Pet owners beware!

I've had suspicions that my cats are using my computer to email their kitty friends while I'm at work. But now that Dot has her own blog, I may have to password protect my machine. I love my furry kiddos, but I sure as heck don't trust 'em!

Send good job thoughts my way, please!

I dropped off my resume for an on-call Reference Librarian position at a local community college. I won't have my degree until May, but I'm hoping the fact that I'm interning at one of the college libraries in the district will at least get me an interview. I would like to become a Reference Librarian at a community college library someday, so this would be great experience. And since it's on-call, rather than a part-time position, I wouldn't have to commit to a set of hours each week. And it would be nice to make some extra money on the side (you know... dinero, stash fund, bling-bling).

Speaking of school (well, I was sort of speaking about it), I'll be in class all day Saturday and Sunday. Then I have a two-part midterm to deal with next week. So I may not have a lot to say over the next few days. But if you're lucky, I'll have some ranting I can post. Wait, maybe that's not so lucky...

I've got problems

No, I don't mean the many psychological and neurotic problems that I have. Well... maybe you should be the judge of that.

First up, here's a side view of my Hallowig.

Notice anything funky with it? Maybe the fact that the decreases were worked on the sides, rather than the front and back? Here's a full frontal view for your enjoyment (please, if you're under 18, avert your eyes).

I thought that something seemed amiss while working the decreases, but I often feel this way. So I did as I often do - blindly follow the pattern and hope it all works out in the end. Yeah. It would appear that I either read the directions wrong or the markers are incorrectly labeled in the patter. argh! I need to rip this sucker back to where the decreases start. I hate ripping. (I suppose it's appropriate for a Hallowig, though. Get it? R.I.P.? Oh, go away.)

Ok, next up is my tank top. I finished the front (yay!). Check out the lovely v-neck action I got going here.

You'll probably notice that I did something wonky during my bind off for starting the v-neck. Please try not to point at it and laugh.

I have to say... What's that? You say you can't actually see the mistake? Well, the picture was taken from a distance. Here's a close up of the v-neck.

Still have problems seeing the flaw? Ok, fine, I'll give you an even closer picture.

sigh... I know I've probably dropped a notch as a knitter. I only hope you don't think any less of me as a person.


As I was saying, I have to send a big Thanks to Stacy for sending me this wonderful RAOK!

I was telling her that I love Fair Isle patterns, but I've got to get over my fear of attempting to make one. (See, I told you I've got problems...)

Foggy Fog Fest

My hubby and I spent part of the day at Pacifica's Fog Fest. Normally, Pacifica is quite foggy during the summer months and then warm and sunny in September and October. So, the Fog Fest is usually (and ironically) amidst a nice and sunny day. Unfortunately, the fog moved in this weekend, so the Fog Fest was quite appropriately named this year. The fog didn't stop us from enjoying festival food!!!

Jambalaya and Garlic Fries!


Roasted corn... mmmmm....

Once we got past the food (the yummy, yummy food!), we also stopped by some of the booths. We got to see the sand sculpture that is done every year.

Close-up of the sand fishies

And we saw Pacifica Pet Hospital (home of my new and favorite vet!).

Hi Dr. Hurlbut!

Speaking of pets, we stopped by the German Shephard Rescue booth.

Awww!

And, for good measure, we stopped at the Hell's Angel's booth.

I even bought a t-shirt while there!

Just call me a Bad Ass!

Finally, here's a view of the ocean, which is only a block away from the festival.

I told you it was foggy!

I'll have some knitting pics later this week (along with my "lesson learned" from my Hallowig).

By the way, I wanted to thank Lynn, Lisa, and Elisa for their kitty recommendations. We've been able to get the cats to take the pills and things have definitely calmed down quite a bit. (Which means I've calmed down quite a bit!).

Happy pills

I had hoped that my cats would act like mature and sane individuals and eventually get over their fighting issues with each other. Of course, I forgot that cats are neither mature nor sane. So, I broke down yesterday and asked the vet to give me some X*n*x. He said that he wouldn't give me any, but he would give some to the cats (I hear you groaning out there, but I couldn't resist!). I now have to give each cat a half pill twice a day for the next week (maybe two).

Anyone with animals will know that giving them a pill is as much fun as getting a root canal. Mom Cat doesn't fight anything too much. Once she realizes that I have her in my control, she pretty much just takes whatever is being give to her. Penny, on the other hand, fights it the entire way. Eventually, with both me and the hubby holding her down, we got the pill in her mouth and down her throat. I feel like she'll need the X*n*x to help her deal with taking the pills. And, in case you're wondering, we would try hiding the pill in food. However, Penny won't eat anything but her dry food. She does like to lick spaghetti sauce, so we're going to try grinding up a pill and seeing if she'll eat it that way. (neurotic cats... grumble, grumble)

Anyway, as of this morning they were still fighting. But, the glazed look in their eyes makes me hopeful. :-)

Even more birthday wishes!

There's two birthdays to celebrate on the 23rd - my good friend Anna and my Dad (Happy Birthday guys!). So, in honor of my Dad's b-day, I thought I'd share another blonde story. Remember when I left my lunch on the Bart train a while back? It had reminded me of a blonde story that sort of indirectly involves my Dad, so I think this is an appropriate time to tell it.

I think it was late 80's, maybe early 90's when this happened, and I was probably 18 or so. Although I was underage at the time, there were a few clubs that opened up their doors to 18 and over after midnight. One of my favorite clubs was a "mod" club. The people who hung out there wore all black clothes, had black hair, white faces, and dark lipstick (yes, even the guys). By the way, in case you're having trouble picturing me in this attire, I did actually attempt the "mod" look, but with blonde hair and a squeaky clean face I just couldn't pull it off (much to my parents' relief, I'm sure!).

One night, I drove to this mod club with a friend of mine. I took the keys out of the ignition and put them into my purse. I then took out my license and some money and then hid my purse under the driver's side seat. My friend and I each got out of the car, locked the doors, and shut them. Immediately upon shutting the now locked doors, it hits me... my keys are in my purse which is under the seat in the now-locked car.

I look at my friend and she looks at me, both of us realizing what just happened and the fact that she watched me the entire time. So, it's after midnight and I now have to call my Dad and ask him to bring me the extra set of car keys. I can't even imagine what he thought when he pulled up to find me amongst throngs of people dressed all in black. To his credit, he dropped the keys in my hand and drove off with a quick goodbye.

If I didn't say it then, I'll say it now... Thanks Dad!

Hi.

Sorry - couldn't think of a catchy title today. :-)

I know many may not believe it, but I actually have knitting to talk about today! It's true! Before I tell you about it though, I'm going to make you suffer a bit through one of my rants.

Rant begins...

I was an avid Friends watcher (I see you all rolling your eyes and I got two words for you... reality tv). Anyhoo, I realize that the show needed to off the air when it did, but I was still a bit sad when it ended. Like I said, it was one of my favorite shows and one of the few I continued to watch after I started working during primetime tv. But seriously, folks. Joey? Who thought this spin-off was actually a good idea? I've watched the first couple of episodes just out of morbid curiosity and I will be amazed if it lasts. (It's like watching a train wreck - you can't stop it, but you can't seem to stop looking either)

Ok, rant over. (hee,hee!)

Now, onto the news you've been waiting for! I've been making good progess on tank top #2. I've just gotten past the armhole bind-off and am getting ready to wing the v-neck shaping. I'd show pictures, but there's really not much more to see than there was in the previous pics.

I've also been working on my Hallowig. I started working on the bangs this week.

The bangs are going to be a little funky because I screwed up the cast on stitches. I tried dividing the stitches between two circs as suggested. I then got my instruction book for using two circs in the round. The instructions say to drop the right needle completely and work the stitches on the left needle using the (duh) left needle. I pick up the tip of the left needle and the tip of the right needle and proceed to knit all of the stitches from the left needle onto the right needle. I finish and have an empty needle in my left hand. huh! (scratching my head)

So, I divide the stitches (again), look at the instructions (again) and proceed to pick up the tip of the left needle and the tip of the right needle. When I'm left, once again, with an empty left needle I start to get frustrated. I decided to work a couple of rounds just using the one circular needle (as you see in the picture above). However, the needle was just a tad too long, which means that I was stretching out my newly cast on stitches. Thankfully, when I calmed down and divided my stitches for the third (stinkin'!) time, I managed to dislodge the mental block I was having and actually dropped the right needle entirely and only worked with the left needle. Unfortunately, I've got this weird scallopy effect going with the bangs now (as opposed to scallopini). Normally, I'm quite the perfectionist and would have ripped this out. But let's be realistic here. This is a wig that I'm theoretically going to wear on Halloween. I don't think I'm going to let something like this bother me. Really, I'm fine with it. The eye-twitching will stop eventually.

Oh! So back to the two circ method. Once I got this working, I really liked it! I'm gonna give my socks another go using this method. Speaking of abondoned projects... I've joined the Irish Hiking Scarf knit-a-long. (My first knit-a-long!). This is the scarf I had attempted earlier, but I just didn't like the yarn I was using. So, now I need to find some yarn for this. If I don't have anything in my stash, I think I might see what Elann has.

Hasta!

Birthday wishes

I just wanted to send out a Happy Birthday to my sis!! Happy Birthday Terri! She turns 29 today (wink, wink), so send birthday thoughts her way.

:-)

Does this ever happen to you?

I ran out to the post office yesterday during my lunch break. To get there, I have to head North across Market and then cross through an intersection (I LOVE the intersections out here where the entire intersection is open to pedestrians). I pass Artfibers, get to the post office and mail out my package. I then go back across the street to run into a restaurant and grab lunch. I finish that, cross back through the intersection (in a movie, this would be called "foreshadowing"). I walk for several blocks before realizing...

I have NO IDEA where I am!!

Yes, I'm completely lost after initially walking two blocks from work to run an errand. Now, the sane thing would be to stop walking and figure out where I've ended up. Problem is, I don't actually know any of the streets in the city (I rely on landmarks to get places) and I have a vanity issue in that I don't actually want anyone else to know that I'm lost. So I continue to walk for several more blocks, trying hard to look as if I know exactly where I'm headed. I finally have to wait for a light to change at an intersection and look to my right. Waaaay out in the distance I can see a major street - Market Street! (yay!) I get back to work and tell my co-worker about this little exercise in humility. He looks at me and says...

"You really are a walking Seinfeld episode, aren't you?"

Everything but the kitchen sink

I didn't have time to update during the week, so here are some random thoughts.

Neurotic cats

How do you say "chill" in cat-speak? My cats are at it again. They were fine yesterday morning, but when I got home from work last night they were trying to tear each other apart. After the umpteenth fight in the middle of the night, I finally separated them. If it keeps up, I'm going to contact the vet again and see if I can get some of the X*n*x he told me about. Should I tell him the pills are for me?

[Side note for non-bloggers: The use of the '*' character above prevents anxiety-ridden individuals from finding my blog by doing a search for these pills. I think the last thing these people would need is to stumble on my blog by accident.]

Bloglines

I finally signed up with Bloglines. I'm still not entirely sure how it works. I've subscribed to most of the blogs I read, but some said they didn't have feeds available. Out of curiosity, I subscribed to my own blog, which did have a feed. How exactly does one get a feed? Does Blogger do this automatically? I'm planning to switch over to MovableType at some point with my own hosting. Will I need to subscribe somehow? I know some bloggers have a link on their site that allows someone to automatically subscribe to their blog. I haven't had the time to figure this one out yet. As soon as I do, I'll add this as well. (Of course, I'm assuming that there is anyone out there breathlessly waiting for an update to my blog. hee,hee).

Edit to add: Duh! I scrolled down to the bottom of the page in Bloglines and figured out how to add the "subscribe" button. It's over in the right hand column. Subscribe away!

On the needles

I was getting ready to toss tank top #2 aside and start working on a Hallowig when I heard some throat clearing and coughs coming from the corner of the room. It's my poor Bailey hat. I abondoned the poor thing to begin working on the tank top. So, I took the hint, and began weaving in some more ends yesterday. I'm planning to start my Hallowig this weekend, whether Bailey is complete or not. But hopefully I'll be *that* *much* *closer.*

This is called an Online Catalog

I got to conduct my first library instruction class on Wednesday. I was lucky and got a class with mostly older students. I stumbled over almost every word and talked way too fast (anyone who knows me in person would probably be amazed that I can talk even faster when I'm nervous!). But I think the class went ok overall. I'll be doing a bunch of these over the semester, so I'm sure that I'll improve with practice.

Random Bart sighting

While on the escalator the other night, I was behind a guy with greasy hair, wearing a suit jacket and pants in different types of plaid, flip flops, bright cotton-candy pink polish on his toe nails, and a lap top computer bag. When I finally saw him from the front my reaction was... "ah, web developer."

Resolutions update

Did I say I had three resolutions? I actually meant that I had two resolutions. Well, really, it's more like one and a half. sigh... I've been doing really well with the diet. Although my activity level hasn't been 30 minutes every day, I have been working out a few days a week. I figure this is better than nothing. Unfortunately, I succumbed to the nails yesterday. I was doing so well! First, one nail bit the dust and I figured, that's ok, it's just one nail. But then, another nail went down. And another. And another. F--k!! (Yes, I'm starting over again. sigh...)

My thoughts on swearing

As my mom has said, I have the mouth of sailor. In person, I swear constantly. In my emails, I swear just as much as I do in person. But, I can't seem to do it on my blog. There's something about the knowledge that this is a public site and I just can't seem to do it. I have no problem reading other blogs where people swear, I just can't do it myself. My hubby teases that I'm the "model citizen."
(Quick story: We both went to pick up prescriptions together one day. We get to the pharmacy and are the only customers in line. He steps up to the counter to get his prescription and turns to say something to me when he realizes that I'm standing a couple of feet behind him. He asks me what I'm doing so I point out the sign that says people waiting are supposed to wait behind the red line for customer privacy. He just shook his head.)

See, I told you this would be everything but the kitchen sink. I really need to try and take the time to update more often during the week. :-)

I'm on a roll

My hubby and I were practically falling asleep on the couch last night, so we decided it was time to get our butts up and into bed. He procedes to get up and begin the getting-ready-for-bed ritual. I continued to zone out in front of the tv (did I mention we have TiVo back!!!). Anyway, he's walking around the back of the couch to lock up and says "Move it fuzzy ass" to which I respond "I will." He starts laughing his head off because (ready, can you see it coming?)... he was talking to the cat. Funniest thing is, I didn't even think twice about being referred to as "fuzzy ass." :-)

Speaking of my cats

I love them. I really do. But some days... Our sliding door leading out to our balcony was accidentally left open on Friday. Apparently, one of the cats got out and we went through the "re-entry" blues. The cats were fighting so badly Friday night that we had to keep them in separate rooms. I spoke to a vet on Saturday morning, and he said that this isn't uncommon and that things would eventually return to normal. Thankfully he was right. (whew!) We've still had some "episodes" today, but I think the worst is over.

Can it be?

Now that I'm two-thirds done with the front of tank top #2, I finally got the digital camera out to document the wonky stripey action happening with the colors. Thing is, the wonky stripey thing stopped once I began the waist shaping. Well, you can see what I mean here:

Click on the picture for a larger version

The tank kept wanting to roll, so #8 offered to help out. Wasn't that nice of him? Anyway, do you see the stripey part at the bottom? Here's a close up shot...

I had been really worried that this was going to be the consistent pattern all over the tank, but I thankfully kept working away and it's got an interesting pattern going now.

I've finished the waist shaping and have begun the bustline increases. I'm cruising along!

Knitty!

I know everyone has seen the new Knitty by now, but I just have to say that I'm loving this issue! I really like Blaze and I've already gone out and bought some cotton-candy-pink Red Heart yarn for a Hallowig. Now I just have to hope that school doesn't interfere with my knitting plans (I hate when it does that!).

Hope everyone has a great week!

I don't get it

Here's a snippet from tonight's phone conversation with my sister Terri:

Terri - I got a joke for you. Where do they grow potatoes?
Me - Where?
Terri - No, you're supposed to give an answer. Where do they grow potatoes?
Me - Ireland.
Terri - Think of America.
Me - Oh, uh, Idaho.
Terri - Ida pimp, baby.
Terri and me - laughter
Me - I don't get it.
Terri - Ida-ho... Ida-pimp
Me - Oooooh! Ok, now I get it!

:-)

An accidental RAOK?*

I had one of those moments today. I had made a really nice salad for lunch. I put the salad and some dressing in my lunch bag. Also put in a small frozen dinner. And a soda. I even included a small jar of peanut butter that I had bought for the specific purpose of having at the office (long story, but I have a huge box of saltines at my desk crying out for some p.b.). I get on the Bart with my loaded lunch bag and backpack. The train is packed, so I stuff my lunch bag under my seat and put my backpack between my legs. I get off at my stop and as the train pulls away think... my lunch!!!! Damn! My only hope is that some deserving person, who may not have eaten today, found my really great lunch. sigh...

(Oh! This reminds me of another blonde story! I'll save the story for another post, though. Maybe this weekend?)

Anyhoo, I cast on for tank top #2 this week (I need to do like other bloggers, and come up with a name for my tank). I'm having a bit a bit of a problem, which just appeared today while knitting on the Bart. My colors in the variegated yarn are pooling in a really, well, weird way. Basically, I have vertical stripes. One stripe is beige and the other stripe is a mix of the other variegated colors (blues, dark browns, etc.). I'm thinking I might have to rip it out and start again, because I think this stripe-y look is going to bother me. I'll continue working on it for now, but I'll be sure to post some pictures this weekend to get other opinions.

Resolution update!

I realize it's only been a few days, but by now I would have normally broken every New Years resolution I made.

- I've been doing really well with my eating habits. I haven't allowed myself any sweets this week in order to break my chocolate cravings. Once I've broken the cravings, I can allow myself an occassional treat. But I've been eating too many too often lately.

- I'm doing pretty well with my activity level. I think Wednesdays will have to be a day off, though. I'm at my internship from 8am to 1:30pm, and then I go straight to my full-time job and am there until 10:30pm. I could go during my dinner break, but my feet are usually killing me from the dress shoes I wear to my internship. (Anyone have any shoe suggestions? I'm looking for a flat or low pump that doesn't hurt my feet!)

- Although I'm still biting at my nails, I'm definitely aware of it right now. This is a good first step for me. A salon near work is offering a special promotion - free manicures on your birthday! So, I'm determined to get a manicure on my birthday at the end of October. (Goals are my friend!). By the way, a huge thank you to Elisa for suggesting that I get acrylics. Unfortunately, I've tried a couple of different types of acrylics in the past, and the solution used makes my nails paper thin. I would think it's just my nails, except when I grew them out last year, they were nice and strong. I love getting suggestions, though!

*In case you don't know, RAOK stands for Random Acts of Kindness.

Labor Day Resolutions

Ok, I know that these are normally made at New Years, but I've decided to make some changes and I figure I might as well attach my resolutions to a holiday. :-)

Here's the deal... Many years ago, I went on Weight Watchers and manged to lose quite a bit of weight. Then, I got married last year and since I wanted to look spectacular, I got into a regular workout schedule and stopped biting my nails. Of course, once the wedding was over and I was back in classes, I gained back some weight, stopped working out, and began biting my nails again. So, here are my resolutions:

Lose weight - I'm going to go back to counting points and all of the other WW tricks that helped me lose the weight the first time. I know I've seen a couple of other bloggers that are on WW and I have a couple of friends on the plan as well, so I'm hoping this will help inspire me.

Get moving - My goal right now is to simply start moving again. I'm planning to do some sort of activity for 30 minutes a day, even if it's just a walk around my neighborhood. Eventually I want to get back into going to the gym and taking yoga, but I'm hoping baby steps will prevent me from burning out too soon.

Stop biting my nails - I've tried this countless times in the past using "pepper polish" and other tricks. What it came down to last year was simply wanting to stop biting my nails and doing it. So, I'll be trying that again.

Hopefully by stating my resolutions out loud (so to speak), I'll actually follow through with them!


Knitting news

I swatched for tank top #2 yesterday. I had to play with a couple of needle sizes before I settled on a guage that I liked. I've washed the swatch (for once) and it looks like my guage didn't change. So hopefully my finished garment won't stretch out of shape like last time. I've done some number crunching for most of the tank, so I should cast on today or tomorrow. I still have to deal with the v-neck portion, but I need to give my brain a rest for tonight.

My Bailey hat is coming along. I've got tons of ends to weave in, which is (painfully) slow going. Once I get these done I'll have pictures to show. Promise!

A big thanks to Julie (aka BoogaJ) for RAOKing me with one of her Gmail invites. Now I can find out what everyone's been talking about!

Oh! And if you haven't already checked out the beefecake picture over at Katie's blog, be sure to do so!! (I may be married, but I can still look. hee,hee!)

Check out my new fella!

My friend Anna got this little guy for me...

I have always wanted one of these Serta sheep, but I just couldn't justify purchasing one for myself. Be sure to check out his quote. I think it's funny that Number 8's claim to fame is for tearing off the mattress tag. As you can see from the picture of my cat earlier in the week, I don't tend to remove these things. Of course, my reasons are from pure laziness and not out of fear that I'll get caught and do time. :-)

Wanna see another shot? Of course you do!

I just adore him!

Ok, ok, I'll stop. I also remembered to get a picture of the wonderful gifts my Secret Pal sent me last month.

I need to get back to these socks. I'm contemplating on trying the two circular needle method instead of the dpn's. I actually have Cat Bordi's book, but when I initially bought the needles at my yarn shop, it was cheaper to get the single set of dpn's than to buy two circs. I don't normally like the Susan Bates needles that I can get at Joann's, but I'm thinking I might try them before going out and investing the money. Any thoughts from those that make socks in either method?

Finally, while I was being semi-productive with pictures today, I gathered some of the pictures my hubby took of Penny-cat the other day. Personally, I think they're cute photos, but I'm also biased. Feel free to take a look.

My head is finally starting to feel better. I still have a headache, but it feels more like an everybody-gets-headache-and-deals-with-them kind rather than the why-doesn't-my-head-implode-and-get-it-over-with kind.

And with that lovely thought, I hope everyone has a great Saturday night!

How do I spell relief?

I had hoped with an ice pack on the back of my neck and my hands plunged in hot water.

Confused yet?

I've had a migraine since Thursday morning. ugh. One of my co-workers and fellow migraine sufferers told me that her mom used to put a towel wet with ice water on her neck (to onstrict the blood vessels) and run her hands under hot water (to pull the blood away from the head and towards the hands).

So I tried doing the same trick with an ice pack and pan of water. Admittedly, it did seem to help while I was doing it. Unfortunately, about 10 minutes after I stopped, the headache seems to be back - just not as strong as it had been (Hey man - I'll take anything I can get!)

Even in my pain, I finally started to sew the seams to my Bailey hat (I'm such a trooper!). While riding the Bart. Yeah, not the brightest move I've ever made. At the end of my trip going to work, I realized that the seam just wasn't working, so I ripped it out. Then, halfway home, I had to rip back some more. The third time seems to be the charm so far. I would say something like "I should have the hat done and pictures to show by Monday" but I'm learning that I never, ever, ever work as fast as I think I can. So, I'm just going to say... "I'm workin' on it."

Major startitis

My hubby and I are going to hang out with a friend from out of town on Sunday. Since we've decided to do something simple like rent a movie, I get to work in some knitting time (yay!). Problem is... what do I bring? I'd really like to swatch for my tank top. However, I'm afraid that I won't trust myself to stop at the swatch. I'll want to cast on and start. But I know now that this is a bad thing and that I should wait until I've blocked the swatch (for once). I guess I'll just work on the drop stitch scarf. Or my poor poncho that's been languishing. Or I can finish my Bailey hat. Or... oh, wait, I think that's it for my works-in-progress.

Well, unless you count the cable scarf in the yarn I don't like, or my hubby's sweater that I started over a year ago and never finished. Maybe the socks that I'm trying to learn how to knit (as I learned above, third times a charm, right?). Or, a sweater that has all of its pieces done, but I haven't sewn together. Hmmmm... I'm starting to think that I like to start things, but hate to finish them. :-)