Stay Tuned

Some changes are coming here soon.

Political Commercial

I just saw a McCain commercial for the first time. Geez, the man was even old during the Vietnam war!

I Can't Believe It

I just watched J.D. Drew hit a 3-run shot against the Astros. J.D. Drew? Seriously? I'd written him off as almost a much of a hole in the lineup as Julio Lugo. So of course, I had to go check out baseball-reference.com. The most HRs Drew had in a season was 31 in 2004 when he played for Atlanta. Last year he hit 11 of them, 15 in '05 and 20 in '06. So it does look like he is having a pretty good year. Who knew he still had it in him?

Is There Anything More Moving Than Seeing Kevin Garnett Crying?

It's thanks to these guys.

It's Even Sweeter At Home

I'd have a more comprehensive post, but I refused to curse us by writing anything before we actually won.

First Championship in 22 years!

Hi Sportsfans

Isn't that what one of the Care Bears used to say?

Not a Lot of Knitting, But Some Reading

I'm reading this book right now. Stiglitz is absolutely brilliant (as though you need me to tell you that about a Nobel Prize winning economist). I'm having some trouble getting through it though. It is very dense and I need time to think about everything he says. I only read about 10 pages a night, so hopefully I'll finish it by the end of the summer.




I went to a bookstore in Old Town Alexandria last weekend. Check out Old Town if you haven't been there yet. It's a lot of fun to walk around and window shop. I sat down and read The Great Gatsby by the water fountains until it started raining. I got this book and another one that I can't remember the name of right now.

It's About Time

Can we just skip to the point where our nation is back on track?

Nice Sunday Afternoon

I spent today walking around Old Town and sitting outside reading this book.

I haven't read it since high school, but decided to read it again in anticipation of Anna's yarn inspired by the book. I swear that it ended with Gatsby killing himself in the pool. I guess it is a good thing then that I re-read it.

I'm Alive

I love my internship. I still don't have an apartment, but I am not living in a cardboard box, something a lot of people seem to be worried about. I have a very busy weekend ahead of myself. More later.

I'm Done!

Yay, I've finished my first year of grad school.

Lots more to do before I start my internship on Monday. I probably won't be around for awhile.

It's 3:30 am

I am reminded of that Hilary commercial: It's 3am, who do you want to answer the phone? Well, if anyone is calling, I am still up, fighting with this paper. I have been working on it for what, 18 hours now? I just have to write one more section and then I told myself I could go to bed. I think I am deluding myself though. I plan to edit the paper, run a whole bunch of errands, take a quick trip to campus, pack up my entire apartment, and drive 6 hours on four or so hours of sleep tomorrow. I just do not think it can be done. As much as I really want to head home tomorrow so that I have all day Saturday to run more errands before moving to DC, I just do not know if I can take the drive tomorrow. Especially if I'm already starting to respond to political commercials in my head...

Yay California!

It's about time that more states than my beloved Massachusetts start recognizing something that is so fundamental that we shouldn't even have to discuss it:

California Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Struck Down

Paper Writing OCD

I never realized that I was so particular about how I write my papers until today. I am trying to cut out a few steps, and it is just turning into a disaster. I've never had so much trouble writing even one paragraph in my life. This doesn't bode well for the remaining 19 pages I still have to write in the next 24 hours...

In case you are curious (play along here) this is my process. It is best completed at a rate of one to two steps per day:

1. Find all sources
2. Write outline backbone
   
3. Read sources, adding content to outline as I go along, including all quotes and citations
   
4. Edit outline, rearranging information until I'm happy with it
   
5. Write rough draft
6. Edit 2 times, first time ripping it apart, the second time more for grammar and sentence construction
   
7. Write bibliography (Thank you Word 2007 for doing this automatically)
8. Edit 1 more time
9. Write cover page (I seem to have developed a problem remembering this step lately)
10. Print paper and turn in
    

Top 100 Books

I saw this list on another blog (it's supposedly from Time) and I thought it would be interesting to see how many of these books I've read. I marked them in bold. I'm going to try to read some of the others over the summer.

The adventures of auguie march (saul bellow)
All the king’s men (penn warren)
American pastoral (phillip roth)
An American tragedy (Theodore dreiser)
Animal farm (george orwell)
Appointment in samarra (john o’hara)
Are you there god? It’s me, Margaret (judy blume)
The assistant (Bernard Malamud)
At swim-two-birds (flann o’brien)
Atonement (ian mcEwan)
Beloved (toni Morrison)
The berlin stories (Christopher Isherwood)
The big sleep (Raymond chandler)
The blind assassin (Margaret atwood)
Blood meridian (cormac McCarthy)
Brideshead revisited (evelyn Waugh)
The bridge of san luis rey (thorton wilder)
Call it sleep (henry roth)
Catch-22 (joseph heller)
The catcher in the rye (j.d. salinger)
A clockwork orange (Anthony burgess)
The confessions of nat turner (William Styron)
The corrections (jonathan franzen)
The crying of lot 49 (Thomas Pynchon)
A dance to the music of time (Anthony powell)
The day of the locust (nathanael west)
Death comes for the archbishop (willa cather)
A death in the family (james agee)
The death of the heart (Elizabeth bowen)
Deliverance (james dickey)
Dog soldiers (Robert stone)
Falconer (john cheever)
The French lieutenant’s woman (john fowles)
The golden notebook (doris lessing)
Go tell it on the mountain (james Baldwin)
Gone with the wind (Margaret Mitchell)
The grapes of wrath (john Steinbeck)
Gravity’s rainbow (Thomas Pynchon)
The great Gatsby (f. scott fitzgerald)
A handful of dust (evelyn waugh)
The heart is a lonely hunter (Carson McCullers)
The heart of the matter (graham greene)
Herzog (saul Bellow)
Housekeeping (marilynne robinson)
A house for mr. biswas (v.s. Naipaul)
I, Claudius (Robert graves)
Infinite jest (david foster Wallace)
Invisible man (Ralph ellison)
Light in august (William Faulkner)
The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe (c.s. lewis)
Lolita (vladimir nabokob)
Lord of the flies (William golding)
The lord of the rings (jrr tolkein)
Loving (henry green)
Lucky jim (kingsley amis)
The man who loved children (Christina stead)
Midnight’s children (salman rushdie)
Money (martin amis)
The moviegoer (walker percy)
Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia woolf)
Naked lunch (William burroughs)
Native son (Richard wright)
Neuromancer (William Gibson)
Never let me go (kazoo ishiguro)
1984 (george Orwell)
On the road (jack Kerouac)
One flew over the cuckoo’s nest (ken kesey)
The painted bird (jerzy kosinski)
Pale fire (Vladimir Nabokov)
A passage to India (e.m. forester)
Play it as it lays (joan didion)
Portnoy’s complaint (Philip roth)
Possession (a.s. byatt)
The power and the glory (graham greene)
The prime of miss jean brodie (Muriel spark)
Rabbit, run (john updike)
Ragtime (e.l. Doctorow)
The recognitions (William gaddis)
Red harvest (dashiell hammet)
Revolutionary road (Richard Yates)
The sheltering sky (paul bowles)
Slaughterhouse-five (kurt Vonnegut)
Snow crash (neal Stephenson)
The sot-weed factor (john barth)
The sound and the fury (William Faulkner)
The sportswriter (Richard ford)
The spy who came in from the cold (john le Carre)
The sun also rises (ernest hemingway)
Their eyes were watching god (zora neale Hurston)
Things fall apart (chinua achebe)
To kill a mockingbird (harper lee)
To the lighthouse (Virginia woolf)
Tropic of cancer (henry miller)
Ubik (Philip k. dick)
Under the net (iris Murdoch)
Under the volcano (malcom lowry)
Watchmen (alan moore & david gibbons)
White noise (don deLillo)
White teeth (zadie smith)
Wide Sargasso sea (jean rhys)

That's 13- let's see how many I've read by the end of August. My goal is to be up to 25.

Insomnia is Good for Something

I can't sleep, but I don't have the brainpower to work on my paper or study, so I finished my afghan (finally).

Edited:
Here is the finished afghan

Details:
Started- November 2007
Completed- May 14, 2008
Pattern- Textured Treasure Speed Stix Afghan by Lion Brand Yarn
Yarn- Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick
Needles- size 50 (!)

Grrr

After I frogged several inches of my afghan to fix my the mistake I noticed a couple of months ago, I realized I only have one size 50 needle. Grrr. I'm hoping I find it somewhere during my packing or at my dad's house because I refuse to buy a new set of needles I'll probably never use again.

Edited: I found it! I remembered that I'd shoved a lot of things into my scrapbooking bag when I came home from Christmas break, and sure enough, there it was. I'm bribing myself to study for my exam tomorrow for an hour and work on my paper due Friday a little, and then I can re-do the afghan. I can't stand the idea of having a "zzz" in my Ravelry queue for three more months!

Feeling Better

Now that I have written the first five pages of my paper, I am feeling better. Well, except for the being homeless in a week thing. I haven't just been doing work all week. I have also been engaging in a little pleasure reading.
I seriously cannot wait to read a whole bunch this summer. I'm getting a library card the first week I'm there. Now I just need to learn how to read and knit at the same time, and I'd be in heaven.

Stress!

It's not even 10am and I can see that it's going to be one of those days. I find list making to be stress-relieving (although I suspect that it is also the root cause of additional stress), so this is everything that is making me stressed right now:

• I have to finish this research paper. It's due by 1pm tomorrow. I have an awesome outline that is longer than the minimum length of the paper, so I should be set. I just have to write now.
• I still don't have a place to live starting on Sunday.
  
• I need to pack. I've started this, so now my entire apartment is in disarray.
• Fenway knows something is up and is freaking out.
• I need to work out the details of the sublet of my apartment.
• I have a million errands to run, and no time to do them.
• I haven't even thought about my last paper.
• My funding hasn't arrived yet.
• Did I mention I don't have a place to live and I have an important paper due in 27 hours?

I wish I were here

Paper Due in < 5 Hours

So what am I doing? Staring at my Ravelry queue. Seriously, I cannot wait until the only things I have to do are work, go to the gym, and knit. I know it's overly ambitious, but I want to get through my three started projects and a good potion of the 14 items in my queue this summer. Besides the bolero I showed you yesterday, I can't wait to make these:
Clementine Shawlette by Michele Rose Orne (Interweave Knits, Spring 2007)


Boing! by Anne Hanson. I'm buying the kit for that one as soon as I have an address where they can ship it at the end of May.

I Need to Make This

It's number 5 in my Ravelry queue, not to mention the three projects that I'm currently working on, but I really need to make it. In red. Won't that be cute?

Two Finished Projects

The cursed scarf is finished and blocked, yay! I even really like it. Sorry that the picture looks like I am decapitated, but I took this picture first thing in the morning before I'd put on my contacts or brushed by hair.
Details:
Started- August 2007
Completed- May 3, 2008
Pattern- Lace 1, 2, 3 Shadow Scarf by Kelley Petkun
Yarn- Knit Picks Shadow in Grape Jelly
Needles- size 3
Notes- so much easier with stitch markers and blocking made all the difference in the world

I also finished these Holly Socks awhile ago:

Details:
Started- April 11, 2008
Completed- April 20, 2008
Pattern- Holly Socks by Laurie Corriveau
Yarn- Knit Picks Felici
Needles- size 2 DPN, 8 stitches per inch

What's Been Going On

I finished the cursed purple lace scarf, yay! It's being blocked as we speak. I've also started two pairs of socks, my first pair of magic loop and a mock cable I am absolutely in love with right now.

Classes ended last week, and Friday was "Slope Day", Cornell's annual end of year celebration. I had people over (finally got to enjoy my porch), and just had a wonderful day hanging out with all my friends that I don't see often enough.

I can't believe that I start work in DC in two weeks! I have to find a place to live, write three papers, take one test, and pack everything up before then. I'm going to be super busy. I think the thing that I'm most excited about is reconnecting with some of my friends from college who are still in the area.

Brrr

It's cold here this morning.


Ok, maybe not that cold. No snow *yet*, but I did get my wish to wear hand knit socks one more time this year. I also have on fingerless gloves and am wrapped up in a quilt my Nana made me, but I refuse to close the window in my kitchen. It's almost May, and I want to enjoy Spring before I spend a swampy summer in DC.

Listing Making Is Better than Real Work

Another list is up on the sidebar- everything that I need to do before I go to DC in three weeks. Actually, it doesn't look that bad when it is written like that. That's because it doesn't take into consideration that I haven't even started most of those tasks, or that it represents over 50 pages of research and writing. Maybe I should include some fun things too, to make it not seem so bad, such as Slope Day on Friday.

The End of the Knitting Bag

I started to sew up my knitting bag today, and I realized I hate it. It's a weird size, the yarn color isn't consistent, the yarn is just yucky, I really should line it, etc. So I decided to throw it away. Sure it was probably $15-20 worth of yarn and hours of knitting, but I'm never going to use it. I'd rather expend my knitting energies on something I actually like.

Edited: On a positive knitting note, the cursed purple lace scarf is finally growing. It's 41' long now (unblocked). I'm hoping to finish it before I leave for DC.

I Got an Internship!

Life is good again. I am so excited- this is perfect for what I want to do for my thesis and after I get out of school. Check it out: Hudson Institute's Center for Global Prosperity

Better Today

That shawl and I are no longer on speaking terms (385 stitches a row is a whole lot), but overall today was much better. Among a few other things I can hopefully talk about soon, the wife of one of my classmates had a baby this morning, and I'm so happy for both of them. Paula and I went shopping after class and I bought some cute skirts. Of course we had to rest after our big shopping trip with margaritas.

Cheering Myself Up

I've been having a tough week, so I decided to challenge myself to come up with 10 things that have made me happy in the last 24 hours or so, just to prove to myself that things are better than they seem. Here is my list:

1. Dandelions
   
2. "Round table" discussions
3. Fenway wanting to be held and snuggled constantly (I think he's trying to comfort me)
4. The smell of newly cut grass and fresh flowers
5. Purity ice cream
6. Friends who let me bitch about what is going on and even make me laugh
7. People watching
8. The shawl I'm knitting
9. Daydreaming about what I would do if I had free time (hint: it actually involves research and writing)
10. Girl Talk
    

Happy Spring

I'm loving that the weather is finally warm. I think it has even been sunny for four or five days in a row, which has to be an Ithaca record.

I also am loving this picture right now. Fenway keeps jumping on me as if to tell me that it is spring and there are lots of birds outside he would like to eat, er, watch from the windowsill.

TGIF!

I wasn't quite sure I would make it this far. Granted, I still have 4.5 hours worth of work, one more appointment, and some very important emails to send today, but at least it is Friday afternoon. I've been so busy this week that I used all the lines in my agenda each day and had to start putting essential tasks onto other lists. After only sleeping 3-4 hours last night, I plan to try to go to bed early tonight.

As a bonus to it being Friday, it is absolutely beautiful out today. I even got a little sunburn working outside for a half hour.

David Ortiz Shows Bunt

Those are words I don't hear everyday.

I know it might be hard to believe, but I actually was about to write an intellectual post.

No, seriously.

I wanted to talk about the open source community, wikipedia, and game theory. But then I heard Jerry Remy say that David Ortiz showed bunt, and I was intrigued. I guess the "smart" post will have to wait until later.

Ortiz apparently does bunt once in awhile:
But how often?

According to Baseball Almanac and BaseballReference.com, David Ortiz only has one lifetime sacrifice hit, in 2001 with the Twins. No wonder I was so surprised to see him bunt. What I'd really like to know is how many times he's successfully bunted at all. No one was on base when he showed bunt today. Not something you'd expect from a slugger. In the end, his single was off a hit, not a bunt, anyway. If anyone knows how I can get bunt stats, please let me know.

Maybe My Psychology Degree is Useful

Because otherwise I think I would need to go into therapy for an identity crisis. Yesterday as I was watching the excruciatingly long Red Sox/Yankees game (yay Sox!), I was thinking about the types of commercials I see on the very few tv shows that I watch. I am obviously not the target audience. The majority of the commercials are for:

• ED
• Cars (I'll never be able to afford one)
• Retirement (ditto)
• Investment plans (same)
• Lots and lots of beer

Not really applicable, no? If they want me to buy things, the commercials should be for:

• M&Ms
• Loan forgiveness
• Coffee
  
• Yarn
• Low fat/low calorie convenience food
• Anything that gives me more time to sleep

The moral of the story is that I'm watching TV shows for older, rich, but not necessarily classy men.

Does My Phone Not Work?

Because it seriously SUCKS to find out that a third family member in a year has cancer through a BLOG. Come on people. There are types of news that are appropriate for the internet, and types of news that are only appropriate to give in person, or over the phone if absolutely necessary. (Sorry Jon if this is the first you are hearing about this.)

Baseball is Back

It is the first Yankees series of the season. Not very exciting yet, although there has definitely been some good pitching. I should be reading for Politics of Inequality, but I'm watching baseball and knitting instead. The Sox game has a rain delay right now, so I had to suffer through the end of the 10-3 Diamondbacks/Rockies game. I do not know who the announcers are for this game, but they are the most boring announcers I have ever heard. Some voice inflection when someone scores would be nice. Rain, rain, go away so I can listen to someone who doesn't bore me to death!

I Will Triumph Over the Cursed Scarf

In the most recent Cast On Podcast, Brenda was talking about how it took her a trip to get back into the groove with a project that had been languishing for a long time. As I was listening to that, I was working on the cursed purple lace scarf for the first time in months. I remember working on it while I was waiting for my Harry Potter book to arrive, but I think I gave up on it soon after I got to school. I guess it took a head cold that has kept me in bed for the last four days to finally get so bored that I'm ready to tackle the scarf again. And you know what? I don't know what my problem with the scarf was. Sure it's lace weight yarn and tiny needles which makes for very little progress, but it is actually a breeze to knit. It's a nice break from socks for a (very) little while.

Pulsation Socks

Details:
Started- March 27, 2008
Completed- April 5, 2008
Pattern- Pulsation Socks by Amy King
Yarn- Colinette Jitterbug, lagoon (138)
Needles- size 3 DPN, 7 stitches per inch

First Toothpick Socks

I finished these awhile ago, but kept forgetting to post. Maybe the needles aren't exactly toothpicks, but to the first time small needle knitter, 2.75mm do feel that way.

Details:
Started- February 2008
Completed- March 2008
Pattern- Basic pattern from Learn to Knit Socks
Yarn- Knit Picks Essential Solid, 75% Wool, 25% Nylon, Coral color, 2 50g balls, machine washable
Needles- size 3 DPN, 8 stitches per inch

Whoo Hoo!!!

I got my ravelry invite!!! I'm DolyDimple (duh, as though I'd be anything else). Go check me out :)

Another Post Today

Obviously I have a little free time on my hands today...

I'm #677 on the Ravelry waiting list. I really really hope I get my invite today or tomorrow. I can't wait to play around with it.

Blue Sky

The sky is blue right now for one of the requisite 10 minute breaks between clouds, and it reminded me of these pictures of Aruba. It is so beautiful there.



And our hotel:

UFOs and Q2 Goals

I have way too many UFOs. No, I'm not chasing space ships. UFOs are unfinished objects (in knitting). They are starting to stress me out and take up way too much room in my teeny-tiny living room. I've decided on a new system. I am only going to have 3 projects going at once: two socks, one lace project, and one other project. My goal is to whittle down my UFOs to this level by the end of April.

I also want to set some goals for Q2. They are:

Socks (4 pairs) - at least two of which will be Pulsations socks (one done, cast on the second) and Holly Socks (two down to the heal turn). I'm also thinking about the Simply Ginny and Lacy Mock Cable Socks, although that might change depending on what other patterns I find.

Lace (2) - Julia Shawl and purple lace scarf

Other (3) - Definitely my bag and the afghan, and then maybe fingerless gloves.

Lace on My Mind

I'm working on lacy socks, and just joined a shawl knit-along. I'm going to make this shawl:

No, I'm not making it in bright pink. At least, I hope my pink isn't this bright. I'm ordering the yarn tomorrow, so hopefully I can cast on in two weekends.

I just bought the best stitch markers (they don't hurt my needle blister on my right pointer finger). I'm even thinking about continuing with my purple lace scarf that I put aside in the fall. Purple knitted items are cursed. They always give me the most trouble, but I'm not willing to give up on this scarf.

Baseball Makes Me Happy

Go to the gym or watch the Sox in extra innings in Toyko? What kind of choice is that?

(From Boston Dirt Dogs)

Sunburned and Loving It

More about our Aruba trip later. I'm still relaxing and enjoying Spring Break.

Spring Break

We are going to Aruba. We are both going to be lobsters when we get back, and it will be wonderful.

The Worst Type of Procastination

I went and bought, and then read this book today:

And where am I on the 10 page paper due in about 20 hours?
I've read the assignment.

Ok...

Who is stalking me? I know my life is sooo interesting that you can't resist. Come say hello though, ok?

Everything I Need to Know, I Learned at BHS

There comes a point in your academic career when you realize being a good writer and an equally good bullshitter will get you through just about anything ... except a stats midterm. So thank you Moltz!

I'm Whining

You can just ignore me if you want. My feelings won't be hurt. I've had this headache for two days now. I've tried 4 different kinds of pain killers, and none of them have helped. Do you think if I go into Gannett crying they will give me morphine?

Hmm, I can't find a cute picture to go with this post. You'll just have to settle for whining. Sorry. I'll have plenty of pretty pictures from Aruba in a couple of weeks.

What Is Your Crisis Coping Strategy?

Unfortunately, my family has had several health crises in the last year or so. After the first one, our family was talking and decided that if it was a test of our family crisis management skills, we overwhelmingly failed the test. Nothing has changed.

Now that we are on crisis #4, we each have our own role in our disastrous "management" plan. It would almost be humorous if the circumstances were different. Everyone calls each other haphazardly despite a phone tree, so either you don't get any information or you get it five times in succession. Presuming you do get the memo, our designated roles take over.

Person 1 is the communicator. Every phone conversation starts out "I don't know if you've talked to Person 1 yet, but..." Person 2 believes in rolling up her sleeves and digging in to help. Person 3 is the doomsday person. She has already planned all of our funerals three times over. Person 4 has some medical knowledge, so is always asking somewhat relevant questions. The problem with this is that someone or some people take these questions, twist them around, and then editorialize. The original "crisis" might be a stubbed toe, but by the time the family gets through with it, the person lost the toe and has bronchitis.

Where do I fit in? I am in a permanent state of denial. Is the patient dead? Is the patient going to die? Ok good, that's all I need to know. As soon as someone starts talking medical lingo, I completely shut down. This has its benefits. I do not get upset about all the crazy family rumors because I don't actually listen to them. The bad part is that I am in charge of giving medical information to other family members, and I can never answer any question other than if the patient is still in the hospital.

At least in times of crisis, we each know exactly what to expect from all the others. I just hope this is the last time that we have to go through it.

New Haircut

I got bangs for the first time since elementary school. I also got some highlights to start making my hair more blond. The bangs keep freaking me out because I think there's something on my face. I had to go buy a hairdryer to straighten my bangs because I did not own one.

Home Album

Yes, a real scrapbooking project. This album is based on an idea by
Jenni Bowlin. No journaling, just some of my favorite pictures and some fun embellies. Here's a look at two of the inside pages:

If...

...I could figure out how to brush my teeth while drinking coffee or put on makeup while eating breakfast, I wouldn't be late every morning.

Just my random thought for the day. Regularly scheduled programming will resume shortly.

Autumn Sunset Socks

I think the color is little bright for the name, but I cannot think of a better name, so that's what it will be. These socks came out better than the last ones, partially because I understand the pattern now, but also because I made them one size smaller and the yarn hides mistakes very nicely.
Details:
Started- 2/3/08
Completed- 2/15/08
Pattern- Basic pattern from Learn to Knit Socks
Yarn- Lion Brand Lion Wool Prints, 100% wool, Autumn Sunset color, 2 78g balls, hand wash only (don't want to felt them)
Needles- size 8 DPN, 5 stitches per inch

Speaking of Socks...

I went through three pairs today until I found a pair with only small holes in the toes. I think it's time for a trip to Target.

Midterm tomorrow, totally stressed out!

Oh yea, it's also my little brother's 21st birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Jon, and try to stay out of trouble!

Truck Day

Today is Truck Day. That means baseball is starting, something that should take our minds off the Pats. That, and March Madness isn't too far away.

One Sock Down, One to Go

I finished the sock I started last weekend while watching It Happened One Night on Netflix. It's a great old movie. I would show you a picture of the sock, but one fancy sock and one white sports sock isn't very interesting. I have to say, the Kitchener Stitch video from Knitting Help was super useful. I had a hard time visualizing it last time.

Note to Self

No matter how frustrated one is with the Pats losing the Super Bowl, one should never slam one's hand against a steering wheel unless one wants to be in a lot of pain and unable to put pressure on one's hand for a day or two.

My Saturday Night

Sometimes you just need a night at home. I cast on and got all the way through the gusset decreases on this sock.

I found this Lion Brand yarn today while I was looking for fabric for my first project using my new mini sewing machine. I'm still not quite sure if I like it, but it is fun to knit. I need to get over my fear of fingering weight yarn and make some socks that are suitable for days that are warmer than 15 degrees or that fit in shoes besides my hiking boots. My Knit Picks yarn arrived this week, so I'll have a chance once I finish these socks. Fenway had fun watching me knit and trying to play with the yarn.

I also watched Super Size Me. It is good for giving you resolve on your healthy diet. After that I listened to a few of my favorite podcasts: Knit Picks Podcast, Quirky Nomads, and Cast On. For you non-knitters, Quirky Nomads is really funny. Check it out.

I also made a really yummy dinner. You can find the recipe here. I did not use the cheese, cooked the chicken in a skillet instead of the grill, and used more tomato. I'll definitely be making this again.

:) Super Bowl tomorrow (or I guess now its today) .

Almost Super Bowl Time!

From Boston Dirt Dogs.

First Socks

These are my first socks. There are ladders on the sides, holes in the gusset, and some sloppy stitches, but they look like socks. No extra toes or anything. Not bad for my first pair of socks and the first time I knitted in the round. I'm very proud of them.

Details:
Started- 12/30/07
Completed- 1/11/08
Pattern- Basic pattern from Learn to Knit Socks
Yarn- Sirdar Country Style, 45% acrylic, 40% nylon, 15% wool, shade 0429, 1 100g ball, machine washable
Needles- size 3 DPN, 6 stitches per inch

I'm hoping my Knit Picks order arrives soon so that I can start another pair.

Back at School

Yea, not so happy about that.

Here's a fun picture from break:

My family and me in a Redwood forest.

Wait, What?

WTF happened in the football world today? Chargers beat the Colts, Giants beat the Cowboys. I don't get it!!

Yup I'm Alive

Someone has been checking my blog a lot lately. Probably my brother Jon. As though you don't know what I've been doing!

For anyone else who might have stumbled upon my blog, I just got back from San Francisco and Vegas. I also finished my first pair of socks tonight. :)

I'm wicked tired. More later. Have a good weekend.