Good Saturday morning to you!

Okay, really, this is me procrastinating for just a bit, but hey, I've already completed one of my homework assignments for my college class. And, it's only 11:15!

Here's the list of things to do:
Judging
Take in recycling
more cleaning
run
finish taxes
college hw (check)

For just a tiny bit more putting-off-of-things, here's an ode to party shuffle on iTunes. I heart party shuffle, and I heart having a computer that will play music for me while I am typing a reflection paper. Here's a preview of the song stylings that are upcoming (in the order they will be played):
Macarena (now playing)
The Maker - Dave Matthews Band
Pump Up the Volume
Headwires - Foo Fighters
Drown - Son Volt
Fell on Black Days - Soundgarden
Trouble - Harry Connick Jr.
Against the Grain - Garth Brooks
Free Ride to the Show - Perpetual Groove
Fortunate Fool - Jack Johnson
And the list goes on: U2, Culture Club, Lucinda Williams, The Kinks, Coldplay, Blind Melon, Bob Marley, etc.

Only in iTunes land can you shuffle nine days worth of random music! I love it!

I'll get back to you later today and let you know how the to-do list shakes out.

Oh yes, it's ladies night.

I love going to book club.

Is it the intellectually stimulating discussion of this month's selection? Probably not.

Is it the delectable choices of eats? Probably a little bit.

Is it the gossip and laughs I get caught up on? Um, yes.

People ask me all the time if I miss working at the Eagle. Of course I miss being a photographer - who wouldn't miss that job? But, the thing I miss the most are the witty, sarcastic women that I used to see on a daily basis. Don't get me wrong, I do still see witty women - it's just that the ones I see are of the 17-year-old variety, and there's something to be said for communing with the women of your own generation. We all have common cynical journalist senses of humor, and some of the best laughs I have each month come courteous of the good ol' Eagle book club.

Topics of tonight's discussion: the book, of course (Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential), Crazy Mike (aka "The Mall Walker"), my friend and fellow teacher who has to lie about smoking to be eligible to win a cool million, crappy interns, "Happy Birthday to Poop," "Can someone please check me?") It never stops.

Tonight's book club was at la casa de Stumpe. Good food, good wine, good friends. For what more could I ask?

Ahh, to be 2 again.

It's so exciting when you get clothes for your birthday and you get to try them on...in front of everyone. Lauryn will rue the day her daddy decides to show the video to her prom date!
Phew. So many presents, so little time. It's hard work being the birthday girl.


A couple of photos from Lauryn's second birthday party.

I'm relaxing a bit before heading off to book club, but I thought I'd throw these on here.

You know what you are, McFly?

You're a slacker.

That's what I am. I don't like this almost weekly posting schedule, I need to get back in the groove.

Returned from KC Saturday, attended an awesome fondue party for a two-year-old that night (no, the two-year-old didn't partake of the fondue - she ate Little Skeezer's Cheese Pizza). Stacey and I ran about three miles on Sunday. We just found out tonight that we will be able to do the Easter Sun Run in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I'll be posting pictures from that.

Had another one of those days at school where, during newspaper, we had to bust chops because people aren't pulling their weight. The newspaper editor was up until 3 am Sunday/Monday finishing because other people couldn't meet their deadlines.

Here's where I start sounding like a crotchety old bat - but, back in my day, we were PROUD to work our butts off for newspaper and yearbook. We came early, stayed late, and got the job done. It just seems like people will not take responsibility for their work these days. Isn't there some sort of pride of ownership when you see your name print?

There is for me. Can you "teach" this to kids? How do you make them understand?

Spring Breakery

Here it is, the Wednesday of Spring Break (!) and I'm already lamenting the fact that, yes, I'll have to go back to school in just a few days. I haven't completed NEARLY the stuff I wanted to, but I've done a lot of knitting and a little reading.

And, I raked the yard for three hours on Sunday. I think I only got up about 9 billion leaves, and left the rest. Too bad the wind has been blowing 50 miles an hour all day today. Guess I'll have to spend another three hours on this next weekend.

I'm headed up to KC tomorrow to run around with Ma. Probably (who am I kidding) Definitely will be visiting yarn stores and the like.

Yesterday I finished what I think is one of the cutest things I've ever knit and felted.

It's so great - however, my current lack of a digital camera is putting a big damper on photos of recently knitted items. Can't shoot that, couldn't shoot anything on Monday when we went to Manhattan for the basketball game, couldn't shoot our birthday dinner celebration on Tuesday night. It's really starting to annoy me. This blog is so much better with photos, and I'm having withdrawal. I'd like to buy a Canon rebel, just for personal use, but we've made a promise to ourselves to pay off the credit cards before we make any major purchases. I think if I wrote in to Suze Orman's "Can I Afford It" she would say no.

Our adopted son, I mean my brother-in-law, is staying with us for a few days, but he's leaving tomorrow to go to Chicago. Two Chittum men and a Jill is a little more than our little pink house can take, I think. We had a great little birthday dinner party for Joshua Tuesday. Stacey and Eugene brought the kids over, and Adam (as always) cooked up some awesome grub. Then, we had a little brownie cake with "2" and "4" candles, and trick candles. It was fun, but yet again, no photographic evidence.

I know I've said in the past that I LOVE the Y. Spent two hours there today, though, and I gotta tell ya - TURN ON THE FREAKIN' AIR CONDITIONER. It's hot, humid and people sweat when they work out, which makes it about 100 degrees in the cardio room. I am not on the wrestling team, I'm not trying to make weight. No Vision Quest for this girl.

Like sands through the hourglass

these are the days of my life.

So, yesterday, after I got out of the shower, I flushed the toilet. And it just kept on flushin.' Mind you, because of the wacky daylight savings time switch being early (which I love in the pm, hate in the am) I was already running like 25 minutes late.

I reached down under the toilet, turned off the water to it, and left for school. Didn't want to come home to Lake Chittum, so that was the best I could do. Now, we've been without toilet for 24 hours now, because we tried to fix it ourselves last night. Didn't quite work out.

Oh well. I'm off to have a drink, watch KU (the only time I'll cheer for them, because I picked them to win in the first round) and then come back home and deal with the problem. I just have to remember to go potty before I leave the bar!

I fought the law

and I won!

Well, okay, there wasn't much fighting. There was some sitting (for two hours), a brief meeting with the Eastborough prosecutor, and a five-minute trial. During the trial, I said nothing. I mean, nothing.

The prosecutor interviewed the officer who wrote the citation, and said officer drew a nice diagram of the incident on a handy whiteboard, and then I was asked if I wanted to cross-examine.

Ha.

Those of you who know me know that I tend to be a little on the sensitive side. If I'm angry, nervous, superhappy, or overwhelmed, there's only one physical reaction my body chooses. Yep, you guessed it - turn on the waterworks. So, I did no cross-examining or testifying, I didn't even get to raise my right hand and solemnly swear. I wasn't actually crying or sobbing, but I think the judge could see the saltwater welling up in my eyes, and he knew that if I tried to speak, it was all over but the cryin' (so to speak).

So, I sat there, desperately wishing for tissues, and doing everything I could to keep the tears from flowing. I waited patiently. Then, the fateful words that saved the day came out of the officer's mouth.

"When I saw that the light was red, her vehicle was in the middle of the intersection."

Judge: "Where was she? In the middle you say?"

Officer: "Uh, almost to the middle. Not in the middle."

Thankfully, in his diagram, my car was just at the middle of the intersection, too close to call. Since it was an icy and snowy day, the judge ruled in my favor. Woo-freakin'-hoo, I tell you!

The two sweetest words an accused can hear: "Not guilty."

And, I don't have to pay the City of Eastborough $150. I think sitting around for two hours is well worth it. I'm sure my husband would disagree. I think he was ready to leave at 6:08, and we didn't walk out of that courthouse/city hall/police station/house until 8:09.



All of this took place in what I'm assuming was a formal dining room at one point in Eastborough City Hall's history, but now it is the court room.

An aside: You would be amazed at the amount of people who were there tonight because they were pulled over and driving on suspended or revoked licenses or didn't have insurance. Yes, the slugs even drive through Eastborough. Interestingly, the fine for driving on a suspended license is $50. The fine for running a red light, of which I was accused, is $100.

Zima Dogs

Tonight we partook in a little good, old-fashioned American fun with our Canadian friends.

Here are a few photos from our dinner tonight. We decided to cook out since it was so beautiful outside.

Stacey and the kids came over - we missed Eugene. Hopefully he'll get to see these photos from California. A little slice of home for you, eh?

Josh LOVES the cheesy smile.

Genevieve showing some personality.

Yes, it's backfocused, but I still like it.

Master Chef Adam cooks up the night's grub. Nothing like Hot Dogs, burgers, corn on the cob, wedges and Zima to usher in the early spring. As always, awesome job on the food. Man, I totally scored when I married him - he likes to cook, I hate to cook!

I can't even believe I just admitted to the fact that we were drinking Zima tonight with our dinner...The minute I see the bottle in the fridge, I am immediately transported back to Manhattan, Kan., circa 1995. August 1995, to be exact. Yes, those of you that are keeping score (like my mom, who reads this blog and knows how old I was in 1995) will say, "But, you weren't old enough for that kind of stuff in 1995." That's the point. It's the drink you're initiated on. At least it was for me. And it makes me think of a certain Collegian copy editor, who drank it all the time.

I'm now working on a knitted, felted tote bag. Genevieve had a pretty good time running around the room with the yarn. I think she had it wrapped all the way around the couch at least once.


Here's a work in progress. It's the Hooray For Me fingerless glove pattern by Marnie MacLean that was featured on Knitty Gritty awhile back. This one's just about done - I've got to finish the thumb. The worst part of knitting gloves? One's almost done, but I have to do a second. Damn.

That self-patterning yarn is pretty freakin' cool.

Advice for young sports writers

Take note: "Everybody needs a good game plan..."

Thanks, Candice!

Candice gave me "The Friday Night Knitting Club" by Kate Jacobs. I have many books on knitting technique and patterns, but this is the inaugural book in my knitting novel library.

I'm not 30 yet, but...

How do I know I'm getting old?

Let me count the ways.

This week, at school, one of the assignments I had my kids do for a journal was "March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb, or vice versa. Well, this March came in like a..." and they were supposed to take it from there and be creative. None, not one of them, had ever heard the phrase "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Great, I'm spouting "old wives' tales."

Last night, Stacey and I just drank some wine, and watched TV and talked, and it was great. So much cheaper than the going-out-all-the-time we used to do, and you don't smell smoky when you go home, and your ears aren't ringing, AND, I knit a whole freakin' scarf in the time we were hanging out. BONUS!

Adam was at the mines, selling the wares of QT to bachelor party-goers and hoochie mamas with no teeth. (True stories, both, mind you.) He should be writing his own blog - The View From Behind the Counter at Your Local QuikTrip. And Stacey's husband is out of town for a bit, so we just chilled, hanging out with the kids, and breaking out the wine after they went to bed.

However, one way I know I am still my young, unsophisticated self is that I'm still choosing the evening's wine selection because it has a cool or funny label - not because it's the best out there. Last night, I bought two bottles - Three Blind Moose Pinot Grigio, and Bohemian Highway Chardonnay. The Bohemian label is cool, and since we're a little Bohemian ourselves, maybe I'll use it as a piece on our mantle (which our artist friend Ella informed me is a shrine to our lives).

Ironically, this post is about being almost 30, and it's my 30th post to the blog. Weird.

Saw in the paper today that the cast of Grey's is pissed because Addison Montgomery might be the focus of a new spinoff of the show. Have we jumped the shark? The jury's still out on last week's show and the effect it will have on the series as a whole. It was a damn rerun this week, so I have to wait to see if we're getting back to the GOOD writing.

Here's a few recently knitted items...See something you like? I'm sure a deal could be made...

Scarves a plenty. Easy to knit, and the yarn you choose makes all the difference. The two on the left, and the turquoise one in the middle are what you see, but the black and white is actually one scarf - one end is white, the other black. It makes for a cool accessory when worn around the neck. Even though the weather seems to be headed for warmer climes, these scarves would still make great accessories - they're light, not too warm.

Earth-Hugger. It's a can cozy that doubles as a coaster, and keeps your hands dry when the can starts to sweat. Bonus - it's knit with wool, not made of whatever synthetic material most Koozies are made of.

Another phone cozy. Made this one for Amy. The background is actually a UFO - Adam's sweater that I'm still working on.


By the way, I go to court in Eastborough on Wednesday to protest my icy-day ticket. Wish me luck and good karma.
I need to go do some real work now, but hope you enjoy the day!