Soon, my precious...

I decided to finally check on my ravelry status, spurned on my discussion on the Clapotis Yahoo Group, instead of just being slightly sad to see all of the activity goings on without me.


Found you!
You signed up on June 13, 2007
You are #8770 on the list.
131 people are ahead of you in line. (--> Green is my happy color. And this makes me so happy.)
16104 people are behind you in line.
34% of the list has been invited so far


Woohoo woohoo woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!! I feel like daffy duck when he gets all excited. So soon, my precious, you will be mine....

I think it is time to get out of my hotel room and go celebrate with some kick a** coffee, and not this hotel junk. (Thought I have to say, this Omni Hotel has some Wolfgang puck coffee, and it is the second best hotel room coffee I have had in my life. And I am a coffee connoisseur, so that is saying something. However, the upside of procrastinating on heading out is avoiding the big city rush hour traffic. Don't worry my dears, Houston has trained me for this insanity.)

I am a deliquent....

I am sorry for not posting so much. Between volunteering and having my husband drag me out to play golf in 105 degree weather, I am worn out!

But things could be alot worse. I am in the ATL today, and here is the view from the window this morning. I apologize for the cell phone pic, but I left my camera's computer cable at home! :O We are right next to the Centennial Olympic Park.

So you know what that means. Visiting some LYS, going to Trader Joe's and the Dekalb International Market, and hopefully the new Aquarium. Let's hope my husband's company gets to stay for the whole conference and we do not have to go home today. You never know with how the government runs them whether they will get to stay or not. Well, even so, I will still go shopping! There are some nice LYS here, and the food shopping and restaurants remind me of what it is like to live in a large city again. Sometimes I really miss Houston. The people were super nice, and outstanding food. So much to do. But I do not miss that concrete jungle or jobs tied to oil price cycles. :)

I start my Interior Design class tomorrow night, and I am excited. I think it is going to be alot of fun, and a different sort of creative outlet for me.

My peeps...

I am following Isis' theme for a post, since I am slow on the knitting progress lately.



I dearly miss the North West, especially my hometown. Someday I hope to move to Washington or somewhere.



Here is a picture of my hometown. And here are some others. You can see why I miss it. Don't get me wrong, this part of the country is pretty perfect when it comes to weather, but I still wish it was a bit cooler. I have to figure out somewhere cooler to live that is not a royal pain to live, because my DH cannot take alot of heat anymore. I suspect he is an undiagnosed heat casualty of some sort. Anytime he works outside in the heat, it knocks him out for at least a day.



I have not been knitting so much lately, due to HOA and block parties, volunteer work and shoulder/back pain. Mostly it is the pain that holds me back. I did weave in the ends on the first sock, and have started the second sock, but have not made much progress on it.



In great knitting news, I passed the first installment of my Basics, Basics, Basics course. Now I need to knuckle down and start the second installment here. I should set a goal to start this week. Maybe on Thursday, because today and tomorrow are CRAZY. I think I have four or more appointments tomorrow!

Yarn Harlot coming to the ATL...

You can sign up for it here. I have already reserved a ticket and a hotel room, where I will stay if I am not employed. :) Otherwise, I may either have to do a late night drive fest or just bag the whole plan.

I promise, pictures soon of the socks. I need to get to work!

The infamous job interview...

...well, it turns out that they are waiting on a grant announcement. So I won't know whether I am hired or not for a few weeks. So please don't stress about it and please don't ask me too often whether I have heard or not. I don't want to pin my whole life on one interview. :) I think it went okay. It is hard to tell if you knock things out of the park in an interview sometimes. I think I started off well anyway.

Meanwhile, I am debating putting in for another job. We will see.

A little nervous again...

I am interviewing for a position today. It is with a local nonprofit. It is an unexpected opportunity that I stumbled across, and I think I am the last person they are interviewing. My fear is that I may be overqualified or not the right fit. I do have the right education, and some of the right experience. All of my experience will be applicable. But the position may be intended for someone without an MBA, for someone who is starting out. The job description seems a little ambiguous that way. And I have not interviewed in quite awhile, and I fear that all that time crunching numbers as affected my eloquence (that is a bit true...I fear language centers atrophy when you spend all day working and discussing numbers. :) ). I really shouldn't be so nervous. I am fortunate enough that I don't have to work, but I would like to work doing something that I love and enjoy doing. And let's face it, no one particularly likes being rejected. :) So, wish me luck. Think positive thoughts.

I have finished my husband's first sock, all except for the kitchener stitch on the toes and weaving in the ends. I want him to try it on first before I seal it up. One of the suckiest things in knitting is frogging a completed kitchener stitch (I have done it a few times). I really would like to avoid that. :)

Great friends and mentors are precious things...

...I owe such a debt of gratitude to friends and mentors that I have been fortunate enough to have in my life. I have lived many places, worked many jobs, been on many adventures and volunteered many hours. And when I look back on some of the great people who have been in my life, I get a little verklempt. Misted up. So many "adoptive" moms, dads and uncles out there, spread across the states. People who have been there in my times of need, times of joy. Please don't think that I did not notice and soak up all the little moments. (The Army taught me to do that...in the midst of the chaos, anticipation or the mundane, to notice beauty in small things.) I just want to say a big "Thanks" to you all. Thanks to your big hearts. I will never forget you, and you can call on me at anytime.

Bless you.

Did you ever notice...

that friends and family call you more when you have alot of work to do? Not that I don't want my friends and family calling, but it is like they have a sixth sense of perfect timing to call at the most inconvenient times. Especially when you have just stepped out of the shower, are way late in watering your flowers (it is 11 am already!), and have to get going on your market research before you have to go do your other volunteer hours!

I really can't talk too much about the market research I am doing. I know I have told some of my friends in person, but I don't want to get everyone's hopes up about what I am working on. I am just doing some market research and feasibility analysis for a local nonprofit I am involved with. It is good to do free business "consulting" as it keeps my skills going without having to start back at work just yet.

However, I am getting antsy and may start applying for some jobs here. I have tried before to get back into engineering by apply to just a few jobs, but I did not get any takers. :) Oh well. It is not easy when you are in a town that is close to the state's best engineering school, you have been out of it awhile, and your experience is in other states that have different regs. Not sure why employers think that the same skills you had 3 years ago are all of a sudden gone. The same skills that helped you learn your job and do things well so quickly in the past. :) But enough about that.

I am still working on that sock for my husband. Slow going with all of my volunteer work. They are the garter rib socks from Sensational Knitted Socks. I like the garter stitch trim on the heel.

Where has the summer gone? Time has just flown by. I have been so busy, but it is as though I can't remember what I have really been busy doing. I am spread between so many things. :)

And if you haven't already heard, drinking more than one soda a day can kill you. At least, that is how the journalists are reporting these stories. But it seems more research needs to be done before we all panic. I think I already knew that drinking alot of soda was bad, as I have tried not to drink more than one a day my whole life. I agree with the journalists though, basically consuming anything with calories can kill you. So why eat? :)

Oh crap! And now I just saw a report that low bad cholesterol may increase cancer risk. Who can win?

Quiz-o-rama!

This is too funny. The first one is right on with a Meyer's Briggs test I took in school. But the second one says I am introverted. The truth is, I am in the middle on E and I (slightly leaning towards E) and the same with J and P (with leaning towards P).

You Are An ENTJ

The Executive You are a natural leader - with confidence and strength that inspires others. Driven to succeed, you are always looking for ways to gain, power, knowledge, and expertise. Sometimes you aren't the most considerate person, especially to those who are a bit slow. You are not easily intimidated - and you have a commanding, awe-inspiring presence. In love, you hold high standards... for yourself, for your relationship, and for your significant other. While it's easy for you to impress others, it's hard for you to find someone who impresses you. At work, you are organized and good at delegating. You understand how to achieve goals. You would make a great CEO, entrepreneur, or consultant. How you see yourself: Rational, calm, and objective When other people don't get you, they see you as: Inflexible, controlling, and overbearing

What's Your Personality Type?

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations. A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Daisy love...

I love gerber daisies. This is my first summer growing them, and they last a week when you cut them.