My favorite things: 2005

* Kicking off the New Year in London with wonderful friends


* Learning how to knit (thanks Maya)

*Skiing in Harbor Springs with Pat

* Participating in the Race for the Cure

* Finishing my degree & getting a job that I truly enjoy!

* Listening, reading and playing with all my new toys after a most generous holiday!

I hope that you have a safe and festive New Year's Eve celebration.

5 days until Christmas

Martha Stewart reminded me this morning that there are only five days until Christmas. I cannot believe it! So. Much. To. Do. The next few days are filled with family, friends and fun. And cooking and gift wrapping and last minute shopping.

Girly Purly

Another knitted gift is complete. This is the Purl Scarf from LMKG for my other niece (who doesn't know about this blog). It is super soft and warm ... I hope she likes it!

Here's hoping that you and yours have a wonderul Christmas!

Checking a few things off my list

a Christmas cards ... stamped & in the mail

a scarf for Pat's mom ... ready to be wrapped

Daisy modeling the FO

a Christmas tree ... lit & decorated

I am pretty pleased with my progress on all things Christmas. I still have gifts to buy (and knit), but I am doing quite well. I will not get stressed this year! (OK, I probably will when I am up past midnight on Christmas Eve doing last minute wrapping.) I started knitting the Purl scarf tonight for my niece. Almost done! : )

Hope you all are stress-free as you finish your finals, get out your Christmas cards and finish those knitted gifts!

Meme: to waste some time on a Sunday AM

Maya did this a few days ago and God knows I love to procrastinate, so here goes:

TEN random things you might not know about me
1: I have never broken a bone
2: I have lived in Antwerp, Belgium
3: I have lived in a suburb of Toronto called Unionville, Ontario
4: I love to ski, but usually stick to the green & blue hills
5: I played the flute for 1 year in high school and hated it!
6: I played Vampira in a play in the 3rd grade
7: I really want to live in Chicago, but will probably never do it!
8: I hate going to the dentist
9: I am a music snob
10: I still often think about old friends who I have lost touch with

NINE places I've visited
1: Acapulco, Mexico
2: London, England
3: Copenhagen, Denmark
4: The Amalfi Coast, Italy
5: Quebec City, Canada
6: San Fransisco, CA
7: New Orleans, LA
8: Jersey City, NJ
9: Rothenberg, Germany

EIGHT ways to win my heart
1: be funny
2: listen to me
3: wear Chuck Taylors
4: have good music taste
5: take me to a concert
6: take me on a trip
7: be patient
8: be kind to others & to animals

SEVEN things I want to do before I die
1: travel more!
2: get married
3: have children
4: write a children's book
5: spend more quality time with my family
6: live in Chicago
7: live happily ever after

SIX things I'm afraid of
1: snakes
2: going broke
3: cancer
4: never having children
5: angry people

FIVE things I don't like
1: Jim Carrey
2: the smell of dirty hair
3: machismo
4: Fun Fur
5: mushrooms

FOUR ways to turn me off
1: be rude to a waitress or salesperson for no reason
2: litter!
3: act macho
4: grow a moustache

THREE things I do everyday
1: use a Q-Tip
2: shower & wah my hair
3: apply mascara

TWO things that make me happy
1: the sound of chidren laughing
2: my friends

ONE thing on my mind right now
1: how much fun I had ice skating in downtown Detroit last night for Mel's birthday!

and how much I need a new digital camera that takes better pictures!

Good old fashioned US Mail

I am excited because I am pretty much done with my Christmas cards. I bought the stamps today. I got the cute Christmas cookie designs! : ) The important, but time-consuming part is over, which is actually writing in the cards. I like to put a personal message in each card, because when I get a card that only has a name signed under the pre-printed message (or worse yet, the sender ordered a pre-printed signing too, like "Best Wishes, The Smith Family"), I feel a little bit dissappointed. I am such a fan of good old fashioned US mail and I feel that you should a least take a moment to send your holiday greetings by hand! OK - enough of my ranting ...

It is snowing like crazy here! (yay) Mel is talking about a possible snow day. We shall see if the 3-5 inches do fall over night. I don't get snow days ... so I will be waking up early to make sure that I make it to my meeting on time.

Daisy and her new best friends

About half way through another simple garter stitch scarf in a rosy pink that I am making for Pat's mom for Christmas. She told me that it was her favorite color on Thanksgiving, so I think she'll like it!

Noel Night & snowy fun in Detroit

Pat & I spent last evening in Detroit. We went to Noel Night in the Midtown. It totally put me in the holiday spirit! There was a live manger scene at a church on Woodward, we saw the Spartan Dischords and we participated in a Holiday sign-along with the Salvation Army Band. It was great to see so many people down there and enjoying themselves. And it was snowing! That always makes things more festive! We also took a detour into the Detroit Public Library, where I obviously need to spend more time. We went up a random staircase and found ourselves here.

How come I never knew about this before? I feel like I know a lot about Detroit and its gems, but every once in a while I come across something like this that just blows me away. In a way, that is good (for me), but it also makes me sad that no one knows or cares about this city. (Sigh)

Then we drove around Detroit in the snow with the sunroof open and I took pictures of the city. I was finally ready for Christmas carols (because it is no longer November 1st!!!!!!), so we put on WNIC and enjoyed the wintery night.

Meet me under the Kern's clock ...

I am frustrated about knitting right now. I spent half of my day off on Friday knitting a scarf and then decided that I wasn't lovin' it! So, I am going to frog it and figure out a Plan B. I hate it when that happens.