The Sweater

I am a knitting and crocheting nut (which sends my geek factor off the charts). I learned to crochet about 10 years ago from a co-worker. I made an afghan and then nothing else (short attention span). I picked it back up about two years ago and learned to knit in the meantime. I've done several scarves and hats for myself, two really nice ponchos, a fancy wrap and now have decided to venture into my first sweater. So far it's going pretty well. I did mess up the directions after about 10 rows and had to undo the whole thing *sob*.....but now it's looking like it's supposed to. I have no idea how long it's going to take me....I'm hoping to have it finished by Christmas (Merry Christmas to me!). What's amazing is that the airlines let you take crochet hooks and knitting needles on the plane. A bottle of shampoo is deadly, but a sharp size 5 crochet hook capable of taking out an eye is perfectly fine. Not that I'm complaining....it's nice to have the option of reading or crafting. So now I can geek out in airports and on planes as well as in my own home.

But I don't keep all these great handmade items for myself (that would really make me the crazy crochet lady). I am part of a group that knits and crochets hats, scarves and blankets for the needy. My expertise is adult hats....I can whip one out in about an hour. I've had tons of fun mixing colors together......Nashville's homeless won't have boring hats! Others in our group do baby hats for the newborns at General Hospital and we're about to start making blankets for any group we can find who needs them (homeless shelters, nursing homes, etc.). What's exciting is all the new knitters that have come to our meetings to learn. I bet we've taught close to 10 people how to knit. The more geeks we can create, the better we feel!

Anyway, back to the sweater.......here is what it looks like today.



I will post updates as needed.....and then the whole wonderful thing when it's finished!

Does this happen in the real world?

I rented "Must Love Dogs" because what single woman looking for love doesn't love a good "single woman looking for love" movie? Right off the bat, Sarah, the now single woman, is surrounded by people who are trying to set her up with men. This happens a lot in movies and on television.....single people are always bombarded with friends and family trying to help them find the love of their lives. My question is......does this happen to REAL single people? Because it sure as hell doesn't happen to me. I have been trying for YEARS to get anyone and everyone I know to set me up with men. And no one ever does. They all tell me they don't know anyone (or wouldn't subject me to the ones they do know). Is there something I'm doing wrong or is this just another thing that makes for a good screenplay but doesn't reflect the real world? (or do I need to pretend that I don't want to be set up, therefore causing everyone in my life to want to do the opposite??)

SET ME UP.....PLEASE!!! (and if he looks like John Cusack, even better!)

Green thumb? Not so much....

I took my $50 gift card to Home Depot and bought plants. I plan on buying a home next year and it's time for me to learn how to take care of various vegetation so that my yard won't look pitiful. So far I am failing miserably. My first victim was a ground cover plant that looks completely fried. The care instructions say "full sun" but now I'm not so sure. I have repotted it and we'll see if it comes back. Next is an African Violet I brought to work. Ok, these are supposed to be impossible to kill! But I think I overwatered it. The leaves still look good....but the flowers are completely gone. Hopefully I have not sent it to it's maker. The third and final victim (so far) is a yellow mum. Again, the instructions say "full sun" but the flowers are almost all dried up. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong! As an environmentalist, it is quite disconcerting that I can't get my little green friends to stay alive for me. I feel like Charlie Brown and his Christmas tree....."I've killed it! Everything I touch gets ruined!"

Going in the right direction

Time to give myself a little pat on the back....

Like many Americans, I managed to get myself pretty deep in credit card debt. Unfortunately, I didn't have a whole lot to show for it....no fancy furniture or wonderful vacations.....mostly just impulse buys at Wal-Mart. Quite sad, really. At one time, I was over $18,000 in debt. Yikes! If I didn't get my spending under control soon, I was going to find that my credit card payments were higher than my rent.

I have slowly been paying it down....sometimes still charging things, but I haven't gone above the previous month even once. My debt is now down to $5,400. Yippee!! To some people, that's still a lot.....to me sometimes that is still a lot. But it's all on one card (0% apr) and my minimum payments are only $112 a month (I make bigger payments than that most months). I cannot WAIT until that figure goes under $100 a month. And won't it be nice when I can spend that $100 on something else each month? It will be like winning the lottery! I see fancy furniture and wonderful vacations in my future (paid in cash, of course!)

Paranoid much?

Should I be at all worried that the entire Outreach department is in a closed door staff meeting and I wasn't informed? I keep waiting for the day when they figure out how very little I do around here....maybe they finally have and this is their way of saying "you're on your way out, so you don't need to come to meetings anymore"

Of course, the other reaction I have is being slightly miffed that they forgot me. Thanks guys....love you too.....

BAAAAA!

So, I'm creating a blog....cause everyone else is doing it. I haven't even decided what kind of stuff I will talk about.....or whether I will tell anyone I know that I'm doing this. I was inspired by another blogger, a professional, if you will. Heather B. Armstrong has had me addicted to her website for a week now (needless to say I didn't get much work done). I am sure I will not be as candid as she is....only because that's not really who I am (and she gets a lot of hate mail.....which I just really don't feel like dealing with). But I do like how she writes about the day-to-day stuff....so that's what I will probably do.

Right now I'm watching as glorious lightning and thunder producing storms are going all around us. What is it with Nashville and the weather? Storms and snow avoid us like the plague. If only I could move about 30 miles in ANY direction....but, instead, I stay in Nashville proper and watch as our neighbors to the north, south, east and west get all the good stuff. *sigh*