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Archive for the ‘Shopping’ Category

Per usual, I spent the Christmas holidays in New England, and the combination of awesome baby nephew and getting Baby Beanies: Happy Hats to Knit for Little Heads for Christmas meant getting back on the knitting wagon. Of course, that also meant a trip to Michael’s for yarn, circs and double-pointed needles–always fun!

I finished this hat in two days:

Choc....something hat from Baby Beanies

Riley in the first hat his Auntie Polgara made for him

I made another hat as well–a pointy one in blue and green–but for some reason completely forgot to take a picture of it. Plus I suspect it’s already too small for his head. Obviously this means I’ll need to make another in the next size up!

I also picked up some marbled yarn (don’t have it with me, will try to remember to add the name later) in cranberry colors to make a Big Bad Baby Blanket, which I wanted to get started on a couple of days ago, but I can’t find any of my size 11 or 13 circs. I know I have them, ’cause it’s my favorite size, so I can only assume I have a gazillion WIPs still on needles hiding in the many nooks and crannies of my apartment. Question is, do I go in search of them, or do I just buy more needles? Hmm. I think I see some new Addi Turbos in my future!

Everything is unpacked, and has been since Memorial Day. Got rid of stuff thanks to Craigslist and my friends who didn’t mind taking in some of my old books and childhood Barbies. My new couch arrived, and the kitties and I have been breaking it in. Kristen helped me assemble the beautiful Ikea standing closets pictured above. I’ve been spending my evenings knitting and crocheting instead of wondering what else needs to be done. It’s pretty awesome.

Today my new bistro set arrived and is now packed in my car, ready to be taken home, assembled and placed lovingly on my balcony. My new gas grill has been ordered and will arrive on Tuesday. By this time next week, my balcony will be pimped out for summertime.

It’s all good.

*knock on wood*

I’m getting a decent tax return this season. I wasn’t expecting it, because I planned to do my taxes myself, but I let a friend talk me into going to her accountant, and lo and behold, a refund! Woot!

Sadly, it’ll all be going to a credit card, but that doesn’t stop me from daydreaming about what I’d rather be doing with the money:

* A vacation! My friends are going to Ireland in a couple of months, and omigod I wish I was going, but it costs twice what my refund is, and it would be ridiculously irresponsible of me to try to meet that price tag. And while it is enough money for another cruise, another week at Disney World, a week in Aruba, or even just a week in Yosemite, I’m still stuck on “financially irresponsible”. I might try to swing another few days at Zion in July, though (it’s waaaay cheaper than Yosemite!).

* Every book on my Amazon wish list. As awesome as that would be (and it would be AWESOME), I can’t even finish reading the books I already own.

* A Kindle. (See above about not finishing the books I already own.)

* Security deposit on a new apartment. I think this is the only one that could tempt me away from putting it towards a credit card, except that moving scares the death out of me. Like, anxiety attack, pass the xanax, scares me. Hopefully I’ll get over that before the ceiling in my living room caves in.

* New laptop. I’m only thinking of this one because lately, even though I have a nifty new router that made video streaming so much faster and easier, for some reason my laptop keeps losing the web connection, and worse, DOESN’T TELL ME. All systems are, “What? Everything’s working fine! Seriously.”, even when nothing loads, and only corrects itself when I reboot the modem, the router, AND the laptop. So!annoying! But logically, it works pretty well under most circumstances, so a new one is just a pipe dream.

* New furniture. Oooo, I really want this one! If I’m not going to move, I’d really like to at least freshen up my current place. Everything is over ten years old, which is fine for the shelves and the tables, but less fine for the couch. Plus I could definitely be using the space in the bedroom more efficiently, and the kitchen could use a few extra shelves on the wall.

* Cable. This is definitely a luxury, though. I’ll only go there if AT&T’s new bandwidth limit curtails my Hulu streaming.

* An elliptical trainer. Ha! Let’s be honest, I’d use it maybe a week, then it’d become another thing taking up space.

But these are all pipe dreams, ’cause the money will really be most useful if it can help me cut ties with Bank of America just a little bit sooner.

I suck, I know. Moving on….

19 days away from my birthday cruise, and I can hardly wait. I’m spending way too much on accessorizing my trip (two new cameras, six new tops, three new bathing suits, two pairs of sandals…), and I’m not finished yet, if my list is any indication. Good thing I have one freelance project in progress and another waiting in the wings. I’ll be travelling with nine others, and yes, in case you were wondering, we’re going to have a BLAST.

I’m going to Drupal Camp L.A. this weekend. I hope. I’m planning on it, but new situations sometimes trigger panic attacks. We’ll see. My two projects are both in Drupal, so it would be very helpful to learn some of the basics, and network with the experts so I’ll have someone to beg for help when I break something.

ION, my department moved from one building to another last month, so that’s been an adjustment. Like any change, there are pros and cons, and one of the pros is getting so many opportunities to wander the campus when there are no museum visitors–in the morning before the museum opens, in the evening when the visitors all leave, all day Monday when we’re closed to the public. This place is so quiet, peaceful, serene, and a dozen other words that all mean the same thing. Walking across the plaza after work and not seeing another soul, hearing only birds and maybe the soft whisper of the wind? It’s a special moment that I cherish every night it happens.

And speaking of, I should get going. It’s supposed to be a gym night, but I’m sooo not in the mood. I’ll go Thursday, and make up for tonight by walking down the hill to the parking garage (another perk, although it’s hell on my bad knee and hip).

Yesterday I learned that the lovey Palm green Bernat Satin that I’m using for Hailey’s star afghan has been…wait for it…discontinued. Can you say panic? My usual supplier (Stitches from the Heart) was sold out, and had been out for quite some time (damn you, tedonitis, for making me skip the summer!), so when I got home last night I’d barely put my keys down before heading for Google.

Fortunately not everyone is sold out yet, and I found a lovely store in Tennessee named Decherd Needleworks that was still listing it. I ordered five skeins, not because I expect to need five skeins, but because I love that green and want to stock up before they’re all gone. They emailed me today to let me know they only had four skeins left and did I still want them (Hells yes!). Here’s to hoping their follow-through is as quick and efficient as their follow-up, since I only have two more rows to go before I need the green again (although I probably have enough left to last me about three rows before running out).

Honestly, I’ve been using that green for nearly four years now, about as long as I’ve been knitting–never in a million years would it have occurred to me that they’d discontinue it! Such a pretty color. *sigh* Sad now.