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I am knitting a little bit- about to turn the heel on a pair of cotton elastic socks for the new HUSBAND!

Here's a shot of the vows....

Married!

What a weekend!

Here's a quick preview....


I am the happiest, luckiest girl in the universe!

Sky

New Mexico has the most amazing sky.



I took these pictures last August on my way home from visiting Mr. C in Austin.



The sky here is so expansive, and the light is absolutely amazing.



Don't you agree?

The Great Countdown

I intellectually knew, but didn't realize that, when I scheduled a wedding for April 21 I would be setting off a massive chain reaction of life changing events, scheduled roughly one week apart.

Those events?

• Saturday, April 21: Get married.
  
• Saturday, April 28: Finish law school.
  
• Saturday, May 5: Move to Austin, TX.
  
• Saturday, May 12: Graduate from law school. (Followed by an early Sunday morning departure for Le Honeymoon).
  
• Saturday, May 19: Return from honeymoon, pack up car and cat and husband and drive from Albuquerque to Austin.
  
• Monday, May 21: Begin BarBri, studying for the bar exam.
  

.

Yeah, that's some major life change. New Marriage. New Career. New(ish) Town.

I feel like my motto should be:

If you're going to have a nervous breakdown, you might as well make it worth your while.

Actually, the next two months will be very happy, but also bittersweet. I'm looking forward to the adventure of traveling to the other side.

WHEEEEEEE!

I'm horribly.... weird

SHOOT. I am such a horrible blogger that I JUST REALIZED TODAY that fabulous Rebecca tagged me for the six weird things meme on FEBRUARY 26! Sorry Rebecca... You know what a disaster I am these days. :-)

So....
SIX WEIRD THINGS ABOUT ME

1. I get the hiccups any time I get a chill. A breeze in the summer, air conditioning, opening the window in winter.... All cause me to get the hiccups. Violent hiccups. Embarrassingly loud and squeaky hiccups. Been this way since birth.
   
2. I swallow loudly. I don't know what it is, but every time I take a sip, I make a gulping sound. Courtney can hear it when we're on the phone, and he always teases me about it. Apparently I did the same thing as an infant while nursing- my Mom would be on the phone with a friend who couldn't stop herself from asking, "WHAT IS THAT NOISE?"
   
3. Like Rebecca, I used to be a band geek. My Mom was a piano teacher when she was younger, so all three of us kids started off on the piano. I switched to flute in 4th grade when we were allowed to join the band. I went to a music camp every summer (yay Hummingbird Music Camp!) and was even a head counselor for two summers. Best job I ever had.
   
4. I love yarn, but I have a very hard time buying it when I'm by myself. I can wander around Village Wools all day without so much as a flicker of temptation--so long as I'm by myself. Same thing at Hill Country Weavers in Austin- I was there last week with a $50 gift certificate burning a hole in my pocket, but I couldn't commit. Nada. Now send me out into the yarny world with Meg, and it's a whole different story. I had a a little sock yarn incident in Massachusetts last October, and we all remember how bad at Taos in 2005. It took two trips to the Fiber Arts Fiesta in 2005 for me to succomb, but I was with Meg when it happened. I know who NOT to go yarn shopping with when I'm on a yarn diet!!! :-)
   
5. I have the song "I've Got The Sun In The Morning (and The Moon At Night)" from Annie Get Your Gun stuck in my head. It's been there since Monday night. Aurgh. I grew up doing musical theater with a local children's acting school. Was in Gypsy, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, and at least one or two others that I can't remember right now.
   
6. In spite of the fact that I come across as really outgoing (sometimes loudly and obnoxiously so), I am actually fairly shy. I get nervous around new people and have to try really hard to make myself go beyond my comfort zone to introduce myself or strike up a conversation. Those of you who know me will probably laugh at this because I don't think I come across as shy at all, but it's true!
   

So there you have it, six weird things about me. Now I'm tagging Meg!

Crazy busy

But not with knitting!

Wedding stuff seems never ending, but we're getting there! In the last week my dress arrived (and fits perfectly! woot!), we got our marriage license, met with the flower lady and the church coordinator, had another appointment with the Priest, all the attendants got their dresses, mailed invitations, started getting shower invitations, ordered a veil, shoes, garter, hair pins, scheduled hair and makeup appointments, booked a 1957 Chevy Imperial limo to transport us, met with the caterer and the liquor vendor, helped mom pick a swatch for her dress, visited the reception site to figure out party layout, bought a white purse, and took care of shower attire. Whew! I don't even want to think about all the undone things I don't know to think about yet.

Law school is slow this semester, for a change, but of course the little work I do have seems to all be due on Monday.

This leaves woefully little time for knitting. I'm still working on the cherry scarf for mom, and am also working on some replacement wrist warmers for her (the cashmerino ones were lost in this year's holiday madness). The Tuesday night ladies are working on some really fabulous socks, which makes me want to cast on for some really fabulous socks.... next year?

South Beach Exhaustion

Just got back from an office trip to Miami's South Beach, and it was FABULOUS. Highlights include:

• Evening drinks at The Delano Hotel, super swank and just beautifully designed. The website pictures do no justice- the place is stunning.
  
• Tapas, mojitos, and salsa lessons at Tapas Y Tintos, which feels like a cozy little bar in Spain. Absolutely the best meal of the trip, and watching the young kids dancing was a blast.
  
• Three nights at The Loews Hotel, which was a big hotel right on the beach. We spent lots of quality time in the ocean in the wee hours of the morning. Probably not the smartest move (shark feeding time and portuguese man of war rumors) but it sure was fun.
  
• Goofy office-mate antics, many humorous quotable quotes, and dancing dancing dancing every evening.
  
• And, last but not least, a partner telling me (in a giddy voice) that she and her best friend just signed up for knitting lessons!
  

All in all, a fabulous couple of days. Now it's time for my fabulous booty to catch up on some MUCH NEEDED SLEEP.

I am SO BACK!

I had my first knitting success in recent memory tonight. Remember the Consolation Koigu socks?

The pair that had one toe that decided to be two and a half inches longer than the other toe?

WELL.

Both toes are now the same length. I got stitches on the too-long sock onto my needles at the point at which the toe should have begun, cut the toe (Gasp!) and unravelled. Then I did a short row toe and KITCHNERED all 32 stitches across. And it looks darn skippy, if I do say so myself.

And, then, I wore them.

SWEET HEAVEN! Everyone deserves a pair of koigu socks. They're perfect. Snug, soft, warm, faboo. Perfect muted rainbow goodness. I need to show you a picture. I want more koigu socks. Sadly, I have no more koigu in the stash, and the yarn embargo of 2007 will keep me in check. Fortunately, I have plenty of other sock yarn.

And now I am going back to my garter stitch scarf, since I know better than to expect this luck to continue into a second complicated project. :-)

But my wounded pride is starting to feel a little bit better.

A few favorites.

My favorite yarn is, without a doubt, Debbie Bliss' Cashmerino. Anyweight. It's all faboo. Soft, fluffy, holds up well to machine washing (!) though it doesn't appreciate the dryer too much. The stuff is divine.

My favorite blog these days is, hands down, yarnstorm. The color! The play! This woman has an incredible eye and an incredible voice. Every post is a visual delight.

A Very Productive Saturday

Today I have:

• Addressed most of the wedding invitations,
  
• Filled out most of my bar application,
  
• Got price quotes for wedding day hair and makeup,
  
• Confirmed wedding dress delivery date,
  
• Washed my sheets and duvet cover,
  
• Taken a bunch of stuff to the dumpster, and
  
• Cleaned up the garage.
  

I still need to:

• Go to the grocery store,
  
• Make dinner.
  

Sadly, no knitting on the list, though the curse of recent weeks seems to be fading.... Not that I've tried anything more challenging than garter stitch, but that's ok. All in good time.

Once Bitten Twice Shy Three Times Surrender

I had such a hard time with knitting projects over the holidays that I can't bring myself to cast on for anything. Which makes for a REALLY BORING knit blog!

The Frost Flowers shawl, knitted by Eunny in 16 days, has kicked my booty big time. I cast on last summer and gave up after 10 rows, then tried again right after finals. After starting and ripping about 15 times (no exaggeration, for a change), I finally made it 45 rows in and was starting to feel more comfortable.... Then disaster struck. I somehow got off one stitch, and then tinked/knitted/tinked/knitted the same row 8 times. The last time I dropped a stitch and it immediately slipped down 10 rows. 10 rows of complicated lace. So I gave up again. The yarn/needles/pattern are stuffed in a bag that has been shoved back under my bed, where it spent all fall in time out after the first disasterous attempt.

I also tried to start Eunny's Spectacular Bayerische Socks. I couldn't even do the 1x1 ribbing right!!! Kept increasing somehow. Then, when I finished the first cabled round, I ended up with 6 extra stitches. This all happened after the Frost Flowers disaster, so I just ripped it out and stuck the Bayerische supplies into the same bag located in the deep dark recesses of under the bed storage doom.

Did make it to knit night last night- my Mom wants a Cherry Scarf like mine, so I cast on while chatting with the group. One would think that after four years of knitting I would be able to cast on for a garter stitch scarf.... Wrongo! I had to cast on four times because apparently I can't count to 24. Oy VAY.

Send good knitting thoughts my way- I NEED THEM!

knitting

Happy New Year!

I am finally back home after a couple weeks with the future husband and his family. We had a lovely Christmas and New Year, and it's good to be back at home!

I have only one resolution this year: I'm not buying any yarn.

You read that right- none.

I have enough yarn that if I knit and knit and knit and knit, it would take at least four years to get through what I already have. And I have no time. I also got my butt seriously kicked by every project I attempted over the holiday, and am feeling a little less than talented right now.

So no yarn.

EXCEPT: (of COURSE there are escape clauses!!)

I got a $50 gift certificate to Hill Country Weavers in Austin- my favorite LYS ever- from Mr. C, so I can spend that on yarn since it's not actually my money.

AND possibly except for spectacular difficult to find yarn that I encounter at sheep or wool festivals, if I even make it to any this year. It would be a shame to make it to Rhinebeck and not be allowed to buy anything.... I know I won't be at Maryland (graduating/honemooning/moving right around then), and I probably won't make it to Taos (won't live in NM anymore by then). But one never knows....

Hard Drive is Officially Gone

The Doctor is attempting one more rescue effort.... If it doesn't work, I've lost years worth of photos (this is the biggest bummer), the wedding guest list with addresses, all my law school notes, several pdf knitting patterns I had purchased, all of my iTunes information, and my iPod may not work with another computer (something about needing to decommission the old computer, which is impossible given its current state of deadness.)

Oh well.

Who cares, really- I've got SOME of the photos loaded onto flickr and ofoto, and it has snowed TWICE today and pretty much all day yesterday. It's gorgeous. AND it's Christmas! WOOHOO!

You win some, you lose some.

I finished Green Gable and it FITS! FABULOUSLY!

But I can't post pictures because my laptop, she is dead. (I'm posting during a break at work).

I have't had time to call and fight with Dell yet because I'm still in the middle of finals, and it always takes at least 6 hours regardless what the problem actually is.

(Edited to Add: Dell was fantastic- was on the phone less than 20 minutes start to finish. My hard drive is dead, they're sending a new one. LOVE the insurance policy I bought when I got the computer. Hopefully my Mom's computer guru will be able to salvage some of the data off my old hard drive after they take it out of my computer... fingers crossed!)

But the sweater is done, and it's pretty good!

I once was lost but now am found....

My Mom hosted the neighborhood Christmas party at our house on Saturday, which meant Friday was spent throwing messy stuff under the bed, into the closet, cramming into drawers.... In the process, I managed to lose the LAST BALL OF YARN for Green Gable.

I am so close to being done with this sweater- within 2 inches of the end of the last sleeve, and of course, it's time to attach a new ball. That I couldn't find. For three days. Talk about frustrating!

Fortunately, I found it last night, and will (hopefully) be finishing the sleeve tonight as a reward for taking 2 exams in 28 hours (10 hours of exam taking in 28 hours is a LOT, especially when a good 10 additional hours were all the study time available for the second exam!)

I am so glad I found this yarn ball. It was killing me.

What a WEEK!

It only got better after my last post....

Little did I know that C, my best law school buddy, and my Mom had conspired to throw a surprise party Wednesday night. They hired a local taco truck to set up in our neighborhood courtyard and serve gorditas, burritos, and tacos all night. There were mariachis, mini pinatas, the best guacamole I've ever tasted, and a bunch of my dear friends. I was shocked by how many law students found a couple hours to celebrate with me in the midst of this bonkers week. And a family friend who has known me longer than anyone else came down from Santa Fe. It was wonderful!

AND it was a complete surprise.

And now I have a cold and am waaaay behind on studying for finals.

It was SO. WORTH. IT.

30!

Today is my 30th birthday. WOOHOO! Mr. C flew in last night as a surprise- he had a friend of mine make arrangements for a girls' night dinner, then he showed up instead of her! I had no idea he was coming out- so sweet.

This is a strange birthday. A major decade change combined with life on the cusp of major change. In my first year of 30-dom, I will marry, finish law school, move to another state, and start a whole new career. The transitions won't be easy, but I am so excited about all of these changes- makes it much easier. And I'm ecstatic to be starting the real "adult" phase of my life partnered with someone as fabulous as C.

WHEEEEEEEEEE!

Just got confirmation from the bridal salon that my dress should be here the first week in February.

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE my dress. SO. EXCITED.

By the way, my dress came from Bridal Portfolio in Southlake, Texas (outside of Dallas). The ladies there are very nice and incredibly professional. It's a very pleasant place to shop for a gown and they have gorgeous dresses. They also special ordered samples of 3 dresses from one of their designers for me.... Everything went off without a hitch!

On the other hand, avoid Bridal Couture of Scottsdale, Arizona like the plague. They are lying, cheating punks who were rude the entire time my Mom and I were in their store, and I've been fighting with my credit card company for 3 months about fraudulent charges from this place. RUN AWAY!

Reflections on NaBloPoMo

I managed to post every single day in November. I'm really proud of that, especially given that the first half of the month was an absolute zoo for me.

After not much reflection, here's my take on what I learned:

• I got nothin. Really. Nothing to say. I don't think I wrote a single post that was important, intriguing, or really even interesting the entire month. Good thing I'm doing this for me, and not for you. You'd be really disappointed!
  
• My stats jumped immensely during November, despite the lack of photos, decent content, etc. Which leads me to the conclusion that there are a lot of bored, lonely people in blogland. It is kind of nice to eavesdrop on strangers, getting a sense of what their lives are like... but I can't believe how many people came here just because there was something new. And I feel like a lab mouse who has learned that I get a treat when I push a button- post, readers. Post, readers. It's kinda cool, but apologies for the lack of interesting stuff!
  
• I also learned that you guys really like the knitting posts- -my stats jumped every time I mentioned yarn or knitting in the subject line. Good to know. Wish I could give you more, but it's been a slow year. :-)
  
• Increasing blog readership is part brute-force and part good content. If it's great, but sparse, people will still read. If it's crap, but there's a lot of it, people will sill read. The ideal combo, obviously, is lots of great content, and my favorite blogs are a reflection of that. But it's nice to know the rest of us can get by with fairly regular episodes of posting about random stuff.
  
• I really do blog for myself. I haven't been analyzing my stats as much to see where people are from, how they got here, how long they spent, etc. I did it more to get something out in the ether, as a personal discipline. I completely lack discipline in almost every other area, so I'm really glad I did this! Probably my favorite aspect of the project.
  

Would I do it again? Sure! I just don't expect to contribute much that might be of use to the public discourse....

The Panic, It Has Begun

We're at T minus 5 days till exam mayhem starts. I wouldn't be so panicky, but

• I haven't read a single page in a single class all semester long.
  
• I have two really hard exams and one that shouldn't be too bad.
  
• I also have to rewrite a 30 page paper in the midst of exam mayhem.
  
• AND I'm turning 30 on Wednesday! (Maybe that should be my paper day- 30 pages for 30 years?)
  
• The Green Gables is so close to done I can taste it.... yet I will feel guilty for every stitch I knit during the next two weeks....