In a world of black and white, you're the only one in color.

There is joy to be claimed in this world..

2009-03-06T15:42:00.003-05:00

been neglecting the blog lately. sorry about that. I think I finally have the allergies under control. Mostly. the Zyrtec-D is really starting to do its job, I can breathe through my nose when I'm at home. I am sick today, though. On my day off, of course. Tummy problems, more... how do I put this? More bottom problems than top problems (without getting too graphic). I'm thinking it must be something I ate, because last night I was perfectly fine. I was looking forward to sleeping in and I was wide awake at 4 this morning, precisely the time I wake up when I have to go to work. llaaammmeee. It is also a glorious 68 degrees and I've only been out twice today, and that was with Shadow. It's funny nearly EVERY person we pass now makes a comment. "beautiful" "aw, look how cute!" "a dingo stole my baby!" lol.

In other news, I have an awesome boss at work. I need 3 of the next 4 weekends off, and we were able to figure it out. it pans out like this:

March 14-15: Josh's friends are coming in from Michigan and we have a wedding to go to.
March 21-22: "Twilight" release (shut up).
April 4-5: Josh's birthday (6th), Azalea Fest Weekend, Brian Regan show

For Josh's birthday, we are going down to Charleston, SC (3 1/2 hour drive, not bad) to see Brian Regan. I wish I could say I was genius enough to think of this myself, but unfortunately, it was Josh who came up with it. It's okay, though, because I told him we could definitely go. It falls on the day before his birthday. I also plan on getting him a new iPod (hopefully). right now he has an older nano, and while it's great for working out and stuff, it doesn't hold enough of his music.

Beyond all that, Shadow is doing well. His temperament is awesome, he's coming out of his shell, but he's still having slight tummy problems. We took him to the veterinarian Monday, and while it is helping, it feels like it slips up every now and then, it's on and off. I'm sure he'll be fine. He's actually really funny, he sleeps half under our bed, and earlier I was watching Animal Cops and they rescued puppies from a trash can (why I watch this, I'll never know) and the puppies were crying and he sat up and cocked his head at the tv, then walked up to it, did it some more, started whining, then looked back at me like "Mom, DO SOMETHING!" lol poor baby.

ETA: my lovely boyfriend totally got me a crystal clear bootleg of Twilight (WITH special feature menus)!

3.2.09

2009-03-02T19:27:00.002-05:00

I got an award today from berlinbetty. thanks girl!

Here are the rules

List 7 things that you love and then pass the award on to 7 people…tagging them and letting them know they won! You can copy the picture of the award and put it on your sideboard letting the whole wide world know you are KReATIV!

Things I Love:
1. My sweetheart. Josh is my heart & soul, I love him so very much.
2. My animals. Koa and Kalix (kitties), and the newest, Shadow.
3. Books. I have ALWAYS loved to read, I'm addicted.
4. Knitting. One day I was knitting in front of the laptop and the screensaver came on. I watched myself knit and it was CRAZY, it looked so complicated.
5. My family. Though they're way up in Ohio, I think of them every day.
6. The internet. I remember being 12 when we first got a computer and had the internet hooked up. dial-up, how ye sucketh.
7. Summer in Wilmington. I am really gonna miss it when we move. The summers here are great, I love walking around downtown and still thinking "Wow, I live in Capeside" (Dawson's Creek reference FTW!).

Luckily, I have 8 blogs that I follow, one of which belongs to the person who nominated me. woo-hoo!

1. A Friend to Knit With
2. A knitter's Harmony
3. Agaliha
4. Gerkwerken Crafts
5. Photo.Knit.Dog
6. Red Rachel
7. Wagon Full of Stars

yawn

2009-02-24T13:56:00.003-05:00

So sleepy lately. A bit of random celebrity sighting today. A few minutes after I got into work this morning around 5am, this guy comes off the elevator and goes to the front desk, and my ears perk up like "I know that voice.." and the dude then walks towards the doors (about 45 feet away from my little cafe) and I'm looking at him like "Is that......?" and I'm trying to get a good look without blatantly staring (because that's rude), and eventually he walked out to leave or whatever. The security guard walks over to me and goes "Was that Nick Lachey?" and I was like "That's what I thought!" apparently, he was in town filming a guest spot on One Tree Hill. That's pretty much the only perk to working in a hotel at 5 in the morning, it's when all the "stars" check out. I always seem to find that the guys are always shorter than they seem and the girls are always way skinnier. He couldn't have been taller than 5'10". *shrugs* like I said, random.

In other news, AngstGoddess003 has been forced to move her fanfic Wide Awake to livejournal. and the whole thing isn't there yet. fanfiction.net decided to be assholes and removed 2 of her chapters for "sexual content". While both chapters did, in fact, have graphic sexual content, there were mature warnings all over the place. apparently, what happened was some younger kid got caught reading it by their mother and instead of doing their job and, I dunno, PARENTING, they decided to pitch a bitch fit and have it removed. Yeah, that'll help you. Crusade against the corruptors of the internet and force them to remove anything that might confuse little Suzy and pretend she'll be a virgin until she's 30. Stupidness. At least with LJ it'll be pretty much set. She can make it friends-only and have a notice stating that there is mature content. Not that anyone can't just click the button that says they're over 18 or whatever, but at least she's covering her bases. Of course, she thought she was covering her bases over at ff.net, too. New chapter still isn't up though, and it's been two and a half weeks and I am dyyyyyiiinnnngggg to know what happens. Even though no one I know reads it, it's fun to geek out.

My nose is still getting stuffy. I called the only allergist covered by my insurance. Now, I got new insurance at the beginning of the year. No deductible, no co-pay. However, insurance will only pay the first $100. I called the allergist's office only to find out that a SINGLE office visit is $180, and that doesn't include any allergy tests. So.... for 2 minutes of a doctor's time in order for him to tell me "uh-yup, you have allergies" costs me $180?! fuck THAT noise. So an allergist is out. I actually took some children's benadryl last night and that seemed to help a lot. I'm beginning to think it may be something around the window we now sleep under because I feel like my nose plugs up almost instantly when I lean back against the pillow on the bed. I feel like I'm fine anywhere else.

*sniffle*

wtf did we do to piss people off?

2009-02-23T19:53:00.004-05:00

I'd like to say I'm showing off my lovely natural dog care products from Good Clean Dog (which are awesome and smell spectacular, by the way), but that is not the case. I found my lovely package exactly like this on a flight of stairs in our apartment building. When printing the shipping label, paypal didn't mark my apartment #, therefor it only had the building number. After we found the box, Josh mentioned he had seen it in front of an apartment down the hall and didn't think anything of it. Apparently, someone swiped it, then tore it open on their way down the stairs. They then decided it wasn't worth stealing (luckily) and left it. I really don't understand what it is that we did to ANYONE and I'm getting really pissed. It's completely ridiculous. Not to mention a felony. Whether it had an apartment number or not, it had my name on it. Opening mail that clearly has someone else's name on it is a FELONY. What the hell, seriously.

Shadow did get a bath though. While he was really uneasy at first, he did eventually sit down towards the end. He no longer smells like a foot!

yucky.

2009-02-22T20:40:00.003-05:00

I'm becoming less and less convinced that what I have is a cold. I'm starting to come back to the idea that it really is a wicked allergy. It's not too bad when I'm awake and sitting up. But when I'm laying down trying to sleep I literally cannot breathe through my nose. My nostrils are all red and dry. Last night I tossed and turned before finally getting up at 2:30 in the morning, going to Walgreens for some Zyrtec-D, coming home, and going to work at 5am. It SUCKED. I was like a zombie all morning until I came back home and slept 11-3:30. Then Josh and I took Shadow for a walk and took him to a big park.

I had a lightbulb moment yesterday. We bought him all kinds of toys, including a Kong, a tug-o-war rope, a few tennis balls, and a tricky treats ball. he's only very mildly interested in a couple of them. He's not really into the Kong or the orange treat ball, he's been messing with his Nylabone a LITTLE, but not really. Last night I was sitting on the bed and I looked over and Shadow had stolen one of the kitties toys, a stuffed lamb toy. he was shaking it back and forth and playing like a regular dog, and it hit me, "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH, he just likes SOFT toys!" so Josh and I went to PetSmart and got him a couple toys, a stuffed canadian goose and a stuffed frog. he's much happier. Josh has even gotten him to play with him the past couple of days, he's really coming out of his shell.

He's tuckered out today after going to the park (yay!).

blah, I'm sick of having a stuffed nose, I just wanna cry.

also, since this crappy sickness, I'm at the very least 3 days behind on my last 2 pairs of mittens. laaaaaaaame.

ugh. I hate congestion

2009-02-20T20:53:00.002-05:00

I can't seem to get all this congestion out, my nose has been like, blocked on and off for almost a week now. so lame. I got a package from Greece today! Late last year I did a small personal swap on craftster and due to all the protests and stuff in Greece, the postal system was all messed up. But I got my package today (I had sent her a knitted scarf in return), it had a pretty scarf/wrap, a bunch of greek candy, and the Twilight inspired charm bracelet I have had my eye on. It's super pretty, sterling silver and gorgeous. <3

everything was awesome, completely worth the wait. I also went out and got Shadow a harness. He's not a HUGE puller, but when he does pull, it's irritating and I want to break him from it before he gets it in his head that pulling means he gets to go where he wants faster. I originally wanted to get this one but the size I needed (medium) they were of course out of, so I ended up getting this one. I'm not sure about it yet, but we'll see.

Most of the day has just been spent blowing my nose. ew. I actually went and bought a box of tissues yesterday. I've only been using my organic cotton handkerchiefs for months now, but I can only find 2 (of 4), and they were (pardon the grossness) soaked. ew. I just went and bought some more. They're much better for allergy sufferers because tissues actually attract allergens and the organic cotton feels much better on your nose. also, better for the environment!

yay!

2009-02-17T17:28:00.002-05:00

Shadow got his tag to match the kitties today. I got it from jmanigrossi@etsy. They're great quality, solid copper, handstamped. They come in two sizes and you can choose between either a heart or star stamp. I bought Kalix and Koa's back in July and they oxidize really pretty (you can see the difference between the top and bottom photos, Kalix's came out weird because he was sitting in the sun and refused to sit still). They're only $12 each plus shipping.

Good and bad day today. Josh woke up to a big mess, but Shadow couldn't hold it. Poor baby. So then I was stressed out about getting home to a big mess, but when I got home, Shadow was sitting in his cage, no mess at all. And when I opened the door, he kissed my face. aw! made my day.

Work super sucked though. We had run out of almost EVERYTHING and we had put a rush on the starbucks order which was supposed to come in Friday but came in today instead. laaaame.

This kitties are very excited by the new change that enables them to enter the bedroom at all hours of the day. Since we've been leaving the door open during the night, the kitties can come and go as they please. This means Kalix slept in the bed all. night. long. first sleeping next to me. then he slept on my pillow for an hour and licked my hair, then spit it out (since mine is longer than his). When I woke up, he was sleeping between the pillows, on his back, with his face toward the bottom of the bed with a big ol' smile on his face. Spoiled brat.

Getting Better

2009-02-16T17:48:00.002-05:00

Shadow is still doing better. I gave him a little pepto bismol last night because he was having poo problems. He had an accident in his crate when me and Josh left to run some errands. We think he's just been stressed from all the changes. I tried to give him some more pepto today mixed with both wet and dry food and he didn't want it. The I decided that hey, we are training him, not the other way around. so I dumped all the food out, washed the bowl, and put only dry food in it. and once he got hungry enough, he ate it. plain and simple. so I'm feeling better. He went #2 only once today, so no emergencies, and it wasn't as bad as yesterday. I think he's feeling much better. I called off work today because, yep, I was sick. some kind of head cold. I bought theraflu cold stuff yesterday and it knocked it out. I'm still the tiniest bit stuffy, but I'm sure I'll be all better tomorrow. I'm actually glad I was sick because I was starting to freak out that it was allergies and I'd have to go to an allergist just to be able to live with a dog lol.

I got up around 9:30 feeling better. Shadow and I went for walks 3 times between 10-4, because I was afraid that every little whimper was a serious bowel emergency, but he's fine. I'm worried about tomorrow because he'll be in the crate for 3-3 1/2 hours while Josh and I are both at work. Wish us all luck!

Shadow's progress

2009-02-15T07:16:00.003-05:00

Life has been interesting the past couple of days. I think I either have a cold or the worst allergy symptoms maybe ever. my eyes don't itch, my throat doesn't itch, but I am super congested and coughing. Here's to hoping it's a cold. I'm washing the sheets and blanket as I write this, and since Shadow was a bed dog for the first night, that will probably help a lot.

The first night was both good and bad. We got him out to the car okay, but I had to lift him in (he's only maybe 50 pounds or so). Then when we got home and had a walk, he planted his feet and REFUSED to go into the building, so I lifted him up, carried him in the door, then into the elevator. when we got to our floor, he hopped down, then planted his feet again, refusing to go into the apartment. so I lifted him up and brought him in. This happened yesterday, each time a little better, less of the planting the feet. We are now to the point where we tug on the leash a little bit and while he's still a tiny bit apprehensive, he will go out (and in) on his own for the most part.

Now the crate is the opposite. The first night, he didn't make a peep. But then last night, he whined and even howled a couple times. At first, we tried to ignore it and that didn't work, so eventually, whenever he started, one of us would firmly say "NO." and after 30-45 minutes he laid down and went to sleep. maybe only a couple of times during the night he did it again.

We're trying to get him on a schedule, too, which means that although we both have the entire weekend off, we both got up the first morning at 6:30 to take him out for a walk, then this morning Josh got up at 6 to take him for a walk. I'll be going to work at 5, but Josh will get up at 6 to take him for a walk and then be at work by 7. Shadow will be in the crate from 7 until maybe 10:30 when I get home. Since the only treats he currently seem to be interested in are Pupperonis we think that before Josh leaves, he will put him in his crate, give him one, then leave. That way, he'll associate treats with being in the crate.

He ate for the first time since he's been here last night and that was only because Josh went and bought some wet food. I mixed a little with his food, and then he ate the whole bowl. I tried that again this morning, though and he only ate the wet food. When he gets hungry enough, he'll eat I suppose. He won't play with any toys yet.

oh and he poops WEIRD. I know this isn't a very appropriate thing to blog about (lol) but it's the WEIRDEST THING. he's only done it once, but last night Josh and I took him on a long walk. Now the foster mom said he poops on things, but what he did was, he backed up to a tree, climbed it backwards with his hind legs, and went. his hind legs were halfway up the tree, and his front legs were on the ground, and that was how he pooped. how odd is that? I've never in my life heard of anything like that, let alone seen it.

ETA VALENTINE'S DAY: Josh and I both decided not to do Valentine's Day this year because we are still trying to move to Indianapolis, and we're trying to save money. Which is why, I guess we just spent nearly $500 (and counting) on adopting ourselves a dog. lol. and not only the day before Valentine's Day but on FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH! So earlier in the day I ran to Target for some Zyrtec-D (still thought I had wicked allergies, I'm pretty positive I'm just sick now because my eyes don't itch or anything, I have a headache and a fever) and instead of getting him chocolate (which he likes but isn't in LOVE with, like I am lol) I got him a $15 ITunes gift card. I got a zune pass which enables me to download an unlimited amount of songs which I can listen to as long as I keep my pass active ($15/month) and then 10 permanent downloads a month. He kept telling me to download all this stuff, so I thought I'd give him the gift of music. Later on, he went and got Shadow wet food (so he would eat) from Wal-Mart and brought me back 2 heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, a bag of milk chocolate dove and a bag of meltaway center milk chocolate bliss. mmmmmmmmmmmm <3 chocolate. Our Valentine's Day was mostly spent hanging around in bed after we moved the entire room around. I forgot to mention that.

The window we had behind our bed is the only one that looks down onto the street (the other two look into the wall of the building next door; boring) and he kept jumping on the bed to get a better look, so we re-arranged the entire bedroom, then realized he just wanted to be on the bed. oh well, I like it better how it is now, anyway.

:)

2009-02-13T20:18:00.000-05:00

full post tomorrow!

Kindle 2

2009-02-10T21:27:00.002-05:00

Today, Amazon announced the Kindle 2. as a huge reader, I want one SO BADLY. I thought about getting the original (briefly) and decided that it was likely they'd release a new version, and they did. It's a little pricey, but the biggest selling point for me is $9.99 new releases. I'm always super bummed when a new book by one of my authors comes out and I don't buy it because the hardbacks usually cost $30 or so. Plus the appeal of being able to carry many many books with me at once.... I really hope this stimulus package goes through, that'll be my Kindle 2 money. :)

Josh and I told people all day about Shadow. We are beside ourselves with excitement, we cannot wait. We got everything we needed yesterday (aside from a couple things like a container to keep the dog food in and a doggy bed or crate). One of the guys Josh works with gave us a great tip. He said to get one of those Kong Balls, and what you do is mush peanut butter in a ball with a little bit of dog food and put a little bit of water on it, shove it inside the toy, and put it in the freezer. he said once it's frozen, it's not messy because the peanut butter dog food just comes off in chunks as the dog plays with the toy. cool, huh?

Guess what we adopted?

2009-02-09T21:24:00.002-05:00

We went and visited Shadow today and decided we're going to have a dog. He's 2 years old, and pretty timid. We're so excited, we pick him up Friday. :)

Just in time for Valentine's Day

2009-02-08T20:00:00.002-05:00

A sweet wallpaper with a red yarn heart

good day

2009-02-07T16:43:00.003-05:00

I got my custom order from Karatstix today. I got a Knitter's Rule, a 1" stitch gauge, and a 6" ruler for maybe $30. She hand-draws pictures on bamboo tools she makes, then colors them in with colored pencils and seals them. So adorable, no? She included the cute keychain and 5 stitch markers as a bonus. I LOVE them. I originally saw them on Photo.Knit.Dog and I'm so glad I ordered them. More pics @ my flickr.

Also, in the mornings before work, I check my email on my phone (a palm centro). I saw that a new chapter for Wide Awake had been posted, which means that I read an entire chapter on my tiny phone screen while attempting to look like I was doing my job at work. it took forEVER. lol. it was a real good one, though, 2 pieces of dialogue literally made me feel like the air had been sucked out of my lungs.

Work was fairly busy. Josh went to a friend's house to help him move, so I took a 2-hour nap then went to McDonald's. blegh. McDouble SUCKS. it's like fake hamburger or something. ew.

I'm knitting away on both Jarrett's (Josh's youngest brother - 18) hat and the 4th pair of Bella Mittens. I've got about 2" on the hat and about 1.5" on the second mitten of the pair. Here is a picture of Joel's hat (Josh's middle brother - 21) that I sent for Christmas, and the progress of Jarrett's hat.

as modeled by Josh, knit with KnitPicks andean silk.

Knit with RYC Cashsoft DK in pale blue and charcoal (the rest will all be charcoal, too).

brain no worky

2009-02-06T10:04:00.003-05:00

wow. I have today off, so a few minutes ago I went across the street to the coffee shop to get my coffee and a muffin. I took my travel cup with me, and my keys and everything (this will be important in a minute). they were pretty busy, maybe 4 people ahead of me. so I get up there and order, she runs my credit card, asks if I want a receipt or any flavors in my latte, the transaction finishes and I go to wait for my coffee. as I'm standing there I'm looking at the muffin case thinking "oh, she forgot my muffin". so he hands me my coffee, and I'm like "oh, I had an apple cinnamon muffin" and he looks confused, and the girl who rang me out comes over and I'm like "Oh, you forgot my muffin" and she looks confused and goes "uuummmmm, isn't that...." while pointing to my hand. WHERE I AM HOLDING A PAPER BAG WITH MY MUFFIN IN IT THAT SHE HAD GIVEN TO ME BEFORE SHE RAN MY CARD. I apologized (obviously) claiming coffee deprivation.

If it's gonna be one of those days, I'm glad I'll be staying at home. geez.

ETA: I really need to stay inside. I went down to Port City for an apricot tea (and to grab an issue of Paw Print [a free pet magazine]) and the total came to $1.60. for some reason, I didn't think I had enough even though I brought $1.75 with me. I'll probably bust my face on the treadmill when I go to the gym later, then inadvertently steal something at Target when I go to buy toilet paper.

OH OH OH I just remembered something, too. Remember when our door was glued shut and we called the cops and they never showed up? The company who owns the building saw one of the flyers we put up in the building and called Josh and said the police told them they called me back and I told them that I didn't wish to pursue an investigation. WTF!? why would I call in the first place if I wanted nothing done about it? Completely stupid.

sleeeeeeeeepy and pizza

2009-02-04T18:53:00.002-05:00

I sold another pair of mittens today! these aren't them though, these are pair #3 that I sent off yesterday when I went to mail back the broken alarm clock.

Good news, new alarm clock still works! I love it. unfortunately, you have to buy the remote control separately, so I'll probably get that next week.

I worked this morning (as per usual). oh, it snowed again too for a good 15 minutes. lol. But then I came home and after the clock was delivered, I took a nap, then Josh came home and I didn't get up, so he dressed down and fell asleep with me and we didn't get up until 6:30. then we ordered pizza. while simultaneously skipping the gym for the day. :P

my luck sucks

2009-02-03T16:10:00.002-05:00

So I got my alarm clock today and guess what! it worked for an ENTIRE TWENTY MINUTES. then, in the middle of a song, the sound went out. and never came back. ps, the customer service number for the product does not provide good service or even any troubleshooting. in the manual, it said to do a hard reset of the product. this means I unplugged it, took out the batteries, waited an hour, and put the batteries back in and plugged it back in. still nothing. oh, I know, I'll call customer service. here was our conversation:

Me: Hi, I'm having a problem with the ZN9B.
CS: What's your first name?
Me: Tasha, t-a-s-h-a.
CS: What's wrong with it?
Me: (explains)
CS: Okay, you need to reset the device..
Me: Oh, I did that.
CS: Un-plug the unit, take out the batteries...
Me: yes, I already have.
CS: then wait about an hour.
Me: *silence*
CS: *silence*
Me: .... Yeah, I did that.
CS: *stunned silence* and it still doesn't work?
Me: .....no.
CS: Well, you can either return it to amazon or send it here.

THAT was helpful. I am happy to report, however, that amazon's return process is much more helpful. I went to the site, found my order and clicked the return button, they had me print out a shipping label (I don't have to pay shipping to return it) and I walked down to the post office and put it in the mail. I was still a little pissed because I thought I'd have to wait until at least friday to get a new one, but a customer service representative e-mailed me and let me know it should be here tomorrow. How great is that? I do want to note though, that if I had just wanted a refund, the site said it would take 4 weeks after they received the return package. that would've super sucked. really easy, though. much praise for amazon.com.

I really have the worst luck with electronics. I remember having to return my ipod the day I got it because it refused to charge. and maybe I pick sucky cell-phones, but they always end of making me want to throw them (which I haven't, yet). AND when my zune got a firmware update, it refused to turn on. I eventually got that one figured out. And my laptop is constantly doing something or another weird. Josh thinks I'm like this super-smart techie girl, but I told him I've had so much trouble with the damn thing that I know which forums to go to where all the actual tech people are and they walk me through fixing my own computer. If I had any money to spend to take it in and have it fixed professionally, I'd do that. But I don't, so I resort to my own ways.

Worked this morning. Switched shifts tomorrow with Warren. tomorrow was supposed to be my 10am shift, but I changed with him to the 5am so I could be here when UPS comes so I don't have to drive all the way out there when Josh gets home.

Boy, am I wiped.

We the people....

2009-02-02T18:58:00.003-05:00

Josh and I were watching Yes, Dear and there was a schoolhouse rock reference and I youtubed it. I'll share with you!

It makes me all teary, I don't know why. I get all weirdly patriotic.

We went to a couple Superbowl parties last night and I didn't get into bed until 11 last night and didn't fall asleep until midnight. then got up at 4 and went to work, where I had to do inventory for the first of the month. I had that finished by 8am. so by the time I got home at 10:30, I was ultra tired but couldn't sleep. THEN, when Josh got home we went to the gym. Not for very long.

Tomorrow my alarm clock is coming. Exciittiinnng.

a few days of boring

2009-02-01T08:51:00.002-05:00

Gosh, I blog lots about shopping. I FINALLY bought my Zune Alarm Clock that I've been saying I'm getting forever. It'll be here Tuesday. got some more Bella's Mittens yarn to finish the commissioned ones + a little extra. And I think maybe next check I'll get a new phone, specifically a Blackberry. I either want the curve or the pearl. Anyone have one of these? Right now I have a Palm Centro and I think the Blackberry would be better since it has all the different applications and stuff.

Josh and I have been bummin' around the apartment, bored. We tried to see My Bloody Valentine in 3D no less than 4 times and every time something got messed up so we decided the universe is trying to send us a sign to not see it. oh well.

ho-hum day

2009-01-29T20:19:00.002-05:00

I worked this morning. By the time I got home around 10am, I was really really tired so I finally laid down with my hot water bottle and fell asleep from 12-4:30 when Josh got home. tthheenn I went to Target and got a new blow dryer (my old one was shooting out random small pieces of plastic? lol), and Peter Pan (goin back in the Disney vault tomorrow!), and a couple t-shirts. I wanted something to wear Sunday for the Superbowl parties without being all boob-a-licious. For some reason, I buy lots of shirts that are lower-cut. And now I'm home and going to bed around 10. see, toldja it was boring. lol.

2-fer!

2009-01-28T20:46:00.002-05:00

We decided to start the gym Monday. lol. We visited the landlord, who gave us a number for some guy who's actually in charge of the building? apparently, he only leases 3 units in the building... I dunno, anyway, so we have to call that guy. ridiculous.

oh, and I got my hot water bottle that I got off of EBay today. I think I just have a need to knit a hot water bottle cover. It is super nice and warm and it's supposed to be great for menstrual cramps.

I got the blue one (you couldn't pick the color). Also, it's not as bright, just a plain ol' regular blue.

I picked this felted cozy from Interweave Knits Summer 2002. It looks like it's going to take forever and be super irritating, it has a cable chart and it's knit with lightweight yarn on size 5 needles. @ ravelry

Kazo-Mazo and Koaster

2009-01-28T15:39:00.002-05:00

^ Those are one of my many nicknames for my kitties. I think it springs from baby-talking all animals I've ever owned. They are also known as Captain Oblivious and The Brainless Wonder. I'm such a nice pet owner, no? lol. I've had cats eventually called Temersee (Tennessee), Perkeshus (Precious), Salamander (Salem), Punky-Punk (affectionately named by me, the cat's actual name, if you can believe it, was Punkass)... I could go on, but I'll save myself now.

Work was a little better. I was waiting for the handyman to fix the light above the stove, the drafty bedroom window, the leaking kitchen sink, and the smelly bathroom sink until 1 this afternoon before I just left and did what I had to do at work. He still hasn't shown up. See why I was so stressed yesterday? Everything just came to a point. Between the glued door, all this stuff that needs fixed, money issues, moving preparations, and then shit at work? My brain needed to explode a little bit. Now I'm better.

Josh and I are going to talk to the landlord today (we tried yesterday, but he was gone already), then after that, we'll go to the gym. I haven't been to the gym in weeks. Josh said he'll go with me every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Hopefully, that'll give me some motivation. I pay for the gym, so I should definitely go.

I finished 1/2 of pair #3/5 mittens today, it's soaking in the sink. I'd give you pictures, but it looks exactly like the last ones. lol.

deep, cleansing breath

2009-01-27T17:21:00.002-05:00

Today was...... interesting. I don't really want to blog about work because I'm super paranoid someone will find it and I'll be in deep shit, but I'll just say this. I was geared up to do inventory today (I do it every week, I'm the one who takes care of it in my little department). No one else is supposed to have a key to the back storage closet except me and my manager, and my co-workers must have been taking his key from the office to get cups and stuff because it was TRASHED this morning and I was highly, highly pissed. Then all sorts of stuff just cascaded and so by the time my co-worker got there (late), I walked down and told my manager I would come in tomorrow to fix the stuff they screwed up and that I was leaving now or I'd cry. I just hate getting all stressed out like that, it's stupid. It was just one of those days that I wanted nothing more than to hurt someone and quit. So I just had to go. My manager rocks though, so it's all good.

I sent out pair #2/5 of my Bella Mittens. Took new pics to display the new yarn. And let me say, I LOVE the yarn but I just found out it's exclusive to WEBS and that sucks because it took me a week from ordering to get the yarn. That's a little long for me. To be fair, it was over MLK weekend.

I like this yarn better. it makes the mittens a little chunkier and cushier. Plus, the alpaca/wool blend dries faster than 100% wool.

yawn

2009-01-26T19:28:00.002-05:00

Nothing too much today. I finished Wide Awake, well, up to the point she's at anyway. It reminds me of FictionLyn days. I remember being in chat rooms just DYING for her to post the next chapter. lol. old habits die hard, I guess.

I got called in to work room service for a few hours earlier, and I've been knitting on the 3rd pair of mittens. Then I work tomorrow morning. Aaaannnnnnddd. that's about it. I'm tired and I have a headache. blah.

what is with this weekend?

2009-01-25T21:51:00.002-05:00

we tried to go to see My Bloody Valentine in 3D. it was only showing in 3D at the ghetto theater (as opposed to the newer one everyone else goes to), so we went around 4:30 this afternoon and the line was astronomical it was so stupid. so we didn't even go. it's just been a kinda crappy weekend all around. I have tomorrow off, but Josh is back at work. I finished the second pair (of 5) Bella mittens. new record, I finished a whole pair in 3 days. Hopefully I can keep up the pace.

We also got a call from a guy on the opposite end of the hall from us who had screwdriver gouges in his door, too. And then some more in the door of an apartment in the middle of the hall, but we were the only ones with glue. we're going tomorrow to talk to the landlord and down to the police department to file a report. still completely ridiculous.

wtf?

2009-01-25T14:27:00.002-05:00

here's some bullshit to wake up your brain. trust me, when I saw it, it seriously made me go "what. the. FUCK?!" (sorry for the language, I think it's all that angsty-Edward in Wide Awake, which I've now made it to the last chapter she updated and now I have nothing to knit to... laaaaaaaaaaaaame lol.)

...any idea what you're looking at? no? it's glue. during the time I was posting yesterday (between 11a and 1p), someone tried to GLUE US INTO OUR APARTMENT. wtf? I would nearly think they did it in the middle of the night, but it was still tacky and wet when I found it, and after an hour and a half of waiting for the cops to show up (which they never did), it was completely solid. not only did they attempt to glue the door closed, they gouged the door latch with what looks to be a screwdriver, we think in order to get glue actually inside of there. what the hell is wrong with people? we are nothing but nice to people here, we're quiet, we're almost always in bed by 10p. we think that it was some jackass friend of someone who lives here. either they wanted to play a prank on who they THOUGHT lived here, or.... well, the night before (and this has happened before) someone was bangin on our door. Josh went to answer it, heard them talking, and didn't answer the door. the last time this happened, he answered the door and dude just started walking in, and Josh was like "uh, can I help you?" and he was like "oh, wrong apartment". ?! The apartments all have letters, are you illiterate?

I'm so sick of living downtown. do not ever live in downtown Wilmington. if you work weekends, you're fucked because it's an all-night party all weekend. and everyone feels the need to scream conversations in the streets. this I can deal with (I've invested in ear plugs). but gun shots at 4am? come on now. and the fucking GOBS of people still hanging out in the street at 3:30 in the morning. the cops don't even really bother. seriously, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! the bars stop serving alcohol (if not closing altogether) at 2am. it's WINTER, morons.

I can't help but be really, really pissed. We're going to the landlord's office tomorrow sometime and letting him know. It's ridiculous. we have a security-locked door, why exactly? it obviously isn't preventing anything. We also hung up flyers in the building telling people we were basically fucked for no reason whatsoever.

bullshit. stupid-ass bullshit.

picture post

2009-01-24T11:14:00.003-05:00

I took this this morning after I got home from work. They're brothers so they do nearly everything together. We only have 2 rooms in our apartment (not including the bathroom), and when Koa's in the living room/dining room/kitchen and Kalix is in the bedroom, Koa can only stand a few minutes in there before he meows for Kalix. (small note: their copper tags are from jmanigrossi@etsy. at $12 a piece, they're a little pricey, but so worth it, they make them for both dogs and cats.)

I started this mitten the night before last, I had finished maybe an inch by bedtime, then knit all the rest of it yesterday. Only 7 more mittens to go.....

This is my sweetheart on the night he officially asked me out. It was adorable. We had sort of a unique situation in that we were roommates before we got together, as well as after. So for our entire relationship, we've lived together. Well, that means he had never had the experience of showing up and knocking on my door and taking me out. So exactly 1 month after our first kiss, he asked me to get dressed up and he took me out for an amazing dinner and asked me if we could be exclusive (I'm paraphrasing). It shocked the hell out of me, it was so cute. Obviously, I said yes, and this is why we basically have 2 anniversaries.

A random picture I took of us while we were still at the old place.

my favorite picture of my nephew, Jordan. I took this last year when him and my Mom came down from Ohio to visit us. I didn't even pose him like that, he just did it. The little boy absolutely has my heart. My sister has 2 little girls younger than him, but I still lived at home when Jordan was born, up until he was 2, and my sister (she's younger than me) lived at home, so I'm super bonded with Jordan. And luckily, he just adores Josh.

phew

2009-01-23T19:05:00.002-05:00

So I have 4 pairs of Bella Mittens already purchased from my etsy store that are in line to be knit and I knit one entire mitten today. I had done maybe an inch of knitting last night, but I've literally been knitting and reading Wide Awake all day long. I had the day off.

I bought Goo Goo Dolls Greatest Hits Volume 1 off of zune today. I love them.

Other than that (and running down to buy a latte this morning), I've done nothing but knit all day long. lol. I packed up my bag so I could knit at work tomorrow, too.

<3 IHOP

2009-01-22T21:06:00.001-05:00

IHOP pancake dinners with my boy are the best.

day off tomorrow! so ready for it, too.

edit: I forgot to add, I've commissioned a custom set from karatstix@etsy. she makes these awesome knitter's tools and I've requested a custom set. they won't be ready for a month, but check her stuff out, it's the cutest!

lovely happy day

2009-01-22T12:16:00.003-05:00

Today was pretty cool. I worked from 5a-10a. Around 9, this woman came up to get some coffee. In the cafe, we have a flat screen tv for guests to watch in the lobby (oh yeah, I work in a hotel cafe that serves Starbucks). Well I had it on the today show and they broke in with Academy Award nominations. I was making small talk with the lady about how I could never get through awards shows, etc. She mentioned that she really wanted to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and I told her it was good and that I only cried a little bit. Then I said "It wasn't like Marley & Me. I cried through the ENTIRE LAST HALF HOUR of that movie!!" and she goes "I did that movie! I trained all the puppies!" it was super cool. I'm such an animal person, I've never lived with less than 2 dogs and 2 cats the entire time I lived with my Mom, and I survived exactly a month without any animals when I moved down to South Carolina. I talked to her for a good 10-15 minutes. She also told me that she was there when they shot one of the end super-sad scenes and said that the director, the entire crew, AND the trainer were all crying! really cool conversation.

When I got home, I continued reading Wide Awake, it's a Twilight fanfiction where Edward and Bella are both human. everyone is freaking out over it. I printed 3 chapters yesterday and read that at work, now I'm on chapter 5 and I have to say, it's pretty good.

Theeeeen I went and sent out an order for a felted bowl. And got some chinese food (mmmmmmmmmmmm). And watched some dvr Bad Girl's Club. I'm addicted to that show. Now I'm super sleepy. I guess sitting around in bed eating chinese food will do that to a girl!

15 seconds of fame are over

2009-01-21T18:08:00.002-05:00

ew.com has changed their site to reflect that the original makers of the Bella Mittens are selling theirs online and they no longer link to my shop. oh well, good while it lasted, I guess.

work went okay, no more pain. it was super boring though, because it's been pretty slow lately. I work at 5a tomorrow then I have friday off, but then I work all weekend. but tthheeenn I have monday off.

I do have a headache, though.

oof.

2009-01-21T08:38:00.003-05:00

ravelry tote came yesterday! I was so excited, I love it. it's not a crappy stiff canvas either, it's this great floppy soft-ish canvas. so roomy, too. I also picked up a book. I'm gonna try and keep track of the books I read this year. we'll see how that goes.

I woke up around midnight with the worst cramps EVER, I honestly thought I'd have to wake Josh up and go to the ER. And, having had kidney stones for a few years after I turned 14, I know what serious pain feels like. I was really worried. but I took a couple more tylenol and fell back asleep within 45 minutes. I heated up my wuv-it and that helped a lot.

Kalix got his collar from BowWowzerZ yesterday. I had gotten Koa one awhile back (while Kalix still used his sucky one), and so she sweetly included 2 of these little kitty toys with the order because she knew I had 2 cats. These things are like SOAKED in catnip and she had sent one when she sent Koa's collar and they went NUTS. so as soon as I opened the package I was like "oooohhh, THAT'S where we got that thing.." lol.

well, I work at 10, but I'll probably post again later. :)

SNNNOOOWWWW!

2009-01-20T11:32:00.000-05:00

It actually snowed today. I've been trying to see snow practically since I left Ohio, and nearly every time I go back, it's like 60 degrees. I was so excited when it started this morning while I was at work. As soon as my relief came in I practically ran out of there. I came home, changed, and went out to take pictures. there are a few more at my flickr.

Also, I sold another pair of Bella mittens. that's 4 pairs now for anyone who's keeping track. Twilight fans are nuts.

edit: I've figured out why my mittens are selling out so quickly. I'm featured on entertainmentweekly.com!!!!!!!

first actual post

2009-01-19T17:32:00.000-05:00

Today sort of sucked. Last night Josh went to watch a football game at a friend's house but I worked this morning (had to be up at 4a) so I stayed home. I went to bed around 9, so by the time I got up I actually wasn't very sleepy at all (normally I get 5-6 hours of sleep). I worked (did 1/2 of the week's inventory), and came home around 10:15.

OH, I did file my taxes. I haven't gotten a return since I was maybe 19 or 20 because my student loans defaulted. I thought last year I'd at least get the rebate stimulus, which I qualified for $300, but they took that, too. But I got everything straightened out towards the end of the year by consolidating my student loans, so they paid off this sucky collections company I was paying and now I'm paying it through the government. and actually, they've decided that since I make very little, and I'm not married, that I'm too poor to actually have a monthly payment (factoring in my rent and other bills and stuff). which is really good. I'm really looking forward to actually getting a return though. I'm getting back $370 federal, and about $180 state, but I haven't filed state yet. I'm really looking forward to getting this. Right now I use my cell phone as my alarm clock and (luckily) it's only screwed me over once. I had to be at work at 5a and woke with a start at 6 realizing that I forgot to turn it off vibrate. damn. also, it charges your zune, so I won't have to connect it to the computer to charge it, PLUS I'll be able to play it in the room when I'm cleaning and stuff.

We're still looking at moving to Indianapolis, and I've had a lot of recommendations for Broad Ripple Village. It looks really nice and funky, so we'll see.

I sold 2 more pairs of mittens and 1 felted bowl on etsy within like 3 days of each other. the felted bowl I've finished, but for the mittens, I ordered the yarn and it hasn't arrived yet. I did finally get a ravelry bag I've wanted for awhile though, so I can't wait for that to get here.

ugh, I have a headache. See ya!

I've moved.

2009-01-19T13:24:00.000-05:00

...obviously. I just wanted my own little space. my livejournal has way too many old sucky memories, so this will be the perfect way to start all over.

*deep cleansing breath*

there will be lots of kitty cat talk, lots of knitting talk, and lots of Josh talk. maybe all at the same time. and probably pictures. and videos.

GET READY! :)

woo-hoo!

2009-01-19T13:06:00.001-05:00

yay!

In a world of black and white, you're the only one in color.

There is joy to be claimed in this world..

3.2.09

*yawn*

wtf did we do to piss people off?

yucky.

ugh. I hate congestion

yay!

Getting Better

Shadow's progress

:)

Kindle 2

Guess what we adopted?

Just in time for Valentine's Day

good day

brain no worky

sleeeeeeeeepy and pizza

my luck sucks

We the people....

a few days of boring

ho-hum day

2-fer!

Kazo-Mazo and Koaster

*deep, cleansing breath*

*yawn*

what is with this weekend?

wtf?

picture post

*phew*

<3 IHOP

lovely happy day

15 seconds of fame are over

oof.

SNNNOOOWWWW!

first actual post

I've moved.

woo-hoo!

yawn

deep, cleansing breath

yawn

phew