10 things I do every day

Well, I do a lot of things every day, so let's see what I can come up with that might just surprise you. See Jessalu and Carole for some other great ideas for this 10 on Tuesday topic.

1. Fight my alarm/phone. Yup. Every dang morning. If I'm on vacation, I'm up at 5a.m., but for work? 7 am. 
2. Pack a lunch. This is for workdays, but I pack my lunch every.single.day. It's not always a sexy lunch, but it's saves me $5-8 per day. And it's healthier. And I have a weird hang-up about eating salad outside of my house.
3. Make my bed. I don't know why, but it makes me feel better to come home to a made bed. So, every morning, I re-tuck the sheets, straighten the coverlet and fluff the pillows.
4. Hold my cat. She likes to be held and carried around, so I indulge her while sniffing her head. Her head smells like rain and I don't know why.
5. Tell PC "no fighting, no biting; be nice to the guys at work!" and "have a wonderful day!" before he leaves for the plant. He's a boss now, so this has actually gotten funnier as he got promoted. 
6. Answer over 300 emails. Yup. I average 300 email replies per day and 25 phone calls. Needless to say, I am RARELY on the computer at home. or the phone. 
7. Sing Yellow Submarine by the Beatles. I have no idea why, but it's on permanent loop in my head, and I sing a part of it OUT LOUD every day. It's like a pleasant version of Tourette's. 
8. Pray. I do this every day, silently, for compassion, tolerance and humility. 
9. Cook. I cook 99% of the work nights for PC and I. And whatever we're having for dinner is lunch the next day. It's really, really hard to have a new exciting something to put on the table every night. 
10. Wash my hair. I'm a compulsive hair washer. I hate unwashed hair on my head... it makes me itchy. 

Sunday afternoon

The yarn: Noro Silk Garden
Colorway: 337
Needles: us 7, bamboo
Pattern: Molly from classic elite
The place: l'aroma cafe, Newton Ma.
The people: my friend Dora and I, the football widows.

Ruffled, stripes and silk...oh my!

I'm knitting. A lot lately, actually. I cast on for this scarf and the next thing i know, eight inches are done. Magic? Perhaps. Getting close to Christmas? Yup, that is probably it. I have two of these to knit this fall, so I better get a move on.

Empowering Young Women

This t-shirt was pulled by J.C. Penny, but really? It never should have made the shelves.

My high school guidance counselor, when I asked her for college advice, gave me college info on nursing schools and teacher colleges. When I told her I wanted to be a biologist, she corrected me and said "biology teacher." No. A biologist. She looked at me and said "Why? You'll never get married if you're a biologist, teachers have good schedules for raising families." I graduated college in 1995, not 1895. This "educator" looked past my goals & aspirations and straight at my ovaries and mammary glands. 

I'm watching the young women on my street grow up : from playing baby dolls & teddy bear tea parties on the front steps, to a Justin Beiber fan club in a refrigerator box, to their first dances and the boys walking behind them to the bus stop... with a lot of giggling involved. I listen and hear their comments "school's hard." And "I think I'm in the wrong Math." What message are they getting at school? The three of them, for all appearances, are nice young women, with good communication skills (I could use a lot less "umms" but hey: they are 13) and are quite smart. Are they being championed in the classroom? Or has reality tv and being celebritized for being "not smart" winning out? Do you think Snooki aced her math quizzes? Or do you think someone gave up on her? 

Just a rambling from the brain of Mini. I'm knitting. I'll take some photos tonight or tomorrow. My first experience knitting with Noro Silk Garden, and yes... I've already had a knot. *grr*

Top 10 Headlines for 1977

In 1977... ( I was born October 9)

1. Elvis died, so did Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin and Bing Crosby
2. The Bruins lost to Montreal in the Stanley Cup
3. The Yankees won the World Series
4. Star Wars came out in movie theaters: so did Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind (a much better movie, in my opinion)
5. The Apple II computer came out (with a color screen!!)
6. Jimmy Carter (the peanut farmer) was President (inaugurated in 1977) and grants amnesty to draft dodgers from the Vietnam Conflict (did immigration from Canada increase as well?)
7. Son of Sam serial killer is killing couples in NYC (on orders from a dog) and subsequently captured in NYC
8. Inflation hits 11% (wow)
9. the Love Boat airs (I only remember it as re-runs)
10. the U.S. Department of Energy is created

Ten on Tuesday

I'm always looking for ways to save a buck, so Carole's ten on Tuesday was just the "umph" I needed to break the blogging break!

Ten Things I Buy Each Week:

1. Groceries.  A cop-out yes, but PC and I shop once a week and it's NOT cheap!

2. Manicures. Yup. I'm that girl. Mine costs $12 + $3 tip and includes a shoulder & neck massage. It's my 1/2 hour of me time every Saturday morning

3. Dunkin' coffee. Every day on the way home from work, PC or I stop and pick up the Dunkin's. It's a VERY expensive habit (not Starbucks expensive, but it's getting there!) as it runs us $42 a week, minimum...

4. ebooks... I read ALOT. And really quickly, so I am constantly on the "shop" option of my nook color. 

5. Gas. I have a short commute (roundtrip, less than 10miles), but i'm the primary driver in the family and my commute involves 12 stop lights in either direction, so it's not great on the mpgs).

6. pastry & coffee... my Sunday knitting buddy and I meet at a cafe and well, it has yummy pastry. 

7. Nutrition services & trainer: I swap out the weeks I pay for them, but they are both less than $50 and are essential to my well being.

8. McDonald's diet coke. For some God-only-knows reason, diet coke from McDonald's tastes the best. 

9. Lunch. I only buy once a week and I'm trying to break this habit.

10.... I can't think of a #10, so leave your #10 here! :)