Sometimes the Big Box is Worth It

Border's dangled a carrot of a rewards program and coupons to lure me into the store.

I received a 40% off coupon for dvd box sets right after my brother told me he wanted Joan of Arcadia for Christmakkuh. It was enough to get me into the doors. And once I'm through the doors, I'm a sucker.

I ended up walking out with over 16 things for which I paid 30% of their total value (boo ya!), and they actually complete a whole buttload of holiday gifts for me. sweet. Always, always check the paperchase section for all kinds of crazy goodies.

Somehow, with arms filled with all that crap, I did manage to get Joan of Arcadia.

memory failing

Logging into google is one of those automatics, done so frequently that my mind can stop thinking and just type. 99% of the time, the automatic goes well and I get to filter through my gmail and move on with my day. Today was that 1% of the time. The automatic was the old one - the old password that is so quick to slip from my fingertips. The sad part is that it took three tries to get to the right automatic. One for every decade I suppose.

While skills build and other tasks become automatic for me (after numerous attempts and at least a mile of garter stitch, I have mastered continental knit stitches)... other things seem to fade, such as my memory.

To make up for this, I've started carrying around a journal in my purse. One that has a pencil pouch as the front cover filled with an orange pen, gluestick, scissors and colored pencils.

When this notebook is filled, I'm going to have to find a system for adding a pouch to a new notebook. This is incredibly convenient.
Here are my original plans for my niece's camera case. Super secret. Only steal it if you're going to use it. Actually, I stole it from a craftster tutorial.
Of course, I would be useless in any sort of shopping scenario during the past two weeks without my holiday gift giving guide, color-coded with what is being handmade and what is already purchased. And it's easy to pencil things in as people tell you "Hey, I want this..."

I'm also extremely notorious for writing down quick and easy knitting patterns when I can't (or won't) print them out.

Now writing in this notebook is becoming... automatic. If only I could make referencing it the same...

Thankful... last of November

Honestly, I'm so thankful for everything I have in my life, the people, the experiences, the moments that cannot be recreated. It's all something wonderful.

So I'll keep it simple for this last one 30) memes (from Harriet). (Provides procrastination for me!)

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I was supposed to be named after a great someone, but after hours and hours of labor, my mom shouted out a much-shorter version. My name is not Victoria.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Lately, I'm miss emotional, so I cry over all the stupid stuff. I cried when I found out that college grad in House MD had radiation poisoning and was going to die. Sad.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Love it. I love how I stupidly intermingle cursive and print and block-style writing. I love how I've trained myself to make Es as C's with an extra line. The thanks goes to my math professors for teaching me the Greek letters that gave me such inspiration.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Avocado. Vegetarian here... I do like tofurkey slices.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Do pets count? How about nephews who I treat like my own? One of my closest friends is going to have twin boys (or so I say - we'll get confirmation on 12/10), and I will be the super fun and cool aunt to the second one.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I can be pretty anti-social, so it is hard to be friends with me. I'm happy with the friends I have. They understand that when I don't answer the phone, it's because I don't want to chat.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? I'm better at being direct and annoying. But sarcasm slips in a bit too.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Non-committal, sure. At this moment though, I would only do it with a chest harness, not from the ankles.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Multi-grain cheerios with soy milk.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Usually, no.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Nope. Have to work on that.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? I don't do dairy ice cream... too rich for me. I like sorbet and italian ice though.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Weight, honestly.

15. RED OR PINK? Red.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Lack of confidence - working on that though.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Right now, Sierra. Every now and then, Chipmunk.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Nope. But like Harriet, I actually like this one - so if you want to blog it - have at it.

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Shoe-free at home so I'm wearing gray argyle socks with blue & purple triangles.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Hot chocolate and ranch/parmesan popcorn. (Wow that sounds disgusting.)

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Bruce Almighty in the background.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Outrageous ORANGE!

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Caramel corn... mmmm. Incense.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? laboy

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I like the persona of the blogwriter whose blog I stole this from.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? I love baseball, period - in person or on television. I really enjoy it. At the arena - hockey and basketball.

27. HAIR COLOR? I love fake red, orange, yum. That's the way I get it done... I think my natural color is boring blahnd.

28. EYE COLOR? Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? I prefer to wear glasses, but I do have contacts.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? I'm on a brie kick right now.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Scary!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? At the theatre, my nephew and I saw Transporter 3. Jason Statham is an A-List actor, according to him. I do like his action.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Brown hoodie over gray senate shirt over black paris shirt.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer. Although, if you're warm enough, winter is ok.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Neither.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Pie! I love cream pies...

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? n/a

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? n/a

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? The Confidence Plan by Timothy Ursin.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mouse pad, nowhere on any of my computers - only laptops. (even at work!)

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? My nephew and I watched Elf, and I fell asleep to Psych's holiday special. I'm still ticked I slept through the end!

42. FAVORITE SOUND? A cat's meow.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Love Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Can't choose.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? I think San Francisco is the furthest away I've ever been.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Erm. I can type really fast and never took a class. I guess I'm good at teaching myself stuff - like how to fundraise and how to sew and how to knit and even how to cook.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Elk Grove Village, Illinois

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? n/a