on a lighter note

New Knitwear! From the Purlescent Knits line of Blueberry Cobbler : )

snapshot of my Ravelry page - the little hearts mean people like them LOTS!

ponderings

You know how some people are stupid? I'm wondering if it's instilled at birth or some kind of conscious choice... cuz it seems no matter how hard people try they're just stupid for a good long time. They can't ever break the habit.

Whoever thought thinking BEFORE speaking would be a major problem for people in today's society.

"Are we just going to wait it out?"

all for love

Thank you, tiny love muffin who grew up to save the world. You give my life purpose even when I don't realize it.

Merry Christmas everyone!

p.s. there is a marathon of White Christmas on ALL DAY today!

All I Want For Christmas...

the Christmas season is in full swing complete with sideways blowing snow and the little light up snowflakes and bells on the lamp posts.

I am in a much better Christmas mood than last year. Last year I wasn't happy AT ALL with my state of unemployment and everyone being so happy about Christmas just made me more sad. This year is way better. Despite the galeforce winds that are happenin' today.

I have made a Christmas list every year since before I could read and write. It's just tradition. At one point my lists were extravagant filled with lots of WordArt and red and green but this year I don't actually want anything. Right now I'm into knitting so I would appreciate a couple hanks of Blue Sky Alpaca Chunky yarn above anything else. Is that weird?

I made a mistake today, too. I looked at someone's facebook (sadly I am guilty of a little Fb stalking) and I definitely should NOT have because I totally miss having that person as a close friend. And I just realized that this person bothers me more than other people... like if this was anyone else I would still have the same standard but it wouldn't affect me as much, but it's not anyone else. I just got Imogen Heap's new cd today - well it's not so new but when you ordered it in September from the library and it just got here haha! - and it made me think of EVERYTHING so... buh. Emotionally I'd like to say, "I MISS YOU SO MUCH" but dealing with something emotionally is never good. Can I still be sad about it by myself though? I might just do that...

On the upside of things the knitting is going very well. We are set to launch in March - so look out for my family's etsy shoppe - Blueberry Cobbler (if you knew us you'd know that it's the PERFECT NAME). I was hesitant at first; more than hesitant I shut the whole idea DOWN. Now I'm open to it and my sister and niece are over the moon excited. Check out my Flickr for pictures of things we have so far - under Blueberry Cobbler : ) let me know if you want me to knit you a Car Cozy: for the winter season.

not even a little rogue

today ended up being pretty sucky. i went downtown to go to the Renegade Handmade Holiday Sale. I've only been waiting for it since September. Turns out a friend of mine couldn't go so I decided not to go. It's a LONG way to Wicker Park and trekking up there and back alone just... isn't as fun as going with someone. I also figured I could buy my Ork! Poster online - that was really all I wanted. So there that was.

I did my first errand, which was to get wool roving, which was AWESOME. The knitting part of the day was exceptionally awesome. I spent... well more than I wanted and I STILL didn't get everything I had originally in my hands. I found yarn, 1 skein of yarn, for 110 dollars! It was FANTASTIC. And it stayed there haha

So I desperately texted Anisha right before I left saying I hoped I would see her and walked on to Starbucks. I get there and wait like 45 minutes while not being able to reach her getting more and more down. Besides the knit shop everything was going to pot. Finally she calls and is like, "Oh I thought I told you I couldn't come..." That was when I completely just broke down. I couldn't even hold it in. There was some creepy girl starin' at me probably texting her friend that a girl is crying... jerk. I just gave up and started for the train.

Anisha, being the best friend that she is, came to my rescue. She had to work and was trying to get out of it but I guess I missed the part where she couldn't. I just... cryingly told her I "had to go and that today was horrible and I didn't know and I was going home." Just. Like. That. So I turn around - STILL CRYIN! - and go back to Starbucks... and pretty much just cried some more HAHA. Once the flood gates opened (IN PUBLIC) i just couldn't stop. Eventually I did and Anies made me feel better about the Day That Turned to Crap.

I think I'm just bad at planning things... so... now to stay indoors for a little while and recuperate my tear ducts.

oh!... christmas tree!

This is what my Christmas tree looks like:

This is what my tree looks like when I take my glasses off:

I thought these both were accurate points of view : )

handmade catch-up

I did all this cool adventuring and told you the high points only to completely forget that I have some fruits of that labor! The labor being... all the cool adventuring. Well in October (which seems so far away now) I went here:

pretty much. the coolest place ever. ya know besides Argo and most local yarn shops.

here are some FRUITS!

We got to make cutouts of styrofoam so you could layer paper on top of your paper. I made the bird and the moustache, in true Abbers form, and they were a hit! I love the ragged and curled edges of the paper. My favorite is the oatmeal bird on the vibrant green. The lighter color was made with newspaper and magazines - if you look close you'll see a tiiiiny clipping haha. It was a cool day. I'd really like to take their letterpress class. It sounds so awesome!

remoulade

i don't even understand how this story didn't end up here but here it is.

there was a mouse in my apartment like 3 weeks ago and honestly I can't tell you how. We live on the 3rd floor. THE THIRD floor! It must have ninja-army crawled its way up the gas pipe (and how did it not DIE from asphyxiation) and my niece spotted it. "Too big to be a bug." Those words struck fear in my bones. I remember having a mouse in the house on Dixie. I came in the kitchen and we stared at each other before running off to our respective holes.

So we told Autumn (the niece) to go back and check, with my mom in tow, cuz apparently she LIKES disease-ridden rodents and sure enough there was a mouse. What happened next can't really be described but I'm going to try. There were 4 people in the apartment - my mom, myself, my niece Autumn and my nephew Aaron - and there were 4 completely DIFFERENT emotional reactions to this tiny, scared, little, fat mouse.

Mom - ends up yelling, "THERE'S A MOUSE! THERE'S A MOUSE! THERE'S A MOUSE!" while turning in endless cirlces on a rug in our living room. Then she burst into tears and got angry and accepted it. My mother went through all 5 stages of grief in 5 minutes.
Autumn - as aforementioned, wanted to befriend the mouse and named him Alfalfa. My grandmother named him Alfeefee.
I - FREAKED OUT and stayed off the floor as if it were mouse infested hot lava.
Aaron - the processor, stayed quiet and then asked if anyone had a gun so he could potentially shoot the mouse.
*scenario* "This is your nightly 10 o'clock news. In the sleepy village of Flossmoor there was a quadruple homicide allegedly accidental but no one's alive to tell the story! The only witness? A grey mouse spotted under the stove in the kitchen." that's how it would have went down.

So there were 4 vortexes of emotions happening all the while this mouse is just CHILLIN' under our stove. My mom went into army warfare mode after the brief teary scene and tried to call a bunch of people. Meanwhile my niece is still fawning over it and my nephew is still pensive with the occasional, "........So is it gone yet?" I close EVERY DOOR in the apartment and my mom YELLED at me for it!
Mom: "I can't be claustrophobic in my own house OPEN THAT DOOR!"
Me: "MOM!... MOM! MOM!... MOM!...MOM!!MOM! MOM!" *hands flailing wildly*

Yes, in case of a mouse keep everything OUT IN THE OPEN. What?!?!?!

Finally we contacted a friend who took my mom mouse trap shopping and we caught it in a few days. I told my niece who was distraught. My mom said I shouldn't have told her buuuut I didn't care! DISEASES! That word alone justifies my case. I win.

Even though it's been however many weeks since we caught it I still flip the light on in the kitchen, peek my head around and THEN enter the kitchen - ya know just in case any more army warefare ready mice decide to invade again.

We still laugh over this story mostly over the 4 vortexes of emotion that happened. I wish I could show you how it was... it's way better when I tell it.
Did I tell you I stole something from Jewel once? Ah, another day. :0)

misunderstandings of flapjack

Some friends of mine decided my family needs to be on television. It's true... we do... we're absolutely out of the box in terms of families. I'll be posting stories of dumb stuff we do, dumb stuff I say and things like that. So that means I'll be posting a LOT more : ) HAHA

For example today:

It's cleaning day. We have an annual cleaning day before each high holiday of the year because family comes over. We revamped the living room to accommodate the tree and put up like... 4 picture frames. There's lots of Pledge and Fabuloso involved - it's just what we do.

Anyway my mom is just outside my room doing something that involves rugs and cleaning them. She comes into my room and looks at the scratches on the bottom of my door and goes, "Ooh, a dog lived here."

I'm at my computer and turn slowly around, "Mom! I know I have a lot of hair and that I shed but there is NO REASON to call me a dog. I'm gonna clean up! Promise."

My mom looks confused. "Abby! Look at the door. AN ACTUAL DOG used to live here. Why would I call you a dog haha"

"Oh... I thought you were trying to drop a hint that I needed to clean..."

my bad... I mean my mom usually will just SAY clean up not be like 'hey mangy mutt clean your JUNK up!'

or yesterday when my mom told my grandma not to bring food to Thanksgiving dinner because she is getting older and doesn't need to do the brunt of the work. She wants to help so we give her a few things. This year it was macaroni and cheese and sweet potato pies. This is the gist of the conversation she had with my mom.

Grandma: OK, so I'm making a ham for here (meaning her house) and some dressing. Do you need me to bring dressing?

Mom: *giant pause* No, mom that's... we're... we're good.

Grandma: Oh, ok I'm making greens for here and potato salad. Are you makin' potato salad? I could bring the potato salad. Oh I'm makin' sweet potato pies, too. OO! and I'm bringin' the cake right?

Mom: Mom, I'M making the cake... but I mean you can... uh...

NOT ONCE did my Grandma even mention the macaroni which we THOUGHT she was bringing!!! She does this every year. We'll give her a small task so she's not overwhelmed and she like bogarts the menu and brings EVERYTHING. I swear to bob next year she'll break out and be like, "This duck was ON SALE for $0.39 a pound! I just had to get it!" Plus we have this running joke about Peking duck. I don't... actually remember how that started, what it's about or why it's still funny but all three are still goin strong. That's just us.

Tomorrow I'll tell you the story of the mouse... cuz the world needs to know. I'll have to figure out how to write that down it works much better when I tell it. I guess that's the good thing about writing EXACTLY how you talk... eh? eh? right???

triple chapel! triple chapel! triple chapel!

try sayin' that... it's difficult right? I knows.

Last weekend was my Olivet adventure. It was extra interesting from start to finish. It started out with me going to the gas station to fill up my tire. In all my awesomeness I ended up DEFLATING my tire while trying to inflate it. Yep, you heard correct. I let more air out while trying to put air in. This is no small feat. It's a learned SKILL, passed down from ancient Incans who invented the car and used air pumps CENTURIES before Henry Ford. *ahem* Sounds plausible right? After freaking out and semi crying/hyperventilating I drove to my trusty mechanic who filled it right up after expressing concern at how dangerously low my tire was. I explained the situation and he told me to keep an eye on it. Did I mention I paid $1.50 in quarters at the gas station to DEFLATE my tire? Did I mention my trusty mechanic will fill your tires for FREE anytime? You live and learn.

After finally getting on the road and making it down to B-town I trekked over to the field, where I had to pay 10 bucks to get in!! I would have gotten in for free if the tire mishap didn't happen. I haven't had to pay for a football/basketball game in 9 years. NINE! Travesty. Blood thirsty money suckers! I'm better. The game... well our football team seriously sucks tennis balls. I did enjoy seeing band friends, including this one kid I don't even KNOW who called me a hero. I mean I am a lil bit... if you don't know you better ask somebody!

I watched halftime and commented on sexy flute angles and my signature move (seriously I'm a lil awesome!) I went and had lunch with Sarah, bf, Crystal and Katherine. It was good to see everyone and, of course, the Chinese food was fantastical. Shout out to Sweet Annie's who still holds the record for the best red velvet cupcakes in the WORLD. It's the frosting. I think it's whipped cream cheese frosting. It's lighter than air, which almost justifies eating way too many in one sitting.

During dinner I realized I triple booked myself. I committed myself to eating with Sarah and Kat, Josh and April, AND Maggie. I honestly don't know how I did it. I stayed the longest with Sarah and Kat cuz I told them first. Then I went to El Burrito with Maggie for a $1 churro and horchata (cinnamon-y loooove) for like half an hour then... well then I went back to the music building for a potty break (heh) then to Panda Express/Oberweis for NO food and Josh, April, Sammy, Faith and MATT. WHITE! Busiest day. ever. All of it was fun though!

It was nice to see everybody and that people actually wanted to SEE me. Exactly the opposite of living up here. All in all a good weekend of CRAZY awesomeness.

Next weekend is the gospel choir concert! yaaaay. Let's hope I don't have to fill up any tires before then.
p.s. happy 100th post! : )

writin' this down!

This keeps poppin up in my head and I want to get it out:

I want to own a knitting shop/bakery one day. I think it would be awesome. As soon as I typed this my heart went a little sour. I don't know if it's nerves or the wrong thing to want. I think my mom could work there and my niece and sister as well. It would just be a family run... cute little business. I like it. And my heart is still like, "NOOOO!" lol mixed emotions...

Also, goin' down to Olivet this weekend for homecoming and copious amounts of eating haha. I think I'm going for the gospel choir concert as well in two weeks. I can't resist good music/dancing all for Jesus whaaat?! haha

b the dubs i finished 1 hat. workin on the reincarnation of the other one now. same style. same button. same color. same AWESOMENESS.

preeeviiiiew!

beware! longest entry EVERS.

My other life in the city: day 2

So I ended up staying the night with Anisha. I sat in the library with her for 7 hours while she worked/studied. I totally watched 3 straight hours of Ugly Betty and knitted, while the rest of the students in the library were like... threatening to kill me as they FREAKED OUT about an exam. I felt bad. I should have made a sign hanging from my back that said I DON'T GO HERE! and I probably would have gotten along better with everyone.

We ran back in the rain to her apt and I FINALLY... FINALLYYYYYYYY got to eat Indian food. I have known anisha for 9 years and NOT ONCE have I had even a morsel of Indian food. Ya JERK! But I had, um, I think they're called kotlets and samosas. Both were REALLY good and now I'm pretty sure I need more.

I helped her out with studying. I know a LOT about saccades, foveas, retinas, eye sphincters, eye rectums, pulses, step cells and even some diseases! Anisha told me I'm taking her test next time. My brain's a little weird. It'll retain information then lose it ALL after a time period. It's no good! That's why I can't ever remember any artist's names or works. I have a sensory memory. I can remember sounds, smells, tastes and sight but canNOT for the life of me recall the name haha. I could probably help out with the parts of the eye though! : )

Then I went to visit my mom at NMH not without a quick detour to the new Garrett's where I met the most annoying tourists. They complained about prices of things that they weren't even getting. I wished I could drop kick them back to their home state. You know the type right? Super opinionated halfway upper middle class from Pittsburgh where "this idea of selling popcorn would NEVER last!" It took a good amount of resistance not to turn around and tell them, "PLEASE! RETURN TO PITTSBURGH!" moving on... I relaxed with the mother and knitted more then ventured on to Argo, where I got a free drink. I lurve Argo <3

I made it to my bus (the #36) which I'd never ridden and was on my way! YAY! We got to Clark and I like SPRINTED off because I heard Clark and NOTHING ELSE and thought it was my stop. I was supposed to get off at Clark and Armitage. I got off at Clark and DIVISION. So after bumbling like an idiot I turned back around and lo and behold my BUS WAS STILL THERE! I'm convinced Jesus helped out cuz I would have panicked and forgot that another bus would come... 5 minutes later HA! You live and learn.

I FINALLY made it to Clark and Armitage with the bus driver wishing me, "have a good day young lady." he was so nice i could have hugged him. He didn't make me pay when I got back on! I was just about to find Starbucks when I hear singing. Loud, loud singing. Turns out Ingrid's super fans (mostly known as groupies) were singing all her songs, so I went to stand in line happy that I wasn't alone. When we got inside I figured out that there were NO SEAT NUMBERS and I could sit... anywhere! I tried going front and center on the dance floor but I got shunned by the groupies : (. So I sat and waited for Zack to come with his friends from Olivet. They came (YAY AGAIN) and we got a REALLY good view of the stage on the dance floor. Like I could see Ingrid SO CLEAR.

It was so awesome. It topped Destiny's Child and I say that because I couldn't see Destiny's Child when I saw them (still love you D.C.!!!). She was hilarious and really... AWESOME. It was just the best ever. Now I have a song about Mexican food stuck in my head set to Maybe.

Tip! Don't go to a concert alone. No one goes to a concert alone. I was so tired of waiting for someone to go with, though! I missed like 3 of her Chicago shows, so I just pulled the trigger and went and Zack went as well so I was glad I could meet up with someone eventually. I probably would have stayed front and center if I had someone with me to NOT shun me haha. I will definitely go again whether or not I have someone to go with cuz now I know I can sit, which might be better. I was SO SORE the next day!!!

The concert just affirmed and packed my love for Ingrid's music in quick dry cement. If, one day, you meet me and I have a child named Ingrid or Imogen it's NOT because of any singers. Just. Know.

cheap cheap!

I am guessing that I will devote an entire post and a half to Ingrid Michaelson alone so I better write about this now.

Today I went down, which is actually up, to Columbia College for a cheap paper making class. How I found out about this? I just finished The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger and one of the main characters is this paper maker... turns out so is the author. I was surfin' on the interwebz lookin for letterpress classes and stumbled upon this little gem. It was 25 bucks meaning it was PERFECT and it sounded so interesting after reading all about the paper making process.

The class was REALLY cool! Of course, I was nervous. I mapped out my route there and back and there and to Anisha's many, MANY, many times. But I made it there 1 minute late because Sunday trains are pretty horrible haha and we dove right in. I learned what a mold and deckle is - the frame and wire mesh that the fibers of whatever you're making paper into settles onto before you dry it. I learned what 'loft' is - how high the fibers are off the mold and deckle once you strain it through and it determines the thickness of your paper. I also learned what couching is (pronounched coo-ching - who knew?!) - the process of transfering pulpy fibers onto... i forget the name haha it's a giant sheet of wet blotting paper... onto that.

I got a lil creative, ya know within my small creative boundaries. It was at the very end when I started to really want to merge and layer. It was really cool. I made a moustache cut out and I am most excited to get that when it's dried.

I'm pretty 'white bread' when it comes to living and surviving in the city, but I want to branch out so bad. Who wants to live in fear all the time as so many of us do without realizing it? I'm so glad I found this class - I mean who goes downtown on a Sunday to make paper for 6 hours?? That's right... Abby does. I want to do more! Get out more! I'm not at the point where I can take the bus by myself at 12 at night, but who really wants to do that as an act of independence. Don't be stupid.

I met some cool girls there. I did not get any information from them. I'm learning. Most thought processes come AFTER the fact. I'll add that to my list of "how to make friends." I need a friend I can talk to EVERY. DAY. or every two days. I'm just that kind of person. Even if it's hi annnnd bye. Sporadic communication classifies that friendship as *giant ugly stamping sound* "NOT REAL." moving on... mmhmm!

Oh did I tell you I almost got beat up by an old lady? She was kidding (and in my class) but I'm fairly sure she could take me. I will NOT met her in a dark alley.

Now I'm here at ICO with Anies til midnight while she studies/works in the library. I am fairly assured I will finish my hat tonight. I had to remake that sucka. I can't go OUT like that! It will be REBORN like... that one sword in LOTR. Narsil. sweet.

Random thoughts: Who had a massive sale on green carpeting and gave it to every church in America? Cuz I just don't get it! I'll say no more...

After my eardrums and I recover from a night of awesome with Ingrid M. I will post! Be on the lookout! Like the two navy guys in Mary Poppins (who i just realized might have been a liiiittle homosexual). "BANKS! DOOO YOOOU HEAR ME!?!"

Reasons why this weekend was awesome.

1) SAW OTHELLO and it was amazing. I wanted to leap everywhere. Why would you walk after seeing that? When you crash into something and twist your ankle then... you remember you aren't a ballerina. *coughs* yeah...

2) Ate at Lou Malnati's for yummylicious pizza extravaganzas. and it was just like that.

3) I FINALLY got a caramel apple shake on Sunday after work. 'Twas just as I remembered. Exci-tasty.

4) Monday was productive! I went to the cleaners - right? i mean who goes to the cleaners? when it's under your apt IIII DOOO! - i did laundry and went to the post office. OK this isn't a stretch because the post office is literally 6 yards from my apartment. hehe. STILL! i was productive!

5) I also went downTOWN yesterday (mmmmhmm!) to Loopy Yarns for the first time. It was overwhelming... so many possibilities to knit into realities. I ended up getting these AWESOME needle holders (which i plan on getting many more of) and circular needles. That is VERY significant because... I started making hats again! Festival of Harrrts!

6) I stumbled upon a shoe store I'd never heard of in my life on State called Akira... turns out they sell TOMS... mmhmm curiosity piqued. Turns out they sold these:

Emily Dickenson TOMS

I pretty much took it as a sign from Jesus. They were sold out FOREVER online and I had wanted these for like EVER so... yes... Jesus was in the MIX. and they're on my feet. right now.

7) Argo. Where I got a free drink that was supposed to be small but he gave me a medium. RIGHT?! awesome.

8) It was WARM YESTERDAY! I wore a fleece downtown because... if you don't it'll snow because they KNOW you're not wearing a coat. I was seriously sweating... more than most men. That fleece does it's job for warmth. Just sayin'

9) I felt like I was back in college. The... 10 square block area on State and all perpendicular streets til Randolph is swarming with college kids. I mean it makes sense it's home to DePaul, Robert Morris, Columbia AND Roosevelt's dorm rooms and classes. So I pretty much felt RIGHT at home. It was kinda of... GREAT. I even passed some cross country boys on the corner of Congress and Wabash. only in the city... <3

10) I met my mommy on the train and we rode home togethers!

My original plan was to go to Loopy and head on down to Blicks and Old Navy but I got sidetracked by the awesome shoes and that was the END of my purchases after the shoes haha. It ended up being way more awesome of a day than i expected, and it was nice to spend time with my mommy! yay for good daysss... makes me wanna do a dance. like bag the leaves or... something that includes fist pumping in a horizontal motion.

... I just thought of a few more reasons...

11) I did NOT go to Forever 21 when I was downtown. I don't think you understand how miffed it makes me to see people go ALL THE WAY DOWNTOWN only to go to Forever freaking 21, which is also conveniently located in EVERY MALL in America. So dumb

12) I got in the back of 2 (count them TWO) strangers photos! I am happy for them to see those...

the low down on the line up

I keep calling this month the Festival of Hats and art. The festival of Harts haha. Well the hats thing is cuz of the overwhelming requests of knit hats since my first endevour soon to be my second-first endevour ha. And art because... we'll let me show you what's happenin!

Othello by the Joffrey Ballet this Saturday. I'm so glad you can't see me typing this because I'm giddier than a 5 year old getting to see Dora the Explorer for the first time. The words "THE JOFFREY BALLET" keep repeating over and over and my ears go fuzzy. I might actually pee my pants. I might bring an extra pair.

Cheap Paper Making Class on the 25th at Columbia - I'm being adventurous! and making paper in rain boots and an apron all day on a Sunday. Sweet.

INGRID FREAKING (BUH-FREAKING!!) MICHAELSON on the 26th. I'm not going with anyone though people I know will be there. I'm SO excited to see her! It's *in a sing-songy voice* awwwwsoooooome!

And while I know this isn't important I'm also getting Aurelio's next week! I've been waiting for it like I've been waiting for Caramel Apple Pops (which I have FINALLY attained) so this is pretty GREAT.

Oh, and Happy Hisperitage Month! (Hispanic Heritage hahaha) : )

my entire family does this

when my brother was 15 he sat in front the t.v. and copied down Macaulay Culkin's entire bathroom/bathrobe scene on an index card while play/pausing on the VHS. Almost 20 years later here I sit in front of my computer on Hulu pausing and playing a scene from Community and copying it down on a giant musical note shaped... note pad. We don't change much. It stays within the fam and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Donde? Esta? La Biblioteca?

Me llamo T-bone, la aranja discoteca

Discoteca, muneca, la biblioteca

Es un bigote grande, perro, monteca

Monteca, bigote, gigante, pequeno

Cabeza es nieve, cervesa es bueno

Buenos - dias, me gusta papas frias

Bigote de la cabra es Cameron Diaaaz

Boi!

Love it.

Let's move on from that though eh? Let's. I finally finished the hat. I might remake the hat. As it turns out the yarn was really REALLY soft and supposed to be knit on smaller needles so it revolted a little bit. It's gorgeous. I've got some ways to revamp it though. Make the brim smaller so it'll actually FIT. I had to put it away though I couldn't look at it, I was so frustrated.

On the upside of things, I've gotten requests for that particular hat from... 6 people! yay. I've made a baby hat and I'm working on additional hats. P.s. Knit is getting off the ground... like... hovercraft height haha but it's off the ground! As my niece enjoys shouting out at random times: Progression!

The Baby Beanie

and i found more

they're done!

knitted inspiration

knit alert :0)

I am almost done with the second leg warmer! It's been SO LONG and I'm like 4 inches away. I've resorted to taking it to work with me. I'm that determined. I am attempting before Saturday so I can get them on my niece and pictures up. They're so warm... I want to live in them.

I am a fair-weather knitter (lol a good name too - yaay i thought of one!). I knit, knit, knit then stop. for like 60 years. then all of a sudden it's Christmas... and i knit, knit, knit, Christmas is over then i'm tired and i stop for 60 more years. then summer comes haha. but when i need a knit-kick-in-the-pants i look at these:

her name is Siobhan (pronounced Sha-VON - WHO KNEW?!) from moocowhandknits on Etsy. She is my favorite etsy seller at the moment because she gets me in the 'let make something AWESOME' mood. I have made the drop stitch scarf and I REALLY want to make the the magic ring wrap cuz it's so versatile and comfortable. One day I'll work up to that black button up wrap. and then of course i'll rule the world afterwards. it's all in the plan, keep up!

I ordered a pair of needles for a hat I'm making from a knit shop I decided to patronize (the good kind of patronize), but as it turns out all the ladies are 97 (cute as pie though) and keep losing my order for the right size needles.

My conversation with them:

Me! I need size 6, 16 inch, circular needles.

Gma-97 - FIVE SIX??! We don't sell that. We only sell 5 OR 6.

Me! I need. SIZE. SIX. 16 inch circular needles.

Gma-97 - OH. oh. okay. what kind?

And apparently they do inventory once a YEAR. If they don't get here soon I'm just going to adjust the pattern cuz this is ridiculous... but I will get their yarns... love em.

on a completely different note - right now i'm into shoes with stories behind them. shoes with impact. first TOMS now these from Sseko (courtesy of designmom). i can't wear heels. i can't wear boots. i can BARELY wear TOMS - but trust me... when those shoes come back i will wear them. i will wear them like the stepsister in cinderella that tried on a size 5 shoe with size 12 feet they WILL FIT. just sayin - but i am very sure i can wear THESE:

mhmm. don't you wish summer wasn't ending? go ahead. get them. save them but secretly wear them in the house.

love.

knitting and shoes where your feet can breaaathe. the ideal day. for me haha

i'm bad. chum'on!

I'm a fan of lists. There are to-do lists on the back of my phone (most recent: the directions to the Renegade Craft Fair and Metra train times home), random lists like this and this and I think to-do lists played a part in getting me through the last half of my Senior year of college (thanks yearbook room printer paper!). Planner's just don't work. Post-it's work. Printer paper works. I think the point of to-do lists is to enjoy crossing out tasks and feeling like I'm plowing through the list of crazy that happens to be my life.

Oh, know what else doesn't work? Computer task lists don't work. My Gmail list is WAY behind. way.

This just to say (no I'm not going to quote William Carlos Williams) I'm making a new list: How to Be Friendly. I can post, talk, twitter, facebook update as many times as my little heart beats about how I want a group of close friends that are made for me but that doesn't make any appear out of thin air. Taking instruction from the Bible I need to show myself friendly to get friends. Sow friendliness. Reap good friends.

Here's the thing. This is an empty list. It's a growing, living, breathing list cuz I have no idea what to do. Good AT friendship. Bad at getting, maintaining them. I'm actually out of words. If I go any further it starts to sound like a personals ad and horrible rambling, but I will update the list as I go along...

frustrated.

GUESS.what.

I got THESE

they don't FIT.

they're in the MAIL... :(

ok i just wanted to keep in tune with my other entry about them... but anyway yeah 'member how my feet are horrible? i think i actually wear a size 8... but i have a heel that's two sizes long. no joke. and my instep is as thick as a normal persons... CALF. the combination of having hobbit feet (sans the hair) makes for interesting shoe fitting. so all this to say... i couldn't get the dang shoes on yesterday! i waited... stuck my feet in the air cuz according to my mom 'you've been on your feet all day. wait til the morning.' um. no! i got one joker on... and then the other one... and my feet proceeded to tingle haha. i have room in the toe... room in the heel (my fingers are now bruised from getting the heel to go in - 2 size heel. seriously.) but my instep was so TIGHT and i thought it was gonna cut my feet off. so i'm sending off for the next size up... which is the biggest women size they have. *rolls eyes* bah.

i need a Cash for Clunkers program for my gas guzzlin' low down no good wide feet of mine!

say you'll come in soon

was anyone up and about at 6 am this morning? I was and the rolling fog was beautiful. I didn't have a camera but if I can describe the ride home it was... 3 ft of road, white nothingness and a hazy sun. It was like a white out without the snow. It was awesome... and kinda scary when the cars disappeared into the misty mist. (that made me think of Mr. Misty haha)

I don't know why I've been on a stuff kick lately. this is just a random list of stuff this season I think are cool. I always think it's wrong to ask God for the things you want like... a puppy or a bike but really? He wants those things for you! He knows what you want. This is not a resounding endorsement for, "Take all you want and want all you take!" but I think it's ok to like nice things. God calls the flowers more arrayed than most so why can't I be arrayed splendidly as well? haha it's not that important in reality haha but here it is anyways :0)

top to bottom:

TOMS - I may not ever get enough of these - these are Men's Midnight Blue Leaves. my spending logic will always be justified by the fact that i am actually helping children... which is great for the children... and bad for my newly messed up spending logic and bank account.

A Maltese-Poodle mix - otherwise, more famously, known as a Maltipoo, which I can never say with a straight face (can ya really say anything with poo in the name without laughing? poo.). I can forgive the name because he's JUST SO CUTE. His name is Patches... he is a ham and i want him.

A Burberry Tiered Trench in white - classic. It will never go out of style... it's an investment though. a twelve hundred dollar... INVESTMENT. or sacrificial investment.

Emu "Hip" - They're not Uggs! (commence the rejoicing) plus they're cute and I can get my feet into them! sidenote - boots without zippers (whatever! boots WITH zippers) don't like me

The Townie Original 7D - isn't it pretty? can't you see yourself riding one with a basket of flowers and/or groceries from, say, Whole Foods in the front?? Or for general downtown lakeside leisurely adventures? I know I do. Exercise meets vintage style. meets AWESOME.

there ya have it. abby's list of RANDOM. it might roll back into town one day... it might not... like the parking lot circus... you think you know when it's comin but every year you're WRONG...

guess. WHAT.

i got THESE

they in the MAIL

=)

here's a riddle for you. find the answer.

SOCIAL WEEK. (remember how to say it. always remember.)


Wednesday and Thursday I stayed downtown at Anisha's super swank downtown apartment. OK i'm embelleshing a little because it's more south SOUTH Michigan but to me it's still super SWANK. we went to Food Life, Argo, H&M and Filene's by default. it were raining. it was next door to H&M.

we also saw 500 Days of Summer. lurved it. lurved the music. sang along. i'm slowly becoming my mother... don't mock. I enjoyed spending time with her... I really don't talk much! she kept asking what was going thru my head at THAT EXACT MOMENT. usually it's a song but usually it's some irrelevant thought like, "I wonder what other people see when they look in the mirror." or i'm off somewhere dreaming of super swank apartments that i may own one day.

it was a nice social week. friday i had lunch with a friend at a restaurant below my apartment, where they have the best New Orleans pasta evers. haha according to her, "It has the perfect amount of kick. not too hot." and according to me, "well... for black people..." haha

I've decided not to do anymore extraneous spending. like 1 per payday. i have to save for car stuffs? and i can't DO that if i keep... spending all my money haha. this time it's TOMS shoes. I'm hoping the Poe's last til friday otherwise I'm getting the Heller/peace ones. and next time it's Immi & Ingrid (really good names for the cutest puppies ever or cats) and then... nothing haha til Christmas which i'll be MAKING - SLAM!

move me if you want to

ADVENTUUUURE! currently i'm writing this to the tune of "Mountain and the Sea" by good ol' INGRID.

If you are keeping up with me by Faceybook, Twitterbug or wHatnot (and i'm certain you are not because I'm not so interesting.) I keep calling this Social Week. Yeah, well, that's cuz everything social has happened this week. Monday was IKEA and Cheesecake Factory, Tuesday was NOTHIN' - I worked for 8 hours haha. Wednesday/Thursday was my downtown adventure with my bestest Anisha and today was lunch with a friend. so in a series of posts mostly labeled, "ADVENTUUURE!" from Flapjack, who i love in a cartoonish platonic kind of way, you'll hear about:

SOCIAL WEEK. (which is to be said like you'd say, "SLAAAM!" or "some o' yo' momma's BISCUITS.")

Monday: IKEA! Can I just say how awesome of a store IKEA is? I know that it's slowly dismantling everything unique and antique BUT somehow these designers make things that serve more than one purpose. Lamp shades that are artwork, tea-light holders that turn upside down to hold taper candles. A chair that brings happiness because it was only 99 BUCKS. And even the food is good! A meatball is a meatball is a ball. of MEAT. but theirs are SO GOOD! and the dang sparkling pomegranate-apple juice is so awesome some slow lady thought it was sparkling wine. haaaa.

The store itself is specially made NOT to give you a headache after 4 hours of hardcore shop time. It's like ergonomically designed to be light and airy at all times. My mom and I shopped for like 6 years and had three - count them THREE - carts and made it out alive! I go in K-Mart and come out with a massive headache. I hate big stores cuz they seriously put a cramp in my back. Love IKEA. Love it. I got shelves, a pretty lamp (currently adorning this desk), um OH a basket to hold my growing plethora of yarn, a duvet cover (that I secretly wish I got a different color of... WHY did I stick with traditional? oh boob.) and a blanket. OH and a new pillow... for tummy sleepers - that's me!

We even got a chair in my mom's tiny car and after it went in i yelled YAAAAAAAAY! and people stared. OK but seriously? people were trying to STEAL the chair! It was super cheap and really comfy and no joke people were mean muggin! OK, foreign couple at the end of the hallway I SEE YOU. DON'T PLAY LIKE I CAN'T SEE YOU. You better -- stop it! Step away from -- THAT'S NOT EVEN YOUR CART.

vultures.

Then we ate at the Cheesecake Factory to which I've never been. I've only been to Grand Lux and it was really nice! my mom got the most amazing meal and I got the worst.

Note to everyone: don't get a crab cake sandwich when you're expecting something amazing. you'll be super underwhelmed.

Desert made up for it. Get ready. Red. Velvet. Cheesecake. *dies* I KNOW RIGHT?! ugghhhhh. layers of really GOOD red velvet cake and cheesecake. red velvet. cheesecake. it was beautiful. You know how some red velvet cakes are pretty much just... red chocolate cakes? Oh no. not this one. It was real red velvet and the best cake out of cheese ever. i should keep that in mind for a wedding cake. people would kiss each other in excitement.

It was a REALLY good day! oddly relaxing for a Monday. It was like a no-day. You know how days feel like other days? "Today doesn't feel like a Friday it feels like a Tuesday." It didn't feel like ANYday. It was like an un-day. The antithesis of a day of the week. 'Twas awesome.

downtown adventures come soon. a precursor though... I think I'd wanna live downtown if I had a roommate. that way we could get a SWEET place and not have to worry about being mugged ya know? just thoughts...

Ingrid Michaelson - Everybody - Aug 25 - Get the Widget!

always the first star that i find

I'm looking for the perfect blog name. A name that will take me into the future (ya know... not til 80 but... 24 lol). I'm wondering how people come up with their awesome blog names. Blog Con Queso. Snippet & Ink. Oh Happy Day. Halfmama. A Room Somewhere.

Some people (namely, katherine) can come up with awesome names on the spot while I am a ruminator. THE ruminator. The indecisive ruminationator. I think what makes a name stick is the confidence behind it. I'm sure when Presto Bingo started people were like... 'ummm...' but they just stuck with it... backed it up with a good design or something.

So I'm running through the rolodex in my mind to find my favorite quote from anything. My family quotes movies. It's what we do... it's how we communicate most times.
My conversation is made up of
40% The Grinch (the new 2000 one)
20% You've Got Mail
20% a mixture of african american movies - coming to america, brown sugar, two can play that game, most of the madea movies... YES.
5% Scrubs (not a movie but... once a musical episode!)
5% Moonstruck
5% Bolt (a seriously funny movie!)
4% She's the Man (oh. my. gosh. <3)
1% Wall-E (mainly, 'ta-da!')

As you can see I'm a special case and I think this works for me! So alls I gotta DO is find something that people... don't necessarily have to relate to but it fits! ya know?! I don't know if I'll ask for help (though it is TOTALLY welcome) because you helped with the shoe decision - TOMS! just got wait for them to be in STOCK. they're popular! and they almost sound cooler than Chucks.
"Those YOUR TOMS?" *looks down in admiration* "oh yeah... AND i helped... THE WORLD."
i mean you're virtually Brangelina.

The Adventurous Me. wasn't workin. so the title of the blog may change a few times in my search. as my mom says, "I gotta live with it for a while." the current one is from You've Got Mail:
Joe Fox - "Sorry... It wasn't personal..."
Kathleen Kelly - "I know it wasn't... but what is so WRONG with being personal??? I mean if anything it oughtta beGIN by being personal."
it's the part where she has a cold and when she says 'personal' it sounds like 'persidal'. I thought about Being Persidal haha... which I like, if I do say so myself. If Darly Bird can do it... why can't I?

one for one

I've been thinking about getting a pair of TOMS shoes. I've also been thinking about getting a pair of Chucks. They're about equal in price... so help me DECIDE.

IN THIS CORNER... WE HAAVE CONVERSE "CHUCK TAYLOR" ALL STARS SPECIALTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYLO TOP!

and iiin THIS CORNER WE HAVE TOMS SHOES MADE BY A GUY NOT NAMMMMMMMED TOM! (shoes by blake.)

one shoe is world renowned for getting you the reputation that you are a semi-rockstar. 'mmm. are those your Chucks?' *looks down non-chalantly* 'mmm. them's MY Chucks.' rock staaaaar!

the other shoe is known for delivering shoes all over the world to children in need. buy their shoes, they give a pair to a child. the more people buy the more they can give. plus they have a giant TOMS SHOES label on the back. no one even has to ask.

These styles are the two I'm potentially looking at. I love the weirdo grafitti AWESOME of the one and the second is called Emily Dickens. right? enough said!

both are oddly comfortable, to be broken in by loving feet and NOT to be worn in the rain but you will anyway. because of the love.

I'm leaning towards TOMS shoes just cuz they seriously look great... not that chucks aren't but you get a pair of shoes AND ya help people.

decision time!

now it's time to listen to women complain about paying too much for hair care. if it's not one thing it's their mother.

blind mary marry me

Havin' fun listening to Gnarls Barkley's Odd Couple before I work on this logo.

I bought 21 Sharpies today for 8 bucks! 8! that's... FREE for Sharpieworld!

I promptly color coded them and my mom said I looked like a 1st grader. It's possible... my hair is curly today... kinda sticks out in places. My tongue also sticks out when I'm concentrating. Old habits die hard man... I put them in my Sharpie Pot I jankily made in ceramics to "mirror" my Pen Pot... professionally made haha. Oh, and it holds my remote for easy access to the sleep button.

I went into the city with my mom today. I don't know what it is about Chicago that gives me a little thrill inside every time we drive towards the skyline and past the grand museums. Makes me sit up straighter and soak everything in even though I'm there a lot. I can't get enough of the tall, tall, sparkling buildings next to the sparkling lake and miles of flowers and foliage in the middle. How is that not awe inspiring?

Had an awesome conversation earlier today with an older lady in the library about Adriana Trigiani. We both turned in our summer reading lists - clearly we're awesome - and her favorite starred book was Very Valentine. Mine was On Rue Tatin. Instant friends. She smelled like Mrs. Smith, who used to live next to me and give me DumDums every day. I also have an embarrassing story about her front yard but I'm gonna cut off this stream of consciousness for now.

and live in harmony harmony

I have a HORRIBLE song stuck in my head that is now being replaced by house music played in super trendy LA hair salons. You know the kind... *mm.ch! mm.ch! mm.ch!* and sometimes theres a guy singing... sometimes he's indian... sometimes he's high pitched. AM I RIGHT.

Anywho I went to a women's mini conference last night at my church and it was fun. I went to a mini workshop beforehand. I was going to go to Parents & Purity until I realized I was the only one OVER 14 there. I left and went to singles where people my age dwelled. She talked about how it was easy to get caught up in marriage and let the focus get away from God. Like, "Who is gonna be? When am I gonna meet him? WHY isn't it now? Am I EVER gonna get married? Did I do something wrong so I CAN'T get married? Am I that scarred?" Very true. It boiled down to trust God and don't have a Plan B. God is your Plan A who will always work out so... don't have a way out. It was good.

Get a bunch of women together and you might as well stand in a line turn towards your right and your left and compare what's wrong with YOU. For real. Somehow my personality pans out like this: I'm not a people person. I'm compassionate towards people. I don't even understand it. I SUCK at starting a conversation, I can't keep one going, bad at reciprocating actions.
"how are you?!"
"good!".......*SILENCE* "oh! oh! how are you??"
But I love laughing I love making people laugh and I'm a natural born listener. Seriously, nothing in my life is worth being like 'OMG LET ME TELL YOU'...here it is. I went to work... I came home... and... took a nap... and theeen... I ate a bowl of cereal and KNIT.

I'm also not surface. OK who doesn't enjoy shopping? I'll talk about a good sale, where to get a good dress. I Lurve Shoes. But if most of your relationship is based off the diet you're on? the clothes you're wearing, how those clothes look and where you're going today... I'm out. I'm talking about ADULTS not 14 year olds. It makes my face hurt... the whole face not just a portion of facial cheek. Blah... how do older adults have that? There's no example to look at... EVERYTHING is superficial. And it's... super old.

CAN you handle the truth?

written on 7/29/09

Recently I feel like what I believe has been called to the table. Like a... challenge. It's thrown on the table, examined, then tested to be shown true. I'm a Christian and that doesn't have much clout anymore... much substance. Everyone's a Christian.

Actually being a Christian gets you on the same page as a lot of people because it's a substandard now (sadly), but throw the Bible down in the midst of all that and it's like saying, "check out that venomous snake about to bite you. and kill you." I'm just thrown off by how if someone mentions the Bible they're up in arms. Which version are you reading? Are you sure you read that right? You took that out of context. Oh that was in the OLD testament nothing counts in the OLD testament. cept proverbs n' psalms proverbs n psalms. oh and that book about sex. song of solomon? yeah cept THOSE.

When did the Bible stop being a point of truth for people. Everything... everythingEVERYTHING measures up against it. Half the time I feel guilty for mentioning it because people are like, 'oh... well i mean it's your opinion' it's God's I can't MAKE this stuff up and sell it like it's real ya know?

I will admit being at Olivet makes you jaded. haha I got off with I went to chapel so devotions are done! haha i did that a LOT. I also came up against a saying I'd never really heard before coming there. "I'm praying for you." I thought it was awesome. I was in someone's prayers they cared about me we were FRIENDS cuz they were prayin'. but after 4 years of telling someone a problem... having them tell ME they "were praying for me" and knowing that really didn't happen it just lost all validity in my book as a solid gesture. Or presenting a problem to someone and them telling me, "Ya gotta PRAY you just gotta PRAY!" and then wait for that problem to dissolve itself. I just... if you can show me... anywhere in the Bible where that happened?... then i'd be so happy to see that.

I don't have many friends. Everyone knows this. But as a friend I will tell you the truth... and part of that truth involves the Bible. God is a transitive property. If the Bible is the truth and God is the Word then God is the truth. They all flow into one another not really separating themselves. What... opposition should you come up against if a Christian believes in God who is the truth... that is the Bible? One can't be present without the other. If we're gonna pray as Christian's then pray the truth, pray the Word, over a person. Look up and give scripture to someone cuz once planted it never dies inside of a person.

I don't want to be quiet anymore about stuff like this. Make a choice already.

la naranja

a guy in a... HUGE tractor just rolled by. I don't use profanity but seriously the best description is, "A guy in a big **sed tractor just rolled by." no joke it was BIG haha... anywho this is from Snippet & Ink here's to being inspired by color

Tangerine & Lemon Drop

somebody

new 5 lives:

1. Professional knitter - I'd knit your face off. then knit it up again with some cool knitted face tattoo.

2. Photographer - I'd be the person you'd want to photograph your awesome new apartment and NOT your great great grandma skydiving. No... no i'd wanna catch that too it's probably a medical marvel.

3. Baker - I'd own a bakery, somehow be up at 3am to nurse the bread to health and sell cookies that would make you slap your momma. OH. and that knitting shop? WOULD BE COMBINED WITH THE BAKERY. awesoooome!

4. Book Store Owner - it would be self run. designed the logo, sell the books, bake the bread, knit your face. photograph all of the above.

5 - Steve Jobs - Do I need to say much more? I don't... I don't.

sorry for the crinklyness of the tote. It was fresh from the purse but you can get the gist of the design from the left. if i had a Yudu... I'd be dangerous. *nods*

night!

that's the life for me!

Today was SO. ODD. and I must tell everyone about it. part of it is NO GOOD. part of it is awesome and involves the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile.

First part? Work. work has been insanely... interesting. Just a lot of transition and changes that people apparently 'need' that i'm not even BUYING and trying to swing how to NOT book a creeper that's been put on PNG list by the shop. And the police. OK not the police I just wish it was. (I ended up saying 'oops! wrong day! she's booked. FOREVER.' it worked.) i'm about face punching the creepers. i guess there's procedural things WHATEVER.

Second part? I decided to go downtown to the BlogHer conference 09 to meet Mrs. Blair and get a free tote. There's an odd kind of squeaky, excited sound going off in my head that sounds like *blAAAHH!!* So I went down with a JACKET and I don't even know WHY because I had to walk up the giant hill on Randolph. OMG why hasn't anyone put up a warning at the beginning of that hill on Michigan and Randolph? Here. Here it is.

*WARNING!* Walking up this hill will take not only physical exertion but all mental strength. Expect pit stains, heavy breathing and odd looks when you grab a strangers water bottle, POUR it on your face and keep going... New York marathon style. *warning over.*

I made it up that dang hill to Columbus... and got stuck when I got to Wacker. I could see the Sheraton from where I was standing there just happened to be an entire river in the middle. Me. RIVER. Sheraton. I found the Riverwalk throughway and FINALLY I made it.

So... I get there. And I think it was a combination of being hot and being nervous but all liquid decided to evacuate my body in the form of being SUPER SWEATY. I mean... I was like pouring liquid. "Is it hot?! I just... I feel HOT... It's hot!" But I made it to the suite without sweating through undergarments and fainting. Victory right? I got to meet designmom herself (wamazing) and see the Yudu upclose and personal. I didn't actually do anything myself because that would involve lifting my arms and releasing the buckets of water held under them. But I got a tote and got to see other bloggers and their awesomeness. Got a Shutter Sisters packet. All around SWEET.

Then i left my jacket and had to traipse up and down Fairbanks 3 times to get it. Sheraton --> Huron <-- Sheraton --> Huron. My mom and I ate at Bistro Pacific and had sushi for the first time. Spicy tuna roll! and WASABI which... is now radiating somewhere near my duodenum. It was so nice. Picked up some Orangina from T.I. and RAN to the train. I mean this was the day of physical excellence.

Oh yeah and in all of this the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile was going up and down Fairbanks yelling, 'OH I WISH I WERE AN OSCAR MEYER WEINER!' in all it's... yellow red and... brown... Oscar Meyer-y-ness.

I will post pictures of my tote and silk screened pic which will be put behind iMmi (the iMac). So the last half of the day totally made up for the first part. I did something I would NEVER do in a million years and enjoyed myself. Maybe next time I meet designmom I will actually tell her I'M A DESIGNER. haha

i will be

Yesterday my mom and I took a trip to the Gap. (b the dubs do you say THE Gap? or Gap? ever since the 'fall into the Gap fall into the Gap' commercial that article will forever precede Gap) We had to pick up a necklace I left there accidentally and somehow ended up with an awesome $7 skirt (WITH POCKETS! ^.^) and my mom came out with many colored cardigans. Oh yeah I totally ended up with a Gap card (notice how I didn't say a THE Gap card) two days ago. They get ya. Oh they get ya. And KEEP YA.

Anyway on the way home we heard a Genesis song that I haven't heard in like 80 years. My dad used to sing it ALL the time and at first... I didn't remember. It got to this one part where Phil Collins is desperately singing that he will be there for you. Cept my dad ALWAYS sang it as, "I WILL BE DEEEEEERE! I WILL BE DEEEERE!' and my mom and i BURST out laughing. Have you ever laughed at something that was itching to get out but you didn't want it to get out so your insides feel all weird and jiggly? I can't even explain it. It made me uncomfortable to laugh but i HAD to cuz it was funny. It's like my insides were trying to be on the outside. Remembering good times makes the divorce seem less horribly awful then I remember that it is all at the same time. Hence the inside-out jiggly feeling. Weird. Anyway Hold on My Heart is still a good song.

Moving on in this blog of complete randomness. If you had 5 lives what would they be? Here. Are mine.

1. Ballerina - I would, I would do it. I'd be long and lanky and have ugly dancer feet that bring TEARS to peoples eyes - TEARS! - when i move.

2. Jet-setter - what are the professions of jet-setters? Do they have jobs? Are they trust fund babies? We should explore.

3. Musician - I have always wanted to be a musician that plays movie scores. I'd get a cool head set, be in a studio and be like THAT'S MY FLUTE SOLO when I'm sitting in Harry Potter 7.

4. Airplane pilot - it fuels my jet setting habit. get it. fuels?! But for real I love how planes take off and land (it's my favorite part!) and I'd be all like, "This is your captain speaking we are now at a cruising altitude of AWESOME we will be listening to Chicago (the band. not the musical SORRY!) for the next 2 hours LOVE IT." and then You're the Inspiration would come on. And grungy college music on the way back home.

5. Dog walker - I would live in some cool place like New York or San Diego and know a bunch of artists and parents who live by giant parks filled with trees to pee on and sticks to fetch with. I really love puppies. Then I'd chat with OTHER dog walkers (one of which is super hot) we'd marry and live in dog walkin' font lovin' bliss.

I'd still love fonts in all of these lives. Just know. Can I be a graphic designing airplane musician ballerina dancin dog walkin pilot artist that flies to Paris? OFTEN?!

I'm gonna go with a yes. Concur. I SAID CONCUR!

free fallin'

Let me start out by saying I'm in a dilemma. With myself. 'Member the competition? I'm so done with it. SO done. it's not over yet but I've been done with it for AGES. In fact I'm so done I've started going backwards. No joke it's like... Abby's will went AWOL and... I can't find it. Seriously every time I try to hold onto some type of discipline I go, 'CHIPS!' and suddenly they are there. I dunno what's... yeah I totes do. (and OMG I can't stop saying 'totes' instead of TOTALLY) I need to hold onto it or... disastrous things are ahead.

Anyway moving on (I hope you made it past that haha). I wanted to show my current knitting project. You remember me. I'm a grandma in training. Except the type of grandma that. is. AWESOME. and I'm 23 so... I'm clearly NOT a grandma. There is something both relaxing and satisfying when you make your own stuff AND people think it's stylish. It is no longer a 'granny' antiquated art. It's considered contemporary yet traditional. SWEET.

I'm currently knitting wool/mohair/silk leg warmers.

Why in the middle of summer you ask? Mainly, because I got so excited about their potential cuteness I couldn't wait until it got cooler. I'm using Cascade yarn (on the left color Puget Sound) which I've never used before - can I say I'm excited? I'm excited! - and an old (not really) friend Rowan Kidsilk Haze (on the right color Hurricane) . I love the fuzzy little fibers in the kidsilk. It makes the legwarmers look like they're glowing, while adding some color depth. I'll post after pictures. I'm only on the first warmer but blazing through it. I knit during tv shows - I can knit without looking so after an hour I've gotten pretty far. 26" is long though!

I'm starting a knitting design series I've been thinking about for a while. They'll eventually end up as tags for gifts. I need names. I've come up with The Whole Knit & Caboodle and Sterling Knits (I live on Sterling) but that's... really prosaic. lol or Knit in Thyme. music, cooking and knitting. mmmm. ANYWAY i suck at this unless it's very late at night and the project is NOT for me (can't explain). so help.

please & tanks. (a good name for a line of tank tops!)

there's no other

I've been looking at this awesome blog designmom.com go there. you will not be disappointed. i wish she was my mom. or at least my mom's best friend that way I could keep my mom. I quite like my own mother.

after seeing one of her entries i've decided i really want to have a color fight:

it's used with holi colors and it looks freakin awesome. it's summertime. it's warm. all we need is a hose afterward. cool right? i knows.

oh! well then.

My pastor says, "Never walk away from a proven relationship. Even if the relationship is hard to maintain, then they are the ones to have. If they are easy to maintain, you probably don't need to be in them." which of course is backed by Biblical evidence which... then makes it "God says,"

I've just been trying to figure out my friend situations as of late. I feel like I'm ready to pursue some. And i feel like it's seriously time to think about letting some go. *shrugs* i dunno.

Whomever you choose to be close to you will help mold... your future. So you hang out with people you know aren't the best... you might not end up in a place you thought you would. And I swear people say they know that fact but people end up fooling themselves too.

hmmm, hmmm.

put the fiber one bars DOWN

So i had a crazy series of dreams last night and I don't remember all of them. But the one this morning was about how these two kids (i have no idea WHO they were) just appeared in my apartment and started wanting food. I made them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches then they started gettin all crazy climbin on stuff. Finally one of the kids climbed on the counter and stole our Fiber One bars (which i like but i don't like THAT much) so i like picked the kid up and tried to pry them out of his hands. It was like trying to reverse the time space continuum or something. then i opened my front door and like... face pushed him out LOL. it was extra weird.

not as weird as the Tracy Morgan/Sweeny Todd dream. NOTHING. tops that. NOTHING.

Today will be a good day. It's my niece's 13th birthday. Just another excuse for me to tackle her on many occassions. :0) she gets a big head sometimes and it's my job to pop that air filled balloon haha. LOL i feel like my kids are going to be infuriated when they get upset about nonsense and i won't give two pennies about it. *shakes head* i'm going to be a cool mom though WATCH OUT.

now for random things i'm enjoying today.
I like how Windex squeaks against the window
I like my french braid on one side of my ponytail
I like my blue sweater and paisley *PAISLEY* blue flip flops
I like Starbucks cups with Sharpie instructions written on them
I like the old guy running at a molasses based pace down the street. YOU GO GLEN COCO
I like the Friday Dance on WGN news
I like the peace I feel when I know I made a decision based on what God says

LATER S8R :0) (yes. like passover.)

i don't really wanna be the queen

lol i got safari 4. unfortunately facebook IS on my top sites and apparently we're all creepy cuz sarah was on mine too. i promise for realioz i have a life. if top hits were on my desktop Solitaire would totally be number 1

i served tonight with my babies. they cycle in and cycle out and i love them all the same. they're just so cute! half the time i spend getting babies out of toy chests and drawers and cabinets and off of tables. the other half i spend laughing hysterically as they try to launch themselves into rocking chairs, sing most of the lesson songs and wipe neon day glo orange residue from Cheeto Puffs on their shirts. I love em. LOVE!

working days seriously takes a chunk out of my sleep time! geezopeets man!

incandescent

this isn't to update my weight loss status. that gets a little old after a while... weight loss seems to be the new craze and as much as the world is ensconced with injecting themselves with the pregnancy hormone to boost their metabolisms and eating giant t-bone steaks... i am uh over that. i won't stop working but... you don't need to hear about water weight and mountain climber 

but my neice and nephew were over today and it was a pretty good day. we played in Photobooth which they THOROUGHLY enjoyed and we went to the park. i swung for the first time in ages (i'm watching Pride and Prejudice) and i remembered how my stomach drops and it makes me laugh like a freakin idiot. but i did it anyway. there was idiotic laughter but it produces a genuine kind of joy you kind of forgot when you got older. and we named ourselves the official swing set gold medal champions with medals made of real plastic haha

i had a whole blog planned out but it got interrupted by my one of my favorite cousins, KC, came over... heeeeee makes me laugh is all i can say. anyway i lost my train of thought. it left the station heading 65 miles an hour. 

sandcastles in the sand

I enjoy posting when I'm at work. It's elevendy a.m. and I have to open from like... now on at this horrible time of the morning and there are no chairs. I'm currently sitting on a tiny rolly stool that makes me look like I'm either stunted in growth or 3 years old. Take your pick, either one is accurate.

So update for the week. I've collected myself from last week's eating frenzy. Seriously there were too many opportunities I took to eat. Memorial Day at Pastor Robb's. Bongo Room with Nora & Anisha. Breanna's graduation party filled with banana pudding from Heaven and mini cheesecakes. But I wasn't the only one who had a bad week, so at least I wasn't alone in my quest for trying to singlehandedly conquer the entire culinary world in terms of eating.

We had a volleyball game on Sunday, which was SO fun. I used to play volleyball in what... 7th and 8th grade and, dude, I totally still miss it. I was COVERED in sand from constantly diving for the ball. I ended up in a split, which everyone, including myself, said, "OOOOOOOoooo..." but i salvaged it Shawn Johnson style by THROWING my hand up in the air and yelling 'STUCK THAT LANDING!' hahaha it was pretty awesome.

I ended up emailing CCS to kind of... not tell her off but at least tell her what's goin down. Here's the game plan. Back off sister. That was the gist of the whole email. This whole thing had me stressed to the point of literally moving backwards and I had to take hold and say, "QUUUUUIT IIIIIIIT!" *there's an echo, too* I've done much better this week in terms of eating. I need to uh... still get on the ball with exercise. It's just not something I enjoy. Not a mood elevator, no adrenaline rush, no endorphins. So at the end of the day I may still want to kill my husband in spite of exercise. (Sorry Elle Woods) But I'm getting there. I have to be diligent.

This is ending up to be a spiritual battle as well as a physical one. When you shake off something old or decide to change a habit you're fighting your insides as well as changing your outside. It's a crazy thing... but I don't ever want to give up or go back to who I was, well, who I was on my way to be.

Now to finish this ridiculously strong cup of coffee Rudi made. It makes me shiver every time I take a sip. I think that's too much haha

good morroooow!

I've gotten in the habit of telling everyone "Good 'morrow!" when I see them. It's totally from Scrubs: My Princess episode. Dr. Cox tells a story in 'medieval times' and Zach Braff is the village idiot and instead of saying, "HELLOOOO!" (like you totally just dissed someone HELLOOOO) he'll say "GOOD MORROOOW!" and it stuck. like wet rice on the counter.

hehe. *awkward silence*

ANYWAY my b.f.f's for life forever took me to Bongo Room at 8 freakin o'clock this morning for probably the best food i've ever had. Yeah... I'm on this new track but when White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake PANCAKES are staring you in the face do you gently push the menu away and say, "Bowl of fruit for me please?!?!"
sidebar: if sylvia were here she'd tell me is it worth it? and i'd say HECK YES. sidebar over.
NO you'd say, "Yes I'll have the Nestle Crunch Banana Pancakes please?" mhmm that's what i had. there was creme brulee sauce over it. why. WHY. why. it was the equivalent of... the best massage... and a giant lollipop.

Needless to say this week has been a struggle. I just... how do you end up binging on healthy stuff. who am i freakin' Oprah? Stupid TRADER JOE'S. but anyway that's what happened. me and exercise have been fighting ALL week just back and forth and the BICKERING! oy. we've slept in different beds. it's come to that.

Tonight I'm gonna change it up a little bit. See if that helps. Psh... hopefully next week will be better. gotta regain my focus!

J-MAMAW! (another explanation probably followed by awkward silence so i'll spare you this time)

see the sun it's so shiny

At the present. The sun has positioned itself to shine perfectly into the headlamp of the Honda in front of Eden... and causing it to reflect RIGHT into my eyes. From the entire front of the shop. Consequently I am crouched down in front of the screen so it doesn't get in my eyes. Also consequently I look like the Hunchbacktress of Notre Dame-I-wish-it-wasn't-so-sunny.

So this all just to say that water weight is NO JOKE! it is out to kill your face off! Do you know how many times I'm planning on working out this week? ELEVEN! eleven times. Before I joined the comps I think I worked out 11 times in a YEAR. Maybe. I've worked out 3 times in a day and a half and I'm UP two pounds! *shakes fist* water weeeight! Why is the female physique so much more complicated than male? *shakes fist again* reproductiiooooon!

Now back to more crafty crouching.

journeyRIFIC!

hello all! There is a new lease on life in terms of this blog right now. for the most part... this will become a blog of a different color (not literally). the name will stay the same... cuz it's still an adventure just a different kind.

i've been on it for a while now and it's becoming apparent to people especially on Twitter when I talk about Crazy Coach Syl or the fact that I worked out 10 hours today lol.

So I'm totally losing weight. I'm gonna do it. You just wait. And it's not like THIS MONDAY I'LL START it's like... I'm on the freaking way. And I'm like... changing because of it. I would have NEVER written about it... on a public BLOG. But I kinda want people to know about it. That and sometimes I get super frustrated with my crazy coach and just need to talk about how I have to hang upside down as a mode of workout.

I'm in this weight loss competition. This is my second. The first one we almost won but the winners worked out something reDONKulous like 11 times, which should be illegal. but it's not. so they won. This time it's modeled after the Biggest Loser and we have trainers. My trainer's name is Sylvia. She's the most... intense person you'll ever meet. seriously she's crazy. insane aquarium.

So last week she tells me her goals n JUNK for the 12 weeks we're in competition. I was thinking about... mmm 30 pounds. I feel that's reasonable. What does she do? Double it. It's doubled. So i'm LITERALLY stunned, laying on my mother's bed with my mouth agape, eyes glazed over, staring at the ceiling. So I come out of that coma and ya know climb aboard Sylvia's Crazy Train and get goin. 5 lbs a week... i can do that right? working super hard i can do that. and then i did. i lost 5.5 lbs the first week (last week). So this week she gives us our goals... why would she do that I know how much I gotta lose. How much is it? 13 lbs. THIRTEEN POUNDS IN A WEEK! This chick has seriously lost her mind! our texting conversation went a little like this

me: SYLVIA ARE YOU NUTS?! DO YOU NOT THINK I WORK?
ccs: I have a 60 year old father who is totally losing 15 lbs this week. you can do this
me: did ya hit something? are you hurt? do YOU work????
ccs: lol. yes i work. you'll be fine. in fact i'm coming over
me: WE'RE NOT LETTING YOU IN.

we let her in. she made us do Billy Blanks boot camp. I realized I really don't like Billy Blanks. I believe he has a glass eye... that wants to kill people... or he's had a stroke. That's sad but if you've had a stroke stop teaching videos with multiple close ups okay? just stop teaching. It also makes you feel like he's going to kill you if you get it wrong... and his scary back up exercisers SCREAM at you the whole time! no fun. NOT FUN!

This week is gonna be so interesting. My 'friend' came and was like 'TADAAAA i'm gonna BE here this week while you attempt to lose 13 lbs of both water and actual weight. HA! ' consequently i'm working out 10 times this week. 3 times on friday if life allows. Ok this blog is super long just for introductory purposes... they'll be shorter burts of OMG I CAN'T EVEN BREATHE more often than not haha. I think you'll enjoy this crazy journey and the result is gonna be awesoooome. i'm sure there will be a before & after pic sometime next year.

Hang on for the ride!

be sure to get your ticket

I've done a lot of Turbo Jam exercise this week and consequently the songs they use are totally stuck in my head... sometimes it's fun. aaand then there's other times.

Yesterday was my b-day. It was... a little... different I guess. I wasn't expecting balloons and streamers ya know but I was expecting just a good day. It was gorgeous for one so that was really nice and I did get a CUTE cute pair of shoes from Nordstrom Rack. I just... I dunno. It WAS a good day so I don't know why I'm complaining... about my BIRTHDAY lol. That's just selfish. ok i am a little bit frustrated... but not with the day yesterday just with other stuff.

Anyways my best friend is finishing up with finals today and I get to see her next week and I cannot WAIT cuz I've had 0 one on one talk about our entire lives time haha

random question. if you have an apartment... where could you store a trampoline saaay if you had one? i'm fairly sure that in my adulthood (later. adulthood) i'm gonna buy a trampoline. and a house... so i can store it. haha i'm going to buy a house FOR the trampoline. thaaat's just how i roll. :0)

happy birthday!

it has arrived. and it's so much bigger than i ever expected. how did i not remember that 24" is 2 feet haha

i'm a crazy. i was so excited about it the entire week and then it got here... and i DIDN'T OPEN IT. and now i'm tired cuz i WAS really excited it was just pent up and now it's gone. and then i remembered i slept bad last night - but the two have no relation to each other.

9:30am last year i graduated. and at 9:30am exactly one year later I got a NEW BUDDY! lol. it's good to make good comparisons especially when you feel like you've done nothing significant. wake up crazy face you've done lots!

say hello to Immi!

every memory

1 year ago today I helped dedicate the yearbook. I canNOT believe it's already been a year. This Saturday is the 1 year anniversary of me graduating. I know right? FREAK OUT! It's a cool, scary, heart chilling feeling. Can't explain it. I'm so glad theres not an option to stay in college forever (sans DeJuan). Ya gotta move on... it's not even an option (again... sans DeJuan).

Who would have thought of all things YEARBOOK would be a huge defining moment in my life. haha it's like "you NERD!" but it was literally the BANE of my existence. Don't lie. Yearbook = bane. It literally drove me insane. It's like you're in labor WHILE you're pregnant for 9 months. You still get this fun product at the end but you also get horrible pains from conception on haha.

Anyway I hear this year's yearbook is fantastical and I'm super excited. I'm fairly sure we won't ever have craptastic yearbooks again.

Even though it's a year later I'm still at a shifty-shaky-non-place. I'm way better than I was in say, October, but I'm definitely still working on getting my life balanced. Does anyone remember those toys... the middle was a bouncy ball and the outsides you could stand and balance on? and you could like jump around on it or balance on it? it kinda looked like Saturn. That's what I feel like I've been on for the past 6 months. Balancing is always better when you have something to hold onto, to steady you - that would be Jesus... I know it'll take a little time and a lot of faith and patience... but AHH waiting suuuucks! haha

I'm at work watching middle aged women return everything they've ever purchased from Chico's catalogue to Chico's outlet. I feel like they do it on purpose so they can capture them inside their spider web of a store and EAT them... that is make them buy more product. Fairly sure that Chico's loses more money than they make daily. haha i just thought everyone would enjoy that tidbit of my working life.

instroducing!

Yep, I spelled that title wrong on purpose. I could explain it to you but it would take too long and at the end of the explanation you'd be like... "Abby's duuuumb" My sister says that often.

I just wanted to introduce you to the newest member of my family. Yes, my family. I'm going through remorse at the moment so I will take this adopted member BACK if need be. But most likely... we'll love each other haha

She is quite shy so it may not talk to you at first but trust me, she is friendly. Pretty sure it'll have a name. My DELL has a name (Julie) so I mean... there needs to be a name. Leanin' towards Emme right now or Immi (short for Imogen but more for iMac mhmm there's thought going into this) Thoughts?

ALSO. If anyone has extra licenses on CS2/3/4 that they have I would GREATLY appreciate it if I could use one and I could pay. puh-leaseplease.

in *two, three, four* and out *two, three, four*

I'm so done with cars right now. I'm building a time machine so I can go back to when buggies got stuck in mud ruts in the middle of the road and the worst maintenance cost for your horse was a new horseshoe and a good brushing.

Does it ever end? Maintenance? Problems? for real? i mean oil-changes mhmm it's like a check up but then your brakes go and your belts go and you need a coolant flush. it's like cars are old people! first your boobs go, then and you're chiseling extra notches into your belt cuz you're huge, then you need a colonoscopy after 50 cuz apparently you're just BACKED. UP.

I just... have never encountered as much car STUFF as i have this past month. Stickers, plate stickers, taxes, tune-ups, oil changes, brakes, engines, oil pans, SMOKE AND DISASTER. Down with cars ok down with cars. :0(

I guess my real problem is money. I know right cuz EVERYONE has money problems right now. EVERYONE. so i know i'm not alone I just don't like that my mom has to worry about it and I can't help like I should and all I wanna tell her is "trust God" but ya know sometimes you can't even hear that... but it's the truth. I just want to be completely worry free knowing God will take care of me. Work hard as hard as I can and seriously expect God to come through but when worry comes and fear comes (as in most cases follows) you just can't even hear or see through that haze of fear and worry. bah. it's super frustrating. So in my devotion time I am just... gonna pray and stand on the Word. and it won't be 'well dear Jesus please help' ya know? I'm gonna PRAY haha and then stand. standin's not so fun though.

here at the wall

I'm here at Olivet. Hello everybody :0)

I realized I haven't been back in a long time... like almost 6 months. And I was kind of really ok with that? I still am. But it feels good to be back and have a job so you don't get the awkward convo of:

"sooo whatcha been up toooo?"

"mmm just... still looking for a job cuz i suuuuck"

"haha... yeah it's rough"

"YEAH IT IS ROUGH OK YOU HAVE NO IDEA STAY IN COLLEGE FOREVER"

not EXACTLY like that but along those lines... 

had a coffee meeting today that went relatively well. i seriously AM over it (thank you thank you thank you Jesus!) and now i'm at this... non-place i can't even explain it. theres no emotion. i describe it with a flat swiping motion of my hand *swipes* nothin. i lurve it. it means there is hope of moving past without DWELLING on the past. then i went to Maggay's AWESOME house in Sk3 it's gooorgeoouuus. and i wanna live there. and now for dinner and gospel choir w00t... then... ya know driving home but it'll be ok. :0) 

propelling forward feels so good even if it's not where you want it to be right now... you're still moving. i love it.