Thursday, August 12, 2010

ten things thursday

Ten things that made me smile this past week...that went by amazingly fast!

1) Melissa's bachelorette party was hilarious and fun. We embarrassed her good!
2) I was, among Mel's friends, obviously one of the more...shall we say, edgy? It's a strange adjective to ascribe to myself since I don't normally feel that way, but I did around them. They were cute. The point is, it was a bit of an ego boost.
3) The wedding was beautiful and I smiled so much that I cried right before I was supposed to sing, causing me to sniffle during the rests...tee-hee.
4) Seeing mountains again. Yay, Colorado Springs.
5) When I came home, my favorite kitty, Siam, greeted me rather enthusiastically. It certainly warmed my heart.
6) My house mum helped me to fully discover Ravelry yesterday and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
7) Last night, I went to vespers for the first time in months. I love liturgy on Sunday, but it's so good to go to church during the week as well to be reminded to pray. When we sang "O Gladsome Light" I was grinning from ear to ear--St. Basil in the 300's wrote that he didn't even remember when Christians started singing that text!
8) Apparently my upcoming chrismation was discussed by the parish council on Monday...yay!!!
9) I plan to spend this afternoon relaxing. The prospect makes me smile.
10) Siam fell down the stairs last night because she had been perched on top of the new package of toilet paper trying to eat it. Toilet paper eating fail.

Friday, August 6, 2010

ten things thursday: friday edition

Ten things that made me smile this past week:

1. My "little brother" (2yrs) accidentally sent Cindy a blank text message with my phone, which he got a hold of while exploring my room. Tee-hee.
2. Constance and I had a lovely day chatting about everything and looking at knitting and fashion magazines. Also, we folded laundry and did dishes and it was great!
3. My mom likes Bjork. We discovered this in the car on the way to Colorado.
4. Melissa had to do several hilarious things at her bachelorette party last night, most of which were hilarious. And, since all of her friends are really shy and modest, they thought I was hilarious and probably a bit scandalous, so I had fun making them giggle all night.
5. On the second day of my move, last Sunday, I was privileged enough to witness hospitality in several forms. At Reba Place, when Katie and Eric showed up to move in with Luke, a dozen people appeared out of nowhere to help them and we all formed this grand line and passed things into the house. Wow! That's the way to move!
6. My host family. Really, just thinking about them makes me smile ear to ear.
7. I am now living with my fave church knitting buddy, and she's overseeing some educational projects for me, and I'm SO excited!
8. I now also live with two kittens and they are beyond adorable! Siam is definitely my favorite (no offense, Ginger), and the fact that she tolerates my desire to cuddle with her 24/7 makes her officially the best cat ever.
9. Ginger slept with his face in Dennis' shoe for several hours the other day. Cute!
10. I'm reading Wodehouse's Joy in the Morning, one of several Jeeves and Wooster stories, and it's making me laugh over and over again. I love British humour and books that I can just eat up...especially when I know that there are more to come!

Friday, July 30, 2010

saint suggestions?

I've realized of late (yesterday) that I really don't know very many woman saints. I was able to look up some of the obvious--Felicity, the myrrh-bearing women, Anna--and I know there are many more that I'm just too lazy to read bios on. I know it's sad, but really, all of their names sound the same and some are so obscure that finding biography is like finding the perfect pair of jeans. I just want to make sure that I don't miss anyone really cool, so if there are suggestions floating around out there, I'd love to hear them. =)

Thursday, July 29, 2010

ten things thursday

Ten things that made me smile this past week:

1. Melissa was in town for Kat's wedding and we got to chat for a few hours in my very humid living room. Yay! I'm so excited to go to Colorado for their wedding next week!
2. I'm going to stay with some good friends from church, and I spoke with the mom of the family and she was telling me about all of the lovely things that they're doing to ready my room and whatnot. It's all very surreal, and very happy. =)
3. Packing is going well. What a relief!
4. My boss is letting me borrow one of our cheese vans to move some of my furniture to my parents' house this weekend so I don't have to rent a truck!
5. I've taken to looking at skeins of handspun or hand-dyed yarn on Etsy because it is knitter/crocheter/spinner porn. There is nothing quite so beautiful as a hank of alpaca-silk blend.
6. Today, I was paging through my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and drooling over recipes. It was very inspiring.
7. My mom won the Biggest Loser competition at my parents' gym! She's going there today to pick up her "goodie basket"---does it contain carrots?
8. I'm craving samosas today like nobody's business. It's starting to drive me crazy, but in a really good way. I've been smiling as I reminisce about great samosas past...yum.
9. I slept over at a friend's house last night in AIR CONDITIONING! YAY! Also, it's been only 80 degrees today, a beautiful respite from our heat wave of 90+ over the past few weeks.
10. I was talking to Constance about when I could be chrismated...it made me really happy. I'm not ready, but I also know I'll never be ready, so whenever Father Pat would like to do it is fine with me!

Friday, July 23, 2010

ten things thursday

Ten things that made me smile this past week:

1. Got back on Facebook. I was embarrassed at first, but after I got into it a bit, I realized it was great to be back. I had a good year (+) without it, and I'm mildly proud of myself for that, but the fact is that people use it to communicate. If I want to communicate with those people, then that's my best option. So, hooray!
2. I realized the other day that my beloved Monica is coming back soon from camp! It'll probably be three more weeks or so, but I can't wait!
3. I found out yesterday that I have to whole apartment to myself this entire weekend! I love that, even if I'm not really going to be home all that much. I can freely sit on the couch, watch whatever I want, walk around naked, and bake if I want to without a certain roommate whining too much about the heat (while she sits in her air-conditioned bedroom...not that I'm pissy about it or anything...)
4. The "Spaulding Place" peeps and I played Settlers of Catan last Saturday and we all about peed our pants with laughter. I'm glad to be back in touch with them.
5. LeRoy crawled up into my lap this morning as I drooled and stared at the wall rather than waking up. He's becoming quite comfortable in our house. The way he sat was precious, though---he was all folded in half like a slumped rag doll with his paws sticking out every which way. Cute.
6. I've been looking at wedding photos on Facebook (I know, I'm a stalker), and they're making me happy in a special, heart-warming, goose-bumpy kind of way.
7. Just about every time I think to myself, "I really miss Cindy and Kip!", one of them sends me a text. Kip sent me a photo-text of his fro-yo the other day. It had Sour Patch kids on it. YUM.
8. Thinking about fro-yo.
9. Despite the fact that it's supposed to be 95 degrees today with a "heat index" (whatever that is) of 103, I slept like a baby last night without air conditioning, and my fans chilled me sufficiently to the point that I needed to huddle up under a blanket for the last hour of my sleepy-time.
10. Luke ordered moving boxes that should be arriving today which means that I can actually PACK! I'm excited to be a nomad for a little while. I'll just take what I can fit in my car and live wherever. I'm young and single--perfect timing, right?

Thursday, July 15, 2010

great scarf pattern!

Title : Knitty First Fall 2010

I'm knitting this scarf with a GORGEOUS yarn that I bought from Raven Frog Fiber Arts while in Juneau. This is not the scarf I made with the other yarn I bought from them--I'm making this from a Merino/Silk blend that is a variegated green, light pinkish-red, and white (with shades between) and I can't wait to start! I like it because it's not too girly, not too utilitarian, just like the designer writes on this page.

Anyway, as soon as I've charged my camera and have begun enough work for a photo, one will be posted.

ten things thursday

Ten things that made me smile this past week.

1. I went on a ride-along with Kip and I got to inspect the interior of a squad car while simultaneously learning what I can reasonably expect to get away with while driving...and was further impressed with Cindy's choice of mate. Kip is a really great guy.
2. Putting Tillamook in his harness...priceless. I've never seen a cat behave in such a bizarre manner, and it was endlessly funny.
3. Thanks to the ever-astonishing generosity of the Cheshires, I rode home in high style--first class all the way! It was at once humbling, tearful, amazing, fun, intoxicating (literally), and just plain enjoyable. I watched Date Night for free, ate tasty free food, and drank tasty free liquor, all while sitting on comfy seats and NOT poking my neighbor with my knitting needles. =)
4. Luke gave me flowers and a large bottle of Wisconsin Belgian Red by New Glarus to welcome me home to the prairie state. He made sure that all of the flowers and grasses were native to Illinois since I had been in Alaska for so long.
5. My roommates had to put my cat down the day before I came home, which is definitely NOT happy, but we already have a new cat and he's adorable. I'm not saying that LeRoy will replace JoJo, but he has helped me to cope with the loss of my little furry friend.
6. I finished a scarf made from one of the hanks I purchased at Skeins from Raven Frog Fibers! It's just as beautiful (and hot) as I'd hoped. I'm glad to get an early start on Christmas gifts.
7. One of my favorite Alaskan activities with Cindy was when we went to Fred Meyer and squealed and fawned over all of the adorable baby clothes! I helped Cindy pick out onesies and jeans, and we found some adorable little outfits, but decided it would be a good idea to wait to find something cuter. Plus, Bean's gender is a mystery, so his or her birth will clear that up making it easier to buy clothes.
8. I smiled every day that is was chilly while I was in Juneau. I didn't notice as much then, but now being back in Chicago, I miss it a whole lot. It's 90 degrees here today, with a humidity of only 70%. Yay for Juneau's chilliness!
9. FROOOOOOOOOO-YOOOOOOOOOOOOO! A pregnant and non-pregnant woman's dream come true! Cindy, Kip, and I patronized the frozen yogurt place in Juneau more than I care to admit, and there are few small cares more smile-inducing than creating your own frozen yogurt treat, priced by the ounce. Fantastic!
10. I got several emails when I was in Alaska from people who didn't know I was in Alaska, and the response was always the same, "Alaska?! Wow! Enjoy!" Tee-hee. I sure did. =)