A Good Day

today was a good day. really good.


it started out rather early (well - early for a self confirmed champion late sleeper). i got up to attend Stich & Bitch :) chris came over to my place and together we drove over holly's. i had a fantastic time! aside from the book club meeting this was only the second time i've hung out with chris and i really enjoyed it (we should do it again soon okay :))! there were a few other ladies there as well - all scrapbookers (you'll have to come next time kelly!). pete (holly's husband - who so kindly made us lunch) was there along with her daughter claire - so incredibly adorable! we just chatted and crafted and before i knew it it was about 2:30 (it started at 10)! so we headed out and plan do it again in about a month. thanks holly!


while i was there chris, megan and carter did some running around. the science museum and the fire station (megan got a super cute picture of chris and carter that i'm waiting for her to send).



when i got home we just sort of hung out. we were all kind of tired and fell alseep to The Polar Express (carters favorite movie - we only watched 3 times so far - ay yi yi! :)). afterwards mandy and nathan came over for dinner (i love chipotle). we watched carter to the most hillarious "butt" dance ever - times like that make me wish i had my video camera permanately strapped around my neck.....
right now megan is attempting to put him to sleep. she's been trying to do it for the past hour i think :) carter is 3 and the people and excitement and being away from home have turned him into - well - a 3 year old. he's had little fits all day long 'no! don't talk to me ever kitty! (he actually said that to minerva). megan is embarrased and keeps saying he's never acted like this - i just laugh. you can laugh when they aren't yours. (right? :)) right now he's coming up with every single excuse in the book to not have to go to bed. i can't blame him - i once pretended to sleep walk :)
once she does get him down we're going to watch The Shining. we started it last night but fell asleep right before it got scary. so we're starting it over tonight (chris has never seen it!). so there ya go.....a play by play of my day. how was yours?

TTLIFF!

that translates to - Thank The Lord It's Finally Friday! (tgif seemed rather dull...)


i'm seriously so happy that the weekend is here! not the work was stressful or anything but who doesn't prefer two days off over going to work? that and i have some plans for the weekend :) tomorrow chris and i are going to a 'stitch & bitch' at holly's house. (not my chris - a friend chris) i'm really excited - i've been wanting to get a group of gals together to do this since i moved down here. (i miss our knitting nights carrie!) perhaps i'll host a few sessions at my place as i know of a few co-workers who are also interested.....


as for tonight chris's (my chris) sister megan and her son carter are coming over. in fact (since i started this blog right before they arrived) they are here now! megan is attempting to put carter to sleep. she put him down in my room but i'm worried that albus hid under the bed. albus and minvera are not the biggest fan of small beings. i'm sure - given time - that they would be. it just takes them time. albus* hated chris for about a week when they first arrived. so yeah - they are here and will be for the weekend. unfortunately megan has a bit of a cold so her and i might just chill while chris takes carter out and about tomorrow...we'll see....

we just got done watching peter pan. i bought a copy before christmas when i saw it was out. but they remastered it. i really really prefer the hand drawn charm of the older version - anyone know of how i can get an old - non-remastered - copy on dvd?

alright - i think carter is asleep. megan and i are going to watch 'the shining.' i've never seen it and she says i have to :)

*i was watching ellen today (of cours) and she was talking about her pets. her cat liked to sleep up my her head and she attributed this to the fact that he was part abyssinian and those breeds were more dog like. i was intrigued becuase i and a lot of other people have said that albus is more dog like. he isn't a lap cat but constantly has to be at your side and walking along with you wherever you go. he plays fetch (i'm not kidding - he will walk back with whatever you throw - he prefers balled of socks - and trot back to you and drop them in your hand). and he has to sleep at my head. i did some researching and it also mentioned the fact that abyssinian's can have defects that cause them to groom themselves compulsively - leaving bald spots. albus does not do this but he does obsessivley lick any and all surfaces he comes in contact with. his favorites are skin (he will lick you and lick you and lick you - i swear if you let him he'd like a layer off....) - he's always licking my legs, and plastic bags. he will not stop licking plastic bags. ay yi yi! minerva is the same way about the skin thing. they're weird. but at least now i may know why...

uh oh - carter is up! gotta go.....

Too Cute :)

minerva decided to plop herself down beside me while i crocheted. she conked out nose first into the couch :)

Making a List...

i've been rather absent from the blogging world it seems.....

we've been getting situated in the new place and getting ready for Christmas. i have a ton of pictures to post but haven't gotten around to uploading them yet. who knows when it will happen...

i've already determined that gifts (at least some of them) are going to be late. i had high hopes of crocheting/knitting something for everyone but that quickly fell apart. i had counted on all that free time at work and then BAM - they gave me stuff to do! who knew?! then the moving took away more than a week of my cozy nights sitting on working so.....yeah.... but i'm not getting stressed. this is my absolute favorite time of the year and if they gifts are late - they're late. if people get mad

(which i'm sure they won't) then that's too bad.

i also need to make time for baking - i LOVE to bake this time of year :) i already have a list a mile long of all the ingredients i'll need :)

tonight chris and i went shopping. we finally sat down this past weekend and made a list of everyone we're buying for and what we're buying them. and for the most part we got it all done which makes me happy. that and going out and buying buying buying always makes me happy - which isn't great i guess - but oh well :) we found some really cute stuff so i'm excited :)

and now that it's almost bedtime i'm off to have some dinner :)

oh - christmas cards will be going out soon! if you think i don't have your address (and just to be safe - assume i don't) e-mail it to me! and if you want to send me one (:)) e-mail me as well :)

hmmmm..think that's it for now :)

hope ya'll are doing just peachy!

p.s. i hate the spacing on this. it just mushed everything i typed into one lump and won't fix it. argh.

Knit Five, Purl One....oh $#!%

fixing crochet mistakes is WAY easier than fixing knitting mistakes. i'm trying to learn but it's difficult. luckily the volunteer greeter today is also a fantastic knitter and extremely patient!


this scarf has been started over about 5 times now and i'm praying that this latest mistake can be fixed and i can finish it!

ay yi yi yi yi yi!

Teddy Bear: Part 3

meet carter's bear :)

that's right - i finished him!! i must say i'm pretty pleased - although next time i'll sew the arms on a bit higher as his next looks very long. ah well. he's cute, right?

i knitted a scarf to go along with him :)

and now i'm really going to get back to the laundry/crocheting. although bed sounds so much better! i think i'm coming down with the flu or something. my whole body is aching and i'm sore. my stomach feels icky. my throat is sore. my head aches. blech. :( i just took some meds and am going to town on the throat lozenges so hopefully they'll all kick in soon....

Movin'

if i forgot to mention it - chris and i are moving. tomorrow. not very far - just down the road in fact as he still has to be able to make those fire calls. it'll be nice though - a bigger place - two bedrooms, two bathrooms and of course my babies (albus and minerva) will be joining us (next weekend).

i would like to say we've been packing but i'd be lying. in fact - as i sit here blogging chris is packing packing packing. it's all his stuff and he knows where it is and where it goes so i think i'd be more of an annoyance to the whole process. so i'm (blogging) doing the laundry and crocheting - gotta finish those christmas presents!!

tomorrow he and a friend will move on the big stuff so technically this is our last night at this place. exciting but also sad. of course i'm the worlds largest sap - so of course i'll miss it. not that's stellar but just the memories - ya know? and i'm kinda bummed that i forgot the take pictures of the place before it was packed up and covered in boxes.....

we got our keys to the new place last night. first thing i noticed was new carpet (wahoo!) - i was very excited about that. lots of closet space. corner unit. good location. we were happy :) also - the office lady told us that we can pick two accent walls and they'll paint them! we're going to pick them tomorrow when we have the furniture there and such. they have a nice array of colors - blues, beiges, greens, and reds. i'm partial to the cranberry red myself - my friend Brant's mom always painted her living room that color and i loved it. it makes the room feel so warm and it'll go nicely with the couch. so there ya go....

alright - i'll post more tomorrow! :)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like....

oh shit - i did not just start singing a christmas song.......

today it snowed. not just little insignificant flakes - but snow that resulted in stickage. not a lot but stickage nonetheless. i specifically asked god to not let this happen until after we moved but he must hear like the hairdresser. darn that god......never listens.....

this was taken on my way home from work. you can't see the flakes but they're there. hmph.

ugh. i have a headache from wearing a headband all day. i took it off but the result was not pretty. i have company coming over soon but they'll just have to deal with the ugly amelie.

speaking of company i should probably get some things straightened up around here and the snacks ready. it'll be night with mia and vija (hi!), wine, food and don't forget the crocheting! :)

oh - HAPPY (early) THANKSGIVING! :)

Teddy Bear: Part 2

slowly but surely i'm making some progress....

tomorrow comes the body and hopefully some arms and legs. then i still have 2 more to make! yikes! i best get a move on, eh?

other than crocheting crocheting crocheting i spent the day having lunch with Chris, his brother Nathan, his wife Mandy and Aunt Fran - it was good. I had some awesome cinnamon raisin pancakes. then we stopped into to see Mandy at work - she works here. i started buying these zipper pulls (i'm not sure how many zipper pulls one needs but i have plenty) - they are super cute. i got one awhile ago - one of the rare ones (you don't know what one you're going to get when you buy it. it's a suprise which is partially why they are so addictive). so today i bought another and gave it to chris - low and behold it was the exact same rare one as me! so now we have matching pulls - as you can imagine he was thrilled :)

alright - chris is harrassing me to get off the computer ('stop blog blog blogging' as he calls it) so he can finish up some work.

g'night!

Teddy Bear: Part 1

i think i mentioned that i'm trying to work on some teddy bears for some little ones in my family? no? well i am : ) and this is how far i've gotten.....

if you're interested in the pattern you can find it here...

Oh!

the view from my treadmill is not spectacular. in fact - minus the tv (when it's on) it's rather dull. i find myself staring at this outlet as it's rather high on the wall (for the air conditioner). it seems to have taken on a personality. this tiny little face saying 'Oh!' hmmmm....

have you heard the new song by Leann Rhimes - 'Nothin' Better To Do'? i love that song. currently listening to it in fact. although it did make me hurt my hip. well - i suppose i made me hurt my hip but nonetheless.... i was listening to the song while walking on the treadmill and got a bit spunky and sassy (did i really just use the word 'sassy'?) in my walk and it got rather bouncy. i may have also waved my hands about in the air. (nerdy..i know...but chris wasn't home) as a result i think i pulled a muscle in my hip and it hurt for weeks afterwards...ouch!

this blog is turning into treadmill stories. i don't really have much else to yak about. oh - i got some new yarn today! i know...i know..i shouldn't have. but it's for this extremely cute teddy bear pattern i found. i also bought stuffing. hopefully it turns out. i'll post pics when it's done. oh! and i found this posting there (at Micheals) - Warm Up America. Check it out - great idea for using up any scraps of yarn you can't figure out a use for! :)

what else?

i'm still stuffing envelopes at work! My fingers - aside from getting numerous paper cuts - were also getting rubbed raw along my right pinky from the outer lip of the envelope. then i discovered the latex gloves (of which the blood center is littered with!) and they are wonderful!

alright - dinner is served and i'm outta here :)

Poke 'Em Out!

seriously.

my eyeballs are driving me insane! i woke up this morning to find them almost swollen shut and pink and watering and burning and just - well - gross. tonight after taking much allerguy medication they are no better. the swelling has gone down but they are watering and burning like a bitch :(

i'm not looking forward to waking up tomorrow for work and looking like this. argh.

on a better note i've started some new crocheting projects and hopefully they'll turn out :) i have a huge desire to make more baby things but have to concentrate on Christmas gifts right now - and perhaps using up some of my mass collection of yarn before buying more :)

and now - time for another dose of meds, my cooling eye mask and some sleep!

27

for lack of exciting things to post about (see previous blog - l-a-m-e) i'm going to copy miss molly's blog idea (well - she borrowed from this person). she just turned 28 (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) yesterday and so posted 28 not well known facts about herself. i turned 27 a few weeks ago and will now proceed to tell you 27 things about myself. i'll try to make them 'not well known' facts but since i'm a talker you might have heard a lot of 'em......

oh - the above picture was taken last year (august 29th to be exact). the face i'm making goes along with the previous blog 'You want me to WHA?'

alrighty then......

27. i absolutely love love love music. the emotions it brings forth, the places it takes you, the memories it revives - it absolutely astounds me. i'd love to have a soundtrack to my life. if i ever make you a mix cd - know that a lot of thought went into it. music is personnal for me. it expresses things that perhaps i would otherwise be unable to. yeah - i just love it dearly.

26. i bite my nails. everyone tells me to stop and i think at one point i tried to. now i don't care. if there is a little hint of nail it gets bitten. i also bite my lips. chris is always trying to stop me from doing this. so far he's had no luck. sometimes i'm not even fully aware i'm doing it. it only gets dangerous if i've just been to the dentist and my mouth is numb....ow.....

25. i've been yearning to have a sleepover. all girls. junk food. cheesey movies. fun music. girl talk. games. the works. it might end up being lame since we're not all 8 anymore. but until proven wrong i think it sounds super fun. (could be influenced by the fact that 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun' is playing....)

24. i have some ocd tendencies. for insistence - i'm rather fixated with the number 6. i like how the 'ix' sounds when you speak it. i also only set the alarm or microwave to numbers ending in 6. 1:06 - 26- 36 etc.

23. i - unlike molly - have had many cavaties in my life. my mouth is silver.

22. is my luck number. especially a red 22. reasons? they are rather lame and i came up with them when i was little: i was 22 inches long at birth. i was born on the 22nd. king tut (whom i was obsessed with growing up) was 'discovered' in 1922. the alto saxaphone (which i played) has 22 keys. i told you it was lame....

i took a break from this to crochet. and by break i mean...oh...4.5 hours. do they have support groups for this?

i'll continue the 27 fact countdown tomorrow - provided i'm not lost in my yarn.

You want me to WHA?

5,000 envelopes.

5,000!



i know i shouldn't complain considering i really never have work to do but i can complain and so i am. the one time i want to get a project (crochet) finished and now this. poop.

let the counting for day 2 continue.

586

587

589

590

591

Mother's Little Helper

not exactly sure what they are but i'm sure i could put them to use....

i've always known i have some light ocd tendencies and sometimes it's good. at other times it's annoying. today it was just draining.

i'm working on a crochet project. i noticed the border wasn't even. i undid a few hours worth of work. then i realized that i could just start the whole thing over and make it even better and that i did. so i lost 2.5 days worth of work. i'll be much happier with the end product but it's still just draining - ya know?

now if only i could put this much effort into something like my career (or lack) thereof - but i don't call myself the perfectionist receptionist for nothing.

hmph.

Kitty Hat (Correct Size!)

Woohoo!

I finally got it exactly like I wanted it - correct size! And I love the birthday yarn! (Thank you Carrie!)

Now I'm off to do more crocheting - my eyes feel a ton better today! :)

ow

my eyes are killing me! i think i've crocheted them to death....


in the words of carrie 'i want to poke my eyeballs out with forks'

:(

Yarn A-Go-Go....

i didn't realize i had amassed such a collection of yarns......

chris and i got a note today informing us that they'll be showing the apartment this week! this is stressful - the apartment is a) a mess and b) somewhere i'm not technically supposed to be living but all one of the closet and its contents say otherwise....

we decided to not worry about 'b' as it is what it is and we'll be gone in a month. as for 'a' we started to clean. this included doing the mountain of laundry we had and me attempting to sort through the mess i've made of his place....i can be a slob (i know i know...you find it hard to believe but trust me on this....)

i made some headway. the floor outside the closet can now be seen. first time in months. the chair in the living room can also be seen - in it before all that yarn - shown above! ay yi yi! where did it all come from? i only started crocheting 2 months ago! and so much yellow yarn from when i knitted that horid baby blanket for my nephew - SO much yellow yarn....

but it looks good now, eh? :)

i'm workin' on it.....

Kitty Hat!

i found this pattern awhile ago and have been dying to try it - and finally did! unfortunately I made it a bit too big (i added a few stitches because i have a larger head than most people....won't do that next time). it's supposed to have ear flaps but because it's already a tad too big it looked funny with them. i'm going to try and shrink it a bit - but other than that I love the style and can't wait to try some other color options :)

so there ya go :) the kitty hat :)

First (completed) Hat!

here it is - my first (completed) hat - modeled so kindly by it's recipient Eric :)

i found the pattern here if you're interested

(made with Lion's Brand purple Chenile)