NotScarlett

Yes Sarah, there IS a Music Fairy

Randomness:

Emailing back and forth with Stacey about the wonders of Wilco, and how I have been on this big Wilco spree lately. Discuss this.

Getting insanely jealous because she tells me about an upcoming show she is going to see (that I am not disclosing details about because last time I did that she beat my ass )lives in an actual CITY, she gets all the good shows.

Thinking, "Dude, Wilco would never play Tallahassee."

Brian calls.

"Hey, I just drove by (insert name of local music venue here) and Wilco is coming to town."

Me: "SHUTTHEHELLUPYOULIAR"(begin unintelligible squealing while clicking on this link to check the facts.....)

Stacey is the music fairy. Every time I tell her how no one good ever plays Tally, IT SUDDENLY HAPPENS.

And, um, B? Once again, you aren't a liar. I promise next time I'll believe you.

Pssssst....

The toe/half the foot of Jaywalker #2 is done.

Oh, and the first Jaywalker? Um, it's longer now. Not an anklet.

And the Koigu I bought Friday?

Jaywalkers in waiting.

B is for.....

Brunette.

Yep. That's me. All brunette and lovin' it waaaaaaay more than my natural blondness. Woot!

Please excuse the self-taken pictures. I must say though, I can take AWESOME pictures while driving. Not that THAT has anything to do with my high auto insurance rate/number of car accidents I have had.

(I just realized it may be vain to a.) post pics of myself/my hair for the ABC Along, and b.) post pictures of myself and tell you how fantastic I think my hair looks. Sorry. Not vanity, just havin' a good self-esteem day.  They are few and far between, so it's a celebration over at Casa de NotScarlett)

B is also for BEING BAD.

Here's the run down:

1. One somewhat large Knitpicks order.

2. One small but pricey order at an online yarn retailer I am not going to name due to Secret Pal spoilerishness.

3. One online order of a BALL WINDER...but I got an incredible price, so I feel a bit redeemed, yo.

4. One trip to the LYS later today.

Gee, I should probably use some of my paycheck for rent....and the car payment....and groceries.....but yarn is more fun.

B is also for BRIDGET'S BIRTHDAY. My wonderful mother, who I adore beyond any description, is celebrating her birthday today. Actually, she is probably not celebrating at all because she hates her birthday. However, I am celebrating on her behalf, because my mom is my best friend, and I think she's the greatest thing since....well, since EVER. Mom, I love you more than words can say. Thank you for always supporting and loving me, even when I make incredibly stupid decisions and you should be saying "I told you so." Thank you for making me laugh, cheering me on, listening to me bitch, and always, always, always having an open mind. Thank you for giving me life, teaching me the difference between right and wrong, and not getting really mad that one time I used liquid dish soap to clean the kitchen counters and never wiped it off all the way. Thank you for letting me cry over stupid boys and then helping me to move on. Thank you for teaching me to parallel park, and how to do laundry, and how to change the air filter in my car. You are my constant rock, my inspiration in all things, and my very best friend. I will always strive to attain the strength of character and self-confidence that you posses. I love you, Mom, and even though I am across the continent, I am always with you in spirit. Have the happiest of birthdays, and know that you are loved.

Oh, and that contest I mentioned yesterday? It's coming....so all you web/design savvy knitters out there put your thinking caps on and get ready. Details coming soon.

I'm feeling weak....send yarn

Please notice the intensity with which Sam and the visiting Cricket are staring.....

now, notice what is on the TV over there on the right hand side......

they love, love, love watching the dog show.

Crazy bastards.

Cricket, while unnaturally energetic and extraordinarily odd, is more normal than Sampson. My dog is a freak.

Things Sampson enthusiastically greets and gets really excited about:

1. Strangers riding bicycles down the street while wearing ski masks and balancing bulging black garbage bags on their handlebars.

2. Very large, off-leash, and possibly rabid dogs running towards his mommy/daddy at full speed and growling/drooling.

3. Large insects crawling on/near mommy while she screams in terror.

Things Sampson guards his mommy and daddy against by barking, growling, and attacking:

1. The massager mommy and daddy bought at the Wal-Meezy (fo' sheezy) to use on their recently injured backs.

2. The pink bicycle the 8 year old neighbor girl leaves parked outside her house when she goes in to eat dinner.

3. Towels left on the bedroom floor. ( I must admit, I growl about this one also.)

My dog is a bit mixed up. Brian says it's ok though, because when machines take over the world, Sampson will protect us from back massagers riding around on pink bicycles wearing towels as superhero capes.

Lest you think my crippling back pain, terrible migraines, and lack of enthusiasm about being out of bed this week have kept me from knitting, I thought I should tell you that I have been working on three things. My FBS, which is coming along nicely, now that I put in some lifelines and started over. My other Jaywalker, which is not going to be discussed for fear of jinxing the whole damn deal....and last but not least, a secret something for a secret someone.

Speaking of secret, I've been cooking up a package for my SP that I am hoping to send out tomorrow. Where the hell did January go? Dude. There's a hole in the space time continuum or somethin', I'm tellin' ya.

Please notice my Knitting Olympics button. (They are brillant over at JenLa, I tell ya!) I will NOT be participating. I have much love and admiration for the brave knitters who are entering the games, but I just don't think now is the best time for me to do anything other than observe. And take muscle relaxers. And giggle when people are swearing at their 11th hour attempts to finish. Seriously though, all y'all impress me with your willingness to challenge yourself, as well as your creativity, dedication, and knitting skill. You all get a gold medal in my book.

Right now, I am considering asking some of this and this to move in with me, if the budget allows....I think I am in luuuurrrrrve.  I am on a sock yarn kick. I am planning an LYS expedition to spend a small gift certificate from Christmas on my first-ever Koigu.  I am also ready to do some serious yarn shopping online as I have put a massive dent in my small stash and need to build it back up. I am out of all the basics...I hardly have any wool left....I've got tons and tons of laceweight and a box of icky acrylic I have been trying to work my way through, but I am desperate for new (cheap) yarn. Knitpicks, here I come.

That's about it for me today, folks. I've got some pretty important and involved work to do here at the office. I'll be back tomorrow with my post for the ABC-Along. Stay tuned next week, when I introduce a few new features.....and maybe, just maybe....A CONTEST.

I should have my head examined

Why, you ask?

Oh, because after finishing my first-ever sock, I have gone SOCK CRAZY.

I know you are saying, "Dude, you are a nut job, you have been bitching about that one sock for months."

You're right, that is true.

But now, after finishing, and seeing the beauty of the sock, I am hooked.

SOCK MADNESS!

Now, I just need more sock yarn.....hmmm.....I see a shopping spree in my future.

For real though, I DO need to have my head examined. Tomorrow morning I am having a CAT scan. Joy. I'm sure everything is fine, it's just a routine test since I have very suddenly developed a bit of a migraine problem. Cross your fingers for me anyway though, mmmkaayyyy? Thanks.

Oh, and do the same for Brian...we are quite the pair right now. We are both on muscle relaxers for our backs. I screwed up my shoulder somehow, and he hurt himself at work Friday. Our weekend started out with him in the Emergency Room yesterday. Good times, good times.

Stay healthy, everyone. No heavy lifting.

One down....

Yesterday I was forced to stay home from work due to some health issues that I won't get into, because this is a happy post. Other than the health stuff, my day was a-ok. See?

This is why....look at my "Current Projects" basket.

Do you see it?

Do you??

LOOK:

One toe-up kinda-sorta anklet....A JAYWALKER. FINISHED.

My first-ever sock.

OHMYGODIMADESOCK!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!

Now, I'm not gonna say it fits all perfect around the ankle, it is a smidge loose. You know what though? IT'S OK. It is my first ever sock. It is the end of the epic Jaywalker...I am hoping the second one won't be so nightmarish now that I KNOW I can actually knit a sock.

In fact, I am going to cast on for my second sock this morning in the waiting room at the doctor.

I think I am coming down with the sock bug. I have visions of more Jaywalkers dancing in my head.

I may be insane.

Send sock yarn now. Hurry.

Oh, and go congratulate Smarty McSmarterson on passing the GRE! YAY SMARTY SCHMOO!

Mudhole? Slimy? My home this is.

Do or do not....there is no try.

If I apply Yoda's advice to my life today, I totally get an F.

Remember how impressed y'all were about all my cardio on Sunday? Don't be.

I did not make it to the gym yesterday.

I did not make it this morning.

In light of the  inclement weather headed my way, I will not be going this evening, either.

I am a lame-o.

However....there is a lasting result of all that exercise on Sunday.

I am so damn sore I am walking like a penguin and making incoherent sounds when I have to lift something heavy.

Like a pen.

It's pathetic.

I suck.

Speaking of how much I suck, let's not talk about my Jaywalker that I was all gung ho about yesterday.

Oh, ok. We'll talk about it.

Yeah, um, so, uh, I decided.....that I really want to keep and be able to wear my first pair of hand knit socks and not give them to my sister, and they were way too big for me so....I kindasortafroggedbackalittlebittomakethemfitmeandnowhavetore-dotheheel. Ahem.

I know you are disappointed in me. I know I annoy you with my quest for "FIRST PAIR OF SOCKS PERFECTION". I look at it this way though....I am the one doing the knitting, and I want to do it RIGHT. If I don't mind, no big deal. Plus, I did good...I didn't frog them all the way. Just a smidge. I'll be back on track tonight and hopefully finished by Sunday. That's my goal.

Do or do not. There is no try.

Um, Yoda? Do we HAVE to apply that to the Jaywalkers?

NOT FAIR.

I may suck at making socks, but I kick ass at cooking. Last night I was home alone while Brian was at the Galactic show. I whipped up some shrimp risotto with artichoke hearts and a nice green salad. It was delicious, and why yes, I am bragging. I also cannot even read the word "risotto" without thinking of Gordon Ramsay.

Yes, the risotto made for a lovely evening, and the night would have been perfect if it weren't for one thing. What was it, you ask? Why, it was Sampson getting off his leash and RUNNING DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET DURING TRAFFIC.

Somehow, his leash wasn't latched securely on to his collar. He took off running, looking back at me over his doggie shoulder, down the middle (not the side, not one lane or the other) of the main street I live off, during the 5 o'clock rush- home traffic, where that street is used as a shortcut for women in massive SUV's who come barreling over the hill with no concern for speed or safety......anyway....after I stood in the street screaming his name and starting to cry, and not chasing after him like he wanted me to, he came running back towards me, went to the front porch, sat his ass down, and started to shake all over because he was scared. It was traumatic for both of us. I had visions of some asshole coming over the hill and creaming my baby.

Dude. I am getting upset just thinking about it.

In order to settle down, I had a GIGANTIC  teensy glass of Pinot Grigio and settled in for a quiet evening. As I sat on the couch, I thought HOLY SHIT I cannot believe I polished off that entire bottle of wine about how much that damn dog means to me and vowed never ever ever to go outside with him again without checking the leash-collar connection 2495647367086801513 times.

Go hug your puppies or kitties or bunnies or snakes or birds or whatever pets you have and tell them you love them and value ever single second you have with them. If you don't have pets, I suppose a significant other/child/spouse will suffice. 

My Socks Rock*, Unimportant Questions, and Meme's Galore

*Not to be confused with the drool-worthy STR. YUMMY. Mama like.

JAYWALKIN'

I have to tell you something.

I am almost done with Jaywalker #1.

This is huge.

Unfortunately, so is the sock.

No big deal (no pun intended), I will make them both equally large and give them to my sister. She has much bigger feet than I do, so it works out just fine.

I was going to post a pic of my sock, in all it's heeled and leg-almost-done glory, but I don't want to jinx things.

Pray for my socks.

Now, some questions:

Know what is good? I am back on the gym bandwagon. Let the ass kickery commence. 90 minutes of cardio yesterday, folks. I am feeling pretty good about that. Sore, but good. The 30 minutes of weights? That was good too. The pizza rolls I ate as soon as I got home from the gym? Also good. Delicious, in fact. Not helping with the point of exercising and getting healthy....but sooooooo cheesyandgooeyandyummmmmmmmy.

Know what's bad? Working for a residential construction company and finding out that a bunch of homes under construction had their foundation poured by a dude who had a broken transit when he shot the lines  to lay the batter boards and now you have houses at the framing stage that have to be torn down because the slab is FOUR WHOLE INCHES off level. In case you don't speak construction/care, lemme translate:  That is not good. At. All. Ever. Not even a little bit.

How the hell did I miss the Audioslave version of Loud Love? Duuuuuuuude. Hearing it made me bust out the Soundgarden, which brought back many memories, and proved that some things never change, because I still want to marry Chris Cornell when I grow up .

Did you see DCFC on SNL this weekend? YAY!

Did I use enough abbreviations in that last question?

Meme Time!

To all of you who left me comments about our fake exploits, I thank you. The giggles they provided were a lovely way to start a Monday.

Speaking of meme's, the fabulous Skylar tagged me for this one. I am doing it for several reasons, the top three being that I

a.)am stressed out and frustrated by my job and need a quick break

b.) have nothing interesting to say

c.) am a sucker for a meme.

Here we go:

Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot.

Scissorina

Gleek

Sassy Stitchess

Knitaholics R Us

NotScarlett

Then select three people to tag:

A Superstarra named Christie

Bitch Blog.....go check out her awesome counter, by the way.....

Too Many Scarves Darlin', I am timing you on how long it takes you to do this one....tee hee!

_____

What were you doing 9 years ago?
I was 16. Attending high school at a fine parochial establishment just south of Seattle, WA. I got straight A's, adhered to the dress code, sang in the choir, and created the illusion of being sweet and innocent. I lived with my maternal grandparents, listened to a lot of Tool and Alice in Chains, and liked to hang out up on Broadway with my super cool girlfriends. We would take the bus in to Seattle and go to Urban Outfitters and Buffalo Exchange. We were awesome, and we would have told you so. I ate a lot of teriyaki, shopped at Value Village, and had an amazing best friend who I had way too much fun with. I dated lots of stupid boys, got my tender heart broken very easily,  and on the weekends I may or may not have inhaled. I'm not sayin'.

What were you doing 6 years ago?
I was 19, wrapped up in a guy who was SUCH BAD NEWS....I was working at Starbucks, loving my job, and going to visit my boyfriend IN JAIL on the weekends. I was also attending college, majoring in O Chem while winning creative writing awards on the side while pulling a 4.0 gpa. I was a good girl who so desperately wanted to be "cool" and "bad"...it was pathetic, really. About that time I met my two best girlfriends in the universe, Stacey and Stephanie.

What were you doing one hour ago?
Sitting in a meeting and eating Tootsie Rolls for breakfast.

Name 3 movies/tv programs you can’t turn off if you stumble across them on television.
Project Runway, any kind of pro-surfing event, and sadly.....Meet the Barkers (shut up. I cannot stand Travis or Shanna, but I can't stop watching. It's a train wreck. THEY ARE SO STUPID. I don't even think either one can read.)

Name 3 things you want to improve upon this year.
Knitting wise, colorwork. Also? My steaming pile of debt, and my addiction to sugar.

Name 3 things you can’t live without.
Sampson, Burt's Bees cuticle cream, chewing gum.

Name 3 things you could…

Collection agencies/being sued by collection agencies, Randy Newman, Chick Fil-A

Name 3 things you really like about yourself.
My listening skills, my reading speed, my drive to learn new things.

Homemade Kung Fu

Apparently, Sampson is really in to Aaron Neville.

I came to this conclusion when I found him trying to give himself a homemade tattoo by chewing open a pen and applying the leaking ink all over a blanket and himself.

I totally think he was going for the Aaron-style cross, or maybe a teardrop... but the lack of thumbs hindered him somewhat, so he ended up with a big black ink stain on his front leg.

Look at my scarf:

It's stash-busting garter stitch with some woven stitch thrown in. I finished it sometime last week I think....it was a quickie. I know the colors don't match up exactly on the edges. Leave me alone, I was tired and making it up as I went, and of course didn't write anything down, so by the time I got to the other side, I gave up on perfect symmetry. Bah. I still like it. My sister likes it so much she keeps coming over and touching it, then we have this conversation:

Nina: So, um, who is this scarf for?

Me: Me.

Nina: Oh. It's pretty. I really like it. So....you really made it for you?

Me: Yep.

Nina: Oh. Well I really like it. The colors are great. I'd totally wear something like that.

Me: Cool. Thanks.

Think she's hinting at something?

Look at my sock:

That's Jaywalker, version6743754365238456827436109. Keep sending those good sock vibes my way, people.

I heard from my Secret Pal today! YAY! HI SECRET PAL! HI!!!! Things seem to be going well for my group KNOCKONWOOD, and I am very happy that the initial matching process is over. It was a doozie. I did take Carrie's suggestion and drank some wine while taking a nice bath last night...so relaxing.

Work is still making me koo koo for co-co puffs...my boss actually walked in on me banging my head against a wall in my office yesterday. That happened right about the time the AC broke and the heater would not go off...it was just not a fun afternoon. Thankfully, today is Friday, and I am looking forward to a weekend of knitting, sleeping, reading, and hanging out with my menfolk.

Oh! And watching our new grown-up TV, courtesy of Brian and his overtime check:

Now I can actually see people on TV, and no longer think I need glasses. We upgraded from a 19" to a 27". Nothing extravagant, but much, much better.

I also have tentative plans to start on this. So. Cute.

In a shameless rip off of another blogger, I'm posting this meme:

Post a comment with a COMPLETELY MADE UP AND FICTIONAL MEMORY OF YOU AND ME. It can be anything you want--good or bad--BUT IT HAS TO BE FAKE. When you're finished, post these instructions on your blog and be surprised (or mortified) about what people DON'T ACTUALLY remember about you.

Have fun with it, leave me some good ones!

Send Prozac Now

This year is nuts so far. Work is crazy. I mean, so crazy, I am not even going to try to describe it because I may have an emotional breakdown. Personal life? Good. Could be better due to some financial troubles from the past yet again biting my ass, but good, if a bit stressful. Boy? Good. Occupied with new video games, music project, and work. Southern Knitters Ring? Um, I've been slacking this week. Bad ring mistress. I should be horsewhipped. Secret Pal 7? My group is all matched up, and my matches have been sent out. Contacting my SP match? Finally done, as of today.

So what have I been doing with all my FREE TIME? (HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA)

Jaywalkers.

Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?

First there were the Jaywalkers that I ripped out 3 times because I couldn't get the ribbing on the leg perfect.

Then came the Ja Woll Lang Jaywalkers I decided I hated after one pattern repeat.

Then we were back to the Sockotta Jaywalkers, which I got done ALL THE WAY TO THE HEEL before frogging because I am a perfectionist and royally effed up the heel.

Then....genius struck.

JAYWALKER ANKLETS. WITH DIFFERENT YARN.

So, I turn the heel, and am halfway done with the foot when two things happen:

1. I notice that the pattern is not matching up EXACTLY with the pattern on the leg

2. I decide the yarn is too dark to properly show the pattern.

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPP!

Ahem.

Last night, I cast on for a toe up pair using the Sockotta and a hybrid of many suggestions/patterns.

So far....so good. The toe and half the foot are done.  I'm excited about this one. I keep on chanting "I think I can, I think I can."

I will kick this socks ass. This is the one!

The upside of all the ripping and restarting? I am learning TONS about the minutiae of how a sock is created. Really. More than I ever, ever, ever wanted to know.

Cross your toes for my latest sock and send good sock vibes my way.

I'm off to collapse in a heap now.