The Good, The Plaid, and The Snuggly

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

I decided to show my patriotism by painting my toe nails. Sofie liked them so much she insisted I paint hers too. I'm amazed she sat still long enough for the nail polish to dry. Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Chilling Out

2011-06-20T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today marked the beginning of the first full week of my return to official-stay-at-home-motherhood. My three-day-a-week "job" as my niece's nanny officially ended last Wednesday. Congratulations to my sister-in-law, who now gets to be a real stay-at-home-mom herself! It's been about sixteen months since I've had five whole days per week to fill up with errands, chores, and blogging and I'll be honest, it's a little weird. I found myself excited to be able to finally tackle some of the big crazy projects I've been putting off but not really sure where to start. When I look around my very cramped, very cluttered house, I start making mental lists and it immediately gets overwhelming. I tend to drive myself crazy that way.

Today I finally decided to just pick something and deal with it. I know, duh, right? I started small. Here is my freezer before...

...and here it is after...

Honestly, this took all of fifteen minutes to do and now I can actually open the freezer without getting pummeled by an avalanche of questionably old meat-sicles. Also, thanks to the addition of the shelf (which used to hold our broken CD player), I now have room for ice-cube trays...ICE CUBE TRAYS! I feel like a real person again.

Among the treasures I unearthed in the great freezer excavation of 2011 were half a tube of Thin Mints (which I proceeded to consume immediately), a Claim Jumper pumpkin pie that I forgot I had (SCORE!), and twelve frozen Amish Friendship Bread starters (yikes, I've got some baking to do). Also, shoved way in the back was a "Fridge-N-Freezer" box of Arm & Hammer baking soda. The date written on top of the box was...are you ready for this...brace yourself...11/25/06. Hmmmm, I think it's safe to say its lost any magical deodorizing powers it might have once possessed- the box reads, "For Best Results Change Every 3 Months."

Yup, just another exciting day at my house. Now, if you'll excuse me, my sock and underwear drawer needs some attention...but don't worry, I won't show you pictures of that.

Hephzibah

2011-06-10T22:00:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I decided it would be an enriching experience to participate in my church's art show. We were wrapping up a church wide, eighteen month study of the book of Isaiah and this art show was meant to display visual art inspired by the study. Each of us participants drew a number out of a hat to determine which chapter of Isaiah we would be representing. Here is the passage I ended up with:

Isaiah 62

Zion’sNew Name

¹ ForZion’s sake I will not keep silent,
   for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet,
till her vindication shines out like the dawn,
   her salvation like a blazing torch.
² The nations will see your vindication,
   and all kings your glory;
you will be called by a new name
   that the mouth of the LORD will bestow.
³ You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand,
   a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
⁴ No longer will they call you Deserted,
   or name your land Desolate.
But you will be called Hephzibah,^[a]
   and your land Beulah^[b];
for the LORD will take delight in you,
   and your land will be married.
⁵ As a young man marries a young woman,
   so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
   so will your God rejoice over you.

⁶ Ihave posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem;
   they will never be silent day or night.
You who call on the LORD,
   give yourselves no rest,
⁷ and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem
   and makes her the praise of the earth.

⁸ TheLORD has sworn by his right hand
   and by his mighty arm:
“Never again will I give your grain
   as food for your enemies,
and never again will foreigners drink the new wine
   for which you have toiled;
⁹ but those who harvest it will eat it
   and praise the LORD,
and those who gather the grapes will drink it
   in the courts of my sanctuary.”

¹⁰ Passthrough, pass through the gates!
Prepare the way for the people.
Build up, build up the highway!
Remove the stones.
Raise a banner for the nations.

¹¹ TheLORD has made proclamation
   to the ends of the earth:
“Say to Daughter Zion,
   ‘See, your Savior comes!
See, his reward is with him,
   and his recompense accompanies him.’”
¹² They will be called the Holy People,
   the Redeemed of the LORD;
and you will be called Sought After,
   the City No Longer Deserted.

Footnotes:

a. Isaiah 62:4 Hephzibah means mydelight is in her.

b. Isaiah 62:4 Beulah means married.

And here's what I came up with...

Hephzibah - Isaiah 62
By: Katie Kenfield
The form of the crown that wraps around the piece is made up of the passage written in ancient Hebrew text. The piece is illuminated from within symbolizing righteousness shining out like the dawn and salvation like a blazing torch, (verse 1). The letters found at the top of the crown spell out Hephzibah emphasizing the new name given to God's people, meaning, "my delight is in her" (verse 4).

Figuring out how to visually represent this and then execute the concept, proved to be more difficult than I anticipated. I had made at least two attempts at an idea, slightly different from what you see in the picture above, which involved caligraphy...lots of caligraphy, and pipe cleaners. Yeah, it crashed and burned. Looking back on the whole experience, I kind of wish I had just knit a pair of socks and called them "Hephzibah" but I felt like I needed to get all artsy so I ventured into unfamiliar territory. Sometimes that can be a fun exciting romp which opens up a new world of possibilities. In this case, it mostly just frustrated me. What I saw in my head was not what my project ended up looking like and I hated that. I knew it was not my best work and I hated that too. I was humbled, I was annoyed, I was glad when it was done.

I did get several compliments on the piece and, true to form, I wrote them off as people just being nice or assumed my piece only stood out because it was the only candle holder in the show. I had resolved to take my piece home, peel off the bubbly, sloppy looking sticker and use the glass for something more appealing like a fish bowl or a cookie jar; however, when I found out there were plans to auction off the pieces to raise money for our church's building fund, I thought, "Hey, if someone wants it badly enough, they can have it- then I don't even have to take it home!"

I listed my asking price at $20, assuming I was being optimistic. Imagine my surprise when I got an email informing me that my piece had sold for $125. WHAT?! Immediately my surprise turned to guilt. "This piece is not worth that kind of money," I told myself over and over again. What was I supposed to do though? "At least the money is going toward a good cause," I assured myself. Still, I just didn't feel right letting someone walk away with something I knew could be better and I had already been brainstorming ways I could have improved the project.

After one more trip to the store and about an hour of holding my breath hoping my new plan would work, I came up with this...

It's still not my most favorite thing I've ever made but I feel like it's a major improvement. I feel much better about selling it this way.

Read on for the gory crafting details...

I started out by tracing the ancient Hebrew letters onto tracing paper following the crown design I had come up with. I then scanned the whole thing and made sure it was all going to line up okay. The first attempt was printed onto Avery® Sticker Project Paper 4383, 8-1/2" x 11", Clear. I was happy with how the print turnedout and the actual sticker material was quite nice. Unfortunately, Ifound out the hard way that it's not really designed to cover large areas. It rippled, it stuck to itself, and it was nearly impossible to get it puton straight- it didn't help that the piece of glass wasn't exactly a perfectcylinder. It was a mess but I was out of time. I filled the bottomof the piece with sand and some tealight candles and called it a night.

The new and improved versionfollowed a similar set of steps but instead of the Sticker Paper, I usedTranslucent Vellum inkjet paper similar to this. I taped the seams together and wrapped the whole thing around the glass. The end result is much more smooth and pleasing to look at.

Mother's Day/Improvised Birthday "Party"

2011-06-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

Saturday, May 8, we woke Sofie up before church and wished her a simple Happy Birthday on her official birthday foolishly thinking that would suffice after our marathon Disney celebration the day before. Unfortunately, the first thing out of her mouth in response was, "Now I can wear my birthday hat, and have birthday cake and blow out my candles, and open my presents!" My response was, "Oh, crap, I really dropped the ball on this one."

We hadn't planned anything but apparently our little one has gotten wise to the fact that there are certain things one should expect to happen on one's birthday. Doh! Well, we managed to scrape together a satisfactory combination of celebratory birthday items and it all worked out. Next year we may not get off so easy though. I better start planning now.

Some friends of ours had already invited us over for dinner so we shared Sofie's birthday cake* with them. Here is the video of Sofie nearly losing her eyebrows while trying to blow out the candles.

That day was also Mother's Day. Since it falls so close to my birthday, I don't usually expect anything more extravagant than a foot massage and the guilt-free consumption of some sort of dessert. I was not disappointed. I also had the pleasure of attending the senior violin recital of one of our friends while Josh and Sofie frolicked about the Biola University campus where the event took place. Does it make me sound like a jerk if I admit that my favorite part of Mother's Day was the part where I got to sit by myself and listen to someone play a violin without having to worry about my child...the very child that made me a mother? Anyway, it was a lovely day all around.

*The birthday cake was purchased earlier that same day from the reduced bakery section of our local grocery store. Before we left the house to head over to see our friends, Sofie managed to kick over the TV tray on which the cake had been perched. Thankfully the container stayed in tact but most of the frosting slid right off the top of the cake. We took it with us anyway, along with some white decorating frosting and managed to "fix it" before we presented it to Sofie.

Last Day of Disney

2011-06-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Moving on through the May madness documentation...

Saturday, May 7, was the last day we could go to Disneyland with our annual passes so we decided to go out in a blaze of glory by celebrating my husband's birthday (which was that same day), Sofie's birthday (which was the next day), and Mother's Day (also the next day) during our last epic day at the two Disney parks. We spent a total of fifteen hours there in an attempt to soak up every last bit of fun from our year of Disney. It was a long but lovely day and we felt like we had gotten our money's worth. We figured out that we probably averaged about one visit per week to at least one of the two parks. Wow, that was a lot of Disney. Maybe we should get passes to a museum or something- think of how smart we would be if we went somewhere educational that often.

Here is how the day ended...

Sew Much Fun

2011-06-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

Back in the beginning of May, I hosted a Singer Sewing Machine House Party. This was an event that I signed up for online a few months ago. I (along with lots of other people who signed up) got to rent a Singer Confidence Stylist sewing machine for two weeks. As part of the deal, I hosted sewing party and demoed the machine for some of my friends. Remember when I left you all hanging with this post? Here's what was in that box...

They sent all that stuff just for the party! I was super excited and I had fun filling up brown paper bags with coupons, patterns, thread, and all kinds of stuff to give to my guests. I still have a few goody bags left so if you would like one, let me know. A lot of the coupons are already expired but the rest of the stuff is still good.

I ended up having just the right amount of guests show up. Any more people and we would have had to move the party to the front lawn (have I mentioned that I live in a tiny "hobbit hole" house- that's a topic for another blog entry though). Here's the party in full swing. Do we know how to have a good time or what?

There was sewing, sewing, and more sewing...

...but all crafts are welcome here.

We also had just enough time for everyone to complete their own projects. Two of my guests managed to escape before I could get pictures of theirs but here are the ones I did get...

The House Party company had sent a suggested project along with some fabric (which I forgot to photograph) but I just wasn't thrilled with it so I found the business card/gift card holder project, which I thought better showcased the machine's awesomeness- especially the decorative stitches (there are 70 of them) and the button-sewing-on feature (not the technical name, I'm sure) which I was particularly overly excited about.

I pre-cut all the fabric (hand-picked from my own stash) so everyone could choose their favorite combo and complete their own card holder. I made a similar project a while back at the CHA Supershow and remembered how great it was to already have the fabric cut for me so I could get straight to the fun part- decorating it and stitching it all together.

I purposely cut plenty of extras so there would be lots of variety. I ended up completing the rest of the projects before I had to return the machine. It was lots of fun...

So yeah, I really did love the Singer Confidence Stylist sewing machine but even with the special discount I would have gotten if I had purchased it, I just couldn't justify buying something like this right now. It's nice to have a good idea what I might be looking for in my next machine though.

I also feel like I should mention that I was completely enamored with All Brands Sewing and Vacuum in Garden Grove. I was assigned to pick up my sewing machine there and when I showed up for my required demo I instantly loved the place. It's an older shop with a mom and pop kind of feel and just about every inch of the front showroom area is filled with sewing machines of every size, shape, and era (there are vacuum cleaners too). It was the kind of place where I just wanted to hang out for a while. I definitely plan on going back there if and when I need my current sewing machine serviced and when I am finally ready to purchase a new machine, I plan on checking there first.

I know this is starting to sound like a commercial so let me assure you, I have not been paid by anyone to say any of this. I just enjoyed this whole experience that much!

April Showers Bring May...Madness?

2011-06-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I managed to let a whole month slip by without touching my blog. But it wasn't just any month. It was the super crazy out of control month of May. Here is what my calendar looked like by the end of the month...

On top of our normal weekly commitments (Monday night I go walking with "the girls," Tuesday night I have band practice, Saturday night Josh goes and plays video games with "the guys," Sunday morning is church, Sunday afternoon Josh has a group of "other guys" he goes and meets with in Glendale, then we have Bible study with our small group Sunday nights) there were events scheduled every weekend and events scheduled at the same time as other events and it was madness...MADNESS! It felt like I was busy every waking minute which made it impossible to document any of the shenanigans and goings on.

I shouldn't complain though. I mean, I did this to myself by wanting to be involved in "stuff" and "stuff" often takes up a lot of time. The problem with this particular month was that all the "stuff" happened at once. It was like everyone we knew (including ourselves) and every group we're involved with planned things or had things happening around the same time and when you have multiple circles of friends and family who don't all know each other, it gets tricky keeping up with it all. I don't regret my decision to try to make it to everything. These were all things I enjoyed and wanted to be a part of. I guess sometimes I just wish events could be spread out evenly over time so that they could all be enjoyed to the fullest and not just rushed through on the way to the next thing written on the calendar.

So anyway, because I know you've all been on the edge of your seats, wondering what the heck I've been up to for a month, I'll try to spend the next few days playing catch-up. We'll see how that goes. I have lots to share but I don't want June to suffer for May's madness.

Dye Hard...Boiled Eggs

2011-04-23T23:30:00.000-07:00

Egg Dying Mania hit my house pretty hard today. Here are the highlights...

Before dipping

After dipping and removing the stickers.

I used my flower shaped punch tool to make some custom stickers for this one.

And this one.

I quartered up a bunch of circle stickers for this one.

I thought the bottom came out kind of cool.

The top too!

I'm particularly proud of this one.

Power Pellet!

Wraparound Pac-Dots.

The whole dozen...well, almost. Sofie was so excited about her totally pink egg that she wanted to eat it as soon as possible. It didn't make it to the photo shoot.

Good Friday Reflections

2011-04-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today I, along with Christians around the world, observe Good Friday. It is a time when we remember the day Jesus died on a cross, bearing the sins of the whole world. How curious that it should fall on the same day as Earth Day this year, as God's sacrifice is the ultimate act of "saving the planet." But He didn't just do it for the Earth, he did if for the people on the Earth, His most beloved creations.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." John 3:16-17

I'll leave you with the words of a hymn I find appropriate for today because it celebrates God's creation by worshiping God, the creator. It also reminds us to "Praise God and on Him cast your care!" and "Thou [God] leadest home the child of God, And Christ our Lord the way hath trod." God has prepared the way, it's up to us to follow.

All Creatures of Our God and King

All creatures of our God and King

Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

Refrain

O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

Refrain

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.

Refrain

Dear mother earth, who day by day
Unfoldest blessings on our way,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
The flowers and fruits that in thee grow,
Let them His glory also show.

Refrain

And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!

Refrain

And thou most kind and gentle Death,
Waiting to hush our latest breath,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou leadest home the child of God,
And Christ our Lord the way hath trod.

Refrain

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!

Refrain

How Sweet It Is

2011-04-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

I decided to only purchase Easter candy this year that is strictly seasonal- meaning, it is only around during Easter, therefore it is special and worth buying. I love Reese's Peanut Butter cups but wrapping them in pastel colored wrappers doesn't make them taste any different than the normal wrappers they come in all year long. There are two special Easter candy treats that I'm particularly excited about this year...

These have been available for a few years now and, while I have always been a fan of the regular milk chocolate Mini Eggs, I am of the opinion that dark chocolate can only make things better. I am always excited when candy companies see things the way I do.

These are new to the candy aisle this year and I was an instant sucker for them even though there isn't really anything peep-like about them except the name. They come in both milk and dark chocolate but I have only tried the latter. The filling is some sort of marshmallow cream variation that kind of gets lost in all the chocolate but the overall taste is pleasant and yummy.

I'm also a fan of Cadbury Cream Eggs and was recently pointed to this amazing list of disturbingly sweet ideas. Enjoy!

SOCKS!!! (again)

2011-04-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know what you're thinking: "How many pictures of socks can she possibly post on this blog?" Am I right? Anyway, here is the latest finished pair, hot off the needles.

I know they look like boring old charcoal grey* socks but they're actually more exciting than the others I've made because they have a 3 by 1 ribbing (knit 3, purl 1, lather, rinse, repeat) which was a pain at first but I did eventually find my groove and kind of ended up enjoying it by the end. Also, while I'm spouting off knitting jargon, I might as well mention that, for the first time ever, I used size 1 needles (or 2.25mm for all you swell folks who know how to speak metric). These needles felt a little bit like spaghetti noodles compared to the size 2 noodles...er, needles I usually use and the resulting stitches are noticeably smaller, giving these socks a nice dense look.

Finishing this pair makes me want to attempt some socks with more exciting patterns- rather than relying on self-striping yarn to make them look fun. I guess that's what makes knitting (or yarn crafting in general) a life long journey...there's always another skill to master, countless techniques to attempt, and a nearly infinite amount of new projects to tackle.

*Well, mostly grey. The very tip of the toe on the top sock is actually blue because, due to poor planning, I managed to run out of yarn about fifteen rows from the end. I didn't want to go out and buy another ball of charcoal grey yarn just to complete fifteen rows so I dug out some scrap yarn that I remembered had a really long section of charcoal grey in the color repeat. It was about thirty-two stitches short of being enough grey but I decided to just keep going with the strand so I didn't have to deal with another break in the yarn. I was a little annoyed by the whole situation at first but the blue toe is starting to grow on me- hmmm, maybe I should have that checked out by a doctor.

A Blog Post, I Guess, Kind Of...?

2011-04-19T23:30:00.000-07:00

I thought you might like to watch this or whatever...

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

I'll admit, this stung the first time I watched it. I often feel "aggressively inarticulate"- both in content and form (I actually had to look up how to spell "aggressively"). This next video helped boost my self esteem though. I may not be the most bestest communicator "in like a really long time" but at least I'm not the worst...

Speaking with authority is great and all but it helps to also use proper spelling and grammar.

Another Blog Carnival

2011-04-18T23:00:00.000-07:00

By the way, I'm participating in another Craft Critique Blog Carnival. Go check it out. I'm numbers 10 and 11 on the list. Also, if you have something you would like to contribute, it's way easy to submit a link and it's a great way to show off your handy work to some new people. Submissions close in ten days so get on it!

Oh, and one lucky participant will be chosen at random as the winner of these nifty markers...

I've never used these kind of markers but they look pretty slick- it would be kinda cool to win them.

Bright Orange Knit Munchkin Dress

2011-04-16T23:02:00.000-07:00

I'm soooooo excited to check this one off my list. This dress has been sitting at the bottom of my "to be completed" pile for about two years now. I originally started knitting it as a possible baby gift for my niece but changed my mind and decided to make her something else. I had resolved to finish it and keep it for my own daughter, hoping that it would still fit her by the time I got around to working on it again. Thankfully, it fits with room to spare!

It's really not the best thing I've ever knitted. The overall look of it is kind of boring (at least the color makes up for that) and I didn't know how to properly increase and decrease stitches back then so there are some pretty wonky parts here and there. Thankfully, Sofie doesn't know the difference so, until she objects to wearing homemade clothing experiments, everything is fine. The pattern for this dress calls for two little pockets to be sewn on the front but I kind of feel like, "Meh." I'm pretty over it and ready to move on.

Oh, and in case you care, the yarn is Lily Sugar and Cream 100% cotton yarn in Hot Orange and Soft Violet on size 7 knitting needles.

What's In the Box?

2011-04-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

Today a very fun box of goodies was delivered to my doorstep...

I'll be posting more about the contents of this box of fun soon!

Disney Animation Academy

2011-04-14T23:00:00.000-07:00

Nearly a year ago my husband and I made the somewhat irresponsible decision to purchase Disneyland Annual Passes. We figured since we had backed out of a trip to Scotland that would have ended up costing us a couple thousand dollars, Disneyland could be our much cheaper, year-long consolation prize. I don't regret this "investment" one bit; however, our passes expire on May 7th and we have no plans to renew- not until at least one of us has a "real" job anyway- basically if my nearly three-year-old daughter wants to enjoy another year in Mickey's house, she's gonna have to start pulling her weight around here.

Anyway, as our time of fun and frivolity at the city of Anaheim's famous theme park winds down, we've been going out of our way to spend every possible moment soaking up the magic. We've also been trying to hit any of the attractions we have previously overlooked due to time constraints, seasonal availability, or age/height restrictions. Today, on a whim, we decided to attend Disney Animation Academy in Disney's California Adventure- we had just gotten out of Turtle Talk and the Aladdin stage show didn't start for another hour.

The way Disney Animation Academy works is you get to sit in a stadium-style classroom setting where a happy Disney person walks you through the necessary steps to drawing a Disney character. Everybody draws along with the instructor on their own drawing board with their own Disney-supplied pencil on official Disney paper. During our session, after the instructor showed us how to add Piglet's ears, he said, "So, now your drawing should look pretty much like Piglet." To which an elderly woman sitting near us responded, loud enough for the whole room to hear, "I thought you were going to say Bugs Bunny, because that's who mine looks like." The room erupted with laughter. The instructor played it very well and joked that he wasn't allowed to teach us how to draw "he who must not be mentioned" for fear of a lawsuit. It was all kind of awkward.

Anyway, we haven't bothered to try this until today because we weren't sure if our little munchkin would be able to handle it. Well, she managed to at least sit through it but, as you will see below, it will probably be a while before she gets any jobs as an animator.

Josh's Piglet

My Piglet

Sofie's Piglet

Ah, good times. It will be sad when our year of Disney is over but fun while it lasts for another few weeks. I feel very blessed to have enjoyed these fun moments with my family in "the happiest place on earth."

Not To Put Too Fine A Point On It...

2011-04-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the folks over at Think Geek have unveiled yet another piece of geeky merchandise that I feel I am required to purchase...

If you are any kind of self-respecting They Might Be Giants fan, you should immediately recognize this image as a "blue canary in the outlet by the light switch, who watches over yoooouuuuu..." Yes, that's right, someone has finally done it! There is now an actual, literal, blue canary night l-i-t-e to add to your collection of geeky things that glow when you plug them into the wall.

Back when my husband and I were dating, we agreed early on that "Birdhouse in Your Soul" by They Might Be Giants (TMBG) was the only song worthy of being "our song." There wasn't really any deep logic that went into this decision, each of us had always considered it our favorite TMBG song (even before we knew each other) so we thought it made sense. Before my husband and I got married, my mom scoured the planet and managed to find this...

She gave it to me and my husband as a wedding gift and it's been happily perched in our kitchen ever since. Don't worry mom, we will cherish this night light forever (keeping with the family tradition of never getting rid of anything that has any hint of sentimental value) but we may relocate him to the bathroom and put the ducky night light that is currently in the bathroom somewhere else...I'm not sure where- maybe someday we will live in a place that can benefit from more than two night lights.

Anyway, even though it's a little bit silly, to this day, hearing this catchy tune stirs my soul in a way I can't even really explain. I love that John and John sing it with such conviction even though, according to them, it's a song about a night light shaped like a bird. But is it really just a song about a night light shaped like a bird? I'll let you decide.

Birdhouse in Your Soul - They Might Be Giants from They Might Be Giants on Vimeo.

Here's a bonus video from back in 1990 when John and John appeared on The Tonight Show. I absolutely love this live version.

Okay, and just in case you're wondering what the heck they're saying, here are the lyrics...

Birdhouse In Your Soul by They Might Be Giants
I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
But I'm a little glowing friend
But really I'm not actually your friend
But I am

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

I have a secret to tell
From my electrical well
It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells
So the room must listen to me
Filibuster vigilantly
My name is blue canary one note* spelled l-i-t-e
My story's infinite
Like the Longines Symphonette it doesn't rest

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
But I'm a little glowing friend
But really I'm not actually your friend
But I am

There's a picture opposite me
Of my primitive ancestry
Which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free
Though I respect that a lot
I'd be fired if that were my job
After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts
Bluebird of friendliness
Like guardian angels its always near

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you
Make a little birdhouse in your soul
Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

(and while you're at it
Keep the nightlight on inside the
Birdhouse in your soul)

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch (and while you're at it)
Who watches over you (keep the nightlight on inside the)
Make a little birdhouse in your soul (birdhouse in your soul)

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch (and while you're at it)
Who watches over you (keep the nightlight on inside the)
Make a little birdhouse in your soul (birdhouse in your soul)

Not to put too fine a point on it
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet
Make a little birdhouse in your soul

Fifty Years in Space...and Counting

2011-04-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

Today marks 50 years since Russian Cosmonaut,Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Yuri's 108 minute journey around the world in outer space launched Earth into "the future" and paved the way for many space travelers who followed. I just got home from a super fun gathering of space nerds (yes, true space nerds love being called space nerds) to celebrate this day in history. The party was hosted by my friend Joi (the biggest space nerd I know). We drank Tang, we ate astronaut ice cream, we built a space shuttle out of Legos, and we shot foam rockets at each other. There was also an attempt at some stargazing but the hazy sky didn't quite cooperate, oh well, we still had a good time.

Anyway, I thought this would be a fun opportunity to scour the internet for any space-related knitting or knitting-related space stuff. Here are the items Google pointed me toward (most of them are knit but there are a few other art forms sprinkled throughout), listed in the order in which they were found...

Found here

Yes, that last one is a rubber chicken wearing a knit blue flight suit. Her name is Camilla SDO and you can find out more about her here.

I have to admit, I was surprised I didn't run across anything about anyone ever actually knitting in space. I mean, I know there are much more important things to do in space than knit (oddly though, I can't think of any off the top of my head) but it seems like at some point, some astronaut must have brought yarn along to see what it would be like to knit in zero gravity. So, if there happen to be any astronauts out there reading this, I want to hear your knitting stories! If there truly are no existing stories of knitting in space, why not? I would be more than happy to teach knitting techniques to any astronaut who is interested in being the first knitter in space.

Yet Another Pair of Socks

2011-04-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

One more pair of socks to check off the list!

Air Guitar Hero

2011-04-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

I happened to be taking a little stroll down memory lane today and was reminded of my short-lived career as a music video extra back in 2006. Through a semi random connection, my husband ended up drawing storyboards for a Barenaked Ladies video. Unfortunately, the quirky Canadian alt rock band does not actually appear in the video so we didn't get a chance to meet them but we did get to be there on shooting day, resulting in my three seconds of fame. Since I seem to be on a video posting binge anyway, I thought it would be fun to share this little gem. You can find me around the 3:16 mark. I'm the screaming girl in the white T-shirt (actually a They Might Be Giants T-shirt) that runs past Rockness Monster toward the stage after Randy Van Stone blows everyone's minds with his amazing air guitar playing. It was a fun day.

Has the World Gone Mad?!?!

2011-04-08T15:00:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know there are way worse things going on in the world than this but I was completely baffled when I saw the following video and I couldn't resist sharing...

I'm not really a Rascal Flats fan and I have managed to avoid Bieber Fever (I think there's a vaccine for that now actually) but this whole pairing just seemed weird. Not as weird as this one though...

If you can make it through the whole video, listen to the lyrics. They're hilariously bad but not as bad as the lyrics in this song...

Okay, I know that one's pretty much old news by now and I probably shouldn't have contributed to the craze but I needed to make sure you had seen it so that this video would make sense...

Stephen Colbert is just so good at bringing balance to the pop culture universe. Thank you Mr. Colbert and Mr. Fallon for making us laugh at how silly all of this is and managing to benefit this charity foundation at the same time.

The Urban Craft Center

2011-04-07T22:00:00.000-07:00

I first read about the Urban Craft Center on Craft Critique's blog. I was a bit intrigued by the description of this possible crafter's paradise but the pictures made me say, "I want to go to there."

I visited their very cute website and found out they host a Stitch and Bitch group the first Wednesday of every month that is open to anyone who knits or crochets. Usually I work on Wednesdays and it would be impossible to make it from Fullerton to Santa Monica in thirty minutes during rush hour; however, I had a special day off yesterday so I decided to take the opportunity to check this place out. My friend Susanne, a very skilled crocheter, joined me on this delightful romp into happy craft land.

I will admit I was a little nervous that this place would be too trendy or uppity for my taste but I was pleasantly surprised at how cozy it was once we got there. Thanks to forgiving traffic, we arrived about thirty minutes earlier than planned and spent the extra time just browsing and drooling over all the super fabulous fabric, yarn, and fun crafting tools they sell in the store. When 6:00 rolled around, we asked the nice girl behind the counter about the Stitch and Bitch group and where it usually meets and how it works etc. When she found out we had never been there before she was more than happy to show us around and make us feel welcome.

Normally the knitters and crocheters who show up for the group sit on the comfy orange couches (see picture above) and just hang out and do their thing. Last night though there was an intro to knitting class using that space so we ended up hanging out in a back room that is filled with an impressive library of craft books. Two other knitters showed up and we all spent the next two hours working on the various projects we brought and talking about this and that. I loved that our conversations weren't just about yarn and what we do with it, they were about life in general. We were all given little windows into each other's daily existence. Yarn was what brought us together but it wasn't all we had to talk about.

When it was time to go we all parted ways and said we hoped to see each other again sometime. Susanne and I left feeling good about having accomplished something in the company of interesting people. I loved that I was there just to knit. I don't usually have trouble knitting at home these days but there is always that nagging feeling that I could be doing something "important" like washing dishes or vacuuming or folding laundry (or blogging- hehe). Home is a distracting place sometimes so actually planning to go somewhere else and spend two whole hours just working on a sock was lovely.

Overall, I found my visit to The Urban Craft Center to be an enjoyable experience. If it wasn't all the way out in Santa Monica I would probably be tempted to spend lots of money there. You can purchase various memberships for various levels of access to all of their tools and work space. The most expensive membership even includes a locker for storing projects and supplies. They also offer some very fun sounding classes but most of them are a little pricey for me. I don't necessarily think they are charging too much for the instruction they are giving (and the materials are usually included), I just don't have the means to spend $40 - $100 learning how to make something I could probably figure out on my own with the help of the internet. If you are a crafter looking for a great crafting atmosphere, I recommend stopping by and hanging out for a while- it really was a fun place.

310.392.0139
hello@theurbancraftcenter.com
2433 Main Street,
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Daily 11am-7pm

Even More Axe Cop Mania

2011-04-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

I am now the proud owner of Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #2! It is filled with the true amazingness I've come to expect from the Axe Cop universe. I don't want to give too much away but I thoroughly enjoyed the battle between the dinosaurs and the aliens and I really wish my car had a "sword button." If you haven't already done so, go make yourself familiar with Axe Cop and then find yourself copies of Bad Guy Earth #1 and #2.

I fully intended to go back to The Realm Games & Comics to make my purchase (you can read my previous post about The Realm here) but a bonus day off from my usual Wednesday nanny job made it possible to venture out into the comic book buying world during the day while there were still other stores open. I consulted the "interwebs" and used ComicShopLocator.com to find Beach Ball Comics (on the corner of Beach Boulevard and Ball Road- clever). I had been to this store a couple years ago when I had to pick up the copy of Scud: The Whole Shebang they were holding for my husband. I remembered the store being a friendly place and decided, since I didn't have to go back to the Realm, I shouldn't. A quick phone call confirmed that Beach Ball Comics did in fact have copies of Bad Guy Earth #2 available. The guy on the phone even offered to hold one just for me- this place already had more customer service points than The Realm and I hadn't even gotten there yet.

Walking in to Beach Ball Comics was like a breath of fresh air compared to my previous Axe Cop comic book purchasing experience. This store was inviting, friendly, and the guys working there seemed like they were just having a good day selling comic books. I didn't feel self-conscious or nervous walking into this place. I didn't feel like I lacked enough "nerd cred" to be there. My two-year-old daughter immediately gravitated toward the familiar TY Spongebob Beanie Babies, whose mere presence was an indication that this was no Dungeons and Dragons lair. This was a wonderland of comics, toys, and collectibles. This was a place where I felt comfortable geeking out without worrying about whether I was geeking out properly about the right thing.

We had fun browsing and pointing out fun things to each other. My husband was rather taken by the giant Hulk statue that welcomed us into the store and our daughter went out of her mind when she saw the R2D2 that was bigger than her (she totally could have done Kenny Baker's job). When we were done ooohing and aaaahing over all the fun stuff, I went to the front of the store and told the guy behind the counter that they were supposed to be holding an Axe Cop for me. On his way to the other end of the counter before he even got to where they keep the stuff they are holding for people, he said, "Oh, yeah. Katie, right?" I was a bit stunned that he remembered my name from our short phone conversation hours earlier. I couldn't even get the guy at "the other place" to look me in the eye. Just as I thought this place couldn't get any better, I noticed that my new copy of Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #2 was neatly sheathed in a sleeve of plastic (which made it look very official and important). The Realm didn't do that- at least not for free.

Needless to say, I will be visiting Beach Ball Comics again. As for The Realm...The Realm who? I realize the "light and fluffy" side of comics isn't for everyone and I'm not an expert by any means on what a comic book store should or shouldn't be like; however, I would much rather spend my money at a place where the staff is friendly and welcoming than a place where I feel like I'm interrupting some exclusive nerd meeting just by walking in the door. I happily signed up for the Beach Ball Comics email newsletter and agreed to be a series subscriber which means when Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #3 comes out, they will automatically hold one for me, Katie.

Axe Cop Mania Continues

2011-04-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 2, 2011 was a momentous day. It was the day I made my first official comic book purchase ever. It may come as a surprise to some of you that I'm not actually a "comic book" person. I don't collect them, I don't really read them, and I've never followed an entire series. That is, until Axe Cop (I may have mentioned Axe Cop here once or twice so, by now, you should have no excuse for not knowing what I'm talking about).

My comic book buying experience began with a few calls to local comic book stores to find out if they had any copies of Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 (the first straight to print Axe Cop series). Since it was the official release date for the book I wanted to make sure I would be able to find a copy. Many of my local shops had already closed for the day. Some of them had never heard of Axe Cop (losers). Others had already sold out of Bad Guy Earth- which was a bummer for me but great for Axe Cop! Thankfully, The Realm Games & Comics is open until 10:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and they still had three copies of Bad Guy Earth #1. My husband and I loaded our two-year-old daughter into the car and headed out.

I knew exactly where The Realm was, I've driven past it a million times, but until that night I had never actually ventured into the shop. I will admit, I was a bit intimidated by the level of sheer nerdome emanating from this place. As we walked through the door into this strange dimension where at least twelve grown men were gathered around tables participating in various RPGs (Role Playing Games), I will admit I felt a bit out of place. Not that I'm not a huge nerd myself. I have participated in my fair share of nerdy activities; however, it's usually in a certain context and I'm usually dressed for the part and mentally prepared for what I'm about to experience. On this night though, I was dressed like a "normal" person.

My husband and I later agreed that we felt like we represented the "real" world spilling in through the doors of this safe haven for fantasy role play. There was a "what are you doing here" vibe when we entered- if there had been music playing I would have expected to hear the clichéd record scratch sound effect and then silence as the piercing eyes of hard core fanboys looked right through our souls. We wondered later how often a real live female walks into that place, let alone a real live "miniature" female, dressed in bright pink, carrying a Cinderella princess figurine. Perhaps it happens more often than I think but on this particular evening there were no visible hints of a feminine touch- not even that of a totally awesome nerdy girl who can hold her own against the boys in a trivia challenge. I felt alone and lost with no one to relate to- okay, that's a little dramatic.

The awkwardness quickly faded as we pretended like we knew what we were doing and made our way to the piles of new comic releases and found what we were looking for. We lingered a bit and thumbed through the graphic novels to see if we could find any copies of Scrooge and Santa- nope, didn't think so. Our daughter was starting to get restless and kept saying, "Daddy, I wanna play with the toys," as she pointed to various figurines and action figures. My husband's response to her was quite amusing, "No, Sofie, those aren't toys...well, I guess technically they are but...never mind, just don't touch anything." So, in order to avoid offending any of the men who were playing with said toys (as pointed out by a two-year-old who simply sees the world as it is), we made our way to the counter to make our purchase.

As I pulled out my money and handed it to the guy behind the cash register, I proudly said, "I think you should know that this is my first ever official comic book purchase." He stared blankly as he took my money and put it in the drawer. "Great. Well...enjoy it," he said, handing me my receipt but I'm pretty sure he was thinking, "Lady, just take your Axe Cop and your kid and let me get back to my RPG."

Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #1 was well worth stepping out of my comfort zone to obtain. The story is shaping up to be amazing, in true Axe Cop form, and there is an epic drawing of a T-Rex crying. Part two of the three part series comes out tomorrow and I plan on, once again, invading The Realm's personal space by showing up on a Wednesday evening with my husband and my daughter to make my second official comic book purchase ever. I look forward to finding out why that T-Rex is crying and following Axe Cop through the rest of the journey as he chops off heads and saves the world- at least I'm hoping it will go something like that.

More Coffee Cuffs

2011-04-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

I made these coffee cuffs back in December during the flurry of Holiday activity and recently realized I forgot to share them here. They are slightly different in design from the first coffee cuff and I think they work pretty well. I also made a few that got given away without being photographed (doh!) but they were all pretty similar to these.

I've actually been using this one and I love it. I carry it around in my purse so it's always ready for those impromptu Starbucks splurges.

This cuff required some improvisation. Somehow it ended up about an inch shorter than it should have been, making it impossible to install a snap. I decided to pound in some eyelets instead and lace it up corset style. I'm not sure how practical it is but I like its sassy charm.

This is what the cuffs look like unsnapped and flattened out.

Oh yeah, and I used different fabric for the "inside" of each cuff so, if you don't mind the snap being backwards sometimes, they're reversible.

I think I will be making more of these in the future. The curves of the pattern took some figuring out but once it was dialed in, these were pretty simple to make. I think it would be fun to experiment with some unique embellishments and different types of fasteners. So many ideas, so little time.

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For...Yarn?

2011-04-02T23:30:00.000-07:00

Google just informed me, via this clever little "doodle," that it is the 119th Anniversary of the First Documented Ice Cream Sundae! How did I not know about this sooner? Anyway, to celebrate I found these fun pictures of ice cream sundaes made out of yarn. You enjoy these while I go forage in my freezer for some actual ice cream.

Found Here

I realize that last one is actually supposed to be a pancake but it still makes me want to eat ice cream so I threw it in just for fun.

Showing Improvement!

2011-04-01T23:00:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what a difference a little practice makes...

Special thanks to the Charlie Daniels Band for backing me up in this video.

The End of An Era

2011-03-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

The time I spent as a student at Biola University from Fall 1998 to Spring 2002 had a profound impact on my life. Decisions were made both good and bad, times were had both fun and challenging, relationships were built both lasting and temporary. There were many things that helped define those years for me but if I had to make a top ten list of what occupied much of my "free" time while I was a Biola student, BUBBS would probably be somewhere in the top four.

BUBBS, or Biola University Bulletin Board Service, was a pre-My Space, pre-Facebook online community. Long before I ever heard the term "social network," I was introduced to BUBBS. It was such a novel thing (heck, the internet itself was still a pretty novel thing to me "back then")- you could send/receive emails, "chat" with people you had never met in person, voice your opinions on a variety of topics ranging from movies to theology, and read what others had to say about this or that. Oh, and did I mention it was a great way to waste time when you were putting off writing all those papers till the last minute. I managed to rack up a grand total of 4 weeks, 5 days, 17 hours, 43 minutes, as shown by my final "Account Statistics" window.

This nifty window would kindly show you how much of your life you had just wasted after each BUBBS session. Just over a month may seem like an alarming amount of time to spend on an online bulletin board service but it doesn't even touch the impressive numbers of the die hard BUBBS crowd. We were limited to three hours a day as students (which I often maxed out) but moderators were alloted more time (I think it was five hours a day). That gave everyone ample opportunity to kill lots of time.

Aside from the time vortex phenomenon, one of the most intriguing aspects of BUBBS for me, was the BUBBS Resume. I'm not really sure why it was called a "resume." It was really more of a profile where you could type whatever you wanted the entire BUBBS community to be able to read. It was also a way to "stalk" people on campus. I don't know how many times I went directly to BUBBS when I wanted to find out more about some boy on which I had a "crush from afar." All you needed was their name and you could look them up in the system and view their resume. Sometimes the BUBBS resume was helpful, sometimes it was disappointing, and sometimes the person just didn't have one- what?! A space to freely express yourself and you're just wasting it?! Never mind, you're obviously not my type.

There were also some little resume tricks that the astute BUBBS stalker knew all about. For instance, the resume window worked pretty much like a Word document so one could leave the top of their page blank requiring you to scroll way way way down in order to read whatever they may have so cleverly written. There was also the very inventive "hidden text" tactic which was simply white text that was only visible when highlighted. I actually discovered that one by accident- I had the background colors of my computer's windows set to blue hues so white text showed up just like everything else.

Sadly, the days of BUBBS are over. As of 4:30 p.m. yesterday, the server that powered the system was shut down forever. I honestly hadn't used the system in years but there was something comforting about knowing it was still out there, storing all my old emails. I managed to log on one more time and make a copy of my infamous BUBBS resume. This resume took all of my four years at Biola to build; however, I did apparently manage to log on in August of 2006 to update it so that I didn't get any stalker Freshmen trying to ask me out on a GYRAD (Get Your Roommate A Date).

Reading through my resume yesterday was a strange, nostalgic experience. There were a few things that made me chuckle, and a few things I forgot were even there but the whole time I couldn't help but think I must have been on a constant caffeine high in college and it seems I had a deep desire for everyone to view me as quirky and unique- not much has changed I guess but I hope I've gotten a little less obnoxious.

I don't expect anyone to read the whole thing but, just for fun, and to preserve it forever on the "interwebs," I present to you, in its colorful ridiculous entirety, my BUBBS resume. They may take our BUBBS but they'll never take our freedom of expression...

* * *

Updated for your convenience on 8/10/2006

Disclaimer: This resume only reflects the silly, superficial, side of me. I'm much deeper than this- well, not much deeper but whatever. The fact that I even have to say that is dumb and it probably proves that I'm insecure and self conscious... anyway, take it for what it's worth.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT....(or at least just a little out of the ordinary.....well, okay, actually it's pretty much the same kind of stuff people always put on these kinds of things but I've found that when I'm trying to stalk someone over bubbs I get incredibly frustrated when they don't just come right out and say certain things like their favorite color or what they got for their 11th birthday or whether they have ever milked a cow)

"I must remember to keep all of my wits about me."

-Adam West (as Batman)

"Don't be a fool, stay in school."

-Mr. T

My real name is Katherine Elizabeth Cunningham but that's just my secret identity. My superhero name is Katarina the Kourageous - or just Katie for short - it's easier to say and takes less time to write down.

Update--- I recently traded Cunningham for Kenfield when I married Joshua Kenfield on October 23, 2004.

I am originally from Bloomington, CA but up until very recently I lived in Soledad (it's a creepy little town up North near Salinas (which is the lettuce capital of the world!) but there's a huge prison there so that makes it exciting.

During my days at Biola I was mostly a Sigma girl but I lived in The Grove (Double Wide Paradise) my last year there. It really wasn't as bad as it could have been. I officially graduated (finally) in December of '03. After living with my parents for about a year, I have finally found a job in Southern California (I am of the opinion that California should be two separate states- "Southern California" and "Northern California" but I don't want to get into that right now) so I get to move back down to my roots.

As of May 30, 2004 I am engaged to be married to Joshua Kenfield. The complete story, told in his words, can be found at the bottom of this resume, along with my "very witty" response to the whole thing. The wedding (was) in October.

I have one brother. He is a Senior at Biola next year- you may have heard of him his name is Josh Pardy (no, I'm not joking- we are actually related). He's the bestest "little" brother anyone could want.

UPDATE - My bro is now an Admissions Counselor at Biola- how crazy is that?!

The furthest (or is it farthest?? I don't know) from Southern California I've ever been is Minnesota. It snowed 5 inches while I was there and I got to go snowmobiling on a frozen lake at high speeds....

I also got to see the official SPAM Museum in Austin, MN. It was like a dream come true! I even bought a T-Shirt to commemorate the event. I would love to go back for the annual SPAM Jam in June.

I fed emus (those giant birds that are almost like ostriches but not) at Ostrichland (yes it's a real place). I would describe the experience as surreal. I also touched stingrays, sea cucumbers, and sea stars- all in one weekend!

I've been held up and robbed. It's turned out to be a really cool story so come find me sometime and ask me about it, I'm currently perfecting my stand-up comedy routine about the whole thing.

I used to work for the Serials and Periodicals Department of the old Biola Library. It was an action packed job, well, not really but sometimes they let me drive one of those golf carts around campus- which was fun but not when the battery died and I had to push it all the way back from the warehouse.

I also used to work in the Biola Production Center Equipment Room. It was a cool job and I've met lots of really great people because of it. I also did some stuff for Biola Productions- I was often seen at major Biola events holding a video camera, wearing headphones and keeping a very serious "I know what I'm doing" kind of look on my face.

German is my second language, sort of (Ja, ich kann ein bischen Deutsch sprechen.) I took four glorious years of it in high school (which seems like a really long time ago now). Also in high school, I was on the swim team for three years (SWIM OR DIE BABY!).

Supposedly I have nice elbows but the one who tells me this is biased.

Some people consider me to be the queen of Cheesiness (and I have no problem with that). I am also a self proclaimed GEEK!

I rarely ever pay full price for anything at Old Navy, and am literally obsessed with checking my mail (and e-mail).

Places where I have thrown up include Disneyland, the movies, Paramount's Great America, Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, the hall of my elementary school in first grade, and my own car while I was driving it.

I drink coffee through a straw, and used to carry around a metal kazoo and a harmonica in my backpack (you know, in case of emergencies).

There is something strangely hilarious about BLUE JELLO.

I've decided that one of my most favorite things to do in the whole world was to sit in the caf and drink glass after glass of Dr. Pepper in the presence of some of my favorite people.

I think my greatest strength and flaw is being able to laugh at almost anything- I use this during job interviews and it intrigues people.

I can solve the Rubik's cube in under five minutes (which isn't that fast compared to some of the Rubik's cube fanatics I know of but hey, I can still solve it and that's enough for me).

I own almost the entire set of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure trading cards (I'm convinced they'll be worth something someday- if you know where I can still buy any let me know).

I actually like the taste of TUMS (mmmmmmm, chalky), and I absolutely love the smell of fresh paint.

I'm a "dog person" but I loved my cat (may he rest in peace- burried in my aunt and uncle's front yard- I'm not kidding).

It's my secret dream to quit my job and pursue stand up comedy full time.

Lately I've been chewing Bazooka Joe bubble gum like a fiend (I think there may be nicotine in it- or maybe crack, I haven't decided yet).

Randal Cunningham is my uncle (okay, okay, not really but ask me about those people on Happy Days some time).

I play the piano (sort of) and played the snare drum in my high school's marching band for a year (good times, good times- if you happen to like going to band competitions, call me and I'll go to one with you. I know that's probably the nerdiest thing anyone has ever put in a bubbs resume but hey, that's life). UPDATE - I'm now a member of the 42nd Highlanders Regemental Pipes and Drums band. I play a side (snare) drum and wear a kilt - it's wonderful. Watch for me in a parade coming to a town near you.

I have never dyed my hair but if I was a rock-star I would consider it.

I love my Brown 1982 Ford Fairmont and I wouldn't trade for any other car in the world. I saw the movie E.T. the other day (for the first time in a really long time) and my car was in it!!! I was so excited that I almost peed my pants- well not quite that excited but I did say out loud in the theater, "Hey, that's my car!" It had the same government logos on the doors and everything! The car is now over twenty years old, almost a classic! Unfortunately my big brown beauty is currently out of commission. Apparently wiring can catch on fire when it's over twenty years old. The damage wasn't that bad though, the fire was isolated just seconds before reaching the fuel line- that would have been tragic. I still plan on restoring the Fairmont to it's original glory and showing it at car shows someday- anyone who has seen my car should be laughing out loud right now (hahahaha)). I am pretty handy though. One time I successfully replaced both fuel filters all by myself. This was a first for me- it made me feel very powerful to be using tools to work on a car. UPDATE - the Mont, now appropriately named Gertrude, is back in So Cal! We were able to get it running long enough for it to make the 300 mile trip down here from Soledad. I actually get to drive it once a week when they do street sweeping on my block (I only drive it across the street- but it's thrilling none the less). Okay, sorry, enough about my car.

I enjoy watching movies and music videos (especially really cheesy ones). My current movie-related mission is to find a copy of "The Terror of Tiny Town". It's a musical western with an all midget cast. I've never seen it but something tells me I would love it. UPDATE - I have now watched this movie in its entirety and lived to tell about it. Wow, awful!

I used to collect yellow lollipops from the Caf, thrift store shopping is cool, whistling, humming, or making annoying noises is fun (it drives some people crazy).

I love to laugh out loud hysterically and I really enjoy being with people who get my jokes.

SPAM is my favorite "novelty meat". None of the nasty rumors about it are true! I know, I've been to the museum. (See above).

Popcorn flavored Dum Dum suckers are e-vil, as in the fru-its of the de-vil.

I want to meet David Letterman (who I suspect may be my real father) sometime before I die (learning how to speak Latin and ride a motorcycle are high on my list too).

I consume mass quantities of Dr. Pepper!!!!!!!! ( I absolutely love my gigantic X-treme gulp cup from 7 Eleven. It holds 52 oz. and keeps drinks cold for up to 6 hours! It's possibly one of the greatest material objects invented by man- truly a miracle of science)

Occasionally I go cow tipping

(just kidding about the last one).

If you're stalking me and/or want to know more, keep reading. If you're bored, do yourself a favor and just stop...it doesn't get much better....or does it?

Favorite.....

Bible Verse: Romans 12:12 "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Actually, the whole book of Romans is awesome- well, of course it is, it's the word of God- anyway, it's one of my favorite parts of the Bible I've also taken a sudden interest in the book Ecclesiastes (did I spell that right?)

Book of the Bible: Judges- I think this may be due to a minor obcession with violence that I have.

Color: blue (oh wait, I mean blue)

Smells: paint, the lumber section of Home Depot, crayons, scotch tape, fresh copies (you know, when the paper is still warm from the copy machine), stationary stores, fire, wet dirt, shoe stores, rain, the way my cat used to smell when he came back from getting "de-flead"

Bands: They Might Be Giants (Birdhouse in Your Soul is my favorite- that's why it's mine and my husband's "song"), Bob Seger, Fleetwood Mac, Hall and Oates, Queen, Caedmon's Call, The Electrics, Thee Spivies, Barenaked Ladies (who are neither barenaked, or ladies), Counting Crows, The Waiting, Switchfoot, Third Day, Plumb, U2 (the greatest rock group ever), Ash Mundae (the list goes on and on) and as far as I'm concerned, Rich Mullens was and always will be a musical genius

Movies: I'm currently working on a "Top 100 Favorite Movies of All Time" list but for now these will have to suffice.... Princes Bride ("Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya...."), Batman the Movie (the original 1966 version, starring Adam West- cheesey but cool- see the above quote or pick up the DVD- it rocks!) Star Wars ("But I wanted to go into Tashi Station to pick up some power converters"), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon ("I am the invincible sword goddess!"), Moulon Rouge ("Love lift us up where we belong!"), Gladiator ("Strength and Honor!"), Superstar ("Superstar!") Newsies ("Look at me, I'm the king of New York!") Riverdance (clack a ta, clack a ta, clip, clip, clop), Citizen Kane ("Rosebud"), A Christmas Story ("You'll shoot your eye out!"), Bridget Jones' Diary ("I like you, just the way you are."), Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure ("Be excellent to eachother, and party on dudes!") The Avengers ("How now brown cow?"), Loaded Weapon 1 ("I know what you're thinkin', did he fire 473 shots or 474..."), The Sandlot ("You're killin' me Smalls!") Jurassic Park ("They're moving in herds, they do move in herds!") Napolean Dynamite ("I like your sleeves, they're real big.")

TV Shows: I think the Simpsons and Malcolm in the Middle are the second and third greatest television shows in the history of the universe. 24 is the first! (Well was anyway). I am now officially hooked on, and obcessed with, this show. I have also recently become obcessed with and hooked on American Dreams, Ed (I know that's cheesey), and Everwood (and that's even cheesier). More recently, I have taken a fancy to Carnivale (thank you HBO).

Anime: Trigun!!!

Comic Strip: The Far Side (I know it's not in newspapers any more but it's still cool and Gary Larson is a genius- and his work is one of the reasons I like cows so much)

Animals: dogs and cows

Foods: pizza, goldfish crackers, ice cream, SPAM (it hasn't killed me yet), corndogs, almost anything made by Hostess (the Cupcakes are my favorite because they combine three very important things- frosting, cake, and cream filling- into one magical symphony of harmonious snack food glory)

DrinkS: Dr. Pepper!!!!!!, I also love TANG (anything that's good enough for astronaughts is good enough for me)

Candy: Peanut MnMs, Reece's Pieces (ET phone home!), sour Jelly Belly jelly beans, Milky Way midnight candy bars, Snickers, PEZ (especially when it's from a Star Wars PEZ dispenser "Help me Obi-Wahn Kenobi, you're my only hope.")

Pattern: PLAID ("They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!") I just joined a Scottish pipe band in hopes of becomming skilled in the ways of Scottish drumming. I'm looking forward to buying a kilt!

Other Stuff:

Hair: blond (well kind of blondish-brown ((someone recently challenged me on this and said that I didn't have any blond in my hair. But I do- so to clarify, right now my hair is more brown than blond)) and besides, blond is a state of mind not just a hair color) Eyes: blue Height: 5' 7" maybe 5' 8" (I'm really not sure) Weight: my estimate would be around 125 Birthday: March 19, 1980 Major:RTF, Television and Video Production Graduated: December 2003 Married: October 23, 2004

God is Awesome!!!

Mr. Potato Head is cool!

You have a surprisingly long attention span if you read this entire resume! Thanks! You deserve a cookie.

Aufwiedersehen!

(Thats German for "see you later")

PS Here's the proposal story of the century:

Okay, so, here is the email that josh sent out to everyone he knows, I thought you might like to read his side of things. My reply that I sent to all of those people follows. Enjoy!

Aufwiedersehen,

Katie C: (<-----soon to be K:)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Everyone!

I have some very exciting news! As of Sunday May 30, Katherine Elizabeth Cunningham and I are engaged!!!! For those you who don't want to read a long detailed email (mainly the guys) she said "YES." For those of you who want to know all the details please enjoy the following. Even though I was and am still sick with a cold, I, with the help of my roommates, was able to pull off a series of events that lead up to my proposal to Katie.

Last Monday I asked Katie's parents for permission to marry their daughter. As soon as they said "YES" I began to work on my plan for proposing to Katie on the following Sunday. It had to be done then because she was only going to be in town with me from 12:00pm till Monday morning. Katie was doing volunteer camera work at a Spirit West Coast concert in Del Mar, which lasted from Thursday night through Sunday.

I started to get very sick on Saturday with a cold so I slept as much as I could that day and that evening. I unfortunately missed the early service on Sunday morning but I got up at a about 10:00 and forced myself to get every last detail ready for the evenings activities.

Katie showed up around 12:30 and started to get ready for our date. I told her earlier that I was going to take her out to a restaurant when she got back. We started our evening with a late lunch / early dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe, which was a lot of fun. Following that I took her the Production Center on the Biola Campus. This is where Katie and I first met. I told her that I had something cool that I wanted to show her inside. I opened the door to reveal a bunch of lit candles that formed a trail through the Production Center. Following our glowing path I gave her a tour of different parts of the studio where we had made steps in developing our relationship. Such as, the edit bay where we first met or the Equipment Room where she worked. Each location was decorated with various hand made signs and images that only she and I would understand.

Following the tour I took her to the Presentation Room. Before we entered I told her that I was originally going to take her to the Silent Movie Theater (our first and favorite date) but it was not open this weekend. So instead I brought the Theater to her. On the door to the presentation room I hung a sign that was decorated to look like the the Silent Movie Theater. Inside I had decorated the walls with pictures of silent movie actors and films. The room has theater like seating, a projection screen in the front, and a nice speaker system. Just below the screen is a long desk which I draped with a large white curtain. Across the top of the desk I lined up about 30 candles to act as old theater lights below the screen. As we entered I had some nice 1930's jazz music playing. The film we watched was the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. This silent German expressionist classic was a film she and I watched together on the night I asked her to be my girlfriend. The film is only an hour long so it didn't take to up to much time in the evening.

Once the film was done I took my very happy but slightly confused girlfriend to another mysterious location. All I told her is that I was taking her somewhere for dessert. We pulled up to a small park that is located on the corner of State College and Bastenchury (I don't know how to spell that street). This nice little park has very good view of the Brea valley and everything that surrounds it. On really clear days you get a great view of the mountains. This park is one of the first places Katie and went to after we had just started going out. This is also the place where Katie wanted me to give her our first kiss. But I never did it! I decided it was time to make-up for that Big Time. After we parked I pulled out of the car a gift that I had kept hidden. We strolled through the park to a location where a table had been setup for us. This setup included 2 chairs, a lit hurricane candle, a rose in a glass vase, 2 plates, 2 glasses, 2 forks, a chocolate cake (that I made), and a old fashion bottle of milk. The chocolate cake comes from an inside joke, where Katie came up with illustrations of how she loves different people based on different desserts. I'm at the level of chocolate cake which is the highest. So on the cake I created a heart and wrote the words "I Love You Like This" out of frosting. Katie, by the way, has been constantly laughing at all of this for almost the entire evening. Now, you need to understand that one of the main reasons I made this elaborate plan is for revenge. Katie has pulled off so many crazy and fun surprises on me that I if I ever wanted to pull one off on her it had to be big.

After our little meal I started to reflect with her on our relationship, and how everything we had done this night was a celebration of that. Then told her that I wanted to give her something that would be the perfect symbol of all that we had accomplished and what our next step should be. I then presented her the gift. She opened it to reveal a can of SPAM. I'm sure that some of you are very confused by this and some of you are a laughing at it. SPAM plays a very funny role in many parts of our relationship. It would take me too long to explain all of it to you, all you need to know is that Katie found it very funny. This was also my last chance to throw off her suspicions, and it worked. But then I told her that there is more then meets the eye here. I opened the can to reveal red tissue paper inside. I pulled it out and unwrapped the paper to reveal a small white box. Trembling I got down beside her on one knee and said some kind of small speech that I don't even remember now but I know it must have been good because Katie was crying. I then proposed to her and revealed the ring. This ring was my inheritance from my Great Grandmother. It's absolutely beautiful and over a hundred years old! Her response was "Yes! Of course!"

Following all of this we went to another more private park that had a beautiful view of some hills and the sun setting behind them. There we spent the rest of our time reflecting on all that had happened.

Well there ya go!

I would really like to say thanks to some very important people who helped to make this evening possible. Thank you to Chuck and Sue Pardy for allowing me to propose to their daughter. Thank you to Gerald Fisher for allowing me access to the Production Center. And big huge thanks to my wonderful roommates James Harrington and Matt Herchenroeder who worked like madmen in getting everything setup and taking everything down in the Production Center and the park! Thank you to all of you reading this for your love, prayers, and support for our relationship.

Love,

Josh Kenfield

(562) 686-3762

---------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings Everybody!

Now that everything has had a chance to sink in and I've collected my thoughts, I've decided to put in my two cents....

I had told Josh a long time ago that if and when he ever asked me to marry him, it had better be a grand event. I always wanted a fantastic story to tell people. I was thinking fireworks, dancing girls, trained animals- you know, the usual. Well, although Josh didn't include "the circus" in his proposal, I was not disappointed. He did a wonderful job making the whole event very special and, as you all have hopefully already read, it makes for a fabulous story. Sunday was truly a celebration of our relationship and I enjoyed every minute of it.

We will be sure to let you all know when we decide on a wedding date. Until then, we are going to enjoy this new season of our lives. We already love calling eachother "my fiance" instead of "boyfriend" or "girlfriend." I am excited to have taken this step, I can't imagine having taken it with anyone else. I am honored to be Josh's future wife and overjoyed to have him as my future husband. I am very much looking forward to what lies ahead and I hope that all of you will continue to be a part of our lives. We love you all and appreciate all of your encouragement and friendship.

Aufwiedersehen,

Katie C: (<------soon to be K:)

Completed Kilt Hose!

2011-03-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

The previously mentioned kilt hose, are finally finished! Hooray, dance of joy, dance of joy! I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Natural Heather. The pattern can be found here.

Front View

Side View

Sassy Side View

Back View

I am really happy with how these turned out. The back seams look a lot better than I expected them to once I put them on. Also, I couldn't believe how "legit" they looked when I put them on with my kilt, flashes, and sgian dubh (for more information on those items see this previous post). They actually look like kilt hose! The one problem is they are waaaaay too thick for me to wear with any shoes I have so, next time I make kilt hose I think I'll use actual sock yarn and fiddle with the pattern to make it work. These would make awesome winter slippers (good thing I finished them just in time for the dreadful heat of Southern California summer!) and I am actually considering getting some of these to stitch to the soles.

I am so glad to check these off my list of things to do. They were the inspiration for my Lenten discipline of giving up starting any new projects until all the unfinished ones are done. My "Works in Progress" pile looks so much smaller now!

Extreme Knitting

2011-03-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

It may be old news to some but I stumbled upon this by accident during an internet search and decided it was worth sharing.

Since this is probably the largest gauge knitting I've ever seen, I thought it would also be fun to contrast it with this...

And since I'm on the topic of "extreme knitting," here is a list of fun and interesting knitting world records. I'm particularly intrigued by the "Speed Knitting" and the "Longest Scarf Knitted Whilst Running a Marathon." The "Largest Knitted Sculpture" is pretty amazing but honestly creeps me out a little.

KnitPicks Delivers (To Your Doorstep)

2011-03-28T22:00:00.000-07:00

Sometime back in late January or early February I was commissioned by a friend to make a pair of socks. Not just any socks, these socks, but more on those later...when they're done (thankfully, there is no time rush on this project- I do plan on completing it soon though and there will be pictures of my completed work then, I promise).

The yarn I ordered for this project is actually what I wanted to showcase today. This is the first time I have ordered anything from KnitPicks so I wasn't sure what to expect but when the yarn arrived (in a very timely fashion) I was pleasantly surprised at the "yumminess" of this 75% Superwash Merino Wool/25% Nylon sock yarn.

I've always been leery of ordering yarn online because I like to be able to hold it in my hands before I commit to buying it. I will admit that my willingness to try online yarn ordering this time around was driven mostly by the amazing prices I found at KnitPicks. The yarn pictured above was $3.69/ball- that's cheaper than JoAnn's with a coupon! I was also lured in by their amazing selection of colors. They had the specific color combo I was trying to find for this project that I wouldn't have been able to find at my usual yarn haunts. I will admit that the colors of the actual yarn are a bit different than the pictures on the website but not shockingly so. Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase and plan on becoming a repeat KnitPicks customer.

I realize "cheaper" is not always better so I am curious if anyone out there has any experience with KnitPicks (or similar) yarn vs. expensive hand-spun/dyed yarn. Is there a difference in the way it holds up? Does it wear differently? I would love to hear what anyone thinks about this.

The Evolution of Ponytail Holders

2011-03-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

I've been on a quest for the perfect ponytail holder for pretty much as long as I can remember. Not like a "take over my entire existence, all consuming" kind of quest but countless shopping trips have included a walk down the hair accessory aisle just to see if there have been any recent breakthroughs in hair holding technology.

Recently, I ran across these...

Apparently ponytail holders have "evolved." Upon examining these thoroughly, I observed that they are made of some kind of stretchy silicone, or plastic, or magic material that seemed like a good idea but I've been tricked by gimmicks before so, although I was intrigued, my skepticism got the better of me and I decided against purchasing the gummy wonders, opting instead for the same old elastics I've gotten lots and lots of times even though they continue to disappoint me...

My experience with these "same old elastics" always seems to end in frustration but at least I know what to expect, so I keep going back. Here's the biggest problem with these, this is how they look when they are new...

but after two or three uses, they end up looking like this...

I've had the same problem with these ...

I've also tried these ...

...and since they don't have any seams, they work a little better but they aren't really strong enough to hold my slightly thicker than average hair and usually end up too stretched out to be effective in any way.

Finally, after one of the "same old elastics" completely snapped, forcing me to wear it for the rest of the day like this...

...my mind went back to the hair accessory aisle of Target and I decided it was time to "evolve." I figured just about anything would be better than what I had been dealing with.

I am happy to report that after several uses, the Scunci Evolution hair elastics are working very well. I'm impressed by the way they are maintaining their original shape and size. I'm also impressed by the way they don't slip out. Unfortunately the same technology that gives them that "no slip grip" also seems to prevent them from being completely "gentle to the hair." I haven't noticed them actually damaging my hair but I've had to learn to be more careful when undoing my ponytail because these elastics do tend to pull on hairs here and there. It's taken some practice but I think I'm getting the hang of it so I don't consider the "grippyness" a deal breaker, merely part of the learning curve.

Overall, I think these are pretty amazing. Even though these seem a little too trivial to put in my "Miracles of Science" category, I would more than recommend them to anyone who has medium to thick hair and has problems keeping it in a simple ponytail. Also, the price point seems fair. I paid $3.49 for a pack of 14 so, if they continue to last like it looks like they will, I shouldn't have to buy more for quite a while.

Have you tried these or something else that works better? I would love to hear about it.

File This Under "Plaid" (part 3)

2011-03-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a few random band videos that people have posted on the internet. It kind of creeped me out that there is video of me just floating around out there but thankfully none of it is incriminating. I suppose being part of a performance group (even one that's not famous) just puts you out there. I also got to thinking about all those pictures I've taken with random people at band events- where are those pictures? How strange that people who don't even know my name have pictures of themselves standing next to me. These days you never know who is capturing images of you and posting them somewhere. I'm definitely going to think twice before picking my nose in public from now on.

Here's a video from back in 2007 at the Koreatown Parade in Los Angeles. This was particularly eerie to watch because I don't really remember this moment in time but apparently I was there (I'm the very last drummer). We're playing a medley we call "The American Set."

This video is from the 2010 Irish Fair in Pomona, California. It begins a little abruptly with us playing the end of "Highland Cathedral" and then "Scotland the Brave" follows. I'm the drummer in the middle.

Here are some of the pictures of the band that are currently floating around on the internet...

These two are from the 2006 Golden Dragon Chinese New Year Parade in Los Angeles, CA.

Photo by Jim Winstead Jr.

These two are from Veteran's Day 2009 at Forrest Lawn in Hollywood Hills, CA.

Photo by Hans Gutknecht

These were taken in March 2010 at the Welcome Home Show and Concert at the Rose Bowl honoring U.S. Marines returning from overseas deployment. The United States Marine Corps Drum & Bugle Corps was there along with the Silent Drill Platoon & Color Guard. Oh, and if you look closely at this first picture, you'll see the performer we were "opening" for standing in the background with his guitar. Here's a hint: His "Achy Breaky Heart" enjoyed our performance.

Photo by Elizabeth Kane

Photo by Dwight (BlueStreak) Morgan

As soon as we were off the field, they announced the following act...Billy Ray Cyrus! What?! Yes, he was totally there and he totally sang and played his guitar.

Photo by Dwight (BlueStreak) Morgan

He even hung out after his set to take some pictures with us. He shook all of our hands and said we did an amazing job. It was surreal.

Photo by Elizabeth Kane

And last but not least, an artsy shot of bagpiper feet which just makes me smile for some reason.

Photo by Carolyn Ford

As you can see, I've had a lot of good times with this band and I hope there are many more to come. It is an honor to march alongside the wonderful members of the 42nd Highlanders Regimental Pipes and Drums. If you happen to play the pipes or drums, come join us at the Queen Mary. We practice every Tuesday from 7:00pm to 9:30ish and would love to add you to our ranks!

File This Under "Plaid" (part 2)

2011-03-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

As with most activities worth doing, one of the perks of being in a Scottish pipes and drums band is the cool outfit. My husband has on occasion mistakenly called it a "costume." In his defense, he has spent a lot of time with "theater people" so instead of punching him, I just quickly correct him and tell him it's very clearly a "uniform." When I'm all suited up, Sofie often asks me if I want to twirl my "dress." I cut her some slack because she's still young but in time, she too will be instructed to always call it a "kilt" or, in certain company, a "man skirt."

The following is a crash course in Scottish regimental attire, specifically the uniform of the 42nd Highlanders Regimental Pipes and Drums band. This is in no way an extensive study of the ins and outs of Scottish fashion; however, this knowledge could help you avoid some awkwardness should you ever run into a person dressed like this...

Starting at the top, the hat is called a glengarry. Drummers wear the "diced" or checkered glengarry and pipers wear plain black ones. In our band, we all wear a Black Watch cap badge and a red hackle which is the feather thing sticking out of the glengarry. The khaki shirt is just a typical uniform shirt. It's hard to see in this picture but there are plaid epaulets attached at the shoulders that match the Black Watch plaid of the kilt.

The thing hanging from the white belt centered under the belt buckle of the regular belt is called a sporran, which simply means "purse." Sporrans come in all different shapes and styles. Not only do they hold your stuff, they also help to hold your kilt down on a windy day.* The one pictured here is a military style sporran and is traditionally made of horse hair. Me and one of the other drummers in the band have fake ones that we joke are made of Barbie hair. I've considered making one out of my own hair but that just seems weird and creepy. I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult to get my hands on some horse hair, I just never think of it at an opportune time.

In the band we wear two different sharp pieces of weaponry. I guess there's always a chance things could get out of hand when there are Scottish people and bagpipes involved so it's nice to know we're armed. Unfortunately, both of my "weapons" are just for show. They do have sharp tips but in a fight I could probably do more damage with a set of knitting needles. The mini sword-looking thing hanging from my belt is called a dirk. Here's a better picture...

Some members of the band actually have nice dirks with sharp edges but many of us carry this version. It looks very Scottish at first glance but if you examine it closely, you'll notice it's made in India and it probably isn't worth much more than the eighteen dollars I paid for it at the Queen Mary Scottish Festival. Whatever, like I said before, it's just for show. Some day when I get into blade smithing, a new dirk will be at the top of my list of things to make. Until then, my outsourced version will do just fine.

The other pointy accessory is called a sgian-dubh (pronounced "skeen doo" -at least that's how I've mostly heard it said). I recently found out "sgian-dubh" loosely translated means "hidden knife." This makes perfect sense because it's worn like this...

The intent no longer seems to be to conceal the small dagger but to show off the ornate handle and/or plastic jewel, as it is now traditionally worn sticking out of the top of the kilt hose.

Speaking of which, those crazy red and black socks are called kilt hose and those red streamer things sticking out from under the cuff of the kilt hose are called flashes. There are countless combinations of kilt hose (which are often a solid color) and flashes but we wear the regimental style hose. From time to time I have people at events ask me whose idea it was to pair those socks with that plaid, implying that we should all be arrested by the fashion police. I usually pretend I don't know what they mean, then I give them a good poke with my sgian-dubh. Honestly, though, I've gotten so used to seeing this ensemble that none of it strikes me as strange anymore.

Last but not least, there are special, fancy Scottish shoes called ghillie brogues (I swear, I'm not making up any of these names) that are traditionally part of the Scottish dress attire and worn by many pipe bands; however, since we wear white spats over our shoes, we are able to wear any ordinary pair of black shoes (I think I got mine at Payless). The spats also hide the fact that my kilt hose are actually just half hose which means they don't have feet like socks do. They're pretty much Scottish leg warmers (which I think is like totally awesome to the max for sure).

Tomorrow I'll have some random internet videos and photos of the band for you!

*Windy days can be tricky for a person wearing a kilt or anyone watching a person wearing a kilt for that matter. Kilts are often worn with nothing underneath so use caution. I have witnessed more than one inadvertent mooning of an innocent bystander. Not everyone goes "regimental," as they call it, but many do. When I get the ever popular, "What do you wear under your kilt?" question. I always say, "That's between me and my kilt...or not." It usually takes people a moment but once they get it I think they appreciate the mystery.

File This Under "Plaid" (part 1)

2011-03-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

For the past six years, most of my Tuesday evenings and a few weekends here and there have been spent with the 42nd Highlanders Regimental Pipes and Drums band. I remember doing an internet search for pipe bands because I was looking for a place to get back into drumming (some of the best times I had in high school were spent with the Spirit of Bloomington Marching Band- I know, GEEK!). My search pointed me toward several competition bands in the area that all sounded way too hard core for me. I was just about to give up when something on a website caught my eye...

The 42nd Highlanders Regimental Pipes & Drums is a not-for-profit charitable organization, 501(c)(3). The band meets at the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.

Hmmm, the Queen Mary, that sounded interesting. I read on..

The Mission of the 42nd Highlanders Regimental Pipes & Drums is to promote fellowship, the music of the Great Highland Bagpipe, Highland dance and the Celtic arts, and to pay honors to the pipers and military veterans of all nations.

I really liked the sound of that but was still a little intimidated. I wondered what kind of experience I needed in order to join the band and then I read this on their FAQ page...

Does the 42nd Highlanders Regimental Pipes & Drums welcome new members? Absolutely! We are a friendly, fun-loving, family-oriented band. Experienced pipers and drummers are welcome to become full-fledged members of the band.

What if I have no experience but want to learn the pipes or drums? Beginning pipers and drummers are welcome to begin their piping experience by association with the piping school operated by our Pipe Major: the Saint Andrews School of Piping.

I showed up at the Queen Mary that next Tuesday and have been drumming with the band ever since.

Tune in tomorrow for an exciting crash course in Scottish attire!

A Little Bit Punny

2011-03-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, every time I have posted something on this blog for the past year, I have also posted a Facebook update informing all my Facebook friends of the new post. These updates usually use some sort of blog-related pun that may or may not relate to the actual blog post itself. I have fun coming up with these and I thought you might have fun reading them all in one place. I also wanted to have them archived somewhere to keep from repeating myself. The first few aren't puns, they're mostly just me doing silly things to the actual word "blog" but as you get further down there are some real "groaners" so if you absolutely hate puns, I won't take it personally if you just can't get through the whole list.

Guess who has been blogging again... 3/22/10
Blog-o-rama 3/25/10
Bloginsky 3/26/10
Again with the blogging 3/30/10
Blog Post Blog Pants 4/3/10
To blog or not to blog... 4/15/10
Blogity, blogity, blog, blog, blog.. 4/17/10
Here bloggy bloggy... 4/21/10
More blog stuff... 4/22/10
Oh, so I remember I have this thing called a blog... 5/17/10
Just spent a few minutes bloggin'... 5/19/10
I'm back on the "blog" wagon. 12/4/10
Blog-o-rific 12/5/10
Could it be? Yes, it is. Another blog entry! 12/6/10
I'm just a bloggin' fool this week 12/7/10
I'm totally ridin' the bloggin' tobaggon... 12/8/10
Hot blog, hot blog, hot bilggity blog... 12/9/10
Blogalogadingdong! 12/10/10
Blogalicious 12/11/10
How much is that Bloggy in the window? 12/12/10
Mind bloggling 12/13/10
Somethign new int eh blogular region 12/14/10
Blogassarus Rex 12/15/10
Who let the blogs out?! Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof! 12/16/10
It's a blog, it's a plane, it's...oh, wait, it is a blog. 12/17/10
Bloggy McBlogington 12/19/10
Toss another blog on the fire, it's cold out there! 12/20/10
It's raining cats and blogs! 12/21/10
Quick, somebody call the blog whisperer. 12/22/10
pour me another glass of egg blog! 12/23/10
...so bring us the bloggy pudding and bring it right now! 12/24/10
The Princess and the Blog 12/25/10
Gettin' ready to blog in the New Year! 12/26/10
The great blog jam of 2010 comes to an end. 12/31/10
For blog lang syne my dear, for blog lang syne... 12/1/11
Blathering Blogerskite! 1/6/11
Here, let me blog your memory. 1/17/11
I just laced up my blogging shoes and ran around the internet a while 1/24/11
Looks like it's time to walk the blog 1/26/11
Next up on the chopping blog... 1/28/11
I've become a blogaholic. I just can't live without blogahol! 1/31/11
Think of it as a teaser trailer... 2/4/11
Someday I want to live in a cozy "blog" cabin. 2/7/11
Yo, yo! What up blog? 2/14/11
Someone call a plumber! The drain is blogged. 3/15/11
blah, blah, blog... 3/2/11
Blog, blog black sheep have you any wool? 3/9/11
Once five green speckled blogs sat on a speckled log eating the most delicious bugs. Yum, yum! Once jumped into the pool where it was nice and cool then there were four green speckled blogs. 3/10/11
Did you ever have to dissect a blog in science class? 3/11/11
Beware of the blog, it creeps
And leaps and glides and slides
Across the floor
Right through the door
And all around the wall
A splotch, a blotch
Be careful of the blog 3/12/11
I hate it when the milk makes my cereal all bloggy. 3/14/11
hi Ho, Kermit the blog here... 3/15/11
Wie sagt Mann "blog" auf Deutsch? 3/16/11
Erin go blog! 3/17/11
Loks like the London blog is rolling in... 3/18/11
Don't get blogged down with details... 3/19/11
Stop blogging the spotlight! 3/21/11
Anyone know where I can get a good recipe for deep fried blog legs? 3/22/11

I Heart Michael Flatley?

2011-03-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I willingly walked into a movie theater and experienced (in 3D) the phenomenon that is Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been a Riverdance fan for a long time now but, contrary to popular belief, this does not automatically make me a Lord of the Dance fan or a Michael Flatley fan. I actually happen to have a Lord of the Dance coffee mug due to this popular belief. A family friend found it in the trash somewhere (really, I'm not making this up) and thought, "Hey, isn't this that thing that Katie likes?" It showed up at my house when I was in high school and I've been using it ever since- you know, ironically.

Anyway, Michael Flatley did choreograph most of the original Riverdance show as well as star in it; however, right around the time the show was gaining popularity here in the United States, he had already parted ways with Riverdance due to "creative differences"- I can only imagine what that means. He went on to produce the outrageously showy Lord of the Dance (and later Feet of Flames and Celtic Tiger). Before last week, I had never watched the show all the way through because I never felt the need to watch Mr. Flatley prance around wearing nothing from the waist up but a headband and body paint. But when I saw the previews for Lord of the Dance 3D I didn't see any shots of a shirtless Flatley so I decided to make an artist date of going to see it (which means I went by myself) because I didn't see any point in dragging my husband along and buying him a ticket if he was just going to sit and roll his eyes the whole time- I did plenty of eye-rolling for both of us.

I've been trying to think of a way to describe what I saw through my 3D glasses and the best I can do is: "Riverdance collides with Las Vegas in a sparkling explosion of sequins and tap shoes resulting in a dance extravaganza of epic proportions. Oh, and did I mention there was a suggested flying saucer, out of which the entire dance troupe exits wearing galactic Irish influenced fashions of the future?"

I will admit that I found Michael Flatley to be slightly more appealing than in the past. I'm not exactly sure why. Maybe it had something to do with his hair cut, or maybe I was just glad his shirt stayed on (even if at one point, it could barely be described as a shirt), or maybe he has just aged well like a fine wine or a big block of cheese. Whatever the case, Flatley is above all a showman doing what he loves- putting himself at the center of attention and being worshiped for it. I could go on and on about the outrageousness of this show but I feel like this review (which made me laugh out loud) pretty much sums it up. This little snippet from an article by Kristen Page-Kirby, which can be found here, nailed it pretty well too:

So, there's this disco-jester-pixie thing who plays the hymn "The Lord of the Dance" on one of those Irish flutes. And Michael Flatley is the Lord of the Dance because he has a belt that says so. But there's this evil dancer guy, and he has minions, and there's a chaste dancer-lady in white and a sexy one in red, and they're around. Then the evil dancer breaks the flute, but Michael Flatley fixes it, but then the bad guy catches him and conveys that he is beating him up through the Power of Dance, but then the pixie saves him, but not before the bad guy takes MF's belt! But then Flatley comes back and takes the belt BACK and dances the bad guy down! And then everyone dances together.

Well, when you put it that way, what's not to like?!

My New Trick

2011-03-19T21:00:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember that I made a birthday resolution a year ago to learn to play the violin. In case you missed it, here is my Facebook status from March 19, 2010...

I've given myself a 5 year extension on my goals of learning to ride a motorcycle/speak Latin by 30 and decided to take up the violin as a consolation prize. It's less dangerous/cheaper than a motorcycle and I already speak "music." I don't expect to ever be playing the Philharmonic but my mother, a drummer since last year, is proof it's never too late to try something you've always wanted to do.

Well, in true "me" style, I waited till the last minute to do anything about it. Here is my Facebook status from March 3, 2011...

I rented a violin today. I'm not really sure what I'm doing but I did manage to torture Josh and Sofie with several stirring renditions of the G major scale. Sofie actually quoted one of her Dr. Seuss books and said, "...very very very awful on her violin." She's smart, a little too smart.

So, even though I've only been working on it for a couple weeks, I now present to you "Happy Birthday to Me." It took about a bazillion takes to get this video and the perfectionist in me says that even this one isn't that great but I decided to cut myself some slack just this once because it's my birthday.

I was trying really hard to keep a straight face but wowza, check out that nostril flaring action! Yikes. Now, just for fun, here is one of the "outtakes." Don't worry, it's not the one where I use bad words. Enjoy!

I deeply apologize to any actual violin players out there. I don't assume for a second that I will ever be playing Carnegie Hall (at least not on the violin) and I know my technique is probably making you cringe. I'll work on it and if it never gets any better, I'll just tell people I'm a fiddle player.

Edmund Was Right, This Stuff Is Amazing!

2011-03-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

A little over a year ago, at the 2010 Queen Mary Scottish Festival*, I tried one of these for the first time...

It was unlike anything I had ever tasted before. It's basically gummy rose flavored candy wrapped in chocolate. It's strange, but not so strange that I hate it- in fact, now I'm hooked. I've been buying these at every other Scottish festival I've attended for that past year. Then, today, I was searching the internet to see if there was anywhere I could buy them online and I inadvertently ran across this bazaar television ad for this delightfully sweet treat.

I did find several places that sell these online but I have decided that maybe I love them so much because I only get them a couple times a year (kind of like Cadbury Eggs) so I will be limiting my Turkish Delight purchases to events that include massive gatherings of people in kilts.

*Special thanks to Amy for convincing me that nothing bad would happen if I took a bite of one of these. I can haz candeez?

I Heart Riverdance!

2011-03-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

As I write this, I am watching Riverdance on Ice (yes, you read that right, ON ICE!). It's more like Riverdance next to ice and I'm not exactly sure it really works but I'm enjoying every cheesy minute of it.

I have loved Riverdance since the very fist time I ever laid eyes on it. I was a junior in high school at a marching band event when my friend, Bernadette, pulled out the video and popped it in the VCR (remember VCRs?). I had never seen anything like it. I literally had no idea what Irish step dancing was before that night but I was instantly hooked. The precision, the impressive noise of all those feet stomping in unison, it totally blew my mind.

It wasn't long before I had my own copy of Riverdance and was watching it over and over and over. Then came the Live From New York version- the same Riverdance but now Michael Flatley free and it included more of the show! I spent more hours than I would like to admit comparing and contrasting the two different versions of the show and geeked out with Bernadette over countless aspects of the Riverdance phenomenon.

When the show came to the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, we were psyched out of our minds to be able to go. My German teacher, "Frau" Pahner ended up going with us- we needed a ride out there and she was interested enough in the show to buy her own ticket so it was a win-win. I remember her laughing at how excited Bernadette and I were to be seeing Riverdance live and in person and saying afterward, "It's like you guys thought you were at a rock concert or something." We might as well have been.

The excitement of seeing Riverdance carried us all the way through our senior year of high school. We probably talked about it way too much. I can picture our other friends rolling their eyes behind our backs because they were so tired of hearing about how cool it was when such and such happened in the show at the Pantages because that part wasn't in either of the videos. We discussed how we didn't really love Michael Flatley (something about him just bothered us) and decided we thought Colin Dunn was pretty good. We jumped around imitating the dancers- probably looking all kinds of silly but being totally awesome in our own minds.

Those were good times. They were simple times. They were times when I wasn't so critical. When I could like something and just enjoy it because it was fun or entertaining. It didn't have to be terribly deep or ground breaking for me to think it was amazing. These days I've noticed that I tend to like most things "ironically." When I talk about my "favorite" things with people, I feel like I have to give disclaimers, for example- I listen to country music...but I know how ridiculous most of it is, I love the movies Newsies, Roadhouse, and Surf Ninjas...but I also love to make fun of them, I have an ongoing love affair with yarn...but I'm not a weirdo, I eat Spam...but I know how gross that is, I'm a drummer in a Scottish bagpipe band...but even I get tired of bagpipe music sometimes, I prefer hand-made items...but I'm not a crazy hippie.

I do still love Riverdance but not with the same reckless abandon that I used to. I don't talk about it all the time and I don't watch instructional videos on Irish step dancing in hopes of someday joining the cast. I do however watch Riverdance every year on St. Patrick's Day (you know, because it's Irish) and I admit, as soon as the music starts and the dancers begin stomping, I'm taken right back to my geeky high school days. This year, the "On Ice" version is standing in for the real thing since our VCR has been eating tapes and I don't dare trust it with my precious Riverdance tapes (hmmm, do you think it's time to get the DVD?!). Riverdance On Ice is not quite the same but it's good enough- especially after lots of green beer! Sláinte!

Save the German Program

2011-03-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago I received the following Facebook message from my former German teacher...

The school board is once again threatening to eliminate the one and only German teaching position in the district, which would in effect eliminate the German Program (and my job). The board meeting to vote on this action is THIS THURSDAY March 3rd @ 5:30. PLEASE I need you help and support once again! Write to the board members and tell them why we need to keep diversity in the CJUSD! Don't allow them to cut German!!Save German at Bloominton High School!!!!

This prompted me to reflect on the four years I spent in high school studying German and really got me thinking about my high school experience in general. My time of reflection resulted in the following letter. I sent it to all six of the Colton Joint Unified School District board members but I also felt compelled to share it here for some reason.

Dear [School Board Member]:

It has recently come to my attention that the Colton Joint Unified School District’s one and only German language program is once again in danger of being eliminated. As a proud graduate of Bloomington High School (class of 1998), I find this notion preposterous. I studied the German language under Patricia Pahner for four years and I can say with confidence that the time I spent learning German continues to have a profound impact on my life.

I came into the German program with no prior foreign language education and graduated from high school able to communicate in words that were not of my native tongue- this amazes me. The current state of my German skills would honestly have to be described as “rusty” at best; however, studying the German language brought me to a deeper knowledge of the English language and how language works, in general. This was a valuable tool during my college years and continues to serve me in my daily articulation of ideas and concepts.

As a high school student, I was challenged by my time spent learning German but I always looked forward to growing in my understanding of the language. It was not uncommon for me and my classmates to practice our German skills with each other outside of the classroom, just for fun- we were that interested and excited about what we were learning. I attribute this enthusiasm for language learning to the excellent teaching style of Patricia Pahner, known to most of us German students as “Frau.” Her love for German language and culture was infectious and her desire to see us succeed in her class and in life beyond was encouraging to say the least. I am certain that Patricia will find a way to continue using her gifts as an educator regardless of your decision but it is my deep hope that she will be able to serve the unique community of Bloomington High School for years to come.

I look back on my time as a student at Bloomington High School as a time of endless possibilities and unique opportunities. The diverse community made it a special place. The experiences I had while studying German, swimming on the swim team, playing in the marching band, and everything in between helped to shape me as a person and prepare me for life. I learned so much more at Bloomington High School than just core academics, I learned how to be a well-rounded human being. It would be a shame for future students to be deprived of the diverse educational opportunities I was so fortunate to enjoy.

I value the work you are accomplishing for your community and I know you are doing your best to make well-informed decisions. I hope you will consider the importance of the German language program (and programs like it) when deciding whether or not it should continue. Whatever your decision, I appreciate your time and consideration. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts regarding this matter.

Sincerely,Katherine Kenfield (BHS Class of 1998)

I am not so naive to think that this letter changed the minds of any school board members. A few of them did reply to my email but they mostly just said they were doing everything they could do to save as many jobs as possible...yada, yada, yada. I realize that times are hard and there's no money anywhere and German is not exactly top priority for most people. But if you start cutting things like foreign language programs what's next? I guess all of this makes me really appreciate the education I received. Even though most people would consider Bloomington High School to be just some small school out in the sticks, I had a surprising variety of opportunities available to me there. I had no idea how privileged I was to attend a school that offered architectural drafting, video productions, and German as a second language.

The Messenger Bag, A Year Later

2011-03-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

About a year ago when I posted this, my sewing mania had officially gone into full swing. The messenger bag that kept me up all night ended up becoming my regular purse and I've used it almost every day since. I thought it would be fun and interesting to show a then and now side by side comparison in order to see how the bag is holding up.

Then

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

Then

Now

The bag has obviously lost it's original crispness and hangs a little bit floppy now, but overall I think it's looking pretty good for having been carried all over the place for the past year. The seams are all holding well and the fabric is only showing hints of wear on the bottom corners and the side cell phone pocket. Not bad for what was originally my "test run." I would still like to make more of these bags with the modifications I mentioned a year ago (larger size, heavier interfacing or fabric, no plastic clippy thing), I've just been waiting for a good opportunity to stay up all night sewing.

An Afternoon in the Muck

2011-03-14T18:00:00.000-07:00

Recently, I visited the Muckenthaler Cultural Center. I've driven past this place almost every day for a long time but have never taken the time to go in and check it out. An artist date was the perfect excuse/motivation to go explore that big building on the hill. I chose to go when the gallery was displaying some Korean calligraphy and hand made paper. I was not disappointed. Here are some of the pieces I thought were particularly striking...

I highly recommend a visit to this lovely place. The gallery exhibits are donation based (I think they asked for $5) so it's not crazy expensive. They do have several other things that have a more pricey admission fee but most of it didn't seem unreasonable for what you would be getting to see/hear/do- especially since, if you live near Fullerton like I do, this is practically in your backyard!

By the way, I also took "my artist" out for ice cream on the way home.

This Post Brought To You By Smucker's

2011-03-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

Recently I was looking for something in the dark recesses of my hard drive and inadvertently unearthed this little ditty. If I am calculating the dates correctly, I wrote this sometime between April and August 2007 while I was working at Vans (the shoe company). I think I had originally intended to post this on the blog my husband and I have together but I guess I never got around to it. So here it is now for your reading enjoyment...

I recently challenged myself to find something edible I could store in my desk at work for an extended period of time to use as a back-up lunch option for the days I don’t have time to fill a brown paper bag with food for the day- which is most days. I decided to go the peanut butter and jelly route, as this is the classic all American lunchtime food and I’m all about that. The problem with jelly though is that it’s messy- at least it is when I open a jar of it. No matter how hard I try, no matter how careful I am, I always manage to get it everywhere. EVERYWHERE!

One time, after I had spread some grape jelly on a piece of toast for breakfast I thought I had completed the task “unstickied.” I washed my hands anyway, just in case, because even though sometimes you can’t see jelly residue, it’s still there waiting to drive you crazy. It wasn’t until a few hours later when I went to put on my shoes and my left sock didn’t go on as smoothly as usual that I realized I should add a good foot washing to my post jelly spreading routine. How was there jelly on my foot?! Anyway, there is no easy way of figuring out how many nooks and crannies in and around my tiny kitchen have been soiled by jelly drippings. I have come to think of it as my own personal field of jelly mines where one must proceed with extreme caution when walking barefoot. Walking barefoot isn’t really a great idea in my kitchen anyway, as there are also several other unsavory varieties of things to step on- both living and non-living.

So, you can see how preparing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at my desk at work could be a disaster. I can just imagine my boss asking me, “Hey, Katie, have you seen the architect’s drawings for Grapevine Mills Mall? I can’t seem to find them anywhere.” I casually reply, “Oh, yeah, they’re right here stuck to my computer monitor along with thirteen Starbucks cups, a hamster, and my TPS report.” As I pull the drawings off of my patented raspberry flavored filing system, they manage to collect everything in their path and I end up handing my boss thirty-seven paperclips, my stapler, and a collectible Keith Urban action figure. Awkward!

I needed a solution to my “sticky situation” if this lunchtime plan was going to work. I was worried because this was exactly the kind of thing that could turn into one of my quests for something that doesn’t exist. My search began at Target (as so many of my searches do). I was trying to decide whether or not I should get the Target brand peanut butter or splurge and get Skippy when my eyes wandered just a few inches to the left and I saw it- JELLY IN A SQUEEZE BOTTLE!

I've been a fan of squeezable food for years- Kraft Easy Cheese (although more of a spray than a squeeze) has always been a favorite and nothing beats frosting in a tube- but the concept of squeezable jelly, although logical, seemed wrong somehow. I stood there staring at it- a regular practice of mine when shopping and trying to make a decision. Sometimes this process takes two and a half minutes, sometimes forty. (This is why it can take up to two hours for me to shop for three items - just in case any of you were wondering.) Since I was on my lunch break and had to get back to work, I decided to just go for it and grabbed the strawberry flavored one. How bad could it be?

My expectations were more than exceeded when I flipped open the top of the remarkably designed lid (after unscrewing it and peeling back the protective seal of course), turned the bottle and gave it a squeeze. I couldn’t believe how easy the jelly squeezed out and onto the bread- without the mess and hassle of spreading it with a knife. My problems were solved! Order and cleanliness had been restored to the sandwich-making universe. I have not yet done extensive enough research on this product to know how widely available it is in grocery stores or how many varieties are offered but I do know that this miracle of science has changed my life. Thank you Smucker's!

Single Sock Seeks Sole Mate

2011-03-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

Question: How many socks are in this picture?

Answer: Two and a half.

Bonus Question: How many pairs of socks are in the above picture?

Bonus Answer: Zero, zip, zilch, null, nada, none.

Where are the mates to those socks? Um, well, I haven't bothered to knit them yet. There is a well-documented phenomenon among sock knitters called Second Sock Syndrome. Usually SSS prevents the knitter from producing a matched pair of socks because said knitter either found the knitting of the first sock to be a big pain in the you-know-where or it wasn't challenging enough and now the thought of doing it a second time bores them to tears.

As far as I know, I am not actually suffering from SSS for these reasons. My problem seems to stem from the fact that I still cannot turn a heel from memory. I have no good excuse for this but I do fear that by adding anything new to my brain, I would be pushing something else out causing me to start forgetting things like how to drive or tie my shoes. That said, I often knit in public without my instructions handy so if I have a sock on my needles that is at the critical "heel turning stage," and I don't have time to actually perform the steps necessary to complete the "heel turning stage" before I know I will be knitting in public again, I transfer the sock from my primary needles to my project holding needles and start a new sock that I know I will be able to mindlessly knit away on wherever I might be (in line at the bank, at Disneyland, waiting for a movie to start, watching a movie, etc.).

I know all of this probably sounds like terribly fractured logic but it somehow seems to make sense when I'm in the midst of putting a sock on hold. I am hoping that my 40 day mission to complete old projects before starting anything new will help to alleviate my SSS. There is a possibility that I will attempt to memorize how to turn a sock heel so just as a precaution, if you see me behind the wheel of a car with a puzzled look on my face or walking through a public place with my shoelaces untied watch out, I just might be trying to remember something.

On A Roll

2011-03-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

I've seen crayon rolls all over the internet and have often thought, I could do that. So, I finally decided to "do that." This tutorial was super helpful (it was nice to not have to reinvent the wheel...er roll). Here's how it turned out.

This is a very fun and easy project if you know what you're doing. It also doesn't require a ton of fabric so it's a great way to use up remnants and scraps.

Four Groovy Knitting Books

2011-03-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

After my first "artist date" disaster, my inner artist was kind enough to actually call me back and give me another chance. Woohoo! A second date, this is getting serious.

This time, I planned a trip to the library. You know, a library, it's a big building with lots of books in it. You pick out the books you want and then they let you take them home for a while. And get this, it's free! What?! I know, my mind was blown too.

I decided part of the fun would be to force myself to find what I was looking for without asking for help. I do this all the time when shopping for groceries, housewares, or craft supplies. I tend to be a "thrill of the hunt" kind of person so there's not nearly as much satisfaction in finding something if I didn't find it on my own, using my own wits.

I would love to tell you that I am intelligent enough to navigate the Dewey Decimal System from memory and that I knew off the top of my head that the knitting books would be somewhere in the 740s between the drawing books and the books on interior decorating but sadly, it was really just dumb luck that landed me where I needed to be. I'm just glad I didn't run into this guy.

Here are the books I found (along with their bibliographic citations)...

Walker, Barbara G. A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. New York: Scribner, 1970. Print.

Knitting: a Golden Hands Pattern Book. New York: Random, 1972. Print.

Aytes, Barbara. Knitting Made Easy. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970. Print.

Biggs, Diana. Knitting, Stitches and Patterns. London: Octopus . Distributed in U.S. by Crescent , a Division of Crown Pubs., 1972. Print.

Even though these books are still not quite as old as what I had hoped to find on my previous "artist date" adventure, they still have some great stuff in them. Below are some of the pics I felt were worth sharing. For your convenience, they are broken up into categories.

Let's start with the "I Actually Like This" category. These are all things that I would either enjoy knitting or wearing or both.

This cute cardigan doesn't look dated to me like some of the other selections and I like the little argyle pattern on the pocket. I'm not sure I would ever wear the hat myself but I think it's super cute.

Finally! The perfect sweater for walking your dog through the woods. Now all I need is a dog...and woods.

Now that I've gotten over my sock knitting phobias, these seem like they would be no problem.

I'm intrigued by the concept of knitting plaid-like patterns.

Okay, I'll admit that I mostly love this aran tunic because Princess Leia is modeling it. I have been itching to practice cabling more though so I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a good aran pattern, this one looks fun.

Next in the "Those Poor Kids" category, a collection of knitwear that the children in these pictures have obviously been forced to wear...

This photo raises a few questions in my mind and none of them are knitting-related. What is this girl eating? Why is it all over her face? Why did the photographer feel the need to photograph this particular moment? And why did the editor of this book think keeping this photo was a good idea? We may never know.

Is it just me or does this girl look like she is trying to melt something with her mind? I'm hoping she got the candy and ice cream she was promised for wearing this amazing knit pants suit.

What exactly is the look on this girl's face? Dazed? Confused? On the verge of a breakdown? I actually think the dress is kind of cute but this girl doesn't look very enthusiastic about wearing it.

Wait, flower children didn't actually eat flowers did they?

These knit bodysuits are fine if these kids are training to compete in the luge, otherwise they just seem cruel. I'm sure they're super warm though- sometimes function beats fashion (with a big ugly stick).

I call this category "Families and Friends Who Dress in Knitwear Together Often Look A Little Bit Silly." Most of the knitwear itself isn't that bad but when more than one person is wearing the same sweater in the same picture you're on a collision course with wackiness.

See what I mean? Those are great sweaters, there's just a lot of them all at once in this picture.

I think this should be the poster for a Broadway musical about sweater vests and the people who wear them.

A chip off the old block.

"Wow, you like wearing hand-knit sweaters too? We have so much in common!"

I'm not exactly sure why, but I totally think this picture is two strategically placed cigarettes away from being a magazine ad for Kool Filter Kings.

As far as I'm concerned, the only acceptable explanation for this sweater pairing is that these guys are on their way to audition for a Doublemint Gum commercial.

Pete and Carol always throw the most exciting sweater parties!

And now we come to the "What Were People Thinking" category...

I love plaid and all but, yikes!

Finally, I can knit my own retro stewardess uniform.

Too offensive for words.

I actually don't completely hate this sweater but the sleeves are a bit much.

Robin Hood called, he wants his sweater back.

This color scheme hurts my eyes a little.

Last but not least, the category I like to call "Stuff I Actually Think Is Amazing, In A Good Way."

Combining knitting and weaving?! How have I not heard of this until now?

How fun it this?!

Plaid!!!

Cables...

cables...

and more cables!

Enchanted cottage...

gingerbread castle...

windmill...

flowers...

candy canes...

Space Invaders!

So there you have it. I hope to actually knit some of this stuff but I have decided that my Lenten discipline will be finishing incomplete projects (along with concentrating on Bible memorization), so any new knitting will have to wait until Easter- or until all of my "UFOs" are "FOs." It's nice to have some groovy knitting to look forward to!

A Used Calligraphy Book and How I Ended Up With It

2011-03-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

I am currently working my way through the book The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron with a group of fellow artsy types. I'm still not exactly sure how this experience will benefit my creative life but I'm enjoying the journey so far. One of the regular exercises strongly encouraged by the book is the "artist date." The only real rule is that the "artist date" must be done solo- just you and your "inner artist." The purpose of these dates is to replenish your "creative well" and "unblock" your "inner artist," inspiring you to be more "free" with your "art"- whatever that may be. I honestly haven't really felt the need to be "unblocked" as an artist and didn't really feel like my "creative well" was dry but the idea of going and doing "something creative" by myself was wildly attractive to me so I decided to "give it my best shot." Okay, I'm done overusing the quotation marks, you can stop rolling your eyes now.

My first attempt got wildly frustrating when things didn't live up to my ridiculously romantic expectations. My plan was to go to a dusty old used bookstore and unearth some priceless treasure of a book- hopefully containing old knitting patterns or instructions for ancient paper making. Then I would carry my find to the chic but approachably charming coffee house located across the street. There I would peruse the writings that would connect me to another generation of crafters. All the while sipping my mocha latte, feeling very creative and artsy. The biggest problem with this whole delightful scenario was that most of it only existed in my imagination. I did have a used bookstore in mind but I wasn't entirely sure of its location and I was only assuming that there would be a coffee shop across the street- aren't chic but approachably charming coffee houses always located across the street from dusty old bookstores?

As it turned out, due to some logistical hang-ups, I ended up at a totally different used bookstore than the one I had wanted to find. It was welcoming and the woman running it was very friendly (and her mother was there knitting, so at least I got to geek out for a minute with her) but it was a far cry from the place in my mind and they didn't end up having what I was looking for. All of their yarn crafting books were of the late eighties/early nineties variety and I couldn't picture myself reading through any of them in public, much less a chic coffee house regardless of it's approachability or charm. I was awkwardly the only person in the bookstore for most of the time I was there and I didn't want to just leave empty-handed so, compelled by guilt (and who knows what else) I paid too much for a calligraphy book (even after the owner gave me a "special deal"), left the store frustrated, and headed straight to the nearest RiteAid to drown my sorrows in a scoop of pistachio nut ice cream. I made a mental note of this and decided next time I should be honest with myself and just plan to do what I obviously really want to do when given an hour and a half without any other responsibilities- eat ice cream and walk around RiteAid looking at stuff.

I realize the reasons for this experience turning out not quite great were really my own fault- I could have planned better, I could have looked up exactly where I was going, I could have said no to the calligraphy book, I could have done a lot of things. So, now that I've gone on and on about what a frustrating, negative experience this was, let me try to emphasize some positives. The calligraphy book I got (pictured above) is a fairly comprehensive book and I think it will be helpful to me. I have dabbled in the art of "beautiful writing" before but never thought I was that great at it- probably because I grew up watching my mom make it look way too easy. Her calligraphy is amazing and I will always love her style.

The more I thought about it though, the more I remembered enjoying the challenge of making normal letters look fabulous by using a fancy pen and actual ink. I managed to dig up a few pages of doodling I did about seven or eight years ago and realized that I may have abandoned my efforts in calligraphy just when I was starting to get the hang of it. I didn't intentionally quit trying or anything, I kind of just got busy doing other things and forgot about how fun it was to fill pages with beautiful writing. So here are a few snippets of my past work that my husband so lovingly scanned for me. Some of it looks terrible, some of it looks pretty good, and some of it is in "Elf Writing." I honestly haven't the foggiest idea what any of the Tengwar says- I think at one point I downloaded a Tengwar font transcriber and printed out an alphabet key but I have no idea what happened to it and I don't really feel like decoding all those letters right now anyway. So feel free to let me know what I wrote down if your nerd transcription skills are up to snuff but don't be disappointed if it ends up being a crummy commercial that says, "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."

So there you have it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some "calligraphying" to do...and ice cream to eat.

My Valentine's Day Gift

2011-02-15T17:00:00.000-08:00

It has become somewhat of a tradition for my husband to hand-draw a card for me on special occasions (example, example, example). Here is this year's Valentine's Day card...

(front) (inside)

I love the caricature of Keith Urban, it completely cracked me up. Even though my husband doesn't think of himself as the "perfect man," he's perfect for me and he did manage to come up with the perfect card so kudos to him. He also gave me some heart shaped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups which went well with the Jumbo Size Reesce's Peanut Butter Cups I got for him. We're planning on checking out our local grocery store for some reduced price Valentine's Day goodies tonight. Happy Day After Valentine's Day everyone!

More Fun With Tea Towels

2011-02-14T17:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I know you were all wondering what was to become of the hand dyed tea towels from last week. Well, believe it or not, I had a plan all along. Here's how they turned out.

I used a self-adhesive, tear-away stabilizer to do the decorative machine stitching. I attempted this same project a few months ago without the stabilizer and it was a big pain in the you-know-what. The end results last time were okay but not great. This time everything went way better. Here's a close-up of the stitching.

I paired the towels with some hand knit dishcloths and gave them as a wedding gift to a friend whose kitchen is brown and tan themed. To be honest, I wasn't completely thrilled with how all these shades of brown came together but it was too late to turn back by the time I realized I was pushing the limits of this color palette. I do find comfort in the fact that when you separate the towels from the dishcloths, everything looks fine.

These towels were a very fun and simple project. I would like to make more of them in the future. My current sewing machine has over forty decorative stitches so there will be lots of room for experimentation.