snowed in

Atlanta experienced some serious record snow in January, like shutting-down-the-city-for-a-week snow. It was crazy. I was supposed to start my new job that week, but instead I spent that time snowed in with my honey. It was nice. I'd wanted to take a week off between jobs to refresh and regroup but didn't think it financially advisable. Fortunately for me, Mother Nature decided I deserved a break.

I had plenty of time to go through all the pattern books I'd gotten for Christmas.

I think I'm going to be busy for a while.

I made banana bread.

I would include an after shot here, but my sweetie and I inhaled an entire loaf of banana bread in less than 24 hours. We were in full-on hibernation mode. It was wonderful.

Now, that's enough winter for me, thanks. Please to be sending spring now!

damn rabbit hole

Please forgive my long absence. I have fallen down the rabbit hole that is Pinterest. I've been a busy little bunny there. If you want to check me out, I'm LightWading.

PS: I only got sucked into this because of Ysolda, so I thought about blaming her. But really, I think I should be more concerned that my girl-crush on Miss Whimsical Little Knits seems to be edging into obsession territory, with a possibility of stalking. I'm harmless, I promise!

warm and toasty

I get really cold in the winter, miserably cold, all winter long. I've survived so far through a creative mix of layering and whining. I wanted to make myself a nice cuddly winter vest to keep my vulnerable bellular area warm, and Abrazo seemed like a perfect match.
My sweetie bought me the yarn, I swatched it, and then I realized . . .

I got the wrong yarn. It's supposed to be Malabrigo Chunky, not Malabrigo Twist. I can't get anything even close to gauge with the yarn I've got. Crap. I'm trying to decide between scrapping it altogether or forging ahead anyway and making a larger size to compensate for the gauge difference. I'm afraid I'll run out of yarn, though, and a warm winter vest doesn't do any good if it's not long enough to cover my belly button.

Fortunately, I got this in the mail today, a gift from my sweetie. I'll be the first to admit he may have an ulterior motive.

A drool-inducing cookbook that seems to have been written just for me. If I can't cover my belly with warm fuzzy yarn, I'll fill it with warm, tasty noms.

I'm out on a Saturday night!

Tonight, to celebrate my new job (which, miraculously, does not require me to get up at the buttcrack of dawn every weekend), my Shiny New Fiance took me out to see Green Hornet. It was really awesome. I'm not sure why it got such lousy reviews. I'm not sure what critics were expecting, but it's a Seth Rogen movie. Olivier, he's not. He is, however, Seth Rogen, and he does a very good job of being Seth Rogen in this movie. It was a fun comic-book-movie sort of film, and a fun, comic-book-movie sort of fun was had by all.
While watching the movie, I worked on a new pair of socks


for my sweetie. You know it's real love when you find you're making socks for him. This is a true testament of my love for him, because I dearly love this sock yarn and want it all for my self (my . . . preciousssssss). But he loves it, and part of being in a relationship is compromise and not being a greedy yarn whore, so I am practicing graciousness and selflessness by making it into socks for him. I can already feel myself becoming a better person.

New year, new job

It's news to no one (except my boss, but he lives in his own happyland) that I've been very unhappy in my job for a few years now. I've been searching for the past year for something new, tirelessly (if not uncomplainingly), and my hunt has finally paid off. This year for Christmas, I got a new job! Excited? You bet I am.

Christmas 2010

Christmas sweater, almost complete.

Christmas sweater completed, with snowflakes on the sleeve.

Christmas snowflakes in my hair.
(earrings were a Christmas present from my sweetie)

My doorstop, a big rock with the words "Nothing is Written in Stone" carved into it, with a dusting of snow.

I got many knitting books for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

perfect timing

Every so often, events conspire to work out perfectly. Usually, it happens in a Murphy's Law, "ironic" kind of way: rain on your wedding day and all that. Today turned out to be the opposite of that: a perfect example of perfect timing.
I had to have minor gum surgery last night. It was a local-anesthetic-only kind of thing, uncomfortable and squick-y, but not serious. I distracted myself by planning cables for my next sweater project. (You know you knit too much when . . . )
Now, this was my third go-round with gum surgery (the others were in my braces-wearing, wisdom-teeth-getting days), so you'd think I'd have learned that oral surgeons are lying liars. When they say, "Oh, yeah, you'll be able to go to work the next day", what they mean is "Prepare to spend the next three days whimpering on the couch, dribbling soup down the front of your pajamas." Oh, and "a little sore" is code for "eating anything more firm than applesauce will be impossible. Just give it up."
Fortunately, the weather cooperated with my stunningly miserable mood by being freezing cold, windy, and rainy/snowy. I snuggled on the couch wrapped in blankets, knitting and watching flurries blow by. And dribbling soup down the front of my pajamas.

Oh, also, if you have your own run-in with gum surgery, learn from my fail: don't eat really salty soup. Just don't.