Happy Birthday, K!

Geez Louis, it's Thursday already!

Let's start with the most important item on my 'what to blog about today' list!. Today is my dear friend's birthday...she has caught up with me in age yet again. Happy Birthday K! And be thankful that currently I don't have any of my photo albums with me cuz I may have scanned in an image of the two of us...I was thinking back to the one after our mud volleyball game! Remember that one? :) We had some fun times at the Univ. of Kentucky didn't we?

Now, I normally really like making sure gifts are surprises, but this instance you'll see it before you get it. Two reasons...as my contest winners can attest to, finding time to get to the post office lately has been a bit challenging so though I hope these go out in the mail today, for all I know, it may be weeks from now. So I wanted you to have something from me on your birthday, even if only an image of the real thing. And second...I HAVE A FINISHED ITEM and it's been so long that I just couldn't wait to post. Selfish, I know, but forgive me this once.

So...these will be coming your way. ENJOY! ( But you don't get the ice cream. )

For the knitters reading:
Pattern: Lace Up Fingerless Gloves from Alterknits
Yarn: KnitPicks Wool of the Andes, worsted weight, color Lake Ice Heather
Size: 8 (these are too big for my hand...she measured so hopefully they will fit)
Modifications: I did have to go to a needle size of 9 to get gauge with this yarn. Otherwise, no mods.
Verdict: I love this pattern. I have seen a lot of other fingerless gloves that I like and want to try that are 'fancier' but in the meantime, I really do like this pattern. It's a quick knit, these are nice, functional, warm gloves and I think that ribbon just adds something to make them really stand out. I'm not completely sold on the yarn...it's soft but splitty and doesn't have near the structure of the tweed I used in the last set. But K's in Kentucky and I think that a 'lighter' pair may be a better option. I just hope the yarn holds up.

Explanation of the ice cream...
I finished mid-terms yesterday (well, not completely. I have the lab exam of STATS tomorrow but I'm not too worried about it ). And while you don't have to take many tests as a graduate student (classes are structured pretty different than undergraduate classes), I still stress over any tests that I have to take. Shocking eh? Anyway, yesterday was the last of the major ones, but my one roommate had her big test today (and she had a horrible day yesterday), so I felt she needed a pick me up. I was trying to figure out something to cheer her up (not involving alcohol cuz that wouldn't be good for the studying motivation) and found these little 'snack pack' Ben and Jerry's. I guess it provides you the illusion that you aren't eating enough to be 'bad' for you. Unless of course, you buy four of them. Women and ice cream. Anyway, just the sight of these cute little containers of ice cream was enough to cheer her up so I done good. The pick of me holding them is to show you the size of these little guys!

Finally...thanks to all the great, supportive comments on the last post. I'll email you individually, I swear I will! It's interesting to me though that as I was writing that, I was trying very hard to be more upbeat, to not outright complain (making the frustrations about my living situation into a joke instead of a complaint), and just trying to seem like it was all okay. Apparently I didn't succeed and you guys either were good at reading through the lines or I wasn't successful in even making the lines! It surprised me but I was very thankful for the supportive comments. It is a tough situation for me being up here but know that most of that comes from being a person who requires lots of space and alone time, something that I just can't get living with 2 people in a small apartment with thin walls, and from just being away from my element, my husband, etc. As for the rest of it, I am overwhelmed and struggle with it on a daily basis but that's my project and it would be that way whether I was here or not (albeit classes add that additional element but it's not that bad)...that's the nature of the beast and one I chose willingly to accept when I took this project. And it's actually nice to be back in a learning situation and having that interaction with many people who can help or offer support on things that I haven't learned yet. I've spent 90% of my life the past 8 years living in the woods and so while I do miss that and on most days want to throw a serious fit because I haven't been able to be outside at all, I also appreciate this other type of stimulation.

Bottom line is that there are good and bad things about my current situation...any given day, my mood changes on which is the one I'm most focused on. But being up here taking classes is a 9 month situation and I'm almost through 2 of those (and 1 more is winter break!). So I'll get through them and life will go on! Definitely keep the support coming because those days where I only focus on the bad, you guys help remind to look for the good. And it's there.