I am sick of this!

I have exams coming up the week after next, so my absence from blogging has been due to my burying myself in my notes. Granted, I am feeling a teensy bit better about my knowledge, but not by that much. I'll be counting down each day as I finish my four hours of essay writing a day (it's 4 days, 4 hours of writing each day, on...whatever topic my professors choose to give me). Basically, it's hell. I'm already planning what to do when I'm done with everything. So, my written exams are the week after break, and two weeks after that, I get to defend my answers. After that, I plan to:

1. Sleep
2. Watch TV/movies/k-dramas for a week
3. Spring clean
4. Knit! Knit! Knit! without the guilt
5. Work some more
6. Sleep some more
7. Buy myself a new Trollbead or two, plus Habu yarn and some cool sock yarn so I can make some awesome knee-high socks that I saw on Ravelry. And some new fun books to read!

But in other news, I finally finished Pomatomus last week. Since I'm also trying to not kill myself as I study, I take time off in the evenings and at lunchtime to relax, so I get to do things like work on a knitting project while watching mindlessly stupid (but fun) TV shows, such as Dancing with the Stars (even though the Woz is a horrid dancer, I want him to make it through another week or two. Goodness knows I need the smile). I am partial to Melissa Mycroft and Shawn Johnson, and surprisingly, I kind of like Steve-O. But there can only be one Steve, so I have to place my loyalties with Steve Wozniak, even though I'm a PC and not a Mac type of girl.

And check this out! I got an awesome new Trollbead in the mail--a little gift from Lise Aargaard herself! So thrilled about my Smiley bead (like I said, I could use the little happiness and smile the next couple weeks--or month--as I slog through the studying and exam-taking and the stress of going through this whole process.

The pattern

I am excited, because I am making serious headway on the scarf that I am designing. Yay! I hope to be finished with it by the end of the week (or at the very latest, the beginning of next week. I've gotten two of my charts written up, and will write up the last chart when I get to that point, so I can see if I made errors in the draft. This is a sneak preview, as seen through the macro function on my camera.



Look what else I started--finally! My second Trollbeads bracelet, built with beads that I've been collecting over the past year. I think it looks nice, and there is most definetely room for more.


And, today, I bought some chocolate.

More progress (and trollbeads love)

I'm making very good progress on my Elizabeth Bennet. I have TWO sleeves and part of the front. Today I've set up for the waist shaping, but other than that, have not really knit, because we are getting ready for our Trollbeads Trunk show (yes, it is time for some Trollbeads love... :) In case you want to come join us, it is at Vale Edge Florist & Gifts, starting this Friday (September 12) and goes through Sunday (September 14). Our rep will be there on Saturday from 1-4. There are new Trollbeads out.

But all that aside, I went to Yankee Peddler over the weekend and got myself some face mugs from Tom Phelps Studio (seriously, the best mugs anyone will ever see... :)

Hola!

So I've been absent a while--a combination of busy-ness and laziness, but a few things have happened.

In knitting news:

I am knitting myself a monkey sock, out of some yarn that I dyed at Martha's dye day. It's coming along rather well, though you would think that I know better than to watch Ugly Betty and knit at the same time. I love the way the colors have turned out. I call this color "Smoky Mountain" because it reminds me of one of my postcards in my collection of postcards. (Yes, I still collect postcards obsessively.)

In non-knitting news--my professor (in psychology) and I will be collaborating on a fairly exciting project, so we are pretty enthusiastic about it. We'll be collaborating with another team at another university on a project, so my prof and I will probably work on several projects over the next few years or so, and try and develop a pretty interesting niche that has been under-investigated. It is getting more and more exciting, the more we read and write. Now I am totally confused about what I want to do for my dissertation!

Other non-knitting news: I went to a trollbeads training seminar, and I won a necklace with 7 beads, more than half I've been desiring. So that takes care of that! The one with the green and silver beads is the necklace that I won; I may add a few others onto it to add a little more green and gold. The six beads are assorted glass (and some call them OOAK -- or one-of-a-kind beads, though technically, that's not the right term for them.

Other trollbeads news--this weekend (May 2-4, 2008), we are having a trollbeads trunk show--and our totally awesome representative will be there May 3, so I am rather excited!

I've been lazy

I won't lie. I've been really lazy and unmotivated. So in terms of knitting/crocheting, I havent' done THAT much, and I think it's partly due to the fact that I got fed up with the baby hat from DaleGarn, which had pattern that wasn't exactly well written all the time. I mean, it's not a difficult thing to knit, but for a while, I was doing things wrong. Ugh. So it is sitting on my shelf, waiting for me to pick it up again. I guess if I have time this weekend, I'll pick my way back through all those little loops to fix those mistakes.

But in other news, I finished my Totoro...and Adam kept trying to take it home with him. (And he knew it's for the amigurumi swap this coming Wednesday)! I am really pleased with it, despite the fact that my finger definetely is a bigger fan of knitting than crochet.

I'm also still working on these mittens. My goal this time is to finish them by Christmas. Certainly I can finish these mittens by Christmas. I just have to finish the pairs!

And in non-knitting related news--these are my trollbeads so far. The new Spring collection comes out this month! Can't wait!

Shall I learn to crochet?

Actually I've been so busy, especially with work (leading up to Christmas) and dealing with busy crowds...selling a lot of Trollbeads in the past two weeks (I swear, I must be the only one selling them to new people)! I've been working nearly every day, actually, and am quite exhausted. (Today, being the day after Christmas, I am especially exhausted). On Christmas Eve, I didnt' sleep well (no, I was not expecting Santa Claus). But I was just so exhausted, not to mention that I had some bizarre dreams that I was yelling at my ex-boyfriend (!) about Very Awful Things that happened. Very weird.

My (current) boyfriend ;) gave me some knitting things: a bag from knitty.com, a t-shirt about not sharing needles and a mug that says, "knitaholic". Cute, huh?

In trollbeads news, I had a bit of excitement: I have a Facebook fan club for Trollbeads, and a couple days ago, a couple of the artists for the beads actually joined the group! How cool is that? And my mom and dad got me a necklace that I've been coveting (trollbeads, of course). I have no beads as of yet--I sold almost everything I love to customers, because, well, profit is not a bad thing to have at all.

In knitting news: scarf swap (I put my camera somewhere and I am too pooped to go find it and its memory card) was cool. I finished the scarf I made for my secret knitting pal, who turned out to be Laura. I used the pattern from Vogue Knitting. My scarf is BEAUTIFUL (the one that was knitted by the incomparable Meg. I will post pictures later (when I figure out where I put my camera...) Thanks to Meg!

And because the scarf swap was so much fun, we're doing an amigurumi swap. Now, I am a knitter, not a crocheter, so this will be interesting. I found a cute knitted pattern that I am dying to try, and I think I may try to crochet something. Maybe this will be the kick in the pants that I need, in order to get a little better at crochet. We'll see how that goes. I may end up knitting two little amigurumi things instead, but I'll try my hand at crocheting something a little simpler to start with. We shall see how this works out.

I'll be honest. I am a bona fide geek, but not by choice.

Why, you may ask?

Next Monday is an official holiday (Veteran's Day) which we have off from the university...and I am so excited. Not because I have a day off--but because I have a day off, I have time to do homework! I have the WHOLE weekend -- well, Sunday, PLUS Monday to write a paper (or at least get started), do my lecture planning, and my psychology homework and my statistics homework! And I can actually sleep a little more! Perhaps I'll even have time to pick up the clothes from the floor of my bedroom! Wow! Oh, yeah, and knit. And I will always have time for Dancing with the Stars, which is my guilty obsession and pure moment of being brain-dead for about an hour and a half. This is very exciting, indeed.

Other points of excitement: Although I have very little time to knit anymore, I do have a little more of the tech bag completed (there is a small mistake, but I will not point it out. It adds to the charm of the bag, I suppose. Isn't there something about those rug-weavers who have a small mistake to add their signature to their rugs?)

And, I have an actual vacation coming up (hence, another reason to be very excited about Veteran's Day; I can get homework completed before I go to Peak-n-Peek (or is it Peek-n-Peak?)

I just have to make it through the rest of this week. I've an exam on Thursday and I feel very unprepared. Hopefully with some maniac studying tomorrow, I'll at least be okay with the material to scrape by with a "B"--which is what I'll be happy with. I will buy myself something nice (i.e., a new Trollbead) if I can scrape through it all. I hope I can be okay on the exam--the material is not intuitive for me, but I'll try.

Whew

The next couple weeks, dear readers, are going to be hectic. I've been at work the past week, practically had a meltdown earlier this week (ensuing in sobs and sniffles--ok, so I was also sick--can I help it if I make a very bad sickie? And I really, really wasn't in the mood to teach, but I went anyway?) The upside--no statistics homework this week (YAY) but I know it translates to stressfully difficult homework next week. Ah, well. Can't win them all.

So what else--last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I worked at the store, since it was Sweetest Day (no, my boyfriend did NOT get me anything, since he stubbornly insists that Sweetest Day is a "fake holiday"). I think I have a little more work to do on him. It is my duty as a gift shop girl to make my men recognize holidays of all sorts. Especially where I am the lucky recipient.















In other news (here is more shameless plugging for our store--maybe someone will read this ? Our store is having a Trollbeads Trunk Show at Vale Edge Hallmark & Florist in Ravenna, Ohio on November 2, from 6-9 PM (mark your calendars, ladies, and bring your girlfriends. Guys, don't be like my boyfriend--get those women (mom, sister, girlfriend, wife, daughter, grandma, niece) a Trollbeads Bracelet. I guarantee they are very cool. Anyway, we will be having drawings for free beads...our rep will be there with what looks like a gazillion beads, and we have an amazing special for that evening: Buy 3 beads, get the bracelet absolutely free. If that isn't a deal, I don't know what is. Need a reminder about what a Trollbead bracelet looks like? Here's mine (I just need a couple more beads and I can finish this one off!)

It is also Hallmark Holiday Open House that weekend. Now, I've got a funny story about this. My parents completely forgot that the Open House is in just a bit over a week--and they couldn't figure out why I, or our day manager were so stressed out. Our employee is stressed because she has been trying to make sure everything is in place at the store (i.e., ornaments, cards, displays, etc.), while I kept bugging my mom to please bring home the things I need to print out and organize on the computer, so everything is all sent out and stuff. It just occurred to them today why both the manager and I were practically tearing our hair out (and this also contributed to my sick-stress meltdown on Monday, too).

Also, I've started the tech bag, designed by Andi. Pretty cool if I say so, myself. I am getting used to knitting with colored cables and stuff. Quite fun stuff.

Whew.

Only a few more days left in the week.

And, no learning and conditioning class on Thursday, but still I have Reading Processes.

Good thing: I am DONE with my first exam of the semester--so on Friday, I am going to buy myself a Trollbead for all my hard work (even if I made up answers for my question about Panic Disorders and Anxiety Attacks. What's funny is that my classmate also made up the same, or similar answer).

This is what I am getting:--Carly by Trollbeads. The story: A distinct voice and a unique personality. Carly Simon was one of the strong female artists of the seventies, who made quite the statement in the music scene with her hit “You’re so vain”.

I can't wait!!! I've not bought any beads since August (when my class ended). I've been very good about not randomly buying beads, but still have been lusting over them. Can you tell I am completely hooked???

In knitting news, I will be working on the tech bag sometime soon (my SnB group is having a knit-a-long)-- Andi over at KnitBrit.com will be teaching us all how to do that.

Post #101

Well, I didn't realize that my last post was the 100th post! If I'd known, maybe I would have done something celebratory? (P.S., I apologize in advance for any wonkyness in the way the blog post looks--for all the empty spaces and words that blogger refuses to change. Oh well.)

But over the past few weeks, here is what has happened: I am in class (ugh), BUT it's not too bad, just at a lousy time in the day: right smack dab in the middle of the afternoon. But at least my friend Tameka (blogless) is in it, as well as this guy, who was in my quant class all last semester...but I couldn't figure out where I had seen him, and I found him on friendster.com. Turns out we both went to the same, small undergraduate college--and lived in the same DORM. Hilarity ensued--but even more so when this other guy (he looks a couple years older than me) overheard us and mentioned that he also went the same college, too. Ha! Small world!

But in terms of knitting content:

This is the Sunflower Tam from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughn. Very pretty. A little aggravating at times to knit, becuase I had to pay attention to which stitches I was on, and oops, I dropped some stitches off the dpns at the end. And the tam makes my head look big, but it is kind of cute. I may make another of these in a different yarn, too. It's kind of hard to resist the pattern.

I also started a knitting project this past Tuesday from Fitted Knits by Stefanie Japel, and I have the yoke finished, and the beginnings of one sleeve. I'm really pleased. It's my exercise in stash-busting. After this, I think I'll try the mohair wrap sweater in Fitted Knits, or maybe something with this nice caramel colored yarn that I have.

In other non-knitting news, I am still in love with Trollbeads. We had our first private bead party on Friday, and actually it turned out to be fun and a good thing--and I'm hoping we'll have a few more in the future (it's a good way to make a good deal of profit in a couple hours. Not to mention that there are some CUTE trollbeads out now for the summer--such as this one:

From top to bottom : The Juggler, Circus Elephant, and Double Flower

The story behind the Juggler: The three balls (pearl, coral and lapis lazuli) dance through the air faster and faster, while the juggler slowly and effortlessly bends her back around the chain till she is standing on her head. A world-class artist.

The story behind Circus Elephant: The circus elephant is everybody's favorite. It tumbles good naturedly around the circus ring in its own playful way.

The story behind Double Flower (which is prettier in person, too): In the summer night, they open up. Fragile and soft in the moonlight, up against the cobalt blue sky that never really darkens this time of year.

There's my sunrise circle jacket, minus the buttons! Yay! I was worried because when I blocked it, it was so huge and I was worried I'd have to make it all over again, but after washing it, it started fitting a bit better. The sleeves are a bit long, but it's cozy and good feeling. I've found several buttons online that I really like, but I'll wait till I come back from Vegas before I buy them.

I'm going to place an order at knitpicks for some undyed yarn and a few needles...and maybe a book (so I can get the free shipping). We'll see. Martha's going to have a dye day, so I need to be prepared for it...even if I end up being a little cash poor this month.

Dream yarns

Ok, so here are some yarns that I want to try knitting with (hint: none of them are Noro)....The other day, I stopped by Miss Chickpea's, and I saw some awesome yarn...


Like:

Ozark Handspun

Lampes Lumps (pictured below)

and Bamboo yarn.

I'm also curious about this ceramic yarn that I've heard about...

In knitting news, I am seaming up the sweater! (yeah!) It's all blocked and everything, just need to put it together and find some great buttons.

In other (non-knitting) news, I have been busy these past few days, doing work--we have some HUGE events coming up, such as the Kent Fest, and our Hallmark Ornament Premiere...so we're getting everything ready and ship-shape. Not to mention that I think we're going to promote the heck out of trollbeads and Chamilia (did you forget what those look like? Here's a reminder:














In a few weeks, we're going to have a huge special on Trollbeads & Chamilia--buy 3 beads, and you can get the bracelet for $25 (regularly priced at $48--that's a savings of almost half, people! Interested? let me know...)

Today, I went to the library (huge used book sale), and I walked away with some really great books, like 3 textbooks (2 statistics books and one about advertising, each were 75 cents!) and a lot of books like The Poisonwood Bible (75 cents, looks like someone read it once), a hardback of "The Perfume" by Patrick Sueskind (So I have the German language version, but I'd like to see the movie sooner than later to compare...I am sooooo slow at reading the German, though that book may come with me to Las Vegas), Middlesex (1.50), "The Curious Incident of the Dog in Nighttime ($1.00). Not bad. Many more. I also picked up some knitting books with some of the most horrifying patterns I've seen in my life, but each of them have like, one redeeming pattern or style...so I figure 75 cents per book isn't too bad. Not to mention a copy of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. (one dollar). Not a bad haul. Now I just need the time to read everything. (Oh, and I found a couple autographed books for a dollar each! How cool is that?)

What I really wish...

Is that I could learn through osmosis.

I am stuck on ANOVAs. I really don't get it (does anyone know? I'm trying to write my research proposal--rather, a fake one, for my class), and study for my exam on Monday. And everytime I think I have that glimmer of understanding, it blinks out. Augh. The worst part is that I have to take advanced quantitiative in the fall, so I better know this stuff, baby! (Not to mention that I'm not a fan of the professor, who is the only one who teaches the advanced level course. Ugh. 15 more weeks of torture with this guy. Too bad he's cute; his personality does not match his looks--but maybe that's how they get the female PhD students in his class? Relatively young, good looking guy? Then he grouches at you, once he knows you aren't going to drop the class--mostly because you need to graduate? And in order to do so, you better know how to do ANOVAs (all the different types).

Oh, another thing that drives me nuts about my professor. He loves to say, a priori. For weeks, I kept thinking, now what on earth does a priori mean--since I never took latin, and I'd always tell myself that I'd look it up when I get home, and of course, I would forget to do so. So the following week, he'd say something like, You would have to know this stuff a priori. And I'd be thinking, what the heck does that mean? Why can't he just use regular English? I'm sure I'm not the only one who would appreciate it--there are folks there who I am sure have not really heard the word before, and are guessing at its meaning. Or the students who are not from this country. I should have made a note of that on my course evaluation. It would have totally driven him nuts. There are also several other big words/ rare words that he bandies around, but I can't think of them off the tip of my head. Ugh.

I'd also like to put in a request for someone to write my take-home final for pscyhology, too. I am not used to thinking the way psychologists do. I'm much more linear in my field and there is too much theory in psychology for me. Give me facts any day. Although I like creative stuff, this really makes my brain hurt.

Does that sound fair--some osmosis learning for quantitative methods (or someone to explain all those stupid ANOVAs, research conditions, etc. to me), someone to take my written final for me, and I'll take the law one (even though i hate law, too?) Any takers?

On a lighter note: For those of you in this area (NE Ohio) who like Trollbeads or Chamilia, our store is having a trunk show this Saturday, May 5 (yes, Cinco de Mayo)...from 9 Am- 5 PM. Our website (ok, so it's our florist's website, but all the info is there) is at: www.valeegeflorist.com . And if you dont' remember what Trollbeads are, here is my bracelet (also makes things a bit more colorful. Maybe I'll see you there!

More stuff...

Last night, I got home around 10:30 (celebrating my brother's birthday with the family, plus my dad wanted to stop at our store) and so that ate up some time...especially since the store's totally in the opposite direction of our house/dinner.

In any case, I was very, very tired last night. And very, very tired when I came home. And thank god all I had to do was teach this morning...at 8 AM. Only two more days till spring break (2 more classes to teach!). The best part of the week has been bringing breakfast to my classes. Monday got bagels (way expensive) and today got doughnuts--VERY good ones, I may add...and that was like, ten dollars cheaper than the bagels. I think my Friday 8 AM class will get doughnuts as well, and my 11 AM class may get some snacky foods, I think, like cookies, chips. I think. We'll see. Or maybe I'll just buy two dozen doughnuts, since they are very yummy. Why, you ask, is it so fun to bring breakfast to my classes?

Take a look at the topic:

Disorders of the ear.

So they get to see beautiful pictures like:

The first picture: a perforation of the eardrum. Second picture, retraction pocket, and the bone you see is the malleus (hammer), and the last one is truly gross. It's a parent maggot that laid 6 maggot eggs in the ear. ICK.

So you can see why it's been fun to feed my students. I'm so bad. ;D

But in knitting news:

I got my order of Baby Ull yarn in today! I ordered it sometime last week and was getting nervous that it wouldn't come in, because I really need to make a pair of baby booties. BUT it came in today, yay! I can start them tonight! Hopefully finish up tomorrow or Friday, so can wrap them!

And I've also been doing a tunisian crochet scarf, with two colors, so it does have a neat effect on the front, and the back is all striped. So it's really cool. Once I finish this (and my million projects, I'm going to try three colors and see how that would look.

This is my very pretty Trollbeads bracelet. can you tell I'm totally in love?

Beads, hat, stuff

I have been busy with school. It goes without saying: As soon as you finish reading something, there's one more thing to read. Ad infinitum. One of the MA/PhD students and I were discussing the never-ending pile of articles, books, and chapters that we have to read. We despair. We have so little time, and what time we have, we spend reading. (And obviously, writing an entry on the blog).

So, in the meantime, I have finished a hat. I could have used it last Monday, when temperatures were -2 degrees with a windchill of something like -15. Ugh. In any case, it's DONE. And here it is:

Of course, this picture is completely sideways. I'm too lazy to open a picture editor to put it up the way it's supposed to be.

And my boyfriend got me a Hello Kitty Waffle Iron for Valentine's Day. I then bought myself my own Valentine's Day gift, which I am lovin' and I am trying to think of other special occasions where I can spoil myself by buying even more things.

Here is my bracelet, with some new pretty charms:

I am so in love with my trollbead bracelet. Sigh. I cant' wait to fill the whole thing up, even if it means spending tons of money. I figure I can buy one or two a month, and I'm dropping very obvious hints to the boyfriend that I would like to have more charms. Even though I think the Hello Kitty waffle iron is cute.

And today... I got myself a snow day! And I don't have to teach tomorrow, since classes are cancelled till 11 AM tomorrow! But who knows, I still have things to do! And places to go! Unless it snows really bad tomorrow night, I'm going to be at SnB!

And oooh...I am signing up for the Secret Pal Round 10...totally excited about this! Well, off to snack some more and then do some more readings for class/research/something important.