Random updates

I've had a bunch of potential posts popping up and swirling around in my brain over the past several months and not one of them has made it to the blog.

I was going to write about riding my motorcycle while wearing pearls. I was going to write about the smell of popcorn and chocolate every so often as I'm riding home through Clinton. I was going to write about how much being 30 feels just like being 29 and about what I've learned in the past year. I've also been meaning to take and post pictures of the baby cardigans that I'm making for my now 1 year old nieces, and how I managed to knit 80% of the first one in the week that I bought the yarn and how it's taken me several months since and I still haven't finished either of them. I was sure that I would have them done with time to spare before their respective birthdays. It turns out that I'm most productive as a knitter when I'm away from home and don't have a house to putter around.

I'm now working full time again, and this past weekend I've been sick with a cold which is sort of ironic since my new job is tracking flu data and I spent Thursday registering hundreds of people for flu shots. All I can figure is that I wore myself out and ran down my immune system giving the cold an opportunity to settle in. Consequently I spent the weekend snuggling with a kitty under the covers and indulging myself in anything I felt like eating. The downside to this mini break is that life rolls on and there are things to be done...

Ode to my motorcycle

She's my baby. I named her Apple. Most people tell me that I'll want a bigger bike or that I'll outgrow her. Many said that I'd outgrow her within the first season (we're now at the end of our 2nd year together). I think my love for her has only grown.

This past week the car has been at the mechanic more than it's been in our driveway, so I've been toting Paul (all 6 foot 2 inches of him) around on the back. We've also been going through an excruciating heat wave. Yesterday, I went and filled the tank and then worked out the mileage. 72 MPG. I don't know any cars with better mileage and if you know a bike with better mileage, I'd love to buy one for Paul.

I love her so much that I'm planning my future around spending more time with her. I'd like to get a job that won't require me to wear skirts and heels. I know I could always change once I got there, but it's easier if I don't.

I finished the first sock!

I had gotten down to the toe on the way to my in-law's house on Tuesday and was just left with the grafting/kitcheners stitch to connect the front to the back which I accomplished today in my semiweekly needlecraft lunch hour at work. I even had time to cast on and work a little on the second sock. I'll share pictures when I get home to my digital camera tonight. I'm sort of psyched to be back to the fun part of the socks (the going round and round without dereases) again and this time I will be sure to remember all those useful life lessons I learned from the first sock. I'm sure they'll come out slightly mismatched, but c'est la vie! They're just socks!

In other news, it's been beautiful weather for motorcycle riding. A few showers here and there but not enough to dissuade me. Here's a cautionary note to non-motorcycle riders: Even though motorcycles are great at acceleration and getting up to speed quickly, they are lousy at braking. If I leave several car lengths between me and the car in front of me, that should not be viewed as an open invitation to pull out in front of me, especially if your caddy can't do 0-50 in any kind of reasonable time period. It's not nice. And don't ride my tail, that's not nice either.

Oh and last night Paul and I got fed up with the futon and went to BJs and got a memory foam bed topper for it. OMGs. I was rather skeptical that 2 inches of foam would make any real kind of difference, but we had slept on the one that Paul's parents have on their sofa bed and loved how it felt on that. Turns out it works just as nice on a futon. So for anyone who doesn't like their lumpy mattress, go get a foam topper!