To Knit or not to Knit...

Our obsession with knitting just seems to be growing and growing and growing.  Here's the quick low-down.


I'm knitting this super cool skinny scarf for our beloved John Maynes (who at least one of us will marry) who is currently in Slovenia on a mission.  Yes, this is a super hard technique called double-knitting.  It is a reversible scarf, as you can see.









We've also joined the alligator scarf bandwagon (thank you Jenni Boyle).  I've knit the one in green, plus a mustard yellow and brick red one.  Brooke knit the white one and is knitting another dark green one, which is turning out most delightfully.







I spent the first 6 months after Christmas knitting socks as voraciously as school would permit, but as I am currently unemployed, this was a feasible task and brought the utmost enjoyment.  I ended up knitting 3 pairs, including the ones on the cover, which are perfect for cold feet during pedicures.  Really.  I'm serious.  Mom could not have been more thoughtful in her present of the best sock book around with some beautiful yarn.

Then, I stumbled upon this book, VAMPIRE KNITS.  I'm very excited to get to a project from here - be it fashionable cowls, blood-type beer cozies, or werewolf eared hats.  Stay tuned for updates on this.

 What with all our neat-o projects and Ali's very own knitting society, the Weldin girls are at the top of our game in the knitting world.  Brandi listens to knitting podcasts, at the suggestion from Aunt Shelley, in her free time, and Brooke is knitting her little heart out preparing for the holidays.  What could bring more joy?  Put on a little Sufjan or Beirut and steep a cup of tea and there is literal heaven on earth.  What could be hipper than this?  Well, let me tell you.


Drum roll, please.


Russell Crowe knits.



Actually, it's somewhat a fad among several celebrities.  Take a gander, and be even more surprised.

Scarlett Johansson, who also taught her husband, Ryan Reynolds

Debra Messing

Uma Thurman

Sarah Jessica Parker

Kate Moss

Catherine Zeta Jones

Goldie Hawn

Hilary Swank

Cameron Diaz

Winona Ryder

Madonna

Russell Crowe

Dakota Fanning

Madonna

Hilary Duff, who knits to keep herself occupied on airplane trips

Julia Roberts, who is starring in the upcoming movie called The Friday Night Knitting Club

 

Yes, that is Ginger Spice, Geri Halliwell.  In addition, David Arquette, featured in a special volume of a whole lot of celebrity knitters, knitting for a cause.

This post, however, comes with a warning.  As cool as knitting seems to you now, beware.  There are plenty of kitschy items that would best be left alone.  I now present to you, my own collection of, "What Not To Knit"

 

 

And the grand finale..........

We hope you are crying your eyes out in unbelieving laughter.  Brooke and I don't know what our favorite part about this photo is.  The colors the poses, the facial expressions, the visible textures, the condom resemblance...I don't know, but it's wonderful.


If you wanted me to, I would knit you a

Snuggie®

Word of the Day

Pegasi is plural for Pegasus

Now don't go around saying pegasuses anymore...

Blast From the PAST

My professor is late, so I thought I'd take advantage.  I hopped out of bed this morning, and while in the shower, after pondering Patrick's blog post about laundry and wondering how I'm going to make it through the day, the most odd thought popped into my head.

Who can forget the propensity in the 90's for kids movies where the main source for laughs comes from annoying adults.  Are kids movies still like that?  I have no idea.  I also have no idea why this popped into my head at such an odd time, when at all.

Famous?

Although my name is not used in this article, i am now published in the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. My specialists asked me a year ago if they could use my case because i am the first and only one they know of.

Today i found the article...

Abstract

Hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome (HIES) [Job's Syndrome] is a rare primary immunodeficiency characterized by recurrent skin and lung infections. We report the first case of Coccidioides immitis meningitis in a patient with HIES. [ME!] Coccidioides should be included in the differential diagnosis for central nervous system infections in HIES patients.

I don't have access to the entire article yet, but Brandi will get it tomorrow.

For A Happy Marriage 10/12/10

By: Nick Farmer

1. Clean stuff. It's not too hard and it makes everything nicer. And you can have sex on clean things.

2. Screw nature. Stay hot.

- Workout in the morning, maybe tantric yoga.

3. Remember dates of important spouse related events.

4. Listen, just listen. You don't have to solve your spouse's problems.

5. Be of good cheer, you're married to someone you be lovin'.

6. As one doctor friend of mine once said, everybody needs hugs and kisses. They make a bad day good or a good day great.

7. Dudes, cook some food for your wife, watch a good movie with her and enjoy cuddling. Maybe drink a diet pepsi too.

8. Cuddle, it's super great, and lots of people seem intent on denouncing it as gay or unmanly. But seriously just hold each other.

9. massages, foreplay or not, they're really great.

10. Enjoy sex. Don't let it become stale, try new things. Talk about it. If you can't then you shouldn't be married in the first place.

11. Be spontaneous, but don't overspend. Debt can be a bigger downer than boredom.

12. But at the same time, have fun going places: movies, dinner, walks in the evening, sex in public, getting some soda.

13. When you're having an argument, don't use funny words or voices. It undermines your position. Even when you are absolutely sick of your spouse leaving the cabinets open or peeing in the shower and you're ready to blow up nuclear style, remember you love them and married for a reason. Don't say things in anger to hurt them, that's terrible. Say things only to communicate effectively the problems that you face. Don't go to bed mad because you'll never know if the issue was resolved or will be there plus resent in the morning. And people have bad breath then.

-- There you have it. The wise words of Nick Farmer. Great guy.

Rory Spotlight!!!

I have recently had the recurring impression to spotlight one of Ali's friends, Rory.  He decided to answer my questions, so now you get a glimpse of who this great man is.

 (This picture was taken at the Michael Jackson party this summer.)

He declares Michael Jackson as the greatest pop artist of all time, and rightly so.  Our friendships all depended upon this one response.

First off, I asked him what his first memory and impression of Ali is.  He said, "My first memory of Ali was when she was in my driver's ed class.  Her and I would exchange dirty notes back and forth.  I thought she was cool because she was keeping up with the vibe I was giving off."

Perfect!

My first impression of him was when I picked him up with Ali in the car and we stuck a mix in that he had just made for Ali.  There was some Format on there, so my first impression was a good one.  Then, the second time I saw him, he wowed us with a guitar piece of his own composition about Halloween.  (He has refused to record it in costume thus far.  Perhaps if there was some compensation...monetary or otherwise?)  Nonetheless, he is great.

 His favorite band right now is Bombadil, specifically the Tarpits and Canyonlands album.  "[He] can't put them down."  They are sort of folk-pop and very indie.  Unique and musically gifted.  Great choice.

His favorite artist of all time is Bob Dylan, and favorite band of all time, The Killers.

He believes that his smile came from his mother, but he hasn't really noticed. 

If given a choice, he would love a boxer for a pet.

He prefers Super Mario Bro's over Tetris.

Domestic Dispute III

I came home from school to the most pleasant surprise.  Shelly was talking on the phone, very loudly, right outside my window.  She was telling someone that Harry had written a suicide note/will.  He left his son the piano and everything else of value, including all the money in the bank, he left to his mother.  Nothing for Shelly.  She was very upset about this, especially since he mentions in the note how much he loves her and the boy.

Bottom line:  she expressed no concern about his health or mental status, just what was in it for her - best case scenario (i.e. Harry dying).

She did mention that he had been prescribed some anti-anxiety medication when she had left him for a time in December.  I would bet my life that it was a benzodiazepene of some sort like Lorazapam or Diazapam...something like that...  She didn't know for sure.  Those can be fatal in overdose because they can cause respiratory and CNS depression.  Harry is OK for now though.  He's home.  Brooke saw him the previous night take his trash cans out to the street.

Harry is not letting any information from the hospital or the psych ward get back to Shelly.  She has no idea what is going on.

After he had OD'd, he went driving around, drunkenly looking for her.

Too bad for us, she went inside after this and there was incoherent yelling that, for the life of me, I could not distinguish.  I'm sure more will surface.  Time will tell what will happen to our ill-fated neighbors in domestic distress.  Until next time...

Word of the Day

non sequitur
- a reply that has no relevance to what preceded it 

• sentence with word: Your argument is a whole succession of non sequiturs.

example:
"Hi is the man of the house in?"
"No, my mommy likes eggs."

Domestic Dispute II

Everything written in this post is completely true, although names are still changed for respect and privacy purposes.  Go here for former post.

I pulled up to my house today at approximately 12:30pm and before i got my sun shade up an ambulance drove past and parked in front of the neighbors house that i have told you so much about...

Shortly after the ambulance came a fire truck and then a police car. Out of the ambulance came a man and a women who pulled out a stretcher.

I ran inside and got Brandi so we could watch together from her bedroom window. Together we picked apart everything about the situation. One of the 5 men that were there was holding an empty pill bottle so we immediately thought someone must have overdosed. We waited in anticipation for who was going to be pulled out of the house. We should have put it together because the van was gone. Leaving their new silver Charger the only car at the home.

They pulled Harry out of the house and he was looking pretty bad...He was put onto the stretcher and moved to the ambulance. This whole process took them forever so i don't think he's in too bad of shape just a danger to himself.

The neighbors who have lived on the street 10-65 years were across the street so i went to ask them what happened.They explained to me that the couple has been having a lot of trouble ever since they moved here 6 years ago. It turns out that Harry tried to commit suicide this morning by overdosing. The wife and child left the home and called the police.

What an exciting afternoon...

Yes, the sisters and I saw Hot Hot Heat in Concert. I completely understand if your jealousy is causing you heartache. If that's the case, I suggest you stop reading now.

Because The Weldin sisters are so aggressive, we easily pushed our way to the front row. The opening band, Hey Rosetta, from Canada was surprisingly really good. They almost inspired me to play the violin again. The lead singer was adorable and would constantly lick his slivers for lips.

Anywho, Hot Hot Heat came on and we lost our minds.

The Guitarist: Trendy as hell

The Bassist: Suave

The Drummer: Okay...

Leadsinger/Keyboard: BEAUTIFUL

I was nervous they were going to play a bunch of songs off their new album which isn't near as good as their previous albums, but to my great surprise, they played a little of everything.

Lets just say, when beautiful boy wasn't tending to his keyboard, he was singing right to my face. I would be lying if I told you there wasn't a connection between the two of us.

Wow, what a good time.

This makes my list of top ten nights of my life, right next to seeing Mischa Barton in 25 Main and the night This Is It came out on DVD.

Nerd vs Geek vs Dork vs Dweeb

I stumbled upon this great diagram somehow and decided to put some thoughts out there.  When you are going to call someone a nerd/geek/dork/dweeb, here's what you should keep in mind and what you are really telling someone.  Super-smart but socially awkward? = DWEEB  Obsessively smart? = GEEK  A little bit of everything? = NERD  You get the idea.

Who am I?

Why would such a neat person as I ever classify myself as a nerd/geek/dork/dweeb?  Is it because of my history of social awkwardness?  My inability to get asked out on dates or flirt with the opposite sex?  My lack of "street smarts."  My penchant for looking words up in the dictionary and analyzing what I read and listen to?  Is it because my hobbies fall out of the norm and don't contain widespread appeal?  In all reality it is probably all of the above.

I don't know why this has been on my mind lately.  Maybe it has to do with the advent of the new school year and this being my 6th year in post high-school education.  Perhaps it's my having so much less time to participate in my hobbies that makes me question why I'm doing the things I'm doing right now.  Who knows and who cares?  Nonetheless, I don't think my focus on my studies should automatically classify me as nerdy; nor should my obsession with certain things classify me as solely geeky.

BOTTOM LINE

             How does one tell which category you, yourself, falls into?

According to the diagram above, I have given myself scores with vague explanations and generalizations.

Score:

• My social ineptitude would probably be 4/10 because, though born with 'handicaps' in this area, I've been actively working on it and forcing myself to improve for the past few years.
• My intelligence is definitely excellent in some areas, competent in most, and severely lacking in others (what is the make and model of my own car let alone yours?)  I'll give it a 6/10, because I consider the knowledge I do have more important than what celebrity is marketing Taco Bell and if the starlets are wearing panties or not, etc.
• My obsessions don't border on extreme at all, especially compared to others I know, but I have more than some.  I also have obsessive behaviors in how I work day to day and the methodical way in which I do things, but I wouldn't call it OCD, so a 5/10 would be appropriate. 

Darn.  I'm a little bit of everything, which would classify me as nerd.  I'm OK with that.  At least I'm relatively balanced, in my own view.  I'm not primarily super smart and obsessed about any one thing.  I'm also not totally obsessed with something and completely socially backward with no intelligence.  Because I do have some obsessions, that rules out primarily dweeb.  Nerd it is.

What are you?

I've failed to blog in a while,

so this is my filler post. Enjoy.

I know I did.

VMAs

LADY GAGA'S MEAT DRESS

What will she do next?

Justin Bieber

Sweet little Justin was our second star of the VMA show.

(Lady Gaga won most of the awards, and then with

the whole meat thing she was hard to beat)

Justin IS Talented!

I learned from his interview before the VMA's that he:

-plays piano

-plays guitar

-plays drums

-plays trumpet

-dances

-and sings

For his performance of "Baby" Justin rolled up in a red Chevy wearing a red a white jacket with a

large B on the front.

As soon as Justin got on Stage he changed jackets into a black bedazzled one. He gave a stunning performance.

If i didn't have "Bieber fever" before, I sure do now.

A Time to Forget.

I am not sure when maternity pictures hit their peak in popularity, but I have sure heard and seen a lot about them lately. I really wish the trend would end. It gets to be quite disturbing...

Example #1

First, is the most classic (not to be confused with classy). The father behind the mother making a heart around her stomach. This one is really pretty modest considering they have all of their clothes on. But this picture brings a new level of trashy into the mix with the tats on the womens belly and on the fathers arm.

Example #2

How much can you really say about example number 2? Adam and Eve spin done horridly. They look so painfully awkward! And again with the tattoo! My favorite parts would have to be the boys "tips" and his hand on her bum.

Example #3

And here is last and best example of maternity pictures. How do you get more trendy and hip than under water?! I do find this picture the most disturbing of them all, but

I can't say I hate it because it is excellent photography. This photographer does wonderful underwater pictures. If you would like to take a look click on KB blog.

Worlds cutest couple.

Saturday while working at St. George Ford, I was graced with the presence of the worlds most adorable couple.

They pulled up on a motorcycle wearing:

Matching leather pants...

Matching American spirited tees....

With his and her mullets...

They were looking for a Mustang.

American class at it's finest.

Today at school I learned the following:

Boys shouldn't wear their board shorts to school. There's a time and place for that, like the lake for instance, not school. Put on a pair of pants and a nice cardigan. Dress for the occasion, damnit.

I really hate it when girls wear ugg boots in the summer. Get your seasons straight.

Actually, I hate when girls wear ugg boots period. The most terrible girls always wear their super flares over the boot. GAH! Terrible I tell you. The only person allowed to wear them is Lucas, because he just looks adorable and homeless when doing so.

I also hate lip liner. All lip liner sucks. Even on you, you mexican goddess.

Who knew?

Scarlett Johansson is a singer.

I think she's a pretty good actress. I really liked her in Girl With A Pearl Earring and Lost In Translation. She's just really pretty in The Prestige and she fits right in in He's Just Not That Into You.

She released an album in 2008 of Tom Waits covers. It's awful. I can't bear to listen to it for extended periods of time, but it was worth a shot, right?

I was initailly intrigued. Wikipedia reports that it, "features David Bowie, members from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Celebration. Also, "reviews of the album were mixed, or average.^[118] Spin commented, "There's nothing particularly compelling about Scarlett Johansson's singing."^[119] Conversely, some critics found it to be "surprisingly alluring",^[120] "a bravely eccentric selection",^[112] and "a brilliant album" with "ghostly magic".^[121] The album was named the "23rd best album of 2008" byNME^[122] and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and #126 on the Billboard 200 chart.

So how come no one has ever heard of it? Weird. But, you go girl.

Her second album, released in 2009 was much better. Probably because it involves Pete Yorn. Her voice is deeper and quite raspy or maybe more breathy. In any case, it's different, which isn't a bad thing.

How cute are they? Here's the single. We aren't offended if you don't listen to the whole thing.

Suicidal Fish Lives/ Brandi is a Nerd

Prince Gilbert (my beta fish) jumped out of his bowl today. Fortunately I found him in time. Brandi and I thought he was dead because he didn't move for a while. I wont be surprised if he is dead by morning because he has gone through so much today.

He is a little over 1 year old and hasn't ever done anything like this. He is getting old and graying a bit (it almost looks like he has a beard now)... I think he wants to die. I kind of feel bad for saving him because he looks awful now. I will let you know soon if he dies...

On a lighter note...

Brandi came to me

this morning with exciting

news about the new thing she

just ordered online.

Yes she bought a watch/calculator.

Need I say more?

Sisters cont.

This is in reference to the former blog post about my reading a certain book called The Idiot by Dostoevsky.  There is more! 

It turns out that the eldest daughter is basically a fat spinster...who is getting on in years and has no prospects.  Sad, but true.

The middle daughter is dating someone and is actually serious.  They are engaged, in fact.  Oh funny.

The youngest is a player, breaking hearts left and right.  She kinda leads guys on and then laughs in their faces.



Note to Ali:  I'm not calling you a lazy whore by making these comparisons.  It's just too funny how oddly these things are matching up.

Oh and no one even tried to guess the movie I was referring to.  It's Meg Ryan's quote from You've Got Mail.  The exact quote is this:

        "So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around? I don't really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void."

...such a great movie.  I should stop watching so many chick flicks.  It's just gonna make me a bitter, sour old spinster. ;)

Ankle Socks and Pumps

Pumps with ankle socks are my favorite trend.  Granted, it's been around for at least the past year and longer, but I think Utah should finally catch up already and incorporate this great practice.  Maybe you think I'm crazy, but don't do this, because I know what I'm talking about.  Seriously.  Here are some examples.  Celebrities and not.

I've seen it work with cropped jeans, leggings, jeggings, as well as skirts of all lengths.  Do it.  You will not regret it.  And plus, there are just so many options.  The possibilities are endless.