Pictures

I have put up the pictures from Sunday (Kids Fun Day at Jacob's Field) on my Flickr account if anyone is interested. It was a super fun time.

Not much new going on. I cooked quite a bit today. I made blueberry muffins for Jenny's lady church group thing... Women's bible study, maybe? Then, for lunch, I made turkey burgers and pasta salad. The pasta salad was a test for the pasta salad I'm making right now for Family Night at church tonight. I learned a bit on my test run and hopefully this batch will be better. It has green beans and red pepper and a vinaigrette type of sauce. It's a variation of the asparagus pasta salad I've been wanting to make for weeks. (The grocery store didn't have asparagus. Bastards.)

It seems that when I'm not cooking, I'm playing the guitar. I've gotten a great deal better, but it's still pretty pitiful. Practice makes perfect. Eventually.

Also, I'm knitting. I started two projects. One is a special surprise for a friend that I can't talk about. One is an experimental pair of fingerless mittens. We'll see how long it takes me to rip that out.

-Ali

Blush

My current favorite song, "Blush" by Aly and AJ...

You openly admit
The things you'd like more of from me
Somehow I find it attractive
That you won't censor anything

With you there is no filter
To sugarcoat what is said
Even though I like your honestly
It won't lead me to your bed

So instead
Go ahead and say it
Even though you know
it makes me uncomfortable
Go ahead and say it
If you must make me blush

Ironic considering it's about abstaining from sex, but still valid in some ways. Anyway, the music is really pretty in it. Well done, ladies.

-Ali

Yaaarrrnnn!

I have just quit my job and do not yet have a new one lined up. Certainly this is not the time to buy yarn. (Especially when I never even knit the damn stuff!)

But look! Pretty!

I have fantastic plans to make lace fingerless gloves. I am out of my damn mind.

I also ordered yarn to make Dobby socks. Stacey and I bought the Charmed Knits books (knitting projects "for fans of Harry Potter") and they had some super cute socks. I will be knitting the orange and pink striped socks. Stacey is much more ambitious and is currently working on a sweater. Crazy lady.

-Ali

Job Stuff

I have news! Yay!

I put in my notice at work. I gave them 3 weeks as opposed to 2 for both their benefit and mine. I could have waited a week, then put in my 2 weeks, but I had my reasons. You might be thinking 'Oh, you got a job! What is it?'. No. No, I didn't. I'm being spontaneous and having faith that I can find a job very soon.

I fully admit that it was a... bold move. Stupid? Maybe. But, I feel pretty good about it at the moment. I'm forcing myself to do some serious job searching, not just looking in the paper every once in a while. I should probably get some decent interview clothes at some point. Hmmm.

And if my plan fails miserably, I will live off of Jenny. Simple as that.

-Ali

Yay! Happy Birthday to Ali! She's old!

I'm starting to get pretty antsy over Harry Potter. Somebody else has got to finish this book soon. I have no one to talk to. And everytime I mention red hair dye to Skip he gets very shifty and noncommital. Honestly, what is the point of having a boyfriend if I don't get to pretend he's a Weasley now and then?

You're probably wondering how the release party went. Fan-bloody-tastic, that's how. Lots of dorks in costumes, a drumline filled with high school boys and everyone wanted to take pictures with us. We went as the Hogwarts house ghosts, costumes that I've never seen attempted. It paid off. We were the only House ghosts there and everyone loved us.

From left to right:
Stacy as Nearly Headless Nick (Gryffindor), Ma as the Fat Friar (Hufflepuff), Alison as the Bloody Baron (Slytherin) and me as the Grey Lady (Ravenclaw).


A few notes:
-I sewed a bunch of that crap and spent a fair amount of time thinking the rest of it out.
- While everything else is white or grey, each ghost does have a piece of jewelry in his/her House colors.
- Yes, that is Mom's wedding dress again.
- Nick's puffy shorts (which I really did not expect Stacy to agree to) are going to be worn under any bridesmaid dress I may wear from now on.



That should help, right?

Happy Birthday To Me!

YAY!

-Alison

So...

I miss Nick Carter's CD (he only had the one, right?). So much that I'm contemplating going out and buying it. Again. I'm just not sure I could stand the public humiliation of buying a Nick Carter CD or the personal shame of knowing that it would be the 2nd time purchasing said CD. But, now that I think of it, I wonder if they even carry it in stores anymore. I may have to do an online order. That would save me the public humiliation part.

Today was my work birthday. I have tomorrow off, so we celebrated today. Debra made her pasta salad (which I requested). It is possibly the most delicious thing ever. It's bowtie pasta, broccoli, those flat pea pod things that are so good, and a creamy sauce that I can only assume is loaded with fat. I have a theory that there's parmesan cheese in it. Then there are strips of chicken on top. YUM. Also, Becky made me a cake which was freaking fantastic and I'm kind of sad that I had to bring it home because I will eat it the whole damn thing. Debra and Becky also got me flowers. So cute. Love them.

-Alison

It's coming...

Today at work, I was to train a new cashier. It was really slow, so instead of finding work for us to do, I shoved a scrabooking magazine in her hands and picked up Weekend Knitting. I very much want this book. There's a pair of mittens in there that are heartbreaking. They're solid, except for the wrist cuff part, which is stripey and SO cute. Also, the cuff is garter, with the rest in stockinette. I can't find a picture of them at the moment, but use your imagination. Or go to Michaels and look at the book. There are other thrilling patterns, too, like a baby pullover and leg warmers!

I feel like a knitter. I get all excited over the patterns and yarns, so why don't I actually enjoy the knitting part? I'm hoping it'll still come to me. Like diabetes. I'll grow into it. Well, the one kind of diabetes. Not the other one.

-Alison

Ravelry!

I absolutely cannot wait for Ravelry to come online! It's a nifty web site where you plug in all your knitting info (stash, supplies, WIPs*, favorite blogs, hopes, dreams) and it keeps it organizes for you and lets you search other people's info. This means you can find out what everyone else did with 75 grams of leftover Thick & Quick or you can find the other knitter out there with the exact same taste as you. ( And steal his/her ideas.)

Alas, when I checked my place in the queue it was not a pleasant sight for the low of patience:

Found you!
You signed up on July 5, 2007
You are #14281 on the list.
8390 people are ahead of you in line.
2762 people are behind you in line.
33% of the list has been invited so far

Oh well. At least Rutherford and Lucy Hayes still love me.


-Jenny

*WIP: Work In Progress

Success!

The weekend went very well, I think. I had a great time (other than the sleep deprivation and heat exhaustion).

I was a tad worried about Friday night since it was just Diana, Pat, Jenny and I. Kind of an odd assortment, but it was awesome. We stayed up late around the fire, while Diana and Pat played some tunes and Jenny and I hopped in when we knew the words (not often).

Saturday was the folk festival, which was very fun. Sorry real musicians, but I think Steph's jug-playing was the highlight. Absolutely spectacular. The whole day was very laid back. It was nice.

And now the list of injuries...
-Bruise on left forearm. From where? Who knows.
-Bruises/General soreness all over legs. From sleeping on an uncomfortable ground.
-Cut on thumb. From chopping vegetables.
-Sore on right cheek. From attempting to deconstruct a tent alone.

Also, a pulled muscle in my right ankle, but that was from running around before we left, trying to get everything together. Doesn't quite count.

And, in conclusion, I started a Flickr account. It's very exciting. It's over there... over on the side... see it? Yeah. There are pictures from the weekend. Word.

-Alison

Camping is hard

This would have been easier to plan if I had been paying attention earlier.

-Jenny

Ow

I can't sleep. There's nothing new there but tonight I'm also having some trouble breathing. Some nights your whole body just tenses up so much that even the unconscious movements hurt.

I guess I'm getting a new car. I'm also getting a new job soon, or at least more of the old one. Which means I'll probably get a new place to live soon.

I really just want to go hide in the woods for a year.

Harry Potter!

Harry Potter night! We're going to the midnight showing tonight. I'm trying desperately to pep up and be super excited and not exhausted.
I've been having problems sleeping for the past... month and a half. I have yet to sleep through the night. In the past month and a half. It really screws me up. I woke up the other night at 3 in the morning, freaking out because I thought I lost my phone. It was halfway under my bed for whatever reason. It took me over an hour to get back to sleep. Bleh.

Jenny and I started a list of things to take this weekend. The list reads relatively normally for a while. Tent, blankets, pillows, grill, croquet, etc. The camping essentials. But my favorite part is when we get to "Hymnals". Apparently Jen and I are going to get Christian on your asses. (Another favorite part of the list is where Jen wrote in "S'mores!", exclamation point and all.)

Off to pep up...
-Alison

Tunes

So, I decided to start preparing for the camping trip by creating a playlist of music (I will burn CD'S later). I just thought it would be good to have some tunes for the evening time. On this playlist, I included songs that had a happy/summer-y feeling or just songs that I particularly like. I made the list, then went through twice to remove the unneccesary stuff. I still have over 6 hours of music. I suppose I could cut more out, but I may just bring a large stack of CD's. I think I'll split them up by theme!

On a related note, I am now obsessed with this Delilah song. I heard it for the first time at the bar yesterday, then downloaded it at home. I love it. So sweet.

Also, I don't want to go to work today! I am grumps.

-Alison

Funny story

Got up this morning, left Skip's at 8.

Then I sat in the Pat Catan's parking lot for 45 minutes waiting for the store to open so I could get desperatly wanted beads.

Then I drove almost home. Just north of town my car stopped running. So I called Mom at work and left a message. Then I called Grandma who gave me her AAA number. And so I called a tow truck and waited for him. In direct sunlight. With no water. And no breakfast. For 45 minutes. Feeling very alone.

When Mr. Tow dropped me off I noticed Ali's car in the driveway. Turns out she and Mom both have this morning off and I'm an idiot.

-Jenny

My Addiction

I honestly think that putting your hair behind your ears is an addiction. Some people never start this habit, therefore never have to break themselves of it. Those of us who have been doing it all of our lives know how hard it is to not do it. I think I am a lifer in this particular addiction.

-Alison

Happy Fourth!

Look! It's Jefferson! And maybe Franklin!

Uhhhh....

I ate a whole bunch of Ali's toffee and now I feel a little drunk. Not happy drunk, just spinny and sleepy. This is why I try to avoid sugar. (But it's so good!)

I want to make herbal dream pillows, but that means I need to find a place where I can buy dried herbs and I really don't want to buy them online in pound increments. A pound of lavender is a lot of lavender. I mean sure, eventually I'd use it up in sachets and tea and chocolate lavender cake (sugar-free if possible) but how to explain to the people I live with that I need more space so I can store a whole bunch of dried leaves? I'm only just now convicing them that we need more yarn storage than food storage.

-Jenny

Schoolin'

Decision made: I'm going back to school.

Decision not made: For what?!

I've decided against culinary school because I know they'll want me to cook/eat seafood and mushrooms and pig. I'm just not down with it.

So, what then? I'm thinking something more business-y. I want an office job, goddamnit. I want a desk and I want to work M-F 9-5, but I don't want a job that will bore me to death either. Something where I can actually use my brain a little bit (but not too much!). I think I'll just start taking some courses at LCCC and see if anything comes to me. If nothing else, I'll get an Associate of Arts degree and call myself accomplished.

If anyone has any advice on the matter, please feel free to share.

-Alison