the relief from not owing anyone any money at all.
F*CK
F*CK
F*CK
F*CK
F*CK

I am trying to remain optimistic. I’m hoping that the repair costs won’t be as high as the insurance companies are thinking they’ll be, that working with the insurance companies will be a breeze, that everything will go smoothly. I’m trying.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

I'm baaaaack

I got home last night, the trip was great.
Grandma does seem to be doing better on the current round of chemo. She is still weak and tired most of the time but she has managed to put a little weight back on and her spirits are up. I made her another chemo cap while I was there using Berrocco Softwist, but I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE! I am a horrible bloger. bad. bad. bad.
Whil visiting the grandparents, I did NOTHING. I hung out with my grandparents, watched movies with my uncle, and went shopping with my grandfather for a new pair of tennis shoes. I also spent some time relaxing in their hot tub which felt sooo good.
But now, I'm back at home and dealing with insurance and auto body repair shops and rental cars... so. much. fun.