You can keep your ProActiv commercials, too.

I've never been a Jessica Simpson fan. Maybe it's the fact that her birthday is the day before mine. Maybe I hate her for ruining Nick. I definitely can't stand her for making me see her mug on SportsCenter or during otherwise enjoyable NFL games (but I do love the jinxing of Romo).

Now she's infiltrated country music. I heard this little tune on the way home from work yesterday, and I was appalled when the DJ tried to support her -- he played the song first, asked listeners to guess who it was (the majority went with Julianne Hough -- sidenote, Em and Linds, how was she with the National Anthem at Indy?), then revealed the "artist". He was trying to claim that the song was pretty great, and country music fans shouldn't shy off of it because of the fact that Jessica Simpson sings it. Lucky for me, I hated it anyway.

Listen here and judge for yourself. Leave a comment with your opinion!

"I wanna live with my flip flops in Dixie, and my head in the clear blue North..."

Some really great things have happened in the past week. Colts 2008 schedule is out and preseason is mere weeks away. Memorial Day weekend came and went without sweltering heat and with no red tomato incidents (actually, I ended up a nice golden bronze). In a manic moment, I dropped some cash on a new Lacoste short sleeve zipfront hoodie (thank you Andrea, for assuring me it will be *the* staple piece in my summer wardrobe). The kittens are eating dry food (this might actually be a bad thing, as I think I need to strike a deal with Purina to deliver by the pallet...). All of these, lovely, wonderful happenings!

And all overshadowed by the insane beast known as my boss. Long story short, my job is at a standstill, to say the least, and I am literally rotting away. The only upside to this is that I have narrowed my job down to a routine-like science, able to accomplish hours of work in a v. short time. This was a feat often rewarded by coming in late or leaving early (after all, what about all those 80 hour weeks at Christmastime...?) I'm usually able to compensate for the commute and the BS by reminding myself that I can get home and run, or surf, or KNIT, and that, for the most part, I call the shots at my store. This week, a lot of that was questioned and, basically outlawed. No more home early for nice sunset runs. No more leisurly lie-ins and strolling in at 10am, venti caramel mach in hand. No more perusing ravelry.com on work time. In a nutshell, GAH!!

Also brought up this week, the subject of promotion...! In this case, requiring relocation. To, I'm promised, an east coast location with the word "Beach" in it (an integral part of my mailing address and general state of mind). A move that would be "a choice that would further your career toward multi-store management". A move that would require buying a new home (easy right now, considering the market), and selling our current home (impossible right now, considering the market), not to mention moving 2 70 pound dogs and 14 small, wiggly cats. I could write on this subject for quite some time, but the general mood is that I don't know that this is it for me -- retail? For LIFE?? But what about my degree...?

My degree, that, by the rest of my 2003 class, will be celebrated for its 5 years of glory this weekend at Denison. At this point, travel is so expensive it might as well be in France. My alma matter is miles away, my 2 best friends who are the only ones I care to see are miles away, even the sports teams I support are miles away...!

Why can't I just pick up some sand, some ocean, some lovely palm trees, and slap them down within 100 miles of everything else I love? All I want is Lucas Oil, a fabulous country concert every other weekend, a 5k with a great sponsor every other month or so, a yarn store within 10 mintues, a happy hour that features $9.99 Coors Light cooler bags, and consistent 3-4 foot swell with nice form. Is that so much to ask...?

This general frustration has weighed on me the majority of the past week (don't get me wrong, I did enjoy a blissful 2 days in the surf and sun). To make matters worse, the weather is not cooperating. Some sort of low pressure system has left me with a severe sinus issue, making normal breathing excrutiatingly difficult. I have run TWICE in NINE DAYS, and both times I was convinced I would die of heat exhaustion. I managed to finish my 40 minute circuit and 1.5 mile runs as instructed this week, but there is not enough DriFit in the WORLD to soak up the puddle that is my body. I wait until at least 7:00 pm to start running, but it is still so humid and still outside that the heat is like a heavy blanket around me. I have been working on hydrating throughout the day (thanks for the PZero tip, Em -- obsessed with all flavors), but it's still not enough. Running is at a serious standstill, but I will admit that my arms are nice and tan.

I struggle daily to get the motivation to hit the pavement. I always read about people who work out their aggression, frustration, sadness, happiness, et al. via exercise, but I am simply not that girl. Diet Cherry Cokes (fountain only) and hot fudge cake sundaes remain my ultimate saviors in time of need.

Am focusing all internal struggle on an ultimate knitting project, and am working on some intarsia sample pieces to pick up the proper form for stranding. I want to create a Colts afghan complete with horseshoes, player numbers, and last names. It's going to be a doozy to tackle (ha, tackle!).

Less babble, more knitting next post. Promise.

Remember "Saved by the Bell: The New Class"?

This spinoff of one of my all-time favorite tv series does not look promising, even though it is being penned by Rob Thomas (most recently known for "Veronica Mars", better known for jump-starting the career of a girl from Toledo, OH).

Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling are already "signed on" to the project, and after reading a number of reports on the Internet, it looks as though nothing is definite. My favorite rumor is that the show centers around Andrea Zuckerman's daughter, Hannah, and Kelly is now the guidance counselor at Beverly Hills High.

I think I'll stick to the original 11 seasons of glory.

Unless they bring back this hottie.

As promised...

... here are some pics of my first successful knit garment!

Excuse the fact that I look 72% bald; I had just gotten home from work and it was pouring down rain outside.

You can see I chose to add a button at the bottom instead of pin it together at the top, as the pattern called for. I wasn't sure about this decision, because it kept slipping off my shoulders throughout the day, but everyone at work assured me that they loved the bottom button. If I made it again, I'd go a bit smaller and find a great pin for the top. I think next winter I will definitely need this piece in a steely grey color. Here's the back, which shows the raglan sleeve increases a bit better:

And finally, a pic of it flat (I tried putting it on a hanger, but it was too droopy in the shoulders).

All in all, a v. easy and satisfying project to knit. The only complaint I can muster is that the Bernat Bamboo yarn was *so* sheddy -- it was all over my camisole by the end of the day. I am so lazy, however, and I didn't even block the sweater when it was done, so the steam might have eliminated that problem.

As long as I'm posting pictures, here's the latest one of the kittens (Deane captured it today...) I like the raccoon-y striped one :)

Let me know what you think of my first attempt at knitwear! Also let me know if you'd like an adorable miniature kitten... :)

MA -- Miscellaneous Accomplishments.

A few things have happened the past couple of days...

I actually finished my Anthro-inspired capelet on Saturday, but have not yet taken pictures. There are a few reasons for this, but I would say the biggest one is that I am trying to nail this new Lauren Conrad-esque braided hair as a headband type hairstyle, and I haven't gotten it to look like much other than a rat's nest yet. I promise pics will be up soon (when I figure out how to make my hair cute, I mean).

Monday was my first *official* day of 5 weeks to a 5k training. I was instructed to "circuit 20 minutes", which means jog 'til you're winded, then walk to catch your breath, then jog again, for a total of 20 minutes. Much inspired by a new playlist sent my way by Linds (thanks, lady!), I started on my 5 minute warmup walk. I then started jogging, and when I looked down at my watch, was already at 18 minutes! I knew I could make it another 7, and I did -- my first time jogging for a full 20 minutes. A small accomplishment, but one that was much celebrated by way of new Nike DriFit running shorts (40% off PLUS employee discount...!).

Tonight, Deane made a delicious dinner of lean steak and pepper skewers on the grill and king crab legs, which helped me stay within my fitday.com required limits :) So tasty and healthy! He is a great cook and always wants to try new things (I had *no* idea how to make crab legs), and I love that. He also finished grouting the new shower in the bathroom and sanding the imperfections in the walls. We are so close to a fully remodeled master bath, all compliments of my v. handy man. Lots of productivity in this house!

Today I started my first original pattern -- a cropped black vest in Paton's Pooch. I have a serious love/hate relationship with this yarn. It has lots of adorable bobbles throughout, which is fabulous for covering mistakes, but it takes 2 full reruns of One Tree Hill (DVR'ed, no commercials) to cast on 81 stitches and knit the first row. For a super bulky yarn, it does *not* knit up quickly, and creates a lot of confusion within stitches (is it a loopy loop or an actual stitch?). Halfway through Idol, I thought about frogging the whole thing, but I am going to stick with it and see what happens. I am really hooked on knitting things I can wear now.

Pics soon! Have a great week!

A quick post.

*SO* much to blog about, so little time.

I am thinking of laying out my entire life onto a spreadsheet, including daily goals of caloric intake, knitting progress, and running time. Will also need to include time to learn blogger and make the most of this still-under-construction, sorry ass page. Hope that what I provide in content makes up for what I lack in impressive page-making skills.

Am also thinking of creating a Hal Higdon like training guide on how to become a knitter (or finish an unfinished project...!) I am using his methods to train for my first 5K.

Anthrolpologie capelet is almost finished. Expect pictures to be posted by Tuesday.

Lots more to come; stay tuned!