Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

Tomorrow I have to go to make an emergency visit to the dentist. It's not going to be fun and it isn't going to be cheap. Plus side though; I get to sleep in a little on Monday so I can afford to be a little lazy on this chilly, December Sunday.

Currently listening too:

Alexz Johnson - "Skipping Stone"

I can't wait until this EP comes out in January. Until then if you like what you hear you can download "Skipping Stone" for free at www.Alexzjohnson.com.

Currently Watching:

Doctor Who

I'm on episode 4 and aliens have landed in present day London.

 I am seriously doubting the Doctor's ability to tell time accurately.

Currently Reading:

The Great Santa Search by Santa Claus as told to Jeff Guinn

Tis the season to read the Christmas Chronicles. These books never fail to fill me with the Christmas spirit! Reading them also helps me to kick ass whenever my family plays Tis the Season: The Christmas Trivia Game.

Currently Working on:

Finishing up Holiday Presents!

1. A scarf for my co-teacher made out of  Yarn Bee Highland Thistle

 in the Highland Fling Colorway. Side note, I really wish we had a Hobby Lobby here in New Jersey and that Hobby Lobby still sold the Highland Thistle yarn.

 It was one of my favorites!

2. Framing and matting my aunt's present. It isn't as easy to find a collage frame with 5x7 photo openings as I thought it would be. There should be more!

3. Wrapping, wrapping, wrapping.

When lazy time is over it is back to the housework grind.

 I hope everyone else is enjoying their Sundays.

Taking Stock

Dear Universe,

Contrary to popular belief I do not live under a rock. The fact that 2011 is rapidly drawing to a close and that 2012 is peeking out from around the corner has not escaped my attention. I considered, for a wee bit, trying to live in denial because there were still a few old resolutions that I had not yet fulfilled, but that approach wasn’t successful when I turned 30, so I doubt that it would work now. Instead of dwelling on what I have not accomplished, I decided this morning to be positive (for once) and think about what I did achieve this year.

In 2011 I not only got my Master’s Degree while working two jobs and dealing with some serious family issues, but I managed to do so with a 4.0 grade point average. At the time I kept thinking that this was no big deal, but you know what?  I’ve decided that this is indeed something to be proud of. It was hard work and I really put my nose to the grindstone … even though at the time I was never sure whether or not it would all be worth it in the end.

Turns out it was. Not only did I get the degree, but I actually managed to find a job in that field within four months of graduating. That’s not easy to do in this economy. Sure I have student loan debt that could rival the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro and I picked a field that really doesn’t pay well, but I’ve discovered I’m really good at what I do. This is a nice change after my pride was squashed by my former job. It takes baby steps and I’m considering 2012 my rebuilding year. If sports teams can do it why can’t I?

The next block I have to tackle is the big one. It is the block that is holding me back from achieving every other thing I want out of life. I am almost (gulp) 32 and I can’t drive. Don’t get me wrong I actually possess a driver’s license and have since I was seventeen, but a trained monkey can get a license in New Jersey. You take your test on a course … there’s no real road time involved. I don’t live in a big city so there aren’t super mass transit options. I need to depend on other people to get anywhere and that really isn’t cool.

Problem is I have a driving phobia that is so severe it leads to panic attacks. I’ve always been terrified of driving. I remember having nightmares that started when I was 6 or 7, in which my mother would leave my brother and I alone in the running car (something that never happened) and something would happen where I would need to drive the car in order to get us out of the way of danger. The dreams never ended with us being safe, instead they mostly ended up in fiery crashes. Fun, eh?

Last summer I took behind the wheel with an actual driving instructor and all that happened was I ended up $400.00 poorer after experiencing three hour blocks of heart palpitations. I don’t know what else to try, but I’ve got to do something. I’ve got to blow past my fear of hurting myself and/or others and take the car by the wheel, so to speak. This has to be the year or I’m never actually going to be able to move forward.

Dear Santa,

I hope your holiday season is going well. How is Mrs. Claus? I've left writing to you till almost too late, but I hope you will excuse my rudeness. Here is my 2011 Grownup Christmas List.

World Peace would be nice. While we're talking on a global level I would also appreciate an end to hunger, cruelty, and homelessness. I know you get asked for this a lot, but I keep hoping one day it might actually happen, so why not today?

On a more personal level I would love a financial miracle to help get my parents on their feet. Social security and disability only go so far and neither of my parents are in great health. Like a lot of people now, we live check to check and there isn't any cushion available. I help out as much as I can, but over the last year they have had to empty my savings account and I don't have anything extra left over to give them. Don't get me wrong, we are far better off than many. We have a roof over our heads, no matter how dilapidated or crumbling down around us the house may be. We have food, clothes, and luxuries like cable, but there is always a huge debt cloud hanging over our heads. Yes they've made some financially irresponsible mistakes over the last nineteen years, but we've also had some rotten luck. Medical bills and prescription drugs are expensive. My father keeps his job for the health insurance because it offers cheaper coverage that Medicare. He's too old to be on his feet eight hours a day.

I would also like to ask for help for a couple people I met at my old job. One woman is very sick and another has just experienced such a loss, that I don't know how she will come back from it. Please send them both help, peace, and hope.

On a totally frivolous level I would also really love

A White iPhone 4S

I've coveted an iPhone since they first came on the market. I've never had a phone that can do anything. It's no fun living in a Smartphone driven world when your phone is the equivalent of two tin cans tied onto string. I'm adult enough to admit that a little pea sized emerald of jealousy glows inside my soul whenever I see my friends with theirs. Since I don't have a family plan that I can join I'm stuck. I just can't rationalize the $80 plus dollars a month it would cost to have the necessary data and calling plans, but man oh man, would it be nice to be able to access apps and to FaceTime with my bro, sis-in-law, and once she's born niece ... especially my niece ... she'll be so far away and I'll miss so much, since they have an iPad 2.

A Pink Nikon 1 with both interchangeable lenses

I've always loved photography and I've never owned a good digital camera before. I have spent years dreaming about a digital SLR camera but I admit that price tag aside, a digital SLR probably shouldn't be my starter camera. Tada! The point and shoot camera with interchangeable lenses ... and it's Pepto Bismol pink!!!

Peanuts Flannel Sheet Set - Full Size

To paraphrase "Happiness is Peanuts!" I have wanted these for three years now. I don't care if I'm adult I just want to cuddle up with my Linus security blanket and Peanuts sheets while watching my Peanuts box sets and reading my Complete Peanuts books!


So that is all Santa. I hope you have a nice holiday and a relaxing New Year. I look forward to seeing you soon.

A Blog In Which I Confess My Committment Issues

Hi blog,
I swear I haven't forgotten about you, and yes,  I know that ignoring you for months on end is no way to cultivate readership. Mea culpa! I just really haven't had anything interesting to say. All I do is go to work and then come home where I do housework, and then go to bed just so I can get up and do it all again. I'm in a grownup rut! I can't remember the last time I went on Facebook, and it has been even longer since I have seen Twitter's little blue birdie. I just spent an hour and a half speed reading all of X-Entertainment's Christmas Countdown entries because I feel guilty that I never got around to reading the Halloween Countdown. Here's a brief rundown of the vaguely interesting things that I have done/come upon lately:

1. In October I found out I am going to be an aunt for the very first time, and last Friday I found out that I'm getting a niece! So yeah, there has been some shopping and some baby sweater knitting going on.

2. Once Upon a Time / Grimm - It only took me an extra month and a half, but as of last Sunday I am totally caught up on this new series ... and I'm head over heels in love (Sheriff, Sheriff, Sheriff)! I have always really enjoyed fractured fairy tales and I'm having a ball trying to figure out what's going to happen next. I'm trying to catch up on Grimm via on Demand, but I have only seen the first two episodes. A little S.A.T.esque fairytale TV comparison for you all: Once Upon a Time is to Lost as Grimm is to C.S.I. . So far Once Upon a Time is holding my attention better than Grimm, but I do love the blodbaten.

3. Nerdist Podcast - I started listening to these over the summer and Chris Hardwicke, Jonah, and Matt now keep me company on each of my breaks. They've widened my nerdy horizons. Without them I never would have started up with:

4. Dr. Who - After years of avoiding it I have finally met the good Doctor. I know (because my friends have been telling me so for forever) that I'm supposed to love David Tennant, but since I started at the (new) beginning I'm enjoying Christopher Eccleston too much to ever imagine him regenerating out of my life.

As far as books go I have been in a serious book drought. Hopefully the drought will end over Christmas break.

Now if you'll excuse me Once Upon a Time has just started .... Oh God no. Bad Sheriff! Stop kissing that bloody witch!!!

Want to win this contest!

Sorry I haven't written lately, but I haven't really done anything that is blog worthy. Basically I go to work and then come home and sleep. I'm legally not allowed to write down any stories about my day, as long as my students are involved, and since every story involves students you will just have to take my word for it that my students are kind of hysterical!

Anyway, Knitpicks.com is running a "Win your Wish List" contest and I am desperate to win it!!!! So here I go following instructions:

http://www.knitpicks.com/cfCart/viewWishlist.cfm?wishlistid=99FA029A-C046-AD8D-BA8E00CE3AAD3AB2&media=WLBL

If you are a knitter and you have never checked out www.knitpicks.com you have seriously been missing out. Their lines are lovely and affordable. They have worked to fill the void that was left in my heart when my favorite LYS closed two years ago. The shipping is fast and affordable and the site offers an online community,  tutorials, and have a podcast.

I have been utilising my library's affiliation with Listen NJ and have been downloading books so I can knit and "read" while I am on my daily break at work. Right now (Literally, right now) I am listening to Going Bovine by Libba Bray. I had been enjoying it, but the addition of a talking Scandinavian warrior garden gnome has pushed my joy to a new limit. The only problem is that I am so into the story that the reader isn't reading fast enough for me! I can't wait to see how it ends!!!

What Sort of Relationship Is This?

Dear Internet,

During the last week, when we were forced to separate because of a downed modem, I had time to review our relationship. In the beginning I missed you like crazy. I wondered what I was missing and who else you were seeing.... not to mention worried about how exactly I was going to pay my bills this month. Use stamps, checks, and snail mail? I think not!

 After awhile I came to grips with my jealousy and I tried to distract myself with other things. Turns out that when you don't go online you really do have time for more things. I knitted a baby sweater and a half and I started a blanket. I read two books. I caught up on sleep. I did laundry. In short I learned that I could get by without you, but I really don't want to have to. Sure I may have been productive, but now it feels like I'm never fully going to catch up. I think I'm officially your slave.

Accepting defeating,
me

Knitting Power

Today I spent my break working on the shawl that feels like it is never going to end and listening to podcasts. Since my new school doesn't have a teacher's room I was in the copy room and people kept coming in and out. As usual I got a few weird looks from people who don't seem to understand knitting, but then something amazing happened. One of my bosses walked into the room and loudly exclaimed "You knit ?!?". I looked up and calmly said yes, expecting the same old conversation. Her next words floored me. She cried out that she was so excited and that I made her day. It seems my boss just started knitting and she has a bunch of questions! I found somebody new to talk knitting with :). Yay for spreading the yarn love!!

That being said, the shawl still never seems to end.