"I've decided there are certain foods that you don't say no to if they're served to you."
"Yah?"
"Like cake made from scratch, florida citrus -"
"Pudding."
"Pudding?"
"Pudding, can you ever say no to pudding?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of, food, even though you're full, it's so good you can't say no."
"Pudding!"
"Mmmmmmkay."
Friday, December 19, 2008
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Project Status
I am burnt out on the Apres Surf Hoodie :(. I separated for the neck, got to the armholes and just couldn't do it any more. Here's my progress so far.
Please finish me!
Please finish me!So much done, but so much more left to go! Basically, once I got to a part where I couldn't knit in the round any more I was not having any of it. I don't know how people can do this flat. I'm working it so that on the wrong side I just purl instead of doing the lace rows, which is easier, but still tedious. The lace itself is looking really good, but I'm definitely going to have to block this baby to even out the tension across my yarn overs so that the holey bits are all the same size. Here's a close-up:
La la la I'm so pretty!
La la la I'm so pretty!If I get the motivation again I'll probably take a break on the body and start working the arms in the round because that seems easier to me than doing the flat knitting. Then, once the arms are done I'll be dying to finish it, right?
In the meantime, I'm going to pick up some projects that use much thicker yarn. I'm starting with the Mystery Beret by Wooly Wormhead. Ooooooooo, a myyyyyystery! All I know is that I'm going to get a slouchy lacey beret, which sounds good to me. And if I don't like it, someone will be getting it for a present during the holidays so I really can't lose here. So far we've only had one clue, here's what I've done so far:
Just the beginnings...
Just the beginnings...That's all for now. Mostly I've been enjoying some relaxing days inside with library books and just that wee bit of beret knitting.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Rockin Out
Mini-project! My friend Paul asked for just one hand-warmer, so I had to comply. He wanted it for his strumming hand when he plays bass... on Rock Band. They're fun and easy to make plus doing just one is super quick and gives me a nice break from starting more complicated things. And I got to use up some itty bits of Noro that I had in my stash. Bonus.
Feel the punk
Feel the punkThe black and blue/green went unexpectedly well together. I think there may be some soft blue tones in the black yarn that blended with the blue really well. I was happy with the end result. Paul thinks it's a little warm for bass-playing, but it is only October. We'll see what he says mid-December.
I still owe you a write-up on the Aleita Shell, but I'm working out the kinks. It is just a bit big and I'm really hoping I can figure out how to make it more fitted then I can give a complete run down on the whole thing at once.
Right now I am knit knit knitting forever knitting the Lacey Hoodie with that teeny tiny tencel yarn. I am doing it in the round and I'm halfway through the bust increases. Although I am a little nervous that the increases may not be enough for MY bust, this is why we use lifelines. I'll try this baby on when I get to the dividing point for the v-neck and make a decision if I should rip back. Although I reeeeeeeeally don't want to. I've put a whole lotta time into this thing already. Here it is a week and a half ago:
sooooooo teeny
I did take it off the needles at one point to make sure it fit. Now it has about 7 more lace repeats. The picture there shows it with just one lace repeat (the part above the red lifeline). Do you like all my stitch markers?? Oh yah I am super paranoid. I took out about half of them once I got some more confidence about the pattern because they were becoming a nuisance. So now I have one marker to every two repeats. I don't think I'll go with any less than that. I already have two errors in there, but I am beyond caring, there's no going back for two teensy mistakes that are easily fudged away.
I am so dang proud of my work on this thing, I show it to people who don't even care. Joe's really nice about it and puts up with me showing it to him every five minutes, "Look baby! I did another lace row! Doesn't it look great!?" Then I spend like twenty minutes just smoothing it out and cooing, "Oh hellooo lovely, aren't you the prettiest ever? Yes you are!" Seriously, if this thing doesn't fit by the time I'm done I will have a complete and totally knitting breakdown. There will be tears.
I'm mulling over some other ideas for a brainless project to go with this one so I don't get completely burned out. Keep you posted!
I still owe you a write-up on the Aleita Shell, but I'm working out the kinks. It is just a bit big and I'm really hoping I can figure out how to make it more fitted then I can give a complete run down on the whole thing at once.
Right now I am knit knit knitting forever knitting the Lacey Hoodie with that teeny tiny tencel yarn. I am doing it in the round and I'm halfway through the bust increases. Although I am a little nervous that the increases may not be enough for MY bust, this is why we use lifelines. I'll try this baby on when I get to the dividing point for the v-neck and make a decision if I should rip back. Although I reeeeeeeeally don't want to. I've put a whole lotta time into this thing already. Here it is a week and a half ago:
sooooooo teenyI did take it off the needles at one point to make sure it fit. Now it has about 7 more lace repeats. The picture there shows it with just one lace repeat (the part above the red lifeline). Do you like all my stitch markers?? Oh yah I am super paranoid. I took out about half of them once I got some more confidence about the pattern because they were becoming a nuisance. So now I have one marker to every two repeats. I don't think I'll go with any less than that. I already have two errors in there, but I am beyond caring, there's no going back for two teensy mistakes that are easily fudged away.
I am so dang proud of my work on this thing, I show it to people who don't even care. Joe's really nice about it and puts up with me showing it to him every five minutes, "Look baby! I did another lace row! Doesn't it look great!?" Then I spend like twenty minutes just smoothing it out and cooing, "Oh hellooo lovely, aren't you the prettiest ever? Yes you are!" Seriously, if this thing doesn't fit by the time I'm done I will have a complete and totally knitting breakdown. There will be tears.
I'm mulling over some other ideas for a brainless project to go with this one so I don't get completely burned out. Keep you posted!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Cables for Hubs
Sometimes it's very strange grocery shopping in my yuppie neighborhood since I am married to a chef. My grocer habits have definitely changed from what they were four years ago. Back then my regular purchases consisted of half of the frozen food section. I lived off of Lean Cuisines and stove pop popcorn. I'm not exaggerating.
Now, I think we buy a lot of stuff that anyone else would buy, except at the butcher counter. There, amongst men in jogging gear and women in peacoats ordering their skinless boneless chicken breasts and the occasional steak, I put in my order for my husband and myself. This generally involves the butcher going into the back and grabbing specialty items from his freezer.
I usually get the most looks when I'm alone. For example, when I ordered meat for a sauce I was making recently, 1.5 lbs ground chuck (for the meatballs), 1lb. of sausage, and five short ribs (I only needed one but Joe wanted more for 'playing around' with). Our big meat buys together the other day were two whole turkey legs, five slices of bacon sliced thinly, 1.5lbs of ground chuck again, and finally one huge chunk of bacon because they didn't have fat back. Yes, we asked for something called 'fat back' in front of a customer wearing spandex biking shorts who was on his cell talking about potential organ donors. Whatever! Joe's baked beans are the best!
He was especially happy because I finally finished some longer wrist warmers for him. Even though at first he critcized that they weren't long enough or snug enough and questioned the color choices, even though he approved them in the store. I would just like to say, I am not as picky about his cooking. Granted, I did not study knitting professionally nor do I get paid to do it for a living nor do I have someone hovering over me yelling instructions and criticism every five minutes ("TENSION! Watch that tension! This is crap! Throw it away! Do it again! FASTER!"), so yah my skills in knitting are nowhere near his skills in cooking and that may be an unfair comparison. Having said that, I would say that Joe's knowledge of knitting is about the same level as my knowledge about cooking and therefore when he throws disappointed looks my way I have the urge to hide his favorite knives. Oh yah, and don't think I don't know which one is your favorite Joe. You just brought it home the other day. Yep THAT one. I may forget that we have an extra soup pot floating around in the cupboards, but I know which utensils you like.
Below: Cables for Hubs
These remind me of Oscar the Grouch
"Now leave me alone and get lost!"
"Scram!"
Now, I think we buy a lot of stuff that anyone else would buy, except at the butcher counter. There, amongst men in jogging gear and women in peacoats ordering their skinless boneless chicken breasts and the occasional steak, I put in my order for my husband and myself. This generally involves the butcher going into the back and grabbing specialty items from his freezer.
I usually get the most looks when I'm alone. For example, when I ordered meat for a sauce I was making recently, 1.5 lbs ground chuck (for the meatballs), 1lb. of sausage, and five short ribs (I only needed one but Joe wanted more for 'playing around' with). Our big meat buys together the other day were two whole turkey legs, five slices of bacon sliced thinly, 1.5lbs of ground chuck again, and finally one huge chunk of bacon because they didn't have fat back. Yes, we asked for something called 'fat back' in front of a customer wearing spandex biking shorts who was on his cell talking about potential organ donors. Whatever! Joe's baked beans are the best!
He was especially happy because I finally finished some longer wrist warmers for him. Even though at first he critcized that they weren't long enough or snug enough and questioned the color choices, even though he approved them in the store. I would just like to say, I am not as picky about his cooking. Granted, I did not study knitting professionally nor do I get paid to do it for a living nor do I have someone hovering over me yelling instructions and criticism every five minutes ("TENSION! Watch that tension! This is crap! Throw it away! Do it again! FASTER!"), so yah my skills in knitting are nowhere near his skills in cooking and that may be an unfair comparison. Having said that, I would say that Joe's knowledge of knitting is about the same level as my knowledge about cooking and therefore when he throws disappointed looks my way I have the urge to hide his favorite knives. Oh yah, and don't think I don't know which one is your favorite Joe. You just brought it home the other day. Yep THAT one. I may forget that we have an extra soup pot floating around in the cupboards, but I know which utensils you like.
Below: Cables for Hubs
These remind me of Oscar the Grouch"Now leave me alone and get lost!""Scram!"Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Weekend Projects + Craft Fair
Quick rundown: The Renegade Craft Fair was glorious yet again! Although it rained all day Saturday, I was there, in my parka checking out all the goods. I got some earrings from Nervous System (I've been eyeing their jewelry for a while) plus a necklace from another vendor, who, unfortunately, I forget the name of. I also got Joe a t-shirt that says "Uranus is dark and icy." He was really excited about it. All in all, it was a great turn-out for a rainy Chicago day!
This past weekend I wanted a fast and easy project to use up some skeins of Manos del Uruguay 100% wool that I've had in my stash forever. They were on sale when I got them and I liked the color. I knitting up a Foliage Hat from Knitty!
Check out the sweet plucking job I do to my unibrow.
This pattern was super easy, super fast and I really liked the end result. The yarn though I wasn't a big fan of. To be honest, this probably isn't the best pattern to choose for this yarn, but I couldn't decide on anything else. I have loads of it left and I was debating if I should make a So Called Scarf from ImagiKnit, but I still don't know because I don't think the scarf would be as interesting if the yarn isn't variegated.
I won't be doing that as my next project though, I need a break from that yarn. Right now, my mind is whirring away on possible new projects to do. I think I've made a decision, but we'll see. I really want to take a break from knitting altogether and do some sewing, but my improv sewing table happens to be overrun with books that were lifted off the floor of our bedroom after the great flood of '08. Since we haven't gotten bookshelves yet, or new hardwood floors, or even tacked the carpet back down, I'm not holding my breath that sewing will be done any time soon. Forging on!
This past weekend I wanted a fast and easy project to use up some skeins of Manos del Uruguay 100% wool that I've had in my stash forever. They were on sale when I got them and I liked the color. I knitting up a Foliage Hat from Knitty!
Check out the sweet plucking job I do to my unibrow.This pattern was super easy, super fast and I really liked the end result. The yarn though I wasn't a big fan of. To be honest, this probably isn't the best pattern to choose for this yarn, but I couldn't decide on anything else. I have loads of it left and I was debating if I should make a So Called Scarf from ImagiKnit, but I still don't know because I don't think the scarf would be as interesting if the yarn isn't variegated.
I won't be doing that as my next project though, I need a break from that yarn. Right now, my mind is whirring away on possible new projects to do. I think I've made a decision, but we'll see. I really want to take a break from knitting altogether and do some sewing, but my improv sewing table happens to be overrun with books that were lifted off the floor of our bedroom after the great flood of '08. Since we haven't gotten bookshelves yet, or new hardwood floors, or even tacked the carpet back down, I'm not holding my breath that sewing will be done any time soon. Forging on!
Monday, September 08, 2008
Craft Fair '08
Don't forget! Chicago's Renegade Craft Fair is this Saturday and Sunday on Division between Damen and Hermitage St. in Wicker Park. I will be there are noon sharp on Saturday checking out the goods. If it's as good as last year, I'm going to have to leave debit/credit cards at home again and limit myself to a set amount of cash so I don't go overboard.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Alo Alo Alo
Hey! Remember me? A little? Maybe? From way back when I actually kept this thing updated? It's AUGUST! Which, in Chicago, means we should be sweating balls and running the dehumidifiers, but lately it's been incredibly mild ::knock on wood::. All talk seems to be towards fall which makes me want to dive head first into new projects. But first, some of the old ones that finally FINALLY have been completed.
Project 1: Monica from Knitty.
This project was fun to make and pretty easy. Although, I messed up twice because I got cocky and didn't think. I knit it in the round, and if I do that next time, I'll cross out stitch numbers on the pattern and write what it should be before I start knitting. Oh well. This was a present for little Miss Olive. I was afraid that she'd refuse to wear it, but as soon as she got off the wrapping paper she started taking off her dress so that she could put it on! It was awesome. She definitely looks like a little strawberry.
and
If I were guaranteed a smile like this every time I made something for someone, I'd never stop.
Project 1: Monica from Knitty.
This project was fun to make and pretty easy. Although, I messed up twice because I got cocky and didn't think. I knit it in the round, and if I do that next time, I'll cross out stitch numbers on the pattern and write what it should be before I start knitting. Oh well. This was a present for little Miss Olive. I was afraid that she'd refuse to wear it, but as soon as she got off the wrapping paper she started taking off her dress so that she could put it on! It was awesome. She definitely looks like a little strawberry.
and
If I were guaranteed a smile like this every time I made something for someone, I'd never stop.Project 2: Child's Placket-Neck Pullover from Last-Minute Hand Knitted Gifts
This sweater took me a ridiculously long time to finish. I started back in January, had technically finished by February and just had to close up the armpits and weave in the ends... months go by... baby is born... um yah I'm still not done. Poor little Cooper is 4 weeks old and he's COLD dang it! I really regret not seaming the armpits closed sooner. After being on stitch holders all that time, some of the stitches got stretched out and I had to try and kind of disperse the yarn again through the rows. I'm going to try and wash and stretch this guy to see if that helps, but there are still some lumpy bits. I would totally do this project again though. For some reason the neck on mine is way longer, I have no idea how that happened. Oh well...
Work in progress: The Aleita Shell from Interweave Knits Spring 2008
This issue has loads and loads of really cute patterns that I'd like to try, but this one stuck out as the one I'd probably wear the most. And it doesn't have sleeves... I'm a slacker. So far, I've messed up once, counted rows incorrectly, and had to rip back three inches. Now I'm putting in safety lines that I can rip back to if I need to. Right now I'm up to the part that separates for the crossover. I really hope this fits!
The color I chose isn't that fun, but I'm going for more practicality here than anything else. Maybe next time I'll choose something more colorful, if this works out that is.
In the queue: The Apres Surf Hoodie from Interweave Knits Summer 2008
This one is going to be a challenge. I've never done lace before, and I'll have to seriously concentrate on my stitches. We'll see how this goes. I love the yarn I chose for this! The last project was kind of ho hum but this is a really fun purple tencel yarn!
You're probably thinking the same thing I am, "Holy crap that is some tiny yarn." I know. I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off. I got special Addi lace turbos needles for this stuff. This is going to be a challenging project me thinks. To top it off, this project is NOT knit in the round. eeeeeeeks! Purling with this stuff does not sound like my idea of a good time. I'm nervous about my skills of converting this project to in-the-round knitting. I don't know if I'm going to do that. We'll see...
Before I get there, I will probably start a pair of hand-warmers for Joe. He's begging me for another longer pair, he even picked out yarn he liked. Since I'm heading to Denver!! YES!! VACAY! this weekend, I think the airport down time and flight will give me some time to crank out another pair for him. Maybe ones with cables... ooooooooo
Note: These pictures never look so great in blogger, so feel free to click on them to see a better enlargement.
This sweater took me a ridiculously long time to finish. I started back in January, had technically finished by February and just had to close up the armpits and weave in the ends... months go by... baby is born... um yah I'm still not done. Poor little Cooper is 4 weeks old and he's COLD dang it! I really regret not seaming the armpits closed sooner. After being on stitch holders all that time, some of the stitches got stretched out and I had to try and kind of disperse the yarn again through the rows. I'm going to try and wash and stretch this guy to see if that helps, but there are still some lumpy bits. I would totally do this project again though. For some reason the neck on mine is way longer, I have no idea how that happened. Oh well...
Work in progress: The Aleita Shell from Interweave Knits Spring 2008This issue has loads and loads of really cute patterns that I'd like to try, but this one stuck out as the one I'd probably wear the most. And it doesn't have sleeves... I'm a slacker. So far, I've messed up once, counted rows incorrectly, and had to rip back three inches. Now I'm putting in safety lines that I can rip back to if I need to. Right now I'm up to the part that separates for the crossover. I really hope this fits!
The color I chose isn't that fun, but I'm going for more practicality here than anything else. Maybe next time I'll choose something more colorful, if this works out that is.
In the queue: The Apres Surf Hoodie from Interweave Knits Summer 2008
This one is going to be a challenge. I've never done lace before, and I'll have to seriously concentrate on my stitches. We'll see how this goes. I love the yarn I chose for this! The last project was kind of ho hum but this is a really fun purple tencel yarn!
You're probably thinking the same thing I am, "Holy crap that is some tiny yarn." I know. I have no idea how I'm going to pull this off. I got special Addi lace turbos needles for this stuff. This is going to be a challenging project me thinks. To top it off, this project is NOT knit in the round. eeeeeeeks! Purling with this stuff does not sound like my idea of a good time. I'm nervous about my skills of converting this project to in-the-round knitting. I don't know if I'm going to do that. We'll see...Before I get there, I will probably start a pair of hand-warmers for Joe. He's begging me for another longer pair, he even picked out yarn he liked. Since I'm heading to Denver!! YES!! VACAY! this weekend, I think the airport down time and flight will give me some time to crank out another pair for him. Maybe ones with cables... ooooooooo
Note: These pictures never look so great in blogger, so feel free to click on them to see a better enlargement.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Old Notes to Self Courtesy of Google Docs
Written when I was obsessed with Tim Gunn's Guide to Style.
"11/30/07-
Things to hunt for: new jeans check!, winter jacket check!, cashmere sweater - reasonably priced as in not over $150.
Things to casually look for: black dress, trench, classic white shirt check!, blazer, sweatsuit alternative
Bonus items I would like to add to wardrobe: light long belted sweater (no, changed mind, not flattering), print blouses,
Shoes: Have multiple MULTIPLE options am not allowed to buy shoes. NO MORE SHOES NICOLE. You have ballet flats, stilettos, kitten heels, mid-rise heels, boots, sandals, fun-colored going out shoes, espadrilles, sneakers, slip-on sneakers, this list should tell you that you do not need any more shoes. NO. MORE. SHOES. You may buy a shoe rack. Cheated and bought mary janes... I suck..."
"11/30/07-
Things to hunt for: new jeans check!, winter jacket check!, cashmere sweater - reasonably priced as in not over $150.
Things to casually look for: black dress, trench, classic white shirt check!, blazer, sweatsuit alternative
Bonus items I would like to add to wardrobe: light long belted sweater (no, changed mind, not flattering), print blouses,
Shoes: Have multiple MULTIPLE options am not allowed to buy shoes. NO MORE SHOES NICOLE. You have ballet flats, stilettos, kitten heels, mid-rise heels, boots, sandals, fun-colored going out shoes, espadrilles, sneakers, slip-on sneakers, this list should tell you that you do not need any more shoes. NO. MORE. SHOES. You may buy a shoe rack. Cheated and bought mary janes... I suck..."
Monday, June 02, 2008
Tired and Bloated
I am waaaaaaaay behind on the blog. It's so sad. Here's a wee update on the goings ons lately:
My boss was on vacation for two weeks. Another guy on my project team was on vacation for the last week of those two. So I was doing my job plus theirs for a good enough amount of time to want to demand money any time anyone called or stopped by my desk.
"Nicole, do you have - "
"That'll be $5.00."
"Excuse me?"
"Each question is $5.00."
"But what if you don't know the answer?"
"You're paying for the time. Even if I don't know the answer we'll spend 10 min. on you telling my why I should know the answer, how come I don't know the answer and how are you supposed to find out the answer now that my boss has inconvenienced you by doing something as unbelievable as taking his vacation."
But I don't ask for money because usually that ends in someone throwing around initials that start with P end in S and contain 'whiny crazy beotch' somewhere around the middle. Instead I bottle frustration and then work on my intimate relationship with netflix.
Joe started a new job at a different restaurant, opening in June. WEE!! We're so excited about this change. He's been transitioning over and took a well-deserved week of vacation. Unfortunately, I couldn't take off work to join him for the reasons above. Which sucked. A lot. It's hard to get vacation time if you're in the restaurant business and we really would've liked to take a trip somewhere, but it was not in the cards.
What was in the cards was me hammering out my work the last week my boss was gone so that I could take liberties the following week (last week). I left on time, I came in a half hour late because we'd go out to breakfast. We were on Joe time, which meant going to bed after 12, going out to eat every other night, and going out on the weekend with his friends (which we never do because his schedule never worked out). I've had at least three weeks of weekends where we've stayed out past 4am on Friday and Saturday. I do not usually do this. I usually go out maybe one night and then I conk out around 12 and I am unmovable until around 10am the next day.
While this extravaganza has been really wonderful because I get to spend loads of time with my hubby, I am tired, and I am fat. I'm running on 4 hrs of sleep and a belly full of fried bar food. I have no one to blame but myself. Did I have to order the fried green beans with sariacha sauce with my beers? No... Did we have to go out for sushi 3 times in the past two weeks? Probs not. Did I really need those late night Bambas nachos? Most definitely no. I have this issue with moderation. If Joe isn't working, I want to be with him and I do not want to do any work, any chores, any errands which means an empty fridge and a condo that has been taken over by the kitties, that is, if you can find them.
Last night I threw a shirt on top of a chair in the corner of the bedroom and heard, "Brrrrp?" because Bear had camouflaged himself into the pile of crap that was also on the chair (there might be a humidifier down under there). I think the kitties like this impromptu obstacle course we've set up for them. I have to side-step my hamper to get to the other side of the bed, they jump up onto the edge of the bed and the over to get to the window. They're reaping so much more fun out of this arrangement than we are.
That's my spiel for the hiatus. It will probably continue as long as Joe's working shorter hours. I have to take advantage now for obvious reasons. Although all this going out has to be cut back. I knew I was in trouble when I started searching for my largest pair of earrings because I thought they would distract from the tube o fat around my waist. If I toss my hair I can distract people with shiny things! BRILLIANT! I'll have people thinking "Is that jewelry really work appropriate?" Instead of, "She's wearing that same skirt with the elastic waist... again."
My boss was on vacation for two weeks. Another guy on my project team was on vacation for the last week of those two. So I was doing my job plus theirs for a good enough amount of time to want to demand money any time anyone called or stopped by my desk.
"Nicole, do you have - "
"That'll be $5.00."
"Excuse me?"
"Each question is $5.00."
"But what if you don't know the answer?"
"You're paying for the time. Even if I don't know the answer we'll spend 10 min. on you telling my why I should know the answer, how come I don't know the answer and how are you supposed to find out the answer now that my boss has inconvenienced you by doing something as unbelievable as taking his vacation."
But I don't ask for money because usually that ends in someone throwing around initials that start with P end in S and contain 'whiny crazy beotch' somewhere around the middle. Instead I bottle frustration and then work on my intimate relationship with netflix.
Joe started a new job at a different restaurant, opening in June. WEE!! We're so excited about this change. He's been transitioning over and took a well-deserved week of vacation. Unfortunately, I couldn't take off work to join him for the reasons above. Which sucked. A lot. It's hard to get vacation time if you're in the restaurant business and we really would've liked to take a trip somewhere, but it was not in the cards.
What was in the cards was me hammering out my work the last week my boss was gone so that I could take liberties the following week (last week). I left on time, I came in a half hour late because we'd go out to breakfast. We were on Joe time, which meant going to bed after 12, going out to eat every other night, and going out on the weekend with his friends (which we never do because his schedule never worked out). I've had at least three weeks of weekends where we've stayed out past 4am on Friday and Saturday. I do not usually do this. I usually go out maybe one night and then I conk out around 12 and I am unmovable until around 10am the next day.
While this extravaganza has been really wonderful because I get to spend loads of time with my hubby, I am tired, and I am fat. I'm running on 4 hrs of sleep and a belly full of fried bar food. I have no one to blame but myself. Did I have to order the fried green beans with sariacha sauce with my beers? No... Did we have to go out for sushi 3 times in the past two weeks? Probs not. Did I really need those late night Bambas nachos? Most definitely no. I have this issue with moderation. If Joe isn't working, I want to be with him and I do not want to do any work, any chores, any errands which means an empty fridge and a condo that has been taken over by the kitties, that is, if you can find them.
Last night I threw a shirt on top of a chair in the corner of the bedroom and heard, "Brrrrp?" because Bear had camouflaged himself into the pile of crap that was also on the chair (there might be a humidifier down under there). I think the kitties like this impromptu obstacle course we've set up for them. I have to side-step my hamper to get to the other side of the bed, they jump up onto the edge of the bed and the over to get to the window. They're reaping so much more fun out of this arrangement than we are.
That's my spiel for the hiatus. It will probably continue as long as Joe's working shorter hours. I have to take advantage now for obvious reasons. Although all this going out has to be cut back. I knew I was in trouble when I started searching for my largest pair of earrings because I thought they would distract from the tube o fat around my waist. If I toss my hair I can distract people with shiny things! BRILLIANT! I'll have people thinking "Is that jewelry really work appropriate?" Instead of, "She's wearing that same skirt with the elastic waist... again."
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sewing Circle
I'm having a particularly great day today even though it's gray and rainy outside. Joe and I went for pancakes before work and it really jump-started me on my day. Not that I was really more productive at work, but I am happier so I think it was worth it! Pancakes with my hubby will always put a smile on my face. Hopefully this weather turns into Spring too, that would really make me happy.
The tulips along State Street are starting to bloom and if this weather makes them die, I'm going to be really upset. I wish I could have more plants at our condo, but we have a tendency to kill them. Gardening is really not my thing. A lot of people in my family are successful gardeners and I don't think I've inherited the gene.
For my cousin's Christmas present, ::ahem:: that I gave her two three weeks ago ::ahem::, I made a Lotta Jansdotter Gardening Tote, she has the green thumb. I got the green canvas from Ikea and stamped these abstract dandelions onto it. The stamping was really fun, even though the kitties kept trying to sit on the fabric, "Oh! You like this stuff? Let me try it out here ::stretch:: You know what I think would make it even better? Cat hair, here ya go, this is SO MUCH BETTER, right?"
The tote bottom has rounded corners that you're supposed to sew onto the tube of the body and for the life of me I could not figure out an easy way to do this. Am I missing something? Probably, oh well, that's why sewers invented linings, to hide mistakes. Other than that, I found the pattern pretty straight forward.
The Lotta Jansdotter Gardening Tote: Able to lift 12lb kitties who are attention whores and refuse to get off what you're photographing. He actually put up with being in this thing until I took him halfway down the hallway to test his nerve.
Cat head accessory not included
The tulips along State Street are starting to bloom and if this weather makes them die, I'm going to be really upset. I wish I could have more plants at our condo, but we have a tendency to kill them. Gardening is really not my thing. A lot of people in my family are successful gardeners and I don't think I've inherited the gene.
For my cousin's Christmas present, ::ahem:: that I gave her two three weeks ago ::ahem::, I made a Lotta Jansdotter Gardening Tote, she has the green thumb. I got the green canvas from Ikea and stamped these abstract dandelions onto it. The stamping was really fun, even though the kitties kept trying to sit on the fabric, "Oh! You like this stuff? Let me try it out here ::stretch:: You know what I think would make it even better? Cat hair, here ya go, this is SO MUCH BETTER, right?"
The tote bottom has rounded corners that you're supposed to sew onto the tube of the body and for the life of me I could not figure out an easy way to do this. Am I missing something? Probably, oh well, that's why sewers invented linings, to hide mistakes. Other than that, I found the pattern pretty straight forward.
The Lotta Jansdotter Gardening Tote: Able to lift 12lb kitties who are attention whores and refuse to get off what you're photographing. He actually put up with being in this thing until I took him halfway down the hallway to test his nerve.
Cat head accessory not includedThursday, April 24, 2008
Wee Gifts for Wee Folk
I used to feel alienated by crafty sites having so many projects that were geared towards babies and toddlers. I felt like I couldn't really identify with wanting to make things for little kids because, obviously, there are not many little kids that I run into on a daily basis (unless you count the ones carefully disguised as grown men har har har). Now that more family members and friends I know seem to be having babies, I'm more inclined to make some fun gifts for their new additions.
There's one really great thing about projects for little kids: they're widdle! They don't take a lot of time and I like that I get to use sugary sweet cutsie patterns and know that it won't get stuck in the bottom of a drawer somewhere. First off, I made two quilts inspired by the follow-the-lines baby quilt in Last Minute Patchwork Gifts.
I'd been eyeing this spaceship fabric for a while. You don't see a lot of boyish fabric in stores. When I first spotted this print, it went out of stock before I could push myself to buy it, so when I saw it again online, I had to have it. It is so dang cute. I'd have a bad day at work and just knowing I'd come home to hand quilt some rocket ships made me smile. You cannot frown when looking at red and blue spaceships, it's not humanly possible.
This quilt was for Ryan's 2nd birthday. I hand quilted it, and the stitches are huge and definitely random, but I kind of like the effect. It's almost as if a little kid did it, I think it adds a bit o charm.
I also hand did the binding, my first time doing it. That was definitely tricky, but totally worth it.
The next quilt I made was a polar opposite of Ryan's. This quilt is so sugary sweet I think I could die from cuteness overload. The pinks are so pink, the yellows are so bright!
The other thing I really like about this quilt is that the fabrics technically do not match. The pinks are different shades, the flower pattern doesn't have yellow on it, but it looks like it should have yellow on it. I think the two different fabrics almost imply color similarities on themselves. For me, the yellow binding brought it all together. This quilt is for my friend Joyce's new baby girl, she is to arrive on May 7th. Instead of ties, I used a zig zag stitch to quilt the fabrics together.
When I gave Joyce the present she said, "I was hoping you were going to make me something!" I can't even tell you how that really warmed my heart. I think with handmade gifts there's always this fear that people won't really get it, or appreciate it. I think that's totally fine, I have just as much fun spending my time picking a thoughtful gift for a friend. It just feels defeating when you think that someone will like something and they don't, whether it's handmade or not. You know what I'm talking about, "Oooohh... umm yah thanks! Thanks so much! Oh yah I LOVE it." Luckily, I haven't run into this reaction yet. ::knock on wood:: And if you spend time making those little details and people don't notice, it's a little pang.
For the little details, I taught myself some tricks on the second quilt to make the hand-binding go a little easier. Maybe these will work for other people, maybe not, maybe this is totally obvious stuff that everybody already knows, well I didn't ok!?!
1. I have to pin binding to the quilt. I know I know, everybody hates pinning and all that business, but I tried without pinning and it turned into a huge gigantuar mess, so no more of that. And when I do pin, I pull the binding taut, otherwise pilling forms because the stitches are pulling things in tighter than the binding is laying. Does that make sense? Well, even if it doesn't, everything laid nicer when I gently tugged the binding taught as I pinned it down to machine sew it.
2. I use a teeny needle to hand-sew the other side. JoAnn's was having a 50% off sale on all quilting notions, so I bought shorter needs to do the binding with. I wound up using a medium size length (medium compared to what else was in the package, it was still relatively short) so that my chubby fingers had enough to grab onto but were still able to manage the needle easily.
3. I looked up exactly how to blind stitch. The Last Minute Patchwork Gifts book explains in words how to do a blind stitch. I need a visual. I am a visual learner. I don't even know how to properly use a thimble much less do a blind stitch. Here's how I stitched my binding, after hiding my little knot I put the needle in just below the machine stitching that attached the binding to the front of my quilt. We're talking a hair away from the stitching, then, I inserted the needle parallel to the stitching about 1/8" along the stitching and took the needle out. The next stitch went into the fold of my binding directly above where the needle had just come out from the back of the quilt. Again, the needle went parallel along the fold of the binding about 1/8" before coming out. So all it looks like is a vertical thread coming up from the back of the quilt and then into the binding. I continued along, tugging gently as I went to pull the binding to the back of the quilt. The result was flawless, in my opinion. That blind stitch is genius I tell you. If you still don't really get this, search for blind stitch on youtube. I think the other two things to remember are to go really close to the machine stitch and then into the fold of the binding. That way the edges of the binding on either side will match. Ta daaaa!!!
4. This whole binding method also taught me that next time I'm going to put the binding edge slightly away from the edge of the quilt before I machine stitch it, that way the binding will totally encapsulate the quilt edge instead of having a sort of empty space that makes you think your binding was too wide for your quilt.
I am definitely going to do more of these. I'm thinking the next one will have some simple patchwork involved. I like simple details. There's definitely something of a triumph when you patiently work something to perfection.
There's one really great thing about projects for little kids: they're widdle! They don't take a lot of time and I like that I get to use sugary sweet cutsie patterns and know that it won't get stuck in the bottom of a drawer somewhere. First off, I made two quilts inspired by the follow-the-lines baby quilt in Last Minute Patchwork Gifts.
I'd been eyeing this spaceship fabric for a while. You don't see a lot of boyish fabric in stores. When I first spotted this print, it went out of stock before I could push myself to buy it, so when I saw it again online, I had to have it. It is so dang cute. I'd have a bad day at work and just knowing I'd come home to hand quilt some rocket ships made me smile. You cannot frown when looking at red and blue spaceships, it's not humanly possible.
This quilt was for Ryan's 2nd birthday. I hand quilted it, and the stitches are huge and definitely random, but I kind of like the effect. It's almost as if a little kid did it, I think it adds a bit o charm.
I also hand did the binding, my first time doing it. That was definitely tricky, but totally worth it.
The next quilt I made was a polar opposite of Ryan's. This quilt is so sugary sweet I think I could die from cuteness overload. The pinks are so pink, the yellows are so bright!
The other thing I really like about this quilt is that the fabrics technically do not match. The pinks are different shades, the flower pattern doesn't have yellow on it, but it looks like it should have yellow on it. I think the two different fabrics almost imply color similarities on themselves. For me, the yellow binding brought it all together. This quilt is for my friend Joyce's new baby girl, she is to arrive on May 7th. Instead of ties, I used a zig zag stitch to quilt the fabrics together.
When I gave Joyce the present she said, "I was hoping you were going to make me something!" I can't even tell you how that really warmed my heart. I think with handmade gifts there's always this fear that people won't really get it, or appreciate it. I think that's totally fine, I have just as much fun spending my time picking a thoughtful gift for a friend. It just feels defeating when you think that someone will like something and they don't, whether it's handmade or not. You know what I'm talking about, "Oooohh... umm yah thanks! Thanks so much! Oh yah I LOVE it." Luckily, I haven't run into this reaction yet. ::knock on wood:: And if you spend time making those little details and people don't notice, it's a little pang.
For the little details, I taught myself some tricks on the second quilt to make the hand-binding go a little easier. Maybe these will work for other people, maybe not, maybe this is totally obvious stuff that everybody already knows, well I didn't ok!?!
1. I have to pin binding to the quilt. I know I know, everybody hates pinning and all that business, but I tried without pinning and it turned into a huge gigantuar mess, so no more of that. And when I do pin, I pull the binding taut, otherwise pilling forms because the stitches are pulling things in tighter than the binding is laying. Does that make sense? Well, even if it doesn't, everything laid nicer when I gently tugged the binding taught as I pinned it down to machine sew it.
2. I use a teeny needle to hand-sew the other side. JoAnn's was having a 50% off sale on all quilting notions, so I bought shorter needs to do the binding with. I wound up using a medium size length (medium compared to what else was in the package, it was still relatively short) so that my chubby fingers had enough to grab onto but were still able to manage the needle easily.
3. I looked up exactly how to blind stitch. The Last Minute Patchwork Gifts book explains in words how to do a blind stitch. I need a visual. I am a visual learner. I don't even know how to properly use a thimble much less do a blind stitch. Here's how I stitched my binding, after hiding my little knot I put the needle in just below the machine stitching that attached the binding to the front of my quilt. We're talking a hair away from the stitching, then, I inserted the needle parallel to the stitching about 1/8" along the stitching and took the needle out. The next stitch went into the fold of my binding directly above where the needle had just come out from the back of the quilt. Again, the needle went parallel along the fold of the binding about 1/8" before coming out. So all it looks like is a vertical thread coming up from the back of the quilt and then into the binding. I continued along, tugging gently as I went to pull the binding to the back of the quilt. The result was flawless, in my opinion. That blind stitch is genius I tell you. If you still don't really get this, search for blind stitch on youtube. I think the other two things to remember are to go really close to the machine stitch and then into the fold of the binding. That way the edges of the binding on either side will match. Ta daaaa!!!
4. This whole binding method also taught me that next time I'm going to put the binding edge slightly away from the edge of the quilt before I machine stitch it, that way the binding will totally encapsulate the quilt edge instead of having a sort of empty space that makes you think your binding was too wide for your quilt.I am definitely going to do more of these. I'm thinking the next one will have some simple patchwork involved. I like simple details. There's definitely something of a triumph when you patiently work something to perfection.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Draft
I'm fiddling with the layout and some of the features on here, see the new search box? Still experimenting, so bare with me!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Confessions
I've been holding out on you just a wee bit. I've been secretly way more crafty than I've been letting on. I'm hiding crafty projects from teh internets because they're presents. BUT today I mailed two of the big ones off on their way so I have some pretty picture posts coming up. In the meantime, I've had some other works in progress.
I finished my Endpaper Mits ages ago, and I really really like how they turned out. I use them all the time and I believe I am the envy of everyone on the CTA, or at least the homeless ones... and the smokers. Because they love pink.
Myspace Endpaper Mit Pic! OMG IDK MY BFF JILL?
I finally finished my first crafty gift for Joe: handwarmers! Aren't you surprised??? It's not like I've made oooh six of these already, but who's counting? Joe likes them a lot and says they make a part of him warm that he never thought was cold. ...his WRISTS! Jeez! tsk tsk tsk
Joe has very feminine hands.
Not much else to report except for the sad passing of our guinea pig friend Oliver. He's pretty much infamous around here. I got him right after moving into my place, and I have to say, even with the cats, it kind of feels weird not to hear him bleeting about and rustling. When I came home today the cats seemed alarmed that Oliver was gone and hadn't returned, but I'm pretty sure that's all in my imagination.
Of course, the past three weeks Bear has been rubbing against my legs every time I put on my shoes to leave for work. I was tempted to put up a video of it because it's ADORable, but all of them have my kitty talky voice in the background and nobody needs to hear that. Mew's been jumping into the tub and digging, flopping around in it and even sleeping in it. I feel like we're in London circa WWII. Except WAY cuter. I've been assured by my pet psychic this is normal kitty behavior. But who can trust a woman who's change her name to Skygirl?
I finished my Endpaper Mits ages ago, and I really really like how they turned out. I use them all the time and I believe I am the envy of everyone on the CTA, or at least the homeless ones... and the smokers. Because they love pink.
Myspace Endpaper Mit Pic! OMG IDK MY BFF JILL?I finally finished my first crafty gift for Joe: handwarmers! Aren't you surprised??? It's not like I've made oooh six of these already, but who's counting? Joe likes them a lot and says they make a part of him warm that he never thought was cold. ...his WRISTS! Jeez! tsk tsk tsk
Joe has very feminine hands.Of course, the past three weeks Bear has been rubbing against my legs every time I put on my shoes to leave for work. I was tempted to put up a video of it because it's ADORable, but all of them have my kitty talky voice in the background and nobody needs to hear that. Mew's been jumping into the tub and digging, flopping around in it and even sleeping in it. I feel like we're in London circa WWII. Except WAY cuter. I've been assured by my pet psychic this is normal kitty behavior. But who can trust a woman who's change her name to Skygirl?
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
RIP Oliver
Oliver the Guinea Pig
? - April 2008 (age, about 4 yrs.)
Oliver was a pretty good guinea pig as guinea pigs go. He didn't eat his vegetables even though every website I researched said he'd love them. He also neglected his salt lick, but he did love these little nugget treats. He was pretty content hanging around in his home all the time, occasionally running around and jumping while talking to himself. A big fan of his igloo house, most days he could be seen with his pooch hanging over the sides of it. Every once in a while we'd take him out and force him to be petted, and after a lot of persuasion, I think he would begin to like to be petted on his sides. Each morning he'd hear me wake up and get a glass of water and he'd start making his bleet sounds declaring that he was hungry.
The past couple months he hadn't been going on the top of his igloo. I'm not sure if that's due to old age or because he was getting fat, maybe a combination of the two. The past couple weeks, he'd seemed less 'talky' and wasn't running around as much. This morning I found him lying peacefully between his water bottle spout and his food bowl, looking pretty content.
Oliver has gone to the big plastic igloo in the sky. We tried to give him a good clean home with plenty of food, clipped his nails, made sure the cats didn't tease him too much. I'm pretty sure he passed due to old age.
Thanks Oliver for being the fat furry football that was always around for amusement and to endlessly torture my mother, who, when I told her her wish came true said, "Awww I'm sorry honey. But I never liked that tail of his, so gross."
? - April 2008 (age, about 4 yrs.)
Oliver was a pretty good guinea pig as guinea pigs go. He didn't eat his vegetables even though every website I researched said he'd love them. He also neglected his salt lick, but he did love these little nugget treats. He was pretty content hanging around in his home all the time, occasionally running around and jumping while talking to himself. A big fan of his igloo house, most days he could be seen with his pooch hanging over the sides of it. Every once in a while we'd take him out and force him to be petted, and after a lot of persuasion, I think he would begin to like to be petted on his sides. Each morning he'd hear me wake up and get a glass of water and he'd start making his bleet sounds declaring that he was hungry.
The past couple months he hadn't been going on the top of his igloo. I'm not sure if that's due to old age or because he was getting fat, maybe a combination of the two. The past couple weeks, he'd seemed less 'talky' and wasn't running around as much. This morning I found him lying peacefully between his water bottle spout and his food bowl, looking pretty content.
Oliver has gone to the big plastic igloo in the sky. We tried to give him a good clean home with plenty of food, clipped his nails, made sure the cats didn't tease him too much. I'm pretty sure he passed due to old age.
Thanks Oliver for being the fat furry football that was always around for amusement and to endlessly torture my mother, who, when I told her her wish came true said, "Awww I'm sorry honey. But I never liked that tail of his, so gross."
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Anything You Can Cook I Can Cook Better
Lovin' the shots of Chicago, makes me so happy.
Pizzaria Uno's! I want pizza... Enter Colicchio and Padma. Is Colicchio on a box?
Elimination Challenge Time!
Me: Joe, peaches, fennel sausage, thoughts?
Joe: Oh that's a great combination!
Sure enough Rocco was dubious and the peaches prevail. Yet again solidifying my opinion that Rocco is a giant beotch. Go defrost some Bertolli and leave us alone! Or at least take off your shirt.
Flash to Nimma saying she's not going to socialize with the other chefs. We've all heard this before, and it doesn't give you any sort of advantage. Yet, I can't say it gives you a disadvantage either, unless you count being held down by two of your teammates and being threatened that they'll shave your head a disadvantage.
Joe: Oh that girl's gone!
Back to the kitchen.
Me: Joe, what's the deal with the souflee?
Joe: A good souflee uses egg whites that are beaten into stiff peaks and then you carefully put it into a dish and then into an oven of the right temperature. It's supposed to rise up out the dish like a chef's hat.
Me: ermmm...
Joe: They showed perfect ones on Ratatouille.
Me: OOOOooooh!
Me: Joe, shrimp marinated in parsley? That's weird to me.
Joe: No, that's the classic recipe, loads of butter, parsley, maybe topped with a lemon wedge.
Me: Stephanie's like, YES Bourdain loves my duck, please come live with me so I can feed it to you and you can tell me how great I am over and over again.
Richard has effing smoke come out of his dish. All I can say is thank God there is none of that stupid foam Marcel was so fond of in the past seasons. Let's see some new gastro-nomical creations and you do not have to use the FREAKIN' FOAM! Liquid nitrogen pleeeeeeeeease! I have had food made with lasers and liquid nitrogen, and trust me, it was delicioso, and that's the whole point right?
Joe: Here's my big idea: Fast food, slow food. You have two animals go head to head, one eats the other and then you eat them both. Round 1 - Cheetah vs. Turtle.
Me: You're pretty.
Chef's Table
Hey, I seemed to have misplaced my douche, has anyone seen - "Guest chef Rocco DiSpirito" never mind! Never mind everybody! False alarm.
Bourdain, "Loved your dish, great flavor, great composition, great color, great texture, loved it!" Stephanie's like, one more time! Pleeeeease!
Stephanie wins!! YEA CHI TOWN!! I highly suspect that Bourdain held down DiSpirito and threatened to mushroom stamp him if he didn't give the win to Stephanie. At least, that's how I envision it...
Ok, why didn't Stephanie get a special prize?? Joe says she should get - never mind, you don't want to know. He's dirty. He's spending too much time with dirty boys.
Colicchio, "A milanese is breaded in bread crumbs, there is a difference between the two. And it was just the coating of bread crumbs was way too thick. Way too thick."
Joe: OWNED!
Rocco, "Let's just say it wasn't just his gnocchi that was dense." Taking notes at the chef's table... note to self: gnocchi is tough... dense... please God have this guy say something stupid so I can use my line about the gnocchi, man that would be so badass. I gotta get more quips than Bourdain this season.
Little plug here, the best gnocchi I have ever had was cooked by Tony from The Filthy Libertine. Just throwing it out there... mmmmm little pillows of heaven.
End of episode one. Let's revisit the past for a moment. Season 1 winner of the first round: Harold. We all know how that ended. Season 2: Ilan, again season winner, although he was not my favorite and his drama with Marcel made me threaten not to watch season 3, and the only reason I did was because a chef from Chicago was on it. Season 3: Trey. Many argue he could've gone all the way. He did go far, but flopped in one of the last challenges. I think the point here is, if you stick out in the first round, when the group of badass chefs is at the all time high for the entire ordeal, you're going to stand out for the rest of the challenges. I hope Stephanie continues to be a head above the rest!
You all should know Joe's been cooking soup this entire time with his own stock made from scratch. He first put all his ingredients in their own little separated bowls. Now, if only I could find him a cheetah and a turtle...
Pizzaria Uno's! I want pizza... Enter Colicchio and Padma. Is Colicchio on a box?
Elimination Challenge Time!
Me: Joe, peaches, fennel sausage, thoughts?
Joe: Oh that's a great combination!
Sure enough Rocco was dubious and the peaches prevail. Yet again solidifying my opinion that Rocco is a giant beotch. Go defrost some Bertolli and leave us alone! Or at least take off your shirt.
Flash to Nimma saying she's not going to socialize with the other chefs. We've all heard this before, and it doesn't give you any sort of advantage. Yet, I can't say it gives you a disadvantage either, unless you count being held down by two of your teammates and being threatened that they'll shave your head a disadvantage.
Joe: Oh that girl's gone!
Back to the kitchen.
Me: Joe, what's the deal with the souflee?
Joe: A good souflee uses egg whites that are beaten into stiff peaks and then you carefully put it into a dish and then into an oven of the right temperature. It's supposed to rise up out the dish like a chef's hat.
Me: ermmm...
Joe: They showed perfect ones on Ratatouille.
Me: OOOOooooh!
Me: Joe, shrimp marinated in parsley? That's weird to me.
Joe: No, that's the classic recipe, loads of butter, parsley, maybe topped with a lemon wedge.
Me: Stephanie's like, YES Bourdain loves my duck, please come live with me so I can feed it to you and you can tell me how great I am over and over again.
Richard has effing smoke come out of his dish. All I can say is thank God there is none of that stupid foam Marcel was so fond of in the past seasons. Let's see some new gastro-nomical creations and you do not have to use the FREAKIN' FOAM! Liquid nitrogen pleeeeeeeeease! I have had food made with lasers and liquid nitrogen, and trust me, it was delicioso, and that's the whole point right?
Joe: Here's my big idea: Fast food, slow food. You have two animals go head to head, one eats the other and then you eat them both. Round 1 - Cheetah vs. Turtle.
Me: You're pretty.
Chef's Table
Hey, I seemed to have misplaced my douche, has anyone seen - "Guest chef Rocco DiSpirito" never mind! Never mind everybody! False alarm.
Bourdain, "Loved your dish, great flavor, great composition, great color, great texture, loved it!" Stephanie's like, one more time! Pleeeeease!
Stephanie wins!! YEA CHI TOWN!! I highly suspect that Bourdain held down DiSpirito and threatened to mushroom stamp him if he didn't give the win to Stephanie. At least, that's how I envision it...
Ok, why didn't Stephanie get a special prize?? Joe says she should get - never mind, you don't want to know. He's dirty. He's spending too much time with dirty boys.
Colicchio, "A milanese is breaded in bread crumbs, there is a difference between the two. And it was just the coating of bread crumbs was way too thick. Way too thick."
Joe: OWNED!
Rocco, "Let's just say it wasn't just his gnocchi that was dense." Taking notes at the chef's table... note to self: gnocchi is tough... dense... please God have this guy say something stupid so I can use my line about the gnocchi, man that would be so badass. I gotta get more quips than Bourdain this season.
Little plug here, the best gnocchi I have ever had was cooked by Tony from The Filthy Libertine. Just throwing it out there... mmmmm little pillows of heaven.
End of episode one. Let's revisit the past for a moment. Season 1 winner of the first round: Harold. We all know how that ended. Season 2: Ilan, again season winner, although he was not my favorite and his drama with Marcel made me threaten not to watch season 3, and the only reason I did was because a chef from Chicago was on it. Season 3: Trey. Many argue he could've gone all the way. He did go far, but flopped in one of the last challenges. I think the point here is, if you stick out in the first round, when the group of badass chefs is at the all time high for the entire ordeal, you're going to stand out for the rest of the challenges. I hope Stephanie continues to be a head above the rest!
You all should know Joe's been cooking soup this entire time with his own stock made from scratch. He first put all his ingredients in their own little separated bowls. Now, if only I could find him a cheetah and a turtle...
Monday, March 03, 2008
Fingerless mittens or fingerless gloves? I think I like mittens. Cuz it rhymes with kittens. tee hee Kittens with mittens, mittens with kittens.I've been doing some major work on my fingerless mittens from Miss Eunny. Please please please open that link in a new window because if you don't I know you'll never return to this entry. I have currently ripped out and started over the color work on these twice now. sigh. It's okay though, they look loads better now than they did when I started. First I tried having brown as the background with pink as the design, but there just wasn't enough pink! If you look closely, the pink actually changes colors slightly going lighter and darker and I really wanted to show that off. Because it's purty dang it! You should be very proud that this yarn is not any sort of shade of blue or turquoise. It seems anything and everything I could make, I automatically go for the turquoise, and it's usually the same shade that I'm wearing at the time. So I went for a color I don't normally wear this time to mix it up.
I'm surprised I still have the motivation to do a second mitten after all that ripping, but so far things are looking good because I've been imagining wearing these to Paul's Rock Band Party Part Deaux!! YES!! ::insert devil horn hand signals here::
I heart Rock Band. On Guitar Hero my character's name is PHOENIXX (yes all caps please), and Kate and I made our band name Mind Moose on Rock Band. I imagine that when we take the stage the announcer from the movie Spiderman goes, "MIIIIIIIIIIIND MOOOOOSE!" with his voice going up an octave and then down again like a verbal roller coaster. Because that's what are show is like fool - an effing roller coaster YEAAAAA! Ideally speaking I would wear a leather bikini top with a sequin mini skirt in order to show off my PHOENIXX belly tattoo to Paul's par-tah, but sadly I'll have to settle for my new Foo Fighters t-shirt and fingerless mittens. I would wear my new beret, but berets aren't punk enough, sorry.
You wanna rock with 'dis?!
I haven't worn a beret since I was about six years old and had a bowl hair cut. I was the hottest thing in two mary janes, I'll tell you what. Those holes are supposed to be there, I promise. I wore it to work today and noticed that it is exactly the same color as the shirt I'm wearing. I'm cursed I tell you. I swear I don't do these things intentionally. The pattern is from Twinkle's Weekend Knits. I added one more row of increases, but next time I think I'll do two to make it extra-slouchy. This one was a pain to do on double pointed needles, my stitches kept falling off! And then there was the part where I kinda skipped four rows of pattern, cuz I'm cool like that.
Twinkle's book had me a wee bit disappointed. I have her first one and there are a ton of sweaters in there that I drool over. There's maybe one in Weekend Knits I would actually make. There's a throw that is pretty too, but easy to figure out without having to pay for the whole book. Then, there's a scarf that is scarily reminiscent of the one I made for my dad with crochet?! ::Looks over right shoulder, looks over left shoulder:: What's going on here?
Besides being obviously stalked by knitters because I'm sooo pop.u.lar., I've been stocking up on yarn and knitting supplies. I'm currently not allowed to buy any more. You know, unless I really need it, like really really need it, or it's super cute, or it's right in front of me and I can't just LEAVE it there! Can you just LEAVE it there??
I'm surprised I still have the motivation to do a second mitten after all that ripping, but so far things are looking good because I've been imagining wearing these to Paul's Rock Band Party Part Deaux!! YES!! ::insert devil horn hand signals here::
I heart Rock Band. On Guitar Hero my character's name is PHOENIXX (yes all caps please), and Kate and I made our band name Mind Moose on Rock Band. I imagine that when we take the stage the announcer from the movie Spiderman goes, "MIIIIIIIIIIIND MOOOOOSE!" with his voice going up an octave and then down again like a verbal roller coaster. Because that's what are show is like fool - an effing roller coaster YEAAAAA! Ideally speaking I would wear a leather bikini top with a sequin mini skirt in order to show off my PHOENIXX belly tattoo to Paul's par-tah, but sadly I'll have to settle for my new Foo Fighters t-shirt and fingerless mittens. I would wear my new beret, but berets aren't punk enough, sorry.
You wanna rock with 'dis?!I haven't worn a beret since I was about six years old and had a bowl hair cut. I was the hottest thing in two mary janes, I'll tell you what. Those holes are supposed to be there, I promise. I wore it to work today and noticed that it is exactly the same color as the shirt I'm wearing. I'm cursed I tell you. I swear I don't do these things intentionally. The pattern is from Twinkle's Weekend Knits. I added one more row of increases, but next time I think I'll do two to make it extra-slouchy. This one was a pain to do on double pointed needles, my stitches kept falling off! And then there was the part where I kinda skipped four rows of pattern, cuz I'm cool like that.
Twinkle's book had me a wee bit disappointed. I have her first one and there are a ton of sweaters in there that I drool over. There's maybe one in Weekend Knits I would actually make. There's a throw that is pretty too, but easy to figure out without having to pay for the whole book. Then, there's a scarf that is scarily reminiscent of the one I made for my dad with crochet?! ::Looks over right shoulder, looks over left shoulder:: What's going on here?
Besides being obviously stalked by knitters because I'm sooo pop.u.lar., I've been stocking up on yarn and knitting supplies. I'm currently not allowed to buy any more. You know, unless I really need it, like really really need it, or it's super cute, or it's right in front of me and I can't just LEAVE it there! Can you just LEAVE it there??
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Little Things
This morning I was standing on the bus completely absorbed in recapping a meeting that didn't go very well in my head. I'm pretty sure I had a huge scowl on my face, because that's my typical bus face. Someone got up and I sat down in their seat just as the woman next to my nudged me and with a huge smile on her face said, "What a beautiful ring!" nodding to my engagement ring. It was like someone turned on the sun. It's amazing how with a few words of kindness and a smile your mood can turn from gray to pink.
Here's to more pink days...
Here's to more pink days...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
72 - 69
And it feels SO SWEET!
I might have been a wee bit too vocal during the UT game because Mew was getting a little freaked...
I might have been a wee bit too vocal during the UT game because Mew was getting a little freaked...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Too Many Humps on My Hump Day
I'm having trouble conquering the obstacles on my Wednesday. Still, I take comfort in the little things like when I look to the left I see:
Sweepy Mew
Sweepy MewAnd right:
Dweaming Bear (yes that pumpkin's from October, DON'T JUDGE ME!)
Dweaming Bear (yes that pumpkin's from October, DON'T JUDGE ME!)
They can't cuddle together, that would be unheard of. They like to flank you and then conquer you with cuteness!!
Yesterday and today I've been thinking of what inspires people, artwork, peers, music, teh internets... I find work life to be less than inspiring. It physically hurts when I go out to lunch and find myself with co-workers saying, "I never go to the art museum. My teacher in high school showed me a painting of a mountain and asked me what I thought it represented. What? It's just a mountain!" sigh. And so I asked, "So if you went west to Colorado and you saw the mountains would you think, 'eh, they're just mountains!'?" Everyone laughed, but I was being serious. Maybe a bit too serious for a co-worker lunch, I admit.
Monday Joe and I went out to The Filthy Libertine, a semi-recently re-opened gastro-pub down on Clybourn. Gastro pub because the food is classy, but not over priced and the drink selection is prime. I recommend the gnocchi with pork belly and the beignets. Anyway, Joe used to work with a couple of people that now work over there. Monday nights they have guest chefs come to bartend, and this Monday, it was ::swooooooon:: Dale! Yes, Dale! If you'll remember, I'm a huge fan of Dale. So you ask, did you get pictures? HA! Do you know me AT ALL?? How could I pass up an opportunity to totally humiliate myself even after I spilled my drink all over my lap?? That's right, Dale made me a specialty cocktail and delivered it himself and I spilled it all. over. my. lap. And then he made me another one. That one went down the hatch.
Later, Joe bought Dale a shot and he was nice enough to give us some good conversation. That's not Stan, that's Dale, I promise. Do not be misled by the shirt. No, really, NOT STAN. Maybe I should photoshop that out because you look confused. DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT STAN. IF YOU ARE A FRIEND OF STAN, I CANNOT TELL YOU WHERE STAN IS OR THE LOCATION OF HIS SHIRT. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT FOR ANY INFORMATION RELATING TO STAN. THANK YOU.
The following captions by Joe: "This is Joe getting shitfaced with Dale
This is Joe puking into Dale's underpants
This is Dale cleaning Joe's puke out of Dale's underpants
This is me hugging Dale"
Some pictures may have been removed due to adult content.
The whole experience left me wishing I could see the same sort of passion in someone in my own field. I was, and still am, a bit jealous. I mean, Joe got to meet a guy that inspires those around him with his artwork, his creations, all the while taking some shots and eating some amazing food? I feel so cheated! Why can't Engineers put something together of this caliber? There's really no reason why we can't.
Yesterday and today I've been thinking of what inspires people, artwork, peers, music, teh internets... I find work life to be less than inspiring. It physically hurts when I go out to lunch and find myself with co-workers saying, "I never go to the art museum. My teacher in high school showed me a painting of a mountain and asked me what I thought it represented. What? It's just a mountain!" sigh. And so I asked, "So if you went west to Colorado and you saw the mountains would you think, 'eh, they're just mountains!'?" Everyone laughed, but I was being serious. Maybe a bit too serious for a co-worker lunch, I admit.
Monday Joe and I went out to The Filthy Libertine, a semi-recently re-opened gastro-pub down on Clybourn. Gastro pub because the food is classy, but not over priced and the drink selection is prime. I recommend the gnocchi with pork belly and the beignets. Anyway, Joe used to work with a couple of people that now work over there. Monday nights they have guest chefs come to bartend, and this Monday, it was ::swooooooon:: Dale! Yes, Dale! If you'll remember, I'm a huge fan of Dale. So you ask, did you get pictures? HA! Do you know me AT ALL?? How could I pass up an opportunity to totally humiliate myself even after I spilled my drink all over my lap?? That's right, Dale made me a specialty cocktail and delivered it himself and I spilled it all. over. my. lap. And then he made me another one. That one went down the hatch.
Later, Joe bought Dale a shot and he was nice enough to give us some good conversation. That's not Stan, that's Dale, I promise. Do not be misled by the shirt. No, really, NOT STAN. Maybe I should photoshop that out because you look confused. DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT STAN. IF YOU ARE A FRIEND OF STAN, I CANNOT TELL YOU WHERE STAN IS OR THE LOCATION OF HIS SHIRT. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT FOR ANY INFORMATION RELATING TO STAN. THANK YOU.
The following captions by Joe: "This is Joe getting shitfaced with DaleThis is Joe puking into Dale's underpants
This is Dale cleaning Joe's puke out of Dale's underpants
This is me hugging Dale"
Some pictures may have been removed due to adult content.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
What's That Noise?
Shh... Do you hear that? That's the sound of Kentucky fans crying. As my friend Lee said, "Kentucky's playing last night was almost as bad as Ashley Judd's hair..." The Commodores handed Kentucky their worst loss in the school's history last night. It feels so sweet!
Now I want to make t-shirts for March Madness. Help me by voting on a t-shirt slogan.
Here's my selection of originals:
Commodores, like pirates, but sexier.
Commodores, we don't just play with our dinghies.
Commodores, we get to have swords.
If you ain't a 'Dore, you ain't shit.
Then, I was thinking about references that only my friends from Vandy would get, here's to you ladies:
Commodores, we don't do that.
Yes you do.
I know.
Your team has a disease, called obnoxious.
Then I just went on the random, nobody would probably get it but I like it anyway.
Vanderbilt, no, not in Indiana.
Commodores, cuz two points on your hat are better than one.
Now I want to make t-shirts for March Madness. Help me by voting on a t-shirt slogan.
Here's my selection of originals:Commodores, like pirates, but sexier.
Commodores, we don't just play with our dinghies.
Commodores, we get to have swords.
If you ain't a 'Dore, you ain't shit.
Then, I was thinking about references that only my friends from Vandy would get, here's to you ladies:
Commodores, we don't do that.
Yes you do.
I know.
Your team has a disease, called obnoxious.
Then I just went on the random, nobody would probably get it but I like it anyway.
Vanderbilt, no, not in Indiana.
Commodores, cuz two points on your hat are better than one.
Monday, February 11, 2008
I Heart the Continental
"The cham-pan-gnay you have thrown stings my eyes!"
No, not that continental, THIS continental. I have been knitting up a storm practicing the continental knitting method. Yes, Chicagoland, that wasn't the heavens blowing snow, it was me with my knitting skillz. I've found I like it a lot better than the other way just because it's feels more like crochet. I have to wrap the yarn around my finger in the opposite direction, but it feels more natural. And I can go faster. What can I say? I like immediate results. Which is why I am so happy that I have finished three, yes count 'em, three wrist warmers (pattern from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts). TA DAAA SCIENCE!
My first pair in jade. Finished in the airport with help from my companion knitting expert, Mom
No, not that continental, THIS continental. I have been knitting up a storm practicing the continental knitting method. Yes, Chicagoland, that wasn't the heavens blowing snow, it was me with my knitting skillz. I've found I like it a lot better than the other way just because it's feels more like crochet. I have to wrap the yarn around my finger in the opposite direction, but it feels more natural. And I can go faster. What can I say? I like immediate results. Which is why I am so happy that I have finished three, yes count 'em, three wrist warmers (pattern from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts). TA DAAA SCIENCE!
My first pair in jade. Finished in the airport with help from my companion knitting expert, MomI also made a pair in pale pink and a manly pair that are ribbed in black. I like the size of the men's, but I think the women's size will stretch and fit better. Next on my project list is a baby sweater. I'm taking a huge leap here, from square projects to non-square projects, but I think with the help of my mom, Joe's mom and maybe the ladies at my LYS I can conquer it! I love having a wee community to get help from. Warm fuzzies.
P.S. Can I do a little praise the Ravlery Gods? First of all, I discovered the tab under my friends page called 'friend activity.' Within a nano-second I can see all the projects my friends are working on, what they've updated, what they've 'faved' and what they've queued. I can't even count how many more cute projects I've found within the smallest window of time. My other Ravelry epiphany? Did you notice my new sidebars?? Aren't they amazing!! I have to say, it's been about four years since I've done any real coding, and back then it was your basic HTML, a little Java and mostly MathCad. I can't get over that all I have to type is photos:true between two little parenthesis and bam! Instant photos! That whole sidebar with photos took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to put on my blog. I spent most of that time picking the color for my progress bars. I am blown away.
These progress bars might spoil me. I update my Ravelry more than my blog. I hope this doesn't become a trend because I do like adding bits of info. on here, especially since not everyone is on Ravelry and not everyone is into crocheting and knitting.
Okay, I'm done with my gushing!
P.S. Can I do a little praise the Ravlery Gods? First of all, I discovered the tab under my friends page called 'friend activity.' Within a nano-second I can see all the projects my friends are working on, what they've updated, what they've 'faved' and what they've queued. I can't even count how many more cute projects I've found within the smallest window of time. My other Ravelry epiphany? Did you notice my new sidebars?? Aren't they amazing!! I have to say, it's been about four years since I've done any real coding, and back then it was your basic HTML, a little Java and mostly MathCad. I can't get over that all I have to type is photos:true between two little parenthesis and bam! Instant photos! That whole sidebar with photos took me about 15 minutes to figure out how to put on my blog. I spent most of that time picking the color for my progress bars. I am blown away.
These progress bars might spoil me. I update my Ravelry more than my blog. I hope this doesn't become a trend because I do like adding bits of info. on here, especially since not everyone is on Ravelry and not everyone is into crocheting and knitting.
Okay, I'm done with my gushing!
Friday, February 08, 2008
Friday
On this Friday I'm kind of burnt out. My challenge to you is to do what I'm doing, which is recounting this skit. With any conversation I have today. It goes a little something like this:
"Hi Jim, Dave asked me to see if you coming to this morning's meeting."
"At 10:30?"
"No, actually he's over in a conference room right now."
"Hrumpf! I guess he meant easter-"
BANG!
Oooom whatcha saaaaaaaay
"Do you have hard copies of these drawings?"
"No, but the electronic ones are on my computer, let me go print them."
"::Sigh + eyeroll:: You should really have hard cop-"
BANG!
Oooom whatcha saaaaaaaay
"It's Friday! haha Are we having fun ye-"
BANG!
Oooom whatcha -
BANG!
Oooom -
BANG!
Oo-
BANG!
Oooom whatcha saaaaaaaay ahhhhhh that you only meant weeeeeell cuz you diiiid
I know it's kind old, but I don't care, I'm still amused. Almost as amused as I am about Laser Cats. Almost, I mean, they're cats, with freakin' lase- BANG! Oooom whatcha saaaaaaaay
"Hi Jim, Dave asked me to see if you coming to this morning's meeting."
"At 10:30?"
"No, actually he's over in a conference room right now."
"Hrumpf! I guess he meant easter-"
BANG!
Oooom whatcha saaaaaaaay
"Do you have hard copies of these drawings?"
"No, but the electronic ones are on my computer, let me go print them."
"::Sigh + eyeroll:: You should really have hard cop-"
BANG!
Oooom whatcha saaaaaaaay
"It's Friday! haha Are we having fun ye-"
BANG!
Oooom whatcha -
BANG!
Oooom -
BANG!
Oo-
BANG!
Oooom whatcha saaaaaaaay ahhhhhh that you only meant weeeeeell cuz you diiiid
I know it's kind old, but I don't care, I'm still amused. Almost as amused as I am about Laser Cats. Almost, I mean, they're cats, with freakin' lase- BANG! Oooom whatcha saaaaaaaay
Monday, January 28, 2008
WIP
I did do actual crafting today. I attempted to make a checkbook cover and it went wrong in every way a checkbook cover could possibly go wrong. I don't know how little rectangles of fabric could be so unruly. Little bastards. So instead of showing the sad sad square I managed to seam-rip three times over, here's a little peek at some new purchases I made last week at the fabric store!
GIRLIE FABRICS! Pink pink and more pink! A co-worker of mine is having a baby girl in May so I'm thinking of making her a baby quilt. I used to complain about the abundance of baby patterns and the lack of those for men. I really want to make something special for my hubby, all in good time. It seems this is the year for people having babies. The good thing about projects for babies is that they are miniature! Less work area for me to mess up on them.
GIRLIE FABRICS! Pink pink and more pink! A co-worker of mine is having a baby girl in May so I'm thinking of making her a baby quilt. I used to complain about the abundance of baby patterns and the lack of those for men. I really want to make something special for my hubby, all in good time. It seems this is the year for people having babies. The good thing about projects for babies is that they are miniature! Less work area for me to mess up on them.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Sniffles McGee
Penelope's diagnosis came down to a dead battery and a faulty altimeter. Nothing life-threatening there, I'm happy to have her home. We still need to take her to the dealer to get her a check-up on her computer.
Looks like I'm the lucky individual who took to the sick bed for a couple days. I'm fighting a nasty cold. It also doesn't help when a certain individual, who shall remain nameless, enjoys waking me up at 3a.m. by roasting garlic for his soup, or sauteeing pork chops. The only thing keeping me from strangling him besides my weakened state is that I get leftovers.
One good thing about being sick is that you take delight in the littlest things. Yesterday I opened the fridge and saw: ta daaaa! Barbecue sauce! YES! Did I put it on anything? No. But just knowing it's there gives me warm fuzzies. I walk into the bedroom: nice cool down comforter!? YES! Ahhhhh... I love wrapping myself up like a hot dog in a bun.
Looks like I'm the lucky individual who took to the sick bed for a couple days. I'm fighting a nasty cold. It also doesn't help when a certain individual, who shall remain nameless, enjoys waking me up at 3a.m. by roasting garlic for his soup, or sauteeing pork chops. The only thing keeping me from strangling him besides my weakened state is that I get leftovers.
One good thing about being sick is that you take delight in the littlest things. Yesterday I opened the fridge and saw: ta daaaa! Barbecue sauce! YES! Did I put it on anything? No. But just knowing it's there gives me warm fuzzies. I walk into the bedroom: nice cool down comforter!? YES! Ahhhhh... I love wrapping myself up like a hot dog in a bun.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Out of Service
I have been crafting, and I did finish one project and am in the middle of the other, but then tragedy struck: Penelope is in the garage. And I needed her to go to the hardware store to pick up some accessories for one of my projects. Boooo.
Penelope is our trusty Saturn Ion, and we think with the extreme cold we've been having she just couldn't handle it. She's usually snuggled up in our warm garage, but Saturday night Joe took her out and she hasn't recovered. Diagnosis should come later today and hopefully won't be too bad. ::fingers crossed for out of antifreeze!::
Now Joe and I are voting on what's going to be next to break. His vote is the toilet; he's a pessimist. I went with the more reliable Comcast cable, which he declares unfair since our OnDemand never works, so I've been forced to go with dishwasher. Although I think in reality it will be one of us that 'breaks', i.e. comes down with something incapacitating, pneumonia, strept throat, bad cold, etc. This weather is killing me, it's not even the cold that's bothersome, it's that it is sooo dry, my humidifier can't keep up.
In the meantime, I am going to try and snuggle up with some comfort food, soup or mac n' cheese, and some crafty goodness.
Penelope is our trusty Saturn Ion, and we think with the extreme cold we've been having she just couldn't handle it. She's usually snuggled up in our warm garage, but Saturday night Joe took her out and she hasn't recovered. Diagnosis should come later today and hopefully won't be too bad. ::fingers crossed for out of antifreeze!::
Now Joe and I are voting on what's going to be next to break. His vote is the toilet; he's a pessimist. I went with the more reliable Comcast cable, which he declares unfair since our OnDemand never works, so I've been forced to go with dishwasher. Although I think in reality it will be one of us that 'breaks', i.e. comes down with something incapacitating, pneumonia, strept throat, bad cold, etc. This weather is killing me, it's not even the cold that's bothersome, it's that it is sooo dry, my humidifier can't keep up.
In the meantime, I am going to try and snuggle up with some comfort food, soup or mac n' cheese, and some crafty goodness.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Intermission
The writer's strike is robbing me of television. In the meantime, I've been catching up on shows that everyone has insisted I should watch, like Heroes, Arrested Development and back-episodes of The Office. Netflix movies can't come fast enough! Heroes was fan-smashtic and I love the soundtrack. Whoever said that TV show theme songs were dead? I rented The Red Violin tonight purely to hear the music. It also may be one of the only movies that Samuel L. Jackson lives through.
I'm still working on resolving my own creative strike, errr lapse, errr hiatus. To fill the gaps, here's a view of what crafty things I was lucky enough to receive over the holidays. It's been hard not to start something new with all this inspiration!
Joe's crafty preset for me, in true Joe style.
I've been eyeing this crazy creation
A new crochet book from Adrienne and antique crochet hooks from my mother-in-law Vicky
I like this babydoll dress, but I think I'd shorten it for me
I'm still working on resolving my own creative strike, errr lapse, errr hiatus. To fill the gaps, here's a view of what crafty things I was lucky enough to receive over the holidays. It's been hard not to start something new with all this inspiration!
Friends at work gave me a knitting pattern book and the ultimate kitting manual.
Joe's crafty preset for me, in true Joe style.I've been eyeing this crazy creationA new crochet book from Adrienne and antique crochet hooks from my mother-in-law VickyI like this babydoll dress, but I think I'd shorten it for meI really like the crochet hooks. I'm not really one for antiques or collecting knick knacks, but I can actually use these. It makes me wonder what someone has made with them. Vicky said the two with the colored ends are from the 70s and the double ended one is much older. I can't wait to test-drive them!
Hopefully this weekend will be a craftier one than last. I'm still recovering from back to work shock. This morning the fridge broke and I'm currently surviving on a diet of salt and MSG, or lime tostitos and ramen. And I'm officially a whiner wah wah wah.
Hopefully this weekend will be a craftier one than last. I'm still recovering from back to work shock. This morning the fridge broke and I'm currently surviving on a diet of salt and MSG, or lime tostitos and ramen. And I'm officially a whiner wah wah wah.
Scalpel
Doing some work on the look of ye old blog for the new year. Last night I was distracted by the possibility of watching Heroes episodes online and kind of gave up trying to fix the resolution issues with the header. The best fix for that is for you, the reader, to start drinking. Then you won't know the difference. It may even look cleaner.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
'08
I started writing New Years Resolutions. Then, I decided I just don't like New Years Resolutions. There's all this build-up and then a stigma and then you wind up in awkward conversations with people that start with, "Sooo what are your RESOLUTIONS?" and I think, "None. I hate setting lofty goals for myself that I never achieve so I just don't set them to begin with." and I say, "Oh I dunno... eat better, exercise, etc. etc." In fact I've never had any New Years Resolutions. Never. Just not a year resolution person. I may have told you that I did, but I was really just jumping on the bandwagon because for some reason it makes you look like a jerk if you don't. Everything in my life is just perfect! I don't need resolutions! Look at meeeee! So I deleted the title and wrote Goals for 2008. But even that seems wrong. Knowing me, I'd wait until November to try and achieve them. I'm settling for:
Purposeful and Achievable Goals for January:
1. Get library card
2. Check out two library books
3. Read library books before end of 3 week time limit
4. Send resume to at least 3 companies
5. Clean condo for 14 min. three times a week
To explain #5: My friend Paul has this crazy work-out routine that he calls his S-Day diet. I feel like I should reference some obscure website when explaining this thing because that is where he found it - online. The S-Day diet consists of the following: you may not have seconds, you can have as much firsts as you want but no seconds, no sugar, and you can eat whatever you want on S-Days which include Saturdays, Sundays and Special Days. It also has a work-out routine, I will spare you the details but it includes a sledgehammer and a sweater in the time interval of 14 minutes. Because 14 minutes is the longest non-schedulable time interval. I know you're thinking what the heck is this? Tell me more about it, this is so strange, a sledgehammer? But I'm not going to, why? Because as you may have guessed it MAKES NO SENSE. I'm sparing you the brain annihilation of trying to find any sort of rational scientific sense of it all. Just trust me, you don't want to know, this is for your own good.
I am borrowing the only part that I think I could make work for me and that is the 14 minute rule. I have a 950 sq. ft. condo, I think it could be made to be consistently and extremely clean if I did something for 14 min. three times a week. That's... boop boop beep... 42 min. total! In 14 min. I can do all the dishes, sweep and vacuum the living room. Or, do the dreaded task of mopping that Joe and I avoid like the plague. Maybe this will save my sanity so that I won't make those 10:30a.m. phone calls to Joe in the morning to wake him to demand to know why, why is our tub now coated in black ... stuff? after his bath last night. Or how could he possibly think he could put a dirty dish into my MY nice clean sink, didn't he notice I just put them all into the washer? And those onions he insisted I buy? The ones that have now disintegrated into a foul-smelling jelly mush in our cabinets which I'm pretty sure is a crude primitive form of napalm, yah I'm not cleaning that up. No, this morning I just did not feel up to braving the obstacle course that is his side of the bed to give him a kiss goodbye. I like my ankles unbroken, thank you. And where the hell are all my socks!??!!
Purposeful and Achievable Goals for January:
1. Get library card
2. Check out two library books
3. Read library books before end of 3 week time limit
4. Send resume to at least 3 companies
5. Clean condo for 14 min. three times a week
To explain #5: My friend Paul has this crazy work-out routine that he calls his S-Day diet. I feel like I should reference some obscure website when explaining this thing because that is where he found it - online. The S-Day diet consists of the following: you may not have seconds, you can have as much firsts as you want but no seconds, no sugar, and you can eat whatever you want on S-Days which include Saturdays, Sundays and Special Days. It also has a work-out routine, I will spare you the details but it includes a sledgehammer and a sweater in the time interval of 14 minutes. Because 14 minutes is the longest non-schedulable time interval. I know you're thinking what the heck is this? Tell me more about it, this is so strange, a sledgehammer? But I'm not going to, why? Because as you may have guessed it MAKES NO SENSE. I'm sparing you the brain annihilation of trying to find any sort of rational scientific sense of it all. Just trust me, you don't want to know, this is for your own good.
I am borrowing the only part that I think I could make work for me and that is the 14 minute rule. I have a 950 sq. ft. condo, I think it could be made to be consistently and extremely clean if I did something for 14 min. three times a week. That's... boop boop beep... 42 min. total! In 14 min. I can do all the dishes, sweep and vacuum the living room. Or, do the dreaded task of mopping that Joe and I avoid like the plague. Maybe this will save my sanity so that I won't make those 10:30a.m. phone calls to Joe in the morning to wake him to demand to know why, why is our tub now coated in black ... stuff? after his bath last night. Or how could he possibly think he could put a dirty dish into my MY nice clean sink, didn't he notice I just put them all into the washer? And those onions he insisted I buy? The ones that have now disintegrated into a foul-smelling jelly mush in our cabinets which I'm pretty sure is a crude primitive form of napalm, yah I'm not cleaning that up. No, this morning I just did not feel up to braving the obstacle course that is his side of the bed to give him a kiss goodbye. I like my ankles unbroken, thank you. And where the hell are all my socks!??!!
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