Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Paid Off! And Vegetables!

So a few weeks ago I was talking with Boyfriend and he asked me, "...So...how broke are you?" And I was all like "Not."

But even though I wasn't broke per se, I felt like I was having a hard time with debt, because I had quite a balance on my credit card (and by quite a balance I mean like $2,000, which is a lot for me).

And then, even though the conversation moved on, I spent the next week or so obsessing over it. Because that's how I roll. Worry, worry, worry.

I've been spending way too much money on going out to eat. I hate cooking; you all know that. And when I do cook, it's easy stuff like macaroni and cheese from a box or freezer things you microwave. And that gets old and boring, so I tend to go out and get a cheeseburger instead. Also, dating is inherently expensive.

So I decided to do two things: start getting Bountiful Baskets again and start cooking at home, and sell stuff I didn't need.

As far as selling stuff, I have some stuff that is valuable but I don't want to sell, such as my old wedding rings. Call me nostalgic, but I kinda want to keep them to remember all the good times by. It's not like it was a bad marriage. But then I have some stuff of value that I wasn't even using, such as my spinning wheel.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it or not. I hadn't spun in like a year, not since the alpaca fiasco of 2013. And a few months ago I went to a fiber festival with a friend and brought my wheel, and while I was spinning there, I was just so bored with it. I didn't want to do it. I don't like it anymore, and I want to spend more time knitting and less time spinning the yarn so I can then knit it.

So I decided to sell it. I put an ad up on a Ravelry for sale thread and within two days I had a buyer. I sold my wheel and all its accessories, spindles, niddy noddy, and all my spinning fiber for a total of $950. I shipped it off to the buyer (and didn't have to pay shipping) and then got the money into my Paypal account, and then I was sitting pretty.

Then I got my regular paycheck, and that along with the money from the wheel plus a bit from my savings account added up to a nice chunk of money and I completely paid off my credit card.

Now I'm going to switch back to cash only. The card will be there in case of emergencies, but I'm not going to use it much anymore.

Back to the  Bountiful Baskets:

I've been so excited to see what I get every week, and it's been fun and satisfying to figure out what to eat for each meal and how to work in all the food so nothing goes to waste. I'm eating most of it raw, to be honest, so there's actually not much cooking involved after all, and with the money I'm saving by bringing lunch to work every day instead of going out, it's pretty much paying for itself.

Plus I'm eating vegetables every day which is kinda revolutionary for me.

Friday, June 6, 2014

Brains, Anyone?

Me: I kinda wish I could find a happy medium between the Abilify and the Geodon. Something that would work well and keep my energy up, but still let me sleep at night.
Kwiddens: Let's get you a new brain.
Me: Okie!
Kwiddens: Have someone's in mind?
Me: Let's spring for an Einstein. I know it'll be more expensive, but I think in the long run it'll be worth it. I could go back to grad school!
Kwiddens: I think you're right. Worth the extra money. It might be on back order, though.
Me: :D
Kwiddens: Tee-hee. We're cool.
 

Thursday, June 5, 2014

An Eleven-Day Vacation In California!

So about three weeks after Boyfriend and I went on our first date he had a road trip scheduled with his sister to drive back to California to visit old friends and do touristy-type things, and he invited me to go with him, so I did! I figured it would be sort of a relationship-viability test, which he passed with flying colors.

We spent eleven days together (pretty much every second of every day) and I didn't get sick of him. Not even once. And that's a huge deal to me, because, as you all know, I'm a hermit by nature and I hate being around people a lot of the time. It's rare that I can spend that much time in someone's company and not go crazy. So that worked out well. It also turns out that he doesn't have any weird or annoying habits or quirks that bug me.

So what did we do on this vacation? I'll tell you!

We hit San Diego first, which is where Boyfriend used to live. While we were there we met his friends, saw a band live (the same band with whom he used to be roommates) at a bar (where I discovered another beer that I like)(although technically it's a cider, so I still don't like beer at all), spent a day at the San Diego Zoo (AMAZING), where we saw a ton of animals. It was the best zoo I've ever seen, and that's really saying something, seeing as I'd seen the Omaha zoo several years ago.

"Turtle, turtle!"

Eew.

Honey Badger Don't Give A Shit!


We also hit up Old Town San Diego, where there's a haunted house, and it was amazing. We went to Boyfriend's favorite used bookstore, where I bought some physics books (big surprise...). We saw the Museum of Man, which had a torture exhibit on loan from Italy (and it turns out that Boyfriend had seen the same exhibit in a museum in Italy, where it was actually in a dungeon and much creepier) and that was amazing and fascinating and really sick and sad at the same time. But we went through the rest of the museum and there were mummies and some spindles from ancient Egypt, so of course I had to take pictures of those:





Next up we hit Pasadena, which is about 30 minutes from L.A., so we were able to do things in both cities. We spent a day at the beach at Santa Monica pier, which was absolutely beautiful, and while we were there we ate seafood while looking at the ocean. I loved it. I put on SPF 50 and still burned, though. I'm so frakking pale. We went and hit Hollywood one day, and ate at the Hard Rock Café, where the food is mediocre at best and way too expensive (although everything in California is expensive). We saw the Hollywood Wax Museum, and that was kinda fun, and we saw all the stars along the sidewalks. I got a picture of Admiral Adama's (Edward James Olmos) from Battlestar Galactica, which is one of my favorite shows ever.




We also went to an art museum, where I actually got to see Degas ballerinas up close (and did you know he sculpted them as well as painted them? I had no idea!). I also saw a real Monet:


Just beautiful.

During the trip we hit several breweries, since Boyfriend is into beer, and in Pasadena we hit up a yarn store, since I'm into yarn. It's only fair, right? Anyway, I tried lots of beers from lots of places, and I think it's hopeless. I'm never going to find a beer I like. I'll stick with ciders, thank you very much. While we were there we picked up a lot of alcohol-type stuff that you can't get in Utah. I'm using it slowly so I don't run out quickly. I got souvenir beer for my friend who brews, also.

And our last day we were there we hit up Six Flags. It. Was. Amazing. I love roller coasters so much! And I got cotton candy and brought some home for Kwiddens as well. That was pretty much the perfect day.

The next morning we started heading home, which ended up taking two full days because the car broke down in Cedar City and Boyfriend's family had to come rescue us.

But it was still the best trip ever. And I think Boyfriend and I are probably going to travel more in the future.

I need to get a passport...

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

I Think I've Decided...

...to keep this blog the way it is. It's my life, my words, my stories...and it'll just continue on, just as I'm continuing on in real life.

The next question is...how long should Boyfriend and I date before I show him the blog? I mean, there are love letters to Scott on here...and stuff about the things we did together...would that be weird? I mean, Boyfriend seems to be cool with the fact that Scott and I are friendly, even though he says it's kinda weird (which it is), but how much more weird would it be for him to see what things used to be like and how I used to feel?

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Another Conversation With Kwiddens

Me:  I forgotted to bring lunch, precious.
Kwidedens Damn, you'll have to get a taco or a cheeseburger.
Me How terrible for me. MY ASS HURTS SO BAD [this was after a 14-mile bike ride]
Kwiddens I'll light a candle.
Me:  And say a prayer?
Kwiddens:  Yes.
Me:  Cool. I may get through these hard times.
Kwiddens:  For your cheeseburger and your ass.
Me:  Hehehehe
Kwiddens:  We're so weird.
Me:  And fun.
Kwiddens:  Yes.
Kwiddens:  That little snippet has to go on the blog.
 
Talking with Kwiddens on GChat all day makes the day go by so much more quickly!


Monday, June 2, 2014

I'll Be Warm Next Winter. And Adorable.


Yes, I know the picture is blurry, but I can't help it that my hands shake when I try to take pictures.

Anyway, I started this project like a year ago when I spun this. I just barely got around to finishing it, since I've now finished the shawl and I can knit whatever the hell I want from now on.

This is for me, and only me, because spinning the yarn myself takes so much extra time than when I use store-bought yarn, and I am totally worth that extra time.

They're pink and brownish purple and tan and white, and all together they match my brown winter coat magnificently.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

I Finally Finished A Project!

So while I try to decide what to do with this blog, I might as well show off a few things I've finished lately. I have my knitting mojo back. In fact, it's flourishing, because let me show you the prettiest thing I've ever made:



Remember when I started the lace wedding shawl for my dear friend?

Here's a close-up of the tip:


And here it is spread out on my couch:


So basically I had been knitting it, and it turns out that I hate knitting lace so effing badly that even though I was about 2/3 of the way through it, I didn't have the willpower to plow through it and finish. So I ripped it out. It hurt. I had put probably 50 or 60 hours into that thing, but I detested it so much that it just had to go.

So I thought about it, and decided that I love crocheting more than knitting, and I crochet wicked fast, and wouldn't it be fun to design something all by myself, and look what happened.

It's soft, and warm, and snuggly, and when my friend got it in the mail she gushed about how wonderful it was and I felt so good about myself right about then!

I've known this friend since high school. She was (and still is) one of the most amazing people I've ever met and I feel so lucky to have her in my life still, even after all this time. She's one of those friends with whom you can go a very, very long time without getting a chance to talk, but when you do get a chance to make a call you talk for hours about everything and it's like you never stopped talking at all. I love her so much. She's always been there for me. I wanted to make her something beautiful, and unique, and that she could treasure for the rest of her life and pass down to her kids someday.

I feel so accomplished. And now that I've finished it, I decided I want one of my own, so I ordered yarn to make another one. And this time, when I make it, I'll write down the pattern that is still just in my mind and I'll try to either sell it on Ravelry or else see if I can get it published in a book, because DAMN it turned out so well. And now I've got the designing bug, and I just want to create more lacy things because I'm a total badass like that.