Prize-Winning Knitting! - Clackamas County Fair 2016

Almost a year later, I've sat down and written up the post to accompany my county fair prize-winning knits from 2016!

I took home second place in the dishcloth lot for my Almost-Lost Dishcloth. The only reason I entered it was my grammy had it and said, "It was too pretty to use." The judges agreed and this simple short-row dishcloth helped me take home two whole dollars. I'm tickled pink.

The other prize-winning knit from 2016 was the Honey Cowl I knit for my grammy. I took third place in the scarves lot for it. I'm really proud of the even tension I achieved with the slipped stitches and the finishing. I pocked that single dollar for the placement.

I guess I get to add "prize-winning knitter" to my list of achievements. (Hopefully no one checks out my claim too closely!)

Podcasting is harder than it looks

About a year ago, my knitting buddy mentioned she wanted to start a podcast. We finally made it happen today. It's going to be called "Knit Two Together" (k2tog). It took a few takes and I'm letting her take the lead on preparing the file for uploading, but I think it was fun.

Work keeps me busy and school is about to restart, so I could only commit to doing something once a month, although Deb is going to probably record at least once a month on her own.

I haven't started on the unread books projects yet, although I dragged two books around with me all weekend and never cracked open their spines.

I finished two washcloths and all I have left to do is finishing on them.

Sorry this isn't my best post, but I'm running and/or have run out of steam.

2015 New Year's Resolutions - A Review and Prep for 2016 New Year's Resolutions

As I started this blog last year, I set out three categories for my 2015 New Year's resolutions: personal, professional, and academic.

In the personal realm, I had six goals: knit at least two patterns from books I already own using yarn I've already purchased; lose weight and maintain that weight at 159 pounds or less by next year; exercise at least two days per week; decide whether or not to pursue a technical writing certificate concurrently with my MFA; submit to least three literary journals by the end of the spring semester; and plan a trip around the world.

Of the six personal goals, I accomplished four.

I did knit at least two patterns from books I already own with yarn I've already purchased. Those patterns were the $5 in Paris, Baby Cozy, and the Firefly Dishcloth.

I did not lose weight, but considering my engagement ended and life was thrown into complete chaos, I'm happy I maintained my current weight of 180 pounds and didn't go up much further.

I'm not exercising two days a week, but I am walking to and from work at least three days a week. I'm also consistently getting at least 10,000 steps per day.

I decided to pursue the technical writing certificate and I should finish by May or June 2016.

I submitted to several literary journals, resulting in three publications (two in the same week)!

I did not plan a trip around the world, but I will revisit it once my two year commitment to my current job expires.

My five professional goals were to continue improving my editing skills and knowledge of AP Style; improve workflow processes; find more opportunities for professional development; be the best mentor I can be; and to figure out how to keep my job while taking a trip around the world.

I think the professional goals were the least completed, as I decided the best way to improve workflow processes and find more opportunities for professional development was to pursue a new opportunity closer to my family.

I'm really happy in my new position. I do some editing, but it's more office management and organization. Again, it's a better fit; the job moves faster and I am trusted to do my job, which is what made my last job a poor fit. I'm not looking at doing a world trip for a few more years since I've decided to come back home.

With the academic goals, I set four. I only accomplished one. My four goals were to apply for graduate school scholarships in January; apply for the staff scholarship in August; maintain a 3.5 GPA; and figure out how to maintain my staff tuition discounts while traveling the world.

I did not apply for scholarships - school or staff. I didn't feel I had a connection with any of the professors at that time, and I didn't feel I could trust any of the professors to write and turn in a letter of recommendation on time. I didn't apply for the staff scholarship in August because I knew I was resigning from my position. Since I no longer work where I worked, the staff discount is moot.

I did, however, maintain my GPA as a 4.0, which made me really happy considering I was working full time and really busy moving at the beginning of the fall semester.

Looking back at the goals I set and met and set and missed, I am certain the problem is there were too many goals in too many categories. The goals that became priorities were the goals that had the most importance to me.

For that reason, instead of three categories, I'm going to go with three goals for the year. It's easier to keep track of and it's easier to envision the final result.

My New Year's Resolutions for 2016 are as follows:

1. Knit (or finish) at least two projects from kits or Craftsy classes. I'm working on Drachenfels and should finish it shortly after the New Year. I have other projects like Lunaris, Tunisian Crochet Multi-Garment, Tree of Life Afghan, Beyond Basic Broomstick Lace (class), My First Raglan Cardigan (class, plus I bought the kit), Shawlscapes by Stephen West (class), and Choose Your Own Sweater Adventure (class), among others.
2. I want to finish my MFA thesis by the end of next year. I have sent in my thesis proposal and I'm waiting to see if it was approved or not. I'm hoping to finish by August, but I'm giving myself an extra semester in case my proposal is not accepted in January.
3. Unread Books Project. Moving twice in less than two months, I realized I have a lot of books, many of which I have dragged state to state, all unread. So, to remedy this, the Unread Books Project is me picking at least one book per week to read for fun and/or pleasure from the stack of books that have sat and sat and sat in my home. To achieve this goal, I will read 45 to 52 books over the course of the year and do a biweekly or monthly report on what I've read. I also want to recall when and where I bought the book (or was gifted the book) when writing up which book or books I've finished.

Let's see how 2016 goes.

Eep! Missed Sunday - Knitting Updates

I don't know where my weekend went, and I didn't mean to miss Sunday's deadline.

I finished blocking the Honeycomb Cowl and I am cruising along on Drachenfels. I'm off on the stitch count. I give up.

Finals week!

I missed my regular Sunday posting because I was finishing up finals for two class. I have two more classes to go and it's been a crazy week at work.

I've had to prioritize and make decisions about what I have time to work on.

It doesn't help that I thought December 11 was a Saturday. It's a Friday, so I'm scrambling a bit to finish one of my final papers.

It'll all be better this weekend.

Also - news! I'm going to start podcasting about knitting with my friend from El Paso! It's going to be the Knit Two Together Podcast and we'll be starting either in late December or early January. Stay tuned!

Knitting Project Out of Timeout

I had a New Year's Resolution to knit at least two patterns from books, patterns, and yarn I already owned. When I started unpacking at my current one-bedroom mother-in-law suite, I realized how hard it is to downsize from a three-bedroom house into a one-bedroom space.

The truth is I get seduced by the potential for things and the possibility of things rather than the practical use for something. So, I have a lot of yarn because I think of all the possibilities for that yarn and how much money I'm saving on that yarn right this very minute, rather than thinking about what pattern or how much yarn it would actually take to make something I would want to own or gift.

The result is bins upon plastic bins of yarn. Realistically, I own more yarn right now than I could try and knit up in a year or two. A lot of the yarn is acrylic, which is very common for beginning knitters to accumulate.

I'm still knitting the pink monstrosity of a baby blanket. The baby's been born, but at this rate, I'll never get it done in time and I'm just wanting to get it done and over with so I never have to see it in a project bag again.

About three or four weeks ago, I had a major setback with my Drachenfels. I skipped a line in the pattern and after I had finished the entire stripped section, I counted my stitches and was so far off that I could really understand what had happened. Even missing the increase in every row would not have left me as off as the stitch count was. It turns out I missed an entire solid section increase in Part A.

I had to rip back 30 rows. The project has been in timeout ever since, mostly because it was so stressful to tink back so far. It needed some time off.

I'm trying to finish up the Drachenfels so I can start on the Honey Cowl for my grandmother for Christmas. I did promise her a few months ago. I've picked out a lovely, dark blue yarn for the project. I think the Honey Cowl should be a quick knit, but I also don't want tons of unfinished projects laying about the house.

I wound one skein of the yarn for the Honey Cowl. I debated doing the second, but I also don't want to set myself up for disappointment. I think I'll get together all the stuff for the Honey Cowl and start casting on tonight. I doubt I'll finish an entire skein of yarn in this pattern tonight. If I do, I'll switch over to my Drachenfels.

In my personal life, my parents met my main lover today. It went well. I went on a date yesterday to the zoo and went with my main lover to the zoo today. Met a lot of his friends. It went well. It's his birthday tomorrow, so I'll be popping my head in to wish him well on his 21st. Yes, I'm aware of the age difference. Hush now.

Knitted Chainmail - Review Time

I knit chainmail for my Halloween costume (Lagertha from the TV show Vikings). I used sock-weight yarn, which was nice and soft, but didn't hold up to being worn all day. Unfortunately, it got snagged in a few places and I ended up with some holes.

I think the folks on Ravelry who knit their chainmail with worsted weight, acrylic yarn had the right idea. I think the nylon/acrylic blend of the sock yarn wasn't enough to stand up to the rigors of being worn around the office all day.

That being said, it looked really good and authentic. I'll write up the pattern later this month and put it up on Ravelry.

Knitting Chainmail

Oops! I missed another Sunday post. I'm knitting chainmail for my chain maiden costume.

Work is really busy, as is school.

I got a bit swamped and my priorities were homework and dating. I'm smitten kitten.

Ripping Back

I misread the Drachenfels pattern and started the striped section too soon. I was too many stitches off when I counted, and then I read my knitting alongside the pattern.

I skipped an entire section of solid color. I had two choices: suck it up or rip it back. It ripped it back, but in order to catch all 100-plus stitches, I ended up ripping back into a section that was fine. It's in time-out right now because it was really frustrating to make that kind of mistake and to have to rip out 30 rows of work.

It reminds me of my life right now. I'm not where I thought I would be and getting my MFA is a way of ripping back to doing what I should have done after college.

I wrote a blog post for my new job. I'm learning a lot about video marketing. The only annoying thing was having to pick up the boss from the airport on Saturday when I'd initially been told I wouldn't have to do that task. I stick pretty close to home on the weekends for now, at least until I get a better feel for how long my work leash is.

Sometimes to make something right, you have to go back and fix it. I'm fixing my life, one day at a time.

Knitting and Dating

I've been dating for about a month or so. I have really enjoyed getting to know people.

I also drag along my knitting, which keeps my hands busy and gives me an outlet for my nervous energy. I'm still working on my Drachenfels.

Not having a lot of online dating success, but when it goes well, it has gone very well.

At brunch today, my mom said I was the happiest she had seen me in a long time. It's true.

Two Publications in One Week!

Great news!

I had two poems accepted for publication this week. The first was "Lonely Town" by Dos Gatos Press and the second was "Phantasms of Love" in the Fall 2015 Dirty Chai online magazine. It's awesome having two acceptance notices the same week.

I'm still knitting my Drachenfels shawl and I'm on the second page of the written instructions. I made it through the first page with one ball of Color A. I'm now on the ridge section, but I'm dreading weaving in the ends.

First Week of New Job, Third Week of Semester

This week marked my first week at my new job. It was fast-paced and intense, but I really enjoyed it. I ended up having to go into the office twice yesterday, but everything got taken care of and aside from an OK Cupid date backing out because I took too long, it was uneventful.

I met up for teriyaki and then ice cream with someone from OK Cupid. It went well. Not really feeling more than friendship, but I'm teaching him how to knit next week! Winning!

My new place is really great. The landlord is really thoughtful and kind. The view, as you'll see below, is fabulous. I'll hopefully have my furniture by next weekend so I'm not sleeping on an air mattress or yoga mat. I'm really looking forward to having my stuff again.

View from my new apartment.

I'm still knitting. My mom gave me some cotton yarn and I'm almost finished with the ball. I'm going to try and finish the Little Lady Garter Blanket in the next week or so, but it's really a boring knit and I'm sick of the color.

I bought Defarge Does Shakespeare on Ravelry. There were at least three patterns I wanted to make, so after several weeks of having it in my cart, I bought it on Ravelry.

I'm thinking I'll knit Lady M; Ravel'd Sleeve of Care; and Exeunt, Pursued by a Bear.

I've also been knitting a bunch of dishcloths. I've got two patterns memorized: Almost Lost Dishcloth and Grandmother's Favorite.

Almost Lost Dishcloth. Requires knitting short rows. It looks better in person. The easier-to-read pattern is from this website.

I don't have reliable Internet at home yet. There's a WiFi hotspot login I'm borrowing from my dad, but it's hit or miss. Some times I can watch an hour show on Hulu or Netflix without buffering and sometimes it drops every five minutes.

I'm down to my last five classes for my MFA. It's been hard to juggle the start of the semester with my classes, but I'm accepting the fact that good is good enough.

All in all, things are getting settled. I'm really happy to be home.

Knitting Pattern

I'm writing my first knitting pattern. It's a kitchen towel, but I haven't finished it yet. I also think I want it to be wider than the prototype, but it's got a garter stitch border and the interior of the towel is a slip stitch pattern. I'll write it up when I finish and maybe put it up on Ravelry.

Tentative Pattern:

CO 40

Knit 10 rows

Row 11 Knit 5 (Knit 1, Slip 1 (purlwise)) until last five stitches, Knit 5

Row 12 Knit 5, Purl until last five stitches, Knit 5

Repeat rows 11 and 12 until piece measures approx. 26 inches

Knit 10 rows.


I managed to knit up an Almost Lost Dishcloth and a Grandma's Best Dishcloth while traveling.

If I have news, I'll post it next week ... on my 30th Birthday!!!

I also finished moving out of my ex's place today. Gave the keys back, the garage door opener. I'm sad. So incredibly sad.

Moving Out is Like Pandora's Box

I'm almost completely out of the old place. I just have to figure out what perishable/nonperishable items I will take out.

I spent three hours boxing and taking the last bits of clutter out of their respective hiding places.

One more final portfolio and I'll be done with summer classes.

I'm still kind of numb/anxious/sad about turning 30 in a few weeks. I'm not where I thought I'd be personally or professionally.

I did decide, come Hell or high water, that I'm going to get the technical writing certificate.

I'll be flying to see my family for a few days this week. It's the balm I need. I might also have new developments to share in the future.

Casting On New Projects (AKA Avoiding Finals)

Ever since my relationship of eight years ended two weeks ago, I've been spinning my wheels.

The plan was to be done with my freelance project before finals week, but I spent a week just numb and recovering from the shock of the finality of it all.

I reorganized my yarn stash on Saturday and realized I really have a lot of yarn. I need to start making more projects with the patterns I planned for them using yarn I've already bought.

So, I cast on a Firefly Dishcloth last night. It's small enough that I can knit a row or two when I need to think, but it's interesting enough to be a bit of a challenge. I'll finish it up this week and add the yardage to Stash Dash 2015.

I'm itching to cast on a Liason Tee and a Flax sweater. I've got yarn earmarked for both projects. Knitting is so much more fun than doing final portfolios or freelance projects. I'm sure if knitting were my job, I'd have a spotless house ...

The good news is I've found a new apartment. It's super cute, even though there's only street parking and no dishwasher or laundry facilities. But, the price is something I can afford and I can get a six-month lease. Even if some of the job prospects work out sooner rather than later, I can afford to pay for the full term of the lease in order to be able to walk away.

I bought dishes today. They aren't exactly what I wanted, but they're cute - white with blue stripes. I gave away my awesome Coca-Cola set in Georgia because "we don't need two sets of dishes."

Now I'm no longer a we and until today, I didn't have dishes. It's weird to think of myself in only terms of "I" and no longer "we." These dishes are always going to be the set I bought to replace the Coca-Cola plates I loved because "we" didn't need two sets of dishes.

I've got two classes with finals next week. I have a portfolio due Wednesday and a portfolio due Thursday. I also have a three-page essay to write for one of the portfolios. And the freelance project is not done yet. Which is stressful.

But, I have a plan. I have a tentative move-in date. I'm getting ready to move forward.

I'm going to focus on making my new place a home, even if it's only for a few weeks or months. I'm still hopeful something else will stick, even though I'm heartbroken I didn't make it to an in-person interview for the job in Portland. Maybe something else will turn up. Maybe I'm trapped in this city for the rest of my life, working a job that fits like a shoe that leaves blisters.

Stash Dash 2015

I enjoy watching the video podcast The Knit Girllls and I follow their group on Ravelry. For most of the summer, one of the hosts, Laura (also known as La La) hosts a "stash dash" where members are encouraged to use up the yarn already in their house; you also can count any projects you finish up during this time. For the first time, there are three finish line options: a 3K, 5K, and 10K.

The distances refer to how much yarn you knit. I started a $5 in Paris sweater last Sunday and it is going fast!

I cast this sweater on Sunday, May 24, 2015, and a week later I'm at the ribbing on the bottom. Once I finish with the body and bind it off, I'll be ready to finish up the sleeves!

I haven't really knit the Little Lady Garter Blanket much since I started the sweater, but with more than 24 inches left to knit, well, it's going to be a long time knitting garter stitch. Sadly, even though I'm holding the yarn double, the Stash Dash 2015 rules state you can't count the second skein's yardage in your total. So, even though I'll be creating a double-thick blanket with two skeins of yarn, only one skein's yardage counts. There's lots of disagreement with this rule in the thread; it might change next year, but I won't be knitting double again any time soon because it's such a pain in the butt to work with.

This is the garter stitch that never ends. Yes it goes on and on my friend ...

I still need to press the fabric, cut out the bunnies, and stitch them onto my Bunnie Blankie. It's been in hibernation for nearly three weeks. It's on the to-do list that won't get done for awhile. It also won't count for Stash Dash 2015 since I bound it off before the competition started. Sewing finishing touches doesn't count, unfortunately.

I really hate this project at this point. If I hadn't bought the fabric, I would say that I'm done with it, but I'm another $10 of materials in and I want to see how it looks completed. This will happen. Eventually.

I did buy some silk yarn to make the Tunisian crochet multigarment for the Craftsy class "Tunisian Crochet: Revolutions in Color and Style" class I bought a few weeks ago. Thanks to the really low prices at Tuesday Morning, I was able to purchase enough silk yarn for the project for half of other websites. I'm not 100 percent in love with the green I picked for color C in the pattern, but I also am not in love with paying almost $70 in materials for a new-skill project. The wooden Tunisian crochet hooks I bought from Amazon are okay, but they're not great. I bought a second set of sturdier plastic ones, which should arrive here in a few days. We'll see. The right tools make for a better crafting experience!

I will say I was very pleased with the two Craftsy classes I bought that I've already looked into. Eunny Jang's "Choose Your Own Sweater Adventure" has been helpful on my $5 in Paris sweater. I didn't understand some of the directions in the $5 in Paris sweater pattern, but after going to the appropriate (and well outlined) sections in Jang's video, I was able to complete the more technical parts of my first sweater. I'm looking forward to trying her patterns, even though they're written for bulky yarn.

The yarn I bought at Craftsy at the same time as I bought the classes arrived very quickly. I was impressed that all of my yarn (even when I bought 12 of one type) were from the same dye lot. I'm going to try to make the Tree of Life afghan, but probably won't start it until after the summer is over given its level of technical difficulty and sheer size.

As the summer progresses, we'll see if I have time to do more than the 3K. I might not even finish that, especially once summer classes start.

I'm going to be taking four summer classes - two first session and two second session. I still owe the university money for my summer classes. I'll get right on that after I get back from my knitting group that happens at 10:30 a.m.

Another week, another project

I finally cast on a sweater. I'll be attempting $5 in Paris. The first attempt I accidentally twisted and created a Möbius strip.

The second start is going much better. I hope to finish the ribbing tomorrow.

I also bought some Craftsy classes and am working on learning Tunisian crochet. The set of Tunisian hooks I bought on Amazon aren't working out as well as I would have wanted, but I will keep practicing.

Crafting is really relaxing and I am enjoying the three weeks between semesters.

Today wasn't a great day, but I found comfort in knitting.

Checking in on New Year's Resolutions

It's almost June. How that happened is beyond me.

I wanted to revisit  where I am with my New Year's goals.

Personal:

Knit at least two patterns from books I already own using yarn I've already purchased.

• Halfway there. Knit one pattern from a books I already own with yarn I specifically bought.
• I am probably going to try and knit a linen top I bought a pattern and yarn for last year over the summer. I feel much more confident in my knitting and fixing skills to actually knit the liaison tee or $5 in Paris.

Lose weight and maintain that weight at 159 pounds or less by next year.

• hahahhahahahahahaaa. No. Not happening. The best I got down to was 165 and now I'm back up to 175. I'm trying. And failing.

Exercise at least two days per week.

• I skipped yoga for a few weeks over finals. I'm averaging about 5,000 steps a day on my Fitbit, which isn't great, but isn't terrible. No, I am not even close to meeting this goal.

Decide whether or not to pursue a technical writing certificate concurrently with my MFA.

• This got put completely on the back burner while I am sorting out my personal and professional life. I'll have an answer by late June about this. I'll have to apply for the spring rather than the fall, but that's okay.

Submit to at least three literary journals by the end of the spring semester.

• NAILED IT. I applied to Rattle, Georgia Review, Gigantic Sequins, and the Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry fellowship.
• I plan on continuing to submit and will be submitting a short story to Asimov's by the end of the summer. It needs more work, but I think I have a solid start on what will be an interesting tale.

Plan a trip around the world.

• Also on the back burner while I deal with personal issues. I wish I could go into more detail, but I'll have answers about my personal life by mid-June and will be able to either move forward in my relationship or move forward as an individual.

Professional:

1. Continue improving my editing skills and knowledge of AP Style. - Check.
2. Improve workflow processes. - Working on this.
3. Find more opportunities for professional development. - Actively working on this.
4. Be the best mentor I can be. - Check. I absolutely nailed this goal with Project IMPACT. It was incredibly rewarding on a personal and professional level and I can't wait to continue my mentoring relationship with my current mentee and to mentor a new student next year.
5. Trip around the world/keeping job - On the back burner until I figure out my personal life.

Academic:

1. Apply for graduate school scholarships in January. - Failed. Wasn't sure if I qualified as staff with my tuition discount, so I didn't pursue anything.
2. Apply for the staff scholarship in August. - Pending personal life resolving itself.
3. Maintain a 3.5 GPA - So far so good, still waiting on final grades from spring, but I know two classes are A's, so ... can't be that bad in the other two.
4. Staff tuition discounts/travel - On hold because of my personal life.

So, some goals are going better than others. This is the first year I've really thought about what I wanted to accomplish in 12 months. I'm proud I'm continuing to blog weekly (sorry this is a later Sunday post than usual) and I'm proud that I'm improving my digital footprint by generating content for Blogger and Twitter.

All in all, my personal goals are going better than my professional ones, but once I have some answers in June, I'll be able to move forward with my life.

Sunday is finally getting back to normal

For the past several weeks, my knitting buddy has been gone, dealing with a family situation. While I'm happy she's back, I'm sad it's because her family member died.

I'm looking forward to my routine.

I'm also doing an Internet meetup. I feel bad leaving the puppy alone for several hours while I do this, but at the same time, I don't want to leave her for the four or five hours I'll be gone, but at the same time, I have to realize that before she got sick, I'd leave her for that long anyways.

We've had a decent week - fewer accidents in the house (a combination of discontinuing one of the medicines and us monitoring her water intake and bathroom breaks much more carefully) and she's feeling a bit better and not limping as much.

It's hard to watch her be so ill. It really, really is.

I'll keep working on the new baby blanket project. It uses Lion Brand's Pound of Love. I'm using two skeins and holding the yarn double. I cast on 134 stitches and hopefully that will be wide enough for a baby blanket. I already ripped back and restarted once, because I thought I'd do a checkers blanket. Unfortunately, the yarn held single was going to make the project take forever and then if I followed the pattern to recipe, it was going to be too short.

When making last-minute baby gifts, it's best to use thick/chunky yarn, because it knits up quicker. The Pound of Love is great, but because it is thinner, it takes longer to work with. I'm still working on the Bunny Blankie, but that's because I'm sick of the daisy stitch, even though I only have one ounce of yarn left. A Pound of Love isn't enough to knit the Bunny Blanket to recipe, sadly. However, I don't want to find another skein of it, so it will probably be about six to eight inches shorter than the pattern calls for. I don't think that will be a problem; it's actually pretty long/big as it is.

I also need to mail my Banana Bunch Blankie to my college roommate. I'm going to sit down and write the cards; the rest of the package is ready to go: the blanket, some onesies, two books, burp cloths .... all in yellow or with ducks on them because they don't know what they're having yet, and, in general, I try to avoid gendered colors whenever possible when gifting for babies. (Yes, the new baby blanket project is an exception to the I-avoid-gendered-colors rule.)

Back when I was knitting the Banana Bunch Blankie. It knit up very nicely because it only had a four-row pattern repeat.

It's great to have my knitting group back. I still have homework to do and fellowships to write up and finish, but I still need a few hours to myself today.

Things I accomplished this weekend

Books I read (start to finish):
Divergent by Veronica Roth (4/5 stars)
Insurgent by Veronica Roth (4/5 stars)
A Boy Called It by Dave Pelzer (3/5 stars)
The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer (2/5 stars)
A Brother's Journey by Richard Pelzer (2/5 stars)

I was in a bit of a "read for fun" mood. Not that the books I picked were particularly long or difficult, but I did manage to read five of them.

Started reading Allegiant by Veronica Roth. Pretty meh about it. Not super in love with the shift in point of view. Feels like it suffers from what I call "trilogy syndrome." Same thing happened with Hunger Games, but at least Insurgent had some (veiled) sex.

School
Finished everything for class for the week. Didn't get ahead on any reading. Wasn't really feeling it. Well aware I have many projects that aren't due until finals week and that if I keep putting them off, I will be a stressed out mess in three weeks.

Knitting
Started knitting a hat with yarn I was gifted. Knit a bit on a baby hat I'm making for my college roommate's baby. I need to finish it up and mail it off soon though.

Dog
Dealt with the dog having urinary incontinence: three pee spots carpet cleaned with the Bissel Green vacuum. We're trying disposable diapers. It's not going well.

The cancer is just unending. She's happy still, but her health, well, I mean, it's only a matter of time, but it's hard to watch her die.

Translation Project
Finally sat down and made the changes the author requested. Disagree with one change, we'll see how the writer takes it.

When I'm allowed to talk about publication and such, I will definitely have an update here.

Guild Wars 2
Played a few hours for fun. Miss my guild; they changed servers a few weeks ago, but I don't feel like paying for another transfer after less than two months on our current server, so I'm staying put for now.