...monkeyknits...

MeMe

Here's the latest meme making the rounds through the blogworld. My answers are listed below.

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

The Questions:

1. What is your first name? Jen
2. What is your favorite food? Thai curry
3. What high school did you go to? Duluth East
4. What is your favorite color? blue
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Vince Vaughn (Owen's not bad either, eh?)
6. Favorite drink? Diet Coke
7. Dream vacation? Tokyo
8. Favorite dessert? chocolate cheesecake
9. What you want to be when you grow up? a mommy
10. What do you love most in life? my husband
11. One word to describe you. creative
12. Your flickr name. MonkeyKnits

1. “Coriolis Effect,” 2007, 12" x 12" x 7", construction paper by Jen Stark, 2. Thai red curry., 3. Bob Dylan Home Duluth, Minnesota, 4. Sun and Signs, 5. Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, 6. Cakespy's L'il Cuppie Character, 7. Shibuya at Night, 8. Double Chocolate Cheesecake, 9. Mommy and Me, Maybe Around 1950, 10. ring / yüzük, 11. Last day in Paris, 12. One of Each

back to the blogosphere

Can I just tell you, I have the coolest shade of polish on my nails right now? It's called Blackberry Chutney and it's part of the new India Collection from OPI. I'm loving it. It's fierce.

Speaking of fierce, have you seen the previews for this? OMG. Talk about a hot tranny mess. Fabulous. And in other news, I'm in two (count 'em two!) quilt swaps. Granted, they are "doll-sized," but still. I've got four weeks for one of them and about eight weeks for the other one. Think I can do it? Sure... Not to worry. Pish posh.

I'm working on a pair of bright pink mittens for a co-worker. She gave me a massage. I'm knitting her mittens. I'm also working on spinning yarn, yarn, yarn for a non-bloggable project. I'm not sure if the recipient reads the blog or not, so better safe than not surprised.

That's it for now. Sorry I'm not more exciting. The photos are from a party I had at our Sioux Falls house last summer. Oh, summer. When will you return?

Hello? Is anyone out there?

It's been a while since my last post... Is anyone still checking in? Is anyone out there?

Blogging has been put on the back burner while I concentrate on "real life" for a while. Work life and home life are keeping me quite busy, and I find myself with just a little time left over for crafty life. Over the last few months I've chosen to spend that precious amount of leftover time for crafting rather than blogging about crafting.

But with a new year comes a renewed effort and energy to put towards the things I enjoy the most -- blogging is among them, as are knitting, spinning, and sewing. It's all about priorities, right? I've already committed to setting aside some time each day to "me." That usually means something crafty, but it also has meant indulging in trashy TV (have you heard about this show called "The Bad Girls Club?), catching up on my blog reading or playing around on Ravelry. I also joined the gym, which eats about an hour and a half 5 days per week (yay!).

I know I promised photos of our new house, and I will get those up here soon. We are still loving it, and are so grateful to have found such a great house with even better landlords! We are looking forward to spring and summer so we can start exploring Lake Superior a bit more (we're not the biggest outdoor fans in the winter).

I hope your new year is fabulous thus far. See you around!

Milestones

Jen, originally uploaded by monkeyknits.

 

Yesterday was my 30th birthday. I had trouble deciding what I wanted to post about it because I really had (have?) mixed feelings about this milestone.

On one hand, I always thought that I would have a child (or two) by the time I hit my thirtieth birthday. I  thought I would have an established career -- or at least an idea of what I'd like to pursue. And, truth be told, I always thought that I would marry Dave Letterman.

But, on the other hand, I am very happy about the person I've become over the last few years. I think I accomplished a lot in my third decade. I (finally) graduated from college with a BS degree. I fell in love with and married a wonderful man. I marked my sixth year of sobriety. I've worked towards becoming debt free (just the house and the student loans to go!). I discovered my passion for all things fiber -- knitting, spinning, quilting. And I've really learned a lot about the kind of person I'd like to be.

So, although I'm tempted to be the person who celebrates the first anniversary of her 29th birthday, I think I'm okay with being thirty. I definitely wouldn't trade 30 to be 20 again. And I truly am happy with me at thirty.

*  ~  *  ~  *

In other news, this is our last weekend in Sioux Falls. There's a little bit of last minute packing to do before the movers arrive on Monday to pack up the rest of our belongings. They'll load up on Tuesday and deliver it to our new place in Duluth on Thursday. By this time next week, we'll be sleeping in our new home on Lake Superior. I'll post photos and details next weekend. I can't wait to share it with you!

Chopped

Before...

During...

After!

I'm not sure what came over me on Friday. I had an appointment at my favorite salon, just to get a trim and get my roots touched up. Instead, I decided to get my hair chopped off!

I'm so glad that I decided to do it. I haven't had my hair this short since high school, and I was just not feeling the long hair anymore. People often told me that my hair was pretty when it was longer and I wore it curly, but was it really? I mean, I didn't do anything with it -- just mousse and air dry/diffuse. There really wasn't a "style." It was easy, I'll give you that. But it was just blah.

I love my new cut. Since I've lost some weight, I think my face has slimmed down a little. I was just reading that big hair makes you look bigger, and small (read: sleek) hair makes you look smaller. So new smaller hair to go with the new smaller me.

The only downside is that I have naturally curly hair (read: big and unruly) so this new 'do is more work. But I can skip the shampoo on day two (and probably day three as well) so I think it evens out. More work on day one, but sleeping in on days two and three!

Take The Good with The Bad

The Good: I finished my Kureyon mitered squares blanket and it is bee-yoo-tee-full.

The Bad: I cast on for my first pair of Jaywalkers (using BMFA STR from the Sock Club) and completed the ribbing last night. I didn't realize until I started the second round of the pattern that I had cast on the wrong number of stitches and I also did a P4 instead of a P2 in one section of the ribbing. It has been frogged, and I'm ready to cast on again tonight.

The Good: John and I got a fancy SLR digital camera that can take really awesome photos, and we even took a class to learn how to use it.

The Bad: I still must not know what I'm doing because I can't take a good photo of anything to save my life! Argh!!! Laurie, if you're reading this... Help!

The Good: I seem to have lost some weight recently -- I'm not exactly sure how or why, but I ain't complainin'! For the first time since high school, I can fit into (and breathe in) single digit sizes.

The Bad: None of my pants fit anymore.

The Good: I went to the mall tonight to return some clothes I ordered online (too big!) and I found the jackpot of cute tops at Ann Taylor Loft. Is anyone else loving this whole "maternity-look-as-non-pregnant-wear" thing that's happening in fashion right now? Cute and comfortable!

The Bad: I have this bad feeling that now that I've purchased new clothes and "come out" on my blog that I will wake up tomorrow with my old size 12 booty.

The Good: That's great motivation to get my butt in gear and get more exercise. And that shouldn't be too difficult since my current amount of exercise is zero.

Visual DNA

Read my VisualDNA™     Get your own VisualDNA™

This was fun. Try it, and then tell me what your Visual DNA looks like!

Tax Man

Have you mailed your taxes, yet? If not, put down that knitting and get going!

Today was a beautiful spring day here in the midwest -- sunny and warm with a nice breeze. And it's staying light outside longer and longer. I think that spring is probably my favorite season. I love the smell and the sounds and that feeling of "newness."

Speaking of newness, I think it's time for a major blog overhaul... a springtime makeover. That's on the agenda as soon as I find the perfect combination of free time and motivation. Stay tuned!

Snow Day

wind + snow = blizzard

If (blizzard) Then
(close the office and go home)
Else
(get stuck in a snowbank)
End If

Knitting Funk

I'm in a definite knitting funk. I have been knitting, but I'm not really into any of the projects I have on the needles right now. I also don't really have the urge to go out and buy a new project, either. I have no doubt that it will pass, but it sure makes for some boring knit blogging. That's why I've been so long between posts.

So, while I am in a knitting funk, I am definitely not in a TV-watching funk. Seriously. Could Wednesday night TV get any better? American Idol. America's Next Top Model. Top Design. Lost. C'mon!

Have you seen the new show, "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" I did not catch it last night, but I guess it's on again tonight. I heard on the radio tonight that it was the most watched new show of the season with something like 31 million viewers last night? That's a lot of people.

On another note, I'd like to apologize to the people of the upper midwest. Remember a few weeks ago when we had that insanely cold weather -- like 40 below plus a windchill? Yeah. Well, I may have said something like, "I would rather have 30 degrees above zero and snow, than have it be so inhumanely cold." Looks like I got my wish, huh?

If it's any consolation to you, I just had to shovel our driveway and sidewalks. But I don't take it back - I still prefer the snow to the cold. Sorry!