Lisa: Four Years

Happy anniversary, Blake. Thank you for carrying me to bed most nights and for not being upset that I rarely cook. Thank you for being supportive of me in going back to school and for coming to all my concerts. Thank you for listening to me complain about whatever is bugging me on a given day. Thank you for being open to my point of view when we argue, and for treating me as your equal. Thank you for being so friendly and kind to everyone you meet. Thank you for always making me laugh, and for holding me and letting me wipe my tears on your shirt when I cry. Four years ago, I had no idea how lucky I was to be marrying you. I love you more than I ever have, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next four years.

Sarah: All Work, oh, and Play.

"Some people" have claimed that i "haven't posted" for "some time." I admit, I have slacked excessively this summer, but that brings me to my topic for today. This summer has been the first time that I've had a real full-time job. Sure, I've been a full-time student and worked part-time simultaneously. I've worked 35 hours every week in the past, but never as bona-fide as this summer. I work 9-5 six days of the week. This being a fairly new experience for me, I have been unable to discover how people have time to do anything else productive after they complete a full day of work. My sister, Lisa, for example, has worked full-time, completed a masters degree (Congratulations Lisa! Happy Graduation!!), and maintained a healthy marriage to Blake for the last several years. How does she do it? My parents both work full-time and have a big backyard that they keep looking fabulous, even though every plant seems to wilt as soon as it comes in contact with rays from the sun. How, when they are at work during this time, do they keep their yard from dying instantaneously? Blake, Lisa, and I were in charge of keeping the plants alive while they were on vacation, and, though Blake watered diligently, we were largely unsuccessful in maintaining their flowerbeds. When I come home from work, I have no energy for being productive. I usually go out with my friends after work, but our activities are largely vegetative. I want answers, productive people! How do you do it??

Lisa: the sheer cuteness of it all is overwhelming

For our anniversary, Blake took me to Build-A-Bear, because he is cute like that. Olivia (below, on her way home in a box) is the very endearing result.

This post and then this website made me all nostalgic for My Little Ponies, so I picked up one of the new ones while I was at Fred Meyer (or as I guess it's now called, "Smiths Marketplace") a few weeks ago. Isn't her sparkly pink skin glamorous? I reset her hair with water and curlers because it was all wonky when it came out of the box, but now I'm not really sure what to do with her. I did succeed in almost giving Blake a heart attack by trotting it up his arm while he was sleeping.

I found this cool drawer thingie at Target, by the recipe boxes. We all know I won't be using it for that purpose, but I haven't decided what I WILL be storing in those two little drawers. It appealed to me because I like little drawers and boxes with compartments, I like the places for labels, and it reminded me of library card catalog drawers. Plus, it was on sale for four bucks! Maybe I could line the drawers with velvet and store jewelry in them. But I already have a jewelry box. Maybe the drawers could hold office supplies. I will have to think on this.

Lisa: Educate yo' ass

If you have the right sort of sense of humor (you know who you are), read this article from the New Yorker, which I found today via mimi smartypants. I have made a mental note to use the phrase "bust a potentially injurious move" in the near future, and I hope you will too.

Further Reading:
The latin translation of Baby's Got Back by Sir Mixalot may appeal to the same audience.

Lisa: Brain Cloud

It looks like I am too late to buy the car I had my heart set on. The Echo, which I blathered about here, is apparently being discontinued, although I find no evidence of that on the Toyota website. None of the dealers in the entire region have a new Echo. I am so bummed! I loved its cuteness and incredible gas mileage, but most of all I was excited about the oh-so-affordable price. I want to buy a car with cash, and I think we will have to earn two or three thousand more dollars before we could consider buying a different but comparable new vehicle. Getting a loan for $2200 or whatever would be lame. All of the Toyota dealers want to sell me a Scion XA when they hear I am looking for an Echo, but I am not convinced. The Scion is not as cute. It is a hatchback with four individual seats. Its base price is $2000 more than the Echo. True, it has more standard features...

I guess I will have to decide what to do. The problem is that if we buy a house soon (which we want to do) and/or if I get a library job (and I'm interviewing for one on Monday!), I will almost assuredly not be able to ride the light rail to work. We will need another car, period. I was just hoping I could go to the dealership, tell them exactly what I wanted, come home with something shiny and NEW that I loved, and feel happy and carefree. Now I am all stressed out about it and worried I will make the wrong choice.

Furthermore!

I just moved into a new office at work. It is much bigger than my old office, with tons of storage space and real wood furniture instead of the gray modular stuff. I love it. And they are sending me to a conference in New Orleans in September, which should be awesome. I had just decided I was feeling good about staying at this job for a while when I got called for the aforementioned interview for a library job that I applied for months ago. Now I am almost hoping I DON'T get the library job, which is crazy.

In other, not-related news, Sarah gave me this super cute librarian pin from Fred Flare for graduation! I love it, but I'm not sure whether or not I'm actually making fun of myself by wearing it. I mean, is it an ironic librarian pin? Whatever, it's cute.

Also, the guy I mentioned a couple of months ago is starting medical school on Monday at the medical school WHERE I WORK, so I guess I will only be seeing more of him. Whoopee.

Lisa: Suddenly Seeking...Shrug?

The other day I was feeling bummed out while grocery shopping at Smith's Marketplace, and some yarn ended up in my cart. I didn't have a project in mind for it or anything, but the idea of future craftiness did make me feel a bit better--and it was on sale! The yarn is a sort of variegated black and white natural fiber/acrylic blend. I thought it was Lion Brand, but I can't find the color on their excellent website. Or maybe it's a discontinued color, and I should hurry back to the store and buy some more just in case. If I had it here, I would just check the label and all of this confusion would be cleared up. Anyway, it sounds dumb, and I'm sure if it was regular cheapo 100% acrylic, it would be ugly, but actually it is nice-looking.

The point is that I am trying to decide what kind of project to do with said yarn. I am bored of scarves and gloves, and anyway I still have a mitten to finish crocheting in the blue-green Homespun. I haven't been knitting or crocheting long enough to feel confident about complicated patterns, or figuring out gauge, and I certainly am not going to spend money on super-fancy real yarns yet. I think I want to do a fitted shrug to wear with all the black clothes I own. That would be cute, right? I love this pattern, but it looks too hard for me, and I think the cool lacy back wouldn't be right for the more rustic-looking variegated yarn. I just want a simple pattern for a fitted shrug--I even promise to check the gauge this time so that it ends up the correct size! (Maybe something like this, but not so bulky?) So, let me know if you see something promising.

Also, I want to make this poncho, which would follow the huge (and somehow disturbing...yet appealing) poncho trend, but also kind of reminds me of the Jessica Simpson Newlyweds shawl. However, again I'm worried that the pattern is too difficult, and it looks like it requires a TON of yarn, which could get expensive.

Also, I have an update on the car situation. I went to the Toyota lot, and to be honest, the Scion xA is cuter and nicer than the Echo. I think I am going to order one configured just the way I want it. The Scion's no-haggle pricing means there's really no cost advantage to buying one from the lot that isn't exactly what I have in mind. It will take 6-8 weeks to get here, but I can wait. That just gives us 6-8 more weeks to save another $1000 or so, so that we don't have to take out any loans for the car at all. The only problem will be if I happen to get the library job, and have to start driving to work every day. Blake has assured me he doesn't mind taking the bus to work if that happens, but I have my doubts.

Update:
The yarn is actually Red Heart. I think it's this one, in Zebra. And I will not be making a shrug, as everyone I suggest the idea to quickly condemns shrugs as useless and ugly. So, I guess I'm back at square one...

To see the finished capelet/poncho thing I made using this yarn, click here.

Lisa: Family and Coke--no better combination.

Last Friday, David, Jeff and I drove up to Logan to help Sarah get installed in her new apartment for the upcoming school year. I just have to say that all of my siblings are awesome. We had tons of fun on the drive up there, with a more than a little bit of Coca-cola-induced hysterical giggling (thank goodness for the McDonalds in Centerville and its 59-cent 44-oz. drinks!). We managed to build Sarah's IKEA desk and chair while we were up there, but not much else.

Here are some photos from the drive, when I started rooting around in my purse for things to play with and found my camera:

Sarah, I will miss you tons. I hope you will still come down and hang out with me sometimes! And on the plus side, maybe you will remember our lowly blog and post a few entries once in a while...