Happy Thanksgiving!

So I got to sleep in. Kinda. Mom woke me up pretty early in my book so that she could drop Kail off at work (he's severely unhappy about that). I had to pull out two pies of the oven. And watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I'm not a huge fan, but I saw two high school marching bands ... yeah ... WOW. It's amazing that TJ did that kind of stuff, and that his high school is now nationally known among competing bands. Every time I see a band,I just have to smile. I can't help but feel that I'm going to be involved with one at some point.

I'm going to be seeing my family for the first time in a long while today. I'm so excited about the gathering. It's the first communal Thanksgiving in years, and I've been looking forward to it since I heard about it about a month ago. I have the feeling that I'm going to be playing damage control at some point. That never ceases to amaze me how that's part of the routine of my life. I'm going to be pitching my idea to other family members regarding compiling and writing a collective memoir about the house that everyone passed through on the way to immigrating to America.

Aside from that, I'm about 75% done with my Christmas presents to people. I'm really happy that everything's really going to plan. I just can't wait to get everything mailed out to people.

Anywhos. I have to shower and get ready for the day. That includes getting into decent clothing. And makeup. *sighs* I wish that I was spending the holidays with TJ ... I really miss him.

~*~

The day went well. I'm home and put water on for tea, and have a bagel defrosting. I'm just going to put up some pictures of today after a bullet list of what went on:

~ Chaos
~ Gorging
~ Volleyball game (which I skipped out on)
~ Talking with family members about everything between old family stories, books, new interests, music, and life
~ Watching Football, figure-skating, Mythbusters

So you know, it's the overall type of things.


Me and my cousin Rachel.


I got another one of my cousins' littlest one to sleep ...

I wish I hadn't been sober ...

... because the reunion last night would have been so much more fun. It was in a bar, we didn't have much space, and overall, it was pretty much only a good night because I was hanging out with the people that I hung out with during High School. Everyone was as cliquey as ever, save for a couple people.

I wish that TJ had been there. That would have helped more than a little. That, and I'm annoyed that I couldn't get a drink because of the fact that my ID isn't a liqueur license. Fail. There are so many new laws in MA that I didn't know about.

So yeah. At least I worked for Dad yesterday. Made some money. I wish that I had made more money. I'm really looking forward to getting a job. I really just want to enjoy work instead of just working to make money. I really, really want to enjoy life again, and not just function.

... was that a bird?

Of course, I notice the strangest things while I'm in a mall. People, mainly, and how they're acting. I can tell you who is feeling what, I can tell you if a couple are fighting or are peaceful. I can show you good parents and neglectful parents, and those who are one but masquerade as the other. Run me into a toy store or a pet store and I can tell what kind of kids you have. I can also show you people who shouldn't own pets.

But the most amazing thing I saw today that took me completely by surprise were two birds that were in the indoor food court, zipping around. My question was Who catches those darn things? My second one: Isn't that a health hazard? What if a bird takes a crap on some food? AVIAN FLU, OMG!!! /sarcasm.

The best part about it was seeing them, staring in shock, then hearing a high schooler ask, "Was that a bird?" from right behind me.

~*~

The reason why I've been to the mall three times in the last three days is not to go Christmas shopping, or mall-ratting in general, but in order to find a job. And I think that I've found one. I'm hoping that I have. I'll know before tomorrow is over if I got the job that I have my heart set upon, and by the end of the week if I get the second-favorite job of the bunch of applications that I've put out.

And my phone died before I even left the mall because I forgot to plug it in last night before going to sleep. I fail. But when I turned it on, I received a great text from my TJ:

"Text on 'texts from last night': 'come in. grab a controller and a beer. we've got some madden to beat.' Response: 'you're the best girlfriend ever!' I want that. LOL. I love you babe. How's your day going?"

I love that man. I love gaming with him, too.

~*~

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. I get to do work for Dad from 10AM until 4PM, then I'm going to Lindsey's house ... I haven't seen her in two years, and she and her girlfriend are going to my class reunion tomorrow. I can't wait to see how everything's going to pan out. She's so excited for me and TJ, and she's so happy to hear how our relationship is going so well. Apparently, she hasn't been hearing much in the way of great relationships, but the same goes for me, too. I hear about all the issues ... but that's partially my fault because I'm one of the "Fixers" of the group. You know that person. Every group has one. It's the person who is "wise beyond their years," "responsible," "caring," etc ...

Sometimes, it doesn't feel like it on this side. It feels like there's a great amount of needs, and I can't fill those needs. I can't. It's not my place. I can do a little, say a few words, maybe be a crying shoulder, but when it comes down to it ... it's all about what they choose to do with the advice. And I don't like to repeat myself with advice. I hate it. If you're going to come to me with the same problem seven times over, I'll tell you to stop coming to me. You won't like that side of me. However, thankfully, that's not always the case, and most of my friends and those who come to me to "have me fix their woes" will actually put into effect what I give them to do, generally after thinking it over. If they choose to do something else that will ALSO help them solve their problem, all the more power to them! It means that they were wise and went to multiple people about a large problem, wanting to find the best way to fix it.

I think that's a decent enough post for now. My thoughts are organized again. Score.

Easy Handwarmer Crochet Pattern

Being interruptable and having an interruptable mindset is the most amazing thing in the world.

I was about to make my own handwarmers after making a Christmas present for a friend, and was interrupted by someone sitting next to me on the bus. She had been reading a book, but when I pulled out my crochet hook and started to count out stitches on an old pair of handwarmers, she took notice and nudged me. Maybe twice. I don't think I noticed the first time. LOL. Yes, I can be that oblivious. But I'm glad that I perked up and started talking with her. It was a delightful conversation.

She asked what I had been making, and I told her. Then I started to tell her how to make them. It was as I was telling her how to make them that I realized that I should make out a pattern for them. So here's the pattern, with an example amount of stitches.


CROCHET HAND WARMERS

Officially, you chain however many that you need that runs around the circumference of your hand by the widest part of your knuckles. If you like your gloves to fit loosely, then add a couple stitches. If you like your gloves to fit snugly, then just leave it.

You need to have an odd amount of stitches. This is important to the fit of the handwarmer.

For example, 31. That's the amount of that I'm going to use for the example because of the material and size of yarn that I chose. Now on to the pattern. Comment if you don't understand a step and I'll explain what I mean.

For this particular handwamer set (which is a set that I'm making for myself), I'm using Patons Classic Wool in Wedgewood (color 77011, dye lot 244077). I'm using a 3.75mm hook, US size F/5, instead of the recommended size of a 5mm hook (US H/8). That creates a tighter stitch, giving it a more delicate look while cutting drafts down.

If you're doing this for your first time project, I'd suggest using a US size H/8 and any normal yarn. Disregard the recommended size that it says on the skein if it's Red Heart Supersaver No Dye Lot or something comparable to that. Use worsted medium yarn.

Here we go!



STEP ONE:
Ch 31, then ch 1 and sc in stitch 31. sc the remaining 30 stitches. Ch 1, turn, sc next row.

Continue until 7 rows are complete.

(I continued on past the 7 rows because the smaller hook gave me smaller rows, and I wanted to have the handwarmer come up over my knuckles.)

STEP TWO:
Ch 2, turn and dc 15. Ch 1 and sc the next row. Repeat this step two more times.

STEP THREE:
Ch 2, skip one stitch, and dc the remaining 14 stitches. Ch 2, skip a stitch, dc 13. Ch 2, dc 12. Final row: ch 2, dc 11. Finish. This is the cuff of the handwarmer. You now have an L-shaped piece of work. (With mine, I'm extending the cuff so that it can go up the sleeve of whatever I'm wearing, keeping out any drafts. I did seven rows instead of the three I normally do.)

STEP FOUR:
On the 7th row, where you did the 15 double crochet stitches on one side, tie in on the 17th stitch. What you'll be looking at is in the following picture:


Sc to the end of the row, ch 1, turn, sc back 15 stitches. Continue until you have 9 rows. (If you want to have longer palm and the back of hand, then measure accordingly. For every row of dc, you have to have two rows of sc. So for three sets of the dc and sc as I demonstrated, that's nine sc rows. Four sets is 12 sc rows on the palm. Which is also what I did for my current handwarmer.)

STEP FIVE:
Repeat Step Three. (Disregard the length in the picture. Remember that what I'm working on right now is my own set of handwarmers.)


STEP SIX:
Match up the sides. Sew together the outer sides of the handwarmer in whatever way you feel like. For the middle, sew up ONLY the cuff, which is the final four rows. Finish.

The final product that you will do is reflected in the first picture, where you see two of them tied together.

You now have your handwarmer! Repeat the process to make the second one, but be careful! Remember that the side that has more single crochet is the palm of the handwarmer. Sew accordingly. Remember that you sew things inside out.

Comment with a link to a picture of the finished product! I can't wait to see how yours came out! Please feel free to expand upon this pattern.


(PS: Mine fit FANTASTICALLY! I just finished one, and everything about the fit is perfect.)

Full Days = Win

Today was great. Pretty much totally awesome. I miss my TJ, but that's about it for the downside, and that weighs pretty heavily on the scale of life.

So I get up and get ready. I looked pretty darn good. Good enough that some random trucker made eyes at me while he was waiting for a red light to turn green. I mean, really? It wasn't even a Peterbilt, so what's the point? As much as I love TJ ... getting hit on my Optimus Prime would hold a special kinda honor, you know? Even my friends know this about me!

I go to the South Shore Plaza, and then to the Cheesecake factory to have a late lunch with Lauren and two of her friends. It was fun ... only we got a rude waitress. Two other servers came over who knew Lauren and her friends from different places. I enjoyed listening to the banter. It was freaking intellectual, fast-paced, and overall a blast.

After the late lunch came the mall-rat routine. This time, however, I had a mission. I had to obtain items that fell into two specific and important groups: underwear and applications. And I got both AND a pair of shoes from Aldo for $12!!! So I did pretty well.

As of right now, I have two applications done, started a third, and have two to do online tomorrow when I get home from handing in these current applications. Thursday should be a day of cleaning and getting my room in order ... it's still in blatant disarray since I came back from Dallas. I'm looking forward to Friday, where I'm going to be working for Dad, then going to my 5-year High School reunion. I really can't wait to see who is going to show up, but I'm also slightly apprehensive. I'm not sure about who is going to be going, and I don't want to run into people that I didn't get along with back then if they've held onto grudges. I'd like to think that after five years some people could change, but I'm not even all that sure. I try hard not to have grudges either. I hope that I'm able to manage it, but I think that I'm just going to have to see when I get there.

Bedtime ... much later than anticipated, but it was good. I was on the phone with Lindsey, an old classmate and a good friend. I can't wait to see her on Friday.

And thus it begins ...

So I've started to apply to jobs in Boston after leaving Dallas. I'm not entirely sure where this is all going to take me, but I'm looking forward to this. Right now, I'm in the middle of doing several things, as I am wont to do. It's interesting. Here's the list:

~ I'm looking up crochet patterns.
~ I've got two Word documents open- my resume and a letter that I'm slowly translating into Japanese.
~ I'm applying to two different hospitals as administrative support staff.
~ I'm listening to music.
~ I'm looking up past job locations, and thinking that I should make a list of them all. Oi vey.
~ I'm crocheting a surprise for the man I love.
~ I'm texting a good friend about the plans for the day ... I might be going to a mall and looking for Christmas presents ... even though I'm well on the track to making them all.

... And that's not even including what's going on in my head right now. I think that I'll need a cup of tea and a new entry for that.