A whole lot of shakin' going on

Within the past few days, we've had three earthquakes. Small ones ranging from 3.7 to 3.5. The first was a few nights ago. We were in the living room, and I heard a loud 'crack' from the building and a hard jolt. That freaked me out.

Last night, while wrapping some gifts, my hubby comes into the room and asks if I'm ok. Apparently, there was another hard jolt like the night before, but I didn't feel a thing. GOOD!

I've been sick the last few days, so when I'm asleep, I'm really knocked out - so I missed another on at 9am this morning.

We found this website that reports earthquake activities in California and Nevada. It's pretty cool, and the information comes up fairly soon after the quake hits. http://quake.usgs.gov/recenteqs/

I'm concerned why we're getting so many quakes from the same fault in such a short time. On one hand, which is what my hubby thinks, it's good that the ground is shifting on it's own to adjust itself so pressure doesn't build for a big quake. Yet on the other hand, it could just be getting ready to blow the huge quake that everyone has been saying will come in the next 30 years, since the 1989 shake up. I guess I'll take the small ones than the one big one.

Rounding off the year in Pink!

Lookie what I got as an early Christmas gift!



HAHA! Pink cookware! My friend G got it for me. I couldn't believe she did that. I saw a set by this brand at Bloomingdales, but the pot sizes were odd and I didn't like it that much. I think I just mentioned it to G casually in an email, and next thing you know - she sent me this for Christmas. And all the sizes are exactly what I wanted and normally use! This picture is from the box. My delightfully pink set is sitting in a stack on my kitchen counter. I can't wait to use them. THANKS G!!!

It's funny because I see a lot of pink things that I want for the house, but of course, I don't get them because I don't think my hubby would like to come home to a completely pink house. And then my friends go and get me everything pink. I love it! Hee hee...

Why I hate Windows XP now

Normally I'm one who dismisses the sides of which is better, Mac or PC. I use PC at home and at work. It's what I was trained on, I use it, I live with it. I know it has it's quirks, but what can you do? I have to use it.

So, Sunday morning, I saw there is the new I.E. 7 out, but I discovered that I can't install it until I have XP SP2 on my machine. So, I did my little search, and about an hour later, I have SP2 installed. Then, I rebooted, and it all went to hell.

I was stuck in a reboot loop, but I managed to get in via Safe Mode. At that point, after playing around with the settings a little, I decided to skip the I.E. 7 and uninstalled the SP2. Big mistake. Right after the uninstall and reboot, my PC crashed. It wouldn't even boot up in Safe Mode.

SO PISSED!

And to top it all off, I had forgotten that my hubby has to take a final for his class before Wednesday this week. He had planned to take it Sunday night. Well, that didn't happen.

I had planned a big Christmas gathering of friends and luckily, one of them is a Network Specialist. He gave us some disks to help us restore out system - and that is what I have been doing for the past 7 hours today. Completely reinstalled XP, and then had to figure out how to get everything back the way it was. Not happy...

Kitty on Pillow

Not a very imaginative title, but that describes my latest completed project. A little white kitty on a purple pillow. I had a little trouble with the embroidery of the face, but I think I managed to muddle through it somehow.

Santa has come to town

May I introduce to you Santa the Elephant?



I finished him last week, and I'm actually working on a second one for my mother-in-law now. I really like how he turned out, but I'm still deciding on whether or not I like him with the beard. Maybe if I use a fluffier yarn? It's a little too much like a white patch stuck to his chin... Oh well, I have a little time to think about it. He actually looks good without any beard, but that wouldn't be Santa. I'll have to experiment.

I haven't posted any pictures of Monte in a while. I took this one of him last week. This is his cutest pose. I love it when he rolls onto his back like this. He looks so comfy.

A nice long break

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I certainly did. It's been an extra long (Thurs - Mon) weekend break, but filled with activity.

Thursday, we had our Thanksgiving with both our parents, grandma at the house of my father-in-law's God-daughter's family. We rounded off a night of wonderful food with the girls playing mah-jong, and the guys playing 'golf' (compliments of two sets of those golf practice putter layouts).

One of my best friends got married this weekend. Being a bridesmaid meant my Saturday and Sunday were spoken for. Rehearsal and the dinner was on Saturday. I stayed with the bride and two other bridesmaids at the hotel. Then Sunday was the big day. It was cold and rainy - and all of us were frozen solid, but it was still a beautiful wedding. It took all I had to not start bawling on the altar - especially when the groom started tearing up.

My hubby and I both took Monday off to relax, and I took the opportunity to work on another Christmas project. The sweater I was working on is about 95% complete. I just need to sew it together - but geez, even that is tedious! I started working on something more fun.

Remember way back when, I made a little stuffed elephant for my friend?
















Well, I've decided that Santa needs to go to Sacramento now to pay a visit. So, I've been working on this little guy.

















I've since finished the arms, and now I need to work on the hat. He's really cute so far. I love the little outfit. I got the idea from a Jean Greenhowe pattern of an elephant in a red sleeper outfit, complete with a hat with a tassle on the end. I modified it to make it a Santa suit instead. It's so cute. Santa will only be about 6" tall, so just imagine how small this little outfit is.



Hopefully, I'll finish the hat soon and sew the whole thing together. The white yarn I got is from Plymouth and it's called "Oh My!" I love the name, because when you first touch this yarn, that's the exact reaction you'll have. It is the softest yarn ever. I tried making a baby bootie out of it, but it's way too heavy for that. It was perfect for the Santa suit.

Did you get your PS3 yet?

Well, neither have I. And those few who answered "Yes," I commend your dedication.

I drove past the Metreon here in SF last night, where they have a Sony Playstation store, and let me tell you... it was utter chaos. CRAZY!!! They blocked off the entire street for the event. Hundreds of people everywhere. There were those spotlights shining all over the sky, a live band - and God only knows what else.

According to our local paper, people were waiting before 8am on Wednesday to get a spot in another line on Thursday at 8am - just so that they could buy the PS3 at midnight Friday.

As much as I like gaming, I don't think I'm that dedicated. I would like to 'try' it in the store one day though. Just to see the graphics. But it doesn't play my old PS2 games, so that was a big deterrent for me.

Ah well, to those who got their hands on one - Congratulations.

Two things I love about the holidays

OK, I don't love them - but they fascinate me.

1. Oprah's Christmas show. I was amazed the first time I caught the episode a few years back. I finally saw what all the fuss was about. I couldn't believe that everything she was featuring on her show, and it wasn't cheap stuff - the audience received as well. Last year, I happened to be flipping channels at 1am, and I came across a rerun of the show from that day. It was about school teachers - and suddenly, from above comes a whole fireplace scene and lights... ah! The Christmas Show!

Now most of the things she gave away, I didn't care for, but that washer and dryer set was the exact one that I totally want for my house some day. Especially the dryer. You place your delicates on racks and you can run the airdry cycle. No more net baggies - no more trying to unhook all your delicates from the netting.

So, that was my big envy of last year.

2. The Neiman Marcus catalog. I don't shop there all the time, but I get the Christmas Book in the mail anyway. Each year, I eagerly flip through the pages of everything I can't afford, and see how NM has outdone itself again.

Forget about the million dollar bras that Victoria Secret offers each year. From Neiman Marcus you can buy a water park for your backyard for $3.5 million. You and several friends can have a sports lovers dream package, where you attend the major event in every sport next year. For example, tickets to the Superbowl. But not only that. You will also have an opportunity to dine with a legend of that sport. I think they mentioned Troy Aikman for the football part of it. How about a $3.8 million dollar membership to an exclusive resort in Europe? It's not just membership, it's considered equity that you can pass down to your family.

And the grandest, yet oddly cheapest extravagance (considering) - that if I had the money for, HELL YAH I would buy it... A trip for you and 5 friends onboard the Virgin Galactica. A trip into space my friends! For just under $2 million, you and five friends will be prepared for a launch into space! Unbelievable. I would do that in a heartbeat. After that, you get several days with Sir Richard Branson (Virgin Airlines guru - multibillionaire extraordinaire) on his private island in pure paradise. Actually for that part, each of the initial 6 people can invite one more person. So, 12 people in paradise.

Incredible.

Yep, two of my guilty pleasures of the holidays.

Tis the season... again

I love the holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorite holidays of the year. I love the preparations for and anticipation of the big family gatherings. The panicked realization that there are only so many shopping days left until Christmas (or actually, the days left to finish my projects for Christmas). The pumpkin spice and gingerbread lattes at Starbucks. I love all the decorations in the stores and around the city. I love it all.

It's another drab Monday here in good ole San Francisco. Cold and drizzly. But with my hands warming around a cup of hot Gingerbread latte, all is good.

On the flip side of all that is warm and fuzzy this morning - someone brought a slushy machine to work. Yep. A full on, dual flavor slushy machine. Now, normally, I would love a tall sweet cup of Cola slushy -but it's just too darn cold today!

Almost there!!!

Just 4" to go, and I'll be able to sew up my sweater and wear it!!! Just in time for the winter. It's been a huge learning experience, and I'm rather proud of myself for 'almost' finishing an actual, whole sweater! Whoo hoo!

I'm holding off starting any of my 'Christmas' goodies until I finish the sweater - which is good, because I know I need to start on my other projects soon (can't believe it's November already), so it pushes me to finish the sweater faster.

So, the other night, while knitting away, I happened to catch Ju On 2 (original Japanese version of The Grudge 2) on TV. It's TERRIBLE!!! The first Ju On freaked me out - so I would call that a successful movie. But this second one, it wasn't like Blair Witch Project, but it was a step above a cheapy movie camera. The sound was bad. And I didn't realize how important background music is to create a mood for a scene - until I saw this movie with limited background music. Horrible. I had no clue what the heck was going on.

I admit it, when The Grudge 2 comes out on DVD, I'll probably watch it too. Sad, but true.

Slowly crawling to the finish line

I'm still working on my sweater. I'm so close, but it still seems like the end is so far away! After finishing the sleeves, the next step is to sew the shoulder seams together. I binded off the wrong part on the front panel of the sweater! Unbelievable. I had stitch holders where they should have been binded off, and then it was binded off where the stitch holder was supposed to be.

I had been staring at the front and back panels of the sweater and couldn't figure out how on earth I was supposed to sew the shoulder seams together, and when I realize what I had screwed up on, well, there is no nice way to describe how I felt.

I had already cut the yarn on that part too. I tried to undo the binded off section, but it wasn't working out for me, so I ended up unraveling about two rows and then adding more yarn, managed to bind off where I should have in the first place, and then hallelujah, sewed the shoulder seams together. Whoo hoo!

Now, I'm working on the second to last part of the sweater. The hood. Thirteen inches to go, and then I can sew the whole thing together - and I'll be done!!!

I can't wait to start on my Christmas projects. They're small items this time, so they shouldn't take me too long. I've been concentrating on the sweater so much that I haven't made anything else since those little baby hats and booties in September.

I have tons of yarn, so my hubby has banned me from buying anymore until I actually use up some of it first. Well, darn it, I'll just have to knit more!!!

What the ?!?

I finally found a new radio station at work where I actually get a strong reception, so for once, the music I like comes through nice and clear - and I don't have to adjust my dial every few hours. I'm thinking SCORE!

Problem is that in between every song, they run station plugs and commercials. Lots of commercials.

Normally I just tune out the 'non-music' parts, but this commercial caught my attention. It's about becoming a surrogate mother. A young sounding girl says, "I've been a surrogate mother three times. If you like being pregnant, like I do, then I'd like to talk to you..." What the hell kind of commercial is that?

This is a station that is obviously aimed for the younger crowd - the commercials mainly consist of ads for modeling casting calls, acne medication, and certain movies.

... but plugging surrogate motherhood? Are you kidding me?

It's hard planning a party!

Aside from work, it's been a very busy time in general. For the last month or so, I had been planning a trip to Santa Cruz for a Bachelorette Party. Trying to coordinate nine girls coming from different cities, from Lake Tahoe to Sacramento, is not the easiest thing.

The biggest drama was getting the house rental. I don't know anything about Santa Cruz or the Capitola area, so all my research relied on what I could find on the internet. If our party was able to stay the whole weekend, there wouldn't have been any problems - but, as it was, most could only stay Saturday night. Our search limited us to a one night rental.

Let me tell you, people who rent beach homes do not prefer renting them for one night only. So, that made our search drop from say 100 results, to about 5. And lets not mention that people book way in advance, and I was looking within a few weeks of the actual trip.

Long story shortened, I found a perfect place by the beach. I made the agreement with the owner and sent in my deposit. A day later, I get an email from the management company saying that they received a deposit from another group who wanted the house for the same night, and I was bumped. What had happened was, the owner didn't tell the management company that she made an agreement with me - and I never new there was a management company that I should I gone through. What a mess. I never heard from the owner again (not surprisingly), but the mgmt. company was very apologetic and offered discounts for other nights and such - but I didn't need that. I needed the house that weekend.

Luckily, one of the girls going to the party has a friend, whose parents own a house in Capitola. God bless them, they let us rent their home for that one night. We were set.

Now we had to plan the games and such for the party. Ordering goodies online (that was interesting research), and making sure each girl brought things. In the past few years, I've been to several bachelorette parties, so I was able to pull ideas from those. Most were drinking games that we modified a bit so that we all wouldn't be sloshed before dinner. ;)

The party was last Saturday - and it turned out to be a perfect weekend. The most important thing is that our bride-to-be had a blast. Whew! Lots of laughs, and pictures I'm not at liberty to share. Hee hee... It was a great weekend.

I don't understand

I've got an hour left at work. I'm tired. I'm grouchy. And now I'm nauseated. Why? Because someone on my floor apparently likes to bathe himself in cologne. I don't know him, but I'm sure he thinks he's being polite by stepping away from his cube and standing near the break area to make his personal phone calls. But my cube is near the break area - not only can I hear his conversation - I am breathing nothing but stinky cologne. MY GOD! I have my fan on full blast to get some air, but it's not helping much. Why do people do that?

I've always heard that if you can smell the perfume or cologne on yourself after an hour, then you're wearing too much. I don't think this guy's nose functions anymore. His sinuses have probaby shriveled up by now. I wonder how much he spends on cologne every year?

Yes, I'm annoyed that I'm sitting here, working away, and this comes in to invade my space. I guess I should just thank my lucky stars that I don't sit next to the guy.

On a much happier note, I've been busy planning a bachelorette weekend for my good friend. She has four bridesmaids - and I'm one of them. So, together with one other bridesmaid, we're handling this party, and the other two are handling the bridal shower next month.

We're heading down to Capitola on Saturday. It's threatening to rain here in San Francisco, so I don't know if it will affect anything over the weekend. But if we don't end up going to the beach, that's fine with me. I'm not in my bikini shape right now. We have lots of games planned, dinner reservations, a list of bars and clubs... I think we're set. I can't wait!

Can you love a mall?

As of yesterday, I do. The newest shopping mecca of San Francisco opened it doors to the public on Thursday. While I wasn't able to see it that day, I had the day off on Friday, and my friend and I went to see the largest shopping mall "west of the Mississippi".



We already had San Francisco Center - a decent sized, multi-level mall with the second largest Nordstrom in the U.S. Now, the old Emporium building, which had been shut down for over 10 years, has been converted into an additional home to some of the public's favorite stores and boutiques. It connects to the SF Center. It also connects to the second largest Bloomingdale's in the U.S.

Why am I happy? Because since I've moved, it takes 20 - 30 minutes to drive to Stonestown (another mall, but it's on the other side of the city). This new Westfield San Francisco, is a mere 5 minute trolley ride away. Not that I shop a lot anymore, but I like having the option.

The simple pleasures of a girl. Ah...

I think what made the experience special was that I spent the day with an old childhood friend, whom I haven't seen in years. We write letters and emails to each other a lot, and we've talked on the phone a few times, but it's not the same as actually spending time with her. We've know each other since we attended a summer camp together when we were eight years old. We met for lunch and then walked around for hours. Neither of us were really interested in buying anything. Just spending time together. It was great!

A moving tribute

Haven't been feeling very 'bloggy' lately. Been busy with work, and then trying to catch up on our TV shows over the weekend. In addition to our old favorites that are starting up again, we've been 'testing' the new shows. So far, I like Standoff and Shark. I'm still undecided on Justice. I've got several other new shows on tape that we haven't watched yet - so testing season isn't over yet.

I've also been busy trying to book a beach house in Santa Cruz for a bachelorette party. Found plenty of gorgeous homes right on the beach. Problem is that many don't want to just rent it out for one night. Most have a two or three night minimum requirement. And what is with this 10% additional lodging charge??? Getting stressed out, but trying not to let it get to me too much. It's just booking a place - the fun will happen once we're there. I can't make it perfect for everyone.

I watched the memorial for Steve Irwin last week on Animal Planet. I only caught the last 20
minutes or so, but it was very sad. I was bawling for a few minutes when his 8 year old daughter gave her little speech. What a brave girl! In a way, because he was "The Crocodile Hunter" their children will get to see their father in videos, doing what he did best. And they'll get to look back and see what an impact he had on the world.

Anyway, before I get depressed again... I've been working on my sweater. One sleeve is done. The other is about half. So, I'm getting there!!! Soon, I'll be able to stitch on the two sleeves, and then finish up the hood - and that's it!!!

A moment of silence please...

It's hard to believe that it's been five years today that our nation suffered a tragedy beyond our imagination. The entire world watched as thousands of people died in a horrific act of terrorism that one only thought could happen in movies.

So, I ask, in your own way today, let's take a moment to remember those who lost their lives in New York those short few years ago, and for their families who live on with only the memory of their loved ones.

It was a sad day for humanity as a whole. Is this what we've come to? Why is it so necessary to hurt one another?

Farewell to a crazy man

I've never really sat down and watched a full show of Steve Irwin's, but I knew his work. I knew he was an animal conservationalist who was so full of enthusiasm that half the time I thought he was crazy to be doing half of what he was doing. But you know what? He brought awareness to his cause for animals. And it's so heartbreaking to hear he died while filming a new show for kids. At least that's what the latest news report I read wrote. Struck in the heart by a startled stingray.

I was never a huge fan, but I'm still sad for the loss. I guess we never understand people who are so enthusiastic about something that they live and breathe it. But in the end, see all the reaction from his death, he really touched a lot of people. I feel so sorry for his wife and two young children.

Farewell Steve Irwin.

Busy with projects

I haven't posted much about my projects lately, but I swear I've been working on something every night!!!

Still working on my 'Under the Hoodie' sweater from the Stitch N' Bitch book. I had put it aside for a while, but now I'm really going forward with it. The back is all done and waiting. I've completed the front. I'm working on one sleeve now. Once that's done, I'll have one more sleeve, the hood, and the fun of sewing it all together. And that will be done!!!





Another project are the matching baby booties to the 'Umbilical Cord Hats' (also from SNB). I actually found a pattern for a baby Ugg bootie. Very cute, but it came out much bigger than I would have liked - so I'll keep this as my sample. These will be Christmas gifts.

Another series caught up

We started watching The 4400 a couple of weeks ago. It's another series that I heard a lot of talk, so I had to see for myself what it was about. It's pretty good. The show itself, I mean. The acting needs work. It's no Battlestar Galactica, but I liked it. We just finished Season 2 last night.

My friend lent me two animation movies recently too. I didn't think I would like them, but you know what? I really did. Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. Both are by director Miyazaki. According to my friend, he has many anime movies out there. So, now that I know what his style is like, and I do like it, I'll have another set of movies to watch.