It's 3/3/09. Do you know where your children are?

For some reason I have the Daily Show's theme song playing through my head over and over, along with the background music for Super Paper Mario Wii. The second one I know is because I spent days of play time on there and finally finished it so now am in withdrawal. MySims looks promising, though. ;)

Let's see... updates... I'm still jobless. Lame. But, my car is paid off and I even paid off our car insurance for 6 months so my unemployment covers bills, groceries and more. Another good thing - I have health insurance again - just waiting for the cards from Justin's plans. I went and did it with him this year to make sure we got everything we need (like the HSA) - their system is confusing!! I spun up my second roving but haven't done my newest ones yet:
My second handspun:

My rovings to be spun up:

I got pretty new yarns from Sunshine: (Mother's Day, April Showers & Blue Ice)

And some others from Ravelry members. My yarn bins overfloweth!

I've been working on my 2nd cowl/wimple/smoke ring for me - halfway through the 3rd repeat! I am going to do 5 with this one as well so that it sits on my shoulders when I have it over my hair. It's going to be really wide but I'm a lot more confident in the pattern now! I am already planning my next cowl - it will be the 'Birthday Cowl' (on Ravelry) in 'April Showers'. :D That pattern is a lot easier so it should be super fast, too.

Not much else to report. I am thinking up a project for little scraps of leftover yarns but I'm not sure which to do. :)

OK, off to make dinner! :D

SP13 Reveal

Not only did I get the lien release on my car from GMAC today, but my final Secret Pal 13 package arrived!!


I couldn't believe all the stuff in the box, going through and unwrapping it all was so fun! (Plus now Tigger has pink bubble wrap to pop.)

Inside was:

• 'The Chicks with Sticks Guide to Knitting'
• a pattern sheet for two different scarves
• a skein of Claudia Hand Painted Worsted in 'Turquoise Jeans'
• two sets of US8 needles (clover bamboo and a shorter pair that will be perfect for portable projects)
• a project bag
• set of 'Ice Cream Parlor' lip balms (I am addicted to Chapstick and have it in every room of the house)
• a Boye Pom-Pon maker (which I need but have been putting off buying!)
• a set of 4 beautiful blue stitch markers
• a quick reference chart and book that I will keep in the coffee table drawer with my other supplies
• and a yarn bookmark. :D

I haven't decided yet if I will make the scarf from the pattern or maybe something else - this is my first worsted weight 100% wool. :)

Thank you so much to my secret pal Judy, this has been a great swap!! :)

February Update

What's new... let's see. I still haven't found a new job. I've started selling some things - old textbooks that I will never need and CDs that I no longer listen to. It makes a little cash and cleans out the house! (to make room for more yarn!) I have successfully spun 2 skeins of yarn that I am proud of. I am trying to finish my neverending pile of knitting projects while still starting more! Agh! On the bright side, I know that GMAC received my payment so I was able to cross 'pay off my car' off of my list of goals for this year!! Wahoo!!

Not much else is going on, really. Just trying not to go crazy being at home every day. My newest knitting project is baby bibs from all of the cotton yarn that I have picked up at sales in the last year. My first one turned out really cute and only took a few hours so I am hoping to bust through my stash and get them all done soon!!

Spindle Pain

Ow.

I gave my drop spindle another try today, and I think I was getting pretty good. I almost got through the 8 oz of pencil roving that my mom gave me with the spindle, but it hurt quite a bit and the spindle was getting heavy. Before my nap, my feet were the most painful thing. After my nap, my biceps are on FIRE. My left thumb is also numb, feels like it might blister. :( (From spinning the spindle.) I've put an Icy Hot patch on my right arm to try to help (super tingly is better than burning pain right now) so hopefully it will get better overnight, but I wanted to post a little something because I may not be up for typing a blog in the next few days!

A picture of what I accomplished today:

I think I want to try plying it which will make about a worsted weight, maybe a little thicker.

Spinning today was so fun, I can't wait to do more. Once I heal. :)

Life Update

Haven't blogged in a while, I know, but there hasn't been much going on. Trying to find a new job, but there are so many people laid off that pickings are slim and by the time I find something good the spot is already filled. Ugh.

My hopes are high, though - and my blood pressure is holding steady. :) It is so relaxing to not be around people that are so nasty and high strung every day!! I do miss Tracy though, so hopefully once the snow is gone we can meet up for knitting or Wii or something on a regular basis.

I've been lax on my knitting the past few days because of other excitement (snowstorm, cleaning, Justin being home) but I am almost finished with 2 pastel bunny buddies and have started my first fingerless mitt. I've decided that knitting those bunny buddies with the cotton is much like weightlifting for your hands. I can only do it for a little while and then my hands are sore (especially the left one with the cyst that didn't go away). I'm not sure what I'll do next, there are so many things I'd like to start! I've been adding projects to my Ravelry projects section as I get the materials together for them, so hopefully I can work on those before starting something new. I'd love to finish up the blue afghan I started last winter! Anyway, if you are curious what I am working on I am trying to keep Ravelry updated every few days (I change the status to 'hibernating' on anything that I've put aside).

We had a big ice storm followed by a snow storm! Justin made it about one car length out of the driveway and got stuck on Wednesday morning, so I got his car back in the driveway (just barely) and he went back to bed and I went to Lowe's to get shovels and ice melt. We finally got his car back in the garage at about 2 pm. The back roads are heck (they do NOT know how to plow here - I can't imagine the postal lady will be able to get to our box) but the snow is so pretty!! Blindingly so. :)

That's about it for now, I'm going to spend most of today cleaning house and maybe listing a few things on eBay (leftover wedding stuff mostly).

I hope everyone is staying warm and happy!!!