Thursday THUNKS

Door Colors, Sibs, Butterflys, And So Much More!

Welcome to the April 30th version of Thursday Thunks!
(which we always seem to post on Wednesday)
Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

We pick a subject, and your job is to interpret it anyway you want. Write about it on your blog... simple as that. Maybe you can interpret it as a picture - we don't care!
Please only leave a link if you have written a Thursday Thunks post. Please mention us in your post, and link back to the blog here.
Don't forget to go visit the other participants' blogs. Read and comment about all their Thursday Thunks! Thats what all this is about afterall, isn't it? We'll have so much fun and become lifelong friends....

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen & Kimber via phone & Skype conference, the color mango and the number 70566.

1. What color is your front door? white
2. We discussed our folks in previous TT so now tell me about your siblings. If you are an only child, tell me whether or not you wanted siblings, older, younger etc. 2 younger siblings, a brother and a sister. Am very close to my brother, I think my sister was left by aliens.
3. What color/type butterfly is your favorite?
4. Will you be celebrating Cinco De Mayo? There's beer right??
5. Oprah- love her, hate her, or don't care?Cannot stand her - where's the f'ing remote!
6. Are you worried about the spread of swine flu?Moi? Afraid of little germies? I don't think so. As with many other things the media causes a panic and a hysteria so that it can sell more advertising dollars. Now I understand it is life threatening for the elderly, very young, already ill people. I am none of those things. I do deal with a lot of people, but I am alrady careful. I go through a giant pump bottle of purell every month. I wash my hands constantly. I don't touch my face. I try not to get to close to sneezing/coughing people. Because seriously- what am I going to do anyway turn into a hermit?

7. Hard or soft pillows?As with other things in my bed I prefer my pillows to be firm.
8. How many trees are in your neighbor's yard? 2
9. What was the color of the last car you saw? I saw the car I want! A BLACK Saturn Sky!
10. When does your driver's license expire? 2012
11. Look at the clock on your computer and type the numbers backwards.314
12. When you put your pants on, what leg do you put in first?I had to think about it. I think the right leg.
13. How would you respond to this letter if you were an advice columnist.

I am an ugly woman. I was an ugly baby and child even! It is a fact. I am 36 now and I have never had a boyfriend, and I am still a virgin.

Due to me not having men in my life, I have poured everything I have in to education and my career. At 36 I am the youngest (and first female CEO) at a big, successful, tech company. I have over 200 personal patents and millions of pounds in investments.

I have everything: huge house, holiday villa in Spain, 3 cars, power boat, a race horse, etc. but as much I try to talk myself into everything being “great” I cannot help but to miss that special someone to share it all with.

Most of my friends are married with kids and I feel like I am gradually drifting away from them also.

Where can I find someone to marry an ugly woman?

Someone with your assets and future earning potential should have no problems finding a potential mate. A few rounds with the plastic surgeon should bring you up to average at least, spend a couple bucks on a personal trainer to tone and tighten your body and head out onto the town with some bling and a fancy sports car. Hit the clubs where the 20 somethings hang out and you should find yourself a boy toy in record time. Take a few out for a test run (consider it like interviewing a prospective hire at your company) and I'm sure the stud you choose will be more than happy to say I do. One final note - remember plastic surgery may fix what ails you but your genetics are still your genetics, You may want to consider adoption when the time for babybooties arrives.

Advice

A very good friend of mine sent me an e-mail the other day. Now just for the record I hate the gloom and doom chain mails that the internet has sprung forth on us. You know the ones forward to 26 single females with only one ovary or something terrible will happen. The ones that promise luck are just disguised. Forward to 5 people and something wonderful will happen - but you only have 5 minutes to do so, also implies that if that 5 minute deadline is not honored something bad will happen, doesn't it? Now if your e-mail is funny or touching or educational or just strikes my fancy I will probably forward it to people I think will like/enjoy/learn from it. But depending on the content I may forward it to one person or 20, it depends and I hate being told what to do. (for the record Gracie I did forward your e-mail to 6 people but after I edited all the crap off the top and bottom- basically it went out as you see it here.)

Now, the advice in the e-mail was I think universally good advice so I have cut out all the obnoxious stuff and have posted the body of the e-mail here.

ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR. When you say, 'I love you,' mean it.

FIVE. When you say, 'I'm sorry,' look the person in the eye.

SIX. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN. Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN... In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN. Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE. Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN! .. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, 'Why do you want to know?'

FOURTEEN. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN. Say 'bless you' when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice!

TWENTY- ONE. Spend some time alone.

A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

FLOWER PROJECT UPDATE

If you remember the flowers I made a while back for the knit flower project that Molly was doing for her thesis, she made all the displays and had the reception recently. She gave permission to use her pic's so here are a few.

Mostly for Grace and Jacqui

It has been really really hot. I don't know if we've broken any records, but I can't recall it ever being over 90 in April here. I spent most of the weekend inside ( in air) I finished my afghan at 5 am before it got too toasty. I did get some, but not much work done on my cozy also. My daughter, accidentally left a bag of frozen macaroni and cheese sauce on the counter when she got ice out of the freezer. It thawed. I was a bit leary of refreezing it - since it is my own concoction so I needed to use it. I really did not want to turn the oven on, so I lined a glass pyrex dish with foil, inside and out ,made some pasta, mixed the cheese sauce in topped it with leftover stuffing from stuffed mushrooms I made at Easter ( I made a lot, don't know why, froze it in a zip loc bag) I figured breadcrumbs, olive oil and melted butter, asiago, parmesan and romano cheese, dried garlic and onion flakes, oregano, basil and bacon bits. why not? Then I turned the grill on low and stuck it on the grill for 40 minutes. And it worked!

Now here's the true kicker. those of you that know me well know I really don't do water. I'm afraid of rust. Seriously- coffee all day and evening with a break for tea in the late afternoon. The occasional beer. that's pretty much what I drink. Well this weekend I only had one cup of coffee each day! Really! I drank a lot of tea . Lots and lots of tea. I went through 34 tea bags. Granted I have a giant 4 cup mug which I toss 2 or 3 bags in but still a lot of tea. Then to top it off, I must have drank 16 glasses of water ( ice tea glasses like 16 ounces!) How do I know? because that's the size glass I use and I squeeze 1/2 lemon in each one, and I went through 8 lemons in 2 days.

I guess the usual spring temperature ramp up allows me more time to get used to the heat.

Seduction

Your Seduction Style: Sweet Talker

Your seduction technique can be summed up with "charm" You know that if you have the chance to talk to someone... Well, you won't be talking for long! ;-) You're great at telling potential lovers what they want to hear. It's partially because you're a great listener and good at complementing. The other part of your formula? Focusing your conversation completely on the other person. Your "sweet talking" ways have taken you far in romance - and in life. You can finesse your way through any difficult situation, with a smile on your face. Speeding tickets, job interviews... bring it on! You truly live a *charmed life*

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

Knitting Updates

Sorry, I haven't updated my projects for a while. I finished seaming and bordering and weaving the afghan for VJGC. Good thing I got a kick in the ass... I had forgotten there are bonus points for 'ghans postmarked by tomorrow. But as the Taco Bell chihuahua said "I'm gonna need a bigger box!" I REALLY SHOULD HAVE MEASURED BEFORE I DID THE BORDER! It measures out at 36x50. Th acceptable measurements are 35-40x45-50. If I realized how close the length would be I'd have single crocheted the 2 short ends. But fortunately it does meet the specs.



I have also been working on the spring tea cozy - I am determined to finish by next weekend so I can start pondering a red/white/blue themed one for memorial day- july 4th. One side is done- I have started the second side. The first side is on stitch holders because once I seam the 2 pieces together I am going to crochet a circle to finish the top. I am then going to crochet some little yellow flowers for the top. Because I dropped a sharpie and there is a black spot right under where the stitch marker is, and unlike the blingy shamrocks I don't think I have any yellow bling for this cozy.



Now that the afghan is done, (yes time to start something else!) I've had some more time to work on my evil stepmom socks on lunch so here is where I'm at now:





Today's Sunday and NASCAR is at 'dega- so we all know where I'll be this asfternoon -GO SMOKE!! I forgot all about a NFL draft party yesterday, so to make ammends and since I'm grilling for a bunch anyway, I invited a Jeffie fan to come watch. ugh.

THURSDAY THUNK

Spices, quotes and other things.

Welcome to the April 23rd version of Thursday Thunks!
(which we always seem to post on Wednesday)
Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

We pick a subject, and your job is to interpret it anyway you want. Write about it on your blog... simple as that. Maybe you can interpret it as a picture - we don't care!
Please only leave a link if you have written a Thursday Thunks post. Please mention us in your post, and link back to the blog here.
Don't forget to go visit the other participants' blogs. Read and comment about all their Thursday Thunks! Thats what all this is about afterall, isn't it? We'll have so much fun and become lifelong friends....

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen, the color eggshell and the number 101.

1. If you could skywrite anything you wanted, what would it be? The Sky Is Falling!

2. Did you get drunk at your prom? I had a good buzz going, wouldn't say actually drunk. But didn't everyone?

3. What is your favorite spice to use cooking? Mixed Peppercorns

4. What color is your roof? grey

5. In a land far, far away I would like to permanently locate the manager of my department_____________

6. In the Miss USA pageant, Miss California was asked; "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?" and her answer was; "Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. Um, we live in a land that you can choose same sex marriage or opposite marriage and, you know what, in my country and in, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," Carrie said to a mix of boos and applause. "No offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised and that's how I think that it should be between a man and a woman." Do you think that cost her the crown? I don't follow Miss America- maybe we should be asking Budd about this one? He would seem like he'd know. Um, are the judges really PC or gay?

7. Do you watch Miss USA/Miss America pageants?
As I said, I leave that to Budd
8. Have you ever driven/ridden on a tractor? Yes

9. For the parents - what cartoon/children show did your child watch obsessively? (Hey, if you aren't a parent, maybe a niece or nephew...) Ugghh, Barney. I still have fantasies of a great compound bow, nice arrow and a purple barbeque later. (You'd need to grill him to get rid of all the fat)

10. If I set a level on your living room floor - would it show that it was level? I doubt it.

11. What was the last restaurant you ate at? A restaurant called MIXX in Philadelphia's China town. Really really amazing sushi - and they make fried banana sushi. Sounds kinda weird but it is sooooo good. I mean the word fried, the word banana and the word sushi... Of course I was so stuffed I only managed one piece!

12. What's the picture on your wall calendar for this month? Don't have a wall calander - have a dry erase one.

13. Are you superstitious?NO- and I love to f*** with the people at work that are.

14. If I get into your car and turn on the radio - what type of radio station will I hear?Country - the reason I got XM - they seem to think there are no country fans in the NY metro area.


15. Would you rather wake up with a snake in your bed or a lizard? Um by snake do we mean an actual snake or a ..... and by lizard do we mean an actual lizard or like a lounge lizard?? If we are talking actual animals I think I'd have to go with the lizard (not alligator) and if we are talking about .... then I'd have to prefer the snake.

16. Do you think schools have changed at all since the Columbine tragedy 10 years ago? In what ways? Well, everyone entering my daughter's school during school hours have to show id and sign in, after school is a different story. And most of the time it's teachers signing you in so if you were armed they wouldn't be able to do much. And they practice "lock downs"

Questions

This was on Min's blog today and it seemed like fun, so play along with me ok? Feel free to only answer the questions you want to answer.

Questionnaire

Okay, so I know all of you fairly well, but hey, I love learning new stuff, and some of this info could be very helpful. So please comment with your responses to these questions.

1. name:
2. birthday:
3. place of residence:
4. what makes you happy:
5. what are you listening to now/have listened to last:
6. if you do, what is particularly good/bad about my blog:
7. an interesting fact about you that I don't already know:
8. are you in love/do you have a crush at the moment:
9. favorite place to be:
10. favorite lyric:
11. best time of the year:

recommend:
1. a film:
2. a book:
3. a band, a song and an album:

plus:
1. one thing you like about me:
2. two things you like about yourself:
3. put this in your blog so i can tell you what i think of you

Not that kind of cougar!

You Are a Cougar

You have more strength than most people, and with it, the ability to inflict a lot of harm. Your power gives you confidence, and you find leading others to be easy. You believe that you need to the best, and you are very driven to excel. Most people immediately admire you, but some people feel very envious of your abilities.

What Big Cat Are You?

From Gracie's blog lovincomfortknits on Friday:
Vanessa tagged me with this Friday Meme
Friday's Question..... If you had all the money in the world what 5 things would you do first with your money?

• definitely have Tommo quit his job
• pay off our bills and all of our childrens bills
• give Tom a million and myself a million to share as we care to with our friends etc
• build a log home with indoor swimming pool and lots of fireplaces in a very remote wooded location with a pond or small lake
• save someone's home from foreclosure, we lost ours that way and it sucked, so we would try to spare someone, especially someone with kids from the same fate

and a 6th one go on a yarn spending frenzy!


NOW your turn to answer the question I am going to choose 4 people ..YOU CAN CHOOSE how many people you want to do this.

Trudy
Jennifer C
Ria
and Melissa G
~~~~~~~~~~~~
ok, now my answers:

1. pay for Angel's college and set her up in whatever career she choses.

2. set up a charity fund for the charities I already support . I always figure when people hit the lottery etc big, they get hit up by every charity out there. And I always said if I win a huge amount I'll give $$ to the charities I'm willing to give the money I work my ass off for now.

3. buy a house on the lake and a townhouse near a ski mountain. One would have to be big enough that I could fly in all my knitting/Nascar friends in on Sundays to watch the race.

4. Take a year off, buy a motorcoach, and go to all 38 (the 36 regular races, the all- star race and the bud shootout) of the year. (maybe if it's big enough to require a cdl - I'll just have to hire C to drive it around the country for me ;P)

5. Find something to do part-time (seriously I can't not - it's brain damage), give Curt the money to play with his hobbies as long as he does something functional at least part time too.

You know I rarely tag anyone- so if you're reading this and want to use this feel free.

Yesterday

I just realized I brought my camera yesterday and didn't take a single picture!!!! Oh that seriously sucks!!!




yesterday, after work, I drove down to philadelphia. It was supposed to be a 2 hour and 7 minute drive but took me over 3 1/2 hours. Traffic came to a standstill on the turnpike right after the truck/car lane split. I should have played with the trucks, they were moving until it merged again. Then - thank God when I was playing with Google maps I decided that the less time I was on the turnpike the better so I had changed the route to go 195 to 95 around trenton, it was more miles but seemed better. Well the blinky highway warning sign said the turnpike was CLOSED at exit 4!!! ( I got off at 7a) there was no traffic on 95 so I was happy again. Then in PA approaching Philly it stopped again because the initial traffic put me going into Philly during rush hour!!

Now the reason I was going to Philly - as most of you know I'm on ravelry a lot and as all of you know I'm a serious NASCAR fan. On Ravelry I belong to a few groups that are NASCAR related. There are a bunch of people that are the "core" shall we say group of people on the groups that have become good online friends. One of these friends Min, lives in Philly. We keep saying we need to get together and meet up. ( She doesn't have a car so it's more complicated than meeting halfway) We do have a side bet going on for this NASCAR season as to Tony making it into the chase. (top 12 drivers that go for the championship during the last 10 races) Well right now TOny is 5th.. YAY Tony! The bet is loser has to travel to the winners city for sushi. Yes another of my infamous win/win bets.


She contacted me earlier in the week because Sara, another friend, was coming up to Philly ( she had met sara irl last fall when delivering all the afghans we made for the Victory Junction Gang Camp) and we could surprise her. It was really great to finally meet Min and Sara. We went out to a sushi restaurant and met up with a bunch of Min's friends. Everything was totally yummy. the restaurant had a great deal - $24 all you can eat , 20 pcs per round, 2 hours max. But the catch was they charge you $1 for every piece you don't eat. They had a great dessert roll. Fried banana - sounds weird but so delicious!! And they gave us a piece of some kind of lime pie to share. One of Min's friends is a fencer - she fences epee, must have a long attention span, but kinda cool.



After Min, Sara and I went back to min's to watch the nationwide race and I got to meet felix and oscar (min's kitties) and Foster (sara's kitty) . We got to bed well after midnight. ( impressive since I had been up since 245am) (I woke up to pee at 3am- damn habits and Oscar was in the bed next to me - how sweet was that? Felix likes to curl up in things and was in a printer paper box lid for part of the evening so I gave him one of the cat snuggies in my back seat . ( I haven't been able to get in contact with the lady that was making them) I got back up at 545 so I could be at Angie's school for the relays they sponsor. Schools come from as far away as Jackson NJ and farther. I had to help set up the concession stand and work it until noon. It took just under 2 hours including stopping at the first rest stop on the turnpike for gas and coffee.

While I was gone, Curt missed me so much he finally recovered everything off the broken hard drive:) Actually while he has travelled a bunch of times for work and he and Angie have been to Louisianna w/o meet several times, I have only left them one time for work when I was still in store mgmt. they missed me - how sweet! When Angie got home from the relays ( she came in 9th out of 24 for shot - and she's just the backup shot thrower - but she fouled in disc :( she asked about how it went - she wants that fried banana roll! But she says I should go again - just not really soon. She said she'd tell her dad she gave the thumbs up!

Of course since Min is going to lose the bet, she'll be coming up here!!

Grace - hope you survived tonight - good luck with tomorrow I'll be thinking of you! I got your tag - it will have to wait until tomorrow!

As I said - forgot to take pic's all pics courtesy of the web.

maILBOX CANDY!

So, I went out to the mailbox today and I found a little cardboard box with the coolest stamps on the side:



And inside was my first ever hank of yarn from Castle Fibers! Deep Bruise. I really wanted SCAB! But this will be cool too.



Enjoy the eye candy!!

I would like to tell you that I have a very cool surprise to tell you about either tomorrow or Sunday!! I can't say a thing yet but it is very cool!!

Thursday THUNKS

Twilight, Emails, Being Nude And More Crazy Questions!

Welcome to the April 16th version of Thursday Thunks!
(which we always seem to post on Wednesday)
Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

We pick a subject, and your job is to interpret it anyway you want. Write about it on your blog... simple as that. Maybe you can interpret it as a picture - we don't care!
Please only leave a link if you have written a Thursday Thunks post. Please mention us in your post, and link back to the blog here.
Don't forget to go visit the other participants' blogs. Read and comment about all their Thursday Thunks! Thats what all this is about afterall, isn't it? We'll have so much fun and become lifelong friends....

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Kimber, the color rainbow and the number 2.

1. Recently Berleen and I discovered the allure of the Twilight series. Have you ever been sucked in to the latest "thing"? (Like Harry Potter, the movie Titanic, social networking, etc. etc. etc.) Latest Thing? Not usually my style- I did read the first bunch of Harry Potter books ( not the last 2) I never got as into it as some people( those of you on Ravelry have seen I'm sure the huge number of Harry Potter projects and Gryfindor, Slytherin yarn etc. NASCAR is supposedly the fastest growing sport in America- but I've been a fan for 30+ years so not a recent bandwagon jumper. I'm trying but I really can't think of anything that I've jumped on a trend-
2. What software do you use for your email? Software? Not sure. I use firefox as a browser, have hotmail, yahoo and google e-mails ( have never used the google though.) Does that help?? It's not my fault really- married a techie - don't feel I need to know as long as the laptop works.
3. Are you comfortable being nude? Yes - my husband accuses me of being a nudist. But seriously I don't go out in public naked. trust me no one wants to see that unless I lose some weight and tone up a bit and maybe get a tan. My daughter figures that once she's off to college I'll never wear clothes in the house again.
4. What is something you plan on doing this summer? While my daughter is off being a do-gooder in Ecuador this summer- Curt and I are going on vacation without her!!
5. Do you have a favorite movie/book quote? If so, what is it? There are so many - but they just kinda pop out of my mouth at appropriate (or inappropriate times) A lot of quotes from a Princess Bride, Monty Python, The Muppets,
6. How many email addresses do you have? 3
7. Is the sky falling? I'd rather not look up to find out. When or if it hits me it hits me. I think it will be less painful if I don't see it coming.
8. Have you been to the Grand Canyon? No, flown over it a whole bunch of times - would love to go rafting through it, I'm afraid there will be scorpions or huge spiders or I'd want to go camping and rock the tent in the canyon ( can you do that?) I think I'd like to go at least once - to go on that glass bottomed lookout thing- not sure about riding a donkey though... Do they have real horses?
9. When was the last time you mailed a hand written letter? March. I always mail a long newsy letter to my cousins with their birthday cards.

Wordy Wednesday?

here's the new shirt I got on my little shopping expedition to Montclair last week, such a shame they are closing. I also got 2 hanks of MMMalabrigo Superwash Merino sock yarn in stonechat and velvet grapes:





I did finish my smoke cowl as I mentioned in a previous post. Here's the finished picture- but it still needs the ends woven and it meeds to be blocked.



I also frogged the breeze socks in the Evil Stepmother yarn. The yarn and the pattern did not complement each other at all. I re cast on and am making a basic anklet with a picot edge ( I must be into picots)



I haven't gotten too far on the cozy - here's the update/ Hopefully I'll get done before spring is actually over.



I only have one more square, which is currently halfway done, before I can seam up my lates Victory Junction Gang Camp Afghan. Here's the lates square: I really really want to maybe finish the square on lunch tomorrow and seam it up tomorrow night. I really want it done this week - reasons to be revealed next week ( sorry - only 2 people who may be reading this may have a clue as to why, and if they put it in their comments I'm not going to approve them!)

And finally I'll leave you with a pick of ANgie fooling around with my scarf on Easter - I call this pic - Angijemima!

quiz- what kind of pancakes are you?

This was a bit tricky- I had all those things in my kitchen!

You Are Banana Nut Pancakes

You prefer complex and interesting foods. You shy away from anything that's ordinary or tired. It's not likely that someone would find white sandwich bread or boxed mac n' cheese in your kitchen. Instead, someone might find an original recipe of yours cooking up - or some interesting ethnic food.

What Kind of Pancakes Are You?

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!



I told Curt no basket- I have too many baskets. I donated a bunch of old baskets to the school's tricky tray. So I got a Easter bag from him. He's such a sweetie!

We went to church early, and had breakfast with some friends. Later I'm going to my mom's for lunch with my sister and "joe". The only good thing is I found my sister the ideal birthday present. By my standards anyway. Seems thoughtful, but will ultimately mess with her head and cause stress. Hee hee hee. Miss prim and proper doesn't drink coffee. Only tea. brewed in a pot poured into a cup. with saucer. (not insulting any other tea drinkers out there - ok grace?) So when Curt and I had tea time last week the shop had this cute little gadget. It had 3 sand timers (they don't go an hour, can I still call them hourglasses??) different color sand. One is labeled light, one medium, one strong. There are minutes too, but I forget how many. Light should be labeled weak in my opinion, but to each there own. So anyway, she doesn't currently time her tea bags. She is now going to obsess about how long she likes her tea brewed. Seriously, I got her a tea basket with a little book as part of it. It had a section on the correct temperature to brew different types of tea. Two weeks later she ended up buying a thermometer. MWA HAhahahaha!

Then I'm going to my father in laws for dinner, with him and my dragon in law - I mean sister in law. Hopefully we'll get home in time for me to catch a bit of sleep before going to work tomorrow.

Vacation To Do Update

1. Take Angie down to Bridgewater so she can use her credit and get a new fencing lame'. Never did this - discovered the treasurer wrote the check to me instead of the fencing place, so I deposited the check this morning and I can take Angie to Saddlebrook instead.

2. Empty out all the planters and windowboxes and spray them with bleach so they'll be ready to plant in a few more weeks. Also get a few summer bulbs planted and clean up the leaves and debris I didn't do anything with last fall. Cleaned out the boxes - they're ready for a few weeks from now. The only thing I got planted was a pair of purple trillium.

3. Really clean my bedroom, and especially my closet and drawers. Yeah, I must have been out of my mind on this one - that just wasn't happening. This needs to be a monthlong couple hours every weekend type of goal.

4. Get the concession stand at the football/field track ready and running before tuesdays meet - work the stand on tuesday. ( no I aM NOT doing this one alone) Did this. Not really anything to comment on.

5. Finish my Smoke(as in Tony) cowl. This is done - I think I'm going to block it though, buit still done.

6. FIgure out if my wicked stepmother yarn is really happy with the pattern being knitted. And either finish the socks or frog the 1/2 sock I have done and use another pattern. I am frogging it now.

7. Finish the pink socks if it kills me!! I finished the pink sock. Not my favorite sock pattern - as a matter of fact I didn't even file the pattern just tossed it. The heel is very loose. I am going to try to weave through some clear elastic and paint some puffy paint hearts on the bottom so Angie can wear them as slippers.

8. Decide what yarn/pattern for a spring tea cozy (let's face it it's a bit too late for Easter - at least at the rate I knit. Maybe my friend Grace or Jenn but not me) that can last until I do a patriotic one for memorial day to July 4th. Will probably need to buy yarn - it seems like a pastel project and other than pinks for Angel I really don't buy pastels normally. Found the yarn, realized the pattern was a scam, am creating my own pattern - am about 35 % done. But my goal was to find the yarn/pattern so this counts as a check.

9. Get my oil changed and take the car to the body shop over the ding someone gave it in the parking lot at work- the wheel well tore at the screws so at least that piece needs to be replaced. Not sure if I want to call the insurance company - after all I just added a teenager to the policy. Got the oil and the serpentine belt changed. Didn't get to the body shop though.

10. Get my roots dyed. Hair is up in a towel now.

11. Need to get a few loose button shirts (that I don't button) to wear over tank tops in the summer at work. Nope. Did however buy a cool t shirt that says born to knit. Can't wear it to work though.

12. Try not to get moldy, it's going to rain for the next 3 days, be nice on Sunday and rain again at least Monday to Wednesday. Didn't have as much rain as predicted. And days like today, it was supposed to rain all day - stopped and the sun came out around 3:30.

13. Convince Grace that even though Sandy and Jacqui apparently most likely won't be able to do anything next week, that she should do something with me to get me (and her) out for at least part of a day! ( I know you'll read this Grace!) Grace agreed, then got ill, we did end up meeting for lunch on Friday. Curt did go yarn shopping with me and we stopped at a lovely tea shop in montclair where we "had tea and scones" hee hee and bought my sister a birthday present.

And if you'll notice except for 1,3 and 4 I'm still sticking to the 2000mine theme. So I didn't do 1 and 3 - but they weren't in the 2000 mine theme anyway. I figure I went 8.5 out of 13 - not bad. Pictures will come eventually of the pink socks, the smoke cowl, the new yarn and the t-shirt. You've seen the beginning of the cozy and if the trillium ever blooms you'll see that too.

THURSDAY THUNK

Rabbits, don't get it, ouch and other randomness

Welcome to the April 9th version of Thursday Thunks!
(which we always seem to post on Wednesday)
Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

We pick a subject, and your job is to interpret it anyway you want. Write about it on your blog... simple as that. Maybe you can interpret it as a picture - we don't care!
Please only leave a link if you have written a Thursday Thunks post. Please mention us in your post, and link back to the blog here.
Don't forget to go visit the other participants' blogs. Read and comment about all their Thursday Thunks! Thats what all this is about afterall, isn't it? We'll have so much fun and become lifelong friends....

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen, the color orange and the number 9999.

1. What was the last thing you ate? Stuffed poblano peppers
2. I say the color purple.. what do you think of? Prince
3. Lamps or ceiling lights?Candles - if scented vanilla
4. What color rabbit is your favorite? pink
5. Your car breaks down on a deserted road and your cell phone has no signal - what do you do? Curse up a storm and rant about too many electronics running cars today as I lift the hood to figure it out.
6. What is one thing most of your friends do online that you just can't understand the fascination and do not participate in? Facebook and Twitter
7. What do you need right now? A nice cold beer
8. And your most serious injury you've had was....? blowing my ACL
9. What is the most evil thing you've ever done? MwHAHAHA... can't tell - statute of limitations you know....
10. Give us some random fact about you. I don't bother polishing my pinkie toenails - there's not enough to make it worth the effort.

Annoying Designers!!

I was looking on Ravelry for tea cozy patterns, because I wanted a tea cozy that I could use from now until I make a red/white/blue one for Memorial Day til July 4th. I love my march cozy, but am kinda over the shamrocks until next year. So I found a really pretty pleated cozy in dark and light pinks. I did not want pink, but the beauty of knitting is you can make a pattern any color you want, if you can find the color - I guess dyers have a slight advantage here. I wanted yellow and green with some white. Kind of inspired by :



When I went to click on the free pattern I discovered that the picture in the pattern is a cozy the designer made from an old vintage pattern. The pattern she had available was her "version" of the cozy. IT REALLY WASN'T CLOSE!! It had a checkerboard bottom, then the pleats, then instead of a nice round top the top looks loke a paper bag tied shut with string. Not saying it wasn't a perfectly nice cozy. But that if you see the picture of one cozy, that same cozy is on the top of the pattern page - you do not expect to scroll down to find a completely different looking cozy and the pattern for that second cozy!!

I started using the pattern figuring I could just skip the checkerboard and shape the top when I got there. Well I obviously can't count while watching a race because I cast on 2 few stitches. And knew the number I cast on - maybe it's reading not counting that is my issue. So when I got to the striped pleats I didn't have enough stitches. Frog. Take two - correct number of stitches, but using three colors was becoming a tangle in back and the strands were too loose on the bottom. Frog. Now anyone who knows me knows that after 2 trips to the frog pond it's a 50/50 proposition as to whether it gets frogged or trashed. But I want this cozy. So I cast on for a third time. This time I tossed the pattern and grudgingly realized if I wanted to have the tea cozy in my head I would have to do it myself. I would like to say here that I am not a designer. I have no desire to ever be a designer. I do not have the insight/creativity ot be a designer. I get really irritated if I feel pressured to do something I don't want to do ( not just crafting - life in general)

So I started with a ribbed bottom- why? because that way I wouldn't have to worry about the cozy fitting the bottom and still getting over the belly of the pot. I then started the vertical stripes. Realized then that my white is completely a different size yarn than the yellow. Realized after I did a few rows - frogging is not happening here folks! So after growling a bit, I decided that I liked it. The yellow stripes are a really pinched pleat while the white is just barely pleated. The yellow literally pops. I like it. Then I started getting bored - short attention span remember? So I started a cable in the center white stripe. I love cables. Cables make me happy. I now realize it will not fit my teapot. Too small. But that's ok. I have a smaller tea pot. Here's what I have so far:



Now, before anyone comments ( yes I am still grouchy) I am not going to frog again!! I am not currently mentally stable enough to frog this project again. So - no suggestions!! If you don't like it ok, you can say that. If you like it ok you can say that. But no comments along the lines of - maybe if you used less white stitches more yellow stitches or maybe you should try garter stitch etc etc.

tomorrow, hopefully I will be less grouchy and I will be taking a road trip with a knitting friend. Don't know if we are going to Montclair or Martinsville or just to lunch yet. The store in Montclair will be closing. The sale starts on 4.20. So I may want to go before everyting is picked through. And they have a really cool t-shirt I want. The store in Martinsville gets some really good comments from people on Ravelry, and would have different yarn and hopefully stuff I haven't seen/pet before. Ok - if you want to leave a suggestion when you comment - here would be something I need help deciding. New store or closing store before stuff goes on sale?

soda

You Are Dr. Pepper

You're very unique and funky, yet you still have a bit of traditionalism to you. People who like you think they have great taste... and they usually do. Your best soda match: Root Beer Stay away from: 7 Up

What Kind of Soda Are You?

Angie update

After much lurking at the mailbox, Angie got the letter she was looking for. Out of 82 kids who applied, 57 made it into the National Honor Society. And Angie made it in!

She also made last Sunday's sports section in the spring track outlook. Last years girls team was undefeated in the regular season. There are 40 returning girls. 13 made the paper. Now she has to live up to the press! They did win their first dual meet so off to a good start.




I was somewhat feeling like a terrible Mom Friday night. We had a meeting for her trip to Ecuador, with the former head of security for the US Embassy complex in Quito. All these parents were freaking out because of the stuff going on in Mexico. And because they suddenly realized that their kids were going to a developing third world country and there is no cell service where they're going and how canthey be overprotective? I swear these people are going to spend the entire 22 days parked next to the phone. Me, I figure Ecuador is probably one of the safer countries in South America right now. Safer than Columbia definitely. As long as they understand how to act so they are not targeted for theft, and they stay together as a group, they should be ok. It is after all supposed to be a learning experience. But really letting her go to New York over Christmas was technically just as dangerous if you think about it. Just closer. Curt and I are actually thinking about taking one of the weeks as a vacation ourselves. WE figure we can still be reached via cell, Curt get's email on his cell so we are just as easy to get as at home. And as long as we bring our passports and aren't too far away from an airport, even if something god forbid happens, it won't be any harder to deal with. But really I'm not going to sit here and panic. She's getting her last bunch of shots next week, we're going to get her that bug netting to use with her sleeping bag, pants with zippered pockets, sunscreen, real deet ( not that off stuff) etc. I'm confident.

I Haz Pictures!!

My friend Gwen FINALLY got her swap package so I can post the pictures.





Of course I must include the pictures of my permanent model - Angie, especially since she loves PINK and purple.

I am 77% addicted to knitting...and you??

You scored 77%. You have the optimum level of addiction; beginning knitters strive to be you! You'd knit almost anywhere and anytime, but there are times and places where even you know knitting is not permitted. Like, maybe, a wedding or a funeral. Tell your family they don't have anything to complain about.

If you want to take the test it is here.http://www.thedietdiary.com/blog/lucia/333

Thursday Thunks

We pick a subject, and your job is to interpret it anyway you want. Write about it on your blog... simple as that. Maybe you can interpret it as a picture - we don't care!
Please only leave a link if you have written a Thursday Thunks post. Please mention us in your post, and link back to the blog here.
Don't forget to go visit the other participants' blogs. Read and comment about all their Thursday Thunks! Thats what all this is about after all, isn't it? We'll have so much fun and become lifelong friends....

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Kimber, the color yellow and the number 8554.

1. Did you play any April Fools jokes on anyone or have a joke played on you? I had a really good one planned for C, but I left before he showed up yesterday. I also thought about posting a bogus blog post, but the fallout from that may have been too big before i could post April Fool's. If you read my post from yesterday, my whole day felt like either an April Fool's Joke or something that could have been on candid camera.
2. If you could be on any non-reality TV show as a guest star or star, which one would it be and why? Entertaining with Michael Ciarrelo. He cooks really amazing food and his NAPA vineyard is just gorgeous. ( and he has gorgeous eyes- yes I'm a sucker for a guy with great eyes)
3. Do you crack your knuckles? Never- when I was a kid there was a really old lady down the street, now looking back I think she had rheumatoid arthritis or something, but her hands were all swollen and gnarly and misshapen, she told all the kids in the neighborhood it was from cracking her knuckles and I believed her. I still flinch now when someone near me cracks theirs.
4. If you remember your first day of kindergarten, were you scared or excited? If you have kids or grandkids, were they scared or excited? No recollection of my first day of school. My daughter went to kindergarten right across the hall from her pre-k4 classroom. She was just excited to be a "big" kid. Then when she switched schools in first grade she was sure everyone made their friends in kindergarten "for life" and she would have no friends for 6 years. (she of course had 2 bestest friends by the end of the day) same thing for middle school, as her elementary school was not in the town we lived in, same thing in high school - we have 2 regional high schools and as our town has the same number of kids if not a handful more than the other 3 towns combined, so our kids get split and her 3 best friends were going to the other high school.
5. If you are in the shower, hear the fire alarm going off and smell smoke/see flames, will you just run out of the house with a towel on or grab some clothes & dress as you run out? My rubbwer ducky and I would be outside in a towel I'm sure. I usually have extra shirts in my car ( I end up dribbling coffee at least semi-regularly)
6. Last week the Thursday Thunkers asked about your Daddy (twice), so this week tell us a little about your Mom.My mom and I weren't very close. We got to be friends sort of after my daughter was born. She's a tiny Japanese lady (4'10" my dad was 6'7".) we recently found out that even though she could easily pass for 60, she had been adding 5 years to her age (she's 75) so people would compliment her on how good she looks.
7. Which search engine do you use most often?
8. Did you participate in Earth Hour? Only because I was engaged in ..ahem.. marital activities that don't require much lighting other than a few candles. (and those really are optional)
9. What was the last new-to-you movie you watched? Was it in the theater or on DVD? Was it good? I saw the Pink Panther 2 in the theaters. Hysterical. Steve Martin makes the perfect Cleauseau!!
10. If you do something embarrassing, do you laugh it off, or sit & worry about it?I seriously don't give a rat's behind what people think about me, so if it was funny I'll laugh.
11. Where is your favorite spot in your home to sit & relax?"my side" of the couch with my feet up and my yarn next to me.