February 2011 Archives

1. My dad being willing to double check my taxes for me.  I do them using Turbo tax and he does them on paper (his preferred method).  I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to taxes so I'm thankful he is there to catch anything I did wrong and to give me more confidence that what I am submitting is accurate.
2. 5-hour energy.  I don't like coffee or tea and I've been using this stuff to help get me up and out of bed on really bad mornings. 
3. An upcoming weekend without any social obligations.   We've had parties and other social functions to go to each of the last 4 weekends and it kind of tires me out.
4. That this last storm was not too bad and didn't prevent us from going anywhere and wasn't too terrible to shovel.  Also grateful there is very little snow predicted for this coming week (knock on wood). 
5. Getting President's Day off.  Oh wait... I didn't.  :)

1. The movie Into The Wild.  It's hard to believe that anyone would do what the young man the movie was about did.  It made me stop and think about how I'm living my own life.  This will most likely turn into a blog post in the near future. 
2. My doctor's appointment later this week.  Ick.  I hate doctor's appointments!
3. I keep wondering how/why the cable company and phone company keep screwing up my bills.  I switched my internet from dsl to cable back in early December and I'm still making phone calls to get my bills corrected for various issues.  I just noticed on my last cable bill that when we switched they also signed us up for some service that cost $5 a month to get 5 extra channels -- none of which we have ever watched.
4. Making more homemade ice cream.  I've been having a major craving!

1. Make some progress on my afghan.  I did a lot of reading last week, and no knitting.
2. Officially submit my taxes.  I'm expecting a very large refund (really must update my w4) so the sooner the better.
3. Call the cable company to get my bill/service straightened out.  

1. I'm really hoping my upcoming doctor's appointment goes better than the last one and better than I'm expecting.
2. That I'll be able to handle the new challenging work project I've been given. 

1. I seem to read things much faster on the Kindle.  I've had the thing a little over a week and have already plowed through two books.  Granted, neither one was terrible long, but I am typically a very slow reader and it takes me a while to get through even a 300 page book.  Maybe it's just that I enjoy reading on the Kindle more so I spend more time doing.  Has anyone else had a similar experience with an eReader?  Btw, I highly recommend both Water for Elephants and Room.

I'd love to read your Monday 5 Countdown.  Leave a link in the comments and I'll check it out. 

1. That we're already half-way through February.  That means we're almost to March.  And that means it's almost Spring.  Getting closer, anyway.  :)
2. The end of football season.   I feel bad adding this one, because my boyfriend loves his Sunday football, but I really have no interest in the game and I am happy that I can start spending Sundays with him again.
3. My boyfriend's sense of humor.  He always keeps me laughing and helps balance out my more serious side.
4. Knitting.  Been doing lots of knitting recently and it makes me happy.  It helps me unwind.  Very excited about my latest project.
5. My new Kindle.  Love it.  :) 

1. Sunshine and warm weather.  Also, Hawaii.
2. Books.  I've spent tons and tons of time since Friday on Amazon and goodreads and google trying to get a nice backlog of books to download.  So far I've downloaded a few free classics and bought Room by Emma Donoghue and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.  Any other recommendations are welcome!  (Candice @ BookishPenguin?  Heidi @ heavenisabookstore?)
3. A new wardrobe.  This seems to happen to me on a fairly regular basis.  Suddenly I find myself with a closet bursting with clothes and not a thing to wear.  Also, a new body that would make all the clothes look that much better.
4. Our grocery bill.  The last several weeks it seems our grocery bill has been quite a bit higher than it used to be.  I feel like it's much higher than it needs to be/should be.  I'm curious as to what other couples are spending. 

1. Get at least 50% through my current book, Water for Elephants.
2. Knit at least 2 more inches on my latest knitting project. 
3. Book our trip! 

1. Dieting.  I've been doing pretty well sticking to my diet plan and eating healthy, but seem to have hit a plateau.  Always frustrating, but need to remain positive and stick with it until I break through it.
2. My latest knitting project.  I've started my first afghan and it's a fairly large and intimidating project.  We'll see how it goes, but I'm trying to remain positive that I'll be able to get it finished in a reasonable amount of time and not lose interest in it. 

1. Happy Valentine's Day!!  I am extremely happy and appreciative to be celebrating just shy of 4 1/2 of being together with a most wonderful man.  The road has been bumpy, but I wouldn't want to be on that bumpy road with anyone else.  I hope you all have a day filled with lots and lots of love.  <3

Please join in the Monday 5 Countdown fun and link to yours in the comments.  We'd love to see it!

1. Reason # 152 why I hate winter:  Coming home from work last night I got stuck in my driveway.  I was half in the street and half in the driveway.  Luckily we had some sand in the garage and my boyfriend was able to help me eventually get unstuck.
2. Reason # 153 why I hate winter:  We walked in the house after finally getting unstuck to find the top of the bay window leaking all over the place. 
3. I've started a new knitting project.  An Afghan!  I am quite intimidated since it's a much larger project than I've ever worked on before, but I had been wanting to make one for a while and my mom bought me an afghan pattern book for Christmas so... it was time.
4. I finally broke down and bought myself a Kindle (amazon affiliate link) today.  Free 2-day shipping right now so I should have it on Friday.  Can't wait!
5. We are very, very close to actually booking our Hawaii trip.  I have some slight hesitations/reservations (mostly with how long the flight is, and how expensive it is) but I think we're going to do it.  And I think it will be well worth it the travel time and money.
6. I am currently reading Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout (amazon affiliate link).  I am about half way through and it's really pretty good.  It's a short, fun read and I would recommend it if you're currently looking for something to read.
7. I did finally finish that Valentine's Day post for my friend Christina I have been mentioning and I believe it will be posted over at her blog tomorrow.  It's my top 8 greatest reasons to celebrate Valentine's Day.
8. We went to Subway for dinner last night (I was too tired to cook and then clean up after not getting much sleep the night before and then all the issues we had once we got home from work) and I had 2 coupons that I brought with us.  Each was for $1.00 off footlong value meal or 50 cents off a 6" value meal.  The cashier didn't let us use both, but she did let us use one of them even though we didn't get a value meal, and she took the $1.00 off my boyfriend's footlong instead of only 50 cents off my 6".  Small victories.
9. Today marks my 11th anniversary at work.  I didn't start full-time until June 5th because I was still in college, but today is the anniversary of when I started part-time.  I was legally of age to drink alcohol for approximately 4 months when I first started.  Wow.  Where has the time gone?   
10. I am pretty sick of my current wardrobe.  I don't think I've bought anything new since early fall-ish.  But since I just bought a Kindle and we have the pending Hawaii trip, I don't think I'll be going clothes shopping any time soon.

This is the scarf that I've been talking about for the last several weeks in my Monday 5 Countdown posts, the one I knit for my mom:

I finally finished it earlier this week.  I am pretty happy with the way it turned out.  One of the things that drew me to this pattern was the fact that the resulting scarf is reversible (it looks like same on the front and back sides which isn't usually the case with cables).

I got the palindrome scarf pattern from cometosilver.com.  The only modification I made was to add an extra cable pattern repeat (cast on 52 stitches instead of 40) to make the scarf a little wider. 

I'll try to update this later in the week with a few more, better quality pics taken with my Canon camera instead of my cell phone camera.

Materials:

Yarn:

Brand: Patons Classic Wool

Color: Natural Mix

Amount: approximately 3 balls of yarn (100 g/223 yds each)

Needles:

Size US 8 needles

1 cable needle

This is a guest post brought to you by Christina at blogectomy.com.  She has a fun and entertaining way of sharing her thoughts on a topic we all have to  deal with, whether we like it or not -- shopping.  Thanks, Christina, for taking the time to write!
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I can do an entire month's worth of grocery shopping in less than thirty minutes. I have a list and do NOT deviate from that list for anything. If I need cereal and it's not on the list, unless it throws itself off the shelf and blocks my path I will not stop for it. When my husband grocery shops with me, he goes up and down each aisle and scans for what we need. This is the most effective way to shop but it takes longer which means we stay in the store longer, which is why he is not allowed to go with me; because my number one goal in shopping is to get out of the store. I call it a talent; my husband calls it a developing disorder.
 
At thirty-two years old I celebrate the fact that I have the option of shopping without the following items:
 
A. A Rascal
 
B. A Gopher
 
C. A Walker
 
D. A payment option of either rolled nickels or a checkbook
 
I also celebrate the fact that I can still dress myself and eat with meals with forks. The simple fact of the matter is that I really hate shopping...for anything. I did in my teens, twenties and will into my forties and fifties.
 
I've witnessed the horror. I've seen clothing shopping turn seemingly logical and sane women into raving lunatics running around the store with reckless abandon. I've witnessed them making a mad rush at the sales racks, fighting over sweaters and throwing sucker punches at other shoppers over the last pair of wedges (the shoes, not the potatoes) that may or may not go with anything in their closets. These women will strangle you with the last pair of skinny jeans if it means they can have them. I simply just don't care enough about clothes to concern myself with this. Also I bruise very easily.
 
Unfortunately this usually presents a problem when I actually have to wear something specific, and by specific I mean "not jeans." This has become a growing issue in our household in the past couple years. My husband has a variety of clothes and is always ready to go anywhere regardless of the occasion. I, on the other hand, have a pair of slacks that have not been ironed since my college graduation. I don't even know if they are clean, or where they are...actually, I don't even know if I have them anymore.
 
I know there will come a time when I can no longer do the little things like shopping. Someday I will look back on sale insanity and express lines with great fondness. I should celebrate this privilege along with going to the bathroom and bathing. I know I'm not old but let's face it, thirty is a lot closer to sixty than twenty was and someday, in the not too distant future, finding my only pair of slacks won't really matter much because I will have forgotten that I'm wearing them, backwards and inside out.