Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I have been very remiss. The second part of my fabulous Starbucks & Yarn package came on Monday and I have not written about it. That's very bad of me, especially considering how WONDERFUL and BEAUTIFUL all of it is. Thank you again Lynn for the fabulous package and all of the beautiful yarn! The cup cozies are great as well. I'm going to have to go shopping for bigger mugs though! But hey, I love any reason to shop!

Here is a close up of the beautiful yarn. The two green hanks are Posh yarn. I had seen a brief reference of this on Ravelry (I think I may have come across it because Lynn is in the Ravelry group). It has to be some of the SOFTEST yarn I have ever touched! And the green is GORGEOUS! And the other hank is such a pretty mix of blues and purples. I love it so much!








And last (but by no means least!) are the VERY well done cup cozies. They are such a beautiful shade of soft green and blue. And I of course how she did the ones in contrasting colors and swapped the two colors. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Lynn! for SUCH a wonderful package. I was really lucky when I got you for a spoiler!!!

Super Swap Package!

So, just as I was getting ready to head out the door Saturday, the mailman dropped off a big red package for me! It was from my super swap partner in the Starbucks & Yarn swap! In it were a number of WONDERFUL goodies, many I would never be able to get here in the US I believe. I got these gummy candies (called Penny Pig, did she know my roommate's name was Penny?) as well as some good-for-me granola bars. I also got a yummy smelling candle, really nice yarn that I get to dye and a HUGE coffee mug. See the pictures below!

And I'm BACK!

Ok, so I didn't really GO anywhere. I just left the blogosphere for other ventures for a little while. You should be happy to know though, that I have been knitting up a storm. Since my last post, I have finished (COMPLETELY) my first bag. Which I then quickly packed up with some other goodies and sent off to my Starbucks & Yarn spoilee. I have to say, I am VERY proud of myself! I deserve a little pat on the back. I have also progressed rather well on my CPH. I have about 10 inches of the back done. What else? Oh yeah, I started a baby blanket for the sixth niece or nephew of mine. Here's a picture of my bag and progress on the sweater.

Things are also going pretty well with the guy. I don't get to see him very much due to his uber busy work schedule, but I talk to him pretty much every day, so I'm happy with that. I know that it sounds like I'm settling, but I'm really not. You see, I don't really WANT someone around all of the time. I really am happy with talking through out the week and then seeing him a few times a month. That's really all I need at this time. I know it sounds like I'm rationalizing, but if you knew me, you'd know that this is really like the IDEAL relationship for me.

Oh, and as for the roommate... well, who knows. I don't know when she's leaving. The only definite answer I can get out of her is that I'll get 30 days notice, just like the land lady. I'm trying to be ok with that, but it's hard. I don't like to have these kinds of things up in the air. It just doesn't sit well with me. But, I can't do anything else about it, so I'm just going to let it go and trust her to give me the 30 days notice.

Anywho, that's all in my world. Well, in case you're wondering, work is getting really busy. The meeting is a little less than 2 months away and I'm kind of starting to freak out. I just know that I don't have everything in order and I'm starting to feel the panic setting in. Well, that's when I start knitting. Which is why I've been knitting so much lately!

NOW, I'm ready to sign off. Until next time, everyone! Be good to yourself! :)

Starbucks & Yarn Scavenger Hunt

So, the Starbucks & Yarn swap that I am part of is doing a Scavenger Hunt so we can find out more about our fellow swappers. And let me tell you something. It was NOT easy! Here goes nothing!

In Your Blend (House Blend):

What U.S. state has the most folks in your Blend?
Virginia seems to have the most. Mixplate84, dramaqt99 (me!) and lakeknitter.

What is the most popular Ravatar choice, i.e., self portrait, child, pet, yarn, etc.
This was a little tougher. There really wasn't much of any ONE thing. Our group seemed to run the gammut! However, there were more self portraits. SScerrato, knittycent, dramaqt99 (me!), tiapixy, snowmoon3, sauvageblue

Find someone with over 100 posts. (Bonus if it's not a blend hostess.)
doxietrek (1418)

Who is the oldest Raveler in the group, i.e., Ravelry membership, not age!
knittycent (08/27/07)

Who is the newest Raveler in the group?
dramaqt99 (me!) (06/23/08)

Find a sock knitter.
knittycent

Find a spinner.
knittycent

Find two people with the same favorite drink.
mixplate84 and miami99 both share a love for passion tea

Find two bloggers.
Sauvageblue
knittycent

Find two non-bloggers.
lynnsanjac
miami99

Outside Your Blend:

Find two people who dye yarn.
bartons15 and randomranter

Find two people with the same favorite color(s).
randomranter and wannabemuse both like blues & greens

Find two people with the same favorite fragrance.
wamozart12 and bartons15 both like citrus fragrances

Find two people with the same favorite yarn(s).
cabingirl and bartons15 both like fleece artist

Find someone with more than four kids. (Bonus if you find more than one.)
kelly41momof5 (5) and bartons15 (13!)

Find three people who live outside the U.S.
rdodo= Winscombe, England
BellaAnna= Sopot, Poland
BumblebeeBaby= Vancouver, BC, Canada

Find someone with an unusual pet.
FibreJunky has an angora bunny, which I think is awesome because she can make her own yarn!
Find someone with at least three pets.
Dominicana Muneca has two cats and a dog

Find two people with birthdays in the same week.
donkeyegg (August 3) and 2327mary (August 4)

Find two people with the same favorite curse word.
glamrgeek and marian both like fu** the most.

In search of the perfect yarn!

I am really keen on making the Central Park Hoodie (CPH) and there's even going to be a DC KAL so I will have support while I am working on it. I went to my FAVORITE LYS, Knit Happens, to get the yarn and they were super helpful (as usual). I was really happy with my choice of the Harrisville Highland in Suede, but when I went to do my guage, it just wasn't working out for me. On size US 7 I was getting about 20 stitches over 4" and when I went up to US 8, it was like making lace the holes were so big. So, not being a math whiz, I decided I needed to find a different yarn. So, back to Knit Happens, where I got even MORE help and ended up with a different kind of Harrisville yarn that knits up to a perfect guage. Which then makes me worry that maybe perfect is TOO good? I'm not sure, I'm still pretty new to the whole knitting thing, so I just don't know. I think I'm just going to plunge in and hope that it works. Wish me luck!

Roommate Blues

In personal news, I am losing my roommate. My wonderful and absolutely FABULOUS roommate. She is moving in with her boyfriend and leaving me at the end of August. Which means, I'm not only losing an almost perfect roommate, but I now have to find a NEW roommate. I've never done that before. I've always been on the end looking for a place. My plan is to clean up and take some pics and then post an ad on Craigslist. Wish me luck that I'll be able to find someone who will be able to move in at the end of August so I won't have to pay the full rent amount for Septemeber!

In knitting news, I am filling my calendar with swaps and KALs. I think I've reached my limit now though. I'm doing the Starbucks & Yarn, Project Runway #5 (which isn't a REAL swap since I'm just sending a small prize to the winner of my group), the DC Central Park Hoodie KAL and the Hat Attack 2. Yeah, I think that's enough for my limited knitting capability. I also have my first pair of socks, my sister's poncho and starting on slippers for X-Mas gifts. Yeah DEFINITELY think I have enough knitting!

Oh, didn't want to forget to mention the FABULOUS party thrown by Wendy & Sarah. It was Iron Chef: Battle LIME! and it went off wonderfully. LOTS of good food (I did a variation on Cheesy pie where I used lime juice instead of lemon) and a good time was had by all. Thanks again to the lovely ladies in Westover! :) I have pictures that I'll post at a later date, but just wanted to drop a quick line and thanks.

Well, I think that about covers it for now. I'm heading to the LYS tonight to get my yarn for my S&Y swapee and my CPH, which I am really excited about! Talk to you all soon! :)

Quick Note

So, work is getting kind of crazy busy. The biggest part of my job is keeping track of MANY details on all of the speakers that we're going to have at our annual meeting. Now for anyone who knows me, they know that I am NOT a detail person. Therefore, it takes a lot of energy on my part to keep track of all the little details. So, now I'm getting really tired. In fact, I went to bed around 7 on Tuesday, woke up at 9 to eat a small-ish dinner and then was back to sleep by about 10:30. This means that I got NO knitting done on Tuesday. Bummer. However, I got a couple sets of 5 rows done on my socks yesterday, so I felt a little better. Oh, and my swap recipient did her questionnaire, so I now know what homemade goody she wants and I'm planning on going to a LYS in Hyattsville, MD to get the yarn and such. On the reading front, I finished 3rd Degree (James Patterson) in a day and a half and am still working on Ghostwalk, which is turning out to be just as good as I hoped. So, that's my week in a nutshell. I'll see if there's anything worth mentioning during the weekend. Have a good one, peoples! :)

Emotional Roller Coaster

Last night I finished Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper, which had me on an emotional roller coaster. I have not been THAT moved by a book in a really long time. It truly touched me, which is strange because I couldn't really relate to any of the characters. Except maybe Anna, I could really understand her desire to be able to figure out who she is separate to her role in the family. The desire to know who you are in general is something I believe we all encounter. I wrote a more extensive review that you can read here. I am now moving onto Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott. It is an historical thriller that takes place at Cambridge. I hope that is as good as it sounds!

Last night I also finished the cuff to my sock. It looks a LOT better than my fist attempt which makes me think that it was a good thing to start all over. Tonight I plan to work on my sister's poncho. I intend to go back and forth between these two until my sister's poncho is done. I will also have to work in the homemade goody for my Starbucks & Yarn partner. So, all in all, it will be a very busy knitting/reading week!

Sock knitting update

Ok, so instead of working on my socks over the 4th of July weekend, I opted instead to work on my sister's poncho. I am VERY excited to work on the socks, but I have been working on this poncho for almost a year now and it's SO close to being done, that I just have this need to finally FINISH it. I have one more ball/stripe to do and then I can sew it together and I'll be done. After that, I'll get back to my socks. I'd also like to do a baby blanket for my brother Justin's soon-t0-be-born baby. So, those are my summer projects.

Oh, and I also took a picture of all of my WIPs and yarn stash. I've posted them on my Ravelry page. You can view them here, but if you don't have Ravelry, here are a few of the pics. I hope to have some pics of my socks soon.

This is one panel of my sister's poncho. Each stripe is one ball of the yarn and I have only one ball left and then to finish it and it'll be done.

And here we have some really pretty purple yarn that is just waiting to become something. What though, I'm not so sure about. Any suggestions?

Starbucks Swap Questionnaire

Woo hoo! I'm participating in my first swap. I'm super excited. It combines my love of knitting AND coffee! PERFECTION! SOOO excited. :) Here are the answers to my questionnaire. :)

1. Full name Ashley Cavell
2. Ravelry ID dramaqt99
3. Email address ashley.cavell@gmail.com
4. Blog address (if you have one) mymeanderingstories.blogspot.com/
5. Handmade item you desire in the swap (bag, cup cozy, etc.) cup cozy
6. Starbucks item you desire (gift card, mug, beans, etc.) mug
7. Favorite Starbucks beverage/bean skinny mocha
8. Favorite snack food Fiber One Chewy Bars
9. Favorite color(s) green/blue/grey
10. Favorite fragrance Happy
11. What types of things do you like to knit? I really like knitting scarves and hats.
12. Do you spin? I do not spin.
13. Do you dye your own yarn? No, I do not dye my own yarn. However, I AM interested in learning how.
14. Favorite yarns Felici, Cascade, Malabrigo
15. Favorite needles Crystal Palace
16. Do you have any allergies? I am not allergic to ANYTHING.
17. Would you be willing to prepare an angel kit if necessary? Sure! :)
18. Do you have any special requests? No, nothing special... I'm easy to please! :)
19. Do you have any pets? I am the proud co-owner of a Corgi named Matilda! :)
20. Is your home smoking or nonsmoking? Non-smoking ALL the time! Eww!

Thanks be to Wendy!

This is just a quick shout out to Wendy for saving my socks. Well, they were beyond saving, but she was willing to try PLUS she showed me how to rescue a dropped stitch, so she still deserves the shout out!

So, I am now re-starting my socks. I am ok with this. It will give me a chance to do the cuff better (there was a lot of laddering) and I will have all of Thursday afternoon and all of Friday to work on them, so I'm hopeful that I will catch up in no time. I'm also hoping to take pictures of my WIPs and VERY small yarn stash to post on Ravelry. I'm going to have an all knitting weekend. Woo hoo!

In the pursuit of men and knitting!

I have two things I want to talk about. The first is concerning my date on Sunday and the second is my desire to ramp up my knitting.

First, Sunday night. So, Tuesday, this guy asked if I wanted to watch a movie at his place Sunday evening. Great, not only did I get the second date, but he asked. Very positive. Then, I get a text on Saturday looking to confirm that we were still on, again VERY positive. Well, come Sunday, I don't hear ANYTHING from him, so I send a text around 7 that evening asking if we were still on and he says sure, how about 9. I knew the potential was there for this to be a late thing (he's a first year law associate, which means he basically has NO life), but this is still kind of late for me. I'm usually changing into my PJs by 9, but I say yes because I like him and need to get used to the late night date if things go any further, right? Well, it's a very nice evening all in all. We watch a Futurama movie and talk some and laugh... but, I don't know, I felt a little odd. Maybe because it's been a while since I "dated" someone, but something felt weird. Who knows... I think I'm just a little off. But we'll see if I hear from him again.

Ok, second. I have been knitting off and on for about three years. I know the basics and can follow a simple pattern. I enjoy the sense of accomplishment that comes from completing a project and the look on my friends' faces when I give them a knitted gift. That said, I haven't been very serious about furthering this craft (well, my SKILLS in this craft). So, I'm hoping to start ramping things up a bit. It started by doing a pair of slippers, which required me to learn some new skills. Now, I'm knitting my first pair of socks. My next desire is to join a swap. My knitting friends Sarah and Wendy do them and they seem like a lot of fun and a great way of learning and expanding your horizons. So, if you know of a swap that is looking for people and/or hasn't started yet, let me know.

Ok, I'm done now. Hope all is well in your world! Catch you later!

My Beautious Slippers!

I'm very excited about this entry because I get to show off my slippers. I've been knitting off and on for the past three years, but have really only done scarves, hats and one poncho. (Although, I'm REALLY close to finishing Elizabeth's poncho!) So, it's very exciting to me to show you something that required a bit more skill on my part. The pattern is from my friend Wendy (who is a superb knitter and patient teacher) and she also helped with the felting. The pictures are below. BTW, if you ask me nicely I might make you a pair! :)

Here we have the purple & green slippers -- pre-felting.

And this is the slipper by my foot, just so you can see how much bigger it has to be before felting!

Here's one of my pretty blue & grey ones... I'm definitely keeping these!

And here we have the finished (and felted) pair! Now I just have to wait for them to dry and I can enjoy them completely! Woo hoo for the slippers!

In search of dating advice!

Ok, new dating type question. I am now facing a point where one of my online matches has definite potential, so when do I stop talking to my other matches? This is a new dilema for me... I've never been matched with someone who had ACTUAL potential, you know? I've done the first date with some, but after that, it's always fallen flat. This one could go further, so when do I end it with the others? Not that I'm doing anything more than emailing, but when does it end? Ok, there are no more ways to ask this question, so I'm leaving it to you. Thanks!

Trying to Decipher Dating Signals!

So, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I am doing the online dating thing. Well, I recently met up with a guy for our first face-to-face meeting. We'd been emailing eachother for about a month, but he's a first year law associate so he gets home late, which means we hadn't had a chance to talk on the phone. Finally, this past Monday we were able to connect on the phone. This lead to the f2f set-up for the next day.

We opted to meet at a Cosi's by his office since he was just going to be taking a dinner break and then heading back to finish some work. We had a pretty nice time. No awkward pauses in the conversation, a few shared laughs... all in all, a really great first meeting. It was at the end that things got a little odd and is what is worrying me now. You see, he walked me back to the Metro (since it was on the way to his office), but we just said goodbye. There was no hug, not even a handshake. Just goodbye and then we went our separate ways.

I sent him a text later that evening, thanking him for dinner and saying it was great to meet him and I hoped we could do it again soon and that I hoped he enjoyed the rest of his evening. He sent me a text back a few minutes later saying it was nice meeting me as well and that he hoped he'd get to go home soon. That was it. I didn't hear from him at all on Wednesday and then got an email late on Thursday. However, the email was just a continuation of the string we had already established. No mention of how "date" or questions about plans to meet again. I replied back to the string, then asked how his week had been, told him about mine and asked him what he was planning on doing this weekend.

So, now we reach the point of this post. I'm not sure how I should play this. Should I just admit that maybe he's not as interested? Or maybe he's just busier than I am (which he is, I'm sure) and so doesn't want to commit to anything for fear of having to cancel because of work. Should I put myself out there and ask him myself? I'm just not sure. This is only the second guy who's had any REAL potential, so I'd like to pursue it further, but I'm just not sure HOW far I should push it, you know? Anyway, I'm sending this out into the void... hoping that someone out there will have some advice!

The question of "To have or NOT to have" and being ok with it.

Ok, so I'm reading this book, Baby Proof, and it's really hitting home for me. It's about a woman who marries a man who agrees with her decision NOT to have kids. They are MADLY in love and it seems like they'll live happily ever after. But then, the husband decides he DOES want kids after all. However, the woman is still adamant about NOT wanting kids. They're at an impasse and since neither is willing to budge, they get divorced.

So, why is this really hitting home for me? I am neither married or with anyone who I potentially COULD marry, but I have made the choice to NOT have kids. Well, I am 95% sure that I DON'T want to have kids. But my point is this... she gets so much SH** from her friends and family because the marriage ended because SHE didn't want kids. SHE is a bad person because she made the decision not to have them. THAT is insane! There is nothing wrong with enjoying kids, but not wanting to have your own. Why do we ridicule those who don't want to have kids, as though there's something WRONG with them?! It just REALLY pisses me off.

When I tell people that I really don't think I want to have kids, they always say, "Oh, you're just young. Wait until you're in your 30's, then you'll change your mind." Ok, that MIGHT happen, but what if it DOESN'T?! Is there something WRONG with me then?! I do like kids, but I just don't want to have my own. So, here's my final point. People need to get passed this archane belief that our purpose in life is to populate the Earth. There is more to our lives than creating new life. I don't mean to say that having kids is a bad thing, I'm just saying that the choice NOT to have kids is not a bad one.

Anywho, thanks for letting me rant. Have a lovely day! :)

Loving people... watching that is.

I am a classic introvert. I'm really in my head, always re-thinking a fight up to three days later, and being in a large crowd of people takes a lot of energy. That said, I REALLY enjoy people and watching their antics. I like being in a crowd... as long as their not asking anything of me. Which makes me an EXCELLENT people watcher! I love going to The Mall or a park or any public place and watching people and the way they interact with eachother. I also like to make up stories about what kind of people they are... what they do, their relationships with others... that kind of thing. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not you know... creepy about it or anything. Once they have left my line of vision, I move on. Or, once I've fleshed out their "story" and they're still there, I move on.

So, if you ever see a short brunette sitting by herself, just looking around... it might be me!

Ranting about the STUPID people! Grr!

Ok, I know that this has been written about by numerous other people, but can we talk about how stupid drivers can be?!?!?! Yesterday, I'm leaving work and there's a woman ahead of me, trying to get out of the garage. She must have been in the spot right by the exit because she was like parallel to it and trying to turn herself around so she could get out. This is all well and good, except she was doing all these turns while talking on her CELL PHONE! For whatever reason, she just COULDN'T bring herself to put the stupid thing down and focus on the driving. No, her conversation was just that important. MAN! did it piss me off though. People who are just THAT inconsiderate and oblivious to the world around them just really tick me off. And here's a word to the wise, in the grand scheme of things, you're really NOT that important!

Thank you for listening to my rant. See you again, tomorrow!

New jobs... can't live with them, can't live without them.

I recently started a new job. This is my second job in the almost four years since I graduated from VA Tech. This makes me a rarity among my peers, as the average tenure at a job is only one year. I was at The Council for three years and would still be there if it weren't for one fact -- there was NO where for me to go. The Council is a relatively small association (staff wise) compared to others in the industry and there just wasn't anyplace for me to advance to. There was, of course, plenty to be learned from my bosses, but after three years, that just wasn't cutting it for me anymore. So, when I was offered my new position, I took the leap and made the change.

Two months later and I'm just now starting to get into a groove. My new job is for an association with a staff size even SMALLER than my old association. This means that I get my own office, but it also means that everyone is SUPER busy doing a million and one things and doesn't really have the time to show me the ropes. Don't get me wrong, everyone is really nice, but when you're a VP or Director and have to do your own administrative work, you don't have much time to show the new girl where the paper is. I also have a boss who wears MANY hats, so has only been able to train/give me things to do on a sporadic basis. All in all, my first month was not very productive.

However, I am now getting into the meat of my new position. I was tasked with finding a learning management system vendor. This was an experience as I had NO idea what that was. But I was trusted with finding four or five systems and summarizing the various aspects. I was then asked my opinion on them... something that I was rarely asked at The Council. The best part of this is the fact that this was MY project, something that I never had at The Council. I had been asking for something I could point to and say, "I did that," but it wasn't happening -- despite the promise that it would be considered.

And here we are, at the end of another meandering story. Check back next time to see what I go on (and ON) about next time!

Time moves SO fast... sometimes.

Time and life has a way of getting away from you, don't you think? I know that people (generally speaking) only think about how fast time (and life) flies until they're facing the holiday season, but I tend to over think things to begin with and so think about time and life flying all the time.

What I find ironic is that when you have nothing to do at work, time just DRAGS, but if you're doing nothing on a weekend or a holiday, it just FLIES! I think this just highlights the fact that time really DOES fly when you're having fun. And being away from work, even when I'm doing nothing, is ALWAYS fun! I just finished another month where I had something scheduled for every weekend. I enjoy having things to do, it gives me something to look forward to. However, if I'm REALLY looking forward to it, it can make the work week that much longer.

I think the best thing from this month was my sister's wedding. There's something that really makes you look at how fast time goes by. I look back on my life with Elizabeth and can only marvel at how fast it all went by -- and how long it took when I was living it. The next best thing was just this past weekend. Jame & Kate (my two best friends from college) and I went to see SATC. We hadn't seen eachother in a while, had certainly not done anything just the three of us in at least a year, but it didn't matter. With such close friends, time really DOESN'T matter, you just pick up where you left off.

And on that note, I'm signing off. Until next time, folks!