ComicCon/Self-Challenge

Will is currently at Javits attending his first ComicCon with Mike today. I told him to bring me anything on X-Men. :-)

He and Mike actually went yesterday, and waited on line for over an hour before the Fire Marshalls announced that no more tickets would be sold. My heart broke for Will when Mike told me, because he was so excited just looking in at all the craziness going on. He didn't even say anything; he just quietly told Mike, "We'll find something else to do today." That actually makes me feel even worse than if he had blown a gasket. So I told Mike to just get tickets online and make sure he gets in today, and that's what he did. I'm so excited for Will, because I know as an adult, comic conventions are so much fun - imagine being 6, really getting into superheroes and then going to a place that's wall-to-wall comic books and people walking around dressed as superheroes.

Breaking him into geek culture is awesome. I'll have him dressed up like a Colonial Space Marine any day now...

On another note, I signed on for the Self Magazine Self-Challenge the other day. I sign up for it every year, and unbelievably enough, the only year I actually completed it was the year I was pregnant. It's three months of Self magazine challenging you to work out, eat right, and take care of yourself. Month one's challenges are to eat 1600 calories a day (I actually have to go a little lower, since I'm on Weight Watchers and trying to lose, not maintain), do three 30-minute cardio workouts three times a week, and three 20-minute strength sessions three times a week. This year, I'm going to do it and I invite my friends - and anyone else reading this - to join me. You can add friends to your profile (Self.com will e-mail them an invitation) and check each other's progress (no, we won't see each other's weight, just our workouts) and send each other private messages. It'll be fun, c'mon!

I was on a cooking rampage yesterday, check out Domestic Goddesses to see what I made. And yes, granola was most definitely on the menu. :-)

Girls' Month Out...

So we've been trying to get another girls' night out going since our last one before the holidays. And things keep coming up that we just add to the list of things we want to do - knitting lessons, cooking, tea parties, redesigning one another's apartment spaces, learning to bead/sew, you name it. So now we just refer to it as "Girls' Month Out" and laughingly add things to the list. I just told Stacey we have to get favors after reading the series of posts on her sister's bridal shower.

Which started me thinking (oh no, run for the hills!) - why shouldn't we? Shouldn't we celebrate the fact that we all take some time out of our insanity to enjoy one another's company? I think we need to find something cute and fun - or that could just be me making an excuse to add yet another cute espresso mug to my bulging cabinets. But I do think something is deserving to mark the momentous occasion of the Girls' Night Out once it finally happens.

And when will it happen? Maybe we should blog the evolution of the next Girls' Night Out, since it seems to take a Herculean amount of planning. I'm not being sarcastic here, it really is insane trying to get six or so women together who all work and have families.

What's the first step? Setting a date? And a backup date? Let's start planning!

Star Lucky

I wanted to write a little tribute to one of our family, who left us late this morning.

Star Lucky arrived at our home a few months shy of 3 years ago. He was barely a week old, having been found by my sister-in-law, Julie, in her father's backyard. He and a sibling had somehow been separated from their litter. His sister died later that day, but this plucky little thing survived and came to live with us. I was very pregnant with Alex and home on bed rest, so we spent a lot of time together in the early days. I bottle-fed him formula (yes, they do make formula for infant cats - imagine!) and found out that baby kittens don't know instinctively to use their bladders - so yes, I helped him figure that out too. I kept him in a cardboard box, filled with towels and a beanie baby, next to me as I knit and watched bad daytime television.

Will loved Star. He named him. I still don't know to this day where he got Star Lucky from as a name, but he christened him that and it stuck. Star helped Will get ready to be a big brother. He held him in his little hands, a perfect size for a child. He couldn't wait for Star to be big enough to sleep with him. And when Alex arrived, Will had a better idea of how to care for something little, even more little than he was.

Star shared Alex's crib, much to my consternation. He was fascinated by Alex and wanted to study him. After Alex outgrew his crib, Star moved right in, making himself at home. I swear, he never quite forgave me for taking down his bed when we moved Alex into the bunk bed.

Will finally got his wish with the arrival of his bunk bed. Will and Star commandeered the top bunk. Every night, after patroling the apartment, Star would jump up and settle in at the foot of Will's bed.

He was a little brother and a cushion (Alex would settle down on Star's flank to watch TV). He was a pain in the posterior to our older cat, Gypsy. He terrified our fish, staring for long stretches of time hungrily at their tank and tapping it with his paw as if to figure out how he could push through the plexiglass and play with the funny things zipping around in there.

There's so much more I could say, but I don't think I'm able to right now. For now, I'll just say that he was our friend. And for some reason that I'm not universally privvy to, he went to sleep this morning for good. He wasn't even 3 years old yet, but I guess, to paraphrase what my friend Spirit tells me, "he saw a light that looked really interesting to him, and decided to go take a walk to it." I hope he's enjoying a nice warm windowsill somewhere over there. But he's left a hole in our family that won't ever quite heal.

We'll miss you, big guy.

Sawyer, Sawyer, Locke...

It's "Badger, Badger" for Lost fans... http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/sawyer.php?funny

I just couldn't stop giggling.

More Granola...

I made more of Alton's granola recipe tonight. It's like nature's crack.

Nature Girl

After watching the granola episode of Good Eats on Food Network the other day, I have been consumed with the idea of making my own granola. I LOVE granola. I eat it with my yogurt or by the handful. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack - it's all good. But sometimes, the good stuff is darned expensive (The Baker, I'm talking about you and your $5.49 a pound Maple Pecan goodness!) . So I hit the Food Network site and found Alton's granola recipe.

Oh. My. God. Alton is a genius. Much like Han Solo with the Milennium Falcon, I did make some of my own 'special modifications' - check the Domestic Goddesses blog out, where I'll post them in detail.

I could seriously eat this entire bowl right now. But alas, I must not. I will let it cool down and put it in a giant bag, where I can dive in at my leisure.

I sewed up my niece's hat. Now I have to get around to putting the sleeves on the sweater. I have to do this soon, the shower is on the 26th. Grr. Hate the sewing part of knitting.

In the You've Got To Experience It To Believe It Department...

David Hasselhoff is Hooked on a Feeling

Lauren, you gave me a much-needed giggle tonight!

Cable Knit Hat

My one-woman knitting rampage continues. I tried my hand at a cable knit baby hat - more like a toddler cap, but you get the idea. I think it came out kind of cute. It's a cable knit pattern that you do for 18 inches (I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease on a size 8 needle), bind off, and then pick up and knit 77 inches for on one long side of the cable. The rest is just garter stitch with some simple decreases, pulling the top closed and seaming up.

Alex is sitting here playing with his magnetic book. He's putting the cow next to the milk picture and I said, "Where you get milk?" He looks up and says, "Daddy." Is that not a great out of the mouths of babes moment?

Baby Clothes!










Here are the newest things I've been knitting during my sick time; the first up being this little chenille ensemble for my niece-to-be. I have to attach the sleeves and pick up stitches to create the collar and buttonholes (daisy buttons!) and seam up the hat, but you catch the drift. This was fun to make and it knit up like a dream, it was so easy. The only thing I must admit was that on size 10 aluminum needles, casting off stitches was a little tight, so picking up stitches for the collar may be big fun, indeed. I notice that bamboo needles tend to make things go a lot more smoothly but unfortunately, I only have one pair and not in the size I needed. They run a little more expensive.

More knitting pictures follow, so just scroll on down.

Cable Knit

Cable knit detail. This is just a practice one on a regular worsted weight yarn and size 8 needles.

Mom's Collared Wrap

Patchwork ribbing up close

The final product, unblocked - ribbed collar and ends, patchwork ribbing on body

Here's the collared wrap - again, knit on DK weight yarn that I got from a Smiley's Yarn Riot last year. I knit this with the yarn doubled to make the gauge. It still needs to be blocked, but when it is, I'll spread the collar out a little more. I also have to weave in some ends, as you can see. ;-)

Road to Recovery

Slowly but surely, I'm heading back to good health. I've been on antibiotics for a few days and finally, the sore throat is starting to go away. Now I've got antibiotic-head, where I just feel muddled. Kind of like having a few Irish coffees (with extra Irish) but without the taste.

Mike sees that I'm ready to climb walls, having been pretty much confined to quarters for a week now, so he's taking me on a field trip to Trader Joe's. How excited am I?

Will is sitting on the floor next to me having one of my old Predator action figures fight his Kids Next Door figures. Truly, this is my son. Such pride...

I have to figure out what the heck is going on with my digital camera - I need to modify the lighting and exposure for everything now, inside, outside, motion, you name it - and then I'll take some pictures of the massive knitting push I've done in my convalescence:

- Finished the collared wrap I worked on for my mom. I bought this yarn at a Smiley's Yarn Riot about a year ago specifically to make something for my mom because it is so her - very nice deep green with a thread of black running through. It's a DK weight, but I doubled the yarn to make the gauge. I got the pattern from The Purl Stitch by Sally Melville, which, along with her book, The Knit Stitch are just amazing for beginners through to advanced knitters. Love her. Her new book on Color is just out.

- Had a pattern for a cute layette in an old issue of Better Homes & Gardens Knit It! I used Lion Brand's baby chenille in lavender for my niece-in-waiting to make a hat and sweater (with daisy buttons); now all I have to do is sew it all together. I'll be waiting until I'm in full health to go sit at Karen's and have her help me, since I'm legendary about my loathing of sewing. I've got about three or four projects that I did all the knitting on, only to abandon when it was time to sew.

- Practicing my cable knitting now, and I made a nice Celtic-type of cable from another issue of Better Homes & Gardens Knit It! It's a baby hat pattern, but I used some stash just to get the feeling of knitting a cable stitch. It came out nice, now I think I'll try my hand at the hat. (I LOVE baby hats).

Speaking of cable knits, does anyone use things other than cable needles to cable knit? I have used cable needles a few times but get frustrated because the stitches just seem to slide off. I've had good results using a ballpoint pen without the cap and even a double-pointed knitting needles. Just something a little thicker than the thin cable needles.

Next up, I found a cute pattern for a little vest from Bernat using their Babylash & Satin yarns. I'll have to try one for my upcoming niece and my goddaughter. Who knew little girl clothes could be so much fun?

Sick...

So I've been sick again for the past few days with a sore throat that won't quit. Grrrr... I've watched all of Sex & The City's Seasons 4 & 3, including special features (love the commentary). Now I'm working my way through the episodes of Lost that I've missed in Season 2 so far. In fact, I've got to log off shortly so we can fit one in before Mike has to leave to pick up Will.

Lots of knitting going on since I've been confined to quarters. Pictures to come.

C'mon...

I have a zit on my nose that deserves its own zip code. I'm 35, for crying out loud. WTF?

BABY HATS!!

So I finally found a pattern that works with some of the ever-accumulating stash I've got. This pattern is from A Passion for Knitting, and although it calls for a Lion Brand yarn, I got the same gauge with Caron's Simply Soft and size 5 needles. They knit up pretty quickly - I did both of these yesterday. You can do them on straight needles and stitch up the seam to finish. I even tried to embroider a little flower, as you can see, on the one on the left. I've got a niece joining the family in March and wanted to do something girly. I've got them both sitting on teddy bears right now to shape them into more of a head shape right now. :-)

I've got all this yarn - I walk into a yarn store, fall in love with yarn, and buy it - but can't make it work with so many patterns. Sometimes a gauge swatch is rage-inducing. I want to get through all this stash so I can just buy yarn that works with my patterns. Rargh.

Speaking of patterns, don't ask about the wrap sweater. It's on hiatus. I've got 2/3 of it done, but needed a break. I know, I know, I've got to finish it. But I got cranky the last two times I started it. I'll get it done, I just think I need to complete a few projects to get my self esteem back.

Helped take down the decorations in Will's school lobby today. I told our Parent Coordinator that we need to put in an Oriental Trading order for next holiday season, get a couple of those ornament kits for Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanzaa (the school tries to hit 'em all) and have a workshop where the kids can make ornaments for the tree - those ornaments on the school tree now are just depressing. I'm going to start working on the PA Board now to get an appropriation for some new decorations for next year - these look haggard.

Vader loves Christmas!!

Auld Lang Syne

Another year about to go... I can't say I'll be sad to see the back of 2005, and have higher hopes for 2006. But there were good things about this year which I'll be glad to bring with me into the next.

Mike got me the Duran Duran Live From London DVD/CD set, which I'm happily blaring right now. Alex is happily crashing his Spiderman car into the wall unit, scattering the french fries from his Spongebob Kitchen all over the living room. Mike and I have almost gotten through the first season of Lost on DVD, so I can catch up to Season 2 in reruns. Will is with my mom, no doubt climbing the walls and demanding her to join him. Life is quiet, but good.

Helene sent me a birthday gift today, a nice long letter (we've been promising each other one for ages and, in a telepathic moment, sent each other one within days of one another), a Hello Kitty notepad with stickers, a CD, and a map of my favorite place in the world, Gamla Stan. It was a great way to start the end of one year and the beginning of a new one, curled up on the couch reading an actual handwritten letter from an old friend. I hope to have more of that in the new year. It made me think about how I'd race to the mailbox every day when I was in high school to look for a letter, and how I still do it now. We'd put pictures of Duran Duran all over the letters, stickers, you name it - anything within reach of our glue and looseleaf binders. Letters were a multi-sensory experience with us.

Now that I've got a printer, I think it's time to bust out my glue stick and scissors and write another letter. :-)

Happy New Year, everyone. And let's hope 2006 is a good one.

MTA on Strike...

So the MTA is on strike. Mike and I are pretty much split in our opinions. He supports the strike because he feels the MTA wanted to take benefits away. I have to be honest, I have very mixed feelings about the MTA and striking, to me, does not garner the public sympathy vote. By striking, you are pissing off a lot of people. And asking for the Mayor to come down on you, because it's illegal to do so in NYC.

Then you have the genius corporate reaction to the strike. For instance, my mom had to leave her home at 4:30 this morning. She walked from Port Authority to 14th & 7th to be at work by 6:30. Her company figured that in the event of a strike, when everyone is going to have trouble getting into NYC to begin with, why not start the day at 6:30 so they can be magnanimous and let 'em out at 3. Anyone who didn't show up to work today will not be paid. Does the MTA regret that inconvenience? Will the TWU reimburse these people?

Watching news this morning, Good Day New York had a message from the MTA on their crawl: "We regret the inconvenience." Are they fricking kidding me? They offer the same lame excuse they give to us when we're stuck in a tunnel for 45 minutes because of an imaginary sick passenger or red signal to explain the inconvenience to millions of people who have to travel on foot in freezing temperatures?

My dad is a union man. Many of my friends are union. But this is one strike I just can't get behind because of so many factors.

It's official... sorta.

I'll be 35 tomorrow. Good God.

Mike threw me a Hello Kitty party this weekend - it started as a joke a couple of years ago, when I saw that Hello Kitty stuff was all over the place. Having been a huge fan of Hello Kitty back in the day, I griped that there was no fun Hello Kitty party stuff when I was a kid, and that Mike should throw me a Hello Kitty part when I turned 35. He took me up on it.

It was a blast - I have the greatest friends. I got a Hello Kitty CD/cassette player, Pez dispensers aplenty, slippers, bath sets - the works. Thanks to all of you. I love all of you.

Words can't describe this past year. It's been pretty rough, and I'm really not going to be all that broken up to see it go, but at the same time, there have been some great moments that I'd never trade. Aside from my kids and husband and the daily laughs that go with them, I've reconnected with some friends and gotten closer to others, and made some new ones. I saw Duran Duran twice (whoo hoo!) with my best friend from high school, and we acted like crazed 15 year olds all over again. Got to go to a wedding in Michigan that turned into a much-needed vacation and all-around great time. Read a lot of good books and some really horrible ones that I at least got a laugh out of.

Maybe it wasn't such a bad year after all.

So let me ask - I saw a template for a holiday family newsletter which of course, I downloaded. How cheesy would this be? I'm thinking of doing a quick 'n dirty one for the family I don't get to see too often. Would it be cringeworthy or cute? Let me know what you think.

Aw, crap. My printer heads need readjusting or something again, the picture I printed out just came out with lines again. Grr. Let me go call Mike, he handles this foolishness.

Christmas Approacheth...

Christmas comes but once a year. Thank god. I used to love Christmas. I was a total freak for it. And honestly, since I have two wee ones, I still do love Christmas but for different reasons. I honestly couldn't care about getting gifts. I mean, I do appreciate what I get, but there is nothing that beats seeing my boys race into the living room and scream when they see that Santa's been there. I love Christmas Eve, when Will goes through the motions of leaving Santa cookies and milk, and a sweet picture for him to take back to the North Pole.

Even as a kid, I always loved Christmas Day because our family would gather together. It means so much, then and now, to be surrounded by our families.

I just wish that Christmas didn't become this slickly-produced, overmechandised, overlicensed monster that it's grown into. Yeah, Christmas was always in our faces when we were kids, but the merchandisers had the decency to wait until after Thanksgiving, giving us a timeline for excitement. Now? Target had back to school stuff out (starting in JULY, for chrissakes - can the kids enjoy being out of school?) in September in one aisle, and CHRISTMAS gear in the next. In SEPTEMBER. What the hell? I could buy my kids' marble notebooks in one aisle, stop off and pick up some Halloween decorations in the next, and grab some Christmas lights on my way out.

I just feel like everything is being rushed, shoved down our throats, buy buy buy now. Doesn't time pass us by quickly enough without having the end of the year shoved at us in September? I want to enjoy each day with my kids, I want to make the most of every day with my husband, my family, I don't want to blink and have to be stringing lights on my tree. I think that's another reason people are so stressed out lately. There's no time, at least that's what we're being led to believe nowadays. We've got to slow down the pace.

Next project...

Since the Star Wars pillowcases I made for Will turned out so well last time, I decided to make another set. I found this great Star Wars fabric in Rag Shop that is crying out for more pillowcases! On one side, we have Yoda...