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I finished reading Jane Eyre yesterday. Have you ever read that? I read it in 8th grade. There should be a disclaimer on the front of the book telling you that it’s not to be read by anyone under 20. I’m not sure how I got through it at 13. Probably because no one else in my class was anywhere near my reading level and it made me feel super awesome to read a book so thick.
So, I remembered it being really boring. But, I was 13. I thought R.L. Stine was the shit. Oh, and Lois Duncan. Anyway, Jane Eyre. I’m really not sure what the book was even about. Was it about child abuse? Neglect? Was is a love story? A story of the hardships of life? Who knows. If I had to write a book report, I think I would drop the class. And I majored in English, I’m pretty much a professional book report writer at this point.
The moral of the story is, don’t read this book. Unless you want to be bored to death, then knock yourself out.
Day 100–My friend (and I, although not pictured) being ridiculous in the costume shop. We really found a diamond in the rough here. We were in there for an hour trying on costumes and wigs and generally being ridiculous. The shop keeper was thrilled.
Day 101–Here is Ms. YoDude at a friend’s b-day party. Couldn’t miss a photo-op of this face.
Day 102–Knitting at game night. Yeah, knitting is tough, yo!
Day 103–The smallest Santa I’ve ever seen. He had red running pants on. It’s was ridic.
Day 104–A fun day of skin care that I will tell you more about next week!
Day 105–Hanging out in the cold taking pictures of myself. Doesn’t everyone do that with their phones?
106–A casualty of Christmas. I was out walking really early this morning (it was still dark) and I saw this on the sidewalk. At first, I thought it was a dead animal or something. Upon closer glance, I realized it was a dinosaur.
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It’s the eve of Christmas Eve. The couple of days before Christmas are weird. Like, we’re family, we’re hanging out, no one’s working, but what are we supposed to do with each other? The Christmas traditions haven’t started yet. We’re together, but we’re not sure how to entertain one another. We’re not used to being together and we all have our own way of doing things now. Because my brother and I are no longer children–we’re adults and it’s super strange.
A lot of our time is spent in separate rooms watching different things on four different TVs. Technology has really put a damper on togetherness. (There is a little bit of, “We’re going to watch The Grinch/Rudolph/Frosty as a family and you’re going to enjoy it whether you like it or not!)
Instead of sitting around and staring at each other, my dad, brother and I went to dinner last night. At Outback, where there are approximately 2 things I can eat. Our waiter got into a stand up routine about his cold. And his cough. And his congestion. We ate and discussed the movies we want to see on Christmas Eve, a long standing tradition. When we arrived back at my parents’ house, my mom had some friends over, one of whom has a new baby. I wasn’t allowed to hold her because I’m sick. Boo. I even offered to wash my hands. Holding a smiling baby would’ve been the highlight of my evening.
So here we are, with the whole day before Christmas Eve stretched before us. I brought entirely too much yarn. I don’t know what I was thinking. We have no big plans for the day, just “together” time. I will be knitting and crocheting and sleeping and complaining about being sick. I’m planning on going back to the city to get my camera (I can’t believe I forgot it!).
What do you and your family do together in the days before Christmas?
Did you ever think your toys were moving around and playing and having a whole existence while you weren’t looking when you were a kid? I did. Then I read The Little Princess and she ran to the keyhole after she shut her bedroom door 
to try and “catch” her dolls moving. But they always froze back when they knew she was looking. Then Toy Story came out and made me even more suspicious of my toys. I had porcelain dolls and some times I couldn’t sleep under their gaze. They were Always. Staring. It’s a lot of pressure.
Then I read Goosbumps: Monster Edition #2 (I think this is the title, I had to do a littleGoogling to find out) by R.L. Stine about an evil ventriloquist dummy who was thrown in the trash and a teddy bear who was shelved when a new one came along and their evil and twisted revenges (I think that’s a word). These events involved harming the child (which I was at the time) and other toys. Really. Freaked. 10 year-old. Me. Out. (Also, during this time, I wasn’t sleeping because I was convinced that murderers were going to break into our house in the middle of the night and kill me in my sleep. My bedroom was the first one at the top of the stairs and in my prayers every night, I prayed that the murderers/rapists get me first so that my screams would wake my parents and brother and give them time to escape–lesson, don’t let your kids watch Unsolved Mysteries or America’s Most Wanted.) These stories led me to believe my stuffed animals were going to be jealous of each other and try to kill me in my sleep if I showed one more attention than another. So, in addition to not sleeping for 6 months, and spending a lot of time banging on my parents door and crying in the hallway (they decided the best way to deal with my fear and anxiety was to lock their bedroom door and ignore me) I also made sure every stuffed animal I owned was on my bed all night long. That meant I was barely able to fit onto my bed because I had to have 20+ animals on the bed every night. And then I lain awake, afraid of people coming into the
house and of the animals in the bed with me. Then I got a cat and for some reason I felt my 8 ounce kitten would protect me from murderers and the toys. She was obviously the toughest kitten ever because I’m still here. (She totally told those stuffed animals who’s boss)
‘sigh’
Why am I sharing this with you now, at this joyous holiday season? Well, if you didn’t already know, I’m a little deranged. Probably because I was scared out of my mind and not sleeping and my parents locked me out of their room and forced me to cry and have panic attacks in the dark hallway outside their bedroom. Also, because several of you are about to give your children the wonderful gifts of toys. And toys can be really scary. Think about that. Bam!
Because this blog was started and inspired by knitting, I need to add a little more knitting talk around here. So, 
welcome to Meet a Knitter Monday. First up, Mrs. Kyla Roma! My beautiful and talented knitting friend and blogger. Here is a fun peek into her knitting world :)
How did you get into knitting?
I started knitting when I was about to move out of my mom’s house. We decided to knit together so we could have a weekly meet up to help us stay in touch after I’d left. She ended up not liking it as much as she’d hoped to, but I loved it! I started reading up online and trying to meet new friends who were into it too.
I get my inspiration from all over! From other etsy artists who have amazing and unique work, and from the knits that I see on European street style blogs- anyone who is turning out beautiful knits or making their living from knitting gets me completely inspired!
When I began knitting, I received a lot of flack from my friends; did you experience any adversity due to your love of fiber arts?
Definitely not, I think my friends had more problems understanding why I was blogging than why I was knitting! I’ve always been into odd little niche hobbies (I love canning too!) so I think they weren’t surprised that I was doing more things that 80 year old women like. I’ve seen young women knitting on busses and around my university since I started, so it never seemed strange to me- just interesting!
What’s your process like when you choose and/or begin a project?
Most of my projects start with a need, in the prairies it gets really cold and you have to wear a jacket for a good part of the year. I only have a couple of jackets so I started knitting to have a bright, fashionable addition to my closet- and my love of big chunky knits grew from there! I experiment a lot and have lots of fun with dreaming up new ideas.
You have some lovely knits in your shop. What is your designing process like?
My designing process really follows my heart- I’ll start experimenting with designing a piece that I’ve been wishing for, or start altering previous designs. I have a binder where I keep track of all my pieces and keep notes on them, so once I’m finished an etsy photo shoot I can write my pattern and wool information onto the listing. It’s like a visual dictionary of my designs that I think will come in really handy in a year or so when I’ve changed all my patterns again!
Who are some of the knitters you look up to (if any)?
I get my inspiration from all over! From other etsy artists who have amazing and unique work, and from the knits that I see on European street style blogs- anyone who is turning out beautiful knits or making their living from knitting gets me completely inspired!Do you have a favorite yarn?
Wool and the Gang’s Crazy Sexy Wool! I wish everything in my life was made out of this! Except maybe my husband, and Eggos :)
Most importantly, if you could be a centaur or a unicorn, which one would you be and why?
A unicorn! If I was a centaur I would probably have to learn to play a woodwind instrument of some kind, and I’m not a fan. I’d rather have an awesome magical horn!
Do you ever knit in public? If so, where are you favorite places to knit?
I do! I used to knit on my way to work when I took the bus and now thanks to my knitting club, I knit in public every week. It’s lots of fun and you would be surprised at how many people come up and ask questions! My favourite place is on my front porch in the early summer, in a warm sunbeam.
Thanks for participating, Kyla! You rock! Visit her awesome blog here & her adorable shop A Little Thistle.
Last night I fixed my hair really cute and much different then how I normally wear it. And, being a blogger and scrap booker and artist, I wanted to document this. The pictures didn’t turn out like I wanted at all, but I really like some of them. At one point, my camera started focusing on the mirror instead of me (which is what I was taking the picture of), and the product is neat. I make a little collage.
What do you think?
Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing Black Swan. I must say, the movie was really good. It’s not as much a horror movie as a psychological thriller that makes you feel a little sick and kept me wondering the whole 2 hours.
Natalie Portman‘s character, Nina, is given the role of the black and white swan in the classic ballet. Nina becomes obsessed with another ballerina, Lily (Mila Kunis). I spent the entire movie going back and forth as to whether Lily was really messing with Nina or if it was all in Nina’s head.
The director, Darren Aranofsky, brilliantly keeps the audience guessing as to Nina’s mental stability and as to the motives of the rest of the ballet company. Under the wrong direction, this film could’ve easily turned into just another ballet movie (a la: Centerstage and Save the Last Dance). Also, the cinematography was brilliant, juxtaposing white as innocence and black as instability throughout the film.
Upon leaving the theater, my friend and I felt we could discuss the movie for the next week and still not have all the
answers we wanted…but in a good way. Black Swan was brilliant, disturbing and beautiful. It was just confusing enough to make me think I will be able to figure it out, but not in a complete mind fuck that David Lynch is so famous for. I highly recommend it.
(Images courtesy of IMDB)
Day 88–Art show with a friend. We had a blast, but I, unfortunately, decided to wear really cute but really uncomfortable shoes
Day 89–Back to Macon with Chico in tow. I can’t remember what he wanted here, but he was in a stare down
Day 90–Went to a Christmas music think at my grandparents’ church. My grandfather was playing with his horn group. They did a great job!
Day 91–Some left over yarn from my a headband I was making.
92–My childhood cat, Slaightybelle, trying to photo bomb pictures for my shop.
Day 93–Hanging out with the lil’ bro and Chico on a cold day
94–Eating out with friends. It had been unseasonably cold for several days and I remember us talking about how cold we were. We’re still cold.
Day 95–Some of the headband and scarf stash.
Day 96–A the GSU Scultpture Department’s Iron Pour. We had a blast!
Day 97–Helping my friend finish painting her amazing pieces
Day 98–Trivia night!
Day 99–I got in the holiday spirit a little and hung a wreath on my door.
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On Tuesdays, some of my friends and I have a girls’ night (occasionally, one will bring her boyfriend). We play trivia at a local bar. And we’re really bad. Two times ago we came in second to last, last time we were dead last and tonight we came in third to last. But we have a great time. And I knit. They ask me about my knitting. It’s a lot of fun and I’ve met some really cool ladies by going.
Oh, and did I mention my ex-boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend works at the bar? It’s weird. I’ve known who she is, but I’d never met her. At first it was really awkward (let’s face it, it’s always going to be somewhat awkward), but she seems really nice.
Our team name is “My Master Sword is Bigger Than Yours.” If you don’t understand what that means, congratulations. You’re not a nerd.
Anyways, I’m watching Ghost Adventures right now and it’s really freaking me out. There’s even a Christmas Room where little kids haunt. Eek! I’m fascinated, but a little afraid to go to the bathroom alone. This is going to be a horrible night for my power bill :)
Do you do anything fun with your lady friends?
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