Well, it took over a week but at least my internet connection is back. Getting cable installed was a nightmare. And we still don't have a phone. Apparently, when the contractor renovated this apartment, he cut the phone and cable lines in the building. Restoring those is easier said than done. Because this neighborhood is a landmark district, all utlity lines, etc. have to be in the back of the building, and nothing can be run up the front. That means the boxes where cable and phone originate are in the back of the building, which is only accessible through the neighboring building's yard. The cable guy had to use a ladder and drill through the walls, and the phone people are going to have to do them one better and also go through our across-the-hall-neighbor's apartment.

That means to get a phone we have to coordinate with (1) Verizon (ugh), (2) the person in the neighboring building, (3) our neighbor across the hall, and (4) Ryan's class schedule (since I can't take any time off the new job). What a friggin mess. In the meantime, we've been out of touch and running up giant cellphone bills. Whee!

Tonight, at least, I came home and checked my mail (which I'd been doing at work for a few days, but didn't want to be slacking so soon and thus wasn't answering much of). Then I watched all the NBC TV shows, and started a new fruit cap for Leanne's niece. I never got to see her over the summer, and now the 6-month size is too small, but I'll be seeing her next week. And apparently her Mom was just telling Leanne she hardly has any baby hats! Perfect!

Other than all the installation crap and the boxes everywhere, so far, so good in our new place. We're getting settled as fast as we can, and once we are I'm sure I'll have more exciting news to blog than this.

Decided to take a break from packing and post the photo of the baby hat I finished the other night. I'm very pleased with the way it came out, especially considering I used cheap yarn (Sugar'n'Cream I got for a buck a skein), no pattern, and charted the heart pattern myself. Yes, I am slightly proud of myself.



I would rather make a hundred more hats than continue packing my apartment up. Why oh why is this so hellacious? I think it's mostly because of the nature of my studio apartment. There's no spare room to put all my boxes and crap into, so they just sort of take over the perimeter of the place, mingling with the stuff that isn't packed yet. I'm sure there is a better way to go about this, but it's just too hard to be super-organized about it.

I'm also torturing myself by deciding to do a few last loads of laundry before we move, since our new building doesn't have laundry in the basement. Yeah, I'm nuts. But, clean sheets, clothes, and shower curtain will be nice to have when we settle in.

The cat is totally freaked out by all the stuff moving around. She's completely twitchy, and I feel bad about it. My plan is to leave her here tomorrow with litter box and food until we are done moving things into the new place and then come back around dinnertime to bring her and her stuff over to the new place. I know that when the movers are here, she will just go hide up on the shelf in "her" closet, but in the new place, with the door propped open, I'm afraid she'd get disoriented and run away. And this move is going to be stressful enough with introducing the cats; I don't need to lose one in the process!

OK, this is probably my last post for a few days. The cable guy is supposed to come Wednesday morning between 8am and noon, but I doubt I am going to jump online and blog immediately! So, send good thoughts my way, and I'll be back as soon as I can be!

Packing starts out carefully and neatly, but eventually you end up just dumping the contents of your drawers into boxes.

Oh lord, moving sucks so hard. It looks like a tornado hit my apartment right now.

On the up side, we drove to the Home Despot (no, that's not a typo, I just like to say it. Apparently, I'm not the only one - check out this very amusing site) last night and picked up blinds for the new apartment. It was such a pleasure to just stick them in the trunk and then go to dinner with friends. Having a car around here is totally opening up the world for us. And making life so much easier, especially with the moving. Plus, instead of paying shipping charges, we drove to U-Haul to get moving boxes, and just drove 'em home. By the way, did you know U-Haul will take back any unused boxes as long as you have a receipt? Excellent! And you can bring them to any location - which makes sense if you move cross-country or something. So, I didn't skimp on box-buying.

I am in the midst of making the cutest little baby cap for my friends Dan and Renee's new baby girl, whose name I cannot recall at the moment. I'm using the Sugar'n'Cream I got on sale from elann a few months ago. It's pink, and I charted out a row of little lavender hearts. I think I paid a buck for each ball, so this is definitely a cheap and happy little gift. It coordinates with a little sleeper I bought for her a couple of weeks ago. And I'm extra-happy because while cleaning out my desk "junk" drawer (more "thinning out" the junk than actually cleaning) I found my little sew-in labels - the ones that say "Betsy made this just for me!" on them. I knew I'd find them eventually. :-)

OK, no more fun for now. Gotta go pack some boxes. I'll finish the cap after I pack for a good while, and maybe post a picture later.

I have an ever-so-slight hangover this morning, the result of a couple of margaritas after my last day of work yesterday. I'll be fine in an hour or so, but I feel fuzzy right now. That probably has something to do with all the craziness, but definitely more to do with the tequila!

We picked up the car on Wednesday night, and it was so fun to drive back to the city rather than take the train! And I got extra-spoiled because Ryan drove me to the office Thursday so I could load the trunk with empty boxes that Edwin, the mailroom guy, was giving to me for apartment-packing. The amazing thing was we hit zero traffic and it was 15 minutes door-to-door (Brooklyn Heights to east Midtown). I could get used to that (but I won't because it ain't gonna happen often!)

I was in something of a daze yesterday. It's been so long since I left a job without being laid-off that it felt weird to prepare for the whole thing. It was so strange to wake up this morning and not have to go to work. Of course, that doesn't mean I am lying around today. Unfortunately, I have to start packing, which is not my strong suit. I know I should just get rid of a lot of stuff, but I'm so damned sentimental. That's why I have as much crap as I do already.

Oh well, Ryan's bringing the car over a little later so I can unload the boxes from yesterday and drive over to U-Haul to get the rest of the boxes I need. Then I have from today until Tuesday to finish up. We're going out to Coney Island tonight for my friend Sonia's birthday dinner, but other than that no social plans until post-move.

Stitch-n-Bitch was lots of fun last night. Most of the "regulars" were there, which made me happy, since I may not see them for a couple of weeks due to our big move next Tuesday. New friend Casey also joined, and was happy to have met so many people, even if she was crocheting rather than knitting.

But the most interesting "guest" by far was the guy on the sofa. He stumbled in when there just a few of us sitting there. He was a scruffy twenty-something guy carrying a can of Nutrament, and he took a seat on the end of the sofa furthest away from me (it's an "L"-shaped sofa), where he promptly passed out for a good hour-and-a-half, maybe even longer. There were several points at which we wondered if he had actually died there, but we saw breathing movements so it seemed OK. A little before 9pm one of the girls who works at the cafe came over and woke him up. It seemed like she might know him. He looked around in a daze, and then wandered off. As strange as it was to be knitting with some dude passed out on the sofa, it had to be stranger to be the dude waking up surrounded by knitters.

I did manage to pack a few boxes of books last night, so I have officially started packing. Ugh. Please someone tell me this will not be so bad? Five years of accumulation. I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff over the past few months, but there always seems to be more, and most of it is going to end up coming with me.

Tonight we're headed out to Long Island to pick up our new car! I am so excited I can hardly wait. I'm also happy because I remembered to bring my Moo blanket and the Synthrapol so I am going to throw those in the washing machine at my parents' house while we're there. I've been waiting for the opportunity to use their machine rather than the rough industrial machines in my apartment building. Cross your fingers that everything goes OK and I don't have to dye the darn thing purple.

Woke up at 5 a.m. and couldn't sleep again until almost 6. Had really weird dreams about working at CNN until the alarm went off at 7:30. Yeah, I'm a model of perkiness today, folks! Nothing to do here at work at the moment, which is a blessing, as I have a billion other things to do.

Ryan and I booked a mover today, for Tuesday. Van Gogh movers in Brooklyn has always intrigued me because of their wonderfully punny name and their sunflower- and iris-painted trucks. A former colleague of mine had recommended them, and they were really nice when Ryan called. Their quote came in pretty close to Oz movers, which was a recommendation from Jackie, via ECHO. Only $5 an hour more expensive. Plus they said they can combine both moves (his apartment and mine) and only take about 5-6 hours. Excellent! So, Tuesday looks like moving day.

Unfortunately that means I am going to have to do the Kate Spade sample sale a different day, which means either Jackie and Deb have to be nice and go with me another time, or I will go by myself. No biggie. Somehow moving has priority in this case. I can't believe I am going to pack up all my stuff in the next 6 days. Yipes.

Also, we're going to pick up the car tomorrow after work! Yay! I can hardly wait. We had an annoying moment yesterday when we discovered the finance guy had glossed over an extra charge for a 5-year extended warranty, and I had to go bridezilla on his ass. He tried to say he had told us that the 5-year was an extra warranty added to the cost, but oddly enough none of the three people (me, Ryan, Dad) sitting there heard the $1200 cost. Needless to say, we ditched that and are back to an OK place. It's funny, the warranty only adds a couple of bucks to the monthly payment, so you think "what the hell" but then it's like $1500 in the end with the interest, and with a reliable car, Consumer Reports says it's generally not worth it. So, with that drama over, we are back to being excited about the car.

Busy or not, I am going to Stitch-n-Bitch tonight. My friends Dan and Renee just had a baby girl over the weekend and I already bought a little sleeper outfit but want to knit a little hat to go with it. They already knew the baby was a girl and it was a scheduled C-section because she was breech, so it was slightly anticlimactic to get the message that she had arrived - is that a terrible thing to say? I'm old-fashioned, I guess - I don't want to know what it is until it pops out. "Pops" - yeah right. Doesn't that make it sound easy?

According to GoingBridal.com:



Could it be true? Am I that delightful a person?

I can't believe it. Ladies and gentlemen, our new car:



We take delivery Wednesday night. We ended up buying the 2003 brand-new, because the price difference just wasn't enough to make it worth buying either a leftover 2002 or a certified pre-owned model. The 2002s were like 500 bucks cheaper, and only available in icky colors. And the older used ones were still only around $2000 less unless you were talking about something over 5 years old with a lot of mileage. So to buy a car with that much mileage on it and not even save much money seemed silly. Ryan and I agreed, and my Dad (who came with us) did, too. So, we've got a new car, and can't wait to pick it up!

Other than that, not much news except being pissed-off at my friend Diana once more. She's been saying for weeks that she wants my sofabed, which we will not be moving into the new apartment. After telling me all week she was coming Saturday, and assuring me she really wants the sofa even though she's having trouble finding someone to help her pick it up, she bails. Apparently her new roommate decides yesterday that he wants to buy a new sofa, so he doesn't want mine. Yes, it's her apartment. But he won't help her come and get it, so there goes that.

If she had told me a week or so ago that she wasn't going to take the sofa, I would've had more time to make other arrangements. Now I am going to list that and my Somma bed on Craigs List and hope someone will want them, cheap, before the 13th. It just pisses me off that I asked her so many times if she was really taking it, and every time she said yes, until the day she was supposed to come get it. I suppose someday I will learn not to rely on her for even the smallest details. Oh yes, she's my maid of honor. Shut up, I don't want to hear it.

I just noticed Marney's comment below, and had to respond because I wasn't that clear when I posted yesterday. I am not worried that the bridesmaid tops will be see-through. I'm worried because the person at the store commented on the thinness of the yarn and now I am afraid it will take longer than I expect to knit the tops and I won't finish them on time. Yeah yeah, I know - if I start now it definitely won't be a problem. Bleah.

No knitting last night and my hand feels better. That's a relief. I'll just try not to do another marathon of three hours with no break on that heavy cotton yarn.

We're still going to go look at cars tomorrow, I think, even though we're not 100% certain of whether we'll buy this weekend or wait until we have the cash from the apartment sale (another month). It's more a question of seeing how much of a difference it makes to pay cash vs. finance. I have car lust so badly.

I also have packing fear. I just dread the whole moving process. Ryan is going to move his stuff on the 12th and I will move mine on the 13th, to make it a little easier. But it's going to suck to have to pack five years of accumulated stuff. I am trying to get rid of as much as I can, of course. But if you've moved, you know it's not so easy.

In wedding news, I won a tiara on eBay! I can't believe I found one there I liked so much, but I did. I have seen tiaras from this specific maker for as much as $250, so I did really well at $66! Ryan's already seen it (I couldn't resist showing it to him) so I can just post it here.



Four more days at work and I am so unmotivated. The client is being a super-idiot, so I am so glad to be getting out of this mess soon!

My caramel lady apples were such a hit at the Halloween lunch! Some people couldn't believe I made them myself. I must say I packaged them very cutely. Someone took some digital pics (I forgot my camera) so if I can, I'll post one when I get it. I am now in a serious food coma.

I just got off the phone with someone at Artfibers and she sort of made me nervous about knitting the bridesmaid tops. Mostly because she said something about how thin the yarn is, and that she's making her stuff out of it on a machine. I hope I haven't gotten in over my head, because topless bridesmaids would be very out of tune with the style of wedding I am planning. I guess I'll have a better idea after I start the first one. Oh come on, they're sleeveless - how bad could it be?!

My left hand/wrist hurts more today than it did yesterday. Well, maybe not more, but equal. Yuk. Too much knitting and too much sitting at the computer, I suppose. I'm sure it will ease up if I do.

So, this is kinda fun - a girl on The Knot saw a post on their message boards where I was talking about knitting the bridesmaid tank tops, and she asked if she could pay me to knit her a shrug to go with her wedding gown. How amusing! Her wedding is in September out on the beach in the Hamptons, which sounds really lovely. I told her I'd be happy to, and if I can't, I'm sure I can find her someone who can. She seems really nice, and I think she may come down to Stitch-n-Bitch one of these days, even, as she has expressed an interest in learning to knit. Apparently she already crochets, so I bet she'd be easy to teach.

The car-lust is growing daily. We may go back out there this weekend. I think it's fueled even more by Dad's new car excitement - they are taking delivery today. And then Leanne told me she and Glen are about to buy her a new car. It seems the thing to do right now! We'll see what kind of deals we can find and work from there.

Today's the Halloween party at work and I brought my caramel lady apples. They are so cute! I wrapped them in a little cellophane gift bag and tied it with a raffia bow. Should have remembered to bring my camera today. Silly me. We are going to have way too much food, and that's a good thing, I think. Plus, it's an hour or so we don't have to work! Yay! Happy Halloweenie, everybody!

I miraculously made it to Stitch-n-Bitch last night, and even got to sit next to Jackie, who I hadn't gotten to really talk to in weeks! We both arrived there very early, and thus got prime sofa seating. It was another huge turnout, with the group eventually taking over both sets of sofas in the back of the cafe. I finally got to see Marney's fabulous new haircut, and I was pleased to see Liz, who is growing her hair by default at the moment. Deb W. showed up a little later with the most adorable pictures of Ryan and Alix, her daughter, along with a few good ones of me and the boy from our trip to the beach club back in August.

Unfortunately, I have a sore hand today, and I think it is from knitting with the thick cotton yarn. Ever since my marathon "Moo" knitting day (half a baby blanket in one day) my hand has gotten sore when I knit too long, mostly with cotton yarn. I think it's because of the lack of "give" in the yarn - it forces me to maintain too much tension in my left hand. I suppose I could try using my right hand to hold the yarn and "throwing" for a while, but I just don't feel comfy that way. I'll see if it continues or not.

Something tells me most of my aches and pains would go away if I would just get my ass back to the gym. But now in the midst of moving preparations, it is so not going to happen. There is a New York Sports Club about five blocks from our new apartment, so I think I'll be letting my Crunch membership lapse when it is up in January.The end of an era.

So many things feel like that now that I am moving and getting married. It's a good thing, don't get me wrong - it's just such a major change. No more Manhattan lifestyle. No more cramming things into my studio apartment (now I get to cram them into a bigger apartment). As excited as I am for all the days to come, there is a twinge of sadness that feels like I am losing a little part of my identity. I never expected I'd feel this way - I love Ryan with all my heart and I want to marry him equally as much. Apparently, I am not alone in being excited for this but still a little melancholy about letting some stuff go. I actually got a book that covers this very subject very nicely and emphasizes that it's very common for women marrying "later" to feel this way.

While I'm on this subject, thanks to all of you who actually read this blog even when it's not about cool knitting stuff. It's nice to have friends riding the rollercoaster with me!

I am such a dork. I thought Halloween was tomorrow! We're having a party here at work, and I am making Caramel Lady Apples, so I set to making them last night, thinking it was my only opportunity. The first batch (1 dozen) stuck to the waxed paper, and I nearly went ballistic, thinking I'd have to miss Stitch-n-Bitch again tonight in order to make a fresh one. Boy was it a pleasant surprise when I watched the weather this morning on TV and saw the little jack o' lantern on Thursday rather than Wednesday! I can buy more heavy cream tonight and make another batch tomorrow. Yay!

I think that little anecdote illustrates how crazed I've been over the past few weeks. I am normally very aware of the date, time, etc. But with so much going on, it's started to get away from me. I guess moving and getting a new job while in the midst of planning a wedding will do that to ya.

This weekend was fun and mellow. Spent some good time with my bro before he went back to San Francisco, and then went car shopping on Sunday. We're looking at buying a "gently used" Honda Civic. Probably a '99 or thereabouts. We test drove an older one and it was better than either of us expected, which was a nice change of pace. We had a lot of conversation about buying or leasing, whether we should get something newer or nicer, etc. But it really seems that if we are going to park this sucker on the street in Brooklyn, no matter how nice the neighborhood is, we shouldn't go for a brand-new fancy-schmancy car. I don't want to cry when it inevitably gets scratched. And since there seem to be lots of good deals on cars that are just a couple of years old, this seems like a good move.

I cannot wait to get that car. Whatever car it turns out to be. After growing up in the 'burbs, living in the city without a car was fun at first. The subway was novel. Taking the train out of town was novel. "Leave the driving to us!" Hmm, that was Greyhound. "All Aboard Amtrak!" Yeah, I think that's their slogan. Anyway, now that so many friends live out of the city, and I've gone eight years without a car, I am so ready to have one again. Our marathon trip home from Wendy's housewarming party (should've been 1.5 hours door to door, turned into 3) was even more fuel on that fire. So, after we close and get the money from the sale of Ryan's apartment, we are going to use some of that to buy a car. Yippee!!

I actually have something to work on at Stitch-n-Bitch tonight. That scarf I was making over the weekend is about twice as long as in the photo, and I totally love it. It's soft and pretty and squishy, and I like the random garter stitch texture. It's also nice and mindless so I can catch up with everybody. After the scarf, I have to start Kristy's bridesmaid top. I want it finished when we go there for Christmas. I also want to make Kate's oh-so-comfy-looking Top Secret sweater for myself, using the Gedifra Dandy (colorway #45) I bought on eBay last Spring. But I am going to force myself to hold off until I finish the Kristy tank. You heard me say it - if I don't do it, feel free to yell at me!

You'll never believe what I did last night. I stayed home with my stuffy nose and did some knitting! Just when you all thought I was going to change the title of this blog to "Betseee bitches and moans as she plans a wedding, looks for a new job and a new apartment."

I pulled out the hank of pretty cotton yarn I bought at the Sheep and Wool Festival last week, and used my new nostpinne to wind it into three manageably-sized center-pull balls. Much nicer than the ones I have wound using the empty toilet-paper roll in the past. Then I cast on a bunch of stitches and started knitting a scarf. Started with some garter stitch, and have been just semi-randomly alternating between stockinette and garter as I go along, to make a nice texture. The varigation is so pretty that there's really no point in doing any sort of fancy stitch. As you can see, this yarn works up fairly quickly. It's hard to see the texture but if you click on the photo you can get a bigger version that makes it a bit more apparent.



I really just love the colors in this yarn, and it is oh-so-soft. It won't be as warm as a wool scarf, but it's so soft and I'm sure it will be fine for many slightly-less-than-frigid days. I plan to make it really long so I can wrap it around a few times.

Today I need to get out a bit soon and pick up some stuff at the greenmarket and New York Cake. We're having a pot-luck Halloween party at work on Wednesday, and I decided to make Caramel Lady Apples. I figure if I'm leavint the place, I might as well leave on a good note! I love caramel apples but with all the other food, the regular apples would be too big, so this is perfect. I can get the apples at the market, but I need to go to the cake store to get cellophane and sticks (I'm not going to use tree branches the way Martha did). It's always fun to wander a bit around that store anyway.

I should probably get to the shopping stuff pretty soon. Today's my brother's last day in town, and except for the Rush concert I have hardly seen him. He just happened to show up during the most ridiculously (unexpectedly) busy week of the year. Luckily he had lots of other people to see and things to do, but I would like to get to see him later today sometime.

Probably won't post again until the weekend is out - have a great one!

Rush was great last night! I can't believe those guys put on a three-hour show with so much energy. They played so many of my favorites, and still had to leave out so many others - there's just too much material. They did a lot of the older, less commercial stuff, like La Villa Strangiata, which, truth be told, I don't know nearly as well as all the boys in the audience. But they also did lots of fun stuff like Freewill, Spirit of Radio, YYZ, and much more.

Funny about the demographics at the show - very few folks under 30-ish. It was actually sort of fun to be at a concert where I didn't feel old. Also, as I pointed out, I didn't have to find out, but I bet the lines at the ladies' rooms were pretty short. Rush definitely skews heavily male! We were two girls, four boys, and I think that would be representative of the overall ratio. Lots of old tour t-shirts and scraggly hair. Didn't see a lot of hockey hair, though - an encouraging sign of the mullet's final demise!

All in all, it was a really fun night, only slightly marred by my rapidly-developing cold. Today I feel like crap, of course. We're supposed to go to a Halloween party at the home of some friends we haven't seen in ages. I just don't think I'd have a good time, feeling like this, so we're going to have to skip it. I'm sad about it, but if I have to drag myself there, it's not really a party, is it?

I'm looking forward to a quiet weekend, and maybe even getting some knitting in at some point. Yeah yeah, I have been threatening to knit for weeks, I know. Well, anything could happen!

OK, I did it! I resigned! It was awkward. Mostly because my boss is socially awkward even under good circumstances. He asked if I'd consider a counter-offer. I said it wasn't about the money. More awkward. But I "made nice" as much as I could, and now what's done is done and I am very relieved.

I will be leaving this job November 7th, and starting my new one on November 18th. Yay me for taking some time off in-between! Of course, most of that time will be spend packing and moving into our new apartment! Yep, we signed the lease this morning and will probably move November 13th or 14th (most likely both).

I can't believe all this is happening at once! But today I feel more excited than frightened, and that's a good thing. I really appreciate all the supportive and enthusiastic comments from yesterday - they actually did help reinforce my resolve and give me more confidence. Isn't it great to have a little cheering section whenever things get too crazy? And of course more people to share good news with!

On the mundane side of things, I started coming down with a cold almost as soon as all the good news came in. Been popping "Cold Eeze" and Vitamin C, except I left them at Ryan's house this morning so I have to go back to Duane Reade and buy some more. Bleah.

Even more mundane, I was awakened this morning by the alarm, and promptly got a SCREAMING leg cramp. The kind that makes it feel like someone is taking your calf muscle and just twisting it into knots. I actually sat bolt upright and yelped, scaring the hell out of sleepy Ryan! It took what felt like several minutes (but was likely 30 seconds) to subside, and now there's just a lingering soreness. What the heck causes those? Gee, I wonder if it's stress.

Tonight I am very excited to go and see Rush at Madison Square Garden, cold or no cold! My brother is in town, and we're going with him and three other friends, so it should be quite fun. I really love the band, and was sad to have had to miss them when they were in town over the summer (the day after I got back from Italy - way too jet-lagged for a concert out on Long Island.)

In the meantime, I don't really have much to do here, though I said I would do as much as I can over the next two weeks to help them get ahead. But most of what I've written is with various people for comments and/or changes, so I am just waiting on them. Leaves me lots of time to daydream about all the changes to come.

At least I'm not pregnant. Hell of a way to start a blog entry, eh? Not that I had any fears of being pregnant, just that everything else life-changing that can happen is happening!

• We're signing the lease on our new apartment tomorrow morning and can move November 15th.
  
  
• I got the job offer I was hoping for last night.
  
  
• And then there's that little party we're planning to throw in June.
  

Throw in a few smaller things, like Ryan's Mom coming to visit November 15-17 (yes, that would be when we're supposed to move) and the holidays coming up (which includes a 1-week trip to Ryan's sister's in Hawaii) and I think my head is going to explode very soon. Wanna watch?

Seriously, by the time I got the job offer yesterday, I was so overwhelmed I could hardly be excited. I am excited to go work there - it's a big agency, and I'll be working on one of two major accounts - they're not certain yet - but either one is a great opportunity. But after all the stress over the apartment, and whether we would or would not get it, the excitement well was pretty much dry.

I feel like an asshole complaining over all this good stuff. And I'm not complaining, wishing it wasn't happening. Not at all! I just don't know how I am going to manage to fit it all in and still sleep.

I'm dreading giving my notice here at work. I have only been here since March, and I feel uncomfortable about leaving so soon. But you all know well that I started this job search back in the end of the summer, when I had no work here and thought I would be laid-off any minute. Now for the past month I have been busy, but once that ball got rolling, it just picked up speed until it hit the bottom of the hill.

I am a nice person, so I feel bad "sticking" my boss. The insane deadline for the project I am on just got pushed back to January 13 (was November 27) so at least I feel better about that. But I know it sucks to find someone else to do the work. Then again, I think there are others here who are not busy and can step up to the plate.

I like the people I am working with. It's not them that are driving me out, psycho-account-lady aside. But the new job is a place where I will have the ability to be more creative, and it's just something I have to do. I know you understand. I know they will even understand - I just wish I didn't feel so bad about having to say it all.

Well, I'm sure you'll all tell me not to feel guilty, that I am doing the right thing, etc. And please do go ahead! It probably isn't going to make it any easier to walk into my boss's office this afternoon, but I'm sure it'll be good to hear anyway.

Too much excitement had me up today at 6 a.m. My head was spinning with thoughts of new jobs and new apartments. Nothing is definite yet, but I have a good feeling about both. And that's all I want to say for the moment on that subject, lest I jinx myself. Or just feel stupid for giving details when it doesn't happen.

Unfortunately, since those two subjects with a little wedding planning thrown in have basically taken over my life, I have little else to report. I haven't touched any of my knitting since the bloody cow debacle. I'm still awaiting my synthrapol delivery to try and remedy that one. Otherwise I will end up dyeing it purple, as the Mission Falls folks suggested.

I need to start on the bridesmaid tops soon. Really soon. I can't get everyone to pick a neckline style, though I admit I haven't pushed them much. Kristy and Leanne were easy - they wanted basically the same thing - v-neck. Diana and Lisa aren't certain, but I think I will bug them today if I have a chance. I want to fax the forms for the patterns all at the same time so there's no confusion, and I don't want to wait much longer. As I mentioned earlier, we're going to Kristy's house in Hawaii for Christmas, and I want to bring her tank with me to be sure it fits.

I have a feeling I won't make it to Stitch-n-Bitch tonight due to the early wake-up, plethora of work, and other crap. I'm really bummed that I haven't been there lately - I'm missing my girls, and the knitting time. But, I know I will be back again as things calm down a bit, so have no fear. I will be knitting purple silk tanks from now until Spring arrives, and the good company will be essential to getting it done!