Monday, July 31, 2006

Crunch time


I'm one of those folks who work well under stress. Surprising, I know. I got my best grades in college the semester I held down a part-time job in addition to a full load of classes. Once, for a writing class (Narration & Description), we had to spend a couple of weeks laying out and writing a long story, using all the necessary preparatory tools (idea, notecards, first outline, second outline, rough draft, blah, blah, blah). Helluva time for me to develop writer's block, but I'm not great at forcing myself to create characters, and the brain just wasn't cranking it out. I begged off on preliminary drafts because there just wasn't anything there. About 2 days before the whole thing's due, the muse hits and I crank out 23 pages of story. This is the late '80s, folks; we're talking longhand and then transcribing to my typewriter. I got a B+.

I may be pushing it on this latest goal, but inspiration hit this past weekend, and I can't ignore how badly I still want to do this, so here goes. I'm participating in the Charlotte 2006 Avon Walk.

See, I was planning on starting myself on a healthy regimen anyway, in the hopes of losing some weight by Thanksgiving, so that we can start trying for a small person. So it's just idiotic not to participate in the walk. It's only a month earlier than my goal, and the money I'll raise will do so much good. Never mind how fantastically excellent I'll feel about myself too. I still get a thrill from my accomplishment at the NY Avon Walk in 2002, and that sucker only lasted 1 day.

So if you're reading this, it means you'll be hit up by me for donations and moral support very soon. I'm organizing my fundraising this week, and starting to train. Luckily, I woke up about this right at the 12-week mark before the walk, so there's a training program all laid out for me by Avon. Now I've just gotta lace up the shoes and get going!

My Personal Walk Page

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

Friday, July 28, 2006

Knitting for once


One thing I did while in SC was get back in a knitting groove. All that waiting room time helped; poor Kara was induced at 10ish Monday night and enjoyed epidurals and labor fun for 24 hours afterward. I'm still catching up on sleep, so she must be a wreck.

Funny thing is it all involved newer projects, not UFOs. My sweater and SSS have fallen to the wayside once again, poor troopers that they are. Instead I worked a simple feather-and-fan scarf in the 100% wool that Mom J found for me at Tuesday Morning awhile back. It's an irritating project for some reason, but I'm determined to get it done.

I also jumped back into the White Buffalo fray. Using the Cape May Knitty pattern as a guide, I started what I hope will be a very nice cape. I have 5 pucks of Seal Heather Brown (like at left), 3 pucks of Turquoise, and 1 puck of Slate. I haven't decided how to integrate the Turquoise; ;this may be my first delving into mixing colors, because the idea of just a large stripe of the Turquoise sounds pretty bland, in addition to not at all slimming. Ideally, I shouldn't be working in bulky yarn for myself if I listen to the Big Girl Knits gals, but I can't resist—this yarn is gorgeous. So I'm thinking of the Turquoise in a wave over the Seal Brown, and then the Slate at top, possibly in a collar of sorts, because I'm not crazy about the ribbon they have in the pattern. I'm thinking of a couple of huge buttons at top instead. Also haven't decided if I'm putting armholes in. Given the weight of the yarn, it's probably not a dumb idea, but it's not in the pattern so I'd be kind of flying solo. Never a good thing craftwise with me, without a lot of planning first, so we'll see. Nice thing about White Buffalo is it knits up fast; I'm almost done with my 2nd puck of the Seal Brown already :)

The third thing I did was ::deep breath:: frogged my entire first attempt at a sock. Poor little guy has been sitting abandoned on the needles for the better part of a year now, because the blasted heel and gusset area just vexed me to no end. I shouldn't say little; I'd knitted a decent 8 inches of shaft on the sucker. But upon inspection, I knew it wouldn't fit me in the least with my big feet and cankles, and if I'm going to go to the trouble of handknitting socks, I'm gonna be wearing them, that's for sure. So I searched Monday for a decent sock recipe and found Thuja, which is busy enough to keep me interested and much more geared to my big honkin' feet. I'm going to try starting it on the metal 6s that Carrie gave me last year in my b'day basket. I'd love to get me some Clover 6s—I've become a real bamboo snob of late, but there's no way I can afford any knitting purchases for the near future. Will probably give this one a try tonight; wish me luck!

Thursday, July 27, 2006

I'M AN AUNT AGAIN!!!!!

It kills me I don't have a picture yet to show off. She's really a beautiful baby.

My sisinlaw Kara gave birth to her first on Tuesday night at 10:39 p.m. Kylie Kincade Johnson-Burnett was 7 lbs. 1 oz., 19¼ inches long, and came complete with all her fingers and toes and a full head of dark brown hair. I'm not talking peach fuzz; the stuff on top was at least an inch long! I stood and watched Tuesday night from the window of the nursery as they hosed her down and checked under the hood. She barely cried, and I found I couldn't take my eyes off her. Relatives came and went to get food for the mom or head home, and I just stayed at that window.

Got to hold her yesterday, and it felt like second nature after holding the small package that is Terra's little one so recently. She slept the whole time, making the occasional yawn or mouth movement that's not quite a suckle, but she manages to stick her tongue out at you. I wish we could go right back on the weekend, but gas prices being what they are, it's unrealistic; and besides, Kara really needs time to herself to settle in as a mommie without so much family around. My mominlaw, who will be visiting Kara often enough to make that impossible (they live right down the street from each other), is a freak of medical science; she's been so wrapped up in her daughter's pregnancy and subsequent birthing of her first granddaughter, that it kicked her out of menopause! Can you imagine getting your period at the age of 61?! Whacked!

It's got me so determined to get our lives in order. I want to lose 25 pounds by Thanksgiving, Halloween be damned, and then start trying. Les knows, I talked it over with him too, LOL! I'm already weaning off caffeine, switching and weaning on my meds, stopped drinking, and trying to eat healthier. Add exercise and we could just have a recipe for success. Wish me luck!

Thursday, July 20, 2006

So it turns out I was REALLY bored at work today...


100 Things about Me:

1. I’m married.

2. I like Bookman Old Style font.
3. I’m a mom to 2 cats.
4. I hope to be a mom to at least 1 kid someday.
5. I’m 5’ 8”.
6. My weight is not proportionate to my height.
7. I’m a website editor.
8. I’ve written a novel. Hasn’t hit a publisher yet.
9. I have very flat feet and bunions.
10. I have a lithium deficiency.
11. I have a brother who’s 3 years younger than me.
12. I have a sister who’s 14 years younger than me.
13. We all come from the same parents.
14. I want a house with a yard for a garden and animals, a wind turbine, solar panels, and a compost heap someday.
15. The compost heap’s name will be Marjory.
16. My cats are named Jordan and Figaro.
17. Jordan’s a rather docile 11-year-old boy kitty.
18. Figaro’s a rather evil 3-year-old girl kitty.
19. We never had pets growing up.
20. I love nature. My best childhood memories are on Above All, the 7-acre spread we lived on in Warren, CT.
21. I have excellent hair.
22. I have blue eyes.
23. I’m a bit of a TV addict.
24. I’m a font of useless entertainment trivia.
25. I was born right after the Summer of Love (’69).
26. However, my folks aren’t baby boomers or hippies, so it didn’t mean anything.
27. I’m a witch though, so the hippie vibe snuck in there somehow.
28. I consider myself Unitarian, study witchcraft, and read everything I can get my hands on concerning other world religions.
29. I hope to go back to school someday to study anthropology, environmental science, and world religion.
30. I met James Doohan at a Star Trek convention and got his autograph.
31. I babysat the granddaughter of Edward Binns when we lived in Warren, and got to meet him once.
32. Was a Republican from age 18 to 28. Then I came to my senses.
33. I read the newsletters of the Organic Consumers Association and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
34. I think George W. Bush’s public speaking skills are laughable, and that the man’s in danger of blowing himself up when he tries to think on his feet.
35. I’m above average at Jeopardy, but I don't answer in the form of a question.
36. I love to read.
37. I'm a knitter. Fiber freak. Knitting Bitch. Addicted to yarn. Enjoy my pointy sticks. You get the idea.
38. I can’t draw. Have definitely tried, but my talents lie elsewhere.
39. I’m a homebody.
40. I enjoy almost every type of music, except Country Pop.
41. I’m a fan of Garrison Keillor’s writings and radio show.
42. I’m smitten with Bradley Whitford (West Wing) and Hugh Laurie (House).
43. However, I’m head-over-heels-goofy-shout-from-the-rooftops-heels-over-head in love with my warm, fuzzy husband. Big difference.
44. I enjoy my caffeine. It’s a love affair I’m weaning from.
45. I’m a chocoholic big time.
46. I’ve eaten an entire pint of Haagen-Daz Chocolate-Chocolate chip in one sitting.
47. Recently.
48. I’m way addicted to junk food. No brainer.
49. I’m a tomboy.
50. My job doesn’t require that I dress up.
51. My job’s boring, but not bad.
52. I’m thinking of homeschooling my kids.
53. Really should have the kids first, then plan these things.
54. I like the looks of Waldorf education techniques and am studying them.
55. I hate Florida.
56. I love cold weather.
57. I’m indifferent toward snow, because I never learned to drive in it.
58. I walked in an Avon 3-Day for Breast Cancer in 2002. It turned into a 1-day because the county where it was held wasn’t prepared for the number of people or the hypothermic conditions. It was one of the more exhilarating experiences of my life.
59. I’m an Internet stalker. I’ve found friends I knew from junior high and from age 5 through the Web.
60. I like my face.
61. If I could change one thing about myself, it’d be my lack of willpower. The weight would slide off from there.
62. I’m a purse horse. Sometimes a shoe horse too.
63. I have two piercings in my left lobe and one in my right.
64. I can’t imagine getting any more piercings.
65. I have one tattoo on my right wrist, and I’d love to get a couple more of those.
66. I’ve worked as a:
a. drug store clerk
b. waitress
c. busser (much more fun than waitressing, but not as lucrative)
d. movie theater manager
e. home health care paper pusher
f. newspaper night editorial assistant
g. bookstore clerk
h. website designer
67. I couldn’t say which job gave me the most satisfaction.
68. I read For Better or For Worse and Get Fuzzy (comics).
69. I’ve been to England and Ireland, but I don’t remember much from the trip.
70. I like riding trains. Airplanes are a close second. City buses are fine, but inconvenient. Greyhound buses I can’t imagine ever taking again.
71. I have a decent memory for things, but I have trouble picturing faces in my head, even people I see everyday. That bothers me.
72. I have trouble getting to sleep at night.
73. I still sleep with a stuffed animal.
74. I have trouble with heights and roller coasters. I’ll never skydive.
75. I enjoy beer and vodka. Separately.
76. I’m a blogger.
77. I HATE cockroaches, ever since the time a nice big one scurried down my arm at college.
78. I’ve lived in Connecticut, North Carolina, and Florida.
79. In Florida, I’ve lived in Seminole, Tampa, Jacksonville, back to Tampa, Fort Myers, and back to Jacksonville.
80. Never been to the Panhandle.
81. Fort Myers is God’s waiting room.
82. Never witnessed a decent hurricane, thank the Goddess.
83. Broke my ass twice, literally: once while sledding around age 15 and once on the job at the Tampa theater. That’s a solid month of hurt, lemme tellya.
84. I played the trumpet in high school.
85. I want to learn violin, cello, flute, clarinet, guitar, and French horn at least, not necessarily in that order.
86. Toss piano or keyboard in there too.
87. I have a small keyboard, but getting both hands to work at once has me baffled. Need to buy a book.
88. I own a small djembe drum.
89. I sang soprano in the junior choir. Problem was, I’m an alto.
90. I was a doormat when I was a kid.
91. I must like to talk about myself, because this hasn’t been too hard to do at all.
92. Now that I’ve said that, I can’t think of anything.
93. I’m addicted to Lip Medex. I call it Schmoo.
94. I like New York-style pizza. I don’t like Chicago-style pizza.
95. I’m chicken to try sushi.
96. I want to try black olives, but I can’t get past the color.
97. I wear contacts. I love contacts. I won’t try eye surgery unless it’s a last resort for some reason.
98. I’m a huge pacifist now. I don’t believe in the death penalty. I don’t understand the absence of humanity in the Middle East.
99. I’m mostly Irish.
100. I crack my knuckles.


Photo found on Yahoo.com (popular photos)

Just pokin' along...

Not much to report...this is a reading week, as opposed to a knitting week. Worked on a scarf for a bit yesterday, and started that swatch thing the other day, but otherwise, stuff's getting neglected on the fiber end.

Instead I paid about 2/3rds of my library fines and got into reading mode. South Mandarin branch had copies of Big Girl Knits and Mason-Dixon Knitting, so I'm entrenched in both at present. Also got in a classics mood and grabbed Middlemarch and Mansfield Park...I never got to read decent classics in high school. I don't know why, but it just seemed like my classes got the duds--when other classes were reading Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, I was reading Steinbeck's The Red Pony. You ever read The Red Pony?! Four chapters, and the pony's only in the first one; then he dies. Whoopie! Definitely could've used Of Mice and Men; ended up seeing the play and the ending surprised the shit outta me!

I barely remember getting any book assignments in high school, because the books they assigned were unremarkable for the most part. Plus, I had your basic public school education, so we weren't guided at all in the understanding of the books. If you knew how to read, then you were expected to read it and then answer the questions posed afterward. When you got the questions wrong, was when you were told the meaning behind the book. I was baffled, and they threw books on us too early without enough explanation. Seventh grade may seem early enough for the dry, longwindedness of Oliver Twist or the flowery language of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, but if it's your first shot at combining reading with analytical thought, you've gotta have a little guidance or else the books will sail right over your head. I gave up early on understanding the meanings within the meanings, and it took the fun out of reading. I didn't get that fun back until after college.

I read Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird on my own in college, nestled myself in the heath of Wuthering Heights just last year, and am working my way up to Moby Dick and Anna Karenina. Classics sneak into my bookshelves a couple of times a year. I may not read them right away, but there's a comfort somehow in knowing that when I'm ready to tackle Last of the Mohicans or Walden or Homer again, that I'll have them on hand.

Speaking of decent writing, Stephen King's Nightmares & Dreamscapes was on again last night, and it was excellent! Last night's two stories weren't scary or gory; they were thinkers, translated by some of my favorite actors (superb casting so far!), and I found myself reveling in the neat/sad/utopian/doomed ideas behind the stories. The man's an artist.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Random TV sh*t

I'm a font of useless entertainment trivia. My pals make fun of me, because I reference Law & Order to make points in conversation. Ah, so what? Like the song says, baby, I gotta be me! Been this way since long before my stint as a movie theater manager...

Had these two going through my head today:
"There's two ways to face a mountain. One way's to go around it and one way's to go over it. Going around it may be easier, but you'll miss the view from the top."
~ Paraphrased from The Waltons (of all things ::rolls eyes::)

That's a show I don't watch regular or look for, but find I can't turn off when I find it by accident. It's just too well-written.

And this gem from original Law & Order:
Coroner: "And now if you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to go remove a javelin from some guy's chest."
Briscoe: "Hey Johnson, why'd you get into this business?"
Coroner (deadpan): "Free javelins."

Yeah, I know...really need to find a hobby...knitting obviously ain't enough...though I did start a swatch tonight because I was inspired by Wendy Knits, who was inspired by the Mason-Dixon gals to try a log cabin something...thinking it'll help me get over my fear of picking up stitches.

Shoe Farts & Zoe

Is it too much to ask to own shoes that don't fart?

Went to Wilson's Leathers before haircut Saturday to burn the rest of the gift card Meara had given me...found another nice pair of Birk-wannabes, mauve with a flower cutout...get 'em home, try 'em on...plop, plop, plop...nice little air farts as I walk. I'm sure it'll dissipate as they break in...it better...#$%^&*(!

Still haven't been knitting much, but found my Zoe disk when I moved the dining room around yesterday! No, not ruthee's Zoe...Zoe is my novel, the 2nd part of which is badly in need of a rewrite before I'll ever send a query letter to a publisher, assuming I ever shore up the nerve to do that. I'd love to dig back into the sucker. I'm happy with the first part, an 8-chapter section that lays the base from a 5th grader's point of view. The 2nd part flashes forward to present and that's what really needs the work. The writing's erratic because a lot of it reflects my past experiences taken to an extreme, kind of a "what could've happened" viewpoint, and writing that was like reliving it at times. It's been, heck, probably a year since I've taken a good look at it, and I think that'll help steer it back into fiction from its semiautobiographical nature.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

Restless

Quick bleedover from my SCMoving blog...another reason I don't just buy another cushion for the papasan, is because I'd much rather spend the money on a slipcover for our small couch. Then I plan to recover and restuff the 5 pillows that go with it.

Haven't been in the mood for knitting this week; I pick something up, do a row, move on. If I can lay hands on the pillow pattern I have, to use as a guide, I may start the couch pillows this weekend. Barely need the pattern when you already have the pillows, I suppose; just take out the stuffing and measure. But it's been ages since I've done any real sewing, like say, Girl Scout badge-ages, so I want to make sure I'm doing it right...plus the sewing machine isn't set right tension-wise and all the thread I own is too fine, so I've got my work cut out for me. My previous attempts at sewing with the rather nice machine I inherited from my mominlaw have resulted in loose stitching with a nasty plethora of knotted-up yarn on the bottom of the piece.

Ah, the dreams of a payday weekend. Of course, after the bills, we should have about 36 cents left, so...we'll see how much goes to fabric and thread. I told Les how I want to stop eating out, and I'm putting the Candleflame shawl on the back burner because I don't want to shell out the dough for the yarn. So listen, KBers, my birthday's in 2 months, if ya plan now.....

:)

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Yup, I've become my parents...


graphic courtesy of http://www.knowledge-power.com/

Back when I was a little kid, in the bygone days of 1 TV per household, I would occasionally be relegated to my bedroom with a book because the parentals had commandeered the tube to watch something devastatingly boring, like National Geographic or NOVA. I certainly wouldn't deign in those days to watch it with them, not after the brain exercises of an entire school day behind me, and in the summer, I couldn't be bothered because it wasn't fun enough. I'd roll my eyes, shove off Lil Bro, and bury myself in a book.

Now that I'm a 30-something young fart, I wish we had the National Geographic channel on our extended cable and content myself with others, like Discovery and Animal Planet. But last night brought home to me how a child evolves into an adult, when I sat down and watched NOVA from beginning to end. On frickin' String Theory. And I dare say, there was understanding going on there.

As an '80s child, the small town public schools I attended, sucked at encouraging learning, so I spent my childhood not living up to my full potential. Now I'm a sponge. Whether it's anthropology, a new knitting pattern, or a frickin' dinner recipe, I can feel my brain light up as the understanding takes hold. I so hope I can pass that light onto my own kids down the road. But I'll also understand where that eye roll comes from when I try to get them to watch NOVA with me, because I know their time for appreciating knowledge will poke its head out in due course. And not before.

A similar thread for another time: dragging your kids to Home Depot and not understanding why they're bored stiff.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

I just love working in a cubicled environment.....

.....she said sarcastically.

It's not the noisy coworkers that bothers me. It's not the occasional fragrances wafting over the wall that make me want to quip, "nice cologne. Must you marinate in it?" It's not the meat-market temperature settings that set me ranting.

Today, it's the BO.

Someone either had chicken soup for lunch at their desk or took one too many smoke breaks outside. There's a distinct BO lurking in my general vicinity. I've checked; it ain't me.

This is Florida, people! If you've gotta be outside, bring your frickin' deodorant to work!

This public service message brought to you by Melanie's nose. We return you now to your regularly scheduled workday.

Patience


Ain't it purty? Found it on the NRDC site.

Patience is never something I had a lot of, pre-meds. Since my chemical imbalance has been tempered by some beautiful pharmaceuticals however, my ability to take things in stride has become a wonderfully calming influence in my life. I can usually sit in gridlock without bitching out my fellow inmates, and the diddley-shit happenings of life don't have me climbing the walls like they once did. If I ever meet Tom Cruise, I will beat the living shit out of him before he has a chance to flash his smug smile at me. I'm a functioning human being thanks to modern medicine, and Scientology can kiss my large, cottage-cheese ass.

Where'd that come from?

I guess from the mindset that if I'm going to be held up timewise, that it at least be for a good reason. If it's going to take 10 minutes for me to negotiate the exit ramp off of 95 heading toward my work, then there'd better be a 3-car pileup waiting for me afterward. But no, not even a stalled car; just people not letting each other merge in a polite fashion in all likelihood. Dipshits.

Oh yeah, patience. The thread was actually going to be about how I started something last night that I wouldn't normally have the patience for. The Candleflame shawl from Knitpicks is a 36-row lace pattern, but to start the shawl/stole, you do 18 rows of garter stitch first, which means if you goof up irreparably once you get going on the pattern, you're ripping out a discouraging amount of work. Had one fellow KBer already come up against this, so I decided to build a swatch. With a little bit of work, hopefully this'll get me more confident about ssk and lace in general, as well as the pattern, so that when I finally order the yarn, I'll be ready for it.

Downright sensible of me. Very unMelanielike.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Blogs have themes?


What a great shot! Can't you just picture the cameraman saying, "now, c'mon guys, spread out. You look like bowling pins!" graphic courtesy of http://www.webshots.com/g/d2006/7-nw/59814.html

I'd forgotten blogs have themes. CBS Sunday Morning did a story on blogs this weekend. This blog used to be about knitting and witchcraft and turned into a diary instead. Not a bad thing, but I'll have no one to blame but myself 6 months from now when my identity's stolen. Just mean it's been getting pretty personal lately, and I'll be trying to gloss over the personal for a bit to assuage my paranoia, stick to the exploits of a knitting witch.

Problem is, I'm getting really bored with my current UFOs. I'm working the body and 1 sleeve of Beach from Knitty, the SSS, and a curly brimmed hat that I'm pretty sure will fit no one I know once I'm done with it; maybe I'll mail it to Keelin. I'm just not much of a sock gal, so I need something else lacy to challenge me, have several ideas on what to try, but can't buy yarn until payday. Wah! SSS is still fun, but I'm about 2/3rds of the way there, so you knit one row and it's like, ok, brain's dozing off; what else can I work on?

Can't......resist......diary......mode.....what a fantastic weekend! Spent Saturday working out, helping our wonderful Terra and her brood pack their moving van to escape Florida (the lucky shits!). Came away with a nice wingback chair, an office chair, and one of those indoor fountains. And came home to discover that the wonderful husby had torn the bedroom apart to move the chest of drawers we'd also inherited from the Terra clan into the bedroom. He'd stowed the winter clothes trunks in the closet, put his and my spare clothes into the drawers, and viola! A bedroom that doesn't resemble an explosion in a clothing factory!

I'm S....L....O....W....L....Y cutting the apron strings on my papasan chair, because we plain don't have the room for it unless we get a storage space, and I really don't want the added monthly expense. I mean, we could EASILY justify a storage space; there's 2 extra coffee tables in the dining area and I turned the corkboard into a worktable by laying it on top of the boxes I already store stuff in. But we can certainly do 9 more months the way we are.

Sunday was Bob Evans with husby, talk about our futures, goopily looking into each other's eyes (barf bags are available in the lobby), and a delicious day of relaxing and hanging with each other. My biceps are good-sore from the moving, and my energy level's up. Full moon tonight, may try some meditation with the fountain on. Lughnassadh will be here before we know it, and I want to catch up on my blessings :)

Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Dedication to Miss Terra


So this is Terra, one of our Knitting Bitch founders and a wonderfully warm, fuzzy person altogether. Her hair's a little shorter and darker now, and her belly's quite a bit smaller, since her daughter escaped from her little gestational house about 3 months ago, but it's a great candid shot, stolen from our firefightrix's blog (try saying that 3 times fast!).

This tall, beautiful, amazing chef of a lady and mommy is leaving us Bitches in Jacksonville this weekend for good, for the wilds of northern California, where she can raise her 2 granola children and wild-haired techie husband in an adorable little town that's rife with nature and probably doesn't have a yearly murder statistic. There's no pleasing some people.

I can't help looking up to this girl, and not just because she has about 4 inches on me. I'm 10ish years older than she, but she's accomplished so much more, from raising younguns to having a decent career to fall back on, one that she enjoys and can take pride in, one that'll add to her family's health and wealth should she ever need it to, while at the same time being able to stay home and raise her kids her way. She motivates me to get my life on a better track. She's a great listener and puts forth the appearance of someone who's secure in who they are, someone who's centered without being annoying about it. I'm sure she doesn't really wear the cape I'm putting on her, that she's as insecure as the rest of us, but to the innocent bystander, she's one sharp cookie!

I'm going to miss the heck out of her, and I'm thankful for this information age we live in, so that we can keep up with each other's lives as the future progresses. I mean, I'm all for the occasional road trip to visit friends, but Florida to Callie definitely requires significant planning so it could be years before we see each other again. I take comfort in the fact that I have family near where she's moving, so I could plan a joint family/friends/Napa touring trip someday, but for now, my life is all about SC, creating our own small people, and better careers for Les and I.

So I write to let her know how much she'll be missed, and that we'll be blaming her when ruthee bails on KB for work or because her turtle shell's more comfy than Panera when her best bud is gone. There'll be some wound licking, but we'll go on, better people for having you in our lives and secure in the knowledge that this isn't an ending; it's a transition. Goddess speed, Terra, Kevin, Draken, and Keelin!

~ Irish Blessing

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
And the rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May Goddess hold you in the hollow of her hand.

Four-Day Weekends Go By Too Fast :(

Where'd this sucker go? I lazed my way through Saturday and Sunday, spent most of Monday with Mom and Meara, and Tuesday afternoon at Steve & Lynn's. Poof! Back to work!

One thing that sucks is when I get great relax time on the weekend itself, but then the night before work starts up again, the insomnia hits. Took me forever to get to sleep last night, which was compounded by asshole neighbors who felt it necessary to celebrate the 4th with firecrackers into the wee hours of the night. Isn't it like, common courtesy to not perform loud noises, like setting off firecrackers, after 10 p.m.? Someone send a memo to the ethnically diverse individuals in my complex.

Monday was nice; hit the mall with Mom and Meara, got some great Bath & Body Works stuff and a new pair of Birk wannabes out of it. We hit Carrabba's for dinner (holy hell they went heavy on the garlic on the Shrimp Damian!! Gargled twice and was still scaring off vampires!), and then saw The Devil Wears Prada. Very nice movie in spite of the vacuously materialistic subject matter...made me want to lose 125 pounds instead of 75, but also made me want to pay more attention to my appearance for self-pride's sake.

Steve and Lynn's was bliss, pure joy! Poor Steve got heat exhaustion from working the grill for us, but I spent the better part of the afternoon entertaining a rather beautiful almost-2 year old. Sandy hair, cute face, small, light, prone to smiles and hugs, answers to Lukas. Reminded me of just how much small people take over your entire life though, which left me pensive. We've got a ways to go before we're near that stage still, and for all my impatience, I know this year pre-small people will be good for us.

Ah, poo, work meeting; more later.