Had trouble getting into blogger yesterday. Plus, I woke up sick (it had been coming on all day Thursday) and had to do my presentation whilst feeling like a pile of crap. Luckily, everyone (including the President of our division) said I was fabulous, and everyone else did a great job, too. Glad to have that over with. I think I have to go to Philly next Wednesday to do it again with revisions for the higher-level folks. Whee.

So today I am home sick. Sore throat. Haven't had one all winter, for a change, and now it caught up with me. I've been debating whether to see the doctor or not. I don't have a fever, so I think it is less likely to be strep and more likely a virus, which is just a wait it out situation, so I think I'll skip the doctor. Of course, if it gets worse over the weekend, rather than better, I will be bummed that I made this decision.

For the meantime, I'm staying home, making some soup (Ryan just bought me the stuff I need) and resting. I think I may even knit!

Our wedding invitations arrived yesterday and they are beautiful! I was really so pleased with the way they came out. I'd been worried about them, since we ordered online (I had seen a sample invitation without printing) and only had a fax proof. But everything is great, and I can in good conscience recommend Invitation Hotline to anyone who wants to order invitations (for anything, not just weddings) online.

Got most of the way through my taxes last night, and thanks to the job-hopping I did, I am getting a decent refund, which will be much appreciated. After talking to my best friend/tax advisor I just filled out a new W-4 and will be getting a few more bucks in my paycheck starting now, since the IRS considers you married for the whole year in the year in which you get married. Yay! I could certainly use the extra cash.

Tonight is gym night, and tomorrow is a big client presentation that I am a little nervous over. Not too anxious, but just enough to be paying attention. It's a semi-formal presentation, more of a work-in-progress than a full presentation, so it shouldn't be too bad.

In response to this repulsive news story I actually wrote the following letter to my congresswoman:

I'm writing in hopes that you will do something about the ridiculous waste of taxpayer time and money I just read about in the news. I am referring to the action by Rep. Ney of Ohio to replace the word "French" with "Freedom" on House menus, etc.

I am certain that a levelheaded Brooklynite such as yourself cannot possibly support such a pointless, arrogant and spiteful action as this, and I hope you can do something to dissuade your colleagues from pursuing it any further.

This action offends me deeply. It gives the appearance that while taxpayers are worrying about the economy, terrorism and the threat of war, our representatives are sitting around on Capitol Hill playing language police. Whether or not this is true, does Rep. Ney have any idea how stupid he looks to the majority of Americans?

Also, it has the ring of xenophobia and perpetuates the view of the U.S. as petty, isolationist, and self-serving. These are some of the very reasons we are so deeply hated in so many countries, even those who are our allies.

I implore you to put a stop to this pathetic waste of time and taxpayer money! Please share this opinion with your colleagues in the House, and help stem the tide of radical idiocy on Capitol Hill!

Thank you very much for your attention in this matter.


If you are as disgusted by this as I am, write to your congressperson! Make a stink! Go to www.house.gov to find out who your representative is, and how to contact them.

Hey, my pants are looser today! Maybe all this working out is paying off. We've been hitting the gym at least 4x/week and I've been working harder than I ever have. Last night I did 30 minutes of run/walk on the treadmill (walk 3 minutes, run 1) - I used to be too lazy to ever bother with the run part. And I'm switching cardio equipment most of the time, rather than just doing the same old thing every time I go. Plus way more weight-lifting, which I've been reading is particularly important in your 30s. It's only been a few weeks, but I really am starting to see results, one of which is that the pants that were really tight a few weeks ago are back into the "close-fitting but comfortable" zone. Yay me!

We were going to go buy wedding bands today at lunchtime, but now it's put off until next week when Ryan has class and thus more than one reason to come to Manhattan during the day. It's OK - I have plenty to do at work for Thursday's client meeting, so I could use the extra time. Also, our invitations should be delivered (to us) today! They were supposed to be here yesterday, but at 4:48 the UPS driver entered "receiver not in on 1st attempt" into the system. Of course, that was a lie. Ryan was home all day, and wasn't in the shower or anything at that hour, and the doorbell never rang. There was also no delivery slip. Lazy piece of !@#$ didn't even try to deliver the package. That pissed me off big-time. But if it arrives today, I'll get over it.

I'm back for a quick minute to say I have finally gotten a chance to look at the new Knitty and there are some awfully cute patterns in there! After my wedding, I am thinking I might soothe my post-wedding withdrawal with the bright and cheery Sitcom Chic cardie, designed by the ever-fabulous, entertaining, and prolific Bonne Marie. And I may get to make some Dim Sum for the kitties even before that, since they are quick and easy. And I just adore the Tiptoe through the Tulips socks, but I doubt I will have the fortitude to make those anytime soon. My first foray into sock knitting is still sitting on 2 circs in my knitting cabinet. For almost a year. Oh how I would adore a pair of those, though! I would actually buy these socks! Oh well, always good to have an unattainable object of desire.

Seems everyone but me has gotten their Rowan #33. Not that I have time for any other knitting at the moment, but I'm bummed to not have received it. Just wrote to their customer service to see what's up.

Last night's dinner was quite a success - the Cooking Light Bibimbop was fantastic! A little of a pain to serve because it's topped with an over-easy egg, and I didn't want to serve a cold egg to anyone, so I had to plate each serving individually (so the rice would stay hot) and then cook up a fresh egg. Not that it took too long, but if there were more than three of us it would've been annoying. Of course the traditional way to serve it is in a heavy earthenware bowl, which alleviates the cold rice issue, so I could have assembled all the servings and then just done the eggs quickly. Or I could buy a big griddle and do all the eggs at once like a short-order cook. Maybe not.

Tonight I'm going to see Erasure at the Beacon Theater with my friend Paul. He's a tremendous Erasure fan, and I've actually seen them with him before, on my birthday about 5-6 years ago. Should be a fun show. I'm not sure what else we're going to do today other than go to the gym, which I'm just about to do. I've been very diligent about working out again. It helps that Ryan and I arrange to meet there on my way home from work, so it's harder to wimp out. So far, I've stuck to the 4-workouts-per-week goal and I even look forward to it. I think I am starting to see a teensy difference already. Here I go!

Had a little reality check today. Velma emailed me to ask how things went with the Topsecret sweater I wanted to knit a few months ago using the lovely Gedifra Dandy yarn I bought last Spring. I was forced to admit I hadn't gotten anywhere near knitting it, because of my major procrastination on the bridesmaids tops. Sigh.

Of course, you'd think that would get me to knit tonight, but no. We got home at 8 from the gym (went straight after work) and then I should have knit during Bush's press conference, but I didn't even think of it. Duh. Then I was cooking pasta for dinner tonight, and preparing veggies for tomorrow night's dinner (the Bibimbop recipe from this month's Cooking Light), and now I'm blogging a bit, reading some email, and then off to bed. Maybe I just need the deadline to be right the f*ck on top of me in order to act?!

Have you heard about the giant Chee-to?

I left the house at 8 this morning, as my friend John was driving through the city and dropped me off, as has become the norm lately. It was raining when I walked out the door, and by the time we were on the Brooklyn Bridge, it had started freezing up and bouncing off the windshield. Now, an hour later, it's snowing like crazy outside my office window. It's fascinating to witness the development of a snowstorm like that.

Now let's just hope it doesn't stick or melts quickly.

Knitting? What's knitting? Oh, I think I used to do that. Urgh.

OK, I did start the front of bridesmaid top number two. I did at least four rows, so get off my back, people! Of course, that was Sunday, and now it's Wednesday. I have an appointment at Bliss after work, and I'll probably be home between 7 and 7:30, so perhaps I'll devote the rest of the evening to knitting and TV. Sounds very soothing.

Just as I procrastinated knitting, I procrastinated meeting with florists, and now am procrastinating follow-up with them. One gave me a ridiculously huge estimate that I do not think can possibly be whittled down to reasonable proportions. One gave me a very reasonable - almost scarily reasonable - estimate. He's the one right around the corner on Court Street. So why haven't I called her to tell her I don't think it can be done, and called him to tell him it can?

Work is busy in a weird way. I have a project that we're outlining and putting together schematics for, to be presented on March 13th. I am supposed to review what we've done so far at noon with my boss and her partner (associate creative director for copy, associate creative director for art.) My art director partner is out today, so it's just me, which is fine - at least I can get a word in. He tends to talk a lot. I have the visual schematic, and I wrote a detailed description of the program flow and components, so I think I'm fine. I'm not sure how much further we need to go for the client presentation, which makes me wonder whether I am over- or underestimating my portion of the work involved in this presentation.

Been going to the gym fairly often - trying for four times a week minimum, and focusing more on weight training than cardio. I've read in a few places that weight training is actually more important for a woman in her 30s. Also, I tend to work pretty quickly, and not take a lot of rests (because I want to get home!) so I think I get a decent cardio benefit while I am doing weights. I'm now calling my workout plan my "hotness initiative" (so that every piece of my life can have some business jargon?). I'm not working out to look good for my wedding - all the stuff you can see when I wear my wedding gown already looks fine. It's the stuff hiding underneath I'd like to change a bit. The stuff everyone will see in my honeymoon pictures. That is the true challenge.

Has it really been so long since I posted? How lame am I?!

I've just been busy with work, and wedding, and procrastinating knitting the bridesmaid tops. I just ordered the skirts (which I had a good reason to wait on) and they are supposed to arrive a month before the wedding. That's a teensy bit nervewracking, too. I guess it just means the girls will have to get the alterations (probably just hems) done quickly. Now that I think of it, the one I am most nervous about is Kristy's, since she is so far away in Hawaii. But she's also tall. In photos of her trying on wedding dresses, the samples (which were far too long on me) were just right on her. So maybe she won't need a hem at all. There's a comforting thought.

Other than that, we ordered invitations, picked the menu and linens (I couldn't believe they had like 40 different choices of linen colors!), and I actually did start knitting the front of bridesmaid top number two.

I wish I had more to say, but I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed and not too chatty. I'm sure that'll change soon enough.

It's pretty amazing that after all this cold weather, I stepped outside into 40 degrees today and thought it felt like Spring! I'm talking no hat, loose scarf, top button open on the coat! A few months ago I was shivering at weather like this, but now it feels positively balmy. This winter has reminded me so much of the winters up in Syracuse, where I went to school.

A friend who is getting married two weeks before me said she liked the idea of having such a bad winter because it will make the arrival of Spring feel even more special, and that goes nicely with the wedding countdown. I decided I'd go along with that idea, since I have to find something to like about it!

I finished the back side of the second bridesmaid top on Tuesday night. Tonight I will try and start the front, if I have time. We have to go up to Mount Sinai hospital to visit Ryan's sister's fiance's father. He lives in Miami but was taken ill while up here for a weekend conference, and the poor guy knows no one else in the city. I've never met him, but he's apparently a very warm and friendly guy and doesn't mind being visited by a virtual stranger (he has met Ryan before). At least this way I will have met him before Kristy and Tom's wedding in August!

Why in the world am I here at the office? There's no way my client is in - they're outside of Philadelphia and they all drive to work. That sure isn't happening! Pretty much the only people here in the office are those who live in the five boroughs and don't have to drive. But, the office is open and I need to save my PTO time for the honeymoon, so here I am.

Walking up Court Street in Brooklyn was quite entertaining. (If you're a masochist!) Some places were shoveled clean, others were just foothpaths worn through 2 feet ot snow with one "lane" for walking. The older man walking in front me didn't have boots and went down hard at once of those spots. He wouldn't let me help him up, though. Just as well - I'd have probably fallen on top of him and broken something on one of us.

So, now I'm here to sit and stare into the near distance of my monitor, while it snows even more out there. Maybe I'll sneak out a bit early.

Still snowing. It slowed down for a while, but it's picked up in the past hour or so and it's really windy again. Ryan and I have made good use of the day, cleaning up a lot of stuff around here. We just headed out to check out the snowfall, and got some nice pics of our car. It's the second one on the right side of the street here.

Here's a closer view



Doesn't seem like we'll be driving anywhere for quite a while! I'm sort of hoping against hope that the office will be closed tomorrow (we had a holiday today) but I doubt that will really happen. It would just be nice to have a day to go and play in the snow!

Well, before the snow started, I made it out to Long Island to have someone who actually would fit the bridesmaid top try it on. Leanne was a willing victim, since she's got to wear it in June anyway. I was SO pleased when she put it on - it totally fits and looks great on her! She made me cut off her head in the pic because she was busy making a wedding cake and was not presentable for public viewing. I still haven't woven in the ends (lazy me) so just ignore the random threads hanging down.





Major load off my mind knowing that it looks good. Now we just have to order those skirts ASAP. Was going to do it today, but the store is closed due to the weather. Oy.

... The National Weather Service Continues The Blizzard Warning Until Midnight Tonight...

Snow Will Become Heavier As The Day Progresses. Occasional Blizzard Conditions Are Expected As Winds Will Gust Between 35 And 40 Mph At Times. This Will Produce Whiteout Conditions Which Will Make Driving Extremely Dangerous If Not Impossible. Total Snowfall Amounts By The Time This Storm Heads Out To Sea Late Tonight Should Range For The Most Part Between 1 1/2 And 2 Feet.

Remember... A Blizzard Warning Is Issued When Sustained Wind Speeds Or Frequent Gusts Of Over 35 Mph Are Expected With Considerable Falling And/Or Blowing And Drifting Snow. Visibilities Will Become Poor With Whiteout Conditions At Times. Those Venturing Outdoors May Become Lost Or Disoriented So Persons In The Warning Area Are Advised To Stay Indoors.

Residents Should Prepare For Major Travel Interruptions Into Tuesday And Possible Scattered Power Outages As The Heavy Snow And High Winds May Cause Trees And Power Lines To Come Down.

Stay Tuned To Noaa Weather Radio... Local Media Or Visit The National Weather Service Webpage At Weather.Gov For Further Details Or Updates On This Weather Situation.


I think that says it all, for the moment. I'm sure there will be pictures later!

Looks like a late night for me, but I hope not too late. Lots of stuff has to go out to the client tomorrow, and although my work is mostly done, I have to wait for projects to route through the art director, studio, and editor so I can see if there are any changes I need to approve/forbid. At least we all agreed to stay as late as necessary to get it done tonight so we don't have to stay tomorrow or work the weekend (client needs everything by 9 a.m. Monday, and we're closed Monday anyway).

I was such a good girl today - I made an appointment with a florist to talk about wedding flowers. This is not the florist down the street, but I decided I wanted to get more than one proposal. For flowers, I mean. One proposal for marriage was quite enough!

I was supposed to go veil-shopping yesterday with a friend who is also getting married (2 weeks before me). There's a store near our offices (she works a few blocks away) that is supposed to be fantastic, but they close at 4:30 so we have to go during lunch. Unfortunately, we had to push it off until today, and then until tomorrow. Hopefully we will go tomorrow and maybe I will post some pics over the weekend.

I'm just an inch or so into the armhole shaping on side one of bridesmaid top number two, but this is the part of the top that starts going more quickly because of the decreasing and the wide scoop neck. I think I'll finish it before the long weekend is up.

Valentine's Day tomorrow! I've arranged a little surprise for Ryan. Sssh, don't tell. He's arranged a surprise for me, too. All I know is I have to leave work by 5:30, and dinner is involved but is definitely not the whole shebang.

Well, I just got motivated and updated all my links. Deleted the non-working ones, changed a few blog names that had morphed, and updated some URLs. I hope I got it all!

Before I head off to bridesmaid top knitting-land, I figured I'd post a bit. Uh-oh - I just heard "Crazy Taxi 3" start in the next room. Must...resist...

The good thing about wedding and knitting is it keeps me from obsessing about other stuff too much. Like the impending war. Of course, reminders are constantly there. This morning, there were ten cops on the uptown 4 train platform at Borough Hall. They were clustered in 4 small groups along the platform. Wonder if that will be a regular thing from here on in. I guess all the muggers will be disappointed, but somehow it doesn't seem like it will deter the terrorists.

Work has gotten so busy lately. I'm not complaining - just tired!

I had a good, productive weekend. Pretty much nailed down our guest list with my parents and Ryan's Mom. That was a relief. I also got the swatch of my gown that I have been awaiting, though it was sort of anticlimactic - ooh, 2 pieces of silk staples to a card! Whee! I'm up to the armhole shaping on the back side of the second bridesmaid top, so I'm feeling good there, too.

Other than that, not much to tell, and I'm too pooped to think of anything more exciting. I'm sure someday this blog will become interesting again.

Oh, it just occurred to me that I ought to answer some of the nice comments I got the other day! Thanks for all the compliments - I really needed to hear them, as I am so nervous about how this will all work out. You guys have boosted my confidence infinitely! And yes, indigirl, those are my Nick & Nora PJ pants. I have been wanting these for ages, and Ryan got them for me this year as a holiday gift. Plus he got them at a discount at the sample sale I "casually" told him about. Such a good man!

Believe it or not, I was too busy yesterday to post this exciting news - I finished the first bridesmaid tank! Here's proof:





Please note that this tank is a size too large for me and should fit the wearer much better, particularly in the back. Also please note that my bra is quite visible due to the close proximity of the flash. In real life, it wasn't an issue at all.

I'm nearly up to the armhole shaping on the second tank, so I am starting to feel like this is a possible dream once again. I just need to slow down and get some knitting time in.

I’m feeling pretty productive, knitting-wise. I dove in and picked up the stitches on the first bridesmaid tank, and lo and behold, it came out fine! I just have the second armhole ribbing to do and then I can sew up the side seams and see how this sucker looks. It’ll be too big for me, but I’ll still be able to get an idea.

I’m also about 1/3 of the way into the back side of the second tank. As long as I keep on knitting steadily, I think it will be no problem to get these things done. There’s always the wild-card of Lisa’s possible pregnancy, so hers is going to be last. She’ll know in another 10-12 days whether she’s pregnant this month, so I think I can hold off on ordering the skirts until then. If she’s not, then she can decide whether to order it a size or two big, in hopes that she won’t have to take it in if she isn’t pregnant then.

Terribly sad news about the space shuttle on Saturday. Both of my parents are very interested and involved in aerospace, so I am maybe more attuned to this than I would be otherwise. My Mom has always been a space enthusiast. She ran the Young Astronauts program at her school during her teaching years, as well as doing a lot of other aerospace education projects. Now that she’s retired, she’s become involved in The Space Society, and I think is the VP of their local group.

Dad actually worked on the International Space Station project when it was in its infancy, which is pretty neat. I’m not sure what exactly his role was, but I know I went to a cool reception where they had a scale model of it, etc. This was back when he worked at Grumman, before it became Northrup Grumman. He also worked at Lockheed Martin, another key player in the space shuttle program, but he didn’t work on the shuttle.

Anyway, that bit of history aside, my heart really goes out to the families of the astronauts, and to all the people at NASA. From what I have seen, people who choose to do this kind of work are so incredibly dedicated to science in general, and space exploration in particular. It’s almost a religion (though with a much more sensible basis, in my opinion.) I know that so many people, even those who were not directly involved and did not know anyone, will take this loss very hard. I hope that we will be able to learn from the tragedy and prevent anything like this from happening again, while still moving forward with the space program.

Yay! Shetha has a new blog!

Yay! It's only very cold today rather than my-nose-just-fell-off-my-face cold!

Yay! I just felt like saying "yay!"

So I didn't go to Stitch-n-Bitch again last night. I was stuck here at work a little late the past few nights, and didn't even realize it was Tuesday until long after I had left the house. How lame. I swear, I really am coming back someday, ladies!

Everything just seems so busy now. I'm making more headway on the wedding plans, but still having occasional moments of "what am I missing?" I think because I did so much up front, I stopped doing anything other than idle thinking for a long time. I'm still awaiting my dress, and still awaiting a swatch of the skirt fabric so I can use it to help pick shoes.

I need to get on the ball with ordering the bridesmaid skirts (oh yeah, and knitting those tops...) but I have been holding off in hopes that one of my bridesmaids will be pregnant (she has been trying for a while.) I think if it doesn't happen this month, I need to just do it - supposedly it takes 12 weeks for the skirts to come in. I've heard many people say they got them earlier (quite a bit earlier in some cases) but I really don't want to bank on that.

We did get the little round tin boxes we are going to use for our favors, and they look nice. The labels we're going to stick on top are to be delivered either today or tomorrow, so maybe over the weekend we can sit and put those on, to get that out of the way.

What I really need to do is get on the ball about flowers. I have so many different visions of what they ought to be that it is paralyzing me. I think I need to just take an hour, think about it, and then call the darn flower guy I want to work with. His shop is literally around the corner from my apartment, so it would be super-convenient. I saw his work at a wedding that we happened upon while it was being set-up one day this summer, and I liked what I saw. Why I am procrastinating on this, I have no idea.

And let's not even talk about the bridesmaid tanks. Although I love the knitting, I just have not been terribly motivated lately, and the guilt is racking up. I need to relax, get back to basics, and just whip these things out the way I know I can.