What fun on Flickr!

Illustration Friday - Insect
Originally uploaded by Theodesign.

This is a great find from flickr's photo treasure trunk...

TGIF!

close up
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Yep! That's right! I have now entered the working world where people use phrases like TGIF in there blog titles (ok, so maybe its me and me alone that does this, but so what?). I have completed my first full week of work at the new job, and I am glad to report that everyone is okay, and I have yet to screw anything up royally. It has been a surprisingly slow week though, as it is spring break (party!) and most everyone is out of the office.
Spring break in Eugene Oregon means rain. And sun, but mostly lots of rainy grey days with some thunder and a little lightening if we're lucky. This week we were lucky.
Dan will be leaving on Sunday to visit his family in Arizona, and me and Em will be forced to entertain ourselves next week. I am hoping to squeeze in a little family time, and its Dirty Deeds's birthday on the 4th, so I'd like to do something special for her that has yet to be decided on.
One more thing before I sign off: tomorrow I will be getting CABLE INTERNET installed at Dan's so as to be able to HAVE WIRELESS AND USE MY POWERBOOK!!!!! Needless to say, I am overjoyed at leaving his dial up connection far, far behind!

Today I completed my second day at work. I am sorry that my posts lately have been entirely work consumed, I am hoping that my brain will adjust to my new work schedule so I can get back to the stuff that is really important, like thread and scissors and yarn and fabric...
Soon, my friends, soon.
I am currently watching Jeopardy instead of sitting in on my beloved knitting group. The reason is merely that I am pooped. Ugh, maybe working full time isn't my thing :)

Day one complete

I had my first full day at my actual workstation today! It was great! I am so excited about computers! I am honored to be working around computerized everything! It makes my job infinitely more streamlined, which to a type A control freak like me is damn near heaven. Ahhh...

The period affliction

It seems to me that the only thing that makes my belly feel good before I start my period is by constantly putting food (grain type items in particular) in my mouth. My stomach may hate my mouth once I swallow, but it has an odd connection to my hand that propels my hand toward my mouth with breadelicious deliveries. Grain of the moment? Rice. With tamari and green onions (I got hooked on this combo while trekking across the country with anatomist and hardcori). Ten minutes ago it was granola bars lathered in peanut butter. Before that? I am pretty sure I had a bagel and cream cheese. I am telling you the level of compulsive eating escalates to an annoying degree pre-period. Ahhh, to be a woman.

Restful weekend

03.22.06
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Despite the productivity, I had a really restful weekend. I spent a lot of time fixing up the second bedroom to be able to house my craft things and some clothes overflow. I cleaned the house on Saturday, and lost a game of Scrabble to Dan despite a significant lead throughout. We hauled a bunch of stuff from the old house to the new house, and I spent copious amounts of time on the phone with Becky Fay talking about nothing. All in all it was a glorious weekend. And now preparations for Day 2 of Work Orientation will begin....

It could have been a scene from Curb Your Enthusiasm

Picture this:
Dan and I are at an Estate Sale and when we go up to pay for the jacket he has found, which is on sale for 2.50$US from 5.00$US, the woman gives him the wrong change, and he almost lets it go but then goes back for a grand total of 15 cents. Wow. It was in that moment I realized that I could be living with the main character of Curb, Larry David. Frightening.
There was one time when I was younger and on my way up to Edinburgh, Scotland from London on the train overnight, that I figured this type of overnight bus ride would be better if I was able to get inebriated enough to fall asleep through the whole ride. Unfortunately, the beers I drank just made me kind of drunk, and unable to sleep. So I arrived in Edinburgh with the worst headache of my young life, nowhere to go, and at seven o'clock in the morning. It was awful. So when Dan told me that his brother had an overnight flight to LAX from Hawaii and had done the same thing as I did, try and drink his way through it, I laughed. Then I laughed harder when Dan told me G had gotten so trashed he had forgotten to pack his underwear and socks. Now he is in LA with a headache and no underwear. Brilliant! If that doesn't make you smile I don't know what will!

First work day

sierra's 169
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

These here are my Scrabble tea towels. I love them. And that is my knitting needle holder that I handstitched while I was visiting Effie, Andrew, and Violet in February.
I spent several hours today in an Employee Orientation, where I could barely keep my mind off the little knitting needles in my purse. Every time the Lead would say "Let's stretch for a few minutes," I would reach immediately into my little bag and get promptly back to that which is truly important to me.
Dinner tonight was ordered from Track Town Pizza, and is known as The Hammer. It consists of pepperoni, linguisa, and pepperoncinis. Truly Heartburn Heaven. Dan's favorite:)

It's official

New Address
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

According to the United States Postal Service I have a new residence. I have yet to receive any mail at this new address, but I feel like the time is creeping closer!

Dan worked like a meth addict to get our bedroom together and done yesterday. He had his table saw out in the back yard, we went to Home Depot for wood panels, there was sawing, nail gunning, drilling, and shop vaccing (sp?)! Everything is set now for me to move in the rest of my junk. He also cleared out half of the second bedroom's closet for my material, what a doll!
It's too bad that I have to go back to work now, since the house is unbelievably comfy. Sad.

A moment of reflection

Self Portrait Tuesday
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I fought going to see my "spiritual quide" all day. My appointment was at 1:30, and up until 1:15 I was trying to come up with good excuses to not go to the appointment. At the last minute I went, of course. And I have to say that despite all of my resistance I had one of the best sessions that I have had in a long time. I had some really eye-opening epiphanies that made me sit back and go, "whoa, deep" like the kids you see who are on drugs in any afterschool special. Nothing beats a good session, except, well, nevermind :)

Torrential Rains Tuesday

Mug
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

So now that I am actually going to start work on Friday, I have lost all desire to leave the house (not that I ever had any). I want to stay indoors and craft until my eyeballs pop out of my sockets. And instead I am going to hop in the shower and then dress myself for dodging raindrops for most of the day. I have two appointments and then volunteering. I would also love to make it to the gym today, I guess we will see how things go, its always the first to get dropped from the schedule if you know what I mean.
I have been feeling rather sluggish lately, and would like to kick my own butt into gear for health and fitness. I think I can do it, and now is as good of a time as any. Dan and I were talking last night about our eating patterns, and how lately we have been eating A LOT and moving very LITTLE. So we have agreed to begin eating smaller portions, less pasta, and more veggies. I won't cut out the half and half, and I would never even fathom him giving up bacon, but we're going to make a conserted effort to eat healthier. I also want to go to the gym 3 times a week. These are my goals. Now I have said them to the internet, which makes them real. ;)

Monday night and all is well

block4
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Yes, that is right, the week has started with a bang, and everyone so far has come out okay! On Friday I will be starting my new job, and I have appointments most days until then so free time is quickly coming to a screeching halt. I am sure sadness will set in rather abruptly and to a rather obnoxious level for those around me, but what's a girl to do?
Soon the house will be upgrading to CABLE INTERNET!!! I will be so happy to surf the internet with speed not known to me now! Ahhhh....

Cool stuff to check out

I was surfing on the internet and I found this woman who makes wonderful and unique art out of embroidery and stuff. Here you can see her embroidery art on old targets and using vintage embroidery hoops that I love! Enjoy!

My days of doing nothing are coming to an end

lil homey
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Sad but true. Tomorrow I will hear from the job gods with an answer to my apllication proceedings. When application proceedings are this long and involved its really hard not to think that something is going to go wrong.
Dan was shocked at the brevity of Becky and Tom's visit yesterday. I think he was also a little surprised at the insanity that Becky and I managed to pack into that short period of time. For instance, we screeched at eachother the entire time, tried eachother's lotions, emptied the contents of our craft bags, took pictures, and then did everything in reverse to end the visit. Bizarre. And yet it was so satisfying!

Becky Fay is coming to town!

tulip
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon here in gold old Eugene, Or. and my friend Becky is coming to town for a quick hello with her boyfriend, Tom. Dan is off playing in a golf tournament, so it is just me and Em until the late afternoon. I have spent most of the morning working on my quilt blocks for Seed Pod's block swap, and have made an astonishing amount of progress. I will post a picture of my block design once I finish them all.
Well this circumcision debate has given me a bunch of interesting perspectives, and I have to say that the winning argument was a couple of guys that starred on an HBO show called Real Sex. The show is great, and always different and interesting, but this particular episode was called Penis Puppeteers, and they just wouldn't be able to do all their neat tricks without their foreskin. Let me know what y'all think, this subject is truly fascinating!

Our first knock-down-drag it out fight!

Last night Dan and I had our first official rumble. 2 by 4s and chains and everything! Can anyone guess what it was over?
(hold your breath)
CIRCUMCISION!
That's right, we argued until we were both puffed up and deflated about the benefits and costs of circumcision. He is pro, I against. It was exhausting, especially because I woke up this morning and realized I really am quite open on the subject. I think have of me was just arguing for the pure joy of arguing. But then I actually got myself worked up about it. And that's when he was like, this is so stupid. And he was right. Damn.
Pretty hilarious though. First major fight was over circumcision. How ridiculous.

March madness

Today begins the basketball brackets. A year ago I would have never known what this meant, in fact I am still a little hazy on the details, but essentially A TON OF PEOPLE ARE PLACING A TON OF BETS ON BASKETBALL GAMES BEING PLAYED IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS BY 64 TEAMS WHO WILL BE BROUGHT DOWN TO 16. Sorry for the yelling, but I am attempting utilizing caps to bring about more thorough understanding of what's happening here. So it begins this morning and goes all day, and Dan has left me a whole sheet (actually 3) of which teams to root for (cuz I could care less). I tell you, this whole crash course in sports has actually been quite interesting, though a bit overwhelming at times.
Interesting things about sports:
1. Sports Illustrated had Barry Bonds and his alleged steroid use on the cover of their last issue. I read the EXTREMELY LONG article, and found it FASCINATING. Steroids are quite the little trouble-causer in baseball. Bottom line: Steroid use, until last year, was not illegal for baseball. Meaning: if a player used steroids to break long-time held records created by non-using players, they were able to keep them due to it NOT BEING ILLEGAL IN THE GAME. So now, people are all upset because Barry Bonds, who starts another season in a matter of weeks, could possibly break Hank Aaron's homerun record (I really hope I am getting all of this right, please take it with a grain of salt, whatever that means). To have a record set by a player like Hank Aaron, who played so long ago, and played clean, be broken by a cheat is just devastating to the honor and integrity of the game of baseball.
2. All of this steroid stuff came out because Jose Canseco (sorry about the spelling) wrote a book naming names of great players who were using, like Mark McGuire and Barry Bonds. At first it looked as though Canseco had perhaps falsified info to sell books, and so it is probably a redemption for him to have people admitting that yes, its very true. (Bonds maintains that he never knowingly put steroids in his body, sure.)
3. Once, a football player (any of you who watch Grey's Anatomy will know this) once cut off his finger in the middle of a game in order to continue playing.
4. Another football player decided that weed was more his bag, and decided to exit his contract to play after only a year, however he managed money horribly and ended up owing the team over 8 million dollars, so had to go back and is currently playing purely to pay back the money he owes them.
5. Many sports dudes have girlfriends on the side. I know this does not really shock anyone, but it surprised me that often the girlfriends are the ones who will travel with them when they are on the road, and EVERYONE knows about it. Wierd.

Okay, that's enough for my sports tirade this morning. Sorry for this to all of you who really could care less, but this and crafting are all that I every think, hear or read about. :)
**UPDATE** Check out Jeff Yamaguchi's website here if you have a minute.

Tummy is grumbling!

Today began as one of those beautiful soon to be rare days, where I start off by sleeping in as late as I want.
I awoke at 8, (only because the choice is still mine) and made coffee and peanut butter cookies. Breakfast consisted of crumpets lathered in butter and jam. Delicious! Met up with the ladies at the Zenon for brunch and then some shopping. Went out to Deeds's for some serious female bonding, and then drove home to cookies for dinner and a pretty severe stomach ache as a consequence. All in all a pretty good day I'd say.

It's self portrait Tuesday!

Self Portrait Tuesday
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Ever expanding errands:

1. Pick up Human Resources Packet from HR.
2. Drug screen pee.
3. TB skin test.
4. Bank to deposit check, deal with fees.
5. Pick up kitchen items from Mom's.
6. Deal with M.A. certification.
7. Bed, Bath, & Beyond for shower organizer thing.
8. Trader Joe's for water and wine.
Total time spent running errands: 4.5 hours.

So now I am enjoying my lunch:

Zucchini
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Me and Mack

trouble
Originally uploaded by ihatecarrots.

Allison and Amber Zoe

ambieallie
Originally uploaded by ihatecarrots.

Casey, Dirty Deeds, Amber Zoe

rally
Originally uploaded by ihatecarrots.

And the ants go marching down...

Yummy House
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I find it unbelievable that after death touches a family the world continues to spin on its axis and doesn't topple off and go soaring aimlessly through the Universe. It always seems like time should stop for atleast a little while.

Back at Mom's house

I spent the majority of the weekend out in the country with an old, old friend whose father passed away Friday morning. I have been unable to find any words of consolation which seem fitting in the slightest sense, and so have spent most of my time at their house uselessly nibbling, dusting, staring, and unusually silent. People have been flying in from all over the country for the past couple of days, and it has been so amazing to see how deeply so many people have been impacted by this wonderfully passionate man passing away. The world was truly a better place with him in it.

Mornings of snow and coffee...

god
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Yesterday I made fun of Eugene's idea of snow. Last night it made an attempt to redeem itself, which it apparently is unsatisfied with, because it is continuing to snow nice dry (relatively) snow. This is very odd for Eugene, especially because it is March! It's a great excuse to sit inside all day and craft!
Last night Dan and I played our first Scrabble game since he got 80 points on one word and won the game. He won again last night. We are now tied on the Ultimate-scoreboard-of-all-time: 4 to 4. Tie breaking games are always exciting because there is usually cussing and severe depression coupled with evil amounts of gloating on both sides until the bitter end.
I have been waiting for fabric to start my quilt blocks for seedpod's block swap. Today I am going to start planning my layouts. I think I will make two different simple style blocks, and then depending on time I will branch out from there.
I have been reflecting a bunch lately over the last 3 months of my life. Big changes seem to have steamrolled me, and somehow I came out a little straighter and surer than before. To repeat, I don't feel so kinked or wrinkled anymore. Boy, I am really missing my iron.

Happy Birthday

Grandma
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Yesterday was my grandma's birthday. I didn't see her because she fled the city probably to go gamble! I made her this pillow using anatomist's design for the birds!

Exploring flickr

Bunny dolls for Morphe
Originally uploaded by Loobylu.

I found this great pic. Check her site out.

Seriously...

Snow
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

In Eugene we get snow once every few years. It looks like this. It makes me sad. I just realized I am typing with thread hanging out of my mouth. Gotta go.

Twas a wet and windy Wednesday

Twas a wet and windy Wednesday
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Yesterday was cold, wet, and windy. And I was carless. While waiting at the bus stop I engaged in empty conversation with an older couple. I am pretty sure they remember as little as I do about said conversation. I have named this character Pookie, which is my nickname from an old friend in Portland. You can find her at my flickr site.

Craft board love!

craft board
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Yesterday I splurged, bought a large drawing board, a large thing of newsprint, and a grid mat. I couldn't be happier. I first saw this set up at (shocking)anatomist's house. Today my list of things to do is short and fun:
1. Drink Earl Grey and Post
2. Sew a present for my grandma whose birthday it is today!
3. Walk in the rain and take pics on my way to volunteer.
4. Paint bathroom entryway.
Whoo-hoo! Let the productivity begin!

Self portrait Tuesday

Self portrait Tuesday
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I have spied several other bloggers who seem to be in a supercool club called Self Portrait Tuesday. So, with my new digital camera (thanks Becky!) and my new flickr account (thanks Becky!), I have invited myself to participate in this elite group of self-photographers extraordinaire. Thank you.

Rejected!

Numbers
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Well, the interview I had last week unfortunately didn't result in an offer. Sadness. However, two more interviewers did call me today to set up meetings, so I am still hopeful that in some universe far, far away, I might make some money with which to precious, beloved bills with.

Words of inspiration

When Dan and I first met he and I discussed the GUY IN THE SKY WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE THERE, and we both agreed that neither of us really care all that much either way. Dan did however voice his festering, loathing, irrational hatred of the poem Footprints. Needless to say, for christmas I got him this as a constant reminder of that feeling:

Check it:

Graciesparkles, this girl makes amazing books and screenprints.

Inspiration and Dedication

Andie has redone her site with the help of pink design which also has a blog template of exploding dog stuff by sam brown. My faves are master evil genius and so far away. What a great idea!
Now I am off to jog because the sun is out and soon it will rain and then I will have failed my daily goal of atleast 20 minutes of aerobic exercise. Seems like a skimpy goal but I dare any of you to join me in my goal. Its freakin' hard when there is so much crafting to be done and dwindeling days of freedom to be wasted away. Wish me luck

I am happy here

In my little world where I wake up next to the sweetest man ever, leisurely roll out of bed to the smell of coffee, paint a coat on the walls in process, surf the internet for a bit too long, jog if the weather is good, then proceed to plan and execute hours of craftilicious goodness. This I can handle. I will revel and work to savor every moment until I hear back from the plethora of jobs already applied for. Oh, Internet, wish me luck on those jobs, it is time, and I am in need!

Don't Panic!

For some odd reason, I am unable to view my own blog on my computer this morning. I am trying not to have a total emotional breakdown (proving difficult), but I am wondering if any of you out there on the internet can access it? Has it dissappeared into the internet abyss? Please let me know if you can read this, Internet. I am working on solving the problem, so stay tuned.

ADHD is a crafting problem I think

craft mess
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I have realized in the past several months that it is impossible for me to work on one project without having access to several others. I realize this is nuts. For example, in my purse right now I have an embroidering project, a crazy quilt bag started, a knitting project on the verge of completion, a sketch book, and of course my ipod, camera, phone, and all their necessary accessories. Just in case I have time to do any or all of the above in a five minute slot of boredom while out on the town. RIDICULOUS. Practical, but ridiculous.

Saturday night in Andieland!

Last night I spent a couple of hours with a wonderful group of people. Among the group were crafters, brainiacs, bloggers, and neurotics! A perfect mishmash of personalities if you ask me!
After a short while of good conversation the knitters could handle no more and busted out there wears as seen below:

Amazingly enough, I made out with no pics of the actual hostess and host, Andrea and Rick. What a bad blogger. Needless to say catching up, productivity, and fun was had by all.
Ooooh! And I am famous, as I am mentioned on this kick-ass dude's website!

Today we spilled paint on the walls!

new bathroom
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

A short unsuccessful estate sale venture (due largely in part to my inability to accurately transcribe addresses) landed Dan and I at the paint store. This is the bathroom now that we have covered pale yellow with this gloriously in your face vibrant gold-yellow, we also did the hallway which you can see at flickr!
I am now off to spend a Saturday evening with real live friends (hardcori and andieland, pulpshop girl maybe to if I remember correctly? (rare)
I am so frickin' social its amazing.

Morning walk

McD's Tree
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I found a french fry tree, er, rhodedendron.

Craft vortex

For the last several days I have been absolutely obsessed with creating things, and for those who have known me a long time this is not unusual at all. Dan, however is new to me and my OCD obsession with crafting. I realized this when last night he told me I had seemed distant the past few days. Granted, I was also on my . so that contributed a bit to my hormone fluctuation, but I realized that this poor guy has no idea that I become TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY absorbed in projects to the point of forgetting that there is life, actual LIFE, going on around me. I couldn't help but wonder if there was a partner support group for those of us who are craftiliciously-obsessed (my new clinical term, from here on out abbreviated as C.O., NOT to be confused with the O.C., which I understand is actually going to show a NEW EPISODE ON THURSDAY LIKE THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO.
As was sort of discussed in the last post, I have moved my sewing machine to Dan's. This is a big deal for many reasons:
1. I love it more than life itself
2. It comes with a great many "attachments" (like my several hundred boxes of material)
3. I will probably never come out of the room it now sits in ever again.
4. Life as he knows it is over.
And he has no idea, hehe.
On a similar note, I have been added to the group of people who are taking part in the Block Swap! I barely made the list in time, in fact she closed the registration before I was even accepted, but yesterday I got the go ahead email, so now I begin, you will be able to see progress on my flickr site.

And again its Friday...whew!

Friday
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I spent most of today puttering around Dan's house and hoping to hear back from one of the jobs that I had applied to in the beginning of the week. (Side note: still waiting.) I spent hours (not kidding) on the phone with anatomist during this extensive puttering.
At the end of the day, I took part in the making of a video which is intended to help Volunteers in Medicine appeal to donors. It was a fun experience, and I will be curious to see the final video!
I have decided to name this little character, and am now accepting suggestions. What d'yall think?

My own gold medal

My own gold medal
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

I think the picture says it all...

Ahhhh Fridays...

Em
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

Sometimes we all just need to sit back and be scratched.

Puttering around on the Internet

While I was stumbling around the Internet this morning, I encountered a Block Swap which is in the process of accepting participants! Since I am always looking for things to join, and this one's equally charitable as it is selfish, I decided why not? If you're interested check it out! She needs 50 people to do it, and i think she has over 10, so motivate people!

Wednesday nights the parties are HOT!

knitnbitch1
Originally uploaded by threadandscissors.

This evening I attended flyingpoodle's Wednesday night knit 'n bitch. The group is an awesome set of girls that oddly enough all have the healthcare field in common, which is simply AWESOME. It was fun to see the different projects that the girls were working on, and the different skill levels each of them had. I think I have an infinite amount of knowledge to learn from them and the internet about my fascinating new addiction!
I may even get to learn how to spin my own yarn! Imagine the possibilities! My head is truly swimming.
In other news, I had a 2nd job interview today involving 7 people from the office, talk about intimidating! All in all, it went well, though I know there is concern over my desire to continue my education, which I anticipated. But, I will just have to wait and see how everything pans out.
And thanks, anatomist, for the camera which did arrive this afternoon, though I have not had a chance to handle it yet. Soon!