Holiday Wishes

Presents have been opened. What was left of the feast had been divided into take-home baggies for all the guests and we gladly took our share. After a whirlwind day of non-stop eating and gifts since 10am this morning, we're now nice and warm in our jammies and spending some quality time with our poor kitty - who was left alone all day. Of course, Monte doesn't mind. He still greeted us at the door and meowed and rolled on his back to welcome us home.

Though the last hour of the day draws closer, I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

What to do next?

So, I looked at my stash of unfinished projects and would you believe it? I only have one! The doggie sweater I started earlier in the year. I really don't like how it's coming out, so I may just rip the whole thing and start over. I've learned better techniques in the time I last touched the sweater. I think I will start over.

I like having the option of several projects going on at once, so I've started a new baby sweater. This one will also be for Gavin - but for his 1st birthday in March. I don't have to rush through this one. It's from a Japanese pattern book that I first saw on Cosmopolitan Purls. Check out her blog. She is soooo talented. I love her work. And she is so nice! She totally offered me help when I had questions about the pattern. THANK YOU! It was a while ago when I got the book, but I always remember nice people.

What I'm interested in from the book is a cute striped sweater. My friend K in Japan helped me find the book and sent it to me. I had a friend from work help me translate a few details for the instructions on the pattern. Good thing there are 'blueprints' for the patterns that I can figure out.

Speaking of my friend K, she has two boys in Japan. I only wish I knew how to knit when they were babies. They're bigger now - and as they're in Japan, I have no clue how big they really are now. I wasn't able to knit them cute baby blankets and sweaters. At this point, I'd rather just buy them toys and other goodies. Babies don't care what they get (I mean, honestly), but young boys, they want the fun stuff. And I aim to please. :) This auntie isn't going to get boring clothes and socks for them.

Marathon Knitting for Christmas

This week I finished not only the baby sweater, but this little guy as well...



Apparently the mascot for the Oakland A's baseball team is an elephant. I don't know these things. Since I only know how to do stuffed elephants, I made this one for my friend at work. I am a SF Giants fan, thank you very much. I'm proud of this one though. I had no clue how to make a mini baseball cap. I found a small hat pattern and 'tweaked' it. Then I added on the bill to the cap. At first it looked like a mallard duck head, so I scaled the bill back a little and squared it off. It looks good (even if I do say so myself). I just may have to make a Giants one for myself. I've thought about selling these, but they're time consuming. I've only taken the random request from coworkers, but I didn't charge them for it. I just wanted to knit and practice - but just don't want to keep any of it when I'm done.

I'm 99% finished with the baby sweater! I just need the buttons. It's the argyle sweater from Debbie Bliss' Special Knits.



It definitely has some flaws, but I tried. The sleeve thing totally flustered me, but I got through it. They both came out the same size (whew!) and I was able to sew hem onto the body without any issues. It looks cute. The pictures in the book are completely useless, so I had to depend on finding pictures posted on the web by other folks who have made this. It looks REALLY cute in pink. Hmmm... I do know some baby girls who would look really adorable in this too.

Of course, I used the pattern size for a 9 - 12 month old, and the thing looks like it would fit a 2 year old. Ah well, better too big now, than too small.

Picking up stitches

It's official. I absolutely, positively, without a doubt HATE picking up stitches. I don't know if I hate that more than sewing seams together, but it's up there. I was so determined to get that baby sweater done today, and I spent most of it trying to pick up a total of 78 stitches. Unbelievable. And that's just the collar! I managed to finish that without pulling all the hair off my head. Now I have to work on the two button bands. ARGH!!!

This should be interesting because I have never done a button band before. One side will be straight rib stitch - so if I can pick up all the stitches, then it's easy from there. The other side, I have to do the button holes. We'll see what happens.

OH - and thanks to Kuky for easing my mind about that those knots in my yarn. I guess I did just get unlucky and end up with two skeins with knots in them. Sigh...

I've stopped knitting for the evening. I was watching Most Haunted while working on the sweater when I had a very insistent kitty demanding some lap time. Yarn and cats don't mix. Well, not when you're trying to knit. When you want some entertainment, there's nothing quite a cat and a ball of yarn. Clear a big space though, because both will be all over the place.

What the?!

So, I'm having a marathon knitting week. I need to finish the baby sweater for my friend's baby in time to ship it to her. I'm on the second sleeve and then I have to work on the button band (and I know I'm going to be slow at picking up stitches).

I'm knitting along, getting towards the end of my third ball of yarn and I see a little knot. ??? I mean, literally, the yarn ended and was tied onto another piece of yarn. Since this was at the end of the ball, it was OK. But I thought it was a bit odd.

I've since started on my fourth ball of yarn, and this is what I find.



Another knot! Are you kidding me??? I don't know what to think. I admit, I'm too cheap to go out and spend $7 on nice yarn when I can get it from Ebay for about $3 a ball. This was Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino. I don't believe the person I bought these from tried to cheat me or anything though. The yarn looked new. It wasn't rewound or anything - if it was, they did a fantastic job. Each ball had nice, crisp labels on them. I just don't understand.

Is this normal? I've never seen this on the cheap yarn I buy from other craft stores. Why on the nicer yarn? I'm confused, and disappointed really.

Melted for The Melting Pot

Last night, our friends gathered for our annual Christmas feast. This year we chose The Melting Pot. It's an all fondue style restaurant I had seen them rave over on The Girls Next Door. Let me tell you, it's not cheap, but it was sooooo good. I definitely want to go back there.

They have a four course dinner that consists of a cheese fondue (you get some fruits, veggies and bread to dip), then a salad, then an entree 'set' (chicken, filet mignion, port, shrimp...) with a broth based fondue to cook your food (kind like Chinese hot pot, but with little skewers instead of little basket ladles), and then a chocolate fondue complete with fruits, brownies, cheesecake... oh my gosh!

There are several varieties of the fondue itself you can choose too. My favorite (but I forgot what it's called) is the one that comes with the Big Night menu. It had two kinds of cheese, white wine, roasted garlic, shallots, and dates. Oh and a spritz of white truffle oil. They prepare all the fondues on the table - so I remembered this one. YUM! So, it's not just a simple bowl of melted cheese on your table. It's gooood stuff.

It's definitely fun for a group, but I think my hubby and I would be able to handle it on our own too. Hee hee...

Keeping busy

I can't believe it's December already. I've been frantically knitting away, trying to finish a baby sweater for Christmas. I've done the body and now I'm working on the first sleeve.

Check it out!







Originally, I was making a baby blanket that had multicolored patches with polka dots and strips. Very cute and very ambitious... and so frustrating. I got through about 8 inches of it, and then realized that it took me about 30 minutes to knit 1 row, and then another 10 or 15 minutes to untangle all the little bobbins of yarn. Even though I started earlier this year, I would never get it finished in time.

From a knitting book I received as a birthday gift, I found this cute argyle sweater pattern. It's going to be a present to my college roommate's baby, Gavin. It will be his first Christmas.

Glorious vacation days...

It's almost the end of the year. At work, this means it's time to check how many vacation hours you have left, and if you're lucky, how many vacation hours you can carry over to use in the next year.

Well, this year, due to all the projects I've been working on, I discovered that I took exactly two vacation days. TWO!!! I admit, I do get every other Friday off because I work 9 hour days - so each week still adds up to a 40 hour work week for me. But I've missed several of those Fridays off because of work. I've done a lot of OT this year too.

So, I have vacation days I have to take or I lose them - because you can only carry over a certain amount of hours. Plus I have those extra days from the Fridays and weekends I ended up working. My goodness.

I'm not complaining, but it's much easier planning a vacation in advance rather than just throwing in days whenever I can take off within the last 4 weeks of the year. But I'll suffer though the last minute scheduling... the sleeping in totally makes up for it. Heh, heh!

Happy Thanksgiving

Pies and yams will be cooked and baked tonight, so I won't have time to update my blog then.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! May the feasting begin!

I give thanks for my family and my lifelong friends (who are also my family).

I also want to take a moment for my friend M, who's mother passed away recently. I hope she finds comfort with her family during this coming holiday season, and that she knows how much her friends love her.

Confused

OK, I don't know what is going on. My blog looks like it's old self on my PC, but now that I'm looking at it on my laptop - it's just nothing but a flat pink all over. I'm getting very annoyed.

All that work this morning... where is it???

Update - I logged into my personal page on Comcast, and once I did that, my backgrounds came up on the blog. That's so wrong - and I never had to do that before. That's ridiculous I have to be logged in elsewhere in order for my blog to look right. I have to play with this some more.

Look what I did today!

It's not perfect, but I'm working on it. My blog is looking pretty much like its old self again - but with a new funkier background. I like to live on the wild side, what can I say?

Turns out that Comcast did some renovations to their Personal Pages - so my pictures, while still being hosted, had a different site name. Hence, the blah white blog for the last month.

I'm still trying to figure out what changes I can make to make this blog more 'me now', as opposed to 'me' back a few years ago. I love the background - so I want to work around that.

As a parting thought - this is what I see when I look out my window now.



It's from a building that is on the next block. I just noticed it about a week ago, and now that's all I see when I look out the window. Great. I wonder how long it was there before I noticed it? The main question is... What the heck is it???

A different shade of pink

I found a pink background that I like. If you look at the areas next to the title bar, it's now a light pink scattered square design. I love that. I'm trying to make that the main background, instead of that dark rose color. Try as I might, I'm not having luck finding exactly what part of the code controls that background. I'm thinking it just might be a straight color command. I'll have to figure it out.

I hate this. I had it all the way I liked it, and now I'm basically starting over. I was using the Comcast personal page as a graphics host for my blog images - but for some reason the connection is not being made. The personal page is still there. So are my hosted images. Frustrating.

Think pink

Well, I couldn't figure out what happened with my blog. It was still coming out white. Kind of boring. I'm too impatient, so I just picked this template from the preset ones from Blogger.

It's really pink. I love pink - but this may be wee much. I'll fix it when I have time.

Weird night

It didn't feel that cold while I was walking from the Muni station to work, but there it was... I could see my breath. Puffs of mist coming from my nose as I hustled it to the doors of the high rise.

So, I just have to say (total change of subject here) that I am so proud of my hubby! He's been a bowler for years, and last night he bowled a perfect game of 300! Whoo hoo! He gets a free ring to commemorate the occasion. I'm so proud of him! I only wish I was there to see it.

Another change of subject - I'm totally into the Most Haunted series now. It's all so cheesy, but when you get into it and the room is quiet - the noises they hear really get to me. Last night, I discovered that they have snippets of episodes on Comcast OnDemand. It's free, so why not?
Hubby was bowling, and he doesn't like the show - so I settled onto the couch to get scared for a couple of hours.

Well, what we've been experiencing lately is that at random times, only when watching OnDemand, the cable box resets itself. It's so annoying!!! With that said, I was watching an episode of Most Haunted that was really 'intense' and suddenly, the picture went out - but I could still hear them talking. Then the power to the cable box completely cut off. Then came back on, but no picture. Then cut off again, and then came back on again. Then I had to wait for the all the channels to reload.

Of course, under normal television viewing, it would have just been a huge annoyance. But while watching Most Haunted? Of course it was the ghost in the machine that was messing with me. After a minute of freaking out that my TV was possessed, I calmed down. Turned off the TV and decided that Most Haunted would have to wait until my hubby came home.

So, I went on the computer. I love computer games and I had downloaded several of them from Real Arcade (love them!). So I was playing for about an hour and suddenly the power to the computer just shut off. Totally went dead. There was panic, confusion, frustration, feeling majorly annoyed, and then finally panic again.

The first panic, of course, was because my computer must now be possessed by a ghost who's messing with me. After getting over that, it was the usual feelings anyone may feel when their computer bombs while you're in the middle of something. Then the panic came back when I the realization that my hard drive may have completely crashed and I lost everything. AAACCCKKK!!!

When my hubby came home, it was such a relief because I knew the ghost in the TV couldn't get me anymore, and it would just be the cable box if the picture when out again. He also calmed me down about the PC. The fact that the power just shut down probably meant that the power supply blew. Not the hard drive. If the hard drive crashed, it wouldn't power down the machine. The fans would still be going. WHEW!!!

What a dramatic night. Ghosts and goblins everywhere - and Halloween was over already. Geez!

What happened to my blog?

How very odd. I just noticed that when I log into my blog on my laptop, all my background images are gone. The background is just plain white. But when I pull up my blog on my PC, everything is still there. How am I supposed to fix that?!?

Anyway, I watched the repeat of the last hour of the Most Haunted Live at the Winchester Mystery House. It was very entertaining. Real or not, the floating, tilting, spining table was an attention grabber. Even my hubby had to come out and watch it with me a couple of times. Was it real? Can't tell. And if it was fake, how did they do that???

So while it wasn't as dramatic as something being thrown across the room, I was satisfied. I know I will never do the midnight flashlight tour, so this is as close as I'll get to being in that house in the dark. Creepy!

I don't know if I would go back to that house now. Knowing the rooms where things happened before my eyes (albeit it was on TV). .. Eek! I know my imagination would be running rampant. Even if a window were open, the cold breeze obviously wouldn't be from the outside. It would have to be a ghost. Yep - and there I would be on the security cameras - running out of there. Shoving everyone out of my way. HAHAHA!

What the?!

I'm a huge fan of the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. Last night, there was a Most Haunted Live special - 7 hours straight at the house. Wonderful! I set my recorder and looked forward to, what I hoped would be, a ghost filled TV experience.

So, this morning, because of work, I was up by 6:30am. Because I have my BlackBerry, I didn't have to sit at my computer waiting for emails all day. I turned on the TV and started the ghost hunt.

Luckily, I had watched a couple hours of the program last night already, so I was able to forward through a big part of it, and through all the annoying 'host' commentary.

I don't know if any of it was true or staged, but it's a hoot thinking that a place I've been to could possibly have all this ghostly activity happening. Through all the tapping, bumps, and wailing, I was so looking forward to the midnight seance.

With only one hour left in the show - which would have been at midnight had I watched it live, the show suddenly cut off and went to an infomercial about hunting knives. WHAT?!

A quick search on the Travel Channel site and I found out that most of us on the West Coast lost our final hour of the show. Frustrating. I searched the TV guide to see if the show would replay any time between now and Halloween - and luckily, the last two hours of the show will be shown again tonight. Whew! So, once again, I've set my recorder.

The show really was fascinating. As much as I love visiting that house, I would NEVER do the flashlight tour. You couldn't pay me to go in there at night. Whether it really is haunted or not, I'll just enjoy the fantasy that it could be on TV.

I'm "on call" for just another hour and 45 mins. Counting down the minutes on my Saturday. Sigh...

You can count on me

My dad forwarded an email to me this afternoon. It was a letter that I wish I had never read - because it was just so sad to me. But I wish I could give this letter to everyone who is thinking about giving their pets away to a shelter thinking that they'll find a new home.

I'd post the letter, but just thinking about it makes me upset. I call it a letter, but it's more like a short story.

In brief, the story is told from the point of view of a dog to his owner. The dog recalls being his master's best friend through the years. Through the dating, the marriage, and the children. Then at one point, the family was moving away because of his master's job. Instead of taking the dog with them, he is brought to the local shelter - assuming that a loving family will adopt him.

The story becomes heart breaking when the dog tells of how excited he would be every day when someone walked by his cage - hoping that it would be his owner coming to get him. Patiently he waits - every day. But his owner never comes.

Then one day, and I'm sure you can pretty much guess why this upsets me so much, the dog taken to be put to sleep. And as his heart slows the dog thinks about how much he loves his owner and that he will continue to wait for him to come back.

As a pet owner, and with several dogs and cats in the family, it is just so hard for me to comprehend how people can just leave their pets behind. I know this happens. Monte was left behind by a neighborhood family, and was luckily welcomed into our home. I'm sure there are reasons peopel do this - and at the time, I'm sure the people thinks it's justified. But I can't help but think, Monte is my baby. Even though he's not my own flesh and blood - he's not just a cat to me. He's my adopted child. As silly as it sounds, that's just the way it is.

When I got home tonight, I went straight to Monte and just held him and cried. I took comfort in his purring. He didn't mind the wet spots that my tears made in his fur.

I made a promise to him that he would never be left behind - ever. I'd rather max out every credit card I have, sell my car, hock my furniture. I would never separate us. When the awful day comes someday when we do have to say goodbye, and as much as I know I don't want to, my hubby and I will hold him in our arms until his last breath - because we both know Monte does not like to be away from us. I will do this for him. Then we will bring him home after he's cremated - and he'll go with whichever of us goes first. But I pray none of this will happen for many more years.

Morbid, I know. I know I'm very emotional right now. You girls can understand. I wish I never read that story. Right now, I'm just enjoying the warmth from the soft, black, furry pillow that is sleeping on my foot.

My baby Monte in one of his brattier moments...

Lazy Saturday

I'm still getting over my cold. The worst of it is over, but I'm still coughing and my nose is always stuffy. To top it all off, my hubby is sick now too. Sorry babe!!!

It's going to be a crazy end to the year. I can't believe it's October already. What happened to the rest of 2007?!? Work is super busy, but I'm sucking it up because I'm thisclose to landing the promotion I've been working towards all year. We've got a long awaited wedding to attend next weekend. I have to plan a birthday dinner for my good friend next week, and a dinner with the family for my mom's birthday. Then in November, there's another wedding. Christmas shopping also begins then (yes, I shop BEFORE December), so I have to get my list ready.

I just ordered our tickets for the new Cirque du Soleil show, Kooza, for when it comes to SF. I can't wait. But that's not until December.

We're also planning to use up our timeshare week for a trip to Los Angeles. We've been to LA many times, but usually only for a long weekend and it's usually spent entirely with friends - hanging out with them and catching up. This trip will be different. I want to go to Disneyland to see their Christmas decorations (never done that), I want to see the La Brea Tar Pits (don't know why, but I do), I HAVE to see Wicked... and the silliest thing of all. I want to find that beautiful house from Father of the Bride. It was one of my favorite movies and I just absolutely love that house. I've always said that if I had the money, I would just hand over a copy of that video to our architect and say, "Build me this house."

So, lots of fun things to look forward to. I just need to get over this cold so I can enjoy my regular days again.

NyQuil is my best friend

Ok, not so much. I'm still waking up at night coughing. I've been suffering from this cold since Thursday - and only today have I not been hacking my lungs out.

So many things have been going on at work. I think my body just finally told me to slow down. And what better way to do it than to make it physically impossible to breathe through my nose, and to totally lose my voice from coughing so much? Seriously, frogs sound much better than I do right now.

What sucks about the timing of all this? Our company hosts a flu shot clinic one day every year. And I have to get my flu shot. The one year I didn't get it, I was out with the flu for almost three weeks.

Wouldn't you know it? The flu shot day is this Thursday. I can't get the shot while I'm sick. ARGH!!! So, instead of the groovy $5 I would normally pay, I'll have to take time off and probably go find some other clinic to get the shot for $25. Frustrating.

So, this was nothing more than a venting blog today. Sorry folks. I haven't done much in knitting or anything crafty lately. The new TV season has started, so we've just been couch potatoes every night the last week.

We did manage to get in a few movies though. Stranger Than Fiction and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Both were actually pretty funny. I really liked Stranger Than Fiction though, which surprises me because I'm not a huge Will Ferrell fan. That one I would recommend.

We will never forget... 9/11/01

I've typed, deleted, typed, deleted - and nothing I write seems right tonight.

Today is a day to remember.
To cry if you want to.
To appreciate.
To say a prayer for those we've lost.
To say a prayer for those who have lost.
A cheer to the heros.
A cheer to our country.

In whatever way you feel like, I hope you take a moment to remember our past - and look forward to our future.

Long needed vacation

Our Las Vegas weekend has come and gone. It was a great trip. We didn't win a million dollars, but we didn't lose everything we brought - so to me, that was a successful trip.


We got a great offer at the Wynn, and we were able to enjoy several of the restaurants there. Our first night, we met up with some friends who happened to be in Vegas at the same time. The four of us enjoyed a delicious dinner at Corsa Cucina. I had a filet with lobster gnocchi. Oh my goodness that gnocchi was good. There wasn't much of it, so I ate them as slowly as possible.


The next night, we had dinner at Daniel Boulud. My hubby had had their signature braised short ribs over a year ago and he had been drooling over the thought having it again ever since. We both ordered it. The meat was delicious, but instead of the rich red wine sauce we expected, they served it with some sort of carrot puree. It was yummy, but was a little odd. And we found out that they used white wine to braise the meat. They were going for a lighter "summer" flavor. It was good, but the red wine sauce with the meat would have been so much better.


We got a wonderful table outside with a view of the Wynn's grand waterfall - but it was so damn hot and humid, we finished our meal as quickly as we could and went back into the air conditioning. It was 86 degrees at 11pm at night - that's how hot it was. We didn't eat at 11pm, but we went out for a walk - and hurried back after walking around two nearby hotels.


To round off our all meat weekend (totally unintentional) we had our last dinner at the SW Steakhouse. If ever a filet with a side of creamed spinach and potatoes au gratin could be ever so yummy, this place was it. Wow - it was expensive, but it so worth every penny. We shared a portabello mushroom and corn soup and crab cake (yes, just one crab cake) for appetizers too. We were sooooo full that we didn't even look at the dessert menu. WHEW!

As they say, the person most in need of a vacation is the person who just came back from one. I definitely need another vacation. I love Vegas - but maybe next time we'll get an offer in the months where the temp doesn't go over three digits during the day.

Zombie

That's the best way to describe me right now. I got up at 5:15am today. Got ready and then got my new fave flavor coffee of the month from Starbucks (white mocha latte - YUM) and headed out to Sacramento for a meeting. I can't complain. I got there in an hour and a half from San Francisco. No traffic at all. I just blasted the radio and had a good old sing along.

After an eight hour meeting (yes, eight wonderful hours - with 30 mins for lunch) I finally headed back to the city around 4:30p. That trip took me over 2 hours.

I'm exhaused. I think for the first time in years, I may conk out before 11pm. I know that's late to some people, but I usually start winding down around midnight. Bad habit. I only get a few hours sleep, but I just get a second wind come 11p or 12a.

I think I'll start getting ready now. I'm too tired to even read Harry Potter tonight. I stayed up until 2:30a this past Sunday reading it. Totally screwed up my schedule.

Oh, and I restarted that stupid poncho for the 10th time last night. I don't know what I was thinking. I was doing the Backward Loop cast on, instead of a yarn over. What the heck was I thinking? So, now with effort number 10, it's as it should be. Knock on wood. If I have to start over again, the poncho will be retired and I'll make something else with the yarn. ARGH!!!

Feeling sheepish

Well, I restarted that baby poncho almost 9 times during my Tahoe trip. NINE!!! I was so frustrated that I even joined a knitting forum for help. As I was writing my plea for help, it suddenly dawned on me what had been wrong and why the pattern wasn't working for me. I was adding an extra stitch to one of the steps. DUH!!!

It's amazing how my eyes played tricks on me for this one. Geez. Now I feel so silly. Yes, I screwed up and misread the pattern. My bad.

So, now I'm working on this beautiful little poncho that I hope to have completed by next Saturday. I'm going to meet my friend for dinner and I want to be able to give this poncho to her daughter.

What else have I been working on? Well, we saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (FINALLY). I loved it. Then I finished rereading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Now I'm starting on the seventh and final book of the saga, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm taking my time - I don't want it to end.

I've also been working on other projects. I get bored easily, so I always have a few things going at the same time.

1. Doggie sweater



2. Stuffed airplane



3. Another version on the stuffed elephant - this one will be in an Oakland A's baseball uniform.




Of all things, I don't have any picture of the poncho yet. I'll get one posted soon.

I think I can!

I bought this book, "Holiday Knits" by Allison Isaacs and Sara Lucas.

From the moment I got this book, I told myself that I was going to make every single item in it. Everything is so cute. I don't know what it is. Maybe it's the holiday theme. Maybe it has great pictures that make everything just so appealling. Whatever it is, despite my very busy schedule, I decided to take a break today and knit the baby poncho.

I am not an advanced knitter, but I'm not a beginner either. Other than something just taking time, I can follow a pattern and complete my projects.

Let me tell you, I must be having a very bad day or something because I started that poncho over three times, and finally gave up. Then I tried a baby bootie. That has also been frogged. The needles have been put back in there place. The used yarn wrapped around the remaining skeins. It was very frustrating. The patterns weren't clear and didn't make sense.

The pictures in this book are gorgeous. The book itself is not cheaply made - nor was it cheap. The designs in there are just yummy - but the patterns. Geez!!! I wish I were good enough at my knitting where I could get an idea for something and make up my own pattern. I depend so much on instructions that this really frustrates me - because I don't know how to make all these things I want to make now.

Maybe I'll be brave and try it again another day. Knitting usually relaxes me. Not tonight unfortunately. Bummer.

Ain't life funny?

OK, this isn't the funny part. I don't know what is going on with my Blogger. I can't add titles to my posts! The title field is there, but I can't click into it or type into it. Frustrating. So, I'm manually creating a "title" within my entry.

Now, my real blog. One boring evening, I decided to search on loom knitting on You Tube. Don't ask me why, because I have no idea what made me even think of loom knitting. I was surfing on You Tube, so I probably saw it as a link on something else. Anyway...

I came across these instructional videos from purlingsprite that just made me completely fascinated with loom knitting. I had no idea what that colorful round frame with all the little pegs sticking out of it could do! Or what it was for. I've seen them forever at the craft stores.

Last night, I was catching up on my taped episodes of Knitty Gritty, and who should be a guest on the show??? My loom instructor from You Tube, Isela Phelps (I figure since she was on TV, it's ok to reveal her name on my little blog). Turns out she has her own blog and has published a book on loom knitting. In fact, she and her husband create and sell looms! What a small world.

So, what am I doing tonight? Happily catching up on the Purling Sprite blog and reminding myself that I have way too many WIPs to even think about starting to take up looming.

I'm feeling a little down today

Actually, the day itself was not bad, but there has been a little cloud of sadness over me. Today would have been Bubbles' 16th birthday. Which mean, in another 7 days, he would have been gone from us for one year. One year already!

It brings back memories of what a difficult time it was for me and my family last year during these very same days. Bubbles was diagnosed with cancer, then it seemed to be in remission. Then it came back in full force. He was not able to stand or walk at this time, and my parents lovingly hand fed him all his meals every day. It was a very sad time for all of us.

I hugged his picture today and cried a bit. I still miss him very much. Sigh...

On a happier note, we've been catching up on movies this summer. We just watched Blood Diamond. Very good movie, but since I know those things happen in reality, it was disturbing. I'm sure diamonds are not as rare as the distributors want the world to think, but they control it. And to think of all the carnage that happened in the last, God only knows how many, years - it's just sickening. Anyway, good performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou.

Tonight, I felt like a comedy, so we watched First 50 Dates with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. I liked it, but it was sad at times. I really like both actors, and there were some very funny scenes. If you ever watch it, be assured that the comment they make about a Walrus' (eh em) private parts, is true. Years ago, I went to Sea World with some friends and while visiting the Walrus exhibit... well, let's just say, I have a very funny picture that is evidence of what they talk about in the movie. Hey, if you ever saw it live, you'd break out your camera too.

Earlier this afternoon, I watched Volver, with Penelope Cruz. It's actually very good. I was surprised that I enjoyed it so much. Unlike other films, this was completely in Spanish, so I couldn't knit and watch at the same time. I actually had to pay attention and read the subtitles. It's not the best film in the world, but it was good. Penelope Cruz is so pretty, even though she has raccoon eye make up throughout the film.

The All Star Game festivities have begun. My hubby and I just ran outside to watch a short fireworks show near AT&T Park. They're closing off streets and traffic is going to be crazy here. I think I'll be ok getting to work in the mornings, and I can always walk home from work. My hubby has to get to Redwood City. He may try to take the CalTrain. It would be a nightmare for when he tries to get home by car. On Monday, he wants to go to the park, because they're doing something called the Home Run Derby. Should be interesting.

Our Mr. Brooks

Somehow, I've never heard of Mr. Brooks, the new Kevin Costner film. I guess in my craze of catching up with Doctor Who, I haven't been watching much regular TV lately- so I missed the commercials for this movie.

We went to see it today. It was actually good. It's not on my favorite movie list, but I really enjoyed it. Kevin Costner and William Hurt were very good. Kevin plays Earl Brooks, a man with a seemingly perfect life - who literally wins a 'man of the year' award. But he suffers from what he calls an addiction - to murder. It's a clever movie and I would recommend it.

A few weeks ago, I saw Miss Potter, with Renee Zellweger. I really like this movie - though I don't recommend it for everyone. It's a talker - about the life of Beatrix Potter, who wrote the Peter Rabbit tales. It's a wonderful little movie that makes you want to pack your bags and move to the English Countryside. The scenery is so beautiful. It's a clever movie about a woman whom I knew nothing about - and I came out of it with a new respect for her and her works.

It's been a busy time at work. I've actually been getting some work done this weekend as well. I'm just so thankful that I can login from home and not actually have to go to the office. I'm looking forward to two mini-vacations coming in the next few months. Our annual trip to Lake Tahoe is in July (can't wait). Three full days of just relaxing by the pool and doing NOTHING.

August brings a trip to Las Vegas for my birthday. I've missed Vegas - haven't been there since my birthday last year. My hubby went a few months ago for a bachelor party - so I've been craving the City of Sin. I want to try some new restaurants and finally go see the Cirque du Soleil show, Love. I've reserved the room, now I need to get plane tickets and reserve restaurants and show tickets. Lots of planning, but totally worth it!

Is it really Friday?

Is the weekend really here? Is it? This week has been so busy, I can't even imagine that I really don't have to get up early tomorrow and then sit through nine hours of meetings. That's all my week has been. Meetings. I get about an hour of 'me' time when I get to work to get my coffee, answer a few emails, catch up with my supervisor... then at 9am I'm off to a conference room. I'm still on this huge project for my company with a deadline of July 31st looming in the not so distant future. So much work to do. So much detail to watch out for. Too much!

At night, I just veg. I'm caught up on my Doctor Who, and now I'm starting on season one of Torchwood. It's a spin-off from Doctor Who. In fact, the word Torchwood is a anagram of 'Doctor Who'. when the Doctor Who series was first starting up again in 2005, the producers would pass on tapes of the show with the code name of Torchwood. Clever!

I'm loving the BBC shows right now. I've found so many shows that I need to watch this summer. I just think they're a refreshing change from the shows that I've been so loyal to during the fall season.

So, aside from a birthday party we're going to on Sunday, the rest of my weekend will be spent watching BBC shows and knitting. I'm either productive at work or at home - not both. HAHAHA! Since I had no choice this week but to really work at work, I will be a lazy bum the next two days. Yep.

Love it

Lookie what I found!

It's a vintage pink stove. PINK!!! I love these vintage stoves and for the first time actually started looking them up online. Turns out there are a lots of places that restore and sell these vintage appliances.

Of course, my first thought when I saw this was that I had to have it. How awesome would this stove look in our future home. But then reality set in and I know that this would be taking my pink obsession a bit far. I've already got the pink mixer AND pink pots and pans. I think that's the limit my hubby would tolerate. Now, if I were single and lived on my own, that would be another story. I guess having my hubby is worth giving up the pink appliances. ;)

I have finished watching the first two seasons of Doctor Who. They got rid of another character that I liked. I'm rather disappointed. I know it's important to keep the show 'fresh', but they've already changed the main character once, and now they've replaced another lead character. I'm not used to that much change. I don't know if I'll like the new girl on the show during this third season, but I guess I have to give her a chance. The problem I have with her - from just seeing her in the previews - is that it's a girl who was killed in an earlier episode already. What the heck is she doing back???

Anyway...

Got caught up on our favorite shows. Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy - all are put to bed for the summer. I must say, I was not thrilled with the way they ended things off on those three shows - but I'm looking forward to the new season. There were some surprises, and some very predictable 'cliff hangers', but I still love these shows.

I'm so greatful for the long weekend. I'm working on another knitted elephant, and will try to finish up a doggie sweater that I've been working on and off the past few months. I also should get back to the baby blanket I started in January for my college roommate.

Getting back into the knit of things

It's been crazy at work. Meetings upon meetings.

On my weekend, I spent hours catching up on a newly discovered show. Doctor Who. I remember it from the late 70's/early 80's when it was on PBS. It starred Tom Baker - a Howard Stern'ish kind of guy who had curly hair and a striped scarf (a la Harry Potter). And he travelled around in an old English phone booth. I think when most people mention Doctor Who, they think of this guy.



I had no idea what was going on back then. I was too young. But now in watching the new revamped 2005 version, I understand it's about time travelling and the many adventures our beloved Doctor Who encounters along the way. I also didn't know that the Doctor Who series has been around since 1963 - and we are now on our 10th Doctor (played by David Tennant).

Some of it's quite cheesy - but I love it. The first season from 2005 (the last show was with the eighth Doctor in 1996) had a great actor playing the Doctor - Christopher Eccelston. And wouldn't you know it? He ends up playing the guy with powers of invisibility on Heroes two years after leaving Doctor Who.

Anyway, while having my own marathon TV weekend of watching all of Season One, and about half of Season Two of my new favorite show, I knitted like a madwoman to finish this:



Yes, she's very similar to the elephants I've done in the past - but this one was by special request from someone who saw the original Ellie sitting on my friend's desk - and wanted a little purple skirted elephant of her own. So, here she is. She's knit on size 2 needles, so my hands get cramped up after a while and I keep having to stop.

I've since been asked to make two more elephants, but wearing Oakland A's baseball uniforms. Uh... right. I'll have to figure that out. I just enjoy making things and giving them away. I just like the satisfaction of having made them. But I keep getting request after request to make these - maybe I should start charging.

I also attempted to make a pair of socks for the first time in my life. I read so many blogs and so many people are into sock knitting, I had to finally try it myself. I just used some left over blue yarn from another project - found a simple pattern online and just plowed ahead. It was very simple knitting - quick satisfaction indeed.



First of all, this color of blue for these socks - way too bright (much brighter than the picture shows), but the yarn is oh so soft. The socks themselves... ugly as all heck, but I did it. I made a pair of socks. HA! I rarely wear socks, so this is a 'been there, done that' deal. I think these will have to be donated. I think if I had made them with a more wearable color - I would have kept them. Ah well, they'll make someone's feet cheerier.

EW!!!

I am totally disgusted. I just read this news article about doctors finding spiders inside a boy's ear!!! (cold chills!) Just nasty.

Apparently, he kept hearing a 'rice crispy' type sound on his ear, so his mother brought him to the doctors. They found that what he had been hearing was the spiders walking on his eardrum. Unbelieveable.

Sorry, not much else to contribute to this except that I HATE spiders. Absolutely hate them. Even the teeny tiny baby ones I use Raid to kill them. I can't do the tissue thing - my heartrate goes up immediately and I just feel terrified. My husband hates the smell of Raid - so I've resorted to household cleaning products like Tilex. That kills them and doesn't leave a greasy stain on the walls. HA!

Yuck, yuck, yuck. I just can't get over it.

It's picture Sunday!

Just finally downloaded all my pics from my camera, so now I can share!

Here are the delightfully pink and purple knitting needles I bought yesterday from Daiso Japan. I love them. Haven't tried them yet - but I love them. These are size 6mm and 7mm needles (Japanese sizing). I figured the 6mm is equivalent to a US size 10, and the 7mm is maybe 10.75 US. There is no exact size that matched the 7mm Japanese needle. Ahh well. It's pink, I don't care. Hee hee...



And check out these weird food items!

This is Dragon Beard Candy. Can't believe I found a website on this, but it describes it the best. Click on the video to see it created! This is from my anniversary dinner with my parents.



And here are some pictures of very weird fruit that my dad bought us. I have no idea what either of them is called, but aren't they just... well, odd? The red one was absolutely gorgeous. It was a maroon collor on the outside - very smooth skin, and the inside was bright, bright white with black seeds. It was delicious. Not too sweet, but very juicy. You simply scrape out the flesh right up to the pinkish skin.





The green thing - well, not so good. It was also a fruit, but too dry inside. And I wasn't sure what I was supposed to eat, and what not to eat. There was a layer of something that was almost like a cream between the skin and the fleshy part of the fruit - no clue. And it didn't look very appetizing inside either. I like the heart shape though.

My new favorite store

Well, not really, but it's my new favorite place to browse. Daiso Japan is a store that has everything and anything you can imagine in terms of knick knacks. They've got stationary, cookware, basic kitchenware, billions of tupperware like storage boxes, wrapping paper... It was amazing.

I found these great plastic knitting needles in a light pink and purple. I've been using mainly bamboo needles, but these were just such a pretty color. And they became the "no question" items for me when I asked how much they cost. $1.50 each pair. HA! They had nice bamboo needles for the same low price, but I really wanted some pink needles. Yes, I'm still on my pink kick.

The store was packed. and I don't mean just with products, but with people. Geez! Couldn't go down any aisle without waiting for someone to move first. As I learned from asking about my knitting needles, anything without a pricetag was a $1.50. And a lot of what I looked at didn't have prices on them.

So anyway, I was very good today. I only spent a total of $3.25 for two sets of needles. Whoo hoo!

Happy Anniversary!

Six years ago today, my hubby and I got married. It was a beautiful wedding and I still remember every detail of it. I don't think I could ever forget. For the first time in years, our anniversary actually falls on a Saturday, same as our wedding day.

As I write this at almost 10pm, we would have been dancing six years ago. The party won't be stopping until the last guest leaving our hotel suite at 3am.

Today was a beautiful and sunny day in San Francisco. I think it was in the 70's. Fabulous. After a quick appointment at the vet for Monte (who is undergoing hyperthyroid treatment - he's ok), we had lunch at our favorite Indian buffet restaurant. Then we headed out to Corte Madera mall and walked around. It's rare when we can sit outside and enjoy a nice frappucchino and just relax together.

Dinner tonight was at Jack Falstaff. It was ok. I don't think we'll be going back there. I don't think I've ever encountered this, but there wasn't a single thing in the appetizer section that either of us was interested in. And then the entree, I had their special - pork shoulder over polenta, and my hubby had a chicken pot pie. Mine was pretty good, but I've had better. And my hubby was not impressed with his pot pie. Pretty disappointing. We skipped dessert and went home. Well, Gavin Newsom wasn't there - or maybe that would have made it a more memorable experience there. The place was packed when we left, so maybe we just ordered the wrong thing. I don't know - but we're not going back to find out.

Commute

It's been a while. I've been so busy at work, I have to check my calendar each week to be sure which city I'm supposed to be in each day. Crazy, huh? This week, I've been trekking to San Ramon every morning. I don't mind it too much though. I get good knitting time for 40 minutes in the mornings and evenings. Last week, I was in Sacramento.

I guess it's good and bad. I recently joined a huge project that will change the way my company does business internally - which in turn will provide better service to our customers outside in the real world. It's an awesome experience for my resume - and I appreciate being asked to join this team. On the flip side, my 'real' job is still lingering there waiting for me. I wasn't crazy about that. I looked on the job boards today and saw several Tech Writer positions open. One of them is a Senior position that I am PERFECT for. I mean, the job description was written describing me practically. What timing.

Of course, as a tech writer with limited web design experience, it may put me in a position where I'm stuck and can't move up anywhere. The project I'm in now could lead to big opportunities for me - changes that I'm hoping will be good, but I don't know. It could also just dump me back to my old position when all is said and done.

Oh the drama of it all. :( I don't want to burn my bridges with the higher ups who wanted me on this project. But I don't want to miss out on any opportunities either.

What to do? What to do?

Babies, babies, babies!

My favorite roommate from college is a mommy now! She had her baby boy, Gavin, on her birthday this past Sunday. What a wonderful birthday present - and kind of unexpected. I say unexpected because the original due date was April 1st - and the doctor pushed it back to April 10th. And even when she felt contractions on the Friday and Saturday before the birth, the doctor kept thinking it was false labor. So, E was able to get one more baby shower party in before going to the hospital for real. Funny. Of course, this makes me think what the doctor was checking to be THAT off on the timing and insisting the baby wasn't ready yet. But I'm not a mom, so I have no idea.

Anyway, E lives in So. Cal - so I'm not able to go see her unfortunately. I was able to visit with her in January, so I did get to see her in all her pregnant glory. I'm so happy for her. I know she's going to be a wonderful mom.

Congratulations E and R. Welcome baby Gavin!!!

I also found out, about a week ago, that another friend had a baby girl. Sofia. Her dad is the brother of my hubby's business partner. This is their second girl. Sofia and her family also live in So. Cal. I think they're actually in a neighboring city to my roomie.

Hmmm, maybe my hubby and I should do another road trip.

Why do people do this?

I received a letter postmarked from the U.K. today. They said that someone had opened some kind of account back in 1990, and died in 1999. Since then, this auditing company has been searching for the next of kin. There was no will or anything, and since I happen to have the same last name - they're assuming I'm family. (I only have one of the most common Chinese last names, by the way) They're asking me to contact them to arrange for transfer of $15.5 million dollars to my account. Uh, right.

I did a little search online and found that someone else received this exact same letter. The initials of the deceased weren't even changed. Only the last name. People are so pathetic.

Not much to report on the knitting front these days. I've gotten over my flu, and it has turned into a nasty cold. Lately, I've been going to bed at midnight and then waking up at 11am the next day - don't know why I'm so exhausted, but geez, I didn't think I could sleep 11 hours straight! And I could also get very used to this not working thing. Of course, I'm much better at this moment, so I'm most likely going back to work tomorrow (right in time for Friday).

Oddly enough, I've spend my entire 3 sick days at home watching The Real Housewives of the OC marathons, and anything on the Food Network. In my illness, I've been inspired to cook again. I made beef and cheese stuffed manicotti, raspberry cream cupcakes, and sausages and lentils. Anything from Everyday Italian or Nigella Bites - you know it will be gooooood.

Hubby is at his bowling night - and then will go play poker with some friends afterwards. I think I'll do some laundry and then take my meds and conk out earlier tonight. 6:30am alarm tomorrow again. I hate work.

Farewell to our little Cocoa

Almost seven years ago, my mom witnessed our neighborhood stray, Cheetah, give birth to three adorable kittens. Since then, my mom has raised Toby and Chelsea to the tubby cats they are today. The third kitten, Cocoa, was eventually given away to a family friend.


Last week, mom called me and said that Cocoa was not feeling well. The children of the friend had called for help because they had never had pets before and wasn't sure what to do. Within the three days of the news, Cocoa had a stroke and passed away in her sleep at the pet hospital. It's a great shock and so sad. The children are devistated.

I remember when my mom took the kittens in - just about two or three weeks old. We bottle fed them formula, helped them find their way to the sandbox, tucked them in at night. I could hold all three babies in my two hands, they were that tiny.


Cocoa went to a good family who loved her very much, and I'm sorry their time with her was cut so short and abruptly. Cocoa would have turned seven years old this May 12th.


Rest in peace little Cocoa. We will miss you.


(Here is the family before we took the kittens in. From top to bottom: Cheetah, Chelsea, Cocoa, and Toby.)





And here's a picture of the whole clan, with Bubbles, Tiny, and all three cats together.

Various Projects

Unfortunately, I forgot to charge up my camera, so no pictures of my recent WIP pieces. But I'll post some soon, I promise.

I'm still working on the multicolored baby blanket. I finally got sick of all the hanging yarn, so I weaved in all the ends of yarn that wouldn't been used in the rest of the design anymore. That made it a little more manageable, but it still takes me about 40 minutes to complete one row. Geez!

I started another project. The doggie sweater from the Stitch 'N Bitch book. It's fairly easy knitting, but I've gotten to the part for the arm holes and I'm trying to figure that our now. I'm also having to make adjustments because the width wise, I'm following the large dog measurements. And length wise, I have to adjust it to the medium dog size. I hope it will fit!

The third and last project I'm working on is my favorite. Why? Because it's brainless knitting for me. I'm knitting squares for charity. I found it on the Knitty Gritty site. You knit simple squares with any kind of worsted weight yarn. Send them to the address on the site - and they knit them all together into blankets for the homeless. How wonderful! So, when I feel the mood to knit, but don't want to sit there with the book and follow a pattern, I'm just knitting 7"x9" squares.

Not much else going on lately. I didn't get the job I interviewed for two weeks ago. It was basically a promotion from the position I'm in now. I was so disappointed, because I was given a lot of false hope for this position. I came in 'second' on my interview. Story of my life. Second time I came in second for this same position. Unbelievable. Anyway, I get upset whenever I think about it, so I won't go into details.