Do you know the way to San Jose???

My hubby came home from the grocery store singing this little ditty. He has been doing it for about 3 hours now... I am about to send him to San Jose... ;-)


Yesterday was the big day. Resident Weed came to visit us at work... Oh joy and rapture... Yesterday, I witnessed the death of Free Speech. They would not allow anyone to protest the Resident's visit. Not even at the public park across the street. I guess I had better keep my political opinions to myself before I end up in some dark cell as a threat to National Security...

After work, I cruised over to Village Wools for SEX!!! GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER, PEOPLE! SEX is a Stash Enhancement eXpedition! Scout was working, so we chatted for a bit. I got some of the BRAND NEW SnB cards for our local chapter!!! Awesome!!! I also picked up some Jawoll, some Cascade Sassy Stripes and some Froelich Special Blauband... I put in an order for 8 hanks of Lorna's Laces sock yarn... The Amethyst Stripe looks SO FREAKING COOL!!!

After SEX, I went for my hair appointment with Jen. She is a GODDESS when it comes to color! I knitted on the 2 socks on 2 circs project while she did the color. A different Jen did the blow dry on my hair. We got to chatting about knitting... She has a boyfriend who is a knitter and also plays in a heavy metal band... IS THAT COOL OR WHAT??? Of course, I gave her a couple of the SnB Cards that Scout had just given to me... She sounded excited about joining us with her friends!!!

I just got the email that my book is on it's way!!! YEAH!!! The folks in my Socknitters group were talking about a book called Crazy Toes and Heels. When they described what was in the book, it was just the book I have been hunting high and low for! Since I am abolutely HOOKED on the 2 circs method for sock knitting, I have been wanting to learn how to do 2 at the same time. I am doing the cuff down socks now... This book will help me with the Toe-up method, which was the next project I wanted to tackle. I should have the book just in time for my business trip to San Jose next Sunday...

Tonight is our company Winter Party... Every other year, they have this party where we get to eat, dance, play gamble and have a good time. This year, they moved the party to the Embassy Suites Hotel. Right after I picked up the party tickets, hubby and I made reservations to stay there for the night tonight!!! Cool! We get to party harty and don't need to worry about driving home until noon tomorrow!!! So, I am heading back to my cool hairdresser at 2:45 for an updo for the party. I love this party cuz it's the one time every other year I get to shock the living crap out of my co-workers. I wear a formal dress, high heels, make my hair all pretty, put on some make-up and a little bit of perfume! In other words, this is the one time every other year that I actually look like a GIRL!!! Or as my family likes to say, "Damn, you clean up well!"

I am going to do my own personal Knitting Olympic event... The original one had you pick a project that it would be a challenge to finish between opening and closing ceremonies... For me, I am going to challenge myself my learning and practicing knitting techniques I have wanted to learn but I have not had the time to do!!!

The Secret Cervix have landed...

Here is the progress on the 2 socks on 2 circular needles project. I am using Lorna's Laces in the color of Sand Ridge. They are really going fast and this picture doesn't do the colors justice...

Yesterday, I found out that we are going to have a "Special" visitor at work on Friday... This "Special" visitor has our whole workplace in a true tizzy. It would be really funny, but it is really messing up everything. Tomorrow, we all have to be at work before 7am (normal time to go in is 8am) or we will not be able to enter the place or find parking. I will be riding my motorcycle in 30 degree weather at 6am to make sure that I can find a place to park and get through all of the security to get into work. Since all of us are coming in at 6am, the place will be deserted by noon! It gives me a good excuse to go out yarn shopping! I would have taken the day off, but I have 2 meetings with outside folks that I can't reschedule...

Who is our "Special" visitor??? Let's just say if you watch any of the major news outlets, the company I work for and our "Special" visitor will be all over the news... Our "Special" visitor has a group of folks surrounding him that we have been joking calling "The Secret Cervix". The Secret Cervix really stand out at our workplace. They wear suits and walkie-talkies. NO ONE at my job EVER wears a suit... Tomorrow, there will be even more Secret Cervix agents camped out with weapons of various calibars in and on top of a variety of buildings... We have been wondering if they make bunny suits for the bomb sniffing dogs??? Where would their tails go???

Today, one of the bosses sent out an email telling everyone to "play nice" with our guests tomorrow. I guess since only 50% of the folks in our state supported our "Special" visitor, they think we would do silly things like protest, make really snide remarks or generally voice our discontent that would make the company look bad. Yup, I would have... In fact, I was trying to find my most subtle protest wear. Since we got the note (and I do enjoy living indoors and eating), I will play nice... Better wear my tin-foil hat so that they can't read my thoughts :-)

And if you are wondering, "Special" is short-bus special... Yet another thing to add to the 2" thick file the governent already has on me right now... Should you trust the government? Ask a Native American....

Jaywalkers are done!

Here is a picture of the completed pair of Jaywalkers. Roxie decided she didn't want to move off of the couch, so she is there too. The kitty behind Roxie is Boris...

I have gotten a start on my 2 socks on 2 circs project! The cast on was a bit confusing (if all else fails, READ THE DIRECTIONS). Once I cast on, the socks have been sailing! I am doing a simple alternate twisted rib on this pair so I can get the hang of the 2 sock thing... I think I like this. It seems to go at the same speed as one sock, but when I am done I will have a finished pair!!! No more second sock syndrome...

I made my travel arrangements for California. I leave a week from Sunday and come back the following Friday. 5 straight days of really hard work, should be fun!!!

Last night's Stich n Bitch was a great time. We had a blast bitching and knitting and being girls!

Oh yeah??? Well I am CUTER!!!

Came home from another short 13 hour day at work and found this... Had to take a picture of Natasha on the computer monitor... I guess the Gargoyle is protecting her so she can have pleasant kitty cat dreams...

Doing a Meme

OK, I read Scout's blog this am, I have a few minutes, I am going for it...

Instructions: Remove the blog in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add your blog to the bottom slot.

Unraveling
Knitorious
Woman Obsessed
Scout's Knitted Swag
MookittyKnitting

I'm tagging anyone who has the time to do it.

What were you doing 10 years ago? I was going to school at University of Florida to get my degree in Chemical Engineering

What were you doing 1 year ago? Working as an engineer.

What were you doing 1 hour ago? Reporting out at a meeting. They wanted to know the progress of our current problem solving endeavor

List five creative things you want to achieve this year:
1. My first adult figure skating competition
2. Design and write my first creative sock pattern
3. Learn a camel spin
4. Learn to knit 2 socks on 2 circular needles
5. Make enough socks to last me through next winter

List five snacks you enjoy:
1. Smartees
2. Dove Milk Chocolate
3. popcorn
4. Snap peas - raw
5. Cheese - sticks, blocks, shredded, fried, baked, etc...

List five things you would do if money were no object:
1. Get a boat and mooring and live on it somewhere in the Eastern Carribbean
2. Open up my own no-kill home for kitties until they find a permanent family
3. Expand my yarn stash
4. Send my son to the best college for his chosen field
5. Go back to college and become an MD

List five bad habits:
1. Road Rage...
2. Procrastination
3. Not putting things away after I use them
4. Reacting right away rather than taking time to reflect on the situation
5. Intolerance of stupid people

List five things you like doing:
1. Knitting
2. Figure skating
3. Riding my motorcycle
4. Attending auto races (LOVE the smell!!!)
5. Getting to know people

List five favorite gadgets:
1. iPod!!!
2. Laptop - both work and home - COULD NOT live without them
3. XM Satallite radio
4. Ball winder and swift
5. Corkscrew

Name one thing you like about yourself: Plays well in the sandbox with others :-)

A new feature on my blog...

This is Natasha... She is the sweetest little kitten you could ever have the pleasure of knowing :-) She is shy, so it is tough to get a picture of her...

Everyone seems to have a special feature that their blog is known for, whether it's yarn, stashes, patterns or whatever... Here is my idea...

The new feature is going to be called "Hold my beer and watch this..."

Most of my family still lives down in the South. Drinking in the South is a pretty common thing to do... After a few too many beers, there is usually one person who says "Hold my beer and watch this"... This is usually last thing the person says before they become a candidate for the Darwin Awards. We have noticed that we live in a part of the country where there are some folks who say and do some not so intelligent things...

For some reason, there has been a recent rash of folks saying and doing some pretty dumb things, so I am starting the feature... Do you have a story that would fit that has happened to you? Feel free to email me and I will post it :-) We all need a good laugh every now and then...

Knitting in public... Yup, I got some strange looks today for my KIP escapade... After my hubby and I went out for brunch at the Tamaya, he wanted to go over to the Santa Ana Casino to play a little blackjack... I am not a big fan of gambling. I don't think it is wrong, but it isn't something I enjoy doing. Hubby asked me why I don't like to gamble... I told him that if I had the choice of sitting at a blackjack table and losing $20 during that time or using that $20 to buy 2 hanks of Lorna's Laces sock yarn, the sock yarn wins hands down :-) Well, he decided to go play some blackjack and I followed him... The table wasn't busy, so I sat next to my hubby, took my Jaywalker out of the knitting bag and continued to work on the sock while sitting at the Blackjack table. He started having some bad luck, so I took a couple of chips and played for a bit while I was knitting on my sock... Knitting socks at a blackjack table WILL get you some strange looks. After a few hands, I left the table and went into the bar and continued to knit while hubby played some more blackjack... Knitting is wonderful! You can take it anywhere and work on it... Bored? No prob, pull out your knitting...

After we got done, we did a little shopping. I got a bigger rubbermaid tub for my sock yarn :-) Now, all of my yarn fits in one place :-) We also got a featherbed mattress topper for our bed. OMG!!! I had experienced these in hotels I had stayed in while on business trips (especially the Westin). I didn't know you could get these in a store... Yup, my shopping is usually limited to 2 - 3 times per year because I have run out of jeans that fit, need more shorts or need sheets... (Now, yarn shopping is ANOTHER story...) I put the featherbed on the mattress and felt a big hug from my bed... I think I am going to bed early so I can just lay there :-)

Here is the scarf...

Here is a pic of my hubby's scarf... The most common question asked while making the scarf? "Is that for Halloween???".... Um....no...

Just hanging out, watching the end of the 24 Hours of Daytona Rolex race... My favorite driver, Rusty Wallace, was in the race for his first time... The car actually lead the race at one point, but a win was not in the cards... The car was retired from the race during hour 8 last night. I have a TON of admiration for anyone who competes on a team in this race... 24 hours of straight racing in one car is an endurance test for any engine...

I am looking forward to getting my Lorna's Laces sock yarn that I ordered a couple of days ago. The woman who I am getting them from had a great selection of yarns with colors I hadn't seen at my LYS. The package shipped yesterday :-) I fell in love with this yarn when Carole was knitting with it during our Jaywalker knitalong for the Albuquerque SnB group... The yarn felt so soft and her sock knitted up so nicely. I am looking forward to a couple of projects with this yarn! I have shyed away from working with a lot of sock yarns because I had such a hard time working with the size 1 DPN's. My hands were cramping up like crazy when I tried using yarns like Opal or Regia... Since I have learned to do the socks on 2 circulars (I am using 24" Addi Turbos, size 1 and 0), I no longer have the cramping problem. It is nice to have this whole new world of yarn opened up to me!