Aha -- THAT Explains It

When choosing the colors for Ian's Sheldon, which I'll make after finishing Marie's, I was drawn to choosing Green Apple and Sky Shine Sport. It felt like deja vu, and I wondered why... Now I know: there's a small turtle on the outside of my portable zip-up blanket in the same colors. Aha! Check it out:


BTW, the two skeins of Stroll Multi in Confetti are for a Lola (Rav link) bunny. It's for Ian because he loves to cuddle with a particular little "My First Easter Bunny" from last year that has seen better days. I really hope he'll like his Sheldon turtle and Lola bunny. He already talks to Marie's limbless Sheldon that I'm currently working on, so there's a good chance he'll take to his upcoming stuffed animal cuddlies :-)

By now you've noticed that, yes, I've finally ordered new yarn! About time, huh? The last time I bought new yarn was in January (I got Imagination and Felici sock yarn). Before that, the last time I purchased yarn was in November 2008 for Ian's Thorpe hat and mittens. Luckily my August 2008 gift certificate and Knit Picks Swish Worsted yarn from a giveway contest allowed me to spread out the following sweater projects: CPH, Tangled Yoke Cardigan, Amused, and Tubey. Also, you could say that I've been industrious with leftovers and the free single skeins of yarn I got by attending Knitters Connection last June (I guess that's what the $10 membership paid for, other than early registration.). My stash has dwindled nicely over the last year.

On a completely different subject than knitting, I thought I'd add this YouTube video in memory of Michael Jackson. It brings back memories from childhood when EVERYONE was trying to moonwalk! Enjoy.

Way To Go Nikki!!!!!

Congrats to Nikki!!!!!!!! One of her designs was accepted for publication in Interweave Knits. I'm telling you, my former Raleigh SnB has had some talented ladies. Saunielle, a former member who has been published in several publications, is now studying in NYC. Now Nikki in IK -- how exciting! I'm very happy for her :-)

In case you're wondering where my previous post went, I deleted it. It was funny for a moment, but then I got over it. Hopefully, the Verde bag bottom will flatten out into a PG shape ;-)

...Back to trying to get someone to answer the phone at Shag Hair Studio. I'm interested in getting a Curly Girl cut from them. Maybe I'll try to stop in tonight for a consultation at the very least since no one is answering the phones or returning my voicemail (it's a small salon).

Weekend Update

All that Babbel has helped me catch a few more things in Under the Tuscan Sun. This weekend I caught the movie on the WE Channel and noticed more of the building signs and non-subtitled dialogue. Example? Before Francesca (Diane Lane) walks into a building to sign for the house, the sign says "risparmio" which basically means savings. Many banks or financial institutions are generically called Cassa di Risparmio di (name of city). A few weeks ago, I did a vocab lesson on money and banking. Now I might just have to go back and watch The Godfather movies, especially Part II since there's a lot of non-subtitled Italian. Lately, I've tried to watch or listen to streamed music and TV programs broadcast from Italy.

The string bag, Verde, is coming along nicely. I've got about 2-3 inches to go before beginning the straps. Lately, I've been working more on that than Sheldon simply because I got tired of my kids pawing Sheldon, poor turtle. Out of sight, out of mind.

For Father's Day, we grilled hamburgers out back. Not the healthiest of meals, but we also had pasta salad, chips, and watermelon. After dinner, we roasted marshmellows on skewers to make smores from the dying heat of the grill. Before the sunset, I pumped up my jogging stroller tires, and we went for a short walk in the neighborhood. When we got back, I gave Ian his milk and Marie her hot chocolate after which they both took a bath.

Hair stuff? Though I've CO-washed occasionally since last Tuesday's olive oil DT (a complete and utter FAIL), I hadn't low-pooed. So, I broke out my Avalon Organics sulfate-free shampoo (Nourishing Lavender is the one I have) and went to town. Normally for styling, I use flax seed gel followed by HE Set Me Up Gel. But today, I skipped the FSG and only used some old LA Looks Sport Gel. It was super crunchy when it dried, but after SOTC it looked nice and felt light.

I keep hearing wonderful things about Loreal's CG conditioner for curly heads called Vive Pro Nutri Gloss Conditioner for "Medium to Long Hair That's Curly/Wavy." It's in a pink bottle with a blue band. The other versions (one for fine hair and one for smoothing) in that line are NOT CG, so beware. Many on naturallycurly.com swear by that stuff for their CO-rinse. Most people will CO-wash with something lighter like Suave Naturals conditioner and then do their CO-rinse and/or leave-in with the Vive Pro. It sounds like it works for a variety of curlies, but especially for people like me who have tons of hair. Supposedly, it feels like the cone-filled conditioners without actually containing any of them.

My...well, I should really say Marie's shasta daisies are still alive! They've completely adapted to the outdoors and are doing well. They sure don't grow fast, though, I must say. In other backyard news, we have some new residents in our birdhouse. At least we did for a short time. A pair of birds built a nest in the birdhouse, and I watch off and on one day as both birds guarded their abode. Unfortunately, I saw a black crow or blackbird checking out the birdhouse and haven't seen the cute pair of birds since. I'm guessing the thieving crow got the eggs. Mean crow!

ETA 6/27: Good news! I've seen the pair of birds guarding their birdhouse again.

A string bag, CG stuff, and cherry pie

Knitting
I finally decided to make a bag out of the 3 differently colored skeins of CotLin I've had since the yarn debuted. Initially, I thought I'd make some washcloths, but now I've CO a Popknits pattern called Verde. Mine won't be green, obviously, and I hope I have enough yarn to complete it. The straps have a stitch pattern similar to duffle bag straps, so that will take more yarn... No pic yet, sorry :-) Tonight or tomorrow, I also plan to re-start Sheldon. I was told at knit night that my Sheldon might be too loose to stuff. So, I'm going to switch from my US 3 dpns to US 2 circs and magic loop it this time. Sheldon is a lot smaller than I anticipated. It's possible I might be able to use the small amount of leftover Grass Shine I have to make the body.

CG Stuff
Lots more conditioner works for me! I'd been having to use a lot of gel and other products to maintain my mop top. After reading a few of the 3b and higher subforums on naturallycurly.com, I decided to try a lot more conditioner as my leave-in. Before, I was using a quarter size at most; now I'm using a small handful. What's amazing is that my hair absorbs it all. Since upping my leave-in amount, I've not had to use as much gel. In fact, today I didn't even have to add a 2nd round of gel after plopping. So, I only have flax seed gel in my hair right now: not as crunchy.

In other CG news, I've been clipping when air drying and using tons of lavendar water spray (Tiffany's version that includes conditioner) as a touch up or styling aid.

Baking
I've made pie a few times in my life, despite the fact that I love cake more. But, I've never made cherry pie before until a few days ago because I typically like pies of the pudding variety. We had some fresh cherries and didn't know what to do with them. So, I found a recipe on the Food Network site that uses fresh cherries and their own juice (with cornstarch and sugar) to make the filling. It turned out wonderful. However, I've discovered that I'm not enjoying super-sugary desserts these days. It's been a while since I've had a fruit-filled pie, and I could definitely tell. It was like drinking regular soda pop. While it tastes good, at the same time you are aware of how sugary it is.

On A Much More Positive Note Than Yesterday...

Here are some things I've been up to: Sheldon, Wright, daisy seedlings, and flax seed gel.

For those who've knit Sheldon, you'll get a good laugh out of this... I kept thinking I was working on the tail while I was knitting the body today. The whole time I was thinking, "This is quite a big tail, my goodness!" It wasn't until I started doing the decreases and looked more closely at the pattern that I realized that I had been working on the body. Sheldon's a lot smaller than I was expecting! Anyway, I'm on the head now. After finishing this first Sheldon with scrap yarn and working out all kinks, glitches, etc., I'll be ordering some new Shine to make Sheldons for Marie and Ian.

Finally, I have a picture to show of one side of Wright. As I've said before, I'm using recycled Knit Picks Comfy in Lilac Mist. I got a lot done on this on the wedding roadtrip to North Carolina.

Several weeks ago, I bought a cucumber seedling starter kit. Um, well... I over watered the poor little seedlings and they died. Sooooo, I bought some more starter discs (3/$1 at Target, no less) and planted some Shasta Daisies. Just yesterday, I separated and replanted the seedlings in a spare flat. They've been doing well adapting to their new home and to the outdoors. Can't wait to see them bloom!

And finally, homemade flax seed gel. I love this stuff! This is my second batch, and I think I got it right this time. We'll see how well it works because I made it thinner this time. I was trying for more egg white and less brown snot texture. If you're not familiar with flax seed gel, it's really handy for people with curly hair. It's also dirt cheap if you consider how much can be made from the basic ingredients and that the flax seeds can be reused if frozen. The recipe amounts I used were 2 c. water with 3/8 c. flax seeds (halfway between the 1/4 c. and 1/2 c. that are typically recommended). After boiling to desired consistency and then straining, I added lavendar EO and a touch of honey. Many people also add natural preservatives at this point like magnesium sulfate or grape seed extract, and they commonly also add aloe. But I didn't have those things on hand and don't mind refrigerating my gel anyway. Many recipes say to boil the seeds 10 minutes. I found that for me, it only took 5-6 minutes to get the consistency I wanted. FYI, a 2-c. recipe makes about 1 cup of gel. Since I made it thinner this time, I had a much easier time straining it :-) Yay!

I like the unique texture of flax seed gel. It's similar to egg whites, but thicker. So it's super slippery and provides great hold and shine when it dries. I made my FSG super thick last time, and it took some getting used to when applying. The thicker it is, the more you have to emulsify it in your hands before using. Any "crunch" can be eliminated by scrunching your curls upside down when they're dry. BTW, many times I'll combine my FSG with my Herbal Essences Set Me Up Gel or LA Looks Sports Gel to get the best results. When I use the FSG alone, I seem to need more than regular gel to achieve long-lasting results. This time I added honey, though, so I might be able to get away with less.

Tomorrow night's our knit night potluck! We're celebrating one year together (It's seems longer!). Good food, good company, and good times ;-)

I'm SO tired of cleaning up messes!

Danger: Be warned that I'm NOT in a very good mood right now. In fact, I'm livid and this post will be a rant. Why? I'm soooooooooooooooooo sick and tired of cleaning up other people's messes! Whose messes? Kid messes, that's what.

Today pushed me right over the edge. I'm sending my daughter to bed as soon as she eats her dinner. I've had quite enough of that child. She somehow managed to get a hold of some Nestle Quik and spilled it all over the living room while I was cooking dinner. It's on the floor, furniture, and books. Where was hubby? Outside fixing the garage door. It's a disaster that will take quite a while to clean up. Guess what, that's just the icing on the cake for a day filled with messes and spills. I had her help me clean up the previous messes, but this one is just too much. I'm SO MAD. See ya tomorrow, I'm done. Time to go put the little gremlin to bed.

Hello Honey, I Think I Like You

Well, the honey definitely worked. I loved the honey and olive oil DT so much that I tried adding a pea-size amount of honey to my conditioner today. Bam! I got excellent curl definition AGAIN. I feel I should note the rest of today's routine in case it interests you:
1. Avalon Organics Nourishing Lavendar shampoo (sulfate-free, my first time using it)
2. Suave Naturals Ocean Breeze Conditioner + honey
3. cold rinse, lavendar water spray, and 1-2 Tbsp CO for leave-in
4. flax seed gel + HE Set Me Up gel
5. plopped 5-10 minutes
6. more FSG
7. air dried 1 hour and then diffused upside down to about 80% dry
8. 1 tsp Suave Naturals Coconut conditioner slightly diluted
9. a little hairspray (Suave)
Later, when my hair was 100% dry, I scrunched upside down to get rid of any bit of crunch and used a slight dusting of hairspray again. It wasn't until this last step was complete that I was convinced. The honey made ALL the difference in the world! Since having kids, I haven't had this nice of curl definition. So, now I plan on adding a pea-size amount to my conditioner every time I do my CO rinse. It doesn't look greasy or wet, which is what I try to avoid; it looks shiny and clean. Yay, a happy hair day :-)

Knitting
Since this IS a knitting blog, I should probably mention some knitting-related stuff, too. I think I'm going to make some more Chinese Waves dishcloths with some leftover cotton yarn (Peaches & Cream, I think?). The reason: stress relief. Sometimes I just need something quick and relaxing to make. Since getting back from NC, I haven't gotten back into a regular knitting groove yet. No, I haven't lost my mojo or anything. It's just that I'm getting distracted by kid stuff, cleaning, and gardening. My mom and I just planted a flower garden and flower box for Marie and a box of herbs to sit on the deck railing (parsley, sage, rosemary, dill, basil, and oregano). At night, (besides Ravelry and blogging) I've been spending time re-learning more and more Italian vocab (on Babbel), re-reading my old college Italian review textbook, watching the new Tonight Show w/Conan O'Brien, and making and reading online about Curly Girl stuff. Hmm, I don't see exercise listed, do you?! Bad Jackie, bad. Just tonight I was saying to Jared what nice running weather it was.

Other Stuff
I've been watching So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD, Season 5) for my second summer. The most recent episode was fun to watch since they picked the Top 20 and had the semi-finalist guys and girls dancing to West Side Story. This show is my rebound from American Idol.

We went to the zoo yesterday (Friday) and were glad it was open until 6:00. The gibbons were particularly fun to watch because they were sitting under the cover of trees, scooping water into their mouths and onto their heads. I think I could see a tiny baby latched to its mother. For once, the flamingos weren't asleep. Marie still isn't interested in penguins or otters. The penguins I could maybe understand since they're usually not swimming. But the otters are, to me, so much fun! We completely skipped the east side of the zoo. So next time, we'll be starting there. One of these days, we'll aim to get there for the baby elephant viewing at lunchtime.

Ian has been talking on Marie's Cinderella cell phone lately. He absolutely loves that thing. The only thing he loves more is his bunny (and maybe his baby blankie that I made him). Marie knows how to open up Internet Explorer from the desktop and go to her favorites to start playing her favorite kid games. Recently, after getting out of the shower and checking up on her, I found her playing something on Noggin or Nick Jr. Then she proceeded to show me how she'd tried to play her Disney princess song CD, but a DVD player window had popped up instead of the Window Media Player that she was expecting. Wow, I guess she really pays attention to what Mom and Dad do on the computer because I never showed her how to do that stuff. Kids, heh.

Oh! I forgot to mention something that might not mean much to you, but it's exciting to me: I can finally roll my double rr's in Italian! The single r is simple to do (think "Dracula"), but I've never been able to do the rolled double r. Practicing over and over finally paid off. I still can't roll it for a long time or do it by itself. But, I'm definitely able to roll it long enough to be passable in conversation. Now, if I could just stop the lightheadedness (don't laugh!) and relax my jaw and tongue more, my rolled r's would sound effortless. Ha! That will take some more time and practice...

Fighting Fire With Fire (Because I'm Not Patient)

CG News
After returning from my wedding roadtrip to North Carolina on Monday, I decided to go back to doing the whole CG thing with my Suave Naturals Ocean Breeze Conditioner. Starting out the no-poo regimen requires patience and time, of which I have little when I see straggly, frizzy, oily, unevenly-curled, clumpy hair. I decided to fight fire with fire to see if that would bring back some curl definition: Last night I did a DT with honey and olive oil. (I did an olive oil treatment a few years ago when I tried going CG and remembered how much my hair liked it, as well as adding honey to various products.) I warmed 1/2 c. honey and added 2 Tbsp. olive oil per the directions on the livefreelivecurly site. Before doing the DT, I thought I should remove any existing gunk from my hair. I added 1 Tbsp. of baking soda to my conditioner and followed that with an ACV rinse. Next I poured the warm honey and oil over my head while bending over in the tub. After massaging it into my scalp and raking it through my hair, I wrapped my head with plastic wrap and let it sit 30 minutes. It was difficult to rinse out, so I CO-washed. BTW, I think a sulfate-free or loo-poo shampoo would've worked better in this case because I had a LOT of honey and oil in my hair! (Next time, I'm going to reduce the recipe amounts by half.) After rinsing in cold water, I added more CO as a leave-in. My flax seed gel wasn't on hand, so I used HESMU gel and squeezed excess water out while scrunching upside down. Then I put in one clip front and center at my hairline to create more lift, plopped for 10 minutes, and went to bed. I noticed that my curls were already showing more definition and were standing away from my scalp when I removed my towel before bedtime, so I was looking forward to seeing what my hair looked like in the morning.

The first picture is how I generally wear my hair. I smooth out the curl with a round brush around my face, diffuse the rest, and then hand style; or I pin the long bangs down and air dry followed by hand styling. The second picture is from this morning after waking up from doing the DT. (I know, I'm not a morning person and this picture clearly shows that. Just look at the hair please!) More definition and boingy curls -- goal achieved! It'll be interesting to see how long my hair stays moist from the DT. I'm glad to have alleviated a few days of frizz and sped up the process of my hair becoming more moist.

Knitting News
I finished one side of Wright and am on the second side now.

Next time I go grocery shopping, or maybe sooner, I'm going to buy Giovanni Tea Tree Triple Treat Invigorating Shampoo (although I hear the 50:50 works well, too). It contains zero sulfates. I'm also interested in Nature's Gate (Tea Tree Calming Conditioner, Hemp Nourishing Conditioner, and their Organics line of shampoos and conditioners) and J/A/S/O/N (Everyday Hair Care line and their All-Natural Specialty Hair Care line). I think these all cost around $7 or $8, so not too bad. Although, I'm more likely to buy just the sulfate-free shampoos and continue with the cheaper Suave Naturals and VO5 COs for CO-washing and CO-rinses. If I did splurge and buy one of the above-mentioned conditioners, I would use it sparingly since I tend to use a lot.

Tracy Flick lives on in Glee

One of my favorite dark comedic movies from the 90s is Election with Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick. I haven't quite seen its match in comedic style until now. Not only has the style been resurrected, but the lead high school female character is a lot like Tracy Flick, Reese Witherspoon's unforgettable character in Election. Fast-paced wit and charm interlaced with deliciously smart musical snippets can be found in the new Fox show Glee. There were scenes in the pilot that could've been pulled directly from Election. For example, how about Rachel Berry storming down the school hallway pumping her arms while intensely fluttering voices are playing in the background... to her fake crying in the principal's office making accusations against the former glee club advisor to get him fired. I thought back to the very determined Tracy Flick running for school president and how she would let nothing stand in her way. Rachel Berry on Glee is determined to be a star using the glee club as her platform. The creator of Glee even eludes to the movie Election when asked to what he compares his movie. Oh, yes. I'll be watching this show religiously come fall. I even downloaded the highly-ranked-on-iTunes cover of Don't Stop Believin'.

From what I've heard, there is a lot of good music and guests coming our way. Kristin Chenoweth plays "an alcoholic high school dropout"; Josh Groban guests as himself and plays an "ignorant a-hole"; and Debra Monk and Victor Garber play Will Schuester's parents." One difference between Rachel Berry and Tracy Flick that I like was shown in the pilot: Rachel actually has a heart and does get her feelings hurt at times. I mean, how couldn't she have a heart with that gut-wrenching performance of Les Miserables' On My Own for her glee club audition?! That gave me chills.

On to American Idol. Yes, I'm not finished with Idol just yet! For those who either initially disliked Danny Gokey or eventually disliked him, I found some hilarious, tension-releasing, South-Park-and-LOTR-infused commentary videos on EW by Michael Slezak and Kristin Baldwin:
Danny Gokey's exit recap video - Part 1
Danny Gokey's exit recap video - Part 2
Idolatry 5/10 - Part 2
I love the South Park graphic! If you don't have time to watch these in full, just watch the beginnings of the first and third video links. I found myself completely agreeing (and laughing along) with pretty much everything they were saying. Then if you have time, check out the video series of Allison Iraheta's exit interview. Obviously, Michael Slezak adored her as much as I did.

Something else to mention before I stop talking AI is that Danny Gokey did it again... As if some people didn't already feel enough disdain for the poor guy, he screwed up on CNN's Larry King Live with Ryan Seacrest last night. Every single other contestant on the show were considerate and gracious in their comments concerning Kris and Adam. Until Danny spoke, the other contestants were reiterating in solidarity what Kris and Adam have been saying in all their interviews. Then Danny comes along and says that he thought Kris would win and gave reasons behind why Adam didn't. Arrogant SOB. Adam and Kris were sitting right there. Granted, Danny had said these same things in an earlier live blog and Ryan Seacrest was bringing it up on LKL to see what Danny had to say for a second time in front of the two finalists. The other contestants could've eaten him alive with their eyes when he was opening his big mouth to Ryan. Danny, you do realize that you'll be going on tour with these people for the summer, don't you?! Ugh. As a David Cook fan, I'm still miffed that he sang Hello on the Finale Results Show. He didn't do that badly actually, but I'm sure all David Cook fans like myself had daggers in their eyes and collectively gasped when Danny started singing that song. Danny rant finished. Check.

Did anyone watch SYTYCD? I got all teary when the blond-haired girl who lives with her grandparents auditioned and made it. Just beautiful. I also liked the girl from the Bronx who has rheumatoid arthritis. Such talent coming from people who have odds stacked against them in life!

In Curly Girl news, I found the book at a smaller branch of my local library. I took Marie with me to get that and the Sensational Knitted Socks book, which happened to be only one aisle away from the CG book. (BTW, I've already finished the CG book -- fast read.) We also got her some books and DVDs, then walked across a grassy field to the playground at Thompson Park. She enjoyed that it was just us without Ian. When Ian is with us, I can't help Marie climb on things since he's always trying to run away and explore. I got to climb on everything with her, and she loved that. Then later when we got home, I read to her all about honeybees and snakes from her library books. We're talking in-depth books here, and she had lots of questions. My favorite was, "Are there any snakes that would eat me?" Her eyes were huge when she saw the page that showed a snake swallowing its prey.

Looks like I might be doing most if not all of the driving next week to Raleigh: Jared tripped and broke his arm today. Poor thing was trying to run to get the phone (it was me calling) and got a loop of his shoelace caught on his cymbal stand. He went to an urgent care and got an x-ray done, after which they put his arm in a hard splint.

Knitting News
Not much, other than I'm at the armhole of the front side of Wright. My sportweight socks are coming along slowly. I was lucky to find the yarn for those from last year's Knitters Connection goodie bag of one-skein yarns from Knitters Mercantile. Actually, I also found that I still have three differently-colored sample skeins of CotLin (my purchase from when CotLin first came out) and a super bulky skein of black alpaca yarn (from the Knitters Connection goodie bag). Other than that though, my modest stash consists of only leftovers. I'll be thinking about what to use those skeins of CotLin for while finishing my current projects. I'll probably make a Sheldon with my leftovers of turquoise and orchid Shine (unless it's the wrong weight of Shine -- haven't checked the pattern yet) that I used to make last year's mermaid outfit for Marie.

Both Won In My Opinion

Even though I knew it was a strong possibility that Kris Allen might win American Idol, at the very last second I really thought Adam would. So I'm as stunned as Kris. When I voted last night, I first voted for Kris. Then after a crisis of conscience, I voted the remaining time left for Adam. His talent and performance skills just couldn't be denied despite the fact that I like Kris's acoustic-rock style. I like them BOTH and think it's too difficult to compare them! Both really won tonight. Actually, I won't be surprised is all top 4 contestants get record deals immediately.

There were some fun duets tonight! I loved Allison and Cyndi Lauper singing Time After Time, my favorite Cyndi Lauper tune. Jason Mraz's group number and Keith Urban's duet with Kris were both enjoyable, and I loved Adam and Chris singing with Queen. I jumped off the couch when I heard the beginning of We Are the Champions. They sure had fun with that! KISS wasn't so hot, but Adam got to wear platform boots and do his rock wail. I'm curious to know what lyrics were censored on Boom Boom Pow by the Black Eyed Peas. I'll have to check that out...

Oh, and I loved seeing my favorite Idol David Cook perform again! He was the underdog last year to David Archuleta, although the difference there is that he could sing just as well and often better than Archie. Like Kris, David did cool song arrangements. By the end of last season, people could clearly see that Cook was more well rounded, seasoned, and exciting than Archie. Going back to this season, I think Danny really shot himself in the foot by following in David Archuleta's footsteps. He became boring despite his initial popularity. People became more interested in Kris than Danny. Kris and Adam ultimately were the two most exciting contestants, Adam from the get-go and Kris building momentum as the season progressed.

Speaking of David Cook again: He'll be here in Columbus on my birthday... yes, that's right, MY BIRTHDAY! So you know where'll I'll be then, don't you?

Marie's Coney Island Socks Done; David Cook Videos

Pattern: Two Toe-Up Socks on a Single Circular Needle
Yarn: Felici
Needles: Knit Picks Options Fixed Circulars US 1.5 (2.5 mm)
Gauge: Good question. Must've been about 7.5-8 spi. I think I knit these tighter than my recent toe-up Jaywalkers which were more like 7 spi! In hindsight, I think I was so worried about making sure the toe increases were mega-tight that I must've continued the tight tension all the way up the sock.
Notes: I added a picot bind off to make them girly-fied :-) I used *CO 1, BO 3* and a few rounds of stockinette leading up to the BO to curl the edge. I started the 1 inch of 2x2 ribbing right after completing the gusset decreases.

Since I didn't really read through the pattern closely before beginning these (other than there being toddler and child sizes and it being toe-up), I didn't notice that the heel flap was on the bottom and worked like cuff-down socks. It was weird to pick up stitches along the sole flap and follow that with a heel turn and gusset decreases! I'm not sure yet if I completely like the resulting directional look of the stripes on these socks. With a solid color, it wouldn't be noticeable. But with stripes, I'm kind of partial to the look of stripes on a cuff-down heel flap since the gusset stripes are vertical and therefore slimming. So... I'm thinking I probably like the toe-up reverse-engineered heel better since it exactly matches the cuff-down heel. The only thing to try now is the Los Monos Locos heel with a plain sole and slip stitch heel. I've got one skein of Louet Gems sportweight yarn (from last year's Knitter's Connection goodie bag) that I might use to try this. It's only 50 grams though, so I'll have to make them snug and short. Correction: Actually, it's 100 grams, so no worries.

Last night I was on YouTube and looked up David Cook to see if he performed Billie Jean or Hello in concert. MmmmmHmmmm. Yes he did, and my, my did I enjoy. Here are two videos I found. One is of him singing Billie Jean in Kansas City last summer. The second one is of him singing The World I Know and Hello acoustically at Ford Day last September. His banter with the crowd is funny in the second video. I love his acoustic version of Hello. There are some videos of him doing Hello on the Idol Tour last year that are also good, too. One of these days, I'll have to catch his show since he's my favorite American Idol!

Billie Jean


The World I Know and Hello

Yay Kris Allen! ...and Zoo Trip

We have an Adam Lambert/Kris Allen finale! I'm so glad that Kris' amazing talent finally shone through to the voters. This will be an exciting show next week! With only 1 million votes separating them, I can't wait to see Kris and Adam turn up the dial. Woohoo! ...and did you see how glad they both seemed that they were the final two? The really get along well.

Did everyone see Katy Perry's cape at the beginning of her performance on AI tonight? How could you not?! I'd read earlier that Adam is her favorite according to a Tweet she made. I thought her little pro-Adam stunt was cute. She's definitely interesting to watch, to say the least.

Jordin Sparks looked nice and sounded OK. Although, I'm reminded of how less than stellar that particular season's contestants were. When I try to name all the Idols in order, I always seem to stumble on the Jordin Sparks and Taylor Hicks years.

Marie's little socks are nearing the heel. Since I'm not using any fancy stitch pattern, I've been noticing how loose the ends of Side 1 are for both socks. No matter how tightly I work the stitches before and after, I'm getting a ladder on just that side of both socks. However, the beginning of Side 1 for both socks looks fantastic. So what's up with that?! Ladders at one end but not the other? Crazy socks.

Since we have a free 30-day upgrade to TWC's Standard package from the Basic, I've been occasionally catching The Sopranos on A&E, edited of course. Oh, how I miss that show. Jared and I still need to finish seeing the last season on dvd. We were on a roll until we went from one to two kids. I've also been enjoying Food Network, too. I learned how to eye measurements and improvise from watching many cooking shows on that channel.

The zoo was absolutely beautiful yesterday. I took the kids after lunch for a nice 2-hour visit. This time we visited only the west side of the zoo since there were some animals out that hadn't been since last fall. We saw bonobos, mandrills, and okapis. Colo, the famous 52-year-old female gorilla, was sitting right in front of the window in the indoor viewing area. I promised Marie that next time, hopefully next week, we'd finish seeing that side of the zoo, including the gibbons, kangaroos, boat ride, otters, komodo dragons, and the nocturnal Australian animals. Maybe they'll have the orangutans out soon? We always see the reptiles, aquarium, and the manatees. Marie loves "driving" the boat with Jack Hanna in the manatee building! Recently, the last time we went, I took the kids inside the building next door to the barn. Ian loved getting out of the stroller to run and climb. That building lets little kids have fun and play while learning about animals and the outdoors. If I were a kid, my favorite part would be crawling under the surface of the stream water and sliding down the hollowed out log. Marie and Ian seemed to like the tree area the best. It reminded me of Raleigh's Natural Science Museum (on a much smaller scale), except that you're not allowed to touch or climb on anything.

Is anyone else still in shock that Helen won The Biggest Loser? My jaw dropped when she was announced the winner over Tara, my personal favorite and the person I thought was unbeatable. Props to Helen. You go girl! Not only did she beat all the guys, she, 48-years-old young, beat a twentysomething. Who would of thought that?! The Pink Team has had 3 consecutive winners now.

AI Semi-Final Performances

Other than Kris' awesome second song, the only thing I can say about the other performances is that Round 2 with their own picks was much better than Round 1.
Danny
"Dance Little Sister" -- I probably shouldn't have listened to Terence Trent D'Arby sing this on YouTube before watching Danny because I wasn't impressed at all. His voice sounded kinda shot right from the beginning. Perhaps from singing with his throat at all the multitude of hometown visits?
"You Are So Beautiful To Me" -- Much better. However, since when is singing Joe Cocker without changing it up much good to do on American Idol? Not current at all. Bleh. And Simon? A vocal master class?! Really?!!
Kris
"Apologize" -- Considering I find this song slightly boring to begin with, I thought Kris did a decent job on it. I actually liked him at the piano since he's usually playing guitar. After hearing his first song, I was crossing my fingers that his second song would knock the judges' socks off.
"Heartless" -- What a way to flip the bird at the judges! He took a current song and made it even more current, and it sounded completely his. Big risk, lots of originality. Kudos to Kris for walking out there with just his guitar and showing that he deserves to be in the finals.
Adam
"One" -- I really like Adam, but I did NOT like this arrangement whatsoever. I held my breath while he sang the slow beginning and then shook my head in disappointment when the song picked up. I was hoping it would pick up, but didn't approve of the style. Casual or non-fans of U2 might like this, but as a longtime loyal fan, I did not. He messed with it too much and totally in the wrong way. Even Mary J. Blige knew to sing this song straight so that you can hear the lyrics. After this post, I'll have to go back and try to listen to it again, if I can.
"Cryin' -- As MJ says on her blog, not as good as "Whole Lotta Love" or "Mad World." As well as Adam always does, I'm not sure that I'll remember that performance. It was clearly more than competent, but I prefer Steven Tyler much better on this. I'm not sure that Aerosmith should be a band that Adam covers.

Overally, I think that the only compelling performance tonight was Kris' "Heartless." Everyone seemed worn out from their hometown visits, and I felt underwhelmed by what I saw, except for Kris of course. Since Adam will be the most sought out contestant after this is all over, I'm more focused on my boy Kris beating that Taylor Hicks soundalike. Therefore, I voted for two hours straight and managed to get in almost 150 votes. The Gokey Kool-Aid drinkers must be stopped. Please!

Pre-Idol Talk and Spoilers

Just found out that Kris'll be singing Heartless by Kanye West. I found a version on YouTube sung by The Fray. Word is, Kris is doing it acoustic, just him and his guitar. I bet he'll take a little from The Fray's cover version. Here's the video:


Kris has to sing Apologize by OneRepublic. I sure hope he makes that song sound a little different! Adam is singing Aerosmith's Cryin' and U2's One. He's changed the arrangement of One, so I'll be interested to see if I like it. Supposedly the dress rehearsal audience liked Adam and Kris the best. Danny sounded "breathy, strained, and awkward" (according to a twitter I read) on You Are So Beautiful, backed by a string quartet. Unfortunately, his other song, Dance Little Sister, sounded decent though (grr).

Go Kris and Adam!!!!!! Oh man, I hope that Kris leaves everything on that stage and Adam shames Danny when he shows the real way to sing Aerosmith -- HA!

Jaywalker FOs and CO for Marie's Socks

 
 
 
 

Can't Wait!

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien

AI Thoughts...

Before I forget to mention it, it was Raphael Moreira playing guitar last Tuesday night for rock week!

A poll on USA Today's Idol Chatter blog has 50% wanting an Adam/Kris finale and 34% wanting an Adam /Danny finale. I feel that an Adam /Danny finale would not be very enjoyable. Kris is so much more musically interesting than Danny. If you watch Kris' hometown performances with just him and his guitar and no bandzilla, he's awesome. Kris' phrasing, tone, and originality impress me much more than Danny's loud, constrained-throat, karaoke singing. Keeping my fingers crossed that Kris and Adam knock it out of the ballpark on Tuesday.

Oh! I also have to comment on the judges' song selections. Kris got One Republic's "Apologize." Danny got Terence Trent D’Arby's "Dance Little Sister." Adam got U2's "One." ALL excellent choices for each person. I do find Kris' handpicked song a tad boring. However, it's current, it's suited for his melodic voice, and hopefully he'll skillfully rearrange it to show his originality. As for Danny, a Terence Trent D'Arby song choice is well-suited to his gravelly, soulful voice. It'll be karaoke night for him. However, he might make it too gospel-y sounding and overdo it, which is admittedly and unashamedly what I hope will happen. Adam's assigned song "One" is from one of my favorite bands ever. Of several U2 songs, I really like this one a lot and can't wait to hear Adam sing it. Have you seen the duet version of "One" with Mary J. Blige? I got to hear the original at Ohio Stadium back in college (good times!). I love the lyrics and think this could be very interesting since Adam can sing anything and yet I haven't heard him sing a song quite like this. Like Led Zeppelin's cover he did for rock week, he'll need to keep it true enough to the original and also show restraint and no Broadway leanings whatsoever. I bet Simon picked this song on purpose to show that, just like with "Mad World" and "The Tracks of My Tears," Adam can tone it down and still sound powerful and keep everyone's attention. This song is not about precision, it's about heart. I hope that Adam nails the soulfulness and drive behind the song and shows up Danny in the process.

Jaywalker Update
Oh MY, we ladies had a great time as usual at knit night on Thursday! Actually, I think I'd have to categorize it as a "best of." We dished AI and Curly Girl topics. Such a good time we had that I somehow screwed up and omitted a kfb increase on one of my sock's insteps. Those are tricky to correct when there's not any extra yarn to create a new column of stitches and you don't want to tink your work. Then later, I had some trouble with holes at the convergence of the heel flap, gusset, and leg. What I ended up having to do is go back to where there were one gusset stitch on each side. Instead of eating up the last RS gusset stitch and turning to purl back and eat the other, I continued on ITR (to the instep sts) and took care of the last purlside gusset stitch from the front with a k2tog. This seemed to work much better because when you do it as written, the heel flap ends up 2 rows higher than the instep stitches, which didn't make sense to me. I'd heard that you could do this little trick and, by coincidence, had to do something similar on my PG-R short-row toe.

Toe-Up Jaywalker Heels Are F-U-N

Can I say how much I'm loving the heel of the toe-up Jaywalkers?! It's the first time I've done a toe-up heel with a heel extension that has picked up stitches. I wasn't sure how close it would look to the original pattern until I actually did the heel: it looks the same. (Note: I slightly changed some numbers to match the original, which you can read about on my project page on Rav.) The direction of the stitches in all parts of the heel are the same as my first pair of (cuff-down) Jays. Yay! My favorite part of the heel was joining the gusset to the heel with decreases -- love, love, love. Los Manos Locos (the toe-up Monkey pattern) does this, too. The difference between the two heels in these patterns is the Crazy Monkey heel has no picked up stitches at the heel turn, while the Jay heel does. The only thing I wasn't crazy about on the Crazy Monkey heel was the Eye of Partridge stitch on the sole. I prefer it only on the back of the heel. So next time I do a Crazy Monkey style heel, I'm going with stockinette on the sole.

Something else I noticed while knitting the heel on these toe-up socks: there's not as much tension. When you're doing a cuff-down heel and have picked up stitches on each side of the flap, there's a good deal of tension those first few rounds that follow. Meanwhile, on my toe-up Jays and Monkeys, there is minimal tension the first few rounds of the heel decreases, and when you get to the top of the heel, it's really fun to look at an almost-completed sock.

Besides trying the Los Manos Locos heel with a stockinette sole, I'd also like to try the toe-up heel where you put a stockinette flap on the sole and follow the exact directions of the cuff-down heel. So you pick up stitches on each side of the stockinette flap and make gusset decreases, meanwhile putting in a slip stitch pattern on the back of the heel between two markers. The demarcated line of picked-up stitches is parallel to the ground rather than perpendicular to it. I wonder how that looks... I've tried looking at my original Jays with the leg and foot switched to enable me to visualize it.

A fellow knitter shared an interesting link today. If you like hearing about the brain and how it perceives color when it relates to art, you might like this, too: http://simplyrobin.blogspot.com/2009/05/talking-about-color.html.
Color is relative? Whoa, I was skeptical until seeing this. Makes ya think!

AI? Well, I knew Allison had to go at some point. So I wasn't completely crushed or surprised that she was eliminated. But, I was a little irked that Danny survived after an ultra-bad performance. Some Gokey lovers are saying, "Well, people voted based on his cumulative log of performances rather than this past week's." That would be fine in the middle of the competition. But when everyone left deserves to be there, I think poor performances should get a person immediately booted... my favs included. On a more positive note, at least Kris made it one more week -- yay! I hope that announcing him as the first person safe last night boosted his confidence and will make him try hard next week. My wish is that Kris makes a comeback and Danny chokes big time. I want Adam and Kris for the finale!!! If Danny does poorly again and survives, I'll definitely start believing the hype about this being a culture war.

Jared said that this season reminds him of Season 3 when you knew way ahead of time that Fantasia was going to be the winner. Season 5 also had a clear front runner in Chris Daughtry, but he got eliminated almost like Adam did last week. Last year, David Cook emerged as the front runner ahead of David Archuleta, but there were enough Archuleta fans out there to scare me when it came down to the final vote. Luckily, America got that one right!

Led Zeppelin Allowed On Idol... Yyyyeesssss!

Check out Adam's performance of Whole Lotta Love: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5009052/13325538

On Ravelry's American Idol forum, the pre-show talk mentioned how Adam would sound great doing this song (or any Zeppelin tune), but probably wouldn't be allowed due to licensure and adult lyrics. But, HELLO! They DID allow it! Jared said they toned done the lyrics at the beginning, but Adam did get away with the word "inch." Well heck, I guess they did let Flo Rida sing a song about... well, we won't say that here.

Before the show started, I tried to get onto mjsbigblog, but couldn't (high traffic?). So I was totally and pleasantly surprised when the pre-performance clip rolled and showed Adam wailing on Zeppelin with Slash. Cool, just really cool. I'll be downloading that for sure. Question is, the audio or the video? Both? :-)

Obviously the rest of the performances couldn't compete. But, I will say that I loved Allison's performances tonight. That had to have been fun to do that duet with Adam at the end. I think Simon was right when he said that their duet together might save her one more week. After Allison, I thought Kris was next best. As always, he's slightly limited vocally. But what he does have, he does deftly and in tune, which is more than I can say for Danny tonight. Danny was pitchy and might've ruined his chances tonight with that hideous scream at the end of Dream On. Leading up to that make-it-or-brake-it upper-octave part, he looked like a deer in headlights. (There are some hilarious comments about that high part on Ravelry.) And what was up with his boots? I could've slapped Simon when he unnecessarily compared Danny to Kris, saying that Danny was better. Really, Simon?! Oh well, Danny dug a big hole for himself with his solo. I also noticed that the AI editing team managed to recap that horrendous scream at the end of the show (<>).

My rankings:
1. Adam

2. Allison
3. Kris

4. Danny

I voted for everyone but Danny. As mentioned on several sites, I don't think Adam will have any trouble this week after what happened with the votes last week. Even casual Adam fans will be voting tonight. I'm worried about Danny not going home when he deserves it...

A random AI note: I think one of the guitarists tonight was the really awesome one from the house band on Rockstar.

Knitting News
I'm at the heel extension of my Jaywalkers!

Jaywalkers #2 In Progress

I've knit Monkey, Jaywalker, and Pomatomus socks. So far, except for the Monkeys, I've liked the socks I've made (more later on why I dislike the Monkeys). I always knew I'd make Jaywalkers again someday, and that day has finally come. At knit night last Thursday, I CO for toe-up Jays with my KP Felici yarn. Using Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' YO short-row toe, I CO for the smallest size, 8". The Felici yarn has a bit more give to it than the Regia Bamboo (which I loved btw) I used on my first Jays. So, the socks feel a little looser than I remember. Then again, I'm knitting them toe-up, and the stockinette sole should be looser than the fully-patterned leg anyway. To be cautious though, I searched the posts on toe-up Jays to see what people were saying. Come to find out, the numbers had been changed in the toe-up pattern. Following what another Raveler did, I decided to keep the original cuff-down pattern's numbers by placing the heel markers around the center 22 sole stitches rather than 38. Also, I plan on increasing the sole stitches to 54 rather than 70. Luckily, in choosing to increase to 54, the pattern directions remain the same: I'll still be adding 16 stitches outside each of the markers for the gusset as written. The maximum number of sole stitches will be 92 rather than 108. It sounds like a lot of changes, but really it's just one.



My next socks will not be striped, variegated, marled, handpainted, what have you. I've only ever done socks with multi-color yarn. Time to branch out! I'd love to do Pomatomus socks in spruce kettle-dyed KP Essential sock yarn. I'd also like to try the Essential Tweed and Risata. I've been holding off on using cotton sock yarn because of my Monkeys. I used a boring cotton yarn to make my toe-up Monkeys (the Los Manos Locos adaptation) and hated the result. They're bulky and heavy, and I never wear them! Despite my bad feelings towards my Monkeys, I've kept my mind open about the Risata. I'll have to see if any of my knitting friends have tried Risata before I ever buy any.

I just printed off a chart that goes along with a universal toe-up sock pattern, Judy Gibson's "Putting Me On Socks," to see what my numbers should be when it comes to size. Really, I should just get More Sensational Knitted Socks, which is what I really want. Maybe by my birthday this summer?

AI Thoughts
This week should be very interesting with Slash as the mentor. He didn't agree to it until they gave him free reign with the contestants. All his Tweets sound promising, so I hope it's a good show tomorrow. Supposedly, there will be solos and duets. Good, more performances means less judge banter!

So sorry to hear about David Cook's brother... That was big of him to still do his honorary duties and run the Race For Hope 5K. There's a YouTube video of him after the race where he lets the runners know about his brother's passing.

AI Top 5 Perform

UPDATE #2: OK. Now that I've gone back and listened to each person again, I have my rankings and why:
1. Adam -- do I need to explain?
2. Allison -- awesome vocals and song choice
3. Kris -- classy, smooth, confident vocals and stuck to his strengths
4. Danny -- everything was great until the end: he went a little OTT
5. Matt -- pitchy, and the phrasing and runs were not quite gelling for me

Who I personally want in the Top 3? Adam, Kris, and Allison.

UPDATE #1: Well, damn. That was some good singing tonight!!! I thought everyone kicked it up a notch. Kris provided smooth vocals with nice phrasing. Allison picked the perfect song and sounded awesome. Matt, though he might be going home this week, calmed his nerves enough for us to hear his real voice on a song I love. Danny finally had that spark that's been missing for several weeks and picked a perfect song. Then Adam... I'll quote my husband: "That mofo can sing!" Wow, I don't even know how to rank everyone. I applaud everyone tonight, although I will say that Adam hit it out of the ball park. I was so glad to see everyone else step up to the plate and deliver.
Kris - What a cutie! If you thought it was boring, then it was the song because he sang it the way it should be done. Total crooner. He's such a class act!
Allison - Looked very beautiful tonight. She kept to her style, yet stayed true to the song. Exquisite. This was a favorite performance of hers for me. Born talent.
Matt - If this week is his week to go, I'm proud of him for going out with a bang. He did so well, and I loved how he refrained from singing in falsetto and doing too many runs for most of the song. I finally heard his voice, and it was lovely.
Danny - That's what's been missing! Good job and great song. I finally enjoyed watching him sing, and I haven't liked him since Kiss From A Rose. He showed that he wants this.
Adam - What an entrance and exit! When I saw that he was going to sing this song, I wondered what route he would take. I like Michael Bublé's rendition, so I was hoping that Adam wouldn't stray too far from it. He didn't, but he definitely put his own spin on it. I told Jared that he looks like a cross between Kurt Russell and Elvis, smirks and all.

Pre-Show Comments: Ooh, ooh, ooh: The spoilers are saying that Kris and Matt will be singing The Way You Look Tonight and My Funny Valentine, respectively. I love those songs! Can't wait to hear them.

Reduce Recycle Reuse

One week late this post is (What, am I Yoda or something?!), but that's how it flies here sometimes!
Reduce: Little by little I've used yarn from my modest stash of leftovers. Mostly, I make things for the kids since there's not usually enough yarn in each colorway to make myself something. See below for my latest stash reduction project. BTW, the only stash yarn I have that isn't leftover yarn are 3 skeins of CotLin, each in a different colorway. I hope to make a market bag or two with those. Those 3 skeins represent the only time I've bought yarn with absolutely no pattern in mind. I never buy yarn without having committed to a pattern. That's why my stash consists of only leftovers. Maybe if I knit more socks, which always require a known amount of yarn, I'd blindly buy sock yarn. But, there's no way that I'll ever randomly buy sweater yarn without a pattern. Ok, maybe if I won the lottery! (But, I don't play the lottery.)
Recycle: I'm very familiar with this concept when it comes to knitting. Frogging FOs to make something new seems to be a regular occurrence with me. Sometimes I'm even patient enough to re-make the same pattern if I haven't pulled out all my hair. The latest recycled project is my current WIP, Wright, made with Comfy yarn. I frogged last year's garter stitch tank and soaked the yarn to remove the kinks. This summer, I'll also be frogging a failed attempt at a Cotton-Ease maternity top to make Bella Paquita.
Reuse: For me this means either giving away knitted FOs that are too small, or it can mean taking buttons from an old project to use on a new one. Ian's blue cardigan that has Peter Rabbit buttons is finally getting too small. I'll be using those to make him a new cardigan in the future.




















Pattern: Improvised. I started with the Itchy Fingers Longies pattern as a guide, heavily altering it since Marie doesn't wear diapers and therefore doesn't require all the built-in extra ease. Basically, the parts of the pattern I actually used were the gusset instructions and how to space the short rows on the bum. I made the waistband CO number much smaller and did increases below the waistband. The rise is exactly as measured. For the skirt, I picked up stitches at the base of the waistband and knit downward. The ruffle could be better, but I was running out of yarn and also didn't want to make the skirt too long. It flips up too much. But, she's happy, so that's all that matters! One more thing: I added a 3-round "trough" for the drawstring with holes in the middle round.
Yarn: TLC Essentials Multi, Naptime, 1 skein. Bernat Softee Baby, white, 1.5 skeins (not sure about this number, really).
Needles: US 8 circulars

Other News
Can't wait to see the Top 5 sing tonight on Idol! Adam and Kris will do fine. Speaking of Kris, I'm surprised that Simon Cowell thinks that Danny is better than Kris. I disagree. Maybe Danny has a solid fanbase and that's why Simon said that. Danny was an early favorite of mine, but he hasn't wowed me recently like Kris has. Simon also mentioned Adam as being the only original contestant; consistently, yes, but he's not the only one! What about Kris?! Actually, Allison has revamped a few songs, too, to fit her style. Only Danny and Matt are karaoke IMO. For me, it's a toss up between Allison and Danny for third place. They have an equal amount of weaknesses. I haven't liked Allison's last two song choices. So I hope she chooses well tonight. Danny better not oversing and be boring. He always sings just well enough to fly under the radar, but not well enough to impress me as being on the same level as Adam and Kris.

My interest and time spent on Babbel is still going strong. My interest in livemocha has waned because I don't have a microphone to record the spoken exercises. Lessons can't be completed until the spoken parts are done. To try to bypass this, I've submitted blank recordings. This completes the lesson. However, it's kind of annoying that those "recordings" show up for other users to rate/grade. I of course keep getting comments of "no audio." What keeps me coming back to livemocha, though, is that it has tutorials. Babbel also has tutorials, but there are only two of them for Italian. So, mainly you're doing vocabulary and chatting with others.

Well, I better get started on dinner. We're having chicken fajitas. I was a good girl and bought whole wheat tortillas (as well as whole wheat thin spaghetti, whole wheat sandwich buns, and buckwheat pancake mix). I cheated with the chicken and bought the pre-packaged, fajita-seasoned chicken strips. The other ingredients: green bell pepper, onion, cilantro, taco cheese, sauce, tomatoes, sour cream, and shredded lettuce (for Jared, not me).

Double Rainbow

My day's highlights: double rainbows, finally finding a solution method I like for solving the old Rubik's Cube, tweaking Pandora yet again, learning more Italian vocab, working out, and making a damn good iced coffee.

Marie saw her first rainbow! Well, she's seen a rainbow before, but hasn't comprehended it until now. She and I went outside after it rained, and she spotted a double rainbow. It was so fun to see her light up!

Lately, my knitting and Ravelry time has been usurped by Pandora, Babbel, and the Rubik's Cube. (Facebook, too, although I've been pretty good about limiting my time there.) Pandora and Babbel have been fun and time consuming. The Rubik's Cube craze will be slowing down soon since I've finally found a solution method I like.

The whole Rubik's Cube thing started Easter Sunday when I picked up a cube at my parents' house. No kidding when I say there are 2 or 3 lying around. When I was a kid, I never did solve it. Being math-y 'n' all, I just HAD to try once again. That led to an online search for all the different solution methods out there. All methods unfortunately require to a varying extent the memorization of multiple algorithms. All the speed cubers know a huge number of algorithms.

The first solution method I learned was a beginner one on YouTube. It was great until the last "layer" (cube talk for the top layer of cubies). I don't see the fun in memorizing a bunch of difficult algorithms that will be forgotten weeks or months later. I want to "see" what moves I need to do next. Recently, I found this. It's a method that leaves a column of cubies "free" in order to solve the cube easier. There is only one step that I felt I had to memorize, and even then it's still intuitive. If you ever want to learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube, I'd suggest watching YouTube videos for beginners and following that with the link I provided.

Today I had a horrible headache that was severe enough to compel me to work out. Yep, it took a bad headache to make me work out. That's so sad, right?! I followed the workout with a soak in the tub (lavender and eucalyptus, mmm). After dinner I concocted a pretty good iced coffee in the blender using double-strength coffee, milk, creamer, sugar, Nestle Quik, and ice. I wish I'd paid more attention to the amounts of things I added because I'm not sure that I can create that good of a mix again. I made sure to enjoy every last sip.

Well, it's time again for AI and Biggest Loser. Can't wait to see how the disco theme suits the contestants. Adam will be awesome, but I'm not sure about everyone else. Speaking of Adam, I'm still haunted by his rendition of Mad World and Kris' rendition of Falling Slowly. I'm really glad I downloaded the studio versions. Now I can listen to those along with David Cook's awesome rendition of The World I Know.

Ciao :-)

Cucumber seedlings and a cool hula hooping music video

 
Last week, Marie and I found some Backyardigans seed starter kits for just $1.99. Marie chose cucumbers, and we planted the seeds last Friday. This is a picture from today, nearly one week later. So that's what's been going on around here :-)

My cyber knitting friend Stephanie, aka Gleek, has been documenting through video and via her blog her entire hula hooping learning experience. Recently she shared some favorite videos that either inspire or give good instruction. One inspirational video in particular just blew me away! The movements and music are really cool. I've never seen hooping like that! If you have the time, check this music video out:

The Two AI Songs I'd Consider Downloading So Far

Falling Slowly sung by Kris Allen and Mad World sung by Adam Lambert. Here are the studio versions! Both are beautiful songs.

AI Results and Skirtie/Skort Update

Well, I agree with the bottom three even though I ranked Anoop higher this week. Like myself, maybe other people are noticing the limitations of his singing ability. But, it should've been Lil going home with no judges' save! Even when Matt or Allison have a bad week, they totally sound better than her. Oh well, she'll be horrible next week singing disco (Who are we kidding? She'll be horrible whatever the theme is!), so maybe I won't have to wait long for her to go.

As for the judges saving Matt: Yes, he doesn't have a chance of winning this, as Simon said, but he was talented enough to be worth saving. He's the first person since Alexis Grace (who should still be in this competition but isn't because it was too early to use the save) that I would consider saving. With Lil still around, the only other person not worth saving is Anoop. I think the final four will be Adam, Kris, Danny, and Allison. I think everyone except Lil and Anoop will do well on disco.

Knitting
I'm halfway through knitting the skirt of Marie's skirtie/skort. I had her try it on, and it fits very well. This being a prototype for future skirties/skorts, I'm noting anything I want to change for next time. Changes to consider: 1) single-stranded rather than double-stranded; 2) elastic waistband; 3) alter the panty part so that it's more like panties than shorts; and 4) alter the lines of the skirt. I'm tired of knitting with old acrylic baby yarn. So, I might not dive right into making the next skort when I finish this one...

AI Top 7 Rankings and "Falling Slowly"

My rankings of the performances from last night's American Idol:
1. Kris Allen
2. Adam Lambert
3. Danny Gokey
4. Anoop Desai
5/6. Allison Iraheta or Matt Giraud
7. Lil Rounds

As Quentin Tarantino pointed out, Kris embraced this week's theme the best with his song choice of "Falling Slowly." It was simple, emotive, and current. Actually, Kris' song choice could be compared with Adam's choice of "Mad World" from last week. I have more to say about "Falling Slowly" later in this post. Stay tuned.

Adam was back to the whole glam rocker thing this week. The songs he and Allison chose are not ones I like hearing covered, whether that's because I don't like the song or because the original singer is incomparable. I wish that Adam had taken a Billy Idol type of approach rather than the frenetic and theatric heavy metal approach. Allison sang her song in too low of a key, even with her alto voice. I think the judges gave her better compliments than she deserved because she had the first performance slot.

Danny did really well I thought. A couple of times he started to go all out on the vocals, but pulled himself back in. Anoop also did well, although I can tell he's reached the end of the road as far as singing skill goes. I like Bryan Adams, but Anoop's and Matt's performances were boring and forgettable.

Matt... Not a good week for you yet again. He started out well, then fizzled on the bridge. Supposedly he did fine at dress rehearsal. So his nerves once again got the better of him.

Lil. I have nothing to say.

Here's a funny recap by two young girls that gave me a good laugh. Karen will appreciate their Adam comments!

Now, back to "Falling Slowly" from the movie "Once". I remember first hearing it at the Oscars and it winning the Oscar for Best Song. "Once" was the little movie that could, and I think the song is what pushed it that far. I got chills when Kris started singing it in front of Quentin Tarantino. I thought I'd share some videos from youtube. I found the original soundtrack with stills from the movie as well as lyrics from the chorus. I also found a really nice performance of the song sung live. The third video I found is from when the two songwriters won the Oscar. (Check out Viggo in the audience near the end!) I think I'll embed the first one and provide links for the other two:
1.

2. live performance
3. winning the Oscar (nice speeches about hope and dreaming big)

No More Chewbacca Hair

Friday, Marie got her hair cut. Then Saturday, I got mine cut, too! Yeah, I still have a lot of hair, no doubt. But, we're not talking Chewbacca or floor mop proportions any more. As for length, there's an inch, if that, at the back. It feels SO GOOD!!! I'm always vacillating back and forth between short and long styles with the seasons and temperament. I think shorter styles suite me much better. 'Easy to fix and lightweight, not to mention the option of wearing it a little straighter (although, my hair won't completely straighten). Don't mind the bloodshot eyes and dark circles. It was a long day. So long, I might have to unwind with a nice glass of wine, and I rarely do that (kids?).

May I suggest NOT using the Easter egg decorating kits that include metallic sheets and extremely sticky glue with dye tablets? Uh, yeah. Poor Marie didn't get to help me because it was a total mess. Next year we're sticking with the tried and true method of simply dyeing them. Maybe when she's much older we'll try the fiddly, more artistic methods that require time and patience.

We were completely unorthodox and let Marie help make the Easter baskets Saturday night. She really wanted to, so that was fine with me. I don't think we even mentioned the Easter Bunny. My mom sort of took care of that by getting the kids little stuffed animal bunny rabbits in gift pails full of Easter goodies. All the cousins did an egg hunt outside before dinner. A good time was had by all.

The last time I tried to solve a Rubik's Cube was when they first came out until tonight. At my parents' house, there are a few cubes lying around. Since I had that topic on my mind lately (I'll be good and not bore anyone with why since it's math related ;-p ), I picked one up and tried to do it. Ha! I got as far as solving one side. When I did that, then I tried it again with all the other colors. I really don't remember any of the tricks! So now I'm curious. I will be solving that puppy asap.

I'm almost finished with the underpanty of the skirt I'm making for Marie. What do you call skirts with underpanties? Skirties? Skorts? Whatever it is, I hope that the color is not too baby-ish. The yarn is old acrylic baby yarn held double. Once I finish the underpanty, I'll pick up around the bottom of the waistband for the skirt.

The last thing to mention is that I'm completely enamored with Babbel and livemocha! After college, I sorely missed learning foreign languages. In middle and high school, I took French. In college, I took a lot of Italian and also Greek 101. Nothing would thrill me more than to relearn Italian and possibly try some new ones without paying a dime or leaving my house. Now I have that. Perhaps someday I'll get the chance to speak Italian while in Italy, so I might as well be prepared! Now if I could just roll my "r's" better. That's about as tricky as hula hooping is to me (although Stephanie gives me hope that it's possible!).

Allison Iraheta reminds me of Dilana

American Idol Recap? Well, Allison killed it tonight singing Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me." I also liked Adam (good song choice and delivery, one of my favorites from him), Matt (yay Matt, you won the nerves battle!), and Danny (no pitchiness tonight). As good as some people were, the performance I'll remember and listen to again is Allison. Everything about the way she sings oozes talent. She had me at "Alone" by Heart. She reminds me of Dilana from Rockstar: Supernova. They both have crazy red hair and they were born to sing! I thought I'd add Allison's video here, as well as Dilana singing The Police's Roxanne.

Allison Iraheta - "I Can't Make You Love Me" VIDEO



If by chance you like the song Wicked Games by Chris Isaak, here's a duet with Dilana and Magni (a fellow contestant on R:S). Not the original, which is awesome, but I liked hearing it as a duet.

Livemocha and Babbel

Livemocha and Babbel
Have you heard of them? I hadn't until last night. They're free online interactive language learning communities. Being a lover of all things Italian, I'd wondered if there were any sites in existence that combined elements of social networking sites with interactive education/learning sites. Livemocha and Babbel aren't the only sites out there, but they are the only ones that are free. Just like Ravelry or Facebook, you start by creating a profile, username, password, and avatar. The sites have interactive tutorials with complementary teaching tools such as vocabulary lessons and flashcards. Everything that you do is saved for your next visit. A common feature of both sites is the social aspect: you can add friends. You choose friends for tandem learning or for help.

I've been loving every minute of this whole online interactive language learning thing! I took about 20 hours of Italian in college (even double majored in it at one point) and could use a brush up on my skills. What I like about both sites is that they focus on all aspects of learning a language: vocabulary, grammar, writing, speaking, and culture. Also, you have choices along the way. For example, today I chose to take a vocabulary lesson whose theme was springtime. Next, I might check out foods or countries. I love that I control the pacing. I spent the whole afternoon going back and forth between the two sites, having fun.

Knitting News
I've got two side projects going right now. One is a cell phone hip tote with leftover Imagination sock yarn. The plan is to connect it to my beltloop or purse strap. The other is a skirtie for Marie using some old acrylic yarn. My main projects? A second Strawberry Latte ankle sock, Firestarter socks 2xML, My So Called Scarf, and Wright. If recycling the yarn for Wright hadn't burned me out so much, I'd be working on that top feverishly right now. Making side projects without a pattern were necessary to relight the wick of my knitting mojo candle.

No pics today guys. Sorry!

TV/Movies
Has anyone else seen the movie Zathura? I've caught that movie twice now on TBS.

Can't wait to see what the contestants will sing on American Idol tonight considering the theme: songs the year they were born. We'll see how smart the contestants are in song choice and originality. If you haven't checked out the studio versions of the songs sung on the show, you should go to youtube. Not only are the songs a lot longer, but they also sound different instrumentally. The good people sound good, the bad people sound bad, and then there's Matt. Matt Giraud's studio version of You Find Me is much better than his live performance. He must be one seriously nervous dude when performing live! I wish he could find his confidence already so that he could perform at the same level as Adam, Danny, Kris, and Allison. Oh, and I'm still steamed that Alexis is gone considering we still have Anoop, Lil, and Scott.