I may have to try making my own laundry detergent(from Not Martha). It seems so cheap! Now if I could just find a recipe for homemade dish soap. I ran out yesterday and have a sink full of dishes since I made orange chicken and rice for a bunch of friends.

It's finally spring! It almost feels like spring too! There are better and cheaper fruits and veggies at the store and I am totally ready to eat them. I can't wait for the farmers' markets.

I needed a break from staring at small pictures and counting thousands of nuclei. I think I am going to have to get out of here before I am seeing spots all night.

I want to make Venezia (scroll down) so badly. It's so pretty! There is no way I would attempt it now, but I think with time I could do it. I saw a version of it in two colors rather than 10 and it was still gorgeous.

I finished one sock last night, but I need a different bind-off since my usual one is so tight. I think its time to learn a new one. I decided to take a break from the sock and knit the gauge swatch for Josh's sweater and teach myself how to knit continental style during my swatching. It went pretty well. Purling didn't go as smoothly as knitting, but it wasn't bad. It's a lot easier on the hands and wrists.

It is gorgeous outside. It is about 70 and sunny. A little too windy for eating lunch and reading outside, but I did it anyway. I wish it would last more than a couple days, but the end of winter weather is near. I think I can wait. At least I get to wear sandals today!

I have about another inch of ribbing left on the cuff of my first sock. The heel isn't pretty and it is a little tight, but I can get it on and who's going to see the heel anyway? I can't wait to get started on the next sock. I also intend to start another pair of socks, probably top down this time, to see which way I like better. I am thinking about Jaywalker by Grumperina. I keep reading that they are really nice socks.

last night I broiled some T-bone steaks in the oven. They were huge, but it worked really well. They smelled excellent. It was a rather smoky process though. It set off the smoke alarm, but nothing was burnt. the high heat warped my pan, but it went back to it's original shape after it cooled.

Last night I made a lighter version of white cheddar macaroni and cheese than I usually make. It turned out really well. Much better than the last time I attempted it. I wanted to take some for lunch today in my new insulated, leak-proof container so I don't have to heat it in the nasty microwaves at work. It was 12:00, and I was starving so I headed to where I usually eat lunch. I was very much looking forward to eating my mac'n'cheese. I sat down and pulled my book, water bottle, and lunch out of my bag. I then attempted to open my new insulated container. It wouldn't budge. I tried a few more times with no luck and my hands hurt from trying. I gave up and bought a crappy veggie sandwich from the little cafe in the building. The tomatoes on it were mushy and disgusting so I was left with sprouts lettuce and cheese. My crappy lunch makes me really look forward to grilled steaks, green beans, and cheesy orzo with peas for dinner tonight. Now if I could just get ImageJ to count nuclei for me, I would be slightly happier.

Last weekend during my grandma's birthday blowout, I was knitting my socks. I completely impressed much of my family with my multi-colored and patterned socks. that was, of course, until I explained that it was the yarn making that pattern, not me. They were still impressed, but it was the yarn that impressed them, not my new sock knitting skills.

I ended up frogging it and starting over because the stitches between my needles were really loose and I had some loose stitches at the toe. I have now started over and am almost as far as i was before I frogged. I actually un-knitted some of the heel turn this morning since I knitted the wraps incorrectly and left holes. I know what to do now, so I should have a problem. Once I get past the heel flap I can relax with some plain stockinette. I quite enjoy stockinette.

These are toe-up socks, so i think my next ones will be cuff down. i have some sock yarn coming soon and I have a good stash I intended to crochet with, but my leetle hook was splitting in a lot, so I am going to try knitting it instead and save the crocheted socks for some different yarn.

I have picks of the progress and the cupcakes, including the failed ones, but I have yet to download them. I am sure I will get that done this weekend, not that anyone cares.

You gotta love that the mere presence of Bush invokes protests and riots in Brazil. He's not even in Bogota, Colombia yet and they are already rioting.

Your odds of dying by...

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My dad is flying back from China tomorrow night. My sister is supposed to pick him up from the Des Moines airport. This wouldn't be such a big deal if she didn't live about 130 miles away from Des Moines and there wasn't huge storm coming. Also, we have my grandma's 80th birthday party Saturday evening. I am about 20 miles closer than she is, but I would still have the weather to contend with, and I am providing the birthday cupcakes. My mom is already freaking out because of the weather and the fact my sister's car is a piece of crap.

I bought more shoes. They were the last pair on Zappos.com in my size and the color I want. They also had free overnight shipping. I probably shouldn't have, but oh well. I got paid today!

Our club's youth tournament was last night. I ended up checking everyone in and handing out t-shirts and judging sparring. I was very impressed with the kids from the GymNest. They really held their own. They generally don't get as much sparring experience as the kids from the Field House, so it's good to see them doing well. I was also happy with their forms. Two of the yellow belts I work with a lot place first and second in their division! Two of the green blue tips I also often work with did the same! It was so nice to hear they did well. I like to think I am a good instructor. I can't say I love teaching, but I do enjoy knowing my students do well. It's still weird to think I have students.

I started teaching tae kwon do when I was about the age of many of my students. I was teaching before I had my black belt, so I was probably 9 or 10. My dad ran a tae kwon do club out of several locations and I was often one of the higher ranking students in the class. Not only that, but I was the instructor's daughter. I was often put in charge of a small group and usually taught forms. I also was the floor judge at testings which meant I had to run the testing. It's funny that I often was put in a leadership type role because I hate being in charge.