In no particular order...

1. A damp towel when you've just showered
2. Damp clothes out of the dryer
3. Knitting patterns in booklets that are unavailable 
4. Plane tickets that are ridiculously over-priced
5. Drivers in the fast lane that go below the speeding limit
6. When the internet loads slowly--and I remember the dial up days!
7. People who lack the ability to follow directions
8. burning your tongue on food or drink
9. Knitting with a cut on your finger
10. The dry part of lotion.

This is your brain on knitting - CNN.com



This is a really great article. I have always enjoyed knitting. Sometimes it's frustrating when you are learning a new technique, but you feel so proud once you do master it. Of course it takes perseverance, but it is worth the effort. Now that I've read many articles on health benefits from knitting/crocheting, I know I will continue this hobby for as long as I am able.



More people than you realize knit. See if a friend can teach you. Otherwise there is at least one yarn store in every town with people eager to teach you.



Happy  knitting!

I have a few guilty pleasures, and one of them is watching The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. This last season with Juan Pablo inspired the following drinking game.

Drink if you hear the following phrases or statements:

• "It is what it is."
• "At the end of the day..."
• "It's okay." (Now that Juan Pablo is no longer the bachelor, I don't know how often I'll hear this phrase, but we'll see.)
• "I'm here for love." (mostly for The Bachelor shows)
• "dream"
• "I'm just being honest."
• "mature" and variations
• disrespect and variations
• grown-ass woman/man (for VH1 shows)

Friday, 3/7: buy chocolate wine for my friend
Saturday, 3/8: email a friend studying abroad
Sunday, 3/9: respond to student emails sent late for Monday's class
Monday, 3/10: walk to meet my friends rather than drive

Yeah, I know: my "good" deeds are rather lame at this point. I need to spend more time focussing on the good that I can actually do on a daily basis. There are also many good deeds that I do regularly, but should those "count" for Lent?

I will try to do good deeds that I normally don't, but if it is a busy day for me, I may need to fall back to a "common" good deed. However the whole point is to inspire people to do good and love God, so I think I will be okay either way.

It is Lent once again! I feel that I have not posted much since last year's Lent. I have been knitting, but not enough due to graduate school. I hope to include some pictures of my two projects, although one is very boring, during this season.

I used to hate Ash Wednesday services because they were so serious and some appeared hypocritical. The last two years have been a pleasant improvement. Last night the priest reminded us that Lent should not have us wonder what we should give up. Rather we should ask ourselves how we can better bring Christ's message of love into the world. Yes, we should try to avoid our bad habits, but if we place too much pressure on ourselves, we may be doing the opposite and begrudge Christ this season. Therefore, once again, I will try to do one good deed each day, not repeating any, during this Lenten season. I will also attempt to give up one bad habit, which, of course, I will not be posting online because everyone is perfect in their online personas.

March 5: Give money to St. Vincent De Paul
March 6: Take my dog on a long walk during my only break today.

What are you doing for Lent?

As always, Happy Knitting!

Happy New Year! Like last year, let's see how I did before making new goals:

1. Keep getting results from the gym. Rather than lose weight, I'd like a lower BMI number.
              I have been getting results from the gym, and my BMI is lower. So far, so good. I've lost eight pounds as well.
2. Be able to do 5 pull ups.
          I can! not in a row...but I can. Additionally, I'm only displacing 45 pounds when I do assisted dips and chin ups.
3. Stretch out my hamstrings.
          Not really measurable, but I do stretch more
4. Learn to knit socks.
          I made my first pair in spring 2013! There are pictures on this blog.
5. Learn to knit Entrelac.
           Not yet...too many knitting projects in progress
6. Finish the Masters Level 1 Program.
           Again, not yet, but by March.
7. Do and finish the Masters Level 2 Program.
        A 2014/2015 goal
8. Save more money.
          Done, but considering I'm making less, my bank account looks about the same.

So I thought 8 goals was doable. It looks like that number was a bit high. It is interesting to see what my concerns/values were a year ago. This year I would like to...

1. Lose two more pounds (easy, but keeping them off can be hard)
2. Learn to knit Entrelac.
3. Finish the Masters Level 1 Knitting Program.
4. Start the Masters Level 2 Knitting Program.
5. Travel to one new place.
6. Exercise at least three times per week.
7. Be sure to find happiness in everything I do. 

Happy New Year!

Winterhaven is the place to go in Tucson in December. One may think that Tucson is the worst place to celebrate Christmas, but, if you celebrate a religious Christmas, Jesus probably experienced similar weather and environmental conditions. Although snow romanticizes the holiday, we have a pretty sweet set up in the Ol' West.

Winterhaven is a great neighborhood where every house sets up lights and decorations. It does get chilly at night--believe it or not--and people set kettle corn and hot cocoa in the middle of the neighborhood.

My mom's and my tradition is to go to Pastiche. They stay open late, are nearby, but not too close to Winterhaven. They have a great coffee keoke, along with desserts. Check it out if you get a chance!

Hi there!

Well, as you can see from my absence, graduate school has really affected my ability to write posts and to knit. I normally bring my knitting to my choir practice, but I haven't for a while. My fellow singers started to ask, "Where's your knitting? Are you still knitting?" They seemed to be really concerned and worried about me. Instead I had forgone the yarn for books, since I've had to read two per week (it's not that bad actually). So when I finally brought my knitting this past week, a few of them breathed a sigh of relief, almost as if to say, "Good, she's okay. She's going to make it." Somehow in my life, or knitting career, taking around my projects and knitting during every free second has come to symbolize that I am well-balanced, happy, and sane. I must admit that knitting does relieve stress and it does make me happy, so perhaps bringing my needles around does demonstrate that I'm doing fine. I wonder if everyone has physical symbols to show the world their psyche. I'm sure psychologists would love that. Knitting needles equal sanity, crochet hooks mean low-stress, knives mean...paranoia, violent disposition? Perhaps knitting needles are a more aggressive symbol than I think...I'll have to work on the connections.

Anyhow, here is what I have been working on:

So far graduate school is going really well. I only teach one class this semester, so it is much easier than I am used to! My students were shy today and not too inclined to speak. If they are anything like my former students, that will change quickly. They did not seem enthusiastic to be there, but I know that not everyone loves English or composition. Hopefully I can at least teach them how important it is in any career field. It will also be interesting to see how Arizona students stack up against students from other states. I know the Arizona rating for education is low, but I think we should be higher than we are.

I have only attended one class so far, and we just went over the syllabus. My next class is in two hours. It is reminiscent of undergrad, which is comforting, but there is a considerable amount of work! One of my friends said that I will always have some form of homework, and I am beginning to see that now. However, it does not seem too different from being a teacher. I always had to plan, grade, and create materials. The only difference here is that I will also have to read, write, and research. While that sounds overwhelming, I have much more time at home than I did as a teacher. While working full time, I was out of the house--strictly for work purposes--for nine hours a day, 45 hours per week. This semester I will be out of the house twelve hours per week. That does not include the commute time, which is about 20 minutes per day, round trip, which is an additional hour and 20 minutes. If I continue to have good work ethic, which I will, it shouldn't be too much more work than a regular, full-time job. I wonder if two months from now I will laugh at myself for writing that...we shall see!

It has been a while since my last post because I have been really busy! I decided that I wanted to go back to school for a PhD in English Literature. I have been experiencing a lot of change: moving to a one-bedroom apartment, ending my career as a middle school teacher, and starting a graduate program. Unfortunately, due to all of those changes, I have not had very much time to knit. Hopefully I will be able to make time for it soon. Getting back to graduate school...

I have been in orientation the last few days and I have learned a lot about myself and my new colleagues. The first few days I was timid and did not want to participate in discussions or talk much to people; I was reserved. I was nervous for a few reasons. I haven't been in school for three years. As such, I'm worried that I'm rusty on my essay writing and critical thinking. I'm worried that I won't have enough time to read (at least two books a week!). I'm worried that I'll be the worst PhD candidate in my program when I'm used to being at the top of my class. All summer I have been forgetting the silliest words! What if that were to happen while I was teaching? Or what if my vocabulary left me during a class discussion and I couldn't communicate as eloquently as the others? My list of fears goes on and on.

Now that I've met my colleagues and chatted with them for a few days, I learned that I'm not the only one who feels this way. Many of my colleagues are starting again after a few years of being away from academia. We are all concerned about the work load. We all have been rejected from multiple graduate programs. None of us know the exact trick to getting into graduate school, though all of us have. This makes me more comfortable. It's not that misery loves company, but I am reassured that I am not the only one with doubts. I feel less like the black sheep.

When I was an undergrad, I idolized the graduate students. They were so professional and so intelligent! I had them on a pedestal. Now I'm one of those students. Perhaps I know more than I give myself credit for.

After a few days of being with my colleagues, I am feeling much more confident. We are all starting with worries and doubts, but we are learning together and helping each other. My critical thinking skills are working faster and faster. I am pleased to say that my vocabulary is quickly coming back. Everyday I am becoming more confident, though being accepted into a program should have given me that from the beginning.

Now my knitting has met steep competition: graduate school. Hopefully I will be able to make time for my favorite hobby, especially since reading and writing--my other loves--have become my job!

Happy knitting, reading, and writing!