In which I remind people that we are no longer in high school

Read the title of this post. Absorb the fact that high school was more then a decade ago for me and live with it. (I apologize if you are currently in high school but you should probably know that typical high school behavior doesn't end with high school *le sigh.*)

I'm not really understanding the twitter phenomenon and even more so not understanding the need to broadcast the minute details of your life to people. I mean come on that's what we have facebook for. I'm just getting the hang of facebook why take it away and make it as obsolete as myspace? Twitter is just a no go in my book.

My birthday was Tuesday. I must be getting old because this was the first year that I didn't feel super-de-dooper special on my b-day. Usually I wake up and run around town like the queen of the world demanding things and adoration because it's my birthday. This year I woke up, went to work, went to dance class and ordered in takeout with the boy I'm seeing. We ordered ribs, mac and cheese and corn (I guess I celebrated by eating food that I know probably took a year off my life expectancy!)

I'm trying to adjust to a new schedule (work, school, dance, friends, lovers *tee-hee*) and trying to find me time in all of it. I started this new schedule by going home last night and doing laundry (which is AMAZING!) I will drive 3 hours to Connecticut with a trunk full of dirty clothes. I know if I get all the way up there and bat my eyes at my daddy he will clean my clothes, fold my clothes and give me 20 dollars for being his "favorite" *read most functional* daughter. But last night I did it all by myself. In fact I was so inspired that I dug out my Kauni Cardi (abandoned winter 08) and started finishing the sleeve I'd been working on for over a year.

I realize that I'm stuck in this knitting/crafting rut because I have all these projects that are almost 3/4 of the way done but not close to finished enough to be at that finishing line stage. The finishing line stage is when you are so close to finished that you can't put your project down until you cast off and throw that sucker in the bath for a good blocking. All my projects are close enough to not unravel but far enough to be time consuming before the finishing line phase.

I'm still working on photos I promise!

I Wore a Tube of Bulky Yarn to Work

Okay so I finished the Shopping Tunic in record time. Cast on last Monday finished last Saturday afternoon, I didn't knit on it at all Thursday and Friday. I blocked it and wore in to work on Monday with black slacks and a black long sleeved tee-shirt. Half way through the day I went to use the little ladies room (I hate the term little girls room, I'm not a girl I'm an lady and don't you forget it!) and saw my reflection in the wall length mirrors they have in the sitting room. OH MY GOD WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!!??? I looked like a rust colored inch worm, it was freaking gross, the purl side was bulky looking and the garter stitch edging on the bottom was curling in giving me even more of a pooch area then I already have! I quickly jumped into a stall and turned that sucker inside out, now the knit stitches were facing out and I went and looked in mirror again...so much better. Yes, it's a bulky sweater and bulky sweaters add bulk (duh!) but the knit stitches create a vertical line, where the purl stitches create horizontal ones. If we go back to fashion 101 we remember that vertical lines create length and the illusion of slim lines, where vertical lines make you look stumpy and fat. So lesson learned, and I can still wear my sweater.

Oh and I went with the gray costume on Sunday to rave reviews!!

Weekend Warrior

Okay so I have planned my weekend out! It's so rare that I ever plan anything, I'm such a "fly by the seat of my pants" type person, but it's nice to have a plan and try to stick to it.

Tonight Molliemoo and her puppy Ruby June are going to come out to Jersey City for a sleepover. First we will go to the Super Pet Expo in Edison. I went to this last year and really if you have a pet and some spare time go check it out. Nothing like people who dress their dogs like children all smooshed together in a convention center. While you're there make sure you check out Elwood the "worlds ugliest dog." I think he's a bit of a cutie but I'm strange.

I would also really really recommend that you check out Nature Valley's frozen raw food diet. I switched Dessie Pup a few years ago and her health has been so awesome since. No more bumps in her skin, and crud in her eyes, another bonus is her *ehm* waste is smaller, harder and less stinky, it makes walking her that much better.

Saturday I'm going to check out a friend's show at this great little Mediterranean place in Astoria Queens called Mezzo Mezzo. Live music, dancing, good food, no cover, how could I possibly say no? I will also be working on a costume for Ariel (a dancer friend from DC.) She has been asked to play Mata Hari in a show at the end of March and in addition to all the knitting I've neglected I'm neglecting a costume for her too. As soon as I find the camera you all will be totally overloaded with photos!

If I have some time (and I really should make it) I will have to fix a costume of my own, I have a performance on Sunday night and I'm really not sure what I should wear. These are my options (you can vote in the comments section)

Red Costume

Purple Costume

Brand new costume that I don't even have pics of me in yet, (this one will need the most work)
Ideas, and input are much appreciated. If you wanna see me dance 8PM at the Grisly Pear. Live music, three dancers and cheap drinks

On the crafting side I'm 1/2 way through the Shopping Tunic I started Monday night, but I don't know if I have enough yarn. I've already forgone the pockets, bulky pockets in poochy places just didn't sound good to me, but I don't know how else to cut the yarn needed, maybe I'll shorten the cowl neck. I am also not sure if this sweater will even look good on me. It really isn't taking so much time to knit so a trip to the frog pond won't be such a let down, but I dunno. I know I'm tiny but I'm curvy tiny. Like Sir Mixalot says " 36-24-36...only if she's 5'3" well I'm not those measurement exactly but close enough to fear looking like a sausage in a bulky tight tube...I guess I'll have to wait and see!

New Year

Okay like a month late but here I am.

Things have been quite insane on my side of the fence. I will not go into detail but...
Break up

Make up

Watching a friend loose his life to an illness he didn't know he had till it was too late, he's still fighting but its a rigged match at this point :(

The stock market

The bond market

Started school again (slowly but surely I will have my MBA!!)

Weather
Cold weather

Snow weather

Ice weather

Do you need me to go on??

I'm back on the needles and still spinning cashmere. I finished an entire sock (not a pair just the one) and a few other projects. I need to schedule a photo shoot but life has been life and sometimes life has no time to be captured on film.

Oh and the bastards who inspected and tuned up my car stole my f*cking GPS unit. It wasn't even a month old. I sent my dad over there to "talk some sense into them" (that's Italian for threaten) and he did so hopefully I will have a GPS by tomorrow.

I'm going to try to make the SnB in Jersey City at the Starbucks tonight. I haven't gone in like over a year almost and I need some nice knitting time. I also should probably try to do laundry tonight, unless I plan on knitting some clean underwear like tonight. It wouldn't be such a bad idea but knitted underwear just sounds like itchy cooter and unhappy bum.

I miss you all and hopefully I'm back for good!!

OH OH OH and look a photo! Its me this summer in front of the Partridge Family bus. It's the real bus and I don't know how I found it. I was just driving to Howe Caverns to have a stupid, tourist, fun time and saw it by the side of the road.

I climbed on it and tried to break in but the people I was with really didn't want to go to jail for trespassing and grand theft auto (how bad ass would it be if some rough a tumble lady asked what I was in for and I said "stealing the Partridge Family bus!!)

And then I ran out of Excuses

I have been knitting, spinning, and crafting. I've also been sweating my ability to remain employed in this terrible economy. Working in the financial industry seemed like such a good idea five years ago, but now not so much. My blackberry stopped working the other day and I swore I was fired. I panicked and called into the office but no one I worked for was around. Instead of thinking that it was a blackberry glitch I freaked out all weekend only to find out I was still gainfully employed Monday morning.

On the knitting front I have finished several UFO's that have been lying around waiting for me to knit again. I completed the sweater vest (I love it and it totally got me into a cable kick) and I also finished my lace shawl. I started another hat and picked up the Juno I started knitting for my mom last year around this time. I still hate the yarn, hate hate hate the yarn, but I will finish this before her birthday on December 9th.

Still no pictures. I'm a terrible blogger, and I feel I've neglected so many of you. But fret not the weather is turning crappy lately and when there is nothing else to do I will start documenting my life down to the minute details.

My Brain is Full but My Camera Battery Empty

I was all set to post up some pics today, but le sigh, it's been so long since I broke out the camera that the battery was all gone. Instead I'll update you on life.

I'm still spinning that yummy cashmere, and I dread the day I'm done because then I'll have to go back to spinning regular old wool again :(
I was all set to go to rhinebeck for the weekend but sadly I have a conflicting event that weekend (for which I've already booked a hotel room) and now I'm all kinds of depressed. I'm thinking I may go to the other event and leave super early on Sunday, stop in the city to scoop up molliemoo and drive up to rhinebeck to do a little shopping. If I miss rhinebeck it won't be the worst thing in the world. Since I've been so busy the stash monster has tripled in size and I still have tons of wool and roving and batts and fleece laying around, maybe not going will spare my (much hurting) bank account and save me closet space.

I'm almost finished with the sweater vest I'm working on, it's the first wool project (for me the baby sweater didn't count) since the summer and it feels so good to be working with wool again. The pattern is from Aurora Yarns but I can't find it on ravelry or the internet. I picked it up as a print out at a yarn store up in Connecticut the last time I was up there. It's not the best pattern but its a quick cabled knit and I converted most of it to the round.

Besides all that I've been going back to school. I started my MBA program back in the beginning of September and damn I forgot how hard school/homework can be. Add to that the stress of working full time and all my extra-curricular activites and damn Stickyfingers has no time. Seriously no time at all. My DVR is full of shows I want to watch but can't and I went so far as to cancel my premium cable (no more HBO, Showtime or Starz) and then True Blood came out and I wished I hadn't done that. I just can't win. Pictures next time, I promise!

I Have a Valid Excuse

Okay, see here's the thing, I work in finance and well its not a good time to be working on Wall street. But I'm still employed (for the time being) and busy like you wouldn't believe.

I have been knitting and spinning and since the weather is getting cold again I'm going to break out the loom and get cracking on some scarfs. Also does anyone out there get Craft Zine? There's this amazing vest pattern that can be made out of cloth woven with knitting yarn. It's super cute and on my list of things to do.

Jen from Hanks in the Hood (seriously go check her stuff out it's insanely yummy) asked me to help her with a spinning project. I can never say no to spinning and I'm pleased to say that she has me spinning 3 lbs of pure cashmere. PURE CASHMERE, THREE POUNDS OF IT!!!!! I don't know how I'm ever going to go back to spinning just wool after all this.

I have some FO's (I do I really really do) but I need to photograph them. And since the weather has taken a dip over the past days I'm rolling in wool yarn again and happy to do so. Don't get me wrong I love bamboo and cotton and tencel but wool just feels right.

I'll try to get pics this weekend, if the market doesn't fall another million points before the end of the week. :P