Good grief, let’s get this over with, already! Is it 2007? hmm?

Actually, it’s not even midnight yet on the east coast, so I’ve got a little while to go here in the mountain time zone. So what am I doing? Knitting, of course. On new year’s eve. Ringin’ in the new year with a Jaywalker in progress. Let’s see if I can actually complete a pair this time. I think I’m actually starting to knit a little faster though, which is nice. And this Vesper sock yarn is SO fantastic. Amazingly soft and I love the striping.

I realized the other day that I don’t have a 2007 calendar yet. oops. I want a knitting one (maybe the SnB page-a-day one?), and because I am slightly cheap, I’m going to wait till they go on sale, like 50% off. oh I’m a dork.

Happy new year, again!

Posted: December 31st, 2006 under Knitting, My So-Called Life.
Comments: 2

I really liked kc’s list of seven resolutions for 2007, mainly because that relieves me of the stress of trying to write a longer list and re-reading it sometime in August, only to find that I broke all of them by January 3rd. So, here is my list of seven resolutions for 2007:

1. Journal consistently. I started keeping another journal/diary thingy in November and wrote in it every day for about a month and a half, my longest journal stretch in years. WILL pick up again on January 1st!

2. Destash. Your first thought is probably about my yarn stash, and you’re correct! I intend to do another yarn giveaway (Bust My Stash Part II!), especially before I move back to Virginia. There are some yarns that I’ve just never used, and I need to learn to let go. Also, I’m planning on destashing my book collection–I’m going to do a book giveaway here and then I’ll probably donate the rest to my local library. I just have way too many books, mainly ones I wouldn’t read again, but I bet someone else would.

3. Knit more socks. muahahaha. Will resolution #3 trump #2? Really, though, the majority of my current stash is sock yarn and I just need to knit more socks. I think I’m kind of burned out on knitting sweaters, mainly because my patience level is not what it used to be, even what it was a few months ago. I think socks will be my main projects next year. If I counted right, I only made six pairs of socks during all of 2006–that’s not very many! Must do better (more) in 2007.

4. Find a knitting group/SnB. This should be an easy one–I’ve already Googled SnBs in the VA Beach area, and know of one for sure. Must flock with other knitters! This is kind of related to…

5. Be more social. I am such a hermit at times. While this is fine, I really need to learn to open up to other people and make some friends, darnit. Knitting and/or bookworm friends will be a plus.

6. Find a good job in VA. It’s going to be a stressful move back to my homeland (lol), but I need a good job with benefits (decent insurance plan, etc.) since I’ll lose my insurance coverage when the divorce is finalized. I’m hoping I can find something I’ll enjoy, too, though I can’t be TOO picky at first. Just have to find something ok with decent pay, to start. My quest for a bachelor’s degree might have to be put on indefinite hold, while I figure out the job situation.

7. Be a bit more Bohemian. Allow me to clarify. If you’ve seen Moulin Rouge, possibly my favorite movie EVER–well, my favorite Ewan movie, anyway–then this is familiar to you:

Truth. Beauty. Freedom. Love.

Nuff said. (And if you haven’t yet seen Moulin Rouge, what the heck are you waiting for!)

I hope 2007 is a better year…for everyone. I think–no, I know–it will be better for me. It will involve a LOT of change, and probably some difficulty here and there, but it will be worth it. Anything worth doing is worth doing well, so I’m willing to put up with some rain. Or snow, as the case may be lately!

Happy new year!

Posted: December 31st, 2006 under Deep Thoughts.
Comments: 2

I took someone’s good advice and decided to password-protect certain entries here. If you have previously emailed me for the password, it is the same for all the protected entries. If you don’t have it yet, leave a comment and you will probably get it.

Posted: December 31st, 2006 under Domain.
Comments: 9

I promised knitting content, and here you go! I made the Monkey socks from the latest issue of Knitty. These are so quick to knit–then again, I’ve been knitting in lieu of watching TV of late (haven’t turned on the TV for about 3 1/2 weeks? almost a month?), so that could have something to do with it.

I made these in Socks that Rock, colorway Love in Idleness, which is not only the story of my life but also happens to be a gorgeous colorway. There is more pink than you can see from the Blue Moon photo, but the blue and purple balance it out. I’m usually not a big fan of knitting with pink…only in moderation, haha. Well, it depends on the particular colorway, I suppose.

And the socks are kind of appropriate for me, as apparently my Chinese astrological sign is…the monkey.

Posted: December 30th, 2006 under Knitting.
Comments: 4

Reason #89 why Knit Picks rules!

I’ve been knitting socks this past week with size 1 dpns from Knit Picks, their nickel-plated fantastically pointy dpns. Something I noticed into the first sock that continued into the second is that the nickel finish has actually been peeling off in little flakes. I thought maybe this was some fluke of my terribly sweaty hands problem (which sounds gross, sorry), but it hasn’t stopped, so I just called Knit Picks a few minutes ago and explained the problem.

The lady I spoke to was SO nice and KP is going to replace my dpns for free! I’m very pleased. She said that the peeling problem is not common, though she got another call today about the same problem from another customer. She said to give them another call if I have the same issue with my replacement dpns, which I will definitely do.

I love Knit Picks. So much, in fact, that I would marry them and have their little knitted babies. For real.

Posted: December 28th, 2006 under Knitting.
Comments: 5

Remember the long-delayed final exam I’ve been waiting to take for my communications class? (Canceled date, weather delays, make-up exam, blah.) Well, my make-up exam arrived yesterday at my testing center, and I took today off from work, so I am FINALLY taking this blasted test! I woke up early this morning to do a final review, and I’m hoping that I don’t brain dump all this info before I actually sit down to take said test.

And of course I’m sitting here blogging about it, as I have a few spare minutes before I need to get ready to leave.

I have some knitting photos to post very soon, as this blog and my Flickr have been severely lacking knitting content lately. I’m currently working on the Monkey socks from the latest Knitty, and these knit up (just like Hedera) really fast. Fast socks = happy me. Correction: Socks that Rock + fast socks = very happy me.

Must go prepare for the exam now, i.e. take a shower and get dressed! Wish me luck!

Posted: December 28th, 2006 under Knitting, Miss Education.
Comments: 3

Now that I have dropped the bomb here at mub.net (see previous post for the Current End-of-Marriage Status), I can write a regular post. It seemed weird to wax serious about the end of something as significant as my marriage and then turn around and say, YAY! I got yarn today! You know?

Actually, I’m in pain both emotionally AND physically. My Christmas, well, sucked. I’ve had raging cramps yesterday as well as today (that still have not subsided). It was my first Christmas spent alone, as the (soon-to-be ex-)husband left Friday, quicker than you can say Jack Sprat. Well, I had my dogs with me, but they don’t talk back to me in English, so it gets pretty quiet ’round these parts. So I spent Christmas pretending that it was NOT Christmas, but rather a regular day off. I woke up, I ate some pasta salad, I did laundry, I spent rather a bit of money online, talked to my mom and sister on the phone, and that was pretty much it. btw, my unintended self-imposed TV strike is still in effect. I haven’t watched TV–haven’t even turned it on–in about 3 1/2 weeks. It’s odd.

I’ve been knitting to keep my sanity. That, and keeping an ever-growing list of issues I must tackle before the divorce is final. If I can keep an organized head about things, I’ll feel better. I don’t want to forget to do anything important. I’m even going to have a new will (as in, last will and testament) drawn up. Got to take the soon-to-be-ex out of there and revise it. My current will says that I should be buried. I’m going to change it and state that I want to be cremated. It’s just the idea of burial that freaks me out. Dead or not. I know these are severely morbid thoughts, but I have to consider them. Just in case. And this impending divorce is helping me put my future in perspective.

I’m going to take this ordeal as an opportunity to get my life truly in order. Get done the things I’ve been wanting to do, fix the things that are broken, and make a new life. I’ve had weeks to mull this all over and plan what I want to do. (No TV viewing gives you an awful lot of knitting time, and subsequently, thinking time.) Maybe I should be sitting here mourning the loss of a 5-year marriage and the end of a potentially beautiful future together, but…I’m not. Does that make me seem cold? I hope not, but I just want to get to a place of No Regrets. And this is the first major step in that direction. There’s nothing wrong with making mistakes, but there is something wrong with dwelling on them and staying in them just because you’re afraid to fix things.

I’m thinking about new year’s resolutions. I always break them, no matter how well-intended they are. Wondering whether I should even write any for 2007. Actually, if I do make any, I think I’ll make them into Future Life Resolutions, rather than just for next year. I need to think about that more.

I’ve been leaning on my family for support during this time, and also on a certain someone (you know who you are…if you’re reading this), and they have helped me maintain my sanity (along with the knitting, of course). I know I’m going to get through all this, and it’s going to be worth it. I know I’m doing the right thing. I feel kind of scared about the coming months, but have a real peace about it all at the same time. And that tells me that I am, in fact, doing the right thing.

For once.

Posted: December 26th, 2006 under Deep Thoughts, My So-Called Life.
Comments: 6