A friend to sow my wild oats with

Have you ever had a childhood friend that you did everything with?

I once had a friend whom I met in 8th grade. We became fast friends and did everything together through out high school. All the bad things - that is. Countless school days have been skipped together just so we can go to the mall to try on clothes, or stay home to watch TV.

She was the friend whom I snuck out of the house with to go to an underground rave club at 15. She was the one to suggest that we hang out at Dunkin Donut at 2am to smoke ciggies and over-dose ourselves on bad coffees. She was the person that I tried shop-lifting with.

Also, she was the hot-headed friend who always seems to manage to pissed some bully off at a club which would ended up with either her or both of us getting kicked out of that particular club but a mean looking bouncer.

We would sit and talk about all of our current boyfriends and cry over each other’s several pregnancy scares. She was the one who had taught me that high heels and a really short skirt can go a long way to getting what you want.

She was the sort of friend who was so cool that every parent cringed when they see their young teenage daughter becoming fast friends with. All in all, she was the friend who taught me what it is to be confidence, how to have fun, how to laugh and how to throw caution to the wind.

She was always the cooler one. She was super cute, with a great figure and great taste in clothes. Men would flock to her and totally ignore me if we were together. She was very tough and knows what she wanted in life. However, under that tough shell, there lays a very vulnerable girl. I think my understanding of that vulnerability has what made us good friends.

After high school, we both attended some community college classes. I ended up getting a transferred to Assumption University in Thailand and she ended up moving to California to pursue a career in fashion marketing.

As this was before the wide usage of the internet and emails, we lost touched. I started my career in Hotel Managements and stayed near my hometown until I married my Canadian husband 7 years ago and moved to Canada.

Every so often, I have tried Googling her but never seem to be able to come up with anything. Then yesterday, Google came up with her husband’s web-site and there she was! I found out that she is still living in California with her husband and toddler with another baby on the way.

With the power of the internet, we finally connected and I look forward to catching up with her after 15 years!

Friendship never dies!!!

Me bad blogger

Recently I have became notorious for not updating my blog. I know - me so bad.

It's just that a lot of my knitting and spinning activities are now posted and recorded on Ravelry. I find that I will log all my purchases there and neglect my poor, lonely blog.

In the recent months, I have been matched up with an awesome secret pal and her pirate cats. They spoil me to no ends! I have received 2 packages from here which leaves me gob-smacked and rediculously giddy. Her packages are wonderful and indulgent!

This was the first package

This was the 2nd oneI can't wait to find out who she is!

Every year I convinced my hubby that the money I am dropping at the Kitchener - Waterloo knitter's fair is an early birthday present for myself. That's the only way I can justified spending that much money on fibre. Every year when my birthday rolls around in October - I conviently forget every time.

This year I had an awesome time. I took $200 in cash with me and spent it all. I left there with 3 dimes, 4 pennies and a quarter!

I was very happy to see more vendors this year and more spinning items. Me so happy!

SP 14 Questionnaire

What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely not like? I love wool and natural fiber, especially ones that are very soft and lofty. I do not knit with acrylics. Sometime I will use a blended wool/acrylic if I am knitting for babies or kids.

What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I only use circular needles for all my knittings and I keep it in a Della Q pouch that was made especially for it.

How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I have been knitting for 3 years and was self taught. I was pregnant with my 2nd baby when I had the urge to knit him a hat and booties. I would consider myself to be intermediate/Advanced.

Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? no

What’s your favorite scent? Citrus, powder and peppermint

Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Not really but every now and then, I will crave chocolates and I will eat it in pounds. I love Milk Chocolate with Almonds

What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I am a fledgling spinner. I bought my first wheel in April (Schact Ladybug) and I recently started dyeing my own roving.

What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like the typical top 40's

What’s your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can’t stand? I love muted colours and neutral. I don't particular like anything that is neon.

What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am happily married for 6 years with 2 kids. (3 years old boy and 5 years old daughter). Aside from 2 fishs, we do not have any other pets.

Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear Scarves, hats and mittens. Not poncho

What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I love knitting Socks and Sweaters

What are you knitting right now? Socks

Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Yes

Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I am a die-hard addi turbo fan

Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yes, both

How old is your oldest UFO? 2 years

What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe? Any holiday that requires a day off from work is my favorite! But if I have to pick, it would be Christmas.

Is there anything that you collect? I don't Collect - I hoard! LOL.. Actually, just fiber at the moment.

Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I have been wanting the "Teach yourself visually: hand-dye" and "Colors in Spinning" and "Spinner's Companion". I subscribe to Verena Knitting.

Are there any new techniques you’d like to learn? Knitting socks from the toe up

Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? Yes and I wear a size 8 shoes

When is your birthday? October 5

Are you on Ravelry? If so, what’s your ID? Yes and I am joyja

Flowers from my garden

I love it when my garden gives me pretty flowers to cut. I feel very Martha Stewart today.

An Urban Myth

The Mother of All Knitting Book!

For all you serious knitters out there, the title speaks for itself.

I can't beleive that I am the proud new owner of this book!

Broken Hopes and Dreams

It's been a while since I was able to post something on this blog. It is because I have been so busy running around with the kids. My hubby broke his leg/ankle while playing soccer 2 weeks ago. Ever since then he has been limping around and seeking pity attention any chance he can get.

I am now the sole chauffeur for the household at the moment since Hubby broke his right ankle and can't drive. So now I am a full time cook, bather, playtime monitor, sweeper, clothes changer, diaper changer, laudryest, chauffeur, hotel executive and wife. I didn't realize what a help hubby was until he went off and crippled himself.

I felt sorry for his toes since might freeze to death so I knitted him this:

I called it the Crippled Toe Coverer.

Also, since Spring is coming and I guess it's that time again to shed off the winter weight - well, in my case, the last 10 years weight, I got myself a fitness program. On Sunday I joined a walking group. Since I am not one to start anything moderately (like buying a wheel before knowing how to spin), I did a power 10k walk on my first outing.

I developed muscle sore in places I didn't even know existed. I went from pain, to sever pain, to a dull numbness and eventually losing all coordination and motor skills. I limped the last 2k back and almost collasped into my car. I'm suppose to be doing this every Sunday morning. Wow - I am looking forward to next week already (can you sense the enthusiasm in my voice)

Here's my fitness plan -

Sunday Morning - 5-10k walk / Monday Night - Cardio Latin Dance 1 hour / Tuesday- Yoga (I'm not sure how I would do in this class since I can't even bend down to touch my f*#~!ing knees) / Wednesday - Ball room Dancing 1.5 hours

That should do it. I should be able to drop those 50- lbs by November. If not, I just be another fat person with extensively cute Yoga outfits. My hubby is convinced that the reason I joined a yoga class is because I want to shop at lululemon. I'm afraid he's right.

SP Revealed

I finally found out who has been my secret pal for the last 3 months. Agnes had sent me an awesome package.Cute Chocolates, Green Tea Gummies, a Kitchener stitch Dog Tag, Merino/Bamboo roving and a cute card.

For the last couple of packages, I was totally convinced that she is a bit psychic since she always manage to get me something that I have been drooling for. Now I am totally convinced that she had hacked into my computer, installed a software to track the websites that I have been to and bought the stuff just to freak me out.

Just weeks ago, I was on Robyn's Nest website checking out the Kitchener Stitch Dog Tags and thought to myself that it was complete genius. Every time I need to graft my socks, I would haul out my big knitting How-to books since I can never remember how to set it up. Now I can have the instructions in my knitting bag all the time. I even added the item to my cart but never check it out. Imagine my squeal when I saw it!

Now for the Roving. She got me a beautiful merino/bamboo roving in "Lagoon" colorway. Ok, here's the even more freaky part. For the last 3 weeks, I have been putting together the itinerary for our family vacation in Thailand in November. This is going to be a $10,000 once in a life time trip. We are going to Bangkok, Chiang Mai , and Phuket.

I have just finished confirming and booking our kayak tour of the Andaman Sea and Caves. We will be kayaking into this "lagoon".

Trust me, the water is really that colour. It is milky green from the limestone.

Absolutely amazing! That can't be just a coincidence.

I think I will spin this up and save it for the knitting on the 24 hour plane ride I will be taking to get there.

Thank you Agnes! For your kindness and your thoughtfulness!