On to the weekend, and eureka! We have a head covering...or two...

I'm tired. That pretty much sums up my week :) This weekend, I'm looking forward to just spending time with Mike and Hank. I have bellydance tonight, which is always a delight, and the hat I'm knitting for Mike is really coming along. I also have plenty of housework to occupy me. So, I'll be very contentedly busy.

I duitifully worked on some of my to-do list items, and gave myself freedom to finally select my future head coverings over lunch. My Lenten plan will go on as proposed, and I'm very excited. I know that I mentioned that I was only going to select two...

Yeah, I'm sure you'll be unsurprised as to how that turned out. After much scrutiny, I finally went to place my favorite contender in my online cart, only to find out that it was out of stock. In my disappointment, I gave myself complete emotional justification to select three. So there :) They are SO reasonably priced, my total still came in quite low, so overall, I feel that I did well.

You didn't think I'd not post pictures, right? It's what I live for. First, I picked a very traditional covering:

I got it in chocolate brown, so that it'll match my hair.

I wanted a headband, so I went with the super beautiful:

I love the velvet ties. It looks so pretty when your hair is worn up. And then finally, I chose this one:

This one is stretchy, so you don't have to tie it. As well, it scrunches up to form a headband, as shown, or you can pull it down for a short scarf look, like this:

I chose a color called "flax." It's a silvery shade. Very pretty.

So, that gives me a variety of styles to try, and we'll see how it goes. If I enjoy it during Lent, I can keep it up and add to my collection. You'll hear all about it :)

The joy of blogging, and preparations for Lent...

When I arrived at work this morning, one of the first things I did, like always, was open a browser window with my blog; I like to see if anyone has left comments, as well as think about an afternoon post topic. Today when I checked, I had 2 new comments!! I was absolutely delighted, thanks Joe and Cam! And both, addressing my post yesterday on Catholic modesty and headcoverings, were incredibly interesting and informative. I responded to both of you, so make sure you check :)

It just made me realize, once again, how much I value this blog. I enjoy it because it gives me a creative outlet for my writing, and it makes me think about a lot of interesting topics. As well, I have met other Catholic bloggers and treasure the online Catholic community that I've found. For all of that, thank you :)

Couple of things to followup on yesterday's post... I am going to continue my journey in 'dressing up' more for Mass. To this end, I'll obviously use the clothes in my wardrobe better as I select what to wear each Sunday. On the skirt issue, I was thinking that it *would* be nice to have maybe 2 that I could choose to wear to Mass, or out other places. For the winter, skirts just really aren't practical around here. *But* I could use to add some variety to my wardrobe. I have a few gift cards from Christmas, so I started my research today.

Let me tell ya, (Cam, I'm sure you can relate to this :) it is *not* easy finding dresses and skirts that fall below the knee. I'm not talking floor length gowns here, just things at or about calf length. Old Navy and Walmart.com - not a single contender. Surprisingly, I found a decent selection at Target.com. They're not cheap, but they have a few A-line skirts that are approximately calf length, as well as some chiffon overlay skirts that fall just above the ankle. In the next week or so, I'm going to go to the store itself to see if I can ferret any of them out and try them on.

I *was* able to secure a pair of long boots, suitable for wear with skirts, with a gift card. So, that's good. I've been needing those for a while.

Secondly, I was thinking about this headcovering issue at length yesterday; it's really grabbed hold of my attention. I think that what I'm going to do is try this headcovering idea out as a pilot project over Lent. To the extent I get odd looks from others at my parish, I can offer it up as a Lenten sacrifice, if you will. And naturally, I will blog about all of this :)

So...the next part is actually selecting the headcoverings and purchasing them. I am absolutely charmed by the offerings over at Garlands of Grace. Their prices are extremely reasonable, including the shipping rate totaling $2.99! I like the subtler nature of their coverings, and their versatility - there are many that function both as a headband or as a short scarf. With the type of coverings I'm looking at, plus shipping, I would say 2 are in my budget.

That's all well and good, but this is me we're talking about here. For the life of me, I cannot narrow my selection down to just 2. They're all so pretty! I will continue to agonize over this, rest assured.

I like this one, for a more traditional look:

But for the cute, headband styles, I like these:

With these two, you can wear them as a headband, or stretch them out into a scarf:

And of course, all of these come in a multitude of different colors, meaning more happy decisions. Clearly, I need to get back to work now (that is, *real* work), but believe me, you will be updated tomorrow...

Thought-provoking Post of the Week: Catholic Modesty

Feeling contemplative this week :) Before I launch into my theme, I wanted to let everyone know that Hat Attempt #6, under the loving support and tutelage of my knitting group, is so far a success. *angels sing* I'll post a picture when it's done. But I'm on round 15, and so far my only issue is that I have a few loose purl stitches when I switch the yarn over from a knit stitch. It's very, very minor, and the hat is looking good.

Ok, so on to my Catholic issue. This particular issue is really interesting to me because it is one on which I really haven't fully developed my opinion; as well, my own personal experience on related things is a bit of a dichotomy.

On the one hand, I would label myself a really conservative, traditional Catholic. I follow all of the church's teachings, even the unpopular ones, to the best of my ability, and I consider my faith to be the most defining thing in my life.

On the other hand, I happily attend weekly Mass at my local parish which is offered exclusively in the Ordinary Form. In a nutshell, I'm differentiating between the Extradinary Form of the Mass (also called the Tridentine Mass or the Traditional Latin Mass) and the Ordinary Form of the Mass as it has been offered since Vatican II, often called the Novus Ordo, or New Order of the liturgy. Enough of the mumbo jumbo :)

I've been raised with the Ordinary Form of the Mass, and I like it. Many more traditional-minded Catholics prefer the Traditional Latin Mass (hereinafter TLM). I have attended a TLM, and while I loved the solemn reverence of that liturgy, as a lifelong Catholic, I didn't enjoy feeling like I didn't always know what was going on. I felt a little "out of place." I'm sure if I started attending that liturgy with regularity, that feeling would fade, but to be honest, I enjoy the new liturgy. I have attended the TLM a few times since, but I really don't go out of my way to do so.

Ok, so llloooonnnng segue to the issue at hand. Stay with me here :) At the TLM, one thing becomes quickly apparent - the people who attend it generally dress differently than I do. Many (though certainly not all) of the women wear chapel veils. Many of them also wear long skirts or dresses, instead of pants.

Here's where I come in. This is a controversial issue, and that's not really where I'm headed with this. Women are not bound in the modern Catholic Church to cover their heads at Mass. Nor are they asked to dress in any specific manner other than to present themselves modestly, as men are asked to do too, importantly.

In my opinion, shorts have no place at Mass for either men or women. Nor do tank tops or other garments that reveal a lot of skin. That's pretty much the only guiding principle I use when I dress for Mass. I personally do not own a lot of skirts. I actually feel more comfortable, as in I reveal less skin and less "shape," if you will, in pants. There was a thread about this a few months ago over at the Catholic Answers boards, which I read with interest. I was surprised by how many women feel that pants are less modest than skirts. I don't really agree with them, but I respect their view.

When I dress for Mass, I usually wear jeans and a blouse. Long sleeved in the winter and short sleeved in the summer. I don't own anything that is low-cut, strapless or short in any way. That's pretty much my exclusive wardrobe on the weekends. For whatever reason, I started thinking about this this past weekend. Now, I don't think that there's anything wrong with wearing jeans to Mass. But...could I do better? Would it maybe be a good sacrifice for me (who loves her jeans) to put more effort into dressing up a bit for Mass, when after all, I will be in the presence of Christ? Absolutely.

So, this past Sunday, I perused my wardrobe for some other contenders. My skirt selection is *paltry* and I do not own a single pair of shoes/boots that would be suitable to wear (a) with a skirt, and (b) also be suitable for the winter weather. I did have a pair of long boots appropriate for wear with skirts, but they began to rip long ago and really needed to be put out of their misery. I've been thinking that I should purchase a new pair, but I really don't have the money right now. Long boots can cost upwards of $50, even at stores like Payless. Thus, I also don't have the money to buy skirts.

But, I did what I could. I pulled out a pair of gray corduroys that I often wear to work and a red long sleeved blouse. I even put on a pair of earrings. I know the change is subtle, but I felt better. I was putting thought and effort in, and that was important to me.

Sooooo... on the clothes issue, I think that's what I'll continue to do. I'm going to try and look into picking up a few long skirts (I've never thought I looked good in shorter skirts, even on a non-Mass basis) with my remaining Christmas gift cards. I've noticed recently skirts that come to the calves have made an appearance, so that's something to try out. I just look odd in knee length skirts. Not sure what's up with that. I can also try to secure an appropriate pair of dressier boots with a gift card too, we'll see.

Next, the veil issue. This sounds incredibly superficial, but I think chapel veils look absolutely beautiful. I've always wanted one just because they're so pretty! I never purchased one because I never felt that I really *needed* one. Frankly, I felt that I would stick out at my parish if I wore one.

I'm still not totally decided on this issue. I in no way believe that women MUST be veiled in church, nor does the Church itself. It's a personal choice. There are a couple of women that read this blog, whom I admire greatly, that I know do choose to veil at Mass. Post a comment! I'd love to hear from you. From my perspective, wearing a veil to Mass is not in any way a mechanism of subordination. I think that's why many women are averse to them. To me, chapel veils or other headcoverings for women at Mass is a personal sign of reverence and modesty before our Lord. Just as men remove their hats when they come into the sanctuary, a woman could cover her hair as a symbol of respect.

AND. Here's where the superficial thing comes back in. There is a lot more selection out there than I would have thought. If one wants to wear a headcovering, you don't have to go with a traditional mantilla (although those are SO PRETTY). I got turned on to Garlands of Grace by one of my fellow Catholic bloggers, and some of the items they have there are simply thick headbands of lace. A tad bit more subtle, and very, very interesting. I'm toying with this. I don't have the money now, but if I continue to feel a calling to develop this topic in my Mass-going, I may order one. I especially like this one. Granted, the model on that site is *beautiful* and has the best head of hair ever, so who knows what it would look like on me. But I'm willing to give it a try. If I do, you can rest assured of a post telling you all about it :)

Plain Truth

So, longtime readers of this blog will know that last spring I developed quite a fascination with Amish fiction. I know that many people are intrigued with the Amish; for me, I think that I admire their strong sense of faith and community.

So far, the books that I've read in this genre have all come from traditional Christian book publishers, and have been geared toward a romance. Jodi Piccoult's Plain Truth was on the voting list for the library book club this year, and I voted for it. It didn't get selected, but I thought that I would check it out anyway, given my interest on the topic. Right away, I knew it would be different because it was coming from a mainstream author and publisher, and just happened to feature an Amish community.

I ended up appreciating this book for that very change of pace it offered me. I also like that it featured a non-Amish protagonist who comes to live in an Amish household. The other books I've read have featured all Amish characters, or a non-Amish character who was merely secondary to the story.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I've never read of Jodi Piccoult's other books, so her 'formula', if you will, is still new to me. There was a bit of courtroom drama, some romance, lots of mystery, and lots of characters learning to appreciate different ways of seeing and doing things that they grew to appreciate.

For anyone that is interested, the plot of this book involves a young Amish girl being accused of hiding an out-of-wedlock pregnancy and subsequently killing her newborn. Not an easy subject matter, to be sure, so that's an important fyi. But it's not overly descriptive on that issue; there is lots of clinical discussion amongst experts as to how the infant died, but it's not "gory." The protagonist is a big city attorney who comes to defend the young Amish mother. If the premise of the book does not bother you (well, how can it not? but if you are able to read books with these types of plot lines), I recommend it. I think you'll enjoy it.

Adventures in knitting, and more Big Love...

Back at work today, and feeling out of sorts. I had a very, very nice weekend, and wish that it continued still. *sighs* Mike and I went to a movie on Saturday (New Moon - don't laugh at us) and then out to dinner. By ourselves. No regular interruptions to address recent potty happenings or what Iron Man is up to these days. It was bliss :)

Also on Saturday, I started over on Mike's hat, and that's where the title of this post comes into play. *huffy sigh* So, leading up to Saturday, I'd had 2 prior attempts on this thing. Let's keep tabs, shall we?

Hat Attempt #1 - floppy; needles too large.
Hat Attempt #2 - stretchy; needles too long.

That brings us to Saturday and my new, perfect needles. After breakfast, and after I did a puzzle with Hank and he hurried off to play by himself for a few minutes, I pulled out my knitting bag. I cast on. I moved through seamlessly, until I uncover a problem of nefarious origin - miscounted stitches. I noticed because I got to the end of the round and suspiciously finished on a knit when I should have been at a purl.

I was only on the first round, so it wasn't worth it to painstakingly make my way *all* the way back around 120 stitches to try and fix it, so I abandoned the attempt.

Hat Attempt #3 - bad stitchery; too many stitches.

I cast on again, and packed the knitting bag to take with me to my parents, who were set to watch Hank for us while Mike and I went out. I knew we would linger at their house a bit to visit afterwards, and I figured I could get a few rounds in while I chatted.

At aforementioned visit, I begin to knit, purl, knit...

I will not repeat the word I said in my head when I realized that I had miscounted my cast-on AGAIN. I thought I had put in an extra stitch so I knit two together to start the first round. I was wrong. I got all the way to the end of the round and was 1 stitch short. *simmers*

Hat Attempt #4 - bad stitchery; too few stitches.

By this point, I was utterly beside myself. I put the hat down for the night. If the needles and yarn are actually making me angry, I know that I need some distance from them. I worked on the lap afghan I'm knitting for Christina. I've made a few mistakes in the afghan, but I've always been able to fix them. It listens when I talk to it and cooperates with directions.

Christina's afghan = GOOD.
Mike's hat = CURSED.

On Sunday, after Mass and some grocery shopping, I did my house chores so that I could get back to the hat. I *really* want to finish it for Mike this winter. This time, I fastidiously counted my stitiches as I cast-on. I counted them again before I started round 1. and I made sure to keep track of my knits and purls as I made my way around. They all lined up. Thrilled, I moved on to round 2. Things kept proceeding well. My gauge measured perfectly. I began to hum as I knit. I felt all domestic and content, knitting a warm hat for my husband.

Intermission - I took a break to go shopping with my mom. In an unsurprising development, the new purse that she bought didn't fit all of her stuff, and I promised to help her select another. I bravely brought Hank along. He did pretty well, actually. After about 10 minutes in the purse department at JC Penney's, he *did* file for conscientious objector status due to his Y chromosome, but all things considered he did well. It was about the time that we found a perfectly designed purse for her, but she rejected it because it didn't come in black, that Hank really began to put up a fuss.

"But mom, why not try a different color?"

"It won't match my coat."

"Your coat is *black*, won't any color match with it?"

She smiled, but put the camel-colored offender back on the shelf. Sigh.

About 30-40 full minutes later, I sped Hank out of the store while my mom checked out so that I could fetch him a cookie and some lemonade at Mrs. Field's. He earned it.

Ok, back to the knitting. After Hank went to bed, I pulled my bag out again. Knit, knit, purl, purl, happy, happy. I finished 8 rounds, and was thrilled with the consistency. Mike was admiring it. And I'm sure you know what's coming. Right around 8:30 pm, as I was preparing to put it aside and relax for the night, I noticed a fatal, beginner knitters mistake:

Hat Attempt #5 - twisty; *SOBS*

I knew of this potential problem, yet I still committed it. Right from round 1, the stiches at one point on the needle cord twisted around. I unwittingly knit into them that way, and then as the hat grew, the twist simply became obvious. At that point, there's no salvaging; you simply have to start over.

I was so upset that I couldn't even talk about it. Mike tried to soothe me, but I stuffed my yarn and needles back into my bag and pouted into the kitchen. It was nearly 9 pm, and I wanted a glass of Chardonnay and to watch Big Love.

Mike approaches me, delicately, as he's a smart boy.

"Hey, sweetie? Do you want to watch the NFC Championship game with me? Or would you rather watch Big Love on the living room tv?"

Even though he'd done nothing wrong, I gave him a pointed look. I wanted to watch Big Love, and I wanted to watch it on the nice, living room flat screen with high definition picture. Mike quickly agreed that that was the best possible plan. He retreated to our bedroom to watch the football game on the teeny tv we keep up there.

I settled on the couch with my wine. I quickly became absorbed with Bill and his wives. He's running for a Senate seat and is trying to keep his polygamist lifestyle hidden. *snorts* I love this show.

As I'm watching, I can hear Mike upstairs, talking to the tv:

"What?! Are you kidding?!"

He's so cute. Every once in a while, I could hear feet padding down the stairs, as he came to update me on the latest interception or fumble. And the beauteous thing here is a gadget that I simply have to go off on a tangent to mention. While Mike is upstairs conversing to the tv, Hank is in the very next room, sleeping soundly. And do you want to know why we don't fear waking him up?

People, if you're going to become parents, you simply must remember these three words:

White Noise Machine.

My, GOD. We didn't discover this until this past year, if you can believe it, and it's been an absolute miracle. Our house is nearly 100 years old, and the complicated ballet dance that we'd have to do to sneak out of Hank's room after he'd fallen asleep without creaking the floor boards involved an agility that I simply don't have. We have this one. It plays nature sounds, or even the sound of a heart beating (for babies, although Hank was in our bed as a newborn, so that would have been moot). We play the waterfall setting, and Hank is happily esconced in his little room and no noise that we make in the house wakes him. But we can hear him, so one doesn't need to worry about it blocking the parents from being able to hear the child. Like I said, MIRACLE.

I happily finished watching Big Love, and I could tell that the football game was heating up just as the credits began to roll. I called Mike down and we watched overtime together. I felt a bit better.

Today, on my way out the door to work, I grabbed the hat bag for my lunchtime knitting group session. The afghan is getting too bulky to lug around easily. So, in about an hour, we will commence:

Hat Attempt #6 - IF THIS ONE DOESN'T WORK, I'M SETTING FIRE TO THE YARN IN THE BACKYARD.

And there you have it. I kind of can't wait to go home, I'm feeling pretty punchy today. The book I'm reading is excellent, and I'm dying to get back to it. Will blog about it tomorrow...

Dying for the weekend...

This has only been a 4 day work week, yet it feels like the longest of my life. After the class yesterday, I really need some mental downtime. 200 student classes are pretty draining on us introverts. My mind is mush. It's mid-afternoon and I find myself surfing yarn catalogs. I just don't have anymore to give work-wise right now.

I also had a meeting this morning that was so painful I feel totally justified in my need for downtime. Throughout the meeting, I actually had to distract myself by envisioning a roll of duct tape, peeling a few pieces off, and placing them over the mouths of several of my chatty colleagues. Hey, I would have done it gently. And then we all would have been finished with the meeting AN HOUR earlier, so everybody wins.

Anyway, in fun news, I had a fabulous time at Michael's yesterday afternoon, and went home to make my lime shrimp dish. It was *delicious*. Definitely one to keep in mind come Lent. I'll be giving up meat again for Lent (although I will still eat seafood, so I'll be going pescaterian) so I'll post some meatless recipes throughout. Anyway, I had a good time making it, and happily sipped a glass of red wine while I worked. Later, after Hank went to bed, I knitted away.

My trip to Michael's garnered me some fabulous (and on sale) yarn for upcoming projects, but the proper knitting needles for Mike's hat continued to elude me. I wanted 16" circular needles in a size 6 or 7. My current needles were a size 8, and it just wasn't workin'. Mike would have to have some sort of cranial deformity for his head to actually fit in this thing.

I looked at Michael's yesterday, and no dice. I ended up buying a pair of 29" circular needles in my desired size 6, figuring the stitches could just stretch around there while I worked. Well. It didn't work. I found the extra length of cord to be in my way and unwieldy. I'm using a cotton/acrylic blend yarn to make Mike's hat (he has this love affair with cotton) and the stitches decidedly did NOT want to stretch around the length of cord. It was a total disaster. I ended up starting to feel cranky, so I put it away and worked on Christina's afghan. I do needle crafts because I enjoy them - as soon as I feel myself start to get angry at one I know that I need to take a break from it.

So today on my lunch break, I set off for JoAnn's. I made a beeline for the bamboo knitting needles (I much prefer these over aluminum or plastic, even though they cost a few dollars more), all excited. Instant deflation. No 16" circular needles in a size smaller than 8. Blast! That's how I wound up with the needles I currently have, I belatedly remembered. Curses. I surfed the selection of aluminum circular needles, and that was pretty paltry. Sigh. I figured that I had time to run to nearby A.C. Moore for one last ditch attempt to see if they had smaller needles.

I drove over and hurried in. Immediately, somebody got in my way. Doesn't this always happen? Or maybe it only happens to people with Type A personalities who always know exactly what they want. But a meandering person appeared in my path and somehow managed to take up the entire width of the main aisle, so I couldn't easily pass her. I didn't want to be a jerk, but I *desperately* wanted to pass her. I was in a hurry to get back to work, and I wanted at the yarn section ASAP. I had to divert into a side scrapbooking aisle to make my way over without looking obnoxious, and made a beeline for the bamboo needles. BLAST! No 16" ones in smaller sizes. I furrowed my brows and looked around. Luckily, I found that their selection of aluminum circular needles was much, much larger than JoAnn's. Somebody was standing right in front of them, so I hovered as unobtrusively as possible until she moved on. Over her shoulder as she was preparing to move I spotted 16" circular needles in a size 7. Amen!!! Once the interloper moved her cart away I found that they actually carried 16" circular needles in all sizes, down to a size 1, so I grabbed a size 6 and nearly kissed them with happiness.

I was downright thrilled as I proceeded to the register. All for less than $8. Happy day. Tomorrow, Mike and I are scheduled for a 'date night', so all around I feel resoundedly pleased.

Anxiety at its peak...

So, the giant World Civ. class that I've been dreading for weeks has come to pass. I'm happy to report that I made it through alive. As I anticipated, the lead-up to the class was unlike any that I've experienced in my career as an academic librarian - I was a *mess* with neuroses. Granted, I always get nervous before I teach, but not like this. For weeks, I've been (a) cranky, (b) twitchy, and (c) super paranoid. Like, really, really bad. Last night I took an over-the-counter sleeping aid because I knew that sleep would elude me otherwise. I'm not normally *quite* this spastic.

This morning, I was jumping out of my office chair at every little sound and just felt sick to my stomach. As the hour approached, I grew more and more restless. I was practically climbing my spring green walls with nervous energy. Finally, it was time to go. I headed off as if I was being marched to the gallows. I peeked into the lecture hall and found that I was the first one to arrive (neurotic freak). I sat down and twitched until the instructor arrived. When he came in I hurried over, and uncomfortably, he didn't recognize me at first. I twitched at him a bit before his eyes alit with recognition. We got the overhead and classroom PC all set up, and I opened the files on my jump drive. I made small talk.

"So. How many students did you say are in this section?"

"Oh, a few have dropped. So, 200. And they *will* all be here. I made sure of that."

*groans*

Students file in at a rapid clip, and we get underway. As the floor was turned over to me, I felt strangely comfortable. Once I began teaching, I found that actually, it was no different from the 24 student classes I usually teach. The anticipation was much, much worse, but the experience itself really was the same.

It went well. I told a funny story in the beginning, and they smiled. I used an example featuring Roscoe, Shauna'h's puppy, and flashed a photo of him. That elicited smiles too. Then I got into the boring stuff and did my best to just punch home the important things: my email address, the library catalog for books, use subject headings (I get so excited about subject headings, my enthusiasm simply must be catching, :) no Google, databases list for journal articles. Did I mention no Google?

I finished up early, as promised, but just one thing annoyed me. As I was nearing homeplate, it was still 10-15 minutes before their class was scheduled to end; however, once the attendance sheet made it's way around the room, a handful of students in the back slipped out. It was still just 11:35-11:40 in a class that was scheduled til 11:50, and I finished at 11:43. I take my timing very seriously. Well, I take everything very seriously, but you get the point. It's not like I was running over and people had to go.

But really, I couldn't expect more out of a group that size. As Shauna'h told me this morning, they're college students: the pope could be up front salsa dancing and you'd still get some people with bored stares checking their email on their Blackberry.

So, overall, it went very well and I'm so, SO glad that it's over. I have a reference shift and then I'm off to the craft store. Tonight, I'm making a lime shrimp dish and I'm very excited about it. I suspect Hank will "help" me with it, meaning that it'll take me twice as long, but I don't mind that. I love doing things in the kitchen with him, and he loves to work with Mommy in there.

Mike gem of the week: For the past few years, we've lamented the increasingly obvious demise of our old vacuum cleaner. Finally, we purchased a new one with a Target gift card. We did our research (a librarian in the family...) and checked Consumer Reports first. We honed in on an inexpensive Dirt Devil that got excellent reviews in all categories except noise. Ah well. As long as it can suck, I don't care if it's noisy. We found it at Target, and brought one home. We call him Devil.

Well. The thing can suck, it's true. It's dirt compartment is already chuck full. Mike, who truly is even more into cleaning than I am, sets it up for its inaugural run and makes a disturbing discovery: the unit has a vent right in the front. Meaning, that as he goes to suck up crumbs, the crumbs keep blowing away from him. I'm upstairs, and I can hear the vacuum running (and it *is* noisy; sounds like an 18 wheeler is driving through our living room) and Mike swearing. Before I can intervene, Mike has implemented the Man Solution to this problem: he slaps a piece of duct tape over the vent. Voila! Crumbs sucked, problem solved.

And he loves the thing. When I got home from work yesterday, he asked me to examine the carpet.

"Did you see how good the carpet looks?! It has *vacuum tracks* on it! Oh! and I did the stairs today with the attachments; it was awesome!"

It's no wonder where Hank gets his cute gene from.

Cranky...

I have that giant class tomorrow and my hat is floppy. If that makes no sense, it's no wonder. I'm feeling very distracted right now. Aside from a few more practice runs, my lesson plan is finished, at least. I can do that this afternoon, but I also have a virtual meeting of the American Library Association committee that I'm on, and I have to give a report. *sigh* I'm hoping to finish everything that I need to at work, go fetch Hank from school (little dumpling), and have an enjoyable evening.

So, the hat. The hat that I'm making for Mike is decidedly (big surprise) too big. I don't know what's wrong with me. It's like I'm trying to knit with those freakishly huge hands the clay people have on Wallace & Gromit. I need smaller needles. Following my class tomorrow, and a subsequent reference shift, I'm bound for Michael's to purchase new needles and some yarn for other projects. The thought is cheering me a bit.

But in the mean time, I'll just stay put, tensely, in my office. *mopes* *whines*

Back from a long weekend...

And not much time to blog :) Work this semester is crazy busy, and looming on Thursday morning I have that monster 230 student World Civilizations class. I'll whine about that plenty tomorrow. For the time being, I'm trying to get some small things crossed off my to-do list and work on my lesson plan.

I did enjoy my long weekend, although Hank acted like he was on uppers the whole time. Tough to take at some points, to be sure. Although that boy just gets cuter and more handsome each day. My baby!

I was able to take a break yesterday and go to lunch and shopping with my mom. In the grand tradition of women in my family, we seized the opportunity that the sales provided us (and for me, Christmas gift cards) and shopped for purses.

Handbag selection is like a lauded ancient ritual in my family. Our kind can easily spend 45 minutes to an hour in the handbag department; that kind of statement can make anyone with Y chromosome faint right on the spot. I desperately needed a new one - my current one has a nice design, but quickly acquired a crippling strap problem. It was a cheapie, so I didn't expect much. Every woman has a litany of features that she desires in her purse. For me, I like:

(1) A single long, thick strap that won't hurt my shoulder. My current purse has 2 straps - fatal mistake. They're always getting in my way when I'm trying to grab something out of the purse while it's hanging on my shoulder. Plus, I realized after I bought it that they're infinitely too short. I can't easily grab my keys or wallet out.

(3) At least 2 main compartments, ideally 3. I like to separate things. Wallet in one easily accessible segment. Makeup items in another. A free-for-all in the third, with things like my glasses, aspirin case, comb, my birding notebook, rosaries, pocket-sized devotionals.

(4) Several little zipper pockets, at least 2 of which are on the outside of the purse. I like to keep my keys and garage door opener in there.

(5) Convenient compartment for my cell phone.

(6) Decent sized overall width. All the more space for me to shove crap into. However, if I can actually fit a book into it, this means that I've gone too far in the other direction.

So, my mom and I descended on JCPenney's and went to work. We scoured for a full 20 minutes to get our bearings. My mom honed in on the Stone Mountain area and beckoned me over from my foray across the aisle. She claims that the Stone Mountain bag she has is her favorite purse ever - she'd just like a different style to mix it up a bit. There weren't too many of them as they were heavily marked down. That's what I'm lookin' for in a shopping experience. I had a gift card, and so I *was* prepared to spend more than my usual $16.99, because I wanted something quality that would last. I'm tired of getting used to a purse and having it wear out and/or break within the year. However, I wasn't looking for Coach-like prices, either. I'd be afraid to take it anywhere.

We picked through and each chose a handful of bags to subject to further scrutiny. It's just unspoken amonst the two of us that we will remove the stuffing in each, take out junk from our own purses, and test it out in the potential purse. We will then sling it on our shoulder and ask the other for their opinion, displaying each of it's featured qualities. Ultimately, we both ended up with the same purse *snorts*, just in different colors. We're both proud owners of a Stone Mountain Lexington Hobo, mine in wine, my mom's in black. I filled it up last night and it fulfilled all of my expectations. Plus, it's adorable. I like how I can stick my wallet in the main center segment, and have the other two for the aforementioned items. It has a special attachable key thing that fits my work keys perfectly and that I can access nice and easy. There's plenty of room for my lip gloss and hair ties in one pocket and my house/car keys and garage door opener in another. There are two pockets appropriate for my cell phone. I'm a happy camper.

In other news, given my high level of nervous energy that I need to burn off, I've been knitting like a mad woman. I'm halfway through an afghan that is destined for a new home with my cousin Christina, and I started a hat for Mike this weekend. The hat is my first foray into knitting in the round, and so far so good. I hope it's not too big and makes him look like he has a freakishly big head. I have a bad tendency of doing that. I'll post pictures as I complete things...

Anybody watch Big Love?

It's a beautiful winter day here in Western New York - Temperatures were in the 20's early this morning, there's a definite wind chill but nothing too terrible, snow is on the ground, and the sky is cloudless and clear. It's really, really pretty outside. A good day to be cozily sipping tea inside. I went out for a short walk in my new Storm Chasers, but was happy to come back inside and warm up. My to-do list is coming along; could be better, could be worse. We have a 3 day weekend approaching, and even though I could really use that day to work, I'm embracing the time off. I need a break. I have bellydance Friday night; Mike and I may rent Julie and Julia Saturday night; Big Love is on Sunday night, and Monday Hank and I may go out to lunch with my mom.

So, Big Love... anybody else watch this? I really like this show. I originally got hooked on it via DVD from the library. We didn't subscribe to HBO, so a friend actually taped them for me to watch last season. This year, we have 3 free months of HBO due to upgrading our Internet package through Verizon FIOS, so score. The season premiere was on last Sunday.

I have a definite affinity for shows and movies with a religious theme, even if they aren't Catholic. Now granted, Big Love is pretty untraditional in this way - it's based on a family of practicing polygamists. One of the things that I like about the show is that it decidedly does *not* glorify polygamy - in fact, it shows very clearly how unrealistic it is for one man to fulfill the emotional, physical, spiritual and financial needs of so many women and children.

In a nut shell - the show centers around a husband, Bill Paxton, who was raised on an FLDS compound. He was ejected from the community as a young man by the prophet. The reasoning seems to surround the older men in the community not wanting competition from the young bucks for the women. He owns a local chain of hardware stores, and lives in suburban Utah. He cut ties with the FLDS, but has still managed to accumulate 3 wives:

Barb (Jeanne Triplehorn)- his first wife. They were married in a traditional Mormon ceremony 12 years ago and have 3 children together. She was a devout member of the LDS church. They had a monogamous marriage until Barb fell ill with cancer. They befriended a woman from the FLDS compound who nursed Barb back to health, leading to...

Nikki (Chloe Sevigny) - the second wife. A devout believer in plural marriage as the way to eternal life in the kingdom. Dresses in traditional FLDS garb, and is the least flexible, but by far the funniest, of the bunch; her father is the prophet. Has 2 little boys with Bill.

Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) - the third wife. Youngest of the bunch, used to be the babysitter. Raised in a dysfunctional household devoid of religious faith. Seems to enjoy polygamy because she acquired a large family in the mix. She has 3 young children with Bill.

At the end of last season, there was a plot line about Barb being officially ex-communicated from the LDS church because she was discovered as a polygamist. This broke her heart, and she confided to Bill that she missed having a church home. Finally, they addressed something that I had always found odd about the show - the family does not attend religious services of any kind. Bill started his own church (sigh) but in terms of fictional drama, I enjoy that they are finally showing the family as belonging to a community of fellow believers.

Like I said, I see this as a "religious" show. Granted, an adult, dramatic quasi-religious show, but I enjoy it all the same. If your local public library has the first 3 seasons on DVD, I recommend checking them out.