Weekend Warrior

Another very busy weekend, and some rambling at the bottom.

Friday
I took the day off from work (this was planned weeks ago) so I could get my car to the dealership for the service appointment and then go visit Jess for a night. Great to see her, especially in light of her grandfather dying suddenly at the beginning of the month. And nice to get to a different part of the state for a bit.

Saturday
After trekking back to Salem, I had a housewarming for Erin and Jim. Good to see that crowd, especially since Alissa is due to give birth within the next 5-6 weeks or so. Then off to Beverly to spend some time with Crystal. We knit and then went out to Mandrake to have some drinks with Dan and Christian. Very late night, but very fun.

Sunday
Breakfast with Amanda finally! Great to see her as always. We spent a lot of time catching up. Then I popped into my parents' house in Rockport to say hi. Then back here to do some laundry and relax.




And some general rambling. I found out some things from a friend of Justin's about some things he was going through right about the time he broke up with me out of the blue. I won't divulge what they are here, since this is not the place to. And I have no clue who actually reads this or not. I had a sinking suspicion about what I learned, but I'm not sure how I feel about learning this information. It doesn't change anything: I've moved on as best I can, he's still trying to move on, and we just can't be together at this time.

It does make me wonder if I would have changed anything on my end, had I known then what I know now. I probably would have. But that's also easy to say from where I am now. I also wonder if he would, too. But I'll never know this, since he's still firmly gripping to his "I don't talk to exes" stance. I think this is self preservation on his part.

I also wish I could have helped more than I did. I mean, I loved him dearly and tried to bridge the distance the best I can, but I sometimes wonder what else I should have shouldered. Or was it too much?

I guess that line from The Last Five Years comes true yet again: "all I could do was love you hard, and let you go."

A warped, frustrated old man?

As I texted Michnya...

"VP Cheney, or Mr. Potter from It's a Wonderful Life?"


versus...


Michnya approved.

Sasha Obama might be the cutest kid ever

Yeah, I think even if my dad (or Leo, as he's the same age as Obama) were being sworn in, and I was 7, I'd get a little bored by the procession of dignitaries walking in if I had no clue who they were. 24-year-old me, however, got excited by seeing Dan Quayle for the first time since 1992.

This is just so adorable. She looks very excited and happy, and while you can't see President Obama's face, you know he's beaming.

I've done this in public. This girl and I could hang out and have a good time, as I found this hilarious. I'd even teach her jazz hands.

Again, freaking adorable. PS, J Crew coats and accessories on the kids and J Crew accessories on First Lady Obama? Loves it. Especially since I also have a J Crew coat. We shop at the same place!

Thumbs up to this entire family. So freaking adorable.

Stupid Mitts...

Of my probably three readers, only the knitters out there will feel my pain.

A coworker asked me to make fingerless mitts for her. In black. I like black as much as the next person, but what I'm dragging my feet on is making these mitts in black since it's so hard to see stitches. I've had to frog them several times already since I've dropped stitches or screwed up the patterns.

She has a hot pink ski coat, and I agree that black accessories will look amazing with her coat, but bitches, man! These are hard!

2009: The Year of Getting Shit Done

I deemed 2008 "The Year of Traveling" and "The Year of Dating Around", but I decided that this year will be the one of getting shit done. There's too much stuff on my plate or hounding me. That's not to say I won't be traveling or dating (hopefully lots and lots of both are in my future), but I really want this year to be one where at the end of it I can re-read this blog post and say "hey, you got a lot of shit done!". Here they are:

--FINALLY run my charitable 5k. This will be tough. I need to get better at running, run outside, run really far, and so forth. Learn pacing, learn patience. But I think this is the year. This will also help accomplish a few of my other things on this list.

--Pay down my credit cards. I have two, technically, though they're the same bank. But I'm really talking about the big one, since Emergency 500 CC will be easy to pay off. But my credit card still has two flights, two weddings, gas from all the driving, and I know that once that's way down, if not completely, that's one less stress in my life. And I really think this is will be possible. Just a matter of being smart. I have it hidden in my dresser, so I can't use it, and it's worked wonders so far.

--Save more. This relates to the one before it. When I'm not throwing that much money to my credit card, I can re-build my savings that were wiped out from the EBSCO State Tax Fuck Up.

--Get in shape and be at a weight I'm happy with. I'm not fat, by no means, but I want to feel like I'm healthy and not see pudge. Running and working out more should help with this.

--Knit down my stash by a lot. My room is taken over by yarn. Two tupperware things, a shopping bag, and several other bags in my closet. I did a good job at this for the craft fair, but I can work further at this. When I have no real projects going on... keep making hats and stuff for the next craft fair or for gifts, and keep knitting it down. My goal is to get rid of the shopping bag and a lot of the little bags in my closet.

--Write more letters. Emails are convenient, but real letters or postcards are so nice! Send them to more than just Erin.

--Cook more, and cook more different things. I need to expand my food horizons and get better at making more than just rice-based dishes. And to eat more fresh veggies. This will help with the getting back in shape goal.

--Knit more of my queue and read more of my queue. I am part of Goodreads and Ravelry, and my queues are insane. Instead of adding, I need to subtract by actually making or reading. No excuses.

--Visit Grammy and Grampy more.

--Less whining at or about work. Yeah, there are days when I am convinced I work with morons and that my job is going nowhere. Suck it up, or do stuff to change it. No one cares. Get it done.

--Walk at lunch when it's nice out.

--Photograph more, paint more, and make more art for my apartment. Too many ideas floating around, and too many bare walls. I have the talents and resources. Get on that shit!

--Sew! This is iffy, since I'd need to buy a sewing machine and get patterns and start a new hobby. But I've always wanted to, and I think it'd be great. Make curtains and clothes. How awesome would that be??

--Yoga? Kirsten keeps talking about it. Now might be the time to do it.

Birthday Shout-Out

A big old happy birthday to my stepdad, Leo, who turns 48 today. No surprise to anyone, Leo is a huge influence and hero in my life, so this is a big day. I'll be spending it with him and the rest of the family.

Today is an Eddie Izzard sort of day

Yep, pretty much: