I promise, this post isn’t all about knitting.

Last night was the monthly North chapter Knit At Night Guild meeting, which I had to attend of course because I’m the knitting rockstar representative. We learned how to do different cast-ons. Up until now, I only knew how to do the long-tail cast on, but now I’ve done the knitting cast on, the cable cast on and the crochet cast on, and as an added bonus I learned the E-wrap. Now that I’ve got sock yarn and little DPNs - which one do I use to knit some socks?

After I got home, Mike informed me that the shows I had recorded on the TiVo were probably messed up because the president was on instead. *grumble, grumble* I was happy to discover that it just messed up Joey and Will & Grace, so not much was lost.

Then I decided that as a good, responsible citizen, I should watch the speach. I should know what is going on in my country, so I should know what the president had to say.

I tried. I really did.

I swear, I can’t listen to Bush talk. It was this monotone droning in my ears. Maybe if we amped me up with 10mg of Ritalin like the day I did my Tova testing, I could finally hear him. Last night, it wasn’t happening.

Thank goodness Mac pointed me to Norbizness: The Monsters of Ax Da President Tour 2005.

You want cheap gas. I want it too. Maybe somebody could help a brotha out. There will be no price gouging at gas pumps in America. You’re going to take your reaming by the Saudis straight, with no chaser.

Now I not only know what was said in the speech, but it is translated into words I can truly understand. Now I feel like a good, informed citizen again.

Really? Only 10 people have a birthday? Come on - I know more of you have birthdays! Fess up!

Today started off with a doctor’s appointment and a trip to the lab for bloodwork. Just general physical goodies, and it could have been a really bad day if it wasn’t for the many highlights that made it better.

1. I finally found a desk that we both like! It is *huge* - 36″ x 72″. It has a giant leg opening underneath, because Mike hates to bump his knees into the walls. It has drawers for filing, because I have things to file. It matches the study, because I’m all about asthetics. And the best part? I found it at Cort Furniture Rental, in their resale (clearance) side, and got a fabulous price for it. The year-long desk hunt is finally over.

2. Then! Then! The DHL guy came, picked up the signed slip since I missed him on Monday, and dropped off my free photo iPod! It is heavier than I expected, but it is beautiful. I love it. It is charging now, so I can fill it full of music goodness later on. Know what that means? I’ll be doing a drawing soon (by the weekend) for a gift certificate to be awarded to one of the wonderful people that completed an offer to help me get the free iPod. After I pick a winner, maybe I should name the iPod after them?

3. Then! As if it couldn’t get any better! I got a box from Amazon! I won the drawing at Mel’s site for being a registered user. She sent me Knitted Shawls, Stoles & Scarves and At Knit’s End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much. (Also know as Bookbookbook at the author’s site.) If you have never read the Yarn Harlot, give her a try. She is hysterical. I am looking forward to the wisdom I will gain as I knit beautiful things.

It could have been a bad day. Instead, it was fabulous.

After missing Kristine with a K’s and Min Jung’s birthdays earlier this week, I’ve had enough. I’m going to make a fresh, new birthday list so that I don’t forget any more birthdays.

So, when is your birthday? Hey baby, what’s your sign? (Ok, I don’t really care that much about your sign, but it is such a great pickup line.) I want to be sure that I can wish you a happy birthday! I can’t handle missing any more important days!

And if you leave your birthday info, it greatly increases the chance that I can buy you goodies for your birthday. And really, who doesn’t want gifts?

Jenn! (And of course everyone else!) Look! I finally posted photos of our house!

Yeah, we’ve only lived here for over a year now. I’ve been bad about sharing photos lately. I’m working on it, I promise.

Your Inner European is French!

Smart and sophisticated. You have the best of everything - at least, *you* think so.

How fitting is it that the quiz includes a photo of the Eiffel Tower?

I have a rather lovely headache today. My posts have been reduced to memes. Regular posting to resume soon.

Hmmm… considering I’ve lived in the midwest and the south, this isn’t too shocking. I still won’t admint that “y’all” has rolled off of my tongue before. Nope, nope, I’m still in denial on that one.

I just deleted a few hundred bounce messages from my e-mail, thanks to a spammer who is spoofing me and using my domain for their reply to address in the spam they are sending out.

If you get spam, I didn’t send it. I promise. I’m not into spam. I’m cringing with each new subject line I read, and it’s been going on since Friday. Ugh. I’m about to test out Spam Arrest to try and cut back on the spam I receive - has anyone tried it? I just need to make sure I can still get my e-mail lists if I use them.

Evil spammers. There had better be a special place in hell for them…

It’s really a strange feeling to get a phone call from your mother at 8am, waking you up, asking you why you didn’t tell her you were in the paper. For the rest of the day yesterday, my Dad asked me if the papaprazzi was keeping me on the run. Kymberlie called to let me know about the newpaper sighting also - but I haven’t actually seen the photograph myself. It’s not online with the article about the Northwest Knit at Night Guild chapter.

Back in March, I went to my first knitting guild meeting. A freelance photographer that does work with the Chronicle was there, and he wanted to take a photograph of the knitters that had been knitting the longest and the shortest amount of time. One lady had been knitting for 45 years; I had been knitting for 2 months. So he took photographs of us with my Claptotis, and I believe the captions are that she is showing me how to do something on it - but in reality, she was telling me that I knit very well for having only done it for 2 months. That was a fabulous thing to hear!

Now that I’ve had my fix of the glowing box for the day, I’m going back to my knitting marathon for the weekend - I have about 3 weeks to finish my shawl, so it is knit, knit, knit this weekend! Fortunately, I’m at a point with the pattern that I think I can watch “Sideways” tonight while working on it!

Jason got home from school today and I made him do his usual chores. He was going about things slowly, so I asked him if he wanted one of his birthday gifts early. He immediately perked up.

I put a copy of the original Splinter Cell game in a gift bag, told him to get the phone so we could call Mike at work, and then gave him his “gift.” He opened it, and was really excited for a second - until he realized it was the original game. Then he got a sad look on his face, as he explained to me that he wanted Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.

“Oh no! I got the wrong game? But you’ve been saying for weeks that you want Splinter Cell!”

I told him that we should call Mike anyways, but I knew Mike was in a meeting. We would just leave him a voice mail. As Jason was in the midst of saying that he got the original game, which was ok but not the one he had wanted, I said, “Wait! What is this … under the cushion here …” and pulled out THE Splinter Cell game.

I can’t stop laughing. The look on his face was priceless! He was thrilled to get the game, and now he’s upstairs playing it already. Meanwhile, I’m off to bake a birthday cake.

Man, I still can’t believe he is officially a teenager. Unreal.

Today is Jason’s birthday. He is 13. Could someone explain to me how that happened? Just how could he possibly be 13 years old? We’ve officially reached the teenage years. I can already tell it’s going to be a fun ride.

For weeks, Jason has been asking for Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory for the Xbox. Of course, he refers to it as just “Splinter Cell.” There is one problem with that. He has geek parents, with a somewhat twisted sense of humor. It took all the willpower we had to not purchase him a copy of Splinter Cell for his birthday. The original game came out in 2002, with a second round in 2004 and the current release last month.

Man, how mean would that have been? To be opening your gifts, convinced you were getting the game you wanted - only to find out you got the original version, not the one you wanted? I doubt that the original game has XBox Live capabilities, and Jason loves to play the Live games. It makes me giggle every time I think about it. I could have pulled it off too. I could have convinced hm that he had asked for “Splinter Cell” and how was I to know that he really meant “Splinter Cell Chaos Theory” when he said that?

Oh yes, you should be careful what you wish for around here. You just might get what you want!

At SXSW, there was a panel asking where the women of webdesign were at. It is normally a group that isn’t well represented. Now, there is a blog conference for women bloggers, about women bloggers. BlogHER. [via Heather]

After going to the dentist to having a crown put back in place, nothing beats having a much needed spring pedicure with some “My Throne for a Cranberry Scone” on my toes.

I just realized I never did mention our weekend activities here. Back in February, Jason qualified to participate in the TMSCA State Science Competition. Basically, the math & science teams from across the state have competitions that involve tests, and if you have a qualifying score, you get to go to State. So Friday morning at 6:00 am we headed up to the local middle school to get on the bus with 23 students and their parents and headed off to San Antonio.

On the way, we stopped in Schullenberg, Texas at a local bakery. They were ready and waiting for us (one of the parents had made arrangements earlier in the week) and had posters up, welcoming us and encouraging the kids to do well at State. It was really cool - the kids immediately saw the signs as we pulled up, and we got to take them with us when we left. I also got to take something very special with me when I left - my crown on the bottom right side of my mouth came off as I ate a kolache, so I got to take it with me in a little to-go container! I put lots of tape on top so I wouldn’t lose it, and I go in to see the dentist tomorrow morning to have it put back on. It has made eating such fun.

Friday afternoon was spent at SeaWorld, as you might have noticed from the Flickr photos in the sidebar. Afterwards, we went to the hotel to check in, clean up, and head out to dinner. Then it was back to the hotel so the kids could do practice tests before heading to bed. Saturday morning we were up and out the door at 7:30 to head over to UTSA for the kids to take their tests. We were there until almost 5:00, but I had my knitting with me so it wasn’t that bad. Jason didn’t place in the top 20 for Science, but he had a good time. I’m just glad that he qualified! I knew he was smart, but it is always nice to see him recognized for it.

Today is the Math portion of the TAKS test for 7th & 8th graders here in Texas; tomorrow, they will be taking the Language Arts portion. In honor of the test, I had to snag this from Stargazer:

No Child Left Behind - The Football Version

1. All teams must make the state playoffs, and all will win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable.

2. All kids will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time and in the same conditions. No exceptions will be made for interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities. ALL KIDS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL.

3. Talented players will be asked to work out on their own without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren’t interested in
football, have limited athletic ability, or whose parents don’t like football.

4. Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th and 11th games.

5. This will create a New Age of sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimal goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child will be left behind.