White Trash

Look mom- I'm not white trash!

I am 18% White Trash.

I, my friend, have class. I am so not white trash. . I am more than likely Democrat, and my place is neat, and there is a good chance I may never drink wine from a box.

Take the
White Trash Test
@ FualiDotCom

not so much seaming

Yeah... I ended up yapping on the phone and reading blogs, rather than
getting any seaming done last night. I suck.
Tonight, I swear! (Because you can't yap on the phone or look at the
computer during Lost.... I can't wait to see what happens tonight!).

Stress

I am so stressing about the the fact that I spent so much money on a car, and will have to spend so much more on insurance and parking permits........

So, to relax, tonight will be seaming night.
I started the pig the other today, but I swear, no knitting tonight, only seaming!
(My camera batteries are dead, so unfortunately, no photo updates.... and now I feel like I can't afford batteries!)

Yummy Yarn

I ordered the yarn for my Blissful Jacket today. I found the "darkest brown" colour on sale at knitwerx. I've never ordered yarn on line before, so hopefully it will all work out. I'll decide what colour to use for the pinstriping once it gets here.
I'm thinking the orange might be nice....







After ordering the yarn and buying a car today, I started thinking about how much money I've spent this week- it's getting a little out of hand I think!

• $110 for the scrapbooking weekend
  
• $111.00 for the workshop and admission to the Needlework festival
• $40 for a pattern drafting class at the Naked Sheep
• $83.00 for yarn
• and $12500 for a car!

Ugh. I definitely need to be a hermit for the next month, at least!

Holy Crap

I just bought a car!

Sunday Evening Ramblings

I slept in a bit this morning, which was nice because I was out late last night at a birthday party for my friend Kathleen. She turned thirty. I feel old. I'm turning 33 this year!

I spent the morning catching up on blogs and watching Coronation Street. My little posting hiatus also meant I wasn't reading the blogs I enjoy, so there was much reading to do! I ended up in tears reading about Korin's baby hopes, Dani's wedding, and all the posts about the hurricanes. On top of that, all the stuff with Steve and Karen on Corrie- I was a mess!

After I got over that, I went out for a run- the second one in two days- yay for me! And went to the LYS to start the shopping for the Blissful Jacket. They didn't have much selection, but I ran into a friend from university that I haven't seen in like 12 years- how fun! She was taking a class at the time, so I totally interrupted! Hopefully we'll be able to get together.

What else did I do today? Check this out. I'm not crazy, really!

Oh Yeah....

Now I remember what I wanted to post about!

I'm working on the program plan for a Substance Abuse education group for work, and found something interesting....

Did you know that an "interplanetary mission" means traveling from one crack house to another looking for crack? Yup, and "red chicken" is heroin.

I found this list of drug street names here. Pretty crazy stuff. How do people keep track of all that, especially when they're stoned?!

Gas Guzzling

So, apparently gas prices were up to $2.00 per litre in some places in Ontario yesterday. Of course, because this is the week I have decided to no longer be a public transit girl. So really, you can blame me and my crappy luck for the humongo increase.

I used to have a car. A truck actually. He was a Toyota 4Runner named Chuck. I loved him dearly, but he was old, and I didn't have the money to keep up with all of his medical bills.

Wait a second, I'm having a deja vu.... did I already post about this? I better stop.

Anyway... found the car I want, but they won't drop the price enough to make me happy. I'll try again on Monday. Maybe I'll still buy it even if he doesn't drop it all the way. Sometime I get too stubborn.

I wonder what I should name him? He's a 2 door Toyota Echo, black, kinda sporty. Any ideas?

Knit Pig

From Wikipedia:

Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. They have been domesticated and raised as livestock by some peoples for meat (called pork) as well as for leather. Their bristly hairs are also traditionally used for brushes. Wild pigs continue to fill these functions in certain parts of the world.

Pigs are omnivores, which means that they are easy to raise. On a small farm, or in a large household, they can be fed kitchen scraps as part or all of their diet. In the wild, they are foraging animals. Pigs that are allowed to forage may be watched by swineherds. Because of their foraging abilities and excellent sense of smell, they are used to find truffles in many European countries. They are also fattened to be eaten as ham and other types of meat.

Pigs are one of the most intelligent mammals, and some, such as the Asian pot-bellied pig, are kept as pets. Pigs are reportedly more intelligent and more trainable than dogs and cats.

A litter of piglets typically contains between 10 and 12 animals. Occasionally, in captivity, pigs may eat their own young.

Pigs lack sweat glands. Thus they must have access to water or mud to cool themselves during hot weather. They also use mud as a form of sunscreen to protect their skin from sunburn.

Knitting is one of several ways to turn thread or yarn into cloth (compare to weaving, crochet). Unlike woven fabric, knitted fabric consists entirely of horizontal parallel courses of yarn. The courses are joined to each other by interlocking loops in which a short loop of one course of yarn is wrapped over the bight of another course. Knitting can be done either by hand, described below, or by machine. In practice, hand knitting is usually begun (or "cast on") by forming a base series of twisted loops of yarn on a knitting needle. A second knitting needle is then used to reach through each loop (or stitch) in succession in order to snag a bight of yarn and pull a length back through the loop. This forms a new stitch. Work can proceed in the round (circular knitting) or by going back and forth in rows. Knitting can also be done by machines, which use a different mechanical system to produce nearly identical results.

Originally a male-only occupation, the first knitting trade guild was started in Paris in 1527. Knitting became a household occupation with the growing popularity of knitted stockings and by the end of the 1600s, one to two million pairs of stockings were exported from Britain to other parts of Europe.

Put the two together- what do you have?

Yes Chris, it's a toy.

PS- I stole this picture from jamby on the crafster.com forums. I only hope mine wull look this good!

what happens when you spend too much time on the internet....

I signed up for another knit-along. Not that I've bought the yarn for the last knit along I signed up for, or do I have the yarn for this one.... but I want to make the sweater, and there's a knit along... so why not! Or is that poor knit along etiquette, signing up for something when you aren't ready to start yet?






Also, the sweater I'm loving in the fall VK uses a bulky yarn.... so maybe that will be the project with the free yarn. I think this will look great in the light blue, with a black tank top and a pair of jeans. Yes?









And finally, a picture of my cousin Erin in Seattle with her little girl Kira Amalia, who was just born on the 3rd. Look how blonde she is! Isn't she cute!
I wish Seattle wasn't so far away, and I could go meet her. I think maybe I'll make her a knit pig, from the same pattern book as the monkey I have finished knitting but haven't finished sewing together yet.

In fact, I haven't sewed the buttons on the dress I made for my other cousins baby... oops! I guess I had better get on those.......

I LOVE FREE STUFF!

Look what I got for free! 10 balls of Capricorn Bulky yarn, 50% acrylic, 50% nylon.
Another Recreation Therapist at work had it in her office, and she has all guy clients, and has never had anyone interested in knitting... so I made the sacrifice and took it off her hands. Woo Hoo, free stuff! Now what should I make with it.......

It looks like a pretty old yarn, and I can't find anything about it on the internet. The label indicates 6 1/2 mm needles, but doesn't suggest a gauge*. Doesn't really matter though does it, since mine always seems to be off!

*Definition for Chris
gauge- how many stitches or rows per inch when the yarn is knitted, it's important to get it right, so that your project comes out the right size. A thicker yarn on bigger needles will have less stitches per inch

mmmm...... magazines

Picked up the Fall issue of VK tonight (it's pay week, must spend money!)
The very first pattern (eyelet pullover) and all most all of the sport patterns, especially the hooded pullover, caught my eye. Although, I feel the need to make a dent in my stash before I buy more yarn for myself....
The lace wrap is really pretty too. I was thinking of making clapotis* as a gift for someone who will remain un-named at the moment, but she might like this a lot better.

On the "get my butt off the couch" topic, I'm going to sign up for an adult swim/stroke improvement class in preparation for the "I'm gonna do a try-a-tri goal", or at least that's the plan.

In the laziness department- I went out and test drove a 2002 Toyota Echo tonight. The whole theory of "you don't need a car in the city" is all well and good, except when most of your good friends live OUTSIDE of the city. So, if I can get a cheap, reliable car, I can have the best of both worlds.
I gave up driving a couple of years ago when I realized my truck needed a whole lot of work to stay alive, and was going to need even more in the not so far away future. I had a Toyota 4-Runner that I loved like a friend. I had named him Chuck, and everyone knew him. I cried the day I signed him over. But at least he went to a good home. It was a mechanic who bought him, and he planned on fixing him up and putting him in car shows. Sigh. I hope he's ok.

*Chris Definitions
Clapotis- the name of a pattern for a shawl that is INCREDIBLY popular

lies, lies, lies

Being a girl does NOT rock. I don't understand why we insist on lying to girls (and ourselves) that getting your period is some kind of "gift". If it was a gift, I would be returning it ASAP! It sucks.

As for other news.....
I signed up on beginnertriathlete.com the other day. I'm hoping to do a "try-a-tri" in June, so I thought this would be a good start. Not that sitting on my butt and looking at a computer screen is going to do me any good!

I'm about halfway done the right front of the short sleeve sweater. I love projects that knit quickly, so rewarding!

Survivor starts tomorrow. I don't think I really enjoy the show anymore... but it's like tradition to watch it, so Steph and Gary are coming over for our regular Survivor gathering. Even if the show sucks,I get to cook for someone besides me, so that's a good thing!

In Which She Banishes the Laziness Fairy

Woo Hoo! I had a productive weekend (and it ain't over yet)!

Saturday was the "Amazing Race" organized by Jo and her friend Marlo. I ran it with Jen from work, and my last adventure race partner Chris ran it with Lisa (his wife).
There were 11 teams, and we came in 5th and 6th places overall- not bad! We made it past the first elimination round, but were eliminated right at the end.
We all started out at the park, and had to get from checkpoint to checkpoint. Some of the things we had to do.... play wheelchair basketball, play pictionary with play-do, find a frosh from U of T and bring them to "the man in the green witch hat", find various song names from CD's in HMV, find a particular memorial bench in Edward's Garden (if you don't know edwards gardens, there are gazillions of memorial benches!), find a clue in a locker at the bus station...... lots of stuff. Tiring, but a ton of fun.

Sunday, I was pretty sore, so really didn't plan on doing anything. I planted myself on the couch, finished watching the last season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (3 episodes), and started re-watching season 1 of Lost, in preparation of the season premiere next week (10 episodes). So how is watching 13 hours of TV productive? Well, I finished the back, and the left front of the VK* Short Sleeve Top!
The photo isn't that exciting, because the sides are all rolled up, but I'm pretty impressed with how quickly it's going. I'm a little worried about having enough yarn to finish it (if you remember, the yarn is a discontinued Patons from my stash*.....). I have some in black too, so if I run out, I can do the sleeves in the black, and try dying the whole thing black. I know it won't be perfect, but maybe it'll turn out kinda cool?



Today, I got my butt out of bed and went for a run. 4.2 km in 34 mins.... not great, but at least it's a start- I realized on Saturday just how out of shape I had gotten! Ugh. So, not only is it time to get back to knitting and blogging, but I gotta start running again. Maybe I should actually bite the bullet and join one of those run clubs I detest so much.....

* Definitions for Chris
"VK" - Vogue Knitting- a magazine that comes with lots of patterns
"Stash"- the large collection of yarn that knitters tend to collect, even if they don't know what they want to make with it

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

1. NOT knitting
2. NOT blogging
3. NOT running
4. NOT scrapbooking
   
5. watching a whole lot of TV (including the last three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Coronation Street, CBC has it on for like 5 hours a week right now!)
   
6. enjoying my new air conditioner, that really came a little bit to late, and therefore cost me a little bit too much money
7. sat on a lot of patios drinking a lot of beer (I live in the Beaches in Toronto, it would be wrong if I didn't, that's what people do here, if they aren't walking dogs or pushing baby carriages, which I don't do, but I do walk other peoples dogs and babies)
   
8. setting up my new computer (the other one was old, and always breaking, which is part of the reason I wasn't blogging, but now I have a fancy new laptop, so now I have no excuse)
9. Slept a lot
   
10. Went on a diet for one whole week. That was dumb, I don't believe in diets, especially for me! I love food, and think we should eat what we want, but I just need to not have three servings of it.... (the Lick's Homeburgers across the street became the bane of my existence!)
    
11. See, I told you about the laziness fairy.
12. But- some good stuff- I've done two urban adventure races, and I'm doing another one tomorrow
13. I went camping in Algonquin for four days
14. I went to the Fergus Highland Games and developed a small obsession for big men in kilts throwing heavy things
15. I read a lot
    
16. Sold some Mary Kay (go to www.marykay.ca or www.marykay.com for a great free sample!)
17. worked a lot at my other job
18. and, I made the decision to stalk Eric Lindros now that he's playing in Toronto (can I tell you how excited I am about that? First, hockey is back on, then Eric signs in TO- I nearly pissed my pants!)

What am I doing now that summer is over? Well, I got home at 5:30, promptly put my pj's on, poured myself a glass of red wine (in a tumbler, so I don't spill it) made some pesto, and got back to blogging. I even pulled out some knitting. I hope to get some rows done while I catch up on some more Coronation Street.

I promise I will not neglect you all any longer!

Do You Still Love Me? -

Hi, I'm back. I'm sorry I've been gone so long, I was kidnapped by the evil laziness fairy, blah blah blah, excuses excuses.

Well, Karma and my friend Chris have reminded me that I should keep going, so here I am!
Here's a picture of Chris. He's been bugging me to post again, and sent me this picture all in the same day, so I figure that means I have free reign to post it wherever I want!



This was him a long time ago in high school. Cool shorts eh? I have convinced him to start a blog. He takes a lot of great photos, and does funny stuff with them on photo shop, so I've challenged him to post a photo a day. Check it out, egg him on, will he do it?

p.s. - WOW is it ever easy to post photos now!