New Year, New Look, New Resolutions

Whew! Knotts Knitts just saw a flurry of activity that it hasn't seen since the summer of 2007. I redid my template. Out with the Harry Potter related conundrums and in with something a bit more hobbity. I quite like the the new and improved look if I do say so myself!

Looking back at my 2008 resolutions post, I find myself to be pleasantly surprised that I did meet most of my goals for the year. Well, apart from not trying my hand at fair isle knitting. Throughout the year, I have definitely been more conscious of my professional look and have been putting a lot more effort towards it. I even wore make-up daily for a few months, but then I realized that the extra 30 minutes of sleep is desperately needed. This year, I'm proud to say, I kept my Christmas knitting in check. Amazingly, I was not up Christmas Eve trying desperately to finish gifts. Instead, I started Christmas knitting in AUGUST. (I kid you not!) I even had time in the days leading up to Christmas to start non-holiday related projects. I did successfully make a sampler from Subversive Cross Stitching, but I abandoned that hobby after a disastrous night where Bandit ate two skeins of floss.

For 2009, I have a few new goals.

• Make strides on being more environmentally friendly. The subdivision where I reside is not offering trash service to residents starting in March, so I now have the opportunity to pay for new trash services which include recycling. More conscious efforts to use my plethora of green bags. I do well on large grocery runs, but flake out and forget the one I carry around with me for quick one off stops.
• Focus on communication with family, friends, and community. Interwebs, blogging, and otherwise offline, too.
  
• Make time for myself everyday, and make stuff for me. In 2008, I only made one pair of socks for myself. Shameful!
  
• And darn it, this will be the year of knitting fair isle!
  

With a Little Help

First off, a GINORMOUS thank you to Hubs, Marcus, Mary, Zoe, Sylvia, Phollower, and Betty Please for all your help moving on Saturday. We couldn't have done it without your help. :)

The past 5 or so weeks have been one of the craziest times in my life. I haven't been in the right frame of mind for much knitting, blogging, or much of anything other than pacing or worrying and attempting to escape in DVRed tv shows. I've been helping my mom and sister move and get a fresh start to life that they both needed. The biggest part of that being getting them into a place of their own which was finished yesterday afternoon. I cannot even say what a huge relief this is to me and my family. So, here's to second chances and good friends and family!

Still Alive

Crap, now I'm going to have the Portal song stuck in my head all day...

Hubs and I are back on the mend though still under the weather a bit. It's been a few phlegmy weeks around these parts.

New Lace Project

My hands haven't been idle. A new lace project was started over a week ago - the Idella scarf from "Stahman's Shawls and Scarves". Little bit over halfway finished with it now, only 14 repeats of the lace pattern left. My hands deserved a bit of a break after hefting the Saffron Cables blanket around for a few weeks. Loving the pattern and the Malabrigo lace yarn. Goal is to finish this by this Friday evening.

Hello Me, It's Me

Inspired by Zoe's post today.

Dear 17 year old Lk,

Heyas - omg look you're like all old and stufff 10 years later. First off, senior year is going to completely SUCK. You'll be a bitchy, bummed out shell who spends way too much time on this new thing called the interwebs. Have no fear. After 10 months of lonely, hellacious school, you’re going to embark on one of the best times of your life - college!

Pointers for senior year, trust in Hubs, he is all ready at college, but he won’t forget about you. He's a keeper. When an uppity cheerleader states “I never thought I’d have something in common with a person like you” after quoting Monty Python skits while handing out band uniforms, have a witty comeback. Don’t just stand there dumbstruck with your jaw dropped at her lack of tact and obviously over-inflated ego. Remember the witty comeback you did have that shut up a jerk on the bus back from an Academic Super Bowl match. If you don’t, you’ll be wracking your brain years later to remember what you said that worked so effectively.

Academically speaking, check citation formatting in your senior term paper; it may be the difference between an A and a rather disappointing B after months of research and planning. >.< Stick with music in some form, you'll meet a lot of great people and learn a lot from these experiences.

Now this one is a bit harder. People that you’ve considered to be friends for years will prove otherwise. You’ll be lonely, feel horribly left out, and wonder if there’s something wrong with you, but you can get through it. It’s best you don’t follow their lead. Besides, you will hardly ever talk to these “friends” after high school graduation. It will take you all of college and a good couple of years into your working years to find your social groove.

Don't be afraid to rethink your long-held dreams of being a psychiatrist. You can’t listen to people’s problems all day. You’re too empathetic and would need serious therapy yourself after all that. Oh, and being a psychiatrist would require you to talk to people all day – yuck! Don’t be worried about announcing that you’re changing majors two weeks after getting to college. IT work is a much better fit for you.

Basically, stick with it, persevere and you'll get through whatever is slammed at you, blah blah blah...

With much nostalgia,
Older (and wiser!) Lk

P.S. Don't get too hung up waiting for the newest installments of the Dark Tower series, the ending really blows!

P.S.S. Patent the words Google, flickr, Facebook, and MySpace...

And Another Thing...

One more item for the stuff I want to do in 2008 list. I want to stitch at least one Subversive Cross Stitch kit. :)

I Should Have Known Better

My slightly scratchy throat last week was definitely not from playing too much Rock Band. Instead, it was the precursor before a heinous respiratory infection which has kicked my ass since this weekend. By Saturday, I sounded much more like the squeaky voiced kid on The Simpsons.



I can say two things for sure about whoever had the bright idea that people should cough or sneeze into their hands. One, said cough designer has NEVER had a phlegm-y case of bronchitis. Two, said person also has stock in laundry detergent or owns a dry cleaners.

Right, knitting blog...

Work continues on the Juno Regina shawl. Still slogging through the middle length section. If the end result wasn't so darned pretty, I'd be bored to tears by this point.

Knitting has also started on a plain ol' black ribbed sock for Christmas knitting. Was so glad I had this stashed in my purse when we got caught in an ice storm over the weekend. Took us around 45 minutes to travel one mile in rural Tippecanoe County. So sad we had to miss Stephen and Jennifer's wedding as a result :(

Why Can't I Stay Away From These?

Personality quizzes are like crack to me, especially Myers-Briggs tests. I always receive the INFJ result, so it's not like I change, but I still like to check every now and then. I must say, this is the first time I've ever scored completely on the Introverted side. Guess I am turning into a hermit!

As I sat down to start the Multiple Intelligences test, I was whistling a song that was stuck in my head. First question was "Do you have a song running through your head rarely, sometimes, or usually?" Spoooooooky!

Poor Baby :(

Friday morning, Bandit went to his vet appointment to fix his bum nail. After stomping in fresh poo with his injured paw. >.< He went into the vet's looking normal, but came out limping with a bandaged paw and a weepy eye from a procedure to unblock a gland on his eyelid. Giving him four antibiotic pills a day and eye medication is a complete joke. I've resorted to opening the antibiotic capsules into a blob of peanut butter and disguising the medicine bearing peanut butter in his Kong. He's getting along well enough, and I'm surprised that his foot bandage is still in place.

My knitting mojo has been severely lacking. I'm working on a cursed heel. Thursday night, I went to a sit and knit group at Stitches n Scones. Started working on the heel but it wasn't following the pattern correctly. Odd. Looked down at the side of the heel and saw two big loops at the base of the heel. Yup, an end stitch had popped off my needles. Much ripping followed. I did show a fellow sock knitter how to pick up stitches for a gusset, so all was not lost. :)

Geek Test Indulgence

Yeah, I took another test and feel the need to share on my blog. I saw this one on trillian42's blog earlier tonight.

Your Score: Outcast Genius

60 % Nerd, 73% Geek, 52% Dork

For The Record:



A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.

A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.

A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.



You scored better than half in all three, earning you the title of: Outcast Genius.



Outcast geniuses usually are bright enough to understand what society wants of them, and they just don't care! They are highly intelligent and passionate about the things they know are *truly* important in the world. Typically, this does not include sports, cars or make-up, but it can on occassion (and if it does then they know more than all of their friends combined in that subject).



Outcast geniuses can be very lonely, due to their being outcast from most normal groups and too smart for the room among many other types of dorks and geeks, but they can also be the types to eventually rule the world, ala Bill Gates, the prototypical Outcast Genius.



Congratulations!
Thanks Again! -- THE NERD? GEEK? OR DORK? TEST

I'm trying to convince myself that my high dork score is due to my asthma. But damn it, I may rule the world yet!! Mwahahah!!!

Weekend in Review

Ever have a weekend so busy that you feel like you needed a weekend from your weekend? That's the point I'm at today. This past weekend was jam-packed with stuff. Biggest news, Hubs got and accepted an offer for a new job. He starts July 2nd. Horray for new opportunities!

I started another new knitting project yesterday evening when I had some down time. I'll be sending it to my downstream Knittyboard Harry Potter Swap Pal. Lemme tell you, this project is a finger/hand killer, but will be oh so cute!

Summer 2007 Knitty hit the interwebs today. In addition to fab new patterns, I found the article on knitting socks for diabetics very informative and applicable to my sock knitting. Several of the my sock recipients have diabetes, and this article provided me with great guidance in what fiber types to use, what type of stitch patterns, and even what type of heel will work best.

Time to crash for the night!

The Finger

After reading about this quiz on knitspot.com, I had to give it a go.

You Are the Thumb

You're unique and flexible. And you defy any category. Mentally strong and agile, you do things your own way. And you do them well. You are a natural leader... but also truly a loner. You inspire many but connect with few. You get along well with: The Middle Finger Stay away from: The Pinky

What Finger Are You?

72

72 hours. That's how long I've had this damned migraine. Regular blogging will recommence once my brain doesn't hurt anymore.

Why I Haven't Bought Much Yarn

Hubs' Helm

Hubs has gotten involved with medieval reenactment with the SCA over the past year and took up heavy fighting. Since he rather requires the use of his brain to make a living, I insisted that he get a schweet helm to protect his melon. He commissioned the helm in September and picked it up tonight. Halfway to getting all his armor pieces done now, but this was the most expensive piece.

I really deserve some major yarn shopping after this.

New PC Night!

Once every two years or so, Hubs and I splurge a bit and upgrade our computers. Final shipment of desktop PC goodies arrived to our house this evening, and the majority of the night has been spent setting everything up. Oh, and I sliced two of my fingers on the back of my new CPU when I was only 3 USB plugs away from having it all set up. Knitting is going to be a blast this week, but I'm all ready singing the praises of my new 20"widescreen monitor. :)

Before Installation, not a Dell warehouse

The Aftermath

Boston Bound

Tomorrow morning, long before my usual weekend waking-up time of noon, I'll be on a plane bound for a business conference in Boston. I'm a bit uneasy; this will be my first flight since I was 17 and my first solo trip. The more I talk with folks that are more travelled than me, the more I realize that I should be traveling with one of those "Unaccompanied Minor" signs hanging around my neck to excuse my stupidity. I had no clue that baggage can be checked with the hotel prior to checking yourself into the hotel, that the maids should be tipped to get better service, and that taxis line-up at airports to pick up travellers. I feel like such a newb! On the other hand, I'm very excited to have to opportunity to learn all about new technologies and trends. :)

My schedule will be really packed with seminars, exhibits, informational sessions, and schmoozing events. I do have a little chunk of time to visit the surrounding area though and meet up with Kris'Aunt Samantha for dinner. Within a few blocks of the hotel are two local yarn stores and a Lush store.


I'm dragging Kris' laptop computer and a digital camera with me, so I do hope to squeeze in some blog posts and pics while I'm gone.

Thoughts/Prayers Please

I'm absolutely terrible about showing my caring side of my personality on this blog. But, please, send some good thoughts or prayers out to my stepmom, Betty, and her family. Her father is having some serious health problems. Hopefully, we'll know more tomorrow, but it's a scary situation. :(