Life's A Beach!

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Wondering where I am? Today, I am in New Jersey!

But before I came to NJ, I spent the day in NYC helping Meg pack up her apartment so she could direct the movers the next morning.



That night, we went to see "Hair" (which was good!)



The next day, there was some downtime so Meg shooed Dunc and I out of the apartment to go do some sightseeing because it was Dunc's first trip to the city. We only had about two or so hours - just enough to go from 91st and 1st Avenue all the way down to Ground Zero (which is just a construction site now) and the Statue of Liberty (which, in Duncan's words was "a tad anticlimactic but still worth seeing") and back again.

(It was about to rain all over us, so that is the Statue of Liberty through the fog and rain)



And then it was onto a train (I do love trains!) and down to Jersey, where I have spent two days sunning on the beach. Today, I did get a bit burned, but none of them are bad burns and will be gone in a few days.






Wish you were here!

Dear Emma,

My Dear Emma,

Today is my last day to babysit you this summer. (Believe me, you have snagged my heart and I will not be going away! Your Mommy will call me again.) I'd like to say a few things to you.


Seeing you more or less every day for the last two months has been a joy. Every Monday, when I come back, I swear you get bigger.


When I think of you, I think of when you learned how to roll from your stomach to your back (even though there were a lot of tears to get to that point), when you found your feet, and when you laughed for me for the first time.


I think of your adorable laughter, even though it's small, and when your aunt taught you how to stick your tongue out!


I think of those beautiful blue eyes of yours, and how when you smile they get all crinkly. I know that when you are older, you will have a beautiful smile.


I think of how whenever you were upset (and baby, there were days...) all I had to do was take you outside and you would forget everything just staring at the trees.


I think of the day I saw you shove your whole fist into your mouth, and the days you learned new sounds. You can't talk yet, hon, but you have singer's lungs!


I'll always remember the day that I came into the living room, and you smiled when you heard my voice.


I'll remember those first days when you still slept on your back, you used to sleep holding your ears and pushing your lip out.


Miss Emma, I will miss you when I can't see you every day like I have been. You've captured a special place in my heart.


Love always from Miss Stefanie.

Feeling Very Beachy

On Tuesday, I head up to NY and NJ for the trip that I've been looking forward to for the whole summer. Mom and Mike are already up there (and Mom has been taunting her blog readers with "Wish you were here"s at the end of every blog!) and I am beginning to get that itchy feeling that I always get before I go anywhere.

Because tomorrow I have to work (and then go to knit-night!) I am doing the bulk of my packing today. Into my (cute blue flowery) suitcase is going:

Clothes (shirts, shorts, underwear, jacket, swimsuit, coverups, etc... you know the drill.)
Books (At the moment, I am bringing: Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris, Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell, The Thief Lord and Inkheart, both by Cornelia Funke)
All manner of power cords, connectors, an iPod and and some form of net/notebook (I am still undecided as to which I'll be bringing with me. My notebook is bigger and faster, and my netbook is small and perfect for travel.)
A beachbag
And.... Yarn! (Can't leave this behind!)

Today, I've done 3/6 things on my to-do list, which consisted of going to HEB (check), buy new flipflops (check), pick up gifts for Ana and Jane (check), bring the dogs from Mike's house to here (not check), do laundry (in progres), and pack (in progress).

I'm uploading a bunch of my photos that I've taken of Emma throughout the summer to facebook. So if you're on faceboook, check those out! After that's done, I'm going to go pick up the dogs...

Post 500 - A Collection

This is my 500th post (or so my dashboard tells me) so I figured I would write up a bit of a random post.

Emma has learned how to stick her tongue out. It is so adorable!



I taught my mom how to knit like two weeks ago. I taught her how to start a sock last night. I won't lie, I was anticipating a disaster, (seeing as how I hadn't even taught her how to purl yet) but I quickly realized that it was such a non-issue and that I should have more faith in my mother. She took to the DPNs like a duck to water. Can't wait to see your sock, Mom!

After knit night last night, I went out to Main Event and had a lot of fun. I played laser tag, mini golf, I bowled, and I even beat Duncan at pool (once...) Every Monday, after 4pm, if you pay $20, you can stay and play whatever you want until they close at 2am. I think I lasted until about 1:30, but since I had to work in the morning, I was the first to leave. (I did bowl a 98, though. ;D)

Emma seems to be settling into our new schedule pretty nicely. Last week, my hours changed from 8-4 to 10-6. This week, though, things have been pretty normal. I think she might be going through a growth spurt again, because a few times today she's randomly put down a toy she'd been perfectly happy with and looked at me and started to scream. She's also really tired, so it does seem to fit.

My last day of babysitting Emma every day is Monday, and Tuesday I head up to NY and NJ for a week and a half or so. I am looking forward to going to the beach, yes, but I think that I will miss little Miss Emma a lot when I'm not here every week. Jenny has assured me that she'll call me often enough, but it's not the same. I'll do a blog about Emma soon enough with loads of new pictures!

That's all for now. More blogs will come as my life continues! Here's to the next 500 posts!

Eighteen Reasons Why

In honor of my little brother's eighteenth birthday, here are eighteen reasons why I love him so much:

1. Despite the fact that he is (no doubt) handsome, he has no idea.
   
2. He is my oldest and best(est) friend.
   
3. He inspires me to be a little more daring and to try new things.
   
4. He is the size of a bear. (And a lot more huggable and less ferocious!)
   
5. He puts up with me pushing his buttons.
   
6. He is the best listener.
   
7. His sense of humor, and how it appears at exactly the right moment.
   
8. He gives the best hugs.
9. He's never afraid to lord his height over me. (And I then remind him that I am older than him.)
10. He always plays fair - never foul.
    
11. Occasionally, he graces the world with a big smile that's worth the time it took to drag out of him.
12. He is a man of few words, and many thoughts.
    
13. He knows what he wants and pursues it.
    
14. I have never heard him raise his voice.
    
15. He works to better himself daily.
    
16. He has an incredible amount of love in that heart of his.
17. Every once and a while, when we're having dinner, we'll wink at each other.
    
18. He is, without doubt, the best brother to have.
    

I love you, Brodre. Happy Birthday, and I hope you have a fabulous nineteenth year. Here's to you!

Couldn't Help It (Aka Shameless Plug!)

So, I wrote a piece of Harry Potter fanfiction this afternoon. I couldn't help myself - it just came to me and I had to write it down. I'm in such a Potter mood this week. (Anyone else noticed this?)

(Click me!)

Read it if you wish, despite the fact that FF.net got the format wrong and it bothers me.

It's a tad bit creepy, but it's about Voldemort so it had to be. For anyone who hasn't read the books and isn't familiar with the story of Tom Riddle (Voldemort's original name), he was raised in a London orphanage and when he was sixteen he found his way to his father's house and killed his father and grandparents because they were muggles (and because he's, well, a crazy and messed up guy.) What I wrote was a short poem about the event. Not very long, but I'm happy with it.

Two wands up!

Warning: Spoiler Alert. If you haven't read the book and want to be surprised by the movie, read this later. I'll do my best not to give everything away...

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HARRY. POTTER.

Whoa.

No joke, I can't believe that the film I saw last night at midnight was part of the same series of films that I have been criticizing (but supportive of) for the last odd six or seven years. Usually I come out of a Harry Potter film (Ahem, the Prisoner of Azkaban) and immediately list why This Was Done Wrong, and How Could They Have Done THAT?, and Who Writes This Crap and Calls it Harry Potter?, and a million other nitpicky, nerdy reasons why, despite the fact that the movies and books share similar characters and plots, they shouldn't be listed together nor compared.

I didn't do this with the Half Blood Prince last night. (Go see it. Now.)

There were things that the director added in (the wheat field scene stands out) and altered, but the good so outweighed the bad, about 99 to 1. It kept so in time with the book that I couldn't believe it. Like in the opening scene of the movie, a bridge in London breaks: I can quote the passage it comes from. When Harry and Dumbledore are in the cave: Practically word-for-word from the book. The scene at the end where Malfoy faces off Dumbledore: Just like I imagined it. I honestly sat there in my seat with a really stupid grin on my face, because one of my favorite books was coming to life in front of my eyes.

Of course I can think of things that I wish they elaborated a little more on (Quidditch, Snape's classes, and Harry's relationship with Ginny to name a few) but somehow within 2 1/2 hours, I was so thoroughly impressed with the film and the acting (It seems that some of them spouted talent in the last two years - Whoda thunk?) and the direction that all I can babble about is how good the film was.

I would say that this is the first movie I have been happy with the transition from book to movie since the Sorcerer's Stone came out. (And I am a hard fan to please.) I just hope the Seventh films are just as good.

Anyone going to see it this week? I want to come with you to see it again.

(A quick criticism, though: Some idiot rated the film PG, but I would ignore that. I wouldn't recommend bringing children and to treat it as if it is PG13. Anyone who's read the book knows that a certain cave containing a certain non-Horcrux has a lot of creepy to offer - and boy was it creepy. Eesh.)

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I wore my sweater to the movie! Here's a look at some of us who were in costume! (Luna, on the far right, was real neat. Great costume!) Later, a Mad Eye Moody walked into the theater with the best costume on - it was great.

Finally, A Sweater!

(Fun with camera timers, a Harry Potter book, AND MY NEW, COMPLETELY FINISHED SWEATER!)

So Close!!

So, I am about 95% finished with my sweater. All that remains is the seaming, weaving in of the many (many) ends, and the blocking. Which can all easily be done by Tuesday at midnight.


Do you guys realize that I have (essentially) finished this behemoth of a sweater ON TIME? Even, like, EARLY? I don't want to celebrate early, but I can't help it. To help me celebrate, let me let you into my world a little with a few helpful numbers. Perhaps you can appreciate it a little more:

(Disclaimer: all numbers are approximate)

Hours of knitting/sewing:
Body: 50
Arms: 12
Neck: .5
Letter 'S': 10
*Seaming: 1
(*Since I haven't exactly seamed up the sweater, that's just a guess.)
Total: 73.5

Stitches in sweater:
Body: 30240
Arms: 12960
Neck: 1350
Total: 44550
(That brings it to about 606 stitches per hour...)

Right, well, since it's 1 AM, and I have stuff to accomplish tomorrow, I'm off to bed.

(...I cannot tell you how excited I am to be able to knit other things again.)

Is that an S?

I will give my mother a stern talking to for giving me a name with the curviest first letter in the whole darned alphabet when I finish this sweater.

(It's not quite finished, but it will be soon.)

The One-And-Three-Quarter Sleeved Wonder

(I know... the title isn't nearly as catchy as last night's. But that is the way it is right now. See?)


I'd say that that picture shows the color pretty true, unlike most of the other ones I've posted on the blog. It's a lovely blue, right?

I continued to knit to the Harry Potter movies tonight (I watched what was left of #3, and all of #4 and #5) and while I did spend a lot more time munching tonight, I didn't knit nearly as fast. I just wasn't as motivated tonight. (Some of the demotivators sounded a lot like, "I am so sick of this sweater" and "I need ibuprofen/I hate my uterus.") I also had to pick up the stitches along the edge of the shoulder this afternoon, whereas yesterday I had already done that. (Excuses, excuses. I know.)

As far as I am concerned, I am still on schedule. Tomorrow I have grand plans of stopping at the bank and visiting Stephen (my newest step-bro) and depositing my paycheck, and then heading off to the Knitting Nest for some more good knitting time.

(For now? I'm going to bed to nurse my nasty, selfish uterus who insists on being the center of attention once a month. I suppose I should humor it for now.)

The One-Armed Wonder

This morning while Emma was not sleeping (very strange baby - completely skipped her morning nap today!) I was looking at my knitting bag and really considering whether my Tuesday (!!!!) deadline was too ridiculous, and whether I had waaaay overestimated myself and my speedy knitting abilities with it. I had already worked two inches of the arm, and was beginning to think that, despite the fact that the arm does decrease from 96 to 42 stitches, it was going to be more work than I had expected. I dunno why I assumed that the arms would be less knitting, but it does appear that way, right?


Well, I guess the arm is less knitting, because where it took me 20+ hours to knit each body piece, it only took me 5 1/2 to knit a sleeve.

I think I might have done something wrong with the decreases, but it doesn't seem to have been a real issue. Instead of having a 22" sleeve, I have a 24" sleeve, and I prefer my sleeves long anyway... I enjoy cuddly hands. And plus, in the spirit of the Weasley Sweater, I think that overlong sleeves would TOTALLY be something that Mrs Weasley would do.

Things remaining: Other sleeve, neck, letter, and seaming.

Things are looking up. If I finish the sleeve by tomorrow (and maybe the neck too?) I can go into the yarn store and get a quick lesson on the duplicate stitch and seaming on Saturday and have the thing definitely done by Tuesday.

I suppose this means I should get all of my anger out at the sweater tomorrow morning. At least I have Emma to cheer me up.

(I do love that picture...)

Meet Alexa

My technological family grew today!

Yall remember Lawrence , don't you?

Because Lawrence broke my backpack this last semester (his beautiful 15.1" is too much for my puny little backpack to handle) I decided toward the end of the school year that I would buy a netbook, which is a computer designed for on-the-go internet access. (A lot of people who travel a lot use it to check emails and such.) It's not a full-blown computer and isn't supposed to replace a computer by any stretch, but it is ultra convenient and perfect for my needs. While I don't travel all the time (gee, I wish!), I do take notes on my computer, so having a 2.5 lb device like this is perfect for me.

So... without any further ado, meet Alexa!


Alexa is a HP Mini and came from Best Buy.



She has a pretty design on her (just like Lawrence, except he's got more of a parallelogram pattern going on instead of the swirlies) and has a 10.1" screen and almost has a full sized keyboard (it is 92% of one, anyway.)


Have I mentioned how small she is? She fits in my purse!

(I love her already.)

More Sweater!

You want more sweater?

Here, have more sweater!! I have plenty of sweater!

My sweater is coming along nicely and (more or less) on schedule. You seem to remember that I had planned to pick up the shoulder stitches this evening... well, instead I finished the front. There will be plenty of time for picking tomorrow morning.

You can see now that I didn't lie the other day and that there is a front AND a back to the sweater. Look at the front!


(Yaaaay, front!)

And here's the two seamed together!


(Yaaaay, body! And a good shot of my camera strap...haha.)

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On another (completely unrelated) note, I went to my UT transfer student orientation today! I am very glad I could go, because I got to meet with advisers, check requirements for my major, and make some decisions. Oh, and sign up for classes.

Tentatively, my schedule looks like this:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday:
10-11: Mythology
1-2: Government
2-3: British Literature

Tuesday, Thursday:
8-9:30: Chemistry
12:30-2: Psychology

Pretty good schedule, right? I'm happy with it. The only thing I'm hoping to change is to move Chemistry to a later time. But who knows? I'm a morning person, it may stay there.

Bob and Weave, (Well, Knit.)

Last night, Mom, Mike, Duncan, Stephen and I went to:


to see Bob Schneider. He was doing a bluegrass show and we all enjoyed the music. It was kind of cool - he did a lot of his usual music, but added other instruments and gave it a different beat, kinda countrified it.


I left early (I had woken up at 4:45 that morning, and I was dead on my feet... I needed sleep!) but Mom called me when the Batman song came on and I got to hear it through the phone! It was awesome. The Batman song is my favorite!

We all enjoyed the show.


I sneaked a picture of Duncan over my shoulder.


And then Mike was mean to me.


And Mom and I took pictures of us taking pictures of each other.

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In other news, my sweater front is coming along nicely.


I know it looks suspiciously like the back (because it is exactly the same as the back... at least for another 6". It is simply riveting knitting, I tell you.) but I swear. It is the front! I am working quickly toward my deadline of midnight on the 14th... and at the moment at least it looks like I'll make that deadline!

My plan (cause I KNOW yall want to know!) is to knit at least 6" of the front today (I have a foot left) and to, by Monday, have the front completely finished. On Monday, I plan on picking up the stitches on the shoulders and working both arms. By the next Monday (hopefully before) I'll have the sweater seamed up and I'll be able to get the letter sewn in for the midnight showing at 12:01 on the 15th.

So there.

I think I can do it.