Almost every morning, I wake up with some random tune stuck in my head. Like, songs I haven't heard in years. Recently, one morning I had the Wallflowers' "Sixth Avenue Heartache" stuck in my head. The next, Spice Girls' "Spice Up Your Life."

This morning? The theme to Get Smart.

I wonder if I'm having some awesome dreams that I just do not remember.

Last night, Eric, Jason, and I drove to Tampa to see this crazy little ragamuffin and his band (you might have heard of them), and they were amazing. I'm not the biggest fan (meaning, I can't tell you most of the songs they played, but I recognized quite a few of them), but they do know how to put on an incredible live show. Due to Eric's perseverance, our seats were 6 rows back from the stage and just to the left of center (meaning, freaking awesome seats for a show held in an ampitheatre).

Other than that, I haven't been up to anything terribly exciting. Just doing my freelance thing and sitting at home, or trying to sit at home, so that I can conserve gas. I did see Iron Man on Sunday and that was really, really good.

I have to be really stingy with my monies over the next couple of weeks. Unemployment deducts the amount of money I'm going to get from freelancing from my unemployment checks, BUT I don't get paid for freelancing for 31 to 45 days after I submit an invoice. Which means that the first invoice I submitted, in mid-April, won't turn into money until mid-May at the earliest. AND I won't get my tax stimulus check until sometime in June. Oh Bush admin and IRS, you are both entirely untimely and completely stupid.

It's a good thing my mom told me you can microwave potatoes, that's all I'm saying.

In the meantime, I need to be packing up my stuff and looking for more jobs to not be considered for. Whee.

OH, and Roxanne is an evil wench for introducing me to Packrat but not telling me about it when the High Seas (read: pirates) cards were in play. :P

...but dealing with a klepto of a cat is not one of them. Seriously, how does she manage to steal the paperclips for all my papers?

I guess that's better than her eating all my papers.

Liz posted a link to this site yesterday, and I feel it's my duty to pass it on.

the fun never ends
Just wanted to say hi. I know you’re probably busy getting caught up at work after last week. I hope you enjoyed the plays. Did you get the movie I sent you? Today is our 31st anniversary. We are eating leftovers for dinner, and I was bit by a dog this morning. I’m not foaming at the mouth, so far. The fun never ends. Love, Mom

Postcards From Yo Momma

I swear, my mom could have written half of them! and I mean that with a lot of love.

Although some of these were probably with the 24mm, too.

We had a Rock Band birthday party for a few friends last weekend, and I stole Bob's camera and wandered around taking pictures for most of the night (it's what I do). I did not process these photos at all. Normally, I probably would have done a little bit to help the lighting or whatever, but I just wanted an example of how awesome some photos can be with a sweet camera. (please note, they can also suck with a sweet camera.) Chrysta, if I can steal/borrow/buy a camera like this, we can definitely talk about your wedding. :)


Bob, Eric (on drums), and Jason.


Megan and the tambourine.


Neat lamp.


Look at that DoF! That is the most important reason I want a DSLR. My camera is pretty much incapable of doing that.


And again.


It wouldn't hurt to get a strobe light, either.


Please excuse me while I admire the fantastic lighting of this image.


Want. Camera.


Sigh.


Christmas lights in background = perfection.

Aside from using the strobe light sometimes (mostly after Bob yelled at me that it was too dark to not be using it, though I tend to like my pictures darker, so we had a bit of a disagreement), the only difference between these pictures and the pictures I usually take is the camera. And what a huge difference it is. Not to knock on my camera, because it is really quite good for being a point-and-shoot and for having a user who is not terribly well-versed in the art of photography, but look! Look at the difference. Sigh.

But today is not that day. These photos are mostly from Prospect Park and Prospect Park Zoo, in Brooklyn. As usual, clicking on the picture will take you to the Flickr page and make it big.


It was one of those "not a cloud in the sky" kind of days.


Prairie dogs are all kinds of awesome.


Creepy one-eyed screech owl.


A quick glance at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden website leads me to believe this is a Star Magnolia.


Cute little flower.

And, as usual, there are more pictures over at the Flickr.

I put a bunch of photos up, both on flickr and on Myspace. The wedding was last Saturday, and it was a gorgeous ceremony held outdoors on a beautifully clear, bright, sunny day. And my camera was not quite on the right setting. Which made processing these photos both imperative and quite difficult, as I did not want to blind anyone who happened to look at them.

Liz looked gorgeous in her dress, and Mike was quite spiffy-looking himself. The ceremony was blissfully short, as the sun was really beating down on everyone's backs, and the reception was mucho fun. Lots of dancing, lots of drinking, lots of good times with friends.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day. Clicking on them will take you to the flickr page and make them bigger.



The outdoor chairs were really quite comfy. Apparently someone fell off one of the chairs in the middle of the ceremony, but I did not see this happen.


White and blue orchids made up the bouquet and centerpieces.


The bouquet.


Candles reflecting in the glass vases of the centerpieces.

Congratulations, Liz and Mike!

I've been catching up on a lot of craftiness and making things for people's birthdays. I'm just now posting them, because I wanted to wait until everyone got their gifts. All pictures will get bigger and take you to the Flickr page if you click on them.

First up, box bags. I found this excellent tutorial (and also referenced these suggestions) to make Shannon and Beth each a box bag for their birthdays.


Shannon's box bag, black exterior, pink interior with pink zipper.


Beth's box bag, brown exterior, pink interior with blue zipper.

I also tried my hand at some free-hand embroidery on a wedding gift for my friends Liz and Mike.


Cloth napkins with embroidery in green, blue, red, and black. Design my own. Awful picture.

And of course, there was some knitting. I was very, very late in making Liz's birthday present, but for some reason I had it in my head that she should get an Elephant. I call her Elizaphant, but I'm not sure that will go over so well with the recipient. :)


Pattern: Elefante by Susan B. Anderson [Ravelry link] [author's website]
Yarn: Elann's Peruvian Highland Wool
Needles: Size 4 US

The pattern was really easy to knit and super cute. She'd have yellow ears, except that I ran out of yarn while doing the decreases on the head, so I got crafty and whipped those up on my sewing machine.

And of course I bought yarn, but I'm not sure that really counts as me being productive.


On the left, The Fibre Company's Road to China in Blue Tourmaline. It's alpaca, cashmere, camel(!), yak(!!), and soya. It's so soft, and it has such amazing colors in the blue, and a gorgeous sheen. On the right, more Lorna's Laces, this time in the Pond Blue Stripe that is apparently an exclusive color to Purl Soho.

I've got a ton more pictures to put up from various events of the last week, but I need to process them all first.

So I thought that with the imminent wedding one of my dear friends (OMG after tomorrow they really WILL be team radvak!), I'd go get my nails did and look spiffy.

I bunked up a thumb nail while putting on my seatbelt like a responsible adult. and 10 minutes after walking in the door, i've mangled the index finger.

I'm attempting to figure out how much this is going to bother me.

Pattern: On Your Toes socks [ravelry link] by Ann Budd Interweave Knits, Summer 2007
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in "Nightwatch" (courtesy of the fabulous Leina)
Needles: 3.25mm Susan Bates DPNs
Size: Big. I have long feet.

Holy moly these were fun to knit. Only my second ever of socks and I'm all "yeah, I can do toe-up no problem and they'll fit my long ass feet better than cuff down might." Hahaha I'm insane. But they turned out so well. I could have knit the next size down, I think, and I probably added too much length to the foot, but it's all good, I love wearing them.

I don't have needles in the next size up, and I wasn't sure how far my yarn would go, so I ended them kind of short on the leg. And I actually kind of like where they hit. Since I have extra yarn, I'm going to combine it with the GoGo Grassy yarn I just bought and maybe make knee socks. Or at least taller socks. Obviously, I'm going to have to invest in a scale or something so I can measure out yarn for two socks. That's the good thing about the Lorna's Laces yarn I bought—one skein makes one sock, so two even skeins should (theoretically) make two even socks.

Here, have another look.



Also, this weekend, I had a grand old time winding skeins that needed to be wound.



And all of that without a swift!

My big plans to go to the gym this morning have been foiled by the muscle I managed to strain or pull in the middle of the night. Don't ask me, I just woke up with a sharp pain in my upper leg as I moved about in my sleep.

It hurts to walk, but it's becoming more manageable, so maybe later I'll try to get on the treadmill for some really slow walking. I do plan on going to the gym for a little bit to do some work on the machines for my arms. But owie, my leg hurts. I don't know what muscle it is but it's apparently an important one.

You can bet your ass that I'll still be going downtown tonight, though.

Internet is working. Freelance gig is back on. Odd smell is lingering in my nose. Managed to not spend all my money.

Need to make to-do lists for each day.

I have laundry to put away.

Hi, disjointed.

So, I'm a little frustrated and a bit depressed and all that mumbo jumbo, so what does any self-respecting and finances-neglecting girl do? She goes shopping.

In my defense, everything I bought was on sale. Both of the shirts I got from Threadless (Exhibit A and Exhibit B) were only $9, and the sock yarns (Exhibit C, Exhibit D, and Exhibit E) were all 15% off.

Like I need more yarn. Anyway.

Now I'm off to go pick up a prescription and pay for it without the loveliness that is insurance. Luckily, I don't think it will be too bad, but it certainly won't be the 3 months for $30 that I had last year. I think I will also be a bit naughty and see if there's any Easter candy on sale. I'm craving some sort of peanut butter chocolate combo and I'm not sure I should be completely deprived at the moment.

Sigh.

Before I went to Dublin, I'd wanted a claddagh ring forever. Then I decided to go to Dublin, and that I would buy myself a claddagh ring while I was there. I mean, is there really any other place better for that sort of thing?

One afternoon while I was perusing the shops of Dame Street (I think lanyon might have been there but I can't remember) I happened to find this pretty little claddagh ring with a green stone in the middle of the heart. So I snatched it up and started wearing it and all was well.

This morning, however, I noticed that there was something on the stone. I figured I'd just gotten something on it and went to scratch it off. The entire stone came out. The "something" was part of the stone that had apparently degraded and was crumbling. I put the stone back in and it seemed to hold, but a few minutes later it was on its way out again. So I just took the stone out, trying to figure out how to fix it, and more of it crumbled.

I'm not usually terribly superstitious, but this does not bode well for my romantic aspirations, if you ask me.

Though maybe it means I should plan another trip to Ireland. Dammit, I really liked that ring.

I got a call from this company today! It was a basic information-gathering call to see if I currently live in Asheville (which I obviously don't) and when I could potentially start work, and how much notice I'd need before interviewing, so there's no actual interview lined up, but it's nice to just get a call, dammit.

starsincrown, I saw this and thought of you.

And Spike is showing Boondock Saints. Exciting times, my friends.

I would just like to take this moment to sing the praises of supercheesegirl, who in addition to just being all around awesome, referred me for some jobs with her company early this afternoon, and I've already been contacted by someone there. It was a brief contact, and there are no guarantees about anything as we all know, but aside from the interview with Element almost 6 weeks ago this is the first bit of interest I've had, so yippee!!!

Endeavour lift-off, March 10, 2008



credit: Eric Hochstadt

Today I ran away to the movies. Festival Bay has an "early bird special," $5 for the first movie of the day M-F, and we all know I don't really have anything better to do, so why not? I saw Penelope.

Before I talk about the movie, I must repeat what I told starsincrown via text. On the eighth day, God created James McAvoy, and the world rejoiced. Oh dear lord, the pretty. And the smoldering.

Anyway, I greatly enjoyed the movie. It was such a cute modern-day fairytale, complete with mystical curses and dwarves. I'm adding it to the list of movies to consider buying when I have an income again. Along with Becoming Jane (again with the James McAvoy). The sets and the costumes were fantastic, and I loved the music and am contemplating downloading it from iTunes... eventually.

Continuing in the movie vein, I want to see Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day (hello Lee Pace). Anyone want to see it at Enzian with me? If not, no sweat, I'll just go check it out at Pleasure Island one day.

Last night, Jason, Eric, and I drove out to Cocoa Beach to see the shuttle launch. I'd never seen a shuttle launch before, and seeing a night launch (or early morning launch, as it went off at 2:30 am) was amazing. Eric took some pictures, hopefully he'll post one and I'll link to it here. Unfortunately there was a lot of cloud cover, so we didn't get to see much of the launch past initial lift-off. But what we did see was awesome.

Yesterday I filed for unemployment. I feel like a winner.

Aaaannnndddd we're back to looking up flights to any place that isn't here.

(thank you Mark for uploading this album for me, it's fantastic.)

Hai, I can has perfect job for me now?

AHAHAHAHA

ETA: This is one of the few times in my life I'd be able to use this information in a cover letter for a job.

I was first introduced to Tolkien's world as a child, watching the animated version of The Hobbit. Later, before the movie version of The Fellowship of the Ring was released, I sat down and read The Lord of the Rings in a week. I've since re-read The Lord of the Rings multiple times, in addition to The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. I've also studied some of Tolkien's languages, particularly the discussions found in Ruth S. Noel's The Languages of Tolkien's Middle-Earth.