if your skirt gets any higher, I may have to arrest you for dealin crack!

so I've put my blog through a little re-vamp, and while I think it could still be edited, I'm happy with what I've got so far (mind you, this is the extent of my HTML capabilities...). As spring slowly, but surely comes to Seattle, I feel that I need to do a little cleaning and organizing. Already I can feel the weight of this overloaded quarter (19 credits, eep!), but as I attempt to study for exams and write my papers, all I can think of is how much I look forward to upcoming events.

first of all, I finally get to meet Andres, my nephew, in a month! I had hoped that I would've met him before his first birthday, but at least when I do get to see him, he'll be interactive enough to play with and hopefully to remember me. I've had to watch him grow so quickly via the internet and see him play with the toys I've made him or outgrow the clothes I've given him. Now that I'll finally get to see him in person, all I can think about is what kind of toys to knit him!

speaking of knitting, as of late, I've gotten back into the whole knitting groove, thanks to hansigurumi's Amigurumi Knits (or really, thanks to Andres because if he weren't born, I probably wouldn't have picked up the 'ole needles again). Not only did she get me excited about making all sorts of projects, she taught me a lot of new techniques and shaping ideas. And now, I find myself perusing the web for more knitting projects, events, and circles, and through my search, I've discover so many amazing books, craft shows, fellow knitters, and patterns! I want to incorporate some of this energy to this blog.

so without further adieu, my first review: Loopy Yarns in Chicago. A few weeks ago, I visited the midwest for the first time, mainly to check out a graduate program at the University of WI - Madison. While I was out there, I made a stopover at Chicago and instantly fell in love! Even though it snowed, that didn't stop me from exploring Millenium Park, the Art Institute of Chicago, Sears' Tower, the infamous Chicago-style pizza, you get the idea... Anywho, I was so glad that I still decided to take the trek down Printer's Row and check out this little gem of a yarn store. The staff was super-friendly and knowledgeable. They greeted me with a smile and offered to help while still giving me time to stand in awe at their beautiful selection of yarns in every color imaginable! As I was fawning over their inventory, one of the ladies showed me downstairs where they housed (literally! This shop was like a revamped house) a cozy, welcoming knitters nook: books, comfortable seats, a separate room for their classes, a kitchen, and bathroom. And of course, the Seattlelite in me was all too excited to see that in their kitchen, they separated their rubbish from their recyclables AND compost ^_^! But I digress. I ended up buying a little stand for my needles/supplies and a spool of malabrigo yarn in a rich, gorgeous burgundy. Not quite sure what I'll make... perhaps hand warmers? To top off my visit, the staff very graciously gave me a cotton knitters' bag since I was "from outta town", which I'd have to say was the best souvenir I got from the city by far! I definitely recommend anyone living or visiting Chicago to check this place out, and I only hope that I'll be able to find something like this in Seattle.

Ben plays drums. Ben is a...??? Indian!

I was feeling a little under the weather this morning, so I decided to call in sick and take the whole day off to work on homework, do the reading, finish my diagnostic eval project, and study for my midterm. But of course, being the procrastinator that I am, I got distracted by what mysteries were hidden in the back of my cupboard and found:

I think I can handle setting my work aside for an hour or two... when life sends you Ghirardellis white chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, & dried cranberries, make cookies!

my name is Mary Kate, but my friends call me Markie

I must be getting old because this past Valentine's Day weekend (hell, for the past month really!), I've had hella friends break the news to me that they're getting married! While proposing on Valentine's Day wouldn't have been my top choice (boys...), I'm really happy for my friends and only hope for the best ^_^. I just hope one of them will have an open bar at their wedding!

as for myself, this weekend was really great and I'm glad it was paired with even better weather! I always love 4-day weekends because I have time to relax while still get all my shit done. It's been such a busy quarter for us post-baccs. We finally got to sit down, hang out, and really enjoy each other's company to PBRs and rum&cokes. I also got to catch up with some of my other friends at Dana's game night, and surprisingly, work wasn't so bad this weekend (with a little help of Jesse of course ^_~). I also got a new iPod touch, which is amazing! I think my dad originally got it for my mom, but she never used it so they decided to give it to me, so I'm trying to enjoy it without wondering what I did to deserve this.

Valentine's Day was also really great! This was the first time I've ever really spent the holiday as a couple. I was supposed to take my mom out for VDay brunch since my dad was flying in from Canada later that day, but apparently, she had gone out drinking with her friends the night before and may have drunk a little too much, hahah! Keep in mind, my mom gets drunk before she even finishes a glass; she had 4! When I called her Sunday morning about brunch, she had just gotten home to tell me that she was too hungover! Hahaha, it was kinda adorable. After picking up my dad from the airport, I got to do a little VDay stuff with my parents before I headed out for my own plans with Chris. He surprised me with dinner at lark, the sister restaurant of LiCOROUS where we went for our first date, and the food was delicious! We each had a 3-course dinner with dessert, each meal with a wine pairing. And of course, because Chris doesn't drink, I ended up drinking 6.5 of our 8 glasses, hahah! Man, I am my mother's daughter. We continued our VDay plans the next day with a day date checking out the Light Rail and hanging around downtown. It was such a great weekend and now I'm sad to have to go back to school and work :P

you treat Valentine's Day like your first date and at night, like your last date

this way philippe!

I know this is much belated, but I'm feeling I need a mini-break from all this productivity today to quickly post my New Years' resolutions. I can't quite remember everything I had in mind, but here's a Cliffs Notes version:

For 2010, I resolve to...
...drink more water
...be more social, if not in person, via this remarkable thing kids like to call the "interweb"
...budget better
...weight-lift
...increase flexibility
...knit more
...bake more
...review my German
...focus less on the things I wish I had
...accept that I'm lactose-intolerant (wah wah :[)
...spend more time with my parents

That should keep me occupied for the new year, yes?

harumph harumph harumph!

I'm feeling very bitter right now, but I'm trying not to. The reason behind this bitterness is because I am sooo not looking forward to tomorrow... Another co-worker at Starbucks has fallen ill and so they've called me in on emergency. What sucks even more is that it's for an opening shift. You gotta be fucking kidding me! That's the second open I've had to cover this week. So my Friday will pan out as such:

500a-1015a: Starbucks
1030a-130p: school
130p-330p: do a hearing screening on my dad for lab
400p-500p: work other job
600p-whenever: attend a funeral

and then of course, I start brooding on all this. I start kicking myself for agreeing to such things. And then I think that I'm selfish and whining because there are people who do more and accomplish more, on top of me shamefully not being completely financially independent. But then I begin to think that I do work hard and I do things for other people and it just goes unnoticed and unappreciated, so I'm telling myself, "fuck this noise!"

this internal argument goes on and on: should I stick to my obligations and resent people even though it's not their fault? Or should I take a rain check and hope that they'll understand and let me reschedule? But then when else would be a good time because I have all this other shit going on and then it's square one all over again. BAH!

all I want to do is get caught up with myself before I get caught up with everything and everyone else, but the absolute last thing I ever want to do is make my friends feel like I'm taking them for granted. Lately, I've just been asking myself when I can actually go home, take a 5 minute breather, and get some of my own shit done without obligations in my way? When can I finally sit myself down and start working on fucking grad school applications?!?! That's what worries me the most...

and then I start negotiating: ok, well, work is last priority so maybe I can ask someone to cover for me this weekend. Oh but wait, I was a fucking idiot earlier this week and got my car towed so I have this fatty ticket and fee that I gotta pay... Well damn.

2x tall xtra hot mocha... in more ways than one

I'm beginning to think that working at Starbucks was one of the smartest things I've done... A lot of faculty and grad students in the department recognize me from there and a bunch of them have officially met me as a student. Now, they've put a face to a name, know me, and remember me. Score!

i have an addiction. a bit of an affliction. i think i may need an intervention

I'm addicted to reading graphic design blogs beyond what is considered healthy. Don't believe me? I just spent the last hour and a half perusing Simple+Pretty... (*disclaimer: like me, she isn't a graphic designer, but one who appreciates it)

call it cliche, but I love the vintage minimalist style. I can't help it. Everything is just so gosh darn *cute*, from invitations, to calendars and business cards. Hell, the only thing I look forward to having kids of my own is how cute and creative I could get on my baby announcements and early birthday invitations!

I wish I had learned how to do some of these techniques like letterpress or book binding when I was younger. When I was a kid, I use to be super creative. I remember the only thing I liked about school was when a teacher announced a project. Instantly, an image would pop up in my head of what I wanted to make or draw. Art was my favorite class and one of the first occupations I could remember wanting to be as a kid was an artist (I distinctly remember telling that to my dad in the first grade as he was dropping us off at school). Even when my older brother was assigned projects, I'd do it myself rather than my social studies homework. Like, for instance, he had to make a cardboard castle (I think he was in the 5th grade at this point), and I remember searching for a box myself, getting my supplies, sitting on the floor next to him in his room, and making my own castle. I secretly suspect that at times he'd try to arrogate my projects, hehe

I'm unfortunately not as creative as I use to be, but I definitely still suffer from needing a creative outlet. I think that's why I like to get involved in random projects like knitting, trying to learn how to crochet, baking and cupcake decorating, creating postcards, relearning piano, etc. I'm certainly not very good at it, and I think at times, that discourages me because I set such high expectations of myself, especially when I start thinking, I had it in me at one point. It's gotta still be there! I think I need to keep reminding myself that such thinking and expectations can be more harmful than helpful, not because I should start setting low expectations of myself or that I have that insecurity, but because I need to focus on how good it feels to even just use my hands to make something, anything. I need to remind myself that this is my creative outlet, meaning it's a hobby, it's for fun. And most importantly, it's therapeutic :)

but I digress, perusing graphic design blogs and websites motivates me. Like an addiction, it releases this feeling of euphoria and makes me think that I can do anything. And oddly enough, that pushes me to get my shit done because I know that when all my work is done, I can start whatever creative project I have in mind; it's my reward. With that said, I should probably start getting some homework done so that I can work on this kangaroo I've been knitting