Take the Which Powerpuff Girl Are You? Test.

Well, things are picking up a bit. My boss said once the rest of the presentation boards are OK for copy and just have art changes, he'll take over the final sign-off so I can get out of here. That could be in the next hour or so if I am lucky. Cross your fingies everyone!

Also, sweetie called to apologize for the morning's argument. I was glad because I was still pretty sure that I hadn't said anything SO out of line (maybe on the border) to provoke such a reaction from him as I got. We both are just under stress and you know how it goes. Anyway, we're OK.

Now that I'm feeling a little better, I realize I forgot the silver lining of last night - I had enough time in between rounds of sign-offs to get the back of the Mom sweater finished! Back and front are exactly the same, so this morning I held it up in front of me to see how it'd look and was very pleased. It's going to be tough to give it away, I think! But Mom will appreciate it. The neckline on this is so pretty I am starting to think it would like nice as a sleeveless sweater, too. We'll see how much yarn I have left over. :-)

I'm just not happy today. Yesterday really sucked. I was here in the office until 10:45 (p.m.) waiting for presentation boards to be completed so I could sign off on them. That was after waiting most of the day with very little to do but that. I was supposed to have my nice sushi dinner with Ryan and instead I had greasy Chinese food at a conference table with my colleagues. Not an equal trade!

So today I came in a little later than usual (10 rather than 9) and am steeling myself for what could be another late night. I'm tired, grumpy, and have already argued with my sweetheart this morning. Could it get any better than this?

Have you ever had a weird sensation that bugs were crawling on you and gotten freaked out even though you could see there were no bugs? Welcome to my morning! About 5:15am I had the distinct sensation that there were bugs on my legs - not a lot, just scattered ones. I flung the covers off, and of course nothing was there. But then it was very bright in the room (gotta got some blinds to go behind those sheer curtains!) and I was all adreneline-pumped, so I sort of dozed in and out of sleep for the next 2 hours until I needed to actually get up and shower. Yuk. I occasionally see a roach in my apartment (though never in my bed!) so I had awful visions of roaches crawling everywhere... I'll stop now.

Very sunny but chilly today. I wish Spring would just decide to stay instead of teasing us like it did yesterday, with 70 degree days. I know it's only April, and it was a mild winter, but I am craving some warm weather! This is nothing new - I'm just not a cold weather girl.

Got a few more rows done on the Mom sweater last night, and brought it with me so I can KIP on the subway when I go to Ryan's tonight. First time since I started working here (1 month ago) that I am going to spend a weeknight down at his place. He's in Brooklyn Heights. It's only about 20-30 minutes (depending on your luck with catching the train) door to door from his place to mine. But from his place to my office, it's closer to 45 minutes door to door. Whereas from my place I hop on a bus and am here in 15-20. But, I am being nice and trying not to be so spoiled about my commute. We're going for sushi tonight, too, which sweetens the deal!

I'm also going to try to make it to the TSE Cashmere sample sale today or tomorrow. The friend I usually go with went yesterday and said there were some good things I'd probably like. Prices are generally less than buying the yarn, and I don't know that I am quite ready to experiment with cashmere yet. I think I will go for the instant gratification and call it knitting inspiration!

Got a really nice note from Julie today. Apparently the sage sweater actually inspired her to buy a bunch of similar green yarn. How neat, and how nice of her to tell me so! I can tell I'm going to like Julie - she's got goofy stick figures on the homepage and a shameless cat photo section! She tells me the knitting section is coming soon - I can't wait to see!

Leanne came over tonight and we spent about half an hour just looking at my stash, her recent purchases at the yarn store, and the Rowan Spring/Summer 2002 book we now both own. She moved out to a nice house in the burbs in January so we don't get to see each other much. This was a nice treat. I made matzo brei (which she loves, but never gets to eat since she got married and we're not roomies anymore!) and we just babbled about knitting, gossip, etc.

I'm glad Passover ends tomorrow. I am SO not a religious Jew, but I still keep kosher for Passover for some reason. My parents are the same way. It's a weird phenomenon - I don't really believe in the religion all that much, but somehow this is just a part of who I am. I know I'm not the only one.

Managed to get a few pics off the digital camera. Here's the big stash I picked up at the Smiley's yarn sale a week or so ago.

And here's a bit of the stash and a bit of the cat, but really I was trying to get a picture of the cute curtains I got on sale at The Company Store.

And the long-awaited Mom Sweater. This is days ago, and it's WAY longer now - I'm halfway through the armholes. It's hard to see the fabric in this pic, but the darker spots are really slubs of metallic yarn, and there is a thin metallic strand running through other parts.

Well, off to wash up and relax in bed with my knitting before I keel over.

I am awfully enamored of Bonne Marie’s cute little purse. I have a major purse fetish. There’s something I ought to do - take pics of all my purses to post. My big problem is I live and work in NYC, so I need to be pack horse and thus carry a large bag most of the time since I don’t have a convenient car to leave stuff in. But I have lots of adorable little tiny bags that hardly ever see the light of day! Poor things. They usually come out to play on vacation.

Speaking of vacation, we’re in the midst of planning one! Two weeks in Europe. First week is in Provence. Ryan’s Dad rented a house in a town not far from Avignon, and it’s going to be us, his parents, his sister and her boyfriend, and for part of the time Ryan’s friend Chris and wife Andrea. We did it last year (sans Chris and Andrea) in Tuscany, and it wasn’t such a screaming success for me. But this year his parents are more convinced that I am going to be around for the long haul, so I think it will be more fun. Let’s hope.

Either way, the second week should be a blast. We’re taking a train to Rome, then renting a car and seeing Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast, and Capri. So far we don’t have anything set in stone except the hotel on Capri, but that is enough to get me dreaming! This place looks really fantastic and was very well-reviewed everywhere I looked. We’re springing for a suite with a sea view. I balked at first, but Ryan said if we’re going to be in this spectacular place, we might as well do it right. Sometimes I need him to remind me of that.

Now going back full-circle to the start of this post – as a little "vacation gift" I am planning to make cute little knitted purses for myself, Ryan’s Mom, sister, and maybe Andrea, too. I haven’t really figured out what yarn or design I want to use, but I think I want something generally along the lines of Bonne Marie’s creation. I'm open to any and all suggestions!

More work done last night on the Mom sweater. A few rows on the subway, a few while chatting on the phone (I highly recommend a phone headset if you like to do this) and I'm up to the armhole shaping. This is going awfully quickly. Probably because it's just straight stockinette. The last sweater I made for myself (also the first adult sweater I made) was in a 1 x 2 rib and it just seemed to take forever. Eventually I'll have to start doing cables and stuff. I've done them as swatches, just never as a garment.

Lots of work to do today. Little motivation. It's sunny and warmer and spring is springing here in NYC. All I want to do is play! Not good, since I've only been working here a month. I guess I will have to wait and slack off later.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I took advantage of the beautiful weather on Saturday and did some shopping. First I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond to try and get blinds to put behind my pretty new curtains. No luck there, as they didn’t have the right size.

So I went next door to Old Navy instead. Got some cute olive green pants and black cuffed capris. Also a cute little blue hooded jacket from the girls department. That’s my big secret – a girls size 16 at Old Navy is pretty much the same as a grown-up small. I have the cutest dress I got there last year, and everyone asks if it’s a Lilly Pulitzer. Usually I confess it’s Old Navy kids. J

After that, I went to Crate and Barrel. Bought myself a rug, which doesn’t seem to be pictured on their website. And some photo coasters as a housewarming gift for (fellow knitter!) Leanne and her husband Glen, who moved a couple months ago to the ‘burbs. Then she called me this morning and said she’ll be in the city Wednesday and can we get together? Can we talk about better timing than that? Now SHE gets to carry them on the train! ;-)

Did some knitting, too. On the train up to Port Chester (about 50 minutes) yesterday to Gary and Olga’s, I got a few more inches done on the Mom sweater. I’m far enough along to proudly report it does not seem to be see-through at all. Yay! I’m hoping to have photos tonight. Took a bunch and gave the camera back to Ryan, who I have to ask to email or FTP the pics. Maybe tonight.