Friday, January 17, 2003

I feel so lame. The knitting content on this blog has gotten pretty friggin slim, eh? Well, I think I'll try and do something about that starting ASAP. Unfortunately, I am basically going to be knitting the same project three more times, so it's not going to be all that exciting.

"I started another bridesmaid top. It's purple. Just like the other ones."

"Look at the picture - it's a purple bridesmaid top. But this one is a size 34, while the others were size 36 - can't you SEE the vast difference?"

Oy.

What in the world was I smoking when I laid this project on myself? Crack, and lots of it, it seems. All I want to do is knit something fun and pretty for me, but I really gotta do this. I can't have topless bridesmaids! Well, I suppose I could, but something tells me THAT would draw attention away from the bride, and I want as much attention as I can get. :-)

Thursday, January 16, 2003

Wow, it's been a busy couple of days. The funeral yesterday was as expected, long, sad, exhausting. And cold. Boy was it cold standing out there.

Work today was just hectic, preparing for yet another presentation tomorrow. I was in a major crunch to get some things done, and luckily I managed them and everyone thought I did a fantastic job. Yay me!

I think the best news of the day was logging onto the corporate benefits site and discovering that I am now enrolled in our health plan! Halle-friggin-lujah! That is one major monkey off my back. I guess they took pity on me in Omaha and filed the paper form even after the online deadline had passed. Yay Omaha! I actually did a little happy dance in my office, thinking about the $3,600 I won't have to spend on COBRA insurance extension this year.

Other than that, not much to say. I feel like the world is swirling around me and I rarely have a moment to do anything but rush from one place to another. Maybe now it will start to calm down. Except that I have two birthday celebrations to go to this weekend (Rich & his son Trystan on Saturday, my Dad on Sunday). And soon the wedding stuff will be in even higher gear and I will have to start doing things rather than just thinking about them. Yipes.

Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Well, dinner at Noche was really yummy and lots of fun. It had been a long time since Leanne and I just got to hang out and chat, without either being at a party or with the boys. We're still playing with the design of the wedding cake, but the consensus is it's going to be a carrot cake! Can't do the cream cheese frosting on top, but it will be in between the layers. Yummy. She had mentioned once that it was doable, and I mentioned it to Ryan and his eyes got as big as saucers. Apparently, it's his favorite cake. It's mine, too. Who knew?

Unfortunately, I got bad news yesterday, too. Diana (friend since forever, maid of honor in this crazy affair) called to tell me that her grandmother died early yesterday morning. The funeral is tomorrow, so I will be taking the day off work to be there, with my boss's blessing, thank goodness. Diana was there for my grandma's funeral a bunch of years back, so there's no way I would not be there for her.

I forgot to bring any of my knitting with me, so I won't be making it to Stitch-n-Bitch tonight. I am really missing being there and seeing everyone! I am going to have to clear my schedule for next week so I can be there finally. In the meantime, I guess my stitch-picking-up for the tank will have to wait.

Wanted to give an update on the Moo blanket. I finally had the chance to wash it with the Synthrapol, and it didn't do much, unfortunately. Maybe the areas which had run were slightly lighter, but it was pretty hard to see a difference. I finally realized that although I could easily see the difference, it was not so obvious to other people that the ivory yarn was now greyish. So, I gave it to my cousin, and when I explained what had happened, she told me I was nuts, and that she thought it was beautiful and she was so happy that I had made something so fantastic for her baby, etc. So, although it wasn't what I wanted it to be, all's well that ends well, I suppose!

Monday, January 13, 2003

I managed to have a wedding/knitting nightmare last night. Pretty impressive. It was the usual scenario: the wedding day arrives, and somehow I have done none of the planning necessary, woke up late and have scary hair, no makeup and a wrinkled dress. Not so unusual. But in this one I actually forgot to knit the bridesmaid tops, so the girls also have nothing to wear and I am sitting panicking about myself and wondering what scary outfits they are going to show up in. Yeesh. I need this stress, right?

The funny thing is that yesterday we actually took care of one very important person’s wedding outfit, for the most part. Ryan and I went outlet shopping with friends of ours, and he found a fantastic tux at the Giorgio Armani outlet. It’s absolutely gorgeous, with 4 buttons, the trademark beautiful Armani cut, great fabric, subtle styling – the works. It was less than 1/3 of the regular price, so it was comparable to buying a "pretty nice" tuxedo full-price. He was very happy with it, and so am I. And if his animation career takes off in the Hollywood direction, he’ll be able to wear it to Oscar shows for years to come!

I’m excited to go to dinner tonight with Leanne, who has an afternoon appointment in the city. We didn’t get a chance to exchange presents before the holidays, so I am going to give hers (and get mine) tonight. We’re also going to talk about my wedding cake, since as she pointed out, it’s closer than it seems (152 days, according to theknot.com).

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes last week when I was so bummed. I still don’t have any resolution on the health insurance issue, but I’ll figure it out one way or another. It’s only money, right? Ha. Well, anyway, I think I am emerging from my post-holiday, post-moving funk, so I’ll be posting regularly again.