Getting ready for 2008

So, as I was saying before, I've got some plans for the upcoming year:

1. No more weekend work at Michael's (2 more to go, that's it!) so I have more time for home stuff.
2. Training to walk the National Capital half-marathon at the end of May.
3. Finishing UFO's from 2007 before starting anything new for 2008 (yes, I tried this in the fall, but I have made a list and it's now manageable).
4. More and better rest / leisure.
   
5. More and better time with family / friends (see #1).

That's pretty much it. Nothing grandiose, just small steps (lots and lots of them, for #2) to make me happier and healthier this year. Things that make me feel good, including (because I am that kind of person), making plans and lists and working my way through them.

Now, I have to figure out how to put my 2007 UFO / 2008 WIP list in the sidebar. Wish me luck, and Happy New Year!

SNOW DAY!!!

I fully intended to go to work today - got up, made breakfast for Peter and me, got dressed, cleaned off the car, got in the car, drove to the corner, realized I'd forgotten my: a) Blackberry, b) security pass, c) parking pass. Went back to house, got a.b.c., drove back to the corner and headed down Bank Street. Tiny white powdery snow + high winds = very poor visibility. I did, however, see the DUMP TRUCK slide through the intersection right in front of me, about 10 minutes away from the house. Turned in at the nearest safe place, called home, told Peter to stay put, and crept carefully back home again. Snow day!

This morning, Hilarious House of Frightenstein and knitting on the baby blanket. Then we took down the tree (finally, but I still have to take down the village), and caught three back-to-back sequential CSI: Miami episodes (apparently, there's a fourth 'to be continued', dammit). Exciting stuff, finished another ball of yellow on the baby blanket and turned to Peter's sweater, got a dozen more rows done on the back. Phone call. S&D - "let's go for a walk in the woods in the snow!". Peter says "SURE!" Note to self: answer the phone to NOT get dragged out in the snow. We went. We walked. About a foot and a half of snow on the trails (thank heavens at least there ARE trails!), and we were out for an hour or more. Came home to slow-cooker chicken stew and bread machine bread. MMMMM! (though I have to say I prefer my handmade Amish bread to the machine-made French bread. This is quicker though!).

Then, out again, to be a good girl and go to class. Slight miscommunication from the Prof last week - we had to read 4 Greek tragedies to cover the next 4 weeks of class, not just for this week. So I'm WAY ahead on readings, which is good, because I'm behind on housework. :) Next week we get our term paper topics so I'm planning to get a headstart on that also. Got a few rows on my sock done during the break at class - I'm at the heel flap now and the colours are SO cheerful - however, the horizontal stripes make my 'cankles' look very ... cankle-y. A cankle, in case you don't know the term, is where your calf muscle and ankle pretty much make a straight line without any nice tapering. You know, like a cylinder. This is what I have, and the socks will, sadly, emphasize that. However, I love the colours so phooey on the cankles. :)

And now, after a nice hot bath and a browse through the Vesey's Seed catalogue, I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is supposed to be BLOODY cold, and I've got a day's worth of autoCAD to catch up on. But it was totally worth it. Snow day!

S-M-R-T!

Well, after yesterday's day of rest, I felt reasonably human this morning - at least well enough to drive, which is my criteria for going to work. (Can I drive? Yes. Then I can go to work. Can I drive? No. Then I can go back to bed.) It's a good system. However, I got sucked into the meeting from Hades today (10 am to 3 pm, with a lot of circular conversations), so at noon ducked out and called the store to let them know I wasn't coming in (but I will be, tomorrow). Came home to a hot bath and going to shortly settle in with some warmed-over leftovers, knitting, and the Friday night CSI: Miami marathon. S.M.R.T.

Sleep and soup and knitting

Except, I don't have any soup. I do have a variant of that flu that's been kicking everyone's butt over the holidays and into the new year - felt cough-y and achy and blargh yesterday, this morning it hurt to get out of the bed to call in sick. Spent ALL DAY in bed with daytime TV, an audiobook of my course text, and my knitting. Knit while watching TV and then when I couldn't move my arms anymore (no, really), I popped on the iPod and listened to the british guy read the "Metamorphoses" at me while I napped. I hope sleep learning works!

A bit more progress on the fire shawl for Yumi, and knitted up almost a whole ball of yellow Patons "Be Mine" in the body of this baby blanket.(scroll down the link - it's the gingham border blankie). It's soft and fuzzy and gosh-darn cute. BUT - the three-colour checkerboard border just about made me mental, and I have to do it on three more sides. Louise says I need to learn to knit continental so I can do two-colour knitting more easily (read: less tangling up). Ziploc bags are a big help though.

No more progress on Peter's sweater as it's been staying at Sandy & Dan's since New Year's Eve party. Gotta go retrieve it on the weekend, but I'm about 1/3 of the way up the back now.

And now, dinnertime. No chicken soup in the house so I'm going to do Shake'n'Bake chicken with rice and wash it down with about a gallon of water - my lemon tea and honey has worn off and my throat feels awful - again. I hope this is only a 24 hour bug because I have to work at the office and the store tomorrow. I think if I'm back in bed by about 8:00 tonight I should be okay. Wish me luck!

On the verge of another year...

Well, 2006 was a year of many changes - what's that saying, "May you live in interesting times?" That was this year. Next year will bring more changes but hopefully they will be mostly of the happy kind (for instance, our wedding in May!). At any rate, it's time to count my blessings:

1. Peter. My fiance, my love, my rock. Every day is better for having him in it.
2. My friends. Old friends (B&K, N&D), new friends (S&D, L&A, S&L). All good and loving people who have helped get us through rough times and celebrate good times. Worth their weight in diamonds.
   
3. A nice house with room for all our combined stuff, comfy furniture, lots of food, and two cats.
4. Two good jobs - one full-time which is always evolving and improving, one part-time which is a great way to blow off stress and make a few extra dollars while (really) having fun. I mean, they let me play with yarn a lot of the time! :)
5. A working body and brain. This can't be underestimated - I am at a good weight, in reasonable shape, get (almost) enough sleep, and have time to read, write, think, knit, etc. Yes, I get ill at times, but I can deal with it. 99 days out of 100, though, I'm pretty good.
6. The Internet. This is a blessing! Look at all my net-friends, free knitting patterns (woot!), and other resources at my fingertips. And high-speed, no less. (see #4 - being able to afford high-speed Internet is also a blessing!)
7. Life. Maybe this should be #1, but just the joy of being alive, in my life, as it is, is a very great blessing indeed.

Ok, enough weepy stuff. :) Today we're packing out the rest of the stuff from the other house into this house (which means tomorrow, finding room for things and unpacking it). I also work from 2-6:30 and then it's fondue party time at S&D's place. I don't know if I'll make it to midnight but I'll try. :)

Happy New Year!