The downside of a sunny morning

So tired. So so tired. Still not feeling 100% but I am at my desk, and wishing I were in bed. I am not staying here one minute more than I have to today, and tonight will be a quiet one. Maybe order a pizza from Zito's and rent a movie. Oh, and hang my new blinds, which are scheduled to be delivered by UPS today. Hallelujah - maybe I can sleep past 7am without the sun waking me up. Lesson learned - never put sheer curtains in your bedroom without some sort of light blocker to go with them!

I am still very troubled about my cardigan. I measured that too-big sleeve again and it turned out my gauge had crept a bit looser, so I frogged it and started over. Now I am back on-gauge, but I still think the thing feels too big. I know it's not supposed to be fitted, but I've finished all the increases, and it feels kind of swimmy when I pin it together and stick my arm in. What to do, what to do? Any suggestions? Maybe I should finish it up, and pin or baste the whole side together and see how it feels? That's probably going to be my "solution" for the moment. And if it is really too big, at least I know for sure.

Back to tonight - I like the movie idea, but going to Blockbuster is always a stressful trip for us, unless I let go completely. Ryan is way more opinionated and elitist about what movies he'll see. (I say that with love, of course.) He's also a slow decision-maker, and will often say "yes, let's see this" and then continue to wander around looking for other options. (This does not seem to translate to his love life, in case you were wondering!) So I'm soliciting favorite movie suggestions that you think would appeal to an artsy, smartsy, 3d animation-masters-student with a sense of humor, as well as little old me. I'll make a little list and stick in my Palm so we can have it handy!

Ripping off the band-aid

I'm trying to make the blog more interesting with little headlines. Hope you appreciate the effort. :-) The band-aid was put on this morning after my GYN drew some blood to test my FSH level. He's pretty darn sure it's normal (geez, I'm only 31), but I am finding myself having hot flashes and other irregularities during "that time" and he wants to be sure. He also changed my pills so now I am taking Ortho Tri Cyclen, the pill that all the cute young women take in that TV commercial. Ooooh boy! I'm sure this is more than you ever wanted to know about my reproductive status. Oh well, that's life.

I discovered there's a yarn store right near my doctor, called Knits Incredible, so I had to stop in before I went to work. I restrained myself to only a pair of Addi Turbos, which was my excuse for stopping in in the first place. Nice store, I must say. They have pretty much the whole Tahki/Stacey Charles line. The two ladies who I assume own the place were sitting at a table knitting, and were nicer than I expected. They chuckled when I told them I was showing great restraint by only getting the needles.

I only worked half the day, and I am still exhausted! I guess this virus is hanging on a bit. But I walked in here and saw that apparently while I wasn't looking, a big slobby lady came in and made a mess of my apartment! I am outraged. Who would do such a thing to me? Well, I guess I'd better clean it up...

Skinny arms or funky pattern?

Ack. I am about halfway done with one of the sleeves for my cardigan. (I decided to knit the sleeve before the second half of the front so I could have one full side done and see how it looks.) I thought it looked big, so I pinned it together and stuck my arm in - it's HUGE! Very very loose. I'm using the size small directions, and my gauge is spot-on (I'm even using the right yarn). Help!! Should I frog it? I guess I have to. But how do I prevent it from being too big again? Argh. I guess it's math time.

Stupid YACCS comments are down again. I know you get what you pay for, but this is irritating.

Still sick, still knitting.

Yeah, another day and I am still stuck at home sick. Had a fever most of yesterday afternoon and night, but it's down some today. I still feel crappy, but I suppose I'll survive. Still grateful that my boss is so understanding and genuinely nice. I've had difference experiences in the past.

During some of my lower-temperature moments yesterday, I made some Sculpey Buttons. I think they came out pretty good for a first try. They're not quite even, but they kind of look cute. I'm hoping to use one of them on the lilac cardigan. Maybe the others will go on little purses, plus a few spares in case the sweater one breaks.



I also got quite a lot done on the cardigan. Finished the back, and one of the front sides. Odd problem though - I swear I followed the directions for the left side, but somehow ended up with a piece that is definitely the right side! It may have something to do with the reverse stockinette the pattern calls for - I suppose if I counted rows wrong (it starts with 10 garter stitch rows) and started the reverse stockinette on the wrong row, maybe that could've done it? I don't really know. I am going to be very careful with the second one and hope it turns out right. Er, make that left! Gee, another couple of sick days and I could have an entire wardrobe!

For everyone who wondered what the "small, round, purple electric" thing was that my sweetie mentioned in his comment, here it is: the Remington Paraffin Wax Hand Spa! It was on my Amazon wish list, and when I had a lousy day last week, he was so sweet that he bought it to cheer me up! It showed up on Friday, and we had a fun time dipping our hands in it and getting super-soft on Friday night (yeah, we're living on the edge here). I just didn't write about it before because I didn't really blog over the weekend, and then on Monday I had so much other stuff to say. But it is a really fun thing to have - especially for my cold hands on a cold day. MMMMmmmm, warm hands!

Ugh. I went to bed with a slightly sore throat and woke up at 3am feeling like I'd been gargling with razor blades! Called in sick, hoping that the rest will help me recover. Luckily I have a great boss, who said to just rest, not worry about work, and see how I feel tomorrow. I think he's the payback for all the lousy bosses I have put up with in the past.

So, while I am home and feeling stinky, at least I have lots of knitting! I am nearly up to the armholes on the back of the Summer Tweed Cardigan - I should be finished with that by lunchtime. ;-) The annoying thing is I really want to go to Stitch-n-Bitch tonight. :-( Well, sometimes these kinds of viruses clear up in the afternoon/evening, so if by chance I should feel OK then I may go. It's only about 20 blocks away, so we shall see.

Whee! Started a new project already with the aforementioned Summer Tweed! Right now I'm making this little one-button cardigan



I started it around 6:30 tonight. I'm feeling kinda ill and sore-throatey, so I've pretty much been sitting around and knitting since then. Here's where I am:



My plan right now is to make this little tank to go with it, so I can have a twin set. I think I will have enough yarn to make one as a gift - maybe for Leanne, the friend I took my knitting classes with. Her birthday is in July, so it would be timely.



After that, I think I may have to buy some more so I can make this little pullover - it is just too cute!

Well, the headache continues, but I just got a happy package so I feel a little better. My lilac Summer Tweed and Summer Tweed pattern book just arrived from the UK! Yay! Soooo many cute things to make. Also, I just gave in and ordered Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles from Amazon. Unfortunately it says it will take until the end of the month to ship, by which time I will have almost entirely stopped wearing socks for the summer! Interesting note - check out the customer review on February 24th - it's our very own Mama Kate!

Well, the headache continues, but I just got a happy package so I feel a little better. My lilac Summer Tweed and Summer Tweed pattern book just arrived from the UK! Yay! Soooo many cute things to make. Also, I just gave in and ordered Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles from Amazon. Unfortunately it says it will take until the end of the month to ship, by which time I will have almost entirely stopped wearing socks for the summer! Interesting note - check out the customer review on February 24th - it's our very own Mama Kate!

So tired today and I think I have a mild migraine. I get these sometimes, and never thought they could be migraines until I started working here and doing some work on a migraine medication account. Not the totally disabling hide under your bed kind of migraine, but the one side of your head throbs, you feel queasy, moving around makes it worse, taking ibuprofen eases it a bit but doesn’t do it all kind of headache.

It was a busy, fun and tiring weekend. Saturday I got started on the second (front) piece of Mom’s sweater on the train out to their house. I told Dad, but not Mom, that the sweater was for her. Sneakily showed her what I was working on and she thought it looked great. Heh heh heh, won’t she be surprised on her birthday? (June 11 – plenty o’ time!)

Took Dad to the Islanders (hockey) game Saturday night. I had gotten tix back in January for his birthday present. What fun! It was the 30th anniversary celebration so we got free t-shirts that say “we’re back!” on them with the logo. And we got treated to a very exciting game! They beat the Capitals for the first time in WAY too long, and made the playoffs for the first time in 8 (I think it’s 8?) years!

This was particularly nice for us since the last time they made the playoffs we actually went to one of the games vs. the Rangers. The Rangers wiped the floor with the poor Isles, and since we were at Madison Square Garden (Rangers home ice) Dad and I were NOT having fun! This night was way more fun, with people chanting “Playoffs, Playoffs!” and generally being ecstatic.

Sunday morning I made a 180 degree turn as Ryan and I took Trystan, our friends Rich and Anita’s 4-year-old, to the circus at MSG. Had a fun time, though the circus is lamer than previous years in memory, except for this guy, (born in Peru, just like my sweetie!) who was really fantastic. We stuffed the little guy full of cotton candy and popcorn and bought him one of those fun spinny light things. The only thing that bugged me is the expense. 10 bucks for cotton candy (came with a silly circus hat – tres cheap material), 6 bucks for popcorn, and 16 for the light toy! I didn’t mind spending it once, but I can’t imagine being a working parent with more than one child and trying to go to the circus without breaking the bank. Has anyone been to Ringling Brothers in other cities? Do they charge the same or is it a special NYC resident rip-off?