Thursday, July 19, 2012

Happy Lego the Wire Thursday

Happy Thursday everyone!

I couple of years ago I became OBSESSED with The Wire. I LOVE that show. I still say things like, "Work the case!" and "It's all in the game." and "You better get yourself correct!" like I know anything. I can still sing all the versions of the theme song. I still, sometimes, refer to myself as McNulty.



Anyway, my weirdness aside, look what I found. It is hilarious and very satisfying for obsessed fans of the show such as myself. 

Omar would like you to click that link. Don't make him angry. Pretty please.


 Sheeeeeeeeeit.

Happy Thursday.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Back with a sunburn to prove it

I spent the weekend on the beach of Lake Michigan (I'm the one in the super cool hat; still managed to get a sunburned nose). I had some iphone photos to share but they weren't working out right and I haven't had the time to investigate what their problem is. And today in particular I'm grumpy from coming back from vacation, so this is the only picture I have to represent the weekend. And that's pretty much ok.

Hope you had a great weekend too!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Confidence/Comfort/Happiness and some FO's too!

One thing I like about the human brain is they way it finds patterns and meanings in things. I'm a few years removed from my Anthropology classes so I'm not going to go all Social Science in here, plus this is a blog about cats and knitting so, like, deep thoughts only get a couple of paragraphs a month if ever. I have a tone to maintain and I choose for that tone to be light and happy and usually knitting related.

Or, you know, Harrison Ford related
Sometimes you pick up on different facetes of an issue and it can feel like there's a conversation going on about the things with which you find yourself concerned. It's  like once you know someone who is pregnant it seems like all you see are pregnant ladies: these things were always out there but once your brain is stuck on it, you notice it like you hadn't before.

I recently read this article and while I found the whole thing very interesting, the point that struck me the most was #10 about confusing comfort with happiness. Even as I was reading the article I thought, "Well, yeah, I'm happy when I'm comfortable," thus proving the author's point.

"Comfort sells easier than happiness. Comfort is easy. It requires no effort and no work. Happiness takes effort. It requires being proactive, confronting fears, facing difficult situations, and having unpleasant conversations."

Then I thought of how happy I feel when I accomplish something I thought I couldn't. The other day I ran for 20 minutes without stopping and I felt fantastic. But definitely not comfortable. I have really intense driving anxiety and when I arrive at my destination I always feel exhilarated that I did something that scared me so much. Not comfortable while it was happening, but fulfilled that I did it. So: touche, Mark Manson.

Then I read this blog post by Meredith (if you're not reading her blog, you really should, it's wonderful). She just finished her "Blogging for Confidence" series wherein she challenged herself to do things that made her uncomfortable.

"I don't think I even realized it, but I had no idea who I was until I started confronting my fears head on."

As I read over the things she had done for her challenge, I had a moment of envy. "I could knit in public, I do it all the time! I could go to movies by myself, that doesn't scare me," thus totally and completely missing the point. It isn't about the exact thing you do, it's about challenging yourself. It's about the fulfillment you get when you do something that is hard or scary for you.

Back to the idea of patterns: there are a things going on right now for me that are challenging in a three separate areas of my life. It's all too tempting to want to back off, or go back to sleep, or to give in to feeling overwhelmed and not act or to try to get Meredith to do the things that scare me while I do the things that scare her. But it's worth it to forge on ahead, feel some discomfort and hope for some happiness. I love it when life aligns like this, that when I'm facing challenges, my brain makes connections that allow me to see issues in a whole new light.

End seriousness. Have another picture of Harrison Ford as a mental palate cleanser.
Anyway, the real pattern to be celebrated is the pattern of weeks and weekends (I know, it was a stretch, shut up), and it's Friday, so here are the O's I've F'ed this week (do you all know that FO is knitting speak for Finished Objects? NOW YOU DO.):
All my dishcloths are falling apart so I made myself some more!


This is a sample for one of my JoAnn's classes: it's a cable stitch of the month pattern.
I put the finishing touches on another bag. I love using a different color for the handle.

Have a great weekend, everybody! I'm headed up north for some sun and sand and as little internet as possible! What are you up to this weekend?

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Happy Jane Austen is my Homegirl Thursday

Happy Thursday, everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful week. I got to have my haircut by my sister yesterday! Jane is in the program at Douglas J and I got to be a model!

She did a great job and we had so much fun!

As your Happy Thursday offering, I bring you a celebration of my love of all things Jane Austen, Downton Abbey, etc., combined with my love of rap and parady. Please enjoy:


Monday, July 9, 2012

New Blog! (and phone pictures from the weekend)

Hey everybody! You see that over there on the left? It's a new blog! My friends from the craft sales and I launched it just today! It's a collaborative blog where we can share news about upcoming shows and crafts we're working on. I'll still be sharing crafts and shenanigans on this blog, of course. Anyway, check it out! We're pleased as punch to have it up and running (and everyone knows punch is the most pleased of all the party beverages).

And now, here are some of the pictures I took this weekend:

 This picture does not do justice to the color of this blanket which is a beautiful, sunshiney yellow. I mention it because I was showing my friend Maggie a picture of the cannisters from last week and she said, "Oh. That's your favorite color?" And when I said yes, she said, "Come here, I have something for you." So we marched out of The Bird onto the streets of downtown Mount Pleasant where she popped the trunk of her car and gave me this blanket. Maggie is the most amazing thrifter and most generous person I know she found this and it just wasn't really her favorite color. So she gave it to me. Walking down the street carrying that blanket in my arms to my car and the looks I got from the people smoking outside The Bird is one of my most favorite memories. It's a Maggie Memory. Kind of like when our huge bags broke as we walked out of the Salvation Army on 5 for 5 day.
 Another Maggie Memory: impromptu frozen yogurt party! This is my new favorite flavor.
 I made some powerful sangria for a birthday bash.
 Went on a little JoAnn's shopping spree. I needed supplies for my classes and other projects. Natalie asked me if I really needed those knitting needles. Hahahahahahahahahaha! Yeah, I might have 6's in 14 inches but not in 10! Don't judge what you don't understand!

Speaking of juding, Natalie has through years of trial and error come up with the perfect diner breakfast. It costs $6.66 which I think says a lot about us. I think it says even more that when you add coffee it should cost more than $6.66, but mine still cost $6.66. Is the waitress trying to tell us something? Hmmm...



Not pictured: the many, many episodes of True Blood I watched (and my sore throat from saying "Sookie" in a Bill voice a lot), the birthday party with the sangria, and the hours I spent sleeping in (which were delightful). I hope you all had a good weekend!

Monday, July 2, 2012

Phoning in the weekend

This weekend, I discovered Instagram and yeehaw! Such fun was had!

 I also received a very early birthday gift (my birthday is in September. The bonus of having an aunt with taste as totally awesome as my own is that sometimes she finds vintage yellow cannisters she knows you will love and can't wait to give them to you! Aren't they awesome? 
Also awesome, Summer Shandy and veggie snacks on a friend's back deck.  

 The next morning, I made iced coffee because it was hot! (Yellow cannisters photo bombing.)
As this picture of Henry clearly demonstrates, we dedicated ourselves to being lazy and crafting on Saturday. 

 Harper concurred. She does not, however, understand that there is no need for her to sit on my lap when it's in the 80's and 90's. I took this picture and then pushed her down.
This is what I was working on. More details to come.

That night I caught up on a week's worth of the Daily Show, Hulu style.

I tried out a new recipe which was only so-so. (But the iced coffee came back. Also, I'm noticing how many yellow dishes I own and I love it.)
Early run before it got too hot. This picture is grossly distorting the length of my legs. Look how far away my feet look!
Met up with Liz and Erica for a craft meeting. There is some great stuff underway! We are getting so organized and prepared!
At Sunday night dinner with my family Evelyn was rocking on the same rocking chair my sisters and I used when we were little kids. I took roughly 17 thousand pictures of her but they were all blurry except for this one because that girl was rocking, if you'll notice the focus in her eyes. She was not sitting like a lady, so much, but when you're in diapers I don't think that's really a requirement.


Not pictured: locking my keys in my car at a gas station and my dad being kind enough to rescue me. That's about it. It was a really wonderful lazy weekend, which I needed. What did you do this weekend?