Howloween

This is how Jenny spent her Halloween. Actually this was last week, but she was playing with a pumpkin toy that she got after getting her nails clipped - something she hates. She LOVES plush toys and if they are stuffed has them ripped open and disembowled in a matter of minutes. She also has this fun habit of eating the stuffing, so we have to take them away from her pretty quickly. Consequently, we don't buy her these kind of toys all that often because they are crazy expensive. So, if she's lucky there might be one on sale at the pet store when she goes to get her nails "done".

First, she has to kill it.

Then she has to play with her food by digging at it with her feet then tossing it in the air.


Once convinced that there is no life left in her prey, she gets down to business and starts to pull out the plush tufts with her front teeth.


For such a sweet dog, she is super hard core when it comes to her toys. I'd show you the condition of the pumpkin now but it is beyond recognition. Like a piece of orange swiss cheese. She had her fun and we got way more than $3 worth of entertainment out of watching her rip it to pieces.

This is what I am for Halloween...

K2

Jenny Says:
Originally uploaded by Disentangled.

I finally started…and this is the result. Believe it or not, this is the pile of papers that I can recycle which had previously taken up residence in my file boxes. It felt like I had cleaned them out not all that long ago, but it was close to two years. My rule is that if a statement is older than three years (and nothing weird is going on with it that would require me to save the documentation - for instance when someone hacked my PCS account and ordered $900 in phones) it goes. I also needed to do this out of necessary - my first clue that it had probably been much longer than I thought since my last big clean out - I have 6+ months worth of statements and papers that had no room in my file drawer. I couldn't move older docs to my storage file box, because that was full too. So, I had been in denial for several months knowing that the task ahead of me would probably take at least a week to finish and would have to be completed in stages. I bought a new desk earlier in the month thinking that if I could finally get my work space organized, I would feel compelled to start my file project. But, when we moved things around for my desk, we straightened the piles and all of a sudden my piles of stuff to be filed didn't look all that bad anymore. Fortunately, inspiration finally came my way on Sunday morning. And I went from box to box to drawer to drawer until I had all the old crapola pulled and in a huge pile on my office floor. The best part is that my pile is taller than Jenny! So, tonight will be stage two - filing the 6+ months of docs…then it will be on to balancing 3 months of check statements (after entering 3 months worth of receipts into Quicken). Yay.

Happy Halloween!

It's been a pretty mellow Halloween this year. So much so, that I recycled a previous costume for a Halloween/housewarming party that B and I attended on Saturday night. Neither of us were very inspired this year...plus, it was hard to come up with an idea that would top last year's John & Yoko get-up! B decided to be a suicidal Kurt Cobain (tasteful!) at the last minute, so I thought abut being Courtney Love, but it just wasn't quite working out (I couldn't seem to look strung-out enough), so in the end I went with my backup Fifties Gal costume from 4 years ago, or whenever ago that was. The party was fun, and although I wasn't all that jazzed about my costume, it worked and I didn't have to buy anything. I think I also haven't been quite in the spirit of things, since it is my first Halloween at my new office, where no one dresses up (contrast that heavily with good ol' Ste. 910, where we would always dress up). It's kind of a bummer. I thought about going to work in costume today, but then decided that might be too much to handle, so instead I chose a modest pair of little, red, glittery devil horns as my only special adornment for the day. Who knows though, perhaps I will start a trend here. After all, no one used to dress up at the old place either- I remember the first year anyone dressed up, it was me- and I started off small there too- just my normal work attire and a blonde wig. More people dressed up the following year, and now it's a major event. I was actually just speaking with a coworker here who is similarly bummed that we aren't doing anything special today (apparently, other departments in the company are having their own festivities, costumes included). She said that everyone at her previous work would dress up too. So, there's hope for next year! Until then, I thought I would leave you with one of my most favorite Halloween photos ever, of some random ghost dogs. Have a great day! :)

Oops...

I just wanted to say sorry for any non-blogger people that tried to post a comment recently. I had changed the settings to eliminate the "annonymous" commenter option. But in doing so, I accidentally eliminated the "other" option as well - that allows anyone to comment but requests that they type in a "name" at a minimum. I freaked out because I had seen a recent post for the person I am spoiling in the SP6 in which 15 spam comments had been attached. I don't want that to happen to our little knitting haven, but I also don't want to miss hearing from those of you without blogger accounts. So...it should be back up and running and I guess I won't worry about the comment issue until it happens to us. I don't want to turn the word verification option on unless absolutely necessary.

Real Dream

So, I had another one of those dreams about my mom last night. You know- the ones that are *real*. For those who don't know, my mom passed away 2 1/2 years ago, from cancer. Since then, I am blessed have these *dreams* every once in a while that I hesitate to call dreams, only because they are so real- I think of them more as little meetings between my mom and I, that happen to take place while I am asleep. In these instances, I am not merely dreaming about my mom, rather, it's like she is really there, and I am there, and we are interacting. If you have never had an experience like this, it's so hard to explain without sounding like a crazy person, but you'll just have to take my word for it. (Note to self: I'm going to have to come up with a name for these.) Anyway, I've had a few of these since her passing, but I haven't had one in a while, and I have been feeling sad about that recently. Then lo and behold, I had one last night. This one was short: I was walking across a room and looked down the hall and saw her walking toward me. I stopped and did a double take, and then ran over to her and she gave me a hug that I can still feel. As we hugged I felt so thankful- I was so worried that she wouldn't be coming back to see me, but she let me know that she knew that's how I was feeling (she always knows), so she wanted to make sure I knew that she is still with me. I cried and cried. When I woke up (in the middle of the night) I had tears in my eyes. I tried not to think about it too much, and fell back asleep. When I woke up in the morning and remembered the dream, I cried again. These dreams make me so happy and so sad at the same time. They make me feel sad because it makes me miss her, a lot. But, they make me feel happy because I feel like I was able to share a few moments with my mom, and because it reinforces in me that she is still around me and knows what I'm thinking and feeling. She knows when I need a hug from her, and she still finds a way to give it to me. And I'm so, very grateful for that. So, that's my weather report for today- partially cloudy with a few scattered showers, but mostly sunny. :) Thanks, Mom!

Not easy being green!

You appear to be a Knitting Apprentice.
You've got the basics down pat and you might just
be falling in love with this hobby. Big
needles, funky yarns and simple shapes are the
name of the game, but it doesn't mean you don't
experiment a bit, here and there. As an
apprentice, you probably fall back on other
people to get you through those rough spots,
and if you don't know anyone who knits, you
probably have a few books or online sources to
tap.
http://marniemaclean.com


What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Moi? Yeah, pretty much...

You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.
You are through those knitting growing pains and
feeling more adventurous. You can follow a
standard pattern if it's not too complicated
and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've
started to experiment with different fibers and
you might be eyeing a book with a cool
technique you've never tried. Perhaps you
prefer to stick to other people's patterns but
you are trying to challenge yourself more.
Regardless of your preference, you are
continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as
well you should since your non-knitting friends
are probably dropping some serious hints, these
days.http://marniemaclean.com/

(...Too cute! Thanks, Marnie, for unknowingly providing us with a little bit of Thursday afternoon fun!)

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by

The Description is Right, but Guru?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting
and do it all the time. While finishing a piece
is the plan, you still love the process, and
can't imagine a day going by without giving
some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation
involves leaving ample space for the stash and
supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn
ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.com/

What Kind of Knitter Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

baby stuff

Originally uploaded by whirlypurly.

Teeny tiny clothing and accessories are just always cute. And, I've recently discovered, fun and gratifying to knit! If you'll recall, I made the Umbilical Cord Hat from the S&B book as a baby gift for a friend who is expecting her third baby. Then just last weekend I was inspired to make a pair of *matching* booties out of the same ultra soft Blue Sky Organic Cotton yarn. I found a very simple pattern, and was able to whip these puppies out in no time. I'm usually such a slow knitter- it's great fun to be able to complete a project in a couple of days- talk about instant gratification! I'm plotting my next baby gift as we speak!

Birthday Wishes for Nasus

From Nonnahs:

Today is special
because we celebrate you,
our lovely Nasus.

From Disentangled:

A ray of sunshine
Timeless giver of herself
Our friend, her birthday

Skeeter

Last night my family lost a very special member. Skeeter was found abandoned in a parking lot when he was 10 weeks old. We adopted him when I was in ninth grade and he instantly became a member of our family. Although he was special to everyone, he and I had a special kinship when I lived with my parents. When I used to have boyfriends over, he would position himself and stare at them the whole time they were there. One boyfriend in particular would always shoot glances at him thinking he was getting stalked, which was probably true. It was like he was saying - I'm watching, don't do anything stupid to her. He was super skitterish and if he didn't feel like being touched as he walked past you, he could actually pick up his back legs only in order to avoid the pet. Yet, he could be so cuddly and crawl into the curve of your back while you were taking a nap on the sofa. The vet used to joke that Skeeter had started out with 9 lives but that he was down to 5 or 6 now. He mysteriously broke the ball off the top of his leg and made it through surgery to make a new ball for his hip (so he literally had one leg shorter than the other). He also survived a coyote attack - something that is almost unheard of. He fought so hard that the vet had to remove the coyote hair that was impacted under his claws. Yet, he made it though that like a trooper. So, it didn't seem like such a surprise when he looked like he would pull though he latest illness. He had been hospitalized and when it didn't look like he was going to make it, my parents brought him back to the house to die at home (he hadn't been in pain, just very, very weak). But, to everyone's surprise he managed daily fluid injections and medicine, and slowly started to recover. He had been doing so well, but finally he started to tell my mom that he was just tired and ready to go. She sat with him last night. She played the radio for him and was with him when he took his last breath at 9:45. She said he looked so peaceful and that his little body just finally wore out. I'm going to miss my little Skeeterman.

It's Raining Yarn - Hallelujah!

Yarn for Weekend Getaway Satchel
Originally uploaded by Disentangled.

Guess what the cat dragged in this afternoon? I had almost given up on it. Like I promised, I had to play with my Weekend Getaway Satchel yarn when I got home. Most of the gray came in a nicely sealed bag (first time I ever bought a whole bag of yarn) that I promptly ripped open so I could stack each ball on the table. What's more fun than stacking up a whole mess of yarn? I only hope that it won't take a year for the backordered yarn to come in. Fortunately, I think it will be quite a while before I actually need it. There is a lot of yarn here. I'll keep you updated as I go - of course.

Dog Days

My doggie hates my knitting. She finds it thoroughly annoying that I'm not just sitting there providing a nice comfortable place for her to sit. She has started to take it personal. All weekend, anytime I sat down to get some knitting done, she either sat on my yarn so I couldn't pull it, pushed her nose under what was in my hands to get it out of the way, or she stood up and gave me kisses (aka licked my entire face while I tried to block). Don't get me wrong, she's a little dog, there is plenty of room for her on my lap and my knitting. She just doesn't want the knitting going on over her. I think its because she has never been a "petting" dog. She likes to sit with you and on you, but has a hard time relaxing while being petted. So, I think yarn and movement of the fabric that occationally brush her back piss her off. It hasn't always been like this. I'm not sure what has changed over the last week. But, by now, she has to understand, the knitting is here to stay - maybe that's the problem.

P.S. I know I've posted this picture before but it is one of my favorites :-)

Weekend Update (not the SNL kind)

My first thought was that I hadn't done a whole lot over the weekend, but looking back, I did actually accomplish quite a bit. Dinner with my girls on Thursday night at a very yummy, legit Japanese restaurant started off the weekend. (If only they could all start off that way!) It was so wonderful (as always) get together. Even though we don't have as many opportunities anymore, I'm so glad and thankful that we are still able to meet up every now and then. It means a lot. I love you girls!

On Friday, I went to take Darby in for an oil change (nothing else this time, thank goodness), and and then I went and got my hair did (it's now a little shorter and a little choppier at the bottom- I like it). After that, I did a little bit of stupid shopping. And by stupid, I mean it was fun, but I bought dumb things like another pair of flip flops, another long sleeved t-shirt, and another cardigan, instead of what I went for (pants and other Fall/Winter-ish work clothes and shoes). I missed yoga class, but given all the other things I was able to accomplish, I felt okay about it. I am looking forward to yoga this Friday, though!

On Saturday, I cooked a pot roast and B and I had my sister and brother-in-law (wow, that's so fun to say) over for dinner and a movie. It was delish, if I do say so myself! It had been a while since I had last made a roast, so I was relieved. There's nothing worse than cooking for people nd having it not turn out.

My big knitting accomplishment over the weekend was the pair of little baby booties that I whipped up for a friend's very-soon-to-be new baby in the same Blue Sky Organic Cotton that I used to make the umbilical cord hat. I'm not sure what possessed me- I wasn't really planning to make booties, but it was one of those last minute inspirations. I searched for (and found) a very easy pattern- they knit up so quickly (I was thrilled) and turned out pretty cute (although I will probably modify the pattern the next time, just you know, because). I'll post a pic before I ship out the package.

So, that was my weekend. Not bad. :) Still yet to be accomplished: pants, shoes, a Halloween costume...

Bryce Canyon

As promised, here's my finished Bryce Canyon Bulky Mini Cardigan, complete with buttons. It was really hard to find buttons that seemed to fit with this sweater. It is a fun colorful sweater and felt that the buttons really needed to go along with that theme. We were able to find some cool lime green and black buttons on our button expedition this afternoon that seemed to fit the theme nicely.


For the main color I used Lane Borgosesia Levante (605) - 81% wool, 19% Nylon and the contrast color was Lang Polar (0090) in an eggplant. Overall this sweater probably only cost me about $25 for the yarn (all purchased on sale), the pattern and the buttons (thanks L!).

This was a great (and super fast) project. I highly recommend picking up the pattern from Glampyre.

Friends, Saving Earth & Cupcakes

Just wanted to give another shout-out to my beautiful peeps who treated me to a fun time of catching up and eating Japanese food together...you girls are the BEST (and yes, I will make a massage appointment after my move - thank you so much!)

I just heard a Toyota Prius/Highlander radio commercial this morning, paraphrased as follows:
"If you see a Prius trying to change into your lane, let that person in... If you see a Prius parked near a bakery, buy that person a cupcake. The driver is obviously saving the environment and I'm sure that person is worth a cupcake..." Ha! I, of course, thought of Nonnahs...

Random Sunday Morning Musings

I realized that it has been awhile since I posted. I think I have been waiting for a few things to happen that just didn't last week. First, the yarn I ordered for the Weekend Getaway Satchel was backordered for three weeks. But, they emailed me on Monday and said they had everthing except the handle yarn and one of the accent yarns that are indefinately backordered. They wanted to know if I wanted to substitute. Well, I know nothing about felting, so I'm not sure how easy it is to felt things with two different types of yarns - my understanding is that every yarn felts in different proportions. So, I decided to have them ship the rest of my order and I would start on the rest of the bag while the remaining 2 colors remain on backorder. I can always substitute later if I need to. The shipped everthing out and I was hoping to have a nice big pile of yarn to show you, but I didn't get it by the end of the week. Oh well, at least that means I should have a fun surprise at the beginning of this week. I've never ordered (or purchased for that matter - minus my pile of Lang Polar from Australia) so much yarn at one time. I have a feeling I will have my normal comulsion to play with it, pile it into a giant pyramid or lay in the middle of it.

Next, I made some fabulous progress on Bryce Canyon. Unfortunately, most of it consisted of me redoing the bottom accent band, so a picture whould pretty much look the same as the last one I posted. That was true at least, until last night. I finished it! But, I need to get buttons, so I don't want to show a picture of it done but missing the buttons. My friend from Australia is in town again today, so I think I am going to see if she is up for a little button shopping at Joann's - I can't think of any other place to buy buttons - definitely not Michael's unless you want to buy a sack-o-buttons or want them shaped like kitchen utencils or watering cans, which I don't.

Next part 2, we have signed up for a couple webrings. I'm not exactly sure what the next step is because the instructions talk about being accepted, but I got a code already, it just doesn't seem to work yet. So, I went ahead and put the code up anyway, in case that is what the ring owners are looking for before they accept you. So, please forgive the broken links for now.

Finally, I just wanted to share a couple things that I am thankful for - I know it's a little early, but deal with it. First, I an very happy that the three of us girls were able to get together and spend some time just being with each other. It is hard with everyone's schedules and distance, but I love it when it works out. On a superficial note, I am very happy that I have been able to find a couple pairs of jeans. This may not sound like such a big deal, but it is for me - pants shopping sucks. Also, I wanted to gloat for 2 seconds and say that one pair I was able to pick up from the Gap for $15 - yippy! I was also successful in finding the belt I have been looking for - in my size. I had made a trip to Target and settled on another one - because the one I wanted wasn't in stock in my size - but it was too small and I had to return it. Then, when I checked out the belt section a second time, they had the one I wanted originally in my size! And it was on sale for $8 - even better.

So, now I have killed enough time, I can head to pilates. We have a bagillion things to do today, so I'm anxious to get the day started. I hope everyone else has a great Sunday! I'll post some pictures of the finished Bryce Canyon soon.

Movie Madness

I think my postman has been stealing my Netflix movies and watching them. Why in a million years would you think that? - you might ask. Well, generally I have a 1 day turn around for my movies (I drop one in the mail, it gets there the next day, they mail out a new one that same day). In the past, every so often it would take a movie like 4 days to get to Santa Ana from San Diego, which is insane. This usually happened to movies I would drop in the mail on Friday (I use the mailbox at my office building and always put them in first thing in the morning so I don't miss the mail pick up). Which should get there on Saturday and maybe at the worst Monday. But, no. They wouldn't get there until Tuesday or Wednesday. So, I thought - well it can't run super smoothly all the time, no big deal.

Well, in the last couple weeks, all of my returned DVDs are taking about that long. I dropped two in the mail on Monday and Netflix still hasn't received them. Once they get them they are sending them out just as quickly as normal and the mail coming to my house is just like normal, so what the heck? This has prompted my latest hypothesis (and I have lots of hypothesis about a lot of totally random things - good way to spend my time, don’t you think?): that our mailman at the office used to periodically take one of the movies that I am returning (since its obvious what is in the envelope) to watch over the weekend. He/she then seals it back up and puts it back in the mail on Monday. This was working all well and good - not regularly enough to make me notice - until we started renting Six Feet Under. I think the mailman is as addicted to the shows as we are and can't help but take all the disks being returned, even if they are in the middle of the week. This is a testament to the quality of a show as it is obvious that he/she is willing to risk federal prosecution. I would just love to catch them in the act. I thought about writing a note on the outside of one of the envelopes ("STOP WATCHING MY MOVIES"), but then I wouldn't want all my DVDs to "mysteriously" disappear. So, for now we are going to start taking them directly to the post office to see if the delivery times change (proving my theory correct - well, at least not discrediting it).

Dirty Martini pattern

You asked for it, you got it! The pattern for my Dirty Martini Tube Toporini is by Zephyr and may be found here. It's a great little pattern - have fun with it! :)

Bulky Mini update

Bulky Mini WIP 2
Originally uploaded by Disentangled.

I just wanted to share a status shot of my bulk mini. I finished the first sleeve and did the second one last night. This is a highly addictive project that I can't seem to put down. I think its because it's right up my alley - fast progress. I was a but worried about the sleeves fitting yesterday afternoon, but once I finished one and "tried it on," I feel much better about it. I am slightly more concerned about the waste contrast section. I can stretch it and make it fit, so I guess that means that I should be able to block it ok, but we'll see. I may undo that part and try something else with the gauge before I commit and pick up the stitches for the rest of the front contrast section. The sleeve cuffs came out great though.

Quick Change

I've got the entire body done for my bulky mini. However, there has been a slight plan change. After a thorough discussion with my color consultant (comprised of him pointing at his preference while talking to his mom on the phone), I have decided to use eggplant as my contrast color. When I got out my yarn for the project, the royal blue was on top of my basket, I held it next to the orange, it looked fine, done. I never got out the purple. But, in the back of my mind, it had been stiring. So, I got it out last night to double check. I joke, but my husband has an amazing eye for color - Except for the argument we had about the suitability of wearing my orange t-shirt with my orange capris while on vacation (I was running out of clean pants). He said the colors went because they were complementary oranges. I said absolutely not, I am not wearing an orange shirt and orange pants. But to be fair, that was a fashion issue, not a color issue, really.

Any hoo, in light of the color change, I have been inspired with a name for my bulky mini: Bryce Canyon. I think the combo of orange and purple reminds me of how those amazing formations look lit up at sunset. I've started on my first sleeve, so I will try to post a progress picture tonight.

Ta-da!

Originally uploaded by whirlypurly.

Dirty Martini, you are finished! This was such a fun little project! It had all the elements- it was quick, I learned something new (fun with cables), and I now have a new piece of clothing! What more could you ask for, really? B was nice enough to photograph us last night. Let me know what you think. (I wore the white tee underneath so the cami would stand out more, but you may wish to picture it either alone or with another t-shirt color instead.) PS: Eew, I just looked at the photo and despite the fact that the actual photo turned out really well, I can see that it looks horrible here. :( I'll try to get more (better) pics of it and post it soon. For now, I guess you'll just have to take my word for it that it turned out pretty cute. ;)

Grief

Grief is a funny thing. It strikes you at unexpected times and without warning. It can take over as if the hurt was still fresh and make you feel every bit of pain as if you had just experienced it. As an adult, I have had very little experience with grief. Both of my dad's parents passed when I was a kid and my mom's dad I never new. The grandparent I spent the most time with growing up (who now lives with my parents) just turned 90 - go grandma! We have been healthy and haven't experienced any pain associated with illness or accident. So last February and March, when we lost my husband's grandparents, was a knew experience for me. Both losses were painful for everyone, but I had an easier time with grandma since she experienced a decline following psneumonia just after grandpa's passing. Grandpa on the otherhand was completely and totally unexpected. He had been active and vibrant and always the first person to jump up and offer to help with something. My mother-in-law often had to threaten him to stay off the roof of the house when the gutters were dirty. Grandpa may have not been my blood relative, but he was still my grandpa.

This is why last night hit me so hard. We have been hopelessly addicted to watching Six Feet Under on DVD. The show started after we stopped getting HBO so we have never seen an episode (except for a couple on airplane rides). It was highly recommended so I had added them to my queue and have hardly had the need to break up the 15+ disks with other movies. Last night we watched episode 10 from season 2. For those who have not seen the show, it is about a family who runs a funeral home and each episode starts with the passing of someone who will eventually be cared for in their home. Episode 10 started with an older man who was taking his recycling out to the curb when he started to feel that he was going to have a heart attack. I had been looking down and not really seen what was going on until my husband said - oh, no. I looked up and saw the man on the screan clutch his chest and fall onto the lawn. That was it, I lost it. I couldn't stop crying and we had to pause the show. Grandpa had passed very similarly to this. And this unextected reenactment was all I could take. All of a sudden, eight months later, I was there with grandpa when it happened and it hurt. It hurt a lot.

I'm still surprised at my reaction especially given how well my husband held up. I think this has a lot to do with the quality of the grieving he was able to do when it all happened. I'm sure this won't be the last time something like this happens. We miss grandpa and grandma terribly, but fortunately we focus on the happy times and share our favorite memories of them. Because although they are gone, they will be with us forever.

You know you're up too early when...

...you put your coffee mug under the coffee spigot upside down.

Yeah, that was me.

I did it...I made it to class...

...abs engaged...shoulders down and back...elbows in...keep your cadence...up, down, up, down...5, 4, 3, 2, breakaway...faster, faster, faster...get some water...1 inch over your saddle...hover... sprint...come on, 30 more seconds... you can do it... whoooooooooh.

My Bulky Mini

Bulky Mini WIP
Originally uploaded by Disentangled.

I finally picked up Glampyre's Bulky Mini Caridigan pattern yesterday and couldn't wait to get started. As soon as I got home, I pulled out the yarn I had in mind and started making swatches. As I was afraid, neither the main color yarn or the accent yarn I had were bulky enough. But, I think I have a solution. I am going to make the medium should be proportionally the same to the difference in gauge I have. And I am doubling the blue for the trim. This will probably be my most economical project to date since both of the yarns I am using I got at clearance sales with no clear idea of what I was going to do with them. (P.S. you can get the yarn details if you click on the flickr picture.)

It is definitely going to be a quick knit and I am already done with the first ball. Now I just have to keep telling myself that it is better to go to spin class tonight than run right home and start knitting on it again.

Model Moment

OSW On
Originally uploaded by Disentangled.

Ok, I got my husband to take a quick picture of me last night with my sari silk OSW. He carefully took the picture to avoid the pile of crap on the dinning room table and most importantly the green pants I had on. Now these aren't any old green pants. These have pink hats all over them. My mom picked them up for me a few weeks ago and I love them. They are just made out of t-shirt cotton, but they fit perfect, so I've been wearing them all the time.

5 Reasons I Love My UPS Driver...

Tire Track
Originally uploaded by Disentangled.

...and why my packages are only delivered to my work address now:

1. He makes fraudulent entries in the tracking system when he makes mistakes.
2. He runs away when I am actually home to pick up a package.
3. He admits to running away when I was actually home to pick up a package
4. He requires my signature, in person, everytime (can't sign the tag).
5. He (apparently) drives over my packages with his truck.

Burst of Energy

After being pretty sure yesterday I wouldn't be able to touch my needed-to-be-fixed-OSW for a while, I surprised myself last night and sat down and fixed the whole thing. I took out the BO edge and re-did it with larger needles - Ahhh, much better. Although maybe I will make another extremely tight OSW to help with my posture "issues." So today is OSW day. I am wearing my new fun little accessory - along with my new Ann Taylor pants and a black t/tank thing. Now lets see how long I can go before I freeze to death in my office without anything of substance on my arms - the price of fashion ;-) I'll see if I can get B to take a picture of me in it tonight.

I also CO for my Chinese Charm Bag from SnB. I had picked out a mostly wool/acrylic blend manly because it was on sale. I think it will look really cute when done, but I really am not liking to knit with it. Between the scratchy wool and the acrylic, it makes my hands feel funny. Oh well, at least its a quick one.

newest food discovery

A variation on the hummus theme: edamame hummus. Sounds a little weird at first, but why not, if you think about it. I picked up a little tub of it from the market (aka Whole Foods) and it's yummy!

Heel!

Knitting of the heel flap has commenced! Between chatting and having to redo a row (you know how it takes me a while to get started) I only have 3 rows done so far, but I am happily on my way now, thanks to my lovely and talented sock guru, Julia!

Five Lessons Learned (or Confirmed) Last Night
1. The wonkiness continues- I started knitting my sock leg inside out. Yay!
2. Sometimes LA in the evening is chillier than you'd expect it to be in the middle of October.
3. Warm noodles are a satisfying food choice after a long day.
4. It doesn't help one bit to have unisex bathrooms at restaurants if you are tying to determine the gender of one of your fellow diners. Hypothetically speaking, of course...
5. Knitting, chatting, and eating (in any combination) with friends remains one of my all-time favorite things to do.

One Done OSW

OSW
Originally uploaded by Disentangled.

I have finally completed my OSW. I ended up doing most of the ribbing in the sari silk but added a trim round and my BO round in a gold cotton. The only problem is that I was so excited to BO, I forgot to change my needle sizes as suggested in the pattern. So, its a bit tight to get into. I may redo the BO edge with size 8 needles, but not right now. I am still enjoying having this as a finished object. But, the good news is that it fits and I am done with the sari silk.

I also found out another fun little tid-bit of info about recylced sari silk: if a little strand gets wet (say sitting next to your sink because it was one of the 5000 stray strand on your hands after you were done weaving in your loose ends), it leaves a nice permanent pink stain in the shape of the strand on your countertop. Yay.

First-Ever Sock Leg!

Originally uploaded by whirlypurly.

I am proud to present the first completed part of my first ever sock! (Please excuse the crappy photo, once again. I promise to get better at this.) I know, it's basically a tube, BFD. But, I'm excited about it, so please humor me. Just getting through my first sock leg demystifies the whole sock-knitting process just enough so that I feel ready to tackle the next step, which I'm assuming is the infamous "turning of the heel" process...can't wait!

Dirty Martini WIP

Originally uploaded by whirlypurly.

Yet another horribly washed out photo. My photography skills are truly astounding. But, I promised Dis a WIP-pic, so voila! I give you Dirty Martini, sans straps. Not sure how much you can tell from this captivating photo, but I am down to a little past the boob area. I haven't tried to put it on yet, but according to my oh-so accurate holding-it-up-against-my-body measuring technique, I think (read: hope and pray) it will fit me. Although, one never really can know for sure. . .

Doggy Quote of the Day

"My little dog, a heartbeat at my feet."
- Edith Wharton

How to eat lunch at the San Diego Zoo

Yesterday was my day off. It was also the day before a semi-big tournament for my husband. So, in an effort to get out of the house, not spend much money and give B a break before the tournament, we headed to the San Diego Zoo. We have a membership there, but hadn't had a chance to go since they opened their new primate exhibit - Monkey Trails.

that was left over from the early days. It was at the front of the zoo and housed the majority of the non-ape primates. The monkey houses were a series of cement compounds behind chain-link-type fencing. It put the monkeys face to face with the obnoxious visitors who insisted on staring at them in the eye (something primates take as a threat) and make loud hooting sounds. As the zoo has been expanding their animal-friendly exhibits (first with the big-ticket animals - gorillas, polar bears, hippos, etc. - and then the smaller draw animals, like the otters) they have gradually mixed the monkeys from the monkey houses in with these other animals. (One of the most entertaining exhibits in the whole zoo is the joint enclosure with otters and monkeys. Since both species like to have fun, they like to mess with each other and you usually see a monkey or an otter teasing the other while you are their). However, there were still quite a few monkeys in the old enclosures, the most heartbreaking of which were the Mandrills. These monkeys are closest to baboons. They spend most of their time on the ground and are very, very sensitive to agression. Needless to say, the up-close human harassment caused a great deal of stress for this particular species. So, I had been very excited when I heard they were taking out all those old enclosures and making a whole new entrance area to the zoo. Overall it exceeded my expectations, although there doesn't seem to be as many monkeys in the area anymore and I'm not sure were some of them went - I didn't see the pygmy marmosets anywhere. Primates are my thing. And this new section of the zoo was especially exciting for me because it was one of the last remaining areas of the zooThey also had some fun things to play with as you can tell by the picture. (p.s. I love these things - I also have a picture of me as a jelly fish from the Seattle Aquarium.) (p.s.s. I am also sporting my new Sigur Ros t-shirt from the show Monday night - it was all I could do to get through the week at work before I could wear it.)

In case you are wondering what's the connection between monkeys and lunch at the zoo...I'm getting to that. As usual, we didn't plan the timing of our day all that much. We got there about 1:30 without eating lunch yet. And fairly quickly, I knew I needed to eat in order to avoid the evil troll that is I on an empty stomach. We also quickly realized that the zoo accepts your first-born as a form of payment for your lunch. Since we don't have a first-born, we knew we were in trouble. We started scouring the menu for something reasonably priced to hold us over until we could eat elsewhere. That's when we discovered the beauty of the kids meal. A hotdog or corndog costs $4.75 (and we all know how I feel about overpriced hotdogs - I mean, really, they should be paying you to eat those things). A hotdog or corndog kids meal costs $5.95 and comes with the same hotdog item, but is supplemented with a drink, a bag of potato chips, a bag of animal crackers, a box of raisens and a bucket. Not a super healthy lunch, but at least their was plenty of food. So, we happily ordered our kids meals and proceeded to eat our bargain priced lunch out of our new sand buckets while all the other fools looked on.

After Glow

All I can say is that there is nothing like a good deal to make you feel less bad about spending a good chunk of money. Given that, I am still aglow with my latest yarn purchase. As you may remember, a certain Weekend Getaway Satchel from Interweave Knits caught my eye when their latest issue first came out. As soon as I saw it, I wanted to make it. I have always wanted a carpet-bag looking bag, which this one has that feel. Also it incorporates a couple of knitting techniques I haven't tried yet: felting and intarsia. Plus the embroidery work makes it look so much more complex that the pattern really is.

When I first saw the pattern, I did a search for the yarn and bookmarked a place that looked like it had a really good price - and given the large quantity of balls that are needed for this purchase, a good price was essential. I had put this project on hold due to my involvement with Kyoto, but now that that is a closed chapter in my life, I was looking for the next big thing. I did another quick search and found a KAL as well as another online knit shop that put together packages for the project. Needless to say I got very excited. So, when I was on my home computer I decided to check out my old bookmark at for the yarn shop and see how they compaired. It looked like I would save about $10 if I got it though them (based on the regular price of the yarn times the number of balls needed since they didn't have a package price posted on the main page). So, I thought, what the heck and put it in my shopping cart. To my great surprise, not only did you get some sort of bulk discount for buying so much yarn (which brought the total about $30 cheaper), but you got another discount because the order was over a certain amount. All said and done, it looks like I will be able to make this bag for about $40 less than I thought I would! Yippy!!!

The only catch is that the yarn is backordered for 3 weeks. Fortunately, I had read a few of the posts on the KAL, so I was aware that there has been a fairly big backorder problem with the main color yarn due to the overwhelming popularity of the project (and the fact that you need something like 15 balls of it, too). But, looking at the bright side of things, this will give me a chance to wrap up a few of my WIPs (and maybe start a couple new ones too ;-)

Mental Block

I am having a really hard time staying focused on my current projects. I am so close to finishing my OSW that I am ready to cry. The problem is that I have to BO my right sleeve. Normally no big whoop, but OMG using the recycled sari silk is a royal pain in the bum. It specifically says in the pattern to BO loosely. Yeah, right. That stuff is like fibered steel. Then the idea of having to pick up stitches around the whole body of it with the tangly, snarly mess that is the current state of my yarn (as well as the current state of sari yarn as it comes out of the ball), rib for several rows and then BO again is enough for me to leave the whole mess a pile on my coffee table night after night. Plus, there is still the whole issue of whether or not I even have enough yarn to finish anyway. Therefore, I am contemplating using a different yarn for the body trim. Anything will be better than using that stupid twisty silk. I think I just need to find something in a nice complementary color that will be somewhat shiny like the rest of the OSW so it will look like a design detail and not me slacking off.

Stomach Flu

When you have stomach flu, you may have one or more of the following symptoms:

- nausea
- vomiting
- stomach cramps
- diarrhea
- mild fever
- fatigue
- chills
- loss of appetite
- muscle aches

Let's see. . .yup, that pretty much covers it. . . Bleh :p

Concert Review: Sigur Ros

Last night was literally the most amazing musical experience I have ever had. B, our friend, and I attended the Sigur Ros show at the Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego. For those who have never heard of Sigur Ros, you can check out one of their videos here. They are from Iceland and don't sing in English - in case you are wondering why you can't understand a word he is saying. I have been listening to them for a few years now and definitely have them on my top list of musicians making music today. When I first heard about the show, I couldn't imagine how they were going to make all those unique sounds that they do. I thought that it might be a stripped down version of what they record. Boy, was I wrong. Not being a music maker, just a music listener, I had no idea what you could do with an electric guitar - highlights include playing it with a violin bow and a drum stick.

The night opened with a performance by Amina, a group of 4 girls who also help out the band on several of their pieces with various instruments including violins, bass, xylophones, bells, etc. They themselves were amazing. Each girl seemed to be able to play any instrument interchangeably and they featured several unconventional instruments including wine glasses and a saw. I was fasinated how they used technology to maximize their ability to make music, but it didn't make the music for them. They had their PowerMac plugged in up front and would use it to loop sounds they would make live while they went on to the next instrument and got that going. Then as the song wound down, they would go back to the original instrument and re-sink into the loop live. It was truly facinating. My favorite part was when two of the girls played a series of bells on a table that looked like front desk bells. They would hit each one with the palm of their hand and often they would cross over each other to get the right notes. They got nearly a standing ovation, something I had never seen happen with an openning act before.

Sigur Ros came on stage a little after 9:00 and played a great assortment of their songs from all their albums. The core band is four boys that were assisted by a fifth every so often. They started and ended the show being behind a nearly sheer screen that, depending on how the lights were set up, you could either see shadows or the actual people. Given the etherial qualities of their music this was very effective and I was covered in goosebumps by the end of the show. At any one point, between 4 and 9 people would be on stage performing. They all were so talented, but I was especially impressed with the drummer. They had his drum set set up at the right side of the stage sideways, so you could see everything he did - he wasn't burried behind everyone in the back. My friend even saw him break one of his drum sticks part way through the show. The music was both tranquil and dynamic. They could play with a fury that was breathtaking. At the end, both the boys and the girls came back on stage for a bow. They were all laughing and smiling with each other and looked like they truly enjoyed what they did for a living - certainly not jaded rock stars. This show has made it to one of my all time favorites, but so unique it is virtually impossible to compare to anything else.

On a side note, the hall seems to use the same usher for concerts like these as they do to the regular symphony performances - since they were a bunch of older ladies in coats, not the kids and bouncers in "EVENT STAFF" yellow parkas you usually see at shows. So, I often wonder what the ushers must think of these "new fangled rock bands".

Happy Anniversary!

If I may be a nerdy girl for a moment (I know, when am I not?) I just want to acknowledge that today is the 2nd anniversary of B's and my first official date. That's all. :)

Disneyland

Princess Annie
Originally uploaded by whirlypurly.

Ah, Disneyland. "The Happiest Place on Earth." Indeed. I actually love Disneyland, especially when you can go with kids. And even more fun when the kids you go with are your most favoritest kids in the world. Jack (10), Kate (7), and Annie (3) and their parents, and Carley (4) and Charlie (2) and their parents were all visiting from Hawaii last week. Due to a very hectic work week, I wasn't able to spend as much time with them as I would have liked, but thankfully I was able to meet up with them on Friday for their last day at Disneyland. I'm so glad it worked out! Otherwise, I would not have been able to ride tons of rides (including the newly re-opened Space Mountain) with the kids, eat ridiculously expensive junk food, experience the "Nightmare Before Christmas" Haunted House, and see Annie's little face light up as she got all dolled up in her princess gear. Yup, that was worth the price of admission right there. I heart those kids!

My New Favorite Product

I am in the process of transitioning most of my daily use items to organic products. For the most part it's been super easy. There are so many nice products that usually work just as good or better than the name brand normal stuff. But I had run into a problem with deodorant. I hadn't been able to find anything that worked for me. This may be a little TMI, but I am someone who needs the antiperspirant component to my deodorant. I have been wanted to get rid of the aluminum issue for a long time, but nothing would work. So, I had long since given up on that fight figuring that I would just have to hope that it wasn't really as bad as everyone said.

Well on our vacation in Australia, I visited a store that they have here in the States (and all over the world), but I had never been to before called Lush. They sell fresh and organic bath and body products. The store smells wonderful I could hang out there for hours. It's on the expensive side, but most of the products they sell really last a long time. Anyway, while I was looking around the store a super helpful salesguy showed me how some of their stuff worked. One of the things he showed me was this deodorant called Aromaco. It is amazing! It works better than even the antiperspirant deodorant at controlling "natural" smells. It does dry out a bit, so fortunately I read some of the customer feedback from the website and realized why it was so hard and hurt when I tried to put it on. I cut the outside layers off, keep it in an airtight container and now it just worked peachy! What's also cool is that it doesn't leave any white residue or anything that can get all over my dark colored shirts. It does smell like patchouli so if you don't like that scent, don't buy it - but otherwise, this is the best thing I've ever used.

Positive Reinforcement

I've had some trouble getting back into my exercise routine ever since leaving for vacation. I didn't do anything while we were gone (unless you count the miles upon miles we walked everyday). And ever since coming home, I've had one excuse after another (some actually valid) for not spinning or going to pilates. One day I was even going to make myself go to spin because I knew I would feel better after, but half way home, I realized I forgot to go to the gym - which means I missed the class (no turn around and go late - our instructor on Wednesday evenings is very popular and usually all the bikes are taken 15 minutes before the class even starts). Oh well, there's my unconscious working in overdrive.

Some of you may remember me complaining about my pants a couple months ago. Well, I can no longer ignore the problem. With fall and winter rapidly approaching, even in San Diego, I have to be able to wear a pair of pants if I want to without looking like a bag lady. Everything is big and using a belt just causes a lot of synching issues and my but ends up looking - how should I put this? - um, older than I am.

So, I decided to get the two good pairs of pants that I have altered. After all women's dress pants aren't cheap and I don't have tons of money to be throwing around. I also received a nice little coupon for Ann Taylor - a place that I only allow myself to shop the sale racks. My coupon expires tomorrow so I made myself run by the mall (yuck) last night after work. I have the whole Fashion Valley thing figured out - go in the back and park in the bottom stair access only section - so it was actually a fairly painless excursion. I picked out the size of pants I thought I was and started trying stuff on. But it was so weird the crotches were totally low on me and they all fit strange. I couldn't figure out what the problem was because their stuff usually fits me. Then I thought - no, it couldn't be? surely not? So, I took the next size down and tried that one on and wouldn't you know? It actually fit. This is totally huge. I never in a million years thought I would get back to what I had thought through my early twenties was my natural size. I had given up on that dream and was just going to be satisfied with clothes that fit and were the appropriate size for my size. So, once again I will sing from the mountaintops - thank you pilates! I couldn't have done it with out you!

And so to reward myself, I got this:



BTW - this picture doesn't do this dress justice. It is super cute and I have been lusting after it since it was in their fall preview - Nonnahs can attest to the fact that I kept petting it when we tried to buy pants at the Ann Taylor in Beverly Hills last weekend. Needless to say they don't have much of a sale rack at that particular location.