Moment of suckage

I may have mentioned that my Matty (honey/husband) is going away to military training on my birthday (Sept.30th).
He graduated from college in May of this year and was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. in the Army. He has been Goldbarring (recruiting) at the college he attended until he could make it to BOLC II (Basic Officer Leadership Course). BOLC II training is located in Ft. Benning, Georgia. I will be moving down to Georgia at the end of the year. He will be attending several training schools after BOLC. His training schools won't be over until around summer of next year and then we head off to Vicenza, Italy!
Now Italy, I'm pretty excited about- Georgia not so much. Actually, I have nothing against Georgia, it's just the initial leaving my house, (we own it and put a great deal of time and effort into making it our own) leaving my friends and family, and leaving my way of life that is freaking me out.
I actually do pretty good with change and I am definately the type of person who tries to suck things up and not whine about them. I'm actually a pretty tough cookie if I don't say so myself but on the inside I have to admit there is a tiny part of me that is in an uproar over all the change.
Mainly, I don't want to be without my honey. There is that weak part of me that wants to throw myself around his ankles and scream, "DON'T GO HONEY!" :-( I feel like a bad wife, I know it's his dream, I know it's his job, I knew and have always known what we signed up for. I'm partially a military brat myself. I fully support him and his goals and I'm very proud of him and I want to be 10000% supportive but I'm having a moment of suckage here. I'm pretty much being selfish and whiny. Stay tuned tomorrow for something better than this; dude, I totally feel like I want to go buy something new or eat something...LOL.
No worries, I won't.

Got my ColorSwap Pkg!

Look at the cute earth tone themed packaging. Of course with my love of receiving things in the mail you can only imagine my excitement to receive a package on Saturday morning. Here is what was inside:


Sock Yarn! Chocolate! Beads! Buttons! Sock Help (Lord knows I needed those) Novelty Yarn! Soft Bijou Yarn!



Could I use this for that anthropology inspired shrug? I've been wanting to knit it for some time but couldn't decide on a yarn. This may be a winner. It has little flecks of gold in it and I have a broach that will set this baby off perfect if I do make the shrug...things that make you go HMMMMMMMM..... You can see my very bountiful bag of glass beads in the background ever so slightly; I can make about a ton of stitch markers with all of those. It will give me plenty of opportunity to get better at it, I'm still chuckling at the sight and drama it took me to make my very first ones (lol sorry Anne you were my guinea pig!)


Now looka here...I know I shouldn't have this stuff in the house- I'm begging for trouble but look. Those raisinets have less fat in them and dark chocolate is actually good for us now. Surely these treats in moderation won't be the end of me! Abigail you've spoiled me girl. That dark chocolate was the best I've ever tasted (promise I only had a tiny bit)
Thank you so much Abigail. It was a blast colorswapping with you. August went by so quick but surely we'll be seeing each other around the blogosphere and of course we'll keep in touch! Thanks for all the wonderful treats!

O Happy Day...

Oh happy daaaa-e-yay....when Jesus washed
(choir sings softly) ....when Jesus waaaaashed
He washed my sins away
I'm talkin' 'bout a happy day!

.....What? Have you never seen Sister Act?

It does seem that whenever I'm in a good mood or something good happens I end up busting out in song.
Today, I got at the very least a pound of alpaca in the mail from Kristin. I won a little contest she was having over at her blog last week. Now mind you I don't have a wheel or any of that jazz but I do have a drop spindle that I have been "GETTIN' IT" on whenever I have the chance. It will take me many moons to work a whole pound of soft luxurious alpaca out on the spindle but ask me if I care....
See, see my alpaca?
I've never known a love like this. It is sooooooooooo soft.
Iono, I might just have to take a spinning lesson or two. O, and it's smells REALLY good- really good. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Thank you Kristin. You have given me a happy day; especially after interval cardio training and pop squats! :-(

Apparently, I'ma sock knitting pimp....

I not only turned the heel I finished the sock!
I have to admit it was touch and go there for a minute but the short row heal came out pretty good.
As you can see this is just a little footie type sock so I only knit 1 inch of ribbing. I love the length and theY fit like a dream. The only problem is that it's a little tight to get into. I may have to rework the bind off in larger needles. The good thing is that now that I've knit one I am fully confident I can do the other and make improvements- I feel like I know what I'm doing now! :-)
Since this sock didn't have much ribbing I actually had quite a bit of my one skein of Lorna's left. I'll see how much it takes to knit the 2nd sock but this might be the case where I can knit two pair from these two skeins. How awesome would that be...I mean, with all my trying on of the sock I came to like it quite a bit...why not have a pair for myself? ;-)

BTW, I LOVE knitting from the toe up. I did it!
(Better pic when I can get hubby to shoot some for me. I took others but they were all awkward looking...)

Will I be able to turn the heel? I'm kinda nervous....

Reading blogs and surfing the knitting net can be a very dangerous thing. My stash is already somewhat out of control. So much so that my honey says to me the other day, “Don’t you think you’re getting a little obsessive with the yarn?”
I simply said “yes” and kept trucking. Of course the thing that comforts me is that my yarn stash is not nearly as bad as everybody elses. That’s what I tell myself at least.
Anyway, when I bought some sock yarn for my color swap partner the other day, of course I had to buy myself a couple of things…all sock yarn (whis is a laugh considering I haven’t even completed my first sock yet- I’m not even sure if I will! Of course I will eventually-think positive)
Anyhoo, it was all on sale, how could I resist and surely I’ll have the process down in enough time to knit a couple pairs for Christmas (mind you this is how all bad stuff starts for me).
I mean when my honey leaves for camp (which he's leaving on my birthday but I won't even go there right now) I’ll have lots of time to devote to knitting in the evenings...right?
Anyway, I wrote a song about it…here it go

description: Regia cotton sock yarn; I really liked the colors- I know it's just black and white but I like it like that

description: Lorna's Laces Superwash Wool; again I liked the colors (105 Glenwood) and it was sooooo soft and it's Lorna's Laces on sale! These will be some funky socks..(errrr, in look not in smell)

description: Fleece ArtistWool Sock yarn; color- midnight
this stuff feels like a dream

Now I have an official sock stash.
So including these, the sockatta yarn I never used and my current lorna’s laces project that should be 6, yes SIX pairs of socks that should be showing up on this baby one day soon.
The only other problem is that I know that I will binge again. I have been torturing myself looking at these yarns for weeks now.
I love the Kill Bill variegated yarn for myself (I guess I'd make socks with it-lol), the dragonfly colorway for michele’s scarf (for Christmas), and I can’t seem to decide if I’ll eventually buy the afterglow, angel, libertine, berry or velvet underground to knit the razor cami out of---who am I kidding? I want them ALL. I'd order every yarn in every colorway if I could. I think I need help.

This morning me and my honey got up and ran together again. We ran 2 miles and I ran it in 23 minutes and 9 seconds. That’s a little more than 11 1/2 minutes a mile. I know for some of y’all that is chump change but to me I feel really good over it. I believe when I first started running it was almost 15 minutes for a mile.
I have to admit I’ve been worried about this competition because I’ve been on the diet for almost 4 weeks and haven’t seen much change—well actually I believe I’ve lost 10 pounds which wouldn’t be bad at all by typical standards but I am busting my tail to cut. I have 11 weeks and I’m fearing I won’t make it. I didn’t stick to my diet hard core last week either so I feel like I wasted precious time recouping mentally from the weigh in from the previous week.
Nevertheless, I’ve been getting comments on the progress that I’m making and I’m feeling more and more committed and strong each day. I am interested in what my body fat is because I do feel and look a lot leaner than before. My body is looking more slender (YAY!) and yesterday some girls at the gym mentioned how much I seem to be leaning out. That came at the perfect time because just earlier in the day I was lamenting to Tina about how if something major didn’t change with my body in September I was going to FREAK OUT!!!
Anyway don’t you know those girls' words rang in my head and pushed me further this morning when the run got a little tough for me. Good stuff....
I’m on my way!
BTW in knitting news: I sent out my ColorSwap package for August. I know- I’m cutting it extremely close huh? I had to admit there were a couple of items I almost kept for myself but I fought the selfish monster down and mailed the package. Now I’m excited to see how my partner likes it all! HURRY UP AND GET THERE ALREADY!!!!!

Here is the "finished" product for the MaryJanes. I say "finished" because I am still lacking the little buttons to really put this baby to rest.
Anyway, there you have it. One Christmas gift down, 20 more to go. At this rate the odds aren't looking so good!
Nevertheless, I did start this project. It's my first attempt at entreloc and I am really enjoying it. I got the pattern off of knitty.com. It is the Danica scarf. What fun, it hasn't gotten boring yet. I am using Lion Brands Cashmere Blend yarn. It's knitting up ok. Not nearly as beautiful as the Debbie Bliss obviously but still very suitable. I'm not mad at you Lion Brand...do your thing.

I've also got this little Christmas gift going as well. I don't know if it is a keeper yet honestly.The yarn is Lorna's laces; Bittersweet colorway,I think. This is my first pair of socks. I'm sure that you all recall the one start I had on a rather pathetic pair of socks with the sockatta yarn.Well, I'm at it again and I will get this down. I WILL DO THIS!!! As you can see I used my ball winder and I have a neat little couple of balls there. It's almost ridiculous how much I use that thing at this point! That was a $60 well spent. I'm working the socks from the toe up btw. I'm using these little itty bitty needles (size 1; on Pony Pearls per my sisters advice). I've actually knit and ripped these things about ten times already- my first attempts were at short row toe ups, then I cast on for a cuff down pair and didn't like the way it was looking, so then I switched back to the toe up and figured I'd do the same toe I did for the mary janes just with a starting 15 wraps (30 stitches) and work my way up to 72 (since my gauge is 8.5 per inch). I'm researching what I need to do once I reach my instep. This is all I've got so far and I'm pleased with it. I probably won't rip this out but once I get to the gusset I will be inserting a lifeline thank you very much.
I finished crocheting this little blanket (while getting my hair braided for 6 hours last Saturday; y'all know that takes forever; so I brought along my project) and amazingly I was even motivated enough to get it sent out in the mail. Isn't it cute? These pictures are before I weaved in the ends. The pattern is from Leisure Arts Sweet Baby blankets. It's called Crisscross because you crisscross all the little double crochets and make a cute little design like so>>
I used Lion Brand sports weight acrylic yarn. I used this yarn because I've had it in my stash forever (since my first nephew was born- I had originally intended to make a blanket for him out of it) and because it was cheap, and because the couple that I am sending the blanket to are hardcore vegans and do not condone any product or by product that comes from an animal. I don't know why but vegetarians and vegans are so interesting to me. I can not grasp not eating meat but I have a strange respect for non meat eaters. Maybe b/c on the inside i just can't imagine having that much self restraint or strong beliefs about not eating meat. Peoples different reasons vary from the practical to the political too and that is always interesting to hear about. Anyway, I had to really look around and make sure the "ingredients" in the yarn were ok, I guess I could have gone with cotton but I had the acrylic and it was good so I did it.

Another drive by!
I finally sent out the yarn to my Boomerang ghetto yarn pack winner! (lol). My package delivery guy says it will be there by Thursday Ms. Pinki!
On the other hand I went to mail my other package to Russia and was told it would cost me $191.00 UMMM!!?
I'll check out what rates the post office has going on there. I'll get it to you some way, some how Blackpurl. It's packaged up all nice and pretty like fo ya! :-) Updates to come...

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!

This will be a drive by posting until I actually have time to put something proper up here but I just had to.

MY SECRET SISTAH FRIEND PIMPED MY STASH!
I had already received one awesome box of goodies from my sistah when our exchange first started as you all can remember from my post a bit ago. She sent me my very first stash of sewing material too which I hold near and dear to my heart though I've yet to make anything using my sewing machine. Then she sent me little notes in the mail that totally would make my day on those random blah days we all seem to have. Never failed, on those days my secret sistah would drop me a message or I'd get a little note in the mail. Well yesterday I was just thinking, "I wonder if I should post a message on the sistah friends site pleading for the identity of my sistah who had made my first exchange experience so fun and enjoyable."
Wouldn't you know it, I open my e-mail and there is a gift certificate to KNIT HAPPENS from none other than my secret sistah! I don't know if it's uncouth to shout out the certificate amount but let me just say "you outdid yourself sistah, Thank you so much. I really appreciate it from the bottom, center, top, left, and right of my heart. :-)" I did the happy dance at work!
I am so grateful. I've got a billion ideas of what I want to buy and wouldn't you know this weekend they are having a sale on the whole store...am I in heaven? Is this what it will be like?
Thank you, thank you again. So much.

I'm just going to show you everything. I'm coming clean little by little.
This is what I got at Knitting Up a Storm by the way ( along w/ the Noro of course)....the stash has been greatly enhanced.

What? You can't tell how many skeins of Debbie Bliss I actually bought? Good. I like it that way. DON'T JUDGE ME!! :-) It was all on sale so I couldn't resist; for instance you see the $5.95 tag on the tweed? already a good price right? take not 20, 30, but 40% off- ...BTW, if you're ever in South Carolina I highly suggest stopping into Knitting Up a storm. The folks are extra friendly there and they have a great selection, fair pricing, good customer service, and a nice neat shop. My little sales lady even threw in these lovely samples after I asked a few questions about the products.
I like the idea of showing a representive skein. You know, the one skein that sits out to show people what the one million other skeins you bought the same day looks like. Somehow, I feel less guilty that way. Notice that none of these are the yarns I listed a couple of weeks ago on the shopping list:-( This is a sad fact yet lord knows I can't wait to shop for more.
Anyways, if seeing stash or seeing yarn makes you happy I'm thinking I am going to go on a stash flashing spree for a bit. Besides, there seems to be a few folks out there that can't be convinced that I am not totally a ghetto knitter. I believe some people even mentioned that maybe i should be the queen of my own "ghetto knitters" blog ring. I mean a gal might want to save a couple pennies sometime but sheesh, do I have to be "queen ghetto knit blogring hostess?"
Well. I guess we'll see about that.

I don't know if I told you but I decided to do a bodybuilding show. Actually, I'll be competing in the Fitness/Figure category (which is a little softer than female bodybuilding). I'm pretty excited and I have to admit that I have been extremely caught off guard by all the support and encouragement I've received from everybody. I don't know why I always expect to hear the worse from people. I was sure that everyone would say or at least think, "there's no way you can do that." I know that is bad to admit but I can't be the only one that thinks that way sometimes.
On the other hand I wonder why I am so surprised. Am I not the first one to usually support and cheer and encourage others on? Doesn't it make me the happiest to see people I love and care about acheive their goals or accomplish their dreams? Am I not usually my friends and family's biggest advocate? Why should I expect anything less from everyone else? Everyone I know and cherish personally is wonderful...shame on me for not knowing they would be supportive.
Most likely my apprehension and Negative Nancy-ness stems from my own insecurities and fears. Yes, I'm afraid that I won't cut the weight in time. Absolutely, I'm afraid that I may faulter or not acheive what I set out to do due to some craziness on my own behalf. Still, none of these fears can stop me from at least trying or at least reaching.
I'm about to get real personal with you guys over these next months, so beware. The competition is November 18th

I went on vacation to Myrtle beach, South Carolina. I know some of y'all are probably saying, "didn't you just come back from Hawaii?" Yup sure did, you can never have too much vacation though.
I went to Knitting up a Storm with my sister while I was down there. We had a blast and she taught me how to do the cast on for these.
Yes that is Noro but no it is not the Noro that I pictured ages ago that my sister gifted to me. It's new Noro that I bought at Knitting up a storm along with this Noro( no Janet your eyes are not deceiving you, the stuff below is not the stuff I bought with you, I actually went back the next day and got this and the tweed that I put back when I was with you but the mary janes pictured above are from the yarn we bought together;I know really bad but true.)
So now I'm working with 6 skeins (well actually 4ish since I'm actually making the one pair of Mary Janes) of Noro wool in my stash. I love that stuff. It is so beautiful, artistic even.
The set pictured above are a Christmas gift. I think I will knit one more set for another gift and then eventually a set for me--it's really easy now that I know how to cast on for it, then again I haven't done any of the finishing but the the finishing is crochet and if I don't say so myself I'm pretty beast at crochet...anyway, I've actually bought a lot of yarn but I just haven't been showing it off. I am in the mists of consolidating my stash, getting rid of the stuff I've had since I was a little girl and organizing it all. I will try to take more pics of what I've got as the process goes on. Before I went on vacation I did order my ball winder and swift. Today for the first time. I rolled my own balls of yarn with them. I had some lovely Lorna's laces Bullfrogs and butterflies (wool/mohair blend) in my stash that I balled up. This stuff was an impulse buy long ago because I love wool and the colors were just so beautiful. I have 380 yds of it so if y'all have any suggestions feel free to tell me. I've actually been thinking of doing a blanket with this yarn as the focal point in the middle and some other yarn as borders. Don't totally know about that though so ... Do tell.
O yeah, can you believe that there is another black purl who has a biracial family and is living in California-AND she knits? What are the odds? Can we say twilight zone, well at least for my sister that is. Anyway, I have some yarn on it's way to you if you're reading. Its some cheapy stuff that I've been carrying around for ages but haven't used. I hope this helps you with your charity work. I have it packaged up and ready to mail to you this week so look for it next week. I'm sure I'll blog about when I've mailed it off.

Man, I have pretty much fallen off the earth this past week. I have gotten a lot done though. I sent both of my pals packages (secret sistah friend and my colorswap partner). Since my color swap partner is close by she should get her package tomorrow. My Californian sistah friend wasn't slated to get hers until Thursday.
All of this is no secret because I am the worse at keeping any. The first night I made contact with Anne, my name was splashed all over the email even though I called myself keeping it anonymous...whatever!
I got my package LAST WEEK from my color swap pal. I will post up all the wonderful things she sent me later on tonight(I'm at work right now.) My package was spectacular! She sent me nerd ropes; my husband LOVES those things. He very much appreciated them-ha!
She sent me this beautiful purple GGH touche yarn. It's velour and it is SOOOOOO soft. I've got to make something out of this immediately! I just want to have it around to drag over my skin when I'm having a bad day....um so yeah, moving on....
She sent me this really cute little black doll stuffed with hair bands; I love her. She is too cute and I needed the hair bands b/c I go thru them like crazy with me going to the gym all the time and I've gotta keep my hair or braids off of me or it will drive me insane.
She also sent me a purple Nike hat that I can run in. When I get back from vacation August 2nd my new running program begins Aug.3! You best believe I got a pair of shoes to match it too. You know a sistah's gotta look cute.
Have a look, my colorswapper made me tons of these snazzy beaded bracelets. They are too cute. THANK YOU SO MUCH- I LOVED EVERYTHING. Check me out, "You gotta cooorrdinate...."
Answer me this, if you can tell me what movie that line is from I will give you this yarn. It is 4 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun in the color 370 Coral Gables; all the same dye lot number. I will pay shipping and all.


Since the line is slightly vague I will give you a hint: Mushroom coat and mushroom belt.

I actually still haven't finished a single project that I've posted on here but I have started new ones. I decided that it was important for me to knit some thing for all my friends that i love and care about before we move on to Italy in a year or so. I've started to knit some Christmas gifts and plan what I'll be knitting folks for Christmas. If any of "the fam" is reading then realize your getting something knitted as a gift!
Also realize that this is a big deal. Those knitted gifts contain minutes/hours/days dedicated to you, sometimes prayed for you, or just spent thinking about your or being a person committed to loving you. KNITTED GIFT = LOVE. So appreciate it and don't hurt my feelings, you freaks!:-)
I've been knitting this one particular hat for about a decade now because it includes intarsia that I designed and I keep screwing it up. Of course I only realized how badly I've screwed it up this last time by the time I was more than halfway done with the thing! Anyway, I'm ripping it back for the third or fourth time to better days before the inartsia and trying the chart again...if it doesn't go well this time I may just FREAK OUT. Wish me luck.
I also started a snazzy intreloc scarf for another friend- it's actually pretty fun. It's like a little puzzle! You're only working 10 stiches at a time so it's not very intimidating. The directions can be a little confusing sometimes but I actually feel pretty good about this one.
Soon I'll be starting some of those Neka bags for some of the girls only I plan to use wool and felt them. Maybe some Noro is in order!
Speaking of new yarn; there seems to be a few different yarns on the list for me to buy. Capital Yarns actually sent me an email saying they are having a blow out sale complete with chocolate fountain... I'll be looking for the following...I'll let y'all know how that whole things goes

1. Alchemy Bamboo yarn- in purple hues
2. Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb - in purples or vibrant greens
3. Fiesta La Luz Multi- in same colors as above
4. 2 balls Lion Brand cashmere blend in gray
5. Noro in any colorway I like because it's just awesome like that

Now I know this looks like an expensive list but keep in mind that I will only need one skein each aside from item number 4, plus most likely I won't buy them all this weekend...all of them are for Christmas gifts. I may look at some Rowan cotton too. I might just order it from Knit Happens since it's featured this week. Who knows
I'll be in touch. Adios, peeps!

I’ve been thinking and apparently that’s dangerous.
Actually, I think about EVERYTHING- I’ve been accused of thinking too much a couple of times. Whatever, it’s me. It’s who I am.
I feel like I’ve been sabotaging myself for the past few weeks eating wise. I wouldn’t say I’ve been going buck nutty but I haven’t been sticking to the plan. I realize that I’ve been doing this for so long that I may have lapses but I’ve had the I don’t care self destruct attitude for a bit now. My inner dialogue has definitely been like, “Man, I work out ALL THE TIME, I’m freaking tired of not being able to eat what I want. It’s not like I want to gorge myself but frick I’d like to have desert or some ice cream or even and apple or some random fruit that amazingly isn’t on the program here and there.”
I have to admit I’ve almost been a whiny little child on the inside, (doing the whole “this isn’t fair” thing) and I’ve been fighting myself….
I also realized that I keep planning and wanting to do this personal training thing- it’s a goal and a desire of mine but I’m not making it happen and it is in my realm of possibility to make it happen. I control that and I keep putting it off, making excuses, making start dates or deadlines instead of just doing it. My friend and some of my friends at the gym have done some bodybuilding competitions and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do; something I probably appreciate and have a passion for more than any of them but I keep sitting on the sidelines and living my life vicariously thru them—being the supportive friend when I really wish it were me accomplishing those things for myself.
I wonder if we are all really that smart (or dumb depending on how you look at it) as to were our subconscious has such a big effect on the motives for which we do or don’t do things. Am I afraid to reach my goals? Could I be avoiding having to hold myself to a higher standard or actually do all the things I promised myself I would do when I lost the weight? Honestly, I have always believed that everyone’s potential in the world is so great…we could all be the most amazing versions of ourselves living to the optimum ability to what God intended for us; I love it when people excel and do great things- am I secretly afraid to live up to my own potential? On the inside I feel like I could do anything but other things cloud that confidence. Could I be apprehensive to living up to the …”deals” I’ve made with my husband? Is the concern for what others might think about me if I fail or when I succeed peeping thru my subconscious?
I made the decision last summer to start losing the weight and I’ve done an alright job but I can do better. I’ve made some decisions about myself. I’m not going to be obsessive about this whole thing but I am going to finish this, I coulda been done already – the exercise is fun and it’s the “easy” part for me. FOOD, Lord have mercy, it’s an issue.

My secret sistah friend is just awesome...she sent me a nifty little note in the mail. Now I have a clue about her....She's from Cincinnati (according to the postage). I may be able to narrow things down. She asked me about some things I like and I really have to think about that.
I know that she meant knitting/yarn related but it got me thinking. I watch Oprah all the time and you know how every year she has her favorite things list? I thought wouldn't it be cool to comprise a Nina's most favorite things list? So going from the Oprah tradition the only things on this list will be things I've tried or things I have that I own and love. A lot of them actually are knitting related because it's an extreme hobby of mine but others are just things I love...maybe in the future I will make a long to love list, as in the items that I long to love but probably never will because they are way too expensive; as it would have it already some of these items are WAY over in the luxury category and are not regular occurences in my own life (probably not an issue with oprah) Anyway, below is my top 50 Favorite things and no they are not in any particular order. By the way I love making list...I'm surprised I haven't done any of this prior

Nina's Favorite things

1. Banana Laffy Taffy
2. Banana Runts
3. My pink Ipod mini
4. Gold's gym - The gym is awesome, it has a mechanical rock climbing wall, a physical rehad center, a mini spa (facials/massages), and tanning bed. The classes there are awesome and free except for the Reformer Pilates class and most of all the people there are friendly and fun and welcoming at my gym. I've made some peeps there...
5. Victoria's Secret Full Coverage Ipex Bras
6. Victoria's Secrete Shock Absorber Sports Bra
7. Sneakers in general but in particular Nike Shox
8. Alchemy Bamboo Yarn
9. Lion Brand Cashmere Blend Yarn
10. Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Yarn
11. Target
12. Food Network
13. Rachel Ray- yes I subscribe to her magazine, YUMMO! I also like Sandra Lee's semi- homemade style and the Iron Chef
14. Cookbooks- I actually kind of collect them (at least that is what I'm calling it since I’ve acquired so many)
15. Bulky yarns-wool in particular (even though I’m "big boned" and people say never knit with bulky if you're carrying a few extra pounds, I don’t care. I like bulky)
16. Funky knitting needles- I actually have those Joanns sparkle/glitter straight needles, I saw those new lite brite needles and would like to have them but these needles are actually on their way to my house this very minute. Snazzy!
17. Pretty or fun or cute paper stationary
18. Journals- here’s an example of the last ones I bought as gifts (if you know me and receive a gift from at some point in life you will receive a journal from me because I just love them that much and think they are a practical gift for every person)
19. Coconut, pina colada, and Hawaiian scented and flavored drinks, perfume, body spray, body lotion, gum, lolly pops, pretty much anything that carries the scent and flavor- you can call it an obsession.
20. Things with my name or initials on them. – You know how when your on vacation and looking in the souvenier shops for gifts and they always have keychains ors shot glasses w/ your name on them…for some reason it rare that my name is there and it really does bug me…it not the serious and it shouldn’t but it really gets to me!
21. Shoes- I don’t discriminate but there is a special place in my heart for boots.
22. Purses- I like to coordinate and I like cute stuff, I have many knitting bags too.
23. Muscle and Fitness Hers Magazine (it's been thru a lot of changes over the years but i just can't let go, it's a good fitness publication) and Oxygen Magazine
24. IKEA
25. Pier 1
26. Direct TV- I love having Tivo and now that I have it I will NEVER go back to basic cable or to Comcast for that matter. DOWN WITH COMCAST!!!!!
27. PHO- Pho Saigon in my area in particular w/ the fresh spring rolls and peanut sauce-holler at your gurl, they are scrumptous!
28. Mexican Food- El Charro or Mateo's especially
29. Arnold Schwarzenegger- Don’t laugh! I’ve seen pretty much every movie he’s ever made and when I was little I was going to marry him. It’s such a shame because I hear he is or use to be a huge egotistic maniacal jerk…:-(
30. Taylors of Harrogate Black Currant Tea- I love herbal and green as well but for some reason I LOVED this little english black breakfast tea. Mmmmm, Mmmmm- this is good stuff; I've had it every time I go to tea at the Ritz. I liked it so much I did an online search to get me some of that thur tea when I couldn’t find it in the stores.
31. The Color Purple; seen the movie more times than I can count, read the book a couple times and just recently was given a hardcover copy as a gift. My hubby gave me the best Christmas present ever when he took me to see it on Broadway in NYC this past January.
32. Knit.1 magazine and Vogue Knitting magazine; I love looking at Rowan and Cedifra (sp) and Rebecca too.
33. MySpace-I love myspace it keeps me connected with all my peeps and I always feel special when I have a new comment or message-love love love
34. Oprah
35. Mail - I love receiving mail and packages; it makes me feel special and it’s so special because people really have to make and effort and think about you to send you a note or something in the mail these days. I’ve always love receiving mail- Bills get irritating to pay but I don’t mind receiving them in the mail w/ my name on them and all. It kinda feels good. (I love getting email too)
36. Church- I love going to church (except it being early in the morning)- Don’t get freaked out by the top picture it I think that was after some type of church production or something. We aren’t like WACO worshipers or drinking rattlesnake venom or anything. It’s a normal church with normal folks.
37. Massages, manicures, pedicures, or getting my hair or eyebrows done- most of the time its’ not as expensive as you would think – actually if you’re getting a weave it’s expensive but otherwise, No- Plus, it makes me feel like a diva and I feel better and more put together about myself too.
38. Alias - I actually started watching this show (thanks to TNT reruns) probably about a year a go and I am finally caught up to the last season so I can’t wait to see how it all ends.
39. Gelati's- it's a wonderful combination of Italian ice and soft serve ice cream/custard. You guessed it I usually get vanilla ice cream with either pina colada or mango flavored italian ice or a combo.
40. Ice cream- Coldstone or Ben and Jerry's is my favorite; in New Mexico they have this place called Caliche's...it is THE best. Mmmmmmh!
41. Bookstores or Libraries. I just enjoy being in the presence of books and in that atmosphere. Weird I know, yet true. I could say the same for yarn stores. My husband says I'm a grandma...
42. Santoku knives- I use to watch Rachel Ray just slices thru things like nobodies business on 30-minute meals and asked for one for Christmas. I think she uses her own trademark type Furi Santoku knife now but I bought mine back in the day and it's the best knife I own. Better than Cutco.
43. Avocado
44. Nuts- Do I dare to say that I've never met a nut I didn't like-lol? Truly I love pistachios, cashews, peeeecans, walnuts, macadamias, peanuts, etc etc etc
45. Workout clothes- obviously I just love clothing but I love to coordinate and look cute for the gym; it is a part of who I am.
46.VX Golds Gym treadmill
47. Black cinema - Movies like, I'm gone git you sucka, hollywood shuffle, and the Last dragon
48. Old Kung Fu movies with the whack sound effects- these movies have the coolest fight scenes and they actually have quite a bit of humor in them.
49. 50" Flat screen plasma- this thing is awesome. I know a big television is typically a man thing but I LOVE IT, especially to use in conjunction with my Tivo.
50. Cotton Candy

This is pretty much the only post for this week. Sure has been a lot of fun but a lot of effort! It kind of ended up being my favorite things, activities, and people but what ever...it's MY list and I can do what I want! :-) When I think about it, it's a crazy amount of effort put in for just 3 people to read. Maybe I will post up on my sistafriends to check it out....:-)

I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th. I certainly did. My office closed @ 2:00 on Friday and today is my first day back at work. Love it love it love it!
On Saturday, I got up and went four wheelin' with my hubby, BIL, and BIL's girlfriend.It was an awesome time. My honey actually taught me how to use the dirtbike and I got into 3rd gear. It was awesome. I always thought I wanted an motorcycle but now I KNOW it. I will actually be taking a motorcycle course some time this month (hubby already has a motorcycle). I can't wait really. Sunday we skipped church AGAIN :-( and snuggled. We went shopping a little later and then I relaxed during the evening while my honey visited with the fam. Monday, we cleaned for a bit but then my honey went with me to the yarn store. I also got the the most awesome bra's and underwear from Victoria's Secret. I tell you women of the world...these are the most comfortable bras I've ever owned. It's the full coverage IPEX bra. I will never go back! And the thing is, right before we went to Hawaii I had bought what I thought to be decent bras from Maidenform. I even had the twins measured to ensure accuracy ( I actually saw Oprah's bra and jean revolution and knew that I was one of the over 80% that was wearing an ill fitting bra).
I also bought one of Victoria's Secrets new sports bra's, it's called the ShockAbsorber. I. LOVE. IT. It is THE BEST sports bra I have ever owned. I am not a small chested (I'm not Pam Anderson either) woman and I can run without pain in this baby yet it is light and flexible and it doesn't cut in or leave makes; the straps are gentle (they are luxurious on the IPEX bras, BTW). It does not even have underwire in it and I do not bounce and swish all over the place in it. The sports bra cost me $40. I have never paid that much for a sports bra but ladies for this kind of comfort I would pay $100. I feel like a new woman...
I promise I will get to the acrylic yarn pics soon. Where does the time go?

I don't mind using Lion Brand yarn and other less than...natural yarns-really. I mean I'll probably be buying some of that sugar n cream cotton soon. And as a matter of fact I think every project I've posted up here thus far(except for the socks and maryjanes) has been Lion Brand yarn. I'll be keeping my far share of ghetto yarn. Shoot, I am not ashamed...DON'T JUDGE ME!!!
Nevertheless, I am getting rid of a massive amount of acrylic yarn from days were I simply just did not know what was out there and available. If anyone is interested in cream, teal, red, country blue, coral homespun, baby blue, purple etc etc acrylic yarn please hit me up and I will gladly send it to you FOR FREE. If no one is interested but knows of some nice charity that I could donate this yarn to before I send it over to ACTS or throw it away please let me know. I just want it out of my hair! I will take some pics of this stuff so y'all will have a better idea of what I'm working with.

I looked down at my toes today and smiled.
I got a manicure and a pedicure on Saturday. I always do a little something funky with my nails....it's just my personal taste. Anyway I guess with the 4th of July and me just plain feeling better about myself I elected to paint my toenails red.
For some reason this morning, even though it was raining, I chose to wear my snazzy flip flops with this cute pant outfit. I keep a heater under my desk for unwise decisions such as wearing flips on a wet day in a cool temperature office, so this morning when I went to turn the heater on my toes hit me as funny.
I remembered when I was a little girl and my mother (who liked to look good- she was fierce) would be painting her nails/toes; I'd want mine done too but I was never allowed to wear red because it was too grown. As a matter of fact most everyone in my family (womanwise) would warn of red's fast behind ways with that "you ain't grown look on their face." Even when I turned 13 and lived with my grandmother we'd be at Jamesway looking at wet n' wild lipstick and nail polish and grandma would remind me to avoid the red.
This morning I looked at my toes and smiled...those are good memories