Archive for January, 2006
January 29, 2006 at 10:05 pm · Filed under mememe!
Four jobs you have had in your life:
1. reporter
2. WW leader
3. communications director
4. water aerobics instructor
Four movies you would watch over and over again:
1. Strictly Ballroom
2. The Matrix
3. School of Rock
4. Much Ado About Nothing
Four places you have lived:
1. Rockford, IL
2. Peoria, IL
3. DeKalb, IL
4. Madison, WI
Four T.V. shows you love to watch:
1. American Idol
2. The Simpsons
3. Reunion (damn you, Fox network!)
4. SNL
Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Niagara Falls, Ontario
2. Chattanooga, Tennessee
3. San Diego, California
4. Outer Banks, North Carolina
Three web-sites I visit daily:
1. Metafilter
2. Salon
3. Bloglines
Four of my favorite foods:
1. onion rings
2. pizza
3. Michael’s frozen custard
4. samosas
Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. Right now? Here is just fine. (Not that I’d refuse a luxury vacation or anything.)
January 28, 2006 at 8:41 pm · Filed under spiritual
Okay, we’re pretty settled now, and we’ve just been doing various touches … you know, crystals and lights, stuff like that.
There’s another transformation that started during my week away, and this one is more personal. I’m changing my name. Just my first name. And I’m not totally giving it up, just shifting it to the middle.
The thing is, I’ve never really felt 100% at home with my name. I was always messing with it when I was growing up, and it rarely seemed to fit. But in adulthood I kind of got to the point where I just let it be. Even though I know quite a few people who have modified their names as adults, I felt like I was too old to be thinking about that sort of thing.
During my week of learning and introspection, I kept receiving little signs that it wasn’t too late. As my classmate said to me at one point, “You have tattoos and a nose ring, and you think that you’re not radical enough to change your name?”
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January 23, 2006 at 3:23 pm · Filed under family
So, the bedroom idea met with much more enthusiasm than I ever dreamed. Another big change happened first, though: Peter had a haircut. A major haircut. It was his idea, of course, and I think he enjoyed thoroughly shocking everyone who had become used to seeing his mop-head.
He was the one who suggested doing the big move the very next day. Pete and I gave up the huge basement bedroom in order to get back into the master bedroom (Peter’s room — located in the relationship gua of our house). Peter went into Moon’s former bedroom, and Moon snagged the basement bedroom. Because all teenagers long to live in the basement, right?
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January 19, 2006 at 9:27 pm · Filed under spiritual
I know I haven’t said much since I returned from my training almost a week ago, but I guess I’m still processing. All I can say is that it was a wonderful experience, and life-changing in many ways.
My challenge now is to hang on to the energy that I felt during that week, now that I’m back in “ordinary time.” Having someone else take care of the schedule, the meals, and so forth liberated me to be able to pay attention to my inner stuff.
Of course, there were practical lessons as well. Feng shui is a fascinating art/science, and it was incredibly interesting learning about it. I had already been studying on my own for years, but that didn’t compare with having real-life experience working with clients and having a mentor to clarify the material.
My family had kidded me about coming home and changing everything around, but they weren’t prepared for what I ended up proposing: that we all switch bedrooms. Not one of them welcomed the idea when they first heard it, but it obviously grew on them … because the day after I returned, we made the move.
More about that later.
January 9, 2006 at 11:07 pm · Filed under knit/crochet, spiritual
I’m supposed to be on a media break this week, but I don’t think this counts. My teacher knows I have my laptop (although the wireless connection is a bit of a surprise — what would the original tenants of this Victorian mansion think?). Anyway, I’m in intensive training for feng shui certification. Day Two has flown by, and now the information is whirling around in my brain. I’m processing.
It’s strange being away from my family all week. When I left, Peter dashed outside and ran alongside the car, waving to me until the car turned the corner. I’m thankful for the cell phone, because at least I’ve been able to fulfill my motherly role of nagging about homework.
As for the accommodations, can you say, “delicious, aesthetically pleasing vegetarian meals, prepared by someone other than me”? And “in-room whirlpool bath”? I could definitely get used to this sort of thing.
January 7, 2006 at 11:07 am · Filed under knit/crochet
About my perfect feng shui bag. I swear I followed the adult-sized pattern in the Second Treasury of Magical Knitting book. It looked suitably huge and seemed to have plenty of leeway for felting. So I didn’t pay attention to the felting time. I just threw the bag in the washer with a towel (dumb idea, BTW) in hot water, and let it rip.
Check out what happened. (The pen is there for comparison.) Worn diagonally across my chest, the bag now barely clears my boob, which definitely isn’t feng shui. My niece Ambria is going to be 5 this month, and I think this is going to become an auxiliary birthday present. Hope she doesn’t mind the green and blue, because she’s more of a pink and purple kind of gal. Pete says the bag is very girly and ought to suit her, though. It’ll be interesting to see if the bag actually fits. I don’t have any five-year-olds around here to test it.
This was an amazingly fun knit, though. There were directions in the book for adding a pouch to a moebius strip after the fact, and now I’m eyeing the moebius scarf I made last fall and wondering what it would look like as a felted strap. It’s even longer than the swirl purse strap was, and if I’m careful with the felting it might actually fit me.
In other knitting-and-fitting news, I finally photographed my Banff sweater which I had finished a while back. Although I was very proud about the completion of my first long-sleeved sweater, I wasn’t so happy about how it looked on me. It’s pretty huge, which would be cute if I was my previous dainty self, but not so cute now. I do like its warmth and color, so I’m thinking about frogging it and re-knitting it into a poncho/wrap that I saw in Weekend Knitting (the twist stitch it uses was one of the first things I learned when I taught myself to knit).
January 5, 2006 at 10:46 pm · Filed under fitness, spiritual
Yep, I have a few plans for 2006. It’s got to be better than 2005.
First, my fitness goals:
- Attend step aerobics at 6 a.m. Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and miss as few classes as possible.
- Get butt out of bed on Tuesday/Thursday and do some time on the elliptical trainer at the Y.
- No more bedtime snacks. Stop eating past 8 p.m.
- More fruit, less sugar.
- Do the Five Tibetan Rites that we learned about at a wellness workshop last night (at church of all places).
Next, my life as a crafter:
- Learn the basics of sewing, with an eye toward recycling unwanted clothing into cool new stuff.
- Knit at least one pair of socks.
- Make a moebius basket, and continue to knit every day, even if it’s just a row or two.
- Plan family meals and teach cooking skills to the kids.
- Install closet organizer and turn part of closet into craft storage area.
- Finish doing the scrapbook pages about the vacation we took three years ago.
- Take out long-abandoned cross stitch and calligraphy supplies, and find out if doing that stuff is still fun. (I’m going to bet that it is.)
- Make at least one outfit for the Blythes, knitted or sewn. Take pictures.
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January 5, 2006 at 12:48 pm · Filed under knit/crochet
Okay, so I haven’t posted my New Year’s list yet. I’ve been busy knitting.
Yes, I finished Moon’s poncho on New Year’s Day. She put it on when we went on family walkies with Foxxi. It’s sooo soft and warm, and I’m wearing it as I write this. The poncho was supposed to be a coat substitute, because Moon doesn’t use her locker at school (not enough time, too far away, lost the key to the lock) and the kids can’t wear overcoats in class. I mean, they might be concealing an AK-47 in there or something. But ponchos are fine, although I’m thinking a lot of contraband could be hidden underneath. It might be that ponchos are worn mainly by females, and the school district might not consider girls to be a threat.
Anyway, Moon’s not planning to wear it unless it’s really cold, because the classrooms are kept rather toasty. But it’s perfect for wearing in the house, especially when IM-ing and doing other important computer tasks. Which tells you something about our energy conservation practices.
In other news, I cast on a new project from a book I received for Christmas, using brand-new needles which were also a gift. I had some leftover Cascade 220 yarn that was perfect for the pattern. It’s a sling bag, and although I already have two awesome bags, it totally caught my eye. Next week I’ll be away getting feng shui certification, and the bag just seems very feng shui to me. Yes, there will be pictures, but for now you’ll have to look at my cute family.
