Grrr... knitting plateau...

I finished the blanket for Alicia's wee one (the Snowy Owl!) but am so frustrated. Lately, all I can do are scarves and blankets. I can't swatch up for my life, and tossed half a sweater in frustration the other day. What is this all about? My fingers are itching to knit, but I just rip everything out in frustration. None of the yarn I have seems to be right for a project, everything seems to be the wrong gauge. I was knitting to deal with stress and now it's causing it.

Not in a great place lately.

Simply add water and, voila! Instant Bride!

Our intrepid bride models a man-ped at Men's Warehouse in Grand Rapids...

All right, off to yoga myself into a sleep-induced coma. Perhaps my abs will sculpt themselves as I slumber... more pictures to come...

The gruesome twosome. ;-)

Knitting Fever!

BTW - knitting away on this cute sweater vest from the first issue of Knit.1 mag - once I have a working scanner again, I can scan the pic. But I will post the sweater in progress, most likely tomorrow. In the meantime, here come the pictures...

So it's 12:09, I've finally got the kids to sleep - Mike had to drive upstate tonight to pick up his brother & friends and bring them back to College Point, so I was doing a double Mommy shift tonight. I watched the series finale of Six Feet Under, which I'm still digesting, especially the ending. Wow.

I know I should be working out, but instead I played Dynomite on popcap.com for a half hour. I need to do some yoga. So of course, being me, I decided to blog instead. And I wonder where Will gets the gift of procrastination from.

Alex's second birthday was yesterday, which really makes me freak at how quickly time flies. (Especially since I haven't shed the Alex weight yet!) He had a good day, I think. Lots of gifts, including Darth Tater from Adam & Stacey (which is really for me, I'd like to think).

First day at the new job today. I'm a little overwhelmed. I'm not used to having no idea what I'm doing, at least workwise. I know I just have to calm down and let myself get into the groove, but I missed ISO so much today. I missed my friends. I missed the familiarity that I had, even on the horrible days.

But I did register for my Book Marketing class at NYU - thank GOD. After this one, I've got only three more classes for the certificate. Finally starting to pick up where I left off three years ago. I'll see how I feel after this semester and decide whether or not to apply to grad school for spring, when I'll also be finishing the certificate up, or maybe just wait that one semester more and start in the fall when I can have the certificate done and can concentrate solely on the grad program.

Next up - gotta get the weight off. Gotta get back to eating right and working out. Just as soon as I post some more photos, she said in a procrastinating manner...

Is this a fun-loving bridal party or what? (Maybe you shouldn't answer that...)

A quick post now, more to come. The wedding was so much fun, everyone had a blast. I'll post one picture now and more to come later when I get the kids to bed and have some downtime. Was not thrilled to come back to the hellishness of New York in August. Ugh.

It's muggy out...

And I'm sitting here at my desk, in an air conditioned office, sticky. Eyuck.

So, finally watched the funeral on Six Feet Under last night. My God, what an episode. I was just telling a friend of mine that Michael C. Hall (David) and Frances Fisher (Ruth) should get an Emmy, he was amazing. I think the most powerful scene to me was when David and Ruth are bathing Nate's body. Ruth joins David and starts washing Nate's head, so lovingly and gently washing the scar on his head. It's such a maternal act, and I wanted to rush in to hug my two boys (ages 6 and 2). It was so painful and loving at the same time, I was moved to tears. And then, when they lower Nate's body into the ground and are covering it with dirt, David just breaks and everyone moves to help him. It was amazing. So cathartic. I can't imagine what they're going to do for the final two episodes.

Okay, and here's the second post:
8/7/05
So I've been remiss, sorry 'bout that. Lots going on and at the same time, just want to zone out for hours on end. I hate when I get like that.Mike and I leave for Stacey and Adam's Michigan wedding bonanaza on Wednesday morning, so I'm psyched. Of course, neurotic me has been packed for like, two weeks. I just need to figure out what shoes I'm bringing, which gives Mike no end to amusement. The night before we leave, we're going to see Doubt - my friend Matt comped me two tickets. It will be nice to be grownups for five whole days. Lately, the only thing that's on the TV nonstop is either Cartoon Network (Will) or Noggin (Alex).

The Doodlebops (Disney, also Alex) are singing in my head all day long.

So, I gave notice on Tuesday. It's official, I'm leaving Bookspan. I accepted the official offer from Scholastic on Friday. Excited, terrified, hopeful... the whole mix of emotions. I want to be home more with the kids, but the flexibility I have right now came with a really high price. We'll just figure it all out as it happens, which drives me nuts because there is zero control of my life involved, but sometimes that's what has to be.I start school in September, so I'm psyched. Going to finish off that Publishing Certificate from NYU, and then I can concentrate on my MLS from Queens. I hate application essays. Bah. Feh.

On a less weighty note, got my manicure and pedicure with Nancy on Friday. I've got sparkly red toes. Hee hee.Must continue knitting, keeps the munchies at bay. I lost two pounds in two weeks so far - Annie now has a pretty purple cable-knit scarf, Will has two Star Wars pillowcases (love my sewing machine!), and I have two baby projects underway that I can't discuss right now in case the recipient is reading.Now I have to figure out how to post pictures. Soon to come...

Okay, so some bizarre glitch happened and I inadvertently created two blogs when I posted my pictures - don't ask me how, I don't know what the h ell I'm doing. So here, for your reading pleasure, are the first two posts:

8/1/05
So I decided to finally create a blog because I feel like the only person on earth who hasn't got one. If you've meandered on by, hi. Be kind if you comment, I hope I'll get better at this as I go on.Saw Duran Duran at Jones Beach last night. Amazing, they're still as good now as they were 20 (cough, cough) years ago. Did a lot of really obscure old stuff like Friends of Mine (opened with it) and Sound of Thunder. Went with Kris, my Durannie buddy since 1984. Hey, Kris! I know you're reading this! Thanks for the lift yesterday!Okay, so I'm expected to do some work. Right after I finish this big gulp o'coffee...Oh - check in later. Surprise bridal shower pics for Stacey coming soon. ;-)

Adam and his Boys 

Stacey's bridal shower posse 

Yes, Alex's shirt says, "StormPooper". 

The Bride and Groom 

Will and Alex sharing a moment of brotherly love at Nancy's.