Kool Aid Crazy!! And a Random Wrap up!

I have turned into a massive Kool Aid Junkie. I search every place I go to see what new flavors I might find. I scour the shelves for more and more packages. I scared the nice checkout lady at Meijer's when I bought 20 packs all at once. Do I want all this Kool Aid to drink? No way. I need it to dye more yarn!! Yarn that I have no idea what I'm going to make with it. Yarn that may never move beyond it's neatly wound center pull ball. But still, I need to dye more yarn.

Monday, I went on a massive Kool Aid hunt. I searched Target (which does not carry Kool Aid by the way), Meijer (the mecca of Kool Aid flavors), Walgreens (another non-Kool Aid market), and another Kroger store (which had only the basic flavors). Meijer is by far the Kool-Aid Hook up. They had an entire display of Kool Aid with flavors I had seen no where else (although the most wonderful Pina Pineapple was missing). I finally found some blue flavors--Berry Blue and Blue Raspberry Lemonade--as well as some more interesting ones--Maderine Tangerine, Soarin' Strawberry Lemonade, and Watermelon Cherry. They also had some Lemon Lime, Cherry, Orange, Grape, Strawberry, and the ever popular Tropical Punch along with some unhelpful "invisible" flavors (clear drinks with fruity flavors--not good for dyeing yarn).

I made a trip to the new Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market last night since I needed to get some milk and looked at their Kool Aid selection, but they didn't have much variety. I'm hoping that if I pay a visit to the Meijer out in Hamburg they might have more fun flavors for me to play with.

I haven't yet had the chance to try out the new flavors I found. I'm planning to give it a try on Saturday so we'll see how it goes. I may not get to take pictures, though, since I don't have a digital camera here. Oh well.....

Now to wrap up some unfinished business.

1.) The Amazing Race Wrap up.....

Really, after the double episode, I found myself totally bored with the whole thing. I watched until the end, I really did, but I just didn't care anymore. In the end, it was the Boobs that won it all. The Beauty Queens (Dustin and Kandice) took second with Charla and Mirna coming in third. Maybe it was the utter lack of teams I cared about that made me not care. Danny and Oswald did make it to the final four, but after they were Philliminated I had no one to cheer for.

2.) My Bracket Wrap up.....

I didn't win the pool. I didn't even come close despite the fact that I picked Florida to win it all (again!). I just missed too many games in the second weekend to overcome. Oh well, maybe next year UK will stick around for more than two games. Hear that Billy G? We want more than just a one weekend engagement next year in March.

3.) 3K / 5K Racing...

The 3K I ran back on St. Patrick's Day (yes, that long ago) went well. I finished with an official time of 18:41 and placed 6th in my age category. And, most importantly, I ran the entire thing without freezing to death! I've been running pretty steadily since and I can now do about 3.5 miles at a time so I'm ready to tackle a 5K. First up is the Fancy Farm Picnic Run on August 3rd and then Sarah (from work) and I are going to do the Midsummer Night's Run on August 11th. Hopefully both will go well. Hopefully I won't die.

4.) That Stupid Committee update....

I just had to get this most lovely pic of Kyle up here one more time since the Committee that had no end finally ended!! We hired the most wonderful Associate Pastor ever Diane Baldwin back in the spring and she officially started the Sunday after Easter. We couldn't be happier with our choice! And I'm glad to finally be done with that committee, although Kyle wants to make me an elder this fall and so I'll have to serve on Session. Just say No Kimmy, just say No.

5.) Scopeman update....

Really, here there is nothing to update. Haven't seen him much this year so far. He stopped by once in February just as I was getting ready to go to the gym and we chatted for a second, and then I saw him the other day, but he paid very little attention to me. Apparently we can talk once a year at the Christmas party and that's that. Oh well.

6.) Knitting WIPS Updates....

The Aunt Purl's Magic Scarf is still not done. In fact, I haven't even picked it up in months. I need to get back to work on it, but really, I just don't want to, although I do need those needles back. I have started yet another project, however. I am making a lap robe using the very fun Feather and Fan pattern. I started it to send as a Mother's Day gift to my Grandmother, but got about 1 1/2 skeins in (out of 5) and quit. I still pick it up every once in awhile, but it may or may not be done by Christmas.

My newest knitting obsession is Baby Stuff!! since everyone I know is Pregnant. It almost makes me scared to drink the water. So far I have finished two very adorable baby hats for my cousin Logan's little boy-to-be due the first part of July.

This one is done in UK blue and white (since it's never to early to be a wildcat fan) Lion Brand Microspun from the Karlchen pattern I found for free using Crafster. It's knit from the crown down (which is cool) and very easy. I used some size 7 DPNs for the whole thing rather than switch to circs half way through and I like the way it turned out. The Stripes are a simple 2 row white/3 rows blue pattern (although if I had it to do over again, I would make them thicker).

And this one is the hopelessly cute Umbilical Cord hat from Stitch N' Bitch done in a sort of Electric Blue Sugar and Cream yarn. (I refuse to put babies in nothing but pastels.)For this one, I used my size 7 16" circs until it got too small and then switched to DPNs. The I-cord is wider than it should be (8 stitches instead of 4) since I apparently can't read a pattern all that well, but it is cute none the less. I can see more of these on the way.

I also picked up the book Mason-Dixon Knitting from the Library in order to see the Log Cabin Blanket pattern (which I was going to make for another Baby that is one the way). I discovered, however, that there are many, many fun patterns in there and I may have to go buy the book so I have my own copy forever. I have made the Ball Band Dishrag and the Baby Genius Burp Cloth so far both out of Sugar and Cream Cotton Yarn with size 7 straight needles. The dish cloth I have a photo of, the Burp Cloth I just finished last night, so no pictures for you. Notice, I had not yet woven in the ends. Now, however, they are tucked safely away. I need to use it and wash it to see how it holds up before I go crazy and make more, but I want to make tons and tons of these. It was so simple and quick!! And I like quick.

My next project will be the Bibs from Mason Dixon and then, hopefully, the Modern Baby Blanket. I just need to do a few test swatches to make sure I can handle the Log Cabin style of knitting before I jump into that one.

7.) Last but not least, my TV Wrap Up....

Now that summer is here and good TV has gone away until fall, I am longing for the days when I at least had something good to watch on Thursday nights.

Ugly Betty ended very sadly with the possible death of Santos, Henry flying off to be with Charlie who he thinks is pregnant with his baby, but may be pregnant with the crazy dentist's baby instead, and Amanda and the Scottish lady locked in the "Love Dungeon" finding out that Amanda is actually Faye's daughter. Oh whatever will I do until Fall?

Supernatural ended well. No huge cliff hanger this year. The Yellow Eyed Demon is dead, shot by Dean with the last bullet from the Super Special Colt that doesn't always kill everything after a recently released from Hell Daddy Winchester distracted the YED for just a moment. Dean, however, has only one year to live after he traded his life to bring Sam back from the dead, so I'm assuming that will be the crux of next year's plot lines. The CW is showing reruns on both Thursday nights and Sunday night now, so they will get through the entire season before the new season starts (and I have something to watch anyway).

8.) I know, I said TV was the last thing, but I thought of something else....

The little sister is in Italy right now supposedly studying Italian. Check out her blog for more details, but I get the impression she is studying food, wine, and boys more than the language.....

Better Late than Never....a Heart to Heart

So, I meant to post a bit about this week's Supernatural after it aired on Thursday, but I got kind of busy on Friday what with some actually work to do and yet another trip to the optometrist (but not the cute one this time). So, you get this week's Supernatural update today!! What fun.

This week's episode: Heart because it involves a lot of heart-less corpses (in that they have had their hearts removed, but we never really find out what happens to the hearts. Do they get eaten? Frozen? Used in some kind of freaky ceremony? Cast in plaster and turned into art?)

The Monster of the Week: Werewolves. Yup, they finally went there. Now, I'm not all up on my werewolf lore, so I might not have appreciated the finer points of this monster, but it was pretty cool....although while the moon cycle seemed to be important, it didn't have to be a full moon for them to change (unless they managed to have three nights of full moons in a row). They seem to like to kill people and rip out their hearts, which is.....well gross, but no more so than protruding guts, splattered brains, or heads sawed off by large saws. Werewolves also apparently like to have hot sweaty Sammy sex, but that comes later.....

Actually, maybe the sweaty Sammy sex doesn't come later. There wasn't a lot going on in the episode for me. We meet Madison. Madison is being stalked by crazy-ex-boyfriend. Madison's boss is killed, flayed, and left heart-less. Sam and Dean show up to fix this. Sam and Dean play rock, paper, scissors to see who gets to stay with Maidson. Sam wins. Dean follows crazy-ex. Sam watches All my Children. Madison is the Werewolf. Sam ties her up (kinky, huh?) Dean kills the werewolf who bit her. Madison and Sam have sweaty Sammy sex (and let me tell you, Jared Padalecki has been working out!! That boy is ripped! And I'm not even Sammy girl). Maidson is still a werewolf, so she asks Sammy to kill her. Then we have perhaps the most touching scene ever written where nobody says "I Love You" but it's all over every word. Dean takes the gun from Madison (who is trying to give it to Sam) and offers to kill her himself so Sammy doesn't have to. Sam refuses, and both boys end up in tears along with a good portion of the audience.

Not a bad episode--actually the end saved it for me--but it wasn't great either. Still, any new Supernatural is a good one.

Geeky Dean, because Werewolves are cool.

A very intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors...

Which Sam won.

Sam discovers Soap Operas

Sammy tears.

And one perfect Dean tear.

Ghosts of March Madness Past

It's finally Friday!!! Yea!!! And my first race (a 3K) is tomorrow morning so wish me luck! I'm actually a little nervous because it's supposed to be pretty cold--but at least it's not supposed to snow anymore. I should be thankful for small blessing, I suppose.

Now.....Bracket Update!!

Yesterday there were 16 games. Of those 16 games, I picked 12 winners. The 4 teams I missed were: Old Dominion, Oral Roberts, Texas Tech, and BYU. Not too bad.

Plus: DUKE Lost!!! It broke their string of 9 straight Sweet 16 appearances. That just makes my week. In fact, Duke going out 1st round might actually be better than seeing Duke lose to IU when they played in the Regional Finals at Rupp. There is noting quite like seeing a team you hate crying in your locker room after they lose in your gym. (Sorry to any Duke fans out there, but I'm still a bit bitter about that shot in '92.)

Now, if only the Cats can win tonight, all will be well.

And, because it is Friday that means last night was Thursday night TV. This week was kind of abbreviated, though, due to several factors. Nashville Star ended last week (with Angela as the winner and Zach as the runner up :) ) so that was done. Ugly Betty was new, but I chose to DVR that and watch the first half of the Duke game instead so I will watch Betty sometime (maybe this weekend). I did watch the new Supernatural (because you all know that I can't go without my weekly SN fix, even for March Madness). It was the first new episode in several weeks, so I was anxious to get some new material. Let me just say Kripke and company didn't disappoint.

Last nights Episode was titled Roadkill and guest starred Tricia Helfer (from Battlestar Galactica apparently, although I have never watched or heard of that show).

We started out with the usually teaser where some poor unsuspecting guest star usually dies or sees someone they know/love die. This week we find Molly riding with her husband David as they drive along a dark country road. They are lost and David refuses to stop and ask for directions (guys, note, this leads to all kinds of problems, so just STOP already--it won't kill you). The radio starts playing House of the Rising Sun (which is a creepy song anyway, but here can't mean anything good). Then....man in the road, crash, credits.

I don't want to give too much about this episode away because there are some wonderful twists coming up which I didn't see coming at all and I would hate to spoil that for anyone. But let me say, I really really liked this episode. It was quite creepy at times, very funny at times, and had some really cool twists which they did a very good job of concealing. I liked the Molly chick who ended up hanging out with the boys for most of the episode but didn't take anything away from what we love. The evil ghosty man was very gross and scary, but not over the top. And who doesn't love a good salt and burn? Plus, hanging bones, flashlight-fu, and some slight gun porn. Beautiful!

Best lines of the night:

Dean: "Just once I want to round the corner and see a nice house." (What about that wonderful hotel in Playthings, Dean? That was a very nice--but haunted--house.)

Dean: "You're a walking encyclopedia of weirdness."
Sam: "I know."

Molly: "Oh, thank God."
Dean: "Just call me Dean."

Crazy Girl in front of the car

Why is there a crazy girl in front of the car?

One Handed Gun Porn

Hanging Skeletons....yea!

Nine Degrees

9, that's what my computer is telling me that the current temperature is outside. This is Kentucky people!!! We don't do 9 degrees at 10:30 in the morning!! All this cold weather and snow really just needs to die. I'm ready for summer. But, alas, it seems that we are supposed to get even more snow this weekend. This is the payback for those 70 degree days in January.

It is Friday, however, so that is something. This week has been long, cold, and snowy. Just the way I like to end up my worst week of the year!! But it's over now, so all's good. I may have to rethink the whole denial strategy for next year, though, since apparently it didn't work as well as I thought it did. Jackie, our cleaning lady here at work (and incidentally the nicest person on the face of the planet) noticed that something was off. Funny how that works. The people I spend the most time with didn't notice a thing but the cleaning lady who I see maybe once or twice a day picked up on stuff. Oh well.

Normally, on Fridays I have a lot to say about my Thursday night marathon TV session. I did get to see Ugly Betty this week (which I missed last week) and Nashville Star, but once again WKYT decided that I didn't need to see Supernatural until 1:30am because of a High School Basketball game. It is one the DVR, though, so I will get to see it as soon as I get home tonight. Instead, I got to watch Grey's Anatomy for the first time in awhile. I had been recording it and a few Saturdays ago I caught up on all the back episodes (although I still haven't seen last week's episode) so I wasn't totally lost. The episode was okay. Not the greatest, and certainly not the worst. They keep trying to make me think that Meridith is going to die (which might actually get me interested in this show again), but that would be too good to be true. I do have to say that my favorite part of the episode was the end where Meridith "wakes up" to find the Bomb squad guy (Kyle Chandler) and Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan aka Papa Winchester) there with her. That was a nice and unexpected surprise. Gotta love me some Denny!!!

Ugly Betty was okay, but they just need to hurry up and get Betty and Henry together already. They are just too cute together, and I'm tired of Betty always getting shafted. Also, the Alex/Alexis story line is getting old, fast. I feel bad for the girl/guy but did you really think that the world would be okay with you dying and coming back as a girl? Come on. But Justin singing Hair Spray on the subway? Classic. That kid deserves an Emmy. Who doesn't love some Broadway show tunes on the subway?

Now, once I've had my weekly dose of Supernatural, my week will be complete.

Oh, and I've decide to run in a 3K they are having here in Lexington on St. Pat's day. I figure a 3K is a good warm up for my 5K that I'm going to do at some point. I looked on the race schedule, and it looks like they are going to have a 5K at the state park at home in May, so that might be a good choice. We'll have to see how it goes. I did go to the gym on Wednesday, and I'm sore as hell today, but I'm going to try and run some more today anyway. I'd forgotten how much better I feel after I run (during the running, not so much--I really just want to die--but after the running, I have this great sense of accomplishment.).

Supernatural Saturday

So I finally got to watch this week's Supernatural and it was....good. I know that doesn't sound all the positive, but really, it is. I enjoyed the episode. I found it interesting. I had to watch it again. But it wasn't "WOW". I guess maybe I expected too much from this one. I saw the previews last week and immediately I expected greatness. The promos made me think of Faith from last season and that is one of my all time favorite episodes of Supernatural (if not my all time favorite...although I love Shadow too). This one was a good episode, but it wasn't up to "Faith" level. It did raise some interesting questions, however.....

If an angel appeared to you and asked you to kill someone for God, would you do it? Even if it meant you would spend the rest of your life locked up? Would God ask you to do something like that? Even if the person you were supposed to kill was evil?

Or, a more basic question, Are there such things as angels? (or unicorns?) I think there are. I guess it's my Catholic background, but I've always loved the idea of a "guardian angel" that looks out for me and keeps me safe. I like the feeling that I'm not alone in this world, even when I feel all alone in this world. I do have to admit, though, that in Kimmy land angels are nice beings. They love me and protect me and encourage me. I never really got that whole "an angel appeared and they were scared shit less" thing that happens so often in the Bible. In my world, and angel wouldn't be scary, it would be the most wonderful thing to ever happen to me...although I kind of hope that I never see one since every time they come and talk to someone, it usually involves doing something that's not so much fun for God. I wouldn't turn him down, but I don't really want to be picked for that team.

The other question that I had after the episode was Would God actually kill someone himself if he thought they needed to die? And if he would, then why not kill people like Hitler who did awful things? Is it okay for God to kill someone? Even if it's not okay for us to kill them?

Interesting questions and ones that I will have to mull over for awhile. I love that a TV show can raise these kinds of questions and I love that it did it without preaching at me. It just did it's thing and took me along for the ride.

And now....pictures!!!

The hooker from God...

And her scary Angel

And the Austin Powers Angel

Sammy says "Huh, I never noticed the Austin Powers thing. What was I thinking?"

But look, I can do magic...

...Maybe?

I really think this girl is supposed to be scared, but she looks like she's laughing. Of course, I'd probably look like that too if Jensen was grabbing me like that.

And this guy...I swear he was on Dawson's Creek (another guilty pleasure show of mine). If I remember correctly, he was Jack's first boyfriend (Toby maybe?). I could be wrong, though. I haven't done the IMDB search to make sure.

I guess I'm done now.

Hello February

So, it's February. Somehow this month just snuck up on me; I didn't have much of a chance to prepare. Prepare for what, you ask. Prepare for the worst month of the year.

Those of you who know me, know I hate February (or at least the first two weeks). Almost every horrible thing that has happened during my life has happened during February. My mom and my Granddad both died during February, one year apart (mom 2/9/03, Granddad 2/7/04). That's enough, but then we have to also go and add in Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is the single most over-hyped holiday we have. It's sole purpose is to make money for the card/chocolate/floral industry and to remind those of us who are perpetually single on February 14th just how single we are. It ranks as one of my least favorite days of the year.

This year, however, karma has decided that just having February isn't enough, we have to add in more fun. First, we finally got that snow they've been talking about for weeks. It showed up this morning, surprising me (and the road crews, I think) with slick, snowy roads. I would have been a wonderful day to just stay home, watch TV, and knit but that was not to be. I had to come to work (which I could have skipped, since my boss is gone) and I had to go to the dentist.

Now, I'm not one to be scared of the dentist. Going to the dentist isn't one of my favorite activities, but I don't mind it all that much. However, I must have done something horrible to a dentist in another life because in the Dental Hygienist Lottery, I LOST! My dentist is great. I love her. She might possibly be the nicest person on the face of the planet. My Hygienist, however, is evil. She is, first and foremost, the slowest person on the face of the planet. Really. My turtle Dean moves faster than her. Then, she is the only hygienist I've ever visited that leaves me in pain after every visit. My gums will be swollen by lunch from all the poking and prodding and stabbing. I don't expect the visit to the dentist to be pleasant, but I don't expect it to be painful either. Oh well. I'm all done for the next six months. We should be thankful for small things I suppose.

Oh, and just in case you are wondering, I didn't get to see Supernatural last night. According to my DVR, it was supposed to air at midnight, so I had made plans to stay up and watch it late. However, when I checked the schedule on the CWKYT website, they informed me that they weren't going to air Supernatural until 1:30am. At that point, I gave up, set the VCR and DVR and went to bed. It appears that I managed to record Supernatural (I did a quick check this morning) so I guess I can slip slide my way home and watch it this afternoon.

I did get to see Ugly Betty, though, and it was good. The Alex/Alexa story line should be interesting, and I don't know what they are going to do with Bradford being in jail, but I was pleased with the episode. And, can I just say, I want Henry and Betty to get together. They are just too cute, and Henry is so much better than Walter. (I'm sure those of you who don't watch this show are very confused right now, but hey....this is my blog, and if you want to know what the hell I'm talking about, watch the show!! It's worth it, I promise.)

I also watched Grey's Anatomy, since my 9 o'clock hour was free. It was okay. I still can't really get into it this season, but I'll keep trying for my sister's sake. Nashville Star was good too. All my favorites are still there, so I'm happy......

I really want to just go home and sit on the couch and watch TV and knit. My plan was to leave at lunch, but it looks like that won't happen now. Still, hopefully I can leave around 1 before the snow causes the world to explode. It's been snowing all morning, so I know this means that by rush hour this afternoon everything will be just crazy. Gotta Love Kentucky.

Knitting and Novels (and snow--so go buy bread & milk)

I swear, this week is going by super slow and I'm beginning to think it may never end. Oh well.....

In knitting updates, I finally finished the hat I was making for my sister. It's very cute sort of fuchsia/hot pink with a purple stripe done in Cascade 220. I hope it fits her. I tried it on, and it fit me (and my huge head) but it was tighter than my hat, so we'll see.

I'm still not done with my Magic Scarf. I'm nearly through 2 balls of Artisan's Shakespeare yarn (with one more to go), but I've gotten bored with it, so who knows when it will get done. I do think, however, that I will give it to my sister along with her hat since the colors work out so well. I didn't plan it that way, but no one needs to know that. Plus, I have the feeling that by the time this scarf is done, I'm going to hate it way too much to wear so someone should get some enjoyment out of it.

I have also frogged, wound, and restarted my Harry Potter like scarf that was the beginning off all this craziness. This time I'm using my size 8 16" circs so that I can get that "purty" stockinette stitch and not have to purl. It's going okay, I've gotten one repeat done and am about 1/3 of the way through another. It would go faster, I think, if I could just stop falling asleep while I'm working on it. Something about that dang scarf just makes me sleepy!

I do have my next project picked out, however (and I may have found a use for my Noro). I've been thinking that I'd like to learn to do entrelac, and there is a really nice pattern on knitty for an entrelac scarf (Danica) and I'm on the waiting list for the book Scarf Styles from the library which has a pattern in it called "Lady Eleanor" which is a entrelac stole type thing. I love the way this looks, and Noro is supposed to be just wonderful for entrelac type things, so perhaps the Noro has found a home.

Speaking of the library, I got in some holds yesterday that I just love (so far). They are both books by Debbie Macomber (who I love as an author) and they involve a lady who has just opened a knitting shop! Knitting and novels all in one go, who knew!? So far I'm about 1/3 the way done with The Shop on Blossom Street. I started it last night and I couldn't put it down. I've also go A Good Yarn (the best name for a knitting shop EVER, BTW) so that I won't miss a beat when I'm done with book 1. I have a feeling that actually knitting is going to take a backseat to reading about people knitting until I get these two books done (unless, of course I can find a way to read and knit at the same time, but this is doubtful since I still have issues knitting and watching TV at the same time).

Normally I'd be looking forward to my Thursday night knitting extravaganza by now, but this week isn't quite so exciting. (Warning, Rant ahead) Ugly Betty is new, but Supernatural is being preempted for a basketball game!! And it's not even a UK basketball game (that would upset me, but I could deal)! NO, we decided to show EKU vs Morehead St. instead of Supernatural. While I appreciate that EKU and Morehead are wonderful schools and they deserve to be on TV just as much as any other program, why on Thursday night? And why, when we have two channels that show the exact same thing at all times (the old UPN Ch 5 and the old WB Ch 17) do we need to show the game ON BOTH OF THEM? Couldn't we show the game on one and Supernatural on the other? I will get to see Supernatural eventually, but they aren't showing it until midnight. After the game, at 10pm, we are showing Oprah!! and then we start Smallville at 11 and Supernatural at 12. Why in the world do we need to show a rerun of Oprah? Can't we start Smallville at 10 so that I won't have to stay up until 1 to fill my Supernatural quota for the week? Oh well. Rant over.

Also, it is supposed to snow 1-4 inches tomorrow which means the world will end, so I guess this won't really be an issue. We all need to rush out and buy bread and milk so that we won't starve (because everyone knows that you can't live through a snow storm without bread and milk) and prepare for the end. At least we can all be happy with our bread and milk. Perhaps we should buy some eggs too and make french toast since that is pretty much all I can think to do with just bread and milk (and eggs). I hope you survive...

It's finally Friday

After the longest week in the history of the world (perhaps due to the fact that a good portion of my lab is only semi-speaking to me) (because that is mature and professional) it is finally Friday. Thank God!!

But, since today is Friday, that means yesterday was Thursday which means Ugly Betty!!! and Supernatural!!! and (I'm ashamed to admit this) Nashville Star. I haven't actually seen Ugly Betty yet since Jenny and went and watched the UK women lose in 2 OTs last night, but it's on the DVR and is on the slate for this weekend. I also missed the first 45 min of Supernatural (because of the 2OTs), and the DVR hates me again (I think it gets mad when it has to record Betty and SPN back to back) but I was smart this time and left the TV on channel 5 so that when I came in, it had been showing Supernatural the whole time and I could record it backwards. Me and the DVR are going to have to have some words about this.

I did get to see all of Supernatural, though, so that is good since it was one of the best episodes of the year. Really. It felt like I was watching an action movie because it was just go, go, go the whole hour. It was perhaps not the scariest episode the action and the humor more than made up for any lack of scare. And besides, who can not love hearing the word "mandroid" about fifteen times in an hour?

Nashville Star is my other (and newest) Thursday night obsession. It's the country version of American Idol, except that these guys are singer/songwriter/musicians instead of wannabe pop stars. I got sucked in on accident. The guys on the radio were talking about the show one morning, and so when Supernatural was over, I decided to just flip over and see what it was all about. I got hooked, and now I hate to miss it. Oh well. Right now my favorite is Angela Hacker with a close second being David St. Romain. It's a guilty pleasure, I know, but it's fun.

1987

1987 was the year I started school. I was 4 years old at the time (my birthday was two weeks before the cut off date, but seeing as how my two goals in life were to learn to read and to ride a school bus, mom didn't think she should make me wait another whole year before I got to go) (and yes, I accomplished everything I ever wanted to do in life by the time I was 6 years old). I thought that I had left kindergarten behind a long time ago, but apparently I was wrong.

A little background first. I am the youngest person in my department by about 6 months and the youngest person in my lab by about 4 years. I work with 4 graduate students (2 from China, 1 from Gambia, 1 from Jordan), 1 post doc (Stephanie), and 3 PhDs. I am also the only person in my lab who does not have a PhD and is not working towards one. Now for the drama...

Back in December, one of the students, we shall call them Y., go into a fight with Stephanie over the two carts we keep in the lab. Y. was using both carts at the same time, Stephanie needed one, and there was some arguing and maybe some yelling. We started signing out the carts, and I thought all was well. I found out on Friday, however, that Y. was still not talking to Steph because of the whole cart incident. Y. is also only speaking to me on a need-to-know basis because (I guess) Y. feels like I took Steph's side in the Great Cart Scandal.

If this wasn't juvenile enough, there was more fun on Friday. About two weeks ago I sent out an email detailing some new procedures we needed to be following when we do surgery. I had gone over all the information in Lab Meeting, but I felt like a written explanation might help to make things clear. On Friday, I was assisting another student (we'll call them L.) with surgery when it became clear that L. had no idea what needed to be done. When I questioned L. about some of the things I had explained in the email, L. admitted to me "I didn't read the email because I didn't think it was important." Now this made me mad. I don't send out many emails, and when I do, they are usually about things that everyone needs to know. Since it was obvious that I couldn't depend on people reading my emails, I decided that the best way to make sure everyone was on the same page was to have a mandatory information session where we went over everything that needed to be going on. I discussed this with LabManager who thought it was a great idea, and then sent out an email telling the date and time.

Now, I will admit that I was still a bit mad (and maybe a bit menstrual--I'm just saying) when I sent the email. And I admit that there were some all caps, bolded, underlined sections, but since they didn't seem to read my emails all that often, I figured I needed to make it very clear what portions I expected them to read. This didn't go over to well. L. and Y. both got very upset and were going to to talk to BigBoss and do....well, I don't know--get me in trouble, get me fired, get me a raise (well, maybe not that last one). Luckily, LabManager headed them off, talked to them, and told them they needed to calm down or leave. LabManager then went and talked to BigBoss before he came and told me what had gone on. Then I had to go talk to BigBoss just to make sure that he understood my side of the story (which he did) and he assured me he was behind me 110% and that he would make sure that everyone understood that I was in charge of anything to do with animals and/or DLAR.

So, as of Friday afternoon here is where I stand with my lab: BigBoss & LabManager are on my side along with Steph & Jeff while L., & Y. are so mad at me that they are no longer talking to me and Y. has made sure that about half of the other students in the department aren't speaking to me either. No one knows what the other two students (A. and X.) think about all this since they haven't been seen or heard from since Tuesday.

Now, LabManager's excuse for L. & Y.'s behavior was that they are just young and aren't mature enough yet, at which point I had to remind him that I am 3-4 years younger that both L. & Y. and I don't act like that. It's bad enough that L. & Y. got all bent out of shape over an email that was sent to the entire lab (not just them), but Y. holding a grudge over the whole Cart Episode for two months is just ridiculous. She needs to just let it go. Oh well, we'll see what happens on Monday.

In other news, we are expecting some kind of big winter storm to hit tonight/tomorrow (which will hit this time since my friend Nathan is leaving tomorrow to move to Pennsylvania) so of course today I had to go stock up on the essentials (milk and yarn). So yes, I made my third trip to the Yarn Store since last Saturday. I needed to get another skein of yarn to finish up my Aunt Purl's Magic Scarf and I wanted to get some move yarn to make another hat using up some of the purple yarn I had left over. While I was there, however, I just had to go take another look at the Noro Yarns that I wanted so badly the last time I was in (umm.....Wednesday, yeah, I have a problem). Low and behold, they had restocked, and now they had a ton of new color choices!! I immediately gravitated to Noro's Kureyon color 90 and I just couldn't let it go. It was so pretty. It wanted to come live with me so badly. So I bought 4 skeins even though I have no idea what I'm going to do with it. I may need to take a second job to support my yarn habit.

The Noro yarn color that just had to come live with me. I am now the proud owner of 4 skeins of this stuff.

Oh yeah, and just in case anyone was wondering, I LOVED this week's Supernatural. It was totally awesome with just the right balance of creep factor, brotherly love/hate, and humor. You've got to love a show that makes fun of itself. Come to think of it, that's why I love Ugly Betty as well--and let me just say that the last five minutes of Betty totally caught me by surprise. Perhaps Faye is really dead after all.

Southern-ese...and Yarn!

So I was having a discussion yesterday with Zel about certain things that we say here in Kentucky (which is part of the south as far as I can tell, although not the deep south) that don't make a lot of sense to people from other places (you Yanks and also foreigners).

The first one that came up was the phrase big ol' as in "Did you see that big ol' box over there?" or "That was one big ol' mess you got yourself into."

Then there was y'all which we take a lot of flack for, but really, every other language that I know of (read: Spanish, French, Italian) have a perfectly acceptable way of saying y'all. Why is it that we get such a hard time for this one? Really. Without y'all you wouldn't have the world's most redneck water tower ever which proclaims "Welcome to Florence Y'all."

And then we got to our favorite phrase (and one that I use a lot) which was bless his/her/their heart. This is really just a way for us here in the south to say something mean about someone without it sounding mean because bless his heart is never followed by (or preceded by) anything nice. "Bless his heart, he's not the brightest crayon in the box" or "Bless her heart, she has a great personality" or "He has a rather unfortunate nose, bless his heart." Really. This is just our way of trying not to sound mean when we are being mean. I guess it's a southern thing.

Another one, which is very common here in Kentucky (I have no idea about anywhere else) is the phrase I don't care to. Apparently in the rest of the world, this means "Hell no, I don't want to do that" but here, it means "I don't mind doing that at all." (Go figure, we're backwards.) For example, if someone asked you if you would mind watching their turtle over the holiday you would answer "I don't care to do that at all" if you were willing to do what they were asking. This is very confusing to people who don't know the system, since they tend to think you are being rude and very un-Southern by refusing to do something nice when you are asked. So, FYI, if you are in Kentucky and someone says to you "I don't care to" just smile and say thank you.

Moving on.....

I went back to Stitch Niche yesterday to buy MORE YARN! Yes, I can see that this is going to be a very expensive habit for me. But I decided that I wanted to try out Crazy Aunt Purl's Magic Scarf since as she says:

The basket weave/checkerboard scarf is probably my all-time favorite because it's easy and it looks great and I was so sure I was making crazy advanced knitting strides -- although, really, it's just knit and purl. It's so easy! Even though it looks complex! (I totally lied and told non-knitting friends this pattern was VERY complex and DIFFICULT knitting.

And since her patterns are written in a language I can understand, I thought I'd give it a shot. So, of course, this mean another trip to the LYS (since I may never be able to buy cheap yarn at Michael's or Joanne's ever again). I found wonderful multicolored 100% wool (I've also turned into a fiber snob) that is really soft and wasn't too expensive (only $12.00 for 150yds) to try out. I still can't figure out exactly how I want to work this up, but it should look pretty when I get it done. I may also go back and try to finish (read: frog and restart) my blue/white scarf that was my whole reason for getting into knitting in the first place since I was going to knit it flat and seam it up, but I liked knitting in the round so much that I think it would go faster if I just scraped the whole thing and started over. (Also, it's a little wide, so I think I'd like to make it thinner, and make it in Stockinette instead of garter, since when I started I had no idea about any of that.)

A side effect of my trip to the Yarn store was that I now what some Noro yarn (despite the fact that it is slightly expensive). I have no idea what I want to do with said yarn, but I want it. I must have it. I'm trying very hard to keep from going back to the yarn store today and buying some. I really don't need to, but I really want to. Oh well.

And...exciting...tonight we get all new episodes of both Ugly Betty and Supernatural which makes me happy. The previews for Supernatural looked very good (something about creepy dolls) and last week Ugly Betty ended with Amanda beating the crap out of Sophia in the elevator (which is always good TV) so I can't wait to see what happens this week. And, I plan on being home all evening so that I don't have to rely on the evil DVR to record things (which it doesn't do if it doesn't want to apparently) and I can work on my Magic Scarf. What fun!! Knitting and good TV. I love multi-tasking.

Oh, and I can't say much about my meeting at church last night except for Hallelujah!!

And, just in case anyone was wondering, there have been no Scopeman sightings yet, and no further email communications. Oh well. He will have to show up at some point.

And (last one I promise) Hi Jenny! Since you are (as far as I can tell) the only person that reads this. Isn't it sad that we live about 500 ft away from each other but I only get to see you about once a week?

Supernatural, Yarn Heaven, and a Religious Experience

I went to my LYS (Local Yarn Store...see I'm a totally hip yarnster) for the first time this Saturday. I had been waiting to go because I had a feeling that once I went, I would be ruined forever, but I felt like I had spent enough time practicing on cheap yarn from Michael's and Joanne's that I could move up to the good stuff. Let me just say WOW. I was in awe, or maybe shock, or perhaps shock and awe. I have never seen that much yarn in my entire life. There was yarn of every color, texture, weight, fiber, and price (who knew that you could pay $35.00 for one skein of yarn?). I shall never be the same again. This store also sold Cross Stitch supplies (which is my first crafty love) so I was doubly in heaven. I meant to ask for a schedule of their classes, but I forgot. Next time I will have to since I would love to take a class there. Not that I mind the solitary teach yourself to knit from a book and some websites way of things, but sometimes you need someone to explain things to you in person.

I did get some lovely wool yarn in purple and this wonderful variegated purple/green to make my first hat (as well as some 16" size 8 circs) which I did knit up this weekend, and then frogged because it was too short. I started on it again yesterday, got about 3/4 of the way done, and then had to frog a couple of the stripes because the back (where they joined) looked all wonky (I am a perfectionist, I know this about myself and I accept that fact.). I should be able to get it done either tonight or tomorrow, though. I may have to take pics of this one, since I'm so proud of the fact that I can make circular things now. (Jenny, I'm coming for your camera, beware.) What's next? I have no idea. Maybe Mittens!

In other news. I have finally gotten to watch this week's episode of Supernatural in it's entirety. Remember I said I had to go to dinner with my Dad? Well, I didn't end up getting home in time to catch the beginning of the episode, but no problem right? The DVR had it covered, right? WRONG! For whatever reason the DVR decided not to record Supernatural that night (even though I checked that it was set to about 100 times before I left the house). Darn you evil technology! This is why I don't trust that darn thing. All was not lost, however, because I'm OCD and I had also set the VCR (old school, but at least it never fails me) to tape as well (score one for the neurotics!). The only draw back was that I had to wait for the VCR to finish taping before I could rewind and watch the first half of the episode, so I ended up watching the second half of the episode first and then going back and watching the whole thing. It was good. Well worth the time and the hassle of trying to get to see it. I do think the impact was somewhat diminished by knowing exactly what was going to happen. Oh well. This week I plan to be home on Thursday night so that I can see the whole episode as it airs in the correct order. Don't mess with my Supernatural baby!!

I leave you with some bondage, cute boys and maybe some gun porn (just saying is all):

Thursday Thinkings...Knitting, Supernatural, and what's wrong with TV today

It's Thursday and I'm tired. Really, I've been tired all week, but for some reason it seems worse today. (My right arm also hurts for some unknown reason.) At least it's warmer today than it has been, although I think it is supposed to get COLD next week. Oh well, it is winter. Maybe the cold weather will inspire me to knit something nice and cozy. I think, perhaps, my next project needs to be a hat. I need to practice knitting on circular needles as well as the Dreaded Double Pointed Needles of Death! A hat would accomplish both of these goals as well as cater to my need for short, simple projects that I can finish quickly since I think I have knitting ADD. I think I liked Knitty's Calorimetry so much because I could finish it in just a few hours (read two or three days) of knitting. This may be my biggest problem when I start my New Year Goal of Knitting a sweater.

In other Thursday news....today is the first new episode of Supernatural since it went on hiatus back before Christmas. This is one of those shows that I like to watch and that I harbor a secret addiction to (and since nobody reads this, it is still a secret, see how sly I am ;) ). I love that it can scare the pants off me, and I love that it is different from pretty much anything else out there. It's not a medical drama like ER or Grey's Anatomy. It's not a law drama like Law & Order (any of them) or CSI (which I can't watch because of the bad, bad science in that show. It just makes me mad when they make mistakes like that. Can't they pay someone to do some research?). And most importantly, it's not reality TV. Now, I will admit to watching some reality TV. I LOVE The Amazing Race and Project Runway, but other than that, I don't watch much Reality TV. I want my TV shows to take me away from reality, and the last thing I want to see is a bunch of money hungry whiners running around in some mansion competing for a million dollars. (I want a million dollars!!!) The problem with TV today is that this kind of thing passes as entertainment, and PEOPLE WATCH IT!!!

Anyway, I love Supernatural because it is not only a show that can creep me out (but the bad guy always gets had in the end, so I can still sleep at night), but it has the most wonderfully real relationship between the two main characters. They are brothers, and you actually believe that they are brothers. They fight and pick and tease. They know just what to say to push the other one's buttons. They bring up all kinds of things from the past that should really just stay buried (literally sometimes). But they also have this wonderful way of showing each other that they care without saying anything and without being over the top. They might fight, but they still stick up for each other when someone else jumps into the mix. Really, they remind me of my sister and me (without the whole demon hunting thing, of course). I came for the scares, but I stayed because of the brothers. (Plus they are hot, so that helps too. I sat through all of the movie Troy just to see 30 seconds of Brad Pitt's ass, so I can totally do 1 hour of good TV every week if I get to stare at Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki.)


Anywho, it comes back tonight for the first new episode in a month or so, so that is exciting I guess. Now all I have to do is make sure that I'm home from dinner with Dad before 9 so I can watch it (although I guess that's what DVR is for, right? oh, and since I'm a dork and don't trust my DVR 100%, I also record it on VHS as well. Yeah, I need help). And, yes, I realize that Grey's Anatomy also comes on at 9 on Thursday, but really, what are you going to miss? Someone is going to sleep with someone (probably Meridith) and someone is going to get mad at someone (again, Meridith). And, if you really must see all this, they show it again on Friday nights at 8. Really, people, branch out. Be different. Watch something new. If you don't like, you can go back to watching Sex in a Hospital (I mean Grey's Anatomy).

In the mean time, I'm going to go buy yarn to knit a hat. Go me!!