Yarnies!!

Hey all you yarnies! Go check out Noteworthy Knits' contest for free yarn. It's a super easy one, a "Just Show Up" kind of contest. (I'll pretend I don't know that I'm just encouraging you to go reduce my odds of winning) Of course, it would be nice if you take a browse through the posts as well. There's some good stuff there! Thanks Noteworthy Knits!!

Noteworthy Knits

So. How about some knitting updates? Since the finishing of a major project, I am sewing my wilds oats a bit.

OAT


Close-up of OAT stitch pattern.

This is the Spiral Lace Capelet from Wrap Style. I enjoy this stitch pattern because it's easy to remember, and I don't have to pay too much attention. It does seem to grow VERY slowly, though. I also bothered to calculate the yards of yarn per round: 3.5. This is fun for the Stashalong progress, as I am going for pure yard reduction.

OAT

Started and finished the first one quite some time ago. The second has been taking a backseat, BUT. BUT. Now that I near the second heel flap, the acceleration begins to take hold. Zoom Zoom Zoom.

Note: When I was a smoker (oh don't act so shocked), my co-worker and I had a code for when it was time to go have a cig. She'd peer over my cubicle wall and whisper, "Zoom Zoom," just like the kid in the commercial. It wasn't a code we discussed. It just happened that way one day. So I'd sit all day and wait for those two magic words. Zoom Zoom. Hey, man, I was really addicted. The commercial still makes me want to smoke. Right on, Mazda. Those were the good old days.

Ta-daaaa!!

IT'S FINISHED!!!
The Sleeveless Tuxedo Shirt
Summer IK 2007
Yarn: Elann Lara (yuck!)
Size 3 Addi Turbos

I don't know if this yarn would be easier to work with on bigger needles, but on size 3s it was pretty dismal. I had to concentrate much too hard on the stockinette, and as for the lace panels, my teeny tiny crochet hook saved my life on the decrease stitches, especially p2togtbl, of which there are quite a few. I think I have enough yarn left to make a baby item of some kind, but I'll probably give myself a break for a while.

This knit was a bit of a gut effort, but I don't think it would have been if it weren't for the yarn. There is a lot of crochet involved, and not being too adept at crochet, it slowed me down a bit... but again here, so did the yarn. It wasn't any easier to crochet than it was to knit.

Oh yeah, and I did a lot of the crochet wrong. I discovered it too late, after then ends had been woven in. Fortunately, it looks cool anyway, so it didn't throw me into too much of a depression.

As for fit. I chose the correct size. Any smaller and the buttons would pop open (they many anyway, but that is due to button loop inconsistencies). This tank just doesn't strike me as a stand-alone piece. The layered look is best, I think. There's just a little wavy, bagginess around the edge of the armholes, a little narrowness between the two straps (makes me look like a scary hulky swimmer), a little curl under at the hem... it all adds up to Not Quite Right.

And yet, I'm still thrilled that I finished it. I stayed focussed, and I got it done before receiving the next IK. That's pretty good. It took less than a month.

Now, onto bigger and better fitting things! :)

Nose to the Grindstone

The Sleeveless Tuxedo Shirt from Summer 07 IK... It's not an inspiring knit so far. Upon finishing the back, I didn't have that, "Wow, look how cool, it's part of a piece of clothing!" feeling that I got with the Ruffled Surplice. And when I lay it out, it looks like a mess because of the rolling (one way on the sides, the other way on the ends), but this is not why we knit this piece.

We knit it for the lace panels on the chest and shoulders. We knit and we knit and we knit for the privilege of getting to work that lace. Man, I hope it's worth it. Here's my progress on the front piece:

Are you impressed? Yeah, I didn't think so.

One thing about the yarn, Lara by Elann, weird gappy spots that happen for absolutely no apparent reason. I checked the back of this spot... there's nothing wrong here. So why does one row turn out all Hobbitty and the other all tall and V-of-Deathy?!

Man, the lace has a LOT to make up for.

Friend of a Gay

I don't know what the deal is, friends, but I seem to find myself suddenly a receptacle for anti-gay sentiments from a couple of the patients here at the dental office.

Yesterday, one of our elderly ladies took a moment while her driver was outside to inform me that he is "A Gay", but that he's doing a good job anyway.

What a friend of a Gay to say? "Well, ma'am, they are still nice people, even if they are a little different from us."

"Are you one?" She asked me.

"No, ma'am, I have a husband."

"Well, that doesn't necessarily mean much." Indeed. Well. I politely explained that I love my husband very much, but that I have been asked if I was "one" before.

It was all a bit overwhelming, but she is 89, and she was complimenting her driver, albeit back-handedly. I let it pass. No use instructing an 89 year old in political correctness, especially since she was doing her best to be discreet.

When she was finished with her appointment, a bit early, she came out into the waiting area to find that her driver was still out running an errand because we had told him she'd be done a little later. She expressed her concern that he might have gone out and run off with someone and forgotten about her, you know, since he's a gay.

"I'm sure he's coming back for you, ma'am." Talk about paranoid. I did want to inform her that he is not a gay; he is gay. And his shoes were fabulous.

That brings us to today.

Today, a particularly swishy patient who claims to be straight (though I have never believed him), wanted to talk to me about the "boy toys" in West Hollywood, asked me if I've been to the Gay Pride Parade, and then used a rather offensive nickname, which I will not repeat here on this blog, in reference to the Catholic priests and their alleged misconduct. I am not for said misconduct, but I do take issue with his lumping the humpings of pedophilic priests in with the behavior of the general gay population. This man did make sure to check that I wasn't Catholic before telling the story, of course, but he did not check to see if I was a friend of the gay community, which he knows I am. (He didn't use the "f" name, for those who are wondering, but a much more juvenile two word name starting with two Rs)

What's a receptionist to do? I think he thought I would think it was clever or funny, because I know he knows I'm in theater and therefor friendly with homosexuals. I just didn't think it was funny. Perhaps because he was not referring to his good friends the "R.R."s but the dirty child molester R.R.s.

I didn't know what to say. I kept trying to get him to schedule his appointment and leave. To no avail. He thought we were having a good time.

What is going on, people?! I don't want to hear this stuff!!! A dental office is not the place to correct the prejudices of our clients. It is my job to make them want to come back, not to make them feel like the jackasses they are.

I'm exhausted. To all the Gays I've loved before, I'm sorry there are people like that out there. They suck!

On Forgiving Yourself

As someone whom I've decided must have integrity, I tend to carry a lot of guilt. Things that I know are wrong, I basically don't do. I mean big things. I do on occasion throw away a recyclable or wear brown shoes with a black belt or dye my hair before the recommended 6 week limit. But the big bad things I don't do. And for others, I do big good things.

But for me? I never do THE big good thing. I am not a healthy machine.

As someone who enjoys a drink, I have often seen the "Are you sure you're not an alcoholic?" question run through my head. The answer is Yes, I'm sure. There is an addiction that far surpasses my interest in alcohol, and that is food. I have a codependent relationship with my fridge, and I cannot identify the flash point of the affair.

There is no purging going on, for those who might be concerned about that, and it's not a case of driving through McDonald's and ordering food for four and then parking and eating and crying. Of course, I mean no disrespect to those out there who are tormented by food to that extent. I don't know how they feel, but I often think that the two experiences are not all that different.

I'm a sneaker. I've discovered how to eat without thinking, so I really never have to take responsibility for the total intake. I sneak from myself and others. At restaurants, I look at the menu to find the most indulgent, largest portioned meal that I feel I can order without causing questionable looks from my dining partners. It's a game or a challenge. It's a desperation to get something that I'll never feel like I have... whatever it is...

I'm not sure why I've felt compelled to write about this in particular today. It has something to do with eating while feeling guilty about not blogging. Seriously, a stressor as small as knowing that I haven't blogged in a few days can be the thing that makes me refill my bowl of chocolate chips, which is the perfect solution to avoiding a task you've already avoided too long (many small bites, many trips to the mouth, it takes a long time, it's a process-- you can see how smoking fit so nicely). So I am breaking the silence with a confession. I have eaten because I have not kept up my bargain with you fine people to whom I love to reach out. That is not okay. I want ours to be a healthy relationship. I want to forgive myself for missing a week or two of posting.

I haven't posted because I don't find myself particularly interesting right now. I've lost track of my personal identity over the last week or two. I've done some cool stuff, for sure, and as Senor has requested, I will write a post my thoughts about the Lindsey Buckingham concert soon. I've knitted some cool stuff, too. I've seen a few friends. Nothing has been bad, but I feel as though I am operating in Survival Mode-- just get through this day, tomorrow will be better. And it's not the activities or the people or the relationships that need to be better. You are all doing very well by me. It's me that needs to get better.

I heard somewhere that food is like a friend. For some it is a good friend, one who nourishes them and gives them energy and makes them feel good. Not for me. For me it a friend who punishes me and drags me down and insults me and makes me hate it and need it at the same time. To me, food is that friend that makes you forget why you liked them in the first place. I have people-friends like this, too. I am sure that an expensive private practice therapist could tell me the connection. But I wish that I could figure it out for myself. I don't feel that I'll be able to break my habits without an answer to this question, at least not for very long.

I'm so tired, people. I've been in bed with this thought pattern for so long that I don't even know how to end this post. I don't know if I'm asking for help or advice or just understanding or a clean conscience or a person who knows how this feels... Or just to get it outside myself. To make it not a secret anymore.

I do promise this: My next post will not be such a downer. But sometimes you just have to admit that you're human. I pretend not to be human, like I am above all that humanity crap. I don't need to pretend, though, right? You're all human, too, right? Flaws and all, there shouldn't be any need to be better than human, and yet it seems to be expected of us all.

It's hard to feel like the only one.

Not Knitting

Please don't take this to mean that I am "not knitting." I am. But it's all pretty dull as far as showing off goes, so I am holding off on the showing off until I have at least a larger amount of dullness to show.

Today I want to ask a question: Do you know what integrity is?

A friend of mine recently said that his favorite quality in his fiance is her integrity. The entire bridal shower went Awwwwww! the way only a group of women high on mimosas and matrimony can. I did, too. But I think I awwwwed at the fact that this man named such an unusual trait and had obviously put some thought into his answer. (Coulda said she was hot. Coulda said funny. Coulda said a lot of things. Didn't.) I was impressed... but later I realized that I wasn't sure why I was impressed. What is integrity, anyway?

I'm not an idiot, I sorta get it. It's about doing the right thing and being consistent about it. Something about being yourself. Sorta. Right? (Incidentally, I was never quizzed on this word for my SATs. Maybe I'd have gotten into Yale if I had...)

But I've never thought to myself, "Self, you have integrity!" or "Self, you're a little short in the integrity department." It's not a word I identify with in regards to myself. Am I honest? Yes. To peoples' faces? Usually (if asked). Am I funny? I think so (seriously, I'm hilarious). Am I humble? Obviously. Am I forgiving? To a fault. I'm a lot of good things. But am I... integrious? Integrish? Integrated? What is the adjective version of this mysterious word?!

I am not asking you to tell me if you think I have integrity. I think it might be something I need to identify in myself in order to believe you anyway. I want to know what you think integrity IS. And do you think YOU have it? Is it something you ever thought of at all?

What is integrity to you?

I'm It

I thought I'd escaped the inevitable tagging for the 7 Random Things About Me list that is going around, but the tagging was, as I have stated, inevitable.

So why fight it?

Here are the rules:
A)Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves.
B)Those tagged need to write in their blogs the 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game.
C)You need to tag 7 others and list their names on your blog.
D)You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they I have been tagged and to read your blog.

You should know up front that I plan to break rule C and D.

1. I got scammed by Poetry.com's poetry contest. I wrote a poem that I thought was good, and may have actually been good, but I didn't know that was irrelevant, and that's why the scam works. Flattery gets them everything, and my ego caused me to buy the book that my poem is now in, along with every other crappy poem ever written. The poems are 10-15 to a page, depending on length, and there are probably 150 pages or so. Imagine if every one of those people paid $29.99 for the book! (I hate to admit that it may actually have cost more than that) Some of them probably bought one for their moms, too. I paid for the right to claim idiocy later. Lesson learned. Don't make this mistake. I later submitted the poem to several REAL literary publications. No dice. No surprise.

2. I danced at Felicity Huffman's birthday party. Not on a pole, not on a club dance floor... I choreographed a group of dancers for a song and dance extravaganza planned by her husband, William H. Macy. Apparently Eric Stoltz and Mare Winningham were there also... and JENNIFER GREY?!! I did not get confirmation on this, but it was rumored she was there. I couldn't look at any one's faces, of course, because I was afraid that mid-kick line I'd recognize the dance movie icon and forget what I was doing. "I didn't do the lift, but it was good." Still... How's that for Celebrity Adjacent?!

3. I coined the phrase Celebrity Adjacent. As far as I know, no one else has ever used it, but you can if you want, just don't take credit. It doesn't necessarily imply physical proximity as much as it does social proximity. It's a medium-sized step or two before Groupie or Hanger-On. My social circle intersects occasionally with celebrities, thus I am celebrity adjacent. It's all very Venn.

4. I hate clowns. This in itself is not very random. Many of you probably share this aversion. Add to it the fact that I also hate the Big Head characters and places like Disneyland and Chuck E. Cheese, and I would move it into the random category. I don't like those guys because I don't know who's in there. Man or Woman? Young or Old? Pervy or Non-threatening? Licking lips or smiling benignly? As far as I am concerned, every Big Head is an Old, Pervy Man Licking his Lips. Sorry Easter Bunny.

5. I am not a red head. Nor do I have straight hair. All you personal friends know this, but my internet peeps probably don't. Not based on the photos represented here. I've been dying my hair red for about 7 years. The curly thing... I've been fighting it since puberty. I can only fight it on a daily basis when my hair is on the short side. Which is why it's short right now. Feria-- love you! Flat Iron-- more important than a tooth brush. Don't tell my dad.

6. My dad is a dentist. I work for him. I don't have perfect teeth, but that's okay because they LOOK perfect. I have many fillings, a crown, veneers. I had braces twice and neck gear. My godfather is my orthodontist. I was dealt a good hand, tooth-wise.

7. I respect all the people in the world who are brave enough not to mess their lives up. We get very little credit for staying within the lines, for making the difficult decision not to give in to life-altering temptations. Everyone loves a recovery story, but no one notices a good old fashioned ... what, there isn't even a name for it. Success story? That implies fame and fortune. I don't know what to call it, and that's why I get so mad. No one ever dedicated a yearbook to someone who never screwed up. My senior class high school yearbook was dedicated to a girl who was brave enough to admit she was on heroin and seek treatment. I'm not saying that doesn't take guts; I'm sure it does. I watch Intervention. But doesn't not doing drugs take guts too? What about the other 59 of us seniors who never shot up in the first place? Where is our yearbook dedication? I salute you, Straight and Narrow Walkers. Whales who don't swim upstream and get trapped, I salute you too!

8. Bonus #8: I'm a hypocrite. Every time I bring up the fact that I quit smoking I realize that I don't really deserve credit for that. It wasn't easy, and I'm so glad I did it, and so are my family and friends... But it's hardly something to brag about. Those of you who have never smoked: Keep up the good work. You are brave.

What I know you've all been waiting for...

She was looking for me. I was drying my hair.

What's so hard about this? She's napping in a chair!

Look at that grin. That's what handknits can do.

Lovin' the look of this!!! We'll at least be photogenic parents, if not actually GOOD parents... Of course, we'll be probably do just fine at the actual parenting too. We fake it like champs!!!

Ahh, Future Daddies of America!!!

Ahhh, Future Grandmas of America!!!!

Look at these two. That's the real mommy (and daddy shooting the other angle in the background). The rest of us just pretended.


Weird, I didn't take any photos of poop, wee wee al fresca, spit up, dirty bottles, hanging laundry... I guess those things are just so easy to forget about when there's all that cuteness!!

Look What Else I Can Do

http://www.youtube.com/waysidetv

Please check out these shorts that Senor and I worked on. If you like what you see, please subscribe to our channel on YouTube as we will be adding new content on a regular basis, all of which Senor and I either appeared in, worked on, wrote or generally approved of! Please tell your friends, relatives, loved ones and unloved ones. :) We put a lot of love and effort into these projects, and now it's time to get love back!!!

(Wouldn't watch them with your wee kids, though. All you mommies and daddies out there, wait until after bedtime. It's nothing terribly scandalous, but I wouldn't call it kid appropriate, either.)

Squares for Lone Knitter

These squares have been finished for ages, but I just wove in the ends today. I'm going to try to get them out tomorrow. It's so awesome to get something like this finished finally. It serves two purposes:

1) Sending something for a good cause, which makes everyone feel good.

2) Getting a little pile of procrastinator's guilt out of my apartment. Which also feels good.

That New Baby Smell

It's official. Babies are cool.

Yesterday Ashley, Adam and the Bean arrived from Australia, and they're staying with US! I feel very together about my housekeeping and preparation for guests, but I have not felt so out of my element since my rappelling instructor in 7th grade said, "Just lean back over the edge and trust the rope." You know you won't die or kill anyone, but it's still terrifying.

What if I break the baby? I used to babysit, I didn't think it was so scary then, but I also never babysat a 3 month old.

But there's another difference between then and now... Now, any misstep or awkwardness feels like a direct reflection on my potential as a Future Mother of America. Before, I'd just say, "Well, I've never had a baby, so no wonder I don't know what I'm doing!" Now it's, "Oh God, I'm planning to have a baby in the next year or two, shouldn't I know what I'm doing by now?!"

Fortunately, all went well. We gave Maddie a bath in the sink (thank goodness I had JUST cleaned it).

And I Helped! I was in charge of making sure she didn't go under.

She didn't.

(Does it look like my left arm drowned a week ago? Why is it so blue?!)

Tonight they actually sleep at our apartment. Senor and I are camping on the twin bed in the guest room because all of our clothes and stuff are in there... and we want the little family to have room and privacy. I'm making dinner for Adam, Ash, Senor, Mom, Dad and myself. My mom is going to get that new baby smell all over her, and then I'll never hear the end of it!! :)

When Good Dinner Goes Bad

Last night, Senor and I had nachos for dinner. I'm sure my mom would be horrified that I offered my "family" nachos for dinner, but I reasoned that they had a lot of tomatoes and avocados on them, and the ground beef would not go bad before being used this week, and cheese has calcium... these are all very good things.

And they tasted great! I made way too much, but whatever...

So why, then, did I find myself waking in the middle of the night with a racing heart and a feeling that something was definitely not quite right... Did I forget to set my alarm? Lock the front door? Was I nervous about anything? Had I had a bad dream? Or maybe... WAIT, I KNOW!! And off I ran to the senorita's room. Lest you think it was the other thing, I had myself a little puke.

It wasn't the booze, I swear. That still happens every once in a while, though I'm much too old for that. But not this time. This was dinner rebelling. It was strange, though, because it was SO MANY HOURS LATER! There's was hardly any dinner left. It was almost breakfast time. So why? Why did my lovely sleep get interrupted by a vengeful dinner that had seemed so friendly?

No one can say for sure. Senor was fine.

Oh well.

No, it wasn't morning sickness.

Finishing and Beginning

All done!!! Ruffled Surplice from Interweave Knits Spring 2007 is finished and I love it!! This is the second time I've worn it, and I have no complaints. I plan to take full advantage of June Gloom (though it is still May) to wear cashmerino before it gets too hot. I am loving the layered look.
Yarn: KFI Cashmerino
Needles: Size 9

I especially think that my new sweater goes great with my new sunburn! See that redness? The photo doesn't really capture the raging blue-redness of it, and it is now 48 hours since I got hijacked by an outdoor awards ceremony that lasted too long. I thought it would be inside. Dummy me. Well, I guess that's my sunburn for the year. I get no tan ever, but I always get one ill-advised sunburn somehow... Note to self: Call dermatologist for a check-up.

And what is this? You didn't think I could finish one sweater without starting another, did you? I'm a machine now!

This rolly bit of reverse stockingnette is eventually going to be the following:

Do I really need to say I'm happy with my Interweave Knits subscription? This is the sleeveless tux shirt from the Summer 07 issue. I'm using Elann Lara mercerized cotton. I am not loving it. It is very splitty. Bummer... still, I press on. I just have to pay a bit more attention.

That's all.

Let the seaming commence!

Love the shaping for the hips!! This one might actually stay down over the top of my pants in the back!!

Since this photo was taken, the shoulder seams and the left side seam have been completed. Once the seams are done, then all I have to do is the butt ruffle, and it'll be FO City!!

(and then there are all of those ends to attend to...)

Still Sick

Yes, folks, the frustration is indescribable. I am still hacking and coughing. I'll have six pack abs in no time from all of the coughing. Of course, by then I'll be divorced because my husband hasn't slept in nearly two weeks, and I barely remember what it feels like to kiss him. I've slept sitting up for the past two nights, and while it helps the lungs stay clear, it's not very restful... Of course, neither is waking up drowning every minute and a half either. I'm on my third prescription cocktail, so keep your fingers crossed. I gotta get back to life as usual!! I'm going crazy!

It's been good for the knitting, though. I now have the back, both front pieces and one sleeve finished on the Ruffled Surplice. This one should definitely be done by the end of the month if not sooner. And then what? I don't know... but I hope it will be something quick and satisfying like this one has been.

Last night, despite the sickness, Senor and I saw "Georgia Rule." It was a free screening at his new job, and while Senor was pretty sure he wouldn't like it, he thought I might, and it was an elbow-rubbing opportunity, so we sat down to check it out.

24 minutes later we were ducking and running. I beg of you all, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SEE THIS MOVIE! I can't put the blame on the actresses. I think they were doing their best, but they were working with a script that some misogynist put together by reassembling long horizontal strips of dialogue salvaged from the Shredded For Your Safety dumpsters behind the offices of Motherhood Sucks Pictures. I'm not kidding. I'll watch a turd. I've watched many movies that I will not admit I liked to anyone I respect, but this was something else. You know how some movies are so bad they come back around to good? This one passes good twice and boomerangs off into the atmosphere...

Poor Felicity.

But at least Senor and I got to go home early. :)

Roid Rage!

Yes, folks, we've escalated from inadequate antibiotics to steroid shots in the derriere... It seems to have eased the coughing slightly, but I am also feeling very aggressive and bulked up!!!! I'll cut you!!!! Okay, I'm feeling neither aggressive nor muscular, which I'm kinda disappointed about... wouldn't that be an unexpected development. Senor and I did get a bit more sleep last night, so that is a step in the right direction at least. And I got drops for the Eye of Pestilence.




Do I really need to tell you that our song didn't get chosen for American Idol? You'd have known if it was. Oh well. Go vote for those steaming piles that beat us anyway.


In knitting we have the following:

I'd be getting a lot more done on the Ruffled Surplice if I could get it to stop texting Krissy's Roza's socks. They're BFF (best fiber friends) because they come from the same magazine issue. In all seriousness (because knitting is serious stuff, people), this is a really fun knit so far! It's flying along, nothing like Senor's sweater at all. Hefty size 9 needles, nice KFI cashmerino yarn, lots of germs woven right in... well, it's almost a really fun knit. The pattern has a lot of "at the same time" in it, which makes keeping track of myself in my roid rage haze a bit difficult, but so far it seems to be coming out the right shape. I can't wait to wear it now that it's a ZILLION DEGREES OUT! Doh!!

And for Viejo Fuerte, a tree update:

It's hardly lush, but it's alive and it appears to be thriving. Some of those old dead leaves just won't fall off, though.

The thumbs are also good. I'm such a productive member of the human race.

NOW STOP DISTRACTING ME, I'M WORKING!!!!

Woah, that was just the steroids talking... We're all good, I swear.

Add it to the list...

Since Thursday the 3rd, I have had the following ailments in this order:

Nausea

Sore Throat

Fever

Body Aches

Coughing

Runny Nose

Pink Eye?!!
Pink eye is the newest on an ever growing list of symptoms that is making me crazy and miserable and crusty, both figuratively and literally. There is still a chance that this blood shot eye is due to aggressive nocturnal coughing (sorry again, Senor), but would the coughing cause the crust and goo I woke up to? Yeah, I didn't think so either.

Sorry to be so gross. It just isn't possible to be ladylike when you're feeling like I've been feeling.

And then there's the question of: What next? I'm putting my money on Lock Jaw. Any takers?

Of course, due to illness and general couch-boundness, there has been a lot of progress on something along these lines...

New Family Member

Not that kind. Get your minds out of the bassinet!

This weekend we said goodbye to an old friend, and we welcomed a new member into our family.

Zis is our new car, Werner:Werner is a German, und he is very prompt und precise. He vill accomplish anything ve ask of him, und he vill do it kvickly and vissout complaint. Werner is a 1979 BMW 5 series. Zis means nussing to me, but Senor is very excited about zis. All I know is Werner did 80 on the freeway, but I did hear him say, "Zis is not the Autobahn!"

Are you wondering if we always speak in the German accent when we talk about Werner? Yes, unless Senor is talking to a car person, and then he speaks of Werner like the english-speaking car person he is.

Of course, in order to make room for our new comrade, we had to say goodbye to an old one. We took the Fetus to Puppy Lake, also known as CarMax. The Fetus is called the Fetus because it looks like a fetal SUV... We didn't make it up, but it stuck. Anyway, the Fetus will spend his days at Puppy Lake, romping and rolling in the mud with the other puppies, until some very happy new owner buys him and puts photos of him on his/her blog.

As for me, I am sad after all. I never knew how I loved the Fetus until it was time to say goodbye. Of course, if Senor has his way, we will be saying hello and goodbye to many car friends over the course of our lives... so I'd better get used to it. I haven't been this sad since Pierre died.

(Pierre was my Puegeot. He went to live with the blind kids.)

Goodbye, Fetus. Don't fail us now.

Finished.

I'm thinking about keeping this one for future Strongs...

Choosing buttons is difficult...

They are made of shell, and they have a nice glow about them... I didn't want them stealing focus OR genderizing. I really like them... of course, there were a lot of others I liked, too.

Happy Happy Happy Happy

Happy Anniversary!!! Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Anniversary!!!!

(Don't worry, we didn't go anywhere where the waiters sing this for your anniversary.)


It's been 1 year, my friends. One happy happy happy happy year since Senor made me his Senora... But it was 1 and a HALF years (or maybe more) since I began his sweater... I am only slightly sorry to report that it was not finished by Saturday, but it was devilishly close! You can't see it because I cleverly hid them inside the sweater, but none of the ends are woven in... and the roll neck still needs to be added, but look at the nice fit! And then of course there's the fact that I made a freakin' sweater out of once-straight yarn!! It's such an amazing feeling!!!!!!


Now I want one.


We forgot to have someone take our photo while we were out celebrating properly on Saturday night... but we went to our favorite restaurant for dinner, our other favorite restaurant for dessert, and our favorite Tavern for drinks and some karaoke. Yes, folks, for my husband I sang... I sang "Brass in Pocket" by the Pretenders... Senor said, "That was a hot one, Dog!" Me? I couldn't hear myself too well, and they played canned applause at the end, so there was no telling how the rest of the patrons felt about my performance... but the point is I sang it, and if you're really nice to me, maybe I'll sing it for you sometime. Senor rocked "Let's Get it On" and "Mack the Knife." I think they thought I'd be better based on his performances. Actually, I know they did. Flattering, but wrong.

Here are a few photos of the rest of our day. We started with sleeping in and eating the frozen top of our wedding cake, as tradition demands:

It was kinda yucky, but we did it for luck. Besides, can you really complain about any occasion that allows you to have cake for breakfast?! And the coffee made it better, of course.

Then I went to the yarn store while Senor ran some anniversary errands. Can you believe it? Cake for breakfast and then yarn shopping!!! What an incredible day!

There was a guerrilla-style nap midday (cake crash!) while I cast on for Debbie Bliss's Baby Bobble Jacket:

Senor gave me a beautiful blank book for our Paper Anniversary... which I neglected to take a photo of... (I suck at this sometimes!) I gave him his sweater-- I dubbed it our Lint Anniversary!

And then off we went into the cool El Segundo evening for all of our favorite things.

It was an amazing day celebrated just the way we like it: Our Way.