A Little Late to the Game

I'm supposed to be at the airport in about 4 hours, and I'm just now about to put my clothes in the wash. I have yet to pack a single thing. I always do this - wait until the very last minute to pack for my trips. I'm going up to visit my Grandpa and Uncle, only a short trip - a 4 day weekend. I'll be back Monday night so I don't need to pack (or wash) much.



Its only 4 weeks until my trip to Germany. Its coming up so fast that I almost can't believe that I'm actually going. Last night I went shoe shopping for the trip, figuring that I need a decent pair of boots for the trip. I went to Marshalls and they had a pair that looked like they would be perfect - ankle height, brown leather, Nikes with that little air cushion thingy in the heel, and they were on clearance for only $25!! HOWEVER, they didn't have them in my size. None of the 3 Marshalls I went to had them in my size. I'm hoping that the Marshalls in Oregon will have them.
While at Marshalls I spied some Converse on clearance for only $10. Now, this may come as a shock to most of you, but I have never owned a pair of Converse before.
Sorry, didn't mean to make you fall out of your seats like that, hope you're not hurt too bad.
Its true, I've never owned a pair of Converse. Even though they've been around for decades and were extremely popular when I was in elementary school and junior high, I've never even tried them on - I was raised on cheap-o Payless/K-Mart/Walmart shoes. If I'm going to spend $40 on a pair of shoes they'd better be pretty cute, and Converse never looked that cute for $40. But, since they were only $10, I tried some on. OH, the comfort! It was almost as though I had slipped my feet into a stick of butter. I grabbed 2 pairs. Because I was getting what was left of the clearance rack pickings, there wasn't a whole lot. I ended up with a grass green pair and these. They almost look like a faux Burberry plaid, don'tcha think? I don't know that these would be ideal for walking all over Germany and Paris, but I am now an official fan. Theyre definitely worth the $40, but I'll still be on the lookout for deals at Marshalls of course.

Just a bit of a repeat from my last post - be on the lookout for the announcement of the grand opening of my ETSY store. If you're not familiar with ETSY, head on over to WWW.ETSY.COM, "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade". I'll be launching the site soon, beginning with my jewelry and hopefully will get some of my photography on there as well. I've been busy making items to post and so far I have:
2 cell phone charms
5 zipper pulls
15 sets of knitting stitch markers
90 pairs of earrings
50 necklaces
1 bracelet (I should probably make a few more of these)
1 eye glass chain (only a little dorky)

Yes, there are 164 items for me to post. I won't post them all at once - that would take me FOREVER. Once I have the first 20 or so items uploaded, I'll announce the grand opening - my goal is to launch by Monday, February 5th. Be on alert.

Numbers..... and some rambling.

Days since last post - 18
Days until trip to Oregon - 7
Days until trip to NYC/Germany/Paris - 34
Skeins of yarn purchased since new "budget" was declared - 2
Knitting projects completed - 0
Beads purchased - about eleventy bazillion and one, give or take.
Pairs of earrings made - 77
Sets of stitch markers made - 5
Cell phone charms made - 3
Bookmarks made - 1
Necklaces made - 39
Bracelets made - 1
Number of all of these beaded projects that I've uploaded to ETSY - 0
Cameras purchased - 1
Pounds lost since 01/03/07 - 14.08
Rolling duffel/backpack purchased - 1
Hours of overtime I will have worked at the end of this pay period - 10
Times I've been asked to be a bridesmaid - 1

I haven't been up to a whole lot since the New Year.
I have started a new health plan, not a diet per se since I'm not doing Weight Watchers or Atkins or anything prescripted like that. I'm just trying to make logical changes in my eating habits - no fast food, more fruits and veggies, less carbs and more whole grains. Really just the logical more healthy choices, and so far its working. I've lost 14.8 lbs since January 3rd. Ideally, I would like to lose another 15 lbs before I leave for Germany, which is only 5 weeks away so it really shouldn't be that far out of reach.
I am really looking forward to the trips coming up. Next Friday morning I'll be going up to Portland to visit my Grandpa and Uncle. I'm not going for too long, just a 4 day weekend, so I'll be home Monday night. I'm really looking forward to the trip. Its so quiet and relaxing up there. I'm also dreading it a little. It will be my first trip up there since Grandma passed away last July and I'm not looking forward to seeing how different it is without her there.

The real countdown begins. The trip to Europe. Erin and I are too excited for words and we have a great itinerary in the works. We'll be leaving Sacramento on a Thursday evening and taking the red eye in to La Guardia Friday morning where we will spend the first part of the day. We're hoping to meet up with an old high school friend of mine for lunch, however she just had her book published so she may be off doing fabulously exciting (and well deserved) publicity appearances. Friday afternoon we'll head on over to Newark where we will depart for Cologne Germany and arrive Saturday morning.
We're thinking that we'll spend 4 days in Germany then 3 days in Paris before coming back home the following Saturday.

I'm so excited about my trip that I bought a new bag. I stopped off at Ross this evening with the intentions of looking for a coat. I was there New Years Eve weekend and they had a fabulous red wool peacoat for only $40 that I didnt get because I was trying to be budget conscious but its been in the back of my mind ever since. I was hoping that it would still be there, but of course it was gone. However, I wandered over to the luggage section. I really don't need another suitcase, but I've never really loved the one that I have. I was able to find a bag that seems like it will be near perfect. Its a rolling duffle that also fits well as a backpack. Yes, I did try it on as a backpack in the middle of Ross. Bonus? It was only $30.

I also got a new digital camera this evening. Theres one I've had my eye on for a couple of months, and was thinking of doing some comparison shopping before my Germany trip, went to Best Buys website and it was on sale for $110 off the normal price. SCORE. I should have it by next Thursday at the latest, so I'll have it in time for the Oregon trip as well. YAY!!

Last Sunday my oldest friend Caren called. Caren and I have been friends since 7th grade and aside from my cousin Erin, she is my closest friend. The type that you know you can call at any time for anything. When my Grandpa died I called her and all I said was "Its Grandpa. Can you meet me at Kaiser?". She raced straight over and I didn't even process until well after the fact that she was in the shower when I called and still had her hair in a towel when she pulled up to the Emergency Room. She is a beautiful person all of the way through and I am so grateful to have her as a friend.
Anyways, she calls Sunday morning and asks me to meet her at Cal Expo for the bridal fair because her and her boyfriend are engaged, and would I mind being a bridesmaid this August? Of course my crafty side kicked in as we're walking around the fair. We're looking at invitations, centerpieces, and as she's cringing over the prices of everything I'm reminding her just how crafty I am so it appears as though I may be making the centerpieces, favors, invitations, bridal party jewelry, and if the wedding is in San Francisco I may be doing the flowers as well. Also, the part I'm really looking forward to... I'll be taking their engagement photos. YAY! Maybe Dad will let me borrow his Nikon D100 again....

The ETSY site... ugh. I have been making quite a bit of product to post on the site, but am in need of a camera to get some decent photos to upload. Problem solved. Perhaps I'll take my jewelry up to Oregon with me and will be able to get the photos taken while I'm there. I'm aiming to have the site launched by the first Monday in February.

Greetings 2007

New Years Eve was a blast. I went out with Erin, Kelly & Stephanie for dinner at Tapa the World where we shared some tapas and had a couple rounds of Mojitos. Afterwards we adjourned to our favorite pub, Bonn Lair, where we rang in the new year. It was great, many drinks were consumed, and we all had a great time.

Now, some resolutions. first, I'd like to review my resolutions from last year:
1. QUIT SMOKING
Well, that didn't exactly work out. Back in early September I did give it a shot, but there was only one completely smoke free day.
2. LOSE WEIGHT
Yeah, didn't get that one done either.
3. COMPLETE THE AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION TOUR DE CURE BIKE RIDE
I'm 0 for 3 so far.
4. BLOG MORE FREQUENTLY
I did accomplish this one. I went from blogging once a week to about twice a week on average. Sometimes more, sometimes less (like the past couple of weeks).
5. TAKE A FABULOUS VACATION
Check! Ireland this past May was amazing. It was definitely one of the best things I've ever done and has inspired me to make travel a higher priority in my life.
6. START A ROTH IRA
Nope. Didn't do that either. Thankfully I do have other retirement investments.
7. PAY OFF MY DEBTS
I came so incredibly close. I was down to about $200 total debt when I bought my new car.
8. GET ORGANIZED
Nope.
9. BE MORE ACTIVE
Nope again.
10. GO SOMEPLACE I'VE NEVER BEEN BEFORE
Yep. Ireland, baby!
11. WORK ON MY "100 THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE" LIST.
I crossed out an item or two, but am not sure whether or not I added anything to it.
12. KNIT SOMETHING OTHER THAN A SCARF.
Done. I've made more than a few purses, a couple of ponchos, a top for Janae, some hats, and I am still working on my Viveka sweater.
13. DATE.
Nope.
14. READ MORE.
I did read more in 2006 than in 2005, but still not as much as I would have liked.

So, I was only able to complete 6 out of 14 items. Not good. I'm hoping to do better in 2007....

1. BECOME MORE FINANCIALLY AWARE.
I will be the first to admit that I don't know where the hell most of my money goes. I know that I have a considerable amount taken out of each check for my 401k and other investments, but even after that my take home pay seems to disappear way too quickly. I should be able to account for it in some way, but I generally can't.
2. LOSE SOME WEIGHT
I'd like to lose 20 lbs before my trip to Germany.
3. TAKE A FABULOUS VACATION
I'm thinking this will be an annual resolution.
4. GET OUT MORE
Its so easy for me to stay in and be a homebody.
5. GET ORGANIZED
I need to give this one another shot.

In addition to these, I think I may have to implement some weekly and/or monthly goals.
My goal for this week, to launch my ETSY site.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

I hope all of you are enjoying your holdiays with those that mean the most to you.

One thing about the holidays is that you often see family members that you don't have the pleasure of visiting with during other times of the year.

Last night I celebrated Christmas with my birth fathers side of the family. I only get to see some of these relatives once or twice a year. That can be a good thing. I had the following conversation with my aunt "C" (the wife of my youngest uncle) last night.

C: So, Vanessa, how old are you now?

Me: I just turned 30 this past August.

C: Ohhhhhhhhh. Thats not young.

The Countdown is ON!

Ideally, I'd like to have all of my Christmas shopping done by the 22nd. That only gives me 9 days.
I choose this date because I am of a unique family situation (mom, step-dad I grew up with thinking was my father, and a birth father). Anytime you have a family situation where some family members are here, some are there, and some are way the heck over there. My birth fathers family (grandma, her husband, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc - but not the birth father, he's on the other coast) all celebrate Christmas on the 23rd so I have to have all of their shopping done by then and if I'm going to have that half of the family done, I may as well have it all done so that I don't have to run around like an idiot dealing with the masses on the 24th.

At this point, I have less than half of my shopping done.

And NONE of my holiday crafts completed.

On the shopping list:
Grandma
Mom
Dad
Father (since he lives in Boston, I'd like to get his gift shipped off by this Friday to avoid paying FedEx prices)
Lindsay (21 y.o. sister)
Ryan (17 y.o. brother)
Erin (cousin)
Jeremy (cousins husband)
6 cousins (ages range from 8 to 17)

On the craft list:
Janae's afghan (6 y.o. cousin) - thankfully, this is about 1/2 way done and shouldn't take long once I actually sit down to work on it.
And there are a handful of friends and coworkers that I will be making or baking token gifts for.

I'm sure I'll get everything done in time, it's just going to be a bit of a challenge.

I do this every year. About a week or two before Thanksgiving I start thinking "I should start working on my Christmas shopping NOW so that I don't have it all to do at the last minute" I never actually start.

There is one slight reprieve though. I'll have Friday afternoon off from work, possibly the whole day if I can get my work done ahead of time.

In other countdown news, only 22 days until Erin and I leave for GERMANY AND PARIS!!!

Dear Santa,

I've been good this year. Really, I have.
Many great things have happened this year. I went to Ireland, I was able to go visit my grandmother a few times before she passed and was able to be with her during her last days, I managed to sell some of my jewelry (and one of these days, hopefully very soon, I will launch my ETSY site), I got a new position at work, I saw friends marry, my cousin Erin and her husband Jeremy moved back to Sacramento, I was able to test knit a pattern for Stefanie Japel, and I got a new car. I am generally happy with my life. On top of all of that, a friends mother who has had breast cancer for the past 5 years has gone into remission - something the doctors have been saying would never happen. I am very grateful for all of this.

However, I've also had to deal with a lot of crap this year. I got rear ended. THREE TIMES. My mom had to have angioplasty for the 2nd time in 3 years. My iPod was stolen. My youngest aunt and her 3 kids (ages 15, 14, and 6) were living with us for the past 3+ months (they just moved out last weekend. Thank God). My father increased the frequency of the "when are you giving me grandkids?" pressure. My knee problems seem to have increased in both pain and frequency. And, I've managed to break my digital camera.

Apparently I've dropped it a time too many and now the picture is slightly off from what is seen through the viewfinder. To get the picture I want, I have to go up and to the left a bit from my intended subject. Fun.
So, Santa, I really wouldn't mind it if you left a digital camera under the tree for me this year. Really, I don't need a lot of bells and whistles. I'm not asking for the Nikon D100 of my dreams. Something with 6 megapixels or higher, video capability, decent zoom, and macro settings would be GREAT! Something I can carry in my tote bag to Europe with me and take pretty pictures of the Eiffel Tower, the Cologne Cathedral, and Notre Dame.

Something like this:



Its the Kodak EasyShare Z612 and it has everything I'm looking for. 6.1 megapixels, 12x optical/4.2x digita/50x total zoom, equivalent to a 35-420mm lens focal length, 32 MB internal memory, rechargable battery and pictbridge compatible if I later decide to get a photo printer.
If thats not enough, it can take macro shots like this:



Thats a user photo from Amazon.com. Customer reviews on Amazon give it 4-1/2 out of 5 stars.
So, Santa, do you think theres room in your bag for something like this?

Mwah!
Love,
Ness

Something to look forward to...

I was having a rough week at work, and decided to distract myself with looking at possible vacations for next year.
I asked to two guys that I work with if they had any suggestions on where I should go. Their responses??
"Iraq" and, "North Korea".
When I told them that I would prefer to go someplace that was more hospitable to both Americans AND women, they said:
"Well, now you're just being difficult."
I looked at airfare to my top choice of destinations - Italy was ranging about $1,200 and up. Paris was about $800 or more.
Then I got the weekly Top 20 travel deals email from TravelZoo.com and one special caught my eye - Newark NJ to Cologne Germany for $198 roundtrip.
While Germany may not have been my top 2 or 3 choices, it is definitely on the list of places I'd like to visit eventually and at that price, there is no way I could pass it up. There are a couple of drawbacks:
1. I had to purchase the tickets by 12/12 so this does cut into my holiday budget ever so slightly.
2. I now have to find cheap airfare from Sacramento to Newark
3. I have to go the last week of February, so it will be COLD.

However, none of these are enough to stop me from going.

One of the best parts? My lovely cousin Erin will be going with me. This is going to be GREAT! As close as Erin and I are, we've never traveled together other than day trips around Northern California. What will be especially helpful is that she speaks some German.
Our flight will leave Newark at 7 pm, so we're considering taking a red eye into New York the night before so that we can spend the day in Manhattan prior to leaving for Germany.

We are SO SO SO excited!

update....

I'm still here, haven't disappeared or anything.

Thanksgiving was great.
I got up early and made my caramel apple pie. It was.... okay. Just okay. I didn't buy the brown sugar until Wednesday evening, so all that was left was dark brown so it had a bit more of a molasses type flavor, and I think I put too much brown sugar in the pie. It's definitely a recipe I'd like to work on perfecting.
Dinner at my aunts house was great. After dinner I was able to prevent myself from lapsing into food coma by knitting while watching the first season of Desparate Housewives with Erin & Jeremy.
The rest of my weekend, i did NOTHING. I was the perfect example of laziness. I just laid around and knit and watched television and movies. I was a sloth and it was great.

I may be planning my next international travel, nothing definite yet... I'm undecided.
For now, I'll just say Auf Wiedersehen

A Short Week.

I got my Vibe last Thursday, and I'm loving it!
I'll take a pic sometime soon and post more about it later this week.

This is also a short week for me, and I am very much looking forward to it.
I'll be working a half day on Wednesday and am off Thursday and Friday.

Wednesday afternoon I'll be baking desserts to take to my aunts house for Thanksgiving dinner.
One of my favorite pies is the Caramel Pippin Apple at Z-Pies, a GREAT gourmet pot pie shop in Placerville.
For Thanksgiving dinner, I'll be attempting my own version of a Caramel Apple Pie, complete with homemade caramel sauce. I'm thinking I'll be using a variety of apples. I went to Whole Foods this evening and picked up some Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, and Pink Lady apples for the filling. Whole Foods didnt have any Pippin apples so I may stop by the Co-Op tomorrow night. I'd also like to try putting some Honeycrisps in it, but Whole Foods didn't have any Honeycrisps and I'm not sure where else I would be able to find them. Thats the only grocery store I can recall ever seeing them at. I considered grabbing an asian pear while I was at Whole Foods and mixing that in with the apples for the filling, but had second thoughts. What do you think? Should I mix one or two asian pears in with the apples? Any other suggestions?
I will be cheating by using a store bought pastry though. I'm not up to making the crust from scratch.

So, other than baking a pie Wednesday evening and dinner with the family on Thursday, I have no plans for my extra long weekend. I do know that I will go no where near a mall, Walmart, Kmart or Target on Friday though. I've never liked the "Black Friday" shopping sprees. I did it once when I was 18, and that was enough for me.
Hopefully, I'll get a lot of knitting done. I'm still working on my sweater, but am no where near as far along as I would like to me. I'm only about 90% done with the back portion - then theres still the front and the arms, then the blocking and the seaming..... and I'm supposed to have this finished by the end of the month.

Aaaaaaannnnnnnnnd, I'm dumb.

Saturday I went and test drove the Pontiac Vibe. I really like it, I think I could love it.
I'll be picking it up tomorrow, provided everything goes through with the financing.

I'm very excited, but still a little nervous. I've never bought a BRAND NEW car before.
Granted, I would have never given a Pontiac a second glance before. But, after researching it and finding out that it has a Toyota engine and transmission, I'm confident that it will be reliable and will last me a while. Provided that the curse of being rear ended has expired.

The test drive went well, I was surprised at how much "pep" the thing has considering that it has a four cylinder engine.
With the four cylinder Toyota Corolla engine, I'm looking forward to how much money I'll be saving on gas. My old Explorer gets about 14-15 mpg in the city and I can get 17-18 mpg highway. With the Vibe I should get about 30 mpg city and 36 mpg highway. Fantastic!!!
Sooo.... Saturday evening I'm test driving the Vibe with the sales woman, Barb. As we pull back in to the dealership I'm looking over the console and the lay out and asking questions. Like this...

Me: Whats this "18"? Is that the gas mileage? Because I thought that with the Corolla engine it was supposed to get something like 30 mpg.
Barb, in the most kindergarten teacher voice I've heard since, well, kindergarten: Honey, thats how many miles are ON the car.

Aaaaannnnnnnd, I'm dumb.
I mean, I KNOW that this is a new car but I'm just having a hard time comprehending that there can be that few miles on a car.

Rain

I always love the first few rains of the season. Lying here, listening to it fall on the large, heavy leaves of the magnolia tree outside my window. It always gives me the sense that everything can just be washed clean and made fresh.
I'm sure that by February I'll be cursing the rain, but for now, its comforting.

Friday Night Lights

Last night was my brothers last high school football game.
Unfortunately, they lost. Their heart just wasn't in it.
Earlier this week the team found out that although they had qualified for the playoffs, they wouldn't be able to play because of the incompetency of the schools athletic director. Twice during this season they had had new students tranfer in who were on the football team. The coaches all thought everything was good to put these new players in games. Afterwards they found out that the athletic director had failed to turn in paperwork to the league offices which made the players ineligible to go out on to the field. As a result, the team had to forfeit 2 preseason games and 2 season games. Even though the team was 7-2 on the field, they were 3-6 on paper making them ineligible for the playoffs.
The team they played against last night was undefeated for the season, and my brothers team started out strong, keeping the score even for the first quarter, but after a couple of 15 yard penalties for players dropping the "f-bomb" on the field (even though it was in their own huddles and not directed at anyone) they got discouraged and let the other team stomp all over them. The end score was 40 to 8.

In other news, I got my car back from the auto body shop last week and finally took it in to have the transmission looked at.
My mechanic came back with very bad news, more than I had anticipated. Not only do I need a new transmission, but something called the hub bearings is busted. I still don't understand exactly what that is, but if not fixed my right front wheel could fly off while driving down the road. Not good. Just to get the car up to where it would be safely operable would be about $3,500 (thats at my mechanics cost - he'd be cutting me a pretty sweet deal). To fix EVERYTHING thats wrong with it (including a leaking sunroof, the electrical to the antennae, and a few other minor things) would be another $1,000. Considering its a 1995 with over 172,000 miles, my mechanic doesn't think it would be a very good idea to put that kind of money into it. So, I'm going to test drive a new car tonight. I'd been looking at a used Toyota Matrix, but realized that the Pontiac Vibe is the exact same car (its a joint venture between Pontiac & Toyota) and a brand new Pontiac is actually a little less than a 2 year old Toyota, plus through my work I qualify for GM supplier discount pricing with Pontiac. This is what I'm test driving tonight...

Does it look too soccer-mom-station-wagon-ish??
I wanted to keep some of the roominess of an SUV, but quite so big and better gas mileage. So far, this seems to be the best to meet all of those criteria.
I swear, I am not driving a new car home tonight. I still have to clean out my Explorer so that I can trade it in and move some money around to make the funds available for my down payment.

P.S. Kimananda, I have an Apple iBook G4 and I LOVE it. I would like to get one of the new MacBooks though.

So... Tired.... Can't... Knit....

I was able to cast on Viveka last night and I got about 5 or 6 rows of the back done. But, thats where I stopped.

Tonight, I went to my brothers football game. His team (Valley Christian Academy) won, 48 to 13, and they're now guaranteed to be in the playoffs.

Soooo, for any of you here in the Sacramento area, next Fridays game is supposed to be HUGE. Its the last game before the playoffs and theyre playing against an undefeated team from Vallejo (my brothers school is a smaller division private school so the teams they play against aren't all local). The game is next Friday night, 7 pm at Oakmont High School in Roseville. if you can, wear burgundy. Its his team color. Tickets are only $6, and as an incentive there is a "50/50" raffle. Raffle tickets are $1 each and the winner gets half of the funds generated by the sale of tickets, the other half goes to pay for the teams use of Oakmonts field (again, small school... they dont have a field of their own). Tonights draw was for $114.

Seriously, come to the game next Saturday. Root for #88. Thats my baby brother. I'll have some assortment of noisemakers with me, I'm sure.

I did get a little knitting done during the game. I started "The Printers Scarf", its a simple 2x2 rib with some striping at the ends. So far, I'm not too sure about it. With the striping and the ribbing... well....... it looks a bit like an athletic sock. I may be ripping it out and starting over. Maybe a basketweave? I'm not sure.
Anyways, with all of the yelling and stomping and jumping during the game, I am TIRED tonight. I wanted to knit more on Viveka, but am just going to crash to sleep. I hope to get a lot done tomorrow, I'm supposed to have this bad girl done by the end of the month.

Also, the power charger for my laptop is fritzing out. As I was sitting here in my bed, it started sparking on me and damn near caught my quilt on fire. The cord near the doo-hickey that plugs into my laptop is melted and wires are exposed. I toyed with the idea of wrapping some electrical tape around it, but when I hold the melted parts together, it starts sparking pretty good. I guess I'll be going to Fryes or Best Buy tomorrow. Hopefully theres a non-Apple replacement. I just checked Apples website and a new charger is $80 AND all of the use reviews that are showing from the past week ALL say that theyre fire hazards and people are having to replace them after about 9 months. I guess I'm lucky that this one has lasted for well over 2 years.

I currently only have 50% battery power, so if I don't find a reasonable priced replacement tomorrow you may not hear from me for a while.

November

It's hard to believe that its only 52 days until Christmas.
Despite having so much to do between now and then, I was toying with the idea of participating in NaNoWriMo. Even though its only 2 days into the month, I was already stressing because I hadn't started writing yet - I was going to be doing that tonight. I have the general concept of my storyline down - it's an idea I've been working with for a few years now. I've even started a few times and have the various beginnings on my hard drive.
However, I quickly abandoned my notebook and pencil when I found out that November is also NaKniSweMo.
Back in September I decided that I wanted to knit myself a sweater, and decided on Viveka. I even ordered the yarn - Wool of the Andes in Amber Heather as the main color and Evergreen for the contrasting trim. I've been putting it off starting it though. I couldn't justify knitting something for myself when I have a number of items that are currently in progress or need to be done for someone else:
1. The socks. Those socks that I started back in September? I powered through that first one and got it finished in a reasonable amount of time. The second one? Not so much. I've started it, but have put it down so so so many times. I'm not even to the heel yet.
2. Shawls. I have two shawls that are in the works. Both are for myself - the ones that I started and didnt finish for B&K's wedding last week. I'm going to have a few holiday parties to go to in early December and would like to have at least the one made from the Bernat Boa finished to wear to the parties.
3. Janaes afghan. In the summer I started an afghan for my youngest cousin and planned on having it finished by now so that I could put it for part of her Christmas present. Again, I've been focusing so much on other projects, that not much progress has been done on this one, although I have gotten a little bit done this past week. I WILL finish this by Christmas.
4. "Neopolitan Handbag". I've had an idea for another felted handbag in mind for a few months now and wanted to use pink, brown and cream - like neopolitan candies - but, I couldnt find the right shades for the pink and the brown. While in South Lake Tahoe for a bachelorette party 2 weeks ago, a few of us went to the ONE yarn shop in SLT where they had the PERFECT pink, brown and cream. Naturally, I bought them and have them sitting here. I have yet to start the bag.
5. "The Printers Scarf". In preparation for the launching of my ETSY shop, my friend S, who is a graphic artist, designed some business cards for me. She was also able to get them printed at no cost in exchange for a knit scarf. I bought the yarn - Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Worsted - now I just need to figure out the pattern. Find a pattern that would be appropriate for a man who is very stylish, or design something of my own? I'm thinking that with everything I have on my plate as it is I should stick with an established pattern.
6. Purple and Grey Felted Bag. I started this MONTHS AND MONTHS AND MONTHS ago. I got the body completed and am working on the straps. Then, its just a matter of throwing the thing in the washer. Hopefully I'll have this finished by Christmas and will be able to gift it to someone.
So, with the enormous list of WIP's staring at me blankly, I'm going to ignore it all and start on my own sweater. i even stopped and bought myself a pair of Addi Turbos for the special occaision.

Let the knitting begin!!

Feeling better

I am feeling better, thank you all for your kind wishes.
It always helps to talk to some great friends.

What else helps to make one feel better when they're down?
New yarn and a new project, of course.





Yes, its is fun fur. Bernat Boa to be exact. And yes, it is worked up on fairly big needles. Size 13's, so it should knit up quickly. It better knit up quickly. I'm hoping to be wearing it to a wedding I'm attending this Saturday.
I drew my inspiration from this. I've made a couple of minor changes. I couldn't stand to work with size SEVENTEEN needles, so I went with size 13's and I've doubled up on the yarn so that it will be extra plush. I'm hoping that it will also be a little extra warm since its been a bit chilly in the evenings lately. I'm also hoping that it will look extra cozy and be one of those garments that begs for people to touch it. And by people, I mean men. Single men.
Its a solid black, obviously, but I couldnt decide on what color ribbon I want to put on it. Should I go with solid black, red to coordinate with my dress (the shade is "off" just enough to potentially bug me), or the cream? I'm guessing that the black would be the best bet since my other accessories would be black, but I'd REALLY like to have a red ribbon to tie it with. I suppose I can look at another fabric shop or two in search of the perfect red ribbon.
Originally I was crocheting the "Celebrity Shawl" from the 2006 Crochet Pattern-a-Day Calendar (it was featured on Wednesday, May 10). I tried to find a picture of it, but wasnt able to. However, it is similar to this.
About a third of the way into crocheting the shawl, I'm unsure that the style of the shawl will match my dress properly. So I'm going to make the "Eve" shawl from Knitty. If I have the time, I'll make the "Celebrity Shawl" as well and then let a second party (Hi Erin and Maya!!) decide which one I should wear Saturday.

Melancholy

Fall is generally my favorite time of year.
Theres a crispness in the air that allows me to pull out two of my favorite clothing items - sweaters and hooded sweatshirts.
The heat is no longer so oppressive that it makes me too lazy to do anything.
For the first time in months, it feels "right" to drink caramel apple ciders.
Knitting is more enjoyable - the yarn is no longer heavy and hot.
Night time high school football games.
Falling leaves & their changing colors.
Cuddling up with my puppy to watch a movie.

Usually this is the season in which I'm the most upbeat and sociable. The season and its atmosphere just makes me want to be with the favorite people in my life.

Then something happens. A disagreement with a relative, a close friend, whomever or whatever, and the sadness settles in.
All of a sudden, all of the things that I dislike about my life become harder and harder to look past. Everything that I would like to change is seemingly larger and more complex than before. The lonliness is palpable, the debts seem to be astronomical, and even things that looked like great opportunities as recent as just a week ago now seem to be comletely unattainable pipe dreams - and all I want to do is curl up with a warm blanket and wait for the melancholy to pass.

'Tis almost the season...

If you are a close, personal, friend of mine you can expect something from HERE for Christmas. ESPECIALLY if you have a kid. Your kid will MOST DEFINITELY get one of those adorable little t-shirts.

Turn of events

It looks as though my car WON'T be totaled out after all. The initial repair estimate submitted to my insurance company is $1,500 less than the blue book value so they (insurance) want to repair it. Of course they said that could change if more damage is found underneath as the repairs begin.
In a way, I am genuinely disappointed. I was looking forward to getting rid of my SUV. I've had this car for less than 4 years and hhave been rear ended 4 times. 3 times this year alone. I swear, this car is cursed. Someone has put a hex upon it. I was looking forward to getting something a bit smaller and more fuel economical.... and most importantly, something that is not foredoomed.
Soooo, I'm trying to look at the bright side of this. I'm trying to view it as more of a reprieve from the monthly car payments, that my insurance will remain at a lower rate for a little bit longer, that I'll hopefully be able to save some more money for a down payment and then maybe 6 months or so from now, I can trade in my SUV for something like the Toyota Matrix. In the meantime, I still have that pesky transmission issue to deal with. I have yet to find out if it is the transmission or some sort of sensor or something else.

Update....

I took my car in to the body shop last week. The owner of the shop said that it is most likely going to be totaled.
of ocurse, I haven't heard the final word from my insurance yet. I haven't even been able to talk to my adjustor at this time.
I called the claim in to my insurance last Friday, the day the accident occurred, and my assigned adjustor called me on Monday. We've been playing phone tag ever since.
Hopefully we'll be able to connect on Monday and I'll know whether or not I need to start car shopping more aggressively.
I've been looking at the website of a dealership where a family friend works, and so far I'm thinking of either a Toyota Camry or a Toyota Matrix. Either one would be much much much more economical on fuel. Just from my rough estimates the amount of money I would save on gas would make at least 1/3 of the new car payment.

I've been working on some items to place for sale on etsy. I'm hoping to have photos uploaded and the items available by the end of the week. I'll let you all know once everything is up and running.

An eventful weekend

As I said in my previous post, I was rear ended again on Friday while on my lunch break. To make it even better, it appears as though the driver who hit me is uninsured, at the very least he didn't have proof of insurance on me at the time of the accident.
I left work a little early Friday afternoon so that I could go to my doctors because I think I hit my arm against the armrest because my right hand and forearm were numb and tingly all the way up to my elbow for most of the day Friday. I'll know more about my doctors diagnosis Monday afternoon when I go in for my follow up appointment. Also, ever since the accident I have been EXHAUSTED despite getting more than enough sleep.
Monday I also have to take my car in to the auto body shop and pick up my rental car. I'm thinking my car will be totaled out this time. After I got back to lunch Friday, a coworker went outside and looked at the underneath of my car. He said that it appears as though part of the frame is dented and with where stuff is crunched up theres a possibility that there could be a leak in my gas tank.
Heres some pics. I don't have a photoshop application to blur out my license plate. Please don't stalk me.


























Aside from my bad karma (haha!) I did have a great weekend.
My friends Shauna and Jesse were in town from Salt Lake City for the weekend. Shaunas birthday was last month, and I can now finally reveal the Top Secret Project. Because Shauna lives in a cold climate, and loves scarves, I made her the Short Row Rib scarf. I think she likes it:












Since Shauna and Jesse were in town only for the weekend we didn't get to spend a lot of time together. We had dinner Friday and on Saturday we went up to Placerville for lunch and walked around the downtown area for a while.
Saturday night I joined my mom and dad at my brothers football game.













and now, I'm just being lazy. Considering I have to take my car in to the body shop tomorrow afternoon, I SHOULD be cleaning it out. Especially since theres a very high probability that it will be totaled out and I won't be getting it back.