| Goals for the 26th year |
- Quit Smoking.
- Write to Someone I Admire (Can be anyone from friend to celebrity).
- Send 27 Post Cards (I miss connecting with people outside of the internet).
Leave the State for vacation.
- Pay off my credit cards.
- Give handmade gifts for special occasions. (Due to my schedule, I will give as many as I can)
- Publish writing.
- Sky dive or bungee jump.
- Start a work out routine.
- Debate with someone and try to see their side.
- Walk for a cause.
- Take a dance class.
- Read a book a month (at least).
- Give a gift to a stranger.
- Hang out with my brother more often.
- Seek Grammar/Writing Education Opportunities.
- Volunteer my time outside of school.
- Stop to reflect on the good things. (May decide to blog it, may decide to write it down in a journal).
- Maintain a sick time balance at work.
- Save up for a cushion/emergency fund.
- Slumber Party/Diva Evening. (I miss sleep-overs!)
- Learn to walk in heels!
- Bring lunch to work (at least 3x a week).
- Take a financial workshop.
- Learn to cook/cook more often.
- Go Camping!
- Stop spending all my money on coffee!
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| It's About Time! |
| Saturday, June 30, 2007 |
Life. I know, I know I have seriously been slacking lately. In my defense, I have been busy at work and with just about everything else. That's only the half truth though. While I have been working a lot, most of the time I am playing Eternal Darkness or knitting. Eternal Darkness will suck your brains out of your ear so that you will never move from the TV screen. I am getting in pretty deep, plot wise. At the moment, I am taking a break. I died, and screamed "F--- You" so loud that I gave myself a soar throat. Never a good sign when you get that into a video game.
Okay, new developments. I am going on vacation Wednesday, so I don't think I will be blogging too much until I get back. Where am I going ? To the best display of geek mentality in the world. Origins! -=does a dance=- I am going to come home with so many RPG books and dice that my car is going to drag on the ground. It's hopefully going to be a lot of fun. I know most of the area Origins is going to be in so it should be nice to revisit old spots. Grim and I renewed our lease for another year. We will not be moving after all. We took a look at another apartment under the same management. Let's just say, Ewww sums it up very nicely. She literally kept her house like a pig pen. When you saw passed that, the apartment was really little. Everything else we looked at or called about was way out of our price range. Even with the increase of rent this place is still more affordable than anything else. We'll probably be looking again next year, but at least then we'll be better prepared.
On another note, my condition for resigning the lease was to do something about storage. Anyone know of cute ways to provide more storage. I have one closet and a couple little places I can stick things. =)
Knitting. I have finished the 2nd Secret Pal gift which I will reveal to you after I send it. I think it's cute but I hope she likes it. I also just need to get a couple more things for both Swaps and I am done. -=does a dance=- The Sci-Fi swap, I completely winged. She didn't seem to amped to disclose any details, so if she doesn't like what I got her. -=shrugs=- Not to sound mean, but it's not my problem. I seriously did my investigative work for this one. I tried my best. I am CO for my bathing suit. That is going to be my car project. I am also thinking about finding another small project in case I get bored and I have been entertaining the idea of trying my hand at sock knitting. We'll see though. -=giggle=-
Spinning. What spinning ? I did try again and the roving broke and I don't know how to put it back on. So I started hunting for spinning places on the web. I found one! There is a yarn store that has a night where the "Spin Doctor" comes in and answers and questions. That individual will also teach you how to spin if you get there first. So after vacation, I am running over there and demanding some answers as nicely as I can. -=giggle=-
Reading. Check my reading blog. WARNING: Spoilers for Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix.
Games/Movies. Grim and I are still patiently waiting for the September release of Supernatural (Season 2). We have been entertaining ourself by playing the Wii and Aces & Eights shooting sessions. I just saw Tombstone for the first time. Good movie and I will admit I cried like a baby when Doc Holiday passed. Val Kilmer never ceases to amaze me. His range is so remarkable. Next movie on the list to see, 1408 and of course, Harry Potter.
Blogging.
Erika tagged me as a (Thank You!)
and I am tagging
Knituition
and Ramblings of a Crafter
Alright ladies and gents. I am off to do something productive. Well not really. We're going to a 4th of July party today but before we do... we're going to a YARN STORE. -=does a dance=- So I have to go bounce on the bed and get Grim up so we can leave in time. -=hugs for all=-
Write more tomorrow!!
Labels: Blogging, Knitting, Life, Movies, Reading, Spinning, Update, Vacation, Video Games |
posted by Valerie @ 11:45 AM  |
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| Hello Everyone. |
| Sunday, June 24, 2007 |
This is going to be a pretty short blog. I haven't really been working on anything lately. I have been working so much OT for vacation that I haven't had the chance. I come home, and I lay down essentially. I think I am nearly at 10 hours though which will be a nice chunk extra to take with me. Anyways, I am working on a second gift for my SP! I hope she likes it! I also have to figure out what to throw together for My Sci-Fi/Fantasy Swap. Unfortunately the one I was given has not kept up with her blogging nor returns my emails so I may have to talk to the admin about it. I am at a little bit of a loss on what exactly to get her, or do.
We went to another Grindhouse night at a friend's house on Friday. Lots and lots of fun! Rock'n'Roll Frankenstein and Deathrace 2000! Both terrifically terrible movies that made my night, especially Rock'n'Roll Frankenstein. Hanging out with friends over movies has always been one of my favorite things to do though.
Saturday, Grim and I woke up early so I could drop him off at my mom's to do Laundry while I got my haircut. I am sooo happy my hair is short again. He got most of the laundry done while I was gone. When we got home Mistress Pounce was waiting for us. We weren't feeling the Cyber campaign, or at least we were all really curious about Aces and Eights. So we created characters for that system for the majority of the evening. Silly little me ate General Tso's Chicken, then salsa and chips a little later. Oh My God. Stomach rebellion! I ended up going to bed at around 11, I couldn't sit without feeling like I was going to be sick.
Today I went back into work and got most of my filing done and worked on some timesheets. I worked for a good 3 hours and then ran some errands. I plan on hanging out with Grim for the rest of the night. I might knit a little bit, I might play video games. Wherever the mood takes me.
I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!
Labels: Overtime, Update, Weekend, Weekend Finale |
| posted by Valerie @ 3:55 PM |
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| Spinning |
| Tuesday, June 19, 2007 |
My SP directed me to Joy of Handspinning Web Site for demos. I can't see them very well because they're small and on the side. She sent me the book but unfortunately I do things a little better with visual as opposed to reading. Any recommendations on a good spinning video I can get at Amazon or something ?
Thanks Everyone!
Part II
Tried it based on the videos. -=giggle=- You can definately tell where she ended and I began. I definately need a little assistance. I am going to keep my eyes open for any classes. I don't want to ruin the roving to I am going to wait to use it until I have a general idea of what I am doing.
Labels: Spinning |
| posted by Valerie @ 7:26 PM |
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| Secret Pal, You Kick Arse! |
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Look at all my goodies!!
I actually recieved them yesterday but I had a hellish 7 hours spent entirely on typing up a report. I was not coming near the computer for anyone or anything. Not even if I had to reach the police via internet. I would not type another word. -=giggle=- Today, I feel alright enough to come on the computer for a bit. I took pictures of each so you can see everything. I got a pair of Pirate Socks, they go to my upper thigh. A pair of really adorable shoes! I tried them on and they are just a little too big, nothing that an insert won't fix though. A drop spindle! Beautiful purple fiber and A Spinner's Companion, then a skein of yarn called Rebecca and a skein of yarn called Anex (I believe). The Spindle, I will admit, intimidates me. I am sure I will get the hang of it but I am nervous. She already started off some for me, so I am going to watch some videos on it tonight or tomorrow. I probably won't get the chance to do anything with it until this weekend. It's going to be hell week at work. My Secret Pal also gave me a clue to her identity. Apperantley we have a mutual friend online. I have been racking my brain trying to figure it out but I am blanking. I will just have to wait for the postcard next week. Thank you Secret Pal! You have been more than awesome, you have been superb, fantastic and wonderful!
Here are the ribbons I bought at the Ren Fairre.
Aren't they pretty? I think I am going to have to get some more for her though. Speaking of which, that reminds me, I need to email her. I haven't been up to much lately dears. I started on another small project for my SP. I have been seriously running wild on the net, looking for cute little patterns to knit up. I realized I hadn't made her anything and I really wanted to. So I have one thing I am going to put in there but I wanted to make something to match. I improvised and I am creating something else. Show you when it's all done.
Oh, I know what has been taking away from my knitting time. Video Games. I am completely addicted to Eternal Darkness. Someone came up with the clever idea to make the Wii play Game Cube games. Oh my god! This game is tooo scary and I love it! No I adore it in fact! It's so hard for me to get into video games. I usually just like watching them. The last game I beat was another scary game, Fatal Frame II. Oh, I musn't forget that Harry Potter II (video game) has been sucking up time too.
For now, I think I am off. Thank you again SP! I can't wait to thank you by name!Labels: Gifts, Secret Pal, Spinning, Tuesday, Video Games |
| posted by Valerie @ 6:22 PM |
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| The Ren Fairre! |
| Saturday, June 16, 2007 |
We had a great time! It was small but a lovely event. We walked around and took pictures. I ended up running into a lovely lady that was knitting. When I saw the DPNs I walked right up to her and asked if she was making socks. She smiled and said yes and then we started talking about knitting for a while. Turns out there is a Period Knitting Group in Albany. They get together about once a month and knit Medieval Patterns. I think I am going to sign up to go to the next one. It should be a lot of fun! I also bought 3 yards of 3 different kinds of ribbon. I am going to be writing her an email asking for more. I don't think I bought as much as I thought. Without further ado here is a video I compiled of all the clips I made from the battles. All the pictures can be found here.
Please comment on the ones that look purposely shot. I want a little feedback on them.
Labels: Pictures, Ren Fairre, Saturday |
| posted by Valerie @ 5:57 PM |
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| Friday err... Saturday now |
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I shouldn't have taken that 3 hour nap when I got home from shopping. Now I am wide awake. Oh well, it's the weekend and I don't get many opportunities to watch the sun come up anymore. Work was extremely busy this week, hence the lack in blogging. Thursday I ended up staying an hour later and then bringing home timesheets to work on for about 45 minutes to an hour. I went back today and work my butt off only to take more work home with me. I can't really complain, it's overtime and with vacation around the corner I really need it. My manager brought up something enraging though. The president is thinking of going to mandatory summer overtime. Mainly because people work a bunch of overtime, then cut out early when we're busy. He's thinking about making us come in at 7:30AM and stay a half an hour later than we usually do. I don't care about staying a half an hour later, I care about waking up earlier. I told my manager that if he did that, my tardiness was going to increase. She laughed and said she agreed. We'll see where it goes. It's just annoying that we have to be punished because two people can't stay in their damn seats until 5pm.
On a more positive note, I went to the knitting store today. I was on a hunt for cute buttons for Catie's Calorimetry. The ladies there are always so nice. She showed me all the new yarn and we talked for a little while about this and that. I took a leap and asked her if they had fixation, and they did! Not in red but they had 4 skeins in black. I scooped them up and did the math in my head. I think I saved 5 to 10 dollars on shipping by buying them from my LYS. I also wanted to do it because they have been such a big help. The owner is going to do a quick tutorial on sock knitting with me. The regular class is held during my working hours and the weekend class is way too expensive for my budget sooo she is letting me do a crash course for 5$. I couldn't believe it! How awesome is that ?!?! So any yarn I need I am going to check with them first.
Went shopping with my mom today for a bathing suit. I don't think I am going to have this one done before the end of summer, so I needed a back up. It's a cute bikini with a skull and crossbones on the right bra cup and another one on the back of the bottoms. It ties on the sides, around the neck and back. Mom also got me a cover and a new pair of shoes. I mentioned to her that I didn't bring her around so she could pay for everything and she just smiled and said she didn't mind, now I had money for vacation. -=giggle=- My mom has been abducted by aliens.
I went to the library and got "Knitting with Balls" and something about knitting socks while travelling. The sock book was cute, the knitting with balls thing, was a little silly. I have yet to find a single pattern that any man in my life (father, grim, grandpa, etc.) would even register as a maybe. I show some of the patterns to Grim and he just laughs. For instance, a knitted beer holder. Eh ? Nothing says macho like a felted beer holder. I guess I don't see how that is logical.
I think I had other things I wanted to write but at the moment, my brain has stopped. Today we're going to a Ren Fairre (I'll take pictures) and tonight to a friend's house for birthday cake. Sunday we're going to Grim's parent's house for a Father's Day/Catie's Going Away party.
That's it for now dears!Labels: Knitting, LYS, Update, Weekend, Work |
| posted by Valerie @ 4:53 AM |
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| Why Hello There.. |
| Tuesday, June 12, 2007 |
I promised pictures and I had every intention of putting them up yesterday but my batteries in my camera died. So without further ado, pictures.
First off, here is the drop stitch scarf I was working on as a little side project. I finished it in about a day and a half. It's nice because it's light and cute enough to wear in the summer.
I also finished my mother's washcloths. You can find those under "Assorted Washcloths". They're the newest set on my flicker account. Other than that, I decided to knit something for my secret pal. Here is a sneaky peak of what she's getting.
Just a taste, in case she has figured me out. I have a cute idea of how to reveal myself. Speaking of Secret Pals. Thank you two times over for the skull stitch markers. I love everything you have given me but those take the cake. Simply because all my other stitch markers are way to big for the projects I have been working on lately.
Work has been busy and this week has been a bit of a pain. I have been having a hard time waking up in the morning. Thank God my boss is nice. She doesn't mind that I have been late the last two days. It's not like I don't make up the time or anything but still most bosses really frown on that. I have an appointment with my Financial Aid Advisor to go over the possibility of working part time and school full time. We checked into new apartments on Monday. I called all the numbers today. The cheapest was $700 dollars for a 2 Bedroom. Currently I don't want to spend that much. The other 5 were in the thousand catagory. No go for that lot, move onto the next area.
Oh! Something unrelated to knitting. I'm starting to write a bit again! -=does a dance=- I am not going to go into a lot of detail about it yet. When I continue and make it to 20 pages I'll rant about it. It's been 3 years since I have written anything. So one page is an accomplishment. -=giggle=-
I believe that's it for now.
Labels: Pictures, Scarf, Secret Pal, Tuesday, Washclothes |
| posted by Valerie @ 10:54 PM |
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| Sunday |
| Sunday, June 10, 2007 |
It's Sunday already! Blegh. The weekend has been very pleasant though. Friday we went over to Pounce's house. Since Grim didn't seem to be in much of a gaming mood we watched Borat instead. I kinda liked it, some parts were funny but the majority of it, I thought was a little silly. Grim of course has been running around saying I have no sense of humor because he liked it alot. I also didn't enjoy Team America until much later. Saturday, Grim went into the city to see Skinny Puppy and I hung out with Pounce again. Knitting and Movie nights are always fun. We watched Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Witches of Eastwick. I started a ribbon drop stitch scarf. I wanted something light and pretty to wear during the summer. It's looking pretty good. I'll post pictures later today. I also did a couple of rows on my nightgown. Nothing to fabulous really considering I am only on the 6th or 7th row now. -=giggle=- Today, I think I am going to be taking Grim to his mom's house. He has a doctor's appointment in that area tomorrow.
I was going to go in and get some overtime done but I just didn't feel like it. For some reason I am really run down today. I feel like I didn't sleep all that well lastnight. Could be because Grim didn't get home until around 7am and I had to sleep alone. My brain doesn't seem to like the empty side of the bed. So I ended up crashing on the couch while watching Grease.
In other news though, I got invited to do a photoshoot for a friend's portfolio. I was a little shocked to be invited but it should be a lot of fun.
I think that's about all for now. Pictures to come soon!Labels: Sunday, Weekend, Weekend Finale |
| posted by Valerie @ 1:27 PM |
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| Blogger Birthday Contest |
| Wednesday, June 6, 2007 |
So I came acrossed the blog of Pheelya and she is having a contest for her birthday.
To enter--click on the hot link and leave her a comment. You MUST say that you read about the contest on MY blog! The prize involves some stash. One of her friends mentioned that "knowing Pheelya--it's premium stuff!"
You must leave a comment on Pheelya's blog at the above link, telling her your favorite project or --get this--alcoholic beverage--preferably something new and exciting. In your comment, you must tell Pheelya from whose blog you learned about the contest. You must then put the info on YOUR blog with a link to the contest!
Be creative with your suggestions in your comments.Labels: Birthday, Contest |
| posted by Valerie @ 10:30 PM |
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| Knitting Pretty |
| Tuesday, June 5, 2007 |
I got one of the washcloths done on Sunday. I really love this pattern despite the fact my fingers hurt for a little while after doing it. Here's the finished project.
It's weird though, I don't know why it leans to one side like that. On another note, Kiya gave her approval of the yarn.
I show pictures of my cats like some people show pictures of there kids. Typical behavior though, as I do not want children my cats are fitting into the catagory for me to "nurture". Basic psychology. -=giggle=-
I feel a ton better. Work has been extremely busy and I have basically been coming home and hanging out with Grim. Other than finishing the washcloth, I have not been doing much knitting. I'll probably work on another cloth tomorrow. I want to clear out all my promised knits so that I can start making the stuff I want for summer. I have been shopping for yarn for the bathing suit pattern. Fixation won out, and I found it at yarnmarket for $4.95. Seems expensive but I shopped around and can't find anything that has the same yardage and the shipping won't bite me in the arse. So here is what I am going to make the bathing suit out of. Oh, what bathing suit you ask ? This one. Here's the yarn I have been looking at for it. It's dye lot 3628-Yankee Red. Pretty eh ?
Oh Yea! On Sunday, I went to buy cloves from the Gas Station. They have been doing construction in the lot lately so I guess they let this organization set up their benefit sale there. I searched through the books and I found every single book on my to read list. Feminine Mystique, Wuthering Heights, Pride & Prejudice, Devil's Advocate, 3 Shakespeare Books, and A WWII book for Grim.
Then to the library where I got Mansfield Park - Jane Austin for KTC. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on CD so I have something to listen to at work. I'll probably write a review on the Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire when I have a little bit more time. Anyways, I think that's pretty much it for now. Less than a month now and I will be on vacation.. God I can't wait. -=giggle=-
Labels: Books, Kiya, Knitting, Washclothes |
| posted by Valerie @ 9:58 PM |
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| Cast On! |
| Sunday, June 3, 2007 |
So I decided to CO the washcloth set for my mother. I don't know why but for some reason this pattern makes my fingers ache. I could only do so much lastnight before it felt like my joints had been stuck in a vice grip. Take a look at the button and see the progress and pattern. I think it's a really pretty pattern. I'll do two of those for her, skip the towel and just add something extra in her box. =)
That's all for now I believe.
You know, on a side note, I really don't know how people survived without air conditioning. We waited a while to put ours in. We wanted to make sure we didn't get slammed with cold weather again. The last couple of days have been sticky gross Mississippi sort of hot. You all probably know the type, it's so humid you almost can't breathe feeling. Yesterday was the breaking point, we had Grim's brother bring it up and install it. Yeah, we now have an icebox instead of an oven.
Happy Sunday All!
Labels: Mother's Day, Sunday, Washclothes |
| posted by Valerie @ 10:21 AM |
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| A Better Saturday |
| Saturday, June 2, 2007 |
So today was a better day. I started off feeling really lousy. Although playing the Harry Potter game until 5:30 in the morning when you have to wake up at 10, could seriously make anyone feel that way. Sigh went to the vet and got his stitches removed. He hid under the bed for a full 2 hours when I brought him home. Now he's being more social. I think it also has a lot to do with the fact we now have an air conditioner in the living room so it's either be social and cool or anti-social and fry. -=giggle=-
Tonight we hung out with a couple of friends. Played the WII and had an all around good time. I gave Mistress Pounce the corset gloves I made that I can't wear because of the material.
No knitting today, I might do a couple of rows of my nightgown or start exploring some washcloth patterns. Tomorrow I have to go into work for a couple of hours. I told the boss I would help her out with end of month since I wasn't in on Friday. I only plan on being there for a couple of hours. So it shouldn't be to terrible.
Other than that, I read two books already this weekend. Go check out my book blog and see what I have been up to outside of the knitting world. Comment, give your thoughts on the book. I want some input! -=giggle=-
Talk to all of you soon.
XOXOXOXLabels: Saturday, Sigh, Weekend |
| posted by Valerie @ 11:37 PM |
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| A Blegh Friday |
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Hello all, I came back to post a little more this evening. I am still feeling a little under the weather. You know the whole aches and pains, headache, blegh feeling. I have pretty much been battling that all day long. I have also felt incredibly guilty. It's month end at work and one of the boss's busiest times due to accounting. If I could have drug myself into work though, I would have. This morning, I was definately not the prettiest picture in the book. Anyways, I am feeling slightly better though. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be fit as a fiddle, keep your fingers crossed for me.
So anyway... I started and finished another Calorimetry. This one turned out a little bigger than I had intended. Lucky for me the recipient has dreads, so I think it should fit around her head perfectly. I am going to make her wrap it around her head before I sew on the buttons though. I don't want to make it to big on her. You can see the finished project to the right. The Sari Yarn that I used, was a little difficult to work with but the colors truly are beautiful. Here is a close up...
I know she is going to love it. I just hope it's not to big on her. So another gift done, two more people to go. I need to make my mom's gifts and Grim's mom's gifts.
I started a new little blog project. It's dedicated to the books I have been reading. The link is also to the right if you want to take a look. I am going to try and keep it posted with various thoughts I have on the book as I read them. I am seriously not sure, if anyone will read it -=giggle=- but I wanted to do it anyway.
That's about it really. I didn't do to much with my day. I lounged ALOT. -=giggle=- Grim just got done playing Resident Evil 4. Pretty intense game right there. All the Resident Evils are in their own way though. To close this post. Here are some pictures of the babies!
Kiya
and Sigh Baby!!! Oh and he gets his stitches taken out tomorrow!!!
TTFN
Labels: Calorimetry, Sick, Sooo Sleepy |
| posted by Valerie @ 2:32 AM |
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| Drive By Blogging |
| Friday, June 1, 2007 |
| I am sick with a stomach bug. So not much from me at the moment. Post soon. Labels: Sick |
| posted by Valerie @ 2:56 PM |
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| About Me |
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Name: Valerie
Home: Troy, New York, United States
About Me: I am 26 years old. I work, go to school, participate in roller derby and knit every chance I get. Oh, I also love hanging out with my boyfriend (Grim) and two cats (Kiya and Sigh).
See my complete profile
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