Earning the Geek Merit Badge

Works in Progress

There's more progress on the Chevron Scarf, but I swear this is the Neverending Project. Which reminds me of my favorite movie as a child, The Neverending Story, but I digress...

New Books
I bought a couple of new books yesterday. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White and Classic Knits by Erica Knight. Charlotte's Web is to read a chapter a night before bed to LittleMan (who is loving it by the way!)
I have found at least 3 patterns in the Classic Knits book that I can't wait to start.
Silk Shrug

Deep V Sweater

Kelly Cardigan

I think I'm going to order some Cotlin from Knitpicks and get started on the shrug.

Earning the Geek Merit Badge
I also pre-ordered a book yesterday. I now have this...

A ticket to get Harry Potter at 12:01 on the release date. Yes, I'm a super geek! I also considered making something from the Harry Potter Knits book for the occasion, but this is Louisiana, it will be July, and not all of the HP love in the world could make that a comfortable situation. Maybe some Death Eaters socks or something.

I'm a Follower
Well, I listened to Nicole talk about "the bag". I resisted all of about 2 hours and e-mailed Scout. I will have a lovely avocado Namaste Executive Bag coming soon. Looks like I'm not the only one!
Scout is awesome and if you have a special order, don't hesitate to e-mail her. She'll hook you up. Also, today's her birthday. Go on over and make her feel better, she's a little under the weather!

But, I'm also a leader....
I have been bothered lately by something going on in my town that is very unjust. So, to protest, I've joined up with a group and ordered some t-shirts to get our own little "silent protest" going on in our town's big festival in a couple of weeks. It should really shake things up and I can't wait. I can't stand injustice and I think more of us should stand up for what we believe in. I can't get into too many details, but after the whole thing is over, I'll give you some pictures and probably news links!! :)

Have a great day!
Melissa

I Blame Nicole and Jenny.....

lame Nicole and Jenny........


I aquired some money last week to buy whatever my heart desired. My dad and husband both hinted that they thought the money would become yarn. Hell, I thought the money would become yarn. But it hasn't. I've looked online, I've even put yarn in shopping carts, but none has been checked out. What is wrong with me????? I am currently working on a scarf, thinking about socks that need to be knit, and yet, I feel like the stash will keep me busy for a while.


I considered buying enough yarn for a kick butt sweater, but was scared that it would just sit there. I thought about buying yarn to make the Green Tea Raglan, but there again, I was afraid that I would never start the project.


Maybe it's just too hot. It's been 75-80 degrees here lately. Who knows?? I'm going to blame Nicole and Jenny.....

Edited to add: I just listened to Episode 9 and I want that Executive bag. Yippee!! I found something to spend money on (how twisted does that sound?)


Book Review!!


When we came home from our trip Sunday, I had a present waiting on me. The box said Amazon.com and I was sooo excited. What was it you ask????

The format of the book is a little different. All of the stitch pattern pictures and charts, etc are in the back. I actually liked it better the way that the first book was, but this isn't a big deal or anything. The colors of the pages are great. Much more pleasing to the eye. The sock samples look awesome!! I was so excited to see the wonderful Lisa Souza yarn which was used for one of the samples!! Overall, a wonderful book and a must for anyone who is a big sock knitter!


More vacation pictures, etc....


A few more pictures of our mini vacation this weekend.











Have a great week!!
Melissa

Edited to add: I need to knit a chemo cap for someone. The recipient is a 60-something female. Any yarn recommendations would be awesome!!!!!

Another Trip

Well, we are on the road again (cue Willie Nelson music) and we're having a blast. We saw Thomas the Tank Engine today and are really having a great time. I must say that the town of Grapevine, Texas is one of the nicest, cutest, most wonderful towns that I've ever visited. I almost want to move here after this weekend. The layout and traveling to get to places is a bit much for me though. I prefer one road that takes you everywhere you need to go.

We visited the Grapevine Mills mall yesterday (wonderful!!) and they had tons of kiddie rides scattered throughout. The picture above is one of the many rides that LittleMan popped our quarters into.

A Day out With Thomas was this morning and was worth every penny. There was TONS of extra things to do besides just riding Thomas. There were pony rides....

There was a huge gift shop, and more importantly....these.....

I'll post more pictures later. Hope you enjoy!!

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I have big plans for a huge stack of birthday pancakes in the morning before heading back home.

Also, congrats to Guido for the appearance on the Today show. I watched and caught a screenshot. That is, by the way, the first time I've ever watched the Today show. They should give Guido a commission. :)

Have a great weekend!!!

Melissa

Another Trip

Well, we are on the road again (cue Willie Nelson music) and we're having a blast. We saw Thomas the Tank Engine today and are really having a great time. I must say that the town of Grapevine, Texas is one of the nicest, cutest, most wonderful towns that I've ever visited. I almost want to move here after this weekend. The layout and traveling to get to places is a bit much for me though. I prefer one road that takes you everywhere you need to go.

We visited the Grapevine Mills mall yesterday (wonderful!!) and they had tons of kiddie rides scattered throughout. The picture above is one of the many rides that LittleMan popped our quarters into.

A Day out With Thomas was this morning and was worth every penny. There was TONS of extra things to do besides just riding Thomas. There were pony rides....

There was a huge gift shop, and more importantly....these.....

I apologize for the lack of photo editing. I'll correct it when I'm not in the hotel trying to squeeze in a post.

I'll post more pictures later. Hope you enjoy!!

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I have big plans for a huge stack of birthday pancakes in the morning before heading back home.

Also, congrats to Guido for the appearance on the Today show. I watched and caught a screenshot. That is, by the way, the first time I've ever watched the Today show. They should give Guido a commission. :)

Have a great weekend!!!

Melissa

The Monday Blahs....

Uggh...it's Monday. I had such a wonderful weekend that I really could've used another couple of days to recover from my weekend.
I did get knitting done. Here's the progress on my Chevron scarf. This picture doesn't do these colors or the pattern justice. It's gorgeous.

It's getting there. I estimate that I'm about 1/3 or 1/4 of the way finished. I can't wait to block it and wear it!!

We also bought plates, napkins, etc for LittleMan's birthday party next month. A store was having a 1/2 off sale, so we went with a couple of friends and picked a theme and bought everything we needed. We will be having a really fun Scooby Doo adventure for his 3rd birthday this year. We decided to rent a cabin at a local state park and will be having the party there and spending the weekend. I thinkk we'll have a great time.

We did lots of playing outside this weekend. And why not, the plants are blooming...

LittleMan had a blast blowing bubbles.....

He dressed himself in the lovely boots and too long pants. The sunhat is in Target's kid's section right now and is adorable!!

We also made cupcakes which were yummy!!


My baby brother took us out to eat for my birthday on Saturday night since we'll be out of town this weekend on my actual birthday. My mom got me the best present!! I got a bottle of Ralph Lauren Romance (my favorite) and a set of Pampered Chef stainless steel bowl. Drool. I had been wanting these for a while and she snagged a set when she had a party with her free stuff. These things are wonderful!

Sunday, she showed up with a cake. Well, two cupcakes, decorated for my birthday. How cute is this??

I thought this was the cutest thing ever!!

Hope you are having a wonderful week!!
Melissa

Tomorrow's Friday!!

Tomorrow's Friday and I couldn't be more ready! I have a decent weekend planned doing some shopping for the stuff for LittleMan's birthday celebration next month. I also plan to do a good bit of cleaning up outdoors (flower beds, etc) and indoors also.
Unfortunately all of my cleaning has led to a lack of knitting. I'm making slow but steady progress on the Chevron scarf, but work on that will be minimal for the next week or so. Next Tuesday (the 20th) we will be going to see Thomas Live, then on the 24th we will be going to A Day Out with Thomas where you get to actually ride Thomas the Tank Engine, meet Sir Topham Hat, and Bob the Builder. It's sad that this is semi-exciting to me. :) I know LM will have a blast and I can't wait to see that I guess.
Not to mention, this weekend kicks off my favorite week....Birthday Week. Between celebrating with my mom, my dad, my husband, co-workers, and other friends, I make it a week-long celebration. So, I'm pretty excited about that. I've even received my first gift. An awesome book of political writings and speeches from an awesome co-worker (who also reads this blog...hi Walt).
So, to finish off this post, here's 20 more things about me....I think we're on 41-60
41. I'm easily annoyed by clingy people.
42. I get very annoyed by stupid forwarded e-mails. Nothing will dance across your screen...quit trying.
43. I hate balancing my checkbook.
44. I love buying yarn.
45. I balance our checkbook so the hubby doesn't see the amount spent on yarn.
46. I love gift cards....seriously, I could get one for $5 in gas (and I have) and get excited.
47. My favorite season is fall.
48. I love to look at flowers in the garden section.
49. I don't buy them because then they would die.
50. I have a headlight out on my car right now.
51. I'm carrying around my current scarf project in a Victoria's Secret bag and the co-workers give me strange looks.
52. I'm known around town for my knitting magnet on my car.
53. Breakfast at McD's on Saturday mornings is the BEST!
54. I don't really want to attend my 10 year reunion.
55. I see all of the classmates that I really like.
56. Except for my favorite cousin, Rodney. We were born 3 hours apart.
57. His birthday is on the 26th of March.
58. Our birthdays fall on different days.
59. I'm obsessive with even numbers or numbers divisible by 5.
60. LittleMan's birthday 04-22-04. Even numbers and symmetry...I love it. (and I picked the date!)

Melissa

Lots of Random Stuff

Okay, I promise I'm going to get back to the installments of 100 things about me, but this post was already loaded up with things to blog about, so maybe next time.

First of all, Emily left a comment about the picture of LittleMan eating beignets. These are not cream filled, more like a donut type thing, generously coated with powdered sugar. They are wonderful. If you are ever near New Orleans, stop here and get some. Or you can order a mix from their website I think.

Secondly, I forgot to blog about the book I finished. Friday Night Knitting Club was wonderful. The story was well told, I was kind of surprised at the last 1/4 of the book. I thought the story was going in a totally opposite direction. I can't wait to see this movie if/when it comes to theaters. I think that Blythe Danner would make the best Anita. I could picture her in that part throughout the whole book for some reason. But, I highly recommend the book.






I also got started on another project. I started a Chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and I'm loving how it's turned out so far. I'm using STR in Scottish Highlands and Rocktober. I even joined the Flickr, but I haven't posted a pic yet.


I have another project that I need to begin, but can't bring myself to start. I told a lady at my mom's office that if she bought yarn, I'd make her some socks. Then, after the yarn came in (and the yarn that she bought me in return) I found out she wears a size 10 shoe! I'll probably get started on them this week, but I dread it!


I saw something while driving around the other day that was absolutely gorgeous. And very Project Spectrum. I love the Bradford pears this time of year!!

I've also been catching up on podcasts the past couple of days. Stash and Burn has episode 7 out and as always, it's great. I listened to the latest Ready, Set, Knit, which I really like, and I also listened to my first ever episode of It's a Purl Man. I really enjoyed that one. Very nice.


Lastly, I remember someone, maybe the girls over here, saying that Blue Moon is going to have a big announcement this month. I think it has something to do with Socks that Rock. Does anyone have any info on this??? Let me know if you do. I'm dying to hear about it.


I've also been buying up gifts for my Hurricane Sock Party pal and my Lime N Violet pal. I can't wait to send out the swap packages. I love getting packages together for swaps!


Hope you all have a great day!

Melissa

The Trip....continued

Okay, more trip details!!
We ate at a WONDERFUL Italian restaurant called Frank's. It's close to the French Market area and was great. Here was the view from the balcony tables.



LittleMan also got some beads Friday during a pre-parade. The participants were just walking the route in preparation for Saturday's parade, but they stopped to give LittleMan some cute beads.




There was also a huge ship being commissioned that was built in New Orleans. This thing was GIGANTIC.....the first pic is from the hotel room, the second is kinda close to the ship. I can stress how huge it was. The brochure said that it weighed 24,900 TONS.




And, in knitting news...the minisweater is finished! I stopped by Natchez Needlearts on Saturday and picked up one last skein of Malabrigo and a button, and I finished it up last night. I like how it turned out and it was super easy!!



Project Details:
Mini sweater aka Boobholder from Glampyreknits
Yarn: Malabrigo Selection Privada in B
Needles: Size 9 Knitpicks
Duration: Saturday March 3 through Sunday March 11, 2007
Notes: I didn't knit the decorative edging as shown in the pattern.

Hope you are all having a great Monday!

Melissa

A little trip.....

I'm putting more info about me on hold for a little trip.
LittleMan, my mom, and I left on Wednesday for a little trip to New Orleans for a conference. We have had a blast!! I got a little knitting done, and I've been reading the Friday Night Knitting Club on my breaks between meetings. I'm loving the book so far and I'm a little more than half way through.
Before we got very far in our trip, I spotted something that made me take these pictures for Christy.



This town had several pigs scattered in front of businesses in celebration of an event going on in their town. Maybe I can get a few more on my way home.

I also made a trip by Natchez Needlearts on the way and picked up some great yarn for a Boobholder by Stefanie Japel. I'll post pictures after we get home. I forgot to get them at hte store, and the yarn is in my car in the hotel parking garage.

We have had a blast in New Orleans. We made a trip to the Riverwalk Mall, but it was kind of disappointing.

I was shocked to see that many of the stores that were previously there were not opened. These are big major chains. Instead there are alot of what I consider kind of "junk" shops open. There was actually a store that sold nothing but magnets. Seriously. It was really sad to see that the mall was kind of deserted and sad. However, Cafe Du Monde in the mall was open...


I have lots more pictures and stuff to share, but I'll do this in at least two if not three parts.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!!

(taken tonight on our way to eat)
Melissa

Another Book Review

I have another book review, but it's a non-knitting book. I received Shopaholic and Baby in the mail on Tuesday, and by Wednesday afternoon, I was finished. I love the main character in the Shopaholic books, and this was no exception. This book kept me guessing as to what would happen next, and I loved it. I thought it ended rather abruptly though, but maybe that's just me. If you like chic lit, this is for you. But start from the beginning with Confessions of a Shopaholic.

The Cozy is coming along slowly but surely. I really love this pattern. I made a small mistake that I really think will only be noticeable to me. Sometimes I have to look for it, so I figure that's a good sign.

Now that it's March 1st, I'm guessing there will be new Knitty patterns up soon, as well as Magknits. I hope something inspires me for spring!

And to continue on the "100 Things about me" wagon..here goes:
21. I have an addiction to office supplies.
22. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not midly OCD.
23. I'm thrilled that the show Jericho is airing new episodes.
24. I'm slightly devastated that the show Reba was cancelled.
25. I've lived in the same town my whole life.
26. My great grandparents, grandparents, and parents all graduated from the same school as I graduated.
27. I think I might should have been a lawyer.
28. I have an A-1 addicition. I can eat it on anything, even crackers.
29. I don't eat meat that has bones. Only boneless meats for me.
30. I always have a dirty car.
31. My most favorite meal is spagetti with no meatballs.
32. I'm not a huge fan of steak.
33. I showed cows in 4-H while in high school.
34. I'm not a big fan of horses.
35. I had a pet pig named Noelle whose mommy died while she was a few days old.
36. My first job was at a movie store.
37. The boss from my first job is now a client of mine for environmental work.
38. I wish I lived in a colder climate so that I could knit more sweaters.
39. I finally caught up with Ready, Set, Knit yesterday. LOVE IT!
40. I'm also a fan of Stash and Burn.