It can't be!

Someone is obviously manipulating the space time continuum. There is no other explanation. After all, how else would it be the 11th of December already when yesterday it was only the 3rd. At least that is the deluded explanation I'm giving myself, because despite my best efforts (insert sarcasm here) my Christmas knitting list is not getting done. I've actually managed to add 4 people to it. So yeah. I'll probably be binding the last project off as I'm handing it to the person it's intended for.

And aside from going crazy with these self imposed deadlines I'm also designing my own flip-top mitts. 'Cause I never like any of the ones I find so I figured "I'll make my own."

Which brings me to this little bunny trail: My Mom had me browse through CafePress yesterday to see if I could find a t-shirt or hoodie or something that I'd like for Christmas. And while I was looking at all the merchandise, I realized that these items are designed by regular people and not big corporations or even well known clothing lines. So then I toyed around with the idea of making some of my own shirt designs and seeing about getting them onto CafePress; if for no other reason then wanting to parade around in a shirt that I designed. So there is that.

On a completely unrelated note, I sometimes really miss the days when Christmas presents really were a surprise. What brought that thought to mind? The experience of going shopping with my Mother-in-Law for a pair of winter boots that will be "From Santa". And while we were in line she plopped down some other things and when asked if they were for the others she said "No, these two are for you...just, you know, act surprised when you unwrap them." *sighs* Can I be 5, please?

Freak out time

Today I was reminded that it's December 5th. That means in only 20 days it will be Christmas. I'm hitting the panic button so hard I'm surprised it hasn't broken yet. Now if I was just buying presents that would be one thing, but somehow I managed to create a sizable list of knitted gifts that I need to get done as well. They are as follow:

Sister: Totoro Mittens (one more to go)
Sister-in-Law: Mittens
Brother-in-Law: Gamer gloves
Mother-in-Law: Thick house socks
Father-in-Law: Convertible Mitts and neck gator (almost done!)
SIL Boyfriend: SuperMan beanie
Best Friend: Heart mittens

And to think that this year I wasn't going to make any gifts for anyone. =.=
But I think I can get it all done if I don't sleep, or eat, or knit anything else, or take on any other projects until I keel over from exhaustion. Yeah...that's a good plan.

It's here, it's here!!

I remembered this past weekend that the oh so lovely Allitrya Spelling send me a confirmation number for my package. So I checked it and you know what it said? "Your package has been delivered." So with an excited squeal I ran to the front door and sure enough there was my package. Not checking my number every 5 hours actually made the waiting time seem shorter, imagine that. But I digress.

I opened the box and inside was amazing spoiliage (is that a word?) times like ten. So, here is a pictures of the overall kit, and then some pictures of the individual things.

So, the gloves are an amazing color, and they are SO warm, that they actually keep my fingers warm! Now if you don't know me you might go "well of course they will" but the thing is my fingertips are always like three degrees away from being frostbitten, so Fingerless gloves are a bit useless to me since they generally don't cover the part that needs covering. But not these babies!! I didn't want to take them off today, they were so nice and warm. They are also a modified version of the fetching gloves. Instead of the cables twisting, they wiggle from side to side to resemble snakes. The lady stalked me well. *solemn nod*

The yarn is a gorgeous monochromatic shade of blue. It's almost too pretty to turn into anything. And it's the Stroll Tonal (Which I keep pronouncing 'Tonelle' for some reason) line from KnitPicks so it's also uber soft. I just want to snuggle with it. I'm thinking it will sit in my bin for a long time before I get practically smacked in the face with the perfect pattern.


The bookmark is pretty neat too. It's in Slytherin colors, and has our snakes on it. Currently the little critter is home between the pages of Mozart's Blood by Louise Marley. I need an actual bookmark for it anyways, so this is great. Oh, did I mention that it's double knitted so it's reversible?


I also got some knitting needles, size US1, so they'll be great for sock knitting. There were some cables for my interchangeable set as well, which was awesome. I didn't have any 40" lengths and now I do! There were also some goodies with knitting patterns printed on them: Pencils, notecards, notebook, magnet notepad, and a pencil case. And of course a knitting pattern! (not pictures above because I'm an airhead) It's the Nagini socks. I can' wait to knit them up. The pattern looks wonderful. =) OH! And hot chocolate as well as some cappuccino mixes. Coffee and chocolate. What more could a girl want?

Of Elephants, Thanksgiving, and Gloves

I once heard that if you lose one too many toes you can't stand straight anymore.

Great opening, innit? But seriously though, I heard that once. "But Nici, why the hell are you telling us (all one of us) this?" you might be asking yourself. I share this with you because my toes had turned into tiny blocks of ice earlier and I worried for a moment that they might fall off. *wiggles toes* but they're all still here so I'm all good.

So Thanksgiving is in 1 hour and 15 minutes for me (it's 10:45pm as I write this word right now...now...now). Which in this family mostly means that MIL is going to do some actual cooking, and at around 1ish (2ish maybe even) we'll all congregate in the kitchen to get our plates, sit around to eat, and then we'll all shuffle off again into our respective little words. Happy friggen Holidays. =.= And christmas isn't much different. Actually, Christmas in this house is worst. But I'll get to that later in the season.

Did you know Elephants are pregnant for 22 months? See, now you can't tell anyone that you didn't learn anything from reading this. You're welcome.

I was very happy today to find my friend digging around in the backseat of her car for the convertible mittens I made for her. Alright, so the fact that she didn't have them in her glove compartment (why is it called that anyways? No one keeps gloves there anymore...it's always a bunch of papers, or half-eaten cookies, or random bits of map from the middle of Brazil that no one has ever gone to) or even in the front of her car was a bit off putting, but she was actually searching for them so she could wear them. Do you know what that means?! She appreciates my knitting!! She appreciates it and searches for it when her fingers get cold! I am a very happy sponge at the moment.

Speaking of convertible gloves: I'm working on my own design as we speak. Mostly because I need a pair of my own (it's funny that I make stuff for others before I make it for myself), and I didn't like any of the designs that were on Ravelry. Not that they weren't great, I just didn't like them. So I'll be using the mystery alpaca yarn my mom gave me 2 skeins of ( I still think it's 95% Alpaca, 5% forest but she won't believe me) and I'll see what I can come up with.

Oh! random thought: On this British car show that I like to watch, one of the hosts will usually say "How hard can it possible be?" somewhere down the line of that particular days challenge, and generally whatever it is they were doing blows up...or catch on fire...or gets run over by a host...or sinks. So between my mother and I, we've come to the conclusion that saying 'how hard can it be' will subsequently cause a lot of damage. So, why not say "This can't possibly turn out well." Just think about it! If mentioning that it's "not that bad" blows stuff up, saying that it "won't turn out well" should make everything go totally fine. Right? Yeah. Try it and get back to me.

[blank]

Because I can't think of a snappy title today...I blame lack of wine for that one.

Anywho, I ordered some wonderful stuff from a wonderful online store for my HSKS partner today. Can't really mention what it is, since she could technically go have a peek around here and find out what's in her package. For my Fingerless Glove package is almost done too. I mostly have to find some hot beverage packs that will fit into the smallish box that I have. And then I'm all good. =3

On a completely knitting un-related note: I heard a song today, called G6 (which by the way refers to the private jet, not the car...so the lyrics "fly as a G6" actually make sense) and one of the lyrics is "sippin' sizzurp in mah ride." Having no idea what sizzurp is, I looked it up. It's friggen Promethazine w/Codeine with Sprite and Jolly Ranchers. Allergy/Cough Syrup and Sprite...w.t.f? Next thing you know people are going to be drinking NighQuill with Flintstone vitamins and Tang. And they'll call it TangQuill or some equally stupid sh*t...gawd...

Also, HARRY POTTER WAS AMAZING!! Like omg you don't even know. *heavy breathing* And to think that I only need to wait until July for the second part to come out. *happy bouncing* If you haven't seen it yet, you need to. Like seriously. I compell you!

I also realized today that my husband is a bit of a creep. He was outside raking leaves up. My room window faces the front yard. I turned my head when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and there he was, nose pressed against the glass, smile of a killer on his face. I screamed. He laughed. I ran outside and screwed up his leaf pile.

Denial!

I'm denying that it's already almost Thanksgiving, which makes it already almost Christmas. I'm denying the fact that I have billion things to knit and do. I'm denying that fact that both Swap send dates are coming closer. And I'm denying that The Nile isn't just a river in Egypt.

Otherwise nothing else is really going on. My FG swap package is almost done, and my HSKS package finally has a theme to it. Which is pretty awesome. Now of course I have to rethink everything that I was going to send my swap partner. Son of a monkey's uncle. Oh well, it's not like I was that far into my package anyways. Off I go to remodel the kit. Now where did I put that blowtorch?

Week 9 Assignment

Aaaand it's another quiz. *headdesk* It's been so long since I've read this book! *whine* And some of the detail I skimmed over so fast I'm amazed my eyes didn't get whiplash. But here it goes anyways.

1. To which prison was Gellert Grindelwald sent after he was defeated by Dumbledore in 1945? Nurmengard
   

2. Who is the first casualty in The Deathly Hallows? Charity Burbage (although personally I count Hedwig, 'cause I don't remember this Charity woman)
   

3. What does Draco Malfoy name his son? Scorpius
   

4. Before Harry gains control of it, who is the master of the Elder Wand? Draco Malfoy
   

5. Severus Snape’s Patronus takes the same form as which other character’s? Lily Evans
   

6. Where do Ron, Hermione and Harry apparate when Death Eaters invade Bill and Fleur’s wedding? Tottenham Court Road

7. Who does Harry send to search for Mundungus Fletcher and the missing locket? Kreacher
   

8. Who destroys Salazar Slytherin’s locket? Ron
   

9. What does Hermione use to destroy Helga Hufflepuff’s cup? Basilisk Fang
   

10. Following the death of Lord Voldemort, who is named temporary Minister of Magic? Kingsley Shacklebolt