i LOVE the beatles

the weight loss challange ended today. i lost nothing (and gained nothing - which i guess is good in a way). the girl who won lost 4 pounds. 4 pounds! it's kinda sad that we had this challange going from september until now and the most any of us lost was 4 pounds - and she was already skinny to begin with! ah well. i've lost some inches and still have hope. i want to lose the weight by june. i want to enjoy my summer - perhaps even wear a swimsuit...in public (and not just in fron the mirror and getting depressed...)


on a brighter note - a coworker of mine got back from his two week long vacation to vegas. when he told me he was going i told him that he had to see LOVE for me. he didn't go to the show but he did bring my back this awesome t-shirt! he also said i didn't owe him a thing (since i made him a hat for nothing awhile back - my first hat ever). so that was incredibly cool and it brightened my day a ton :)

and other than that - it was a monday. chris and i are about to go watch the second half of the first LOTR movies. i remember not wanting to see the first one - i hated (or thought i did) anything having to do with sci-fi/fantasy. i ended up loving them though. :)

saturdays = ...............

saturdays =


shit - i woke up too late - but not shit becuase i finally got to sleep in....


crap - i need to exercise badly but have zero energy and zero willpower and would rather stare at the t.v. and be depressed about the state of humanity based on 'bret michael's - rock of love'


okay - getting motivated. paid rent (well - dropped of chris's check for rent). paid cable bill. charged ipod. must start to clean............




i love weekends but often find that without concrete deadlines i'm worthless. when i know i have the whole day to do things - they probably won't get done. i'll wait until the last minute and then start to panick that i didn't get anything done. sigh....
so starting now (even though - yes - it is 1pm - better late than never, right?) i'm going to clean. must clean. if time is left over i'll exercise. then i must finish hat orders. ipod is charged up and ready to go....

Nude

no...not that kind of nude ya perv.......sheesh.....


i mean nude as in no-make-up. zero. zilch. notta.


it's something i've thought about many times before - going without make-up. this last time i decided to do something about it. give it up - for an entire month. i even got a co-worker to do it with me (the only difference being that she gets it sit up and away in her cubicle whereas i'm greeting everyone that walks in the door....)


i don't wear a lot of make-up to begin with. eyeliner. mascara. and blush (oh lord how i'll miss my blush stick!) no foundation - the thought of caking something onto my face like that bothers me. i went through the powder faze in highschool - when it was cool to have your compact with you at all times. now i can't stand it. so - i'm not giving it up becuase i think it hogs up too much of my time. i just think it's time that we (women) start thinking of ourselves as naturally beautiful. i don't think there is anything wrong with make-up persay but for some women it is truely a crutch. they will not - unless possibly in need of urgent medical attention - leave the house without it. ever. why is this? do they truely believe that they are ugly without it?


i admit - there are times when i wake up and think - oh hell no - not walking out the door like this. but i want to get over that. that's why i'm doing this - so that by the end up of the month perhaps i'll think i look better without it. i'm happy that darrah (hi!) is doing this with me. she was so concerned and when she came in this morning she looked exactly the same as when she was wearing make-up (minus the sparkle of eyeshadow on her eyes). she looked beautiful!


i'll admit that it was not fun to look in the mirror and see the bareness of my eyes - but i liked it anyhow. and any dislike was quickly outweighed by the fact that i could rub my eyes! think about it - everyone gets that little tickle in their eye at some point during the day. instead of having to carfully not mess up the eyeliner (etc) you can just rub away. it's very liberating! so - feel free to join me if you want. post some self portraits of yourself (mine were taken with my camera phone - hence the quality) and see how your perceptions change over the course of the month.

oh - had to include a picture of the finished hat! i started on one of the orders today :) if you want one let me know :)

big white - still missing (!)

big. white. spider! is still missing (!)


chris humored me by looking for the ick as soon as he got home. he even dug out his headlight. i thought it was incredibly cute and sweet :) even minerva joined him in the search. unfortunately the spider is still missing. ah well. i managed to fall asleep just fine......

in other news......

that guy that was supposed to come in and observe me yesterday (the cheeseball who promised to bring me supplies to hand out to patrons along with the phone numbers. the cheeseball who also promised to update this supply box weekly...) - yeah - he didn't show up. didn't call. didn't e-mail. and in doing so proved my point. he's a flake. not that i wanted him to come in the first place but at least it would have been done and over with. now i get to wonder if and when he'll show up. the whole thing is rather dumb - people do not appreciate trapsing into the building expecting a live person only to be handed a number. i can be as sweet as punch but it doesn't cover the fact that they pretty much left me hanging and it's not appreciated......

something more positive? i finished chris's hat. well - all except for the poof ball (or pom-pom - but i prefer poof ball). i had made some finishing touches and had taken the hat to the bathroom to see how it looked in the mirror. while there i ran into a co-worker and she loved it! she asked me to make one for her :) then - as i was leaving - i got another order from her daughter! wahoo! i went to the yarn store right after work and picked up the supplies :)

oh - i was listening to the radio and heard that the John Beargrease marathon had been won (congrats Jason Barron!). i did some peeking around and realized that the team i got pictures of (see the 'fennel toothpaste' post) - ryan anderson's - came in 3rd place :) so congrats to him as well! i was reading and he - along with his brother and sister-in-law have 100 dogs that they've raised since puppies! that's a lot...wow.....

alright. the clock is ticking. i want to get up and walk before work (the weight loss challange ends in a month!) and i told myself i'd only do so if i got into bed by 10. so i'm late - but if i hurry i can think i can pull it off :)


night!

Loose Lips

ah friday. how i love thee.....


today was good. my stuffy snotty leaky-faucet-of-a-nose is finally clearing up. (wahoo!) and (as sexy as it may seem) i'm sure chris will appreciate being able to kiss me without having a kleenex protruding out of my nostril.


at work a few new developments occured. the girl to whom i normally send all work related inquires up to is being transferred to a new location (or fired - not sure which). this means that i will now have to deal with all the people (aka morons) coming in the door. i know what you're thinking - shouldn't i be doing this anyhow - i am the receptionist after all. well....it's complicated. i'm a sort-of receptionist. a poser. i didn't even get a performance review because there is no job description for my position. in the words of my boss 'what am i supposed to critique you on? how many hats and scarves you've made?' so yeah. a guy came in and gave me a list of numbers to give people coming in. we'll see how it goes.....


after work i got my bangs trimmed. i went to a new place. as much as i love the $5 bang trim the other place offered i was not willing to risk 'poofy-claw-bangs' again. (i swear - they whip those thinning shears and go to town before you've even had time to open your mouth in protest!) so i shelled out a bit more but am really happy. in fact - this is the best bang trim i've gotten thus far. it has a certain bit of funk. i like it. and i got the eyebrows waxed. thank god - they were getting scary...


and now i think i'll return to the couch and try to finish chris's hat. we're going to duluth tomorrow and it'd be nice if he had it to wear. i've gotten a lot done in just the little bit of time i worked on it at work.


oh....the juno soundtrack. first of all - if you have not seen this movie. do so. very good. i wish i had been like that in highschool. not pregnant - just spunky. but the soundtrack! i am self proclaimed movie soundtrack addict. love them. in fact - 5 seconds into the movie i turned to chris and told him i wanted the soundtrack. and you know what - he bought it for me! a suprise :) (i really don't think he has any imperfections...) i love it. love it. i have the song 'loose lips' stuck in my head as i write...

okay. off to the knitting.

Owwie!

i just got back from the dentist. my mouth hurts.


this appointment was to set in place my permanent crown. when i sat down they told me that they don't do novacaine. (uhhh...excuse moi? pass that by me again?) i told them that i would prefer to have it and so they gave it to me. perhaps it was out of spite at having asked for it or perhaps his aim was off but the the area they worked on did not get numb. instead - the entire right side of my tongue is beyond numb as are the right halves of my lips. but not the tooth area. nope. not at all. felt everything they did. still do. and it hurts :(


not only that but my nose is raw. that hurts too. hmph.




oh - update on the previous post. i stupidly decided the finish the hat at work. i knew i should have waited until i got home where i wouldn't be distracted and in such a rush (to finish it before i left for the dentist). and i paid for it. the hat is..well...too big. granted chris has yet to try it on but yeah. too big. i'll wait to make a final judgment until he gets home but i think i may end up having to start it over. ah well - practice makes perfect, right?


and that's all for now. i'm going to change into comfy clothes and rest. i'm stuffed up and sore and feel like doing nothing :)

I can Knit!

chris wanted me to make him a hat.

he picked out some yarn. the yarn just happened to match the scarf that mandy made him for christmas last year. the scarf that she knitted. because i am slightly ocd i decided that the hat must be knitted so as to match the scarf. so we picked out a pattern....

the pattern called for 5 needles! 5! i decided to brave it though. unfortunately i got the wrong size dpn (double pointed needles) and the yarn i had was too thick for it. so i ended up finding another pattern that started from the bottom up and gave me time to go get the correct size dpn. after some help from D (resident volunteer greeter / knitter) and some other co-workers the hat is lookin' pretty gosh darn good. the tricky part was learning the dpn method (which i'll have to use tomorrow when i finish up the top of the hat) and also learning how to attatch the other ear flap....

i must say that i'm rather impressed with myself after having only knitted one (horrific) baby blanket and one scarf. so there ya go Carrie - your teaching me how to knit has not gone to waste :)

ain't he just so cute?

Hats....

i would like to knit a hat. a hat for chris. a hat with earflaps.


i have no idea how to do this.


what are double pointed needles?


why must i use four needles (how do you even do that???) instead of just knitting on the round with circular needles?


my brain and eyes are sore from searching the web for answers to these questions and looking at hat patterns. if you have answers - or can find a cute pattern please please pass it along :)


thank you :)

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 :)

question: hats

as you may have noticed from previous blogs i have started to crochet. yesterday a coworker asked me to make him a hat - i told him to bring me the yarn and i'd whip one up. he brought me the yarn this morning (a beautiful soft purple chenile) and i proceeded to whip him up a hat complete with ear flaps - in about 4.5 hours (i have a lot of spare time at my job...).

he was very pleased and asked me what i owed him - i had no idea - it was only the 2nd hat i've ever made (the first one i've ever completed). so i told him he owed me nothing but to make sure he wore it and told everyone where he got it :) (and that then i'd start charging) that he did - people came up telling me how beautiful the hat was. i told them i'd make them one as well and to just bring me the yarn....

...but what should i charge? i don't mind doing them for free but if more and more people come i'd like to earn some extra mulla - any ideas? i have absolutely no clue.....

thanks for your help :)


oh - and if you want a hat or blanket or washclothes or scarf - let me know :)

Dream 1

it's 8am on a Sunday morning. i've been up since 7am. too early to be up when a) i don't have anything to be up for b) i've been feeling like crap due in part to a lack of sleep c) i love to sleep and should jump at any and all opportunities.....

but alas - here i sit. at the computer. eating toast. drinking hot cider. my dreams last night kept me awake and becuase of that or just because i felt like i should start keeping track of them - something i used to do when i was younger. so here goes.....

before i begin let it be known i talk in my sleep. scream (not night terror scream - that is something completely different and utterly terrifying if you've ever heard someone do it). sit-up. i am glad that i'm the one doing this. not that i'm glad to be doing it - given the choice i'd rather it not happen. but given the choice between me or my partner having it and i'd much rather it be me. i cannot imagine waking up to find chris sitting up yelling. or shaking or and whimpering. it would probably - no would - scare the crap out of me (where did this expression come from?...)

so. last night.

i remember this one - which is rare. usually chris is the one telling me what i did and me not having a clue it happened.

i started talking about frogs and hats. in my head it made complete sense. i think i was dreaming in part about the book i'm reading right now - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. in the book (don't worry it doesn't give any big plot secrets away) the handmaid's wear these white hats with wings - makes me think of Sally Field - remember that? Anyhow - those kind of hats. evidently - in my dream - those hats came in boxes of frogs. at least the first 3 hats did - there was a grand total of 5 that you were required to have (and possibly wear...can't remember). you could keep the frogs or kill them or let them go. i think.

i remember talking about this and chris responding. he asked me 'what about the cows' to which i replied 'what the fuck are you talking about' - cows and hats? come on! evidently (as he told me this morning) he was just testing me to see how awake i was. i jabbered some more - completely annoyed that he didn't understand the hats and frogs and drifted back off to sleep. noteworthy only becuase i can recall my speech sliding into jibberish as i nodded off.

interesting to you? no. interesting for me to look back on? possilby.

the next one started out with me driving a car. do you ever have dreams that take place in the same town? completely different dreams - but the same town. and not a town that you've been to before - possibly a town created from scraps of different 'real' towns? or just a new town? it happens to me a lot.

so - i'm driving a car in this town i've dreamt of before. i take the first exit off the freeway i'm on as i realize i don't want to be on that freeway. (blank spot) next i'm riding a bike in the same town. i recognize the town from dreams that i've had before. i recall memories from those dreams as i ride - in particular i'm riding through a white trash/ghetto part of town and come across a house on the corner. i remember looking at an apartment there with my mom in a previous dream but don't recall the neighborhood being so bad - relieved that i didn't get that apartment. riding one - (blank spot) i'm in an apartment building - looking for what i'm not sure - the way out? somehow i'm at the top and am going down stairs - but there is no back staircase. the stairs go through peoples homes - level after level. some question me - wondering if i'm the person they hired to fix something - but otherwise it seems to be a normal occurence for them. the stairs are tricky as some of them have a bed placed in the middle of them with covers all over the stairs making me slide. sometimes i'm carrying my bike and sometimes i'm not.

(blank spot)

i find myself in my parents condo - which is located in this apartment building - i can tell becuase the style and layout are the same from the ones i passed through. very late 70's early 80's. (the images are so clear - too bad i'm not an artist). i'm chatting with my mom who is packing for some upcoming trips. one is to London - forget the reason why. the other is to Colorado. she is laying out outfits for me to wear on this trip - she's bringing me with her - to go shopping. it takes me awhile for her to tell me the dates - she's confused about what i'm asking. i tell her i need to ask for the time off from work. find out it's December 1st - tell her i can't becuase that is the day Chris and i move into our new apartment - it's also his birthday weekend. next we are in another room playing with the babies. that's right - babies. evidently my mom has recently given birth to triplets! but the babies are incredibly tiny - like miniature babies - toy babies. i'm talking 2 inches. they are all strapped into their tiny car seats asleep. one wakes up - hannah (evidently these triplets are Carrie's sisters triplets). i pick her up and she's smiling and giggling. i want to go take a picture because she is so tiny! i've never seen anything like it and at the same time it's the most normal thing.

i walk down the hall to grab the camera - which i recal is sitting on the dinning room table (chris and i's dining room tabe but for some reason it's in my parents condo). i turn on the hallway light only to discover about 50 of these little wormy millipede things crawling around!!! Ack! (*Chris and I have been having a problem with them. we get about 6 a night on average. they crawl in from outside after the sun sets. it's wierd and they are creeepy . fortunately very slow moving so we can nab them easily. but still extrememly gross. so far the ductape we used to secure the sliding glass door has seemed to work and we haven't had any the past two days) I scream for my mom to come. I walk further down the hall to the room where the camera is and turn on that light only to discover MORE of the wormy millipedes! not only those but these monsterous cockroach type bugs. i'm talking 2 inches long and an inch and a half wide or bigger! and fast! they scurry (ish ish ish) around at an incredible speed. and there are a lot of them just clustered all over the carpet. (in my head these monsterous bugs are a product of the wormy millipedes - what they grow into) they start to scurry across my feet and up my legs. i scream some more. scream for my mom to get the vaccuum cleaner and then scream that they'll only crawl out of it. i'm shaking and trying to get the bugs off of me. ick!

chris wakes me up. i'm still shaking my legs uncontrollably and whimpering. evidently i screamed. it was disgusting. i couldn't fall back asleep. i kept seeing bugs. i kept feeling bugs and as a result probably kept Chris awake by constantly rubbing my feet back and forth over each other.

ick. i hate insect dreams.

when i did manage to fall back asleep i kept dreaming about being awake and making myself remember the dream so i could blog about it. and here i am - blogging about it.

i've finished my breakfast though and will now try to go back to sleep. it's a stormy rainy morning - shouldn't be too hard. first i'll do a thorough bug inspection of the floor. ish.

oh - has anyone else read The Handmaid's Tale? If so - let me know what you think. I'm almost finished and it's scaring the crap out of me.