For all you word junkies out there...

The latest addiction: http://freerice.com/index.php Enjoy!

I've been addicted to TextTwist and Bookworm for a while now, and this is the newest word game to enter my realm. It was introduced to me by my mother (an unintentionally evil woman, completely destroying what little hope of productivity I had left), it's a really simple game that I just can't stop playing!!

But hey, it's for a good cause, and I'm learning too, so as long as I can force myself to get this report done today too, it's all good!

Must work now, so I can play my game!!

WIPs & FOs

That's pronounced "whips and fose," for those not in the knitting-know. It stands for Works-In-Progress and Finished-Objects. Of which I have some to report!

Well, granted that the FO is not the one that I'm working the hardest on, but it's still nice to have some sense of completion every so often. Anyway, I finished a string bag last night. All ends woven in and everything! Usually that's the part I hate the most (part of why I don't do much color work - so many ends!!)

Here it is:

I like it a lot. The colors are just SO BRIGHT! Just plain ol' bright cotton, but it makes grocery shopping fun! I've been playing with string bags this summer (this is my second) because I'm just so tired of the abundance of plastic bags that accumulates when I go to the grocery store. I do reuse them - trashbags, changing Joey's litter pan, etc. - but they still build up so much faster than anyone can use them. So, BYOB! (bring your own bag!)

And I did rather wing the pattern on my own, inspired by several good string bag patterns online, so I'm kinda proud of it. Nothing exciting pattern-wise, pretty much just garter stitch, but I did need some mindless knitting to balance out the big project I've got going.

The big project on the needles right now is the lacy I Do shrug from Knitty. Like the designer, I too am knitting this for my wedding (1 month from today!!!) I'm almost half-way done, too! I'll post pictures this weekend when I finish the first half and start on the second.

Well, I have to get knitting now. No more time for blogging tonight!

Musings on my job

So, I'm in a job I hate. That's pretty much the best way to describe it.

Without going into too much detail, it's a very bad fit for my personality. I'm just not a consultant at heart, I'm learning. For what I do, I do not need to be on call 24 hours a day for a client to call about a report. What we do is not that critical to warrant the life-or-death attitude that many of my co-workers adopt. I don't need to be treated the way I am by clients and by my coworkers. I just don't need the high-stress atmosphere that surrounds the work done here. It’s physically not healthy for me.

And y'know, I like having a personal life. I don’t want to work 50 hrs a week (particularly when I’m only paid for 40). So many people in this company act like work is all there is to life. I like having hobbies and interests outside the office. I don't want to feel entirely one-dimensional. I’ve always liked feeling well-rounded, like I have multiple interests and using more than one part of my brain. I’ve always had that mindset – in school, I always had sports, and would work in language or history classes even though I was a science major. Keeps me happier that way. This job just demands so much and gives back so little, that I feel like other parts of me are atrophying while I’m here.

As I keep reminding myself, however, it has been a very good first 'real' job. Because it's a smaller office, I've had experience in several different types of projects (cross-training is always nice), I've been able to write proposals, do some marketing...in short, I've been able to get more experience that I would've been able to otherwise. That's all very useful in resume-building, and in helping me figure out what sort of job I want, what sort of work environment I need to thrive.

But just because it’s a good first job, doesn't mean that I want to stay here for the rest of my career…

So it works out very nicely that Zach and I will be moving end of Feb or early Mar when he gets his first permanent duty station!

The challenge now is how to make the last few months go quickly until the move. We’re trying to brainstorm ways to make the time pass (another co-worker has a lot of the same frustrations with the job, and will hopefully be moving too, at about the same time). The time left in December is going to go quickly, with the holidays and my wedding coming up soon. It’s the time in Jan and Feb that we’re trying to work out how to pass.

Right now, we’re making soundtrack CDs for our last few months (“The Final Countdown” figures prominently). And we’re destroying a business card for each day done here, watching the stack gradually diminish. We’re gonna figure out some other tricks and rewards to make those last few months go by less painfully. And honestly, just having this place to post and vent helps a lot, too.

Just gotta keep reminding myself, only a few months more!!

A Slow Day at Work

la, la, la....

I'm here at the office, no one's around (when the head manager's out of the office, everyone else seems to find excuses to be out too), and let's be honest, I just don't feel like working on my reports anymore right now! They can wait for a little more.

So, I'm distracting myself with online personality quizzes! They crack me up. Sometimes they're really accurate, and sometimes, they're so far off, they're hysterical. I am amused...

Today, I went for the knitting-themed quizzes. Here are my results:

What Kind of Knitter are you?

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.

6300 other people got this result! This quiz has been taken 27596 times. 38% of people had this result.









What Kind of Yarn are You?

You are Mohair.

You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes.

32405 other people got this result! This quiz has been taken 166644 times. 25% of people had this result.





What Kind of Knitting Needles are You?

You are "turbo" charged.

Fast moving and classy, you get things done with power and grace. Your expensive tastes can be deceiving, since what you really value is quality and efficiency. As you're careening around those corners in life, finishing a dozen knitted objects each month, stop and smell the roses. Don't miss the beauty of process!

2941 other people got this result! This quiz has been taken 33982 times. 19% of people had this result.








What Knitter are You?


You may not be a granny, but you've got the mentality. Hard work and artistic vision lead to your beautiful knitted results.

1894 other people got this result! This quiz has been taken 10674 times. 55% of people had this result.





So, yeah, that's been my afternoon.
Maybe I should actually work on my reports now....

My Baby

After posting about Joey earlier today, I realized I should introduce my baby.

Joey is a mini-rex rabbit. He's about 5 pounds, chocolate brown with big brown eyes (though you can't really see them with the red-eye in the many, many, many pictures I take of him). He is very playful, and quite a chewer. He loves his veggies, though he definitely has his preferences. Bellpeppers are delicious, lettuce and carrots are wonderful, strawberry tops are a yummy treat, yellow squash is not to his taste (though it does make a lovely pillow). Cardboard tubes (paper-towel, toilet paper, etc) are his natural enemy, and his duties around the house include protecting us all from these silent invaders. He gives kisses and cuddles when he feels like it, and loves playing 'King of the Mountain' (hopping up on your back as you're lying on the floor reading).

Rex varieties are known as "velveteen rabbits" because their fur feels like plush. Rex rabbits are bred so that the longest guard hairs have been bred away and the secondary guard hairs have been reduced to the same length as the undercoat hairs. This gives them that oh-so-soft feel. Meaning, he's the softest bunny ever! According to Wikipedia, "their small size, plush coat and friendly personalities make them one of the most popular rabbit breeds in the United States." Have to say, I agree!

Yup yup yup, I love my bunny bunches! He's a nice little reminder of the absurdity in life, to make sure I have fun, and not take things too seriously! And besides, he's just so cute!! Zach laughs that I have more pictures of the bunny than anything else. But, at least my boys get along and that's not jealousy talking :)

To summarize, I paraphrase Knitty...
Sometimes you have to take a moment and pat the bunny!

My little helper

So, last night was laundry night chez moi.

Really, one of those nights when I'm being very good and productive and cleaning, so I can feel proud of myself, all in an effort to avoid other chores that are less appealing at a given time (last night it was avoiding wedding work).

At any rate, Joey felt that I was not folding my clothes properly. It needed that bunny touch.

So he decided to help....

...and help....

...and help. Isn't he a thoughtful bunny?

His work done, he rests upon his laurels. Or just rests, I'm not sure which. At any rate, laundry must be very tiring when you're only 5 lbs!

Why yes, I do take a lot of pictures of my bunny. Can you tell I love him to pieces?

And the countdown truly ramps up

Thanksgiving weekend was good, including seeing lots of family, both mine and Zach's (fiance's). Lots of food, lots of family, lots of driving. Typical Thanksgiving all-around.

The weekend also involved much wedding planning and arranging, which was
a) good, since it's very hard to plan a wedding in an area 7 hrs away from where you live, so you have to take advantage of those weekends you actually are home, and
b) nervewracking, as it reminds you that it's only approximately 1 month until the big day.

But, we were so very productive!
Food - check, meeting with minister - check, decorations - sorta check, music - check, photographer - check...
Cake and marriage license remain unchecked, since the places we needed to go were closed for the holidays.

Am getting very frustrated with the marriage license requirements. I understand the license needing to be from the state where we are going to get married. Obviously we can't pick up a licence here in SC to get married back home in VA. But at the same time, it is very difficult for us both to get to a courthouse office on a week day, in person, to pick up the license. He's in the Army, so since we got engaged last December, we weren't even in the same time zone until mid-September. It's hard enough getting together on weekends in the same state, let alone in another state on a weekday. It's very frustrating that one of us can't come by with a notarized letter or something to pick it up. Now it looks like we won't be able to pick up the license until the week of the wedding, which is a little too close to the deadline for my comfort (even for the procrastinator in me!). I'd just think with such large military areas in VA with the DC area and Hampton Roads and all, there'd be easier ways for it to get done.

But I ramble. The important thing is, that it's finally all coming together, we've been able to keep family in check and it won't end up being an overwhelmingly big to-do (neither Zach nor I are big party people). And really, as long as we're married by the end of the day, it's all good!

(Only 32 days to go!!)

I can has blog!

So I have joined the 21st century and created a blog. I don't know how much I'll be posting or what I'll be chattering about yet, but I know I'll cover a lot of knitting projects, a lot of whatever I'm up to, a bit of whatever's on my mind.

So first rambling topic, the source of my blog title:

1 - I knit. A lot. Not as much as I'd like to, but I do have to go to work at some point, so as to support the yarn habit.

2 - I love penguins. Since I was in high school swimming competitively, I've had a good luck stuffie shaped like a penguin (inspiration: Tacky the Penguin by Helen Lester - check it out). Once I started running, the penguin gained additional meaning from John Bingham's column in Runner's World. I, too, run slowly like the aquatic animal on land.
Hence, the penguins. Love 'em.

3 - The two came together when I saw the work of JGoode and his line of The Penguin drawings, including one knitting, of course! Adorable!!


Though, how he knits without thumbs, I'm not sure....

And thus was born, The Knitting Penguin!


And now off to pack for the Thanksgiving whirlwind family visits. Until later!