To celebrate my 60th post!

A free pattern for you all! Something nice to celebrate! I will try and get this uploaded as a pdf as well, to make things easier for anyone interested in the pattern. For bigger versions of the pictures here, just click on the thumbnails here.

ZACH’S DOUBLE-KNIT SCARF

My husband (still weird writing that!) is a Virginia Tech grad and when we were dating, asked for sweater at one point. Fearing the curse (he’s a good one – didn’t want him getting away), we settled on a hat & scarf set for his birthday instead. Not knowing if he had a burgundy-with-orange or orange-with-burgundy preference, I decided to make him a reversible set. I made the hat working from Knitty’s “Not Your Grandma’s Double-Knit Hat” and “One Warm A$$ Double Knit Hat", both available free online. The scarf was harder to find, online or otherwise. There are several reversible hat patterns available on the web, but the only scarf patterns I was finding were in books and not quite what I wanted. So, out of necessity, this is what I came up with.

If you’re unfamiliar with double-knitting (as I was), there a two ways to do it. The basic premise is the same for both methods – you are creating two pieces of fabric at the same time. As you’re working, you are looking at the front of one piece, and the back of the other. Ideally, this creates a pocket between the two fabrics. There’s even a pattern I’ve seen online for making a small bag using this technique. I made several potholders for family members as I was practicing the technique. The two layers make wonderful insulation, making it very suitable for potholders, and also resulting in a very warm scarf. My husband is one of those permanently chilled types, so he has loved having this nice warm scarf the past few years.

These are some of the references I consulted as I was teaching myself how to double-knit. There are 2 styles of double-knitting. You’ll see this as you read through the references below. I didn’t use the ‘slip & slide’ method, but knit a stitch from the ‘front’ side of the fabric, and then purled the matching stitch from the ‘back’ side of the fabric. This way, both sides are worked at once, with stitches from each side of the fabric alternating on your needles.

• Stitch Diva - lots of pictures and explains all the steps of the process in nice detail
• Knitting Help – if videos help more than still pictures, this page on KnittingHelp.com has videos of double knitting
• Woolworks – There are a few notes on Woolworks on double-knitting, but no pictures.
• Knitty – Not-your-grandma’s-double-knit Hat – yes, it’s a hat, but it’s got some nice pointers and tips to make your first DK project go more smoothly
• One Warm A$$ Double-Knit Hat – this uses the ‘slip & slide’ method of DK, but if that is more comfortable for you, this has a good explanation of it.
• InKnitters magazine, Spring 2005 also has a good article, but I do not know if it is still in print. If you have a copy, check it out.

Materials:
Yarn: Plymouth Encore (100g, 3 ½ oz, 200 yds per skein - 75% Acrylic, 25% Wool) 2 skeins each color A and B (For VT - Colors 999 burgundy and 1383 orange)

Choose your own school colors, or whatever nice contrasting colors take your fancy! The important thing for this scarf is that the weights of the yarns be the same/very similar. The idea is to get the contrast with the color, not weight or texture (that type of scarf is also possible, but would look very different than this one).

Needles & Notions:
US Size 10 (or size needed to achieve gauge).
Crochet hook/tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Finished Dimensions:
9 inches wide x 73 inches long

Gauge:
16 stitches x 23 rows = 4 inches in double-knit stockinette stitch

Directions:
Cast on 72 stitches. This is twice the number of stitches used in each side. Every other stitch will be side A, and the rest will be side B. Another way to achieve this same result is to cast on 36 stitches with both colors held together.

Begin Chart. I’ve summarized the striping pattern below
1 K selvedge (knit 1 stitch of both A and B held together)
2 K stitches A (each paired with P stitch B)
2 K stitches B (each paired with P stitch A)
1 K stitch A (paired with P stitch B)
2 K stitch B (each paired with P stitch A)
1 K stitch A (paired with P stitch B)
2 K stitches B (each paired with P stitch A)
14 K stitches A (each paired with P stitches B)
2 K stitches B (each paired with P stitch A)
1 K stitch A (paired with P stitches B)
2 K stitches B (each paired with P stitch A)
1 K stitches A (paired with P stitch B)
2 K stitches B (each paired with P stitch A)
2 K stitches A (each paired with P stitch B)
1 K selvedge (knit 1 stitch of both A and B held together)
___
72 stitches/2 sides = 36 st at 16 st/4 in = 9 in.

NOTE: Except for the selvedge stitches on the edges, each block on the grid represents 2 stitches (a ‘front’ and a ‘back’). Remember, you are knitting up both sides of the fabric at once. Look at the chart as the pattern for one side of the scarf, then each time you knit in one color, purl in the other. The ‘front’ of the scarf will look like the chart, and the ‘back’ will be the reverse.

Continue knitting *k1 A, p1 B* following chart until the scarf measures 73 inches long (or as long as desired).

I bound off using only one yarn. To do this, bind off working through both the ‘front’ and ‘back’ strands of yarn, treating them as a single stitch. This acts as a k2tog decrease, and joins the two panels together, instead of creating a pocket. For the edge stitches, work through both strands of the end stitch, again working it as one stitch.

Some tips to help:

• Remember that any time you knit in your main color, you'll purl in your contrasting color.
• Carry both colors together from front to back. In other words, if you are knitting, both yarns are behind your work; if you are purling, both yarns are in front. You only actually knit or purl one yarn at a time. It's just that both are there hanging out together, as it were. It helps keep things from getting tangled.
• Keep your stitches firm and even. This REALLY helps.
• Try practicing first. I worked several pot holders before attempting the scarf. It helps you get the hang of how to hold the yarns and how to keep your tension even.

Enjoy! As always, if there are questions, please let me know. This is the first time I’ve tried writing up one of the patterns I’ve ‘unvented’ so feedback is always appreciated!

And, of course, the standard wording applies. Thanks very much for checking out my pattern. You are welcome to make any of my patterns for yourself, a friend, or charity, but please do not sell the finished product. If you would like to share the pattern, please do not sell it or try to pass my work off as your own. If you make one of the patterns, I would love to see pictures! Please consider sending me a picture, or letting me know on ravelry (I’m oddbird26).

I truly hate my job

I went in to work this morning, and somehow ended up in the middle of a inter-office bickerfest. It's never good when you open your e-mail first thing in the morning and see about 12 e-mails bouncing around your e-mail from a bunch of managers.

I honestly made a mistake, I'll admit. Unfortunately it was a mistake over something that one of the regional directors of the company tends to get his panties in a bunch over. This company has a lot of hot-tempered, knee-jerk-reaction-type folk, and a lot seem to be people who feel a need to justify their worth. Add to that, the fact that our company fosters an environment of suspicion, hostility and between-office bickering, and you get a nice little e-mail storm, which I got caught in the middle of. Being lowly peon that I am, I just had to be quiet and suck it up, as actually yelling “You people are INSANE!” wouldn’t have gone over well. One of those days where you get so frustrated, you want to yell or punch something, but can’t, and you just end up feeling like you’re going to explode. I was seriously in tears, because I was so frustrated that I wanted to put my fist through a wall, and (obviously) couldn't at work. (On a completely unrelated note, I need to find a dojo in CA to start training again....)

So, since I was so mad I couldn't see straight, I helped Tom (another one of my unfortunate coworkers) clean out our equipment room. Good cathartic chucking-of-stuff. Expiration date past? Throw it out! Don't know what it is? Throw it out! And we actually saw progress being made! Our department equipment room was a very scary place. Thankfully, most of my stuff doesn't need to be kept in there, because that room would seriously creep you out, it was so filthy. However, as our department grows and the equipment we invest in becomes nicer, the decision was made to clean out our equipment room and get it in order. Worked out for me today, since I was so mad I would have thrown my monitor across the room if I'd had to sit at my computer today and type.

The cleaning did help. After lunch (good comfort food and venting with Amy) I was feeling almost myself again. And the equipment room is pretty much usable! One of the technicians is going to make us shelves to hold a lot of the bulkier equipment, but all of our smaller stuff is tucked away into the cabinets (which are now clean!). Tom even swept and mopped the floor! He couldn't get all the stains off - the red clay 'round here, as well as some of the chemicals we handle do leave their marks. On the other hand, there was a nice clean area around our equipment room doorway, where you could see the division between our equipment area and the area of the field technicians (their floor was still filthy!) Way to go, Tom!

The whole thing with the e-mails this morning, though, was that it was over a ridiculous little thing. It's something that shouldn't be as big of an issue as it is, but since this company is structured oddly, it makes the issue more than it should be. The company is structured almost in a franchise set-up. The individual offices operate very independently of each other for the most part. All the admin and stuff is together, and there are lots of corportate meetings and such, but basically, the different branch offices are set up to be competitors. Weird set up - as Amy says, "we aren't friends with the other offices." I prefer to think of it as a company policy of "Does Not Play Well With Others." Leads to a lot of bickering and stupid infighting between the offices. Some people get along great with each other (mostly project level-types, like me, or managers in very small offices), but some get very weird about things (mostly managers and regional-level staff and up). Ridiculous waste of time and effort, getting all heated up about such trivial things - can't we all just get along? 'Course I think that of most politics, not just the office kind.

So today was very tiring, in a very different way than yesterday. BUT! Tomorrow is Friday!! And Amy and I are in the field tomorrow, and then it's the weekend, which means I don't have to see any of those idiots at the office FOR ANOTHER 3 DAYS!!

Woohoo!! (Yeah, I'm a regular Girl Gone Mild!) ;)

Wallowing

Blargh. I hate these days.

Work is draining (though with branch manager gone, it has been a noticably less tense atmosphere in the office these past two days - hope he's gone tomorrow too). But it's like senior-itis - I feel like I've got miles of things to do, but no time or energy to get them done, and a part of me doesn't even care if I do get them done. And the rest of me recognizes that this attitude isn't like me at all. Like I said, draining.

Getting ready for the move is exciting, but overwhelming sometimes (a lot of the times). It's exciting to have a new start ahead of me, get out of this job, this town, but I worry about how much can actually change, y'know? I know - I'm a worry wart.

Nothing to be done, I suppose, but try to get to bed early tonight and try again tomorrow. Not a long or exciting post tonight, but I feel neither rambly nor exciting. Just gotta keep plugging it out one day at a time.

Blood! I must have Blood!

(please insert the Dracula voice there - makes more sense that way!)

So today was the blood drive here at work. It's actually been nice having them come right to work. Don't have an excuse for not donating! Unlike my sister and several good friends, I don't pass out from needles, so I don't feel I have an excuse for not donating. I just forget sometimes... This way, they're right in front of work, and since I've given each time they come by, the next time they come is the next time I'm due to donate! Works out very nicely. :)

I'm worried that they won't get a great turn-out today, because so many people from the office aren't in today. A lot of folk are out in the field, including 2 who I know donate regularly, more's the pity. Also including our branch manager! Yay! No snarky comments or bad moods looming over the office (I swear that man is like Eeyore, with the thunderclouds hovering over him).

Still, there are several here who have given blood this morning, myself included. I really like the Blood Connection here. They can actually stick my elbow well (I am notoriously hard to stick with a needle) and they wrap up my elbow nicely, so I've never had the nasty-big bruises like when I donated at school. And the free t-shirts afterwards actually come in sizes other than XXXXXXXL!! So I can get a good workout t-shirt that fits! Ooh! and the snacks afterwards aren't just dry cookies, but include Hostess snackies (HoHos and NutterButters and Zebra Cakes...!) It's the little things that make me happy :)

So save a life! Give blood!

At least if you don't pass out from needles - that doesn't do anyone any good. Just find another way to do something nice for someone else today instead!

Quizzy-quizzy-quiz

I told you, these things crack me up!


What Edward Gorey Death will you die?

You will be smothered under a rug. You're a little anti-social, and may want to start gaining new social skills by making prank phone calls.

Which Saved by the Bell character are you?

You're Bayside High's fearless leader. You see the people you work with as one big family, and you want to be sure it's a happy one. You always try to do what's best for the people around you, even if that occasionally means giving them detention. Your biggest dream is to earn your students' admiration and respect, but it had better not be fake! As you'd so eloquently put it, "I'm not a straw -- don't suck up."

Who's your Saved by the Bell style Icon?

Sometimes Kelly dresses sexily, and sometimes she dresses like a child, but no matter what this girl wears, she always looks adorably appealing. No matter how much skin she shows, she still looks sort of wholesome. If you think you share that special ability, here's what we suggest wearing:

• Denim shorts (rolled up)
• 3/4 sleeve jackets and sweaters (cropped)
• Cropped T-shirts (with rolled up sleeves)
• Flower-patterned jeans (if they're not cropped, roll 'em up)
• Mini skirts
• Fitted, off-the-shoulder tops

Style tip: You're one of the only people in the world who can wear short-alls (you know… the overalls that are shorts?) and not look like a five year old. Make the most of that!

What Greek Goddess are you most like?

Demeter, Godess of the Harvest

You are most like Demeter, the wise and cunning Godess of the Harvest, and mother of Spring. People rely upon you as a main source of nourishment in their life. You are one of the most suttle powers in the world. You have so much power over those who oppose you, and that is because the respect people have for you. Demeter is not a tantrum throwing Godess, like almost all others, but is more suttle in exacting her revenge. She, like you, trusts in those who are close to her to no end, and you would support and never question the decisions of a friend or family member, so great is your trust. You are a decision maker, and you never sit back to let fate decide itself. A strong believer in the afterworld, you are adimite about things such as karma, or good deeds coming back to you, as well as bad deeds catching up with you.

3805 other people got this result! This quiz has been taken 23661 times. 16% of people had this result.

What sort of cookie are you?

You're a Gingersnap! You're sweet and kind, but never dull. Your flavorful personality and snappy style make a memorable first impression. Some people don't appreciate your spicy sense of humor, but your friends can't get enough of those witty wisecracks. You're smart, fresh, and totally tasty. Everyone wants a bite of you.

Two FO!

I really am trying to do the FO Friday, but my FOs haven't lined up with Fridays yet. Well, at least I'm trying, and having the Friday goal to have a FO to post is actually helping me work through a lot of the UFOs lying around my apartment hibernating. So, I guess it all works out in the end :)

The shrug I actually did have finished on Friday, but it was still blocking, so no pictures for a post then. But, Zach came into town for the weekend and the shrug finished drying, and here are pictures!

This sweater came about because I needed a short-sleeve white cardigan since my old one was ‘well-worn’ (i.e. stretched shapeless through years of wear). I really like this pattern, and this was a perfect opportunity to use it. I began working with 2 strands Jiffy held together to give gauge, but decided that was too thick a fabric, so frogged and re-worked with 1 strand on smaller needles. This yarn is nice and wears pretty well without being too expensive, but it's very fuzzy and sticks to itself like glue - the frogging was a NIGHTMARE! The finished project, though, I love! It's a nice simple pattern without being boring, and I'd definitely make it again in another color.

I did make a few changes, using a smaller gauge, added garter stitch borders at hem and sleeve cuffs instead of ribbing, sleeve length closer to 3/4 than the original cap sleeves, decreased a little on the sleeves to keep them fitted. The next time I make it, I'll make a wider garter stitch borders along sides of front panels, as it tends to curl a little as-is (possibly because of the smaller yarn I used) so maybe 3-4 stitch wide border instead.

My other FO this week was the mid-January dishcloth KAL. I love the yarn this is in - so ridiculously bright! Like a tropical fish exploded! I've got similar yarn in a pink-orange-yellow colorway, which is equally bright. Dishclothes from that yarn will be coming eventually :)

A 5K and related thoughts

One of the major road races in the area was this morning. The Greenville News Run Downtown 5K. 31st year for this race today, so one of the bigger turn-outs in the area. Another race I had to talk Zach into :) It's not that he doesn't like the races; he just feels out of shape (bah!!) and hates running in the cold. And the running-in-the-cold thing is pretty possible for a race in January. Today certainly didn't disappoint. When we left for the race this morning, the weather was, as Zach put it, "overcast with a chance of freezing death." Translation: cloudy and 33.

So, yes, we did have to bundle up a little, but it wasn't windy (like last year - brr!!!) and once you got running, it really wasn't that bad. My time actually wasn't horrible, considering I've run twice in the past 2 1/2 weeks and have spent most of the past week trying to breath comfortably even when I'm sitting (stupid cold....). By my watch, I ran 31:34, so right about my 10 min pace. Can't seem to break that pace by very much, no matter the distance. Zach gets the biggest kick out of that. My best pace is 9:00 in a 5K and just over 11 in a half-marathon. Apparently I only have one speed.

Come to think of it, my swim coaches used to fuss at me for that too....

Races in downtown Greenville are always interesting. Whoever plans these courses always seems to put the worst hill of the whole route in the last mile. Doesn't matter the distance, or which race it is, or what - that last mile always has the worst hill. And the funny thing is, that these races all us different courses, so this Horrible Hill is not even the same one in each race! And it's not because you're getting tired - it would've been a horrible hill even if it was at the beginning of the race! Zach actually liked the rolling course. 'Course growing up in hilly central VA and going to school at VT, he's more used to the hills than lil' ol' flatlander me. I'll admit it - I don't DO hills. I'm a beach person at heart, and I like our races at the oceanfront back home :) I'm getting more used to hills having lived here for 2 years, but that doesn't mean I like them!

Running races this big can be fun, but I also had a few gripes this morning, that shows maybe I'm getting some experience with how races are to be run - race etiquette, I suppose. I know I should have started farther up in the pack o'racers than I did, so of course I had to avoid a lot of walkers, but at the same time, if your shoe comes untied, Don't stop in the middle of the course to retie it! Move to the side! Also, please watch the flow of runners. The slower runners/walkers should be toward the sides of the road, allowing the faster folk to flow down the middle of the road. Don't walk 5 or 6 folk across down the middle of the road! It makes it very hard to get around you if need be. I know I was a newbie at one point too, but at the same time, some of this is common sense and politeness...

Oh, and I almost forgot. Since this 5K is sponsored by our paper, The Greenville News, pictures from the race are posted online. There are already pictures posted tonight, and I'm sure there are more to come. Last year there were several albums from the race posted on the Greenville News site, so I'm sure there will be a bunch of pictures again this year. Don't know yet if Zach or I are in any, but that doesn't mean there aren't some neat pictures there anyway! :) Here's a sample from the start of the race:

And it's ridiculous, but something as simple and non-work-related as a 5K made me think of how much I hate my current job. This race was part of the Corporate Shield Race Series. The Corporate Shield events are races in this area in which teams of employees enter local road races. They enter the races like normal, and the company team scores points based on the number of company employees who finish the event, with more points in employees place. Over the season, points are accumulated and scored against other companies, with trophies given to the company with the most points at the end of the year. There are a lot of companies that do this - today alone I saw team shirts for several of the hospitals in the area, MetLife, Michelin, a computer system design firm, GE Engineers and Fluor Engineering.

Anyway, we were talking last summer at my office about getting the company involved in the community. One engineer (no longer with the company) started a blood drive, which is still held at our office even though she's no longer with our office. I suggested sporting events, like the Corporate Shield races teams, or helping to sponsor a race (get our logo on the back of the T-shirt or whatever), or sponsoring a hole at a local golf tournament - whatever! There were several other community-involvement sort of ideas proposed, but these are the ones I remember.

Now, I understand running's not for everyone. I'm not asking them to run with me. But at the same time, the community involvement ideas (save for the golf tournament) were met with almost open hostility and disregard. Eye-rolling type responses. It's things like this that are bugging me more and more about this company. I mean, just because our branch manager doesn't have (and doesn't seem to want!) a life outside work, doesn't mean that the rest of us don't want to get involved, or that the community wouldn't respond well to the ideas put forth. It's ridiculous how anti-change these people are! Just because you've never done it that way before doesn't mean that it isn't a good idea. You should be accepting of new ideas, not quashing them in a display of teenage disgust. I'm sorry, but if you're over 13 (he's 40-some), you shouldn't be rolling your eyes as much as our branch manager does! The man still makes snarky comments about the blood drive too. It's ridiculous!! We don't ask him to give blood, he doesn't need to do a blasted thing for it. But somehow, I suppose, it offends him that people are taking 30 minutes from their day to do something good for the community.

I think it bothered me so much this morning, thinking about it, because I was seeing all those shirts from companies big and small, including other engineering companies (granted, other types of engineering). Companies that actually do get out there into the community and do something, encourage their employees to have lives outside the office. Not like my company. Soon after I started in this office, the joke was made that "In the president's mind, what are Saturday and Sunday? Two more work days til Monday!" If only I'd realized then how true that was...

Bunny fun!

Bunspace - a networking and online community for bunnies! Yes, the bunnies actually have their own pages. They list likes and dislikes, can post pictures, and link to other bunny friends! Pure silliness....Bet you didn't know a site like this existed!

and yes, Joey does have his own page now. A buns of the technological age!

If you were interested, there's also one for cats - mycatspace!

When I found the Bunspace page (courtesy the Bunny group on Ravelry), Amy immediately wondered if there was one for cats. There is, and now her cat has his own page too. A good day for tech-savvy pets everywhere!

Work, again

As each day passes, I get more and more frustrated with this job. My eyes are open now concerning this place, and each day just provides more evidence as to how screwy this place is, and how horrible the working conditions are. Like when you already know how to see the magic eye, that's all you can see in the picture. Or the helicopter in the "Miss Saigon" posters..(points if you get that reference!)

And when I talk about working conditions...I mean, we're not sweat-shopped or anything ridiculous like that. I work in a consulting firm, good ol' office work most of the time. But how this company treats people is just horrible.

Amy and I will be both leaving in the next month or so, heading out to bigger and better things, and have started to put together a list of gripes, issues, grievances, bitter rantings, etc. We both figure that when we leave, we will be totally honest with our immediate manager, with whom we have no grievance. She has been just fine to work for (a bit more stressed these last six months or so, but a new baby will do that to you). Both Amy and I feel that we should be honest with her about our reasons for leaving, since it has been, for the most part, things beyond her control.

We're trying to put together these grievances (The Manifesto o' Bitter Yet Justified Rantings) in an ordered and coherent and logical manner. There's a lot that our manager won't be able to change, simply company structure or politics or personalities, but she should at least be aware of the situation that our replacements will be put in. I could go into them here, but I'm just so tired of going over it again and again. I just want this last month or so to go by smoothly and quickly and get me out of here.

Though, I'm really rather looking forward to the end of Feb/beginning of March. The ability to just be totally honest about everything around here. Really a rather freeing feeling. I mean, what are they going to do - fire me? They'd have to pay severance pay then, and this cheapskate company tries to avoid paying for ANYTHING if it can help it! I'll be very good to save my honesty until my last week or so, so as to not push my luck, though. And the best part is, since I won't be working in the same city after I leave here (or state or region or even the same time zone), I don't have to worry about maintaining professional relationships with some of the idiots working here! If I was staying in Greenville, then that might be a consideration, but I've got my references lined up to cover my time working here, so I can burn the other bridges and leave with a healthy state of mind. First time my mind's been so relaxed since I started working here!

My friend Megan here in Greenville was asking about if my office was hiring. A friend of hers and her husband's is moving into the area, and has a similar educational background to me. I'm just going to tell her, "I don't know if they'll be hiring or not, but I wouldn't recommend this company to anyone. There are better companies in the area that do what we do, with better equipment and training and pay. Go there instead."

Honestly, I wouldn't wish this place on my worst enemy. Well, maybe on them, but not on anyone else.

Yeah, if you couldn't tell, today was a frustrating day at work.....

So it's no longer Wednesday...

...but that doesn't mean I don't have WIPs to share!

Two actively on the needles right now. Well, one on the needles and one blocking. But it's still blocking, and not totally finished yet, so it's still a WIP! There are more on the needles, but these are the two I've been working on this week.

Here are pictures:

I've just started the mid-January Dishcloth. The mid-month dishclothes are patterns, not pictures, so they're very well suited for varigated yarns. This one'll be in the bright green-blue-yellow Sugar'n'Cream cotton, because I've got tons of it. Have the seed stitch border done so far.

The other project is the one that's blocking, the Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet. This was the fuzzy white yarn that was causing me so much trouble earlier in the month. Well, I'm definitely glad I reworked it, because I'm very happy with how it came out. It's stretched out blocking now, to get the front borders to lie flat, as they should. Here it is stretched out on my dining table.

Thinking of WIPs, I thinking about joining the crowd and doing Clapotis, from Knitty, using the ribbon yarn I've got. I saw someone else make a Clapotis using ribbon yarn, to make more of a shawl than a scarf, and that's really what I'm aiming for. If not Clapotis, then maybe Boob Tube from Stephanie Japel (Glampyre) or the Minimalist Shrug from Interweave Knits.

Decisions, decisions...

I'm tryin', honest I am...

Stupid cold just won't die. I've been stuffy and hoarse and groggy since Friday afternoon. And it's now Wednesday. It hasn't been so much of a cold as to be totally disabling, but it's just frustrating!! I don't like being sick (honestly, though, who does??) but this just becomes more frustrating as I'm trying so hard to get into a running routine, and being sick rather sinks that. I come home from work totally drained (more so than usual) and can't work out then, but can't wake up to work out early either.

But I want to! Honestly I do! I'm happier when I work out regularly. I sleep better, my eating habits are better, my clothes fit better, all those endorphins are coursing through my veins keeping me nice and happy (as happy as I ever am in this horrible place, but still...). All those reasons that experts tell us to work out regularly, I know they're true. I can see it when I am in a regular workout routine.

I feel like it was a major accomplishment to get to the gym today. Got home after dark, when it was cold and damp, and figured it wasn't the best idea to run outside in such weather with a cold. Can we all say 'relapse'? So off to the treadmill I went. They're re-doing the weight room at my apartment complex, and so all the equipment has been moved to a temporary location during the construction. The changes they're planning are great, but the temporary location for the treadmills has the most uninspiring view. A wall. A plain white wall. I'd bring an MP3 player in for my runs, except I don't have one. I'd bring a radio in, except the radio stations around here are pathetic. I'm not saying where I grew up had PERFECT radio stations (I've heard some really good ones as I've been traveling for work), but it does have some really good ones. Unlike Greenville. And Columbia (where Zach is) is even worse. This whole state has some pretty pathetic airplay, honestly. But I digress. The point is, radio here isn't great to run to.

So I ran for 50 minutes today listening to the sound of the treadmill and my own labored breathing. But I did it! Not my fastest run ever. But I did it, so I am proud of myself. I hope I can keep riding the momentum and run again tomorrow. I'll take Friday off, probably, because Saturday is a 5k here in Greenville, and then Sunday Zach and I were thinking of going hiking if the weather's nice. I'm hoping it will be nice - it's been either drizzly, foggy, or oppressively grey and gloomy all week. Like home, honestly! I keep laughing, this is the winter I'm used to - 35 degrees, grey and drizzly! Not gonna be like that where I'm moving to...

Anyway, I feel very proud of my accomplishment tonight. My slow, plodding little jog. And I do feel better. And tired. Very tired. So, I think I'll listen to that feeling and head to bed. :)

G'night all!

Is this an omen?

I opened my Penguin bar after dinner today, and the joke on the wrapper was:

What do you call a penguin in the desert?
Lost.

Oh dear....

Thought you'd seen it all?

Check this out!

http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2006/04/were_getting_ou.html

It's absolutely adorable, but I don't think Joey would go for it (though he would be quite dashing in a little sweater like that!)

haHA! A FO!

Been a while since I was working on anything but I Do, but I am BACK! This time, I've finished a dishcloth. Not much, I know, but after working 2 months on a huge lace project, finishing anything in less than a week seems like a big accompolishment. Even if it's only 8 in. square :)

This is part of the 2008 Dishcloth KAL (knit-along). Each month has 2 dishclothes to knit, one at the beginning of the month with an image, often themed for the month (better for solid yarns) and one mid-month with a pattern (better for multi-colored yarns). The instructions are sent out a little at a time, and you don't see any pictures as you knit it, just the instructions, so it's a suprise at the end! A fun way to use up my large stash of cottons, and create something useful at the same time!

This was January's first dishcloth (it's a football). The mid-month one is on my needles now, so I'll have a picture later this week. Ta-da:

I can quit anytime, I swear!

So was hitting up Popcap and Yahoo games again this weekend...Bad move, Lara, bad move. Homes to dozens of addicting little puzzle games, and the end of whatever productivity I hoped to have on the computer.

I'm not a gamer. I don't deal well with the multi-player RPG or video games. Something that has dozens of screen views all at once, well, I just can't track it all, and it ends up making my head hurt instead. Shows my age, maybe :) And we didn't grow up with a Nintendo set, so I don't handle complex button combinations. Do much better with simple driving games, or hack-and-slash set-ups. Ask me to walk around somewhere though, or handle a multi-button attack, and I'll end up in front of a wall unable to turn around.

But give me a simple little puzzle game, brightly colored patterns to clear or build or some such, and I'm there! The one that got me yesterday was Bricks Breaking on Yahoo Games. One of those simple little clear-the-blocks set ups that sounds really boring, but then you get to the end of the level, and you've only got 3 blocks left. So close! You can do better next time! And next time, you've only got 1 block left. So close! You can do better next time! And next time....

'Scuse me. The bricks are calling....

B is for...

Bunny!

Seriously, would B be anything but my little buns? He OWNS the letter B. He's my Beautiful Brown Bright-eyed Baby Bunny Boy! And here he is in a Box! Beautiful Brown Bright-eyed Baby Bunny Boy in a Box!! At the time of this picture, he was inside the box eating it (and the newspaper inside!), but it's like cats - they're so cute sitting in things!

PS - For the record, no his eyes aren't red like that. They're really very brown, but red-eye reducer doesn't like to reduce for his eyes; they turn out yellow, which is even weirder looking than the red!

PPS - I think I found a red-eye-reducer that actually works! Yay Picnic!

Speaking of wedding pictures...

I never showed you all how I Do turned out! Shame on me! I've a few pictures here, both from the house, when I finally unpinned it post-blocking, and from the wedding day itself, to see it in the right setting and all :)

I really like how it turned out, honestly. The cotton took FOREVER to dry during blocking (it was very rainy and humid outside, so that didn't help - probably not a problem I'll be having with my blocking in a couple months!) The shots at the house were from when it had finally dried and I could try it on. Then just weaving in the ends, and it was all done!

I wore it the whole day. It was just enough cover on my arms to keep the chill off. Just what I needed! And it went well with the dress, too. The dress itself it so simple, that the lacy shrug was just enough laciness. A nice balance. If the dress had been too busy, beading or lace or ruffles or something, it wouldn't have worked so nicely with the shrug.

The lace pattern was a little obnoxious at times, just being such a long repeat, and that P3tog was awkward sometimes. I was faster, I noticed on the second half of the sweater, so I guess eventually the pattern started getting into my hands. Just took a bit longer than some of the simpler stitch work I've done before. And I worried for the longest time during the knitting that it would turn out weird - I dont have enough experience with lace yet to be able to 'read' it unblocked. It just looks weird and limp and lumpy until it is blocked. But it all turned out! Overall, I think I might make it again, if someone asked me to, or I might make it again for me in a different yarn and a different lace pattern. Shouldn't be too difficult to work it in another 12 st lace pattern, maybe Feather and Fan, and all the shaping would be the same. We'll see if there's ever the call for it!

Woohoo! Wedding pictures are HERE!

I am still sorting through and labeling and all, but the pictures from the photographer have arrived!

Yay! (everyone run around like Kermit in the Muppet Show!) Yaaay!

Once I get them all sorted and incorporated with the family pics and posted to my flickr account, I'll let you all know again, but for right now, this is just a preview.

Don't we clean up well? :)

Dear Fashion Industry,

I have a simple question to ask you, and I would appreciate a simple answer, if you can find time in your busy schedules to tear yourselves away from the latest Hollywood starlet's nonexistent tops and $700 jeans to answer an average consumer.

Why is it that there are no good, affordable fashions for the twenties-thirties professional female??

A friend and I went shopping last week, and were frustratingly unsuccessful. This is not a one time occurance. I've been looking at clothes for myself as I sort out my closet pre-move. My sister's is also reaching this age range, now that she's out of college. We all agree: It's ridiculous!!!

We are not teenagers anymore. Nor are we in college. Teensy belly shirts, and low-low rise jeans revealing our underwear to the world do not belong in our daily lives anymore. We do not wear tank tops and graphic T's except on the weekends and at home. After college, our wardrobes are have more T-shirts than we will ever use in a lifetime.

At the same time, we are not matrons. We still wear fashionable jeans, not Mom-jeans. We do not neet the pantsuits with the flowers on the shirt matching the pattern on the pants. We do not want shirts which read "I Love My Grandchildren." In 30 years, we may want these clothes, but for now, we need something appropriate to our own age range.

We are professionals. We want professional looking clothing. Showing up to meet clients in a cute little graphic T is simply not appropriate. Despite what a manager in my office seems to think, hoodies likewise have no place in the workplace. Not even cute little cropped or intricately cabled ones.

The clothing we need is available. Tailored shirts, business suits, professional skirts and pants, sweaters...these items are not unheard-of. What we need is to find these items within our own price range. Paying over $100 for a simple pair of slacks may be feasible for a branch manager with a corner office. For the professional peon in the cubicle, that's a significant chunk of our paycheck.

Please, our request is not absurd. There is a segment of the population which is being overlooked by the fashion market. We request that this oversight is redressed, so that we too may be appropriately dressed.

Awaiting news with baited breath,

Disgruntled Shopper

Sounds about right...

From UPenn's Psychology Department.
http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/default.aspx

UPenn has a Positive Psycology program which "focuses on the empirical study of such things as positive emotions, strengths-based character, and healthy institutions." Basicall, they are studying ways to be happier. They look at how to feel more satisfied, more engaged with life, regardless of one’s circumstances, and they are also looking at how this affects depression symptoms. Obviously, after two years of torture here in my thankless job, this is interesting to me!

Anyway, the site also has questionnaires, as well as information. How Happy Are You? Work-Life Satisfaction (yeah, that one was low), Appreciation of the Past, Optimism for the Future, you get the idea. One of the questionnaires was a big long one, looking at Character Strengths. There are 24 Strengths that they looked at, and after answering a big long list of questions, looked at how you ranked with these particular character attributes. Here's how I ranked:

• Your Top Strength: Love of learning - You love learning new things, whether in a class or on your own. You have always loved school, reading, and museums-anywhere and everywhere there is an opportunity to learn.


• Your Second Strength: Curiosity and interest in the world - You are curious about everything. You are always asking questions, and you find all subjects and topics fascinating. You like exploration and discovery.


• Your Third Strength: Honesty, authenticity, and genuineness - You are an honest person, not only by speaking the truth but by living your life in a genuine and authentic way. You are down to earth and without pretense; you are a "real" person.


• Your Fourth Strength: Judgment, critical thinking, and open-mindedness - Thinking things through and examining them from all sides are important aspects of who you are. You do not jump to conclusions, and you rely only on solid evidence to make your decisions. You are able to change your mind.


• Your Fifth Strength: Kindness and generosity - You are kind and generous to others, and you are never too busy to do a favor. You enjoy doing good deeds for others, even if you do not know them well.

Seems pretty accurate to me!

You know, this is probably why I'm getting excited about the move too. The whole Love of Learning and Curiousity attributes.... :)

Just another snow picture

The snow was still pretty this morning, so here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy. :)

It's snowing!!

(runs around room excitedly, scaring bunny)


I know I won't be getting a snow day, and I'm still going into work tomorrow anyway (it's not supposed to be that much snow, and it would take an all-out blizzard for our office manager to say 'Stay Home'). But it's snowing!! And at night!! And it's just so pretty! I like watching the snow come down, it's just so soft and quiet. I like watching the rain, too, but snow just has that special quality when it's first coming down, before everything gets all slushy and muddy. And we just don't get that much where I grew up (the beach just doesn't get so much snow, being insulated by the ocean and the bay - stays juuuust warm enough so we get 35 degree rain instead). So snow is still very exciting for me! And isn't it just pretty!?

This picture was taken looking out my window. The street lamp was back-lighting the tree which overhangs the balcony of my apartment, and the tree was all frozen over. With the snow falling in the background and showing up so nicely in the lamplight against the night.... I just had to brave the cold to go out on my balcony and take some pictures! :)

Guess this is probably going to be my last snow for a while. This winter's been so mild, I doubt we'll get much in February or March before we move. And Death Valley isn't really known for it's annual snowfall. Well, I'll just sit back here on the couch with my knitting and my cocoa and appreciate it while I have it!

WIP Wednesday

I've seen this on several knitting blogs around, and I like the idea. WIP Wednesdays, and FO Fridays. A chance to regularly yarn-chatter. If you're not into the yarn chatter, well.... tough beans! :) My blog, my mindless ramblings!

So, this week, the featured WIP is the red scarf I've been working on.

I started this one at the W&M-VT game back in September, and have just been working on it off-and-on the last couple months. Like everything else, it got put totally aside in November and December as I worked on I Do. Nice, simple little free pattern, only 4 rows in the lace repeat. Good little filler project. Which explains why I'm still working on it in January :)

Other WIPs (just the ones actively being worked on, not the hibernating ones):

• Anthropologie-inspired shrug - I'm almost up to (down to? it's worked top-down) where the sleeves separate from the rest of the sweater, so coming along nicely
• Dishcloth KAL January 1 (the football) - yeah, I'm a little behind, having started later in January, but I should be able to catch up quickly. Just dishclothes after all! Not afghans or anything.

Greatest shoes EVER!

Yeah, can't think of anything else to share about these, but had to share them. Simply, the coolest shoes ever. And I mean EVER.

G'Night all.

A is for...

Aquarium!

This is at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta (also an A!). Zach was looking into a really cool tank in the main area of the aquarium. It had that crazy black and white lining in the tank, with Chihule-esque brightly colored glass sculptures floating through the tank. The fish in the tank were starkly colored, black and white and occasional yellow ones. It was a really beautiful tank, very artistic. This was a shot I grabbed as we were heading past, and I'm really happy how it came out.

As for aquaria in general, I love to visit them. Been to several now... Monterey, London, South Carolina, Oregon Coast, Georgia, and I practically grew up at the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach. I'd love to work at one, in animal husbandry or the educational programs department. However, as I'm getting ready to move to the desert in March, we'll see how things go :)

Sounds like fun!

http://knitorious.typepad.com/knitorious/abcalong-2008.html

It's a year-long group where participants post a photo to their blog and/or (if blogless) the ABC-Along 2008 Flickr Group every two weeks to correspond with a letter of the alphabet; there is also an ABC-Along 2008 Ravelry Group.

Photos are to reflect the personality of the photographer; the subject should be of importance or meaning to them; photos can be related to fiber, but it is not required. Post at least one photo in each 2-week period to match the corresponding letter of the alphabet. There are 52 weeks in a year and 26 letters of the alphabet, allowing 2 weeks per letter (Weeks 1&2=A, Weeks 2&3=B). Example: - "A" is for... Alaska, asparagus, alpaca, astronomy... Whatever, as long as it means something to the photographer. Here's the posting schedule:

A = January 1 to 19
B = January 20 to February 2
C = February 3 to February 16
D = February 17 to March 1
E = March 2 to March 15
F = March 16 to March 29
G = March 30 to April 12
H = April 13 to April 26
I = April 27 to May 10
J = May 11 to May 24
K = May 25 to June 7
L = June 8 to June 21
M = June 22 to July 5
N = July 6 to July 19
O = July 20 to August 2
P = August 3 to August 16
Q = August 17 to August 30
R = August 31 to September 13
S = September 14 to September 27
T = September 28 to October 11
U = October 12 to August 25
V = October 26 to November 8
W = November 9 to November 22
X = November 23 to December 6
Y = December 7 to December 20
Z = December 21 to December 31/January 3, 2009

My buttons runneth over...

So, I like blog buttons. Plain and simple. They're bright and happy and are another extension of my real-life habit of collecting small, shiny souvenirs (pins, pressed pennies, etc). So I've been picking them up from lots of websites I frequent and adding them down the side. But, unfortunately, it's created a very long column down the side of the page. Too long to be manageable anymore. What to do??

So...here's my bright idea. I'm collecting them all here in a post, and making it a separate page link instead. Besides giving me more space, this lets me organize them better, too! Am very proud of myself, as am not the most computer-savvy person around (not the worst, but not the best either) so this is an accomplishment of figuring out my own blog. I know it's dorky, but hey - be proud of me! :)

Any new buttons I get, I'll add in here, and it'll always be accessible from the link on the side column? Everybody happy now? I think so. :)


PLACES TO GO

(magazines, reference sites, yarn companies, etc)

PEOPLE TO SEE

(blogs that I like reading, knitting & otherwise)

THINGS TO DO

(community sites, forums, clubs, KALs, etc.)

THESE ARE ABOUT ME!

(pretty much says it all!)