I feel pretty... oh so pretty.

It totally tickles my funny bone that even though I now have cable, I still watch (and get a kick out of) commercials. The latest two I'm fond of?

Andy Roddick vs Pong (just the first one, not the follow up)
Maria Sharapova in "I feel pretty" by Nike

Jeni may be the only one who knows what I'm talking about. Anyway, I did an expensive trip to Bed Bath and Beyond, using my many saved BBB coupons (and some made fun of me for having so many!!), buying some towels, a new shower curtain, many many hangers, etc etc. They had the masses walking through like we were on a conveyor belt, since that BBB is in the middle of Boston U, Boston College, Harvard, MIT, and many other colleges.

I have been feeling girly though. and kinda wussy. I think out here, millipedes are abundant. I'm not as familiar with millipedes as I am with centipedes, but I'm not really very good with ANY types of bugs (besides regular sized ants and fruit flies, though both gross me out). A couple nights ago, I was running around my new apartment screaming like a little girl. Little high pitched yelps. Why? Because I saw this MONSTER running along the floor. The vacuum cleaner was brought out to do the dirty work, with the help of a few high pitched screams from me. Those mother effers are FAST with all those little legs! AND IT WAS NEXT TO MY YARN! so, obviously that f*cker had to die. Fast forward about 20 minutes, as I'm unpacking kitchen boxes. Another scream, followed by many holy sh*ts! holy sh*t! holy shit!! vacuum to the rescue again, chasing after millipede (or at least I believe it's a millipede, and NO, i do NOT want to go look at pics on the internets to compare).

Anywhoodle, I'm off to THE city tomorrow via Amtrak. My friends have Amtrak miles and used their rewards so I could go see them over the holiday weekend. Even better? Jeni will be in town, for the US Open, and we'll spend time together on Saturday.

Have You Seen This Girl?

Ok. Like you really thought I was gonna post a pic of myself?
I made it to my new place in Boston on Monday evening. The drive was as expected, with the cats and a lot of crap in the back, my friend and I in the front, and snacks galore. My friend C and I have taken many road trips since college, and I knew we would make good time (we have the same road trip rules: 1) No stopping unless the gas tank is empty. 2) No stopping unless the gas tank is empy. 3) Limit intakes of fluids, as to prevent the need to pee in a cup. ) I'm kinda sorta kidding, but not really. Since we left on Saturday at about 130pm Mountain Time, and made it to Boston by Monday at 7pm, you can see that there was minimal stopping.

Since then, I've been a busy girl. I've signed up for my classes (SIX <6> of them!!), gone on an IKEA excursion with the newly expecting Wendy, and unpacked about 90% of my stuff. I bought a new yarntainer at IKEA, b/c I realized that I just had TOO much yarn. My internet and cable (wow! lookee all the TV! I'm like a kid in a candy store) got hooked up on Thursday afternoon. I figured since I know almost no one out here in Boston, that I might as well sign up for cable, after abstaining for 7 years.

Unfortunately, I have no knitting or yarn to show off. I'm busy with the administration duties of the International Scarf Exchange 3 and scheduling a quick getaway to NYC before school starts.

Leaving Denver has been really hard for me. I keep trying to figure out why I didn't have such a big reaction when I moved from Michigan. All I can come up with is it's b/c of all my awesome friends in Denver. When I left MI, all but one friend had left the state. After 7 yrs in Denver, it really felt like home. I'm sure I'll love Boston, but I'll need a lot of time to adjust. Maybe that's when I'll be ready to change my blog location from "Denver" to "Boston." Does that also mean I need to leave the Mile High Knitters blog ring?

Goodbye and Goodluck

Jeni organized a goodbye dinner for me, which we had today at Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen. Nachaele, Kristina, Jeni, Michelle, her soon to be DH, Tiffany, Stacey, her mom Marsha, and sister Whitney (and baby Liam!), Michaele, Wanda and Kim all came to say goodbye. I feel so loved, so fortunate, and so privileged to have met, and befriended all of these wonderful folks.

I put most of my friends into certain categories.. I have my work friends, my school friends, college friends, party friends, and my knitting friends. What has been so amazing to me, is that even though I may always refer to these folks as my knitting friends, they've become so much more. While I have learned an inordinate amount of knitterly skills, techniques, and information from them, I have also learned much about life, people, and myself.

Even though I felt lucky enough that we could organize an event where so many people could/wanted to come, I was also showered with gifts! Literally, almost drowning in gifts. We remember that Tiffany got me all this stuff, which I'm still reeling over.

Michelle and her DH got me...



The project bag, hand made by Michelle, with her DH helping to finish. The wonderful smelling SOAK, some purple sock yarn she got from Etsy, and the RYC Classic Beach book!!! I wish I had taken a pic of the fabric on the inside too.



Marsha (Stacey's mom gave me this awesome ditty bag from Vera Bradely. I can't wait to cast on for a project that goes into that beautiful bag.



Since great minds think alike (and, i'm kinda predictable), Nachaele and Kristina got me a Vera Bradley as well! in the same colorway. I LOVE IT. Plus, two skeins of the Lorna's Laces shepard sock in Lakeview.

Wanda and Jeni got me a gift certificate to PB, which I can't wait to use. I'm hoping some of these in chocolate brown will help fade out the bathroom issues.


Here we've got my pressies from Stacey. The address book has already been put to use, as she suggested I pass it around the table to get everyone's address (she's so smart, that one!). I'm not sure when she snuck off to buy that skein of Koigu, but it wasn't in her stash last time I checked. The Dutch Blitz game is one she introduced me to... which I love, b/c it's competitive, it's fast, and it's fun.

Kim got me a gift card to Barnes and Noble, which will probably get used the day I get there. Since I don't know very many people (just one very friendly knitter and her husband), I think I'll have plenty of time to read, which I used to do a lot more pre-knitting days.

The funniest gift?

From Whitney, Drew, and their wee ones. Can you see what it says on the package of tissue? "I've got an ATTITUDE, and I'm not afraid to use it." I can't wait to offer someone a tissue now!!! And a million dollar cookie (ya think someone will take that as my rent payment?)

Michaele may be the sneakiest of the bunch. She left me a hint (which didn't photograph well) of my gift, which she's having shipped to my new address in Boston.

Here's a pic of all of us, except Nachaele, who's taking the picture.


Thanks to each and every one of you. I can't find the words to express how much your friendships mean to me. Though I love the view, the lack of humidity, and the general attitude in Colorado, it's really the thought of leaving all of you that makes leaving Denver so difficult for me.

Boston has some big shoes to fill.

Why don't I move more?

There are several things that make me ask this question of myself. The most obvious way to take the question for me, is to ask myself why I let myself gain weight back that I worked so hard to get off of me. Why did I stop going to the gym on a regular basis? Why don't I move more?

The second way I'm thinking this question involves... why don't I move, like pack up and move away, more?
Tiffany made my last day at the shop very memorable. Stacey, Jeni, and Michelle kept me company for the last couple hours of the day at the shop. We had a small feeding frenzy when we saw the new swag that Tiffany had ordered in. I got a complete set.




Then, Tiffany gave me a going away present! What more can a knitterly gal want besides to work in a yarn store you ask? Take a look



She made a couple cute stitchmarkers, got me an awesome seahorse magnet, and a lot of Godiva Chocolate. Yes, you read that right. GODIVA. But wait! There's more! (a la Ronco). What could top Godiva chocolates, you ask?



None other than a skein of ever loverly Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace. She gave me a choice between some Lonesome Star Alpaca Farm yarn (oh so loverly) or a skein of the LL. How can one go wrong?? Seriously, she's too generous. I've loved working there, and I wish I could've had that cush job the entire time I was in my master's program. Thanks a million Tiffany!!!

obsessive much?

who me? naaaahhhh.....



ok. i can not deny that i am an obsessive type. I have been playing this game relentlessly, just so I could figure out what was above 'master' level. I feel like I've won an award.

I have almost no knitting news, nor do I expect to have any in the next... month. What I do have...




a breathtaking pic of the sunset, taken from my balcony earlier this evening. i thought it quite apropos, seeing as my time in Denver is quickly coming to an end.
I have been doing some knitting... on Reid from knitty, mystery stole. but it's pretty random and slow.

In other news, Celia and I are opening up the registration for the Third International Scarf Exchange. We'll be posting up rules tomorrow. Please shoot us an email to let us know if you're interested. Rules are basically the same as the last go-round, but we're just doing scarves this time.

packing it up

i'm supposed to be packing. I've got about 16 days left in Denver... and I'm stalling/procrastinating about packing. I manage to do about 2-3 boxes per day... but I let myself off the hook way too easily.

see what I've found?



I think it might just be Bookish who actually goes and plays and gets as obsessed with this stupid game as I am.

I have to make the confession that I earned a strike on Stashalong. In a moment of complete...forgetfulness, I bought 5 skeins of Patons Grace so I could make Reid (from knitty.com) for some little girl... either my professors 3 month baby, or my tiny friend's 6 mo old. I guess we'll see, depending on how long it takes me to finish, huh?