Good Luck to Me.

I just joined National Novel Writing Month. I have no idea what I want to write, not even what genre. We'll see if I actually write anything. It seems like only about 10-15% of entrants actually finish their novels.

The deal is, you have to write a (probably very crappy) novel of at least 50,000 words by midnight on November 30. And you can't start writing until November 1. No previously-written prose allowed. And with my exam on November 3, it doesn't look like I'll be writing anything before November 4. Hey, that's only 1852 words per day!

They don't judge the novels. They don't even read them. You e-mail it to them, and they use a robotic word counter to verify that you do in fact have 50,000 words, then they delete your e-mail. You own the rights to the novel, and can try to get it published if you want (some of these novels have been published, which makes me wonder if they were really written in 30 days, but whatever).

V, I dare you to join with me!!!

Alternatively, the Defective Yeti (see my Links) is having a write-a-short-story-in-a-week thing for people like himself who found the novel-in-a-month thing too overwhelming.

For some reason, at this moment I am compelled to write the word: Boogers.
I don't know why.

A Very Disappointing Conversation

Me (pointing at V.): Who's that?
The Wibbles: Dada!
Me & V: Oh my goodness, you're so smart!
Me (pointing at myself, desperately hoping that he can also say Mama): Who's this?
The Wibbles: Dada!
V: No, that's Mommy! Who's that?
The Wibbles: Dada!
V: Oh well, I guess he means "parent" when he says that.
Me (pointing at the coffee table): What's that?
The Wibbles: Dada!
V: Okay, I'm just going to pretend that didn't happen.

The Monday Top 5!

Best 5 stitch patterns for knitting scarves:

Let me just start this off by saying that I am the Scarf Nazi. First of all, a scarf should be reversible - it should look the same on both sides. A lot of knitting books have these scarf patterns that have a definite "wrong side." Do they think the wrong side won't show when you wrap the scarf around your neck?

Second, a scarf should be warm. Maybe if you live in L.A. those skinny scarves will be enough for you. Winters in New York are cold and they are windy. I want a scarf that is at least five inches wide - it should cover my mouth, nose and neck when I wrap it around. Also it should be long enough to wrap around a couple times. And it should not be goddamn lace! I don't know what's up with all the lace scarf patterns I've been seeing. Wind blows right through that shit.

Anyway, on to the top 5:

Hands down #1: Cartridge Belt Rib.
Multiple of 4 stitches plus 1.
Row 1: [K3, slip 1 with yarn in front] to last stitch, k1.
Repeat Row 1 for pattern.

This pattern is visually interesting without being (a) yarn-consuming, or (b) so busy that it doesn't look good when done in a variegated yarn. It looks good in any weight yarn. It's very stretchy. The slip stitches create this vertical furrowing that make it extremely warm. Every row is the same, so it's super easy to memorize - if you knit on the bus like I do, you don't want to be looking at charts while you're knitting.

#2: Alternating ribbed cable.
Multiple of 16 stitches plus 8.
Rows 1-4: [k1, p1] to end.
Row 5: [slip 4 stitches to cable needle and hold to front, (k1, p1) twice from left needle, (k1, p1) twice from cable needle, (k1, p1) 4 times] to last 8 stitches, then slip 4 stitches to cable needle and hold to front, (k1, p1) twice from left needle, (k1, p1) twice from cable needle.
Rows 6-9: [k1, p1] to end.
Row 10: [(k1, p1) 4 times, slip 4 stitches to cable needle and hold to back, (k1, p1) twice from left needle, (k1, p1) twice from cable needle] to last 8 stitches, then (k1, p1) 4 times.
Repeat rows 1-10 for pattern.

This pattern looks great. The only flaw is that being a multiple of 16 stitches, for certain yarn weights you may get into a situation where you have a choice between a scarf that is a bit too narrow or way too wide. I noticed this when I tried to knit one in a chunky yarn - 24 stitches was just a bit too narrow, and 40 stitches was gargantuan. It works pretty well in worsted or DK yarns, though, with 40 or 56 stitches.

#3: Plain ribbing.
2x2 is my favorite, followed by 1x1. I don't generally use wider ribbing.

#4: Garter stitch.
This stitch is great for beginners, because you just knit every stitch. Personally, I find plain garter stitch boring to knit and boring to look at, unless you use a variegated yarn. To reduce the boredom factor, you can knit your scarf sideways or on the diagonal. Also, you can use color - either stripes or two-color garter stitch. I especially like stripes on a sideways-knit scarf. I also like to use short rows in garter stitch scarves to create interesting shapes. I'll provide the pattern for two-color garter stitch at the end of this post.

#5: (Begrudgingly) Seed stitch.
I hate seed stitch. I have to admit it looks pretty good, especially in chunky yarns. But it takes forever, since you have to move the yarn back or forward after each stitch. And it doesn't take stripes well, so a seed stitch scarf is just about the most boring thing you can possibly make.

Two-Color Garter Stitch
Note: This will not work on straight needles. You need to use a circular needle for this. You need 2 different color yarns, A and B. One side of the scarf will be mainly color A, with little bits of B peeking through. The other side will be mainly B, with little bits of A.

With A, cast on any number of stitches.
Row 1: With A, knit one row. Do not turn work - slide it to the other side of the needle.
Row 2: With B, purl one row. Turn work.
Row 3: With A, purl one row. Slide work to other side of needle without turning.
Row 4: With B, knit one row. Turn work.
Repeat rows 1-4 for pattern, finishing with row 1. Bind off with color A.

Cool Game Review Website

This guy (click on post title for the link) reveiws mainly Flash games. So far I've played AOOA, which was a bit too easy but still pretty cool. Not as cool as growcube, but still pretty cool. I am totally addicted to growcube.

In unrelated Wibble news, he now neighs as well as moos. Although he wouldn't moo for me on the phone today. Poo.

Movies v. Motherhood

I don't know if this has to do with some kind of neurological change I've undergone since giving birth, or if movies have just suddenly started sucking complete goat ass lately, but it's become extremely difficult for me to find a movie that I can sit through to completion. By contrast, there was only one movie I walked out on in the entire 33.75 years I lived before The Wibbles was born (On Deadly Ground). Here is a list of movies I've rented in the past few months (some of which I had high hopes for) and was unable to watch:

I Heart Huckabees
Skycaptain and the World of Tomorrow
Alone in the Dark*
Blade III: Trinity
Spanglish
The Ring 2

*V told me that after I went to bed, he watched the rest of the movie on fast forward, looking for titties. There were none.

Husband no blog.

I hereby "tag" V to copy my Monday Top 5. This will get him to blog at least once a week. He should use the same category I use, with adjustment if necessary (I was thinking of doing five literary heroines I most identify with - he should adjust that to heroes. That's what I mean by necessary adjustment). If he blogs before I do, he can choose the category and I have to use the same one here.

(Delayed) Monday Top 5!

I'll do two as a penalty for being late.

Five jobs I most wish I had (qualification and earnings potential completely aside):
1. Trendspotter
2. Buyer for Bergdorf Goodman
3. Internet security consultant
4. Cryptographer
5. Wrapping paper designer

Five things I'm obsessed with:
1. Puzzles (solving and writing)
2. Creating a computer program that could generate all the possible reversible knitting stitch patterns
3. Learning how to make my own digital clock
4. Wrapping paper design (particularly how any wrapping paper fits into one of 17 symmetry groups)
5. "Spotting" (for lack of an equivalent auditory term) celebrity voiceovers in commercials

Moo.

The Wibbles has officially said his first word! And that word is.... Moo.

He's been babbling for a while now. And for a long time he's understood what we've said. He will do fairly complicated things, like walking on his tiptoes, or picking up stuff off the floor and giving it to us, on command. But we've never been able to get him to do something vocal for us on command. If you asked him to make one of the sounds that he frequently babbles, he would (he will repeat "buh" or "muh" or "duh" or, more interestingly, "goompah" if you say, for example, "Can you say 'buh?'"), but that doesn't really count in my book.

Now, if you ask him what a cow says, he will moo.

This is doubly exciting, because now I get to talk to my son on the phone when I'm at work. My husband has been putting The Wibbles on the phone with me about once a day. I would say hi, tell him I miss him, ask him if he's being a good boy, etc. And I would listen to his obscene-phone-call breathing on the other end. Today on the phone I asked him what a cow says, and he answered "Moo" on the phone. "Hi Mommy" here we come!

More Birthday Ideas

- Subscription to Make magazine (see www.makezine.com)
- Tango lessons at Triangulo
- puzzle from Stave Puzzles

I miss summer.

It's been alternating between raining and threatening rain for days. Today it rained so hard that I look like I swam to work, even though I had a raincoat and umbrella. So I'm posting a summer picture of me and The Wibbles, to cheer myself up.

The Wibbles had his 15 month birthday yesterday. He seems to be exploding with new abilities lately. He's still not talking, but his babbling is starting to sound a lot more like language. And V and I would swear that sometimes he mimics the word we just said (which, for some reason, is usually "yeah"). He also seems to be trying to say "Daddy" sometimes.

Boy I can't wait till he talks.

Monday Top 5 + Tidbits.

The Monday Top 5!

The 5 things I most want for my birthday:
1. Dinner for 2 at Per Se
2. The Best Food Writing 2004
3. The Outkast CD, which unbelievably I still do not have
4. Spa facial & bodywrap
5. Yarn. And Rowan magazine #38.

Tidbits
Courtesy of boingboing.net. Which is a really cool site. You should see it if you haven't already.

Unicef bombs the Smurfs

Plants with eyes

Other Random News
I think The Wibbles is going to start talking soon. Also, he seems to understand me better lately. He handed me his tube of Desitin, which he'd found lying around somewhere. I gave it back to him and told him to put it in his diaper bag - which he did!

On a completely unrelated note, my husband gobbles like a turkey when he's scared.

I'm still alive.

I know V. and all the robot spammers are wondering where I've been lately. Working. Studying. Very very busy. Sorry. I even missed the Monday Top 5 this week. So here's a Thursday Top 5 to make up for it:

Top 5 things I want to accomplish by the time I turn 40:
1. FINISH MY EXAMS and get my FSA.
2. Get something published. If I had written this earlier, I would have said a novel, but I don't think I have time to write a novel before I turn 40. So I'll settle for anything.
3. I'm not sure yet if I want another kid, but if I have one, I definitely want to have it before I turn 40.
4. Run a marathon.
5. I would say have a torrid affair with 50 Cent, but I think that would upset my husband too much. (Maybe this will get V to blog again, even if it's only about hot chicks to piss me off.) So I'll say instead: participate in an Olympic weightlifting competition.