Scraps Of Life

Momma finally has a fur-baby!

This is Abigail!!! We got her Thrusday night, she's 8 weeks old, a pure-bred Rat Terrier and absolutely adorable. Granted, she's a handful and we're going through the trials of house-training and crate-training, with varying degrees of success...but we're getting there. I brought her to work with me Friday and she was very good. She also went to the salon with me yesterday, and Miss Shane trimmed her nails so she wouldn't give Mom so many boo-boos. What does V think? Well, he's pretty taken by her...it's just a bit grumpifying to be woken up by pitious whining several times a night.

Quickie

Week 2 of NaNoWriMo is over...do I have 2 weeks worth of words? Nope. But that's okay, the month isnt over yet and I DO have over 7000. Better than nothing.

Top Secret is 20% complete. I am on my second skein for the body, about an inch away from starting the sleeves. One problem: sleeves require a smaller circular circumference that I have (16" compared to 29"). Do not know if I will be able to find the right needles or if I'll have to make do somehow. Stay tuned.

My first set of Christmas Cards are complete. 25 down. I have precut and designed the other 35 I'll be doing at Cassie's tomorrow. Have everything packed and ready to grab on my way out the door.

Sleepy good night hugs y'all.

So I don't forget

To write, that is, I'm doing it now before I spend more time on the novel that goes nowhere.

Let's see, I won my first yarn auction last night. Some gold sparkly wool blend that will make, I think, a neat evenin bag or two. We shall see once it arrives.

Hubby's anniversary gift finally shipped yesterday so I should have it a week after originally planned, but oh well...at least it's on its way.

Yesterday I discovered the point at which the phrase "bored to tears" acheives literal meaning. And wasn't that the most exciting thing--NOT! I declare, the year I have decided I need to stay at that job in order to be fiscally able to become a full time student again may very well be the longest year of my life. I used to enjoy the certainty of the numbers, the regular cycle of duties each month. And let me tell you, it's not for lack of things to do, I just find those duties which came so easily to me a few short years ago to be absolute torture. Hopefully part of this is hormones and I'll feel less depressed about it next week.

And, last but not least, I had a supreme exercise in futility todya, trying to get my Social Security card updated. First they moved the office and it never occurred to me to call and check. Why? It had been there for ages: in a building downtown with no public parking convenient. So after I find a spot and (perfectly) parallel park, walk the 2 1/2 blocks to the building, have to turn right around and rewalk the 2 1/2 blocks and drive in the opposite direction, only to be about 14 numbers back once I got to the right office (I suppose I shoild mention that I parked in the back and the only customer entrance is in the front...of a very deep bulding!). I go to grab a burger and the drive=-through decides to be packed at almost 1pm and the squawk-box was in and out of order, which meant a messed up order that had to be fixes at a window. By this time I'm already running late back from lunch and then I hit a train crossing with arms down, lights flashing, and no train for 10 minutes. Of course I had already turned around fro the detour and was to my office by the time the train started but gee, could it have gotten worse? I sincerely doubt it.

So, now that I've updated, I am going to go stare at the novel. My characters have decided to desert the page, others are out of the country and not checking in, and just full-out mutiny. So much so that I am considering starting a second, completely different novel and switching back and forth as I can. But I'm be doggone if I'm giving up my paltry 6200 wordcount already acheived. The two stories could always meet in the end...we never know...

Bold Consumerism!

I'll almost bet you thought "Wow, she posts for a week but is gone for the weekend. Yup, it'll be another month before she posts again!" But no, I'm trying not to do that again, avoiding the AWOL, but sometimes weekends just end up too busy to post.

Friday I indulged in a little shopping therapy (thrusday night too, come to think of it). I have added Stich 'n Bitch and The Knitting Experience-the Knit Stich to my library and love love LOVE both of them. I have also learned a new way to hold the right needle/thread combo so that maybe my poor pinkie finger won't be killed after each session with Top Secret.

I also placed a couple of CTMH orders on Friday and bougth some more sterling silver wire to play with. So what if I've actually done my disposable spending for next week as well...having my tuiion money still in the bank but as yet unremitted to the school helps facilitate such things as retail thaerapy. I'm a firm believer in all things happening for a reason lol.

And tonight. Tonight the ladies came over for the first Card Workshop! Wohoo! It went well, and had we not stopped for the dinner break (I couldn't very well ask them to come over and not feed them!) I think everyone would have finished on time. Of course, I was less than completely prepared. Sigh...Not for lack of trying, just a few things escaped me: like the silly sponges! Still have not found the package of them I know I have somewhere. I started a new design tonight so only am halfway through my cards, but it is a bit more involved than the sample cards for the workshop. Always one to be difficult: that's me!

Another Night, No Write

I thought about writing...I really did. Just like I thought I was going to force myself to go to the gym tonight. I did neither. Instead I went shopping. PIcked up a skirt and 2 shirts at Marshall's (too bad I was really looking for some decent capris...oh well, trying Bealls tomorrow I think) and then the other 2 skeins of Bernat I needed for my sweater. The sweater that is coming along nicely since I watched my usual Thrusday shows tonight.

I love that I can knit while watching TV and movies, such a novelty compared to everything else. Especially considering this pattern is pretty simple...as long as I don't forget to count a row on the counter thingy, and even then after the decreases are done you knit until you've got seventeen inches so I'm thinking this pattern will be pretty forgiving (at least on the body portion...watch me have two different arm-lengths or something...oy vey!).

And going back to shows, I have a new regular one I think. Thanks to the magic of satellite I can watch Friends at 8pm and then catch the west-coast "8pm" Tru Calling...Eliza Dushku on tv...and a halfway decent show too. I just hope she doesn't keep falling for the dead guy in each show.

Hello Patriots!

Yes, I watched it tonight...though not with the commentary. I'll save that for a few days at least. But I didn't want to watch the deleted scenes before watching the movie again. I am a bit disappointed in one thing though: Reese Witherspoon is not listed as one of the commentators. Wah! She was so very good in the Sweet Home Alabama commentary, and she was Executive Producer on this film, why doesn't she talk about it?!?! Must be busy with the kidlets...sigh...and to still have that figure!

The sweater is coming along nicely (it's nice to have a hobby again that works with movies...scrapbooking and writing and everything else requires too much attention away from the screen to be practical tv activities. Wohoo! And I measured, with 2 of the 6 decreases done on the body I have 5 inches on the circs. It actually looks like something AND I can tell the difference between where I was last night and where I am tonight :)

Early ANniversary

Saturday marks one year of married life for V and I :) Wohoo! We survived.

I got my present tonight: the Legally Blonde 2 DVD (!!!) It has a VERY pink cover. V said he was kinda embarassed carrying it around the store hahaha. I managed to resist putting it in immediately and playing with the special features, but only because Gilmore Girls was on. Tomorrow night, all bets are off!

My gift to V should be here by Friday...I hope. I had it shipped to my office just in case and I'll call and check on it tomorrow. I really hope he likes it. I tried to the stick to the whole paper thing but he's not much of a reader, and stationery just wouldn't thrill him. On the off chance he decides to visit this page before the package comes I won't say what it is. But I hope he likes it!

Now to write a bit more on the novel and try not to cry at the 1-hour 8 Simple Rules.... notice I said try....

Reverse knitting

Well, I have a good 2 inches(length not width) done on Top Secret. Might have had more if not for forgetting to do the second decrease and having to, literally, unknit, two dozen stitches. Sigh..my experiences with ripping stitches and getting everything back on the needles was far less than encouraging, so I decided to reverse engineer back to the site of the missed decrease. It also had a bit to do with the fact that the Bernat Soft Boucle, with its frquent slubs and nubs, makes it difficult to see loops from the nubbies. It was enlightening, in a way, because I got to see exactly how stitches un ravel and made close inspection of where the stitches fit in relation to the pattern they create. Not that I wouldn't have preferred remembering the decrease the first time around, but hey, you learn something new every day doncha?

Updates Updates Updates

Okay, so I finally gave my homepage a much-needed facelift. It's not what I originally envisioned for the site, but it will do nicely for the time being.

No more has been written on the novel, but that might change now that the laundry is done, dinner eaten, altered book ready to send out, newsletter envelopes addressed, paes uploaded and emails read and responded to. Now to try and pass the 2000 mark tonight before bed. I think I can I think I can....

No time to write, I'm...uh, writing?

Okay, so NaNoWriMo is my current excuse for not updating, where have I been for the last, oh, month and a bit? Well, let's give a run-down!

*'Out' is completed, turned out awesome (if I do say so myself, but so did others so I'm not completely vain, I promise!), and it has it's own page.

*School has been hectic with back-to-back tests/quizzes/essays and so forth.

*And then there was Pumkinfest. I had a CTMH booth out there and spent weeks preparing for it. V helped me construct this neat 3-panel folding screen that I finished French memo-board style. It made a wonderful display board, now I just need to create a project page for it. It's in the works!

*I've undertaken my first serious knitting project: a sweater, TopSecret from the first issue of knitty. So far I have the hem and 2 rows on the circs. Its a start!