Happy Grown Up Thursday

Happy Thursday, one and all!

Tonight I am going to Kalamazoo to see my good friend Noah and I'm psyched! My mapquest directions are printed, my bag is packed, there is an extra heaping bowl of cat food and instructions for the cats not to scarf it all down today (yeah, right), and I'm ready to hit the road!

I was reflecting this morning how adult I feel lately. The other day I looked around the kitchen and thought, "Sweet holy moses (this is an edited version of what I thought), I bought all of this food. I did. Me. I make my own meals and buy the food and...oh my golly (so edited) I'm responsible for myself!" It was this overwhelming awareness of everything I do by myself without (usually) thinking too terribly much about it. Today when I was getting ready for work I realized that even the toiletries I use are adult. I'm not terribly brand loyal, but I've figured out what I like, what I don't like, what I'm willing to spend more money on (foundation, moisturizer) and what I'm not willing to buy cheap (eyeshadow, mascara). It gives me this odd sense of security.

Security might not be the best word...it's just that in the last year and a half or so I feel more stable than I ever have in my life. It's as if I've checked some small things off the "grown up life things to figure out" list without even being aware of it. Last night I checked another one off, but this one I was keenly aware of: packing.

Pack...my suitcase?!

I totally suck at packing. I go kind of crazy wondering what the weather's going to be like and what I'm going to be doing and just start hurling things at my suitcase. I pack 10 books for a week's vacation because WHAT IF I FINISH THE FIRST 9 I BROUGHT AND THEY DON'T SELL BOOKS WHERE I'M GOING, SURELY I WILL DIE! I pack at list 2 knitting projects for similar reasons. And then, even though I've packed waaaaaaaay too many items, I end up with one t-shirt and 5 pairs of jeans, or 3 sweatshirts, 2 tank tops, a pair of jeans and no socks or underwear. No outfits to speak of. Or, if I'm lucky, one outfit and a bunch of extra stuff. I stink at packing.

But this time around, I packed outfits. You guys, I have a shirt, a pair of jeans, a sweater, underwear, a bra, the right shoes, and even jewelry for one outfit; a dress, a belt, leggings, underwear, a sweater, a bra, the right shoes, and more jewelry packed for a second outfit PLUS pajamas, a sweatshirt, one book, one knitting project and my toiletries. BAM! I packed! My phone charger is also in there! 9 extra books, an extra knitting project, a back up pair of jeans, extra tank tops, extra sweaters, an inexplicabley fancy outfit: these things are not in there! I'm so proud of myself.

Now, enough about my mini-victories! Here are two things that have made me ridiculously happy this week:

 

Brendan Coyle on a British cooking show, what's not to love?

This link: http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses to 450 free online courses. I listened to an Oxford Philosophy class yesterday while I worked. How cool is that?!

Have a good weekend!

PS. Because I already brought Home Alone into this post, I have to add this, mainly for Liz: 

Fresh off the needles: The Elinor Shawl

 

You know what that picture up there means? It means I found my camera, my camera charger, and my camera/computer connection thingy that lets me put the pictures from my camera onto the computer (yeah, that's the technical term) and then got them in the same place at the same time! What up! If you don't think this is going to increase the number of cat pictures on this blog, well, then, clearly we haven't met in real life.

But now is not the time for talk of cats, now is the time for talk of knitting! I designed this shawl for The Mpaeyc Community Silent Auction (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mpaeyc-Community-Silent-Auction/218663641535841) and then executed it over the course of three or four days. I was home sick from work and all I could do was knit, blow my nose, and re-watch the first season of Downton Abbey.

I suffered, I tell you

That was a lot of knitting (the shawl ended up being about 2 1/2 feet wide and 5 feet long) and my thumbs kind of ache. But it was for a good cause and Mr. Bates was there to bring me a tray of food with flowers. Or maybe I took too much allergy medicine. Who's to say.

If you're in the mid-Michigan area, you should think about coming out to the auction. There are some really beautiful pieces and it's for a good cause.



I have a lot of good stuff planned for this weekend and lots more FO's to block and photograph. So be looking for more knitting news, cat pictures, and PBS Masterpiece Classics delirium.

Like the tines of our forks, so are the Valentines of our lives. Or something.

 

Stuck in my head ALL DAMN DAY

Happy Valentines day, everyone. I know some people are SUPER into Valentines day and some people are almost equally AGAINST Valentines day. As for me, I am neutral. I like holidays of all types, I like telling the people I love that I love them, I like the pop of red in February, and I love candy. (Dear Candy, I love you. Love, Sam) But I don't like it if people feel bad about not being in love on Valentines day, I don't like that there are a billion e-harmony (and similar companies) commercials trying to capitalize on people feeling bad, and I don't like sappy songs/cards/sentiment/shows/movies/stuffed animals/etc.

This is where I stand on Valentines day, I suppose

Love is lovely and expressing your love is a brave and wonderful thing to do. But after a day full of too much chocolate and too many sappy sentiments, we all need Cher to slap our faces and tell us to snap out of it.

So I hope you have a lovely day, whether you are full on hearts/flowers/chocolates-ing it up or whether you are dressed in black all anti-Valentines, or whether you, like me, fall somewhere in the non-committal middle. And I encourage you to celebrate all the loves in your life. In that spirit here are:

The Ten Things I Love Most Right Now: (obvious things like, boyfriend, family, friends, wine, and whiskey not included on account of obviousness)

1) Downton Abbey

2) The color red.
3) Butternut Squash anything
4) Under the Banner of Heaven

5) Pinterest
6) Finally having some snow this winter.
7) Chamomile Tea
8) Making my bed in the morning (more accurately- getting into a made bed at night)
9) Liz Lemon

10) Mr. Bates from Downton Abbey