Post-Weekend Update - March 25, 2007

Before I show you how far I have gotten on my Monkey sock, I have to tell you how crazy a week it has been.

On Wednesday, I got a nice, to-the-point letter from OSU College of Vet Med informing me of my "selection to the Class of 2011, beginning in the fall term, 2007." Yay! The past five years have actually gotten me somewhere. I can sleep a little bit easier now. It really is a big relief. Everyone asks me if I am excited, and I haven't gotten to that point yet because I'm still stuck on "relieved."

On Thursday, my peeps at work gave Laurel and I a cake (Laurel also got in). This is a momentous occasion because I never get cakes. I had to talk my mom into getting me one for my birthday because no one else would!

And finally, today around 6:00pm my sister gave birth to Carter, my newest (and first!) nephew! She had made an appointment to have labor induced on Thursday and he decided he would come a few days early, two days after her due date. My mom and I had made plans to drive down there together on Wednesday, but she ended up having to go down today to be in the delivery room with her. Therefore I will be driving to Austin on Wednesday by myself. This scares me a little. But it will also be an adventure.

Okay, so here's monkey so far!


I'm just about done with the fourth round of the lace pattern, so I have 2 more rounds until I start working on the heel. I really like these colors together, although I think they might be too busy for this sock. Also, Tofutsies smells like my koolaid-dyed natural wool, or equivalently a wet fruity sheep, which I can't say is my favorite scent in the world. However, I will keep trucking on! I'm sure I will get some done while I am at my sister's.

xoxo!

Oh my gosh! You'd think that since I hadn't updated in over a year I might have actually been busy. Well I guess I have been, but that's no excuse.

Quick Year Summary:
Graduated! I am now a proud owner of a Bachelor's Degree in Zoology/Biomed Sciences.
Applied! My vet school application with references and personal statement was due back in October. In late February, I got an invitation for an interview, and on March 8th I drove up to Stillwater, OK to interview with an OSU Vet College faculty member, a local practitioner, and a fourth year student at the school. Next week I should know whether I got in!

So, what people like to ask at this point is "what have you been doing since you graduated in December?"

Well, I had to start working full time to pay all my bills. This was more a decision made by my parents than anything else. Sucks!

I am finishing a correspondence course required by the vet school called Animal Nutrition. Luckily the exams are not cumulative.

I am half way through the Expert level of Guitar Hero II, and not yet half way done with my correspondence class. I'm proud to have my priorities straight.

I have adopted a dog! Her name is River, because of my fascination with all things Firefly lately. This is her, pointing out that modems are boring:

She is part Heeler part Border Collie part Random Other Breeds. She keeps me busy with walks and our weekly obedience classes, which are nightmares, by the way. She cannot listen to me when there are a hundred other more interesting animals walking about.

I also spend a lot of time with my friends and family.

So where does knitting fit into the mix?

Well, my sister is due to have a baby any second. She and her husband have chosen not to know the gender until it pops out. Because of this, I knitted her a totally awesome and totally neutral-gendered lace baby sweater, along with a couple of hats:

The sweater is from a pattern in Hip Knits by Better Homes and Gardens. My mother purchased this book on clearance for me, and it has a couple of cute patterns. The yarn I used was Lion Brand Micro Spun in Mocha. The buttons are hand-painted and polka-dotted and I found these at JoAnn's Fabrics. One of the buttons said "BABY" on it, but that was too cheesy even for me. The sweater started to wear down my nerves when I made a bad cut when I was hiding the LAST yarn end and had to redo the left sleeve completely, which entailed taking apart all the seaming from around the arms to the bottom of the sweater. Argh! I had to take a month away from it before I could finish. The hats are Umbilical Hats from S'NB and were knit during a couple of Grey's Anatomy reruns. Can't remember the brands of the yarns, but they are cheep cotton/cotton-blends from Hobby Lobby.

Another project I finished was a pair of Glittens for a co-worker. She wanted something very warm, because we were going through one of the worst winters we've had in a long time, and she also requested multi-colored yarn so they wouldn't look dirty so quickly. This is what I came up with:

Pattern was Urban Necessity, which I have made several pairs of before. Yarn is from Hobby Lobby and once again I don't have the brand name or color.

Finally, this weekend I cast on for a project just for me. It is Monkey by Cookie A, who just recently posted her new design website at CookieA.com. I love her work and I love her mannequin leg. Here is what I've done so far.

I know, sad! But the yarn is teeny so I'm using that as my excuse. It's Tofutsies yarn in colorway 724 "Foot the Bill." I got two skeins of Tofutsies yarn with a birthday gift certificate from my sister. Very pretty colors, and made of chitin, which is weird and therefore neat! Soo in about ten years I will have these gorgeous socks done and I can start widdling down the other skein.

Well that's all my fingers can type right now! Promise not to wait a year until my next update.