I was bad...but it felt SO good!

So...to get out of my "funk", I decided to go to The City yesterday.  There's this HUGE yarn shop that I've been wanting to visit since we moved here, but I didn't have time, my husband didn't want to go, or some other excuse I had at the time.  Well...I bit the bullet and went.  I've never been to this part of The City, so it was an adventure for me!  And totally worth it!

Here's what came home with me:

 I LOVE Madelinetosh!  :)  The top two skeins are Madtosh Light in Magenta.  The bottom is Madtosh Sock in Brothers Grimm.

I'm hoping to make a Haruni shawl with the Magenta  (ravelry link to Haruni), and I'm using the black to go with a gradient yarn and make a Spectra scarf (ravelry link to Spectra).  Here's the yarn combo I intend to use:

Needless to say, today I feel MUCH better.  :)

So, funny story.  While I was on the train coming home, a couple of teenage boys trying to act like gang members came and sat near me.  One sat next to me, the other sat behind me.  I was busy knitting, so I didn't pay them any attention.  They were very loud and disruptive, trying very hard to sound tough.  As we were approaching their stop, the one sitting behind me leaned over me and said (in a very sweet voice) "What are you making?  A blanket?"  :)  I just looked up at him and smiled, and said "No.  It's a scarf."  He smiled back and said "Cool!"  Then put his "tough" look back on and got off the train.  I have to say, that made my whole week!

More...later...

Trying not to go to the Dark Place

Ok.  So those of you who actually "know" me, know that I was laid off from my job at the beginning of July.  I was (and still am) perfectly alright with that.  The job was wicked stressful, and I was honestly ready to find something else anyway.  I figured I'd have a little vacation from work, then get right back into the job scene.  I have a very marketable degree and LOTS of experience.  I also have the good fortune to live in a very large, populated area with plenty of opportunity.

The first few weeks I was getting a lot of responses to my applications, went on several interviews, and it seemed like it would be no time at all and I would be back in the game.

Here it is, almost two months later, and still no job.  I'm thankful for the time I've had to be able to relax and spend time with my knitting, but now this is really starting to suck.  This is the longest I have been without a job since I was 15 years old!  What the heck am I going to do when it comes time to retire?  I don't go anywhere because I'm afraid I'll spend too much money (or ANY money, for that matter).  Yesterday I got notice from the property management company for my apartment complex that if I don't sign a new lease by the end of October, my month to month rent will go up by over $200 per month.  Thanks assholes.  And I can't move...because I don't have current employment to qualify for an apartment elsewhere! 

So...here's what I'm going to do.  Today, I'm going to drag my sorry ass off the couch, go into the city and visit the ENORMOUS yarn shop I've been wanting to go to since I moved here.  I'm doing this for ME.  Otherwise, there may be blood...or much alcohol!

To end on an up-note, here's a picture of the yarn from a recycled Goodwill sweater that I dyed with Kool Aide.  :)

Here's what the sweater looked like "before Kool Aide."  It's the cream colored sweater in the center of the stack.

The other two sweaters will also be unraveled/recycled, but I think I'll leave them the same color. 

More...later.

The endless linen stitch scarf

I promised my husband a scarf. I let him pick the color (he picked blue...I made it blue-green in Madelinetosh Pashmina), and he picked the pattern. Linen stitch. Ok. Easy stitch. Shouldn't be too bad, right? Oh. My. God. I love, love, LOVE the yarn, but this scarf makes me want to gouge my eyes out! The wonderful yarn with it's depth of color really makes this pattern shine. I think that's whats really helping me get through it. But seriously...I am dying to move on to something else! Soon!!!

Here's a picture of the offending lovely scarf:

I'm about halfway finished. I swear it will be done by the time he needs it for winter. :/

On another topic, the weight loss battle continues. 2 pounds down, and I walked/ran for about 30 minutes today. Slow and steady...

What to do...

So, a little over a year ago (I can't believe it's been that long!), my dear husband and I packed our things and moved across the country from Florida to California. I got this great new job, and the timing was perfect. We moved to an area we loved, and life became wonderful! Then...this perfect job laid me off. Well crap. Now what do I do? I've been sitting at home for three weeks now, looking for a job, going on interviews, knitting like crazy, and being bored to tears. I love my dogs, but so much "quality time" with them is making me INSANE! :) What to do, what to do... I've been working on a scarf for my husband out of Madelinetosh Pashmina. It's very soft, and I SERIOUSLY love this yarn...but the pattern is boring. (Yes...I'll finish it by the time he needs it! Promise!) I did some thrift shopping at the local Goodwill and found a few sweaters to unravel and reclaim the yarn. I've got one taken apart and plan to overdye it another color. Maybe make a shawl? Hm... Ok. Since shopping every day is out of the question (especially since unemployment doesn't pay very well), I guess it's time to get back on the exercise train. (Do you feel my dread and sarcasm here??) I really, really, really do NOT like to exercise. I hate being hot and sweaty, but I hate feeling depressed and sick worse. My new goal is to get out and walk/run for at least 30 minutes every weekday. Weekends are for spending time with Larry. If he wants to walk with me, then I'll walk on weekends too. I've re-joined Spark (my ID is DLBOOP), and if you're interested in joining me, come look me up! I'll try to keep this blog updated on my current projects and weight loss tracking. I'm going for a total loss of at least 65 pounds. Fingers crossed!! I think my biggest hurdle will be food. I LOVE food. And wine. I live in wine country after all. :) And here we go...