Payday Slave

I got a job! I will be building a whole genetics lab practically by myself. It will be a little bit scary but I think this is a huge opportunity to grow and to get some new skills under my belt. In celebration, Luke and I bought a washer and dryer! I have been going to the laundromat every week and it eats up a lot of my time. We got LG Steam washer and dryer set with pedestals for both. I'm super excited to be able to get back into my regular routine of laundry every day.

Speaking of routines, I have been getting back into FlyLady (www.flylady.net) for home cleaning. It's been working really well, except for the laundry which should be fixed this Saturday when we get the washer/dryer. Has anybody else used this system? I really like it!

Spinning challenge!

On the BohoKnitterChic group on Ravelry there was a spinning challenge: Spin X number of skeins/braids/batts before buying more fiber. My goal was a reasonable 10 braids...and I FAILED. I got to 8 before getting news about a braid I really really wanted from TwoIfByHand that was up for sale on the Ravelry iso/destash thread. DARN YOU, SARA! :)

So I got the Matilda braid, which is both beautiful and the same name as my favorite little kid in the world! Maybe I'll make her a little felt monster for her....or just keep if for myself and think of her! Awwwwwww, her and her family (I worked with her dad) are one of the few things I really miss about Minnesota. Good thing I'll be back this winter (I know, visit Minnesota in the winter, good call!)

Back in the People's Republic of Austin!

Having returned from The Amaz!ng Meeting 9 in Las Vegas, I have all sorts of ideas running through my head. I heard some great ideas that other skeptics and atheists have come up with. By far was Jen McCreight's idea of Send an Atheist to Church fundraiser. Jen spoke about her campus group doing this to raise money for the local food bank. For some reason, I really really really like this idea. Maybe it's my do-gooder past catching up with me. :)

In addition, I heard a lot of talk about diversity. I am one of two women I have met at my local atheist meetups and that's just ridiculous. To fix this, I'll be opening up at craft nights and see if anybody else is an atheist. I'll also be trying to veer into more fun activities instead of sitting around philosophizing (while fun is not fun all the time).

Re-commitment

Here I am at TAM9 in lovely Las Vegas and I keep hearing time and time again that the key to broadening the realm of skeptics and bringing more numbers and more diversity into the fold is regular communication of skeptical happenings, critical thinking, and everyday skeptism.  This is my recommitment to blogging about being a crafty skeptic...this starts on Wednesday when I get back home :) 

Right round

....like a record, baby. 

Those are my shoes, Betch.

Got me some new Doc Martens mary janes.  Loves them so much and they will be perfect for showing off my handknit socks! 

Skeptical leanings

I live in the wilds of the Midwest.  At first glance, you would only notice Lutherans, but in reality there is a friendly and growing community of atheists and freethinkers.

The problem:  closet cases!

Very few people are willing to come out as a nontheist.  They call themselves Lutherans and they call themselves Unitarians and what have you, but when grilled, they sound more freethinking by the minute!  I guess I just don't understand why you would sugarcoat your beliefs when you haven't said anything wrong. 

The only solution to this all too common issue is bravery.  We can't be an unknown minority, but be out and polite.  This I learned from Phil Plaitt.

http://vimeo.com/m/#/13704095

I'm not dead yet

Promise!  Here are some quick updates!
-Spinning
-doggy
-knitting socks
-...and hats!

...and Hubs and I will be at TAM9! 

Xoxo

TAM8

I'm one day away from going off to The Amazing Meeting 8 in Las Vegas!

I've never been to a TAM and have never been to Vegas, so I'm expecting great things. First, I want a picture of myself with Teller, Penn, and possibly my other husband George Hrab. Soooooo so so so excited! I've been e-stalking the JREF forums finding out all the things to do. They are:

-Drinking Skeptically (happy hour? yes plz!)
-Workshops galore
-Going out to fancy restaurants with other nerds/skeptics
-Being with my people

And you bet I'll be knitting the whole time!!! I'm working on an Ishbel in green...loving it, but I'm still on the stockinette section and probably won't be able to pay attention and do lace at the same time....bad news bears. I'll just save the knitting for the dead times and carefully mark where I leave off so no tears are shed.

My BFF Sara also enlightened me on the concept of a lifeline and I think I'll be able to do lots more lace. All you do is put other yarn in the stitches so that if you need to rip back you can go back to the lifeline and can easily pick up stitches and get on your way. LOVE IT!

Lots of pictures to come from Vegas. :)

xoxo

Yarn binge and other updates

So I did it. I went on a yarn binge, buying enough yarn for the Amelia Sweater. I'm making this in Dream in Color in the Purple Rain colorway. So excited!!! I also bought yarn to make Luke and I matching Dashings.

Speaking of Luke, we just got engaged!! I'll put up some pictures later, but I'm just on this crazy riding high feeling. :)

I've been such a busy little knitter! Finished Paul's hothead hat, Carrie's calorimetry, a bunch of swiffer pads, dishcloths, Grant's hat, and have started Bella's Mittens!

In addition to all this knitting, I've been reading quite a bit. I picked up Dawkins's new book "The Greatest Show on Earth." I really like how he straight up says that this isn't like God Delusion, but rather only about dispelling the myth that THEORY in science is like THEORY in everyday conversation. Haven't finished it yet, but I'll finish this hopefully this weekend.

Start of the blog

It's finally time for me to start a knitting blog since it seems everyone on Ravelry has one! I'm done with holiday knitting (and boy oh boy was I productive!) and can finally knit what I want! First up, is a cute dishcloth: http://www.groupepp.com/dishbout/kpatterns/grfavorite.html using I Love This Cotton. I actually do like (not love just yet) the cotton yarn, but it's pretty linty and keeps shedding on my sweater. I also started my first sock, pictures and details to come.