In honor of the holidays...

...I present a holiday meme!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Definitely hot chocolate - I've never had eggnog in my life.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Santa used to do both. Normally, the big presents like bikes or computers or hamsters were unwrapped (actually, I'd hope that the hamster was unwrapped because otherwise it might have died). Occasionally, the gift that my sister and I shared would be unwrapped. Everything else Santa gave us would be wrapped.
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?
It's colored lights except for the iciscle lights on the house because my mom thinks white is too boring. When I get a house of my own, I'll decorate with white lights.
4. Do you hang mistletoe?
Yep. It's been hung every year over the entranceway by the front door. This year might be different though because we have a new house.
5. When do you put up your decorations?
Sometime before Christmas - I'm really bad at remembering when.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
Chicken and dressing. My granny used to make it, and now my mom does. It has to be some of the best stuff in the world! And, if I'm lucky, I will have gotten it for Thanksgiving too!
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?
I don't know if I'd call this one a favorite but it's the one I remember best. One year for Christmas I'd gotten the movie Wild America and I went completely crazy over it (in fact, I believe that I kissed the cover). My mom got a little offended though because I was way more excited about getting a video than whatever my big present was that year. But, what did you expect - I was in 6th grade and had a huge crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa?
I was in elementary school (I'm not quite sure when but I think maybe about 4th grade), and I discovered the truth about Santa by analyzing his handwriting. Geeky, I know, but I was a geeky kid. Truth was that one year I thought the writing on the tags from Santa looked a lot like my mom's handwriting, and it turns out that it was.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Yes, I do. Christmas Eve is when I celebrate Christmas with my dad's side of the family.
10. What kind of decorations are on your Christmas Tree?
Colored lights, an assortment of ornaments that have been collected over the years, and an angel on top.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread?
I like it, but then again, I've never really seen real snow - you know, the kind that actually sticks to the ground and you can form snowballs and snowmen out of. I've lived in Houston my whole life except for when I'm in Austin for school, and while Houston has had snow before, it kind of melts before it hits the ground. And, that's only like every 5 years or something like that. Last time I saw snow in Houston was when it snowed on Christmas Eve a few years back.
12. Can you ice skate?
No, though I have always wanted to.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
Yep. It was my dog Freckles. I was in 6th grade, and my aunt got my sister and me two Australian Shepherds.
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Getting to spend time with my family.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
The sugar cookies we make each year. It's the only time my mom ever bakes them.
16 What is your favorite holiday tradition?
Making the annual Christmas cookies. Used to be that we'd pick a day, and my aunt would come over and help me and my sister make the sugar cookies. My mom would work on the other cookies with my sister and me helping every now and then. My sister and I would make the sugar cookie dough, and my aunt would roll it out. Then, my sis and me would cut out the shapes with the cookie cutters we fought over. After that, we'd sprinkle them with red and green sugar and then bake them. I miss those days.
17. What tops your tree?
An angel that lights up.
18. What is your favourite holiday book?
The Night Before Christmas. Sadly, it's about the only holiday book I've ever read.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Tough choice - I have so many. But, the song I'm most wanting to hear right now is George Strait's When It's Christmas Time In Texas.
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yummy?
Yummy when I'm in the mood which doesn't happen much.

Knitting content to come soon!

oh the weather outside is frightful

Well, the weather isn't really frightful, just really cold. Winter in Texas has definitely been interesting this year - Thursday was the first real cold (temps were below 50) day Austin had this year but it was in the 80s Wednesday. The funny thing is that I was complaining about how it didn't feel like winter because it was so hot, and now that it's cold, I'm wishing that it was warmer again. Oh well, knowing Texas weather it might actually get hot again in a week. At least for now the weather is cold enough for me to wear scarves!

So, school is finally wrapping up. I have one more week of classes, then a week of finals, and I'll be back home on the 17th. It seems like this semester just began yesterday. It's hard to believe that I'm already halfway through my third year in college. It seems to have flown by so fast, and it doesn't help that after my first semester I decided engineering wasn't the route for me and then spent the next year and a half taking really basic classes to raise my GPA to hopefully get into business. Now, I'm an accounting major who's trying to figure out how she's going to cram all of the classes she needs to take into a year and a half and secure the required internship that's needed to graduate. It also doesn't help that I'm really hoping to get into the PPA program at UT which would add on at least a year to my studies. But, things will fall into their rightful places eventually. Now, I've got to focus on writing my final history paper for my US history class, decide if I want to revise my East Asian history paper for a higher grade, finish some stat homework, and start studying for the finals I have in 5 of my classes. How glad I'll be when winter break begins.

To keep myself sane, I've been reading and knitting. I'm still working away on my granny's shawl though I haven't touched it in almost a week. I'm on the 5th repeat of Chart 1. I just don't have enough time at the moment to dedicate to this project. Hopefully, I'll be able to work nonstop on it after my finals are over. I'm almost finished with my Fetching mitts - I just need to do the thumbs on each one. Finally, as far as knitting goes, I'm working on a secret project of sorts so no pictures of that yet. In fact, no pictures of anything because I keep forgetting to load pictures on my memory stick so I can upload them in the computer lab on campus. Lately though, I've been reading way more than knitting because frankly, I'm bored with my knitting (though I did knit all afternoon and while watching the Polar Express on TV). I finally finished reading the major works of Jane Austen. Yesterday, I finished reading Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier. Today, I finished Dickens' A Christmas Carol (which I believe I've only read once before and that was because my eighth grade English class went to go see the play performed at the Alley Theater in Houston), and started The Chimes. I'm itching to start reading Lady Susan by Jane Austen (I just got it last week) but I'm going to have to be a good girl and read the book I have to read for my history class first. I've already determined the first book I'm going to read after my finals are over - Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan. I will admit that I've become slightly obsessed with reading the Pride and Prejudice knock-offs as I call them. Granted, none of them are as good as the original, but I've become quite fond with this series. I read the first book, An Assembly Such as This, about a month ago and was quite intrigued with how Aidan tells Pride and Prejudice from Darcy's perspective. Hopefully, the second book will live up to the first.

Well, I guess I've rambled enough. Until next time.

where has the time gone?

Well, I wish that I could say that my long abscence was due to a knitting frenzy, but the truth is that I'm kind of bored with my knitting. My granny's Icarus shawl has gotten to a point where it takes me almost an hour to complete two rows, so I just keep setting it aside. Then, the sock I started has reached a point where I only work on it when I am completely and utterly tired. Then, because it was just starting to get cool in Austin, I started knitting a pair of Fetching mitts - I completed one except for the thumb, but I've stopped working on that because the wonderful Texas weather returned to its normal hot self (though today was a nice cool day with winds blowing so hard I felt that I could fly). Add to this the fact that I've been bogged down with tests (3 last week with 2 on the same day), a major group presentation, plus an 8-page research paper that's not even really a research paper. Then I had a mock interview today for one of my business classes which I was totally not prepared for but that was okay because it ended up being nothing serious. Add to that the fact that I'm having roommate problems, and I haven't had time to do much. Luckily, Thanksgiving is next week, so things should calm down for at least a week. Man, I'm looking forward to my Thanksgiving holiday. I've already got it planned out - stuffing myself with good food on Thanksgiving day, sleeping late, catching up on the TV shows I missed (especially Grey's Anatomy and House), knitting lots on my shawl, and reading lots. In fact, I've already started mentally preparing a list of books I want to read over my break. Plus, I can't wait to go home because I will have boxes of books waiting for me! Yay for Barnes and Noble and Amazon!

Speaking of books, here's a book meme that I've been wanting to do for awhile:
1. One book that changed your life:
I really wish that I could remember the title of the book, but I think it might have been The Animal Kingdom ABC by Suzanne Velk (I'm not entirely sure because I just did a random search and can't find a picture to verify). But anyway, this was the very first book that I ever checked out from the library. I was probably in kindergarten or first grade, and we got to go the school library. I remember my teaching reading this book to us, which had these really beautiful illustrations of animals, and I just had to check it out for myself. Each illustration was accompanied by a letter of the alphabet, and I remember falling in love with this book. This probably cemented my love of libraries, books, and art at an early age.
2. One book that you've read more than once:
There are a few books that I've read more than once but I have to say that I've probably read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott the most times. I remember in elementary school that I used to check this book out constantly - I can even remember that it was an old hardcover version that was blue with only the title and author printed on the cover. Then, I'd come home and take an old sheet that normally had the Popples on it and tie it around my waist then go sit in our old brown recliner and start reading my book pretending that I was one of the March sisters. Sadly, after elementary school, I didn't pick the book up again until probably my senior year in high school when I ended up buying the Barnes and Noble Classic version of the novel. I've read it a couple of times since, and I can honestly say it's a book that I will never grow tired of. I also remember in elementary school that I tried to read the other two books about the March family - I read Little Men once and started Jo's Boys but never finished that.
3. One book you'd want on a desert island:
This is tough, but I'm probably going to have to choose Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. This is another book that I've read more than once (actually, I've only read it two times, but it is definitely one of my all-time favorite books), and I can easily picture myself reading the story of Elizabeth and Darcy over and over again until I'm rescued. Plus, when I'm bored, I can always pass time by imagining my very own modern day Darcy.
4. One book that made you laugh:
I actually can't think of one book that has made me laugh. I know that parts of books have made me laugh, but none of them come to mind.
5. One book that made you cry:
Lots of books make me cry. The most recent one I cried over while reading was The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. This book was so good and so sad and so beautiful! I also cried during Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (though oddly enough I didn't cry in the sixth HP book).
6. One book you wish had been written:
Ok, I'm going to fudge this one a bit because the book is currently being written, but it hasn't been published yet so that's good enough for me. I seriously wish that the seventh Harry Potter book was written - I've gone too long without a new Harry Potter and I'm now starting to really get the itch to figure out how the series ends.
7. One book you wish had never been written:
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I'm not normally a person to hate books, but I seriously despise this book. I'm also the odd person who actually enjoys the books I had to read during school. But seriously, I hated this book big time, and if it hadn't been for the fact that I had to read the book to write a paper comparing Dimmesdale and Chillingworth.
8. One book you're currently reading:
Persuasion by Jane Austen. I never got to read any Austen in school, so I'm making up for it now. After reading Pride and Prejudice, I became obsessed with Jane Austen and bought most of her books over the summer and just recently ordered Lady Susan which should be waiting for me when I come home for Thanksgiving. After I'm through with this book, I'll start Northanger Abbey and then I'll be through with Austen's main works.
9. One book you've been meaning to read:
Lone Star Nation by H.W. Brands. I bought this books a few years ago when I was at Sam's Club with my mom. I've always loved history, and this book caught my eye. Then, I ended up taking a history class taught by the author - I fell in love with the class and the style of teaching, but I still haven't read this book even though I really want to. Hopefully, I'll start it during my Thanksgiving break.
10. Some favorite books not on this list:
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, His Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Once and Future King by T.H. White, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Okay, I think I've made this post long enough for now. Until next time.

So, long time no speak. College life with its classes and tests and essays just seems to get in the way of my posting. But, I have been knitting.

This is my Icarus Shawl after the 2nd Chart 1 repeat. I've actually done a little more than this so far. It's taking me close to 45 minutes to do two rows, so I'm hoping that it gets done before Christmas. If not, my granny will just be getting an IOU.

I do have a FO - I call it my Harry Potter scarf. I whipped this baby out in a couple of days when I needed a halloween costume for a halloween carnival I was volunteering at.

Harry Potter Scarf
Pattern: My own
Yarn: Red Heart in Burgundy and some yellow-gold color
Needles: Boye Straight US 9

The stripe pattern is pretty simple. Cast on 30 stitches, and then using garter stitch, work 30 rows for a large stripe, and then the smaller stripes are four rows each. Continue this pattern ending on a large stripe until it's the length you want.

Finally, I've started a sock for Socktoberfest - too bad it won't be anywhere near finished by the time October ends. Here's my progress so far:

This is the first sock I've ever made. I'm using Lion Brand Magic Stripes and Susan Bates size 3 needles. I'm hoping to have this sock completed by the end of the week and then start on its mate. So far, I'm really enjoying knitting socks.

Well, that's all I've been working on. Now, it's time to get back to school (ugh!) At least I don't have any tests for a couple more weeks.

Socks!

I know I'm a little late, but I didn't want to post anything until I learned how to put buttons on my sidebar. So, I've only been knitting for a little over a year, and lately I've been itching to knit me some socks. But, I've kept putting off knitting my first pair. Well, I found out about Socktoberfest a few weeks ago and decided that this was the perfect time for me to make some socks. I have the yarn and the needles and joined Socktoberfest 2006, and I'm raring to go! So, before the month is out, I will have started my very first pair of socks! Hopefully I'll be able to finish at least one sock before November 1st.

In my early days of knitting, all I made was scarves. Then, I made my first hat this past May. This summer was devoted to dishcloths, a cell phone case for my sister, and a stuffed penguin for my grandpa. Then, I decided that I needed something a little more challenging. My granny is always complaining about being cold and not having anything decent to cover up with when company comes. So, I decided that for Christmas I was going to knit her a shawl - more specifically the Icarus Shawl from the Summer 2006 issue of Interweave Knits. Here's what I've done so far (though I've added a few more rows since this picture was taken):

The yarn is Knitpicks Shadow in Jewels, and I'm using size US 3 circular needles also from Knitpicks. My goal is to have this completed by Thanksgiving, so I have a almost a month and half to finish it. Well, it's time for me to head off to class. Until next time.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog, and my very first post! I created this blog so that I can talk about my knitting and show off my knitting projects. So, stay tuned and see what I've been knitting!