Friday, December 30, 2005

just for fun


just for fun
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
It looks like I am wearing one of those old-fashioned

muffler-hand-warmer things.

sleeve ruffle


sleeve ruffle
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

action shot


action shot
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

Mohair madness


Mohair madness
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

neckband meets bottom edge of front


My first cable sweater


My first cable sweater
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

The "braided" edge with cable cast-on


Done!!!!


Done!!!!
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

Sweater thickness- lotion shown for size comparison

This baby is going to be toasty!

Not just talk...

The other day I was in my local SnB with the knitting wizard, Kelle where we had a blogging discussion. Both of us stated that the previous day (Tuesday) we intended to blog, but it just didn't happen. I have been checking my bloglines subscription lists daily (that's how I keep up with the all the blogging news on the select blogs to which I subscribe) and noticed that there were an absence of new posts. So here I am, following through in my well-intentioned way with a fresh new post. Hot off the brain cells.

Last Thursday was my birthday and following my Pilates class my family and I went to Minneapolis to eat at El Meson. YUMM-O is all I can say. I accidentally watered the table with my tamarind juice, but I stayed calm. How could I not in such a cozy South American/Caribbean atmosphere with delicious and beautiful food?! I had a whole snapper fish. Head, tail, the works. But I did not eat those parts. I have had Snapper brain before and it is really good, but it can be hard to get over the fact that I am eating some little fish's brain. I did not eat this one's. My birthday was great, though, and very tasty with the two different cakes I ate. I had Izzy's dulce de leche ice cream cake, and DH's Grandma made the Pampered Chef baked alaska cake as a surprise:) I also got the magical knitting book so I can knit moebius baskets and such.

I worked in the morning today and had a long awaited chunk of time long enough to sew up the seams in my Vogue Knitting sweater. I learned a lot during this sweater- let's see:

changes I made to the pattern were: I used 10 1/2 needles, and 8's.

I lengthened the sleeves- big surprise I usually need a 22 inch or so long sleeve instead of a 17 inch sleeve for my long arms. The end of the ruffles hit about an inch past my wrist bones.

I raised the v-neck from a scandalous depth to a work-worthy wearable height. This allowed me to complete the cable that was in process instead of having one in mid-cable.

For the cast-on I used the cable cast-on which provided me with a lovely almost braided looking edge for which to knit my ruffle trim.

Kelle, the knitting wizard helped me short row the shoulder seams, then taught me how to create an attached neckband which I kitchnered together to its other side to create a nice seamless neckband finish.

I didn't block it yet. I might later, we'll have to see.

I used KnitPicks Sierra yarn (yay for affordable wonderful fibers) and Kiddy Print mohair ($11/skein). It took me about 4 1/3 skeins of that, and about 5 skeins of Sierra ($4.49/skein). Math people what does that equal? $55 mohair+ $22.45 Sierra= $77.45. Which contrasted with the cost of the pattern version is a huge bargain. That would have cost me about $204 or so bucks.

Plus- I am very pleased with the results, and Dh says it is my best sweater ever. I thought the bottom hem ruffle was a bit ballerina-ish, but DH likes it, and it is growing on me, even as I sit in this desk chair blogging about my sweater as I wear it. It is also the best -fitting sweater I've ever made. Well, enough with the talk- the pictures need to happen now. And I am about to eat crab legs so I need to bring along a back-up shirt so I don't get my new sweater dirty.

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Tons of cookies in the house!

Our house smells lovely, like walking through the once- was- Dayton's- now- is- Marshall Fields holiday display. You know the part where you get near the end, and there's the little nook with Santa and the Franklin Street Bakery's most fanciful holiday cookies. Between Wednesday night with my best friend Elzbieta and this morning while Troy was at church singing, (and rocking might I add to a David Crowder song) cookies have been made in a big WAY! Like more than 11 dozen cookies, not including the cornflake wreaths that are ooh so sticky.

The cookies are for a cookie exchange at my work tomorrow morning. This week should almost feel like a weeks worth of Christmas parties and events because starting Wednesday at Stitch in Bitch a few days worth of fun events begins. A Secret Santa lunch on Wednesday following a morning of getting my oil changed (hopefully) after SnB, Thursday is my work party in the evening (I'm on the committee for it) and Friday- hmm...oh, a work team social event in the afternoon, and Saturday is Dh's Christmas party.

Big news. I've been swimming at our health club. The freezing cold air has forced Dh and I to pursue indoor physical activity. No more running outside with the dogs. That means the dogs have been really naughty- excessive barking, stealing our things, and getting into trouble all around, and that Dh and I have been able to diversify our activities. I have now begun a Pilates class, running on the treadmill, and swimming in the pool. I have lots of memories of bad experiences of Non-Adlerian swimming lessons. The way they were done back then makes swim instructors appear barbaric. I should not have been so traumatized- they would never do that now, as it could be detrimental to my self esteem. Oh wait- it was, that's why I had to wait till I was ready and felt safe to start to get this swimming thing down. And Dh is a great teacher, and there is no 12 feet deep water at the club, only 5 feet, and that I can handle being a 5' 9 1/2 inch person.

Oh, and sometimes I knit. I did the ruffle on my first sleeve of the vogue Knitting v-neck. It might be a little too flouncy for me- I am waiting to get opinions at the next SnB.

Thursday, November 24, 2005

I am not a math queen, and I do like to be certain I have enough yarn- do you think I was on target, or stunningly off-base when I placed this order?!

Kiddy Print mohair from Borealis Yarns, St. Paul, Knitpicks Sierra from

Knitpicks of course! So far I have used one and a half skeins of Sierra

for the back, and not even a whole skein of mohair. Oh- did I tell you

my mohair traumas? After a LONG day of work I came home with a friend

and saw that the puppy had knocked the gate down in the kitchen. The

gate was used to keep her out of trouble, and out of the rest of the

house. Somehow she freed herself, AND unzipped my knitting bag. Yes, it

was tightly zipped when I left it at the start of the day (what was I

thinking leaving my knitting at home?!) and unzipped at home. Mohair

was strewn up and down the steps, Buster had some strands cascading

across his back and one in this sharp teeth happily playing tug of war

with the puppy. I rescued it with my friend providing distractions, and

put it away. About 2 weeks later I was in the bathroom for about 3

minutes, and the mohair was in the same state, dogs playing in it,

tangled hopelessly.



Fast forward- a week out- while waiting for a friend at Cafe Latte I

began the tedious untangling process. Two older ladies stopped to chat,

and encouraged me, "You'll get it untangled, use knitters, we always

do." After Cafe Latte we went to Starbucks where I did indeed get it

wound neatly back up. I think I only had to cut out about 8 inches

total. No worries, and I have been fine and on-guard with my knitting

ever since.



Oh- happy turkey day to all knitters, and happy knitting time If you're

not the turkey cooks!

In progress...


In progress...
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

The back!


The back!
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
At SnB (which I attended for 45 min. instead of the usual 2 hours) I

finished the armholes. I came home and had about 8 rows left till the

back was done, and now it is. Super fast lovely knitting. Wow! Do you

think I can get the front done this weekend?

Yay! for affordable yarn! does this place have gift certificates?

Any tips for yarn dying at home? The red and blue will be my husband's

shovel snow socks once I make them. They are by request.

Plight for the perfect work bag. Search ended at Patina in Uptown with the Milano series.

Trendy, but not stuffy. This carry-it all will take you breezily from

one appointment with rowdy children to another with the same. That's

what I thought when I looked at it and decided to make it mine. It

would also make a rockin' knitting bag. I might have to buy

another...There are 2 large deep pockets on either side, a small zip-up

pocket in the middle, and another small non-zip up pocket, and lots of

space with sturdy handles. Yup I think I want another.

This pic's for you beth blue blogger

Irresistable Color yumminess!

This is a prayer shawl for a dear friend with kidney problems

Say a prayer for her today.

Yippee~ three "firsts" on one pic!

My first thesis, my first thesis award, and my first Koigu hand-painted

yarn skein

Halloween's Chino Latino time- mix your own mojito

With spooky vials of berry puree- you can tell I liked it!

Sunday, November 06, 2005

I am now a master of the universe

According to a fellow blogger and friend. I just had an awesome wicked cool surprise graduation party. I am currently typing while sitting on my husband's lap so the keyboard angle is a bit off. We had Buca food, and hand-made circle decorations, frozen mojito mix, lots of friends and family. I was definitely surprised to see all the people in our house. I was with my Mom and Dad taking my brother to the airport. I was wearing new boots and my feet hurt, but we all walked back and forth between the checkin terminals, and even waited to see if my brother "beeped" when he went through the security detector. Then we had to wave to him. I thought it was a little over the top, but now it all makes sense in the grand scene of things.

I owe a ton of thanks to lots of people for this super duper surprise party. Thank you Mom and Dad for buying Buca for us all and the lovely flower arrangement, thank you Elizabethan for your premium party planning, and decorating skills, thank you Amy for your magnificent chai, thank you Sam and Nat for picking up the Buca food, and Troy of course. I have to admit that I "challenged" him by saying that I didn't know if he could pull off a surprise party- which he felt up to the task to do bless his heart! Thank you all for coming who made it! It was a memorable time for sure, and I LOVE to celebrate!!!

So, by the way, not only was my Master's degree conferred upon me today but more than that happened. I was sitting in my row with other graduates just listening along to the program and watching a few awards getting bestowed on grad school staff. Then it was time for the outstanding thesis award. Rather than announce the winner simply, the faculty decided to create a lot of suspense by reading excerpts from a student's admission statement.

The first line was read and I thought, hmm...that sounded a lot like something I wrote once, like 3 years ago or so. Then the faculty read more stuff, like telling about where this student had traveled and worked in the past. By now my heart was nearly racing out of my chest. I think that is me, I thought. If it is me will I have the strength in my legs to accept the award or will I fall over or something embarassing like that?

Well, it was me. I won the outstanding thesis award. That was the one award given to a student this year, out of the school's largest graduating class. Another student came up to me later to ask my name to "check out" my thesis. I think she wondered how I got the award, and not her, because she is a really scholarly-like person. It felt like she was assessing me, to see if I really could write a good thesis or not. She went on to tell me about her thesis, it was a cross-cultural thesis also (as is mine). All I have to say is that I did work really hard on it, and I definitely appreciate my thesis advisor Roger Ballou who pressed me to do my ultimate best. I figured, I'm writing a thesis, why not write it the absolute best that I can?

Saturday, November 05, 2005

graduation day

Tomorrow at 1pm is graduation from my grad school. Yippee!! We are going out to Epic in Eden Prairie for Sunday brunch beforehand. It doesn't feel real that tomorrow is grad day. I just feel tired from my physically and emotionally exhausting job. This week ended a little tough instead of being a light day to send me of into the weekend. I am trying to relax though, and tomorrow I will CELEBRATE!

I have been knitting on my Mom's sweater. I was nearly done but then realized there was a goof- way too many stitches. So I ripped it out and have begun again. It was about 9 inches that I had to rip out, but it knits up fast when I have time to knit on it. I am trying to wait to start my sweater- the Vogue Knitting v-neck with a big cable down the middle until my Mom's sweater is done. I think I will be needing the knitting needles that are currently in use for her project. So I am w..a..i..t..i..n..g...

Tonight we (Dh and I) are making shrimp with ginger sauce from my favorite Thai cookbook. This morning we went running, DH made french toast and we watched last week's Smallville, and went to church. It was a relaxing day.

Buster news- he had to go to the vet Wednesday because he had a lesion near his tail. At the clinic they shaved his fur in that spot, cleaned it out, gave him a shot of penicillin, and sent me home with instructions to return in 10 days, give Buster benadryl, fatty acid capsules, spray his lesion with hydrocortisone spray, and give him amoxicillin twice a day. He had been licking and biting that spot in the middle of the night at 4am on the dot. It was keeping me up at night with all the noise he made. I didn't even know what the spot looked like until we brought him to the vet because his tail is usually up in the air curling and hiding that area. He is now a lot of work, but it seems that he is feeling better.

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Here's a lights on pic


Here's a lights on pic
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

jack o lanterns


jack o lanterns
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
I watched a little of Food Network's Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade show

and learned how to create artsy pumpkins. Instead of carving all the

way through you use a razor knife to cut a trench and then a paring

knife to cut through the trench. There is another standard jack o'

lantern like pumpkin on the right of it, hardly visible here.



Now we are on a search for my skunk tail. I made the skunk costume in

college and even made a tail out of fleece, faux fur, a coat hanger,

and some of my least favorite t-shirts and towels. But where is

it?!?!?!

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

SnB tomorrow- getting loopy with the Magic Loop

Our own knitting wizardess Kelle will be enchanting us with her magical loop powers. Now that is a SnB not to be missed!!!!Ya'll will be there, right?

Thursday, October 20, 2005

knit n' clean

First off, I have to confess what I just did. I am in the middle of cleaning the bathroom. Before I began I decided I needed to listen to something that would be most enjoyable while cleaning. I went to the ITunes thing on our computer, and thought a podcast would be just the thing. OOH- I will listen to knitting podcasts while I clean the toilet and scrub, scrub, scrub our OLD tub. Let me tell you, cleaning the bathrom is never a fun task albeit its instant gratification of cleaness and freshness, but the podcast listening makes it way better.

My job has been keeping me busy, busy, busy. I still sneak in some knitting here and there, but it has become a less frequent activity. That will change soon though, as I have placed an order with KnitPicks. Can I get a shout out for affordable wool!?! I selected Sierra, a bulky wool in grape (because I surely need a purple cabled sweater), and some red and blue yarn for some toasty wool socks made by request for DH, and a cheap splurge- dyeable lace weight yarn. It was like 4 or 5 bucks for about 400 or 800 (can't remember which) yards. Sweet deal. So, I am lurking and hoping for a soon arrival of my own box of yarn. I placed the order Monday night.

Oh- I am also trying to teach myself the Magic Loop sock knitting method. I'm not sure if it's working correctly, or not. We'll see, someday. Unless any of my helpful knitting friends can straighten me out in this realm.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Knitting discontent

Every now and then, more than I would like to admit, I get into a knitting rut. Not a "I have too many projects" or "too much stash yarn" or anything like that. Instead I get frustrated by my non-stash stash- in which there is not enough of any types of yarn in my guest bedroom/hobby closet to make anything of consequence.

What I would really like to do is be knitting a sweater- something cozy and warm that would allow me to try out some new techniques. Instead I have been knitting socks. I finished my leaf lace socks and they are great, and match each other pretty well, but last night I started a new pair of socks using my size 2 wooden double pointed needles.

Awhile back one of the 5 broke in half and I glued it back together. I made a little mark on it with a marker at its stress point so I wouldn't re-stress it and have it break again. Sometime recently it did break again after holding together for so many rounds. I don't know where the other half of it went. Have you ever tried knitting a sock with a broken/sharp wooden needle? It's tough since it does get in the way every other time around (when knitting in a circle).

And yes, socks on two circular needles would be a fun trick to learn too, but that would require me to buy 2 circular needles of sock size. But I am trying so hard to save my money so I can buy yarn to make the Vogue Knitting v-neck cable sweater that is pink and orange in the magazine.

As for now, I am in the knitting doldrums. Taunted by the many blogs of the stash-laden knitters busy making their projects. I know my life isn't that rough, but sometimes a girl's got to whine. So I whine I will.

And yes, I know that I am knitting on a sweater for my Mom, and this project will be the lucky accompanist to SnB tomorrow morning. So I should be content with that, but for now I'm in a state of knitting discontent.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

passed the oral exam!

It was easy. It was more like a discussion, as my advisor had said, and it was not bad at all. It felt great to get a signed original piece of paper that said that I passed. Nice. We celebrated at Buca in Eden Prairie. I had Chicken Saltimbocca without capers. We also had the mozz. cheese salad-like thing, spaghetti with meat sauce, and fettucine supremo. It was a double date with my best friend and her husband. We had a great time until we saw the flooded roadways.

When we made it back home (this was the night of the torrential, non-stop rains) I "saved our block of houses in our neighborhood" with DH's help. I initiated a storm sewer clean-up which entailed scooping out all the wet fallen leaves from the drainage so our street wouldn't flood. I was up to my elbow in such gook and one of the drainage things was plugged, so we fixed it. There was no flooding on our streets because we saved our block.

Knitting. What is that again? Well, every now and then I get a round or two done on my sock, but it's not for lack of desire. I have been a BUSY girl! This weekend DH and I are leading worship at a camp (the camp where my crush on him intensified while doing said activity a few years ago). This year I get to bring him to the dam. I'm excited. I wanted to do it back then, but the timing wasn't right. Now, we're married so we can go to the dam together:)

I am really hoping my meeting starts at 9:30 and not 9. It's a staff meeting, and we haven't had one for 3 weeks. I'm too lazy to go to my car outside and check my corgi planner in the trunk.

Monday, October 03, 2005

oral exam tomorrow for grad school!!

Tomorrow is the day- think of me from 1:30-3:00pm when I will be sitting in the faculty office at school with two instructors GRILLING ME on my thesis, and everything I learned while at grad school. I did have a study session with a friend to prepare for it, but that was awhile ago. Just to reduce some of my anxiety I will take another look over my notes.

This past weekend I was in upper penisula Michigan for a wedding. Wow is it a trek to get there! The wedding was held outside on basketball courts, looking into the sun. It was 71 or so out there, so it was nice and warm. We stayed at the camp, and did the camplife thing. That includes eating campy food, staying in a dorm-like room in a lodge, and showering in camp-style water. The water smelled like iron and sulfur. I was overjoyed to shower at DH's aunt and uncle's house while passing by on the way back. I exited the car and said to them, "Your house is my sanctuary" or something like that as it too is snuggled into the wilderness, but full of things that make me feel at home (like chai, gardens, and the best shower I've ever experienced).

Let me tell you about the shower. It was a gray Kohler, shiny sparkling clean like new, and it had a light in it. Yes- you could actually see what was going on in there! It was awesome. And its water was thick and soft all at once. I used it twice. Once on the way there when we stopped to sleep mid-way to MI, and on the way back. Both times it was hard to leave the warm refuge.

But back to reality. Work today, and I plan to make squash and tomato soups tonight. I haven't cooked for way too long, and I have lots of tomatos to use from my mother and father in law's garden. Speaking of them, they were kind enough to submit their house and weekend to our two doggies. Both weasel and buster said thankyou and that they had a great time. They are pretty tired now, and we like that too.

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

You have 17 messages...

Oops! That was all I had to say when I heard this on my cell phone today. And double oops as most of them were work-related!

Today I felt like my left hip was vibrating all day. Just that side since that is where I put my pager on my jeans pocket. After awhile it felt like it was vibrating just 'cause I was getting used to it- I didn't notice it NOT going off.

I specifically carved out time in my day for Stitch N Bitch in Eden Prairie from 10-12. When it was 10:45 I was wondering Where the Heck is everyone?! Then, I found Ann, another knitter led astray under false pretenses that we were going to knit at this Dunn Bros. I went to my google mail and gave our SnB leader a ring on her cell. WOW! There are three knitters, herself included at the OTHER Dunn Bros. Well, I stayed where I was, but was dissapointed that I wasn't with the whole group. It was a fragmented SnB!

After this I got a page; my timesheet wasn't in and it was overdue. I had faxed it at 9:30- but it didn't get there. This page was received in the 25 min. that I had to shop at Kohl's for a wedding this Saturday in the UP of MI. Back at my car I realized I didn't have my papers that I absolutely needed for my appt. So I went back to my "satellite office" Troy's desk, re-faxed one set of things, used my flash drive to make more copies of my papers, then hustled off to my appt.

Fast Forward...after lots of help and searching I found an outfit to wear to the upcoming wedding. It is trendy, camisole, shrug, beaded "fluffy" skirt, "beauty and the geek earrings" and a "gypsy" gold necklace. Everything I bought was on sale- I saved 50 some dollars according to the sales lady. What I didn't mention was that I also spent 75. So, I could have saved 75 by not shopping, or would I have saved 125 dollars, since 50+75=125?

And yes, there has been a trifle of knitting. I have no idea what project should come along in the LONG car ride- the sock would render me carsick in about 5 minutes if I tried to knit that along the way (I know from experience). Perhaps the capelets...though I would really like to be knitting a sweater!!!

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Leaf socks


Leaf socks
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
My socks are resting on my internship manual. Does anyone know whose

picture is on the cover of the book? Lisa perhaps?



I am trying to match the colors this time. I hope I have enough yarn to

do it. I think I am knitting this one tighter than the first, also. So

far I am quite happy with the color matching. This has been pretty much

the only knitting I've been working on. I did a few rows on my new

green capelet from Target, and I also knit about 3 inches on my Mom's

sweater. Her project stays at her house, and I knit it when I am over

there.



DH surprised me on Saturday night. I was holding onto the only copy of

Vogue Knitting in the store, the last copy, and he nonchalantly slipped

it away from under my arm. Later I saw him pay for it himself. It was

really sweet. There are too many patterns I want to knit from the

magazine for me to not buy it.



We have still been running, and I can feel that I am getting much

better at it. I can nearly run for 20 minutes now. There will always be

a few walking times, like when the dogs have to stop to do their

business, but I am quite pleased with being able to run more than half

a block before walking.



In jobland- I have been keeping busy. Yesterday I left the house at 9am

and returned at 8:45pm. I did some knitting in the morning so I didn't

actually start doing work till after noon, but once I started I kept on

going. I have had to learn how to schedule time with my husband- like a

full evening's worth, otherwise I am pretty much falling asleep on the

couch by the time we are together.



I am thinking about going to knitting tonight, we'll have to see. I

have an appt. that might get done at 6:30pm, or slightly earlier. The

rate I am going on my sock I could finish it in about a week and a half

if I work at it. I cast on for the second sock last Tuesday, after

kitchnering the toe of the first.



OH- and my classes are done. I have a one page reflections on small

group supervision paper to write- that'll take about an hour, an oral

exam to schedule, and doubles (direct supervision) to do, and I'm done.

Weasel pic


Weasel pic
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
I was holding her on my lap on her back. It was really hard to take

this picture!

Friday, September 16, 2005

Play day+ my last Master's level class

Wow. Yesterday was a solid long, busy day. I was pretty much working from 9:15 till 8pm. I say pretty much 'cause a girl's got to eat and use the facilities once and while. Let me tell you what it's like to be an in home therapist.

When will I eat a snack, lunch, dinner, etc. How will I pack a lunch and a dinner such that both are self-contained yet tasty enough to be eaten while driving and following along with at Mapquest directions on the way to my next appointment. When people return my phone calls will they offer an over abundance of important info that should be written down- at the same time that I am driving? (I don't write and drive, but I could see how this challenge could come up).

Just what is it is like to live out of your car? At the start of the morning I try to think about everything that I could possibly need through the day. Knitting always goes into the car- but it doesn't always get touched till I'm home for the night. Sometimes you wonder where to go to the bathroom. Is this going to be a safe, as in clean place to go or should I wait and sneak it in on the way to a next appointment?

Well, today I am studying with my friend Rebekka for our upcoming oral exams. Speaking of which, I had an unnerving phone call while in Caribou knitting with my friend Leslie. Dr. Smith called. That is the same name as my dentist. I really hate going to the dentist, and as you recall I went there a few months ago. So meanwhile I am panicking. What's going on? I know they cleaned my teeth well enough, my wisdom teeth are already out, why are they calling?

Then I realized this was Dr. Smith from Grad school, calling about my oral exam. The oral exam that is a "conversation" per my thesis-advisor's description, not a teeth cleaning type. Whew.

So tonight I begin my very last class in school. And tomorrow at 4:30pm or before I will finish that same class. Today I study at the wonderful Muddy Paws Cheesecake, and go to class. Did I already mention that I did my run for the morning? Yes. It is a good day. A day in which I will have fun studying with a friend, and basking or bragging about being done with school:) And I will knit, too. Indeed, a good day.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

In answer to Amy, mommy of Teddy the wonder dog (and some cute real kids, too)

Here's a fun little blog game.

Ten years ago: OH gosh. Let's not relive that time of my life! I worked at PetSmart as a cashier, specialty associate, dog obedience trainer, etc.

Five years ago: Hmmm...how old was I then? That was a year before I "officially" met my husband. I think I saw him in church though, and claimed him as my own after hearing him sing I said, "I'm going to marry him" he has a really nice voice and can play guitar and all that stuff. I was in college, oh! I went to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands as a traveling studying biology nerd. You should see how cute I look in my own version of rain forest trek clothes. Let me give you an image. Shoulder-length brown hair peeked out from under my khaki colored hiking hat, a lanyard held a portable compass and mini girlie Swiss Army knife, pants were those adaptable shorts/pants that zip off, a small Memo book graced my hand adorned with quick sketches and note about epiphytes and so on. OH- I wore a polyester tie dye fitted button-down shirt too.

One year ago: Grad school- keeping busy there while working as an in-home family therapist intern. I had just begun knitting my first sweater, a gift for DH's Septemeber 26th birthday.

Yesterday: What did I do yesterday? Oh- about 6 hours of work, I was so tired! And went to the Blue Nile with DH to celebrate a friend's birthday with a big batch of other friends. Let me tell you how I got there. I was coming from 394 towards the city and thought, oh, let's take Hiawatha, then travel over to the area where I thought the place was located. So I finally got near Uptown and received a call from DH asking where I was. Well I was on the wrong part of Franklin. Fortunately he was able to re-maneuver make back to where I needed to be, and was calmed down by DH following my too-frequent getting lost due-to-being-creative experiences.

Five snacks:
-----------------------------------
Bolthouse Farms Short-cut Carrots. I have been trying to eat them instead of chocolate or candy. And it is mostly working.
Gummy worms
Goat, and swiss cheese
Pizzeles ('cause we still have some left)
Apple or bell pepper (my favorite)

Five songs I know all the words to:
------------------------------------------------
Lots of songs- just turn on the radio
Gwen Stefani's LAMB, Over the Rhine, Superchick, Barlow Girls

Five things I would do with $100 million:
-------------------------------------------
Buy the yarn for a sweater I want to make
Buy DH the IPOD family of techno things
Dh says there's a lot of money left over still so,
Scions for all my close friends
Buy a summer home in Tuscany with a nice view, a garden plaza, alpaca farm, lake, a horse
A few million for the not yet conceived children we plan to have someday
Then donate all the left over- like 90 million- like a million to 90 different charities of my choice- that would be fun

Five places to run away to:
-----------------------------------
Well, I can only run for about 20 minutes max without wussing out, so that would get me to Caribou or Starbucks
Otherwise, Brisbane and Queensland Australia
Monteverde in Costa Rica
The Collinette yarn making place in Europe
Tuscany
Sweden- then Denmark

Five things I would never wear:
----------------------------------

Fur from animals that lived once
Pants that are rolled or pinned on the bottom
The brands Sag Harbor or Alfred Dunner
That's about it- I am adventurous fashion-wise with bold colors, prints and textures


Five favorite tv shows:
----------------------------
Crafters Coast to Coast knitting segments
Kim Possible
Dr. Phil (I gotta watch it for "work")
Home decorating shows
Agility competitions with corgis

Five biggest joys:
----------------------------------------
My husband- the love of my life who takes really good care of me and helps me sort myself out when I need it. He's also a wonderful sous chef/cook. Buster and Genevieve. Family and friends. Learning to knit. Being able to run more than a block. That's an accomplishment not a "joy."

Favorite toys:
-----------------------------------------
Koala
Sewing things like plastic canvas, knitting spool, art supplies
Fisher Price microscope
Make and Do Childcraft encyclopedia
dogs- real and toys

Monday, September 12, 2005

Treasures from 2 different garage sales

I like pretty things, like these little plates I bought to use for tea

parties. Can't you envision a nice cookie on each one? The middle one

is china, it's really pretty. I seem to feel compelled to buy anything

that has a shade of aqua blue remotely close to that of our kitchen

wall color.

For the budget knitter- that's me. Clearance time at Target!

I was in the school supply section, wandering around in the hopelessly

ransacked area in search of some file folders to match my others to use

for my work. In the Eden Prairie Target I found my new job

organizational system. A grey or silver zip-up portfolio to store the

small parts of client files- like the to-do-list stuff, and some

coordinating file folders for that purpose.



Just a minute, I heard a thud in the bedroom. I went in and there was

Genevieve- on the bed like she's not supposed to be, about to cross my

night stand for presumably the Lilo and Stitch kleenex box. What

trouble! I picked her up- telling her "no!" and then dropped my

clock/radio. My clock radio will not be quite the same now; I think the

radio will be on forever.



Anyway, back to the post. I picked up this capelet in a box kit, and

debated over whether or not I could buy it. You see, I bought the

Knitting Stitch Bible when I had a coupon at Borders and it was more

than 20 dollars. I bought it so I could design my own stuff. I thought

that little book would be the key to using my imagination and knitting

together concurrently to result in an amazing sweater or something.

Well, when I bought the book I realized that was my yarn money too- so

now I have the book, but not the money to buy the yarn to use the book

to design my own clothes. So I have been working on my sock instead.



OH- but I decided to buy the capelet kit, saddened by the lack of my

coordinating file folders at the St. Paul Target ( I've been to the

Woodbury, Shoreview, St. Louis Park, and then the St. Paul Target to

look for them). I thought I might have enough on my Target giftcard

from my parents from Christmas. I did. Enough for some money leftover

after buying this and some PB M&M's. As I pulled out of Target, I

called my Mom and thanked her for buying me a capelet. She was a little

confused at first, but then I explained it to her. Sweet- another new

project. The problem is that I really want to be knitting a sweater. I

think it would help me psychologically prepare for the impending season

change from summer-to fall-to winter. Nevermind the fact that I already

have 2 other beautiful hand-knit sweaters that were finished on the

cusp of warm weather (thus leaving little time to enjoy their cozy

warmth, but lots of time to roast in them 'cause I just had to wear

them anyway! )

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Watcho out for the fall knitty!

Check this out- I think I would make all these things. What a great way to transition in to fall with all sorts of beautiful knitted options.

Yesterday's hectic day

Whew! I just slept in to recover from yesterday. I had three appointments scheduled, and each is supposed to be 1 1/2-2 hourslong or so. I got lost on the first one, and it took me about 45 min to get there instead of 15 min. Then- there was no one home. So I got back on the nearest freeway and decided that I may as well drop off my thesis copies at school. While in the school parking lot I got a call and rescheduled that earlier missed appt. I was almost late to that though, and sort of got a little lost coming from a new direction. Yikes.

Then, I got there, had that appt. and continued my day. I made it to my second appt.- did that, then went to get some dinner. While I was using the facilities there I nearly dropped my pager in the toilet. It fell out of it's clip-on case and landed 2 inches from the toilet! Close call. I hurriedly ate, wondering if I even had time to eat before getting to my next appt.

I made it on time there. Did my appt. Went to my car, and looked for my keys. Not in my bag, not in my pocket, not in my purse, do you like green eggs and ham ? (I just had to add the Dr. Seuss reference). There they were, sitting on my passenger seat with a map on top of them. Through a series of attempts including called AAA to get them out as a back up, I was able to retrieve them when someone put there arm done my partially but hardly open window and unlocked the door. Awesome.

Then, I was off to my house, to chill out. I did a little knitting on my sock. I think about 3 rounds, so I have picked up the two sides of stitches and am working on the instep leaf lace pattern. I am loving this pattern. It is challenging enough to keep me intrigued, yet not so difficult that I want to toss it aside (like I wanted to do with my shawl a few times). Knitting really does build character, like patience and persistence, and then confidence and courage if you can figure out how to knit a challenging thing.

Today I just have a 4pm appt. I think I can handle that. I do still want a Scion, though. DH was excited to show me the new Nano Ipod or something like that. And also that the Scion has an option for IPOD capabilities. He had forgotten that I was the one who showed that to him Saturday when I was designing my own Scion and included that feature in the print-out just for him. :)

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

wait a minute...

Who has a silver Scion? I wanna silver Scion...Tell me more...

DH and I volunteered at Dorothy Day in St. Paul on Saturday morning. We made unbaked oatmeal cookies for 150 people and lemonade for 300. I brought my own favorite apron to wear, so I didn't have to wear a thin plastic white one. Mine is blue and white with big hawaiian flowers on it. It is from the Aloha Swap Meet in Hawaii. It has a nice pocket on the front and a thin strap that goes over my head. It really is the best. But anyway- at the Dorothy Day volunteer parking lot there was a SILVER Scion! Where did it come from, who's is it? Anyone who knows me knows that sometimes I am really not shy. Like when DH and I invited ourselves over to a Hudson, WI backyard of strangers just because they had corgis. Yes, I have been about to ask those lucky few on the road (when parked) just how their Scion treats them. What do they like, dislike etc. No, I am not conducting an outsourced survey for Toyota (of whom Scion is a "marque" of theirs, I just want to know. So tell me, what have you experienced/heard about Scions?

OH- I have a big day- three sessions tomorrow, from 11-7ish. I hope I can make it through the day!

Weasel got her stitches and staples out today- it was a big day for us all. Then, at home she and Buster had bath night. So I have 2 clean dogs. One of whom will go for a run with us tomorrow. We've been taking Buster on the run, and then coming back for Weasel for our cool-down. It's been working pretty well.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Give a little to Katrina survivors

I just did my part. I learned about a special donation opportunity for knitters, and
wow am I impressed with their generosity. Click here for more info, to see what the knit bloggers are doing to help out.

Inside photojournalistic shot


Inside photojournalistic shot
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

Check out this surprise!


Check out this surprise!
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
my dream car- a beautiful box called Scion

On Friday night I was surprised by this in my driveway. I was jealous of the "Friends of ours" to whom it belonged- then I realized that it didn't belong to any friends of ours. We walked the dogs to Caribou and came back to it in our driveway. I squealed with excitement. This is my dream car- a Scion. A lovely box.

Then, I was told by DH that we were test-driving it overnight. So it wasn't going to be mine, but it was still cool. We took it to my parents' house, and my Mom burst out the front door, ready to congratulate me for my new car. I had to tell her the truth- we were borrowing it, not keeping it. Besides, it's not silver, like I would get. Other than that it was perfect. It was super spacious in the front and back seat, and we folded the back seats down to go to the drive-in movie theatre. There we saw "Forty-year old Virgin" and "Wedding Crashers" from the seats of the blue Scion.

The next night I went online to the Scion page, and designed my own. Then I printed it out, just so I would know how I'd like my Scion to turn out.

I asked DH if he knew what he had done, unleashed the Scion-desire in me. So now that I've driven it, and it's everything I wanted it to be, I have to wait...until the time comes...or when my Electric blue Neon dies. But I wanna a Box now...

Look- it's printing my thesis


Look- it's printing my thesis
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
And yes, I had to break into another block of paper to print two copies.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Yippie yippie yay!

I have been knitting on a leaf lace sock, working at my supposed-to-be full-time but not quite full-time yet job, and COMPLETING A THESIS!

Yes- it's true. I just finished printing out 2 copies of my thesis. And not a moment too soon, either. I got an e-mail from school telling us to schedule our orals whether our paper is done, or undone.

I am in a state of shock; the reality has not yet hit. This is 53 pages of thesis. 38 sources were used, countless hours were involved, the budget was blown due to overconsumption of Caribou coffee (I needed it to help me work, yes, really), way too much sugar was ingested, and a good-size forest of trees was sacrificed in the process. I learned quite a bit about myself, the most important thing is that eating lots of gummy candy makes me a productive worker. It really helped me get in the "zone" and to stave off writer's block. I figure it's worth all the caffeine and sugar to have this paper done, don't you think?

So I can go into this weekend relaxed, and not have any thesis work writing to do. I do have another bit of edits to do following the review by the 2 faculty, but that is such a small thing in comparison to gathering thoughts and trying to make it all flow.

Now, my friend Rebeka and I can go out to Cafe Brenda. The first time I went there I motivated myself to complete my research paper (back in winter), and now our second trip will be a celebratory event for our theses.

Monday, August 29, 2005

Do you vacuum your dog?

Not just vacuum up his/her fur- but actually vacuum your dog? After DH and I did our run I came back and decided to vacuum while DH was in the shower. Buster followed me around, walking between my legs, herding the vac, silently. After awhile I realized what he wanted. Yes, he was in his "needy" mode, pet me pet me pet me I'm cute- but he also wanted to be vacuumed. So I sat down on our fluffy clean vacuumed carpet and put his favorite nozzle on the vacuum. It's the one that's flat, sort of like a big brush without bristles. And I vacuumed him. He loved it. He just sat there enjoying the gentle suction on his fur. And his fur felt really soft and looked really shiny afterwards. And he was happy, and I finally understood what he wanted by sticking right by my side as I did my work.

Pre-felted koala head


Pre-felted koala head
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

Felted koala piece


Felted koala piece
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
Testing out felting with my first do it yourself/teach yourself

intarsia. The koala head is my own design. Tablecloth from William

Sonoma.

We made this Friday night. It is supposed to be Indian food, but I think it looks like Italian.

Karahi chicken with mint and cilantro. First we had to go for a run to

the grocery store with Buster for some extra ingredients. Yes- we can

run to the grocery store where we live. How cool is that?!

Leaf lace sock in progress


Leaf lace sock in progress
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
The leaves have little eyelets, too. Well, technically they are called

"yarn-overs."

Yesterday we ate authentic mexican food at Los Cabos in West Saint Paul, MN

This is molcajete- meats and seafood and that green thing is a piece of

cactus. It was really good, and it came with lots of fresh tortillas,

guacamole, beans, cheese, sour cream, etc. all in this awesome volcanic

rock pig. Can you see his piggy face on the left? And my parents in the

background?

Duluth rose garden wedding


Duluth rose garden wedding
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
I don't think there could be a more beautiful place for a wedding than

a rose garden overlooking Lake Superior. And it was fun for my shawl to

come along for the view.

Pants of Scotland-made material in the kitchen with a corgi

They have a zipper on the side. I cannot tell you how much I worried

about sewing in the zipper. I hadn't sewn one in for years. To

alleviate my worries, I went online to find out how to do it. I was

able to use my leftover fusible hem tape from our IKEA kitchen curtains

to reinforce where the zipper would go. This made that part sturdy and

cooperative as I sewed in the zipper. Then, I was totally shocked- the

plaids lined up where the zipper was sewn in. Unbelievable. I must have

been thinking last summer when I started cutting them out- or just got

lucky. Either way, I was happy. I do still have to hem them though. I'm

tall and my pants are usually shorter than I like, so I wanted to make

sure they were super long.



Oh- please ignore my shirt. There appears to have been one load of

laundry that came out spotted. Was that the load that I did?



The pattern is from Burda. I started these last summer, then was

discouraged because I thought the plaids would not line up at the

seams. Then, I decided they will be "rockstar punk plaid pants." I

think they're great and very comfortable. Dh says they look like "store

pants."



I got my sewing machine back from getting fixed on Wednesday, along

with my puppy who was "fixed" and envisioned her laying, mellowed out,

by my side while I sewed. She, however, was not to be made mellow by

her surgery. So un-mellow in fact that on Saturday morning prior to

driving to Duluth to an afternoon wedding we had to bring her in to our

vet as she had "come undone." She was rough-housing with Buster

despite our best attempts for them to be calm together. Since I get a

bit squeamish I said, "DH check her." And sure enough, my laid-back

husband verified that we'd have to bring her in (to the vet). So we

did, and they stapled her shut. Yes, literally. She was oblivious to

the fact that she could have fallen apart due to excessive play, and

also that she had staples in her. Now, she has been quarantined to my

parent's house for a few days, away from Buster, so that she will rest

without the temptation to treat Buster as a hurdle. Of course, that

means that DH and I have to go visit her frequently as we miss her.

My first felted bag- for the TCSnB Buttonhole Bag Exchange

The felted version- felted twice

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Only one knitting corgi today

Corgimom dropped off her little poochie to get spayed this morning. I just heard back from my friendly veterinarian, and she did fine, and it all went well. She has to stay overnight, and then I will eagerly pick her up tomorrow morning sometime after 10am.

Today- I met at Dunn Bros. with my thesis advisor, Roger Ballou. It was wonderful to tie up some loose paper ends (though not as good as knitting), and to figure out what to say in my LAST SECTION! Yay! Can I express more happiness about that? Like, let's have a party?!

Now, my big self-set goal is to work on the last section and get half or all of it done by Thursday night when there is a big group thesis meeting. To those of you thinking, and asking (Kelle, this includes you) "Aren't you done yet?" I have to tell you that of all the other thesis-writing students in my group I am by far the furthest along in my paper. And boy is that great to hear! I'm almost done, I'm almost done!!!(Said in a nananabooboo-way).

Last night I was distracted from my current sock in progress when I saw the leaf lace sock. I just gotta get that pattern! I frogged what I'd done so far, and will be making another LYS trip today to purchase that pattern as a reward to myself for spending, hmmm...let's say 45 min. on my paper today. Furthermore, I embarked on "teach myself intarsia in bed" last night. I printed off some free knitter's graph paper, drew a koala head, and then proceeded to intarsiafy it. There will be pictures. I will also be felting it just to see what it does.

Last night we (DH and I) went to a neighbor lady's house to set up her new Dell computer. I brought some Teavana tea and my tea kettle of filtered water, and she shared ice cream, pizzeles (cookies), oatmeal cookies, and a bottle of chilled Cold Duck. She said it had been in her fridge waiting for us to come over since her computer arrived two days ago. So we had a little New computer install party, and I drank lots of tea, Cold Duck, and ate far too many pizzeles. We had a really nice time.

Well, I suppose it is time to earn my leaf sock pattern. They will be pink/red/green perfect for leaves I thought. I must re-embark on my thesis writing.

Monday, August 22, 2005

Back from my LYS

I just returned from Borealis Yarn, and made it out of the store without spending money. Though I found an awesome pattern for leaf lace socks. Wouldn't they look great with my leaf lace shawl? Well, it would be fun to make them, though they'd look silly with my metallic ribbon yarn shawl.


So far, it sounds like Thursday afternoon I will be meeting my first clients. Tomorrow I meet with my thesis advisor to tie up a few loose ends on my thesis. In the morning I have to drop off our little Geneweasel to get spayed. Oh how we all will miss her for the day- and night, probably, too.
t

I have been working on my Mom's sweater. The first sleeve is done, and I cast on sts for the body. The sleeve and half the body are knit in one piece- so that's a new thing for me. I started knitting on some green/orange/pink socks yesterday. They will look great with my new light green pants.
t

Pre-blocking. 72 inches by 35 inches deep

Now it is better. I used my resources and e-mailed the summer of lace

knitter's yahoo group and was assisted in learning the correct way to

do this unique bind off. I just have to get all the tails woven in,

then block it. Then wear it to the wedding in Duluth on Saturday.

When I did the bind-off wrong


When I did the bind-off wrong
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
The shawl edges curled. They were no leaf points, and I was not too

happy with the edging. This was the second time I bound off all those

stitches.

The cats like to taunt our dgos


The cats like to taunt our dgos
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
They're not our cats- they are neighborhood roaming cats. They do,

however, like to pretend that they own our yard, and know that they are

in plain sight of our dogs. They just linger and hang out, while the

dogs bark on in futile defense.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Just look at that!


Just look at that!
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

I leave for one night, and look what happens...

Yes- that is our adult corgi drinking beer. Yup. A bunch of DH's friends decided it would be fun to introduce Buster to beer. It looks like he really likes it. Where was I when this happened? Naively knitting away at SnB in EP's Dunn Bros. We had so much fun stitchin' and bitchin' that we went across the street to Starbucks when Dunn closed. Yup- I was working on my ever-progressing shawl- which has experienced zero mistakes since the talk with Kelle. I was out there till 10:30pm- knitting away. I started my pink edging- and am now on the 5th row of 16 for the edging.



OH- I lost Genevieve in the house twice. A few days ago I grabbed something out our front coat closet. I called the pup to offer her a treat for coming when called. No response. How weird. We hollered and checked outside. No sounds, no psycho jumping pup to snatch treats away. Then, we opened the closet- and out she came. Just a few minutes ago I was wondering where she went again. I checked on the bed- she has been jumping up on there lately (against our rules). She wasn't there. Then I heard a sound from behind the guest bedroom door. I turned the handle, and there she was, chewing on a big piece of cardboard. What a little stinker. As if drinking my juice, coffee, and whatever else I drink wasn't enough!

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Today I lost 15 pounds...

In library books from my school library! Yay! That means I turned in a huge stack of books used for my thesis- and that I am getting even closer to its end. My advisor even permitted me to "drop" one of the last 2 paper sections. That means there is one part left to write, and I am meeting with my advisor next Tuesday to lay out that part.



So I bet you're wonderin' "How did her first day of work go?"



Well, it went really well, considering the fact that they (work) was expecting me at 1pm today- and I got a cell phone call at 8am regarding the time I was coming in for Thursday. At that point I casually mentioned that I was in the work parking lot. OOPS! They did find a way to use an hour for some orientation, then I met a friend at Caribou, ate my bag lunch with my sister-in-law, and returned to work. I am really excited about this job, and this workplace. I feel like I will have lots of opportunities to grow more, develop new skills, and gain lots of experience.

Monday, August 15, 2005

First day is tomorrow!

I have been trying to get everything to together for my new job. That includes getting myself together. I still don't know what to wear!? I don't want to be over or under-dressed- I want to make a good impression- but not shock anyone with my bold colored wardrobe, or "Beauty and the Geek" earrings" (the big dangly kind that look like gypsy accessories).


I start tomorrow at 8:15am. I hope I can sleep tonight. I spent time at our new Starbucks working on my paper, got a pedicure with my mom, and went to Caribou with her later for a treat and some knitting time over conversation.


Today my Grandma-in law had surgery- keep her in your thoughts. She is the one making the awesome koala quilt for us.


This past weekend we had 2 "Thai parties." On Saturday I just "had" to cook Thai food. So we did. We made crab cream cheese wontons, lemongrass salad, and shrimp fried rice with pork instead of shrimp. I also made "waikiki cocktail" from Food Network's Semi-homeade with Sandra Lee show. It was so good. I used a can of peach juice, a can of guava juice, some fresh orange juice from 1/2 an orange, a sliced up lemon, grenadine for color and sugar, and some liquid sugar, with passionfruit rum. That stuff smells like candy- I could not believe it. It was a great meal, spent with great friends.


Sunday night my parents came over, and we made Pork with Thai basil (with shrimp instead of pork) and had more wontons and salad, and some leftover waikiki cocktail.


I was craving cooking after Friday, which was spent with my Mom at Let's Dish. There we assembled 7 meals and a chocolate lava cake. We haven't eaten any of them, but I am glad we have back-up in the freezer- food on hand for full meals when I run out of time. I do plan to run out of time, too! I am going to be working full-time.


I haven't worked full-time since my sophomore year in college, when I worked for a summer as a Technical Aide at 3M in the Industrial Abrasive Systems testing sandpaper with stainless steel. It was not a good job for this girly-girl!

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Dogs and sheep

Courtesy of St. Paul's Irish Fest on Harriet Island. We saw sheepherding through the fest- the sheep just wandered around and the dogs kept everything under control. We also saw 8 of 9 of the "Native Dogs of Ireland."

Note the middle yarnover line, and silver and blue leaves

The blocked version should be something like this.

leaf lace shawl closer up


leaf lace shawl closer up
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

Leaf Lace shawl as modeled on the bed

This project was a bit of a challenge once it started growing. There was a lot of tinking, unknitting one stitch at a time, row by row. The "yarn" (it seems like a misnomer to call this stuff yarn) is very slippery, as slippery as it is shiny, and dropped stitches spell certain disaster. There were precious few of those along the way, but enough to send me into a tizzy whenever this snafu was found. Once I talked to Kelle, my knitting wizard guru friend, knitting this began to become less arduous. She asked if I could look at the pattern on the needles and recognize what came next. I have to admit my eyes spent more time looking at the chart then my knitting, and I was not fully aware and conscious of what I was actually doing. I began to become more in tune with my project, and looked at my knitting - and was able to see how the pattern worked. I felt like I had some type of knitting enlightenment moment. Now I would like to sit down for hours and just work on this- like get it done before my new job starts, Tuesday at 8:15. That would be ideal. I plan to knit while watching TIVO'ed Saturday Night Live tonight.

The big question is: I'm seeking input here- what color should I make the leaf "points" along the edge? I have a pinkish magenta of the same type of yarn, or more silver or blue? So- Pink, Silver, or Blue?

I'm a dog, I'm a workin' dog, I'm a hard workin' dog

Does anyone else remember that song from Sesame Street, or am I the only one?

With a Border Collie hot on their tails


And saw sheep roaming through crowds of people


This weekend we traveled...


This weekend we traveled...
Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

Monday, August 08, 2005

I forgot to take out the trash dream...

It doesn't sound very dreamy to take the trash out- but it created some anxiety for me last night. In my dream I was working my first day at my new job. I was told to take the trash out. I was working in a big office building that had a skyway to a mall. The mall had Marshall Fields, and Target as its big "anchor" stores. I had just been downstairs in the lobby doing some task and was mildly alarmed to see 2 men snorting things up straws while looking at a flat-wall-like monument. I walked through the doorway back to my job, and found myself on the opposite side of the mall instead. I was quite panicked- I was supposed to be taking out the trash! I quickly found the shuttle to the other side where I worked. I was on the shuttle realizing that it was really slow- and it would take me all day to get back to my work. I started to give up, and realize that the trash wasn't going to get out before the office closed. I was alarmed- I was trying to make a good impression and do my best work- and then I had to be human and forget to take the trash out. Hmm...I eventually resigned myself to not taking the trash out, deciding that things would be ok, and that they'd work out. I think I went to the bar for a drink and some food at the end of the dream.

Did I mention that the day after my second interview I dreamt that I'd gotten the job- and went out with 2 co-workers to an adorable coffee shop to hang out? Somehow having the dream stirred up more stress for me about the job- as my wondering grew.

I think my subconscious is just working on me to prepare me for this next big challenge. What do you think?

Friday, August 05, 2005

Weekend update- knitting, traveling, work and school

Well- I will do the work part first. As far as I know I will be starting my new job on August 16th. Since I have a date in my head for this big part of my life, and thus will not be able to procrastinate or work slowly on my thesis anymore, I have been feeling motivated.

Part of this motivation is setting reachable goals for myself. My usual thesis writing goal is 2 pages per day I chose to work on it. I met this goal on Tuesday after working a half day, Wednesday following my favorite SnB group, and Thursday, following an always fabulous Thai lunch at St. Paul's Taste of Thailand, and then reward time at Borealis Yarns to select yarns for a buttonhole bag. Yay! Both of these two fun things eating Thai and eyeing yarns was done with our SW SnB leader of the pack, Beth.

Well- last night I was up till 1:30 am (didn't I vow never to do that for school again a long time ago?) working on my thesis. This week resulted in my writing 10 pages on it. And yes, Kelle, I'm not quite done with it yet, but the end is growing nearer and nearer. In fact once I reach the end I won't know what to do- and may not even realize the end has come.

Sum that up to 10 pages closer to the thesis' end, a new full-time job with great benefits, new yarn- and two fast new projects to work on in the car (Buttonhole bag & a prayer shawl) The latter I am making for a friend with a rare kidney disease. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers if it crosses your mind. I have been wanting to do this project for awhile, and while in IA I found the uber-cool yarn store Purls, along with the perfect shawl yarn and pattern. Pictures later.

My cute little Weasel has been so much trouble. She must have been watching those Cottonelle TP commercials- because she has gotten into our TP about 5 times this week! DH says that she needs to learn to leave it alone, but I can't sit in the bathroom all day with her saying "leave it!" So, I took the roll off, a logical step. But DH put a fresh roll back on. So I shut the door, which sometimes doesn't latch. Well, I just went to the hall and saw the toilet paper mess. What are we to do?

The traveling part- is that DH, and the dogs and I are going to visit some of of DH's college friends. The great part is that we get to see their new baby boy, their growing 2 year-old boy, and this time I get to hang out with them freed of school work! The last time they visited I was in a crabby mood all weekend since I had class the whole time they were here. This weekend will be much better, I'm looking forward to it, and I hear that there may be a massage time for us girls. :)

Monday, August 01, 2005

Interview recipient, La Nena 's Q's

A while back, I was invited to interview La Nena, owner of estacionliceu blog. Somehow the request fell off my plate, and seeing as it is dinner time, I have decided to pick up that plate again. So here we go.
1. A little bird (DH) told me that you used to pretend to be a fictitious character in a famous novel- tell us more...
2. I know you and your guy cook a lot- tell us about a time when the meal flopped- we've seen the yummy sucesses, but there must have been a time when it didn't quite work out?
3. If you were a cheese, what cheese would you be and why?
4. What is it like being someone of your profession? Share a funny or embarassing story about your work experience in your current job.
5. Did you ever get lost in Spain? What happened and how did you find your way back to where you started?
6. If you could knit anything in the world regardless of moeny or skill what would it be and why?

Tag- you're it!! Feel free to share the interview bug again...or not...

Friday, July 29, 2005

The story

While in KS, I intended to post last night, the one night I had internet access, but couldn't remember my password. I emailed it to myself last night, but was too fatigued from going for a 30 min run in the morning and another shorter run in the evening with my running bro on the popular and trendy Mass St. in Lawrence, KS. Imagine flying by meandering people slowly making their way to their dinner places of choice on a perfect temperatured evening. It was nice. We were on the move to get to Pochi, the bubble tea place. I love bubble tea. Mostly without the bubbles- tapioca pearls. I like the coconut jelly instead. I had a passionfruit guava bubble tea smoothie with jelly. My bro is so great- we sampled each others' drinks, and I ate a lot of his tapioca pearls since they were so good. That's what a good brother does. He shares his limited supply of tapioca pearls with his one older sister.


Well, the story. I should not make everyone wonder was that Margarita drank for consolation or celebration!?!


I was in a hole in the wall furniture store, one of those ultra discount kinds that is off the beaten path. The phone rang. It was 5:20pm. I had decided that I would hear about my job on Friday. Once 5pm came I breathed a sigh of relief. Tomorrow I will know. But the phone rang. I must say that my phone rang with the same ringtone on Wed. evening when we were in transit to KC. I panicked, and took a deep breath. The voice on the other line was that of my brother. Ahh.


But it rang on Thursday night. I was looking at mattresses with my Mom and bro in this stuffy humid store. I looked around. Both my Mom and brother were within my sight, oh dear. oh no. Freak out moment. The phone was ringing. I put on my confident and hopeful voice. It was The Place, I heard The Voice of the First Interviewer. "How are you doing?" I was asked. (Freak out some more, how do I know how I'm doing when I don't know the News yet!) "Ok" I said. Hoping to sound honest, and not too eager, but still hopeful. "How are you doing?" I asked in my most courteous obligatory and hopeful fashion...


Fast forward...I'm calling to present you with an offer...(by now I am yelling happy things and ecstatic things in my head) and frantically searching my purse for some piece of paper to write stuff down on about the offer. I found one option, my coffeecard from Nina's in St. Paul from a SnB that I used to attend. So, I filled the back of that, making all sorts of notes. The offer was much better than I'd hoped for, and I was asked if I needed to think about it before accepting it. No way! I really want/wanted this job! I'd even dreamt that got the job on Tuesday evening which heightened my anxiety about it!


So Yayayayayayayayayayay! Anyone want to help me celebrate???!!!! I'm available until I start working fulltime...


OH- did I mention that I did some outrageous bargain shopping on the trip too! Well I did. So if you see me anytime soon I'll probably be wearing something new. That was on sale in a big way. I even got an Izod button-down Fair Isle sweater for 3 dollars! Unbelievable!

Near virgin margarita to unwind...



Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

Rock Creek's (restaurant in Lawrence, KS) lily pond with fishies



Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.

Yes- I once disdained meat eating- and now I am part carnivore, but only for great BBQ



Originally uploaded by CorgiMom.
Those ribs...mmmm...