Things I Was Doing When I Was Obviously Not Here

Helping my mom throw my dad a surprise 50th birthday party, and it was awesome. And surprisingly, an actual surprise.

Forgetting to get my oil changed, almost getting stranded on the side of the highway. Begging my car not to hate me. 

Acing my summer class. (Why yes, I did get a 100% on my paper.) 

Trying to find a way to stop the excruciating pain in my hip. (Because apparently just chopping out that part of my body isn't an option.)

Reading about 8 trillion books from the library. I <3 free literature.

Buying books for fall semester. Definitely not free literature. Remind me to post a picture. It's an impressive stack of books.

Still reading all of your blogs.

 Packing for Disney World. See you in a week and a half! :-)

I'm A Couple Days Late...

But Happy Father's Day, Daddy! I love you!

Any Kid With The Patience To Do This is Probably Actually Possessed

Or, Part Two: The Knitting Loom.

(Note: Please excuse any finger bling in these pictures. This was in December.)

You've probably seen them on TV. Brightly colored hoops with pegs on them. Small children excitedly wrapping yarn around and around and around. And oh look! I made a scarf!

It looks so simple. After my traumatizing crocheting disaster, nothing could be worse, right? I made some comment about the commercial and Mom mentioned that actually, grandma had some of those that she'd given us. So we dug them out. (Cue theme from Jaws.)

The things look innocent enough.

(Source)

Remember, though, that since these were my grandmother's bits & pieces, we didn't have the instructions. Or the hooks, at first. And I'm actually not sure what that long thing at the bottom of the picture is?

But thanks to the internet & watching those commercials, we figured out the basic concept. Simple!

Take big plastic hoop.

Wrap yarn around pegs. Twice.

Flip bottom loop over top loop with hook.

Realize yarn is wrapped backwards. Curse. Start over.

Watch yarn fall off all pegs. Curse demon children in loom commercial. Start over.

Yarn does everything you don't want it to do. Whimper.

Start over 745 more times.

Flip out. Make Mommy do it.

Give up. Swear off yarn forever.

Discover only good use for $#%$# looms.

Decide to stick to the classics. Next up: Potholders.

I Probably Have An Addictive Personality, But I Never Exaggerate.

You know those people who pick up a new hobby and become so obsessed with it that they can't do anything else and really don't talk about anything else?

That would be me.

I am a knitting fiend. Although that kind of implies that I'm fast, and I'm really not....but whatever. I thought I would share with you my path to knitting. And actually, you know, making something that can be used.

Part One: My sister attempts to teach me to crochet.

This is my sister:

Sure, she looks innocent enough. But looks can be deceiving. The weirdo actually enjoys untangling yarn.
(I would like to point out at this point that my sister has made socks/slippers, a sweater, baby blankets...she's got some experience.)

I crocheted chains when I was little. 9 or 10 maybe? I don't really remember when it was or how to do it. At all. My grandmothers both crochet, my mom crochets. I'm an anomaly.

The Scene: Sitting next to Sis on the couch. Between telling me what to do, she's crocheting her own something-or-other. I don't think she got much done, as about every .2 seconds I needed instruction. Which would not be so bad, except that for about every .5 seconds, I'd mess up.

This is how I remember it:

Sis: THIS IS WRONG. YOU SUCK. ROOOOAAAAR!!!
-Proceeds to RIP OUT ALL OF MY WORK and turn back to her own like it's nothing. I cower in the corner crying and muttering like Gollum.


What probably actually happened, although the experience was too traumatizing for me to remember it clearly:

Sis: Oh, you messed up. You need to start over.
-Really did rip out my work, although probably not the whole thing every time. (So she says.)
Me: *whimper*

In the end, I did end up with something that may have been pretty, but I never actually finished an entire square. Plus I couldn't do it on my own. I needed instruction for every single step. That kind of makes it not enjoyable. At all.

I'm pretty sure this little square took me about 72 hours to make. Or maybe minutes. Whatever.

Anyway, after all of this, I swore off crocheting. At this point in time, no one in my (immediate) family was a knitter so I kind of figured I was done playing with yarn. Unless I wanted to carry my sister around in a backpack everywhere I went. I love her, but um.....no.

Coming soon, Part Two: The Knitting Loom. Kids do this in commercials, but I think that's a bunch of bullhonkey.

Moms Rock

Happy Mother's Day to the Best Mommy Ever! 

I love you, Mom. Thanks for everything.

My Feelings on Being Done With Finals.

This is Probably Why My Car Hates Me

Dear Everyone Who Has Ever Driven, Ever, Especially in My City,

In case you're a bit confused about the rules of the road, I thought I'd help you out.

If you're driving behind me, and I look in my rearview mirror, and all I see are headlights, you should probably not be quite so close to me. If I look in my mirror and CANNOT EVEN SEE YOUR HEADLIGHTS, you are way too freaking close to me. Back. Off. You're making me cry.

When a traffic light turns red, it means stop. It does not mean go really really slowly until it turns green again. Also, those white lines on the road? There for a reason. Stop behind it, not when your taillights are still just kind of shining light on it.

When a light turns yellow, you may be at the point where you can go through the light. However, if the light turns yellow and there are 4 cars in front of you, you should probably plan to stop. Yellow does not mean "Okay the next 7 vehicles can go through but I'm turning red just for kicks anyway."

If I'm driving 7 miles an hour over the speed limit and you fly by me, you had better have a woman giving birth in the back seat screaming "THE BABY IS CROWNING!"  Because if that's a regular habit, you're probably going to die soon. I'd prefer not to be taken with you.

Sincerely.

Oooh Pretty!

I studied abroad in London. I loved it. I really, really miss it.

I was supposed to spend a weekend visiting Paris, but due to unexpected jetlag to the extreme & the worst sinus infection I have ever had EVER, that didn't happen.

Paris, however, is apparently very "in." Because everywhere I go, there is Paris this and Paris that. Artwork & household decorations & such. I've been casing Hobby Lobby for London-themed artwork for a while. I like having a reminder of my time there. It makes me happy.

And yesterday, I found this:

I. Am. Excited.

Assuming I actually get some cleaning done, I've got a fun idea for decorating my desk space. If I like the way it looks, I'm more likely to actually use it, right?

See? Cute!

I Was Going to Blog Last Night But Instead I Cleaned My Bathroom

I am not even making that up. My bathroom has never been this clean.

Which is code for "last night I was freaking out and stress cleaned."

Class registration starts today. And I still don't have a major.

Which is kind of okay, because I do have a few gen ed requirements to fill. But I want to get 2 or 3 of those done this summer. Which leaves me grasping for straws this fall. Here's hoping that when I see my adviser tomorrow, he has many words of wisdom.

I totally should have bought that "Keep Calm & Carry On" poster at Target...

P.S. In addition to making my bathroom shine, I also changed my sheets and sorted laundry, which is going right now. I would have vacuumed, but the neighbors don't enjoy when I run loud appliances at 11pm. I am woman, hear me roar.

P.P.S. I did all that without coffee.

P.P.P.S AND I painted my toenails.  Super cute. (I was going to show you a picture, but Blogger has decided that I'm not.)

All of My Posts Should Be Titled 'I Suck At Consistency'

I know, I know. I'm a bad, bad blogger. I'm pretty sure that if I still lived at home my mom would have locked me in my room until I posted something new.

And I do feel pretty bad, because I need to give the biggest bloggy thank you to the beautiful Nikolett. Nikolett writes over at Better Than Coffee. She designed my previous header, and when I asked if she would redo it to rid my blog of the Evil that is the W word (um...wedding) she offered to give me a whole bloggy makeover(!) because she is awesome & kind & hoping to launch her design business Suite 364 Designs within the next month. & did I mention I love her? Because I do.


On another note, tomorrow I have an appointment with career services. I'm hoping to regain some excitement in this school thing. And, you know, life. Details will come when I know them!

Love to you all. I hope spring is popping up in your lives!

Happy Birthday, K!

Today's Best Quote: "I'm a big girl. I'm 20."

But I guess it's okay, 'cause she's gonna be the most loved special ed teacher in the state, I'm pretty sure.

I love you, sis. Thanks for sharing your childhood & entire wardrobe with me. And for always making laugh. And for not killing me that time I cut your hair. Even though I was only 5 and you were 3 and I asked you if it was okay and you said yes, so it should definitely not be considered entirely my fault.

Enjoy your third decade of life!

Happy Birthday!

To, um, Me!

(Today I turned 22, which my sister informed me is "very old." She's turning 20 in a few days, which, in case you were wondering, is just "old.")

Have a wonderful Tuesday! I'm going to lounge around and continue enjoying the benefits of the massage I got earlier today.

And then do some homework. But it's my birthday, so I'm going to pretend that part doesn't exist.

I Am All Kinds of Random

Today I celebrated an important part of adulthood I like to call Getting Excited About Cleaning Supplies. I bought a Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner AND a Swiffer WetJet today. Both on Sale. With coupons. And dudes, my Swiffer is RED. Heck yes. Plus the shower cleaner came with batteries even though it said it didn't. (Which is good, y'all, because I didn't think to buy batteries and I have not actually cleaned my shower the entire 7 months I've lived here. Until today. Cue gagging sounds.) And both of these products came with coupons for cleaning products, so next week I can finally clean my toilet! (Just kidding. I do that every couple of weeks. Err...and maybe actually tonight.)

This post was not intended to inform you all how nasty I am, but I guess two birds with one stone?

Am I the only person who experiences anxiety shopping in a store I'm not familiar with? I am loving living near a Target, but I will love it more when I have memorized the layout. My thoughts in no way resemble those of a rational person, but I'm all like People are watching me! I spend too much time looking at my list! I am so being judged for turning around in the middle of the aisle!

I need therapy. Oh, wait...

Block

I've got partially written posts sitting around as drafts. I've got a million and one ideas. But for whatever reason, I can't seem to actually write something and FINISH it. Writer's block? Emotional block?

I've been reading all of your blogs, commenting on some. I'm trying to think of all the things I want to do for me. Things that I had pushed aside or planned to just not do because I was making compromises for love. It's actually kind of hard to remember some of them. And I've changed, so a lot of things aren't even the same. I guess I'm rediscovering myself.

It's weird.

I think I've moved into the next stage of grief. Which happens to be Revenge. I'm not actually going to do anything...but a girl can dream, right? The problem here is that I don't think I've actually left the other two stages (Sad and Angry) yet, so I've got that pleasant emotional roller coaster thing going on. It's like junior high but instead of coming down from a crush I'm coming down from an engagement and by this point in my life I've made plans for my life that could actually happen instead of dreaming about how someday I'll be tall.

(Don't judge. Sometimes even an English major needs a break from the rules of grammar.)

Posts about stuff I actually did (vs my ramblings) coming soon. Not going to promise they'll be coherent, though.

P.S. Yes, I am still pouting about the superbowl. I heart my colts. *Tear.*

Men Who Have Never Broken My Heart

 Source

Almost enough to make being around a dead body worth it.

Source

I'm sick...cough, cough...

Source 

Oh, don't judge. He's my age; I looked it up. But every time I see him smile on Glee my heart flip-flops like I'm in jr. high again.

Help Haiti

I really have no words, so I'm just going to dive in. If you want to help, and you're not sure how, consider Craft Hope. You can donate or purchase item to/from their Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy shop. I just bought myself a cute little hand knit pouch. But the best part is that 100% of what I just paid for it (minus etsy fees) go to help Doctors Without Borders. Go look now!





(this isn't a link)

Blogging is Not An Entirely Different Universe

You know what it is, though? Strange.

My new thing lately has been home decorating blogs. I have no idea how long it will be until Fiance and I are in a place where we can use much creativity, but I find it all very exciting.

So I'm doing the blog-hop thing. Look at this blog, click a link, discover new blog. And I'm looking a pictures of this woman's family. Oh hey, that guy looks familiar. Know why?

HE'S IN MY CLASS.

I met him on Tuesday. Today I discovered his mom's blog. So I know how many siblings he has. I know that he looks just like his dad. I know what his wife looks like. I feel like a total creeper.

So it's advice time. Should I mention it to him and try not to sound like a stalker or should I pretend I never saw it and risk blabbing something about his personal life that he's never told me (and then really sound like a stalker)?

I'm thinking I should avoid "Hey, you were a cute kid!" or "Haha, your mom said 'shit' on the internet."

Help!



P.S. I know for sure that it's the same guy because his name was there, and his name is not something that's particularly common. Plus, you know, the fact that I saw like 15 pictures of him.

Oops?

"Would you like an extra shot [of espresso in my coffee] for Wired Wednesday? It's free."

Why the heck not? I don't turn down free stuff.

Except now I'm going to be awake until 2am. Which is no big deal until I need a nap tomorrow around 11 in the morning.

I Feel Like This

And it's only the second day of the semester.

(Life as a dog must be hard, huh?)

It's Probably A Trick of the Eyes

Carrot shavings...

Pasta cooking on the stove...

 You'd think there was some cooking going on in this apartment.

 

P.S. My college's "cooking 101" booklet explains how to make a sandwich. In case you were confused about which part goes in the middle.

Sad News

Last Wednesday, on December 30th, my Grandpa passed away. So...that's why I haven't been around. I'm happy that he's not in pain anymore (he's been sick for a long time) and that he's with Jesus, but it's been rough. After the viewing and the funeral, I spent time at Fiance's parents' house to recover a bit, so I forgot to post sooner. I start my spring semester on Monday, so I'm sure I'll have lots of fun stories to tell again soon.

I've missed you all!