This Week: 2015.07.05

Chaos Tamed

• I finished knitting the Spock Socks, now they just need finishing.

Chaos Unleashed

• Work. All the time. Morning and afternoon for every day of the holiday weekend; all day and evenings of regular weekdays. I desperately need a break.

This Week: 2015.06.26

This week was all over the place. And I still can't seem to keep up with even weekly blog posts -- I'm writing this one at the last minute.


Saturday started off with a baby shower, then seeing a house E and I really liked, and finishing off with a Father's Day dinner at a wonderful Greek restaurant that I can't wait to go to again.

While there, saw a hostess with a gorgeous knit sweater. There are so many beautiful knits out there but I can't seem to figure out how to knit faster.

Speaking of, I blocked a piece one night to 23 sts x 36 rows = 4" when the pattern calls for 14 sts x 44 rows = 4". Suggested needle sizes were US3 - US5 so I split the difference with US4. I'm going to go up to US5, but probably no further than that -- I've never knit a gauge so open compared to the yarn so I'm already wary of the density. "Trust the designer" is the motto of this expanding-my-horizons phase, but I don't want to make it too large for practicality reasons either: I only have so much space to block it.

Photos would be immensely helpful here. Maybe next week (because I'm ever the optimist), but probably not because...

There's a good chance I'm working this weekend, and an even better chance I'm working the over holiday next weekend. Not terrific news, but also not unexpected given the timelines for current projects. I can't be too mad though because...

I GET TO WORK FROM HOME TWO DAYS EACH MONTH starting in July. Two whole days that I don't have to commute or deal with office distractions. I'll save hundreds of dollars in transit costs; save time; and, most blissfully, reduce stress and save sanity. Odds are high that overall productivity -- work and personal -- will increase. I'm already planning on what to do with the extra 3 hours for those days: more baking, more knitting, and maybe even some weeknight socializing.

One knit project I'm looking especially forward to? Joeli's Tech Editing Course. Sign ups open again in July so my plan is to be first in line, throw my money at her, and then promptly take advantage of the "work at your own pace" concept by putting it on hold for aforementioned day job obligations. Sad. When I first learned about it, I was literally bouncing with excitement over the ideas of combining my QA skills with knitting, and the potential to maybe eke out a second income this way. Now I'm just terrified that I won't live up to the material and fail pathetically.

The emotional rollercoaster ride for the week didn't end there: E & I held on during a bidding war for a house and submitted our official final offer a couple days ago. Still waiting to hear back, but that's not going to stop me from dreaming of spending my work-from-home days out on the back deck enjoying the sunshine (also not going to stop my dreaming is the fact that we don't have any outdoor furniture. If this were to come to fruition, I'd have to drag out a kitchen chair and place my laptop on a snack table ...not that I wouldn't).

Busy times are only getting busier and this morning I'm ok with that. Everything is moving forward. ...or at least not backward.

This Week: 2015.06.19

Chaos Tamed

• Bundt cakes / retirement party = success
• Tech editing course
• Keene Vest
• Yellow & Gray Chevron Baby Blanket
• Twitterversary, apparently

Chaos Unleashed

• More houses. Actually found one that might be IT.
• Related- sad, sad post this week. Didn't even realize it was the end of the week until too late. Fail.

This Week: 2015.06.12

Chaos Tamed

• Gifts were wrapped well in advance and brownies were baked the night before CK's surprise birthday party. She was indeed surprised, the BBQ was fantastic, and I even played a little volleyball without injuring anyone.
• Six--count 'em--six cakes were baked for Yiayia & Papou's retirement party. My MIL is baking another six and together they'll all be table decorations with flowers in the middle to "fix" the hole, à la My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
• I expanded my definition of "bus knitting" to include larger projects, like the Yellow & Gray Ripple Baby Blanket I've been working on. Thanks to that, I finished almost an entire baby blanket in a week. Crazy!

Chaos Unleashed

• This post got deleted while I wasn't looking. Not cool, Blogger, not cool. I think it was when I tried to access it via mobile where it had an older version stored.
• I got a knitting machine. E swears he told me about it several times, but I'm thinking he pronounced it as "knitting things" or is just misremembering altogether. Bottom line is that he came in the door one night with a huge knitting machine. Something about one of the church ladies not knowing how to use it and so now it's with me. Haven't had any time to poke at it yet, though.
• I just found out about Joan of Dark's Geek Knits book and I must have it: Miracle Laurie is in it, which means knitting and Dollhouse have been combined and that is so ridiculously fantastic! I can't stop fangirling over it. (There are other swoon-worthy celebs in it, too, but I first heard about it from Laurie and it helps that she's modeling a shrug with some seriously sexy cables.)

This Week: 2015.06.05

Chaos Tamed

• After decreasing the dosage over the last few months, I'm finally, completely, officially off Prozac! Dr basically agreed that I'm over that particularly nasty episode, so now no more meds and no more shrink appointments!
• Baby Cardi - photos uploaded to Ravelry.
• Keene Vest - armholes and neckband knit, all ends woven in, it just needs a final bath before it's ready for its close-up.
• Spock Socks - progress, but slowing down so I can match the randomly place repeats I made on the first sock. Still having trouble with tension and matching the striping.
• Baby Blanket (no Rav project yet, but pattern is Rainbow Ripple Baby Blanket)- started and making great progress on the bus.

Chaos Unleashed

• I'm completely off Prozac! Yes, a really bad episode of depression and anxiety was triggered by temporary physical ailments and exceedingly stressful times, but, let's be honest, that ain't the half of it. I've always had depression and anxiety. So basically, I've gotten back to my baseline. And now I don't have the safety net anymore: while the meds didn't do much for the depression, they did take a little edge off the anxiety (though not nearly as much as advertised). Time to test whether I've actually developed any better coping habits than deer-in-the-headlights, ignoring-it-until-it-goes-away, and if-I-can't-see-you-then-you-can't-see-me. (Ultimately, it was my decision, and I am quite happy to be off meds -- the benefits haven't been outweighing the risks and side effects for me.)
• This past weekend was full of overtime, but that should be the last of it for a little while.
• Damn weather can't make up its mind. It's June but so. Damn. Cold. And when it isn't cold, the allergens are in full bloom. I had to take a sick day this week so I could take stronger allergy meds -- they're super effective, but leave me too spacey to do anything productive. Not even knitting or crocheting could be done. Bright side: I'm all caught up on sleep.
• All those clothes I ordered came in. One out of two pairs of sneakers is a definite keeper; one out of seven shirts/dresses is a probable keeper, if I ignore the fact that I don't have the proper bra to wear with it. Considering doing a blog series just on shopping and how most standard-sized clothes don't fit me well. ...Also, on where not to place seams (seriously, who places a seam right across the chest??).

This Week: 2015.05.29

Chaos Tamed

• Fixed the Ravelry icon issue! Now Rav links will show an R logo next to them to indicate when it's an external site (which may require login). For future reference, the CSS code is below, and I found the URL by adding the photo to a Blogger post, then checking the HTML instead of Compose view. Just another example of when overly user-friendly UI is not actually user-friendly (same for the path-naming, eesh).
a.ravelry {
  padding-right: 20px;
  background: transparent url(https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL_nzGYgqt1_OR0aPfbKa1Mj7ErawCM0dkibD-jMSULON8n03cV8pj7XVbRMqcoe6-MDM3lql-HTY24fMdvne6OMlVkkYIaGpON72qD27mMCsFFqSTvpcfDdpRJqsBv98fpdEv-jDXhvo/s1600/rav_r.ico) no-repeat top right;
}
• Wove in all the ends left over so far on the Keene Vest, then added both armhole bands (and started weaving in those ends, too!).
• Bus knitting: started the second Spock Sock; I'm up to the heel. The first is basically finished, but I didn't BO in case I need to do any finagling to get the second to match. So far, however, the color changes are only off by about a round or so, which I can live with. It's amazing how concerned I am with tension all of a sudden -- trying to tighten/loosen to ensure I use up the yarn at the same rate as the first sock -- which will probably end up being a waste of concern, but at least it distracts me from thinking about work.
• Had "A Talk" at work. It was probably one of the most uncomfortable things I've had to do, and I'm sure I didn't articulate well at all, but it had to be done. I didn't get the huge sigh of relief I was expecting at the end, but I'm still hopeful that it will improve things and ultimately lower my stress levels and increase morale. I am aware that it may get worse before it gets better.
• I ordered SO many things. Baby things for a cousin's shower, yarn for a (different baby's) blanket, also new sneakers and new tops for me -- both of which I've been putting off shopping in an actual store for, well, months. I'm not a fan of ordering clothing online, but at least it's progress, eh? Expect this to appear in the "Chaos Unleashed" column next week when my apartment is littered with packages and I have to deal with returns.

Chaos Unleashed

• Those overtime nights I worked last week? Half of those were for a feature that unexpectedly got removed this week. So that was a waste of time that could've been spent doing anything else had it been known earlier.
• The Ocean Breeze yarn I ordered the other week came in and needs to be photographed and properly stored until I finish the Spock Socks (psh, like project monogamy ever works for me). More yarn is expected today or tomorrow for a baby blanket and a shawl. I'm at the point again where I fancy myself to be a wonderfully prolific knitter/crocheter who churns out projects like it's nobody's business. That is very much NOT the case, but I can't seem to help ordering yarn as if it were.
• I have so many things saved to Pocket that the app has trouble opening now: it gets stuck on a spinner until I kill it and re-launch. I really need to find the time to either delete articles or write up response posts for them.

This Week: 2015.05.22

Chaos Tamed

• Blog started. Finally I can stop worrying about the best way and time to start. It's done. Hello.
• On the flip side, I don't intend to actually start advertising or telling anyone that it's started. This is more of a way for me to just get in the habit and practice of writing.
• It's also a way to introduce some accountability. Status summary posts are scheduled for every Friday, whether or not I'm ready or have done anything this week.
• Made great progress on updating my Ravelry portfolio with photos:
• Project: Leah's Pumpkin Socks 
• Project: Leah's Pumpkin Hat 
• Stash: Valley Yarns Charlemont in Natural 
• Stash: Valley Yarns Charlemont in Burgundy 
• Stash: Valley Yarns Charlemont in Light Grey 
• More than halfway done with the first Spock Sock and absolutely loving the result.

Chaos Unleashed

• Worked OT on Sunday night as well as three weeknights. On the bright side, I've been repeatedly assured that I won't have to work this holiday weekend at all.
• House hunting officially started by going to a couple open houses. One didn't fit our future family, the other didn't fit our budget. I expect both of those to be recurring themes.
• I ordered more sock yarn. The last thing I need is more yarn, but this one is a beautiful ocean-colored gradient and already split into two matching cakes. AND I didn't order it until I knew I had a pattern for it so that has to count for something, right?
• Added custom CSS to the blog to get those links above to display a Ravelry logo to indicate that they're external links that will take you to a Ravelry page, often requiring a login (h/t Ravelry Goodies). It worked, then I made a change elsewhere to the layout and it wiped out the CSS without warning. I already forgot how to format the URL so there will be no Rav icon when this post goes live. The CSS is correct because I can do other things like change the color and hot-link to the image stored externally, it's just tricky to embed an image from Google Docs here because the URLs are wonky. Backup fail on my part. Bright side: the class="ravelry" is already in the links' HTML so they'll get fixed automatically after I figure it out.