Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Lunar Eclipse and Winter Solstice


Last night I stayed up to watch the lunar eclipse. I've always thought eclipses were magical. It's such a reminder of how small we are in this great big universe. I'm still scheduled to fly into London so let's hope that doesn't change. In the meantime, I must pack and clean. Here's a shot of the eclipse! Yep, it's tiny and you can see better images on the internet but I'm sharing it just the same. Now, time to quite procrastinating. I have a lot to do!!!

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Into the fray and other thoughts

Normally, I avoid politically charged topics but I feel the need to post today. Today, Elizabeth Edwards passed away after a long struggle with cancer. She was 61. For those of you who don't know me, my Mom passed away this year at 62 after a two year struggle with terminal brain cancer. News of Elizabeth Edwards' death is especially poignant to me since it is so close to the death of my own mother. I find myself thinking a lot about her children and how very sad they must be feeling. I've also read some of the reader comments on major new sites in response to the news of her death. Some of the comments about her estranged husband are just so incredibly inappropriate. Whatever he was and whatever their relationship was, there is a family who has lost a loved one. Right now, they just need support. So, I guess I just wanted to say that I wish the Edwards family the peace that only time can bring. Somewhere, long ago, I read that there is a Vietnamese saying that a grief takes a thousand words. This is so true. Talk about her. Remember her and share her legacy. Some days will be unbearably hard. Some days you will feel okay. I think about my Mom all the time. Sometimes it makes me smile and sometimes I sob, overcome with feelings of loss. They will likely never read this blog but I would like to extend my sympathies to the Edwards family.

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Topstitching and fair isle




Here are the pics of what I'm working on. I'm making a Vogue sheath dress to wear to London for Christmas. That's the plan anyway. Hopefully it will come out looking nice enough to wear. This is the most complex sewing I've done in a long time and the pattern is rated easy!! I'm still plugging away on my Primavera wrap. This week is so busy for me schoolwise that I don't have much time for knitting. I have two papers due this week and a ton of reading. That's how it goes! I ordered a bodymedia fit armband today. I should get it Friday. It's this neat little gadget that you wear and it detects the calories you are expending. Love that. This should make it a little easier to really track my progress. Later!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Guess where I'm blogging from!!

An airplane!!! A friggin' Delta flight!!!! Apparently, Delta has teamed up with Google to provide free in-flight Wifi on some flights. Oh yes, I am loving this!!! I KNEW it was possible!!! Hopefully they won't screw this idea up with charging like 5 dollars per MB or some such nonsense. I recall when they tried that inflight phone business. It died out because of bad reception and sky high (hee hee!) prices. My Dad was also generous enough to buy a camera for me on this trip so I will have some images to post on Monday. In the meantime, I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Later!!!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Dumb tv rocks!!!

Confession time: I love the World's Dumbest on Tru TV. I feel like a friggin' genius every time I watch it. So, the next time you are feel a little less than fabulous, I'd highly recommend that you watch it or something like it. On the needles, I"m finishing up my Primavera wrap from Virtual Yarns. Yep, that's by Alice Starmore. Love her! And yes, it's been on my needles for three years. I've gotten sidetracked. On the sewing machine, I just cut a Vogue pattern by Kay Unger. It's a great sheath dress that I hope will look fab when I'm done with it. Once I figure out where the heck I left my camera charger, you'll get the photo! Till then, take it easy!

Tuesday, November 02, 2010

Sockage!


Okay, I'm getting this blog back up and running after an email from a friend advised me it was disabled. I imagine blogger disabled it due to no posts! Eeek! So, here's the status on what's up in Aliciaville:

-formulating a business plan with my sister
-working on my MBA
-raising 2 boys, 2 cats, a dog and 2 hamsters
-whipping my body into shape via the eat clean diet
-knitting when I can

Speaking of knitting, the only thing off of my needles recently has been my firestarter socks. If I told you how long they had been on my needles, well, I would be ashamed. Let's just say I lost my notes on the first sock so the second sock looks a little, urm different. I've put in a, gasp, photo! I know! It's been awhile since I've done photos. I'm trying to rectify that!

Fitness-wise, I'll just put it out there. I entered the third annual Eat Clean Diet Challenge. Since Mom passed, I sort of let it all go and gained a lot of weight. I mean a lot. Now, it's time to engage in life again. So, I figured why not take the challenge. I have nothing to lose at all. So, I took some seriously unflattering photos of myself and posted them to the contest page. OMG! I had no idea my butt looked like that!!! It was like the scene from Psycho where Janet Lee is surprised in the shower and starts screaming! Still, nowhere to go but up so here I go. I'll keep you posted on my progress. I may even become brave enough to add the photos!
Till later, Alicia

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Now that you have a drink in your hand...

When you hear that phrase, it's never gonna be good news that follows it. My husband and I decided to help out a relative with a real estate issue. The skinny of it all comes to the fact that because of a bureaucratic issue we will end up losing 10k. It's a long story and hard to explain but it's done now. Still, what can you do? That's the nature of risk and we knew it could happen. Regardless, I'm down two Irish coffees and am having a third as soon a i get done typing this post. As soon as I can find my digital camera I'll get back to posting projects with pics. Till later!

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Faith restored

Sometimes, when I'm at the end of my rope, I really become convinced that there are some really not nice people in the world. It's funny, though, whenever that happens, some kind soul or souls always seem to come into my path and restore my faith. Right here, right now, I want to say thank you to those folks. I so very much appreciate all of the condolences for mom. There are no words that can express how much comfort that has brought me. Never underestimate the power of a simple smile or kind words. They heal nerves that are frazzled; comfort the grieving, and provide solace to those in need. This might sound melancholy to some but it's true. All of us have the power to be kind and compassionate. The world would be an infinitely better place if more of us exercised that power. Till later, Alicia

Friday, January 22, 2010

Bitter endings and new beginnings

Today, my Mom passed away. She had a Glioblastoma Multiforme brain tumor. This is such a little understood type of cancer. It is truly truly a horrible disease. We knew this would be our end result but somehow that brings so little solace. This part of our journey has ended and now grieving has begun. I will grieve. I will grieve and go on because that is what life is about. I must go on because nothing good can be had from marinating in one's own sorrow. I would like to take a moment to say what a wonderful woman my mother was. She was creative, caring and always encouraged us to go after our dreams. I will miss her and her wisdom.