Organization (cha cha cha)

This is going to sound crazy for those who read this and work with me, but I love the organization at work. Not the part where the people before me organized and labeled wrong, but what I do like is that everything (seemingly) has its own place. Or at least ample space for things to have their own places. At home, I don't have that luxury. The selling point for my current apartment was the fact that the units came with either a fireplace (fun at Christmas, not fun for a hot-blooded person like me) or built-in bookshelves. I immediately requested a unit with bookshelves and would not settle for one with a fireplace. It was that important to me. Anyway, one day I would love to have a room (or multiple rooms) with wall to wall bookshelves so I can keep my movies, books, cookbooks, etc. I always loved the grand library in those manors in older movies.


So because I crave organization (I bet my Giraffe is laughing at this statement), I am in love with websites that help me out. Thanks to Posie, I discovered a wonderful little community that helps you organize your knitting and crocheting projects. At the moment, you have to sign up to get on the waiting list because it's in beta mode, but soon that will not be the case. It's called Ravelry (cute name!) and here's a peek at what it looks like from the inside!


It reminds me of another one of my favorite websites, Goodreads. Goodreads allows you to set up an electronic library of the books you have read, are reading, and want to read. Gone are the days when I would wander around the bookstore or library aimlessly asking myself, "Now, what was it I wanted to read?" If I remember to check my list, this is no longer a problem. It's also a nice way to see when you read a certain book to bring back childhood memories. I have everything on my list from the Boxcar Children books that I read in elementary school to things I read in my college lit class like Gilgamesh and Dante's Inferno. If you can see in this little picture, the last book I finished was "Big Boned" by Meg Cabot. Fun little read to fall asleep to.


I'm currently reading 4 books, which is a first for me to have more than one book at a time, because I feel the need to satisfy those different parts of my brain. I have a health book, a biography, a bestseller, and now a book on CD that everyone read in middle school to listen to
while driving to work and everyone is either road-raging, applying make-up, or fighting to stay awake. Not me. I will be reliving those awkward moments of my youth where no one felt pretty and everyone was singing Bush and Nirvana. Yeah, I'm a young'un.

Project: Crochet Booties

My cats love me.

For Christmas I wanted to make a lot of the presents I was giving out because I was working through a temp agency and wasn't sure if I was going to have a paycheck around the holiday season. I was the receptionist so I answered the five or so phone calls of the 8 hour day and tried to find things to keep me busy. My first sanity-saving idea was to read, but that turned out to be reading 5-6 books a week. Now, I have always loved reading, but part of me was bored. Then I got the bright idea to crochet. 

I had learned to crochet years ago and got reacquainted through Lion Brand Yarn's website because they had some nice tutorials and free patterns. I made some wonderful pink leg warmers, several hats, a scarf, and a muff. I had so much fun learning and piquing the curiosity of co-workers since my projects had become part of their daily routine. They would walk by my desk, see brightly colored yarn thrown everywhere, my determined face, and would inevitably stop and ask "So, what are you working on today?"

Lion Brand also had a handy newsletter which featured a charity of the month type thing. Last month, it was The Preemie Project. So I made some booties, modeled by my lovely assistant Sylvester. Next, I'm going to try my hand at some hats and blankies.

Hey, big guy. Be glad I didn't give you the pink ones with the ruffle to try on.

"I can't even look at you."