Ugh. What a day. *phew* Computers went tits up at 5pm. A busload of people showed up at 5:05pm. Got home at 7:30pm. Discovered pupchuk in the bedroom. Big pupchuk. Grooooossssssss! So I dealt with that. Now I think I need a stiff drink.

Say it like The Donald! It's Eewge! That's a queen sized comforter folded in there! More than enough room for the towels, books and beer! And my little Sarah.

Finished! The Savary Beach Bag will be having it's photo shoot today and those shall be posted tomorrow! I'm very pleased with it. For not having a pattern I think it turned out great. I finally did decide on the handles. Obviously, if I finished it! Now all I need is a beach! Picked up and put down the hood to the Cabled Hoodie. Today I think I may have to finish it up. It's hogging the needles I need for the next (maybe) project. I also want to start a pair of little sweaters for my ex's kids. They will be coming for a visit in Aug-Sept. So I have a few months there. Better get started now. At my pace I will never finish in time. Funny puppy story. Yesterday I had a blanket out on the back lawn so I could sit in the sun. Later I came outside to empty the compost. As I came back from the compost pile I saw Ella doing the pouncy dance on a lump under the blanket. Ugh! It could be a skunk, a 'coon, a 'possum! My mind was racing and I was petrified to pull the blanket back. Ella meanwhile, was giving the lump a couple more swipes and pounces. I heard a shaky meow from under there and as I tossed the blanket back Buddy staggered out. A little worse for wear but okay. I bet she doesn't hide under the blanket again for a while! I coulda bean a contendah!

I've named it. The Savary Beach Bag. I'm still deciding on the handles. The guy and I are having differing opinions. I know, what was I thinking asking him his opinion on MY knitting? I should be done today and pictures on Monday! WooHoo! I've been keeping track of what I've been doing and should be able to put in in cohesive order on paper to resemble a pattern. It's been cool enough the last few days to be working on my Cabled Hoodie. Today I planned to devote some time to it. Guess what? It's dawned sunny and hot! Curses! I went to the Mall yesterday with specific needs. I needed a couple more balls of Lily's Sugar 'n Cream Cotton in the Playtime colourway. Warning: Don't make the same mistake I just did. It's sugarncream.com not sugarnspice.com. Eeek! Quite an eyeball assault first thing in the am! And all the other porn pop ups froze my 'puter so I had to restart. Damn, I hate that, the restarting. Har har har. I picked up the last two balls of this colour and when I got to the counter to pay I had pulled out some US cash while I was digging around for my bank card. The sales lady intoned "We don't take US money here." Kinda like the same tone in the movie where the new guy gets asked "You ain't from around here, are ya?" It was a little strange. When I was in Cali I picked up a Lancome compact that had eyeshadow, blush and lipstick. I liked the lipcolour so much that I thought I better buy it. Thing is there's no indication on the compact I have as to what colour the lipstick is. It told me what kind it was but I was on my own for the colour. Sheesh. If I had the colour name I wouldn't have had to try all those lovely lipsticks. I ended up with (check the lower left hand side for the colours) Siesmic and Maniac. Mmmmm. My lips feels so yummy in them! And of course I had to have the latest, greatest Mascara! There was a quick hundred bucks. Then I went to find new sneakers for work. My pair from last year are falling apart. I can't figure out how I spent over $125 on a pair of shoes and they only lasted me a summer? I know what failed me was the design. The sole has started to peel off from either side of the shoe at the ball of my foot. I realize that I slide side to side at work a lot and drag my foot. So I went to find shoes that had a solid base. No stuck on thin rubber sole. Every shoe store had a sale and every shoe store was sold out of my size in what I wanted. Niiiiice. I ended up at Payless and nabbed a pair of white sneaks for 15 bucks. Who cares this year if they only last a summer! I'm going to go outside and sit in the sun before it gets too hot. Maybe I'll make a pedicure appointment later!

Woooo! So exciting! I think it's going to be cool. We shall see.

Depression has set in. I'm seriously down in the dumps about my MIT leaving. How much longer do I have to wear all the hats? I'm so tired. I just want to focus on one job and do it extremely well. Enough with this spread thin, all around, too much to do to do it completely thing! Argh! Worse is that no one else knows! He and I are like a couple who's divorcing but still likes each other and he hasn't moved out yet. It's a little weird. I'm sure that people think there's something else going on. There's been a lot of long looks, pats on the back and hugs between us. I'm really going to miss him. Anyone out there want to take on a rental office? Crochet bag has the bottom done. I'm going to start the mesh in a few more rows. I'm uploading a pic in the am from the Clie. Ella is having some summer issues. Every night at about 3 am the local skunks pass between our house and the one next to us. As soon as she smells them she jumps up and runs to the office and hides, trembling like a leaf for about an hour. I have no idea what a skunk did to her in the past but it seems that it wasn't pleasant. She's such a goofy poopy!

I've stopped wondering if it can get any hotter. Everytime I do, it does! Work woes. My manager in training has decided that maybe this isn't for him. Too bad as we LOVE him! He does say that it's the hours that made him decide. He loves the staff and all the customers but he's got kids and they need to see him too. I totally understand. His advantage is that his kids can feed themselves. My furkids still need to be hand fed! Ha Ha! Now I may have to have a bit of a breakdown or hire 3 more staff members. I set aside my Cabled Hoodie for a rainy day. I started on a cotton string bag for the beach. I'm trying to keep track of my pattern. I'm crocheting it! CROCHET! So the pattern may be a little funky as I have no idea what the different stitches are called. I'm working on it. Watched Mystic River last night. I have read all of Dennis Lehane's books and this was great. It was long enough since I had read the book that I didn't remember all the details. I'd recommend it. Also a note. We're going to have to buy a DVD player. All the new release rentals are offered in both VHS and DVD but if you miss getting it as a new release, TOUGH! Dvd's only. Our luddite days are over. Sigh.

Hooweee! Issa hot 'un out they ear! So glad we have a/c at work. Not too keen on our super new shirts. Coolmax, my eye! Sweat to the max is more like it! Poopers are hot. So am I. Phew.

Is it me? Here's a fun way to waste an hour. Thanks to Mimoknits for the fun link!

Today I decided to go get some new Teva's. My old pair has finally given up. The velcro doesn't stick anymore and somebody's dog chewed through most of one of the straps. I really like the old school style. The Originals. No frou frou, just nice and basic. I have bony feet so I can't have a lot of stiff leather or extra doodads rubbing against my feet. So I found a pair today! I'm not thrilled with the webbing pattern but my feet are happy. I also spied a pair of these. I love them! They fit my skinny, bony feet and are super comfy. No extra stuff to cut into my feet. I have happy, happy feet today. Also stopped by Laramy (no web link as the site is currently under construction) a local manufacturer of some really cool stuff. They had Kangaroos! I couldn't find a pair that would work for work but I did spy these leather slides that I think my niece would die for! I also came home with this really cute tee! It took about 1/2 an hour but we were well tired of the whole mall experience. Jammed with people and it wasn't even a weekend! We had a nice lunch then wandered home. To a fabulous puppy greeting! Since it was Africa hot here today the girls have had baths and are smelling like fresh puppies. Now I'm all sweaty. Eeeewwww. Now I think I'll cool off with a frosty beverage and sit and knit! And do laundry and clean the bathroom and do the dishes...ugh. Kitten pic. Man, he is so fat!

I have no idea where the time goes and how quickly it slips away! How did we get so far into the week and into June!? It's summer at the office. We started to wear our shorts and sneaks. A little more self tanner and we'll be okay. I have to manage not to close car doors on my legs. I'm sporting another spectacular bruise! Damn truck attacked me! I've also noticed that since we switched to shorts I'm getting seriously zapped everytime I get out of a car. Static electricity! I slide out and grab the car door and wham! Ouch. It really hurts after a while. Last year I had the same problem and I figured out it was because under all my fabulous cotton clothes I had on synthetic unmentionables. Switched to cotton and all is good! This year we will not be so lucky. Our shirts are a high tech sport polyester. I have a tingling feeling in my fingers that I'm going to keep getting zapped. Anyone know how I could painlessly ground myself when I get out of a car? Cabled Hoodie suffered a setback. More of a stall. I had to ask for some advice from Nora seeing as she recently completed the sweater. All is well! It's the patterns problem and it's not me. Thanks to Nora for all the help! Props, sister! I've been cameraless for over a week. The bosses digicam had to take a trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma. I've been cruising the Sony site to figure out if I have earned enough points on my credit card to get one of these babies! Pooper pic? Of course! Goofy Poopy Ella and the guy! How about this! The Golden Gate Bridge. What a cool site! I read an amazing article in a magazine (I think it was The New Yorker, must have been, I was at the doctor's office) about how the Golden Gate draws people to jump off it. Yep, jumpers. So interesting! It was all about what happens when you jump off, why the county won't put up a fence, who's lived to tell about it. Really, really fascinating stuff.

Ahhhh...home sweet home. I made a little switch at work. I'm going to work Sunday so I'm taking today and tomorrow off! Just to make it a proper restful weekend! So far I've had a 3 hour nap and have progressed halfway through my Cabled Hoodie's hoodie!I Dare say I see light at the end of the tunnel. I'm trying to maintain my focus as I have a couple of quick projects that want to distract me. I will not start a new project until I finish this one! I do have my friends birdcage cover to complete. It's been well over a month since I decided to take on that project. My goal is to whip it up tomorrow. I'll prewash the fabric tonight. I also found a pattern for Thai Fisherman's pants so I may have a sewful day tomorrow! I was over at Rock Chick's the other day and saw a link to these fantastic pants! I plan to make some pants for work as well as a pair for going out. Just have to find the perfect fabric! Then I spied the Vintage Vouge section and died and went to heaven. This beauty is on it's way with the pant pattern. I have some beautiful crepe backed satin for this in black. Where am I going to wear it? I don't know. At least I'll have something to wear! By the way the patterns were 50% off. More than enough saved to cover the exchange rate and the shipping! Right now, Buddy is making a giant pain of herself by walking all over the keyboard and bumping her head into my hands. Forgive any spelling errors please! Now back to the Cabled Hoodie!

I finished the sleeves on my Cabled Hoodie! WooHoo! Now I'm working on the hood. Small, almost issue was the casting on stitches at the beginning of the row. I was like, what the...? but I pulled out my knit bible and figured it out. I'm feeling a little proud of myself! All my extra hours and whirlwind trip are catching up with me. I woke up this morning feeling nauseous and hung over. If I had drank the night before I would understand the headache, wooziness and dry mouth. I decided to sleep in and go into the office a little later in the morning. I got there and did a few things then I got turned around and sent home. So I've been lazing on the couch knitting up a storm. I'm tired, tired, tired. Physically and emotionally. I usually can pull it together to help people and be very nice and polite but the last couple days I haven't even been able to do that. I feel I've been a giant 'B' to some of those folks! If one was you I'm sorry! Really! Now back to the couch. Godspeed, Ray Charles.

I got a new t-shirt. Too funny!

I'm home! What a whirlwind trip. Next time we go for a week at least! First things first. It was, like, Africa hot. 95 degrees (35 for the metric minded) when we arrived. Needless to say we were overdressed. A quick trip to Old Navy solved our clothing problem. Now I'm set for the summer! My niece and nephew are pretty damn cool. When I first saw my niece it was like looking at my sister. They are very similar looking down to the curly, curly eyelashes! My nephew looks a lot like my father when he was young. Their adoptive parents did a bang-up job. These are two well-mannered, respectful, delightful young adults. A little more life experience and they'll be ready for whatever life throws at them. They've got a great solid foundation to build on. I'm so glad they got the stability of a family as they grew up. When my parents split up I found it weird to find stability. It was only after my mom remarried and things settled down that I felt comfortable again. I realize now that is what every child needs. A family they can count on. A family that sticks together and supports each other. No matter what they do or say that they are going to be loved no matter what. We did so much that there's just too much to go into. We put at least 800 miles (1287 kms) on our rental car! The little town I grew up in is growing like mad and I don't like it! I want it to stay like it was! I got to see my brother and one of his daughters. I saw my father and my step mom. We stayed with my mom's oldest friend. I saw friends I used to hang out with as a kid. I saw old family friends I haven't seen in years. We even found a little time to hit the casino. Thank goodness they're open 24 hours! I didn't with the million dollar jackpot but I did try. I'm very glad I took today off work. There wasn't a day on the trip that we got to bed before 1am! Now I must head up to the grocery store. I need moo juice. Then I can make a coffee. A real coffee..mmmmmm.

Solution to squinting? Sunglasses! These are some Gucci's that were left in a rental. Amazing what you can find in the lost and found! Do you like? One more sleep! Or kinda sleep as we have to be at the airport at 5am!

I tried to get a pic of my new, new, hair today. New, new as in new red. But it was a little bright outside. My bright, red streaks showed up great but I had to squint so I looked very angry and OLD! I deleted that picture. Nuff said. I can't believe I leave the day after tomorrow! I can't wait! I've got a lot of stuff to do tomorrow. Maybe I can leave early...Hm... Pooper pic Oh, I almost forgot. My newest celebrity boyfriend was in again. He is so cute and polite! Love him!