Christmas pics

Last night we went out to dinner. Here is Lily on her way out the door.

Here is Lily at dinner with Daddy. Note the addition of the "Christmas Elmo."

And here is Lily with Christmas morning present #1. A wood and magnet shapes book that was very very popular.

Here is Lily modeling a selection of the presents from Lulu and Mackie. Note that this big girl can put her own socks on.

This was the present from Dana, Lily's daycare provider. Daddy drew the elmo, just so you know. But Lily drew the circles. Lily has gone for a nap now, taking with her one of her many new picture books. I'll let you know how the rest of the day goes.

Secrets (No Knitting Content)

Just to be clear, I feel I should state my policy on secrets. There was a scene on sports night once, where the boss was mad because something he had told lady A (played by the then unknown felicity huffman) had gotten around the office. Lady A defended herself by saying that she had only told her assistant, Lady B. Lady B defended herself by saying that she had only told her boyfriend (played by the dreamy... wait, let me imdb him... wait, is it weird that I find him dreamy? But he plays smart so well. And funny! Joshua Malina, that's his name. Been in tons of stuff. Know him anywhere, just obviously not by name). The boyfriend said "I told many, many people." Let's just say I fall into that last category. Any information that you impart to me that is in any way significant, I will immediately impart to the pants, and definitely Lily, and probably the daycare lady. Discretion, not really one of my better parts. Now that I think on it, not actually one of my parts. Just wanted to clear that up.

Have I told you all of Lily's new habit when going to bed? Instead of sleeping with a stuffed animal, we leave the hall light on for her and she looks through picture books until she falls asleep. And then we creep in and put the books on the chair. Very sweet, very cute.

The Christmas Crush

Usually I am the most on top of Christmas person ever. At least I feel that way. Months before hand I have ideas on what to get and make for people and am ready for the Christmas season in style. This year has really seemed like a lot of work. It is my first Christmas with a two year old, and my first Christmas dealing with the shipping window, and my first christmas with allergies. How did I grow up in the South without allergies, only to move to the desert and have allergy problems in freaking December? Clearly, I need some botany lessons. And some cookies. Having missed today at work due to the aforementioned allergies, I have also thus far abstained from the making of the traditional Christmas cookies for the obligatory office cookie exchange, as I did not think anyone needed my special brand of contagion flaked surprise. The pants has run out even now to buy a sufficient quantity of the latest in cookie technology, where you place the little blocks on the cookie sheet and voila, cookies. But, he has been instructed, not to buy the pre-shaped cookies that allow you to ice chocolate chip cookies. We are not totally licentious sybarites. We have some traditional values. This IS a weird Christmas, though. Friday we're driving up to Las Vegas again to see Jeremy's brother and have a pretty quiet and small Christmas. Then I have the week after Christmas off, so I foresee lots of trips to the park, and maybe a few judicious trips to the movies, while certain daycare services are partaken of... No doubt about it, Best Christmas Ever!

Picture Heavy - Christmas Knitting - Don't Tell Amy!

First of all, here is the christmas tree photo I promised last time. The "star" is a bow, the ornaments are cardstock gift tags and the two garlands were in the dollar bin. And, the best part is, it won't break if Lily gets a hold of it.

Let's see, been doing lots of christmas knitting, and a little christmas shopping. I finished my first knitted stuffed animal! And it looks... okay! If nothing like the photo with the pattern. I do not blame the pattern designer. I used totally different needles and yarn, and my bunny still turned out recognizably (insert proper bunny adjective here). No more delay, here's the bunny, who is destined for lily, who will not in the near future scoff at my nascent bunny face embroidering skills. Here are the results of my christmas shopping. The sign at JoAnn said they were 50% off, but they were not, but they were plastic and glittery and I had to make them mine... Note the progression with the tiny fingers at the bottom of the picture.

and then...

Don't worry, anybody. She didn't get far. Also, note my favorite christmas ornament ever there at the top of the frame. It's pink, it's felt, it has rhinestones and it cost a dollar!

My only other Christmas knitting finished object is also a stuffed animal, though a rather unusual one. It's for my sister in law Amy who is a nurse practitioner. Hopefully she will recognize it, and also, not think it is too weird. Everybody at work thought the knitted digestive system was weird. (Just in case you follow that link, be sure to also check out the crafty section as her pirate gansey is not to be missed.) This little softie below also needs a name.

Jeremy has just about finished up school and we are, relatively speaking, winding down for the year. We don't have any big plans to go anywhere for a change (though we always welcome visitors). Just be warned. If you don't give me a Christmas list, I'm knitting you whatever I feel like. So if you don't want the knitted digestive tract (wouldn't it make the COOLEST science fair project?) you better let me know something in a jiffy. And here is one last photo to memorialize a good day we had when Lily's auntie Genny came to visit and we went shoe shopping. Here is Lily afterwards.

I'll sign off with a hearty Happy Holidays! it's fun, and it ticks off Bill O'Reilly! Tell everyone.

Pictures Coming Soon

Finally got my goodies from knitpicks. They were awesome as promised, but just so you know the extra speedy shipping would be SO worth it. What with the move and everything that's been going on lately, I started my christmas knitting, last week. But I only have to have one pair of socks finished by christmas. the other two projects can be mailed any old time. Tonight at target I discovered the most awesome product. They're batman shoe charms and they're 6 for 2.99 and they make really awesome stitchmarkers! who doesn't want a little more batman in their knitting? I don't know where in the store they keep them. I found mine discarded by the checkout aisle. I also finally sent out the christmas lists for the family and am slowly getting back in the christmas lists for the family. We're really anal about it in my family. We got our first family christmas tree today! Decorations and all for under $20. I'll tell you my secrets when we post pictures. And just as a hint for anybody wrapping presents for my daughter. You know those falls of curly ribbon? She is fascinated by them. What else? My plan for yarn from work seems to be going well. More on that later.

Where Have I Been?

Lots going on. Just wanted to post a couple of pictures and be done in time to watch the daily show (or TDS as it's known in the left leaning blogosphere). I just ordered some goodies from knitpicks.com I got a book of neat children's knits (new knits on the block, if you must know) and some sock yarn for three different people. The socks will be embarked upon after I finish the project with yarn from work for Lily, which started out as hat but may now be becoming a cardigan. With a zipper, even. Jeremy made an A on his big old (olde?) english midterm! Yay smartylungs! I'm thinking about proposing an idea at work where they let me find a great free web pattern and sponsor a knitalong with our yarns. Or just adapt the free pattern to work really well with our yarns. I'm still working on it, but it has to do with them giving me free yarn and letting me knit what I want and me not having to do the math that designing entails. Got to run.

Look Mom, New Pictures!

Just took some new photos of the fam today. Here's Lily and the pants (note the new suave glasses). And here's me with my new(ish) short hair pulling out of a gas station on our recent cross country move! Wee!

In other news, I have taken a job! I am the newest customer service representative at Southwest Trading Company. www.soysilk.com Hopefully, this will work out better than my stint at JoAnn's. Anyway... they don't have a cheer here and I get to be around yarn, yarn, beautiful yarn! I spend my days talking to yarn store owners about our product line and assmebling yarn samples to mail to said owners. It's not bad. Basically, I'm getting paid to do just about what I was going to be doing anyway. Hooray!

is the pendulum swinging?

I'm not an optimist, but today, in the midst of terrible times, there were signs that the Republican monolith's facade may be fracturing under stress.

- http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/09/08/election.investigation.ap/index.html

- also from CNN. "One passer-by shouted the same vulgar phrase to Cheney that the vice president himself had used on the Senate floor in a celebrated and heated exchanged in June 2004 with Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont."

(I have really got to learn to hotlink)

- from The War Room at salon.com

An Ann Coulter speech? Thanks but no thanks
We haven't heard much from Ann Coulter in the last few days.

As Hurricane Katrina was striking the Gulf Coast, Coulter was suggesting that New Yorkers, who "don't really consider themselves a part of the rest of America," wouldn't come to the aid of its victims. But that was more than a week ago, and we haven't heard mention of Coulter since.
Maybe she's still doing her regular spew and we just haven't noticed. Either way, we can't say we miss her, and it appears that we're not alone: Harding University, an Arkansas college affiliated with the Church of Christ, has disinvited her from its lecture series after learning a little more about the way in which she chooses to express herself.
In an e-mail message to faculty members, Harding's director of public relations said that the school's administration had "re-evaluated" its decision to invite Coulter to speak. "Harding and Ann Coulter are probably on the same page on many issues," the school's spokesman told Inside Higher Ed. But he said school officials had grown "concerned with the manner in which she presents her ideas. We believe that some of her comments are very controversial and confrontational, and we just weren’t comfortable with that."

- from the al franken show

President Bush said last week, "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."
Well, that's incredibly false.
More interestingly, even Saturday Night Live's Mr. Bill anticipated the breach of the levees. Bush a liar? Oh noo!

I sure hope these links work. also stay tuned for some funny stuff later.

The Shropshire Slasher

So we're spending a cozy weekend at home watching baseball and Looney tunes with the baby. And thousands of my fellow Southerners are suffering. I've been processing my response to this all week. Watching too much CNN and withdrawing from the world. At first it seemed bad but this is the US, so they have things under control, right? they have people who plan for these things. that's their job. And then the news kept getting worse and worse. And they kept holding press conferences and congratulating each other on their "response." their still doing that, and people continue to die. It may not be reasonable, but I feel that if this had hit say, New Hampshire or Connecticut heads would be rolling right now and most of the SNAFUs would not have happened. But it's the South. Flyover country, and I'm developing a persecution complex. Do what you can to help. I'm just not sure yet what that is.

Yarn at Target!!!

That's my breaking news, folks. It's only unverified rumor at this point, but there seems to be YARN in the DOLLAR section at TARGET. I'm living the dream. Three of my favorite words all in the same sentence. I'm speechless.

Today I discovered knitblogging. Not that it's not a well established internet phenomenon. I have a toddler and don't get out much. But awesome. Almost as awesome as the day I discovered craftster.org sigh. youknitwhat.blogspot.com is probably the coolest thing to support my obsession since television without pity and really this is much less obsessed with homosexual subtext. snarky knitters. alas, snarky knitters attacked by trolls.

apparently my blog is huge with cat furniture retailers. awesome. I have put the password validation thingy on there to support my fascist worldview.

if anybody has any tips for making a really awesome resume now would be the time to pass them along. I'm applying for a very cool job and have not had a resume in a number of years and am hard pressed how to present my career spanning the journalistic, chocolate, book and fiber industries. the new job is in Tempe so maybe they will not hold it against me that I live in mesa or that I have a toddler. apparently I also need to work on my interviewing skills. finding a job can be hard on the self esteem.

lily has just recently become the most amazing baby in the world. every day is just so much fun. she's running around and talking and we can read her books and everywhere we go she makes salespeople incredibly nervous. it's awesome. I keep taking her to this one yarn store that I won't name (please give me a job, please please please) and they freak out even though she never breaks anything or even really messes stuff up. I'm trying to figure out if they're over uptight or if I'm undermedicated.

I'm working on incorporating negative space into my knitting. so far it's not going very well. any thoughts (not on cat furniture) would be appreciated.

The Dukes of Hazzard

So I find it strange that they went ahead and made the movie The Dukes of Hazzard. It's so much about stunt casting and marketing, it seems to me like they could have figured out a way to make money off the promotion and marketing and not bother to make the movie at all. Honestly, who is the audience for this? Original fans of the series? c'mon, Boss Hogg isn't even fat. Boss. Hogg. Hello? Do that many people want to see Jessica Simpson in short shorts? They had to make a whole movie for some wiggle? I'm just dumbstruck in the face of them actually making the movie. Not that Hollywood stymies me. I just have this fancy where I try and imagine the movies that get laughed out of pitch meetings. As opposed to the movies that get made. Like Deuce Bigalow 2. For people with cheese for brains! Dunno. But that Charger still looks pretty freakin' cool.

Anyway... Arizona is nice. Hot, but nice. My house looks like IKEA and the thrift store had a love child and I'm very happy. I have a part time job at Michael's and am in the market for a second part time job. Anybody have any leads let me know. I was hoping to get on full time at Michael's but alas the best laid plans of mice and men... but it does come with a yarn discount and is less than five minutes from my house so score for me. that's all I have time for now.

Time Flies.

We're leaving Atlanta sometime in the next two weeks. We'll live with my parents for the summer and then, in late July, we MOVE TO ARIZONA. We priced several different ways of moving and the one we decided we could afford was to sell everything we own and cram the rest in the van and buy new stuff west of the mississippi. So if anyone wants to buy some china, or, really, anything, just let me know. Most of the furniture is going to my little brother and his new family, but we still have plenty of crap to go around. So now that we're leaving everything has become bittersweet. it's my last time to do this, won't be able to see you anymore in Arizona, etc etc ad nauseum. But I'm really looking forward to having the summer off. I'll check and see if anyone needs knitting lessons in the Prattville area, and then I'm off, baby. It's time to eat right and start exercising and maybe some sedate road tripping and lots of reading and knitting. and watching movies.

Lily is doing great. She can now stand a little bit on her own and is an expert crawler. She has several teeth, and has really come through the teething like a champ. We're taking her this weekend to hang out with her big 2 year old cousin Clay and to see her auntie Shayne run in the half marathon. Which my very own brother did the poster for, how cool is that?

Whoa.

Lily is now nine months old. Her first Christmas has come and gone. I got her a cute Christmas sweater, but it was so boyish that jeremy started calling her "Lyle." Yeah, he thinks he's funny. I'm learning crochet. And teaching knitting. Lily started daycare today. And she did really well. And we (the parents) did okay, too. I oscillated between elated and destroyed, but it was really alright. I think there will be some bad days ahead when she figures out the schedule, but mostly it'll be okay. She went to sleep tonight a half an hour early. I'm not currently biting my nails due to my new year's resolution, but I have crappy thin nails. And I pick at them when they're long. So my next resolution is to stop picking, but heaven only knows when that'll be. Jeremy is applying to schools again. I've got several half baked plans for how life could be in different destinations. And I'm looking for a second part time job, preferably one that involves a yarn discount, but I'm flexible. But I'm not holding my breath, either. With only six months to go here it's late to be putting down roots.