rhymes with spoon

(the british duo)
Perhaps happiness is not so elusive. A near two year stint in law school has damaged (if not completely destroyed) my faith in humanity, so imagine my surprise (and glee!) when I came home recently to a bright parcel from the UK--it was the long-awaited package from my candyswap partner! I recently participated in an online candyswap b/c I love sugar, I love getting packages, and I'm a big food nerd. The basic terms of the swap--$10 limit for domestic folks and $15 for international folks; theme--regional candies. I was very fortunate to get someone from the UK on my first swap (since I LOVE European candies) and Hannah really just went above and beyond the call of duty on this one. Not only did she send me tons of awesome candy, she *made* this adorable (and appropriately candy themed) bag for my treats! (To the right of the bag is a recent knitting feat. The completed back of the aptly named "Hope" sweater from Rowan No. 29 using "Knitpicks Mainline" cotton blend. This is one of two cabled sweaters I'm working on--one winter and one summer to relieve me of my stockinette stitch boredom. My goal is to finish this one before I reach DC in mid-May; I want to have it around to wear on cooler nights at the beach.)

(look inside the bag!)
Seriously people, this is the sort of happy haul that makes me dance around my apartment in sugar-fueled glee! Several of the treats have a healthy dose of hazelnuts, which I absolutely adore (especially with chocolate). The bag with pink stripes contains these lovely faux "mushroom treats from Marks & Spencer. Clever little treats really--the stem of the "mushroom" is a mini marshmallow and the "mushroom" cap is this chocolate concoction and the whole thing is sprinkled with coconut. Brilliant!

(kinder, kinder, kinder!)
But the best part of all, the thing that just absolutely made my week was the "kinder mini mix"! It was the first part of the stash that I raided. The "happy hippo" was almost too cute to eat but after I put together the prize in my kinder egg, he (unfortunately) met an untimely (albeit tastey!) demise. I am trying to exercise some serious restraint to not just make myself sick eating the rest of candies, but it's made my morning coffee routine a lot more fun. Coffee and chocolate for breakfast!? Who says being an adults no fun!? As if I haven't had enough fun snail-mail this week, Jeff's promised that I have a little surprise (sort of) coming my way. My feet are happily waiting!

Go out and spread a little happiness with sugar everyone!

Forgot to post this pic from Jeff's visit earlier this month. We schlepped out to Scooterville after a long day of getting lost around the Twin Cities. (This was back when Jeff was still debating whether to take the plunge.) Some of you know that Jeff is now the proud owner of a blue Stella. (I think this picture may have won him over.) I'm personally a bit more partial to the lime green. Jeff's promised to teach me how to ride this summer. Look out world!

First week back post-spring-break has proven to be a whirlwind experience. Total slackerdom over break came back to kick me in the ass as I frantically tried to stay on top of long reading assignments and research assistant deadlines. I am still catching up on sleep and sanity but both have proven fleeting. Nonetheless, things sorta gelled together this week. I went from utter uncertainty about the year ahead of me to having most of the next 12 months mapped out (albeit roughly) in a matter of three days. The redux?

1) Summer job in DC settled; offer letter in hand and dates marked off on the calendar. I will not bore you with the details but the job is legal and it pays. (On my list of things to do that qualifies as a check, check.) Am looking forward to am looking forward to having a full-time job (and its attendant paychecks), a full-time boyfriend (who I am missing very much these days), and a fabulous summer. (A lot of my fellow hoyas will be back in town this summer and I can't wait to catch up with people over drinks at the Tombs.)
2) Semester in Dublin is more or less settled. I've committed to going with details and precise financing pending. People, mark your calendars for Spring '07. I expect that you will all be paying me a visit. (I *am* your excuse to go to Ireland!)
3) Reunion with long lost brother en route to San Francisco. We spent an amusing afternoon at the Mall of America, catching up, shopping for friends and family, and marveling at the remarkability of legos and amusement parks inside shopping malls. Dinner with extended family at local mediocre Korean restaurant followed. Always an interesting experience as QT with my uncle provides me into much insight into my sometimes mysterious mother. Thinking positive thoughts of safe travel for the bro' who left this morning for his next stop, Billings, MT.
4) Georgetown's loss to Floriday last = devastating. Then again, if I'd been productive enough this year to put together a bracket, I wouldn't have had the hoyas going as far as the Sweet 16, so go Georgetown!
5) Local expedition to find legit French macaroons proved wholely unsuccessful. First off, Patrick's French Bakery only sells them at one location and conveniently it was not the first one I stopped at. Finding my way through the nonsensical streets of Minneapolis to that location, proved to be a frustrating experience (again). In a fit of low blood sugar, I purchased a dozen macaroons the size of my head. Not bad tasting but size and consistency were somewhat off. Am feeling remorseful for $15.50 poorly spent.
6) Am desperately coveting a pair of Earth Shoes. Have heard widely varying opinions, ranging from "they're the best shoes I've ever had" to "they will f*** up your posture forever." I tried on a pair recently at the local Marshall Fields and found them to be delightful. Am puzzled by recent interest in Crocs. Saw knock-off pairs at Payless the other day. Had considered buying a pair in December but Jeff convinced me that buying shoes with holes in them is a stupid idea in the dead of a Minnesota winter. Decision to buy said shoes is even stupider in March considering how much snow we've been getting.
7) Despite several recent trips to local shopping malls, I've sworn off major purchases, clothing, etc. Want to get rid of as many things as possible b/f the my trek over the Atlantic next spring. Posted a bunch of books and CDs on half.com. Other things will probably hit Ebay in the next several week.

Saturdays rule....

Ok people. I don't ask much of my friends or readers, but seriously, help me out on this one. Boycott friggin' Amazon for me. Due to the freakin' incompetence of their customer service department, I've now had to deal with Amazon, my bank, and a collection agency all in one day. Let's just say that it was simple misunderstanding that could've been easily avoided in an idiot customer service agent wasn't asleep at the wheel. In any case, I'm really ticked off b/c the collection agency was about to charge me a $25 dispute charge as well, which at the very least I was going to refuse to pay on principle. Also consider the fact that this is over twice the amount that was originally at issue in this dispute. Needless to say, I will never, ever buy anything at Amazon ever again. Which makes me kinda sad since I've bought a ton of stuff there before, but my thinking now is that I should stick to cash purchases at local retailors. And all this makes me think that dealing with mega-companies is a real headache as are call centers in India. My threat to boycott Amazon forever fell on the deaf ears of an underpaid Indian telemarketer. Grrrr.....

Apologies folks for the long absence. There are many life changes afoot and it's all I can do to get through my days in one piece. So the possible changes on the horizon?

1) I will be in DC this summer. Precise details, logistics, and a couple of finer points still pending a nail-biting phone conversation or two. This isn't a huge surprise but one that's taken several weeks to iron out.
2) I may be in the UK IRELAND (Jeff, I stand corrected) next year for five or six months. Pending long discussion with one of the school's deans, some major savings (hopefully) accrued over the summer, and a lot of advance planning. Let's just say I'm hoping to celebrate my next St. Patrick's Day in Dublin. This is a huge surprise...I'm still adjusting to the idea and thinking of ways to make it happen.
3) I may be staying in my apartment longer than I thought. (I am not happy about this but there a number of tradeoffs to consider, currently in favor of me staying put. The side of me that *hates* (loathes) moving is thrilled. The side of me that hates (loathes!) paying double-rent this summer cringes and winces at damage this will reek on the bank account. Note to self--live close to friends and family so that moves do not require large trucks and expensive storage).

This week's spring break. It's been a mix of relaxing and overwhelming as I've just realized how behind I've fallen on all fronts in life...that is the subject of another post. Last night involved a lovely reunion of my spring break group to Miami last year. It was a long night of cheap beer, northern Minnesota tobacco, poker, and good laughs. I am out $9, but the drinks were free and I've resolved to work on my poker face some more. I did respectably well considering that everyone else was speaking in a poker language that I've yet to master.

And b/c I'm in love with online quizzes, I couldn't help myself....

You Are Boston

Both modern and old school, you never forget your roots. Well educated and a little snobby, you demand the best. And quite frankly, you think you are the best. Famous people from the Boston area: Conan O'Brien, Ben Affleck, New Kids on the Block

Don't know how I feel about the description (or at least that last part) but I do like Boston a lot. So what American city are you?

Well, as you know school pretty much always sucks but I've been working hard (perhaps too hard) to have a life outside of law school this year. Mostly, this has taken the form of knitting and trips to visit loved ones on both coasts. So here's a recent recap in pictures:

I had some handspun stuff I got during a trip to San Francisco a few summers ago. It wasn't doing much for me in cream so I thought it would be a perfect chance to experiment with a little dying at home.

Kool-Aid dying at home
Black cherry Kool-aid isn't only good to drink, it also yields a marvelous shade of dark pink. Inspiration came after reading Knitty's tutorial on Kool-aid dying techniques. (A rarity in the knitting world--the article was spot on with lots of detailed instructions, meaning that the whole experiment came off w/o a hitch).

the yarns side-by-side before and after
Look Mom, sugar free!! ;-) Current plans are to blend this with ribbon yarn for a funky scarf. Can't commit to a stitch pattern. Had 2x2 rib going for a while but ripped it out in favor of herringbone rib which proved to be two unwieldy with two bulky yarns knit together.


Major knitting accomplishment of the semester --the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
The book has serious errors and I wish I'd had the good sense to do my research beforehand on-line because it would've saved me a ton of time. Jeff witnessed my utter disappointment when I realized upon completion (the 1st time) that all the raglan decreases were misplaced and the sleeves were crooked. I exercised great restraint and patience to rip out and reknit instead of turning it into a very expensive cat blanket for Otis. (Otis likes soft things). I think this is the first truly practical sweater I've knitted--i.e. one that I'll wear often because it's soft and super functional.

New Project! (YAY!)
Feeling inspired after my last sweater success I decided to tackle something besides stockinette stitch to keep myself interested (and/or frustrated). So I've embarked on my first major cabled project which is the shawl collared sweater pictured on Debbie Bliss #5. I'm about 60% through the first sleeve, which I decided to start off with to brush up on my cabling skills before I work on the larger front and back panels. It won't be as soft as the hourglass sweater but Wool of the Andes (Knitpicks is my new favorite place to get yarn!) does well with cables. For some reason this sweater makes me think of Mr. Rogers, so this project will heretofore be known as the "Mr. Rogers sweater."

Rowan and Paul Frank!?
(The Yees know me so well!)
At this point, you're probably wondering when do I get my studying in? Well, we'll leave that one for another post. Dwight, well aware of my knitting addiction, is now only encouraging my knitting junkie ways by feeding me luscious Rowan yarns from the UK. I don't know which Yee to credit the funky Paul Frank bag to, but I know it will become my new favorite bag for my knits when I'm on the road. I'm still contemplating the best use for the yarn. I'd love to run out and buy more yarn to make it into a nice bulky turtleneck but I think that would break the dwindling yarn budget for sure.

Face-off with le Otis!
Of course, I can't return from a trip to see Jeff without a picture of his cats? Otis, the little ham, is pretending to be bashful here but in reality he's a real camera-whore. I keep thinking I'd like to get a cat but then I remind myself that even after two weeks away from Otis, I still find his little cat hairs on my stuff. I should get a picture with Jeff on here soon...you'd think with all the cat cameos Shirley and Otis have made on here, I went to Baltimore to see them and not Jeff. (Rest assured Jeff, you're the one I want to see!!)

Speaking of which, Jeff will be out here in 48 hours and I'm elated. Frankly it's the only thing getting me through this miserable week of evil people and unforgiving deadlines. I can't wait for summer!!