Give me your unwanted, unopened, barely touched lotions yearning to be used

Normally I post something deep and reflective at the beginning of the week. However, the inner sanctum of my brain is a scary place today, so I am going to start the week with something light.

After having a sleepover with my best friend on Saturday night, I realized that I have become the Keeper of the Specialty Lotions. I have a tendency to wash my hands a lot; not in an OCD way, but I do it quite often. My skin is already dry, so the handwashing takes an added toll. As a result, I use a LOT of lotion and I am always running out. My friends and coworkers have caught on to this, and lately they've been giving me all this tiny bottles of lotion. You know the kind -- it comes in a gift basket that your second cousin gave you because she only sees you once a year but she drew your name in the Christmas gift exchange and figured that all women love a basket with a scented candle and some fancy lotion in it. (For the record, I do not like candle/lotion/bath salt gift baskets; however, one of those gift sets that has a mug and some fancy cocoa/coffee/tea in it would rock my world.)

My best friend seems to be a magnet for these baskets and gets several of them every year. She tries each lotion exactly twice, and then it goes in a bucket in her bathroom to await the time when someone asks for lotion. Well, this weekend I was that someone and I just happened to ask while she was in a decluttering mood. Now I have several purse bottles of lotion that smell like everything from apricots to cucumbers to mint.

See how good I am at filling three paragraphs with absolutely nothing?

Yippee!! I finally finished the seemingly never-ending SpongeBob blanket. The picture is at a skewed angle because I was trying to fit at least two corners into the frame so you guys could get an idea of the blanket's size. It is approximately 35" square, but one corner is a bit stretched out because I forgot that the white stockinette would change the gauge. This blanket represents my first attempt at semi-designing and it reinforced my choice to be a blind follower. I am much more comfortable following written directions than trying to put all the pieces together myself. Anyway, it's done and I can finally move on to another project.  

Budgeting leisure time

I'm blogging from work while I wait for my ride, which fits in perfectly with today's subject. While I work, I listen to podcasts (we'll talk about my new obsession with them at a later date). Today I found a discussion about budgeting your media time. Basically the two gentlemen were saying that the market for streaming content to mobile devices is never going to take off because the empty pockets of time that the advertisers say we have don't actually exist. It occurred to me after listening to them that I have never fully considered the idea of budgeting my leisure time.

I have never believed that women (or men for that matter) could have it all in terms of working and being a good wife and being a good parent and keeping a nice house -- something's gotta give! Subconciously, however, I think I have bought into the idea that I should be able to sample everything entertainment-wise. Why can't I write witty daily entries to my weblog, knit sweaters, learn Spanish, read the latest novels, watch my favorite TV shoes, teach myself to dance, and a host of other things? Perhaps that is why I struggle with working outside the home so much. Not only does it sap the energy I need to be a good parent and housekeeper, but it also keeps me from pursuing things that I really find interesting. Of course, when I start thinking along those lines I realize how selfish I am and rein myself in.

Speaking of work, shouldn't it be a law that your job is rewarding one way or the other? If you get to act or sing for a living and wear free designer clothes and jewelry to awards shows, then you shouldn't get paid millions of dollars because you are already having fun. The people who have to do miserable work and be away from their family for 10-12 hours a day should make the big bucks.

Anyway, back to our subject: how do you budget your leisure time? Do you even give that much thought to it? The most I do is think, "Gee, I am really jonesin' to play a video game. I wish I had time." Truth be told, though, time isn't as much of an a issue as I say it is. On most days, I don't want to invest the energy it would take to do XYZ. Every decision is based on the question, "Do I have to go to work tomorrow?" If the answer is "yes", then all I want to do is veg out tonight. If I put in that game disc, I know I will get involved and play until midnight or later and then be mad at myself for doing it. I have episodes of Gilmore Girls, Joan of Arcadia, and Everwood from the past three weeks sitting on my TiVo because I don't even want to invest the emotional energy to get involved in the plot right now. Instead, I flip on something light like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. As far as projects go, I gravitate toward whatever is the most mindless to work on at that moment. That's why Isaac's tennis vest is still sitting in a bag, waiting for a big block of time so that I can work on the neckline.

I guess I want these experiences in my life without having to worry about how I'm going to squeeze everything in. When I was unemployed, none of this bothered me. I could spend a whole morning focused on just cleaning the closet or finishing a pair of socks and I was happy to do it because I knew that I had another free day tomorrow. I told you I was selfish, didn't I?

Even musical lovers have a limit

I am a fan of 7th Heaven and have watched every single season. Critics call this show insipid and unrealistic, but I have defended it again and again. This year's Valentine's Day episode, however, has tested my loyalty. I just watched it tonight and I am at a loss.

Why, oh why, did they let these actors sing? I've watched musical episodes on every show from The Brady Bunch to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I realize that they are just a novelty. No one expects any breakout performances from their favorite sitcom regulars, but the writers or whoever is in charge should make sure that they can at least carry a tune. With the exception of Stephen Collins and Beverly Mitchell, I don't think anyone in the cast has a musical background and it definitely showed. David Gallagher used good judgement and refused to sing. Mackenzie Rosman acquitted herself well, although she could probably use a few singing lessons to learn how to sing the words a little more clearly. However, George Stults should not have opened his mouth. The little boys who play the twins came closer to being on key than George Stults did! I pray that they have gotten this out of their systems so we never have to be subjected to an episode like this again.

I can't do no mo'

C1 came into the bathroom this evening and stated, "For some reason, I like the smell of cleaning stuff." That's probably because Pine-Sol is a rare and exotic perfume in our house!

At some point this afternoon, someone must have slipped something into my coffee because I thought that I was going to get three bathrooms cleaned when I came home from work. It is now 9:20p and I have to concede defeat. I managed one bathroom, which included cleaning the nasty floor on my hands and knees (Oh, my aching back!) I also did two loads of laundry and helped M with her Spanish project. Did I mention that my only fortification for this mission was four pieces of cheap Valentine's chocolate and a bad doughnut?

Now I am going to make my bed, get in it, and see if I can finish off SpongeBob tonight. I am nothing if not determined :-).

Monday Morning Clarity

This morning, I woke up from a sound sleep with M's Spanish project on my mind. Unfortunately, this is nothing unusual. Monday morning is the one time of week when I experience exceptional clarity of thought concerning my life and my failings. As I woke up the kids, I looked around each room and did my Bette Davis impression: "What . . a . . dump!" Monday morning is when I realize that I have let another weekend slip by without:

--exercising
--eating right
--reading to my kids
--reducing the clutter in my house
--making a dent in any of the half-finished needlework projects in my drawer

If I could stay home on Monday morning, I would start cleaning right after the kids leave and assuage some of my guilt from my lost weekend. Unfortunately, the time when I am most enthusiastic about cleaning is also when I have to go to work.

You know what? This post is beginning to make me depressed. I can't take one more ounce of guilt right now, so I am going to stop writing. Tomorrow, I should have better news to report if I can get off of this computer and finish the last few inches of SpongeBob.

How do you respond to comments?

Over at Moth Heaven, Julia posted about responding to comments left on her blog. This brought me to a question. Is it better to respond directly on the blog or to e-mail the comment writer? I tend to respond in the comment section just as if I were a visitor to the blog. The thing is that I am not sure that people actually return to the comment section of an old entry to see if there was a response (I do). Once I turned my response to a comment into a regular blog entry, which I think makes it easier for other who might be interested in the answer to find it. Sending a private message to the comment writer is my least favorite option for that reason. What is preferable to you?

More needlework on the fashion horizon

On Fluffa's blog I found this link to Style.com's feature on knitting and crochet in fashion. Judging from the collections, needlework will still play a big part in this year's clothes. I know that as a knitter I'm not supposed to care about trends, but I have to admit that I don't want my kids to look totally out of step. M just turned 12 and I know that she is approaching the age where she will start caring about what she is wearing in comparison to her friends. I don't want my handknits to be the cause of any teasing.

I haven't been anywhere!

I spotted this little meme on The Bookish Girl's blog. It gives me something to post instead of talking about my lackadaisical non-effort to get in shape (I have gained three pounds and I am eating marshmallow creme for breakfast -- 'nuff said). I'm not sure that Florida counts as a place that I've been since we only got off the plane long enough to board a cruise ship. Anyway, here is my sad little travel history:

bold the states I've been to, underline the states I've lived in and italicize the state I'm in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

______________________________________

In other news, the SpongeBob blanket is very close to being done. I could actually finish it today, which gives me a bit of a dilemma. So many people at work have seen me stitching this blanket that they want to see the finished product. However, if I complete the blanket tonight ABM will want to take it to the new mother tomorrow since he foolishly told her that we were making her something way before it was finished (why else do you think I would put myself under the stress of sticking to one project?) If I tell him that I want to take it to work and show it off, I'm afraid he is going to think that I am a little too full of myself and tell me that people are only commenting on my project to be polite. The truth is, I won't be with him when he gives the blanket so showing it off to my friends is the only opportunity I'll have to get some oohs and aahs for two months' worth of knitting and embroidery. I could stall and play videogames instead, but then ABM will wonder why I wasted prime knitting time. Besides, I really want to finish this blanket so that I can start working on the 10 other things in the wings. There is only a week left in Fix-It February and all I have done is show my botched sweater on the blog; I haven't done any frogging or reknitting at all. What to do, what to do?

P.S. I ran the spellchecker and it wanted to replace "reknitting" with "resenting". Yes, I think I am resenting the reknitting I have to do on this ugly sweater because I'm afraid it will either involve me dragging out my Incredible Sweater Machine or knitting on size 2 needles.

I couldn't help it

I know I was supposed to get off of the computer at 8p and put in some work on SpongeBob, but I was weak. I had to try to find a pattern for the Red Heart Symphony. While I watched Wife Swap, I searched the internet. The few references I found to this yarn showed ponchos. I definitely don't want to make a poncho because I know I wouldn't get much use out of it. I could have used the yarn to make something for the kids, but gosh darn it -- I'm gonna be a little selfish. I don't have a single sweater in my closet, which makes no sense considering how cold-natured I am. So far, the front runner is the Giraffe sweater from the Knitty archives. It is hard to believe that four balls will make a sweater to fit me, but Symphony has great yardage (310 yds/ball). Now if SpongeBob would just move out of the way so I can get started on it!

Fix-It February; V-Day wrap-up

I've been a bad KALer. I should have known that I wouldn't have time, considering how slow I am. If I tallied all the knitting time I get during the day, it would barely be 30 minutes; most days I knit considerably less than that. This means that I am still working on SpongeBob and I haven't even had a chance to unravel the hideously uneven sweater that I showed you guys last week. If I told you that I would definitely get to it this week, I would be lying :-). I am determined to finish the SpongeBob blanket and get it out of my house as soon as possible, which means avoiding the temptation to work on other projects.

ABM got home from work later than usual last night, so we didn't exchange gifts until 10:30p. I got him a pair of boxer shorts with a Corvette screen-printed on the front and a Michael Buble CD that I burned from allofmp3.com, a Russian music site. I think I did a good job picking his presents this year; he really seemed to like them.

My presents from the DH (in addition to the cell phone he got last week) were a denim shirt, a pair of khaki pants, four balls of Red Heart Symphony yarn, a stitch counter, and some point protectors. He's so sweet! Khaki pants may not sound romantic, but I wake up every morning wishing that a pair of pants would magically appear in my closet so that I wouldn't have to put on pantyhose again. I'm especially proud of his yarn purchase. He picked a yarn that I haven't tried before and he bought 1240 yards so I would have enough to make something other than a hat and he made sure that they were all the same dye lot. Of course, this means that I need to come up with a project quickly; I think he may be offended if I keep it as long as I kept that Pound of Love yarn (over a year!)

Valentine's Day, Here I Come!

The rest of you may be winding down your V-day festivities, but my Valentine's Day doesn't start until 9:30p when my DH comes home. Why, then, am I still sitting at my computer? I need to find a gift bag in the garage for ABM's present, straighten up (a neat house = love), get all the children into bed, take a shower, and put myself in my nicest nightgown. I need to back away from the computer!

Hopefully, I will be able to show you some Fix-It February progress tomorrow. Hugs and kisses!

Vanity, Thy Name is Woman

I discovered another good reason for me not to wear makeup. I am far too vain. If I don't do anything special to my appearance, then I act like a normal person. That changes the minute I think that I look good. ABM found an old picture of me from about 10 years ago. I couldn't stop staring at myself. You would have thought I was looking at a Degas painting or something. I just sat there admiring my smooth skin and my smoky purple eyeshadow. Ever since I relaxed my hair a month ago, I take extra time to fondle it and I stop by every mirror to make sure it looks good. This is madness. Looking at myself shouldn't bring me such enjoyment :-).

Body Update

First off, I am still at 235 lbs. I didn't exercise a bit this week, and my water intake was only about 24 oz. a day. My mind is almost ready but I haven't gone to the next step of really pushing myself into action.

I did make one change this week. I started cutting down on the sugar in my coffee. That may not seem like much, but those who know me IRL have seen me use a LOT of sugar. Three weeks ago, I got to a point where I couldn't even taste the sugar until I had used about 14 teaspoons. This is in a 12 oz. cup on top of three teaspoons of half-and-half and a packet of hot chocolate mix. I drink two cups like that every morning. I've always taken pride in the fact that I don't normally drink soda, but those two cups are equivalent to about six 12-oz. cans of Dr Pepper. The empty calories I thought I was avoiding are right there in my morning java. I guess I always knew that but I didn't want to admit it because I am very unpleasant without my AM caffeine.

Anyway, in the past week I have worked my way down to three teaspoons of sugar in my coffee and I switched to low-fat non-dairy creamer. Of course, I am still dumping that packet of hot chocolate in my cup so I haven't lowered the calorie count by much. I am going to try switching to hot tea next week; that will cut the calories in half.

As for exercise, I asked ABM to get me a "Walk Away the Pounds" DVD for Valentine's Day. If he doesn't get it, then I will definitely put the DVD in my Netflix queue so I can get started. Another idea I had was to buy a dance DVD for the kids and do that with them. My top choices are either another DDR game (the girls have almost mastered the PS1 version) or a dance video from Fitness Beginnings. I haven't ordered from them but they seem to have a wide variety of exercise videos for kids. M was in dance for three years when she was younger and we would love to have all the kids in dance now, but we can't afford it. I thought that a video that teaches vintage dances like the foxtrot and the hustle would accomplish several goals for me. I would be able to introduce them to classic tunes that I love, they would get fit, and they would learn a skill that would serve them well in adulthood. Plus, it could be a painless way to spend time with the kids.

ABM?

Jacqueline asked me why I call my husband ABM. No, those aren't his initials. It is a nickname that my former coworkers gave him. I used to work in a call center and you had to have a keycard to get in. When I worked the later shifts, I didn't like sitting outside by myself so I would wait inside for my husband to pick me up. One day, I got engrossed in a conversation with my coworkers and didn't check outside to see if my husband was there yet. The next thing I know, someone is saying there is a big scary black guy at the front glass. I looked up and there was my husband, yelling and gesturing wildly, trying to get someone's attention. He really is a teddy bear, but that day he looked like a maniac! From then on, my friends would always joke, "You better hurry up and go outside before that angry black man comes to the window again!" So that's my DH: Angry Black Man, ABM for short.

I'm still working on the diagonal garter-stitch blanket for Spongebob. I feel like I am in the home stretch now, though, because I am doing the decreases. Seeing the square form is making me knit faster. I've been working on it so long that whenever someone sees me, the first thing they ask is "How's Spongebob coming?" It would be wonderful if I could finish it this weekend!

Of course, now I have an excuse to knit a cell phone cosy :-).

Well, I've Never!

Is it odd for me to be proud of being behind the times? ABM wants me to have a cell phone and I am strangely resistant to the idea. He has carried one for years and now he thinks that I need one. I understand why he would think that. The organization for which I am working does not have phones on the employees' desks and there isn't a public phone in the break area. The e-mail is heavily monitored, as well; anything from the outside that is not work-related or pre-approved will not get through. They do, however, allow employees to use their cell phones in the work area but that has been of little use to me since I don't carry one. Almost everyone else around me does, though, so the few times I've needed to call home in the middle of the day I've borrowed a phone from a coworker. ABM thinks it is a major faux pas to ask someone to use their cell phone unless it is a dire emergency. So he added a phone for me to his plan.

There is a part of me that takes perverse pleasure in not joining the wireless generation. I don't even want to put this phone in my purse because then I will never be able to say again that I have never owned a cell phone. Once I make a call, it will be all over; I will be one of them. I like being culturally aware but I resist doing things that are too popular. There's no getting around it, I suppose. ABM is insistent.

Black History Month

As far as racial discrimination goes, I have led a fairly sheltered life. Until I was 10 years old, I lived in a northern city and my family had friends of every ethnicity. I just missed the school desegregation years, so I grew up thinking that race problems were a part of history. Frankly, if someone tried to exclude me now, I would never assume that it was because of race.

Every year at this time, however, my mind goes back to an discussion I had with my best friend, who happens to be white. Valentine's Day was coming up, and I was excited because I happened to find a nice card for ABM that had a black couple on it. When I shared this with her, she said that she didn't understand why I was making such a big deal out of the race of some people on a greeting card. I was nonplussed; I tried to make her understand but I don't think I ever did. To this day, I am not sure if that conversation was an example of how far we have come in race relations or of a white person being totally insensitive to the feelings of a black person.

Many people would point to an incident like this and say that it illustrates their argument that a white person and a black person can never truly be best friends. I don't agree with that, but I know now that I can never take for granted that my best friend understands my point of view.

Fix-it February: Witness My Shame

I know that the picture quality is horrible, but I lightened it on purpose to help you see the huge mistake that I made. This was my first and only attempt at making a sweater on my Incredible Sweater Machine. It also showcases the first of many problems I have had trying to make a decent neckline, although the problem wasn't really the neckline at all. The main lesson I learned is that I can't follow a pattern that gives you the directions for the left side and then says "reverse for right side". Just in case you haven't found my error yet, take a look at the shoulders. Somehow I managed to make one 4" wide and the other 8" wide. The really sad thing is that I didn't notice the discrepancy until I had already sewn on the sleeves, sewn the front to the back, and re-knit the neckline three times!

The yarn is Red Heart Sport, so it isn't particularly soft but is has great stitch definition. I used a couple skeins of it to make a cabled vest for DJ (still unfinished!) I could just turn this jacket into several hats, but I don't usually have a large amount of yarn in the same dye lot so I would hate to do that. There is a Debbie Bliss book in my collection that has several textured children's jackets, so perhaps I will make one of those.

When Worship Becomes Work

As many of you know, I am a Christian. Although I attend a Baptist church, I don't really considers myself a Baptist. I jokingly refer to myself as a hippie Christian; I think I might have fit in well with the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s. For several years, I just studied the Bible and did my own devotions at home, but I came to a point where I felt I was focusing too much on myself and I had to get out and start giving to others by attending a church. That was several years' ago.

These days I teach women's Sunday School once a month as well as Children's Church three times a month. Sunday School is a joy; I really feel like I am using the gifts with which God blessed me. Children's Church, on the other hand, is a major chore for me. I have trouble dealing with little kids. Yes, I know that sounds crazy considering I have four children of my own but it is the truth. I get along much better with my own children now that they are older. It is difficult for me to put myself on a young child's level so I have trouble coming up with lessons that will hold their attention. The 10 - 12 year-olds enjoy my class, but the 4 - 7 year olds don't get me. Unfortunately I have them both in the same class most of the time because I don't have another adult to help me.

What this boils down to is that I am beginning to feel like Sunday is just another workday. I have to start psyching myself up on Friday to be able to go. If I quit, no one else will step in to take over and it is the children who will suffer. Although I know that I am not doing the best job, the kids prefer Children's Church to sitting in the adult sanctuary where they attempt to sit quietly for 2 1/2 hours while the sermon goes over their heads.

I work for a ministry and I attend church every Sunday, yet I feel like I am getting further and further away from God. During my brief period of unemployment last year, I felt peaceful for the first time in a long time. I attribute it to the hour I spent every morning after the kids went to school, reading my Bible and praying. These days, whenever I try to do that, I am distracted by thoughts of all the other things that I need to do and how little time I have to do them. I don't know how other people with similar responsibilities manage to maintain a healthy spiritual life.

Time to get back on the wagon

As you can see from the recent pictures that I posted, I am not exactly the delicate flower that I pretend to be. Leaving a few extra pounds on the curb for the trashman to pick up wouldn't hurt me a bit! Several years ago, I went on my first serious diet ever (eDiets, for those who wanted to know) and lost about 20 pounds. Then, I got cocky and quit before reaching my goal weight. Although I know all the principles and what works for me in particular, I didn't fair too well. Like most of dieting America, I gained it all back and then some. Currently, I am at 255 lbs. The number itself isn't really what bothers me; it is the fact that I can't fit into the type of clothes I want to wear and that my body has mysterious aches and pains all the time.

So what does work for me? Exercise and plenty of it. The one thing that a lazy girl like me can't stand is the one thing that works. Diet-wise, there are very few things that make a difference because I don't usually consume that many calories. There are days where I am drawn to everything on the junk-food aisle, but they are balanced out by days where all I want are vegetables and grilled chicken breasts. When I quit eDiets, I was still losing weight. When I stopped exercising, however, the number on the scale began to climb.

What made me stop exercising? I don't remember. I never learned to like exercise, even though I was doing it an hour a day at one point. I think it might have been when I broke our treadmill. I know that there are other alternatives to the treadmill, but I have never been able to stick to them consistently. Walking on the treadmill is the one thing I can talk myself into doing at 6a because I know that I can do it in my pajamas!

Enough whining about your health, you're saying -- what are you going to do about it? Well, I asked ABM to get me a "Walk Away the Pounds" DVD for Valentine's Day. I'm also trying to drink more water (yech!). Once I get a steady week of water and exercise behind me, it may be easier to stick with it.

Movie Meme

My friend G1 tagged me to answer some movie questions. Just like with the music meme (I didn't even know this sort of thing was called a "meme"), I feel much less qualified to talk about movies now that I have read other people's lists. I used to think of myself as a movie buff, but for the past 12 years I've only gone to the movie theater about once a year. I could blame it on the kids or the cost of movies, but it goes deeper than that. There has always been something in me that has resisted doing what everyone else is doing, but it has become more pronounced these days when it comes to movies. By the time I read about a movie in Entertainment Weekly and see the trailer, I feel like I have seen the movie already and I don't want to plunk down money for it.

Anyway, I like to play when I'm tagged, so here goes:

1. What was the last movie you went to see in a theatre?

I believe it was The Fighting Temptations with Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Beyonce Knowles. Unlike me, ABM goes to the movies all the time with his friends so when we go out together there aren't many movies left that he hasn't already seen and/or is willing to see.

2. What is the last movie you watched at home?

It was Damn Yankees. It's not a very good movie, but Accuradio kept playing songs from the soundtrack which made me want to see it. One thing I did like about it is that Gwen Verdon's dance sequences show how a woman can be sexy using very minute movements.

3. How many movies do you own?

None. The replay value of a movie for me is close to zero, so I don't see any reason to buy it. The only exception is a musical, but that's what the rental store is for.

4. Got Netflix (or a similar service)?

Yes, we have Netflix. I originally got it for my husband as a birthday gift, but after his initial subscription period expired I started renting movies. Thanks to Netflix and TiVo, my interest in movies is beginning to resurface.

5. What are the next three movies in your queue?

We take advantage of the new Netflix feature that allows a single account to have separate queues for different family members. Just for the fun of it, I'll list the next three movies in my queue and in ABM's queue so you can see how different we are:

ABM---X-2: X-Men United, Cheaper by the Dozen (the new one), and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle

Mine---Ella Enchanted, Gypsy 83 (I love Sara Rue!), and South Pacific (the TV version with Glenn Close)


6. List five movies you adore / mean a lot to you.

a) Grease: That movie was released when I was in about 6th grade. I didn't see the movie itself until later, but the songs were all over the radio and I think they cemented my love of show tunes. The songs in musicals are much less generic because they have to fit into the flow of a story. I am attracted to country and folk for the storytelling aspects, as well. Oops -- we're talking about movies, aren't we?

b) Overboard: Although I said that I rarely watch movies more than once, this film is a glaring exception. It is unusual for me to laugh at the same jokes more than once but this movie cracks me up every time I see it.

c) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: It has great songs, great dance sequences, and Jane Russell. Who doesn't appreciate a big gal who is sexy, too?

d) Guys and Dolls: I have seen this movie so many times that I have lost count. During my teen years I may have wanted realism, but these days I want my entertainment candy-colored and wrapped up with a nice pretty bow. This movie fits the bill nicely. It doesn't hurt that every song in it is a winner.

e) The Champ: I haven't seen this movie in at least 15 years, but I remember it as the first movie where I really bawled my eyes out at the ending.

7. Name your guilty pleasure film/genre?

I like teen movies and teen TV shows. For the most part, the problems aren't as serious and there is less sex. I'm not quite sure I can call this a guilty pleasure, though, because I'm not embarrassed to tell anybody that I watch Degrassi: Next Generation or that I still like all those John Hughes teen movies.

8. What's your favorite quote from a film?

I don't really remember quotes from movies. That probably comes from the fact that I don't watch them more than once :-).

There it is. I'm not passing it on because I don't really know many other people with blogs. Feel free to rag on my choices in the comments section if you want!

I've created a monster

A few weeks' ago, I told ABM that I was planning to scale down my stashette from three 18-gallon containers to one. To him, this meant that everything in my stashette was up for grabs, although I didn't know this at the time. He has been under a bit of stress this week so he wanted to practice some "knitting therapy" and make another scarf on the round loom. Did he pick something from the vast amount of cheap acrylic that I have? No, of course not. When I got home from work, I found that he had picked the most expensive yarn in my stashette, an $8/ball wool-blend that I had set aside to make a So-Called Scarf. The look of horror in my eyes told him that he was wrong before I could say anything. Now, before you jump on me for not wanting to share my yarn with my DH, let me advise you that he didn't pick it for its beautiful color or because he needed a certain gauge or because he recognized the quality of the yarn. Why did he pick it? "It was the first one I saw that had three balls together." He was looking strictly at having enough yarn for his project. The man also knows nothing of dye lot; he will pluck one skein of yarn out of a 10-skein set that was put aside to make a sweater, not understanding that I can't just go and buy another skein and have it match.

Luckily, ABM had not started his scarf yet so he didn't have to frog anything. Before I even changed out of my work clothes, I grabbed a trash bag and pulled several skeins of acrylic out of the stashette for him to use. I also apologized to that man of mine, but he wasn't offended at all. The funny thing is that he doesn't even like wool so if he had read the ball band he probably would have put it back. Of course, ABM would never read a ball band because then that would turn his new stress-relieving hobby into something close to work :-). I always call myself a mindless knitter, but I think he is catatonic. Still, I guess having a knitting husband will benefit me at some point.

I feel hampered

These are the things I want to knit.

--Hats
--Scarves
--Socks
--Baby clothes
--Little stuffed animals

Can I knit any of these things? No, because I am still working on the Spongebob blanket. You guys are tired of hearing about this blanket, but not as tired as I am of knitting it. This experience serves to remind me that I could never knit for money because sticking to one project makes me want to scream!

The View; Fix-It February

Did anyone see The View yesterday? Joy Behar, who I agree with on a lot of issues, went on a tear about a woman who was allowed to bring knitting needles onto a flight she took from Palm Springs to New York. She said that she couldn't believe that security let this woman onto the plane with such "deadly weapons". I don't fly so I don't ever face this problem, but the first thing I thought was "Great! Knitters have been struggling for the past three years to be allowed to carry their WIPs on board and she has just made it that much harder!" Joy also said that if she had seen a man knitting she would have immediately alerted the flight attendant to have the needles confiscated because it would be more likely that he was a terrorist. To top it off, when Meredith Viera mentioned that she wanted to learn to knit because she had heard that it was therapeutic, the other three women basically told her she was nuts. It was not a good morning for knitting on TV.

Today is the first day of Fix-It February, the knit-along being hosted on the blue blog. The idea is to rip and re-knit any projects you have lying around that aren't working for you. For me, this is going to be Fix-It and Finish It February. I have a couple things to fix but I have a whole lot more that need to be finished. I may even attack the messed-up neckline on my first machine-knit sweater. Before I can rip anything, however, I have to finish that blasted Spongebob blanket!