hello, lovely

I was on Twitter, and one of the trending topics is “Wordpress Users Must”. Being a Wordpress user, I had to check it out, and I found this interesting article. If you’re using self-hosted Wordpress, and you’re awful about upgrading like I am, take a few moments to check out your files and upgrade.

Off to upgrade the knitting site…

For those of you who don’t know, I am a HUGE Nora Roberts fan. I love her books. The trilogies, especially the ones involving Ireland and/or magic, hold a special place in my heart, but her Eve Dallas series (by JD Robb, which is her pseudonym for the Eve Dallas series) is my favorite. I can’t explain it. I don’t know if it’s the whole futuristic element, or the relationships between Eve and the rest of the cast of characters that keeps me coming back. Maybe it’s because the books sometimes manage to still surprise me even though the basic formula is still the same. I just can’t wait to see what the group is going to do next.

Since I started knitting, however, I haven’t been reading as much as I would’ve done in my BK (before knitting) days. I miss reading, and even with the convenience of the Kindle app for my iPhone, I still don’t read as much as I would like. I’m getting better about it, but it’s hard to justify paying for books for my phone when I have shelves of them to still read through. This doesn’t stop me from downloading the freebies, though.. just the ones I’d actually have to pay for.

Enter Promises in Death. This book actually came out in February, and I got it as soon as it came out, but things happened and for some reason I just never got around to reading it. I decided (for no real reason) to pick it up and start reading it, though, and I’m really enjoying it. I can’t wait to see how the story unfolds. Especially since the next one (Kindred in Death) comes out in November, AND I still want to read Black Hills. lol.

• iPhone tips and tricks for budget travelers
  Good to know..
  (tags: iphone tips)

I don’t know if any of you regularly read dooce’s blog, but if you don’t, you should check out her story about her washer fiasco. This, my friends, is the power of the internet.

I have no idea what happened. Someone somehow hacked into my email and send a bunch of spam from it.

I’ve changed my password and updated security questions and stuff, but I wasn’t even IN gmail when all the emails were sent, so i have NO idea how it happened or whatever.

If you got an email from my spamming about iphones, sorry. It was me, but not really. I do love my iphone, but I’m sure not going to spam you about it.

A public service announcement for all my friends and loved ones in Dallas:

Stay off the roads!
My sister is now a licensed driver!!

Congrats, sis!

• Channeling Elizabeth: Recreating a Family Heirloom
  Fantastic article about recreating a Knitting Legend's sweater. Such a great story.
  (tags: knitting ez recreating elizabethzimmermann)

For those of you who don’t know, several Major League Baseball Teams host a Stitch N Pitch night, where they open up a section of “special” tickets for a game (that probably won’t sell tickets very well), and the people who buy the “special” tickets get to all sit together and knit, and you get a ticket for a special “Stitch & Pitch” item.

My first time going was last year to an Oakland A’s game. They played the Texas Rangers, which I thought was hilarious. Honestly, I don’t remember who won or really anything other than that we got an el cheapo reusable bag w/ the logo on it & a free pattern and that I was probably the coldest I’ve EVER been. Just a note – if you find yourself at the Oakland Coliseum on a July or August afternoon, BRING A SWEATSHIRT & A BLANKET. It will be EFFING COLD.

This year, I finally got to go to AT&T Park where we watched the SF Giants (Joe’s favorite team, FYI) play the Pittsburgh Pirates. My friends from knitting group and some of our families decided to go, and we had a BLAST.

We were almost up as high as we could go, and it was no where NEAR as cold as it was in Oakland, even though it started at 7 at night, and the fog started rolling in. Here’s a pic before the game started:

We had really good seats considering they were up in the nosebleed section, and were able to see pretty much everything. We all had fun. Here’s a pic of Joe and I. Ignore my hair and the fact that I need to lose a MILLION pounds… or just stop wearing that particular shirt. Ugh.

Here’s a nighttime shot of the field after the fog came in and the sun went down, right before we left:

Our special item this year was a Lou Seal (SF Giants mascot) bobblehead. You hear bobblehead, or at least I do, and you think some plastic piece of junk that’ll break in five seconds or at least be really cheesy, but the one we got was actually probably the best quality bobblehead I’ve ever seen, and he’s CUTE to boot!

I took him to work the next day, and every time someone comes up who hasn’t seen it before, they stop mid-sentence to say how cute he is. hehe

BTW – if you’re the praying/good thought/good vibe kinda person, please keep “my cat” Symphony and my sister in your thoughts. I found out that Symphony has diabetes & they have to give her shots of insulin every day now. Megan said she seemed to be doing better even after just the first one, so fingers crossed that she’ll get better quickly. I love that darn cat, even 2000 miles away! Also, send my sister some speedy healing vibes – she got hit by a car (she’s fine).. some jackass drove down her work street & their side-view mirror hit her really hard on the arm. She’s doing okay, other than waiting for what is surely going to be a massive bruise show up on her arm. Karma’s a bitch, that’s all I gotta say to the dumbass driver.

… but you’ll probably be sorry you asked.

Bowling for Soup played this song at the Fair a couple weeks ago. It is HILARIOUS, and will be on their new album. To be on the safe side, I’d say this is NOT work/kid friendly… you’ve been warned!

Every time I hear a new Green Day song or see a new Green Day video, I am 13 again. I am sitting in the apartment my mom, sister and I lived in during summer vacation. I am listening to Dookie. I am watching MTV non-stop, waiting for for the NEXT Green Day video to come on. I am on the phone 8+ hours a day with my boyfriend at the time, or I am online in a local BBS chat room, talking to online friends… typing Green Day lyrics back and forth with a friend who lived in Houston, crushing on a guy who kinda looks a bit like Billie Joe & actually gave me the time of day. I am wishing I had enough money to buy that copy of Kerplunk! I see everytime I go to Blockbuster Music. I am also trying to find a copy of 1039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, which is nearly impossible to find… and when I do find it in a CD Warehouse-type store (except more indie and much cooler) in Addison, the world is ending because my mom won’t give me the money to buy it.

I did eventually get that copy of Kerplunk! I spent birthday money on it. We went right back to Blockbuster Music, where it had been but no longer was. I FREAKED OUT. They looked it up in the system, and the computer said they had it. They had to go dig around in boxes for it. I also got the copy of 1039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours. I threw a tantrum of EPIC proportions when we were back in the car, and I don’t remember why my mom gave me the money for it, but that she did. I had to run back into the store and get it, wiping tears off my cheeks.

I share with you my newest trip down memory lane…

Green Day – "21 Guns" – HD