Reports of zombie sightings are sweeping the nation, panic is widespread and the government is warning that if you are in a safe place to stay there until help can arrive.

Spring Quarter starts tomorrow, so soon after Winter Quarter finished. I got a head start on my reading for the Ethnic Lit class and read “Six Degrees of Separation” which was a fantastic read. I think I have a penchant for reading plays because its the second or third play I have been assigned to read (Shakespeare not included) that I have just loved. Now I have to go see it somewhere…

Anyhow, I was cleaning out my lame old lady bag– seriously, I used to mock the people who had their backpacks on wheels and then the doctor told me not to carry my books any more because of the sciatica thingy… so I got the uncoolest bag EVER @ kmart. It weighs about as much as the backpack I took with me to England on holiday. back to the topic– and I found a photograph of Barry and Megan at the hospital, right after she was born.

As a mom you would think that my first reaction at seeing a very old photograph of my eight year old as a newborn, I would be thinking “she looks so tiny!” but it wasn’t. No, I was more taken with the look of happiness on my husband’s face and was struck by how young he was, and in turn how young we both must have been.

I am constantly amazed at how fast the world seems to be moving, how fast my marriage has gone from being a blissful first year to the rocky third year, rocketing past year seven *cough*, and now we’re less than 18 months away from our tenth anniversary. Megan is becoming an independent little thinker and all of us are working hard for bigger and better things. It’s amazing.

I finished the J4M sweater. Then decided I hated the hem and that it was too short. So I frogged the purl ridges back, added four more increase rows and am working on devising a backwards knit-in hem. I did a knit-in hem for Rogue, but started from the bottom, so I expect it will feel a little different.

Also, although I dearly wanted the long sleeves, I had to increase the shoulder circumference for my great big flapping bat wings and by the time I got to the bell part of the sleeve, I could have used the sleeve as a legwarmer, I KID you not. So, I frogged that back to right after the purl ridges and decreased about 16 stitches evenly, somewhere between 1 and 2 inches anyways, and then bound it off. Because it’s stockinette stitch, that bit curls right up to the purl ridges but it is comfortably close to my arm and not flapping in the breeze.

My very first just for me sweater. I have had a good time with it.

Oh, and I joined the Punk Rock Sock Club from Lotus Knits.

1. Pineapple Orange juice: I got hooked on this in Hawaii, and post gastric bypass, the pineapple cuts the acid of the orange juice so it’s a citrus juice I can drink without pain.
2. Pepsi.  I took the Pepsi challenge a looong time ago, LOL. I think that Coca Cola is just too acidy and not sweet enough.
3. Monster M-80 or Monster Assault. The taurine is really strong in both but is offset by the juice flavor, and I don’t crash or dump on Monster like I do on other energy drinks.
4. Milk. Lukewarm. As a kid I loved it! Still do, but can’t handle it too much cuz of my tummy.
5. A Grande White Mocha Frappucino, extra thick with an addshot of hazelnut. Word of warning, it has to be extra thick– I prefer my Fraps to be the consistency of an Icee, and if they aren’t the coffee is too strong for my taste. BECAUSE:
6. Hot tea with milk and a crap load of sugar. I am a tea drinker. Tea over coffee every time.
7. Sweet tea. I’ll have a Venti Black IcedTea with 12 pumps of classic. Which is like 8 oz of syrup (not really)
8. Pina Coladas. Pineapple and coconut milk. I like these because they taste good and the booze doesn’t peel the lining off of my esophogus like the starbucks and cream cocktail I had at Black Angus last night.
9. The Peach Belinis @ Johnny Carinos. Now there is a mixed and frozen cocktail I could drink all night long.
10. Lemonade or Watermelon Ice flavored gatorade. If I am really sick, I also like the lemon lime flavor.

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Finals are next week. Right now my hair is various shades of purple, orange, green, brunette, and blue. Over the weekend Barry looked at me and said “Your hair looks like it’s going off.” I agreed and said, “That’s why I have an appointment on Wednesday.” I will post before and after pics.

The J4M sweater is almost done! I hate the bottom/hem and am struggling with whether or not I should undo it and redo it. The purl bumps want to curl unflatteringly and overall it’s just not nice. Any suggestions? Furthermore… I have started on the sleeves and am already in the lace section of sleeve one and thinking to myself… “I know I wanted long sleeves… but I could be done in 4 hours, 5 tops if I chose short sleeves…” *sigh*

My headache still won’t go away. It’s devastating (to me) and more than a little worrisome.

Then Sunday night I just kind of said, “to hell with this s–t” and picked up the J4M sweater and started knitting. I am finally finished with the body of the sweater, and expect to finish the sleeves very soon. The lace section is irritating, but otherwise, it’s been a pleasant experience for me, knitting a sweater all my very own. Plus, I’ve gotten to try it on like seven or eight times whilst the knitting was in progress, so I am fairly certain it will fit and not be all for nothing! big cheer.

Because I had a cold I have been keeping away from my sister. I am afraid to go over to her house when I have a really bad cold, because I don’t want to get her sick and actually fear that me giving her a cold will kill her and then it would be on my head… (I mean it). And since I haven’t been in class, I’ve been a little lonely (ok, a lot lonely)

I’ve managed to watch the first 2 seasons of Lois and Clark, catch up on my Tivo, and watch the first season of ER. Not bad, huh???

1. the package was huge!
2. there was  enough yarn in it to induce a coma… remember how when I went to la knitterie parisienne I got all dizzy and overwhelmed?!(and NOT just because nothing has a price on it in that store)
3. bunny yarn
4. sheep!
5. and just the fact that she stepped in and angelled me in the first place is enough to make her deserve loads of rewards and praise. Thank you so much Debbie!!

so here’s a weee little picture– click it and it will open HUGE–

and now I am sure the question everyone wants to know is: Why is it on the trunk of my car? well… It came Monday, and between classes at that. So I had enough time to go home, grab the box, some water, and Megan from the bus stop then drive to my sister’s to drop Megan off. I had six hours (I KNOW!) of class time ahead of me and simply could not wait that damn long so when I got to my sister’s house, I unwrapped the package and took a quick picture.

wanna know what’s in it?

2 little bags with lipsmackers and bonne bell lip gloss in them– perfect because my lips need it about now

some soap, some aromatherapy stuff, and a bag full of fun spa things to scrub myself with (that sounds soo weird)

a felted bag with pretty handles and extra yarn for repairs inside it– Debbie made it for me

an awesome yarntainer thing with yarn (getting there) enormous addi turbos and a pattern from hello yarn inside

easy knitted accessories

In the white box is a black sheep tape measure (yay!!)(baaaaaaa) stitch markers, a grow your own snowman kit, and some foam stickers. Please forgive me if I missed anything.

So.

The good stuff.

The yarn.

3  skeins of lionbrand fettucini (?) which is a squishy tapey yarn

2 skeins of lionbrand watercolors which is more of a boucle

3 skeins of lionbrand moonlight mohair (which is very sparkly)

1 ball of sensations angel hair which is perfectly colored red— I have some green for a zombie now I can have fuzzy blood yarn too!!

2 (?) skeins of cascade– I didn’t pull them out because I have been crazy busy…

and

3 skeins of bunny yarn. That’s the pink stuff. It is a merino angora blend. But it’s bunny yarn to me! To me! Bunny yarn. How cool is that?? and it very nicely matches the pink tilli tomas… so maybe I can do the Nicky Epstein throw in all pink instead of pink and green. so. cool.

*and! she says that there’s something else coming, which just plain boggles the mind*

Thank you thank you thank you Debbie.

In other news, I am awake at 4:08 in the morning with a headache, cramps, and a bum leg– I can’t get comfy in bed even though Barry’s there. This only sucks because we’re driving to Burbank in the morning to get theatrical makeup from a halloween store and to visit dark delicasies *an all horror book store* before whizzing back home and making me up into a zombie for class.

See, in my digital video production class we have 10 weeks to do something. If everyone in the class was like me and about 3 other students, it’d be a snap because we’re all grads of the Multimedia dept @ the junior college anyways. But most of the students are Comm majors who haven’t really worked with macs or the programs we’ll be using. Therefore, our first assignment was to come up with an idea for the group project (max 3 min long) and storyboard it. Then tomorrow we will pitch our projects to the class and so forth. (there’s only 13 people…)

My idea? I liked it so much I had to get a domain because I just need to make this teeny little video project. the domain is zombiesarepeopletoo.com and .org. My webhost was having a sale.

Ok. So, the idea is a public service announcement/charity commercial somewhat similar to the Sarah McLachlan doggie commercial or the Sally Struthers starving kids commercials. Only. with zombies. oh. And violence. Basically, in my little world, zombies are poor unfortunates who have been unjustly raised from the dead and then persecuted for something beyond their control! every day zombies are violently attacked for no other reason than because of what they are…

So, I have some shots of zombies being brutally maimed and injured, intercut with more sad looking zombies, and the announcer will be sitting with a zombie, stroking its head… (it’d be awesome to kill the announcer, but I want it to come off as humorous not just gratuitously gory) The whole thing is overlaid with a sad, somber, guilty inducing soundtrack and the announcer running thru their charity spiel.

hehehehe. I am very excited. so

tomorrow, I will have to post a pic of me in zombie dress…

(i just felt like dressing up and had to make a reason…)

oh finally— the J4m sweater is going… I have 1 more round of lace and then the purl ridges to go before the wonderful goodness of straight stockinette stitch sets in. I’ve tried it on several times and am amazed that it actually seems to fit. I have no boobies, so it’s a little wide in the front… (my bust size is mostly from the width of my back, its not fair that I am tubby without breasts. However, if I am wearing a bra, it works nicely… )

I am dying to cast on for a pair of socks in this yarn:

Mel *lotus knits* was my swap partner for the punk rock gift exchange and then I found her store… In September I bought this skein of yarn and the pic just doesn’t do it justice. It’s softly sparkly and just the name– I wanna be sedated– is perfect. But I don’t know what pattern I should use, etc. any suggestions?

I have never knit socks for me. But I want to.

This wouldn’t be a huge problem except that… I strung the beads too far apart on the 2 skeins I strung for the J4M sweater… which means I need to do something about it. I don’t know. I wasn’t soo taken with having the beads be in there at all… but time! is of the essence.

So I  tore apart my office, only to find… yarn I don’t remember buying or receiving. ****loads of it.  Like, seriously. Remember how badly I needed some lambs pride bulky? yeah. got that s**t in spades now. *sigh* I also have more sock yarn than I could wear in a week to a month… and enough different variations of stuff for zombie penguins to create a zombie penguin army.

what I don’t have?

is a yarn winder.

but I only just used it like a month ago… maybe more?!

This week’s Ten On Tuesday is 10 Things You Want For Christmas

1. A skein of Prism Wild Stuff to pet and play with.
2. A real dresser. With drawers. To put my clothes in.
3. Barry’s greencard.
4. Knitted socks
5. A new laptop that is capable of handling whatever I throw at it.
6. A laptop case on wheels that is attractive and doesn’t make me feel like a moron for toting it to and from school.
7. A nice purse/school bag that I will use for more than 2-3 weeks without getting bored.
8. Amazon  Prime memberhsip for 1 year.
9. Something unexpected and wonderful
10. Inner Peace

Later I will post more about the J4M sweater. I finally finished the increase rounds and put the sleeves on holders. Then I did 3 of 8 more increase rounds. Here’s a question:

how do you deal with that nasty gaping bit when you join two sides in a round? Or when  you are placing a large number of stitches on hold and joining the stitches on either side together?

I tend to make 1 stitch before the last stitch, then k the 2 joined stitches together, but I always feel as if maybe I am not doing it right.

Hopefully I am going yarn shopping today and then tomorrow– my birthday– I will be cleaning up my office, searching it out for yarn and other various goodies, and finding the presents I have stashed. I bought the last major present for Megan and for Barry so now I only have to focus on stocking stuffers and my nephew. I have something for my sister even though we’re not supposed to be exchanging gifts this year because we’re going to disneyland. (like everybody else in california. groan)

That was my sole good news for this post.**** except for something about Jennifer from  yarnpie*** I am no longer riding the euphoric high of being on vacation and passing my classes. Instead I am slip-sliding into a doozy of a downer (go me– I do them so well).

In 2 days I will be 28. I will hopefully not be celebrating with surgery or having teeth extracted. I’ve had surgery on the day after my birthday twice in my life and 5 years ago on my 23rd birthday I had 2 teeth pulled. My birthdays have pretty much all been not so spectacular since my 16th birthday when we had pizza, watched ID4, opened presents, and then remembered that I didn’t have cake.

Jennifer sent me a lovely Christmas/Birthday package. This afternoon– before I got my package– I went on Amazon and sent her her birthday present, and spent more on the postage,… hahaha. I wish I wasn’t so busy, or that my leg didn’t hurt so much etc. Anyhow, Jenny was awesome and I love her & 1. wish she blogged more and 2. wish we talked more. She sent xmas prezzies for megs and barry too, but they can’t have them yet. For me, there was a birthday cake tape measure, sheep stitchmarkers (adorable), 2 skeins of manos del uraguay in a pretty pretty purple, some mint chocolate cookies (which I scarfed 3 and made myself sick on– my bad) and a book of knitted icons. It pretty much made my day. Thank you Jennifer.

—

now to a doom and gloom portion of my post.

It’s not that I feel the world is crapping on me or anything (and frankly it could just be karma because I can be a forgetful and late sender myself) but this year has been full of internetty let downs that just don’t stop and I am starting to feel unloved. Secret Pal-ing used to be fun! I used to revel in shopping for my pal and finding little cards or things to send them, I used to be signed  up for the ones on knitty and the regular one…

and then this summer just went pufffffffffzzzzzzle. My KVVS was horrible, my hogwarts sock kit swap 2 never came, and the last time I emailed my partner she never wrote back, and it’s been a MONTH since I have heard hide or hair of my secret pal. I am probably being hormonal, and given the state of things here with christmas being held at disneyland and not even on christmas, my birthday being spent alone as if I were some single-mom spinster instead of a happily married woman… I am starting to feel the unlove here.

Someone sent me a very nice pin but I can’t remember who, because they didn’t include a note or anything with it– it was an itty bitty envelope with a letter inside that said make time for knitting. It was really cute and I forgot to say thank you to whoever it was– so thank you.

life is really sucking now. (presents from jennifer– awesome friend that she is who’s birthday is TOMORROW, the day before mine *how cool is that?* notwithstanding).

BUT! three cheers for me, I got 2 Bs and an A so I can overload next quarter w/out a sign off!! yeehaw!! I just need to go talk to advising to get added to Modern Brit Lit. Go me.

So in knitting news. Today I get to look at the new knitty, the new knit1mag, and a new craft mag Living Crafts. So far I have peeked at knitty and the Living Craft mag– and seen 1 thing I really like, a stuffed musk ox for $75 cuz it’s made out of real quivit and suri alpaca. Not a stuffed animal I MUST have but, it is sooo adorable.

Ok, Moody is done. He’s lacking a victim. I am thinking that I will make him a really bloody Octopus or something, I have this whole stash of zombie penguin yarn… *sigh*

My cat ate my zombie penguin’s brains:

despite the fact that as soon as I finished Moody I hid him… driveby still managed to find him and pry his little knitted brain out of his head. grrrrrrrr that cat loves knitted goods– this morning I woke up to find my current major important WIP which had been stashed under about 10lbs of books, dragged halfway down the hallway– he does it just to annoy me.

“This christmas… the penguins are out to eat your brains…”

I love the way his arm is just stuck way up in the air, and how despite the fact that I followed the pattern and used all the same materials, Moody looks different from Fox… zombie penguins are so much fun to knit.

But what’s really captured my attention is my super secret “just for me sweater.”

day 1: I watched the Christmas special episode of the Closer and the winter opener of Saving Grace.

As the increases go up (34 stitches per round of increases) my knitting slows (or seems to because of the huge number of stitches)

So, last night, day 2 I watched last week’s ER, half of last week’s Reaper, this week’s reaper, and the first episode of the scifi miniseries “Tin Man.”

woo wee! Isn’t it purty? I have to say that sometimes, a knitting project just isn’t meant to be and if you stick it away and go back to it, when it works, it looks sooo pretty. I love how the double increases look, and my camera just doesn’t do the luster of the yarn justice– it’s a silk/wool blend and it’s so pretty.

Stitch markers are important. I have quite a collection, and really enjoy making them myself, but my favorite stitchmarkers were made by other people. Top 3 favorite stitchmarkers are:

1. my amyville sweets (cupcakes and donuts) from http://amyville.com/ I also have her sushi stitchmarker
2. a sheep– everyone knows this woman’s sheep stitchmarkers and now her name eludes me, but whenever she sold them they were snapped up in a hurry. I was lucky enough to have her as a partner in round 1 of the stitch marker swap, she sent a sheep, a fish, 2 lamp work bead ones, and a snowman on ice ornament for sending late.
3. my lucky happy cat from arlyna’s closet. I wanted them from the moment I saw them, finally go them and then promptly lost them for awhile.

So, it’s not too surprising that the 4 stitchmarkers I am using right now are happy cat and the sheep & fish stitchmarkers. Once I swap over to knitting in the round (the pattern calls for a total of 6 sm) I will add in the amyville markers.

I will post my progress of the just for me sweater tomorrow!